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Implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will lead to increase in the state's revenue, said a cabinet minister in Yogi Adityanath government.

By India Today Web Desk: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today chaired the state cabinet meeting wherein he took several important decisions, including implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state.

The meeting which lasted for an hour also saw the Yogi Adityanath cabinet deciding to scrap manual tendering process in government departments and replacing it with online tendering.

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HERE ARE THE FIVE MAJOR DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE YOGI ADITYANATH CABINET:

Implementation of GST: The Yogi Adityanath cabinet approved the implementation of the GST in Uttar Pradesh and the same will passed in the Assembly session on May 16. "The revenue of the state is likely to increase after implementation of the GST in the first session of this government," said minister Suresh Kumar Khanna.

E-tendering in state departments: Online tendering process will be introduced in all state government departments. The Yogi Adityanath government has set a three-month deadline for all departments to make the switch. The aim is to bring greater transparency in the tendering and procurement process.

New transfer policy: The Yogi Adityanath cabinet approved a new transfer policy under which 20 per cent officers and employees who have completed three years in district or seven years in a division will be eligible for transfer. The policy covers employees under group A and group B. Differently-abled have been kept out of this policy.

Foundation Day on January 24: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet decided to celebrate January 24 as the state's foundation day. The state's information, tourism and culture departments will be roped in the annual celebrations. The foundation day celebrations will be held even outside the state, the Yogi Adityanath cabinet decided.

Fertiliser factory in Gorakhpur gets a push: The Adityanath cabinet decided to exempt stamp duty on transfer of land for the fertiliser factory in Gorakhpur. In 2016, the Central government had decided to make an investment to revive the factory, but the pace slackened in the past one year. Farmers will benefit from the factory.

(With inputs from Mausami Singh)

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Job Title: National Content Manager

Organization: Petroleum

Authority of Uganda (PAU)

Duty Station: Kampala,

Uganda

Reports to: Director

Technical Support Services

About US:

The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) has been put in place as

recommended in the National, Oil and Gas policy of Uganda and in accordance

with Section 9 of the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act

2013. The mandate of the PAU is to regulate the oil and gas sector in Uganda

including ensuring that petroleum operations in Uganda are carried out in

accordance with the relevant laws, regulations, guidelines, statutes and in

line with international petroleum industry best practice.

Job Summary: The National

Content Manager will be responsible for regulating, monitoring and advising on

the implementation of National Content development requirements in Ugandas oil

and gas sector. The National Content Manager will provide support to Licensees

and contractors to ensure 100% compliance in all cases but also assist Ugandan

companies, Ugandan citizens and registered entities to develop their

capabilities and capacities to further the development of national content in

petroleum activities.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Coordinate the evaluation and approval of

the national content programmes and reports submitted to the Authority by

licensees and their contractors.

Formulate guidelines for the

implementation of national content.

Develop and operate the national content

evaluation system for licensees, operators, contractors and

subcontractors.

Coordinate the development and operation

of a National Supplier database for suppliers for the oil industry.

Coordinate the development and operation

of an oil and Gas National Talent (Skills) register.

Regularly monitor and evaluate the

national content performance of licensees in accordance with countrys

national content requirements.

Actively participate in the review of

annual work programmes and budgets to ensure compliance with national

Content provisions.

Tasked with analysing projects and

activities in the petroleum sub-sector and providing guidance on areas of

participation and capacity building for Ugandans and Ugandan enterprises

Responsible for the evaluation and review

of Licensee and contractor employment, recruitment and training plans and

recommendations for applications for work permits

Work closely with the relevant Government

Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to undertake labour audits and

inspections for licensees and their contractors

In charge of the the evaluation and review

of procurements and contracts of licensees and contractors for compliance

to National Content requirements.

Keenly review and advise any requirements

of revision or amendment of policies and legislation that relate to

National Content and Capacity building in the petroleum subsector

Serve as a liaison between the Authority

and other Government MDAs on aspects of skills development and enterprise

development

Assist the Director Technical services in

preparing plans and budgets for the National Content department



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate must hold a Masters

degree in Business Administration, Human Resource Management,

Economics/Finance, from an internationally recognized University.

Possession of a Bachelors Degree (Hons)

in Business Administration, Human Resource Management, Engineering,

Physical Sciences or related disciplines from an internationally

recognised institution.

At least five years relevant working

experience in the oil and gas sector or energy sector, 3 years of which

should be in a busy and well organized institution.

Previous exposure and experience in

working in a leadership role in an organization/business unit/project with

diverse professionals.

Possession of a qualification in the oil

and gas sector from an internationally recognised institution is desired

Internationally recognised professional

qualifications or membership of nationally and internationally recognised

professional bodies is also desired.

Broad knowledge of the policies, laws,

regulations and guidelines regarding National Content is an added

advantage

Comprehensive knowledge and understanding

of procurement and contracting, and career path and development in the oil

and gas industry is desired

Innovative and with a proven high level of

integrity.

Ability to work independently and in a

team.

Excellent track record of outstanding

performance.

Excellent interpersonal and communication

skills.

Possesses good administrative and

negotiation skills.

Good track record of training and

mentoring others.

Excellent research and analytical skills.

Proficiency in the relevant computer

packages.

How to Apply:



their download this form, Click Here and fill it in indicating the telephone

and email contacts for both the applicant and three reputable referees. The

signed applications together with copies of certified academic and professional

qualifications should be addressed and submitted in triplicate to the following

address; All suitably qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to sendtheir download this form,and fill it in indicating the telephoneand email contacts for both the applicant and three reputable referees. Thesigned applications together with copies of certified academic and professionalqualifications should be addressed and submitted in triplicate to the followingaddress;

The Executive Director,

Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) Liaison Office Room B 416,

4th floor Amber House,

Plot 29/33, Kampala Road,

P.O. Box 7270, Kampala. Uganda

th May

2017 by 5:00PM Deadline: 5May2017 by 5:00PM

NB: Applications

delivered through registered mail and courier will be accepted as long as they

are received before the above-mentioned deadline for submission. Please note

that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and any form of lobbying

will lead to automatic disqualification.
Job Title: Livelihoods Officer

Organisation: United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Position No.: UNOPSINT

Vacancy Notice:

UNHCR/UGANDA/IICA/012017

Reports to: Senior Technical

Coordinator

Duty Station Kampala, Uganda

About UNHCR:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was

established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly.

UNHCRs mandate under the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees is to lead and co-ordinate action for international

protection to refugees; seek permanent solutions for the problems of refugees

and safeguard refugee rights and well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate

concerning issues of statelessness, as it is given a designated role under

Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Job Summary: The Livelihoods

Officer will support the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

in the provision of technical support of the Livelihoods Unit at HQ and the

Regional Office in Nairobi and in collaboration with concerned staff in Uganda.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Assume the role of UNHCR Uganda

livelihoods focal point

Manage the inter-agency co-ordination and

consultation mechanisms at country and sub-office levels, including UNHCR

staff, government, partner NGOs and the private sector related to and

involved in livelihoods in a humanitarian context.

Regularly review and finalize the existing

TORs formulated for the Refugee and Host Communities Livelihood Technical

Working Group (LTWG), and chair the Livelihoods Sector Working Group

meetings at national level.

Take lead and facilitate the development

processes and relevant workshops towards elaborating UNHCR Ugandan

livelihoods strategy. This will include development of priority actions,

milestones, targets, indicators, operational work plans and budgets,

logical frameworks, anticipated budgets, highlighting linkages with other

UNHCR mandate areas (Protection, CBI, E&E etc.) as well as identifying

roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders

Provide strategic leadership and technical

guidance towards the implementation of UNHCR Ugandans livelihoods

strategy, to include identification of market based opportunities for self

and wage employment, vocational and skills training, entrepreneurship,

financial services (grants, VSLAs, microfinance, loans etc.) private

sector driven value chains in camps and settlements as well as undertaking

cost to benefit analysis of the different technologies

Roll-out the livelihoods sector

beneficiary targeting and selection guideline and standard operation

procedures across all the settlements together with IPs and OPs as well as

advise UNHCR and partners on appropriate livelihood targeting strategies,

bearing in mind the GoU/WFP/Uganda operation shared policy position on

time-targeting, resource and other constraints

Oversee the implementation of surveys and

analysis (such as socio-economic assessments, labour market surveys,

market analysis) that would inform planning and decision making for UNHCR

Uganda

Coordinate the piloting of UNHCRs

livelihoods graduation approach in Uganda in close collaboration with the

livelihoods unit at UNHCR HQ and Trickle Up

Oversee the development and implementation

of an in-country monitoring and evaluation system for livelihoods, with

the assistance of the Uganda Country Office and Livelihoods Unit at UNHCR

HQ

The incumbent will assess capacity

building needs and provide training to UNHCR staff, government

counterparts and partners, with assistance from the Livelihoods Unit

The jobholder will explore strategic

partnerships that would assist UNHCR in mobilizing resources and

effectively advocating for an enabling environment for implementation of

livelihoods initiatives. This would include initiatives with the OPM, WFP,

JICA, IKEA, WB

Take lead in knowledge development and

management to ensure that there is effective sharing of information

amongst stakeholders in the livelihoods and Humanitarian sector as well as

establishing clear linkages with existing initiatives such as ReHoPE

Responsible for submission of regular

reporting to the Country Office

Key Performance Indicators:

Monitoring & Progress:

Socio-economic assessments of settlements in Uganda completed -Market

analysis of settlements in Uganda completed

UNHCR Uganda livelihoods strategy

finalised and implemented

Livelihoods components of ReHoPE

implemented

OPM-WFP-UNHCR Joint Project for

Self-Reliance implemented

Partnerships with WFP, WB, JICA, IKEA,

USAID operationalised

Graduation pilot is implemented with

Trickle Up

Harmonised livelihoods M&E framework

is established to inform decision-making

Knowledge and information on livelihoods

mainstreamed throughout UNHCR programmes, and UNHCR and IP staff are aware

of current policies, theories and best practices Accurate reports and

statistics timely submitted



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate for the United Nations

UNHCR Livelihoods Officer job opportunity should hold a Masters degree in

Economics, socio-economic development, development planning, rural

development, or other related fields

At least eight years experience (with at

least 4 years at international level) of previous job experience relevant

to the function, both in humanitarian and development contexts.

Strategic planning as well as field

experience in similar settings is essential

Working knowledge and experience with

agricultural production and marketing, and non-farm income generating

activities

Previous experience in planning,

implementing, and monitoring livelihoods programmes in an international

context and managing multiple projects

Previous exposure and experience in

planning for results and measuring results in livelihoods programmes,

preferably with experience in designing livelihoods survey instruments

Knowledge of latest developments in the

livelihoods sector, and in-depth knowledge of at least 2 technical

sub-sectors in livelihoods in addition to agriculture and rural

development (e.g. microfinance, vocational training and technical education,

entrepreneurship building, cash assistance, community development,

employment services, etc)

Previous experience in design,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation of livelihoods and development

projects

Prior experience in coordinating and undertaking

assessments, surveys and facilitating strategic planning processes

Previous exposure and experience in

managing, supervising and providing technical leadership to field based

project staff is highly desired

Experience working with the private sector

and entrepreneurship is an added advantage

Excellent communication (both written and

spoken) skills and networking abilities in communicating relevant

information to a variety of audiences for advocating UNHCRs mandate

Ability to work independently, with minimal supervision while delivering

high quality results for UNHCR Uganda

Previous work experience in East Africa or

Uganda highly desired

Fluent in written and spoken English;

knowledge of local languages will be an added advantage

How to Apply:

All interested Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are

encouraged to click on the link below and follow the application instructions

after reviewing the job details.

th June 2017 Deadline: 15June 2017
IT services major Infosys, which on Tuesday announced its plans to hire 10,000 American workers and open four new technology centres in the US, aims to safeguard its interests there, while highlighting the fact that it is creating jobs in the North American country.

With this move the company also looks to protect itself from any uncertainties with regard to the H1B visas, which may come up in the near future. Though people on H1B visas work on a lesser salary and are flexible to shifting locations in the US, Infosys will not only need to pay the local American workers more, but will also need to re-skill some of them if required.

Experts say currently the company has around 20,000 employees in the US, of which more than 50 per cent are on H1B visas, while the rest are local American workers. Currently, the wage difference between an H1B visa holder and local American worker is not much. An H1B visa holder draws close to $70,000-80,000 annually, whereas an American worker draws around $95,000 to $100,000. Plus, the company also has to incur charges on the H1B visas every three years, which comes between $8,000-10,000, including legal and processing charges. If we look closely at the wage difference, it is around 16 to 20 per cent between an H1B visa holder and a local American worker. I broadly feel that it may not make much of a difference for Infosys as it needs to keep a firm foothold in the American market from where majority of its revenues come in, said Amit Chandra, IT analyst at Mumbai-based HDFC Securities.

As far as setting up of local technology centres in the US is concerned, experts say though it is a costly affair, it is also a business requirement for the company as it is working on many digital transformation projects that require proximity to the clients in the US. Many of the new contracts which Infosys has are short-time, three to four-year digital transformation contracts, which require increasing onsite presence on part of Infosys. More face-to-face interactions with their clients is required for digital contracts and these centres will fulfill those requirements. The affect of all these expenditures on Infosys will be visible over the next few quarters, as earlier Infosys was successful in getting high margins but its average margins are likely to come down to around 25 per cent, added Chandra.

On the other hand, experts such as Kris Lakshmikanth of recruiting firm Head Hunters India Limited feel the cost of hiring an American worker equals to almost four workers in India. On an average, a person with the same capability in the US will be available for an average salary of around Rs 52 lakh per annum, around $83,000-85,000. Whereas, in India, a person with the same capability will be paid around Rs 12-15 lakh per annum. It is very clear that Infosys does not have any choice as the pressure to hire local people is coming not only from the US but in other countries such as Australia, the UK and even West Asia. In order to survive in the US market, Infosys needs to show that it is creating jobs in the local market even if it comes at a high cost, said Lakshmikanth.
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar said that government should set up mobile toilets every five hundred metres or at least one km across Maharashtra.

Speaking at 'Transform Maharashtra' event in Mumbai, Kumar said, "Government should plan (putting up) mobile toilets every 500 meters or one km across the state. It will support cleanliness. It should be supported with an app to locate it (the nearest mobile toilet)."

Women in rural areas face a lot of difficulties as there are hardly any public toilets in villages, the actor said.

Kumar, whose coming film deals with the issue of lack of toilets, cited a dialogue from the film, "Agar biwi chahiye paas, toh ghar me chahiye Sandaas (if you want the wife to stay with you, ensure you have toilet at home)."

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the event.
A day after accusing senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas of conspiring to break the party, Delhi legislator Amanatullah Khan on Monday night resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC).

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener, had called a PAC meeting to discuss the issues that arose after the allegations levelled by Okhla MLA Khan on Sunday against Vishwas.

Khan reached Kejriwal's residence, where the PAC meet was being held, tendered his resignation from the PAC and left.

"Amanatullah Khan has resigned from the party's PAC and his resignation has been accepted," Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters after the meeting.

Vishwas, a founder member of the AAP, did not turn up for the PAC meet.

Sisodia said that Kejriwal was "unhappy" with both Amanatullah and Vishwas in so far in the way they raised the issue outside the party fora.

"In the PAC it was discussed that the party leaders including the MLAs should exercise restraint while making remarks," Sisodia said, while urging party workers "to believe in the party's leadership" and talk to Kejriwal before "engaging in such statements and remarks or issue any video".

He said some PAC members expressed anger against what Khan said regarding Vishwas and his absence from the meeting was also a matter of discussion there.

"He (Vishwas) is also giving interviews, statements and releasing videos outside party fora and Arvind (Kejriwal) is hurt that some people are giving statements outside the party."

"I want to say that there's no need to give statements outside, if anyone has complaint against anyone else, then we all are here, Arvindji is here," Sisodia added.

He further said such incidents would affect the party and the people of Delhi, and added that the AAP government has three years remaining and have a long way to go.

"We have to work on projects like CCTV, WiFi, schools and fix the health system of Delhi but because of these minuscule incidents, party workers get discouraged," Sisodia told reporters.

Vishwas had asked the party to introspect after party's debacle in the municipal polls.

Before the civic polls, the AAP suffered jolts in Punjab and Goa assembly election. While it failed to open an account in Goa, it didn't make much of an impact in Punjab.

Khan on Sunday said Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and had asked some legislators to join the BJP with an offer of Rs 30 crore each.

Khan's remarks came after Vishwas in a TV interview on Friday said the party won't hesitate in taking a call on change in its leadership after its poor show in Delhi municipal polls.

Kejriwal on Sunday has denied any rift with Vishwas after Khan accused the latter of trying to break the party at the BJP's behest.
Hours after five policemen and two Jammu and Kashmir bank officials were killed in a militant attack in Kulgam in south Kashmir, Election Commission of India cancelled the Lok Sabha bypolls for Anantnag that was to be held on May 25.

The cancellation marks a new low for Kashmir, especially in southern parts, under the PDP-BJP government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Election in the constituency was originally to be held on April 13, but was postponed after Tassaduq Hussian MuftiPDP's candidate for Anantnag and brother of Mehboobaappealed to the commission to postpone the polls for fear of civilian deaths due to violence as was witnessed during bypolls in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Eight civilians were killed and only 7.13 per cent voters showed up.

Tassaduq's main opponent was Congress' G.A. Mir who enjoyed the support of the NC. The Congress and the NC had joined ranks against the PDP for bypolls in Srinagar and Anantnag.

But, after Tuesday's attack on police, bypolls for Anantnag were cancelled indefinitely.

The cancellation of the elections brought relief to the PDP supporters, but starkly highlighted the failure of the government to maintain order.

The support for the PDP declined considerably in party's stronghold of south Kashmir after it decided to form the government with the BJP, deemed communal in Kashmir.

The fear of violence during elections in Anantnag feared prominently in meetings between security and civil officers.

All 1500 polling booths in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency, comprising all four districts in south Kashmir, were marked as hyper-sensitive.

Sources said the security and government officials feared the killings in violence during elections in Anantnag could be four to fives more than Srinagar.

Attacks have increased on political workers in south Kashmir, mostly those affiliated with PDP.

The militants also harassed the families of the policemen in many parts of the south Kashmir.

This has created a scare among the political workers, many of who migrated to safer places like Srinagar.

Last month, militants barged into the house of a political worker at Soaf Shali village in Kokernag area of Anantnag severely thrashed him. They asked him to tender an apology for being affiliated with a mainstream party or face the consequences.

Hours before, militants had shot dead a political worker, Bashir Ahmad Dar, and injured another, Altaf Ahmad Dar, in their homes at Qasbayar village of Rajpora, Pulwama.

In April, militants threatened at least 20 workers of different political outfits and asked them to dissociate themselves from mainstream politics.

Several videos of political workers tendering an apology for their links with the mainstream have been uploaded in social media.

Mounting attacks on police led the DGP SP Vaid to issue an advisory to policemen to desist from visiting their families in south Kashmir for a few months.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, one of the banned outfits in Bangladesh, has called for scrapping of India-Bangladesh military deal recently signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

Posters and pamphlets were distributed late night in Dhakas Gulshan area, where ISIS strikes took place in 2016.

The documents, written by Hizb ul-Tahrir, in possession of THE WEEK, says, Muslim brothers, Bangladesh's defence deal with India is illegitimate. Just oppose it, refuse it, stand against it to block the deal at any cost.

Modi and Hasina signed agreements for 22 deals, including a $500 million line of credit for Bangladesh .

The organisation believed that the present government in India is a killer of Muslims.

Allah has asked us not to make any kind of arrangement with the Kafir. So the need of the hour is to block the deal.

The organisation, established in late 2000, supported a coup attempt by a section of Bangladesh army in 2011. It has a significant support base among the educated class of Bangladesh and has preached a path similar to neo-JMB in Bangladesh. Though it has not allied with JMB yet, Hizb ut-Tahrir had established its presence by killing one Hindu blogger in Bangladeshs DhakaAnanta Bijoy Das.

The organisation calls India imperialist. The organisation also alleged that USA played the role of mediator between India and Bangladesh.

US meddled in the deal. We will not accept such mediatory role. India will have to stop its imperialist behaviour.

Hizb ut-Tahrir confirmed that it was working for a caliphate in Bangladesh and it would also try to convert the entire India into an Islamic state as it has opened its branch in India as well, mainly in West Bengal.

Asked to reply about the posters being spread in Dhaka, Bangladesh police commissioner Asadujjaman Mia said, We will deal with it.
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh has created fresh controversy by saying that assembly election in West Bengal will be held in 2019 along with Lok Sabha election.

Ghosh did not elaborate, but explained, The situation in West Bengal is grim. There is no development and appeasement politics is growing. The entire political party is corrupt. People within the government want a change.

BJP had earlier sought a joint assembly and Lok Sabha election to cut down expenses. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had voiced his opinion in favour of it. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also supported the call and said that elections every year caused hindrances for the development programme.

But this time, Trinamool Congress has issued a sharp attack against the West Bengal BJP presidents remark. Partha Chatterjee, secretary general of the party, said, Let them try to do that. We would give our reply. Our new government has not completed even a year.

Speculation is rife that some Congress and Trinamool Congress leaders may join BJP. Ghosh claimed that about one third of the present MLAs are in touch with the BJP. In fact, veteran Congress leader Somen Mitra and Arunabha Ghosh had met BJP leader Locket Chatterjee in the presence of MP and Saradha scam accused Kunal Ghosh, who has been suspended from Trinamool Congress.

Amit Shah had, during his visit to Bengal, categorically said that BJP would not be the safe haven for scam tainted people. But the meeting of senior Congress leaders in the presence of Ghosh has raised doubts.

A state committee leader of the BJP in Kolkata said, None is called guilty unless he is declared same by the court. We would not take any convicted leader.
The sensitive border state of Jammu and Kashmir is on a crossroads once again.

The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre hardened its stand that it will not hold talks with the separatist leaders in the Valley. The BJP's message to its alliance partner in the state, PDP, is unambiguousthat the Centre is not going to climb down on its position of not engaging in talks with the separatists or "pro-azadi" groups.

The government has also clarified its position in the Supreme Court. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the apex court, "We will talk to only those persons who are legally permitted to do so on behalf of the people of Kashmir. The Centre will only talk to recognised political parties in Jammu and Kashmir."

Consequently, BJP president Amit Shah directed party leaders in Jammu and Kashmir to single out anti-India and separatist elements to bring normalcy to the Valley which has been in turmoil since Ramzan last year. This adds a new dimension to the worsening situation in the state which has been witnessing even schoolgirls in uniform resorting to stone pelting.

While a gender barrier might have been broken, it was also a defining image of the continuing disturbances in the only Muslim majority state in the country. The message that the youth sends is clearthey are not afraid of death.

Maintaining law and order being the responsibility of the state government, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been found wanting in providing a healing touch, leading to a drift which can lead to another dangerous turn.

PDP founder and the late chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had no option but to do the impossible. He endeavoured to bring the PDP and BJP together which was unacceptable to a large section in his own party. Mufti himself described the arrangement as "doing the impossible of bringing the North Pole and the South Pole together."

However, Shah, who was on a two-day tour of the state last week as part of his countrywide Vistar Yatra spread over 95 days in the run up to the 2019 general elections, affirmed there is no question of compromising on the core ideology of the party.

"The nation, not the government is the priority of the BJP," Shah reportedly told legislators at a closed door meeting, making it clear that the party will not hesitate to make sacrifices for the sake of the nation. The BJP chief is also believed to have underlined that "There is no conflict of interest between Jammu and the Valley. Those are all our own people. We should know their problems and address them on priority basis."

While the prime minister's security centric approach in Jammu and Kashmir has failed, it is clear that democracy can only be restored by ensuring the participation of Kashmiris in governance. At the same time, there is the need for social and political inclusion.

There is no doubt that people have lost their trust in politicians who promised bijli, sadak, pani during the 2014 election campaign and then turned to finding a solution to the protracted Kashmir tangle.

Mehbooba Mufti's much awaited meeting with Modi and Union Home minister Rajnath Singh recently belied the expectations of a substantial initiative. The chief minister's brief was to restore peace in the Valley within the next 90 days. The ball was back in her court.

Even though the BJP has had some impressive electoral victories this year, 2017 poses a fresh and formidable challenge in Jammu and Kashmir. Any retaliation at the stone pelting youth will have serious ramifications. At the same time, leaders from the state are promoting their own interests.

Immediately after the Srinagar bypoll where the turnout was at an all time low of two per cent, former chief minister Farooq Abdullah wanted Governor's rule to be imposed in the state. Despite their irreconcilable differences, both the alliance partners are against Governor's rule.

Considering the inevitable fault lines in the PDP-BJP coalition government, the mood has changed radically in the Valley. Matters have gone from bad to worse in the last one year with unabated stone pelting and people deliberately refusing to exercise their franchise. The misguided youth are not being advised or cajoled to return to school rather than stoning the security personnel.

While the Modi government wants to impose its own idea of India in the Valley, the pull of radical Islam from outside has brought fresh challenges to the struggle of Kashmiriat in the Valley. While the Centre has inexplicably lost the opportunity in evolving effective counter strategies during the pause in winter, the real challenge for the political leadership is in overcoming the unrelenting resistance.

(The writer is a senior journalist and commentator)
In a development bound to turn the heat on liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing money laundering charges, a joint team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) reached London on Tuesday.

The team is in London to assist in expediting the money laundering case against Mallya.

Earlier on April 18, Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard in London on an extradition warrant by India, however, was granted bail.

Following Mallya's arrest, the Scotland Yard issued a statement saying that the absconding businessman was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.

"Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit have this morning, Tuesday 18 April arrested a man on an extraction warrant. He was arrested after attending a central London police station, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later today, 18 April," read the official statement of the Scotland Yard.

His arrest came after a Delhi court had issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against Mallya in connection with the 1995 FERA violation case.

Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that Mallya's extradition has been stratified by the Secretary of State of the U.K. Government and added that a warrant would soon be released against him.
A day after Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Pir Panchal Valleys Poonch district, defence experts on Tuesday said the Centre needs to act aggressively against Pakistan. They added that such incidents will lower the morale of the soldiers.

We must not say that our policy is that once we are attacked we will retaliate. That is what is happening. Our soldiers morale is decreasing. We have to be extremely aggressive, defence expert Praful Bakshi told ANI. He further said India must declare that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) is ours.

We should have the courage of conviction to stand by it and start the action accordingly. We know from where these terrorists are coming, so start action on that, he added.

Bakshi asserted that Pakistan has the guts to do such atrocities because India is not taking proper action. They are giving instructions to their soldiers and getting their job done. This is absolutely not acceptable, he added.

Another defence expert Ranjeet Rai said Pakistan has got the guts to implement such plans because in their democracy nobody will be taken to task.

In the last six months this is the second time mutilation of soldiers has taken place. It is most unarmy like. However, Pakistan is in a desperate state. India is not willing to talk to them, he added.

The Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack on Monday. They first fired rockets and followed it up with firing from automatic weapons near Kranti Post located in Poonchs Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 am.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley termed the mutilation a reprehensible and an inhuman act and said such acts don't even take place during war let alone peace.

The attack triggered a major exchange of fire on the LoC and Indian troops resorted to small arms fire and mortar shelling, said an Army official.

The deceased were identified as Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar of the 200 Battalion and the Armys Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment. Another BSF jawan was also injured.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army denied the alleged ceasefire violation or the mutilation of bodies.

Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on LoC as alleged by India. The Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers is also false, M. Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson of Pakistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tweeted.

The fresh attack from Pakistan comes just a day after its chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he pledged support to the rightful political struggle of Kashmiris.
Family of gang-rape accused former Samajwadi Party(SP) minister Gayatri Prajapati approached Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking justice. Prajapati is presently in jail.

Unfortunately, they could not meet the chief minister. His wife Maharshi Devi said, though we could not meet the chief minister, a minister present there spoke in a very friendly manner. However, as long as we do not get justice, we will keep coming here.

His daughter Sudha said, "My father is innocent. My family has ample proof. He has been falsely implicated."

The family attended janta darbar on Monday.

Prajapati was charged with gang-raping a woman and sexually exploiting her teenage daughter. As directed by the Supreme Court, the police had arrested him in April. A POCSO court had granted him bail, but the police arrested him again in two other cases of land-grabbing.

When SP was in power, Gayatri could elude the law on account of his being a minister. Though Gayatri was never in the good books of then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the latter could not touch him, given the Prajapati's proximity to SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Narendra Modi's South Asian satellite, a gift he promised South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations soon after he became the prime minister, will be launched on Friday evening from Sriharikota.

There is a great hush hush about the event, with speculation rife that Modi himself might attend the launch, and perhaps there might be representatives of other countries, too. Or will the prime minister address the nation from his office in Delhi after the launch, the way he did after the launch of the final of the navigation satellite, which he then named Navic? There is no official news yet. The launch was scheduled for April end. So, is the one week delay because Isro was working out available dates with the prime minister?

The satellite, a 2k class one (actual weight is 2,230 kg) is among the larger satellites that the Indian Space Research Organistion (Isro) has launched. It is a communication satellite, and Modi, in his latest Mann ki Baat had elaborated on how it could improve connectivity in the region. Telecommunication, direct to home television and telemedicine are some of the obvious uses of the satellite, though the ISRO says that it is up to the imagination of countries on what creative uses they can come up with. Hotlines between partner countries is also another obvious possibility.

The satellite, which has taken three years to be completed, has got the active participation of Sri Lanka Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh. Bangladesh joined in days before the visit of its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India. Pakistan had, in 2016, formally opted out of the partnership, saying it has its own space programme, thus the name of the satellite had to be changed from Saarc to South Asian. The agreement with Afghanistan is not through yet, though the ministry of external affairs says only some technical details need to be sorted before inking the deal.

While India is the leader in space in the region, some other Saarc nations too have budding space ambitions. While they may not be launching the satellites themselves, Afghanistan already has a communication satellite, and Sri Lanka has more than one, launched by China. Bangladesh is planning to launch its own satellite this year, and Nepal to have two shortly. Bhutan and Maldives therefore will be the largest beneficiaries of this Rs 230 crore gift.

Isro has placed 12 transponders in the satellite, each country will have access to at least one of them. While Isro will maintain the satellite, its use depends on how individual countries plan their communication programmes around it. The satellite should be active for at least 12 years. Indeed, it will be the use of the satellite which will finally decide whether Modi's gift is well received.

The satellite will be launched aboard the heavy vehicle the GSLV Mk II, with a part cryogenic engine. While India has had successful launches with the GSLV of late, its earlier failures with GSLV always makes every launch of this fleet a nail biting one. India's reputation as a space leader will ride aboard the vehicle, along with the launch. Isro officials are confident of success of the launch. They have declared the GSLV Mk II as a motorable vehicle'' .
I will build a great, great wall. Nobody builds walls better than me, believe me. The wall that US President Donald Trump constantly alludes to, is a physical one, to separate Mexico doesn't look like that's happening anytime soon. Even with a friendly Congress, $10 billion is a lot of money to find, especially as Mexico has made it clear, it is not going to pay, now or ever.



Trump, however, is well on his way to building another kind of walla virtual one that will insulate the US from the winds of global enterprise and innovation. Chances are, he will succeed here; indeed it is surprising he didn't notch this up, as a success of his first 100 days in office, a landmark he passed last week. The reason he will succeed in his plans to tighten America's visa rules and tweak them in a way that will mostly affect Indians is this: bashing 'foreigners', essentially Indians for unemployment woes in the US is , by now, a familiar game played by both leading political parties at election time to rouse the natives to fury. Remember Barack Obama who during his second presidential re-election campaign famously called for companies to "Say no to Bangalore and yes to Buffalo? His phrase was great on alliteration; not so hot on fact: You can get a competent engineer or two, or two thousand , for the asking, in Bangalore. Buffalo may be a great base to find guides and transportation, if you want to do the Niagara Falls. But a significant source of HTML geeks or cloud computing experts? Sorry, inquire elsewhere.



Current hysteria, nicely fanned by all sections of the US political spectrum, that H-1B visa holders and their sponsors are somehow cheating, by the very act of applying is a carefully crafted lie. The idea that they are snatching sustenance out of the mouths of thousands of American workers, benched or jobless, because of these invading hordes of techies is dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric. NASSCOM and other voices of the India-based tech industry, have calmly provided the real numbers that show that at least half of all H1-B visas allotted to Indians went to non-Indian companies. In fact only 1 in 5 of such visas are used by Indian corporate entities. And whose idea was it to turn the grant of visas into an unscientific lottery? The same US agencies who are now touting more professional ways of dealing with the applications. Is it entirely coincidental that the threatening noises made by US lawmakers, was accompanied almost immediately by similar macho visa measures targeting Indian professionals in the UK, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand?



Now what of the approximately 85,000 professionals, mainly from India and China who now work in the US, on visas extended from year to year, often for a decade or more, with the constant uncertainty about their chances of attaining resident status for themselves and their families? The coming of Trump has in a sense legitimised the attacks and insults that such communities of 'foreigners' have increasingly borne. Since December last year, the number of Indians in US tech industries who have started a job search back home, has increased 10-fold, according to a survey by Deloitte. This is driven by rising despair, under the current climate of xenophobia, and doubts if they will ever make it to resident or Green Card status. This, is in spite of giving their entire professional life and making huge personal sacrifices to work for the US of A. Entrepreneur and academic Prof Vivek Wadhwa, of Duke University, estimates that 15 per cent of all startups in the US Silicon valleythe 60 km belt in California from San Francisco to San Joseare founded by Indians. And if you consider just startups created by non Americans, one in three is the work of an Indian; a significant contribution to the American economy and innovation, about which the US political dispensation of all hues, develops convenient amnesia. Perhaps someone should remind them. The self-serving line handed out by US law makers who have made it their business to 'clean up' the H1-B visa system, implies that Indian IT companies are bending the law, by bringing in low paid workers.



US corporate immigration expert Erin Green estimated that the average Indian IT worker in the US brought in using a visa like H1-B, is paid about $65,000 to 70,000 a year which is above the minimum wage of $60,000 set by the US government. NASSCOM said the average pay of H1-B visa holders is even higher$82,000. So the myth of the cheap Indian, taking away jobs from qualified Americans by working for peanuts is just that a myth that the US government is happy to perpetuate. Nor are the Indian engineers in the US, the bottom-of-the-class kind that US officialdom would have you believe. For almost 40 years now, India has sent her best and brightest to the US, and let us admit, at some cost to our own economy. But then this is a free country and no one stops an IITian or any other graduate from moving anywhere for professional betterment.



Fortunately, Indians who went to the US to study and stayed on to get a job commensurate with their skills, have generally found technology companies ready to hire the best, regardless of where they come from. That has been the biggest strength of the American Way. And the cream of this talent has risen to the top of some of America's most iconic institutions. Shall we count? Ajay Bhatt, the principal inventor of the USB standard remains a Chief Scientist at Intel after two decades. Vinod Dham was another Intel luminary, and the 'father' of the Pentium processor. Arogyaswami Paulraj, the author of key standards in MIMOMultiple In, Multiple Outthe technology at the root of all wireless communication today, is considered to be the "Father of WiMax". He did all his key work at Stanford University and continues to reside in Palo Alto as Emeritus Professor in Electrical Engineering, inspiring and guiding a generation of American students. Sabeer Bhatia created the world's first free email serviceHotmail before Microsoft bought him out. Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems and is today a key investor and catalyst in dozens of US-based tech companies.



And what about Indians who head or are at the top of large US corporations? Satya Nadella heads Microsoft. Sundar Pichai heads Google and just two days ago we learnt that the company doubled his annual takeaway to $200 million in appreciation. Adobe has been headed by Shantanu Narayen for many years and at HP, Vyomesh Joshi led the printing and imaging group for over 20 years and was credited with turning the business around in difficult times. Padmasree Warrior has led tech teams with distinction as CTO, first at Motorola, then at Cisco. Sanjay Jha was the top guy for mobility at Motorola before he moved on. Need one go on? Even for a casual visitor, the Indian presence in the Silicon Valley is palpable. Drive down, south from San Francisco to San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Cupertino, till you end up in San Jose. Indians are part of the very DNA of this hotbed of US technology. And they have created their own ecosystem of commerceSatkar in Sunnyvale, Darbar Indian Cuisine of Palo Alto, Sakoon of Mountain View, Nawabi Hyderabad House of San Jose. I went past most of these eateries in just one ride on my last visit to the Valley. And the scenario is hardly different in other US tech clusters in Texas, Oregon and New Jersey.



After decades of service at the Prussian court of Frederick the Great, the French writer-philosopher Voltaire, found himself unceremoniously cast aside. In a memorable phrase, he lamented to the King: "You have sucked the orange dry; now you throw away the rind." Indian professionals who gave their entire profession to the US with the hope of eventually making it their home, can be excused if they feel likewise. One of them to whom I spoke, had probably never heard of Voltaire, and used more earthy language to express his frustration. "They harnessed our skills as long as it served them," he said, "Now they cast us aside like so many used condoms."
US President Donald Trump on Monday opened the door to meeting North Korea's Kim Jong Un, saying he would be honored to meet the young leader under the right circumstances, even as Pyongyang suggested it would continue its nuclear weapons tests.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News, comments that drew criticism in Washington.

"Under the right circumstances I would meet with him," Trump said.

Trump did not say what conditions would need to be met for any such meeting to occur or when it could happen, but the White House later said North Korea would need to meet many conditions before a meeting could be contemplated. "Clearly conditions are not there right now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

"I dont see this happening anytime soon," Spicer added.

Trump, who took office in January, had said during his presidential campaign he would be willing to meet with Kim.

His administration has since said North Korea must agree to abandon its nuclear and missile programmes and has sought to pressure Pyongyang economically and diplomatically while insisting that military options remain "on the table."

On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the United Nations Security Council that Washington would not negotiate with North Korea. US Vice President Mike Pence, earlier on Monday, said Trump had made clear "that the era of strategic patience is over."

Later on Monday, a US State Department spokeswoman said in a statement: The United States remains open to credible talks on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula; however conditions must change before there is any scope for talks to resume, adding that North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

Despite that, Trump's statement that he would be "honored" to meet Kim as well as his description of the young North Korean leader over the weekend as "a pretty smart cookie" sparked fresh concern over his approach to North Korea.

"I don't see much coherence in the Trump administration's statements," said Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "If there is to be any hope of getting Kim Jong Un back to the negotiating table to discuss denuclearisation, the US has to articulate a clear position."

John Sifton, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Trump had established a troubling pattern of paying compliments to foreign leaders with shaky human rights or autocratic reputations. "You don't have to be a psychologist to see that he admires leaders who ignore the rule of law," he said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by fears the North might conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the April 15 anniversary of its state founder's birth.

Early on Monday, North Korea said it would bolster its nuclear force "to the maximum" in a "consecutive and successive way at any moment" in the face of what it calls US aggression and hysteria.

North Korea, technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea and has said it will pursue its nuclear and missile programmes to counter perceived US aggression.

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to waters off the Korean peninsula to join drills with South Korea to counter a series of threats of destruction from North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"Now that the US is kicking up the overall racket for sanctions and pressure against the DPRK, pursuant to its new DPRK policy called 'maximum pressure and engagement', the DPRK will speed up at the maximum pace the measure for bolstering its nuclear deterrence," a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by its official KCNA news agency.

North Korea's "measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership," the spokesman said.

Reclusive North Korea has carried out five nuclear tests and a series of missile tests in defiance of UN Security Council and unilateral resolutions. It has been conducting tests at an unprecedented rate and is believed to have made progress in developing intermediate-range and submarine-launched missiles.

It test-launched a missile on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful but which nevertheless drew widespread international condemnation.

South Korean missile defences

Separately, South Korea said the United States had reaffirmed it would shoulder the cost of deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to counter the North Korean threat, days after Trump said Seoul should pay for the $1 billion battery.

In a telephone call on Sunday, Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, reassured his South Korean counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, that the US alliance with South Korea was its top priority in the Asia-Pacific region, the South's presidential office said.

The THAAD system in South Korea has reached an initial operating capability to defend against North Korean missiles, US officials said on Monday. It would not be fully operational for some months, however, one of them cautioned.

The THAAD deployment has drawn protests from China, which says the powerful radar that can penetrate its territory will undermine regional security, and from residents of the area in which it is being deployed, worried they will be a target for North Korean missiles.

Over the weekend, Trump stepped up his outreach to allies in Asia to discuss the North Korean threat.

As part of that effort, he invited Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to meet in Washington, a move human rights organisations condemned but which the White House defended as necessary for countering North Korea.

Washington is also seeking more help from China, the North's only major ally, to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development. Unlike the United States, Beijing has pushed for talks first and action later on North Korea.

"The United States has ... negotiated, had talks, waited patiently. All the while we've seen the regime in North Korea continue its headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons, and a ballistic missile programme. And the president said that's over," Pence told CBS News in an interview.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday dropped its longstanding call for Israel's destruction, but said it still rejected the country's right to exist and backs "armed struggle" against it.

In a policy document presented in Doha by its leader Khaled Meshaal, Hamas also said it would end its association with the Muslim Brotherhood, a move apparently aimed at improving ties with Gulf Arab states and Egypt, which view the Brotherhood as a terrorist group.

Israel responded to the announcement by accusing Hamas of trying to "fool the world", while the group's main Palestinian political rival, the Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas, also reacted coolly to the policy shift.

The publication of the policy document comes two days before Abbas is due to visit Washington, and days after President Donald Trump told Reuters he may travel to Israel this month and sees no reason why there should not be peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"We don't want to dilute our principles but we want to be open. We hope this (document) will mark a change in the stance of European states towards us," Meshaal told reporters.

Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, said in the document it agreed to a transitional Palestinian state within the borders of 1967, when Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a war with Arab states. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

"Hamas advocates the liberation of all of Palestine but is ready to support the state on 1967 borders without recognising Israel or ceding any rights," said Meshaal, in a shift that brings Hamas more into line with the position of Fatah.

'Terror tunnels'

Israel said the document aimed to deceive the world that Hamas was becoming more moderate.

"Hamas is attempting to fool the world but it will not succeed," said David Keyes, a person for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians. This is the real Hamas."

Founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Egyptian Islamist movement, Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2007 and has carried out hundreds of armed attacks in Israel and in Israeli-occupied territories.

Many Western countries classify Hamas as a terrorist group over its failure to renounce violence, recognise Israel's right to exist and accept existing interim Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.

Meshaal said Hamas's fight was not against Judaism as a religion but against what he called "aggressor Zionists".

Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasme upbraided Hamas for taking decades to join Fatah in accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, a position Hamas used to criticise Fatah for.

"Hamas's new document is identical to that taken by Fatah in 1988. Hamas is required to make an apology to Fatah after 30 years of accusing us of treason for that policy," Qawasme said.

It remained unclear whether the document replaces Hamas's 1988 charter, which calls for Israels destruction. Meshaal said the document would "guide Hamas's daily political activity".

Abbas's Palestinian Authority has engaged in peace talks with Israel on the basis of seeking a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, although the last, US-mediated round collapsed three years ago.

There was no immediate comment on Monday from Egypt and Gulf Arab states to the Hamas document.

"For Hamas ... it's a signal of their desire to align with conservative Sunni elements in the region and create some immunity (from Saudi pressure)," said Beverley Milton-Edwards, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Centre and author of a book on Hamas.

But while the document could strengthen Hamas's position in the Palestinian Territories and the Middle East, she said, it was unlikely to lead "to any definitive swing in opinion in the group's favor in the United States or even Europe."

Meshaal said Hamas remained part of the Muslim Brotherhood's "intellectual school" but was "an independent Palestinian organisation".

US-allied Arab states including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation. The 89-year-old Brotherhood held power in Egypt for a year after a popular uprising in 2011, but was then removed by the army after mass street protests.

The Brotherhood denies links with Islamist militants and advocates Islamist political parties winning power through elections, which Saudi Arabia considers a threat to its system of absolute power through inherited rule.
Shurhozelie Liezietsu, 80, took oath as the chief minister of Nagaland on February 22, three days after his predecessor, T.R. Zeliang, was forced to step down amid protests by tribal organisations against the state governments decision to reserve 33 per cent seats in urban local bodies for women.

In his first extensive and exclusive interview since taking charge, Liezietsu told THE WEEK that his government was not in conflict with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), the insurgent group that runs a parallel government in Hebron, a small region deep in the Naga jungle. Dominated by Baptist Christians, Hebron is the headquarters of the NSCN(IM). THE WEEKs exclusive cover story on the secret Naga state (Bullets and the Bible, April 23) had caught the attention of authorities, including the Nagaland government.

Liezietsu said he wanted an early political solution to the insurgency. He opened up about a host of issues, including the status of the framework peace accord signed by the Union government and the NSCN(IM) in 2015, and how the state government, led by the Naga Peoples Front (NPF, of which he is chairman), was trying to reach out to all underground groups.

How committed is the Nagaland government to bringing about an early solution to the problem?

It has been the avowed stand of the NPF-led DAN [Democratic Alliance of Nagaland] government that the protracted Naga political problem should be resolved without further delay, since it has been hampering the development of the state. We have had enough bloodshed and violence. It is our sincere endeavour that the problem be resolved in our lifetime and not be handed down to the younger generation. We want posterity to march ahead with the rest of the world as proud equals.

The people are getting impatient, as hopes had risen with the signing of the framework agreement in 2015.

We have fully supported the framework agreement signed between the Government of India and the NSCN(IM) on August 3, 2015. But this does not mean we support only one Naga political group. Any settlement should be inclusive, since it is an undeniable fact that the Nagas have been fragmented into several groups. All these groups should be on board before any settlement is arrived at, [and] if we are to bring about a permanent and acceptable resolution to the Naga political problem.

My government has recently constituted a political affairs mission and it shall be our endeavour to reach out to all underground groups and appeal to them for unity and understanding. My message to the Naga people at this juncture would be to have a positive mind and to reciprocate the bold and determined moves of the Government of India to solve the problem once and for all.

The NSCN(IM) has been running a parallel government for many years. How is the state government dealing with this unique situation?

I wont say that the NSCN(IM) is running a parallel government in Nagaland, because the state government is the legal and constitutionally accepted government. The NSCN(IM) is a political entity which has been recognised by the Government of India. Talks are being held at the highest level; that is, at the prime ministers level.

It is good that the NSCN(IM) has entered into a framework agreement. But, what about the Khaplang faction of the NSCN and other groups that claim to represent the Nagas? They are not happy with the government holding talks with the NSCN(IM) alone.

Ever since the NSCN(K) abrogated the ceasefire with the Government of India, it has been the continued stand of my party and the government led by my party that it should reenter into ceasefire with the government and hold talks. We do not subscribe to violence of any sort and we do not believe that armed confrontation can bring about any solution.

We have sent several emissaries to Myanmar, with the knowledge of the Government of India, to ask Khaplang and his leaders to shun violence and come forward for resolution of any misunderstanding with the government. The political affairs mission is also tasked to approach NSCN(K) leaders to change their stance and heed the voice of the people.

People are paying taxes to NSCN outfits. Would you call it an act of extortion?

Voluntary contributions to underground outfits is not something new to the Naga people since the movement for self determination started as a peoples movement. There was a time when villagers even went to the extent of gathering volunteers to join the underground movement, and make arrangements for their monthly or yearly rations.

But, over the decades, with the fragmentation of the Naga people into various groups, there have been increasing incidences of demands on the public by the groups. These are treated as extortion. Strict vigil is kept and stern actions are taken against extortionists. Thanks to mass protests and growing awareness among the people, I should say the problem has largely been contained.

NSCN(K) has joined forces with other insurgent outfits like United Liberation Front of Asom and National Democratic Front of Bodoland. How do you intend to bring about peace in such a hostile situation?

We do not believe in violence in any form. Our endeavour is to persuade the NSCN(K) to renew the ceasefire agreement with the Government of India.

Do you think the demand of certain Naga outfits for sovereignty is justified? Will shared sovereignty be acceptable to Nagaland if such a solution is worked out?

Times have changed and so have political realities. We must appreciate and recognise the stand of the Government of India. We must be practical. Today, political sovereignty has been eclipsed by economic sovereignty. We must accept these realities. Shared sovereignty, or whatever arrangement that can be mutually beneficial and acceptable to the Government of India and the Naga people, should be worked out without further delay.
(by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times)

A visitor to Eretz Yisroel visited a Gadol and was told that he should daven vasikin in America as well. When he responded that his shul did not have one, he was told: So nu, start one. But should a shul with an on-going weekday minyan, establish a weekday Vasikin Minyan as well? Can he do so, if until now, the Rav did not? The following article discusses the Pros and Cons.

The Pros:

1] There is a concept called Zrizim makdimim lMitzvos  and it would give more people opportunities to fulfill this.

2] There is a concept called Mitzvah min HaMuvchar  and it would give more people opportunities to fulfill this.

3] The Gemorah (Brachos 9b) tells us that whomsoever davens vasikin  he will not come to be harmed that day.

4] The Gemorah further tells (ibid) us that one who does so is assured that he has a place in the world to come.

5] The Gemorah in Avodah Zarah (4a) indicates that with the rising of the sun there is a period of Divine anger, so to speak. Davening at this time, yiraucha im hashemesh minimizes this Divine anger (see Shemen Rosh of Vienner Rav, Parshas Noach). See also Yevamos 64a, where Tzaddikim accomplish this (see also Ramban in intro to Milchemes that Vasikin people are Tzaddikim). A Vasikin minyan will allow more people to minimize this anger.

6] According to the way the Mekubalim understand the Arizals Sefer HaKavanos (old edition page 50) there is no greater Maaleh- (ideal) than davening Vasikin.

7] The Ramban in his introduction to the Milchamos of Meseches Brachos states that a Tzaddik is one who davens vasikin.

8] The Mishna Brurah in his Biur Halacha (34:2 Yaniach) writes that if someone could have performed a Mitzvah in an ideal fashion and didnt is somewhat in violation of Bal Sigra  taking away from the Torah.

9] The Gemorah in Shabbos (63a) states that whomsoever fulfills a Mitzvah kmamarah (in its ideal way) even if Hashem had enacted a decree it will be torn up.

10] It has remarkable powers of Tefilah as seen from the Maharshas understanding of Chizkiyahu HaMelech (Brachos 10b). Chizkiyahus prayer was only answered (See Malachim II 20:5) because he davened Vasikin (according to the Maharsha cited in Binyan Av p. 368), even though his righteousness was such that the Gemorah in Sanhedrin (94b) tells us that every child was fully fluent in the intricate details of Tumah and Tahara.

The Cons:

1] It could jeopardize the general minyan, and certainly would weaken it. This would lessen the Brov am hadras melech  the greater the people is the greater glory to the King. The weekday minyan was first.

2] It could possibly cause a scheduling and parking nightmare.

3] It could possibly adversely affect the Daf Yomi and or other Shiurim.

4] It could cause people to establish a holier-than-thou attitude.

5] It might be a bit of a stumbling block to those that have a tendency toward OCD behavior.

6] Many fathers will not be davening with their children on Shabbos

7] As a result of #6, few friends of the Bar Mitzvah boy will be attending his Bar Mitzvah.

In our particular situation, one should not do so if the Rav is not behind it. He is aware more than others of the particular spiritual needs of his congregants. The Gadol, of course, only meant that it should be encouraged if the Rav feels it is appropriate.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
Police say a Jewish Israeli was shot while attempting to to stab Israeli security forces at a Jerusalem area checkpoint.

The man approached the Hizme Checkpoint and tried to stab security forces on duty, according to police.

Israeli troops opened fire, neutralizing him before he was able to stab anyone.

He was transported to a hospital in critical condition and died shortly after.

An investigation is underway as to why the man did this. Suicide is being considered by investigators.

The north Jerusalem crossing is closed until further notice.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times)

When everything is said and done, what really matters is our relationship with Hashem. Which is why the new Shaarei Yechezkel Siddur, containing the mussar and Machshava of Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zatzal, is so worthwhile. This siddur can literally transform our davening, opening up new gateways in our Avodas Hashem.

A BEAUTIFUL THOUGHT

It is out of order, but here is a typical example: There is a beautiful thought (page 103) in, Mechalkel chaim bchessed. The standard translation is that Hashem sustains life with chessed as an adverb. Rav Chatzkel explains that the word Chessed here is actually a noun. Therefore, how does Hashem sustain life? Not with bread  he sustains us with the concept of Chessed.

RAV CHATZKEL

Rav Chatzkel ztl was the mashgiach ruchani of the Mir Yeshiva, in Poland and in Shanghai during the war. Later he became the Mashgiach of the Ponovech Yeshiva. He had learned in Kelm and at Radin, thus being a Talmid of both Rav Simchah Zissels son and of the Chofetz Chaim. His son was Reb Nochum Velvel Ztzl and his son in law wasReb Hirsh Broyde Ztzl.

This Siddur, compiled by Rav Chatzkels grandson, Rabbi Yehudah Leib Ginzburg of Lakewood, contains remarkable nuggets culled from the vast Mussar oeuvre of this giant of Mussar thought. He took material from letters, seforim, lectures, pamphlets. It is clear that this grandson has a full mastery of his illustrious grandfathers writings.

INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS

As a general introduction, we are treated to thirteen insights from the Mashgiach about Tefilah  all of them serving to inspire us further.

 Tefilah is Rosh haMidos! What is Tefilah? It is self-effacement and unpretentiousness  the opposite of hubris  and this is everything!

 Let us not make our requests in Tefillah on account of our past actions. Rather, it should be requested as a matnas chinam  a free gift! This is what Tefillah is all about.

 Through tefillah, feelings of Emunah, hashgacha pratis and a closeness to Hashem are awakened. Through deep intensity of prayer one can achieve a tangible Emunah  which is the essence of it all

 The purpose of strengthening our Emunah in Tefillah is to disabue ourselves of the societal and natural tendency of thinking, Kochi votzem yadi  my own initiative and efforts, the strength and power of my hand, has brought me all of this wealth..

 Effort placed in Tefillah not only allows growth in ones level of Tefilah  the persons entire essence is transformed. He gains in all areas, kedusha, ahavah, yirah and dveikus.

 Tefillah is not just to get out of ones personal vicissitudes  it is a means in and of itself. Indeed, tzaros are brought to us to allow us to soar in our Tefilos. If we only had this perspective at the outset we would not have tzaros.

 Tefillah educates us in the notion of Shivisi Hashem lnegdi samid and brings us to good midos and a firm realization of what our obligations in this world actually are.

 The only means to battle the yetzer harah is through Torah. But the means to achieve dveikus to Hashem  is only through Tefillah.

 Each Mitzvah has one particular limb that is integrally associated with it. For Tefillah  it is the heart.

 One who derelict in his Avodah of Tefillah is not even counted as a Maamin.

 Tefillah doesnt change the ratzon Hashem; rather it makes the person worthy of receiving that change that he should have had in the first place.

There are two others in the introduction to the siddur as well  the reader should look at them himself (or herself).

The compiler of the siddur did a remarkable job, in that the notes and iyunim do not distract the person from what his or her central role should be  that of davening. It is often easy to get so caught up in the commentary that one loses focus. There is much skill in his ability to summarize and focus on the central point that will immediately enhance the Tefillah being analyzed. It is a remarkable achievement.

THE COMMENTARIES ON THE SIDDUR ITSELF

In the Siddur itself, we learn what the Modeh Ani recited each morning achieves. It is to entrench within us the thought that only Hashem grants us life  it is all from Him.

Whats the reason why we wait until all four Kadishes are recited before we remove our Tefillin? So that we not chas vshalom show that it is perceived as a burden (page 5).

Whats the purpose of Elokai Neshama? Our realization that we are created beings helps distance us from narcissism and gaavah.

Why Psukei DZimrah? He cites a teaching from the Sabba of Kelm (page 47) that learning Mussar is a preparation for prayer. But all this only works when we come on time and recite Psukei DZimrah properly.

Why did Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai only stop for Krias Shmah and nothing else? Because ones Torah must be from the perspective of Ol Malchus Shamayim (page 87)  otherwise the Torah is not Torah. [This gives us new perspective on some of the Torah coming out from the more dubious movements.]

We also learn that the Chofetz Chaim would describe how the desire we had for Torah in this world exists for us in the next world (page 86).

There is a special requirement to focus on the Ezras Avosainu  right before Shmoneh Esreh  because it declares the truth of His Malchus and his Hashgacha (page 95).

In Shmoneh Esreh his explanation of Melech Ozer (page 102) highlights the idea tat our obligation is to try and to prepare. Hashem will assist us and make up the rest.

In the Sefiras haOmer section, I was hoping to once again see Rav Chatzkels piece on how the 24,000 students of Rebbe Akiva had actually erroneously thought that giving Kavod to each other might actually be a stumbling block  and the lessons to be derived from that thought. However, the material the author included was very inspiring as well.

The Siddur too has useful Tefillos that are not found in other Siddurim: For example, there is a beautiful Yehi Ratzon to be recited on a parents Yahrtzeit that ones learning should be lilui nishmasam.

The reviewer highly recommends this siddur. The author of the siidur can be reached at 732 966 7360.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
The Yesha Council welcomes President Trumps upcoming visit to Israel and look forward to hosting him in Yehuda and Shomron.

We have advised the new Trump Administration that a total paradigm change will be needed to achieve long-term peace in our region. The President would be ill-advised to prop-up a corrupt Palestinian Authority, whose billionaire dictator is unable to pay his own electricity bills, let alone run an independent state. Unlike Abbas, the Israeli towns of Yehuda and Shomron offer employment and hope to thousands of Palestinians. The greatest of all deals will only be made by acknowledging past failures and rewarding successes Said Oded Revivi, Chief Foreign Envoy of the Yesha Council.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Justice Minister (Bayit Yehudi) Ayelet Shaked is the first cabinet minister in Israel to speak about regarding the late Rabbi Uzi Meshulam ZL in a positive light, mentioning his struggle on behalf of Yemenite Jewry.

Speaking to the media, Shaked spoke of Rav Meshulams sacrifice and how government committees probing the abduction of Yemenite babies failed to probe as it should have, and that it was Meshulam who uncovered the truth. In fact, MK (Yahadut Hatorah) Rav Uri Maklev in 2016 called for the establishment of a state DNA database, which he feels is necessary to track down the children, all of whom are adults today. Maklev is counted among those who is skeptical regarding the integrity of yet another government or state probe into the matter.

Rabbi Meshulam was niftar on an erev Shabbos in 2013.

In the early 1990s Meshulam and his supporters waged a war to expose those responsible for the disappearance of the Yemenite babies between 1948 -1954. Speaking with one of his sons, a YWN correspondent learned of how the family believed the Shin Bet poisoned him with drugs while imprisoned, leading to a great deal of physical suffering and ultimately, his death. A son spoke to the YWN correspondent from abroad, explaining he was told if he returns to Israel, he will face the same fate as his father.

Many babies disappeared during the early years of the state according to Meshulam, primarily babies from Yemenite immigrants, usually parents being told they died in a hospital. He alleged that thousands of Yemenite babies were taken by state officials.

The matter was forgotten over the years by most of the nation, but not for Meshulam and his followers.

Meshulam gained national attention in 1994 when he and his followers holed up in a Yahud building. There were tens of followers with him and they were well armed. They had a list of demands, which included a fair state inquiry into the allegations, not a whitewash. On May 10, 1994 police surrounded the building, positioning sharpshooters in the area. Meshulam was invited to meet with Israel Police Chief Assaf Chafetz. When he left the compound, the order was given to move in. police arrested 11 of the Meshulam supporters. 19-year-old Shloimi Assulin ZL was shot dead in the police operation.

State officials continued the delegitimization of Meshulam and his followers, preferring to keep the dark secrets surrounding the abduction of the Yemenite children among those involved.

Meshulam and his chassidim were indicted on a long list of charges. Rabbi Meshulam was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. The others were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from two months to five years.

As his health declined in prison, Meshulam received a presidential pardon from President Ezer Weizman following five years in prison. His condition continued to deteriorate since his release from prison.

As a result of Meshulams actions, in 1995 a state inquiry into the disappearance of the Yemenite children was established. Few believe that this inquiry or others that followed were legitimate, realizing some of those involved in the snatching of the children were still alive.

As the current administration vows to uncover the veil of secrecy surrounding the children, Shaked became the first cabinet officials to make refence to Meshulam in a positive light.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israels letter of April 25, 2017, to UN Secretary Council regarding Hizbullah violations of the Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559.

H.E. Mrs. Nikki Haley

President of the Security Council

United Nations

Excellency,

I am writing to you in your capacity as the president of the Security Council to once again alert the members of the council to the dangerous and destabilizing actions of the Iranian proxy Hizbullah in our region.

Hizbullah, the internationally designated terror organization, unabatedly continues to build up its military infrastructure in the towns and villages of southern Lebanon, in clear violation of Security Council resolutions 1701 and 1559.

The evidence of Hizbullahs continuous violations is mounting each day and is overwhelmingly apparent. In fact, it was reported that on April 20, Hizbullah conducted a tour for dozens of journalists alongside the Lebanese side of the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel. The journalists witnessed and took pictures of Hizbullah fighters in full military regalia stationed along the route, holding guns and RPG launchers.

Following the incident, a statement to the media was made by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), saying that: Shortly before the media delegation reached the area yesterday morning, the Lebanese army notified the UNIFIL of a media tour along the Blue Line, without mentioning any other detail.

This announcement clearly indicates that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) was aware of Hizbullahs intention to conduct this tour in advance and serves as alarming proof of the growing cooperation between Hizbullah and the LAF.

It is extremely disturbing that armed Hizbullah militants feel free to move openly in UNIFILs area of operation, without being challenged by UNIFIL or LAF personnel.

The well-documented and photographic proof of this blatant provocation once again verifies the maintenance of arms by Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, in clear violation of UNSC resolutions 1701 and 1559. This recent report adds to other evidence that demonstrates Hizbullahs ongoing efforts in strengthening its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Hizbullah has been building up its arsenal by smuggling weapons from Syria into Lebanon; and according to recent publications utilizes weapons production factories built by Iran on Lebanese territory.

The results of Hizbullahs military buildup are evident  the terrorist organization has amassed over one hundred and fifty thousand rockets and missiles; positioning its arsenal in the midst of the civilian population throughout southern Lebanon. Today, more than two-thirds of the civilian structures in the Shiite villages of southern Lebanon have become an integral part of Hizbullahs military array.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun stated in a recent interview that Hizbullahs weapons complement the action of the Lebanese army. Furthermore, the Ministerial Statement of the Lebanese Council of Ministers of 28 December 2016 emphasizes the right of Lebanese citizens to resist Israel.

It is thus evident that the Lebanese government is not only failing to fulfill its obligations under UNSC resolutions 1701 and 1559, but is in fact actively encouraging and legitimizing Hizbullahs activities, in clear violation of these resolutions.

The worrisome trend of Hizbullahs continued military buildup has serious repercussions on the stability of the region, Lebanons future and the ability of its government to exercise full governance within its country.

The international community cannot continue to turn a blind eye to Hizbullahs flagrant violations of UNSC resolutions 1701 and 1559. The Security Council must send a strong message to the Government of Lebanon and demand that it fully implements these resolutions, not only in word but in concrete action.

It also imperative that reports presented by the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the implementation of UNSC resolutions 1701 and 1559, clearly represent the ongoing violations of the resolutions.



I should be grateful if you would have this letter distributed as an official document of the Security Council. I wish to inform you tat an identical letter has been sent to H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres, Security-General of the United Nations.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration.



Sincerely,

Danny Danon

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Former Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yona Metzger on Tuesday, 5 Iyar 5777, entered Massiyahu Prison to begin serving a 3.5-year jail term. The former Chief Rabbi was convicted of fraud, breach of trust and tax evasion charges.

The rabbi was originally sentenced to a 4.5-year jail term and appealed to the nations High Court of Justice for leniency. The High Court reduced the sentenced to 3.5 years and a NIS 5 million fine.

The state established the rabbi pocketed a great deal of funds that he collected for charity organizations while serving as Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi. The rabbi reportedly purchased apartments for family members as well, a form of money laundering to avoid income tax officials.

There were efforts to have the case dismissed by the rabbis legal team, albeit unsuccessful and on Tuesday morning, Memorial Day in Israel, Rabbi Metzger joins the list of former senior state officials convicted of crimes and sentenced to prison. He is the one and only former Chief Rabbi included in this reprehensible list.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
As the heads of chareidi parties are already working to advance legislation to circumvent the recent High Court of Justice decision permitting supermarkets in Tel Aviv to open Shabbos, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who heads the Kulanu party has announced there will be no such law passed by the coalition.

Kahlon was interviewed by Kalkalist, and he used the forum to get his word out. He stated emphatically that he is a supporter of the religious status quo but will not cooperate with any effort to legislate a bill intended to bypass a High Court ruling.

He explained he condemns any effort to attack a court ruling and he stands firm backing the nations court.

The chareidi parties have indicated the opening of stores in Tel Aviv on Shabbos will lead to a coalition crisis. The head of the Shas Moetzas Gedolei Yisrael, HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen Shlita, recently instructed Shas leader Aryeh Deri to wage a war to protect kedushas Shabbos in Tel Aviv, indicating the matter is a red line which may compel Shas to break from the government coalition.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

The Rov of the Gur community in Arad, Rabbi Tzvi Bialistotzky, has sent a letter to Mayor Nissan Ben-Chamu, in which he requests the city replace the Israeli flag flown on the roof of the main shul in the city.

Readers are reminded that the relationship between the Gerrer Chassidus in Arab and City Hall is one of machlokes, particularly pertaining to Gurs claims to the main shul.

The rav points out in the letter that the flag will be flown atop of the citys main shul on Independence Day as is the custom annually, however, the flag is worn from use and it is no longer respectful for what is represents. The rav askes the Arad Municipality to immediately replace the flag with a new one, before Independence Day.

It is reported the flag was replaced last year but is once again in poor condition and in need of replacement and the rav calls on the city to replace it out of an act of respect for the flag, what it represents, and the mispallalim of the shul.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked the countrys annual Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror on Monday by calling on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to cease doling out payment to the killers of Israelis, beseeching him to fund peace and not murder.

At a ceremony at Israels Har Herzl national cemetery in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Palestinian killers nursed incitement against our people with their mothers milk and were regarded as heroes in their society for carrying out heinous attacks against Israelis.

Netanyahu also accused the Palestinian Authority of Abbas, who is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump this week, of compensating the attackers to the tune of $300 million a year.

How can you talk about peace with Israel while you simultaneously fund murderers that are shedding the blood of innocent Israelis everywhere? Netanyahu said. Cancel payments to the murderers. Cancel the law that requires payments to these murderers. Fund peace and not murder.

The Palestinian martyrs fund makes monthly payments to about 35,000 families of Palestinian terrorists.

Netanyahus comments came as Israel observed Memorial Day, one of its most somber days on the year.

The country came to a standstill at 11 a.m. for a two-minute air siren to remember its war dead and victims of deadly attacks. Motorists pulled over on the sides of highways and roads and pedestrians stopped in their tracks silently with heads bowed as the sirens wailed. People visited cemeteries and attended remembrance ceremonies across the country. Radio and television networks broadcast programs about battle and loss.

The sad atmosphere ends sharply at sundown, when in jarring contrast, Israelis take to the streets for Independence Day celebrations with dancing, fireworks, parties and BBQs.

(AP)
Bayit Yehudi party officials earlier in the week officially announced the results of the primary elections. Voter turnout was disappointing as only 15,701 votes were counted amid 30,924 registered party members, bringing voter turnout to a bit over 50%.

Bennet, who was overwhelmingly reelected as the partys leader with 12,609 votes. In second place was Yonatan Branski with 1,918 votes and in last place, Rabbi Yitzchak Zaga with 1,174 votes.

Bayit Yehudi received 8 seats in the current Knesset under Bennets leadership, a significant drop from 12 seats when he led the party in the previous Knesset. Recent election polls do not signal a major improvement in the next elections and some believed this would lead to Bennet being replaced. However, those registered party members who took part in the election seem to believe that despite dismal Knesset election polls, Bennet is the person they wish to see continue leading the dati leumi party.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
New evidence indicates that the Syrian government used suspected nerve agents in four chemical weapons attacks since December including one in an opposition-held town April 4 that killed nearly 100 people, a human rights group said Monday.

Human Rights Watch said in a report that these attacks are part of a broader pattern of Syrian government forces use of chemical weapons which could be categorized as crimes against humanity.

The rights group said the April attack in Khan Sheikhoun and the three others using suspected nerve agents all took place in areas where offensives by armed forces fighting the government threatened military air bases.

It said witnesses described symptoms consistent with exposure to nerve agents that they and other local residents experienced after planes attacked northern Hama on March 30 and territory controlled by the Islamic State extremist group in eastern Hama on Dec. 11 and 12.

In the December attacks, Human Rights Watch said four witnesses interviewed by phone and two medical personnel interviewed by text messages through intermediaries gave consistent accounts. An opposition-affiliated activist and local residents provided the names of 64 people who died of chemical exposure, it said.

The group quoted residents, medical personnel and first responders saying the suspected attack on March 30 caused no deaths but injured dozens of people.

In Khan Sheikhoun, Human Rights Watch said 92 people, including 30 children, were identified by residents and activists as victims of deadly chemical exposure. Medical personnel reported that hundreds more were injured, it said.

As part of the evidence showing that attacks have become widespread and systematic, Human Rights Watch identified three different systems being used to deliver chemical weapons:

Government warplanes dropping bombs with nerve agents.

Government helicopters dropping chlorine-filled munitions, which has become more systematic.

Government or pro-government ground forces starting to use improvised ground-launched munitions filled with chlorine.

In at least some attacks, the rights group said, the aim appears to have been to inflict severe suffering on the civilian population.

The governments recent use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation  and part of a clear pattern, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

In the last six months, the government has used warplanes, helicopters and ground forces to deliver chlorine and sarin in Damascus, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo, he said. Thats widespread and systematic use of chemical weapons.

(AP)
A man accused of setting off bombs last year in New Jersey and New York has lost a change of venue request regarding his trial on attempted murder charges stemming from a shootout with police.

NJ.com reported Monday that a New Jersey judge ruled late last month that Ahmad Rahimis trial will not be moved.

Union County Deputy Public Defender Peter Liguori, who is representing Rahimi, said his client could not get a fair trial in Union County, citing the excessive media coverage he and the bombings have received.

Liguori asked that the trial be moved to a more southern county or that jurors be pulled from outside Union County because Rahimis case would be too close to home for local jurors. He also argued that jurors in northern New Jersey have consumed too much of news coverage produced by New York-area media outlets.

The problem is that (in the New York media market), every time that anything is even reported about this case, it is also reported about bombings, about terrorism, about connection to international terrorism, about commentary about whether Mr. Rahimi is part of a global terrorist network, Liguori said during the court hearing.

Prosecutors, though, had argued that coverage of the case has been periodic, not constant, and more factual than sensational. They also said people would remember fewer details about the alleged events by the time the trial starts.

While youre likely to get some members of the Union County jury pool who will have some recollection of the events that transpired, the specific details of the events will start to fade in their memory, Assistant County Prosecutor Ann Luvera argued. She added that moving the case would be extremely burdensome for the lawyers and witnesses in the case.

Rahimi is charged with attempted murder for the Sept. 19 gunbattle with five officers in Linden, New Jersey. At the time, he was being sought for allegedly planting two bombs in Manhattan and two in New Jersey  near a charity run in Seaside Park, and in a trash can in Elizabeth. One of the bombs detonated in a Manhattan neighborhood, injuring 30 people.

Authorities allege the Afghanistan-born U.S. citizen, who lived with his family in Elizabeth, pulled a gun and fired on officers after a police officer in Linden found him asleep in a bar doorway.

The shootout ended with Rahimi shot and wounded. The officer who first came upon Rahimi was shot, but saved by his bulletproof vest, authorities said. Officials said another officer was grazed by a bullet.

(AP)
On Yom HaAtzmaut, we celebrate Israels Independence Day in recognition of the rich history between our two countries.

This evening, I have directed One World Trade Center and the new Kosciuszko Bridge to be lit white and blue, the colors of the Israeli flag, to honor Israel as it celebrates Yom HaAtzmaut.

New York joins with the Israeli people and the State of Israel as they celebrate their 69th year of independence. The 408-foot spire of One World Trade Center, which was built as a response to terrorism and the Kosciuszko Bridge, a sign of growth and determination, will be lit in a dazzling show of lights in honor of a country that epitomizes resilience and progress.

I wish all Israeli people both at home and abroad a happy Yom HaAtzmaut. Chag Sameach.

(YWN Headquarters  NYC)
Obamacare is showing surprising staying power, thanks in large part to doctors, hospitals and other health industry players opposing the alternatives that Republicans have proposed.

The stories and perspectives they bring to the debate are grounded in the local community and the impact on finances and well-being. But also their professional associations are deep-pocketed campaign donors and major lobbying powers on Capitol Hill.

For the providers, coverage gains and expanded benefits under the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, translate to better chances of keeping patients healthy, and fewer unpaid bills. They say such tangible results outweigh the shortcomings of the Obama-era law, which extended coverage to millions previously uninsured but remains politically divisive.

We need to be constantly pushing to get folks to do a bipartisan fix of the ACA, said Sister Carol Keehan, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, representing more than 600 hospitals. We have to keep blocking and tackling until we get there.

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the health care sector was the sixth largest source of political contributions in the 2015-2016 election cycle, giving more than $268 million. Health care ranked ahead of lawyers, labor, and agribusiness. The industry split its contributions fairly evenly, with a slight edge in gifts to Democrats.

Recently the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Psychiatric Association all have written congressional leaders warning of negative consequences to patients if the GOP bill becomes law.

Patient advocacy groups like the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the American Lung Association, the March of Dimes and others are raising similar concerns.

Such groups by and large supported passage of Obamas law, but they also recognize its problems of complexity and cost, and are willing to support changes as long as coverage is maintained or keeps growing.

For the American Medical Association, the focus has been on reaching Republican moderates in the House, whose concerns seem to be the last obstacle to advancing the GOP health care bill.

A Wisconsin nonprofit called the Marshfield Clinic provides an illustration of the provider playbook on Capitol Hill. Marshfield is a large private medical group practice with more than 700 doctors serving the northern part of the state. It also operates hospitals and an insurer called Security Health Plan.

Marshfield representatives have met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., health secretary Tom Price, and members of the states congressional delegation. Not only is Marshfield a health care enterprise, it is also a major local employer.

The biggest concern we express is that we have made many gains with the ACA as it exists today, said Marshfield CEO Susan Turney. We are particularly concerned about whats happening with pre-existing conditions.

The latest drafts of the GOP bill would allow states to obtain waivers of the ACA provision that requires insurers to charge people with medical problems the same premiums that the healthy pay. Consumers whove had a break in coverage could be charged more.

Among the gains Marshfield representatives cite are 30,000 Obamacare customers covered through the systems insurance plan, nearly all of whom receive subsidies. Marshfields burden of unpaid care has also been dramatically reduced. In 2012, the system treated 13,277 patients who were uninsured. That was down to 6,948 last year, nearly cut in half.

Hand-in-hand with such statistics come stories about patients. On a recent round of congressional visits, a Marshfield doctor told of a local knitting shop owner who had lost her vision in one eye. Had it not been for coverage under the ACA, the patient might have lost the use of her other eye as well.

Being a physician and taking care of patients, these stories are repeated, said Turney.

Similar stories can be heard from the most remote parts of the country. John Cullen is a doctor in Valdez, Alaska, supporting efforts by his professional organization  the American Academy of Family Physicians  to maintain coverage gains from the Obama era.

His community of 4,000 people is the terminus of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. While refinery workers tend to have health insurance, fishermen and their families traditionally struggle to afford it. Before Obamacare, uninsured people would put off medical attention until problems could no longer be ignored. The consequences and costs would inevitably be higher.

If I can see them in the clinic and treat something early, its really cheap, said Cullen. If they come in for high blood pressure or cholesterol, that can be treated with medication. But if theyre coming in with a heart attack or a stroke, you have to transport them to Anchorage. Transport alone is $27,000 to $70,000.

(AP)
More than half of investors prefer buying shares in UK household names and nearly a third only ever put money in well-known companies, research reveals.

Many investors say stock-picking this way makes them feel more confident, and admit they would retain stakes in big name firms even if the shares performed badly, according to a survey by Investec Wealth & Investment.

Its findings show people tend to favour supermarkets, banks and other top consumer brands in the FTSE 100 (think Lloyds, Vodafone and Tesco) over less well-known businesses in the blue chip index (like support services firm Bunzl, media company Relx and tech specialist Sage Group).

Tried and trusted? More than half of investors prefer sticking to shares in UK household names

Investing experts warn those who only focus on well-known consumer-oriented firms risk missing out on stronger performers, and ending up with a poorly diversified portfolio. However, understanding how a business works before you risk money - which is easier if you use it - is also considered a sound investing approach.

We explore why sticking with what you know is such a popular strategy, the pros and cons of pursuing it, and the behavioural traps you can fall into when choosing investments this way.

How keen are UK investors on household name stocks?

Some 57 per cent of people planning to buy shares in the coming year say they prefer big name brands such as supermarkets and banks, according to a survey of 1,000-plus UK adults by Investec Wealth.

Its findings included:

* Some 29 per cent will only buy well-known companies and 35 per cent feel more confident doing so

* Even if those shares then performed poorly, 47 per cent said they would retain their stakes

* Some 39 per cent of investors buy shares in a company when they understand what it does, and 20 per cent say they prefer to invest in firms whose products and services they use

* Sentimentality and inertia can play a role, as 31 per cent of investors are more likely to continue holding shares if they bought them as new listings while 21 per cent would hold onto shares they have inherited

* Some 11 per cent admitted to holding shares largely because of the perks, like discounts or vouchers.

Guy Ellison, head of UK equity research at Investec Wealth, says it is understandable many individual investors are drawn to companies they know and have heard of, or see regularly on the High Street.

But he warns: 'Relatively few leading companies in the UK are household names and by simply focusing on well-known brands, many investors are potentially missing out on superior investment opportunities elsewhere, while leaving themselves vulnerable to an over-concentration in certain sectors which are familiar such as retail, travel and leisure and banking.

'This latter risk has been highlighted following last Junes referendum on the UKs membership of the EU, which has contributed to the sharp underperformance of several domestically-focused, and hence "familiar", names.

Jason Hollands: 'Whatever the future holds, people will still eat Marmite, sip tea and wash their clothes'

'Our research underlines how sentimentality can come at a price. Successful investing requires taking a dispassionate view of your holdings.'

What are the pros and cons of investing in household names?

Individual investors have a strong preference for buying shares in household names that they are familiar with, according to Tilney managing director Jason Hollands, whose firm operates the Bestinvest DIY investing platform.

Most of the top 10 most popular individual stocks held on Bestinvest fall into this category - Lloyds, Shell, BT and Tesco among them.

Hollands says that investors might be missing out on better opportunities by sticking with household name shares, and should consider opting for a investment fund where the manager has the time and expertise to look at businesses that operate in specialist or business-to-business markets.

However, he notes that investors who use funds also show a tendency to choose famous managers. They might not strictly qualify as household names, but stars of the investing world like Neil Woodford and Terry Smith often top fund bestseller tables.

Hollands adds that for individuals, it makes sense to avoid investing in things they dont understand, as their investment thesis might be completely wrong or they might not be able to spot warning signs if things are starting to go wrong for a business.

'People who are not professional financial analysts will intuitively feel they have a better understanding of businesses they are also customers of and come into contact with in their daily lives than firms whose services or products they do not use and whose business models may be difficult to understand.

'Some household firms have of course historically been very successful in developing retail shareholder bases, through encouraging customer participation in IPOs [initial public offerings, or share floats], retail allocations in privatisations or offering perks to direct shareholders.

'For long-term investors theres certainly a lot to be said for investing in strong brands which command high customer loyalty, are resilient to price-based competition and will continue to generate sales throughout the economic cycle.

'None of us know for sure whether markets have peaked or can scale much higher or what might lay around the corner for the global economy or what the long-term impact of Brexit will be.

'But it is much easier to be confident that whatever the future holds, people will still eat Marmite, sip tea and wash their clothes (Unilever owns a vast array of such brands) and drink Guinness or have a gin and tonic (Diageo).'

Ian Bright: 'If the investments are held for fun  to dabble in the stock market  then have fun!'

What traps might you fall into when investing in household names?

Economist Ian Bright, who heads the eZonomics behavioural investing team at Dutch bank ING, is an expert on behavioural investing, which looks at the ways people risking their money often fall into psychological traps.

Understanding these can offer insight into whether your investment judgment is sound or if you are just making excuses to yourself for irrational decisions.

Bright gives a rundown of the biases people who prefer to invest in household name stocks are displaying, and what it means when they behave in the ways revealed in Investec's research.

Familiarity and home bias: A tendency to prefer what you know, which makes investors stick to industries they believe they understand and investments in their own country. This means they ignore other opportunities, leading to lack of diversification in their portfolio.

Overconfidence: Investors can be erroneously convinced they understand a business or can predict the future.

'Simply being familiar with a business is not the same as actually knowing the business,' says Bright.

He notes that the Investec survey shows people are inclined to invest in banks, but questions: 'Do you truly understand how a bank is run? Aspects of over confidence could be occurring here.'

Disposition effect: Investors are predisposed to hold losers too long and sell winners too early. This is because they feel disproportionately more unhappy about making a loss than they feel happy about making a gain of an equal size - something known as loss aversion.

Bright says there is a loud ring of the disposition effect in the Investec research, where 47 per cent told Investec they would retain their stakes in well-known companies even if the shares performed poorly.

'A reason people may do this is that they do not want to admit an mistake and fear realising an actual loss. A "paper" loss can be less emotionally difficult.'

Inertia: Reluctance to act, with investors taking a 'wait and see' approach if they are uncertain what to do or fear making a decision they will regret.

Bright says this is reflected in the research, which found 31 per cent of investors continued to hold shares they bought as new listings and 21 per cent shares they inherited.

Mental accounting: People often think about their finances as existing in separate 'buckets' which are earmarked for different things. They might therefore treat the same 1 as having different values and purposes depending on the circumstances, leading them to be freer with cash in some areas than in others, or make poor decisions about their household finances by not considering them overall.

Some aspects of mental accounting are revealed by the Investec research, says Bright.

'If 11 per cent of investors admit to holding shares because of the perks involved, they seem to divide the share price from the perk.'

So should you think again about sticking to well-known stocks?

Bright says not necessarily, and gives examples of where it can be a problem and where it doesn't matter.

For instance, he warns that lack of diversification can be particularly difficult if investing in what you know leads you to buy shares in the company or the industry in which you work.

'You end up with a double risk. If the industry you work in has a downturn and your income falls a lot (or you lose your job) the shares you own are likely to lose value at the same time.

'If I remember correctly, this was a particular problem in the Enron failure. Many Enron employees had a large amount of their pension savings in Enron shares. Not only did they lose their jobs but their pension savings were severely depleted.'

Bright adds that whether 'invest in what you know' is good or bad also depends on why you are investing.

'If you consider saving for your pension as investing, then "invest in what you know" is a dangerous strategy,' he says. 'If you are trying to build long term wealth for some other reason, the lack of diversification can be risky and arguably imprudent if you are a trustee of a fund.

'However, if the investments are held for fun  to dabble in the stock market  then have fun! You might get a kick out of getting that dividend payment from the company you have admired for many years.'

Read our guide to behavioural investing here.
Harry and Mavis Parkins' trip to Tenerife last November was going to be their last holiday abroad with their son, Keith.

The couple, aged 92 and 87, find flying tiring and now worry about falling ill in a foreign country.

But rather than a relaxing break, Harry, Mavis and Keith, 66, arrived at their hotel in the Canary Islands to find a building site. There were diggers and workmen everywhere.

The air was filled with dust and the power tools were deafening.

Hotel hell: Builders swarm around the pool at the Rubicon Palace in Lanzarote where Mail readers Mike and Joyce Whitfield paid 2,300 for a two-week stay

Thomson, their tour operator, hadn't told them the hotel was being renovated  or that the work was scheduled for their entire four-week stay.

Harry and Mavis spent most of their 2,300 holiday in their room, hiding from the mess.

Keith, a retired software engineer from Hampshire, says: 'Their last holiday abroad was ruined. We were told it was impossible to relocate as the island was packed.'

When they arrived home, the family complained to Thomson. Keith, who booked separately and paid nearly 1,800, was offered 350 in cash or 550 in vouchers. Harry and Mavis are negotiating a payout.

Every year, thousands of holidaymakers arrive to find their hotel is a building site after no advance warning.

Money Mail has heard from families who've had to eat meals in clouds of dust, been unable to use the pool and endured endless drilling. Many have spent their holiday worrying about their children's safety amid scaffolding and rubble.

When they have asked to switch hotel or come home early, they've been told to pay thousands of pounds extra. And those who have complained have typically been offered barely any compensation.

Frank Brehany, of travel complaints firm HolidayTravelWatch, says: 'Unexpected building work is a common complaint and it's about time operators dealt with this.'

Shocking view: This is the view that greeted Mail readers Harry, 92, and Mavis, 87, Parkins on their trip to Tenerife last November

CHOKING ON DUST FROM THE DRILLING

The majority of the complaints we've received are about Thomson Holidays, owned by TUI.

The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) has fined the firm three times  a total of 11,000  for not telling holidaymakers about building work before they travelled.

Under Abta's rules, firms must tell you in advance if your hotel is undergoing work that could 'seriously impair the enjoyment' of your holiday.

What are the rules? Under Abta's rules, firms must tell you in advance if your hotel is undergoing work that could 'seriously impair the enjoyment' of your holiday. Under Abta's code of conduct your tour operator must warn you of major works at your hotel, or a nearby building, as soon as it can. Under Abta rules, your tour operator should give you the opportunity to switch at no extra cost. If you find out before you travel, you can cancel the holiday and demand a full refund. The travel firm may offer you an alternative holiday but you may be asked to pay extra. Hotels don't always tell operators about building work. If you arrive at your hotel and it's a building site, complain to your holiday rep at the first opportunity. If there is no one there, contact your firm's call centre. Your rep must try to find a solution, such as another hotel or allowing you to use its services. If you refuse, you must have a good reason and can ask to go home early free of charge.

They don't have to tell you if the hotel is repairing a lift or being painted, but they must say if it's digging up the pool, extending or closing large areas for renovation.

Tour operators must also say if a nearby hotel or office block is carrying out major works.

But, as Mike and Joyce Whitfield can testify, firms may not follow the rules. Every year the retired couple go to the five-star Rubicon Palace in Lanzarote.

They thought they knew what to expect for their 2,300 two-week stay in January: lounging by the pool, sipping cocktails outside the piano bar and eating al fresco. But they arrived to find workmen were ripping up tiles by the pool and the piano bar was closed for a refit.

The work was 40 feet from the restaurant, making it impossible to eat outside without choking on dust. Work lasted from 8am until 4pm every day but Sunday. Renovations started three months earlier but Thomson had not warned them.

Mike, a 68-year-old retired policeman, says: 'Every day you'd see a queue of people looking to speak with the rep.

'I don't blame the hotel for renovating but Thomson should have said. We'd love to go back but it won't be with Thomson.'

After complaining, Mike and retired social worker Joyce, 67, were offered a 220 holiday voucher. Money Mail stepped in  Thomson increased its offer to 500 in cash.

Work in progress: Another unwelcome scene at the Parkins' Canary Islands hotel. Harry and Mavis spent most of their 2,300 holiday in their room, hiding from the mess

FACED 2,000 BILL TO MOVE HOTEL

For many holidaymakers, the obvious solution to building work is moving to a different hotel nearby.

Under Abta rules, your tour operator should give you the opportunity to switch at no extra cost.

But, as Valerie and Martin Churchill found, some firms will try to charge thousands of pounds. The couple, from Wheatley in Oxfordshire, booked two weeks in Mexico over Christmas last year to celebrate Martin's 50th birthday.

They splashed out 2,400 on luxury five-star hotel Riu Palace Pacifico. The reviews were glowing. But when they arrived they found workers tearing down another hotel just 100 feet from their pool.

Sunbathers were plagued by the sounds of cranes and drills. Dust was kicked up by trucks carrying rubble.

Valerie and Martin complained to their Thomson rep, saying they had not been warned. They asked to move hotels but were told it would cost more than 2,000. If they wanted to fly home early, it would be 1,000.

This is time we won't get back. Thomson doesn't seem to get that

The couple put up with the noise as the nearest town was a 40-minute walk away. Valerie, 58, who works for Oxford City Council, says: 'People spend a lot on holidays as they are a time for relaxing with family. This is time we won't get back. Thomson doesn't seem to get that.'

The couple have referred their case to complaints handling service Resolver. In response to all of the cases Money Mail sent to Thomson, it says instances such as these are 'rare'.

A spokeswoman says: 'We're sorry to hear this group of customers were unhappy with their holiday experience.

'We rely on our partners in resort to advise us of any maintenance work and regrettably this did not happen in these circumstances.

'We are in direct contact with the customers to better understand their complaints and to resolve each matter to their satisfaction.'

SCAFFOLDING PUT CHILDREN AT RISK

Sharon Fielder her husband took their eight-year-old twins Finn and Isla to Tenerife

Sharon Fielder was not even offered the option of moving when she complained to her hotel last month.

She and her husband had taken their eight-year-old twins Finn and Isla to Tenerife for a week.

They were staying at the five-star Hotel Gran Tacande, which they booked through Monarch.

The family, who live in Brighton, arrived to find two of the five main blocks covered in scaffolding. The main pool was being retiled, leaving just a tiny pool for guests to use.

The Fielders asked to move to another hotel but were refused. The family say the hotel would not even arrange for them to use a nearby hotel's pool.

Hotel staff offered a free meal each night and a family ticket to a nearby water park, but the Fielders rejected this.

Sharon, 41, who runs a beauty therapy firm, says: 'It was unacceptable. Our holiday was ruined. The kids were devastated. We wouldn't let our kids play at a building site at home so why would we on holiday?

We wouldn't let our kids play at a building site at home so why would we on holiday?

'We were unaware what we were in for. When we checked our travel documents we saw the work was in the small print. Even this made it seem like it was minor work.'

A spokeswoman for Monarch said it's investigating the complaint and said it will be in touch with the Fielders once this is complete.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

Hotels often choose to carry out major building projects in their off-season, as they have fewer guests.

So if you're travelling between November and March, check with the hotel before handing over money.

Make sure to scour the small print of advertisements or travel documents for any mention of building work or pool and restaurant closures too. Under Abta's code of conduct your tour operator must warn you of major works at your hotel, or a nearby building, as soon as it can.

If you find out before you travel, you can cancel the holiday and demand a full refund.

The travel firm may offer you an alternative holiday but if it is more expensive you may be asked to pay extra. However, hotels don't always tell operators about building work for fear they will stop referring holidaymakers.

And even when they do know, operators don't always tell you.

If you arrive at your hotel and it's a building site, complain to your holiday rep at the first opportunity. If there is no one there, contact your firm's call centre.

Your rep must try to find a solution, such as moving you to another hotel or allowing you to use its services. If you refuse, you must have a good reason  such as you've paid for a five-star hotel and are being moved to a two-star one. In this instance, you can ask to go home early free of charge.

Woes: The majority of the complaints received were about Thomson Holiday, sowned by TUI

MAKE SURE YOU COLLECT THE EVIDENCE

Make a note of who you spoke to and try to get evidence that you've lodged a complaint. Take photos and videos of the building work and make a diary noting any of the disturbances you experience.

When you get home, send a formal complaint to the operator by registered post.

Include details of what happened, who you spoke to and when, your booking reference number and any photographic evidence. If you weren't given prior warning you can claim compensation.

There are no set amount guidelines of how much you can get  you must negotiate this with the tour operator. Mr Brehany from HolidayTravelWatch suggests 40 per person per day is reasonable.

Separate your compensation request into three sections: loss of value (your pool was closed), loss of enjoyment and stress, and out-of-pocket expenses (you had to eat out as the restaurant was too dusty to eat in).

You can also ask for cash instead of travel vouchers.

If your tour operator ignores your complaint, take your case to Abta. Abta is not an ombudsman and cannot force a travel company to pay compensation.

But its intervention is often enough to prompt a travel firm to cough up. Call 020 3117 0500 or complain at abta.com.

Abta also offers an independent arbitration scheme, which gives a legally-binding judgment.

There is an administration charge of around 100 to 200, and you may have to pay a fee if you lose.

Emma Morris, of comparison site Travelsupermarket, says it is unlikely your travel insurance would cover you for this type of event.

However, you may be able to claim some money back from your credit card provider.

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act your bank is jointly liable if you arrive at your hotel and it is not as described.

You need to have paid more than 100 for the holiday but only 1 of this needs to have been put on the card from which you claim.

p.thomas@dailymail.co.uk
Alitalia has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in a decade after workers at the Italian airline rejected wage cuts linked to a 1.7billion rescue.

The loss-making carrier, which has a history of financial trouble, said shareholders had voted unanimously to file for special administration after employees rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries to secure funds.

The airline said that shareholders and Gulf carrier Etihad Airways, which owns 49 per cent of the firm, had been 'committed to recapitalise and finance the plan with 2billion, but that without the approval of workers it could not go ahead'.

Alitalia last filed for administration in 2008. It had been hoped Etihad's 1.5billion stake purchase in 2014 would help transform the company into a five-star operator.

But it has lost its standing in Italy to budget rivals Ryanair and EasyJet.

Etihad said it was 'disappointed' Alitalia had filed for bankruptcy.

The Italian government, which has invested more than 5.9billion into the airline over the last decade, has already ruled out a bailout.
The holy scriptures of Taylor Swift (Book of 1989, Chapter Bad Blood, Verse 8) taught us that Band-Aids dont fix bullet holes. Now, Ivanka Trumpthe only woman on earth who could make Swift look like an intersectional feminist trailblazerhas emerged with a child care policy that proves the truth of this proverb.

Ivanka has long positioned herself as the liberal, feminist face of the Trump empire. While her father racks up an ever-mounting list of sexual assault and harassment allegations, Ivanka runs a tastefully pink lifestyle brand, with a Twitter campaign, #WomenWhoWork, aimed at celebrating the modern working woman. She has also branded herself as a #thoughtleader on policies that might benefit said working women, like child care and paid family leave, though her policies to date have been (lets put this tactfully) half-assed, cosmetic pseudo-solutions.

Yet Ivankas strategy has not gone unrewarded. The New York Times recently hailed her for building a bridge on the topic of child care from an exceptional, and possibly sticky, positionworking on issues traditionally championed by Democrats by forging alliances with Republican women. Wherein lies the stickiness? Well, apparently Republican women in Congress, who often work at the fringe of their party on federal child care matters, have still found themselves shunned by Democrats who dismiss their child care and income equality proposals as insufficient.

Heres one reason those child care proposals might get dismissed as insufficient: They are. Ivanka Trumps, in particular, is nothing more than a small tax deduction, the benefits of which tilt precipitously toward the wealthy. The Tax Policy Center estimates that a family with children and an income of $200,000-$500,000 would get an average annual subsidy of $450, while a family making $50,000-$75,000 would receive $150, and a family making $10,000-$30,000 would get a measly $10.

Even $150 is not exactly a lifesaver, especially when you consider the average cost of full-time care for a child under 5: almost $10,000 a year (more, in some places, than the average rent). A family making the median income of $56,000 is still paying almost one-fifth of their pre-tax paycheck simply so both parents can work outside the home. And they still have to pay their child care expenses monthly or weekly, with the financial aid coming only once per year. But, granted, a $150 tax deduction isnt nothing. The problem comes when you consider what else theyll be paying for.

For instance, one well-known fact about having a baby is that you actually have to get it out of you at some point. Prenatal care and childbirth coverage, which were dicey before the Affordable Care Act made them mandatory, are now a prime target under repeal and replace. (Men having to purchase prenatal care was, infamously, Illinois GOP Rep. John Shimkus biggest complaint about the ACA.) The threat has been deferred with the failure of the Republicans American Health Care Act, but, as with the repeated efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, we can reasonably expect repeal to rear its head again.

The average cost of having a baby is $21,000, assuming no complications. Should there be complications, that price tag can go way, way upto as much as $300,000. Private insurance typically covers almost 90 percent (and Medicaid covers virtually all) of it. But without the ACA mandate, good luck finding a plan on the individual market that covers maternity care, unless you purchase a special rider with a deductible of $10,000 or more.
Sir,



Africa continues unabated its trend of not satisfying the needs and aspirations of its people, especially the youth. My heart bleeds for the betterment of African youth.

The current nature of global conflicts and the array of threats confronting African nations require solutions and pooling of ideas to shape a comprehensive and conclusive response.

As citizens of Africa we need to rise and say no to terrorism and xenophobia. These present a serious and sustained threat to the continent and its progress. The terrorist and xenophobia groups seek to cause widespread disruption, fear and intimidation. They use violence as a means of publicising their causes, motivating those who might be sympathetic to them and intimidating those who do not sympathise.



African fathers pioneered the liberation struggle when they discovered the truth that we were under colonial bondage. Nkrumah, Nyerere, Mandela, Mugabe, Nkomo, Kaunda, Kenyatta, Tambo and Machel, among others, discovered the truth that we had to be liberated from colonial rule.

These names are associated with sacrificial liberation and instead of preaching revenge they promoted forgiveness after independence. They went to war and achieved their noble cause of truth (freedom). They paid the price in order to achieve this noble cause. They were incarcerated into prisons and others taken into detention centres for years but they never gave up. These great leaders were treated like animals because they voiced against prejudice, racial inequality and for their countries sovereignty. They were even regarded as terrorists.



These elders played a huge role in bringing freedom to Africa but why are things upside down now in Africa? We have Boko Haram in Nigeria, Alshabab in Somalia, xenophobic attacks in South Africa, war lords in the DRC and a host of others. The elders of different Africa countries should ask themselves why is this happening? I want to be frank this is birthed from frustration due to unemployment and poverty.

We need one another as Africans; we cant do without each other. Lets develop Africa because we have talented people, lets not sideline their views. Every son and daughter of Africa has a right to participate in resource mobilisation and capacity utilisation to benefit as citizens of the continent. Lets ensure that the youth are involved in Africas development before they are lured into terrorism, xenophobia, drug trafficking and other vices.



Enos Denhere

enosden@gmail.com
MBABANE  Bad news never end for job seekers, particularly aspiring soldiers and warders as a 29-year-old woman, claiming to be a princess, faces 36 counts of theft under false pretences.



She is alleged to have conned job seekers of about E143 130 in a job scam syndicate.

Bekezeli Patience Gama of Mafutseni under Chief Ngalonkulu is said to have reached out to the masses where she presented herself as one of the Kings daughters through a WhatsApp group known as Swazi, all you need is love and fun, a group that was established by former pupils of a certain school in the country.



One of the victims said upon her admission to the group, they were all happy to be joined by the princesses.

He said as they interacted with Gama in the group, she spread the news that she was a member of the royal family and, therefore, was in a better position to assist people in acquiring jobs in the armed forces and Tibiyo TakaNgwane.



It is alleged that she also informed the group members that she also assisted students in acquiring scholarships, especially those who wanted to study overseas.



A victim alleged that Gama, who was highly respected due to her status, recruited some members of the group whose task was to attend to those who were interested in joining the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force and His Majestys Correctional Service as well as Tibiyo TakaNgwane.



There were stipulated fees for anyone who was interested in joining the armed forces, the victim alleged.

Speaking on condition of anonymity in fear of victimisation, one of the bogus princess agents, who was used to collect the money from the aspirants, confirmed his working relationship with Gama.
MHLUME  Enough is enough is what workers under TUCOSWA have told government as they listed about 16 demands.



The workers want all their demands to be addressed by government.This was presented by Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) President Quinton Dlamini during the celebration of Workers Day 2017, which was held at Nsukuwansuku Stadium, Mhlume.



He said all the demands they have for government were not new as some of them were raised during the previous government. The demands include national minimum wage, labour brokers and government for the people.



The federations bid to demand responses from government received huge support from civil society organisations and political formations. The groups said when TUCOSWA took to the streets for certain demands, they would join them because they supported the union and that could be an opportunity for them to push for multi-party democracy in the country since the federation was also demanding a government for the people.



One of the demands which every organisation which attended the event supported was the national minimum wage of E3 500. They agreed that such should be implemented because in turn, it would boost the economy of the country. They argued that when people were paid better, they gain buying power and the economy would shoot up.



On that aspect, the president said from 2013 they asked government to request the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to conduct a study on the introduction of such to guide the nation as to how to consider improving the wages of its worker who do not benefit from the annual circulars that government uses to reward politicians.
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By Mark Hallum

A very rough timeline was announced for the restoration of Captain Dermody Triangle in Bayside Hills at the civic association meetingTuesday.

President of the civic, Michael Feiner, president of the civic, said the repair could possibly start within the next year and be completed within the next two to three years. The greenspace located at 48th Avenue and 216th Street is slated to have the stone walkways replaced with paving blocks, while the walls on the north side will be replaced as well as the steps, which will make the park ADA-accessible. Eight benches will be installed with two concrete tables and a few concrete garbage pails.

The city Parks Department will plant new trees for added shade.

The surrounding street lights will be checked and either repaired or replaced depending on need.

According to Feiner, board members of the association met with Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski and state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) to discuss the upgrades. Avella allocated $275,000 to the project.

The triangle is dedicated to William Dermody, the leader of the 67th Regiment of the New York Volunteers who fought in the American Civil War and was killed in 1864 in Spotsylvania, Va.
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The April 26th conference brings together business leaders with the intention of discussing possible business investments in the Iranian market. Participants are reminded by UANIs ad to be aware of the severe risks that can potentially affect them politically and financially, as well as damage their reputations, that are associated with doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The May 19th presidential election is cited by UANI as an example, stating that the two leading candidates each pose a threat to the region and international community. UANI explains that Hassan Rouhani, currently Irans president, supports Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, as well as terrorist organizations throughout the region, and Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric who has ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is known as a member of Irans Death Commission, complicit in the massacre of thousands of the Iranian regimes political opponents in 1988.

UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said, Attendees of the Iran Trade Business Briefing should be wary of how the Iranian regimes aggressive, destabilizing behavior will factor into any potential business pursuits. He added, Since the implementation of the nuclear deal, Iran has continued to support vicious dictators like Syrias Bashar al-Assad, and remains the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism. With absolute power vested firmly in the hands of the supreme leader  and not the president  it is clear that the regimes behavior will not change after next months election. Business leaders need to seriously consider the reputational risk that comes with doing business with a bad actor like Iran.

UANI is headed by a group of former leading diplomats and lawmakers, and is leading a global education campaign focused on the corporate risks of doing business with Iran. UANI is warning hundreds of international companies who are contemplating investment opportunities in Iran.

In its campaign to point out the dangers of business with the Iranian regime, UANI has identified a matrix of 10 key risk categories businesses and sovereign states will face if they pursue deals with Tehran.
A nearly two-year process to revise English and math learning standards in New York classrooms is nearing the finish line.

State education officials on Tuesday unveiled another round of proposed changes to the standards, which spell out what students in grades prekindergarten through 12 should know and be able to master by the end of each grade. Students will be encouraged to read and analyze both fiction and nonfiction texts, become lifelong readers and writers, and explore certain math concepts before being expected to master them.
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ALBANY  Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared at the city's main library Tuesday to announce the State Police will increase patrols in inner city neighborhoods most plagued by gun violence.

Three hours later and a dozen blocks away, the bloodshed claimed another victim.

Police said a 26-year-old man was shot in the thigh at 1:30 p.m. on First Street, between Quail and Ontario streets, in West Hill. He was rushed to Albany Medical Center Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, as city investigators photographed the blood-stained pavement.

Police could not say Tuesday afternoon whether the shooting was connected to the gang violence Cuomo appeared in Albany to discuss.

At the library, the governor called the ongoing heroin and opioid epidemic  the target of $7 million in recent state funding to the capital city  and gang violence a "twin scourge."

To enhance the fight, 10 troopers will join the city's 342 cops in patrolling crime-ridden neighborhoods, in an effort reminiscent of patrols under former Gov. George Pataki's Operation IMPACT.

State Police Capt. Robert Patnaude, who commands Troop G, said the troopers will be selected based on their urban patrol experience and familiarity with Albany. They could be rotated in and out of the assignment, meaning it may not always be the same 10 troopers patrolling Albany's streets.

The troopers will spend much of their time in inner city neighborhoods, which suffer Albany's highest rates of violent crime and also its heaviest levels of policing. These blocks are also home to many of the city's black and brown residents, with whom the Albany Police Department is trying to establish trusting relationships.

"We have been working with the Albany Police Department to change the culture of policing, and this would interfere with that work," said Alice Green, executive director of the Center for Law and Justice.

Troopers don't receive the same rigorous training in implicit bias, urban policing and procedural justice as Albany police, she said.

Green added that she fears Cuomo's program will fuel higher prosecution rates for people of color. Sweeping gang arrests made by federal, state and local agencies in 2006 and 2009 resulted in 33 young black men being sentenced to a total of almost 300 years in prison for nonviolent offenses, Green said.

"Community policing demands the community be involved in decisions on public safety," she said.

Both Patnuade and Acting Albany Police Chief Robert Sears said they don't think the troopers' presence will interrupt community policing efforts. "Part of our community policing is getting out there and getting active," Sears said.

The troopers will be embedded in the department's uniformed patrol unit and partnered with a city cop, Sears said. The program is meant to "free up resources," he said.

The troopers will not be involved in the city's community response unit, which investigates crimes involving drugs and guns, or enhanced supervision unit, which provides outreach to gang members. They may be used in undercover investigations.

Patnaude and Sears said they started planning the deployment Monday evening, and have not yet decided which blocks will be targeted for extra enforcement.

"Clearly they'll be going to areas where we're seeing our gun violence," Sears said. A recent Times Union analysis of shots fired cases showed these types of crime are concentrated in West Hill.

Patnaude said uniformed troopers will also be sent to Schenectady, though he didn't have an exact number.

Last week, Cuomo was on Long Island to discuss the State Police's role in battling MS-13, an international gang implicated in gruesome murders in Suffolk County.

The governor appeared in Rochester  where 60 percent of homicides are traced back to gangs  Tuesday afternoon to announce a program similar to the one he rolled out in Albany.

In the capital city, Cuomo also detailed two state-funded programs meant to stem the tide of gun violence: Albany Cure Violence, which employs formerly incarcerated caseworkers as mentors for teens at a higher risk for shooting someone or being shot, and the Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative, which is entering its fourth year.

Police use GIVE funds to analyze data from crime-ridden neighborhoods and refocus resources; redesign vacant lots, dimly lit streets and traffic patterns believed to breed criminal activity; pay Cure Violence employees for their work; and enhance community policing initiatives.

But it's the increase in state troopers that is the most visible sign of action in a city that saw gunfire erupt 63 times last year, injuring 28 people and killing one man.

Yet, gun violence in the city as a whole is on the decline. Data show that reports of gunfire decreased 24 percent last year when compared with the most recent five-year average.

While State Police investigators are deeply involved in probing major crime in upstate cities, the force is primarily rural and troopers typically leave urban patrol duties to local police departments.

In recent years, however, the Cuomo administration has deployed more uniformed troopers in urban environments, with the most noteworthy expansion happening downstate.

Dozens of troopers regularly patrol New York City highways, bridges and landmarks, a presence the governor's office said is intended to help the city transition to cashless tolls and continue their counter-terrorism efforts.

"We direct our resources at problem areas, whether it's the cities or the suburbs or the rural areas," Patnaude said.
Troy

Donna's Italian Restaurant in Troy, a modern take on grandma-style red-sauce fare, will close after dinner service on Saturday, May 13, just a few days before its six-month anniversary.

The restaurant is not financially viable, according to owners Vic Christopher and Heather LaVine. They decided to close it to stop losses they say are running at $1,000 a week or more. They opened it in December as an homage of sorts to Minissale's Wine Cellar cafe, the restaurant that occupied the building, at 1 14th St., for 38 years, until last summer.

A variety of factors were at play in the decision to close, Christopher said, including failure to complete purchase of the building, as originally planned.

The restaurant is open only four days a week. Business has been strong on Friday and Saturday nights, the owners say, when the restaurant feeds upward of 100 people, but on Wednesday and Thursday, few customers show up after an initial rush at opening time. It isn't unusual for the last midweek meal to go out before 8 p.m. Further, the 10-seat bar area at Donna's is too small to provide room for people to linger while waiting for a table, meaning most prospective diners who can't be seated upon arrival tend to leave and not return. Finally, alcohol sales  where restaurants make most of their profits  are notably lower than at Christopher and LaVine's other restaurants, Peck's Arcade and Lucas Confectionery wine bar, both also in Troy.

The duo, who have been credited as the single most important component of Troy's surging restaurant scene of the past few years, are experiencing their first significant failure with Donna's. LaVine describes it as "incredibly painful," because Minissale's became their home away from home when they were opening the wine bar, their first venture. But their attachment to the place also led to what Christopher calls an "emotional decision" to go forward with Donna's when Peck's was less than two years old and they were also working to open The Bradley, a dive bar in downtown Troy.

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"I'm supposedly a real-estate guy, but I couldn't close the deal on the property," Christopher says. "I'm not blaming anybody but myself."

Most of the staff at Donna's will be absorbed into Christopher and LaVine's other businesses, which also includes Little Pecks cafe. Some Donna's menu items, especially the pizzas, likely will make their way downtown, says Nick Ruscitto, who supervises food for Christopher and LaVine's restaurants.

A Q & A with Christopher is online at the Table Hopping blog, http://blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping/55709/donnas-in-troy-closing-after-six-months-owners-explain-in-full/
State run ISNA news agency on February 26, 2017, reported Guard Hossein Ashtar as saying in response to these high numbers, Now because of the closure of some factories and credit institutions, rallies are held that occasionally reach to 20-30 per day, and these rallies must be well managed. Because occurring of an accident in a city can have national and international repercussions. 

More than 2,000 workers at Hormozgan aluminum factory were the first to stage a long protest against unpaid salaries.

Workers at Isfahan Polyacryl followed, by repeatedly protesting nearly a year of unpaid salaries, and in a brave action, expelled the director, who was affiliated with the regime, from the factory.

The labor protests included workers protest of Ghou (Swan) vegetable oil, Mahabad agribusiness, Azmayesh, workers of Almas Matteh in Tabas, and the protest of hundreds of drivers of Gol Gohar Mine in Sirjan, who blocked the roads with burning tires.

The labor protests escalated with the arrests and imprisonments of activist workers. Another factor that contributed to the increase in protests is the nonpayment of insurance premiums by the regimes agents, resulting in workers being forced to pay the cost of treatment out of their own pockets.

Job security played into the soaring demonstrations, as firing of workers after twenty some years of work was was caused by the privatization of such businesses as Hormozgan aluminum and Zanjan transformer factory. Workers resisted these lay-offs with large scale demonstrations.

Although there are no statistics on the exact number of workers laid off, an article published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) states that some government statistics indicate that tens of thousands of workers have been dismissed from their jobs.

During the first 6 months of 2016, 15,000 workers were fired, according to the head of the Chamber of Commerce of Isfahan.

State run news agency ISNA reported on October 26, 2016, that in Qazvin province, 4,000 workers were fired within 6 months.

State run news agency ILNA quoted the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Industries of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on August 10, 2016. He said, During the past few months 50 to 60 iron ore mines were closed, and 5,000 workers became unemployed. In addition, in Shamsabad Industrial Park, from 3,800 manufacturing and industrial units, the activities of 2,600 of them have stopped.

The head of the Union of Tehran Brick Makers claims that half of this sectors factories (150 factories) were closed, and the other half worked with a fifth of their capacity. The work force in these units dropped from 30 thousand to 2 thousand people. 33% of Semnan industrial units  621 units of a total of 1,792 units  are closed. 30% of the total textiles workforce were dismissed.

State-run Tasnim news agency wrote that 7,000 industrial units were stagnant and 2,000 units were semi active.

The NCRI writes, The mullahs regime has destroyed all independent labor organizations and governmental organizations such as the so-called Workers House or Islamic Councils role is to suppress the workers, not bringing up the demands of the workers. Another difference between Iran under the rule of the Mullahs and other countries in terms of protests is that since the majority of companies and factories in Iran are in the hands of the IRGC and the government, any labor protest has a political and anti-government message. They add, In fact, workers emphasized on the main cause of the plunder of their rights which is the mullahs regime, and from the May Day of last year to this year raised their protests in different ways.
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It only took about an hour for the remnants of Tropical Depression Cindy to cause flooding in the Titusville area, particularly along the regu
[May 02, 2017] Chilean Geospatial Leader GEOCOM Signs on as Microdrones Dealer

SANTIAGO, Chile, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ -- Microdrones is excited to announce that GEOCOM, Chile's leading provider of geospatial innovation, is now offering Microdrones unmanned aerial mapping solutions to their customers. Microdrones developed the world's first commercial quadcopter and their mdMapper solutions lead the industry for aerial surveying and mapping. "Microdrones has an excellent product line. We've investigated multiple brands and feel this is the best option on the market for our customers," said GEOCOM General Manager, Carlos Escudero. "Microdrones quadcopters are easy to control, highly maneuverable, can fly for a long time, and are very robust and weather-resistant. They're not going to be stopped by environmental challenges." Before selling Microdrones UAVs, GEOCOM was successful in selling Trimble's line of professional drones. "Unmanned aerial systems have been a popular product here in Chile, especially for mining clients. And we expect tremendous growth," said Escudero. "The companies that are buying these want to do more with less and know that with drones, the work will be safer, faster, and more precise. These customers have seen results very quickly and many are now looking to buy additional systems." Available immediately, GEOCOM is offering Microdrones' mdMapper packages, complete solutions that include aircraft, sensors, and software  everything companies need for aerial mapping. These packages were designed for simple training and easy use to allow users to get started quickly.



mdMapper200  Compact, complete, and competitively priced, mdMapper200 is a great option for companies seeking the easiest possible drone to transport or a smaller drone to add to their fleet.

Compact, complete, and competitively priced, mdMapper200 is a great option for companies seeking the easiest possible drone to transport or a smaller drone to add to their fleet. mdMapper1000  Extra-long flight times and resistance to harsh environmental conditions make this complete mapping system an excellent choice for applications like surveying, mapping, inspection, and construction.

Extra-long flight times and resistance to harsh environmental conditions make this complete mapping system an excellent choice for applications like surveying, mapping, inspection, and construction. mdMapper1000DG  The benefits of mdMapper1000 plus the power of direct georeferencing combine to produce the best possible accuracy and time savings with no ground control points. Users can also increase the functionality of their systems by purchasing accessory kits. Some of the available options include inspection, multispectral, thermal, and soon LiDAR and methane gas detection kits.

"GEOCOM is a pioneer in geospatial," said Elena Rodriguez, Microdrones' sales manager for South America. "They've been at the forefront of their industry for decades and have been the first to introduce many new technologies in Chile." GEOCOM opened its doors in 1985. With more than 30 years of experience, the company is known throughout Chile for their expert service and breadth of line. "I am very pleased to have the largest Trimble dealer of UAVs in the Western Hemisphere, GEOCOM, as a Microdrones partner," said Phil Kern, Trimble Dealer Manager. "I look forward to working with Carlos and his outstanding team for a long time." GEOCOM employs numerous engineers to assist customers as they get off the ground with UAVs. "They don't just buy the product and then we disappear," explained Marcela Wevar, GEOCOM Brand Manager. "We are a partner that stands by our customers. Everything we do is to help them grow. Caring about people is what makes us successful." To learn more about GEOCOM's team, products, and services, visit http://www.geocom.cl/. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chilean-geospatial-leader-geocom-signs-on-as-microdrones-dealer-300449172.html SOURCE Microdrones

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[May 02, 2017] Government of Canada awards contract to QoC Health for Return-to-Duty Program

TORONTO, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - QoC Health announced today that it has been awarded a contract to deploy its award-winning patient engagement platform with the Return to Duty (RTD) Program at the Department of National Defense. This platform will be used to support ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members in their recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration. To accomplish this, the platform will help provide incentive to progress through the RTD program, monitor this progress, and share information with RTD Coordinators and Unit RTD Representatives. The solution will incorporate design elements recommendd by ill and injured CAF members, who will be engaged through the deployment and test phases. Features of the RTD platform will include coordinated RTD plans, progress monitoring, social support, educational content, and experience feedback collection. "This platform solution represents a unique opportunity for ill and injured CAF members to be better connected to their RTD program support network," said Captain (Navy) Marie-France Langlois, Director Casualty Support Management. "It also represents a technological step forward in how we care for our own."



"We are humbled by the opportunity offered by the government's BCIP program to promote more stable recovery, rehabilitation, and integration for its ill and injured CAF members," says Raymond Shih, President and Co-Founder of QoC Health. "Being selected for such an important project demonstrates the maturity, scalability, and privacy and security standards of the QoC Health platform." The contract was awarded through the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).

About QoC Health QoC Health is an Ontario-based social enterprise that helps health organizations take their digital health ideas to scale and / or commercialization with its patient-centered technology platform. For more information, please visit www.qochealth.com SOURCE QoC Health

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[May 01, 2017] Community Health Systems Announces Definitive Agreement to Sell Tomball and Jourdanton, Texas Hospitals to HCA

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) announced today that subsidiaries of the Company have signed definitive agreements to sell two Texas hospitals and their associated assets to subsidiaries of HCA (NYSE: HCA). Hospitals included in the transaction are 350-bed Tomball Regional Medical Center in Tomball and 67-bed South Texas Regional Medical Center in Jourdanton. South Texas Regional Medical Center will be acquired by Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio, Ltd., L.L.P, a partnership between HCA and Methodist Healthcare Ministries. The transaction is expected to close in the summer of 2017, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The two hospitals in this transaction are part of the planned hospital divestitures previously discussed. The Company will provide an update on its divestiture activity on its first quarter 2017 earnings call scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Central time, 12:00 p.m. Eastern time, on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. About Community Health Systems, Inc. Community Health Systems, nc. is one of the largest publicly traded hospital companies in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in communities across the country. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns, leases or operates 146 affiliated hospitals in 21 states with an aggregate of approximately 24,000 licensed beds. The Company's headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CYH." More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.chs.net.



Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this news release regarding potential transactions, operating results, and other events are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Community Health Systems, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K, current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170501006426/en/

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[May 01, 2017] Leonovus Inc. Announces FY 2016 Financial Results

OTTAWA, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Leonovus Inc., ("Leonovus") (TSXV: LTV) today announced its operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2016. Net loss for the year ending 2016 was $1,236,000, which was 34% lower than losses of $1,878,000 in 2015. Liabilities increased from $3,432,000 in 2015 to $3,641,000 in 2016 as the company collected on notes receivable and entered into new debt agreements totalling $250,000 to bridge the company during this transition year. Subsequently all of the $250,000 was repaid in March 2017 from proceeds of a financing. "The company went through a period of significant adjustment in 2016. All operations in the USA were moved to Ottawa to consolidate operations and take advantage of the more favourable economics compared to California. The product line went through a coplete restructuring as it moved from a focus on distributed public cloud storage in the hospitality industry to a comprehensive Software Defined Object Storage solution," said Michael Gaffney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.



"The company continues to focus on generating revenue and expects revenue from the new software defined storage technology to begin in Q2 2017. As of today the company has several software installations as a proof of concept in major organizations and is in the process of signing several distribution agreements, one of which was announced on April 26, 2017. In addition, we have engaged an expert IP firm to analyze the monetization opportunities for our extensive media acceleration patent portfolio" said Gaffney. Certain statements included in this news release contain forward looking statements, which by their nature are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause 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 statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events, and are based on information currently available to the Company and on hypotheses which it considers to be reasonable; however, management warns the reader that hypotheses relative to future events which are beyond the control of management could prove to be false, given that they are subject to certain risks and uncertainties.

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 LeoNovus Inc.

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[May 02, 2017] TiGenix: CONVENING NOTICE TO THE ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING TO BE HELD ON 1 JUNE 2017

TiGenix

Naamloze vennootschap

die een openbaar beroep doet of heeft gedaan op het spaarwezen

Romeinse straat 12 box 2

3001 Leuven

VAT BE 0471.340.123

RLE Leuven CONVENING NOTICE TO the ANNUAL shareholders' meeting to be held on 1 JUNE 2017 The board of directors of TiGenix NV (the "Company") is pleased to invite you to the annual shareholders' meeting of TiGenix NV that will be held at the registered office of TiGenix NV (Romeinse straat 12 box 2, 3001 Leuven) on 1 June 2017 at 14:00h, with the agenda and proposed resolutions set out below. Agenda and proposed resolutions Acknowledgement and discussion of: the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016

the consolidated annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016

the annual report of the board of directors on the annual accounts and the consolidated annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016

the report of the auditor on the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016

the report of the auditor on the consolidated annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 Approval of the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting approves the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2016. Allocation of results for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting approves the allocation of results for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 as proposed by the board of directors. Approval of the remuneration report for the financial year ended on 31 December 2016 Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting approves the remuneration report for the financial year ended on 31 December 2016. Release from liability to be granted to the directors and the auditor for the performance of their duties in the course of the financial year ended 31 December 2016 Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting releases the directors (as well as the respective permanent representatives of the legal entities which are director) and the auditor of the Company from any liability arising from the performance of their duties during the financial year ended 31 December 2016. It is clarified that this release from liability also applies to R&S Consulting BVBA, represented by Dirk Reyn, who resigned as director effective as of 21 September 2016. Appointment of the statutory auditor and remuneration Explanatory note: According to Article 132/1, paragraph 2 of the Companies Code, the mandate of a statutory auditor cannot be renewed if it has reached the maximum term of 9 years. As the mandate of BDO Bedrijfsrevisoren - BDO Reviseurs d'Entreprises CVBA/SCRL has reached the maximum term, the Company will in principle need to appoint another auditor, except if the Company organises a public tendering process. Following the outcome of the public tendering process, and in accordance with the recommendation and preference of the audit committee which was followed by the board of directors, the board of directors proposed to the shareholders' meeting to appoint PwC Bedrijfsrevisoren BCVBA as statutory auditor of the Company for a term of 3 years. Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting resolves to appoint PwC Bedrijfsrevisoren BCVBA, with registered office at Woluwedal 18, 1932 Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, Belgium, as statutory auditor. PwC Bedrijfsrevisoren BCVBA designated Marc Daelman as its permanent representative. The shareholders' meeting resolves that the term of office of the statutory auditor will expire immediately after the annual shareholders' meeting which will be asked to approve the annual accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2019. The shareholders' meeting further resolves that the statutory auditor's remuneration will amount to EUR 206,880 per year (excluding expenses and VAT), throughout its term of office. Remuneration policy of the Company: continuation of the policy whereby warrants can be granted to the members of the executive management and, to the extent necessary and applicable, approval of early exercise possibilities of the warrants in accordance with articles 520ter and 556 of the Companies Code 7.1. Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting approves the continuation of the possibility to, as part of the remuneration policy of the Company, grant warrants to the members of the executive management, including executive directors, provided that the board of directors will apply the conflict of interests procedure, if applicable, at the time of granting the warrants. To the extent warrants would be granted to members of the executive management, including executive directors, that will happen in the framework of new, still to be approved warrants plans, the most important terms and conditions of which can be summarized as follows: The warrants are granted free of charge. Each warrant entitles its holder to subscribe to one share in the Company at a fixed exercise price determined by the board of directors. Unless the board of directors prior to or at the time of the grant of the warrant determines a higher exercise price, the exercise price of a warrant will be equal to the lowest of the following prices: (i) the last closing price of the TiGenix share on the stock exchange prior to the date on which the warrant is offered, and (ii) the average closing price of the TiGenix share on the stock exchange over te 30 day period preceding the date on which the warrant is offered, it being understood that, for beneficiaries of the warrants plan that are not employees of the Company or its subsidiaries, the exercise price cannot be lower than the average closing price of the TiGenix share on the stock exchange over the 30 day period preceding the date of issuance of the warrants. The warrants have a duration of no longer than ten (10) years as from the date of their issuance. Unless the board of directors decides otherwise when granting the warrants, and subject to the end of the cooperation and certain situations in which warrants can become null and void, 1/3rd of the warrants granted vests on the first anniversary of the date of the grant and 1/24th of the remaining 2/3rd of the warrants granted vests on the last day of each of the 24 months following the month of the first anniversary of the date of the grant. Warrants can only be exercised by the warrant holder if they have definitively vested.



7.2. Proposed resolution : In general, and to the extent necessary and applicable, the shareholders' meeting expressly approves in accordance with articles 520ter and 556 of the Companies Code the possibility of the board of directors of the Company to allow for the early exercise of the warrants that are currently outstanding, even before the third anniversary of their award, in the event of a change in control of the Company as set out in article 6.3 of the relevant warrant plans.

Sending of information to shareholders by electronic means Explanatory note : The Company intends to simplify and modernise the process of sending information to holders of registered securities. The possibility for sending legally required information to the shareholders by electronic means requires the prior authorisation by the shareholders' meeting. The notion "by electronic means" is defined as "by electronic means of processing (including digital compression), storage and transmission of data by cable, radio waves, fibre optic technology or any other electromagnetic means". The Company will invite holders of registered shares by post to give their consent to the use of electronic means for sending information instead of sending a paper copy by post. If they do not object within a reasonable deadline (or in the absence of a response from them), they will be deemed to consent. Holders of registered shares will always have the right to ask that information is sent to them again by post. Proposed resolution : The shareholders' meeting authorises the Company to send legally required information intended for the holders of shares issued by the Company or for any other persons entitled to exercise voting rights by electronic means in accordance with Article 9 of the Royal Decree of 14 November 2007 on the obligations of issuers of financial instruments admitted to trading on a regulated market. Admission conditions In order to be admitted to the shareholders' meeting, the holders of securities issued by the Company must comply with Article 536 of the Companies Code and Article 30 of the articles of association, and fulfil the formalities and make the notifications described below. In accordance with Article 537 of the Companies Code, the holders of bonds or warrants issued by the Company can only attend the shareholders' meeting with a consultative vote. Holders of registered shares and warrants The holders of registered shares and warrants are entitled to participate in and, in the case of shares, to vote at the shareholders' meeting, provided that: Registration : their shares or warrants are recorded in their name in the register of registered shares or warrants at midnight (24:00) (CET) on 18 May 2017 (the "record date") and this irrespective of the number of shares or warrants that they own on the date of the shareholders' meeting; and Confirmation of participation : they notify the Company in writing of (i) their intention to participate in the shareholders' meeting, and (ii) the number of securities for which they wish to participate in the shareholders' meeting, by means of a signed form that must be received by the Company at the Company's registered office at the latest on 26 May 2017; a model of this form is available at the Company's registered office and on the Company's website under the tab "Investors / Shareholder meeting" (www.tigenix.com). Holders of dematerialized shares and bonds The holders of dematerialized shares and bonds are entitled to participate in and, in the case of shares, to vote at the shareholders' meeting, provided that: Registration : their shares or bonds are recorded in their name in the accounts of a recognized account holder or a settlement institution at midnight (24:00) (CET) on 18 May 2017 (the " record date ") and this irrespective of the number of shares or bonds that they own on the date of the shareholders' meeting; and

: their shares or bonds are recorded in their name in the accounts of a recognized account holder or a settlement institution at midnight (24:00) (CET) on 18 May 2017 (the " ") and this irrespective of the number of shares or bonds that they own on the date of the shareholders' meeting; and Confirmation of participation : at the latest on 26 May 2017, they deliver or have delivered at an office of ING Belgium (before closing time) or via e-mail ([email protected]) a certificate issued by the recognized account holder or the settlement institution certifying the number of dematerialized shares or bonds recorded in the shareholder's or bondholder's accounts on the record date in respect of which the shareholder or bondholder has indicated his intention to participate in the shareholders' meeting. Only persons who are a shareholder, a bondholder or a warrant holder of the Company on the record date (18 May 2017) and who have indicated at the latest on 26 May 2017 their intention to participate in the shareholders' meeting as set out above will be admitted to the shareholders' meeting. The shares and bonds are not blocked as a result of the above-mentioned process. As a result, the shareholders and bondholders are free to dispose of their shares and bonds after the record date. Right to add agenda items and to submit proposed resolutions In accordance with Article 533ter of the Companies Code and Article 35 of the articles of association, one or more shareholders holding together at least three percent (3%) of the registered capital of the Company may request for items to be added to the agenda of the shareholders' meeting and submit proposed resolutions in relation to existing agenda items or new items to be added to the agenda, provided that: they prove ownership of such shareholding as at the date of their request and record their shares representing such shareholding on the record date (i.e., on 18 May 2017); the shareholding must be proven either by a certificate evidencing the registration of the relevant shares in the register of registered shares of the Company or by a certificate issued by a recognized account holder or a settlement institution certifying the book-entry of the relevant number of dematerialized shares in the name of the relevant shareholder(s), and

the additional agenda items and/or proposed resolutions have been submitted in writing by these shareholder(s) to the board of directors at the latest on 10 May 2017. These additional agenda items and/or proposed resolutions may be sent to the Company by mail to the Company's registered office for the attention of Ms. An Moonen or by e-mail to [email protected] As the case may be, the Company shall publish on its website (www.tigenix.com), in the Belgian State Gazette and in the press the modified agenda of the shareholders' meeting at the latest on 17 May 2017. In that case, the Company will also make a revised proxy form available on its website (www.tigenix.com) at the same time as the publication of the modified agenda of the shareholders' meeting, i.e. on 17 May 2017. In case shareholders, in accordance with Article 533ter of the Companies Code, exercise their right to add items to the agenda and to file resolution proposals, proxies filed prior to the publication of the revised agenda shall remain valid for the agenda items they cover. In case new/alternative resolution proposals are filed with regard to existing agenda items, the proxy holder will always be entitled to deviate from previously given voting instructions should their implementation be detrimental to the interests of the shareholder. In that event, the proxy holder shall notify the shareholder of any such deviation as well as the justification thereof. The proxy should also indicate whether, in case new items are added to the agenda by shareholders, the proxy holder is entitled to vote on the new items or whether he/she/it should abstain. Right to ask questions In accordance with Article 540 of the Companies Code and Article 35 of the articles of association, all shareholders are entitled, whether during the meeting or in writing before the meeting, to ask questions to the directors with respect to their report or the agenda items and to the auditor with respect to its report. Questions asked in writing will only be answered if the relevant shareholder has fulfilled the formalities set out above to be admitted to the shareholders' meeting and if the written question has been received by the Company at the latest on 26 May 2017. Written questions may be sent to the Company by mail to the Company's registered office at Romeinse straat 12, 3001 Leuven for the attention of Ms. An Moonen or by e-mail to [email protected] Proxy In accordance with Article 547bis of the Companies Code and Article 31 of the articles of association, each shareholder may be represented at the shareholders' meeting by a proxy holder, who does not need to be a shareholder. Except in cases provided for in the law, a shareholder may only appoint one person as proxy holder for a particular shareholders' meeting. Shareholders who so wish to be represented by proxy, are requested to use the model of proxy form (with voting instructions) that is available at the Company's registered office and on the Company's website under the tab "Investor / Shareholder meeting" (www.tigenix.com). The signed proxy form must be received by the Company at the Company's registered office at the latest on 26 May 2017. Shareholders who wish to be represented by proxy, must comply with the above-mentioned admission conditions. Availability of documents In accordance with Article 535 of the Companies Code, the shareholders, bondholders and warrant holders of the Company can, upon presentation of their security or of a certificate issued by a recognized account holder or a settlement institution certifying the number of dematerialized securities recorded in the name of the shareholder, obtain at the Company's registered office, Romeinse straat 12, 3001 Leuven, free of charge, a copy of the documents and reports that relate to this meeting or that must be made available to them pursuant to law. These documents and reports, as well as the total number of shares and voting rights at the date of the convening notice, are also available on the Company's website (www.tigenix.com). Miscellaneous In order to facilitate an expedient registration, the participants are requested to be present at least half an hour prior to the start of the shareholders' meeting. In order to be admitted to the shareholders' meeting, the shareholders, bondholders, warrant holders and proxy holders must be able to prove their identity (ID card / passport). Please contact Ms. An Moonen at the following telephone number +32 (0)16 39 79 37 or e-mail address [email protected] for more information. Correspondence may be sent to TiGenix NV, for the attention of Ms. An Moonen, Romeinse straat 12 box 2, 3001 Leuven. The board of directors.

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[May 02, 2017] Wirecard Enables Payment Solution for the Baltic Conglomerate Zabolis Partners

MUNICH, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Wirecard acts as Acquiring Partner for Zabolis Partners group and provides the e-commerce payment processing for Mokipay, a joint investment into the FinTech space by the Finnish KESKO group and Zabolis Partners Wirecard, the leading company for payment and internet technology has signed up Zabolis Partners group as a new customer - one of the largest private equity investment conglomerates in the Baltic Countries. Within the collaboration, Wirecard acts as Acquiring Partner for credit card payments via Visa and Mastercard for the whole e-commerce offerings of Zabolis Partners. This includes among others the online shops of Kesko, one of the biggest retail chains in the Baltics with its headquarter in Helsinki. In addition, Wirecard is responsible for the acquiring processes regarding their FinTech investments like Mokipay and Mokilizingas. Online shopping is very widespread in the Baltic Countries in general. With a population of 6,12 million people, of which over 70 percent are internet users, thousands of people shop online. These e-shoppers on average spend 630 per year in countries like Lithuania. As the official Acquiring Partner of Zabolis Partners payment facilitator Mokipay, Wirecard processes all e-commerce payments that are made via credit card payments on the companies' platforms - as well as payments which ae offered per monthly rates: Zabolis Partners payment brand Mokipay for example offers a distributed instalment pay model for customers who can pay for larger baskets of online purchases with monthly instalments that can be automatically billed to their credit cards.



Tomas Unikauskis, CEO at Mokipay says: "From the very beginning we were impressed by the extent of the strategic fit between Wirecard and Zabolis Partners. Wirecard's extensive know-how in the FinTech field allowed us to jointly develop a seamless payment process, which we can easily manage at each step of the customer checkout journey. The solution has become one of the central pieces of the entire Mokipay's payment infrastructure - be it smart loan issuing, instalment collection or card tokenization." Julia Kitzinger, Vice President Sales Digital Commerce at Wirecard, adds: "We are very delighted that we have signed with Zabolis Partners as our customer that has joint ventures with multiple partners across various business sectors. Their retail partner brands like Kesko and Senukai are very well known in the Baltic Countries. With our worldwide payment solutions, we are able to deliver a seamless acquiring process and respond to the companies needs for special projects within their Group and for sub-merchants, for example in regards of new wallet solutions."

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 Zabolis Partners: Zabolis Partners is a private equity firm specializing in real estate, sustainable energy, e-commerce and financial technology sectors. Wirecard media contact:



Wirecard AG

Jana Tilz

Tel.: +49(0)89-4424-1363

E-Mail: [email protected]



Zabolis Partners media contact:



Zabolis Partners

Tel.: [email protected]

E-mail: +370(5)266-1266





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[May 02, 2017] Infosys to Hire 10,000 American Workers Over the Next Two Years and Establish Four Technology and Innovation Hubs in the United States

INDIANAPOLIS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services, today announced that it plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years. As part of this initiative, Infosys will open four new Technology and Innovation Hubs across the country focusing on cutting-edge technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 )

These four hubs will not only have technology and innovation focus areas, but will closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more. The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indiana's economy. "Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys. "Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers. New advances in technology - artificial intelligence, in particular - are radically transforming our world, and it is within our reach to learn these new technologies and to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who bring solutions based on these technologies to our clients in all industries." "It's so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs," said Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb . "Indiana continues to put the tools in place, such as the Next Level Trust Fund and incentivizing direct flights, that allows us to attract and retain great companies like Infosys. In addition, our higher education institutions are producing a world class workforce, establishing Indiana as the innovation hub of the Midwest. I look forward to working with Infosys to elevate Indiana to the next level." In filling these jobs, Infosys will hire experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community coleges, to create the talent pools for the future. To ensure that American workers are fully equipped to innovate and support clients in the rapid digitization of all industries and consistent with Infosys' over 35 year-long commitment to the U.S., the company will institute training programs in key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.



This development comes as part of Infosys' continued legacy of a three-decade long investment across the U.S. In just the last 3 years, Infosys has renewed this focus by setting up an innovation hub in Silicon Valley. A unique, open environment that encourages new ways of working, collaborating, thinking and delivering breakthrough next-generation projects to clients. Infosys pursues its mission of inspiring children, young adults and educators to become creators of technology through its charitable foundation, Infosys Foundation USA. Since 2015, more than 134,000 students, over 2,500 teachers and almost 2,500 schools across America have benefited from high quality computer science training and classroom equipment funded by Infosys Foundation USA. The Foundation also partners with organizations such as Code.org, CSTA and others to advance the skills development of millions of students.

"Since joining Infosys nearly three years ago, it has been my personal endeavor to help us get much closer to our clients, to co-innovate with them, on their most important business problems," added Dr. Sikka. "Having lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years, and being a part of the incredible innovation here, I truly believe Infosys can help clients bring innovation more directly into their businesses, as they create and drive their digital transformations. We can achieve this by enhancing our ability to attract and recruit local top talent across the United States, by harnessing the global scale of Infosys, through software and platforms, and by educating and training people in the necessary skills." For more information on jobs at Infosys please visit: https://www.infosys.com/careers/ About Infosys Ltd Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of over 200,000 innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies, that we bring to every project we undertake. Visit http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.



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[May 02, 2017] Altvia Sponsors PEI's Private Equity Real Estate Europe Summit

BROOMFIELD, Colorado, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading private equity software provider Altvia Solutions, LLC (Altvia) announced today that it is a sponsor of the upcoming Private Equity Real Estate Europe Summit hosted by Private Equity International (PEI). This event, which takes place in London, UK, on May 10-11, 2017, is a leading forum for private equity real estate industry leaders to engage about market trends, strategies, and deals. For more information about Altvia, click here. "We're thrilled about this opportunity to deepen our focus on private equity real estate and expand activity in the London and broader European market," shares Kevin Kelly, CEO and Founder of Altvia. "With a growing customer base and industry expertise in this market, we're well positioned to help private equity real estate (PERE) firms better manage their data and relationships to improve fundraising, deal flow, and investor transparency." At the summit, Altvia will share key insights about technology-based solutions that enable PERE firms to better differentiate thmselves and compete in a crowded market. "The PERE industry is rapidly evolving in several areas. An increasing proportion of fund managers are expanding investment vehicles and opportunities to attract new investors and secure fundraising. With the market drive to more aggressively attract capital and build relationships, there's demand for new skills and tools to make this happen," comments Jeff Williams, Vice President of Products at Altvia. "In particular, we're seeing strong demand for tools that can turn data into insights for deliberate decisions with powerful reporting that avails more tracking and analytics of a fund manager's best deal sources, types of property investments and network of investors."



Additionally, the Company took this opportunity to announce that the Denver Business Journal has named Altvia to its 2017 list of Top Software Companies for a second consecutive year. Altvia is also greatly honored to have been named a Finalist in the 2017 Colorado Companies to Watch by CCTW. About Altvia:

Altvia translates data into intelligence for Alternative Asset Fund Managers, Institutional Investors, and Impact Investors. As the premier provider of flexible, web-based software solutions in private equity, Altvia combines technology with proven processes to fundamentally improve the communication and relationship between GPs, LPs, and Portfolio Companies. Founded in 2006, Altvia has grown to serve customers on six continents, and continues to expand its operations across the globe. To learn more, visit altvia.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/altvia-sponsors-peis-private-equity-real-estate-europe-summit-300449078.html

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In the fundamentalist culture ruling over Iran, the words country, Iranian nation and Muslim people mean nothing but an inhumane and anti-Iranian state of the mullahs rule, write the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in an article published on May 1st.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made this remark on April 30th, The IRGC is the element that should rally the people under the flag of Islam.

The IRGC, according to its statute, is an entity under the supreme command of the leader, who political and ideologically following the velayat-e faqih (mullahs rule) under articles 1 and 47.

Repeatedly emphasized by the Iranian Resistance is that the IRGC is the mullahs main leverage and center organ in imposing their military crackdown and quelling. The IRGC hinges on exporting fundamentalism, terrorism and warmongering, and this in itself is bent on the universal doctrine of the mullahs rule. In this regard the IRGC has been entrusted to fully advance the regimes nuclear weapons program.

The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran has made theses points:

1. During the past 38 years the IRGC has played the main role in domestic crackdown, including the bloody measures against the 1999 student uprising and the 2009 nationwide revolt. The IRGC intelligence has become a notorious organ playing the main role in arresting, torturing, executing and assassinating dissidents, and pursuing espionage against the regimes own faction.The IRGC restructured its hierarchy in 2008 to enable its confronting of popular protests, establishing an independent command structure for each province that is able to quell public uprisings. In coordination with the IRGC the Basij also takes part in the crackdown. In addition to its paramilitary units, the Basij utilizes its spying network in universities, schools, administrative offices, factories and neighborhoods to identify and arrest dissidents.

2. In addition to the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq, the IRGC has played the leading role in fueling, expanding and the continuation of a number of other major wars in the Middle East, including the current wars in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Following World War II and the actions of Hitler, the scope of casualties and displaced people rendered from these wars are in practice incomparable with any other criminal force.

 Iran-Iraq War (1980-88): More than 1 million dead, 1 million wounded and maimed, a few million displaced and $1 trillion in damages suffered by Iran alone.

 In Iraq after 2003, the IRGCs direct intervention led to hundreds of thousands of people being killed and many million displaced.

 In Syria after 2011 more than 500,000 people have been killed and more 10 million displaced.

 Thousands have been killed in the Yemen war and the United Nations has reported 3 million are displaced.

3. From the early days the IRGC has been a tool for the mullahs to intervene in other countries. From 1990 onward, however, this meddling increased to a new scope following the establishment of the Quds Force. The regimes inner circles described the Quds Force, considered an official IRGC unit, as the center of an international Islamic army. The IRGC, in addition to its overt and covert occupation of Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, is currently meddling actively through terrorism and fundamentalism in at least 10 other regional countries. This slate includes Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. The IRGC is also involved in establishing espionage and terrorist networks, and sending arms to these countries. No country in the region has been safe from the IRGCs terrorist activities. Irans spies and agents have been arrested and prosecuted in many of these countries

 The IRGC has systematically established criminal militia groups to institute influence across the Middle East. In addition to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraq is at the epicenter of Tehrans attention, establishing dozens of militia groups including the Badr, Asaeb Ahl al-Haq, Katayeb Hezbollah and Harekat al-Nojba. The Hashid al-Shabi, or the Popular Mobilization Units, structured by these militia groups, provides a governmental and official umbrella, and a significant freedom of action for these criminal groups. Iraqi militias are amongst the most important sources of manpower to continue the killing spree in Syria. Groups known as the Ansarollah in Yemen, Saberin in Palestine, Fatemiyoung of Afghanistan and Zeinabiyoun from Pakistan are amongst the groups involved in these carnages.

 The Iranian regime embassy in most Arabic and Islamic countries, especially Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan, are specifically controlled by the IRGC, and all are assigned to pursue the IRGCs agenda and policies. Irans ambassador in Iraq has always been a senior IRGC commander. This post is currently filled by Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, deputy of Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani.

4. Alongside Irans Intelligence Ministry, the IRGC is also involved in terrorist attacks abroad. These attacks include the 1983 US Marines barracks bombing in Beirut and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombings in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the Middle East, the IRGC has also carried out terrorist attacks in dozens of countries including Germany, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Thailand, Georgia, India, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In many cases the terrorists have been arrested. The IRGC has also expanded its terrorist networks to Latin America. The IRGC is known to deploy members and use non-Iranian agents in its attacks. The assassination of an Iranian by the name of Saeed Karimian in Istanbul on April 29th is one of the latest cases of terrorist crimes carried out by this regime outside of its borders.

5. From the 1990s the IRGC has enjoyed active relations with al-Qaeda and other Sunni extremist groups. These relations have in recent years increased unprecedentedly in Syria and Iraq. Today, there is no doubt that Tehran and Nouri al-Maliki, its puppet former prime minister in Iraq, alongside the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, played the most significant role in the growth and expansion of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL). After living in Iran for years, the commanders of many terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria have been returned by the Quds Force to Iraq and Syria during the past decade. US Secretary of State John Kerry said on November 17, 2015: ISIS was created by Assad releasing 1,500 prisoners from jail and Maliki releasing 1,000 people in Iraq who were put together as a force of terror types. Reports in the past months indicate an active relationship between the IRGC and the Afghan Taliban.

6. The IRGC has established a cyber army of thousands of IRGC and Basij members, busy spying, controlling the internet and cyber communications. Many youths have been arrested through such measures. The IRGC is known to hack and annihilate computer networks of various countries in the region, and even those of Western countries. The IRGC intelligence organization is involved in broadcasting jamming signals on satellite TV networks and rounded ordinary peoples satellite dishes.

7. Irans nuclear projects are mainly controlled by the IRGC. The IRGC Research Center has from 1983 onward began its research to obtain nuclear weapons, expanding through the years and adopting a variety of names to maintain its true profile a complete secret. This entity is recently evolved into the SPND organization under Irans Defense Ministry. On April 21st the National Council of Resistance of Iran US Office unveiled SPNDs continuing activities even after the nuclear deal signing.

8. The IRGC established a missile unit in 1985 and by importing North Korean technology it began in 1993 its mass production of ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload. The IRGC in 1996 established the Air & Space Organization under the Defense Ministry to expand its missile industry. North Korean experts were in constant contact with the Air & Space Organization and supported the Iranian regime in building its ballistic missiles. Missiles are one of this regimes most important tools to export crises, warmongering and meddling across the region. In addition to exporting a variety of missiles to different Middle East countries, including Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq, the IRGC has also launched missile factories inside Syria and Lebanon. The ballistic missiles fired from Yemen to Saudi Arabia are all built by the IRGC. The missiles launched by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia are provided by Iran, according to US Defense Secretary James Mattis.

9. In flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the IRGC continues to illegally export arms to regional countries. According to a report issued by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in January, the IRGC is sending arms to Yemen on a wide scale. The IRGC also produced huge numbers of roadside bombs, used to attack Coalition forces in Iraq.

10. Enjoying Khameneis support, the IRGC is now in control of Irans main economic branches in different fields, funneling billions in annual revenue. This is outside the oversight of official organizations and includes the oil and gas industry, importing and exporting goods, municipality services, agriculture and others. Through establishing a variety of companies and controlling numerous piers, the IRGC is plundering the Iranian peoples riches to provide for the expenses of its wars and terrorism. With 150,000 employees, the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters is one of the economic organs linked to the IRGC. After 38 years of war and terrorism inside Iran and abroad, it is now time for accountability by the Iranian people and justice to be served. The first necessary step in this regard is for the UN, US, Europe and Middle Eastern countries to designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, and impose comprehensive sanctions against this entity. This should be followed by evicting the mullahs war and crime leverages from the region, especially Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Only then can there be any hope of establishing peace and tranquility in the Middle East.
[May 02, 2017] Much Anticipated KineMaster for iPhone Finally Released on the App Store

SEOUL, South Korea, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMaster, a professional video editing app developed by NexStreaming (CEO: Il-Taek Lim), has been released on the App Store. KineMaster, which made its debut on Google Play at the end of 2013, has won the hearts of its users by bringing video editing features to smartphones that were previously only available in a PC environment. KineMaster has been featured internationally as App of the Week on Google Play in numerous countries, and has received multiple awards both at home and abroad. On April 28th, KineMaster launched on the App Store, and is now available to iPhone users as well. As more and more people record video using smartphones, action cameras, drones and other personal mobile devices, the need to edit these videos for both personal and professional use continues to grow. KineMaster makes this possible directly on the smartphone by providing precision audio and video editing tools, as well as multiple video layers (for B-roll and picture-in-picture support), Chroma Key (Green Screen), key-frame animation, animated handwriting, overlays, visual effects and more, with even more effects, music and overlays available for download via the KineMaster Asset Store. The KineMaster user interface is carefully crafted to provide a simple, comfortable and convenient mobile editing experience while still providing a full set of professional editing tools at your fingertips: A blend of power and convenience that sets the standard for mobile vdeo editing.



NexStreaming is preparing a special launch event for KineMaster on iPhone, with free 30-day promotional codes offered to qualifying applicants. Follow @KineMaster on Twitter and watch for a tweet during the first week of May with detailed information on how to participate. Jaewoo Kim, Head of Video Editing Business Division at NexStreaming, said "KineMaster users produce incredible, sophisticated videos combining many hundreds of carefully choreographed layers and our engineers are building enhanced tools to continue to improve the convenience and seamlessness of working with such complex projects on mobile." He also said, "The KineMaster for iPhone release is a major step forward, reinforcing KineMaster as the market leader in mobile video editing."

NexStreaming also offers the NexEditor SDK, a video editing solution, which is the underlying video editing engine KineMaster is built upon and can also be used to build applications that work with photos and videos on both Android and iOS platforms. NexStreaming will be attending Mojocon 2017 in Galway, Ireland from May 4th through May 6th to explore business partnership opportunities and to showcase KineMaster's current and upcoming features as well as the new iPhone version. KineMaster is the editor of choice for professionals and amateurs alike all around the world; from North America to Europe, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India and more, and in China under the Chinese brand name "Qiaoying". KineMaster can be installed via the App Store, the Google Play Store, and via the Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi and 360 app markets in China. About NexStreaming NexStreaming is a widely acknowledged mobile multimedia software company with its own video-processing technologies highly optimized for mobile devices. Products include: NexPlayer SDK, providing HD video streaming services including live broadcasting, NexEditor SDK, the advanced and sophisticated video editing solution delivering optimum performance on every device for the fastest recording and editing, KineMaster, the first and only professional video editor app available for iPhone and Android, and SingPlay, the Karaoke app that converts MP3 music into karaoke tracks in real time. NexStreaming is a publicly traded company listed on the Korean stock exchange (KOSDAQ:139670) since December 2011, with its headquarter in Seoul, Korea and branches in Spain, the U.S, Mainland China and Taiwan. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/much-anticipated-kinemaster-for-iphone-finally-released-on-the-app-store-300449321.html SOURCE NexStreaming Corp

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[May 02, 2017] Nokia boosts Cosmote's network coverage and capacity throughout Greece using long-haul microwave packet transport technology

Press Release Nokia deploys long-haul 9500 Microwave Packet Radio to increase backhaul capacity and speed as residential and tourist demands grow in remote Greek islands

Cosmote will enable high-speed fixed and mobile Internet access in currently underserved rural locations May 2, 2017 Athens, Greece - Nokia has upgraded the long-haul microwave trunk network of Cosmote, the mobile arm of OTE Group, Greece's largest telecoms provider, to enhance its network capacity and performance, especially in rural locations across the Greek islands. The upgrade using Nokia 9500 Microwave Packet Radio technology will allow Cosmote to meet growing residential and tourist demand for broadband access in currently underserved parts of the islands. The technology will backhaul data at speeds of 1Gbps via full IP connectivity serving mobile and fixed networks. By upgrading the existing SDH-microwave trunk-based network, Cosmote was also able to reuse existing passive radio equipment, taking advantage of significant total cost of ownership savings compared to a new deployment. Nokia's long-haul microwave technology will backhaul traffic generated across several Aegean Islands, offering fiber-like connectivity and backhaul redundancy to ensure reliability of network services. A key component of this deployment is its use of microwave technology to deliver high-speed broadband connectivity to the island of Kastellorizo, the most eastern of the Greek islands, which is more than 150km away from the neares network point of presence.



Technology and services deployed: Nokia 9500 Microwave Packet Radio

Nokia services expertise including project management, design, installation and commissioning and care services Konstantinos Koroneos, head of the OTE/ Cosmote account at Nokia, said: "Providing a network across a spread of islands provides its own unique challenges. Nokia first demonstrated the capabilities of the 9500 MPR in a demanding live field trial, and we are pleased to work with Cosmote as it evolves its network in this commercial deployment."

Did you know? Nokia recently announced the most comprehensive range of 'anyhaul' mobile transport options specifically designed to address the critical requirements of the 5G era. The portfolio builds upon Nokia's pedigree in mobile, microwave, IP, optical and fixed access technologies. Resources: Webpage: Mobile Backhaul

Webpage: Nokia 9500 Microwave Packet Radio

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[May 02, 2017] National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month Tackles Epidemic to Educate Public

LANDOVER, Md., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For over 30 years, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) proclaims the month of May as National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. In the U.S., asthma and allergic diseases such as pollen allergies or food allergies affect over 60 million people. AAFA will lead several awareness campaigns, including: A nationwide campaign to empower those living with asthma and allergies to share how they #TackleAsthma or #TackleAllergies. The campaign will include educational messages on how to prevent asthma and allergy flare-ups in and out of the home. Five participants will be selected to win a "healthier home" package of Certified asthma and allergy friendly products.

#FacesOfFoodAllergies is a social media campaign that addresses food allergy bullying and provides a support platform for kids with food allergies. "These chronic conditions affect one in every five Americans. People may not be seeking care for their conditions, or may not be able to affod the cost of their medication and doctor visits," states Lynda Mitchell, AAFA's chief operating officer. "Sadly, ten people die each day from asthma, many of which could be avoided with proper care and treatment."



National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month features: World Asthma Day on May 2

Air Quality Awareness Week May 1-5

Food Allergy Awareness Week May 14-20

National Eosinophil Awareness Week May 14-20 "Asthma and allergy control begins at home. It is important to use appropriate and effective cleaning methods to address common indoor allergy triggers like dust mites, pet dander and mold," said Melanie Carver, AAFA's vice president of community services. "Managing indoor air quality can lessen allergy symptoms and prevent asthma episodes."

For information about effective ways to manage allergies, visit www.aafa.org.

About AAFA

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1953, is the leading patient organization for people with asthma, allergies and related conditions. AAFA provides practical information, community based services and support through a national network of chapters, support groups and online communities. To learn more about AAFA, visit www.aafa.org. About KFA

Through its Kids With Food Allergies division, AAFA offers the oldest, most extensive online support community for families raising children with food allergies at community.kidswithfoodallergies.org. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-asthma-and-allergy-awareness-month-tackles-epidemic-to-educate-public-300449223.html SOURCE Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

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[May 02, 2017] New Zealand's Largest Telco Replaces Yahoo with SMX Managed Messaging Email Solution

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- New Zealand's largest Telco and email service provider, Spark, has migrated more than 800,000 Xtra Mail customers from Yahoo to a locally-developed cloud email platform run by SMX. The customer migration from Yahoo to SMX was carried out over a three-month period, starting in February and completing in April this year. Spark Home Mobile and Business CEO, Jason Paris says the SMX Managed Messaging implementation was completed on time and to budget. "We've achieved what we set out to do, which is to replace Yahoo with a robust email service, protected by world class security," Paris says. "We're also really pleased to offer our customers an email platform with a user experience we can have a say on -- that, importantly, isn't cluttered with advertising." Paris says, "From an operational perspective, there are many advantages in having our email platform hosted locally under our control and with provisioning, security and reporting all integrated into a single platform. "Our email platform is an important value added service that helps build customer loyalty -- and it's great to be offering it from a cloud based platform that we can rely on. The bottom line is that we can now offer a much better customer experience."



SMX CEO Ian McDonald says the SMX Managing Messaging solution for Spark is built on the SMX3 cloud integration platform and includes the SMX Secure Email Gateway alongside best-in-class email messaging applications. A key component is the Open-Xchange App Suite solution -- a globally recognised product which is used by major companies including Virgin Media, Comcast and Orange. McDonald says Spark's migration from Yahoo to the SMX Managed Messaging platform is attracting strong international interest.

"Our email solution for Spark demonstrates that a powerful and affordable, fully-featured cloud email solution is now accessible to smaller Telcos and ISPs, as well as larger organisations looking for a proven, low risk replacement for Yahoo-based and other OTT email platforms," McDonald says. "Our work in developing both the Spark business mail platform and the Xtra Mail service provides strong references as we advance export opportunities for our cloud email messaging platform. We believe the international market opportunities are significant." About SMX Limited Founded in 2006, SMX is a New Zealand-owned cloud email technology company. More than sixty percent of New Zealand government sector organisations use SMX for their email security. A rapidly expanding area of SMX's business is development and implementation of SMX Managed Messaging -- a full cloud email solution optimised for global Telcos and ISPs -- particularly those looking to migrate from legacy Yahoo or other OTT services. See: https://smxemail.com/ To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-zealands-largest-telco-replaces-yahoo-with-smx-managed-messaging-email-solution-300449264.html SOURCE SMX Limited

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[May 02, 2017] Violin Appoints Ebrahim Abbasi Chief Executive Officer

SANTA CLARA, Calf., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Violin ("Company" or "Violin") today announced that Ebrahim Abbasi has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and President, effective April 24, 2017. Violin, which was acquired by Quantum Partners LP effective April 21, 2017, is the disruptive pioneer of the All Flash Array market. Violin's industry leading All Flash Arrays are used by global enterprises to deliver ultra-high performance, ultra-low latency with tightly integrated data services for mission critical applications. Mr. Abbasi previously served as Violin's Chief Operating Officer, and has an established track record in both leading established companies to substantial growth and leading turnaround companies to success. Prior to joining Violin, Ebrahim served as president of Roamware, Inc. (now Mobileum Inc.), where he was responsible for restructuring and refocusing the company on a successful growth plan. Prior to Roamware, Mr. Abbasi was resident and chief operating offier at Force10 Networks Inc., where he transformed the company into a major cloud computing provider and led its acquisition by Dell Inc. in 2011. Before joining Force10, Mr. Abbasi was senior vice president and chief operating officer/chief information officer for Redback Networks, Inc., where he directly contributed to the turnaround of the company's corporate operations functions that led to the acquisition by Ericsson in 2006.



"Violin is well positioned to regain its disruptive innovation leadership and continue its tradition of customer excellence. I am honored to lead this transformation," said Mr. Abbasi. About Violin:

Violin, the disruptive innovator in All Flash Arrays, is revolutionizing how businesses operate by enabling storage technology to Be Instrumental to their company by changing the SLAs and capabilities of private, hybrid and public cloud environments. The Flash Storage Platform, powered by Concerto OS, a fully integrated storage operating system, is the industry leader in the combination of every significant category measured in all flash arrays: ultra-low latency, affordability, density, scalability and ultra-high performance. With tightly integrated data services, the Violin Flash Storage Platform provides a unique combination of data protection, business continuity, and data reduction services onto a flexible, uniquely scalable solution called Scale Smart, delivering significant CAPEX and OPEX savings. Founded in 2005, Violin is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Violin was acquired in 2017 by Quantum Partners LP, a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC. For more information, visit www.vmem.com. Media Contact:

Toni Belknap

650-396-1659

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/violin-appoints-ebrahim-abbasi-chief-executive-officer-300449278.html SOURCE Violin

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[May 02, 2017] Brother PocketJet PJ-773 Mobile Printer Honored With Prestigious iF DESIGN AWARD 2017

Brother Mobile Solutions, Inc. (BMS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brother International Corporation and premier provider of mobile printing and labeling solutions, is pleased to announce that the Brother PocketJet 773 full-page mobile printer has been named a winner in iF International Forum's "iF DESIGN AWARD 2017" in the Product Design category. Two portable industrial label printers in the BMS lineup - the PT-P950NW and PT-E800 series have also been honored with the prestigious award. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502005595/en/ BMS' PocketJet 773 full-page mobile printer has been named a winner in iF International Forum's "iF DESIGN AWARD 2017" in the Product Design category (Graphic: Business Wire) iF DESIGN AWARD is hosted and judged by the iF-International Forum Design, in Hannover, Germany. This is one of the most prestigious international design competitions and has been running since 1953. It is recognized around the world and judged not only on external appearance of the product, but also on criteria such as functionality and environmental performance. Recognized as a symbol of design excellence around the world, this year's iF DESIGN AWARD competition welcomed over 5,500 submissions from 59 countries. This is the 10th consecutive year Brother Industries, Ltd. has been named as an iF DESIGN AWARD winner and has now received a total of 62 awards, including the seven won this year. David Crist, president of Brother Mobile Solutions, note: "We are deeply gratified to be honored by the iF International Forum for our groundbreaking PocketJet 773 full-page mobile printer. We believed the 773 model would be a breakthrough when we released it in late 2016. It was engineered to offer new levels of freedom to mobile workers spanning any industry by printing virtually anywhere and from virtually any device, right out of the box, without special apps or drivers."



He continues, "We continuously make efforts to pursue improvements in design quality and product innovation to provide superior value to customers, and our organization holds deep respect for this global competition.'' The "Go Anywhere, Print Anywhere" Solution

The Brother PocketJet-7 Series of full-page mobile printers, including Model PJ-773, are the smallest, most advanced full-page mobile thermal printers on the market, and now feature higher print speeds, rugged reliability, and more versatile operating system compatibility and functionality. They are simple and easy to use ? users need only connect, select and print. With Brother's innovative Freedom Architecture, and the integration of AirPrint, MFi, Mopria and Windows 10, virtually any mobile professional can print from any popular smartphone, tablet or PC. The PocketJet 7 is the full-page mobile printing solution that fits easily in a briefcase or shoulder bag for on-the-go professionals, such as home healthcare nurses and inspection service providers. Or, it can be conveniently mounted inside a vehicle or truck cab to serve the needs of a broad and diverse mobile workforce, including over-the-road transport drivers, field service technicians, route accounting and direct store delivery drivers, and public safety officers. For more information about Brother mobile printing and labeling solutions visit: www.brothermobilesolutions.com or www.PocketJet7.com For more information about the iF International Forum DESIGN AWARD competition, go to http://ifworlddesignguide.com. About Brother Mobile Solutions Brother Mobile Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Brother International Corporation, provides innovative mobile printing and industrial labeling solutions to field workforces and mobile enterprises. Brother International Corporation and its subsidiaries employ over 1,100 people in the Americas. For more information about Brother Mobile Solutions and its products, call (800) 543-6144, or visit www.brothermobilesolutions.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502005595/en/

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[May 02, 2017] Farmers Insurance Accelerates Digital Transformation to Deliver Products and Services Faster to Customers

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the world's fastest-growing top-five enterprise software company and the #1 CRM provider globally, today announced that Farmers Insuranceone of the largest multiline insurer groups in the United Statesis expanding its use of the Salesforce Intelligent Customer Success Platform to improve engagement between its agents, employees and millions of customers across the country. Embracing technology for the delivery of new products and services demanded by today's customers isn't new to Farmers. In fact, the organization purchased one of the first available mainframe computer systems in the 1950s. However, as its use of technology evolved over the years, it wound up with multiple, disparate systems across each line of business. Farmers desired a single, cloud-based platform that could enable its agents to deliver faster, more efficient and more responsive levels of serviceall while maintaining that "human touch." Farmers' first initiative with Salesforce was to modernize its service experiences across all of its customer service channels. Using Salesforce, it created a community called "My Farmers," where customers can loginfrom anywhere, at any timeto easily manage their insurance policies, get quotes, pay bills and more. In addition, Farmers utilized Salesforce to develop a streamlined loss-reporting system called Enterprise First Notice of Loss (EFNOL), which enables customers, as well as an agent, to initiate a claim without having to call Farmers' 1-800 number. Instead, customers or their agent can report a loss by uploading images online or right from their mobile devices. By streamlining this process and optimizing it for mobile, Farmers reduced the time it takes to report a first notice of loss from approximately 12 minutes to three minutes on average. "Our commitment to constantly look for ways to improve the customer experience is at the root of our efforts in the area of technology innovation," said Ron Guerrier, chief information officer at Farmers Insurance. "With Salesforce, we're looking to empower our agents wih the information and technology they need to help transform customer experiences at each and every interactionwhether that's on the phone, online or in-person."



Farmers is utilizing additional Salesforce products, expanding with Salesforce Service Cloud Einstein, Community Cloud Einstein, Marketing Cloud Einstein, Analytics Cloud Einstein and the Salesforce Platform. Farmers is gearing up to bring its call centers onto Salesforce to better equip its customer service reps with a single view of every customer interaction. With critical customer information at their fingertipssuch as existing policies or past claimscustomer service reps can deliver faster, smarter and more personalized service, on any channel and any device. "We've had a tremendous journey with Farmers, from modernizing its customer self-service channels, to now being chosen as a dedicated solution for its customers, agents and employees," said Keith Block, vice chairman, president and COO, Salesforce. "We're committed to helping Farmers transform its business and connect with its millions of customers in new, more personalized ways."

About Farmers Insurance

"Farmers Insurance" and "Farmers" are tradenames for a group of affiliated insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services and products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with over 19 million individual policies, across all 50 states, through the efforts of more than 48,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 21,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurance insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2016 Fortune 500 list. For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance. About Salesforce

Salesforce, the world's #1 CRM company and Intelligent Customer Success Platform, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com. Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE. This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All statements other than historical facts included in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the timing and the closing of the transaction, the financing for the transaction, the expected benefits of the transaction, prospective performance and future business plans, and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown, or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the parties' expectations and projections. These forward-looking statements reflect Salesforce's expectations as of the date of this press release. Salesforce undertakes no obligation to update the information provided herein. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/farmers-insurance-accelerates-digital-transformation-to-deliver-products-and-services-faster-to-customers-300449263.html SOURCE Salesforce

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[May 02, 2017] Capgemini launches Financial Services industry's first cloud-hosted, mobile-applications testing lab, using Experitest's SeeTest tools

Paris, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, and Experitest, one of the world's leading providers of quality assurance tools for mobile DevOps, announced today the availability of the financial services industrys first cloud-hosted, on demand, mobile applications testing lab. The new lab enables financial service providers to validate and monitor all digital mobile applications on a continuous 24/7 basis, resulting in optimized mobile application quality and estimated cost savings of up to 50 percent. Mobile applications offer flexibility and ease of use. Innovation in testing mobile applications must also provide flexibility and convenience, and this cloud-hosted mobile lab transforms how these apps can be tested, said Anand Moorthy, Vice President, Capgeminis Financial Services. Working with our alliance partner, Experitest, affords us the opportunity to leverage their extensive array of tools to deliver our clients a seamless development, testing, and production cycle which can transform their business.

Client mobile digital DevOps teams including Quality Assurance (QA), and Production and Development essentially rent the lab  the mobile devices and tools package  as needed on a pay-by-use basis. They can quickly set up a private lab bench that can comprise of a variety of digital devices, including all the latest smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry. The lab, which is based on the SeeTestCloud platform by Experitest, allows these teams to remotely access mobile devices from anywhere at any time. The entire environment is isolated within Capgeminis virtual private network and provides testers with high speed performance. The lab integrates seamlessly with Experitests end-to-end suite of tools, as well as any automation or development open source environment. This enables complete mobile application testing including functional, performance and compatibility testing, while using manual testing or test automation. "The Capgemini mobile device hosted cloud dedicated for the financial services industry is a unique offering for banks, insurance companies, and other financial services enterprises. The core capabilities of functional and performance testing are fully integrated into the CI/CD flow of these organizations, creating seamless cooperation between mobile app developers, QA, andoperations - making the agile release of high-quality mobile apps a reality. said Tal Barmeir, Experitest CEO.



The new lab enables CI/CD (continuous integration, continuous deployment) and allows fully automated 24/7 continuous testing. Client teams can seamlessly integrate into any continuous integration environment to directly manage their test executions and run their automated tests in parallel. They can consolidate all of their test results into a centralized test analytics system and even share same devices with development teams for quicker bug resolution. All of this adds up to shortened testing cycles and accelerated time to market. The resources of this lab represent the latest in a series of Capgemini software-testing offerings that use Experitest SeeTest tools, underscoring the value that the two companies have delivered to clients since formalizing their mobile-testing solutions alliance in 2015.

About Capgemini With more than 190,000 people, Capgemini is present in over 40 countries and celebrates its 50th Anniversary year in 2017. A global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, the Group reported 2016 global revenues of EUR 12.5 billion. Together with its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business, technology and digital solutions that fit their needs, enabling them to achieve innovation and competitiveness. A deeply multicultural organization, Capgemini has developed its own way of working, the Collaborative Business ExperienceTM, and draws on Rightshore, its worldwide delivery model. Learn more about us at www.capgemini.com. Rightshore is a trademark belonging to Capgemini For more information, please visit www.capgemini.com/financialservices About Experitest Experitest is the worlds leading provider of quality assurance tools for mobile DevOps, including test automation, manual testing, performance testing, load testing and monitoring for mobile applications. Experitest tools support all mobile OS and integrate into all ALM environments (UFT/QTP, WebDriver (Selenium), Junit, Microsoft Visual Studio and Python)). Experitest's customer base of over 1000 enterprises customers includes 8 of the 10 largest banks worldwide, 3 of 5 top global healthcare companies and 8 of 10 top telecommunication companies in the world. Examples include Barclays, Westpac, Verizon, Fidelity, HSBC, Vodafone, Santander Bank, Home Depot, ANZ, Orange, Microsoft, Intel, DBS, Air Canada, Lufthansa, TD Bank and many more. For more information: www.experitest.com Download now: SeeTestAutomation | SeeTestManual | SeeTestCloudOnsite | SeeTestCloudOnline| SeeTest Network Virtualization | Enterprise Appium by Experitest| Mobile Add-On for LoadRunner Capgemini Press contact: Mary-Ellen Harn Tel.:+1 704 490 4146 Email: [email protected] Experitest Press contact: Dana Natan Katz Tel.: +1 646 491 6262 E-mail: [email protected]

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[May 02, 2017] Agendia's MammaPrint Now Included in First Coast Coverage for Medicare Breast Cancer Patients in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Agendia, Inc., a world leader in personalized medicine and molecular cancer diagnostics, today announces that First Coast Service Options Inc. ("First Coast"), the Medicare contractor for Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, has revised its Local Coverage Determination (LCD-L33586) for gene expression profiling panel for use in the management of breast cancer treatment to include the MammaPrint 70-Gene Breast Cancer Risk-of-Recurrence Test.1 The MammaPrint test is intended to assess a patient's risk for distant metastasis within 5 years. "This is another significant recognition of the clinical value of MammaPrint to individualize how patients with early-stage breast cancer are treated," said Mark R. Straley, CEO of Agendia. "We are committed to improving the quality of life for cancer patients through molecular diagnostics. The decision by First Coast to cover MammaPrint will help more breast cancer patients in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to access the benefits of this valuable test, allowing many to safely forego unnecessary chemotherapy." The revised LCD became effective on March 17, 2017. This determination follows the peer-reviewed publication of the prospective, controlled and randomized Microarray In Node-negative and 1 to 3 positive lymph node Disease may Avoid ChemoTherapy (MINDACT) trial in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)2 in August 2016, which provided the highest level of clinical evidence to support the clinical utility of MammaPrint. Agendia's primary focus is expanding the adoption of MammaPrint as an aid to personalizing breast cancer treatment by increasing the test's geographic reach and reimbursement. MammaPrint is available globally through many major hospitals, providing physicians and patients access to this essential breast cancer test to enable more informed decision-making and more individualized treatment. 1 "FCSO reference LCD number-L33586: Gene Expression Profiling Panel for use in the Management of Breast Cancer Treatment." CMS.ov Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Web. 26 April 2017.





2 Cardoso F, van't Veer LJ, Bogaerts J et al. 70-Gene Signature as an Aid to Treatment Decisions in Early-Stage Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med 2016; 375: 717-29. - Ends -

About MammaPrint

MammaPrint is a FDA-cleared in vitro diagnostic test, performed in a central laboratory, using the gene expression profile of breast cancer tissue samples to assess a patients' risk for distant metastasis within 5 years. MammaPrint also carries the CE Mark which certifies that the test complies with the quality standards set by the European In Vitro Diagnostic Directive, enabling the use of the test in the European Union. MammaPrint is indicated for use by physicians as a prognostic marker only, along with other clinical-pathological factors. The test is not intended to determine the outcome of disease, nor to suggest or infer an individual patient's response to therapy. About Agendia

Agendia is a privately held, leading molecular diagnostics company that develops and markets genomic diagnostic products, which help support physicians with their complex treatment decisions. Agendia's breast cancer tests were developed using an unbiased gene selection by analyzing the complete human genome. Our offerings include MammaPrint, a 70-Gene Breast Cancer Risk-of-Recurrence test, and BluePrint, a Molecular Subtyping Assay that provides deeper insight leading to more clinically actionable breast cancer biology. In addition, Agendia has a pipeline of other genomic products in development. The company collaborates with pharmaceutical companies, leading cancer centers and academic groups to develop companion diagnostic tests in the area of oncology. For more information on Agendia or the MammaPrint and BluePrint tests, you can visit Agendia's patient site at www.KnowYourBreastCancer.com or the corporate site at www.agendia.com. Follow Agendia, Inc. on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with the latest news. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502005833/en/

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[May 02, 2017] FiscalNote Accelerates Global Expansion Plans; Adds Australia, New Zealand To Industry's Only GRM Platform

FiscalNote, the Washington DC-based company that dramatically improves the way organizations engage with government, today announced a comprehensive global expansion and initial data sets for the first two countries outside the United States. The move comes three months after the company originally announced it would add European data sets to its industry-leading Government Relationship Management (GRM) platform in 2017. Data for Federal legislation in Australia and New Zealand is live now in beta release and supported by FiscalNote's custom advisory services. Users will be able to search and filter the new data sets, with the full suite of data and workflow features available at official launch. Access to the platform is granted to enterprises globally and across internal organizations. "Interest in our platform continues to exceed our expectations. We've been welcoming global clients across Asia Pacific for the last several months," said FiscalNote CEO Tim Hwang. "We're moving quickly to add data and advisory services for the major markets outside the U.S. that our customers care most about." "FiscalNote's platform creates an unprecedented step change in the evolution of governmental transparency and tech innovation," said Sydney-based Perle Ventures Managing Director Michael An. "We're excited to be a part of journey." The company has acepted strategic investments from Renren (China), Temasek (Singapore), and MoneyToday (South Korea).



Accelerated beta releases are now expected this year in dozens of additional countries in North America, South America, Europe and Africa About FiscalNote GRM

FiscalNote created government relationship management (GRM) category a year ago with the first comprehensive engagement platform, services, and mobile application. The platform is now the most effective solution for managing government impact and public issues. It aggregates global public data and internal data, delivering contextual insights via elegant workflow and collaboration tools that support an enterprise-based approach to modern government affairs - and the entire system learns over time. The platform marries deep data mining and breakthrough machine-learning techniques. More than 200 companies rely on FiscalNote GRM and its services. The platform automatically tracks and analyzes data on more than 1.5 million active pieces of legislation, 800,000 federal and state regulations, more than 19,000 legislators and their staffers, more than 10 million regulatory comments, more than 6,000 watch lists, and more than 125,000 individual entities. Data is automatically collected from more than 150 sources at least four times every day. About FiscalNote FiscalNote has reinvented influence - dramatically improving the way organizations build and manage their relationships with all levels of government, and empowering them to have maximum impact on legislation and regulation. The company has raised more than $30 million from prominent early-stage investors including Renren, First Round Capital, Green Visor Capital, MediaToday, NEA, Visionnaire Ventures, Steve Case, Mark Cuban and Jerry Yang/AME Cloud Ventures. More than 200 organizations use the company's proprietary tools and services. The growing number of enterprise companies depending on FiscalNote - from startups through global multinationals - include Akin Gump, Amazon, AstraZeneca, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DeVry Education Group, Dish Network, Expedia (News - Alert), Fidelity, Freddie Mac, HealthSouth, Illinois Tool Works, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, The Kraft Heinz Co, Microsoft, Pew Research, Sallie Mae, Salesforce, Schlumberger (News - Alert), Southwest Airlines, Staples, Tenet, Thomson Reuters, Walgreens and Whataburger. Non-profits and advocacy groups relying on FiscalNote include the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Code.org, Consumer Technology Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Education Association, and the University of Virginia's Law School. FiscalNote is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and CEO Tim Hwang is a WEF New Champion. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502005925/en/

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[May 02, 2017] Cool Technologies' 75 kVA MG System Shines at Craftsmen Industries Presentation

TAMPA, Fla., May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cool Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB:WARM) an innovator in mobile power generation, energy efficiency, and heat removal technologies, showcased its 75 kVA Mobile Generation (MG) system before a live audience at Craftsmen Industries 35th Anniversary Party in St. Louis and online via video stream on April 27th.

Craftsmen designs, engineers and produces mobile marketing vehicles, experiential marketing platforms and industrial mobile solutions and often powers them by essentially building a tow behind generator into the product. For the presentation, Craftsmen provided a mobile command center to power. With a touch on the display of the Human Machine Interface in the cab of the Ford F-350 diesel, the lights blazed in the massive trailer and the heating and air conditioning hummed. At no time was the MG system pushed to its limits. Even with the HVAC running, the work truck could have easily powered 5 more command centers. Tim Hassett, Cool Technologies CEO, detailed the systems specifications and benefits, noting the 6,000 pound weight reduction, the elimination of the structural reinforcement, soundproofing and fire, heat and leak barriers as well as the additional 400 square feet of space the command center would gain through the removal of its generator compartment. The audience included prominent investors, fund managers, military officers from the Pentagon and Southern Command as well as representatives from Panasonic, Nidec Motor Corporation, Thomas Coffee, Cornerstone Growth Advisors and the Salvation Armys Emergency Disaster Services. The reviews ere overwhelming positive.



Cooltech embodies the intersection of many core technologies opening many possibilities around efficiency in power management and mobility. This is definitely the place to create a real value as we move into Smart Mobility with goods/people/information/energy, said Hakan Kostepen, Panasonic Silicon Valley Center, Executive Director - Innovation & Strategy. Afterwards, Tim Hassett and Chief Technology Officer Mark Hodowanec took questions from the audience.

The original broadcast is still available on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfWkvhn44s. The question and answer session will be added as soon as possible. Earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Cool Technologies demonstrated the electric vehicle charging capabilities of its gasoline or compressed natural gas fueled Ford F350 retrofitted with a 30 kVA system. During the second half of the year, it plans to introduce an 125 kVA system for class 3 to 5 chassis cab trucks. In the meantime, both Cooltech and Craftsmen Industries are taking orders for MG 30, 55 and 80 systems. About Cool Technologies, Inc. Cool Technologies is an intellectual property and product development company commercializing patented thermal dispersion technology across multiple platforms. The Company has additional patents-pending for various OEM applications of its proprietary heat removal technologies. Tested and validated by two third parties, ESSCO Pumps and Nidec Corporation, the Companys cooling system eliminates the need for costly modifications while increasing power output of pumps, fans, compressors, batteries, motors, generators and bearings. Safe Harbor Statement. This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on plans and expectations of management and are subject to uncertainties and risks that could affect the company's plans and expectations, as well as results of operations and financial condition. A listing of risk factors that may affect the company's business prospects and cause results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in company reports and documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For more information, contact [email protected].



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Election results: Check out results from various races across the state
When you think about the many mighty moments that make up a Mastodon gig, public displays of romance are fairly low down the list.

Despite this, the group proved themselves to be ol sweeties during a show last week in Birmingham, Alabama, when guitarist Brent Hinds proposed to his girlfriend Raisa.

Hey, you guys want to see the coolest encore ever in your whole life? Hey Raisa, come here, he begins, before dropping to one knee and proposing. Luckily, she said yes. To make the event all the more sweet, Hinds is from Birmingham, and invited his family along to witness the event. His Nan, who danced onstage with Hinds earlier during the gig, sat watching the spectacle from a chair side of stage. Its all so nice. Check out footage of the proposal below.

Hinds even got his Granny in on the action, as the below footage shows.
his recent vote against a wage increase for Kansas City workers

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THIS DAY OF WORKER PROTEST IN KANSAS CITY?!?!

As we reported previously . . . The Mayor offeredprotesters the support of City Hall by way of proclamation.While the words ran contrary to. . . The throngs of supporters didn't seem to mind.And so . . .Some of our blog community remind us that KCMO doesn't yet pay all of their employees $15-an-hour while. . . And in the long run, that might hurt even more people looking for employment in a crowded marketplace and planet that just surpassedDeveloping . . .
Get the Scoop on The 48th Symphony Designers' Showhouse - Sarah Scoop Every year The Kansas City Symphony Alliance hosts their Symphony Designers' Showhouse. The nonprofit seeks to promote music throughout the Kansas City area in particular, the Kansas City Symphony. This is their 48th year hosting the annual event and the large limestone house located in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood balances both modern and classic ...

Good life blogging for the Kansas City mucketymucks among our morning readers. Nice coverage of this upcoming event for local denizens who should know well and good to be home before sundown. Take a look:
Kansas City Health Check

J.C. Nichols fountain turns black for Melanoma Monday KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Even when it's cloudy and rainy out, Lindsey Mills slathers on the sunscreen. "There were several times where I have blistering sunburns that I can remember just peeling the skin away," said Mills, 32. The reason: three years ago she got the biggest fright of her then 29 years -- skin cancer.

$29 MILLION In Fed Funding For The MAX

null The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority connects people to opportunities through safe, reliable public transportation. KCATA is a bi-state agency charged with serving the transportation and development needs of the Kansas City region.

Cowtown Mint Julep Party

Kentucky Derby watch party raises money for 2 KC organizations KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Our Kansas City area has a history of champions: The Royals. The Chiefs. Sporting KC. Tom Watson. Lawrin. Lawrin? That's right. Lawrin won the Kentucky Derby in 1938. The only Kansas-bred winner ever. He was ridden by the legendary jockey Eddie Arcaro -- his first of five Derby wins.

Drowning Doggie Saved

Park rangers rescue dog abused and left to drown in rising waters at Longview Lake INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Park rangers managed to rescue a dog suffering from abuse and left to die, chained to a heavy cinder block at Longview Lake, south of Kansas City, Mo. Now Great Plains SPCA is looking for anyone who might know who is responsible.

Prize For Kansas City Streets

Kansas City to Recognize Green Neighborhoods - Kansas City infoZine Kansas City to Recognize Green Neighborhoods Kansas City, MO - infoZine - Registered neighborhoods may apply online through July 31 to be a KC Green Neighborhood. The City will award neighborhoods with a Platinum, Gold or Silver designation based on the green/sustainable initiatives they have implemented. Winners will be announced in the fall.

Fear Financial Oppression???

Kansas City is among the most economically segregated cities in the U.S. Kansas City is one of the most economically segregated metropolitan areas in the country, according to a recent study by the Urban Institute. New York was the most economically segregated, followed by Bridgeport, Conn.; Charlotte, N.C.; San Jose, Calif.; and Kansas City, according to the economic and social policy think tank in Washington, D.C.

Traffic Check Journalism

MoDOT To Raise Speed Limit On U.S. 71 North Of Grandview Since Everybody Goes 65 Anyway The speed limit on U.S. Route 71 just north of the Grandview Triangle increases this week to 65 miles per hour. Currently, the posted speed limit from a half mile south of 75th Street to 3-Trails Crossing is 55, but most drivers tend to go faster, says Derek Olson, a district traffic engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

May Flowers For Fanboys?!?!

Royals flip the calendar looking to end skid | FOX Sports The Royals are looking forward to flipping the calendar to May. Kansas City begins the new month Monday with the opener of a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox. April was a horrific month for the Royals, who went a major league-worst 7-16.

swimming hotness reminds us that the warmer weather is almost on the way. Take a look:And this is thefor right now . . .
Police are investigating after a high school student said she was sexually assaulted by another student on school property. Officers were called to F. L. Schlagle High School about 8:30 a.m. Monday when a friend of the victim called them saying a student had been sexually assaulted.
ON THE MOVE: JPM Lands Cash Trader; BTIG Snags Trio

JP Morgan has hired a senior equities trader from Credit Suisse to head its US cash equity trading team, part of the firms current reshuffling of its equities team. Matt Mallgrave joined the desk after just oe year or so at rival Credit Suisse  where he was head of Americas equity flow trading. Before that, Mallgrave was a top dog at Goldman Sachs running its cash high-touch desk in the U.S. The bank, according to sources has also elevated Michael Bossidy to head of global cash equities from being only head of Americas equities sales.

John Molinelli has joined Guggenheim Partners. Molinelli onboards as Director. Execution Sales. He came from Deutsche Bank where he was Director, Head of Execution Sales North America. Before that, he was Executive Director, Head of Global Execution Sales at UBS. He started his career at Bloomberg in 1994 as a sales representative.

If you have a new job or promotion to report, let me know at jdantona@marketsmedia.com

BTIG announced it has onboarded Ansel Hall, Stephen Ortiz and Anthony Wayne in its Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets Groups. Hall, Ortiz and Wayne will collaborate with the firms existing investment banking and equity capital markets professionals to structure transactions, develop deal opportunities and strengthen the advisory capabilities of both businesses. BTIGs three new hires will be based in the San Francisco office.

Hall joins BTIG as a Managing Director and Head of Consumer Investment Banking. Prior to BTIG, he held several senior investment banking roles at JMP Securities, Banc of America Securities, Montgomery Securities and Merrill Lynch.

Ortiz begins as the Head of Syndicate and Co-Head of Equity Capital Markets. Prior, he spent 14 years as Head of Equity Capital Markets and Syndicate at JMP Securities.

Wayne will be a Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Investment Banking. Before BTIG, he spent 13 years at JMP Securities in real estate investment banking, most recently as a Managing Director.

Japanese bank Nomura is growing its EMEA business in London. The bank already appointed Anant Swarup, head of North American rates, to head of emerging markets macro in EMEA last August. People within the firm told Traders Magazine that it landed Gokhan Buyuksarac, rival Goldmans top emerging markets trader to join the firm. He left Goldman in April. Calls to Nomura or Buyuksarac were returned to confirm but one source with knowledge of the matter said Buyuksarac is likely to get a very senior role - similar to what he held at Goldman  possibly head of all EMEA trading. In April the bank also landed David Ishoo Mirzayoo, a veteran emerging markets trader who came from Societe Generale.

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The longest running motorcycle rally



(TRAVPR.COM) USA - May 1st, 2017 - This June, Laconia Motorcycle Week returns to New Hampshire for its 94th year, leaving some wondering how this popular, time-honored event first came to be. Dont try doing the math  because theres a bit more to it than just counting back 94 years The rally actually started in 1916, organized by local motorcycle dealers in central and southern New England, with a couple hundred motorcyclists traveling north for a get together (dubbed a gypsy tour) at Weirs Beach. The tour was first sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists in 1917 and when the FAM disbanded in 1919, the Motorcycle and Allied Trades Association (M&ATA) took over the sanction until 1924, when the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) was formed. Back then, the weekend event centered around races and hill climbs. The number of participants grew each year as did the events duration. Over time, the rally blossomed into a week-long event, eventually suffering in attendance and popularity after getting wrapped up in the upheavals of the 60s. The rally reverted to a 3-day weekend and would remain so until 1991, when organizers revived the week-long event after seeing the success of Sturgis 50th Anniversary Rally in 1990. Laconia Motorcycle Week reclaimed the support of local businesses and the AMA as a week-long rally and the oldest gypsy tour in the country.

Today, Laconia Motorcycle Week is a much-expanded version of the early gypsy tour years offering attendees lots of fun, food, music and, of course, a forum to share in their passion (big or small) for riding. Over 230,000 riders are expected to descend on the Lakes Region for the Rally, holding the honor of the oldest of the three national rallies with Daytona and Sturgis being Laconias sister rallies. Sure, the rev of motorcycles and sight of leather (lots of it) may be overwhelming, but dont be fooled. Behind those leather jackets are just regular people; a multi-generational group of enthusiasts, from all walks of life, who all just happen to share in the exhilaration and liberation that riding brings.

Its a rite of passage, says organizer Jennifer Anderson, Many of us grew up hearing about Laconia and couldnt wait to experience what all the buzz was about. Its easy to assume that the Rally is just a big party enjoyed by those on two-wheels, but it is so much more than that. This is the one week of the year when riders get to hang out with thousands of other people, from all around the U.S. and world, who enjoy the very same thing they like  getting out and riding. The Rally offers us all a chance of camaraderie while still having fun, packing on the miles, and even raising money for much deserved local charities

And its boundaries have expanded, too. Youll notice an uptick in motorcycle traffic throughout the state (not just limited to Laconia, Weirs Beach, or Loudon). Motorcycle enthusiasts come to the state to enjoy the scenic riding as far east as the seacoast and as far north as the picturesque Kancamagus Highway, proving half the fun is getting here.

So be a part of the continuing history. Plan a ride to New Hampshire for this years Motorcycle Week (June 10 - June 18). Whether its your first or 94th visit, youll find the passion for riding, around which this event was founded, has never changed.

Laconia Motorcycle Week gives great appreciation to all of our sponsors, especially our Presenting Sponsors: Progressive, AMSOIL, and Hot Leathers as well as the State of New Hampshirefor their large financial support of our rally each year. For more information on visiting the State of NH, check out www.visitnh.gov.

Ride Safe and Keep Away from the Centerline!

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Taxes in India have been a surefire way to ensure better economy ever since the Central and State governments got a say in levying taxes.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - May 2nd, 2017 - As the Indian government rolls out the held up GST bill, the hospitality industry buckles up for new regulations and tax reforms, making way towards a better economy.

Earlier this month, India became one of the 160 countries in the world to have implemented Goods and Service Tax bill. Effective from 1st of July, the single indirect tax will subsume almost all the current indirect taxes in India.

With a 4-tier tax structure under dual-GST model, Indian hospitality industry will incorporate a GST of 18% giving a neutral to marginally positive impact on the sector.

Just as the hospitality professionals get ready for GST, eZee Technosys, the global hospitality solutions provider has transformed it's solutions into GST ready hotel software, including cloud PMS, on-premise PMS and restaurant POS system, apt for all types of hotels and restaurants.

One tax, one notion has been prevalent since a long time, and Im sure that it will eradicate the cascading effect of taxes for good. eZees ready to help hoteliers take over the hospitality industry with GST compliant solutions, comments eZees co-founder Vipul Kapoor.

With 18% tax rate, the GST is going to result into a reduction of 3.5-7 percent tax in states with high luxury tax and rack rate-dependent luxury tax. Whereas, in the food and beverage industry, the impact is going to be nominally positive with approximately 0.5-2.5 percent reduction in tax rates.

Always keen on walking hand in hand with advancing technology, economy and their demands, eZee hospitality solutions are ready to accommodate all the requirements of GST, right from accurate tax levying, apt tariff applications and precise reporting along with simplifying daily restaurant and hotel operations.

We had developed our solutions as GST-friendly for our users in Malaysia when it was employed in the country. And we plan to do the same for our Indian users, aiding them in administering their properties with contemporary GST ready hospitality software, says Mehul Fanawala, Director of Global Sales at eZee.

The passing of GST bill has surely brought around a hype in the hospitality industry. Regardless of the impact being marginal, the application of GSTs norms in hotel technology is a must. And eZees GST compliant hotel and restaurant solutions will help a hotelier do that effortlessly by performing exact tax calculations, ensuring that the reports generated get tallied, making it easy for businesses evaluation, says the CTO, Harshdeep Khatri.

Following an outstanding response to eZees GST compliant integrated hospitality solutions in Malaysia, eZee aims to equip as many hoteliers and restaurateurs with cutting edge technology.

About eZee Technosys

Established in Surat, eZee Technosys is one of the few complete hospitality IT solutions providers in the world. eZee provides software that cover hotel management, booking management, online room distribution, restaurant management, guest feedback and hotel mobile apps. eZee offers on-premise along with cloud based solutions as well as mobile applications. Founded in 2005, the company today serves more than 6000 clients in more than 140 countries across the globe.

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

With the Trump administration clamping down on visas for overseas IT professionals, software giant Infosys today announced that it plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years.

Software companies have been sending Indian professionals to the US and other countries on work visas which led to lower costs. With the new US administration declaring that it wants companies to Hire American, some companies are following suit as the business is located in the US.

As part of this initiative, Infosys will open four new Technology and Innovation Hubs in the US across the country focusing on cutting-edge technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data.

An Infosys statement said these four hubs will not only have technology and innovation focus areas, but will closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more. The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indianas economy.

Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the US, said Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys.

This development comes as part of Infosys continued legacy of a three-decade long investment across the US. In just past 3 years, Infosys has renewed this focus by setting up an innovation hub in the Silicon Valley.
Chandigarh, May 2

Unidentified persons reportedly threw stones at former Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) chief AP Pandeys house in Sector 21 on Monday night. One of the stones broke a windowpane in the backyard of the house.

Pandey said he was reading a book in his room when he heard some loud noise at the backyard of his house. It was around 10.45 pm I hear a loud noise and came out in the backyard. However, no one was there, he said.

In the morning, Pandey noticed a few stones lying in the backyard of his house and a windowpane of one of the rooms smashed. I immediately called the security guard and asked him to inform the police, Pandey said.

A team from the Sector 19 police station visited the house and inspected the spot. Later in the day, DSP (East) Satish Kumar also visited Pandeys house.

The police said the matter was under investigation. The footage of CCTV cameras in the area would be scrutinised.
Vivek Katju

WITHIN a few months of taking over, Pakistani army chiefs feel the need to send sharp messages to their countrys political leadership that they will not allow the dignity of the institution they lead to be trifled with. They also send signals both to their own elected government as well as to Delhi that the buck stops with them in the making of Pakistans India policy. Gen Qamar Bajwa who took over as the army chief five months ago has not been an exception. He has delivered messages on both fronts.

Last October, the Dawn newspaper reported that at a top level meeting where PM Nawaz Sharif was present his brother, the powerful chief minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, rebuked the then DG ISI for putting pressure for the release of terrorists arrested by the law enforcement agencies. At the same meeting, the then Pakistan foreign secretary said inaction against terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Haqqani Network and the Jaish-e-Mohammad was leading to the countrys isolation.

The report was denied but the army was furious at the leak of even an inaccurate account of a sensitive meeting. Its real anger was, of course, at it being projected at the receiving end of a civilian tirade. It compelled Nawaz Sharif to appoint a committee chaired by retired judge Aamar Raza Khan with intelligence agencies representatives, including the ISIs, along with others as members. The committee submitted its report to the interior ministry on April 25. A day later, it reached Nawaz Sharifs office. On April 29, Sharifs office conveyed to the ministry that the PM had inter alia approved that the foreign policy charge of his influential special assistant Tariq Fatemi be withdrawn and that appropriate action be taken against the governments principal information officer (PIO). In the wake of the Dawn report, the information minister had resigned in October itself. Obviously, the report, which has not been released, had passed strictures of some kind against Fatemi and the PIO.

No sooner was Sharifs decision made public, the DG ISPR, Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor tweeted, Notification on Dawn leak is incomplete and not in line with the recommendations. Notification is rejected. Clearly, the armys swift and brutal response was to put the Sharifs, already weakened by the Panama leaks case, on the mat. It was also to show that the armys honour would be satisfied only if the PM was to sacrifice someone close to him; it is widely believed that Nawaz Sharifs daughter Maryam, who is being groomed by him in politics, had a hand in the Dawn leak.

Sharif is in a quandary and is holding meetings with his top aides to find a way out. It is unlikely though that General Bajwa will allow him to escape without extracting a higher price.

The Pakistan armys corps commanders and principal staff officers meet regularly under the army chiefs chairmanship not only to discuss military matters, but also important issues before the country. No doubt, they do so as the army is the self-appointed guardian of the ideology of Pakistan. However, even by its own standards, the commanders decision to discuss the Supreme Court decision in the Panama leaks case against the Sharifs was simply extraordinary. More so was what the ISPR conveyed after the meeting. On April 24, Maj-Gen Ghafoor tweeted, Forum also discussed the Panama case decision of the Supreme Court with special reference to the joint investigation team (JIT). The forum pledged that the institution through its members in JIT shall play its due role in a legal and transparent manner fulfilling the confidence reposed by the apex court of Pakistan."

This stretches the courts decision to include the ISI and MI representatives in the JIT to an unwarranted extent. It also signals to Sharif that not only his political future, but virtually the fate of his family is now in the armys hands. Clearly, the ISI and MI representatives will be guided by the army leadership on the stand to be taken in the JIT.

These two cases are within the ambit of Pakistans domestic politics. However, Bajwas decision of April 11 to confirm the death sentence against Kulbhushan Jadhav, and the mutilation of the bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the Indian Army and the BSFs Head Constable Prem Sagar on May 1 relate to Indian-Pakistan relations. They were killed inside Indian territory by a Border Action Team of the Pakistan army. Significantly, Bajwa had visited the LoC a day before, from where he accused India of state terrorism in Kashmir. Through these actions, he was seeking to ensure that Sharif and PM Narendra Modi give up any thought to untangle bilateral ties. There was intense speculation in the media about a meeting of the two Prime Ministers on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit next month in Kazakhstan following the flying visit on April 27 of Indian industrialist Sajjan Jindal of the JSW group to Pakistan to meet his friend Nawaz Sharif.

The media pointed out that Jindal had played a crucial role behind Sharifs visit to India for Modis inauguration in May 2014 and also Modis visit to Lahore on Christmas in 2015. Pakistani politicians and the media also speculated that Jindals meeting with Sharif was to pass a message on the Kulbhushan Jadhav matter.

Maryam Sharif clarified that Sajjan Jindal visit was of a private nature, but hardly anyone in Pakistan believes that. The army has not said a word. However, it may be recalled that it was very unhappy with Sharifs Delhi visit as also Modis Lahore trip. It simply does not like back-channel arrangements in which it has no direct role. It also has bad memories of the Modi-Sharifs 2015 Ufa decisions. The mutilation would make a productive Modi-Sharif meeting in Kazakhstan unlikely, if not sabotage it altogether.

All these developments point to the fragility of Pakistans current politics and Sharifs vulnerabilities. The army may not work to show him the door, but it has put him on notice to refrain from going beyond the red lines on ties with India. There is little doubt that it feels that India is on the defensive in J&K and it does not wish to release pressure.

The writer is a former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs
Washington, May 2

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged the Trump administration to take steps for stopping the rising number of hate crimes against religious minorities and Indian-Americans in the US.

The letter urges the Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to act on the knowledge and use the resources of his department to combat both hate crimes and their root causes.

"From attacks on Indian-Americans to grave desecration at Jewish cemeteries, the recent rise in hate-motivated attacks is troubling to all Americans," a bipartisan group of 68 Congressmen said in the letter.

The letter was initiated by Rajakrishnamoorthi. Among signatories to the letter are Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera.

"These attacks seek to undermine not just public safety, but the very nature of American exceptionalism. For more than two hundred years, the US has stood as a beacon of freedom from tyranny, oppression, and persecution," the letter said.

A fundamental promise of the US is that any American, regardless of where you come from, the colour of your skin, or how you pray, can trust the federal government to preserve, protect, and defend their rights, it said.

"We respectfully urge you to use the full powers of your office to stop further racially-motivated attacks and combat the roots of hatred and intolerance. We stand ready to work with you and all Americans to turn back this tide of hatred and protect the rights of every citizen," the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers thanked Kelly for his recent visit to the Congressional Asia Pacific American Caucus meeting.

"At a time when so many Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, and other religious minorities fear for their safety, we were heartened by your commitment to protecting all Americans, but we urge you to now take action to follow through on this commitment," they wrote.

At the meeting, Kelly said: "One of the first things I noticed from the last administration is that there was not enough focus, in my view, on white supremacy organisations or hate organisations."

"This intolerance is truly disgusting. Now is the time to take decisive action to combat hate groups and reassure Americans that their government will protect their most basic rights," the lawmakers insisted.

Two Indian-Americans were shot in Kansas with the attacker yelling at his victims "get out of my country," the letter said.

In Florida, an Indian-American family's store was almost burnt to the ground. Many more have been harassed and threatened.

In the midst of the shooting in Kansas, a bystander rushed in, seeking to help his fellow Americans," the lawmakers wrote. PTI
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 2

The Congress today burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the terror attacks by Pakistan on the armed forces due to the soft stand of the NDA regime on the issue.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who spoke on the occasion, said Pakistan had dared to enter into Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir and behead and mutilate the bodies of two Indian soldiers.

The Congress burnt the effigy of Modi to wake him from slumber so that he takes steps to prevent the loss of Army personnel as well as innocent civilians in terror and Naxalite attacks in various parts of the country, he remarked. He added that the NDA regime had failed to give a befitting reply to Pakistan for masterminding the terror attacks, which had further emboldened the neighbor.

Sukhu said it is BJPs lust for power in Jammu and Kashmir that had resulted in attacks on the Army inside the strife torn state. The Jammu and Kashmir Government has failed to take action against stone-pelters who are indulging in anti-national activities and the BJP is a coalition partner there, he said.

The Congress chief said for how long the valiant soldiers of the country would have to keep giving sacrifice while the Centre watches as a mute spectator. The Centre must give a free hand to the Army so that they can deal with all anti-social elements and take revenge from those who dared to behead our two soldiers, he demanded.

He said the BJP which was publicising the surgical strikes but the reality was that the Congress-led UPA regime dealt with all anti-nationals and terror outfits with a firm hand, which sent a strong signal to Pakistan.
Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 2

The Himachal Government has banned the registration of all vehicles other than Bharat Stage IV (BS-4) from April 1, 2017, to improve the deteriorating air quality on account of vehicular emissions.

It was in pursuance of the Supreme Court directives that the decision has been taken by the State Transport Department and all vehicles, other than BS-4, are not being registered from April 1. The earlier decision of banning the registration of outside diesel commercial vehicles, which are more than 10-year-old, was also taken with the aim of improving the air quality.

Director, Transport, Sunil Chaudhary admitted that many transporters used to purchase old vehicles from outside the state and ply these as commercial vehicles in Himachal and these had very high emissions.

A study, undertaken by IIT Roorkee for Solan, had indicated that the high emission levels (81 per cent) were on account of vehicular emissions. The study had been undertaken for the State Pollution Control Board by IIT-Roorkee and it was found that vehicular emissions were a greater pollutant than industrial emissions.

The State Pollution Control Board will soon set up a Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station here. We are setting up the station in Shimla so that we get minute-to-minute air quality and the facility will later be extended to Baddi and Paonta Sahib industrial areas, said Sanjay Sood, member Secretary, State Pollution Control Board.

The cost of setting up the monitoring station will be shared by the state and the Central Pollution Control Board and is expected to be a few crores. The State Pollution Control Board has facility for monitoring air quality at 25 places.

A recent study by The Energy and Resource Institute has indicated that the number of vehicles in Himachal has risen from 2.4 lakh in 2001 to 7.3 lakh in 2012. This number has risen tremendously in the last three years with Shimla alone having 80,000 vehicles. The study has also indicated that the air quality in most big towns has deteriorated and the particulate matter is above the annual average of 60 in all cities with vehicular emissions being the main cause.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 2

The two-day visit of BJP president Amit Shah to Kangra starting tomorrow has led to frantic activity in the area. The leaders seeking BJP ticket for the Assembly elections are likely to flock to Budda Mal Resort, Palampur, where Amit Shah will hold parleys for two days on May 3 and 4.

The visit of Shah is said to be aimed at putting the BJP house in order in faction-ridden Kangra, the politically most significant district. Kangra has 15 Assembly segments. The political significance of the district illustrated from the fact that since formation of Himachal either party (Congress or BJP) that took majority Assembly seats in Kangra was voted to power in the state.

In the last Assembly elections while the BJP had done well in other districts, it had lost in Kangra and failed to repeat its government.

The meeting of Amit Shah is being held at Palampur, the stronghold of veteran BJP leader Shanta Kumar. Union Minister for Health JP Nadda arrived at Palampur today to put things in order before the visit of Amit Shah.

Sources here said the BJP leaders had planned to take Shah from the Gaggal airport to the venue of the meeting in Palampur in a procession of vehicles. He would address a press conference tomorrow. The issues over which Shah is likely to ponder is strategies for ensuring BJP win in majority segments in Kangra. The issue of dividing Kangra into smaller districts is likely to crop up at the meeting .

Kangra district till the last elections was dominated by supporters of Shanta Kumar. The veteran leader and present BJP MP from Kangra also used to hold sway over allotment of ticket in the district. However, now most of the supporters of Shanta Kumar have switched over their loyalties to JP Nadda. Nadda taking over the leadership of his group also had the support of Shanta Kumar, the sources said.

In the coming elections, the BJP might try for fresh faces. Some former IAS officers are also being considered for ticket. The homecoming of Rajan Sushant, former BJP MP from Kangra, who had resigned from the party before the last Lok Sabha elections, is also likely to be considered. Rajan Sushant is the state president of Himachal unit of AAP. The sources said Nadda was in favour of roping in Rajan Sushant. The senior leaders of BJP, including Prem Kumar Dhumal, the leader of opposition, would also hold the meetings with Amit Shah.

For the time being, the BJP seems to be strongly divided between factions of Dhumal and Nadda. Both factions are seeing their respective leader as the future CM. Even in Kangra, in many segments, the leaders of both factions are laying claim on ticket. However, it remains to be seen how the national party president manages to quell factionalism and get party going as united force in the elections.
Suhail A Shah

Kulgam, May 1

Five policemen, including an Assistant Sub-Inspector, and two bank security guards were killed in a militant attack in Kulgam district, 75 km south of Srinagar, today.

The incident took place around 4 pm when militants ambushed a cash van of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd on the outskirts of Pombai village in Kulgam district. Terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen later claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Kashmir Inspector General of Police SJM Gilani said the militants fired indiscriminately at the van. Five of our men and two bank guards have been killed. The militants have also taken away four weapons, he said. Three militants involved in the attack have so far been identified, he added.

We received seven bodies at the hospital, said RD Kasana, Medical Superintendent of Kulgam district hospital.

Sources said the van was on its way back to the district headquarters after distributing cash to branches in the Damhal Hanjipora belt of the district when it was ambushed.

There was no money in the van as the entire cash had been delivered, said banks cluster head Mohammad Shafi Salroo.

Those killed have been identified as ASI Bashir Ahmad Dar; constables Farooq Ahmad, Mohammad Qasim, Mohammad Yousuf and Ishfaq Ahmad; and security guards Javaid Ahmad Bhat and Muzaffar Ahmad Laway.

The bodies were handed over to the families after a wreath-laying ceremony.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 2

Anti-Pakistan slogans echoed in Jammu streets on Tuesday as residents protested the mutilation of bodies of two Indian troopers along the Line off Control on Monday. Outraged over Pakistans barbarism, city residents held rallies to give vent to their anger while urging the government to act.

Several organistions, including Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party, Shiv Sena and West Assembly Movement, were out on the streets, holding posters and effigies of Pakistani political and military leaders. Slogans such as Down with Pakistan, Attack Pakistan and Our martyrs will live forever, filled the air. Their anger was genuine and aimed at making the leadership act.

We dont expect anything from the Centre. The Defence Minister has not spoken regarding taking appropriate action. Those people, who cannot punish Pakistanis prospering on our soil, cannot be expected to take strong action, Jugal Sharma, one of the protesters said. He seemed to be frustrated with the rhetoric of the Central leadership.

Another protester, Vimal, said, It is high time that the Centre framed a firm policy. Till date, we have not seen any action being taken against those who heckled and humiliated CRPF men in Kashmir, what more should we can hope for from such government.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 2

The Army and BSF on Tuesday jointly paid rich tributes to the two bravehearts--Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF--who were killed in Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) attack along the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Monday.

A wreath-laying ceremony was organised in honour of these martyrs at Technical Airport Jammu where a military send-off was given to them.

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The Commander, 10 Infantry Brigade, and Brigadier MDS Mann, DIG, BSF Sector HQ, Rajouri, among other military dignitaries, laid wreaths on behalf of the Army Commander, Northern Command, General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps and the BSF.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, aged 42, belongs to Tarn Taran in Punjab. He is survived by wife Paramjeet Kaur. Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF, aged 45, belongs to Takenpur in Deoria of UP. He is survived by his wife, Shanti.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh was a dedicated, brave and sincere soldier and a thorough professional. He loved his job to the core. The nation will remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty. He will continue to motivate the future generations, Lt Col Manish Mehta, the Jammu-based defence spokesperson said.

READ MORE
Findlay Legion Auxiliary surpasses blood drive goal

The American Red Cross Blood Drive hosted by the Findlay American Legion Auxiliary last Monday, April 10 was very successful! The goal for the drive was 20 pints of blood. 30 people answered the call for blood donations and 26 pints were collected! Connie Dotson received a pin for donating a total of 3 gallons of blood. Connor Dotson received a two-gallon pin. The next blood drive is scheduled for June 6. Blood drive coordinator, Chris Tippit, will be hosting that blood drive along with her husband, Fred, to celebrate their 38 wedding anniversary.

A note of thanks

Just wanted to thank the very nice couple who bought our meal on Friday night, April 21, at Angelo's. Didn't get a chance to thank you before you left. It was a very nice gesture on your part and we are very grateful. In these days of terrible headlines and terrible news on a daily basis, it's nice to know that there are still a lot of kind people left in small town America. Thanks again, folks, and I hope you both get to feeling better real soon.
Govt. Post Graduate College, Hisar

Website: http://www.gchisar.com/ | Estd.: 1950

Govt College, Hisar is affiliated to Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. In 1976, this college was transferred to the present campus which contains hostel facility for girl students, library and science laboratories.

Courses offered: B.A. Honours (Eng., Geo. & Eco), M.A. (English) M.A. (Sanskrit) M.A. (Political science) M.A. (Economics) M.Sc. (Geography), BCom, MCom, BSc in Computer science, Medical, non-medical and Bio-tech.

Last year's cut off: BSc (non-medical); 87%, Medical 86%,; BCom (86%); Arts- 75%.

Admission dates for this year: June-July

"Our mission is to germinate the cultural seeds of nationalism and to inculcate a sense of responsibility and accountability in our young generation to contribute to the development of the nation. We are devoted to developing a scientific social outlook and introspective view of our young members who are the pillars of nation building."

Sunita Gupta, Principal

Student strength: 6000

Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hisar

Website: www.gcwparade.in | Estd.: 1970 (after formation of Haryana)

Known as Asia's biggest agricultural university, HAU has six constituent colleges, including College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, College of Agriculture, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, Indira Chakravarty College of Home Science at its Hisar campus and two other agriculture colleges located in Kaul in Kaithal district and Bawal in Rewari district. Prof A. L. Fletcher, renowned agriculture scientist was its first Vice-Chancellor.

Courses offered: The university offers five undergraduate courses besides post graduate and doctoral programmes.

Admission process: The university conduct entrance examination for its BSc (honours) 4 and 6 year programmes, Masters programmes in Agriculture college and Basic Sciences colleges while merit in the qualifying examination is the criteria admission in rest of the courses including MBA (general) and MBA (Agribusiness), BSC community Science  a four year programme. While admission in the BTech Agriculture Engineering is done on the basis of the state policy for admission in engineering colleges.

Admission deadlines: The last day for submission of application for entrance test is May 20 while the test would be conducted in June.

Seats: The university offer 80 seats in its flagship BSC (honours) agriculture course at the campus, 50 seats in Kaul college and 25 seats in Bawal college.

Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences (TITS), Bhiwani

Website: http://www.titsbhiwani.org

Courses offered: B. Tech (Textile Technology), Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Fashion & Apparel Engineering, Information Technology, Textile Chemistry, Textile Technology, Computer Engineering.

Cut off: B.Tech (Textile Engineering) students inducted from JEE All India ranking

Seats: B.Tech (Textile Technology)-70, Computer Engineering-60.

Brief about the college: Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences Bhiwani is one of the oldest and reputed institutes in India offering undergraduate and postgraduate engineering programmes in the field of textile technology. Running under the aegis of Birla Education Trust, TITS was envisioned by great entrepreneur and visionary Dr. G D Birla.

"We understand that we are living in an age of rapid global modernisation of life which is driven by core science, engineering and technology. We strongly believe in the education of hand and heart which gears the tempo of our civilisation. Our alumni occupies prestigious positions across all industries throughout the globe."

Prof. (Dr) Rajendrakumar Anayath, Director

Student strength: 1600

Chhaju Ram Memorial Jat College

Website: www.crmjatcollege.com\

Courses offered: BSc, BCom, BA, BCA, Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM, Bachelor of Mass Communication (BMC).

Cut off: BCom (86%), BSc (86%),BA (60%)

Admission dates for this year: June-July

"The results of the college are par excellence and it enjoys a high reputation amongst the institutions of higher learning in the region. The college provide all resources  academic, library, sports, administrative and financial  for the overall growth of students personality with numerous opportunities for all."

Inder Singh Lakhlan, Principal

Dayanand College, Hisar

Website: http://www.dncollege.com | Estd.: 1950

Dayanand College has been re-accredited as A Grade institution by NAAC, Bengaluru in November 2016. The college owes its existence to the vision and missionary zeal of Lala Gian Chand Mahajan who was a teacher by profession, a social crusader by inclination. The college is a multi-faculty, co-educational government-aided institution. The college was taken over by the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi in 1962.

Courses offered: BSc non medical, medical, B.A. gen, B.A. (Hons.) in English, B. Com., B.A. Mass Communication, M. Sc. (Geography), M. A. (English), M. Sc. (Biotechnology), M. A./M. Sc. (Mathematics), M. Com.

Cut off: BSc- non-medical (88), medical (87), BCom (78)

Admission dates for this year: June-July

 Inputs Deepender Deswal

"The college offers an ideal ambience and wide breadth of academic choices which are relevant to the needs of the times. The college offers the best in humanities, commerce, basic sciences, market-sensitive programme in electronics and computer science and mass media. We are taking every step to strengthen our supremacy in infrastructure, in academics, in placements and consultancy, even in cultural activities and sports."

Dr Pawan Sharma, Principal

Other colleges

Government Postgraduate College, Jind (Boys)

Website: www.gcjind.com

Estd.: 1960

Star stream/courses: B.Sc, Commerce, Arts, BCA, PGDCA,BBA.

Seats in star stream: 1300-B.Sc

Priyadarshani Indira Gandhi Government College for Women, Jind

Website: www.highereduhry.com

Estd.: 2005

Star stream/courses: B.Sc, Commerce, Arts, BCA, PGDCA,BBA.

Seats in star stream: 550-Commerce

C R Kisan College, Jind

Website: www.crkcjind.org

Estd.: 1972

Star stream/courses: Arts,commerce, B.Sc,BBA,BCA, MA (Public Admin), M.Com

Seats: Commerce-160

Hindu Kanya Mahavidyala Jind

Website: www.hkmvjind.com/ | Estd.: 1970

Star stream/courses: Bachelor of Arts(B.A.),Bachelor of Commerce(B.COM.), B.C.A, B.I.M, B.A.(Hons.) in Mathematics, B.A. Computer Sc, B.Sc, Fashion-Designing, Information Technology

Seats : Commerce-400

K M Government College , Narwana

Website: www.highereduhry.com/

Estd.: 1966

Star stream/courses: Bachelor of Arts(B.A.),Bachelor of Commerce(B.COM.),B.Sc, MA (Pol. Science),BCA,BBA, B.T.M.

Seats: BSc--800

Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa

Name of the college: Media

Website: www.cdlu.in

Estd.: 2003

Tel: 9812600387

Courses offered: BA (Mass Comm)

C.M.K. National P.G.Girls College, Sirsa

Website: www.cmksirsa.com | Estd.: 1970

Courses offered: BSc. Medical;BSc. With Computer Sc.;BCA; BAMC;BBA;BSc. Biotechnology; MA; Commerce General & Vocational; Commerce with Tax Procedure & Commerce with office management & secretarial Practies

Add On courses: Certificate Course in Functional English , Fashion Designing And Food & Nutrition; Diploma Course in Functional English , Fashion Designing And Food & Nutrition; Advanced Diploma Course in Functional English, Fashion Designing.

JCD Memorial College of Engineering, Sirsa

Website: www.jcdv.org | Estd.: 2003

Courses offered: B. Tech, M. Tech

JCD Memorial College of Pharmacy

Website: www.jcdv.org | Estd.: 2003

Courses offered: B. Pharmacy, M. Pharmacy

JCD (PG) College of Education, Sirsa

Website: www.jcdv.org | Estd.: 2004

Courses offered: B. Ed, M. Ed

JCD Polytechnic College, Sirsa

Website: www.jcdv.org | Estd.: 2004

JCD Dental College, Sirsa

Website: www.jcdv.org | Estd.: 2005

Courses offered: BDS

Diploma in Dental Mechanics

JCD Institute of Business Management, Sirsa

Website: www.jcdv.org | Estd.: 2008

Courses offered: BBA, MBA

JCD Memorial College, Sirsa

Estd.: 2012

Website: www.jcdv.org

Courses offered: Diploma in Engineering
Shreyasi Thakur

Ellam Avan Paathuppan (He takes care of everything). An archetype of the Dravidian architecturethe majestic Karthikeya Swami Temple of the Tamilian community in Chandigarhs Sector 31 is what it is today due to this very principle, believe its humble devotees.

A five-stage Rajagopuram or the grand entrance tower is hard to miss. However, a closer look is highly recommended. Avatars of Mahavishnu, Shiv, Ganesh and Durga are beautifully sculpted to represent scenes from the Puranas. Temple insiders claim this entrance alone has 121 statues.

Temples have always been the highest among other structures in Tamil villages. The top of gopuram has a lightning conductor so that if a tragedy were to befall, it would be absorbed by the temple, says SP Rajasekaran, general secretary, Lord Murugam Bhaktha Samaj.

The gumbaj or the dome below the same was used to store grains so that in case of a flood, these could be used as seeds later, he adds. The place of worship stands on 33 pillars, each one installed on 11 lakh Rama jayam (a book of handwritten mantras) praying for peace. The practice energises the shrine with powerful, positive vibes, believes Raju, a young priest.

All this grandeur, however, has its roots in humble beginnings.

In the 1980s, when militancy was at its peak in Punjab, what held Tamilians in the city intact was their belief in Lord Murugan (Karthikeya), son of Parvati and Shiva, known to be the Warrior God. They simply set up a small shed and placed a copper spear (associated with Karthikeya) and idols of lords inside.

Over the years, there have been many additions and renovations. We faced challenges, mostly due to shortage of funds. But to everyones surprise, the Lord used to either send a devotee with donation or the right person for the job each time, he adds.

Scores of senior patrons, mostly from the Air Force, who were instrumental in bringing up the temple and are now settled in other places, have come to the city to take part in the celebrations. This year, a huge wooden door and a chariot are the new entrants. Craftsmen are busy putting up golden brass layering inside. The glory keeps multiplying. Ellam Avansyal (He does everything).
New York, May 2

Actress Priyanka Chopra made a bold statement as she walked the Met Gala red carpet in an evening gown, inspired by Ralph Lauren's iconic trench coat.

Priyanka's debut appearance at the annual fundraising event, attended by Hollywood A-listers, received mixed reactions.

The 34-year-old actress completed the look with metallic danglers and ankle-length leather heels.

Priyanka, who styled her hair in a high bun, kept the make-up minimal except for the deep maroon lip colour.

Considered as Hollywood's latest favourite from India, Priyanka impressed the fashion police with many calling it an "edgy" look.

New York Times fashion director, Vanessa Friedman praised the actress' choice on Twitter, "Actually, this trench coat- gown by @RalphLauren on Priyanka Chopra is a weirdly great combo. #MetGala"

Us Weekly magazine tweeted, "Priyanka Chopra Slays in Trench Coat Dress With Longest Train Ever on 2017 #MetGala Red Carpet."

Access Hollywood called Priyanka's look the "fashion moment" at the annual fundraising event.

While the Western media complimented the "Quantico" actress, social media users in India were not too kind to the National Award-winning actress and came up with funny memes.

Some compared the actress' gown to Rihanna's infamous pizza dress from the 2015 gala while others hailed her as the new face of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

"#PriyankaChopra displaying her Swachh Bharat skills at #MetGala," a user tweeted.

In wake of the tenth season of Indian Premier League, a user wrote, "#BREAKING: #BCCI Hires Priyanka Chopra To Provide Cover Protection To Stadiums During Rains. #PriyankaChopra #IPL #IPL10 #DDvSRH #IPL2017".

Another tweeter discovered the three-tier usage of Priyanka's dress.

"Raincoat + Shower curtain + bedspread." Actress Deepika Padukone also made her debut at the gala wearing a pearl-silver shift, backless gown by Tommy Hilfiger, who accompanied her to the event.

She paired up her look with floral-studded danglers.

Appearing in a low-key front-slit dress, the actress wore a matching hair accessory and low bun.  PTI
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 2

Travel kits were today distributed among delegates who will attend the largest exhibition of the bicycle industry The 27th China International Bicycle and Motor Fair at Shanghai, China.

Kundan Lal, Deputy Director, MSME Ludhiana, was the chief guest and Ankur Pathak, Assistant Director, MSME Ludhiana, was the guest of honour. The 106-member delegation from the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (FICO) will be led by Harmohinder Singh Pahwa of M/s Avon Bicycle Components Private Limited and Harpal Singh Bhamber of M/s Bhamber Mechanical Works.

The delegation would also visit Chinese cycle companies to update themselves about the latest technology for manufacturing bicycles, said Manjinder Singh Sachdeva, General Secretary, Federation of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking.

Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the undertaking, said they had to visit the exhibition every year to keep themselves updated about the international bicycle standards and technology, because now China was the largest manufacturer of bicycle and parts in the world, and India was second.

For the exhibition, the MSME Ministry of India has already approved Rs 20-lakh subsidy to the FICO for the delegates.

Meanwhile, a meeting under leadership of Charanjit Singh Vishivkarma regarding the delegation of the United Cycle Parts & Manufacturers Association for the 27th China International Bicycle & Motor Fair was held.
Ludhiana, May 2

Members of New Young Valmiki Federation, Punjab, protested against Pakistans act of mutilating bodies of the Indian Army soldiers. Around a 100 members gathered at Clock Tower, raised slogans against Pakistan and burnt the countrys flag. They demanded stern reply from the India. India must strike back and carry out another surgical strike against Pakistan for their temerity to kill India soldiers, said Karan Waraich, General Secretary of the organisation. Other members said the government must not let this happen again. The government should not let the blood of our soldiers spill ever again, said another member of the organisation. TNS
New Delhi, May 2

Wall of heroes with portraits of Param Veer Chakra awardees will come up at around 1,000 schools and colleges across the country to inspire the youth.

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday launched the Centre's campaign "Vidya Veerta Abhiyan" as he condemned the killing of two soldiers by Pakistan.

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While the establishment of the "wall of heroes" is voluntary for the educational institutes, he clarified that Centre will not issue any grants for the purpose and students and teachers should be encouraged to pool in money for the same.

"The condemnable and barbaric act by Pakistan has been carried out after ignoring all indicators of humanity. Even war has few principles but they do not any principle of humanity or either they don't want to know it. The entire country is anguished," Javadekar said at the event.

The HRD Minister reiterated Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's comments that the sacrifice of the soldiers will not go waste.

He said, It is important that we have portraits of such soldiers in our universities to create passion and enthusiasm among the youngsters.

The initiative is part of the Centre's Vidya Veerta Abhiyan (Wisdom and Warrior Campaign) and was conceived by BJP leader Tarun Vijay, who called it "a humble attempt to inculcate patriotism in the students".

Under the campaign conceptualised by the BJP MP, universities will set up walls measuring 15 X 20 ft and featuring portraits of the 21 soldiers decorated with the Param Veer Chakra, the highest war-time gallantry award.

"On a day when the bodies of the two soldiers have come, this campaign is being launched," Javadekar said as he handed over the portraits of the Param Veer Chakra awardees to the vice-chancellors and representatives of various universities, including the JNU, the DU, the Jamia Millia Islamia, the Central University of Jammu, the Arunachal Pradesh university, the Kerala University and the IIT Delhi, among others.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre was also present at the event and condemned the beheading of the two Indian soldiers by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.

The idea of having a wall of martyrs in universities was first proposed by a group of ex-servicemen.

They had last year approached JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, saying portraits of martyrs and tanks used in wars should be put on display in the campus to instil sense of "nationalism" and "patriotism" among the students.

The demand came amid a raging debate on nationalism following a sedition row on campus over an event during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.  PTI
New Delhi, May 2

The central government on Tuesday defended in the Supreme Court its decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for issuing of PAN cards by saying it was done to curb the use of fake PAN cards across the country.

Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi told a Bench of justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the programme of PAN had become suspect as it could be faked while Aadhaar is a "secure and robust" system by which the identity of an individual cannot be faked.

The AG said that due to Aadhaar, government has saved over Rs 50,000 crore on the schemes to benefit the poor as well as the pension schemes.

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He said that around 10 lakh PAN cards have been cancelled, while out of the 113.7 crore Aadhaar cards issued, no case of duplication has been found by the government.

He also said that Aadhaar was an effective tool to check the menace of terror funding and circulation of black money.

"The idea behind Aadhaar is to make a secure and robust system by which the identity of a person cannot be faked," the Attorney General told the court, which would continue hearing arguments on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court is hearing three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 139 AA of the Income Tax Act. The provision, introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act 2017, makes Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form mandatory for filing of income tax returns and making an application for allotment of PAN number with effect from July 1 this year.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners, had earlier argued that section 139AA was unconstitutional and was in "direct collision" with the Aadhaar Act.

He had also contended that there was no question of forcing a person to give his consent for Aadhaar and this was an issue which "alters the relationship of Republic of India with its citizens".

The petitioner had also argued that a law-abiding taxpayer could not be forced to give his Aadhaar number while filing income tax returns and this was like an "electronic leash" as government would be able to keep a tab on its citizens.

"Nowhere in the world there is such a biometric system which can track a person 24X7. They (government) are doing it even before the age of consent," he had said during the arguments.

The Supreme Court had earlier put a poser as to why there was no objection from the lawmakers on the government's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for making PAN cards.

Rohatgi had also clarified that nowhere in section 139AA of IT Act, was it mentioned that it would be effective with retrospective effect.

The central government had previously told the court that fake PAN cards were being used to "divert funds" to shell companies.  PTI

ALSO READ


Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

The Congress is abuzz with talks of organisational revamp that began last week with former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot being named Gujarat general secretary.

Sources now say the party is considering other former Chief Ministers, including Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and some ex-union ministers for key slots with names of Sushil Kumar Shinde, Veerappa Moily, KC Deo and Sheila Dikshit doing the rounds.

Hooda, a source says, may be chosen as general secretary of an important state, with most bets being placed on poll-bound Rajasthan where the party is in need of a Jat leader since the demise of Sis Ram Ola. Though a final decision is yet to be taken, leaders privy to developments say: Bhupinder Singh Hooda cannot be ignored in AICC reshuffle.

Hoodas future role in the Congress, a top source says, is not linked to Haryana Congress reshuffle even though the former would want to be kept on board over changes in the state where he remains strong.

Haryana Congress MLAs have been demanding the replacement of state chief Ashok Tanwar for long but the party has to decide whether to send a Jat or a non-Jat leader as new chief following the backlash post Jat agitation of 2016. Though Hooda wields massive influence with Haryana Congress organisation and legislature party, central party leaders say he would only want to be consulted on changes rather than pitch himself for a state-level role.

Hooda is a natural choice as general secretary having been a CM for 10 years, a Congress source said.

Ktaka team meets Rahul

Congress new Karnataka team led by general secretary KC Venugopal met party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and decided to get going from next week. Venugopal, who replaced veteran Digvijay Singh as general secretary, will visit Karnataka in the coming week and will be accompanied by new AICC secretaries for the state.

Prospective future roles

KAMAL NATH: There are indications that senior-most Lok Sabha MP of Congress Kamal Nath may be sent to Madhya Pradesh ahead of the next year elections. He is currently Haryana general secretary.

AMBIKA SONI: Sources say Ambika Soni, 74, has requested to be relieved citing her inability to travel frequently. She is currently general secretary of poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand and of the Congress presidents office.
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

Army Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen AK Bhatt on Tuesday told his Pakistan counterpart Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza that mutilation of bodies of Indians warranted unequivocal response.

Using the word unequivocal, which means unambiguous, was like a warning to Pakistan that India would respond.

On Monday, two Indian soldiers, one from the Army and one from the BSF, had died and their bodies mutilated in a military action by Pakistan in the Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Lt Gen Bhat termed the mutilation (beheading) as a dastardly and inhuman act. It is beyond the norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response.

Lt Gen Bhat told the Pakistan DGMO that full fire support was provided by Pakistan Army located in the vicinity.

He rejected claims made by Pakistan Army on Monday which had said that its troops were not involved in mutilation of Indian soldiers.

Pakistan troops targeted Indian Army patrol on the Indian side of the LC (military usage for LoC) and mutilated bodies of the Indian soldiers, Lt Gen Bhat told his counterpart in Pakistan. The Indian Army tweeted the full text of the statement.

He also spoke about presence of border action team training in the vicinity of the LoC.

On Monday night, local commanders level hotline contact was established at Rawalkot-Poonch sector on the LoC.

Pak rejects Indias claim on beheading, says will respond to any misadventure

Meanwhile Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement from Rawalpindi saying, The DGMO, Pakistan Army, Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza rejected baseless and unfounded Indian allegations of mutilation of Indian Army soldiers bodies by Pakistan Army.

The DGMO asked for actionable evidence and cautioned his Indian counterpart saying any misadventure from India would be appropriately responded at a place and time of its own choosing.

The issue was discussed during a hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension.

Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza told his Indian counterpart Lt Gen A K Bhatt that neither ceasefire violations occurred in the Sector (pointed out by India in the mutilation allegation), nor crossing of the LoC by Pakistanis troops have taken place.

The Pakistani statement said the DGMO, Pakistan Army, highlighted that Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct.

Allegations of mutilation are Indias attempt to divert the attention of world from situation in the Valley, it said.

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Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

The BJP has reacted strongly to Congress partys criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modis policy to deal with cross-border terrorism and the need for a full-time defence minister.

It questioned the gratuitous advice given by the party given its treatment of similar situations while in power.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said, A party (Congress) that did not even give a free hand to its prime minister and reduced him to a rubber stamp and tied the arms of the armed forces was giving gratuitous advice to a party (the BJP) which had given the country its strongest prime minister ever and given Pakistan jitters by mounting surgical strikes against it and isolating Pakistan in both regional and international level.

Lashing out at the Centre over the lack of a full-time defence minister, after the mutilation of two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmirs Krishna Ghati sector, Congress leader Kapil Sibal today slammed the prime minister over his silence on the matter.

After the horrifying surgical strike that took place months ago, we thought that India will not face any such attacks but our hopes are all shattered. Only a full-time defence minister can create a full time strategy towards growth and security, he said.
Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters.
Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 2

China has virtually announced its role as a mediator in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan to fulfill its responsibility as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in South Asia.

The state-run Global Times has focused on the Kashmir dispute and its resolution through Beijings intervention and mediation as it says: China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesnt mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprise in protecting the overseas investments. Given the massive investment that has been made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts, including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

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China has invested $54 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that runs through Pakistan occupied Kashmir, including Gilgit. Beijing has already stationed its troops for the safety of its workers in Gilgit-Baltisan and other parts of the PoK and it has turned a deaf ear to the Indian objections that it was undertaking projects in the territory which is legally part of India.

Last Dogra king of Jammu and Kashmir had acceded the entire state as it existed before the tribesmens invasion of the state, to India in 1947.

The newspaper, however, prods Beijing in its article titled China ready to play a greater role in resolving conflicts in South and Southeast Asia by saying, Mediating between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests (read CPEC).

China has shifted its stand that Kashmir was a bilateral issue to be resolved by Delhi and Islamabad. It had maintained and stuck to this stand vociferously in 1999, when it advised Pakistan to adhere to the sanctity of the Line of Control and withdraw its troops and proxies from the Indian side of the LoC.

Things changed at the diplomatic and geo-strategic levels when Pakistan during negotiations on the Siachen glacier submitted non-papers seeking the involvement of China in deciding the fate of the highest battleground in the world, most part of which is under Indias control. The Karakorum highway, the lifeline of CPEC, runs across edges of the glacier.

Kashmiri separatists, considered His Masters Voice of Pakistan, have often made calls for China as a partner to settling the Kashmir dispute.

The MEA had been dismissing these as peripheral noises, maintaining that India and Pakistan could resolve it bilaterally. Now, China has announced that it is willing to acquire a new role as a mediator as it is doing in the case of Myanmar and Rohingiya refugees. The one belt, one road runs through Myanmar too.

That China has brought Kashmir on its agenda needs to be understood.

READ MORE
Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 2

China has virtually announced its role as a mediator in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan to fulfil its responsibility as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in South Asia.

The state-run Global Times has focused on the Kashmir dispute and its resolution through Chinese intervention and said Beijing has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts.

China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesnt mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprise in protecting the overseas investments, an article in the newspaper said.

China has invested $54 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including Gilgit.

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Beijing has already stationed its troops for the safety of its workers in Gilgit-Baltistan and other parts of PoK and has turned a deaf ear to the Indian objections that it was undertaking projects in territory that is legally and constitutionally part of India.

Last Dogra king of Jammu and Kashmir had acceded the entire state as it existed before the tribesmens invasion of the state to India in 1947.

The article, however, prods Beijing by saying, Mediating between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests (read CPEC). China has shifted its stand that Kashmir is a bilateral issue to be resolved by New Delhi and Islamabad.

It had stuck to this stand vociferously in 1999 when it advised Pakistan to adhere to the sanctity of the Line of Control and withdraw its troops and proxies from the Indian side of the LoC.

Things have since changed at diplomatic and geo-strategic levels. Pakistan during negotiations on Siachen glacier sought Chinese involvement in deciding the fate of the worlds highest battleground, most part of which is under Indias control. The Karakoram highway, the lifeline of CPEC, runs across the edges of the glacier.

Kashmiri separatists, considered as His Masters Voice of Pakistan, have often called for Chinese role in settling the Kashmir dispute.

The Ministry of External Affairs has been dismissing these as peripheral noises, maintaining India and Pakistan can resolve it bilaterally. Now, China has announced it is willing to acquire a new role as a mediator as it is doing in the case of Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya refugees. The One Belt, One Road runs through Myanmar too.

China has brought Kashmir on its agenda. It needs to be understood.

Beijing says it now has vested interest

Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts, including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Article in state-run Global Times
Gurbaxpuri

Tarn Taran, May 2

The mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, killed in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch yesterday, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village today, amid demands of teaching Pakistan a befitting lesson for the brutal killings.

Anger was palpable as the headless body of the slain soldier of 22 Sikh Infantry was brought to the village amid sloganeering by relatives and villagers.

EDIT: OUTRAGE ON THE LoC

The last rites were held up briefly as relatives remained adamant on seeing the body. The local administration had a tough time containing the mourners as some tried to open the coffin. The police used mild force to push them away. The mortal remains were cremated after a brief ceremony.

Paramjeet Singh, 42, is survived by aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children  daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh.

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Udham Singh and son Sahildeep lit the pyre after senior Army and civil officials paid floral tributes to the soldier. Udham Singh said he was proud of his son and that Pakistan must be given a befitting reply.

Earlier, the mortal remains were brought to the village in an Army helicopter around 11.40 am. The family expressed anguish at the absence of senior ministers and government functionaries from the cremation.

Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka called it unfortunate.

Congress MLAs Dharmveer Agnihotri and Ramanjit Singh Sikki, former SAD MLA Ravinder Singh Brahampura and SAD (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann were present. Deputy Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said the state government had announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh and a job for a family member.

Our govt once said if Pakistan kills or beheads our soldier, 10 enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now? Paramjit Kaur, Martyrs wife
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

The India-Pakistan narrative that has seen its fair share of highs and lows over the past year-and-a-half seems to have hit a dead end following the mutilation of bodies of two Indian soldiers by the Pakistan Army. Not only that, the incident has pushed the neighbours to the brink of limited war.

Since the January 2016 Pathankot attacks, both nations have refused talking to each other. But the refusal has only aggravated problems as both countries share a long border.

The Kashmir crisis continues to hog the limelight with New Delhi sticking to its stand that it is a bilateral issue while Islamabad is trying its best to raise it at various international fora. The statement of the Turkish President, who visited India only yesterday, and todays message from the state-run Chinese media appear to be a warning enough that Kashmir is getting an international audience. While Turkey pitched for a multi-lateral dialogue, China has pitched itself as a mediator.

Industrialist Sajjan Jindals recent visit was seen by many as a positive sign and a possibility that the India-Pakistan ties might see a thaw via back-channel diplomacy. But the mutilation incident has brought things back to square one. These events also highlight the ongoing conflict in Pakistan between the Rawalpindi barracks and the government of Nawaz Sharif.

PM Narendra Modi, in the wake of a thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, is in a stronger position to dictate Indias Pakistan policy. The Opposition parties, however, have dubbed this government having a no Pak policy or a confused Pak policy.

At present, all eyes are on a possible meeting between Modi and Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet in Astana in June. But if tensions continue to simmer, the possibility will continue to diminish.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Tuesday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the continuing unrest in the state.

During the 40-minute meeting, Singh and Vohra reviewed the ground situation in the Valley and the steps taken to control it. The Governor is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day.

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Issues like infiltration from across the border, activities of separatists and street protests by students were discussed at the meeting.

The situation along the border, where two soldiers were beheaded by the Pakistan Army on Monday, also figured in the meeting.

Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed violence during the April 9 bypoll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in which eight people lost their lives in over 200 incidents.

The Election Commission has also cancelled the May 25 Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll, saying the situation there is not feasible for holding the election.

Seven people, five of them policemen, were killed by Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists on Monday after being dragged out of a bank's cash van in Kulgam district.

Last month, the Valley saw protests by students against alleged police excesses where even girls, for the first time in recent memory, were seen pelting stones at security personnel.

Massive protests erupted in Kashmir after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter in July last year, which continued for nearly four months. More than 90 people lost their lives, while scores of security personnel and civilians were injured. With Agencies
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, May 2

A man and his son, both Akali workers, were shot dead this morning outside their house in Rukan Shah Wala village, 22 km from here. The assailants, numbering 10-15, owe allegiance to the ruling Congress in Punjab, say sources.

While Harnam Singh (80) was killed on the spot, his elder son Joginder Singh aka Bubby (45) breathed his last at a hospital. His younger son Balwinder Singh, district (rural) vice-president, was hit in the leg. He is out of danger. Harnam Singhs wife Amar Kaur is a member of the village panchayat.

Gaurav Garg, SSP, along with a heavy police contingent, rushed to the crime site. He said a case had been registered against Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha, his brother Ranjit Singh, accomplice Karaj Singh and seven more. A hunt for the killers had been launched. The motive was yet to be ascertained.

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Sources said the key accused, Lakha, a relative of the victims family, was close to Jasmail Singh Laddi Gehri, the spouse of Ferozepur (Rural) Congress MLA Satkar Kaur. Eyewitnesses claimed that a drunk Lakha opened fire from his .315 bore rifle.

Balwinder Singh alleged that the police had deliberately omitted Laddi Gehris name in the FIR. He claimed Lakha wanted to take control of the panchayat and had been openly intimidating the sarpanch as well as panchayat members, including his mother. Lakha had come to our house earlier too and had warned us of dire consequences, if we did not toe his line. We had then complained to senior police officials. Yesterday, too, we filed a complaint. This infuriated Lakha. Accompanied by his henchmen, he stood outside our house, hurling abuses at us. When my father came out and objected, Lakha and his men opened fire. My father died on the spot. My brother intervened and was attacked likewise, he said.

Senior Akali leaders held a protest, accusing the Congress government of unleashing terror on Akali workers.
Palampur, May 2

Condemning Pakistan Armys barbaric act of mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmirs Krishna Ghati sector, NK Kalia, father of Kargil braveheart Capt Saurabh Kalia, on Tuesday stated that even after committing such crimes they (Islamabad) proudly denied it saying they didnt commit such acts.

This kind of act is very common by Pakistan; they dont feel sad or have a heart of not doing it. Even after committing such crimes they proudly deny it saying they dont do such acts, he said.

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He said that to put a stop to this, the government and the Army should take strict action, or India would lose more of her sons in many more ceasefires.

On Monday, the Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonchs Krishna Ghati sector around 8.30 am.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 metres into the Indian territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley termed the mutilation a reprehensible and an inhuman act and said such acts didnt take place even during war, let alone during peace. The attack triggered a major exchange of fire on the LoC and Indian troops resorted to small-arms fire and mortar-shelling, said an Army official.

The Pakistan Army denied the alleged ceasefire violation or the mutilation of bodies. ANI

READ MORE
Islamabad, May 2

Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all.

Pakistan welcomes the Turkish Presidents offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue, the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement on Monday night.

Erdogans meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India.

The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter, and that there is no scope for a third-party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India on Monday asserted that the Kashmir issue is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogans remarks, saying, Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the Foreign Office said.

It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community, including the US, had urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security. PTI
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

A day after two soldiers were beheaded by the Pakistan army, Indias Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) today told his Pakistani counterpart that mutilation of bodies warranted an unequivocal response.

Lt Gen AK Bhatt termed the mutilation (beheading) a dastardly and inhuman act. It is beyond the norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response, he told Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza.

Using the word unequivocal, which means unambiguous and leaving no doubt, India sounded a warning to Pakistan that it would respond to the brutal killings.

The Pakistan DGMO was quoted by Dawn with his version of the DGMO talks: We are fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC (Line of Control). However, any misadventure shall be appropriately responded to at a place and time of own choosing.

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On Monday, two Indian soldiers, one from the Army and the other from the Border Security Force, were killed and their bodies mutilated in a military action by Pakistan in the Krishna Ghati sector along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. Lt Gen Bhatt told the Pakistan DGMO that full fire support was provided by the Pakistan army.

He rejected claims made by the Pakistan army that its troops were not involved in the mutilation. Pakistani troops targeted Indian Army patrol on the Indian side of the LC (military usage for LoC) and mutilated bodies of the Indian soldiers, Lt Gen Bhatt told his counterpart.

He also spoke about the presence of border action team (BAT) training in the vicinity of the LoC.

On Monday night, a local commander-level hotline contact was established in the Rawalkot-Poonch sector on the LoC. Around 10 pm, a note was sent from the Pakistan side. Meanwhile, Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) was quoted as having issued a statement on the DGMO contact: The DGMO, Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza rejected baseless and unfounded Indian allegations of mutilation of Indian Army soldiers bodies by Pakistan army.

The Pak DGMO asked for actionable evidence and claimed allegations of mutilation are Indias attempt to divert the attention of world from situation in the Valley.
Srinagar/New Delhi, May 2

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday visited the forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and asked the troops to remain alert and thwart "any misadventure" from across the border, even as Vice-Chief Sarath Chand said Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers.

The army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choosing, the Vice-Chief told reporters in New Delhi.

During his interaction with the troops at the forward areas General Rawat reassured them that the entire nation stands behind its soldiers in their "brave endeavours to safeguard the country's sovereignty and integrity and maintaining peace" in the Valley.

The army chief, who was on a two-day visit to Kashmir since yesterday, was accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D Anbu and Srinagar-based Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu.

"The army chief was briefed by formation commanders on the security situation on the border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture besides overall operational and logistical preparedness," an army official said.

He said Gen Rawat impressed upon the troops to remain vigilant and thwart "any misadventure from across especially now as the summer sets in" and snow will melt on the mountain passes.

General Rawat yesterday visited Panzgam garrison and was briefed on the encounter with terrorists which took place on April 27.

Vice-Chief Sarath Chand said the killing of the two soldiers and beheading them showed frustration of the Pakistan military and asserted that it will never be able to justify the action.

I do not want to say what we will do. Instead of speaking, we will focus on our action at a time and place of our choosing," he told reporters.

He was replying to questions on possible retaliation by the Indian Army over the Pakistani action.

"They (Pakistani army) have said it was not done by their forces. Then who did it. Their people came to our area and did it. They will have to take responsibility and face consequences for it," Chand said.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had said yesterday that the "sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain" and the Indian armed forces will react "appropriately" to the "inhuman act" of the Pakistani troops.

"This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks don't even take place during war, let alone during peace time.

Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act," the defence minister said.

The soldiers killed were Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar.  PTI
Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak, May 2

The parliamentary standing committee on external affairs on Tuesday ruled out construction of a corridor linking India with the historical Kartarpur Sahib shrine in Pakistan.

The committee, comprising of seven MPs, today visited Dera Baba Nanak from where the gurdwara is visible.

The delegation was here on an invite from Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

The committee chairman Shashi Tharoor, former Minister of State for External Affairs, said the current political climate was not at all conducive for constructing such a passage.

No doubt we have been flooded with requests to establish such a link which will not only boost religious-tourism in the area but will also prove to be beneficial to pilgrims desirous of visiting the shrine.

"However, under the current political scenario, where Pakistani agencies are regularly beheading Indian soldiers, we can not even think of taking such an initiative. I know that the distance will be considerably reduced but the condition should first be conducive, he said.

MLA Randhawa impressed upon Tharoor the historical and political significance of the link.

A proposal was mooted in 1999 to construct a bridge over the Ravi river which would have been a part of the corridor. During my tenure as minister I did my best to ensure that Pakistan got land in lieu of India acquiring land on the Pakistani side leading to the shrine. However, due to security concerns the idea was shelved.

I will talk to the government again but only when the situation is normal, said Tharoor.

Tharoor said on Randhawas request, he would ensure that four high-resolution telescopes are installed at Dera Baba Nanak through which pilgrims could view the shrine from the 3 km distance separating the Indian border and the gurdwara.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 2

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has announced ex-gratia of Rs 12 lakh for the next of kin of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, one of the victims of the barbaric assault by Pakistani troops in which two soldiers of the Indian Army were killed and their bodies brutally mutilated in Jammu & Kashmir on Monday.

The Chief Minister, who will visit the native village of Paramjit Singh in Tarn Taran on May 7, also deputed his Cabinet colleague, Rana Gurjit Singh, on Tuesday to personally meet the bereaved family of the deceased to share their tragic loss.

According to a government spokesperson, while Rs 5 lakh in cash and a plot worth the same amount would be given to Naib Subedar Paramjit Singhs wife and children, Rs 2 lakh would be paid to his parents.

Besides, the Chief Minister also announced that a suitable government job would be given to the next of kin of the martyred soldier and his children would get free education for degree courses at one of the nine Sainik Institutes of Management and Technology in the state.

The Chief Minister also sanctioned Rs 1 lakh, through the Red Cross, for renaming the local government rest house in Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh's name.
Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 2

In a daring daylight robbery, armed men intercepted a van of Axis Bank near Rajpura town in Patiala district on Tuesday and decamped with Rs 1.33 crore.

The van was on its way to the bank when unidentified men in a Scorpio fired at its driver and left him injured before looting the money.

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The armed men chased the vehicle for a few minutes and later intercepted it on the highway. The incident took place near the Chitkara and Gian Sagar institutes.

This is one of the biggest cash loots in the area in recent times.

Following the incident, there was panic among students as the area has many educational institutes.

The injured van driver has been hospitalised and his condition is said to be critical.

Senior police officers from Rajpura and Patiala have reached the spot. Police are scanning the CCTV footage from the area. The initial probe suggested that the robbers came in two vehicles. While the ones in the Scorpio robbed the van, the other vehicle was used as cover. The Scorpio had two different number plates--one in the front and the other at the rear.

An alert has been sounded across the state. The highway police have been told to randomly check vehicles. The police have also started frisking people on all buses leaving the state through the Rajpura-Ambala highway. They believe the cash must have been distributed by now and is likely to be taken out of the state by buses.

Sources in police said they suspected a Ropar-based group of three men, who were already wanted in a murder and robbery case.
Chandigarh, May 1

A threat publicly issued to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh by pro-Khalistan elements during an event in Surrey city of Canadas British Columbia province recently has drawn an official protest from India.

Sources said the Indian High Commission in Canadian capital Ottawa has lodged a formal complaint to Global Affairs-Canada, the foreign office, last week.

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Videos of the Vaisakhi Parade on April 22 have been sent to the Canadian foreign ministry as proof of the open threats by Sikh hardliners. The communication has also objected to the public display of Khalistan floats with images of terrorists, pictures of Kalashnikov rifles and photographs of former and serving army and police officers who are on the hit-list of Sikh radicals.

It is learnt that the Canadian authorities were cautioned about the anti-India propaganda on April 13 itself. The Canadian foreign ministry, responding to the early warning, said it would take necessary action.

These kinds of open and cheap threats show the extent of radicalisation in a relatively small section of the Sikh community in Canada. They endorse our stand of pro-Khalistani leanings of such elements in the Canadian Sikh community, Raveen Thukral, media adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister, said.

Capt Amarinder had refused to meet Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, accusing him and other ministers of Punjab origin in the government of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau of links with radical elements.  IANS
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 2

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today announced ex gratia of Rs 12 lakh for the kin of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was killed by Pakistani troops in Jammu & Kashmir yesterday.

The Chief Minister, who is scheduled to visit the martyrs native village (Vainpoin) in Tarn Taran district on May 7, deputed his Cabinet colleague, Rana Gurjit Singh, to meet the bereaved family.

A government spokesperson said Rs 5 lakh and a plot worth the same amount would be given to Paramjeets wife and children, while Rs 2 lakh would be paid to his parents.

The CM also announced that a suitable government job would be given to the kin of the martyred soldier, whose children would get free education for degree courses at one of the nine Sainik Institutes of Management and Technology in the state.

Capt Amarinder sanctioned Rs 1 lakh through the Red Cross for renaming the local government rest house after Paramjeet.

The spokesperson said officials of the local administration, including the Deputy Commissioner, SDM and SSP, attended the cremation. Director, Sainik Welfare, Brig JS Arora (retd) and Deputy GoC, Panther Division (Amritsar) Brig Sushil Sharma were among the senior Army officers/ex-servicemen present at the ceremony.

It is learnt that the CM expressed concern that no minister of the Congress government attended the cremation. Two party MLAs, Ramanjit Singh Sikki and Dr Dharamvir Agnihotri, were present.

Act against Pak: Dalbir

Jalandhar: Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjit Singh  who had died in a Pakistan jail in 2013  on Tuesday asked the Centre to act firmly against the cowardly neighbouring country that had mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers. Merely condemning and saying that the sacrifice of the soldiers will not go in vain will not work. We should give a befitting reply, she added.  ANI

Create cells in DC offices: MS Gill

Chandigarh: Former Union Minister MS Gill said on Tuesday that special cells should be created in the Deputy Commissioner offices in all districts for the welfare of families of jawans who get killed in the line of duty. I have spoken to some people in the state government in this connection, he said. Gill further said the state government should take responsibility of families, especially the children, of Army and paramilitary jawans, who sacrificed their lives for the country. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should make an announcement in this connection and assure all concerned that his government will help out families of martyrs, he added. tns
Sydney

Australian scientists called for action on Tuesday, as new research said deforestation has driven lots of the world's animals to the brink of extinction.

Researchers at the Macquarie University here warned species ranging from butterflies to frogs and lizards were all at risk, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The amount of expected extinction is really high, I think the scientific community should find the result disturbing," Associate Professor John Alroy told Xinhua news agency.

"Previously, research has focused on a local extinction, but what is new about this research is that it's not about a local or small forest but about complete extinction globally." Tropical forests are home to the majority of all plant and animal species, and according to the findings, disturbing their ecosystem could have a severe impact.

"A mass extinction could have happened right under our noses because we just don't know much about the many rare species that are most vulnerable to extinction," Alroy said.

More than half of the world's species are found in tropical forests, even though they only make up 10 per cent of the Earth's land surface, so according to Alroy, the solution is to "create more areas that are protected from deforestation".

"A lot more field work needs to be done in the tropics and the time to do this is now," he said.  IANS
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 2

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modis proposed visit to the Kedarnath shrine, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today visited the shrine to review all preparations for Char Dham yatra pilgrims.

The CM visited the medical centre set up at Kedarnath to provide prompt medical facilities for the pilgrims and interacted with the medical team deployed at the centre. He also visited the accommodation arrangements made for the pilgrims at Kedarnath.

To get the first-hand information about the facilities, Rawat met pilgrims and took the feedback about the facilities being provided to them. Rawat also took stock of drinking water and food arrangements made for the pilgrims.

He directed officials to ensure that pilgrims coming to the Char Dham yatra face no inconvenience. Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat and other senior administration officials were present. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kedarnath tomorrow on the day when the portals of the shrine are opened for the pilgrims after the winter break. Sources reveal that the Prime Minister could be the first person to offer prayers at the shrine. Modi had some time back announced all-weather road on the yatra route.
Dehradun, May 2

Former BJP minister and senior statehood leader Diwakar Bhatt has joined the regional outfit, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), here today.

Diwakar Bhatt, a senior leader of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), a regional political party, had joined the BJP after becoming a minister in the BJP-led state government in 2007.

He had won the 2007 state Assembly election from Devprayag and extended support to the BJP-led government. He had fought the 2012 state Assembly election as a BJP candidate but was trounced. In the February 2017 state Assembly elections, he was denied a BJP ticket and fought as an Independent candidate from Devprayag Assembly segment but was defeated.  TNS
Dehradun, May 2

The beheading of two jawans in Krishnaghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir has caused widespread resentment in Uttarakhand.

The Dehradun Ex-Servicemens League has expressed anguish over the cowardly act of Pakistan. Brig KG Behl (retd), president of the league, has appealed to the Centre to severe all relations with Pakistan. It would be appropriate if strict action is taken and the Central Government must cut all relations with Pakistan, Brigadier Behl asserted. Entering 250 m into our territory and then beheading our two jawans was definitely a well-planned action, he added.  TNS
Beirut, May 2

At least 32 people were killed on Tuesday in an Islamic State group attack near a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, a monitor said.

At least five suicide attackers blew themselves up outside and inside a camp for Iraqi refugees and displaced Syrians in Hasakeh province, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Heavy clashes then erupted between the IS fighters and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, some of whose combatants were among the dead, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The camp lies in the Rajm al-Salibeh area just inside Syrian territory, and at least 21 of the dead were displaced Syrians or Iraqi refugees, the Observatory said.

At least 30 people were wounded, and the death toll may rise because some people are in critical condition and others are still unaccounted for, the Britain-based monitor said.

The US-backed SDF has captured swathes of northern Syria from IS, and in recent days overran most of the strategic Euphrates Valley town of Tabqa.

The battle for Tabqa is an important part of a broader offensive for ISs main Syrian stronghold, Raqa, downstream.  AFP
Ottawa, May 2

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect "comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star said.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence." Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice, once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.

IANS
Istanbul, May 1

Iranian British and Gem TV owner Saeed Karimian has been shot dead along with a Kuwaiti business partner in Istanbul, the media reported on Monday.

They were travelling in a car when a jeep blocked their path and two masked attackers opened fire at them in Maslak Square here on Saturday, the Hurriyet daily reported.

Karimian died at the spot and his partner M.M. succumbed to injuries in a hospital here.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

The jeep used in the attack was found burnt here.

Sariyer Mayor Sukru Genc said the murder was related to money. IANS
Sochi, May 2

German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks today with President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and Syria in a signal of renewed dialogue despite profound rifts on her first visit to Russia since 2015.

We cannot but use this visit to discuss bilateral relations and the most problematic points, by which I mean Ukraine and Syria and maybe some other regions, Putin told Merkel at the start of the meeting in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscows ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine.

Berlin has said todays meeting would above all focus on the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July and no breakthroughs were expected on major disagreements, although Putin earlier called for ties to fully normalise. Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supporting the pro- Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country. Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West. A European-brokered peace plan to end the conflict has hit a dead end.  AFP

Trump, Putin discuss Syria, North Korea

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed working together to end the violence in Syria on Tuesday in their first phone call since US air strikes in Syria strained US-Russian relations. They also discussed working together to eradicate terrorism in the Middle East. Finally, they spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea, a White House statement said. Reuters
New York, May 2

A Pakistani-origin Muslim flight attendant in the US has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that his co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and part of Hezbollah and the Taliban.

Farkhan Mahmood Shah, of Edison, New Jersey, also claims in the lawsuit, filed recently in the Superior Court in Middlesex County, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents came to his house after he complained about the harassment to company officials.

Shah alleges that he was targeted for religious and ethnic harassment after the attacks of September 11, NJ.com reported.

American Airlines failed to stop the harassment after he reported it, Shah claimed in the lawsuit.

Shah, who started working at the airline in 1999 as a flight attendant, says in the suit that he was called a terrorist, part of Hezbollah and the Taliban, and other offensive names.

On one flight, he claims another flight attendant tried to convert him from Islam to Christianity.

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shahs lawsuit.

American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, Miller was quoted as saying.

Shah said he reported the alleged harassment in 2008 when he began to notice erroneous marks on his record for being late and missing work.

The complaint escalated to the airlines New York human resources office in 2013 following numerous complaints where he also brought up the record errors, the suit said.

In 2014, Shah and his co-workers were having a conversation about 9/11 and one of the workers said, it was the Muslims and that Muslims are evil, according to the suit.

Shah responded that some had said the terrorist attack was an inside job, and ISIS was created by the CIA, citing a Hillary Clinton clip he saw, the lawsuit said.

Shah claims only his comments were reported to the supervisors.

Weeks later, Shah claims in his suit that he was placed on a watch list by American Airlines, and FBI agents showed up at his New Jersey home.

Shah claims the harassment continued over the next two years, as his case was moved around to a number of different human resources representatives without any resolution, according to the suit.

In 2016, he filed a complaint with US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the suit states. Less than two weeks later, Shah claims FBI agents showed up at his house again, asking him if he planned on hurting anyone.

Shah received his Right to Sue letter from the EEOC earlier this year and remains on airlines staff.

The suit, which names American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, seeks damages, attorney fees and other relief.  PTI
London, May 2

In his first day as a newspaper editor, former finance minister George Osborne taunted British leader Theresa May over her snap election strategy and unrealistic Brexit stance.

Carrying a bundle of newspapers as he arrived at the offices of the Evening Standard, Londons daily metropolitan newspaper, Osborne said his editorship would provide the straight facts and the informed analysis.

Osborne, 45, was dismissed last year as finance minister by May after helping to lead the doomed campaign to stay in the EU. The Evening Standards front page on Tuesday read: Brussels twists knife on Brexit and added: EU chief mocks PM May with her own strong and stable leadership slogan. The newspapers first daily editorial view under Osborne described Brexit as a historic mistake. The article suggested that Theresa Mays campaign to win a June 8 general election amounts to no more than a slogan. The Standard published a cartoon depicting May as Big Ben, incessantly chiming her strong and stable catchphrase. Veteran journalists have mocked Osbornes lack of editorial experience and potential conflicts of interest.  Reuters
London, May 2

A Pakistani asylum seeker has been jailed for 15 months by a UK court after he pleaded guilty to attacking his British wife whom he married to strengthen his case for a visa.

Mohsin Akram had met his future wife on social media and they got married so his case to stay in the UK could be strengthened, Cardiff Crown Court was told last week.

The 21-year-old soon turned violent, including beating Mariam Hussain with a hammer for forgetting to cook his dinner.

Hussain also told the court that she was held prisoner in her own home and banned from having a mobile phone or using the internet after her marriage.

After we got married in February 2015, that is when the real abusive relationship started, the 20-year-old victim told the court.

Akram had arrived in Britain from Pakistan claiming to be in fear for his life because his brother had destroyed a copy of the Quran when he burned down the family home in Lahore.

Hussain said she met Akram on Facebook in August 2013 and that he had put pressure on her to marry him 18 months later to strengthen his claim for seeking asylum in the UK at a tribunal hearing.

Sentencing Akram, Judge Tom Crowther said: It seems to me you wanted not a real person but some imaginary figure who not only would bear your children but would constantly dote on you.

Despite the sentence, the judge chose not to exercise deportation powers and send Akram back to Pakistan.

Hussain is now calling on the UK Home Office to review his asylum status once he is released from prison.

The judge could have said he is to be deported but didnt. There are so many reasons why he should be deported, she said.

Akram had been convicted of assault in 2015 after a previous attack on Hussain but the couple had reconciled after that. They have a child, four months old at the time of the most recent attack in December 2016.  PTI
Washington, May 2

After dropping a monster bomb on its fighters, then targeting its leader, the US military is looking to destroy the Islamic State group's Afghan branch before battle-hardened reinforcements arrive from Syria and Iraq.

While US and Kabul government forces have mainly been combatting Taliban fighters since 2001, IS's local offshoot, also known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, has a stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.

First emerging in 2015, ISIS-K overran large parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, near the Pakistan border, but their part in the Afghan conflict had been largely overshadowed by the operations against the Taliban.

Many Americans first heard of ISIS-K last month when the US dropped the "Mother Of All Bombs" on its Nangarhar bastion an aerial monition that the Pentagon said was the biggest non-nuclear weapon it had ever used in combat.

The US and Afghan forces then raided a compound last week close to the site of the bombing, with the Pentagon saying it believed it had killed ISIS-K's leader Abdul Hasib during the operation.

Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan, said the local IS presence peaked at between 2,500 to 3,000 but that defections and recent battlefield losses had reduced their number to a maximum of 800.

"We have a very good chance of destroying them in 2017, making it very clear that when the ISIS fighters are destroyed elsewhere around the globe that this is not the place for you to come to plot your attacks," Salvin told AFP.

The US-backed fighters also appear to have the IS on the ropes in Syria and Iraq, where an operation to wrest back control of the major northern city of Mosul has been ongoing since October.

But both the military and analysts acknowledge there is a danger of IS fighters heading to Afghanistan if they are forced out of Iraq and Syria.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, said that while IS should ultimately be defeated in Afghanistan, the Pentagon's timeline may be overly optimistic.

A definitive victory could take "a long time due, partly (due) to the proximity of Pakistan as well as the possible flow of fighters" from the Middle East as the "group loses sanctuaries there," O'Hanlon told AFP.

The Taliban, which first emerged in the mid-1990s in southern Afghanistan, managed to conquer most of the country before its 2001 ouster with the help of a range of foreign jihadists, including Pakistanis, Saudis and Chechens.

America has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Most belong to a NATO mission to train and advise Afghan partner forces fighting the Taliban. (AFP)
Seoul/Beijing, May 2

North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength.

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Koreas pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of UN sanctions and pressure from the US.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he would be honoured to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the right circumstances, and as his CIA director landed in South Korea for talks.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Mondays joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North.

North Korea said the bombers conducted a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects in its territory at a time when Trump and other US warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike on the North.

The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war, the Norths official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the US and Pyongyangs sole major ally, China.

The US militarys THAAD anti-missile defence system has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, US officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months.

It was widely feared North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test on or around April 15 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Norths founding leader, Kim Il Sung, or on April 25 to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean Peoples Army.

The North has conducted such tests or missile launches to mark significant events in the past. Instead, North Korea conducted an annual military parade, featuring a display of missiles on April 15 and then a large, live-fire artillery drill 10 days later.  Reuters

Trump ready to meet Kim Jong Un

US President Donald Trump drew criticism in Washington on Monday when he said he would be honoured to meet North Koreas young leader. If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News. Trump did not say what conditions would be needed for such a meeting to occur or when it could happen. Clearly conditions are not there right now, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.
Photos: Carrier Transicold

Transport refrigeration units as we know them will not disappear anytime soon, but alternatives to traditional refrigerants and diesel power systems are already proving themselves in some markets around the world.

Manufacturers are using low-impact, natural refrigerants such as carbon dioxide and liquid nitrogen to reduce the units global warming potential in the event of an unplanned release. And diesel power systems are being scaled to accommodate hybrid-electric systems with high-efficiency heaters and direct-drive compressors that are said to be more energy-efficient and quieter.

Last October, at a conference in Kigali, Rwanda, negotiators from nearly 200 nations hammered out a legally binding agreement that will scale back the worldwide use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, used in air conditioners and refrigeration units. The agreement is structured so the worlds hottest countries and emerging economies will come into compliance over a longer period with less stringent reductions. The richest countries, including the United States and the European Union, will freeze production and consumption of HFCs by 2018, eventually reducing them to about 15% of 2012 levels by 2036, the New York Times reports.

The Kigali agreement will put pressure on TRU producers to develop new refrigerants as well as the blowing agents used in the foam insulation between the trailers inner and outer walls.

Some manufacturers are already pursuing alternatives to the current HFC refrigerant, R-404A, including carbon dioxide.

If it sounds counterproductive to use CO2 as a refrigerant while trying to reduce the output of greenhouse gases, consider that CO2 has a global warming potential of 1, while R-404As GWP is 3,922 (both Thermo King and Carrier in Europe offer R-452A as an alternative with a GWP of 2,140  45% lower than R-404A. R-452A is awaiting approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in the United States.)

Last April in Great Britain, Carrier Transicold UK announced a three-year field trial of a modified road version of the companys NaturaLine refrigeration system for ocean containers, which operates exclusively with CO2 refrigerant.

The new prototype system uses technology from the NaturaLine system, assembled inside a traditional Carrier Vector unit chassis and powered by the same E-Drive all-electric technology as Carriers existing European Vector products. Carrier has not disclosed any details on the cost of such a system, or if or when it might come to North America.

Europe has at least one other set of regulations that the U.S. currently does not: noise emissions. Current EU standards require that transport reefer units not exceed a sound pressure level of 60 decibels at a 25-foot radius around the equipment. While equipment noise levels vary with the application, a study published in December 2013 by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute found the average noise level of refrigerated trucks to be 69-74 dB.

Carriers Vector unit uses a high-efficiency generator to drive the cooling system. A European version has been modified to use CO2 as a refrigerant.

Quieter hybrid-electric refrigeration systems are available, but they tend to be more expensive and dont offer the return on investment expected by major for-hire fleets on their shorter trade cycles. Private carriers, however, tend to keep their equipment longer and often do nighttime deliveries in urban areas. Theyre embracing the technology, HDT was told by one OEM official.

Last year we became aware of a trailer cooling system from Boreas Nitrogen Cooling Systems that uses cryogenic liquid nitrogen for cooling. Boreas has had several trailers in fleet testing with a grocery fleet in California and is reporting good results. Nitrogen makes up roughly 80% of the air we breathe and is, therefore, non-toxic and non-polluting, and its not a greenhouse gas. Nitrogen-rich environments, however, do not support human life, so special precautions must be taken to keep workers out of the trailer until normal oxygen levels have been restored.

Boreas says the system is cost-effective and offers significant environmental benefits, such as zero diesel emissions and zero global warming potential. Additionally, the system is said to be virtually silent, making it attractive to operators delivering in residential areas, and virtually maintenance-free.

While alternatives to current refrigeration technology exist, theres little need to worry at this point about how your next reefer will work. Save for the Kigali agreement on GHG reduction, no one is demanding we comply with more stringent environmental or noise standards.

Yet.
PAUL SCHNEIDEREIT: Treatment centre for PTSD in first responders, military opens in Nova Scotia

Imagine its your job, every day, to be ready to rush to scenes where men, women or even children had been killed or badly injured, often in horrific circumstances. Really, consider what that might be like. If youre like most of us, the thought ...
CHARLESTON -- Staff for U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, will be hosting office hours in a handful of locations this week, including Charleston.

According to a press release, a Shimkus staff member will be in Charleston from 10-11:30 a.m. Friday in the City Council Chambers of Charleston City Hall, 520 Jackson Ave.

These office hours allow you to meet face to face with my staff instead of over the telephone or having to drive to Effingham, a statement from Shimkus read. The staff person will be able to handle any issue you may have regarding my office or the federal government.

A staff member will also be in Arthur on Friday. From 1- 2:30 p.m., the release states, a member will be at the Arthur City Government Office, 120 E Progress St.

Those who cannot attend in person can still contact Shimkus local office at 217-347-7947.

More information on services offered by the congressman's office is also available on his website: shimkus.house.gov.

A couple of weeks ago, Shimkus underwent scrutiny over not participating in a town hall meeting organized by a local activist group, Charleston Women's Huddle Actions.

Jordan Haverly, Shimkus spokesman, said that town hall meeting was scheduled and advertised before the representative got an invitation.

"Given that it was set up and advertised without our knowledge or involvement, it seems as though the organizers are more interested in media attention than they are in actually hearing from the congressman," Haverly has said.

Members of a group called Coles Progressives have said they plan to attend the Friday event in Charleston at City Hall to voice questions and concerns to be relayed to Shimkus.
Tulsa-based Square 1 Theatrics received its third Tony Award nomination as co-producers of the acclaimed musical Come From Away.

The musical, about the small Canadian town that welcomed dozens of travelers who were turned away from U.S. airports on Sept. 11, 2001, received a total of seven Tony Award nominations, which were announced Tuesday.

The musical is up for best musical, best book of a musical for Irene Sankoff and David Hein, best original score for Hein and Sankoff, best direction of a musical for Christopher Ashley, best choreography for Kelly Devine, best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical for Jenn Colella and best lighting design of a musical for Howell Binkley.

Square 1, founded in 2012 by Jay Krottinger and Ryan Jude Tanner, has been co-producer of the musicals Pippin, which won the Tony for best revival of a musical in 2013, and Waitress, which continues to run on Broadway.

The duo also produced Memphis: The Musical in Londons West End, which won two Olivier Awards.

Come From Away has been nominated for seven Outer Critic Awards and nine Drama Desk Awards.

We knew that this musical was going to be something truly special, he said. It is gratifying that so many others in the theatre community recognize this as well.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 leads the Tony nominations with 12. Other shows up for best musical are Dear Evan Hansen and Groundhog Day.

The Bette Midler-led revival of Hello, Dolly! received 10 nods, while the quirky coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen earned nine.

Winners will be determined by some 850 industry insiders. Kevin Spacey will host the awards show June 11 from Radio City Music Hall.
A Tulsa County judge has dismissed a manslaughter charge against a man who was accused of culpable negligence in the death of an 84-year-old woman on an assisted-living facilitys bus last August.

Johnathan Kendrick, 25, of Tulsa was scheduled for a hearing Monday where attorneys for both sides argued for and against dismissing a second-degree manslaughter charge filed against Kendrick in December. The charge was related to the Aug. 28 death of Mary Schlecht, a resident of the Brookdale Tulsa Midtown facility at 5211 S. Lewis Ave.

Court minutes indicate District Judge James Caputo dismissed the count at the states cost, but that prosecutors plan to appeal his decision.

Kendrick had been set for trial court arraignment in front of Caputo before his attorney filed a motion asking the judge to throw out the charge.

In response, prosecutors argued that Kendrick, a maintenance man and bus driver, had a duty to provide adequate supervision of all patients left in his care, particularly the elderly, people with mobility needs and people who have dementia.

Prosecutors had filed the charge based on their allegation that Kendrick committed culpable negligence when he failed to properly remove Schlecht, who had been on the bus for an outing with other residents, from the vehicle.

The state Medical Examiners Office determined that Schlecht died of hyperthermia and that her death was accidental, but Tulsa police logged her death as the citys 75th homicide of 2016. Temperatures on Aug. 27 and 28 were in the mid-90s.

Homicide Sgt. Dave Walker said Kendrick reported exiting the bus after the outing to get walkers for residents, and stood at the front and looked toward the back to see if it was empty. Kendrick said he did not see Schlecht, who was found in the stairwell of the bus around 7 p.m. Aug. 28.

A magistrate ordered Kendrick to stand trial after hearing Schlechts daughter, Linda Williams, testify during a Feb. 28 hearing.

Kendricks attorney, Shena Burgess, filed a motion April 3 contesting the felony charge and stating the fatality in reality was a perfect storm of horrible accidents.

There has been no testimony by the government that the defendant did not perform his duties of driving the bus outside of the usual and ordinary care, Burgess wrote. There was no testimony that was presented to court that the defendant had any unlawful intent.

She noted that Williams testified about telling three people at Brookdale that she put Schlecht on the bus and requested her nurse check on her for medicinal purposes.

The death of Ms. Schlecht is sad and it is a loss to her family, Burgess wrote. Could have there been things in place to prevent this? That is an answer for a civil action, which is ongoing.

Williams has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Brookdale, Kendrick and others.
Gov. Mary Fallin is scheduled Tuesday to take action on a bill approved by legislators last week that would strengthen laws regarding what constitutes rape by instrumentation.

The bills author says the amended law would better protect victims of sex crimes and avoid international embarrassment due to archaic language.

Currently, the elements of Oklahomas first-degree rape by instrumentation law state that the act, to be legally considered a first-degree offense, must result in a victim suffering bodily harm. But House Bill 1005 by Rep. Scott Biggs, R-Chickasha, removed that requirement and also added a clause that means a person can be prosecuted regardless of his or her age or that of the victim.

The measure, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. AJ Griffin, R-Guthrie, passed unanimously in both houses April 25, but Fallin hasnt yet signed it into law. Michael McNutt, a spokesman for Fallin, said Monday night that HB 1005, which would take effect Nov. 1, is on the list for the governor to decide on Tuesday, the deadline.

Weve already been the laughingstock of the country with some of our laws, and we dont need to continue that pattern, Biggs told the Tulsa World. The amendment eliminates some of the breakdowns of these assaults and just says rape is rape.

Tulsa County made international news last year after the previous language of sodomy laws resulted in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals deciding the law didnt apply to a victim who was intoxicated or unconscious. The statute used in that incident was amended last summer, and HB 1127, which passed in both houses this session, amends the definition of consent to sexual acts in jury instructions.

Biggs said a recent example of inadequate rape laws in Tulsa County is the case of 19-year-old Luis Alberto Molina, who is due to be extradited to Oklahoma from Texas to face two dozen charges, including sexual battery and second-degree rape by instrumentation. He said the reported victims in the Molina case are among those who could be benefited by the legislation.

A probable cause affidavit states that police discovered a video recording of an unconscious woman being raped, purportedly by Molina, with a cigarette. Under existing law, Biggs said Molina could only get up to 15 years for what happened to her, while everyone else could (see him) have life for what he did to them.

Ben Fu, a Tulsa attorney who once supervised the Special Victims Unit of the Tulsa County District Attorneys Office, said its important for Fallin to sign the law  rather than simply decide not to take action  because the Legislature has pretty loudly spoken through its votes.

Fu received recognition from Fallin last month for his work with victims of sex crimes and said he hopes she continues to pay attention to the issue.

The current law is basically saying, Im sorry but you werent injured enough, Fu said. The concept of any attorney having to talk about the issue of injury specifically to a jury is shocking and offensive.

Fu said rape by instrumentation cases need tougher sentences because in many respects, they give you a mindset into some dangerous predators and their mindset at the time of an assault.

To those who would be concerned about prison population, these arent the type of individuals youre talking about when we discuss over-incarceration, he said.

First-degree rape by instrumentation is punishable by up to life in prison; second-degree carries a maximum of 15 years.
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Tuesday, May 02, 2017 Hector And Michelle: Honeymoon On? Plus: Mayor's Race Thins Some But Not Much, And: UNM Economist Defends Susana Balderas and Grisham It looks as though the honeymoon is on. Here's a revealing pic of NM Attorney General Hector Balderas carrying ABQ Dem Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham like a new wife and looking for a threshold to carry her over.



The photo was snapped at this past weekend's Democratic Party Central Committee meeting where attorney and former Santa Fe County Dem Party Chairman Richard Ellenberg was elected



Our very timely pic, delivered promptly by an Alligator, is the latest signal that Balderas will take a walk on the '18 race, choosing to run for re-election as AG. It's a big deal because Grisham has already raised close to $900,000 and credible challengers--other than Balderas--are few and far between.



Insiders report that the pair have been communicating occasionally about the Guv race but this picture intimates that the relationship is now on the verge of blossoming into a political love affair. Spring is in the air, Gators. We'll let you know when the wedding invitations go out.



NOT THAT THIN



The mayoral field has been thinned but not quite as much as observers expected, leaving an already topsy-turvy race even less predictable.



City elections are officially nonpartisan but the voters break along partisan lines. This year both major parties face the prospect of seeing their vote split among multiple hopefuls.



For the Dems State Auditor Tim Keller, former NM Dem Party Chair Brian Colon and ex-BernCo Commissioner Deanna Archuleta are the top three. Keller appears to be leading the grassroots campaign while Colon is the top dog in the money race. The Archuleta candidacy has shown early strength with Dem women voters.



3,000 voter signatures were required to make the ballot. Keller came with over 9,000, the most of any candidate. If he could translate that into actual voters it would be major boost as about 85,000 to 90,000 voters are expected to turn out for the election. As for fund-raising, Keller qualified for public financing and receives about $380,000 for the campaign. Former GOP BernCo Commissioner, city councilor and state Senator Michael Wiener thinks for now Keller has the pole position:



After 8 years of a Republican mayor and considering the challenges we continue to face, the city will be ready to reverse. Keller is showing the potential to capture first place among the Democrats in a nine way race and that would land him in the run-off election.



With so many candidates a run-off election is a near certainty. A candidate would need to win 50 percent of the vote to win the race outright. If no one does that, a run-off would be held between the two top- vote-getters a month after the October 3 balloting.



On the Republican side the three major candidates to make the ballot are City Councilor Dan Lewis, BernCo Commissioner Wayne Johnson and businessman Ricardo Chaves who muscled his way into the race by coming with $300,000 in personal campaign cash.



GOP analysts say Lewis has the early edge to lead their party's pack. That's because he has a political base on the Westside which he represents on the council and also has appeal in the conservative far NE Heights where most Republicans votes are cast. He also has been adept in the early fund-raising, although the rate at which he is burning cash could be an issue.



With the GOP vote subjected to so much splitting the prospect of a run-off featuring two Democratic candidates has also begun to float, with the speculators pointing to Keller and Colon as the two most likely in that scenario,



But with nine hopefuls in this race the crystal balls are foggy if not downright muddy. Any number of surprises and plot twists await. Not only is this the most crowded mayoral contest in years, it could be one of the most interesting.



"LAZY ANALYSIS"



Mitchell (Journal) You have to feel a bit of sympathy for economist Jeff Mitchell, head of the UNM Business and Economic Research division. He's caught between a rock and a hard place. Gov. Martinez



I do not think (the economy) is as simple as political leadership or a governor. Their influence on the economy is greatly exaggerated on every level. . . It's far too lazy of an analysis to blame one gubernatorial administration or another. Their influence on the economy is greatly exaggerated on every level.



Well, that ought to keep Jeff's division from the budget axe. But no one with any real knowledge is saying this Governor or any other Governor is entirely responsible for NM's economic woes. Mitchell is giving us a classic



The reality is that a Governor's policies are pretty darn important to economic outcomes in this state. Just one example: Martinez and (Richardson) cut taxes by hundreds of millions, promising it would attract jobs. It didn't, but for a decade it has comprised the main economic development plan for the state. We took the wrong direction and are paying a mighty price for the mistake. Also, Mitchell contradicts himself when he says:



Decades of under-performance and under-investment in New Mexicos schools as the economy shifts to knowledge and skill-based jobs may also be coming to a head now, Mitchell said.



Well, that "under-performance and under-investment" is directly related to the policies of the Governor and the Legislature. That is not a "lazy" analysis. It is objective reality.



This is not a time to let state political leaders skate away on arguments that it's really not their fault--no matter how ineffective their polices may be. Now more than ever they need to be held accountable for their actions and we need vigorous debate over the economic future of our state. But we understand that's not the easiest thing to do when you have the Governor dangling a budget sword over your head.



THE BOTTOM LINES



Reader Ray Rodgers writes



Joe I enjoy reading your column but I really disapprove of your depiction of ABQ Police Chief Gorden Eden. I've known the Chief for many of his law enforcement years-- since he was an instructor at the Law Enforcement Academy. I am not a close personal friend but do know him up close having worked with him in numerous state safety strategies and I was fortunate to know his father. He was in law enforcement and I considered him to be a fine man. Anyway, I would appreciate you easing up on Chief Eden. We are lucky to have him and his depth of knowledge. . .



We take a look at the '18 Governor and US Senate race here with Dateline New Mexico and host Tom Trowbridge. The four minute program is



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.



( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2017 It looks as though the honeymoon is on. Here's a revealing pic of NM Attorney General Hector Balderas carrying ABQ Dem Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham like a new wife and looking for a threshold to carry her over.The photo was snapped at this past weekend's Democratic Party Central Committee meeting where attorney and former Santa Fe County Dem Party Chairman Richard Ellenberg was elected in a landslide to become the new state party chair. But the real news is the pressing matter of the '18 Dem gubernatorial contest and whether Balderas will challenge Grisham for the nomination. .Our very timely pic, delivered promptly by an Alligator, is the latest signal that Balderas will take a walk on the '18 race, choosing to run for re-election as AG. It's a big deal because Grisham has already raised close to $900,000 and credible challengers--other than Balderas--are few and far between.Insiders report that the pair have been communicating occasionally about the Guv race but this picture intimates that the relationship is now on the verge of blossoming into a political love affair. Spring is in the air, Gators. We'll let you know when the wedding invitations go out.The mayoral field has been thinned but not quite as much as observers expected, leaving an already topsy-turvy race even less predictable. Nine candidates --maybe 10 before all the counting is done--collected the required petition signatures to make the October 3 ballot. That's the most since 1993 when voters chose among 11 contenders. Interest is higher than usual in part because the '17 race is the first since 1997 that does not include an incumbent mayor. Republican Richard Berry did not seek a third term and will end his run December 1 when the new mayor is sworn in.City elections are officially nonpartisan but the voters break along partisan lines. This year both major parties face the prospect of seeing their vote split among multiple hopefuls.For the Dems State Auditor Tim Keller, former NM Dem Party Chair Brian Colon and ex-BernCo Commissioner Deanna Archuleta are the top three. Keller appears to be leading the grassroots campaign while Colon is the top dog in the money race. The Archuleta candidacy has shown early strength with Dem women voters.3,000 voter signatures were required to make the ballot. Keller came with over 9,000, the most of any candidate. If he could translate that into actual voters it would be major boost as about 85,000 to 90,000 voters are expected to turn out for the election. As for fund-raising, Keller qualified for public financing and receives about $380,000 for the campaign. Former GOP BernCo Commissioner, city councilor and state Senator Michael Wiener thinks for now Keller has the pole position:With so many candidates a run-off election is a near certainty. A candidate would need to win 50 percent of the vote to win the race outright. If no one does that, a run-off would be held between the two top- vote-getters a month after the October 3 balloting.On the Republican side the three major candidates to make the ballot are City Councilor Dan Lewis, BernCo Commissioner Wayne Johnson and businessman Ricardo Chaves who muscled his way into the race by coming with $300,000 in personal campaign cash.GOP analysts say Lewis has the early edge to lead their party's pack. That's because he has a political base on the Westside which he represents on the council and also has appeal in the conservative far NE Heights where most Republicans votes are cast. He also has been adept in the early fund-raising, although the rate at which he is burning cash could be an issue.With the GOP vote subjected to so much splitting the prospect of a run-off featuring two Democratic candidates has also begun to float, with the speculators pointing to Keller and Colon as the two most likely in that scenario,But with nine hopefuls in this race the crystal balls are foggy if not downright muddy. Any number of surprises and plot twists await. Not only is this the most crowded mayoral contest in years, it could be one of the most interesting.You have to feel a bit of sympathy for economist Jeff Mitchell, head of the UNM Business and Economic Research division. He's caught between a rock and a hard place. Gov. Martinez has vetoed the state's higher education budget, threatening his livelihood and that of his colleagues and at the same time they are charged with attempting to deliver objective analysis of the state's dismal economic conditions. How does that play out? Look at these more than charitable quotes from Mitchell after more than six years of Gov. Martinez and see for yourself:Well, that ought to keep Jeff's division from the budget axe. But no one with any real knowledge is saying this Governor or any other Governor is entirely responsible for NM's economic woes. Mitchell is giving us a classic straw man argument there.The reality is that a Governor's policies are pretty darn important to economic outcomes in this state. Just one example: Martinez and (Richardson) cut taxes by hundreds of millions, promising it would attract jobs. It didn't, but for a decade it has comprised the main economic development plan for the state. We took the wrong direction and are paying a mighty price for the mistake. Also, Mitchell contradicts himself when he says:Well, that "under-performance and under-investment" is directly related to the policies of the Governor and the Legislature. That is not a "lazy" analysis. It is objective reality.This is not a time to let state political leaders skate away on arguments that it's really not their fault--no matter how ineffective their polices may be. Now more than ever they need to be held accountable for their actions and we need vigorous debate over the economic future of our state. But we understand that's not the easiest thing to do when you have the Governor dangling a budget sword over your head.Reader Ray Rodgers writesWe take a look at the '18 Governor and US Senate race here with Dateline New Mexico and host Tom Trowbridge. The four minute program is here This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Links HOME

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New medical observational Operation Thailand begins tonight on Nine.

If follows a growing wave of people who travel to Thailand for surgeries, who also treat themselves to a holiday.

The 10 episode series is produced by WTFN (Bondi Vet, The Living Room).

WTFN CEO Daryl Talbot told TV Tonight, It was an area I didnt know anything about until we started start planning the show. Over dinner conversations people told me Ive gone to Thailand to have my teeth done, knees fixed all sorts of things.

We found a company out of the Gold Coast that gave us access into the market. Rather than going down the path of people being disfigured for life, which has been done, weve really followed this group who deal with reputable hospitals in Bangkok surgeons who are incredibly well-trained. It becomes big focus on people and why they are doing it and the end result.

10pm tonight on Nine.
A looming US Writers Strike has been averted after a last minute deal was struck overnight.

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year film and TV contract after the old contract expired at midnight in the US.

In a statement from the WGA negotiating committee the guild said writers made gains in minimums across the board  as well as contribution increases to our Health Plan that should ensure its solvency for years to come. And we further expanded our protections in Options and Exclusivity.

We also made unprecedented gains on the issue of short seasons in television, winning a definition (which has never before existed in our MBA) of 2.4 weeks of work for each episodic fee. Any work beyond that span will now require additional payment for hundreds of writer-producers.

We won a 15% increase in Pay TV residuals, roughly $15 million in increases in High-Budget SVOD residuals, and, for the first time ever, residuals for comedy-variety writers in Pay TV.

And, also for the first time ever, job protection on Parental Leave.

The news comes after negotiations continued past the three-year film and TV contracts midnight expiration.

It avoids another crippling strike which would have been disastrous for Hollywood, similar to one a decade ago (pictured).

The deal now goes to the WGA Wests board and the WGA Easts council for approval, and then to the guilds members for ratification.

However negotiations for a new SAG-AFTRA contract will get underway later this month.

Source: Deadline
Children return from school in the Basateen district in Aden, Yemen. The area, which has been hit hard by the conflict, hosts refugee and displaced communities.  UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

SANAA, Yemen  Like millions of others caught up in Yemens brutal conflict, 12-year-old Somali refugee Afrahs immediate concern is surviving the bombs, bullets and gnawing poverty it has created.

But with an eye to her future, she is also deeply concerned that the conflict could prevent her from continuing her education and achieving her dream of one day becoming a doctor.

I am very frightened by the war but I really want to stay in school, said Afrah, wearing a green tunic that is the uniform of the Asma School for Girls in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Two years of conflict in Yemen have crippled much of the country and its inhabitants, leaving a staggering 18.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and preventing two million children from attending school.

Basic services and institutions, including the public education system, are buckling under the pressure of war. Though public education in Yemen remains free for local and refugee children, more than 1,600 schools are now damaged and unfit for use while others remain close to the frontlines, jeopardizing the safety of students.

With the war it has been very difficult to study ... We just have to share one book among us all.

For young refugees and asylum seekers like Afrah, whose family crossed the Gulf of Aden to escape war in their native Somalia, the risk of their education being disrupted is already significant. According to a recent report by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, entitled Missing Out: Refugee Education in Crisis, refugee children are five times more likely to be out of school than local children.

The conflict is not only affecting the psychosocial state and health of both students and teachers, but they are also grappling with poverty and require a lot of support, explained Afrahs school Principal Aisha Al Dhafari.

Her school, like many others across Yemen, is now overcrowded and functioning far beyond capacity, as a result of having to absorb additional students who have been displaced to the area.

Before the war, one class used to accommodate 60 students and now that has doubled to accommodate up to 120, Al Dhafari said.

The school now runs double shifts with pupils attending either in the morning or the afternoon, and learning materials and equipment are in short supply. Classrooms are not only overcrowded but also poorly lit, with the lack of electricity in war-torn Sanaa ensuring that the school is powered only through UNHCR-provided solar panels on the roof.

Children return from school in the Basateen district of Aden, host to a high concentration of refugee and displaced communities but also particularly impacted by conflict.  UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

Despite conflict and adversity, Afrah, far right, is determined to stay in school in Yemen. Like millions of others caught up in Yemen's brutal conflict, 12-year-old Somali refugee Afrah's immediate concern is surviving the bombs, bullets and gnawing poverty it has created.  UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

UNHCR's Country Representative in Yemen, Ayman Gharaibeh, during a handover of school books produced by UNHCR to the Asma School for Girls in Sana'a, to help support quality education for refugee and local children.  UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

As a result of the conflict, many students in Yemen study without basic learning materials and resources.  UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

With the war it has been very difficult to study and we dont even have text books. We just have to share one book among us all, Afrah said.

In addition to the impact on students, Yemens brutal conflict is also taking a toll on teachers. Most public sector salaries, on which 30 per cent of Yemens population depends, are paid irregularly or not at all.

Teachers have not received their salaries for up to five months and yet they are still turning up to the schools to teach unpaid. They do it just because they believe it is their duty, says the Head of the Ministry of Educations Office in Sanaa, Mohammed Al Fadhli.

To address the educational needs of both refugees and Yemenis, UNHCR has been assisting schools and providing educational materials in areas hosting a high concentration of refugee and forcibly displaced children.

Support includes training for teachers, administrators and social workers on child protection, displacement and psychosocial issues, offering early childhood development programmes and informal education classes, and providing students with uniforms and school kits including school bags and stationery.

"In addition to taking lives, the conflict in Yemen is also stealing futures. A whole generation is at risk of losing out."

UNHCR has also repaired damaged and dilapidated schools, installed solar panels and provided essential teaching equipment and educational supplies, such as giving 300,000 textbooks to 20 Yemeni public schools, including Afrahs, covering 20 per cent of school book requirements across Sanaa.

Amid war and destruction, the Ministry of Education, its staff, teachers and administrators have done a remarkable job in ensuring the continuation of educational programs in Yemen and the access of refugee and displaced children to education. But they need more support, said UNHCR country representative in Yemen, Ayman Gharaibeh.

In addition to taking lives, the conflict in Yemen is also stealing futures. A whole generation is at risk of losing out, and if we do not continue to support access to education for refugees and those forcibly displaced by conflict, the short and long-term consequences will be disastrous, Gharaibeh warned.

For Afrah, who has remained committed to her studies, despite the pervasive fear of violence and a lack of resources, new schoolbooks means renewed hope in the future.

I am happy because I finally have books to study with, she says. I want to stay in school to finish my education so I can become a doctor, she says.
Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne will attempt to override a veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts on a bill Wayne introduced to restore voting rights to ex-felons as soon as their sentences are served or their probation complete.

"I am shocked that in 2017 we are still fighting for basic fundamental rights such as voting," Wayne said in a news release.

Ricketts' veto reminds Wayne's north Omaha community of the policies enacted in the 1860s by many southern states to create disenfranchisement laws, Wayne said. Those laws targeted African-Americans and diminished their electoral strength.

That is confirmed, he said, by the state's legislative history of ex-felon disenfranchisement laws of 1866, 1871 and 1875.

"It is a disgrace to think that we would continue to deny taxpayers the right to vote," Wayne said. "I cannot accept that this overtly political action could succeed in suppressing the voices of many who have made a mistake, want to return to their homes and contribute to their communities by getting jobs and paying taxes."

Taxation without representation is tyranny, he said.

Ricketts made the argument in his veto letter that requiring convicted felons to wait two years before allowing them to vote provides an incentive to maintain a clean record and avoid subsequent convictions.

Shakur Abdullah of Omaha, who served a sentence for two felonies he was convicted of at age 16, and was released from prison about a year ago, said the argument Ricketts used that a two-year waiting period gives ex-felons an incentive to maintain a clean record is nonsensical.

It also smacks of increasing a penalty for an infraction after it has been committed, and of double jeopardy, he said.

The override vote had not been scheduled for debate as of Monday afternoon, Speaker Jim Scheer said.

While the rehabilitation of criminals is an important goal, the immediate restoration of voting rights is not the answer, Ricketts said.
Mary (Krull) Tiedeman went to her maker April 29, 2017. She was born to Jacob & Iva Krull of Blue Hill. She was retired from the University of Nebraska in Kearney and Lincoln. Survivors: husband Jim Tiedeman, son Chris Tiedeman and daughter Melissa Fogleman. Services pending arrangements.
Worrying has always had this bad reputation for being bad not only for the mental health, but also for the physical. But, a new study suggests that it is not even that destructive because it even has motivational benefits.

A study conducted by the researchers from the University of California - Riverside suggests that worrying actually does the body and the mind of a person good, Science Daily reported. Kate Sweeny, psychology professor at the university explained that worrying is not that destructive or futile because in fact, it has motivational benefits and can act as an emotional buffer.

Sweeny explained worrying's motivating effects. She said that it is the unpleasant feelings of worry that pushes people to take actions so that they can reduce their worry. Even when there are times when there is really nothing that people can do to change or prevent unwanted circumstances, when people worry, they unconsciously assemble a ready-made set of responses in case something unwanted happens.

Aside from this, Sweeny also said that worrying can act as a buffer because or emotional benchmark because if people have intense worries about a future outcome, they will have a better emotional response to the outcome when it finally happens compared to how they felt during the worried state.

According to the Science of Us, to simply put it, worrying acts just like a defense mechanism because it will work as if people will have a sort of emotional armor when bad things come their way. But Sweeny also warns that too much worrying is what's bad for the health. What she only tries to emphasize is that planning and having a preventive action is not a bad thing. She even said a little worrying is even better than not having to worry at all.
On Monday, Columbus State University officials has announced that Mark Lott as the new police chief. Lott was an interim since last fall and also served as assistant chief with the Columbus State University Police Department since 2006.

Gina Sheeks, vice president for student affairs at CSU said Lott's experience, expertise and service to CSU has garnered respect within the department and across campus. It made it easy for Sheeks to appoint Lott to the position because of these qualities.

Lott will oversee 24 sworn officers and 10 security personnel and will be responsible for the safety of about 8,400 students, 800 employees, visitors and off-campus outreach learning centers.

WRBL reported, CSU President Chris Markwood said Lott has been well-respected in Columbus and throughout the state. He added that Lott understands the safety of the campus and that the CSU family is of the utmost importance.

The 30-year law enforcement veteran has municipal, county and campus experience. Lott was an investigator at the Troup County Sheriff's Office and a deputy marshal with the Muscogee County Marshal's Office before he came to CSU in 2006.

Lott attended Columbus State University and was able to finish both Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and a Master of Public Administration. He has earned his FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Certification and Command College Certification.

He serves an instructor at the regional police academy, the Columbus Office of Homeland Security, at the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member for CSU's Department of Criminal Justice, The Columbus State University News reported.

Lott is known for his extensive training record in crisis intervention, community policing, executive protection, police use of force, and homeland security. He said he is excited about the opportunity and will continue to build partnerships with the university and Columbus community. He added that the looks forward to building an even stronger relationship with the department and the CSU students, faculty and staff.
Jacob Dlamini, an assistant history professor at Princeton University, lets his students argue about the justification of using violence against poachers. In his class "White Hunters, Black Poachers: Africa and the Science of Conservation", Dlamini aims to help the youth understand the cultural and political assumptions behind nature conservation.

According to Princeton University, the renowned professor wants his students to walk away with a better understanding of Africa and the history of nature conservation. Eventually, he foresees the need to rethink conventional approaches when it comes to environmental protection projects. For the record, the class, which debuted this semester, realized with the help of Princeton's Program in African Studies.

Dlamini explains that what the world needs is "a much more nuanced appreciation" of nature conservation and environmental history. Currently, conservation efforts are often simplified as a way of protecting animals from people. However, the truth is that Earth preservation is more complex than that.

The expert noted that Africa shows the true meaning of conservation. It exudes very close coexistence between nature and human culture, a connection found in only a few places worldwide. Africa, per Dlamini, has been central to the evolution of conservation since the 18th century. He added that authorities tell locals to stay away from elephants to save the animal, but that is just not the history of the Africans.

Dlamini graduated from the Southern African Wildlife College and earned his Ph.D. at Yale University in 2012. He joined Princeton about two years ago. One of the professor's main points in the class is that people cannot hope to protect nature by citing Africans as the problem.

On the other hand, The Voice reported that Princeton recently honored two black scholars namely Sir Arthur Lewis and Toni Morrison. The latter will have the West College named after her while Sir Lewis will have his named engraved in the main auditorium of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Both icons were Nobel laureates.

Morrison was also a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1988 for her novel "Beloved". Sir Lewis, meanwhile, was the first person of African descent to become a professor in Great Britain's university system. He taught at Princeton from 1963 to 1983.
Students are already aware of the student loan debt problem so they are more careful in choosing their major and the school they will go to. With this growing concern, it is still not impossible for students to get to college with a low tuition fee cost.

Make adjustments on food and housing

Most of the college expenses, such as the cost of credit, is fixed but that doesn't mean students cannot make any adjustments. According to a study conducted by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, most colleges over-calculate college expenses by more than $3,000, especially when it comes to housing and food. That gives students a lot of with a lot of wiggle room. Two areas where students can save money is to find cheaper housing and food. In some areas, buying a house is cheaper than renting one. Another option is to live off-campus which will save a lot of money.

Pay student loan on time

According to Student Loan Hero, 71 percent of students who graduate have student debt. Once the loan is disbursed, its interest start accumulating. So, if a student borrowed $5000 with a 3.9 percent interest, he can choose to repay it as an interest-only payment while in school. This will have a great impact in his monthly payment over the long term.

Study abroad

It was reported previously here on University Herald that a lot of colleges and universities in Europe are offering either low-cost or free tuition fee. For example, universities in Germany have been free since 2014 as well as in Norway and Luxembourg. However, there are also trade-offs to this as some cities, like Norway, have a high cost of living.

Go to college with a few credits

Earning a few credits from community colleges or some cheaper institution, AP courses, and CLEP exams can help students lower their tuition fee cost. The cost per credit at a public institution is $135 compared to a private university where tuition is $1000 per credit.

Make friends with the loan aid officer

The tuition fee varies every semester depending on the workload. Even scholarship awards may vary depending on the amount of money the school receives from its alumni and other donors; thus, it makes sense for students to establish a good relationship with their school's loan officer. A good relationship can earn students some extra favor which is very handy when negotiating for a loan aid.
A 28-year-old Lincoln man arrived at a hospital Saturday after a firework exploded in his hand about 3:30 a.m., according to Lincoln police.

The man sustained significant injuries to both hands and burns to his face, Officer Katie Flood said.

A fire inspector examined evidence at the scene, in the 2600 block of J Street, and told officers the explosive was a legal firework, she said.
Published: May 02, 2017

UT to Hold Spring Commencement Saturday, May 6

The University will honor nearly 1,500 graduates at its 144th commencement on Saturday, May 6. For the first time the University will host two separate ceremonies at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.



The ceremony for graduates of the Sykes College of Business and the College of Arts and Letters will take place at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremony for graduates of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education, and College of Natural and Health Sciences will follow at 2 p.m.



Between the two ceremonies, there are 1,209 bachelors degree candidates and 288 masters degree candidates 1, 497 in all.



At the morning ceremony, William B. Rutherford 86, chief financial officer and executive vice president at HCA Holdings Inc., will give the address, and Alan Randolph 90, Florida state president at Bank of the Ozarks, will receive the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award. James Scudero 17, a digital arts major from Hauppauge, NY, will introduce the speaker, and Khadijah Khan 17, a journalism major from Tarpon Springs, FL, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.



In the afternoon ceremony, Aileen Black 83, executive director, industry lead and group leader U.S. government at Google, is the speaker, and Tammy Charles 12, MBA 14, senior manager of corporate relations at Metropolitan Ministries, will receive the 2017 Young Alumnus Award. Talia Ashby 17, a sociology major from Tampa, FL, will introduce the speaker, and Jennifer Sanchez, a government and world affairs major from Tampa, FL, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.



Several graduate programs have hooding ceremonies scheduled in the days leading up to commencement:

Thursday, May 4: Department of Nursing hooding and pinning ceremony, 6 p.m., Plant Hall, Fletcher Lounge (by invitation only) Department of Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center, Sword & Shield Room

Friday, May 5: Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance hooding ceremony, Noon, Martinez Athletics Center Sykes College of Business hooding and awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center



UT Graduates by the Numbers

Total graduates = 1,497

Countries represented = 58

% of graduates from Florida = 44%



Undergraduates

Total bachelors degree candidates = 1,209

Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0) = 4

Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 99

Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75) = 186

Top 3 most popular undergraduate majors in this class = Criminology, Management and Marketing



Graduate students

Total masters candidates = 288

With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 10

With highest honors (GPA 4.0) = 12

MBAs awarded = 110
The Capitol's peregrine pair may have fledged their final falcon.

Ally and 19/K, who have nested atop the statehouse for 12 years, appear to have abandoned the five eggs they produced over the past few weeks, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

It's extremely rare for peregrine falcons to desert their eggs, and why they did is unknown.

"I've never seen it happen before," said Joel Jorgensen, nongame bird program manager for Game and Parks.

Ally, the mother, was spotted sitting on the eggs Tuesday morning. But the eggs spent much of Sunday and Monday unprotected against the chilly, wet weather, and 19/K has been virtually absent from the nest since the first egg was lain on Easter.

It was a surprise the couple produced eggs this year at all.

19/K is 16 years old, close to the lifespan of a wild peregrine. Ally is 13. The pair have fledged 23 offspring since 2005, and the first peregrines to successfully nest at the Capitol.

"These are old birds," Jorgensen said. "It's an unusual nesting season."

He can't explain the falcons' lack of focus on their nest, but he doesn't believe the birds would know if their eggs were nonviable.

One possibility: a male intruder may have drawn 19/K's attention away from the nest.

Younger birds occasionally challenge resident males, and this time of year, other subspecies of peregrines are migrating to the northern tundra from the Gulf Coast and further south.

Other peregrines have been spotted in the area, but there is no sign 19/K has been supplanted, Jorgensen said.

Of Ally and 19/K's 23 young, six have been seen as adults away from the Capitol.

Orozco, hatched in 2015 and named after slain Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco, was discovered this spring at St. Cecilias Cathedral in Omaha.

Mintaka, hatched in 2010, has been nesting on Omahas Woodmen Tower since 2012. Boreas, hatched in 2007, and Nemaha, hatched in 2009, nested at the Westar Energy building in Topeka, Kansas, from 2011 to 2016.

Lewis and Clark, both hatched in 2012, have also been spotted away from the nest: Lewis was sighted near Houston in the winter of 2014 and again this past winter, and Clark nested at Omaha Public Power Districts north Omaha power station in 2015.
Domenech is UWs George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award Recipient

Conxita Domenech, Department of Modern and Classical Languages assistant professor, is the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award recipient. (UW Photo)

Conxita Domenech epitomizes the concept of teacher-scholar, with demonstrated excellent achievements at the University of Wyoming and also regionally, nationally and internationally.

Those attributes have earned Domenech, a Department of Modern and Classical Languages assistant professor, the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award.

Named for UWs 13th president, who served from 1945-1964, the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award recognizes teaching effectiveness, distinction in scholarly work and distinguished service to the university and state.

The last two years, Domenech has won both of UWs most prestigious awards: In 2015, she received the Extraordinary Merit Award for Research and, in 2016, the Extraordinary Merit Award for Teaching, demonstrating excellence in both research and teaching.

It seems only fitting that she be awarded the Humphrey award, which recognizes unparalleled excellence in all three areas: scholarship, teaching and service, says Joy Landeira, Department of Modern and Classical Languages chair. As a teacher, Professor Domenech has consistently received among the highest student evaluations in the whole department, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

She says Domenechs expert knowledge of Spanish and Catalan languages, combined with her wide-ranging international travels to study and present her scholarly investigations -- plus her tireless academic research and writing -- have equipped her with broad and deep scholarly preparation that serves as a base for all courses she teaches.

Her area of expertise is early modern Spanish, reflecting Spains Golden Age of literature in the 1600s and 1700s.

A colleague says Domenech has a rare teaching style that is engaging, intellectually challenging and stimulating.

She has demonstrated a mastery level of teaching, and being successful in the classroom seems very easy for her, Cecilia CC Aragon writes. With the level of her enthusiasm, abundance of knowledge and her ability to engage students, I am confident that Dr. Domenech will be rewarded in the future for her excellence in teaching in the classroom here at the University of Wyoming.

Domenechs students also praise her work in the classroom.

Conxita is a professor I will never forget. She has been supportive in everything I have done. I dont think Ive ever met anyone who made me feel so confident in myself and my work, writes a student.

Another adds, Easily the coolest professor in the Spanish department who genuinely cares about her students. If you have the good fortune of getting to know Conxita, you will never again take a Spanish class taught by a different teacher. Recommend, recommend, recommend!

Yet, Domenech does not rest on her laurels. She consistently seeks to challenge herself, and graduate students also want to work with her. In the six years she has been at UW, she has directed or has been part of the M.A. thesis process for 20 students.

I personally found myself striving to be a better student not only for myself, but for her, a student says.

Domenech has published five books and has contributed to 22 scholarly book chapters and articles in international peer-reviewed journals. On campus, Domenech is the adviser for both Sigma Delta Pi and the Spanish Club.

She received her B.A. (1990) and M.A. (1992) anthropology degrees, both from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; and her M.A. (2006) and Ph.D. (2010) degrees, both in Spanish literature from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
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They had already waited more than four decades for a warm welcome home from the war, so the Vietnam veterans from Nebraska weren't complaining about a few more minutes Monday night.

They were gathered on the second floor of the Lincoln Airport, waiting for the last of the four Honor Flight jets to return from Washington. Then the 650 vets who had spent a long, full day touring the nation's war memorials and monuments would begin descending to the main level together, to be embraced by the crowd as one.

Until then, though, they stayed upstairs, shaking the governors hand, reuniting with their spouses -- who had their own busy day here at home -- and getting ready for their homecoming.

Im good, I can handle it, said Gene Buhman, a former sailor from York, taking a long pause before speaking again. This feels really good to realize how much people care.

Rick Siebert of Fairbury didnt see anything like this when he returned from the war. His parents were there for him at the airport, but nobody else.

It almost makes you feel guilty, because I got to come home, when 50,000 guys didnt.

Downstairs and outside, well-wishers were gathering by the thousands. The Waverly High School band was playing the Army song and then the Husker fight song. Boy Scouts were selling hot dogs and chips. The growing crowd was waving U.S. flags and bearing preprinted and handmade signs, welcoming home Gary and Ron and Gene.

The airport ceremonies had been a part of the other trips hosted by organizer Patriotic Productions since 2008, but theyd become more important for the flights carrying Vietnam veterans.

Last year in Omaha, an estimated 5,000 people stayed up late to greet the vets.

Organizers had predicted 7,000 could show up in Lincoln -- seven times the airports average daily traffic.

And they appeared close. By 8 p.m., traffic was backing up over the bridge near Northwest 12th, near the airport motels.

Dave and Cindy Olson of Tekamah had already been waiting several hours. They had four friends on the Honor Flight, and they wanted to be there in time to greet them.

Dave Olson stood up from his lawn chair across from the terminal and looked at all of the people and the flags and the signs.

This will mean a lot to his friends, he said. The whole experience will.

They were pretty emotional when they left, he said. One of them said they didnt sleep at all last night.

B.A. Fisser of Lincoln was standing outside, along the parade route, to welcome two of her cousins. I think this will be the perfect end to a perfect day, she said.

Closer to 9 p.m., the terminal erupted when the first vets appeared on the balcony above, like they were rock stars. The crowd roared and chanted U.S.A. and sang This Land is Your Land.

Buhman, from York, took it all in. Times were different when he returned from the Navy, he said.

We didnt have this when we came home. So it really means a lot.

The last plane was late, so the organizers were starting the reception. The vets at the front of the line took the stairs and the escalator to the first floor, and the crowd closed in.
May 2, 2017

17-136

VSU Model United Nations Team Wins National Awards

VALDOSTA  Valdosta State Universitys Model United Nations team won the Honorable Delegation Award and three Outstanding Position Paper Awards at the 2017 National Model United Nations Conference in New York City.Fifteen VSU students, in joint delegation with two students from Palacky University in the Czech Republic, represented Poland as delegates at the National Model United Nations Conference. Students also had an opportunity to meet with two Polish diplomats to learn about Polands policy positions.More than 5,000 university students from around the world come to New York City each spring to discuss current global issues. The experiential learning program provides students with a better understanding of the inner workings of the United Nations and a forum to hone skills in diplomacy, negotiation, critical thinking, compromise, public speaking, writing, and research.VSU helped Palacky University establish a Model United Nations program more than a decade ago. VSUs Department of Political Science continues to engage in faculty and student exchanges with Palacky University and offers a yearly study abroad trip to the university in Olomouc, Czech Republic.On the Web:
The Lincoln Airport didnt take a formal head count at Monday nights Honor Flight homecoming, but operations director Bob McNally made an informal guess Tuesday.

I would say, the goal was 7,000 people, and I think the goal was reached, he said.

The crowd had filled the terminals first floor and spilled outside, lining the road in front of the airport. Well-wishers were entertained by bands and fed by the Boy Scouts as they waited for 650 Vietnam veterans to return to Nebraska from their daylong trip to Washington.

The event was the largest ever at the airport, but the long welcome-home party ended without any problems, McNally said.

None of note. The spectators who came out to greet the veterans were extremely patient, and we thought it went extremely well.

The four chartered jets landed slightly later than scheduled, forcing the airport to juggle the crowd and the veterans with passengers arriving on four scheduled commercial flights. One of the commercial jets had to empty its passengers on the tarmac, he said.

Organizers had hoped to gather all 650 veterans on the airports second floor, so they could be welcomed all at once. But they ended up stretching it out; the first veterans descended the stairs just before 9 p.m., the last vet left the building at about 10:30.

Even after 90 minutes, though, the cheers didnt wane. The crowd remained inside and outside the building until the very end, McNally said.

All but one of the previous honor flights have departed from and landed in Omaha. The flight organizers paid an extra $35,000 to end Mondays trip at the Lincoln Airport  and to try to top the crowd of 5,000 that welcomed Vietnam vets home in Omaha last year.

Money well spent, said Bill Williams of Patriotic Productions.

People were just so pleased to be there. And these guys were touched by it. Job well done, Lincoln.
WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump couldn't be more relieved than this columnist for the end of the blasted first 100 days.

One more quantitative analysis of his (lack of) accomplishments or his (mis)deeds during this period would have put at risk the sanity of the Western world. It's over, done, finis -- thanks be to whatever deity gets you through the night -- and now we can relax into a possibly "major, major conflict with North Korea," as suggested by the president during a recent Reuters interview. Whew.

But seriously. The 24/7 news cycle has jumped the shark with its incessant critique of the first 100. Yes, I'm guilty as well, but a 750-word column takes a few minutes of one's time and it's all over. I confess as well to having been somewhat obsessed with this president, but I wonder how it could have been otherwise? He's a scary dude, y'all.

Not necessarily insane, but potentially dangerous. His loose lips may have had no rival in presidential history. Thus, when he casually mentions that a conflagration with the crazier-than-thou Kim Jong Un may be imminent, I'm a tiny bit terrified.

This is not an irrational reaction, though perhaps it is irrational to continue covering the president in the same ways. It's long been clear that his words are designed primarily to control that 24/7 news cycle. They're often meaningless or at least intentionally hyperbolic for maximum media effect. Thought cloud: If we ignore him, will he go away?

The more logical approach to covering and commenting about this administration is to pay greater heed to the more-measured words of Cabinet members, such as United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, both of whom have performed admirably in recent weeks.

Haley, quickly at home in her new position, has been at once firm and diplomatic in her statements about Russia. Southerners are exquisitely expert at being polite while adding arsenic to a glass of sweet tea.

And Tillerson, speaking Friday to the U.N. Security Council, was both more direct and less provocative than Trump in making a case for stronger, "painful" sanctions against North Korea. Specifically, he urged China, which accounts for 90 percent of North Korea's trade, to join forces in putting an end to Kim's nuclear aggressions. Tillerson didn't take military action off the table but nor did he emphasize it.

To Trump, he and Tillerson may have been saying the same thing, but verbal precision and tone matter. The differences are distinctions, both clear and strategically paramount.

As for the 100 days, Trump did set himself up for review, but I can't recall any other president being so thoroughly -- or gleefully -- scrutinized on this account. This doesn't make the media "fake news," it should be needless to say, but the extent of the reviews, regurgitated ad infinitum these past several days, was political gluttony.

In the media's defense, however, it's a fact that Trump has failed to meet many of his own expectations, as well as deliver on promises. The House punted on health care again Friday.

Earlier in the week, Trump withdrew his request for billions in funding for his benighted border wall when a government shutdown seemed inevitable. And he's changed his tune about both NAFTA and NATO.

These failings and reversals are perhaps what prompted Trump to say recently that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Who knew?

On one thing Trump has been absolutely right, even if this, too, represents a corrected view: The 100-day sprint to transform the world is absurd. There was no way, as predicted often in this column, that Trump could meet his goals, not least because of his lack of political skill and experience.

Perhaps, as the BBC's Katty Kay tweeted Friday, "Trump talks in superlatives. We should all get used to that. It doesn't mean he acts in superlatives too." While likely so, some thanks are owed to Congress for applying the brakes on his bigger initiatives. What Kay's comment really suggests, however, is profoundly distressing: We have a president who should be ignored.

To this end, I shall try. Disliking Trump, even for all the right reasons, is exhausting and unsustainable. It's also boring. With 265 days still left of Trump's first year -- talk about exhausting -- our highest calling is to encourage wiser men and women to prevail, to ignore most of what Trump says, and to keep our eye on the bouncing ball.

Where it lands, nobody knows.
If the new draft decree is approved, foreign employees will be obligated to participate in a social insurance scheme

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has publicised a draft decree guiding the application of compulsory social insurance to foreign citizens working in Vietnam. Under the draft, starting from January 1, 2018, foreign employees would have to participate in compulsory social insurance, and pay insurance premiums based on their salaries, allowances, and other additional amounts carved in their labour contracts.

Specifically, the employees would be required to pay 8 per cent of their monthly salaries for the companys pension and death gratuity funds, while the employers would have to make monthly fund payments of 14 per cent.

The new draft decree details the implementation of several articles in the 2014 Law on Social Insurance, which requires foreign employees with work permits, practice licences, or practice certificates to have mandatory social insurance packages. This contravenes the 2006 Law on Social Insurance, which states that foreign employees in Vietnam are free from any mandatory or voluntary social insurance.

According to MoLISAs Department for Employment, the reason for requiring foreign employees to participate in compulsory social insurance in Vietnam is that their population has greatly increased, from 63,557 in 2011 to 83,046 last year. Of this number, those with short-term work permits of less than one year account for only 4.4 per cent.

The number of foreign employees in Vietnam will likely climb in the future due to the countrys deepening international integration, especially the free trade agreements with 55 partners  most notably the loosening restrictions on the movement of skilled employees between ASEAN members under ASEAN Economic Community commitments. This is the motivation behind the draft decree, according to MoLISA.

However, the regulation received censure from some experts familiar with foreign employment issues in Vietnam.

Quach Thi Nhung, head of Human Resources at South Korean garment maker KJ Vina in the southern province of Binh Duong, told VIR, This regulation will be a new burden for both foreign employees and their bosses. It is just like a type of new tax.

If this regulation is installed, South Korean experts working at KJ Vina would have to pay more than VND100 million ($4,545) per year into pensions and death gratuity funds, in addition to a large sum that the firm would have to contribute, covering the 14 per cent co-pay.

Currently, these experts  like all foreign employees in Vietnam  are not subject to any social insurance requirement.

Nguyen Viet Ha, managing director of the Vietnam Office of US-backed investment consultant BowerGroupAsia Inc, told VIR, The regulation could prevent Vietnam from attracting skilled experts and high-quality employees.

The regulation could also discourage foreign investors from investing in Vietnam because it would increase the costs for hiring foreign employees [with unique, irreplaceable skills]. This would also make Vietnams investment climate less attractive, Ha added, drawing on her 20 years of experience with local labour issues.

Under the existing Labour Codes Article 170, foreign employees in Vietnam must be highly trained and skilled, such as managers, experts, and skilled employees whose labour cannot be replaced by the local workforce. Their work permits are restricted to two years.

By Has reasoning, the application of compulsory social insurance to foreign employees who will be in Vietnam for a short period of time is quite irrational. They would not be able to enjoy the pensions they would be forced to contribute to  though they likely would receive some allowances once they finished their local work term.

Many foreign employees in Vietnam also have to pay for their social insurance packages in their home countries, while they would still have to do the same in Vietnam without being able to enjoy pension benefits or their equivalents. Thats unfair, Ha said.
In November 2016, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) accused Euro Auto of submitting counterfeit documents when importing BMW cars into Vietnam. The ministry asked the General Department of Vietnam Customs to stop the custom clearance of BMW units imported by Euro Auto starting from the end of 2016, and proposed the Supreme Peoples Court to start proceedings against the company for using fake papers and illegally importing cars.

Afterwards, a representative of BMW AG from Germany arrived to Vietnam to join in the investigation and then confirmed with MoF that some of the papers that Euro Auto used for the customs procedure had not been provided by BMW AG.

In 2013 Euro Auto was charged VND80 billion ($3.51 million) in tax arrears by the Department of Customs of Ho Chi Minh City because of discrepancies between the contract it submitted for use in customs procedures and the contract it actually used in its actual transactions through HSBC. However, Euro Auto appealed to the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court, which in turn held insufficient grounds for the charge and nullified the decision.

Founded in 2006, Euro Auto has dealerships in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Sime Darby Group from Malaysia is the strategic investor holding over 80 per cent of the companys stakes. Sime Darby Group distributes brands such as BMW, Rolls-Royce, Porsche, Jaguar, and Lamborghini and has a presence in China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand.

As previously reported by newswire dantri.vn, Nguyen Dang Thao has a lot of experience in selling cars. By the time he was arrested, he had had 22 years in the trade, having held positions in Toyota Vietnam and Mercedes Vietnam, where he was deputy sales director, before finally ending up at Euro Auto.

When he joined in 2009, Euro Auto had just resumed operations in Vietnam after a break. Under CEO Horst J. Herdtle, Thao helped the company expand its market significantly. Three products, namely the luxury BMW, the MINI, and the motorcycle BMW Motorrad, are now able to compete with brands in the same segment, such as Mercedes, Audi or Lexus.

After seven years, he was promoted from the position of sales and marketing director to CEO in November 2015 to replace Horst J. Herdtle.
Also known as Giau village or Giau market, Phu Luu is also home to intellectuals and famous artists. The area has been urbanized, yet still retains cultural traditions.

Since the 15th century, Giau market of Phu Luu village has always been busy.

From the end of the 19th century, Giau market turned into one of the biggest markets in the country, where everything is traded; buyers and sellers opened up markets even in the communal house yard.

On market-day, every household in the village carries out some kind of trading. Living in an environment mixed between village and market, Phu Luu villagers are good at doing business.

Elderly villager Sam explainsed In the past, those who sold betel and areca, fabric, and grocery gathered in the communal house yard while traders of cattle, fish, shrimp or meat were at the end of the village. Generally, Phu Luu village traded in everything from ploughs to silk and cloth. Then the market was moved out of the village.

Located at the center of the northern delta region, the cradle of the wet rice civilization, Phu Luu village is open, unlike in other rural areas. Locals, especially women, absorb new versions of urban modernization while preserving the essence of the village.

Villager Nguyen Dinh Phuc said Phu Luu people were mainly involved in trading. Some households did farm work. We have a tradition of having our children adopted. Because women worked far away from home, their children were adopted. Phu Luu village used to have the largest number of adopted children in the north.

Despite their busy trading activities, Phu Luu people are keen on learning. Clans have high academic records with many members having held important positions in national history.

Phu Luu is home to famous intellectuals and artists including painters Hoang Tich Chu, Thanh Chuong, writers Kim Lan, Nguyen Dich Dung, poet Hoang Hung, cameraman Nguyen Dang Bay, and musician Ho Bac.

Strolling around Phu Luu village, we are engrossed in its peaceful and relaxing ambience. The village alleys paved with green stones are a highlight.

Phu Luu communal houses curved roofs are hidden under the shade of fig trees and considered one of the most beautiful communal houses in the north.

Located nearby is Phap Quang pagoda, an ancient structure with a bell tower and moss-covered walls.

Villager Nguyen Trong Vu said Provincial and national historical relic sites in the village include communal house, temples, and pagoda. There are about 4,000 people living in the village, who are engaged in trading, woodwork, and cooking wedding feasts. Many families have become well-off thanks to doing business.
Several liberal Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have also supported a break-up of the biggest banks, but US President Trump did not disclose the details about what an eventual break-up plan would look like. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

Trump told Bloomberg News that he was considering a "21st century" version of the 1933 Glass-Steagall law that separated consumer lending and investment banking and was repealed in 1999 by President Bill Clinton.

"I'm looking at that right now," Trump said in an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg. "There's some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So we're going to look at that."

Trump's comments are his first on the subject and follow other statements from administration officials such as National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressing broad support for the idea.

Several liberal Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have also supported a break-up of the biggest banks.

However, the Trump administration has not released details about what an eventual break-up plan might look like.

Shares of large banks gave up some of their gains following the Bloomberg report, but stayed in positive territory.

Near 1730 GMT, JPMorgan Chase was up 0.6 per cent at US$87.46, Citigroup was up 0.8 per cent at US$59.61 and Bank of America was up 1.2 per cent at US$23.61.
A customer shops on an e-commerce site. VNS Photo oan Tung

It was necessary to raise the awareness of community about the protection of intellectual property rights in general and the e-commerce environment in particular, Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, told a workshop on intellectual property enforcement in e-commerce in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

"The Government, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other ministries and sectors have been working hard to prevent intellectual property infringement as well as infringements of intellectual property rights in the digital environment, but this work faces many difficulties," Tung said.

Nguyen Nhu Quynh, deputy chief inspector the Ministry of Science and Technology, said enterprises were not fully aware of the protection of intellectual property rights in e-commerce.

She pointed out difficulties including enterprises not being aware of the problem, difficulties in identifying violating organisations or individuals, difficulties in collecting evidence and incomplete legislation.

Le Ngoc Lam, deputy director of National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam, said e-commerce had grown vigorously. Due to the almost infinite authors privilege and the scope on the Internet, along with the development of e-commerce, online infringement has become a major challenge.

E-commerce was developing very strongly in Viet Nam, however, the sector had many shortcomings because it still lacks qualified staff, he said.

In addition, co-ordination among agencies caused difficulties and obstacles, he added. Functional units need to have training courses on e-commerce, strengthening the co-ordination activities between enforcement forces in the prevention and control of intellectual property infringement.

As the responsible agency for intellectual property issues, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam would add sanctions for the electronic transaction environment, while co-ordinating with authorities to resolve domain name disputes and in identifying related issues to intellectual property infringement cases, said Lam, the representative of the office.


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WASHINGTON -- In collecting $400,000 from a Wall Street investment firm to make a single speech, Barack Obama is following in the Gucci-clad footsteps of past presidents.

Ronald Reagan landed a $2 million speaking gig in Japan. George W. Bush, on his way out, announced it was time to "replenish the ol' coffers." Bill and Hillary Clinton reported making more than $235 million after leaving the White House.

But to acknowledge that Obama has plenty of precedent on his side is not to say that his choice is wise. Indeed, it's unfortunate.

Obama's propulsion onto the lecture circuit arrives at a moment of populist disgust with Wall Street greed and the Washington swamp (can doors revolve in swamps?). It comes after a campaign in which Hillary Clinton's Goldman Sachs speaking fees became a symbol of entitled elitism. So imagine the powerful message Obama would have sent -- the reverse precedent -- had he chosen to renounce this road to riches.

Or, imagine this, had he chosen to speak publicly, at as many places and on as many topics as he liked. Just not behind closed doors, for an amount equivalent to his White House salary -- and seven times what the typical household makes in a year. Such a move would have been understood as an implicit -- and well-deserved -- rebuke of the Clintons' compulsive speechifying.

This is not to argue for a post-presidential vow of poverty. I don't begrudge the Obamas their reported $60-million plus joint book deal, of which their publisher has said a "significant portion" will be donated to charity. That should leave plenty for the Obamas to live as luxuriously as they could want.

Books are a public good, available to all. If the market bears $60 million to hear from the Obamas, great. OK, I hear you saying, the market commands $400,000 for an Obama speech. But the speech -- this particular one a health care conference put on by investment banking firm Cantor Fitzgerald -- is only available to a privileged few, paid for by an even more privileged few. To this crowd, $400,000 is a paltry bonus in a bad year for a middling analyst.

Indeed, some of those to Obama's left have focused on the Wall Street aspect of the deal. "I think it just speaks to the power of Wall Street and the influence of big money in the political process," Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told Bloomberg's Steven Dennis. I think it's unfortunate." Similarly, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on SiriusXM's Radio Andy that she was "troubled" by the speech.

The Wall Street angle feels like unfortunate icing on an already distasteful cake. Would we really feel better if Obama were taking the money from, say, a public university? At least the Cantor Fitzgerald check comes from folks who can easily afford it -- not out of taxpayer dollars.

More fundamentally, what is really revolting about all this unseemly money-grubbing isn't who's writing the checks, it's the unnecessary vacuuming of endless sums.

Sure, Hillary Clinton's conduct was infuriatingly boneheaded because she knew she might be -- at a certain point, she knew she was -- running for president. The fact that she was seeking office opened her to suggestion that those signing her speaker's checks were currying future favor.

Obama, by contrast, is done with electoral politics, at least the kind that have him on the ballot. His office said a portion of his income will go to charity. But is this rapaciousness really the image he wants to cultivate -- for himself or for fellow Democrats? Having left his party in such terrible condition, does he really have to offer opponents ammunition to attack him as hypocritical?

Some readers will argue there is an unfair racial double standard in accepting that previous presidents have cashed in big time and demanding that Obama refrain from doing precisely what they have. "So the first black president must also be the first one to not take money afterwards?" Trevor Noah asked on "The Daily Show" Thursday. "No, no, no, no, no, my friend. He can't be the first of everything."

Hogwash. This isn't about holding the black guy to a higher standard -- it's about trying to hold everyone to a higher standard. Times have changed, and what was once placidly accepted as post-presidential business-as-usual may no longer be.

A wise man once said, "I do think at a certain point you've made enough money." That was Obama 2010, on regulating Wall Street. Maybe Obama 2017 could talk to that guy.
A poster in the Orphan Primary School in Pyongyang, North Korea, shows a cartoon of joyous children next to an inter-continental ballistic missiles.
Cambodia has said it expects to be able to move from importing nearly all of its electricity from neighboring countries to a net electricity exporter by 2030.

Victor Jona, director general of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, told reporters on Wednesday that Cambodias major hydropower projects, such as the Lower Sesan II, and coal-fired power plants meant the country could be in a position to sell electricity to Mekong countries in the near future.

In the past, we thought that having relied on energy imports for 80 percent of our needs was too much. But from now until the future by [2030], we expect and imagine that we could release our energy back to the region, he said.

A new project by a Malaysian developer, Cambodian Energy II, for a 135 megawatt coal plant in Preah Sihanouk province will help meet this goal, he said.

The project has seen investment from General Electric, which is building an emissions monitoring system at the plant and supplying equipment, such as turbine systems.

Wouter Van Wersch, CEO and president of General Electric in the Asean region, said the plant would help reduce Cambodias dependence on electricity generated by hydro, and we are very excited to play a role in the rebalancing of the energy base and making this a key pillar for the long-term sustainable growth of the country.

Cambodia still experiences regular electricity shortages. In 2015, supplies were cut to most of the country due to a technical error in the supply from Vietnam, leading to a public apology from Prime Minister Hun Sen.

William Heidt, U.S. Ambassador, said human rights concerns over the new coal plant had been discussed with the Cambodian authorities ahead of the signing event on Wednesday.

We handled, we talked with the Cambodian government about human rights issues. We talked with about all sorts of issues. But I think the fact is that its now becoming a very interesting market for American companies, and GEs presence here reflects that, he said.

Due to the shortage in energy, Cambodia has opened its doors to foreign investors to build large-scale hydropower and coal projects across the country, attracting criticism from environmentalists and human rights campaigners who accuse the developers of a range of crimes, from illegal deforestation to land grabbing.
North Koreas ambassador to Cambodia has suggested that Cambodia could play a role in finding a diplomatic solution to escalating conflict on the Korean peninsula.

In an interview with local English-language newspaper The Khmer Times, Ambassador Jang Yun Gon said he was confident that Cambodia really understands the situation and would express solidarity through Asean towards our just cause to help find a solution diplomatically to maintain stability and peace in our country.

We value this relationship with Cambodia and we want to maintain and strengthen it. This relationship will be based on the interests of the people in both countries, he added.

The testing of ballistic missiles by North Korea prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to drop its strategic patience and consider all options in response to what it considers North Korean defiance.

The Norths foreign minister, Ri Su-yong, has said that the grave situation and the arrival of a U.S. Warship in the region has pushed the nations to the brink of war, according to Agence France Presse.

The overture from North Korea to Cambodia and its Asean allies came as Trump made his first approach to the 10-nation bloc with direct phone calls to the U.S.s traditional allies in the region.

Phay Siphan, government spokesman, said the decision about whether to take a mediating role in the dispute would be made by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

If North Korea is seeking Cambodias participation in talks, that would be Cambodias stance, Siphan said. We always want parties to negotiate.

He added that if a formal request was made to the Cambodian government, he believed Hun Sen would want to play a role.

The North Korean embassy and Cambodias foreign ministry could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman for U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment on North Korea's request, referring to the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's statement last week at the U.N. Security Council.



Chairing the global council on security, Tillerson called for all countries with ties to North Korea to "suspend or downgrade" relations.

We call on countries to suspend or downgrade diplomatic relations with North Korea. North Korea exploits its diplomatic privileges to fund its illicit nuclear and missile technology programs, and constraining its diplomatic activity will cut off a flow of needed resources, Tillerson said.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said, With North Korea's isolation and ostracism, it will take all the friends it can get.

If North Korea signals its intent for dialogue, ASEAN must provide the opening. This can defuse geopolitical tensions and make ASEAN immediately useful and strategic, Pongsudhirak added.

Sok Touch, director of the International Relations Institute at the state-run Royal Academy of Cambodia, said Cambodia could use its influence with the Koreas to act as a successful intermediary.

Cambodia would not talk about nuclear or not. Cambodia can be a coordinator. Cambodia can woo either North Korea or the Five Parties (South Korea, Japan, China, U.S., and Russia). But the matter of whether or not Cambodia can assume the role is up to the Five Parties, he said.

Julio A. Jeldres, counsel to the cabinet of King Norodom Sihamoni, told VOA Khmer in an email that he saw little lasting benefit for Cambodia to play the suggested role.

I am not sure what Cambodia can do to help. I believe China is better positioned to strongly influence North Korea because of their ideological, diplomatic and large commercial links, he said.

Apart from the modest international prestige of serving as a mediator, Cambodia has little to gain in practical terms. If, by some stroke of serendipity, Cambodian intervention results in a return to the Six-Party Talks, Cambodia could gain international clout as an effective intermediary, he added.

Cambodia-North Korea diplomatic relations began in 1967 when the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and North Koreas founding President Kim Il Sung formed a personal friendship.

The North Korean government in 1974 built a personal palace for Sihanouk in Pyongyang, while North Korea was granted the Samran Phirom royal residence in Cambodia, where Sihanouk was born in 1922, to serve as its embassy.

Cambodia is now one of the North Koreas few friends in Asean, which has seen tensions rise after the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, in Malaysia earlier this year.
On Friday, China deported Sandy Phan-Gillis, three days after she had been convicted of spying in a Chinese court of espionage and sentenced to three and a-half years in prison. She is currently in Los Angeles with her husband and family members. As VOAs Greg Flakus reports from Washington, the outcome is seen as a sign of better relations between the United States and China, and as a sign that the Trump administration is taking an interest in such cases.
The Trump administration is defending a raft of invitations to meet with controversial regional leaders, including invitations to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to visit the White House. VOA's Zlatica Hoke looks into Trump's overtures to Southeast Asian leaders as Washingtons diplomacy in Asia continues to focus on China and tensions with North Korea.
Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has again refused to allow a United Nations probe into alleged atrocities against minority Rohingya Muslims in the east of the country, despite pressure from the European Union and human rights organizations.

Those recommendations which will divide further the two communities in Rakhine we will not accept, because it will not help us to resolve the problems that are arising all the time, Suu Kyi told reporters Tuesday following meetings with European Union chiefs in Brussels.

She denied she was ignoring the allegations of crimes against humanity.

We have not in any way ignored allegations of rape or murder or arson or anything," she said. "We have asked that these be placed before a court and tried.

Myanmar's military has long been accused of carrying out widespread killing, torture and rape.

Hundreds die in attack

The latest allegations stem from the army's response to an attack by Rohingya militants on a border post last October. Witnesses say the army responded with ground forces and helicopter gunships, killing around 600 people. Hundreds of women were allegedly raped. Amateur video taken at the time appears to show the charred bodies of adults, children, even babies littering the torched villages.

Thirty-year-old Shamsida fled across the border to Bangladesh along with 75,000 other Rohingya refugees after the attack. She recalls her treatment at the hands of the soldiers:

After the noon prayers, about 300 to 400 soldiers seized our village and surrounded all our women. They started beating our children and destroyed all our belongings in our homes. At that time, three soldiers raped me.

Official laments global response

Kyaw Win, secretary general of the Burma Human Rights Network, laments the global response to the evidence of war crimes by Myanmar's military.

They are not doing it only in Rakhine state, they did it in Karen state, they are doing it in Shan state as well and Kachin state as well," Win said. "But where is the response from the international community? And this failure of this response is not only letting down the victims, this is also indicating that the Burmese government and Burmese army can do similar things in the future.

Suu Kyi won a landslide election victory in 2016 after the military junta initiated a political transition. The armed forces still control security and domestic affairs.

We need to focus on the military more than we are focusing on Aung San Suu Kyi. But of course she has a moral duty. She is not saying what she is supposed to say, Win said.

Arms embargo in place

An EU arms embargo on Myanmar remains in place. Nevertheless, the head of Myanmar's military, Min Aung Hlaing, visited Germany and Austria last week. Win said Europe is hosting an alleged war criminal.

His army committed crimes against humanity," Win said. "Yet he's been so warmly welcomed in a civilized world.

Suu Kyi is to visit London next week, where protests are planned against the alleged atrocities in Rakhine state.
China has organized an alliance of Asian universities which will pool resources to enhance their capabilities and counter the challenges they face from western educational institutions which draw away many of the best students and teachers from Asia.

For China, it is also an attempt to grab the leadership position in different aspects of Asian life and enhance its own international standing. China achieved a similar feat in banking when it lead over 60 countries in the formation of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in 2014.

Beijing is now seeking support from dozens of different countries for it's Belt and Road program.

The new organization, Asian Universities Alliance (AUA), was launched in Beijing at the elite Tsinghua University, which was elected to chair the group of 15 universities from a dozen countries.

The launch event was inaugurated last Saturday by China's Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who underlined the importance the Chinese government is giving to the AUA.

Asia Wisdom

The alliance will contribute Asian wisdom to resolve regional and global problems," Liu Yandong said. It will bring together "outstanding talents with an international perspective and to serve regional development," she said.

Emphasizing the need for collaboration across educational institutions in Asia, Qiu Yong, President of Tsinghua University said, "Asian universities should improve their global reputation and impact through co-operation and exchanges with international counterparts."

In addition to Tsinghua, the Alliance partners include the Peking University in Beijing, University of Tokyo, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Singapore National University, Seoul National University, the Indian Institute of Technology, the University of Yangon, the University of Colombo, and Chulalongkorn University of Thailand.

"There are a lot of (international university) alliances. You have a good mix of western and eastern. But, I think it is high time for Asian universities to have our own alliance," said Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President and Provost of the National University of Singapore.

At least two participants who attended the first board meeting of the AUA confirmed that Tsinghua University has offered to fund the new organization with $1.5 million, far above the $5,000 contribution other participants are paying as membership fees at present.

Battle of Rankings

The core objective for many Asian schools is to rise in the world rankings of universities, which is largely dominated by western institutions. High rankings are essential to attracting research funds from industry and international organizations besides drawing in the best teachers and students from across the globe.

Ranking is invariably based more on research because, if you look at educational outcomes, it is harder to gauge, said Tan Eng. And if you pool in a lot of money into research, then I think, you will go up quite quickly (in the rankings).

He emphasized that governments should play a key role in funding research. Only five percent of the research have immediate applications, and industry may not be eager to support the remaining 95 percent, he pointed out.

It is this attempt to pool in research capabilities and bring about a greater exchange of students and teachers that motivated several Asian universities to join the alliance.

"What we would look for is strong research groups to be build up across these universities," said Prasanna M. Mujumdar, deputy director of IIT, Bombay. If we have strength to pool universities together, the best of minds from both sides, each with their own niche expertise to contribute, and then (jointly) bid for research proposals.

This alliance will help us refocus on Asian universities in a lot of areas like student mobility, faculty exchange, and joint research, he said.

That research could benefit China, which is trying to reduce its reliance on western sources for advanced technology and is now looking at Asian universities to fill some of its technology gaps.

It needs a wide range of technologies to implement Beijing's 2025 program, which involves replacing old and outdated industrial technologies with new ones that save both energy and cause less pollution.
China on Tuesday welcomed a softer stand taken by Southeast Asian countries on the disputed South China Sea at a weekend summit, saying it showed efforts to ease tension were working.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dropped references to "land reclamation and militarization" from its chairman's statement this year at the end of its summit in the Philippine capital, Manila.

The reference had been included last year and was even in an earlier, unpublished version of the statement, seen by Reuters on Saturday.

Two ASEAN diplomats said that this year, China had pressed ASEAN chair the Philippines to keep China's contentious activities in the strategic waterway off ASEAN's official agenda.

China is not a member of the 10-member bloc and did not attend the summit but it is extremely sensitive about the content of its statements.

It has often been accused of trying to influence the drafting of statements to muzzle what it sees as challenges to its sweeping sovereignty claim.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not directly answer a question on whether China had exerted pressure over the statement.

"Since last year, with the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries including the Philippines, temperatures in the South China Sea situation have gone down and things have eased up. I think this accords with the interests of countries in the region," Geng told a daily news briefing.

"The relevant situation at this ASEAN summit again fully shows the positive changes in the South China Sea situation and that the joint wish of countries in this region is to seek stability, promote cooperation and seek development, and this should be respected and supported by all sides."

China has reacted angrily to individual members of the regional bloc expressing their concern about its rapid reclamation of reefs in the Spratlys islands and its installation of missile systems on them.

Philippine foreign ministry official Zaldy Patron, who is in-charge of ASEAN affairs, said nobody at the summit had pushed strongly on the South China Sea issue, or mentioned anything about land reclamation and militarization.

"But on the other hand, the leaders highlighted improving relations between ASEAN and China," Patron said in Manila.

The softer statement comes as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte seeks to bury the hatchet with China after years of wrangling over its maritime assertiveness and over-lapping claims.

After lobbying from Duterte, China agreed to let Philippine boats back to the rich fishing ground of the disputed Scarborough Shoal following a four-year blockade.

China claims most of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims that overlap with China's.
Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha said Tuesday he is considering a 2018 gubernatorial bid, challenging Gov. Pete Ricketts in the Republican primary election and offering a demonstrated brand of leadership that is less partisan in nature.

Krist, who will complete his 10th and final year as a state senator next year, said he has begun "reaching out" to people in eastern Nebraska and plans to travel into central and western Nebraska following adjournment of the Legislature early next month.

"It has been suggested that I should run as an independent," Krist said during an interview, thereby avoiding a direct GOP primary confrontation with Ricketts.

"But I am what I am," Krist said. "I'm a Republican and I'm a centrist. I am not going to change my coat."

And, Krist said "the state needs some centrist leadership" now.

Some Republicans with whom he has talked "say I don't stand a chance" in a primary against an incumbent Republican governor with virtually unlimited campaign finance resources, Krist said.

"There is nothing I like more than a challenge," he said.

With the Legislature embroiled Tuesday in debate about a package of proposed income tax cuts and property tax relief supported by the governor, Krist said he believes that Nebraskans really want the state to focus squarely on property tax reduction.

"It is property tax, property tax, property tax," he said during remarks on the floor of the Legislature.

With challenges in the state's Corrections system still unresolved -- "we still have people dying inside our prisons" -- Krist said he will introduce a legislative resolution to create another special legislative investigative committee to focus on the prison system.

Krist, who has been a legislative leader on a number of issues, including prison reform, held one of the Legislature's top positions -- chairman of the Legislative Council executive board -- until a coalition of senators who are Republicans elected a slate of conservative candidates to virtually all leadership positions on the first day of the 2017 legislative session.

"A large number of people are disenchanted with the way politics has entered" into state government, Krist said.

"You should not continue a campaign once you're elected," he said, "or buy your way" into electoral or legislative success.

Krist said he and Ricketts are "two different people with two different leadership styles."

As a candidate, Krist said, he would offer voters 10 years of legislative experience and decision-making within the nonpartisan Legislature, including wrestling with two state budget crises and the challenge of a correctional services system that has been in disarray.

"I have a voting record that people can judge," he said.

Krist said he probably needs to reach a decision by late this summer and he recognizes that much of that decision is likely to be "a fundraising issue."

Prior to entering the Legislature, Krist served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years, flying more than 100 combat sorties and retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

Appointed to the Legislature by former Gov. Dave Heineman in 2009, Krist subsequently was elected to two four-year terms and will be term-limited out of office at the end of 2018.
Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton blamed FBI Director James Comey and the website WikiLeaks, which published emails hacked from her campaign director, for her loss in the 2016 presidential election.

Speaking at an event Tuesday with CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, Clinton said she was on the way to winning before WikiLeaks began releasing emails stolen from campaign manager John Podesta and Comey told Congress he was reviewing additional emails related to Clinton's use of a private server.

Clinton takes 'personal responsibility'

A combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28th and Russian Wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off, she said. And the evidence for that intervening event is, I think, compelling and persuasive.

Clinton said widespread misogyny among the American electorate also aided in her defeat.

Yes, I do think it played a role, Clinton said.   It is real, it is very much a part of the landscape, political and socially and economically.

After saying Comey, WikiLeaks and sexism were among the reasons for her losing the election, she said she took personal responsibility for the loss and acknowledged that she did not run a perfect campaign.

I take absolute personal responsibility. I was the candidate. I was the person on the ballot, she said.

Book by Clinton due in fall

Clinton said she would offer more details and analysis of her electoral defeat in a book she is publishing this fall.

An election analysis released this week by a group of top Democratic Party strategists suggests the main reason Clinton lost is because a large number of voters who backed President Barack Obama in 2012 voted for Donald Trump, the eventual winner, in 2016.

Matt Canter, a senior vice president of the Democratic political firm Global Strategy Group, told the McClatchy publishing group that, in his organization's analysis, Clinton's failure to attract the number of voters Obama did in 2012 accounted for about 70 percent of why she lost.

We have to make sure we learn the right lesson from 2016, that we don't just draw the lesson that makes us feel good at night, makes us sleep well at night, Canter said.

According to McClatchy, Canter's conclusion is shared broadly by other Democrats who have examined the data, including senior members of Clinton's campaign and officials at the Democratic data and analytics firm Catalist.
Turkey could be seeking to play Moscow off Washington, according to some analysts, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set for separate meetings this month with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Mr Erdogan thinks he is offering Turkey to the highest bidder, political consultant Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners told VOA, so it's between Trump and Putin (that) whoever puts up the biggest bid will gain Turkey's favor.

Putin will host Erdogan Wednesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. That meeting comes at a critical time with rapprochement efforts stalling.

This is an opportunity for Erdogan and Putin to discuss several areas of disagreement. That's why it's important, observes analyst Sinan Ulgen a visiting scholar of the Carnegie Europe Institute in Brussels, because it's going to set the tone for near future, of this relationship with Moscow.

Syrian Conflict

The conflict in Syria continues to dog relations between the two regional rivals, which back opposite sides in the civil war. The past few months saw the leaders meet a record four times as part of rapprochement efforts after Turkish jets downed a Russian bomber operating from a Syrian airbase. But those efforts stalled over Moscow backing the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which is widely viewed as the most effective force in fighting the Islamic State in Syria.

Erdogan will raise his unhappiness at Sochi over the YPG, predicts analyst Ulgen. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organization linked to the PKK, which is fighting the Turkish State for greater autonomy. Ankara was infuriated when Russian soldiers were deployed in the Syrian Kurdish canton of Afrin in a move widely seen as a deterrent to Ankara. Until the deployment, the Turkish army, which is massed across the border, had regularly bombarded the YPG in Afrin.

Ankara has similar grievances with Washington, which has deployed its forces on the Turkish border in the Syrian Kurdish canton of Kobani, following last month's Turkish airstrikes against the YPG. Erdogan is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House in two weeks.

Speaking to Turkish parliamentarians Tuesday, Erdogan declared he was looking for partners  be it Washington or Moscow  in capturing the YPG-held Syrian town of Manbij and Islamic State's self-declared capital of Raqqa, promising a new era in Syria and Iraq.

Ankara's recent courting of Moscow has caused concerns among its NATO partners over its future commitment. A NATO without Turkey would be less strong, NATO secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned last month.

But analysts point out that despite Erdogan's recent courtship of Moscow, he has little to show for such efforts.

Not only does the PYD (political wing of the YPG) have an office in Moscow, but so does the PKK, pointed out former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served widely in the region. The PKK is not even considered a terrorist organization by Moscow (unlike the United States and European Union), and now there is the deployment of Russian forces in Afrin. So while Ankara's PR front is quite active in promoting the positive progress in the relations, practically speaking there is no progress, and now we can speak of even a deterioration.

Erdogan also appears to have few cards he can play to persuade Putin to abandon his support of the Syrian Kurds.

"Russia knows Turkey very well. Turkey does not have a foreign policy. It has one night stands," claims Yesilada. "One day we are allies with Russia, then the next day Trump bombs the Syrian airbase, [and] we immediately rush to Trump's side. Russia understands Turkey is an opportunist. While Turkey changes its policy everyday, Russia is very careful about loosening the noose around Turkey's neck. We've normalized relations with Russia, but Russia hasn't."

Moscow has eased just a few of the tough economic sanctions imposed on Turkey after the 2015 downing of its fighter jet. Erdogan is expected to raise the issue with Putin in Sochi. But the Turkish president likely will be relieved that Russian tourists are starting to return to Turkish resorts after last year's travel embargo.

Surface-to-air missile system



The sale of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system is predicted to be discussed.

A joint decision will be made on the forthcoming steps toward the acquisition of the system, predicted Turkish Defense Minster Fikri Isik.

The purchase of the S-400 is widely seen as Ankara sending a message to its western allies that it can look both east and west in military matters.

But Demtri Peskov, Putin's spokesman, struck a more cautious tone over the issue, saying only, It's possible the deliveries of the S-400 will be discussed (in Sochi).



Putin likely will be only too happy about any discomfiture in NATO over talk of Ankara buying the S-400. Analysts question whether Moscow would ultimately sell such a sophisticated system to Turkey, however, given that the two countries remain rivals with a host of unresolved tensions that are unlikely to be fully resolved in Sochi.
Greece reached a deal with its European lenders Tuesday for more reforms in exchange for a badly needed bailout installment so Athens could avoid possible bankruptcy.

After months of often tough talks, Greek officials agreed to more pension cuts and tax increases.

The European Commission and European Central Bank will bring the deal to their finance ministers at their May 22 meeting.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leftist government says it is confident parliament will approve the new round of cuts.

Greece desperately needs about $8 billion to meet a debt payment in July or stare possible bankruptcy in the face.

International Monetary Fund official Poul Thomsen says while the IMF welcomes the deal between Greece and its eurozone lenders, the country needs debt relief and restructuring. Thomsen says the Greek debt of close to 180 percent of its gross domestic product is unsustainable.

The IMF has balked at taking part in the latest Greek bailout unless the debt is renegotiated.

Greece has been relying on international bailouts since 2010, when the outgoing conservative government badly underreported the country's debt.

The harsh economic reforms, including cuts in social spending and tax hikes, have caused pain and chaos for many Greeks. But the bailouts have helped Greece fend off total collapse.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas has issued a set of new policies that removes anti-semitic language in its existing charter, severs ties with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and accepts the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967.

However, the new document, which calls for closer ties with Egypt, continues to reject recognition of the Israeli state and repeats demands for the return of Palestinian refugees displaced decades ago by the establishment of the Jewish state.

" Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were displaced" the document reads.

No response from West

There was no immediate response to the document in Western capitals Monday, and it remained unclear what, if any, lasting impact it will have on Hamas' relations with Israel or moderate Arab states that view the grouping as a terrorist entity.

Nor is it clear whether the new document will improve relations with Egypt, which has been enforcing a crippling blockade against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since 2009, in an attempt to block the smuggling of weapons used by Hamas militants against Israeli targets.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, remains deeply split from its more moderate political rival, Fatah, and its leader Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian leader to meet with Trump

Fatah, which has engaged Israel in earlier peace talks, holds power in the occupied West Bank and is widely seen more favorably in Western capitals by diplomats and world leaders seeking to end nearly six decades of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities.

Monday's Hamas overture, announced in Doha, comes ahead of Abbas' first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday in Washington.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Trump said he may travel to Israel in the coming weeks, and said he sees no reason why a long-sought Israeli-Palestinian peace deal cannot be reached.
At least 32 civilians were killed Tuesday in a surprise Islamic State attack outside a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, according to victims and Syrian Kurdish officials.

The predawn assault happened in the Rajm al-Salibeh region, a front-line zone between IS and U.S.-backed forces where Syrian and Iraqi refugees fleeing IS territory gather before being allowed to enter the Kurdish-controlled region in northern Syria.

Dozens of armed IS militants riding on motorcycles and in cars approached 300 refugee families from Iraq's Mosul and Syria's Deir Ezzor who were waiting overnight in a makeshift, temporary stopover on their way to nearby al-Houl refugee camp.

"At least five suicide attackers blew themselves up," said Rami Abdel, a spokesman for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors conflicts in Syria.

Fouad Omar, a Kurdish official in Qamishili, told VOA that IS fighters also stabbed refugees and opened gunfire.

"We saw some cars coming to us from a distance and we thought they were people fleeing from IS. But as soon as we went out of the tents, it became clear they were IS fighters," a female survivor from Deir Ezzor told VOA.

While being treated at a hospital in Hasakah for her wounds, the woman said refugees were deliberately targeted by IS because they were seeking safety among U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

"They told us, 'You are infidels. You are with infidels,'" she said. "They started going to each tent and blindly open fire at people. It became end of the world after half of an hour. They killed everyone and left."

The attack sparked heavy confrontation between IS and the U.S-backed SDF, whose fighters are currently gearing up for an assault on the de facto IS capital of Raqqa.

"Our colleagues stood against the IS attack and were able to kill 14 fighters," said Nisreen Abdullah, spokesperson of the Women Protection Units, a Kurdish female brigade.

Abdullah said IS likely took advantage of the recent rising tensions between the U.S.-backed forces and Turkey on the border to unleash the attacks.

"The number of our guards on the Iraqi-Syrian border is smaller now as we have dispatched more troops to guard our border with Turkey after the recent Turkish attacks," she said.

Kurdish officials say refugees have been streaming into camps for months without incident.

"We welcomed more than 500,000 refugees from this area," said Kurdish official Omar.

Aid convoy

Separately Tuesday near Damascus, the International Committee of the Red Cross said an aid convoy of food and medical supplies reached the besieged town of Douma for the first time since October.

An ICRC tweet late Tuesday said the convoy had entered the town northeast of Damascus under the cover of darkness, with 51 trucks carrying emergency supplies for 35,000 people.

Rebel-held Douma has been under government siege for nearly four years.
A car-bombing in east Mosul is confirming fears of some analysts that the offensive against the Islamic State is dealing the terror group military defeats but not necessarily political setbacks.

More than 190 days since U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces launched their campaign to oust IS fighters from Mosul, the militants remain in parts of the western half of the city. And last month IS detonated a car bomb in the Zuhur district of east Mosul that left four dead and 14 wounded.

Sections of Mosul still not cleared of IS fighters

Zuhur was meant to have been cleared of Sunni militants back in January when Baghdad declared eastern Mosul fully liberated, but the bombing demonstrated that active IS cells are still operating there, despite strenuous efforts by Iraqi security personnel to unearth them.

Out but not down, is how Kyle Orton, an analyst with the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank, describes the terror groups strategic position.Zuhur is part of a pattern of attacks that suggests the Mosul operation itself was rushed and more importantly that IS is already recovering in liberated areas, he warned in a study for the think tank.

He cautions, ISs loss of territory should not be seen as the sole measure of how this war is going. U.S. and Iraqi officials estimate IS now controls just seven percent of the country, down from a high of 40 percent.

Military, not political, defeats for IS forces

IS hopes to emulate itsprecursor jihadist organizations, which were able to weather the military defeats inflicted on them by U.S. forces during the 2007-08 Surge.

The group is exploiting its strategic depth in remote territory both in west and east Iraq  in the Euphrates River Valley bordering Syria, the Jalam desert east of Samarra and in the Hamrin mountains  to launch hit-and-run attacks like an April 23 ambush on a government military convey near the western Iraq town of Rutba that left 10 Iraqi soldiers dead.

ISs official spokesman, Abu Mohammad al Adnani, before his death in a targeted drone strike, presaged ISs post-Mosul strategy in a 2016 audio-message to followers, in apparent reference to the 2007 Surge, he said: Were we defeated when we lost the cities in Iraq and were in the desert without any city or land? It is the same, whether Allah blesses us with consolidation or we move into the bare, open desert, displaced and pursued.

IS presence in Kirkuk

IS has regrouped in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. The militants still control half the province. A lot of these terrorists have been able to escape from Mosul, escape from other places and regroup, Najmidin Karin, governor of Kirkuk province, observed recently.

The jihadists presence in Kirkuk was not challenged early on in the anti-IS offensive, argues Orton and others. Hawija sits in a prime location to cause mayhem behind the lines, and has done so, according to Orton. Although besieged by Kurdish peshmerga forces since last August, IS fighters appear to have little trouble slipping in and out to launch attacks from Hawija on nearby cities.

In simple military terms, Hawija should have been cleared before Mosul, says Orton. Recently, Iraqi commanders announced theyre considering an assault on the town, which is overwhelmingly Sunni Arab, using Shiite militias. That would continue, argues Orton, one of the worst aspects of the campaign against IS, namely the use of demographically inappropriate forces to cleanse local areas that has meant ISs military losses are not political losses.

Mixed military results

When it comes to Mosul, Baghdad has managed to prevent Shiite militias from entering the city, allowing the offensive inside to be conducted by regular Iraqi security forces. Even so, most Iraqi soldiers are Shiite, which doesnt help Baghdad with its hearts-and-minds campaign for the longterm loyalty of local Sunnis.

Thanks to the terror groups brutal handling of civilians the Shiite influx into Mosul has not turned Sunnis en masse against the security forces. But rising civilian casualties in west Mosul from coalition airstrikes is starting to anger local Sunnis.

In neighboring Syria, analyst Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute in Washington also worries about the unfolding anti-IS offensive and the assault on Raqqa repeating tactical missteps observed in Iraq, especially if mainly Kurdish forces are used for the assault on ISs de facto capital. The United States does not need to rush our push to Raqqa. Doing so risks achieving the short-term objective  the citys capture  but securing groups like ISIS with an invaluable narrative victory, he said last week in congressional testimony.
Israel's prime minister on Tuesday accused UNESCO of diminishing Jewish ties to Jerusalem after the U.N. cultural agency passed a resolution criticizing Israeli excavations in the city's Israeli-annexed eastern sector as a violation of international law.

Israel considers the entire city to be its capital, including East Jerusalem, which it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Most of the international community considers East Jerusalem to be occupied territory, a view the U.N. Security Council reaffirmed in December.

In Tuesday's resolution, the U.N. agency calls on Israel to cease "persistent excavations, tunneling, works and projects" in East Jerusalem, particularly the walled Old City, which is home to sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Such activities by an occupying power are illegal under international law, said the resolution, which several Arab countries had tabled.

The resolution affirmed the importance of the Old City and its walls to the three monotheistic religions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Jews have a special bond to the city.

"There is no other people in the world for whom Jerusalem is as holy and important as for the Jewish people," Netanyahu said in a speech at the International Bible Quiz in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Israel's Independence Day. He said UNESCO was "trying to deny this simple truth."

The Old City is home to the Temple Mount  the location of the biblical Jewish temples and Judaism's holiest site. Muslims refer to the area, which now hosts two mosques, as the Noble Sanctuary, their third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The Old City also houses major Christian shrines.

Israeli archaeological excavations and other infrastructure projects in the Old City have long stoked tensions.

The UNESCO resolution said Israel had taken actions that have "altered, or purport to alter, the character and status of the Holy City."

The resolution, submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, was approved by 22 member states, with 10 voting against and 23 abstaining.

The agency has frequently been used as a theater for political disputes between Israel and Arab nations. Israel has long complained of bias at U.N. forums, feeling outnumbered by Arab nations and their supporters.

Last year, UNESCO's executive board approved a resolution that Israel said denies the deep historic Jewish connection to holy sites in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said Tuesday's resolution marked an "improvement in the march of absurdity" as it mentions the Jewish connection to Jerusalem. "Well, we're making progress, but there is still a way to go," he added.

Elias Wadih Sanbar, the Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, said Tuesday's resolution was part of efforts to "stop giving a kind of blank check to an occupier that is acting with total illegality and impunity."

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said he had instructed the country's representative at UNESCO to vote against what he called "the latest politicized resolution on Jerusalem."

"Our opinion is very clear: UNESCO can't become the headquarters of a permanent ideological clash in which questions are faced for which the solutions are supposed to be handled in other headquarters," Alfano was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.

The fate of Jerusalem has been one of the thorniest issues in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which last broke down in 2014. The Palestinians hope to establish a future capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip has unveiled a new policy document that claims to ease its stance on Israel. However, Israel and the more moderate Palestinian Authority that rules parts of the West Bank are skeptical, saying nothing has changed.

Hamas claims its main concession is that it no longer explicitly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Instead of demanding a state in all of Palestine, which would include what is now Israel, the group is prepared for a transitional state within the pre-1967 borders, meaning the West Bank, Gaza and disputed East Jerusalem.

The term transitional, though, suggests that this Palestinian state would be a step toward a larger country that eventually would include what is now Israel. The document says Hamas still rejects Israels right to exist and supports the armed struggle against it.

Hamas advocates the liberation of all of Palestine but is ready to support a state on the 1967 borders without recognizing Israel or ceding any rights, said Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who presented the new document in Doha.

Israel described the manifesto as a ruse aimed at deceiving the West and moderate Arab states.

Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed, said David Keyes, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians. This is the real Hamas.

Image makeover

Hamas admits it is trying to improve its image, especially in Europe, which is seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than the U.S., Israels guardian ally politically and militarily.

The five-page document reflects a reasonable Hamas that is serious about dealing with the reality and the regional and international surroundings, while still representing the cause of its people, said Meshaal. We hope this will mark a change in the stance of European states towards us.

While Israels reaction was expected, the tough tone of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank raised some eyebrows. The PAs ruling Fatah party said the document is too little, too late.

Hamas new document is identical to that taken by Fatah in 1988, said Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasme. Hamas must apologize to Fatah after 30 years of accusing us of treason for that policy.

The rival Palestinian governments have been at loggerheads since a civil war in 2007, when Hamas expelled the Palestinian Authority from Gaza. Hamas also has poor relations with neighboring Egypt because Cairo believes armed militants in Gaza are assisting a deadly ISIS insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.

International isolation

In a nod to Cairo, Hamas declared it would end its close relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt and the some Gulf states regard as a terrorist organization. And in a further effort to distance Hamas from radical Islam, Meshaal said Hamas struggle is not against Judaism as a religion, but rather against the aggression of Zionism.

Hamas is trying to end its international isolation at a time when the United States is preparing to step up efforts to revive the Middle East peace process. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to hold his first meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Trump is expected to travel to Jerusalem in three weeks after declaring he sees no reason why there should not be peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

If there is a new push for the creation of a Palestinian state, Hamas wants to be part of it. But skeptics abound.

Dr. Kobi Michael, a senior Israeli researcher at the INSS Institute for National Security Studies, notes that Hamas still rejects the three main demands of the international community.

They do not acknowledge or accept the Oslo [peace] Accords [of 1993], they do not accept the idea of stopping violence, and they do not accept the principle of recognizing Israel, Michael said. It is more of a makeover than a real change, [so] this is a lot of noise about nothing.
Ivanka Trump's first foray into self-help writing came in 2009 with "The Trump Card," a breezy compilation of workplace advice, stories about her dealmaker dad and a hefty dose of celebrity namedropping.



But in her second book, released Tuesday, Trump has gone from sassy to serious.



"Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success" offers earnest advice for women on advancing in the workplace, balancing family and professional life and seeking personal fulfilment. She is donating the proceeds to charity and has opted not to do any publicity to avoid any suggestion that she is improperly using her White House platform.



It's natural that Ivanka Trump's thinking would evolve. Now 35, she is married and has had three children since she wrote the first book. She has also embraced advocacy for women, first at her fashion brand and now at the White House as an unpaid adviser.



She stepped away from executive roles at the Trump Organization and her fashion brand before joining her father's administration, though she still owns the brand, which has prompted criticism from ethics experts that she could profit from her rising profile.



A look at her advice from both books:



Workplace tips



THEN: Trump offers advice on technology  "check your BlackBerry or iPhone only on the quarter hour"  and warns against "loose-lipped, ill-considered emails." She gives negotiating tips, such as "be aware of your physical presence" and "understand that people ask for more than they expect to get." She talks about networking and building a brand, based on her jewelry line experience.



NOW: Trump also discusses how to juggle career and family and live a more purposeful life. She encourages readers to think about how they personally define success, and talks about setting goals, seeking mentors and establishing boundaries. She writes: "Long term, we aren't remembered for how late we stayed at the office, how many buildings we developed or deals we closed."



Time management



THEN: Noting she was always looking for an "edge," Trump said that "as long as I can remember, I've been in the habit of coming into the office on Sundays." She added that while she didn't expect employees to follow suit, "you'd be surprised at how quickly your employees will fall in line behind you when you set this kind of example."



NOW: In a chapter called "Work Smarter, Not Harder," she says that when she became a mother she realized that she needed "to set healthier boundaries for myself and stick to them." She encourages seeking accommodations at work, like asking for flextime or working remotely. "Divorcing ourselves from the reality that we all have full lives isn't useful or sincere."



Getting personal



THEN: She dishes about growing up as Donald Trump's daughter. Michael Jackson  at the time a Trump Tower resident  apparently attended a performance of the Nutcracker in which she danced as a child. Another memory: attending a Mike Tyson fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with her father and watching him try to calm an angry crowd after Tyson knocked out his opponent in 91 seconds.



NOW: There is less colorful insight, but Trump does share a few family moments, such as practicing her speech for the Republican National Convention with her three children on the couch. Trump, who converted to Judaism when she married Jared Kushner, discusses observing the Jewish Sabbath from sundown Friday to Saturday night, saying it is "important to unplug and devote that time to each other."



Guest stars



THEN: Focusing on business success, Trump includes short essays from a variety of executives, featuring record producer Russell Simmons and Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post. A guest writer she probably wouldn't include in the new book: former Fox News Channel executive Roger Ailes, who resigned last summer following allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances against women, which he has denied.



NOW: Trump looks more to academics and experts on women in the workforce, in addition to celebrities and politicians. She quotes Anne-Marie Slaughter, who five years ago wrote a popular essay in The Atlantic magazine on why she left a job in the State Department during President Barack Obama's administration to spend more time with her family, and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, who wrote the book "Lean In," urging women to take charge of their careers.
Aides to French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen are downplaying criticism of a speech she gave Monday that included passages from an earlier speech by former rival Francois Fillon.

The May Day address to her supporters featured mentions of the geography of France and its "three maritime borders."It also had a quote by former Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau that Fillon used word for word in his speech last month.

Florian Philippot, the deputy leader of Le Pen's National Front party, said the candidate was making a "nod" to Fillon's remarks.

Le Pen will go against Emmanuel Macron in the second round of voting for the French presidency on May 7.

Macron narrowly beat Le Pen 23.8 percent to 21.5 percent in the first round of the election in April.
Dear Amy: I am a hairstylist in my 50s.

My problem is that my manager (who is 32) tends to book most new appointments with the young stylists she is friendly with; she also closes early when she wants to, and tells customers that there are no available appointments, when there are.

There are three of us older women who work at the salon, and we all feel the same way about this treatment, but we are all afraid to call the corporate office and go over her head for fear it will make the situation worse (if it gets back to her).

She has everyone, even the young stylists, afraid to speak up, because she is in charge and can fire people. Corporate very rarely comes in, so they have no idea what she does. I have thought about speaking confidentiality to her manager, but do you think it will really stay confidential?

My husband says not to do it unless I'm willing to pay the consequences, but I am really unhappy with the situation as is, and I feel at my age I should be enjoying work. I really don't want to leave, plus there aren't too many salons in the area. I just want to work in peace till I retire.

-- Too Old for This!

Dear Too Old: Your manager is discriminating against older people, intimidating her workforce and costing the business money. The way business is done at the salon affects the corporate brand and bottom line.

Rather than reach out to this person's direct boss, try contacting human resources first. Most companies have a general email or phone number that you can contact. You will need to provide specific examples of recent wrongdoing, so take note of dates and times of incidents you report, and be sure to mention that this is not the first time these things have happened.

There is a risk that your boss will figure out it was you that reported the problems in your business, but there is also a real risk here to the business itself; a branch with intimidated employees that isn't maximizing its profit doesn't look good to the corporate bosses. Breaking the culture of silence means there is a real chance things can get better.

You and other stylists should also be very proactive about courting clients and engaging with "walk-ins"; your manager is obviously not going to hand them over to you.

Dear Amy: Our daughter fell in love while in high school. She attended university and took up residence with her boyfriend. She found out that he had cheated on her several times. She was at a near breaking point with this news. He begged her forgiveness and promised that this would never happen again. She forgave him.

Several years later, she married him. They have three children who are now preteens. Her husband is very busy and is away from home several evenings a week.

My husband recently received an anonymous email. The email said that we need to watch our son-in-law, as he has been cheating on our daughter. We are devastated and don't know how to handle this.

Our daughter is not in good health and this kind of stressful news would break her -- not to mention the effect that it would have on her children.

What should we do? Should we show her the email? Show him the email? Or just keep this to ourselves?

Please help.

-- Hurting Parents

Dear Hurting: You're assuming the worst right now, that's understandable, but remember: An anonymous email is not proof. It may not be true. You should proceed as discretely as possible, and resist the temptation to jump to conclusions.

The thing to do is to forward or otherwise send this to your son-in-law, without comment. You can assume that whatever might be going on, the drama seems to have ramped up, and whoever contacted you would presumably also contact your daughter. It is not your responsibility to be his keeper, or to get involved. Continue to be a warm and supportive presence in your daughter's life.

Dear Amy: "Worried Worker" described a toxic work environment. You immediately leapt to the conclusion that this treatment amounted to gender discrimination. To me, it sounded like her boss was a total jerk, but I didn't see gender discrimination.

-- Workplace Survivor

Dear Survivor: You are right. I jumped to a conclusion, with no specific evidence. "Worried" described the environment as "a good ol' boys club," but this doesn't mean that the ill treatment was gender-based.
The surviving members of the legendary rock band The Eagles, are suing a Mexican hotel that calls itself Hotel California, which is also the title of what is likely the bands most famous song.

The suit was filed Monday against the 11-room hotel in Baja California Sur, saying the hotel owners actively encourage the notion that the hotel is somehow associated with the band.

Allegedly one way the owners do this was through playing the song and other Eagles hits over the hotels sound system. The hotel also sold merchandise such as T-shirts calling itself legendary.

The suit, which was filed in Los Angeles, also claimed the hotel owners tried to register the Hotel California name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in Hotel California, which is false," according to the complaint.

The hotel opened in 1950 and was called Hotel California, but had gone by the name Todos Santos until it was purchased by a Canadian couple in 2001 who changed the name back to Hotel California.

Hotel California appeared on the 1976 album of the same name and took home a Grammy for album of the year.

The song, which is known for winding guitars and oblique lyrics, was written by Don Felder, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Frey died in 2016 at age 67.

According to Henley, the song is about "a journey from innocence to experience. It's not really about California; it's about America," he said in an interview with CBS News last year.
The Spy chiefs of Pakistan and Afghanistan have held official talks in Kabul on bilateral security and counterterrorism cooperation.

Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Lt. General Naveed Mukhtar, traveled to the Afghan capital Tuesday in a bid to ease tensions between security establishments of the two countries, Pakistani and Afghan security sources confirmed to VOA.

There were no immediate details available from the meeting General Mukhtar held with his Afghan counterpart, Masoom Stanekzai, who heads the National Directorate of Security, or NDS.

The ISI chiefs visit came as Afghanistan and Pakistan consistently accused each others intelligence agencies of sheltering and supporting anti-state militants, who plot deadly terrorist attacks in both the countries.

General Mukhtar is also scheduled to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The two intelligence agencies had signed an initial agreement of cooperation shortly after Ghani assumed office in 2014 to help address mutual concerns, but news of the deal was leaked to Afghan media prematurely, preventing the cooperation from taking root, according to Pakistani officials.

The Taliban has announced its so-called spring offensive in Afghanistan. The Afghan government claims sanctuaries on Pakistani soil have enabled the insurgents to prolong the conflict in the country.

Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah reiterated Monday the Islamist insurgency announced and planned its spring offensive in a neighboring country, though he did not name Pakistan

Pakistani authorities reject the charges and say they are making all possible efforts to strengthen security along a 2,600 kilometer border with Afghanistan to prevent terrorist infiltration in both directions.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan military said it repelled an attack on two security outposts by militants from across the border in Afghanistan. It said three assailants were killed and several were wounded while others were forced to retreat.

The militant assault took place in Pakistans semi-autonomous tribal district of South Waziristan.

A high-powered Pakistani parliamentary delegation also visited Afghanistan this week for talks with counterparts and the Afghan leadership. Ayaz Sadiq, speaker of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, led the 15-member delegation to Kabul, which returned to Islamabad on Monday.

Sadiq described the meetings as highly successful and productive.

On Tuesday, the speaker briefed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about the visit, officials said.

The prime minister stated that exchanges of parliamentary delegations between the two countries would further strengthen bilateral relations and will go a long way in realizing the shared objective of regional peace and stability, an official statement quoted Sharif as saying.
The color red made a dramatic show Monday night in the grand parade of fashion at the Met Gala, including co-chair Katy Perry's look, as did glittery gold and blue feathers on the back of Blake Lively. But many of the evening's highlights were courtesy of luminaries who channeled honoree Rei Kawakubo, including Rihanna encased in fluttery petal-like pieces by the Japanese designer.

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Moderate Republicans face intense pressure on their party's latest attempt to scrap Democrat Barack Obama's health care law - from President Donald Trump, House GOP leaders, medical professionals and outside political groups.

Back home, their constituents provide little clarity.

In interviews, Associated Press reporters found views deeply held and deeply divided, reflective of dueling impulses to fulfill the seven-year-old GOP promise to repeal the law and to save many of its parts.

Meridene Walsh of Greenwood Village, Colorado, voted for Donald Trump for president last year partly because she wanted the Affordable Care Act gone. Now, she's frustrated that House Republicans, including her own representative, Mike Coffman, are balking.

"The Republicans keep saying `repeal, repeal' for seven years and a new president gets into office and what happens?" Meridene Walsh, 49, said with disgust as she stood outside a supermarket in the affluent Denver suburb. "I really want them to finish. Let's get this health care thing going."

Minutes later, David Murray left the same store and praised Obama's law. He needed surgery to repair two discs in his back, and the law's prohibition on insurance companies discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions is what allowed him to find a new insurer to pay for the procedure.

"If it wasn't for Obamacare, I might not be walking," said Murray, a 46-year-old commercial driver. "There's no reason to change something without making it better."

Bill makes big changes

The latest iteration of the GOP bill would let states escape a requirement under Obama's law that insurers charge healthy and seriously ill customers the same rates. Overall, the legislation would cut the Medicaid program for the poor, eliminate Obama's fines for people who don't buy insurance and provide generally skimpier subsidies.

If the GOP bill became law, congressional analysts estimate that 24 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026, including 14 million by next year.

That bill fizzled before a planned vote in March when members of the conservative Freedom Caucus found the changes didn't go far enough to get government out of health care and moderates objected to undoing the expansion of Medicaid insurance for low-income adults.

An amended version has won over several conservatives with provisions to let states opt out of some requirements. One new wrinkle: While insurers would still have to cover people with pre-existing conditions, they would now be able to charge them higher premiums.

Constituents weigh in

The moderate Republicans who were on the fence last time are crucial to the outcome.

In Coffman's Colorado district, hundreds flooded a local library where he was privately meeting constituents in January, and Coffman left through a rear door. After Coffman announced he supported the earlier repeal, he endured hours of boos at a town hall he held.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the New Jersey Republican who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has heard it from both sides. A group has been rallying at his office every Friday afternoon, and saving the law is one of its members' priorities. Meanwhile, the conservative Club for Growth ran ads targeting Frelinghuysen for standing in the way of repeal.

This time around, Frelinghuysen hasn't said publicly where he stands. His office has not responded to requests for comment.

The upset doesn't mean that all voters are ready to oust their representatives over it.

John Marsella, a 52-year-old stay-at-home dad from Oakdale, California, said he would prefer a complete repeal of Obama's law. But he said he won't want Rep. Jeff Denham out of office if he continues his opposition to the current measure.

"In general, I like Jeff Denham, but I don't want Republicans to be liars," Marsella said. "They said they'd repeal Obamacare, and now they're not. They're just changing it. So the underlying problem is still there."

In the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Illinois, represented by Republican Peter Roskam, salesman Bruce Hoyer said the law raised health care costs for him so much that he had to switch jobs. Still, he believes that the legislation made much-needed changes, including expanding insurance coverage to people who didn't have it.

"I think people need to be insured," said Hoyer, who voted for Hillary Clinton, "even though it cost a lot and it hurt."

In a South Florida district, some residents want Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo to fight to keep some changes brought by the law.

Natalie Penate, a 30-year-old student training to be a patient care technician, wants to continue the requirement that maternity coverage remain mandatory at no extra cost for women.

"Those who are planning to increase the cost of health care because of being a woman, having more health care needs than men, should consider those women their mother, their daughter, their sister, someone close to them, so they have it in their heart knowing `wait, we can't do that. That's not fair."'

The debates can be internal, too.

Sandra Pendragon, a 48-year-old jewelry maker and business consultant, would prefer that the federal government would have less say over people's lives. On the other hand, the Democrat in Republican Rep. Chris Smith's New Jersey district, said, "scrapping the whole thing is just ridiculous."
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Tuesday that Russia interfered in last year's U.S. presidential election, saying such allegations are "simply rumors" that are being leveraged for political reasons in the United States.

Putin's denial came at a joint news conference in Sochi, Russia, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the two leaders met amid increasingly strained relations over the war in Syria, and Russia's annexation of the Crimea region in neighboring Ukraine.

Putin's remarks are at odds with findings from U.S. intelligence agencies that have reported Russia was responsible for the hacking of Democratic Party email accounts, which were intended to benefit Republican Donald Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

In response to a reporter's question, Merkel said she was not fearful about the threat of Russian interference during this year's German elections and would respond to inaccurate information with facts.

"I am not an anxious person. I will fight the election on the basis of my convictions," she said, adding that Germans would handle decisively any disinformation campaigns.

Before the meeting at the Black Sea resort in Sochi, Putin said the talks were an opportunity to discuss Ukraine and Syria, although Merkel signaled no major breakthroughs were expected.

The two leaders last met in Germany in October 2016 in an attempt to revive the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine. Although a peace agreement mediated by Germany and France in 2015 has helped reduce the fighting, violence has continued.

Disagreements persist

Merkel and Putin strongly disagreed Tuesday on the cause of the Ukrainian conflict. But both confirmed their support for the peace agreement.

On Syria, Germany has been firmly opposed to Russia's support for President Bashar al-Assad. Merkel has suggested that Russia was partly responsible for atrocities resulting from airstrikes carried out by Russian forces in civilian areas.

Putin on Tuesday called for strengthening Syria's fragile truce. Russian-led peace negotiations involving Syrian rebels and government officials are set to begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana.

"Our task is to create conditions for unification, the cessation of hostilities, the cessation of mutual destruction and the creation of conditions for political cooperation of all opposing sides," Putin said at the news conference.

Also during the meeting, Merkel asked Putin to help ensure the rights of gays in Chechnya, one day after Russian police arrested gay rights activists.

During a May Day parade Monday in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, Russian police arrested about 20 protesters, including the leader of an organization that is helping gay men escape from Chechnya, where they are reportedly subject to torture and other types of abuse.

Russia has stringent rules on political activity in public places, and Putin defended Russian police after meeting with Merkel, saying they have acted within the law when breaking up recent rallies.

"Russia's law-enforcement bodies behave in a far more restrained manner than their colleagues in other European countries," Putin said at the news conference.

Tuesday's trip to Russia was Merkel's first for a bilateral meeting there since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014, which precipitated the most intense confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
If you're someone who likes a lot of guidance and explanation at the museum, you might want to dramatically recalibrate your expectations before heading into "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between," the lavishly presented new show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Arriving in a brilliant white space containing a series of geometric structures, you'll find no one pointing you in the right direction, and no explanatory text next to the garments. That's because for Kawakubo, the revered Japanese designer who's been reinventing her clothes for nearly a half-century  to the point that she no longer calls them clothes, but "objects for the body"  there is no right answer.

"I don't like to explain the clothes," the Comme des Garcons founder, now 74, was quoted as saying in 2013. "The clothes are just as you see them and feel them."

There is a bit of guidance available. Andrew Bolton, star curator of this and other blockbuster Met fashion exhibits, has provided paper brochures with maps and context, though he cheerfully welcomes you to ditch them. And even this much explanation for the visitor was a hard-fought compromise with Kawakubo.

"It was a battle," Kawakubo says in an interview with Bolton. "Are you going to write that we fought?"

They seem to have fought over various things. Showing a reporter around the exhibit a few days before opening, Bolton noted that although Kawakubo approached him 18 months ago saying she was ready for a show, she was resolutely opposed to a retrospective. She hates focusing on the past, because she has moved on.

"She finds it physically painful to look at her work. So, that took months of negotiation," he said.

Fans of "Comme," as fashion-lovers call it, would have been "screaming in my ears," Bolton added, if he hadn't included collections like "Broken Bride," where Kawakubo explored the concept of marriage, and "Ballerina Motorbike," in which she juxtaposed the very feminine  a filmy pink tutu  with the tough, muscular look of a black motorcycle jacket.

Her 'ruptures'

Kawakubo wanted to focus exclusively on the last few years of designs  following her second "rupture" in 2014, when she said she was no longer making "clothing" in the sense of wearable garments. (Her first rupture, in 1979, is known as the moment she decided to ditch her early, folklore-inflected designs and "start from zero.") "This was where her mind was at," Bolton said. He convinced her otherwise, and sprinkled through the show are juxtapositions of the older, more functional clothes, and the new.

Pointing out a 2009 dress, he noted: "This still has arms, still has legs, still has openings." Then, pointing to a post-2014 version: "Now you see the priority of form over function." An example of her later work is three jackets, fused into one  with two of the jackets forming sleeves of the central jacket.

It is rare that the Costume Institute focuses on a single living designer  the last was Yves Saint Laurent in 1983. But Bolton had long wanted to work with Kawakubo. "For me Rei is not only the most important and influential designer of the last 40 years, but the most inspirational at the same time," he says. "Her influence is enormous  especially on the vocabulary of fashion that we now take for granted, like asymmetry, like the unfinished, like black as a fashionable color."

"She summarizes the last 50 years of fashion. She's that important."

'Least dissatisfying' collection

The exhibit, which began with the glitzy Met gala Monday night and opens to the public May 4, is divided into nine themes, all of them dualities in Kawakubo's work: Fashion/Anti-Fashion, High/Low, Design/Not Design, and Clothes/Not Clothes are a few.

Passing by one display, Bolton notes that the collection is one of Kawakubo's favorites  and then stops himself. "Well, she wouldn't say favorite  she would say `least dissatisfying."' That 1997 collection was called "Body Meets Dress  Dress Meets Body." Garments in gingham-like fabric are stretched over bizarre protrusions on the body, coming out from the stomach or the back or the hip.

"I didn't expect them to be easy garments to be worn every day," Kawakubo has said about that collection. "It is more important ... to translate thoughts into action rather than to worry about if one's clothes are worn in the end." (Of course, she has made more commercial collections that end up in stores, if not the runway.)

Scurrying around the exhibit the other day, Bolton described a classic anxiety dream he'd had two nights earlier: The exhibit opened, but it was in a huge airplane hangar  and nobody came. No one at all.

And Kawakubo, too, has not been immune to anxiety about the show. "Do you think the space is disorienting?" she asks him during the interview. "Do you think people will get lost?"

Getting lost, he assures her, is rather the point.
Before afternoon prayers, the mosque's speakers barked the dreaded order that residents of Sur's Ali Pasa neighborhood had hoped would not come so soon.

The neighborhood must be vacated at the latest on Monday evening, May 1."

After clashes between Turkish security forces and the PKK's youth branch devastated Sur district in 2015 and 2016, the government decided an urban transformation project was best for many neighborhoods.

The decision was implemented right away in areas where the clashes were intense, with nearly 2,000 buildings demolished in six neighborhoods. Because the houses already were vacated, people were not allowed to go back, and new houses were built as the damaged ones were razed.

Homes are condemned

The Ali Pasa and Lalabey neighborhoods, which are home to 7,000 people and were the least affected, got the word Thursday that they were next. Residents were forced to vacate temporarily last year, but this time they were asked to leave for good. Many of the houses were condemned. The government paid homeowners the value of their homes. Tenants got nothing.

We don't want to leave but we have to, said Baris Umut, who was among those who waited until Monday to leave. My uncle used to live across the street. Now it is an empty lot. In the morning while we are having breakfast, they came with machines and demolished the house.

Added Seniha Yildiz: It is as if we are marching to our death. We are used to here, we were happy with our life.

Sur's history dates back to the 7,500s BC., and it is one of the first places where humanity started settled life. Now its people are on the move.

Has happened before

For Yildiz Kardas, who lives with her three sons and their families in two adjacent houses, it's not her first forced migration.

An order to vacate was given to her village in Mardin 26 years ago, and the family moved to Diyarbakir. Even though she and her family had to move to another district in Diyarbakir last year due to the clashes, they returned to their house once the operations were over.

We cried till morning the night after the latest vacate order came, she said. I don't know what I will do. We can only pay rent for a couple of months.

Several residents bemoaned that the government compensation isn't enough to buy another house, but that they had no other options but to comply with the government order.

I don't have that kind of money, resident Veysi Cakar said. My only income is salary from the government for my disability, and I can't even make ends meet with that. I will leave, what else I can do? Am I going to fight with security forces?

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Turkish Service.
South African President Jacob Zuma was booed off the stage Monday as he tried to address a meeting of the countrys largest labor union. Analysts see evidence of deepening rifts in the ruling African National Congress and Zumas increasing isolation.

When President Zuma arrived at the main event of the May Day celebrations in Bloemnfontein, Free State Province to deliver his speech to thousands of workers, a section cheered him.

But a larger group sang and chanted anti-Zuma slogans.

Zuma left the event without uttering a word. Organizers aborted the rally.

In the past, such disruptions have come from the opposition and anti-Zuma groups, but this time it came from the members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, who are largely ANC supporters.

Under pressure



Political Analyst Somadoda Fikeni says pressure is mounting on the ANC to deal with Zuma, who has been battered by corruption scandals.

If ANC can not begin to imagine a post-Zuma ANC, then South Africa will begin to get used to a post-ANC South Africa, and that is the political cost of not reflecting on some of the weaknesses attracted by the president from one time to the other, said Fikeni.

The presidency has not issued a statement about the incident Monday.

But Free State province ANC chairman Ace Mahashule remains adamant Zuma is not going anywhere until his term expires in 2019.

"The ANC says this is the man who must be leading the country and our masses will say so and they have said so," said Mahashule. "They have voted Zuma. There is no way you can say Zuma must go, because if you say so, who are you?"

But Monday's incident points to tensions with the ANCs alliance partners, COSATU and the South African Communist Party. The two publicly called on Zuma to resign last month after a controversial Cabinet reorganization. Analysts say the alliance, which has assisted ANC to win all national elections since 1994, may be in danger.

Non-confidence vote



The opposition greeted Mondays events enthusiastically. Economic Freedom Fighters spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi called it a boost for the upcoming no-confidence vote against Zuma in parliament.

We are very inspired and we will sustain their effort in making sure that Zuma is not legitimized. When we go back to parliament we will make sure that, that particular action and sentiment expressed, finds articulation in parliament, said Ndlozi.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court is considering an opposition request for the no-confidence vote to be a secret ballot.

The ANC holds a majority in parliament, but analysts say a secret ballot could see parliament members from SACP, COSATU and even the ANC join the opposition.
The human rights group Amnesty International condemned what it called draconian internet laws being used in Bangladesh to silence government critics.

In a new report released Tuesday, Amnesty said members of the media are under siege in Bangladesh from both the police and armed groups that threaten them.

Between the violence of armed groups and repression of the state, secular voices in Bangladesh are being consistently silenced. Not only is the government failing to protect peoples freedom of expression, it has been blaming them for the threats they face and criminalizing the work of bloggers and journalists through a slew of repressive laws, Olof Blomqvist, the reports lead researcher said.

The report cites a communication technology law passed in 2006 as the principal instrument used by the Bangladesh government to silence critics.

Since 2013, several high-profile journalists and editors have been subjected to politically-motivated criminal charges, the report said. Most of them have been associated with media outlets that are critical of the government or supportive of the political opposition.

The law, which the Amnesty report describes as vaguely worded, allows the government to prosecute people in the interest of sovereignty, integrity or security of Bangladesh.

Several journalists interviewed for the report call the repression they are currently experiencing the worst in the country since it returned to civilian rule in 1991.

Aside from government repression, secular bloggers in Bangladesh also face the threat of violence from religious zealots who act with virtual immunity from police, according to the report.

Several of them told Amnesty about death threats they had received due to their internet postings. When they tried to receive help from the police, officers suggested the bloggers leave the country and harassed them for writing about secular topics.
Does Russia have a mystery weapon capable of threatening the entire U.S. Navy?

Russian media have claimed that the Russian military has developed technology capable of neutralizing an adversarys aircraft, ships and missiles within a 5,000-kilometer radius. The claim, first reported by Vesti News on April 14, said a Russian warplane had successfully tested the electronic jamming device on a U.S. warship, the destroyer Donald Cook in the Black Sea.

The report, which used a mock-up simulation to demonstrate the exercise, also quoted anonymous Russian sources claiming the technology could wipe out the entire U.S. Navy.

While the USS Donald Cook really was approached by a Russian jet in the Black Sea in 2014, U.S. officials say the details of the encounter were not accurately presented in the Vesti report and that most of the facts presented there are fabricated. American analysts suggest Russian officials may have made up the story to disguise the weakness of their own military.

Russias claims about harming the Donald Cook are false, said Jorge Benitez, director of NATOSource and senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. The Russian fighter jet was unarmed and there is no evidence that it damaged the U.S. ship in any way.

During the incident, a Russian Su-24 buzzed the USS Donald Cook within 300 meters for some 90 minutes. A video shot from the ship shows that the Russian aircraft had neither external weapons hanging under the wings or fuselage, nor any external pods essential to house the electronics that Vesti claims it used against the Cook.

The U.S. Navy also says there was no damage to the destroyer. In an email response to VOA's Polygraph.info website, the Navy wrote, that on April 12, 2014, a Russian SU-24 indeed made numerous close-range and low altitude passes over the USS Donald Cook in international waters in the Black Sea.

The Navy described the Russian action as unsafe and unprofessional adding that the [the Russian] aircraft did not respond to multiple queries from the Donald Cook. The event ended without incident after approximately 90 minutes, and the ship continued without impact on its original tasking.



The media reports claimed that Russian specialists had an unbelievable breakthrough in electronic warfare. The complex Khibiny, the report claimed, uses powerful electronic waves to deactivate the ship's systems.

It also said the new technology is capable of creating electronic jamming domes over their command and control facilities, bases and critical infrastructure making them invisible on radar screens.

In describing the episode, the website Russian Agency of News said the American servicemen did not know that the Russian plane was equipped with the latest complex of radio-electronic warfare Khibini.

As soon as the [Russian] pilot realized that he was detected, he turned on the equipment and the powerful radio-electronic waves disabled all systems of the ship, the report said.

The April 15 report also claimed that the agency had discovered an account of the incident on the social media account of a Cook crew member who spoke of mysticism on board. The crew member was quoted saying the Russian plane had completely disabled the ships navigation and anti-missile AEGIS systems, turning the pride of our fleet to our shame.

Benitez believes that the Russian media produces false stories of this kind to cover up the weaknesses of the Russian military.

While the Russians failed to intimidate the Donald Cook, the expert said the incident was connected to Russias actions in Ukraine in 2014.

The original lies about this non-existent electromagnetic wonder weapon appeared in 2014 during Russias attacks against Ukraine, Benitez said. The Donald Cook was the first U.S warship into the Black Sea after Russias illegal annexation of Crimea and Putins media seems to have wanted a story of acting tough against the presence of the American military so close to the crisis area. Thus, they fabricated this story of disabling the electronic systems of a U.S. warship.

Stephen Blank, an analyst at the American Foreign Policy Council, said the story about the Russian wonder weapon is a standard Russian propaganda trick to disseminate false articles meant to impress audiences with Russian military-technological might and superiority over the U.S.

Blank said the Russian media stories aim to impress the ignorant abroad, also to enhance the Russian readers' sense of Russian power, frighten the U.S. and especially its allies and thus contribute to the inhibition of Western military responses to Russian action.

The experts said they were intrigued by Russia's move to resurrect the story three years later, and by the effort that went into the skillfully presented simulation video showing how the new electromagnetic weapon supposedly disabled an American destroyer.

Some believe Moscow may be once again trying to act tough to cover up its weaknesses in light of the recent U.S. military actions in Syria and Afghanistan, as well as the Korean Peninsula.

Benitez said those actions exposed the vulnerabilities of Russian air defense" and highlighted Russias lack of similar warships and air power that could be deployed to a crisis zone.

Instead, the Russian media not only recycled the fiction that Putin has an electromagnetic weapon that can disable a U.S. warship, but exaggerated the lie by now claiming that this mythical weapon can wipe out the whole U.S. Navy.

This story originated in VOA's Georgian Service.
April 24

Werner, Emily (Heyl) and Trent, Omaha, boy, UNMC Medical Center, Omaha

April 25

Toj, Martina, and Canil, Sebastian, Lincoln, boy, Bryan

Restaurant inspections

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department has issued food enforcement warnings to:

Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 2200 Wildcat Drive. No person in charge with current Food Protection Manager permit (repeat). One employee working with SC that needs Prep cook permit (repeat). Employees not wearing hair restraints while prepping. Thermometer with food residues (repeat). Spray bottle not labeled.

Jimmy's Egg, 2801 Pine Lake Road #E. Two employees listed on employee food handler permit roster do not have current permits. No Food Protection Manager currently associated with establishment. Opened employee drink cup on servers station table (corrected). Open carton of shell eggs stored next to open packages of tortillas and above containers with blueberries, chocolate crumble and plastic wrapped stacks of cheeses. Spray bottles filled with blue liquid (glass cleaner?) stored with bottles of ketchup; one spray bottle mislabeled as sanitizer. Food residues on can opener blade and on knives kept on knife magnet. Food prepared in previous two days without date marks or old stickers with date marks (repeat, corrected).

Jimmy's Egg, 6440 O St. #100. Employee(s) working without current food handler permit. No person in charge with current Food Protection Manager permit. Unapproved employee beverage container in food prep area (repeat, corrected). Employee lotion stored above wrapped silverware, relocated (corrected). Cook cracking shell eggs then plating cooked hash browns, gloves must be removed and hands washed between working with raw and ready-to-eat items (corrected). Turkey, ham and potatoes past allotted days of use, discarded (corrected). Glassware with food residue in clean stack, can opener and deli slicer with food residues, cleaned, sanitized (corrected). Chemical spray bottles stored above clean stacked pans, relocated (corrected).

Pickleman's, 1442 O St. #A. Employee(s) working without current food handler permit. Food handler data sheet incomplete. Several items in rail cooler at unsafe temp for unspecified amount of time, food discarded (corrected).
Several public buses were torched in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday in what Brazilian military police said was likely gang retaliation for a large anti-drug operation.

Images on Globo News showed buses burning alongside a highway in the northern part of the city. Traffic was snarled for a few hours and black smoke filled the air.

Local media reported that eight buses and two cargo trucks were set ablaze, though those numbers could not be independently confirmed. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The burning vehicles appeared empty.



Calls and emails to military police in Rio were not immediately returned.



Military police spokesman Maj. Ivan Blaz told Globo that a group of ski-masked bandits were suspected of igniting the buses Tuesday, possibly in retaliation for a police operation.



On Twitter, Rio's military police posted updates and photos from the operation, which began early Tuesday. By the afternoon, 26 men had been arrested and 17 automatic rifles had been recovered, according to police.



Rio has frequent bursts of violence. Heavily armed gangs run drug businesses from many of the hundreds of slums in the city. They frequently have shootouts with rival gangs over territory and with military police during operations.



Several other buses were torched during a protest over pension reform on Friday.
Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) on Tuesday defended its efforts to combat theft of business secrets after a Swiss man was arrested in Germany on suspicion of working for the spy agency.

The 54-year-old man, identified only as Daniel M., was arrested on Friday. His lawyer told a Swiss newspaper he was suspected of trying to find out how German states have obtained CDs containing details of secret Swiss bank accounts set up by Germans to evade tax.

The man was detained in Frankfurt, and officers from Germany's federal criminal police carried out searches at several addresses in the region.



While Swiss authorities declined to comment directly on the case, they defended domestic efforts to uphold Swiss laws.

"When someone in Switzerland uses illegal methods in Switzerland to steal state or business secrets, that is espionage, and we have the task to fight that," FIS director Markus Seiler told reporters at a briefing in Bern.

"The FIS is active at home and abroad," he said. Asked if this included Germany, he said: "I say simply nothing."

The case is potentially embarrassing for Switzerland, which has worked hard to increase the transparency of its financial system in order to prevent international tax-dodgers from abusing its bank secrecy rules.



Tax CDs

The man arrested in Germany is suspected of operating since the start of 2012, although no further details were given by German authorities. Swiss media reported at the weekend that he was a former policeman who now worked for the Federal Intelligence Service.

Authorities in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia have purchased 11 tax CDs since 2010, and paid a total of 17.9 million euros ($19.5 million) to informants.

In return, the state has secured nearly 7 billion euros in revenue which would have otherwise have been lost, officials there said.

"The NRW financial administration acquires tax CDs, because they otherwise could not detect tax evasion," said Norbert Walter-Borjans, from the finance department in North Rhine-Westphalia.

"Anyone who now hunts the investigators protects the perpetrators," Walter-Borjans added.

Speaking at Tuesday's news conference in Bern where the spy agency released its 2017 situation report, Swiss Defense Minister Guy Parmelin said the intelligence agency "must protect its methods and sources."

"Switzerland, and not only the banks, but also small and medium-sized companies, research institutes, and international organizations which have their headquarters here are regularly suffering cyber attacks, spy attempts and efforts to recruit their staff," said Parmelin, who oversees FIS.

The situation report outlined by Parmelin and Seiler said Switzerland was facing a "heightened" risk of militant attacks, with 90 individuals currently described as "risky" being monitored by the authorities.

"With all the attacks we have seen, like in Sweden and France, we see from time to time there are links to Switzerland," Seiler said.

"Switzerland is not an island," he added. "Without being too alarmist, we cannot rule out that our country, being part of the West which jihadists consider as hostile to Islam, may one day be the target of a terror attack."
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to show Monday that he was taking the views of his workforce seriously as he prepares a major State Department overhaul involving significant job and budget cuts.

In an email to employees, Tillerson said he was "asking for your participation" in the discussion about the agency's future and told them to expect a confidential survey shortly. He said the results would be used "as input to efficiency improvements" as he implements President Donald Trump's executive order on trimming the federal bureaucracy.



"We need your help to identify how you are going about completing the Department of State's mission," Tillerson wrote. A copy of the email was obtained by The Associated Press.



Three hundred workers will also be interviewed at the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development. Tillerson said he had "no pre-conceived notions" about how the two agencies should be organized for the future, although officials have said Tillerson is proposing consolidating them.



The White House's call for sweeping cuts to the State Department and to foreign aid has prompted a bipartisan outcry, including from lawmakers who will ultimately set the agency's funding level. Tillerson's survey reflected an attempt to build buy-in from the agency's workforce ahead of negotiations with Congress and show he was listening to input from all sides.



"My commitment on that first day was to deploy the talent and resources of the State Department in the most efficient way possible," Tillerson said. "In order to do that, we need your help in identifying processes that we all need improved."



Tillerson is proposing eliminating about 2,300 jobs in the overhaul, roughly 3 percent of the agency's 75,000 workers. The plan entails a 26 percent reduction to a budget of $50.1 billion.


The Trump administration is turning back a U.S. public school program promoted by former first lady Michelle Obama that required healthier lunches for children.

If kids aren't eating the food and it's ending up in the trash, they aren't getting any nutrition ... undermining the intent of the program," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday.

He made his announcement at an elementary school cafeteria in Leesburg, Virginia, near Washington, before a tray of chicken nuggets, fruit and salad.

Perdue said he appreciates what Michelle Obama wanted to do  giving children lunches with more whole grains and less fat and salt. But he said his department wants to adjust the program to make the healthier food more appetizing.

Chocolate milk back on menu

For starters, schools can now serve chocolate or strawberry flavored milk with 1 percent fat instead of nonfat milk.

Under the 2012 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, schools that wanted federal meal subsidies would have to put limits on salt and fat in lunches and add more fruit, vegetables and whole grains to the menus.

Health experts say U.S. children do not exercise enough and that one in six are overweight.
U.S. President Donald Trump, after failing to win congressional approval for many of his spending and policy priorities for the next five months, said Tuesday the government "needs a good 'shutdown' in September" when lawmakers will be debating the 2018 funding plan.

In a tweet, Trump blamed the result of his first fight over federal spending on lawmaking rules in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 52-48 majority. But most major legislation requires a 60-vote super majority in the 100-member chamber for approval, effectively requiring Republican and Democratic lawmakers to reach compromises.

Trump said the reason that Republicans could not prevail on all of his priorities in the trillion-dollar budget plan that pays for government spending through September 30 "is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there!"

The president said his party "either needs to elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51 percent. Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!"



The U.S. government has not shut down since October 2013, when many agencies were closed for 16 days in a policy and funding dispute over then president Barack Obama's national health care reforms.

In this week's spending negotiations, Trump lost a bid for money to start construction of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico to thwart illegal immigration, one of his key presidential campaign vows, and there are no curbs on federal grant money for cities that refuse to detain illegal immigrants he wants to deport. Funding for domestic programs sought by opposition Democrats will increase when Trump wanted reductions, while military spending will go up, but not by as much as he sought.

In spite of the budget outcome and his call for a government shutdown in five months, Trump later publicly praised the funding plan.

After years of partisan bickering and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the American people," he said. "We brought lawmakers together from both sides of the aisle to deliver a budget that funds the rebuilding of the United States military, makes historic investments in border security and provides health care for our minors and school choice for our disadvantaged children. More importantly, there is no long-term bailout for the insurance companies that the Democrats desperately wanted to subsidize  donors  the badly failing Obamacare. 

Rules archaic and slow moving, says Trump

Tuesday's broadside was the second time in recent days that Trump, a New York real estate mogul turned politician accustomed to giving orders to officials working for him and having them carried out, complained about the legislative process in the Senate.

Republican leaders in the Senate abandoned the 60-vote threshold to confirm Trump's nomination of a conservative jurist, Neil Gorsuch, to the Supreme Court, on a simple majority vote, but have said they won't do away with the 60-vote requirement on legislative measures.

In an interview over the weekend, Trump said he has found that in Washington "things generally tend to go a little bit slower than you'd like them to go.

"I think the rules in Congress, and in particular the rules in the Senate, are unbelievably archaic and slow moving," he said. "And in many cases, unfair. In many cases, you're forced to make deals that are not the deal you'd make. You'd make a much different kind of a deal. You're forced into situations that you hate to be forced into.

"I also learned, and this is very sad, because we have a country that we have to take care of. The Democrats have been totally obstructionist," he said. Senate Minority Leader "Chuck Schumer has turned out to be a bad leader. He's a bad leader for the country. And the Democrats are extremely obstructionist."

U.S. political analysts agreed with Trump that his Democratic opponents won most of the funding disputes in this week's budget negotiations.

But the top Republican in the House of Representatives, Speaker Paul Ryan, painted the accord differently, saying that his party's negotiators had been successful in ending an Obama-era requirement that an increase in military spending had to be matched equally with a boost in domestic funding.

"This is the biggest victory we could have had," Ryan said. "No longer are the needs of our military going to be held hostage to an increase in domestic spending."
U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for massive corporate tax cuts has sparked a sharp rebuke from Chinese officials, with some voicing concern that the move could trigger a tax war and prompt companies to pull out of China.



Analysts, however, are skeptical the move could trigger a tax cut race between the worlds two largest economies.

Last Wednesday, the Trump administration proposed to cut the corporate taxs top rate from 35 percent to 15 percent and provide a one-time repatriation rate for international earnings parked overseas with an estimate value of more than $2.6 trillion.

Biggest-ever tax cut

Some observers have said the new tax deal, if approved by Congress, may help lure U.S. firms to remit overseas profits home and even bring their operations back to the U.S.  a further push for Trumps buy and hire American pledge.

The U.S.s move is largely welcomed by businesses in China especially if it stimulates Beijing to follow suit, but some companies say their investment decisions arent solely based on tax incentives.

Whether we will increase our investment in the U.S., that will depend on the footprint of our global expansion, Connie Hu, CFO of Chlitina, the largest skin-care brand in China, told VOA in a written reply.

Still, the tax plan has apparently worried China, which is already fighting a capital exodus problem with tight control of outbound money flows.

On Friday, Liao Tizhong, director-general of Chinas State Administration of Taxation, showed no hesitation to accuse the U.S. of provoking a taxation war and warn of its spillover effect on the world economy.

Taxation war?

We believe this is a mistake, and we unequivocally oppose this tax collection competition. ... This is not only the point of view of China, but also that of all national leaders of the G-20 Hangzhou Summit, Liao told local media, adding the move could hurt many export-oriented economies, which cant afford to cut taxes.

Taxation is a sovereign matter and Trump can cut taxes, but a great power should undertake its due responsibility. China  doesnt conduct [its] affairs irresponsibly, neither should the leader of the largest power, he added.

Many observers believe China may be pressured to follow suit, although the State Council had just approved measures to ease the burden on businesses, which authorities say will amount to more than 380 billion yuan ($55 billion) in the total tax reduction this year.

Will China follow suit?

But some disagreed.

Liao Qun, chief economist at China CITIC Bank International, said that Trump faces an uphill battle to have his tax cut proposal first passed and then make it work as his administration hasnt addressed potential tax losses, which will add serious woes to the countrys already worsening deficits.

The tax plan, he added, will also have a limited effect on re-shoring U.S. businesses as many of them still count on China for cheap labor and comprehensive supply chains.



Even though China totals a higher tax rate, it has to weigh its own fiscal situation before competing with the U.S. on tax cuts.

China, in the medium to long run, will be required to cut more taxes. But in the short run, theres no need, neither should it follow Trumps lead, Liao told VOA.

Potential huge blow

According to this years Paying Taxes, a report by PwC and the World Bank Group, the total tax rate in China affects 68 percent of a companys commercial profits, compared to that of 44 percent in the U.S.

Liang Kuo-yuan of Taipei-based Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute also argued that its not clever for China to engage in a taxation war with the U.S.

But he warned that a potential exodus of China-based multinationals will have a big impact on its wish to move up the value chain by fostering a knowledge-based economy.

Shall the U.S. succeed in luring [overseas] capital back home or even bring [the manufacturing of the] iPhone back on the U.S. soil, it will deal the Chinese economy a huge blow, which may see difficulty in sustaining an above 6 percent growth, Liang said, adding that it will be imperative for China to maintain a competitive tax environment to retain these multinationals.
Despite U.S. President Donald Trumps expressed willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, it seems unlikely to happen anytime soon as neither side is prepared to offer any concessions to warrant such a high level summit.

When Trump on Monday said he would be "honored" to meet the North's young leader, in an interview with Bloomberg News, he also added the caveat, under the right circumstances I would meet with him. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer later clarified that "clearly conditions are not there right now."

Following Trumps conditional offer of dialogue with Kim, the U.S. flew two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers near the inter-Korean border Tuesday during a training exercise with the South Korean air force. The Norths official KCNA news agency responded to the joint drill by accusing the U.S. of pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war."

Tensions on the Korean peninsula remain high as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to restrain Pyongyang from further nuclear tests by pressing China to increase sanctions and by emphasizing a willingness to use military force if needed.

Summit conditions

The U.S. and its allies have long held that talks with North Korea be contingent on Pyongyang first halting nuclear and ballistic missile tests and agreeing to discuss nuclear disarmament.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that a Trump-Kim summit should meet the same conditions.

With regards to (President Trump's comments), both South Korea and the U.S. consistently maintain the position that to open the door to talks, North Korea must move forward toward denuclearization, which is the right way, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck.

North Korea for its part has called on the U.S. to halt all joint military exercises with South Korea and agree to a formal peace treaty to ultimately end the American presence on the Korean peninsula, in exchange for suspending further nuclear tests.

For a Trump-Kim meeting to happen, some progress towards a North Korean nuclear freeze and a U.S. halt to joint drills would first likely need to be made, but that would take months of intense advance negotiations between two sides that have currently severed all lines of official communication.

The president was right when he said under the right conditions, but I dont see those conditions coming to fruition in a short period of time, said Daniel Pinkston, a Northeast Asia analyst and lecturer in international relations with Troy University in Seoul.

The Trump administration also has yet to put in place an experienced East Asia team in the State Department, Defense Department and has not yet named key ambassadors in the region that would be needed to mount such a major diplomatic initiative.

China protocol

There is also the question of Kim Jong Uns relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. His father Kim Jong Il often visited Beijing and maintained close relations with the Chinese leadership. But the young North Korean leader has yet to visit his closest ally and key economic supporter.

That relationship is in the deep freeze and it is somewhat dysfunctional right now, said Pinkston.

Analysts say Xi will not meet with Kim until the North Korean leader agrees to nuclear disarmament talks, and Kim cannot meet with another world leader for fear of further alienating the Chinese leadership.

South Korea deterrence

The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Mike Pompeo, was also in South Korea for meetings with South Korean intelligence officials and U.S. Forces in Korea.

The U.S. confirmed Tuesday that its THAAD advanced missile defense system has been put into operation, despite strong objections from China, some public protests in South Korea, and a sudden demand from President Trump that South Korea pay $1 billion for it, a demand that Seoul rejected.

And an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, has been sent to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

Youmi Kim contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump's nominee to be the next American ambassador to China says he will continue to press Beijing for cooperation in helping to rein in North Korea's nuclear aggression.

"They recognize, as other nations in Asia recognize, that this nuclear obsession that the leadership of North Korea has with guided missiles and everything, is a very serious threat to humankind, and that we all need to look at ways that we can work together," Iowa Governor Terry Branstad told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

During his confirmation hearing, Branstad noted China is well aware of the threat Pyongyang poses and does not want thousands of North Koreans flooding into its territory in the event of war.

Several U.S. senators expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in China, and Branstad sought to reassure lawmakers.

If confirmed as ambassador, I will work every day to represent American values to the leadership of China and Chinese people at large," he said. "Values that include upholding human rights for all, and a free and open market, a rules-based order in the oceans surrounding China and the importance of free press."

Branstad said he would not only invite dissidents and other members of Chinas civil society to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing but also travel to other parts of China to meet with them.

Warm reception

The Iowa governor received a warm, bipartisan reception from senators, as he also answered questions on trade and security.

One of the senators from his home state of Iowa, Joni Ernst, pointed out that Branstad is the longest-serving U.S. governor, and said he would make an excellent U.S. ambassador to China.

Importantly, Governor Branstad also knows China and its leaders well. He first met President Xi Jinping while he was visiting Iowa on an agricultural research trip in 1985," Ernst noted.

Iowa has a crucial trade relationship with China, exporting pork and soybeans, among other products. The Chinese leader has visited Iowa several times, and Branstad has visited China and Taiwan as well.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker also highlighted Branstads ties with China's Xi.

Beijing is not Des Moines  but I know your relationship with President Xi spans decades, the Tennessee Republican said.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey asked Branstad whether he thought China was an adversary or an ally of the United States.

He said it was mixed, but he agreed with President Donald Trump that the U.S. and China need to find ways to work together.

Both Democratic and Republican members expressed their respect and admiration for Branstad, and he is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone Tuesday, their first such conversation since Russia condemned a U.S. military attack against Syria last month in response to a nerve gas attack launched on civilians by Syrian forces.

The two leaders discussed the civil war in Syria, as well as the situation with North Korea, according to the White House, which described the conversation as "a very good one."

Kremlin officials, quoted by Russian media, termed the call "businesslike and constructive."

The two leaders agreed to have their top diplomats, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, step up discussions on a cease-fire for the six-year-long conflict in Syria, according to the Kremlin.

"President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," according to the readout off the call issued by the White House.



Cease-fire

Putin is pushing for a cease-fire in the Middle East country. Talks on that topic are to begin Wednesday in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

The United States will send a representative to the Russian-organized meeting, which also will include Iran and Turkey.

A previous set of negotiations, jointly led by Russia and the United States during the Obama administration, failed to achieve a breakthrough.

During their call Tuesday, Trump and Putin also discussed "safe or de-escalation zones to achieve a lasting peace for humanitarian and other reasons" in Syria.

The call was the third between the two leaders since Trump won the presidential election in November. The two spoke last month after a terror attack in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a week after Trump's inauguration in January.

"The call seems to have been positive," professor Henry Hale of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs told VOA. "I'm glad Trump and Putin appear to have agreed on how to disagree on Syria, first and foremost minimizing the chances of an unfortunate direct military conflict between the U.S. and Russia, which could have terrible consequences."

Hale, who is co-director of the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security (PONARS) in Eurasia, noted, "It is important simply to maintain channels of communication between Washington and Moscow. In that light, the announced American participation in the Astana talks will also be a positive."

Possible meeting

Officials at both the White House and Kremlin say discussions are under way for a possible meeting between Trump and Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit scheduled for early July in Hamburg, Germany.

During his campaign, Trump expressed hope he and Putin could work together to combat terrorism. Last month, though, Trump said U.S.-Russian relations "may be at an all-time low."

Meanwhile, FBI and congressional investigations continue into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia and Russia's interference in last year's U.S. election.

Putin called such allegations rumors in remarks to reporters earlier Tuesday in Sochi, following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We never interfere in the political life and the political processes of other countries and we don't want anybody interfering in our political life and foreign policy processes," said Putin.

The Tuesday meeting with Merkel that Putin hosted in the Black Sea resort city was described as tense by observers.

The German leader said she raised concerns with Putin about human rights violations in Russia, including "how important the right to demonstrate is in a civil society."
A few days after Turkish airstrikes killed at least 20 U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters, the U.S. deployed armored vehicles in northern Syria along the border with Turkey. Turkeys president says he is "seriously saddened" by the U.S. supporting troops Turkey sees as an affiliate of Kurdish separatists inside Turkey. VOAs Zana Omar reports.
RACINE  A Racine man is facing charges after he allegedly got drunk, hit his girlfriend and kicked an officer while being detained.

Edward J. Hartman, 29, of the 2400 block of Olive Street, is facing misdemeanor charges of battery, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.

According to the criminal complaint:

At about midnight Monday, police were dispatched to the 2400 block of Olive Street after dispatchers received a 911 call from a woman stating that Hartman was going to kill her. Attempts to call the number back were unsuccessful.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with the victim, who lives with Hartman. She said that she and Hartman had gotten into an argument and during the altercation, Hartman allegedly hit her with a closed fist three times in the face and then reportedly began to choke her, causing her to struggle to breathe and feel as if she might lose consciousness.

Officers observed a lump on the side of the victim's mouth, which was bleeding, marks on her head and face, and blood droplets throughout the kitchen.

At first, Hartman told police that victim had "broken a glass and chewed on it," causing her mouth to bleed. Officers noticed that Hartman was severely intoxicated, the complaint stated.

After his arrest and while waiting for transport, Hartman reportedly stood up and ran up some stairs. After officers attempted to detain him, he reportedly kicked and used his body against the officer with such force that the officer was reportedly thrown down the stairs. Two officers were required to gain control of Hartman.

Hartman's next appearance is a pretrial conference scheduled for 3:15 p.m. June 1 at the county Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. He remained in custody at the County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon.
On a sunny afternoon in May 2016, members of Virginias Pamunkey Indian Tribe gathered for a formal photograph celebrating a milestone after three decades of effort: Official recognition by the U.S. government.When the English arrived in Virginia in the 1600s, the Pamunkey were one of the most powerful tribes of the Powhatan federation led by Chief Wahunsenacawh Powhatan  remembered today as the father of the Pocahontas

His domains stretched across nearly 10,000 square kilometers; today, the Pamunkey reservation has shrunk to 485 hectares where some 80 members still live. The remaining 200 are scattered across Virginia and beyond.Gaining federal recognition was a Herculean task, said Pamunkey Chief Robert Grey.We see recognition as access to certain government programs that could help us stand on our own two feet as a sovereign nation. Its just the fact that the government acknowledges us and that we actually got through such a tough procedure, he said.The U.S. government recognizes 567 tribes, mostly through historic treaties. Non-treaty tribes who want recognition must petition the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and meet strict requirements By meeting each criterion, a group is demonstrating that it has continued existence, both socially and politically, from 1900 to the present, and that the group descends from a historical Indian tribe or tribes, said Nedra Darling, public affairs director for DOIs Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, in an emailed statement. The regulations define historical as pre-1900.



Tribes must document that they have continuously operated as autonomous entities for more than a century. They must list all members, documenting individual genealogies that show direct descent from individuals listed in 19th century federal Indian registers.



This often requires petitioning tribes to seek help from professional historians, archaeologists and genealogists, at considerable cost; the Pamunkey spent close to $2 million on their petition, something smaller tribes may not be able to afford.



Access to benefits



Why go through such a complex, tedious process?



The benefit of becoming a federally recognized tribe is the ability to work with the federal government through a government-to-government relationship, said Nedra Darling, director of public affairs for the office of the Department of the Interiors Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.



Recognized tribes function as sovereign nations, protected from state and local jurisdictions. Their lands cannot be taken away or sold. They may administer their own funds, set up their own police forces and licensing systems. They pay the same federal income tax as other U.S. citizens.



Once the group has obtained federal recognition, they are eligible for federal programs that benefit their tribal citizens needs, said Darling.



Programs, said Chief Gray, which his tribe sorely needs to grow.



We see recognition as having access to certain government programs that could help us stand on our own two feet as a sovereign nation, he said.



To wit: shortly after it was recognized, the tribe received a $50,000 government federal grant toward building affordable housing.



Paper genocide



Of the approximately 20 tribes in Virginia, only the Pamunkey have been federally-recognized. A few others are currently working toward recognition, and some do not qualify at all. Virginia recognizes six tribes besides the Pamunkey. In 2011, they collectively appealed to DOI to relax its standards.

They cite, for example, Virginias 1924 Racial Integrity Act, a racist law that required every child born in the state to be classified as either white or colored. It defined colored as having one drop of non-white blood and lumped people of both Native American and African descent together. It was repealed in the 1960s, but Virginia Indians trying to prove their ancestry run into a 40-year gap in records, calling it genocide by paper.



Tribes may bypass DOI and directly petition Congress to be recognized. Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have reintroduced legislation to recognize the six state-recognized tribes, citing the systematic destruction of Indian records. The bill has been pitched at least a dozen times since 2000, but has always stalled in the Senate over worries that relaxing DOI standards could allow fraudulent tribes access federal funds.
Strengthened U.S. sanctions that would intensify financial pressures on North Korea advanced one step closer to becoming law Tuesday.

The House of Representatives passed legislation by a special majority vote that would support the Trump administration's calls for a tougher approach to the North Korean regime.

"This legislation gives the administration powerful new tools to protect the U.S. and our allies from the threat of North Korean nuclear missiles by going after those who enable the regime's aggression," said House Foreign Affairs Chair Ed Royce, the bill's co-sponsor.

"This shows the world that Congress stands ready to help the administration work with our allies and others to counter the North Koreans' belligerent behavior," added the California Republican.

Sanctions in bill

The sanctions would increase North Korea's financial isolation, targeting countries engaged in arms trade with North Korea and restricting the hard currency the regime earns through forced labor abroad. The bill would also require the Trump administration to determine within 90 days whether the government of North Korea should be redesignated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The House action on sanctions follows weeks of increasing regional tensions, as President Donald Trump called for a more aggressive security posture in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's repeated missile tests as he tries to build up the country's nuclear program.

Last Friday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson led a special United Nations Security Council meeting focused on strengthening sanctions against the regime.

Royce praised Tillerson's "strategy of maximum pressure" against North Korea during debate on the House floor Tuesday afternoon.

The bill garnered rare bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, with both Republican and Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee warning that North Korea's repeated missile tests advance its intercontinental striking capabilities.

But some Democratic members of the committee expressed concern about what they said was Trump's inconsistent approach to North Korea.

"There's plenty of blame to go around for how we got here," said Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democratic member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, referring to attempts by previous U.S. presidents to address the North Korean threat.

"However, I fear the administration's inconsistency in recent weeks has thrown fuel to the fire," Engel said. "We're sending mixed signals and the world is taking notice. Inconsistency on national security matters is not a foreign policy strategy that will succeed."

Mixed signals

Trump called Kim a "pretty smart cookie" Monday, saying he would be willing to meet with the North Korean leader under the appropriate circumstances. The administration has also sent mixed signals in negotiations with ally South Korea, and with a confusing claim that a U.S. aircraft carrier had been sent to the region.

But a classified administration briefing on North Korea last week drew bipartisan praise from House members, with many urging the White House to increase diplomatic pressure on China to assure regional security.

"The time has come to tighten the noose on little Kim," said Representative Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas who chairs the House Foreign Affairs terrorism, nonproliferation and trade subcommittee. "We have to choke off the sources of his ill-gotten gains, and these sanctions do that."

The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
Caracas residents blocked streets with broken concrete and twisted metal and flaming piles of trash Tuesday to protest the socialist president's bid to rewrite the constitution amid a deepening political crisis.

President Nicolas Maduro signed a decree Monday to begin the process of rewriting the country's charter. Opposition leaders called the planned constitutional assembly a ploy to put off regional elections scheduled for this year and a presidential election that was to be held in 2018.



Polling suggests the socialists would lose both those elections badly at a time of widespread anger over triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and other goods.



Don't fail me now

Speaking hours after yet another big anti-government march ended in rock throwing and tear gas, Maduro said a new constitution was needed to restore peace.

This will be a citizens' assembly made up of workers, the president said Monday. The day has come brothers. Don't fail me now.



I am no Mussolini, he added.



The president was vague about how members of the constitutional assembly would be chosen. He hinted some would be selected by voters, but many observers expect the selection process to favor the socialists.





If the constitutional process goes forward, opposition leaders will need to focus on getting at least some sympathetic figures included in the assembly. That could distract them from organizing the near-daily street protests that have kept up for four weeks, political analyst Luis Vicente Leon said.



It's a way of calling elections that uses up energy but does not carry risk, because it's not a universal, direct and secret vote, Leon said. And it has the effect of pushing out the possibility of elections this year and probably next year as well.



Rewriting the Bible

Venezuela's constitution was last rewritten in 1999, early in the 14-year presidency of the late Hugo Chavez, who launched a socialist revolution in the oil-exporting nation. Chavez called his new constitution the best in the world, and promised it would last centuries. He carried around a blue pocket-sized version of the document, and would often whip it out and say, This is our Bible. After the Bible, this. At the height of his popularity, people would mob him to ask that he sign their copies.



The opposition immediately seized on Maduro's proposal for a new charter as evidence that his mentor's revolution lies in shambles.



The president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Julio Borges, called a constitutional assembly a giant fraud by Maduro and his allies designed to keep them in power. Borges said it would deny Venezuelans the right to express their views at the ballot box, and he urged the military to prevent the coup by Maduro.



What the Venezuelan people want isn't to change the constitution but to change Maduro through voting, he said.



The opposition called for another major demonstration Wednesday.





Now is not the time for fear

Police repressed scattered protests Tuesday with tear gas, as they have nearly daily for weeks. At least 29 people have died in the unrest of the past month and hundreds have been injured. On Tuesday, the government suspended for 180 days the right to carry guns.



The unrest began in reaction to an attempt to nullify the opposition controlled-congress, but has become a vehicle for people to vent their fury at Venezuela's economic ruin and violent crime. Residents manning the barricades that choked streets across the capital Tuesday vowed to protest until Maduro leaves office.



Unlike some of these young people, I remember a time before the socialists. Now is not the time for fear, said 36 year-old chauffeur Ricardo Herrera as he arranged trash and pieces of concrete into a street barricade in front of his apartment building.



Herrera had so far sat out the protests because he had to get to work, but decided after Maduro's announcement that he could no longer stand by.



No one is going to work today. If we back down now, we'll be under their boot for the rest of our lives, he said.
Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantino Chiwenga has told some disgruntled war veterans to stop denigrating President Robert Mugabe saying most of them are sellouts.

General Constantino, who claimed in an interview with The Herald newspaper that he is one of the most senior surviving former ZANLA commanders, said the combatants have to realize that civilians and not soldiers are in charge of the party.

The party commands the combatants and not vice versa  This must now stop  If they want to remain as part and parcel of those disciplined, loyal, patriotic cadres, they must now understand that it is the party, it is the government that sets the direction.

He said members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, which include chairperson Christopher Mutsvangwa, its secretary Douglas Mahiya and several others, were never cooked properly and they never understood what they stood for and what the revolution (of the 1970s) was all about.

General Constantino said the majority of war veterans have nothing to do with this nonsense that we are now getting from our media.

The disgruntled war veterans say they wont support President Mugabe in the next presidential election, claiming that he is to blame for Zimbabwes economic decay.

Two factions in the ruling Zanu PF party  one backing Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other First Lady Grace Mugabe to succeed the 93-year-old Zimbabwean leader - are fighting for the control of the ruling Zanu PF party.

Mnangagwa and Mrs. Mugabe have refuted claims that they habor presidential ambitions.
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During the bombing of Cheyrat, I observed that it was no more than a show of power, and that the Secretary of State had used the attack to bring pressure to bear on its allies and force the real organisers of this war - the United Kingdom - to reveal themselves. However, we know a little more today.

President Trump, who has to face up not only to the opposition of his countrys ruling class, but also to that of the deep US State, used this attack to  restore the credibility  (sic) of the White House.

In the summer of 2013, President Obama accused Syria of having used poison gas in the Ghouta, thereby crossing a  red line . And yet he mentioned no consequences, and hid behind the Congress in order to do nothing. His impotence was all the more conspicuous in that, by virtue of the declaration of war of 2003 (the  Syrian Accountability Act ), he had all the power to bomb Syria without any further authorisation from Parliament.

By accusing Syria, in his turn, of having used poison gas, this time in Khan Cheikhoun, and by bombing them immediately, Donald Trump demonstrated the  credibility  that his predecessor lacked.

Aware that Syria was not guilty, either in the Ghouta or in Khan Cheikhoun, he managed to warn the Syrian Arab Army in advance so that they had time to evacuate the base before the strike.

Based on this action, he began negotiations with the deep US State, or at least with one of its spokespersons, Senator John McCain. A representative of Israel, Senator Lindsey Graham, was also present during the discussions.

The Europeans were of course surprised to learn that Donald Trump had acted as a  warlord , thus confirming his status as the President of a member state of the UNO. We have to keep in mind the particular context of the United States, where the deep State is composed primarily of military figures, and only incidentally of civilians.

According to our information, it would seem that President Trump has agreede to give up  for the time being  the dismantling of NATO and its civilian chapter, the European Union. This decision implies that Washington still considers - or pretends to consider  that Russia is its main enemy. Also the deep US State seems to have agreed to give up supporting the jihadists and pursuing the British plan of the  Arab Springs .

To seal this agreement, two neo-conservative personalities should soon enter the Trump administration, where they will handle European policy :

 Kurt Volker, Director of the McCain Institute (Arizona State University) will apparently be nominated as Director of the Eurasian bureau for the Secretary of State. Volker, an ex-military judge, was President Bush Jrs ambassador to NATO during the war in Georgia (August 2008).

 Tom Goffus, one of McCains assistants at the Senate Committee for Armed Services, will be nominated as deputy assistant for the Secretary of Defense, and tasked with Europe and NATO. Goffus is an Air Force officer who has already occupied this type of function on behalf of Hillary Clinton and the National Security Council.

As for Syria, this agreement, if ratified by both parties, should mark the end of the US war against the Syrian Arab Republic  a war that was pursued thanks to the initiative of the United Kingdom and Israel, with their allies (Germany, Saudi Arabia, France, Turkey, etc.). Little by little, the phony  Friends of Syria , which united 130 States and international organisations in 2012, began shrinking. There are only 10 left today.
The Ministry for Heritage has announced that three new interpretation panels have been placed within our Old Town in order to provide information on our Medieval History, namely our Islamic and Spanish Periods.
Gibraltar is in The International Media Spotlight

In the last few weeks the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister have given an unprecedented number of interviews, not only to the UK media but also to the international press. Clause 22 of the EUs draft negotiating guidelines, the incursion by a Spanish warship, the amended Schengen regulations, a possible air incursion  and even our new Mayor  have all kept Gibraltar high up in the news agenda.

In addition to his appearance on the Andrew Marr Show, the Chief Minister has appeared on Sky News, ITV News, Channel 4 News and the BBC World News Service. He also gave live interviews to, amongst others, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live.

Mr Picardo and Dr Garcia have been interviewed by international press agencies such as Reuters, Associated Press and the Press Association and by UK newspapers such as The Times, The Sunday Express, The Independent, The Financial Times, The Guardian and, of course, The Sun.

Almost more surprising has been the continuing interest from the world-wide media. TV interviews have been given to CNN (USA), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Nine Network (Australia), China Central Television, RTS Television (Switzerland), RTE (Ireland), Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Austrian TV with many other broadcasters waiting patiently for their turn. Staff at No6 are still trying to find slots to speak to a press agency from Mexico and a radio station from Bogota in Colombia, amongst others.

Newspapers have been just as keen to speak to our Ministers. Visitors to No6 Convent Place have included reporters from the Wall St Journal from the USA, Der Spiegel, Deutsche Welle and Bild from Germany, De Groene from the Netherlands, LExpress (France) and Dagens Nyheter (Sweden).

Not surprisingly, the Spanish press have also shown huge interest in developments on the Rock and at least 10 interviews have been given to the mainstream Spanish media.

Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC, said, The last few weeks have certainly seen Gibraltar in the international media spotlight and it has been an excellent opportunity for me and for the Deputy Chief Minister to present the undisputable strengths of our case to millions of people in UK and elsewhere. In the run-up to the Brexit negotiations, Gibraltar has been front page news around the world.
RACINE  Jody Wagner knows about the toll cancer can take on a person.

The Racine resident and her husband have lost several friends and family members to the disease, and currently have family members in treatment.

Cancer does not care what sex, race or religion you are  it just comes, the Racine resident said.

An avid loom knitter, Wagner was browsing pages for knitting groups on Facebook when she stumbled on a post about a charity that would let her combine her passion for knitting with her compassion for cancer sufferers.

Called Operation Chemo Comfort, the charity works with knitters and sewers across the state to produce and collect homemade hats and head scarves for patients going through chemotherapy, an intense treatment where patients receive high doses of anti-cancer drugs that often results in hair loss.

The Milwaukee-area charity is currently in the middle of its spring drive and is looking to collect about 2,000 hats, turbans and headscarves between now and June 3 and its putting out the call to area knitters and sewers.

Since the head coverings will be used by chemo patients during the warmer months crafters are encouraged to use lighter, more breathable fabrics and yarns.

Once the hats have been collected, they will be delivered to cancer treatment facilities within the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Network.

The charity collected nearly 1,900 during its Fall 2016 drive and those caps and head scarves were almost gone by March. Thats because Froedtert is eastern Wisconsins only academic medical center, said charity cofounder Carrie OConnor, a scientific writer at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

To date, the charity has received mailed hats and head scarves from crafters in 25 states and Puerto Rico.

Patient inspired

Although Operation Chemo Comfort has grown rapidly since it held its first charity drive in April of last year, it was actually inspired by one cancer patients simple act of charity, explains Kelsey Lexow, the charitys other founder, and a clinical research assistant at the medical college.

The woman, who was fighting pancreatic cancer, would make up care packages for her fellow sufferers and Lexow found inspiration in her work. She had been looking for a way to help patients, and the avid knitter realized that making hats for the chemo patients  and enlisting coworkers to do the same  could help the patients feel cared for while also boosting morale.

Lexow remembers seeing a 19-year-old woman devastated by her recent cancer diagnosis and giving her a hat she had just finished.

This is all I can give you right now, Lexow remembers saying to the woman.

Making the hats  many of which she designs with specific patients in mind  gives Lexow a way to feel like she is helping in some way, she said.

As for the hats, they mean something to the patients, too, she said.

We never thought it could be this big. We were like, OK, this is going to be a thing now, she added.

For Wagner, volunteering for Operation Chemo Comfort gives her a chance to feel like she is giving back, she said.

It is a way to let (chemo) patients know that they are not walking the most difficult road in their life alone, Wagner said. It is a way to let them know someone is thinking about them; that someone cares and is praying for them.

For information how to donate to Operation Chemo Comfort visit their Facebook page facebook.com/OperationChemoComfort.
Teenage boy on a bench in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

In the 1940s and 50s, as a newlywed fashion photographer collaborating with her husband, Diane Arbus lived near Central Park. After their marriage broke up in 1959, Arbus moved downtown, within a few blocks walk of Washington Square. In both parks, she would meet and photograph people, catching them on foot or at rest. Arbus herself cut a memorable figure: a small, pixieish woman, weighed down by several bulky cameras and flash guns, coaxing passersby to pause and pose. Sometimes shed persuade them to continue the portrait sessions at their homes afterward. If (as many have said) the play between portraitist and subject has a kind of sexual undercurrent, Arbus loved a pickup.

Susan Sontag and her son on bench, N.Y.C. 1965. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Several of the photographs here, part of a forthcoming exhibit at the Levy Gorvy gallery in New York, are being published for the first time. They do not necessarily change our perception of Arbuss work. They are simply  and its anything but simple, mind you  amplifications of the body of work we know: the square, medium-format print; the often visible edge of the negative; the breathtakingly perceptive sense of the otherworldliness of strangers framed in the viewfinder. Only one image is sit-up-in-your-chair startling: the affectionate portrait, seen directly above, of Susan Sontag and her son, David Rieff. Sontag, after all, is the woman who wrote, not uncritically: A large part of the mystery of Arbuss photographs lies in what they suggest about how her subjects felt after consenting to be photographed. Do they see themselves, the viewer wonders, like that?

Girl with Easter hat and flag, N.Y.C. 1965. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Woman in long coat and dark hat, Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Blonde girl, Washington Square Park, N.Y.C. 1965. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Young Puerto Rican couple on a bench, N.Y.C. 1962. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Three boys at a baseball game in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Seated young couple on a park bench, N.Y.C. 1962. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Child running in the park, N.Y.C., 1959. Photo: Diane Arbus/Copyright  The Estate of Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus: In the Park opens at Levy Gorvy today.

*This article appears in the May 1, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.
Carol Danvers. Photo: Marvel

For over a year, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige searched for the right director to helm Captain Marvel, the studios first stand-alone superheroine film. Rumors flew about whom Feige had met with for the gig and director short lists were bandied about for months in the trades, but in the end, Feige went with a pick no one saw coming, signing Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to helm the studios next blockbuster.

That selection surprised industry onlookers, not simply because the directorial duo had been left off the leaked short lists, but because Boden and Fleck have a filmography that doesnt immediately suggest big-screen superheroics. After breaking through with the Ryan Gosling drama Half Nelson, theyve worked solely on small-scale films like Sugar, Its Kind of a Funny Story, and Mississippi Grind, in addition to directing episodes of Looking and The Affair. What was it about them, I recently asked Feige, that piqued Marvels interest enough to set up a first meeting?

We cast a pretty wide net, said Feige. Its always based on people whove done things that we thought were interesting, at any level. We havent hired anybody whove never done a feature before, but what gets you in the room is doing interesting work in television and interesting work in features, both of which theyve done. And then its about the conversation and the vision that we see.

Once Boden and Fleck aced their first meeting, Feige kept calling them back until they landed the gig. For us, what Anna and Ryan have done so spectacularly well in all of their movies, albeit on a much smaller scale than theyre about to do, is create a singular character journey, he said. The stories theyve told have been so diverse, but regardless of the subject matter, they can dive into it and hone in on that characters journey.

Thats especially vital when it comes to Captain Marvel, wholl be played by Brie Larson. Feige recently told Vulture that Captain Marvel will be, by far, the most powerful superhero in Marvels cinematic universe. But when you have an incredibly strong character who can fly, shoot energy bursts, and bat away Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk like they were nothing, how do you find the right stakes to make her journey a compelling one?



Thats a big part of the story line were putting together, and its certainly been a big part of the development conversation, Feige admitted. Its also where Boden and Fleck can really make their mark: Ultimately, the real stakes of the film have to do with who Captain Marvel is  a human pilot named Carol Danvers, granted superhuman abilities  rather than what she can do.



Particularly for Captain Marvel, which is going to have a lot of spectacle, it ultimately needs to be about the three-dimensional, multilayered Carol Danvers character, said Feige. You have to be able to track her and follow her and relate to her at all points of the movie, regardless of how many visual effects and spaceships and bad guys are filling the frame. Thats whats important.
Kendrick Lamar. Photo: Handout/Getty Images

On Fear, DAMN.s longest, most deeply involved track, Kendrick Lamar looks at his past as a way of taking stock of who he is now. Its a storytelling device hes deployed before: More often than not, hes traveling backward in time, blending the art of rap with the act of remembrance. All of his songs take, to some degree, the weight of heritage as their subject, and even when hes most in the present moment, as on 2015s To Pimp a Butterfly, hes looking to the past to guide him: that album, after all, ends with a conversation with Tupac. We aint even really rapping, Tupac informs his spiritual descendant. We just letting our dead homies talk for us, which happens to be precisely the case right then and there; Damn, Kendrick replies, struck by the observation.

Mortal Man is the name of the track, but what Tupacs speech suggests is that some measure of deathlessness is possible through language. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, begins the Gospel of John, transforming into a universal principle the belief, manifested literally in the Old Testament, that the word of God may be recorded and passed down through the generations in the form of a book. Its this belief, among others, that Kendrick, never shy about his Christian faith, has taken on as his own: Im an Israelite, dont call me black no more, he declares on Yah, a song on the new album. The title refers to the first half of Yahweh, the Hebrew name for God. Its an early sign of a direct engagement with the grand and painful spirit of the Old Testament that comes to fruition in Fear.

The track commences with a phone recording from Kendricks cousin Carl, in which Carl answers his worries, voiced elsewhere on the album, that no one is looking out for him by quoting the book of Deuteronomy: The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart. If Kendrick is suffering, its an affliction sent by God to chastise him for his imperfect faith. Carls recording is followed by a refrain regarding the question how a loving God could permit human suffering: its reminiscent of the book of Job, though the last line (Earth is no more, why dont you burn this mofucker) owes more to Revelation. The refrain is then replayed backwards: Were literally carried back into the past, but the experience leaves us submerged in chaotic sound.

Defined by a careful progression in which calls, responses, beliefs, and doubts are tightly woven into one another, Fear is a showcase of Kendricks rhetorical genius. Knowing that the subject matter may seem too distant or ancient as is, he quickly gets visceral in his first verse. The idea of tough love from a supreme being manifests in a personal memory: Ill beat your ass, he says, repeating his mothers recitation. Seven-year-old Kendrick is liable to suffer corporal punishment for even the slightest deviation from her instructions: Ill beat your ass if you jump on my couch / Ill beat your ass if you walk in this house with tears in your eyes. Her maternal affection has fused with an urgent need to toughen him for a world she knows will have no pity on him. Shes afraid, too.

If he suffers, the thinking goes, let it be from someone who loves him, and let him suffer in the hope that he suffers less later. One verse and ten years later, we see how much his mothers efforts have shaped him. Seventeen-year-old Kendrick is tough enough to fend for himself, but hes also smart enough to know that his life is often out of his hands: Ill probably die is the repeated phrase, and the verse is a litany of the countless ways a poor black male adolescent in Compton can suddenly cease breathing: Whether due to encounters with enemy crews, snitches, dealers, junkies, the police, or friends, his chances of survival are slim and he knows it.

Another verse and ten more years later, hes become a newly minted celebrity by narrating his teenage life. Hes close to panic: Wealth and fame have solved his material needs and lessened his chances of bodily death, but at the same time they have heightened his spiritual fears. He cant trust that anything or anyone will last because hes lost too much already, and seeing himself as a public figure, a representative, or a legend intensifies the fear of getting things wrong.

How they look at me reflect on myself, my family, my city

What they say bout me reveal if my reputation would miss me

What they see from me would trickle down generations in time

What they hear from me would make them highlight my simplest lines.

All these memories converge in the fourth and final verse. After a lifetime of terror, he doesnt have fears so much as fear possesses him. Its been made clear that his art is rooted in his faith, but now its clear that his faith is rooted in his fear. His hope for Christs return is, in more humble terms, a hope that there is something in the world other than fear, that what eventually will emerge, from a seemingly endless procession of fears, is salvation from fear. Its the flows, rhymes, and rhetoric of the fourteen tracks, carried out over wax of DAMN. in which he ultimately entrusts his hopes. Even if, to quote a phrase that echoes throughout the album, what happens on earth stays on earth, the Word (which according to Kendricks faith represents God) remains unearthly and immortal.

Of course, Fear wouldnt be true to Kendrick without bringing up the bigger social picture, the most problematic problem. Theres an outro succinctly spelling out the doctrine of original sin followed by the resumption of cousin Carls one-on-one Bible study: Reciting Deuteronomy, Carl states that the historical and present sufferings of the Blacks, Hispanics, and Native American Indians, like the oppression of the ancient Hebrews documented in the Old Testament, are a punishment sent to them by God for their failure to uphold his Law.

Like its counterparts Sing About Me, Im Dying of Thirst on Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and How Much a Dollar Cost on To Pimp a Butterfly, Fear is an early fourth-quarter intervention that reaffirms the artists faith in God in the face of the doubts expressed earlier in the collection. Its a testament to Kendricks religious genius that he discovers new ways to frame the same redemption narrative without becoming monotonous, but that doesnt mean that the conception of escaping the cycle of Gods damnation itself is beyond questioning.

Kendrick is too intelligent not to know this, and hes also too intelligent to pretend that he can break out of the cycle completely, though his gestures toward Asian cultures in DAMN.  dubbing himself Kung Fu Kenny, referencing karma on album closer Duckworth, the Wu-Tang vibe on the Fear instrumental  suggest that he sees value in non-Christian belief systems. Thankfully, though, its not his job to give final answers: DAMN. especially is marked by a recognition that, as an artist first and foremost, his task is to find dramatic expressions for pressing questions, not to dictate solutions.

The last, but far from least, thing to say about Fear regards its sound. Produced by Alchemist, the beat is supple and beautifully layered. A gently weeping guitar line, soul vocal sample (I dont think I can find a way to make it on this earth), occasional wistful strings, patient bass drums, and watery synths converge to create an impression of sweet pain that makes an ideal counterpart to the artists somber memories and intricate considerations. It renders the song as a whole worthy of being ranked with Money Trees, Sing About Me, Im Dying of Thirst, or Alright among the absolute best that Kendrick has to offer. It may be hard for some to trust in God or thank heaven for being alive, but religious or not, tracks like these, with their balance of memory, mortality, and hope unique to Kendricks art, make it far easier to believe and be thankful for everything  even pain.
Its a little bit While You Were Sleeping and a little bit When Harry Met Sally  Kumail Nanjianis Sundance breakout The Big Sick is a romantic dramedy that finds Nanjiani in love with his ex-girlfriend whos in a coma. Emily (Zoe Kazan) and Kumail (Nanjiani) build a relationship out of a one-night stand, but split because their cross-cultural courtship proves too difficult as Kumails traditional Pakistani parents push him into an arranged marriage. While Emily is in a coma, Kumail makes nice with her parents, played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. Based on the real-life courtship of Kumail and his wife Emily V. Gordon, the movie was produced by Judd Apatow. Catch it in theaters this June.
Why did nobody invite Oscar Isaac to this official meeting of the Internet Boyfriend Club? #MetGala cc @sulagnamisra @lindseyweber pic.twitter.com/FMdFzu1CIu  Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) May 2, 2017

No one could argue that the attendees at tonights Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between Costume Institute Gala at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art didnt serve up an absurd variety of looks. In fact, theyd be a fool to argue that. As for the best look of the evening, well, Rami Malek, Riz Ahmed, and Donald Glover collaborated on something really special for the Met Gala, a look, dutifully captured by Vanity Fairs Joanna Robinson, that artfully incorporates their six eyes staring back into your little blinking fan peepers. Its quite a look. Its an excellent look. Their clothes were also good, too, probably.
Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Robin Williams left American audiences one last gift to enjoy, and it feels right that the gift is an extremely excitable, exuberantly horny pup named Dennis. The late actor lent his vocal talents to the British alien comedy Absolutely Anything, a Simon Pegg vehicle written and directed by Monty Pythons Terry Jones. John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle also contributed to the film, voicing the extraterrestrials that grant Peggs character the ability to do, you guessed it, absolutely anything, including comprehend the very doglike advice of his pet. As Deadline points out, Monty Pythons last feature film collaboration was 1983s The Meaning of Life. While British moviegoers had the opportunity to see the film last year, Absolutely Anything is set to finally open in the U.S. on May 12. Williams died in August 2014, three weeks after completing his work on the film, the trailer for which you can watch below.
Elle Fanning in 3 Generations. Photo: Walter Thomson/The Weinstein Company

Two summers ago, ahead of her films original September 2015 release date, 3 Generations director Gaby Dellal walked into some hot pronoun water. In an interview with Refinery29, she blithely referred to the lead character, a transgender boy, as a girl, apparently because he had not transitioned yet. It was more than a little shocking to hear coming from a director youd expect to have been immersed in trans issues throughout the making of the film.

Clumsy quotes are one thing, the emotional language of cinema is another. (I went into my screening completely ignorant of that interview, for what its worth.) But in this case the verbal slipup is a canary in a coal mine, denoting a film tripped up by its own superficiality. Dellal is lucky to have such a good cast on hand (though thats been its own issue). But in the end, 3 Generations wants to to be about trans issues more than it really wants to live in them.

Ray (Elle Fanning) is a transgender high-school boy who desperately wants to begin hormone therapy, a development that leads to much hand-wringing from his mom, Maggie (Naomi Watts), and grandmother Dolly (Susan Sarandon). The three live together in a charming, ramshackle East Village apartment along with Dollys girlfriend, Frances (Linda Emond). Rays father, Craig (Tate Donovan), is out of the picture, but because Ray is a minor, he requires a signature from both parents in order to proceed with the reassignment process. Cue a messy family reunion, and at least one dramatic revelation.

The film, which has been pushed a year and a half past its originally scheduled release date, was formerly known as About Ray, not a stellar title but certainly more true to the film than its current name. 3 Generations is one of those movies that are never not about what theyre about, a film whose text bears more resemblance to a college term paper than a drama. (Crash is the epitome of this kind of movie; 3 Generations is at least better than Crash.) Each new scene is another combination of characters discussing their opinions and feelings about Rays gender status, and while this is good fodder for complex family drama, it feels more like a checklist lifted from a pamphlet about things to expect when your son or daughter comes out  well-meaning, emotionally unimaginative, and always at arms length.

The new title is also misleading about the balance between the three leads. Most of the film belongs to Fanning, who carries the role with great sympathy and urgency. She manages to balance universal teenage end-of-the-world dramatics with the existential crisis Ray faces if Craig wont sign the release form. (Im not having a shitty day, Im having a shitty existence! she screams at one point.) Too often the script and direction turn her into a cute spectacle, but Fanning usually recovers.

But for the sake of conflict, if nothing else, I could have used much more of Sarandons character, whos old-school in an artsy New Yorker way, and wonders why Ray cant just be a lesbian. Her chemistry with Emond feels so sweet and lived-in, and you find yourself wishing they were your lesbian grandmas. At the same time, Dollys views are the most retrograde; shes smart, liberal, loving, and decidedly un-woke. Its a nuanced dynamic to pull off and Sarandon makes it look almost too easy.

Nobody gets dealt a worse hand in this film than Watts, though, whose character must not only be a mouthpiece for the more elusive Ray and a walking explainer for gender dysphoria, but also has to shoulder much of the third acts soapy drama, without character development to back any of it up. I found myself quite sympathetic for Watts, who appears to have been told to just do the stressed-out thing shes honed so well, while explaining to Sarandons character that being gay and transgender are not the same thing. (There is at least one scene between them in which the two actresses are clearly not in the same room.) In a particularly cringey postcoital scene with a nameless hookup played by comedian Jordan Carlos, Maggie monologues about the pros and cons of having a penis, for what feels like no ones benefit.

Maggie is an illustrator, and we see her looking stressed and put-upon while staring at a drafting table full of childlike drawings of animals. She and Ray dress in an impressive array of perfectly slouchy sweaters and rakish hats, Craig lives in an Airbnb fantasy of a mid-century Hudson Valley home. The art department was clearly working overtime, perhaps to the detriment of the film. The strife of Ray and his family goes down a lot better when everyones dressed so cute and lives in such bohemian digs. While 3 Generations certainly has some worthy explorations, its too vain not to sugarcoat itself, visually or otherwise.
Photo: Photo Credit: Michael Gibson / U/Copyright:  2007 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Each month, Showtime adds new movies to its library. Below, youll find our May 2017 recommendations. For more comprehensive coverage of the best titles available on Showtime and elsewhere, check out Vultures What to Stream Now hub, which is updated throughout the month.

If you love top-secret intrigue: Breach

Writer-director Billy Ray has a special gift for crafting stories about traitors, figuring out the psychology that allows them to make peace with their own moral codes. After dramatizing one of the biggest frauds in journalism history with Shattered Glass, he turned his attention to the real-life story of FBI double agent Robert Philip Hanssen (Chris Cooper), who secretly sold intelligence to the Soviet Union and Russia throughout his 20-plus-year career. Following the perspective of a rookie agent (Ryan Phillippe) trying to expose Hanssens secrets, Rays smart political thriller finds the sinister qualities lying underneath the banality of a workaday bureau mans life. Too bad the story of Russian spies doesnt any modern-day relevance. Available May 1.

For anyone trying to quit smoking: The Insider

Every decade gets the crusading-journalist movie it deserves. In 1999, that movie was Michael Manns thriller about the time 60 Minutes revealed that the Brown & Williamson tobacco company was secretly stuffing its cigarettes with unreported additives, and the shows defiance of CBS executives orders not to run the story. Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Christopher Plummer chew so much scenery they give the tobacco a run for its money, but the films true chilling power lies in how it predicted the dangers an increasingly corporatized media would pose on our countrys journalistic institutions. Available May 1.

For an on-the-ground look at Americas abortion fight: Jackson

A verite-style documentary about abortion access in Mississippi, Jackson follows three women: the director of the states only abortion clinic, a 24-year-old pregnant single mother of four, and the director of a pro-life crisis-pregnancy center. Director Maisie Crow spent three years gathering her footage, and the film crosses the intimacy of a character study with the expansiveness of the impassioned national debate over reproductive rights that lies at its center. Available May 2.

Noteworthy selections in bold. Only complete TV-season releases listed.

Available May 1

Hardcore Henry

Breach

Charade

A Civil Action

The Insider

Jimi: All is By My Side

The Land

Pet

Available May 2

Jackson

Available May 5

Al Madrigal: Shrimpin Aint Easy

Available May 13

Bad Moms

Available May 16

The American
RACINE  Supporters took to local streets twice Monday in an effort to show solidarity with the immigrant community.

Members of the Racine Interfaith Coalition on Monday afternoon marched from North Memorial Drive, down State Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza and back.

Earlier Monday, reportedly 150 students from Park and Horlick high schools marched nearly a mile from Horlick, 2119 Rapids Drive, to the Racine Unified School District administrative offices, 3109 Mount Pleasant St., in an attempt to talk to district officials.

We wanted to show support for our immigrant brothers and sisters in Racine, said Linda Boyle, co-president of the Racine Interfaith Coalition. We had a lot of support from the community.

Boyle, also a member of the RIC immigration task force, said this is the first year the organization has put together a march on immigration. About 60 people joined the march, she said.

Richard Benson, a RIC member, said he mentors at Emmanus Lutheran Church, located at 1925 Summit Ave., and he sees the fear the immigrant community is facing first-hand.

You can observe it through those who attend (church), Benson said. They see the writing on the wall. They see that theyre not welcomed. That they are the ones that are pointed to as the problem.

Benson said hes going to stand up to what he perceives as the negative attitude toward the immigrant community.

YES students march

The students who marched Monday morning are members of Youth Empowered in the Struggle, the youth branch of Voces de La Frontera, an immigrant advocacy group.

Recently, the district and the School Board have been discussing a safe zone resolution.

The resolution, in its current draft, declares that ensuring that Racine Unified schools are safe and inviting for all students and their families will facilitate the physical safety and emotional well-being of all children in the district and is paramount to students ability to achieve; this includes immigrant and refugee students, LGBTQ students, Muslim and other students of diverse racial and religious background.

The resolution also says immigration enforcement activities in and around schools are a distraction and asks for the district to: create bilingual Know Your Rights presentations; create a rapid response team to assist student or family members who have been detained; and refuse all voluntary information sharing with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the fullest extent possible under the law.

Horlick senior Ruben Ramos said the students tried to encourage the district and the School Board to pass the resolution but officials seemed unresponsive.

(District officials) didnt want to talk to any of us, Ramos said. When we got there, they had locked the doors on us and called the police.

Ramos said he was disappointed with the districts response.

Knowing we had undocumented students with us, and they still called police, proves they dont understand what a risk this is for us, Ramos said. We are standing up and fighting back for the ones that are being oppressed  we come in peace and all we want to do is spread love.

In an email statement, Stacy Tapp, Racine Unifieds chief of communications and community engagement, confirmed the students did gather in front of the district building.

A small group of YES (Youth Empowered in the Struggle) students organized in front of the Administrative Service Campus, Tapp said. Unfortunately, they were verbally aggressive to staff, disruptive to our employees work environment and blocked the entrances to the building, causing some discomfort and fear among staff and families who were trying to enter the Welcome Center.

Tapp said that she and Deputy Superintendent Eric Gallien conveyed to students that their behavior was not conducive to a respectful dialogue and discussion.

Student leader questions regarding next steps for the safe schools resolution were answered, Tapp said. (I) informed the students that the resolution was referred to the (School) Boards Governance Committee and that the governance committee would review the resolution.

After spending time at the district offices the students took four buses, organized by Youth Empowered in the Struggle, to Milwaukee to march with Voces de la Frontera.

According to Voces de la Frontera, about 30,000 people marched in Milwaukee.
RACINE  Racine County Veterans Services, in partnership with Tabak Law LLC, has scheduled a no-cost will clinic for veterans and their spouses/domestic partners, according to the Office of County Executive Jonathan Delagrave.

"The will clinic is an opportunity for us to show our appreciation for the service of Wisconsin Veterans to our country," Delagrave said in a release. "We are very grateful to Tabak Law offices for their partnership and generosity."

The workshop is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at Racine County Workforce Solutions, 1717 Taylor Ave. Free legal services will be provided including wills, financial powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney and living wills.

The State Bar of Wisconsins pro bono program is also scheduled to contribute their expertise. This program is much-needed and would not be possible without strong partners, said Community Veterans Services Officer Bradley Behling.

Those interested should sign up for the clinic and complete a mandatory estate planning questionnaire by May 11. For more information, call the Racine County Veterans Service VISTA Liaison Ciara Hartzog at 262-638-6686 to schedule an appointment.
Without fanfare, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas has resumed abortion services in Waco, more than three years after state laws forced it to close.

The abortion clinic at 1121 Ross Ave. opened in mid-April, the result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that overturned provisions under Texas House Bill 2 that the Waco clinic was unable to meet. The Waco clinic got a new license last fall.

The abortion clinic, which opened in 1994, had served about 800 women a year until it closed in 2013 because of its inability to meet the HB2 standards of ambulatory surgical care and hospital admitting privileges. The closure left a gap of abortion services between Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, and Planned Parenthood clinics havent seen a corresponding increase in numbers.

We saw an increase in travel distance for the patient to access her right to a safe, legal abortion, PPGT spokeswoman Stephanie Mabry said. We saw increased wait times for the patient. We saw women who were needing to take off several days of work, and to find child care for those they left behind. A lot of times we saw that women went from needing an abortion in the first trimester to needing one in the second trimester because of the distance and wait time. That not only increases cost but complications when you wait longer.

The Waco abortion clinic is adjacent to Planned Parenthoods longstanding womens health clinic, which provides family planning and health screening service, but the clinics are physically and operationally separate, Mabry said.

Anti-abortion activists have been protesting the return of abortion services since February, before the clinic opened, posting signs, signing petitions and running advertisements vowing Never again in Waco.

Pro-Life Waco director John Pisciotta said the news of the reopening confirmed his fears.

Certainly, its a big disappointment that this has happened, that abortion has returned to Waco, Pisciotta said. We had hoped that maybe they would reconsider their decision.

He said the group would pivot back to fighting Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, both in Waco and in Austin. He said the group will also call out businesses that are friendly to the nonprofit organization.

For any business that publicly supports Planned Parenthood, were going to make the public aware of their decisions, Pisciotta said. Our goal is to have Planned Parenthood shut down completely in our city.

Open by appointment

Mabry said the clinic will be open by appointment on certain days of the month and will be served by a doctor who travels here from another city.

The cost of the abortion is borne by the patient or by private donors, with no public money going to the procedure, Mabry said.

She said the state of Texas has cut off major sources of funding for womens health services, and she expects to ultimately see the elimination of federal Title X and Medicaid funding for family planning and preventive health services.

When you hear the term, defund Planned Parenthood, what youre really hearing is defunding birth control, defunding breast and cervical cancer screenings, defunding sexually transmitted disease infection testing and treatment,  she said. Theres no defunding happening on abortion services. Those services are intact. If you limit access to birth control you increase the number of unplanned pregnancies.
A biker who was shot during the May 2015 Twin Peaks shootout but not arrested filed a lawsuit Tuesday in an attempt to recover his medical expenses.

William Richardson, of Lexington, was shot in the lower torso during the melee at Twin Peaks and is listed in the criminal indictments as one of about 20 victims of the 155 indicted bikers.

Richardsons attorney, Matthew Wright, of Rosebud, said Richardson, an employee of the Texas A&M University transportation division, underwent surgery and was hospitalized.

Mr. Richardson had medical expenses from being shot, Wright said. The lawsuit was filed to protect his rights regarding his injury claim.

Richardsons suit, filed in Wacos 74th State District Court, names as defendants Twin Peaks Investment; Front Burner Restaurant GP; former Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman; Waco police Detective Manuel Chavez; McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara; and an unknown officer identified in the lawsuit as John Doe.

The suit seeks more than $200,000 but less than $1 million.

The suit alleges officials at Front Burner, which operated the Waco Twin Peaks franchise, were warned by law enforcement before the Sunday afternoon meeting of the Texas Confederation of Clubs & Independents of increasing friction between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle groups but hosted the meeting anyway.

The restaurant, which never reopened after the shootout, went ahead with the promotion and hosting of the COC meeting in the hopes of securing profit, regardless of the potential loss of life or injury to people in attendance, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit claims the deaths of nine bikers and injuries to at least 20 others were compounded by the mass arrests and wrongful detention of innocent individuals.

Failure to render aid cited

During this period of detention, prior to transporting the detained off scene, neither law enforcement officers under control of defendant Chavez, defendant Stroman or defendant McNamara rendered aid to detainees who were injured nor did they call for emergency medical assistance, the suit alleges.

Richardson was not provided immediate medical attention by restaurant or law enforcement officials, the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiff and several other detainees pleaded with law enforcement to call for emergency medical assistance or to render emergency first aid, the suit states. After repeated attempts to secure emergency aid, a private citizen provided a pickup truck and offered to take the plaintiff to Hillcrest Medical Center.

Richardson doesnt know who shot him but claims the unknown officer referred to as John Doe acted intentionally, knowingly and recklessly by shooting into a crowd gathered at a public restaurant, the suit states.

He claims that Stroman, Chavez, McNamara and Doe failed to take action to avoid a foreseeable risk of injury to others and used excessive force that violated Richardsons rights.

There are pending criminal matters and civil lawsuits, and the city of Waco chooses to litigate these matters in the courts, Waco City Attorney Jennifer Richie said.

Attorneys for Twin Peaks and McNamara did not return phone messages Tuesday afternoon.
The mother of a young girl testified Monday that her daughter reported Juan Rodriguez Guajardo sexually abused her while the girl was spending the night with her grandmother.

Guajardo, 62, is charged in Wacos 54th State District Court with continuous sexual abuse of a child and indecency with a child by contact. He is accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl from January 2013 to June 2013. The girl is a family member of the woman Guajardo was dating.

The trial got off to a rocky start last week after Guajardo, a diabetic, missed court because he has dialysis treatments three times a week and one of the jurors was arrested in Bell County on drug charges and didnt bond out until the weekend. Judge Matt Johnson delayed the trial until the juror could return, but is still dealing with Guajardos medical condition.

The jury was selected April 24 but no testimony was heard until Monday morning. Testimony will be delayed until 2 p.m. Tuesday because of Guajardos medical treatment.

Prosecutors Gabrielle Massey and Christi Hunting Horse called the girls mother and father, two Waco police detectives, a Child Protective Services worker and a former and current employee of the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children on Monday. They are expected to rest the states case tomorrow afternoon.

After the girl told her mother of the alleged abuse, she and her younger brother, a witness in the case, were interviewed at the advocacy center.

Waco police Detective Jazmin Bucher testified that she had dealings with the family the year before, after the same girl reported that her uncle sexually abused her in August 2012. The suspect fled to Mexico before Bucher could serve an arrest warrant on him, she said.

The girl reported she was abused again in July 2013, but Bucher said there were more differences than similarities in the two reports of abuse.

The girl said Guajardo touched her inappropriately while she, her grandmother, Guajardo and her younger brother were sleeping in the same bed.

Bucher said Guajardo, who does not speak English, told her that he washed the childrens feet and legs at night but stopped at their knees. He denied the allegations, she said.
A fire at the Mars Chocolate North America plant in Waco burned six trailers Tuesday afternoon.

The fire at the candy plant at 1001 Texas Central Parkway, which started shortly after 1 p.m., reportedly began with one trailer, city of Waco spokesman Larry Holze said. Strong wind fueled the fire and caused flames to spread to about six trailers parked outside the building.

From what weve been told, there is no interior damage to the building itself, maybe just some smoke damage, Holze said.

The facility was evacuated, and there were no injuries reported, Holze said.

Thick, black smoke was visible from as far as downtown Waco, and 11 fire units responded.

It was unknown whether the trailers were being loaded or unloaded, and it was unknown what product, if any, was in the trailers at the time of the fire.

The blaze resulted in traffic congestion near the site on Texas Central Parkway. Police closed Imperial Drive from Old Hewitt Road through its intersection with Texas Central Parkway to give access to fire crews.

There were several tractor-trailers that were backed up against the dock that appeared to have been involved in a fire, Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said. From a law enforcement standpoint, we are here to assist them.

Midway Independent School District was not directly impacted by the fire, but officials asked parents of Midway High School students to take Mars Drive from Hewitt Drive and to avoid Imperial.

In addition, students transported by school buses may experience some delays as the buses avoid these areas as well, according to a Midway ISD statement. We are in communication with fire and police departments at the scene and have been informed that the fire is under control.

The plant marked its 40th year in Waco in December and is a major producer of Snickers and Skittles products. It employs 520 people.

The fire was under control within about an hour and a half after fire crews were called to the scene, Holze said. Other area fire agencies assisted Waco fire and handled additional calls in the area.

Employees were cleared to return to the building later in the afternoon.

We are always very concerned with the number of people, employees, here and their safety, Holze said. They are a major employer, and of course our major concern is the safety of employees. I am just proud that we were able to handle a major incident like this and I think we did a great job.
A man was arrested during the weekend after Crawford police began investigating claims that a 13-year-old girl was sexually abused by him at least four times at a China Spring-area home, according to the arrest affidavit.

Benjamin Gordon Loughridge, 36, of China Spring, was arrested Saturday after the girl told a neighbor that Loughridge had sent her inappropriate text messages and gotten in bed with her in his China Spring home, the arrest affadvit states.

During a forensic interview, the girl said Loughridge had sent her inappropriate text messages, laid in bed with her, sexually touched her and kissed her back and neck, the arrest affadvit states.

According to the arrest affadvit, the abuse happened at least four times while Loughridge was living at a residence near China Spring, but the girl was unable to give an exact date.

Crawford police arrested Loughridge on four second-degree felony charges of indecency with a child. He remained in McLennan County Jail on Tuesday with a bond listed at $80,000.

Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.
Strings attached

Why should only the wealthy be able to have school choice? Sheila Connell asks this question in her April 25 letter. Well, Sheila, news flash: Regardless of how you define wealthy, there are non-wealthy families attending private schools! I would like to drive a Mercedes or BMW or some other luxury car. I would also like to live in a 40,000-square-foot home with a maid to keep it clean. I would like to travel and experience all the world has to offer. I would love to give my children a better education than a public education. But I am not wealthy and I dont begrudge anyone who is wealthy because most earned it by the choices they made in life.

But as a non-wealthy family, my wife and I did make choices and prioritize our life. We chose not to drive a luxury car but instead drove old cars with headliners hanging down. We chose to live modestly in a 16,000-square-foot home. We only traveled (by car) to my home in Wisconsin annually. And we worked hard to put both our children through a private pre-school and 12 years of private school without any outside assistance.

When our daughter started private pre-school, I was making about $12,000 per year. I never topped $50,000 in all my career till shortly before I retired. If you want to be wealthy so your kids can go to private school, make your children a priority and make choices that will ensure that goal. You can be sure of this: Vouchers will only make public schools out of private schools. Look around and see all the damage government has done to every program it gets involved in. Keep our private schools private!

Lennie Lamb, Waco

Tax nursing homes

The Texas Legislature is considering passing a tax of up to $4,000 annually on nursing-home residents to close a budget shortfall. This will unfairly burden those who are already on the edge financially and only pad the bottom line of substandard Texas nursing homes. We need to hold state Rep. J.D. Sheffield, a Gatesville Republican, accountable for sponsoring this measure. Im sure the retired veterans, teachers, nurses and other elderly who face the prospect of living in a nursing home would like to know how they are being represented.

Tracy Wolfe, Austin, TX

EDITORS NOTE: Just for claritys sake, this bill does have the support of the Texas Health Care Association and includes language that would prohibit the fee from being passed on to residents.

Reunite under Trump!

I so agree with James Dorseys letter in Fridays Trib regarding how your newspaper slants (truly leans) to liberal, progressive editorials and cartoons. I am so tired of Trump bashing. He is our president. Our country needs to reunite! Our division is showing weakness to the world. You can keep your paper if you cant find a change in your editorials and articles!

Fay Cearley, Clifton
WAHOO  The distance between Lincoln and Wahoo is only about 36 miles. Still, that distance is enough to separate rural from urban and life on the farm versus in the city.

The Nebraska Agricultural Youth Council (NAYC) and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture brought nearly 250 elementary students from Lincoln to rural Wahoo April 21 to experience agriculture up close and learn about a day on the farm.

Christin Kamm, public information officer for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, said Lincoln may not seem urban but a city of any size has a disconnect to farm living.

Some of them are so removed from the farm, they have no clue. They dont know milk comes from a cow, not the grocery store, Kamm said.

So, last weeks tour was organized to help students understand where their food comes from.

The Nebraska Department of Agricultures (NDA) sponsors the NAYC. The Nebraska Corn Board is sponsoring the transportation costs for the students to attend the tour.

Its important to show young people firsthand what agriculture is and how the industry impacts their lives daily, said NDA Director Greg Ibach.

Ibach also gave credit to the three Wahoo area farm families who have hosted the annual tours since their start more than 30 years ago.

We are very grateful for the farmers and ranchers in the Wahoo area that are willing to take time out of their busy days to personally share their stories with these young Nebraskans, he said.

This years tour again included stops to learn about grain at the Houska farm, dairy at the Konecky farm and beef at the Zimola farm.

Students on the tour were from Fredstrom, Hartley, Riley and Trinity Lutheran elementary schools.

But the day is not only an important one for the elementary students.

The annual Urban Youth Farm Tour is conducted by the NAYC, which consists of 21 college-age men and women who have been selected by NDA to promote agriculture to youth. Council members are chosen based on their enthusiasm, interest and leadership in agriculture.

This is Kamms 10th year of working with the NAYC and the farm tour.

This is the highlight of the year for them, she said.

Prior to last Fridays trip, council members went to the classrooms to talk to the students and prepare them for visiting the farm.

It is all a part their experience.

This year, I have a lot of ag education majors so having this opportunity enhances their own classroom experience, she added.

Eric Leisy, a council member from Wisner, said getting to spend time in the classroom with the elementary students first was important.

The classroom visits helped to prepare the students for what to expect. For example, Leisy said they were able to describe a cow as food or milk, not a pet.

Hannah Borg, a council member from Wakefield, said council members played a bingo game with the students to prepare them for what they would see on a farm.

For the most part, the elementary students knew the animals that were depicted

on the bingo cards. But, Borg said they were less sure of the products that came from them.

While the students were prepared for some of the sights on the farm, not all their senses were ready.

Landon Swedberg, a council member from North Platte, said the students had an immediate reaction stepping off the bus.

I just like their reaction when they first get off the bus. The smell is their first reaction, he said.

Beyond that first reaction, Borg said she hoped the students learned from the days experience.

For Borg, being on the council and taking part in the annual farm tour was a way to share what she and the other council members take for granted because of their agricultural backgrounds.

Its a little bit selfish on my part because I am sharing my passion for agriculture with the students, she said.

For Kamm, the annual farm tour to the Wahoo area farms is always enjoyable as well.

The inquisitiveness of the elementary students is new every year.

Its always interesting to me to her some of the questions they ask, she said.
RACINE  The Police Department is planning to host a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. Thursday for its new Honor Wall display and police museum in the lobby of the Safety Building, 730 Center St.

Through a donation from SC Johnson, a new 10-foot Honor Wall was recently installed to replace a smaller display that honors local officers killed in the line of duty, Police Chief Art Howell said.

The police museum highlights the overall history of the Police Department. In recognition of former Chief Richard Polzin, who died in January, a section of the museum will highlight the history of the local community policing philosophy. Polzin is credited with starting the community-oriented policing model in Racine.

John Anderson, whose father, Officer John Anderson, was killed in the line of duty in the 1930s, is schedule to cut the ribbon at the ceremony.

The event is to take place in advance of National Police Week, scheduled for May 15-21.
In Burlington alone, more than six dozen men, women and children received shelter in 2016 at the Transitional Living Center. Local officials say most people stay one or two nights, may have recently lost a job or are currently working.

We know that homelessness doesnt have to be a long-term condition and should be addressed through the collaboration of local and state entities.

Homelessness is not just an issue in our area. Most recent figures from 2015 show that 27,532 people in Wisconsin received services and shelter from agencies that take part in the Homeless Management Information System. Those numbers have faces and names  they are individuals with children and some are veterans. They may be a childs classmate or a distant relative, but all are part of the greater Wisconsin family who we want to see succeed and have a productive and happy life.

This session, Im proud that Assembly Republicans are taking the lead on initiatives to end and prevent homelessness in Wisconsin. A package of bills is moving through the legislative process that will give more tools to help individuals gain independence and find a new home.

The package is made up of four bills. The first piece of legislation creates a pilot program to help connect homeless adults to permanent employment. Another pilot program helps move more families and individuals off the waiting lists for housing assistance. The third bill makes reforms to the distribution of assistance funds to areas based on need and gives greater flexibility to ensure housing grants are going to programs that work. This legislation will also allow families to move to another location in Wisconsin to find employment and continue to receive assistance. And finally, in order to coordinate these necessary services to tackle the problem, an Interagency Council on Homelessness is created within the Department of Administration. Using the input of members from agencies and advocates, the goal is to have a comprehensive approach and increased communication between the programs that assist homeless individuals statewide.

During the public hearings on the legislation, advocates told committee members that these bills will actually result in change. Im pleased that were moving these initiatives forward to help the homeless find support and access the resources available to them. Assembly Republicans have been working the legislation since last fall when we made this issue a priority in our Forward Agenda.

Its important to note that community members, local businesses, volunteers and organizations, like Transitional Living Center in Burlington, play such a vital role in helping the homeless. Now its time that we do what we can at the state level to bring hope to the homeless. I think we all can agree that everyone should have a place to call home.
Woolworths was expected to beat Coles in the latest quarterly bout of the great supermarket war. But the release of its third-quarter sales stunned just about everyone. Woolworths shot the lights out.

To have produced a 5.6 per cent surge in supermarket sales means Woolworths is taking customers from Coles, Metcash and possibly even Aldi.

Woolworths has been in fightback mode for two years after losing to Coles and Aldi on almost every growth measure for the previous five. It's invested $1 billion during its comeback to improve its appeal - most of which has been used to cut the cost of goods on the shelf.

Not since 2010 has Woolworths scored a quarterly sales number this big - an outcome fed by a large increase in the number of transactions on the back of a 2.5 per cent fall in shelf prices.
Illustration: Andrew Dyson. It's a mistake to underestimate the regime's determination to build a long-range missile, he says: "They have already mastered short and medium range missiles. It's only a matter of time before they solve the problem." To make matters worse, North Korea under Kim Jong Un is "much more provocative" than it was under his father, and "the uncertainty is magnified by the fact that the Trump team is learning on the job." Donald Trump has said that he's expecting China's Xi Jinping to do the hard work of deterring Kim from any further provocation. Credit:AP But, with Pyongyang still unable to put a nuclear warhead on a missile, does it matter? Doesn't Donald Trump and the wider world still have options?

Not the options that many seem to think exist: "What people don't really understand," says Campbell, "is that the two sides have been getting ready for a fight for the last 60 years. The North Koreans have a million artillery tubes in firing range of Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Credit:AP "You have a million-man army in the North facing a smaller, more technologically advanced force in the South backed by the military might of the US and Japan. "The biggest deterrent" to a pre-emptive US strike on North Korea "is not its nuclear capability - it's conventional capability. If ever there were a conflict on the Korean peninsula, it would be a masive inferno. You have high confidence that, in the end, North Korea would be wiped out. "But the devastation of the South would be horrific  millions killed."

A further restraint on any idea of a preemptive US strike to destroy North Korea's nuclear facilities, says Campbell, is that there is recent evidence that the regime has distributed the nuclear infrastructure around the country and the US could not be fully confident that it knows every location. There are no easy options. Trump has said that he's expecting China's Xi Jinping to do the hard work of deterring Kim from any further provocation. Xi says that Washington and Beijing are united in seeking to prevent the nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. But North Korea is nonetheless one of only two allies of China, and there are limits to how far it will go in pressing its ally. Campbell says he expects that "in the end, China will disappoint" American expectations. "Donald Trump is in the process of learning that Korea is the land of lousy options," says Campbell. A Democrat, he is no longer in government, running an advisory business in Washington, the Asia Group. He's not impressed by Trump's handling of the problem to date: "In a crisis like this the tendency is for the US to bring its allies closer. The president has instead roiled South Korea with his comments - it's crazy.

"US allies are looking to the US government for clear signals of strength and reassurance. On the strength side, the president has made clear that all options are on the table, so that's the right thing to do. "But on the reassurance side, the administration is falling short. I think it's fair to say that none of our allies has a clear idea of what's going on. Anxiety in South Korea is higher than it's been for decades." Understandably. In the midst of a crisis that Donald Trump has described his most urgent national security priority, he has picked a fight not with his adversary but with his ally. In the past week or so, even as North Korea threatens an imminent attack on South Korea, Trump has chosen to denounce the US free trade agreement with Seoul as the "worst deal ever" and demanded renegotiations. He has insulted his South Korean ally by saying in an interview that the country was once "part of China", a falsehood that seems to concede to China a greater scope for legitimate influence over Seoul.

And, astonishingly, he has even demanded publicly that the South Korean government, which goes to an election on May 9, must pay for the defensive missile interception system that the US is installing on South Korean soil. Malcolm Turnbull will strike a pose with Trump this week on the deck of a retired warship in New York Harbour to affirm the strength of the alliance with the US. Everyone will play happy allied families in a carefully choreographed performance. But the reality of US alliances under Trump is not the cheerful one to be played out on the USS Intrepid but Trump's treatment of America's South Korean ally. Every US ally needs to note that, exactly when South Korea needs America most, Trump is putting pressure on it, picking a fight with it on trade and defence, publicly belittling it. Turnbull has to do what he can to preserve as much of the alliance as he can. But every US ally is now on notice  you cannot rely on Trump's America in a crisis.
Senator Sam Dastyari is unrepentant for his comments aimed at the electoral commissioner. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "I would suggest that the commissioner should consider coming out and clarify what advice has been given to One Nation and settle the matter." The AEC said it was aware of Ms Hanson's latest interview and it was being included in their ongoing inquiry. "In line with standard practice, the AEC does not comment on the status of ongoing matters under review," a spokesman said. Special Minister of State Scott Ryan has slammed Sam Dastyari over his comments. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Senator Ryan said he had spoken with Mr Rogers about the plane following Ms Hanson's interview and the AEC was taking another look at it. "I think we need to see what the electoral commissioner might have to say if there's something to say after they look at all these matters because so many different things have been said."

Former One Nation treasurer Ian Nelson, who says he was pushed out of the organisation by Mr Ashby, has claimed the money to buy the plane was given personally to Mr Ashby by Victorian property developer Bill McNee. He told the ABC's Four Corners program last month that Mr McNee, who Fairfax Media does not allege is involved in any wrongdoing, gave Mr Ashby the funds so it could be used to "ferry Pauline around." Mr Nelson said he urged Mr Ashby and Ms Hanson to declare the funds and the plane but they overruled him, saying it was a donation to Mr Ashby privately and not to the party. The plane, a Jabiru light aircraft, features the slogan "Fed Up" alongside a caricature of Ms Hanson's face and is emblazoned with the party's logo and name "Pauline Hanson's One Nation." Please explain the plane - a time line

The plane used to "ferry" Pauline Hanson around before the 2015 election campaign continues to grab headlines. Here are some of the explanations the One Nation leader and her chief of staff and pilot, James Ashby, have given in regards to the Jabiru two-seater. 28 July 2015 James Ashby tells ABC Sunshine Coast he helped Ms Hanson find an Australian-made plane because, "Pauline's all about keeping things local". 16 January 2016 Pauline Hanson tells Sky News (reported by AAP) she uses her one plane at the party's expense. "I've still got my plane, well the party's plane, but all the trips I've done in that since the election, I've filled up myself." 4 July 2016 Pauline Hanson tells ABC Brisbane the party owns the plane.

ABC reporter: "Who supplied the plane by the way? I'm fascinated to know." Pauline Hanson: "No. That's owned by the company. By the party. Yes." ABC: "So by your political party?" Pauline Hanson: "Yes." ABC: "Your political party owns an aeroplane?"

Pauline Hanson: "Ha ha. It was a It's only a little Jabiru." ABC: "Wow." Pauline Hanson: "Bundaberg. Made in Bundaberg so anyway, it's um Yes." 14 September 2016 Pauline Hanson thanks Victorian developer Bill McNee and his wife Renata, who were present in the public gallery, in her maiden speech for helping her "spread my wings". "A couple of strangers came along at the right time, helped me spread my wings and gave me the support and assistance I needed that now sees me standing on this floor today," Senator Hanson said.

"These people are no longer strangers but dear friends, welcome at home any time for another lamb roast. Thank you, Bill and Renata." 21 November 2016 Bill McNee calls for an end to political donations. 18 January 2017 Independent Australia investigates the plane ownership and finds it was registered to James Ashby in June, 2015. "IA spoke with Recreational Aviation Australia and was advised James remains the sole owner of Jabiru 24 8637. No mention of One Nation or Hanson on the registration." 3 April, 2017 Former One Nation official Ian Nelson tells Four Corners Mr McNee gave funds to James Ashby.

ABC - "Did James Ashby ask Bill McNee for a plane?" IAN NELSON: "He just kept saying I'm a pilot, you know w- we should be flying Pauline around and and then Bill said, 'Well, we'll have to get you a plane then'. That's how that conversation went." ABC - Two days later James Ashby wrote this text message to a party official: (TEXT MESSAGE) 13 April 2015: 'We need to talk to Bill about funding it.' ABC : The official responded: (TEXT MESSAGE) 5 May 2015: 'We had a good chat with Bill. I think Pauline's going to go for the plane' ABC: Eight days later, donor Bill McNee sent this email to Pauline Hanson and James Ashby: (EMAIL) 13 May 2015: 'James we will sort out the plane tomorrow as well.'

ABC: "And after that message was sent between James Ashby and Bill McNee, did a plane arrive?" IAN NELSON: "Yes, very shortly afterwards, brand new Jabiru." ABC: "How was that funded- the purchase of that aeroplane?" IAN NELSON: "Well, after Bill McNee said, 'Yes we'll have to get you a plane', to my understanding that means, 'well all right, I'll buy you a plane'. But as it turns out, Bill McNee didn't buy the plane, but as I understand it, he transferred the funds to James Ashby, not the Party, not Pauline, but to James Ashby." ABC: Bill McNee has denied funding the purchase of the plane.

Following the Four Corners report, James Ashby releases a statement confirming he owns the plane - "It's the second plane I've owned. I'm very capable of buying my own planes. The hours used for the party have been declared." 1 May 2017 Pauline Hanson tells Sky News it was too complicated for her to say who owned the plane. "Well, it was my plane to actually use. So what am I going to say, 'oh hold on a minute, this belongs to James Ashby', then going into a big spiel about the whole lot? It was a plane that I used to get myself around the state during an election campaign period of time. So I was fortunate enough to have the plane." Senator Hanson said Mr McNee did not donate the plane to the party or James Ashby, but she does not explain who bought it, or where the funds came from. "It's not donated. Right? What James does in his business is his business, right? The plane has never been given to the party, it was never given to me as ummmm  Ian Nelson said the plane was gifted to me, it was never gifted to me. Ian Nelson was out of the party because I moved him on, because he could not handle the AEC work.
And on that note I'll bid you a good evening. You can follow the developments in Matthew Knott's story here.

Don't forget Parliament is back next week when we will have the budget.

Andrew Meares, Alex Ellinghausen and I will be on deck to help you with all your news.

Until then you can follow me on Facebook.
As with individuals, so with governments. Management books are full of advice about how and when to be decisive. But, quite often, the best thing to do is  precisely nothing.

Consider the situation where whatever it was we were meant to do subsequently turns out to be a very bad idea. In this case, we could say to ourselves, how clever we were, how prescient, not to have acted.

We learned at school that procrastination is the thief of time, and so it is. But, as with all wise sayings, it is true only some of the time, or only up to a point.

The public sector has many splendid examples of serendipitous non-activity. You just have to be on the lookout for them. Back in the 1960s, town councils that thought they were being very progressive got rid of the verandahs shading shopfronts in the main street, because motorists kept driving into the posts that held the verandahs up.

These days, of course, the councils that never got around to outlawing verandahs, or couldn't afford it, are having the last laugh, not only because the summers are hotter than ever before (and cantilevered shop awnings are not as effective as verandahs at keeping out the sun), but because verandahs are popular with tourists who are on the lookout for something picturesque. Despite the efforts of developers to make us think that change is both inevitable and desirable, the result is that whole swathes of towns and cities begin to look much like everywhere else. Who wants to visit a place that looks just like the one they came from?

Sometimes, it is the determined loner who makes a difference. I remember visiting, on a very dark day in November a few years ago, the French town of Albi, in southern France. The river Tarn flowed deep and fast below us, while over the town loomed the fortress-like Gothic cathedral, built in the 13th century to proclaim victory over the Cathars. The cathedral is notable because it is one of few in France that still has its rood screen, somewhat damaged in the French revolution, but still mostly intact. (Rood screens, many of them intricately carved, separated the area around the altar from the nave of the church, where the hoi polloi worshipped).

Revolutionaries considered that cathedrals were particularly redolent of the bad, corrupt and superstitious order of the ancien regime. In the case of Albi's cathedral, the plan of the revolutionary directorate was to sell both the building and its contents. A condition of the deal was that the buyer should eventually demolish the building.

At some risk to himself, a local citizen decided to ward off this intention. In some accounts, he is described as a savant, in others as an engineer. Perhaps, being French, he had worked out a way of being both. Anyway, this person wrote repeatedly and often to the directorate, pointing out the importance to the nation of the priceless heritage that was contained within the building. It is said that this correspondence so preoccupied the bureaucrats that they never went ahead with the plan.
The Perth family who tragically lost three children alongside their grandfather in the MH17 tragedy in 2014 have reached a settlement with Malaysian Airlines.

Anthony Maslin and Rin Norris' children, Mo, eight, Evie, 10 and Otis, 12, died when the plane they were travelling in was shot down over Ukraine.

The young siblings had been heading home to Perth with their grandad Nick Norris after a family holiday in Europe when their plane was struck by a missile, killing 298 passengers on board.

The details of the settlement are confidential but Malaysia Airlines and Colin Biggers & Paisley - who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family - confirmed the matter had been resolved, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency tipped off Colombian authorities to their suspicions about an Australian woman potentially smuggling drugs out of the country before Cassandra Sainsbury was arrested at Bogota international airport, according to reports.

The last-minute purchase of a plane ticket in Hong Kong for the Adelaide woman to travel to Colombia via London was a red flag that raised the suspicions of US drug authorities, who alerted their Colombian counterparts, The Australian reported.

The plane ticket was bought by an unknown party for Ms Sainsbury, a former personal trainer, to travel to the South American country alone, and for a relatively short period.

Ms Sainsbury, 22, arrived in Colombia on April 3, and Channel Seven reported that US authorities might have forwarded her passport details to Colombian police as early as April 5, warning she might try to smuggle drugs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Credit:AP "I hope that we will achieve understanding on joint measures in this very important and very delicate area of international politics," Putin said at a nationally broadcast news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with the Russian leader on Tuesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Putin has said the chemical attack, which killed more than 80 people, was a provocation by rebel forces, an assertion the Trump administration has dismissed while placing the blame on Assad. Trump, who spent his election campaign expressing admiration for Putin, said after the missile strike that relations with Russia "may be at an all-time low". The two presidents spoke after Trump's inauguration in January and again when Trump offered condolences in the wake of an April 3 bombing in the St. Petersburg subway that claimed 16 lives. "Certainly, without involvement of such a country as the US, these problems cannot be solved efficiently," Putin said.

An alliance with the United States is impossible. Konstantin Sivkov, member, Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Science On Monday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed in a phone conversation to meet on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting next week in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to State Department and Russian officials. Putin has orchestrated a peace process in Syria that has brought together competing regional powers Iran and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Sochi on Wednesday to discuss Syria with the Russian leader. But despite Putin's expressed hope for a rapprochement with Trump over Syria and the cooperative tone of Tuesday's phone call as expressed in the readouts from the White House and Kremlin, some Russian analysts have ruled out cooperation between Russian and US forces. The American demand to remove Assad "rules out the possibility of Russian-American cooperation in Syria, because we won't allow the removal of Assad before his term is up," Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, said recently.

"Of course, we will not give in to such blackmail." Russia is committed to a peace process, put together by Putin, that brings together Turkey, Iran and Syrian rebel groups. Putin also wants to use Syria as the site of Russia's permanent military base in the Middle East. Konstantin Sivkov, a member of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Science, said that "an alliance with the United States is impossible." At the heart of Russian uncertainty was the "impulsiveness of decision-making" that led Trump to order the April 7 missile strike on a Syrian government air base. "The lack of consideration of these decisions, and lack of a clear goal and assessment of the consequences, sharply raises the possibility of military conflict," he said.

Merkel, meanwhile, arrived in Russia to meet with Putin as German industry stepped up pressure on her to lay the groundwork for improved economic relations with Moscow. Those relations have been dampened by international sanctions tied to the Kremlin's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its proxy war on behalf of separatists in eastern Ukraine. But Merkel and Putin sparred over Ukraine, where a peace process worked out with the German Chancellor's considerable effort, called the Minsk accords, has bogged down, with both sides accusing the other of breaking ceasefire agreements. "I would like us to make sure that the sanctions are lifted upon the implementation of the Minsk accords," Merkel said at the news conference. In Ukraine, many oppose the stipulation in the Minsk accords that would allow two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine broad autonomy. Kiev considers it a Kremlin ploy to prevent Ukraine from integration with Western European organisations. The issue is a matter of national pride in Russia, where nightly reports on state-controlled news programs tell of atrocities by Ukrainian "fascists" while denying the involvement of Russian armed forces in the conflict. Tuesday was the third anniversary of an event in which Russia says Ukrainian nationalists in Odessa forced people into a building and burnt them alive.

"Those responsible have still not been held accountable and have not been punished," Putin said. "The international community cannot either forget about that or allow such barbarous crimes to be committed again in the future." A Western condition for the lifting of sanctions has been Russia's return of Crimea to Ukraine, which Moscow has ruled out. Alexei Pushkov, a senior Russian legislator, tweeted on Sunday that neither "sanctions nor resolutions will change the fact of the unification of Russia and Crimea. They can kick themselves, but they can't have it back." Merkel also brought up allegations that authorities in the Russian province of Chechnya arrested 100 gay men, at least three of whom died, according to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last month that Moscow had received no confirmation that any violations against gays took place.

"I asked the President to use his influence to protect the rights of minorities," Merkel said. Putin, in response to a question about the detention of protesters in Russia, said Russian police behave far more "liberally" and with more restraint than European authorities, "who use tear gas and truncheons to break up demonstrations". Another cause for tensions between Germany and Russia is the assertion from European political parties that Russia is meddling in their elections with hackers and fake news stories, the same accusations that the US intelligence community directed at Moscow following Trump's election victory. Russia backs the candidacy of right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, who will face off against centrist Emmanuel Macron in France's presidential run-off vote Sunday. The Kremlin has consistently denied involvement in any of the election campaigns.

"We never interfere with the political life of other countries," Putin said on Tuesday while dismissing the allegations that Russia had also interfered in the US presidential election as "rumours" created "for a domestic battle". The US intelligence community has concluded that Russia meddled in the election in favour of Trump - an issue Democrats have sought to highlight along with Trump's positive statements about Putin during the campaign, before the airstrikes in Syria strained relations between Washington and Moscow. "Trump's bromance with Putin appears to be back on track," Adrienne Watson, deputy communications director at the Democratic National Committee, said on Tuesday with regard to the phone call. Loading "Instead of sending Putin a tough message on backing Assad's brutal regime, Trump appears to be opting for a strategy of appeasement."
Gaza City: Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that has authority over the population of the Gaza Strip, released a new manifesto on Monday moderating its position toward Israel - if only slightly - and distancing itself from rival Islamist groups in the Middle East.

The new declaration, an apparent attempt to reverse Hamas' increasing isolation, is the first revision of the group's charter since it was founded during the first Palestinian intifada three decades ago as a militant underground faction devoted to a religious war to destroy Israel.

The new document endorses the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, with Jerusalem as its capital, as part of a "national consensus" among Palestinians. While that may be a tacit acknowledgment of Israel's existence, the revision stops well short of recognising Israel and reasserts calls for armed resistance toward a "complete liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea".

The document was announced in Doha, Qatar, the base of Hamas' politburo leader, Khaled Meshaal.
Most homicides in U.S. occurred in

5 percent of counties, says study

By David Sherfinski. April 25th, 2017

The homicide rate may be rising in some U.S. cities, but slayings are still a localized phenomenon, with most U.S. counties not seeing a single homicide in 2014.

The vast majority of homicides occurred in just 5 percent of counties, and even there the murders were localized, with some neighborhoods untouched by the violence, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Crime Prevention Research Center.

"I just think most people have a real misunderstanding about how heavily concentrated murders are," said John R. Lott Jr., the author of the study. "You have over half the murders in the United States taking place in 2 percent of the counties."

President Trump vowed in his inaugural address to end "American carnage" in the nation, especially in crime-ridden inner cities, and the report offers more data points that depict a distinct urban-rural divide in the U.S.

About 70 percent of the counties, accounting for 20 percent of the U.S. population, had no more than one murder in 2014, with 54 percent of counties experiencing zero murders, the report found.

Meanwhile, 5 percent of the counties, which made up nearly half the population, accounted for more than two-thirds of murders in the country, with the highest numbers concentrated in areas around major cities like Chicago and Baltimore. .......

Anti-rights people all too often like to conveniently paint the whole nation with the entire homicide picture. It is however a pretty stark truth that a handful of inner cities and counties are where the figures are highest, with mainly illegal guns and the conflicts due to turf wars and drug dealing. To use these factors as a means to punish the legal gun owner is all too often the de facto excuse to try and further the 'gun control' agenda while ignoring the real facts.

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At the invitation of the Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) Secretariat, the WCO attended a Regional Workshop to assist OCO members with the uniform application and implementation of the Harmonized System (HS) 2017. The Workshop was held in Nadi, Fiji, from 24 to 28 April 2017.

It was attended by seventeen Customs officers representing fifteen Customs Administrations of the OCO and was facilitated by experts from the WCO, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), New Zealand Statistics, the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES - Australia) and the OCO Secretariat.

The main objective of the Workshop was to assist OCO members in the uniformity in the implementation, interpretation and application of HS 2017. Moreover, it was also aimed at assisting members to implement their obligations under a number of free trade agreements currently under negotiation.

The Workshop was officially opened by Mr. Seve Paeniu, the Head of the Secretariat of the OCO. He highlighted the importance of implementing HS 2017 given a number of international and regional conventions/instruments that are being implemented or currently under negotiation. Mr. Paeniu further highlighted the OCO initiative to build up a pool of regional experts in the Pacific through a long-term capacity development program with the aim to ensure that there is capacity available at the national level to sustain the HS implementation and any subsequent amendments in the future. He also acknowledged the work of the OCO Technical Working Group on HS, partnership with WCO, SPC and NZ Statistics and the financial assistance provided by Australia and New Zealand to enable the Workshop to occur and to support the implementation of the HS 2017.

The participants noted presentations by the WCO on the HS Convention and HS 2017 amendments including the WCO tools and instruments developed to assist members with the application of the HS and to modernize tariff classification and related infrastructure. The WCO also made presentations on the materials developed under the WCO Revenue Package to respond to the Members needs in respect of fair, efficient and effective revenue collection.

Three member countries, Fiji, Vanuatu and Nauru, presented their national experiences on HS 2017 implementation. The key issues that were highlighted in the presentations included the process of adoption of the HS 2017 and this included the need for establishment of a project team, the use of WCO HS 2017 tools, the correlation exercise, drafting of the new tariff, approval process for the legislation and the internal and external awareness on the changes.

The update on the work on Pacific Tariff Framework was provided by SPC (the Secretariat of the Pacific Community) and it was noted that most of the OCO member administrations had not implemented HS 2017 since its effective date on 1 January 2017. To assist members, the Pacific Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (PACHS) 2017 was being developed and would be completed by June 2017.

Throughout the Workshop, the participants discussed key challenges and opportunities regarding their implementation of HS 2017 and shared experiences in improving their classification work and capacity. The participants also developed the OCO Action Plan for implementation of HS 2017 clearly identifying national capacity building needs. As part of members capacity building initiative, the participants supported the need to establish the OCO Training of Trainer Programmes aimed at enhancing the delivery techniques of a pool of regional trainers and to prepare them to conduct training within their respective Customs administrations.

The WCO supports the initiatives and is prepared to further assist with the implementation of HS 2017 in the Pacific and to establish a pool of expert trainers in the region.
From 24 to 27 April 2017, the World Customs Organization (WCO) successfully held a regional Transit Workshop for Caucasus and Central Asia region in Tbilisi (Georgia), with the financial support of the Japanese Customs Co-operation Fund and the cooperation of Georgia Revenue Authority.

The four-day workshop focused on the discussion of the existing national and regional practices as well as new initiatives undertaken by the states for transit facilitation. The WCO Secretariat used this platform to inform the countries of the region about the WCO Transit Guidelines, a new WCO tool that was endorsed at the PTC session in April and will be officially launched at Global Transit Conference in July 2017. The Transit Guidelines are based on the international legal framework, such as WCO RKC, WTO TFA, and consist of 150 guiding principles for establishment of efficient and effective transit regime.

Transit facilitation is crucial for the region of Caucasus and Central Asia for both intra-regional trade and, on a larger-scale, trade between the West and the East. In this region, there is the highest concentration of the landlocked countries, which implies that to reach the sea port the goods must cross at least one foreign country. Thus, all Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are landlocked. In Caucasus there is only Georgia that has the coastline of the Black sea, other two countries - Armenia and Azerbaijan are landlocked too. All those countries were invited to the workshop. Due to the trade structure of the region, Belarus, another landlocked country from European region, also joined this workshop. Apart from the landlocked countries, experts from transit countries important for this region, such as China, Georgia, Iran, Ukraine joined the discussion. Regional and international organizations involved in the matter of transit policy also took part in it: Eurasian Economic Commission (EAEU), German International Cooperation (GIZ), as well as International Road Union (IRU), Organization for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD) due to the fact that the overland transport (road and rail) is the most popular means of transport in this region.

At the field visit to the border-crossing-post between Georgia and Azerbaijan the participants had a chance to see the full spectrum of the customs formalities performed at the Georgian side that follows the Coordinated Border Management approach. Georgian Customs has the responsibility for all types of controls at the border: customs, phyto-sanitary, veterinary, transport, etc. (except for the passport control for the passengers that is performed by the Border Control Agency). It was highlighted that the goods transited through the territory of Georgia do not require any financial security (customs guarantee), and all relevant risks related to transit goods are mitigated by the risk management system. A significant physical facilitative measure applied by Georgian customs is so called drive-in submission of the documents, which means that the driver does not leave the track and passes all documents through the window of the car to the counter of the Customs office.

At the workshop the participants exchanged their views on the current developments related to transit facilitation in the region. It was announced by IRU and the representative of China Customs that the TIR transit system in China will be operational by the end of the year 2017. Georgia and Ukraine communicated to the audience the progress in implementation of their obligations on accession to the Common Transit Convention that falls under general conditions of the Association Agreements with the EU. Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Eurasian Economic Commission conveyed about the transit regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union. The initiatives of other regional institutions, such as CAREC, TRASECA, One Belt-One Road were also discussed.

All participants appreciated the work of the Secretariat on the development of the Transit Guidelines as a necessary instrument for benchmarking their national and regional developments related to transit. They will send their national practices to be incorporated into the text of the WCO Transit Guidelines as Members Practices. The participants requested the WCO Secretariat to organize more capacity building activities on transit in the region.
At the invitation of Mr. Papa Ousmane Gueye, Director General of Senegalese Customs, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya attended the 22nd Conference of Directors General of Customs of the West and Central Africa region, held in Dakar (Senegal) from 26 to 28 April 2017. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Amadou Coulibaly, Acting Director General of Cote dIvoire Customs, the current Vice-Chair for the West and Central Africa region.

Mr. Amadou Ba, Senegals Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, welcomed participants on behalf of the President and Government of Senegal. He recognized the important role of Customs in responding to many of the challenges currently facing States in the region, including collection of revenue, combating terrorism, securing the international supply chain, the growth of e-commerce, trade facilitation, development of partnerships, and the future introduction of a continent-wide free trade area in Africa. He also emphasized the importance of IT as a means of increasing effectiveness, inter alia in facilitating legitimate trade and detecting and combating illicit activity. In that regard, he welcomed the WCO theme for 2017 - Data analysis for effective border management.

Secretary General Mikuriya presented the current key priorities of the WCO: trade facilitation following the entry into force of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation where the Revised Kyoto Convention was a key implementation tool; e-commerce and the response of Customs to ensure appropriate levels of facilitation and compliance, as well as the collection of revenue; security and the role of Customs in combating terrorism; Customs-tax cooperation; and illicit financial flows where the WCO had been mandated by the G20 to contribute to its work on this issue.

The meeting endorsed these priorities which would be to the fore of the discussions at the upcoming Policy Commission and Council sessions.

The Secretary General also provided details of upcoming WCO events including the Origin, IT and Transit Conferences, as well as the Knowledge Academy.

In the course of the Conference, delegates heard a number of reports on the activities undertaken in the region over the past year and those planned for the coming months. In addition, there was particular focus during the Conference on:

- The developments, challenges and experiences in respect of the re-appropriation by Customs administrations of Customs functions previously assigned to inspection companies.

- Progress with the interconnection of transit systems in the region including through the regional groupings, particularly ECOWAS. In this connection, the Secretary General urged Members of the region to attend the Global Transit Conference which would be held at WCO Headquarters immediately after the Council sessions in July.

- Progress achieved with the "Securite par Collaboration (SPC++)" project aimed at combating growing insecurity in the region, the project being led by Nigeria and primarily involving the countries in the Lake Chad area.

The region took the following decisions regarding its representation on various WCO working bodies for the next financial year: Policy Commission - Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria; Finance Committee  Gambia; Audit Committee - Gabon and Togo.

The Secretary General expressed his appreciation to the Vice-Chair for the conduct of a successful meeting and his special thanks to the Senegalese Customs Administration for the warm welcome extended to delegates and for the excellent organization of the Conference.

After the conclusion of the Conference, the Secretary General and Heads of Delegation were received by Mr. Mohammed Dionne, Prime Minister of Senegal, who appreciated the importance of the work being carried out by Customs administrations and the WCO.
Hammamet, Tunisia, 24-28 April 2017

In cooperation with the Embassy of France to Libya and with the support of the Tunisian Customs, the WCO organised the first regional Middle East and North Africa (MENA) workshop on The role of Customs in security and development: the function of cultural heritage protection from 24 to 28 April in Hammamet, Tunisia. This workshop became the first practical step to fulfill the commitment laid out in the WCO Council Resolution on the role of Customs in prevention of illicit trafficking of cultural objects, adopted in July 2016, as well as to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2199/2015 and 2347/2017, whereas the latter Resolution emphasises a critical role the WCO plays in this domain of enforcement and empowers Customs authorities to act. The overall objective of this workshop was to analyse the situation in the region and identify ways to support Customs administrations in prevention of illicit trafficking of cultural objects.

The workshop received a great deal of media attention. More than 40 delegates, including the representatives of the Customs administrations from eleven countries in the region, such as Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen; other international partners, such as the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and United Nations Security Council Monitoring Team; national governmental authorities as well as archeologists and representatives of museums and non-governmental organisations participated in the workshop. It was opened by Mr. Adel Ben Hassen, Director General of the Tunisian Customs, who emphasised the important role Customs administrations are playing in preventing illicit trafficking of cultural objects and provided with an insight on the work of the Tunisian Customs with other border agencies, particularly the Tunisian National Guard. Ms Mariya Polner of the WCO articulated the link between fragile borders, the overall security situation and illicit trafficking of cultural objects: the current situation in the MENA region contributed to the reasoning behind the WCO decision to dedicate its resources primarily to the countries that are most affected by the current crisis. Other keynote speakers included Mr. Mohamed Ben Chouikha, the Head of Cabinet, Finance Ministry of Tunisia; Ms. Noura Rezgui, a representative of the Anti-Corruption Agency and Mr. Faouzi Mahfoudh, Director General of the National Heritage Institute of Tunisia.

The five day workshop included a mix of lectures, an analysis of the Customs capacities on the national level, as well as discussions on Customs practices as well as available tools and instruments. The workshop also included a visit to Bardo museum and a round-table with the museum professionals to discuss the issues related to storage and handling of cultural objects. In the end of the workshop the participants developed a set of Recommendations for the Customs administrations in the MENA region. Special attention was dedicated to the Recommendation on training needs in this domain, which will be used as a guideline to develop a training package for the MENA region to be deployed by the WCO and its partner organisations in September 2017.

The workshop was closed by the Ambassador of France to Libya, Her Excellency Ms Brigitte Curmi, and Tunisian Customs Director General Mr. Adel Ben Hassen.
Infringing the Right to Bear Arms-

you need a permit to do that

By Rob Morse. April 25th, 2017

Article Source

We hear a lot of shallow words about rights. A right is a power you already have that you want the government to leave alone. It would be nice if the government would protect your rights, but they should at least stop infringing on them. When we consider the many layers of government, it is easy to see that they have a very difficult time leaving any aspect of our lives unregulated. The power of a government to regulate a right is the power to destroy that right, particularly when it comes to our right of self-defense. Governments infringed that right so badly that now tens of millions of us cant get the required permits to bear arms. Politicians rationalize their regulation of self-defense by wrapping their restrictions in the cloak of public safety. In fact, that cloak has often been the white sheet of racism directed against minorities and the poor.

Sometimes the racism is blatant. Sometimes it is subtle, like demanding long term residency before a law enforcement officer grants a carry permit.

You aint from around here, are ya.

Some of us cant receive the permits to keep and bear arms, and some of us can. The exceptions are often politicians and their large political donors. Even as a media celebrity you have to demonstrate the approved political leanings or you wont get your permits approved.

Permits are granted as political favors. Donors of this class often have their own security details anyway, so these purchase and carry permits are like vanity plates. The people who really need a gun for self-defense the most, people like the poor single mom who lives in the bad part of town, they are least likely to have the required political connections.

Judges ignore that politically motivated bigotry every day.

Some politicians and law enforcement officers hide their prejudices behind rationalizations. One excuse is called demonstrated need or good cause. They ask us to show that we will face an ongoing threat of death or great bodily injury. How do you prove what the future will hold since past injuries are no guarantee of future assaults? Under this pretext, police chiefs and judges have denied rape and kidnap victims the privilege to bear arms for their own defense.

In the space below, cite documented police reports to substantiate your claim.

[______]

Some cities make it hard but technically possible for ordinary citizens to get a permit. For example, they might demand a permit before you can touch a gun, let alone rent one, buy one, or get a permit to carry a concealed firearm in public. In the most infamous cases, cities demanded live-fire training to get a permit, and then denied businesses the permits necessary to build and operate a firing range inside city limits. Affluent people simply drove to distant ranges in the suburbs and got the training they needed. The poor were simply denied their right of self-defense.

Put not your faith in judges.

Judges let the police have a live-fire shooting ranges inside city limits, but those same judges accept the citys blatant discrimination against law abiding citizens who want to protect themselves.

This bigotry against honest citizens costs time, money and lives. The costs for mandated permits and training can exceed the price of the gun. It may take many trips to government offices to get and fill out their mandated permits. More importantly, it may take many days off work. The working poor are least able to take time off from work and from tending to their home and family. The poor are disarmed by the cost of government regulations.

It may take months before government bureaucrats process your application and grant you the god-given right to protect yourself with a tool, or not. Those who are at the greatest risk may not have months to wait. Domestic abuse victims were murdered while they waited for these government permission slips. Ive never heard a government official step forward and accept the blame for these avoidable deaths.

The world isnt fair. Rich people hire subordinates to wait in line and deliver the required documents to government bureaucrats. The wealthy have lawyers that will create the required documentation and fill out the permit applications so that they are acceptable to government officials. The poor wait in line, wait their turn, and do their best, if they can.

So who qualifies for these rare government permits? Some sheriffs will automatically grant the privilege of self-defense to judges, lawyers, and doctors. These are the same professions that law enforcement works with on a daily basis. Permits are sometimes given to dentists and pharmacists because of the pain medications they handle. Sheriffs and police chiefs grant permits to some jewelers and bankers because of the valuables they carry. Sometimes not.

Handling money on a regular basis may mean that bankers get permits. Sometimes it means that apartment managers and vending machine operators get permits. Dont expect consistency when were plumbing the depths of human rationalization. The process is arbitrary, lawless, and capricious. Vending machine operators may get a permit because they handle cash, but hairdressers may not. Doctors can get a permit, but not nurses or physician assistants.

Few of us have lived perfect lives, and fewer still can perfectly fill out a government form where we ask to have our right to self-defense respected. Anything can be used as an excuse to deny our request. Did you have a speeding ticket, a DUI, or a non-violent felony like a bounced check in your past? Perhaps you have not lived here long enough.

Some jurisdictions will let you pay a lawyer thousands of dollars so you can stand before a judge and ask to have your rights restored. Some individuals cant get their rights restored because of their financial situation. Unfortunately, some states dont allow appeals or restoration at all. Similar people living under similar situations receive vastly different legal treatment depending on their means and where they live. Judges look the other way at this injustice.

Judges and government regulators have long recognized the racism of denying jobs, insurance, and financial loans to minorities. We routinely examine school acceptance rates and then work to eliminate disparate treatment of the poor. Unfortunately, judges look the other way when police chiefs deny poor minorities the right to bear arms for their own defense. Separate and unequal is the rule of the day.

Some judges and political pundits would tell us that the right to self-defense is respected. That is theory. In practice, government officials deny the right of self-defense to millions of law abiding adults. The right to bear arms is infringed.

~_~_

Weve covered permit schemes here in part two. Part one talked about gun-free zones.

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4 policemen suspended for abetting smugglers

Four policemen have been suspended for their alleged involvement in abetting smugglers in Bara and Parsa.
The following jail bookings were logged by the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office:

4/29/17

Laci Joe Brown, 35 year old white female was booked into the VPSO jail for one count of theft by shoplifting.

Justin Brown, 23 year old white male was booked into the VPSO jail for one count of possession of a schedule II narcotic, two counts of possession of a schedule III narcotic, possession of a legend drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

4/30/17

Houston Manuel, 19 year old white male was booked into the VPSO Jail for one count Domestic Abuse Battery

Tyler Welch, 20 year old white male was booked into VPSO for DWI and Improper lane usage by the Louisiana State Police.

5/1/17

James Calvin Semans, 26 year old white male was booked into the VPSO Jail for Domestic Abuse, Battery, Aggravated Battery.

Jerri Cassandra Bennett, 43 year old white female was booked into the VPSO jail for reckless operation and Criminal Damage to property.

Kurt R. Schmi, 55 year old white male was booked into the VPSO Jail for DWI 1st offense and careless operation by the Louisiana State Police.

Any indication of an arrest does not mean the individual identified has been convicted of a crime. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Closed Rasuwa border likely to open today

The Rasuwagadhi border point is closed since Saturday as the Chinese authorities are constructing a road below the Resuwaport-Kerung road section in Thongsa.
By WestKyStar Staff May. 02, 2017 | 10:54 AM | PADUCAH, KY

The walk consisted of interactive, walk-through activity stations, each featuring a page from the children's book Construction, by Sally Sutton.

Dozens of children ages 2 to 5 explored construction-themed stations, played with Legos, colored activity pages, ate dirt pudding snacks, and each received a copy of the featured book to take home with them.





This was our first, and certainly not last, StoryWalk day, and it was a blast, said Denise Wooley, county agent for the extensions Family & Consumer Sciences department. We were thrilled with the turnout of community members, and the kids really had a great time. Part of our job here is to nurture families and promote healthy homes and communities. We hope this event was truly an extension of that.





The McCracken County Cooperative Extension hosts community events, clubs and workshops weekly. More information about upcoming events can be found at www.mccrackenextension.org/events.

The McCracken County Cooperative Extension held its first-ever StoryWalk activity day Friday, April 28, welcoming over 50 children and their families to the fun-filled event.
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Tatum's 39 points help Celtics hold on to beat Grizzlies 109-106
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 02, 2017 | 04:13 AM | PADUCAH, KY

A Ballard County man was arrested early Tuesday after police say he was caught sexting a young girl.According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Department, 27-year-old Matthew Pool of Kevil is accused of sending explicit messages and inappropriate photos and videos of himself to a 13-year-old girl. The girl told her parents, who said they intervened with the man on the girl's device, and contacted police when he allegedly continued to send pictures and videos.

Detectives, posing as the 13-year-old girl, agreed to meet Pool after he got off work Monday night. Pool arrived just after midnight Tuesday morning and was taken into custody without incident. Inside Pool's vehicle, police found a loaded semi-automatic 9mm handgun, some marijuana, digital scales with residue, alcohol in a cooler and a Hydrocodone pill.



According to deputies, Pool first denied knowing anything about meeting up with the girl and denied messaging her. But he later gave a full confession to detectives and admitted to all the messages, photographs and videos sent. Pool also admitted to being involved with illegal drug activity.

Pool was arrested and transported to the McCracken County Regional Jail on charges of unlawful use of electronic means originating or received within the commonwealth to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activities, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substance and possession of marijuana.



The second paragraph of this story has been edited to indicate parental intervention prior to contacting law enforcement.
By National Weather Service May. 01, 2017 | 09:21 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The National Weather Service in Paducah has issued a special weather statement that another sizable rain event is coming to our thoroughly soaked region on Wednesday and Thursday.Although the upcoming rain event will not be as significant as what we received over the weekend, there is still concern as another 1 to 2.5 inches of rain will fall over already saturated ground. The heaviest rainfall is expected to fall along a line from near St. Louis eastward along and north of I-64 across southern Illinois and southwest Indiana.This upcoming event may be more of a flash flood and less of a river issue in southern Illinois. However, it may be an issue on the larger systems such as the Mississippi. River forecasts on Tuesday will include the expected rainfall from this upcoming system. There will likely be some revisions to current amounts and locations as we get closer to the event.The current dry period will allow a great deal of runoff to occur, which will help the situation. The upcoming rainfall should only produce minor rises on the Big Muddy, Skillet Fork, Little Wabash, and Wabash rivers.Mainly, this rain should slow the fall and keep rivers at a high level for a longer period of time.The smaller rivers in southeast Missouri will generally crest before or during the event, and the heaviest rainfall will be well to the north of those basins.

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 01/05/2017 (2018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If youre planning to buy a new home in one of the citys newest subdivisions, its going to cost you thousands of dollars more than it would have last week.

Thats because Monday was the day the City of Winnipegs controversial new impact fee on new residential developments in new and emerging neighbourhoods came into effect.

The fee is based on the size of the home, and is roughly $5 per square foot. So an 1,800-square-foot home, which industry officials say is the average size of a new home built in Winnipeg, now costs about $9,700 more than it did last week.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Winnipeg home builders have been under pressure to beat the city's new impact fee that went into effect May 1.

In the case of a 2,200 -square-foot home, the added cost is about $11,000.

Homebuilders and homebuyers have known since late last October that the new fee was coming on May 1. So the scramble has been on since early November to get building permit applications filed before the deadline. That has resulted in a surge in both building-permit numbers and housing starts.

The president of Parkhill Homes said Monday his firm had five clients in the last two weeks move their purchases ahead so they could beat the May 1 deadline and not have to pay the impact fee.

We only build about 20 custom homes a year, Derek Thorsteinson said. So to have 20 per cent of your yearly volume suddenly walk in and say, In the next two weeks we need the building permit submitted and everything, we had to work night and day to get things done.

He said he could understand why they were desperate to beat the deadline. He noted two of them were buying 2,200 square foot homes, so the savings was about $11,000.

Thats a lot of money in a house purchase. Thats your hardwood floors and granite countertops, or even putting in a (screened-in) deck in back, he said You can put a lot of stuff in your house for $11,000 to $12,000, instead of giving it to the city.

Thorsteinson said his employees werent the only ones scrambling to meet the impact-fee deadline. The structural engineer who has to approve their design plans before Parkhill can submit the building-permit application told him he been run off his feet doing last-minute work for Parkhill and a number of other homebuilders.

I dont think he slept for the last month, Thorsteinson added.

Its also been pedal-to-the-metal for staff at Qualico, the provinces largest homebuilder.

Weve been working hard on it (homes sales and building-permit applications) for the last couple of months, said John Daniels, the firms senior vice-president for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Weve got enough permits in now to last us for probably a good part of the year.

Daniels said home-sales and building-permit activity began ramping up shortly after city council approved the new fee.

He said Qualico submitted at least twice as many permit applications as usual in the first four months of this year. The city has said homebuyers and homebuilders who got their permit applications in before May 1 have until Nov. 1 to begin construction, and Daniels said Qualico fully expects to meet that deadline, as well.

The new fee is designed to offset the cost of providing new infrastructure  things like regional roads, transit service and recreation and leisure facilities, in new residential subdivisions within the city. Local developers and homebuilding are strongly opposed to the new fee, and are challenging it in the courts on the grounds that the city didnt have the authority to impose it.

Manitoba Home Builders Association president Mike Moore said the citys decision to impose the new fee prompted some prospective buyers who were sitting on the fence to proceed with their purchase before the deadline.

It did cause a fairly significant number of permits to be submitted, he said. As for whether somebody did not make it in time, I dont know.

He said the April building permits wont be coming out for another couple of weeks. Building-permit data for the first three months of 2017 on the citys website shows how many permits were issued, but not how many applications were filed. It shows an 11 per cent increase in the number of permits issued, and an 86 per cent increase in the value of residential permits issued.

Moore noted that in his April 11 budget, Manitoba Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said building-permit activity in Winnipeg was up 195 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation also released data last month showing a 131 per cent increase in the number of housing starts recorded in the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in the first three months of 2017. Industry officials attributed much of the increase to builders and buyers scrambling to beat the citys May 1 deadline.

Moore said now that the deadline has passed, he expects to see a sharp decline in building-permit activity within the city, and a sharp increase in permit activity in communities outside the city, where the fee doesnt apply. He said communities like Headingley, LaSalle, Oak Bluff, Lorette and Stonewall are all reporting an increase in building-permit and homebuilding activity. And that trend is expected to continue.

But he said there have already been enough building-permit applications filed to keep construction crews busy until later this year or early next year.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Elon Musks Space Exploration Technologies launched a sensitive mission for the U.S. military and landed the rockets booster on land, marking the companys fifth successful mission of 2017.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying NROL-76, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, rumbled aloft about 7:15 a.m. ET Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a livestream of the mission on SpaceXs website showed. The launch, originally planned for Sunday, was delayed 24 hours due to a sensor issue.

Roughly nine minutes after lifting off, the rockets first stage returned to Earth, a feat SpaceX first accomplished in December 2015. Landing, refurbishing and reusing rockets is key to the companys vision of making space travel increasingly affordable.

John Raoux / The Associated Press A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket carrying a classified satellite lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday.

Launch and landing of the NRO spy satellite was good, CEO Musk said on Twitter. Tough call, as high altitude wind shear was at 98.6% of the theoretical load limit.

Minutes before the launch, Musk had warned that winds aloft are unusually high, calling the conditions worrying, but not a showstopper.

SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket won U.S. Air Force certification for national security space missions in May 2015, breaking a lock long-held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. Contracts for military launches include satellites that let troops communicate on battlefields and are estimated to be valued at about US$70 billion through 2030.

Though SpaceX sees rapid, reusable rockets as the key to driving down launch costs and opening up access to space, the air force is still exploring how the certification process will need to be adapted for pre-flown hardware.

Unlike commercial satellites, these satellites are not privately insured  a launch failure means the nation and its warfighters are without capability until a replacement is launched, James Spellman Jr. of the Air Force Space Commands Space and Missile Systems Center said in an email.

 Bloomberg News
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This article was published 01/05/2017 (2018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One in five Manitoba students has been bullied on the basis of appearance, and eight per cent believe they have been treated unfairly by their teachers.

Those data emerged from student surveys and back the urging of Winnipeg School Division trustee Lisa Naylor to hold a Body Confidence Awareness Week every October.

Her motion will be tabled this evening, and go before WSD trustees for debate and a vote May 15.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Naylors motion  emulating a special week to deal with unhealthy body image created by the Toronto District School Board  says that students bullied about their weight and appearance perform poorly in school and suffer eating disorders and self-harm at much higher rates.

The weeks activities would encourage respect for body diversity. Details are at winnipegsdca.civicweb.net.

In 2008, WSD trustees rejected a proposal from trustee Mike Babinsky that report cards include a students body mass index to indicate to parents if their children were overweight. Babinsky said at the time: If our kids are fat now, what are they going to be like five years from now?

Meanwhile, trustees will vote this evening on establishing a one-year term position for a program director and co-ordinator who would oversee a major expansion of the divisions international student program

International students pay considerably higher fees than the per-student costs for Manitoban students, along with the cost of boarding with families.

Last week, the division told Education Minister Ian Wishart that WSD schools are so overcrowded it needs a new high school and two new elementary schools immediately.

A proposal to start a swim-to-survive program for Grade 4 students next year at a cost of $63,000 is still being discussed with the city and province, trustees will learn tonight. Trustee Mark Wasyliw came up with the idea after several young people drowned last year, some of them new Canadians who had not had swimming lessons.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Known as Ukraines silent massacre, the Holodomor will have a voice this weekend at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The second Holodomor Education Conference: Education  Awareness  Action is happening Friday through Sunday at the CMHR and is hosted by the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium.

The conference will feature prominent speakers and internationally recognized academics from across Canada, including several from Manitoba, who will discuss the Holodomor, human rights and genocide, and provide educators and advocacy groups with hands-on teaching guidance to bring the Holodomor and issues surrounding it to students of all ages.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Richard Hechter of the University of Manitoba.

From 1932 to 1933, an estimated 10 million people in Ukraine died in the man-made famine that came to be called the Holodomor. The famine was inflicted by Josef Stalin and the Soviet government through a series of restrictive policies.

The conference is being held to increase public knowledge about the Holodomor and assist educators in bringing the Holodomor, its history and its effects to students and into school curricula across Canada.

A news release from the consortium says conference sessions will have a diverse and inclusive focus from expanding knowledge bases, to providing some of the latest methodologies in exploring human rights and genocide in the classroom.

Joyce Apsel of New York University will be the keynote speaker Saturday morning, while Norman Naimark of Stanford University will be the keynote speaker during Saturdays commemorative dinner at the Fort Garry Hotel.

Valentina Kuryliw, the consortiums director of education and chairwoman of the national Holodomor education committee with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, will open the conference Friday at 9 a.m. along with CMHR president and CEO John Young, and David Mandzuk, the dean of the University of Manitoba faculty of education.

A highlight of the event will be a panel discussion Saturday called Human Rights and the Holodomor that will be moderated by Richard Hechter of the U of M. Panelists for that session will include John Wiens, dean emeritus of the U of Ms faculty of education, Lise Pinkos of the CMHR and Antonio Jose Tavares  a specialist from Manitoba Education and Training  on teaching of genocide and human rights to refugee children and students from war-affected backgrounds.

At the commemorative dinner Saturday, Holodomor survivor Sonia Kushliak will speak in honour of all Holodomor survivors.

The news release noted little has been known about the Holodomor because it was denied, covered up and ignored in both the former Soviet Union and in the West.

For more information on the Holodomor, go to www.holodomor.ca.
Industry Minister Joshi breaches election code of conduct

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Opinion

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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a Saturday in late April and we were leaving Segovia Tapas Bar and Restaurant just as the distinguished-looking white-haired gentleman and the woman he was with were being seated.

Theres a game I occasionally play to test my intuition  and he appeared to be the perfect person to play it with.

Are you a professor? I asked. A teacher?

Carl Shavitz (from left), Lori Ogden Pike and their Artisan Bread School graduates: David Newsom, Michaela Bowen, Mary Brown, Brent Prockert and Gloria Keith.

He smiled, as did his equally amused companion.

Yes, he replied, in a refined English accent.

Then he handed me his business card.

Carl Shavitz, it read. Director. Artisan Bread School.

The telephone number suggested his school was located in England.

So what were he and his assistant, Lori Ogden-Pike, doing in Winnipeg?

As it turned out it, it had nothing to do with the Canadian Prairies once being known as the Breadbasket of the World. Shavitz and Ogden-Pike were conducting a week-long course at Kitchen Sync, the downtown dining and catering rental space with the commercial kitchen that Sheila Bennett founded and operates out of a century-old heritage building on Donald Street.

Bennett would later tell me five students paid about $2,500 each for the privilege of learning from a bread-making master  a deal considering what it would cost to take his next week-long course in Italy. The price per person there is nearly 2,500, but in euros.

I get that there are people in Europe prepared to pay that kind of money to learn the craft of making focaccia in Tuscany, but who pays that much to master artisan sourdough bread-making in Winnipeg?

Shavitz invited me to drop by and learn more.

Which is how, late last week, I came to be introduced to the students, two of whom  Mary Brown and Gloria Keith  arent even from Winnipeg. They flew in from Toronto. Brown works for an industrial bakery but signed up online mostly out of personal interest, as did Keith who had been working alone in her own kitchen in Huntsville, Ont., trying for the last year to learn artisan bread-making.

Its the second time Shavitz has been to Winnipeg, which has become his only Canadian stop in North America. The last time he taught here, most of the students were from the United States. One couple came all the way from Puerto Rico and have now opened their own bakery, which Shavitz says is common even after a week-long course.

His assistant, Ogden-Pike, quit her 19-year job as a church secretary after taking the course and opened Wild Flour Bakery, a Saturdays-only pastries and artisan bread shop in her hometown of Saint Paul, Ind., population, 1,031.

As for the other three students from last weeks course, they were all from Winnipeg and had a business connection.

Brent Prockert operates All Season Catering; David Newsom and his wife are relocating her familys business, Integrity Foods, from the Interlake to Winnipeg and will soon open Hildegards Bakery as a storefront at Maryland Street and Portage Avenue. Then theres Michaela Bowen, whos just 21 and works in St. Boniface for La Belle Baguette.

This is more for me, Bowen said, but its also for us to expand our bread menu a little bit, too.

Shavitz was particularly impressed with Bowens progress and talent.

Photos by Gordon Sinclair Jr. / Winnipeg Free Press Carl Shavitz of the British-based Artisan Bread School was teaching in Winnipeg last week.

Shes like a sponge, he said. Ive encouraged her. She could be very good if they let her.

As for Shavitz, I got lucky guessing he was a teacher because the energetic 77-year-old has done more than bake bread. He was born in New York City and arrived in England in 1966 as a 26-year-old Fulbright Scholar, music was his major and the lute, a guitar-like instrument popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, was his specialty. He managed to play it professionally from 1967 to 1988, when he decided he had had enough of some of the people with whom he was touring.

I simply walked off stage, put the instrument into a case and never looked back.

Now when he looks back, its with fondness of being on stage at the Sydney Opera House and other international locations.

He went on to become a radio engineer with NPR, recording Finnish music in Finland, then worked as an agent for a classical radio station in Britain and then, at 60, he decided to become a chef. That led to making bread for restaurants in London and, ultimately, doing what he does now  teaching courses in Europe, the U.S. and now, in Winnipeg.

How did that happen?

Accidentally, he said.

A local woman he connected with online asked if he would teach a course here and subsequently he was introduced to Bennett and Kitchen Sync. Over the course of the two courses hes taught here, the charming Shavitz has made friends with local chefs and bakers, and even supplied some of the bread fresh out of the oven to Deer + Almond and pop-up gigs that chef Ben Kramer has staged.

As for reviews from students at last weeks course, the two women from Toronto called the course amazing and awesome, while Prockert of All Seasons Catering had a more personal take.

My low-carb diet is toast.

Actually, thats not all he had to say.

I really think it was a little bit easier than I thought it would be. I think that has a lot to do with Carl, though, and his demeanour. Hes far more patient than I would have been.

Shavitz flew back to England Sunday and Ogden-Pike returned home to Indiana, but Bennett is convinced they will be back  and that there are other students who will be happy to come to Winnipeg. And pay all that dough to make artisan bread with a master.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police are remaining tight-lipped about what prompted an officer to shoot a man inside a popular downtown skywalk. But their union believes Mondays chaotic, high-profile incident will ultimately prove to be a textbook example of upholding public safety.

Im confident our members acted in the manner in which theyre trained. Im absolutely sure, Winnipeg Police Association vice-president George Van Mackelberg told the Free Press Tuesday. Im sure they eliminated a threat to both themselves and the public.

Yet Van Mackelberg admits the silence coming from police brass  whose headquarters are located in the same building as the noon-hour shooting  doesnt necessarily help instil confidence, with so many questions swirling about what happened. He said holding back certain details at this point could cause some people to jump to unwarranted conclusions and hinder the reputation of the officer and the police service.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Police tape blocking the skywalk between the Millennium Library and the Police Headquarters following a shooting, Monday.

Im sure many people on the job, and off the job, think the same way, he said. Unfortunately, the service is (between) a bit of a rock and a hard place. I dont believe anybodys hiding anything. I dont think the chief is being coy with anybody. Its just that nobody can say anything.

The Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) has taken over the investigation, which has led to Winnipeg police insisting they cant release details beyond the initial confirmation from Chief Danny Smyth a man was shot by an officer at 12:20 p.m. Monday inside the skywalk at 266 Graham Ave. He was initially deemed to be in unstable condition, but a single sentence news release Tuesday morning indicated the man was stable.

Police have refused to answer other questions, including: how old was the man who was shot? Was he in possession of a weapon? Had he threatened anyone? What is the gender of the police officer who opened fire? How many shots were fired? Where the man was hit? How many years of experience does the officer have? Was the officer in uniform or plainclothes? Has the officer returned to active duty? How many members of the public were in the vicinity at the time? Is the shooting victim facing criminal charges? Is he known to police?

I hoped we were very clear, both in (Mondays) release, and (Tuesdays) brief update on the condition of the male shot, we are not able to provide any additional information on this incident as its now with IIU. Not quite sure why youre asking, police Const. Rob Carver said Tuesday in response to a written request from the Free Press for information about some of the above questions.

The Free Press sent the same questions to the IIU. A spokeswoman later confirmed the man who was shot is 25 years old but provided no other details about him or what led up to the incident, saying all of that information forms part of the IIU investigation.

As for the current status of the officer, the IIU said those are employment matters and outside the mandate of IIU, so I have to refer you back to WPS on that one.

A review of other recent police-involved shootings in Manitoba that went to the IIU shows police have released at least some details about the events leading up to the incident.

For example, RCMP issued a news release after a deadly November 2015 shooting of a motorist near Thompson in which they say an officer had tried to stop an erratic driver on the highway. Mounties said the officer tried to do a traffic stop, which led to a brief pursuit. The vehicle eventually stopped, and RCMP said the officer approached it, only to have the driver suddenly accelerate and hit the officer. The officer then fired his weapon, killing the driver and wounding a female passenger.

That month, Winnipeg police released some details after a 24-year-old man was shot and killed by at least two dozen police officers who had chased his vehicle into a field near the corner of Grant Avenue and Kenaston Boulevard. Although many of the same type of questions from Monday went unanswered  including whether the dead man had been armed  a police spokesman stressed the high number of police units responding to the incident was indicative of the urgency of the situation, based on information received by the department.

The appropriate level of resources, police units, were dispatched and involved, said Const. Jason Michalyshen. We were obviously responding to a situation where we had significant concern. Officers were presented with an extreme situation. This is the worst-case scenario. No officer wakes up in the morning and wants to be involved in such an event. But there is always that possibility.

As for Mondays incident, police havent officially said a word about what prompted them to come into contact with the man. Some of those blanks have now been filled in by witnesses tracked down by media. Van Mackelberg also expanded a bit Tuesday when pressed, saying he believes the IIU review will be a favourable one for officers.

He had an edged weapon, he went into a place where there were civilians. He was a threat, to the people there and the officers who tried to convince him to put it down, he said. We have one of the most regulated jobs in the country, as it should be. They had an inquiry here that deemed there needs to be an additional layer of oversight.

The IIU was created in the wake of the Taman inquiry to remove any hint of favouritism when police agencies investigate misconduct or criminal allegations against their own officers. Crystal Taman was killed by off-duty Winnipeg police officer Derek Harvey-Zenk in a car crash in 2005. In a controversial plea deal, he was convicted of dangerous driving causing death. Other charges of refusing a breathalyzer, impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death were stayed by the Crown. It was later revealed those charges were dropped because East St. Paul police botched the investigation.

The IIU now investigates all serious incidents involving police in Manitoba. The permanent unit, which is under the jurisdiction of Manitoba Justice, is made up of eight investigators and two investigative managers from various jurisdictions and backgrounds. Its not known when they may conclude their investigation into Mondays shooting and release their findings.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was striking when, in the media coverage of U.S. President Donald Trumps first hundred days in office, most observers noted with relief that his foreign policy has turned out to be less radical than they feared.

In fact, its not radical at all. He has already fired cruise missiles at a Middle Eastern country, a ritual that has been observed by every American president since Bill Clinton.

The old Trump was an isolationist who opposed U.S. military intervention overseas unless U.S. interests were directly threatened.

ANDREW HARNIK / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES U.S. President Donald Trump campaigned as an isolationist, but now he has discovered that a little sabre-rattling abroad yields instant popularity at home.

When it seemed likely in 2013 that former president Barack Obama would attack the Syrian regime over its alleged use of poison gas on civilians, Trump tweeted: The only reason President Obama wants to attack Syria is to save face over his very dumb RED LINE statement. Do NOT attack Syria, fix U.S.A.

And lo! Obama did not attack Syria after all, although it had crossed the red line he had drawn in a statement the previous year.

On sober second thought and after being warned by James Clapper  his director of national intelligence  that the evidence suggesting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assads regime was responsible for the gas attack, while robust, was not a slam dunk, Obama decided not to launch cruise missiles at Syria.

(Curiously, there was no Trump tweet praising Obama and taking credit for his change of mind.)

This was the moment when Obama broke decisively with the foreign policy orthodoxy in Washington and the think-tank experts and the reigning media pundits never forgave him for it. Towards the end of his second term, he explained his decision to Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in the following terms.

Theres a playbook in Washington that presidents are supposed to follow. Its a playbook that comes out of the foreign-policy establishment. And the playbook prescribes responses to different events and these responses tend to be militarised responses In the midst of an international challenge like Syria, you get judged harshly if you dont follow the playbook, even if there are good reasons why it does not apply.

It did not apply because destroying the Assad regime would just hand Syria over to the jihadi fanatics of the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda. It did not apply because the Russians might intervene to save Assad, perhaps leading to a direct U.S.-Russian military confrontation. It did not apply because there was no support for an attack in Congress. And it did not apply because it was not even certain that the Syrian regime was to blame.

Dont do stupid stuff was Obamas prime rule in foreign policy and, emulating George W. Bushs decision to invade Iraq in order to destroy Saddam Husseins non-existent weapons of mass destruction definitely qualified as stupid. Even treating the Middle East as a region vital to American security was stupid.

With the Cold War over and the United States no longer dependent on Middle Eastern oil, it wasnt even important any more.

Fast forward to 2016 and Obama must have been torn when he contemplated his successors. Hillary Clinton had worked for him and would preserve his legacy in domestic affairs, but she was totally orthodox in foreign policy and would follow the playbook wherever it led. Whereas Trump, in his crude and simple way, actually shared Obamas distrust of the foreign policy elite.

But with Trump it was just gut instinct, not a reasoned analysis of why the playbook was wrong. Once he was in office and another poison gas attack in Syria landed on his desk, that instinct was swiftly overwhelmed by an even stronger urge to do something dramatic.

In politics, the Law of Mixed Motives always applies. No doubt Trump was truly horrified by the images of dead beautiful babies, but he was also aware that his policy successes in the first hundred days were sparse and that his popular approval numbers were way down.

So off went the cruise missiles, although the evidence that the Assad regime was responsible for the gas attack was even less certain than last time. It was purely a gesture  aimed mainly at the U.S. domestic audience  and there has been no follow-up. But it did conform to the playbooks rules and the response of the lamestream media verged on the ecstatic.

Trump doesnt give a fig for the playbook, but he does care about popularity. He campaigned as an isolationist, but now he has discovered that a little sabre-rattling abroad yields instant popularity at home.

He is surrounded by people who still believe in the playbook and they now know how to press his buttons. There will probably be more limited military strikes with cruise missiles, not just in the Middle East but also in northeast Asia. And there may well be more wars, because sabre-rattling is not a precise science.

Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
Opinion

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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has corrected his boast about his role in defeating the Taliban in Panjwai province 11 years ago.

He no longer claims to be the architect of Operation Medusa but attributes that role to David Fraser, the Canadian major-general who was in charge of the multinational force carrying out the operation.

The opposition parties in Parliament, smelling blood, are now questioning Mr. Sajjans character and demanding his resignation.

Justin Tang / The Canadian Press Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan

The case does not call for dismissal or resignation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might, however, leave Mr. Sajjan twisting in the wind for a little while, as an example to others. The wages of boasting is mockery. The spectacle of the defence minister facing his critics in Parliament after he has already admitted his fault should help encourage other cabinet ministers to think twice about enhancing their accounts of past triumphs.

Whole shelves of the worlds libraries are filled with the recollections of Second World War veterans, each of whom played the crucial role in defeating Hitler. Allowance should be made for genuine heroes  and Mr. Sajjan was commended for his personal bravery in the operation  to shine a bright light on events whose importance others may not appreciate as fully.

A cabinet minister, however, is held to a higher standard than other war veterans and is fittingly subject to mockery when his war stories veer into boasting at the expense of his comrades-in-arms. The mockery is a sufficient penalty. The minister is chastened, the record is corrected, the penalty is paid.

The minister got in trouble on April 18 when he gave a speech in New Delhi, India, at a conference on conflict prevention and peacekeeping in a changing world. His speech, including the claim that he was the architect of Operation Medusa, was reported in Canada and elicited complaints from other Canadian veterans of the Afghan war. Someone distributed a video of the speech. Mr. Sajjan issued a statement on Friday saying many people had contributed to the success of Operation Medusa. He followed this with a Facebook post on Saturday retracting his description of his role and offering apologies to his colleagues and superiors.

Police officers and airline flight attendants are learning the hard way that anything you do in front of witnesses may be recorded and that electronic record may be widely circulated. They are having to learn the extra mental discipline of asking themselves: how will this look when it goes viral on social media?

We now have a defence minister who not only knows 21st-century warfare from direct personal experience but who also knows the perils of boasting about personal achievements where there were plenty of other witnesses to set the record straight.

This is not a minister the country should get rid of. This is a minister with enough hard-earned scars and bruises to serve the government and the country well.

Dont fire him. Stand him up in Parliament in front of his accusers. Let him take the flak, explain himself, lick his political wounds and then return to work. Let the rest of the government watch his self-induced ordeal and learn from it. Let them learn to back down immediately when they are caught, because the gradual, reluctant retreat just makes matters worse.

Better still, let them learn to imagine the viral video of what they were about to say and hold their tongues.
Winonas City Council unanimously rejected a request by the citys Human Rights Commission on Monday night to divest with major banks funding the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The commissions request specifically referred to Wells Fargo Bank, which has been the subject of protests across the country for their participation, along with other large banking institutions, in a $2.5 billion loan that would help fund completion the project.

Chuck Ripley, the commissions chairman, said that the city should stand with the Dakota people in protesting the pipeline development.

Our recommendation regarding divestment from Wells Fargo is obviously tied to the national movement  and the primary funding role that Wells Fargo played in the Dakota Access Pipeline, Ripley said. We want to recognize the role they played in the Dakota Access Pipeline nationally.

More than 20 people came to show support for divesting at the meeting.

The pipeline has been the subject of several protests over the past year in Winona.

Supporters say the pipeline would expand markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic. Protesters say the pipeline could threaten water supplies for millions, since it will cross the Missouri River, as well as harm sacred Native American sites and artifacts.

Despite several council members saying they were sympathetic to the cause, the Human Rights Commissions call to divest completely was unanimously rejected.

A weaker motion by council member Paul Schollmeier would have the city work toward reducing their current and future investments in companies that heavily favor fossil fuel extraction at the expense of native peoples.

That motion was also voted down, with Schollmeier and council member Pam Eyden dissenting.

Schollmeier noted that the city was making steps as an organization to be more environmentally friendly and reduce dependence on fossil fuels as a whole.

We are working really hard in this community to change who we are environmentally, Schollmeier said.

Other council members said it would be too difficult, or just unnecessary, to divest in the company.

Mayor Mark Peterson said that he was also sympathetic, but didnt see how they could go look at all companies the city does business with and choose based on their investments.

My issue isnt what bank  its how do we look at their investment portfolios and cherry-pick, Peterson said. Thats kind of a road that I dont really want to travel down.

Council member Al Thurley said that there would likely be investments by most companies that would anger some segment of the population, and he didnt want to force opinions on some segments of the city.

Im not ready to impose those kinds of social responsibility  on our total community at this time, Thurley said.
WINONA, Minn.  Retired business executive Glenn Sanders of Winona was in the Navy stationed on the Pacific island when the B-29 Superfortress airplanes Enola Gay and Bockscar left Tinian to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, bringing World War II to a close.

Soon after that, he participated in three surrenders of Japanese holdouts who hadnt known that the war was over.

On Saturday, Sanders will be among approximately 95 military veterans on the 19th Freedom Honor Flight from La Crosse to Washington, D.C. The trips allow veterans to visit memorials  such as the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials  for free.

I think its wonderful, Sanders said of the Freedom Honor Flight program. Ive donated to it, and I look forward to going on it and seeing the monuments. Im excited.

Sanders has been to Washington before on business, but this will be the first time hes had time to enjoy seeing the memorials.

Sanders, 91, retired in 1991 as executive vice president of Household Finance Corp., after 43 years with the nationwide lending company.

Sanders, who grew up on a farm in western Kansas, married Winona native Elaine Douglas in 1948. They moved from Illinois to Winona in 1993, and she died in 2006.

Sanders is still active in Cornerstone Community Church in Goodview, Minn., where he serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher. He also is active in Gideons International, a Christian association best known for distributing Bibles free of charge.

Sanders served in the Navy from February 1944 to February 1947, reaching the rank of boatswains mate master-at-arms 2nd class. He was stationed on the island of Tinian from January 1945 to May 1946. The island already had been taken by U.S. forces in a battle from late July to early August 1944.

Sanders was involved in the operation of a prisoner of war camp there. But his main job on Tinian was being part of the military government private enterprise group for the island.

We were getting the Japanese and Korean (civilians on the island) back in the businesses they had before they were bombed out during the battle for the island, Sanders said of his work with the private enterprise group.

We got along with them OK, Sanders said of the Japanese and Korean civilians who lived on the island. The Japanese military hadnt treated them very well. We helped them build community kitchens where they would come and get food for their families every day.

Sanders also participated in three surrenders of Japanese soldiers who had held out in a small jungle in the center of the island. The Japanese commander on Wake Island was brought to Tinian to help convince the jungle holdouts that the war was over, and that they should surrender.

We put him on a Jeep with a loudspeaker and drove him out to the jungle, where he announced that (Emperor) Hirohito had surrendered and commanded all of the armed forces of Japan to surrender, Sanders said. That led to the arrangement for us to march up and meet the Japanese that were going to surrender the first time.

Two Japanese holdouts were in the third surrender that Sanders participated in. Their clothes were so rotten, they asked us to leave fresh clothes on a stump so they could surrender looking decent, he recalled. We left them some Navy dungarees, and they surrendered the next day.

Sanders remembers meeting a member of the crew of the Enola Gay sometime after it dropped the first atomic bomb used in war.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski, were absolutely necessary, Sanders said. U.S. officials anticipated 1 million casualties if an invasion of Japan had to be launched, he said. There was already a big hospital built (on Tinian) to handle a lot of casualties in case of an invasion, he said.

Sanders will be among approximately 180 people on Saturdays Freedom Honor Flight. They include about 95 veterans, plus volunteer guardians, a medical crew and a few volunteer Freedom Honor Flight directors.

Most of the veterans served in the Korean War, but about 10 are World War II veterans, said Bill Hoel, a Freedom Honor Flight board member.
Winona

Tuesday

10:16 a.m.  Devon Micheal Anderson, 22, Winona, was cited for leaving the scene of an accident, no Minnesota drivers license, failure to yield and no proof of insurance when he left after not stopping at the stop sign on Franklin Street while west bound on Eighth Street and collided with a Winona womans truck.

2:19 p.m.  Police recovered a truck near the intersection of Fourth and Harriet streets which had been taken from Boomers Plumbing on the 900 block of east Eighth Street Saturday. Nothing was damaged or missing.

3:01 p.m.  A juvenile woman reported that a purse containing $150 and a cell phone was taken from her car while she and others were in Lake Park, potentially by another car which pulled up next to it and then left. The purse and phone were later found by the railroad crossing at Franklin Street, but not the money.
The book didnt have cute puppies in it, but second-graders Enrique Garcia and Mady Howell agreed that it was still pretty good.

For their final project, Winona State students in Mary Hudgens Hendersons intermediate Spanish course were tasked with writing and illustrating a Spanish-language childrens book.

Some wrote about elephants. Some wrote about lonely dinosaurs. And this week, those budding authors are sharing their stories with students in the Spanish Language Immersion Program at Madison Elementary School.

Enrique and Mady gathered around Las Nutrias, a nonfiction book about otters written by Megan Hickey, a freshman majoring in Spanish and nursing.

Flipping through the watercolored pages, reading the lines shed written in Sharpie, Hickey described everything youd ever need to know about otters: where they live, what they eat, how they behave.

As if it were bedtime, Mady spread out on a rug and rested her head on a pillow.

Page after page fluttered by.

El fin, Hickey said upon reaching the end.

Mady perked up and, as if in coordination with Enrique, gave the author a sitting ovation.

I learned that otters live everywhere but Antarctica and Australia, Mady said.

I learned they eat meat, Enrique said.

Then, the young ones took the opportunity to read a story to Hickey.

Enrique chose a book about an elephant who ponders whether to share his ice cream cone with his friend, a pig.

Howell chose a book about a pigeon who reluctantly shares his hot dog with his friend, a duckling.

They are perfectly fine books, the two kids agreed, but cant compete with their favorite.

The cute puppy book, they said and pulled it off the shelf.

Given the pairs literary preferences  that theyre suckers for cute animals  it is probably a good thing Hickey chose to write about otters.

Theyre one of my favorite animals, she said. Theyre cute and interesting.

For instance, she told the kids, some otters will cuddle up inside seaweed blankets to keep from drifting too far as they sleep.

What, she figured, could be cuter than that?
SPRING GREEN  Wisconsins Celtic heritage will be on display during a celebration in Sauk County this weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin will hold its 85th annual Welsh Hymn Sing at Christ Lutheran Church in Spring Green.

The free Celtic Weekend For All will include seminars, literary and artistic competitions, a concert performed by Madison-based musicians Turner Collins and Sheila Shigley, and a traditional Gymanfa Ganu  or Welsh singing festival.

Each year, the organization holds a weekend-long celebration in a different city around the state. Its the largest Welsh event of the year in Wisconsin and attracts visitors from across the Midwest.

Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association President Dale Hughes said the Welsh have a strong presence in Wisconsin because large numbers of Welsh people emigrated to the area as farmers in the mid-1800s. Other Welsh immigrants became miners and settled in southwestern Wisconsin.

Like most immigrant groups, Hughes said the Welsh people stuck together to preserve their cultural identity. One of their strongest traditions is the Gymanfa Ganu, which is a festival of sacred songs sung in four-part harmony by a congregation. The music is led by a director and usually accompanied by organ or piano.

The Welsh are known for their singing in male choirs, but also their four-part singing, Hughes said.

This years Gymanfa Ganu will be directed by Danny Proud of Madison. The musical director of more than 20 years said the singing is the highlight of the Welsh festival each year.

We dont hold back, he said. People are singing out and getting into the spirit of the event. Its a worship service, but its all in song.

The weekends festivities will kick off on Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. seminar on the Manx people in Wisconsin, who emigrated to the region from the Isle of Man, located between England and Ireland. The seminar will be presented by James Hibbard, curator of the National Manx Museum in Platteville. Following the seminar, Robert Humphries is slated to discuss the history of Welsh people in Iowa County and Spring Green.

After the presentations, there will be an open-mic variety show and Eisteddfod, a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. This years Eisteddfod theme is spring, and features competitions in the literary and visual arts.

Per Welsh tradition, the prize for the competition is a chair with a decorative cushion. The visual arts winner will receive a crown, which in this case will be an embroidered commemorative knitted cap.

Saturdays activities will end with a Celtic concert at 7:30 p.m., featuring Celtic musicians Turner Collins and Sheila Shigley performing the music of the Irish, Scots, Welsh, Cornish and Bretons.

The celebration will culminate Sunday afternoon with the 85th annual Gymanfa Ganu starting at 2:30 p.m. Proud said he hopes the Welsh hymns inspire and connect visitors with their Celtic heritage.

I hope people are inspired and moved by the experience, and for those who have a Welsh background to feel that connection on a deeper level, he said.
Long road ahead

The government has decided to build the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track on its own as per the detailed project report (DPR) prepared by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS). Construction of the expressway must be started immediately as it can contribute to the countrys economic transformation.
A Sauk County man convicted of fatally stabbing another man during a Baraboo street fight will have an opportunity to be released from prison before the end of his life, a judge ruled Monday.

During a sentencing hearing, Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock set Oct. 4, 2045, as the date at which Jae M. Robinson, of North Freedom, may first apply to be released on parole.

That does not guarantee Robinson will be released on that date. The application may be contested by prosecutors, and could be denied by a judge.

I do not believe that Mr. Robinson was looking to kill somebody that night, Screnock said. And I think that does matter.

The law requires those convicted of first-degree intentional homicide to be under lifetime supervision of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. But it gives judges discretion to allow defendants an opportunity to apply for supervised release at some point after at least 20 years of confinement.

I am not convinced that as Mr. Robinson sits here today, that he is absolutely irredeemable, Screnock said. And for that reason, I will find that he is eligible for extended supervision at some time.

Robinson is 29 years old. He will be 58 years when he becomes eligible to apply for supervised release.

Prosecutors charged that Robinson was one of three men who participated in the homicide of 36-year-old Anthony Inman, of North Freedom, and substantial battery of his friend, Anthony J. Peterson, 33, of Mauston. A woman who drove the three men from the scene also has been charged as a party to the crimes.

Robinson used Inmans own knife to stab him during a post bar-time fight near the corner of Walnut and Lynn streets in October 2015.

Prosecutors alleged Robinson and his two friends lured Inman and Peterson to the intersection and ambushed them with blunt force objects. During a jury trial in January, Robinson claimed Inman first attacked him with a butterfly knife, and that he stabbed Inman in self defense.

Robinsons sister and mother said during Mondays hearing they believed him when he said never intended to kill Inman.

The victims sister, mother, and widow also spoke during Mondays hearing, asking that Robinson be incarcerated for life without the possibility of parole. A video that included statements from Inmans children also was played for the judge.

I forgive you, Jae, but I will never forget, Inmans mother, Patricia Burd, said. It isnt easy to live life without your first born child.

Sauk County Assistant Attorney Linda Hoffman attacked Robinsons character during a statement in which she asked that he never become eligible for release. She referenced text messages recovered from Robinsons cell phone in which he casually referenced incidents of violence and the desire to kill people.

Hoffman also chronologically summarized Robinsons prior criminal history, which included multiple violent crimes since the age 17.

Robinsons attorney, Michael Covey of Madison, highlighted a section in a report that corrections workers prepared about his clients life history. The document apparently noted that Robinson was severely bullied for being overweight as a child.

Covey did not go into details, but said the bullying was more than verbal, was nothing less than torture, and consisted of multiple felonies being carried out on Robinson over the course of years. He said the abuse  which Robinson hid from his family  transformed him at a young age.

He learned that when he fought back, people left him alone, Covey said.

In response to Robinsons self-defense claim, prosecutors have pointed out that Inman was stabbed repeatedly, including wounds to his heart, lung, and liver. His throat was slit, and neither Robinson nor his co-defendants contacted authorities before or after they fled the scene.

Robinson responded to that argument during Mondays hearing as a read from a written statement. He likened his actions to those of a hunter in the woods being attacked by a bear.

If the hunter shoots the bear once, and the bear continues to attack, Robinson said, the hunter does not stop shooting. You continue to shoot until the threat is neutralized, he said.

During his statement, Robinson expressed remorse for taking another persons life, but continued to insist that he acted in self defense and never intended to kill.

On the substantial battery charge, the judge sentenced Robinson to the maximum penalty allowed: 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release, to be served at the same time as his homicide sentence.

Covey said Monday that Robinson intends to appeal his conviction.
NORTH FREEDOM  Al Doering launched a kayak business because a rising tide lifts all boats.

Nonprofit groups and government agencies are working to revitalize the Baraboo River, with hopes of drawing paddlers and anglers and promoting tourism. As tourist traffic grows, boosters see business opportunities springing up along the riverfront.

We hope the public is as excited as we are about the opportunities that could result from this, said North Freedom Clerk/Treasurer Kayla Steinhorst, president of the Friends of the Baraboo River.

Hopefully itll bring business for all of us in town, Doering said. Theyre working very hard at this to try to get this to go.

Village leaders convinced Doering, owner of North Freedom Repair, to create a canoe and kayak rental and shuttle service. Baraboo River Canoe & Kayak Rentals will take its maiden voyage May 10.

Doering has bought 16 kayaks and eight canoes, plus 14-passenger shuttle buses that will drop off paddlers at North Freedoms boat launch, then pick them up downriver at Giese Park in the town of Baraboo, Haskins Park in West Baraboo or  for the more adventurous types willing to brave the rapids  the former site of the Glenville Dam in Baraboo.

Theres not anything like it in the area, said Erica Channing, who helps Doering run North Freedom Repair and Baraboo River Canoe & Kayak Rentals.

Doering developed a love for the river growing up in La Valle. He learned to swim and fish in the Baraboo River, catching carp, muskie and sturgeon. You never know what youre going to have at the end of your line, Doering said. Id like to see people have the opportunity to experience the river.

He and Channing have been planning the new business since last summer, creating a website, securing insurance and buying buses, canoes and kayaks. Theyll charge $35 to rent a canoe, $30 for a kayak, including shuttle service and gear.

One group outing already has been booked, with North Freedom Market catering lunch. Doering said hell consider the debut a success if it does business 20 days this summer.

He hopes customer flow will increase once boat landings in North Freedom and Rock Springs are improved. The rivers the most untouched resource in the entire area, Doering said.

He found opening a recreational business appealing because at his vehicle repair shop, customers arrive out of necessity, not by choice. Im looking forward to it, Doering said. When they want to rent a boat, theyre happy. They want to spend the money.

Doering will hire two employees to help run the new business. Down the line, he foresees outdoors outfitters springing up along the river, and Baraboo hotels and restaurants benefiting as paddler traffic creates a rising tide of tourism.

All the businesses should benefit from this, he said.
Beaver Dam High School honors chemistry students got a real-life problem to solve recently when the class teamed up with John Deere in Horicon.

Teacher Melissa Hemling said she got a $500 grant from American Association of Chemistry Teachers to provide a real life connection to chemistry for the students.

The grant was used to purchase lab equipment for the classes.

The students in her two honors chemistry classes, about 60 people, worked in small groups to study how they could improve the painting process at John Deere.

Student Paige Schumann said that each group came up with its own plan and they had to use science to find a way to fix the problem.

Everyone always ask why we learn something, and it is cool to put it in a real life perspective, Schumann said.

Dan Mack, paint process engineer from John Deere, visited the class Monday and told the students about the process of painting John Deere products.

I love having something to do with the finished project, and making it green, Mack said.

Mack told the students he was impressed with the ideas that they came up with during the class.

Mack and Hemling started coming up with ideas for the students at the beginning of the school year, Hemling said. They students have been working off and on with the project since mid April.

Now it is just the final touches to make it better, and they will turn it in at the end of the week, Hemling said.

Mack offered the students advice on their projects, but Hemling will grade them.

They had some pretty creative ways of problem solving, Hemling said.

Some of the students were very focused on keeping costs down with their chemistry solutions, Hemling said.

Hemling, who has done past projects like this with the Beaver Dam Police Department, said she is hoping to do something like this again.

A lot of these students want to be engineers so it is right up their alley, Hemling said.
A Columbus man injured in a crash on Highway 151 Friday night died of his injuries Monday, according to the Dodge County Sheriffs Office.

The sheriffs office said Hans Kubik, 68, and Mary Larson, 68, were both initially transported to Beaver Dam Community Hospital by ambulance. Kubik was then transported to Madison by Flight For Life and Larson was taken to Madison by ambulance. Kubik died Monday. There was no update about Larsons condition.

The sheriffs office said in a release that Kubik was driving a 2002 GMC pickup south on Highway 151 just south of DE in the right lane around midnight Friday. A 2017 Peterbilt semi pulling a box trailer being driven by John Lighthart, 53, Rockford, Illinois, also traveling south, struck the rear of the pickup. The pickup went off the road into the right ditch and overturned.

Lighthart was uninjured in the crash, which remains under investigation by the Dodge County Crash Investigation Team.

Assisting at the scene were Beaver Dam Police, Beaver Dam Fire Department and Paramedics, town of Beaver Dam Police and Flight For Life.
WATERLOO  Life is back to normal for Waterloo dairy farmers Shane and Jennifer Sauer following an April theyd rather soon forget.

On Monday, milk produced by the Sauers 120 cows began shipping to the couples new processor, Rolling Hills Dairy Producers Cooperative in Monroe, which informed the couple five days ago it would take their milk under a long-term arrangement.

Getting that call (from Rolling Hills) was the closest thing to our best day ever, Jennifer Sauer said Monday from her Waterloo farm, which hosted media from around Wisconsin and Canada as well as state dairy industry representatives to discuss the dairy crisis the state has faced the past month. It was a huge relief.

The Sauers were among 67 dairy farmers informed in early April by Greenwood-based milk processor Grassland Dairy Products Inc. that it would stop taking their milk after April 30 because it had lost its Canadian customers for ultra-filtered milk, a high-protein ingredient used in cheese production. That left more than 1 million pounds, roughly 100,000 gallons of milk, being produced daily with no place to go.

State officials said Monday that 56 of the 58 affected Wisconsin farms had found new buyers, with 99 percent of the daily milk production thrown into limbo by Grasslands action spoken for. The nine farms in Minnesota that had sold to Grassland have found a new processor.

The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection will continue providing support to the affected Wisconsin dairy farmers still seeking buyers as well as offer consulting services.

Too much milk

The Sauers and some other dairy farmers initially didnt panic because they thought another processor would easily be found. Thats how it always worked for the Sauers, both age 36, who were raised and had worked on dairy farms their entire lives.

But as the days passed and May 1 loomed without a buyer for their milk under contract, the Sauers became more concerned about the future of their livelihood. Processors were unwilling to take more milk because they already had too much.

Jennifer Sauer said her parents had experienced a similar crisis years ago but not to the extent of the current milk situation.

Getting that letter (from Grassland) was very difficult but when phone call after phone call (to processors) repeatedly said no, that part was hard to choke, she said.

Wisconsins dairy industry and the state rallied to the aid of the dairy farmers affected by Grasslands action. The state amended government loan programs to encourage processors to boost production and increase storage capacity while independent groups including the Dairy Girls Network launched grass-roots campaigns encouraging people to buy Wisconsin dairy products and donate them to food banks or similar programs.

The statewide support for farmers didnt surprise Karen Gefvert, director of government relations for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.

Wisconsin has a great culture and long history with dairy farming, she said. It was great to see so many people and groups come together to help these farmers connect with new processors and find solutions.

This past month has shown how our dairy family can come together in challenging times, said DATCP Secretary Ben Brancel, who worked many years managing a dairy operation.

Lloyd Holterman, owner of Rosy-Lane Holsteins in Watertown, said he personally knows about a dozen farmers, including the Sauers, who were affected by Grasslands decision, all of whom have since secured new buyers. Holterman wasnt affected because he ships his milk to Waupun-based processor Saputo.

Holterman, who has been in the dairy business nearly four decades, has never seen a market in which producers cannot find a Wisconsin processor to take their milk. He recalled an initiative by former Gov. Tommy Thompson in the 1990s, which called for the states dairy farmers to increase milk production to meet demands of the states processors.

So weve now increased milk production, but now our plants are full, so now the next step is to increase our processing capacity and keep working to find new markets for our milk and other dairy products, Holterman said.

Trade issues

Grassland had little time to react when it was informed by its Canadian customers they were discontinuing buying their ultra-filtered milk. The Canadian dairy industry instituted a new national ingredient strategy, which encouraged Canadian processors to buy ultra-filtered milk domestically and led to higher prices for the same product they had been buying from the U.S.

Ultra-filtered milk exports to Canada represented about $150 million in annual business to American dairy processors, with Grassland commanding about two-thirds of that business. While not regarded as a response to the dairy situation, the Trump administration last week placed tariffs on Canadian lumber exports to the U.S., foreshadowing what could be contentious talks with Canada, should the administration follow through on reopening negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA has been in place since 1994 and is meant to streamline trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The Sauers welcomed the call from Rolling Hills. In addition to getting back to work for their new customer, the Sauers say they will continue assisting in statewide efforts to help other dairy farmers who managed only to secure short-term deals for their milk and the handful of small operations still seeking buyers.

Farming is a lifestyle, and we werent ready to make the decision to stop farming, Jennifer Sauer said. We want to help other farmers and those businesses that work with farmers to be successful.
Columbus Community Hospital will host a Walk in the Park on Wednesday, May 31, starting at 4:30 p.m. at the American Legion (next to the Columbus Aquatic Center) in Columbus. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Columbus Recreation Department to assist in the purchase of new playground equipment for Washington Park.

One-mile and two-mile routes will be available.

Washington Park is located on the corner of Fuller Street and Park Avenue. The new equipment will connect various components together to form a continuous play opportunity for kids, encouraging decision-making and interaction with others  important ingredients in child development.

Entry forms are available from the Columbus Community Hospital Community Relations Department by calling 920-623-1280 or from Amy Jo at the Rec Department by emailing recreation@columbuswi.us. To participate in the walk, complete the form and return it, along with the $20 registration fee, to: Columbus Community Hospital, c/o Community Relations, 1515 Park Ave., Columbus, WI 53925. Make checks payable to Columbus Community Hospital.

Participants will receive a sub sandwich supper and their choice of a T-shirt, smart phone holder or shoe wallet, provided by the hospital.

The hospital organizes the Walk in the Park each year to benefit a local cause. For more information, contact the hospitals Community Relations Department.
Families are being encouraged to bike to a different destination each day of the week during Pedal Days May 15-19.

Participants will receive a passport sticker at each destination. Each sticker will be redeemable for a door prize ticket at the Bike Rodeo on Saturday, May 20.

Snacks, beverages, biking information and more will be offered at each site.

Destinations will include:

Monday, May 15, 5 to 7 p.m., Columbus Community Hospital. Kick start your week at the first passport destination for snacks, first aid supplies, a complimentary backpack, and more. Rain or shine, the activities will take place at the hospitals main entrance.

Tuesday, May 16, 5 to 7 p.m., St. Jerome School (co-sponsored by Columbus Senior Center). Visit interactive parent/child learning stations and make your own trail mix to take with you! Rain or shine, activities will be in the St. Jerome parking lot.

Wednesday, May 17, 5 to 7 p.m., Columbus Elementary School. Enjoy some obstacle courses, races, and other fun bike activities. Plus get a Pedal Days water bottle. Rain or shine.

Thursday, May 18, 5 to 7 p.m., Washington Park (sponsored by Columbus Public Library). Freewheel Community Bike Shop of Madison offers a free drop-in workshop  tools provided (for adults and teens). Mechanics will assist with tune-ups and answer questions. Younger kids will enjoy bubble-making in the park.

Friday, May 19, 5 to 7 p.m., Columbus Recreation Department, 229 E. School St. Children can get creative by decorating their bicycles to their liking. In case of rain, decorating will take place inside the DPW work bays.

The week will end with a Bike Rodeo and Bike Swap on Saturday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Columbus Aquatic Center parking lot.

Questions? Contact an activity representative:

Chris DeLapp, Columbus Community Hospital, 920-623-2200.

Kim Lang, Columbus Senior Center, 920-623-5918.

Cindy Fesemeyer, Columbus Public Library, 920-623-5910.

Cori Denk, Columbus School District, 920-623-5950.

Amy Jo Meyers, Columbus Recreation Department, 920-623-5936.
A professional mental health technician, who worked in Juneau County, was charged with stealing almost $70,000 from her clients between 2007 and 2012.

Lisa L. Kelbel, 54, of Hillsboro, was charged on April 28 with six counts of theft in a business setting. Based on two of the charges, Kelbel allegedly took more than $20,000 from two of her clients. For the two counts of theft over $10,000, Kelbel could face a fine of $25,000 or imprisonment of 10 years or both for each offense. One of the charges includes a theft of just under $6,000 and Kelbel could face a fine of $10,000 or six years in prison or both. The three additional charges range from thefts of $2,500-$5,000 and Kelbel could receive three years and six months in prison or $10,000 fines or both for each possible conviction.

Mauston police began the investigation in 2012. A detective took over the case from a retiring officer and interviewed members of the countys department of human services, adult protective services, and special agents from the Social Security Administration.

Mauston police conducted six interviews with Kelbels former clients in June of 2014. A few of the clients said Kelbel provided an allotment of money for shopping, but it would vary often. One of the clients said when she asked Kelbel for money, she was told she had outstanding checks and would only receive a capped amount.

I would get less money, the client told police.

Some of the clients suspected Kelbel was stealing from them. In August of 2014, a special agent and analyst from the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) were appointed to assist in the investigation. The analyst reviewed reports from the Mauston PD, obtained bank information from Kelbels clients, records from the county human services department and the Social Security Administration to determine which appeared valid and which were fraudulent.

According to a criminal complaint, the fraudulent transactions were mostly unexplained checks written by Lisa Kelbel to businesses that were not associated with the payee. An agent from DCI determined the thefts occurred from 12 of Kelbels clients during a five-year span and totaled $67,729.35.

Kelbel is scheduled to have an initial appearance at the Juneau County Justice Center on May 17 at 9 a.m.
A late-night house fire in the town of Plymouth completely destroyed a home and claimed the lives of two residents.

According to a press release from the Juneau County Sheriffs Office, the fire was reported just after 11:30 p.m. on April 30. The two deceased are believed to be the homeowners. The house is located at W8856 off Highway 82, east of Elroy. The sheriffs department said the names of the deceased will not be released at this time pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.

Based on the report, a family member of the two residents inside the house attempted to get the residents out but was unsuccessful. The family member received multiple burns and was taken to a local medical facility.

The fire remains under investigation by the the Division of Criminal Investigation, State Fire Marshal, Elroy Fire Department, along with the county coroner and the sheriffs office.

The Elroy Fire Department and the citys ambulance service were the first to respond. After responding, the department requested aid from fire departments in Mauston, New Lisbon, Union Center, Wonewoc, La Valle, Hillsboro and Kendall. A Mauston Police Officer also was on scene to assist with traffic direction.

Fire personnel remained at the scene throughout the night and were still present into the afternoon May 1.
Wisconsin Assembly Republicans plan to release their own transportation funding proposal by next week at the latest, Joint Finance Committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said Monday.

Nygren was light on details but said the "net cost to the taxpayer will be flat." Joint Finance member Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, is leading work on the proposal.

"Any type of fee or gas tax increase that might be contained in it will be offset by some kind of revenue decrease," Nygren told reporters.

The Republican-led Joint Finance Committee dropped Gov. Scott Walker's transportation proposal from the 2017-19 budget last month, signaling the committee will essentially build its own proposal from a blank slate. Transportation funding looms as one of the budget's most pressing questions.

Walker's $76.1 billion budget would have allocated about $6.1 billion for transportation funding, including a $40 million increase in general transportation aids to counties and municipalities. The proposal included $500 million in borrowing.

While Walker said his proposal focused on safety and maintenance, Assembly Republicans argued it didn't offer a long-term fix, and have called for a $300 million revenue hike offset by corresponding cuts elsewhere.

Walker told reporters last week there is "more than enough revenue" to fund transportation projects without increasing the gas tax or vehicle registration fees.

Walker has promised to veto a gas tax increase in any case  a slight shift after pledging to veto a gas tax hike or vehicle registration fee increase without a corresponding tax cut somewhere else.

Democrats on the budget committee have signaled a willingness to support a gas tax increase over a registration fee increase.
May Day celebrated amid improved labour relations

Nepal marked the 128th International Workers Day, also known as May Day, on Monday amid improved labour relations which have existed in the industrial sector over the last few years.
Two UW-Madison organizations will host one of the nations most controversial political scientists for an off-campus lecture this week, and demonstrators are gearing up to confront him.

Charles Murray, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute whose appearance at Middlebury College in Vermont this spring fueled national debates about free speech after protests against him turned violent, will speak at the Madison Club on Wednesday.

Murray will be the featured speaker at the UW-Madison Center for the Study of Liberal Democracys Disinvited Dinner  an event the faculty group says provides a forum for controversial speakers who have been turned away from other colleges.

Political science professor Richard Avramenko, the centers co-director, said organizers invited Murray to speak at the dinner before the appearance at Middlebury on March 2, in which a professor was injured during a confrontation with demonstrators who interrupted Murrays talk. Protests have followed his lectures at other colleges since then.

The center is hosting the event along with the Tom Sawyer Society, a UW-Madison student chapter of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a Delaware-based conservative group that Avramenko said is paying Murrays speaking fees.

Avramenko said organizers are holding the $50 per plate event in a private facility off campus  unlike the free, public lecture at UW-Madison where Murray spoke in 2006  in an effort to reduce the potential for disruptive protests.

Activists are organizing a demonstration outside the Madison Club during Murrays talk.

Faculty and students have sharply criticized Murrays 1994 book on genetics, race and intelligence called The Bell Curve. On a Facebook page for the Madison protest, the UW-Madison Student Coalition for Progress described Murrays work as pseudo-science (that) is just a modern dog whistle version of long-debunked theories like eugenics and social Darwinism.

Avramenko said he welcomes protests of the event, though he said organizers have hired private security. A question-and-answer session will follow Murrays lecture, which focuses on his 2012 book Coming Apart and President Donald Trump.

Were providing an opportunity for people to come and further criticize his work, Avramenko said. If the participants at his talk would like to question him about that work, thats fine; if they also want to bring up The Bell Curve, thats fine as well.

The event comes as lawmakers consider a new bill that seeks to protect controversial speakers ability to present their ideas at University of Wisconsin System institutions, in part by requiring schools to punish students who engage in disruptive protests.

UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank wrote in a statement that the university will extend to (Murray) the same courtesy every guest to our campus deserves.

Blank has faced criticism both from students of color who say her administration has not done enough to improve the racial climate at the predominantly white university, and from Republican lawmakers who say UW-Madison can be hostile to conservative ideas.

A universitys commitment to academic freedom and free speech is a commitment that allows all ideas to be presented and debated and that calls upon us to argue back against those ideas with which we disagree, Blank said. Just as I support Dr. Murrays right to speak, I also support the right of those who disagree with him to share their views.

I would expect that we at UW can have this exchange in a respectful way.
Portage High Schools band director didnt know the purpose of an assembly held Tuesday involving staff and the entire student body. But soon enough, after the cheering and a standing ovation, he understood it was all for him.

They kept it a secret from me, said Tom Shaver, who last week was announced as a Crystal Apple Award winner by NBC Channel 15 in Madison, for excellence in education.

It was a very cool experience, he said.

Shaver was one of five teachers in the TV stations viewing area of 13 counties to receive the award.

Hell be featured for the honor in a segment scheduled to air on NBC 15 at 6 p.m. Monday.

Shaver, who started teaching in the district in 2004, was nominated by students and parents involved in Portage Music Boosters, according to a news release from the Portage Community School District.

When I observe Mr. Shavers classroom, it is alive with music and instruction, Principal Robin Kvalo said. Mr. Shaver puts 110 percent into all he does.

Every year, he has a large number of students qualify and do very well in the state solo/ensemble competition, District Administrator Charles Poches said. He is always pushing the program to new heights.

School Board President Steve Pate added that Shaver, whose program regularly involves more than 200 students, is the key to such a robust music program in Portage. His vision and effort have created many exciting opportunities for students while sharing their talents with the Portage community and beyond, Pate said.

We are very proud of Tom and the entire music program.

Senior Heidi Considine created a video summary of Shavers teaching during the nomination process, which featured footage of the bands recent trip to New York City. That trip is just one of many benefits for students involved in band and speaks to his approach as a teacher, Shaver said.

Im always looking for ways to find life-enriching experiences for kids, he said. I try to do that. Im lucky enough to have strong administration throughout the whole district, lucky to work with high-quality colleagues who support me, and I have a really supportive family.

Shaver has been married to his wife, Sara Shaver, for 20 years. They have three children  two of whom will be freshmen next year and therefore will soon be part of the program led by their father.

Also ahead for the program is a three-day trip to Chicago for the schools marching band, which will participate in the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade, nationally televised by WGN, is a precursor to the programs long-term goal of someday participating in the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, Shaver said in April.
More than anything, I just remember the patients in my first couple of years so clearly. Many times there were surgeries that hadnt been done at Sauk Prairie Hospital before.

The time was 1977, and Dr. Tony DeGiovanni had arrived at Sauk Prairie Hospital; then called Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital. DeGiovanni had just finished his medical education at UW-Madisons medical school. Forty years later, DeGiovanni  one of the hospitals first full time surgeons  is headed to the next phase of his life: retirement.

In the hospitals early days, family practice physicians were also surgeons for common procedures such as C-sections and gall-bladder removal. The hospital relied on surgeons from the Madison area for more complex surgeries. There was one, small operating room  now there are six large ones.

We have approximately the same number of beds, but didnt have the same day surgery center like now. Back then didnt exist, DeGiovanni said.

Patients now have a shorter length of stay, and the emergency room could only accommodate two patients at a time.

Some changes have occurred overall in medicine; now everything is much more specialized, DeGiovanni said. Its interesting to me  the difference in the quantity of services we perform. After my second year here we did 450 ops a year  now we do that almost every month.

Patrice Luer, director of the Sauk Prairie Healthcare Foundation, said DeGiovanni was instrumental in helping the hospital grow. One story reflects that mindset.

There was a patient who came in for something fairly routine, and the nurse on staff called for an ambulance, Luer said. DeGiovanni asked why she was doing that. Because we always do that. And he said not any more. Thats the change that came about with having a full time surgeon.

DeGiovanni said the hospital was always forward-looking, recognizing surgery is a good source of revenue and patients.

When I asked administration about something new, they were always ready to do it, he said. They have always been very positive about wanting to proceed with new things.

One career highlight he recalled is delivering his first set of twins via C-section.

Now after all my years the babies I helped deliver via C-section, Im delivering their babies via C-section, he said. Its a cyclical thing.

In addition to his busy work schedule, DeGiovanni found the time to help with humanitarian efforts in Haiti. He helped raise funds for a permanent clinic in there, and used his connections to help pull together medical teams to go to the country. He served on the hospital board and the foundation board as well, in addition to being named the Wisconsin Medical Societys position of the year in the past.

He had a huge impact on Sauk Prairie Healthcare and on the community,Luer said. Hes kind of an institution himself.

As for why he retiring now, DeGiovanni said it was just time.

You always hope you are going to know, and I think I did, he said.

He isnt planning on sitting still in his retirement.

I am the medical director for Home Health United Hospice in our area, he said. Its not demanding work but its rewarding and something I can do sitting.

He also has plans to write.

Over the years Ive kept journals of interesting patients Ive had, he said. But I have to find a way I can discretely tell some of those stories without offending anyone. It might be something I write and never share with anyone other than my family and wife.

DeGiovanni said he always loved being a doctor, and felt honored patients allowed him to take care of them.

Ive always said the secret to patient care is caring; you cant fake that, DeGiovanni said. Patients know.
NAC board likely to okay Rs24b loan deal today

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is expected to call a meeting of its board of directors on Tuesday to give the go-ahead to its management to sign a Rs24 billion loan deal to buy two Airbus A330 jets.
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Toyota Motor Corporation designs, manufactures, assembles, and sells passenger vehicles, minivans and commercial vehicles, and related parts and accessories. It operates in Automotive, Financial Services, and All Other segments. The company offers hybrid cars under the Prius name, fuel cell vehicles under the MIRAI name; and conventional engine vehicles, including subcompact and compact cars under the Corolla and Raize names. It also provides mini-vehicles, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and auto parts under the Toyota name; mid-size cars; luxury cars; sports cars under the GR Yaris, Corolla Sport, Corolla Cross, and Supra names; and recreational and sport-utility vehicles under the Highlander name. In addition, the company offers pickup trucks under the Tacoma name; minivans; and trucks and buses. Further, it provides financial services, such as retail financing and leasing, wholesale financing, insurance, and credit cards; and designs, manufactures, and sells prefabricated housing. Additionally, the company operates GAZOO.com, a web portal for automobile information. It operates in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, Central and South America, Oceania, Africa, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Toyota, Japan.
Not courteous to the court

In what has rightly been described by a leading constitutional expert as a black day in the countrys judicial history, two major ruling parties on Sunday filed an impeachment motion in Parliament against Chief Justice Sushila Karki.
ALLETE, Inc. operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. The company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 145,000 retail customers and 15 non-affiliated municipal customers. It also owns and maintains electric transmission assets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. In addition, the company focuses on developing, acquiring, and operating clean and renewable energy projects; and owns and operates approximately 1,000 megawatts of wind energy generation facility. Further, it is involved in the coal mining operations in North Dakota; and real estate investment activities in Florida. The company owns and operates 158 substations with a total capacity of 10,066 megavolt amperes. It serves taconite mining, paper, pulp and secondary wood products, pipeline, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Minnesota Power, Inc. and changed its name to ALLETE, Inc. in May 2001. ALLETE, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota.
Oli presses for early withdrawal of motion

Claiming that the impeachment motion was an attempt to sully the image of Chief Justice Sushila Karki, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has demanded the ruling parties to withdraw the motion soon.
The following companies are subsidiares of Marsh & McLennan Companies: 8WORKS INC., 8WORKS LTD, A. Constantinidi & CIA. S.C., A.C.N. 000 951 146 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 001 572 961 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 076 935 683 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 102 322 574 Pty Limited, ACE Insurance Agents Limited, ACE Insurance Consultants Limited, ACE Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Limited, AD Corretora de Seguros, AFCO Premium Acceptance Inc., AFCO Premium Credit LLC, Access Equity Enhanced Fund GP LLC, Admiral Holdings Limited, Agnew Higgins Pickering & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd, Aldgate Investments Limited, Aldgate Trustees Ltd, Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited, Alpha Consultants Limited, Alta SA, Altius Real Assets (GP) LLC, Amal Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Anda Insurance Agencies Pte Ltd, AssetVal Pty Ltd, Assur Conseils Marsh S.A., Assurance Capital Corporation, Assurance Services Corporation, Australian Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Australian World Underwriters Pty Ltd., BBPS Limited, Barney & Barney Orange County LLC, Beaumonts (Leeds) Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Services Limited, Beneficios Integrales Oportunos SA, Benefitfocus Inc., Blue Marble Micro Limited, Blue Marble Microinsurance Inc., Bluefin, Bluefin Insurance Group Limited, Bluefin Insurance Services Limited, Boulder Claims LLC, Bowring (Bermuda) Investments Ltd., Bowring Marine Limited, Bowring Marsh (Bermuda) Ltd., Bowring Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Bowring Marsh Asia Pte. Ltd., Bowring Marsh Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Bowring Marsh Limited, Broderick Piller Pty Ltd, Broker 2 Broker Limited, BuildPay LLC, Burke Ford Trustees (Leicester) Limited, C.T. Bowring Limited, CMC-Belgibo NV, CPRM Limited, CPSG Partners LLC, Carpenter Marsh Fac Chile Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Carpenter Marsh Fac Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Carpenter Marsh Fac Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.C., Carpenter Marsh Fac Re LLC, Carpenter Turner Cyprus Ltd, Carpenter Turner S.A., Cascade International Holdings C.V., Cascade Regional Holdings Limited, Central Insurance Services Limited, Charter Risk Management Services LLC, Chartwell Healthcare Limited, Chronos Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Claims and Recovery Management (Australia) Pty Limited, Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers Limited, Client Provide Limited, Colombian Insurance Broking Wholesale Limited, Consultores 2020 C.A., Cronin & Co Insurance Services Limited, DVA - Deutsche Verkehrs-Assekuranz-Vermittlungs GmbH, Dawson Insurance, DeLima Marsh S.A. - Los Corredores de Seguros S.A., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Managing General Agency Corporation, Dovetail Technology Service India Private Limited, Draw Connect Limited, Draw Create Limited, Draw Group London Limited, Eagle & Crown Limited, Echelon Australia Pty Limited, Echelon Claims Consultants Sdn Bhd, Echelon New Zealand Limited, EnBW Versicherungs Vermittlung GmbH, Encompass Insurance Agency Pty Ltd., English Pension Trustees Limited, Epsilon (US) Insurance Company, Epsilon Insurance Company Ltd., Eustis Insurance & Benefits, Evolution Management Ltd, Exchange Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Exmoor Management Company Limited, Faulkner & Flynn LLC, Freedom Trust Services Limited, GC Genesis LLC, GCube Insurance Services Inc, GCube Underwriting Limited, Gama Consultores Associados Ltda., Gem Insurance Company Limited, Global Premium Finance Company, GrECo International Holding AG, Gracechurch Trustees Limited, Gresham Pension Trustees Limited, Group Promoters Pty Limited, Guy Carpenter & Cia (Mexico) S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter & Cia. S.A., Guy Carpenter & Co. Labuan Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company AB, Guy Carpenter & Company Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Guy Carpenter & Company Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company GmbH, Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Ltd./Guy Carpenter & Compagnie Ltee, Guy Carpenter & Company Participacoes Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company Private Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Proprietary Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Pty. Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A. (Uruguay), Guy Carpenter & Company S.A.S., Guy Carpenter & Company S.r.l., Guy Carpenter (Middle East) Limited, Guy Carpenter Bermuda Ltd., Guy Carpenter Broking Inc., Guy Carpenter Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter Insurance Brokers (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Guy Carpenter Japan Inc., Guy Carpenter Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, HAPIP GP 2009 LLC, HAPIP GP LLC, HSBC Insurance Brokers International (Abu Dhabi) LLC (in liquidation), Hamilton Bond Limited, Hansen International Limited, Hayward Aviation Limited, INSIA Europe SE, INSIA SK s.r.o., INSIA a.s., INSURANCE BROKERS OF NIGERIA LIMITED, IRC Asia Insurance Brokers Limited, InSolutions Limited, Industrial Risks Protection Consultants, Ingeseg S. A., Ingeseg S.A., Insbrokers Ltda., InsurTech Alliance LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC [BAHRAIN BRANCH], Insure Direct - Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC, International Loss Control Services Limited, International Risk Consultants (Asia) Limited, Invercol Limited, Irish Pensions Trust Limited, Isosceles Insurance (Barbados) Limited, Isosceles Insurance Company Limited, Isosceles Insurance Ltd, Isosceles PCC Limited, J&H Marsh & McLennan Limited, J.W. Terrill Benefit Administrators Inc., JI Holdings Limited, JIB Group Holdings Limited, JIB Group Limited, JIB Holdings (Pacific) Limited, JIB Overseas Holdings Limited, JIB UK Holdings Limited, JL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co. KG, JLM Verwaltungs GmbH, JLT (Insurance Brokers) Limited, JLT Actuaries and Consultants Limited, JLT Advisory Limited, JLT Affinity Colombia Solutions SAS, JLT Agencies Limited, JLT Asesorias Ltda, JLT Asia Holdings BV, JLT Asia Shared Services Sdn Bhd, JLT Belgibo, JLT Benefit Consultants Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Bermuda Ltd, JLT Brasil Holdings Participacoes Ltd, JLT Chile Holdings SpA, JLT Colombia Retail Limited, JLT Colombia Wholesale Limited, JLT Consultants & Actuaries Limited, JLT EB Holdings Limited, JLT EB Services Limited, JLT Employee Benefits Holding Company (PTY) LTD, JLT Employee Benefits SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Financial Planning Limited, JLT France Holdings, JLT Group Services Pty Limited, JLT Holdings (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Holdings (NZ) Limited, JLT Independent Insurance Brokers Private Limited, JLT Insurance Agencies Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited ( Shanghai Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Beijing Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Guangzhou Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Ireland Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers SA, JLT Insurance Group Holdings Ltd, JLT Insurance Management Malta Limited, JLT Intellectual Property Limited, JLT Intellectual Property [UK Branch], JLT Interactive Pte. Ltd., JLT Investment Management Limited, JLT LATAM (Southern Cone) Wholesale Limited, JLT Latin American Holdings Limited, JLT Life Assurance Brokers Limited, JLT Management Services Limited, JLT Marine (Pty) Ltd, JLT Mexico Holdings Limited, JLT Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., JLT Netherlands BV, JLT Norway AS, JLT PLA, JLT Pension Trustees Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Holdings Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Limited, JLT Peru Reinsurance Solutions Limited, JLT Peru Retail Limited, JLT Peru Wholesale Limited, JLT QFM Services Limited, JLT RE Brasil Administracao e Corretagem de Resseguros Ltda, JLT Re (French Branch), JLT Re (Northern Europe) AB, JLT Re Argentina Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.U., JLT Re Labuan Limited, JLT Re Limited, JLT Re Pty Ltd, JLT Reinsurance Brokers GmbH, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited [French Branch], JLT Risk Management Limited, JLT Risk Solutions AB, JLT Risk Solutions AB Branch - Germany, JLT SA IB Holdings Company (Pty) Limited, JLT SCK Affinity Administracao e Corretora de Seguros Ltda., JLT SCK Corretora e Administradora de Seguros, JLT Secretaries Limited, JLT Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerlii A.., JLT Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., JLT Specialty France, JLT Specialty Insurance Broker A/S, JLT Specialty Limited, JLT Specialty Limited [DUBAI BRANCH], JLT Specialty Pte. Ltd., JLT Towner Insurance Management (Anguilla) Limited, JLT Trust Services (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Trustees (Southern) Limited, JLT Trustees Limited, JLT UK Investment Holdings Limited, JLT Vantage Risk and Benefit Consulting Private Limited, JLT Wealth Management Limited, JLT do Brasil Corretagem de Seguros Ltda, JLTPCS Holdings Pte. Ltd., JMIB Holdings BV, JSL Securities Inc., Japan Affinity Marketing Inc., Jardine IBR Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (Proprietary) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Asia Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited (UK Branch Office), Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance Consultants Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc., Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Holdings Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Unlimited Company, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Korea Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited [Macao Branch], Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS (Dubai) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS SA, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Sdn Bhd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Valencia y Iragorri Corredores de Seguros SA, Jardine Pension Trustees Ireland Limited, Jardine Risk Consulting Co. Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited [Macao Branch], Jardines PF- Consultoria Em Gestao De Risco Limitada, Jelf, Jelf Commercial Finance Limited, Jelf Financial Planning Limited, Jelf Insurance Brokers Limited, Jelf Limited, Jelf Risk Management Limited, Jelf Wellbeing Limited, John Lampier & Son Ltd, Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda) Limited, Johnson & Higgins Limited, KESSLER & CO AG, Kepler Associates Limited, Kessler & Co Inc., Kessler Consulting Inc., Kessler Prevoyance Inc., Key Underwriting Pty Limited, Kroll, Lambert Brothers Holdings Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Employee Benefits) Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Hong Kong) Ltd, Laterlife.com Limited (in liquidation), Lavaretus Underwriting AB, Lavaretus Underwriting AB (BRANCH - Denmark), Libra Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Lloyd & Partners Limited, Local Government Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Lomond Macdonald Limited, Lynch Insurance Brokers Limited, M&M Vehicle L.P., M.P. Bolshaw and Company Limited, MAG JLT SpA, MERCER ALTERNATIVES LIMITED, MM Risk Services Pty Ltd (for dissolution), MMA Mid-Atlantic Employee LLC, MMA Securities LLC, MMB Consultores S.A., MMC (Singapore) Holdings Pte. 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Poll officials face difficulties to reach Upper Dolpa

An election team, including security personnel, which left for Shey Phoksundo Village Council near the Nepal-China border in Dolpa district for poll preparations, has been stuck on the way for the last two days due to the rains and snowfall.
Faculty on topic: Philosophy professor makes case on the morality of immigration

Ethics of immigration William & Mary Associate Professor Philosophy Christopher Freiman discusses his reasoning that the United States has a moral obligation to allow immigrants the advantages of living in this country. Photo by Justin K. Thomas Photo - of - Hide Caption

Christopher Freiman, associate professor of philosophy at William & Mary, recently was compelled to write about his opinion on Americans obligation to allow immigrants the advantages of living in the United States.

He has had two opinion columns published this year and is working on a paper on the topic with Javier Hidalgo, an assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond. W&M News asked Freiman to expand on his reasoning.

What got you interested in this topic?

I had actually gotten interested in the ethics of immigration reform a few years ago. I was reading a lot about the economics of immigration and came across a number of compelling articles that suggested that labor market restrictions  restrictions on peoples ability to move and work  are probably the single greatest economic inefficiency in the world today.

This literature suggests that easing immigration restrictions might be an effective way of helping the worlds poor get richer. So that really piqued my interest.

As far as doing things that are more public policy oriented, thats been a recent development in light of the controversy surrounding immigration since the election. I figured now would be a good time to talk about immigration reform.

{{youtube:medium:right|N6v6_-uPOv0,Freiman: How should we approach immigration?}}

Why is it important to look at immigration from the viewpoint of morality?

I think that economics, sociology, political science  these types of fields can tell us what is likely to happen if we ease or tighten immigration restrictions. But they cant tell us what we should do, all things considered.

For example, suppose it turns out to be the case that, as some economists predict, if we increase immigration to a large degree, certain lower-skilled American workers will see their wages drop. But it could also be the case that the immigrants who come to work in the United States will see their incomes double, triple, quadruple and so forth.

Economists, sociologists, political scientists cant tell us what the right way to make that tradeoff is. Can we accept, morally speaking, say a five percent drop in the wages of some American workers in exchange for a 400 percent gain in the incomes of immigrant workers? Thats a question for philosophy. Thats a question for ethics.

{{youtube:medium:right|XUhG5bo1dO8,Freiman: Current or future works concerning immigration}}

Do you think that gets lost in the crime and economics discussion?

I wish that people looked at the moral dimensions more closely. A lot of the debate is over empirical questions. What economic impact are immigrants likely to have, what sort of cultural impact?

But the philosophical questions dont get enough attention. Go back to the case that I discussed earlier. On the whole, the economics literature tells us that immigration is good for almost everyone. Its good for Americans; its good for immigrants. But like I said, even the most optimistic estimates suggest that there will be some American workers who are made worse off. The American workers who are in direct competition with immigrants for jobs probably will see their wages drop somewhat. Still, I dont think that that means that we shouldnt open the borders to allow more immigration.

{{youtube:medium:right|xDyfpUrfSEg, Freiman: How did you get involved with the immigration debate?}}

Consider an analogy. Maybe the United States has special obligations to American workers, just like I have special obligations to my daughter. But those obligations arent infinite; they dont outweigh all other moral obligations. If Im driving my daughter to ballet practice and we see a stranger by the side of the road whos injured and needs to get to the hospital, then it seems like the right thing for me to do is to help the stranger and not take my daughter to ballet. Not going to ballet is bad for her, but not going to the hospital is far worse for the stranger. So even though I have special obligations to my daughter, the harm I can prevent for this stranger is so great that Im morally obligated to do it.

Similarly, even if you believe that the United States government has special obligations to native born workers, I think the gains to the worlds poor by being allowed to immigrate to the United States are so great that they outweigh whatever losses are suffered by American workers. And I also think that there are better ways of addressing those losses than restricting immigration. For instance, if the worry is that some American workers will see their wages drop or lose their jobs, the solution is not to block immigrants from coming into the American labor market. Its to address the problem directly, maybe offer the workers wage subsidies, unemployment benefits and so forth.

{{youtube:medium:right|lCjxFva7BL4,Freiman: Empirical versus the ethical outlook regarding immigration in the U.S.?}}

Do you have anything else planned along these lines?

I do. Im co-authoring this paper with someone whom Ive worked with before, Javier Hidalgo from the University of Richmond. We argue that even if you think that the American government has special obligations to its citizens, like I was discussing before, thats actually a reason in favor of increased immigration rather than decreased immigration.

For one, increased immigration tends to be good for the economic well-being of Americans. It makes us richer.

Second, immigration restrictions infringe on the freedom of native-born Americans in important ways. Suppose I have a friend who lives in a foreign country, and I want them to come live with me in Virginia. Immigration restrictions prevent me from doing that. So immigration restrictions not only restrict the liberties of immigrants, they restrict the liberties of Americans as well.
Local level polls: Filing of nomination begins in province 3, 4 and 6

Filing of nominations for the first phase of local level polls in province 3, 4 and 6 began at 10 am on Tuesday for the May 14 election.
The 3-month-old baby who prosecutors say was

has been released from the hospital.

The incident happened on April 20 in Weesaw Township in Berrien County.

The infant suffered multiple broken bones, including a fractured skull.

The child is now in the custody of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Penley is charged with child abuse, assault and a probation violation.

He is scheduled to be back in court on May 24.




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Three for the road

Bhutan has decided to stay out of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) until it can be ratified.
Uranium producers prepare for market recovery

02 May 2017

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Some of the world's leading uranium miners last week described major changes they have made in response to the protracted downturn in uranium prices. At the same time, they are positioning themselves for an expected pickup in demand.

Speaking at the opening session of the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle (WNFC) conference in Toronto, Canada, Cameco president and CEO Tim Gitzel noted that demand had started to fall soon after the March 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan. WNFC is an annual event organised by the World Nuclear Association and the Nuclear Energy Institute.

"It's been six years of tough times, I would say unsustainably low uranium prices, closing mines, watching friends and competitors struggle a bit, yet we remain hopeful and we're pushing for the future," he said.

Gitzel said Cameco's McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines, both located in Saskatchewan and owned jointly with Areva, produced around 18 million pounds and 17 million pounds U3O8, respectively in 2016, making them the world's two largest high-grade uranium mines.

Cigar Lake exceeded the company's expectations for the second year, he said. "We targeted 16 million pounds last year, we ended up with 17. And so, after many, many years - I think Ive been working on that project for 25 years from different sides - we've got that up and running and that's going to be a good producer for many years to come."

Cameco reports Q1 loss



Cameco last week announced first quarter net losses of CAD18 million ($13 million) and adjusted net losses of CDN29 million, down from a net profit of CDN78 million and adjusted losses of CDN7 million for the same period in 2016. The company said severance costs related to strategic changes, the termination of its uranium supply contract with Japanese utility Tepco, continued market and price weakness, and strengthening of the Canadian dollar. CEO Tim Gitzel said cost and efficiency changes were "beginning to pay off" amid the uncertainty of a currently oversupplied uranium market.

On McArthur River's production figure last year, he said, "If it was a uranium-producing country, it would be the third largest uranium-producing country in the world. So, it's a great mine and it gives us the added benefit of being able to flex our production up or down in accordance with market conditions, so it's a really important asset for us."

However, as a result of Cameco's decision to lower production due to the weak market, McArthur River's 2016 production was 6% lower than in 2015 and 10% lower than the company's initial forecast for the year. "Cameco had to make some very difficult decisions which result in less supply," said Cameco Inc president, James Dobchuk.

"Gone are the days when we would talk exclusively about production growth," he said. "Today we have virtually all of our production coming from our low-cost mines and as today's prices continue I can tell you that those operations are getting stressed a bit as well."

Producers take the blame

As demand fell, Dobchuk said, supply has been "incredibly slow" to react to ever-lower prices. A number of factors contributed, he said, to the lack of response on the supply side: many suppliers had entered into long-term contracts "in better times" with an agreed price, and these contracts were still being fulfilled; secondly, currency devaluations have helped some of the big producing countries; and, there are "a lot of low-cost operations". These factors have "helped to insulate suppliers for a number of years", he added.

Jacques Peythieu, senior executive vice president at Areva's mining business unit said: "Spot prices have been divided by two last year, so nothing new for you, but we shall admit that last year at the beginning of 2016 no-one expected such a fall ... We have to recognise that we over-produce and we are responsible for this fall in the price."

However, noting that less than 50% of current production is profitable under current prices, and with higher-priced long-term contracts coming to an end, Peythieu said further measures would be taken to limit production. "If you don't want to destroy the value of your company by producing and selling at a low price, you will reduce your production and sell reserves [in] the meantime."

Peythieu described several measures Areva is taking in addition to the reductions in production at the McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines it shares with Cameco. Its Somair and Cominak mines in Niger are decreasing their production this year by 16% and 13% compared with 2015 - to 5.5 million pounds and 3.6 million pounds U3O8, respectively. And, noting KazAtomProm's announcement earlier this year of a 10% reduction in Kazakh uranium production, Areva's Katco joint venture in Kazakhstan is expected to lower production by 13% (relative to 2015) to around 9 million pounds U3O8.

Changing fundamentals

Such cutbacks have had a high impact on not only these companies' balance sheets. In Saskatchewan alone - where there are few alternative sources of employment in the area - Dobchuk listed significant workforce reductions at McArthur River and Cigar Lake (120 employees); in addition, there was a reduction of 500 in the workforce as a result of the company's decision to suspend production one year ago at its Rabbit Lake mine.

Nevertheless, market fundamentals are expected to improve for uranium producers over the next few years as a result of the 57 reactors currently under construction, some tentative signs of momentum picking up on the restart of Japan's nuclear units, and the need for a reliable source of low-carbon baseload power to help meet a projected 50% increase in electricity demand over the next 20 years.

"Until then we're going to need to focus more narrowly on the here and now," Dobchuk said. "For the time being at Cameco that means focusing on cost reductions, production flexibility and prudently managing our Tier 1 assets."

As part of its ongoing Transformation Program, KazAtomProm has established a trading office in Switzerland to buy and sell uranium on the spot market. Riaz Rizvi, chief commercial director at the Kazakh state-run company, told the conference the subsidiary, TH Kazakatom, will bring much needed liquidity to the market.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Gloves are off in fossil fuel fight against nuclear

02 May 2017

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The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently urged lawmakers in Ohio to "reject legislation that would subsidize nuclear power companies", launching an anti-nuclear campaign that marks a return to above board competition in energy markets, writes Rod Adams.

The Ohio division of the API called on "corporate supporters of the legislation to stop misleading Ohio consumers with false information on the economic and environmental consequences of shuttering nuclear power plants in the state". In question are bills before the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee and the state Senate which would grant Zero Emission Credits to FirstEnergy's Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear power plants to ensure their continued operation. Given the two nuclear plants represent 14% of the state's power, compared to coal at 59%, gas at 23% and renewables at only 4%. The Wall Street Journal and Environmental Progress have taken note of the API's activities in Ohio.

A banner from the anti-nuclear campaign supported by API

This is one more example of what might be an important trend in the long running conversation about energy supply and consumption. It appears that at least part of the oil and gas industry has decided it's time to openly battle nuclear energy so that it can capture additional energy market share.

The coal industry, never very skilled at public relations, invested resources throughout the 1960s in a lobby group called the National Coal Policy Council (NCPC). That group, an uneasy alignment that included coal mining companies, coal miner unions, railroad companies, coal mine equipment companies and coal burning utility companies, directly challenged the federal government's programs designed to make the peaceful atom an economically viable competitor.

Unsurprisingly, NCPC's efforts didn't work very well. It wasn't easy to convince Americans and their elected officials to stop investing in the new thing - atomic energy - to protect King Coal, the railroads that carried the coal and the unions that occasionally held the entire country hostage during strikes. By 1970, perhaps partly as a result of acquisitions of coal companies by the more PR savvy oil and gas industry, investments in the NCPC fell off. The organisation was disbanded in 1971.

Though it's not easy to find meeting minutes or to point to a specific strategy document with clear talking points, it's reasonable to assume that there were numerous thoughtful discussions in the 1960s among skilled propagandists about the best way to respond to the rapidly growing threat from nuclear energy.

The results of those discussions can be discerned by looking at actions that are a matter of historical record.

Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of the voices associated with what I generally refer to as "fossil fuel interests" have been notably quiet about nuclear energy. If possible, they have avoided the subject entirely, neither voicing support nor opposition in public. Instead of actively engaging in the almost-expected business behaviour of criticising and opposing market competitors, they have followed a strategy of allowing surrogates to be the public faces of the opposition to nuclear energy.

As anti-nuclear surrogates successfully waged battles over safety, nuclear waste, siting, financing, regulations, radiation protection and exports constraints justified by carefully stoked fears of nuclear weapons proliferation, the fossil fuel industry took advantage of a slowing competitor. It gladly supplied replacement fuels and power plants whenever and wherever nuclear growth was stymied. It also enjoyed several periods of substantial market pricing power that stocked its coffers with enormous financial and political resources.

It also invested substantial resources in technological improvements that improved its ability to produce higher quality products in ever increasing quantity.

The nuclear industry, started by engineers, scientists and business developers used to working on government or monopoly utility projects, didn't recognise the competitive landscape. It was poorly equipped to fend off the accumulating burdens, partially because it was used to the customers picking up any additional costs imposed by changing rules and requirements.

During several periods of time, the nuclear industry accepted so many burdens that nearly all of its capital was expended in reacting to criticism by adding complex systems that were often designed to be idle nearly 100% of the time. Browns Ferry, Three Mile Island, 911 and Fukushima were all used to justify efforts that interfered with numerous improvement initiatives that would have lowered costs and increased production capacity.

More honest competition



Now that groups like API Ohio, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association and Marcellus Shale Coalition have decided to openly engage in opposition to nuclear energy, perhaps the industry will take the steps necessary to mature and prosper.

Here is a partial list of suggestions.

Recognise that energy is perhaps the world's largest and most competitive commodity enterprise.

Recognise that all energy sources compete against each other, sometimes through a degree of separation or two.

Understand that in commodity markets, cost is a key differentiator.

Even in commodity markets, quality and other characteristics vary. Suppliers have to invest resources in convincing customers differences exist and are worth higher prices.

Understand that hypothetical improvements in hypothetical damage frequency probabilities don't produce exciting sales literature.

Recognise that a positive vision of a future with almost unlimited quantities of affordable, clean energy can excite people enough to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Fight back against the deceptive tactics being employed even as the true competitors begin to come out of the shadows.

Abundant electricity



I understand what Alex Epstein calls 'the moral case for fossil fuels'. I am an unabashed and unashamed consumer who enjoys the good things that abundant availability of hydrocarbon power gives to society. Fossil fuels can be extracted, transported, refined, distributed and consumed in ways that harm the environment less than most non-nuclear alternatives for producing an equal amount of power.

Since our current world population has so many people who have cannot access or afford the reliable energy that enables the kind of comfortable lifestyle taken for granted in the mid to upper echelons of developed countries, there is a lot more room for increased energy consumption than most current models predict.

If energy suppliers would invest more effort in growing the overall size of the pie they would have less reason to kneecap each other. Instead, they now fight over a slowly growing market that is full of customers that might be interested in buying more power to improve their lives and control their living conditions. Unfortunately, the energy industry has invested a big chunk of its communications resources convincing people to feel guilty about using its valuable and lifestyle enabling products.

Rod Adams

Comments? Please send them to e ditor@world-nuclear-news.org

Rod Adams is the publisher of Atomic Insights, a blog that has been covering the energy industry from the Atomic perspective since 1995. This article first appeared on his blog.
US administration urged to address waste issue

02 May 2017

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As the US Congress begins hearings on proposals to amend 35-year-old legislation on nuclear waste policy, the US Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has called on the administration to facilitate the licensing of the Yucca Mountain repository and private interim storage facilities.

In a 21 April letter to US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, NEI CEO Maria Korsnick asked the administration to consider several key issues regarding the USA's used fuel management program prior to finalising budget priorities for fiscal 2018.

US nuclear waste management policy is enshrined in the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which established federal responsibility for all civil used fuel and obliged the government - through the Department of Energy (DOE) - to begin removing used fuel from nuclear facilities by 1998 for disposal in a federal facility. The act was amended in 1987 to designate Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole site for the repository for 70,000 tonnes of high-level waste.

To fund the repository, utilities paid a levy of 0.1 cents per kWh of nuclear power generated into the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF). In 2013, following a legal challenge by utilities and regulators, the US Court of Appeals ordered the DOE to cease collection of payments into the fund because of the government's failure to meet its obligations to remove utilities' used fuel. It ruled that the DOE should not resume collecting payments until either it could comply with the current legislation or an alternative waste management plan is enacted by Congress. Collection of payments ceased in May 2014.

Korsnick said the previous US administration's practice of continuing to budget $350 million for collection of the annual fees was an "inequity" against the nuclear industry that must be addressed and corrected. "A clear reading of the court decision indicates that there is no basis to budget for collection of the annual fees if there are no funds currently appropriated to implement any program," she said.

The US nuclear industry has paid more than $20 billion into the NWF, which as of September 2016 stood at over $38 billion accruing over $1.5 billion per year in interest. Korsnick said the industry believed that the fee should not be reinstated until the expenditures for the program exceed the fund's annual investment income, and the DOE can demonstrate that reinstatement is necessary to cover the full costs over the life of the program.

Licensing action



The DOE submitted a construction licence application for the Yucca Mountain repository to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2008, but following 2009's presidential elections the US administration subsequently decided to abort the project, appointing a high-level Blue Ribbon Commission to come up with alternative strategies.

The NRC terminated licensing activities for Yucca Mountain in 2011, but in August 2013 was ordered to resume work on its technical and environmental reviews of the application by the US Court of Appeals. NRC staff completed and published the final volumes of the safety evaluation report in January 2015 and completed and issued an Environmental Impact Statement supplement in May 2016. The adjudicatory hearing, which must be completed before a licensing decision can be made, remains suspended.

With no federal repository available for the DOE to meet its legal obligation to remove used fuel, utilities have been faced with storing their used fuel on-site, with some needing to supplement used fuel pools with dry cask storage, at further expense to utilities beyond the levy they have already paid into the NWF. A number of utilities have successfully sued the federal government over its failure to meet its obligation, with compensation totalling some $1 billion awarded by US courts.

Korsnick called for the NRC to be given sufficient funding to complete the Yucca Mountain licence application, and for the regulator to move forward on applications submitted for private interim storage facilities. She said interim storage would be needed given the length of time a final repository will take to construct, and would also allow sites, including those where reactors are decommissioned, to "re-purpose" land currently used for on-site fuel storage.

Finally, Korsnick asked the administration to review the mechanisms of the NWF to provide the funding certainty needed for a revised waste management program. "Although we fully understand that this would have difficult budget ramifications, industry has acted in good faith throughout the process and we believe this is essential to getting the program back on track," she said.

"The lack of a strong used fuel management program has affected public acceptance of nuclear power for far too long. It is time for the US government to live up to the commitments made when commercial nuclear power first began," Korsnick concluded.

Congressional hearing



Korsnick's letter preceded the start of a congressional hearing on draft legislation to reform the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Environment.

The hearing, chaired by John Shimkus, discussed the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017, which aims to provide practical reforms to US waste management policy to ensure that the government can fulfil its obligations to dispose of used fuel and high-level waste. "The draft bill begins a long overdue discussion regarding reform to ensure necessary funding to implement the program," Korsnick said.

The draft legislation builds on previous work by the committee, including seven hearings held by the subcommittee during the 114th (2015-2016) US Congress. The amendments it contains would update provisions for monitored retrievable storage facilities, thereby helping to move forward consolidated interim storage; address various issues connected with the proposed Yucca Mountain permanent repository, including land withdrawal, water access, planning limitations and transport routes to the facility; permit potential host communities to engage in discussions on benefits without this being considered and expression of consent to the facility; and reform procedures for assessing, collecting and using the Nuclear Waste Fund.

"The committee has heard from scores of expert witnesses over the past six years about challenges and opportunities to advance our nations nuclear waste management policy. This discussion draft reflects what we learned through those hearings, oversight activities and related work," Shimkus told the hearing. "And today we began the process of taking input from all stakeholders involved on this draft. Our goal here is to identify the right reforms to ensure we can fulfil the governments obligation to dispose of our nations nuclear material," he said.

In a letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee dated 25 April, the Energy Secretary, who visited the Yucca Mountain site in March, said a "robust interim storage program" should be part of the near-term solution for managing used fuel but a geologic repository was the best long-term solution for isolating used fuel and high-level waste. "The importance of resuming the licensing process became even clearer during my recent tour of the Yucca Mountain site," Perry said.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News



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The economy of France is the seventh largest in the world and the third-largest in Europe according to the nominal figures by IMF estimates of 2017. Second to Germany, France is the second largest exporter in Europe and the sixth largest in the world. The chemical industry in the country plays an important role in promoting the other manufacturing sectors which contribute to high export products. Much of exports from France include several valuable commodities such as machines and transport equipment, aircraft, plastic, pharmaceuticals, metal, and consumer goods. Most of French foreign trade is conducted with the European partners such as the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

Export Indicators And Statistics

France exported about US$488 billion worth of goods around the international market in 2016, signifying a 5.3% increase since the Great Recession kicked in and a 1.1% drop compared to 2015. Export accounted for about 18% of French total economic output. From the international perspective, 65% of the countrys total exports by values are delivered to the European market while 17% are sold to the Asian market. France also exports 8.9% to North America and a further 5.8% to the African market. The export to European market increased slightly in 2016 due to the increasing deliveries to Germany and Italy. The manufacturing industry is the largest exporter in the country accounting for about 27% of France GDP. The exceptional growth of export in the country between 2009 and 2016 has been aided by the structural reforms which have been put in place by the government that promotes every aspect of the foreign trade.

Exports And Exporting Partners

The top French exports of aircraft, helicopter and spacecraft collectively amounted to $53.2 billion or 10.9% of the total export. Following behind were packaged medicament ($30.1 billion), cars and vehicle parts ($45.9 billion), electrical machinery (39.2 billion), and beverages and wines ($16.5 billion). Aircraft and spacecraft remain the fastest gaining-product category having grown by 54% between 2009 and 2016. Beverages and spirits export grew by 21.8% propelled by the sales of French wine, beer, and vermouth. Germany is France's top export destination, contributing $72.3 billion of export value or 16.7% of the total export. Other major export destinations include the UK, the US, Belgium, China, and Italy. The principle exports to the US include aircraft and engines, electrical machines, beverages, chemicals, and cosmetics. Major exports to Germany include aircraft, vehicles, machinery, electronic equipment, pharmaceutical, and iron and steel.

French Product Space

French has an economic complexity index of 1.43, making it the 14th most economically complex country in the world. Its economic complexity has decreased eight places over the past 53 years from 6th in 1964. The country exported 454 products in 2016, revealing a comparative advantage suggesting that its share of export is larger than the expected considering the size of the economy and that of its products global market. However, France continues to register a negative balance of trade due to higher import value compared to the export value. The cash flow deficiencies brought about by the negative balance of trade are key opportunities for France to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovation.
Top Source Countries for Tourists to Colombia

Tourism in Colombia is an important economic sector in the country. Although Colombia is famous for its excellent coffee and emeralds, it is also a homeland for some of the most popular tourist attractions in South America. It is a tropical country hosting incredible diversity and charm. Its ever-changing geographical features, rich history, people, and culture have fascinated the world for centuries. Visiting Colombia is considered to be the discovery of a new world because of its unique attractions and the hospitality it offers visitors. Colombia receives millions of visitors every year not only from neighboring countries but from around the world.

Colombias Tourism Outlook

Colombia is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The country has major attractions which are frequented by thousands of visitors every month amounting to millions annually. Although the tourism sector was considered a low-growth service industry in Colombia, the country has made great strides in improving the number of foreign tourists by setting up Democratic security policy. From its beautiful beaches to bustling cities, Colombia is one of South Americas hottest tourist destinations. In the last decade, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country has increased to more than four times the rate of the worlds average according to the World Tourism Organization. Currently, Colombia is connected to the rest of the world by a network of more than 200 flights, with the number likely to rise due to the increasing demand for travel to the country. In 2015, Colombia was featured on Forbes list of The Ten Coolest Places to Visit in 2015.

Tourism Statistics

International tourism arrivals reached 1.4 million in the 1980s. Although the number decreased by more than 50% in the late 1980s because of internal violence, the numbers have since recovered to grow at a rate of 10% per year. Tourism in Colombia has grown by more than 250% since 2009 when about 1 million tourists visited the country. The country is looking to grow the number, with a goal to bring in US$6 billion in 2018. In 2015, more than 4 million tourists visited the country. The US is the largest source of Colombias international tourists and accounted for 19% of international tourism arrivals in 2015. Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil were also Colombias top source countries with the three countries accounting for 27% of foreign tourists. Other top source countries include Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and Chile.

Top Attractions

Colombia offers tourists incredible biodiversity, boasting over 50 parks and protected areas. The country also offers various cultural and regional identities making it one of the top destinations in the world. The city of Bogota, Colombias capital, is the top tourist destination due to its vibrant culture and great nightlife. The Golden Museum and the historic Candelaria district make Bogota a great tourist stop over. The Cartagena and its historic surroundings have been included as world heritage sites because of the fascinating colonial architecture. Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia, is another popular tourist destination. Colombias coastline is dotted with several beaches which attract thousands of visitors, especially during the summer season.
Augusto Cortez

By: Mason White WorldWideWeirdNews.com

A priest, who is no stranger to the court system, was arrested after being on the run for a few years.

The defrocked priest of New York, fled after he was accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl.

Members of Interpol, who worked with the U.S. Marshals, found the former priest, 53-year-old Augusto Cortez, in Guatemala, and he was extradited back to the United States.

After arriving at JFK airport, Cortez, a former Catholic priest of the Vincentian Congregation, was taken to jail in Long Island, where he will face charges.

Cortez is being held without bail on charges of first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Cortez fled the country in June 2014, after he was accused of molesting his friendas six-year-old daughter at a party.

Police questioned Cortez, but released him due to lack of evidence.

The 6-year-old girl later revealed that she had been molested many times by Cortez.

Days later, when detectives gathered enough evidence to arrest him, they discovered that Cortez had disappeared.

Now, he will finally face charges over his crimes.

Cortez was defrocked after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching a 12-year-old students breasts at a Brooklyn parish school in 2008.

In that case, he was sentenced to probation in 2009. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender. However, he was categorized as a Level 1 low risk sex offender by the state.
Pouring hot coffee (illustration)

By: Tanya Clark WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) An elderly woman who flew from the United States to Iran in order to attend her auntas funeral, suffered serious burns after a flight attendant spilled hot coffee on her, according to court documents in Virginia.

72-year-old Zahra Azizkhani of Virginia Beach, booked a Qatar Airways flight to Iran, with a connecting flight in Qatar.

During the flight to Qatar, the passenger sitting next to her ordered a coffee.

The flight attendant poured the hot coffee into a cup, and as she was handing it to the passenger, she dropped the hot beverage on Azizkhani.

Azizkhani felt sharp pain and immediately stood up from her seat. She threw her purse to the ground and shook off some of the hot coffee.

The flight attendant did not offer and help or medical treatment.

When the flight landed in Qatar, a manager offered Azizkhani some cream and told her to lift up her shirt in order to air out the burn.

Azizkhani told the manager that since she is flying to Iran, she would not be able to expose her abdomen due to strict modesty rules.

She was not offered any additional treatment. Azizkhani managed to be at her auntas funeral, but she was unable to visit family members due to her extreme pain.

As a result of the coffee spill, Azizkhani was left with a permanent scar. Azizkhani is asking for $850,000. She wants $500,000 for compensatory damages and $350,000 for punitive damages.

Azizkhani told the court that Qatar Airways showed careless disregard for her health.

She also accused the airline of behavior that was outrageous and offensive to the community standards for telling her to lift up her shirt.
North Wales Crusaders Reach Cup Final

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017

North Wales Crusaders booked their place in the League 1 Cup final as they capitalised on mistakes made by Gloucestershire All Golds to claim a 28-37 victory at the Prince Of Wales Stadium.

The Crusaders had a chance to take the lead within the first five minutes after Gloucestershire conceded a penalty. However, they couldnt capitalise on their good position as Callum Mullkeen knocked on.

Moments later the hosts didnt pass up on their chance to take the lead as Steve Parry took the ball near the line and sent Brad Kislingbury over in the corner.

From the resulting kick-off the All Golds dropped the ball, gifting the visitors with a chance to level the score. They did so through Alex Davidson who was sent over from close range.

After a tightly contested period the Crusaders broke to take the lead with a fantastic effort from Danny Price. After Gloucestershire dropped the ball, Price kicked it forward on numerous occasions before gathering it to score underneath the posts.

Minutes later the visitors extended their lead. Capitalising on another error from the All Golds, Luke Warburton found a gap in their defence to run through and score  extending the Crusaders lead to ten points.

The Crusaders then scored their fourth of the afternoon as Danny Price intercepted a pass out wide from the hosts and ran the length of the field to score.

With three minutes of the half remaining Gloucestershire responded through Mo Agro. After the ball had been knocked backwards and offloaded numerous times, Parry collected it before sending Agro over to make it 10-24.

On the hooter the Crusaders extended their lead to 20 points as they went down the short side before Simon Atherton barged his way over to score, sending the teams into the break with the scores at 10-30.

As the second half got underway the home side conceded two penalties in quick succession, and they were made to pay by the Crusaders as Ryan Smith made a nice run through the All Golds defence before passing inside to Tommy Johnson who scored.

However, Gloucester responded quickly as Steve Parry darted over from close range to bring the scores to 16-36.

The home side then had a chance to further reduce the deficit however, they knocked-on and possession changed hands.

Another chance followed for the All Golds and they looked to be over in the corner. However, play was pulled back because they had stepped out of play in the process.

The home sides pressure eventually paid off as Chris Barlow darted over in the corner, taking the scores to 20-36.

With 12 minutes remaining Barlow grabbed his second of the afternoon. A nice chip into the corner from the home side caught the Crusaders defence out and Barlow gathered the ball to score, making it 24-36.

The Crusaders then extended their lead by a point as Ryan Smith made use of a good position to slot a drop-goal over.

Gloucestershire reduced the visitors lead through Harry Kidd who ran through the Crusaders defence to score and make it 28-37.

However, the All Golds had left it too late to stage a come back sending the Crusaders into the final.

Image: North Wales Crusaders Players following the semi-final victory  by Richard Long
Wrexhams Foodbank Usage Remains Second Highest in North Wales

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017

Foodbank usage in Wrexham remains the second highest in north Wales  with over 4,300 emergency food packages handed out in the last financial year.

The figures, which have been released by anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust, also show that overall foodbank usage across Wales has increased from 85,656 emergency food supplies provided in 2015/16 financial year, to 95,190 in the same period between 2016/17.

Between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2017, 1,182,954 three day emergency food supplies

were provided nationwide to people in crisis by Trussell Trust foodbanks.

A breakdown of Wrexhams figures show that 2,854 three day emergency food supplies were provided to adults. A further 1,464 was provided to children locally.

Overall 4,318 emergency food supplies were handed out locally between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2017.

This is a decrease on the number of emergency food supplies issued in 2015/16, however the countys figures remain the second highest in north Wales.

Neighbouring county Flintshire once again had the highest foodbank usage, with 6,259 accessing emergency food supplies in the last financial year. In Wales Cardiff had the highest foodbank usage with 14,560.

David McAuley, Chief Executive of The Trussell Trust said: The move to simplify an often complex welfare system is a welcome one but any large reform can have unforeseen consequences. Foodbanks see first-hand how changes to the welfare system affect people on the ground, and so can offer an early warning to decision-makers.

We are sharing our early observations with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure any adverse side effects Universal Credit can have on people are addressed before full rollout is completed.

We have been heartened by Secretary of State Damian Greens willingness to engage, his departments work to pilot improvements, and the recent changes to the Universal Credit taper rate which mean people moving into work will keep more of their earnings.

We hope our insights can inform efforts to make sure the values on which Universal Credit is built are delivered in practice. To stop UK hunger we must make sure the welfare system really does work for everyone.
This speech was delivered by Alex Lantier, founding member of the Parti de l'egalite socialiste (France) to the 2017 International May Day Online Rally, held on April 30.

On this May Day, the Parti de l'egalite socialiste calls for an active boycott of the run-off of the French presidential elections. The PES rejects the claim that workers must vote for the banker Emmanuel Macron to prevent a victory of the neo-fascist Marine Le Pen.

Already, high school and university students are mobilized across France to protest the dead end of a Macron-Le Pen second round. Tomorrow, workers will march. The overwhelming majority of the French people is angry at the choice of candidates.

The PES proposes to workers to boycott the election and mobilize in a political struggle against the second round and then the winner of the election, whichever reactionary candidate it is.

Alex Lantier's contribution to the International May Day Online Rally

The political blackmail of the media, the Socialist Party (PS), and The Republicans (LR) to force the French people to vote Macron is based on lies.

Is Macron the defender of democracy against neo-fascist dictatorship? No, he was the minister in the current PS government that imposed the state of emergency.

Is Macron the defender of workers' social rights against the far right? His government sent hordes of police last year to attack youth and workers exercising their right to protest and strike against the PS' reactionary labor law.

He trampled these rights, guaranteed in the constitution in 1946 after the Vichy regimes repression of the working class under the Nazi Occupation, in order to impose a law aimed at smashing the Labor Code.

Is Macron an enlightened opponent of nationalism and war? He is the ally of Berlin, the European Union, and the Democratic Party in Washington, which threaten to attack countries around the world, from Syria to North Korea, or even Russia and China.

He plans a major increase in defense spending and wants to bring back the draft.

We know that Le Pen is a reactionary populist, appealing to racism and xenophobia, whose party descends from Vichy's collaboration with the Nazi Occupation. Her party is a mortal danger to the working class.

But the international drive to war, austerity, and dictatorship by the European Union and international capitalism is also a mortal danger to the workers.

Only the development of an international revolutionary movement of the working class can stop capitalism's drive to catastrophe.

The PES' strategy is based not on parliamentary calculations on the national arena, but on the international dynamics of the class struggle.

In the United States, millions of people have protested against Trump and the quarter century of imperialist wars since the dissolution of the USSR. Like the massive no of the Greek workers to the austerity policy of the EU and of Syriza in the 2015 referendum, this is a portent of the entry of masses of workers internationally into struggle

In France, the elimination of PS and LR candidates symbolizes the collapse of the two-party system that has governed France since the May-June 1968 general strike. This discredited political set-up, which produced the dead-end Le Pen and Macron run-off, offers nothing to working people.

A merciless confrontation is being prepared between the next president and the working class. To wage this struggle, workers and youth need a new revolutionary leadership, opposed to the PS and its allies, whose bankruptcy is obvious.

The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and its French section, the PES, are the Trotskyist leadership of the working class. The ICFI has struggled for decades for proletarian internationalism against Stalinism, social-democracy, and the petty-bourgeois parties that broke with Trotskyism in France.

This is the heritage on which the PES bases its opposition to the PS and its allies, the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF), the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA), and Jean-Luc Melenchon's Unsubmissive France movement.

After World War II, the PCF promised, with the Gaullist right, to build a post-war capitalism that would expel the economic and financial aristocracy from control over the economy. After 1968, it brought its prestige to the PS, signing a Common Program with it, a year after the PS' foundation in 1971. Ultimately, it supported the Stalinist dissolution of the USSR and the restoration of capitalism in 1991. The failure of the PS, a capitalist party that imposed an iron dictatorship of the banks each time it was in power, is also that of French Stalinism.

The PES opposes, above all, the petty-bourgeois parties like the NPA, whose ancestors broke with Trotskyism. In 1971, the Organisation Communiste Internationaliste, the ICFI's French section at the time, broke with the ICFI and repudiated the principles of revolutionary Marxism to develop a Union of the Left with the PS. For decades, these parties worked to build and defend the PS instead of building a revolutionary party.

It is on this basis that the PES explains its Trotskyist opposition to the policies of Unsubmissive France leader, former OCI member, and former PS minister, Jean-Luc Melenchon. Under pressure from the rest of the political establishment to vote for Macron, but fearing popular anger against both candidates, he has refused to advance any political line on the second round. He is completely abdicating his political responsibilities.

I will go vote, he declared. But who I will vote for, I will not say. But you don't have to be a great genius to guess what I will do. So why am I not saying it? So that you can remain united.

Melenchon then said he hoped that Unsubmissive France could do well in the June legislative elections.

The PES' boycott campaign is the revolutionary alternative to the impotent parliamentary maneuvers proposed by Melenchon. The PES explains that the bankruptcy of what passes for the French left is the product of a historic and international crisis of capitalism. The powerful class struggles that are being prepared will not be resolved inside the borders of France.

By launching a call for an active boycott of the second round and a mobilization of workers against the next president, the PES is calling on workers and youth in France to join the ICFI's struggle against war and for an international socialist revolution.

The PES is organizing in Paris its first public meeting since its foundation last year. It invites all workers and youth to attend the meeting and discuss the way forward for this struggle.

The PES asks its supporters in France to support its campaign, attend its meetings, study its political line and that of the ICFI, and to take the decision to join the PES.
Friday, April 28, saw Brazilian workers walk off their jobs in every major city against proposed historic attacks on the countrys pension system and labor laws. The changes being discussed in Congress will allow for widespread casualization, opening up every economic sector to gig economy conditions, while raising the retirement age to 65 and imposing private pension plans on workers.

The general strike call, made by major union federations covering activities employing some 40 million workers, saw a militant response from workers in industry, banking, transport, schools and universities, and public service. The retail sector did not participate, however, leaving other dozens of millions of workers out of the demonstrations.

The unions reported that an estimated 35 million workers went on strike, with walkouts spreading to the major industrial centers outside the largest state capitals. These included northeastern Salvador, home to a Ford auto plant, and Recife, a shipbuilding center and major port, as well the Amazonian capital of Manaus, where a special economic zone containing electronics factories lies deep in the jungle side by side with major military facilities.

In Curitibahome to Renault and Boschand Porto Alegre in the far south, workers also struck, as did those in the industrial corridor connecting the countrys two main cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where industrial towns dot the banks of the Paraiba river with auto plants, steelworks, oil refining and chemical, pharmaceutical, arms and aerospace industries, including Volkswagen, General Motors, Chery, Johnson & Johnson, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Basf, Ericsson and the national aviation giant Embraer.

Oil refining and extraction was halted nationwide, even at the deep-sea extraction platforms, some of them located hundreds of kilometers from the continent. The port of Santos, the countrys largest, serving Sao Paulos industrial belt, was blocked in the early hours before being reopened by riot police.

Workers also tried to block the Guarulhos and Santos Dumont airports serving Sao Paulo and Rio before being chased away by riot police. Roads serving industrial regions were also blocked by burning barricades in the early morning, with small roadblocks also going up in working class neighborhoods and shantytowns in many cities. Even roads cutting through two indigenous reservations near Sao Paulo were blocked in continuing protests over the governments rolling back of indigenous social rights.

At the end of the day, an estimated 2 million people took part in demonstrations nationwide, with more than 100,000 in both Sao Paulo and Rio alone. Brutal repression followed both demonstrations, with Rios pacific rally in downtown ending in a police riot. Videos show riot police deploying stun grenades and tear gas against people listening to a speech by state MP Flavio Serafini (Socialism and Liberty Party, PSOL) before tear gas canisters are thrown into the crowd and over the podium.

In Sao Paulo, the demonstration was addressed by Workers Party (PT) senators and supporters. It was held some 3 kilometers from the personal home of President Michel Temer, who was born in the city and served as state representative in Congress for five terms. Riot police then chased demonstrators for some 2 kilometers after demonstration leaders confirmed plans to march into the upscale neighborhood where Temers home is located. The area had previously been placed under a lockdown, under the pretext of property destruction by so-called black bloc anarchists and provocateurs.

The general strike was held against the backdrop of record unemployment, with official figures released on Thursday placing the official number out of work at 14 million. Joblessness was the main threat used, unsuccessfully, by bosses to try to dissuade workers from striking. Revenue losses due to the strike have been estimated at US$600 million in Sao Paulo alone, even without the direct stoppage of the retail sector.

Despite the widespread show of militancy, Brazilian workers face grave dangers as they enter into major struggles. Nationwide action was possible due to an agreement between the PT-aligned CUT trade union federation and the arch-reactionary Forca Sindical federation, controlled by Sao Paulo congressman Paulinho da Forca, who has been cited in an plea-bargain agreement in the context of the Lava-jato corruption scandal centered on massive bribes and kickbacks at the state-run oil giant, Petrobras. The union leader was accused of taking more than US$300,000 to break strikes in the northern region in 2012 alone. Lower CUT officials were also cited, specifically for taking bribes to stop workers riots in flagship Workers Party infrastructure projects in the Amazon.

Also, the demonstrations were open to PT officials, even though new Lava-jato plea-bargain revelations indicate the personal responsibility of ousted President Dilma Rousseff and former PT President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in corruption schemes connected to favoring national monopolies for infrastructure projects. Both politicians are now being investigated, together with eight current ministers, 39 representatives and a third of the Senate, after a Supreme Court justice accepted the plea-bargain agreements of 78 indicted executives at the Odebrecht construction conglomerate.

Moreover, the demonstrations were also promoted by organized sections of the Catholic Church, with the National Bishops Confederation (CNBB) stepping into the debate on April 19, saying in a press release that the proposed reforms were rushed, and supporting demonstrations against them. Later, on April 25, Olinda and Recife Archbishop Dom Fernando Saburido went to the extent of calling on the public to join the strike. He was later joined by several lower-ranking church officials.

This is exactly the alliance of anti-working class forces that was responsible for the promotion and later maintenance in power of the PT since it was first founded in 1980 as a new, original Brazilian parliamentary path to socialism. It went on to become the main party of Brazilian capitalist national development.

The party appears to be preparing a return to power on this same capitalist program with a 2018 presidential bid by Lula da Silva. Datafolha Institute released a poll on Sunday showing the former PT president as the least unpopular of Brazils politicians, with 30 percent saying they would vote for him in the first roundas compared to 2 percent for the current president, Temer. At the same time, the poll found that 71 percent reject the proposed reforms.

Nonetheless, the PT itself faces a deepening crisis and is sharply divided. The opening of formal investigations against both Rousseff and Lula had a major impact on the PTs internal elections on April 9, with participation dropping to a record low of only 14 percent of the partys more than 1.5 million members, and internal elections being cancelled in at least five cities due to fraud.

It is worth noting that the general strike was also supported by a collection of capitalist economists who released a nationalist economic manifesto the day before the walkouts. The groups leader, former 1980s finance minister Luiz Carlos Bresser Pereira, declared in a public event side by side with former PT Foreign Minister Celso Amorim that the strike will help build a new country.

The coming together of the union bureaucracy, the Catholic Church and nationalist intellectuals tied to industry bosses and the upper middle class is designed to prepare new political means to contain the movement of the working class and keep it subordinated to capitalist interests under conditions of the deepening crisis of Brazilian and international capitalism.

The betrayals by what passes for the official left will only pave the way in Brazil, as elsewhere, to the rise of far-right movements. Significantly, polling second, just behind Lula, in the recent opinion poll was the fascistic Rio de Janeiro congressman and reserve army captain Jair Bolsonaro, who has demagogically opposed privatizations in Rio state.

The massive outpouring of the Brazilian working class on April 28 points to the urgent necessity of building a new revolutionary leadership in an intransigent struggle against the PT and all of the pseudo-left organizations that helped to found and promote it.
The arrest of a 28-year-old German army officer suspected of planning a right-wing terrorist attack raises troubling questions. What initially looked like a bizarre isolated case has quickly demonstrated that the Bundeswehr, the German army, provides fertile ground for extreme right-wing elements.

Franco A. was arrested last Wednesday after trying to retrieve a weapon hidden in Vienna Airport. Up until then he had not come to the notice of Germanys security agencies.

It soon became clear that Franco A. lived a double life. For eight years he has been a full-time soldier in the Bundeswehr, where he rose to the rank of first lieutenant. He was stationed in the French town of Illkirch.

Simultaneously, he registered as a Syrian refugee under the name of David Benjamin at the end of 2015. Although he came from Offenbach near Frankfurt, spoke no Arabic and communicated with the authorities in French, he was recognised as a refugee and assigned to a refugee camp. In addition to his earnings as a soldier he also received benefits as a refugee.

Since his arrest, the suspicion has been substantiated that Franco A., under his false refugee identity, was planning a terror attack against leftist politicians or activists, which was then to be blamed on refugees.

While the security authorities and Defence Ministry are stonewalling and only confirming in part what is already known, research by journalists has revealed that Franco A. espoused extreme right-wing positions, which were known to his military superiors. In house searches, lists with leftist and anti-fascist targets were found.

On Friday, Spiegel Online reported that Franco A. attracted attention with his extreme right-wing views as far back as 2014, when he studied at the French military university in Saint-Cyr. His masters thesis was rejected because he recapitulated staunch racial and right-wing extremist opinions and did not distance himself from the relevant thinkers or philosophers. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed this.

At that time, a professor at the university drew the conclusion that the masters thesis was not compatible with liberal democratic principles, Spiegel Online reports. A scholar from the Centre for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr, who read the thesis, concluded that the text clearly contained racial thinking.

However, the suspicions raised against Franco A. were dropped after he had assured his German superior at the university that the right-wing passages in his work were the product of time pressure. The superior arrived at the conclusion that Franco A. did not hold extreme right-wing positions and gave him a second chance. Franco A. then wrote a new thesis that was accepted.

Allegedly, the incident was neither recorded in Franco A.s personnel files nor forwarded to the responsible military security service (MAD). According to Spiegel Online, it only came to light because a soldier who could remember the incident reported it to his superiors.

On Sunday, Spiegel Online then reported that a list of possible targets for attacks or assaults against leftist and anti-fascist organisations and individuals was found in house searches. Security circles have confirmed the existence of the list, but have refused to comment on its likely purpose.

At least two peoplethe Berlin Left Party deputy Anne Helm, who campaigns against far-right tendencies, and the head of the organisation Centre for Political Beauty, which has organised artistic activities against right-wing extremism and arms exportshave been informed by the police they were on the list.

The case of Franco A. confirms that far-right elements are drawn to the Bundeswehr where their neo-fascist opinions are either tolerated or encouraged. In the course of the past few months there have been a series of scandals involving the abuse and sexual assault of cadets during training, including incidents at barracks in Pfullendorf and Sonderhausen.

This trend has assumed a new dimension with the latest report that a far-right terrorist attack was apparently being planned from within the ranks of the Bundeswehr. It is difficult to imagine that Franco A. had no confidantes or accomplices.

Even advocates of the Bundeswehr, such as the defence spokesman of the SPD parliamentary faction, Rainer Arnold, had to admit: Filtering out extreme right-wing radicals has not always worked well in the Bundeswehr. Evidently not enough has been done.

According to Hans-Peter Bartels (Social Democratic Party, SPD), the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, the Bundeswehr is structurally more susceptible than other sectors of society. Hierarchies, weapons, uniformsthat appeals to some applicants whom the Bundeswehr should not want, he told Welt am Sonntag.

Von der Leyen had to concede that the military leadership of the Bundeswehr had a problem of demeanour and a misconceived esprit de corps, which repeatedly leads to a situation where misconduct is not properly pursued. Instead they look away, until a scandal erupts. And thats not okay, she told the ZDF television channel. The Bundeswehr has problem of demeanour and evidently has leadership weaknesses at different levels.

In fact, what is at issue here is neither a problem of demeanour nor a weakness. The appeal of the Bundeswehr for right-wing and far-right forces is the inevitable result of the return of German militarism. Its transformation into a professional army, which wages war and kills all over the world, inevitably attracts elements who espouse right-wing and militaristic conceptions with regard to other political and social issues.

The demand by von der Leyen and other members of the government, that Germany once again take responsibility and play a political and military role appropriate to its economic clout, also serves to attract such elements.

In the Weimar Republic, the General Staff of the Reichswehr, the Freikorps and the paramilitary groups, which emerged from the army after Germanys defeat in the First World War, formed a state within the state. They provided a breeding ground for far-right organizations and acts of violence. Many socialists, including Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were murdered by them, and they formed the basis for Hitlers notorious storm troopers.

For a long time all this seemed to be relegated to history. But now it is clear that all the talk about citizens in uniform and inner leadership has changed nothing about the character of militarism. The case of Franco A. is a warning. With the growth of militarism, the danger from the extreme right-wing is also growing.
Republican and Democratic congressional leaders announced an agreement late Sunday on a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year, which ends September 30. The measure is expected to be passed later this week by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump, averting the threat of a government shutdown at midnight Friday.

Despite Republican control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump and the Republicans are dependent on the Democrats to supply the margin needed to pass the measure, particularly in the narrowly divided Senate, where it would take eight Democratic votes to end debate and bring the measure to the floor for a final ballot.

This underscores the reactionary role of the Democrats in backing a bill that grants Trumps demands for a significant increase in military spending as well as funds to further militarize the US-Mexico border, while slashing the food stamp program and the Department of Education.

Last week the Democrats made a show of opposition to Trump by refusing to include in the bill $1 billion to go toward the construction of his border wall, while making it clear they supported additional funds to strengthen existing border barriers and increase surveillance, including by means of drones. The administration withdrew its demand for funds earmarked for the border wall in return for an agreement from the Democrats to support $1.52 billion in additional border funding as well as $15 billion more in military spending.

A bipartisan stop-gap measure was passed on Friday to extend funding of the government for one week so as to provide sufficient time to work out the details of the final 2017 budget agreement. Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate appropriations committees negotiated throughout the weekend and announced a deal late Sunday.

To secure passage, Trump dropped his demand for money earmarked for the border wall as well as $18 billion in non-defense domestic cuts. These include a wish list of reactionary measures such as cuts to so-called sanctuary cities (cities that refuse to allow their police to function as de facto immigration police), massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and defunding of Planned Parenthood. Trump also dropped his demand for funds to establish a new deportation force.

He agreed to include $295 million to prevent the Medicaid program in Puerto Rico from going bankrupt. Republican as well as Democratic leaders agreed to allocate $4.6 billion to permanently extend health benefits to 22,000 retired Appalachian coal miners and their families, who faced the immediate termination of their benefits. The deal also includes an additional $2 billion in disaster money for states.

However, the Democrats accepted a 1 percent cut to the EPA, reducing the agencys budget by $80 million. They also agreed to cut the Education Department by $1.2 billion.

Most cruel of all is a cut of $2.4 billion to the food stamp program, which was already heavily cut during the Obama administration. The justification given for slashing the program, relied upon by more than 45 million Americans, one in seven, was declining enrollment.

Other reactionary provisions include an extension through 2019 of a private school voucher program in Washington, D.C.s school system and a continued ban on federal funding for abortions as part of the federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

Republicans hailed the agreement as a down payment on Trumps demands, incorporated into his proposal for fiscal year 2018, which begins October 1, for a massive $54 billion increase in the Pentagon budget to be paid for with brutal cuts in domestic social programs.

Vice President Mike Pence praised the deal in an interview Monday on CBS This Morning, saying, It will avert a government shutdown, but more important than that, its going to be a significant increase in military spending.

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said the bill acts on President Trumps commitment to rebuild our military for the 21st century and bolster our nations border security to protect our homeland.

Democratic leaders presented the deal as a victory over the Trump administration. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi congratulated the Democrats for eliminating more than 160 Republican poison pill riders and temporarily blocking funding for Trumps immoral and unwise border wall.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer issued a statement Sunday night declaring the budget deal to be a good agreement for the American people and touting the fact that it excludes funding for an ineffective border wall.

Early on in this debate, he added, Democrats clearly laid out our principles. At the end of the day, this is an agreement that reflects those principles.

And so it does. These principles support a $137 million increase for Customs and Border Enforcement, bringing funding for the Gestapo-like border police to $11.4 billion. It includes money for 100 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and 5,000 more detention beds. It also pays for 10 more federal immigration judges to speed up the deportation of undocumented workers.

The Democrats principles also sanction eight-figure funding increases for the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

For the US war machine, the Democrats have sanctioned an immediate increase of $12.5 billion, to be followed by an additional $2.5 billion once the administration presents to Congress its plan to fight ISIS.

Included in the bills allocations for military hardware are:

* $21.2 billion to procure 13 Navy ships

* $8.2 billion for 74 F-35 aircraft

* $1.1 billion for 14 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft

* $1.2 billion for 62 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters

* $702 million for 145 Patriot MSE missiles

* $1.8 billion for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft

* $2.6 billion for 15 KC-46 air tankers

* $1.3 billion for 17 C/HC/KC/MC-130J aircraft
May Day, the day of the international working class, saw mass marches and protests on every continent, as well as scattered strikes, as workers sought to demonstrate their opposition to the policies of right-wing governments and their solidarity with their class brothers and sisters around the world.

In country after country, workers raised the same issueslow wages, the growth of contingent labor, the slashing of benefits and pensionsunderscoring the common struggles confronting the working class internationally. Governments around the world are imposing ever more vicious austerity measures in response to the global crisis of the capitalist system, while diverting greater and greater resources into military spending and war preparations.

The days events demonstrated that the objective conditions produced by the development of global production have created the basis for the unification of the working class as an international class. But workers are held in enforced disunity by the nationally-based trade unions and labor parties that serve as the direct instruments of big business in every country.

In several countries, protests on the traditional holiday of the world working class were met with violent provocations on the part of the authorities. In Turkey, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators in Istanbul, the countrys largest city, and arrested at least 200 people. Most were arrested during the protests, but some were detained in raids later that night. Political tensions have been rising in the wake of the April 16 referendum, narrowly won by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which gives Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan virtually dictatorial powers.

In Germany, some 10,000 people assembled for a May Day street festival in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. They were met by what even bourgeois press reports described as an astonishing 5,400 police officers, deployed on the pretext of preventing violence.

In France, police used tear gas and truncheons, pushing demonstrators against a wall and clubbing them. Socialist Party Interior Minister Matthias Fekl denounced intolerable violence, condemning the victims of the police brutality, not the cops who inflicted it.

There were large demonstrations in a number of European cities: 10,000 in Athens, half that number in Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, as well as a 24-hour strike called by several unions. Other marches took place in Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland and elsewhere across the continent.

In South Africa, President Jacob Zuma was forced to cancel his May Day speech after workers began jeering him and calling for his resignation.

Thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh gathered to demand wage increases as well as better housing and health benefits and provision for the education of their children. Workers in that country are paid wages far lower than in China or Southeast Asia, and many of the leading European and American clothing retailers now source their production through Bangladesh, whose garment workforce has swelled to four million.

In Cambodia, a thousand garment workers defied a government order and delivered a petition demanding a higher minimum wage and broader democratic rights. In Indonesia, some 10,000 workers marched on the presidential palace in Jakarta to demand a rise in the minimum wage, limits on outsourcing and improved health care and working conditions.

Thousands of Taiwanese workers marched in the capital, Taipei, against low wages, poor working conditions and the elimination of basic pension provisions. Korean workers marched in Seoul, focusing their demands on a reduction in the use of temporary workers and independent contractors to evade paying legally required wages and benefits.

In the Western Hemisphere, there were rival pro- and anti-government demonstrations in Venezuela, where right-wing US-backed parties are seeking to take control of popular opposition to the bourgeois government of President Nicholas Maduro, who succeeded the late Hugo Chavez.

Puerto Rico was virtually shut down by a May Day strike against austerity measures imposed by the government of Governor Ricardo Rossello. Demonstrators blocked roads to enforce a general strike while denouncing the US financial control board overseeing the Rossello administration. Police fired tear gas and smoke bombs and used pepper spray.

In the United States, May Day is not observed as a workers holiday. Instead, the first Monday in September was designated as Labor Day more than a century ago in order to separate American workers from socialistic movements overseas.

But there were widespread protests nonetheless, with thousands turning out in every major city in demonstrations to defend immigrant workers and oppose the Trump administrations attacks on Hispanics, Muslims and other immigrants.

By far the largest demonstration took place in Los Angeles, where tens of thousands assembled outside of City Hall. In keeping with the completely conservative character of the official labor movement, the platform at the rally was handed over to capitalist politicians, headed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat who denounced the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration while saying nothing about the reactionary policies of the Obama administration, which deported more undocumented workers than any previous US government.

A handful of right-wing pro-Trump demonstrators faced off across a street corner, chanting USA! USA! while Los Angeles police established a line between them and the much larger crowd of pro-immigrant marchers.

Thousands took part in protests in other California cities, including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, where the docks were shut down by a longshoremens walkout in solidarity with the pro-immigrant demonstrations. There was a very large demonstration in Houston, and marches involving thousands in Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New York City, Washington DC and Atlanta. Other cities reporting significant protests included Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Miami, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.

One thousand Philadelphia public school teachers did not report for work, many of them taking personal time to join the immigrant rights march and protest going without a raise or a new contract for nearly five years. Temple University students and professors walked out of many classes at 10 a.m. to demand that the college declare itself a sanctuary campus, barring collaboration with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Most of the US rallies were addressed by Democratic Party politicians and union officials who sought to focus popular anger exclusively on President Donald Trump, while concealing the anti-immigrant record of Obama. One rally in Chicago was typical, with Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the US Senate, hailing as a victory the bipartisan agreement on a bill to fund the federal government through September 30 that does not authorize spending sought by Trump to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Today we are passing a budget bill which says there will be no wall, not one penny for a wall, Durbin declared. No expansion for an enforcement force for ICE and others, and no penalties for sanctuary cities. We were able to achieve that in the minority.

The truth is that the budget bill authorizes $1.52 billion in beefed-up measures against immigrants, including more Border Patrol officers and the use of drone surveillance against refugees seeking to cross the border.

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Democrats agree to increase military and border spending while cutting food stamps

[2 May 2017]
This speech was delivered by Nick Beams, founding member of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), and its national secretary from 1985 to 2015, to the 2017 International May Day Online Rally, held on April 30.

It is almost a decade since the eruption of the global financial crisis of 2008.

And in that period all the contradictions of the capitalist mode of production that gave rise to it have deepened and intensified.

Nick Beams' contribution to the International May Day Online Rally 2017

The analysis made by the International Committee of the Fourth International at the time was that this event was not some temporary or passing fluctuation in the business cycle, but a breakdown of the capitalist system.

Through a desperate interventionutilising their central banks to pump trillions of dollars into the global financial systemthe ruling classes managed to avert a collapse on the scale of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

But they have been completely unable to resolve the contradictions within the profit system that led to the financial meltdown. In fact, the very measures they have undertaken have only exacerbated these contradictions.

The immediate cause of the crisis was the rise and rise of finance capital and its mode of profit accumulation, based on what amounted to the criminal and parasitic plundering of economic resources.

But the very same practices that sparked the crisis are continuing, due to the fact that the US Federal Reserve and the other major central banks put trillions of dollars into the hands of the financial speculators.

The social consequences are now being starkly revealed.

In every countryadvanced economies and so-called emerging markets alikethe social position of the working class is worsening.

Real wages are stagnating, while official reports make clear that the labour share of global income is declining.

Public expenditure on vital services such as health, education and pensions is being cut, on the dictates of global finance capital.

Millions of older workers, having been forced out of their previous employment, now eke out a miserable existence, while young people, heavily indebted as a result of trying to secure an education, are unable to find permanent decent-paying employment.

Such is the concentration of wealth at the heights of bourgeois society that eight billionaires own as much as half of the worlds population combined.

At its spring meeting last weekend, the International Monetary Fund asserted that the global economy was enjoying a cyclical recovery.

But while trying to paint a picture of growing optimism, it was forced to acknowledge that, with the growth of productivity at its lowest point in decades, and with a marked slowdown in the growth of world trade, previous conditions had not returned.

In fact, the historic crisis of the global capitalist system is now producing the very conditions that led to the economic conflicts of the 1930s and the eruption of war in 1939.

In the immediate aftermath of the financial meltdown, the leaders of the major capitalist powers pledged to eschew all forms of trade protectionism, recognising the disastrous consequences such measures had produced in the Great Depression.

They congratulated themselves: the lessons of the past had been learned; history would not be repeated.

In subsequent declarations and statements, they invoked their commitment to resist protectionism. This was increasingly honoured more in the breach than in the observance, with the major capitalist powers introducing more restrictions as economic growth remained low, trade growth slowed and the struggle for markets and profits intensified.

This year these processes have reached a qualitative turning point.

Any commitment to resisting protectionism, previously regarded as routine, has now become so controversial that leading global economic institutions have excised it from their statements. This is despite the fact that, in the words of IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, the sword of protectionism hangs over the world economy, representing a clear and present danger. As in the 1930s, the bourgeoisie is now tobogganing towards disaster.

The immediate cause of the crisis in international economic relations is the reactionary nationalist, America First agenda of the Trump administration in the United States.

But it would be the greatest mistake and short-sightedness to conclude that the actions of this regimeits drive to economic and military warfareare the outcome of some aberration, an evil that can be scotched if only wiser heads and policies prevail.

In the most direct and immediate sense, the violence of the Trump administration is only the most graphic expression of the irresolvable contradictions of the capitalist system as a whole.

One hundred years ago, the world was embroiled in World War I. This was not the war to end all wars but marked the beginning of a struggle, extending over more than three decades among the major imperialist powers, to determine which of them would assume global dominance. It saw the emergence of the US as the preeminent global power as World War II ended with the US dropping two atomic bombs on Japan.

Now a new struggle for global mastery has erupted, with the threat of nuclear consequences and the destruction of civilisation itself present at the very outset.

This new period of war is being driven by the same irresolvable contradictions of world capitalism that led to the first two imperialist conflagrations.

US imperialism, the dominant power, now seeks to maintain and enhance its position, under conditions of economic decline, through military means.

But in doing so it has set off a new struggle for global mastery into which all the other imperialist powers must enter in order to maintain their positionin the final analysis, by military means.

At the outbreak of World War I, Leon Trotsky explained its objective origins and summed up the strategy that the working class had to adopt.

War, he wrote, is the method by which capitalism, at the climax of its development, seeks to solve its insoluble contradictions.

Against this, he continued, the working class had to oppose its own method, the socialist revolution, advancing as a practical program of the day the socialist organisation of the world economy.

That remains even truer today. Not a single social, economic, environmental or any other major problem can be resolved within the framework of the profit system.

But, as Marx insisted, no great problem ever arises without, at the same time, the material conditions for its resolution also emerging.

The globalisation of production, the unification of the social labour of the international working class, the development of vast worldwide economic information and communications systems by transnational corporations and finance capital, have created the foundations for the development of a planned world socialist economy, free from war, exploitation and oppression. The fight for this program must become the axis on which the world working class develops its struggle against the growing danger of war.
With little public notice, government agencies at the local, state and federal level, in conjunction with the Pentagon, began exercises at the end of last month war gaming the reaction of emergency responders and the military to the detonation of a nuclear bomb in a major American city.

Contemporaneous exercises are taking place around the country involving thousands of emergency responders as well as members of National Guard units in New York and Michigan along with soldiers under the auspice of the US Armys Northern Command (NORTHCOM).

The Ardent Sentry exercises, a NORTHCOM training series which was initiated in 2004, have been focused on developing military support for the National Guard and local authorities in the event of natural or nuclear disasters.

This year, however, Ardent Sentry 17, which took place between April 24 and April 30, was focused on developing coordination between the National Guard, NORTHCOM and local authorities in the event of the detonation of a nuclear bomb in a major American city.

Approximately 80 New York National Guard soldiers took part in exercises which simulated the detonation of a 10 kiloton nuclear bomb on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, which thousands of commuters use to get to and from work in New York City every day. This was followed by full-scale training for soldiers in medical treatment, decontamination and search and rescue operations at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

An IND [improvised nuclear device] goes off in New York City; a million people killed right up front, and 6 million people needing shelter and food and medical help for at least four days in the most complicated megalopolis in the world. This is graduate level stuff, New York Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Timothy LaBarge, director of staff for the New York Air National Guard and commander for the drill, told attendees at a planning session in March.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also participated in the simulated nuclear detonation in New Jersey under the signature Operation Gotham Shield. Emergency responders from multiple jurisdictions ran through joint response exercises at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey simulating what it would take to provide aid to thousands of injured people.

Members of the Michigan National Guards 46th Military Police Command also participated in the Ardent Sentry exercises last week, simulating their response to a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb being dropped on downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

The US Armys main component of Ardent Sentry was the Guardian Response 17 exercises involving 4,100 soldiers at its massive 1,000-acre Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near Butlerville, Indiana.

The training grounds were prepared to simulate the aftermath of a nuclear attack, complete with partially demolished buildings and flaming automobiles. Video published by the military shows personnel in rubber hazmat suits digging through rubble, calmly carting mannequins and practicing decontaminating actors playing victims irradiated by the fallout.

Footage of the Guardian Response 17 exercises

Slightly smaller than the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II, an attack by a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb would completely demolish most of the buildings within a one-mile radius of the blast zone. The simulated blasts would have a devastating impact on New Jersey and Manhattan and effectively eliminate Indianapolis from existence.

Emergency responders would not be seeking to aid those in areas immediately affected by the blast, as radiation levels would be too high and most people would have been vaporized, but areas within a 12-mile radius in which windows would be blown out and survivors trapped under debris.

By some estimates an attack of such a magnitude on Indianapolis, a city of nearly a million people, would result immediately in nearly 60,000 injuries and fatalities. New Jersey would see at least 70,000 casualties from such a blast.

On top of the massive destruction the lingering toxic effects of the nuclear fallout would affect tens of thousands more. A ground blast would shoot a cloud of nuclear fallout into the sky which would extend for more than 50 miles, impacting potentially millions of people.

In their comments to the media, military officials have insisted that the exercises are not related to the supposed threat from North Korea. This exercise is annual. Its not prescribed with any of the world events going on right now, Brigadier General White told Battle Creek, Michigans News Channel 3. Its not a reaction to anything going on in the bigger picture. We are charged with helping the nation in a time of disaster and thats exactly what we train for and do.

However, these exercises are taking place as the Trump administration escalates tensions with North Korea, hyping the threat posed by the countrys small nuclear arsenal and repeatedly threatening to launch a preemptive war. Lurid claims have been promoted in the media that the government of Kim Jong Un is close to developing nuclear tipped missiles which could potentially hit the US mainland.

Citing Trumps threats to North Korea, the Hawaii legislature passed a resolution last month calling on the Pentagon to assist it in the updating of its long defunct system of nuclear fallout shelters.
The 2017 May Day Online Rally, held on Sunday, April 30, marks a significant development in the building of the Fourth International as the World Party of Socialist Revolution.

The rally, the fourth held by the International Committee since May Day 2014, attracted an audience from more than 50 countries. Of course, as an event broadcast across all the time zones, many listeners heard the speeches following the rally, after they were posted online. The audience that accessed the May Day rally on either Facebook or YouTube within the initial 24 hours numbered approximately 7,500.

More significant than the attendance was the political content of the rally, which featured 13 speakers from seven countries, speaking in four languages. Collectively, they presented a revolutionary Marxist perspective on the critical historical and contemporary political issues facing the international working class. The overriding issue was the struggle against imperialist war. Within that framework, the speakers analyzed the global economic crisis, the social and political situation in South Asia, Brexit and the fracturing of the European Union, the international refugee crisis, the political and social crisis of US capitalism, and the explosive conditions in Latin America.

For the first time since 1970, a public meeting of the International Committee was addressed by a section in France, the newly-formed Partie de l'egalite socialist. PES leader Alex Lantier explained the partys call for an active boycott of the presidential election between the neo-fascist Marine Le Pen of the National Front and the ex-banker and right-wing former member of the Socialist Party, Emmanuel Macron.

The rally also heard a speech from Sven Wurm, the spokesperson for the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at Humboldt University in Berlin. The IYSSE and the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei have fought against efforts, led by Humboldt University Professor Jorg Baberowski, to rewrite German history to rehabilitate fascism. The German Trotskyists have been alone in explaining the significance of this historical revisionism. Their campaign has developed into a central political issue in Germany, with all the major bourgeois newspapers compelled to comment in anger over the influence of the World Socialist Web Site and the IYSSE.

A critical element of Lenins political genius in the years preceding the Russian Revolution of 1917 found expression in his careful study of the development of political parties and tendencies, which he understood as a reflection of movements and shifts in broader class forces. Applying this approach to an examination of the political significance of the May Day rally, we must strive to understand the success of this eventthe high theoretical and political level and the size of the audienceas an expression of an objective social process.

The past year has seen signsthough politically limitedof a radicalization among workers and youth. This includes support for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and the protests against the Trump administration in the US; protests in France against reactionary labor reforms and the widespread rejection of the choice between Macron and Le Pen; the largest one-day strike in history against the right-wing agenda of Narendra Modi in India; and a significant growth of class conflict in China.

The most important factor in this radicalization is the objective crisis of world capitalism, which, nearly a decade after the financial collapse of 2008, is entering a new and more dangerous stage. A quarter-century of unending war, spearheaded by American imperialism, is developing into an ever more direct conflict involving large, nuclear-armed powers. Social inequality globally is at heights not seen since the beginning of the 20th century. Democratic forms of rule are being abolished, and the ruling class is calling forward extreme nationalist and fascistic movements to scapegoat immigrants and create the framework for the forcible repression of all opposition to the demands of the corporate and financial elite. In the United States, the Trump administration represents the rule of the oligarchy in an unvarnished form.

There remains, however, an enormous gap between the advanced state of the crisis of capitalism and the present level of consciousness in the working class. WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North addressed this problem in his speech:

As capitalism hurtles toward the abyss, it is creating the conditions for the political radicalization of the working classbillions of human beingsin all parts of the world. It is true that social consciousness lags behind social being, but that does not mean that the working class is blind to the bankruptcy of the existing social system, which has nothing to offer the massesleast of all hope for a better future Yes, there is a crisis of political leadership in the working class. But it is a crisis that can be solved, because the working class is a revolutionary force that embodies the objectively existing potential for the socialist reconstruction of society.

Today, North explained, outside of the ICFI there is no political tendency that is seeking to build a socialist leadership in the working class. There is not another organization in the world that can claim, with any degree of seriousness, that it either represents the interests of the working class or advances a revolutionary program, he said.

It is a political fact that the ICFI rally was the only May Day meeting anywhere in the world that made a serious evaluation of the world capitalist crisis and advanced a perspective and strategy for world socialist revolution. The organizations of the petty-bourgeois pseudo-leftwhether Pabloite, state capitalist, anarchist or one of the countless varieties of nationalist, ethnic, racial and gender politicshave absolutely nothing to offer the working class in terms of program and perspective. In a document published last week in International Viewpoint, the Pabloiteswho fraudulently claim association with the Fourth Internationalacknowledged with remarkable frankness their own political bankruptcy, stating: The key idea is that we cannot generalize a model for what the FI [Fourth International] has to do

The ICFI is the sole representative of revolutionary Marxism and Trotskyism. In the coming days, the WSWS will be publishing all the speeches given at the May Day rally. We urge our readers to make a careful study of the speeches, each of which represents the application of Marxist theory to the development of the political program of international socialist revolution.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump called Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and invited him to visit the White House. During the conversation Trump reiterated his approval, previously articulated during a phone conversation in December, of Duterte's murderous war on drugs and sought to secure Manilas support for Washingtons drive to war on the Korean peninsula.

Malacanang Presidential Palace stated that Trump expressed his understanding and appreciation of Dutertes war on drugs. The White House synopsis of the call declared that the Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world. The Trump administration characterized the call as a very friendly conversation.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, speaking on ABCs This Week, said that the call was all about North Korea. He added, The issues facing us, developing out of North Korea, are so serious that we need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get.

Priebus made explicit that the call was motivated by the imminent possibility of war, stating that if something does happen in North Korea, we have everyone in line backing up a plan of action that may need to be put together with our partners in the area. He dispensed with concerns over human rights, emphasizing, There is nothing facing the country and the region more important than whats going on in North Korea. In his bid to organize partners for the possibility of an imminent attack on Pyongyang, Trump extended a similar invitation on Sunday to Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the military junta ruling Thailand.

When it serves as a pretext for a massive missile strike in Syria, Washington will tout its concern for human rights, and a crocodile tear or two may even be wrung from Trump over the fate of beautiful little babies. The corpses, however, of over 8,000 impoverished Filipinos, murdered by police and vigilantes, with full government sanction, since July of last year, certainly will not stand in the way of Washingtons preparations for war in East Asia. US imperialism will roll out the red carpet for the fascistic thug Duterte if he lines up behind its war drive.

Trumps call to Duterte came at the end of the 30th Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, which was chaired by Duterte and staged in Manila over the prior week. The Summit revealed just how weakened Washingtons economic and diplomatic clout in the region has become over the past year.

Using Dutertes predecessor, Benigno Aquino, as a proxy, Washington drafted and filed a legal dispute in The Hague against Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea. In July, 2016, when the court handed down a sweeping ruling against Beijings claims, however, Duterte had just replaced Aquino as president. He sought to improve economic relations with China by defusing tensions over the disputed waters and effectively ignored the ruling.

Under Aquino, Manila attempted repeatedly to escalate tensions with China during ASEAN summits, but these efforts were partially stymied by the countries chairing them, notably Laos and Cambodia, which sought to maintain friendly relations with China. If Washington had had its way, the April 2017 summitin which the rotating chairmanship of the organization had passed to Manila, and with the sweeping court ruling of the prior year handed downshould have seen a qualitative escalation of pressure on China. But it did not.

Duterte buried the 2016 ruling, maneuvering to have language referencing the decision removed from the Summits final declaration. A draft declaration had been leaked to Reuters, containing language denouncing Chinas land reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea. The final statement was not released for a full 12 hours after the Summit, as wrangling over this language went on behind the scenes. When the final statement was released, Duterte had effectively removed all references to the rulingand any pressure on Chinafrom the document.

The day the summit concluded and the day before Trump called Duterte, three Chinese warships sailed to Davao City for a goodwill visit to the country, the first in more than seven years. Duterte toured the ships, where he met with the Chinese ambassador and with Rear Admiral Shen Hao, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Commander of the East Sea Fleet. Duterte expressed interest in holding joint military exercises with the Chinese in the Sulu Sea.

As Washingtons economic and diplomatic clout weakens, it turns to ever more aggressive military means to assert its dominance. Dutertes own military chiefs are part of this campaign. The Philippine military brass has intimate ties with Washington, stretching back to the creation of the Philippine Scouts in the earliest days of the American conquest and colonization of the country. In his moves away from Washingtons ambit, Duterte does not have the support of his military leadership, despite his efforts to retain their loyalty by giving them effectively free rein to suppress the population through the war on drugs.

In the lead-up to the ASEAN summit, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in clear opposition to the president, sought to establish terms of confrontation with Beijing. He flew, with a military cohort, to a disputed island in the South China Sea, known by the rival claimants as either Pagasa or Thitu, where he staged a flag-raising ceremony and sang the Philippine national anthem. Lorenzana announced that $35 million had been earmarked to refurbish the islands facilities, including runways, a radio tower and a desalination plant.

Washingtons intensifying drive to war has made Philippine politics increasingly explosive, riven by social and geopolitical fault-lines. Legislators with long-standing ties to both the militarys coup plots and to Washington have filed impeachment proceedings against the president, while charges of human rights violations have been filed against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well.

Other sections of the ruling elite are becoming more open in their support for a reorientation toward Beijing. Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced last month that the Aquino administration should never have filed the legal case before The Hague, a position which no one in Philippine politics would have dared articulate a year ago.

Under Duterte, Manila is proving increasingly insubordinate on the question of the South China Sea, and Trump is using his reckless nuclear brinksmanship on the Korean peninsula to rope the country back into Washingtons war drive against China.

The Philippines was a vital staging area and support for Washingtons wars in Asia throughout the 20th century. Some 7,500 Filipino soldiers fought under Washingtons command in the Korean War, while thousands were deployed to support US imperialism in its war in Vietnam. The bombs that US forces rained down on Vietnam and Cambodia were dropped from jets that took off from Clark Air Base.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), executed under the Aquino administration, provides for the restoration of US military bases throughout the country. Duterte has repeatedly expressed reluctance for the bases to return, but has also allowed his military brass to repeatedly gainsay his statements. Trump is doubtless looking to secure a commitment from Duterte for the use of these bases, currently under construction, in the event of war with Korea and possibly China.

In the wake of his conversation with Trump, Duterte expressed some hesitancy about visiting the White House and voiced alarm over the danger of war with North Korea. He declared that he and other ASEAN leaders had fear of an outbreak [of war] because of the threat of a nuclear warhead. The fallout would include China, they know it, and also us. And the Philippines is within striking distance  Asked what he would say to Trump, he stated, Mr. President, please see to it that there is no war because my region will suffer immensely.

Duterte stated that he could not make any definite promise to visit Washington, saying Im tied up. Im supposed to go to Russia, Im also supposed to go to Israel. Spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, however, Robespierre Bolivar, stated that Duterte would likely travel to the White House in the next few months. We are still waiting for a formal letter of invitation, and then we shall reply with our own letter to the United States saying that we will accept their invitation.
After two major demonstrations against Brazilian President Michel Temers (PMDB) labor and pension reforms in March, on April 28, an estimated 35 million workers went on strike called by the unions, social movements and pseudo-left parties Brasil Popular (Popular Brazil) and Povo sem Medo (People without Fear).

In Sao Paulo, with the walkout of bus drivers, metro and train workers, and street and road blockades since the early morning, the usual 100-kilometer morning traffic jam was reduced to only 3 kilometers. Many people were not able to get to work, and in the city center, few people were out on the streets, which led many stores to close their doors.

Also joining the general strike were public workers, bank and postal workers, metallurgical and chemical workers, electricians and teachers of public and 277 private schools of Sao Paulo. In the industrial suburbs of the ABCdistrictSanto Andre, Sao Bernardo do Campo and Sao Caetano do Sulone of the most industrialized regions in Brazil, 60,000 auto workers went on strike.

At the end of the afternoon, around 70,000 people attended the rally called in Largo da Batata, in the western part of Sao Paulo, where WSWS reporters talked to demonstrators.

Amid the worst economic crisis in a century, with a record 14.2 million unemployed, a figure that has doubled in two years, the general strike, the first since 1996, was hailed by demonstrators.

Daniela, a graphics worker, said, I think Brazilians are just beginning to protest. Now, people are going into the streets and are learning that, indeed, they have to mobilize themselves, that they have rights, and that they have to fight for their rights. Brazilians are beginning to uncover social inequality, which is our history.

The political character of the general strike, an expression of the increase of the class struggle since the impeachment of former Workers Party (PT) President Dilma Rousseff, was manifested by many people attending the demonstration, who were explicitly against Temers government.

Fabio, a public school art teacher, said, Im here because we are facing huge changes in social rights by a government whose legitimacy is in doubt, The changes they are promoting are not government changes, but state changes. However, he continued, Id be here even if these changes were being made by the former president [Dilma Rousseff].

Uira, an unemployed history teacher, said he joined the demonstration to fight against the coup. We had the illegal deposing of a president and the substitution by a vice-president who made great changes in the policies that were being made, with the pension and labor reforms.

About the demonstrations against Temers reforms, Uira said he was pessimistic in reason, optimistic in will. What makes me optimistic is seeing a lot of people mobilizing against the reforms, something that for a long time we didnt see.  There are people against these neoliberal changes that had never mobilized before, he said.

On the other hand, Uira said he is pessimistic about the political system, which is far from any popular initiative. The legislators dont take into consideration what the rest of the Brazilian population wants. He believes this happens due to the Brazilian electoral system, which favors private funding of electoral campaigns.

Mauro explained that Brazil is a republic that began its history with a small group that didnt take into consideration millions of Brazilians, that left aside the blacks, the Indians, the poor. This republic has never recognized Brazilian people as citizens. With Temers government, we have come back to a situation in which a small group is again taking all the gains.

The Brazilian political system is immersed in corruption, with both legal and illegal multimillion-dollar schemes of private electoral campaign financing organized in exchange for the political and economic support of the state.

In the 2014 elections, 19 Brazilian corporations financed half of the 1 billion real (US$312.5 million) raised by all parties for the electoral campaign. The list of corporations includes all the Brazilian champions, such as the second largest food group in the world, JBS; one of the largest beverage companies in the world, Ambev; and the major construction companiesOAS, Odebrechtthat have been denounced in the Car Wash corruption probe. With 30 percent of all donations, the PT was the primary beneficiary of corporate donations, followed by Temers PMDB.

The discrediting of the entire political system was also stressed by Fabio, who said he doesnt believe that the National Congress, where Temers government holds the majority, will bar the pension reform. It is an act of faith that the Congress will change its position. We have to be skeptical; we have to be aware that the congressmen are not sensitive to the peoples need.

The discrediting of the whole political system is opening the way for the Brazilian right, Uira warned. He believes that we may see in Brazil something similar to what happened in the US with the victory of Donald Trump, either with Bolsonaro or Doria, who projects himself as a political outsider, despite being an insider.

In the most recent poll for the 2018 election released by Folha de Sao Paulo daily on April 30, the fascistic federal deputy Jair Bolsonaro (PSC, Social Christian Party) appears tied in second place with Marina Silva (Rede) after Lula (PT).

As for Joao Doria, the current Sao Paulo mayor for the right-wing PSDB, he was elected last year with a record of almost 40 percent of voters either abstaining or casting blank ballots. Doria is a millionaire businessman who has advocated a huge privatization program. He, like Trump, was also the host of the TV program The Apprentice.

Fabio believes the Brazilian left parties are responsible for the rise of the right. He said, There is a critical problem of Brazilian left politics. It is against the reforms, but it does not propose anything. We have permitted the emergence of a right-wing politics that is purposeful, from which the change is coming.

Uira doesnt see any short-term solution against the reforms. The idea of waiting for the 2018 elections will not work, he believes. It is institutionally a more viable way, but I dont know if it will work because it goes back to the problem of the Brazilian history, that is political collusion. It is a way to pacify the class struggle, and it doesnt solve anything. If we come back to the previous stage of Brazilian politics, it will explode once again, he concluded.

Uira also believes the Greek experience with Syriza is an example to Brazil, it is very similar to what we have here.  In so far as the Greek government decided for the plebiscite, it ignored its decision, ignored the demonstrations, ignored the strikes.

This return to the previous stage of Brazilian politics referred to by Uira, is a possible comeback of former Workers Party President Lula, who delivered a 10-minute speech at the March 15 rally.

The art teacher Fabio said he was afraid that the same thing would happen today, as when the March 15 rally was rigged by political opportunists. He continued by saying, In the March 15 demonstration, a lot of people left when they turned it into an electoral platform for former president Lula. Today, even with this risk, Im here because peoples dissatisfaction is very great with all that.

Between the March 15 demonstration, a partial one-day general strike spearheaded mainly by teachers, and the April 28 general strike, the lower house of the National Congress approved the labor reform, which now will be discussed in the Senate.

The musician Mauro thinks that more demonstrations are needed: Despite thinking that this general strike is something incredible, it is only for today. These people (Temer and the legislators) are doing absurd and outrageous things, and they have all the corporate media on their side. I dont think such a one-day demonstration will be strong enough to shake the National Congress.

He concluded by saying, Now, there should be a general strike for an indefinite period until the fall of this government, this congress, this judiciary. Everything must be changed.
As South Koreas May 9 presidential election approaches, Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Moon Jae-in appears on the verge of victory. His support has largely come about as a result of the anger and frustration felt towards the conservatives, following former president Park Geun-hyes removal from office for corruption.

According to the most recent polls, Moon leads his closest challenger, Ahn Cheol-soo of the Peoples Party, with 42.6 percent support compared to 20.9 percent. Hong Jun-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party is in third with 16.7 percent, followed by Sim Sang-jeong of the Justice Party and Yu Seung-min of the Bareun Party with 7.6 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.

Much of the campaign has been dominated by North Korea, as the Trump administration ramps up tensions on the Korean Peninsula on a daily basis. The current US deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile battery to South Korea has only exacerbated the fears and hostility to war.

All of the five major candidates have backed Washingtons agenda, though Moon has postured as an opponent of the highly unpopular THAAD system. Without coming out against it, he has called for the decision on its deployment to be postponed until the next government takes power. At the same time, he has defended Washingtons war plans in the region against China, stating that THAAD is for defensive purposes and that if North Korea continued its bellicose acts, the THAAD placement would be unavoidable.

Last Wednesday, at night and with no announcement, the US began installing the THAAD system in Seongju, a city in North Gyeongsang Province. Trailers arrived carrying the missile launchers and the X-band radar, which China believes will be used to spy on its territory. THAAD is designed to knock out an incoming ballistic missile and has a range of 200 kilometres. Despite claims that its purpose is to defend South Koreans from a North Korean attack, Seoul, a city of 10 million people, sits just outside of THAADs range at its current location. Instead, the battery would be used to protect US bases in any confrontation with North Korea or China.

Despite the attempt to avoid protestors, hundreds gathered, carrying signs that read, No THAAD, No War, and denouncing the US military. Clashes broke out with authorities. Police let THAAD equipment pass through [protesters] by repressing them, said Gang Hyeon-uk, a religious figure involved in organizing the demonstrations. The THAAD deployment is illegal and should be nullified.

Other demonstrations have taken place against THAAD, including in Seoul, but have been led by groups and labor unions, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), with ties to the DPK and the other political parties. They appeal to the presidential candidates, either explicitly or tacitly giving support to the Democrats, while whipping-up Korean nationalism, including by criticizing recent demands from Trump that South Korea foot the $1 billion bill for THAAD.

At a protest on Saturday in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, approximately 50,000 people gathered to denounce THAAD and demand better social conditions. The first speaker was KCTU acting-chairman Choi Jong-jin who, referencing the candles protestors carried in rallies against Park Geun-hye, stated: Our lives must be changed to have a real candlelight revolution and there must be a presidential election that changes our lives. In other words, the removal of Park for another capitalist politician, a Democrat who represents change, amounts to a revolution for the KCTU.

Demonstrators expressed lukewarm support for Moon, however. It is only workers who suffer, said Lee Do-gyeong, a student studying to be a nurse. The candidates in this election must create a country that genuinely protects workers basic rights. I did not want to support Moon Jae-in, but I think I must. I am nervous about the other candidates.

More broadly, the election campaign has alienated voters. I couldnt learn how the candidates wanted to lead the nation if they were elected. All I learned was that all of them were substandard, Cho Jin-hee, a housewife, said in the Korea Times after watching one of the televised debates. Park Seong-su, an office worker, similarly commented: In future debates, I hope they will discuss policies and details, and how they might carry them out.

The refusal of the candidates to discuss their policies is because they intend to keep their genuine agenda secret: the preparation for war and austerity. Following Pyongyangs failed ballistic missile test on Saturday, all five denounced North Korea, including Sim Sang-jeong of the pseudo-left Justice Party, who stated: North Korea should abandon its shallow scheme of promoting regime stability through a show of force and hurry to come forward to the dialogue table. The implication is that the North Korean regime, not Washington, has been sabotaging talks, thereby justifying the Trump administrations actions.

At the same time, there is no opposition to current US military exercises, aimed at intimidating North Korea and China, involving the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its strike group, with the South Korean navy. The two forces, along with the Japanese navy, have held missile warning informational link exercises (LINKEX) for the third time this year. The drills allow the three militaries to communicate and share intelligence on incoming ballistic missiles.

The election is by no means decided. There is still talk of an anti-Moon coalition between Ahn, Hong, and Yu, whose Bareun Party released a statement Friday calling for such an alliance. We should not make the error of passing the future of South Korea to the liberal hegemony blinded by self-righteousness, it stated.

The following day, in the hope of winning conservative support, Ahn announced he would form a coalition government if elected. He has also brought Kim Jong-in, former interim chief of the DPK, onto this election team. Kim, a conservative who clashed with Moons faction, denounced the hegemonic forces in the DPK, language similar to that used by the Bareun Party.

Whatever backroom deals are made, and whatever the outcome of the election, workers, farmers, and young people must not place faith in any of the candidates. The war with North Korea and China that is being prepared behind the backs of the population can only be opposed by uniting with workers across Asia and internationally on a socialist perspective.
This speech was delivered by Wije Dias, General Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka, to the 2017 International May Day Online Rally held on April 30.

Political, social, and inter-state relations in South Asia are being dramatically reshaped by two interconnected processes.

First, the region is caught up in the whirlpool of geo-political tensions produced by the drive towards another imperialist war.

US imperialism is principally responsible for this. In 2001, in the name of the phony war on terror, it invaded Afghanistan, so as to establish a military-strategic beachhead adjacent to Central Asias vast oil reserves, and states that it views as key strategic adversariesRussia, China, and Iran. Moreover, Washington, under Democratic and Republican administrations alike, has spared no effort in harnessing India, through a raft of strategic favours, to its strategic offensive, thereby whetting the Indian bourgeoisies own reactionary great power ambitions.

Wije Dias' contribution to the International May Day Online Rally 2017

Second, the class struggle is sharpening. The claim that the masses of South Asia would be lifted from poverty and squalor through so-called economic liberalization has proven completely hollow. While India is now home to 101 billionaires, the fourth largest number of any country in the world, three-quarters of the population eke out a precarious existence on less than $2 per day. Ever deepening social inequality and economic insecurity are fueling growing working class resistance. Last September, 150 million Indian workers participated in a one-day protest strike. Sri Lankas government, shaken by a wave of strikes and social protests, is reportedly considering reappointing the war criminal Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as army chief and arming him with special powers to, in the words of officials, discipline the country.

The election of the billionaire Donald Trump as US president is not an aberration, but a sign of an arch reactionary tendency within the ruling elite. The ruthlessness with which Trump prepares to establish US hegemony over the globe has heightened geo-political tensions everywhere, including the Indian Ocean region. The US armada sent to the East China Sea is targeting not just North Korea, but the aggressive subjugation of China itself.

The groundwork for this strategic turn by US imperialism was laid during the Democratic presidency of Barack Obama, with his Pivot to Asia policy. The US offensive against China has raised the strategic importance of South Asia as a whole and Sri Lanka and Indiawhich sit astride the Indian Ocean corridor between East Asia, Europe and the Middle Eastin particular.

The Obama White Houses push to enhance Washingtons global strategic alliance with Indiaa policy the Trump administration has vowed to continuehas been welcomed with open arms by the Indian bourgeoisie, which in 2014 turned to Narendra Modi and his Hindu chauvinist BJP to intensify anti-working-class pro-market reforms and more aggressively assert its great power ambitions on the world stage.

India has become the main US policeman in the region. This was revealed when Obama, participating as guest of honor at Indias Republic Day celebrations in August 2015, publicly praised Modi for playing a critical role in Washingtons regime-change operation in Sri Lanka, at the beginning of that year. This operation replaced President Mahinda Rajapakse, who was developing closer relations with Beijing, with the government of Maithripala Sirisena, supported by the traditionally pro-US United National Party.

During the last two years, Indo-US relations have undergone a qualitative transformation, with India being transformed into a veritable frontline state in the US war drive against China. Last August, India opened its air bases and ports for use by US warplanes and battleships and in February it was revealed that the ships of the US Seventh Fleet, the armada at the center of US war plans against China, are to be serviced at an Indian shipyard. With Washingtons designation of India as a major defense partner, India has received access to US weapons systems, on par with US imperialisms most trusted allies. India has also strengthened bilateral and trilateral strategic ties with Washingtons chief Asian allies, Japan and Australia. The joint military exercises that have accompanied these ties are being increasingly extended to incorporate Sri Lanka as well, as in the case of the recent Malabar naval exercises.

China and Indias historic arch-rival, Pakistan, have responded to US imperialisms strategic favours to New Delhi by strengthening their own longstanding strategic ties.

Pakistans reactionary bourgeois elite has for decades served as a satrap for US imperialism. Its fondest wish would be for that to continue, but the US embrace of India has, as Islamabad has repeatedly warned, overturned the balance of power in South Asia and encouraged Indian belligerence.

The extreme dangers that arise from these developments were starkly exposed at the end of last year, when India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed countries, reached the edge of the precipice of war. India, with the implicit support of the US, launched surgical strikes inside Pakistan, then publicly boasted that the era of Indias strategic restraint with Pakistan was over. As border clashes mounted, South Asia teetered for weeks on the brink of war.

US strategists view India and Sri Lanka as pivotal to US domination over the entire Indian Ocean and Asian landmass. One cannot forget that the Sri Lankan hill city of Kandy was the headquarters of the British imperialist war machine throughout the entire Indo-Pacific region during the Second World War. Changing what needs to be changed, US imperialism is seeking to revive British colonial strategy, which used the British Indian Army to not only subjugate the masses of colonial India, but to conquer Burma, suppress the Boxer Rebellion and wage war around the globe during two world wars.

Behind the bombast, Trumps America First policy is a policy of social counter-revolution aimed at reducing the American working class to levels of poverty akin to those in the historically oppressed countries. The pliant bourgeois governments in South Asia, as elsewhere around the world, are likewise driving down the social conditions of the workers still further. Along with this social devastation, carried out under cover of national and racist chauvinism, all the hard-won democratic rights of the working class have come under ruthless attack.

In Sri Lanka, preparations for turning the country into a military-police state are well advanced. While the military that was used to prosecute the brutal thirty-year civil war against the Tamil minority is being expanded, with new recruits and barbaric equipment, constitutional and legal changes are underway for the establishment of autocratic rule that will surpass that of any previous regime.

In India, workers at Maruti Suzuki who challenged sweatshop conditions have been ruthlessly persecuted, with their leaders jailed for life on frame-up charges. In Kashmir, protests against Indian rule are being met with brutal repression and war-mongering against Pakistan.

In every country in the region repressive laws are being tightened and the state apparatuses strengthened under conditions of a new wave of working class struggles and the spread of mass rural unrest.

The chief obstacle to the revolutionary mobilization of the working class in South Asia, as around the world, are the ostensibly left parties, the pro-capitalist unions, and their pseudo-left allies. The Stalinist parties in India have responded to the bourgeoisies turn to Modi and the intensification of class struggle by stepping up their efforts to bind the working class to the Indian political establishment and state. In Sri Lanka, the head of the NSSP, who hailed Sirisenas coming to powerthe result of a US-orchestrated regime change operationas a democratic revolution, has now publicly supported the governments imposition of IMF-dictated austerity.

None of the burning democratic and social problems that the workers face, that the people, toilers, and youth of South Asia confrontfrom the threat of imperialist war and mass joblessness, to continuing caste oppression and a nation-state system founded on communalismcan be answered outside the building of new mass working class parties, based on the Trotskyist theory of Permanent Revolution, sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

The workers of South Asia must establish their political independence in opposition to all those Stalinist and pseudo-left forces who seek to tie them to the non-existent progressive bourgeoisie, rally the oppressed toilers behind them in the struggle against capitalism, and join forces with workers of the US, China and the world in the struggle against imperialist war and the malignant capitalist order.

We call upon all our listeners and readers of the World Socialist Web Site to join this struggle.
1. Yes. Taxpayers are funding its operation; they should have a voice in the naming process.

2. Yes. The city should operate with a spirit of inclusivity. Residents will be responsive.

3. No. Public input can be problematic; rejection of suggestions can be divisive for residents.

4. No. Residents elect council members to make decisions on their behalf. No input is needed.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say whether public input would be more of a benefit or a hindrance.

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Scenes from the May Day march and rally for immigrant rights in Yakima, Wash., May 1, 2017. Approximately 1,000 were in attendance of the even
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What made Israels prime minister declare that he would not meet with the German foreign minister if the latter insisted on meeting with representatives of Breaking the Silence, BTselem, Peace Now and maybe other organizations as well? Is the reason really the prime ministers policy, refusing to meet with high-ranking figures who visit Israel and meet with organizations that slander IDF soldiers? Or is it, as usual, a political issue? An appeal to his electorate, which wants a prime minister who protects the national dignity, who does not hesitate to confront strong forces and who does not grovel at their feet.

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Cynics would quote the old joke about the man lying on his deathbed and begging his doctor to write in his death certificate that he died of syphilis rather than of dysentery, so that he would at least be remembered as a man rather than as a nobody. President Reuven Rivlin, who is increasingly turning out to be the sane response to our leadership, had no problem meeting with German Minister Sigmar Gabriel, although Rivlins views cannot be seen as more leftist than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus. They are simply smarter.

What did Netanyahu achieve from this crisis he created with the German government? Or is it possible that he is also sensing that Germany is about to nix the submarine deal, and he wants it to be engraved in the national memory that the deal was cancelled due to firm national standing rather than because an investigation raised alleged suspicions of corruption and perks involving his cousins and associates.

Netanyahu (L) and Gabriel. What did the prime minister achieve from the crisis he created with the German government? (Photos: AP, AFP)

The German response to the prime ministers condition was levelheaded and sensibleit would be unfortunate if Netanyahu cancels the meeting, but it wont be a catastrophe. Eventually, Netanyahu cancelled the meeting, and it wasnt a catastrophe. Not for the Germans, anyway.

For us, its an entirely different story. When Netanyahu telephoned the German foreign minister on Tuesday afternoon to try to explain to him why he set conditions for their meeting, Gabriel refused to accept the call. Could there be a greater humiliation than this, especially as it is clear that the foreign minister receives his orders from above, straight from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose wonderful friendship was such a source of pride for Netanyahu until recently?

Its enough to see who voiced support for Netanyahus move to understand what a mistake it was: Far right party Alternative for Germany (AFD), whose members hold anti-Semitic, homophobic and chauvinistic views and which spreads fear and hatred toward foreigners in Germany. One of this partys members, Bjorn Hocke, said in January that the Holocaust memorial in Berlin was a monument of shame in the heart of the German capital.

Gabriels decision, on the other hand, received broad support from the German government and even from the conservative faction. Gerd Muller, the minister of economic cooperation and development, noted that even the Chinese government allowed representatives of foreign countries to hold talks with human rights activists.

And all this over what? Over the German foreign ministers desire to meet with Israeli groups which may not be part of the consensus, but which have not been outlawed. These are people who under different circumstances, which may still exist one day, would have been considered heroes here.

Lets remind ourselves who were talking about: The members of Breaking the Silence are combat soldiers who saw the IDFs activity in the territories, in the annual operations in Gaza and in the checkpoints with their own eyes, and who even took an active part in these operations. We are not talking about non-combat soldiers who never set foot there, or even about the elite soldiers from Unit 8200 or soldiers serving in the Military Censors Unit or in the IDF Spokespersons Unit. These are soldiers who were sent on operational missions in Judea and Samaria, who saw what was going on with their own eyes, and whose conscience would not let them keep quiet.

We can argue with them and criticize the way they are operating, vis-a-vis foreign countries, foreign diplomats or on US campuses, in every place where it doesnt take much to convinced the already convinced. We can understand thosealthough we dont have to agree with themwho argue that they are slandering IDF soldiers, that not all the testimonies are accurate, that there are exaggerated testimonies which are irrelevant to the time they were given. Nevertheless, we cannot call these young people traitors, and we should definitely denounce Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who compared the left-wing organizations to Hamas without batting an eye.

Fortunately, I am proud to say that I know one of the key Breaking the Silence activists very well. His name is Nadav Weiman. His father was a paratroopers officer, his mother is a highly-esteemed educator, both his brothers served in the IDFs finest units and he himself was a fighter in the Nahal Brigade. He once shared what made him break his silence. He spoke about one of his missions as a fighter, which was given the name mappings. He and his friends were ordered to patrol a certain street in Nablus and map the housesin other words, enter Palestinian houses in the middle of the night, wake all the family members up, including the children and the elderly, take pictures of each and every one of them and write down the names and occupations of each of the household members.

When he returned to his base at the end of this mission, the brigades intelligence officer told him that he could throw all the mappings in the trash, as the sole goal of the operation was to create a sense of persecution among the Palestinians. To make them afraid, to make them feel that the IDF is constantly breathing down their necks, because thats one of the IDFs ways to control the population.

Thats what a combat soldier, a son and grandson of IDF officers, experienced. A man who was raised on glorious values in his parents home and as a scout, who volunteered for a pre-army service year at the Mevoot Yam Youth Village in Mikhmoret, where he counseled children with difficulties, some of whom he escorted until they joined the IDF. Later, he studied education and worked as an instructor at the Tel Baruch boarding school.

The huge gap between the defense ethos I was raised on, he once said, and the reality I encountered as a soldier executing our control policy in the territories made me realize that the picture that was painted for me as a child was distorted.

A light unto the nations

When Israeli rightists want to boast that we are the only democracy in the Middle East, a villa in the jungle, they dont tell the worlds gentiles about an Israeli minister called Miri Regev, or about a Knesset member called Bezalel Smotrich. They say that the six finalists for the Man Booker International Prize include two Israelis, Amos Oz and David Grossman. Two of six nominated novelists from around the world, whose language is not English are Israeli novelists. They may be leftists, but they are Israeli.

The rights speakers further boast that Israel has so far cared for more than 2,000 wounded Syrians (who returned to the horror later on) and decided to adopt 100 Syrian orphans (and froze the decision a week later). They accuse the neighboring countries of ignoring the disaster: Jordan, which has taken in more than a million and a half refugees; little Lebanon, which has taken in close to one million; and Turkey, which is accommodating more than two million. Even European countries, which have taken in more than half a million refugees, are being scolded by righteous Israel for focusing on Israels sins rather than on the Syrian disaster.

Breaking the Silence members. Ensuring that we dont lose our humanity (Photo: Amit Magal)

They dont take pride in the fact that there is an organization in Israel called Im Tirtzu, perhaps the only organization in the world which has been referred to as a fascist organization in a court ruling. They do state that organizations like Taayush, BTselem and mainly Breaking the Silence are operating under Israeli democracy.

They dont take pride in the activity of Honenu, an organization which provides legal aid to Jewish rioters. It was revealed last week that this NGO, which receives an exemption from tax on donations from the state, had provided thousands of dollars in grants to Yosef Ben-David, the murder of Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir. Even people in the Right understand that such matters should be concealed. They would rather report that an Arab, a good Arab of course, has been selected to light a torch on Independence Day.

On a week in which veiled settlers were documented attacking Palestinian shepherds with stones and clubs, as well as left-wing activists who were trying to defend them and even IDF soldiers, while military and police forces stood aloofon this week, the Rights gang of wolves, led by Netanyahu, chose to attack Breaking the Silence again.

A week in which Machsom Watch women were attacked with stones by settlers, likely from Yitzhar, requiring the protection of Palestinians from the village of Urifthis week is the time to pick on those who see silence as the main threat to the Israeli society.

They are accused of being funded by foreign countries and bodies, as if receiving a donation from an Irish Catholic organization and democratic governments is wrong, while its okay for settlements and right-wing organizations to receive millions from Protestant and Evangelical missionaries.

Following an order from the former defense minister, the IDF preferred to sever ties with Breaking the Silence instead of investigating and refuting or confirming its testimonies. The authorities are demanding that the organization reveal the identity of those who testified, claiming that it would allegedly be impossible to investigate without knowing who they are. Every Israeli knows, however, what will happen to such a person if his identity is exposed. The state even went as far as asking the court to force the organization to disclose its sources. Luckily, the court rejected this thuggish claim.

Breaking the Silence receives broad support from the world Jewry, from former defense establishment officials, from academics and jurists. The supporters are being degraded too. Members of the J Street organization, which represents a significant part of the US Jewry, mainly the young members, are denounced as leftists. The opposition leaders are renouncing them and the academics are closely being excluded.

The Hebron Police, which are strictly protecting the settlers, have banned the organizations tours of the city, arguing that these tours are inflaming the situationrather than, God forbid, Anat the spitting settler or other hooligans. Not a single person in the army or in the police intervened, and these tours were allowed to continue in a retrained manner only thanks to the High Court.

At the end of Operation Cast Lead, the organization released 54 testimonies, and at the end of Operation Protective Edge, it released 60 additional testimonies on events in which innocent people had been harmed. The IDFs response, from its attorney at the time, todays Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, was a rejection of the testimonies for being anonymous. As if it would be impossible, with a little good will and some creative thought, to protect the testifiers identity and investigate the truth.

The German foreign minister was only the beginning. More and more foreign diplomats, who will arrive to meet with Israeli politicians, will be asked to meet with those who are exposing the other side of the coin. These organizations, like BTselem and Breaking the Silence, are ensuring that we dont lose our humanity. They are the mirror on the wall, the one reflecting how ugly we are.
By Steven Ariong

Authorities at Moroto regional referral hospital are making a hasty move to utilize shs 800 million meant for the construction of additional staff houses before the end of this financial year.

According to Geoffrey Mawa the Principal hospital Administrator they received the money in September last year to facilitate the construction of staff quarters but there were challenges arising from delays in decision making.

Mawa blames the delay on the previous management team that was characterized by in fights.

He now says the current hospital management is struggling to ensure that the money is fully absorbed.

Although government injected about shs 25billion into renovation of Moroto regional referral hospital, it is still battling with numerous challenges including lack of scanner, surgeons and staff houses.

The regional referral hospital is also without a general surgeon

following the interdiction of the only surgeon Dr.Filbert Nyeko over allegations of financial mismanagement.

This hospital serves hundreds of patients in Karamoja, Teso, Sebei and part of Kenya.
Dont believe those who defame this country. Dont let their gloomy prophecies deceive you.

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An absolute majority of settlers are strongly against any kind of violence, but all you see is the tiny nasty minority that throws stones. An absolute majority of leftistsyes, even those who live in slandered Tel Avivare people who love Israel, real patriots who are concerned about its future.

Tel Aviv is a wonderful Hebrew city, a city as beautiful as many European cities, and the loud attempt to brand it as a piece of detachment and espresso is idiotic and offensive. The leftists are liberal exemplary citizens who seek good, even if most of the noise is made by a loud, post-Zionist minority looking for clicks on the Haaretz website.

We would not have reached such great achievements as a state without the distinguished people living here (Photo: Ido Erez)

Most Haredim understand that what took place in the past wont go on. Some of them, people like Yehuda Meshi Zahav, proudly send their children to the army, others go out to work, and there are those who are still afraid, but deep in their hearts they are hoping and looking for ways to integrate. Its taking them time, but they understand that this is the direction. Only a minority of Haredim block roads and insult girls and curse soldiers. A loud minority, which is receiving a lot of media coverage.

And the Arabs you meet in your day-to-day life, those who I meet just like that, hanging out at a Jerusalem mall like me, do they have anything to do with Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi? Do they want anything apart from a quiet life and good neighborly relations?

And for every corrupt mayor, there are 100 who serve their city loyally, and for every Israeli who loses control on a plane, there are countless Israelis who volunteer in charity organizations and are working to improve the world.

We have a polarization industry going on here. On the margins of our society, there are people working to define themselves by denying the other. They use generalizations. They live off the rift. But we must not let them win. Lets take the advice of Rabbi Elazar, who said in the Talmuds Chullin tractate: The world exists only on account of (the merit of) he who restrains himself in strife, for it is written: He hanges the earth upon nothing.

We would not have reached su

ch great achievements as a state without the distinguished people living here, Israelis who know how to rise above a crisis, people of vision and ethics. There are good people living in this country, rightists and leftists, religious and secular, who understand that this is a Jewish state but are strongly against coercion, politically pragmatic people, people who are capable of engaging in an argument but who dont stop loving, Israelis who are unwilling to despair, Israelis with optimism and patience and a deep understanding that we have more in common than what divides us, and that her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.

Happy Independence Day!
CAIROMilitants killed three policemen and injured five others in a shooting in Cairo late on Monday, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Attacks on security forces are common in Egypt's northern Sinai, where the country is battling an Islamist insurgency, but targeted assaults in Cairo are rare and the shooting comes amid a campaign by militants to spread violence to the country's mainland.

The militants drove by and shot down police stationed at an intersection of the ring road, a busy Cairo expressway, in the city's eastern neighbourhood of Nasr City, the statement said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
A 45-year-old Palestinian who was previously imprisoned in Israel died after a hunger strike in Ramallah as a sign of solidarity with the hunger strike of the security prisoners.

The Palestinian had kidney problems and insisted on hunger striking and died Monday night in the protest tent that was built in Ramallah.
Sgt. Eliyahu Dahari, 21, an ultra-Orthodox Jew who serves in the Netzach Yehuda Battalion, immigrated to Israel only three years ago from Yemen in view of the worsening of the Muslim aggression against the Jewish community in the country.

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Sgt. Dahari immigrated by himself from Amran, near Sanaa, where he was born and raised, and enrolled as a yeshiva student in Bnei Brak. At one point he went to work to keep himself financially, and then stopped his studies in favor of enlisting in the army.

Sgt. Eliyahu Dahari

"It was my dream since I was a kid, to serve in the IDF, to be a fighter," he told Ynet. "In the recruitment offices, they wanted me to be a driver but I didn't give up and I insisted on being accepted to the Netzach Yehuda battalion. It was not easy at first, especially in training, but today I am pleased. Military service changed my life. Today I am independent, feel part of Israeli society."

Dahari will soon be completing his military service and will begin to study at the expense of the army. He lives alone in Be'er Sheva and eight months ago, managed to persuade his parents to immigrate from Yemen.

Dahari as a child in Yemen

My father was unable to sell his four-story house because he was afraid he would be discovered to be leaving," he added. "They just left the house as is, with the equipment and furniture, with the car in the garage, and immigrated with the clothes on their backs.

"It's dangerous to live as a Jew in Yemen, and there were situations where we stayed for a long time without leaving the house, and if we went out, for shopping, for example, we would have to be sharp and alert. They could have easily ended our lives there. Today, there are maybe three more Jewish families in Yemen. Most either immigrated to Israel or left for London, or the US.

Dahari's parents

"At first I didn't know how to immigrate, so I turned to a friend in Israel who arranged for me an airplane ticket, took me to Amman, and after the arrangements at the Israeli embassy I flew to Israel."

Dahari has one uncle left in Yemen but contact with him is sparse because of a lack of media.
DUBAIOfficials and experts from Gulf Arab countries are in Washington for the next two weeks to take part in a series of public lectures aimed at addressing issues of concern for the region under the Trump administration.

Saudi Arabia's Undersecretary for International Communication at the Information Ministry, Abdulmohsen Alyas says the talks will address "issues of misunderstanding and miscommunication" between the United States and its Gulf allies through direct and frank discussions on important issues.
World Bnei Akivas 150 delegates, who are dispersed among 50 locations in 24 countries around the world, were asked to visit the falafel store nearest them and rate the meal they received based on a list of questions compiled by the movement especially for this contest.

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Falafel meals were rated by tasters in their respective countries, and over 10 submitted their ratings for review. Participating in the event were falafel stores in countries including Italy, Finland, Mexico, USA, Australia, Belgium, Germany, South Africa, and The Netherlands.

Antwerp (Photo: WBA)

The answers to the questionnaires revealed several interesting findings: Falafel stores in Europe best imitate the traditional Middle Eastern taste of the food. Portion generosity, which measured the maximal number of falafel balls per meal, was awarded to King Falafel in Mexico which stuffs a generous nine balls into each portion. In Melbourne, Mama Falafel allows diners to make their own falafel; and in Benny Falafel in Antwerp, pitas are heated in a cast iron skillet.

Dusseldorf (Photo: WBA)

It should be noted that some World Bnei Akiva delegates are stationed in locations where there is no kosher falafel to be had. Notwithstanding, even in those cities, delegates eagerly participated in the falafel contest by brainstorming for creative solutions. In Dusseldorf, Germany, for example, delegates rated the falafel served on the school menu where they work; and in Johannesburg, delegates sponsored a special evening dedicated to learning about and creating Israels national food. During the course of the evening, WBA branch members revealed who among them was the most creative and talented falafel chef!

Rome (Photo: WBA)

The most expensive falafel of all was in Cafe 61 in Perth, Australia, which cost approximately 32.50 NIS. Trailing right behind it was Yesh in Rome, Italy, where a falafel costs 27.50 NIS. The freshest pitas in the world can be found in Benny Falafel in Antwerp and at the Falafel Night in Johannesburg which was sponsored for WBA youth.

Antwerp (Photo: WBA)

Antwerp (Photo: WBA)

Two cities tied for both second and third places: Third place went to La Pizzeria in Great Neck, NY and Yesh in Roma which both received general ratings of 8.5. Falafels that scored second place were Mama Falafel in Melbourne, Australia, which scored a general rating of 9, and Golan Lunchroom in Amsterdam, Holland. First place was indisputably Benny Falafel in Antwerp which received the highest general score of 9.4.

Perth (Photo: WBA)

Meir, a WBA delegate in Antwerp, is proud of the falafel rating that his city received. He shares, Benny Falafel would be a serious competitor to falafel stores in Israel. The taste, accompaniments, and atmosphere in the place do a fabulous job. In my opinion, the cleanliness and bright decor should be emulated by falafel stores in Israel. Im proud to be a WBA delegate and even prouder to be a delegate in the city that earned the worlds highest falafel rating.
Sagiv Lugassi of Ma'alot won the 59th edition of the World Bible Quiz for Jewish youth, held at Binyami Ha'uma in Jerusalem and hosted by recurring host Avshalom Kor on Tuesday.

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Lugassi overcame Naomi Cohen of Safed, who led during most of the quiz stages. Lugassi made history with his victory as he is the first secular winner in the past 30 years, and even attends the ORT Maalot State School.

The winner, Sagiv Lugassi (Photo: Ohad Zwingenberg)

This year's quiz marked the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. It was held in the presence of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, like every year, asked the contestants a challenging question when the quiz ended.

(Photo: Ohad Zwingenberg)

In the finals, Lugassi won, overcoming contestants from the United States, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Panama, Belgium and Braziland of course, from Israel. Cohen, 18, from Safed, studied at the Bnei Akiva Ulpan in Meron, and was also the winner of the National Bible Quiz for Youth. She was steady at the lead up to the final stage, when Lugassi made an impressive comeback. Ranking third was Masha Shpilovich from Belarus.

The judges' panel (Photo: Ohad Zwingenberg)

"There is no people in the world for whom Jerusalem is as holy and important as it is for the Jewish people, even though today there is a discussion in UNESCO that tries to deny this simple truth," the prime minister said before asking his question.

"We deny UNESCO and uphold our truth, which is the truth. Throughout Jewish history, Jerusalem was the heart of the nation. This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem and the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress, and therefore we present you with eight questions marking Zion and Jerusalem."
The ceremony at the President's Residence on Tuesday morning included a rare family reunion for one of the soldiers. Sgt. Hanoch Arga, 25, from Ramat Gan, who serves as the computer network manager in the IT department, reunited with his father, who was flown in from Ethiopia, and whom he hadn't seen in 7 years.

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The father flew in with the help of Arga's adoptive family. Arga, who was so choked up found it hard to speak. Finally he said, "I haven't seen my father for seven years, and it's very exciting. I still don't really understand what's happening. I only expected to receive the Medal of Excellence, and suddenly my father arrived. I'm very happy. They surprised me, I wasn't aware of anything."

Sgt. Baruch Arga and his father (Photo: Gil Yochanan)

President Reuven Rivlin told the father: "I want to say thank you for the son you raised, I imagine that living seven years without seeing your son is like living with a piece of your heart missing. We established a State and we live here and are strong here because of children like your son."

Arga immigrated to Israel in 2010. The president said after awarding Arga with the Medal of Excellence: "He carries out his role successfully and responsibly. Hanoch leads and advances processes in his profession, has extensive professional knowledge in his field, invests heavily in all areas of activity in the unit, is diligent and serves as an example for all soldiers in the unit."

(Photo: Gil Yochanan)

Of the 121 recipients, 71 are men and 50 are women. 19 of them officers, 64 combat soldiers and five soldiers volunteered for military service. In light of the public controversy surrounding the integration of women in combat roles, the president joked with one of the female outstanding soldiers from a mixed artillery unit: "Do the boys sometimes help you carry the shells or drop everything on you?"

To all the soldiers, the president said: "Our country may be small in size and depleted by natural resources, but there are great people in it who turn it into an empire."
On the eve of Israel's Independence Day, UNESCO passed a resolution calling for the revocation of Israeli sovereignty in all of Jerusalem, despite Israeli attempts to convince as many countries as possible to resist.

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The UNESCO resolution calls on Israel, as the "occupying power," to cease "persistent excavations, tunneling, works and projects in east Jerusalem," which the Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state. Israel views the entire city as its capital.





The Old City in twilight (Photo: Israel Bardugo)

Israeli archaeological excavations and other infrastructure projects in the Old City have long stoked tensions.

The UNESCO resolution did reaffirm "the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions," though it accused Israel of taking actions that have "altered, or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City."

Temple Mount during the Independence Day celebrations (Photo: AFP)

The countries that voted in support of the resolution were: the seven Arab states Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan; Iran, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Sweden, Russia, China, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Chad.

Ten countries opposed the resolution: the United States, Ukraine, Italy , Germany, Great Britain, Paraguay, Lithuania, Greece, Togo, and the Netherlands.

The countries that voted to abstain were: France, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Spain, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Albania, Cameroon, Estonia, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, Argentina, India, El Salvador, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

The countries whose representatives did not vote on the resolution were Nepal, Serbia, and Turkmenistan.

Netanyahu promises: 'We're not going anywhere'

Earlier Tuesday, at the World Bible Quiz, marking the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the expected vote. "We deny UNESCO and uphold our truth, which is the truth. Throughout Jewish history, Jerusalem was the heart of the nation. This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem and the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress, and therefore we present you with eight questions marking Zion and Jerusalem."

Netanyahu (Photo: Hillel Meir/TPS)

After the decision was announced, Netanyahu responded to it again, this time at a reception for foreign diplomats and military attaches in celebration of Israel's 69th Independence Day, hosted by President Reuven Rivlin and his wife Nehama. Netanyahu shared that over the last couple of days, he conducted many conversations with world leaders, heads of state and foreign ministers, in regard to the "absurd" vote taking place at the UN. He stressed that the number of countries that support anti-Israeli suggestions in UNESCO is gradually shrinking.

"The absurd decisions in UNESCO have to not merely be reduced in the number of their supporters. That's happening, I'm glad to say, went down from 32 to 26, today to 22. There are more countries today that are abstaining or supporting Israel than there are those opposing Israel. But my goal is to have no votes in UNESCO on Israel.

"Last year UNESCO said that the Jewish people have no connection to the Temple Mount. Can you imagine?" said Netanyahu. "Three thousand years ago Solomon built his temple there. This is the same temple that Herod ... that was rebuilt by the Exiles of Babylon coming back here with the Proclamation of Cyrus the Great; it's the same temple that Jesus visited when he overturned the money tables, the money changers' tableshe didn't do this in a monastery in the Himalayas. He did it in the Jewish Temple here. And UNESCO said a year ago that we have no connection to the Temple Mount. This year they didn't say that. That's an improvement in the march of absurdity. They also said that Judaism too has connection to Jerusalem. We're making progress. But there's still a way to go and the way we have to go is in fact to cut out this nonsense.

"One hundred US senators, one hundred, every single one of them, Democrats and Republicans and I guess there are some independents there too, every single one of them wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations and said, 'Enough!' The theater of the absurd, when it comes to Israel, has to stop.

"So there is a gap still between our expanding, growing bilateral relations and our multilateral diplomacy," added Netanyahu. "It's true the gap is being reduced from year to year, but if I can express a wish to you: I want it eliminated, as I want you to cut your travel time, as the President suggested. Move your embassies to Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel for 3,000 years.

Referring to critics of Israeli policy, Netanyahu said, "There is of course the line among a handful of academics and misguided protestors saying that Israel is isolated. No. It's not. Almost daily, I meet with world leaders. Well, to be precise, about 250 leaders from around the worldwe have fewer work days so sometimes we have to meet twice a daywho come to Jerusalem and we meet here. And the number's growing, all the time, year to year. And they all tell a different story.

Last week the Chancellor of Austria said Israel is a role model for the entire world. From African leaders I hear profound thanks for Israeli technology that helps save and improve lives throughout Africa. From Asian leaders, such as the leaders of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan that I met recently, or the leader of Singapore, I hear an earnest desire to deepen economic cooperation. I heard the same in Australia, as I hear it from the representatives of Latin American countries. From American and Western leaders and others I hear gratitude for our intelligence which has helped stop many, many terror attacks in their countries, in your countries.

"And perhaps most remarkably, from Arab leaders I hear an increasing recognition that Israel is not an enemy but an indispensable ally in the common battle against terror and the common effort to secure a different future, a better future for all the peoples of the Middle East.

"How has this happened? What makes Israel a role model for the world? Well, the first thingand let me be as clear-cut and candid as I canIsrael is a good society. It's democratic, it's open and welcoming. Minorities thrive. Look around a vast radius and you can see how Israel stands out. Everyone here can succeed. You can be an Arab Supreme Court Justice, or a Christian diplomat, or a female general, or a Druze minister, or a gay Member of Knesset. Our pluralism is our strength.

"We're not perfect," admitted Netanyahu while speaking to those gathered in the crowd. "I don't know what country is, and we always strive to improve. Israel is a moral nation that from its first day has tirelessly pursued peace with all our neighbours. And we can do a great deal of good in moving towards this not only with our neighbors but with every one of you.

"There is a revolution taking place right now in the world. It is challenged by the forces of militant Islam who want to take us back to a dark medievalism, but we will overcome it. Everywhere, we will overcome it. And the other force is propelling us into an amazing technological future. Everything, every single thing is becoming technologized: agriculture, water, health, transportation, carseverything. And those who innovate will seize the future. Every one of your countries, every one of your societies should partake in this future. Everyone needs it. Israel happens to be now a global hub of technology. There are many reasons why it's happened. It's related to our history and our culture and to other circumstances, but it has happened.

"When I visited China recently, President Xi said to me, you know we're about to cross 1.4 billion people. And I said, well, we just crossed eight million. And he said, but you're a global power in innovation, in inventiveness. And I have to say that we want to share the fruits of our ingenuity in water, in agriculture, in medicine, in every single field that makes life better, longer, safer. And we want to do it, more than anything, with our neighbors, because if their life is good, our life will be good.

"So I, like many Israelis, I know the cost of war and that is why I am dedicated to pursuing this peace. I think this peace can be pursued today in ways that are different and perhaps weren't available before, because I believe that many in the region today understand that there are opportunities and advantages that weren't available before. I think that through the intertwining of regional normalization and Palestinian-Israeli normalization, we can bootstrap our way up to another historic peace. And I hope that the Palestinian leadership will make it possible for us to advance towards that peace.

Despite this comment on his wish for peace with the Palestinians, Netanyahu did not hold back criticism against its leadership, which funds terrorists held in Israeli prisons. "The payment of money to terrorists by a sliding scalethe more you kill the more you getthat's the opposite of peace. It sends exactly the wrong message to young Palestinians. We want them to move towards peace. The Palestinian Authority has paid, pays roughly 300 million dollars a year, specific payments, not social security, that doesn't exist regrettably in Palestinian society yet, but it's paid to a few thousand jailed terrorists. And now imagine what happens after a few yearsit's a billion dollars, and after several yearsit's several billion dollars. Imagine if all that money was put towards coexistence, education for peace, joint projects, for medicine, for agriculture, for sewage treatment, everything. Just imagine what can happen here.

"I think this could change the region, and yet it requires this clear-cut shift of direction. I think it's time to stop financing murder and to start financing peace. We are partners for peace. We seek it for our people. We pray for it, we yearn for it, and were ready to act for it. And we need partners for peace. I know that all of you seek it too. We welcome your cooperation in this effort and we want, of course, to cement our mutual relations.

"The Jewish people is powerless no longer, defenseless no longer, homeless no longer," concluded Netanyahu. "We use our power for good, to treat injured Syrian civilians, to prevent terror attacks, to serve as a model of what our troubled region could look like and what it should look like. Just imagine more Tel Avivs and fewer Aleppos.

"And yet, despite the shrill and hateful calls from Iran, and still from Palestinian quarters, to uproot Israel, we're not going anywhere. Israel is here to stay forever, growing stronger, more advanced, more prosperous, seeking peace."

Rivlin urges countries to 'recognize Jerusalem,' move embassies to Jerusalem

President Reuven Rivlin also referred to the UNESCO decision at the reception he hosted. After speaking of Israeli innovation and the relatively short time that has passed since its founding, Rivlin said that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Since the days of King David, there was no other reality. It is time to put an end to the absurd. It is time to recognize Jerusalem, as the official capital of the State of Israel. It is time to move all the official embassies here. To Jerusalem.

Rivlin (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

When I visit other countries, and when we host heads of states from around the world, I am proud to hear that while Israel is just 69 years young, it is already known for its strengths. Israeli innovation is known around the world. Every day we build our cooperation; in agriculture, in science and research, in culture and education, and more.

Central to the Presidents address was the importance of the status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The State of Israel is a fact. But it will never be taken for granted. We would not be standing here celebrating together, if not for the support, of the international community, or its recognition for the right of the Jewish People to return to our historical homeland and establish a national home. A home that has Jerusalem at its heart. Jerusalem has always been the center of the Jewish world. The place we have prayed towards for thousands of years. There was never any doubt that Jerusalem would be the capital of Israel. And 50 years ago, we returned to the Old City of Jerusalem, we united the whole city under Israeli sovereignty. We felt then, that the dream of Jerusalem as the physical and spiritual capital of Israel had finally become a reality.

The President stressed to the diplomats from around the world, Dear friends, for 70 years you have been coming here to Jerusalem to take part in official events; at the Israeli parliament, with the presidents of Israel, with the prime ministers of Israel, and many with others. He noted, Most of you are younger than me. You were born to the fact of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. You know no other reality. Since the days of King David, there was not, there is not, and there never will be any other reality. It is time to put an end to the absurd. It is time to recognize Jerusalem, as the official capital of the State of Israel. De facto, not just de jure. It is time to move all the official embassies here. To Jerusalem.

The President concluded by once again welcoming his guests, and said, Dear friends, it is my pleasure to welcome you all. I look forward to seeing you all from time to time. And when we meet for Israels 70th birthday, I hope your drive here will be much shorter. Happy Independence Day!

In addition to the reception attended by ambassadors and diplomatic representatives, the President's Office received many greetings from leaders around the world including, Queen Elizabeth II, King Philip of Spain, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, US President Trump, Russian President Putin, French President Hollande, and many others.

Among the greetings, President Trump noted the US's support for Israel was "Ironclad", and added, "The tremendous strength of the United States-Israel relationship is reflected not only in the close partnership between our governments, but also in the ties that connect our two people."

President Hollande wrote, "In the unstable regional environment of today, Israel can be sure of France's support for the security of Israel," and added, "this is an absolute priority for France.

Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot were also in attendance.

The President quoted from the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Semitic Languages from 1911, which read The dream of some Zionists, that Hebrewa would-be Hebrew, that is to saywill again become a living, popular language in Palestine, has still less prospect of realization than their vision of a restored Jewish empire in the Holy Land.

The President stated, I think of all we have achieved in the last 69 years, and now that we are entering the 70th year of the State of Israel, I am excited to think what groundbreaking achievements are still ahead of us.

Israeli, Palestinian ambassadors to UNESCO decision with approval and indignation

UNESCO caused an uproar last year when member states approved a resolution that diminished Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel suspended cooperation with the agency in response.

Elias Wadih Sanbar, the Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, said Tuesday's resolution was part of efforts to "stop giving a kind of blank check to an occupier that is acting with total illegality and impunity.

The Israeli ambassador to the agency, Carmel Shama Hacohen, said those who supported the motion "have to feel ashamed," adding that "There is no reason to vote against any country, and especially on its Independence Day, and especially on a decision that tries to delete the historical connection of the Jewish people, a 3,000-year connection."

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said he had instructed the country's representative to UNESCO to vote against "the latest politicized resolution on Jerusalem."

"Our opinion is very clear: UNESCO can't become the headquarters of a permanent ideological clash in which questions are faced for which the solutions are supposed to be handled in other headquarters," Alfano was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.
CAIRO - A powerful local tribe in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula says it killed eight suspected ISIS fighters in battle and captured three more.

The Tarabeen tribe has clashed repeatedly with a local ISIS affiliate in recent weeks, opening a new front against the insurgency raging in the northern Sinai, which borders Gaza and Israel.

Moussa al-Delh, a senior member of the tribe, said the clashes broke out Tuesday in the town of Rafah along the Gaza border, and that no tribesmen were killed.
By Paul Tajuba

About 10,000 liters of pesticides to fight the fall army worm are expected in the country this week.

The State Minister for Agriculture Hon. Christopher Kibazanga says the pesticides will be distributed across the country to fight the crop-eating caterpillar that has destroyed crops like maize, bananas, sugar cane and vegetables.

He says without controlling the caterpillar, the country risks having a more poverty stricken and hungry population since over 80 per cent of Ugandans depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Hon.Kibanzaga says farmers should however adhere to proper pesticide use.

He says 20-50mls of the pesticides should be mixed in 15  20 litres of water before spraying.

He adds that spraying should be done between 7:00-8:00am and 5:00-7:00pm when the caterpillar is active and should be done twice a week.
Israels 69th Independence Day ended on Tuesday evening with the annual awarding of the Israel Prize in Jerusalem.

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The ceremony at the International Convention Center was attended by President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

LR, top to bottom: Uri Shaked, Arie Vardi, Agnes Keleti, Yehuda Liebes, Malka Margalit, David Beeri, Tzvika Levy, Nili Cohen, Yossi Yarden

Two Israelis receive the Lifetime Achievement Award: David Beeri and Col. (res.) Tzvika Levy . Beeri is the founder of the Elad organization who, according to the judges, transformed the City of David into a first-class heritage, education and tourism site. It was also noted that the prize was given to him for his contribution to the state in the establishment of his own enterprise which became a national enterprisethe City of David.

Bennett with Tzvika Levy (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Levy is considered the father of lone soldiers. For dozens of years he has worked on behalf hundreds of thousands of soldiers without means, and he has treated bereaved families with commendable devotion, wrote the judges.

When Beeri and Levy were called to the stage, cries of joy were heard from the crowd.

Bennett with David Beeri (Photo: Amit Shabi)

The education minister addressed Israeli youth in his speech. I appeal to you because you too, each and every one of you, can be the future Israel Prize laureate, and in my remarks at this honorable position, I call to you: choose a way of life of creation and action by way of entrepreneurship, Bennett said.

The oldest laureate this year was Holocaust survivor 96-year-old Agnes Keleti , who won 10 Olympic medals when she represented her country of birth, Hungary. She received the prize in the field of sports.

Agnes Keleti and Bennett (Photo: Channel 1)

The prize committee stated in its remarks that Keleti is a powerful and brilliant figure. "A trailblazing woman, a leader and a role model for all her students in Israel and across the world, who made history and lives among us," they wrote.

Keleti is the most successful Jewish female athlete to have competed in the Olympics, and her number of Olympic medals won by a Jew is only beat by the American swimmer Mark Spitz, who won 11.

In the field of engineering research, professor Uri Shaked , 74, considered one of the worlds leading scientists in the field of control theory. The methods developed by Shaked are now widely used in all industries, including the Israeli defense industry. He also made a significant contribution to the expansion of scientific-technological education in Israel and was one of the leaders in the process of establishing academic colleges of engineering that contributed to making academic education accessible to a more diverse range of

students.

Uri Shaked (Photo: Eyal Fisher)

Professor Malka Margalit , a leading international researcher in the field of special education and the study of learning disabilities, was honored for her work in education research. Her research has made a significant impact on the development of special education in Israel over the years. Her research shows how hope instills high achievements among students and how improving mental willpower is a tool for making far-reaching personal change.

Malka Margalit and Bennett (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Yehuda Liebes

Professorwas honored for his work in the field of Kabbalah and Jewish mystical literature. In its recommendation, the Israel Prize Committee noted that Liebes is a brilliant leading researcher in the study of Jewish mystical literature. His many innovations include highlighting the role of myth and messianism as prominent forces in Jewish culture, and his research ranges across many fields, in particular all aspects of Kabbalah, where he showed depth, boldness and innovation.

Bennett with Yehuda Liebes (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Arie Vardi

In the field of music research, Prof., a great musician and pedagogue, was honored. He has contributed greatly to the advancement of classical music culture in Israel and to the advancement of Israeli music and Israeli musicians around the world. The judges explained, Professor Vardi made classical music accessible to the widest audience through explained concerts and many innovative television programs. He tutored generations of pianists who are now at the top of the worlds music scene and thus has a decisive influence on shaping the contemporary image of classical music culture in the world.

Arie Vardi and Bennett (Photo: Amit Shabi)

In the field of life sciences research, professor Yossi Yarden was awarded the Israel Prize as one of the most important cancer researchers in the world. Yarden focused his studies on the identification of growth factor receptors responsible for regulating the central life processes in the cell, understanding their behavior, and discovering the disruptions occurring in them, which contribute to the development of the cancer process. On the basis of his discoveries, a series of anti-cancer drugs has been developed, some of which are already widely used. The prize committee wrote, Professor Yardens work is an example of pioneering biological research.

Yossi Yarden and Bennett (Photo: Amit Shabi)

In the field of legal research, professor Nili Cohen was awarded the Israel Prize. The judges wrote, Cohen is an academic leader chosen for her achievements as president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and has an important voice in the struggle over the image of legal and academic research in Israeli society.

Bennett hands the prize to Nili Cohen (Photo: Amit Shabi)

(Translated and edited by J. Herzog)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas initial relief over having been invited to the White House is now clouded by concerns he might have to say no to US President Donald Trump on a key issue in their first meeting Wednesday.

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Palestinians fear Trump might ask Abbas to halt stipends for families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned after carrying out attacks against Israelis. Israel argues the payments reward terrorists. But stopping them seems untenable at a time of tremendous Palestinian popular support for a mass hunger strike of prisoners held by Israel.

Trump (L) and Abbas (Photo: AFP)

Heres a look at the issues:

Why is the meeting important?

A solid relationship with the US forms the core of Abbas strategy of setting up a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. The 82-year-old leader has stuck to this approach despite repeated failures of US-led negotiations with Israel and growing doubts that a partition remains possible as Israeli settlements continue to expand in disputed territory.

Loss of access to Washington became a terrifying possibility for Abbas after Trump ignored the Palestinians early in his presidency, while appearing to side with Israel on key issues. Being shunned by the US would undercut Abbas remaining political legitimacy just as polls show two-thirds of Palestinians want him to resign. Abbas has been in power since 2005, and new elections were blocked partly because of a rivalry with the Hamas terrorist organization.

What does Abbas want?

Trump seems eager to broker an Israeli-Palestinian dealand some hold out hope that the US presidents freewheeling style might succeed where more orthodox diplomacy has failed. Abbas wants to hear more, especially as Trump has shown hes not necessarily wedded to traditional US positions.

Arab League summit (Photo: Reuters)

Abbas aides say he will try to win Trumps support for an Arab League peace plan offering Israel normalization with the Arab and Muslim world if it allows a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines. The plan was reaffirmed in March at an Arab summit and would block efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek normalization with some Arab countries ahead of a Palestinian deal.

Abbas will also argue that Israeli economic gestures toward the Palestinians, recently encouraged by the US, are no alternative to negotiations on a two-state solution. Israeli hardliners promote the idea of economic peace in place of Palestinian statehood.

An AbbasNetanyahu meeting?

Wide gaps between Abbas and Netanyahu on the framework of a future deal have prevented serious negotiations since the Israeli leader came to power in 2009. If pressed, Abbas might reluctantly agree to a one-off meeting with Netanyahu, Palestinian officials suggest.

Abbas (L) and Netanyahu shake hands at Shimon Peres' funeral (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Prospects for renewed talks are sketchy, though. The Trump administration previously tried to win a commitment from Netanyahu to curb settlement building on lands the Palestinians seek for their state; some 600,000 Israelis already live in disputed territory, and construction continues. Netanyahu reportedly agreed only to a vague slowdown.

What does Israel want?

Israel pressed demands in recent days that Abbas halt monthly stipends for the families of thousands of Palestinians killed or jailed as part of the conflict, including those who killed or wounded Israelis.

How can you speak about peace with Israel while you finance murderers who shed the blood of innocent Israelis at every opportunity? Netanyahu asked in a speech this week.

Abbas relief over being received at the White House comes with a great deal of fear because this campaign to stop payments to security prisoners has gained traction in the US, said Nathan Thrall, a Jerusalem-based analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank.

While administration officials have not said so, there is reason to believe the US may indeed pressure the Palestinians on the payments, as three key Republican senators urged in a letter sent Tuesday which reflected widespread opinion on the Hill.

Trumps incoming ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, acknowledged the payments as a concern in his Senate confirmation hearing. Asked whether Palestinians were rewarding terrorists and if there was an increasing incentive based on the number of people an attacker had killed, he said: Exactly true.

Palestinians see the stipends as welfare payments to victims of the conflict with Israel. While theyre split on whether violence is effective or acceptable, Palestinians overwhelmingly view anyone killed in conflict with Israel, including attackers, as freedom fighters. A hunger strike of 870 Palestinian prisoners, in its third week, enjoys wall-to-wall support in the West Bank, where a solidarity rally is planned Wednesday.

Abbas adviser Nabil Shaath said he cannot budge on the issue.

Does Abbas speak for all Palestinians?

The Hamas takeover of Gaza led to the formation of rival Palestinian governmentsthe Islamic militants run the seaside strip, from which Israel withdrew troops and settlers in 2005, while Abbas administers autonomous enclaves in parts of the West Bank.

A decade and several failed reconciliation attempts later, Abbas has been stepping up financial pressure in recent weeks, slashing wage and aid payments to Gaza. With this tough new approach, Abbas can tell Trump that he has leverage and is ready to use it against Hamas.

A Hamas youth camp (Photo: Reuters)

Hamas routinely portrays Abbas efforts to reach statehood through US-brokered negotiations with Israel as a waste of time. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said this week that Abbas markets an illusion and lacks legitimacy to represent the Palestinian people.

A new political manifesto released by Hamas on Monday, after years of internal debate, seems to harden the ideological divide. The document was billed as more pragmatic than Hamas fiery founding charter, and for the first time refers to the possibility of a state on the 1967 linesbut it still refers repeatedly to an ultimate goal of liberation of all historical Palestine, including what is now Israel.
Kowalczyk to retire after 46 years with Champion Homes

John Kowalczyk, customer service manager at the York Champion Homes plant, estimates hes been involved in the building of over 30,000+ homes. These ran the spectrum from starter homes, disaster relief housing (flood and hurricane), Park Model vacation homes, townhouses, apartment buildings, single wide to multi-sectionals. These homes/buildings were located throughout the United States (45 States), Canada, Panama, Venezuela, the Caribbean and Saudi Arabia. He plans to retire this Friday, May 5.

His career started in Florida on the production floor in August, 1971 and his career then took him to ten different plant locations in Georgia, New York, Colorado and finally to York, Nebraska. Its been a good company to work for, said Kowalczyk. I started on the production line and earned promotions from there. Its something this company is known for. I wouldnt have stayed for this long if I didnt like the company.

Ive enjoyed the challenges over the years, he added. Ive enjoyed the travel and the opportunities the job has presented. Ive made a lot of good friends along the way.

Along the way, he and his wife Judy, who he married in 1970, raised two children. Their son presently works for Stanford University although he is soon to move to the East Coast to work at Harvard. Their daughter is a Colorado University graduate and enjoys a career in psychology.

The couple loves to travel and they will continue to hit the highways and back roads once the retirement is final and they move back to a home they own in Colorado. York has been great to us and weve enjoyed the many events weve traveled to in Nebraska, said Kowalczyk. We attended numerous county fairs, city events and different historical locations around the state.

Kowalczyk, whose hobbies include hunting for fossils, knows the state well as he said he and Judy took off and went somewhere just about every weekend. Future plans include a trip to the West Coast and Alaska and the couple will travel down the coast to Southern California. Of course, hell also look for new places to hunt for fossils.

What Im going to miss the most are the people, said Kowalczyk, talking about both customers and co-workers. I enjoyed working with people to solve problems. Im going to miss them all. The job was always fast-paced with something new happening all the time. Every day was different and we have a great team here. I cant thank them enough.

Id like to express my thanks and gratitude to everyone who helped me throughout the years, he added. I definitely appreciate that.

Cornerstone names new director

The Board of Directors of Cornerstone Bank has announced the election of Tim Lichti as a new director of the bank at their annual meeting.

Tim Lichti is President of Lichti Bros. Oil Co. which has a wholesale division in Shickley and also operates Good2Go Convenience Stores in Lincoln, York, Geneva, Bruning and Hebron. Lichti has served as President of the Shickley school board and has been involved in many local and county organizations. He also has served as President of the Nebraska Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, as well as serving on the Propane Gas Association of Nebraska and the Shell Wholesale Council.

Lichti is an active member of the Salem Mennonite Church and has served in various capacities on the Church Board. He and his wife, Judy, reside in Shickley and have three married daughters, two grandchildren and one son, who is a senior at Shickley High School.

Cornerstone Bank is a $1.5 billion bank with 40 banking branches in 31 communities. Communities include: Albion, Aurora, Bartlett, Bradshaw, Central City, Clay Center, Columbus, Edgar, Davenport, Geneva, Glenvil, Grand Island, Guide Rock, Hampton, Harvard, Henderson, Hildreth, Marquette, McCool Junction, Monroe, Murray, North Loup, Polk, Rising City, Shelton, St. Edward, Stromsburg, Sutton, Waco, Wilcox and York. Cornerstone Bank is owned by First York Ban Corp of York, Nebraska.

Help celebrate Hospital Week

I received the following from Leslie Robinson, York General Marketing Director, and she asked me to share this with the readers of this column.

In celebration of Hospital Week, please join members of the York General Team downtown at the courthouse square for a free community picnic on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, said Robinson.

Free food will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., she added. Rain or shine, while supplies last. Its our way of saying Thank You for making York General your healthcare provider of choice.

What the Heck?

One of my favorite shows on TV is American Pickers which airs on the History Channel. Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz travel the country looking for items they can buy and sell out of their stores in LeClaire, Iowa and Nashville, Tennessee.

Its something Ive always had an interest in, going back to my younger days when I would go to auctions with my Dad, who was always up for a good bargain. He always said that there was nothing better than finding a bargain at a low price and reselling it for more money. Dad was really good with his hands and he could take a pile of nothing and make something of it.

But as Ive always said, its not so much the money that one can get from such endeavors, its the fun of the hunt. Everyone needs a hobby or two, and thats one of mine.

Ive been accused by a close friend of selling other peoples memories but I always say that the people will always have their memories, its just that they are done with the actual item or else they wouldnt have thrown it away or sold it.

Who knows, maybe in a couple of years when I hopefully have a little more time on my hands, Ill be out there on the back roads looking for the same things as Mike and Frank. I dont think anyone will want to watch me on TV, but I bet Ill be having fun.
YORK  Hundreds of people are expected in York Wednesday as a daylong hearing will be held by the Nebraska Public Service Commission on the Nebraska route for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The hearing, which will start at 9 a.m., with a scheduled 7 p.m. ending time, will be held at the Holthus Convention Center.

Groups that oppose the pipeline plan to bus in people from Lincoln and Omaha to York for the hearing. There have also been indications that at least one chartered bus will likely be coming from the Neligh community bringing people from the northern part of the state.

Supporters of the project, which include labor unions and business groups, are also expected to bring large numbers, as they have in past State Department hearings.

Local law enforcement agencies  the York County Sheriffs Department and the York Police Department -- will be assisting with traffic, parking and other logistic issues.

Every person who wants to testify will be given three to five minutes to speak. Public comment will be accepted on a first-come, first service basis. All comments will be entered into the record.

The states Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act calls for a public meeting to receive input at a location close to the proposed route. York certainly qualifies as the location, as the proposed pipeline would cross the county, passing just a few miles from the city. York County has also been a location of contention from some landowners who have refused to allow easements on their properties.
By Samuel Ssebuliba.

The police have started the process of installing CCTV cameras across the country in the awake of increased organized criminality.

Early this year, following the heinous murder of former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi, the president ordered that CCTV cameras be expeditiously installed especially in major cities and on major highways.

Now the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura has meet a high level experts delegation from Algeria to help lay the back bone for these cameras, as well as initiate a procurement plan.

Addressing the media today, the police spokesperson Asan Kasingye said the process is in three phases starting with Kampala Metropolitan in the next financial year.

This is part of the Bi-lateral cooperation that was signed in February this year between Uganda and Algeria to boost security between two countries.
Zabka, Warszawa, 166 m2

Lokal znajduje sie w budynku apartamentowym Unimax Development w inwestycji Viva Vitolin, przy ul. Grochowskiej 87 w Warszawie. Bedzie dostepny w 4Q 2023 roku (podpisanie umow przeniesienia wasnosci).
Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.
Politia Romana va avea propriul serial TV

Interventiile Politiei Romane vor putea fi urmarite si la TV din data de 14 noiembrie, iar serialul urmareste patru echipe de politisti, care se vor confrunta cu cele mai interesante cazuri si vor interveni acolo unde legea si ordinea nu sunt respectate: de la persoane disparute, violenta domestica, tulburari ale [citeste mai departe]
By Samuel Ssebuliba

President Yoweri Museveni has called for calm amidst growing insecurity in some parts of the country including Kampala, saying security is top on the list of his priorities.

This follows the killing of several people by machete wielding men especially in Greater Masaka and gun men in Kampala and Wakiso districts with most recent murder being that of former police spokesperson the late Andrew Felix Kaweesi.

Speaking during the Labor Day celebrations in Palisa district yesterday, the president said criminals who are using boda bodas to kill people cannot continue taking lives while government looks on.

He said that security agencies are at work to ensure all Ugandans feel safe in their country.
Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice - once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.
District of Columbia: US President Donald Trump will speak with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by telephone Tuesday, the White House said in a statement.

There was no indication about the topics of discussion for the two leaders. The call was scheduled for 12:30 pm (1630 GMT).

Trump has already spoken by telephone twice with Putin since taking office.

On January 28, the two men discussed how to defeat the Islamic State group in a congratulatory call from Putin, according to officials.

The last time, on April 3, Trump pledged support to Russia over a deadly bomb attack in the Saint Petersburg metro that killed 15 people.

US ties with Russia are under scrutiny after US intelligence agencies said hackers directed by the Kremlin accessed the Democratic National Committee networks ahead of the election that put Trump in the White House.

The FBI is probing any links between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government. The Pentagon is probing Trump`s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over payments received from Russian government-linked firms.
Washington: A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) translator traveled to Syria three years ago and married a key Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) operative she had been tasked to investigate, a media report claimed on Tuesday.

The CNN report said that Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, in 2014.

Cuspert went by the rap name Deso Dogg in Germany; in Syria, he was known as Abu Talha al-Almani.

Cuspert was involved in recruiting violent jihadists online. This had put him on the radar of counter-terrorism authorities on two continents, CNN reported.

Also, Cuspert had hailed Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.

According to court documents seen on Tuesday, Greene, who had a "top secret" security clearance, told her colleagues at the Detroit office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that she was heading to Germany to see her parents for a few weeks in June 2014.

Instead, the 38-year-old woman translator flew to Turkey and snuck across the border to meet up and marry an IS fighter.

It was not clear how Cuspert wooed her. Court testimony suggested they may have communicated privately via a Skype account he used that Greene did not report to her FBI colleagues. Greene, who was born in Czechoslovakia and married a US soldier, began work at the FBI in 2011, with no problems until her mysterious disappearance in June 2014.

Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

"Greene's saga, which has never been publicised, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBI - an agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathisers across the country," the channel said.

It also raises questions about whether Greene received favourable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offence, it added.

"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official.

Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011.

She was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A" identified as Cuspert.

As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.

It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad.

Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show.

"Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.

She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014, and flew on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. From there she travelled to Gaziantep city, close to the Syrian border.

She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Immediately after her arrival in Syria she married Cuspert, on June 27, 2014, according to court documents recently unsealed. But within days Greene, now 38, began to seek a way out.

"I really made a mess of things this time," she told a friend in a July 2014 e-mail from IS territory.

"I don`t know how long I will last here, but it doesn`t matter, it`s all a little too late," she said in a subsequent e-mail. In another, she said she recognized she could be imprisoned for years if she returned.

On August 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest.

After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on August 8, 2014.

Ultimately she pleaded guilty to one charge of "making false statements involving international terrorism," based on what she originally told the FBI about her travel plans. She received a relatively light 24 month prison sentence, and was released last year.

(With Agency inputs)
Washington: The White House has said that the US will continue talks with Israel about its settlement activity on occupied Palestinian territory.

"I`m sure that we`ll continue to have conversations with the Prime Minister (on Israeli settlement activity)," Xinhua news agency quoted White House spokesman Sean Spicer as saying on Monday.

"That`ll be something the President will continue to discuss."

Israeli authorities announced on Friday that the country intended to build 15,000 new settlement houses in East Jerusalem despite President Donald Trump`s earlier call for holding back new settlement activities for a possible new effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the media that the new Israeli settlement plan was a "deliberate sabotage" of efforts to resume negotiations.

The new settlement activity came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to visit the White House later this week.

The White House said last month that Trump and Abbas would "reaffirm the commitment of both the US and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and ultimately concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel."

In another statement in March, the White House said Trump in his first phone call told Abbas that he believed peace between Palestine and Israel was possible.

In a major departure from the longtime policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump in February said he was open to either a one-state or two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I`m looking at two-state, one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one," Trump said at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, Trump also asked Netanyahu to "hold back" on building new settlement "for a little bit".

The former US administration under Barack Obama often criticised Israel`s continuous expansion of the settlements, which Washington considered as a major obstacle to peace.
Caracas: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday called for the creation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution.

Maduro indicated the country`s protracted political crisis requires a measure of this kind to break the impasse, and allow the different political and social camps to decide the future of the South American nation, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I call on the original constituent power to achieve the peace the country needs, to defeat the fascist coup and to have the sovereign people impose peace, harmony and true national dialogue," said Maduro.

The ruling socialist party and the right-wing opposition have been locked in a bitter power struggle that has obstructed governing and led to violent anti-government protests in which some 29 people were killed.
Hyderabad: The Board of Secondary Education of Andhra Pradesh is likely to announce the BSEAP 10th Class Results 2017, Andhra Pradesh Class 10 Results 2017, Andhra Pradesh SSC Result 2017, AP SSC Results 2017 on May 6 at 12 noon.

The Andhra SSC Results 2017, AP Class 10 Result, AP Board 10th Result 2017, AP 10th Result will be made available on bseap.org and manabadi.com.

About Board of Secondary Education of Andhra Pradesh

Established in 1953, the BSEAP is an autonomous body under the Andhra Pradesh government's Department of Education.

The board has been entrusted with the task of regulating and supervising the system of Secondary Education in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The BSEAP used to conduct examination across undivided Andhra Pradesh but after bifurcation and creation of Telangana, it control is limited to the 13 districts remaining in the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh.

The BSEAP devises the course of study, finalises the syllabus, conduct exams besides carrying other statutory tasks like granting recognitions to schools in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Habbaniyah: Jihadist fighters killed at least 10 soldiers in the western Iraqi province of Anbar on Tuesday in their latest deadly attack on security forces in the area, officers said.

"We had 10 soldiers killed and six wounded in an attack by Daesh early this morning," an army lieutenant colonel told AFP, using an Arab acronym for the Islamic State group.

A police officer and a local official confirmed the attack and casualty toll.
Skoda fanatics must be aware that the India-bound Kodiaq has already been listed on the companys Indian website. Now though, there is a reason to smile harder as several Skoda dealers across the country have started accepting bookings for the Kodiaq at a refundable amount of as low as Rs 21,000. Dealers have also confirmed that the SUV is likely to launch in the last quarter of 2017.

Skoda first showcased the Kodiaq as the Vision S Concept at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and later that year, it revealed the production-ready prototype of the same. The SUV is based on Volkswagens modular transverse matrix (MQB) platform, which also underpins the Skoda Superb and the upcoming Volkswagen Tiguan. Like the Superb, the Kodiaq will come jam-packed with goodies all over. The list includes a 10-speaker, 575-watt Canton sound system, optional 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in GPS navigation support, wireless smartphone charging and 4G-LTE module for internet access on the go.

Customers in India will have an option of choosing between two engine options: 2.0-litre TSI petrol or a 2.0-litre TDI diesel, both supporting a turbocharger. Transmission duties will be handled by a seven-speed DSG and a six-speed DSG for the petrol and diesel variants respectively. Whats more, Skoda will also equip the Kodiaq with 4x4 drivetrain.

With the Kodiaq, the Czech automaker will land itself in a fierce rivalry from the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner and its upcoming sibling, the Volkswagen Tiguan. We expect Skoda to price the Kodiaq competitively, with a starting price tag of around Rs 25 lakh. Intrigued? We are!

Source: CarDekho.com
Rajgir(Bihar): RJD president Lalu Prasad today appealed to the non-BJP parties to "sink their differences" and come together like the Grand Alliance in Bihar to defeat the saffron party in the next Lok Sabha polls.

"I had a very serious fight with Nitish Kumar. But, to stop the surge of the BJP, we sank our differences and forged an alliance to defeat it in the 2015 Bihar polls," he said.

"Every party opposed to the BJP should sink its differences and come together to defeat it in the 2019 parliamentary election," Prasad said after inaugurating a two-day training camp of the RJD here.

He said "positive talks" have been held with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati to forge the alliance.

JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently to give pace to the process of forging an alliance among the non-BJP parties.

Prasad slammed the BJP and the RSS for "trying to divide the society in the name of mandir (temple), gau (cow), Kabristan (graveyard) and samshan (crematorium)."

Alleging that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been "the worst" under the NDA government at the Centre, Prasad lamented the killing of army jawans by Pakistan and mockingly asked, "Where is the 56 inch chest?" (referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi).

Calling upon the RJD workers to gear up for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he asked them to avoid making unnecessary statements which create confusion.

Prasad also sought to downplay reports of differences between the RJD and the JD(U) surfacing from time to time triggered by statements of some leaders from both sides and said the Grand Alliance is "united" in Bihar.

The choice of venue for the RJD's training camp at Rajgir is significant as it is in Kumar's home district of Nalanda.

Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, RJD's Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti, senior leaders and ministers like Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Alok Mehta, Shiv Chander Ram, state party chief Ramchandra Purbe, senior leader Jagdanand Singh and party national spokesman Manoj Jha were present at the training camp.
By Benjamin Jumbe

The Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) has applauded president Museveni over his stand on alcohol consumption.

This is after the president revealed that government was working on a law to regulate drinking of alcohol during early hours of the day and gambling in the country.

Speaking during Labor Day celebrations in Pallisa district yesterday president Museveni said these activities were affecting production of the youths who spend most time engaged in such instead of engaging productive work.

We are going to make laws to regulate drinking and gambling hours because many people do not want to work. They spend time drinking alcohol, president Museveni told a crowd at Saza Grounds, Kamuge sub-county in Pallisa district.

Now speaking to KFM the UYDEL executive director Rogers Kasirye says it is a step in the right direction but there is also need to address the issue of packaging and selling points.
New Delhi: The shareholders of Reliance Infratel (RITL), a subsidiary of Reliance Communications (RCOM) at their meeting on April 29, 2017 have approved with 98 percent majority the merger of the tower division of the RITL into Towercom Infrastructure Private Limited (TIPL), a company statement said here on Tuesday.

"Upon the completion of the demerger, through a Scheme of Arrangement, and the completion of certain other conditions and approvals, Rapid Holdings 2 Pte. Ltd., a company which is a part of the Brookfield Infrastructure Group will acquire 100 percent of TIPL and thereby creating the second largest independent and operator-neutral Towers company in India," the company statement said.

The company has already received approval from Competition Commission of India for the proposed scheme of arrangement.

"The company`s telecom towers demerged into TIPL will be 100 percent owned and independently managed by Brookfield Infrastructure," the statement added.

"Upon the Scheme becoming effective, RCOM will receive an upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore ($1.7 billion), which will be solely used to reduce its debt. The already announced combination of RCOM`s wireless business with Aircel, and the monetisation of the tower business, will together reduce RCOM`s overall debt by Rs 31,000 crore ($ 4.8 billion), or nearly 70 percent of existing debt," the statement added.

The statement further said: "RCOM and Reliance Jio will continue as major long term tenants of the TIPL along with other existing third party telecom operators."

A petition is filed with the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, for approval of the scheme, it added.
New Delhi: A Joint team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED have reached London to expedite Vijay Mallya's case. The move is followed by the absconding liquor baron's brief arrest and consequent bail in London.

A four-member team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana will apprise British authorities about the finer points of the loan default cases against Mallya, CBI sources said.

Two senior ED officials are also part of the team, they said.

Mallya's extradition is now before the British court where neither the CBI nor the ED are direct parties. Indian agencies primarily aid and assist British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of absconders before the courts, an official explained.

The agencies' move to send a team to London is aimed at presenting a strong case for the extradition of the flamboyant business tycoon before the court.



Mallya was arrested by the Scotland Yard -- and released on bail -- on April 18, 2017, in connection with an extradition request filed by India on February 8, 2017.

He was, however, released on bail a few hours later on a bail bond worth 6,50,000 pound. He is required to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 17.

Mallya is wanted in several cases related to economic offences in India. The now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines that he set up owes over Rs 9,000 crore ($1.5 billion) to state-owned and private banks, it has been widely reported.

India had placed a formal extradition request for Mallya as per the Extradition Treaty between India and the UK through a note verbale on February 8.

There were 16 extradition requests pending with UK as of July 2016, according to an answer to the Lok Sabha. Only one fugitive has been extradited from the UK -- Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, an Indian citizen, for murder; the extradition came in October 2016, 23 years after India`s extradition treaty with the UK came into force in 1993.

With Agency Inputs
New Delhi: Amidst internal bickering among leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party in the wake of the party's civic polls debacle, AAP's youth wing in-charge Vandana Singh on Tuesday alleged that founder member Kumar Vishwas was in touch with (National Security Advisor) Ajit Doval.

On Sunday, Delhi legislator Amanatullah Khan accused senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas of conspiring to break the party. The Okhla MLA resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) on Monday night.

Taking to Twitter, Singh today said she was heartbroken when she was told by Vishwas that he was in contact with Doval.

Earlier today, Vishwas accused its leaders of conspiring against him and said he won't compromise with his principles and soon take a call on his future action.

"I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell those conspirators that I will not allow you to do so," Kumar Vishwas told reporters without taking any name.

He denied that he wanted to be the Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Kumar Vishwas broke down while talking to reporters, saying: "I don't know why you are here... but I had not joined the movement for this."

Later, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed Vishwas for making statements in the media.

"Rather making statements on TV channels, he should raise his concerns within the party forum," Sisodia told reporters.

He also said that Vishwas was never asked to apologise for the video which he had released after the disrespect shown to soldiers in Kashmir last month.

Meanwhile, this is what Vandana Singh tweeted:

                          !!  Vandana Singh (@VandanaSsingh) May 2, 2017

    ,          ...... May 2, 2017

Amanatullah Khan had on Sunday said that Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and had asked some legislators to join the BJP with an offer of Rs 30 crore each.

Khan's remarks came after Vishwas in a TV interview on Friday has said the party won't hesitate in taking a call on change in its leadership after its poor show in Delhi municipal polls.
New Delhi: The rift in the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday widened with senior party leader Kumar Vishwas threatening to quit over the attacks on him by a 'coterie' surrounding Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Vishwas accused its leaders of conspiring against him and said he won`t compromise with his principles and will soon take a call on his future action.

Vishwas accuses AAP leaders of conspiring against him:



"I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell those conspirators that I will not allow you to do so," Vishwas told reporters without taking any name.



He denied that he wanted to be the convenor of AAP.



"I have already said 10 times and even to Arvind (Kejriwal) and Manish (Sisodia) and the party that I don`t want to be the Chief Minister, Deputy CM or the convenor," he said.

Also Read - Kumar Vishwas is my younger brother, nobody can separate us: Arvind Kejriwal



Vishwas also said that he would not join any political party or the Swaraj Aandolan.

He broke down while talking to reporters and said, "I don`t know why you are here but I had not joined the movement for this."

Sisodia slams Vishwas:



Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia slammed senior Vishwas for making statements in the media over the ongoing infighting within the party in the wake of its civic polls debacle.

Sisodia said that Vishwas was making remarks on television which was "lowering" the morale of party workers.



"No one in the party asked Kumar Vishwas to apologise. He made it personal. The party does not belong to Arvind (Kejriwal), to me or to Kumar (Vishwas) but it belongs to lakhs of workers in India and abroad," Sisodia told reporters at Kejriwal's residence, as per IANS.

Also Read - 34 AAP MLAs want to see Kumar Vishwas, not Arvind Kejriwal, as Delhi CM?



He added that it should not be made a personal issue.



"I along with Sanjay Singh had gone to meet him. He did not come to the PAC yesterday (Monday). He is making remarks in the media which is lowering the morale of party cadre and everyone knows who is getting benefited," Sisodia said.

However, later in the night, both Kejriwal and Sisodia met Vishwas at his residence in order to pacify him.

"We hope to placate him," Kejriwal said, as per ANI.

He added, "Kumar Vishwas is an integral part of our movement. He is upset but we are sure to convince him."

Yesterday, Kejriwal had tweeted that Vishwas was like his younger brother and nobody could separate them.

            ,      !          Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 30, 2017

AAP MLA Amanatullah resigns from PAC:

On the other hand, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan resigned yesterday from the political affairs committee (PAC) of the party following a high-end meeting of the party members with Vishwas conspicuously absent.

Khan, while emerging out of the PAC meeting, had categorically named Vishwas as been "planted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)" to disbalance the party.

Earlier, he had just made a veiled attack on the AAP leader.

"Vishwas ate cake with Ajit Doval and Bassi when AAP MLAs were arrested," he had said.

"I have resigned from the PAC. I stand by what I said about Vishwas. He is working at the behest of the BJP and the RSS. In fact, he has been planted by them to create disharmony in the party," he had added.

The infighting among the party members beamed out when after Khan`s resignation, Sisodia had asked all party MLAs and workers to not issue out public statements.

"No MLAs, workers should issue out public statements. We need to have trust in the party and its leadership. If there is any issue, talk to Arvind Kejriwal. He is always there," he had said.

"We have three years during which we have to work on WiFi, schools, health, etc. These small statements result adversely affect the morale of our party workers," he had added.

The PAC meeting, aimed at discussing the infighting within the party with senior party leaders Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey and Ashutosh, concluded with Amanatullah resigning from the PAC.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Friday took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for alleging that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were rigged to help the BJP win MCD polls.

Addressing the newly-elected BJP corporators in the national capital, Shah said, Arvind Kejriwal may term it victory of EVMs, but Delhi's mandate is the nation's mandate".

Further hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor, the BJP president quipped: Kejriwalji might blame EVMs for our victory, but to know the real reason behind AAP's defeat in Delhi civic polls, he should meet BJP booth in-charges.

BJP's victory in Delhi civic polls is a stepping stone and marks the end of anarchy, Shah asserted.

"MCD election results have laid the foundation for the BJP's win in the next assembly elections in Delhi," Shah said with a loud cheer from the party members.

Decimating Opposition, the BJP on Wednesday swept the MCD polls, retaining its ten-year hold on the capital's three civic bodies.

The BJP won 181 of the 270 wards, way above the halfway mark to secure control of all the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi - North, South and East. The BJP won 64 of 103 wards in North, 70 of 104 in South and 47 of 63 in East.

The AAP led by CM Kejriwal could manage wins in just 48 wards and the Congress was way behind with 30 seats.
New Delhi: Government on Tuesday informed Supreme Court that Section 139 AA of IT Act, which makes Aadhaar mandatory for PAN, curbs use of fake PAN cards.

Aadhaar makes a secure and robust system through which identity of a person cannot be faked, said the government.

Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi told a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the programme of PAN had become suspect as it could be faked while Aadhaar is a "secure and robust" system by which the identity of an individual cannot be faked.

The AG said that due to Aadhaar, government has saved over Rs 50,000 crore on the schemes to benefit the poor as well as the pension schemes.

He said that around 10 lakh PAN cards have been cancelled, while out of the 113.7 crore Aadhaar cards issued, no case of duplication has been found by the government.

He also said that Aadhaar was an effective tool to check the menace of terror funding and circulation of black money.

"The idea behind Aadhaar is to make a secure and robust system by which the identity of a person cannot be faked," the Attorney General told the court, which would continue hearing the arguments tomorrow.

The apex court is hearing three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 139 AA of the Income Tax Act which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act 2017.

Section 139AA provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making an application for allotment of PAN number with effect from July 1 this year.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners, had earlier argued that section 139AA was unconstitutional and was in "direct collision" with the Aadhaar Act.

He had also contended that there was no question of forcing a person to give his consent for Aadhaar and this was an issue which "alters the relationship of Republic of India with its citizens".

The petitioner had also argued that a law-abiding tax payer cannot be forced to give his Aadhaar number while filing income tax returns and this was like an "electronic leash" as government would be able to keep a tab on its citizens.

"Nowhere in the world there is such a biometric system which can track a person 24X7. They (government) are doing it even before the age of consent," he had said during the arguments.

The apex court had earlier put a poser as to why there was no objection from the lawmakers on the government's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for making PAN cards.

Rohatgi had also clarified that nowhere in section 139AA of IT Act, was it mentioned that it would be effective with retrospective effect.

The government had earlier told the apex court that fake PAN cards were being used to "divert funds" to shell companies.

With PTI Inputs
New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax in the state and the bill associated with it will be tabled in the assembly session commencing May 15.

If the assembly ratifies the bill, Uttar Pradesh will become the fifth state after Jharkhand, Telangana, Bihar and Rajasthan to give its nod to GST.

The Narendra Modi government is keen on rolling out GST from July 1.

"The cabinet has approved the State Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 and it will be passed by the state assembly in the session commencing May 15," UP minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.

After GST is implemented, revenue of the state is likely to increase, he said.

"If there is any burden on the state exchequer due to the implementation of GST, the government will meet it for next five years. Petroleum products will not be covered under GST," Khanna said.

Four key GST legislations -- the Central GST Act, the Integrated GST Act, the GST (Compensation to States) Act and the Union Territory GST Act -- were passed by Parliament last month.

The four legislations, which have since got the President's assent, aim to pave the way for the roll out of GST from July 1.

Seen as a path breaking step in the taxation regime, GST will ensure integration of both goods and services and will culminate in building a congenial and cohesive atmosphere for ease of doing business in India.
New Delhi: The SRM University declared the results of SRMJEEE 2017 on Tuesday.

The results can be accessed on official website: srmuniv.ac.in

The exams were held between 1st April to 30th April.

The candidates will be selected on basis of the performance in the Entrance Examination SRMJEEE (UG) 2017.

How to check the results

Visit the official website

Click on SRMJEEE result 2017

Enter application Number and other details

Click on submit button

Results will appear

Take a printout of the results for future reference

SRM University is one of the top ranking universities in India with over 38,000 students and more than 2600 faculty across all the campus, offering a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in Engineering, Management, Medicine and Health sciences, and Science and Humanities.


New Delhi: Plastic waste is a menace that is the result of industrialization and to an extent, human activities, without realizing that it ends up affecting our health as well.

Plastic is considered inexpensive and durable, which is why it is most commonly used for packaging.

However, due to its slow degradation process, plastics can severely affect living organisms, especially marine life, through entanglement, direct ingestion of plastic waste, or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that cause interruptions in biological functions.

For humans, plastics can cause disruption of the thyroid hormone axis or hormone levels.

Because of this, environmentalists across the world have been promoting and encouraging everyone to do away with plastic use.

The oceans of the world, unfortunately, are littered with loads of plastic bits and pieces in the form of tiny particles and now, this junk is floating away into the Arctic.

A recent study published in the journal Science Advances spoke about a major ocean current that is carrying bits of plastic, mainly from the North Atlantic, to the Greenland and Barents seas, and leaving them there  in surface waters, in sea ice and possibly on the ocean floor.

The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Cadiz in Spain and several other institutions, showed how this is a result of a steadily shrinking Arctic sea ice cover due to climate change, which has caused plastic pollution to spread significantly around the world since 1980 and this could spread more widely in the Arctic in decades to come.

According to a report in the Deccan Herald, Andres Cozar Cabanas, the studys lead author and a professor of biology at the University of Cadiz, said he was surprised by the results, and worried about possible outcomes. We dont fully understand the consequences the plastic is having or will have on our oceans, he said. What we do know is that the consequences will be felt at greater scale in an ecosystem like this because it is unlike any other on Earth.

Every year, about eight million tonnes of plastic gets into the ocean, and scientists estimate that there may be as much as 110 million tonnes of plastic trash in the ocean.

The report further mentioned another model of ocean currents by one of the studys authors, that predicted that plastic garbage could also accumulate in the Arctic Ocean, specifically in the Barents Sea, located off the northern coasts of Russia and Norway, which this study demonstrates. The surface water plastic in the Arctic Ocean currently accounts for only about three percent of the total, but the authors suggest the quantity will grow and that the seafloor there could be a big sink for plastic.

The scientists sampled floating plastic debris from 42 sites in the Arctic Ocean aboard Tara, a research vessel that completed a trip around the North Pole from June to October 2013, with data from two additional sites from a previous trip. They scooped up plastic debris and determined the concentration of particles by dividing the dry weight of the plastic collected, excluding microfibres, by the area surveyed.

Almost all of the plastic, measured by weight, was in fragments, mostly ranging from 0.5 millimetres to 12.6 millimetres. The rest of the plastic appeared in the form of fishing line, film or pellets. This mix of plastic types is roughly consistent with the kinds of plastic that collect in the subtropical gyres, though those parts of the ocean amass a higher concentration of fishing line, the Deccan Herald reported.
New Delhi: As on April 18, Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory recorded the highest level of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere  more than 410 parts per million (ppm).

These numbers show the dire situation our planet is in and how dangerous it might become in the future.

The Keeling Curve, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography program, which have been recording CO2 levels in the past years, assert that the latest number  410.28 ppm to be exact  is the highest the world has ever seen. The researchers warned that 410 ppm is just the start of the terrifying records that will shock us in the upcoming months, Nature World News reported.

Scientists at the UK Met Office predicted that March or April could witness CO2 levels reaching up to 410 ppm. The reports just confirm the worst.

According to the Scientific American, high levels of CO2 signifies that more heat is being trapped, thereby causing the climate to change at an accelerating rate. The first time the observatory recorded CO2 levels passing 400 ppm was back in 2013. Since then, 400 ppm is considered the new normal.

"Atmospheric CO2 is now higher than it has been for several million years, as measured in ice cores and ocean sediments," Dr. Pieter Tans, lead scientist of NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, told The Indian Express in an email.

"The current rate of increase is about 200 times faster than when CO2 increased by about 80 ppm from natural causes when the Earth climbed out of the last Ice Age, which occurred between 17,000 and 11,000 years ago," he added.

To Tans, the new levels of CO2 did not come as a surprise, considering the amount of emission from burning oil, coal, natural gas and cement manufacturing. These processes produce 10 billion metric tons of carbon (or 37 billion metric tons of CO2) per year.
By Catherine Ageno

The Uganda Law Society is increasing pressure on the government of Uganda to sign and deposit the declaration that allows individuals and NGOs direct access to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights to enhance protection of human rights.

Uganda signed the protocol but without signing the declaration, citizens cannot file cases of rights violations before the Court. Article 34(6) declaration enables non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals to access the Court directly.

According to the Uganda Law Society president Mr. Francis Gimara, Ugandans themselves must be empowered to begin pushing for the strengthening of such institutions through sensitization about the role of the Court in enhancing the protection of human rights in Africa.

He says the sensitization should focus on raising public awareness about on how to access the Court and the procedures before the Court; and encouraging the public to utilize the Court in settling human-rights disputes.

Mr. Gimara tells KFM that they are currently lobbying for a meeting with the foreign affairs minister on the same.

Some ff the case load being handled decided at that Court is very relevant for domestic settings in Uganda and other East African countries and indeed African countries. We are lobbying because if you remember the ICC politics and all that i think the resolve of African leaders is that we strengthen African courts and the African Court is one of them, said Mr. Gimara in an interview with KFM.

To further popularize the work of the Court among citizens of countries that have not ratified the Protocol and signed the declaration, the AfCHPR Court is also urged to consider having Sessions outside its seat in Arusha and make use of facilities of Regional Courts.

Tunisia is the latest to sign the declaration, becoming the eighth country to do so.

The declaration was signed on April 13th on behalf of the Tunisian government by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Khemaies Jhinaoui during a visit to the country by the Courts delegation led by The AfCHPR president Hon. Justice Sylvain Ore, to meet key officials and also conduct a sensitization seminar for stakeholders in Tunis.

Other countries that have previously signed it are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali and Tanzania.

Rwanda, which had signed, formally withdrew from the declaration last month, although the African Union Summit has urged the East African country to reconsider its position.
New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, the National Green Tribunal today said it would itself inspect the most polluted parts of Ganga between Haridwar and Kanpur to get first hand information on the river.

The decision assumes significance as usually the green panel appoints a panel of experts to inspect a site and give a comprehensive ground report to it.

NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said it has been hearing the Ganga cleaning case on day-to-day basis but there was still no definitive data on the quality and quantity of pollutants being discharged into the river.

"In the interest of expeditious disposal of this case and to bring the controversy to end, it will be in the interest of justice to have site inspection of most polluting parts of Ganga in segment B of Phase-I.

"Therefore, we direct the state governments (Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand), Environment Ministry, Ministry of Water Resources, Central Pollution Control Bord, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Bord, UP Jal Nigam to make all preparatory steps for inspection at Kanpur at the first instance," the bench said.

The tribunal said the NGT Registrar General would communicate the date and time when it would carry out the inspection.

Besides Justice Kumar, the bench which is hearing the Ganga case comprises Justices Jawad Rahim, R S Rathore and Expert Members B S Sajwan, Ajay A Deshpande and Nagin Nanda.

The tribunal had earlier said that excessive extraction of water between Haridwar and Unnao in Ganga floodplains was a serious issue and should be immediately stopped.

It had said the water which was being diverted into various canals should be regulated so as to help maintain a minimum flow of the river.

In a detailed report covering various aspects of contamination in the river, CPCB had informed the NGT that the Ganga, spanning a distance of 543 km between Haridwar and Kanpur, was affected by 1,072 seriously polluting industries which were releasing heavy metals and pesticides.

At present, 823.1 million litres per day of untreated sewage and 212.42 MLD of industrial effluents flow into the river, while three of the four monitored Sewage Treatment Plants were non-compliant with the set standards, it said.

The green panel has divided the work of cleaning the river in different segments ? Gomukh to Haridwar (Phase-I), Haridwar to Unnao (termed as segment B of Phase-I), Unnao to border of Uttar Pradesh, border of Uttar Pradesh to border of Jharkhand and border of Jharkhand to Bay of Bengal.
Paris: The prosecution in the case of six people on trial in France over the publication of topless photographs of Prince William's wife Kate called on Tuesday for "very significant fines".

A lawyer for the royal couple separately called for "very large damages" over the long-lens shots taken as they holidayed in the south of France and published in Closer magazine and regional newspaper La Provence in 2012.

The royal couple were snapped on a break in southern France at a chateau owned by Viscount David Linley, the son of Princess Margaret, the late sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

One of the most intimate shots, which were not published in Britain where they caused a storm, shows the Duchess of Cambridge topless and having suncream rubbed into her buttocks by husband William.

Laurence Pieau, Closer's editor in France, Ernesto Mauri, chief executive of the Mondadori group which owns the magazine, and Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides, two Paris-based agency photographers suspected taking the pictures, must answer charges of invasion of privacy and complicity at the trial at Nanterre outside Paris.
New Delhi: A woman who allegedly honey-trapped and blackmailed a BJP MP to cough up Rs 5 crore was arrested from her home in Ghaziabad on Tuesday, the Delhi Police said.

KC Patel, the MP from Gujarat's Valsad, had filed a complaint with the police on Thursday, claiming that the woman, in her 30s, had drugged him and shot obscene videos.

The woman had approached a city court the same day, claiming the police did not act on her rape complaint against the lawmaker.

She was picked up from her home in Ghaziabad and questioned, following which she was arrested today and produced before a special court, which sent her to five-day police custody.

"The woman, who claims to be a Supreme Court lawyer, has been arrested and the probe is underway. She has been booked on the charge of extortion and under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act," said a senior police officer.

The provisions of the POC Act were invoked against her as she had claimed in front of Patel that she would have to bribe the magistrate and the police to hush up the rape case.

Anybody who indulges in extortion in the name of government departments is booked under the POC Act, the police said.

Patel had alleged the woman invited him to a place in Ghaziabad for some work and offered him a sedative-laced soft drink.

The MP claimed that she had threatened to file a rape case against him if he did not pay her Rs five crore.

She had also filed a rape case against a Haryana MP last year at Tilak Marg police station but later changed her statement.

It is suspected that she received Rs 1.60 crore from the MP. She conned several MPs but none of them came forward to file a police complaint since their reputation was at stake.

She had allegedly installed CCTV cameras in her house at strategic locations and used the recordings to extort money. The police are also probing if other persons were involved with her.

Sources said the woman targeted MPs based outside Delhi and aged above 60 after doing a comprehensive research on their profile and that she would always keep a camera in her bag.

The police have seized some videos and are searching for other persons whom she had targeted. There are some recordings that are in the police's possession wherein she can be heard bargaining with her targets.

She found Patel's number on a website that has details of MPs and contacted him on the pretext of some work while he was in his constituency, the sources said.

The police have gone through some of the applications she filed in the court and they were replete with errors. She does not even know the spelling of the Patiala House Court, the sources said.

She is an "ambitious woman" and it is suspected that she had been following this modus operandi for blackmailing politicians for the last three years.

The woman has even contested elections for the post of village head in Uttar Pradesh. It is also suspected that she has the backing of a notorious gangster, the sources said.

The woman had also accused Harak Singh Rawat, BJP leader from Uttarakhand, of molestation in 2014 and filed a case in south Delhi's Safdarjung Enclave police station in this regard, police sources said, adding she had later changed her statement.

Rawat was a minister in the Congress-led government in Uttarakhand at that time.
Shimla: Six persons were killed when the car they were travelling in fell into a deep gorge near Janog in Nerwa area of Shimla district, about 90 km from here.

The incident took place early Tuesday and the six, who were returning from a marriage ceremony, died on the spot.

The wreckage of the vehicle was scattered all over.

Police rushed to the spot and after much effort five of the bodies could be brought up.

The driver of the vehicle has been identified as 54- year-old Mohan Singh.

The other four have been identified as Surat Singh (40), Balwant Singh (37), Kanwar Singh (45), Bansi Lal (36).

The identity of the sixth person, whose body is yet to be brought up, has to be established yet.

The passengers of the ill-fated car were on their way from Kuthar to Manhu.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, SP Shimla D W Negi said.
New Delhi: The Army has been given a ''free hand'' to deal with Pakistan after two Indian soldiers were beheaded and another injured by a Pakistani 'Border Action Team' (BAT) that sneaked into Indian territory under cover of heavy shelling in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

A Times of India report, quoting highly placed sources, said on Tuesday that the Army has been given a free hand to respond to what the government termed as ''barbaric'' and ''highly cowardly'' act by Pakistan's BAT.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today met PM Narendra Modi and briefed him about the incident. The two leaders also assessed the ground situation and explored options on how to avenge Pakistan's unabated provocations.

The reports also claimed that the attack on Indian Army patrol team was a ''planned operation'' by a group of Pakistani special forces who had set up an ambush more than 250 metres deep inside the Indian territory.''

The latest provocation by Pakistan has further deteriorated the bilateral ties and evoked a sharp response from the two armies.

The two sides have escalated their exchange of fire in several areas along the 778-km Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir after the Indian government vowed to exact revenge for the "barbaric" mutilation of the bodies of the two Indian soldiers during the well-planned BAT raid.

The Army sources claimed that the ambush conducted over 200 metres inside the Indian territory came less than 24 hours after Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC on Sunday.

In response to the incident, the Indian Government sources said that the Indian Army has been given a free hand to respond to the fresh beheading, with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley holding that the sacrifice of the two Indian men in uniform would not go in vain.

The Army, on its part, promised "appropriate" retribution for the "despicable act".

General Bipin Rawat, incidentally, was in the Kashmir Valley on Monday to review the operational situation along the LoC as well as the counter-insurgency operations in the hinterland.

"While fire assaults are already under way in different sectors of the LoC, the retaliation for Pakistan army's unsoldierly act in mutilating the bodies will be well-planned and executed at a time and place of our choosing," said a senior officer.

The incident will mount further pressure, both tactically and politically, on the Narendra Modi government to walk its tough talk on security issues, coming as it does just after the recent massacre of CRPF jawans in Sukma as well as the terror attack on the Panzgam Army camp.

The BAT raid on Monday, during which bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh (22 Sikh Regiment) and head constable Prem Sagar (200 BSF Battalion) were left mutilated, is the third such macabre episode since the 'surgical strikes' against terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.

India had unleashed "punitive" artillery fire assaults on forward Pakistan army posts after two Indian soldiers were similarly beheaded, with their heads taken back as trophies, in separate BAT raids in the Macchil sector in October-November last year.

"This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act by our neighbour. Such acts don't take place even during war, let alone peace. Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbarism," Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said.

"The Indian government strongly condemns this act and the whole country has full confidence and faith in our armed forces, which will react appropriately to this inhuman act. The sacrifice of these soldiers will not go in vain," he added.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Army had categorically denied India's charge of mutilating two of the latter's soldiers and described itself as a highly professional force that never disrespects any soldier.

"Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on LOC or a BAT action in Buttal sector (Indian Krishna Ghati Sector) as alleged by India. Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies is also false," the Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) said in a statement.

The Indian Army, however, confirmed the news by releasing a statement on Twitter.

With ANI/IANS inputs
New Delhi: The Indian Army on Tuesday successfully test-fired an advanced version of the Brahmos land-attack cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, revalidating the weapon's strike capability.

The land-to-land configuration of Brahmos missile was launched from a mobile autonomous launcher (MAL).

The test firing of the block III version of the missile demonstrated the weapon's unmatched lethality of hitting the centre of a designated target with "bull's eye" precision, a senior army officer said here.

He said the supersonic cruise missile successfully hit the land-based target with desired precision in a "top attack configuration", meeting all flight parameters in a copybook manner.

The test firing involved high level and complex manoeuvering by the missile, said the official.
New Delhi: The woman, who allegedly honey-trapped, drugged and shot obscene videos of BJP MP KC Patel, has been taken into custody by the police.

The woman was taken into custody from her Ghaziabad residence.

Patel, the MP from Gujarat's Valsad, last week filed a complaint alleging extortion by a woman-led gang after being honey-trapped and filmed in an "objectionable position".

Following Patel's complaint, the woman move a Delhi court, claiming police did not act on her rape complaint against the lawmaker.

The court has sought an action taken report in the matter and police have launched investigation. No rape case has been registered against Patel yet.

"Patel alleged the woman gave him a spiked drink at her residence and filmed him in objectionable positions after he became unconscious," said a police officer.

"She threatened to make the clips go viral. She demanded Rs 5 crore from him," said the officer.

"The woman had earlier extorted at least 15 other people, including some businessmen and a Haryana-based senior politician."

Mukesh Kumar Meena, special commissioner of police, New Delhi range, said it was a "sensitive matter" and appropriate action will be taken.
Deoria: Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar was killed in the unprovoked firing from the Pakistan side as they were patrolling the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The BSF trooper's body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT), which had targetted the Indian patrol party in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district.

Seeking revenge for the barbaric killing of her father, the daughter of Prem Sagar, Saroj, demanded strong action from the Indian side.

After getting the information about her father's death, Saroj, who lives in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district said, Want 50 Pakistani soldiers' heads for my father's sacrifice.

The Pakistan Army on Monday killed an Indian soldier and a BSF trooper and mutilated their bodies near the LoC. The martyred Indian Army JoC was identified as Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment.

The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act", which significantly took place a day after Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris.
Beijing: In a rare disclosure, China's ruling Communist Party has claimed that some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to him, undermining the fight against "separatist" forces.

A senior discipline inspection official has "lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the party's fight against separatism," state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday.

Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.

The Global Times, a tabloid publication attached the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibet's discipline watchdog linking "15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities."

It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials.

This is the first time official media here has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials' links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.

Wang, in an article published yesterday in a magazine run by the CPC, the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision, wrote that "some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations."

A few party officials are failing to "uphold their political integrity" and are "completely ignoring political discipline," Wang said, adding that such behaviour has affected the CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.

In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the 81-year-old leader.

His recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh which China calls 'South Tibet' soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese "standardised" named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.
United Nations: Strongly condemning beheading of two Indian security personnel near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan leader Mehran Marri told the United Nations that the Pakistan Army has once again proven to be criminal-minded and barbaric.

Marri, Representative of Balochistan at the UNHRC and EU, termed Pakistan as a terrorist state.

The exiled Baloch leader said Pakistan has been committing such heinous act in Balochsitan for the last 70 years.

Marri's statement comes after the Pakistan Army on Monday killed an Indian soldier and a BSF trooper and mutilated their bodies near LoC. The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act".

Notably, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa recently visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris.

The Army's Northern Command said the Pakistan Army in the morning fired rockets and mortar shells on two forward posts on the LoC, while Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) team set up an ambush to target the patrol party of the Indian soldiers.

Also Read: Pakistani forces cross LoC, mutilate bodies of two Indian security personnel

"It was a pre-planned operation of the Pakistan Army. They had pushed in BAT teams over 250 meters deep inside Indian territory and set up ambushes for a long period to carry out the attack," a senior Army official said.

The dead were identified as Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF's 200 Battalion. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries.
New Delhi: Condemning Pakistan`s move of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers, who were killed in a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir`s Krishna Ghati sector, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on Tuesday asserted that martyred soldiers family should be adopted by the nation for social and moral support.

"In this situation when we are at war, the families of the martyred soldiers become the family of the nation. With the government`s support, these families should be adopted by the nation for social and moral support, which we are ready to offer. I would want to tell them that, they are not alone," said Bedi.

Further giving confidence to the martyred soldiers` family, Bedi stated that the nation should come out in support and help them.

"The martyred soldiers` family is like our own; we should come out in support and help them. I have full faith in the government they know how to take action and tackle each situation," said Bedi.

Two defence personnel were killed on Monday, as Pakistan violated ceasefire by opening fire on Border Security Force (BSF) posts in Jammu and Kashmir`s Krishna Ghati sector. In a barbaric act, their bodies were later mutilated by the Pakistan Army.The Union Home Minister also directed the officials to tighten the government`s grip over Jammu and Kashmir unrest.
Beijing: On a day when India is mourning its braveheart soldiers who were subjected to barbarity by Pakistan, a report suggests that China is increasingly getting interested in playing a role in resolving the Kashmir dispute.

An article in the Global Times, a ruling Communist Party of China publication, says that China now has a "vested interest" in mediating between India and Pakistan because of its nearly $50 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK).

"Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the "One Belt, One Road", China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan," it said.

The latest announcement by Beijing of wanting to play the role of mediator gives hints about the Communist country's plan to become a stakeholder  even though unwanted  in the bilateral tussle between India and Pakistan.

In the guise of protecting its investments, China's offer to mediate has exposed its latent interest in playing a bigger role - as a regional superpower - in the region.

Claiming that China had mediated between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya refugees issue, the article said, "China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn't mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments."

"China has been at the centre of a regional power shift, thus the country now needs to learn how to act as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in the region," it said.

There is so much to learn for China about how to play its role as a regional power at a time when the country is witnessing a boom in outbound direct investment, the article said.

"For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region," it said.

"In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests," the article said.

This is perhaps the first time that Chinese official media started floating Beijing's interest in playing a mediatory role to resolve the Kashmir issue.

China's official stand is that the Kashmir issue should be resolved by India and Pakistan through bilateral negotiations, though Beijing has been stepping up its investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

While China in the past has played down reports of the presence of its troops in PoK, saying that they were there to deliver humanitarian assistance, its $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the disputed Gilgit and Baltistan region increased its involvement in the disputed areas.

India has protested to China over the CPEC+ and is yet to name an official delegation to take part in a summit of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, of which CPEC is a part. The summit is to be held from May 14-15.

Chinese official media also referred to last month's participation of Chinese troops for the first time in the Pakistan Day parade as a sign of Chinese military playing a role in regional stability.

With PTI inputs
New Delhi: In a shameful and cowardly act, Pakistan on Monday killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies.

This unsoldierly act by Pakistan Army has drawn harsh criticism from every corner for the extreme form of barbarism.

The attack was carried out by the Border Action Team (BAT).

Here are things you need to know about Pakistan's barbaric BAT and what they did with Indian soldiers:-

- BAT is comprised of the special forces of Pakistan.

- BAT acts under the cover of shelling by Pakistani troops.

- There have been several BAT attacks in the past in which Indian jawans have been beheaded or their bodies mutilated.

- In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by a BAT.

- BAT also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF battalion had suffered injuries in the attack.

- In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by a Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.

Reportedly, under the cover of heavy mortar fire, a Pakistani special forces team sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded two Indian security personnel on Monday.

The Indian Army vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act", which significantly took place a day after Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in Delhi that the "sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain" and the Indian armed forces will react "appropriately" to the "inhuman act" of the Pakistani troops.

"This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks do not take place during war," he said.

The BAT team had set up an ambush to target the patrol party of the Indian soldiers while the Pakistan Army engaged two Indian forward defence locations (FDL) with rockets and mortar bombs, the officials said.

The Pakistani army posts attacked two FDL posts with rockets and mortar bombs at 0830 hours and engaged them," the official said.

"Their target was a 7 to 8-member patrol party, which had come out of the post," the official said.

He said as the posts were engaged, the patrol party men ran here and there.

"Two members of the patrol party, who were left behind, were attacked by the BAT team and killed. Their bodies were badly mutilated," the official said.

"Pakistani Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati Sector (in Poonch district) this morning," a defence ministry spokesman said.

"Simultaneously, a BAT (Border Action Team) action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts," said a statement issued by the Northern Army Command.
Jammu: A wreath-laying ceremony was held here on Tuesday for the two personnel of the Army and BSF killed on the Line of Control by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Defence sources said wreaths were laid on the bodies of Border Security Force Head Constable Prem Sagar and the Army's Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh at the headquarters of the Army's White Knights Corps.

Both troopers were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistani troops on Monday in the Krishna Ghati sector.

"A military send-off was given to the martyrs. Wreaths were laid on their mortal remains by the Brigade Commander of the Army's 10 Brigade and the BSF Deputy Inspector General (Rajouri)," a defence official said.

"Wreaths were also laid on behalf of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army's Northern Command and the GOC of the White Knights Corps," he added.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, 42, hailed from Tarn Taran district in Punjab. BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar 45, belonged to Takenpur in Uttar Pradesh.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today conveyed to his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull India's concerns about the impact of the recent decision to abolish a popular work visa used by a majority of Indians.

Modi conveyed the concerns during a phone call initiated by Turnbull, a PMO statement said.

"Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of PMO the recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals visa programme," the statement said.

The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue, it added.

About three weeks back, Turnbull had announced his decision to abolish the 457 visa, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs.

"We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa," he had said.

A majority of those using the visa programme are Indians.

During the telephonic conversation, Turnbull thanked Modi for the success of his recent visit to India.

"The two Prime Ministers also discussed the follow-up action taken after the visit of Mr. Turnbull to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen the bilateral relationship," the PMO statement said.
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here on Tuesday to discuss the prevailing security situation in the state.

According to officials, the Home Minister and the Governor also discussed Monday`s attack in which the Pakistan Army killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.

Singh had chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the situation in the state, which was attended by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, RAW chief Anil Dhasmana and Central Reserve Police Force chief Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar.

According to informed sources, the meeting discussed the fresh trouble in the valley, where a spike in stone-pelting incidents by students has caused law and order problems.

The Monday meeting took place hours before the Pakistan Army attack on the Indian soldiers, and the killing of five policeman in a bid to rob a bank cash van in Kulgam in the Valley.

Singh and Vohra discussed on how to control the situation at the earliest.
Kulgam: Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed the responsibility for the attack on a cash van in the Kulgam district on Jammu and Kashmir, in which five policemen and two bank employees were killed.

While taking responsibility for the attack, Hizbul spokesperson Burhanuddin claimed that his outfit did not kill the two bank employees, and they were instead shot dead by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who were accompanying them.

"We didn`t attack the vehicle with intent to loot the cash. We have enough cash. We condemn the killing of two bank employees and want to clarify that they were shot dead by CRPF personnel and not by militants," news agency ANI quoted Burhanuddin as saying.

Militants could never target innocent Kashmiris, he added.

The reactions from the Hizbul came a day after a group of heavily armed militants opened fire at a cash delivery van of a bank in Jammu and Kashmir`s Kulgam, killing five police constables and two bank officials.

The cash van was attacked when it was returning after dispensing cash to local bank branches.

As per the reports, the deceased policemen were identified as assistant sub inspector Mohd. Yousaf, Farooq Ahmad, Ishfaq Ahmad, Mohammad Qasim and Muzaffar Ahmad.

The two security guards who were also killed were Javeed Reshi and Muzaffar Ahmed Laway.

With ANI inputs
Srinagar: A day after terrorists shot dead five policemen and two bank employees in cold blood in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, militants on Tuesday night snatched five rifles from police guards posted at the Shopian district court complex in south Kashmir.

In the wake of the incident, an alert was sounded in the district.

The militants attacked the guard room of the court complex at around 9 pm and snatched five self-loading rifles (SLRs) from the policemen posted there.

The cops have been suspended for the alleged dereliction of duty as they offered no resistance when the militants looted their weapons, said police.

Two gunmen on Tuesday looted Rs 65,000 from a bank in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district.

On Monday, militants shot dead five policemen and two bank employees in an audacious attack on a cash van in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district.

The incident took place in Pombai village when an unspecified number of militants waylaid and targeted the cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank when it was on its way to Kulgam town.

The Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the tense situation prevailing in the Valley and instructed Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra to work together with the state government in order to restore normalcy there.

Chairing a meet with Vohra, Rajnath also discussed the grievous attack by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector, where the bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated.

Rajnath stressed on the importance of taking stern action against the ones disturbing the environment.

While assuring the Home Minister of bringing things back to normal, the Jammu and Kashmir Governor said he would keep updating the former about the developments taking place in the Valley.

Yesterday, Rajnath reviewed the present security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent Sukma attack with country's top security officials.

Research and Analytical Wing (R&AW) chief Anil Dhasmana, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, Director General (DG) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar and many other top officials participated in the intensive discussion chaired by Rajnath.

The high-level meet discussed strategy and security issues in Chhattisgarh after the Sukma attack.

Only yesterday, two defence personnel were killed, as Pakistan violated ceasefire by opening fire on Border Security Force (BSF) posts in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector. In a barbaric act, their bodies were later mutilated by the Pakistan Army.

The Union Home Minister also directed the officials to tighten the government's grip over Jammu and Kashmir unrest.

Kashmir Valley has been embroiled in utter chaos and violence after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's was killed by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmir's Kokernag on 8 July last year.
Srinagar: In the backdrop of barbaric beheading of two Indian soldiers by the Pakistani forces, the mother of Lance Naik Hemraj, who was also beheaded by the Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2013, has called on the Centre to step up and retaliate.

The appeal from the old lady comes after Pakistan's notorious Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control.

The BAT, it is believed, had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

"They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now," Hemraj's mother said.

She further urged the Government to understand how painful it is for a mother to lose her child and pressed for retaliation.

"The government must take stern action against Pakistan. They have not fulfilled any of the promises made to the martyr's family till now," she added.

Resonating similar sentiments, the brother of Hemraj asserted that the situation is very upsetting and India must resonate to Islamabad's atrocities.

"It is a very sad situation, the way our soldiers are losing their lives and the government is not taking any action in this regard. The centre should take stern action against Pakistan so that such incidents are not repeated in future," said the brother of Hemraj.

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

In a cowardly act by the Pakistani Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

With ANI inputs
Mumbai: Samajwadi Party corporator Raees Sheikh has written a letter to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner, demanding a 400 percent pay hike for corporators.

The recent BMC polls threw up a fractured mandate, with Shiv Sena winniong 84 seats out of the 227-member BMC, the country's richest civic body. BJP was close behind, winning 82 seats, while Congress was a distant third with 31 seats.

Shiv Sena's Vishwanath Mahadeshwar was elected as the Mayor of Mumbai with the support of the BJP, marking a coming together of the two parties after contesting the civic polls separately.

In the 2017 Maharashtra civic polls, the BJP put up a splendid performance in all parts of the state and shook Sena's citadel Mumbai, its political heartland land right from its formation in the 1960s.
Tarn Taran: Family members of late Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, who was beheaded by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) in a blatant ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector yesterday, on Tuesday refused to cremate him until his 'head' is returned to them.

According to reports, Paramjit Kaur, the wife of late Subedar Paramjit Singh, today demanded the Indian government to bring her husband's severed head only then her husband will be cremated.

Meanwhile, Singh's relatives also alleged that they were not being allowed to see his body.

Whose body is this? It is all behind this box! We are not being shown the body? Why?, relatives of Paramjit Singh demanded.

However, the family later agreed to cremate Paramjit Singh after much persuasion by the Army and government officials.

Singh was later cremated with full state honours.

The mortal remains of Singh, who belonged to the 22 Sikh Infantry, were earlier flown to his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, a junior commissioned officer (JCO), and Border Security Force Head Constable Prem Sagar, were among those who were beheaded and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan's BAT, which launched an offensive against the Indian soldiers at the Line of Control yesterday.

An Indian Express had reported that Singh was supposed to go on leave April 28, but postponed his holiday for one of his friends who had to take urgent leave.

He was supposed to be home on May 8.
Mumbai: Realty player Shriram Properties on Tuesday said it has signed a USD 350 million (Rs 2,290 crore) deal with Xander Group, making it the largest private equity deal in the real estate space.

Under the deal, Xander acquires 100 percent stake in Shriram's Gateway SEZ in Chennai for USD 190 million (Rs 1,250 crore), with a further commitment of USD 160 million (Rs 1,040 crore) towards expansion of the IT SEZ, the company said in a statement.

The deal involves 1.7 million square feet of occupied and operational SEZ, and a partnership with Shriram Properties to deliver the under construction 1.9 million square feet, it said.

"This acquisition demonstrates our continued interest in large, well-positioned assets with growth potential across gateway cities in India, and complements our existing office portfolio," said Rohan Sikri, senior partner, The Xander Group.

He further said that with this deal, Xander is expanding its existing Chennai footprint.

"We see the opportunity to deliver additional high-quality supply in a market where vacancy is rapidly falling," Sikri added.

Shriram Gateway, is a 58-acre integrated township project including office space, a shopping mall and residential apartments.

Shriram will continue to develop and own the residential and retail components comprising 2.6 million square feet while Xander will have the ability to develop an additional 1 million square feet of office space, it said.

"The project offers a plethora of opportunities and is a source of employment generation across various sectors in Tamil Nadu. We plan to develop many such mixed used development projects across cities in India. With this association we will be able to enhance our position as a leader in the real estate space," managing director, Shriram Properties M Murali said.

The realty player had recently announced its plans to invest Rs 15,000 crore over the next 7-8 years for the development of around 30 ongoing projects, across six major cities - Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore and Kolkata.
New Delhi: It's a kind of mixed feelings for the team behind the Cassini mission as the spacecraft readies for its second dive through the narrow gap between the Saturn and its rings on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, May 2, at 3.38 p.m. EDT (1:a.m. Wednesday India Time), NASA's Cassini will shoot the narrow gap between Saturn and its rings for the second time in its Grand Finale.

While Cassini engineers are delighted about the approach, ring scientists are puzzled that the region appears to be relatively dust-free. This assessment is based on data Cassini collected during its first dive through the region on April 26.

Cassini made its first dive through the region on April 26 and discovered that the region appears to be relatively dust-free.

During its orbit, in advance of the crossing, Cassini's cameras have been looking closely at the rings.

As with the first Grand Finale dive, Cassini would be out of contact during closest approach to Saturn, and was scheduled to transmit data from this dive on May 3, the US space agency said in a statement.

With this information in hand, the Cassini team would now move forward with its preferred plan of science observations.

"The region between the rings and Saturn is 'the big empty,' apparently," said Cassini Project Manager Earl Maize of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"Cassini will stay the course, while the scientists work on the mystery of why the dust level is much lower than expected," Maize said.

A dustier environment in the gap might have meant the spacecraft's saucer-shaped main antenna would be needed as a shield during most future dives through the ring plane.

This would have forced changes to how and when Cassini's instruments would be able to make observations.

Cassini engineers were delighted that the "plan B" option may no longer be needed.

Following its last close flyby of the large moon Titan on April 21, Cassini began what mission planners are calling its "Grand Finale".

During this final chapter, Cassini loops Saturn approximately once per week, making a total of 22 dives between the rings and the planet.

There are now 21 dives remaining. Four of them pass through the innermost fringes of Saturn's rings, necessitating that the antenna be used as a shield on those orbits.

The spacecraft is on a trajectory that would eventually plunge it into Saturn's atmosphere - and end Cassini's mission - on September 15.

Cassini is a joint endeavour of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian space agency (ASI).

Launched in 1997, Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004. The spacecraft will collect rich and valuable information far beyond the missions original plan, including measuring Saturns gravitational and magnetic fields, determining ring mass, sampling the atmosphere and ionosphere, and making the last views of Enceladus.

(With IANS inputs)
New Delhi: Microsoft is all set to hold a hardware and software event in New York City on Tuesday.

Microsoft has tweeted:

We're in #NYC for our #MicrosoftEDU event. Tune in tomorrow at 9:30AM ET for a livestream to learn whats next: https://t.co/5FMz4mO2MF pic.twitter.com/rxqQbg2E9O  Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 1, 2017

Tech journalists attending the event are expecting the company to unveil at least one piece of new hardware.

A Verge report said that Microsoft may possibly take this opportunity to reveal the hardware design of its upcoming Xbox Project Scorpio, just ahead of its E3 event in June, or a successor to the Surface 3 which was designed with students in mind," the report noted.

If rumours are to be believed, Microsoft may unveil its Windows 10 Cloud operating system -- an alternative to Chrome OS that runs Universal Windows Apps.

This speculation stems from the fact that the event is codenamed "Bespin" -- a fictional Star Wars planet that includes a "Cloud City".

This event will be focused on education, so we can expect to see any hardware or software be connected to how it can be used in schools.
Nicosia: Located at the cross roads of Asia and Europe, Cyprus marries modern comforts with ancient heritage and its turquoise blue beaches, green mountains, rich culture and mouth-watering food will make you return to the sun-kissed Mediterranean country again.

In Greek mythology, Cyprus was the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love. So the picturesque island could be a perfect wedding destination for Indians, say authorities here who are chalking out plans to woo them.

Though a small island, Cyprus has something to offer for every traveller whether it's a nature lover or an adventure freak. If you are interested in history there are several archaeological sites. A laid back kind of a person can spend days in the villages like Omodos where all kinds of facilities are available. What you need to do is to just relax. The people in the country are perfect hosts.

The best part of touring Cyprus is that travel time between the two places is so short that in winters a person can ski in the snow-clad Troodos mountain range in the morning time and surf in the sea in the afternoon.

Troodos is the largest mountain range in Cyprus and hosts four ski slopes, Byzantine Christian monasteries and churches and picturesque villages. Nine churches and one monastery in Troodos together form a World Heritage Site.

Being an island country, Cyprus boasts of one of the cleanest beaches in Europe. Eastern side of the island has undoubtedly the most beautiful beaches. Nissi and Macronnosis beach in Ayia Napa and Fig Tree bay in Protaras are some of the most famous beaches. But if you love solitude, Firemanas beach, Sirena Bay and Louma beach can be a good choice for you. Lemasol marina is a very popular area with several cafes.

The rocky shores of the island have formed wonderful natural shapes like caves and rock bridges.

But without seeing the ancient sites of Cyprus, you cannot really appreciate the rich Cypriot culture.

The Cyprus Museum, Kourion Archaeological Site, Amathous Archaeological site, Temple of Aphrodite and Paphos Mosaics would provide you a glimpse of the country's history.

The Cyprus Museum has artifacts from the Neolithic Age the Byzantine period (7th century Ad). The museum also houses the terracotta human figures, ancient coins, jewellery and cross shaped idols from the Chalcolithic period.

The capital city of Nocosia itself has a story to tell. A Venetian sandstone fortress with a moat and palm trees add an oriental atmosphere to the old city.

Kourion is one of the islands most important city- kingdoms in antiquity. The once-flourishing kingdom was eventually destroyed in a severe earthquake in 365 AD. The magnificent Greco-Roman theatre was built in the 2nd century BC and extended in the 2nd century AD.

The site also includes the remains of a third century AD Roman market and some public baths. Kourion also possesses evidence of early Christianity with a 5th century AD church at the site. The large Byzantine basilica area is wonderfully picturesque with its tumbled columns and scraps of mosaic floor.

It would be unfair if we don't talk about the food which is a combination of Greek, Turkish and Lebanese cuisines. Youll even find African influences. Coriander seeds, cumin, fresh herbs and parsley along with olive oil and lemon juice are just some of the typical things that can be found in many of the local dishes.

Meze is one of the most popular options being a multi- course meal featuring about 30 dishes likes salads, seafood, chicken, sausage and kebabs. Its a great way to try lots of different dishes if you are not sure what to order as your main plate. You can also savour them at an open-air taverna.

For vegetarians there are a lot of options too. The island is the home of halloumi cheese. Greek salads, Cheese pies, Fried bulgur donuts stuffed with mushrooms and spices. And not to forget potatoes grown here are super-delicious.

Cyprus is also one of the worlds oldest grape-growing and wine-making regions. The Commandaria is one of the oldest wines in the world, representing an ancient wine style documented in Cyprus back to 800 BC. In drinks you have zivenia and ouzo too.

After a few days spent relaxing, it may be high time to indulge in a spot of retail therapy. With the main towns around the country packed with designer boutiques. There are also modern malls. Cyprus has an amazing night life like other European nations.

The island also offers excellent dive sites and facilities, with one of the best wreck dives in the world, the Zenobia, situated off Larnaca. Other popular dive sites include Ayia Napa, Paphos and the Akamas Peninsula, where divers are often able to see artifacts such as Roman pottery on the seabed.

Though the country is still not a popular tourist destination among Indians, arrival of whom remained less than 2,000 in the past years. The government is hopeful of having more Indian tourists in the future. Authorities want to promote Cyprus as a wedding destination for Indians.

They are also looking for options to woo Indians visiting countries like Egypt, Israel and Greece to add Cyprus in their travel plan as it is very easy to reach the island from these places.

Though there is no direct flight between India and Cyprus there are connecting flights from Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai and many other places. As more than 80 per cent of the population speaks English so language will be hardly a problem for Indians. And for those who really miss Indian food, every big city in Cyprus has an Indian restaurant.

So what are you waiting for? Get ready to lounge on the beaches, discover ancient settlements, hike across forest paths and relax in villages.
Lucknow: With the Uttar Pradesh special task force cracking down on errant petrol pumps, their owners across the state went on a strike to protest against the action.

Several petrol pumps in Uttar Pradesh had been caught using electronic chips and remote controls to dispense a lower quantity of petrol and diesel to consumers.

A number of petrol pumps, including one owned by UP Petrol Pump Dealers' Association President B N Shukla, had been sealed in the state capital after they were caught cheating.

"The petrol pumps in the state capital went on strike last night. Due to fear of STF action, the staff has run away and they had no option but to go on strike", an official of the Petrol Pump association said.

While the strike is creating inconvenience for people, who were seen lining up outside the pumps which are open, the state government is expecting the the deadlock will end soon.

"The Yogi Adityanath government will not come under any pressure. The police action is justified and it was in favour of consumers.

The Association memebers are likely to meet the CM and we expect the deadlock will end soon", cabinet minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.

The state STF had initiated the crackdown on April 27 night when it raided seven petrol pumps using electronic chips operating through remote control. The device, according to task force officials, helped them get profits worth around Rs 14 lakhs on an average per month.

The chip, costing around Rs 3,000, reduced the output by nearly five to ten per cent. It is attached with a wire linked to a remote control.

The remote control sets the limit and if a customer takes 1 litre petrol from any station, he would end up getting 940 ml or less.
Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government today decided to celebrate 'UP Diwas' on January 24, the day the erstwhile United Provinces was rechristened as Uttar Pradesh.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister here.

"BJP and the Yogi government believe that the identity of the state and the country lies in its birth. The cabinet has decided to celebrate January 24 as UP Diwas," cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh said.

The United Provinces unit was renamed as Uttar Pradesh on January 24, 1950.

The minister said the state's rich cultural heritage would be showcased through different programmes on this day.
Lucknow: Around 100 'bahubalis' or gangsters have been shifted to prisons far away from their home districts in Uttar Pradesh in an attempt by the Yogi Adityanath government to smash their local crime network.

Prominent among them are Mukhtar Ansari, Munna Bajrangi, Atiq Ahmed, Shekhar Tiwari, Maulana Anwarul Haq, Mukim alias Kala, Udaibhan Singh alias doctor, Titu alias Kiranpal, Rocky alias Kaki and Alam Singh.

"Though the dons are behind bars, their gangs let loose a reign of terror ? committing murders, kidnapping, dacoity and extortion ? with ease," Additional Director General of Police (Prison) GL Meena told PTI here.

While aroud 100 jail inmates have been shifted from one jail to another across the state, those admitted to various mental hospitals in Agra, Varanasi and Bareilly are being verified, and if they are mentally fit to serve the jail term, they will be shifted back to jails, he said.

The jail administration on Saturday sent letters to mental asylums in Varanasi, Agra and Bareilly, directing them to send a report about the health status of the undertrials.

Till now, 18 such jail inmates, who were admitted to various mental hospitals, have been identified. "The process of issuing arrest warrants to these inamtes has started," he said.

Meena said the jail administration had prepared the list of the undertrials who are admitted in hospitals across the state.

"I have sought a report from the medical officers of the hospitals in which the undertrials, majority of them notorious criminals, are admitted," he said.

"Fearing that they will be caught, the doctors have started discharging the undertrials," Meena said.

The jail administration often received information that the gang members used to meet in jail and plan incidents of crime from there.

During surprise raids, mobile phones and SIM cards were recovered from the cells of criminals.

A bahubali's call from jail is enough to terrorise businessmen, contractors and even government officers and those refusing to abide their diktats are threatened, attacked or killed.

The idea behind shifting inmates from one jail to another is to break their network they develop while staying in a particular jail over a long period. "In order to break the nexus, the inmates are shifted one from one jail to another," the ADG said.

In his first law-and-order review meeting held here on March 30, Adityanath had galvanised police and prison officers into action.

Mukhtar Ansari was shifted from Lucknow jail to Banda, Atiq Ahmed from Naini central jail to Deoria, Munna Bajrangi from Jhansi jail to Pilibhit and Shekhar Tiwari from Barabanki to Maharajganj jail.

The Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) monitored the activities of the jailed gangsters and alerted the jail administration about their nefarious activities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at an election rally in Mau, the home turf of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari on February 27, that jails in UP were virtually converted into palaces for criminals where they enjoyed all facilities and luxury.

"The gangsters can be seen going to jail with a smile and have photo sessions. Being in jail, they also get legal protection from the consequences of the crime committed by their gang," Modi had said.

Gulshan Yadav, an accused in the killing of deputy superintendent of police Zia-ul- Haq in Pratapagarh district, was admitted to SRN Hospital, Allahabad. The medical report said he was suffering from backache.

Babu Singh Kushwaha, accused in a multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, was admitted at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here.

During probe, the jail administration found that several undertrials used their influence to get medical certificates stating that they were suffering from some mental disorder, Meena said.

The state home department too has directed district magistrates and the superintendents of police to check use of mobiles by the undertrials in jails.
New Delhi/Kolkata: Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan on Tuesday ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants against seven judges of the Supreme Court, including the CJI, for not being represented before him, even as the Attorney General said he was not sure whether the "gentleman" would undergo medical tests as ordered by the apex court.

Justice Karnan, who ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) stating that top seven judges of the apex court have not been represented before him, directed the high court's registrar general to issue the NBWs to these judges to be executed through the director general of police or commissioner of police, New Delhi.

Justice Karnan passed a "suo motu judicial order in the interest of the nation to protect the general public from corruption and unrest", invoking Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code.

"Today the accused judges are called absent no representation issue non-bailable warrant against the accused call on 08.05.2017 (sic)," the order signed by Justice Karnan said.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was today arguing in an Aadhaar matter before a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, said he was not sure whether Justice Karnan would follow the direction given by a seven-judge bench yesterday to undergo medical check-up regarding his mental health in the contempt case.

"I do not know whether the gentleman, who was asked yesterday, would submit to the order of the seven-judge bench of this court," he said.

"I have read that he (Justice Karnan) has asked the seven judges of this court (who have passed the order yesterday) to undergo medical tests," he said while arguing in the Aadhaar matter about whether a person can be forced to give his finger prints.

The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, had taken note of the "tenor" of Justice Karnan's orders and press briefings and directed his medical check-up by doctors with police support, as the Calcutta High Court Judge did not appear before it.

Reacting to the order, a belligerent Justice Karnan had yesterday said in Kolkata that he will not appear before such a medical board as directed by the Supreme Court.

Taking note of the fact that Justice Karnan has been passing orders despite being restrained and holding press briefings, the apex court had said that "the tenor of press briefings as also purported orders passed by him indicate that he may not be in a position to defend himself.

"Therefore, we consider it in the fitness of the matter to require him to be medically examined. We hereby direct the Calcutta Hospital to constitute a board of doctors to examine Shri Justice CS Karnan and submit a report," the bench had said.

Talking to media persons in Kolkata yesterday, Justice Karnan had said he will not appear before a medical board for examining his health as directed by the apex court.

He had also threatened to "pass suo motu suspension order against the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal, if the DGP functions against my wish."

Justice Karnan had on March 31 appeared before the apex court which granted him four weeks' time to respond to the contempt notice while rejecting the submission that his administrative and judicial powers be restored.

Refusing to appear before the apex court again, Justice Karnan had on April 13 issued an order asking the seven judges to appear before him on April 28 and then extended the date of appearance to May 1.
Kolkata: Claiming that the Congress and Left Front activists in the state are switching over to his party, BJP`s West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday said that the BJP and ruling Trinamool Congress will be the main rivals in next year`s Panchayat (rural body) elections.



"The way the grass-roots workers from the Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist are joining our party every day, it seems a majority of their candidates who won the last elections will be with us," Ghosh told the media in Burdwan town in West Bengal district of the same name.



"The fight to win the Panchayat elections will evidently be between two parties -- the TMC and the BJP. The common people will come under our party`s flag and vote for the BJP. They will resist the Trinamool Congress," he said.



Ghosh claimed that the CPI-M and Congress have already lost a lot of political ground in the state, and might even find it difficult to name candidates for all Panchayat seats.



"Even if they manage to file nominations, there won`t be enough people to campaign for them," he said.



Talking about Trinamool Congress` overwhelming presence in the 2016 assembly elections, Ghosh said the ruling party might lose its lustre if some of their leaders, accused in various chit fund scams, get arrested before the Panchayat polls.



"No one knows what will be the state of the Trinamool Congress by the time the Panchayat elections are held. If two or three of their leaders get arrested, the party may lose its lustre. Who knows if they will be in a position to fight the elections or not," he said.



The BJP leader also held the state government responsible for the recurring incidents of violence against police.



"The police have never been humiliated and heckled in this way. They never had to stoop so low. They are helpless. They are facing the heat due to the lack of governance in the state," Ghosh said, claiming the police won`t stand by the ruling party-backed hooligans for long.



Echoing his views, BJP National Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya exuded confidence that all the Trinamool Congress leaders accused in Sarada (chit fund) and Narada (sting footage) scams will be punished, and demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expel them from her party.



"I want to ask if she will expel her corrupt ministers named in an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation. If she does not do so, the people of Bengal will grab them by the collar and expel them from the state," Vijayvargiya said at a public rally in Burdwan.



The CBI has registered a case against a dozen senior Trinamool leaders who were purportedly seen accepting wads of currency notes in the Narada sting footage. The list includes former and current ministers,ands members of Parliament and assembly.



"It is shameful that more than half of her cabinet has been accused by the CBI of corruption," he added.
Washington: Afghan-Americans have urged the US and international community to put multifaceted pressure on Pakistan to stop its support to terror groups in Afghanistan.

The Afghan-Americans held a peaceful demonstration against Pakistan in Washington over the weekend and expressed their deepest condolences to the families of Afghan security forces who lost their lives in a recent terrorist attack on Balkh province.

More than 100 Afghan soldiers were killed and wounded in a coordinated Taliban attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan.

Afghans?around the world are expressing their disgust toward continued terrorism and bloodshed in their homeland, a group of Afghan-Americans said in a statement.

"We call on the US and the rest of the international community to put multifaceted pressure on Pakistan to stop its support for terrorist groups and organisations in Afghanistan and in the region, including the elimination of terrorist sanctuaries in the country," the statement said.

"We call on United Nations High? Commissioner for Human? Rights to investigate and document the incidents of war crimes in Afghanistan, including attacks on houses of worship, hospitals, and public structures, and identify and prosecute the perpetrators involved in the incidents," they said.

The protestors said that they believe a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is crucial for a stable region and a stable world.

"Thus we consider it a regional and international responsibility to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven for international terrorism again," said the group of Afghan Americans.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are at an all time low after a series of terror attacks in the two countries for which both sides blame each other.
Stockholm: Denmark on Tuesday published a blacklist of six foreign preachers accused of spreading hatred, including five Muslims and an American Evangelical pastor, banning them for at least two years.

The list includes two Saudis, a Canadian, a Syrian, and two Americans, including pastor Terry Jones who burned copies of the Koran in 2011.

The blacklist "sends a clear signal that travelling fanatical religious preachers who try to undermine our democracy and fundamental values of freedom and human rights are not welcome in Denmark," the immigration and integration ministry said in a statement.

The centre-right government has undertaken a systematic hunt for religious fanatics, announcing plans in May 2016 to establish a blacklist after a hidden-camera documentary exposed radical preachers in Danish mosques.

Parliament broadly approved the plan.

In 2015, a young Dane of Palestinian origin who was radicalised in prison killed two people in twin attacks in Copenhagen, first gunning down a Danish filmmaker at a debate on Islam and free speech, then killing a Jewish security guard outside a synagogue.

The same year, a Moroccan man was stripped of his Danish citizenship, acquired in 1988, for having spread books written by a cleric with close ties to al Qaeda.

The Scandinavian country was also the target of Muslim anger and violence worldwide after Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005.
Beirut: An Islamic State attack in an area held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria killed at least 38 people on Tuesday including 23 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.



The attack on Rajm al-Salibi, the location of a checkpoint and refugee camp near the border with Iraq, led to fierce clashes, injuring dozens, the Britain-based war monitor said.



The SDF battled Islamic State since dawn in nearby areas of Hasaka province, which Kurdish forces largely control, it said.



An adviser to the SDF, Nasser Haj Mansour, confirmed that several civilians died, including people escaping Islamic State in Syria`s Deir al-Zor and in Iraq.



The International Rescue Committee said the wounded were taken to a hospital inside Hasaka and several children were killed. Thousands of people have fled Iraq for the Rajm al-Salibi border crossing and another camp further north in recent months, the global aid agency said.



The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, has seized large swathes of northern Syria from Islamic State in a campaign to drive the jihadist group out of Raqqa city, its base of operations in Syria.



This week, the SDF said it captured most of the strategic town of Tabqa, 40 km (25 miles) west of Raqqa along the Euphrates.



The SDF said fighting continued on Tuesday to capture the last district of Tabqa as well as an adjacent dam, Syria`s largest, and the last major obstacle as the militias prepare to launch an assault on Raqqa.



The Islamic State attack in Hasaka was targeted at the Asayish, a Kurdish internal security force that operates in northeast Syria, the Observatory said.
Ankara: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday rejoined the Turkish ruling party after a nearly three-year absence, in the first major change to come into effect following the referendum victory on expanding his powers.

Erdogan signed a membership document to rejoin the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) that he co-founded, at a ceremony at its headquarters, an AFP photographer said.

Party officials then burst into thunderous applause and sang the national anthem.

Erdogan was accompanied by his wife Emine and was sat next to the AKP chairman and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The president will likely be reinstalled as party chairman on May 21 at an extraordinary AKP congress and replace Yildirim, who is set to stay on as premier.

After Erdogan signed the document, Yildirim told the president he had come back "home", adding: "Welcome, you have honoured (us)."
Bangkok: The leader of Thailand`s military junta said on Tuesday US President Donald Trump assured him that ties would become "closer than ever", marking an abrupt change in stance from the one taken by Washington following a 2014 coup.



Trump invited Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the White House in separate telephone calls over the weekend as he sought to shore up regional support amid mounting US tension with North Korea.



"The US President said that we are their good ally and he assured me that although we have been rather distant recently Thai-U.S. relations will now be closer than ever," Prayuth told reporters in Bangkok.



Prayuth has accepted Trump`s invitation, but the Thai government has not said when the visit would take place.



Thailand is Washington`s oldest ally in the region, but ties were strained by the military coup led by Prayuth in 2014 that ousted an elected civilian government.



Although relations were improving even before the Trump administration took over, pro-democracy activists fear the United States will put even less pressure on Thailand`s generals to hand over power promptly.



A general election that the junta first promised for 2015 will not happen before next year and the constitution has been amended to ensure the military retains a strong say in politics.



Despite cooler diplomatic ties, Thailand and the United States have continued to hold joint military and police exercises including the annual Cobra Gold military exercises, Asia`s largest multinational drill.



Trump`s weekend invitation to Duterte, in particular, was condemned by rights groups, upset by the Philippine leader`s bloody war on drugs.



The White House has defended the invitation.



A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Bangkok said on Tuesday she had nothing to add.



Thai businesses have said they are worried about Trump`s protectionist stance on trade. Thailand had a trade surplus of about $18 billion with the United States last year.



The United States is Thailand`s second-largest export market this year after China.



Trump promised to increase "trade cooperation" with Thailand and send a trade delegation, Prayuth told reporters, without elaborating.



One political analyst warned not to read too much into Trump`s overture.



"Trump might yet go after Thailand`s trade surplus with America. Thailand is among the 16 countries whose trading arrangements he has singled out for scrutiny," Dr Nigel Gould-Davies, an International Relations lecturer at Mahidol University International College in Thailand, told Reuters.



"Second, most of Trump`s views are variables, not constants. There is no guarantee that they won`t shift again. So Prayuth will likely see this call, as well as other recent U.S.-Thai contacts at senior levels, as encouraging rather than transformational."



The junta is struggling to lift growth in Southeast Asia`s second`s largest economy, which has lagged regional peers.
United Nations: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "paying attention" to the India-Pakistan border tension, but UN observers have not received any reports from India about any recent ceasefire violations, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.



Asked about India-Pakistan situation, Dujarric said: "We checked with our colleagues with UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan). We have not received any alleged ceasefire violations reports from the Indian authorities related to the latest incident that we saw yesterday."



On Monday, the Pakistani Army targeted a patrol on the Indian side of the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector and killed and mutilated the bodies of an soldier and a Border Security Force trooper, India has said.



Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar were killed in the attack carried out by the Border Action Team (BAT) made up of Pakistani military, Indian Army reported.



Pakistan has denied that its military was involved in the attack.



Dujarric denied a suggestion that UN observers were concerned only about the Pakistani side of the border because India restricted its operations.



"UNMOGIP is impartial," he said. "We are fully aware of operational environment in which UNMOGIP is forced to work."



India has said that UN observers, who first began operating on the India-Pakistan border in Kashmir in 1949, are no longer needed because under the 1971 Simla agreement, the disputes between the two countries are a bilateral matter.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump plans to hold a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on May 2, the White House said in a statement.

Reuters reports the two leaders would likely discuss the war in Syria.

The two Presidents held the first phone conversation in late January, the next one was in early April during which Trump extended condolences to Putin over the terror attack in St. Petersburg metro.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. Former Foreign Minister of Czech Republic Karel Schwarzenberg says he will be happy if other countries follow the Czech Republics example and recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Of course, it is their decision. The Czech parliament made a decision to accept that what had happened several years ago was a genocide, yes, it was really a genocide. We are satisfied that last year Germany acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, however, our decision has nothing to do with this. I wish good luck to Armenia, it can trust the Czech people since they are friends of Armenians, he said in an interview with Armenpress.

The former Czech FM said Armenia and Czech Republic have good relations, and there is no problem between them. Both countries can cooperate in a lot of fields, can develop joint programs in energy field, for instance like the Czech Republic and Georgia. I think there are many respective programs for cooperation, Karel Schwarzenberg said.

The Czech parliament on April 25 adopted a resolution on recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. 107 MPs took part in the voting, with 104 votes in favor of the resolution, and 22 abstained.

The same day the Czech President Milos Zeman extended condolences to the Armenian community of Czech Republic on the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Syuzi Muradyan
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. South Koreas former president Park Geun-hye denied all charges brought against her during the initial court hearings, Reuters reports.

The impeached president wasnt personally present in court, since its not yet a mandatory requirement.

Her lawyer was representing her at the hearing.

The lawyer said the former presidents case comprises 120 thousand pages and she didnt have time to study it fully.

On 9 December 2016, Park was impeached by the National Assembly on charges related to influence peddling by a top aide. Her presidential powers and duties were suspended with the ratification of the impeachment proposal, and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn assumed those powers and duties as Acting President. The impeachment was upheld unanimously by the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017, ending Park's presidency and forcing her out of office.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. The Public Journalism Club (PJC), the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) for the first time held Armenia-Turkey investors meeting in Yerevan in cooperation with the worlds first investor accelerator Angel Labs, reports Armenpress.

The event aimed at promoting the idea of creating angel-investors network in Armenia and Turkey and presenting various formats of investors networks and the events best experience.

During the opening ceremony authors of the initiative  PJC President Seda Muradyan, TEPAV representative Cansu Sarac, Director of Angel Labs Tugce Ergul, Ambassador of France to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier and US Embassy Economic and Commercial Representative Rafael Sambu delivered welcoming remarks.

PJC President Seda Muradyan said the initiative aims at creating angel-investors network to develop investments of start-ups and ecosystem in Armenia. Angel-investors are the richest persons who provide finding to start-ups with a development potential, they are a very important source of financial capital for the start-up companies. According to the research, in the situation of financial crisis of last years and the ongoing decline of world economy, angel-investors played a key role in filling the gaps of banks and venture companies, she said, adding that the angel-investors do not publicize their activity, and even at an official level it is difficult to communicate with them. According to her, the event creates a platform for those who want to help development of start-ups. She said their goal is to boost the cooperation of angel-investors between Armenia and Turkey and to implement joint programs.

TEPAV representative Cansu Sarac said the ideas on creating and financing a joint investors network between Armenia and Turkey emerged within 3 years as a result of mutual visits of entrepreneurs of various states. This Turkey-Armenia-US-Germany Investors Day first initiative will serve the base for creation of joint angel-investors network and assistance to entrepreneurs, she said.

H.E. Ambassador of France to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier said the this format of Armenian-Turkish cooperation will enable the businessmen of both countries to establish friendly ties. According to the Ambassador, this is a unique event which aims at assisting the creation of entrepreneur ecosystems, establishing ties between the investors and entrepreneurs of Armenia and Turkey.

The development of economic ties between Armenia and Turkey is important for France. One of the priorities of the Armenian-Turkish relations must be the development of commercial ties, which in its turn will lead to normalization of diplomatic relations, he said.

The event was attended by a number of representatives of investor companies from Germany and Turkey, as well as ICT and business field representatives.

The meeting participants had a chance to get acquainted with the investment networks creation principles, the favorable legal conditions used in Europe and US.

An angel investor is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.

Established in March 2011, the Public Journalism Club (PJC) unifies journalists, advocates and social media experts to improve information dissemination through collaboration between new technologies and media. Its vision is democratic Armenia which enjoys peace, welfare and active, well-educated and competitive civil society cooperating with mass media to become a real watchdog while state structures have transparent activities and accountability.

TEPAV was established by a group of businessman, bureaucrats and academicians for the purposes of conducting data-based policy analysis and policy making contributions. TEPAV became operational on December 2004 with the goal of enriching the content of information/data in ideological discussions and arguments. In addition to improving policy proposals, the Foundation helps its ideas come to life through concrete projects.

Angel Labs is the world's first investor accelerator for high-net-worth individuals & executives all around the world. It fosters diversity and inclusiveness in tech investing. The companys goal is to make an impact on the liquidity side of the entrepreneurial equation, build connected angel investor & VC communities globally and create smart capital for entrepreneurs.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. The special investigative service launched two criminal cases on misconduct and torture by police officers. The criminal proceedings were initiated based on reports by an inmate of Nubarashen penitentiary  identified as Edik Gh., and a citizen of Yerevan  identified as Vahan Kh.

The Nubarashen inmate reported that a police officer confiscated his personal belongings, namely a mobile phone and 35K drams (roughly 70 dollars) in cash upon personal search amid criminal proceedings regarding his case on 10.02.2017. The inmate said the police officer failed to give his personal items to his family. The special investigative service launched a criminal case on misconduct regarding the incident.

Regarding the other case, a citizen of Yerevan, Vahan Kh., reported to law enforcement agencies that on 25.01.2017 he was detained in the Shengavit Police Department, where several cops tortured and battered him in order to confess to a drug related crime which he didnt commit. The SIS launched a criminal case on torture regarding this incident.

Investigation is underway.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. 10 Armenian startups took part in Startup Ole conference in the Spanish city of Salamanca on April 26-27 thanks to the cooperation between the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center (SMEDNC) and Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), as well as the assistance of GIZs Support to SME Development in Armenia program, the SMEDNC told Armenpress.

The conference was being held for the third time, and the SMEDNC was one of its co-organizers.

During the conference the Armenian companies established ties with startup companies. The Armenian startups had an exclusive chance at the event to be involved in the European startup ecosystem.

They also participated in the competition-presentation of programs, as well as in the event dedicated to establishing cooperation with major companies and investors.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. The main principle of EEUs formation is the equal representation of all member states, Tigran Sargsyan, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission said.

According to him, the small Armenia or Kyrgyzstan have the same votes as Russia or other EEU states.

Armenia is represented with 2 ministers in the Eurasian Economic Commission, just like all EEU member countries. All member countries have equal votes. Moreover, our countries have the right to vote in the decision-making in the union. This means that we are dealing with a union of members having equal rights. This is a principled important fact, by which the EEU differs from the EU, Sargsyan said.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. The justice ministry of Armenia is currently discussing the organization of Valery Permyakovs prison term, the Russian soldier who massacred a family of 7 in Gyumri in 2015.

Suren Krmoyan, deputy minister of justice, commented on media rumors alleging Permyakov is to be transferred to Russia.

We have made an official statement, there is no any agreement. We have a verdict, works are underway to initiate this verdict. We dont have any other information on any agreement. There is no information currently on negotiations, the deputy minister told ARMENPRESS.

Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian military base of Gyumri, killed an entire family of six on January 12, 2015 in the city. A 6 month old baby survived the attack and was hospitalized. Unfortunately, doctors were unable to save the baby, who died after 7 days due to severe stabbing wounds.

Permyakov was apprehended while trying to cross the Armenian-Turkish border.

In 2016, the murderer was sentenced to life in prison.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. What happened in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire was a great human tragedy, President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili said in a meeting with Samtskhe-Javakheti residents, in response to a question why Georgia didnt extend condolences to the Armenian people on the Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, reports Armenpress.

We have always stated that what happened was a great human tragedy. And our Armenian partners know very well that we have always said it was a great tragedy. A human tragedy that occurred that time in the Ottoman Empire, the Georgian President said.

On April 28 he visited Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The aim of his visit was to introduce Constitution for all presidential program-campaign to the regions residents.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. General Vicar of the Istanbul Patriarchate Archbishop Aram Ateshian thinks that they should work in coordination with authorities over the organization of the Patriarchal elections, Armenpress reports he told Istanbul-based Zhamanak daily.

Referring to the meetings with the chairman of the Religious Council bishop Sahak Mashalyan on May 28 and 30, Ateshian said, As religious people we have no and can have no personal issues. As two high ranking clerics we bear the entire burden of the Patriarchal seat on our shoulders. I accept that we approach to the existing problems and the prospects of their solutions with different mentalities, but I hope that we will be able to find a way out by fraternal spirit, unified and constructive efforts.

Speaking about the hint made by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his April 24 address, the Vicar assessed is a positive move. Its clear that the hint in Erdogans commandment does not mean to immediately initiate the elections, but its an important precondition for finding a positive solution to our problem, he said.

Ateshian informed that he does not avoid from the elections to be held. I do not avoid the elections, but getting ahead the developments will not bring any solution for our problems. If we work in collaboration with respective bodies, everything will go on easier and smoother, he concluded.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian received on May 2 the delegation of Tavitian Fund headed by Aso Tavitian and Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Admiral James Stavridis, Armenpress was informed from the press service of MFA Armenia.

Greeting the guests the Foreign Minister highly assessed the contribution of Tavitian Fund in education and high level training of the Armenian youth. Edward Nalbandian highly appreciated the cooperation between Tavitian Fund and the Foreign Ministry of Armenia.

Minister Nalbandian presented to the guests the joint efforts of Armenia and OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at creating favorable conditions for the progress of the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

During the meeting the sides exchanged ideas on international and regional issues and ways to solve them.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. Publisher of the weekly is California Courier Harut Sassounian has published an article headlined Azerbaijan accused of giving millions in bribes to Council of Europe Armenpress presents the full article bellow.

For years, the government of Azerbaijan has been showering politicians and dignitaries from around the world with expensive gifts, such as silk carpets, gold, silver, caviar, cash, and all-expense paid trips in exchange for their votes in favor of Azerbaijan and against Armenia and Artsakh . This illicit practice is so prevalent that Europeans describe it as "caviar diplomacy.

Even though this bribery goes on behind closed doors and it is disclosed neither by Azeri officials nor by crooked foreign politicians, once in a while it comes to light. We should all remember that what is disclosed is a tiny portion of the large amount of bribery doled out to Baku visitors, officials in various countries, and those serving in international organizations like the United Nations.

Recently, a great scandal was exposed in the Council of Europe involving millions of dollars of cash given to some of its members in return for defeating decisions critical of Azerbaijan or supporting unfavorable reports on Artsakh.

As a result, Transparency International, the worlds largest anti-corruption group, has called on the Council of Europe to investigate serious allegations of corruption. The European Stability Initiative (ESI) also accused Azerbaijan of unduly influencing Council of Europe decisions by transferring huge sums of money and other favors to key parliamentarians. ESI urged that an independent investigation be conducted to look into the PACE vote in 2013, rejecting a highly critical report of political prisoners in Azerbaijan and the role of members of that countrys delegation.

The Guardian published a lengthy expose on April 20, 2017, titled: Fresh Claims of Azerbaijan vote-rigging at European human rights body. Two high ranking officials of PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) have informed The Guardian about PACE members receiving bribes from Azerbaijan in exchange for votes in favor of that country. PACE is composed of 324 Parliamentarians from 47 European countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey.

Arif Mammadov, a former Azerbaijani diplomat informed The Guardian that a PACE member was given over $30 million by the government of Azerbaijan to hand out as bribes to other PACE members. Tobias Billstrom, a Swedish delegate to the assembly and former justice minister, said very credible members had told him they had been offered bribes to vote in a certain way. He is one of 64 parliamentarians to have signed a resolution calling for an independent investigation into serious and credible allegations of grave misconduct centered on an Azerbaijani vote, The Guardian reported.

The claims were first laid out in a 2012 report by the European Stability Initiative think tank, but have gathered momentum since Italian prosecutors began investigating a former chair of the center-right group, Italian deputy Luca Volonte. He is accused of accepting 2.39m [$2.6 million] in bribes from Azerbaijan in exchange for supporting its government in the Council of Europe. He faces a trial for money laundering, and Milans public prosecutor is appealing a decision to drop a corruption charge against him. He has always denied any wrongdoing, according to The Guardian.

Even the President of PACE, Pedro Agramunt, is in trouble because he has refused to open an investigation into Azerbaijans bribery scandal. His recent trip to Syria has increased the number of PACE members who have called for his resignation. Since Agramunt cannot be fired under the Rules of Procedure, the PACE Bureau censored him last week by resolving that he is not authorized to make any official visits, attend meetings or make any public statements on behalf of the Assembly in his capacity as President. He is expected to resign shortly.

Furthermore, the Council of Europe launched an investigation in 2015 into Azerbaijans compliance with the European Convention on human rights, the first such inquiry into a member state in the last 25 years!

It is shameful that PACE, a body created to champion human rights, is falling victim to the Azeri dictators bribery schemes. These allegations undermine the core values of the Council of Europe. It should be unacceptable that during previous Azeri elections when PACE members went there as observers, they surprisingly issued highly positive reports, whereas the rest of the international observers had very negative assessments. Such a contrast brought up concerns that Azerbaijan had managed to bribe the PACE observers to cover up the corrupt elections.

The Guardian concluded that Azerbaijan uses the [PACE] assembly to add a veneer of legitimacy to the authoritarian rule of its president, Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the country since 2003.

Ignoring Azerbaijan's abuses of bribery would mean that the Council of Europe could no longer be viewed as the guardian of human rights!
This article originally ran in the May 2017 issue of AVN magazine. Click here to see the online edition.

By his own admission, the timing was never right. Chi Chi LaRue had been asked repeatedly to return to Falcon to craft a sequel to Heaven to Hell. The 2005 hit racked up awards and acclaimand was the last film he ever directed for the studio following a long string of hits for its various labels.

I think it was one of theif not thebest-selling movies in Falcon history. Through all of the different incarnations of Falconwith the different people that were at the helm running it, like Chris Ward, Todd Montgomery, Terry Mahaffeythey all wanted me to make the sequel. I was concentrating on my own company, and it just never felt right.

Its been a long road to come full circle. While working at Catalina (which distributed Falcons products), LaRue met Falcon founder Chuck Holmes. Him and I hit it off, and when I left Catalina he brought me in and I made my first movie for Mustang, called The Inner Circle. I started making Mustang movies for him, and then he let me do a Jocks movie, and eventually I was making the Falcon, Jocks and Mustang movies, LaRue says with a laugh. I got to go to France to make a movie, Australia, Hawaii  I did Deep South with John Rutherford, which was an amazing movie. Ive made a lot of really great movies for Falcon, and got to work with some of the biggest stars back then.

When LaRue helped start Channel 1, he still filmed for Falcon, Vivid and HIS, and then I just decided that it was time to focus on my own studio.

But after branching out from his Channel 1 duties recently and working on projects for the likes of CockyBoys and Men.com (and with Channel 1 focusing a lot of its attention on toys), the porn icon approached Falcon Studios Group and NakedSword Network president Tim Valenti. He soon filmed the hit Scared Stiff (Probably one of the best movies Ive done), a long-brewing slasher parody script that LaRue had in his drawer for 13 years.

After that, I expressed my desire to make Heaven to Hell 2, and Timbeing smart, knowing the value of it and the potential promotion that could go behind such a big projectwas behind it 1,000 percent, which is so awesome.

When LaRue realized the project was actually going to happen, the wheels started turning in his head. The main wheel? Getting back Dean Monroe, his muse from the original. He didnt really want to do porn again, and when I told him I was doing thisthat was one of his best partshe was like, I will come back and do this. So that was pretty awesome.

Earthbound: Heaven to Hell 2 is set to release May 5 (its site, EarthboundXXX.com, launched in early April). During the casting process, LaRue got a surprise call from a performer who hadnt done a film in nine years: Blake Riley, one of Channel 1s most successful exclusives (who won Best Newcomer at the 2008 GAYVN Awards and the Grabbys).

He makes his comeback in this movie, and he does an amazing scene with JJ Knight, says the director. Hes my porn child. I think this is one of the most exciting things to happen in a long time in this business, to get Blake Riley back in front of the camera. And hes just as fucking good, just as fucking beautifuland the butt has only gotten better.

Also returning is another fan favorite, Falcon stud Andrew Stark, who has been quiet for a few years. LaRue also snagged a fourth comeback for a non-sex role: Falcon royalty Brad Patton, who appeared in the original and flew up from Miami for a cameo (in what LaRue calls his Charlies Angels moment, a nod to the Jaclyn Smith cameo in the 2000 movie).

LaRue also got to direct Brent Corrigan for the first time. The two had appeared together in front of the camera before (LaRue had a dialogue role in Falcons The Velvet Mafia in 2006), but had an otherwise rocky history. We had a little bit of a kind of tumultuous  uh  past  you know, jabbing and ribbing and not maybe being the politest to each other that we could have been. But he has changed so much and Ive changed so much, and I asked him to be in the movie. He could have of course turned me down, but he didnt  and hes so good in it.

The project features new Falcon exclusive Skyy Knox (He is so beautiful, so gorgeous and such a great performer, gushes LaRue) as Rogue, a renegade angel who escapes hell and heads to Earthwhere things arent as rosy as he had hoped. Devil Dean Monroe sends his minions to bring Rogue back, but a stripper named Lucky may get in their way. Making his debut is Gabriel Alanzo as one of four dark angels in pursuit of the runaway. Rounding out the cast are Johnny V, Sean Zevran, Arad Winwin, Andre Donovan, Armond Rizzo and Trelino.

So many people have lent their talents to this movie. This is not another porno movie, this is a fucking porn event, you know? Its beyond my wildest dreams, says LaRue. I finally got to see the full movie yesterday, and its going to blow everyone away. Its so fucking good. Its got six sex scenes in a day and age where were seeing movies that have three. And its got a cast of 14, and its just spectacular.

The film drew the attention of some impressive talents behind the scenes, like renowned designer Michael Schmidt. He styled stuff for Lady Gaga, Madonna, Aerosmith, Cher, says an excited LaRue of the films wardrobe designer. He even brought a wardrobe piece that he made for Madonna for her Ghosttown video that she ended up not wearing; Dean is wearing it in the movie.

CockyBoys performer Taylor Reign worked his makeup magic (He is just amazing  he painted all the fake tattoos on all the guys) and was a wardrobe assistant, while John Hall is on board with concept art and illustrations. He draws these amazing pictures. Hes a big fan, and when he found out I was doing the movie, he called and said, Can I please do the illustrations of the cast? In the first one, someone from Falcon did the illustrations, and so I incorporate one of the illustrations from the first one into this one, and John does all the illustrations for this one, LaRue shares.

Whats funny is I was going through all my boxes with my stuff at home, and I happened to come upon some pieces from the original movie! Some collars and pieces made out of guitar picks and feathers, and we incorporated them into the movie. I added a lot of little nods and reminders of the first one, says LaRue, noting the two storylines are loosely connected.

Probably one of the only differences between the two is that back then, I used a lot of bling and a lot of prosthetic makeup that I didnt do in this one. This is more up to date. This is more like The Crow versus Blade, kind of in that dark underworld kind of feel. So the costuming is brilliant, and its just really, really well done. The attention to detail is impeccable.

LaRue was also elated to shoot at the Armory, the longtime home to Kink.comwhich moved production out of the historic San Francisco Mission building earlier this year.

They were in the process of clearing out, and I was the last adult project to be shot there  Ive been wanting to shoot at that fucking place forever! We got to shoot in what I think they call the catacombs  its got an actual river running through it, so thats the devils lair, and its so fucking fabulous. Everything in the porn universe came together to make this movie. And mr. Pams still photography is book worthy; if they dont make a book out of the photography, theyre missing out.

LaRue also got to work with Tony Dimarco for the first time ever (who serves as cinematographer with mr. Pam), which was a total pleasure. Were all so different that bringing all of our ideasand helping each other getting those ideas to workreally made for an awesome project.

LaRue now has four more projects on the books for Falcon, including a Hot House shoot in May, another movie with Dimarco in September and a Raging Stallion film with Steve Cruz.

Im back. Im so happy  its pretty great. Getting sober has reignited my creative juices. That was always one of my strengths, being able to come up with creative ideas at the drop of a hat. Ive got so many, and the ideas are just flowing out of me. Tim has welcomed me back, and I cant thank him enough for that. And being there with my best friend Sister Roma and working with (VP of Production) Adam Robinson again, and Tony and Andrew Rosen and the different editors there, and mr. Pamtheres a lot of creative people there. We all have egos, but put those to the side a little bit, we can make some fucking killer stuff.

Above, some of the cast members of Heaven to Hell 2. From left, Skyy Knox, Sean Zevran, Andre Donovan, Dean Monroe, Arad Winwin, Gabriel Alanzo. Photo courtesy Falcon Studios Group
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has advised farmers to speak to MPs and members of the European Parliament on a proposed blanket ban of neonicotinoids on outdoor crops.

The call comes in response to European Commission proposals to widen neonicotinoid restrictions to ban all uses on field-grown crops, extending its current restrictions to include non-flowering crops.

The NFU is calling on the Commission to reconsider the proposal to enable time for discussion with member states and the industry. It has written to the European Commission outlining its concerns and the consequences that it would have on farmers.

Guy Smith, vice-president for the NFU, said a blanket ban of neonicotinoids on outdoor crops would be devastating for farms across the country.

Neonicotinoid seed treatments form an incredibly important part of the integrated pest management approach which farmers adopt, Smith said. I know it would make implementing this approach more difficult for farmers without these seed treatments.

By denying UK farmers these key crop production tools, our competitors, who have access to these products, are being gifted a market. If politicians are made aware of the consequences of a ban, they may be persuaded to vote against one.

In April 2017, new Great British Bake Off presenter Prue Leith urged shoppers to back British farming.
Rep Mo Brooks [R-Alabama] (DC: (202) 225-4801; Decatur: (256) 355-9400; Huntsville: (256) 551-0190; Shoals: (256) 718-5155; Twitter: @repmobrooks) gave a refreshingly candid interview to CNN this week in which he opined that sick people have themselves to blame for their illness, and shouldn't expect insurance pools paid into by people who've "done the things to keep their bodies healthy" to cover their care.

This is a widely shared belief on the libertarian right: for example, Whole Foods owner John Mackey wrote in the WSJ to denounce Obamacare, writing that "many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted."



Republicans usually defend their health care position with an array of buzzwords like choice, patient-centric, or competition. In a CNN interview, Representative Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, makes the case for Trumpcare in much starker terms: it will free healthy people from having to pay the cost of the sick. "It will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they're healthy, they've done the things to keep their bodies healthy," explained Brooks, "And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing."

Republican Blurts Out That Sick People Don't Deserve Affordable Care

[Jonathan Chait/New York Magazine]





(via Mitch Wagner)
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would discuss possible operations in Syria's Manbij and Raqqa with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an official visit to Russia on Wednesday, and with U.S. President Donald Trump later this month. Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate his return to the membership of the ruling AK Party, Erdogan said he hoped his upcoming discussions with Putin and Trump would start a new era in Syria and Iraq. He also said Turkey would not allow Kurdish militant groups to achieve their goals in northern Syria. Turkey views the Kurdish militant group YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. Relations between Turkey and the United States have recently been strained over U.S. support for the YPG in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. (Reporting by Ercan Gurses; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Ece Toksabay)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran will provide military advisers to Syria for as long as necessary in support of President Bashar al Assad's forces, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards was quoted on Tuesday as saying. Iran has provided military support to Assad's forces since at least 2012, but initially did not comment publicly on its role. But as the military support increased and Iranian casualties also rose, officials began to speak more openly. "The advisory help isn't only in the field of planning but also on techniques and tactics," the Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Revolutionary Guard ground forces, as saying. "And because of this the forces have to be present on the battlefield." "We will continue our advisory help as long as they (the Syrians) need it," he added. An Iranian official said late last year that more than 1,000 Iranians had been killed in the Syrian civil war. These include a handful of senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, according to Iranian media reports. Iran has helped to train and organize thousands of Shi'ite militia fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Syrian conflict. Fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah are also working closely with Iranian military commanders in Syria. Pakpour said the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces were in Syria to help the Quds Force, the branch of the Guards responsible for operations outside of Iran's own borders. "There is very close coordination between the Syrian army and the Revolutionary Guards advisers," Pakpour said. Iran and Russia are Assad's main allies in the conflict, while the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states support opposition groups seeking to overthrow him. Russia's intervention in the conflict has tilted it decisively back into Assad's favor. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The body of Francesca Matus, an Ontario woman missing in Belize, has been found along with that of her American boyfriend, Drew De Voursney, CBC Toronto has learned.

Police in the town of Corozal said the bodies were found at 7 p.m. ET. in a sugarcane field.

The discovery comes just one day after Matus's vehicle was found abandoned, also in a sugarcane field, in the small Central American country near the village of Paraiso.

Nancy Rifenbark, a close friend of Matus's, also confirmed the news, which was circulating in local media reports Monday night.

"They found them ... they are dead," Rifenbark said Monday evening.

Police said an autopsy will be performed Tuesday morning.

Officers in Belize discovered the vehicle on Sunday and returned to the scene Monday with police dogs to continue the search.

The vehicle was the first sign of Matus, 52, and De Voursney, 36, since they disappeared under mysterious circumstances last Tuesday night.

Friends said the couple were last seen leaving a bar near Matus's home in the coastal town of Corozal, about 130 kilometres north of the capital, Belmopan.

Matus, a mother of two, was scheduled to fly back to Canada on April 26, but when a friend went to her home in Belize to drive her to the airport, she was nowhere to be found.

"When I arrived there to pick her up, the gate was closed and the car was gone," Joe Milholen told CBC Toronto on Saturday.

As the search for the pair ensued, friends posted prayers and wishes to Matus's Facebook page, hoping she would be found safe.

Rifenbark previously described Matus and De Voursney as "well-liked," saying the pair had many local friends.
Research

On-Campus Enrollment Shrinks While Online Continues its Ascent

More than 6 million students took at least one online course in 2015, representing more than a quarter (29.7 percent) of all higher education enrollments that year, according to a new report from Digital Learning Compass. Among that 29.7 percent, it's almost evenly split between students who took some but not all courses online (15.4 percent) and those who took every class online (14.3 percent). In contrast, total online enrollments in 2002 came in just under 10 percent.

Put another way, the number of students who have taken a "distance education" course rose by 3.9 percent in 2015, adding an additional 226,375 online students to the virtual attendance rolls. Between 2012 and 2015, the number of on-campus students has declined by 5 percent, losing a total of 931,317.

The number of undergraduates who took online courses in 2015 totaled nearly 5 million and the count of graduate students who did the same was just over 1 million. Across the entire 6 million, 3.1 million took some but not all distance classes; 2.9 million students were completely online. Among the "exclusively distance" students, 55 percent live in the same state as the school from which they're taking courses, while 42 percent live out of state. (The rest are "other" or "unknown.")

These statistics come from an annual survey traditionally run by Babson College's Survey Research Group and sponsored by several education organizations. This year, three entities teamed up to analyze the data and produce the report. Babson has partnered with WCET and e-Literate to launch Digital Learning Compass, a think tank of sorts that will produce a series of publications examining online education from multiple perspectives. The newest report, released today, looks at distance enrollments in the United States, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Most of the online enrollment in public institutions occurred at four-year schools (55 percent) while the remainder (45 percent) took place in two-year colleges.

While there may be a "public perception" that online education is the bailiwick of for-profit colleges, the report suggested, the reality is that most online courses are delivered by public schools. Two-thirds (68 percent) of distance enrollments took place in public institutions; 18 percent were at private non-profit schools; and the remainder, 14.5 percent, were at for-profits. In fact, public institutions have shown the greatest online headcount growth during the latest period, adding 100,000 enrollments more than private non-profits.

According to the "Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017," for-profit schools saw large enrollment drops in the number of online students, driven by a "few of the largest institutions." The sector has seen a decline for the past three years, shrinking 31 percent between 2012 and 2015. For example, the University of Phoenix, which had an online enrollment of 162,003 in 2015, had an online enrollment of 256,346 in 2012  a plunge in distance enrollment of 94,343. Ashford University lost almost 35,000 students between 2012 and 2015, eroding from 76,722 to 42,046.
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For decades if not longer, repressive leaders around the world have defended restrictions on freedom of the press by citing examples of Western governments failing to live by their own professed standards.

So when, in late-2016, Canadian photojournalist Ed Ou was unable to report from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests because he had been barred from entering the United States, the Turkish government issued a press release describing it as yet another example that in countries that frequently criticize Turkey for its treatment of the press, journalism is not as rose-tinted as it may seem. Ou, who one year earlier had been blocked by Turkey from entering that country, said he didnt know whether to laugh or cry.

Although the Ou incident took place during the waning days of the Obama Administration, throughout the first 100 days of the presidency of Donald J. Trump  a man who loves to disparage, insult, and rail against the media  the trend has continued. President Trumps oft-tweeted fake news epithet, for example, has already been adopted by repressive governments such as China, Syria, and Russia. And when Trump attacked a correspondent during a February press conference, he was cheered by Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the worlds worst jailer of journalists, according to CPJs annual global imprisoned census.

Of course, all U.S. presidents complain about how theyre treated in the press. Some have gone further: During Obamas first term, the Department of Justice used the Espionage Act to conduct an unprecedented number of leak investigations, several of which ensnared journalists. Generally, however, U.S. presidents have criticized the media while also acknowledging the essential role of a free press in American democracy, and while pledging to uphold the First Amendment.

In this respect, unfortunately, Trump  who has made no strong statements in support of the press, and whose administration, according to Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, has looked at changing libel laws to restrict press freedom  stands apart.

During his first 100 days as president, Trump rolled out the red carpet at Mar-a-Lago for Chinese President Xi Jinping and at the White House for Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi  two of the worlds worst jailers of journalists. A meeting with the aforementioned Erdogan, meanwhile, is reportedly on the horizon  and Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, a country where journalists are routinely murdered with impunity, was recently extended an invitation of his own.

High-ranking members of Trumps cabinet have followed suit. Although the Department of Justice during Obamas second term worked out an agreement with the media to ensure fewer journalists were involved in leak investigations, Attorney General Jeff Sessions indicated in his Senate confirmation hearing that he was not committed to honoring these guidelines. Given Trumps tweets about leakers and his claims that reporters should not use anonymous sources, this position is alarming to U.S. journalists. But for journalists in countries where protecting sources can be a matter of life and death, the precedent it could set has far worse implications.

The State Department has generally tried to articulate support for American values, which include human rights and freedom of the press. But in March, unfortunately, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson broke with tradition and declined to present the State Departments Human Rights report in person. Further, the Trump Administration has recently threatened to drastically cut funding for international organizations, many of whom play a key role in establishing international norms in support of free expression.

Indeed, it is this system  constructed over a period of years and by a set of international agreements  which we celebrate every May 3 for World Press Freedom Day. Thanks to a public commitment to these standards, previous U.S. presidents have been able to exert their influence around the world on behalf of press freedom, however inconsistently. The issue is not partisan, either. The Obama administration raised concerns about press freedom abuses in Egypt, Ethiopia, Turkey, China, and Vietnam; former President George W. Bush told the Today Show that he raised the issue with Russia President Vladimir Putin.

Sadly, President Trump has expressed no such interest in protecting this framework or setting a positive example. In fact, while speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania for his 100th day in office, Trump said the media was a disgrace and that members of the press were incompetent, dishonest people.

These comments are even more alarming for being part of a broader trend. Among former regional leaders such as Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, and Kenya, press freedom has deteriorated. Still, because he is the president of the United States, Trumps comments are different. As the award-winning Salvadoran reporter Oscar Martinez put it, Trump inhabits the global showcase. In attacking the U.S. press, he attacks all of the press and puts it at risk.

EDITORS NOTE: The sixth paragraph has been corrected to reflect that el-Sisi met with Trump at the White House.

Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Alexandra Ellerbeck is senior Americas and U.S. research associate.
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Fighting impunity should be priority for Mexican government

By Carlos Lauria

Violence tied to drug trafficking and organized crime has made Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press. Since 2010, CPJ has documented more than 50 cases of journalists and media workers killed or disappeared. But in nearly every case of a journalist murdered in direct retaliation for their work, justice remains elusive and impunity continues to be the norm.

Mexicos impunity rating has more than doubled since 2008, when CPJ released its first impunity index. But despite publicly condemning violence against journalists, President Pena Nieto, who has just over a year left in office, has done little to ensure his legacy will be one of ending this endemic problem.

For more than a decade, CPJs advocacy efforts and engagement with the Mexican federal government during the successive administrations of presidents Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderon, and Pena Nieto have led to the creation of a special prosecutors office for crimes against freedom of expression (FEADLE), the establishment of a federal protection mechanism for journalists and human rights defenders under threat, and the enactment of a constitutional amendment in 2013 that gives federal authorities broader jurisdiction to prosecute crimes against freedom of expression.

However, convictions in journalists murders are infrequent and when they do occurlike in the case of a former police chief sentenced in March to 30 years in jail for killing Oaxacan reporter Marcos Hernandez Bautista, whose case is covered in this reportthey are often limited to the perpetrator and authorities fail to establish a motive.

By not establishing a clear link to journalism or providing any motives for the killings most investigations remain opaque. This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity that leaves journalists open to attack.

CPJs research for this report into the murders of three journalists, including Hernandez, highlights the failings of a judicial system that is both dysfunctional and overburdened. But it also shows that strong political will is needed from the federal government to prioritize impunity in cases of attacks against the press and to guarantee journalists safety.

Two of the casesthose of Gregorio Jimenez de la Cruz and Jose Moises Sanchez Cerezotook place in Veracruz state, one of the worlds most lethal regions for the press. Between 2010 and 2016during former governor Javier Duarte de Ochoas administrationat least six journalists from Veracruz were murdered in direct retaliation for their work and three more went missing. CPJ is investigating the cases of at least 11 others to determine if they were killed for their journalism. Already this year in Veracruz, one journalist was shot dead and an editor was seriously wounded. CPJ is investigating to determine if the attacks are related to their work.

Duarte resigned as governor 48 days before the end of his term in October 2016 amid allegations of embezzlement and links to drug cartels, according to press reports. The governor, who critics say contributed to a climate of impunity that allowed for widespread murders, denied the allegations but disappeared before authorities could investigate him. As of April 17, Duarte was due to be extradited to Mexico after being arrested in Guatemala in a joint Interpol and Guatemalan police operation that used intelligence provided by the Mexican authorities, according to reports.

Justice denied

Structural flaws in the Mexican criminal justice system mean that suspects may have been identified, arrested, or even convicted, but the investigations cannot be fully solved and motives are still not entirely established. The cases covered here show not only the violence and threats the Mexican press faces, but also how delays and inefficiencies in the mechanisms created to protect journalists and fight impunity impact justice. In Sanchezs case for instance, police identified a masterminda city mayorbut bureaucratic delays allowed him to evade justice. Jimenezs case is an example of how Veracruz authorities consistently refuse to acknowledge a connection between a victims journalism and murder, and try to frame it as a regular crime.

Mexican administrations, from former presidents Fox and Calderon to Pena Nieto, have all publicly recognized that violence against the press is an issue of national and international concern. All three condemned killings and impunity. But so far, their efforts to address the problem have been insufficient. The pursuit of justice has failed categorically.

President Enrique Pena Nieto speaks with the press in Mexico City, in June 2015. Pena Nieto has publicly condemned attacks on journalists but more needs to be done to end the violence. (AFP/Alfredo Estrella)

Despite Pena Nieto enacting the complementary laws to implement the constitutional amendment that empowers authorities to prosecute crimes against freedom of expression, the level of violence remains high. The lack of convictions in crimes against the press is inhibiting citizens, including reporters, to fully exercise the right to freedom of expression, guaranteed in Articles 6 and 7 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.

Many journalists say the mechanisms set up to address impunity and violence dont go far enough. FEADLE is criticized for securing justice in only three cases. And, although the protection mechanism is set up to respond within three hours of being notified of a serious threat, journalists who use it told CPJ the emergency measures dont go far enough. Risk assessments, which are carried out in Mexico City, lack the expertise of regional specialists who could advise on needs specific to their location, and reporters are reluctant to trust authorities with their safety.

Pena Nieto and his government are running out of time to resolve these problems. His administration has been beset by corruption scandals and a poor human rights record, including an inability to solve the 2014 forced disappearance of 43 students in the state of Guerrero. If justice does not prevail before his term ends however, Pena Nieto risks leaving a legacy of endemic impunity.

Localized violence

Another factor highlighted by this report is how the climate of violence makes it dangerous for local journalists to investigate the murders of their colleagues. As in other dangerous countries, Mexican reporters are on the front lines of violence and are usually unable to conduct in-depth investigations without serious risk to their own lives. CPJ research of killed journalists worldwide since 1992 shows that in nearly nine out of 10 cases the victims were covering news in their home country.

When CPJ traveled to Veracruz and Oaxaca in January, it relied on local reporters to help conduct interviews and meet with journalists, press groups, relatives of the murdered journalists, and officials. Miguel Angel Diaz, editorial director of Plumas Libres in Xalapa, Veracruz, and Pedro Matias, Oaxaca correspondent for the newsweekly Proceso and the website Pagina 3, contributed greatly to the research and facilitated critical logistical support. At same time, collaborating closely with CPJ should help provide these local journalists with a measure of safety in reporting on the cases of murdered colleagues.

Breaking the cycle of impunity in crimes against the press is the main challenge the federal government faces to restore faith in the judicial system. Reforms to mend the deficiencies of a system that grants impunity for journalists killers are vital, but any change will be impossible without the full political will of the current administration. The creation of new prosecutorial bodies, the implementation of protection mechanisms, and the enactment of legal reforms are limited by a lack of strong political will to ensure that these measures succeed. If Mexico is seriously committed to addressing impunity, solving these crimes and ensuring the safety and protection of journalists must become a priority in Pena Nietos national agenda.
Richard Glossip and Sister Helen Prejean

The Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission after more than a year of work has recommended that a moratorium on carrying out capital punishment in the state be continued indefinitely. "It is undeniable that innocent people have been sentenced to death in Oklahoma," the report concludes.





The bipartisan commission's findings span nearly 300 pages, covering every stage of the state's death penalty system. It addresses such issues as the problematic interrogation of suspects, overworked defense attorneys in capital cases, and an execution process with a disastrous track record. Headed by former Gov. Brad Henry, former federal magistrate Judge Andy Lester, and Judge Reta Strubhar, the 1st woman to sit on the states Court of Criminal Appeals, the commission urges the state to correct the "systemic flaws" in its death penalty system before seeking to restart executions, or sentencing any new defendants to death row.





It is not the 1st time a report has found deep problems with the death penalty in Oklahoma. A blistering grand jury report released last year found myriad failures by state officials entrusted to carry out lethal injection. But this is a more far-reaching review, conducted by an 11-member commission that, beginning in 2015, "gathered data, reviewed scholarly articles, commissioned studies, and conducted interviews" to thoroughly examine the state's capital punishment system from top to bottom. Its specific findings and recommendations are divided into 10 chapters spanning subjects from the handling of forensic evidence to the clemency process. "The commission hopes this report will help foster an informed discussion among all Oklahomans about whether the death penalty in our state can be implemented in a way that eliminates the unacceptable risk of executing the innocent, as well as the unacceptable risks of inconsistent, discriminatory, and inhumane application of the death penalty," the co-chairs write.





The commission was formed in the fall of 2015, not long after the state attempted to kill Richard Glossip on September 30 of that year. It was his third date with death. Only after courts had cleared the way for Glossip's execution - and as witnesses were waiting to be brought to the viewing chamber - did state officials discover they had procured the wrong drug with which to kill him, impermissibly substituting an untested drug in place of one that was specified in the official execution protocol. In a dramatic 11th-hour stay by Gov. Mary Fallin, the state called off the execution.





The high-profile mistake - the latest in a series of ugly incidents casting negative attention on Oklahoma executions - prompted then Attorney General Scott Pruitt to impose the current, indefinite moratorium in order to give officials a chance to sort out what "had transpired" leading up to Glossip's failed execution. That inquiry morphed into a multi-county grand jury investigation after news broke less than a week later that the state had previously killed another man, Charles Warner, in January 2015 using the same untested and improper drug that it had erroneously obtained to execute Glossip.





As The Intercept reported following the release of the grand jury report in May 2016, its findings showed dizzying incompetence and disregard for protocol in the run-up to Glossip's planned execution, as well as deceit on the part of state officials, who afterward lied to the public about key aspects of what happened. Particularly egregious were the actions of the general counsel for Gov. Fallin, who, when confronted with evidence that Warner had been killed using the wrong drug, protested that stopping Glossip's execution "would look bad for the state of Oklahoma," because officials would then have to admit they had carried out an execution with the wrong drug.





The commission expanded on the grand jury findings by widening the review to consider the system as a whole. Although Glossip is just one example cited in its report, the case is particularly emblematic of the range of failures the commission urged the state to address. Glossip was once mainly known as the named plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case Glossip v. Gross, which upheld the state's lethal injection protocol - and specifically the use of midazolam, a sedative that remains controversial. But his case exploded onto the national stage after it was exposed that, as Glossip has insisted for decades, he may well be an innocent man. Shortly after the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling opened the door to Glossip's execution, an investigation by The Intercept cast serious doubt about the evidence behind his conviction. In the run-up to Glossip's scheduled execution that fall, his attorneys raced to uncover more evidence that their client had been wrongfully convicted, while the state sought to push his execution through anyway.





Glossip was sentenced to die for the January 7, 1997, murder of his boss, Barry Van Treese, who owned a seedy motel in Oklahoma City, where Glossip worked as the manager. The state conceded from the start that Glossip took no part in carrying out the actual murder - the reason no physical evidence linked him to the bloody crime - but argued over 2 trials that Glossip convinced a hapless 19-year-old named Justin Sneed to do the job for him, in exchange for money. Indeed, Sneed confessed to the murder and traded his testimony against Glossip for a chance to avoid the death penalty. Sneed is currently serving out a sentence of life without parole at a medium security prison.





Richard Glossip

But in obtaining Sneed's confession, investigators offered Sneed the opportunity to implicate Glossip - before Sneed even shared his firsthand account of the crime. "We know this involves more than just you, OK?" Oklahoma Police Detective Bob Bemo tells Sneed in the interrogation video. In another leading question, he asks, "You know Rich is under arrest, don't you?" Sneed did not know. But shortly thereafter, he offered up a story that implicated Glossip as the mastermind behind Sneed's grisly crime.





Oklahoma courts never vetted Sneed's testimony to determine whether it was reliable. Nor did Detective Bemo or other state actors understand the serious role that incentivized informant testimony plays in wrongful conviction cases. In its report, the commission makes recommendations that would almost certainly have impacted the conviction of Glossip had they been standard practice in 1997. These include a requirement that police receive training "consistent with best practices" for interrogation techniques, that courts vet the reliability of informant testimony before allowing it before the jury, and that prosecutors and law enforcement receive "mandatory" training on the common causes of wrongful convictions.





The commission's report comes on the heels of "Killing Richard Glossip," a multi-part TV series launched by Investigation Discovery. Directed by Joe Berlinger, whose previous work includes the documentaries that helped lead to the release of the famed West Memphis 3 in Arkansas, the series draws on The Intercept's reporting, taking viewers on a journey through the case to show how states' labyrinthine criminal justice systems can entrap and even execute the innocent.





While specific to Oklahoma, the report also comes at a time when the death penalty is making national headlines and reigniting passions over the issue. In Arkansas, 3 executions have been carried out over the course four days this month, part of an unprecedented rush to kill that has raised controversy across the country. At a rally at the state Capitol earlier this month, Damien Echols, who spent more than 18 years on death row as a member of the West Memphis 3, spoke alongside Paris Powell, a death row exoneree from Oklahoma, who flew to Little Rock to warn the state about the risk of executing innocent people.





In the face of overwhelming legal challenges, Arkansas has failed to carry out its original plan of executing 8 people over the course of 11 days - a ramped-up schedule prompted by the imminent expiration of the state's stash of midazolam. But the cases that have culminated with an execution have placed the pitfalls of capital punishment on full display. To those familiar with Oklahoma's embattled death penalty system, the problems are all too familiar. Ledell Lee was executed on April 20 despite his insistence upon his innocence and his pleas that the state give him a chance to test critical DNA evidence. More recently, on April 24, Jack Jones Jr. and Marcel Williams were killed back to back, in executions that were far from perfectly carried out. While the state and some witnesses have said there is no proof the executions were botched, prison staff struggled to find a vein in both cases and witnesses described movement that should not have occurred following an efficacious dose of midazolam.





These problems were entirely predictable; in their many filings on behalf of Arkansas prisoners last month, defense attorneys pointed to Oklahoma as a cautionary tale, describing the nightmarish execution of Clayton Lockett in 2014. Lockett's execution was the 1st time Oklahoma used midazolam, a sedative relatively untested for use in lethal injection that has also been adopted by Arkansas. The drug was first haphazardly substituted into the standard 3-drug lethal injection protocol in Florida due to diminishing supplies of other, previously relied upon drugs. Other states followed suit, despite signs - and warnings from medical professionals - that midazolam is not capable of rendering a person fully unconscious for the purpose of a humane execution. In Lockett's case, prison staff failed to properly insert the IV lines into his body; over 43 minutes, witnesses saw Lockett writhe on the gurney, in a spectacle described as a "bloody mess."





Should Oklahoma continue with capital punishment, the commission recommends that it adopt the "most humane and effective method of execution possible" - they suggest a 1-drug barbiturate protocol - and that it "require verification" at every stage of the process that the proper execution drugs have been obtained. But as in Arkansas, where an insistence on obtaining drugs in secret has led to lawsuits and chaos, Oklahoma has made it impossible to guarantee such a thing. Under a secrecy statute passed in 2011, the commission notes, Oklahoma officials can now purchase drugs using cash, "without creating a record, thereby limiting review by the state, courts, or public concerning the legality or propriety of the purchase, or concerning other accountability issues such as the origin, cost, and reliability of the drugs."





By asking the state of Oklahoma to revise its capital punishment system through and through, the commission presents a challenge that is sure to be costly, time consuming, and likely impossible given the entrenched problems that have defined the death penalty over the course of U.S. history. With the number of death row exonerees climbing to 158 this month, the state would do well to listen to Paris Powell, a man Oklahoma once planned to kill. As he said in front of the Arkansas state Capitol this month, "There's a lot of kids that are gonna get up over the next couple weeks and ask their parents what it means to be executed. And they're not gonna be able to understand it."





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Source: The Intercept, April 27, 2017
As primary providers, managers, and users of water, women are often in an ideal spot to help drive productive change in the design and maintenance of water systems, water distribution, and policymaking. What can be done to increase womens involvement in water management?

The urban water challenge

The global community has unequivocally acknowledged that the continued decline in water securitythe availability of safe, reliable water as both a commodity and a natural resourcepresents an immense risk to poverty reduction and sustainable development in the coming decades. Without measurable efficiency or technology gains, by 2030, the worlds demand for water will exceed the available supply by 40 percent,1 and an estimated 2.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.2

Although water availability is often thought of in a rural context, as urbanization continues to raise the population of the worlds citiesfrom todays 3.5 billion to an estimated 5 billion by 20303stresses on the urban water supply will become increasingly acute. Rising demand in highly concentrated areas will result in less available water per urban household, with profound implications for the health and productivity of all urban dwellers and, particularly, for the urban poor and marginalized communities.

Water scarcity will hit hardest in urban centers in developing countries that are already struggling to cope with rapid urbanization, economic constraints, fragile institutions, and an insufficient water infrastructure. For the vast majority of households in these areas, women and girls are the primary providers, managers, and users of water. The more time women and girls spend accessing clean water for their families or caring for relatives inflicted with water-related illnesses, the less time they spend learning in school or working in the productive economy.

Preparing cities to address water security before the full weight of these disruptions is upon them requires an accelerated, expansive, strategic effort aimed at strengthening the efficacy of urban water resource management. It will also require the collective action of municipal governments, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and civil societybecause improving water resource management is not something that city governments can achieve on their own. Water services that are run by local governments, particularly in developing countries, are often beleaguered by deteriorating infrastructure, weak management, high levels of non-revenue water losses,4 low levels of transparency, and poor communication with stakeholdersespecially women.

For more than two decades, the role of women within the water sector has been examined in studies that have found that more substantial improvements in the governance, transparency, and sustainability of water supplies are achieved when men and women are involved in equal measure than when women are involved only marginally or not at all.5 A World Bank evaluation of 122 projects found that water projects that included women were six to seven times more effective than those that did not.6 Yet women make up less than 17 percent of the water, sanitation, and hygiene labor force and a fraction of the policymakers, regulators, management, and technical experts.7

For international development agencies working to strengthen the water sector and/or address urbanization, this article examines some practical pathways to help increase the number of women working in the urban water sector as formal participants through three specific entry points:

Design, operation, and maintenance of water systems Water distribution, both networked and non-networked Policymaking and regulation

While there is a considerable body of research and evidence on the impact of greater inclusiveness in managing rural water supply, there is less documentation of the impact of womens inclusion in urban settings. We have drawn on rural examples in some cases here for lessons that could have applicability to inclusiveness in an urban context as well.

Entry points for women

Design, operation, and maintenance of water systems

In India, where women have been trained and licensed as hand pump mechanics, customers rate female mechanics as more accessible and responsive than male mechanics.8 As a result, in areas served by female mechanics, there is more preventative maintenance and fewer breakdowns. Many of these women understand that a broken hand pump results in girls and women having to travel greater distances to collect water, losing productive time and increasing risks to their personal safety. In Malawi, water committees composed mainly of women monitor the condition of the water pipes that lie along the footpaths they use several times a day, reporting water leakages and the need for repairs.9 Women in the Magelang district of Java, Indonesia, helped their community rethink long-held beliefs that women lack technical skills when they offered technical solutions to design problems in the existing water system. Their solutions became the basis for a complete modification to the water system, and women are now active participants in the management of the communitys water systems.10

Many women water users have invaluable insights about the design, operation, and maintenance of water systems, which reflect their needs and preferences as the sectors primary customers. Applying a user-centered design approach to water supply systems that incorporates end users wants, concerns, and cultural contexts offers a number of advantages for consumers, communities, and governments. User-centered designs that make water systems more useful and responsive to consumers needs and preferences improve accessibility and customer satisfactionwhen satisfaction increases, so too does willingness to pay.11 For utilities, the benefits can include lower levels of non-revenue water losses, improved cash flow, and more resources for investment in infrastructure and increasing service quality. It can also mean fewer government subsidies, which frees up public funds for other essential services. Key to driving user-centered design improvements and reforms across the urban water sector in developing countries is to create conditions that can attract, retain, and promote women into roles--as engineers, technicians, mechanics, operators, system architects, and utility managers--in which they can shape the design, construction, and rehabilitation of new and existing water supply systems.

Effective user-centered design that yields better market intelligence should be informed by a solid understanding of cultural sensitivities and an insiders perspectiveboth inputs that women as primary users, providers, and managers of water can readily supply. Recruiting women to execute market-facing research should include greater involvement in formal education for women and girls, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs. Methods of encouraging girls to begin and finish STEM education programs include: targeted scholarship programs that begin in secondary school and help promising STEM students complete secondary and tertiary school programs; performance-based conditional cash transfer programs that incentivize girls to enter and graduate from STEM programs; international exchange programs; and innovations such as prize competitions. Curricula reform and teacher training for vocational, college, and university programs that focus on the design, operation, and maintenance of water infrastructure need to be coupled with incentives that attract greater numbers of women to enroll in and teach these programs. Utilities, local and national governments, and other water providers that vigorously recruit the women graduates and alumni from these programs will encourage even greater enrollment and graduation. Water-focused prize competitions and innovative challenges such as the one sponsored by World Skills in 201412but targeting urban women in the water sectorcan foster promising new ways of designing, maintaining, and delivering water while protecting and conserving the water supply.

While STEM education programs can have a long-term effect in preparing women and girls to fill essential roles in the design, maintenance, and operation of water systems, utilities companies can immediately begin applying the foundations of user-centered designdesirability, feasibility, and viabilityby incorporating womens feedback into water management structures and practices. Focus groups for women can be used to solicit practical ideas and opinions on the usefulness, effectiveness, and adoptability of water infrastructure and management processes.

Studies by a number of international donor organizations validate that there is an increasing number of women on water boards, water associations, and other community-based water organizations in some countries.13 But these women are not yet widely heard or influential. Training programs can help build the networks and capacities of women involved in civil society organizations and help increase their visibility and influence in consultative processes.

Finally, women play an important role in design and maintenance that helps promote water stewardship and the use of water in socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial ways. UN Water estimates that merely involving women can increase the effectiveness of water projects six- or seven-fold.14 For example, in Baluchistan, Pakistan, researcherswho were initially deterred from consulting with women for a yearwere eventually able to collaborate with an all-female team that proposed repurposing a new water tank on unused land to provide water for nonfunctioning public standpipes. This plan was not only more cost-effective than the original plan developed by an all-male groupit led to better water management and quality-of-life improvements as a result of hygiene education. Four years later, the village built a new school for girls, investing in female empowerment and enveloping more women into the fold of policymaking.15

Water distribution

In emerging markets, urban water is distributed by either networked utility systems or non-networked provision via kiosks or tankers. While networked water systems operated by utilities are the primary delivery mechanism in urban settings, these utilities grapple with exceptionally high levels of nonrevenue water losses.16 These losses are often a result of inefficient administration and collection systems, customer unwillingness to pay, commercial theft, and physical losses stemming from deteriorating infrastructure and poor maintenance. Two important consequences of high nonrevenue water losses are less funding for investment in infrastructure improvements and network expansion. This, in turn, reduces the reach of piped networks and leaves large swaths of urban and peri-urban centers unconnected, including areas containing informal settlements and urban slums.

A 2014 report by the International Water Association found a critical shortage of skills in the water sector in 15 developing countries, particularly in the management, accounting, finance, and engineering professions.17 The report raised practical questions about how these and other developing countries with similar skill shortages will be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals for water without a greater investment in the skills the sector needs. Women have the potential to fill these human resource gapsas managers, finance professionals, collection specialists, water engineers, and marketers of a product they know well to a customer base they understand better than their male counterparts.

Increasing the number of women in the talent pipeline can address the human resource shortages and, at the same time, make room for new perspectives and ideas for solving some of the industrys most intractable problems, such as reducing non-revenue water losses. In the previous section, we noted that increasing the supply of skilled women through STEM education and vocational training programs is essential. So too is the introduction of formal institutional policies and practices that are purposefully designed to create a conducive environment for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of qualified women. Mandatory training on the attributes and expectations of a gender-friendly work environment for utility management and staff can shift mind-sets and organizational culture over time, particularly when policies and expectations are enforced and tied to performance management and reward systems for all employees.18 Peer networks and communities of practice designed specifically for female water practitioners can help ease feelings of isolation and stigma that are often experienced by pioneering women who are the first to enter male-dominated industries.

Households that lack a network connection typically access water via a non-networked water distribution mechanism such as water kiosks and tankers. The resale of water through non-networked water distribution outlets is big business, most of which is owned and operated by men. Greater participation by women as entrepreneurs in this sub-sector goes beyond the obvious benefits of employment, economic empowerment, and equal access to resources and productive inputs. It puts women buyers in direct and continuous contact with women sellers who have information and learnings to share as a result of their unique role as managers of household water. This knowledge often includes safe water storage and usage practices, water conservation, and effective treatments for water-related diseases.

But womens access to the means to enter the marketstart-up capital, basic business management skills, and market informationremains limited in many developing markets and hinders their participation as owners, operators, and entrepreneurs. Local governments can accelerate the rate of inclusion by making the formal business environment more transparent, predictable, and accessible to women water entrepreneurs. Utilities too, can accelerate inclusion by partnering with communities to target, train, finance, and license women entrepreneurs as water resellers in their communities, eliminating layers of intermediary costs in the process.

Within distribution, women can influence the adoption of water stewardship. Their unique role in and their understanding of household water management gives them insights to pragmatically shape conservation efforts through awareness-building around family habits and behaviors, managing water consumption, and auditing household water budgets. As a primary influencer of young children, women can instill the values of a water-saving culture from an early age and establish the tenets of conscientious water use while actively building social support and expectations for a future generation of water managers. Through roles in distribution, women can organize and participate in networking opportunities and community events that cater to women and girls to encourage them to build and fortify coalitions, providing them with the space and time to share tips and practices to improve water efficiency. These opportunities spotlight the accomplishments of female leaders and can galvanize others to consider community engagement as well. Bolstering womens involvement in water conservation needs to build on and leverage their uniquely influential relationship with water within their communities.

Policymaking and regulation

Many countries have national policies that mandate equal gender representation in the governance of the water sector and gender equity in the access and control of water resources. However, their efficacy depends heavily on where governments place the implementation of these policies within the structure of the government and the degree to which they fund them and measure their impact on women, families, and communities.

Countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Peru have adopted ambitious national policies aimed at increasing the number of women working in the sector, increasing womens participation, and changing the way water resources are managed. As importantly, these countries have adopted both formal and informal methods for ensuring that these policies do more than just sit on the shelf, with designated gender focal points tucked into HR departments with no budget or buy-in.19 Kenyas national gender policy, of which water policy is a subset, has been cascaded to all public sector institutions at every level of government with a requirement to report on compliance and impact to the countrys National Gender Commission on a quarterly basis. Ugandas minister of state for water, Maria Mutagamba, was instrumental in leading the formation and implementation of her countrys fully funded five-year water sector gender strategies.20 These examples highlight how critical it is for inclusive policies to come from the top of organizations to ensure policies are effectively translated into implemented actions.

Greater representation of women in policy and regulatory roles helps generate greater awareness of the concerns and experiences of women constituents among decision makers, which could influence how the sector is governed and by whom and how water resources are accessed and controlled. For example, research from India found that the number of drinking water projects in areas with female-led councils was 62 percent higher than those with male-led councils.21 In terms of shaping water sector policy and regulations, increased representation can mean more female legislators, civil servants, and appointees in water ministries, and/or equal numbers of men and women on water boards, water associations, and agencies that are active in the urban water sector.

The creation of womens water caucuses within national and subnational legislatures can serve as focal points for advocating, legislating, and funding policies that promulgate inclusive water policies in all aspects of water resource planning, development, and management. In countries where the legislature confirms appointments to regulatory bodies, a water caucus within the legislature could also be influential in increasing the number of female water regulators. Legislators and ministers can push for reforms in the recruitment, promotion, and performance management practices within water-related ministries and agencies to enable more women to enter and be promoted into roles of increasing responsibility and influence. At the same time, ensuring there are well-funded programs in place to develop women practitioners using mentorship, peer networks, technical training scholarships, knowledge management, and leadership training can help both men and women overcome traditional barriers and begin to create new norms for the role of women in the water sector.

As efficacious as water caucuses are, building more egalitarian representation in legislatures takes time and effort. Barriers include social stigmas about female leadership and partisan political groups unwilling to include women among their ranks. Eroding these views will take time, but measures can accelerate the process of change: encouraging women to exercise their right to vote, advocating for minimum quotas for womens participation in elected bodies and political appointments, appealing to political parties to actively recruit women leaders, and promoting more rigorous sex-disaggregated data to better understand factors inhibiting formal participation.

Within economic domains such as urban planning, women can impact water stewardship by providing policymakers with valuable services in identifying both occupational and environmental hazards to minimize the risks of water scarcity. Women can be trained in data collection and the methods and technology for gauging the security of the existing water supply and for identifying new sources. To be sustainable, water conservation programs need appropriately structured tariffs to help promote judicious water use and adjustments in personal water consumption, as well as methods for monitoring run-off, contamination, and equipment maintenance.

Looking beyond today

Water securitywherein everyone has access to a reliable, affordable, and safe supply of water, regardless of their meansis one of the greatest human challenges of the 21st century. It is inextricably intertwined with the most fundamental aspects of human development and the social and economic well-being of communities throughout the world.

The cities with some of the planets fastest population growthKarachi, Luanda, Kinshasa, Dhaka, Lagosare also those least equipped to address the challenges of water security and where womens participation in water resource management is among the lowest in the world. They are also the cities and regions that have the potential to realize the greatest gains by proactively integrating women across their water resource management systems.

By contrast, cities in India and China, also among the worlds fastest-growing, are making concerted efforts to include women in water resource management with notable results and lessons to impart. For these communities, investing in women is not only prudentialit is good policy that can yield high returns in the form of better-managed resources, increased labor participation and productivity, and abated water shortages.

Although few scholars have studied the linkage of womens engagement with urban water sector performance, it is worth examining further. International development agencies working with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector should pioneer pilot programs and collect data to test whether, in fact, inclusive policies and practices engender improvements in the management and governance of water resources that can ultimately result in greater water securitythrough more efficient water usage, improved reliability, less waste, more and better infrastructure, greater water conservation, equitable access, and safe water. As the worlds water demand steadily rises, leveraging the untapped potential of women might make a difference in the worlds collective water security.
Cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking have long been associated with cognitive deficiencies in adults. A new study, published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found the burden of cardiovascular risk factors from childhood and adolescence is associated with worse midlife cognition regardless of adulthood exposure.

"While it is well known that high blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking are associated with poor cognitive performance in adults, the effects of these risk factors from childhood on midlife cognition were unknown," said Suvi Rovio, PhD, senior scientist at the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Turku in Turku, Finland, and the study's lead author.

Researchers analyzed data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, which has followed a population-based sample of 3,596 individuals from childhood to adulthood since 1980. As part of the 31-year follow-up, cognitive testing was performed as well as regular measurement of blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, body mass index and smoking exposure. These continuous risk variables were evaluated to indicate the long-term burden of each measurement. They were defined separately for childhood (6-12 years), adolescence (12-18 years), young adulthood (18-24 years) and early life (6-24 years).

The Young Finns Study also analyzes age, sex, baseline household income, blood pressure and cholesterol medications, diagnoses of heart disease and Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Altogether, 1,901 individuals with cognitive test data had complete data on the other variables analyzed.

The study found that high blood pressure and high cholesterol in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, as well as smoking in adolescence and young adulthood were associated with worse midlife cognitive performance, especially memory and learning. Study participants with all risk factors within recommended levels between ages 6-24 performed better on cognitive testing than those exceeding all risk factor guidelines at least twice. In all, the difference corresponded to the effect of six years of aging.

Researchers also looked at the independent effects of early life cumulative burden of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, BMI and smoking on cognitive performance. Individuals with the highest blood pressure had an 8.4 years' difference in cognitive age compared to individuals with the lowest blood pressure. Similarly, researchers found a 6.6 years difference between those with high and low cholesterol and a 3.4 years difference between smokers and non-smokers.

"These findings support the need for active monitoring and treatment strategies against cardiovascular risk factors from childhood," Rovio said. "This shouldn't just be a matter of cognitive deficits prevention, but one of primordial prevention."

Study limitations included that cognitive performance was measured once over the course of the Young Finns Study. This prevented researchers from determining the role of early life cardiovascular risk factors on changes in cognition.

"Recent evidence has demonstrated that risk factors developed in adulthood can impact cognitive dysfunction in the elderly, if they have not been corrected," said Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, MACC, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "The findings in this paper are important, because they show that risk factors that develop at an even younger age can have the same adverse impact."

In an accompanying editorial, Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, and Norrina B. Allen, PhD, MPH, from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, said, "These findings extend our prior understanding on the accumulation of CV risk and cognition back into childhood and suggest that the adverse impacts on later-life health begin accruing very early in life."

###

The American College of Cardiology is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology is the most widely read cardiovascular journal in the world and is the top ranked cardiovascular journal for its scientific impact. JACC is the flagship for a family of journals that publish peer-reviewed research on all aspects of cardiovascular disease. JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging and JACC: Heart Failure also rank among the top ten cardiovascular journals for impact. JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology and JACC: Basic to Translational Science are the newest journals in the JACC family. Learn more at JACC.org.
Donald Trump

President Donald Trump championed himself as a savior of the American worker during his campaign.

But he largely has been silent on the biggest crisis facing these workers: the collapse of the retail industry.

According to government data, general-merchandise stores like Macy's and Sears have bled about 89,000 jobs since October  more than the total number of people employed by the US coal industry, which Trump repeatedly pledged to revive both on the campaign trail and in office.

Since 2001, department stores alone have lost half a million jobs. The coal industry, by comparison, has lost about 22,000 jobs in the same period.

The job exodus in the retail industry, which employs about one out of every 10 American workers, is only expected to continue.

Retailers have announced more than 3,200 store closures so far this year, and Credit Suisse analysts expect that number to grow to more than 8,600 before the end of the year. For comparison, 6,163 stores shut down in 2008  the worst year for closures on record.

The retail industry typically pays low wages but employs people in every age bracket, as well as those who are low-skilled and need flexible scheduling options.

When these workers lose their jobs, they can have a hard time finding other employment.

Meanwhile, retail workers still employed are seeing their hours cut  so their paychecks are getting smaller  and some say they're now doing twice the work, as companies look for ways to shrink labor costs.

Trump has not made any public statements about the decline of the retail industry. He met with eight retail CEOs in February, but it was reportedly more focused on tax reform than jobs. At the time, the retail industry was lobbying heavily against a border adjustment tax on imports that the White House was considering.

The Trump administration has since tabled that proposal, according to The New York Times.

On the federal minimum wage  an issue that has an enormous effect on the low-paying retail industry  Trump has made few and somewhat conflicting statements. He has said the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25, should be raised to $10, but he has also said that states, not the federal government, should set their minimum wages.

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'I have to do the work of my entire team'

At companies like Sears, which owns both Sears and Kmart stores, store closures and shrinking paychecks are having a devastating effect on workers.

Sears has closed more than 150 stores this year, and it has been laying off workers and cutting labor hours at open ones.

Several Sears workers spoke to Business Insider on condition of anonymity about how this is affecting them.

A worker at a Sears store in La Jolla, California, said part-time employees at his store have had their hours cut by 70%. Employees who worked 20 hours a week are working about three hours a week now or not being scheduled at all, he said.

Sears disputed that workers' hours had been cut by 70% but said that full-time workers "represent an increasing percentage of available weekly team hours."

"Sears has adjusted our store staffing plans to meet our evolving store traffic needs," Howard Riefs, a spokesman for Sears, said in an email.

Kmart (26)

"The hours have been cut tremendously. At times, there is only one cashier and one associate helping out the whole day," the employee in La Jolla told Business Insider. "It's overwhelming. We try to do our best with no help from management, but it's getting to be too much. Part-time associates are not getting hours at all because full-time comes first. Many are applying at other non-Sears stores."

A former employee at a Sears store in New York said hours were cut at her store after Christmas. She said she worked at least 30 hours a week until late December, when she was dropped to 13.5 hours and, later, seven. She said she was forced to leave her job as a result.

A salaried manager at another Sears store said all her hourly department heads were eliminated and that she was swamped with work.

"I have to do the work of my entire team with threats of having to work six days if it's not done," she told Business Insider. "I used to have two associates with me. I am now working alone with one associate [who works] maybe four hours a day. Same tasks, one person to complete now."

Sears employees have also been stripped of their employee discount, which gave them 10% to 20% off products at Sears and Kmart. The company replaced the discount program this year with a system that awards 20% back in "points" that can be applied to future purchases. The points expire after 60 days.

Sears says the new system provides more value to employees. But many employees are furious about the change, saying they saved much more through the old system.

One former senior executive at Sears called it "absolutely demoralizing" in an interview with Business Insider.

"The team has been beaten down," said the executive, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of legal retribution. "I don't quite understand why people are still there."

Donald Trump with coal miners

A new class of unemployed workers

As more and more retail workers lose their jobs, a new class of unemployed and underemployed workers is emerging in America that's larger and more geographically far-reaching than the coal industry Trump has vowed to revive.

What does this class look like? Nearly half are women, about 17% are Hispanic or Latino, 12% are African-American, and 6% are Asian, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Most are between 25 and 54, with a median age of 38. On average, retail employees are paid about $10.87 an hour, or $22,600 annually, and cashiers are paid about $9.69 an hour, the data shows.

The mining industry, by comparison, is about 80% male and 77% white, with a median age of 42.5 and a median hourly wage of $26.88.

But coal miners and retail workers have something in common: Most don't have a set of skills that's easily transferable to another industry, which makes career transitions very challenging, according to Mark Cohen, the director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.

"The coal miners are out of luck," Cohen recently told Business Insider. "Retail workers are in the same boat."

NOW WATCH: We visited Ralph Lauren's soon-to-close flagship Polo store and saw why the brand is struggling





More From Business Insider


MetLife Inc. MET is scheduled to report first-quarter 2017 results on May 3, after market close.

Last quarter, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.75%. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement.



Q1 Flashback

We expect the companys Property and Casualty segment to suffer from the underperforming auto insurance business. The company has been taking targeted rate increases in auto insurance over the last past one year and will continue doing so in 2017. These price increases, along with other management actions, will drive the combined ratio higher. Overall P&C sales might also suffer due to price increases and management actions to drive value.

In its Japan business, we expect sales to decline as the company shifts its sales to higher return foreign currency-denominated life products from low-return yen life products.

In its EMEA segment, we expect to see an increase in sales led by a favorable shift toward higher-margin products.

In the Group Benefits segment, the company disclosed a strong start to the 2017 sales and renewal season. It witnessed continued strong persistency and solid sales across all market segments, as well as in both core and voluntary products.

The companys bottom line will be aided by its expense management initiatives.

The company has been generating enough free cash flow which it uses for investment purposes along with buying back shares. Shares bought back in the quarter will add to the bottom line.

Currency fluctuation will likely impart volatility to earnings.

MetLife, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

MetLife, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | MetLife, Inc. Quote

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that MetLife is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank of #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: MetLife has an Earning ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at $1.27 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.



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Zacks Rank: MetLife carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks That Warrant a Look



Here are some companies that you may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:



Prudential Financial Inc. PRU will report first-quarter 2017 earnings results on May 3. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.38% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .

The Priceline Group Inc. PCLN has an Earnings ESP of +2.05% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report first-quarter earnings results on May 9.



Moodys Corporation MCO has an Earnings ESP of +7.38% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to report first-quarter earnings results on May 5.

Sell These Stocks. Now.

Just released, today's 220 Zacks Rank #5 Strong Sells demand urgent attention. If any are lurking in your portfolio or Watch List, they should be removed immediately. These are sinister companies because many appear to be sound investments. However, from 1988 through 2016, stocks from our Strong Sell list have actually performed 6X worse than the S&P 500. See today's Zacks "Strong Sells" absolutely free >>



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Billionaire financier and Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett (C) takes out his wallet to pose for a photo during his visit a new Dairy Queen store in Beijing September 30, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Lee

Yahoo Finance will host the live stream of Berkshire Hathaways shareholder meeting at 10 a.m. EST on May 6, 2017.

Warren Buffett, 86, has arguably become Americas most famous investor. But its become clear recently that the Omaha, Nebraska-based billionaire also has a cult following in China.

In April, Yahoo Finance reported that Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B), had agreed to let Coca-Cola put his likeness on Cherry Coke cans for the drinks launch in China. Coke, whose shareholders include Berkshire, likely knew the Oracle of Omaha would help sell Cherry Cokes in that country.

After all, thousands of Chinese investors attended Berkshires annual meeting last year. Berkshire live-translated that meeting into just one other language, according to the local paper in Omaha  Mandarin.

So why do Buffett and Berkshire have such broad appeal in China?

Values that resonate with many Chinese

[Warren Buffett] represents someone who managed to become wildly successful because of his own smarts and hard work as opposed to relying on cronies and corruption in their mind, says Ann Lee, a leading expert on the Chinese economy who has taught at New York University and Chinas Peking University.

She added: Those are values that resonate with many Chinese.

While China launched a sustained crackdown against its rampant corruption back in 2015, Buffett has a reputation for integrity. In a 2014 memo to his managers, he urged them to avoid engaging in unethical behavior even if its technically legal.

We must continue to measure every act against not only what is legal but also what we would be happy to have written about on the front page of a national newspaper in an article written by an unfriendly but intelligent reporter, Buffett wrote.

Buffett engages in value investing, meaning he buys stakes in companies he believes are trading for less than theyre worth. Berkshire owns many companies including Sees Candies and Kraft Heinz, and Lee says retail investors in China have a lot to learn from his approach.

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Retail investors usually dont have the financial means to buy entire companies, she said, but they should understand that was the way Buffett made his fortune which has little to do with speculation.

Even when Berkshire doesnt buy companies outright, its often in for the long haul. For example, Berkshire bought $1 billion in Coca-Cola (KO) stock in 1989. Since then Buffett had to fend off criticism over Cokes contributions to obesity. In doing so, he managed to come off as a sincere fan of the company, mainly because hes often seen holding a Cherry Coke.

I was in the right place at the right time

The Oracles love of Cherry Coke likely inspired the company to put his face on the drink for its Chinese audience. After the release of Buffetts Cherry Coke Cans, Yahoo Finance asked him to explain why he believes hes so popular in China.

I think my popularity in China is due to the huge interest in stocks in China that has developed in just a couple of decades. I was in the right place at the right time as the Chinese looked around for famous investors, Buffett said in an email to Yahoo Finance. I also made a couple of visits to China that received a fair amount of publicity and several American books about me got widely distributed throughout China.

Those visits included a 2010 trip Buffett took with Bill Gates to encourage Chinas wealthy to engage in philanthropy. In his email to Yahoo Finance, Buffett also mentioned that Chinese TV has covered Berkshire Hathaways annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, and that Berkshire has made investments in both PetroChina and the Chinese car maker BYD Auto.

Also, they like old guys; Charlies my only competition, added Buffett, referring to 93-year-old Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger.

The Oracle capitalizes on Chinas interest in real estate

Buffetts appeal to China isnt a one-way street; hes also interested in Chinese investment opportunities. Specifically, Berkshire is capitalizing on a growing interest in US real estate among Chinese buyers  with 45% of foreign buyers of residential real estate coming from China, according to a June report.

This month, a real-estate brokerage controlled by Buffett announced a deal with Chinas largest international property website to help lure wealthy Chinese homeowners to the US. Reuters reported that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices hoped that Buffetts popularity in China would benefit the deal with Juwai.com.

However, Berkshire had something to offer Juwai beyond Buffetts fame.

Clearly Juwai got something out of being associated with Buffett and Buffett obviously benefitted from the deal too, Lee said. The deal merely underscores that both sides see it as an opportunity to increase sales for them. Buffetts name recognition was probably a secondary consideration.

Read more:

12 Warren Buffett quotes that will make you smarter about money

Exclusive: Warren Buffetts money managers speak

Buffett: We should embrace free trade even if it hurts some people

Why well never know who made Berkshires epic Apple call
The alternative energy industry has been under a lot of pressure since the victory of Donald Trump as President, who called climate change a Chinese hoax. Nevertheless, all is not lost, considering the growing prospects of solar power. Relatively high oil prices are also likely to lead to increased demand for relatively cheaper solar energy.

Although Trump had revealed his plans to call off the landmark Paris deal and boost coal production, there has been no such development since he took charge. This raises optimism regarding the promising future of alternate energy stocks.

Stocks in the Zacks Alternative Energy industry, part of the Zacks Oil/Energy sector, were up 15.4% in the last year against 0.8% loss for the Oil/Energy sector and 14.6% gain for the S&P 500 index. Since Nov 8, the Zacks Alt-Energy industry is up 14.5% against 0.6% loss for the Oil/Energy sector and 11.2% gain for the S&P 500. This shows that Trumps presidency hasnt harmed the industry as anticipated.

Solar and wind are gradually transforming the way we produce and consume energy, driving the ongoing global energy transition. Although some better-established sources of alternative energy  hydro, wind, biomass and waste, not to mention solar PV  are supported extensively, niche renewable energy sources such as geothermal and concentrated solar power (CSP) are also on the rise, natural conditions permitting.

Again, the extension of key renewable tax credits, reduced solar photovoltaic (PV) capital costs and state-level renewable mandates, will be driving the alternative energy spaces growth trajectory.

Moreover, former President Obamas "Climate Change Action Plan," which is still valid, has propelled the sector northward. Efforts to restrict carbon emissions are a positive for renewable energy stocks. As per U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2016, CO2 emissions declined 1.7%. In fact, energy-related CO2 emissions are expected to decline 0.5% in 2017.

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The plan urged utility providers to gradually shift their mode of power generation to solar, wind and water. Some of the utilities are Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) and NRG Energy Inc. (NRG). While Duke Energy carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), NRG Energy carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

The EIA observes that even if the Trump administration abolishes the Clean Power Plan, the renewables space will continue to grow in the U.S. albeit at a slower rate. EIA projects U.S. renewable generation capacity to grow by an average of 1.9% per year between 2017 and 2050.

Apart from this, Francesco Starace, chief executive of Italy-based Enel, the largest European power company, said that investment in renewable energy across the globe including the U.S. will continue to grow regardless of President Trumps attempt to revive fossil fuels. This is because investment in renewable energy was primarily driven by technological progress and market forces and hence any amendment in U.S. federal policy will have a marginal effect. He added that Enel has plans to invest 5.2bn in renewable generation, mainly wind and solar power, both in Europe and the U.S., over the next three years.

Realizing growth opportunities in the renewable energy space, companies from other domains have also expressed their interest to invest in solar stocks. In line with this, e-Commerce giant Amazon has set to bring online five new solar farms, totaling 180 megawatts (MW) to help power its massive cloud data centers. The new solar facilities, located in Virginia, will be connected to the grid by the end of 2017. Amazon also has other renewable projects underway, which will be completed by this year.

Here we take a look at the alternative energy space and attempt to identify this nascent industry's strengths.

Extension of ITC: Solar and wind energy got a major boost from the environmental tax credit extension that came as part of the $1.15 trillion federal spending bill, which also lifted a 40-year ban on exporting American crude oil. The latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also shows that renewable energy will be the fastest growing power source through 2040, accounting for 27% of total U.S. generation.

On Dec 15, 2015, Congress passed an extension and modification of federal tax credits for new wind and solar generators. The new environmental tax credit extension allows solar power companies to keep claiming federal Investment Tax Credits ("ITC") at 30% of the price of solar energy systems installed by businesses or homeowners. The ITC, which was earlier set to expire at the end of 2016, rushed developers to finish projects. Now they look good through 2019 with the five-year extension. However, the credit will start to decline, going down to 10% in 2022.

Moreover, the wind power industry benefited significantly from the production tax credit (PTC) extension. The PTC, which had expired at 2014 end due to Congressional gridlock, was extended through 2020. However, the PTC that pays 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated will be gradually reduced over the next four years before being completely phased out.

The EIA projects that utility-scale solar capacity will increase almost 10 gigawatts (GW) between 2017 and 2018 in the U.S., given considerable rise in consumption in renewables for electricity and heat generation purpose. California, along with North Carolina, Nevada, Texas and Georgia, will account for most of the projected utility-scale capacity additions over the period.

The EIA expects wind energy capacity additions of 14 GW in 2017-2018. With these additions, total wind capacity would reach 95 GW by the end of 2018.

Anti-Dumping Duties and Solar Trade War: Washington imposed import duties on solar panels and other related products from China and Taiwan. The U.S. believes that Chinese manufacturers have benefited from unfair subsidies offered by their government. U.S. solar stocks like SunPower Corp. (SPWR) and First Solar Inc. (FSLR) are expected to make the most of the trade conflict between the U.S. and China.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), in Dec 2014, set anti-dumping duties at about 52% on most module imports from China and at 19.5% on most imports of Taiwanese cells. It has also slapped 39% anti-subsidy tariffs on most China-made panels. The move is intended to close a gap in which Chinese companies could use solar cells made in Taiwan to avoid paying higher tariffs.

The Sun Is Everywhere: Solar power is generally located at a customer's site due to the universal availability of sunlight. As a result, solar power limits the expense and losses associated with transmission and distribution from large-scale electric plants to end users. For most residential consumers seeking an environment-friendly power alternative, solar power is currently the only viable choice. Residential solar is undeniably gaining on utility-scale solar in the U.S. in a marked change in industry dynamics.

Among the renewable energy pack, rooftop solar energy systems provider SolarCity Corp. has an innovative game plan. This downstream solar company plays on its strength, providing renewable power lower than the grid price to residential and commercial markets in the U.S. California-based SolarCitys MyPower loan plan allows its customers to own their solar systems and still pay less for electricity when compared to leasing them through power purchase agreements.

Chinas Solar Plans: China continues to hold the leading position around the globe in solar-power installations. Last year, Chinese overseas investment in renewable energy projects was a record $25 billion. The countrys energy agency announced that it will invest $364.0 billion in renewable power generation by 2020.

The National Energy Administration (NEA) said installed PV capacity climbed to 77.42 GW at 2016-end, with the addition of 34.54 GW during the year. The agency expects that the country will add over 110 GW of PV capacity in the 2016-2020 time frame.

Per the 13th Five Year Plan (FYP), China has set a target of attaining 150GW to 200GW of solar PV capacity by 2020. It also intends to shift focus from grid-scale expansion to quality and efficiency. The FYP also plans to achieve non-fossil fuel-fired energy consumption of around 15% by 2020 and 20% by 2030.

Indias Solar Initiatives: While the U.S. and China have led the industry in recent years, other nations are also developing their home-grown solar generation capacity as a remedial measure for electricity crisis. The latest to join this list is Asia's third-largest economy, India, which has a target of adding 175 GW of solar, wind and other renewable energy by 2022.

India is striving to enhance its solar energy capacity to 100 GW by 2022, which will include 60 GW from grid-connected solar projects and 40 GW from rooftop solar. The pace of installation is projected to accelerate rapidly. It is expected that around 1.1 GW of rooftop solar capacity will be added in 2017, up 75% from 2016. This has kindled the interest of global solar players in the Indian market.

At the end of 2016, India boasted a pipeline of around 14 GW of utility scale projects, out of which 7.7 GW is expected to be commissioned this year. It is expected that the country will add a total of 8.8 GW in 2017, becoming the world's third-biggest solar market after China and the U.S.

Year 2017 is expected to be significant for the solar power sector in India, with total installed capacity reaching 18 GW.

First Solar and SunEdison Inc. have ample businesses in India and, together with local firms, are investing considerably in the country. In 2016, First Solar connected a 130 MW utility-scale solar power to the nations grid. These plants are part of a 260-MW project portfolio wholly owned by First Solar in India.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.s (JASO) investment plans in India include a 500 MW solar module facility, which will be operational by this year. Another Chinese player Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) is planning to build 700 MW capacity for solar cells and 500 MW capacity for solar modules in the country. These are encouraging signs for the industry in India.

Solar in Japan: Japan has been a happy hunting ground for solar companies in search of new markets. The country is going to be a key energy market as the government has set a goal of generating 12% of power from solar PV by fiscal 2030, up from the present level of 4%.

In particular, the solar power boom in Japan ramped up considerably in 2016. Electricity generation from solar PV alone grew to 4.3% in last year, up from 2.7% in 2015. Overall, in 2016, renewable energy sources comprised 14.2% of total electricity generation. It has been projected that Japan will install 8 GW of solar PV in 2017.

Japan's need for electricity was on the rise, particularly after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, which triggered a complete phase-out of all nuclear reactors in the country. Presently, the Japanese government is looking for alternate resources to meet the growing need for power in this very industrialized nation.

Summing Up

It is evident that demand for renewables is strengthening at a rapid clip. Moreover, the gradual widening of the solar markets should bode well for all global players and instill confidence in the industry over the long term. The increased adoption was mainly due to the booming residential PV market and continued realization of the utility sectors double-digit GW project pipeline.

Check out our latest Alternative Energy Outlook here for more on the current state of affairs in this market from an earnings perspective, and how the trend is looking for this important sector of the economy now.

Sell These Stocks. Now

Just released, today's 220 Zacks Rank #5 Strong Sells demand urgent attention. If any are lurking in your portfolio or Watch List, they should be removed immediately. These are sinister companies because many appear to be sound investments. However, from 1988 through 2016, stocks from our Strong Sell list have actually performed 6X worse than the S&P 500.

See today's Zacks "Strong Sells" absolutely free >>



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Zacks Investment Research
(Adds Raisi comments)

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Iranians should not thank Hassan Rouhani's policy of detente with the West for any reduction in the threat of war, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, stepping up his criticisms of the president as elections approach.

In comments that appeared to favour hardline candidates in the May 19 vote, Khamenei played down the benefits of Rouhani's landmark agreement to curb Iran's nuclear activities in return for a lifting of international sanctions.

"Some say since they took office the shadow of war has been faded away. This is not correct," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media.

"It's been people's presence in the political scene that has removed the shadow of war from the country."

Khamenei and his hardline supporters have also criticised the nuclear deal -- which stiffled talk by Washington of possible military action against Iran -- for failing to deliver promised economic benefits.

But speaking at the opening of a refinery that Iran says will make it self-sufficient in oil products, Rouhani defended his position.

"The nuclear deal was a national achievement. We should make use of its advantages. But some have started a fight over it," Rouhani said. He cited the new refinery, in the Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas, as a result of the deal and "interaction with the world".

One of Rouhani's main challengers, Ebrahim Raisi, an influential cleric with decades of experience in the hardline judiciary, said Iran had no need of foreign help to improve the economy and could always defend itself.

"We should not warn our people of wars and crises. We have full security in the country," Raisi said in a recorded address on state television.

"This approach, that we should wait for foreign investment and for foreigners to resolve our issues, is wrong.

"This is wrong, to wait years and years for foreign investors to come ... We should resolve issues by relying on domestic capabilities," Raisi said in comments that echoed those previously made by Khamenei, Iran's highest authority.

Story continues

Rouhani has said Iran needs foreign capital to modernize its oil and gas, transportation and telecommunication sectors after decades of international isolation.

However, foreign investors are still cautious about trading with or investing in Iran, fearing penalties from remaining unilateral U.S. sanctions and President Donald Trump's tough rhetoric on the Islamic Republic.

This has caused long delays in contracts that Iran seeks with international firms to develop its oil and gas fields. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Shares of premium professional services and technologies provider, KBR Inc. KBR declined 9.2% at the close of market on Apr 28, following the companys first-quarter 2017 earnings release.

Investors were clearly disappointed as the company reported adjusted earnings of 28 cents, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

On a reported basis (including one-time charges and legal fees), the companys earnings came in at 26 cents per share, down 13.3% year over year. Rise in reimbursable cost on a large Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) joint-venture project in Australia proved to be a major drag on the bottom-line performance.

Inside the Headlines

Revenues were up 11.0% year over year to $1,106 million. However, the top line missed the Zacks Consensus mark of $1,110 million.

The sturdy top-line growth is primarily attributable to recent acquisitions in the Government Services segment and organic growth from contracts with the U.S. Military.

Segment wise, Technology & Consulting revenues fell 21.7% year over year to $76 million. Lower volume of activity on major projects, due to unfavorable timing in the upstream oil and gas business, weighed down on the top-line performance of this segment.

Moreover, Engineering & Construction revenues continued their weak trajectory and decreased 19.3% year over year to $489 million. Reduced activity on several projects continues to hurt sales of this business.

However, Government Services revenues charted phenomenal growth as it soared 145.2% to $515 million on a year-over-year basis. Previously completed buyouts, including Wyle and Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. in the third quarter of 2016, proved to be major catalysts. Furthermore, continued expansion of task orders on existing U.S. Government contracts, including LogCAP IV, as well as other contracts to support the U.S. military, boosted the top-line performance of this segment.

On the other hand, Non-strategic Business revenues plummeted 68.7% year over year to $26 million owing to lower activity on EPC power projects. KBR has been strategically winding down its fixed-price EPC power projects in the U.S. to focus on core profitable areas. The final fixed-price EPC power project in the U.S. reached substantial completion during first-quarter 2017.

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As of Mar 31, 2017, the companys total backlog was $10.6 billion, down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Of the total backlog, about $7.7 billion is booked under the Government Services segment (down 1.3% sequentially) and around $2.5 billion under the Engineering & Construction segment (down 10.7% sequentially). While Technology and Consulting accounted for $333 million of the backlog (down 6.4% sequentially), non-strategic Business had $14 million in backlog (down 60.0%).

KBR, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

KBR, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | KBR, Inc. Quote

Major Contract Wins

Under the Government Services business, KBRwyle clinched a multi-award task order contract from the U.S. Air Force's Civil Engineer Center for engineering and construction to support the U.S. military operations on a global scale. Also, it won an engineering services contract by NASA to support more than 20 NASA exploration missions.

In the Technology and Services business, the company won a contract by Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers LTD for its ammonia plant in India and another technology licensing and basic engineering contract from LG Chem in South Korea. KBRs Engineering and Construction business secured a contract from Sydney Desalination Plant Pty Limited for its desalination plant and a services contract by international pager products maker, International Paper (IP).

Liquidity & Cash Flow

As of Mar 31, 2017, KBRs cash and equivalents were $410 million, down from $536 million as of Dec 31, 2016.

For the quarter, cash flow used in operating activities came in at $115 million, significantly higher than $21 million recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Guidance

Concurrent with the earnings release, KBR reiterated its full-year 2017 results. The company continues to expect earnings per share within $1.10$1.40. This guidance excludes legal costs associated with legacy U.S. Government contracts. KBR projects incurring legal costs of around $9 million or 7 cents per share for 2017. This estimated legacy legal fees exclude any future cost reimbursement from the U.S. Government.

Also, post the resolution of the PEMEX settlement, the company remains confident that earnings per share will be above the mid-point of the range. KBRs EBITDA is expected to come in the range of $300$350 million. Over 70% of the projected earnings are expected to be generated from contracts already secured in KBRs backlog at year-end 2016.

Our Take

Over the past few quarters, KBR has been plagued by a host of execution issues in certain major projects in the Engineering and Construction segment, which, in turn, have proved to be a major drag on its quarterly results. For quite some time now, KBR has been witnessing huge cash outflows to fund losses on the EPC projects. Also, reduced capital expenditure by key clients and currency fluctuations are eroding backlogs of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company.

Overall macroeconomic sluggishness remains a major concern for the company. Moreover, the restructuring actions, though profitable for the long run, are restricting near-term profitability.

Despite these challenges, the strategic buyouts in the companys government business are showing promise. The company believes that integration of Wyle and HTSI will fortify its foothold in the domestic technology-focused engineering services industry. KBR remains confident that these buyouts will continue to unlock multiple opportunities in government business.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include Louisiana-Pacific Corporation LPX, Dycom Industries, Inc DY, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. MDC. While Louisiana-Pacific and Dycom sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), M.D.C. Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Louisiana-Pacific has an impressive average positive earnings surprise of 66.3%, with three beats over the last four quarters.

Dycom has a positive average earnings surprise of 17.30% for the last four quarters, having beaten estimates all through.

M.D.C. Holdings has a modest earnings beat history, having surpassed estimates twice over the trailing four quarters. Last quarter, it beat estimates by 14.7%.



Sell These Stocks. Now.

Just released, today's 220 Zacks Rank #5 Strong Sells demand urgent attention. If any are lurking in your portfolio or Watch List, they should be removed immediately. These are sinister companies because many appear to be sound investments. However, from 1988 through 2016, stocks from our Strong Sell list have actually performed 6X worse than the S&P 500.

See today's Zacks "Strong Sells" absolutely free >>.



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Zacks Investment Research
Microsofts Panos Panay holds a Surface Laptop at the companys event on Tuesday.

Microsoft (MSFT) is going back to school with a new Surface Laptop. Unveiled at a special event in New York on Tuesday, the laptop is the Redmond, Washington-based companys biggest attempt to combat Apple (AAPL) and Googles (GOOG, GOOGL) increasingly dominant presences in American colleges.

The $999 Surface Laptop is a slim, sleek notebook with a gorgeous 13.5-inch, touch screen display that runs a special version of Microsofts Windows 10 operating system called Windows 10 S. Consumers can also upgrade from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro for $49.99.

Panos Panay, corporate VP of Microsofts Surface group, took the stage during the event to show off the new device, and was effusive in his love for the notebooks design. He called the laptop soulful and beautiful.

We built a laptop, and its beautiful, Panay said. But its beautiful because its personal. Its personal because its meant to be a reflection of who you are. It brings that security and superior performance. And probably most important is its going to last you.

At 2.7 pounds, the Surface Laptop is lighter and thinner than Apples $999 MacBook Air, but a bit heavier and thicker than the ultra slim, though less powerful MacBook.

Inside, the laptop gets either a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, up to 1TB of storage and a ridiculous 14.5 hours of battery life. Panay took dead aim at the Apples laptops, saying that the Surface Laptop is 50% more powerful than Apples MacBook Air and offers more battery life than any MacBook on the market.

The laptops keyboard uses the same kind of fabric backing found on the Surface Keyboard Cover for the Surface Pro on its keyboard deck. It can also take advantage of the Microsofts Surface Pen and Surface Dial.

The Surface Laptops keyboard deck is covered in a soft fabric.

Its safe to say that the Surface Laptop easily bests any Google Chromebook on the market in terms of design. Whats more, because its running a version of Windows, the Surface Laptop is able to run full programs rather than just apps.

Story continues

The Surface Laptop is clearly geared toward older students and adults. Panay even took time to note that the laptop is built to last throughout college students careers and beyond.

This is where we wanted to put our focus, he said. In the next four years of their magical lives.

Still, the Surface Laptops $999 starting price is far more expensive than any Chromebook you can buy. Which puts it out of range for most school districts.

To ensure it can still compete in terms of price, Microsofts manufacturing partners  including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Samsung and Toshiba  will sell Windows 10 S-powered devices starting at $189, which is comparable to most Chromebooks. Those devices will be geared more toward school districts to be used in classrooms by both students and teachers.

Windows 10 S

So what does Windows 10 S have to offer? A streamlined version of Microsofts full Windows 10 operating system, Windows 10 S will only run apps available through Microsofts Windows App Store.

Of course, if teachers or students want to download apps from outside the App Store, they can install Windows 10 Pro on their devices through the App Store for free.

Microsoft will also include a free subscription to Office 365, which features Excel, Powerpoint and Word. Office 365 also includes Microsofts Teams for the classroom, which allows students and teachers to collaborate and chat about projects in an environment that educators can easily police.

Microsofts system management tools can also let administrators set usage limits for all Windows 10 S devices district wide. Whats more, logging into Windows 10 S devices takes about half the time it does to launch a full Windows 10 Pro device, 15 seconds versus 30 seconds, because the Windows 10 S notebook is running fewer apps at launch.

Microsofts Terry Myerson announces the companys new Windows 10 S operating system.

Microsoft is also bringing mixed reality and 3D to Windows 10 S with its View Mixed Reality app and mixed reality devices from manufacturers like Acer.

Of course, Microsoft is also providing schools with a one-year subscription to Minecraft: Education Edition, which will allow students to build environments based on their daily lessons. One such demonstration featured students building living quarters on Mars in order to give them a sense of what it would take to live on the Red Planet.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop begins shipping June 15 for $999.

More from Dan:

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
By Nandita Bose

CHICAGO, April 21 (Reuters) - Target Corp, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other retailers are shelving considerations to move supply bases closer to the United States in the face of a possible border tax, banking instead on killing support for the tax idea in Congress. President Donald Trump's administration plans to impose a 20 percent tax on imports, a levy that, industry officials said, could raise U.S. consumer prices by as much as 25 percent. Last week, the President said he favored an 'import tax' that could be adjusted to reflect the country of origin's tax rate for U.S. products.

The decision by retailers to forestall supply chain investment in countries such as Bolivia and Romania to focus on lobbying Congress shows how Trump's ambitious agenda has instilled a new level of risk operating outside U.S. borders. But the vagueness around Trump's proposals and whether they may ever be implemented means retail industry executives are still not willing to change their operating infrastructure.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association, which is leading the industry lobbying effort, has conducted 140 meetings with lawmakers since December, focusing on the costs of a new tax and encouraging lawmakers who oppose Trump's idea.

Prospects for a quick passage of a tax bill took a hit last month when the Republican attempt to overhaul the national healthcare law failed to get a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. Trump and Republican leaders have said they still intend to pass a healthcare reform law first, casting further doubt on when Congress may consider tax reform.

The border tax proposal likely will be "as messy as the healthcare bill," according to Brian Dodge, senior executive vice-president of public affairs for the retail lobby group.

Target, for one, thinks the industry's lobbying efforts are succeeding.

"We are working on educating lawmakers and President Trump hasn't embraced it yet, so we definitely think we are making progress," a senior company official at Target said on condition of anonymity.

Story continues

There is good reason for retailers to fight the tax idea. RBC Capital Markets forecast such a levy could reduce profits of six large U.S. retailers by as much as $13 billion in its first year, with Wal-Mart alone seeing its federal tax bill jump to $16.6 billion from $6.6 billion. For a graphic please click http://tmsnrt.rs/2oVlOPB

Best Buy Co Inc, which relies heavily on electronics imports, could see its earnings completely wiped out, RBC warned. Best Buy declined to comment.

Firms with less exposure to overseas suppliers - ranging from off-price chains like TJX Cos and Ross Stores to cosmetics seller Ulta Beauty - would feel less impact than heavy importers like Wal-Mart, Target and Costco Wholesale Corp, analysts and consultants said.

TJX Companies and Ulta Beauty declined comment. Ross Stores and Costco did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Steve Osburn, director of supply chain for retail consultancy Kurt Salmon, said it is more cost effective to spend on lobbying than on supply chain relocation at this point. Retailers also have other investment needs, especially around winning consumers who want to shop from home.

"They are putting a lot of money in e-commerce initiatives to compete online so there are not a lot of funds to spare," he said.

One outlier is luxury handbag maker Rebecca Minkoff, which sells its own products and supplies other retailers, like Nordstrom Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

The prospect of a Trump border tax factored into its recent decision to supply U.S. customers from Europe as it mitigates logistics costs to supply to the United States, according to Uri Minkoff, the firm's founder and CEO.

"The process has intensified in the past six months," said Minkoff.

WHERE THE SUPPLY CHAINS ARE

The decision to bank more on the lobby effort to kill support for the tax idea comes after retailers spent the last few months considering whether to move some of their production to supply bases like Bolivia, Brazil and other South American countries with low wage rates, as well as European countries like Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, industry sources told Reuters.

A return to the United States was also a consideration, the sources said.

Shifting production from existing supply bases like China is costly, may involve intellectual property issues and disrupts long-term supply contracts, making it hard to plan and execute such moves, two industry sources said.

Consultants have told retailers they could mitigate shipping costs enough to offset any border tax, while avoiding the cost of moving production into the U.S, the sources said.

But so far they are not proceeding with major supply chain changes, according to retailers and industry consultants.

"Wal-Mart is not ready to spend money to deal with this," said a supply chain consultant who works with the retailer but requested anonymity for fear of disrupting the firm's relationship with Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has reviewed its options with supply chain consultants, but has not yet commissioned a concrete contingency plan, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Wal-Mart declined comment.

Executives at smaller retailers and brands like Samsonite, Crate and Barrel and Steve Madden said there is little competitive impetus for action because they believe a border tax would hurt them and competitors equally.

Samsonite was studying reviving its U.S. manufacturing base, but is not close to taking action.

"Setting plans (based) on policy proposals that are yet to be implemented is not right," Samsonite Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Tainwala told Reuters.

Minneapolis-based Target is limiting itself to conducting feasibility studies. "We just don't want to get ahead of ourselves and invest capital," the Target official said.

Target declined comment.

(Editing by David Greising and Edward Tobin)
Yahoo Finance will host the live stream of Berkshire Hathaways shareholder meeting at 10 a.m. EST on May 6, 2017.

Warren Buffett has long been famously bullish on Americaand he certainly has walked the talkinvesting tens of billions in U.S. companies and profiting handsomely. Hes also not shy about sharing his take on the U.S.A., pontificating almost annually about the advantages that America has and confers upon its citizens and investors.

This year, though, Buffett seemed to be especially bullish, which may have surprised some, given how divided our country is politically. I recently sat down with Buffett in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, to ask him about this.

America is America, he tells me. Ive always said that I felt the same way. I just wrote about it a little different terms this year, perhaps.

I followed up and asked him if he wasnt somewhat more concerned now, given the political and economic divisions that seem so acute and dont appear to be getting any better for the time being.

America has a long history of overcoming political divides

Well, weve had a civil war in this country we got over. So this country can get over a lot. [And] you may not be old enough to remember the 60s and early 70s. But the divisions were very, very sharp then, Buffett says. So weve had plenty of times in this country where the feelings have been intense. But its never stopped the country. The economy grows. We have these hiccups from time to time. Thats part of a market system.

Americas never been wealthier than it is today. Now, the inequality bothers people, including me. I think that in a country where the G.D.P. in real terms has gone up six for one since I was born, there shouldnt be anybody thats willing to work 40 hours a week and has a couple of children where it really doesnt give em a fairly decent standard of living, he said.

Demonstrators gathered near the University of California, Berkeley campus amid a strong police presence and rallied to show support for free speech and condemn the views of Ann Coulter and her supporters. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Buffett continued: Our market system, as it gets more specialized, produces more overall wealth. But it also leaves significant numbers of people behind, which Ive written about that. If youd been in the waiting room with my dad in 1930 when I was being born and you told him two things. You told him that thered be a six for one increase in real G.D.P. per person, he wouldnt have believed you.

Story continues

And if you told him that if that happened, there would be a great many people that would be struggling even though they were perfectly decent people willing to work 40 hours a week, he wouldnt have believed that was possible either. And weve gotta think about that second problem.

So while Buffett is as always bullish on America, that doesnt mean there arent things for us to work on.

Read more:
ST. PAUL  The lobbyist at the heart of a government corruption investigation in St. Paul spoke publicly for the first time Monday, as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed it has launched a criminal probe.

Lobbyist Sarah Clarke said she met with council member Dai Thao at a St. Paul coffee shop in February about food packaging, and that remarks by Thao, who is also running for mayor of St. Paul, made it uncomfortable.

He said at one point that he needed resources, to which my client responded that they would be happy to provide him with additional information, Clarke recalled. Again, he said he needed resources to spread his message.

There was little doubt among the clients she attended the meeting with what Thao meant, said Clarke.

There were four of us total. And it was clear to all of us that this was a solicitation for a campaign contribution, Clarke said.

Dai Thao has denied any wrongdoing. But immediately after that February meeting his campaign manager followed up with a text message to Clarke asking specifically for a contribution to his campaign for mayor. Thao fired campaign manager Angela Marlow over the weekend, after Twin Cities TV station Fox 9 reported the story.

Clarke doesnt believe that Marlow acted without Thaos approval.

The fact that he made this request in person during a meeting then had his campaign manager follow up with me with a text message suggests to me that this is not a problem with the campaign manager, but rather she was following orders from the council member, Clarke said.

The incident was not business as usual, according to Clarke, no matter what the public perception of how lobbying works.

I was shocked to receive this message, Clarke said. I have not encountered anything like this in my time working in politics here in Minnesota.

Clarke has some experience with city councils and how they work. Shes married to Minneapolis city council member Jacob Frey, whos running for mayor of Minneapolis.

Clarke said she was initially reluctant to speak publicly because of the attention it would draw to her, and possibly her husband and her clients. But she says shes been encouraged by the response shes seen to the matter coming to light.

Im getting a lot of support, which is very kind. But Im also hearing people having similar stories involving council member Thao, Clarke said. In Minnesota, where I think we do by and large such a great job of keeping our politics clean and ethical, its just shocking to me.

Thao did not respond to an inquiry to his campaign about any other cases or to a request for more information about the Clarke matter, which he said over the weekend was forthcoming.

The allegations involving Thao come as he is engaged in a DFL endorsement battle with three other candidates for mayor of St. Paul.

Incumbent Chris Coleman is leaving the office next year to run for governor. Coleman said Sunday that he had turned the matter of the allegations involving Thao over to police chief Todd Axtell, who in turn asked the BCA to investigate.

A BCA spokeswoman said in a statement that the agency will gather the facts and present its findings to prosecutors. The Ramsey County Attorneys office said Monday that Thaos campaign manager, Angela Marlow, who was directly involved in the matter, works in the offices child support division. A spokesman said Ramsey County will ask the BCA to refer to an outside agency for any prosecuting decisions.

Bribery  either asking for or giving money  in return for official action, is a felony in Minnesota and under federal law.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southern Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:SNL) (FSE:SL5) ("Southern" or "the Company") is pleased to provide a corporate update on the recent visit to the Cruz Property, located in the Pocitos Salar Basin in Salta Province, in Argentinas Lithium Triangle.



Management of the Company toured the Cruz Property on April 25th 2017 and subsequently the Company received an update on the permitting process for the Phase One drill program previously announced on March 30, 2017.

Clive Massey, CEO of Southern Lithium met with the permitting team in Salta. As previously announced the application for the permit has been submitted and the process could take up to five weeks. Mr. Massey was advised that the permitting was going smoothly and that the time frame for the permitting process there could be as little as three weeks remaining in the permitting process. Hidrotec S.R.L., a Salta-based drilling company, has been contracted by the Company and has mobilized one of its drill rigs in close proximity to the property and is ready to commence drilling immediately upon issuance of the permit.

The tour of the Cruz Property and country visit was a coordinated effort with the Company and its partner, Millennial Lithium Corp. The visitors on the tour included representatives from the Company, Mackie Research Capital, Millennial Lithium Corp., Nicholson y Cano Abogados (Argentina) and Tribeca Capital Partners Inc.; all of whom seemed to be impressed with the technical merits of the project.

Private Placement

On February 7, 2017, the Company announced a non-brokered private placement (the Offering) of 4,000,000 units (each Unit) at a purchase price of $0.25 per Unit, for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. Each Unit will consist of one (1) common share (Common Share) of the Company and one (1) non-transferable share purchase warrant (Warrant).

Subsequently, the Company announced on March 28, 2017, an increase in the private placement (the Offering) to 6,400,000 units (each Unit) at a purchase price of $0.25 per Unit, for gross proceeds of up to $1,600,000. Each Unit will consist of one (1) common share (Common Share) of the Company and one (1) non-transferable share purchase warrant (Warrant).

Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one (1) Common Share at an exercise price of $0.35 for a period of 18 months from the closing date of the Private Placement. In the event that the Companys common shares trade at a closing price greater than $0.50 per share for a period of 10 consecutive trading days at any time after the closing date, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by giving notice to the holders thereof and in such case the Warrants will expire on the 30th day after the date hereafter referred to as the (Forced Conversion Feature) on which such notice is given by the Company.

The Company may, at its sole discretion, pay a finders fee within TSX Venture Exchange policy guidelines in connection with the Private Placement. The Private Placement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

About the Cruz Property

Through our partner Millennial Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:ML) (FSE:A3N2) (OTCQB:MLNLF), the Company has executed a formal option agreement with Proyecto Pastos Grandes S.A. (PPG SA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Millennial, for the right to earn up to an eighty percent (80%) interest in the PPG SAs Cruz Property in the Pocitos Salar Basin in Salta Province, Argentina.

The Cruz Property is located in the heart of South Americas Lithium Triangle (northern Chile, northwestern Argentina and southwest Bolivia). The property encompasses 2,500 hectares in the Pocitos Salar Basin in Salta Province, Argentina, and lies 11 kilometres south of ADY Resources Limiteds lithium brine resource in the Salar del Rincon Basin.

The Cruz property is adjacent to the Rincon volcanic center that defines the southern limit of the Rincon Salar Basin, where ADY Resources Limited is extracting lithium brine, and the northern limit of the Pocitos Salar Basin, where the Cruz property is located. Both properties lie along the structural belt that hosts the important lithium resources of the region, and at the junction of a large north-south fault system and the northwest-southeast megastructure along which lies the Rincon volcano, the possible source of the lithium brine in both salar basins.

The 60-kilometre long Pocitos salar basin has previously only been drill tested with a shallow 12-hole program in the 1970s by an Argentinean government agency Direccion General de Fabricaciones Militares. To date, this is the only confirmed exploration drilling conducted in the Pocitos basin. The hole that produced the best results is near the southeast edge of the Cruz property boundary, and averaged 417 parts per million lithium. Although these results are considered historical and have not been verified by the Company's QP, the Company considers these results relevant to the future exploration of the property.

About Southern Lithium Corp (TSX-V:SNL) (FSE:SL5)

Southern Lithium Corp. is a resource exploration company engaged in the business of acquiring and exploring minerals properties. Southern Lithium Corp. has assembled an experienced management team with a growth strategy to develop portfolio of Lithium projects. The Companys main objective is to add shareholder value through exploration and development of high quality resources through strategic acquisitions, joint ventures, and marketing while maintaining a lower risk profile through project diversification and sound, cost-effective financial management. With the potential acquisition of the Cruz property, Southern Lithium intends to establish its presence in the Pocitos basin and further deliver on its mission to secure technically superior lithium projects. The Company is only focusing on projects of the highest technical merit in favorable geopolitical jurisdictions.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Larry Segerstrom, M.Sc. (Geology), P.Geo., a Director of the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Clive H. Massey

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Southern Lithium Corp.

Sam Eskandari

Phone: +1.416.918.6785

Email: ir@southernlithium.com

Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.southernlithiumcorp.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within it, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, other than as required pursuant to applicable securities laws.
Notice is hereby served that the Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") of EAM Solar ASA (the "Company") will be held at 14:00 CET on 23 May 2017 at the Company's offices at Dronningen 1, Oslo.

For information, please contact:

Viktor E Jakobsen, CEO, phone +47 9161 1009, viktor@eam.no

About EAM Solar: EAM Solar is a utility company that acquires and operates solar power plants. The Company currently owns solar PV power plants in Italy. The plants are operating under long-term sales contracts.
Re: Stanford Reliance Fellowship 2011 [ #permalink

Not applying to Stanford or this scholorship and don't work for Reliance but I am pretty sure the $ is not going to a 'corrupt program' as your friends put it.



The politically connected and those from business backgrounds will not require a scholarship to attend Stanford or any other U.S. program for that matter. The 'rich' I can tell you are uber rich in India and if you are well connected will not need this scholarship. Not sure how much weightage getting a schol. has on admission chances - most schools will probably say there is no relationship.



Stanford would have done its own due diligence before getting into this pact with Reliance. According to wikiped., Mukesh Ambani dropped out of Stanford in 1980 after completing 1 year to join his dads business. He probably instituted this schol. to continue his association with the school.
- Lagos state police has launched an investigation into a prophet who defrauded a woman under the pretext of healing her

- The prophet allegedly defrauded the woman of N7Om, a duplex, two five-bedroom bungalows and two cars

A 45-year-old prophet at a church in Oke Ira, in Ogba area of Lagos state, has been arrested for allegedly duping a woman he promised to heal of fibroid.

The prophet, who was simply identified as, Oladele, is accused of defrauding the woman of N70m, a duplex, two five-bedroom bungalows, a Lexus and Toyota Highlander, 2014 model.

Legit.ng gathered that the womans ordeal began in 2007 after she was told that her womb has to be removed to heal her of fibroid.

Prophet arrested for taking N70m, three houses to cure fibroid

She was introduced to the prophet after she rejected her doctors advice and started to search for an alternative solution.

The 43-year-old woman had been battling with the ailment for 14 years before she met the prophet.

According to The Punch, the prophet gave her some concoction and promised to make the fibrous tissue disappear. Oladele had received N98,000 for the concoction at the time.

It was gathered that she had felt better for a while but the aliment returned two weeks after and she returned to the prophet.

The prophet started coming up with false prophecies to extort money from her. He claimed her husband was after her life and that of her three children.

A senior police officer of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), revealed that the woman is from a prominent family in Lagos.

READ ALSO: Woman, 45, discovers worm buried under her skin 2 weeks after beach vacation

The SFU officer said: The woman is from a prominent family in Lagos State and she is a businesswoman. She had fibroids for 14 years and was driven from pillars to posts, looking for healing. Eventually in 2007, she met a woman who introduced her to the prophet.

The prophet told her that her husband was the cause of the heavy blood flowed. He said the husband wanted to kill her and that as long as the blood flows, the husband would continue to make more money. He said the husband had to be eliminated for her to live well. He also told her to bring her children two females and a male for spiritual cleansing, saying their lives were also in danger.

He gave the children some concoctions. He lived in the womans house in Ogba with her children whenever the husband was not around. By this time, he had taken control of the woman and her children. At a point, he told the woman to build a five-bed roomed duplex for him at Ijoko (Ogun State), which she did within three months. She also purchased a Toyota Highlander, 2014 model, and a Lexus GX470, 2013 model, for him.

He told the woman that she must build two five bed-roomed bungalows for him in Ado Ekiti so that her son madness would not return. After she built the houses, he told the woman to stop having sleeping with her husband if she wanted to live long.

The woman made several transfers into his three bank accounts. We have been able to get records of the transfers to one of his banks which ran into over N70m.

It was gathered that luck ran out on the prophet in March when one of the womans children found out that the family was being defrauded after he allegedly collected more money from her for spiritual cleansing.

READ ALSO: Kenyan man takes his 83-year-old mum to Harvard University and the reason will leave you stunned

Another Special Fraud Unit investigator expressed that the womans son who is a lawyer reported the case to the police.

The investigator said: The lawyer informed their father and the case was reported to the police. the prophet was arrested in Ado Ekiti, where he had gone to obtain a chieftaincy title.

An official of the Special Fraud Unit, Ngozi Braide, disclosed that the suspect confessed to the crime.

Braide said: We have been able to trace about N70m to his bank account. In his statement, he said he healed the woman of the fibroid.

She revealed that the man claimed he did not use charms on the victim that she had given him the money at her own will.

The investigator said the prophet confessed that a woman introduced the victim to him and he paid her for the service.

Braide said the police had launched a manhunt for the accomplice, adding that the prophet had been granted administrative bail and would be charged to court after the completion of investigation.

63-year-old woman cries out after losing son to cultists

Source: Legit.ng
A Nigerian Lady, Victoria Adelere, has congratulated a vulcanizers daughter, Temitope Adelere, who just graduated from the university and called for service.

Victoria who shared the exciting news on Twitter expressed that Temitope who is a vulcanizers daughter finally graduated from Ekiti State University.

According to her, Temitope has been called for her National Youth Service in Abuja.

She shared two posts on her handle with some photos of Temitope in her NYSC uniform.

READ ALSO: Kenyan man takes his 83-year-old mum to Harvard University and the reason will leave you stunned

Meet daughter of vulcanizer Temitope Adelere who just graduated from the university

She wrote: Finally a vulcanizer daughter becomes a graduate, and also an NYSC candidate in Abuja, kip on flying higher @Temitope Adelere Vulcanizer daughter of yesterdaay now a graduate of Ado Ekiti university, obeyin d Clarions call @Abuja.

READ ALSO: Woman, 45, discovers worm buried under her skin 2 weeks after beach vacation

Legit.ng gathered some of the reactions from some Nigerians on Twitter congratulated Temitope for her achievements, read below:

Youth Service corpers help put smiles on the faces of Nigerians in need of help

Source: Legit.ng
- Quadruplet brothers received offers from a total of 59 universities

- They have all settled on Yale after being offered an 'extraordinary' financial aid pack

- They said Yale treated them like family

The quadruplet brothers in Ohio, US who made headlines last month after gaining acceptance into Ivy League universities, including Yale and Harvard for each of them, have now made their choice.

The brothers, Nick, Nigel, Zachary and Aaron Wade, will all attend Yale University after it offered them an 'extraordinary' financial aid package.

The 18-year-old brothers made the announcement on Monday, May 1 while insisting that money was not the main motivation for their choice.

The brothers, (left to right) Nigel, Zachary, Nick and Aaron, have all chosen to attend Yale

In an interview, Nigel said of Yale: "The school treated us like family."

Aaron added: "I absolutely enjoyed the people and the social environment and appreciated the strong arts and humanities at Yale."

READ ALSO: Man thought to be the world oldest man dies aged 146 (photos)

The brothers said Yale treated them "like family"

Their father, Darrin Wade, added that Yale made the best offer while also making his sons feel comfortable about joining the college.

READ ALSO: Husband and wife survive fatal accident at Ikeja, Lagos (photos)

He said: "It was other pieces, like the softer stuff. They wanted to make sure they felt comfortable... the alumni reached out and made themselves available to us as a family."

The brothers at a previous TV interview

Besides excelling in academic work, the quadruplet brothers have also won various awards in track and field events.

Gaining admission into Yale is notoriously difficult. Of the 32,000 students who applied for Yale this year, only 2,272 were accepted.

Watch the moment they announced their decision in the video below:

Watch video of the strongest man in Nigeria below:

Source: Legit.ng
A La Crosse company that President Barack Obama saluted in 2015 as one of Americas own fastest-growing private companies has filed a major antitrust suit against two companies it contends not only hatched an illegal plot to ruin it but also have cost it millions of dollars and pushed it close to insolvency.

Authenticoms profits dropped by 77.22 percent between the third quarter of 2015 until the first quarter of this year because of the two companies collusion, according to the complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for Wisconsins Western District in Madison.

The companies actions have left Authenticom cash flow insolvent, with insufficient earnings and resources to satisfy its outstanding debt obligations. Authenticom was unable to pay an $11 million principal payment on a loan from BMO Harris Bank due April 16, 2017, and has received a limited 90-day forbearance from the Bank pending the outcome of the forthcoming preliminary injunction motion, the suit alleges.

Authenticom, headquartered in the Doerflinger building in downtown La Crosse, also could not pay a tax-related obligation of about $1.17 million that was due on April 18, the suit says. Several financial institutions have rejected Authenticom requests for financing, citing doubts about Authenticoms continued viability because of Defendants actions, according to the suit.

Warning in convention center cubbyhole

Authenticoms 96-page complaint contends that one of the defendants executives cornered company founder, president and CEO Steve Cottrell in a secluded area of a convention center on April 3, 2016, and warned, For Gods sake, you have built a great little business. Get something for it before it is destroyed. Otherwise, I will (expletive) destroy it.

The encounter, among many scenarios in the suit that read like plot lines for the Showtime series Billions, occurred shortly after Cottrell had spurned an offer to buy his company for $15 million.

The complaint demands a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages  and insists that they are eligible to be tripled  for alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Authenticom, which Cottrell founded in 2002 in what had been his sons bedroom, created a niche for itself with computer programs to integrate auto dealers data, including facts such as sales figures, inventory tallies of cars, and parts and service reminders for more than 15,000 dealerships nationwide.

The sector, generically labeled dealer management systems, once had several players but now has only three: Authenticom and the two companies it is suing.

One of the defendants, CDK Global LLC, is a publicly traded Delaware corporation with headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill. It provides DMS software and services to car dealerships throughout the country and has more than $2 billion in annual revenues.

The Reynolds and Reynolds Co. is a private corporation headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.

The two are described variously in industry publications as the Duopoly, the two 400-pound gorillas and the two giants of the DMS market.

Among other allegations, Authenticom claims that CDK and Reynolds entered into an illegal agreement in February 2015 to eliminate competition in the market.

Moves cripple Authenticom

That and other alleged moves, such as blocking dealers access to Authenticom, deactivating dealership logins to the La Crosse companys systems and alleging that its systems are not secure, have crippled it, the suit contends.

Authenticom, which counters that its computer systems are almost impenetrably secure, will soon be out of business if that conduct is not promptly enjoined, the suit contends.

Cottrell declined comment on the suit, other than the particulars in the complaint.

A CDK spokesman issued a statement saying, CDK does not comment in detail on matters in litigation. We can state, however, that the Authenticom complaint is meritless, and we welcome the opportunity to defend ourselves at the proper time.

As we have said previously: We will not compromise the integrity of our systems or the security of our customers data, the statement said.

Reynolds officials have not responded to a request for their reaction to the suit, and a court official said hearings on a preliminary injunction request and on the suit itself have not been set.

Authenticom also cites widespread angst among car dealerships because CDK and Reynolds have powerful leverage over car dealerships, and they use that leverage to protect their dominant positions and constrain dealers behavior.

For their part, many dealers have told CDK and Reynolds to stop blocking Authenticom, according to the suit.

The dealers have made clear that the data is theirs, that they control access to it, and that the disabling of Authenticom has interrupted their operations and caused economic harm. But CDK and Reynolds have rejected the dealers objections, according to Authenticoms suit.

Many dealers contend that Authenticoms products and services are superior to those of CDK and Reynolds.

Insisting that dealership complaints against the two big dogs are too numerous to list, Authenticoms suit cites several, including the following from a Lexus dealer in California.

I believe that CDK has no right to deny me access to my own data. By extension, I also retain my rights to distribute my data to chosen vendors who meet my strict criteria for data security, the dealer wrote. With each vendor requiring different kinds of data extraction, I feel it would be far more effective to support Authenticom and DealerVault, to build a great single point of extracted data, and plug my vendors into their ecosystem.

Authenticom has developed a stellar reputation for its contributions to downtown La Crosse redevelopment, with its extensive renovations to its Doerflinger offices, where bright decor and a casual atmosphere have been home to its growth to more than 120 employees. Current employee numbers were unavailable Tuesday.
- A Kenyan woman has badly spoilt her boyfriends reputation on social media

- The woman, through a post on a Facebook group revealed how her boyfriend likes borrowing and carrying food from events

- She claims her boyfriends habit has gotten out of hand, and has been giving her sleepless nights

Gone are the days when ladies used to suffer in silence. Today, there are countless platforms where ladies can share about their different experiences.

There are some groups on Facebook where members not only reveal shocking confessions, but also share about strange stuff they experience daily.

A certain lady who goes by the name Mtaka Yote recently caused a stir on social media, that must have left her boyfriend covering his face in shame.

READ ALSO: 16-year-old boy jumps off building because his parents seized his PS4

READ ALSO: Boy wishes his friend 'happy birthday', causes a stir on social media

According to a post shared on the Kilimani Mums and Dads Facebook page, the lady Mtaka Yote has been dealing with a lot of humiliation thanks to her boyfriends bad manners.

Mtaka Yote revealed how her boyfriend is used to carrying food from events, a habit that gives her sleepless nights.

Sharing the story on Facebook, the frustrated girlfriend wrote:

I can't believe I'm typing this but I'm tired of this man, sometimes he disgusts me, okay he's a boyfriend we ain't married. The problem is every time he goes to an event he comes back carrying food from the event, imagine he borrows food from an event so. Jana he was a groom at his friend's wedding, imagine Leo napata machapo, kuku, stew kwa paper fridge and I asked him he says that alitoa Kwa wedding.

So I'm just sitting here wondering how he approached the cooks to borrow food, I mean at least angekuwa watu WA family, and knowing him so well najua he had contributed almost nothing to that event, I have gone with him to places and I'm just embarrassed that we will eat and he will want to leave without even giving a dime to the family, he didn't contribute anything during my graduation imagine na he still carried food

Meanwhile, here are reasons why you should never skip breakfast:

Source: Legit.ng
- Happily married couple with three children share a girlfriend

- The couple brought into their marriage 3rd party to make things more interesting

- They now want to make their girlfriend part of the family by divorcing

- One of them will marry their lover after the divorce

In most cases, couple only divorce when they intend to stop living together as husband and wife. But who said you cant divorce and still stay together under one roof?

Benno Kaiser, 37, and Cristina, 31, from Texas, have been married for 12 years. They are blessed with three children. But there is something special about this couple.

The two have a girlfriend called Sierra Kuntz who stays with them in the same house. The three, Kaiser, Cristina and Kuntz, also allegedly sleep on the same bed.

READ ALSO: 4 lovely photos of petite singer Chidinma Ekile

Left to right: Son Isaiah, 11, daughter Brianna, 6, mother Cristina, 31, Sierra, daughter Rebecca, 7, and dad Benno, 37, at home.

The relationship among these three bedfellows has grown stronger over time, to the extent that they dont want any of them to exit the unusual marriage.

To make things even more refreshing, Kaiser and Cristina want to divorce so that one of them can marry Kuntz. The goal is to make Kuntz a permanent member of the family.

Cristina and I decided this was something that needed to be done in order for Sierra to understand the depth of how much we love her. We want her to be part of our family. We both love her and it's something that's meant to be permanent, says Kaiser, adding that marrying Kuntz will be beneficial to them on many levels.

The marriage will mean that Kuntz will have legal rights over their three children, Isaiah, 11, Rebecca, 7, and Brianna, 6. This, according to Kaiser, will also prevent Kuntz from getting jealous.

READ ALSO: Woman born without legs who was abandoned by parents discovers her biological family (photos)

The trio are adamant that their 'permanent' relationship is for keeps, but Benno admits their lifestyle 'isn't for everyone'.

Kaiser and Cristina, both of whom are currently working as legal assistants, reportedly met each other while serving in the military.

They got married about four years later. But Cristina, who is bisexual, felt that something was still missing in her love life.

It was my idea to open the marriage. I shared the idea with Benno. I told him I would like to introduce women to our relationship to see where it goes. Other than that we had everything going for us. Three kids and a great relationship, says Cristina.

Kaiser agreed with his wife.

Benno says: "Sierra and Cristina and I all clicked and shortly after our first date we knew that we were meant to be with her and that this was something we wanted to pursue."

So Cristina started searching for the third partner, during which she ran into Kuntz in a shopping mall in Las Vegas. She was working in a pet store.

The two quickly laid bare their feelings and intentions. A few dates later, Kuntz agreed to join Cristinas family, after which Kaiser was brought into the mix.

At first I was very hesitant about getting involved with a married couple. I was worried that I would be disposable and that this was a phase they were going through. But when I spent time with them I realised what they wanted. I felt this was a situation I could work with, so I jumped on board, says Kuntz.

The three have increasingly gotten used to each other and intend to stick together through thick and thin. The kids have also accepted Kuntz as their other mom.

READ ALSO: You will be surprised how this beautiful 25-year-old woman celebrated divorce (photos)

Watch video of Kaiser, Cristina and Kuntz having a good time together :

Watch the video below:

Source: Legit.ng
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
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 ...
The United States is defending President Donald Trumps decision to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House.

The two presidents spoke by telephone on Saturday. Trump noted the need to strengthen an Asian alliance against the growing threat from North Koreas military.

He also spoke by phone on Sunday with Singapores prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The president also invited the two leaders to the White House.

A White House statement described the discussions between the Philippines and U.S. presidents as very friendly. Trump told Duterte that he was interested in developing a warm, working relationship."

However, on Sunday, Trumps chief of staff Reince Prebus said on U.S. television that the phone call should not be seen as support of Dutertes record in his war on drugs.

It doesnt mean that human rights dont matter, but what it does mean is that the issues facing us developing out of North Korea are so serious that we need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get.

However, the White House statement about Trumps call to Duterte did not note international condemnation of some of the Philippine leaders policies.

Philippine leader has faced criticism on human rights

Rodrigo Duterte has been strongly criticized for his war on drug trafficking.

Last year, then-United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Dutertes support for extra-judicial killings. Philippine forces are accused of executing drug suspects before they can be tried.

Ban called the killings a breach of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Some observers estimate that more than 6,000 people have been killed in Duertes war on drugs since he took office last year. About one-third of the deaths have resulted from police raids; the rest, by vigilantes.

Duterte, himself, told British media last year that he personally killed three suspects while he was mayor of the southern city of Davao.

Relations between the United States and the Philippines worsened last June after Duterte became president. The administration of then-president Barack Obama criticized the Philippines for a lack of respect for the rule of law in its campaign against drug dealers.

Gerard Finin is with the East-West Institute. He told VOAs Victor Beattie that a meeting of Trump and Duerte could have good results.

Finin said that because the Philippines is a treaty partner with the United States, it is important to keep high-level communications open between the two sides.

He added that, until now, U.S. efforts to get the Philippines to respect the law in its anti-drug trafficking campaign have not succeeded. Finin said the administration will be able to give a message to the Philippine leader during talks at the White House.

Also, the invitation will give Duterte a chance to see how the United States deals with issues such as the illegal drug trade.

Finin noted that the Philippine war on drugs appeared to ease in October after the death of a South Korean businessman at National Police Headquarters in Manila.

Since then, however, the violence has grown worse.

Much needs to be done, Finin said, before Philippine officials show a respect for human rights and people receive fair trials before they are punished.

Phone calls made as tensions in the area increase

Trumps calls to the Asian leaders took place within days of another test of a missile by North Korea.

However, the U.S. effort to build support with Asian nations is considered part of an effort to increase pressure on the North Korean government.

North Korea has continued to test long-range missiles in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The latest launch failed last weekend. North Korea also has carried out five nuclear tests.

On Monday, Trump said he is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under the right conditions to discuss the Norths nuclear activities.

A White House spokesman said there is no Trump-Kim meeting planned. He added that such talks are possible only if North Korea ends its "provocative" behavior.

The United States recently completed military exercises with South Korea. The U.S. government has ordered the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system to South Korea.

In addition, American warships, including the USS Carl Vinson and at least one nuclear submarine, have been sent to waters near the Korean peninsula.

Japan plans to send its helicopter carrier Izumo to guard a U.S. supply ship as it travels in the western Pacific Ocean. The move is believed to be the first time that Japanese forces have been ordered to protect U.S. ships. Japans constitution bars the nation from carrying out an offensive war.

Im Mario Ritter.

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Lou Lorscheider, Fern Robinson and Victor Beattie reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted their reports for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

breach  n. a failure to do something that is required by law or agreement

fundamental  adj. something very basic, very important

extra-judicial adj. outside of the justice system

vigilante  n. a person who is not a law enforcement officer who acts like one and seeks to carry out justice

advanced  adj. at a high level, fully developed

provocative adj. meant to cause a response
The ZX Spectrum personal computer was released in the UK in 1982, at a time when the Commodore 64 was taking off in the US, and the Apple II was starting to show its age.

Decades later, hardware and software hackers have kept the ZX Spectrum platform alive with new features and now a team is running a crowdfunding campaign for a modern version of the classic PC for folks who want to play old-school games or newer software.

Thew new project is called the ZX Spectrum Next, and its a computer-in-a-keyboard featuring design work from Rick Dickinson, the original designer of the ZX Spectrum.

The only catch? You cant actually walk into a store and buy a ZX Spectrum Next yet. Its only available to backers of a crowdfunding campaign and the finished units arent expected to ship until January 2018.

A pledge of 175 or more reserves a ZX Spectrum Next (although youll also have to pay an extra 25 for international shipping unless youre in the UK, where the shipping fee is 10).

Dont want the new keyboard/case? You can request just the computer board for a pledge of 99, with an estimated ship date of August, 2017.

The new system is completely compatible with hardware and software developed for the original ZX Spectrum, and even has the same Z80 processor with 3.5 MHz and 7 MHz modes and 512Kb of RAM (which can be expanded to 1.5MB using internal memory or 2.5MB of external memory). But it also has new features including HDMI output, and an SD card.

Theres also an optional Raspberry Pi co-accelerator board that gives you the ability to add Raspberry Pis tiny, cheap computer with a 1 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a graphics processor with support for OpenGL graphics, among other things.

This isnt the first ZX Spectrum-related crowdfunding project weve seen: Indiegogo recently canceled a campaign for the ZX Spectrum Vega+ handheld system after a series of delays.

But this new campaign comes from a completely different team, includes some real-world videos showing the hardware in action, and includes a promise that the firmware and schematics will be fully open source, allowing anyone to not only inspect, but also modify the hardware and software.

With three weeks left to go in the campaign, the ZX Spectrum Next has already more than met its 250,000 pledge goal.

via Boing Boing and The Register
Because of the increasing prevalence of syphilis in the St. Louis region and an alarming number of babies born last year with the sexually transmitted disease, city and county health officials are recommending all pregnant women get screened for the disease late in pregnancy and at delivery.

Across the state, zero to three babies are born a year with congenital syphilis, officials say. But last year, 10 babies were born with the disease. Six were in the urban areas of Kansas City and St. Louis.

The results are devastating, explained Dr. Hilary Reno, infectious disease expert at Washington University School of Medicine. Nearly 40 percent of exposed babies are stillborn, and other outcomes include blindness, deafness and bone deformities.

"The number is small, but the consequences of congenital syphilis are so severe, and the test is readily available and easy," Reno said. "Any case of congenital syphilis should have been prevented."

Missouri law already requires syphilis testing with a blood test for all pregnant women in the first trimester. Because women who remain sexually active during pregnancy can still contract the disease, local health officials are recommending testing again during the third trimester and at delivery.

Treatment involves one to three shots of penicillin. Those with penicillin allergies should be desensitized.

Between 2012 and 2016 in the city and county, Reno said, rates for early syphilis (within a year of infection, when the disease is most infectious) rose 86 percent - from 11.8 to 22 per 100,000 people. While most syphilis cases involve men, the number of women contracting it is increasing.

Rates have also increased nationwide. Cases of congenital syphilis rose 39 percent between 2012 and 2014, federal data show.

Early symptoms include a sore at the site of sexual contact that is not painful. The sore usually gets better, then a rash appears on the palms, soles and sometimes the trunk. The rash also goes away on its own. Because of these mild symptoms in the early and infectious stages, many people don't get tested.

"We are concerned we are going to miss women and not treat them early enough in pregnancy if we don't do this universal testing," Reno said.

2017 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The app answers FAQs, helps users track appointments, and much more. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Maternal-fetal medicine specialists at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC collaborated with decision scientists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to develop and test a personalized smartphone application designed to combat preterm birth by engaging a typically hard-to-reach population of pregnant women. The findings, reported in the Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth, indicate that the app was successful in providing accessible and personalized obstetrical care, designed specifically to target preterm birth risk.

Preterm birth, the leading cause of neonatal death or long-term disability, is on the rise in the United States with approximately one of every 10 births occurring prior to 37 weeks of gestation. These rates are disproportionately high among some socioeconomic groups, including African Americans and families living in poverty. These patient groups often are the hardest to reach due to limited access to and attendance at routine prenatal care.

"Mobile phone apps are a great way to engage a vulnerable population in their health care because approximately 86 percent of American adults own a mobile phone, regardless of racial and ethnic groups," explained Tamar Krishnamurti, Ph.D., lead author and assistant research professor of engineering and public policy at CMU. "Moreover, 20 percent of all smartphone owners downloaded a pregnancy app in 2015. Although hundreds of pregnancy-related apps exist, few have been developed through a scientific process that is patient-centered and grounded in behavioral decision research."

To develop the app, CMU decision scientists and Magee maternal-fetal medicine specialists conducted interviews and user testing with medical experts and women recruited from high-risk groups. Sixteen study participants from Magee's outpatient clinic, which specializes in high-risk pregnancies, were then provided a smartphone with the preloaded app and a digital weight scale. Through the app, participants were queried daily over three months to assess such risk factors as rate of weight gain, smoking, alcohol consumption, depression and intimate partner violence. Because transportation to appointments is often a barrier to prenatal care, free transportation using Uber was incorporated into the app's functionality.

The researchers found that use of the app was higher among participants at higher risk, as reflected in such factors as poorer daily moods or being earlier in their pregnancies. Participants had an attendance rate of 84 percent at prenatal appointments (89 percent for those who used Uber) compared with the clinic norm of 50 percent, with conservatively estimated cost savings of $450 per patient over three months.

On average, participants voluntarily logged into the app every one and a half days to complete daily risk assessments. Computer algorithms then delivered patient-specific risk feedback and recommendations tailored to individual users. For example, if the app detected a decrease in self-reported cigarette use, it provided encouraging messages in addition to quitting resources. The app also provided basic pregnancy education, reminders about appointments, and fetal health monitoring aids like a "kick counter."

When the app detected high-risk events such as intimate partner violence or thoughts of suicide, it sent real-time alerts to medical staff. Women were then contacted directly and linked to appropriate medical and social service resources.

"While we do not understand why certain socioeconomic groups are at a higher-risk for preterm birth, we do know that prenatal care that starts early in pregnancy is critical for a healthy baby and mother," explained Hyagriv Simhan, M.D., professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and chief, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Magee. "This pilot shows that smartphone apps are a promising and potentially cost-saving way to provide personalized care for the highest-risk patients."

The researchers' next steps include conducting a randomized controlled trial over the entire pregnancy of participants and evaluating the effects of the app on behavioral and clinical outcomes, including adverse birth outcomes.

More information: Development and Testing of the MyHealthyPregnancy App: A Behavioral Decision Research-Based Tool for Assessing and Communicating Pregnancy Risk. Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth. DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.7036 Development and Testing of the MyHealthyPregnancy App: A Behavioral Decision Research-Based Tool for Assessing and Communicating Pregnancy Risk.

Provided by Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Credit: Photographee.eu/Fotolia

Artificial intelligence technology is being used by an Aussie startup to help select the healthiest embryos for use in IVF treatments.

Life Whisperer is based in South Australia and uses a combination of computer vision, human analysis and machine learning techniques to identify healthy embryos for implantation.

The non-invasive embryo selection technique applies key algorithms that recognise important information, including morphological features, to grade embryo quality.

The company is looking to identify a commercial partner to conduct the next validation phase of its technology.

Co-founder and Managing Director Dr Michelle Perugini said machine learning meant the system could efficiently study "tens of thousands" of retrospective cases and build a portfolio of information.

"We view this as an add-on service that every IVF clinic in the world could offer to their patients as part of the IVF process," she said.

"We are able to use other features that a human eye can't discern using some learning-based AI features.

"If we have a set of embryos that are good, then using our algorithms we'll be able to learn what those features are and continue to improve the process further."

Life Whisperer allows embryologists to use ordinary equipment and conventional microscopes to capture images of embryo samples.

The information is then fed into a computer, which analyses how healthy the sample is.

Unlike other procedures that track development over time, Life Whisperer is able to look at the fine features of the embryo at the endpoint and determine its potential using set algorithms.

Other techniques include techniques such as The University of Adelaide's embryo texture and metabolism analysis using mathematical modelling.

The Life Whisperer's program uses a unique AI approach that can learn from previous data, does not need specialised hardware and is completely non-invasive.

Dr Perugini is also a co-founder of Presagen, a company that applies behavioural AI technology to automate complex human-centric tasks in businesses.

Her former company ISD Analytics was acquired by Ernst & Young (EY) in 2015 and was responsible for creating the award-winning predictive analytics product Simulait.

Using Simulait, EY was able to predict the behaviour of a population of consumers to more than 90 per cent accuracy.

"Our approach is non-invasive and doesn't change the normal IVF process, it's almost an add-on decisions support tool for embryologists," Dr Perugini said.

Co-founder and inventor of Life Whisperer's analysis technique, Dr Jonathan Hall, is a University of Adelaide physics PhD graduate.

Dr Hall conceived the Life Whisperer concept and entered the idea into the 2016 Australian eChallenge program run by the Entrepreneurship, Commercialization and Innovation Centre (ECIC) at the University of Adelaide. The team won both the best Medical Innovation and Research Commercialization awards.

"We feel for people who have been through the devastating emotions of unsuccessful IVF. We want to help families by deploying leading-edge technology, and we have the skills and drive to execute this well," he said.

Life Whisperer is searching for a large IVF clinic to form a commercial partnership with for its final validation testing.

It then aims to use the investment to build the online product that will facilitate the delivery of non-invasive IVF assistance within the clinic and scale the technology globally.

Provided by The Lead
On many mornings, with a few puffs of pot - and one cannabis-laced chocolate-covered blueberry in the afternoon - Richelle has been able to stop the severe nausea that has accompanied her third pregnancy.

The regimen not only ended the constant vomiting, but the San Jose mother can now finally eat an entire cheeseburger - and keep it down.

"The medical field frowns on pregnant women using marijuana," said the 27-year-old bookkeeper, who lost 30 pounds early on in her pregnancy because of her condition, called hyperemesis gravidarum, which also causes dehydration.

"But I possibly would not have kept the pregnancy without it," said Richelle, who is now in her 25th week and asked that her last name not be used because she does not want to be publicly attacked for her beliefs.

After two decades of allowing its medicinal use, California is now one of eight states that have legalized recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. Public health officials, however, say the implications surrounding its consumption by some people - like pregnant women and adolescents, who may be more vulnerable to its potential harmful effects - still must be addressed.

Some states - including Alaska, Washington and Colorado - require warning labels saying the product should not be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women. But California does not.

Surveys show that most Americans don't like the idea of pregnant women using marijuana.

A Yahoo News/Marist College poll of 1,222 adults released this month found that 67 percent of Americans think it's safer to use marijuana than opioids to relieve pain. But 69 percent said it's not acceptable for pregnant women to use marijuana to reduce nausea or pain. Half of cannabis users - and 60 percent of those who have tried it - also don't think pregnant women should use marijuana, according to the poll.

Dr. Ira Chasnoff, a professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and a leading researcher in the development of children prenatally exposed to alcohol and drugs, said a range of studies supports those concerns.

"The general belief is that it's not harmful," Chasnoff said of cannabis consumption. "But there are all sorts of aspects of cognitive function - the way the brain works - that are impacted by marijuana exposure."

He pointed to research that shows low birth rates in babies born to women who have consumed pot during pregnancy, as well as data on higher rates of Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as they get older. Other research has shown that those offspring later in life have problems with "executive functioning," or the ability to plan and complete tasks, Chasnoff said.

That's why he believes guidelines that communicate the risk and discourage the use of medical marijuana by pregnant women - or women considering pregnancy - must be established. Research indicates that more U.S. women are now using marijuana during pregnancy, most often to treat morning sickness - which most physicians say can be better treated with more established medications.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association said that in 2014 nearly 4 percent of pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 44 reported having used marijuana in the past month, compared with 2.4 percent in 2002.

In Oakland, 36-year-old Sarah - who runs a cannabis consulting business with her husband - said she has been using the drug during her 17-week pregnancy to help not only with morning sickness but also with sciatica pain and mood swings.

Like Richelle, she takes a few puffs of a marijuana cigarette every so often, but also uses a few drops of liquid cannabis on her tongue at night. The pain disappears, she said, and she's able to keep food in her stomach.

She has read a host of studies on the potential side effects the drug might have on her baby. So have some of her relatives, who have told her that using marijuana will "risk having my child come out dumb," said Sarah, who also said she didn't want her last name published because she fears she'll be ostracized.

But she remains unconvinced by what she calls "limited research." And she says that she doubts that an organically grown plant could harm her baby.

A landmark 395-page study on the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids released in January by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also wasn't able to draw many conclusions.

After reviewing the available research, the authors determined that the long-term effects of smoking cannabis during pregnancy are still unclear. But they did agree that there is substantial evidence that the babies of women who smoke marijuana while pregnant have lower birth weights.

Sarah says she doesn't abuse the drug but believes it helps to reduce the anxiety that comes with being pregnant. "There is a human inside me growing, and everyone is telling me what I can and cannot do," she said. "It creates a lot of worry."

And in her line of work, she has also met many women who used marijuana when they were pregnant and whose children - of all ages - seem well-adjusted.

"Everything in moderation," Sarah said.

Chasnoff strongly disagrees with that view - and with patients who tell him that cannabis is natural and organic. That doesn't mean it can't potentially harm a fetus, he said.

"We know that marijuana's THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) crosses very readily from the blood into the brain, so even a small amount has the potential for crossing over into the fetal brain," Chasnoff said.

The chemical is drawn to fat, he said, and because the fetal brain is almost all fat, the drug remains there longer. It's one reason why marijuana, unlike other drugs, can be detected in a person for three days to three weeks afterward, depending on the amount and concentration of cannabis consumed.

Marijuana also crosses readily into a mother's breast milk, said Chasnoff, adding: "We have been able to measure the level of marijuana in the baby's urine."

Dr. Frank Lucido, a primary care physician in Berkeley who for two decades has recommended medical marijuana to his adult patients if he determines it will benefit them, doesn't believe there is enough significant research to warrant pregnant women avoiding cannabis.

"With anything in medicine, you weigh the benefits and the risks," said the 69-year-old physician. "Nobody has ever died from cannabis, but we know women die from hyperemesis gravidarum."

So if a pregnant patient is unable to keep food or liquids in her stomach, and marijuana would help, then he would advise it - as he does to perhaps one or two patients each year.

"But I usually discourage it (smoking marijuana) because we don't know - and smoking can cause low birth weight," Lucido said. "And maybe smoking (the drug) is the problem."

2017 The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Medecins Sans Frontieres. MSF health workers respond to a malaria outbreak in Maniema, DRC, in a population accessible only by motorcycle. (2012). Credit: PLOS Blogs

For this year's World Malaria Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has focused on prevention and reaching at-risk populations. Investment in prevention was crucial to eliminating malaria from Europe and North America in the 1900's, and to sharply reducing the number of cases and deaths in Africa and Asia over the past 15 yearsand is still badly needed in a world that still sees over 200 million cases of malaria each year.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has included prevention in its malaria response for many years, initially mainly through vector control and increasing access to diagnosis and treatment (which helps prevent cases of severe malaria), and since 2012, through different types of chemoprevention, which provide protection for 4-8 weeks after administering the drugs.

Use of these newer chemopreventive approaches has boosted success in key populations and helped enormously in scaling up preventive services. For example, Intermittent Preventive Treatment of pregnant women (IPTp) with Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) remains effective in preventing the adverse consequences of malaria on maternal and fetal outcomes. In 2012, some months after it became a WHO recommendation, MSF implemented Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in children in Mali and Chad followed by several other countries of the Sahel, leading to reductions of 61-80% in numbers of uncomplicated and severe malaria cases. SMC has now been incorporated into national policy of 13 countries in the region, reaching over 15 million children under 5 in the past 5 years.

But contrary to overall global trends, some regions where MSF works continue to see an increase in cases, for reasons stemming from both natural and man-made causes.

Villages in some areas of Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan become completely isolated during the rainy (malaria) season due to swelling of rivers or marshes, with no qualified health staff among the population to prevent total cut off of access to care. Other populations are so far from any allopathic health facility that in practice they, too, are isolated. I once saw a mother in Katanga, DRC who had walked 80 kilometers in 2 days, with a child with severe malaria in her arms.

Conflict is another major cause of decreased access in many remaining malaria hotspots. Population displacement in countries like DRC, Central African Republic and South Sudan make it impossible for people to reach health facilities or for health workers to reach populations that are on the run, scattered and hiding in the bush. These areas are often too unsafe for health actors to enter without themselves becoming targets of violence.

Other factors also limit availability of prevention. Even if you owned a bednet, would it be the first thing you pack if you suddenly had to leave your home? Where would you hang it if you're sleeping in the bush, in a different place every night? If you have more than 2 members in your family and only one bednet, who should sleep under it: the adults who need to be fit so they can keep the rest of the family alive? Or the children, who are more likely to die if they get malaria?

Similarly, the different types of chemoprevention rely on either the population having access to a health facility or distribution site, or health workers having access to the population, preferably multiple times. This has proven feasible in stable settings, usually thanks to strong community engagement. It becomes more difficult in areas of conflictnot only to ensure that the drugs reach people in a timely manner and are used correctly, but to monitor their impact on numbers of malaria cases and deaths. At times MSF has struggled with these problems, for example in implementing SMC in highly insecure areas of northern Mali and Nigeria: we distributed drugs for over 25,000 children, but were unable to assess the actual coverage achieved. Another case was the distribution of Artesunate-Amodiaquine for prevention in an area of Central African Republic experiencing conflict and massive population displacement. Our teams reached out to the community and managed to distribute enough drugs to protect over 10,000 children under 5 for about a month. We will never know whether the drugs were used for those children, shared with adults, or not used at all. But is even this major caveat a good enough reason not to provide this potentially life-saving protection?

Even if someday we have a very effective vaccine, we will need to ensure that it gets not only to those who are easy to reach, but also those whom health workers struggle to accessand who are therefore the most vulnerable. Without covering these gaps, populations will continue to suffer and die from malaria. And the world may end up seeing a malaria resurgence, endangering the huge successes of this millennium.

This story is republished courtesy of PLOS Blogs: blogs.plos.org.
There were 212 million malaria cases worldwide in 2015, and each year malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people, mainly children under the age of five. Credit: Bio21 Institute

A new genetic fingerprinting technique has for the first time shown the huge genetic diversity of the malaria parasite, one of nature's most persistent and successful human pathogens.

The technique proves a previously untestable hypothesis proposed more than 20 years ago and opens up new ways of thinking about how to tackle this cunning killer.

And key to that understanding is changing the way we think about malaria  that it is not like measles and more like the flu.

The University of Melbourne and the University of Chicago have led an international research collaboration to collect blood samples from 641 children, aged 1 to 12 years from Bakoumba, a village in Gabon, West Africa and the genetic fingerprints of parasites from 200 infected children. Remarkably, every child was infected with malaria parasites that had a different fingerprint from the parasites in every other child.

These results validate the 'strain hypothesis' first proposed by Professor Sunetra Gupta and Professor Karen Day, who is the lead researcher on this latest project, which is published in the journal PNAS.

In 1994 Professors Gupta and Day, both then working at Imperial College London and later the University of Oxford, proposed that the malaria transmission system may be organised into a set of strains based on diversity of the genes that code for the surface coat of the parasite. If true, this strain diversity could explain why people can be re-infected with malaria many times over.

It has taken until now for Professor Day and her collaborators to develop and optimise the mathematical and laboratory techniques to finally address this hypothesis.

The malaria parasite is a single-celled microorganism (known as a Plasmodium) that infects red blood cells and is transferred from human to human via mosquitoes. It has been infecting people for tens of thousands of years, and, according to the World Health Organisation, in 2015, nearly half of the world's population remained at risk of malaria.

Over the past 20 years, Professor Day's team has developed a way to genetically fingerprint malaria parasites from small amounts of blood based on what are called var genes. Every parasite has approximately 60 of these var genes but only uses one at a time and can switch between the one it uses. These genes encode proteins that coat the surface of the red blood cells that the parasite infects.

The var genes are significant because they determine the ability of the parasite to disguise itself from the human immune system, and contribute to the virulence of the disease.

If the genes that encode the surface coat overlap between two parasites, such as you would expect in siblings that would share a maximum of 50 per cent of their genes, then when someone is re-infected, the immune system will recognise these malaria parasites and quickly purge them if they have seen the parent infections. But if there is little or no overlap in these genes, then the immune system will not recognise the malaria parasite as readily, leading to chronic infection.

Professor Day who, is now Professor of Population Science and Dean of Science at the University of Melbourne, and leads a research group at the University's School of BioSciences and Bio21 Institute, says the study shows that "the parasite has evolved this enormous diversity with limited overlap between the sets of var genes likely so it can keep re-infecting the same humans."

Professor Mercedes Pascual, an ecologist at the University of Chicago, describes this as "the parasites forming niches by diversifying. They compete with each other for hosts, and distance themselves from each other to invade the same population of humans, a limited resource."

A baby behind a treated mosquito net in Kenya. Credit: USAID/Wendy Stone

Professor Day says current malaria control programs do not target the diversity of the parasite.

"With malaria, we attack something that is conserved between all strains, but the problem is if you don't get rid of all of the malaria parasites with current strategies, you have this enormous diversity that can allow the system to bounce back quickly to pre-control levels," Professor Day says.

"The resilience of the system is coming from the diversity, so you've got to monitor how approaches to control attack diversity and not just the parasite per se."

Interestingly, the theory of malaria control is based on malaria having no diversity and being like measles. You contract measles once and have life long immunity, whereas you can get malaria or the flu many times because there are multiple strains circulating.

"Malaria is like flu, but our fingerprinting results show that it is way more complicated," adds Professor Day.

By analysing the var genes, the researchers came up with a unique identifier, or fingerprint, for each malaria strain that they call a var code.

"Looking down the microscope you would have said all of the infections look the same, but when we did the fingerprinting genetically with this variant antigen gene system, we could see that every child had a different parasite fingerprint, and importantly, each fingerprint was highly unrelated to all other fingerprints." says Professor Day.

Professor Day and her colleagues were surprised at this unrelatedness.

"Malaria has sex as part of its lifecycle, every time it goes through a mosquito. And so, because the malaria parasite mates you would expect to find related parasites that we might call parents, siblings, cousins and aunts and uncles in the population," she says.

Dr Yael Artzy-Randrup, a theoretical ecologist from the University of Amsterdam, recently published theoretical results supporting these findings in the journal eLife.

"Even with very high levels of sex between parasites, their competition for available hosts can be so intense, that really only very unrelated parasites would be fit enough to survive", Dr. Artzy-Randrup explains, "and here we have a structure where highly related parasites were not detected."

"Malaria is similar to flu in that humans can be infected multiple times by different malaria parasite variants. However, in contrast to the flu, the situation with malaria is much more complex. With malaria, at any given point of time there is a high diversity of variants coexisting even in very small human populations, while in flu, variants usually replace each other, and people will only be infected by one variant at a time", Dr. Artzy-Randrup adds.

After waiting 20 years to get their results, the researchers suffered a setback in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy cut the power to Professor Day's laboratory at New York University, destroying samples that represented months of work. The team was eventually able to recover and continue its work, and Professor Day says that compared to some of her New York colleagues, she got off lightly.

The Anopheles gambiae is the primary mosquito vector responsible for the transmission of malaria in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Credit: Wikipedia

Once the team had assembled all the data, they had to assure their scientific peers  many of whom were sceptical of the strain hypothesis  that the pattern of diversity and unrelatedness they were seeing was not just through random chance.

Professor Pascual and Dr Artzy-Randrup tested the results using statistical and computational techniques that are inspired from the analysis of complex systems in ecology, such as communities of species in ecosystems.

They found that the system was non-random, and the relatives were absent from the population.

Professor Pascual says the project is connected to a central question in ecology: what is the structure of diversity?

"We are asking this question for the ensemble of parasites within a population of Plasmodium falciparum, but it can also be asked for the ensemble of tree species in a rainforest."

"It is an exciting time for bringing together quantitative analyses and deep sampling of biological systems in the field."

Professor Pascual has worked on other aspects of the transmission dynamics of malaria, and says all models typically consider infections as all the same to a large degree.

"Our findings indicate that the enormous diversity of the parasite is structured and that we need to consider the implications of this structure for intervention, and possibly develop a different way to model transmission in malaria altogether," she says.

The researchers continue to collaborate and are now var code fingerprinting and modelling malaria strains in larger human populations through time.

Dr Kathryn Tiedje, a researcher in Professor Day's laboratory at the University of Melbourne and one of the study authors, is currently looking at how control methods might impact the diversity of malaria.

"Will reducing the prevalence of malaria in any way reshape the var gene diversity, and can interventions also reduce the number of malaria strains in the population?" she asks.

Ultimately, the question they all want to answer is - how can we defeat one of humanity's most unrelenting enemies?

The paper, 'Evidence of Strain Structure in Plasmodium falciparum Var Gene Repertoires in Children from Gabon, West Africa' is published in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More information: Karen P. Day et al. Evidence of strain structure ingene repertoires in children from Gabon, West Africa, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2017). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Karen P. Day et al. Evidence of strain structure ingene repertoires in children from Gabon, West Africa,(2017). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613018114
Glybera was the first gene therapy approved in the western world. It treats lipoprotein lipase deficiency.

2017 is supposed to be the year that FDA finally approves a gene therapy. But last week, the company behind the first approved gene therapy in Europe, uniQure.com, announced that it won't "pursue the renewal of marketing authorization" that expires October 25.

What happened? Is the move a setback for gene therapies in the pipeline? I don't think so.

Headlines echoed the news release from the Netherlands-based company:

A $1.4 million drug doesn't seem to make sense, but I don't think seeking an immediate fortune was ever the intention for Glybera, used to treat an enzyme deficiency. DNA Science covered much of the story in New Miracle Drugs: What Would You Pay?

My book about gene therapy was published in 2012, the year that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Glybera. I was certain that the first approvals in the US would come within, at most, three years. The book focused on what is now called RPE-mediated inherited retinal disease, but back in 2012 was Leber congenital amaurosis type 2. That trial has had spectacular results; phase 3 results haven't been published yet. Other candidates include two forms of severe combined immune deficiency (SCID-ADA and SCID-X1), two leukodystrophies (ALD and MLD), and perhaps forms of Batten Disease, Sanfilippo syndrome, or hemophilia.

The first clinical trial for gene therapy in the US began in 1990. Glybera's roots reach back to a few years before that, to the laboratory of Michael Hayden at the University of British Columbia.

A rocky regulatory road

I'd heard presentations from UniQure scientists at meetings, and chatted with some of them when I had a table to sell my books at the Phacilitate Cell and Gene Therapy meeting in Washington, DC, in late January 2013. Because of the book, the editors of that month's print Scientific American, "The Future of Science" issue, had asked me to contribute a one-page piece on gene therapy.

At that meeting, UniQure's chief business officer, Hans Preusting, discussed Glybera's development. He and others readily acknowledged the high price, but stressed that the treatment could establish a vector gene-delivery system that would work, like a cassette player, for other indications. I envisioned a future facility into which different loaded gene therapy vectors could simply plug in, like those places where you get different flavors of frozen yogurt oozing from separate spigots.

Costs would eventually come down. Remember when hand-held calculators were stand-alone devices selling for $100?

Glybera treats what was then called lipoprotein lipase deficiency but is now also called familial chylomicronemia syndrome (what is it with changing disease names???). It causes extremely high blood triglyceride levels and, in some patients, recurrent excruciating abdominal pain. Rash and enlarged liver and spleen are also part of the picture. Some of the worst cases are in children and teens.

Existing triglyceride-lowering drugs are ineffective because the cause differs. So the only approach, nearly impossible to do, is to eat as little fat as possible. The gene therapy is delivered in 42 injections into leg muscles, once, with a viral (AAV1) vector. The disease affects one in a million people.

The regulatory road, said Preusting, was "rocky. "We started the submission dossier at the end of 2009 and it was validated by EMA in January 2011." Milestone assessments brought hundreds of questions. "EMA and the Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) said the data were not convincing enough, due to the small dataset, to say there's a clinical benefit from Glybera. But it wasn't a unanimous decision, so they encouraged us," he said.

The company, then known as Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT), went back to work and then refiled Glybera as an ultra orphan drug regulated for "exceptional circumstances"  the sickest patients. This time CAT approved it but the Commission for Medicinal products (CHMP) in humans still said no.

The number is much higher now of people with sight restored thanks to gene therapy. Credit: Foundation Fighting Blindness

Preusting provided the business view. "We were publicly traded in Amsterdam. The stock decreased by 50% after the first non-approval, and again after the second. In that moment in time we were a penny stock. How do you finance a company with hardly any value? Fortunately we had very loyal investors. We took AMT off the stock market and founded a new company, private, UniQure."

Then, surprisingly, the EMA asked the CHMT to look at the data again  and when they did they saw clinical benefit for the 14 sickest patients out of an original 27, assessed by lowered frequency of pancreatitis attacks. Their lipid levels fell and they could eat foods they couldn't tolerate before. One patient even had a baby.

By July 2012, both CAT and CHMP were on board. "This was a major major event in the space of gene therapy, for the whole field," said Dr. Preusting.

By October, Glybera received final approval under exceptional circumstances with a five-year marketing authorization. Patients began treatment in 2014.

Since then, whether or not to test a gene therapy on the sickest patients has evolved to depend on the nature of a disease. For Glybera doing so led to approval, but in one publicized case in the U.S., two young daughters of well-connected Hollywood parents received gene therapy for a form of Batten disease when the younger child had not yet shown symptoms. For some gene therapy trials older children are too sick to meaningfully respond and yield useful information. Hannah Sames, whom I've written about many times, was just weeks from being too sick to have her gene therapy for giant axonal neuropathy last July.

Out of my element

Oddly, the folks at UniQure had read my one-pager in Scientific American, but had no idea I'd written a book about gene therapy. Based on that, they asked me to participate in Investor Day in midtown Manhattan a year after I'd heard Dr. Preusting at the gene therapy conference, January 2014. I was to give a short, introductory overview of the "space," a term I usually associate with the final frontier.

I'm used to speaking at biology conferences, where the dress code is, er, casual. But a Wall Street crowd? I sent snaps of myself in business suits from the dressing room of Talbot's to the nice PR people for UniQure, and the powers-that-be shaped my presentation to cover the diseases in their pipeline. (Disclosure: I was paid.)

After the talks came the panel discussion, livestreamed. I was placed front and center, being the only XX, and was mortified when I wasn't asked a single question. But I was encouraged that many in the audience of investors were female scientists.

The conference focused more on the pipeline, such as hemophilia B and Huntington disease, than Glybera. But honestly I don't remember much about Investor Day, not because it was more business than science, but because when I was headed back upstate on Amtrak, my daughter called to tell me that just after I'd left, Bruce Springsteen and Bono had given an unannounced, free concert 2 blocks from the meeting!!! She had waited until my train was north of Poughkeepsie because she knew I'd leap from it.

The decision not to renew Glybera's marketing authorization is based on numbers, not safety or efficacy. It works, for the right patients. But costs for long-term surveillance and continuing clinical study proved prohibitive.

"Glybera's usage has been extremely limited and we do not envision patient demand increasing materially in the years ahead," the news release quoted uniQure CEO Matthew Kapusta.

According to Rare Disease Report, only one patient actually paid the $1.4 million for Glybera. About 500 people in Europe have the disease and 323 in the US.

My brief foray into the business side of gene therapy reaffirms that I prefer to view gene therapy's success through the lens of the kids I've reported on: Corey, the star of my book, who would be blind without gene therapy; Eliza, who is becoming more verbal since her procedure; and Hannah, who can sit unaided and pick up small bits of food. From gains like eyesight, to the ability to sing a nursery rhyme, gene therapy is on its way  despite the economic stumbles.

Gene therapy's time will come, and I hope it is soon.

This story is republished courtesy of PLOS Blogs: blogs.plos.org.
As a kid Charles Rutherford drank milk to soothe the burning sensation after eating peanut butter. As an adult he complained to doctors for years about chest pains only to be told it was due to stress.

Three years ago, the now 59-year-old Rutherford was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus, when stomach acid damages and changes the composition of the lining of the esophagus. Untreated it can lead to esophageal cancer, which is often deadly.

Like many people, Rutherford, had no idea his acid reflux put him at risk for cancer.

The Esophageal Cancer Action Network, a national organization based in Baltimore, wants that to change. In its latest effort, the nonprofit group known as ECAN filed a citizen's petition Monday with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to require warnings about the cancer risk of acid reflux on the labels of such over-the-counter medications as Prilosec and Nexium.

Current labels on those drugs warn people to get their doctors' recommendation before taking the medicine. The labels also tell people not to take the medication long term. There is no mention of cancer risk.

"We want something that is much bolder and stronger than is on packaging now," said David Rosen, a lawyer who worked for the FDA for 15 years and is filing the petition on behalf of ECAN.

The petition states that "the warnings should include a stronger, bold and prominent statement that persistent heartburn can be a sign of increased risk of esophageal cancer and explain that drug products do not eliminate that risk."

The drug company AstraZeneca developed both Prilosec, which now is available as a generic called omeprazole, and Nexium.

"AstraZeneca is confident in the safety and efficacy of Nexium when used in accordance with the FDA approved label, which has been established through numerous clinical trials," said spokeswoman Michelle Meixell in an emailed statement that did not specifically address ECAN's request of the FDA.

Neither the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Association nor Pfizer, which makes an over-the-counter version of Nexium, responded to requests for comment.

Auburn Bell, who teaches marketing at Loyola University Maryland, said that most companies wouldn't want a third party directing changes to their packaging.

"It opens it up for others to come in and say that you need this on a label or that on a label," Bell said. "If they say yes to one, will they have to say yes to everyone?"

ECAN's efforts are not intended to stop the use of over-the-counter drugs for treating reflux, Rosen said.

"I don't want to scare people from not buying the medications," Rosen said. "I want them to use it responsibly. If their symptoms persist they need to go see their doctor."

A spokeswoman for the FDA said the agency is reviewing the petition and will respond directly to ECAN.

ECAN members say that many people don't heed the current labels, taking too much of the medication or using it without consulting a doctor.

Sometimes the drugs work so well at relieving symptoms, such as bloating, coughing and irritated throat, that people believe they're fine and don't seek medical treatment. But that doesn't mean the cancer risk no longer exists. The cellular changes in many cases already have taken place and can lead to cancer.

"If you get rid of your symptoms you are not getting rid of your risk," said Mindy Mordecai, who started the esophageal cancer network after her husband died from the disease. "Many people who take over-the-counter medication have no idea that they're at risk."

Dr. Bruce D. Greenwald, a gastroenterologist and professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said he supports the label change so that patients are better informed.

"People sometimes take something over the counter and it gets better and they think they have nothing to worry about," Greenwald said. "We want people aware that if the symptoms exists persistently you need to see your doctor."

Dr. Mark Noar, a Towson-based gastroenterologist also supports stronger labels. He said esophageal reflux is preventable if people are aware of the precautions they need to take.

The drugs "hide the continuing development of the disease," Noar said. "We have people walking around who think they are fine and they are at risk for cancer."

When people know they are at risk, they can get monitored regularly by their doctor, Noar said.

Paul Campbell, 72, was getting regular endoscopies, or scans of his esophagus, by Noar after suffering with acid reflux for years. As a result, his Barrett's Esophagus was caught and treated early. The diagnosis scared Campbell and his family, who worried he would die. But his most recent scans have come back cancer free.

"I am just glad I could get treated," he said.

To treat patients with persistent reflux, Noar uses a treatment called Stretta, which involves placing a tube down the patient's throat and then applying radio-frequency energy to the weak area between the esophagus and the stomach to thicken and strengthen the barrier. This treatment process prevents food and stomach acid from backing up into the esophagus.

Other surgical treatments include a procedure where a ring known as a LINX device is placed around the outside of the lower end of the esophagus. The ring stops stomach acid from backing up into the esophagus. Another procedure called fundoplication wraps the upper part of the stomach around the lower esophageal sphincter, to make it harder for acid to splash up.

A recent poll ECAN commissioned by research firm Ipsos found that 86 percent of Americans don't know that acid reflux disease can cause esophageal cancer. Only 14 percent of 1,000 people who took the survey were aware reflux could lead to cancer.

The group said that the cancer warnings are needed more than ever because the number of people with Barrett's Esophagus continues to increase. About three million Americans currently have the condition and more than half don't know it because there aren't a lot of symptoms.

Esophageal cancer is often only discovered when it has reached advanced stages, when treatment isn't as effective. Most people find they can no longer swallow because a mass is blocking the esophagus.

The FDA doesn't get many citizens petitions, maybe a couple a year, said Larry Stevens, a former FDA official who works for the FDA Group, a consulting firm of former agency employees.

Stevens said the agency would want documentation that the lack of warning is a public health problem. If it decided a warning label was worth pursuing, the agency would hold a hearing on the issue.

At the very least, ECAN gets their issue in front of the agency, he said.

"It will spark the FDA to look at the issue for sure and that may be what (ECAN) is really after, trying to bring the problem to the forefront," Stevens said.

2017 The Baltimore Sun

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
CPSC(NEW YORK) -- After a fatal house fire sparked by an exploding hoverboard, the government on Monday issued an "urgent warning" advising consumers to immediately stop riding or charging LayZ Board hoverboards -- products not among the 500,000 boards recalled last July.



In March, a LayZ Board began to "sizzle" and then "exploded into flames" while plugged into an electrical outlet inside a home in Pennsylvania, according to the Harrisburg Fire Department. The resulting blaze killed 2-year-old Ashanti Hughes and 10-year-old Savannah Dominick, who reportedly ran upstairs to help her younger relatives escape the smoke and flames.



The LayZ Board blaze was the first fatal fire directly related to an exploding hoverboard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed Monday.



The agency is also investigating more than 100 nonfatal incidents in 39 states related to hoverboards manufactured by a variety of companies.



"My granddaughter, we can't replace her. The pain is so deep," Mark Hughes, Ashanti's grandfather, told reporters at the time. "Just be careful with everything you buy."



More than 3,000 LayZ Boards have been imported into the U.S., the CPSC said. Typically, the CPSC would work with the company to initiate a recall, but in this case, an official recall has not been issued, suggesting the company, which based in China, is refusing to cooperate with the government.



"The fire risk with this product is serious," CPSC Acting Chair Ann Marie Buerkle said in a statement. "Consumers should immediately stop using and stop charging the LayZ Board -- its just not worth the risk to your safety and the safety of your family."



Multiple attempts by ABC News to contact LayZ Board were unsuccessful.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

(Phys.org)A small team of researchers affiliated with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and Decision Research and the University of Oregon in the U.S. has found evidence that suggests people are more open to donating organs after reading about donor recipients than after reading about donors. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team describes their study, which involved querying volunteers after reading material about organ donation.

Most people are aware of their option to donate their own body parts after death, or some of their parts while still aliveand some have discovered that they have been placed in the position of choosing whether to donate organs of family members after they have died. Organ donation makes life better for recipients, but as the researchers with this new effort note, quite often recipients do not get nearly as much media attention as donors, and that might impact the receptiveness of potential organ donors.

To learn more about the impact of reading material regarding organ donation, the researchers asked 650 undergraduate students to read various types of material on the topicstories about donors, recipients, and in some cases, both of them, etc. The volunteers were then asked to fill out a questionnaire that was designed to gauge receptiveness to donating their own organs or those of deceased relatives.

In studying the data, the researchers found that reading material highlighting information about the recipient led to feelings of increased receptiveness to organ donation by the volunteers or for a deceased relative (or to support a transition to an opt-out policy) than for material about the donor. They also found that reading about a donor who had since passed on led to feelings of reduced receptiveness toward donation.

The researchers also took a survey of several newspapers over a 28-month period searching for articles focused on organ donation and found that many more of them focused on the donor than on the recipient. They suggest that their results signal a need to focus more on recipients than on donors in order to better promote organ donation to help those on waiting lists.

More information: Inbal Harel et al. Effect of media presentations on willingness to commit to organ donation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2017). Inbal Harel et al. Effect of media presentations on willingness to commit to organ donation,(2017). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1703020114 Abstract

We examine how presentations of organ donation cases in the media may affect people's willingness to sign organ donation commitment cards, donate the organs of a deceased relative, support the transition to an "opt-out" policy, or donate a kidney while alive. We found that providing identifying information about the prospective recipient (whose life was saved by the donation) increased the participants' willingness to commit to organ donation themselves, donate the organs of a deceased relative, or support a transition to an "opt-out" policy. Conversely, identifying the deceased donor tended to induce thoughts of death rather than about saving lives, resulting in fewer participants willing to donate organs or support measures that facilitated organ donation. A study of online news revealed that identification of the donor is significantly more common than identification of the recipient in the coverage of organ donation caseswith possibly adverse effects on the incidence of organ donations. Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

 2017 Phys.org
Bipolar patients tend to have gray matter reductions in frontal brain regions involved in self-control (orange colors), while sensory and visual regions are normal (gray colors). Credit: ENIGMA Bipolar Consortium/Derrek Hibar et al.

A new study has found brain abnormalities in people with bipolar disorder.

In the largest MRI study to date on patients with bipolar disorder, a global consortium published new research showing that people with the condition have differences in the brain regions that control inhibition and emotion.

By revealing clear and consistent alterations in key brain regions, the findings published in Molecular Psychiatry on May 2 offer insight to the underlying mechanisms of bipolar disorder.

"We created the first global map of bipolar disorder and how it affects the brain, resolving years of uncertainty on how people's brains differ when they have this severe illness," said Ole A. Andreassen, senior author of the study and a professor at the Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research at the University of Oslo.

Bipolar disorder affects about 60 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with serious implications for those affected and their families. However, scientists have struggled to pinpoint neurobiological mechanisms of the disorder, partly due to the lack of sufficient brain scans.

The study was part of an international consortium led by the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC: ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics Through Meta Analysis) spans 76 centers and includes 26 different research groups around the world.

Thousands of MRI scans

The researchers measured the MRI scans of 6,503 individuals, including 2,447 adults with bipolar disorder and 4,056 healthy controls. They also examined the effects of commonly used prescription medications, age of illness onset, history of psychosis, mood state, age and sex differences on cortical regions.

The study showed thinning of gray matter in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder when compared with healthy controls. The greatest deficits were found in parts of the brain that control inhibition and motivationthe frontal and temporal regions.

Some of the bipolar disorder patients with a history of psychosis showed greater deficits in the brain's gray matter. The findings also showed different brain signatures in patients who took lithium, anti-psychotics and anti-epileptic treatments. Lithium treatment was associated with less thinning of gray matter, which suggests a protective effect of this medication on the brain.

"These are important clues as to where to look in the brain for therapeutic effects of these drugs," said Derrek Hibar, first author of the paper and a professor at the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute when the study was conducted. He was a former visiting researcher at the University of Oslo and is now a senior scientist at Janssen Research and Development, LLC.

Early detection

Future research will test how well different medications and treatments can shift or modify these brain measures as well as improve symptoms and clinical outcomes for patients.

Mapping the affected brain regions is also important for early detection and prevention, said Paul Thompson, director of the ENIGMA consortium and co-author of the study.

"This new map of the bipolar brain gives us a roadmap of where to look for treatment effects," said Thompson, an associate director of the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine. "By bringing together psychiatrists worldwide, we now have a new source of power to discover treatments that improve patients' lives."
Researchers pose in front of a GC map. Credit: Boston Children's Hospital

A computational approach developed at Boston Children's Hospital, described in the journal Neurosurgery, published online May 2, 2017, could enable more patients with epilepsy to benefit from surgery when medications do not help. The approach streamlines the seizure monitoring process required for surgical planning, making surgery a more feasible and less risky option for patients.

Currently, for some patients, pinpointing the diseased brain areas where their seizures originate requires invasive surgery to place grids of electrodes on the brain's surface. This is followed by long-term electroencephalography (EEG) monitoringtypically for a weekwhile doctors wait for a seizure to happen. Then, patients must undergo a second brain operation to remove the diseased tissue.

The new technology, developed by Joseph Madsen, MD, Director of Epilepsy Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital, and Eun-Hyoung Park, PhD, a computational biophysicist in the Department of Neurosurgery, could allow patients to be monitored in one short session, without the need to observe an actual seizure. Patients could then proceed directly to surgery, avoiding a second operation.

Effective use of this technology could cut the cost and risk by more than half by reducing the current two-stage procedure to one-stage, the researchers say.

"We know that the diseased brain network responsible for the seizures is there all along," says Madsen. "So rather than wait for the patient to have a seizure, we set out to find patterns of interaction between various points in the brain that might predict where seizures would eventually start."

Looking between the seizures

To identify the brain areas causing the seizures, Madsen and Park applied a special algorithm to analyze patients' interictal EEG datadata captured between their seizures. They randomly selected 25 patients with hard-to-treat epilepsy who previously had long-term EEG monitoring at Boston Children's, and analyzed data from the first 20 seizure-free minutes of the patients' EEGs.

Their algorithm, known as Granger causality analysis, is based on a statistical approach developed Sir Clive Granger (for which he won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2003). Madsen and Park adapted the Granger method, originally used for economic forecasting, to calculate the probability that activity at one brain location predicts subsequent activity at other brain locations strongly enough to be considered causative. Their analysis generated a map of the causal relations in each patient's epileptogenic network, which Park and Madsen superimposed over images of the brain.

They then showed that the brain regions predicted to be causing seizures strongly correlated with actual causative regions on seizure EEGsas read by ten board-certified epileptologists, usually many days later.

Madsen and Park have shown that their calculations can be done quickly enough to allow data obtained in the operating room to potentially influence surgical decision-making. They now are investigating how the Granger causality method can best augment readings of EEGs by trained neurophysiologists.

"We still need to validate and refine our approach before it can be used clinically," notes Madsen. "But we are hopeful that these advanced computer applications can help us treat more children with epilepsywith less risk and lower cost."
Credit: University of Western Ontario

Using two simple blood tests, Western University researchers were able to drastically improve treatment for resistant hypertension across three sites in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

The study, published online today in the American Journal of Hypertension, demonstrates that for patients in Africa with hard-to-control hypertension, identifying the cause was the key to lowering blood pressure. By testing patients' levels of plasma renin, a protein secreted by the kidneys, in combination with levels of aldosterone, a hormone that causes salt and water retention, physicians were able to identify the physiological changes causing the hypertension. This led to personalized and more accurate therapy.

"If a patient has salt and water retention, it causes high blood pressure and also feeds back and shuts down both renin and aldosterone," said Dr. David Spence, principal investigator on the study and a professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Patients with low levels of both renin and aldosterone are more likely to have salt and water retention due to mutations affecting the kidney tubules; they respond specifically to a medication called amiloride. Such mutations account for approximately 6 per cent of hypertension in North America, but were more common among the African patients studied.

Of the 94 patients who completed the study, 42 were treated with the usual course of treatment, 52 were given the blood tests, and treatment was decided based on the results. In the group who were given usual treatment, 11.1 per cent had controlled blood pressure after one year, versus 50 per cent in the group that received the blood test.

"The biggest difference is that there were more people being prescribed amiloride in the physiological treatment group," said Spence, who is also a scientist at Robarts Research Institute at Western.

The authors say the motivation for this study came from the observation that patients from North Buxton, Ontario - a settlement established in 1849 for escaped slaves from the United States - were much more likely to have salt and water retention. Spence believes because of the hot, dry climate in African countries, mutations causing salt and water retention provided a survival advantage.

Spence hopes that this study will help inform guidelines for treatment of resistant hypertension, not just in Africa but for those of African decent living in other parts of the world, and for all patients with resistant hypertension.

More information: Adeseye Akintunde et al, Physiological Phenotyping for Personalized Therapy of Uncontrolled Hypertension in Africa, American Journal of Hypertension (2017). Journal information: American Journal of Hypertension Adeseye Akintunde et al, Physiological Phenotyping for Personalized Therapy of Uncontrolled Hypertension in Africa,(2017). DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hpx066
In the end, it was viruses, not an antibiotic, that saved Tom Patterson's life after a superbug infection he suffered in Egypt left him hallucinating, comatose and near death for months.

Acinetobacter baumannii, a type of toxin-excreting bacteria ranked near the top of the U.S. government's threat list, had nearly destroyed the University of California, San Diego professor's kidneys. At that point, his wife, the infectious-disease specialist Steffanie Strathdee, decided to get creative.

Why not try infecting her husband with bacteria-hunting viruses called bacteriophages? After all, the medical literature showed that these ancient microbes can kill even germs that have evolved resistance to all antibiotics. But finding just the right bacteriophages would be a painstaking and risk-filled process.

With Patterson's condition deteriorating rapidly and seemingly no other way to save his life, his medical team at UC San Diego Health agreed to give the bacteriophages idea a try.

The team worked with the Navy, Texas A&M University, San Diego State University and AmpliPhi Biosciences, a local biotech company. They collected, concentrated and purified an army of bacteriophages picked for their ability to seek out and destroy the specific strain of bacteria that was multiplying out of control throughout Patterson's body.

There were fears that this experimental therapy, put together in only 20 days under an emergency exemption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, might actually prove toxic and kill the patient. Instead, the approach produced a miraculous turnaround for Patterson.

His case, which began in late 2015 and stretched for more than nine months, is believed to be the first instance of bacteriophages being used intravenously to treat a patient who was near death because of an infection caused by drug-resistant bacteria. The medical and research team's triumph was touted last week at a conference in Paris and in an announcement by AmpliPhi. It is also expected to be the subject of an upcoming report in a scientific journal.

Dr. Robert Schooley, Patterson's doctor and head of the infectious-diseases division at UC San Diego, said he will never forget the moment when it became clear that his patient would survive.

"When he opened his eyes, it was a sense of elation I haven't had many times in my career," Schooley said. "Up until we tried the phages, it had just been a continuous downhill course no matter what we tried, and there was just not much hope left."

Schooley and others who helped treat Patterson cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from this dramatic turnaround, and they said much more analysis will be needed to turn this one case into a regimen of care for many other patients. Nonetheless, they agreed that Patterson's triumph represents an intriguing way to fight back against the scourge of superbugs - which is growing as the world struggles to develop new kinds of antibiotics.

Bacteriophage therapy is not new.

French microbiologist Felix d'Herelle and British bacteriologist Frederick Twort are credited with identifying bacteriophages a century ago. Before the discovery of penicillin, bacteriophage treatment was common in America and Europe and has continued in Russia and Poland even though it has fallen out of favor in most countries.

The journey to this field of treatment for Patterson began on Nov. 28, 2015, just after he and Strathdee, who also works at UC San Diego, visited Egypt for vacation.

Patterson woke up with severe abdominal pain followed by fever, nausea, vomiting and a racing heartbeat. The condition worsened as he arrived at a medical clinic, and he was soon evacuated to Germany, where doctors drained fluid from a cyst around his pancreas. Those physicians soon diagnosed him as being infected with the deadly superbug.

The toxins pumped by the bacteria into Patterson's bloodstream caused not only pain, but also hallucinations. He remembers perfectly lifelike scenes of wandering in a desert for 100 years, watching his wife disappear into asphalt and consulting with men in flowing white robes who kept stopping him from moving toward his destination because he had failed to eat a special leaf inside a wooden box within a prescribed time limit.

At one point, he said, he resolved to end it all by eating the sand under his feet in that psychedelic desert.

"I started to drink the sand, I looked down, and the sand was pouring out through my ribs. I couldn't even kill myself," he recalled thinking at the time.

Now, back from the edge of death and having completed a long course of physical therapy that has allowed him to return to his job as a professor of comparative psychology, Patterson said the toxin was distorting his mind's ability to interpret the things around him.

"You create the most rational story you can from the bits and pieces that are feeding into your brain," he said.

Strathdee said arriving at the decision to try an experimental treatment on her husband was torture. "It was the craziest thing I have ever done and hopefully ever will do in my life," she said.

The gamble paid off. The moment Patterson awakened from his coma was a bit surreal, she recalled. In the hospital for nine months and hallucinating or in a coma for most of that time, there was some serious catching-up to do.

"He woke up and said, 'What's been going on?' And I told him, 'Donald Trump is the nominee for president, and we saved you with purified sewage from Texas,'" Strathdee said. "He looked at me and said, 'I'm hallucinating again.'"

That's right, sewage.

It turns out that if you're looking for bacteriophages capable of subduing bacteria that commonly infect people, then human wastewater is a great place to search. For years, scientists have been collecting, cataloging and freezing samples of these viruses after screening them for potentially dangerous traits.

When Patterson's medical team at UC San Diego agreed to pursue a bacteriophage treatment, it asked the FDA for special approval under the agency's Emergency Investigational New Drug program.

The regulators could not have been more accommodating, said Schooley, the doctor for Patterson. They steered him toward the Navy, which has been using its network of ships to collect a comprehensive library of bacteriophage specimens for years.

On March 15, 2016, doctors infused a cocktail made up of four kinds of bacteriophages provided by Texas A&M and AmpliPhi Biosciences. Another round obtained from the Navy's Biological Defense Research Initiative was given on March 17. Patterson woke up from his coma on March 19.

Because no single bacteriophage can take out every permutation of Acinetobacter baumannii, it was necessary to use several versions. At one point, Patterson's team had exhausted all available types of bacteriophages.

Not to be deterred, the Navy turned to a new sewage sample and discovered a few more kinds that should prove effective.

Bacteriophage therapy has fallen out of favor in many countries partly because in decades past, science had not progressed enough to precisely match particular viruses with the particular bacteria they prey on. Centrifuges also were not yet powerful enough to purify bacteriophages to the level that is now possible.

Today, an increasing number of labs are working with bacteriophages. Yale University recently had great results treating a patient's drug-resistant bacterial infection with a single type of bacteriophage isolated from a water sample taken from a lake.

Dr. Paul Turner, chief of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale, said Patterson's case was more complicated than his team's because it required multiple strains of bacteriophages.

"These two cases nicely illustrate the promise as well as the challenges of phage therapy," Turner said.

He noted that broadening the use of this old but new treatment is very doable but not trivial.

"The challenge, of course, is which phages should be chosen to do the job? This will require a lot more research so that basic researchers and physicians can amass a next-generation drug arsenal," Turner said.

UC San Diego is considering whether to create its own bacteriophage center, complete with its own library of viral samples.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old Patterson joined last month's March for Science in San Diego. The event was one of hundreds held around the nation to promote the value of science.

Patterson carried a sign that proclaimed: "Science saves lives."

2017 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
"We've known for some time that young adults have had the highest prevalence of smoking." Credit: THINKSTOCK

In their many efforts since the 1990s to prevent Canadians from taking up smoking, governments have had a big blind spot: young adults. That's the finding of new research published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health by Thierry Gagne, a doctoral student at Universite de Montreal's School of Public Health. Over the last two decades, use of tobacco by high-school students has dropped dramatically but smoking by young people aged 18 to 25 has stayed relatively unchanged, with many young adults taking up the habit in college or on their first job. It's now time to address this problem of delayed onset of smoking by extending prevention campaigns from teens to young adults, Gagne argues in his paper, written with University of British Columbia sociology professor Gerry Veenstra. Katherine Frohlich, of UdeM's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, is supervising Gagne's thesis.

How is the trend in smoking among young Canadian adults different from smoking among teenagers?

Smoking prevalence and initiation rates has been steadily decreasing among Canadian youth (ages 11-17) since the mid 1990's, with prevalence rates dropping by half between 1994 and 2004 and again by half between 2004 and 2014. According to the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, initiation to a first cigarette fell from 45% to 8% between 1994 and 2014 among 11- to 14-year-olds. Among 15-17 years old, it fell from 48 to 29% between 2006 and 2014. On the other hand, using the Canadian Community Health Survey, the largest of its kind in the country, we found that trends in initiation to a first cigarette, as well as in daily smoking have not changed significantly. Between 2001 and 2013, about 14 to 16% said they experimented with a first cigarette during their young adulthood and 8 to 9% went on to daily smoking.

How have anti-tobacco campaigns failed young adults?

We've known for some time that young adults have had the highest prevalence of smoking. But back in the mid-1990s they simply weren't targeted. Instead, public-health experts directed their interventions and policies (restricting access based on age and location, for instance) at teenage smokers, since that was the demographic that was trending up. The experts didn't take into account that laws preventing marketing to youth would push tobacco companies to target young adults. They also didn't take into account the very different social and physical environments young adults are in, whether at school or at work or in their leisure activities. It was really a missed opportunity. Only now are we starting to see some kind of action: the current Consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control in Canada finally includes young adults.

Why is college and university a time when students have their first smoke?

It is hard to say; there's still little evidence in the Canadian context. But the literature suggests that many young adults who enter post-secondary education often develop new relationships by frequenting places like bars that are particularly conducive to initiating smoking. It's also a time when they leave home, away from parental supervision, and start to build new peer networks and explore and build their adult identity. Also, many start working part-time in the food service industry, an environment that's also very conducive to smoking.

What has your study found about all this?

Several things. a) We did not find evidence that initiation to first cigarette and daily smoking during young adulthood has decreased significantly in the last 15 years. b) It appears that the decreases found at the same time among teenagers might be unequally distributed, as we found no changes among those who did not finish high school during our observation period. c) The risk of initiating a first cigarette between 18 and 25 was associated with participating in, but not finishing, post-secondary education at ages 25 and 26. d) The risk of starting to smoke daily was systematically higher if you did not finish high school, pursue post-secondary or complete post-secondary education at ages 25 or 26. e) The risk of initiating a first cigarette and of daily smoking during young adulthood was approximately twofold among men.

What do you recommend the public health authorities do now?

The same things that Stephanie Gaudet, a University of Ottawa sociology professor, recommended 10 years ago; they're still very a propos to tobacco control today. a) Adapt our surveillance infrastructure to monitor young adults' smoking. b) Integrate young adults into current teen tobacco-control initiatives. c) Develop a global young-adult public health strategy. d) Include the voice of young adults in these developments. e) Work with other institutions that focus on young adulthood in education, employment and family matters. f) Work with other institutions that focus on disadvantaged young adults in health care, foster care, social services and other areas.

Lastly, on a personal note, have you ever smoked?

Yes, in my mid-teens. I started around 16 and was a daily smoker until 19, when I met my girlfriend. She didn't like smoking, so I quit. It's been 10 years now.

More information: Thierry Gagne et al. Trends in smoking initiation in Canada: Does non-inclusion of young adults in tobacco control strategies represent a missed opportunity?, Can J Public Health (2017). Journal information: Canadian Journal of Public Health Thierry Gagne et al. Trends in smoking initiation in Canada: Does non-inclusion of young adults in tobacco control strategies represent a missed opportunity?,(2017). DOI: 10.17269/cjph.108.5839
17-20 April 2018 OECD Conference Centre, Paris

12th Forum on responsible mineral supply chains 17-19 April - The 2018 Forum will provide the opportunity to review and discuss implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Minerals and other initiatives to enable responsible mineral production and sourcing. More than 700 stakeholders will come together to discuss drivers for responsible sourcing across various minerals, alignment of industry programmes, the OECD portal for supply chain risk information, government monitoring of Guidance uptake and promotion, company risk mitigation and reporting, the role of commodity traders and country-level implementation progress in India, Europe and West Africa. OECD work on due diligence in mineral supply chains OECD-World Bank event on artisanal and small-scale mining 20 April - This event will take place at the OECD back-to-back with the 2018 Forum on responsible mineral supply chains. OECD work on artisanal and small-scale mining

VENUE

OECD Conference Centre REGISTRATION

Registration will open in February 2018


The Look & Listen at Hillfox Value Centre  the last one in South Africa  will soon close, marking the end of an era.

Look & Listen was started nearly 50 years ago by Rob Ziegler, and the first Look & Listen  in Hillbrow  was an iconic music shop for many years.

During the height of the LP, cassette deck, and CD era, Look & Listen had numerous stores around the country  but the digital era ate away at its business model.

While it is a sad day for music enthusiasts, it comes as no surprise that the franchise is closing down its last outlet.

In February 2013, Look & Listen halted its online purchases, and in June 2014, the company was placed under business rescue.

At the time, Look & Listens Howard Lazarus said the plan was to close stores which were losing money and continue with the better stores.

While the short-term strategy saved several stores, the pressure of online music services and piracy was too much for the brick-and-mortar outlet.

The Hillfox Look & Listen told MyBroadband that a closing date has not been decided, but it is expected to happen in a few months.
The Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, has presented the departments annual performance plan in parliament.

Its focus areas include broadband connectivity and the implementation of the Integrated ICT Policy White Paper.

The broadband plans hit a roadblock when SITA, in collaboration with the department, issued a tender to procure broadband services in 2016. It was subsequently cancelled due to bidders not meeting the technical specifications.

The Department is currently reviewing different procurement options which would include utilisation of ICT state-owned companies, said Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The Department has therefore in 2017/18 committed to project managing the roll-out of the broadband connectivity Implementation Plan towards connecting 2,700 sites.

ICT Policy

Ndabeni-Abrahams said they have also started promulgating legislation which will enable the implementation of the Integrated ICT Policy White Paper.

The White Paper was approved by Cabinet in 2016, but drew criticism from mobile operators over its proposed wholesale access network and its distribution of high-demand frequency spectrum.

Ndabeni-Abrahams said that for the 2017/18 period, the department has prioritised legislation to implement the White Paper.

Bills will be drafted and submitted to Cabinet for public consultation approval, she said.
Stoltenberg says NATO summit will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023

Europe fills its gas storage facilities almost 100% before cold season

Greece MPs visit Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

Strasbourg city council adopts resolution on supporting Armenia

Turkey says it will not focus only on Russian gas

David Babayan says Azerbaijan makes propaganda against Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh

Former ECHR judge: UN Security Council does not consider Karabakh's separation illegal

Shavarsh Kocharyan says current PM took step of declaring Armenia aggressor

AraratBank underwrites FINCA UCO bonds

First ombudsperson says current Armenian authorities are illegitimate

Armenian National Committee of America: Dr. Oz Defeated in Pennsylvania Senate race

Head of Turkish Ministry of Agriculture: 10.1 million tons of grain exported from Ukrainian ports

Putin and Lukashenko discuss upcoming CSTO meeting by phone

Armenia legislature discusses issues of residents of Karabakhs Kashatagh region handed over to Azerbaijan

President pays tribute to martyrs of 3rd Artsakh war

Australian pedophile sentenced to 129 years in Philippines

Japan says North Korea launches alleged ballistic missile

British cabinet minister resigns after recent harassment allegations

Eleving Group member Mogo applies the best practices in Armenia

Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan will have to take new realities into account in near future

Iran MFA. Azerbaijan president's reaction is incomprehensible

Parliament speaker considers transit visa requirement for Armenia citizens at Poland airports worrisome

Pashinyan: Armenia-Cambodia warm relations have great prospects for development

Javier Colomina: NATO supports normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Copper falls in price

Karabakh FM: Azerbaijan has become more aggressive, brazen with Turkeys support

MOD: Artsakh army units did not open fire towards Azerbaijan positions

Oil prices go down

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Poland Senate vice-speaker on regional developments

Azerbaijan fires at Armenia positions

Gold prices go down

Newspaper: Armenia law enforcement agencies operative intelligence teams to enter several officials houses

US midterm elections virtually over, counting of votes underway

US State Department: Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs agreed to continue meetings, direct dialogue

India's Supreme Court releases men sentenced to death for rape and murder

Global South needs $2 trillion year to fight climate crisis

McDonald's releases chair for gamers with burger stand

The Telegraph: Rishi Sunak to announce major natural gas deal with US after COP27 summit

U.S. officials secretly ask major banks to continue doing business with some Russian firms

19fortyfive: Is America tired of the war in Ukraine?

EU replaces pipeline Russian gas with imported Russian LNG

Kommersant: China split the 'unity' of the West

Expert estimates level of Azerbaijan's information attack on Armenia in September, comparing it to 44-day war

UK wants to work more with the U.S. on gas supplies

Donald Trump votes in Florida midterm elections

EU admits: It is impossible to set a ceiling on gas prices that will not affect contracts or security of supply

Most valuable metal of year is named

Mehr: Nikolai Patrushev arrives in Tehran

Turkish TV company confesses that Ankara and Israel were arming Azerbaijan against Armenia

Who is Baku threatening? Armenia's former deputy defense minister decodes Aliyev's statements

Army Commander-in-Chief: Even those who claim to be superpowers do not dare to attack Iran

Iran and Russia to build joint pipeline

India to continue buying Russian oil

Businessman Zhong Shanshan becomes richest man in China

Armenia and Poland emphasize OSCE role in promoting stability in South Caucasus

Banks are searched in Germany in case of money laundering by Russian businessman

Armenian President reacts to Aliyev's speech at League of Arab States summit

Armenia increases trade with EEU member states by $1.2 bln

Cavusoglu: Sweden and Finland have not yet fulfilled all Turkey's conditions

Oldest member of Rothschild dynasty die in Britain

Armenian National Security Council head and Polish Secretary of State discuss regional security issues

Stepantsminda-Lars highway faces restrictions

Kyiv realizes if China starts supplying ammunition to Russian troops it will be terrible

State Department: U.S. remains committed to supporting peace in South Caucasus region

Iran condemns thousand protesters and calls for retaliation against rest

Delegation from Israel visits Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide

Media: London is close to agreement with Washington on LNG supplies

Aliyev in fact confirms fact of Azerbaijani aggression against sovereign territory of Armenia

Toivo Klaar: Important meeting held in Washington between Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs

Aliyev switches from threatening Armenia to insulting foreign leaders

Karabakh ombudsman: Todays occupation does not change status of Shushi

Envoy briefs Kazakhstan human rights commissioner on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Armenia

Dollar, euro continue to rise in Armenia

U.S. Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield arrives in Kiev

EU partners welcome justice sector reforms in Armenia

Armenia government to have academic city project development working group

Rybar: Publication of Iranian film about 'skeletons' of Aliyev family is blow to positions of Aliyev family

Zelenskyy to attend G20 leaders' summit

Voting for midterm elections to Congress begins in U.S.

Russian MFA offers Tehran and Riyadh to mediate dialogue

Survey: Georgia residents say Armenia is their friend

Arman Yeghoyan to Poland colleague: Armenia needs support from European platforms

State Department official: American side is impressed by Armenia Police reforms

Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte: I realized that this project is the right one

Heads of general staffs of CSTO countries armies to discuss military cooperation development

President: Climate change agenda continues to remain priority for Armenia despite challenges, security concerns

Armenia discusses issue of EEU citizens' stay in country for more than 180 days

Economy minister: 74% of Diaspora Armenians ready to invest in Armenia

Constitutional Court of Georgia revokes ban on pornography

158 people die in Philippines storm

Close to $7.5M allocated for Armenia scientific infrastructure, material, technical base modernization

Byblos Bank Armenia finances the construction of two major solar parks

Bloomberg: EU mechanism to provide Ukraine with $18 billion implies conditions

Turkey voices its full and unconditional support for Azerbaijan

Ombudsperson attends Armenia-EU Human Rights Dialogue session, presents facts recorded in her ad hoc reports

Israeli embassy congratulates Azerbaijan on 'Victory Day'

World gold prices going down

Ankara offers its storage capacity for Russian grain

Zelenskiy calls key conditions for talks with Russia

Bitcoin price goes down
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos informed on Monday that a small military aircraft has crashed near the capital, killing eight people, NY Times reported.

He has expressed his condolences on Twitter to the victims of the accident.

Investigators are looking into what caused the accident. Local authorities noted that the Cessna Caravan turboprop may have run into an antenna or encountered bad weather.

The flight was traveling to a small airport outside Bogota from a Colombian military base.
STEPANAKERT.  The adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces more than 40 times, from late Monday night to early Tuesday morning.

During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired about 540 shots toward the position-holders of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR) Defense Army, and with different-caliber shooting weapons, the defense army informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In addition, the adversary fired two mortar shells, in a southerly direction of the line of contact.

But the Artsakh defense army vanguard units continued confidently carrying out their military watch, and they took actions in response when necessary.
Why did you not extend us condolences on the occasion of the remembrance day of the Genocide victims?

A local resident asked the aforesaid to Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, during his visit to the densely Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakheti Region of Georgia, according to the website of the Armenian Community of Georgia.

The objective of his visit was to familiarize the local residents with the presidential platform-campaign, entitled Constitution to All.

In Akhaltsikhe, Margvelashvili met with the representatives of local NGOs.

Matters concerning the Armenian citizens of Georgia also were discussed at the talk. One of the questions posed to the Georgian president was about the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. In particular, a local resident expressed concern that the top echelon of power in Georgia had never issued a message of condolence the countrys citizens of Armenian descent, in connection with Armenian Genocide anniversary.

We have always noted that this was a great human tragedy, responded the president of Georgia. And our Armenian colleagues know very well because we have always said that this was a great tragedy; a human tragedy that occurred in the Ottoman Empire, at the time.
YEREVAN  Kond neighborhood of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, is planned to be turned into a tourist center, said Sirekan Ohanyan, director of Yerevanproject company, at a press conference on Tuesday.

In his words, the Kond reconstruction project is included in the Yerevan development program.

He noted that the task is to restore this historical quarter of Armenias capital city in a contemporary style, so that it not only causes aesthetic pleasure, but becomes useful, too.

Ohanyan noted that cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, and art galleries will be built at Kond.

The project is planned to be implemented through investments. In this connection, Sirekan Ohanyan stated, however, that even though he met with Russian and Swiss partners, there was no respective result as of yet.
Any aggression against Syria will lead to complication of a situation in the country and continuation of violence in the Middle East region, RIA Novosti reported quoting Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqa.

According to him, Tehran warned the neighboring countries against aggressive acts towards Syria. The Iranian minister stressed that all the countries should support peace and respect the territorial integrity of Syria.

In this regard, he mentioned the recent missile strikes of the U.S. against a Syrian airbase.

The US launched missile strikes against a Syrian airbase in the Homs Governorate last month. President Trump said he had ordered the bombing of this airfield because, in his words, the Assad forces chemical attack on the Idlib Governorate was launched from this airbase.
YEREVAN.  The talk between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan showed that Azerbaijan is still inclined to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by force.

Regional Studies Center Director, political analyst Richard Giragosian, stated about the above-said at a press conference on Tuesday. He noted this commenting on FMs Edward Nalbandians and Elmar Mammadyarovs recent meeting in Moscow, at the initiative of Russia.

In his words, Azerbaijans statements with respect to commitment to talks, however, are a mere diplomatic courtesy toward Russia, which had set up this talk.

Giragosian noted that although it certainly was good that such a meeting was held, Azerbaijans position shows that there is no diplomacy and strategy in the diplomatic strategy of Baku.

In his view, Azerbaijan wishes to get everything and more, whereas the Armenian side is still committed to peaceful discourse.
YEREVAN.  Questions concerning Armenia-Turkey rapprochement process should be directed, first of all, to Ankara, Armenia-based Regional Studies Center Director, political analyst, Richard Giragosian said at a press conference in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Within the framework of the meeting of Armenian and Turkish businessmen, he noted that in 2009 - 2010 Armenia agreed to begin process of rapprochement without preliminary conditions. Turkey withdrew from negotiations, deciding to change the rules and talked about the need of concessions to Azerbaijan on Karabakh. Armenia fulfilled everything that had been agreed and left the process only after Turkey led the process to an impasse.

Nevertheless, the diplomacy programs of the second level, even in this form, are important as the means of communication, Giragosian added.

The meeting was organized by the EU mission, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) and the Public Journalism Club (PJC).
YEREVAN.  Marine Papyan, Coordinator for Grant Programs of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Armenia, who is accused of committing theft from the grant funds allocated by this delegation, does not accept the charge that is brought against her.

Attorney Romik Chibukhchyan, who was Papyans legal defender for a very short period, told the abovementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

A facing was held with a person, on the very day of [her] arrest, said the attorney. He stated that he had given money to Marine Papyan, and they charged and arrested Marine, based on his words.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia had informed that Marine Papyan was detained on April 26, on suspicion of stealing money from the aforesaid funds, and with prior arrangement with several people. She was later charged.

Thirteen people have been indicted on charges of theft from the funds used for carrying out grant programs by the EU delegation to Armenia, assistance to this theft, and forging of documents by a group of persons. Search has been declared for three of these thirteen persons.

The respective criminal investigation is in progress.
YEREVAN.  Armenia is discussing with the Russian side the location where convict Valery Permyakov will serve his sentence, said Suren Krmoyan, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, at a press conference on Tuesday.

He noted that there was a court ruling on the case, and that the Armenian and the Russian judiciaries were conferring on the conditions for the implementation of this ruling.

There is no arrangement between us, noted Krmoyan. We are holding discussions, also including about the place of serving the sentence.

According to the indictment, Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri, entered the Avetisyan family home and killed seven persons, including two children, in January 2015.

Subsequently, he left his uniform and rifle behind, and disappeared.

Russian border guards, however, found him near the Turkish border.

On August of the same year, the Russian garrison court sentenced Permyakov to ten years in prison.

And in August 2016, the Shirak District Court of First Instance found him guilty of the murder of seven people, and sentenced him to life in prison.

Valery Permyakov is kept in custody in the aforesaid Russian military base.
The framework agreement of Greece with creditors provides for the liberalization of the country's gas market and the privatization of 66% stake in the operator of the DESFA, Greek gas transmission system, which can only be sold to a European company.

The agreement with creditors provides for introduction of an action plan by September 2017 to finalize the liberalization of the gas market, RIA Novosti reported quoting Greek Energy Ministry.

The process of recruiting a consultant for privatization has already been initiated by a fund from HRADF. The process will be over by the end of 2017, the ministry specified.

DESFA held the first tender for the sale of 66% stake in June 2013. It was won by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), which offered 400 million euros. However, in November 2016 the deal was broken because of the European Commissions ban on sale of a controlling stake. The Commission demanded reduction of SOCAR stake to 49%, while Greek authorities refused to reduce the price.
The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would add scrutiny to the process state agencies use to write regulations and allow the Legislature to veto rules deemed too expensive for businesses and local governments.

The bill would give lawmakers the power to reject each proposed state rule or regulation that is expected to cost businesses and local governments more than $10 million.

It would also require an independent economic impact analysis of any new rule proposed by a state agency and allow the state to contract with an outside group to conduct a cost analysis of a proposed rule instead of using state agencies staff.

Any rule that costs more than $10 million over two years also would need approval from the full Legislature before it can be enacted. The legislation passed 19-14 on Tuesday and was championed by Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee.

All Senate Democrats and Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, voted against the bill.

I dont know why we think we can stop a federal rule. We cant, Cowles said.

id. This bill would say OK, were just going to block it? Then what?

Opponents of the bill are mostly environmental groups, including Clean Wisconsin. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and other industry groups back the bill.

The bill must pass the Assembly before heading to Gov. Scott Walkers desk for his signature.

Opioid abuse bills

Senators on Tuesday also passed nine bills aimed at reducing heroin and opiate abuse.

The legislation, now in Walkers hands, will allow a new University of Wisconsin System office tasked with expanding charter schools in the state to create a school for students recovering from drug addiction. Lawmakers also approved legislation that would protect school employees from lawsuits for administering medication to cure overdoses, expand drug treatment and counseling and pay for more special agents to investigate drug trafficking, among other measures.The bills were mostly approved unanimously, despite some criticism from Democrats that the legislation doesnt go far enough to help Wisconsin residents struggling with drug abuse.

 Reporter Mark Sommerhauser contributed to this report.
YEREVAN. - Minister of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia, Suren Karayan, on Tuesday received Charge dAffaires of Syria in Armenia, Issam Nayal, to discuss the Armenian-Syrian trade and economic ties.

Nayal told the minister that the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Trade has prepared the list of goods to be exported, which may be in demand in Armenia as well.

Karayan noted that the ministry will study the list, adding: We pay special attention to those Syrian businessmen, who engage in business in Armenia. We are willing to support them. We are grateful to them for introducing a new business culture here.

The minister said he is willing to support, expressing hope that the Syrian economy will quickly recover. He also added that Armenia can serve as a platform for Syrian business in order for it to gain access to the EAEU. No Syrian businessman will face any obstacle in Armenia, Karayan said.

Issam Nayal, for his part, noted that he is impressed by the foreign economic activity of Armenia and the fact that Armenia is open both for the West and East.

In the words of the charge dAffaires, after a long break an international exhibition will be held in Damascus this August. Besides, the conference entitled Syrian reconstruction will take place in September. Nayal invited the Armenian side to participate in the conference events.

Apart from this, the minister and charge daffaires discussed the possible visit of Armenian businessmen to Syria.

I hope that this meeting will be a starting point for the development of economic relations between two of our countries, Nayal said.
YEREVAN. - Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian on Tuesday received the delegation of Tavitian Foundation led by its President Aso Tavitian, as well as Dean of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Admiral James Stavridis.

FM Nalbandian praised the input of the foundation in the education and training of Armenian youth, the press-service of the Armenian MFA informed Armenian News  NEWS.am. He also underscored the importance of cooperation between the foundation and the Armenian MFA.

Apart form this, Nalbandian briefed the guests on the efforts exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group towards creating conditions for the advancement of talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Furthermore, the sides exchanged views on the regional and international affairs.
Foreign Minster of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday exchanged messages on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In his message, Nalbandian noted that during the last quarter of a century Armenia and US formed friendly relations based on mutual confidence and respect, as well as recorded various significant achievements in different spheres.

The FM also stressed that the US was the first state to establish its embassy in Yerevan and stand with the newly independent state, including through wide support programs, which were especially vital in the first years of the establishments of the state.

According to Nalbandian, the high-level Armenian-American political dialogue is dynamically developing: both states cooperate in international organizations, making their contribution to the international efforts to find solutions to the common challenges and threats.

Apart from this, the Armenian FM expressed conviction that the Armenian-American Intergovernmental Commission and Trade and Investment Council are effective formats for advancing the economic cooperation.

Referring to the US development and investment programs in Armenia, FM Nalbandian noted that they are an important part of the bilateral cooperation, which they are going to further expand.

He also noted that the communication between the societies of the two countries is deepening. In the ministers words, Armenia and US are effectively cooperating in the sphere of science, technology, culture, education, etc.

Furthermore, Nalbandian stressed that Armenia attaches great importance to the role of US as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing state and reconfirmed the countrys commitment to continue the joint efforts of the co-chairs aimed at the exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Moreover, the FM stressed the significant contribution of the Armenian community in the relations of the two states, expressing conviction that it will continue to serve as an important bridge for the Armenian-American partnership.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, for his part, lauded the partnership between Armenia and US during the past quarter of century. He stressed that the US is proud of the joint achievements recorded since the independence of Armenia.

The Secretary of State also noted that the American Armenians are making an invaluable contribution to the development of relations between Armenia and US.

Referring to the future of Armenian-US relations, Tillerson noted that the US will continue the cooperation with the Armenian government, business circles and civil society in the direction of implementing the initiatives aimed at contributing to the development of security, democracy and economy.

Touching on the growing cooperation between US and Armenia, the US official said that the US investments in Armenia, which have received their historical peak in the recent years, are especially promising.

Apart from this, the Secretary of State stressed that Armenia has a huge potential. He also expressed hope that the mutually beneficial trade and economic relations between the two countries will further enhance. Furthermore, Tillerson noted that as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, the US continues its decisive commitment to support the Karabakh conflict settlement.
New Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organziation (CSTO) Yuri Khachaturov has assumed his office on Tuesday, the CSTO press-service reports.

''Yuri Khachaturov, who was appointed to the post [of CSTO Secretary General] on 14 April 2017 by the decision of the Collective Security Council, assumed his office on May 2.

Upon arriving at the CSTO Secretariat, Yuri Khachaturov met with the staff. Referring to the priorities in his activity as a CSTO Secretary General, he pointed out to the most important of themfurther strengthening of cooperation between the CSTO member states.

''Our task is to always observe the principle of CSTO: ''One for all and all for one,'' Khachaturov said at the meeting with the Secretariat workers.

The Secretary General will attend the scheduled session of the Permanent Council of the organization on May 3,'' the statement reads.

Yuri Khachaturov represents Armenian in the CSTO.

Earlier, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan releived Khachaturov of his duties as a Secretary of the National Security Council of the country.
Norwegian Accident Board Still Probing 2016 Helicopter Crash

All 13 crew and passengers aboard the Airbus Super Puma died April 29, 2016, when the main rotor detached without warning. It crashed while en route from a North Sea platform. Both Norwegian and UK authorities have grounded this type of helicopter since the crash.

A newly released preliminary report from Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) explains investigators' findings to date in the crash of an Airbus Helicopters EC 225 LP Super Puma helicopter on April 29, 2016, while it was en route from a North Sea platform. Both Norwegian and UK authorities have grounded this type of helicopter since the crash, which killed all 13 on board -- two crew members and 11 passengers. The helicopter's main rotor detached without warning, and AIBN has been conducting metallurgical examinations and, working with Airbus Helicopters, trying to determine what caused the fatigue fracture in one of the eight second stage planet gears in the epicyclic module of the main rotor gearbox, which was the cause of the crash.

The agency's report says the observed failure mode in the accident "seems to differ from what was expected or foreseen during the design and certification of the main rotor gearbox," adding, "No material conformity issues or discrepancies in the manufacturing process have been revealed during the investigation."

The main rotor gearbox was involved in a road accident during transport in 2015 and was inspected, repaired, and released for flight by Airbus Helicopters afterward, then was installed in January 2016 on the helicopter. The gearbox underwent 260 flight hours prior to the crash. The report says AIBN has found no physical evidence that could connect the ground transport accident to the subsequent fatigue cracks in the second stage planet gear.

Another noteworthy element to the crash is that there are "clear similarities" to a crash of a different Airbus Helicopters aircraft in 2009 off the coast of Scotland, the board reported. The helicopter involved in the 2009 crash had a nearly identical main rotor gearbox to the one installed in the Super Puma helicopter, and in both cases one of the eight second stage planet gears in the epicyclic module fractured because of fatigue.

"The AIBN will continue the investigation into how and why two similar catastrophic accidents could happen to near identical helicopters only seven years apart. Further assessment of the follow-up on the [2009 helicopter] safety recommendations and the continuing airworthiness of the gearbox after 2009 is a relevant issue," the report states. "Due to the scope and complexity of the investigation it is not feasible to estimate a completion date for the final report. The investigation will continue at a high activity level."

Immediately after the 2016 accident, both Norway's and the UK's civil aviation authorities grounded Airbus Helicopters EC 225 LP helicopters, except for those used in search and rescue flights for the purpose of saving lives. On May 11, 2016, those authorities extended the scope of their bans to Airbus Helicopters type AS 332 L2 helicopters -- the type involved in the 2009 crash -- except for search and rescue.
The way Tom Barthell and Mike Rooney remember their own humble origin story, they were just sitting around late last year, "drinking a couple of local brewskies," talking about all the recent development happening in Milwaukee, from the new Bucks arena and Northwestern Mutual Tower going up Downtown to the wave of craft breweries opening around the city.

And as a couple of area natives who, as Rooney says, "love beer and love Milwaukee," they looked around, wondering how they could contribute. Neither of them was a beer brewer or a coffee roaster, but both worked in digital marketing and had experience producing professional-quality videos, which there weren't many of, even amid all the attention and coverage of the suddenly booming beverage scene.

"The growth was undeniable, and we were just seeing an element to the growth that wasn't necessarily told in an eloquent way," Barthell says, while enjoying a Tyranena (Lake Mills) Imperial IPA at Draft & Vessel in Shorewood. "We thought the most effective way to get involved was by making videos, which we already knew how to do, and telling stories about beer, which we have always loved.

"We didn't want to sit by and just watch the growth of Milwaukee happen."

Indeed, they wanted to sip by  and to film it. Just two months later, SipMilwaukee was born, the pairs passion project to chronicle the history and rebirth of Brew City and bring to life the stories behind its thirst-quenching contemporary brands. OnMilwaukee is partnering with SipMilwaukee on a new brewery and beveraged-based multimedia content series.

"No one in this city was doing good video content online," says Rooney, "and we wanted to be the people to do it."

In January, they filmed a trailer, documenting and gauging local interest in their idea. The response was resoundingly positive, so they set to work figuring out a format, interviewing brewmasters, shooting, editing and producing short vignettes. Their pilot videos include Third Space Brewing, Stone Creek Coffee, Eagle Park Brewery and more. The vignettes are sleek, well-composed, emotive and informative, featuring an upbeat vibe and engaging interviews.

And although the two are talented and proficient  Barthell is the executive producer, Rooney the on-screen host  the labor is time-consuming and done on the side of their regular jobs.

"The production team is me and Mike," Barthell says, adding that their crew has also included some college students, who gain hands-on experience doing a more-fun-than-your-typical-classroom project. "We don't have 12 people that weve got to pay the salaries of, so we're doing it for cheaper than anybody else out there, but it does take a lot of time to film and edit these videos. It comes out to we're doing it more as a charity at this point than to make money on our end. We're doing it out of a love for the city and love for the growth, not to pay bills. Hopefully, one day."

While neither has a background in journalism or storytelling, per se, Barthell, a 2013 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Rooney, a Class of 2015 Michigan State alum, are relishing the inventive opportunity to educate and entertain their audience about the people, parts and processes involved in the local beverage brands they love. "In marketing, in general, you're always trying to craft a message to achieve some objective," Barthell says.

Adds Rooney, "Obviously, there's that creative aspect of advertising, bouncing ideas off of other people, and thats a lot of what me and Tom do. Then its just coming up with the best way to convey a message for a business or, in our case, about the growth of Milwaukee."

The two speak often about the citys proud brewing tradition and they say their aim is to educate people not only about that history, but also the industrys recent revival in the form of craft beer.

The breweries, of course, love the idea of being featured in elaborate vignettes, though getting more people through their doors or increasing their beer sales is not SipMilwaukees motivation. And since most of the area companies dont have a lot of money to spend on such marketing, at this point the videos are largely a labor of love. "The hope is to eventually be able to step up our production game by funding it in some way where we can spend more time and more resources on it to do a higher-quality job," Barthell says.

As for the aesthetics of the videos, SipMilwaukee models its style on some Netflix documentaries, as well as the "Wisconsin Foodie" television series. Ultimately, theyd like to film a longer-form feature  perhaps an in-depth, 30-minute episode  but currently the vignettes are about two or three minutes and more about local breweries than coffee companies or distilleries, which are planned for the future. Still, theyre excited about the content and its relevance in 2017, especially heading into the summer.

"Right now, we're just trying to focus on telling as many stories as we can during this crazy time in the craft beer scene," Barthell says. "I would hate to look back on this year and be like, I wish we would have told that story. I wish we would have caught that brewery when they were just experiencing  I dont know  the most energetic and emotional part of their growth."

The two say the most fulfilling part of the project has been learning about the brands and meeting the people that work for them. They enjoy asking questions, hearing little-known anecdotes, becoming quasi-experts  "If you asked Mike last September what a quad is, he'd be like, a four wheeler bike? I definitely appreciate beer more now," Barthell says  and interacting with everyone involved. They mention the doctors who launched Waukeshas Raised Grain Brewing Co. as particularly, amusingly memorable.

"My favorite part of the journey thus far has been discovering the network of people in the beverage scene. We've met a lot of really cool people that don't necessarily work at the breweries or the coffee roasters," Rooney says, like farmers, manufacturers and distributors.

Says Barthell, "That's what SipMilwaukee's all about is introducing the people behind the beverage to the world, and Milwaukee as a city. It's telling the story that you wouldn't necessarily know.

"Every brewer here has a different origin about how they got into brewing. I think the moral of our story is we're just two guys who love Milwaukee, and we're trying to contribute to the growth as best we can. It turns out that that is in the form of videos and beer."

Anyone interested in working for, partnering with or being covered by SipMilwaukee can email info@sipmilwaukee.com.
Theres no shortage of articles and television shows that showcase the dishes that chefs love to cook at their restaurants. But, what do they love to eat at the end of their exhausting 16-hour days? Or on their days off?

In this series, we ask Milwaukee-area chefs to share their favorite dishes, both from local restaurants and for eating at home. In this edition, we talked with Chef David Magnasco of The Chefs Table. Magnasco will be among eight featured chefs at the fourth annual Moveable Feast event at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Chef David Magnasco spends his days designing menus for private dinners and events at The Chefs Table. But before he opened his swanky Walkers Point private dining room, he honed his craft at a variety of fine dining establishments in the U.S. and abroad.

Among his formative experiences was time spent in Northern Italy, where he completed the masters program at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Costigliole dAsti. It was a decision born of his love for the ingredients used in Piedmontese cooking. And his love for Italian culture and cuisine is evident in his approach to food and wine.

Magnasco says that, when he dines out, he often seeks out high quality, well prepared food. And thats reflected in some of his favorite dishes from around town.

"Everything" at The National

"Im not a breakfast person. But The National is my favorite place for lunch. I love sitting right in the corner window. You get to see everything thats happening on 9th and National. And theres the great little courtyard in the back during the summer. And you cant go wrong with anything on the menu. Nell [Benton] has a great palate, and she just sources her ingredients really well. I mix it up quite a bit. I think Ive had all the sandwiches, and I love the specials."

The ham & biscuits at Morel

"I really love everything that Chef Jonathan Manyo makes; he changes the menu all the time so I really never eat the same thing twice  although, he makes this amazing little sticky biscuit with ham and honey. Its so simple, but so good. We almost always sit at the bar. Joe is one of the best bartenders in the city; he makes a great cocktail. And every now and again, if Im lucky, Ill pop over later at night after work and Ill get a taste of their family meal. They take turns cooking, and theyre always so excited to share what theyve made."

The tartare at Bavette La Boucherie

"I almost always order like four things when I go there. It varies, but I always order the tartare. Karen Bell is fabulous; she takes a lot of risks with her flavor profiles, but she does it really really well. I dont think theres anything on that menu that you can go wrong with. They also have a lot of great things in their case. Ive even gone over and purchased things there to use at the Chefs Table for events; once we used a goat sausage that she brings in. It was so good. Its also so fun to sit at the counter there and watch them work, cutting up meats and prepping. I love it."

Special occasion dish

"Every Christmas morning, its tradition for us to open a bottle of champagne and Ill make French toast with pannetone from Gloriosos. Well usually sneak down to the Chefs Table kitchen and cook so that we dont mess up our kitchen. My daughter Maddalena will crack the eggs and whip them together with the cinnamon and ingredients. And shes even getting to the point where shes learning to flip the French Toast on the griddle. The finished product is really decadent. We gild the lily with powdered sugar and Purple Door vanilla ice cream."
Recently (on Thursday, 27 April 2017), Laguna Phukets Children First Fund (CFF) has launched its first sustenance and nutritional necessity delivery to support 7 Phuket-based orphanages, housing more than 400 children (as of April 2017.) The activity was made possible by funds raised at Laguna Phukets inaugural Charity Food & Music Festival event which was held at the Asias premier destination resort earlier this year (in March) to kick-start its 30th anniversary celebrations. CFFs sustenance delivery will be organised on a monthly basis throughout this year.

With the objective of Nourishing Hearts, Inspiring Dreams, Laguna Phukets Children First Fund (CFF) was also specially set up this year in conjunction with Laguna Phukets 30th anniversary to provide nutrition support to orphanages in Phuket.

Id like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all the generous donors, Laguna Phuket Food & Music Festivals sponsors and CFF partners who had helped CFF achieved its goal to build upon and extend the community services that Laguna provides in the area of education, a core aspect of Laguna sustainability focus, said Mr. Anthony Loh, Senior Assistant Vice President of Laguna Phuket,

Partnering with 7 orphanages in Phuket, the CFF complements Laguna Phuket Kindergarten, the Community Learning Center and the Mobile Learning Center by empowering the future generations and expanding our reach to this special group of underprivileged children under the care of our partners he concluded.

Part proceeds of Laguna Phukets key year-long events together with Laguna Phuket contribution will be contributed to support the nutrition of needy children in Phuket orphanages through the work of CFF.

For more information and to help donate, please visit www.lagunaphuket.com/CSR or contact tel. +66 (0) 76 362 315, email: csr@lagunaphuket.com or follow the Facebook page @LagunaPhuketCSR.
Labels highlight significant jumps. Tip positions are derived from Landsat (USGS) and Sentinel-1 InSAR (ESA) data. Background image blends BEDMAP2 Elevation (BAS) with MODIS MOA2009 Image mosaic (NSIDC). Other data from SCAR ADD and OSM. Credit: MIDAS project, A. Luckman, Swansea University

The rift in the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica now has a second branch, which is moving in the direction of the ice front, Swansea University researchers revealed after studying the latest satellite data.

The main rift in Larsen C, which is likely to lead to one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, is currently 180 km long. The new branch of the rift is 15 km long.

Last year, researchers from the UK's Project Midas, led by Swansea University, reported that the rift was growing fast. Now, just 20km of ice is keeping the 5,000 sq km piece from floating away.

Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University College of Science, head of Project Midas, described the latest findings:

"While the previous rift tip has not advanced, a new branch of the rift has been initiated. This is approximately 10km behind the previous tip, heading towards the ice-front.

This is the first significant change to the rift since February of this year. Although the rift length has been static for several months, it has been steadily widening, at rates in excess of a metre per day.

It is currently winter in Antarctica, therefore direct visual observations are rare and low resolution. Our observations of the rift are based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry from ESA's Sentinel-1 satellites. Satellite radar interferometry allows a very precise monitoring of the rift development".

Ice flow velocities of Larsen C in May 2017, from ESA Sentinel-1 data. Credit: A. Luckman, MIDAS, Swansea University, with Copernicus Sentinel data.

Researchers say the loss of a piece a quarter of the size of Wales will leave the whole shelf vulnerable to future break-up. Larsen C is approximately 350m thick and floats on the seas at the edge of West Antarctica, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

Professor Luckman said:

"When it calves, the Larsen C Ice Shelf will lose more than 10% of its area to leave the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded; this event will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

We have previously shown that the new configuration will be less stable than it was prior to the rift, and that Larsen C may eventually follow the example of its neighbour Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 following a similar rift-induced calving event.

The MIDAS Project will continue to monitor the development of the rift and assess its ongoing impact on the ice shelf. Further updates will be available on our blog (projectmidas.org), and on our Twitter feed"

The Larsen C ice rift aerial view. Credit: John Sonntag/NASA
Ice speed in Western Palmer Land on the Antarctic Peninsula measured by the ESA-EU Sentinel-1 satellite mission. Credit: J. Wuite, ENVEO

Glacier flow at the southern Antarctic Peninsula has increased since the 1990s, but a new study has found the change to be only a third of what was recently reported.

An international team of researchers, led by the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds, are the first to map the change in ice speed. The team collated measurements recorded by five different satellites to track changes in the speed of more than 30 glaciers since 1992.

The findings, published today in Geophysical Research Letters, represent the first detailed assessment of changing glacier flow in Western Palmer Landthe southwestern corner of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The new Leeds led research calls into question a recent study from the University of Bristol that reported 45 cubic kilometres per year increase in ice loss from the sector. The Leeds research found the increase to be three times smaller.

Lead author Dr Anna Hogg, from the Leeds' School of Earth and Environment, said: "Dramatic changes have been reported in this part of Antarctica, so we took a closer look at how its glaciers have evolved using 25 years of satellite measurements dating back to the early 1990s."

A view of Western Palmer Land glaciers and George VI Ice Shelf from BAS Twin Otter aeroplane. Credit: Hogg/CPOM

The researchers found that between 1992 and 2016, the flow of most of the region's glaciers increased by between 20 and 30 centimetres per day, equating to an average 13% speedup across the glaciers of Western Palmer Land as a whole.

These measurements provide the first direct evidence that Western Palmer Land is losing ice due to increased glacier flowa process known as dynamical imbalance.

The team also combined their satellite observations with an ice flow model using data assimilation to fill in gaps where the satellites were unable to produce measurements. This allowed the complete pattern of ice flow to be mapped, revealing that the regions glaciers are now pouring an additional 15 cubic kilometres of ice into the oceans each year compared to the 1990s.

The earlier study reported that the region was losing three times this amount of ice, based on measurements of glacier thinning and mass loss determined from other satellite measurements. The Leeds study casts doubt on that interpretation, because the degree of glacier speedup is far too small.

Study co-author Professor Andrew Shepherd, from Leeds' School of Earth and Environment, explained: "Although Western Palmer Land holds a lot of iceenough to raise global sea levels by 20 centimetresits glaciers can't be responsible for a major contribution to sea level rise, because their speed has barely changed over the past 25 years. It's possible that it has snowed less in this part of Antarctica in recent yearsthat would also cause the glaciers to thin and lose mass, but it's a not a signal of dynamical imbalance."

A view from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Rothera research station, on Alexander Island at the Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: A. E. Hogg/CPOM

The greatest speedup in flow was observed at glaciers that were grounded at depths more than 300 m below the ocean surface.

Dr Hogg said: "We looked at water temperatures in front of the glaciers which have sped up the most, and we found that they flow through deep bedrock channels into the warmest layer of the ocean. This circumpolar deep water, which is relatively warm and salty compared to other parts of the Southern Ocean, has warmed and shoaled in recent decades, and can melt ice at the base of glaciers which reduces friction and allows them to flow more freely.

With much of Western Palmer Land's ice mass lying well below sea level it is important to monitor how remote areas such as this, are responding to climate change. Satellites are the perfect tool to do this.

Pierre Potin, ESA's Manager of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 Mission which was used in the study, said: "We will continue to use Sentinel-1's all weather, day-night imaging capability to extend the long term climate data record from European satellites."

More information: Anna E. Hogg et al, Increased ice flow in Western Palmer Land linked to ocean melting, Geophysical Research Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2016GL072110 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters
In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the biochemist Markus Keller demonstrated successfully how important metabolic mechanisms were able to develop in cells four billion years ago. His research provides completely new insights into the origin of life.

The origin of life is perhaps the greatest mystery of science. It is still not adequately understood how something so complex could evolve from inanimate nature. The biochemist Markus Keller from the Medical University of Innsbruck has now made an important contribution to our understanding of how life developed on Earth. An Erwin-Schrodinger Fellowship from the FWF enabled Keller to do research abroad. In the course of his work he explored how some very old and complex processes of cellular metabolism developed.  Processes that are almost four billion years old and are also found in the human organism.

"The crux here is how metabolism started in the first place", says Keller. "In some places on our planet there are very old sediments showing that life began more than 3.7 billion years ago. From these sediments we are unable, however, to conclude in exactly what form life existed and what its characteristics were. We just know that there must have been some kind of metabolic activity", notes Keller.

Some metabolic pathways are identical in nearly all living organisms on the planet. One example is glycolysis, the processing of sugar. "Plants, bacteria and other living organisms use glucose in the same way we ourselves do. We may assume that the processes were the same in life-forms existing at very early stages of evolution. The question is this: how could these life-forms interconvert the intermediate products of glycolysis?"

The mystery of missing enzymes

Cellular metabolism is a complicated system that depends on a number of enzymes.  These special proteins serve as catalysts, and some processes would not be possible without them. If an enzyme is missing, the entire cycle does not work. As Keller explains, it's a chicken-or-egg problem: what came first? The enzymes, which are metabolic products themselves? Or metabolism, which does not function without enzymes? Only a few years ago, the idea that several of these metabolic mechanisms might have functioned without enzymes, simply because of the prevailing environmental conditions, was disparaged as "magical thinking". But it is precisely these processes whose existence Keller was able to demonstrate.

Importance of iron in the Archean Ocean

His first papers dealt with glycolysis and what is called the "pentose-phosphate pathway". "At the time when life must have begun, the Archean ocean was relatively warm and contained a great deal of iron in a dissolved state", explains Keller. Under normal circumstances, iron is not water soluble in its oxidised form, i.e. rust. About four billion years ago there was, however, hardly any pure oxygen in the atmosphere or in the ocean which would have supported iron oxidation. Therefore, there existed large quantities of iron (II), or ferrous iron, which is easily dissolved in water. "We simulated the conditions prevailing in the Archean ocean and looked at how, for instance, fructose-6-phosphate, an intermediate product of cellular metabolism, would react in this environment. One of the things we found was that it converts to glucose-6-phosphate, precisely the same sequence of reaction and reaction pathways as in the living cell. In the first publications we showed that this occurs in a surprisingly efficient manner with very few side reactions. It results in exactly the right molecules."

Metabolic processes first, enzymes next

For this reason, the Archean ocean was an absolutely ideal environment for these very old metabolic reactions. And here lies the solution to this particular chicken-or-egg problem: chemical metabolic pathways were there first, and the enzymes developed later. Keller was able only recently to demonstrate a similar situation for the "citric acid cycle" (CAC), another important part of cellular metabolism. Its individual reactions can also run in the absence of enzymes. Analogous to modern cells, where glycolysis and the CAC, which is located in the cell mitochondria, run separately in different milieus, their non-enzymatic counterparts also need different chemical milieus in order to run effectively. In this way, the researcher showed that the observations made in relation to glycolysis also applied to other important metabolic pathways.

New methods trigger ideas

Keller was able to make these observations by using mass spectrometry methods he developed during his Schrodinger Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. Mass spectrometry is an extremely sensitive method of measuring involving the breaking down of substances into their individual molecules or atoms in order to determine their mass. Keller originally examined how the components of yeast cells could be analysed by means of mass spectrometry, since it was not only highly precise but also promised additional advantages over other methods. Yeast is one of the most important model organisms of biology, and Keller's work was basic research with the aim of developing methodology for other types of research. He developed the idea of looking at the evolutionary origin of cellular metabolism together with the microbiologist Markus Ralser, head of the Cambridge research group of which Keller was a member. They also asked Alexandra Turchyn, an expert on Archean oceans, to join them and published the first paper on this issue.

Important side-line observations

"Actually I never planned for my research to go in this direction", says Keller. "The initial study done on yeast metabolism is now also awaiting publication. But it was important that I had the freedom to look into these things. At first it was just a side-line." Keller emphasises that some of these effects have probably been measured in other studies as secondary effects but were not reported in detail. "These reactions still occur in cells today", observes Keller. He encourages groups that are active in this field to take a closer look at what they may misinterpret as being measuring errors.
California regulators are proposing a strict limit on a toxic man-made chemical that has contaminated water supplies throughout the state, particularly in its vast agricultural heartland.

California would be only the second state, after Hawaii, to establish a threshold for the former pesticide ingredient and industrial solvent known as TCP (1,2,3-trichloropropane) in drinking water. The chemical compound, identified in California as a human carcinogen, is no longer in wide use but has leached over the years into many wells and reservoirs.

The problem extends well beyond California and Hawaii, environmental advocates say, but the chemical is not regulated by the federal government. Citing federal data, the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, says the chemical also has been detected in water supplies of a dozen other states, including New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as Puerto Rico.

Once TCP gets into the groundwater, it "persists for centuries," according to the EWG's April report.

The California State Water Resources Control Board's proposal would set the maximum allowable amount of TCP in public tap water at five parts per trillion - the lowest level that existing filtration systems can reliably detect and far lower than Hawaii's.

It "is a top priority for the state water board," said board spokesman Andrew DiLuccia.

TCP taints water systems serving nearly a million people from Sacramento to San Diego, according to the state water board. The compound is present at levels above the proposed limit in 562 wells, reservoirs and other sources belonging to 94 public water systems, according to 2016 data. Those numbers do not include private wells.

In California, the contamination exists in many urban areas, including in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Mateo counties. Though the source in those more populated regions is not known, the pollution is believed to come from industrial and hazardous waste sites.

"Los Angeles has quite a bit of contamination," said Andria Ventura, toxics program manager for the environmental advocacy group Clean Water Action. "It's hard for water providers to pinpoint where it came from."

But California's most serious and widespread TCP contamination is in the agricultural counties of the Central Valley, where the chemical was an ingredient in soil fumigants sold by the Shell Oil and Dow Chemical companies from at least the 1950s into the 1980s.

During that period, farmers who grew potatoes, sugar beets and other vegetables used the fumigants to kill tiny, soil-dwelling worms called nematodes. Dozens of municipalities and public water suppliers across the state have filed lawsuits against Shell and Dow, alleging that the companies knew - or should have known - that the TCP in their soil-fumigating pesticides would migrate into groundwater and pose a serious health hazard.

Shell and Dow have denied wrongdoing. Shell quit selling its product, known as D-D, in the mid-1980s. About the same time, Dow opted to reformulate its fumigant, known as Telone, after which TCP declined to "generally undetectable" levels, according to company spokesman Jarrod Erpelding. He declined to comment further, citing pending litigation.

Shell sent an email response: "The former Shell agricultural product, last manufactured more than 30 years ago, contained trace amounts of 1,2,3 trichloropropane (TCP). It was used to control microscopic worms that attacked crops causing millions of dollars a year of crop loss for farmers, and was approved for use by the U.S. government and the State of California."

Environmental advocates say the adoption of a regulatory limit for TCP is a crucial step to help cash-strapped, rural water districts pay for the cleanup of their drinking water.

"It allows the districts when they go into court to be very specific and say to the judge, 'We're going to need exactly this amount of money to purchase this kind of system to meet the state standards,'" said Bill Walker, managing editor at the Environmental Working Group and co-author of its report on the role of Shell and Dow in California's TCP drinking water problem.

"It doesn't guarantee they'll win," he said, "but it increases their leverage."

At a public hearing on April 19, water board members heard testimony and received written comments on the proposed limit. Now the board is reviewing the input it received and will likely vote on the plan by summer, DiLuccia said.

The regulation would require water utilities to test their supplies for TCP and remove it from any public drinking water source that exceeded the threshold, starting in 2018.

The proposed limit is more stringent than Hawaii's because it is as close as California could get to meeting its stated "public health goal" for TCP set in 2009, officials say.

Though it is difficult to know how long the California cleanup might take, the cost of TCP testing and subsequent cleanup could reach nearly $500 million over 20 years, according to one water board estimate.

TCP contamination "disproportionately impacts poor communities and communities of color," said Jenny Rempel, of Community Water Center, a Visalia, Calif.-based advocacy group. "This is a problem where the cost should not be borne by taxpayers."

Todd E. Robins, a San Francisco attorney who is representing more than two dozen of the water suppliers that are suing Shell and Dow, argues that the companies included TCP in their worm-killing pesticides to get rid of the compound without having to pay for proper disposal. It was a byproduct of unrelated manufacturing processes and, according to the suits, played no role in killing the plant-damaging worms.

"The TCP that we find today in groundwater is the result of past use of soil fumigants that contained TCP as an unnecessary ingredient," Robins said. "Instead of paying for disposal costs, they started getting farmers to pay for them."

"The saddest part of the story," Robins added, "is that the ... actual active ingredient breaks down in the soil after a matter of days and has rarely been detected in anyone's groundwater."

One of the lawsuits filed by Robins, on behalf of the Del Rey Community Service District in Fresno County, says the companies knew they could remove or reduce the amount of TCP in their pesticides without compromising its effectiveness but failed to do so.

The complaint calls TCP a "hazardous waste" - a byproduct created in the manufacturing of a different chemical, allyl chloride, that Shell and Dow used to make plastics and other commercial products.

An internal Shell memo uncovered in Robins' litigation cites $3.2 million in savings from "cost avoidance for disposal" related to the allyl chloride operations. The memo is dated Jan. 20, 1983 - a year before the company stopped producing the TCP-laced pesticide.

In addition to the pending cases, which also name distributors and marketers as defendants, Robins said he has settled eight cases against both Shell and Dow since 2010. He said he cannot disclose the amounts because of confidentiality agreements.

Last December, in a case tried by a different lawyer, a Fresno Superior Court jury awarded the city of Clovis $22 million against Shell to clean up its TCP-tainted drinking water.

In 2010, in a case brought by the city of Redlands, Shell won. The company argued that a nearby aerospace plant was the source of the toxin. Moreover, the wells in question were used for irrigation, and the jury didn't believe they'd ever be used for drinking water.

As the lawsuits proceed, some California residents do what they can to protest the toxic chemicals in their water supply. Bartolo Chavez, 57, took time off his job in a juice packing house to testify at the recent hearing in Sacramento.

"We talk about the contaminants and the danger," said Chavez, who has lived for 21 years in the Central Valley town of Arvin, Calif. "And (that) we're exposed."

He said he gets tokens from the water district to get free filtered water - not just because of TCP but because of other contaminants as well, such as arsenic and chromium-6.

"But the tokens aren't enough," Chavez said, speaking through a Spanish-language interpreter. "So in addition, we buy bottled water at Costco."

Chavez and his wife, a hotel worker, pay about $50 a month for that water - a price they say they can ill afford. But leaving Arvin isn't an option either, Chavez said.

"I have thought about moving, but it's not so easy to find work in other places, especially when you're older," he said. "Our house is almost paid off, and to move would be to start over again, so it's almost impossible."

2017 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Oval squids swim in parallel. The larger squid is the male, and the small squid is the female. Credit: Photo by Mr. Chun-Yen Lin, Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

William Shakespeare wrote with a quill, Helen Keller liked her typewriter, and the oval squid prefers to use its body, when it comes to expressing love. But unlike these famous authors, the romanticisms of Sepioteuthis lessoniana were unknown. Until now.

Recent research out of the National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), and published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, has finally deciphered the previously unknown symbols and shapes the oval squid decorates itself in, and how they are used.

The animals make use of naturally occurring chromatic components, which are stored within their bodies. They use these to paint their skin with lines, spots and stripes, of varying shades and complexities, to signal their desirability to future lovers and warn off potential foes. Researchers, led by Prof Chiao, took to the East China Sea, near the city of Taipei, to study the oval squid in the wild. Underwater they built an attractive home, made of bamboo branches and leaves, to provide the female oval squid a safe place to nest, lay their eggs, and provide shelter to hatchlings.

Over the course of three months scuba divers recorded the movements and displays of the gathering squid, looking for repeating patterns of tone change between mating partners. Amazingly they also observed the underwater show included elegant and specific movements that varied depending on the gender and social status.

For instance, should two males get into a fight over a possible partner, then they will swim around each other, vying for the higher position. The conclusion of this "dance" is when the winner literally ends up on top of the loser. He cements this victory with a strong visual display, broadcasting his success to all, including his future mate. The loser is not completely defeated however as he can still have a chance to fertilize some of the female's eggs, all be it outside of her egg laying period. In a rapid movement which the researchers termed "male-upturned mating", the squid will approach above her, flip himself upside down, place his sperm and scoot away, passing on his genes to the next generation.

Female oval squid are polyandrous, meaning that they will, during their egg laying period, take multiple males to be their mate. Like the fighting males, they too will use expressive patterns to determine possible partners. A dark pattern on her body indicates a rejection of the pursing male's advances.

In total, the researchers found five common behavior patterns with their own intricate movements and tone signals, and which are also dependent on an individual squid's standing in the group. This intricate language of patterns, movements and associated behaviors have been compiled into an "ethogram" (a dictionary of a species' communication methods) which will assist in future behavioral studies, not just in these expressive cephalopods, but in other species too.

In time, we may come to understand the exact meanings in the symbols the romantic oval squid adorns on its body. But until then, we will have to make do with the sonnets of Shakespeare to make our partner swoon.

More information: Chun-Yen Lin et al, Quantitative Analysis of Dynamic Body Patterning Reveals the Grammar of Visual Signals during the Reproductive Behavior of the Oval Squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2017). DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00030

Provided by Frontiers
Credit: Imperial College London

Scientists have re-examined an overlooked museum fossil and discovered that it is the earliest member of the titanosauriform family of dinosaurs.

The fossil, which the researchers from Imperial College London and their colleagues in Europe have named Vouivria damparisensis, has been identified as a brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur.

The researchers suggest the age of Vouivria is around 160 million years old, making it the earliest known fossil from the titanosauriform family of dinosaurs, which includes better-known dinosaurs such as the Brachiosaurus. When the fossil was first discovered in France in the 1930s, its species was not identified, and until now it has largely been ignored in scientific literature.

The new analysis of the fossil indicates that Vouivria died at an early age, weighed around 15,000 kilograms and was over 15 metres long, which is roughly 1.5 times the size of a double-decker bus in the UK.

It had a long neck held at around a 45 degree angle, a long tail, and four legs of equal length. It would have been a plant eater.

Dr Philip Mannion, the lead author of the study from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, said: "Vouivria would have been a herbivore, eating all kinds of vegetation, such as ferns and conifers. This creature lived in the Late Jurassic, around 160 million years ago, at a time when Europe was a series of islands. We don't know what this creature died from, but millions of years later it is providing important evidence to help us understand in more detail the evolution of brachiosaurid sauropods and a much bigger group of dinosaurs that they belonged to, called titanosauriforms."

Helping scientists to know more about titanosauriforms

Titanosauriforms were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs and some of the largest creatures to have ever lived on land. They lived from at least the Late Jurassic, right to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, when an asteroid wiped out most life on Earth.

A lack of fossil records means that it has been difficult for scientists to understand the early evolution of titanosauriforms and how they spread out across the planet. The re-classification of Vouivria as an early titanosauriform will help scientists to understand the spread of these creatures during the Early Cretaceous period, a later period of time, after the Jurassic, around 145  100 million years ago.

The team's incorporation of Vouivria into a revised analysis of sauropod evolutionary relationships shows that by the Early Cretaceous period, brachiosaurids were restricted to what is now Africa and the USA, and were probably extinct in Europe.

Previously, scientists had suggested the presence of another brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur called Padillasaurus much further afield in what is now South America, in the Early Cretaceous. However, the team's incorporation of Vouivria into the fossil timeline suggests that Padillasaurus was not a brachiosaurid, and that this group did not spread as far as South America.

Digging into the past

The Vouivria fossil was originally discovered by palaeontologists in the village of Damparis, in the Jura Department of eastern France, in 1934. Ever since, it has been stored in the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. It was only briefly mentioned by scientists in studies in the 1930s and 1940s, but it was never recognised as a distinct species. It has largely been ignored in the literature, where it has often been referred to simply as the Damparis dinosaur.

Now, a deeper analysis of the fossil is also helping the scientists in today's study to understand the environment Vouivria would have been in when it died, which was debated when it was initially found. The researchers believe Vouivria died in a coastal lagoon environment, during a brief sea level decline in Europe, before being buried when sea levels increased once more. When the fossil was first discovered, in rocks that would have originally come from a coastal environment, researchers suggested that its carcass had been washed out to sea, because sauropods were animals that lived on land.

Today's team's examination of Vouivria, coupled with an analysis of the rocks it was encased in, provides strong evidence that this was not the case.

What's in a name?

The genus name of Vouivria is derived from the old French word 'vouivre', itself from the Latin 'vipera', meaning 'viper'. In French-Comte, the region in which the specimen was originally discovered, 'la vouivre' is a legendary winged reptile. The species name damparisensis refers to the village Damparis, from which the fossil was originally found.

The research was carried out in conjunction with the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle and the CNRS/Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, with funding from the European Union's Synthesys programme.

Currently, titanosauriforms from the Late Cretaceous are poorly understood compared to their relatives in the Late Jurassic. So, the next step for the researchers will see them expanding on their analysis of the evolutionary relationships of all species in the titanosauriform group. The team are also aiming to find more sauropod remains from older rocks to determine in more detail how they spread across the continents.

More information: The earliest known titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur and the evolution of Brachiosauridae, published in the journal Peer J, 2 May 2017.
With nearly 9 million residents, Mexico City has a huge water demand but many problems providing enough for all of its citizens. Credit: tourist-destinations.com

For Mexico City's biggest businesses and its poorest neighborhoods, rainwater harvesting could help address an enormous water crisis plaguing the city, a recent Columbia Water Center study found. Although critics often contend that rainwater harvesting is not cost-effective in the short-term, the researchers used a new methodology to calculate whether the approach would yield cost savings over 10 years for specific buildings and boroughs in Mexico City and for the city as a whole.

"Some people say, no it doesn't make sense, because water is so cheap and will never pay out," said Paulina Concha Larrauri, an environmental engineering researcher with the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University. "But in reality for large consumersit actually would make sense."

The study, which was funded by Mexican water technology giant Rotoplas, showed that rainwater harvesting has great potential to source water for domestic users in the poorest neighborhoods in the city, which have the greatest need. For non-domestic users such as retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, offices and hotels with high water demands, net returns were positive in most cases.

Benito Juarez, for instance, one of Mexico City's wealthiest boroughs, could source a large share of its water from rainwater because it has a lot of offices, restaurants and supermarkets that pay high tariffs for their water, said Larrauri.

Poor semi-rural villages in the southern part of Mexico City, such as Ajusco in the borough of Tlalpan, could also benefit from rainwater harvesting. Many homes in the boroughs of Tlalpan and Milpa Alta are not connected to the city's water network, so residents often spend an enormous portion of their monthly income to lug bottles of water from pipes on the edge of town and to purchase "garrafones," jugs of drinking water. And that often isn't enough. In these marginalized neighborhoods, the researchers found the average annual percent demand that could be met with rainwater was around 60 percent.

The portion of the population with access to water supply in Mexico City varies greatly. Credit: Columbia University

Mexico City is said to have the greatest demand for water of any city in the world: 300 liters per person per day for each of its close to 9 million residents and the millions of others who work there. Its aquifers are running dry, causing the city to sink into the earth and leading to rationing and service cuts. But heavy rains often yield flooding, with storm runoff contaminating the water supply. Around 20 percent of precipitation ends up in the sewer. Much of the water that is pumped into the city is lost through leakage, as well as illegal connections. In 2000, it was estimated that there were about 2.5 million water connections in the metropolitan area of Mexico City: 67 percent domestic, 16 percent commercial and 17 percent industrial. But these legal connections represent only about two thirds of the total.

To conduct their analysis, the Columbia Water Center researchers collected data on local differences in water demands, water quality, rooftop areas, tariffs and precipitation. Because rooftop area helps to determine how much rainwater is captured, they took samples of rooftop area from city maps. They also calculated the concentration of houses and businesses in different boroughs of the city using data from the Mexico City census and Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography. Then they aggregated this information by borough and calculated the average net present value you could achieve with rainwater harvesting by borough, size of building and type of demand. (Net present value measures return on an investment over time.) They further aggregated by sector: domestic, big retailers and big wholesalers, restaurants and hotels, and calculated demand, cost and precipitation.

"Precipitation in Mexico City really varies by borough, because there are these microclimates, so you will have a lot of precipitation in the south and half of that in the north, so that really impacted how rainwater harvesting behaves," said Larrauri. "So in the north you have a lot more commercial buildings that pay a lot of money [for water], but you could not harvest as much rain as in the south, where you have all the poorest areas that aren't connected to the network."

Precipitation varies greatly from north to south within Mexico City. Credit: Columbia University

The economics of rainwater harvesting in Mexico City could improve as rainwater harvesting systems grow in popularity, which should drive down the cost. The same is true if Mexico City revises its system of tariffs to better reflect the true cost of water.

Over the past eight years, a non-profit called Isla Urbana has begun introducing rainwater harvesting to poor communities in the southern part of the city, mainly in the boroughs of Tlalpan, Xochimilco and Ixtapalapa, to reduce costs and provide a more reliable water supply. Mexico City's water authority, SACMEX, has also installed rainwater harvesting systems in 85 schools in the Tlalpan and Alvaro Obregon boroughs.

Provided by Earth Institute, Columbia University

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University: blogs.ei.columbia.edu .
A forest with beetle-killed trees as seen from Mt. Fraser, British Columbia. Credit: Themightyquill/Wikimedia Commons

The mountain pine beetle has destroyed more than 40 million acres of forest in the western United States. That amounts to an area the size of Washington state that is strewn with conifers left for dead.

The beetles introduce a fungus that prevents critical nutrients and water from traveling within a tree. Beetles also lay their eggs under the bark and the feeding larvae help kill the trees, sometimes within several weeks of the initial attack. These standing dead trees can fall at any moment or add fuel to a wildfire, and scientists and land managers are left scrambling to deal with millions of the precarious dead giants. Harvesting the wood for lumber is out of the question, because the infestation stains the wood and causes the tree to crack on the inside.

A University of Washington team has made new headway on a solution to remove beetle-killed trees from the forest and use them to make renewable transportation fuels or high-value chemicals. The researchers have refined this technique to process larger pieces of wood than ever before  saving time and money in future commercial applications. They published their methods last month in the journal Fuel.

"We came up with a different way of converting wood into oilthat's really the main accomplishment of this project," said senior author Fernando Resende, a UW assistant professor of bioresource science and engineering in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

A container of bio oil produced by the UW research team. Credit: University of Washington

"Not only do we want to reduce the costs, but we are hoping to increase the value of what we produce so we have a better chance of making it commercial."

The process of heating wood and other natural materials at extreme temperatures to create oilcalled "fast pyrolysis"  is being widely explored in research labs across the country. Each system varies, but the general process involves heating small pieces of organic material in an oxygen-free chamber at about 500 degrees Celsius, until the solid material becomes a vapor. As the vapor rises and moves into other chambers, it cools and becomes a dark brown liquid fuel. Scientists call this "bio oil," and it is already used in some European countries for heating hospitals.

Researchers, including the UW team, currently are testing whether this bio oil can be upgraded by adding substances called catalysts. This upgrade intends to convert the bio oil into transportation fuels that resemble gasoline and diesel.

A diagram showing the transformation of wood to bio oil. Woodchips are loaded into an oxygen-free, heated chamber, then a hot upper plate presses down on the wood. The resulting vapor cools to become bio oil. Credit: University of Washington

The beetle-killed trees are a good fit for making bio oil, Resende said, in part because the entirety of a tree becomes extremely dry when it is killed by an infestation. That makes for a simpler fast-pyrolysis process, because it isn't necessary to first dry the wood before heating it to extreme temperatures.

"If you can extract the wood and process it using fast pyrolysis, not only will you free up space and safety hazards in the forest, but you also have the organic liquid that could potentially be used for products," Resende said.

The system developed by the UW can efficiently break down woodchip-sized pieces, though the team has successfully turned an entire log into bio oil. Other fast pyrolysis systems must use small wood pellets 1 to 2 millimeters in length, which often adds an extra step of grinding larger pieces down to the appropriate size before converting them to bio oil.

The reactor in the UW lab. Credit: University of Washington

In the UW method, woodchips are placed on a rotating surface and a hot stainless steel plate moves down from above, crushing the wood. The woodchips become hot from direct contact with the metallic surface, and the chemical transformation from solid to vapor begins.

The researchers say this method could be used in mobile pyrolysis units so dead trees can be processed on site, saving on transportation costs associated with moving large pieces of wood out of the forest. The mobile units  cylinder-shaped reactors that sit on a small flatbed truck  are already being used for standard wood-to-oil processing, and the improvements by the UW team could make the process more efficient and cost effective, they say.

The new technique involves a rotating surface and a hot plate that heats the woodchips. Credit: University of Washington

More information: Guanqun Luo et al, Pyrolysis of whole wood chips and rods in a novel ablative reactor, Fuel (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2017.01.010
UC researchers found pollution from traffic along the Manali-Leh Highway in India's Himalaya Mountains. Credit: Brooke Crowley

Smog from cars and trucks is an expected health hazard in big cities, but researchers from the University of Cincinnati found pollution from truck exhaust on one of the most remote mountain roads in the world.

Brooke Crowley, an assistant professor of geology and anthropology, and UC graduate student Rajarshi Dasgupta examined soil pollution along India's Manali-Leh Highway in the Himalaya Mountains.

This tortuous 300-mile route, much of it gravel or dirt, winds its way over one of the highest navigable mountain passes in the world at 17,480 feet. That's 4,000 feet higher in elevation than the top of Wyoming's Grand Teton.

The road's very remoteness has made it an international tourist attraction, drawing cyclists and adventurers keen on treading where so few have.

Even here in one of the most distant corners of the planet, a place of desolate valleys and austere beauty, the researchers in UC's McMicken College of Arts and Sciences found evidence of pollution from diesel exhaust.

"We measured incredibly high amounts of sulfur close to the highway. Some of those values are the highest ever reported in the literature and were likely connected to truck traffic," Crowley said.

The results were published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. The research was funded through grants by the UC Research Council, Sigma Xi and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

For the study, Dasgupta took soil samples at four places along the highway and at six prescribed distances, starting with samples literally on the dirt road and extending out 150 meters. Soil samples were collected at 3, 9 and 15 centimeters in depth.

Dasgupta said villagers in this area burn wood and cow dung for cooking and heating their homes. The resulting smoke often contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a known carcinogen.

They tested the soil for these hydrocarbons along with sulfur, total organic compound and 10 types of heavy metal. This wide net was necessary to capture the myriad potential pollutants caused by truck traffic, Dasgupta said.

The study found low levels of heavy metals and no relationship between their concentrations and distance from the highway. But they found high concentrations of sulfur, a major pollutant in the exhaust of diesel-powered engines.

UC assistant professor Brooke Crowley has traveled the world studying geology and anthropology. Credit: Brooke Crowley

"This area provided us with a rare opportunity to examine the effects of multiple contaminants in a remote, diesel-dominated, mountainous environment," Dasgupta said.

Comparative studies have found that India's diesel contains an especially high sulfur content, the UC researchers said. Sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere contributes to acid rain.

"At first glance, it's easy to consider the region to be a pretty pristine place. But there are environmental impacts from humans," Crowley said.

Last year India ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change. The world's second-largest nation by population produces nearly 5 percent of the world's greenhouse gases. The agreement calls for participating countries to develop a plan to address temperature rise.

India has a goal of producing 40 percent of its electricity with renewable energy by 2030.

Diesel fuel is popular in India because it historically cost drivers less there than regular unleaded. Most of the buses and heavy trucks that traverse the Manali-Leh Highway burn diesel fuel. Completed in the 1970s, the road between Manali and Leh sees about 50,000 vehicles per year, mostly during the summer when the mountain passes are free of snow, according to government traffic counts. Himalaya means "abode of snow" in Sanskrit.

UC researchers found the highest sulfur contents at the base of the narrow ridges that are most prone to rockslides. Trucks sometimes must wait to use a single lane while construction crews make repairs.

"The road is terrible, and it's almost always under construction. There can be lines of traffic idling waiting to go over the passes," she said. "Our results suggest that a fair amount of emissions accumulate in the soil."

UC professor Lewis Owen, the geology department head, said Crowley's findings are in keeping with other studies on pollution impacts in the region.

"It's not surprising at all if you've ever been to the Himalayas and seen all the diesel trucks that use the highways," he said.

Air pollution from Asian cities also ends up contaminating the remote region's mountains and streams, he said.

Construction crews make repairs to the Manali-Leh Highway. Credit: University of Cincinnati

"There is no pristine environment left. You see black snow deposited on glaciers and snowfields in Tibet," Owen said. "This study is adding to our data set about how we're degrading the planet. Humans are the biggest geologic agents now. Some researchers are calling this geologic age 'the Anthropocene' after the human influence."

This study and others like it show the cumulative effect of fossil fuels on the environment, he said.

"The biggest challenge is for the research to be disseminated to people who can do something about it," he said.

Dasgupta said countries can monitor pollution and its resulting health effects and invest in more renewable energy and other eco-friendly alternatives to reduce their carbon footprint.

"There is no doubt that increasing economic development will put more stress on environments all over the world, remote or not," Dasgupta said.

UC's Crowley has published studies on topics as diverse as plant defenses against species of now-extinct lemurs and the long-distance treks of extinct mammoths.

An Indian child breaks away from classmates outside a school in the remote mountains of the Himalaya. Credit: University of Cincinnati

The study marked Crowley's second visit to the Himalaya region. But Crowley's scientific interests have taken her around the world. She has made four trips to Madagascar to study lemurs and reconstruct the causes and consequences of extinctions on the island. She and her students have examined the effects of sea spray on vegetation in Trinidad and looked at ways the first humans in the Canary Islands changed its ecology.

"I'm a paleoecologist. I'm interested in human-animal interactions. I haven't conducted pollution research previously, and this study with Rajarshi has stretched me in a new direction," she said.

Dasgupta said the study proved to be a learning experience for him as well.

"This study was the first of its kind for me, too," Dasgupta said. "I am a geomorphologist. I study the evolution of the landforms around us. However, as a geographer, I have always been interested in the interactions of humans with the natural environment  the central theme of all geographic research. This study fits that theme perfectly."

In the Himalayas, the researchers found native wildlife such as ibex, herds of wild asses called kiang and condors, one of the largest birds on the planet. Adding to the bucolic scene, many of the villagers who live in the foothills tend goats.

Trucks carefully pass on the narrow Manali-Leh Highway. Credit: University of Cincinnati

"It's a beautiful landscape. The scale is hard to comprehend when you're driving on a plain at 15,000 feet above sea level. That's really high. It takes a while to acclimatize to the elevation," Crowley said.

The night skies were full of stars in that sparsely inhabited part of India, with little moisture in the atmosphere to obscure the view. The arid mountains have little vegetation and lots of exposed strata of rock.

"It's a geologist's dream. UC professors in geology have been conducting research and teaching classes in this region for many years," she said. "I am so grateful I was able to join them in the field."

But being in the field can be challenging. The researchers had to hire an experienced driver to take them over the mountains. They used a filtration system to provide clean drinking water. In some of the low-lying areas, they had to help push their truck out of the mud.

"We've gotten a flat tire both times we've gone to India. You need nerves of steel to deal with the blind curves," she said.

Crowley said places on the extreme edges of habitability such as the Himalayas could be the first to feel the effects of dramatic climate change. These mountain ranges provide water and nutrients for rivers in India.

"These are places that might have perennial glaciers that are important sources of water. If the glaciers disappear, that has major implications for people who rely on that water," she said.

The samples collected for this study provide baseline data if researchers decide to revisit the topic of roadside pollution in 10 or 20 years, she said.

And given her track record of travel for UC, Crowley might be the one leading that expedition, too.

"One of the joys of being a professor is you have some freedom in the kinds of research questions you can explore," she said. "I have appreciated that opportunity here at UC."
Refugees living in camps could benefit from improved living conditions as a result of a new collaborative research project led by the University of Bath Credit: University of Bath

Refugees living in extreme climates ranging from 45 degrees to -10 degrees, such as those in Jordan, could benefit from improved living conditions as a result of an international collaborative research project led by the University of Bath.

Working with colleagues at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (Jordan), German Jordanian University (Jordan), and Mersin University (Turkey), the interdisciplinary team at Bath will aim to improve the living conditions in refugee camps by designing low cost and easy to construct housing that will moderate extremes of temperature and ensure the privacy, comfort and dignity of residents.

The three-year project will conduct the largest ever global study investigating thermal, air quality and social conditions in camps housing displaced people. The views of camp occupants and aid agencies such as UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) on the enhancement of housing and key social issues will be sought as a core element of this study.

Aid agencies provide invaluable support and resources for large numbers of displaced people inside camps. However, according to a recent pilot study conducted by the research team, shelter design can create specific problems for inhabitants increasing, in turn, the demands upon humanitarian organisations. For example, health can be undermined when poorly-insulated shelters fail to mediate extremes of temperature and design that doesn't meet the need for privacy and security can harm psychosocial wellbeing.

With these findings in view, the researchers will utilize building physics to inform the design of shelters using novel combinations of conventional and non-conventional materials to ensure the shelters naturally stay warm in winter and cool in summer.

20 possible shelter designs will be created, with six designs constructed in the UK to test construction times, and thermally tested in a climate chamber at the University's Building Research Park in Swindon. The most promising of these designs will then be transported to Jordan to test in local conditions and obtain the feedback of camp occupants and aid agencies.

The world is currently witnessing the highest ever levels of human displacement with conflicts such as in Syria leading to the creation of a new generation of refugee camps. Whilst camps were originally seen as a short term solution, many across the world exist for years and even decades.

As well as Jordan, research will be conducted in refugee camps in three other countries selected to provide as wide a range of climatic, cultural, social and political conditions as possible. At present the team envisage working in Thailand, Turkey and Tanzania.

The project will benefit aid agencies such as the UNHCR by creating a manual that explains the benefits of each shelter design, provides guidance on matching design with context, and offers guidelines on construction.

A design of a possible shelter that could be built as part of the project. Credit: University of Bath

Lead investigator and Professor of Low Carbon Design at the University of Bath, David Coley, said: "In recognition of the immense variability in climatic, environmental and socio-cultural conditions, we aim to develop a variety of shelter designs suited to specific locales and the needs of those people who have been displaced.

"I visited Jordan in 2015 year during a rock climbing trip and fell in love with the country and the people. The extreme climates experienced by those living in refugee camps inspired me to propose this project which will truly push the boundaries of my research into low energy building design."

Co-investigator and Senior Lecturer in the Anthropology of Development at the University of Bath, Dr Jason Hart, commented: "Over the last 20 years I have worked as an anthropologist with refugees in Jordan and the wider Middle East.

"I have witnessed firsthand the daily struggles of displaced people to lead dignified lives in difficult conditions, and decent housing can make an immense difference.

"I am therefore excited to collaborate with colleagues from the fields of architecture and civil engineering in a process of shelter design that meaningfully engages the views and aspirations of refugees themselves."

Princess Sumaya University of Technology (PSUT) in Amman, Jordan collaborated with Bath in the pilot project and will play an important role as the team move to the next, expanded phase.

Professor Abdallah Al-Zoubi, Vice President of PSUT said: "It is an honour for us here at PSUT to collaborate with the prestigious University of Bath in this exciting humanitarian project to help refugees in Jordan, especially the Syrians.

"Our involvement in the project represents a tiny bit of the greater efforts Jordan is exerting in hosting the unfortunate children of Syria who are actually facing extreme conditions living in the desert.

"We hope that the results and outcomes of the project will ease the suffering of refugees and lead to a dignified stay in Jordan before their final short journey back home."

The project, entitled 'Healthy Housing for the Displaced', has received 1.5 million funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
view of Bilyi Slon, or the White Elephant, the highest inhabited building in Ukraine and an old astronomical observatory on Chornogora mountain, near the village of Vorokhta

Perched spectacularly 2,000 metres up on a snowcapped peak in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains, the Bilyi Slon observatory has stood empty and battered by the elements for some seven decades.

Abandoned only a year after it was built in what was then Poland due to the outbreak of World War II, it became a carcass of thick sandstone walls and missing windows that looked more like a ruined castle than a scientific outpost.

Now, with efforts under way to raise around $1 million (920,000 euros) in funding, scientists aim to restore the wreck and transform it into a learning centre for young researchers studying wildlife, plants and weather patterns.

"There was no roof, all the floors were warped," local mountain rescuer Vasyl Fitsak, part of a small crew stationed there, told AFP as icy winds swirled outside.

"There were piles of bricks, stones and trash that hikers left here for years. Some piles reached two metres (6.6 feet) in height."

Work on rebuilding the observatorynicknamed Bilyi Slon (White Elephant) by locals because of how it looks when covered in snowstarted in 2012.

Scientists hope that significant progress on the restoration will be made by next year, when the observatory marks its 80th anniversary.

So far the copper roof has been restored and debris cleared from much of the building.

But tough conditions mean that progress has been slow and there remains a lot to be done.

Tourists leave after stopping by at Bilyi Slon, or the White Elephant, the highest inhabited building in Ukraine and an old astronomical observatory on Chornogora mountain, near the village of Vorokhta

Snowstorms and freezing temperatures mean that work can only go ahead six months of the year and no more than 10 construction workers can stay at any one time because of the cramped conditions.

The observatory, which sits on the Pip Ivan peak, the second highest in the Chornogora mountain range, is a six-hour hike from the nearest town. In summer the only road for transporting up building materials becomes an impassable bog.

Epic history

The observatory's location has not only proved inhospitable due to the dreadful weather.

It has also been buffeted by the hurricane of history that has blown through this blood-soaked region in eastern Europe.

Completed in 1938 on what was then the Polish-Czechoslovak border, the five-storey observatory was equipped with a modern telescope and served as a base for Polish military meteorologists.

After just one year, however, the scientists hurriedly packed up their equipment and fled as Soviet troops seized the area under a pact with Nazi Germany to divide Poland.

It then fell under Nazi control after Hitler's invasion of the USSR and was used as a barracks until it was recaptured by Moscow's forces in 1944.

It remains unclear why the Soviet troops did not restore the facility, which ended up serving as a shelter for the few hardy hikers who made it up to the summit.

Perched spectacularly 2,000 metres up on a snowcapped peak in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains, the Bilyi Slon observatory has stood empty and battered by the elements for some seven decades

Stargazing stumped

Given its tumultuous history, the observatory never had the chance to fulfil its initial purpose as an astronomical observatory.

Those behind the projectwhich has received its first tranche of funding from Poland's culture ministryadmit that conditions mean it is unlikely to be used for serious stargazing in the future.

Curator Igor Tsependa said that the spot only enjoys some 60 cloudless days a year, while world-class observatories usually get as many as 330 clear days annually.

Instead Tsependa, a university rector in the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, hopes it will become a hub for studying local flora and fauna, as well as conducting weather studies.

"From the educational point of view this object is pretty attractive," he says, adding that he expects researchers from both Ukraine and Poland to use it.

While its remote location and harsh climate have put off tourists, Tsependa also says that the restored observatory could help open up the Carpathians to new visitors.

"It's a pity that we don't have many sites on this mountain range," Tsependa said.

"So this observatory could become the first step in the development of modern tourism in Ukraine, just like in other European countries."

 2017 AFP
Varanus douarrha. Credit: Valter Weijola

Scientists have recently found and re-described a monitor lizard species from the island of New Ireland in northern Papua New Guinea. It is the only large-growing animal endemic to the island that has survived until modern times. The lizard, Varanus douarrha, was already discovered in the early 19th century, but the type specimen never reached the museum where it was destined as it appears to have been lost in a shipwreck.

The discovery is particularly interesting as most of the endemic species to New Ireland disappeared thousands of years ago as humans colonized the island.

The monitor was discovered during fieldwork by Valter Weijola from the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku, Finland, who spent several months surveying the monitor lizards of the Bismarck Islands. It can grow to over 1.3 metres in length and, according to current information, it is the only surviving large species endemic to the island. Based on bone discoveries, scientists now know that at least a large rat species and several flightless birds have lived in the area.

- In that way it can be considered a relic of the historically richer fauna that inhabited the Pacific islands. These medium-sized Pacific monitors are clearly much better at co-existing with humans than many of the birds and mammals have been, says Weijola.

French Naturalist Discovered the Species in 1823 - Lost in Shipwreck

Scientists have known for a long time that there are monitor lizards on the island but it has been unclear which species they belong to. French naturalist Rene Lesson discovered the monitor lizard when visiting the island with the La Coquille exploration ship in 1823, and later named the species Varanus douarrha which, according to Lesson, means monitor lizard in the local Siar-Lak language.

Varanus douarrha. Credit: Valter Weijola

However, it seems likely that Lesson's specimen was destroyed on the way to France as the ship that was carrying it shipwrecked at the Cape of Good Hope in 1824. Therefore, biologist never had a chance to study the so called holotype - or name-bearing specimen.

- Since then, it has been believed that the monitor lizards on New Ireland belong to the common mangrove monitor (Varanus indicus) that occurs widely in northern Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands. However, new morphological and genetic studies confirmed that the monitor lizards of New Ireland have lived in isolation for a long time and developed into a separate species, says Weijola.

The discovery was published in the Australian Journal of Zoology and where Varanus douarrha was re-described in detail, and given a new name bearing specimen.

Another monitor lizard, Varanus semotus, was described from Mussau Island last year by the same team of scientists.

The island of New Ireland. Credit: Valter Weijola

- Together, these two species have doubled the number of monitor lizard species known to occur in the Bismarck Archipelago and proved that there are more endemic vertebrates on these islands than previously believed, says Weijola.

Monitor lizards are important predators and altogether approximately 90 different species are known to live in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific islands. Most monitor lizards occur in Australia and on the Pacific islands where there are few mammalian predators. Despite their large size, many of the species are poorly known and new ones are regularly discovered. Most of them stay out of sight and inhabit remote areas which are difficult to access.

More information: Valter Weijola et al, Reinstatement of Varanus douarrha Lesson, 1830 as a valid species with comments on the zoogeography of monitor lizards (Squamata:Varanidae) in the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, Australian Journal of Zoology (2017). DOI: 10.1071/ZO16038 Journal information: Australian Journal of Zoology

Provided by University of Turku
The James Webb Space Telescope completed its environmental testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Webb telescope will be shipped to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for end-to-end optical testing in a vacuum at its extremely cold operating temperatures. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has successfully passed the center of curvature test, an important optical measurement of Webb's fully assembled primary mirror prior to cryogenic testing, and the last test held at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, before the spacecraft is shipped to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for more testing.

After undergoing rigorous environmental tests simulating the stresses of its rocket launch, the Webb telescope team at Goddard analyzed the results from this critical optical test and compared it to the pre-test measurements. The team concluded that the mirrors passed the test with the optical system unscathed.

"The Webb telescope is about to embark on its next step in reaching the stars as it has successfully completed its integration and testing at Goddard. It has taken a tremendous team of talented individuals to get to this point from all across NASA, our industry and international partners, and academia," said Bill Ochs, NASA's Webb telescope project manager. "It is also a sad time as we say goodbye to the Webb Telescope at Goddard, but are excited to begin cryogenic testing at Johnson."

Rocket launches create high levels of vibration and noise that rattle spacecraft and telescopes. At Goddard, engineers tested the Webb telescope in vibration and acoustics test facilities that simulate the launch environment to ensure that functionality is not impaired by the rigorous ride on a rocket into space.

Before and after these environmental tests took place, optical engineers set up an interferometer, the main device used to measure the shape of the Webb telescope's mirror. An interferometer gets its name from the process of recording and measuring the ripple patterns that result when different beams of light mix and their waves combine or "interfere."

Waves of visible light are less than a thousandth of a millimeter long and optics on the Webb telescope need to be shaped and aligned even more accurately than that to work correctly. Making measurements of the mirror shape and position by lasers prevents physical contact and damage (scratches to the mirror). So, scientists use wavelengths of light to make tiny measurements. By measuring light reflected off the optics using an interferometer, they are able to measure extremely small changes in shape or position that may occur after exposing the mirror to a simulated launch or temperatures that simulate the subfreezing environment of space.

During a test conducted by a team from Goddard, Ball Aerospace of Boulder, Colorado, and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, temperature and humidity conditions in the clean room were kept incredibly stable to minimize fluctuations in the sensitive optical measurements over time. Even so, tiny vibrations are ever-present in the clean room that cause jitter during measurements, so the interferometer is a "high-speed" one, taking 5,000 "frames" every second, which is a faster rate than the background vibrations themselves. This allows engineers to subtract out jitter and get good, clean results on any changes to the mirror's shape.

"Some people thought it would not be possible to measure beryllium mirrors of this size and complexity in a clean room to these levels but the team was incredibly ingenious in how they performed these measurements and the results give us great confidence we have a fantastic primary mirror," said Lee Feinberg, Webb's telescope optical element manager.

The Webb telescope will be shipped to Johnson for end-to-end optical testing in a vacuum at its extremely cold operating temperatures. Then it will continue on its journey to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California, for final assembly and testing prior to launch in 2018.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's most advanced space observatory. This engineering marvel is designed to unravel some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, from discovering the first stars and galaxies that formed after the big bang to studying the atmospheres of planets around other stars. It is a joint project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

More information: For more information about the Webb Telescope mirrors, visit www.jwst.nasa.gov

Provided by NASA
NIST chemists have published the first data on the thermodynamic properties of amantadine hydrochloride, used for many years as the active pharmaceutical ingredient for antiviral and anti-parkinsonian medications. The new information can help optimize production and storage conditions of this important compound. Its structure in the gas phase was obtained by quantum chemistry methods. In the molecular structure, C is carbon, H is hydrogen, N is nitrogen, and Cl is chlorine. Credit: Bazyleva/NIST

Amantadine hydrochloride may be the most common medication you've never heard of. This compound has been around for decades as the basis for antiviral and other medications, from flu therapy to treatments for brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease and the fatigue associated with multiple sclerosis.

And yet, this compound has long been a bit of an enigma because of missing information on its properties. Now, chemists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators have published the very first data on this important chemical's thermodynamic properties, including data on how it responds to heat and changes from a solid into a gas.

Such data are valuable to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries for getting the highest production yields and shelf life for the medication.

"Our research results are not directly related to the medical application of this multifunctional drug, although I am really fascinated by the range of its pharmacological activity," NIST research chemist Ala Bazyleva said.

"We studied its thermodynamic properties and decomposition," Bazyleva said. "It is surprising, given the long history of amantadine-based drugs, that there is almost no information like this in the literature for many of them. Chemical engineers often have to rely on estimates and predictions based on similar compounds. Collating this information and developing these types of recommendations is at the core of what our group at NIST does."

Amantadine hydrochloride belongs to a diamondoid class, a family of compounds whose structure is based on a cage of carbon atoms similar to diamond. Amantadine has a single carbon cage with a nitrogen atom attached on one side. Nonmedical studies have focused on the solid form of amantadine hydrochloride because it was expected to form disordered, or plastic, crystals, as many diamondoids do. Turns out, amantadine hydrochloride does not.

Bazyleva began studying amantadine hydrochloride years ago while in Belarus working on her doctoral dissertation, and continued the effort during her postdoctoral studies in Germany and Canada. But progress was slow, partly because adamantine hydrochloride changes from a solid directly into a gas (a process called sublimation) and simultaneously falls apart, or decomposes. She needed a model explaining this complex process, one that incorporates detailed, high-level calculations of quantum chemistry. She finally got access to this computational capability after she began working with the Thermodynamics Research Center (TRC) Group at NIST in Boulder several years ago.

"NIST was fundamental in facilitating the modeling component," Bazyleva said. "In particular, the unique combination of facilities, software and expertise in quantum chemical computations allowed us to apply high-level calculations to get insight into the structure and stability of the drug in the gas phase."

While the compound behaves like it is ionic (composed of positively and negatively charged pieces, though neutral overall) in the solid crystal form and when dissolved in a liquid, quantum chemistry calculations revealed that it decomposes into two neutral compounds in the gas phase.

More information: Ala Bazyleva et al. Thermodynamics of the Antiviral and Antiparkinsonian Drug Amantadine Hydrochloride: Condensed State Properties and Decomposition, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jced.7b00107
This X-ray image of the hot gas in the Perseus galaxy cluster was made from 16 days of Chandra observations. Researchers then filtered the data in a way that brightened the contrast of edges in order to make subtle details more obvious. An oval highlights the location of an enormous wave found to be rolling through the gas. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Stephen Walker et al.

Combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with radio observations and computer simulations, an international team of scientists has discovered a vast wave of hot gas in the nearby Perseus galaxy cluster. Spanning some 200,000 light-years, the wave is about twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy.

The researchers say the wave formed billions of years ago, after a small galaxy cluster grazed Perseus and caused its vast supply of gas to slosh around an enormous volume of space.

"Perseus is one of the most massive nearby clusters and the brightest one in X-rays, so Chandra data provide us with unparalleled detail," said lead scientist Stephen Walker at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The wave we've identified is associated with the flyby of a smaller cluster, which shows that the merger activity that produced these giant structures is still ongoing."

A paper describing the findings appears in the June 2017 issue of the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Galaxy clusters are the largest structures bound by gravity in the universe today. Some 11 million light-years across and located about 240 million light-years away, the Perseus galaxy cluster is named for its host constellation. Like all galaxy clusters, most of its observable matter takes the form of a pervasive gas averaging tens of millions of degrees, so hot it only glows in X-rays.

A wave spanning 200,000 light-years is rolling through the Perseus galaxy cluster, according to observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory coupled with a computer simulation. The simulation shows the gravitational disturbance resulting from the distant flyby of a galaxy cluster about a tenth the mass of the Perseus cluster. The event causes cooler gas at the heart of the Perseus cluster to form a vast expanding spiral, which ultimately forms giant waves lasting hundreds of millions of years at its periphery. Merger events like this are thought to occur as often as every three to four billion years in clusters like Perseus. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Chandra observations have revealed a variety of structures in this gas, from vast bubbles blown by the supermassive black hole in the cluster's central galaxy, NGC 1275, to an enigmatic concave feature known as the "bay."

The bay's concave shape couldn't have formed through bubbles launched by the black hole. Radio observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in central New Mexico show that the bay structure produces no emission, the opposite of what scientists would expect for features associated with black hole activity. In addition, standard models of sloshing gas typically produced structures that arc in the wrong direction.

Walker and his colleagues turned to existing Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster to further investigate the bay. They combined a total of 10.4 days of high-resolution data with 5.8 days of wide-field observations at energies between 700 and 7,000 electron volts. For comparison, visible light has energies between about two and three electron volts. The scientists then filtered the Chandra data to highlight the edges of structures and reveal subtle details.

Next, they compared the edge-enhanced Perseus image to computer simulations of merging galaxy clusters developed by John ZuHone, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The simulations were run on the Pleiades supercomputer operated by the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. Although he was not involved in this study, ZuHone collected his simulations into an online catalog to aid astronomers studying galaxy clusters.

"Galaxy cluster mergers represent the latest stage of structure formation in the cosmos," ZuHone said. "Hydrodynamic simulations of merging clusters allow us to produce features in the hot gas and tune physical parameters, such as the magnetic field. Then we can attempt to match the detailed characteristics of the structures we observe in X-rays."

This animation dissolves between two different views of hot gas in the Perseus galaxy cluster. The first is Chandra's best view of hot gas in the central region of the Perseus cluster, where red, green and blue indicate lower-energy to higher-energy X-rays, respectively. The larger image incorporates additional data over a wider field of view. It has been specially processed to enhance the contrast of edges, revealing subtle structures in the gas. The wave is marked by the upward-arcing curve near the bottom, centered at about 7 o'clock. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/E.Bulbul, et al. and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Stephen Walker et al.

One simulation seemed to explain the formation of the bay. In it, gas in a large cluster similar to Perseus has settled into two components, a "cold" central region with temperatures around 54 million degrees Fahrenheit (30 million Celsius) and a surrounding zone where the gas is three times hotter. Then a small galaxy cluster containing about a thousand times the mass of the Milky Way skirts the larger cluster, missing its center by around 650,000 light-years.

The flyby creates a gravitational disturbance that churns up the gas like cream stirred into coffee, creating an expanding spiral of cold gas. After about 2.5 billion years, when the gas has risen nearly 500,000 light-years from the center, vast waves form and roll at its periphery for hundreds of millions of years before dissipating.

These waves are giant versions of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, which show up wherever there's a velocity difference across the interface of two fluids, such as wind blowing over water. They can be found in the ocean, in cloud formations on Earth and other planets, in plasma near Earth, and even on the sun.

"We think the bay feature we see in Perseus is part of a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave, perhaps the largest one yet identified, that formed in much the same way as the simulation shows," Walker said. "We have also identified similar features in two other galaxy clusters, Centaurus and Abell 1795."

The researchers also found that the size of the waves corresponds to the strength of the cluster's magnetic field. If it's too weak, the waves reach much larger sizes than those observed. If too strong, they don't form at all. This study allowed astronomers to probe the average magnetic field throughout the entire volume of these clusters, a measurement that is impossible to make by any other means.

More information: S. A. Walker et al. Is there a giant KelvinHelmholtz instability in the sloshing cold front of the Perseus cluster?, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2017). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx640 Journal information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Christie Wilcox is holding a freshly-caught Physalia physalis. Credit: Rachel Skubel

In recent decades, trusted first aid resources have recommended stings from man o' war (Physalia species) be treated differently from other jellies. But when researchers at the University of Hawai'i - Manoa (UHM) dug into the scientific literature, they found scant evidence to support such individualized first aid. Adding to a recent push for evidence-based sting treatments, members of the Pacific Cnidaria Research Laboratory (PCRL) at UHM teamed up with colleagues in Ireland to investigate which commonly recommended first aid actions (such as rinsing with seawater) are the most effective for Physalia stings. Their results, published this week in the journal Toxins, defy the recent abandonment of historic advice, and suggest that man o' war stings are no different than other jellyfish stings; the best first aid is to rinse with vinegar to remove any residual stingers or bits of tentacle left on the skin and then immerse in 45C (113F) hot water or apply a hot pack for 45 minutes.

Physalia (Physalia utriculus, also called bluebottles in the Pacific or Physalia physalis, Portuguese man o' war in the Atlantic) are among the most recognizable stinging jellies with their bright blue tentacles and colorful inflated floating sails. Strandings of bluebottles are common in Hawai'i as the onshore winds push thousands of these small, painful critters onto the beaches. Similar mass strandings are frequent with the Atlantic species too, and have been known to cause hundreds of stings in a single day on beaches from Florida to France.

"Physalia are often listed as exceptions to any blanket first aid recommendations for jellyfish stings," said Christie Wilcox, lead author of the paper and postdoctoral fellow with PCRL at UHM. But such assertions aren't based in rigorous research, she said.

"Without solid science to back up medical practices, we have ended up with conflicting official recommendations around the world, leading to confusion and, in many cases, practices that actually worsen stings or even cost lives," said Angel Yanagihara, senior author, head of the PCRL and assistant research professor at the UHM Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) and John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).

A few years ago, Yanagihara set about to scrutinize jellyfish sting treatments properly, and designed a set of experimental assays that allow the researchers to quantify stinging and venom activity in real time. First tested with dangerous box jellyfish, these assays have allowed the PCRL team to determine which commonly recommended practices, such as applying heat, help mitigate box jelly stings, and which, such as applying urine or scraping away tentacles, only make box jelly stings worse. Applying these assays to man o' war stings was the obvious next step.

Physalia utriculus sting was modeled using the Yanagihara-lab developed blood agarose model with skin. Credit: Christie Wilcox

So Yanagihara teamed up with Tom Doyle, a jellyfish scientist and lecturer with the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway. In 2008, Doyle set up the Jellyfish Advisory Group, a collection of medical practitioners and experts that helps advise Irish protocols for sting first-aid and treatment. Together, they proposed a project to the International Fulbright Specialist program and when Yanagihara was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Award, she went to NUI Galway to share newly developed assay techniqes with Doyle and his doctoral student, Jasmine Headlam. Headlam and Doyle performed experiments using the Atlantic man o' war in parallel with those conducted by Wilcox and Yanagihara in Hawai'i.

The results from opposite sides of the world lined up beautifully: the venom delivered by a man o' war sting was lessened if the sting site was rinsed with vinegar, regardless of which species of Physalia was used. Even better, if you have it available, was Sting No More Spray, a combined stinging capsule and venom-inhibiting product developed by Yanagihara with Department of Defense funding. Seawater rinsing, on the other hand, spread stinging capsules over more area and thus made stings, much worse. To treat stings after rinsing away the tentacles, both groups found 45 minutes of 45C (113F) heat application effectively inactived already-injected venom, while the application of ice packs made stings worse.

"Given that most recommendations expressly forbid the use of vinegar and recommend seawater rinses, these findings completely upend current protocols," said Yanagihara.

"This is quite a U-turn for me," explained Doyle, as he helped write the current Irish protocols almost ten years ago, which unfortunately recommend the worst possible combination of steps: seawater rinsing followed by ice pack treatment. "In the coming weeks, I look forward to meeting with members of the Jellyfish Advisory Group to discuss our new findings and how we can revise the current protocols."

Back in Hawai'i, Wilcox and Yanagihara have already started studying the next stinging jellies on their list. As they've examined two of the three main classes of dangerous stingers, they have their sights set on the last remaining class: true jellyfish (class Schyphozoa). Again collaborating with Headlam and Doyle, they are working on evidence-based first aid measures for lion's mane (Cyanea capillata), the one of largest jellyfish in the world.

More information: Christie Wilcox et al, Assessing the Efficacy of First-Aid Measures in Physalia sp. Envenomation, Using Solution- and Blood Agarose-Based Models, Toxins (2017). DOI: 10.3390/toxins9050149
This is an artistic life reconstruction of the new species Galeamopus pabsti from the Jurassic of Wyoming, USA, Credit: Davide Bonadonna (Milan, Italy).

Researchers from Italy and Portugal describe yet another new sauropod species from 150 million years ago, from Wyoming, USA

The new species, Galeamopus pabsti, is the most recent dinosaur to be described by paleontologists from the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Turin, Italy; the Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and the Museum of Lourinha in Portugal. This Jurassic dinosaur was originally excavated in 1995 by a Swiss team, led by Hans-Jakob "Kirby" Siber and Ben Pabst, in Wyoming, in the United States and is the latest in a series of new discoveries by the paleontologists Emanuel Tschopp and Octavio Mateus, which started in 2012 with Kaatedocus siberi. The paper describing the new species was published online in the open access scientific journal PeerJ on Tuesday, May 2.

Galeamopus pabsti is similar to the famous dinosaur Diplodocus, but with more massive legs, and a particularly high and triangular neck close to the head. It is the second species of the genus Galeamopus to be shown to be different to Diplodocus by the same researchers (the first being published in 2015, in a paper which also reinstated the brontosaurus as a distinct genus). The new species is dedicated to Ben Pabst, who found the skeleton, and prepared it for mounting at the Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland, where it is one of the main attractions of the permanent exhibit.

A Galeamopus pabsti in its environment in the Late Jurassic of North America. An Allosaurus and two Ceratosaurus are feeding on a carcass of Galeamopus pabsti. Credit: Davide Bonadonna

Diplodocid sauropods are among the most iconic dinosaurs. With their greatly elongated necks and tails, they represent the typical body shape of sauropods. Species of this group occur also in Africa, South America, and Europe, but the highest diversity is known from the USA: more than 15 species of these gigantic animals are known from there, also including the famous Brontosaurus. Researchers are still baffled by this high diversity of giants, and are continuing their studies to understand how such a diversity could be maintained by the ecosystem in which they lived.

Paleontologists Emanuel Tschopp (University of Turin, Italy) and Octavio Mateus (University NOVA of Lisbon, Portugal) while studying the skull of the new dinosaur species Galeamopus pabsti in the Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland. Credit: Octavio Mateus

More information: Emanuel Tschopp et al, Osteology ofsp. nov. (Sauropoda: Diplodocidae), with implications for neurocentral closure timing, and the cervico-dorsal transition in diplodocids, PeerJ (2017). DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3179 Journal information: PeerJ

Provided by PeerJ
The walrus is both unique, and especially sensitive to environmental changes, experts noted

Both Atlantic walrus and eastern migratory caribou are at risk of extinction in Canada's Arctic, a panel of experts has warned.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which met in Whitehorse, said Monday that the number of Canadian northern wildlife species at risk now stands at 62.

"Over the past few decades, the areas inhabited by the few thousand High Arctic walruses and the more numerous Central and Low Arctic population have shrunk and continue to do so. As the climate warms and sea ice recedes, interaction with industry and tourism is increasing," the experts' report said.

"These threats, layered upon ongoing harvesting, led the committee to recommend a status of Special Concern for both populations."

The walrus is both unique, and especially sensitive to environmental changes, experts noted.

"Walruses have been very important to the Inuit, both as food and in their culture, and they remain so today," said COSEWIC member Hal Whitehead.

And "walruses are particularly sensitive to disturbance, and certainly deserve special attention," he stressed.

The committee also sounded the alarm for eastern caribou. A famous herd, named for the George River, in Quebec and Labrador numbered over 800,000 in 1993.

"The figure has fallen to an unprecedented low of a few thousand animals. A second major herd is also in serious decline," the experts said.

Graham Forbes, co-chair of COSEWIC's Terrestrial Mammals Subcommittee, voiced concern about sensitivity of caribou to human activity, which he said was aggravated by swift northern climate change.

"Shrubs increasingly cover landscapes that were once dominated by lichen, caribou's major winter food source, and overharvest continues. We are worried that these factors may make it very hard for herds to recover," he said.

 2017 AFP
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MANILA, Philippines  Various activities will be held in line with the opening of the Philippine-US Balikatan Exercises in various areas of Luzon and Visayas.

In an opening ceremony of the combined joint civil military operations task force at the Central Command Camp Lapu-Lapu, military officials said the military exercises will focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counter-terrorism operations.

This is aimed at providing communities the knowledge they need in times of calamities.

Lt. Col. Ryan Scott from US Armed Forces said, We are focused solely in the ENCAPs (Engineering Civic Action Program), the health engagements and the civil affairs, the infrastructure reviews.

While Commander Col. Medel Aguilar of the Combined Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force said, Thats why we have this cooperative engagement to transfer knowledge and skills on how we should react during emergency situation.

The US and Filipino service members will also partner in renovating five school campuses and in conducting community medical services.

The main venue of the exercises this year will be in Panay, Leyte and Eastern Samar.

The Philippines and US are also set to conduct an operational activity and counter terrorism training exercises which will include advanced marksmanship, counter improvised explosive devices, and maritime interdiction against piracy.

The Balikatan exercises will begin on May 8 and will end on May 19.  Deb Riveral | UNTV News & Rescue

The post Activities for the PHL-US Balikatan Exercises, set appeared first on UNTV News.
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - About 1.4 million children in drought-hit Somalia are projected to suffer acute malnutrition this year, 50 percent more than estimated in January, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. They include more than 275,000 children potentially facing a life-threatening severe acute form of malnutrition, who are nine times more likely to die of diseases including cholera or measles, UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said. "The combination of malnutrition and disease plus displacement is deadly for children," Mercado told a Geneva news briefing after a trip to the central city of Baidoa. "A severely malnourished and dehydrated child can die in a matter of hours if they do not get treatment for diarrhoea or cholera. Measles, which can be transmitted via air, can spread like fire in congested displacement camps," she said. About 28,400 cases of cholera or acute watery diarrhoea, including 548 deaths, have already been recorded across Somalia, nearly double the rates last year, she added. An estimated 2.9 million people in Somalia are facing famine, along with 17 million in northeast Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, the United Nations says. Famine has already been declared in pockets of South Sudan. UNICEF has treated 56,000 Somali children for the most severe form of malnutrition since the beginning of year, an increase of 88 percent over last year, Mercado said. The known death rate among them was one percent, she added. The agency, which supports nutrition and cholera centres, had no figure for the overall number of children who have died so far of hunger and disease in Somalia. But Mercado noted that in the 2011 famine an estimated 258,000 people died over an 18-month period, including 133,000 young children. "Every mother I spoke to said their children were sick, either with diarrhoea, or vomiting or feverish. Most had never been vaccinated before because of the insecurity across the country," Mercado said. "The pace and the scale of displacement have risen exponentially." Some 615,000 Somalis have fled their homes due to drought and failed crops since last November, joining 1 million previously internally displaced, U.N. spokesman Jens Laerke said. The U.N. has received nearly 60 percent towards its humanitarian funding appeal of $720 million for Somalia this year, he said, adding: "We are still in a race against time." (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Catherine Evans)
(L-R) Retiree Syed Ali, religious teacher Ataoul Qudus and retiree Sulaiman Adnan are part of Singapores tiny Ahmadi community. Photo: Nurul Amirah

How much do you know about the diversity of faiths in Singapore? In a new series, Yahoo Singapore explores the lesser-known rituals and branches of religions in the country.

When Syed Ali and his wife became members of Singapores Ahmadiyya Muslim community in the 1980s, the couple encountered strong family objections because of their faith.

The 64-year-old father of six and grandfather of 10 recalled, We were separated (from my wifes family) for seven or eight years, with no contact. But my wife was very firm. Thats why I was very grateful for her firmness.

Back in the 1940s, his father Syed Ahmad, a sailor from Indonesia, was one of the first people in Singapore to embrace the Ahmadi faith. Ali himself was brought up in a mainstream Muslim family.

The retired administrative assistant admitted that in the early years, it was disheartening to hear other Muslims dismissing his faith. To be an Ahmadi, you see how people reject you, even when you try to explain. But now, for me, it doesnt matter what they say.

Who are the Ahmadis?

Video by Nurul Amirah

Ali is one of about 280 active members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Singapore, which is based in a mosque along Onan Road. These believers claim that the Ahmadiyya movement is a branch of Islam, with one key difference: while it accepts the divinity of Prophet Muhammad, it does not believe that he is the last messenger of Allah. Ahmadis look to their founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19th century religious leader from the Punjab, as the prophesied Mahdi, or redeemer of Islam.

Among other things, Ahmadis also believe that Jesus Christ survived crucifixion and died of old age in Kashmir, and that the likes of Confucius, Lao Tzu and Buddha are messengers of God sent to other peoples. There are said to be some 10-20 million Ahmadis around the world, including the Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali, who starred in the critically acclaimed Moonlight. Their current spiritual leader is Mirza Masroor Ahmad or Khalifatul Masih V, the fifth successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

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Founded in 1889, the Ahmadi faith was first exported to Singapore by the missionary Ghulam Ahmad Ayyaz in 1935. Adherents subscribe to many of the same articles of faith of Islam. For example, they pray five times a day while facing towards Mecca, fast during Ramadan and are guided by the Koran. The Kalimah, or declaration of faith, is also the centrepiece of their religion: There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

However, mainstream Muslims around the world do not consider the Ahmadis to be their co-religionists. The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, or MUIS, issued a fatwa (ruling) in 1969 declaring Mirza Ghulam to be not only a kafir (unbeliever) who is murtad (a Muslim who has rejected Islam), his teachings are misleading and could lead people astray from the real teachings of Islam.

The fatwa stands to this day. Consequently, Ahmadis in Singapore cannot be interred in Muslim graves, with a plot of land set aside for them in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. Their marriages cannot be registered with the Registry of Muslim Marriages either, while they are ineligible for assistance from Malay/Muslim Organisations such as Mendaki or MUIS. Ahmadis also do not qualify for Singapores official haj (pilgrimmage) quota.

There have also been tensions with the Muslim community. In 1986, The Straits Times reported that then Minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs Ahmad Mattar said the Ahmadis were being provocative by blatantly calling their premises a mosque. In 2008, a dozen Ahmadi graves  located about a kilometre away from the Muslim graves  were desecrated, though the perpetrators were not identified.

Freedom to believe

The Ahmadi community in SIngapore is centred on the Taha Mosque. Photo: Nurul Amirah

Around the world, Ahmadis have faced intense persecution. For example, in Pakistan, Ahmadis are considered apostates and are even barred by law from using the traditional Muslim greeting Assalam Alaikum. They have also been the victims of mob violence. But Ahmadis whom Yahoo Singapore spoke to said that they have been largely untroubled in Singapore.

Ataoul Qudus, 42, has been a religious muallim (teacher) for 13 years. A former service manager in an engineering company, he is grateful that Singapore is a tolerant country. Recalling his experiences in school, Ataoul said that his schoolmates did not ostracise or persecute him. They say, You believe what you want to believe and I believe what I want to believe, as long as we respect each other.'

Who is Muslim, who is not, is in the heart and its up to Allah to decide who is Muslim, said Ataoul, who is a third-generation Ahmadi.

Sulaiman Adnan, Ataouls father, said he can remember his late grandmother doing her best to keep him away from the Ahmadi faith when his father converted. She even brought him to Malaysia in the 1950s to attend a mainstream Islamic religious school. The 68-year-old retiree added, I watched my fatherhe prayed as the others pray. I thought, Whats wrong with my father? Why are these people saying that hes not Muslim?

Being in a family, youre in a dilemma, Sulaiman said. Eventually, after his grandmother passed on, Sulaiman reconciled his dilemma by studying the Koran and embracing the Ahmadi faith.

Asked if he feels free to practice his faith in Singapore, Sulaiman replied emphatically, Yeah, of course. Very thankful, we are quite fortunate. Our government isvery particular that we should not instigate or use religion to incite others. Otherwise, we could not have (this building).
Canada's opposition on Monday called for Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan to resign or be sacked for overstating his military record in Afghanistan during a speech in India. Sajjan, a decorated former military intelligence officer, erroneously claimed last month to have been the "architect" of Canada's largest military operation since the 1950s, known as Operation Medusa. The 2006 offensive delivered a blow to the Taliban, loosening its grip on Kandahar province, but at a cost -- a dozen Canadian and 14 British soldiers died. "It's come to light that the minister of defense has misled Canadians once again and it's a big one," said Rona Ambrose, leader of the opposition Tories, recalling that Sajjan made a similar claim while campaigning in 2015. "How can the prime minister allow him to remain as minister of defense when he continually misstates the facts?" she added. It was a "whopper" of a lie to raise his own profile, said Tom Mulcair, leader of the third-ranked New Democratic Party. "That is not something you apologize for, it's something you have to step down for," he said. Sajjan apologized repeatedly in the House of Commons for the "stolen valor" incident -- falsely claiming war experiences or military honors not earned -- while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood by his minister. "The minister made a mistake," said Trudeau. "He acknowledged it and apologized for it. That's what Canadians expect. "This minister has served his country in many capacities as a police officer, as a soldier, and now as a minister. And he has my full confidence," he added. Sajjan has said he wishes to retract the inflated claims. "I in no way would like to diminish the great work that my former superiors and our soldiers have done on operations, and I'm truly sorry for it," he said Monday.
Russia has refused a Lithuanian bid to question ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev over Moscow's deadly 1991 crackdown on independence protesters in the Baltic state, justice authorities in Vilnius said Tuesday. "Russia rejected a legal assistance request over Gorbachev," the Vilnius county court said in a statement. A Lithuanian judge wanted to summon Gorbachev, 86, to testify in a criminal case in which dozens of former Soviet officials are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes over the bloody repression of protesters. Moscow has refused to cooperate and only two suspects, both Russian citizens, attend the trial which opened last year, a quarter century after Soviet forces killed 14 civilians and injured hundreds as Lithuania broke free from the USSR. Lithuanian prosecutors have refused to formally charge Gorbachev, who was in power from 1985 to 1991. But the former Soviet leader has always been viewed with suspicion in the Baltic nation of three million occupied by Moscow after World War II. "Russia is shielding a person suspected of a crime. The one who shields a suspect is an accomplice," Lithuania's independence icon Vytautas Landsbergis told AFP on Tuesday. Soviet troops entered the capital Vilnius after Lithuania declared independence from Moscow in 1990 and stormed the city's television tower. Tens of thousands formed human shields against the troops. Lithuania, now a member of eurozone and NATO, has strongly criticised Russia's intervention in Ukraine, and recently welcomed troops on its soil from the US-led alliance to deter Moscow.
What started as a swelling of the wrist and fever turned out to be septicemia for Syaqir, 14. Photo: GIVE.Asia

Nina Shariff, 41, was at her wits end. Her middle child Syaqir, 14, was struck down by septicemia, or blood poisoning, earlier this month and had spent more than a week in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a public hospital in Singapore.

Concerned that her boy was not getting the right treatment, Nina sought a second opinion at a private hospital, where doctors recommended a new course of treatment with different drugs.

The cost: about $200,000, which would not be covered by her insurance policy since it was in a private hospital. Then Ninas sister Shida suggested raising money on crowdfunding platform GIVE.asia, which was established in 2010.

Since it started last Thursday (20 April), the GIVE.asia campaign for Syaqir has raised almost $120,000. In addition, a separate campaign for the teenager on the GoGetFunding platform has raised more than US$17,000 (S$23,743). More importantly, doctors say that Syaqir, who remains in the ICU, is getting better and undergoing physiotherapy, according to Nina.

The sales administrator, who was prepared to sell off her flat to cover the medical bills, was shocked by the amount that was raised in such a short period of time. The mother of three, who is also a cervical cancer survivor, told Yahoo Singapore that she was touched and grateful for the support.

There are so many generous people willing to help. I feel so happy to know that there is so much love out there. The messages [from donors] really help. They give me strength. Ive been crying a lot, but all the messages make me stop crying.

Nina is among an increasing number of people in Singapore who have turned to crowdfunding to foot medical bills for themselves, their loved ones and even their domestic workers. According to GIVE.asia CEO and co-founder Aseem Thakur, the platform saw 40 Singapore-based medical fundraising campaigns in 2016, double the number in the previous year. Almost all the fundraising campaigns that are started on GIVE.asia are able to reach their fundraising target, which goes to show that people in Singapore are very generous and compassionate, said Thakur.

Story continues

Vietnamese researcher Nguyen Van Thang and his wife were able to pay their babys medical bills thanks to crowdfunding. Photo: Nicholas Yong

While fundraising campaigns on GIVE.asia cover a wide range of categories such as elderly care, educational support, volunteer expeditions and animal welfare, medical fundraising is one of the most popular categories on the platform. For example, in the past week, Eileen Cheong, 25, successfully raised almost $240,000 to bring her father Jimi home from Tokyo, after he suffered a cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma.

Thakur explained, Some patients suffer from rare conditions which require overseas treatment. For some families, they may not have enough funds to get the proper medical treatment that is needed. And for some cases, on-going medical treatment can be very prohibitive and they may not have the financial means to pay for the treatment costs which is why they turn to the community for support.

Some like Singapore-based Vietnamese researcher Nguyen Van Thang, in his 30s, do not have medical insurance and are not eligible for government subsidies. So when his baby Tue Minh was born last November after just 26 weeks and three days, resulting in a hefty medical bill, he turned to GoGetFunding.com, where he eventually raised more than $96,000.

The campaign ended in December. Tue Minh was eventually discharged in February 2017, after spending more than 50 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at KK Womens and Childrens Hospital.

The cost and benefit

Sky Looi and his wife Wen Xiu, with their baby boy Ethan, who was born with an extremely rare form of leukemia. Photo: GIVE.asia.

While GIVE.Asia does not charge fundraisers any fees  donors can choose to make a separate donation to it  its payment gateway provider deducts two to five per cent of each donation as credit card processing fees. Others like GoFundMe charge each fundraiser 7.9 per cent of each donation  five per cent goes to GoFundMe, while the rest goes to payment processing fees. GoGetFunding charges 6.9 per cent, inclusive of a credit card processing fee.

Queries to GoFundMe and GoGetFunding about medical fundraising by Singaporeans had not been answered by the time of publication.

But every cent counts for the likes of Sky Looi, 41, an associate engineer in a semiconductor company. His son Ethan was born last July with a very rare form of leukemia called Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML). It is only the second such case seen in Singapore. While the nine-month-old is now stable and awaits a bone marrow transplant, Looi has been busy putting in overtime work to supplement crowdfunding for Ethan in order to pay off the medical bills.

Thus far, the campaign for Ethan has raised almost $170,000, helped by several media reports on his condition. Looi, who is a Malaysian, told Yahoo Singapore that he was moved by the generosity of donors.

From the first day, I have been taken back by the response, said Looi in Mandarin. This has helped us a lot. We are very moved. I dont know if I would be able to raise this amount in Malaysia. I am very grateful.
Syrian government forces used deadly nerve gas in Khan Sheikhun and in three other recent attacks, Human Rights Watch said Monday, describing a "clear pattern" of chemical weapons use that could amount to crimes against humanity. President Bashar al-Assad's forces are also stepping up chlorine gas attacks and have begun using surface-fired rockets filled with chlorine in fighting near Damascus, the US-based rights group said in a new report. "The government's use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation -- and part of a clear pattern," said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch's executive director. "In the last six months, the government has used warplanes, helicopters, and ground forces to deliver chlorine and sarin in Damascus, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo." "That's widespread and systematic use of chemical weapons," he said. Last month, Assad told AFP in an interview that the suspected sarin attack in Khan Sheikhun was "100 percent" fabricated, serving as a pretext for US missile strikes on a Syrian air field. Human Rights Watch interviewed 60 witnesses and collected photos and videos providing information on the suspected April 4 attack, and on three other alleged uses of nerve gases in December 2016 and March 2017. The rights group said at least 92 people including 30 children died from exposure to sarin in Khan Sheikhun and hundreds more were injured. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights has put the death toll at 88. Residents said a first bomb believed to be carrying the deadly agent sarin was dropped near the town's central bakery and was followed by three or four high-explosive bombs a few minutes later, the report said. Dozens of photos and videos provided by residents of a crater from the first bomb showed a green-colored metal fragment that Human Rights Watch said was likely the Soviet-produced KhAB-250 bomb. - Three suspected attacks in Hama - Human Rights Watch said 64 people died from exposure to nerve agents after warplanes attacked territory controlled by the Islamic State group in eastern Hama on December 11 and December 12. Activists and local residents provided names of the victims, while Human Rights Watch interviewed four witnesses and two medical personnel about the alleged attacks. A third suspected nerve agent attack in northern Hama on March 30 caused no deaths but injured dozens of civilians and combatants, according to residents and medical personnel, the report said. All four suspected nerve agent attacks were in areas where anti-government fighters were threatening Assad's military air bases, according to Human Rights Watch. The alleged attacks were systematic and in some cases directed against civilians, which would meet the legal criteria to be characterized as crimes against humanity, the rights group said. HRW's Roth told a news conference that the string of suspected attacks cast doubt over Syrian and Russian claims that toxic agents were released in Khan Sheikhun after a bomb struck a chemical weapons depot on the ground. It would be "utterly impossible" for warplanes to hit chemical caches repeatedly across the country, Roth said. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has said its experts were investigating 45 cases of alleged use of toxic gases in Syria since late last year. Citing mounting evidence of repeated chemical weapons use, Human Rights Watch said the UN Security Council should once again ask the International Criminal Court to open a war crimes investigation. Such a move by the council in 2014 was blocked by Russia, Assad's top ally, and China.
(Kenji Hasegawa/Photoville International)

MANILA  The Congress has resumed its sessions and several priority bills are set to be discussed.

Majority Bloc member Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Alfredo Garbin said aside from the Comprehensive Tax Reform package, the two other priority proposed laws of the administration are also expected to progress.

Lowering the age of criminal responsibility, third is the postponement of the barangay elections, those are the three that will be discussed. These will be immediately referred, he said.

But for the House Opposition Bloc, there are other more important bills the house leadership should prioritize.

There are many priority measures that might be delayed if they focused on issues that have no broad consensus [among lawmakers], AKBAYAN Partylist Rep. Tom Villarin said.

During the recently concluded ASEAN Summit, President Rodrigo Duterte blamed Senator Kiko Pangilinan as the cause for the increase in number of juvenile delinquents in the country.

Thats what happened to the The disaster started with Senator Pangilinan. He was the one who copied that legislation from Because in America, yes they are not in prison, but they are sent to correctional facilities. Here in the Philippines, it was not the same because the legislation failed to provide the remedy after the arrest, Pres. Duterte said.  Nel Maribojoc | UNTV News & Rescue

The post Tax Reforms and Barangay Polls Postponement bills are set to be discussed in Congress appeared first on UNTV News.
International Relations, Theory  May 2, 2017  Stefan Kipfer

Cest grave, (things are serious) said the monsieur who sells me the papers every morning. A resident of Mantes-la-Jolie (a working class town at the western edge of the Paris region), he laments a lack of clarity on the dangers of the Front National (FN) not only among colleagues and neighbours but also parties and politicians.



The situation in France is indeed serious. A week before the second-round vote, Marine Le Pen has made progress in the polls but still trails Emmanuel Macron by a margin of about 18 per cent. However, analysts have pointed out that mass abstention could bring her within winning range. There is no need to be alarmist to make a sober observation: a defeat of Le Pen is not a foregone conclusion.

As we speak, a number of dynamics favourable to Le Pen are unfolding. In 2002, father Le Pens presence in the second round of the Presidential election produced a ground swell of anti-FN mass mobilization. As I write these lines, days after a round of high school student street protests against Le Pen and Macron, and hours before the May Day marches, no such mobilizations have happened so far. There are a number of reasons for this.

Politics of Alliances

On the right, a constellation of FN support is emerging. The right sovereignist and self-described Gaullist Nicolas Dupont-Aignon, who garnered almost 5 per cent of the vote in the first round, declared his support for Le Pen in return for a promise to be appointed Prime Minister. The Republican candidate Francois Fillon, who received 20 per cent in the first round, supports a vote for Macron, but not all of his supporters are following him. During Fillons Thatcherite, social conservative and anti-system campaign (which blamed judges, opponents and the media for his own corruption scandal), many of these had already said, quite logically, that they would support Le Pen more than Macron should Fillon fail to reach the second round. Most prominent among those refusing to heed his current advice to vote for Macron is the right-wing Catholic organization Sens Commun, which emerged in 2013 from the mass mobilizations against

gay marriage. Unlike Muslim and Jewish organizations, the Catholic Church (and the Pope) has not come out against Le Pen (it did in 2002).

In turn, Macrons camp has been unwilling to draw attention to the concrete authoritarian, anti-social, racist, patriarchal and, yes, neo-fascist pillars of the Front National, and to subject its organization, milieu, programme, and municipal policy record to closer scrutiny.

Macron has accepted to debate Le Pen on primetime TV (which Jacques Chirac refused to do with her father in 2002). He also continues to

normalize her presence by treating the FN as a party like any other, going out of his way to acknowledge Le Pens humanity. Meanwhile, in his tepid and mediocre campaign, he continues to peddle the kind of neoliberal and security-oriented policies that produced mass resistance and led to Francois Hollandes downfall. Macrons tight connections to Frances ruling circles (in state and capital), his economic neoliberalism, his acceptance of the Fifth Republic and the European Union as they are currently constituted, his opportunism and arrogance, continue to make him an ideal opponent for Le Pen.

The left is pulling into varying directions. On the one hand, Benoit Hamon (the Socialist Party candidate who was decimated at the polls), the Communist Party (which supported Jean-Luc Melenchon), and unions like the CFDT have issued calls to vote Macron in order to defeat Le

Pen. On the other hand, members of the far left tend to vacillate, on the ground, between the former position (voting against Le Pen by voting for Macron) and a neither Macron (banker) nor Le Pen (fascist) position. Various anarchist groups, including those directly involved in current street protests, combine the latter ni-ni (neither-nor) position with a principled opposition to

electoral participation. After riding the tide of anti-Hollande mobilizations almost into the second round, Melenchon and his France Insoumise (FI) waited for more than half a week to proclaim its preliminary position, thus giving Le Pen a chance to suck up to Melenchon voters. The FIs position (no vote for Le Pen, whether by abstention, a blank vote, or a vote for Macron) resonates with the position of trade unions CGT and Solidaires, which are most active in an anti-fascist union network.

Extra-Parliamentary Left?

All those on the far left who have been heavily involved in the mass mobilizations against the Labour Law reform and police violence, are caught in a dilemma:

how to underline the grave danger of the Front National without pretending that a Macron would stop the neo-fascist threat for good, or without demobilizing those who have spent enormous energies fighting Minister Macron, Prime Minister Valls and President Hollande. At the same time, they face a basic problem: how to translate a basic factual observation (that those defending capitalism and economic liberalism help prepare the ground for fascism) into a strategic orientation that is more subtle than the equation one frequently hears about or sees sprayed on city walls: Macron 2017 = Le Pen 2022. Turning the connection between authoritarian neoliberalism and neofascism into an automatic link, this simplistic equation assumes that emancipatory forces are too powerless to have an impact on the course of history.

In contrast to 2002, a greater number of French citizens think that the supposed normalization of the Front National (a normalization produced more by the policies of the Republican right and the Socialist left since 2002 than the FNs own strategic adjustments since 2011) has eradicated any significant difference between the FN and mainstream parties, that the very real erosion of ideological and other barriers between the FN and other political formations has turned the former into just another party. However, a range of principled left-wing and anti-racist voices have pointed out that this assumption does not hold up to closer scrutiny; indeed, that the belief in this assumption is a luxury those most immediately affected by an FN victory (including Muslims, foreigners, immigrants, non-whites) and those next in line (anarchists, union activists, other militants, LGBTQ people, women, workers and the poor) can least afford. To underscore this point: far right militants have started to confront the high school students protesting both Le Pen and Macron.

In light of these developments, debates on internet fora and in newspapers have raised a number of basic but urgent questions about tactics and strategy in what is a contradictory and volatile situation:

Is the vote an expression of political principle or a contingent act in a determined conjuncture? What is the relationship between the vote and the balance of forces that will shape post-election politics?

Is it not possible to vote and engage in extra-parliamentary politics and street mobilizations? How should one link the street to the ballot box?

What is the best way to vote against Le Pen without taking a break in the fight against mainstream neoliberalism, imperial adventurism, state racism and sexism, both now and after the election?

As Youssef Boussoumah, a member of the Parti des Indigenes de la Republique (which helped organize the mass march against racism and police violence on March 19), pointedly asked in a social media post a few days ago: what stops us from getting rid of the pest (Le Pen) on May 7 and eliminating cholera (Macron) the day after? The question deserves to be asked at every occasion. 

Stefan Kipfer is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, Toronto. He is currently on sabbatical leave in France.
The principles of outsourcing applied by the public bodies should be the same as when procuring non-core services in the private sphere, experts say.

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Choosing the appropriate form of outsourcing non-core services in the public sector may save time and money, while allowing for greater focus on more important tasks. Moreover, it may benefit the sector by offering them knowledge and innovative technologies from other industries, experts on outsourcing say.

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The Slovak Spectator spoke to Matej Bosnak, managing partner at Ernst & Young in Slovakia, and Ivo Dolezal, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Slovakia.

The Slovak Spectator (TSS): Does it make sense to utilise outsourcing also in public administration? In which areas would its potential be fully used?

Matej Bosnak (MB): The main objective of outsourcing is to free a company, either a private or a state one, of activities that represent an excessive burden for it. Outsourcing is a tool to reduce costs and increase flexibility, that helps secure the processes which the company cannot manage on its own at the level required. This means that the processes, which burden it from the viewpoint of finances, administration, staff or time, are separated from its core activities (for example, transport, accountancy or supporting IT services).

Regarding public services, the aim of outsourcing is to simplify the processes, but sometimes also the organisational structure. In public administration we can use outsourcing to make communication between the public and the authorities more effective, which may then result in increased trust in the respective institution.

Ivo Dolezal (ID): There should not be any major difference between public and private sector outsourcing of non-core activities. Any subject should focus on their core activities and if there is someone else, who can deliver non-core activities in a more efficient way it is better to outsource them. Private sector enterprises do not usually want to build their competencies in the cleaning services, facility management, food services or physical security of their premises, that is the reason why they outsource these services. The same rule also applies to the public sector. The civil servants should focus on the provision of quality services for citizens and seek cost savings from outsourcing non-key activities to specialised service providers in transparent tenders.

In addition to this traditional reason for outsourcing, a new trend has emerged in the private sector in recent years  the companies are trying to procure innovations. The brilliant innovative minds within the new generation workforce do not dream about a corporate life, instead they prefer establishing their own start-ups, participating in hackathons, etc. I personally believe that public sector entities should also start thinking about procuring innovations or outsourcing research & development activities.

TSS: What may be the main contribution of outsourcing to the public sector?

MB: Currently there are many quality specialised providers in the market. Thanks to their specialisation the costs are lower than if the respective organisation tried to secure them on its own. The appropriate form of outsourcing saves time and also money  of course, only if the fees agreed upon in a contract are final and also include hidden costs.

Except for improving its own reputation, the public body also obtains knowledge, skills and technologies that would otherwise be inaccessible for it, not to mention the improvement in the quality of managerial and other processes. The public will surely perceive greater flexibility compared with the rigid bureaucratic approach and will certainly appreciate the higher quality of provided services.

ID: I see two main benefits in public sector outsourcing  the leaders should not be distracted with non-core activities and should get more time and resources to focus on their core functions, i.e. providing better services to their citizens. Outsourcing can also bring best practice and innovative solutions from other industries into the public sector.

TSS: Where are the potential risks in using outsourcing in public administration?

MB: Outsourcing of services must be preceded by quality preparation along with a comprehensive analysis of needs, which has to contain proper scrutiny of the future supplier. The selection of a provider is much more important than the price of the expected service. It is necessary to focus on its reputation including expertise and practical skills, but also on reliability and flexibility. Not to forget a transparent approach and the ability to offer highly specialised services (like dealing with sensitive documents).

Though trust is important for outsourcing, as it is a basis for a successful cooperation, the regular inspection of work and communication about expectations should be fundamental.

ID: Like with anything in public sector procurement, the key danger is corruption, conflict of interest and lack of competence in running the procurement processes, which can lead to buying overpriced services of inferior quality.

TSS: What should be done to prevent murky practices when outsourcing services for the public sector?

MB: The basic condition of beneficial outsourcing is transparent selection within the public procurement, which should first of all take into consideration the quality criteria, the importance of which in many aspects tops the price of services. Also a proper analysis of needs is important, similarly to precise constant reviews of procured services.

The success of outsourcing lies in in-depth evaluation, comparison and consideration of future impacts that do not seem to be isolated in the context of public administration and that may negatively impact a broader segment. An ad hoc approach to outsourcing is highly risky, which is even truer for the public sector.

ID: Transparency is key, but it should be used wisely. Making all information available to the general public is not the answer. As in contrast it can harm the healthy competition. The most important principle is the accountability of the managers buying the external services. They should be able to justify what they need, they should set the right quality criteria, properly estimate the volume required and why they need to procure the services externally. Running price only auctions can be efficient for buying commodities, but for more sophisticated services and solutions it usually leads to wasting money on something, which does not add value.
Bad weather at the end of April destroyed roads and caused several problems.

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The end of April brought intense rain to Slovakia. The river levels increased and in many regions, mainly in the north of Slovakia, floods caused problems for local inhabitants.

The floods took a death toll of three. On Friday, April 28, in Hvozdnica near Bytca a 56-year-old man was discovered in a local brook. Rescuers were not able to revive him.

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Also on Friday, in Ochodnica village near Kysucke Nove Mesto, two men in a car tried to cross a flooded stream. The water swept the car away. The 40-year-old man was saved but unfortunately the body of the 59-year-old was found the following morning with no signs of life.

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Read also: Orava dam or Niagara falls? Read more

The last victim was a 45-year-old Pole who was rafting with a group of friends in Kralova Lehota on the Vah river. The man fell into the water near Liptovska Porubka and rescuers did not succeed in retrieving his body from the water until he reached Liptovsky Hradok, as the portal tvnoviny.sk informed.

The centre of Cadca also faced a critical situation when the surface of the Kysuca exceeded two metres. The problems mainly affected drivers who were travelling under the railway flyover near the hypermarket.

The inhabitants of Svrcinovec had a different problem when their local watercourse became diverted.

At first, we had problems with sewage contamination and later the fouled water flooded the road and the fields, said mayor Renata Majchrakova, as quoted by nasekysuce.sk.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/xN5gHB-YLu8

In the Liptov region the Demanovka river washed out part of the road and flooded several houses in the Demanovska valley. Several villages in Liptov were fighting with flooded roads and high river levels which endangered their homes. The road was closed for about a day.
Fico voiced support for Danko.

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The Opposition has tabled a motion to remove the Speaker of Parliament, Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) from office, over what it sees as his responsibility for the Parliament Offices alleged violation of the confidentiality of correspondence.

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OLaNO-NOVA leader Igor Matovic, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Lucia Duris Nicholsonova and We Are Family chairman Boris Kollar announced that 33 MPs had signed a motion to call for an extraordinary parliamentary session to debate Dankos removal.

Matovic said that employees of the Parliament Office have been reading letters sent to MPs without the intended recipients being aware of this and that the correspondence has been censored.

Andrej Danko has violated the constitutional right of people who send letters to members of Parliament, said Matovic as cited by the TASR newswire. Were submitting a motion seeking his removal. The [parliamentary] session should take place next week [the first week in May].

Duris Nicholsonova added that it is not their right which has been infringed but the rights of the people who sent the letters.

Things have gone so far that the rights of the people who write to us are being trampled on, said Duris Nicholsonova.

Kollar echoed the SaS MPs sentiments, describing the controversial practice as a prime example of the arrogance of power.

However, the oppositions initiative faces dim prospects, as the leader of the main coalition Smer party and Prime Minister Robert Fico said earlier on April 28, that he sees no reason to debate Dankos removal from office and that Smer will not vote in favour of such a motion. Unless the House first endorses the agenda of such a session, the session will not even begin.

Robert Fico is going to cover up for Andrej Danko because they need each other ... We dont expect them to act in any other way but this amounts to gross contempt for the public, said Matovic.

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Earlier this week Matovic went public with his claim that Danko had ordered Parliament Office chief, Daniel Guspan, to introduce a policy of opening letters addressed to individual MPs if they are sent by private individuals or if they are apparently anonymous. If the letters are found to contain profanities or other offensive content, they should not be forwarded to the recipients but archived and shredded after three months.

Guspan rejected Matovics accusations, describing such claims as lies. He also called on Matovic to present evidence for his claims or to desist from making the accusations.

On Sunday, April 30, PM Fico responded to the motion saying that Guspan should be punished if he did fail in his duties concerning the Parliament Offices alleged violation of the confidentiality of correspondence. That said, contrary to what the opposition is aiming for, no special parliamentary session debating a motion to remove Danko from office should take place, he added.

We support Speaker of Parliament Danko and the Smer party wont vote in favour of the [proposed] agenda for the extraordinary parliamentary session, said Fico. He added that Danko played no role in the controversial issue, as he does not read post sent to MPs.

The PM also believes that the oppositions initiative to remove Danko is spurred on by hatred - and the coalition refuses to get involved in it. After all, the Government Office, too, observes a security policy as far as incoming post is concerned, he added.

Instead of discussing this issue, focus should be put on the fact that Slovakia is doing well economically, said Fico.
The students deadline has passed and they are planning to organize two more marches against corruption.

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Young corruption fighters have already decided to organize another march against corruption, Dennik N informed. Their conditions have not been met and their two week deadline is up. The next march will be organized in Bratislava and Kosice in about a month. This time high-schoolers are cooperating with university students. They are also planning to collect 100,000 signatures for a petition. More information will come on Tuesday, May 2.

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The first rally organised by young Slovak students was also covered by The New York Times.

Young people in Slovakia are trying to take their country back for the next generation. Their battle is infused with a healthy dose of youthful idealism but their anticorruption campaign has caught on, as have like-minded movements across the region, wrote the NY Times.

The pair of budding corruption fighters paused outside Slovakias presidential palace, trying to decide how long to give the government to capitulate to their demands. They wanted the resignations of the interior minister and the national police chief, as well as full and transparent investigations of a parade of recent corruption scandals, wrote reporter Rick Lyman about the 18-year-old organizers David Straka and Karolina Farska.

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Corruption is a problem in many of the former communist countries of Eastern Europe, according to him.

Things have grown so bad that some analysts now speak in terms of state capture  where all major state institutions are effectively in the hands of corrupt politicians and untouchable oligarchs, he wrote for the NY Times, adding that the problem is entering an even more critical stage, as authoritarian-minded leaders leverage the rise of nationalism and populism to consolidate power.

The current government of Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Robert Fico, assumed power in 2012 largely on the heels of a huge government scandal. The so-called Gorilla scandal, named after the code name given to a secret dossier, involving government officials, oligarchs and others caught on tape discussing kickbacks and other corrupt activities, Lyman explained in his NY Times article.

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The labour minister promised to work towards enacting policies that would prevent so-called social dumping or the use of foreign workers as cheap labour.

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Approximately 300 people gathered in front of the Labour Ministry on April 28 to decry the easing of conditions concerning the hiring of foreign workers.

The organisers of the protest, the trade unions association OZ KOVO, said that the workforce in Slovakia continues to be sufficient, and if businesses insist on hiring foreign workers, all employees should be on the same footing.

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Its outrageous that unscrupulous individuals should import workers so that they can pay them lower salaries while having them work 12 or even more hours a day, said Emil Machyna, chair of OZ KOVO, as quoted by the TASR newswire. This is a disgrace that we cannot support. We want workers, be they from Slovakia, Hungary or Romania, to enjoy the same conditions.

Moreover, OZ KOVO wants Slovaks working abroad to benefit from the same conditions as locals, while the Slovak Labour Code should be amended in order to make conditions and salaries identical for all workers.

Employers have slammed trade unions for their efforts to increase the minimum wage to 492 per month and that they have been demanding looser conditions vis-a-vis the hiring of foreign workers, said Jozef Kollar, chair of the Confederation of Trade Unions Associations (KOZ), who also showed up at the protest.

There are 170,000 jobseekers at job centres, half of them with a secondary school education, and theyre still out of work, Kollar said, as quoted by TASR. Why should we open up our borders? But we realise what employers want. Its a cheap labour force, and weve gathered here to stop that from happening.

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Read also: Unions will protest against new rules for hiring foreigners Read more

OZ KOVOs representatives later met with Labour Minister Jan Richter (Smer), who also spoke to the crowd. He reiterated his opposition to importing workers and stressed the need to regulate the hiring of non-EU citizens.

Richter promised to work towards enacting policies that would prevent so-called social dumping or the use of foreign workers as cheap labour.

All representatives of employers have spoken out against social dumping infiltrating Slovakia, Richter said, as quoted by TASR. The question is how to ensure that the bill is worded appropriately and that it is enacted in the body of laws.

The EUs directive on cross-border staff postings must not be exploited in order to hire foreign workers, the minister stressed. To this end, meetings with stakeholders in countries such as Romania and Serbia are needed at the outset.

Im convinced that as soon as we find a platform for communication, all countries and employees will benefit, Richter added, as quoted by TASR. Were committed to ensuring that whoever comes to work in Slovakia will benefit from the same conditions as Slovak workers.
Survey suggests that admiration for Putin and Russia is uniting extremist organisations in Central Europe.

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The right-wing extremist organisations in central Europe are linked by their inclination towards Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, the survey of the Hungarian institute, Political Capital, suggests.

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The findings are based on a comparative analysis of five case studies carried out in central European countries, that were published by the non-governmental Globsec Policy Institute on May 2. The Slovak part of the study was prepared by political scientist Grigorij Meseznikov and security analyst Radovan Branik, the SITA newswire reported.

Political Capital launched the project which focuses on the violent consequences of Russian influence in the central European region. It claims that the right-wing extremist organisations, which have targeted mostly national, religious and sexual minorities in the past, have changed their focus to geopolitical questions. The turning point was the crisis in the Ukraine that erupted in 2013, SITA wrote.

In addition to their resistance towards NATO and the European Union, these organisations are linked by their admiration for Russia and Putin.

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Read also: Slovakia is vulnerable to Russian influence Read more

Meseznikov and Branik warn in the study that the most alarming feature of the Kremlins influence on Slovakia is its bondage with violent radicalisation from the bottom up among the far-right parties and paramilitary organisations.

They offer Peoples Party  Our Slovakia (LSNS) as an example, saying they follow the pro-Russia, anti-establishment politics of resistance to NATO. Moreover, among its members are people suspected of committing racially-motivated crimes, SITA reported.

Journalists, security experts and analysts from the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, and Hungary have made similar findings. The authors of the study have revealed many organisations with ideological and personal bonds to Russian entrepreneurs, politicians and diplomats.

Among the examples are the National Militia, which established the illegal consulate of the Donetsk Peoples Republic in the Czech Republic last year, the Hungarian party Jobbik, which is suspected of espionage for the Russian Federation and various movements in Poland, which have been calling for people to damage statues in western Ukraine, SITA wrote.

Globsec points out that except for xenophobic nationalism, the region is also witnessing expansive and revisionist tendencies. The Pew Global Attitudes study from 2009 suggests that when asked whether parts of neighbouring countries actually belong to the respondents, 66 percent of Bulgarians, 61 percent of Hungarians and 58 percent of Russians provided a positive answer.

Less expansive tendencies were shown by Czechs (40 percent), and Slovaks (29 percent), SITA reported.
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Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase the foreign direct investment from 3.8 per cent of its current GDP to about 5.7 per cent in 2017, as part of its efforts to diversify its economy and boost investment inflows into the kingdom.



The effort is part of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 Plan and National Transformation Programme, updates on which are set to be revealed at the Saudi Arabia Forum 2017, a Jumana House event being organised by Meed. The event will gather together influential figures from government and businesses to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the kingdom.



The forum, to be held on May 9 at the Movenpick Hotel in Riyadh, will ensure complete coverage of the latest market information, project updates, macroeconomic insight, whilst also addressing strategic labour issues and solutions to ensure the kingdoms sustainable economic growth.



Saudi Arabia continues to be the biggest and the most important market in the region, said Meed editorial director Richard Thompson. The announcement of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Programme sets out a roadmap for the future direction of the kingdoms economy and the pipeline for the capital investment projects over the next 15 years.



But the plan introduces new mechanisms for delivery that require change in the way both business and government work together. Saudi Arabia Forum 2017 is a valuable and important occasion to come together to discuss the opportunities and challenges the future has to offer.



How well the government has managed its resources in the wake of falling oil revenues and how it can it infuse growth in its economy through reform and diversification will be dissected and discussed at the forum, proving stakeholders key insights on how to leverage new opportunities and mitigate risks.



A panel session on the mechanisms for attracting foreign and domestic investments is among other highlights focusing on private sector initiatives, intended to diversify Saudi Arabias economy and support future economic development, as well as discussions on enhancing the competitiveness of the kingdom through development of economic cities on par with leading trade and business hubs across the globe.



Also of interest to the international community is how Saudi Arabia will realise its commitment to transitioning to a female inclusive workforce, increasing the number of employed women from 22 per cent to a more significant 30 per cent of its working population.  TradeArabia News Service
Standard Chartered Bank has signed a partnership agreement with UAE-based business support provider Transguard Group, which will enable the bank to offer its corporate clients a smarter and more convenient cash solution.



The solution integrates smart cash deposit machines with Transguards cash in transit (CIT) services, said a statement.



The agreement allows the bank to offer its corporate clients new smart cash management services which will help them save time and cut handling costs, it said.



Although efficient connectivity has helped online banking and other online retail platforms grow exponentially in the UAE over the past five years, cash is not disappearing. It remains the most widely accepted form of payment in the UAE today. However, this trend raises questions around the management of security, safety, time and the costs of actually handling and transporting cash.



Transguard is able to offer an integrated solution to its customers including Standard Chartered Bank, to help manage the security and risk around cash handling and transportation, it said.



Under the current agreement, Transguard will provide cash deposit machines to Standard Chartered Bank on an OPEX (operational expense) model, thereby allowing the bank to outsource the entire process, from installation of cash machines to operation and maintenance, to Transguard. The cash machines will be installed at several locations and will allow Standard Chartered Banks clients to directly deposit and receive credit for cash, the statement said.



Julian Wynter, CEO of Standard Chartered UAE, said: "This agreement reflects Standard Chartereds confidence in Transguard's services and reiterates our commitment to strengthening our relationship with them.



Standard Chartered has already started taking delivery of the automated smart cash deposit machines, to offer to its corporate clients, especially those generating large amounts of cash. Additionally, these smart machines come complete with banking software solutions, so they receive, check, count, credit and securely store cash until it is collected by Transguard CIT teams.



A major benefit for our customers is the improved cash flow. When funds are deposited in the drop box, they are automatically credited into the clients bank account, in real time, as opposed to physically waiting for the cash to be collected by CIT before it can be credited to the clients account, and we are the only provider in the market with the technology to offer this service, said Dr Abdulla Al Hashimi, CEO, Transguard Group.



There are other operational benefits for Standard Chartered Bank. The smart cash machines can reduce footfall at the bank branch as the cash machines eliminate the need for clients to physically travel to their nearest bank branch. This reduces the intense workload of the tellers and allows the branch to improve the efficiency of its operations as it will not have to process bulk cash deposits.



This agreement is of great benefit to our corporate clients  as it reduces staff time sorting and counting cash and reconciling sales with deposits, as well as reducing shrinkage due to counterfeit notes and miscounts  it also improves cash flow, said Motasim Iqbal, head of transaction banking, Standard Chartered UAE.



When funds are deposited in the drop box of the smart cash deposit machine, all transactions are electronically tracked by Standard Chartereds award-winning, fully integrated electronic trading platform, Straight2Bank and credited into the clients bank account, in real time, as opposed to physically waiting for the cash to be collected by CIT before it can be credited to the account. These highly sophisticated machines, also accept small denomination notes and coins.



The cash machines also eliminate the risk of loss through theft or fraud and, because the client is no longer liable for the cash once it has been deposited in the drop box. Having no access or ownership of the cash at that stage, significantly reduces risk and potentially insurance premiums.



Standard Chartered has successfully piloted its first smart cash deposit machine at its Bur Dubai Branch and brought on-board its first client Maersk Kanoo UAE. During the first phase, the bank has also selected another two branches to be involved in the initiative, Deira and Khalidiya in Abu Dhabi.  TradeArabia News Service






New Zealand Minister for Economic Development Simon Bridges today (April 24) formally announced the countrys participation in the big event by delivering a letter of acceptance from Simon William English, Prime Minister of New Zealand, reported state news agency Wam.



The country shares close ties with the UAE, as well as a shared vision in many key areas, such as energy and education. It has also been a vocal supporter of Dubai on its journey to hosting the next World Expo, it stated.



The Expo will be a festival for all, where, through its theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, it will give people a glimpse into the future as well as providing a platform to encourage creativity, innovation and collaboration.



New Zealands desire to take part in the first World Expo in the Mena and South Asia region is grounded in the countrys core values, Kaitiaki, Ingenuity and Integrity, said the report.



Kaitiaki is a New Zealand term used for the Maori concept of guardianship, reflecting the countrys goal of preserving its environment and culture for generations to come.



The idea of Kaitiaki, along with New Zealands other values of ingenuity and integrity, echo the Expos three pillars, Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, it stated.



The use of more clean energy is a common goal of the UAE and New Zealand, which signed an agreement in 2014 on the deployment of renewable energy solutions in various parts of the world.



Welcoming the NZ decision, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee, said: "There are many goals in common between New Zealand and the UAE including working towards achieving a clean and renewable future."



"New Zealands decision to take part in Expo 2020 underlines the importance that Dubai plays as a global destination and a point of convergence for the peoples of the world, consistent with Expos overall theme of Connecting Minds, Creating the Future," he stated.



New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE Jeremy Clarke-Watson pointed out that the country had a strong trade and economic relationship with the UAE.



"Our countries embrace innovation and technology, so we are excited to share knowledge and ideas as we work together towards Expo 2020 Dubai," noted Clarke-Watson.



While the duo already has strong ties in renewable energy, trade and agriculture, New Zealand is also keen to strengthen relations in technology, space, health care, environmental planning and protection and medical research, he added.
Expo 2020 Dubai is urging Qatari firms of all sizes to take advantage of the wide-ranging business opportunities available to them through the planning, delivery and legacy stages of the first World Expo to be held in the Arab World and Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.



An Expo 2020 Dubai team travelled to Qatar on May 1 as part of its GCC Roadshow, designed to encourage business engagement and growth across the region and highlight the lasting benefits of working with Expo. They connected with key business figures at a session hosted by the Qatar Ministry of Economy and Commerce in Doha, said a statement from the organisers.



This was followed by a meeting with heads of the Qatar Chamber, Qatar Development Bank, Centre for Entrepreneurship at Qatar University, Bedaya, and the Entrepreneurs Association, where the Expo 2020 Dubai team outlined the opportunities available to Qatars wider business community  including its larger corporates and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)  and provided an overview of Expos transparent and inclusive procurement process, it said.



With more than 4,200 Qatari companies already operating in Dubai, Expo 2020 will open the door for many more, working directly with expo to create partnerships and discover new opportunities that will enable a range of firms to establish a lasting presence in the UAE, it added.



Nasser Mohamed Al Muhannadi, chairman of Qatar Pavilion Committee Expo Dubai 2020, said: We see the expo as a wonderful opportunity for our businesses to showcase to the world Qatari ingenuity, innovations and our expertise in a wide variety of areas.



It is also a golden chance for us to give the millions of overseas visitors to the region for Expo a taste of what our country has to offer, he said.



We look forward to working with our GCC brothers to ensure that Expo 2020 Dubai is remembered as an exceptional World Expo and a proud moment for our region. I urge Qatari businesses to take advantage of the many chances it offers them for growth and development on a global platform, and to make a long-term stake in the UAE.



Manal AlBayat, senior vice president of business development and integration at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: The expo will provide Qatari businesses, both large and small, with the chance to showcase their capabilities on a global platform. Our GCC Roadshow is all about exploring ways in which countries across the region, like Qatar, can maximise the opportunities available to them.



By participating in the expo and entering into our supply chain, businesses can benefit from job creation and economic growth. Beyond this, they can leverage Expo 2020s vast public and private sector network to enjoy greater business connectivity and build new partnerships, AlBayat added.



Qatar and the UAE reinforced their existing ties by committing to new horizons of cooperation in May 2016. Expo 2020 Dubai presents a valuable platform to further develop these ties across a number of areas including tourism, cultural exchange and business, in line with Expos theme of Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.



In 2017 alone, Expo 2020 Dubai expects to award over 140 business contracts, worth over Dh11 billion ($2.99 billion). Many of these will be for goods and services of particular relevance to Qatars business community including construction materials and investment in infrastructure, as well as emerging industries such as tourism, said a statement.



Expo 2020 Dubai is committed to integrating SMEs and encouraging them to bid for contracts, thereby tapping into their innovation and flexibility, with 20 per cent of Expos budget  equating to more than Dh5 billion ($1.36 billion)  to be spent with SMEs.



This will be of particular interest to Qatari SMEs, which already receive strong support from the Qatari government as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030. This states the importance of incubating and growing small and medium scale enterprises to strengthen the countrys business sector, and contribute to sustainable development which provides a high standard of living for all its people for generations to come.



Qatar aims to further diversify its economy through the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, by attracting seven million visitors annually by the year 2030, creating 98,000 new jobs and contributing more than five per cent to its GDP. Expo 2020 Dubai represents a valuable opportunity for Qatar to promote itself as a tourist destination to a global audience of millions, and leverage tourists travelling to the region for Expo.



Expo runs from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021 and will attract millions of visitors from around the world. A large proportion of visitors are expected to come from the GCC, which is the UAEs largest source market for tourism  with 3.4 million visitors to Dubai alone from the Gulf in 2016.



Through its GCC Roadshow, which successfully launched in Oman in March and recently travelled to Bahrain in April, Expo 2020 Dubai is aiming to visit Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the coming months.  TradeArabia News Service
Infosys, an India-based global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services, today announced that it plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years.



As part of this initiative, Infosys will open four new Technology and Innovation Hubs across the country focusing on cutting-edge technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data.



These four hubs will not only have technology and innovation focus areas, but will closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more. The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indiana's economy, the company said.



The move is seen by analysts as a result of the crackdown on H-1B visas by the US government. American market accounted for over 60 per cent of Infosys' $10.2 billion revenue in the 2016-17 fiscal.



Recently the Trump administration had accused Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services of "unfairly" cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system. Every year, the US grants 65,000 H-1B visas while another 20,000 are set aside for those with US advanced degrees.



However, Dr Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer of Infosys, said: "Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States.



"Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers. New advances in technology - artificial intelligence, in particular - are radically transforming our world, and it is within our reach to learn these new technologies and to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who bring solutions based on these technologies to our clients in all industries."



"It's so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs," said Indiana Governor Eric J Holcomb . "Indiana continues to put the tools in place, such as the Next Level Trust Fund and incentivising direct flights, that allows us to attract and retain great companies like Infosys. In addition, our higher education institutions are producing a world class workforce, establishing Indiana as the innovation hub of the Midwest. I look forward to working with Infosys to elevate Indiana to the next level."



In filling these jobs, Infosys will hire experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges, to create the talent pools for the future. To ensure that American workers are fully equipped to innovate and support clients in the rapid digitisation of all industries and consistent with Infosys' over 35 year-long commitment to the US, the company will institute training programmes in key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.



In the last three years, Infosys has set up an innovation hub in Silicon Valley. A unique, open environment that encourages new ways of working, collaborating, thinking and delivering breakthrough next-generation projects to clients.



Infosys pursues its mission of inspiring children, young adults and educators to become creators of technology through its charitable foundation, Infosys Foundation USA. Since 2015, more than 134,000 students, over 2,500 teachers and almost 2,500 schools across America have benefited from high quality computer science training and classroom equipment funded by Infosys Foundation USA. The foundation also partners with organisations such as Code.org, CSTA and others to advance the skills development of millions of students, it said. - TradeArabia News Service
Oil demand will continue to grow in absolute terms at fairly healthy levels for the foreseeable future driven by the growing global economy and the increase in population, said Amin Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco.



"The global economy is forecast to double in size by 2050, while roughly two billion additional people will need access to affordable energy. So overall demand for energy will be substantially higher than today. And this higher demand will only be met by using all energy sources. Because despite the progress being made, alternatives still face multiple challenges, and we should all anticipate a long and complex energy transition," he said speaking at the International Oil Summit in Paris.



The current oil market sentiment and volatility is shaped by a wide range of short-term factors, he said. Weekly changes in US rig counts and production levels; bumps in inventories; the financial markets; the futures market; the shapes of forward curves; and a range of daily analysis and opinion all contribute significantly to price formation.



"But they also obscure the fundamentals, including crucial longer-term factors. The good news is that the market is moving toward rebalancing. For example, we now see occasional inventory bouncing instead of the consistent upward trend witnessed previously. There has also been a rapid drawdown of floating storage during the first quarter of this year. This returning confidence is being driven by improving fundamentals, and accelerated by the production agreement reached last year.



"As a result, I expect the market to continue improving. Looking further ahead, the signs are even more encouraging," he continued.



"When we look beyond short-term factors and misplaced notions, I see the oil market pointing upward and expect it to continue improving. That does not mean everything is rosy.



"We need to be far more resilient, which means fundamentally transforming the way we conduct our business while reducing the greenhouse gas footprint of oil. But if we can meet these challenges head-on, the stage is set for oil to remain a crucial part of the global energy mix for a long time to come.



"I hope that positive message will ring loud and clear in investors ears, as our industry rises to the challenge once more," he said.



Nasser said the Peak Oil Demand is not in sight for at least the next few decades, and he does not recognise the notion of Stranded Resources.



"The problem is, these assertions conceal the real challenges we face. Perhaps the key lesson from our industrys entire history is that bumps in the road are inevitable. Building broader resilience is therefore essential."



In the speech, Nasser pointed out some areas that deserved the most urgent attention. They include:



* Long-term investment. All energy sources will be required to meet the increasing global demand for energy, especially oil and gas. In fact, an estimated 30 million barrels per day of oil production capacity needs to be developed over just the next five years. But short-termism and volatility, combined with premature expectations of a rapid energy transition, is fueling uncertainty and misleading markets and investors. And incremental, short-term, and lower capital investment projects are just not going to cut it, he said.



So while the short-term market points to an oil surplus, the supplies required for the years ahead are falling behind substantially because the vast, long-term investments in proven and reliable energy sources are not being made. This presents a grave and growing threat to world energy security, he said.



* The challenge of cost. With price levels half of what they were before the downturn, the legacy cost structures are no longer sustainable, particularly as costs are starting to rise with increased activity. So all of us must work toward transformational cost efficiency that makes our businesses more profitable even in weak market conditions.



* The wider challenge of relentlessly questioning the basic building blocks of how the industry conducts its business. At a recent Upstream conference, we called it E&P 2.0, as the status quo is unsustainable. But it covers everything  from business models and competiveness to continued revenue growth that generates adequate returns for shareholders, without compromising on safety or the environment.



* Climate change. Following the historic signing of the Paris Agreement  which Saudi Arabia ratified last year  Saudi Aramco is playing a key role in supporting the kingdoms contributions. For example, doubling our gas production will increase the share of clean gas in the kingdoms utilities to almost 70 per cent, which will be the highest of any G20 nation.



"We will also help to transform the kingdom into a global solar powerhouse, which has an initial target of almost 10 GW by 2023. And industry peers like Saudi Aramco and Total are coming together in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, or OGCI, backed by a $1 billion investment in developing innovative low emissions technologies," he said.



* Making real technological breakthroughs to deliver clean, sustainable energy over the long-term. That includes technology that will minimise the greenhouse gas of oil and gas while the energy transition unfolds. In fact, Saudi Aramcos 11 global research and technology centres and offices powerfully demonstrate our belief in that long-term mission.



In partnership with European automakers, Aramco is developing and demonstrating highly-efficient engine technologies like Gasoline Compression Ignition to reduce the transport sectors greenhouse gas intensity, Nasser added. - TradeArabia News Service


Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, today announced the launch of OpenLab Dubai, the companys first, to serve customers and partners in the Middle East.



Huawei plans to add seven new OpenLabs across the world in 2017, and in the next three years will invest $200 million and appoint nearly 1,000 people globally, bringing the total number of OpenLabs to 20 by the year 2019, the company said.



OpenLab Dubai is committed to providing innovative solutions for IoT, cloud computing, large data, intelligent analysis, eLTE, converged communications and other new technologies to build public safety, smart city, oil and gas solutions, and has attracted YITU, Zenith, Walkbase, 7G , IOmniscient, Nedap, Richfit and more than 20 other partners.



With the "Platform + Ecosystem, accelerate the Middle East digital transformation of the industry", OpenLab Dubai brings together partners and customers from around the world to discuss the importance of collaboration in the development of a local digital ecosystem.



At the launch ceremony, Fan Siyong, president of public sector, Huawei, said: The digital transformation is causing disruption across every industry. Huawei has established OpenLabs across the world with the theme "platform + ecosystem", and is committed to working with global multi-specialty and industry partners to build customer-centric, innovative industry solutions to promote digital transformation and promote ecosystem development through the creation of an 'open, flexible and safe platform that fully supports the ecosystem. Huawei is committed to helping governments and enterprises in the Middle East to rely on new ICT technology and applications to maintain steady growth, achieve excellence and enhance the competitiveness of the ICT industry in the region. Huaweis OpenLab Dubai was built based on local market demands, talents, and technologies, and will focus on cooperation between enterprises, services, partners and customers in Middle East.



"The special climate, resources, culture and industry in the Middle East pose different challenges compared to other regions," said Xijiang Lin, director of Middle East Solution Development Center, Huawei EBG.



OpenLab Dubai will aggregate the world's best resources to meet local digital transformation needs, and continuously enhance the ICT platform capabilities and development of local ecosystems. OpenLab Dubai is focused on building capabilities to easily apply technical solutions in the actual network environment; developing competitive, commercially viable and industry-oriented solutions; empowering innovation capabilities, rapid response to market demand; achieving industrial chain value aggregation and a customer/partner/vendor win-win-win situation.



OpenLab Dubai has been jointly launched with more than 30 solutions and over 20 partners in Public Safety, Smart city and Digital Oil & Gas. It gives customers a hands-on experience in these areas.



Public safety sector: Based on Huaweis strong infrastructure of wireless network, eLTE-LiTRA, cloud computing, large data technology integration, Dubai OpenLab is working with YITU, Zenith and other partners, for face and license plate recognition, population density analysis, public opinion analysis solutions, working towards creating a harmonious and safe social environment



Smart City: Huawei combines low-power, wide-coverage NB-IoT / eLTE-IoT, Smart Gateway, cloud computing and large data, working with Honeywell, Nedap, Johnson Controls, and other partners. Huawei is also working with Esri in data management to jointly build intelligent parking, intelligent buildings, smart meters, intelligent lights and many other smart solutions.



Oil and Gas: Huawei will combine 4G wireless broadband network eLTE with Honeywell and Emerson's various oilfield sensing devices to provide digital field-wide connection solutions to solve real-time communication problems in oil fields, help oilfield visualization production, improve oil recovery and reduce security risks.



As part of Huawei's commitment to innovation, OpenLab Dubai will be connected to Huawei's global OpenLab network, to promote new business models, market demand and technical solutions for the exchange.

Russell Hammad, CEO , Zenith; Mohamed Hassan, wireless business development manager, Honeywell; Alaa ElShimy, managing director and vice president, Huawei Enterprise Business Middle East; Xijiang Lin, director of Middle East Solution Development Center, Huawei EBG; and Dr Adel Bolbol Fernandez, SE & Data Analytics SME, Esri signed strategic cooperation agreements to mark the opening of the Huawei OpenLab Dubai.



At the opening ceremony, Esri, Zenith, Honeywell shared their solutions in public safety, smart city and oil and gas sectors, and their involvement with Huaweis OpenLab Dubai aiming for a successful digital transformation trend.



At the opening, Huawei also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Zenith, eSri, NeA and Smart IOT to establish long-term partnerships aimed at providing customers with industry-leading solutions.  TradeArabia News Service
Retail sales increased by 51 per cent on average, whereas travel sales grew by 27 per cent during Ramadan last year, according to data released by Criteo, a performance marketing technology company.



The data revealed that retail sales and traffic in 2016 increased in the lead up to and during Ramadan, but declined slightly during Eid el-Fitr, the religious holiday that marks the end of the festive season.



Travel bookings grew incrementally in the last two weeks of Ramadan, and peaked in the subsequent two weeks post-Eid. Meanwhile, mobile retail purchases peaked in the two weeks leading up to Ramadan and mobile travel bookings skyrocketed through Eid and the week afterward.



Based on consumers online browsing and buying activity, two periods in particular have been identified by Criteo as the most opportune times for retailers and travel providers to engage with consumers. The two weeks leading up to Ramadan, as well as the last two weeks of the Holy month are when consumers are actively browsing and purchasing items for upcoming celebrations, the report said.



Criteos data also revealed that Ramadan traditions influence shoppers behaviour throughout the day. To engage with shoppers, retailers need to know when they are most active online. In comparison to the period prior to Ramadan where e-commerce transactions amounted to 73 per cent during the day, transactions during Ramadan dropped to 64 per cent.



However, Criteo measured an increase in eCommerce sales to 36 per cent, during the evening after consumers break their fast  an increase up from 27 per cent at the same time period pre-Ramadan, representing a timely opportunity for retailers to reach out to shoppers.



Ramadan is a cherished tradition in this region, and has an observable effect on the purchasing habits and online activity of shoppers, said Dirk Henke, managing director Emerging Markets, Criteo.



Retailers and travel providers need to accommodate the changes that take place in the lifestyles of millions of people across the region in order to effectively engage shoppers across all touchpoints. Picking the right time of the week as well as the time of the day will be essential to optimizing digital marketing efforts to deliver impactful content at every stage in the customer journey.



Criteo analyzed close to a million transactions from over 100 retail and travel advertisers based in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia across desktop, smartphones and tablets.



Other key findings from the report include:



 Retail sales sharply increased from 18 per cent two weeks before Ramadan and peaked at 66 per cent in the third week of Ramadan.



 Travel bookings increased steadily from 13 per cent in the second week of Ramadan to 37 per cent by week four. A similar trend can be observed during Eid, which revealed a 19 per cent increase in travel bookings and peaked at 42 per cent by the end of the second week after the conclusion of Eid.



 Mobile purchasing accounted for a 17 per cent of total retail sales in the weeks leading up to Ramadan, and 27 per cent share of all travel bookings during and after Eid.



 More than a third  36 per cent of retail sales and 35 per cent of travel bookings  happened between 9pm and 5am over the Ramadan period.



 The cross-device journey  43 percent of shoppers were found to be viewing products across multiple devices, with six out of ten shoppers using multiple devices prior to purchase, and three out of ten switching devices at least three times during their purchasing journey.  TradeArabia News Service
SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, will be making fresh forays into the Mideast region through its presence at the Arabian Travel Market opening in Dubai, UAE tomorrow (April 24).



The member of the oneworld airline alliance is uniquely positioned to serve as a seamless connector between the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Far East and Southeast Asia, as a result of its strategic location and strong route network, a statement said.



The airline has traditionally done well in carrying tourists and expatriates between the Middle East, Sri Lanka and the sub-continent and has also been increasingly viewed as a viable alternative to reach East and Southeast Asia.



With demand increasing, SriLankan Airlines has now enhanced its services to the region, with daily flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, Muscat, Bahrain and Kuwait. The airline is also looking at increasing connectivity to other parts of the Gulf depending on demand.



"The Middle East continues to be one of our most important markets and being present at the ATM allows us to network and interact with the majority of tour operators, travel agents and other stakeholders and present them with our latest offerings," said Desiree Premachandra, country manager of SriLankan Airlines in the UAE.



The airline, which is known for its excellent standards of in-flight service and seamless transit operations at its hub at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, will also look to further leverage its membership of the oneworld alliance and work with other partners to increase traffic across its network.



"We are an airline with a unique set of advantages, being located in the tourism paradise of Sri Lanka and having strong networks and traditional ties to India, the Middle East and East Asia, which we are looking to capitalize on to grow our presence further as a leading player in this sector," Premachandra added.



SriLankan Airlines today flies an all Airbus fleet, which includes the sophisticated A330-300 and A320neo aircraft connecting to 100 destinations in 47 countries (including codeshare operations).  TradeArabia News Service
By Lawrence Delevingne and Svea Herbst-Bayliss BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that there is no reason that the U.S. economy cannot grow more robustly if the Trump administration is successful in rolling back a number of regulations. Speaking at the Milken Institute's Global Conference, Ross said he would be "extremely disappointed" if the economy were growing only between 2.0 percent and 2.5 percent. He also said he hopes tax reform can be done this year. He spoke only days after government data showed that the U.S. economy grew only 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year. "If we can undo the shackles put on by regulations, there is no reason the economy can't do much better than it's been doing," Ross told David Rubenstein, co-chief executive officer of private equity company The Carlyle Group. Ross said he has known U.S. President Donald Trump for years and was impressed with his ability ever since the two met while negotiating the casino Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Now he is working for the president to negotiate better trade deals and one of his biggest initiatives to redo the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), something Trump has called the worst trade deal. "The whole idea had always been to renegotiate NAFTA and that is what we will do." The administration has just imposed new tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports, Ross said because Canada was violating trade agreements. "Violating trade practices is what imposed the fine. We were just the instrument that delivered the news," Ross said, adding that "we tried very hard to negotiate a reasonable settlement but we did not get anywhere." The United States imported $5.7 billion worth of softwood lumber in 2016, mainly for home building. Asked whether he thought this move might harm homebuilders by raising the price of new U.S. construction, Ross said price increases were being fuelled more by other factors. Home prices were rising both because of the market's enthusiasm for Trump and because there had not been enough building in the past, he said. The S&P 500 has gained some 5.0 percent since Trump's inauguration. The Trump administration last week imposed lumber tariffs of 3 to 24 percent on Canada, its second largest trading partner. They will be collected retroactively for imports dating back 90 days. (with additional reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Hamas youth

GAZA/DOHA (Reuters) - The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas will drop its longstanding call for Israel's destruction as well as its association with the Muslim Brotherhood, in a policy document to be issued on Monday, Gulf Arab sources said.

Hamas's move appears aimed at improving relations with Gulf Arab states and Egypt, which label the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, and mending a rift with the main Palestinian faction headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.

It comes two days before Abbas is due in Washington, and days after President Donald Trump told Reuters he may travel to Israel this month and sees no reason why there should not be peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

But the document, to be announced later on Monday, will still reject Israel's right to exist and back "armed struggle" against it, the Gulf Arab sources told Reuters.

Israel rejected the reported shift, calling it an attempt by Hamas to delude the world that it was becoming more moderate.

"Hamas is attempting to fool the world but it will not succeed," said David Keyes, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians," he said. "This is the real Hamas."

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking Palestinian Prisoners' Day, in Gaza City April 17, 2016. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem/Files

Thomson Reuters

Decades of conflict

Founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Egyptian Islamist movement, Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2007 and has carried out hundreds of armed attacks in Israel and in Israeli-occupied territories.

Many Western countries classify it as a terrorist group over its failure to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and accept existing interim Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.

The Gulf Arab sources said Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, will say in the document that it agrees to a transitional Palestinian state along the borders from 1967, when Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a war with Arab states. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

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A state along 1967 borders is the goal of Hamas' main political rival, the Fatah movement led by Abbas. His Palestinian Authority has engaged in peace talks with Israel on that basis, although the last, US-mediated round collapsed three years ago.

It remained unclear whether the document replaces or changes in any way Hamas's 1988 charter, which calls for Israels destruction and is the Islamist group's covenant.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the groups acceptance of a transitional Palestinian state along 1967 borders was an attempt to reach a consensus with other Palestinian factions.

But, he said, "unlike Fatah, Hamas does not accept Israel's right to exist on the rest of the land. Hamas's constant position is not to cede any of our historical rights and not to recognize the (Israeli) occupation."

There was no immediate comment from Egypt and Gulf Arab states.

"For Hamas ... it's a signal of their desire to align with conservative Sunni elements in the region and create some immunity," said Beverley Milton-Edwards, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Centre and author of a book on Hamas.

palestine hamas

Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

But she said while the document could strengthen Hamas's position in the Palestinian Territories and the Middle East, it would "unlikely lead to any definitive swing in opinion against them in the US or even Europe."

US-allied Arab states including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia classify the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The 89-year-old Brotherhood held power in Egypt for a year after a popular uprising in 2011, but was then removed by the army after mass street protests.

The Brotherhood denies links with Islamist militants and advocates Islamist political parties winning power through elections, which Saudi Arabia considers a threat to its system of absolute power through inherited rule.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Writing by Tom Finn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Robin Pomeroy)

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By Brenda Goh and Andrew R.C. Marshall KHON PI LONG, Thailand (Reuters) - China's plan to blast open more of the Mekong River for bigger cargo ships could founder on a remote outcrop of half-submerged rocks that Thai protesters have vowed to protect against Beijing's economic expansion in Southeast Asia. Dynamiting the Pi Long rapids and other sections of the Mekong between Thailand and Laos will harm the environment and bring trade advantages only to China, the protesters say. "This will be the death of the Mekong," said Niwat Roykaew, chairman of the Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group, which is campaigning against the project. "You'll never be able to revive it." Niwat said blasting the Mekong will destroy fish breeding grounds, disrupt migrating birds and cause increased water flow that will erode riverside farmland. Such opposition reflects a wider challenge to China's ambitious "One Belt, One Road" project to build a modern-day Silk Road through Asia to Europe. Second Harbour Consultants, a subsidiary of state-owned behemoth China Communications Construction Corp (CCCC) said it was surveying the Mekong for a report that China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand would use to decide whether blasting should go ahead. It added that it was not tasked with the blasting work, which would need to be tendered. The company said in an e-mail it had held meetings with local people "to communicate, build confidence and clear doubts." China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Clearing the Mekong for bigger ships is not officially a part of One Belt, One Road, a project announced in 2013; China blasted sections of the river in Laos several years earlier. But some Chinese engineers involved in the survey speak of it as a part of the broader plan, and it is consistent with Beijing's Silk Road objectives. Even in its Southeast Asian backyard, where it has sympathetic governments and ancient historical ties, China sometimes struggles to convince ordinary people that One Belt One Road will benefit them. Thailand, Laos and Myanmar have approved the survey work, which is funded by China, but further studies and approvals are needed before blasting. KEEPING A LOW PROFILE The Mekong River originates in the Tibetan plateau and cascades through China and five Southeast Asian countries. China has built a series of dams along its stretch of the river that Thai campaigners say has impacted the water flow and made the regional giant hard to trust. Chinese flags now flutter from company speedboats, while CCCC Second Harbour has met with Thai protesters three times since December in a bid to avert opposition to their work. A unit of the conglomerate faced violent protests in January in Sri Lanka, where people objected to plans for an industrial zone in the south. Chinese engineers on the Mekong said they were worried that Thai protesters would board the rickety cargo ship where they slept, prompting them to moor it on the Laotian side of the Mekong each night. "We are afraid for our team's safety," one engineer told Reuters, declining to be named because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media. "We keep a low profile here," he added. "We want to do this project well and benefit Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, China, these four countries. This is not just for China." China wants to remove rocks and sandbanks to allow ships of up to 500 tonnes to sail from its landlocked province of Yunnan to the sleepy Laotian town of Luang Prabang. That would expedite the shipping of Chinese freight deep into northern Laos, said Paul Chambers, an expert in international relations at Thailand's Naresuan University. "Luang Prabang may seem sleepy, but northern Laos ... represents a hub of Chinese influence," he said. LOCALS REMAIN WARY Despite reassurances from CCCC Second Harbour, some locals still believed the engineers were marking out areas for blasting, said Niwat, who represented campaigners in meetings with the Chinese company. His group draped a large white banner reading "Mekong Not For Sale" on the bank overlooking the Pi Long rapids, whose name in Thai means "lost ghosts." "At the moment we're only thinking about the economy and the earning figures without considering the unimaginable value of the eco-system to humanity," he said. The military seized power in Thailand in 2014 and banned gatherings of five or more people. But Narongsak Osotthanakorn, governor of Chiang Rai - the Thai province where the Mekong is currently being surveyed - said people could "protest freely" against the Chinese plan. Narongsak said the survey was the first stage in a process that would include an environmental study, public hearings and negotiations between China, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. While he wouldn't say whether or not he supported blasting, Narongsak said local people had much to gain from increased river trade. "I think no country would be happy to lose the benefits," he said. (Editing by Mike Collett-White)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A deal between Italy and Libya to hold migrants in camps in the north African country ignores "catastrophic conditions" in Libya and would not curb migration, Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday, contradicting Berlin's previous support for the plan. "The camps existing on the ground already show horrible and catastrophic conditions. The idea to set up camps ... would be an utter disregard of circumstances for the people," Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany's Vice Chancellor, told reporters. Italy signed a deal with the U.N.-backed Libyan government in Tripoli in February that also promised training, equipment and money to fight human traffickers - an agreement initially endorsed by both the European Union and Germany. But the move has been criticised by humanitarian groups and the United Nations, which says migrants suffer arbitrary detention, forced labour, rape and torture. Last month, Pope Francis said the holding centres had become "concentration camps". Libya is controlled by a patchwork of armed groups. They have built local fiefdoms that have vied for power since Libya's 2011 uprising, and a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli is struggling to assert its control, especially over rival factions in the east. Gabriel, who was speaking in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa after a meeting with African Union officials, said parallels should not be drawn with a deal between the EU and Turkey last year, because Ankara had granted access to its camps to U.N. human rights experts. "All of that does not apply to Libya. Fortunately I am able to say that this is not a political approach by Germany nor the European Union," he said. Last year, the EU and Turkey reached a deal to send back irregular migrants from the Greek Aegean islands to Turkey in exchange for political and financial rewards for Ankara. The agreement largely shut down the migrants' sea route to Greece, turning the boat crossing from Libya to Italy into the most viable option for those seeking to get to Europe. Gabriel said Germany and the EU now favoured helping weaker states overcome instability when tackling migration from Africa, but added such efforts would take time. "What we are trying instead is to help stabilise the countries on the continent. But that is difficult," he said. "We will have to show that staying power, stamina and patience. This is in the interest of the Africans but also in the interest of Europeans." According to the International Organisation for Migration, 44,229 migrants have reached Europe so far this year, of whom more than four-fifths landed in Italy, and 1,089 have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
The Independent

Elon Musk , Reportedly Considers , Putting All of Twitter Behind a Paywall.According to CNBC, on Nov. 7, online news source Platformer said it had learned that "Musk has discussed putting the entire site behind a paywall.".While the move "does not appear imminent" and it's not clear whether Musk will go through with it.the new Twitter CEO has been vocal about generating more revenue for the company.In fact, he's already decided that Twitter Blue will now cost $8 a month and provide verification for users. .Musk also fired Parag Agrawal, dissolved Twitter's board and changed the platform's misinformation policies ahead of midterm elections.Musk also fired Parag Agrawal, dissolved Twitter's board and changed the platform's misinformation policies ahead of midterm elections.Musk also fired Parag Agrawal, dissolved Twitter's board and changed the platform's misinformation policies ahead of midterm elections.CNBC reports that Twitter has also laid off nearly half of its employees since Musk acquired the company. .Given Musk's radical changes, a platform-wide paywall doesn't seem out of the question.Neither he nor Twitter have commented on the possibility.Twitter has experienced a significant drop in revenue due to advertisers pausing spending while they observe how the platform changes under Musk's direction.Twitter has experienced a significant drop in revenue due to advertisers pausing spending while they observe how the platform changes under Musk's direction
By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's eastern military commander met the head of its U.N.-backed government on Tuesday, ending a 16-month standoff that has undermined diplomatic efforts to unify a country riven by factional fighting since 2011. Having previously spurned invitations to engage with the government, Khalifa Haftar held talks with Fayez Seraj in Abu Dhabi that one source close to Haftar said produced an agreement to hold elections early next year. Regional and Western powers have for months been pushing the two men to discuss resetting a U.N.-mediated agreement that led to the creation of Seraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. The deal was an attempt to end the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Haftar is the dominant figure for factions in eastern Libya that have rejected the GNA, contributing to its failure to expand its power in Tripoli and beyond. Rival armed factions in the west of the country have backed the government. Tuesday's meeting could be a step towards ending a stalemate between competing loose alliances that pushed the country into open warfare in 2014. But any lasting deal would need backing from the numerous and powerful armed groups that have scuppered previous attempts to stabilise the oil-rich country. There was no official statement as Tuesday's meeting ended, or comment from the GNA side. Sources close to Haftar said he met Seraj one-on-one for two hours of talks they described as positive. One sticking point has been a clause in the U.N.-mediated deal giving the GNA's leadership immediate control over military appointments, which eastern factions fear will weaken Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). Libya's 218 channel, a pro-Haftar TV station, said they had agreed to propose cancelling the clause, and to form a restructured unity government. "It was agreed to open permanent channels of communication and to form two working groups to complete an agreement on the details of the formation of a government and the military arrangements between officers from all regions," one source close to Haftar in Abu Dhabi who asked not to be named told Reuters. There was also an agreement to hold presidential and parliamentary elections no later than March 2018, the source said. DIVISIVE FIGURE It was the first time Seraj and Haftar had met since the start of last year. An expected meeting in Cairo in February fell through, though a roadmap for eastern and western parliamentary delegations to revive a peace process was agreed. Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally, is a divisive figure who opponents suspect of seeking to return the country to authoritarian rule. With backing from foreign powers including Egypt, the UAE and Russia, he has gained ground militarily since last year, taking control of several key oil ports and advancing in a long campaign against Islamist-led rivals in Benghazi, Libya's second city. Haftar has also indicated that he expected to take Tripoli, though many observers doubt he has the capacity to do so. As the LNA and its allies have pushed west in recent months, they have clashed repeatedly with GNA-aligned opponents around the oil ports and in the southern desert regions of Sabha and Jufra. Haftar and his supporters have previously rejected the GNA because they say it is beholden to the militias that hold sway in Tripoli and the rest of western Libya. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; editing by Patrick Markey and John Stonestreet)
People are often poor eyewitnesses. Psychologists have been demonstrating this in experiments for years, but the justice system in the UK has been slow to catch on. There have been improvements, but lawyers and judges continue to rely regularly on eyewitnesses to convict or exonerate people accused of crimes  in some cases, they might argue they have little option.

Yet it might now be time for psychologists to initiate a different discussion. According to new findings in which I have been involved, it looks as though there is an exception.

People strong in one personality trait appear much better at recognising what they saw at the scene of a crime than any other. If this is supported by further research, it might enable judges and juries to differentiate eyewitnesses who are likely to be right from the rest of us.

The eyewitness problem

Its not possible to put a number on how unreliable eyewitnesses are, but they certainly get things wrong. Unreliable testimonies have been cited as the biggest contributor to miscarriages of justice, causing three-quarters of all those in murder and rape cases, for example.

One of the main problems is that our memories are not like video tapes  they are open to influence. One leading light in this field has been the American professor Elizabeth Loftus. Her work showed in the 1980s that eyewitnesses memories are affected if a weapon is used at the scene of the crime, for instance. They focus on the weapon and are poorer at recalling other details as a result.

More recently Loftus co-authored research that showed that eyewitness testimony can be influenced by the wording of a question. Participants were shown a film of a car accident and were then questioned about it. When asked questions with an indefinite article, like did a car hit the pedestrian?, they were less certain than for questions with a definite article, like did the car hit the pedestrian?.

The problem is that these latter lines of questioning led them to be less accurate in what they remembered. This highlights how easily eyewitness testimony, or any memory for that matter, can be manipulated by police and lawyers to gain support for their position.

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These are just two examples of a body of literature that has consistently undermined the value of eyewitnesses. In recent years, advances in DNA evidence have proven psychologists right about eyewitnesses in a number of cases. Alas DNA is not always available, and courts sometimes have to choose between eyewitnesses or nothing.

Mitigation

Pragmatism aside, the UK justice system has tended to be wary of psychology because it sees it as a more subjective science than, say, biology. It is less likely to call psychologists as witnesses than in the US or Germany, for example.

Having said that, attitudes have been changing somewhat in recent years. The police and the courts have sought to reduce inaccuracies in eyewitness testimony using several methods. The first is to try to eliminate variables that the system has some control over  including both the kind of interview questions I mentioned previously, and also cautioning witnesses ahead of identity parades to take their time and not identify rashly.

The second method has been to look at individual differences between eyewitnesses. This can include testing their eyesight or hearing as part of the evidence, for instance.

On the back of our new research, personality might also be relevant in future. We recruited 80 participants, 40 men and 40 women. We showed them a film in which two men robbed a woman. We also gave them a common test for the five recognised dimensions of personality: extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

The participants were then given misleading information and told it was a summary of the film clip. We subsequently asked them to fill out a recognition sheet in which they had to agree or disagree with statements about what they had seen.

The results showed that individuals who were high in the personality trait of openness to experience made much more accurate eyewitnesses. This might be because such people are more critical of misinformation. They are more prone to analyse what they are told and disregard things that are irrelevant.

I should stress that our research was not perfect. We demonstrated a correlation rather than a cause, so we can only say that openness relates to correct recognition in a way that other personalty traits do not. Also, the research was conducted in a quiet space rather than the kind of chaotic environment where you might expect a crime to take place.

Future research will therefore need to try and rectify these problems. This might involve repeating the experiment with two groups of individuals, one of them low in openness and one of them high in openness. This would make it possible to directly compare recognition rates, thereby establishing cause and effect. In addition, this could be carried out in a real-life setting.

But with those caveats in mind, the findings point to a new way forward for the justice system in relation to eyewitnesses. Eyewitnesses could be given a personality test and the jury could be told whether they are likely to be accurate based on the results.

This might eventually mean that only the best eyewitnesses are called to witness boxes. If so, it could make a major difference to the prospects of the right people being found guilty of crimes.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Jennifer Murray has previously received funding from The Carnegie Trust, University of Hong Kong, Higher Education Academy, Disclosure Scotland, and BAE Systems (Operations) Limited.

Lee John Curley 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.
MANILA (Reuters) - There is a 50 percent chance that Philippines Environment Secretary Regina Lopez may lose her confirmation vote after holding the position for nearly a year, said the head of the country's Senate environment committee on Tuesday. "It's still a 50-50 chance for Gina," Senator Manny Pacquiao, chairman of the committee, told reporters after Lopez gave testimony at a committee hearing, referring to the minister by her nickname. Congressional confirmations in the Philippines typically happen months after ministers start work. President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Lopez on June 30, 2016. Lawmakers will vote on her fate on Wednesday. Lopez, a committed environmentalist, angered the mining industry after ordering the closure of 22 of the Philippines' 41 mines in February to protect water resources in the world's top nickel ore exporter. She later cancelled dozens of contracts for undeveloped mines and just last week banned future open-pit mining projects as she tightened her crackdown of a sector she blames for extensive environmental damage. At Tuesday's hearing, Lopez struggled to defend the legal basis for requiring nickel miners that remove their ore stockpiles to set aside an additional 2 million pesos (31,010.71 pounds) per hectare of disturbed land on top of funds already set aside to repair environmental damage, only saying that she wanted to help farmers in those areas. "I'm a very out of the box person," she said. Reuters reported in March that eight nickel miners suspended last year for environmental infractions were allowed to remove previously mined ore that could pose environmental hazards. But, the order added the additional funds be set aside to fix any further environmental pollution. "You can't invent fees without congressional authority," Senator Alan Peter Cayetano later told reporters. Cayetano, an ally of Duterte, expects heated deliberations on Wednesday when members of the powerful Commission on Appointments votes on Lopez's fate. Duterte has largely backed Lopez's crackdown. The same panel in March rejected Perfecto Yasay as foreign minister, their first dismissal of a member of Duterte's cabinet. Mining is a contentious issue in the largely underexplored Southeast Asian country after past examples of environmental mismanagement, including a 1996 tailings leak at Canadian-owned Marcopper Mining Corp's copper mine in Marinduque that contaminated rivers. (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Writing by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger)
I was in Zimbabwe when news came through of a clash of motorcades in neighbouring Zambia. One motorcade was carrying the president, Edgar Lungu, and the other the opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema. It seemed neither would give way to the other. There is little love lost between the two men, and Hichilema still refuses to recognise Lungus contentious election victory last year  but even so, no one expected that shortly after the stand off, security forces would storm Hichilemas home and teargas his family, then arrest him for treason.

If Lungu was behind this, it was the ultimate in road rage. It seemed at the very least unpresidential, and at worst deeply intolerant and paranoid  and indicative of a disturbingly authoritarian turn thats not confined to Zambia.

Across southern Africa, the stakes are high for incumbent presidents, whose positions no longer seem so secure. Lungus contested 2016 victory came at a relatively thin 52%, unlike Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabes even more disputed 2013 landslide triumph.

But in Zimbabwe, the plots and rumours of plots to succeed the increasingly frail president, either before or shortly after the 2018 elections, all point to the inevitability of an endgame to the elderly Mugabes life. And the feverish rumours about whose knife is in whose back all point to a sub-text of a president who serves himself first and the people second, his office organised to accord him power and wealth at everyones expense.

In Zimbabwe, no one in politics actually has a programme for the countrys rescue. The country is essentially bankrupt, and the animation of politics is to secure as much money for oneself as possible while it is still there. Beautiful limousines gingerly navigate roads with huge potholes.

South Africa, labouring under Jacob Zumas corrupt and disastrous presidency, has now seen its credit rating slashed to junk status by the ratings agency S&P Global. Zuma apparently doesnt care or cannot conceive of what this grim news means for the future of his country, so intent is he on backroom deals of dubious probity  but the prognosis is clear enough: investment will slow down, the threat of recession will loom, and countries in the junk band typically take over a decade of painful fiscal measures to emerge from it.

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Zumas opponents are legion  more and more of the ANCs top rank, the firebrands of Julius Malemas Economic Freedom Fighters, the trade unions, and the opposition Democratic Alliance  but he sails on. So long as he survives, South Africa will find it harder and harder to imagine what a truly responsible government and a well-managed economy might look like.

In short, South Africas political meltdown has come with an economic and cultural meltdown attached. In an atmosphere like this, any political conversation easily falls prey to rumours and distortion. And in Zimbabwe, which faces a dramatically more advanced version of the South African situation, I myself became a minor example of it all.

Soap opera

In a series of press interviews in Harare, some on the record and some not, I said that the world at large is looking for some hope of a stable Zimbabwe, the Chinese as much as the British. Right now, in the swirl of government factionalism, only one serious presidential contender can be identified: the current vice-president, Emerson Mnangagwa. I named no other contender from any of the endless, ever-shifting factions reportedly at work, since those factions are so unstable that seriously weighing up any other contenders prospects is so far redundant.

My point was that given this frustrating reality, the British and other governments are indeed speculating on what a Mnangagwa government might look like. But when my interviews ran in the press, and continuing to the end of April, the headlines reported that I supported Mnangagwa, that the British supported Mnangagwa, and that we all thought only Mnangagwa could stabilise the country.

I should know better. Ive been visiting Zimbabwe since the transition to independence in 1980, and seen every stage of its development since. But the political atmosphere has become so febrile, and so dizzyingly speculative, that Zimbabwean politics has taken on almost metaphysical, unreal quality.

Or perhaps a better way to think of it would be as a tragic soap opera, one in the same genre as those unfolding in Zambia and South Africa. All sometime beacons of hope, these three countries are now struggling to make sense of their own politics  and to find some hope for a stable future.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Stephen Chan 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.
By Yesim Dikmen and Mehmet Emin Caliskan ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Police in Istanbul fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a group of May Day demonstrators on Monday, a Reuters witness said, as authorities detained 165 people at protests around the city. Protests for May Day, the international workers' holiday, are an annual occurrence in Turkey and have in the past been characterised by widespread police actions against demonstrators. Protests were expected to be more subdued this year after unions said they would not attempt to march on Taksim Square, a traditional rallying point for anti-government protests that has been declared off-limits for demonstrators. Police presence was heavy across the city, with helicopters buzzing overhead. Tensions are particularly high after President Tayyip Erdogan narrowly won a referendum last month giving him sweeping new powers. Police in the Mecidiyekoy neighbourhood used tear gas and rubber bullets on a group of protesters who were attempting to march towards Taksim Square. They were shouting "Taksim is ours and it will remain ours". The square became the focal point for weeks of anti-Erdogan demonstrations in 2013. Two demonstrators who managed to reach it were detained shortly after they unfurled a banner, Dogan news agency said. In the Besiktas neighbourhood, where two years ago police used water cannon on stone-throwing May Day demonstrators, dozens of people were rounded up for attempting to make their way to Taksim. "A total of 165 people have been detained," Istanbul police said in a statement, adding that the individuals were mostly taken into custody for marching without a permit and carrying banners and posters. The police said another 18 people, suspected to have been planning to provoke clashes, were detained in raids across four separate Istanbul districts. Fireworks, 85 molotov cocktails, masks and illegal banners were also seized during other raids, it said. Rights groups and some of Turkey's Western allies say Ankara has sharply curtailed freedom of speech and other basic rights in the crackdown that followed a failed coup last year. Since his referendum win, Erdogan has conducted two further purges, targeting the police, civil service and military. Over the weekend, 3,900 people were removed from the civil service and the armed forces, while authorities blocked access to online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, citing a law allowing the blocking of websites deemed obscene or a threat to national security. Erdogan says the measures are necessary given the security threats faced by Turkey. (Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
SKOPJE (Reuters) - The United States urged Macedonian leaders on Monday to end a political stalemate and allow the parliamentary majority made up of Social Democrats and parties representing ethnic Albanians to form a new government. Nearly five months after a Dec. 11 parliamentary election, Macedonian nationalists unhappy about the inclusion of ethnic Albanians are blocking the formation of a new government, further deepening the worst crisis in the tiny Balkan country since it narrowly averted an ethnic civil war in 2001. "We feel that it is very important for the leaders to find a way to allow the majority in parliament ... to propose a government and a government programme," U.S. State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Hoyt Yee, said in Skopje after meeting leaders. "We understand there are concerns about the composition of the government programme and, like in all European democracies, we believe that whatever is proposed by the majority should be considered seriously in parliament, debated in parliament and voted in parliament." More than 100 people were injured last Thursday night in clashes inside and outside parliament over the election of an ethnic Albanian as speaker of the assembly. Yee condemned the violence and called on authorities to investigate the incident. SEEKING REASSURANCES President Gjorge Ivanov has refused to give a mandate to Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev to form a government, saying his coalition with ethnic Albanian parties would threaten the sovereignty of the state. After meeting Yee, Ivanov issued a statement calling on Zaev to provide reassurances that his coalition would work according to the constitution and uphold national unity. After the December election in the former Yugoslav republic, Zaev put together a coalition agreement with two parties representing ethnic Albanians, who make up a third of Macedonia's 2.1 million-strong population. The deal envisages a law allowing wider use of the Albanian language, and this has triggered daily street protests by Macedonian nationalists. Macedonia has been without a functioning government since 2015, when it sank into political turmoil over a wiretapping scandal that brought down the ruling nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party bloc. Efforts to move towards membership of the European Union and NATO have made little headway because of a dispute with Greece over Macedonia's name, which it shares with a northern Greek province. (Reporting by Kole Casule; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Gareth Jones)
There is a general perception in the UK that the remaining EU states, and Germany especially, would like to punish Britain for withdrawing from the European Union. This would mean Britain out in the cold, no trade deal, and potentially a fine to make up for lost payments.

The problem here is that it is generally assumed that countries have unified positions, shared by the governments and populations, with no internal differences of significance. In this vein we find allusion to the German or French position, as if these were fixed and unlikely to change.

I recently discovered first hand that this presumption is wrong and seriously misguides British public perception of post-EU relations with Europe. Even more serious, it serves as a barrier to establishing a rational negotiating strategy by Theresa Mays government. In the same way that there remains disagreement in the UK over whether or not Brexit should still go ahead, or whether or not it should leave the single market, analogous divisions manifest themselves on the continent. Many  even in Germany  are much more sympathetic to the UK position than we might think.

On April 24, along with a number of others, I gave expert testimony to the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union of the Deutsche Bundestag. My presence was prompted by a report on EU reform written with a lawyer colleague. I arrived expecting a series of statements in support of a hard Brexit position, aided at punishing the British for voting to leave the EU, the best of all unions.

To my surprise, this was not the case. During the hearing, with only a few exceptions, the tone of both the other experts and the parliamentarians was in varying degrees conciliatory and flexible.

Under Bundestag rules the parliamentary parties each select the expert witnesses (I was invited by Die Linke, a left-wing party). The absence of a vociferous hard Brexiter among my fellow experts suggests the malleability of the positions of the parties.

Story continues

Based on my own work and statistical modelling by three economists at the Judge Business School of Cambridge University, I argued that the economic impact of Brexit (hard or soft) on the British economy is likely to be serious in the short run, but manageable if its government applies appropriate fiscal policies.

The big loss from leaving, however, will be political and social. Namely, losing EU treaty protection of important environmental, consumer, employment, civil and human rights. To these losses the possibility of Scottish independence should be added. The other expert invited by Die Linke, a lawyer from the German trade union central, Susanne Wixforth, reinforced my emphasis on political social dangers of Brexit.

German concerns

To my surprise, most of the experts nominated by the other parties did not stress macroeconomic effects for Britain such as employment, economic output and exports. Rather, their concerns focused on Brexits impact on the EU budget, and the potential harm to the German economy (Germany is Britains largest source of imports and enjoys a substantial trade surplus on UK trade). The UK gross contribution to the EU budget in 2015 was 18.2 billion or about 12% of the total, though the net contribution (once you remove payments Britain receives from the EU) was about 8%.

How to cover this revenue shortfall presents a major political problem to member states and especially the German government (the largest net contributor).

Three categories cover the vast majority of EU expenditures: transfers to less developed members, agricultural subsidies and aid to non-members. Cutting either of the first two would provoke serious political tensions among member governments, while reducing the last would bring severe criticism from other aid donors.

Raising more revenue from remaining member states is, if anything, more problematic. The other net contributors would resist increases, and Germany Chancellor Angela Merkels Bavarian rivals, the Christian Social Union, is on record opposing any increase in EU payments. In an attempt to avoid the potentially divisive issue of national contributions, the German government insists that the British government continue its EU payments at least to the end of the current budget cycle.

The case for cherry picking

On a narrow bilateral basis Brexit is likely to have a more negative impact on the German economy than the British. Stefan Mair from the German confederation of industry made this point to the Bundestag and recommended a transition agreement for Britains exit. The idea with this would be to, in effect, allow both sides to cherry pick from the menu of single market rules and benefits.

In the same spirit other experts, including myself, argued that during the transition, which might last quite long, the UK could withdraw from the free movement of labour condition, but retain the other three of the four freedoms of movement: capital, goods and services.

There is no doubt a political element to Brexit negotiations. Here, we must distinguish between posturing and reality. During my session, there was a hard Brexit comment at the end from the the chairperson of the EU committee, Gunther Krichbaum of the Christian Democratic Union, who warned that the Brexit agreement should not provide incentives for other EU members to leave in the future.

This is a warning that is frequently made by European leaders. But it seems inconsistent with the professed nature of the European Union, whose purpose is peace, cooperation and shared prosperity. If the EU successfully pursues these goals, its leaders need not fear more leavers. If it does not, failure to do so provides incentives to leave far stronger than any provision in the eventual Brexit agreement.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

John Weeks 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.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Saying that Girl Scouts is no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is severing ties with the organization and switching its support to a Christian-based scouting program.

I have asked the pastors of the Archdiocese to begin the process of transitioning away from the hosting of parish Girl Scout troops and toward the chartering of American Heritage Girls troops, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in a statement released Monday.

Pastors were given the choice of making this transition quickly, or to, over the next several years, graduate the scouts currently in the program. Regardless of whether they chose the immediate or phased transition, parishes should be in the process of forming American Heritage Girl troops, at least for their kindergartners, this fall.

American Heritage Girls, founded in 1995, has become an option for those who say Girl Scouts has become too liberal and has relationships with organizations that support abortion rights and do not share traditional family values  allegations the Girl Scouts deny.

Naumann also called for an end to Girl Scout cookie sales in the archdiocese.

No Girl Scout cookie sales should occur in Catholic Schools or on parish property after the 2016-2017 school year, he said in a letter to priests in January.

The action has angered some Girl Scout leaders and parents in the archdiocese, who say Girl Scouts is a respected program that helps raise strong girls who become good stewards. They call the move punitive and unfair and say it treats girls in their troops like second-class citizens.

This is frustrating; parents are very irritated, said Maria Walters, a former Girl Scout leader in the archdiocese and mother of two Girl Scouts. I feel we should all be together as one in the community. This does nothing but divide us.

I dont know why you would take an organization out of a school when it provides an option for girls to feel like theyre part of a group.

Walters said her parish has had a Girl Scout troop for at least 25 years.

Theyve done a father-daughter dance that has been a huge success, she said. And they do service projects at Childrens Mercy, animal shelters, battered womens shelters, the Ronald McDonald House and projects around the parish.

Walters said the troop used to have about 100 members but now has around 75.

We have lost some to American Heritage Girls, she said. We are still allowed to meet here, but I dont know for how long. Its frustrating when you have American Heritage Girls and Boys Scouts in the school newsletter, but no Girl Scouts. We are not allowed to recruit on campus, so were going to have to use Facebook and other technology to reach out to people.

Deacon Dana Nearmyer, the archdioceses director of evangelization, told the Kansas City Star that careful thought went into the decision.

Several years ago, a number of Catholic school moms called us up and said, Wed like to have a Christian program for our after-school girls program,' he said. So we did a bunch of research and tried to find the best mission fit for us, and American Heritage Girls seemed like that was going to be the best fit.

Nearmyer said priests in the archdiocese have been offered two options.

One is that they can do an immediate shift to American Heritage Girls, and some of the leadership did that, he said. The other is that next years kindergartners that sign up for after-school girls programs through their schools will join American Heritage Girls.

That way, he said, the Girl Scouts would be phased out over several years.

Were trying to make it as pastoral and gradual as we can, Nearmyer said. Theres no malice at all.

He said the transition would be put in motion by the start of school this fall.

American Heritage Girls, based in Cincinnati, is described as a Christ-centered character development program for girls ages 5 to 18.

We use the methods of scouting to achieve our mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country, said Patti Garibay, national executive director and founder.

Garibay said she started the organization 22 years ago as a little club for her daughter.

I never really anticipated it being anything like this, she said. I think God had a bigger plan. Were just happy to serve and to help girls navigate.

Now, she said, American Heritage Girls has 1,005 troops and more than 47,000 members. There are troops in every state in the country and some foreign countries, she said.

Garibay said 25 percent of the membership is Catholic, with American Heritage Girls troops in more than half the dioceses in the United States.

We offer life skill enhancement, leadership opportunities, have a very strong belief in service, and we also do a lot around faith, she said. And I believe that might be one of the reasons why the archdiocese in Kansas and some of the others like what were doing.

The organization also was attractive to the archdiocese because of its opposition to abortion. Some of the troops have participated in protests and prayer vigils outside clinics that perform abortions.

Nearmyer said the first two parishes in the archdiocese to adopt the American Heritage Girls program were Holy Trinity in Lenexa and Cure of Ars in Leawood. St. Michael the Archangel in Leawood and Church of the Ascension in Overland Park also have American Heritage Girls troops, he said.

The response, he said, has been positive.

Some Girl Scout leaders disagreed, saying they were never consulted about the decision and that some of their girls had been bullied because they were involved in Scouts.

Nearmyer said that so far about 150 to 200 girls in the archdiocese have joined American Heritage Girls.

But were kind of ramping up to try to support folks as it comes online, he said, because those numbers will swell.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has studied the issue in recent years and said it held a lengthy dialogue with the Girl Scouts. It developed a resource guide for Catholics and concluded that the question of whether the church should sever its ties to Girl Scouts must be answered at the local level.

Diocesan bishops have the final authority over what is appropriate for Catholic scouting in their dioceses, the bishops conference said.

Last year, Archbishop Robert Carlson of the Archdiocese of St. Louis urged priests to drop Girl Scouts, saying the organization was exhibiting a troubling pattern of behavior and was becoming increasingly incompatible with our Catholic values.

The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has no policy regarding Girl Scouts, said spokesman Jack Smith.

But in 2015, Bishop James V. Johnston Jr.  at the time head of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau  expressed concerns about Girl Scouts in a letter to priests, school officials and parishioners.

Johnston commended the service of Girl Scout troop leaders, but added that Girl Scouts is a secular organization, and does not fully promote the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Because many Catholics had asked for other options, Johnston said, he was recommending American Heritage Girls.

In his statement issued Monday, Naumann said the decision to cut ties with Girl Scouts was not an easy one. Over many years, he said, the archdiocese has spent hundreds of hours researching concerns regarding the policies of both the international and national Girl Scouting organizations.

Eventually, it came down to this, Naumann said. Our greatest responsibility as a church is to the children and young people in our care.  It is essential that all youth programs at our parishes affirm virtues and values consistent with our Catholic faith.

Naumann said Girl Scouts contributes more than a million dollars each year to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which he called an organization tied to International Planned Parenthood and its advocacy for legislation that includes both contraception and abortion as preventive health care for women.

He also said that many of those who have been cited as role models by Girl Scouts not only do not reflect our Catholic worldview but stand in stark opposition to what we believe.

The Girl Scouts, which has 1.9 million girl members and 800,000 adult members nationwide, does not take a position or develop materials on human sexuality, birth control or abortion, according to its website. And despite what critics say, the organization says, it does not have a relationship with Planned Parenthood.

Parents or guardians make all decisions regarding program participation that may be of a sensitive nature, it says.

Girl Scouts officials say that each member organization of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts creates its own programs that are based on the needs and issues affecting girls in its individual country. Girl Scouts does not always take the same positions or endorse the same programs as the world organization, they say.

Some parents in the archdiocese have nothing but praise for Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts has provided excellent opportunities for my daughters that no other organization has been able to replicate, said Jeffrey Benes, a parishioner with daughters in Girl Scouts.

Some are wondering why the Catholic dioceses havent taken similar actions regarding Boy Scouts.

I feel like were being discriminated against, Walters said. Weve been wiped from the archdiocese website, and we have no leadership role in the church at all. Theres nothing like this going on with the Boy Scouts.
SANTA FE  The American Beverage Association provided another big influx of cash to the political committee working against the proposed tax on sugary beverages in Santa Fe, while the group in favor of the tax is operating in the red.

As voters head to the polls today to decide the fate of the 2-cents-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks, the opposing sides now have reported investing nearly $3.3 million combined, with each side committing more than $1.6 million.

The tax would raise revenue  estimated at more than $7 million a year  for early childhood education programs.

According to campaign finance statements filed Monday  covering the period from April 25-30  the ABA gave another $365,000 to Better Way for Santa Fe & Pre-K, increasing its total monetary contributions to $1.35 million. ABA previously provided $173,000 worth of in-kind services, bringing its total investment in the campaign against the tax to $1.52 million.

Meanwhile, the group supporting the tax, Pre-K for Santa Fe, received another $17,292 worth of in-kind support from billionaire Michael Bloomberg during the latest reporting period for consulting and media. In all, the former New York City mayor has given the group more than $751,000 in in-kind help, plus a $400,000 cash contribution, meaning he has contributed about $1.15 million to the effort in Santa Fe.

We continue to be grateful for the support of Michael Bloomberg for our effort to bring pre-K to Santa Fes kids who cant afford it, Sandra Wechsler, of Pre-K for Santa Fe, said in a statement. Were up against the soda industry, who will spend endless amounts and say anything to the community to protect their profits, rather than provide pre-K to Santa Fes children.

Pre-K for Santa Fe also reported that it has incurred expenses that are about $140,000 more than it has received, meaning where the money will come from to cover those bills wont be reported until after todays vote.

Wechsler said her group will raise the money it needs to pay the bills. She said the group received instructions from the City Clerks Office to report expenditures when invoices were received, rather than when payments were made. We have received an invoice for the media buy but have not paid it yet. We wanted to report that invoice to be transparent and to follow the clerks instructions, she said.

David Huynh of Better Way for Santa Fe & Pre-K, wanted to talk about the spending practices of the pro-tax group.

Todays finance campaign finance filing reveals that the Pre-K for Santa Fe coalition has more outstanding financial obligations than available funds, he said in an e-mailed statement. If they cant run a fiscally sound campaign, why should the people of Santa Fe trust them to responsibly manage the funding for pre-K? Voters should keep the pro-tax campaigns irresponsible spending in mind as they head to the polls tomorrow.

Pre-K for Santa Fe took in just $350 cash from two individual donors but received $57,081 in in-kind contributions during the reporting period. Most of it came from Organizers in the Land of Enchantment, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit that has been canvassing neighborhoods on Pre-K for Santa Fes behalf and now has provided more than $200,000 worth of services to the group, as well as $100,000 in cash. The American Heart Association chipped in more than $2,000 this reporting period and now has contributed more than $6,500 to the cause.

The soda industry has provided all of the cash and nearly all the in-kind contributions to Better Way, which reported having $6,367 left in the bank. It also received more than $85,000 of in-kind contributions from the local Coca-Cola bottling company and Cokes national office.

The two groups spent nearly equal amounts during the latest reporting period. Better Way spent $242,729, mostly on media buys during the final week of the campaign. Pre-K for Santa Fe spent $256,293 during the period. The money went to advertisements, consulting, printing and graphic design work.

Another political committee working to defeat the tax, Smart Progress New Mexico, has received most of the $13,000 it has raised from the local Coca-Cola bottler. It has just $2.16 cash on hand after spending $538 during the most recent reporting period. It spent $200 with Facebook for advertising, a little more than $200 on office supplies and another $100 at Dunkin Dounts for food and coffee.
Setting aside concerns about Taser International, a divided Albuquerque City Council voted Monday to grant the company a five-year, $4.4 million contract for 2,000 on-body cameras for police officers and cloud storage.

Councilors voted 5-to-3 to award the contract after debating whether the city should be entering into a contract with Taser.

The Attorney Generals Office is investigating the $2 million no-bid contract the city entered into with Taser in 2013 because former Police Chief Ray Schultz began consulting work for Taser while he was still on the citys payroll.

I think we owe it to the taxpayers to ask if this is a company we should further do business with, City Councilor Dan Lewis said, noting that Taser has recently changed its name to Axon in an apparent attempt to distance itself from its controversies. He said there are too many red flags.

Councilor Pat Davis acknowledged the controversy, but said there are only two contractors able to provide the Albuquerque Police Department with what it needs, given the departments size. He also noted the extraordinary scrutiny the procurement process for this contract had undergone.

The citys Office of Inspector General issued a report in late February that concluded the procurement process used was fair and unbiased. The citys Internal Audit department, however, alerted city officials to a potential conflict of interest with one of the subject matter experts involved in the process and Taser.

Mark Leech, technical services manager for APD, said a separate committee, and not the subject matter experts, actually selected Taser.

Coming in second was Utility Associates, which filed a protest over the selection process. The citys chief procurement officer rejected that protest.

Leech said Tasers product offered greater flexibility and reliability.

Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry told the Council that the contract is needed so that APD can remain in compliance with Department of Justice requirements.

Voting against the contract were Councilors Lewis, Ken Sanchez and Klarissa Pena. Councilors Davis, Don Harris, Diane Gibson, Trudy Jones and Brad Winter voted in favor of the contract; Council President Isaac Benton was absent.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

When 22-year-old Dominic Castillo left his grandmothers house in Albuquerque on a cross-country backpacking trip in December, he set out with a tent, his three-legged dog Lily and not much else.

He wanted to rough it, his stepmother Deborah Castillo said, calling her son a nonconformist since he was a little kid.

Dominic Castillo grew up in Albuquerque and attended Media Arts Collaborative charter school.

As a child, Dominic Castillo loved building forts out of scrap wood, going fishing and was always the first to get dirty.

He wanted to be in the mud, Deborah Castillo recalled.

Dominic Castillos body was found in Nonconnah Creek in southwest Tennessee on Feb. 11 by a father and daughter riding all-terrain vehicles, according to Memphis homicide detective Sgt. Michael Hill.

Police arent saying much about what they believe happened, but Hill said even though Castillos body was found in the nearly 30-mile creek, he didnt drown. He had been strangled.

On March 31, Dominics Castillos grandmother Vicky received a letter from Memphis authorities and called his stepmother.

I just knew, Deborah Castillo said. Just by her cry  I never heard her that way  this horrible, horrible cry.

Dominics stepmother is left trying to piece together what led to Dominics death.

I just want to know what happened, she said.

Dominic Castillo initially planned to head west to California and Oregon, but ended up going east instead, first to Oklahoma, then Arkansas.

He liked being spontaneous, Deborah Castillo said. That was Dom.

He loved Huckleberry Finn and set out on a mission to see the Mississippi, the river that set the backdrop for the novel.

On Jan. 22, he posted a picture of the river to his Facebook page. Thats the last anyone heard from him.

His stepmother said she and his grandmother had a bad feeling, but they decided to stay optimistic.

Sometimes he was just poor at communicating, Deborah Castillo said.

She and his grandmother texted him Why arent you answering? and Let us know youre OK.

A few weeks after Dominic Castillo posted the picture of the Mississippi River, he was found dead. His wallet was missing, but he had identification and money in one of his pockets.

Hill said investigators have no witnesses and are still looking for suspects in Dominic Castillos death.

He said this type of crime  the murder of a tourist or out-of-town visitor  is unusual in the area.

Something is wrong with the case, Hill said.

Dominic Castillos dog Lily was found wandering a Memphis neighborhood with her leash still attached on Jan. 28. She was adopted out to a woman in Indianapolis, Deborah Castillo said.

She said she would like to keep Lily, but the woman who adopted her refuses to give her up.

Thats all we have left of Dom, Deborah Castillo said. Lily is like my baby. Thats like my son.

She said her stepson and his dog had a unique relationship.

Dom had some sadness in his heart. In a way, he was broken and Lily was broken, too, she said. He just loved pouring his love into her and she filled a part of his heart.
Bishop Oscar Cantu and about a dozen priests traded their white collars for camping gear, piled into a van and headed to the Gila River for a two-day fishing trip.

The excursion helped cement a position that Cantu, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, had been pondering for some time: that plans to divert water from the Gila River are fraught with moral and ethical issues, he said, and should be opposed.

Cantu had read the headlines. He knew the state was considering spending $100 million in federal subsidies  and potentially hundreds of millions more  to divert water from the Gila River for agricultural or municipal consumption, or taking a lesser sum of $66 million to pay for conservation projects.

The money is available under the 2004 Arizona Water Settlements Act. The Interstate Stream Commission told the federal government in 2014 that it would pursue a diversion project on the river. A local body called the New Mexico CAP (Central Arizona Project) entity submitted its preferred project  a diversion  triggering a series of environmental and feasibility studies.

To put people on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in one of the poorest sectors of New Mexico, I find that problematic, ethically, Cantu told me.

Pope Francis has made caring for the poor a mission of his papacy. Last year, the pope published an encyclical called the Laudato Si in which he drew links between environmental justice and poverty.

We all know that it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries and wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented levels, the pope wrote. The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits, and we still have not solved the problem of poverty.

So those lessons were also on the bishops mind when he and the priests went to the river the day after Easter.

The group, which included priests serving in southern New Mexico from Nigeria and Mexico, fished near the proposed diversion site on the river in the Gila-Cliff Valley. They camped near the riverbank. Half the group spoke mostly Spanish, the other half spoke Igbo, a native tongue of Nigeria. Cantu spoke about caring for creation.

The whole day, we talked about Scripture and spirituality, said Garrett VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. The outdoors brings together such a diverse group of people. It crosses partisanship, all these lines. Its like the glue that holds us all together. What is the core of us as New Mexicans? Spirituality is a core value.

The Wildlife Federations coordinator in Las Cruces, Gabe Vasquez, led the priests trip. Vasquez, a Catholic, had been working with members of the sportsmens advocacy group and Audubon New Mexico to ask Cantu to consider taking a position against the diversion.

I think it was a really powerful experience for the priests and for us, as well, Vasquez said. The bishop talked about the message of the pope and mentioned that within it he calls for caring for our common home.

A week later, an op-ed Cantu wrote was published in the Las Cruces Sun-News urging the ISC and CAP entity to consider non-diversion solutions to secure water for the residents of southwestern New Mexico, and to confer transparently with constituents before committing to a solution.

The southern New Mexico priests may have to carry that message back carefully to their parishes. Communities in Grant and Luna counties  where the people most likely to benefit from the water, and most likely to pay for it, live  have been sharply divided on the issue for years.

The priests mandate is not to preach politics but to ask their congregations simply to consider the ethical issues, Cantu said.

As for the fishing, the bishop and priests mostly caught bait.

Cantu said he told the priests, paraphrasing a Bible verse, Now we know how the apostles felt when they said, Lord, weve been at it all day long and weve caught nothing. 

UpFront is a regular front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Lauren Villagran in Las Cruces at lvillagran@abqjournal.com. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
The Daily Times

FARMINGTON  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is trying to determine whether there are any lingering dangers to human health and aquatic life from the Gold King Mine spill, officials said in a series of public meetings last week.

The August 2015 spill, triggered by EPA crews working to clean up the site, led to the district being classified as a Superfund site. The EPA is working on a human health risk assessment and an aquatic risk assessment for the Animas River. The aquatic risk assessment will look at the river from Silverton to Durango.

Rebecca Thomas, EPA project manager, unveiled the plans during meetings in Silverton and Durango, Colo., and at San Juan College in Farmington. Thomas said the EPA will likely complete a feasibility study for the cleanup work and release a plan in June. The plan will be open to public comments for 30 days and the EPA plans to begin work in late August or early September and continue until it snows.

She said the work will partly be dependent on the federal budget, which has not yet been approved.

The Gold King Mine continues to release 550 gallons of water each minute, and Thomas said the water inside the mine has continued to rise. This water is captured in a treatment plant; however, 36 other drainage passages in the mining district are continuously draining water into the watershed that feeds the Animas River.

We have a lot of questions still about the hydrology of the mountain, Thomas said during a recent meeting.

The EPA plans on drilling a well into the American Tunnel, which drains the Gold King Mine, this year to help study the hydrology. Thomas said it is also studying seeps and springs in the mining district.

Early response actions may help improve the water quality in the district, although Thomas said they will not be final remedies.

One of these actions is removing high concentrations of lead and arsenic from several sites, including primitive campgrounds.

Another possibility is to divert water draining from mines away from the mine tailings, where the water currently picks up additional heavy metals. The EPA also plans on removing tailing piles near surface water drainages and mucking out sediment basins that catch the water from the mines.
Police have identified the man who was shot and killed in southeast Albuquerque on Friday as 42-year-old Harvey Saavedra and theyre still looking for leads in the case.

Saavedras family is desperate for answers as they grapple with the death of the father of three.

Police were called around 6 p.m. Friday to the 8000 block of Zuni SE near Pennsylvania where they found Saavedra shot to death near a mobile home park.

Saavedras sister, Amy Valverde, described her brother as loving and dedicated to his family, though he had a troubled past, and had been in and out of jail and prison.

He was trying to get better, she said. He went back and served his time. Thats all we know.

Online court records show Saavedra was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder. A Journal story from 1999 reported that Saavedra, then 24, was arrested in connection to the beating death of a 40-year-old man. Court records show he was convicted in 2014 of taking his 7-year-old nephew on a Walmart shoplifting spree. Confronted by security, Saavedra ran, leaving the boy in the cart. Over the years, hed been accused of property and drug-related crimes.

Still, his friends and family on Sunday lamented on Facebook the passing of Beast, as he was known.

I cant believe the way he was taken away from me so brutally, Valverde said. No matter his lifestyle, he didnt have to die like that. I want to wake up from this nightmare.

Valverde said her family plans to set up a memorial near the scene of the shooting. And theyre holding on to hope that police will track down the person responsible.

Albuquerque police officer Simon Drobik said detectives are still trying to identify a person of interest shown in a photo the department released on Saturday of a man who is running and appears to be holding a gun.

Saavedra had two sons, ages 9 and 11, and a daughter who is in her early 20s.

Jennifer Avalos-Padilla, the mother of Saavedras sons, said the boys are in shock.

They dont understand what kind of a person would take their dads life like that, Avalos-Padilla said. They dont know what to do or say. They know they didnt have a chance to say goodbye to their dad.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

After Albuquerque mayoral candidate Brian Colon filed his first campaign finance report, he issued a statement touting the $357,000 he raised and the support he received from some of the areas key stakeholders.

But Colon has returned $5,150 to one of those key stakeholders  Attorney General Hector Balderas  after the Secretary of States Office determined that the contribution wasnt legal because it was made through Balderas campaign fund.

The new way of looking at donations has been a problem for several donors and candidates this year.

At issue is the money candidates for statewide, legislative and county races raise that they then turn around and donate to candidates running in municipal, school board and special district elections. There is no prohibition against someone like Balderas donating his own personal money to a municipal or school board candidate, for instance.

The Office of the Secretary of State informed our campaign of a new interpretation of statute, and we promptly requested and returned funds to the proper account and amended our report, said Caroline Buerkle, spokeswoman for the Balderas for New Mexico campaign.

Colons campaign issued a written statement saying that it quickly honored the request to return the contribution.

Balderas isnt alone.

Deputy Secretary of State John Blair said last week that his agency is aware of other public officials who made similar contributions, in violation of the states Campaign Reporting Act.

Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, donated $500 in campaign funds to mayoral candidate Dan Lewis; Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, donated $1,000 in campaign funds to Lewis; and former state Rep. Paul Pacheco, an Albuquerque Republican, donated $1,000 in campaign funds to Lewis.

Lewis brother, state Rep. Tim Lewis, donated $5,000 from his campaign funds.

Lewis refunded those contributions in late March and early April.

Im grateful for over $250,000 given by hundreds of people who believe in our bold solutions to renew our city, Dan Lewis said. The citys Open and Ethical Election Code and state election laws ensure transparency and accountability  we receive contributions, report them, and in a few instances give contributions back, and then report them as well.

A Journal review of campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of States Office and the City Clerks Office turned up three other instances of campaign funds being donated to candidates in Albuquerques coming municipal election.

Lieutenant Gov. John Sanchez donated $875 in campaign funds to Jose Orozco, a candidate for City Council. Former state Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell, donated $1,000 to Dan Lewis. And County Commissioner Lonnie Talbert donated $500 to mayoral candidate Wayne Johnson.

I did not even know that I could not do that, Talbert told the Journal. Ill ask Wayne (Johnson) for the check back.

Through a spokesman, Espinoza said she does not believe the contribution is inconsistent with state law.

Espinoza ran against Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in last years general election.

Among other things, the Campaign Reporting Act specifies what candidates can and cannot do with their campaign funds.

In one section, the law says that donating campaign funds to a political committee or to another candidate seeking election to public office is permissible. But in the definitions section of the law, election is defined as any primary, general or statewide special election in New Mexico and includes county and judicial retention elections but excludes municipal, school board and special district elections.

Blair said the Secretary of States Office began reviewing those sections of law in the last month.

We did look at that and determined its not legal for contributions to be made by campaign committees in a municipal, school board or special district election, Blair said. This is a relatively new interpretation.

Rod Adair, a former Republican state senator who has previously worked in the Secretary of States Office, said he disagrees with the new interpretation of the law. Adair pointed to a 2009 advisory letter from the Attorney Generals Office that concluded that such contributions are not prohibited by state law.

The Act does not make a distinction between a federal, state or local candidate and a common sense reading of the law is that a donation to a candidate for any public office  federal, state or local is permissible, the advisory letter says.

Blair said that as his agency learns about the contributions, it is reaching out to the elected officials or candidates who made the improper donations and advising them that they should request that the contributions be refunded.

Blair stressed that theres nothing in the law that would preclude Balderas or any other state official or former candidate from donating to a municipal or school board election. They just arent allowed to donate from their campaign funds.

Such donations have occurred in the past.

Gov. Susana Martinezs re-election campaign gave $15,000 in 2015 to then-Albuquerque Public Schools candidate Peggy Muller-Aragon, who prevailed in the race.

And in 2013, former state Senate candidate David Doyle donated $2,000 in campaign funds to Mayor Richard Berrys re-election campaign.

Blair said that because this is a new interpretation of state law, the Secretary of States Office doesnt intend to take action in those prior cases.
BALCH SPRINGS, Texas  Police in suburban Dallas fired the officer Tuesday who shot and killed a black 15-year-old boy riding in a vehicle leaving a chaotic house party, taking the swift action sought by the teenagers family and protesters who link the case to other deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

The Balch Springs, Texas, officer, identified as Roy Oliver, was terminated for violating department policies in the shooting death of Jordan Edwards, police chief Jonathan Haber said.

Edwards, a high school freshman, was leaving the party with his two brothers and two other teenagers Saturday night. Police arrived at the scene to investigate an underage drinking complaint and spotted the vehicle leaving. Oliver opened fire as the teenagers were driving away.

Shots from his rifle pierced the front side passenger window, hitting Edwards in the front seat, according to Edwards family attorneys, Lee Merritt and Jasmine Crockett. His 16-year-old brother was driving.

Haber said Oliver, who joined the department in 2011, had committed several violations of policy, but wouldnt say what they were because Oliver is entitled to appeal his firing. The Dallas County district attorney and the Dallas County sheriffs office are investigating the case. The race of the fired officer was not revealed.

Police originally said the teenagers vehicle was reversing in an aggressive manner toward officers, but Haber said Monday that video taken at the scene proved the vehicle was actually driving away.

The police departments latest statement, released Tuesday night, says officers entering the house heard gunshots ring out during a chaotic scene with numerous people running away from the location. As officers exited the house, they encountered the vehicle backing out onto a main road and driving away despite their attempts to tell the driver to stop, the new statement said.

The Dallas County medical examiner ruled Edwards death a homicide.

Thousands of Facebook and Twitter users have posted about the case in recent days with the hashtag #jordanedwards, some comparing his death to other police shootings of young black men, such as 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, who was fatally shot in November 2014 as he held a pellet gun.

Edwards family had called for the officer to be fired and criminally charged. Both Merritt and Crockett have credited Haber for correcting the mistaken statement and moving quickly to fire Oliver.

No other city has moved at the rate Balch Springs has, Crockett told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. Its just unbelievable. Its absolutely unbelievable that a department did what a department should do.

But a family statement released Tuesday night called for disciplinary action against other officers who extended this nightmare for those children.

Our family is working hard to deal with both the loss of our beloved Jordan and the lingering trauma it has caused our boys, the family statement said.

Cindy Stormer, an attorney for Oliver, issued a statement saying the shooting was recent and still being investigated.

Everyone should wait until the facts come out and we know more, she said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Friends have described Edwards as a good student and popular athlete. Edwards and the four people with him decided to leave what was becoming an unruly party as they heard gunfire and police were arriving, Merritt said, citing what witnesses had told lawyers.

As they drove away from the party, Crockett said, the brother driving the vehicle heard multiple gunshots that were close enough to leave his ears ringing. It took a few moments before the people inside in the car noticed Edwards slumped over, she said. They couldnt tell if he was already dead.

The brother who was driving pulled over and tried to motion to police for help, she said. Instead, Crockett said, he was detained and handcuffed. Crockett said the driver wasnt formally arrested, but a separate statement from the family released through Merritt says the two brothers were arrested.

Based on what the video captured, Haber said previously that he questioned whether what he saw was consistent with the policies and core values of his department. Haber wouldnt say what problems he saw, but Balch Springs official use-of-force policy encourages officers facing an oncoming vehicle to attempt to move out of its path, if possible, instead of discharging a firearm at it or any of its occupants. The video has not been released.

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Merchant reported from Houston.
SAN DIEGO  A woman who was the only official objector to the $25 million deal to settle three Trump University lawsuits said Monday that she would appeal the settlement, a move that could mean months of further litigation and delay any payout.

Sheri B. Simpson filed a formal notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The move was immediately criticized by the lawyer for the other 3,700 or so class members who are eligible to get up to 90 percent of what they spent on President Donald Trumps defunct real estate success program.

Gary Friedman, the lawyer for Simpson, said the appeal will be based on the argument that a San Diego federal judge who approved the settlement on March 31 erred because class members were not given a second chance to opt out of the case.

The class members had a right to opt out of the settlement, Friedman said. The notice they received from the court promised them in no uncertain terms they had that right. Then, once the defendant got elected president, it became inconvenient to honor that promise.

Rather than take the more than $15,000 she would get in the settlement, Simpson wants to take the president to trial individually and seek an award four times that amount or more, Friedman said.

Lawyers for the class members said Simpson and her lawyer mischaracterized language that went out in the class notices, which  when read in the correct context  stated that participants could opt out of receiving a portion of the settlement, not leave the case entirely. By staying in the case, Simpson is bound by the settlement, they argued.

Jason Forge, one of the main lawyers in the class-action suit and settlement, said that the decision to appeal is wrong and could hurt other members of the class who will have to wait to collect their money from Trump.

Its the wrong fight against the wrong people for the wrong reason, he said Monday. My only real concern is we wont have enough time to make it right for everyone. We have a number of senior citizen students here waiting for their money. And given the length of time that appeals can take, we may not be able to get that money to them before they die.

The class-action lawsuits  two filed in San Diego and another in New York  claimed Trump University misled students into thinking it was an accredited university and conned people into signing up for the $35,000 Gold Elite program. The elite status paid for a yearlong mentorship and exclusive access to Trumps resources, which students said were not provided for the most part.

Trump defended his program, saying it provided valuable training and garnered a 98 percent approval rating among students.

Friedman said Simpson regretted holding up settlement payments. We feel terribly about the delay, he said. But she is not going to be guilted into changing her position.

He said he planned to ask the appeals court for an expedited hearing schedule.



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PHOENIX  Hundreds of activists and immigrants marched from the Arizona Capitol to a jail a little over a mile away in support of immigrants and workers rights on May Day.

Chants of shut down ICE erupted as the marchers, led behind a black and white banner depicting Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone and the words END THE CULTURE OF ARPAIO NOW! flooded the streets.

Members of the Puente Human Rights Movement, Living United For Change in Arizona, and others banded together to demand Penzone remove federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from the county jail. They also called for national immigration reform and improving labor rights.

Jacqueline Rayos, a 14-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, said she was marching to stop the separation of families. Her own mother was deported to Mexico this February.

We need to unite in order for things to change because if we are just in our rooms doing nothing, crying, hoping things will change  thats not going to change anything, Rayos said.

Joel Cornejo, a 20-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, said the march helped the gathering communities raise their voices and make themselves heard to those in power.

Cornejo got involved as an immigrant advocate after his father took part in the Eloy Detention Center hunger strike in 2015, when hundreds of immigrants protested inhumane conditions and demanded greater access to legal assistance.

Mondays march was one of many events held worldwide in celebration of International Workers Day. But the widespread protests in the United States were aimed directly at the new president and his crackdown on immigrant families.

Organizers for Promise Arizona met with lawmakers at the states Capitol early Monday to deliver postcards with messages of hope from children of immigrant families.

Immigrant rights groups held marches and rallies in Arizona over the weekend  including a memorial event at Maricopa Countys Tent City jail complex, an overnight prayer vigil at the Capitol and a march to Phoenix City Hall.

David Ayala-Zamora, state field director for Promise Arizona, said the Sunday march focused on children and fighting to keep families together.

President Trump is terrorizing our communities, and it is not just putting fear in our communities but it is terrorizing because parents do not want to leave the house, Ayala-Zamora said.

Democrat Rep. Tony Navarrete, who attended Sundays march, said it celebrated youths of immigrant families while prompting awareness of the realities they are facing.

The message is: How do we continue to protect workers? How do we continue to protect immigrant families? And how do we make sure that we are working towards a more just state and a more just country, Navarrete said

Promise Arizona held a phone bank event Monday to urge U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake to support immigrant families across the nation. A community citizenship fair was also held Monday, which provided one-on-one assistance for applying for U.S. citizenship.
SAN DIEGO  The question of whether race motivated Peter Selis hung over San Diego in the aftermath of Sundays mass shooting as police officials, investigators and members of the community at large tried to piece together what happened  and why.

San Diego police on Monday said Selis was despondent over a recent breakup with his girlfriend when he shot seven people, killing one, in the pool area of a University City apartment complex.

But the circumstances of the shooting  Selis was a white man and most of his victims were black or Latino  has made race a central topic of discussion.

The reason why people are speculating a hate crime in the community is because this is a 49-year-old white male, who walks into a pool area, a gathering with mostly black people, in a mostly white community in San Diego, said the Rev. Shane Harris of the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization.

He lives there, and he walks in there, and he shoots six African-Americans and one Latino. You leave no choice for people to look at what the motive is. And we are not letting this one off.

On Monday evening, police revised their previous statements and said that one of the victims was a white woman, not black. That was after Harris and others made their comments for this article. Nevertheless, Selis trained his fire on poolside birthday gathering of mostly people of color.

Investigators have not seen anything that indicates Selis rampage from a pool lounge chair at the upscale La Jolla Crossroads complex was motivated by racial animosity, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

We have zero information that this was racially motivated, she said at a Monday news conference.

Zimmerman said Selis called his former girlfriend while he was gunning people down and kept her on the phone as the shooting continued.

His reaction to the breakup, not race, appears to be the central factor, Zimmerman said. It was a spontaneous act of violence and the victims were shot because they were nearby, not because of their skin color, she said.

An African-American woman at the party disputed that notion and noted that a white friend, a woman, was let go by Selis.

I feel there was hate within this crime, and I dont think that is a deniable thing here, said Lt. j.g. Lauren Chapman, who is stationed at 32nd Street Naval Base.

Selis shot at arriving officers who returned fire and killed him, Zimmerman said.

Bishop Cornelius Bowser of Charity Apostolic Church called for an investigation to determine what motivated the gunman.

See wherever the evidence leads, if it leads to a suicide mission, to someone who had issues with people of color, Bowser said. The investigation needs to continue until they can be clear what the motives were for doing that.

Bowser said police have a legitimate interest in keeping the public informed about the status of the case and help keep people calm after an emotional tragedy. He added that they might inadvertently heighten tensions if they prematurely dismiss the possibly that race was a factor.

Sometimes, I think that the thing that riles people up the most is when they dont have all the information, or they feel like something is being held out, he said.

Harris of the National Action Network also called for an investigation to determine Selis motives.

We want to address this, and make it very clear that we want to see a thorough investigation on whether hate was involved in this crime or not, he said.

He added that he wants police to be transparent about the methodology of their investigation, and to set a deadline for when their inquiry will be complete.

Others had concluded that Selis was motivated by racial hatred.

Officials still wont admit this was a hate crime, media personality and filmmaker Tariq Nasheed said on Twitter.

Later, he added: I would like @SanDiegoPD to explain how a white killer can go to a predominantly white area of San Diego, shoot 7 Blks, and its NOT racial?

Michael Benjamin, a student at the University of California, San Diego and a resident at La Jolla Crossroads for a little over a year, said he often felt that some people in the complex were quietly hostile toward him because hes black.

Their treatment, combined with the circumstances of the shooting, makes it clear that Selis, one of his neighbors, was motivated by a hatred against black people, he said.

I dont think its rocket science, said Benjamin, the president of UC San Diegos National Society of Black Engineers.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

Some of the other residents have looked down at him while riding with him in the elevator, or physically move away when he is near. There have also been bad looks, and ongoing animosity, he said.

Just living there, and going to school, and walking around the apartment complex, I feel racial tensions as I walk around, he said.

Benjamin said he had never met Selis, or if he did, he does not remember him.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

Besides the recent breakup, Selis also faced significant debt. A mechanic at a car dealership, court records show he filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and owed tens of thousands of dollars to medical groups, credit card companies and tax collectors.

Zimmerman did not mention Selis financial struggles at the news conference on Monday.



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NEW YORK  The U.S. president had a historical question: Why did Americas Civil War happen? Why could that one not have been worked out?

Remarks by Donald Trump, aired Monday, showed presidential uncertainty about the origin and necessity of the Civil War, a defining event in U.S. history with slavery at its core. Trump also declared that President Andrew Jackson was angry about what was happening with regard to the war, which started 16 years after his death, and could have stopped it if still in office.

Trump, who has at times shown a shaky grasp of U.S. history, questioned why issues couldnt have been settled to prevent the war that followed the secession of 11 Southern states from the Union and brought death to more than 600,000 Americans, North and South.

People dont realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? Trump said in an interview with The Washington Examiner that also aired on Sirius XM radio. People dont ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?

In fact, the causes of the Civil War are frequently discussed, from middle school classrooms to university lecture halls and in countless books. Immigrants seeking to become naturalized are sometimes asked to name a cause of the war in their citizenship tests .

Fierce disagreement over the future of slavery was a driving force behind the war, but economic issues and disputes over state rights were also factors.

Slavery was the root cause of the Civil War. It was not the only cause, but it was the underlying cause, said Eric Foner, a Columbia University history professor and a leading expert on the war. As a historian, I would prefer the president had a better handle on American history.

Trumps comments about the war came after he lauded Jackson, the populist president whom he and his staff have cited as a role model. He suggested that if Jackson had been president a little later, you wouldnt have had the Civil War.

He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, Theres no reason for this, Trump continued.

Jackson died in 1845. The Civil War began in 1861.

Jackson was a slave-holding plantation owner. Some historians do credit him with preserving the full Union when South Carolina threatened to secede in the 1830s over an individual states ability to void federal tariffs. But that controversy, known as the Nullification Crisis, was not about slavery, and the eventual compromise that preserved states rights did little to alter the nations path to the War Between the States.

Even Andrew Jackson, were he alive, could not have solved the problem, Foner said. The situation in 1861 was far more dire than in the 1830s during the Nullification Crisis.

The Civil War was decades in the making, stemming from disputes between the North and South about slavery and whether the union or the individual states had more power. The question over the expansion of slavery into new Western territories simmered for decades and Southern leaders threatened secession if anti-slavery candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860.

After Lincoln won without carrying a single Southern state, Southern leaders believed their rights were imperiled and seceded, forming the Confederate States of America. War erupted soon afterward as the North fought to keep the nation together. The conflict lasted four years.

The White House did not respond to requests for an explanation of Trumps reasoning. His comments on the Civil War drew swift criticism from some civil rights groups and Democrats, including Rep. Barbara Lee of California who tweeted President Trump doesnt understand the Civil War. Its because my ancestors and millions of others were enslaved.

This is far from the first time that Trump expressed a muddled view on American history.

Trump, during an African-American history month event, seemed to imply that the 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass was still alive. Trump said in February that Douglass is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice.

While justifying his argument for a border wall with Mexico, Trump said last week that human trafficking is a problem thats probably worse than any time in the history of this world, a claim that seemed to omit the African slave trade.

Trump, prompted by his chief strategist Steve Bannon, embraced the legacy of Jackson soon after his election.

The White House has eagerly drawn parallels between the two men, particularly between Trumps success with working-class voters and how Jackson fashioned himself as a champion of the common man against a political system that favored the rich and powerful. Trump paid tribute to Jackson, known as Old Hickory, by visiting Jacksons grave in Tennessee in March.
MILWAUKEE  An inquest jury Monday issued an advisory verdict that probable cause of a crime exists in the death of Terrill Thomas in the Milwaukee County Jail a year ago.

The jury found probable cause of a crime in the actions of seven jail officials under a felony statute prohibiting abuse, neglect and ill treatment of inmates.

Now it will be up to District Attorney John Chisholm to decide if any criminal charges are warranted in the April 2016 death of Thomas, a 38-year-old with bipolar disorder who was deprived of water and a mattress during seven straight days at the Milwaukee County Jail run by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.

Family members hugged outside the courtroom and said they were grateful but wanted to see if justice prevails in the end.

Kimberly Perry, mother of Thomas son, Terrill Thomas Jr., said the family was overwhelmed by the testimony on the treatment of the elder Thomas.

The negligence was very rough for me to hear, she said.

Hank Balson, a lawyer for the Thomas estate, said he expected Chisholm would follow up with charges.

Chisholm told reporters he would give a lot of weight to the inquest verdict but is not bound by it or limited by it. He could charge more than seven people, none or any number in between.

He said he tried to limit the number of individuals to those directly involved in Thomas care or jail leaders who knew or should have known of problems.

The jury found probable cause in the actions of seven individuals: Sheriffs Maj. Nancy Evans, Jail Lt. Kashka Meadors and corrections officers James Ramsey-Guy, Thomas Laine, John Weber, Dominique Smith and JorDon Johnson.

Asked why he did not ask jurors to consider if Clarke may have been liable, Chisholm said he would not comment on whether the sheriff or any other individual would likely face charges.

In the meantime, the jail can make a number of easy fixes to avoid more deaths, he said.

Keeping people safe is not a high standard to meet, he said.

Earlier Monday the jury heard that in the weeks after Thomas died jail officials ordered the water shut off for two other inmates in the disciplinary pod of the Milwaukee County Jail.

Those two inmates were punished for covering their cell windows, jail logs show.

A prosecutor called the practice torture, which was doubly shocking because it followed the death of Thomas.

In another revelation Monday, a jail corrections officer testified that jail supervisors may have balked at sending a mentally unstable, babbling Thomas to a psychiatric unit because he was such a big, volatile man.

Jail lieutenants seemed to suggest that higher-ups werent going to move Thomas despite his condition and despite some jailers feeling he needed help, officer Mario Dantzler said.

Thomas was in the jail after allegedly confessing to shooting a man in the chest and later firing two shots in the Potawatomi casino.

In earlier testimony Monday, prosecutors sought to show that the NutraLoaf served to Thomas two days before his death was so dry as to cause an incident.

Thomas smashed the loaf with his shower shoes, sending so much dust in the air from the food product that it tripped a fire alarm, jail corrections officer Matthew Carroll testified.

A parade of corrections officers took the stand to say they had no idea that Thomas had been denied water for days.

Jail policy prohibits shutting off inmates water unless the inmate has flooded the cell, officers testified Monday.

But jail logs show a failure to follow orders regarding window coverings resulted in orders that water be cut off to inmates Joseph J. Benson and Jamie J. McGee, in late April and mid-May, respectively, testimony showed.

McGee was on suicide watch for a time, and coughing up blood, on May 14 when the water was shut off. The log says Lt. Crystalina Montano ordered that, but on the stand she said she didnt know if that happened.

McGee had a medical emergency some 11 hours after the water was cut off, logs show.

In Bensons case, jail activity logs say that Lt. Brandy Solomon ordered Bensons water shut off, but she testified that must have been a false entry by an officer.

Theres no reason to turn off his water, Solomon testified. Lieutenants are supposed to review the logs, but Solomon said she couldnt recall seeing it.



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PHOENIX  An ex-convict has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of a retired Bakersfield, California, police officer during an attempted carjacking outside an Arizona casino.

John Albert Campos Sr. faces six life terms under the sentence imposed Monday by a federal judge in Phoenix as a result of Campos February guilty plea in the Dec. 24, 2015 killing of 52-year-old Frank Pascua.

Pascua was shot outside a Gila River Indian Community casino as Campos tried to steal a car. Campos then carjacked another vehicle and fled. He was later arrested in Phoenix.

Campus pleaded guilty to numerous crimes that included carjacking and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Arizona Department of Corrections records list numerous previous convictions for Campos, including armed robbery and kidnapping.
The independent monitor overseeing Albuquerque police reform said in a new report that the lack of scrutiny the departments highest ranking officers give use-of-force cases is mystifying and startling.

James Ginger, the independent monitor overseeing reform, said in the reports summary that his team has noticed a palpable shift in the police departments approach to changes. The report was critical of the departments high-ranking supervisors and command-level officers, accusing them of deliberate non-compliance in some cases.

There seems to be no one person, unit, or group with responsibility and command authority to make change happen,  the report states.

But the monitors report also indicates that police are making progress on some fronts. It says that police have achieved primary compliance with 93 percent of the tasks outlined in the settlement agreement between Albuquerque and the Department of Justice, and police have achieved operational compliance with 47 percent of the reforms.

The report credited Albuquerque police for its use of electronic control weapons, its Behavioral Sciences Unit and crisis intervention training.

City Attorney Jessica Hernandez in an interview said the compliance percentages, which increased significantly in the latest report, suggest the police are moving in the right direction, so she didnt know why Ginger was reporting the department was shifting its position on reforms.

Im not sure why he would say that. It is sort of interesting to see the contrast between his narrative as opposed to just the raw compliance findings, Hernandez said. If you look at the raw numbers  its just undeniable progress.

The report, filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, covered APDs reform efforts from August 2016 through January 2017. There is a status conference to discuss the report May 10 in front of U.S. District Court Judge Robert Brack.

Brack is presiding over a yearslong reform effort underway at APD. The department has to make court-approved changes to police tactics, training and supervision as a result of a DOJ investigation that found Albuquerque police too often used excessive force.

Ginger and his team monitor police progress and periodically file reports that outline what the department has and hasnt accomplished. Tuesdays was the fifth report.

Albuquerque police in a news release pointed out that the number of times officers have fired their weapons in the line of duty has declined significantly since 2010.

APD has made progress in all areas of the settlement agreement. As the Monitor has stated, This is a marathon, not a sprint,  Police Chief Gorden Eden said in a statement. Our goal has been and will continue to be sustained, long-term compliance and reform in all areas of the settlement agreement.

APD Forward, a coalition of community groups who advocate for police reform, denounced the departments leadership for what it called its deliberate non-compliance with the settlement agreement.

APD Forward spokesperson Laurie Weahkee, who is the executive director of the Native American Voters Alliance, said leadership has appeared to push back against reforms from the beginning.

Little has changed since then. In some ways, its gotten worse, she said. If Chief Eden and his senior staff wont take responsibility for advancing these critical changes to the way APD officers use force, Mayor (Richard) Berry should find police professionals who will.

APD Forward plans to release a full analysis of the monitors report sometime next week, but officials said Tuesday that some aspects of the report were especially concerning, said Steven Robert Allen, the director of public policy at the ACLU of New Mexico.

Its no surprise that accountability is a critical problem with APD when Chief Eden is publicly blaming judges and the press for problems within his Department, he said in a statement. This unwillingness of Chief Eden and his command staff to embrace reform or to demand accountability from the Department is preventing APD from moving towards true and lasting culture change.

The most recent report included a review of 16 random use-of-force cases during the reporting period. It found significant problems with three of those cases.

But the team found a deeper problem with how the highest ranking officers reviewed the cases.

Based on the incidents reviewed by the monitoring team this reporting period zero percent of command personnel, who should have ordered additional investigation to resolve inconsistencies and improve the reliability and credibility of supervisory personnels use of force investigations, did so! the report states. Few systems can survive such a failure rate.

Black hole at APD

The monitoring team reported that during a site visit, it asked to meet with the departments internal affairs unit and the Critical Incident Response Team to discuss problems with three use-of-force cases referred to in the report. But when the team met with officers from those units to discuss the cases, the monitoring team was given a memo that said Internal Affairs and CIRT didnt review the cases, according to the report.

Thus, it is clear that, despite clearly articulated monitoring team concerns about this case, it had dropped into a black hole at APD, the report states.

In one particular issue addressed in the report, the monitoring team said Albuquerque police officials have refused to change a particular policy concerning neck holds, despite specific instructions from the monitoring team.

In the opinion of the monitor, such deliberate resistance, despite multiple discussions and debate of the topic, and despite clear and unequivocal definitional guidance in the (settlement agreement) constitutes deliberate non-compliance on the part of APD and the City, the report states. Non-compliance on this issue comes from the command-level at APD.

Eden said in a statement that he disagreed with the monitors assessment and that the departments command staff was not opposed to a policy change.

The command staff has never been resistant to prohibiting neck holds as they are defined in the settlement agreement, Eden said. The command staff asked the monitoring team and parties to discuss the difference between incidental contact with the neck versus an actual neck hold. This is an important distinction that the Department should not be penalized for raising as a topic for discussion.
SANTA FE  A top New Mexico Public Education Department official said Tuesday that the agency would extend a public feedback period on proposed changes to the states bilingual education program due to widespread misunderstanding about the agencys intent.

Roughly 100 people attended a public hearing Tuesday on the controversial changes, with parents, advocates and Native American leaders all expressing opposition.

No one testified in favor of the changes and some speakers bristled at the three-minute time limit imposed by PED officials.

Pueblo of Acoma Lt. Gov. Raymond Concho Jr. said agency officials had not adequately consulted with tribal leaders about the proposals, which he described as a threat to the tribes identity.

And Ralph Arellanes, the executive director of the state League of United Latin American Citizens, said the changes could lead to fewer bilingual students, which could weaken the states already sluggish economy.

Were already in last place, and this is only going to make us less competitive, he said.

The Public Education Department has proposed eliminating two of the five current bilingual education models in the state, while making changes to the other three.

Top PED officials have described the move as a way to increase student enrollment in bilingual programs  they predict the number of dual-language programs would increase by 50 percent over the next three years  but critics have questioned the agencys motives and said the move could mean a loss of state funds for some schools.

After Tuesdays hearing, PED Director of Educator Quality Matt Montano told the Journal the proposed changes have been in the works for nearly a year.

But he acknowledged there was still widespread confusion about their intent, saying, We need to stop and say, How can we educate people better?'

Montano also insisted the proposed changes are not being driven by budget concerns, an allegation levied by some critics.

Its actually to strengthen and bolster models that have been shown nationally and in the state to be effective, he said.

Under the PEDs proposal, both a maintenance model aimed at improving students English-speaking abilities while keeping them sharp in their native language, and an enrichment model focused on improving the native language skills of students already fluent in English would be eliminated.

Overall, about 50,000 students in New Mexico public schools  or roughly 15 percent of students in kindergarten through 12th grade  are participating in bilingual education programs.

The PED will resume the public hearing on the proposed changes on Aug. 9. In the interim, agency officials said they plan to reach out to tribal leaders and other bilingual education advocates to discuss the proposed changes.
A Santa Fe resident will appear on Jeopardy! next week.

And she couldnt be happier.

Gail Ansheles is a kindergarten teacher at El Dorado Community School, and she competes beginning Monday as part of the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament.

The two-week event features several of Americas brightest educators facing off for $100,000 and a spot in the next Tournament of Champions.

The two-week event is presented by Farmers Insurance, which through its signature corporate social responsibility program, Thank Americas Teachers, will present each contestant with a $2,500 educational grant to fund classroom projects.

Ansheles plans to use her $2,500 grant to build a Maker Space in her classroom.

This space will incorporate art, science, technology and engineering for hands-on problem solving  essentially (my students) will design their own learning experiences, Ansheles said. It will include art materials and an easel, a storage unit on wheels, a pegboard with kid-friendly tools, robotics components and plenty of building materials from blocks to duct tape and recyclables.

Jeopardy! is hosted by Alex Trebek and is in its 33rd season in syndication.

The show is the top-rated quiz show on television and has won several awards and distinctions, including a Guinness World Record for the most Emmy Awards won by a TV game show.

Ansheles couldnt disclose how she fared, so well have to tune in to the show next week.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
AUSTIN, Texas  Planned Parenthood on Tuesday announced the reopening of its first abortion clinic in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down strict regulations that prompted more than half of the states abortion facilities to close.

The location was notable: Waco, which like many rural and midsized cities in Texas lost its only abortion clinic after then-Gov. Rick Perry signed the regulations in 2013. The sweeping anti-abortion bill imposed costly operating standards on clinics and required doctors who perform abortions to obtain hospital admitting privileges.

The law virtually wiped out all Texas abortion clinics outside big metropolitan areas, such as Dallas and Houston, and a few cities on the border with Mexico. It was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional nearly a year ago in a 5-3 ruling. But since then, only three of the more than 20 clinics that originally closed have reopened.

Kelly Hart, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said the organizations data indicate women have been traveling 50 to 99 miles or more to the nearest abortion provider.

For so many women, the barriers of distance are real, and they kept them from making the decisions they might have preferred to make, Hart said.

She said she was not aware of other Planned Parenthood facilities elsewhere in Texas that may be reopening. Cities such as Lubbock, Midland and College Station have also lost abortion clinics in recent years that have not been restored.

Undeterred by the Supreme Court decision, Republican lawmakers in Texas are now pushing new anti-abortion measures toward Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts desk. But time is running out before the Texas Legislature adjourns later this month, and some conservatives are growing restless.

More than a dozen of the Texas Houses most socially conservative members on Tuesday pressed for votes on, among other bills, legislation that would ban a second-trimester abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. The proposal is similar to laws courts have blocked in Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas and Louisiana.

Texas version has already passed the Senate but hasnt gotten a vote in the House. Among those frustrated is Republican Rep. Matt Schaefer, who supports the plan.

Know this: if pro-life bills dont hit the House floor, we have no one to blame but Republicans in the Texas House, Schaefer said.

___

Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber
PHOENIX  Authorities have identified two people killed when a SUV smashed into an accident scene on Interstate 17 in north Phoenix as several Good Samaritans aided a motorcyclist injured in an earlier wreck.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety says those killed Monday were the motorcyclist, 38-year-old Johnny Youngblood of Phoenix, and 53-year-old Beverly Click of Sun City, one of the Good Samaritans. Two other people aiding Youngblood were injured.

The DPS identified the SUV driver as 34-year-old Brian Higbee of Phoenix.

Trooper Kameron said the fatal wreck remains under investigation Tuesday.
The states Land Grant Permanent Fund grew by 11.3 percent for the investment year ending in March, pushing New Mexicos total permanent funds to a record $21.7 billion, State Investment Officer Steve Moise said in a public speech in Albuquerque Tuesday morning.

That puts New Mexico third in the nation after Alaska and Texas in total fund balances compared with the 11 states that have sovereign wealth funds, Moise said at a business breakfast organized by the University of New Mexicos Anderson School of Management.

As a result, the SIC will distribute nearly $900 million to the state for the next fiscal year that starts in July to help finance public schools, universities, hospitals and other agencies. Thats up from about $300 million distributed 20 years ago.

These funds are working for you, Moise told event participants. By 2021, we expect the funds to produce about $1 billion per year for New Mexico residents and tax payers.

Prudent management and investment policies have put the fund on a healthy growth trajectory, Moise said. That includes major restructuring since 2010 in how the SIC makes decisions, following pay-to-play scandals under former administrators, who concentrated decision-making authority in their own hands and allowed placement agents paid by private funds to steer SIC money to those funds.

Today, all decisions are made by the entire 11-member council based on apolitical considerations focused on the best returns, with thorough vetting of all fund managers doing business with the SIC, Moise said.

The SIC has also restructured the investment portfolio to significantly reduce its previous concentration in volatile stocks and bonds and direct more money to longer-term assets, such as real estate, that offer more stability.

That allows us to still take solid advantage of stocks and bonds when the market is up while reducing our risk on the downside, SIC member Harold Lavender, who attended the event, told the Journal. We cant catch all of the up markets, but we dont catch all of the down ones either. It allows us to withstand market gyrations.

The land grant fund, which receives income generated by activity on state trust lands, now stands at $15.8 billion, accounting for 73 percent of total funds. The Severance Tax Permanent Fund, which draws its money from taxes on oil and gas production, currently at $4.81 million and accounts for 22 percent. The rest is divided among a tobacco settlement and a water fund and SIC management of funds from other government agencies.

Unlike the land grant fund, the severance tax fund is in poor shape, with far more money being distributed annually to the state than intended under original statutes, which called for 50 percent of all income to remain in the fund each year. But statutory changes by the Legislature since 1999 have reduced that to just 10 percent, Moise said.

The severance tax fund is contributing a fairly steady $200 million per year to the state budget. But net inflows back to fund are down sharply in recent years. There was a zero net inflow in two of the last seven years, with another zero-contribution expected for 2017 as well, Moise said.
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions is committed to prosecuting those who commit religious hate crimes, a Justice Department official said Tuesday as Democratic senators questioned whether the Trump administrations rhetoric and policies have contributed to a spike in such offenses.

Eric Treene, the departments special counsel for religious discrimination, offered no theories for what has caused a recent rise in religious hate crimes, but said Sessions has urged the nations federal prosecutors to pursue those cases as part of his tough-on-crime agenda. Treenes comments came during a Senate Judiciary Hearing to address a rise in hate crimes.

Its no accident that there is a rise in hate crimes, because were in an environment where the president targets Muslims with his language, said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, referring to Trumps travel ban prohibiting new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and his tough talk on immigration. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. asked whether appointing people like Steve Bannon, who led a far-right media organization that promoted anti-immigrant views, has emboldened those who want to commit hateful attacks.

The attorney general has been consistent and strong in his message that hate crime is violent crime, and we need to do everything we can with all the tools in our prosecutorial tool box to fight this problem, Treene said.

Sessions has ordered an internal committee to study the issue of hate crimes, including how law enforcement agencies can better investigate and document them. Treene pointed to federal data showing a 23 percent rise in religion-based hate crimes between 2014 and 2015  namely against Muslims and Jews. But FBI statistics unquestionably undercount, he said, because they use data from police agencies around the country provide it voluntarily.

The lack of solid data stymies officials ability to fully understand the problem but wont stop the Justice Department from devoting resources to it, he said.

The committee hearing came after this years wave of more than 150 bomb threats against Jewish community centers. Authorities arrested an Israeli Jewish hacker who they said was behind the harassment. Treene said that investigation and several others are ongoing.

The Anti-Defamation League issued a report last week showing an increase in cases of anti-Semitic intimidation and vandalism last year, evidence that anti-Jewish bias intensified during the election.

Trump has drawn criticism from a variety of religious leaders who have said he was too slow and tepid in his response to religious bias. The president condemned vandalism at Jewish cemeteries, then last month issued his most full-throated condemnations of anti-Semitism, including a promise to confront anti-Semitism during remarks at a Holocaust remembrance day event in Washington.

Trump has issued no comparable condemnation for anti-Muslim bias.

Vanita Gupta, former head of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, told lawmakers that using the bully pulpit to condemn hate is important. Data on hate crimes will never be complete unless minority communities feel comfortable reporting crime, she said, urging officials to continue interfaith outreach and trainings for law enforcement.

Treene said a June summit on prosecuting and preventing hate crimes will involve local police and religious leaders.

___

Associated Press writer Rachel Zoll contributed to this report.
The annual honoring of deceased police officers drew about 200 people to Civic Plaza on Tuesday for a ceremony that included the release of white doves along with the reading of names of those local officers who have died while on duty throughout the states history.

Five names were added to the list since last years Law Enforcement Week memorial ceremony, including Jose Chavez, from Hatch, Clint Corvinus, from Alamogordo, Ryan Thomas, from Valencia County, Steve Ackerman, from Lea County, and Houston James Largo, from the Navajo Nation.

The ceremony in Downtown Albuquerque focused on law enforcement officers from Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties who have died while on duty, totalling 38 agents since 1868.

There will never be a time when we forget your sacrifices, said County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins.

Law enforcement agents are, she said, the ones who confront evil, danger, anger and depravity every day. She encouraged those in attendance to recommit so that we are worthy of the life they made possible for us.

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden told the crowd that this annual memorial ceremony can be a painful reminder for surviving family and friends of police who have been killed.

We can not imagine what your hardest days are, he said, addressing the survivors in the audience. We owe it to you to honor them.

Mayor Richard Berry said that for him the ceremony is a reminder and a message that we are a community.

We grieve together, heal together, but more than anything, we will cherish each other, he said, from the stage, surrounded by other elected and appointed officials.

As with each year, the crowd stood as the names of all the local officers killed were read and white doves were released with each name. The reading was followed by a 21-gun salute and a fly-over by the some police helicopters.

Nationally in 2016, there were 135 police officers killed, which is the highest level since 2011 but one of the lower five levels noted on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on-duty fatalities chart, which begins with the year 1966. The highest recorded number of officer deaths in a year was in 1930 with 307 officer deaths, with a more recent spike in 1974 with 280 killed.
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An estimated 15,000 Angelenos took part in May Day marches in downtown Los Angeles Monday in support of immigrant and workers' rights. Thousands, including dozens of different union groups, gathered in MacArthur Park at 11 a.m. for a rally before marching east on Wilshire Boulevard to downtown Los Angeles and joining other marches at City Hall. Mayor Eric Garcetti was among those who spoke during the early afternoon City Hall rally.

The marches were planned by a coalition of more than 100 immigrant rights, labor and faith groups, and several L.A. City Council members, including Councilman Gil Cedillo and Councilman Jose Huizar. In a country founded by immigrants, we are a city of immigrants," Huizar, who was the first Mexican immigrant elected to the City Council in L.A. history, said. We stand with our immigrant community as family, as friends and as partners in the critically important economic engine that is the Southern California region."

"We dont need hateful rhetoric or the dividing of families through deportation out of Washington D.C. On this May Day, we renew our vow to President Trump for a solution that works for all: comprehensive immigration reformnow," Huizar said.

Carla, a 20-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico who was marching with activists from CHIRLA and CARACEN, told LAist that her life had "changed drastically" since the election. "Hate is more obvious now," she said. "It was always there, but now it's more obvious."

"I feel threatened, and not just for me, but for my family and community," she continued. "But I'm going to fight back."

Kathy Hoang, director of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Los Angeles, told LAist that about 30 members of ROC, which represents workers from all parts of the restaurant industry, were out marching today. "ROC is out here because we're part of the resistance against the misogyny and hatred and xenophobia," she said.

"I keep this sign in my car now," Sarah Passe, a 33-year-old who works in media, told LAist of the "Sanctuary Now" sign she was holding, which she has used at several protests.

The marches were overwhelmingly peaceful, though there was some tension between pro and anti-Trump protesters, who faced off near City Hall. One individual was arrested on arson charges after burning a small American flag outside of the federal building. A second individual was questioned and then released after throwing projectiles, according to LAPD Officer Tony Im.
Domestic carriers arent the only ones experiencing periodic turbulent passenger incidents, apparently.

A video recorded on an All Nippon Airways flight Monday captured a fistfight that broke out between two male passengers.

The brawl was captured by Corey Hour, a Phoenix, Arizona-based videographer who was sitting a few rows behind the men. The plane was scheduled to fly from Tokyos Narita International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport but had not yet taken off when a man in a red shirt abruptly turned around and told a passenger in a gray T-shirt that he was going to kill him, according to Hour.

He literally just flipped, Hour told The Washington Post by phone early Tuesday morning. Nobody knows why.

According to Hours video, what ensues is an intense exchange of punches as the two go at each other.

Someone help! the man in the gray shirt yells. This guy is crazy!

Ill kill you! the man in the red shirt yells.

Around them, passengers look shocked as flight attendants try to stop the fight and separate the men. In the background, a child can be heard crying, and at least one woman gets out of her seat to get farther from the scene.

At one point, several flight attendants manage to move the man in the red shirt toward the front of the plane, where he briefly turns back to shout something about America. (Did he just yell America?  one passenger asks out loud.) However, the man soon returns and resumes fighting with the same passenger.

When a female flight attendant tries to break up the brawl again, she gets caught up in some of the blows.

Hour said that is when he stopped filming and intervened.

It was intense, and we had to step in, he told The Post. Hour said the man in the red shirt yelled at him: You think Im crazy? What about the government!

He was actually predominantly talking about the government and corruption, but he wasnt specifying which government, Hour added.

After leaving the plane, the unruly passenger reportedly choked a male All Nippon Airways employee, according to Japan Today, and was arrested and charged with assault. He was identified only as a 44-year-old American man.

Hour said airline employees unloaded all the checked bags from the flight and removed the mans luggage. The flight was ultimately delayed about an hour and a half, he said.

All Nippon Airways, or ANA, is a major carrier in Japan and has won the Best Airline Staff in Asia award from Skytrax for the past two years.

All Nippon Airways apologizes to our passengers on Flight#6 to Los Angeles for the pre-flight incident, an airline spokeswoman said in a email statement to The Post on Tuesday. The individuals involved have been dealt with appropriately by local law enforcement.

The confrontation aboard the ANA flight comes after a string of high-profile incidents aboard domestic airlines in the United States. Last month, viral videos captured a passenger being forcibly dragged from a United Airlines flight. The incident caused a public relations crisis for United, which initially defended itself by stating that the passenger, David Dao, had refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily.

Dao and United reached an amicable settlement for an undisclosed amount last week, the airline said.

A few weeks later, American Airlines grounded a flight attendant after a video showed a confrontation between him and another passenger, allegedly after removing a womans baby stroller from the plane. Last week, a Delta Air Lines passenger said he was kicked off a plane for using the restroom, only a few days before a video emerged showing a Delta pilot hitting a passenger on the Jetway in Atlanta. The airline said the pilot was trying to break up a fight.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines flight attendants, released a statement following the alleged baby-stroller incident cautioning the public not to rush to judgment.

Air rage has become a serious issue on our flights, Bob Ross, the associations president, said in the statement.

.
NEW YORK  Stories about an abusive workplace at Fox News Channel arent likely to go away even after claiming the jobs of Roger Ailes, Bill OReilly and Bill Shine.

The continued presence of other executives implicated in stories about harassment, discrimination and intimidation complicate Foxs ability to change its culture, both in practice and public perception. One of those executives was promoted with Foxs announcement Monday that Shine, Foxs co-president since founding CEO Roger Ailes was ousted last summer, had resigned.

Theres a case to be made that the place is so toxic and radioactive and theres very little you can do unless you wipe out everybody and start fresh, said David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc, a human resources provider based in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Foxs parent 21st Century Fox is attempting the turnaround while trying to protect its greatest asset  a thriving, profitable news network thats essential to its politically conservative fans and thus far unhurt by ugly stories about its Manhattan headquarters. The risk in a sudden, wholesale housecleaning is removing all of the people who know how to run it successfully.

Fox News has maintained its status as the top-ranked cable news network despite the loss of Ailes and OReilly, its top-rated prime-time star. Another Fox personality, Sean Hannity, assured fans he was staying despite his public support for Shine, a close colleague. Shine had been accused of looking the other way at behavior by Ailes and OReilly, even retaliating against people who complained.

Suzanne Scott, a 21-year Fox veteran who was promoted to president of programming Monday, has been named in three lawsuits filed against Fox in recent months.

Andrea Tantaros, a Fox personality who had accused Ailes of sexual harassment, said nothing had been done after she complained of his behavior to Scott. Similarly, news anchor Kelly Wright, who has accused Fox of discriminatory behavior, said Scott failed to address concerns he had expressed to her. Foxs Julie Roginsky said in her lawsuit that Scott tried to recruit her to disparage Gretchen Carlson, the anchor who was the first to accuse Ailes of sexual harassment. Scott said through a spokeswoman that she never asked women to back Ailes.

Foxs chief counsel, Dianne Brandi, has also been mentioned several times by former and current Fox employees who had concerns about how they were treated.

The lawsuit on racial discrimination, of which Wright is among 13 plaintiffs, talks about an atmosphere of hostility created by Judith Slater, Foxs since-fired comptroller. One of the plaintiffs, Monica Douglas, said she complained about Slaters behavior to Brandi and was told Slater would not be fired because she knew too much about the behavior of other Fox executives.

Brandi has denied the accusations through a Fox spokeswoman, and Slater has disputed the characterizations of her behavior through a lawyer.

In that lawsuit, Douglas said that Slater told her not to complain to the head of human resources at Fox, Denise Collins, because she was a good friend and would do nothing to help her. Collins remains at Fox, although the company appointed Kevin Lord, an executive from outside of Fox who worked at NBC and General Electric, as the new chief of human resources overseeing her.

Another Fox News employee, Diana Falzone, sued the company this week, saying that she was told that Fox executives ordered that she no longer appear on the air after she wrote an article in January for the Fox website detailing her battle with endometriosis.

According to her complaint, the male-dominated senior management at Fox News obviously objected to the fact that a female on-air host had disclosed she suffered from a womens reproductive health condition which, in their eyes, detracted from her sex appeal and made her less desirable. Falzone said that male Fox employees like Neil Cavuto and Bob Beckel faced no repercussions for publicly discussing their own health issues.

Foxs public relations chief, Irena Briganti, was charged in Tantaros lawsuit with turning Foxs PR operations against her when she complained about Ailes  including the creation of false social media accounts from which she was criticized. Fox has denied the allegation.

Nancy Erika Smith, lawyer for Carlson, Roginsky and Falzone, said that Shines departure from Fox was an overdue positive step.

To begin to change the culture at Fox, there are others who have enabled and encouraged the sexism that should be next, starting with Dianne Brandi, Suzanne Scott and Irena Briganti, she said.

Attorney Lisa Bloom, who has represented women in harassment complaints against Ailes and OReilly, also said Fox needed to take more action.

After decades of flouting the laws against sexual harassment and retaliation, if the network wants to redeem itself, it should fire all executives who were complicit in covering up for harassers and driving out women who complained, she said.

The issue for Fox is in rebuilding trust among employees who feel that their concerns about the workplace had not been listened to, and thats difficult when some of the same executives are still there, said Lewis, the human resources expert.

People who were harassed are not going to feel safe, said Rob Wilson, president of Employco, a human resources provider based in Westmont, Illinois.

Since his start in January, Fox said Lord has begun building a new human resources team, including new heads of recruiting and diversity and a Washington-based executive to head human resources in bureaus outside of New York. Fox has also hired a new chief financial officer, Amy Listerman, formerly CFO of Scripps Networks Interactive, who began work this week.

21st Century Fox had no comment on Tuesday. The company has, however, noted the speed in which investigations proceeded and action was taken against Ailes and OReilly  arguably the two most prominent figures at the network. In both cases, the allegations against the men dated back years, and the men remained with the company until recent media reports raised public pressure.

Tom Vogel, a senior vice president for crisis communications at JConnelly in New York, said the Murdoch family that controls 21st Century Fox will probably face less investor tolerance for bad behavior than in the past. And nothing is more dangerous for them than a threat to the bottom line.

They may be dragged kicking and screaming, but Fox will eventually do the right thing, Vogel said. However, the longer it takes to take definitive measures, the longer it will take to recover what theyve lost.

___

AP Business Writer Joyce Rosenberg in New York contributed to this report.
In a strategic move, multimedia news agency ANIs former Bureau Chief, Lokendra Singh, who was heading the agencys Rajasthan operation since 2004, announced the launch of his own news agency  XYZ.

XYZ is touted as the worlds first-of-its-kind news platform that caters to the needs of regional news channel. Based out of New Delhi, XYZ News Agency has unique features with a network of over 2,000 field reporters spread across the country.

Speaking on the launch, Lokendra Singh, Founder & CEO, XYZ News Agency, said, XYZ is entirely different as compared to all available news agencies in the country. At present, the news agencies in the Indian market are focusing on national channels and the packages are so expensive that a regional channel cant afford them. Hence, at XYZ News Agency we are focusing on regional channels as a cost-effective option, where content will be supplied as per the demands of a channel. Interestingly, we are also giving an option of Payment on usage only, which means that a channel has to pay for only that content which it is using.

XYZ is a multiuser platform with features such as Free Preview facility, Stringers feed and payment management, Story on Demand, Customised Editorial Agenda, extra revenue generation feature, dedicated and secured path for news collection, very secured feed box system to maintain news exclusivity, best platform for freelancers, etc.

Like I mentioned above, XYZ is a cost-effective platform and gets activated within 30 seconds. There is no 2 MB point to point line requirement and also there will be no expenses on broadcast engineers to maintain feed. We also offer exclusive early morning bytes so that the channel can get exclusive reactions of celebrities and politicians on various issues regularly. We are offering everything and anything as per the requirement of our clients, thats why we are XYZ News Agency, Singh explained.

The official announcement was made last week in Jaipur in the presence of all media veterans from Rajasthan, including Jagdish Chandra, Regional Head, Zee News; SK Surana, MD, Jan TV; Virendra Chaudhary, CEO, First India News; and Anil Lodha, CEO, A1 TV, among other representatives of all regional and national news channels.

The agency currently has three regional clients in its kitty  Jan TV, First India News and A1 TV from Rajasthan. It is in talks with other news channels from various states such as Haryana, Delhi, Uttar-Pradesh, Punjab, etc. The new clients will be announced officially in the coming week.
DB Corp, home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar, announced today the launch of Dainik Bhaskars new edition from Surat in Gujarat. With this launch, DB Corp now publishes 7 newspapers with 63 editions across 14 states across India.

In a state with extremely strong peer segment publishing news in the local (Gujarati) language, Dainik Bhaskar, through its well-strategised marketing campaign, has validated its ability to break new ground by establishing presence in a large cosmopolitan city with almost 28 lakh of non-Gujarati speaking population.

Commenting on Dainik Bhaskars Surat foray, Girish Agarwaal, Promoter Director, DB Corp, said, With the launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Surat, we have consolidated our presence and stronghold in Gujarat. Surat is a vast and unique market, with a developed industrial belt which is home to some of Indias leading corporates across textile, Information Technology and diamond polishing sectors. The region is taking progressive strides in expanding its infrastructure, transport, communications facilities and also has a strong cultural heritage. Therefore, our launch planning has been very meticulous, beginning with the scanning process of strategically classifying the city to understand its demographics.

While stating that Surat is a very competitive market with formidable print media companies catering to a large Gujarati readership base, Agarwaal added that it has significant untapped potential within a very large non-Gujarati speaking readership, which is an important target audience for Dainik Bhaskar. This segment comprises multicultural, industrialised households who have migrated from neighbouring states, having within them a large concentration of readers from Hindi speaking dominating states. Most importantly, they were faced with a limited choice for a Hindi newspaper of international standards with strong local new coverage. We identified this opportunity, where Dainik Bhaskar could address the gap through a customised, world-class product for this audience segment.

Satyajit Sengupta, Chief Corporate Sales & Marketing Officer, DB Corp, added here, At Bhaskar, brand building begins from the first day of our surveys, when our research team first interacts with potential customers to introduce the product, the company and solicits views and feedback on their requirements, which in turn forms the basis of new product creation. All our activities have been focused on the single objective of creating a strong product with high value proposition. We look forward to fortifying our presence further in Surat and emerge as the choicest medium for advertisers.

DB Corp carried out an exhaustive pre-launch ground study and high decibel marketing campaign in three phases, which was supplemented by impactful branding across Surat citys strategic points.

A rigorous area scanning process was carried out to identify non-Gujarati areas and localities, which included mapping of societies with high potential Hindi newspaper readership and also identified markets, MNCs, corporate houses with a higher concentration of non-Gujarati readership base. The city was divided into 4 main zones and further segmented households into SEC categories.

In the booking phase, the reader was able to see a prototype of his newspaper tailored according to his feedback and needs. The results of the survey conducted in the first phase were shared with the reader as well as a product brochure with competitive strengths. This phase also introduced the pre-launch booking offers, which lock booking for one year.

A simultaneous high decibel outdoor branding campaign  Ab Suraj Ugega Pashchim Se Surat Ke Aasman Mein, Surat Ke Aasmaan Ko Chahiye Apna Haq Be-Hichak Boliye; Surat Ke Haq Ki Baat Sunne Aapke Ghar Aa Raha Hai Dainik Bhaskar Ab; Ab Surat Hoga Duniya Se Do Kadam Aage Antar-Rashtriya Quality Ka Hindi Akhbar Dainik Bhaskar 29-Apr Se Surat Mein  has been rolled out across key locations in Surat to significantly amplify Dainik Bhaskars launch. The outdoor media campaign, which includes hoardings, kiosks and banners within the city, comprises the 360-degree launch branding to attract Surats targeted readers.
The RMAI Flame Awards Asia 2017 and Flame Leadership Awards, which recognise Asias best corporate and individual Rural Marketing works, were announced on April 28, 2017 in New Delhi.

Impact Communications emerged as the biggest winner of the night clinching as many as 18 metals, with its recently launched digital vertical Natter bringing home 5 metals. Dialogue Factory and Impact Communications had a tie as far as Gold was concerned, with both securing four Golds each. They were followed by JWT with 3 Golds.

Among the International entrants, Lemon Pvt Ltd won the maximum metals (6), including 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and 2 Bronzes.

The entries this year at Flame Awards Asia were invited from India and other Asian countries. These were graded across four criteria: Concept, Activity, Amplification and Results. Campaigns & Initiatives that launched or debuted between January 1 and December 31, 2016 were eligible to enter the competition.

Over 300 business leaders, corporate, GOI and leading rural marketing agency representatives attended the presentation ceremony.

RMAI also felicitated business leaders, industry professionals for their extraordinary contribution in Rural Marketing & Development sector with the Flame Leadership Awards 2017.





The entire event was managed by Event Crafter and powered by Maruti Suzuki India.

The complete list of Flame Awards 2017 winners:

Leadership Flame Awards





RMAI Flame Awards 2017
Syntech Technology Pvt. Ltd., the Indian partner to Gionees overseas arm, today announced its official corporate name change to Gionee India, for increased synergy between the corporate and the brand name. Gionee India will henceforth be manufacturing and marketing Gionee smartphones in India. Apart from the name, there will be no changes in the overall corporate and financial structure which was being followed by the erstwhile Syntech Technology Pvt. Ltd.

Arvind R Vohra, CEO and Managing Director, Gionee India, says, Gionee today is amongst the most prominent smartphones brands in India, with over 1.25 crore loyal customers. Therefore, transitioning to Gionee India was the most apt decision for us, and reinforces our ever increasing commitment to the Indian market. As Gionee India, we plan to double our sales this year to reach the 10,000 crore mark, and garner 10 per cent market share in the smartphone segment in India.

Gionee has been present in India since 2012, and was one of the earliest Chinese players in the market. Gionee prides itself in launching smartphones that are intuitive, future ready, stylish, durable and stress free. Today, Gionee India is a $1.42 billion firm with over 1.25 crore happy customers. Gionee is credited with bringing in the worlds slimmest phone, the biggest battery phone, the best android camera and many more to India.

The company currently operates through two contract manufacturing units in India, and signed an MoU in 2016 with the Haryana Government to put up its own factory. The company plans to establish an entire eco-system around the smartphone manufacturing and retail business, by not just setting up its manufacturing unit, but also establishing ancillary facilities like hardware suppliers, design houses and R&D in India.

For More details please visit: http://a1.gionee.co.in/#/tab1
We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
Acer and Microsoft recently showcased their Mixed Reality Development Edition head-mounted display (HMD) at this years Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco and the Vision 17 AR/VR Summit. The new mixed reality (MR) HMDs are primarily designed for content creators, and indeed Microsoft reportedly gave away numerous units to all attendees at the Vision 17 AR/VR Summit earlier this week. Furthermore, recent reports now suggest that Acer has already started shipping these early devices to content developers while also considering expanding further into VR/AR content development on its own.

Acer has first shown an interest in the Virtual and Mixed Reality solutions back in 2016 when the company teamed up with Starbreeze in order to create the StarVR headset as a VR solution for IMAX. More recently, however, Acer partnered up with Microsoft and created the Mixed Reality Development Edition HMD, and fresh reports now suggest that roughly 1,000 units have already been shipped, mainly to content developers. According to Acer CEO, Jason Chen, VR technology is now at a point where it can be called mature, however, one of the major issues surrounding the VR/AR segment is the general lack of content. The CEO added that the VR market currently has three major branches, namely Google Cardboard, high-end consumer-grade VR headsets such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, and lastly, professional VR equipment including the aforementioned Acer StarVR headset. The Acer Mixed Reality Development Edition HMD developed jointly with Microsoft seems to be part of the latter category, and one of the reasons why both Acer and Microsoft are eager to put these devices in the hands of developers is to inspire content creators to create VR/AR applications for the Windows platform.

Last week, Acer took the veil off several PC products primarily designed for the gaming industry, including the Predator Triton 800 laptop and the Predator X27 gaming monitor. Nevertheless, Chen also mentioned that the companys ambitions go beyond the PC gaming market as its now looking to aggressively expand into developing new products such as VR and MR technologies. The CEO recently stated that his companys virtual reality business has been expanding into a variety of new markets including aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and real estate, adding that Acer already shipped sample HMD units to some of its clients in these fields.
Facebook promoted its Product Manager Alex Hardiman to Head of News Products, the companys new media chief announced in a Facebook post published on Monday. The firms latest appointment was made after an extensive search for a media expert that would help the Menlo Park-based social media giant stop the dissemination of misleading, factually inaccurate, and purposefully false news stories on its online platform. While many industry watchers were speculating that Facebook might occupy the newly created position with someone from outside the firm, the job ended up going to Hardiman, a graduate of Columbia University who has been working for the News and Mobile divisions of The New York Times for over a decade.

Before joining Facebook as a Product Manager in late summer of 2016, Hardiman served as the Vice President of News Products at The New York Times for 18 months. Her previous accomplishments include revamping the well-known publications online offerings and shifting its focus to mobile devices in an effort to stay in tune with the ongoing digitalization of the media industry. As the Head of News Products at Facebook, Hardiman wont only seek to combat fake news but will also be working on developing completely new products, services, and storytelling formats, the companys new executive revealed in her Monday Facebook post. Hardiman will now be reporting directly to Fidji Simo, Facebooks Vice President of Product, and will also work closely with the firms chief of news partnerships Campbell Brown.

The companys newly appointed Head of News Products implied her new team will seek to improve the overall quality of journalism featured on the most popular social network on the planet by developing more capable tools and services for journalists, in addition to working on innovative news formats and improving Facebooks existing products like Instant Articles. Its currently unclear how many of Hardimans responsibilities will be related to fighting the spread of fake news on Facebook, but her Monday announcement wasnt particularly focused on that activity, though reports from April suggested that the Menlo Park-based company created her new role largely due to tackling the issue of false online stories.
One unit of the Samsung Galaxy S6 combusted in Greenville County, South Carolina, last Wednesday, according to local media reports. The phone burned through a bed sheet protector and the sheet itself, one Nakeshia Shannon claims, adding that the device belongs to her husband who purchased it two years ago and never experienced any issues with the handset. Regardless, the incident reportedly left a hole in her mattress and Shannon is currently in contact with representatives of the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer in an effort to make sense of the situation and presumably be compensated for the ordeal. The faulty device was already sent to the company that will further inspect the unit and determine what caused this particular Galaxy S6 to combust.

In a statement provided to WYFF News 4, Samsung representative Danielle Meister Cohen said that the firm is positive that the Galaxy S6 lineup is perfectly safe, adding that there are currently more than ten million devices from Samsungs 2015 flagship family that are active in the United States and havent shown any signs of being a fire hazard. Regardless, according to Shannon, a company official told her that incidents like the one she experienced are possible due to the way they are making the batteries. While the U.S. division of Samsung Electronics already retrieved the device, Meister Cohen said that no further comments on the matter can be given until the companys probe is completed. The spokeswoman also noted that a broad range of factors can lead to a smartphone malfunctioning in the manner that results in combustion, implying that the cause of the South Carolina incident might have been external.

Samsung made a lot of negative headlines in late 2016 following the companys discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7 that was ordered after two unprecedented recalls of the device that proved to be prone to catching fire and exploding. While this latest incident is unlikely to help Samsungs recent endeavors to advertise its newfound focus on product safety, its also improbable that the ordeal will impact the sales of the companys recently released Galaxy S8 lineup that has reportedly been doing extremely well, both stateside and globally.
LineageOS has now started supporting a number of new devices. Largely Samsung devices, but the list includes the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 WiFi, Galaxy Note 3 International, Galaxy S4 Mini 3G, Galaxy S4 Mini LTE, Galaxy S4 Mini Dual-SIM, Verizon and AT&T variants of the LG V20, the LG Optimus L90 and the Moto Z Play. The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 WiFi was actually updated from CM 12.1 and the LG Optimus L90 from CM 13.

For those that might be unaware, LineageOS is the successor to CyanogenMod. After Steve Kondik left Cyanogen Inc, he decided to go back to CyanogenMod, the open-source ROM that he created and ultimately became the biggest custom ROM out there. However, due to legal issues with the Cyanogen Inc. as a company, CyanogenMod had to be rebranded. And thats where LineageOS comes in. Everything is the same here, theres nothing drastically different from CyanogenMod, the only real difference is the fact that youll see LineageOS everywhere, instead of Cid, CyanogenMods mascot.

With new devices comes new features. While LineageOS has been pretty much just adding support to devices, and not rolling out new features until now, its great to see some new features creep in. There appears to be some new Quick Settings tiles available in this latest version of LineageOS, which is great to see. And there will definitely be more on the way very soon. For those that may want to flash LineageOS and see what its all about, remember that you will need to have an unlocked bootloader, and a rooted device. From there you can download the build of LineageOS that is appropriate for your device along with the latest version of Gapps and flash it onto your smartphone or tablet through recovery. Remember you are voiding your warranty when you unlock that bootloader, so keep that in mind before you get started. You can find all of the appropriate downloads on LineageOS website which is in the source link down below. LineageOS is a great way to keep your smartphone somewhat up-to-date, even after the manufacturer and/or carrier stops sending out updates to your device.
Nokias new smartphones are expected to come to India next month, at least according to a report from India Today. HMD Global had released the Nokia 6 Android smartphone back in January in China, but the phone did not get launched globally until February. HMD Global introduced the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 a this years Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February, and along with those Android-powered phones, the company also introduced the Nokia 3310 (2017), a new variant of one of the most popular cellphones in history.

That being said, India Todays report claims that all four of those phones will come to India next month, though the source does not share any specific info when it comes to their pricing, or anything of the sort. Now, all four of those devices are already available from Clove UK, well, you can pre-order them at the retailers site. The Nokia 3 is priced at 149.99 over there, while the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 cost 189.99 and 229.99, respectively. The Nokia 3310 (2017) is priced at 59.99 over at Clove UK. Now, these prices are not exactly something that wed take as a point of reference when it comes to prices in India, as Clove UK is a third-party retailer, and it remains to be seen how will the launch be handled in India. We presume that HMD Global reached out to one of Indias retailers, and that the two companies will release the device as a part of their partnership, which means that all four of those devices might be more affordable than they are in the UK, but it remains to be seen what will happen.

The Nokia 3310 (2017) is more of a feature phone than anything else, as it does not run Android, and it comes with 2.5G internet connectivity. The Nokia 3, 5 and 6 are something completely else, as they are running Android. None of these devices can be considered to be a flagship phone, though, as theyre all budget devices, basically. The Nokia 6 is the most powerful Android-powered handset the company introduced, that phone is made out of metal, and it is fueled by the Snapdragon 430 64-bit octa-core SoC. The device packs in 3GB / 4GB of RAM, and it packs in 32GB / 64GB of native storage. A 5.5-inch fullHD display is also a part of this package, and the phone ship with Android Nougat. We will let you know as soon as more info becomes available, but you can expect all of those phones to hit India next month.
Shortly after the Samsung Gear S3 and Gear S3 Frontier have been permanently discounted earlier this week, the South Korean company decided to make things easier for prospective buyers by publishing a compatibility chart detailing the features that can or cant work while pairing the wearable with different ecosystems. Evidently, all the features flaunted by the new Samsung Gear S3 and Gear S3 Frontier can be taken advantage of while pairing them with an Android-powered Samsung smartphone, but the chart at hand goes into more detail as to what features users might miss out on if they pair their smartwatches with a different Android device or an iPhone.

Starting off with the Android category, prospective Samsung Gear S3 buyers who intend to pair the smartwatch with an Android smartphone manufactured by a company other than Samsung will face some limited compatibility issues. Although features such as notifications, applications, Samsung Pay and S Health work to their full potential, things such as calls, messaging, and email have limited compatibility with Android smartphones not wearing the Samsung brand. Sadly for iPhone users, the list of features compatible with iOS is more lackluster, missing features such as Samsung Pay and email on both the Bluetooth-only and LTE-enabled models. Furthermore, when paired with an iOS device, non-LTE Samsung Gear S3 models will suffer from limited compatibility with messaging, apps, S Health, and Watch face, while retaining full compatibility with calls and notifications. Unfortunately, the list of features compatible with iOS devices only diminishes when looking at the standalone Samsung Gear S3 models, which offer only limited compatibility with calls, apps, S Health and Watch face, while missing any sort of compatibility for notifications, messaging, email, and Samsung Pay.

Given the compatibility chart at hand, it should be easier for customers to decide whether or not the Samsung Gear S3 is the right wearable for their needs considering their smartphones. Clearly, the Android ecosystem has the upper hand in terms of compatibility with Samsungs Tizen-powered smartwatches, and a Samsung smartphone is recommended for the entire list of features. In any case, its worth reminding that following the recent $50 discount, the Bluetooth-only Samsung Gear S3 and Gear S3 Frontier can be acquired for $299, whereas the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier with LTE connectivity now costs $349.
Rumor has it that Samsung Pay could launch in the UK when May 16th rolls around. An earlier report released late last year pointed to a 2017 UK release without listing down a concrete date. If this rumor turns out to be true, then those in the UK would finally be able to see the Samsung Electronics-backed mobile payment and digital wallet service debut. After all, Samsung Pay had already gone into operation in South Korea and in the U.S. since the third quarter of 2015. The arrival of Samsung Pay in the UK would be yet another available option for vendors and businesses who have already made the jump to operate within a cashless environment. Right now, Samsung Pay will work with the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Active, Galaxy S6, Gear S2 (with NFC only) and Gear S3.

Samsung Pay supports the idea of contactless payments thanks to NFC (Near-Field Communications), while including an electromagnetic transmission system. This electromagnetic transmission system is able to further expand the reach of Samsung Pay as contactless payments will be made available on older payment terminals which come with solely MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) capability. MST emulates the typical credit card transaction, but it is safer as the physical credit card does not have to be shown to the cashier during the payment process.

Do take note that this is just a rumor, and nothing has been officially confirmed as of now. When two different Samsung representatives were asked about the availability of Samsung Pay in the UK, the same date was given: May 16th. This is an informal double confirmation from the South Korean conglomerate, so it would be best to wait for an official statement or press release concerning this affair. With the purported release date being slightly more than a couple of weeks away, it would take a little while longer to see whether such a rumor turns out true or otherwise. The arrival of Samsung Pay in the UK would be a nice addition to other cashless payment systems that are already in operation.
Shortly after the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus have been released, some early adopters have reported on an issue affecting the smartphones displays leading to a red tint being cast across their entire panels. Samsung responded to these issues late last month and claimed that the problem will be solved with a software update, which was later released in South Korea. Now, according to several Reddit users who happen to own Samsungs latest flagships in the United States, T-Mobile is pushing out the same software update that seems to have done away with the red tint problem.

According to a number of Reddit users, the software update launched by T-Mobile for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus weighs roughly 138MB. As always, its recommended to download the update over a Wi-Fi network to avoid slow download speeds and potential extra charges on your monthly bill. Unfortunately, there arent many details as to whether or not the update includes other additions, and as of this writing, T-Mobiles official support page for Samsungs new flagship duo doesnt shed any light on the matter. More details will hopefully emerge soon, but until then, owners of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus in the United States can check for the updates availability from within the phones settings menu, and apply the software package manually if one is available.

The good news is that there doesnt seem to be a large number of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus owners affected by the red tint issue in the country, meaning that the software update at hand might not have much to offer to the majority of users. However, assuming that you have noticed your smartphones display glowing in a reddish light compared to other units, this should be the update that will bring your smartphones screen on par with the rest. Additionally, keep in mind that the software driving both the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus offers screen calibration RGB sliders, which should help users in further fine-tuning their panels color reproduction capabilities. Both flagship phones are equipped with Super AMOLED Infinity Displays wrapping around their edges, sporting an unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio and an unprecedented screen-to-body ratio of around 83.6 percent.
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(4) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (3) Feb 21 (4) Feb 20 (4) Feb 19 (3) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (3) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (4) Feb 14 (3) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (3) Feb 10 (4) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (3) Feb 07 (4) Feb 06 (3) Feb 05 (3) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (3) Jan 30 (3) Jan 29 (4) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (2) Jan 26 (4) Jan 25 (3) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (3) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (3) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (3) Jan 12 (6) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (4) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (4) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (4) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (5) Jan 02 (4) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (2) Dec 29 (2) Dec 28 (3) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (3) Dec 22 (3) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (4) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (5) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (2) Dec 11 (6) Dec 10 (4) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (6) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (3) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (4) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (4) Nov 30 (2) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 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The web page comes with specialized content, along with insights from the development and technology of the performance products from Munich. Existing and future customers can join a dedicated community.Munich's blue-and-white roundel brand will also launch a major digital campaign with the website , which shares a slogan with the web page: Where too much is just right.The idea behind the tagline is to have a place for people who like cars that are too powerful, while also being too nerdy when speaking about cars, and too ambitious when driving skills are concerned.The campaign includes a multitude of videos, which are ads for the products of BMW M . Three of them are embedded below, and the rest of them come with a quick and easy-to-understand punchline.In other words, there are no subtle jokes here, and some of the presented situations are relatable to the feelings of other petrolheads.Interested fans and potential customers can browse the website to learn more about BMW Individual, the entire product line, and the companys driving school. The latter is 40 years old, and it is considered the oldest in the business when manufacturers are concerned. Courses and programs can be enrolled from the website.Today, the driving school founded by the German marque is called BMW Driving Experience. It has a vast line of courses available, which range from defensive driving to racing on the Nurburgring. Theres also the possibility of taking a tour in Namibia with BMW X5 SUVs, so it all depends on what the client desires.The designers of BMW-M.com have focused on providing a modern layout, with large-format images, along with a clear structure of content tiles. It is challenging to design a website, so we understand their struggle, especially when it must support being accessed from a broad range of devices.
The more modern and minimalist website showcases BMW Motorrad as a lifestyle brand, featuring a broad range of content that will count for a better user experience.The areas of brand, product, lifestyle, and cross-selling have been interlinked in an intelligent, contemporary style, while previous static product showcasing have been replaced by vibrant storytelling tiles.Each product page now reflects the character of the segment in question while getting reinforced with stories that focus on subjects like stunt rider Chris Northover, Orlando Blooms custom motorcycle, current events, latest lifestyle products as well as other interesting highlights.The product page of each entry got restructured now being based on the kind of consultation talk a customer might usually encounter at a BMW Motorrad dealer. The new website also provides the sound of the motorcycles along with numerous videos to immerse the user in the world it digitally paints.For ease of access, the content items on the web page have been linked using an intelligent tagging system that enables a seamless interconnection between the brand and product experience.There are more than 400 pages that were created for the new platform, containing over 8,000 images and videos. The new website serves as a master and will be available in 50 countries, with Germany and South Africa being the first to go live.I fiddled a bit with the latter because its in English, and I can say it really is among the best-looking industry platforms, if not the coolest one out there. It has a clean, minimalist design with smooth transitions and animations that make navigation a pleasing experience.
DOHC

Speaking to Bowling Green Daily News , NCM marketing manager Katherine Frassinelli said that the suspension comes as a result of extensive work planned for modernizing the Corvette plant. As per the National Corvette Museum's website, blackout tour dates include May 5, May 8-12, May 19, May 26, May 29, May 30, and June 6. After June 16, 2017, plant tours are shut down until General Motors completes the retooling process.This information perfectly corroborates with the report on Bowling Greens downtime in preparation for the 2018 model year, with the closure slated to happen sometime in June . The manufacturing complex will be closed for three months, which means that the first 2018 Corvettes will be built in September.The past few years saw the Kentucky-based factory receive three big investments from General Motors : $290 million for new assembly solutions, $439 million for retooling and a new paint shop, as well as $44 million for the build center. Thats a lot of money, no doubt about it, and for what its worth, some of it might go on prepping the factory for the mid-engine Corvette.Until the next-generation model enters production, theres a C7 variant worth looking forward to. The 2018 Corvette ZR1 is the culprit, and based on a plethora of spy photos and videos, its powered by an even more potent S/C V8 than the LT4 in the almighty Z06. It even has some trick aero going for it and blue brake calipers, and yes, a convertible is in the pipeline as well.The biggest mystery regarding the Corvettes near future surrounds the LT5 , an N/AV8 listed in a 2018 model year service document. Bearing in mind the C7 ZR1 brags with the sweet sound of supercharger whine, this leaves many speculation regarding potential applications for the LT5.
Actually, the Italians have already done it. Just look how long it took them to put a turbocharged engine in their lineup, and even when they finally did, it remained a rarity. Hybrids? Well, they didn't move any slower than other similar brands - they've actually beaten Lamborghini, for example, despite the Sant'Agata outfit being owned by the Volkswagen Group - but you still feel they haven't embraced the technology fully yet.In fact, it's obvious Ferrari doesn't do hybrids because it wants to or because the system offers more power, but because it has to. The V12-powered red cars would continue to sell even if gas was more expensive than 18-year-old whiskey and Ferrari knows that, but even the legendary manufacturer from Maranello has to play by the rules when it comes to emissions.Despite the excellent LaFerrari that uses a naturally aspirated V12 engine and electric propulsion, people feared that all lesser models would be gifted a downsized turbocharged V8 engine instead. While that wouldn't have affected the dynamic performances of the vehicles, it would have definitely put a serious dent into their appeal and personality.Well, Sergio Marchionne might not be to everyone's taste, but he's no fool when it comes to the halo brand of his company. Speaking to Autocar , he assured everybody on Ferrari's future. We will always offer a V12, he said. Our head of engine programs told me it would be absolutely nuts to [put a] turbocharger on the V12, so the answer is no. It [will be] naturally aspirated, with a hybrid [system].Michael Leiters, the Ferrari technical chief, also declared that the newly revealed 812 Superfast, which also uses a V12 engine, is "well below the current EU6B emissions restrictions which apply for the next four year. The company has a plan for what comes after that as well, and it doesn't involve turbocharging.
After zooming in on the preferences of the Chinese buyers, McLaren has come to a set of conclusions that might not please purists. For instance, it seems that the country's supercar clientele prefer appearance over driving dynamics.McLaren's CEO, Mike Flewit, told Autocar that meeting a go-fast machine in the flesh, rather than getting behind its wheel or checking out a review, is the way to the hearts of Chinese buyers.Given the fact that the Britsh have recently upped the ante on the aesthetics front with the help of the 720S , McLaren should have no problem expanding its sales over in that part of the world.In fact, the CEO also told the British journos that the newcomer is already sold out for a year, with 1,400 orders having been placed. Given the fact that the suprecar has made its debut back in March, at the Geneva Motor Show, this is no small feat.Truth be told, the 720S is a bold bet for the company, since its radical styling can be described as polarizing.It all starts up front, where the massive eye sockets of the twin-turbo animal also serve an aerodynamic purpose. Then we have the side bits - the typical air intakes have been replacing by air-channelling elements hidden behind the skin of the doors.You can have the 720S in three main configurations and those who really dream of the ideal personalisation scheme could always turn to McLaren Special Operations Speaking of which, the 720S eye candy you can see above is an MSO demo car. And if you're willing to know more about the hue on the car, you should know this is a mix between Volcano Red and Nerello Red.
Officials from the FAA visited Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, Minnesota, on Tuesday to award the company with a production certificate for the Cirrus jet. The certification means that FAA staffers no longer need to check each individual jet before delivery, which will help the company to ramp up its production. We are just reaching one a week production rate, Cirrus operations president Pat Waddick told the local ABC News. And later this year, well be increasing our rates even higher, and to do this were adding new team members every day. The company has 600 orders in hand for the jet, Waddick said, and he expects to add 100 jobs by the end of the year, at Cirrus facilities in Duluth, Grand Forks, and Knoxville, Tennessee.

The single-engine jet, which sells for about $2 million, was certified by the FAA in October, and deliveries began in December. The jet is designed to be owner-flown, with a Cirrus Perspective Touch cockpit by Garmin thats similar to the avionics that Cirrus piston pilots are used to, and single-lever FADEC engine control. It also includes an airframe parachute system.
A monument to the helicopter crews of the Vietnam War will be placed at Arlington Cemetery, after a long uphill fight by advocates. Its hard to think of that war without thinking of helicopters, whether your experience of the war was firsthand or from news, documentaries and movies like Apocalypse Now. But when a group of veterans approached Arlington National Cemetery about installing a monument to those crews, they met obstacles. The Armys Advisory Committee for the cemetery deadlocked 3-to-3 on the proposal in March 2015. John McHugh, then the Army secretary, told Time magazine the monument would take up too much space, which is fast being used up. The prime directive for the cemetery is to do everything it can not to initiate an action that would displace an otherwise-eligible veteran, McHugh said. On a very tough decision, that philosophy and unwritten rule was the determining factor. The monument occupies about 6 square feet.

The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association took their case to Congress, and gathered thousands of signatures on petitions asking the government to allow the monument to be installed. Helicopters played a major role in Vietnam, the VHPA said in a statement issued on Monday. It is estimated that about 40,000 served as helicopter pilots during the Vietnam War. This monument honoring the sacrifices of helicopter crews in Vietnam is long overdue and much deserved. About 5,000 helicopters were flown during that war, according to Time, and 42 percent of them were destroyed by enemy fire, bad weather and other problems. More than 2,000 pilots and 2,700 crewmen and gunners were killed. They helped to rescue more than 90,000 victims of war. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Hesselbein, who flew AH-1 Cobra gunships in Vietnam as an Army pilot before moving to the Air Force, helped spearhead the campaign for the memorial. People need to create memorials and monuments to honor those who give the ultimate sacrifice, he said.The monument will be placed in Section 35 along Memorial Drive, not far from the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Monday's craziest story comes from CNN: Daniela Greene, an FBI employee with top-secret clearance, traveled to Syria in 2014 to marry Denis Cuspert, a German rap wannabe-turned-ISIS lieutenant. She got cold feet and somehow made it back to the U.S., but was arrested upon her return.

Why it matters: Greene's case is a huge embarrassment for the FBI, as her entrance into ISIS-controlled Syria as an American woman must have required the approval of top leadership, leading many to question what secrets she put at risk. Moreover, she received a light sentence  only two years in prison for making false statements involving international terrorism  causing speculation that she received favorable treatment during her prosecution.
2 May 2017 11:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

As Yerevan tries to hide the facts about the April clashes of last year, more horrific information pops-up in the country revealing the true state of Armenias army.

The Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor office (HCAV) has recently revealed that Armenias casualties during the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in April 2016 were not only caused directly by warfare but also by low-quality fuel, equipment malfunctions, and insufficient ammunition in the Armenian army.

The study by the HCAV indicated that the loss of the Armenian side could be lesser if it werent for a shortage of ammunition, malfunctioning weapons and equipment, as well as corruption and low-quality management in the field of defense.

Head of the HCAV Artur Sakun has announced that the list of Armenian soldiers, who died in the April clashes didnt include all of the dead  there were people whose names werent stated in the list.

Sakunts also criticized the low level of medical care in the Armenian army, which was obvious during the April fights.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that roughly 320 Armenian soldiers were killed and more than 500 servicemen of the enemy were wounded during the clashes caused by Armenias provations. However, the Armenian side claimed that the figure is only 168 and hided the real figures.

Sakunts further reminded that there were no sons of the Armenian officials, influential people or oligarchs among the dead soldiers, pointing to the fact that only poor Armenians die in the occupied territories.

Armenian political analyst Manvel Sargsyan, commenting on the issue, stated that the April events showed that the Armenian society is divided into castes.

One caste is engaged in the misappropriation of national wealth, and at the same time it makes everyone else go to war, he noted.

Besides the battle casualties, dozens of Armenian soldiers lose their lives in non-combat conditions in the Armenian army.

Recently, mothers of these soldiers once again gathered for a protest in front of the Presidential Palace in Yerevan. They demanded a fair investigation for the deaths of their sons.

One of the mothers, Irina Ghazaryan, told reporters that although seven years have passed since her son died, no one was punished for killing him. Moreover, her sons killers received medals from the Armenian president for the participation in the April fighting.

Today my son wouldve turned 26. He celebrated his 18th birthday, and this bully [the President Serzh Sargsyan] sent him to Karabakh and then awarded the murderer of my son Martin Jangiryan for the four-day war in April, she complained to reporters.

There are dozens of stories of mysterious deaths in the Armenian army, most of which are being registered by Armenian investigation bodies as suicides in order to hide the real circumstances and real murderers. Therefore, Armenian mothers are afraid to send their sons to serve in the army, which provides terrible conditions for soldiers. However, they are powerless against the government. Thus, more and more soldiers die in the Armenian army, and most of them are from poor families.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
2 May 2017 14:35 (UTC+04:00)

By Joschka Fischer

A lot can happen between now and the second round of the French presidential election on May 7, so it is still too early to celebrate. But, even with the nationalist, populist candidate Marine Le Pen still in the running, many observers are genuinely hopeful that the first-round winner, Emmanuel Macron, will be Frances next president.

With Macrons victory, Europe would avoid self-destruction yet again. A President Le Pen would almost surely bring about the end of the European Union. Taking France out of the eurozone, as Le Pen has promised, would lead to the collapse of the euro itself. After that, the EU common market and other core institutions would fall like dominoes. Europe would plunge into the abyss, and 60 years of political, economic, and social progress would be lost.

Moreover, Le Pen wants to withdraw France from NATO and pursue friendlier relations with Vladimir Putins Russia. This would throw current security arrangements across Europe into chaos, quite possibly leading to panic among investors and plunging the continent into economic crisis. The political consequences are scarcely predicable.

After Frances second-round vote, Europe will likely be spared this nightmare scenario for the time being  meaning the next five years. Still, to avoid a future disaster, European leaders must learn the right lessons from this years French election.

For starters, it is in Europes interest that a President Macron not fail. The EUs future, and particularly that of Germany, depends on a successful Macron presidency to lift France from its long economic malaise and resolve its paralyzing identity crisis.

A weak, economically stagnant, and politically insecure France poses an acute danger to the entire European project, because a France that remains in that state will inevitably succumb to the type of anti-European nationalism that Le Pen represents. At the same time, a strong, self-confident France is necessary for the EUs long-term survival.

Whether or not Macrons presidency is a success will depend on his ability to heal Frances social divisions, restore its economic dynamism, and tackle its high unemployment, particularly among young people. We should not lose sight of the fact that almost half of the French electorate voted for Euroskeptic and anti-establishment candidates in the first round. The EU cannot survive many more elections with that kind of outcome, so business as usual is no longer an option.

Above all, the next French president will have to restore economic growth. And the same can be said for all other eurozone member states. After Germanys general election in September, the government will finally have to take the plunge and pursue a more robust economic policy, unless it wants to cede the stage to nationalists who would destroy the EU.

Although Germany has made valid arguments in defense of its fiscal and external surpluses, its current economic model has failed to stimulate enough growth in the eurozone to stabilize the single currency. Achieving that goal will require a new consensus between Northern and Southern Europe, led by Germany and France.

It will also require Germany finally to take some decisive steps toward accommodating Frances economic needs, and to dispel the illusion that the EU can survive under a regime of exclusive German leadership. The EU is a complicated entity that can be led only by a strong French-German axis working in concert with other member states. That, too, is a lasting lesson that European leaders should take from the French election.

Macron, for his part, will have to avoid a trap that ensnared his predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande. Both cozied up too closely to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and thus could not confront the German government when necessary. For example, I would wager that if France had done more to challenge Germanys opposition to Eurobonds, anti-European populists on both the left and the right would not have gained the political momentum that they have in recent years. Constructive conflict in Europe is sometimes necessary. Without it, what the EU stands for remains obscure.

As the French presidential election reaches its conclusion, the description of Europe as a community of destiny still holds true, even after 60 years. On May 7, France will decide not just its own fate, but that of the EU, too. Europeans should rejoice  but then they must get down to work.

Copyright: Project Syndicate: The French Election and Europes Future

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2 May 2017 14:51 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

A club of investors in the field of information technologies will be established in Azerbaijan, according to Elchin Zeynalov.

Executive Director of the State Fund for Development of Information Technologies under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies said that this is a classic form of investment activity, which provides for the participation of investors in the development of the project as shareholders.



"It is more important for us to create an investor club for the development of IT projects, and we are working on it now. I believe that this club of investors will be created by the end of the year. The club's members will be successful investors in the field of information technologies," Zeynalov said.

The creation of such a club, according to the executive director of the State Fund, will allow commercializing ideas that require financial injections.

The State Fund is the only structure in Azerbaijan that provides grants for the development of IT projects, soft loans and investment policy.

The State Fund for Development of Information Technologies was established by the presidential decree dated March15, 2012. The main objectives of the Fund are conducting of the state policy on development and support of small enterprises in scientific-technical sphere, providing them with direct financial assistance, training, which in turn will contribute to the creation of new jobs in the country.

Zeynalov went on saying that the State Fund forms a new approach for the development of start-ups in the regions.

He told Trend that for this purpose, on the initiative of the Ministry, a two-day training Startup Yarat is organized in "Electronic Government" educational center. The trainings involve industry experts and experts from the State Fund and Park High Technologies Ltd. who share their experience and answer the questions of participants.

The training is conducted in the format of a video bridge and covers five regions including Nakhchivan, Ganja, Lankaran, Mingachevir and Sumgayit.

Our goal is to develop a start-up movement in the regions, increase the interest in electronic services outside of Baku for an even greater development of innovative entrepreneurship in the country, Zeynalov said.

Speaking at the opening of the training, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan Elmir Velizade said that the sessions of industry experts contribute to improving the skills and knowledge of participants, who want to promote their projects.

"One of the important components is to increase the skills of beginning startups so that they can correctly represent their projects. This is very important, since, in the competitions held by the State Fund, information on projects is often presented in a short form, which subsequently raises questions. Projects should reveal their essence," Velizade said.

"We are interested in the increase of such projects so that the ideas of young professionals are embodied in a concrete project that in turn would become a business and bring revenue. We are happy that this movement today covers not only the capital but also the regions. Today, start-ups from the regions are connected to this start-up movement, and submit their projects to the state fund competitions," the deputy minister said.

The ICT is considered to be one of the crucial spheres for the further development of the economy and an integral part of the economic and political reforms which are currently implemented in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, which is a regional leader in the ICT sector, intends to expand its international cooperation to further develop the sector. The income obtained in the sector in Azerbaijan is projected to hit $9 billion by 2020.

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2 May 2017 14:12 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

A conference on cyber security in banking and financial markets will be held in Baku in May.

The conference participants will discuss risk scenarios on information security of banks, ATM security, mobile and Internet banking, the impact of the human factor on security in the banking sector and other issues, the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA).

Particular attention will be paid to early warning systems, as well as to the security of automated systems responsible for financial transactions.

Thirty-two banks, including two state-owned ones, operate in Azerbaijan.

PwCs Global Economic Crime Survey 2016, revealed that cyber crime has now jumped to the second most reported crime globally and that 54 percent of organizations have been hit with cyber crime in the last two years. This highlights just how big a business hacking has become.

Over the past two years three major cyber-attacks on banks became public: against the Ecuadorian Banco del Austro (BDA), Vietnams Tien Phong Bank (TP Bank) and Bangladesh Central Bank. Two of the three attacks resulted in financial losses of around $100 million and raised discussions about the reliability and security of digital networks used by banks all over the World.

Every year events and seminars dedicated to protection from cyber attacks are being held and specialists all over the WORLD exchange ideas and experience in order to minimize the possible damage.

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2 May 2017 12:17 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku State University has hosted the 4th Korean contemporary music festival "Bak K-Pop".

The festival was timed to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The event was organized by the Korean Embassy, BSU and association Korea - Fans AzerbaijanHANSAMO.

Rector Abel Maharramov, addressing the event, spoke about the integration with universities in Korea, teaching Korean language and literature at BSU, as well as the implementation of successful projects, including the festival "Bak K-pop".

Korean Ambassador Kim Chang-gyu, in turn, thanked the university administration for the conditions created for the festival.

He presented a certificate of appreciation "For contribution to the development of relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea" to Abel Maharramov.

The rector, in turn, presented the memorable gift to the guest.

Further, the jury awarded the winners of the festival. The winning team will participate in the final round of K-Pop World Festival.

The relations between Azerbaijan and South Korea cover many areas, including politics, economics, culture, and other fields. The diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea was established in March 1992.

South Korea's exports to Azerbaijan are mainly automobile, plastic, and electronic products, while the South Caucasus republic exports oil, aluminum, and copper products to Korea. There is great potential for cooperation in the tourism sector as well.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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2 May 2017 10:51 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The United States is avoiding being too active in the ways that bother Russia, Matthew Bryza, former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, told Trend on May 1.

Commenting on the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia held on April 28 in Moscow, Bryza called the meeting the Moscow process.

This is a consistent continuation of Moscows efforts aimed at bringing positive changes in the Nagorno-Karabakh process, Bryza said, recalling that a meeting in a similar format was held in May last year.

U.S. President Donald Trump doesnt have a policy towards the South Caucasus region, Bryza said, adding what Trump is doing is a continuation of Barack Obamas policy of not paying attention to the region.

Moscow has been trying to play a leadership role in the region after the Obama administration stopped paying top-level attention to South Caucasus. Obama thought the U.S. was too active in too many places around the world, he added.

In early years of his administration, Obama had a foreign policy of restarting relations with Russia, and wanted to be less active, Bryza explained.

Russia along with the U.S. and France is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

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2 May 2017 15:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The South Caucasus is the zone of Moscows direct interests, and it would be naive to assume that other countries would be involved more than Russia in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian political analyst and expert on international issues Evgeny Mikhailov told Trend on May 2.

Russia along with the U.S. and France is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The expert said that Moscow has historically been the guarantor of security for Armenia; therefore, it is not surprising that Russia is the most consistent and serious negotiator on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The main victory of Russia is that it keeps the process of settlement of the Karabakh issue under full control and it does not fall for provocations of the Armenian side, which regularly shells territory of Azerbaijan in an attempt to involve Moscow in the fighting on their side, said the expert.

Mikhailov believes that in future Russia may become the possible bridge for the full restoration of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia in case of the conflict settlement.

The expert added that the reconciliation is possible only if Azerbaijan gets back its territories through diplomatic negotiations.

For more than two decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevans aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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2 May 2017 09:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev has extended congratulations to Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel.

"On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I congratulate you and your nation on the occasion of the national holiday of the State of Israel  Independence Day", - Ilham Aliyev told Reuven Rivlin in his congratulatory letter.

"I believe that friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel will further develop and strengthen in the best interests of our nations", - noted the president.

"On this remarkable day, I wish you good health, success in your activities, and the friendly people of Israel peace and prosperity", - added the Azerbaijani president.

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2 May 2017 09:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Ilir Meta on his election as the Albanian president.

I cordially congratulate you on your election as President of the Republic of Albania, Ilham Aliyev told Ilir Meta in his congratulatory letter.

I hope that we will continue to make joint efforts towards developing friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Albania, noted the president.

I wish you robust health, happiness and success in your activities for the prosperity of the friendly people of Albania, added the Azerbaijani president.

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2 May 2017 13:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Head of the EU mission in Baku Malena Mard has stated that both Azerbaijan and the European Union are ambitious and resolute in holding talks on new deal.

Last week, the EU representative of the European External Action Service, Luc Devin and Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadguliyev held intensive negotiations on the new agreement, she reminded while talking to APA.



I think that the next stage of negotiations will be held soon, our goal is to work intensively, especially we are working at full speed ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit, she said.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The first meeting on a new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan was held in Brussels on February 7, 2017.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijans legislation and procedures with the EUs most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods access to the EU markets.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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2 May 2017 16:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Tripartite meetings with participation of Azerbaijan and Turkey will resume in summer, said Erkan Ozoral, Ankaras Ambassador to Baku.

We were waiting for the completion of the referendum [in Turkey] to hold a trilateral meeting with the participation of Azerbaijan and Turkey, APA cited the ambassador as saying.

Noting that this years first trilateral meeting maybe held in summer, Ozoral added that the meeting format depends on the readiness of the third country.

Currently, there are several trilateral formats in the region such as Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey, Azerbaijan-Turkey-Iran and Azerbaijan-Turkey-Turkmenistan. Besides, a new trilateral format is emerging between Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia .

Multilateral formats improve political and economic ties between the countries and provide serious support to regional development.

The Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey format is the most functional, as the cooperation is supported by huge trade, energy and transportation projects.

The sides jointly implemented such large-scale projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project is expected to further strengthen the neighborly and fraternal relations among the three countries and enable the countries to supply domestically produced goods to the world markets.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are the key countries in all the mentioned interstate structures. It might be explained by the fact that AzerbaijanTurkey relations have always been strong, mostly described as "one nation with two states".

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2 May 2017 16:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Azerbaijani MPs have sharply criticized the recent decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Turkey at the plenary session of the parliament held on May 2.

The decision made at the PACE spring session on Turkey's return to the monitoring regime after the post-monitoring period is a typical manifestation of double standards, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Samad Seyidov said at the plenary session of the Milli Majlis.

Seyidov noted that the PACE spring session that was held this time was significantly different from the previous ones.

We have been watching processes for a long time and we see that racism and Islamophobia are spreading more and more in Europe. Double standards against Muslim states in Europe can be observed in the policies of specific countries and in the statements of a number of organizations," Seyidov stressed.

MP noted that such a negative attitude began to increase with the growth of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Europe.

"We have observed such trends in PACE for several years already. In general, the attitude towards Azerbaijan and Turkey has always been formed on the basis of completely different positions and approaches. However, the current spring session showed that such a negative attitude reached a peak. An unfair report on Turkey was presented at the PACE meeting," Seyidov said.

Seyidov underlined that the PACE's report on Turkey does not indicate the PKK as a terrorist organization.

"Moreover, the coup attempt last year was not assessed as a terrorist event. The whole delegation of Turkey - representatives of both the authorities and opposition opposed the PACE decision, stating that the PACE decision on the return of Turkey to the monitoring regime after post-monitoring is a step aimed at removing Turkey from Europe. Despite this, the appeal of the Turkish delegation should be taken into consideration at the PACE meeting," Seyidov said.

The MP added that the double standards in Europe revealed themselves even more at this meeting.

"These facts confirm that PACE is in a deep crisis. The reason is that there are destructive, anti-Azerbaijani and anti-Turkish forces there. The existence of double standards poses a great threat not only to us, but also to Europe itself. All this causes great damage to the relations between Azerbaijan and Europe, Europe and the East and, of course, the Turkish-European relations," Seyidov stated.

The speaker of Milli Majlis Ogtay Asadov also called this decision erroneous while addressing the session.

Asadov noted that Turkey is one of the countries which took part in the process of creating the PACE.

Zeynab Khanlarova, in turn, said that all Azerbaijani people are outraged by this decision.

"I propose to express a protest on behalf of the parliament of Azerbaijan," she said adding that "at this moment we should be near Turkey."

"Turkey completed the monitoring period 13 years ago. However, for the first time in history, PACE returned the country that was in the post-monitoring period to the monitoring state. Our delegation opposed this decision," the speaker added.

Earlier, the PACE voted in favor of restarting its monitoring of Turkey's respect for fundamental freedoms, which concluded in 2004, with 113 of the assembly's lawmakers voting in favor, 45 against and 12 abstained.

Ankara assessed this decision as politically motivated' and 'unjust'.

Some experts are not hiding their pessimism on the turn taken by relations between Turkey and EU. The PACEs decision may add fuel to deteriorating relations between Ankara and Brussels. The economic ties, the response to terror threat and the response to the flow of migrants and refugees from Syria are currently at the core of the relationship.

They predict that in case of a suspension of political relations, Ankara and Brussels would purely concentrate on trade ties in line with their Customs Union, but this scheme would hardly please the NATO country with a geostrategical importance at the gates of Syria and Iraq.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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2 May 2017 17:19 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of a campus of SOCAR's Baku Higher Oil School in Bibiheybat in Sabayil district on May 2.

Today is a very significant day in the life of our country, said President Aliyev. We celebrate the opening of the Baku Higher Oil School. It meets the highest standards.

The construction of the campus which started in April 2012 covers a total area of seven hectares and is aimed to meet demand for English-speaking specialists trained on the basis of modern training programs and educational technologies, who will further expand the activities of SOCAR abroad, as well as other industrial sectors of the country.

The Baku Higher Oil School has been operating for six years. Its work is very successful. During these years the school was able to occupy a worthy place in the educational space of Azerbaijan. Today the school moves to a new town, a new building, he said.

The Baku Higher Oil School could create an educational infrastructure that meets modern requirements. A highly qualified faculty was involved in the teaching process and a rich library and information fund was created to support the learning process.

President Aliyev noted that the creation of this school and its relocation to such a beautiful town, once again show that Azerbaijan is investing "black gold" in human capital.

Oil is not our goal, but a means. Due to oil, we must strengthen, develop our country, and invest oil revenues in human capital, he said.

Oil sector plays and will play a very important role in the life of our country, stressed the President, adding that the projects implemented on Azerbaijans initiative have already gained international significance.



The Contract of the Century has been realized for over 20 years. We could make achievements thanks to the 'Contract of the Century'. Today the contract of the 21st century - the Southern Gas Corridor project is being successfully implemented, and Azerbaijan plays a leading role in the realization of this mega project, he emphasized.

The 'Contract of the Century continues benefiting the country, President Aliyev underlined.

Currently, negotiations between Azerbaijan's energy major SOCAR and partners to extend the term of the contract are underway, and I positively look at it. Of course, all our conditions must be fulfilled to extend the term of the contract, he said.

The head of state went on to say that Shah Deniz 2 is one of the largest gas projects in the world today.



For several years the gas from the Shah Deniz field has been supplied to the markets of the world and the region. And today we are very close to the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. This project will connect Azerbaijan with the main external and European markets for the country. After this, Azerbaijan will ensure its economic interests for decades from the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, he said.

Speaking about SOCARs activity, the head of state stressed that the company raises large investments both in projects implemented in the country together with foreign partners, and abroad.

Plants of polymers and nitrogen fertilizers, oil refineries, modernization of enterprises in Azerbaijan and other projects have already turned SOCAR into a world-wide energy company. Oil and gas will continue to serve the development of our country, and the non-oil sector will diversify the country's economy, said the President.

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2 May 2017 18:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Azerbaijans Parliament held another plenary session on May 2 and considered a wide range of issues.

The parliamentarians first ratified a risk-service contract (contract with a minimum guarantee of compensation) on the exploration and development of the offshore block, which includes Umid gas field and the promising structure of Babek in the Caspian.

The contract was signed between SOCAR and SOCAR Umid Oil and Gas Limited.

In addition, the parliament ratified an additional contract for the exploration and carrying out of oil and gas operations to develop a sea block that includes Umid field and a promising Babek structure in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, signed between SOCAR Umid Oil and Gas Limited and Umid-Babek Exploration & Production.

The reserves of the perspective structure Babek, according to preliminary data, might reach 400 billion cubic meters of gas and 80 million tons of condensate, while the reserves of the Umid field are more than 200 billion cubic meters of gas and 40 million tons of condensate.

The draft law "On the encumbrance of movable property" aimed at simplifying the use of various tools, equipment and other movable objects as collateral when obtaining a loan was adopted in the second reading.

Under the Bill, the encumbrance of movable property is divided into three categories  state, municipal and special.

The draft law also envisages creation of a register of encumbrance of movable property to be organized in the form of electronic information system for introduction and receipt of references.

The draft law "On the Diplomatic Service" was submitted for discussion and adopted as well.

From now on, trade representatives in the embassies and consulates of Azerbaijan operating abroad will be given the rank of extraordinary and plenipotentiary diplomatic envoy of the second class.

In addition, the law "On Passports" was amended. According to the changes, diplomatic representatives in foreign embassies and consulates of Azerbaijan will receive diplomatic passports.

The changes were proposed in order to implement the presidential decree of January 26, 2017 "On the appointment of trade representatives in embassies and consulates of the Republic of Azerbaijan operating abroad."

Today's plenary session of Parliament also discussed the draft law "On code of ethics of a member of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan".

This law refers only to those who have the status of a parliamentarian. It deprives MPs, roughly violating codes of ethics, of mandates, bans use of abusive words and interrupting.

The draft law was adopted in the first reading.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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2 May 2017 15:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Energy-rich Iran has become self-sufficient in producing the amount of gasoline the country requires on a daily basis.

President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated a new refinery that produces some 12 million liters (3.17 million gallons) of gasoline in its first phase, IRNA reported.

Rouhani, addressing the ceremony, stated that Iran had been an importer of gasoline for many years, but now domestic gasoline production has reached the level of consumption.

Iranians consume about 60 million liters (15.85 million gallons) of the fuel daily on average. The country already produces about 50 million liters (13.2 million gallons) and some 11 million liters (3 million gallons) had to be imported.

Currently Iran's refining capacity is 1.8 million barrels per day. However, in years to come Iran plans to complete the construction of four refineries with a total capacity of 1.29 million barrels per day.

The Persian Gulf Star Refinery will add 360,000 barrels per day to the existing facilities, the Siraf complex - 480,000 barrels per day, the Anahita refinery - 150,000 barrels per day, the Bahman Geno refinery - 300,000 barrels per day. Iran plans in the coming years to start exporting gasoline and increase gasoil exports.

Iran started exporting gas oil in 2015. It also increased the export of fuel oil due to a reduction in the use of petroleum products in the power industry due to increased gas supplies to the power plant. During the last fiscal year, Iran exported 450,000 barrels of fuel oil, gas oil and liquefied petroleum gas.

With its worlds second largest hydrocarbon reserves Iran is considered an energy superpower in the region. The petroleum industry is the beating heart of Irans economy and with total export values of over $70 billion per year, the oil production constitutes 23 percent of the countrys GDP.

Iran has very ambitious plans for the development of its energy sector and plans to invest a total of $500 billion in the oil sector before 2025.

Nine refineries are currently operating within the country, while Irans daily gasoline consumption is over 70 million liters.

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2 May 2017 11:33 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

U.S. President Donald Trump will have a phone talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 2, the White House said.

A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders would likely discuss the civil war in Syria, where Moscow backs the government of Bashar al-Assad and the United States supports rebels trying to overthrow him.

On April 4, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces claimed that 80 people were killed and 200 injured in a suspected chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, putting the blame on the Syrian government. Damascus vehemently rejected the accusations and said militants and their allies were responsible.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Syrian Air Force hit a warehouse where militants stored chemical weapons, which were sent to Iraq. The Russian side reminded that the Syrian government doesn't possess chemical weapons since mid-2014. Chemical weapons have been taken out of the country.

Nevertheless, the U.S. has blamed Moscow's ally and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of the deadly attack that killed scores of civilians and launched missile strikes against one of the regime's airbases in retribution last month.

Trump said after the cruise missile attack that the United States' relationship with Moscow "may be at an all-time low." U.S. leader also stated that he's hopeful he can improve relations with Putin but "we're going to see what happens."

Putin also underlined that the level of trust with Washington under U.S. President Donald Trump degraded.

Following the attack, the meeting between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin was held in order to reduce tensions arising from situation in Syria. However, this meeting was used by two sides to reassert their firm stances on Syria rather than coming to a common compromise, according to experts.

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2 May 2017 12:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The North Korean nuclear issue has turned into one of the top national security concerns for Donald Trump and his administration and U.S. officials have repeatedly stressed the increasing urgency of the situation.

Trump said that he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "under the right circumstances" to reduce tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News in an interview on May 1.

He also mentioned that there should be right circumstances to make this meeting possible.

Trump hasnt clarified what preconditions should be met for such a meeting to occur, but his administration has demanded a freeze on nuclear and long-range missile tests ,as well as a readiness to negotiate North Koreas complete nuclear disarmament.

No incumbent U.S. president has ever before met with the leader of North Korea while in power.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, however, said later same day that the U.S. would first need to see changes in North Korean behavior before potential talks.

"We've got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down immediately," Spicer said adding that "the conditions are not there right now."

The tensions around the Korean peninsula increased after a number of missile launches in North Korea and rumors about a possible nuclear test. The U.S. stated that it does not exclude military options for action against the DPRK, but they intend to focus on economic pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions.

Six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula involving diplomats from Russia, North Korea, South Korea, the United States, China and Japan have been going on since 2003, but since 2008 the dialogue has actually reached a deadlock. Recently, U.S. claimed the end of "the era of strategic patience" towards Pyongyang.

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2 May 2017 16:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The support to the private sector of the economy is among the priorities in the context of large-scale reforms carried out in Turkmenistan.

This was stated in the message of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov addressed to the participants of the international exhibition of household goods held on May 2 in Ashgabat.

Based on this, we set a goal to significantly increase the share of individual enterprises in the structure of GDP [gross domestic product], the message said.

The goods produced in Turkmenistan are also in demand by foreign consumers, according to the President.

"Visitors of the international exhibition will be able to make sure that Turkmen entrepreneurs have achieved great success and stable progress in the production of competitive products," the Turkmen leader noted.

In March, the IMF recommended Turkmenistan to improve the business and regulatory environment to support the further development of the private sector in order to maintain dynamic, sustainable and comprehensive growth in difficult external conditions.

It is necessary to ensure effective implementation of the reform of state enterprises and their privatization, improve the efficiency of public spending and continue to pay special attention to indicators of human development, including protection of vulnerable segments of the population.

Turkmenistans natural gas reserves rank fourth in the world after Iran, Russia, and Qatar, according to the report of British Petroleum (BP).

Ashgabat has taken a course to diversify the local economy. The textile and oil products industry has advanced while the oil, gas, chemical industries and construction materials industry are actively developing. The private sector is entrusted with developing the electronic industry. A plan to attract entrepreneurs to projects on the development of natural resources is being drawn up.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
2 May 2017 17:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The number of Russian tourists visiting Antalya in April this year grew by 14.5 times, compared to the same period of last year, according to the report of the Governorate of the Antalya Province.

As many as 189,000 tourists from Russia visited province last month, while in April 2016, only 12,144 Russian citizens traveled to Antalya.

In general, the number of arrivals to Turkish Antalya amounted to 526, 000, which is 37 percent higher than in April 2016.

In 2016, Turkey was visited by 25.3 million foreigners, which is 30.05 percent less than the same indicator in 2015.

This year, Turkish tourism sector expects to receive about five million tourists from Russia, according to Hussein Yayman, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.

Russia has been the second largest source of foreign tourists visiting Turkey, but the number of Russian tourists began to decline after a diplomatic crisis between the two countries in late 2015. However, there has been a notable increase in arrivals from Russia since the normalization of bilateral ties between the two countries began.

In March 2017, a number of documents in the sphere of tourism were signed in Moscow following the talks between Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Huseyin Yayman and Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism of Russia (Rosturizm) Oleg Safonov.

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey dropped to 25.3 million in 2016. That is a 30 percent drop compared to 2015.

Turkeys tourism revenue dropped to $22.1 billion in 2016, a 29.7 percent decrease compared to 2015, as the number of foreign arrivals to the country witnessed a dramatic plunge, the official data showed.

Turkeys Tourism Ministry confirmed that the drop is correlated to a number of terrorist attacks and to the failed military coup on July 15, 2016.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
One hundred years ago, Leon Trotsky, the great Russian revolutionary and leader of the October Revolution in 1917, left the Amherst concentration camp in Nova Scotia where he had been detained for almost a month. The story of the time that Trotsky spent in Canada, while not that well known, is a very interesting episode in Trotsky's road to revolutionary Russia, where he would aid the Russian working class in taking power later that year.

Dangerous socialist

Trotsky was in New York when he heard the news that the 300-year-old Tsarist regime was overthrown by the Petrograd proletariat in February 1917 (March in the Gregorian calendar). While the revolution had overthrown the Tsar, the provisional government that took its place was a capitalist government. After Lenin arrived in Russia, he explained that the only reason that the working class had not taken power was because it wasn't conscious or organized enough and that what was needed was to immediately begin the patient work of arguing in favour of the seizure of power by the soviets. Trotsky, who was in New York, drew similar conclusions, independently of Lenin. In his autobiography My Life, he reported the following discussion that he had with American comrades after hearing news of the revolution in Russia:

A cablegram has arrived saying that Petrograd has appointed a Guchkov-Miliukoff ministry. What does it mean? That to-morrow there will be a ministry of Miliukoff and Kerensky. Is that so? And what next? Next? We shall be the next.

Together with other Russian emigrants, Trotsky immediately began the process of returning to Russia. On March 27th, after securing the necessary documents, Trotsky, his wife Natalia Sedova, and their nine- and 11-year-old sons embarked on the SS Christianiafjord across the Atlantic. For once in his life, Trotsky was traveling legally!

On March 30th, the boat docked in Halifax. While the other passengers underwent regular inspection, Trotsky and his Russian comrades were victims of long interrogations and even questions about their political allegiances. Trotsky refused to engage in this discussion.

On April 3rd, British officers boarded the Christianiafjord and headed towards Trotsky and his comrades. Trotsky tells the story of this situation in his autobiography:

We declared that the order was illegal and refused to obey, whereupon armed bluejackets pounced on us, and amid shouts of shame from a large part of the passengers, carried us bodily to a naval cutter, which delivered us in Halifax under the convoy of a cruiser. While a group of sailors were holding me fast, my older boy ran to help me and struck an officer with his little fist. Shall I hit him again, papa? he shouted.

He was eleven then, and it was his first lesson in British democracy.

Trotsky was taken to the concentration camp in Amherst, while his wife and two kids were taken to a local police officer in Halifax. Eleven days later they were transferred to a hotel; they had to report to the police every day. They forbade Trotsky and Natalia to see each other unless Trotsky would promise not to take the opportunity to try and communicate with the outside world. Indignant, Trotsky refused to meet his wife under this condition.

Upon arriving in Amherst, Trotsky and his comrades still did not know what they were being held for. They were told that the Russian consul would be present where they were being taken; this was not the case. It was only on the morning of the following day that Colonel Morris, the commander of the camp, communicated the reason for their arrest to the Russian prisoners: You are dangerous to the present Russian government.

In response they said that the documents were delivered to them by representatives of the Russian government in New York and that everything was in order. The response to this was:

You are dangerous to the Allies in general. A German Agent

The British authorities were fully aware of the danger that Trotsky posed. On March 22nd 1917, in a telegram from New York to London, an MI5 agent stated that:

An important movement has been started here among Socialists, with a view to getting back Revolutionary Socialists into Russia ... with [the] object of establishing a Republic and initiating Peace movement; also of promoting Socialistic Revolutions in other countries, including the United States.

The telegram stated that the principal leader was Trotsky. A few days later, a new telegram was sent from New York to London stating that Trotsky was traveling with $10,000 provided by socialists and Germans. The message was transmitted to the authorities in Halifax on April 1st and it was decided on April 3rd that Trotsky, his family, and his Russian comrades would be imprisoned pending further instructions.

When news about the imprisonment of Russian revolutionaries in Canada reached Russia, the British ambassador in Russia released official press releases stating that the Russians imprisoned in Amherst were traveling under a subsidy from the German embassy, to overthrow the Provisional Russian government. This accusation was thrown around and became the main rallying point for anti-Bolshevik forces in Russia in 1917: Trotsky was a German agent.

Lenin was particularly indignant about the accusations against Trotsky. On April 16th, he wrote in Pravda:

Can one even for a moment believe the trustworthiness of the statement that Trotsky, the chairman of the Soviet of Workers Delegates in St. Petersburg in 1905a revolutionary who has sacrificed years to a disinterested service of revolutionthat this man had anything to do with a scheme subsidized by the German government? This is a patent, unheard-of, and malicious slander of a revolutionary. From whom did you get your information, Mr. Buchanan? Why dont you disclose that? Six men dragged Comrade Trotsky away by his legs and arms, all in the name of friendship for the Provisional Russian government!

As we know, the accusation would be extended to the entire Bolshevik party in the coming months, particularly after the failure of the July Days. Trotsky, with regards to these monstrous accusations, stated in his autobiography that: Never before did people lie as much as they did during the great war for liberty. If lies could explode, our planet would have been blown to dust long before the treaty of Versailles.

The accusation against Trotsky and the Bolsheviks that they were for the defeat of Russia at the hands of Germany and that they were working towards this goal was a gigantic slander. The position of revolutionary defeatism has often been mis-characterized by enemies of the revolution and even by certain Marxists. But what was the position of Trotsky and his comrades? Twenty years later, recalling his arrest in Canada, Trotsky explained that:

I was arrested by the British authorities in Canada and detained in a concentration camp as an agent of Germany. Liebknecht and all his friends were accused of being agents of the czar. But we answered: We are for the defeat of the czar through the revolutionary action of the toiling masses. As the Germans are for the defeat of the Hohenzollerns they will not take any part in the war. A military defeat is not important for us, we are for the revolutionary victory. A revolutionary victory, in Russia as in Germany, will change the defeat into a victory for the toiling people.

This was the position of Trotsky and the Bolsheviks, that which Trotsky explained in numerous speeches to his fellow prisoners at Amherst. This gained him almost immediate sympathy from the workers and sailors.

In a concentration camp

This is the title of the chapter in Trotsky's autobiography on his short stay in Canada. These words were not poorly chosen.

The War Measures Act was invoked by the Canadian government at the beginning of the war in 1914 and it was only lifted in 1920. During this period, more than 8,000 people were arrested and detained in improvised concentration camps across the country.

The largest of these camps was the camp in Amherst in Nova Scotia. This former Canadian Car and Foundry Co. building was converted to be able to hold up to 852 prisoners. It opened its doors on December 30th, 1914.

It was on April 17th, 1915 that the first prisoners were brought to the camp: 640 Germans captured on the vessel, Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosser. The living conditions in the camp were very difficult. On June 25th, 1915, a group of prisoners refused to enter the enclosure in spite of the exhortations of the guards. A riot ensued, during which one guard was killed, one prisoner was shot and four others were wounded.

Trotsky describes in My Life the difficult conditions in which the prisoners tried to pass the time:

The Amherst concentration camp was located in an old and very dilapidated iron-foundry that had been confiscated from its German owner. The sleeping bunks were arranged in three tiers, two deep, on each side of the hall. About eight hundred of us lived in these conditions. The air in this improvised dormitory at night can be imagined. Men hopelessly dogged the passages, elbowed their way through, lay down or got up, played cards or chess. Many of them practised crafts, some with extraordinary skill.

In the heart of the camp, imprisoned officers were housed apart from workers and sailors. Trotsky spoke of relations that were hostile between the masses and the officers. This class division inside the camp was reinforced by the presence of Trotsky. According to the Chronicle Herald, he even organized a strike of prisoners against the conditions inside the camp!

A soviet-type experience

Trotsky, who was in prison for the third time in his life, quickly became known to the workers and sailors, as well as the imprisoned officers and the authorities of the concentration camp. His fiery Marxist speeches made him a star among the prisoners and an enemy among the officers and the authorities. The Chronicle Herald spoke of this period as a soviet-type experience. Trotsky's recollection of this period paint the same picture:

The whole month I was there was like one continuous mass-meeting. I told the prisoners about the Russian revolution, about Liebknecht, about Lenin, and about the causes of the collapse of the old International, and the intervention of the United States in the war. Besides these speeches, we had constant group discussions. Our friendship grew warmer every day.

In the end, the German officers made complaints to the head of the camp, Colonel Morris, that Trotsky was decreasing the discipline in the camp with his anti-patriotic propaganda. Trotsky ironically remarked that: The British colonel instantly sided with the Hohenzollern patriots and forbade me to make any more public speeches. When it comes to silencing socialists, the bourgeoisie and their representatives have no country!

As tempers flared, Trotsky almost didn't leave the camp alive. During a very lively meeting, one of the commanders of the camp yelled at Trotsky, accusing him of fomenting a riot and disrespecting authority. As the tension increased, Captain Wightman had to put himself between Trotsky and a guard who was ready to attack Trotsky with his bayonet. Following this, Trotsky was subjected to a form of solitary confinement.

That was all it took to make the workers and sailors angry. Trotsky explained a letter titled In British Captivity how this incident contributed in cementing his close relationship with the German workers and sailors. No less than 530 of them submitted a petition to the authorities demanding that Trotsky be released immediately! A plebiscite like this, carried out in the very face of Sergeant Olsens heavy-handed supervision, was more than ample compensation for all the hardships of the Amherst imprisonment, we read in My Life.

The impact of Trotsky on his imprisoned comrades was immense. After the death of Trotsky in 1940, the captain F.C. Wightman, number two in charge of the camp at the time recounted that Trotsky gave us a lot of trouble at the camp, and if he had stayed there any longer he would have made Communists of all the German prisoners. This was an anticipation of the impact Trotsky was going to have when he reached Russian soil, becoming one of the most prominent speakers of the Bolshevik party, guiding the working class towards the seizure of power.

Liberated by the revolution

The incident at Amherst quickly took on international proportions. As soon as he was imprisoned, Trotsky attempted to send a telegram to the Russian government in protest but his telegrams ended up not being transmitted. However, one of Trotsky's comrades succeeded in sending this information to Novy Mir, the paper that Trotsky had been working for in New York, which published the news on April 10th.

It seems as though the news of the detention of Russian political refugees had reached Russia before this. Buchanan, the British ambassador to Russia at the time of the revolution, reports in his memoirs that:

The attacks made against us in the (Russian) Press on account of our detention of Russian political refugees had taken such a serious turn that they were even endangering the lives of some of the British factory owners (in Russia) whose position was already anything but secure owing to the uncertain attitude of the workmen. I had, therefore, to speak seriously to Milyukov and request him to take steps to put an end to this Press campaign.

According to Buchanan, on April 8th, Milyukov, then foreign Minister of the Russian Provisional government, asked Buchanan to release the Russian prisoners, only to beg him to cancel the request two days later. The executive of the Petrograd soviet protested against the imprisonment of their comrades: Freedom fighters, Intolerable interference, Insult to the Russian revolution. Big protest rallies were organized throughout Russia. Under pressure from the soviet and the masses, Milyukov was forced to give in and authorized the release of Trotsky and his comrades.

As we see, it was the pressure of the Russian masses that was a big factor in liberating Trotsky and his comrades from the Canadian concentration camp. As with every stage of the Russian revolution of 1917, it was the masses that allowed for decisive advances, leaving their mark on events.

On April 29th, Trotsky and his comrades were told to pack their bags without being told where they were being taken. Confronted with the Russian revolutionists refusal to move unless they were given information about where they were being taken, they were eventually forcibly taken away. Violently imprisoned at Amherst without reason, the same violent methods were used for their release. But Colonel Morris eventually gave in and explained to the prisoners that they were boarding a Danish ship bound for Russia.

Trotsky and Natalia Sedova were furious at the treatment that they had received at the hands of Canadian and British democracy. A few months later, a Halifax paper reported Sedova's words: If ever I get back to my own country, I will talk, I will write, I will let my country people know that Canada is not free, that the United States is not free, that there is as much slavery in these countries as there is in Siberia. Sedova was absolutely right, and the restrictions on liberties in the fight against Bolshevism in Canada would increase in the years to come. On September 27th, 1918, 13 socialist or leftist organizations were banned, all in the name of the struggle against Bolshevism, the enemy alien.

The workers and sailors at the Amherst concentration camp did not miss the opportunity to salute their Russian comrades. Trotsky describes the scene of his departure:

Although the officers shut themselves up in their compartment, and only a few poked their noses through the chinks, the sailors and workers lined the passage on both sides, an improvised band played the revolutionary march, and friendly hands were extended to us from every quarter. One of the prisoners delivered a short speech acclaiming the Russian revolution and cursing the German monarchy. Even now it makes me happy to remember that in the very midst of the war, we were fraternizing with German sailors in Amherst. In later years I received friendly letters from many of them, sent from Germany.

This brief episode of Trotsky on Canadian soil gives us insight into the impact of a figure like Trotsky in the revolutionary movement. Trotsky's fiery Marxist speeches which threatened to transform the 700 German workers and sailors into communists foreshadowed the unique role that Trotsky would play a few weeks later in Russia. Whether it was in the Petrograd soviet or later on the various fronts of the civil war, Trotsky became, along with Lenin, one of the main leaders of the revolution. It is no exaggeration that without the presence of these two outstanding revolutionaries, the Russian working class would not have been able to take power in Russia in 1917, nor would they have been able to keep it.

A report made by the National Post in 2014 about Trotsky's short passage in Canada ends with this: As far as dangerous socialist goes, Leon Trotsky certainly fit the bill! Today, more than ever before, more and more workers and youth are rediscovering the legacy of the Bolsheviks and this dangerous socialist Leon Trotsky. We must now build the forces of Marxism in order to complete what Trotsky, Lenin, and their comrades started 100 years ago.
Published On May 02, 2017 03:05 PM By Rachit Shad for Skoda Kodiaq 2018-2020

Several dealers across the country are accepting bookings at refundable amounts as low as Rs 21,000

Skoda fanatics must be aware that the India-bound Kodiaq has already been listed on the companys Indian website. Now though, there is a reason to smile harder as several Skoda dealers across the country have started accepting bookings for the Kodiaq at a refundable amount of as low as Rs 21,000. Dealers have also confirmed that the SUV is likely to launch in the last quarter of 2017.

Skoda first showcased the Kodiaq as the Vision S Concept at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and later that year, it revealed the production-ready prototype of the same. The SUV is based on Volkswagens modular transverse matrix (MQB) platform, which also underpins the Skoda Superb and the upcoming Volkswagen Tiguan. Like the Superb, the Kodiaq will come jam-packed with goodies all over. The list includes a 10-speaker, 575-watt Canton sound system, optional 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in GPS navigation support, wireless smartphone charging and 4G-LTE module for internet access on the go.

Also Read: Skoda Kodiaq At Paris Motor Show

Customers in India will have an option of choosing between two engine options: 2.0-litre TSI petrol or a 2.0-litre TDI diesel, both supporting a turbocharger. Transmission duties will be handled by a seven-speed DSG and a six-speed DSG for the petrol and diesel variants respectively. Whats more, Skoda will also equip the Kodiaq with 4x4 drivetrain.

With the Kodiaq, the Czech automaker will land itself in a fierce rivalry from the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner and its upcoming sibling, the Volkswagen Tiguan. We expect Skoda to price the Kodiaq competitively, with a starting price tag of around Rs 25 lakh. Intrigued? We are!

Also Read: Skoda Kodiaq - All You Need To Know
Archbishop of Canterbury backs Great Get Together in memory of murdered Jo Cox

More than 100 religious leaders will meet this week to launch an initiative in memory of Jo Cox, the Labour MP murdered last year.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi backed the move which will see Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Humanist groups join together for a series of events in June in memory of the former Batley and Spen MP.

The Great Get Together will be launched by an inter-faith gathering in Westminster on Wednesday with more than 100 faith leaders including Hindus, Christian, Sikh, Muslims and Humanists expected to attend.

Headed by her husband Brendan Cox alongside the Jo Cox Foundation and the Near Neighbours project, different religious groups will be asked to host BBQs, street parties and other celebrations together from June 16-18 to highlight their unity.

'Put simply, we want to mark an event that was intended to divide us to instead bring communities together,' organiser Mike Buckley told Christian Today.

'The work of faith communities across the UK is a powerful statement that we are more than individuals,' he added. 'Together we do a huge amount already to build community and to bridge divides of age, race, wealth and opportunity.'

The launch will include representatives from the Jewish Board of Deputies, the Chief Rabbi's office, and the Church of England as well as Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association and Jehangir Malik from Muslim Friends of Labour.

'The Great Get Together weekend gives us a chance to celebrate the work that we do already, to have fun with our members and friends, and to make some new friends along the way.'
Church hits out at 'fake sacraments' after woman ordained as Catholic priest

A Catholic diocese has hit out at 'fake sacraments' after a woman was ordained priest in the United States.

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests has stated that Abigail Eltzroth was ordained on Sunday at the independent Jubilee Community centre in Asheville, North Carolina.

Eltzroth said: 'I'm surprised I'm here. This ordination is a confirmation of my calling to ministry. On this journey I have received the shoulder taps of encouragement from friends, hugs of blessing from fellow ministers, and swift kicks in the rear from the Holy Spirit. Going forward I need everyone's laughter and prayers.'

In a statement, the association said the ordination was '100 per cent valid' because of 'apostolic succession'.

Eltzroth was ordained by Presiding Bishop, Bridget Mary Meehan, Sarasota, Florida.

In her homily, Bishop Meehan said: 'As empowered companions on the journey, all of us are called to be prophets and work for the harmony envisioned in our first reading in which "The lion and the lamb lay down together."

'The story of Jesus' final days presented in Mark's Gospel provides the context for the story of the woman who anoints Jesus. It takes place two days before Jesus' execution. It is evident from Mark's perspective that the male disciples don't comprehend that suffering and rejection is part of the mission of Jesus. Its significance escapes them.

'In the end, they abandon or betray him. However, the female disciples, who have journeyed with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, are the true disciples who stick with him until the end.'

She said it was striking that God inspired 'a simple, unnamed woman, one of the ordinary, average people ,who form the larger circle of followers of Jesus, to be the anointer of the Messiah and prophet of his messiahship'.

She added: 'It is a sad testimony to patriarchy's influence that in spite of Jesus' words, Christians throughout the ages have forgotten this unnamed woman. Today, the Roman Catholic Church has relegated the story about this woman to one optional reading in the official three-year cycle of scripture readings for Sunday worship. So, most Catholics never hear the story about this woman at a Sunday liturgy.

'It is definitely time for a change so we can get to know and celebrate the women of faith who are role models for all Christians.'

She said their movement was a justice movement in which 'women will no longer be treated as second class citizens at the altar and in decision-making in our Church'.

The association claims the validity of apostolic succession because its first women bishops were ordained by an anonymous Roman Catholic male bishop. 'Therefore, all our ordinations are valid, but violate Church law. We are disobeying an unjust law in order to change it in prophetic obedience to the Spirit. This is the reason the institutional Church has excommunicated us,' said Meehan.

Eltzroth, 64, told the Charlotte Observer: 'It's time for a change and we're in the forefront, leading the charge. We expect that eventually everybody is going to follow us.'

David Hains, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, told the Observer: 'I hope that Catholics in the diocese will understand that it would be sinful to receive a fake sacrament from a woman priest and that includes attending a fake Mass.'

The association claims 250 women have now been ordained Catholic priests in 10 countries and that there are 65 Catholic women priests working in the US associated with them and another group, Roman Catholic Women Priests.

The Catholic Church automatically excommunicates any woman who is ordained and anyone who ordains her. Pope Francis has set up a commission to examine whether women can be ordained deacons.
Donald Trump is a 'dream president' for evangelical Christians, says Jerry Falwell Jr

Evangelical Christians in the US have 'found their dream president' in Donald Trump according to Jerry Falwell Jr.

Speaking to Fox News after Trump's first 100 days in office, the president of Liberty University outlined why evangelicals 'love' Trump and what he is doing in office.

Following up on exit polls which indicated that 81 per cent of self-described white evangelical voters voted for Trump in the 2016 election, a Fox News poll of white evangelicals in late April showed that their support has held firm, with 73 per cent approving of Trump's performance. That figure was nearly double the approval rating of the general public.

'I think evangelicals have found their dream president,' Falwell said.

'I think reuniting Israel with America after eight years of treating them badly, appointing Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, appointing people of faith to his Cabinet in almost every area... I think he is attacking ISIS so that Christians being murdered in the Middle East will stop. All those things, evangelicals love.'

Falwell said that evangelicals did not just vote on social issues, but were in the last election concerned about border security and jobs. 'I think they are just as thrilled about all those things...' he said.

He added that evangelicals are angry at moderate Republicans in Congress who appear to be obstructing the President's agenda, and predicted that those who are doing so will not be reelected in the 2018 mid-term elections.

'These moderates just make my blood boil,' Falwell said.

'Honestly, I have more respect for Democrats than I do moderate Republicans, because at least Democrats admit what they believe, and they say it up front and you know what you're dealing with.

'These moderates pretend to be conservatives, they woo conservative voters, and then they're not conservative when they get in office. So that part just makes my blood boil.'

However, the comments come after the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative wing of the Republican Party, opposed Trump's plan to repeal Obamacare.

Falwell was asked, as the president of the largest Christian University in the world, his opinion on campus hostility against conservative speakers and threats of violence at University of California-Berkeley in recent months.

Falwell replied that it was a 'comical' situation because the left-wing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke at Liberty University and was treated with respect.

'I think that's what higher education is supposed to be about, is hearing opinions that you don't agree with, learning from the other side,' he said.

He added that 'elite' universities are 'a joke' because they 'claim to be bastions of academic freedom when really they're only bastions of political correctness'.

He concluded: 'Liberals used to defend free speech. And now it's just the tables have turned completely. They're more like fascists than liberals.'
GAFCON should stay out of our territory, says Scottish Anglican leader

The leader of the Anglican church in Scotland has described as 'regrettable' the decision to appoint a 'missionary bishop' to England and Scotland.

Bishop of St Andrew's David Chillingworth was speaking in response to an announcement by the conservative group GAFCON that it is to appoint a special bishop' for conservative Christians in Europe.

GAFCON, made up of primates from nine Anglican provinces and five 'branches', made the decision at its recent meeting in Lagos, Nigeria.

GAFCON was set up an an attempt by its leaders to stand against what they regard as unbiblical acceptance of homosexuality among some churches in the West.

Chillingworth said: 'In June, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church will reach the final stage of consideration of changes which would make possible same-sex marriage in our churches. The news that GAFCON intends to send a missionary bishop to Britain is regrettable.

'The Anglican Communion functions as a global communion on the basis of respect for the territorial integrity of each province. This move is a breach of that understanding.

'The outcome of the synodical process which will take place in June is not a foregone conclusion. The voices of clergy and lay people from across Scotland will be heard both in debate and in the voting process. The Scottish Episcopal Church is working closely with those who find this proposal difficult to accept. Whatever the outcome may be, it is our intention to be and to remain a church which honours diversity.'

GAFCON said last week that it was responding to the voice of faithful Anglicans in some parts of the Global North who are in need of biblically faithful episcopal leadership.

'Of immediate concern is the reality that on 8th June 2017 the Scottish Episcopal Church is likely to formalise their rejection of Jesus' teaching on marriage. If this were to happen, faithful Anglicans in Scotland will need appropriate pastoral care,' the organisation said.

GAFCON already has several conservative churches outside the structures of the Church of England, under the Anglican Mission in England. GAFCON said: 'These churches are growing, and are in need of episcopal leadership. Therefore, we have decided to consecrate a missionary bishop who will be tasked with providing episcopal leadership for those who are outside the structures of any Anglican province, especially in Europe.'

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, currently visiting Jordan and then Israel, has declined to comment so far.
Jesus Turned Over The Tables. How Angry Are Christians Allowed To Get?

We live in a time of rage and fury.

Donald Trump is the shouter-in-chief, drowning out questions from those he finds awkward and seething on Twitter at a litany of perceived injustices.

As well as being the cause of much fury, the president is a symptom of an angry society too. Like the driving winds caused by storm Doris which are whipping around the United Kingdom today, we live in a society which seems to be in a permanent state of rage.

Last week a piece I wrote was posted on Facebook and I was accused of purveying fake news, told it was a 'stupid, incoherent' article and that I was 'an embarrassment.' This is pretty mild stuff for 2017. This week, Member of Parliament Dianne Abbott revealed some of the horrific racist abuse, death and rape threats she has recently received. I watched in horror as tweets reporting this were then responded to with further abuse and comments that she had brought it upon herself.

We're angry. Maybe not angrier than ever, but certainly with more platforms on which to express our anger.

In the midst of this angry atmosphere comes an interesting comment piece at The Guardian. The headline sums it up well: 'The left needs to take a leaf out of Jesus' book  and get angry'. Writer Steven W Thrasher channels Martin Luther King, and President Obama in his support for anger being the only correct response to the current socio-politico-economic mess that we're in.

'For too long, a misinterpretation of Martin Luther King as never angry (when his speeches, marches and actions against poverty, racist labour exploitation and war were full of fury), and the too-polite Barack Obama, have lulled the left into avoiding anger and its useful productiveness in demanding change,' Thrasher argues. Ultimately he bases his thesis on Jesus cleansing of the Temple. 'He is seen with a whip in his hand,' the piece says, 'flipping over tables in a rage and driving merchants from the temple. This is the Christ who speaks to me when I look at the mess that is contemporary America.'

Is Thrasher right? Is now the time for Christians and others on the left to get angry? I think the answer has to be yes... and no.

In one sense, Thrasher is absolutely right to locate Jesus' righteous anger as the inspiration for his spectacular Temple protest. But was he really trying to put, 'the fear of God into capitalists, putting them on the run with a whip'? I'm not so sure. The cleansing of the Temple was an act in which Jesus railed against the merchants who had filled the outer courts  the part of the temple which was accessible to people from every country and culture. In other words, this wasn't a first century Occupy Wall Street. It was something far more profound  Jesus was railing against the commercial interests which prevent all people from having access to the House of God.

Having said that, there is certainly something in Thrasher's argument. Anger, in its right place, is an essential part of the Christian life. That anger must be directed against injustice. The examples he gives, of Dr King, is a good one. King was angry, along with millions of African Americans who had been systematically dehumanised by racism for generations. Anger is the correct response in that situation  and remains so when the ugly stain of racism remains in American life.

If anger is a spur to action and if it inspires us to join in God's fight against injustice then its valid and even necessary. Jesus was angry when he turned over the tables. So long as the anger is righteous and not vindictive, it is a good emotion to have.

Bruce Springsteen, in a song written amid the fury over the economic devastation wrought on Middle America by the financial crisis of 2008, covers this well. In 'Wrecking Ball' he sings, 'Hold tight to your anger, and don't fall to your fears.' That's the balance we need to strike  and one which will help us to cut through much of the narcissistic fury we see around us.
Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia and feminism: Is the Pope pro-women?

Laura Bates, author of Everyday Sexism, debated in the Guardian yesterday whether or not Pope Francis can be deemed a feminist. She said it's complicated.

And she's right.

In Amoris Laetitia, the Pope's latest apostolic exhortation, Francis discusses the richness possible in marriage and family life. Bates describes it as an "unexpectedly nuanced discussion of issues like gender stereotypes, domestic abuse and other forms of violence against woman".

Despite this, her conclusion is that while the Pope "might... have a positive impact by updating ideas about gender stereotypes and roles", he is not a feminist.

Why?

She says: "while he continues to preside over an institution that restricts women and prevents equality in so many ways" it is impossible to label him a feminist, at least  "by her definition".

Feminism is a broad church. There is no one creed to sign up to that defines you unequivocally as a feminist. This means that one person's feminism might lie outside of another's remit.

Bates is writing from a secular feminist perspective and the Pope is  obviously  Catholic. That means his feminism, if he has one, will be deeply rooted in his faith.

Fundamental to most secular feminism is the bodily autonomy of a woman, and subsequently being pro-choice. For many secular feminists, "if you are not pro-choice you can't be feminist. That becomes the litmus test," Natalie Collins, a gender specialist, told Christian Today.

This is in conflict with the Catholic Church's equally fundamental belief in the sanctity of life and that abortion goes against it. "That is one of the massive barriers for secular feminists embracing feminists of faith," Collins said.

"That body autonomy is massively important for feminists will always be counter to mainstream Christian views and there is likely to always be a tension.

"It's about conflicting value systems  Christians believe God created human beings as relational beings and secular feminists do not."

It's unsurprising that secular and Christian world views lead to conflict here, and understandable that Bates does not consider the Pope a feminist by her definition. However, as she concedes, in Amoris Laetitia Pope Francis takes significant ground for the treatment of women within the Catholic Church.

"So much of what he's said is really, really exciting," said Collins.

"He is prioritising women's safety over the sanctity of marriage, acknowledging the patriarchal context in which the Bible was written and bringing attention to domestic violence."

Bates also recognises the Pope's defence of female emancipation, that he fights gender stereotypes and talks of reciprocity within the family.

According to Francis, we must see "in the women's movement the working of the Spirit for a clearer recognition of the dignity and rights of women."

From a faith-feminist position, "this is a big positive step," said Collins.

"I see it as a prophetic move of the Holy Spirit that the Pope is choosing to say this stuff."

However, there are some Catholic women who, while recognising that the Pope "is definitely a man that believes in justice", believe he has not gone far enough when it comes to women's rights, Pat Brown, administrator for Catholics Women Ordination, told Christian Today.

Amoris Laetitia "is really good, and definitely a step in the right direction", Brown said. However, "he [the Pope] has to go gently, gently as conservatives in the Church make his life very difficult."

"Many of us do believe that this Pope is a real breath of fresh air and a source of change. His hands have been tied on many women's issues, but he is gradually untying them," she added.

The reality is that Pope Francis has written Amoris Laetitia in a particular context; one in which abortion and female ordination are off limits, and his statements undoubtedly represent a significant step in favour of women, whatever one's stance on those issues.

"If feminism is fundamentally about the liberation of women, then the Pope's words aid to that cause," said Collins.

Of course, we must wait to see whether these words in Amoris Laeticia grow fruit and make a real difference to attitudes on the ground. Perhaps the question we should really be asking is not whether the Pope is a feminist by any one person's definition, but rather whether his teachings will benefit women? It seems that there's real hope they absolutely will.
Pope Francis takes step towards ordination of women in the Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church took the first tentative steps towards women's ordination today when Pope Francis announced a new commission to look at the possibility of women deacons.

However, there are concerns among campaigners for women priests in the Catholic Church that women deacons will be ordained in an attempt to fob them off from expecting any further moves towards equality.

In an indication that the Pope is serious about moving forward on this issue, half of the commission's members are themselves women, all highly regarded as intellectuals and academics from institutions around the world.

Pope Francis indicated in May that he intended to set up an official commission to study the diaconate of women, "especially with regard to the first ages of the Church."

Today's announcement came after a period of "intense prayer and mature reflection", Vatican Radio announced.

The Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women will be headed by the Archbishop Luis Ferrer, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, like Pope Francis, a Jesuit.

Half of 12 other members are women: Sister Nuria CalduchBenages, a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, Professor Francesca Cocchini, of La Sapienza University, Sister Mary Melone, Rector of the Pontifical University in Rome, Marianne Schlosser, professor of spiritual theology at the University of Vienana, Michelina Tenace, professor of fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and Phyllis Zagano, professor at Hofstra University, Hempstead in New York.

Deacons are the first of the three holy orders of deacon, priest and bishop. They can take weddings and funerals but may not say Mass. Male deacons can also marry, unlike most Catholic priests.

Women priests in the Catholic Church would remove one of the main barriers to Anglican and Catholic unity, but would put a serious new barrier in place to unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

The Vatican did make clear today that the Pope was not currently considering the issue of women priests.

Pat Brown of Catholic Women's Ordination told Christian Today: "This is good news. We see it as a step towards the ordination of women into the priesthood. We hope the commission will consider women on an equal footing with me in the diaconate. We do not see it as something we are just going to settle for. But obviously having women at the altar is going to help us. We will pray about it and hope it will be a good thing."
'Repent, America!': Recording of Martin Luther King's final staff meeting is to go on sale

A secret recording of Martin Luther King's final meeting before he was assassinated will be auctioned next week, 49 years after he died.

The extraordinary tape includes Bible verses, the teachings of Christ and inspirational quotes as King ran through his 'See You in Washington' speech for the first time.

The 53-minute tape is expected to fetch at least $10,000 when it is put on sale at Heritage Auctions in Dallas on May 13, according to Art Daily.

'The talk is a combination of a sermon, pep talk and personal reflection, delivered in King's moving and inspirational style,' said Don Ackerman, an Americana expert and consignment director at Heritage Auctions.

'Be prepared to be inspired!'

The tape records a full staff meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) on January 17, 1968, just four months before King was assassinated on April 14.

The focus is the upcoming Poor People's Campaign and a planned march on Washington and economic issues such as affordable housing and unemployment are central to the discussion.

At one point King is recorded as declaring: 'Something is wrong and we are not going to sit down on stools of do-nothingism and accept it... The right to eat... the right to live... this is what we 're going to Washington about... My demand for Washington is... Repent, America! I'm serious about this...'

Speaking of the recording, Ackerman added: 'Dr King's speech is clear as a bell and gives one the impression of being right there in the room. There are no other speakers, but members of the audience are occasionally heard giving words of encouragement, anticipation or assent.'

He went on: 'It is a particularly moving speech wherein he discusses the purpose of demonstrations, noting that crime rates go down in areas where demonstrations occur, contrary to popular perception.'
'The Pope Is A Catholic': Cardinal Nichols Reacts To Ban On Women Priests

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said Pope Francis' ban on women ever becoming priests shows that he's a Catholic.

The Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in the UK dismissed outrage from women's campaign groups as he backed Francis' straight out refusal to ever ordain women.

"If Pope Francis has said we'll never have women priests I think it shows the Pope is a Catholic," Nichols told Christian Today.

The Pontiff told reporters aboard the papal plane on Tuesday that the ban on women entering the priesthood would remain forever.

"On the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, St Pope John Paul II had the last word on this and it stands," he said referring to an apostolic letter written by Pope John Paul II in 1994. The letter holds that ordaining women was not possible because Jesus chose only men as his apostles.

"This remains," he added.

When pressed on whether the ban would be in place "forever" Francis said: "If we read carefully the declaration by St John Paul II, it is going in that direction."

The declaration does not change the Argentine's stance and he has always said women could not be priests.

But pressure groups voiced their outrage at Francis' confirmation of John Paul's teaching. Women's Ordination Worldwide (WOW) said it showed he had a "blind spot as regards women".

A statement early on Wednesday morning read: "The oppression and poverty of women and girls around the world is reinforced when women and men are not seen as equally imaging God and this inequality in leadership, governance and ministry is reflected in our Church.

"It is long past due for the Church to rid itself of the sin of sexism and to welcome women as equal partners in all realms of ministry and leadership."

Catholic Women's Ordination added it was a "dangerous, untheological blind spot".

"The damage of this blind spot carries with it a tremendous responsibility on being a primary cause of the terrible violence and poverty that many women suffer on a daily basis; they are seen as second class and inferior to men," a statement read.

"Erroneous teachings in any church are highly dangerous as they tend to influence young, unformed minds, and are hard to shake off in adult life. This leads to a twisted formation of conscience and reducing people to a lesser understanding of their own personal dignity and a fear of an overarching demanding God rather than the true nature of the Goodness of God."
The Pope's Egypt visit shows what persecution is doing for the Church

As Christians face an increase in violence around the world and especially in the Middle East, there are significant signs that the major Churches are coming together, with the blood of martyrs acting as the 'seed of unity'.

Perhaps the most striking of these signs in recent years came at the weekend during Pope Francis's visit to Egypt, when he and the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II took the major ecumenical step of making a declaration on common baptism.

agreement, which mean Oriental Copts and Catholics will recognise each other's baptisms, was praised by the World Council of Churches (WCC), as a 'sign of hope'.

The joint statement on April 28 also commits the Churches to working towards a shared formulation of the Lord's Prayer and reiterates the long-pursued desire for a common date for the celebration of Easter.

The declaration, which was signed during Pope Francis's visit to the Orthodox Saint Mark's Coptic Cathedral in Cairo, said: 'Today we, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II, in order to please the heart of the Lord Jesus, as well as that of our sons and daughters in the faith, mutually declare that we, with one mind and heart, will seek sincerely not to repeat the baptism that has been administered in either of our Churches.'

The Pope's trip has been praised as morale boosting for Egyptians in the wake of the Palm Sunday attacks on churches in Alexandria and Tanta which killed dozens and injured many more.

But it is the joint declaration on baptism that is being singled out as the historic highlight when it comes to ecumenical relations, and to the dream of Christian unity.

'The Pope's visit for Catholics in Egypt was a great happening, very positive,' Jesuit Father Samir Khalil Samir, a noted Egyptian Catholic theologian and Islamic studies scholar, told the Catholic News Service.

The professor, who teaches at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome and St Joseph's University in Beirut, said the baptism agreement was even more important.

'This was a big step,' said Samir. 'In Egypt, there are a lot of mixed marriages between Catholics and Orthodox,' Fr Samir explained, pointing to the previous Coptic Orthodox requirement that new members joining the Church, including those who had previously been baptised as Catholic, had to be baptised again. 'This was very unhappy,' he explained.

'In general, the ecumenical relations with the Coptic Orthodox Church made very good steps and can go further,' Samir predicted.

Observers have pointed out the symbolism of the image of Pope Francis sitting alongside Tawadros II and the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, praying together in the Church of St. Peter and paying tribute to the 29 martyrs who died last December during separate attacks on Coptic churches in Cairo.

In their joint declaration, Francis and Tawadros II used the term 'ecumenism of martyrdom,' wishing that the blood of martyrs could become 'the seed of unity among the disciples of Christ'.

In an article entitled 'Why did the Pope go to Egypt?', the website Aleteia said: 'On this basis, which is completely aligned with Early Christian tradition since Tertullian (the blood of the martyrs has always been considered the seed of Christianity), it is quite possible this papal journey, much more than others, has sowed a token of extremely powerful unity. Especially, since the Copts constitute the first Christian minority in order of importance in the Middle East and Northern Africa.'

As the two Popes say in the conclusion of their joint agreement: 'We are aware that we still have far to go on this pilgrimage...as we journey towards the blessed day when we will at last gather at the same Eucharistic table.'

Far to go, yes. But last weekend, the Christian world took one major step closer to that precious unity.
US Catholics like the Pope, but don't listen to him

Catholics around the world were agog to hear what Pope Francis had to say in his exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). Would he relax the Church's teaching on abortion or divorce? In the end, he didn't  but research from the US shows that there, at least, Catholics wouldn't have cared much either way.

Figures from the respected Pew Research polling organisation indicate that in spite of his popularity, only about one in 10 American Catholics say they turn to the Pope "a great deal" for guidance on difficult moral questions.

Most Catholics say they look inward for guidance, with roughly three-quarters of US Catholics (73 per cent) saying they rely "a great deal" on their own conscience when facing difficult moral problems.

Only 21 per cent look to the Catholic Church's teachings, while 15 per cent turn to the Bible and only 11 per cent say they rely a great deal on the Pope.

However, Catholics who are highly religious  defined as praying daily and attending services at least once a week  are considerably more likely than other Catholics to seek guidance from Church teachings, the Bible and the Pope. Still, no more than half of these highly religious Catholics give great weight to any of these sources of guidance, while 74 per cent say they rely a great deal on their conscience.

The Pew survey also points out, however, that relying on conscience to make moral decisions doesn't conflict with the Church's teaching. It cites the Church's Catechism, which says that "a well-formed conscience is upright and truthful" and that the "education of the conscience is a lifelong task".

In this light, a person's moral decisions are guided by a conscience formed by engaging with the Bible and the Church's teachings  among which are the pronouncements of the Pope.

However, the survey does raise questions about what Catholics would do if advice from the Church or religious leaders conflicts with advice from family or other sources. More than eight in 10 US Catholics say they depend "a lot" on their own research in the decision-making process. Advice from family was the second most popular choice among Catholics, with half saying they rely a lot on relatives.

Though the Pew report does not refer to this, one of the pressure points for Catholics in making moral decisions is the use of artificial contraception. The Church is officially opposed to it, but most Catholic women use it.
White Supremacist David Duke Celebrates Appointment Of Jeff Sessions As Attorney General

Last night Jeff Sessions was confirmed by the US Senate as Donald Trump's attorney general, a move that was celebrated by former KKK wizard David Duke as "taking America back".

The Alabama Senator was confirmed last night by a vote of 52-47 in the Senate. Sessions, who will now be in charge of the US justice department, has faced repeated allegations of racism, making Trump's selection arguably his most controversial yet.

Sessions was an early supporter of Trump's bid for the presidency. He is an conservative Republican, with clear stances against abortion, immigration, and same-sex marriage. He is also known for his tough stance on criminal justice and in line with Trump's self-appointment as "the law and order candidate."

"By your appointment tonight, I have been given a real challenge. I'll do my best to be worthy of it." Sessions said after the vote.

On Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren was silenced for attempting to criticise Sessions in a Senate hearing on his nomination. Warren attempted to read out a letter from Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King. King wrote the letter in 1986 to oppose the appointment of Sessions to the position of federal judge.

The letter includes the allegation that Sessions "used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters."

Warren began reading the letter, which read: "Mr Sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens," at which point she was interrupted by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell accused Warren of impugning Sessions' character, and Warren was then forbidden to speak for the rest of the Senate discussion.

David Duke, a white nationalist and former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan made clear his enthusiasm about the confirmation. When Sessions was originally picked in November, Duke praised Sessions for publicly opposing "the massive, institutionalized racial discrimination against white people called affirmative action."

Following Session's confirmation, Duke tweeted:

Law & Order, welcome back...

Sessions has called allegations that he was a supporter of the KKK "damnably false", but was criticised when he joked that he thought the Klan were OK until he heard they smoked marijuana.

Actor Chris Evans registered the frustration of many when he tweeted in repsonse to Duke's praise of Sessions: "If David Duke...thinks you're right, then you are unequivocaly wrong."
Why is faith a disadvantage in British politics, while in the US it's the other way round?

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron headed to Lewes today desperately praying his faith will not make headlines for the rest of this election campaign.

It is nearly a week since he was cowed into admitting, finally and reluctantly, that he did not think gay sex was a sin.

And with that pained and uncomfortable BBC interview, he will hope the issue has been put to bed and the tricky issue of his evangelical Christian faith doesn't raise its ugly head again.

Out of all the interesting discussion points that arose from the debate, not once was it suggested that Tim Farron's faith might be a good and positive thing.

Instead his widely known Christian commitment was decidedly unhelpful for him. Even Farron himself seemed slightly embarrassed by it.

'I take the view as a political leader I am quite careful about how I talk about my faith,' he said.

'I don't bang on about it.'

He added: 'I don't think people want political party leaders saying what is and isn't a sin.'

The contrast with the US is stark.

Only last week the story emerged of how Donald Trump's cabinet meets for a one-hour Bible study with a right-wing pastor every week. Republican Christians hailed the move in particular and were gleeful 'their man' was putting time with God front and centre of his schedule.

Whereas in the US faith is generally respected in politicians, in the UK it is barely tolerated.

This is largely down to the different religious histories between here and the States. Britain has an established Church and with that comes a degree of baggage.

The monarch is both head of state and Supreme Governor of the Church of England and while both of those are now little more than a title, the legacy is of a Church associated with power and politics.

And as Justin Welby's regular interventions prove, the Archbishop of Canterbury is very much still a political figure in British life.

Inevitably the Church is therefore tainted by association with some of the UK's more gruesome periods.

The Civil War, for example, born out of religious enthusiasm against a King who was head of the Church, led to hundreds of thousands of deaths including up to half the population of Ireland.

After that, to go with the religious status quo in the Church of England was to be associated with power, wealth and often oppression.

To go against it with the Nonconformist Baptists and Puritans was to be associated with rebellion, instability and occasionally violence, while later Methodists were often regarded as simply odd.

It was lose-lose and it is unsurprising religion in modern politicians is viewed with such suspicion and antagonism.

Across the Atlantic the picture could not be more different. Despite the frequent re-writing of history to show America as a Christian nation, the early fathers were decided secularists who split Church and state when writing the American constitution.

Left out of an official place in politics, Christians in America looked to influence from the outside.

Combined with an inherently negative view of government as invasive in the US, Christianity could be seen as the redemptive force politics needed.

Far from being associated with unhealthy power, the Church was historically outside government.

So when politicians proclaim their Christian faith, it is still seen, predominantly by right-wing Republicans, as bringing a healthy redeeming aspect to the dirty 'secular' world of Washington politics.

There are of course dangers on both sides. In the UK we risk missing the positive impact faith has on the political arena, from support for child refugees and anti-human trafficking initiatives to foodbanks and debt relief projects. In the US the risk is Christianity  in its evangelical form especially  will become so closely associated with a particular brand of politics it becomes tarnished by the compromises needed to gain and exercise power.

Arguably, neither in Britain or the US is there a healthy relationship between religion and politics.

Follow Harry Farley on Twitter: @HarryFarls
With Trump set to visit Israel, is Palestinian militant group Hamas finally coming in from the cold?

After years of internal discussion and external criticism, it could, just possibly be the moment that Hamas began to come in from the cold.

The Palestinian armed group has finally 'modernised' its position and, compromising with Israel's existence, dropped its historic call for the destruction of the Jewish state, while distancing itself from the Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood.

The move inspires comparisons to Sinn Fein leading the Irish nationalist movement away from the armed struggle and into talks and then government.

In a new policy document leaked to the press in Lebanon and other Arab states, Hamas crucially distinguishes between 'the Jews' and 'the Zionists who occupy Palestine'.

The new document states: 'Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.'

Perhaps more significantly still, after years of war with Israel, Hamas says it will agree to a Palestinian state along borders agreed in 1967, when Israel defeated Arab states and captured and occupied Gaza, where Hamas currently rules, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The document states that Hamas 'considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of 4 June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus'.

By falling into line over a future state encompassing Gaza  from which Israel withdrew in 2005  along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem along 1967 borders, Hamas is aligning itself with the goal of Fatah, its main political rival.

The development comes ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and the Palestinian president and leader of the mainstream Fatah movement, Mahmoud Abbas, and amid reports that Trump will visit the region later this month. Reports in the region say that the new formulae have been pushed out in time for that meeting.

Unlikely as his prospects may seem, Trump is trying to jump-start the dormant Middle East peace process with the help of other Arab states including Egypt.

And by distancing from the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas appears to be aiming for improved relations with the West, Gulf Arab states and Egypt, which label the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

Gulf Arab sources told the Reuters news agency that the revised political document will still reject Israel's right to exist while backing 'armed struggle' against the state. It is this stance that has led many Western countries to classify Hamas, too, as a 'terrorist' organisation.

However, the recognition of the 1967 borders indicates the acceptance by Hamas of another entity alongside Palestine, even if it is not explicitly recognised as Israel, and it is worth remembering that Sinn Fein never gave up its commitment to a united Ireland despite being brought in from the cold.

Nor, incidentally, has the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party Likud abandoned its foundational commitment to a state of Israel that runs 'from the river to the sea'. Likud demands that 'the Jordan Valley and the territories that dominate it shall be under Israeli sovereignty. The Jordan river will be the permanent eastern border of the State of Israel,' and seeks to 'extend Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration over the Golan Heights, thus establishing Israeli sovereignty over the area' and to 'continue to strengthen Jewish settlement on the Golan'.

Predictably, Israel has dismissed the Hamas move, with David Keyes, a spokesman for Netanyahu, saying that Hamas was 'attempting to fool the world' and 'will not succeed'. He added said: 'They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians. This is the real Hamas.'

And it is of course a fact that Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2007 and has carried out hundreds of armed attacks in Israel and Israeli-occupied territories since it was founded three decades ago. Who started those wars however, is open to debate.

The key area that remains unclear is whether the document replaces the part of Hamas's 1988 charter, which calls for Israel's destruction. There were mixed report on the question today, and Hamas has yet to comment publicly.

The nuanced position was set out by the head of the movement's political bureau, Khaled Mashal, at a press conference in Doha. 'Hamas advocates the liberation of all of Palestine but is ready to support the state on 1967 borders without recognising Israel or ceding any rights,' he said.

Christian Today understands that Tony Blair, the UN Quartet's former Middle East envoy, has been involved in discussions with Hamas which led to the move. The former prime minister, who retains a strong interest in pushing for peace in the region, has several times met with Mashal in recent months.

One key question that remains is whether Hamas could fall in line with the Arab peace initiative, which would recognise Israel if Israel agreed to the 1967 borders.

But for now, it should be accepted that Hamas, which is not a monolithic organisation, has toned down its rhetoric, including its anti-Semitic ravings, and after years of wars with Israel inched towards recognising the Jewish state.

For by accepting the 1967 borders if not the existence of Israel itself, Hamas is effectively accepting that in any future agreement, a Palestinian state would be based on just 22 per cent of historic Palestine.

And with fresh talks potentially around the corner, with Trump planning to visit the region on May 21, that is a significant step which may, just possibly, help pave the way for peace.
With nearly a killing a day so far this year in her shrinking city of just over 600,000, its no wonder that Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh has cried out, Murder is out of controleven before the summer homicide season has begun. She has begged the FBI to help her contain the mayhem, now running at a higher rate than 20 years ago in a city made infamous by the brilliant TV series, The Wirewhich unflinchingly depicted archetypal urban lawlessness and corruptionand later by the death of Freddie Gray while being arrested two years ago. If Baltimore cops werent the nations finest even then, the Black Lives Matter riots that injured 15 of them and the violence following Grays death that prompted the governor to call in the National Guard certainly didnt encourage the Baltimore PD to do its job more fervently.

If the FBI, ashamed and angered by director James Comeys politicized antics during the presidential election, can start to shake off public contempt by helping Mayor Pugh, that would be a wonderful win-win. But no one should hold his breath. The FBI hasnt really been an urban crime-fighting force since Prohibition.

Baltimores mayor would do much better to call in former New York police commissioner William Bratton as a consultant, both to teach her cops how to do their jobs and to teach her and her administration that no police force can succeed without unflinching political support. And Bratton should spend some time with former Baltimore Sun police reporter David Simon, who wrote The Wire with advice from his homicide-detective friend, Ed Burns, and who knows exactly how Baltimores past political corruption corroded lawfulness, honesty, and public accountability throughout the city. He can tell Bratton where the bodies are buriedfiguratively and literally.

City Journal readers well know what Bratton would do. Hed activate a Baltimore CompStat, a real-time computerized crime-mapping system that would show where crimes took place and when, so that commanders could deploy troops where needed to stop crime before it happens. He would show police brass how to grill precinct commanders in weekly meetings, using the data to hold them accountable for not forcing down crime in their jurisdictions, and promoting or demoting them accordingly. He would establish an anti-gang unit that would catalog and categorize the majority of the citys thugs, according to everything from their tattoos to their signature criminal methods. He would teach cops how to stop and frisk people on probable cause that they are carrying guns, to get firearms off the streets and thereby reduce the probability of their being used. He would teach them to enforce laws against disorder in public placesgraffiti vandalism, prostitution, low-level drug sales, public drinking and urination, aggressively loud music, and so onin order to show that police are on the watch and in charge even for small matters, and will therefore crush you for anything really serious. He would encourage them to disrupt the criminal infrastructure, from fences to stolen-car chop-shops, to make it harder for crime to pay. And he would show commanders how to make it hard for cops to be on the take in small ways and large, so that they stop being part of the problem and become the solution.

On this last matter, Bratton would need complete cooperation from Mayor Pugh and lesser city officials. It would be a Herculean task in demoralized Baltimore, always an unruly port cityfrom the days when its riotous English-hating Irish and French immigrants all but killed Revolutionary War hero General Light-Horse Harry Lee for his opposition to the War of 1812 against Britain, because he thought it an unnecessary waste of soldiers lives, right down to more recent times, when congresswoman Nancy DAlesandro Pelosis father and brother were mayors for 16 years between 1947 and 1971. Just as a dying star collapses in on itself so densely that its gravitational force allows no light to escape and it disappears from view, so cities can become so corrupt and crime-ridden that the tax base flees, and decline is hard to stop. Detroit, Camden, maybe even Chicago and St. Louis, come to mind. Baltimore has so many advantages, though, especially its beautiful housing stock so close to Washington, that it ought to be salvageable. But it will take a kind of urban heroism to save it.

So it all depends on whether Mayor Pugh has the stuff of which heroes are made.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
When we were instructed by one of our charity clients to advise them on their fundraising activities throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland, we realised two things. First, that as England and Wales lawyers we were not ourselves qualified to advise on all aspects of Scottish and Northern Irish fundraising regulation, or on Irish law. Secondly, that there must be any number of charities conducting fundraising across the UK and Ireland to whom such advice could be of considerable use.

It is a complex legal and regulatory landscape, with legislation dating back to 1939 sitting alongside new provisions introduced by the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016, and a variety of other sources of rules. We therefore answered our clients questions from the England and Wales perspective, and instructed charity law colleagues at Edwards & Co Solicitors in Northern Ireland, Turcan Connell in Scotland and OConnell Brennan in Ireland on the charitys behalf.
The proposed sale of the Co-operative Bank, announced earlier this year, could be regarded as just another chapter in the ongoing story of the restructuring of the UK banking market, sparked by the 2008 banking crisis. For charities, however, it is a significant development involving a long-established institution whose values and ethics are perceived to be closely aligned with their own.

The Co-operative Bank fared well in the wake of the banking crisis, but encountered its own problems in 2013, when it had to be bailed out by private investors  mainly hedge funds  following the discovery of a 1.5bn capital shortfall. Its new owners embarked on a turnaround and relaunched the banks ethical policy, but have now put the bank up for sale, saying that its capacity to generate capital organically to meet longer-term UK bank regulatory requirements had been constrained by lower for longer interest rates and higher than originally anticipated transformation costs.
Britains wealthiest people gave away a record 3.19bn to charitable causes in the last 12-months, according to figures released by The Sunday Times.

According to figures published by The Sunday Times ahead of next weeks release of the 2017 Rich List, Britains wealthiest people gave nearly 3.2bn to charitable causes last year, a 20 per cent increase in charitable giving from the year before.

The Giving List, published annually by The Sunday Times as part of its wider Rich List, ranks wealthy philanthropists by the proportion of the wealth given away in the last 12 months.

In an article announcing some of the top-line figures of the 2017 list, the Sunday Times said there is now a record number of billionaires in Britain.

Figures showed that a person would need a fortune of 110m to enter the list this year, up from 103m in 2016.

Jamie Cooper tops Giving List for first time

Jamie Cooper, former wife of Sir Chris Hohn, has topped the Giving List for the first time, giving away over 60 per cent of her personal fortune to charity.

Cooper donated 204.9m, or 60.8 per cent of her personal fortune, to what the Times described as health, climate change and nutrition causes.

Her former husband Sir Chris Hohn also donated 204.9m, or around 25 per cent of his personal fortune of 820m, to charity.

The two founded The Childrens Investment Fund Foundation in January 2004.

The largest actual donation made to an organisation, in terms of the donation amount, was made by Steve Morgan, founder of construction firm Redrow, who donated 226m worth of shares in his company to his own Morgan Foundation.

Morgan set up the foundation in 2001 to support charities across North Wales, Merseyside, West Chester and North Shropshire.

For the first time in four years, Labour peer Lord Sainsbury did not top The Giving List. Sainsbury and his family came second in the 2016 Giving List, donating 196.3m to education, arts and humanitarian causes, around 35.5 per cent of his total worth.

Some 260 philanthropists are named in the 2017 Rich List.

In the latest issue of Fundraising Magazine

CAF praise huge contribution made by major donors

Joanna Walker, head of private clients at the Charities Aid Foundation, praised the huge contribution made to society by those on the Giving List, and said the 20 per cent increase in total donations echoed what CAF had been seeing over many years.

This years Giving List echoes our experience at CAF over many years. Major donors are making a huge contribution to charities and achieving amazing things. Their importance cannot be overstated.

We know that people in the UK are among the most generous in the world when it comes to charitable giving, and this is true of people from all walks of life.

The huge contribution of Britains philanthropists makes it possible for charities to do vital work which has a lasting impact improving lives. So it is fantastic to see that those with the greatest means are becoming ever-more generous in their support for good causes.

Mike Smith, head of external affairs at the Institute of Fundraising, said:

This is welcome news that some of the richest people are choosing to give even more to the causes they support. I am sure that charities and major donor fundraisers will be taking note.

"It goes to show that no matter how much you have, making a difference by supporting a charity is a great thing to do and something that we all benefit from.

The full Rich List 2017 will be published in the 7 May issue of the Sunday Times.
Hurricane Alex arrived early. Just a category-one storm, it wasnt very powerful as hurricanes go. When it made landfall in the Azores, a spatter of islands about 900 miles west of Portugal, its winds had already dwindled to 63 mph, which meant that technically, it was no longer even a hurricane. What made Alex unusual was not its speed, but its timing: The storm formed in January of last year, long before the official start of hurricane season, which is June 1. Youd have to wind back the clocks to 1955 to find another named hurricaneits name was Aliceswirling in the Atlantic in January.

Timing may have been the most remarkable quality Alex possessed. But sometimes, timing is everything.

National outlets made note of the storm, and stories on Alex ran in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Christian Science Monitor, among other high-profile publications. To handle that hot question of whether climate change was a factor with the rare storm, some news outlets did what they are programmed to do: They quoted an expert, linking back to a post published on Weather Underground that mentioned higher-than-normal sea surface temperatures at the time. In the post, Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at Weather Underground, wrote that Global warming made Alexs formation much more likely to occur.

ICYMI: Journalists shower Hillary Clinton with campaign cash

Rare events like Alex pose a challenge for the media and for scientists: When can climate change be mentioned as a contributing factor to an event? While scientists do conduct formal attribution studies, those analyses take time and arent any help for a reporter on deadline. The questions of how scientists should talk to the media about Alex and whether climate change should be blamed sparked a heated online discussion among scientists, according to emails acquired by CJR through the Freedom of Information Act.

The request focused on the use of the terms global warming and climate change in emails sent from or received by six hurricane researchers or forecasters. Hurricane Alex and the emails that scientists exchanged about it also point to what can be a disconnect between scientists and the general public: namely, that the media and the public are primed to seek direct causes-and-effects, and scientists speak in probabilities.

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Climate scientists predict that in a warming world, hurricane behavior will intensify. Hurricanes will blow with stronger winds and shed heavier rainfalls, and because of rising sea levels, they will produce more dangerous storm surges.

Weve seen these sorts of hurricanes naturally in the past, Masters tells CJR, referring to Alex. So these things do occur without global warming. But weve increased the probability of it occurring, with global warming.

Of heat and hurricanes

On January 18, four days after Alex earned hurricane status, Chris Landsea, the science and operations officer at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, sent an email to a slew of other researchers and forecasters who follow tropical storms.

With the unusual occurrence of Hurricane Alex as an out-of-season hurricane, there have been a couple of meteorologists stating to the media that manmade global warming helped to cause the hurricane, he wrote. Such statements are not, in my opinion, factual.

Landseas lengthy email touched on the research regarding what effect climate change will have on hurricanes, and as for Alex, he said it would be an exceeding stretch of imagination to make a significant linkage of global warming to this event. He concluded by saying that such hyperbole detracts from a more important problemthe multitude of people living in cities at risk of storm surgesas well as global-warming-fueled sea-level rise.

Landsea saw something in the media that provoked him, he recalls to CJR, and he felt frustrated.

There was at least a couple stories, that I saw coming out, right after or during Hurricane Alex, that I did not agree with, he says.

In Landseas opinion, hurricanes arent a real good poster child for global warming impacts. He says global warming is likely to produce mildly stronger storms over the next century, and that the uptick in strength we see now would be too small to measure; he says there may also be fewer hurricanes. His biggest concern is sea-level rise, which could exacerbate storm surges from hurricanes.

ICYMI: The Mar-a-Lago meeting and journalisms worst impulses

He adds that he attended an event where he heard Al Gore talking about Hurricane Matthew, and the way Gore spoke about the connection between Matthew and global warming made him cringe, because theres some links, but its much much more subtle than he is insinuating, Landsea recalls.

James Kossin, an atmospheric research scientist at NOAAs National Centers for Environmental Information, replied to the email thread. I think that one of the issues, among many, is that we cant easily disentangle the factors leading to an event, so its just as difficult to support saying it had no connection to climate change as it is to say it was caused (or, perhaps better to say amplified) by climate change, he wrote.

I completely agree with Chris Landsea, Kossin tells CJR. I think we do a great disservice to everybody, when some singular, short-term event like a hurricane happens, or a very hot day, or an ice storm, and we immediately say, well, this was caused by global warming. Thats fundamentally unsupportable. Thats not to say that you cant make a connection between events and climate change, he says, but the process behind making that connection is a tempered, cautious, time-consuming methodology.

Hurricanes are especially challenging because theyre so dynamic, shifting track and intensity, he says. A cyclone is a much much more complicated thing to attribute cause to than a heat wave, he tells CJR. (For example, one study found that manmade global warming was a major factor in the European heat wave of 2015.)

Ultimately, Kossin says, scientists should stop saying that climate change caused an eventunless theres been a careful analysis of the data, and that statement then becomes supportable.

One of things Im torn about in all this, is that on the other hand, he adds, I do like the idea that when something extreme happens, the public says, Wow, I wonder if this is related to climate change. I think thats okay. I think weather events and reminders of the kind of things we think climate change will affect, I think those are good connections for the public to make.

In the email thread, Kossin also wrote about speaking to the press about specific events and climate change. The kind of question he thinks is the right one, he tells CJR, is along the lines of: Is this event the sort of thing we might expect more of in a warming world? Questions like that, in his opinion, are better than ones that ask about direct causation.

The brief life of Alex

The tempest that eventually became Alex first geared up into a strong storm near the Bahamas, around January 7, 2016. It took an unusual route, shaped vaguely like a hook on its side: traveling east and north from the Bahamas area, then south again, then north towards the Azores, and then curving back westward. On January 14, it officially graduated to hurricane status, a title it lost the following day. Like all hurricanes in the northern hemisphere, Alex spun counterclockwise. When its winds were strongest, they blew at about 86 mph. Thats mild compared to other hurricanes, like Hurricane Patricia of 2015, which boasted winds of a whopping 215 mph.

Kerry Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at MIT and an expert on how climate change will affect hurricanes, tells CJR theres a thermodynamic speed limit on hurricane winds that will increase in a warming world.

That speed limit definitely goes up when you warm the climate, he says. What that means for actual hurricanes is that they have the potential to become more intense in the future climate than they are able to in this climate.

RELATED: Journalists too easily charmed by power, access, and creamy risotto

The real connection between hurricanes and a warming world

Emanuel says because of global warming, scientists predict there will be an increased frequency of the strongest storms. Thats an important prediction, since the strongest storms account for the most damage. (The science is less settled around whether the total number of storms will increase or decrease, but he says that doesnt matter much, since the total count of hurricanes is dominated by weaker storms. In other words, the number of strong hurricanes is the most important factor.)

Practically speaking, he says, there might be an increased frequency of the strongest hurricanes: categories five, four, and maybe three. There is some evidence, he adds, mostly from satellite observations, that were already beginning to see an uptick in the frequency of these very high-category events.

In short, a warming world could produce stronger storms more often; and thanks to sea-level rise and more people living on coasts, those storms will be more dangerous. Hurricanes will also bring more rain. Plus, he says, upticks in wind speeds produce exponentially more destructionits not a linear relationship.

Under one global warming scenario, thanks to sea-level rise and an increase in hurricane intensity on the coasts, by the year 2100, hurricanes will cause an estimated $75 billion of damage annually in the US, compared to around $10 billion today, according to Emanuel.

Emanuel thinks the way Landsea characterizes the effect of global warming on hurricanes is misleading and a bit of a lowball. The risk of hurricane damage [and] mortality is increased substantially with global warming, he says. Thats the true story.

The eye of the storm: How to report on hurricanes

The best way to think about whether climate change was a factor with Alexa weak, category-one stormis to ask about probability, Emanuel says: In a warming world, is there a greater chance of a hurricane forming in the Atlantic in January?

But the attribution question points to the disconnect between science and the public when it comes to questions like: How did climate change affect this hurricane? Its tricky, because we have to talk in probabilistic terminology, and yet thats not something that always sits well with the public. They just want to know the answer. The fact is, we cant fall into the temptation of giving them a concrete answer, Emanuel says, with a laugh, when it is unscientific to do so.

Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, weighed in on the same email thread in which Landsea, Kossin, and others shared their thoughts about Alex and global warming, calling the storm a thought-provoking case. In the email, he remarked that sea-surface temperatures were at record levels all over the western Atlantic Ocean.

I think its a fair thing to mention, Blake tells CJR in an interview, referring to climate change and Alex. It just shouldnt be listed in a primary sort of way. If you wanted to know more definitively, youd have to do a long study of it.

He adds that what he was getting across in his email was that Alex may have formed over water temperatures that were near normal, but the system that eventually became Alex formed a week earlier, and the whole time it moved over the warmest waters that weve ever seen.

Ultimately, hed like to see someone model what effect those warm waters had.

Formal attribution studies between weather events and climate change take time. But Heidi Cullen, the chief scientist at Climate Central, is part of a World Weather Attribution team that seeks to turn around results within about a week of weather like a heat wave or cold wave, which are two of the easiest events to tie to climate change. She says over the past decade or more, the science of attribution has matured, allowing scientists to make those connections publicly where they couldnt before.

Noted climate scientist Michael Mann, who directs the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, says he felt disappointed by Landseas missive to the other scientists. It removes all nuance from the discussion, he says. The idea that you can reject any role of climate change at all is not scientifically defensible. Its just as bad as saying it was totally caused by climate change.

He said hurricane season may be lengthening due to warmer sea-surface temperatures. And Landsea and others, Mann argues, have a history of incorrectly pointing at natural variability as the cause of these warming temperatures, instead of manmade climate change.

On a deeper level, climate scientists may feel safer saying that an event had no connection to climate change than saying there is one, especially when pointing to a tangible example like a hurricanean event that resonates with the public.

Just because the attribution study hasnt been published that shows the connection, does not mean the connection doesnt exist, he says. Assuming a connection only exists after a formal attribution study has been done, Mann said, is a dangerous precedent to set.

As for Alex, that rare, out-of-season storm, Mann says it was consistent with warming sea-surface temperatures, which can widen the window in the Atlantic for hurricane activity. Climate change provides a context for interpreting what were seeing.

ICYMI: Breitbart editor slams mainstream media in Pulitzer Hall

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Rob Verger is the assistant tech editor at Popular Science. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, Vice News, The Daily Beast, and The Boston Globe. Follow him on Twitter @robverger
The internet in its halcyon days was lauded as a open space that could promote free speech in the US and worldwide, but it is now a realm that has settled into domination by a few companies. As we enter an age in which the internet is fully integrated into our daily lives, the main channel by which we access information, a reconsideration of the values of the First Amendment is required.

This was the motivation for a symposium on May 1 at Columbia University called Disrupted: Speech and Democracy in the Digital Age. Attended by a mix of legal professionals, academics, and journalists, the message was clear: Legal thinking around the First Amendment must renew itself in the new era. The internet is deeply affecting the shape of public discourse. In turn, how can the values of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly shape and govern the digital space?

This was the first public event hosted by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University (the Tow Center for Digital Journalism was co-sponsor). The Institute will surely be at the center of this debate for years to come. The First Amendment Institute, now up and running after its inception last year under founding director Jameel Jaffer, will be dedicated to research, education, and litigation pursuing freedom of speech.

Law, by nature, is always catching up to technology. Leslie Kendrick, professor of law at University of Virginia, made the distinction between east coast code and west coast codeeast coast code being the codified legal precepts, and west coast code being, well, all those lines written in computer language. East coast code, she said, is always behind west coast code; west coast code moves fast and is always inventing things the law cannot anticipate.

Legal efforts on behalf of the First Amendment have traditionally focused on the right to say thingsthe right to hand out pamphlets, as Tim Wu, professor of law at Columbia and contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, put it. But almost everyone on stage yesterday agreed that, with the internet, the right to say things is no longer under threat. Instead, there are a host of other threats enabled by the advent of the internet.

Now that anyone can publish freely online, one threat to free speech comes from the ability of companies or social media platforms to control who gets heard; how many readers newspapers reach; and which citizens have a voice in a cluttered online environment of bots and ads. Zeynep Tufekci, writer for the Times and professor of communications at University of North Carolina, wondered whether Twitter users leaving the platform because of harassment might be having their freedom of assembly violated. She also warned of new censorship techniques, in use now in China, which drown out anti-government speech rather than the traditional method of silencing. Teams of social media users linked to government agents pump out celebrity controversies, Tufekci said, at the same time other users are trying to raise the profile of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

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Such censorship techniques take advantage of the fact that all of us have limited attention. And, as Wu has written extensively on, the entire internet is built so that our attention is the currency. Facebook, in particular, makes money off of being able to keep you on their platform, clicking. And theyve become immensely good at targeting content to you. The data they have on individuals is unprecedented: no longer demographic, but individual and granular. New litigation around the First Amendment must pay attention to this market.

Another threat to freedom of the press is the breakdown of economic models. As Nicholas Lemann, formerly dean of the Journalism School at Columbia, put it, the big story in journalism now is not Trump, but the massive loss of jobs suffered in the past few years. Michael Oreskes, senior vice president and editorial director of NPR (and a CJR board member), emphasized that the greatest loss has been in local papers: Many city halls around the country are no longer covered. While the internet has been very good in making information available globally, local news has suffered because it does not have this universal appeal.

Addressing such questionsthe economic downfall of journalism, the new attention market, a new type of censorshipwill require a more imaginative view of the (quite brief) First Amendment, said Jamal Greene, professor of law at Columbia. Consider, he mused, if we passed a law limiting the number of people you could follow on Twitter to 50. In one sense, such a law would in conflict with the First Amendmentbut in other ways, such a move might promote discussion and deliberation. How we will negotiate such cases will be the work of the coming generation.

The bottom line is that Twitter and Facebook are private companies that have become our primary sites for public discourse. The function of journalismand indeed, the function of democracydepends on upholding the First Amendment to preserve the public sphere.

Watch the full event stream here.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Nausicaa Renner is digital editor of CJR.




If you want to prevent the grid from updating too frequently, you'll need to "buffer" the events, and only trigger the handler after a pause. This answer[^] has an example of how to do that:

JavaScript function debounce(fn, delay) { var timeout; return function () { var context = this , args = arguments; clearTimeout(timeout); timeout = setTimeout( function () { fn.apply(context, args); }, delay || 250 ); }; } ... $( " #searchField" ).on( ' change keydown paste input' , debounce( function () { ... }));

With that in place, the function to update the grid will only fire after a -second pause in keystrokes.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer







I would like to put a search field above a WebGrid, and also provide some combo boxes for filtering.



I've never done this before. Can someone who's done this point me in the right direction please?



Thank you

If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.





If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.



My website is built with angular js. when i submitted sitemap only home page is indexed and remaining pages are not indexed. I already changed all my page urls # to #! . please suggest me .











The difficult we do right away...

...the impossible takes slightly longer.



I have a page that receives a notification from a SignalR server when either a new row is added to a table or an existing row is changed. The data is displayed in a WebGrid. proxy.on( ' notifyAllClientsOfChanges' , function (model) { var $row = $( " .webgrid-table" ).find( " span[data-row-id='" + model.RowId + " ']" ).closest( " tr" ); if ($row.length) { updateRow($row, model) } else { createNewRow(model); } function createNewRow(model) { var table = document.getElementById( ' MyGrid' ); var new_row = table.rows[0].cloneNode( true ); new_row.cells[0]. value = model.RowId; new_row.cells[1]. value = model.SiteId; new_row.cells[2]. value = model.InstrumentId; new_row.cells[3]. value = model.TowerLocation; new_row.cells[4]. value = model.BayLocation; new_row.cells[5]. value = model.BaySerialNo; new_row.cells[6]. value = model.BayStatus; new_row.cells[7]. value = model.AccessionId; new_row.cells[8]. value = model.Result; new_row.cells[9]. value = model.AssayName; new_row.cells[10]. value = model.Started; new_row.cells[11]. value = model.Completed; new_row.cells[12]. value = model.TestSummary; table.appendChild(new_row); } function updpateRow($row, model) { var col01 = $row.find( " .x-SiteId" ).text(model.SiteId); var col02 = $row.find( " .x-InstrumentId" ).text(model.InstrumentId); var col03 = $row.find( " .x-TowerLocation" ).text(model.TowerLocation); var col04 = $row.find( " .x-BayLocation" ).text(model.BayLocation); var col05 = $row.find( " .x-BaySerialNo" ).text(model.BaySerialNo); var col06 = $row.find( " .x-BayStatus" ).text(model.BayStatus); var col07 = $row.find( " .x-AccessionId" ).text(model.AccessionId); var col08 = $row.find( " .x-Result" ).text(model.Result); var col09 = $row.find( " .x-AssayName" ).text(model.AssayName); var col10 = $row.find( " .x-Started" ).text(model.Started); var col11 = $row.find( " .x-Completed" ).text(model.Completed); var col12 = $row.find( " .x-TestSummary" ).text(model.TestSummary); } });

The code above fires when a new row is added to the database or changes are made to an existing row. The code does work, but I don't see the additions or updates appear in the grid. If I refresh the page then the controller is called again and the entire data set is returned, which is what I'm trying to avoid.



So, what I want is to see row additions or changes in the WebGrid. How can I refresh the WebGrid without going back to the server?



Thank you

If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.







Have you tried adding some console.log calls to make sure your code is being called?





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer









If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.



modified 3-May-17 17:17pm.







The code looks like it should work, but to be pedantic, the new row should be appended to the <tbody> rather than the <table> :

JavaScript table.tBodies[ 0 ].appendChild(new_row);

It probably won't make a difference, unless your CSS is specifically targeting the tbody element.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer







Richard Deeming wrote: Is it just the new rows that aren't appearing?

I havent tried the Update code yet, but I do know that new rows are being added to the grid. They just don't appear

If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.



new_row.cells[i].value - it's not a standard property for a table cell, so it doesn't change the content: Demo[^]



If you use innerHTML or innerText , the value will be updated: Demo[^]



But you'll still have the problem of the <span> elements disappearing for the new rows. As I said yesterday, I'd be inclined to combine the add and update code, and use jQuery to set the text of the spans instead.



You might also want to check which row you're cloning - I suspect rows[0] will be the header row.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer











However, one final issue:



The new row appears at the bottom of the grid. The data is returned from the server in descending order by the TestStarted column. See this image.



Here's the JS I have so far incorporating all the help you've given me, including the console.log entries shown in the image I linked. proxy.on( ' notifyAllClientsOfChanges' , function (model) { console.log( " notifyAllClientsOfChanges called" ); var $row = $( " .webgrid-table" ).find( " span[x-RowId='" + model.RowId + " ']" ).closest( " tr" ); console.log(model.RowId); if (!$row.length) { var table = document.getElementById( ' MyGrid' ); console.log( " TABLE" ); console.log(table); var len = table.rows.length; console.log( " len = " + len); var new_row = table.rows[1].cloneNode( true ); console.log( " new_row" ); console.log(new_row); new_row = table.tBodies[0].appendChild(new_row); console.log( " new_row" ); console.log(new_row); $row = $(new_row); $row.find( " span[x-RowId]" ).data( " rowId" , model.RowId).text(model.RowId); } console.log( " SETTING ROW VALUES" ); $row.find( " .x-RowId" ).text(model.RowId); $row.find( " .x-SiteId" ).text(model.SiteId); $row.find( " .x-InstrumentId" ).text(model.InstrumentId); $row.find( " .x-TowerLocation" ).text(model.TowerLocation); $row.find( " .x-BayLocation" ).text(model.BayLocation); $row.find( " .x-BaySerialNo" ).text(model.BaySerialNo); $row.find( " .x-BayStatus" ).text(model.BayStatus); $row.find( " .x-AccessionId" ).text(model.AccessionId); $row.find( " .x-Result" ).text(model.Result); $row.find( " .x-AssayName" ).text(model.AssayName); $row.find( " .x-Started" ).text(model.Started); $row.find( " .x-Completed" ).text(model.Completed); $row.find( " .x-TestSummary" ).text(model.TestSummary); console.log( " DONE" ); If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.



Kevin Marois wrote: .find( " span[x-RowId='" + model.RowId + " ']" ) ... $row.find( " span[x-RowId]" ).data( " rowId" , model.RowId)

That's a bit confusing - you're looking for an attribute called x-RowId , but you're updating the data-row-id attribute. It would probably be better to stick with the data-row-id attribute, since that's the standard way of associating extra data with an element.



There's also no need to update the row ID for an existing row.

JavaScript proxy.on( ' notifyAllClientsOfChanges' , function (model) { console .log( " notifyAllClientsOfChanges called" ); var $row = $( " .webgrid-table" ).find( " span[data-row-id='" + model.RowId + " ']" ).closest( " tr" ); console .log(model.RowId, $row); if (!$row.length) { var table = document .getElementById( ' MyGrid' ); console .log( " TABLE" , table); var len = table.rows.length; console .log( " len = " , len); var new_row = table.rows[ 1 ].cloneNode( true ); console .log( " new_row" , new_row); new_row = table.tBodies[ 0 ].appendChild(new_row); console .log( " new_row" , new_row); $row = $(new_row); $row.find( " span[data-row-id]" ). data ( " rowId" , model.RowId).text(model.RowId); } console .log( " SETTING ROW VALUES" ); $row.find( " .x-SiteId" ).text(model.SiteId); $row.find( " .x-InstrumentId" ).text(model.InstrumentId); $row.find( " .x-TowerLocation" ).text(model.TowerLocation); $row.find( " .x-BayLocation" ).text(model.BayLocation); $row.find( " .x-BaySerialNo" ).text(model.BaySerialNo); $row.find( " .x-BayStatus" ).text(model.BayStatus); $row.find( " .x-AccessionId" ).text(model.AccessionId); $row.find( " .x-Result" ).text(model.Result); $row.find( " .x-AssayName" ).text(model.AssayName); $row.find( " .x-Started" ).text(model.Started); $row.find( " .x-Completed" ).text(model.Completed); $row.find( " .x-TestSummary" ).text(model.TestSummary); console .log( " DONE" ); }

It looks like the server is sending 0 as the RowId , so you'd need to fix that on the server.



The appendChild method will always insert the element at the end of the specified parent. If you want to insert it at a specific position, you'll need to find the row that should immediately follow it, and use insertBefore[^] to add the node. Something like this:

JavaScript var new_row = table.rows[ 1 ].cloneNode( true ); console .log( " new_row" , new_row); var before_row = null ; var before_value = null ; $( " .webgrid-table tr" ).each( function (){ var value = $( this ).find( " .x-Started" ).text(); if (value < model.Started) { if (!before_row || before_value < value) { before_row = this ; before_value = value; } } }); if (before_row) { new_row = table.tBodies[ 0 ].insertBefore(new_row, before_row); } else { new_row = table.tBodies[ 0 ].appendChild(new_row); } console .log( " new_row" , new_row);

If you can't convert the text value of the x-Started span to an appropriate type for sorting, you'll need to use another data- attribute to store and retrieve a sortable value.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer







Richard Deeming wrote: That's a bit confusing - you're looking for an attribute called x-RowId , but you're updating the data-row-id attribute. It would probably be better to stick with the data-row-id attribute, since that's the standard way of associating extra data with an element.

I noticed that after I posed. Looking at that now.



Richard Deeming wrote: The appendChild method will always insert the element at the end of the specified parent. If you want to insert it at a specific position, you'll need to find the row that should immediately follow it, and use insertBefore[^] to add the node.

I see. Got it!



Again, many thanks.



BTW, thanks for the link to jsfiddle. Pretty cool.

If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.



genesis child theme- I have added a new page Template and need a little help. The template will allow me to style with old divs but when I try to add new styles to my style.css it will not pick up the changes.



Do I need to add a complete new style sheet to or do i need some type of new code in function.php?







Please see this link for information on the order in which stylesheets are loaded:

Assigning property values, Cascading, and Inheritance[^]



There is also an example of how to use !important on that page directly below where it describes which order stylesheets are loaded.



Hope this is what you are looking for.



[UPDATE]

I solved this. I set the WebGrid's Id by doing htmlAttributes: new { id = " MyGrid" } then doing this in the JS var table = document.getElementById( ' MyGrid' ); [UPDATE]



I'm trying to insert a new row into a WebGrid. I'm getting an error "Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property '1' of undefined"



My WebGrid code @using (@Html.BeginForm( " Index" , " Home" )) { @{ var grid = new WebGrid(Model, rowsPerPage: 10 , ajaxUpdateContainerId: " divData" , canPage: true ); @grid.GetHtml( tableStyle: " webgrid-table" , headerStyle: " webgrid-header" , footerStyle: " webgrid-footer" , alternatingRowStyle: " webgrid-alternating-row" , selectedRowStyle: " webgrid-selected-row" , rowStyle: " webgrid-row-style" , mode: WebGridPagerModes.All, columns: grid.Columns ( grid.Column(columnName: " RowId" , header: " Row Id" , format: @@item.RowId), grid.Column(columnName: " SiteId" , header: " Site Id" , format: @@item.SiteId), )) } } and my JavaScript function createNewRow(model) { var table = document.getElementById( ' divData' ); var new_row = table.rows[1].cloneNode( true ); var len = table.rows.length; new_row.cells[0].innerHTML = len; new_row.cells[1]. value = model.SiteId; new_row.cells[2]. value = model.InstrumentId; new_row.cells[3]. value = model.TowerLocation; new_row.cells[4]. value = model.BayLocation; new_row.cells[5]. value = model.BaySerialNo; new_row.cells[6]. value = model.BayStatus; new_row.cells[7]. value = model.AccessionId; new_row.cells[8]. value = model.Result; new_row.cells[9]. value = model.AssayName; new_row.cells[10]. value = model.Started; new_row.cells[11]. value = model.Completed; new_row.cells[12]. value = model.TestSummary; table.appendChild(new_row); }

There are rows in the table, so why doesn't the Rows collection exist? I can see row data in the Console.

If it's not broken, fix it until it is.

Everything makes sense in someone's mind.

Ya can't fix stupid.



modified 2-May-17 13:16pm.



I am having an issue with the HTML that is used in a .net web form application. The problem is a dashed line line border is being displayed around the left, right, and bottom borders of where the 'option 1' and 'option 2 with corresponding wording is displayed.

The html that is being displayed is the deprecated apple-style-span class. Thus can you show me how to fix the html that is listed in code so the border does not display in the html?



<blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" ><blockquote dir= " ltr" style= " margin-right: 0px;" > <p> </ p > <p> </ p > <p> </ p > <p> </ p > <p >&CUR_DATE.EVAL </ p > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > </ blockquote > <p><span style= " font-size: 11pt;" ><br /> Parent;STU_FNAME.EVAL &STU_LNAME.EVAL<br /> </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >&PAR_ADDR.EVAL<br /> &PAR_CITY.EVAL, &PAR_STATE.EVAL. &PAR_ZIP.EVAL </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" > </ span > </ p > <p><span style= " color: #000000;" class = " apple-style-span" ><br /> <br /> <br /> Dear &PAR_NAME.EVAL and &STU_FNAME.EVAL &STU_LNAME.EVAL:<br /> <br /> I am sending you this correspondence as the designated person, authorized through state statute, responsible for the enforcement of mandatory attendance laws. </ span > </ p > <p> </ p > <p><span style= " color: #000000;" class = " apple-style-span" >Schools is very concerned about &STU_FNAME.EVAL ' ' s attendance pattern. Presently, &STU_FNAME.EVAL has the equivalent of 5 or more days of unexcused absence from school. </ p > <p><span style= " color: #000000;" class = " apple-style-span" > </ span > </ p > <p><span style= " color: #000000;" class = " apple-style-span" >(Option 1 ) </ span > </ p > <table style= " border: currentColor; border-image: none; border-collapse: collapse;" cellspacing= " 0" cellpadding= " 0" width= " 749" height= " 148" border= " 0" > <tbody> <tr> <td style= " border-color: #f0f0f0; padding: 0in 5.4pt; background-color: transparent;" valign= " top" > <p><span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >I have scheduled a collaborative plan review on DATE at TIME. We will meet at PLACE </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >located at ADDRESS, ROOM #. Please check in at the main office upon your arrival. </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >During this meeting we will address concerns and issues that may be contributing to the lack </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >of school attendance. The student and parent are required to attend. If applicable, please </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >bring any medical documentation regarding absences. </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >If you cannot attend this meeting </ span > <span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >please contact me at PHONE # </ span > </ p > <p><span style= " font-size: 11pt;" > </ span > </ p > <p><span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >(Option 2 ) </ span > </ p > </ td > </ tr > <tr> <td style= " border-color: transparent; padding: 0in 5.4pt; background-color: transparent;" valign= " top" > <p> </ p > </ td > </ tr > <tr> <td style= " border-color: transparent; padding: 0in 5.4pt; background-color: transparent;" valign= " top" > <p><span style= " font-size: 11pt;" >No meeting required. This letter is meant to serve as a notice of the students absences. Please call me if you have any questions.<br /> </ span > </ p > </ td > </ tr > </ tbody > </ table > <br /> <p>Please know that Schools is required to report the names of students of unexcused absences. <br /> <br /> Sincerely,<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />







modified 20-Sep-20 21:01pm.



I need technical advice on this matter. How to save form data to a disk file(Excel, text, XML format). Web server is not belongs to me. I just fill form for a web site. I need to use same data later to make comparisons and analyze. I need this to do to avoid duplicate data entry. Any method that can be used?. Any possibility to write memory resident program to to figure this out?. Thanks. 







If you had write access to the web server then you'd still need a server-side method to do this.



I, for example, use php[^]. There's a lot to this and you'll need to study it.



Ravings en masse^ "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010





I totally agree and understand your point. I have no write access to server end components/materials. I am at clients end. is there any possibility to run a routine/program at client end(my pc) that record all data I entered to the web site(I mean record all keyboard entries locally). This may be crazy question, but if I could figur out a method to do so I can save lot of my time to spent my time to repeat same data twice.

Thanks in advance.

Note : I am good at php/c#/Delphi coding.


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Bogota, Colombia, May 2, 2017Venezuelan authorities should immediately release Marcos Vergara and Deivis Valera, production assistants for the online media platform VivoPlay, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The two were taken into the custody of the Venezuelan National Guard while covering a protest last night, according to their lawyer.

Journalists cannot do their jobs without the essential work of their support staff, who sometimes face the brunt of government reprisal, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said from New York. It is outrageous for Venezuelan authorities to subject Marcos Vergara and Deivis Valera to this unjust detention. We call for their immediate release.

Jose Ramon Medina, a lawyer for VivoPlay, said armed civilians, some wearing masks, detained Vergara, Valera, and VivoPlay journalists Maryuri Andreina Gonzalez and Guido Villamizar Gonzalez as the reporting team covered protests against President Nicolas Maduro at around 8 p.m. last night. The civilians turned the four over to soldiers from the National Guard, who took them to Fort Tiuna, one of Caracas largest military bases.

Soldiers released the journalists shortly before midnight, Medina said. Vergara and Valera, who work as production assistants and as motorcycle drivers for the journalists, remain in custody, he said.

More than two dozen people have been killed in clashes between protesters and government security forces since mass protests erupted weeks ago, according to press reports. Journalists covering the unrest have been harassed and arrested, CPJ reported on April 12.

Medina told CPJ that Vergara and Valera were transferred to the governments criminalistics center in Caracas today, where he expects they will be fingerprinted and brought before a court to face as yet unspecified criminal charges. Medina said he briefly saw the two detainees early today but was not allowed to speak with them.

Its very irregular that two drivers transporting journalists are detained, Medina told CPJ. We are trying to get them released.

VivoPlay provides subscribers with independent news coverage and streams programs by journalists and comedians who are often critical of the Maduro government. The government has blocked access to VivoPlays website since April 7, according to press reports. Medina said VivoPlay is still available in Venezuela via mobile phone applications.
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Covering corruption in Mexico means living with impunity

By Adela Navarro Bello

It is a feeling of frustration that stays with you. Current affairs in Mexico today are dominated by two prevalent issues: corruption and impunity. Every story, breaking news or media report originates from these two issues. And to practice journalism here means to work in a climate of corruption and impunity. This is not fiction. Its the essence of the country.

Those who investigate corruption and impunity risk losing their sense of comfort or, worse, their lives. And after their murders, an incomplete file is the most likely end to an investigation into their deaths. Once more, corruption and impunity.

This is not a play on words. It is not nonsense. It is the sad and deadly reality of Mexico: a byproduct of the absence of the rule of law.

Between 2006 and 2016, 21 journalists were murdered with complete impunity in Mexico, putting the country sixth on CPJs annual index that measures cases where perpetrators remain unpunished. The system seems to be corrupt down to its very foundation; either that or its simply incapable of achieving justice.

Being a journalist in Mexico means learning to live in the shadow of impunity: the impunity you investigate and report on, and the impunity experienced firsthand. The messenger risks being a victim of the story he or she investigates, at times at the hands of government officials, police commanders, common criminals, and drug traffickers who go unpunished.

At Zeta, we have experienced firsthand both the dangers of impunity and corruption and the frustration of not being able to secure justice for our slain colleagues. In the 29 years since journalist Hector Felix Miranda was murdered, the Baja California State Attorney Generals Office hasnt pinpointed the mastermind. And in the 20 years since the attempted murder of Jesus Blancornelas, the federal attorney generals office hasnt been able to prosecute and sentence a single one of the 10 perpetrators. Thirteen years have passed since the murder of our editor, Francisco Javier Ortiz Franco, with none of his murderersbe it the perpetrators or the mastermindidentified, let alone prosecuted.

As I said when accepting CPJs International Press Freedom Award in 2007, we will continue to do our work, to investigate, to seek the truth. But we are not heroes. And, no, we are not suicidal either. We are professionals who want to respond to the needs of an informed society.

At a time when transparency and accountability have become a priority globally, the fact that this country has lagged behind has allowed the spread of untouchable governors, wealthy police officers who bury the truth, and mercenaries at the service of the drug trade that buys protection.

Fighting this endemic corruption and impunity is not about political parties, its about will.

Investigating corruption in police agencies means facing a threat when theres no room for self-censorship. This is what the Mexican press goes through every day, both small town journalists and big city reporters.

Doing it at the state level is even more dangerous. It is in the small towns, far from the nations capital and the reach of the federal authorities, where corruption takes root. Local entities with officials that protect each other bury justice before a federal system seemingly unable to enforce Article 7 of the Mexican Constitution: Freedom of speech, opinion, ideas, and information through any means shall not be abridged. Said right shall neither be abridged through any indirect means, such as abuse of official or private controls over newsprint, radio electric frequencies or any other materials or devices used to disseminate information or through any other means or information and communication technologies aimed at impeding transmission and circulation of ideas and opinions.

Fighting this endemic corruption and impunity is not about political parties, its about will. President Enrique Pena Nietos administration, just like Felipe Calderon Hinojosas, has lacked the commitment, the capacity, and the authority to enforce the law and to locate, investigate, and prosecute the killers of journalists. Pena Nietos administration rarely claims jurisdiction over investigations, so crimes against freedom of expression are not investigated at the federal level but rather at the local level. Although justice is not guaranteed in any of these jurisdictions, the federal governments insensitivity is conspicuous, as evidenced by a backlog of cases of journalist murders throughout the country.

Mexican journalists must endure the absence of the state. Their cases are ignored, and their work is easily dismissed. They are left alone to face the onslaught by those who are corrupt and remain unpunished.

Against this lack of will and, in some regions, deep-seated corruption, the protection mechanisms offered to the pressa bullet-proof vest, a helmet, a panic button, two guards from the federal policedont mean anything.

Journalists are caught in the combination of corruption and impunity, brought about by an even deadlier combination: corrupt government officials and organized crime allied against the free press, against the truth exposed by investigative and critical reporting.

Being an investigative journalist in Mexico requires more than contacts, networks, qualifications, preparation, talent, and a free media outlet. It requires knowing safety practices, laws and legal proceedings, getting involved in some activism, and being willing to die for your profession.

In the path toward freedom of expression we have learned to live with impunity and to witness injustice. We appeal to the advocacy efforts of international press freedom groups so that voices unheard in our country can be heard abroad. We want justice for our dead so that the murderers of Felix Miranda, Ortiz Franco, and all of the journalists killed for their work in Mexico are prosecuted and sentenced. We want justice so that the crimes against freedom of expressionan inalienable rightdo not go unpunished.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has announced its tourism figures for the 2016-2017 Antarctic season.

The total number of visitors travelling to Antarctica with IAATO members was 44,367, an increase of 15 percent compared to the previous season. Overall, levels of visitation, particularly in the cruise sector of the industry, has been increasing steadily since 2011-2012.

IAATOs estimate for next season, 2017-2018, shows continued growth in line with global trends with 46,385 visitors expected, an increase of 5 percent that would see visitation reaching the peak of 46,265 reported by IAATO in 2007-08.

By tourism sector, most (98 percent) travelers depart from South America to visit the Antarctic Peninsula. The majority of these Peninsula visitors traveled the traditional route from Chile or Argentina on vessels that carry fewer than 500 passengers and offer excursions ashore. This sector grew by 20 percent compared to the previous season, principally due to the entering into the market of two vessels with a carrying capacity of 390 and just under 500 passengers respectively.

Of the remainder, 3,202 (7 percent) visitors flew to the Peninsula where they immediately joined a vessel for onward cruising. This air-cruise sector of tourism continued to show the most growth at 36 percent, comparable to recent years. Cruise only tourism, vessels carrying more than 500 passengers that do not make landings, declined by 8 percent.

Deep field tourism, when visitors fly to Antarcticas interior from South America or South Africa, accounts for only 1 percent of overall Antarctic tourism. It grew by 10 percent compared to the previous season.

American visitors remained the most numerous, increasing by 7 percent in 2016-2017 and accounting for 33 percent of the total number. The number of Chinese visitors increased by 25 percent compared to the previous year, moving them up to second place behind the USA. Australian, German and British visitors were the next most abundant nationalities, increasing by 5 percent, 45 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

In a prepared statement, Bob Simpson, Chair of IAATOs Executive Committee, said: Visiting Antarctica is a great privilege for anyone. Our goal is to provide our guests with a safe, enriching experience while leaving no discernable evidence of our visit. With demand for Antarctic tourism staying robust, our members experience in developing and delivering sustainable operations over the past 25 years will be of huge benefit in supporting the long-term conservation of Antarctica. Were ready to address any challenges that may arise.
The Costa Victoria is homeporting at Sokcho in South Korea for a six-day cruise to Japan and the Russian Far East.

The cruise departed on May 1, marking the first call to the port of 2017.

The ship had also called at Sokcho in May of 2016. The port said the ship is booked for an additional eight calls, and Costa will also call on the port four times with the Costa NeoRomantica this year.

A port spokesperson said the Victoria had 2,000 Korean passengers aboard, with the ship sailing six-days/five-nights to Vladivostok, Kanazawa and Sakaiminato.
A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in a key Fair Housing Act case that Miami has standing to claim in court that it was harmed by the discriminatory lending practices of banksbut it must meet a high standard of proof to establish causation.

The 5-3 ruling found that Miamis damagesincluding diminished property taxes and higher costs of city servicesfell within the zone of interest of the housing law.

Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority and emphasizing longstanding court precedents, wrote, We hold that the Citys claimed injuries fall within the zone of interests that the FHA arguably protects. Hence, the City is an aggrieved person able to bring suit under the statute.

But the decision in the consolidated cases of Bank of America v. City of Miami and Wells Fargo & Co. v. City of Miami was not a total win for Miami. Breyer said plaintiffs in a suit like Miamis must prove more than just the foreseeability of the injuries to establish a causal relationship between the banks actions and the harms suffered by the city. The court remanded the case back to the Eleventh Circuit, which ruled in favor of the city.
The first quarter of 2017 saw a return to growth for Indias smartphone market, with over 27 million units shipped marking a 12% year-on-year increase.

Research firm Canalys noted that while Samsung retained its lead in the market, sequential growth saw Chinese device manufacturer Xiaomi take the second spot, while Vivo came third. The top five spots were rounded out by Lenovo and Oppo, with the former shifting up a place to fourth and the latter falling to fifth.

Samsung shipped 6 million units in the quarter, keeping its 22% market share steady. Xiaomi meanwhile boosted its market share to 14%, up by 3% year-on-year, with sales of 4 million units. The firms rapid growth is allowing it to close in on Samsungs lead.

Canalys Research Analyst Ishan Dutt said: Xiaomis success in India is underscored by its online go-to-market strategy. He added that the Modi governments recent strategy of pulling high-value bank notes from circulation did not seem to affect the vendor, saying: demonetisation seems to have had no impact on [Xiaomi] as its target customer is young, Internet-enabled and primarily buys online.

Last month, Xiaomi confirmed that it was planning a further $500m investment in India after investing this amount into the market across the past year, with co-founder and CEO Lei Jun describing India as Xiaomis most important overseas market. Lei added that the company was expecting to double its Indian sales in 2017 to $2 billion.

Third-placed Vivo surpassed the 10% mark this quarter, with an impressive 36% growth in sequential shipments. Canalys research analyst Mo Jia said that Vivos focus on the highly fragmented unorganised retail market is paying off. Its ability to drive sales by investing in marketing campaigns has seen it displace local vendors that once thrived in this space.

The Indian smartphone market is set for upheaval as the government looks to phase in its Goods and Services Tax in the coming quarters. We will see a change in vendors channel strategies as new distribution models become more cost-effective, said Dutt. Pure online players are likely to suffer, and those that react quickly to the new regulations will benefit.

Indeed, there have already been significant shifts since Q4 2015, when almost 30% of the market belonged to Indian brands Intex, Lava and Micromax. All three companies have been pushed out of the top five in the past six months.
South America-focussed oil and gas producer and explorer Amerisur Resources provided its unaudited production from the Platanillo Field and throughput data from the OBA pipeline for the month of April on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded company said total production was 145,344 barrels of oil during the period, with average daily production reaching 4,845 barrels of oil per day.

Peak daily production was 5,280 bopd during the period, the board said.

On the OBA pipeline, total export volume was 139,515 barrels of oil during the period, with average daily throughput of 4,650 barrels of oil per day.

Peak daily throughput on the pipeline was 5,027 bopd during the period, Amerisurs board reported.

The above data will vary month on month as development, appraisal and exploration operations continue, and also due to the factors involved in operating in the Putumayo region of Colombia, the companys board cautioned in its statement.

These factors include inclement weather, social issues with drilling and oil transportation and planned and unplanned shut downs for technical works undertaken, among others.

This data has not yet been approved by the Colombian Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos or national customs and tax authorities DIAN and may be subject to revision.
Europe-focussed full-service upscale and lifestyle hotel owner, developer and operator PPHE Hotel Group announced its trading update for the three months to 31 March on Tuesday, reporting that on a like-for-like basis, revenue increased by 17.0% to 53.3m, driven by a marked recovery in the leisure segment in London, the opening of the extension of Park Plaza London Riverbank, improved trading in Germany and a currency exchange rate benefit.

The AIM-traded firm added that reported total revenue increased by 28.9% to 57.7m, also driven by the contribution from newly opened hotels as well as the consolidation of its Croatian operations.

Its like-for-like average room rate increased by 11.2% to 111, whilst on a reported basis, average room rate increased by 9.8% to 112.

On a like-for-like1 basis, occupancy increased by 560 basis points to 71.6%, and reported occupancy decreased by 130 bps to 71.1% as a result of the consolidation of its Croatian operations where the majority of properties were closed during the first quarter due to seasonality.

Like-for-like revenue per available room (revPAR) increased by 20.7% to 79.5, and reported revPAR increased by 7.8% to 79.6.

On the corporate front, the company completed the acquisition of art'otel berlin kudamm and art'otel cologne during the quarter, and renamed Arenaturist to Arena Hospitality Group supporting its international operations and expansion ambitions.

The general assembly of that subsidiary, Arena Hospitality Group, also approved a non preemptive public offering of new shares.

PPHE launched the soft opening of the Park Plaza London Park Royal during the quarter, as well as completing the sale of one of the three properties that comprised Park Plaza Vondelpark, Amsterdam.

We are pleased to report a strong first quarter performance, reflecting improved trading year-on-year across all our operating regions, said president and CEO Boris Ivesha.

The first quarter is usually our weakest quarter of the year and in 2016 was negatively impacted by various acts of terrorism in Europe, renovations at certain hotels and Easter.

Ivesha pointed out that during the period, the company launched the soft opening of Park Plaza London Park Royal and brought more rooms into operation at the new Park Plaza London Waterloo.

Trading at both hotels has been encouraging and they are on schedule to be fully operational by the end of the second quarter.

Our investment in renovations at Park Plaza Riverbank London and Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam continued to plan.

The company also made further progress with the transformation of its Croatian operation, Ivesha added, and during the period it renamed the company Arena Hospitality Group.

Based on our results to date, the board anticipates the full year results to be in line with its expectations.
The government's push towards Brexit had left the UK's nuclear industry and future energy supply at risk, a committee of MPs warned on Tuesday.

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee said the decision to leave the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) would create a dangerous interval and the time taken to move to secure new arrangements post-Brexit would severely inhibit nuclear trade and research.

Iain Wright, chair of the cross-party committee, said the impact of Brexit on Euratom has not been thought through.

The government has failed to consider the potentially disastrous ramifications of its Brexit objectives for the nuclear industry. Ministers must act as urgently as possible. The repercussions of failing to do so are huge. The continued operations of the UK nuclear industry are at risk, he said.

The prime minister has made it politically unfeasible to remain in Euratom long term. The government now has a responsibility to end the uncertainty hanging over the industry and ensure robust and stable arrangements to protect trade, boost research and development, and ensure safeguarding of the highest level."

The committee said legal opinion was divided on the government's argument that the UK must leave Euratom as a result of the triggering of Article 50.

It called the withdrawal an "unfortunate, and perhaps unforeseen" consequence of Prime Minister Theresa May's objective of ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK.

"Ministers must end the uncertainty and resolve the matter by securing alternative arrangements as urgently as possible," it said.

It added that there were "strong concerns" in the sector that new arrangements will take longer than two years to set up and recommended delaying departure from Euratom to give the industry more time to establish alternative arrangements.

"If this is not possible, the government should seek transitional arrangements, which may need to be longer than the three years proposed by the European parliament," the committee said.
Crude-oil futures were lower on Tuesday afternoon as markets anticipated two sets of US inventories data due this week, and the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate call on Wednesday.

Markets were awaiting the stores data from the industry's American Petroleum Institute late on Tuesday, followed by the government US Energy Information Administration figures on Wednesday.

At 15:18 BST, Nymex-priced West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.25% to $48.72 a barrel. Intercontinental Exchange-traded Brent was down 0.02% to $51.51 a barrel.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said oil's fall was on news that Libyan output recovered to the highest levels in three years.

Other data showed that US producers added nine oil rigs last week, pushing the total to the highest level since April 2015.

"In this context, Opec's efforts to limit production to sustain prices are increasingly less efficient," said Ozkardeskaya.

"The downside prevails, as the $47 could be thought as a reasonable target for sellers. The upside risk would be an unscheduled announcement from the OPEC members to halt the bleeding and/or softer expansion in US oil inventories (due on Wednesday)."

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said crude prices had struggled to shrug off concerns about rising US output as rig counts rose again for the 15th week in a row, while data showed that Russian oil output continued to decline in April.

"While we saw a rally in prices early on today any rebound could struggle to gain traction unless there is firm evidence that Opec and non-Opec members are able to agree on extending the output cap until the end of this year, when they meet later this month."

On Comex, gold was up 0.04% to $1256 an ounce. Silver up 0.26% to $16.89 an ounce, and copper fell 0.88% to 263.70 cents a pound.

FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga said gold bulls had succumbed to selling pressure by losing the battle to defend the $1260 support.

"While the metal could still be supported by risk aversion in the medium to longer term, the break below $1260 may entice sellers to send prices towards $1240," said Otunuga.

"The metal may be subject to volatility this week with the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, and NFP on Friday acting as prime drivers."

Otunuga said that, from a technical standpoint, previous support around $1260 might transform into a dynamic resistance that opened a path towards $1240.

"In an alternative scenario, a daily break back above $1260 could provide bulls the opportunity to challenge $1280," he said.

Hewson commented that gold prices had continued to look weak, drifting back towards the 200 day MA a level it broke above last month on the 11th April.

"The slightly more positive risk environment along with firmer US yields ahead of tomorrow's Fed meeting is helping undermine prices," he said.

On London Metals Exchange, three-month industrial metals were mixed. Zinc rose 1%, copper added 0.76% and tin shed 0.38%. Aluminum dropped 0.65%.
CALIFORNIA - US outdoor business Patagonia has threatened to sue the White House over an executive order that instructs the Department of the Interior to review any national monuments designated since 1996. US President Donald Trump signed the executive order last week to review all national monuments created since 1996 as part of a broader policy switch which could have a negative on many popular outdoor destinations in the US.
It might take a few days to see unofficial results in Pa. Here's why
When patients arrive at Baycrest Health Sciences' Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic this upcoming June, they will be greeted by a doctor or nurse with an iPad that will be used to conduct neurological assessments of their memory and cognitive abilities.

With patients' consent, information collected through the device will be part of a secure electronic platform that pools anonymous medical records from clinics across Toronto to accelerate the pace of dementia research and provide access to better integrated care for patients.

Baycrest's memory clinic will be the initial pilot site for the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA) database, which will allow TDRA researchers to share research data across institutions and access a greater pool of volunteer research participants.

"Innovative projects like this one will help advance research and make real impact on the lives of patients. I look forward to seeing the results and learnings that can be shared across the country to improve dementia care," says Jane Philpott, Minister of Health.

This project was initiated with support from the recently announced $3 million grant provided by a partnership between the Government of Canada and Brain Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating neuroscience research which receives financial support from Health Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund.

This includes matched funds from the University of Toronto, Baycrest, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University Health Network (UHN). The funding was awarded to Dr. Morris Freedman, Baycrest's Head, Division of Neurology, and Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI) scientist, Dr. Stephen Strother, RRI senior scientist, and Dr. David Tang-Wai, Co-Director of UHN's Memory Clinic and scientist at the Krembil Research Institute. They worked with personnel across all TDRA sites to implement and test the database starting with Baycrest.

"Dementia is one of the greatest demographic challenges we've ever faced as a species and despite decades of substantial private and public investment, society has not come up with any meaningful medication to help those with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias," says Dr. William Reichman, president and CEO of Baycrest. "Collaborative studies, such as this pilot project, are instrumental in fast-tracking the pace of research and in bringing the latest innovations to those in need."

This pilot project will convert standardized neurological assessments from pen and paper tests to an electronic device, which will allow the data to be captured within the TDRA database. After pilot testing, the database will be rolled out to Sunnybrook, followed by other University of Toronto member institutions (CAMH and UHN).

Research into potential treatments can be slowed down when recruitment of participants with dementia is limited to a single hospital clinic. This tool will accelerate the recruitment of suitable volunteers for clinical studies across all TDRA clinics and bring researchers closer to discovering effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

"To find a cure for dementia, we need to use powerful 'big data' techniques and pool our efforts to create much larger, standardized and well-characterized dementia databases that reflect our real-world clinical populations," says Dr. Strother, a scientist who specializes in neuroinformatics (a research area that applies big data analysis to brain data).

Along with the database's research benefits, this system will be used to create an electronic health record for patients in the future, which includes standardized cognitive assessments and clinical consultation letters for referring physicians.

"The database will facilitate clinical research while simultaneously contributing to more efficient patient care, and serves as an excellent example of research embedded in clinical care," says Dr. Freedman.

"Our platform will simultaneously manage the clinical and research care of patients in a cost and time-saving manner and accelerate innovation for research in neurodegenerative diseases," says Dr. Tang-Wai. "It will provide a myriad of benefits for patients, health care providers, researchers, and policy makers -- and when established, could be shared with other sites in Ontario, in Canada, and beyond."

This database will encourage other memory clinics to adopt standardized neurological testing, the Behavioural Neurology Assessment-Revised, now on an iPad, which was developed by the TDRA.

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This project also receives support from the TDRA and philanthropic funding, which helped the team hire staff, set up database servers and purchase the necessary equipment.

About Baycrest Health Sciences

Baycrest Health Sciences is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults combined with an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals and one of the world's top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute. Baycrest is home to the federally and provincially-funded Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector, and is the developer of Cogniciti - a free online memory assessment for Canadians 40+ who are concerned about their memory. Founded in 1918 as the Jewish Home for Aged, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. For more information please visit: http://www.baycrest.org

About Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute

The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences is a premier international centre for the study of human brain function. Through generous support from private donors and funding agencies, the institute is helping to illuminate the causes of cognitive decline in seniors, identify promising approaches to treatment, and lifestyle practices that will protect brain health longer in the lifespan.
A computational approach developed at Boston Children's Hospital, described in the journal Neurosurgery, published online May 2, 2017, could enable more patients with epilepsy to benefit from surgery when medications do not help. The approach streamlines the seizure monitoring process required for surgical planning, making surgery a more feasible and less risky option for patients.

Currently, for some patients, pinpointing the diseased brain areas where their seizures originate requires invasive surgery to place grids of electrodes on the brain's surface. This is followed by long-term electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring -- typically for a week -- while doctors wait for a seizure to happen. Then, patients must undergo a second brain operation to remove the diseased tissue.

The new technology, developed by Joseph Madsen, MD, Director of Epilepsy Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital, and Eun-Hyoung Park, PhD, a computational biophysicist in the Department of Neurosurgery, could allow patients to be monitored in one short session, without the need to observe an actual seizure. Patients could then proceed directly to surgery, avoiding a second operation.

Effective use of this technology could cut the cost and risk by more than half by reducing the current two-stage procedure to one-stage, the researchers say.

"We know that the diseased brain network responsible for the seizures is there all along," says Madsen. "So rather than wait for the patient to have a seizure, we set out to find patterns of interaction between various points in the brain that might predict where seizures would eventually start."

Looking between the seizures

To identify the brain areas causing the seizures, Madsen and Park applied a special algorithm to analyze patients' interictal EEG data -- data captured between their seizures. They randomly selected 25 patients with hard-to-treat epilepsy who previously had long-term EEG monitoring at Boston Children's, and analyzed data from the first 20 seizure-free minutes of the patients' EEGs.

Their algorithm, known as Granger causality analysis, is based on a statistical approach developed Sir Clive Granger (for which he won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2003). Madsen and Park adapted the Granger method, originally used for economic forecasting, to calculate the probability that activity at one brain location predicts subsequent activity at other brain locations strongly enough to be considered causative. Their analysis generated a map of the causal relations in each patient's epileptogenic network, which Park and Madsen superimposed over images of the brain.

They then showed that the brain regions predicted to be causing seizures strongly correlated with actual causative regions on seizure EEGs -- as read by ten board-certified epileptologists, usually many days later.

Madsen and Park have shown that their calculations can be done quickly enough to allow data obtained in the operating room to potentially influence surgical decision-making. They now are investigating how the Granger causality method can best augment readings of EEGs by trained neurophysiologists.

"We still need to validate and refine our approach before it can be used clinically," notes Madsen. "But we are hopeful that these advanced computer applications can help us treat more children with epilepsy -- with less risk and lower cost."

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The study was supported by the Technology Development Fund of Boston Children's Hospital and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

About Boston Children's Hospital

Boston Children's Hospital, the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center. Its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. Today, more than 2,630 scientists, including nine members of the National Academy of Sciences, 14 members of the National Academy of Medicine and 11 Howard Hughes Medical Investigators comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's is now a 415-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care. For more, visit our Vector, Thriving and Notes blogs and follow us on social media @BostonChildrens, @BCH_Innovation, Facebook and YouTube.
An international team of researchers at the University of Calgary and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Science have shown just how precarious the recovery of life was following Earth's greatest extinction event, about 251.9 million years ago. A site near Shangsi in China's Sichuan Province highlights a short-lived community of organisms that may hold clues to forces shaping our planet today and into the future.

In a paper published online this Monday in Geology entitled "Precarious ephemeral refugia during the earliest Triassic", international scientists highlight an assemblage including microbial mats, trace fossils, bivalves, and echinoids that represent a refuge in a moderately deep-water setting.

"Refuge" describes an ecosystem that acts as a sanctuary for organisms during and immediately following times of environmental stress. The echinoids normally live in shallow-water environments, but in this case they sought refuge from lethally hot surface waters. The culprit was global warming associated with massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia, but modern-day events may lead to similar changes in today's oceans.

The community was short-lived, and was extinguished by a relatively minor ecologic disturbance as determined from the geochemistry of the host rocks, only to be replaced by a low-diversity community of 'disaster taxa', opportunistic organisms that thrive while others go extinct.

The team envisages the earliest Triassic ocean floor as a shifting patchwork of temporary or ephemeral refugia, in which some communities survived and others died off depending on local conditions.

As conditions improved throughout the Early Triassic, these communities no longer had to cling to life in ephemeral refugia, but could expand into normal habitats around the world. The echinoids at this site are the ancestors of a diverse group of modern echinoids or sea urchins that live in reef communities, rocky shorelines and sandy shelves today.

The study will help bring about a deeper understanding of how modern oceans might respond to intense global warming due to natural or anthropogenic effects. It could inform the management of our oceanic resources as they continue to be affected by environmental stressors. The rock record is cryptic, but it records events that have run their full course. If we can decipher the story, then it is possible to inform us better as to what might happen in the future as changes to our environment continue to occur.

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This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China, the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant.
New research shows that limiting how pharmaceutical sales representatives can market their products to physicians changes their drug prescribing behaviors.

A team, led by the University of California, Los Angeles' Ian Larkin and Carnegie Mellon University's George Loewenstein, examined restrictions 19 academic medical centers (AMCs) in five U.S. states placed on pharmaceutical representatives' visits to doctors' offices. Published in the May 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the results reveal that the restrictions caused physicians to switch from prescribing drugs that were more expensive and patent-protected to generic, significantly cheaper drugs.

Pharmaceutical sales representative visits to doctors, known as "detailing," is the most prominent form of pharmaceutical company marketing. Detailing often involves small gifts for physicians and their staff, such as meals. Pharmaceutical companies incur far greater expenditures on detailing visits than they do on direct-to-consumer marketing, or even on research and development of new drugs. Despite the prevalence of detailing and the numerous programs to regulate detailing, little was known about how practice-level detailing restrictions affect physician prescribing, until now.

For the study, which is the largest, most comprehensive investigation into the impact of detailing restrictions, the team compared changes in the prescribing behavior of thousands of doctors before and after their AMCs introduced policies restricting detailing with the prescribing behavior of a carefully matched control group of similar physicians practicing in the same geographic regions but not subject to detailing restrictions. In total, the study included 25,000 physicians and 262 drugs in eight major drug classes from statins to sleep aids to antidepressants, representing more than $60 billion in aggregate sales in the U.S.

"The study cannot definitively prove a causal link between policies that regulated detailing and changes in physician prescribing, but absent a randomized control, this evidence is as definitive as possible," said Larkin, assistant professor of strategy at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. "We investigated 19 different policy implementations that happened over a six-year period, included a control group of highly similar physicians not subject to detailing restrictions and looked at effects in eight large drug classes. The results were remarkable robust -- after the introduction of policies, about five to 10 percent of physician prescribing behavior changed."

Specifically, the researchers found that detailing policies were associated with an 8.7 percent decrease in the market share of the average detailed drug. Before policy implementation, the average drug had a 19.3 percent market share.

The findings also suggest that detailing may influence physicians in indirect ways.

"No medical center completely barred salesperson visits; salespeople could and did continue to visit physicians at all medical centers in the study," Larkin said. "The most common restriction put in place was a ban on meals and other small gifts. The fact that regulating gifts while still allowing sales calls still led to a switch to cheaper, generic drugs may suggest that gifts such as meals play an important role in influencing physicians. The correlation between meals and prescribing has been well established in the literature, but our study suggests this relationship may be causal in nature."

In light of these findings, the study indicates that physician practices and other governing bodies may need to take an active role in regulating conflicts of interest, rather than relying on individual physicians to monitor and regulate.

"Social science has long demonstrated that professionals, even well-meaning ones, are powerfully influenced by conflicts of interest," said Loewenstein, the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at CMU. "A large body of research also shows that simply disclosing conflicts of interests is insufficient to reduce their influence, and may even exacerbate it. The results from this study underline the effectiveness of, and need for, centralized rules and regulations. We should not put the onus of dealing with conflicts on patients; the best policies are those that eliminate conflicts."

Larkin and Loewenstein also have a Viewpoint article in the same JAMA issue that calls for physicians to be compensated on a salary basis, instead of fee-for-service, to eliminate additional conflicts of interest.

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In addition to Larkin and Loewenstein, the research team included University of California, San Diego's Desmond Ang; Austrian Institute of Technology's Jonathan Steinhart; Williams College's Matthew Chao; Carnegie Mellon's Mark Patterson; Cornell University's Sunita Sah; New York University's Tina Wu; National Institute of Mental Health's Michael Schoenbaum; David Hutchins and Troyen Brennan from CVS Caremark.

The National Institute of Mental Health provided funding, and CVS Caremark provided data, for the study.
Menlo Park, Calif. -- A mysterious gamma-ray glow at the center of the Milky Way is most likely caused by pulsars -- the incredibly dense, rapidly spinning cores of collapsed ancient stars that were up to 30 times more massive than the sun. That's the conclusion of a new analysis by an international team of astrophysicists, including researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The findings cast doubt on previous interpretations of the signal as a potential sign of dark matter -- a form of matter that accounts for 85 percent of all matter in the universe but that so far has evaded detection.

"Our study shows that we don't need dark matter to understand the gamma-ray emissions of our galaxy," said Mattia Di Mauro from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), a joint institute of Stanford University and SLAC. "Instead, we have identified a population of pulsars in the region around the galactic center, which sheds new light on the formation history of the Milky Way."

Di Mauro led the analysis for the Fermi LAT Collaboration, an international team of researchers that looked at the glow with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been orbiting Earth since 2008. The LAT -- a sensitive "eye" for gamma rays, the most energetic form of light -- was conceived of and assembled at SLAC, which also hosts its operations center.

The collaboration's findings, submitted to The Astrophysical Journal for publication, are available as a preprint.

A Mysterious Glow

Dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of modern physics. Researchers know that dark matter exists because it bends light from distant galaxies and affects how galaxies rotate. But they don't know what the substance is made of. Most scientists believe it's composed of yet-to-be-discovered particles that almost never interact with regular matter other than through gravity, making it very hard to detect them.

One way scientific instruments might catch a glimpse of dark matter particles is when the particles either decay or collide and destroy each other. "Widely studied theories predict that these processes would produce gamma rays," said Seth Digel, head of KIPAC's Fermi group. "We search for this radiation with the LAT in regions of the universe that are rich in dark matter, such as the center of our galaxy."

Previous studies have indeed shown that there are more gamma rays coming from the galactic center than expected, fueling some scientific papers and media reports that suggest the signal might hint at long-sought dark matter particles. However, gamma rays are produced in a number of other cosmic processes, which must be ruled out before any conclusion about dark matter can be drawn. This is particularly challenging because the galactic center is extremely complex, and astrophysicists don't know all the details of what's going on in that region.

Most of the Milky Way's gamma rays originate in gas between the stars that is lit up by cosmic rays -- charged particles produced in powerful star explosions, called supernovae. This creates a diffuse gamma-ray glow that extends throughout the galaxy. Gamma rays are also produced by supernova remnants, pulsars -- collapsed stars that emit "beams" of gamma rays like cosmic lighthouses -- and more exotic objects that appear as points of light.

"Two recent studies by teams in the U.S. and the Netherlands have shown that the gamma-ray excess at the galactic center is speckled, not smooth as we would expect for a dark matter signal," said KIPAC's Eric Charles, who contributed to the new analysis. "Those results suggest the speckles may be due to point sources that we can't see as individual sources with the LAT because the density of gamma-ray sources is very high and the diffuse glow is brightest at the galactic center."

Remains of Ancient Stars

The new study takes the earlier analyses to the next level, demonstrating that the speckled gamma-ray signal is consistent with pulsars.

"Considering that about 70 percent of all point sources in the Milky Way are pulsars, they were the most likely candidates," Di Mauro said. "But we used one of their physical properties to come to our conclusion. Pulsars have very distinct spectra - that is, their emissions vary in a specific way with the energy of the gamma rays they emit. Using the shape of these spectra, we were able to model the glow of the galactic center correctly with a population of about 1,000 pulsars and without introducing processes that involve dark matter particles."

The team is now planning follow-up studies with radio telescopes to determine whether the identified sources are emitting their light as a series of brief light pulses -- the trademark that gives pulsars their name.

Discoveries in the halo of stars around the center of the galaxy - the oldest part of the Milky Way -- also reveal details about the evolution of our galactic home, just as ancient remains teach archaeologists about human history.

"Isolated pulsars have a typical lifetime of 10 million years, which is much shorter than the age of the oldest stars near the galactic center," Charles said. "The fact that we can still see gamma rays from the identified pulsar population today suggests that the pulsars are in binary systems with companion stars, from which they leach energy. This extends the life of the pulsars tremendously."

Dark Matter Remains Elusive

The new results add to other data that are challenging the interpretation of the gamma-ray excess as a dark matter signal.

"If the signal were due to dark matter, we would expect to see it also at the centers of other galaxies," Digel said. "The signal should be particularly clear in dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. These galaxies have very few stars, typically don't have pulsars and are held together because they have a lot of dark matter. However, we don't see any significant gamma-ray emissions from them."

The researchers believe that a recently discovered strong gamma-ray glow at the center of the Andromeda galaxy, the major galaxy closest to the Milky Way, may also be caused by pulsars rather than dark matter.

But the last word may not have been spoken. Although the Fermi-LAT team studied a large area of 40 degrees by 40 degrees around the Milky Way's galactic center (the diameter of the full moon is about half a degree), the extremely high density of sources in the innermost four degrees makes it very difficult to see individual ones and rule out a smooth, dark matter-like gamma-ray distribution, leaving limited room for dark matter signals to hide.

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This work was funded by NASA and the DOE Office of Science, as well as agencies and institutes in France, Italy, Japan and Sweden.

Citation: The Fermi-LAT Collaboration, arXiv:1705.00009, 02 May 2017.

SLAC is a multi-program laboratory exploring frontier questions in photon science, astrophysics, particle physics and accelerator research. Located in Menlo Park, California, SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. To learn more, please visit http://www.slac.stanford.edu.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
A new roadmap has been published identifying key priority areas that need to be addressed to tackle the burden of asthma.

According to the document from the European Asthma Research and Innovation Partnership (EARIP), a unified approach to research, development and innovation is urgently needed to address the challenge of asthma in Europe, improve mortality and reduce morbidity.

Asthma is a chronic disease characterised by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing which affects around 10% of people in Europe of all ages. It can result in severe asthma attacks, hospital visits and even deaths. The causes are not completely understood and there is no cure.

The editorial is published today (2 May, 2017) in the European Respiratory Journal to coincide with World Asthma Day, and for the first time paints a picture of the coordinated approach required by researchers, funders, policy makers, people with asthma and the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the burden of asthma by 40% over the next decade.

EARIP, led by a consortium including the European Lung Foundation and Asthma UK, carried out extensive literature reviews and a series of pan-European consultations to develop the recommendations, which are intended to inform researchers of the most effective ways to address the impact of asthma on the individual, healthcare systems, and national and European economies.

The roadmap identifies key areas requiring investment to enable a reduction in the number of asthma deaths and hospitalisations, and sets out 15 research priorities based on the overarching themes of:

primary care and public health

triggers and risk factors for asthma and exacerbations

personalised medicine

self-management and adherence

Specifically, the consortium advise that regional and national asthma programmes must be reviewed across Europe to improve existing programmes, while primary-care professionals also called for the development of an accurate, low-cost tool to quickly diagnose and give information on treatment effectiveness/adherence in primary care settings.

It also recommends that more research is needed into the role of exposure to environmental factors, such as smoking and air pollution, on childhood development and long-term asthma management, in addition to investing more funding in to developing personalised medicines to tackle the complex needs of individual asthma patients.

Kjeld Hansen, a member of the EARIP consortium and co-author of the editorial, commented: "The EARIP roadmap is the first document of its kind to provide recommendations for an integrated approach to research, development and innovation in the field of asthma. We are now calling on EU and national funding bodies to use the roadmap as a basis when establishing their research priorities. If all of these research priority areas were funded and the 15 research questions addressed, asthma outcomes would be transformed and avoidable use of healthcare systems eradicated, resulting in significant financial savings."

The editorial is published alongside a review paper from the EARIP consortium looking at the unmet needs in understanding asthma mechanisms, and an additional editorial on the opportunities for innovation in asthma in Europe.

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How the artistic oval squid uses its changing skin pattern to communicate with lovers and competitors, and the researchers who have deciphered their language for the first time

William Shakespeare wrote with a quill, Helen Keller liked her typewriter, and the oval squid prefers to use its body, when it comes to expressing love. But unlike these famous authors, the romanticisms of Sepioteuthis lessoniana were unknown. Until now.

Recent research out of the National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), and published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, has finally deciphered the previously unknown symbols and shapes the oval squid decorates itself in, and how they are used.

The animals make use of naturally occurring chromatic components, which are stored within their bodies. They use these to paint their skin with lines, spots and stripes, of varying shades and complexities, to signal their desirability to future lovers and warn off potential foes. Researchers, led by Prof Chiao, took to the East China Sea, near the city of Taipei, to study the oval squid in the wild. Underwater they built an attractive home, made of bamboo branches and leaves, to provide the female oval squid a safe place to nest, lay their eggs, and provide shelter to hatchlings.

Over the course of three months scuba divers recorded the movements and displays of the gathering squid, looking for repeating patterns of tone change between mating partners. Amazingly they also observed the underwater show included elegant and specific movements that varied depending on the gender and social status.

For instance, should two males get into a fight over a possible partner, then they will swim around each other, vying for the higher position. The conclusion of this "dance" is when the winner literally ends up on top of the loser. He cements this victory with a strong visual display, broadcasting his success to all, including his future mate. The loser is not completely defeated however as he can still have a chance to fertilize some of the female's eggs, all be it outside of her egg laying period. In a rapid movement which the researchers termed "male-upturned mating", the squid will approach above her, flip himself upside down, place his sperm and scoot away, passing on his genes to the next generation.

Female oval squid are polyandrous, meaning that they will, during their egg laying period, take multiple males to be their mate. Like the fighting males, they too will use expressive patterns to determine possible partners. A dark pattern on her body indicates a rejection of the pursing male's advances.

In total, the researchers found five common behavior patterns with their own intricate movements and tone signals, and which are also dependent on an individual squid's standing in the group. This intricate language of patterns, movements and associated behaviors have been compiled into an "ethogram" (a dictionary of a species' communication methods) which will assist in future behavioral studies, not just in these expressive cephalopods, but in other species too.

In time, we may come to understand the exact meanings in the symbols the romantic oval squid adorns on its body. But until then, we will have to make do with the sonnets of Shakespeare to make our partner swoon.

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In the 2011-12 elections, government leaders in Russia underestimated the power of the internet and it impacted the outcome of the elections. The open internet provided an opportunity for the opposition to communicate and rally support against the governing political group. The government's failure to gain control of the digital flow of information eroded support for their status quo. Fast forward to the 2016 elections in Russia, where controlling the internet gave President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin the outcomes they desired.

"Our research shows how important an open and free internet can be for democracy. We need to keep the internet open for all or it will just become another apparatus for the state or large interests," said Kevin M. Wagner, Ph.D., J.D., co-author of the study and associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Political Science in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University.

The 2011-12 Russian elections spurred massive demonstrations in response to Putin's stage-managing the presidential succession and evidence of widespread fraud in the elections. Since then, Russia's government implemented a range of controls including filtering, banning websites as "extremist" or offensive to Russian culture, enhancing electronic intercepts, and prosecuting or harassing bloggers for anti-regime posts. These measures, together with increasingly strident anti-Western rhetoric and appeals to patriotism, largely neutralized political opposition.

Although the effects of internet use on political participation are well understood, the mechanisms of how this happens is unclear. Were Western social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to blame for the dissidence in the 2011-12 elections or was it something else?

Using these two Russian elections as a model, Wagner and collaborators from the University of Louisville have helped to uncover how social media can drive support for opposition in an autocratic state. Results from this study are published in the current issue of the journal, Democratization.

As it turns out, the researchers discovered that the "blogosphere" was to blame. Blogs from the opposition had a dramatic impact on the shift in political perceptions and electoral outcomes, and Western social media platforms were merely a conduit for this content.

"Our primary interest in this research was in assessing the effects of blogs. We hypothesized that Western platforms were more consequential for bloggers than primary regional platforms," said Wagner. "We believe that the effect of Western social media use on perceived electoral fraud was not direct. Rather, those who used Western social media were more likely to be exposed to oppositional blogs, and it was this exposure that drove their perception that the elections were fraudulent. Ultimately, it is not the platform themselves that are pivotal, but rather the availability of dissident content and the freedom to distribute it."

For the study, the researchers used data from a Russia Barometer survey of adult Russians (18 or older) conducted by the Levada Center in December 2011. Questions centered on social media use, blog exposure, citizens' perceptions of electoral fraud in the 2011 elections, indicators of civic engagement, support for Putin/Medvedev and United Russia, and measured of a host of control variables. Utilizing this data, the researchers used a structural equation approach to test for the direct and indirect effects of Western social media use on perceived electoral fraud to determine if these effects were mediated by blog exposure.

Models from this study showed that in the Russian context, those who are less supportive of the government often look to Western social media platforms for information. In doing so, they are exposed to a dissident flow of information through political blogs. This exposure then prompted them to suspect fraud in their elections, or confirmed their initial skepticism of the electoral process. The survey data provided evidence that the relationship between Western social media use and citizen perceptions of electoral fraud is accounted for, largely, by citizen exposure to blogs spread via social media.

Overall results of the study showed that a sizeable proportion of Russians believed there were some problems with the elections being fraudulent and almost 40 percent of respondents thought the election was dishonest.

"Focusing on the content, rather than solely on the social network platform, reframes how we consider social media in authoritarian regimes," said Wagner. "Indeed, authoritarian regimes can more subtly influence attitudes by taking action to prune content like blogs without the use of blunt, visible and obvious controls on the access to the platforms themselves."

In 2001, only 5 percent of Russians above the age of 12 used the internet; in 2013, that number rose to 59 percent. In 2016, that number increased to 73 percent.

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Co-authors of the study are Jason Gainous, Ph.D., professor of political science at the University of Louisville, and Charles E. Ziegler, Ph.D., professor of political science and distinguished university scholar at the University of Louisville.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
New research published in the May 2017 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology provides another reason why smoking tobacco is harmful. In the report, researchers from Denmark show that smokers have reduced levels of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, a cell type involved in autoimmune diseases. Not only does this information shed more light on the effects of smoking, but it also reveals possible strategies to mitigate these effects.

"We believe that our study represents an important contribution to the understanding of systemic immune cell alterations in smokers," said Cecilie Ammitzbll, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. "From our findings we hope that focused research in specific cell populations might reveal pathogenic mechanisms contributing to the understanding of diseases associated with smoking."

To make their discovery, scientists investigated circulating immune cells from cohorts of healthy individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis. The researchers looked for differences in smokers compared with non-smokers and found that the frequencies of certain cell types were altered. These findings were evident in both healthy individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis. Further, by using two different techniques, the scientists found that T cells from smokers were not more easily activated when they encountered foreign- and self-antigens.

"It is clear that smoking is detrimental to overall health and can predispose to many diseases," said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. "These new studies shed like on how smoking can also influence the immune system, an effect that may have implications in autoimmunity and also in other settings such as cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases."

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The Journal of Leukocyte Biology publishes peer-reviewed manuscripts on original investigations focusing on the cellular and molecular biology of leukocytes and on the origins, the developmental biology, biochemistry and functions of granulocytes, lymphocytes, mononuclear phagocytes and other cells involved in host defense and inflammation. The Journal of Leukocyte Biology is published by the Society for Leukocyte Biology.

Details: Cecilie Ammitzbll, Lars Bornsen, Jeppe Romme Christensen, Rikke Ratzer, Birgitte Romme Nielsen, Helle B. Sndergaard, Marina R. von Essen, and Finn Sellebjerg. Smoking reduces circulating CD26hiCD161hi MAIT cells in healthy individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis. J. Leukoc. Biol. May 2017 101:1211-1220; doi:10.1189/jlb.3A0616-267R ; http://www.jleukbio.org/content/101/5/1211.abstract
Washington, DC (May 2, 2017) It's easy to think in terms of linking genetics to behavior in simple ways. Are you calm or do you have a temper? Are you creative or analytical? Are you sociable or shy? But can heritable traits actually influence a person to frequently use social media? A recent study by a researcher at the Kent State University found that genetics outweighed environment in social media use using twin study survey data.

Chance York (Kent State University) will present his findings at the 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association in San Diego, CA. Using a behavior genetics framework and twin study data from the 2013 Midlife in the United States (MIDUS III) survey, York examined how both environmental and genetic factors contribute to social media use by applying an analytical model called Defries-Fulker (DF) Regression.

The data analyzed revealed one- to two-thirds of variance in social media use is attributable to additive genetic traits; unique and shared environmental factors account for the remainder of variance. York also provides an analytical blueprint for using DF regression in future investigations of genetic influence on communication behaviors and media effects.

Past behavior genetics research using twin study survey data has shown genetic influence on a wide range of communication behaviors. This is the first study to show that genetic traits also affect social media use.

"This study doesn't suggest that using DF regression with twin survey data, or the behavioral genetics perspective more generally, can directly assess gene-level influence on specific behaviors. There is no 'social media gene,'" said York. "The assumption here is that known genetic variation between fraternal and identical twins can be leveraged to study how genetic variation influences patterns of observable behavior. We are still working in a 'black box' in that we can't directly observe how genes impact our neuroanatomy, which in turn impacts cognitive processing, personality, and subsequent media selection and effects. However, this study--and this line of inquiry--is a starting point for studying genetic influence on communication."

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"A Regression Approach to Testing Genetic Influence on Communication Behavior: Social Media Use as an Example," by Chance York; to be presented at the 67th Annual International Communication Association Conference, San Diego, CA, 25-29 May 2017. And recently published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, doi10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.029.

Contact: To schedule an interview with the author or request a copy of the research, please contact John Paul Gutierrez, jpgutierrez@icahdq.org.

About ICA

The International Communication Association is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. With more than 4,300 members in 80 countries, ICA includes 31 Divisions and Interest Groups and publishes the Annals of the International Communication Association and five major, peer-reviewed journals: Journal of Communication, Communication Theory, Human Communication Research, Communication, Culture & Critique, and the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. For more information, visit http://www.icahdq.org.
Bacteria need mutations -- changes in their DNA code -- to survive under difficult circumstances. When necessary, they can even mutate at different speeds. This is shown in a recent study by the Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics at KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Belgium. The findings open up various new avenues for research, ranging from more efficient biofuel production methods to a better treatment for bacterial infections and cancer.

When they're under stress, bacteria start mutating to produce one or more DNA variants that make it possible for the bacteria to survive and reproduce. But mutating is dangerous under normal circumstances as it weakens the bacteria. The trick, therefore, is finding the balance between too many and too few mutations. Losing this balance means hypermutation: the cell mutates much more quickly than it normally does, eventually leading to death.

As scientific knowledge about the role of hypermutation is still limited, KU Leuven researchers examined its underlying mechanism in the gut bacteria Escherichia coli. "E.coli is a notorious cause of diarrhoea, but most E.coli strains are in fact harmless gut bacteria found in human beings and animals," says Professor Jan Michiels. "Exposure to high, near-lethal concentrations of ethanol triggers hypermutation in the E.coli. We were surprised to find that the speed of hypermutation in the bacteria can rapidly be changed: the bacteria mutate more quickly in higher concentrations of ethanol and more slowly when the ethanol stress is relieved. As soon as the danger is past, the bacteria step on the brake and try to revert to their normal state, without hypermutation."

Hypermutation allowed the bacteria to survive ethanol stress and enabled the researchers to select E. coli mutants that are very resistant to ethanol. This offers new perspectives for research on biofuel production. "In the biofuel production process sugar is derived from plant residues and similar waste products. This sugar, in turn, is converted into ethanol. E.coli bacteria can be used for this purpose: they can convert sugars into ethanol but are eventually killed by the ethanol they produce. The hypermutation enabled us to obtain variants that are less susceptible to ethanol and that grow quickly. This means that we might be able to use them for more efficient biofuel production."

"Another application is the fight against the antibiotic resistance of bacteria and the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy," doctoral student Toon Swings adds. "Antibiotics pose a deadly threat to bacteria. The bacteria protect themselves by mutating and, as a result, they develop antibiotic resistance. The same applies to cancer cells after a treatment. Therefore, blocking hypermutation could form a possible treatment or perhaps even a new co-therapy."

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Genetic studies of cichlid fishes suggest that interspecies hybrids played a prominent role in their evolution. Analysis of a unique fossil cichlid from the Upper Miocene of East Africa now provides further support for this idea.

The cichlids constitute one of the most diverse families of freshwater fishes in tropical habitats. Its members have adapted to the demands of a wide range of ecological niches, and many have developed highly specialized feeding habits. Contemporary representatives of the family therefore provide an ideal model system for evolutionary biologists who seek to understand the mechanisms that underlie the process of species diversification. Unfortunately, fossil specimens that could help to trace earlier phases of cichlid evolution are quite rare, and most are poorly preserved and/or fragmentary. Now scientists around Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich paleontologist Professor Bettina Reichenbacher have described a new fossil cichlid discovered in Upper Miocene strata in East Africa, which provides new insights into the evolutionary history of the group. Moreover, the results are consistent with molecular genetic data relating to the ongoing diversification of the family in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, which have indicated that hybridization between members of related species or even genera has played a major role in cichlid speciation. The work also sheds light on the environmental conditions that prevailed in the Rift Valley of East Africa in the Upper Miocene period, 9-10 million years ago. The new findings appear in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The authors assign the fossil to a newly defined genus and species (Tugenchromis pickfordi). In light of the scarcity of well-preserved cichlid fossils, the phylogenetic placement of the new specimen is dependent on comparisons with modern members of the family -- and given the enormous diversity of the latter, this is by no means an easy task. However, in cooperation with Dr. Ulrich Schliewen (Zoological State Collections, Munich), Reichenbacher and her team have assembled a unique database on the morphology of present-day cichlids, in which all the lineages found in Lake Tanganyika are represented. This dataset is based on the painstaking analysis of X-ray photographs of the skeletons of 763 individuals belonging to 227 modern cichlid species. "This unique resource has made it possible for the first time to place a new fossil species securely within the phylogeny of African cichlids. Indeed, our analysis shows it to be a member of the most ancient cichlid lineage that contributed to the so-called East African Radiation, a spectacular burst of diversification that has given rise to a huge variety of species," Reichenbacher explains.

The new fossil displays a striking "mosaic-like" set of characters, combining traits that are typical for three distinct cichlid groups found in Lake Tanganyika today. "This combination of characters is particularly interesting, because molecular geneticists have shown that many of the cichlid species in Lake Tanganyika possess 'mosaic' genomes -- made up of genetic material derived from non-related species. The mosaic of characters displayed by the fossil specimen is a reflection of the morphological consequences of such interspecies hybridization," says Dr. Melanie Altner, first author of the study.

The basin now occupied by Lake Tanganyika came into being at least 5.5 million years ago, and it has been assumed that the species radiation that gave rise to the striking diversity of cichlids in the lake was triggered by its formation. However, new models based on molecular genetic analyses of these cichlid species suggest that an radiation -- driven in part by interspecies hybridization - was already underway in the rivers and lakes that drained into the Proto-Lake Tanganyika. "In fish, it is not uncommon for such hybrids, which display characters derived from both parental species, to be fertile and capable of producing fertile progeny," says Schliewen. During the Miocene and Pliocene periods, the climate of East Africa became more arid, and many feeder streams dried up. As a result, many cichlid species that had originated in riverine systems were isolated in Lake Tanganyika basin itself, which thus became a 'melting pot' for subsequent episodes of speciation to which these immigrant species contributed. "Our fossil supports the hypothesis that hybridizations played a more prominent role in cichlid speciation than was once thought - and that diversification of the cichlids now endemic to the lake did not begin in the lake itself," Reichenbacher says.

The new fossil also elucidates aspects of the environment in which Lake Tanganyika formed. It was discovered by Reichenbacher and her coworkers in Kenya's Tugen Hills, in the eastern arm of the East African Rift Valley, but Lake Tanganyika -- in which its closest relatives now live -- is located in the Valley's western branch. The fossil therefore provides further evidence for a previously postulated hydrological connection between the eastern and western arms of the Rift Valley, which was subsequently severed as rifting progressed.

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Language has such a powerful effect, it can influence the way in which we experience time, according to a new study.

Professor Panos Athanasopoulos, a linguist from Lancaster University and Professor Emanuel Bylund, a linguist from Stellenbosch University and Stockholm University, have discovered that people who speak two languages fluently think about time differently depending on the language context in which they are estimating the duration of events.

The finding, reported in the 'Journal of Experimental Psychology: General', published by the American Psychological Association, reports the first evidence of cognitive flexibility in people who speak two languages.

Bilinguals go back and forth between their languages rapidly and, often, unconsciously -- a phenomenon called code-switching.

But different languages also embody different worldviews, different ways of organizing the world around us. And time is a case in point. For example, Swedish and English speakers prefer to mark the duration of events by referring to physical distances, e.g. a short break, a long wedding, etc. The passage of time is perceived as distance travelled.

But Greek and Spanish speakers tend to mark time by referring to physical quantities, e.g. a small break, a big wedding. The passage of time is perceived as growing volume.

The study found that bilinguals seemed to flexibly utilize both ways of marking duration, depending on the language context. This alters how they experience the passage of time.

In the study, Professor Bylund and Professor Athanasopoulos asked Spanish-Swedish bilinguals to estimate how much time had passed while watching either a line growing across a screen or a container being filled.

At the same time, participants were prompted with either the word 'duracion' (the Spanish word for duration) or 'tid' (the Swedish word for duration).

The results were clear-cut.

When watching containers filling up and prompted by the Spanish prompt word, bilinguals based their time estimates of how full the containers were, perceiving time as volume. They were unaffected by the lines growing on screens.

Conversely, when given the Swedish prompt word, bilinguals suddenly switched their behaviour, with their time estimates becoming influenced by the distance the lines had travelled, but not by how much the containers had filled.

"By learning a new language, you suddenly become attuned to perceptual dimensions that you weren't aware of before," says Professor Athanasopoulos. "The fact that bilinguals go between these different ways of estimating time effortlessly and unconsciously fits in with a growing body of evidence demonstrating the ease with which language can creep into our most basic senses, including our emotions, our visual perception, and now it turns out, our sense of time.

"But it also shows that bilinguals are more flexible thinkers, and there is evidence to suggest that mentally going back and forth between different languages on a daily basis confers advantages on the ability to learn and multi-task, and even long term benefits for mental well-being."

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WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- It sounds like Shakespearean drama: A male fights to protect his mate after a rival steals her away, using all his cunning and strength to win her back. Yet this encounter played out not on the stage, but in the sea, between three cuttlefish--the first time such behavior has been filmed in the wild.

The dramatic encounter was filmed in 2011 by Derya Akkaynak of the University of Haifa and Justine Allen, then a Ph.D. student in the Brown University-Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Graduate Program, while diving in the Aegean Sea with Allen's doctoral research advisor, MBL Senior Scientist Roger Hanlon. The team's analysis of the cuttlefish combat, with contributions by Alexandra Schnell of University of Caen, is published this week in American Naturalist.

Hanlon was "ecstatic" when saw the dive footage, he says. Although researchers have studied cuttlefish competition and mating behavior in the lab, observing the complex interactions of male-male fighting and mate guarding in the wild has been elusive.

"This was a totally serendipitous video sequence that I had been searching for nonstop for 20 years," Hanlon says.

The encounter began after Allen and Akkaynak filmed a male and female mating and then swimming together, as the male guarded his mate. Suddenly, a second male cuttlefish interrupted the couple's honeymoon, stealing the female away.

The two males began displaying the bizarre posturing of cuttlefish aggression: raising stiff arms, dilating their w-shaped pupils, and flashing skin colors.

"They have a whole repertoire of behaviors that they use to signal to each other, and we're just barely starting to understand some of them," says Allen, now an adjunct instructor at Brown University. "Most of these battles are actually these beautiful, stunning skin displays. It's a vicious war of colors."

But when the new male tried to mate with the female, things quickly turned physical.

The two male cuttlefish began grappling, spurting ink, until the first male managed to spin the intruder in three rapid barrel rolls. The harassed intruder slipped free and swam off. Soon after, Hanlon filmed the first male successfully reunited with his mate.

Though this encounter documented just one case of cuttlefish fighting, the team's analysis and comparison to lab results suggests that the behavior fits the "mutual assessment" model of game theory: Each individual evaluates his next action based on his opponent's ability and his own ability to prevail, rather than just on his own strength. This is particularly intriguing to Hanlon, as he says mutual assessment requires more cognitive ability.

Hanlon says the analysis through game theory is an important step in studying aggression, which, while widespread in the animal kingdom, remains poorly understood.

"Aggression is a major part of many societal problems, but it's a very touchy subject," Hanlon said. "This field observation and game theory analysis sets up a way to do lab experiments differently. I'm hoping we can put animals in the tank [to study aggression] based on this field assessment."

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Link to video: https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0PR7SX4

Citation:

Allen JJ, Akkayanak D, Schnell AK, and Hanlon RT (2017) Dramatic Fighting by Male Cuttlefish for a Female Mate. American Naturalist 190: DOI: 10.1086/692009

Video caption:

Dramatic video of two male cuttlefish fighting over a female consort (Aegean Sea, 2011). Credit: Derya Akkaynak and Justine Allen

Link to video: https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0PR7SX4

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.
A study of how policies restricting pharmaceutical promotion to physicians affect medication prescribing found that physicians in academic medical centers (AMCs) prescribed fewer of the promoted drugs, and more non-promoted drugs in the same drug classes, following policy changes to restrict marketing activities at those medical centers. The analysis encompassed 16.1 million prescriptions; while the decline observed was modest in terms of percentage, proportionally small changes can represent thousands of prescriptions.

The study was supported in part by a contract from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. The paper reporting these results appears in the May 2 issue of JAMA which is devoted to conflict of interest issues.

It is common for pharmaceutical companies to promote medications to physicians during sales visits and events that may involve gifts such as meals and free samples, a practice called "detailing." In recent years, some AMCs in the United States have instituted policies restricting detailing, but little is known about what effect, if any, such policies have had on prescribing practices by physicians.

"There has long been concern that drug marketing to physicians might influence their prescribing, including--and maybe especially--for psychiatric drugs," says Michael Schoenbaum, Ph.D., Senior Advisor for Mental Health Services, Epidemiology, and Economics, Division of Services and Intervention Research at NIMH and a coauthor of the paper. "Many medical schools have adopted policies to limit such marketing, and this study is one of the first to document what effect these policies actually have. Important next steps include assessing the economic impact of these policies and whether they affect patients' clinical outcomes."

Ian Larkin, Ph.D., at the University of California, Los Angeles, and George Lowenstein, Ph.D., at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, led a multi-center team of researchers in a study examining the effects on prescribing of AMC policies to limit pharmaceutical representative detailing. The team looked at prescribing by physicians affiliated with 19 academic medical centers in five states. These states--California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania--have the largest numbers of AMC-affiliated physicians and in 2015 accounted for nearly 35 percent of all U.S. prescriptions.

During the period of the study--January 2006 to June 2012--these 19 centers instituted policies restricting detailing. The study compared prescribing by 2,126 physicians affiliated with these centers with that of 24,593 physicians with similar backgrounds and prescribing habits that were selected from a database of physicians in the same states provided by a large pharmacy benefits manager. The analysis in this study encompassed eight major drug classes: lipid-lowering drugs, gastroesophageal reflux disease drugs, antidiabetic agents, antihypertensive drugs, sleep aids, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs, antidepressant drugs, and antipsychotic drugs.

The study authors reported changes in prescribing in terms of changes in the market share of detailed and nondetailed drugs: market share represents the share of prescriptions for a given drug within a drug class. The mean market share of detailed drugs (across all the drug classes) in AMCs prior to changes in policy was 19.3 percent. Over the period of the study, the market share of detailed drugs prescribed by AMC physicians declined by 1.67 percentage point, an 8.7 percent decrease relative to the level prior to policy changes. The market share of prescribed nondetailed drugs increased 0.84 percentage point, or a relative 5.6 percent increase. The changes were statistically significant for six of the eight drug classes and for all drugs in the aggregate. The decline in prescribing of detailed drugs among AMC physicians was in contrast to a slight decline in prescriptions of detailed drugs among the comparison group of physicians over the same time period.

The magnitude of changes differed across AMCs. The decline in prescriptions of detailed drugs was greatest at centers with the most stringent policies, such as bans on salespeople in patient care areas, requirements for salesperson registration and training, and penalties for salespeople and physicians for violating the policies. In 8 of 11 AMCs with more stringent policies, the changes in prescribing were significant; in only 1 of 8 AMCs with more limited measures were the changes significant.

Additional analysis showed that the changes in prescribing were evident whether or not detailed drugs for which a generic version became available during the study were included in the data. Also, because AMCs instituted policy changes at different times during the study period, the authors compared prescribing during equivalent stretches of time (up to three years) immediately before and after each center's policy had changed.

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About the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For more information, visit the NIMH website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit the NIH website .

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
Combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with radio observations and computer simulations, an international team of scientists has discovered a vast wave of hot gas in the nearby Perseus galaxy cluster. Spanning some 200,000 light-years, the wave is about twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy.

The researchers say the wave formed billions of years ago, after a small galaxy cluster grazed Perseus and caused its vast supply of gas to slosh around an enormous volume of space.

"Perseus is one of the most massive nearby clusters and the brightest one in X-rays, so Chandra data provide us with unparalleled detail," said lead scientist Stephen Walker at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The wave we've identified is associated with the flyby of a smaller cluster, which shows that the merger activity that produced these giant structures is still ongoing."

A paper describing the findings appears in the June 2017 issue of the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is available online.

Galaxy clusters are the largest structures bound by gravity in the universe today. Some 11 million light-years across and located about 240 million light-years away, the Perseus galaxy cluster is named for its host constellation. Like all galaxy clusters, most of its observable matter takes the form of a pervasive gas averaging tens of millions of degrees, so hot it only glows in X-rays.

Chandra observations have revealed a variety of structures in this gas, from vast bubbles blown by the supermassive black hole in the cluster's central galaxy, NGC 1275, to an enigmatic concave feature known as the "bay."

The bay's concave shape couldn't have formed through bubbles launched by the black hole. Radio observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in central New Mexico show that the bay structure produces no emission, the opposite of what scientists would expect for features associated with black hole activity. In addition, standard models of sloshing gas typically produced structures that arc in the wrong direction.

Walker and his colleagues turned to existing Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster to further investigate the bay. They combined a total of 10.4 days of high-resolution data with 5.8 days of wide-field observations at energies between 700 and 7,000 electron volts. For comparison, visible light has energies between about two and three electron volts. The scientists then filtered the Chandra data to highlight the edges of structures and reveal subtle details.

Next, they compared the edge-enhanced Perseus image to computer simulations of merging galaxy clusters developed by John ZuHone, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The simulations were run on the Pleiades supercomputer operated by the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. Although he was not involved in this study, ZuHone collected his simulations into an online catalog to aid astronomers studying galaxy clusters.

"Galaxy cluster mergers represent the latest stage of structure formation in the cosmos," ZuHone said. "Hydrodynamic simulations of merging clusters allow us to produce features in the hot gas and tune physical parameters, such as the magnetic field. Then we can attempt to match the detailed characteristics of the structures we observe in X-rays."

One simulation seemed to explain the formation of the bay. In it, gas in a large cluster similar to Perseus has settled into two components, a "cold" central region with temperatures around 54 million degrees Fahrenheit (30 million Celsius) and a surrounding zone where the gas is three times hotter. Then a small galaxy cluster containing about a thousand times the mass of the Milky Way skirts the larger cluster, missing its center by around 650,000 light-years.

The flyby creates a gravitational disturbance that churns up the gas like cream stirred into coffee, creating an expanding spiral of cold gas. After about 2.5 billion years, when the gas has risen nearly 500,000 light-years from the center, vast waves form and roll at its periphery for hundreds of millions of years before dissipating.

These waves are giant versions of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, which show up wherever there's a velocity difference across the interface of two fluids, such as wind blowing over water. They can be found in the ocean, in cloud formations on Earth and other planets, in plasma near Earth, and even on the sun.

"We think the bay feature we see in Perseus is part of a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave, perhaps the largest one yet identified, that formed in much the same way as the simulation shows," Walker said. "We have also identified similar features in two other galaxy clusters, Centaurus and Abell 1795."

The researchers also found that the size of the waves corresponds to the strength of the cluster's magnetic field. If it's too weak, the waves reach much larger sizes than those observed. If too strong, they don't form at all. This study allowed astronomers to probe the average magnetic field throughout the entire volume of these clusters, a measurement that is impossible to make by any other means.

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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, controls Chandra's science and flight operations.
Researchers from Italy and Portugal describe yet another new sauropod species from 150 million years ago, from Wyoming, USA

The new species, Galeamopus pabsti, is the most recent dinosaur to be described by paleontologists from the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Turin, Italy; the Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and the Museum of Lourinha in Portugal. This Jurassic dinosaur was originally excavated in 1995 by a Swiss team, led by Hans-Jakob "Kirby" Siber and Ben Pabst, in Wyoming, in the United States and is the latest in a series of new discoveries by the paleontologists Emanuel Tschopp and Octavio Mateus, which started in 2012 with Kaatedocus siberi. The paper describing the new species was published online in the open access scientific journal PeerJ on Tuesday, May 2.

Galeamopus pabsti is similar to the famous dinosaur Diplodocus, but with more massive legs, and a particularly high and triangular neck close to the head. It is the second species of the genus Galeamopus to be shown to be different to Diplodocus by the same researchers (the first being published in 2015, in a paper which also reinstated the brontosaurus as a distinct genus). The new species is dedicated to Ben Pabst, who found the skeleton, and prepared it for mounting at the Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland, where it is one of the main attractions of the permanent exhibit.

Diplodocid sauropods are among the most iconic dinosaurs. With their greatly elongated necks and tails, they represent the typical body shape of sauropods. Species of this group occur also in Africa, South America, and Europe, but the highest diversity is known from the USA: more than 15 species of these gigantic animals are known from there, also including the famous Brontosaurus. Researchers are still baffled by this high diversity of giants, and are continuing their studies to understand how such a diversity could be maintained by the ecosystem in which they lived.

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Contacts: For the authors: Emanuel Tschopp, emanueldavid.tschopp@unito.it, +41774391082 ; Octavio Mateus, omateus@fct.unl.pt, +351.918381501

For PeerJ: press@peerj.com

Images and full press pack: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B5nGzx44V996NVdiZVd6TmZ2NW8

Citation to the article: Tschopp and Mateus (2017), Osteology of Galeamopus pabsti sp. nov. (Sauropoda: Diplodocidae), with implications for neurocentral closure timing, and the cervico-dorsal transition in diplodocids. PeerJ 5:e3179; DOI 10.7717/peerj.3179
Thinning a material down to a single-atom thickness can dramatically change that material's physical properties. For example, graphene, the best-known 2D material, has unparalleled strength and electrical conductivity, unlike its bulk form, graphite. Researchers have begun to study hundreds of other 2D materials for the purposes of electronics, sensing, early cancer diagnosis, water desalination and a host of other applications. Now, a team of Penn State researchers in the Department of Physics and the Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials (2DLM) has developed a fast, nondestructive optical method for analyzing defects in 2D materials.

"In the semiconductor industry, for example, defects are important because you can control properties through defects," said Mauricio Terrones, professor of physics, materials science and engineering and chemistry. "This is known as defect engineering. Industry knows how to control defects and which types are good for devices."

To really understand what is going on in a 2D material like tungsten disulfide, which has a single atom-thick layer of tungsten sandwiched between two atomic layers of sulfur, would require a high-power electron microscope capable of seeing individual atoms and the holes, called vacancies, where the atoms are missing.

"The benefit of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is that you get an image and you can see directly what is going on -- you get direct evidence," said Bernd Kabius, staff scientist at Penn State's Materials Research Institute, an expert in TEM and a coauthor on the paper, which appeared recently in Science Advances.

The downsides, according to Kabius, are an increased possibility of damage to the delicate 2D material, the complex preparation required of the sample, and the time involved -- an entire day of instrument time to image a single sample and a week or more to interpret the results. For those reasons, and others, researchers would like to combine TEM with another method of looking at the sample that is simpler and faster.

The technique developed by Terrones and his team uses an optical method, fluorescent microscopy, in which a laser of a specific wavelength is shone on a sample. The excited electrons, pushed to a higher energy level, each emit a photon of a longer wavelength when they drop down to a lower energy level. The longer wavelength can be measured by spectroscopy and gives information about the defect type and location on the sample. The team can then correlate the results with visual confirmation under the TEM. Theoretical calculations also helped to validate the optical results.

The sample must be placed in a temperature-controlled specimen holder and the temperature lowered to 77 Kelvin, almost 200 degrees Celsius below zero. At this temperature, the electron-hole pairs that produce the fluorescence are bound to the defect -- in the case of this work a group of sulfur vacancies in the top layer of the sandwich -- and emit a signal stronger than the pristine areas of the material.

"For the first time, we have established a direct relationship between the optical response and the amount of atomic defects in two-dimensional materials," said Victor Carozo, former postdoctoral scholar in Terrones' lab and first author of the work.

Terrones added, "For the semiconductor industry, this is a quick measurement, an optical nondestructive method to evaluate defects in 2D systems. The important thing is that we were able to correlate our optical method with TEM and also with atomistic simulations. I think this method can be very helpful in establishing a protocol for characterization of 2D crystalline materials."

In this context, co-author Yuanxi Wang, a postdoc in the 2DLM and a theorist, added, "Our calculations show that electrons trapped by vacancies emit light at wavelengths different than the emission from defect-free regions. Regions emitting light at these wavelengths can easily identify vacancies within samples."

Vincent Crespi, distinguished professor of physics, materials science and engineering and chemistry, Penn State, said "We can establish not just an empirical correlation between the presence of certain defects and modified light emission, but also identify the reason for that correlation through first-principles calculations."

Device applications that could be enhanced by this work include membranes with selective pore sizes for removing salt from water or for DNA sequencing, gas sensing when gas molecules bind to specific vacancies and the doping of 2D materials, which is the addition of foreign atoms to enhance properties.

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Other authors on the Science Advances paper, "Optical Identification of Sulfur Vacancies: Bound Excitons at the Edges of Monolayer Tungsten Disulfide," are postdoctoral scholars Kazunori Fujisawa, Bruno Carvalho and Amber McCreary; doctoral students Simin Feng, Zhong Lin and Chanjing Zhou; and research associates Nestor Perea-Lopez and Ana Laura Elias. The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Research Office supported this work.
The rift in the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica now has a second branch, which is moving in the direction of the ice front, Swansea University researchers revealed after studying the latest satellite data.

The main rift in Larsen C, which is likely to lead to one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, is currently 180 km long. The new branch of the rift is 15 km long.

Last year, researchers from the UK's Project Midas, led by Swansea University, reported that the rift was growing fast. Now, just 20km of ice is keeping the 5,000 sq km piece from floating away.

Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University College of Science, head of Project Midas, described the latest findings:

"While the previous rift tip has not advanced, a new branch of the rift has been initiated. This is approximately 10km behind the previous tip, heading towards the ice-front.

This is the first significant change to the rift since February of this year. Although the rift length has been static for several months, it has been steadily widening, at rates in excess of a metre per day.

It is currently winter in Antarctica, therefore direct visual observations are rare and low resolution. Our observations of the rift are based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry from ESA's Sentinel-1 satellites. Satellite radar interferometry allows a very precise monitoring of the rift development".

Researchers say the loss of a piece a quarter of the size of Wales will leave the whole shelf vulnerable to future break-up. Larsen C is approximately 350m thick and floats on the seas at the edge of West Antarctica, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

Professor Luckman said:

"When it calves, the Larsen C Ice Shelf will lose more than 10% of its area to leave the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded; this event will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

We have previously shown that the new configuration will be less stable than it was prior to the rift, and that Larsen C may eventually follow the example of its neighbour Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 following a similar rift-induced calving event.

The MIDAS Project will continue to monitor the development of the rift and assess its ongoing impact on the ice shelf. Further updates will be available on our blog (projectmidas.org), and on our Twitter feed"

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Visuals:

The current location of the rift on Larsen C, as of May 1 2017. Labels highlight significant jumps. Tip positions are derived from Landsat (USGS) and Sentinel-1 InSAR (ESA) data. Background image blends BEDMAP2 Elevation (BAS) with MODIS MOA2009 Image mosaic (NSIDC). Other data from SCAR ADD and OSM. (Credit: MIDAS project, A. Luckman, Swansea University)

Ice flow velocities of Larsen C in May 2017, from ESA Sentinel-1 data. (Credit: A. Luckman, MIDAS, Swansea University, with Copernicus Sentinel data.)

Larsen C ice rift - aerial view. (Credit: John Sonntag/NASA)

Notes to editors:

Project MIDAS is a UK-based Antarctic research project, investigating the effects of a warming climate on the Larsen C ice shelf in West Antarctica. Recent warming has caused large melt ponds to form on Larsen C during summer, which are changing the structure of the ice. The effects of this on the future of the ice shelf are still unknown. We are studying these effects through a mixture of fieldwork, satellite observation and computer simulations of the ice shelf and its climate.

Project MIDAS is based at Swansea University and Aberystwyth University in Wales, with support from the British Antarctic Survey and a variety of partners both in the UK and internationally. The project is funded by the National Environment Research Council.

Swansea University is a world-class, research-led, dual campus university. The University was established in 1920 and was the first campus university in the UK. It currently offers around 350 undergraduate courses and 350 postgraduate courses to circa 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The University's 46-acre Singleton Park Campus is located in beautiful parkland with views across Swansea Bay. The University's 65-acre science and innovation Bay Campus, which opened in September 2015, is located a few miles away on the eastern approach to the city. It has the distinction of having direct access to a beach and its own seafront promenade. Both campuses are close to the Gower Peninsula, the UK's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Swansea is ranked the top university in Wales and is currently The Times and The Sunday Times 'Welsh University of the Year'. It is also ranked within the top 350 best universities in the world in the Times Higher Education World University rankings.

The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 showed the University has achieved its ambition to be a top 30 research University, soaring up the league table to 26th in the UK, with the 'biggest leap among research-intensive institutions' (Times Higher Education, December 2014) in the UK.

The University has ambitious expansion plans as it moves towards its centenary in 2020, as it continues to extend its global reach and realising its domestic and international ambitions.

Swansea University is a registered charity. No.1138342. Visit http://www.swansea.ac.uk

Contact details:

Kevin Sullivan, Public Relations Officer, Swansea University press office. k.g.sullivan@swansea.ac.uk Tel 44 1792 513 245
As electronics become increasingly pervasive in our lives - from smart phones to wearable sensors - so too does the ever rising amount of electronic waste they create. A United Nations Environment Program report found that almost 50 million tons of electronic waste were thrown out in 2017--more than 20 percent higher than waste in 2015.

Troubled by this mounting waste, Stanford engineer Zhenan Bao and her team are rethinking electronics. "In my group, we have been trying to mimic the function of human skin to think about how to develop future electronic devices," Bao said. She described how skin is stretchable, self-healable and also biodegradable - an attractive list of characteristics for electronics. "We have achieved the first two [flexible and self-healing], so the biodegradability was something we wanted to tackle."

The team created a flexible electronic device that can easily degrade just by adding a weak acid like vinegar. The results were published May 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This is the first example of a semiconductive polymer that can decompose," said lead author Ting Lei, a postdoctoral fellow working with Bao.

In addition to the polymer - essentially a flexible, conductive plastic - the team developed a degradable electronic circuit and a new biodegradable substrate material for mounting the electrical components. This substrate supports the electrical components, flexing and molding to rough and smooth surfaces alike. When the electronic device is no longer needed, the whole thing can biodegrade into nontoxic components.

Biodegradable bits

Bao, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science and engineering, had previously created a stretchable electrode modeled on human skin. That material could bend and twist in a way that could allow it to interface with the skin or brain, but it couldn't degrade. That limited its application for implantable devices and - important to Bao - contributed to waste.

Bao said that creating a robust material that is both a good electrical conductor and biodegradable was a challenge, considering traditional polymer chemistry. "We have been trying to think how we can achieve both great electronic property but also have the biodegradability," Bao said.

Eventually, the team found that by tweaking the chemical structure of the flexible material it would break apart under mild stressors. "We came up with an idea of making these molecules using a special type of chemical linkage that can retain the ability for the electron to smoothly transport along the molecule," Bao said. "But also this chemical bond is sensitive to weak acid - even weaker than pure vinegar." The result was a material that could carry an electronic signal but break down without requiring extreme measures.

In addition to the biodegradable polymer, the team developed a new type of electrical component and a substrate material that attaches to the entire electronic component. Electronic components are usually made of gold. But for this device, the researchers crafted components from iron. Bao noted that iron is a very environmentally friendly product and is nontoxic to humans.

The researchers created the substrate, which carries the electronic circuit and the polymer, from cellulose. Cellulose is the same substance that makes up paper. But unlike paper, the team altered cellulose fibers so the "paper" is transparent and flexible, while still breaking down easily. The thin film substrate allows the electronics to be worn on the skin or even implanted inside the body.

From implants to plants

The combination of a biodegradable conductive polymer and substrate makes the electronic device useful in a plethora of settings - from wearable electronics to large-scale environmental surveys with sensor dusts.

"We envision these soft patches that are very thin and conformable to the skin that can measure blood pressure, glucose value, sweat content," Bao said. A person could wear a specifically designed patch for a day or week, then download the data. According to Bao, this short-term use of disposable electronics seems a perfect fit for a degradable, flexible design.

And it's not just for skin surveys: the biodegradable substrate, polymers and iron electrodes make the entire component compatible with insertion into the human body. The polymer breaks down to product concentrations much lower than the published acceptable levels found in drinking water. Although the polymer was found to be biocompatible, Bao said that more studies would need to be done before implants are a regular occurrence.

Biodegradable electronics have the potential to go far beyond collecting heart disease and glucose data. These components could be used in places where surveys cover large areas in remote locations. Lei described a research scenario where biodegradable electronics are dropped by airplane over a forest to survey the landscape. "It's a very large area and very hard for people to spread the sensors," he said. "Also, if you spread the sensors, it's very hard to gather them back. You don't want to contaminate the environment so we need something that can be decomposed." Instead of plastic littering the forest floor, the sensors would biodegrade away.

As the number of electronics increase, biodegradability will become more important. Lei is excited by their advancements and wants to keep improving performance of biodegradable electronics. "We currently have computers and cell phones and we generate millions and billions of cell phones, and it's hard to decompose," he said. "We hope we can develop some materials that can be decomposed so there is less waste."

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Other authors on the study include Ming Guan, Jia Liu, Hung-Cheng Lin, Raphael Pfattner, Leo Shaw, Allister McGuire, and Jeffrey Tok of Stanford University; Tsung-Ching Huang of Hewlett Packard Enterprise; and Lei-Lai Shao and Kwang-Ting Cheng of University of California, Santa Barbara.
Implementation of policies at academic medical centers that restricted pharmaceutical detailing (pharmaceutical representative sales visits to physicians) was associated with modest but significant reductions in prescribing of detailed drugs across six of eight major drug classes; however, changes were not seen in all of the academic medical centers that enacted policies, according to a study published by JAMA in a theme issue on conflict of interest.

In an effort to regulate physician conflicts of interest, a number of academic medical centers (AMCs) enacted policies between 2006 and 2012 restricting sales visits from pharmaceutical representatives to their practicing physicians, by far the most common form of interaction between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. Little is known about the effect of these policies on physician prescribing. Ian Larkin, Ph.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues compared changes in prescribing by physicians 10 to 36 months before and 12 to 36 months after implementation of detailing policies at AMCs in five states (California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York; intervention group) with changes in prescribing by a matched control group of similar physicians not subject to a detailing policy.

The analysis included 16,121,483 prescriptions written between January 2006 and June 2012 by 2,126 attending physicians at 19 intervention group AMCs and by 24,593 matched control group physicians. The researchers found that enactment of detailing restrictions at AMCs was associated with a decrease in the prescribing of detailed drugs of 1.67 percentage points of market share, and an increase in prescribing of nondetailed drugs of 0.84 percentage points. The average detailed drug had a market share of 19.3 percent and the average nondetailed drug had a market share of 14.2 percent. Associations were statistically significant for six of eight study drug classes for detailed drugs (lipid-lowering drugs, gastroesophageal reflux disease drugs, antihypertensive drugs, sleep aids, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs, and antidepressant drugs) and for nine of the 19 AMCs that implemented policies. Across AMCs and drug classes, prescriptions shifted away from detailed drugs and toward generic drugs following the introduction of policies restricting pharmaceutical detailing.

Eleven of the 19 AMCs regulated salesperson gifts to physicians, restricted salesperson access to facilities, and incorporated explicit enforcement mechanisms. For eight of these 11 AMCs, there was a significant change in prescribing. In contrast, there was a significant change at only one of eight AMCs that did not enact policies in all three areas.

The authors note study limitations, including that the observational design precludes proving causal relationships because other changes may have occurred that could have influenced the study results.

The researchers write that the reduction in the prescribing of detailed drugs and the increase in the prescribing of nondetailed drugs potentially represents a large reduction in costs. "In 2010, pharmaceutical companies earned more than $60 billion in revenues for detailed drugs included in the study, and generic drugs are on average 80 percent to 85 percent less expensive than brand-name drugs. A 1-percentage point change in market share could represent approximately a 5 percent relative change in revenue for the average detailed drug, suggesting that the observed changes in prescribing could have important economic implications."

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For more details and to read the full study, please visit the For The Media website.

(doi:10.1001/jama.2017.4039)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Related material: The editorial, "Reconsidering Physician-Pharmaceutical Industry Relationships," by Colette DeJong, B.A., and R. Adams Dudley, M.D., M.B.A., of the University of California, San Francisco, also is available at the For The Media website.

To place an electronic embedded link to this study in your story This link will be live at the embargo time: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2017.4039
(New York - May 2, 2017) -- Surgeons who perform more than 25 mitral valve operations a year are more likely to perform repairs that are durable, and their patients are more likely to be alive a year after the operation, than when operations are performed by lower-volume surgeons, an Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai study has found.

The results of the study will be presented at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Centennial meeting on Tuesday, May 2, in Boston and published online simultaneously in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study is the first to highlight that patients operated on by higher volume mitral surgeons experienced lower one year mortality and rates of reoperations compared to those operated by low volume mitral surgeons.

Mitral valve repair is the recommended treatment for patients with severe degenerative mitral valve disease because it has important advantages over replacement, including better life expectancy and quality of life. However, among individual surgeons, huge variability exists in successful repair rates, defined as the percentage of repairs that were performed vs. replacements.

Mount Sinai researchers analyzed mitral valve surgery from the New York State Department of Health mandatory cardiac surgery database between 2002 and 2013 and found that patients whose mitral valve operations were performed by surgeons conducting more than 25 such operations per year were more likely to receive a mitral valve repair than a replacement, and the repair was more durable compared to patients operated on by surgeons with less mitral surgery experience. Patients operated on by higher-volume surgeons were also more likely to be alive a year after their surgery.

"This study adds further clarity to the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines which already recognize that patients with degenerative mitral valve disease should be referred to experienced mitral surgeons whenever feasible," said the study's senior author, David H. Adams, MD, Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief, Mount Sinai Health System, Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chairman Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Our study found for the first time that individual surgeon volume was directly linked to freedom from reoperation and survival after one year in patients operated on for degenerative mitral valve disease."

The study's lead author is Joanna Chikwe, MD, Clinical Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The study found that among surgeons who performed any mitral valve procedures, the median volume was 10 cases per year, with a mean repair rate of 55 percent. In the subgroup of patients with degenerative disease, the mean repair rate ranged from 77 percent for surgeons with total annual volumes of more than 51 cases, to 48 percent for surgeons who performed fewer than 10 cases. Higher total annual surgeon volume was associated with increased repair rates of 1.13 for every additional 10 mitral cases, a steady decrease in reoperation risk until 25 mitral cases annually, and improved survival for every 10 additional cases. The study analyzed 5,475 adult patients 18 years or older who underwent primary mitral valve surgery in New York State between 2002 and 2013. Sixty-seven percent underwent mitral valve repair and 33 percent received mitral valve replacement. Researchers compared repair rates, long-term survival, and risk of post-repair operation in a subgroup of patients with degenerative disease according to total annual surgeon volume, which was defined as any mitral valve operation for any cause during the study period. A total of 313 surgeons from 41 institutions met the study's criteria.

Researchers also observed significant differences in the characteristics of patients across each surgeon's case volume groups. The prevalence of congestive heart failure was significantly higher in patients operated on by surgeons with lower annual case volumes, compared with surgeons with higher annual case volumes.

"There is now a fair amount of medical literature supporting the case that high volumes generally lead to better surgical outcomes, in a wide variety of fields," said Dr. Chikwe. "This study shows that for patients undergoing mitral surgery, both immediate and subsequent outcomes" were influenced by the individual surgeon's experience."

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About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services--from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the "Honor Roll" of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 "Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals."

For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THORACIC SURGERY (AATS)

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) is an international organization of over 1,300 of the world's foremost thoracic and cardiothoracic surgeons, representing 41 countries. AATS encourages and stimulates education and investigation into the areas of intrathoracic physiology, pathology and therapy. Founded in 1917 by a respected group of the last century's earliest pioneers in the field of thoracic surgery, the AATS' original mission was to "foster the evolution of an interest in surgery of the Thorax."

As it celebrates its centennial anniversary, the AATS continues to be the premiere association among cardiothoracic surgeons. The purpose of the Association is the continual enhancement of the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest level of quality patient care. To this end, the AATS encourages, promotes, and stimulates the scientific investigation and study of cardiothoracic surgery. Visit http://www.aats.org
There's never been a better time to learn.

So says UC Santa Barbara applied psychologist Richard Mayer, who has devoted his career to formulating principals of instruction that teach people how to apply what they learned to new situations. His recent research shows that multimedia instruction is particularly effective, and in the 21st century, computers have made that easier to execute than ever before.

For his efforts, Mayer has been chosen by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) to receive the 2018 James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award. The highest honor conferred by the APS, the Cattell Award recognizes distinguished APS members for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to applied psychological research.

"It's an honor to get a lifetime achievement award," said Mayer, a UCSB psychology professor who also is affiliated with the campus's Gevirtz Graduate School of Education and Center for Information Technology and Society. "To be recognized by my colleagues means a lot to me; it's a humbling experience."

"It's hard to keep up with the many awards Rich's extraordinary body of work has so deservedly attracted, but this is a particularly apt one, celebrating as it does not just one or two but career-long empirical and theoretical contributions with exceptional relevance to applied domains that change people's lives," said Diane Mackie, chair of UCSB's Department of Psychology & Brain Science. "We are fortunate to have Rich as a theorist, researcher, mentor and colleague in the department."

Mayer's research combines cognition, instruction and technology to examine multimedia learning and learning in computer-supported environments and via computer games. "The unifying goal is to conduct methodologically rigorous studies that yield research-based principles of instructional design and contribute to cognitive science theories of how people learn," Mayer explained.

Building on that goal, Mayer has developed a theory of multimedia learning relevant to the design of online instruction. With colleagues, he has conducted more than 100 experimental tests that have led to the development of 12 research-based principles for how to design online learning environments and computer-based games. His work also extends to the design of computer games for learning and using social cues such as polite speech and gesture to increase learner motivation.

With respect to multimedia learning, Mayer seeks to determine how people learn scientific explanations from computer-based animation, video and narration; the ways in which illustrations affect how people learn from scientific text; and how people learn to solve problems from interactive simulations.

Mayer's research on computer-supported learning examines ways to improve online learning with pedagogical agents, intelligent tutoring systems, mobile devices and virtual reality. His work also explores factors that increase the effectiveness of educational games and whether computer games improve cognitive and perceptual skills.

Mayer holds three degrees in psychology: a B.A. from Miami University in Ohio and a both a master's. and doctorate from the University of Michigan. He became a UCSB faculty member in 1975 and served as the chair of the Department of Psychology from 1987 to 1990. Mayer is a fellow of the APS, the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), and a member of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, the Cognitive Science Society, the Psychonomic Society, the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition and the Society for Text and Discourse.

Mayer served as president of the APA's educational psychology division and as vice president of AERA's learning and instruction division. He is the winner of the Thorndike Award for career achievement in educational psychology, the Scribner Award for outstanding research in learning and instruction and the APA's Distinguished Contribution of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training Award. Mayer is ranked No. 1 as the most productive educational psychologist in the world by the journal Contemporary Educational Psychology.

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CINCINNATI--Experts in women's health are recommending physicians follow new guidelines to determine when women warrant further evaluation and testing for urologic cancers when there is microscopic blood in their urine.

"Compared to men, there are multiple reasons for women to have blood in their urine that do not relate to urologic cancer and prior guidelines do not recognize this critical sex-related difference," says urogynecologist James Whiteside, MD, an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UC College of Medicine.

Whiteside is the co-author of "Asymptomatic Microscopic Hematuria in Women," an opinion paper written by a joint committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Urogynecologic Society.

The paper, currently available online states that asymptomatic, low-risk, never-smoking, women age 35 to 50 should only undergo evaluation for urologic cancer if they have more than 25 red blood cells per high-power field testing. In contrast, the American Urological Association recommends further urologic evaluation if there are more than three red blood cells present.

The new recommendation came about, says Whiteside, "because many urogynecologists see women for this problem and there was a growing frustration that the workup was overkill, or potentially causing harm."

"Beyond the waste and inconvenience incurred in unnecessary testing, there are health risks," he says. The new guideline acknowledges that given the high radiation exposure associated with a diagnostic CT scan, patients are put at risk for future malignancies when the overall risk for bladder cancer among women is very low.

According to the American Cancer Society, bladder cancer occurs mainly in older people. About 9 out of 10 people with this cancer are over the age of 55. The average age at the time of diagnosis is 73. Men are about 3 to 4 times more likely to get bladder cancer during their lifetime than women.

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In recent decades, trusted first aid resources have recommended stings from man o' war (Physalia species) be treated differently from other jellies. But when researchers at the University of Hawai'i - Manoa (UHM) dug into the scientific literature, they found scant evidence to support such individualized first aid. Adding to a recent push for evidence-based sting treatments, members of the Pacific Cnidaria Research Laboratory (PCRL) at UHM teamed up with colleagues in Ireland to investigate which commonly recommended first aid actions (such as rinsing with seawater) are the most effective for Physalia stings. Their results, published this week in the journal Toxins, defy the recent abandonment of historic advice, and suggest that man o' war stings are no different than other jellyfish stings; the best first aid is to rinse with vinegar to remove any residual stingers or bits of tentacle left on the skin and then immerse in 45C (113F) hot water or apply a hot pack for 45 minutes.

Physalia (Physalia utriculus, also called bluebottles in the Pacific or Physalia physalis, Portuguese man o' war in the Atlantic) are among the most recognizable stinging jellies with their bright blue tentacles and colorful inflated floating sails. Strandings of bluebottles are common in Hawai'i as the onshore winds push thousands of these small, painful critters onto the beaches. Similar mass strandings are frequent with the Atlantic species too, and have been known to cause hundreds of stings in a single day on beaches from Florida to France.

"Physalia are often listed as exceptions to any blanket first aid recommendations for jellyfish stings," said Christie Wilcox, lead author of the paper and postdoctoral fellow with PCRL at UHM. But such assertions aren't based in rigorous research, she said.

"Without solid science to back up medical practices, we have ended up with conflicting official recommendations around the world, leading to confusion and, in many cases, practices that actually worsen stings or even cost lives," said Angel Yanagihara, senior author, head of the PCRL and assistant research professor at the UHM Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) and John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).

A few years ago, Yanagihara set about to scrutinize jellyfish sting treatments properly, and designed a set of experimental assays that allow the researchers to quantify stinging and venom activity in real time. First tested with dangerous box jellyfish, these assays have allowed the PCRL team to determine which commonly recommended practices, such as applying heat, help mitigate box jelly stings, and which, such as applying urine or scraping away tentacles, only make box jelly stings worse. Applying these assays to man o' war stings was the obvious next step.

So Yanagihara teamed up with Tom Doyle, a jellyfish scientist and lecturer with the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway. In 2008, Doyle set up the Jellyfish Advisory Group, a collection of medical practitioners and experts that helps advise Irish protocols for sting first-aid and treatment. Together, they proposed a project to the International Fulbright Specialist program and when Yanagihara was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Award, she went to NUI Galway to share newly developed assay techniqes with Doyle and his doctoral student, Jasmine Headlam. Headlam and Doyle performed experiments using the Atlantic man o' war in parallel with those conducted by Wilcox and Yanagihara in Hawai'i.

The results from opposite sides of the world lined up beautifully: the venom delivered by a man o' war sting was lessened if the sting site was rinsed with vinegar, regardless of which species of Physalia was used. Even better, if you have it available, was Sting No More Spray, a combined stinging capsule and venom-inhibiting product developed by Yanagihara with Department of Defense funding. Seawater rinsing, on the other hand, spread stinging capsules over more area and thus made stings, much worse. To treat stings after rinsing away the tentacles, both groups found 45 minutes of 45C (113F) heat application effectively inactived already-injected venom, while the application of ice packs made stings worse.

"Given that most recommendations expressly forbid the use of vinegar and recommend seawater rinses, these findings completely upend current protocols," said Yanagihara.

"This is quite a U-turn for me," explained Doyle, as he helped write the current Irish protocols almost ten years ago, which unfortunately recommend the worst possible combination of steps: seawater rinsing followed by ice pack treatment. "In the coming weeks, I look forward to meeting with members of the Jellyfish Advisory Group to discuss our new findings and how we can revise the current protocols."

Back in Hawai'i, Wilcox and Yanagihara have already started studying the next stinging jellies on their list. As they've examined two of the three main classes of dangerous stingers, they have their sights set on the last remaining class: true jellyfish (class Schyphozoa). Again collaborating with Headlam and Doyle, they are working on evidence-based first aid measures for lion's mane (Cyanea capillata), the one of largest jellyfish in the world.

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Sting No More Spray and Cream formulations (Alatalab Solutions, LLC) were developed under a Department of Defense grant that aimed to rapidly and effectively treat stings in US Special Operations Command combat divers. With the intention of supporting the development of technologies and therapies of benefit to people, the funding required a commercialization plan for resulting products. All testing of the new commercial product, in the current study was performed under an approved University of Hawai'i Conflict of Interest plan. This product demonstrates the strongly pro-innovation culture at UH dedicated to bringing to the public sector technologies that have been developed with federal and state research dollars.
Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has provided the first evidence that viruses and hosts share highly similar regulatory sequences in their promoters--the initiation sequences of human genes that code for functional proteins.

"To date viral-host networks include protein and mRNA interactions between viruses and their hosts at later stages of gene expression, but our discovery of genetically coupled promoters is novel. They present an additional layer of regulatory synchrony between virus and host, established and poised before either expresses their protein products," explained Roy Dar, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Illinois.

Latent or dormant HIV infected cell reservoirs have been identified as the major barrier towards a cure due to their ability to spontaneously reactivate after removal of antiretroviral therapy. Leading strategies for eradication of HIV attempt to reactivate the whole latent reservoir and clear it with current drug cocktails, a process referred to as 'shock and kill' therapy.

"Promoters of genes coded within our DNA and the HIV-1 viral promoter which initiates active replication of the virus are strongly coupled in their regulation leading to co-expression--potentially for a viral fitness advantage. In this study, we investigated a specific T-cell migratory pathway that HIV has coupled to, gaining therapeutic insights currently unknown to the HIV cure research community," Dar added.

Promoter similarity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a human surface receptor allows shared activators to co-regulate viral-host gene expression (blue and red in the cell nucleus). Viral proteins bind cell surface receptors enabling viral control of host cell migration (right side). Those same viral proteins form viral offspring which are shed from the host cell and increase infectious risk to the moving cell's environment.

Promoter similarity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a human surface receptor allows shared activators to co-regulate viral-host gene expression (blue and red in the cell nucleus). Viral proteins bind cell surface receptors enabling viral control of host cell migration (right side). Those same viral proteins form viral offspring which are shed from the host cell and increase infectious risk to the moving cell's environment.

Within the systems and synthetic biology fields, the group's findings reveal an additional layer of regulation with which viruses co-evolve with coding-genes and interlace pathways in their hosts.

"The study also presents a mechanism for synchronizing initiation of gene expression in synthetic gene circuitry," stated Kathrin Bohn-Wippert, a postdoctoral researcher and first author of the paper, "Genetic coupling of viral-host gene expression presents migratory challenges in HIV therapies" (10.1038/NCOMMS15006), appearing in Nature Communications. "Specifically, in this framework of viral-host genetic coupling we found that the HIV and human CXCR4 promoters are co-regulated and co-expressed. CXCR4 is a chemokine receptor involved in one of the major migratory pathways throughout our body."

"We have demonstrated, for the first time, that the virus co-expresses with the receptor in order to control infected cell migration and its importance in HIV 'shock and kill' eradication strategies (therapies towards a cure). We also demonstrated how drug treatments can differentially control infected cell migration and/or reactivation of the virus from its latent and inactive state," she said.

According to the researchers, additional network mapping of the coevolution of virus and host-cell gene regulatory coupling will guide future therapeutic strategies, expand systems biology efforts on viral-host networks, and provide novel design principles to reverse bioengineer viral circuitry for synthetic biology and gene therapies.

"For the HIV Cure Community we hope this study will raise awareness to the added challenges facing leading strategies towards a cure," remarked Dar, who is also affiliated with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology at Illinois. "We hope this study will provide new insights to exploit viral-host relationships and viral control of cell migration for advanced therapeutic strategies."

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Co-authors include Melina Megaridis and Erin Tevonian, both bioengineering undergraduate researchers, in the Illinois Cancer Scholars Program, and in the Dar "Noise Biology" Lab.
Glacier flow at the southern Antarctic Peninsula has increased since the 1990s, but a new study has found the change to be only a third of what was recently reported.

An international team of researchers, led by the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds, are the first to map the change in ice speed. The team collated measurements recorded by five different satellites to track changes in the speed of more than 30 glaciers since 1992.

The findings, published today in Geophysical Research Letters, represent the first detailed assessment of changing glacier flow in Western Palmer Land -- the southwestern corner of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The new Leeds led research calls into question a recent study from the University of Bristol that reported 45 cubic kilometres per year increase in ice loss from the sector. The Leeds research found the increase to be three times smaller.

Lead author Dr Anna Hogg, from the Leeds' School of Earth and Environment, said: "Dramatic changes have been reported in this part of Antarctica, so we took a closer look at how its glaciers have evolved using 25 years of satellite measurements dating back to the early 1990s."

The researchers found that between 1992 and 2016, the flow of most of the region's glaciers increased by between 20 and 30 centimetres per day, equating to an average 13% speedup across the glaciers of Western Palmer Land as a whole.

These measurements provide the first direct evidence that Western Palmer Land is losing ice due to increased glacier flow -- a process known as dynamical imbalance.

The team also combined their satellite observations with an ice flow model using data assimilation to fill in gaps where the satellites were unable to produce measurements. This allowed the complete pattern of ice flow to be mapped, revealing that the regions glaciers are now pouring an additional 15 cubic kilometres of ice into the oceans each year compared to the 1990s.

The earlier study reported that the region was losing three times this amount of ice, based on measurements of glacier thinning and mass loss determined from other satellite measurements. The Leeds study casts doubt on that interpretation, because the degree of glacier speedup is far too small.

Study co-author Professor Andrew Shepherd, from Leeds' School of Earth and Environment, explained: "Although Western Palmer Land holds a lot of ice -- enough to raise global sea levels by 20 centimetres -- its glaciers can't be responsible for a major contribution to sea level rise, because their speed has barely changed over the past 25 years. It's possible that it has snowed less in this part of Antarctica in recent years -- that would also cause the glaciers to thin and lose mass, but it's a not a signal of dynamical imbalance."

The greatest speedup in flow was observed at glaciers that were grounded at depths more than 300 m below the ocean surface.

Dr Hogg said: "We looked at water temperatures in front of the glaciers which have sped up the most, and we found that they flow through deep bedrock channels into the warmest layer of the ocean. This circumpolar deep water, which is relatively warm and salty compared to other parts of the Southern Ocean, has warmed and shoaled in recent decades, and can melt ice at the base of glaciers which reduces friction and allows them to flow more freely.

With much of Western Palmer Land's ice mass lying well below sea level it is important to monitor how remote areas such as this, are responding to climate change. Satellites are the perfect tool to do this.

Pierre Potin, ESA's Manager of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 Mission which was used in the study, said: "We will continue to use Sentinel-1's all weather, day-night imaging capability to extend the long term climate data record from European satellites."

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Further information:

Images available for download: goo.gl/Dwg1Ed

Image1 caption: Ice speed in Western Palmer Land on the Antarctic Peninsula measured by the ESA-EU Sentinel-1 satellite mission.

Credit: J. Wuite, ENVEO.

Image 2 caption: View of Western Palmer Land glaciers and George VI Ice Shelf from BAS Twin Otter aeroplane.

Credit: Hogg/CPOM.

Additional images

Caption: View from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Rothera research station, on Alexander Island at the Antarctic Peninsula.

Credit: A. E. Hogg/CPOM

Video available for download: goo.gl/5CDNrB

(Animation of the ice speed evolving through the study period)

Caption: Ice flow in Western Palmer Land from 1992 to 2016, from an optimised ice sheet model.

Credit: S. Cornford, CPOM/Univ. Swansea.

Dr Anna Hogg is available for interview.

For interviews and additional information please contact University of Leeds Media Relations Officer Anna Martinez on a.martinez@leeds.ac.uk or +44 (0)113 343 4196 Out of hours number +44 (0)7712389448

Paper reference:

Hogg, A. E., et al. (2017), Increased ice flow in Western Palmer Land linked to ocean melting, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, (DOI:10.1002/2016GL072110)

University of Bristol study - Wouters at al., [2015] - can be found at: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/348/6237/899

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 31,000 students from 147 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group research-intensive universities.

We are a top 10 university for research and impact power in the UK, according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, and positioned as one of the top 100 best universities in the world in the 2015 QS World University Rankings. We are The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year 2017. http://www.leeds.ac.uk

Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) provides, on behalf of NERC, UK National Capability in observing and modelling the cryosphere. We combine satellite measurements with theoretical and numerical models to explain how Earth's ice, oceans and atmosphere interact, and to predict their behaviour over long periods and large scales.

The CPOM Directorate is based at the University of Leeds, and we have researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Reading and at University College London. CPOM is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). We also work closely with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), National Oceanography Centre (NOC), National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and European Space Agency (ESA). http://www.cpom.org.uk
A new study has found brain abnormalities in people with bipolar disorder.

In the largest MRI study to date on patients with bipolar disorder, a global consortium published new research showing that people with the condition have differences in the brain regions that control inhibition and emotion.

By revealing clear and consistent alterations in key brain regions, the findings published in Molecular Psychiatry on May 2 offer insight to the underlying mechanisms of bipolar disorder.

"We created the first global map of bipolar disorder and how it affects the brain, resolving years of uncertainty on how people's brains differ when they have this severe illness," said Ole A. Andreassen, senior author of the study and a professor at the Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research at the University of Oslo.

Bipolar disorder affects about 60 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with serious implications for those affected and their families. However, scientists have struggled to pinpoint neurobiological mechanisms of the disorder, partly due to the lack of sufficient brain scans.

The study was part of an international consortium led by the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC: ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics Through Meta Analysis) spans 76 centers and includes 26 different research groups around the world.

Thousands of MRI scans

The researchers measured the MRI scans of 6,503 individuals, including 2,447 adults with bipolar disorder and 4,056 healthy controls. They also examined the effects of commonly used prescription medications, age of illness onset, history of psychosis, mood state, age and sex differences on cortical regions.

The study showed thinning of gray matter in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder when compared with healthy controls. The greatest deficits were found in parts of the brain that control inhibition and motivation -- the frontal and temporal regions.

Some of the bipolar disorder patients with a history of psychosis showed greater deficits in the brain's gray matter. The findings also showed different brain signatures in patients who took lithium, anti-psychotics and anti-epileptic treatments. Lithium treatment was associated with less thinning of gray matter, which suggests a protective effect of this medication on the brain.

"These are important clues as to where to look in the brain for therapeutic effects of these drugs," said Derrek Hibar, first author of the paper and a professor at the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute when the study was conducted. He was a former visiting researcher at the University of Oslo and is now a senior scientist at Janssen Research and Development, LLC.

Early detection

Future research will test how well different medications and treatments can shift or modify these brain measures as well as improve symptoms and clinical outcomes for patients.

Mapping the affected brain regions is also important for early detection and prevention, said Paul Thompson, director of the ENIGMA consortium and co-author of the study.

"This new map of the bipolar brain gives us a roadmap of where to look for treatment effects," said Thompson, an associate director of the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine. "By bringing together psychiatrists worldwide, we now have a new source of power to discover treatments that improve patients' lives."

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ABOUT THE KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OF USC

Founded in 1885, the Keck School of Medicine of USC is among the nation's leaders in innovative patient care, scientific discovery, education, and community service. It is part of Keck Medicine of USC, the University of Southern California's medical enterprise, one of only two university-owned academic medical centers in the Los Angeles area. This includes the Keck Medical Center of USC, composed of the Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The two world-class, USC-owned hospitals are staffed by more than 500 physicians who are faculty at the Keck School. The school today has approximately 1,650 full-time faculty members and voluntary faculty of more than 2,400 physicians. These faculty direct the education of approximately 700 medical students and 1,000 students pursuing graduate and post-graduate degrees. The school trains more than 900 resident physicians in more than 50 specialty or subspecialty programs and is the largest educator of physicians practicing in Southern California. Together, the school's faculty and residents serve more than 1.5 million patients each year at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as USC-affiliated hospitals Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Keck School faculty also conduct research and teach at several research centers and institutes, including the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at USC, the USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, the USC Roski Eye Institute and the USC Institute of Urology.

In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked Keck School of Medicine among the Top 40 medical schools in the country.

For more information, go to keck.usc.edu.
Scientists have recently found and re-described a monitor lizard species from the island of New Ireland in northern Papua New Guinea. It is the only large-growing animal endemic to the island that has survived until modern times. The lizard, Varanus douarrha, was already discovered in the early 19th century, but the type specimen never reached the museum where it was destined as it appears to have been lost in a shipwreck.

The discovery is particularly interesting as most of the endemic species to New Ireland disappeared thousands of years ago as humans colonized the island.

The monitor was discovered during fieldwork by Valter Weijola from the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku, Finland, who spent several months surveying the monitor lizards of the Bismarck Islands. It can grow to over 1.3 metres in length and, according to current information, it is the only surviving large species endemic to the island. Based on bone discoveries, scientists now know that at least a large rat species and several flightless birds have lived in the area.

- In that way it can be considered a relic of the historically richer fauna that inhabited the Pacific islands. These medium-sized Pacific monitors are clearly much better at co-existing with humans than many of the birds and mammals have been, says Weijola.

French Naturalist Discovered the Species in 1823 - Lost in Shipwreck

Scientists have known for a long time that there are monitor lizards on the island but it has been unclear which species they belong to. French naturalist Rene Lesson discovered the monitor lizard when visiting the island with the La Coquille exploration ship in 1823, and later named the species Varanus douarrha which, according to Lesson, means monitor lizard in the local Siar-Lak language.

However, it seems likely that Lesson's specimen was destroyed on the way to France as the ship that was carrying it shipwrecked at the Cape of Good Hope in 1824. Therefore, biologist never had a chance to study the so called holotype - or name-bearing specimen.

- Since then, it has been believed that the monitor lizards on New Ireland belong to the common mangrove monitor (Varanus indicus) that occurs widely in northern Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands. However, new morphological and genetic studies confirmed that the monitor lizards of New Ireland have lived in isolation for a long time and developed into a separate species, says Weijola.

The discovery was published in the Australian Journal of Zoology and where Varanus douarrha was re-described in detail, and given a new name bearing specimen.

Another monitor lizard, Varanus semotus, was described from Mussau Island last year by the same team of scientists.

- Together, these two species have doubled the number of monitor lizard species known to occur in the Bismarck Archipelago and proved that there are more endemic vertebrates on these islands than previously believed, says Weijola.

Monitor lizards are important predators and altogether approximately 90 different species are known to live in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific islands. Most monitor lizards occur in Australia and on the Pacific islands where there are few mammalian predators. Despite their large size, many of the species are poorly known and new ones are regularly discovered. Most of them stay out of sight and inhabit remote areas which are difficult to access.

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The research was published in the Australian Journal of Zoology: http://www.publish.csiro.au/ZO/ZO16038
Bob Woods, a longtime UTA mechanical engineering professor and founder of the UTA FSAE racing team, has been named a 2017 Piper Professor by the San Antonio-based Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.

The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation awards the Piper Professors, names Piper Scholars for scholarships and dispenses student loans.

The award, established in 1958 to recognize outstanding college professors across Texas, is made annually to 15 educators to honor their dedication to teaching and for their outstanding academic achievement. Woods is the 10th UTA professor to be named a Piper Professor.

Each award includes a certificate of merit, a gold pin and an honorarium of $5,000. An impartial selection committee takes nominees from two- and four-year institutions across the state.

"I'm honored to be recognized by such a prestigious organization like the Piper Foundation." said Woods, who has been at The University of Texas at Arlington since 1974 and started the Formula SAE racing in 1982. "The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation has done so much for education - both students and faculty - throughout the years. I'm truly humbled since I'm being evaluated next to many, many outstanding teachers in colleges across the state."

Woods joined the UTA College of Engineering in 1974. He founded the student racing program soon after. Every year, a team of students from across the campus builds a formula racing car. The students primarily come from engineering but also have included students from marketing, art and other disciplines across the campus.

It's a volunteer organization that teaches students teamwork, professionalism, engineering and many other aspects of putting together a car from scratch.

The team races the car in various events throughout the year, including the Texas Autocross Weekend each summer. This year, the 17th Annual Texas Autocross Weekend will be held July 8.

Woods, a Distinguished Teaching Professor, has garnered several awards in his time at UTA.

He won the "Triple E" Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers International in 2013. The award is a singular honor awarded annually to Excellence in Engineering Education.

J.P. Merkel, an engineering and FSAE alumni, said Woods offers his students hands-on engineering experience that is a direct pathway to their ultimate careers in the nomination letter.

Woods also received the 2006 Chancellor's Teaching Award. The award is presented annually by The University of Texas System Chancellor's Council to recognize excellence in teaching at each of the system's nine universities.

Woods also played a role in helping establish the Arnold E. Petsche Center for Automotive Engineering, a $1 million commitment from a local businessman.

Petsche - who started and built the A.E. Petsche Co. into a leading supplier to meet the aerospace industry's need for streamlined production and distribution of high-performance wire and cable - has a longtime relationship with Woods and the UTA FSAE team.

The Center promotes engineering education, innovation and entrepreneurship, especially through student participation in the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers program, which Woods advises. Each year, participating students design an FSAE car from the tires up and then race their vehicles against collegiate teams across the country and internationally.

"Bob Woods and the formula student racing program is an institution here at UTA," Engineering Dean Peter Crouch said. "This honor acknowledges the decades of valuable automotive and mechanical engineers Bob has helped produce. His teaching extends beyond the classroom into the lab and the racetrack."

Woods received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from SMU and master's and doctorate degrees from Oklahoma State University. He had three years experience in research with the government before joining the faculty at UTA. Woods has extensive consulting and industrial experience with national and international companies as well.

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About The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 "highest research activity" institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000 in Academic Year 2016-17. UTA is one of the largest institutions in the state of Texas. Guided by its Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research and education within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report lists UTA as having the fifth highest undergraduate diversity index among national universities. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2017 Best for Vets list.
Using two simple blood tests, Western University researchers were able to drastically improve treatment for resistant hypertension across three sites in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

The study, published online today in the American Journal of Hypertension, demonstrates that for patients in Africa with hard-to-control hypertension, identifying the cause was the key to lowering blood pressure. By testing patients' levels of plasma renin, a protein secreted by the kidneys, in combination with levels of aldosterone, a hormone that causes salt and water retention, physicians were able to identify the physiological changes causing the hypertension. This led to personalized and more accurate therapy.

"If a patient has salt and water retention, it causes high blood pressure and also feeds back and shuts down both renin and aldosterone," said Dr. David Spence, principal investigator on the study and a professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Patients with low levels of both renin and aldosterone are more likely to have salt and water retention due to mutations affecting the kidney tubules; they respond specifically to a medication called amiloride. Such mutations account for approximately 6 per cent of hypertension in North America, but were more common among the African patients studied.

Of the 94 patients who completed the study, 42 were treated with the usual course of treatment, 52 were given the blood tests, and treatment was decided based on the results. In the group who were given usual treatment, 11.1 per cent had controlled blood pressure after one year, versus 50 per cent in the group that received the blood test.

"The biggest difference is that there were more people being prescribed amiloride in the physiological treatment group," said Spence, who is also a scientist at Robarts Research Institute at Western.

The authors say the motivation for this study came from the observation that patients from North Buxton, Ontario - a settlement established in 1849 for escaped slaves from the United States - were much more likely to have salt and water retention. Spence believes because of the hot, dry climate in African countries, mutations causing salt and water retention provided a survival advantage.

Spence hopes that this study will help inform guidelines for treatment of resistant hypertension, not just in Africa but for those of African decent living in other parts of the world, and for all patients with resistant hypertension.

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The study was funded by Grand Challenges Canada.

MEDIA CONTACT: Crystal Mackay, Media Relations Officer, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, t. 519.661.2111 ext. 80387, c. 519.933.5944, crystal.mackay@schulich.uwo.ca @CrystalMackay

ABOUT WESTERN

Western University delivers an academic experience second to none. Since 1878, The Western Experience has combined academic excellence with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth in order to better serve our communities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western attracts individuals with a broad worldview, seeking to study, influence and lead in the international community.

ABOUT THE SCHULICH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University is one of Canada's preeminent medical and dental schools. Established in 1881, it was one of the founding schools of Western University and is known for being the birthplace of family medicine in Canada. For more than 130 years, the School has demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and a passion for scientific discovery.
Out of control dogs have massacred thirty lambs on farm in Wales, prompting the farmer to share a picture of the incident as a warning to others.

The family, who have chosen not to be identified, posted the image on social media after discovering the bloody aftermath on their farm in Ammanford, Wales.

The picture shows the blood-stained bodies of 30 dead sheep, mostly lambs, while others show a lamb that survived but was injured.

Now they are urging owners to be cautious when walking their pets and to also consider where they keep them at night.

The original post on Facebook reads: "This has not been put on here to seek attention its to raise awareness of what can happen when two dogs broke out from their owners property and ended up in our field.

"They were only there for a short time but it was enough to do this. Thirty animals have been killed/injured so far including these week-old lambs.

"We just want to make dog owners aware of what damage they can cause if the dogs arent kept under control."

On 26 April, a Scottish farmer was forced to shoot dead a pet dog after it killed two of his sheep.
A commitment by the Co-op to source only fresh British lamb and bacon has been praised by farmers.

The move by the retailer was first announced last September and comes into effect from today (2 May).

This now means the Co-op sources 100% British beef, chicken, ham, pork, duck and turkey and uses only British meat in all sausages and in its own-label chilled ready meals, pies and sandwiches.

Jo Whitfield, retail chief executive of the Co-op, said: Consumers will be shocked to see how meat imports have grown while at the same time retailers hang out the bunting and claim to back British farmers.

Only the Co-op offers 100% British fresh meat all year round, and not just in the meat cabinet but also in our sandwiches, our pies and our ready meals.

We can do this because we're owned by members, not shareholders, and can invest long-term in what matters to communities, not what provides the fastest shareholder return.

'Bold move'

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said the Co-op has 'long supported British farming', and the 'bold' move puts farming right at the centre of its business.

He said: Shoppers tell us time and again that they want to see more British food on supermarket shelves. With the latest consumer trends showing an increase in convenient meals, the Co-op has generated an opportunity for the British sheep industry by extending its commitment further than fresh meat, into pies, ready meals and sandwiches.

Charles Sercombe, NFU livestock board chairman, added: I would like to congratulate the Co-op for extending its support of British lamb, especially at this time when we are seeing other major retailers and food service companies curb investment in British agriculture.

As a first step retailers need to state when they wish to source British lamb, but we would also like to see retailers work with British producers to extend their British season for fresh lamb and help utilise all cuts of meat by using British lamb in their ready to eat and ready meal lines.
A farm union leader has said that food has been "devalued" in a race to the bottom, urging the Government to think radically in the wake of the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.

At its annual event, Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) President Barclay Bell said that farming had bold and ambitious plans for the next 20 years, but he said that these had to be a key part of the Brexit discussions.

Food has been devalued. When it comes to price, it's a race to the bottom and this is simply not sustainable, Mr Bell said.

We now have the perfect opportunity for fresh and, indeed, radical thinking to develop a new way ahead for UK agriculture, but we need the full backing of the Government to help us deliver this.

The annual event was attended by the Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire. He said that Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom had stated her intention to build "world-leading food and farming industries.

The Northern Ireland Secretary said: She is very clear that we have a significant opportunity to design new, better and more efficient policies for delivering sustainable and productive farming, land management and rural communities.

I am also pleased that the Treasury has provided a guarantee to the agricultural sector that it will receive the same level of funding that it would have received under Pillar 1 of CAP until the end of the MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework) in 2020.

It provides certainty and continuity while we develop a new approach to supporting agriculture and protecting our precious countryside.

'Significant impact'

Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) President Barclay Bell said that farming had bold and ambitious plans for the next 20 years

Barclay Bell said that farming had a significant impact on the wider economy in Northern Ireland.

The overall economy benefited by 7.40 for every pound spent by a farmer and he said that politicians, particularly those at Westminster, needed to take food and food security more seriously.

Within the next couple of months we will have a document on the table, with a clear vision and a framework for the future of this great industry, he said.

Farmers are rightly proud of what they do  and we fight best for our industry when we do so together,

The UK Government has said it wants to avoid a hard border

James Brokenshire said he recognised that farming made a vital contribution to the Northern Ireland economy.

I may not know the ins and outs of a stripper sow or a well sprung heifer, but I do understand how fundamental agriculture is to Northern Ireland, he said.

With a 48,000 strong workforce, agriculture is one of Northern Irelands most significant employers.

Its 25,000 farms cover over one million hectares. With its farmers, food producers and traditional food crafts, Northern Ireland produce is renowned at home and abroad.

And you also play a key role in contributing to the 4.5 billion annual turnover of the agri-food industry as a whole, helping to deliver a stronger, more secure economy in Northern Ireland. The industry was also a social and cultural force, he said.

Open border threat

One of the key issues raised by the UFU since the UK voted to leave the EU in last year's referendum has been the threat to the open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Farmers on both sides of the border have been lobbying to ensure that free movement between North and South continues after Brexit is complete.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier has said that an agreement between the United Kingdom and the remaining members of the European Union should recognise the "unique Irish position."

In its draft guidelines for negotiations the European Council stated its intention to try to avoid a hard border.

The union has consistently supported the goal of peace and reconciliation enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement, and continuing to support and protect the achievements, benefits and commitments of the peace process will remain of paramount importance, it said.

In view of the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland, flexible and imaginative solutions will be required, including with the aim of avoiding a hard border, while respecting the integrity of the Union legal order.

In this context, the union should also recognise existing bilateral agreements and arrangements between the United Kingdom and Ireland, which are compatible with EU law, said the council in its draft.

'Unique interests'

The Northern Ireland Secretary stressed during his speech at the UFU annual event the UK Government's intention to avoid a hard border.

I am fully committed to ensuring that the unique interests of Northern Ireland will be protected and advanced, and the UKs unique relationship with the Republic of Ireland recognised.

It is notable that the Prime Minister included a specific reference to this unique relationship as a priority in the Article 50 letter, which also set out the desire to avoid any return to a hard border.

Those here today can be assured that we are going to make the most of the opportunities that our departure presents to Northern Ireland.

In particular we will prioritise an outcome that means the land border remains as seamless and frictionless as possible, recognising the particular issues for businesses, like many of those represented here tonight, with complex cross-border supply chains and distinct animal and plant health regimes.
A US farmer has described seeing his cows 'piled on top of each other' after lightning killed 32 of his very own cattle.

Texas County dairy farmer Jared Blackwelder went to his field and found 32 of his certified organic cows dead.

Earlier in the day, fierce lightning struck the area: "It was so bright I couldn't hardly see," he told USA Today. "It just brought fire down the fences."

A veterinarian confirmed the cows had been struck by lightning. Blackwelder suspects it was that same lightning strike that sent fire along his fences.

Wright County Missouri Farm Bureau shared photos of the dead cows on Facebook Saturday evening. As of Monday, that post has been shared more than 14,000 times, with more than 1,000 comments from strangers.

"Sending prayers from over the pond in Scotland," one wrote. "Regardless of what the cattle were used for, they are not only someone's livelihood, they were living beings. I truly hope you recover from this."

$60,000 worth of damage

Blackwelder said he has insurance, but he's not sure if it will cover his total loss. His cows are certified organic and about twice the price of conventional cattle, he said.

He estimated each cow was worth $2,000-$2,500 for a total loss of more than $60,000 (46,000 as of 2 May).

Blackwelder's father is a beef cattle farmer so he's been in the business for many years. Blackwelder decided to get into organic dairy cows back in 2007.

Over the years, he's lost three cows to lightning.
Chinese lanterns have been banned in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, after the local council voted unanimously in favour.

The move is in response to an NFU Scotland campaign aimed at scrapping the lanterns as an alternative to fireworks or balloons.

NFU Scotland wrote to 24 local authorities last October, including West Dunbartonshire last year urging them to join the other councils who have already prohibited their use.

The lanterns are made from paper and have a wire or wooden frame which contains a candle that is lit.

According to NFU Scotland and many farmers across the UK, they are a proven fire risk and can be a danger to animals.

They pose a fire hazard to standing crops, stacks of hay and straw, woodland and farm buildings.

'Make the countryside a safer place'

NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick said councils who have yet to take action need to move forward to make the countryside a "safer place for animals and people."

He said: Sky lanterns are seemingly innocent devices, and are beautiful to look at, but they can cause untold damage as there is no control over where these burning structures of paper, metal and wood decide to land.

Across the UK, there have been many reports now of fires started by lanterns and harm to the health of livestock when lanterns have landed in farmers fields and been eaten. There is a further risk to stock when grass is cut and ensiled for winter feed, and the wire is chopped up and subsequently contained in hay or silage.

We applaud the action already taken against sky lanterns by seven Scottish local authorities and we urge other councils to take their responsibilities as seriously. We also ask members of the public to avoid the use of lanterns and to understand the risks that these can pose.
Arla urges government to tap into energy potential of manure and slurry
Economic strength has returned to the global markets, and Mastercard (MA 0.19%) has seen the positive impacts on its payment processing business. With billions of cards worldwide, Mastercard does well when payment and transaction volumes rise, and with an emphasis on international markets, Mastercard has hoped that the rest of the world would start to see the accelerating growth that the U.S. economy has enjoyed for several years now.

Coming into Tuesday's first-quarter financial report, Mastercard investors wanted to see a continuation of the company's steady yet strong pace of growth. The company did even better than most people expected, and it sees some opportunities for even better growth rates in the near future. Let's take a closer look at Mastercard with an eye toward understanding how the card giant did and what's ahead.

Mastercard makes a great start to 2017

Mastercard's first-quarter results showed just how well the financial giant did with its business to begin 2017. Revenue jumped 12% to $2.73 billion, which was roughly $80 million more than those following the stock closely had expected to see. Similarly, net income climbed 13% to $1.08 billion, and that worked out to earnings of $1 per share, which topped the consensus forecast for $0.97 per share.

Taking a closer look at the report, the clearest sign of Mastercard's health was the consistency in its results. Sales, operating expenses, and operating margin were all up by the same percentage figure, and operating margin stayed exactly the same, at 55.1%. Falling income tax rates helped goose the bottom-line growth figure higher, and a drop in share count helped send earnings per share up by a higher percentage.

From a fundamental perspective, Mastercard continued to perform well. Cross-border volume growth remained steady at 13%, although gross dollar volume figures were up just 8%. Switched transactions were up 17% to 14.7 billion, and the number of Mastercard cards outstanding inched higher, to 2.4 billion. Purchase volume climbed 4% worldwide in local-currency terms, although when you incorporate European regulatory changes, that growth rate climbs to about 9%.

Once again, U.S. growth lagged behind. Gross dollar volume and purchase volume were up only 2% to 2.4%, and the number of purchase transactions climbed by just 0.2% to 5.78 billion. When you compare that to 17% growth rates in Latin America and nearly 25% in the Asia-Pacific region, Mastercard clearly has some work to do to make the most of its domestic opportunities. In particular, debit transactions were down in the U.S., and purchase volume for the debit business was down worldwide from last year's levels.

What's ahead for Mastercard?

CEO Ajay Banga summed up the quarter succinctly. "We're off to a very good start," Banga said, "with strong revenue and earnings growth driven by solid transaction and volume levels this quarter." The CEO also pointed to strong execution as a key factor in Mastercard's success so far in 2017.

One thing Mastercard is particularly excited about is its recent acquisition of VocaLink. The U.K.-based payment technology specialist operates several platforms, including ATMs, automated clearing house payments, and real-time account-to-account transfers using mobile, internet, or telephone applications. With the acquisition, Mastercard will capture a broader segment of the payment processing space, and it hopes to use VocaLink's expertise to make a bigger splash in the fast-growing mobile payments market.

Mastercard also continues to have confidence in its stock. The company bought back about $1 billion in stock, working out to 9 million shares, and it has repurchased another 2.4 million shares of its stock just in April alone. Those efforts have helped to keep earnings per share rising at a faster rate than its overall sales and income.

Mastercard investors seemed generally pleased with the report, and the stock climbed about 1% in pre-market trading following the announcement. Global payment processing has become an ultra-competitive business, but Mastercard continues to do a good job of protecting its leadership status while working to become an even bigger and more important player in anything having to do with moving money from one place to another.




Haiti - News : Zapping...





Haiti still under threat of de-risking

Claude Pierre Louis, Head of the Professional Association of Banks (APB) urges the Executive and the Parliament to adopt the necessary measures to ensure that Haiti is in line with international bodies to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, indicating that Haiti was still under the threat of "de-risking" because of this situation.



FIFA, Latortue asks for a stadium of more than 50,000 places

On Saturday, Senator Youri Latortue met with Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA. The Senator seized the opportunity to make two requests: the approval of the existing stadiums and the construction by FIFA of a large stadium of at least 50,000 places in Haiti. The President of FIFA has been open and supportive of these two requests... https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20803-haiti-politics-moise-receives-new-fifa-president.html



30,000 unclaimed passports

The Immigration Department reveals that 30,000 passports in Haiti have not yet been claimed by their owners and some for so long that they have expired...



Towards a Haitian Biodiversity Fund

Pierre Simon Georges, the Minister of the Environment intends to create a "Haitian Biodiversity Fund", to finance the safeguarding of protected areas.



Police officers in training in Chile

During his 48-hour stay in Chile, Michel-Ange Gedeon, the Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) met with Commander Hector Espinosa Valenzuela, the Director of the School of Investigations of Chile and his team. During this meeting Gedeon took the opportunity to meet with Haitian police officers in training in Chile for several months.



Gerald Oriol Jr. at the Fair Agricultural

On Sunday, Gerald Oriol Jr., Secretary of State for the Integration of People with Disabilities visited the booth of the Office of the Secretary of State BSEIPH at the Agricultural, Industrial and Artisanal Fair in Champ de Mars in order to encourage some artists and craftsmen living with a disability who exhibit and sell their craft products. On the eve of Labor Day, Gerajd Oriol encouraged the massive integration of disabled people into the labor market in accordance with the law of 13 March 2012.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Security : The first Uruguayan military leave Haiti this Tuesday





This Tuesday, a first group of 61 Uruguayan peacekeepers out of a force of 224 will fly to their country and two other identical groups will follow Wednesday and Friday.



A force of 41 soldiers will remain in Haiti to load the ship which will leave on May 21, with equipment used in the mission: jeeps, trucks, generators, field kitchens and weaponry. Four soldiers will leave on the boat and the other 37 will arrive by plane on June 1 in Uruguay.



Let's recall that the Uruguayan contingent officially ended its participation in Minustah, on April 15 as scheduled in a decree of the national government, a decision taken independently of the UN Security Council resolution that extended the Mission of the Minustah until October 2017. About 12,000 Uruguayan peacekeepers have participated in the total (in rotation) of the UN mission since 2004.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20639-haiti-security-d-3-end-of-the-uruguay-mission-in-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-20437-haiti-security-uruguay-confirms-the-departure-of-haiti-of-its-peacekeepers.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-17724-icihaiti-security-definitive-withdrawal-of-peacekeepers-from-uruguay.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16181-icihaiti-security-250-uruguayan-soldiers-until-december-31-2016.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12836-haiti-security-uruguay-will-remove-60-of-its-troops-in-haiti.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















An arts program is helping students at some of the lowest performing schools in the United States.

The program, called Turnaround Arts, aims to help improve low performing schools by adding music and the arts to the usual study program.

Turnaround Arts was launched by Michelle Obama, the wife of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Some money for the program comes from the federal government.

For the students at participating schools, the program offers a kind of safe haven from city neighborhoods. Many of the children come from areas with high crime rates.

The Turnaround Arts program is part of the curriculum at the Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School in Los Angeles, California. Test results showed the school performed in the lowest five percent in the state.

Florence Griffith Joyner serves families from Watts, an area known for gang violence. Akida Kissane Long, the head of the school, says Watts is a difficult neighborhood for students.

High crime, high poverty, very multi-generational families in public housing. Theres gun violence, she explained. We see a lot of helicopters and we have lockdowns regularly and so, the thing is, all associated with poverty  that really traumatized students, so many of our students come to school with symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

Long noted how when she started working at the school five years ago, there was willful disobedience  fighting (and) destruction of school property. She said there were 267 suspensions on record, as well as 1,167 classroom suspensions.

Putting what students love into the class

Turnaround Arts is a partnership between the federal government and private businesses. Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary is one of 68 schools in the U.S. participating in the program.

Teachers receive special training and look for ways to add music and the arts into all the classes.

Turnaround Arts schools partner with musicians and actors who work with the students. Performers have included Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elton John and Cameron Diaz.

School principal Long noted The children were so excited and have been so excited because its not just about  Go to the board. Do the problem. Turn the page. Read the book.' Its about acting and impersonating artists and historic figures.

She noted how some students got the chance to act out the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

The program has been popular with students, too. I like to act and I like to sing and I like to dance, said 10-year-old Kayla Driakare.

Seeing results

Long said that Turnaround Arts is only in its first year at the school, and already teachers are already seeing results.

Weve probably suspended one kid this year. Thats amazing, she said. Parents are getting phone calls to come to family arts night, and its not just the naughty calls home. Its for them to come and learn more about what their children are learning. So our parent engagement goes up.

Around the country, participating schools are reporting fewer disciplinary actions, better attendance and improved performance in testing. A three-year long study found that Turnaround Arts schools performed better than other schools that received special grants for school improvement.

The findings come at a time when President Donald Trump is proposing to cut government spending on the arts. Some policy makers are pushing for more attention to subjects like mathematics and science in U.S. education.

Art speaks to everyone, Akida Kissane Long said. It is part of what makes the curriculum rich and exciting and motivating.

At the end of the three-year program, she wants Los Angeles school officials to make Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary into a magnet school for visual and performing arts. That way the school could get financing to support its arts programs.

Im Phil Dierking.

VOAs Elizabeth Lee reported on this story from Los Angeles. Phil Dierking adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Do you think it is important to have arts education in schools? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

curriculum  n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.

discipline  n. control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior

engage  v. to get and keep someone's attention or interest

gang  n. a group of people who do illegal things together and who often fight against other gangs

grant  n. an amount of money that is given to someone by a government, a company, etc., to be used for a particular purpose 

impersonate  v. to pretend to be another person

naughty  adj. behaving badly

magnet schools  n. a public school offering special instruction and programs not available elsewhere, designed to attract a more diverse student body from throughout a school district.

participate  v. to take part in an activity or event with others

post-traumatic stress  n. a mental condition that can affect a person who has had a very shocking or difficult experience, such as fighting in a war, and that is usually characterized by depression, anxiety, etc. 

proficiency  n. someone's ability to be good at doing something 

traumatize  v. to cause someone to become very upset in a way that often leads to serious emotional problems 
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Venezuelans blocked streets in Caracas Tuesday to protest the presidents call for a new constitution.

Protesters filled streets with pieces of metal and building materials. Others set fire to small mountains of trash.

On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro signed a decree to begin the process of rewriting the constitution. The declaration orders the formation of a constitutional assembly.

In a speech, Maduro said some of the assembly's 500 members would be elected by "workers" to replace the document.

The Venezuelan constitution was last changed in 1999, under the rule of then-president Hugo Chavez.

The day has come, brothers, Maduro said. Don't fail me now. Don't fail Chavez and don't fail your motherland." The Associated Press reported his comments.

Fewer than half of the assemblys members would be elected, Maduro said. He added that political parties would not be involved.

Maduro's opponents and some observers say the measure is part of a plan to postpone elections set for later this year and presidential elections in 2018.

Opposition leaders urged Venezuelans to ignore Maduro and to continue the protests that have lasted for more than a month.

"We must continue fighting," said Julio Borges, president of the National Assembly. He said Maduro's move was "a scam to deceive the Venezuelan people."

Borges urged Venezuelans to fill Caracas' streets for two hours on Tuesday. He called for larger demonstrations on Wednesday.

Thousands of Maduro's supporters marched in Caracas on Monday in a show of support for the president.

The current political tensions started last July, when Venezuela's Supreme Court announced a ruling to cancel the National Assembly's legislative powers.

Years of political and economic problems have led to shortages of food, medicine, and other goods.

Demonstrators are asking for the return of democratic ideas, including recognizing the National Assembly's decisions, releasing political prisoners and permitting humanitarian aid.

I'm John Russell.

VOANews.com reported on this story. John Russell adapted the report for Learning English. Additional information came from the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

decree  n. an official order given by a person with power or by a government

scam  n. a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people

trash  n. something worth very little or nothing at all
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
Trump's pick for drug czar Tom Marino (R-PA) is another Reagan-era drug warrior looking to continue the revolving door of prohibitionist policies.



Tom Marino's heavy-handed enforcement approach will maintain the drug cartel and DEA police state infrastructure at taxpayer expense. Tragically more sensible Republicans like Raymond Shafer who warned us of the costs of outlawing drugs were ignored by Nixon and his gang of prohibitionists.Even in the early seventies, it was known by honest researchers like Raymond Shafer that drug prohibition was not only wasteful folly of tax dollars but also violated the liberties protected by the U.S. Constitution."But, there was also a more fundamental issue. Shafer was a constitutional scholar who understood the deeper implications of criminalizing the individual choice to consume cannabis.'A constant tension exists in our society between individual liberties and the need for reasonable societal restraints. It is easy to go too far in either direction, and this tendency is particularly evident where drugs are concerned.We have guided our decision-making by the belief that the state is obliged to justify restraints on individual behavior. Too often individual freedoms are submerged in the passions of the moment, and when that happens, the public policy may be determined more by rhetoric than by reason...... A premium is placed on individual choice in seeking self-fulfillment. This priority depends upon the capacity of free citizens not to abuse their freedom, and upon their willingness to act responsibly toward others and toward the society as a whole. Responsible behavior, through individual choice, is both the guarantor and the objective of a free society.'The Nixon administration purposefully suppressed the report and didn't enact the recommendations. Nixon then broke his promise to make Shafer a judge.Drug prohibition has also been about ruthless politics and policies that are out of touch with reality. When Tom Marino moves from Congress to the White House he will move away from being a civil servant representing Pennsylvanians, to making marijuana prohibition his full-time job.""The Commission warned in 1973 that with;'the emotionalism surrounding the topic of drugs, all levels of government have been pressured into action with little time for planning. The political pressures involved in this governmental effort have resulted in a concentration ...on the most immediate aspects of drug use and a reaction along the paths of least political resistance ... the creation of ever larger bureaucracies, ever increasing expenditures of monies, and an outpouring of publicity so that the public will know that something is being done.' (Emphasis added)"Overall the war on drugs has ignored science in effort to make it "safer for the kids" as prohibitionists always claim. When criminalizing natural plants like coca leaf because it can be made into cocaine, the prohibitionists are ignoring indigenous traditions of multitudes of people.The former President of Bolivia Evo Morales points out the incorrect science of classification of the natural coca leaf as an illegal drug."The custom of chewing coca leaves has existed in the Andean region of South America since at least 3000 B.C. It helps mitigate the sensation of hunger, offers energy during long days of labor and helps counter altitude sickness. Unlike nicotine or caffeine, it causes no harm to human health nor addiction or altered state, and it is effective in the struggle against obesity, a major problem in many modern societies.Today, millions of people chew coca in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and northern Argentina and Chile. The coca leaf continues to have ritual, religious and cultural significance that transcends indigenous cultures and encompasses the mestizo population.Mistakes are an unavoidable part of human history, but sometimes we have the opportunity to correct them. It is time for the international community to reverse its misguided policy toward the coca leaf."Evo Morales Ayma is the former president of Bolivia.When pigs fly...IF Mark Paul Miller of the Green Liberty Party were elected by popular vote as President of the U.S. in 2020 here is the GLP drug policy under my Presidency;Step #1) End all types of prohibition on personal ingestion choices and decriminalize all drugs immediately. Release all non-violent drug users/dealers from prison. Publically recognize that any prohibition of personal choices of plant/product ingestion violates U.S. Constitution. Your body, your choice. You live with the consequences of your choices.New U.S. drug policy under President Mark Paul Miller of the GLP;"Do what thou whilst provided that it harm no others."In plain talk, what plant/product the citizen puts into their body is up to them, just as long as they don't harm others in the process. The idea is not to arrest or send drug users to prison, it is to help people be functional in society. Our goal as a government is not to be a nanny state but to improve the lives of the citizens whose care we are entrusted with.Step #2) In order to assist the citizenry in maintaining optimal health, public education about the science of drug plants will need to be a priority. Reschedule all drugs based upon the actual severity of their health risks and the degree of refinement from natural state. This would be different from the current DEA scheduling program that is unscientific and based on fears and biases, not physical reality.New Schedule 1) Most Severe Health Effects - Hard alcohol (gin, whisky, vodka, etc...), crack and powder cocaine, heroin, other refined opiates (including pills), methamphetamine, barbiturates, refined sugar (not kidding!)New Schedule 2) Medium Severity Health Effects -Soft alcohol (beer, hard cider, wine, etc...) natural unrefined plant stimulant/relaxant teas (opium poppy, Mormon tea, coca leaf tea, etc...)New Schedule 3) Least Severity Health Effects - cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, San Pedro, peyote, etc...The new drug scheduling process from the Green Liberty Party is based on science and medical research, these are recommendations. Everyone over 21 is considered an adult and can choose whatever substance they wish to ingest. If a 21 year old wants to go on a drinking binge that is their choice. If they choose to drink and drive and cause an accident they cross the line into "provided that it harm no others." and can be arrested. If that 21 year old would prefer to skip the bar scene entirely and purchase legal recreational cannabis in Denver that is also their choice. No federal agent should interfere in this young person's personal choices concerning their own body.The same 21 year old or even someone younger could gobble down a dozen doughnuts daily for a decade regardless of the health consequences such as diabetes. Would this person not have been better off using cannabis instead of refined sugar for ten years? Diabetes can be countered by cannabis, yet with continued sugar consumption all roads eventually lead to the Reaper. Should the government not be concerned with the deaths from diabetes along with the deaths from heroin and opioids? Though by outlawing sugar we would only create more drug cartels.#3) Legalize, Tax and Regulate all New Schedule 2 and 3 drugs to be sold in "Amsterdam-type" coffee shop dispensaries. All tax profits from legal drug sales used to fix schools, roads and other public infrastructure including drug education.#4) Rename DEA to DDDA (Dangerous Drugs Disposal Agency) - The job of the DDDA is to seek out and destroy any dangerous drugs (New Schedule 1) such as heroin, meth and others on the new list. No arrests will be made, the substances will be destroyed at site of seizure and no product will be taken in as evidence. This will prevent corruption amongst the agents and reduce costs to taxpayers while keeping the public safe. Any cartel trying to smuggle new Schedule 1 drugs will lose profits over time from destruction of their product.By legalizing, taxing and regulating the natural plant versions of the harder drugs, users can choose a safer and healthier option. Once legalized the market will open up and the cost of business will go down. The profit motive artificially inflated by prohibition will be gone and most cartels will lose their financial incentive. By destroying the refined plant hard drugs (heroin, meth, cocaine, etc...) without arrests the remaining cartels will soon become broke as the cost of their product will be too low to profit.In summary we must realize that various drug plants have been used either medicinally or recreationally by humans for centuries before Harry Anslinger and the DEA came along to be our nanny state drug enforcers. Let's save the future generations of taxpayers some headaches and follow the advice of Evo Morales, let the people have their natural plant medicines without any government interference.Please vote for Mark Paul Miller of the Green Liberty Party for U.S. President in 2020. Thanks for your support.
Features Burmese Migrants Continue to Eke Out a Living in Garbage Dump on Thai Border

A woman carries a bag of waste on her head at the garbage dump in Mae Sot. / Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy

MAE SOT, Thailand  When entering the landfill on the outskirts of Mae Sot on Thailands border with Burma, flies buzz chaotically around the waste, which ranges from metal devices to worn out clothes to rotten food, the pile standing taller than a grown man.

We consume wasted food if it is good enough. We cook it, if needed. We make our living by collecting wasted and recyclable materials and selling them, explained Ma San Aye, a 45 year-old Burmese woman originally from Kyaukki Township in Pegu Division who has made her home at the garbage dump for more than 15 years along with her children and grandchildren.

We can survive on 20 baht (US$0.58) a day here, she said, sipping her tea as flies attempt to land on the cups rim.

The garbage piles stand like a small hill in an area called Mae Pait is where all of the waste from Mae Sot town is thrown.

Of course it is bad for our health. Before, I had no diseases. Now, I have back pain and chest pain. It is smelly, but we have adapted to it. Before, I would vomit and I couldnt eat for five days. But it is okay now, said Ma San Aye said.

She said she makes around 2,000 baht (US$58) a month selling materials she finds at the dump.

Those who reside near the waste site live in makeshift tents, where they eat and sleep. Some sort through the trash during the daytime, and others do so at night.

We cant survive if we are afraid of bad, dirty and smelly waste. It is like our kitchenwe eat here and live here, said Ko Than Oo, 49, while collecting recyclable materials around the landfill.

Sweat fell on his face and his clothes were soaked with perspiration.

I know the smell is not good for our health. I get severe headaches and dizziness. Sometimes, I have heavy coughing, he said.

Ko Than Oo has lived near the garbage pile with his blind and aging mother for 12 years. Despite the reforms underway in Burma, he said he has no plan to go back to his homeland, as he does not have a job there. He makes about 150 baht (US$4.34) a day by collecting and selling recyclable materials. This, he said, is enough to feed himself and his mother.

Several other people, including women and children, are also busy, collecting rubbish in the heat. There are more than 100 households living at the garbage pile, and, according to residents, some have been living here for up to 20 years.

U Moe Joe, chairman of Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs in Mae Sot, has been supporting Burmese workers in the area for 14 years. He told The Irrawaddy that there are 300 Burmese people currently living in and around Mae Sots landfill; they came to Thailand hoping to escape poverty and unemployment in their hometowns.

They depend on the garbage. They make their living by collecting waste, he said.

Although Mae Sot is experiencing economic growth, many of the benefits do not reach the Burmese migrant workers who live and work there, U Moe Joe explained, saying that instead, those who work in factories, construction, and in waste collection are frequently left behind.

The garbage collector Ko Than Oo said that migrants like himself are excluded from experiencing development in Mae Sot, adding, It has nothing to do with us.

For Ma San Aye, her relationship with the waste site has become a way of life, and a resource on which she depends in order to make a living.

For us it is like a pile of gold and money. We rely on this garbage, she says, smoking a cheroot in her tent while her grandchildren play nearby.
Asia Sri Lanka Intercepts Boat Carrying 30 Rohingya Refugees

Rohingya refugees sit inside their home in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. / Reuters

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka  Sri Lankas navy intercepted a boat carrying 30 Rohingya refugees who had been living in India and two suspected Indian traffickers after they tried to enter the country illegally, police said on Monday.

The island nations navy and coastguard stopped the boat and its human cargo, which included 16 children, off Sri Lankas northern shores on Sunday, police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said.

The 32 people were produced before the magistrate on Monday, who remanded them until May 2, he told Reuters. They have lived in India for more than five years.

A local human rights official who met the Burmese refugees said their planned final destination had been Australia, which lies more than 4,200 miles from Sri Lanka.

They said they got refugee status in New Delhi after coming to India five years back, via Bangladesh. They are from six families, the official said, asking not to be named.

Tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled predominantly Buddhist Burma since 2012. Refugees, residents and human rights groups say Burma forces have committed summary executions, raped women and burned homes.

More than 1 million Rohingya live in apartheid-like conditions in Burmas Rakhine State, where many in the Buddhist majority consider them interlopers from Bangladesh.

About 69,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since October, straining relations between the two neighbors who each see the stateless Muslim minority as the other nations problem.
Burma KRC Shares Kachin Research with Wider Audience

Speakers Maran Nang Htoi Rawng, from the Kachin Womens Association Thailand (L) and Dr. Robert Farnan, lecturer at CMU, at the seminar titled War in Northern Myanmar, in Chiang Mai, Thailand on May 1, 2017. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy

CHIANG MAI, Thailand  Experts on Burmas Kachin State conflict shared their research from the area with an international audience at a seminar titled War in Northern Myanmar, held at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand on Monday.

The Kachinland Research Center (KRC) looked at a range of issues, from the civil war and causes behind Kachin Independence Organizations (KIO) rebellion, to the voices of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to Kachin customary law, art, literature and history.

The seminar was intended to share KRC research with a wider audience, said Maran Ja Htoi Pan, anthropologist and associate director of the KRC.

Last week, the Kachin scholars also held the Kachinland Study Symposium to share their research with locals in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.

Seven speakers, both Kachin and foreign, highlighted the effects of almost six years of renewed conflict between the Burma Army and the KIO on the lives of locals.

The KIO had a 17-year ceasefire with the previous military government from 1994-2011, but the recent conflict has displaced more than 100,000 people.

The KRC was started last year to conduct research and draw wider attention to the political and democratic transition, the peace process, security, drug issues, and development during the ceasefire period, said Dan Seng Lawn, a political analyst and the KRC director.

He said this research fills a gap, documenting the effects of a war that greatly shaped the lives of ethnic Kachin, whether they stayed at home or fled.

The KRC will launch its first academic, peer-reviewed journal in October.

Research presentations also focused on traditional Kachin understanding of gender identity and the sexual violence endured throughout the civil war, with the recent high-profile case of two Kachin schoolteachers who were raped and murdered in Shan State in 2015.

Maran Nang Htoi Rawng, a joint general secretary from the Kachin Womens Association Thailand, said some of the sexual violence against women is considered private due to customary laws.

These laws need to be widely understood in order to understand sexual violence in our state due to civil war, she said, highlighting that women are most often the victims of sexual violence but due to customary laws they have limited power as decision makers.

Gender activists added that women are not in decision-making roles, and that they are needed there in order to safeguard their security and represent themselves in talks related to the peace process with the government and armed groups.
Did you ever wonder why you have no memory of when you were a baby or very young child?

Researchers in the United States are investigating this question. The researchers work at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The question of why adults do not remember how they learned to walk or talk has long been a mystery.

Nora Newcombe is a psychology professor at the university. She joined Zoe Ngo, a Temple graduate student, in the memory research project.

Newcombe says: You know you learned how to walk and talk, but the funny thing is that you dont remember when and how you learned this.

The Temple University study involved computer-based tests. The tests were designed to work like games. They were given to 32 four-year-olds, 32 six-year-olds and 50 young adults.

The tests measured the memory process that helps people recognize differences between experiences. For example: A walk with your dog when you saw a friend, and a different walk without your dog or when you did not see your friend.

In order to remember those kind of autobiographical events, you need to relate one element to another, Newcombe said. She notes that many people often take walks in a favorite park, but the experience might differ one day from another.

Special memory skills are needed to remember when different events happen, like meeting a friend, she said. This differentiation is known as relational memory.

This skill would also be important to remembering where you parked your car today, compared to where you left it yesterday or last week.

The second test involved showing the test subjects a number of photographs. The children and young adults taking the test were asked to compare the first group of photos with a second set of pictures.

Sometimes, the two sets of photos were the same. But other times, they were different. Remembering differences in objects, such as pictures, is known as pattern separation.

The results showed that in both tests, six-year-olds demonstrated far better memory than 4-year olds. The six-year-olds performed about as well as the young adults on the two tests.

The two tests suggest that memory skills are more advanced for six-year-olds than 4-year-olds. That might help explain why adults do not remember when they learned to walk or talk. But they do remember their third, fourth or fifth birthdays.

We dont have any memories in the first two years of life, and all of a sudden were able to form these memories for specific past events, said Temple graduate student Zoe Ngo. So, there must be something going on in early childhood or middle childhood thats very interesting.

Newcombe said memory research is important as doctors try to develop a cure for Alzheimers disease. Persons with the disease suffer memory loss.

For some people, memory loss is just for recent events. People may not remember what they did that morning, but remember experiences from 50 years ago.

But memory loss research is not limited to helping Alzheimers patients.

It could help with law enforcement officers trying to get more detailed descriptions from witnesses to crimes, Newcombe said.

It could also help find ways to get better and more reliable information from young victims of crime, such as child abuse by family members or care givers.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

funny - adj. causing laughter

autobiographical - adj. relating to your own experiences of life story

park - n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise

park - v. to leave a car in a particular place, often on the street or in a parking lot

advanced - adj. further along in a course of progress or development

specific - adj. special or particular

reliable - adj. able to be trusted to do or provide what is
Burma Lawyers Network Demands Justice for Land Grab Protester Killed by Police

A press conference organized by the Myanmar Lawyers Network / Thazin Hlaing / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  The Myanmar Lawyers Network will appeal to the attorney general to reopen the case of a woman who was killed by police after it discovered the case was closed in 2015.

Daw Khin Win was killed by a stray bullet on Dec. 22, 2014 during clashes between police and locals, who were protesting against land seizures near the Letpadaung copper mining project.

Chinese mining firm Wanbao had fenced in the land of farmers who refused to take compensation from the government and the company for their confiscated land.

U Maung Maung Soe, a leading member of the Myanmar Lawyers Network, told a press conference at Tawwin Hninzi Hall in Rangoon on Saturday they would seek a court order from the Union attorney generals office to investigate the case.

We learned not long ago from the [Monywa] district police officer and the district judicial officer that the case had been closed, he said. We asked when and they said since August 12, 2015. It was a long time ago.

He explained the network would ask for a writ of mandamusa court order to a lower authority to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.

We will apply for the writ in the first week of May, he added.

Fellow network member U Aung Thein said that he could not accept the township police station had closed the case.

Rather than find out who shot dead [Daw Khin Win], we want to know who ordered the shooting, he said. There was the shooting only because someone had given the order. I cant accept Myanmar Police Force has closed the case irresponsibly.

Daw Khin Mar Aye, a relative of Daw Khin Win, hopes that the new government would do justice to the case.

We voted for the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the hope that it would stand by farmers like us against what had happened to us in the time of [President] U Thein Sein, she said. We have asked the lawyers network for help because we want to see that justice is done.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Burma Army Officer, Businessmen Arrested for Drug Possession in Arakan State

Four suspects are picture next to amphetamines seized from their car by police in Maungdaw Township on Monday. / Myanmar State Counselor Information Committee / Facebook

RANGOON  A Burma Army officer, a soldier, and two businessmen were arrested in possession of stimulants with a street value of 880 million kyats in northern Arakan State on Monday morning, border police Major Zaw Zaw Nay Hein told The Irrawaddy.

Maungdaw businessmen Thein Tun Naing and Zaw Oo drove a luxury Pajero vehicle 24 kilometers from Buthidaungwhere Maj Ye Zeyar and Private Thein Naing, also in the car, were basedto Maungdaw Township on Monday morning. A combined task force stopped the vehicle at the three-mile gate in Maungdaw and found 400,000 methamphetamine pills, said the police major. Each yaba pill is worth 2,000 kyats in the local market, he added.

We just checked the vehicle and discovered drugs, Maj Zaw Zaw Nay Hein said, adding that they had no tip-off prior to the routine search.

The joint operation team transferred the four suspects to Pyin Phyu police station in northern Maungdaw.

The officer responsible for continuing the investigation in Pyin Phyu could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The State Counselors Office Information Committee, tasked with providing updates on issues in Arakan State, released a statement on Tuesday evening saying that the army would carry out a further investigation [in order] to take action against the officer and soldier implicated in the arrest.

The Irrawaddy phoned Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay several times on Tuesday to inquire about the incident, but at the time of reporting, there had been no answer.

Three months ago, an anti-narcotics task force uncovered 4.6 million methamphetamine tablets and a handgun and ammunition from Buddhist monk Arsara of Shwe Baho village monastery in southern Maungdaw Township.

In June 2016, the police seized nearly 800,000 stimulant pills, worth about 2.3 billion kyats, from a suspected drug trafficker in Arakan States capital Sittwe. The police report stated that the suspect was only a transporter and had planned to deliver the drug shipment to a monk who lived near the Bangladeshi border.

According to reports, in late September 2016, Maungdaw police confiscated two massive hauls of drugs, totaling over 15 million amphetamine tablets, in the compound of a construction company, hidden under brick piles and in a truck that was covered with sand.

The police have not yet apprehended the suspects yet.

Col Shwe Nyar Maung of the anti-narcotics police force in Naypyidaw told The Irrawaddy that drugs flow to Burma from neighboring countries borders such as China, Thailand and India and some are smuggle via waterways.

He said, Drug dealers target Yangon as a transit [destination] and experienced smugglers distribute the stimulants abroad.
Burma Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Skip Washington Summit of SE Asia Foreign Ministers

Burma State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi reviews honour guards upon arrival at the Manila International airport in Pasay city, metro Manila, Philippines, on April 28, 2017. / Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

RANGOON  Burma leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has declined an invitation to meet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington this week alongside top diplomats from Southeast Asia, citing other commitments, Burma officials said on Tuesday.

Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyiwho serves as Burmas foreign minister while also being de facto head of its civilian governmentwould send a senior official in her place, said Zaw Htay, director general of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis office.

The Washington talks come amid signs members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Burma, are tilting diplomatically towards China as the Trump administrations policy on the region remains unclear.

ASEAN foreign ministers are due to meet Tillerson on Thursday for talks covering trade, territorial claims in the South China Sea and crime, among other issues.

ASEAN stepped back from highlighting the maritime disputes between its members and China at a summit that concluded at the weekend, while Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought closer ties with Beijing.

Burmas President Htin Kyaw spent six days in China last month, signing an agreement that will see oil pumped through a pipeline across Burma to southwestern China, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is due to visit Beijing for a summit on President Xi Jinpings signature One Belt, One Road infrastructure program in mid-May.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency under Burmas army-drafted constitution, but effectively leads the government through the specially created post of State Counselor.

The State Counsellor wont go to the US because she has another meeting with the EU on that day, Zaw Htay said.

The US Embassy in Rangoon had no immediate comment, and referred inquiries to the State Department in Washington.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Brussels on Monday for the first stop of an official tour of Europe, where she will also visit Britain and Italy.

National Security Adviser Thaung Tun would go to Washington in her place, Zaw Htay said.

Diplomats in Rangoon say President Donald Trumps policy towards Burma considered a success story of former President Barack Obamas pivot to Asiais so far uncertain.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi assumed power in 2016 following a landslide election win after Burmas former military leaders initiated a political transition.

She travelled to the United States in September, when Obama agreed to drop all remaining sanctions against Burma, an international pariah for decades under junta rule.

Since then, Burma has been sharply criticized in the West over violence against minority Rohingya Muslims.

Kyaw Zeya, permanent secretary at the ministry of foreign affairs, said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not planning to visit the United States in the near future.

But he dismissed the notion her absence from Washington was an indicator that ties were cooling in favor of China, saying Burma sought good relations with all major powers.

We dont promote relations with any country at the expense of another, Kyaw Zeya said.
Burma Prospectors Sued After Finding Massive Jade Boulder on Company Land

The 8.7-ton jade boulder. / Zaw Myo Htet

MANDALAY  Five prospectors who found a jade boulder weighing 8.7 tons have been charged with theft in Kachin States Lone Kin jade mining region.

According to police, U Nay Tunthe Deputy Director of Myamar Gems Enterprise office of Lone Kinfiled a lawsuit against prospectors Htoo Zaw, Mon Khaung, Naing Win, Wa Lone and Myo Khin, accusing them of forcibly interfering with the security who stopped them from taking the jade boulder from the mine site.

We are still trying to arrest them however, it is difficult to find them, said a police officer from Lone Kin police station.

The lawsuit was filed on Sunday under Article 382 of the Burmese Penal Code, which outlines punishment for theft specifically involving injury or death of others in order for the crime to be carried out.

The prospectors reportedly found the jade boulder on the premises of Tauk Pa Kyae jade mining company on April 26. After a brief confrontation with security, the prospectors took the boulder and stored it in a primary school compound.

After negotiations at a later date, the company gave the prospectors 130 million kyats (US$95,191), and the jade boulder was handed over to the Myanmar Gems Enterprise Office in Myitkyina.

The boulder is currently in an office of the gems and jewelry department in Myitkyina. Myanmar Gems Enterprise affiliated with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.

According to local jade miners, the prospectors were sued in vain, because the negotiation with the company had already been completed and a settlement had been reached.

It is the custom here that prospectors go into the areas of the mining companies in the evening, after the mines have closed, and look for jade. They used to find precious stones sometimes, and no one was there to stop them, said jade miner U Zaw Moe Htet.

Bringing a lawsuit against them despite negotiations with the company is the act of a tyrant. It is targeted at oppressing the prospectors for finding such a big and precious jade boulder, and this should be stopped, he added.
Burma Protesters Submit Petition Against Naming of Gen Aung San Bridge in Mon State

Gen Aung San Bridge in Mon State / Hintharnee / The Irrawaddy

MOULMEIN, Mon State  A petition of over 90,000 signatures protesting the naming of a bridge linking Chaungzon and Moulmein townships in Mon State after Burmas independence hero Gen Aung San will be submitted to the Presidents Office on Tuesday, as the divisional chief minister confirmed the bridge will officially open on May 9.

We thought the government would open the bridge on May 1, so we planned to submit the petition last Thursday, but when they put up the bridges signboard up on Wednesday, we decided to submit the petition by May 2, Min Aung Mon, spokesperson of the committee demanding the name change of the bridge, told The Irrawaddy.

Mon State Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan told media on Tuesday an official opening ceremony for the bridge will be held next Tuesday and that Lower House Speaker U Win Myint and other speakers from Mon, Karen, Tennaserim and Bago Divisions will attend.

A committee was formed of local community elders, womens groups, monks, youth leaders, human rights and political activists to protest the bridges name, which was approved by the Union Parliaments Lower House in March.

The group launched the petition campaign in Mon and Karen states and Bago and Rangoon divisions on April 13, and originally garnered over 120,000 signatures before April 26.

Most of them [signatories] believed we could get the name changed if we submitted the petition, Min Aung Mon told The Irrawaddy.

But as the signboard was put up on the evening of April 26, some got angry and burned their signed papers, saying that their signatures were useless. So, we have only just over 90,000 signatures left now, he said.

When the Irrawaddy called the Union Ethnic Affairs Minister U Nai Thet Lwin to ask him about the petition, his personal officer quoted him as answering sad, but no comment.

The bridge cost 59 billion kyats (US$4.4 million) and is open to the public between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. from April 27 to March 6 ahead of its official inauguration.

Ashin Waravumsa, the abbot of the village of Boenat on Belu Island who is also a member of the committee demanding the name change, told The Irrawaddy the bridge saves us [Mon people] physical discomfort, but not mental disturbance.

Whenever we cross the bridge, we feel upset in our minds and hearts. We prefer the name Salween Bridge, Chaungzon which is an appropriate name for the region or Yamanya Bridge, which reflects Mon identity, said the abbot.

The 5,203-foot bridge was built in Feb. 2015 and was originally given the name Salween Bridge, Chaungzon.

Mon State Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan said the NLD government has already set a policy on naming bridges across the country. He explained that the policy has four categories depending on the length of bridges.

The first category says the biggest and longest bridges will take Gen Aung Sans name while the medium bridges will be named in relation to the region they are located, he said.

Campaigners at a meeting on Saturday accused the National League for Democracy (NLD) government of ignoring the voices of local ethnic people, saying the naming was contrary to the governments federal Union rhetoric.

Dr. Aye Zan told reporters in early April that he did not want to argue about the choice of words.

This article was translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma More Signs of Refugee Repatriation on the Thai-Burma Border

Newly-built houses in a model village called Mae Salit in KNU's Brigade 7 area in Karen State. / Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy

BAN MAE SALIT, Thailand  Community workers are busy with meetings, travel, and workshops as Burma prepares for the repatriation of some 98,000 refugees living on the Thai-Burma border.

New houses for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently under construction in several locations controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU), Burmas longest-running ethnic armed organization, which signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the Burmese government.

About 50 new houses sit in a model village called Mae Salit, a project funded by foreign donors including the Nippon Foundation, a Japanese non-profit that closely follows Burmas peace process.

Some IDPs and refugees have already returned to these model villages. Sources say about 1,000 homes will be built by the Nippon Foundation upon completion.

According to Karen News, an ethnic Karen media outlet, there are some 3,200 KNU refugees and family members that have so far returned to the Lay Kay Kaw model village in 2017.

With the cooperation of the Thai government and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), some KNU leaders and the Burmese government began preparations for repatriation after the signing of the NCA in 2015.

One source in Mae Sot who is familiar with the matter told The Irrawaddy that INGO representatives briefed KNU leaders at the groups recent congress and said funding for refugees on the border would end in about four years.

They [INGOs] asked KNU leaders to be prepared to take responsibility for the refugees once the funding ends, said the source, who asked for anonymity.

Other preparations are underway, with UN representatives from Rangoon visiting refugee communities to discuss repatriation plans and NGOs launching pilot projects to support IDPs and refugees who want to undertake agriculture and livestock projects.

We are busy with meetings and visitors these days, said Saw Honest, chairman of the Mae La refuge camp, referencing frequent visits from donors, NGOs, and others.

Saw Tu Tu, a leader of the Karen Refugee Committee (KRC), told The Irrawaddy that food assistance would soon be cut for refugees who live in Ei Htu Hta camp, an IDP camp in Karen State. Camps along the border are seeing reductions in donor money and aid since Burmas shift toward democracy.

Quoting NGO sources, Saw Tu Tu said some 200 refugees households in Ei Htu Hta camp are preparing to return home when their assistance ends in August. Other households are still undecided, as many who were displaced by conflict still report feeling unsafe returning home while Burma Army troops are stationed in and near civilian areas.
Burma U Zaw Htay: Govt Will Not Dig Up Past Over Magwe Embezzlement

Director-general of the State Counselors Office U Zaw Htay / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYIDAW  Director-general of Burmas State Counselors Office U Zaw Htay said that the governments policy of no retrospection meant it would not take punitive action against Magwe Divisions ex-chief minister U Phone Maw Shwe currently embroiled in an embezzlement case.

U Zaw Htay admitted U Phone Maw Shwes actions were punishable, but told reporters at a press conference at the Ministry of Information in Naypyidaw on Saturday that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government would not take retroactive action against him for fear of risking the countrys process of democratization.

The policy of the new government is not to dig up the past, said U Zaw Htay. If we do so, there is a likelihood that [the countrys progress] might reverse.

He said that this policy was not uncommon among countries undergoing democratic transition and that the State Counselors approach is to do as well as she can in line with the policies of the new government, no matter what the previous government had done in the past.

If we dig into the past, it will never endfrom the time of the military government to the time of the Burma Socialist Program Party. Thats why we have only instructed [U Phone Maw Shwe] to pay back an appropriate amount, said the director-general.

The embezzlement was revealed after a lawmaker asked a question about the missing regional development funds of the former Magwe Division government in parliament last year.

According to an investigation by the Bureau of Special Investigation under the Ministry of Home Affairs, missing funds collected as tax from small-scale oil producers in the time of U Phone Maw Shwe amounted to 7.5 billion kyats.

The government in early April instructed U Phone Maw Shwe to return 1.7 billion kyats, four cars, a digger, and two boats which he donated in his capacity as the chief minister to the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), as well as over 1.57 billion kyats which he transferred to Shwe Thuka Microcredit Association.

According to the Magwe Division government, U Phone Maw Shwe informed it by letter that he would return over 3 billion kyatsover 1.7 billion kyats donated to USDP and over 1.57 billion kyats transferred to the lending firmby the last week of July.

In the letter dated April 27 and addressed to Magwe Division chief minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, U Phone Maw Shwe said that chairman of Shwe Thukha Microcredit Association U Kyi Tun would act as his representative in returning the funds.

I still dont have direct contact [with U Phone Maw Shwe], and I have to consult with my ministers how those funds will be used [when I get them back], said Dr. Aung Moe Nyo.

The letter stated that 500 million kyats out of 1.57 billion kyats transferred to the microcredit association would be returned in the first week of May. The remaining money would be returned by the last week of July, as it would take time for the lending firm to collect money from borrowers.

It also said that the vehicles donated to the USDP would be returned by April 30, but it is still unclear if they have been returned or not.

It is against election laws for a political party to accept and use public funds, and is punishable by abolishment of that party. USDP spokesperson Dr. Nandar Hla Myint has, however, denied receiving any donation from U Phone Maw Shwe.

Political commentator Dr. Yan Myo Thein said the new democratic government should not forgive corrupt officials at all, even if they are members of the former government.

This is public funds, and the government, the parliament, and the military are responsible to prevent them [from being misused] Dr. Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy, adding that the misappropriated funds must be returned and those responsible investigated and charged in line with existing laws.

If the government fails to take decisive legal action against the misappropriation of public funds for fear that it might reverse [the countrys progress], and harm national reconciliation efforts, the trust of the international community and our citizens in the democratization process will decline, he added.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
News Trump would be Honored to Meet N. Korea Leader

A combination photo shows a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) handout of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un released on May 10, 2016, and Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump on May 17, 2016. / KCNA handout via Reuters/Lucas Jackson/File / Reuters

SEOUL, South Korea  US President Donald Trump on Monday opened the door to meeting North Koreas Kim Jong Un, saying he would be honored to meet the young leader under the right circumstances, even as Pyongyang suggested it would continue its nuclear weapons tests.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News, comments that drew criticism in Washington.

Under the right circumstances I would meet with him, Trump said.

Trump did not say what conditions would need to be met for any such meeting to occur or when it could happen, but the White House later said North Korea would need to meet many conditions before a meeting could be contemplated.

Clearly conditions are not there right now, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

I dont see this happening anytime soon, Spicer added.

Trump, who took office in January, had said during his presidential campaign he would be willing to meet with Kim.

His administration has since said North Korea must agree to abandon its nuclear and missile programs and has sought to pressure Pyongyang economically and diplomatically while insisting that military options remain on the table.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the United Nations Security Council that Washington would not negotiate with North Korea.

US Vice President Mike Pence, earlier on Monday, said Trump had made clear that the era of strategic patience is over.

Later on Monday, a US State Department spokeswoman said in a statement: The United States remains open to credible talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula; however conditions must change before there is any scope for talks to resume, adding that North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Despite that, Trumps statement that he would be honored to meet Kimas well as his description of the young North Korean leader over the weekend as a pretty smart cookiesparked fresh concern over his approach to North Korea.

I dont see much coherence in the Trump administrations statements, said Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. If there is to be any hope of getting Kim Jong Un back to the negotiating table to discuss denuclearization, the US has to articulate a clear position.

John Sifton, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Trump had established a troubling pattern of paying compliments to foreign leaders with shaky human rights or autocratic reputations. You dont have to be a psychologist to see that he admires leaders who ignore the rule of law, he said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by fears the North might conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the April 15 anniversary of its state founders birth.

Early on Monday, North Korea said it would bolster its nuclear force to the maximum in a consecutive and successive way at any moment in the face of what it calls US aggression and hysteria.

North Korea, technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea and has said it will pursue its nuclear and missile programs to counter perceived US aggression.

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a major, major conflict with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to waters off the Korean peninsula to join drills with South Korea to counter a series of threats of destruction from North Korea, formally known as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Now that the US is kicking up the overall racket for sanctions and pressure against the DPRK, pursuant to its new DPRK policy called maximum pressure and engagement, the DPRK will speed up at the maximum pace the measure for bolstering its nuclear deterrence, a spokesman for North Koreas foreign ministry said in a statement carried by its official KCNA news agency.

North Koreas measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership, the spokesman said.

Reclusive North Korea has carried out five nuclear tests and a series of missile tests in defiance of UN Security Council and unilateral resolutions. It has been conducting tests at an unprecedented rate and is believed to have made progress in developing intermediate-range and submarine-launched missiles.

It test-launched a missile on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful but which nevertheless drew widespread international condemnation.
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Maan News Agency |  

BETHLEHEM (Maan)  The Hamas movement announced its new charter Monday evening, presenting an acceptance of a Palestinian state along the 1967 Green Line border, while rejecting any legitimacy of the Zionist entity, in reference to the state of Israel.

Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. However, without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus, the charter read.

The acknowledgement of the 1967 borders came as a vast departure from the groups previous stance, which held that all Palestinian land is sacred; there can be no end to the conflict with Israel.

Despite the change, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement regarding the charter, calling it a smoke screen, according to Israeli news daily Haaretz.

We see Hamas continuing to invest all of its resources not just in preparing for war with Israel, but also in educating the children of Gaza to want to destroy Israel, the statement said.

The charter went on to emphasize the importance of Jerusalem as the Palestinian states capital and the importance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Palestinians and Muslims, saying that the occupations plots, measures and attempts to judaize Al-Aqsa and divide it are null, void and illegitimate.

The group maintained their stance on the issue of the Palestinian refugees, saying that the right of return is an inalienable and natural right, both individual and collective.

The Zionist project is a racist, aggressive, colonial and expansionist project based on seizing the properties of others, the charter said, in reference to Israel, adding that it is hostile to the Palestinian people and to their aspiration for freedom, liberation, return and self-determination.

Hamas maintained the legitimacy of armed resistance against the occupation, thought it accepted other forms of nonviolent resistance as well, saying that managing resistance, in terms of escalation or de-escalation, or in terms of diversifying the means and methods, is an integral part of the process of managing the conflict.

In another departure from the groups previous charter, written in 1988, Mondays charter Hamas affirmed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion.

Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity, the charter said.

The charter also mentioned Hamas positions regarding the Palestinian political process, and the Ramallah-based, Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA), which has seen a years long conflict with Hamas worsen in recent weeks, with Hamas leaders on Sunday accusing the PA of putting into action a big plan aiming to eliminate the Palestinian cause.

Hamas affirms that the role of the Palestinian Authority should be to serve the Palestinian people and safeguard their security, their rights and their national project, the charter said, while simultaneously calling for free and fair national elections.

After the PA announced the elections at the end of January would be scheduled in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Hamas  the de facto ruling party of Gaza  promptly rejected the plan, saying that elections should only take place after the more than decade-long rivalry between Hamas and Fatah came to an end and reconciliation was achieved.

The Islamic Jihad movement joined Hamas in the boycott, and more recently, the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) suspended its participation in elections in protest of the violent repression of recent demonstrations at the hands of PA security forces in the occupied West Bank.

The most recent attempt to hold local elections came after elections scheduled to be held in October were postponed, following backlash over a PA Supreme Court ruling to exclude the Gaza Strip from the elections altogether.

Prior to their cancellation, the municipal elections had been set to be the first in the Gaza Strip in a decade, after Hamas victory in the 2006 vote erupted into a violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah, as both groups attempted to take control of the besieged coastal enclave.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Al Jazeera English: Palestines Hamas to revise founding charter
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David Faris | (Informed Comment) |  

The cancellation of human outrage machine Ann Coulters speech at the University of California-Berkeley has generated yet another round of pearl-clutching and hand-wringing about safe spaces and campus free speech. Also: it has generated lawsuits. And once again, were having the wrong argument. The Coulter imbroglio, like those surrounding Milo Yiannapoulos, David Horowitz and countless other right-wing fraudsters, obscures the truth about who can say what on college campuses today.

Most speech restrictions at colleges and universities are directed not at far-right bomb-throwers like Coulter but rather at professors, particularly at public universities. There, professors are considered public employees who are forbidden from engaging in any speech that explicitly favors one party over the other in the classroom. While these laws are designed to prevent professors from standing in front of their classes and literally endorsing a candidate, in practice they have a chilling effect on the ability of politically-engaged scholars to pursue their work to its logical conclusions. The fear of dismissal if professors dont explicitly distance whatever theyre saying from their employer is why Ulrich Baer had to update his recent New York Times piece on campus speech to make sure everyone understood that NYU didnt endorse it. New York University is a private institution; the op-ed contained no endorsement of candidates in any ongoing election. Why did Baer have to issue that disclaimer, exactly?

Since 9/11, cases of professors being harmed professionally by their political views are legion. An outspoken critic of Israel, Norman Finklestein, was denied tenure at DePaul University in 2007 despite being well published in his field. In 2014, the University of Illinois revoked a job offer to American Indian Studies Professor Steven Salaita after he posted sharp criticism of Israeli behavior during that years attack on Gaza. The university eventually paid Salaita nearly a million dollars in damages. UC Berkeley itself tried to stop a student-led course on Palestine that went through all the usual permitting, allegedly under pressure from Israel. And these are only the high-profile cases.

The purpose of bringing up this history is to point out that universities often have one free speech standard for their own employees, and another for invited speakers, though it should be acknowledged that most such invitations are extended, not by university departments but by campus groups, some of them with a tenuous relationship to the university proper. In any case, at Berkeley, Ann Coulter actually has more free speech rights than a tenured professor. To see how this is true, play a little game with me. Imagine if a tenured professor at Radical University were to Tweet something like, Anyone who serves in the U.S. military is mentally ill, or Police officers should be considered legitimate targets of violence or White children in America are agents of demographic genocide against people of color.

Then think about some of the things written and said by people like Milo Yiannopoulos, Richard Spencer or Ann Coulter, all provocateurs somehow deemed worthy of invitation to share their timeless insights into the human condition with university audiences. Coulter on murdering abortion providers: I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I dont want to impose my moral values on others. Spencer on how American minorities should go back to their countries of ethnic origin: Its like presenting to an African that this hasnt worked out. Yiannopoulos on trans people: They are deeply mentally damaged, and they are failed by a liberal establishment obsessed with making them feel good about themselves. At most universities, the bare minimum consequence for saying any of these things out loud to a roomful of alumni would be getting called into an emergency meeting with the dean or the provost and dressed down.

Yet these shit-stirrers and self-aggrandizers run around the country trying to book college gigs precisely so that they can cause controversy when the inevitable protests break out. They suffer no meaningful consequences if a talk is cancelled here and there and their First Amendment rights remain very much intact. (The First Amendment protects people from the US government banning their speech, which hasnt happened). Moreover, few of them have ever published anything worthy of an invitation to address a community of scholars, unless you think In Trump We Trust is a work of meaningful intellectual inquiry. But somehow, when faced with such provocations, the protestors are told that by exercising their own speech rights to register their disapproval of a woman who believes that the leaders of Muslim countries should be murdered and their citizens converted to Christianity, they are creating a national moral panic and calling the cops in to break up the free speech kegger.

Professors arent invited to that party anyway. Many academics practice a form of self-censorship that would be painfully familiar to journalists in authoritarian regimes  we develop red lines that are formally or informally communicated to us by the administration and then dont cross them. Some of this is, of course, a process of sensibly adjusting to unfortunate political realities and not jeopardizing the jobs and livelihoods of your colleagues. But lets please not pretend that I can get on Twitter tonight and say whatever I damn well please even if thats what the law says.

Its not a coincidence that nearly every single campus speech controversy from the last few years happened on a handful of elite campuses where aspiring Reince Preibus clones can spitball names of outrageous speakers at College Republican headquarters to conjure maximum outrage and attention. If the purpose was intellectual exchange, theyd invite Ross Douthat, not David Horowitz. But of course, the purpose is not intellectual exchange.

The really important thing to understand about academic freedom is that its designed to protect members of university communities from retaliation based on their scholarship or work as public intellectuals. It was most definitely not meant to ensure that smarmy campus conservatives can invite coked-up Nazis to tell us that trans folks are mentally ill or that it was A-OK for FDR to round up innocent Japanese-Americans and imprison them for four years. Universities are not our national laboratories for experimenting on the line between inquiry and incitement. For professors and staff, they are our workplaces, and for students their homes. No one  not professors, not students, and certainly not Richard Goddamned Spencer  has the kind of free speech rights on campus that Ann Coulters defenders imagine that they do. Most of the people telling you otherwise havent set foot on a university campus in decades and have absolutely no clue what actually happens on one. If they are interested in doing so without being greeted by protestors, they might try producing a single thought worthy of an intellectual audience. If they go around merely insulting people to their faces in order to provoke disorder for headlines and lucrative book dealsand therefore create such conditions of insecurity that campus police beg off trying to handle it, then they are behaving more like a biker gang invading a small town than like public intellectuals.

Campus dissidents have, of course, also sometimes objected to visits by former policymakers like Dick Cheney, or prominent global figures like IMF Managing Director Christine LeGarde. Perhaps the hysteria surrounding these kinds of controversies could be reduced by agreeing that certain kinds of speakers  legitimate scholars, heads of state and accomplished policymakers  should be given the benefit of the doubt even if some groups on campus object to their past actions or rhetoric. But doing so would require conservatives to cease their harassment of critics of Israel and efforts to penalize the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement. And it would require that speakers adhere to the same standards of discourse observed by the students, faculty and staff who must continue their work long after the latest provocateur has moved onto the next engagement. That standard is not anything goes and the sooner the broader public realizes that, the sooner we can lower the temperature on these kinds of controversies.

David Faris is chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago. His books Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age: Social Media, Blogging and Activism in Egypt (2013) (Here) and Social Media in Iran: Politics and Society After 2009 (Here) (with Babak Rahimi) focus on the use of digital media by social movements.

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Related video added by Juan Cole:

The Young Turks: How Ann Coulter Beat Berkeley
On Nov. 1, Linn Benton Food Shares warehouse in Tangent received two truckloads of food and household supplies arranged by the local branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Reddit Email 235 Shares

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Donald J. Trumps peculiar comments about and relationship with dictators and loonies among foreign leaders have upset a range of observers, from sincere human rights activists to cold-blooded Think Tank Rats. First he welcomed the Philippines demagogue and possibly cold-blooded murderer Rodrigo Duterte to Washington. Then he said he understood the problems North Koreas Kim Jong Un had battling off his bloodthirsty relatives.

But I would argue that the inside-the-Beltway Blob is mainly upset because Trump doesnt seem to know the difference between the Bad dictators, whom you diss, and the Good dictators, whom you praise as strong allies. Trump just seems to like all the dictators.

Washington wants Trump to talk dirty about Vladimir Putin of Russia, Kim Jong Un of North Korea, and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. (Two of the three were elected and Putin seems genuinely popular). But the Establishment is fine with him praising Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt (Sisi strong-armed opponents into not running against him, intimidated the press, declared a major party a terrorist organization and killed hundreds of them, and won office with a shameful 97% of the vote).

No one in Washington stands up and gives speeches criticizing Thailands repressive military junta. And the US Establishment was positively giddy when the corrupt Brazilian oligarchy impeached the elected president of Brazil and replaced her with a corrupt Brazilian oligarch. We havent heard anything more about either Brasilia or Bangkok on television news. Move along, nothing to see here.

Saudi Arabia would be too easy a subject here.

Youve heard less about Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, who helped plunge his country into a deadly civil war and wreck millions of lives. Why, South Sudan was a US project, aimed at breaking up and weakening Arab Sudan. Sudans dictator, Omar al-Bashir is in the Washington dog house as Bad Dictator. Kiir Mayardit isnt brought up.

The Bad Dictators are arguably Bad, and some are war criminals. But Washington tends to deal with the pro-American dictators by just not bringing them up much, or by stressing their friendliness rather than their rapaciousness when they are brought up.

Some of those Washington sees as Bad Dictators, however, are either not dictators or not bad, or not either one. Evo Morales of Bolivia was called Taliban by W.s ambassador, presumably because he represents workers and the indigenous population rather than big business. Im not aware that anyone has suggested he hasnt been fairly elected, and he has been a good steward of the economy for workers and the middle classes.

Then of course above all youre not allowed to bring up that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rules millions of Palestinians by military force, keeping them occupied and stateless and stealing their land while depriving them of the most basic human and civil rights. No Palestinian was allowed to vote for or against Netanyahu even though he rules them with an iron fist.

So get this. Evo Morales Bad, Netanyahu Good.

Nor is this a new phenomenon. Gen. Franco of Spain was at least informally part of the Axis, but by the 1950s Washington had rehabilitated him as an ally. We never heard about Francos crimes against humanity or embarrassing Fascism when I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, but Communist leaders were constantly vilified. Ones attitude toward Capital seems to have mattered more than human rights considerations.

Is it as simple as American billionaires feeling threatened by some dictators but not by others, and instructing the US government accordingly? Be a popularly elected politician who talks socialism, and anything less than a perfect human rights record becomes a headline. Be a coup-maker who welcomes the foreign billionaires in to exploit your people, and you can sodomize prisoners of conscience with broomsticks all you like, and Washington wont so much as cough politely in disapproval.

What the erratic Trump is doing in sucking up to people like Duterte is horrifying. But just keep in mind that he and his predecessors sucked up to people just as bad or worse, and it was never a headline if those dictators remained compliant with the wishes of Americas Chamber of Commerce.

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Related video:

CNN: HRW slams Trump for Duterte invite
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. ("Tahoe" or the "Company") (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2017 ("Q1 2017"), including strong production and cost results from both silver and gold operations, record quarterly cash flow and earnings and continued progress advancing key development projects. The Company's balance sheet remained strong, with cash and cash equivalents of $175.4 million at March 31, 2017.

Highlights of results for Q1 2017 are provided below.

Another excellent quarter at Escobal  Tahoe reported total silver production in Q1 2017 of 5.7 million ounces driven by strong results at Escobal. Q1 2017 silver production was 17% higher than the previous quarter and the highest quarterly production since Q1 2016 (5.7 million ounces). Total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") were $5.72 and $8.11 per ounce of silver produced, net of byproduct credits, respectively, better than the $6.48 and $9.76 per ounce recorded in Q4 2016 and well below the full-year target ranges included in the Company's 2017 guidance.

Strong results from all three gold operations  Q1 2017 gold production totaled 119.1 thousand ounces, compared to record production of 119.9 thousand ounces in Q4 2016. Production and costs in Q1 2017 reflected strong results at all of the Company's mines, as well as a one-time addition of 9.0 thousand ounces related to a change at La Arena and Shahuindo to report production as ounces recovered versus ounces poured. The reporting change had no impact on gold sales. Total cash costs and AISC averaged $574 and $860 per ounce in Q1 2017, which compared to $594 and $945, respectively, in the previous quarter. Excluding the impact of the change, total cash costs and AISC in Q1 2017 were $623 and $933 per ounce, well below the target ranges included in full-year 2017 guidance.

Record earnings and cash flow per share driven by record revenue and low costs  Q1 2017 cash flow provided by operating activities before changes in working capital was a record $132.9 million or $0.43 per share, and represented increases of 78% and 79%, respectively, from the previous quarter. Earnings and adjusted earnings in Q1 2017 were a record $74.7 million and $75.1 million, respectively, and were both $0.24 on a per share basis. The results compared to earnings of $0.3 million or $0.00 per share and adjusted earnings of $18.4 million or $0.06 per share in Q4 2016. Record cash flow and earnings largely resulted from a 33% increase in revenues compared to Q4 2016, to a record $251.0 million in Q1 2017. The increase in revenues reflected record gold sales of 115.9 thousand ounces, as well as increases in silver sales and the realized price for silver of 24% and 33%, respectively, from Q4 2016 levels.

Growth plans remain on track  Capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $48.6 million, of which $33.1 million was for sustaining capital expenditures and $15.5 million was related to project capital. Exploration expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $4.2 million. Capital and exploration expenditures were lower in the first quarter than the expected average for the year due to the lag time between ordering, completions and the normal billing cycle, the schedule for receipt of permits and commencing work programs and the impact of minor delays due to heavy rains at Shahuindo. Expenditure levels are expected to increase over the balance of 2017 as the Company works towards completing expansion projects at Shahuindo and the Bell Creek mine in mid-2018 and undertakes exploration programs at a number of high-potential targets.

Industry-leading dividend  $18.7 million was paid in dividends to shareholders in Q1 2017, including $3.9 million in share-based dividends.

Ron Clayton, President and CEO of Tahoe, commented: "We are off to a great start in 2017, with record cash flow per share as well as earnings and adjusted earnings in the first quarter largely driven by strong operating results at all of our mines. Total silver production was 5.7 million ounces for the quarter with per ounce costs averaging well below our target ranges for the year. Turning to gold, we were very pleased with the results from all of our gold mines, with each operation's production and costs coming in at, or better than, expected levels. Equally important, at quarter end we remained well positioned to achieve our growth targets, including producing at least a half million ounces of gold in 2019 at AISC averaging below $1,000 per ounce.

"Looking at the remainder of 2017, our full-year 2017 production and cost guidance for both silver and gold remains unchanged as production and per ounce costs are expected to be more in line with target levels over the balance of the year. The pace of both capital and exploration expenditures has increased on schedule in the second quarter as we move towards completing the initial circuit of our crushing and agglomeration plant at Shahuindo in the second half of this year and advance work to expand Shahuindo to 36,000 tonnes per day and Bell Creek mine to 80,000 ounces per year by late 2018."

Performance Against 2017 Guidance

In Q1 2017, the Company performed well against all of its 2017 guidance. The table below provides Tahoe's 2017 guidance as well as the related Q1 2017 performance. For a review of performance against each operations's guidance, see the Review of Operations section later in this press release.

$ millions unless otherwise indicated 2017 Guidance Q1 Performance Silver production (moz) 18-21 5.7 Gold production (koz)(2) 375-425 119.1 Total cash cost per silver oz produced ($/oz)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) $7.00-$8.00 $5.72 AISC per silver oz produced ($/oz)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) $9.50-$10.50 $8.11 Total cash cost per gold oz produced ($/oz)(4)(7) $700-$750 $574 AISC per gold oz produced ($/oz)(4)(7) $1,150-$1,250 $860 Sustaining capital (incl. capitalized drilling) $160-$175 $33.1 Project capital $150-$175 $15.5 Exploration expense $35-$45 $4.2 Corporate G&A(8) $45-$55 $11.7

(1) See "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Cautionary Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures" at the end of this press release. (2) Gold production range of 375 to 425 thousand ounces includes gold ounces produced in concentrate from the Escobal mine. (3) Assumes the following metals prices: $1,250/oz gold; $0.90/pound lead; $0.90/pound zinc. (4) Total cash costs and AISC are presented net of by-product credits. (5) Assumes payable by-product metal production: 10,190 oz gold; 16,332 thousand pounds lead; 23,109 thousand pounds zinc. (6) Silver cost guidance assumes a 1% statutory royalty and a 4.5% voluntary and private royalty on all silver sales above $16/oz. (7) All per ounce costs are based on silver ounces contained in concentrates (silver) and gold ounces produced. (8) Corporate G&A includes non-cash, stock-based compensation. (9) Numbers may not add due to rounding.

Cost guidance for 2017 was calculated based on certain commodity and currency assumptions. The table below includes a calculation of the impact of an increase or decrease in these assumptions on total cash costs and AISC:

2017 Guidance Change (+/-) Impact (+/-) Commodity assumptions Silver ($/oz) $17.50 $1.00/oz N/A Gold ($/oz) $1,250 $100/oz $0.05/oz silver Lead ($/lb) $0.90 10% $0.10/oz silver Zinc ($/lb) $0.90 10% $0.10/oz silver Diesel (US$/gal) $2.00 10% $0.10/oz silver $7/oz gold Currency assumptions CAD/USD $1.25 1% $3/oz gold Guatemalan quetzal/USD 7.65 1% $0.02/oz silver Peruvian sol/USD 3.4 1% $2/oz gold

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS

Silver Operations

Escobal

$ millions unless otherwise indicated 2017 Guidance Q1/17 Q4/16 Q1/16 Silver Production (moz) 18-21 5.6 4.8 5.7 Total cash cost per silver oz ($/oz) $7.00-$8.00 $5.72 $6.48 $4.51 AISC per silver oz produced ($/oz) $9.50-$10.50 $8.11 $9.76 $5.97 Sustaining capital $35-$38 $9.9 $10.3 $4.2 Project capital - - $0.6 $1.1

Mill throughput averaged 4,332 tonnes per day ("tpd") during Q1 2017. The mill processed a total of 0.4 million tonnes at an average silver head grade of 520 grams per tonne ("g/t") with an average silver recovery of 86% during the quarter. The mine produced metal concentrates containing 5.6 million payable ounces of silver, 2,500 ounces of gold, 2,200 tonnes of lead and 3,200 tonnes of zinc in Q1 2017. Silver production for the quarter compared favourably to full-year 2017 guidance and was 17% higher than the previous quarter and largely in line with Q1 2016 levels.

A total of 5.5 million ounces of silver in concentrate were sold in Q1 2017, which was approximately one million ounces more than was sold in Q4 2016 and Q1 2016. Concentrate sales during the quarter generated $113.1 million in revenues at mine operating costs of $53.5 million resulting in mine operating earnings of $59.6 million.

Total cash costs net of by-product credits for Q1 2017 were $5.72 per ounce, while AISC were $8.11 per ounce. Per ounce silver costs averaged below the target ranges included in the Company's full-year 2017 guidance and improved from Q4/16. Total cash costs in Q1 2017 were $1.21 per ounce or 27% higher than in Q1 2016, while AISC increased by $2.14 per ounce or 36% from the same quarter a year earlier. The increase in total cash costs and AISC was primarily the result of an additional $5.3 million in royalty expense during Q1 2017 as a result of the finalization of sales above the $16.00 per ounce threshold when compared to Q1 2016. AISC were also impacted by a $5.8 million increase in sustaining capital.

Sustaining capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $9.9 million, which compared to $10.3 million in Q4 2016 and $4.1 million in Q1 2016. Work continued during Q1 2017 on a program to dewater future underground production areas. A series of dewatering wells are being collared on the 1190 sublevel, currently the lowest production level, to dewater compartmentalized water-bearing zones in advance of primary ramp development to access the lower half of the Central Zone. The first two wells have been completed and are producing approximately 160 gallons per minute as hydrogeologic modeling predicted. The third and fourth wells of the series are in progress and nearing completion.

The first component of the newly constructed primary underground pump station, designed to handle clean water pumped from the underground dewatering wells, was commissioned in March 2017. The second component of the pump station, which will handle water impacted by mining operations, is scheduled for completion in Q2 2017. The pump station design and piping scheme maintains separation of clean water from impacted water to minimize the need for water treatment prior to discharge and to provide additional clean make-up water for operations as needed.

Underground ramp, sublevel and stope development continued to advance in support of the life-of-mine production schedule, with approximately 2,500 metres of development and 36,000 metres of longhole production drilling completed in Q1 2017.

Project capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $nil, a $0.6 million decrease from the previous quarter and a reduction from $1.1 million in Q1 2016 when the mine completed construction of a new paste fill plant.

Gold Operations

La Arena

$ millions unless otherwise indicated 2017 Guidance Q1/17 Q4/16 Q1/16 Gold production (koz) 145-155 53.0 58.4 46.6 Total cash cost per gold oz ($/oz) $750-$800 $513 $516 $638 AISC per gold oz produced ($/oz) $1,000-$1,100 $683 $786 $825 Sustaining capital $25-$27 $5.9 $13.6 $4.6 Project capital - - $0.1 -

Production in Q1 2017 totaled 3.4 million tonnes of ore sent to the leach pad at an average gold grade of 0.53 g/t containing 57.9 thousand gold ounces. A total of 53.0 thousand ounces of gold were produced during Q1 2017 at an average gold recovery rate of approximately 86%. Of the 53.0 thousand ounces produced in Q1 2017, 6.6 thousand ounces related to the one-time impact from the initial recognition of gold in carbon in production. Q1 2017 production compared to production of 58.4 thousand ounces in Q4 2016 when a total of 4.5 million tonnes of ore was sent to leach pads, and 46.6 thousand ounces in Q1 2016.

Q1 2017 gold sales totaled 48.9 thousand ounces, which compared to sales of 53.0 thousand ounces in Q4 2016 and 46.1 thousand ounces in Q1 2016. Gold sales in Q1 2017 generated $59.0 million in revenues at mine operating costs of $31.6 million resulting in mine operating earnings of $27.5 million.

Total cash costs net of by-product credits for Q1 2017 were $513 per ounce, while AISC were $683 per ounce. Excluding the impact of the change to report production based on ounces recovered, total cash costs for the quarter averaged $586 per ounce, while AISC averaged $781 per ounce, with both measures being well below the target ranges included in full-year 2017 guidance.

Sustaining capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $5.9 million, which compared to $13.6 million in Q4 2016, when significant leach pad and waste dump extension work was completed, and $4.6 million in Q1 2016. Sustaining capital expenditures in Q1 2017 mainly related to the continued extensions of leach pad and waste dumps.

Shahuindo

$ millions unless otherwise indicated 2017 Guidance Q1/17 Q4/16 Gold production (koz) 65-85 19.7 13.8 Total cash cost per gold oz ($/oz) $750-$800 $582 $989 AISC per gold oz produced ($/oz) $1,600-$1,700 $870 $1,513 Sustaining capital $50-$55 $2.7 $2.3 Project capital $75-$85 $5.7 $9.2

Commercial production commenced at Shahuindo effective May 1, 2016. Production from the Shahuindo pit in Q1 2017 totaled 1.4 million tonnes of ore at an average strip ratio of 0.80. A total of 1.0 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 0.64 g/t containing 20.3 thousand gold ounces were placed on the leach pads during Q1 2017. During Q1 2017, production at Shahuindo totaled 19.7 thousand ounces of gold (including 2.4 thousand ounces related to the change to record production based on ounces recovered). Contributing to a 5.9 thousand ounces increase in production compared to the previous quarter was 43% more tonnes being placed on the pads, which was only partially offset by a lower average grade (0.89 g/t in Q4 2016 versus 0.64 g/t in Q1 2017).

At total of 15.7 thousand ounces of gold in dore were sold in Q1 2017, which compared to 12.9 thousand ounces the previous quarter. Q1 2017 gold sales generated $19.4 million in revenues at mine operating costs of $17.4 million resulting in mine operating earnings of $2.1 million.

Total cash costs and AISC for Q1 2017 were $582 and $870 per ounce, respectively ($664 and $992 per ounce after the impact of the change in production reporting), well below the target ranges included in the Company's 2017 guidance and significantly lower than the comparable levels in Q4 2016. The reduction in total cash costs was mainly due to higher volumes in Q1 2017, with lower AISC also resulting from reduced sustaining capital expenditure levels.

Sustaining capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $2.7 million compared to $2.3 million in Q4 2016. The construction of the major storm events pond was completed in January 2017 with a total capacity of 45,000 cubic metres. Additionally, two settling ponds of 15,000 cubic metres each were constructed to minimize the suspended solids and to increase the current water storage capacity.

The construction of the base platform and preparation of the foundation for the South waste rock dump was completed during Q1 2017 for use beginning in April 2017. The South waste rock dump has sufficient capacity to accommodate waste rock material mined from the Shahuindo pit through Q4 2018.

Project capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $5.7 million, which compared to $9.2 million in Q4 2016. The $5.7 million of project expenditures in Q1 2017 related to the initial 12,000 tpd crushing and agglomeration circuit. The Company completed the permitting process and began construction of the Phase I plant during the quarter. Approximately $20.0 million of the $80 million total project budget for the crushing and agglomeration plant had been spent to March 31, 2017. Of the remaining amount, the Company has $13.0 million in commitments with the balance expected to be incurred from Q2 2017 through Q3 2018. Based on the timing of scheduled construction activities associated with crushing and agglomeration and leach pads, the timing of the permits that have been received and minor delays due to heavy rains during Q1 2017, capital expenditures are expected to be higher over the next seven quarters as compared to Q1 2017. The project remains on schedule and budget to achieve the full 36,000 tonne per day production rate in the second half of 2018, providing an expected 80% ultimate gold recovery, in line with the pre-feasibility study.

Timmins Mines

$ millions unless otherwise indicated 2017 Guidance Q1/17 Q4/16 Gold production (koz) 165-185 43.9 45.3 Total cash cost per gold oz ($/oz) $650-$700 $645 $575 AISC per gold oz produced ($/oz) $1,000-$1,100 $1,070 $976 Sustaining capital $50-$55 $14.6 $15.7 Project capital $75-$85 $9.8 $9.3

The Company's Timmins mines consist of two mining operations, Bell Creek and Timmins West, both of which feed the Bell Creek Mill. These assets were acquired on April 1, 2016. During Q1 2017, 0.3 million tonnes (3,521 tpd) were processed with an average gold feed grade of 4.46 g/t and a process recovery rate averaging 97%. A total of 43.9 thousand gold ounces were recovered during Q1 2017, which compared to 45.3 thousand ounces in Q4 2016, the highest quarterly production since the acquisition of the Timmins mines.

A total of 49.4 thousand ounces of gold in dore were sold in Q1 2017. Gold sales during the quarter generated $59.5 million in revenues at mine operating costs of $44.4 million resulting in mine operating earnings of $15.0 million.

Total cash costs and AISC for Q1 2017 were $645 and $1,070 per ounce, respectively. AISC was impacted by on-going capitalized ramp and sub-level development advancements during the quarter.

Sustaining capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $14.6 million similar to the $15.7 million recorded in Q4 2016. During Q1 2017, underground ramp and sublevel development at both Timmins West and Bell Creek continued in support of the life-of-mine production schedules, with 5,364 metres of total development completed during the quarter. At Timmins West, infrastructure development at the 144 Gap deposit advanced, including ramp, raise and lateral development to access the resource. Underground infill and definition drilling completed at both mines in Q1 2017 to improve resource/reserve definition totaled 51,129 metres.

Project capital expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $9.8 million compared to $9.3 million in Q4 2016. Of this amount, $8.8 million related to the Bell Creek Shaft Project. Lateral development for the Bell Creek Shaft Project on four of five horizons was completed during Q1 2017. The focus of work has now shifted to the 1040 metre level and reaching shaft bottom in order to commence the last section of the vertical development. Vertical development progressed well during Q1 2017. The benching of the raise from the 300 metre level to the 535 metre level commenced as well as the raise from the 790 metre level up towards the 535 metre level using the mechanized raise climbing method. Shaft rehabilitation work also progressed well in Q1 2017. Construction started on the internal sinking plant on the 240 metre horizon. Engineering and procurement continued on schedule with all permanent material available on plan. Surface infrastructure work continued in the quarter with the new administration complex progressing well.

Of the $80 million total budget for the Bell Creek Shaft Project, approximately $18.9 million had been spent to March 31, 2017. Of the remaining amount, the Company had $12.7 million in commitments with the balance expected to be spent in 2017 and 2018. The project remains on schedule and budget.

Exploration

Exploration expenditures in Q1 2017 totaled $4.2 million. Of this amount, $2.5 million was incurred in Canada, where a total of 31,666 metres of drilling was completed. Close to half of total metres were drilled at the Fenn-Gib project, where the Company is targeting the release of a Preliminary Economic Assessment before the end of 2017. Other areas of focus for exploration drilling during the quarter included: continued testing of the down-plunge extension of the Timmins Deposit Fold Nose at Timmins West Mine; drilling along a potential new mineralized trend identified at the 144 South zone on the 144 Trend; drilling along strike at Bell Creek and to test depth extensions at the Schumacher and Vogel properties to the east of Bell Creek; and drilling at Whitney to test both shallow open-pit and deep underground targets.

Exploration expenditures in Peru in Q1 2017 totaled $1.4 million. Exploration work at Shahuindo during the quarter focused on step-out drilling to define the margins of the current resource and identify new zones outside of the current planned pit. This drilling was focused on the San Jose and the La Chilca zones on the extreme northwest margin of the Shahuindo resource and the Pampa Arenas zone east of the current starter pit. Recent drilling at La Chilca has confirmed mineralization 400 metres northwest of the current Shahuindo pit limit. Drilling in the San Jose zone added definition to the existing geologic model.

In addition, reconnaissance work continued during Q1 2017 in areas north and northwest of Shahuindo to identify additional early-stage district targets. Trenching in the Tabacos, Alisos and Azules zones 1.2 to 1.5kms north of Shahuindo exposed wide zones of mineralization within oxidized sandstone host rocks. The north zone has received little to no prior drilling and offers the potential to significantly influence the Shahuindo resource and mine plan. Drilling at these early-stage exploration targets is planned as permits are received in 2017.

No drilling was carried out during Q1 2017 at La Arena. Planning continued for extensional and metallurgical drilling at the Phase II project, which is expected to commence in Q2 2017.

Exploration expenditures in Guatemala in Q1 2017 totaled $0.3 million and mainly related to continued drilling between the Central and East Escobal zones.

Conference Call

Tahoe's senior management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the Q1 2017 results on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT). To join the call please dial 1-800-319-4610 (toll free from Canada and the U.S.) or +1-604-638-5340 (from outside Canada and the U.S.). The webcast will be available on the Company's website at www.tahoeresources.com, as will a recording of the call later in the day.

Complete financial results for Q1 2017 including the Company's management discussion and analysis and other filings will be filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Company's website. Hard copies may be requested, free of charge, by calling 416-703-6298 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

About Tahoe Resources Inc.

Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate mines to world standards, to pay significant shareholder dividends and to develop high quality precious metals assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO.

Qualified Person Statement

Technical information in this press release has been approved by Charlie Muerhoff, Vice President Technical Services, Tahoe Resources Inc., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 1, 2017) - Entree Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG)(NYSE MKT:EGI)(FRANKFURT:EKA) ("Entree" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General and Special Meeting of shareholders held today in Vancouver (the "Meeting"). At the Meeting, shareholders voted 97.93% in favour of approving the spin-out of Mason Resources Corp. ("Mason"). In addition, securityholders (comprised of shareholders, optionholders and warrantholders) voting together as a single class, voted 98.26% in favour of the spin-out of Mason.

Under the terms of the proposed spin-out to be completed through a statutory plan of arrangement ("Plan of Arrangement"), the shareholders of Entree ("Shareholders") will receive common shares in Mason ("Mason Common Shares") by way of a share exchange, pursuant to which each existing share of Entree (an "Entree Common Share") is exchanged for one "new" share of Entree ("New Entree Common Shares") and 0.45 of a Mason Common Share. Optionholders and warrantholders of Entree will receive replacement options and warrants of Entree and options and warrants of Mason which are proportionate to, and reflective of the terms of, their existing options and warrants of Entree.

Mason will hold the Ann Mason copper-molybdenum project in Nevada and the Lordsburg copper-gold property in New Mexico as well as approximately US$8.75 million in cash. Entree's unique carried joint venture interest in an integral part of the Oyu Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia will remain in Entree.

The spin-out transaction remains subject to final court approval and acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") and is expected to be completed on or about May 9, 2017.

The TSX has conditionally approved the listing of the Mason Common Shares under the trading symbol "MNR". Mason will not be listed on the NYSE MKT or Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

In addition, Entree is pleased to announce the re-election of its directors at today's shareholder Meeting. The percentages of votes "for" and "withheld" for each director are as follows:

Nominee Percentage of Votes For Percentage of Votes Withheld Rt. Hon. Lord Howard of Lympne 96.38% 3.62% Stephen Scott 97.59% 2.41% James Harris 95.52% 4.48% Mark Bailey 96.77% 3.23% Alan Edwards 97.72% 2.28% Anna Stylianides 95.14% 4.86%

In addition to the re-election of directors, shareholders re-appointed Davidson & Company LLP, Chartered Accountants as auditors for the Company for the ensuing year, set the number of directors at six for the ensuing year, approved the renewal of the Company's stock option plan, approved the adoption of Mason's stock option plan and approved the Company's name change to "Entree Resources Ltd."

Detailed results of the voting on all matters at the Meeting are set forth in the Report of Voting Results filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Please refer to the Entree information circular dated March 20, 2017 for more detailed information, available on the Company's website at www.entreegold.com and on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com.

Trading Information

On or about Wednesday, May 10, 2017, it is anticipated the TSX will issue a bulletin in respect of the commencement of trading of the Mason Common Shares, under the symbol "MNR". Within two business days of the TSX bulletin, the New Entree Common Shares and the Mason Common Shares will commence trading on the TSX. The New Entree Common Shares will concurrently commence trading on the NYSE MKT.

Where existing Entree Common Shares (CUSIP 29383G) are held through a broker, such broker, or the depositary with which the broker holds such Entree Common Shares, will be responsible for dealing with the exchange of these Entree Common Shares for New Entree Common Shares (CUSIP 29384J103) and the distribution of Mason Common Shares (CUSIP 575323100) on the shareholder's behalf.

Entree has mailed letters of transmittal to all eligible registered shareholders. To receive Direct Registration System ("DRS") statements representing New Entree Common Shares and Mason Common Shares, registered shareholders must duly complete the letter of transmittal and either provide their DRS account number or surrender their existing certificates for Entree Common Shares, as applicable, and deliver them to Computershare Investor Services Inc. ("Depositary") at the address shown on the letter of transmittal. Upon surrender to the Depositary for cancellation of a certificate representing Entree Common Shares (if any), together with a properly executed letter of transmittal, the registered shareholder will be entitled to receive, and the Depositary will deliver to such holder, a DRS statement representing that number (rounded down to the next lessor whole number) of New Entree Common Shares and Mason Common Shares that such holder has the right to receive pursuant to the Plan of Arrangement and the surrendered certificate (if any) will be cancelled.

ABOUT ENTREE GOLD INC.

Entree Gold Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company balancing opportunity and risk with key assets in Mongolia and Nevada. As a joint venture partner with a unique carried interest on a significant portion of the Oyu Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia, Entree has a singular opportunity to participate in one of the world's largest copper-gold projects managed by one of the premier mining companies - Rio Tinto. Oyu Tolgoi, with its series of deposits containing copper, gold and molybdenum, has been under exploration and development since the late 1990s. Additionally, Entree has also been advancing its Ann Mason Project in one of the world's most favourable mining jurisdictions, Nevada. The Ann Mason Project hosts the Ann Mason copper-molybdenum deposit as well as the Blue Hill copper deposit within the rejuvenated Yerington copper camp. Sandstorm Gold, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources are major Shareholders, holding approximately 14%, 10% and 8% of issued and outstanding shares, respectively.
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSX.V: HAN) announces a diamond drill rig has been mobilized to the Kilbricken Zn-Pb-Ag project in Ireland, to begin the Company's first drill program since acquiring the project.

Key points:

Permitting is complete and a diamond drill rig has been mobilized to site;

A drill program comprised of 4 diamond drill holes for 1,800m will focus on validation of historic drilling, extraction of a metallurgical sample and expanding the footprint of known mineralization;

Drilling will continue until July 2017 .

Mr. Michael Hudson, CEO and Chairman, states: "Our team has worked hard to extract as much information as possible from the extensive project and regional databases that took previous explorers more than 16 million of investment to acquire. The high grade Kilbricken mineralization holds the potential to expand in all directions and with a $1.5 million financing recently closed, we are wasting no time in getting a drill rig turning at this highly prospective base metal property."

Better intersections at Kilbricken include DH 46: 20.5m @ 7.5% Zn, 9.9% Pb, 0.07% Cu, 74.6g/t Ag; and DH06: 21.3m @ 11% Zn, 4.8% Pb, 0.06% Cu, 94.4g/t Ag. Semi-continuous massive sulphide mineralization has been drilled over more than 1.5 kilometres of strike, providing numerous opportunities to expand the mineralized footprint. In addition to Kilbricken, the broader licence area presents district scale upside with a 40-kilometre trend of prospective host rock to test, including the Milltown prospect where DH19 discovered 13.3m at 5.8% Pb and 10.5% Zn. The true thickness of the mineralized intervals quoted is interpreted to be approximately 95% of the sampled thickness.

Since acquiring the project in September 2016, Hannan has focused on advancing the technical understanding of the Kilbricken project to develop a rigorous geological model to guide future exploration. The Company has engaged experts in rift tectonics, the structural geology of Irish Zn-Pb deposits and the local geology of the Kilbricken area to re-interpret controls on Zn-Pb-Ag mineralization, and the development of the Clare rift basin. In addition, 28-line kilometres of 2D seismic and four square kilometres of 3D seismic data have been re-processed by HiSeis Pty Ltd; three airborne magnetic data surveys have been "de-cultured" and had spectral depth filtering applied; gravity data has been reprocessed; and >30,000 soil samples have been re-levelled and combined with geophysical data to define drill targets.

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSX.V:HAN)

Hannan Metals Limited has 100% ownership of the County Clare Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu project in Ireland, which consists of 9 prospecting licences for 32,223 hectares. Zinc remains in tight supply amidst rising demand and stagnant supply. Ireland is a leading global jurisdiction for zinc mining and exploration. It has been stated that Irish base metal ore field is ranked first in the world in terms of zinc discovered per square kilometre, and second in the world with respect to lead. In 2015, Ireland was the world's 10th largest zinc producing nation with 230,000 tonnes produced.

Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of financing and discovering mineral projects in Europe. Additionally, the team holds extensive zinc experience, gained from the world's largest integrated zinc producer of the time, Pasminco Ltd.

Mr. Michael Hudson FAusIMM, Hannan's CEO and Chairman, is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - San Marco Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SMN) ("San Marco" or the "Company") announces that results from ongoing geological mapping and prospecting have confirmed and expanded the size potential of Target #1068 in Sonora State, Mexico, elevating the target to project status.

San Marco field crews completed geological and alteration mapping, stream sediment and rock chip sampling and petrographic analyses of select samples on the 1068 Project, a porphyry Gold-Copper- Molybdenum system identified by the Company's generative program (see News Release January 19th, 2017).

Program Highlights:

Mapping increased the phyllic alteration (quartz, sericite, pyrite) halo surrounding the potassic alteration core to 1000m X 450 m, and defined an internal zone of strong phyllic stockwork developed in the volcanic lithocap.

The primary target remains hypogene (sulphide) copper-gold-molybdenum mineralization hosted in feldspar/quart/biotite porphyry.

Initial exploration program complete

Surface access rights secured over main targets

Application for drilling approval from the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) in process.

Project is deemed to be drill ready.

Surface exposures of the potassic altered feldspar-quartz-biotite porphyry core, exhibit multi-directional to sheeted quart sulphide veinlets (chalcopyrite, pyrite and molybdenite) with rock chip samples up to 0.59% copper, 0.4 g/t gold and 276 ppm molybdenum The Company believes that the 1068 Project is a classic zoned porphyry system with a broad envelope of quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration surrounding a potassic altered core. Recent mapping and sampling to the north and east of the overlying volcanic lithocap, extended the footprint of alteration and anomalous copper/gold geochemistry, suggesting the mineralized system will extend under the lithocap and beyond the limit of current exposure.

San Marco's CEO, Bob Willis stated; "We are very fortunate to have discovered a copper, gold, moly porphyry environment so early in our regional generative exploration program. Phase I exploration at Project 1068 is complete, however, ongoing detailed geological and structural mapping, additional petrographic analysis will continue. The system is large and robust but complete testing requires sampling below the lithocap. Drilling is the next logical step to confirm if 1086 is the significant new porphyry discovery it currently appears to be.".

San Marco is currently evaluating options for further exploration on the 1068 Project, including discovery drilling of mineralized exposures on a 100% basis. The Company is also entertaining joint venture discussions with third parties. Due to the strength of the 1068 Project, any deal offered will have to be substantially accretive to San Marco shareholders to outweigh the favourable risk-reward management thinks is presented by the Company carrying out Phase I drilling itself. A final decision will be made while drill permits with SEMARNAT are being processed.

About San Marco

San Marco Resources Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of promising projects in mining-friendly Mexico, including the Chunibas, Mariana and 1068 Projects in Sonora State.

San Marco actively pursues strategic project generation program focused on high-caliber, low acquisition cost opportunities in the North-western Mexico. The Company has a committed management team with extensive experience in Mexico and a proven track record of building shareholder value. San Marco currently has 56,051,832 issued and outstanding shares.
Toronto, Ontario / TheNewswire / May 2, 2017 - Toachi Mining Inc., ("Toachi" or the "Company") (TSX-V: TIM) is pleased to announce results from on-going drilling at its La Plata gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") project in Ecuador.

Program Highlights

Hole CMLP-17-49 intersected 6.28 metres (m) of massive and disseminated sulphide mineralization grading 7.12 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 24 g/t silver, 8.84% copper, 1.61% zinc and 0.36% lead from 62.26 m in the La Mina North zone of the La Mina deposit.

The intersection above is within a wider 12.20-m intercept grading 4.07 g/t gold, 27 g/t silver, 5.79% copper, 1.80% zinc and 0.29% lead from 62.26 m.

Hole CMLP-17-49 was drilled up dip and on the same section as CMLP-17-45 and 47, and 40 metres south of hole CMLP-17-56. Full results from these holes are available in Toachi press releases dated April 12 and April 25, 2017 and available at www.toachimining.com or on SEDAR.

Drilling Highlights

Hole (56) From (m) To (m) m Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) CMLP-17-49 62.26 74.46 12.20 4.07 27.00 5.79 0.29 1.80 including 62.26 68.54 6.28 7.12 24.00 8.84 0.36 1.61

Core widths in CMLP-17-49 are considered close to true width. Gold assay composites were calculated using uncut assays.

Program Results

The drill program, which began in August 2016, is designed to validate the historic drilling database at the La Plata project. The drilling program is also intended to infill and expand known resources in the main La Mina VMS lenses leading to the completion of a National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate later this year.

Modelling of historic and current drill results by Toachi staff has delineated four discrete mineralized zones which define the La Mina North and La Mina South blocks. For a 3-D graphic of the wireframed zones, please visit our website at www.toachimining.com and see our latest presentation.

Hole CMLP-17-49 was collared 40-m south of hole CMLP-17-56 which intersected 10.78 m grading 6.35 g/t gold, 54.32 g/t silver, 9.64% copper, 8.70% zinc and 0.43% lead in the southern part of the La Mina North block.

Hole CMLP-17-49 was successful in extending high grade VMS mineralization from CMLP-17-56 towards the south.

Nick Tintor, President and CEO, stated, "Toachi continues to generate exceptional drill results from the La Plata project which underscores the high grade and gold-rich nature of the VMS mineralization in this deposit."

See the longitudinal section below for the location of the pierce point of CMLP-17-49 in relation to historic resource blocks and hole CMLP-17-56. A cross section and plan map with collar locations is also available at the end of this press release.

Management believes the La Plata project, which is characterized by geology typical of major gold-rich VMS camps around the world, hosts excellent potential for the discovery of additional discrete VMS zones amongst the 14 exploration targets identified to date.

La Plata Deposit Geology

Gold-bearing sulphide mineralization at La Plata occurs as compositional banding composed of chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite laminae with barite occurring as clasts and also as thin layers.

Base and precious metal mineralization at La Plata is interpreted to have formed as part of multiple volcanic episodes that created a stacked volcanic-exhalite hydrothermal sequence which is considered favorable for hosting multiple VMS lenses.

Examples of this exclusive group of gold-rich VMS camps include Noranda, Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde and the Flin Flon camps in Canada.

Toachi's exploration staff has identified more than 14 discrete exploration targets across the property concessions which extend for more than 9 kilometres, attesting to the potential of this emerging district.

The La Plata Project

Toachi entered into an option agreement with a private Ecuadorean company to earn between a 60% to 75% interest in the La Plata gold-copper-silver-zinc VMS project, located 85 km south of Quito, Ecuador.

For complete terms of the transaction, please see our press release dated February 11, 2016 which is available on our website at www.toachimining.com or on www.sedar.com.

La Plata is a gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit which was the subject of small scale mining from both an open pit and underground workings from 1975-1981.

From 1996 to 2000, Cambior Inc., a Canadian mining company, completed 8,628 metres of drilling and a preliminary resource estimate totaling 840,000 tonnes grading 4.8 grams gold per tonne, 4.1% copper, 54.4 grams silver per tonne and 0.7% lead and 4.2% zinc per tonne in 1999, according to a report completed by AMEC Foster Wheeler, a mining consulting firm, in March 2015.

Following a drill program by Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc., which included 5,933 metres of drilling from 2006-2007, a revised mineral resource estimate totaling 913,977 tonnes grading

8.01 grams gold per tonne, 88.3 grams silver per tonne, 5.01% copper, 6.71% zinc and 0.78% lead per tonne in the inferrfied category was completed.

The resource estimates described above are historical estimates as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects S.2.4 ("NI 43-101").

Toachi has not completed the work required to independently analyze and verify the results of the previous operators nor has a qualified person completed sufficient work to classify the estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. With respect to the Cambior estimate, the Company is also not aware of what categories were used in the estimate. As a result, Toachi is not treating these estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

The Company believes these historic results provide an indication of the potential of the property and are relevant from an on-going exploration perspective.

QA/QC Sampling and Core Sampling Protocols

Before sampling, a centreline, representing bottom of hole (or a reference line when this is not known) is marked on the drill core. The core is cut and sampled, always sampling the right-hand side of the drill core. Samples are selected based on logged geological features, such as rock type, mineralization, alteration, veining etc. Sample length does not exceed 1.2 m nor is smaller than 20 cm. In areas of similar geological characteristics, sample length is, in general, 1 m.

A total of 10% of the samples submitted are certified blanks and standards and field duplicates with, as a minimum, one blank submitted at the beginning of each sample batch. Certified standards are submitted at an average of 6% of the samples submitted. Field duplicates are taken at a rate of 1 in 20 of the samples taken.

Drill hole analysis was completed by MS Analytical in Canada.

The analysis was completed by MS Analytical in Canada with preparation performed by Ecuadorian partner, LAC y Asociados. Both LAC y Asociados and MSA are ISO 9001:2008 registered companies. MS Analytical also meets the requirements as outlined in ISO/IEC 17025.

Qualified Person

Phil Fox, MAIG, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.

About Toachi Mining Inc.

Toachi brings a disciplined and veteran team of project managers together with a high grade gold-copper-silver-zinc project at La Plata in Ecuador. Toachi is focused on and committed to the development of advanced stage mineral projects throughout the Americas using industry best practices combined with a strong social license from local communities. Toachi Mining has 51,653,935 shares issued and outstanding
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - Canada Rare Earth Corp. (TSX VENTURE: LL) ("Canada Rare Earth" or the "Company") is pleased to announce continuing and increasing momentum in its concentrate trading business.

Canada Rare Earth completed the purchase and sale of 180 metric tons of the 310 metric tons of rare earth concentrate announced on March 21, 2017 and, as a result, collected $386,000 of gross proceeds. The Company also recently collected $24,000 of fees generated from providing rare earth supply chain advisory services in the December 31, 2016 fiscal quarter. Costs associated with the completed sale total $335,000.

We expect to complete the purchase and sale of 90 metric tons of rare earth concentrate within two weeks.

The back order balance of 40 metric tons and an additional 350 metric tons of concentrate is scheduled for shipment in June 2017.

Peter Shearing, Chief Operating Officer of Canada Rare Earth explained, "These transactions are all part of the master agreement we announced on September 8, 2016 for a total of 16,500 metric tons over a 36 month period. We are pleased with the current momentum and acceleration under this arrangement as we now expect to exceed the 500 metric ton monthly target from this source."

Tracy A. Moore, Chief Executive Officer of Canada Rare Earth remarked, "The quality of the concentrate meets and in some cases exceeds our requirements and importantly is to the specifications set by our client. We continue to seek additional sources of concentrate for immediate and longer-term purposes as our customer base is now requesting additional volumes of concentrate from us. The trading transactions are all profitable and contribute positive cash flow to our company."
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX VENTURE:BSK)(OTCQB:BKUCF)(FRANKFURT:MAL2) ("Blue Sky" or the "Company") is pleased to report that following unforeseen field delays, the 3,000 metre reverse-circulation drilling program at the Amarillo Grande uranium project has recommenced. The program is now drilling the second target area, "Anit", where it will include 75 short holes, up to 20 metres in depth, for a total of approximately 1,000 metres. The purpose of the program in this area is to confirm and extend the previously identified mineralized zone along the 15 kilometre long radiometric anomaly that is related to superficial mineralization within outcropping ancient river channels.

"The Anit area has returned some of our best results in the past and we look forward to improving our prospects for resources with this drill program," commented Nikolaos Cacos, Blue Sky President & CEO. "The drill program has now re-started following an unusually heavy and prolonged rain event, and newly upgraded drill equipment should improve progress for the remainder of the program."

About the Anit Target

The Anit target comprises 12 mining properties covering 24,000 hectares. In 2007, a 2,385 square kilometre airborne geophysical surveying program detected a significant, +15 kilometre long, radiometric anomaly in this area. This anomaly was interpreted as related to uranium-vanadium mineralization within outcropping ancient river sediments. An intensive exploration program followed, including radon gas and ground radiometric surveys, 123 hang-dug pits, 310 excavator-dug pits, 1,403 metres of trenching and 5,044 metres of air-core drilling in 204 drill holes. This work delineated a main mineralization zone contained in two elongated bodies along a six kilometre corridor, from surface down to six metres depth and 40 to 480 metres wide, surrounded by a lower-grade uranium halo. Within the West and Central zones at Anit, 103 excavator pits with >50 ppm uranium over one metre had a weighted average grade of 0.04% U 3 O 8 and 0.10% V 2 O 5 over an average thickness of 1.97 metres1.

The uranium mineralization is related to carnotite, a uranium vanadate mineral. Preliminary metallurgical testwork done on samples from Anit indicates that the carnotite mineralization can be concentrated by wet screening, and it is amenable to leaching.

Program Details

The current RC drilling program at Anit has been designed to increase the confidence level and sample density in select portions of the mineralized zone with fences of holes and to test for extensions to depth in areas where previous sampling was carried out by depth-limited excavator pits. In addition, the program will explore adjacent stacked paleochannels interpreted from the recently completed electrical survey (see News Releases dated on November 23, 2016 & January 12, 2017). The drill program at the Anit target will include 75 holes of RC-drilling to be conducted by a FlexiRoc D65 rig from Atlas Copco, adapted for fine-mineralization control with a triple cyclone for better recovery of fines, and an automatic splitter. The depth range of the planned holes is estimated to be 10-20 metres. (A map of the proposed drill locations can be viewed here: https://www.blueskyuranium.com/assets/img/maps/2017-ENE-Anit-Proposed-RC-Program.jpg) Two to three kilogram samples are collected for each metre, one for laboratory analysis and the other to be retained as a control sample. Each sample is weighed and measured using a hand portable scintillometer. A rigorous Quality Assurance - Quality Control ("QAQC") program comprises duplicate samples, blanks and standards. Every hole will also be surveyed with a radiometric probe recently calibrated under the supervision of a Senior Geophysicists with experience in resource estimation at uranium deposits.

1 See NI-43-101 Technical Report dated on May 18, 2012 on the Company's website.

About the Amarillo Grande Project

This new uranium district was first identified, staked and underwent preliminary exploration by Blue Sky from 2007 to 2012 as part of the Grosso Group's strategy of adding alternative energy focus to its successful portfolio of metals exploration companies. The close proximity of several major targets suggest that if resources are delineated a central processing facility would be envisioned. The area is flat-lying, semi-arid and accessible year round, with nearby rail, power and port access.

Mineralization identified to date represents a Surficial Uranium style of deposit, where carnotite mineralization coats loosely consolidated pebbles of sandstone and conglomerates. Carnotite is amenable to leaching, and early metallurgical work indicates that the mineralized material can be upgraded using a very simple wet screening method. The near-surface mineralization, ability to locally upgrade, amenability to leaching and central processing possibility suggest a potentially low-cost development scenario for a future deposit.

Rio Negro is host to several facilities related to the nuclear industry. Furthermore, the Provincial government is amenable to mining as a means of socio-economic development. In addition, the Federal government has expressed support for building domestic resources of uranium. In particular, the Argentina Atomic Energy National Commission (CNEA) published its Strategic Plan 2015-2025, which includes a strategic objective "To ensure the supply of domestic uranium for nuclear power plants in operation, under construction and planned."

For additional details on the project and properties, please see the Company's website: www.blueskyuranium.com

Qualified Person

The contents of this news release have been reviewed and approved by David Terry, Ph.D., P.Geo. Dr. Terry is a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.

About Blue Sky Uranium Corp.

Blue Sky Uranium Corp. is a leader in uranium discovery in Argentina. The Company's objective is to deliver exceptional returns to shareholders by rapidly advancing a portfolio of surficial uranium deposits into low-cost producers. Blue Sky holds has the exclusive right to over 428,000 hectares of property in two provinces in Argentina. The Company's flagship Amarillo Grande Project was an in-house discovery of a new district that has the potential to be among the first domestic suppliers of uranium to the growing Argentine market. The Company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993.
AMOS, QC, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - RNC Minerals (TSX: RNX) ("RNC" or the "Company") and the Abitibiwinni First Nation (AFN) are pleased to announce the signing of an Impact and Benefit Agreement (IBA) for the Dumont Nickel Project

The IBA serves as a framework to govern the relationship with the AFN and lays out the commitments of the parties regarding the impacts and benefits of the Dumont Project. The parties to the IBA are the AFN and the newly established RNC-Waterton nickel joint venture.

The IBA provides for meaningful AFN participation in the Dumont Project through training, employment, business opportunities, collaboration in environmental protection and other means.

"RNC and the Abitibiwinni First Nation have been building a relationship of trust and respect for several years and we look forward to the AFN's involvement in the successful development of the Dumont Project. We respect the communities in which we operate and we expect the Dumont Project will generate many lasting benefits for the AFN and other stakeholders. We look forward to advancing Dumont in cooperation with the AFN," commented Mark Selby, President and CEO of RNC Minerals.

About the Dumont Nickel Project and Nickel Joint Venture with Waterton

RNC's Dumont Nickel Project is one of the world's largest undeveloped, permitted and shovel-ready nickel sulphide deposits. When in production, Dumont is expected to rank as the fifth-largest nickel sulphide operation in the world by annual production. It contains the third largest nickel reserve in the world. On April 20, 2017, RNC Minerals announced the establishment of a new joint venture with Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP and Waterton Mining Parallel Fund Onshore Master, LP (collectively, "Waterton") that will own and advance Dumont, and seek to acquire high quality nickel assets globally.

About RNC

RNC is a multi-asset mineral resource company focused primarily on the acquisition, exploration, evaluation and development of base metal and precious metal properties. RNC's principal assets are the producing Beta Hunt gold and nickel mine in Western Australia, a 50% interest in the nickel joint venture with Waterton that holds the Dumont Nickel Project in the Abitibi region of Quebec, and a 30% stake in the producing Reed Mine in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake region of Manitoba, Canada. RNC also owns a majority interest in the West Raglan and Qiqavik projects in Northern Quebec. RNC has a strong management team and Board with over 100 years of mining experience at Inco and Falconbridge. RNC's common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol RNX. RNC shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol RNKLF.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) -Eastmain Resources Inc. ("Eastmain" or the "Company") (TSX:ER) is pleased to announce the receipt of assays from the first 9 drill holes from the 14-hole, Phase 2 drilling program at the Eleonore South Joint Venture ("ESJV") property. The 14-hole program consisted of 2,733 m of drilling and was completed in early April (see FIGURES 1 and 2 and Table 1, below). Assays are pending on the remaining 5 holes. The results of the Phase 1 program (see PR dated November 21, 2016) and the results of the Phase 2 program will be used to plan follow-up exploration on the JV property in the second half of 2017.

Highlights from Eleonore South JV intercepts include:

ES17-64 - 4.88 g/t Au over 45.0 m , including 13.0 g/t Au over 10.5 m (which includes 37.9 g/t Au over 3.0 m)

, including 13.0 g/t Au over 10.5 m (which includes 37.9 g/t Au over 3.0 m) ES17-60 - 1.89 g/t Au over 22.5 m , including 16.5 g/t Au over 1.5 m

, including 16.5 g/t Au over 1.5 m ES17-60 - 0.52 g/t Au over 52.5 m

ES17-61 - 0.91 g/t Au over 16.5 m

The ESJV diamond drilling program tested an area extending approximately 2 km, within a 4 km by 0.5 km prospective corridor, southwest from the Sirios/ESJV boundary. Specifically, drilling targeted the Moni and Trench prospect areas within a tonalite intrusion, and the tonalite contacts with metasediments further to the east. This large gold-bearing system is preliminarily interpreted as a late-stage hydrothermal-magmatic phase directly related to the tonalitic intrusion. The best drill intercept to date is 4.88 g/t Au over 45.0 m, including 37.9 g/t Au over 3.0 m in hole ES17-64, approximately 150 m southwest of the boundary (see FIGURE 2).

Claude Lemasson, Eastmain President and CEO commented, "Today's results represent an important and exciting advancement in our understanding of the gold-mineralized corridor on the Eleonore South property. The highlighted holes' broad intervals and high grades confirm our thesis that there is significant mineralization in and near the tonalite intrusion. This new information will be used to plan the JV's summer/fall 2017 exploration program with our partners, Goldcorp and Azimut."

Prospective Corridor Drilling

Hole ES17-64 was drilled 25 m west, and 25 m up-dip, of the Phase 1 hole ES16-51 (0.62 g/t Au over 79.1 m, incl. 5.00 g/t Au over 4.0 m). A 45 m-wide mineralized interval (4.88 g/t Au over 45.0 m) is hosted in tonalite with generally less than 1% arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite as disseminations or veinlets. Within this broad interval, higher grade intersections (37.9 g/t Au over 3.0 m and 15.1 g/t Au over 3.0 m) occur in strongly silicified tonalite carrying 3 mm to 10 mm wide clusters of visible gold, partially controlled by a tight quartz-chlorite stockwork and moderate biotite alteration (see PICTURES 1 and 2).

Hole ES17-60 targeted the interpreted SW strike extension of the Cheechoo discovery. Four intervals were encountered within a 144 m-wide anomalously mineralized core interval (all samples greater than 0.1 g/t) in albite and biotite altered tonalite with disseminated pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite. Of the four mineralized intervals, one intercept (1.89 g/t Au over 22.5 m including 16.5 g/t Au over 1.5 m) contains disseminated arsenopyrite and bands of albite-actinolite alteration.

Hole ES17-61 was drilled 100 m east of hole ER17-60 and targeted the SW extension of the Cheechoo discovery. An interval (0.91 g/t Au over 16.5 m) was obtained in tonalite and pegmatite carrying disseminated arsenopyrite. Two millimetre-scale grains of visible gold were observed within this interval.

Further details regarding the description and interpretation will be provided once all results have been received.

TABLE 1: Eleonore South JV - Summary of Significant Drill Results

Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Interval(1) (m) Gold Assay(2) (g/t Au) Vertical Depth(3) (m) ES17-60 90.0 142.5 52.5 0.52 88 incl. 90.0 94.5 4.5 0.80 and 106.5 121.5 15.0 0.54 and 126.0 139.5 13.5 0.74 151.5 153.0 1.5 5.59 112 181.5 204.0 22.5 1.89 145 incl. 187.5 192.0 4.5 2.61 and 198.0 199.5 1.5 16.5 incl. 198.0 204.0 6.0 4.74 217.5 219.0 1.5 1.58 165 ES17-61 88.3 89.8 1.5 1.02 69 135.8 146.5 10.7 0.52 109 incl. 137.3 138.8 1.5 1.38 164.2 173.0 8.8 0.58 130 incl. 164.2 166.7 2.4 1.34 178.5 195.0 16.5 0.91 143 incl. 179.0 182.0 3.0 2.00 and 183.3 185.8 2.5 1.08 and 190.0 195.0 5.0 1.01 ES17-62 160.5 164.6 4.1 0.94 125 ES17-63 5.0 8.4 3.4 1.06 5 incl. 5.0 6.5 1.5 2.06 49.5 54.0 4.5 0.62 40 229.5 231.0 1.5 0.72 176 ES17-64 12.0 13.5 1.5 2.87 11 28.8 29.5 0.7 2.33 22 147.0 148.5 1.5 1.21 107 168.0 213.0 45.0 4.88 146 incl. 168.0 183.0 15.0 4.97 incl. 180.0 183.0 3.0 15.1 and 202.5 213.0 10.5 13.0 incl. 204.0 207.0 3.0 37.9 228.0 244.5 16.5 0.66 181 incl. 234.0 238.5 4.5 1.19 ES17-65 94.5 105.0 10.5 0.60 78 incl. 100.5 105.0 4.5 1.10 ES17-66 1.8 4.7 2.9 1.01 2 ES17-67 2.0 3.5 1.5 1.12 2 ES17-68 46.0 47.8 1.8 0.51 33

Drilling results are presented over core lengths; true widths are unknown at this stage. Intervals are based on geological observations and limited compositing of veins. Assays presented are not capped. Intercepts occur have not been correlated to individual vein domains at this time. Vertical depth is calculated from the surface to the mid-point of the reported interval.

Table 2: Hole Location Information

UTM zone 18 - NAD83 Hole # Easting Northing Azimuth () Dip () Length (m) ES17-60 438,422 5,829,886 320 -49 234 ES17-61 438,552 5,829,899 320 -50 195 ES17-62 438,730 5,829,908 320 -50 171 ES17-63 438,154 5,829,857 320 -50 252 ES17-64 437,962 5,829,817 320 -50 252 ES17-65 437,920 5,829,906 320 -50 201 ES17-66 437,627 5,830,027 220 -50 72 ES17-67 437,627 5,830,027 220 -70 90 ES17-68 437,303 5,829,769 320 -50 207

This press release and information provided by the manager of the Eleonore JV, was reviewed by William McGuinty, P. Geo., Eastmain's VP Exploration and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

Drill core samples were sent to ALS Minerals in Val-d'Or, Quebec. Gold was analyzed by fire assay with atomic absorption and gravimetric finish for grades above 3.0 g/t Au. Samples were also analyzed for a 48-element suite using ICP. Azimut applies industry-standard QA/QC procedures to the program. Certified reference materials, blanks and field duplicates were inserted in all drill core shipments to the laboratory.

About the Eleonore South Joint-Venture Property

The Eleonore South Property is being explored as a three-way Joint Venture between Eastmain Resources Inc. (36.7%), Azimut Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:AZM) (26.6%), and Les Mines Opinaca Ltee ("Opinaca") (36.7%), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G)(NYSE:GG). Azimut is the operator of the current program.

About Eastmain Resources Inc. (TSX:ER)

Eastmain is a Canadian exploration company with 100% interest in the Eau Claire and Eastmain Mine gold deposits, both of which are located within the James Bay District of Quebec. Clearwater, host of the Eau Claire deposit, is the Company's core asset with access to superior infrastructure in a favourable mining jurisdiction. Eastmain also holds a pipeline of exploration projects in this new Canadian mining district, including being a partner in the Eleonore South Joint Venture.
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Mawson Resources Limited ("Mawson") or (the "Company") (TSX:MAW) (Frankfurt:MXR) (PINKSHEETS: MWSNF) announces drill results from ten additional diamond drill holes from the 2017 winter program at the Company's 100% owned Rajapalot Project in Northern Finland. A new zone of gold mineralization has been discovered at shallow depth at the Raja prospect, with a strike length of at least 200 metres, and remains open. The Raja prospect is located 1.75 kilometres from Palokas, and is the easternmost prospect tested to date in the Rajapalot area.

Key Points:

PAL0075 intersected: 27.0 metres @ 3.3 g/t gold (no lower cut) from 64.0 metres, including 3.0 metres @ 2.9 g/t gold from 64 metres, 2.0 metres @ 5.6 g/t gold from 70.0 metres and 8.8 metres @ 7.5 g/t gold from 82.2 metres;

PAL0062 drilled 200 metres north of PAL0075 intersected: 13.5 metres @ 4.0 ppm gold from 180 metres;



Mr. Hudson, Chairman and CEO, states, "A blind discovery of this grade and thickness made in multiple drill holes, 1.75 kilometres from Palokas is a significant result for the Rajapalot project. By applying our understanding on the controls on mineralization, we are now successfully intersecting multiple high-grade gold mineralized zones under the thin glacial soil cover. This first systematic season of drill testing has proven the scale of the system, and is defining a wide range of exciting targets. With approximately 50% of assays still to come from the winter program, we look forward to substantial further news flow."

A plan view of the drill results is provided in Figure 1 and Figure 2 while a cross section of the Raja area is provided in Figure 3. Tables 1, 2 and 3 include all relevant collar and assay information. The winter drilling program is now complete, with 55 holes (PAL0027-PAL0082) totaling 11,056 metres of diamond drill core. With this release, assay results from 28 holes have been reported, while results are pending for an additional 26 holes.

PAL0075 (3.9 metres @ 1.3 g/t gold from 30.6 metres, 27.0 metres @ 3.3 g/t gold (no lower cut) from 64.0 metres, including 3.0 metres @ 2.9 g/t gold from 64 metres, 2.0 metres @ 5.6 g/t gold from 70.0 metres and 8.8 metres @ 7.5 g/t gold from 82.2 metres) displayed fine visible gold in schistose muscovite-quartz-pyrrhotite alteration at 83.5 metres and 90.8 metres (Photo 1). The hole was drilled in an opposite direction to PAL0048 (42.7 metres @ 1.0 g/t gold from 53.0 metres (Mawson News Release April 06 2017) to test for continuity and thickness of the gold mineralization. Together with PAL0062 (13.5 m @ 4.0 ppm gold from 180 metres), drilled 200 metres down plunge, a lobate or cigar shaped mineralized body has been broadly defined, that is at least 200 metres long and approximately 50 metres wide.

Mineralization appears to be structurally controlled, and is hosted by a variably silicified and brecciated grey to pink and red albitite to foliated quartz-muscovite-biotite-pyrrhotite schist. Quartz with minor tourmaline, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite forms veins and the matrix of breccias apparently synchronous with silicification within the mineralized rocks (for example, from 72 to 77 metres in PAL0075). Sulphide, quartz, muscovite and biotite are dominant in the mineralized rocks, with subordinate magnetite, tourmaline, scheelite, chlorite and calcite. Pyrrhotite predominates over pyrite with subordinate chalcopyrite noted where grades exceed 0.5 g/t Au. Pyrite becomes the dominant sulphide in lower grade intersections, and typically forms a halo around the pyrrhotite-bearing rocks. The host albitites, where oxidized (pale pink to red), contain <0.1 g/t Au and appear overprinted by the sulphide-gold event. All textures associated with gold mineralization overprint the metamorphic minerals and rock fabrics and are indicative of widespread hydrothermal fluid movement. Host rock compositional controls appear the key to formation of the best gold intersections in the Rajapalot project.

Assay results from drill holes PAL0042, 47, 51, 52, 53, 58, 63 and 66 were also received. Although most of these holes show consistent hydrothermal alteration, only minor or no significant gold mineralization was returned. Owing to the complex three dimensional structural controls and brecciation, combined with the stratabound nature of the albitic host rock, the true thickness of the mineralized interval is, at this stage, unknown.

Technical and Environmental Background

Two diamond drill rigs (K1 & K2) from the Arctic Drilling Company OY (ADC) with water recirculation and drill cuttings collection systems were used for the drill results reported here. Core diameter is NQ2 (50.6 mm) diameter core. Core recoveries were excellent and average close to 100% in fresh rock. After photographing and logging in Mawson's Rovaniemi facilities, core intervals averaging 1 metre for mineralized samples and 2 m for barren samples were cut in half at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) core facilities in Rovaniemi, Finland. The remaining half core is retained for verification and reference purposes. Analytical samples were transported by Mawson personnel or commercial transport from site to the CRS Minlab Oy facility in Kempele, Finland. Samples were prepared at Kempele and analyzed for gold at Raahe using the PAL1000 technique which involves grinding the sample in steel pots with abrasive media in the presence of cyanide, followed by measuring the gold in solution with flame AAS equipment. The QA/QC program of Mawson consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, duplicate samples by quartering the core, and blanks the within interpreted mineralized rock. Interlaboratory comparisons are also conducted by Mawson, using fire assay techniques. In addition, CRS inserts blanks and standards into the analytical process.

The qualified person for Mawson's Finnish projects, Dr. Nick Cook, President for Mawson and Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining Metallurgy has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.

About Mawson Resources Limited (TSX:MAW, FRANKFURT:MXR, PINKSHEETS:MWSNF)

Mawson Resources Limited is an exploration and development company. Mawson has distinguished itself as a leading Nordic Arctic exploration company with a focus on the flagship Rompas and Rajapalot gold projects in Finland.

Table 1: Collar Information from 2017 Winter drilling at the Palokas Prospect

Table 2: Better intersections from the 2017 Winter Drill Program reported. 0.5g/t Au over 1m lower cut (unless stated), no upper cut-off

*0.5g/t Au over 2m lower cut in PAL0043. True thickness

+Owing to the complex three dimensional structural controls and brecciation, combined with the stratabound nature of the albitic host rock, the true thickness of the mineralized interval is, at this stage, unknown for PAL0048, PAL0062 and PLA0075.

Table 3: Individual assay data from drill holes PAL0062, PAL0075
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - BACANORA MINERALS LTD. ("Bacanora" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:BCN)(AIM:BCN), the Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and development company focused on building an international lithium group, is pleased to announce the issue of 12,333,261 new common shares of no par value ("New Common Shares") to Hanwa Co., LTD ("Hanwa"), a leading Japan-based global trading company and one of the larger traders of battery chemicals in the Asian region. The New Common Shares represent 10.0% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company and are being issued at a price of 82.5 pence (approximately C$1.37)1 per share to raise approximately 10,175,000 (approximately C$16,896,000) for Bacanora pursuant to the Company's offtake agreement with Hanwa for battery grade lithium carbonate at its Sonora lithium project in Mexico (for details regarding the offtake agreement, please refer to the Company's news release dated 10 April 2017).

The equity placing to Hanwa was completed in reliance upon exemptions from applicable prospectus and registration requirements. Accordingly, any trades of securities issued under the placing that occur in Alberta or to a purchaser in Alberta would be subject to a hold period equal to four months and one day from the date of issuance (being September 3, 2017). Trades of securities occurring through the CREST system among non-Alberta residents will not be subject to this restriction. All of the shares acquired by Hanwa under the placing will be deposited under the CREST system.

ABOUT BACANORA:

Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and development company (TSX VENTURE:BCN)(AIM:BCN). The Company is exploring for, and developing a pipeline of international lithium projects, with a primary focus on the Sonora Lithium Project. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The Company is led by a team with lithium expertise and proven mine development, construction and operations experience.

The Sonora Lithium Project, which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established an Indicated Mineral Resource (in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")) of 4.5 million tonnes (LCE2) and 2.7 million tonnes Inferred.3 A Pre-Feasibility Study completed in Q1 20164 established Probable Mineral Reserve (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 2.1 million tonnes LCE and demonstrated the economics associated with becoming a 35,000 tpa lithium carbonate and 50,000 tpa SOP producer in Mexico.

In addition to the Sonora Lithium Project, the Company also has a 50% interest in the Zinnwald Lithium Project in southern Saxony, Germany. The Zinnwald Lithium Project is located in a granite hosted Sn/W/Li belt that has been mined historically for tin, tungsten and lithium at different times over the past 300 years. The strategic location of the Zinnwald Lithium Project allows immediate access to the German automotive and downstream lithium chemical industries.
By Kim Bo-eun



Seoul National University (SNU) students reoccupied the school's main building late Monday in their prolonged fight against the construction of a new campus in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.



The students broke into the building, guarded by school security staff, by shattering a window on the second floor with a hammer.



This followed school security staff removing 17 students staging a sit-in earlier in the day. Two students fainted in the scuffle and were taken to hospital.



Protesting the clash, around 200 students held a rally on campus in the evening and attempted to enter the school's main building.



Dozens of students succeeded in breaking into the second floor of the building, but security school staff locked the doors of the hallway there, preventing the students from moving to other floors.



The students of the nation's top school are demanding the nullification of an agreement between Siheung city government and the school to set up a new campus there.



The local government agreed to provide land and funds for construction, which is cited by students as a means to use the SNU campus to promote a development project in the area.



Students are taking issue with the commercial nature of the deal. They are also protesting that they were excluded from the decision-making process as the agreement was made behind closed doors. Students are calling for SNU President Sung Nak-in to step down over his role in the matter.



"We will never forget the incident which occurred yesterday afternoon," the student council said in a post on social media. "We will continue to fight for the resignation of President Sung and the nullification of the campus deal."



Earlier, students engaged in a 153 day sit-in which began in October and ended in March when school security staff were mobilized to break it up.



Construction of the new campus was set to begin in the latter half of this year in order to open it for the spring semester next year, but the implementation of the deal has become increasingly uncertain due to fierce student opposition.



The school was unavailable for comment.




By Park Si-soo



A South Korean diplomat has been convicted of taking indecent photos of women.

Seoul Western District Court fined the lawyer-turned-diplomat, 38, identified only as Kim, 70 million won and ordered him to take a 40-hour education program on sexual crimes.

He was apprehended on Aug. 5 last year for taking photos up the skirt of a woman on a bus. Police later confirmed that he had used his smartphone to take photos up women's skirts 16 times between April 2015 and August last year. One photo was taken in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lobby in Seoul.

"He committed the crime even knowing illegal nature of his behavior," said Judge Nam Hyun in a ruling statement. "The verdict was made after taking into consideration that he is deeply remorseful for his crime, has no criminal record and is committed to dealing with his problem."
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Thanks to advances in science and technology, the world is now on the cusp of eliminating several debilitating diseases that affect the worlds most disadvantaged populations. Many experts who have dedicated their careers to ending trachoma recently attended an international summit in Geneva (April 19-22, 2017) to discuss the progress to date. There a total of 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of the 18 identified by the World Health Organization being targeted by these international organizations and partnerships.

Trachoma is a leading infectious cause of blindness currently threatening about 185 million people in 51 developing countries. A smartphone-based data platform called Tropical Data, that was built on the success of the Global Trachoma Mapping Project, has been used towards the elimination of trachoma, as well as for many other treatable diseases. This platform stores data in the Cloud, and provides countries with real-time monitoring of trachoma prevalence that helps with making health policies and decisions.

As a background, for many years a topical preparation of tetracycline was used to treat trachoma. However, the ointment needed to be applied to the eyes twice a day for 6 weeks. In contrast, azithromycin is a single-dose oral systemic antibiotic that results in high tissue to serum concentrations. The concentration of azithromycin in phagocytes insures delivery to infected tissues, and therefore provides high, sustained tissue levels as well as high concentrations in tears, which works as well or better than the topical tetracycline ointment.

We bring to you an exclusive interview with Dr. Paul Emerson, the Director of the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI), and Julie Jenson, director of the global health donation program for Pfizer Corporate Responsibility. Dr. Emerson is a scientist and academic practitioner who is very interested in neglected tropical diseases, as well as monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of programs. Julie has been with Pfizer for 15 years and has a public health degree, which allows her to combine her manufacturing and supply chain technical background with global health initiatives. She currently leads Pfizers targeted international product donations that are directed to areas identified by the Trachoma Mapping Project.

Alice Ferng, Medgadget: How and when did the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) begin, and what was the motivation behind starting it?

Dr. Paul Emerson, International Trachoma Initiative: The International Trachoma Initiative began back in 1998. There was a series of operational research conducted in a number of countries that demonstrated that Pfizers product Zithromax (azithromycin) in a single oral dose was as effective as 6 weeks of tetracycline. Pfizer was persuaded and readily committed to start up the ITI in collaboration with a non-governmental organization (NGO) in order to facilitate the donation of the drug for the control, and now elimination of trachoma.

Medgadget: Dr. Emerson, what is the role of technology in eliminating disease? How does the use of technologies directly affect the bacterial infection that leads to trachoma?

Dr. Emerson: Pfizer is a fantastic partner with a high standard of quality, requiring rigorous documentation, investigation, and analysis for making the best informed decisions. In the past it could take up to 11 months to get from deploying the survey to conducting it, to completing all of the paperwork forms, to getting them back, and then double-entering them into a database. We wanted to accelerate that process so we shifted to a whole platform based on smartphones whereby the data is collected and immediately uploaded to the cloud. From the cloud its analyzed in a central place where the background analysis is performed automatically after it has been checked by a human being. This means that decisions on the donation of drugs, and progress of the disease can be made almost in real-time. In fact, there have been circumstances where the field team has been just finishing their work and just probably getting into their vehicles on the way home when the expert committee of the ITI has approved drugs for donation. Its really streamlined and accelerated the system while maintaining the highest of standards.

Julie Jenson, Pfizer: To give some background of where we were before the smartphone platform was being used for the mapping project  this project was started back in 1998, as Paul mentioned earlier, and has been continued steadily until now with the goal to eliminate trachoma by 2020. Here we were in 2012, and half of the trachoma endemic communities in the world we didnt know exactly where geographically half the the affected people with trachoma lived. 20 years ago, all of this mapping wouldve had to be done manually, going to all these communities diagnosing people, and figuring which villages had trachoma and which ones didnt, and then resorting to paperwork records. It wouldve taken years to compile and aggregate all that information that could be used to make decisions on how to implement this global elimination program. All of the mapping is still done manually, and thousands of healthcare workers will have to go out into the field to find people with trachoma and document. But in this case, that data is directly entered into smartphones and for the most part bypasses all paper records. The huge program that essentially surveyed 2 million people in the world involved records entered directly into the smartphone that was aggregated into the cloud database. The rationale for doing this really didnt have to do directly with Pfizerit had to do with the fact that globally, we needed to understand where people with trachoma were living so that we could figure out how to implement programs that would reach those people. That is when the government create a prospectus and would do a prospective survey and pharmaceutical companies would know places to target. This was the largest disease mapping project that has ever been undertaken.

Dr. Emerson: Yes, it has included 29 countries, 2.6 million people examined in just under 2 years. We often say that this is the largest disease mapping project that has ever taken place, and no one has contradicted us yet and several people have repeated it, so it must be true! *chuckles*

Medgadget: What was the model for developing the smartphone and cloud technology for the deployment of it? Were there technology gaps when deploying these technologies? I imagine that some countries didnt initially have the infrastructure for this type of field work. How was the training and execution process streamlined?

Dr. Emerson: These days, smartphones are almost ubiquitous. Even in Sub-saharan Africa, Central Republic of Africa, and Chad, people are already using Android devices. Typically, what we do is train the medical staff in surveying techniques. This involves flipping lids to check of active trachoma infection, which is simply and doesnt hurt the person. We would recruit younger people  undergraduates or people at the local colleges  and have one person do the clinical examination and the other would record the data into the phone.

Depending on the country, as theres no one-size-fits all with this type of thing, on 3 different continents  many of the phones were purchased locally and then stripped of the useful functional software, so that the incentive to use them for anything but the surveys was refused. An app that we developed was downloaded onto the phone, and has now also been used for many other purposes. While we say smartphones, we really mean any Android device. We hook onto a 3G connection if its available in the country or we wait for the phone to see a wireless signal to download. The probability that the phones will be dropped, run over by vehicles, or that surveyors will be caught in rain or other bad weather means that there is a risk that the data stored on SD cards will be lost. We actually do not lose any of the data after the phone is connected. Several phones were dropped, broken, immersed in water and so on. But everything was recoverable from the SD card, so the bit of built in redundancy was useful.

Medgadget: Can you tell me more about your smartphone application, whether it is open sourced or not, and how it is modified and distributed?

Dr. Emerson: We developed the app Tropical Data, which is flexible and nimble. It has been used to survey other diseases, and we want to make this management service freely available to countries for the monitoring and evaluation of their programs. Unfortunately, we cant pay for the surveys themselves, but through a funding coalition, we can provide the data service itself, including the training. This is therefore a living and developing system, which is going to support the elimination of disease. The access to the platform is without charge, but through us, so we are paying for the software development and data management. The code cannot be downloaded open source, but the survey can be modified upon request by us. Data can also be downloaded to a host country rather than our data server.

Medgadget: Ridding the world of trachoma by 2020 would be a very significant accomplishment. Do you think this is actually achievable in this timeline?

Julie Jenson: You are catching us at a meeting in Geneva, and that is the entire goal. We are discussing a lot of the NTDs, with the intent of targeting and eliminating 10 of the NTDs. We are very focused on getting as many countries as possible to eliminate trachoma by 2020 since there is so much momentum going with the trachoma initiative. Because of this mapping project, getting the data of where all the people are affected has really helped with the scale-up of donor funding to actually distribute medicine and to do all of the things that need to happen in order for a country to achieve elimination. This also allows for Pfizer to scale-up our drug donation. Everyone is kind of working at scale, and its just a matter of continuing to detect and target gaps, and many countries are on track to meet the goal by 2020.

Dr. Emerson: In a perfect world, the blindness of trachoma can be eliminated by 2020. Of course, the problem that we face is that the world is not perfect and by the time we get to 2020, our projections show that we should have cleared 70 to 95% of the known burden from when the scale-up started in 2011. We have made tremendous progress. There will be pockets of disease, and they will be unfortunately where there are the most disadvantaged people  those currently afflicted by war and natural disasters, in addition to man-made disasters. Those populations will be the most vulnerable and will be the focus of attention beyond 2020.

Medgadget: How do you target the areas that most need the help, and do those countries provide proposals?

Julie Jenson: There is a concerted effort in making sure that countries that are the most endemic are being targeted. That there is funding from donors and support.

Dr. Emerson: In order to qualify a drug, countries have to demonstrate that there is trachoma issue that needs to be controlled. This is done through rigorous epidemiological surveys. I think that Julie is underselling Pfizers commitment because they are making the drug available and providing access and service to everyone who is at disadvantage with trachoma. Because the most endemic areas will take longest, we encourage the country programs and their partners to focus on the most endemic areas first and to get them on board. These areas may take 5 to 7 years of effort to clear, and the less endemic areas areas are recruited, which can take 1 to 3 years for elimination. It is very important to understand that our target is every man, woman, and child, who is at risk for blindness from trachoma on the planet. Everyone. Our target is to eliminate the disease. To put that into perspective, we are talking about reduction of disease to zero, everywhere, for everyone, forever.

Medgadget: Can you tell me about your drug Zithromax (azithromycin), the dosing, and its effectiveness?

Dr. Emerson: Having established the therapeutic target dose for trachoma , we give all adults (even ones over 50) a single oral dose of 1 gram of azithromycin. We give children a dose according to an algorithm that takes into account their height per weight that works very well across the countries. The drug is donated in the context of a comprehensive strategy. It is highly effective at clearing individual infection if its present. But we also want to reduce transmission by reducing the infectious reservoir through treatment by promoting hand washing, face washing, and environmental sanitation. This is the promotion of access to water, toilets, which reduces the attraction of eye-infecting flies that spread the disease. The trachoma control program differs from many others, in that it is an integrated, comprehensive strategy that aims to provide the curative as well as the preventative solution that will sustain the program in the long term.

Julie Jenson: Fundamentally the disease is related to the lack of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene, and people living in very under-resourced settings. Therefore, the real focus is on the spatial cleanliness and environmental improvement. The antibiotic has a role as part of the strategy.

Medgadget: Do you have other partners that target this since the environmental issues are a whole different type of problem to solve?

Dr. Emerson: Pfizer and ITI are two members of the international coalition for trachoma control, where 60 different organizations work together to implement the strategy for trachoma control over 61 countries at the moment.

Julie Jenson: In total, the efforts include over 100 organizations, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, and countries themselves, since that is the way these programs are implemented. While we have NGOs involved to implement the program, it is really a country on the program. ITI is active in 35 countries, and there are trachoma programs in 61 countries. The real implementation is happening at the ministry of health level of the countries, and it is really the local workers, volunteers, staff, and communities that are implementing this program. It is not even directly ITI oftentimes.

Dr. Emerson: Yes, thats right. The governments are the driving force.

Medgadget: What other neglected tropical diseases can be targeted by this model?

Julie Jenson: We are at the neglected tropical disease summit talking about a lot of these NTDs. 10 of these diseases are targeted by preventative drug therapy. We are celebrating the 5 year anniversary of what is called the London declaration. This is where all of these players (governments, NGOs, donors, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, etc.) have come together to support the control, elimination, and eradication of at least 2 of these diseases by 2020. There are 18 NTDs under the WHO definition in total, and 10 diseases of them have drug donations.

Medgadget: I understand Pfizer is helping fund this social medicine cause. How do people usually approach you with proposals, and how do you decide which projects to fund? What is Pfizers role in the International Trachoma Initiative? Who are other major players in the ITI that have made championing this cause possible?

Julie Jenson: That is the great thing about this partnership  the London Declaration includes all of these players. We are just one of many major peer pharmaceutical companies that are involved in this. We all play very similar roles in different diseases. There are many actors, and we are all very proud that we are all working together amongst our peers to share information, benchmarking, networking groups to best address areas and increase our overall impact on these diseases and goals. This is a great example of public-private partnership and a call to action to address similar goals and targets with everyone playing to their individual strengths.

Dr. Emerson: I think that the level of support is unprecedented. The multi-national efforts of everyone and unprecedented scaled up donations from so many players makes this a golden age of collaboration.

Medgadget: What have been the major difficulties and setbacks in launching a project of this scale?

Julie Jenson: We can take a step back to the mapping project. The trachoma mapping stage played a really pivotal role in allowing the scale-up of the global program.

Dr. Emerson: The main issues that the data collection teams faced were security and environmental related. We chose to survey at random from a list of all of the villages in a prospective district. In some cases, these places would require something like an 8 hour walk from as far as a car could be taken, where the volunteer would conduct the survey at the village and spend the night there then walk back the next day. There were therefore considerable environmental limitations where people would need to scale a mountain, cross rivers, and mire through mud, in some of the most difficult terrain on the planet. The other issue was in security, where people may put themselves in harms way, such as during unstable political disputes. There are places such as South Sudan and Mali where it has been just impossible to get out and do the survey work needed because the areas are so insecure.

Medgadget: What are anticipated issues that will arise in the near future with the massive amounts of data being collected? Is there a plan for parsing out that data?

Dr. Emerson: Each set of data collected belongs to the respective government. Each government has been very keen to use the data. The data is collected for the purpose of using it for the programming and theres not a single case that the data has not been put to use in decision-making or an application for a drug or funding. Per country, theres often around 1,500 separate surveyed districts. Of the district level data collected, it has not been possible to use all of this data yet and this will require additional resources for the implementation of data in all the areas surveyed.

Additional related links:

International Trachoma Initiative Homepage

Pfizer: International Trachoma Initiative

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by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, May 2, 2017

A federal appellate court has sided with CNN in a dispute over whether its iTunes app violated a federal privacy law by allegedly sharing data about consumers with the analytics company Bango.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that people who download CNN's iTunes app aren't "subscribers" to the service. Therefore, the court ruled, the company didn't violate the Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits video companies from sharing personally identifiable information about "subscribers," "renters," or "purchasers."

The decision upheld a trial judge's dismissal of iPhone user Ryan Perry's class-action complaint against CNN.

"Perry is not a subscriber of CNN because he has not demonstrated an ongoing commitment or relationship with CNN," the judges wrote in a 15-page opinion issued late last week.

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The battle dates to 2013, when Perry alleged that CNN sent his iPhone's Media Access Control address -- 12 random numbers and letters -- to Bango. (The year after Perry filed the lawsuit, Apple began restricting third parties from accessing MAC addresses as identifiers.)

He argued that Bango was able to combine the MAC address with other information in order to figure out users' identities.

A trial judge dismissed the case, ruling that Perry wasn't a "subscriber" to CNN, and that the app didn't disclose personally identifiable information about him.

Perry then asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to revive the lawsuit, arguing that the trial judge wrongly decided both of the key issues.

Among other arguments, he said he should have been given the opportunity to reformulate his complaint to include allegations related to his cable TV subscription. Specifically, he contended that he should be considered a subscriber to CNN because his cable video subscription enabled him to access live TV on the app.

The 11th Circuit judges rejected that position. "Perrys choice to watch CNN live on the CNN App (after logging in) rather than on his television does not somehow convert him into a subscriber of CNN," the judges wrote. "Outside of downloading the CNN App and perhaps acknowledging in the app that he has a cable television subscription, there is no indication that Perry has engaged CNN in any other way in order to gain access to this exclusive feature."

The appellate judges didn't rule on whether MAC addresses should be considered personally identifiable.

In 2015, the same appellate court sided with the Cartoon Network in a similar dispute over whether the company's app violated the federal video privacy rule. The judges in that case also ruled that people who downloaded the Cartoon Network's app shouldn't be considered subscribers.

But last year a different court, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, revived a lawsuit accusing Gannett of violating the video privacy law by allegedly transmitting data about people who downloaded USA Today's app. The judges in that case found that a consumer who downloaded the free app was a subscriber because he had to provide Gannett with information, including his Android device's ID, to use the app. That matter was dismissed earlier this year, after the Android user who sued Gannett withdrew the complaint.
by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, May 2, 2017

M&Ms is sponsoring several Red Nose Day promotions to help raise donations for programs that aid children living in poverty.

For the third consecutive year, M&Ms will donate $1 million to the Red Nose Day Fund to help programs around the world that support childrens health, education and safety.

The Mars North America brand is also sponsoring multiple fundraising promotions  some in partnership with Walgreens.

M&Ms kicked off its promotions with a flash mob in New York City on May 1.

In the lead-up to the third annual Red Nose Day America, set for May 25, the candy brand will roll out a special vending machine at Walgreens stores in select markets. The machine dispenses coupons to raise donations and awareness in exchange for someone making a funny face, doing a silly dance or telling a joke.

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The vending machine will be at a Walgreens in Los Angeles on May 4, Chicago on May 12, and New York on May 22.

The brand is encouraging shoppers outside these markets to take selfies or perform jokes or funny sketches wearing red noses from Walgreens and post them to their social channels, tagged with #NosesOn. Some of the posts will be featured in a co-branded M&Ms/Walgreens SmileNosesOn digital gallery. (Both Walgreens and Duane Reade stores across the U.S. are selling red noses for $1, with all profits going to the Red Nose Day Fund.)

On May 25 itself, M&Ms and Walgreens will be sponsors for three hours of NBC programming culminating in a Red Nose Day Special at 10 pm ET/PT. Fundraising efforts will be made throughout the programming.

During the programming, M&Ms will debut a new 60-second spot showing Mars employees helping children in need.

Leading up to the special at 10 pm ET/PT, NBC will air special show episodes: "Celebrity Ninja Warrior for Red Nose Day" and "Running Wild with Bear Grylls for Red Nose Day. As the challenge sponsor of for the "Ninja" special, M&M's will make a donation to the Red Nose Day Fund for every obstacle the celebrities overcome.

In addition, Kyle Busch, who drives the No. 18 M&Ms car for NASCAR, will race the car with a special Red Nose Day paint scheme at the Kansas Speedway on May 13. M&M'S will provide attendees at pre-race events with Red Noses, and ask fans to take a #NosesOn super selfie after a Q&A with Busch.

Red Nose Day has raised over $1 billion globally since the campaign's launch in the U.K. in 1988. Red Nose Day came to the U.S. in 2015, where it has raised more than $60 million over the past two years for domestic and international programs.
House Bill (HB) 333 is making its way through the Missouri General Assembly despite the suffering it would cause mesothelioma victims. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Bruce DeGroot and would force asbestos plaintiffs to disclose specific details about when they filed claims against a trust within 30 days.

The specific details include how much compensation the plaintiff has or hopes to receive from trusts. According to Susan DeGhelder, it would keep victims and their families in mesothelioma lawsuits from receiving proper compensation.

DeGhelders husband Joe DeGhelder died of mesothelioma two years ago. He was exposed to asbestos serving as a Navy electrician. In Vietnam, he was always working with equipment that contained asbestos without wearing any protective gear. Almost one in three mesothelioma victims are veterans.

Mr. DeGhelder was diagnosed after a bad fall. Despite physical therapy, the pain continued to grow. An MRI was performed, then a CAT scan, followed by a biopsy from the lining of his lungs to confirm. He was gone within a year.

I was a nurse for 46 years and Ive seen a lot of sick people. But nothing like this. Joe was in severe pain and literally wasted away, said Ms. DeGhelder. I watched the strong man Id married grow weaker by the day.

Ms. DeGhelder says, HB 333 would make it much harderif not impossiblefor mesothelioma victims to get their day in court. It would give the companies that make these dangerous products the ability to run the clock out until victims like Joe die, denying justice to families like mine.

According to St. Louis University Law Professor Thomas Stewart, The city isnt a chosen venue for asbestos filings because it is plaintiff-friendly, but rather because judges there are known for their expertise and efficiency.

St. Louis litigated tobacco cases and those tobacco cases resulted in defense verdicts. Why didnt we get the judicial hellhole designation when that happened? asked Stewart.

Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arizona, and Utah have also passed asbestos claims transparency legislation. Missouri would be the 13th state.

If I could tell the members of the General Assembly one thing, it would be this: Its time to stand on the side of Missouri veterans who are suffering, said Ms. DeGheder. People like Joe fought for you. Its time you return the favor.
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Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. (NYSE: HTA) is the largest dedicated owner and operator of MOBs in the United States, comprising approximately 25.1 million square feet of GLA, with $7.4 billion invested primarily in MOBs. HTA provides real estate infrastructure for the integrated delivery of healthcare services in highly-desirable locations. Investments are targeted to build critical mass in 20 to 25 leading gateway markets that generally have leading university and medical institutions, which translates to superior demographics, high-quality graduates, intellectual talent and job growth. The strategic markets HTA invests in support a strong, long-term demand for quality medical office space. HTA utilizes an integrated asset management platform consisting of on-site leasing, property management, engineering and building services, and development capabilities to create complete, state of the art facilities in each market. This drives efficiencies, strong tenant and health system relationships, and strategic partnerships that result in high levels of tenant retention, rental growth and long-term value creation. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, HTA has developed a national brand with dedicated relationships at the local level. Founded in 2006 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, HTA has produced attractive returns for its stockholders that have outperformed the US REIT index.
Flowserve Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD). The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines. The FCD segment provides engineered and industrial valve and automation solutions, including isolation and control valves, actuation, controls, and related equipment, as well as equipment maintenance services for flow control systems, including advanced diagnostics, repair, installation, commissioning, retrofit programs, and field machining capabilities. This segment's products are used to control, direct, and manage the flow of liquids, gases, and fluids. The company primarily serves oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceuticals, power generation, and water management markets, as well as general industries, including mining and ore processing, pulp and paper, food and beverage, and other smaller applications. The company distributes its products through direct sales, distributors, and sales representatives. Flowserve Corporation was incorporated in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
EPAM Systems, Inc. provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, and maintenance with private, public, and mobile infrastructures for application, database, network, server, storage, and systems operations management, as well as monitoring, incident notification, and resolution services; and maintenance and support services. It also provides operation solutions comprising integrated engineering practices and smart automation; and optimization solutions that include software application testing, test management, automation, and consulting services to enable customers enhance their existing software testing and quality assurance practices, as well as other testing services that identify threats and close loopholes to protect its customers' business systems from information loss. In addition, the company offers business, experience, technology, data, and technical advisory consulting services; and digital and service design solutions, which comprise strategy, design, creative, and program management services, as well as physical product development, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality. It serves the financial services, travel and consumer, software and hi-tech, business information and media, life sciences and healthcare, and other industries. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
The following companies are subsidiares of Roper Technologies: AC Analytical Controls B.V., AC Analytical Controls Holding B.V., AC Analytical Controls Services B.V., Abel Pump, Acton Research, Acumen PM LLC, Aderant Canada Company, Aderant Company, Aderant Holdings Inc., Aderant International Holdings LLC, Aderant Legal (UK) Limited, Aderant Legal Holdings (AUS) Pty Ltd, Aderant Legal Holdings (NZ) ULC, Aderant Legal Holdings Inc., Aderant North America Inc., Aderant Parent Holdings Inc., Advanced Sensors Limited, Advanced Sensors Ltd., AiCambridge Ltd., Alpha Holdings of Delaware I LLC, Alpha Holdings of Delaware II LLC, Alpha Technologies B.V., Alpha Technologies GmbH, Alpha Technologies Japan LLC, Alpha Technologies Services LLC, Alpha Technologies U.K., Alpha Technologies s.r.o., Alpha Trust Corporation, Alpha UK Holdings LLC, American LegalNet Inc, Amot Controls Corporation, Amot Controls GmbH, Amot/Metrix Investment Company Inc., Amphire Solutions Inc., Amtech Systems (Hong Kong) Limited, Amtech Systems LLC, Amtech World Corporation, Antek Instruments, Archisnapper BV, Ascension Technology Corporation, Assureweb Limited, Atlantic Health Partners Inc., Atlas Database Software Corp., Avitru, Bellefield Systems, BillBlast, C/S Solutions Inc., CBORD Holdings Corp., CBORD Holdings Corporation, CIVCO Holdings Inc., CIVCO Medical Solutions B.V., Centurion Research Solutions LLC, Chalwyn Limited, Civco Holding Inc., Civco Medical Instruments Co. Inc., Clackamas Pump LLC, CliniSys Group, CliniSys Group Limited, Clinisys Scotland Limited, Clinisys Solutions Limited, Cointec Ingenieros y Consultores S.L., Commerce Pump LLC, Compressor Controls (Beijing) Corporation Ltd., Compressor Controls Corporation B.V., Compressor Controls Corporation Middle East, Compressor Controls Corporation S.r.l., Compressor Controls LLC, Compressor Controls Mauritius Ltd., Compressor Controls Pty Ltd., Compressor Controls Saudi Arabia LLC, ComputerEase Software, ConceptShare, ConstructConnect, ConstructConnect Canada Inc., ConstructConnect Inc., Cornell Pump Company, DAT Solutions LLC, DATSolutions Private Limited, DCMH Group Holdings Inc., DCMH Group Holdings LLC, DCMH Holdings Inc., DI Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., DI Dutch Holdings LLC, DI Hong Kong Limited, Data Innovations, Data Innovations Canada Ltd., Data Innovations Cooperatief U.A., Data Innovations Europe S.A., Data Innovations LLC, Data Innovations Latin America Ltda, Dawning Technologies LLC, Deltek, Deltek Ajera Inc., Deltek Asia Pacific (HK) Limited, Deltek Australia Pty Ltd., Deltek Danmark A/S, Deltek France SAS, Deltek GB Limited, Deltek GmbH, Deltek Inc., Deltek Nederland B.V., Deltek Netherlands B.V., Deltek Norge AS, Deltek Sverige AB, Deltek Systems (Canada) Inc., Deltek Systems (Colorado) Inc., Deltek Systems (Philippines) Ltd., Deltek TNSCore Holdings LLC, Deltek WST LLC, Dominion I Inc., Duncan Technologies, Dynamco Inc., Dynamic Instruments Inc., Dynisco Enterprises GmbH, Dynisco Enterprises LLC, Dynisco Europe GmbH, Dynisco Holding GmbH, Dynisco Instruments LLC, Dynisco Instruments S.a.r.l., Dynisco LLC, Dynisco Parent Inc., Dynisco S.r.l., Dynisco Viatran LLC, Dynisco Viatran (M) Sdn Bhd, Dynisco-Viatran Instrument Sdn Bhd, EPSI, FMS Purchasing & Services Inc., FSI Holdings Inc., FTI Flow Technology Inc., Flow Technology, Fluid Metering, Fluid Metering Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink IT India Private Limited, Foundry, Foundry Visionmongers (Ireland) Limited, Freight Market Intelligence Consortium, Gatan, GeneInsight Inc., Getloaded Corporation, HRsmart Canada Inc., HRsmart France SAS, HRsmart Germany GmbH, HRsmart Inc., HRsmart International, HRsmart International Holdings LLC, HRsmart Mexico, HRsmart SA (Pty) Ltd., HRsmart Talent Management Solutions Europe Limited, HRsmart Ventures LLC, Handshake Software Inc., Handshake Software Inc., Hansco Automatisering B.V., Hansen Technologies, Hansen Technologies Corporation, Harbour Holding Corp., Hardy Process Solutions, Horizon Lab Systems LLC, Horizon Software International LLC, IDS, INPUT Inc., IPA Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., ISL Finance SAS, ISL Holding SAS, ISL Scientifique de Laboratorie - ISL S.A.S., Impact Financial Systems, Industrial Products Investment Company, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Inovonics Corporation, Instill Corporation, IntelliTrans Limited, Intellitrans LLC, Intellitrans Sweden AB, JLT Mobile Computers Inc., Job Access LTDA, Laser App Inc., Link Logistics Holding LLC, Loadlink Technologies Corporation, Logitech, Logitech Limited, Lumenera Corporation, MASD, MED Professional Services LLC, MEDTEC Inc., MEDTEC LLC, MHA Long Term Care Network Inc., MHA Long Term Care Services Inc., MIPS Austria GesmbH, MIPS Deutschland GmbH, MIPS France Sarl, MIPS Nederland B.V., MIPS Schweiz AG, MIPS Software Iberica SL, MPR Readers Inc., Managed Health Care Associates Inc., Media Cybernetics L.P., Medical Information Professional Systems NV, Medina Acquisition LLC, Metrix Instrument Co. L.P., NDI Europe GmbH, NDI Holding Corp., Navigator Group Purchasing Inc., Neptune Technology Group (Canada) Co., Neptune Technology Group Holdings Inc., Neptune Technology Group Inc., Neptune Technology Group Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Neptune Technology Group Services Inc., Nippon Roper K.K., Northern Digital Inc., Omega Legal Systems Inc., On Center Software LLC, Onvia Inc., PAC (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PAC Denmark ApS, PAC GmbH, PAC Instruments (Thailand) Company Limited, PAC Instruments Asia PTE. Ltd., PB Bidco Limited, PB Holdco Limited, PB Midco Limited, PB Topco Limited, PGP UK Limited, PMC/Beta, Petroleum Analyzer, Petroleum Analyzer Company L.P., Petrotech, Phase Analyzer Company Ltd., Photometrics, PowerPlan, PowerPlan Canada ULC, PowerPlan Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Inc., PowerPlan Intermediate Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Operations ANZ Pty Ltd, PowerPlan Operations Ltd., Princeton Instruments, Project Aloha Merger Sub Inc., Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corporation, Project Torque Intermediate Holdings Inc., Project Viking Holdings Inc., Project Viking Intermediate LLC, QSC 1208 Limited, QSC 1209 Limited, Quantitative Imaging Corporation, RF IDeas, RF IDeas Inc., RI Marketing India Private Limited, RIL Holding Limited, RMT Inc., RT Merger Sub Inc., Rebate Tracking Group LLC, Redlake Imaging Corporation, Resonant Software Inc., Roda Deaco Valve Inc., Roper Acquisitions Holdings Inc., Roper Brasil Comercio E Promocao De Productos E Servicos LTDA, Roper Canada Holdings LP, Roper Canada UK Limited, Roper Denmark UK Limited, Roper EUR Pte. Ltd., Roper Engineering s.r.o., Roper Europe GmbH, Roper GM Denmark Holdings ApS, Roper Germany GmbH, Roper Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Roper Holdings Limited, Roper IH LLC, Roper Industrial Products Investment Company, Roper Industries Denmark ApS, Roper Industries Deutschland GmbH, Roper Industries Inc., Roper Industries Limited, Roper Industries Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Roper Industries Mauritius Ltd., Roper Industries UK Limited, Roper International Holding Inc., Roper International Holding Limited, Roper International Holding SCS, Roper LLC, Roper Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.l., Roper Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Roper Middle East Ltd. FZCO, Roper NL1 UK Limited, Roper NL2 UK Limited, Roper Operations Company I LLC, Roper Operations Company II LLC, Roper Pte. Ltd., Roper Pump Company, Roper Scientific B.V., Roper Scientific SAS, Roper Scot LP, Roper Singapore Holding LLC, Roper Southeast Asia LLC, Roper Swiss Finance GmbH, Roper T1 LLC, Roper T1000 Corp., Roper T2 LLC, Roper Tech. Middle East Ltd. FZCO, Roper Technologies (Ireland) Limited, Roper Technologies (Scot) LP, Roper UK Investments Limited, Roper UK Ltd., Roper-Mex L.P., Ropintassco Holdings L.P., SHP Group Holdings Inc., SIRA LLC, Shanghai Roper Industries Trading Co. Ltd., Sinmed Holding International B.V., Societe de Distribution de Logiciels Medicaux, SoftWriters Inc., Softwriters Holdings, Softwriters Holdings Inc., Sohnar Pty Ltd, Star Purchasing Services LLC, Strata Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., Strata Decision Technologies LLC, Strata Decision Technology LLC, Strata Parallel II Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker 2 Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs L.L.C., Struers, Struers (Shanghai) International Trading Ltd., Struers A/S, Struers GmbH, Struers Inc., Struers K.K., Struers Limited, Struers SAS, Sunquest Europe Limited, Sunquest Holdings Inc., Sunquest Information Systems (Europe) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (India) Private Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (International) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems Inc., Sunquest Information Systems Pty Ltd, TLP Holdings LLC, Team TSI Corporation, Technolog Group Limited, Technolog Holdings Limited, Technolog Holdings Ltd., Technolog Limited, Technolog SARL, The CBORD Group Inc., The Foundry Topco No.2 Limited, The Foundry USCo Inc., The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd., The Tidewater Healthcare Shared Services Group Inc., The Washington Management Group Inc., Torque Acquisition Holdco Inc., Transcore Atlantic Inc., Transcore CNUS Inc., Transcore Holdings Inc., Transcore ITS LLC, Transcore LP, Transcore Nova Scotia Corporation, Transcore Partners LLC, Trinity Integrated Systems Limited, Trinity Integrated Systems Ltd., UHF Purchasing Services LLC, Union Square Software (International) Limited, Union Square Software Inc., Union Square Software Limited, Union Square Software Pty, United Controls Group Inc., Uson L.P., Uson Limited, Utilitec Limited, Utilitec Services Limited, Utility Data Services Limited, Verathon Canada Holdings Inc., Verathon Holdings (Delaware) Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Medical (Australia) Pty Limited, Verathon Medical (Canada) ULC, Verathon Medical (Europe) B.V., Verathon Medical (France) SARL, Verathon Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Verathon Medical (Japan) K.K., Verathon Medical (UK) Ltd., Vertafore, Vertafore Canada Inc., Vertafore Inc., Vertafore India Private Limited, Viastar Services LP, Viatran Corporation, WELIS, Walter Herzog GmbH, WorkBook APAC Ltd., Workbook Software A/S, Zetec (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zetec Canada Ltd., Zetec France, Zetec Inc., Zetec Korea Inc., Zetec Services Inc., iPipeline, iPipeline (TCP) Limited, iPipeline Canada Inc, iPipeline Co. Ltd., iPipeline Holdings Inc, iPipeline Inc, iPipeline Limited, iSqFt Holdings Inc., iSqFt Parent Corporation, iSqFt Sub Inc., iTradeNetwork Inc., and mySBX Corporation.

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The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United states and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers workers' compensation, commercial automobile and property, general liability, commercial multi-peril, employers' liability, public and product liability, professional indemnity, marine, aviation, onshore and offshore energy, construction, terrorism, personal accident, and kidnap and ransom insurance products. This segment operates through select accounts, which serve small businesses; commercial accounts that serve mid-sized businesses; national accounts, which serve large companies; and national property and other that serve large and mid-sized customers, commercial trucking industry, and agricultural businesses, as well as markets and distributes its products through brokers, wholesale agents, and program managers. The Bond & Specialty Insurance segment provides surety, fidelity, management and professional liability, and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services through independent agencies and brokers. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals through independent agencies and brokers. The Travelers Companies, Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.
The following companies are subsidiares of WPP: 24/7 Real Media UK Ltd., 41?29! Media Internet, AD Venture Worldwide Inc, AKQA, AKQA Denmark A/S, AKQA GmbH, AKQA Inc., AKQA Limited, AQuest, Acceleration, Acceleration eMarketing Inc, All Global, Always (Shanghai) Marketing Services Co Ltd, Arctouch LLC, BCW LLC, BWR PR, Beijing Benpao Century Technology Development Co. Ltd., Benenson Strategy Group LLC, Black and Deen, Blast Radius, Blast Radius Inc., Bomtempo Anahory e Ralha, Bottle Rocket, Bottle Rocket LLC, Brindfors Design AB, CB Associes S.A., CMI Media, CMI Media LLC, CONEXANCE MD, CT Finances SA, Catalyst Online LLC, Cavendish Square Holding BV, Center Partners, Cerebra, Cockpit Holdings Limited, Cognifide, Commarco, Commarco GmbH 120274, Cordiant Communications Group Limited, Dawson Integrated Marketing Communications, DeepLocal Inc., Design Bridge, Design Bridge Limited, Dewey Square Group, Ecommera, EffectiveUI, Enduring Organisation, Entreprise de Communications Tank Inc., Essence, Essence Global Group Limited, Essence Global LLC, Eurosem Belgium SA/NV, F.biz, FAST - Financial Administration Solutions & Technologies Srl, Finecast Limited, Finsbury LLC, Forward Limited, GREY Dusseldorf GmbH, GTB Agency LLC, GTB Shanghai Advertising Co. Ltd, GTB Stat LLC, GWE LLC, Geometry Global Japan GK, Geometry Global LLC, Geometry Global Limited, Glendinning Management Consultants, Go Direct Marketing Inc., Gorilla LLC, Grey, Grey Advertising Limited, Grey Global Group LLC, Group M France SAS, Group M Worldwide LLC, Group SJR LLC, GroupM (Shanghai) Advertising Co. Ltd, GroupM Argentina Trading S.A., GroupM B.V., GroupM Chile SAC, GroupM Competence Center GmbH, GroupM Denmark A/S, GroupM Japan KK, GroupM Limited, GroupM Market Advertising Co. Ltd., GroupM Media India Pvt Ltd, GroupM Pakistan (Private) Ltd, GroupM Singapore Pte Ltd, GroupM Srl, GroupM UK Digital Limited, Guangzhou Dawson Marketing Communication Co. Ltd, H-ART, HERING SCHUPPENER Consulting Strategieberatung fur Kommunikation GmbH, HeathWallace, Hill & Knowlton Limited, Hill and Knowlton Strategies LLC, Hirschen Group GmbH, Hogarth California LLC, Hogarth Worldwide Inc., Hogarth Worldwide Limited, Icon Brand Navigation Group, IntelliQuest Information Group Inc, International Meetings & Science LLC, J Walter Thompson Middle East and North Africa E.C., J Walter Thompson Publicidade Ltda, J.Walter Thompson Bridge Advertising Co. Ltd., John Street Inc., KBM Group LLC, KR Media UK Limited, KR Wavemaker SAS, Kantar TNS, Kinetic Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Kinetic Worldwide Limited, LLC GroupM, LLC Wavemaker, Landor LLC, M Media Group Pty Ltd, M2 Digital Inc., Marketeers Vietnam, Marketing Direct LLC, Marketing Perspectives Limited, Mather Direct GmbH, Maxus Communications (UK) Limited, Media Club SpA, Media Insight SNC, MediaCom - Warszawa Sp.z.o.o., MediaCom AS (Norway), MediaCom Agentur fur Media-Beratung GmbH, MediaCom Communications Pvt Ltd, MediaCom Danmark A/S, MediaCom Group Limited, MediaCom Istanbul Medya Hizmetleri A.S., MediaCom TWENTYFIVE GmbH, Mediacom AG, Mediacom Australia Pty Limited, Mediacom Canada, Mediacom Iberia SA, Mediacom Italia Srl, Mediacom LLC, Mediacom Middle East & North Africa Holding W.L.L., Mediacom North Limited, Mediacom Paris SA, Mediacom Worldwide LLC, Mediaedge:CIA Worldwide Limited, Mediaedge:cia India Pvt Ltd, Medialets, Memac Ogilvy & Mather Holding Inc, Mind Share Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., MindShare Canada, MindShare GmbH, MindShare Hong Kong Limited, MindShare Polska Sp. z.o.o., Mindshare Media UK Limited, Mindshare SA, Mindshare South Africa (Gauteng) (Proprietary) Limited, Mindshare SpA, Mindshare Spain SA, Mindshare USA LLC, Mirum LLC, Mirum S.A. de C.V., Motion Content Group Limited, OPR AGENCY PTY LIMITED, Ogilvy & Mather Brasil Comunicacao Ltda, Ogilvy & Mather Group (Holdings) Limited, Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd, Ogilvy & Mather S.A.S, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide LLC, Ogilvy Australia Pty Ltd, Ogilvy Commonhealth Worldwide LLC, Ogilvy Public Relations GmbH, Ogilvy Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ootworld, OpenMindWorld LLC, P Four Consultancy, PTR Comunicacoes Ltda, Penn Schoen & Berland Associates LLC, Penn Schoen Berland, Pep LLC, Plano.Trio Comunicacao, Potato London Ltd, Premiere Group Holdings Limited, Prism Sport + Entertainment, Promotion Execution Partners LLC, Public Strategies Inc., Quasar Media Private, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Quirk, RLM Finsbury, Rasor Holdings LLC, Ray + Keshavan Design Associates, Real Media, Red Fuse New York LLC, Regional Management Group SAS, Russell Square Holding BV, Salmon Limited, Salmon Ltd, Sandtable, Scangroup, Set Management LLC, Shanghai Easycom Advertising Co. Ltd., Shanghai Linjie Marketing Services Co. Ltd., Shanghai Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Ltd, Shire Hall Group, Spafax Airline Network Limited, Spafax Networks LLC, Stickleback Limited, Sudler & Hennessey LLC, Superunion Limited, Swift + POSSIBLE LLC, Syzygy AG, TMARC, Taxi, Taxi Inc., Team Garage LLC, The Brand Union, The Cocktail Global S.L., The Finsbury Group Limited, The Glover Park Group, The Glover Park Group LLC, The GroupM ESP Clever Company S.R.L. de C.V., The Lacek Group LLC, The Marketing & Communication Agency, The Ogilvy Group LLC, The Performers Group, The Young & Rubicam Group of Companies ULC, Triad Digital Media LLC, Twist Image, Two Circles, VML LLC, VMLY&R, WPP (Thailand) Ltd, WPP 2005 Limited, WPP AMC Holdings, WPP AUNZ, WPP Beans Limited, WPP Brands (UK) Limited, WPP Brands Development Holdings (UK) Limited, WPP Brands Holdings (UK) Limited, WPP Deutschland Holding GmbH & Co. KG, WPP Finance 2013, WPP Finance 2015 Limited, WPP Finance Co. Limited, WPP Finance SA, WPP Group (UK) Ltd, WPP Group Canada Finance Inc., WPP Group U.S. Finance LLC, WPP Group USA Inc., WPP Health Limited, WPP Holdings Spain S.L., WPP Jubilee Limited, WPP Luxembourg Gamma Three Sarl, WPP Luxembourg Sarl, WPP Luxembourg Turris S.a r.l., WPP Marketing Communications (Hong Kong) Limited, WPP Marketing Communications Germany GmbH, WPP Media Ltd, WPP Montagu Square LLC, WPP Mexico S.R.L. de C.V., WPP Ottawa Ltd, WPP Samson Limited, WPP Sigma Limited, WPP Sphinx Limited, WPP Square one B.V, WPP UK Germany Holdings, WPP Unicorn Limited, WPPIH 2001 Inc., Warwicks, Wavemaker A/S, Wavemaker Australia Pty Ltd, Wavemaker BV, Wavemaker Canada ULC, Wavemaker Czech s.r.o., Wavemaker Global LLC, Wavemaker Global Limited, Wavemaker GmbH, Wavemaker Hong Kong Limited, Wavemaker Hungary Kft, Wavemaker Italia S.r.l., Wavemaker Limited, Wavemaker MENA FZ LLC, Wavemaker Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Wavemaker Publicidad Spain S.L., Wavemaker Sp.z.o.o, Wavemaker Taiwan Ltd, Wavemaker  Servicos Publicitarios Ltda, Who Digital, Witgoud Investments B.V., Worldwide Mediacom Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., Wunderman A/S, Wunderman Thompson (UK) Limited, Wunderman Thompson LLC, XMKT Group, Xaxis LLC, Xaxis US LLC, Y&R Propaganda Ltda, Young & Rubicam, Young & Rubicam LLC, clarus digital, dBOD, groupm Germany GmbH & Co. KG, mPlatform LLC, plista GmbH, thjnk, and thjnk AG.

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The Battle of Berlin, fought between 16 April and 2 May 1945, was the last major European offensive of the Second World War. The 17-day Soviet assault centred on the German capital, which suffered a total of 363 air raids during the war. By May 1945, 1.7 million people had fled the city. Here, MHM takes a look at World War II Berlin in pictures.

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More articles about Germany in the Second World War

Interesting facts about the Second World War

Photograph: Captured Luftwaffe crewmen, London Underground, 1940

Blitzed: drugs in Nazi Germany  review
02.05.2017 LISTEN

The Number One magazine featuring all the gossip from the UK and World music scene, Music-news.com has listed its top 5 Africa Rising musicians music fanatics can look forward to adding to their playlist.

The regular music campaign aimed at unleashing talents from Africa to UK and the rest of the world saw the likes of Ghanas fast rising dancehall/reggae artist Brainna Jahsig among others on the list of top five African artists as Music-news released it second badge of African Rising stars.

Music-news African rising artists category was created to inspire Africans to become involved in all aspect of music production from hiphop, hiplife, hilife, reggae/dancehall, soul among other genres.

Brainna Jahsig recently released Rock My World and the song features popular Danish artist Dany. The song has already reached a deserving audience with hopes of enjoying some rounds on DJs rotation.

Brainna will soon follow up with series of activities. Meanwhile, this is the second of its kind after award winning radio presenter of King Lagazee endorsed Rock My World.
Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic has revealed why she is yet unmarried.

Rita, a veteran Nigerian actress was speaking in an interview with a lifestyle and fashion magazine, Schick, where she said that she could have been married a long time ago, but things didnt work out.

The multiple award-winning actress, however, is hopeful that God will present the right man to her at the right time.

She said, I believe that God is in charge of my life and will present the right man to me at the right time.

When asked whether social pressure dont get to her, Rita replied, I am a human being and I would be lying to say that it doesnt sometimes.

More so because its something I sincerely want to do but the feeling passes when I remember that society will not live with the person.

I will live with the man, so it is very important that I do it because I want to, not because society wants it for me.

On the myth that sex, for women, gets better with age, Rita opined that sex at 40 is what you make of it.

If you ordinarily dont enjoy it, age wont make a difference.

I find that when a woman embraces her sexuality, many Nigerians equate it to being Ashewo, as if we should act like sex is not pleasurable.

Rita described dating, as a nightmare, especially in these days of social media where with one click you are all over the internet.

Though she admitted that I do date when someone special comes around.

I love being totally drawn to someone and doing all those loving things couples do, but I am also wary of liars and bullies.
The representatives of the numbers of international press organizations have come together in a meeting in Istanbul and urged Turkish government to release the jailed journalists.

The Turkish Journalists Associations (TGC), the International Press Institute (IPI), Article 19, Swedish PEN, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) joined the meeting, as well as a number of journalists.

The international press bodies have urged Turkish government to release the jailed journalists without condition. TGC head Turgay Olcayto stated that journalists have been struggling since the foundation of the Turkish Republic, but there was not any distressful era like this one.

Among imprisoned journalists, there are those who have only engaged in journalistic activities. We want to visit them as an association. However we have been never allowed to visit any of our friends so far, Olcayto said.

Journalists and media outlets are under massive pressure and the people do not have the right to access information. Despite this fact, the journalists continue to do their best even though they become unemployed. We are not losing our hope, he said.

IPIs coordinator for advocacy and communication activities, Steven Ellis, said in the meeting that they have participated in the meeting as the press organizations that are concerned about the future of freedom of expression in Turkey.

The journalists are kept in jail in a completely unlawful way. Its an unacceptable situation for a country that is expected to respect democratic processes. Bringing media freedom under pressure will not be limited to that profession only. Those who dont respect human rights and democratic values cannot be partners that you can jointly act, he said.

Sandy Bremmer from IPI has, also, noted that its unacceptable for Turkish government to bring the society and the journalists under pressure. Bremmer stated that No journalists can be subjected to illegitimate treatment because of the work they do. The duty that awaits the international society is to react. Its their duty to stand against unlawful treatment. We are here to bring light to the prices the journalists pay. Those in jail only ask for one thing; they want journalism to be carried out freely.

Article 19s Georgia Nash has stated that The charges which are far from solid evidence harm the trustworthiness of judiciary. According to the government, the journalists are terrorists, but they only show their articles as evidence. We demand the release of journalists without any conditions.

Also speaking at the event, AEJ head Otmar Lahodynsky said that the Europe has been silent on the events that are unfolding in Turkey, adding that the arrest of Germanys Die Welts correspondent Deniz Yucel is a move to tease international journalists.

According to a report released by Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) on Jan. 26, 2017, Turkish government has jailed 191 journalists so far and the most of the journalists have not even seen an indictment against them. The report also stated that 92 journalists are wanted for arrest but remain at large either in Turkey or abroad. SCF has also said that the number of media organizations seized and shut down by the government has reached 189.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma abandoned a Mayday rally on Monday after he was booed and jeered by trade union members demanding he step down.

He was heckled by crowd members who sang anti-Zuma songs as he prepared to speak at the rally in the central city of Bloemfontein, organised by the country's powerful Cosatu trade union federation.

Organisers terminated the event at the Loch Logan Park and no other speakers were permitted to take to the stage to address the crowd of thousands.

Zuma was shown on live TV hastily leaving the event in a heavily secured motorcade.

Scuffles broke out between some members of the crowd calling for Zuma to step down and others who were chanting in support of the president, local media reported.

Zuma had been due to share a stage with Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini and South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande. Organisers' attempts to calm the crowds were unsuccessful.

"It is sad that after a successful march which was well attended by the workers... chaos from members prevented us from proceeding with the programme," Dlamini told the News 24 website.

Cosatu, a key coalition partner of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), last month called for embattled Zuma to resign following a deeply unpopular cabinet reshuffle.

Cosatu's largest affiliate, the National Health Education and Allied Workers Union, wrote to Cosatu ahead of the event demanding that Zuma be replaced as the keynote speaker by his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa.

Cosatu, along with the SACP and the ANC, was at the forefront of the effort to dislodge white-minority rule in South Africa that led to non-racial elections in 1994.

It has openly backed Ramaphosa, who led Cosatu during the anti-apartheid struggle, to succeed Zuma in 2019 when the president must stand down.

Zuma's cabinet overhaul exposed deep divisions within the ANC, and officials from the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party are hoping to recruit enough support from ruling-party MPs to unseat the president if there is a vote of no confidence.
Accra, May 1, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday said government was amending Ghana's Power Compact Agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to enable the country to derive maximum returns.

He said the review of the Agreement would ensure that Ghana held majority ownership of the ECG, curtail involuntary job losses and reduce the concession of the company from 25 years to 20 years, rallying the staff of the ECG to trust government to address the sticky points of the Compact.

President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance when he addressed the 17th National May Day Parade of organised labour at the Black Star Square in Accra.

This year's event was marked under the theme: '[email protected]; Mobilising for Ghana's Future through the Creation of Decent Jobs.'

"We are driven by two considerations. We are as concerned as the workers that the reform should not lead to involuntary job loss and we should find a long term solution to the nation's electricity problem,' he said.

President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance that the new amendments to the agreement would meet the aspirations of Ghanaians.

'We believe that these amendments will meet the aspirations of Ghanaians in protecting the jobs of workers and in assuring the control and viability of the ECG,' he said. GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his governments fight against galamsey is not meant to render Ghanaians jobless but to ensure safe mining.

Addressing workers at the May Day celebration at the Black Star Square Monday, he said his government will purge the country of the practice blamed for the pollution of water bodies.

He said government will no longer tolerate further degradation of the environment by galamsey operators.

I have not yet met anyone who is engaged in galamsey, who is satisfied with the degradation of our land and our environment that currently come with galamsey, he said.

The uncompromising posture of the President on illegal mining has been condemned by some of the operators.

Some illegal miners in the Eastern Regional town of Akwatia have served notice that they will vote out the President and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) if he does not soften his stance.

They say the galamsey fight will put them out of work which will also affect their dependants.

The Small Scale Miners Association in Kumasi has said it will petition the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to prevail on government to reconsider its position.

Ghanas water bodies and forests have borne the brunt of the destructive activities of the illegal miners.

The Tano River in the Brong Ahafo Region has dried up for the first time in 40 years, a development residents have blamed on galamsey.

The Brim River in the Eastern Region and Ankobrah River in the Western Region have been muddied that experts say it will cost the nation more money to purify them for consumers.

The Ghana Water Company has said the country will be importing water from its neighbours in 2020 if the practice is not ended.

The President who had earlier called the bluff of the galamsey operators said although his government will allow small-scale mining in the country, it will have to be done in a safe manner.

"We hold the land in trust for generations yet unborn," he said, adding his government is arranging for small scale mining to be done in a more sustainable way.

President Akufo-Addo said the sustainable small-scale mining regime government has envisaged will protect the country's environment while at the same time ensuring the miners get fair prices for their minerals.

He thanked Ghanaians and the media for living up to his call on them to be "citizens, not spectators" in his inaugural speech in January.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | [email protected]
The Acting General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged Ghanaians to be resolute and steadfast in their work towards helping the country stand on its feet.

John Boadu said whilst the government is putting in place the necessary mechanisms to take the country out of dependence on aid, citizens must contribute to the effort.

He said this in a statement issued in Accra on Monday to mark this year's May Day celebration.

Please read the full statement below:

Lets remain steadfast and work for Ghana beyond aid

As we celebrate workers worldwide, the New Patriotic Party salutes all Ghanaian workers, both in the formal and informal sectors.

We are proud of your hard work and patriotic contribution towards Ghanas development over the years.

This years celebration comes at a time when our President, Nana Akufo-Addo, is spearheading economic transformation, after the collapse of the economy by the former administration, led by H.E John Mahama.

Currently, our currency is growing in strength and the economy is stabilising.

To lessen the burden of the Ghanaian worker, the Akufo-Addo government in less than four months in office has implemented the following amongst others;

 Abolished levies imposed on kayayei by local authorities

 Abolished levies imposed on religious institutions by local authorities

 Abolished the 1% Special Import Levy

 Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on domestic airline tickets

 Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on financial services

 Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, that are not produced locally

 Abolished the 5% VAT/NHIL on Real Estate sales

 Initiated the process to abolish duty on the importation of spare parts

 Reduced National Electrification Scheme Levy from 5% to 3%

 Reduced Public Lighting Levy from 5% to 2%

 Reduced special petroleum tax rate from 17.5% to 15%

 Replaced the 17.5 VAT/NHIL rate with a flat rate of 3 % for traders

 Granted Capital Gains Tax Exemption on stocks traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange or publicly held securities approved by the SEC

 All allowances due soldiers at the various missions have been fully paid. $39 million in arrears have also been paid

 Peacekeeping allowance increased and paid from $31 to $35

The NPP led government has not reneged on its promise of providing Jobs. Already, the following steps to create Jobs have been implemented;

 Approval has been given to employ 11,000 health trainees who graduated between 2012 and 2016

 Stimulus package for industry: Government has allocated Ghs 220 million to support distressed but viable companies around the country

 1200 agricultural extension officers have been hired and trained nationwide to support Planting for Food and Jobs.

The HOPE and CHANGE that Ghanaians have been yearning for is here.

As we commemorate May Day, it is the hope of the New Patriotic Party that workers across the country will take stock of the past few years and work tirelessly towards achieving economic progress and strengthening our democracy. Such a commitment from the nation's workforce will build a prosperous Ghana.

The NPP urges workers from the various sectors of the economy, especially organised labour to remain steadfast in the collective interest of our dear nation Ghana.

The wellbeing of the Ghanaian workforce and the future of their children are our priorities.

We will fulfill our promises to the Ghanaian people.

God bless the workers of Ghana! God bless Ghana!

signed

JOHN BOADU

(General Secretary, Ag)

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com |
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the country is threatened by the kind of appointments the President has made since he was sworn in.

The party in a May Day statement Monday said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has chosen to burden the tax payer with a big government instead of investing in productive sectors of the economy to create more jobs.

It also accused the President appointing a legion of special assistants and advisors at the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to undermine the influence of senior public and civil servants.

This has in turn resulted in an over-concentration of excessively huge amounts of tax payers money in the Presidency to the disadvantage of Ministries, Departments and Agencies where the bulk of government business is conducted, the NDC said.

Read full statement below:

For immediate release

1st May, 2017

SOLIDARITY STATEMENT TO GHANAIAN WORKERS ON THE OCCASION OF MAY DAY CELEBRATION FROM THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS

"Fulfill your pledges to long suffering Ghanaian workers" On the occasion of the celebration of May Day, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) extends its warmest felicitations to, and solidarity with Ghanaian workers whose sweat and toil continues to keeps the wheels of state running.

As Social Democrats, we fully associate with the struggles and aspirations of all Ghanaian workers as we mark this important world-wide occasion. We recognise the immense sacrifices and contributions that labour has made over the years and its partnership with various governments and like-minded organisations to bring development and progress to our dear nation.

This years celebration is being marked against the backdrop of many difficulties which threaten the wellbeing of Ghanaian workers. We note with regret that for the first time in recent memory, Ghanaian public sector workers have been forced to mark this important day without receiving their monthly salary.

This will no doubt impinge adversely on their ability to meet critical needs of their families and dependents. This show of insensitivity on the part of the Akufo Addo government will inflict more hardships on workers who have already had to contend with sky rocketing prices of goods and services and a general increase in the cost of living.

The plight of the Ghanaian worker has further been worsened by the failure of the Akufo Addo government to keep faith with them through the non-fulfilment of key electoral promises. There has been no significant reduction in the price of electricity and fuel as promised by then candidate Akufo Addo and the NPP in the run up to the 2016 elections.

In the face of these hardships however, the Akufo Addo government has favoured platitudes and empty rhetoric instead of the implementation of concrete policies to alleviate the suffering of the worker and Ghanaians at large.

This rhetoric has however been undermined by a naked show of ostentation and a money-guzzling approach to governance. Instead of pumping resources into productive sectors to expand the frontiers of employment for the hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth, the Akufo Addo government has rather chosen to burden the tax payer through the installation of an unnecessarily large and over-bloated government.

The Akufo Addo governments inexplicable belief in the job for the boys philosophy also threatens to render valuable human resources in the various MDAs redundant following the engagement of a legion of special assistants and advisors who wield more influence and power than very senior public and civil servants in many MDAs despite possessing limited qualifications.

This has in turn resulted in an over-concentration of excessively huge amounts of tax payers money in the Presidency to the disadvantage of Ministries, Departments and Agencies where the bulk of government business is conducted.

In order to fund this large government size, vital state agencies including all the countrys universities, major hospitals including all psychiatric hospitals and the National Blood Bank have been asked to surrender their Internally Generated Funds while the Office of the President alone has been given more money in this fiscal year alone than what the same office took between 2013 and 2016 put together.

Additionally, the government has sought to siphon monies from statutory funds such as GetFund, NHIS and the District Assemblies Common Fund through the placement of a cap on how much monies can accrue to these funds. Apart from being a glaring violation of the law, this move will cripple the Education and Health sectors since these Funds have become so central to their financing.

We also note with concern the mis-treatment of some public sector workers who have been dismissed for no justifiable reason apart from having been employed by the previous government.

"We encourage the Government to pay heed to the theme of this years May Day celebration;; Ghana @60: Mobilizing for Ghanas Future through the creation of Decent Jobs.

We want to remind the Akuffo Addo government that, dismissing thousands from post and putting others in their place does not create or sustain decent jobs. It simply gives employment to some and unemployment to others."

The people of Ghana await with baited breath the creation and sustenance of millions of decent jobs.

The extreme partisanship being introduced into the Ghanaian public sector is inherently dangerous and will lead to a polarised and ineffective public service if not nipped in the bud. Aggravating the bloated government size are the early signs of corruption and cronyism as can be seen in the instances of the US$ 2.25 billion Bond Scandal and the acceptance of lavish hospitality from AMERI, a company that this government claims to be investigating.

These worrying developments aside, we also note with regret, the plight of newly trained nurses who have had to protest sometimes under very trying conditions to press home their demands for employment. We particularly regret the short-sighted and partisan decision by the Akufo Addo government to set aside the recruitment process long started by the immediate past NDC government which would have seen thousands of newly-trained nurses gainfully employed in the many world-class hospitals built by the Mahama Administration.

We urge government to take steps to address the concerns of these nurses with the view to employing them as soon as possible.

Finally, we urge the Akufo Addo government to ensure the completion and full implementation of a number of policy and legislative measures aimed at further protecting the interests of Ghanaian workers. These include;

 The Marrakesh Maternity Convention which was approved by the immediate past cabinet and;

 The Domestic Workers Regulation aimed at safeguarding and protecting Domestic Workers

We salute all Ghanaian workers on this auspicious day and re-iterate our commitment as a Social Democratic Party to place the plight of workers at the very top of our agenda both in government and in opposition.

Signed.

Johnson Asiedu Nketia

(General Secretary)

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
The open disunity of the New Patriotic Party proved far better than the NDC's patched up unity ahead of the 2016 election.

That was part of the research findings by the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana.

The research also found that the one district one factory, one village, one dam and one constituency, one million dollar promises by the then opposition NPP were catchy and more effective than the Usain Bolt inspired "no abasesee" slogan by the incumbent NDC.

The research owned and conducted by the Political Science Department of the University was to ascertain the reasons for the results of the 2016 election which saw the John Mahama led NDC government losing by some ten percent to the Nana Akufo-Addo led New Patriotic Party.

Akufo-Addo polled 53.80% of the votes with John Mahama polling 44.40% in the first ever defeat handed an incumbent president seeking re-election.

Providing details of the research, Political Science Lecturer Dr. Isaac Owusu Mensah told Joy News' Evans Mensah some 5,000 respondents in 50 constituencies across the country were picked at random to answer details of a questionnaire prepared by the University.

Dr Owusu Mensah said every Ghanaian of voting age was given an equal chance of participating in the research.

Among the findings include comments by the then president John Mahama, including "Ashantis have short memories," "sleeping opana" etc which were deemed to be inappropriate by some of the voters.

The then Vice President's performance was also an issue of concern to some of the voters, particularly his failure to answer some 170 economic questions threw at him by his opposite number Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

The findings also pointed to increase in corruption, arrogance of government appointees and an over dependence on infrastructural achievements by the NDC.

Overall, the respondents contended the NDC message did not resonate with the Ghanaian voters.

But the opposition NDC is not worried by the findings.

Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Sam George said the research finding is more a "political rhetoric than a hardcore research."

He told Evans Mensah, some members of the research team are compromised having already declared support for the NPP.

He cited Dr Owusu Mensah who is believed to be affiliated with the NPP.

He would rather wait for the Prof Kwasi Botchwey committee tasked to find out reasons why the NDC lost the 2016 elections.

In a rebuttal Dr Owusu Mensah said the research was a scientific work done by the department with no motivation to skew the findings in favour of one party or another.

He however conceded that he had travelled to Germany with the then NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo and believes more in the philosophy of the NPP than in the NDC but added that in no way influenced the findings of the research.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
President Nana Akufo-Addo says Ghana needs all its trained manpower to be at work, and, therefore, has assured unemployed nurses and midwives they will soon be employed by government.

He acknowledged that he was aware of the recent sit-ins at the Ministry of Health by a group of nurses and midwives who are yet to be placed, years after completing their training.

In his May Day speech Monday, the President indicated that my government is your government and we are listening to your concerns. We are determined that, together, we will find sustainable solutions. Ghana needs all its trained manpower to be at work.

He noted that in the run-up to the 2016 elections, the subject of nurses and teachers featured a lot in the recent elections. There was the vexed question of their allowances. We promised to restore them and we have.

Office of special prosecutor will be established

Touching on the issue of corruption, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his governments commitment to using all available tools to fight the canker of corruption, for we know how much it destroys our chances at progress and prosperity.

To this end, he stressed, again, that the Office of Special Prosecutor is going to be established so that the prosecution of corruption is taken out of political controversy, and thereby enhance the integrity of the rule of law.

Ghana must turn over a new leaf

Under his tenure of office, President Akufo-Addo is urging Ghanaians to turn over a new leaf and a new page in the history of the nation.

I want us to believe in our capacity to build a modern, developed, progressive nation, and free ourselves from the mindset of dependence, aid, charity and handouts.

We can, together, build a new Ghanaian civilization, where there is fair opportunity for all in education and health, where hard work, enterprise and creativity are rewarded, where there is an abundance of decent jobs with good pay, where there is a dignified retirement for the elderly, and where there is a social safety net for the vulnerable and disadvantaged, he said.

The founders of Ghana, he noted, chose the Black Star as part of our national colours because they envisaged us as a shining example to the black peoples of the world of what a free, dedicated, enterprising Ghanaian people can do to build a society the equal of any, anywhere on the face of the planet. Let us be up and doing. Our destiny beckons.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
A Senior Programmes Officer at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) says the security agencies must prosecute people committing crimes in the name of politics.

Nana Kwabena Abrampah says the security agencies should have positioned themselves to contain the outrage and violent protestations that greeted the release of the list of nominees for the positions of Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives.

He said he had sounded that note of caution in one of his earlier interviews regarding the release of the list of appointees adding since this is not the first time it is happening, their intelligence should have informed them of the likely violence.

According to him, just as a change of government comes with some people positioning themselves to take over certain state institutions, the appointment to the office of the DCE has also been characterised in much the same way.

"It becomes a contest of indigense versus none indigenes," he said citing some aggrieved supporters saying they do not know one of the nominees and that he did not contribute anything when the party was seeking power.

Nana Abrampah attributed the occurrences to the winner takes all system of governance and the perception that if one's party is not in power then the individual amounts to nothing.

His comment comes in the wake of more agitations against the choices of President Nana Akufo-Addo for District Chief Executives (DCEs) as angry residents, mostly New Patriotic Party (NPP) sympathisers kick against the nominees announced.

Local Government Minister Hajia Alima Mahama on Wednesday announced the names of some 212 nominees as DCEs. Although many have gone without controversy, a few districts such as Tolon and Zebilla have been staging protests against the candidates.

The agitations continued Thursday with reports from South Dayi in the Volta region indicating the residents were unhappy with the choice of Ella Boateng as DCE for the area.

Some party executives who spoke to Joy News alleged the nominee's "buoyant romantic relationship with our national communications director" got here the appointment.

They say they have added this issue and many others as a caution against her appointment but obviously, their concerns were not adhered to.

"We are protesting her appointment because she is not a loyal and committed member of the NPP. She is a rejected person from the NDC.

"Also, she is not qualified as she was voted out as an assembly member when seeking re-election due to incompetence and non-performance. If she could not manage one electoral area, how on earth can she manage 21 electoral areas?" they quizzed at their press conference.

They threatened to resign from the party if her appointment is not reversed.

In Zebilla in the Upper East region a joint police and military team there has stepped up patrols to curb a further outbreak of violent disturbances by youth there. The residents are protesting the choice of Victoria Ayamba as DCE for the area.

In the Ashanti region residents of Ejisu were scheduled to hit the streets to protest the choice of Beatrice Serwaa Derkyi as DCE. We understand the demonstration was called off after intervention by the party executives there.

Meanwhile, in the Northern region calm has returned to Tolon where angry youth burnt tyres and vandalised NPP offices to register their displeasure at the nomination of Hajia Amama.

Northern regional Police Commander ACP Patrick Sarpong says police have increased their presence on the ground but need the assistance of NPP party leadership there to avert calm tempers.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim |[email protected]
The Minority in Parliament has condemned what it says is the needless and lawless attacks by elements within the governing New Patriotic Party shortly after winning power.

It has also criticised what it says is the unfortunate and obscene mass worker transfers, forced resignations, politically motivated proceed on leave directives and unlawful termination of engagements within the public and civil service

These, according to the Minority has created fear and panic among Ghana's workforce.

On the occasion to mark the May Day celebration, a day set aside to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of workers across the country, the Minority issued a statement doubting the commitment of government towards providing a better conditions of service for Ghanaian workers.

The full statement is as follows;

STATEMENT BY THE NDC MINORITY IN PARLIAMNET IN COMMEMORATION OF MAY DAY

Today marks another important milestone for the working class of our society. We the minority in Parliament in line with the May Day Celebration, join other stakeholders to salute the Ghanaian worker on this day and to urge them to continue to make Ghana work as never before. We commend you (the workforce of Ghana) for your tireless, hard work and tenacity of purpose in spite of the odds and challenges that confront you in your line of duty.

The workers front in the recent past has demonstrated its capabilities in freedom and dignity, proving their wealth in a well motivated atmosphere and achieving results without intimidation or fear from any quarters.

While we implore you, the workforce of Ghana to persist in your daily services that have kept our beloved country as a functioning economy through sweat and hard work, we are also apprehensive about recent happenings in our country that threaten the values we hold dear since the Nana Addos Presidency was ushered into office in January 2017.

It is sad to note that elements associated with this current administration attacked public institutions, forced out workers of these institutions and in many instances physically assaulted these lawful employees all in the name of political takeovers.

This situation has created fear and panic among the Ghanaian work force and to a large extent limiting the free friendly worker environment that existed before the change of government on 7th January, 2017.

As a democratic society, we continue to witness unfortunately obscene mass worker transfers, forced resignations, politically motivated proceed on leave directives and unlawful termination of engagements within the public and civil service under the President Nana Akuffo Addo leadership.

However, on 1st May, 2016, then opposition leader, Nana Akuffo Addo, in a statement to workers on the day, confidently assured the very opposite to the malaise the labour front in Ghana is currently experiencing. At the time he said within a short space of time, the Ghanaian worker will experience improved wages, reduced cost of living, increased job opportunities, with a value addition in industrialisation to create jobs with good pay across Ghana, while maintaining a safe and peaceful worker environment necessary for the progressive programmes and policies that the NPP have for the people of Ghana.

The question is can the Ghanaian worker feel the signs of realising these promises made by President Nana Akuffo Addo a year ago in the midst of current rising cost of living, increases in transport fares by 15%, high cost of utility bills, non-improvement in electric power supply and stagnating worker wages and salaries.

Sadly, the disheartening signs we see and feel today include threat of 26,589 lawful employees who are on the verge of losing their salaries for failure of not being captured onto the SSNIT Biometric Register through no faults of theirs as well as recent demonstrations by trainee nurses over a freeze on their employment by the Nana Addo Government.

As the Minority in Parliament, we are in strong solidarity with the labour front in pressurising the NPP government to ensuring that the liberties of the Ghanaian worker is not infringed upon, while cooperating with all efforts targeted at improved cost of living and the dignity of the Ghanaian workforce.

Long Live the Labour Force of Ghana!!!

Long Live Ghana!!!

Minority Leader.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com
Officials of the Ghana Health Service have been forced to withdraw a letter protesting the findings of the 2015 Auditor General's Report which made adverse findings against the service.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee Thursday, the officials, led by the Director General of the Service Dr Anthony Nsia Asare, insisted they did nothing wrong in the auction of the nine vehicles to staff of the service.

The Auditor General in its 2015 findings said it was irregular for the nine vehicles to have been sold to the staff of the service when the auction was supposed to have been done for the general public.

But Dr Nsia Asare and his men contested the findings. They came to the committee with a letter dismissing the findings and insisting they did nothing wrong in the auctioning of the said vehicles.

The Chairman of the Committee James Klutse Avedzi read contents of the rebuttal by the officials of the Health Service after which he engaged the Director General in a feisty banter over the propriety of selling the vehicles to members of staff.

In the face of the presidential directive for public servants not to buy state vehicles, Avedzi questioned why officials of the Health Service will mount a defence for the buying of state cars by officials of the Health Service.

But Dr Nsia Asare insisted the cars auctioned were not in the same category as the ones sold to ministers and other government appointees.

According to him, the nine cars were not serviceable but added due process was followed in the auction process.

He explained auction was advertised in the newspapers and brought evidence of the announcement.

But Joy News' Parliamentary Correspondent Joseph Opoku Gakpo reported that Dr Anthony Nsia Asare was made to withdraw the letter after members of the Appointment Committee pointed to several breaches by the officials of the Ghana Health Service.

By law and procedure, proceeds of the auction were supposed to have been paid into a non-tax revenue account of the Bank of Ghana a day after the auction had been done.

However, officials of the Ghana Health Service were deemed to have made payment of the said proceeds in April 24, 2017 more than four years after the auction.

The auction was done in 2013.

According to Opoku Gakpo these facts were pointed out to Dr Nsia Asare after which he was made to withdraw the letter.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
02.05.2017 LISTEN

Some Ghanaian investors are expected to embark on a trade mission to South Africa in May.

The trade mission organized by the Ghana South Africa Business Chamber, in collaboration with the South Africa High Commission Ghana is aimed at bridging the trade and investment gap between both countries.

South Africas investments in Ghana are estimated at about $5 billion but the figures of Ghana's investments in the country has not been determined.

But President of the Ghana-South Africa Business Chamber, Ashley Rix noted, In the last couple of years weve seen numerous trade delegations from South Africa, maybe 4 or 5 a year but very few trade delegations going from Ghana to South Africa. Its something we are really trying to focus and improve on.

The Ghanaian trade delegation (at least 30 - 40 businessmen/women) will be visiting three South African cities  Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town from the 21st-27th May, 2017. Each of the trade departments in those cities has organized seminars and business to business meetings.

The Seminars will include topics and discussions of interest for emerging, existing and seasoned businesses.

The delegation will consist of companies representing a selection of sectors such as; Infrastructure development; agriculture and agro-processing; construction, tourism and hospitality management and service sector.

This is the second trade mission organized by the Ghana-South Africa Business Chamber. This is a follow up to last years visit, which Mr. Rix described as very successful with positive feedback.

The South African market is saturated, but there are still opportunities for Ghanaian businesses which want to bring some diversity, something different that South Africa doesnt have, Rix added.

Joy Business is a media partner to the programme.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) says it is satisfied with the programmes that government is planning to implement to improve the business environment.

Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia at a recent engagement with the private sector wing of the World Bank and some investors, promised to implement the necessary reforms to make Ghana the preferred business destination in Africa.

The latest World Bank Africa doing business report saw Ghana go up by some three places to 108 out of 190 countries ranked.

However, in the Africa region, Ghana is ranked ninth, coming after countries Lesotho and Zambia, with Mauritius being the best place for doing business in Africa.

There have been concerns about governments commitment to addressing the numerous concerns affecting the growth of business in Ghana.

But speaking with JOYBUSINESS in Washington DC, IFC Vice President Ethiopis Tafara the reforms taking place so far in Ghana are encouraging.

"They have quite intelligently looked at what other governments have done. Governments they see having achieved the kinds of reforms and progress in terms of private sector development and looking to use those examples and apply them in the Ghanaian context.

"We at the IFC have been involved in working with these other governments and instituting reforms that have led to a more business friendly environment. So I think the success of these countries shows that it is a smart strategy to try and apply those in the Ghanaian context as well.

According to him, moving up the rankings also depends on what others are doing but he does not think the focus should be so much moving up the ranking but rather creating a more business-friendly environment.

"When you work on improving the business environment, you will inevitably move up the rankings but the objective is not simply to move up the ranking. Changing the environment in which businesses operate to make them more conducive is more important," he added.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Wiafe | Joy Business |Washington DC
Algiers (AFP) - Algerians go to the polls on Thursday to elect a new parliament amid concerns that a low turnout will mar a vote which officials say is necessary to maintain stability.

The election comes as the North African country grapples with a deep financial crisis because of a drop in oil revenues and amid criticism from people who say the government has failed to keep its promises.

In a video uploaded on YouTube days before polling day on May 4 and seen by more than two million people, one Algerian said government vows to solve an acute housing shortage and improve health care have not been kept.

A total of 12,000 candidates are standing for 462 seats in the People's National Assembly, with a registered electorate of 23 million.

Throughout the election campaign officials urged people to vote "massively", saying Algeria's "stability" was at stake, and urged mosque prayer leaders to relay this message to worshippers.

Ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a 2013 stroke impaired his speech and mobility, set the tone on the eve of the vote.

In a statement read on his behalf on Saturday he called for a strong turnout, saying it was essential to contribute to "the stability of the country".

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal urged those angry about the state of the economy "to be patient".

"There is no more money" in state coffers, he admitted in a speech on Saturday, media reported.

In 2011, high oil revenues allowed huge rises in wages and subsidies, helping Algeria to weather the Arab Spring.

But in 2014, the collapse in crude oil prices forced the government to increase taxes and mothball many public projects.

In a country of 40 million, half of them aged under 30, one young person in three is unemployed.

Voter apathy

Despite brisk lobbying by Bouteflika's National Liberation Front (FLN) party and its coalition ally, the Rally for National Democracy (RND), the campaign failed to fascinate.

Media reports said people were more interested in the presidential election in former colonial power France, where centrist frontrunner Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen face off on Sunday.

"France is having an election in which the political stakes are high, while here in Algeria there are no stakes at all," sociologist Nacer Djabi said.

Media and analysts expect few surprises on Thursday.

The FLN, which has ruled Algeria under a single-party system from independence in 1962 until the early 1990s, will keep its majority in parliament along with the RND, said political analyst Cherif Driss.

In the 2012 election, the FLN won 221 seats and the RND 70 in the 462-seat national assembly.

Islamists, who hold 60 seats in the outgoing parliament, represent the country's main opposition force.

In 2012, a year after Arab Spring-inspired street protests, Islamists had hoped to replicate the gains of their peers in Egypt and Tunisia, but instead suffered their worst ever electoral defeat.

This year, they have formed two major coalitions in an attempt to do better.

Other contenders include The Rally for Hope in Algeria (TAJ), a new Islamist party led by former public works minister and fierce Bouteflika supporter Amar Ghoul.

The secular Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) boycotted polling in 2012 but is hoping to take seats from its rival, the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS).

Experts say Algerian elections generally fail to attract a high turnout, which in 2012 was 43.14 percent, slightly more than the 35.65 percent registered in 2007.

Even those figures, they say, were inflated.
OccupyGhana is encouraged by President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo calling the bluff of Galamsey operators in his speech at a durbar of the chiefs and people of Akyem Wenchi last week.

The threat by Galamsey operators not to vote for the NPP in the next general election was meant to frighten the government and the presidency into slowing down on, or abandoning the clamp down on illegal mining.

The President's outright refusal to compromise on this issue speaks volumes of his desire to be on the right side of history and action in this matter, irrespective of the potential political cost to him or his party.

This is a good example to all Ghanaians.

We have tried, along with our media partners and other well-meaning groups and individuals to bring to the forefront of national debate the egregious effects of this menace on our water bodies, lands, health, our communities and the nation at large.

This is a fight that must be fought together by all Ghanaians and cannot be won without the support of the citizens, the government and, most of all, the President of the nation.

That is why we are pleased at the stance taken and leadership provided by the President in this matter. We hope that the fight against this scourge will continue on an even higher level.

With the President taking the lead and the support of all well-meaning Ghanaians, we will win!

Yours in the service of occupying minds for God and Country

OccupyGhana
The fight against injustice and inequality, and the quest to advocate for equity and equal opportunity for all is what has characterized and defined the life of Yaa Amponsah Frimpong (nee Gyamera), the first ever female Chairperson in the history of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition to lead and steer the affairs of the NPP-USA Branch, and indeed any External Branch for that matter.

Obaa Yaa, as she is affectionately called, grew up in Obuasi and had the privilege of being educated at the premier elementary school at Obuasi popularly called Mines School.

As a young child, she witnessed the excesses of the December 31, 1981 revolution and the inhumane treatment meted out to residents of Obuasi, most especially parents of friends she grew up with. As she recalls, this caused her a lot of discomfort, and made her vow in her heart to get involved in the political affairs of the country. She has never relented in her quest to be involved politically.

As she puts it, she has an innate desire to advocate for people and to resist what is unfair and unjust, and would not rest until she sees change happen. The welfare and wellbeing of others have been her driving passion in fulfilling her God-given purpose in life.

The return of Ghana to constitutional rule in 1992 was a positive paradigm shift that Obaa Yaa applauded, and she joined the NPP campaign for change and self-determination.

She completed University of Science and Technology with a degree in Social Science in 1999, after which she taught at Obuasi Secondary Technical School. After the NPP victory in the 2000 election, she left Ghana to pursue a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Denver. She completed in 2003 and has worked in the field ever since. She also earned a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Management from Regis University, Denver in 2009 and has co-owned Jeroyaf Accounting and Tax Services since 2004.

Obaa Yaa has been very active in the Ghanaian community in Denver and has held many different positions: public relations officer, secretary, and financial secretary of the Rocky Mountain Ghana Council.

She served as Public Relations Officer for the Asanteman Association of Denver, and was instrumental in getting Golden Star Resources, Colorado, and AngloGold Ashanti-Denver to assist in financing the shipment of a 40-foot container of medical equipment and supplies to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi in 2005, donated by ProjectCure which was greatly applauded by Otumfuo Osei Tutu.

As a community activist, Obaa Yaa volunteered to teach English as a Second Language and life skills to refugees that came through the Colorado African Organization program funded by USCIS.

Obaa Yaa was a founding member of the NPP-USA Colorado Chapter, and served as chapter secretary for two terms. Until her current elevation, she served as the NPP-USA Branchs 2nd Vice Chairperson for two terms from 2009. She also served on many committees in the branch: Planning Committee, Elections Committee, Mobilization Committee etc. She continues to be a key member of the NPP-USA Women's Wing, and is very supportive of the Youth Wing of the branch.

She participated in NPP-USA branch congresses in Dallas and North Carolina, and in 2009, her chapter successfully hosted the 2nd NPP International Congress in Denver.

As a woman of many talents, Obaa Yaa did not want to be left out, and so she was on the ground in Ghana for both the 2012 and 2016 elections. She served on the Welcome Sub-committee of the 2017 Presidential Inauguration Committee.

To quote the words of Margaret Thatcher, "In politics, if you want something said, ask a man but if you want something done, ask a woman". Obaa Yaa has gone through the mill and is well seasoned and ready to hold the fort and, with Gods help, she will take the great NPP-USA branch to the next level.
02.05.2017 LISTEN

Two staff of the Kumasi South District Hospital, who were attending the funeral of the late former Akwatia New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Kofi Asare, have lost their lives in a motor accident.

The two died on the spot in an accident that occurred at Akyem Anyinase in the Akyemansa District of the Eastern Region Saturday morning.

They were identified as Patience Fleischer a doctor and Philomena Adomah Kwayie, a nurse.

One Dr. Kwame Boadu and the driver of the hospitals car, as well as another believed to be the medical director, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Dr Fleischer was said to be an eye specialist at the hospital.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that the accident, which occurred at about 8:00 am, was caused by a commercial Kia bus with registration number GT 4921-15, which was coming from Kumasi to Oda.

It reportedly had a brake failure and rammed the Toyota Fortuner with registration number GT 6284-15 belonging to the Kumasi South Hospital.

The driver of the Kia is in the grips of the Oda police to assist in investigation.

The mortal remains of Dr Asare, former dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the Presbyterian University College, Agogo Campus, who died in a motor accident on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, were interred over the weekend at Akwatia.

In another development, four persons are in coma while about 13 others are seriously injured in an accident which occurred Saturday morning near Nsawam on the Accra-Kumasi highway.

The victims were rushed to the Nsawam Government Hospital for treatment.

The accident involved a Benz Sprinter passenger bus that was heading to Accra from the Kumasi direction.

According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the Sprinter attempted to regain control of the vehicle after a tyre had burst.

The vehicle, as gathered, somersaulted several times before landing in a nearby bush.

Residents went to the rescue of the victims, who were mostly women and children.
NPP as a group of people having kind-hearted political mentality with most of their leaders being highly or overly qualified academically lacks strategic savviness to hold themselves in power for long whenever elected into power. This is an undisputed fact which no amount of persuasion can get me off this opinion formed through empirical observations of the party over several years dating from the time of Dr Kofi Abrefa Busias Progress Party (PP) government.

It is just practical common sense that several wise or two wise captains cannot pilot the same one ship at the same time. When one suggests let us turn the ship to the right or else we shall run aground, the other will oppose him saying, no, we should rather turn it to the left. In this situation, the result will be total chaos; this is NPP for you.

I have the right to constructively but not destructively criticise the NPP, the political party of my birth. If the leadership is doing something wrong, I have the absolute right to air out my opposing views regardless of what they will say or think about me. Does Benjamin Franklin not say, Critics are our friends, they show us our faults?

I wonder how NPP leaders continue to commit the same old mistakes without ever sitting down to find out why they hardly come to power and when they do come, they dont last long.

Before telling why this publication, let me take you down the memory lane. During Dr Busias Progress Party government, a certain man from Kumawu was a cocoa purchasing agent in another district. You can call him a cocoa clerk or cocoa krakye as you feel convenient with. This man had collected a large sum of money from a District Centre where his buying agency was headquartered to take to pay the farmers in the villages from whom his company had purchased cocoa for that year or season. On his way to pay the farmers, driving in his own car, some robbers attacked him. They inflicted cutlass wounds on him and set his car ablaze, he claimed.

He was admitted to hospital for about a week and when he was discharged, he came to Kumawu, purchased a building plot and within three months put up a big house. He had not been paid any personal or damage to property insurance by then. Later, rumours surfaced that he had personally inflicted the cutlass wounds on himself and burnt his old banger just to deceive people in justifying the disappearance of the money meant for paying the cocoa farmers. Who was the person, NPP must find out.

There were four staunch NPP members in Kumawu who blatantly refused to campaign for NPP in the 2012 elections. They were rather sabotaging NPP by encouraging NPP supporters to vote skirt and blouse, thus, vote for an independent parliamentary candidate or NDC parliamentary candidate and vote Nana Addo for president.

When I heard their arguments for their actions, it was only too silly to be tolerated. One of them was not happy about the then contesting NPP parliamentary candidate, Mr Philip Basoah for taking over from him as the DCE. One of them was not happy about Philip Basoah emerging victorious in their NPP primaries to elect a parliamentary candidate. He thought he should have been elected or maintained. Another person said when Philip Basoah was the DCE for the District; he did not give him enough contracts or awarded all the contracts to him for being the NPP District Chairman. The last but not the least person, did not understand why Philip Basoah had to report him to the police for perceived felling of timber trees in the area without authority instead of first contacting him or giving him a warning? What would have happened if he was arraigned and jailed if the allegation against him was true? Would he be around to campaign for him? No. Therefore, he was not going to help him win the parliamentary seat, he asserted, when I approached him with intention to persuading him to join Philip Basoahs campaign team.

During former President Kufuors regime, he is alleged to have angrily shouted at some Kumawu NPP members who had accused the then NPP District Chairman, Mr Adusei, of financial impropriety, to leave him alone as he had suffered a lot for the party. Under the regime of His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the same mistake has allegedly been repeated. The President is alleged to have shouted at those from the Kumawu Constituency who had and still do oppose a candidate presented to the President to be nominated or appointed for the post of DCE in the Kumawu District by Mr Adusei and Kumawuhemaa Nana Abenaa Serwaah Amponsah.

I understand the person is a staunch member of the NDC same as Kumawuhemaa. How are the NPP members harassing Mr Adusei, I would like to know from the President? Was he the NPP District Chairman? No! Did he actively campaign for the NPP himself let alone, the other NDC member who has been named by the President as his nominee for the DCE post?

Who should the President seek advice from when nominating such candidates? Should it be from the NPP leadership in the area, NPP members from the area or certain single sly NPP individuals pursuing their selfish interests?

Why should the NPP leaders once elected into power think they have the natural prerogative to discard or refuse to listen to the voices of the ordinary members, foot soldiers so to speak, who voted them into power? Once in power, they see any agitation or suggestion by their ordinary party members as noise in their ears as well said by John Boadu which annoyed me so much so that I had to publish a whole article to rebuke him for his thoughtless pronouncements which appear to be the characteristic of NPP.

Why is it that many NPP members are condemning some DCE nominations made by the President? Why should those who have toiled for the party, with the requisite qualifications, honest, dynamic, and selfless and are ready to be of service to their people, nation and party, be side-lined for those who never wanted the party to come to power in the first place? I do not get the sense in this at all.

I am not trying to question the wisdom, intelligence or undermine anyone but truthfully, I do not get it at all. If the person is not corrupt and have the ability and capability to do the job, why should they be side-lined in favour of others who had done absolutely nothing towards bringing the party to power in the first place? Look at the case of Hon Albert Kan Dapaa in relation to the Delta Force saga. He did not support the party during her campaign in anyway. However, he has got the juiciest job only to use his position to punish those people who helped immensely for the party to win Election 2017. How do you explain that to my satisfaction? It doesnt make any one bit of sense to me at all. He is not a security expert. He is not a retired or a current military/police personnel of high ranking.

Again, one Mr Duah, a tutor at Kumawu Senior High School has toiled for the party to come to power. I was on the campaign trail with him during Election 2012 when I purposely went to Ghana on holiday to campaign for the party. He had, and has never relinquished his efforts to get NPP into power by doing whatever is nobly expected of him as a trusted NPP member and an activist. He is dynamic, educated, selfless and being serving his people and party with dedication.

Most of the people in Kumawu Constituency and the NPP leadership and members there wanted him to be the nominee for the post of DCE to continue to serve the people as honestly and dedicatedly as he has been serving them and the party. However, Mr Adusei in collusion with Kumawuhemaa presented an alleged NDC member or a less active NPP member, to the President and he has fallen for what one or two persons have agreed on as opposed to what many people agree on. I can hardly get my head around this.

Could the nominated candidate for DCE not be one of those selfish, greedy and cunning individuals who hold on to two party cards, NPP and NDC, so whenever any of the party comes to power, he comes out as a registered and dues-paying member of the party just to avail themselves of any available opportunities while throughout the struggles of the party in opposition, they will be dormant?

From all these and other attitudes by the NPP leadership which I find very despicable, the NPP have started digging their own grave and writing their requiem or dirge.

Yes, the President will only listen to the voice of God but not the masses. However, the voice of the people is rightly or wrongly said to be the voice of God. I know that Nana Akufo Addo, my Joseph, Moses or David, was brought to power by God through the team work of many Ghanaians. However, as God made Saul the King of the Israelites, He Himself (God) disowned him when he (Saul) became disobedient to God. Read 1 Samuel 15 about the instructions God issued to Saul via Samuel regarding the war with the Amalekites.

Yes, Nana Akufo Addo is now the President. However, he has to bear in mind that most of his promises can successfully materialise to the collective benefit of Ghanaians if he remained in power for at least eight years and he gets somebody who shares his dreams to continue from where he will stop. Therefore, duration, like time, is of greater essence here. When he leaves power and he has NDC to succeed him, it wont take them long to dismantle all the good works he might have achieved. This is evident from what former Presidents Mills and Mahama did when they took over from former President Kufuor.

Are we thinking about the future successes of NPP presidential and parliamentary candidates at future general elections if we carried on like this, failing to listen to the voices of the masses that campaigned for the party to come to power? Yes, the future successful election of any NPP candidate will be based on the outcome of President Nana Akufo Addos presidency; his achievements. However, Ghanaians are unpredictable when it comes to casting their votes. Do some electorates not sell their votes for a peanut? Do Ghanaians not prefer to vote on tribal lines? It was only God that intervened to scupper the rigging machineries by the NDC after hearing and answering the masses supplications to Him to rid them of President Mahama and the NDC.

Yes, the President and his team have the right not to listen to them. As they have that right, the masses also have the right not to campaign let alone, vote for them in future elections. This is tit for tat!

It will be a situation of tickling oneself and laughing should NPP think they can stay in power for eight, twelve, sixteen etc. years hence they can ignore their grassroots supporters because they are now in power. It really pisses me off to see the leadership behaves that way.

Anyway, it does not belong to he who is leading to redirect their steps hence this publication which is meant for attitudinal correction.

Lest I forget, I have read a publication on Ghana web on Sunday, 30 April 2017 titled, NPP activist poisoned at Ayensuano ( http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/NPP-activist-poisoned-at-Ayensuano-533783). The deceased, Emmanuel Koranteng, was opposed to the DCE nominee for his District and was going to organise a press conference on Monday, 1 May 2017 but he was allegedly poisoned. On the other day, I listened to one NDC Dr Asemfofro who had called for an investigation into the death of the late President Evans Atta Mills, claiming he was murdered by the NDC and was ready to prove his allegation in court. He died three weeks after making that public and on air allegation. What is going on in Ghana?

However, the truth will always be told no matter how far it hurts. I hope Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) will be provided with the needed security as they have publicly claimed that their lives have been threatened. They are precious to Ghana and to the NPP, I must confess.

Rockson Adofo

(Written on Monday, 1 May, 2017)
Ibrahim Mahama

02.05.2017 LISTEN

Beleaguered brother of former President John Dramani Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama, has claimed he entered into an agreement with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to stagger the payment of his workers pension contributions.

He said the negotiated agreement was reached with SSNIT on December 22, 2016, and accused the Trust of stabbing him in the back by turning around to prosecute him over the non-payment of the contributions of his workers.

Agreement

The supposed agreement was said to have been reached at a time his brother's National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had lost power to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and was on its way out of office.

Ibrahim and his company, Engineers and Planners Limited (E&P), together with Kwadwo Aboagye-Attah (Director), Sulemana Ahmed Amidu (Executive Director) and Sidney Audrey Steyn (Managing Director) are appearing before a district court in Accra over GH1 million contributions of staff of the company supposed to have been paid to SSNIT.

Demand Notice

The demand notice prepared by SSNIT to Ibrahim and others on March 1, 2017 showed that the total contribution E&P should have paid was GH1,601,051.78 with a penalty of GH1,322,161.45.

The notice also put the total indebtedness at GH2,723,213.32 with GH200,000.00 as less payment.

However, Ibrahim is insisting that the company has settled in full the outstanding amount owed SSNIT.

DAILY GUIDE learnt following the writ of summons that has caused him to appear in court on Saturday, Ibrahim quickly rushed to the Kokomlemle office of SSNIT on Friday to settle his debt, which had been hanging for several months.

Sources said he was to be prosecuted for the non-payment of his workers' contributions but the managers of the Trust at the time allegedly stopped the prosecutors from doing their job.

Dud Cheques

Even before the commencement of the court action by SSNIT, Ibrahim is also being investigated by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) over alleged issuance of 44 dud cheques in the name of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

He was given two weeks to clear the unpaid duties to the GRA.

Ibrahim's Explanation

A statement titled, 'E&P has settled SSNIT Contributions' issued by Rafik Rufai, an associate of Ibrahim stated, On 22nd December, 2016, SSNIT entered into a negotiated agreement with Engineers and Planners, as it does with all clients, for the payment of arrears of social security contributions of GH1,601,051.78.

According to the statement, per the terms of the agreement, E&P was required to make 12 monthly installments, commencing February 2017 and ending in January 2018, adding, As at 28th April 2017, E&P had made a total payment of over GH2 million (GH2,723,212.36) in full satisfaction of all outstanding arrears and penalties.

Two Days' Delay

Rafik Rufai said, JUST TWO DAYS DELAYED PAYMENT  On March 2, 2017, SSNIT wrote to E&P to serve notice that it had abrogated the negotiated agreement due to the failure of the company to make the installment payment for February 2017, as a result of two days of delay in paying the first installment.

Ibrahim's associate said that E&P informed SSNIT that it had made efforts to make the payments for February as agreed but for unexpected delays in their receivables on current contracts and convincingly committed to paying. A promise it has fulfilled, adding E&P further made a request for SSNIT to reconsider its decision to abrogate the negotiated agreement. SSNIT declined the request.

SSNIT Adamant

According to the associate, Instead, on 13th April, 2017, a summons was issued to E&P to appear before the District Court on 29th April, 2017 to answer a complaint of failing to pay SSNIT contributions of GH668,754.75 and penalty of GH387,709.31 totaling GH1,056,464.06.

Once again, it is worth noting that E&P has paid over GH2 million (GH2,723,212.36) in full satisfaction of all outstanding arrears and penalties.

He added that counsel for Engineers and Planners has informed the court that the company has fully paid off the outstanding amounts due SSNIT.

SSNIT's Case

It is the contention of the prosecutor, Leena Adomah Boakye, that Ibrahim and his co-accused, from February to July 2015, June to August 2016 and October 2016, failed to pay to the Trust the Social Security contributions to the tune of GH668,754.75.

The four are facing an additional charge of failure to pay penalty of GH387,709.31 on the said contributions.

Ibrahim Absent

Ibrahim was not in court last Saturday but Sulemana Ahmed Amidu, who was the only accused person to make an appearance, denied the charges and was granted a self-recognizance bail of GH10,000 by Ms Afua Gyakyiwaa Sackey, the presiding judge.

During the proceedings, the defence team, led by Ms Nancy Amartefio, apologized for the absence of Ibrahim and the other accused persons.

The team confirmed to the court that the company had settled in full the outstanding amount owed the Trust; and the case was adjourned until May 13, 2017.

Pensions Act

As required by the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), the employer is expected to pay social security on behalf of the employees at the end of every month.

By William Yaw Owusu
Accra, Ghana, 27 April 2017  IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Africa Reinsurance Corporation supported a two-day technical workshop on risk modelling and strategic decision-making for index insurance products.

Most of the agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa is rain fed, and many regions are vulnerable to climate shocks such as drought, flooding, and irregular rainfall. To limit their losses in any given year, smallholder farmers often invest very little into their land, which leads to reduced yields and contributes to food insecurity. Insurance can be a good risk management tool for these smallholder farmers, but the traditional insurance market largely fails to meet their demand for affordable insurance. Index insurance provides an innovative and more efficient solution for these farmers to protect their crops against losses and encourage investment.

James Seward, Practice Manager for the World Bank Groups Finance and Markets Global Practice, Africa region, said, The agriculture sector is a critical part of most economies in Africa and protecting farmers and agribusinesses from weather-related risks is critical, especially as the impacts of climate change become more pronounced. Mitigating weather-related risks is also an important precondition to providing credit, stimulating investment in farming, and increasing productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. High level training helps develop the skills to create new and innovative index-based insurance products in the regional market, which in turn will increase insurance penetration to rural and low-income markets in Africa.

The workshop was delivered by the Global Index Insurance Facility, a multi-donor trust fund implemented by the World Bank Group that works to provide access to finance to smallholder farmers, micro entrepreneurs, and microfinance institutions. It gathered 12 Insurance Regulators and 29 CEOs from major insurance companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, and will be followed by a week-long training on index insurance for insurance companies technical staff.

About Global Index Insurance Facility

The Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) is a multi-donor trust fund that works to provide access to finance to smallholder farmers, microentrepreneurs, and microfinance institutions through the development and growth of local markets for indexed and catastrophic insurance in developing countries. It is supported by the European Commission; the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States; Governments of the Netherlands and Japan. The facility is part of the World Bank Groups Finance & Markets Global Practice. For more information, visit http://www.indexinsuranceforum.org .

About Africa Reinsurance Corporation

Established in 1976 by 36 member States of the African Union and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), The African Reinsurance Corporation (AFRICA RE), the leading reinsurance company in Africa and the Middle East, is a pan-African financial institution with diplomatic status in its current 41 African member countries. The purpose of Africa Re is to foster the development of the insurance and re-insurance industry in Africa, to promote the growth of the national, regional and sub-regional underwriting capacities and to support African economic development. For more information, visit http://www.africa-re.com

About IFC

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Lagos (AFP) - Nigerian civil society activists called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take long-term medical leave Tuesday, adding to mounting pressure on the 74-year-old over his health.

The ailing head of state spent two months in London earlier this year, officially on vacation and to have routine medical tests for an undisclosed illness.

But he has missed two out of the last three cabinet meetings, was absent from Friday prayers last week and failed to attend his grandson's wedding on Saturday.

Buhari himself has disclosed he had blood transfusions and other tests in London and disclosed he "couldn't recall being so sick".

Aides, who during his absence maintained he was "hale and hearty", now say he had a "long period of treatment" in the British capital and needs rest.

His spokesman Garba Shehu said Buhari had spent most of his time at his private residence since returning from London in early March and was working from home.

Despite assurances that Buhari's health is nothing to worry about, the presidency is increasingly being urged to be more open about his condition.

"Why is the president hiding his state of health?" Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka said last week. "He's supposed to understand he's public property."

On Tuesday, a group of leading civil society activists urged Buhari take medical leave, as his absence "has fuelled further speculations and rumours" about the true state of his health.

"We are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay," they wrote in an open letter.

A former chairman of Buhari's All Progressive Congress party, Bisi Akande, also expressed worries, saying "the health of the leader is intricately intertwined with the health of the nation".

"To avoid the ugly consequences of letting President Buhari's ailments throw Nigeria into confusion, I am urging all Nigerians to begin to pray for his divine healing and perfect recovery."

The health of Nigeria's president has been a sensitive issue since the death in office in 2010 of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, which saw months of political turmoil.

Buhari dismissed claims during the 2015 presidential election that he was seriously ill with prostate cancer, saying it was an opposition smear designed to show him unfit to be head of state.
Government has stated that it will stand by its decision to amend the Private Sector Participation (PSP) compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Under the agreement, which is known as the Power Compact II, government is expected to allow about 80 percent private sector control in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for the country to benefit from a cash injection of about $1 billion over a period of five years.

But speaking to Ghanaian workers at the celebration of May Day in Accra, Nana Akufo-Addo, maintained that government wants more than the 20 percent control agreed by the former government to protect ECG workers from being sacked.

Government has amended the terms of the concession agreement to require that one, Ghanaians own at least 51 percent of the concession. Two, there should be no involuntary layoffs as a result of the concession, he stressed, adding that the term of the concession will be reduced from 25 years to 20 years.

President Akufo-Addo observed that the new terms would benefit Ghanaians and protect ECG workers who have been apprehensive over the compact.

We believe that these amendments meet the aspiration of Ghanaians in protecting the jobs of workers and ensuring the control and viability of ECG.

We are as concerned as the workers that the reform should not lead to involuntary job losses and we should find a long-term solution to the nation's electricity problem, he said.

Ghana to lose all funds if

Ghana will lose $498 million from the US government meant to be an initial investment into ECG and other power generation companies if government misses the timeline.

Already, a Bidders Conference, which was supposed to be held in December 2016, was postponed several times due to concerns raised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

It is unclear how much time Ghana has left, but the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) tasked to see the implementation of the compact has warned severally that Ghana is running out of time.

Details of Compact II

Under the Power Compact, six projects will be implemented to address the root causes of the unavailability and unreliability of power in Ghana.

The project includes ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project and Access Project.

The rest are Power Generation Sector Improvement Project and Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management Project.

The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington on August 5, 2014.

Ghana to get over $498m

The Ghana Power Compact would provide Ghana with a grant sum of four hundred and ninety eight million, two hundred thousand United States (US$498,200,000) to improve the performance of Ghana's power sector, unlock the country's economic potential, create jobs and reduce poverty.

About $350 million of the grant is being invested in ECG to make the country's power distributor operationally and financially more efficient.

The compact is being implemented by the Government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).

-Citifmonline
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) says it has prescribed remedial measures both general and specific to the risk exposure of each of the 31 commercial banks operating in the country to help ensure resilience of the industry and restore the affected banks.

This follows the recent conclusion of its Asset Quality Review (AQR) exercise.

Johnson P. Asiama, Second Deputy Governor of the Bank, disclosed this in a speech delivered at the 10th Anniversary Ball of Fidelity Bank on Friday, April 28, 2017 at Movenpick Hotel.

We have subsequently issued supervisory letters to this effect, with strict timelines for compliance by all. The AQR exercise highlighted impairment in banks' loan books, capital deficiencies, credit concentration in the energy sector and some latent vulnerability in the banking industry.

He indicated that banks were required to reclassify all their downgraded facilities and book their appropriate provisions.

For banks which suffered capital erosion leading to breaches in solvency and single obligor limits, they are required to furnish the Bank of Ghana with an acceptable capital plan that would restore them to the prescribed capital adequacy benchmark and/or plans to wean them off exposure limit breaches.

Base rate model

To enhance credit infrastructure further, Dr Asiama said the Central Bank has been working in consultation with the Ghana Association of Bankers to review the existing Base Rate model, noting that the idea behind the model was to bring transparency to base rate setting and lending rates in the economy; and also to promote uniformity in the definition of determinants of the Base Rate in the industry generally.

The Committee, he added, had completed its work, and a draft notice was expected to be issued soon for implementation.

Collateral registry

Another key effort, he announced, was underway to increase the effectiveness of the Collateral Registry and the Credit Reference Bureaux, noting that the Bank of Ghana was developing a central data hub for use by data providers to ease their data submission to credit bureaus.

Amendments

Furthermore, he said proposed amendments to the Borrowers and Lenders Act, Act 773 had been drafted with the aim of strengthening the Secured Transaction Regime in the creation, perfection, priority and enforcement of security interests on both movable and immovable property.

Payments systems

In response to the changing banking and payment landscape, we initiated a process to review the Electronic Money Issuers and Agents' Guidelines (2015) and the Payment Systems Act 2003 (Act 662) with the view to consolidating it into one piece of legislation called Payment Systems and Services Bill, 2017.

We have consulted widely with stakeholders in drafting the bill, and the draft is currently with the Ministry of Finance ready to be forwarded to Cabinet.

We are also working with the banking industry to migrate all payment cards from magnetic stripe standard to Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) chip and PIN standard this year to enhance security and reduce fraud in the industry.

These are aimed at reducing electronic payroll fraud and improving government revenue collection efforts, as well as enhancing the monetary policy transmission mechanism.

Directive

We therefore enjoin all financial institutions and payment systems operators to obtain international security certifications such as the ISO 27001 and the PCI DSS. These requirements are necessary to promote the integrity of the financial and payment systems.

Fidelity at a glance

Jim Reynolds Baiden, Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, commenting on the performance of his outfit, said the bank's total assets steadily increased at end-March 2017 to GH4.10 billion, up by 4.71 percent from the corresponding period last year.

The bank has also grown its deposits base to GH2.58 billion and has extended credit to the tune of about GH1.47 billion.

Fidelity Bank Limited has invested in more than 115 ATMs and operates 75 branch networks with presence in eight out of the 10 regions of the country. Today, Fidelity Bank can boast of establishing two subsidiaries, the Fidelity Asia Bank Limited, its offshore banking hub and the Fidelity Securities Limited, the investment banking arm.

[email protected]

By Samuel Boadi
Kweku Asamoah being assisted by some officials of NIB to cut the tape to officially open the branch

The National Investment Bank (NIB) has opened a branch at the Kumasi City Mall.

The Kumasi City Mall branch is the 7th NIB branch in the Ashanti Region and the 48th branch nationwide.

The opening of the branch in Kumasi comes a week after the Makola Branch was opened in Accra.

At the brief opening ceremony, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIB, John Kweku Asamoah, reiterated his call on staff to make excellent customer service delivery their top priority.

He stated that excellent service delivery is a prerequisite for business success in the highly competitive banking industry.

Mr Asamoah further urged staff to endeavor to understand the socio-cultural beliefs of customers, as this was critical to delivering excellent customer satisfaction.

He disclosed that NIB would open two additional branches in the Ashanti Region before the close of the year.

The CEO added that NIB is poised to bring banking to the doorsteps of customers, hence the drive to open more branches nationwide, and urged customers to patronize the products and services of the bank.

A business desk report


A Galamsey site

02.05.2017 LISTEN

Chinese government is to offer grant for Ghana's alternative livelihood programme for illegal miners.

Illegal mining (galamsey) is threatening the country's water bodies and environment. The Chinese government is willing to give Ghana a grant to fund its intended multilateral mining integrated project, which seeks to sanitise the small-scale mining sector.

An initial amount of about $10 million is needed to be able to roll out the programme, and according to the Project Coordinator, Dr. Isaac Karikari, the Chinese government has indicated its readiness to offer government a grant for it (programme).

The multilateral mining integrated project will be a holistic approach to combat illegal mining and will be around the application of technology and enforcement of the law as well as supervision.

It is an alternative livelihood programme for illegal miners, whose activities have polluted water bodies, depleted vast forest covers and destroyed farmlands, among other natural resources across the country.

Currently, government has initiated steps to clamp down on illegal mining.

The five-year project, which is yet to be approved by cabinet, was top on the issues discussed during a meeting by departmental heads of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources at Aburi in the Eastern Region.

Dr Karikari admitted it would be difficult to be executed but was confident it would be the best way to sanitise the sector.

Meanwhile, following a meeting with an Ivorian delegation a few days ago, a deputy minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu Bio, says a team has been set up from both countries to ascertain the extent at which illegal mining is destroying water bodies in Ivory Coast. TV3
Gina Ama Blay

02.05.2017 LISTEN

Gina Ama Blay, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Western Publications Limited, publishers of DAILY GUIDE, has won the Media Communications Entrepreneur Award for the year 2016.

She was one of three women entrepreneurs to win awards at the event.

Mrs. Blay was recognized for her outstanding achievements in the print industry over the years at the 7th Ghana Entrepreneur & Corporate Executive Awards in Accra on Saturday.

The award scheme, instituted in 2010, seeks to identify the tremendous contributions of the companies, entrepreneurs and corporate executives to the development of the country.

Overall Best

Dr. Nii Kotei Dzani, President of Groupe Ideal, was adjudged the Overall Best Entrepreneur for the year 2016.

He said the business community must take advantage of the various policies outlined by the government.

Dr Dzani, who thanked God for the award, stated that one does not need a capital to start a business in Ghana but the right attitude and integrity.

With an initial capital of GH37,000 in 2009, the company now has assets of about GH1 billion.

Earlier, Carlos Ahenkrah, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, in a message read on behalf of Alan Kyeremanten, the sector minister, stated that the Nana Addo administration intends to move the country forward.

If we can do this and do it properly, we need a private sector, because we have always seen the private sector as the engine of growth, and we intend to make the private sector the center for growing this economy, Mr. Ahenkrah noted.

Gov't interventions

He said the government has evolved a 10 Pillar Strategic Plan to move the country forward in terms of industrialization and growth.

This, he said, includes a stimulus package for companies and industries that are distressed, one-district one-factory initiative, Strategic Anchor Industry, a flagship programme for industries to sustain the economy, the establishment of Specific Product Industrial Parks (free zones), Small and Medium Scale (SME) development, Export Development, Businesses Regulatory Reforms, among others.

Mr. Ahenkrah disclosed that plans are far advanced by the government to institutionalize public-private sector dialogues where the public would engage actors in the private sector.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a Deputy Minister for Information, in a speech read on behalf of Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Business Development, indicated that the government believes in empowering the private sector to ensure economic growth.

The Deputy Information Minister explained that the tax cut announced in the budget and other measures had been put in place to strengthen the capacity of banks to serve the citizens better.

Mr. Nkrumah noted that the Nana Addo administration had also launched the National Industrialization Revitalization Programme, an economic intervention programme to provide a stimulus package of over GH200 million to existing companies that are under distress, adding that this intervention will create massive jobs to promote rural industrialization.

He added that we are of the belief that creating innovative and competitive environment will go a long way to grow the base of the indigenous Ghanaian companies and entrepreneurs to add value to what they are already doing.

Mr. Nkrumah revealed that the vision of the government would not materialize if the actors in the private sector fail to honour their obligations.

Other winners

Eric Kututse, Chairman of First Sky Group of Companies; Emmanuel Adu-Sakodie, CEO, CDH Financial Holdings, Felix Nyarko-Pong, CEO, Unibank Ghana Limited and Emmanuel Asiedu, CEO, Gratis Foundation won awards at the event.

[email protected]

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson


02.05.2017 LISTEN

Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has appealed to Ghanaian workers to avoid labour unrest in order to build a strong country, promising the government will do its part in that regard.

Addressing workers in the region during a May Day parade Monday, Mr Duncan underscored the need for workers to take personal interest in their jobs, arguing that its survival or otherwise will have effect on their lives.

When our work survive, we also survive. It must not be that I am here to do some job to take my salary or to take my wage. It must be in your interest to also ensure that the work you are doing also survives because when that work survives it guarantees your survival, he stated.

He assured that the government would be proactive on matters that affecting labour so there will be industrial harmony He said it was important that workers respect Ghanas labour laws, particularly those relating to working hours, adding work eight hours as by law establish and by so doing, it will help government to also put more effort to support us.

The regional minister said the Akufo-Addo led government would help the countrys labour unions to transform Ghanas economy in order to create jobs for the youth. Mr Duncan also urged organised labour to join in the fight against illegal mining which has caused devastation to the countrys water bodies, forest covers and farms among others.

We as workers must be united to support the government to fight this illegal mining thing. I wish to see a united voice at the labour front against galamsey.
Lydia Agyei Yeboah, a Nursing Trainee with the Atibie Nursing and Midwifery College exhibited the true character of Florence Nightingale on May Day in Koforidua, when she saved a hypoglycemia patient dying on the street of Koforidua, Eastern regional Capital of Ghana.

The Patient, identified as Joe was attacked by convulsive seizure and near loss of consciousness.

This created panic situation as people around ignorant about the condition feared to get closer to the patient.

The trainee Nurse currently doing clinical services at the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua, on her way to the Hospital spotted the incident and quickly rushed to render first aid service to the patient at the street side.

She prepared sugar solution to the helpless patient and subsequently a biscuit with high sugar content raising the blood glucose level to the normal range which caused the patient to regain consciousness and handed him over to the family members who later came to scene.

The kind gesture of the Nurse attracted many passers -by to the scene some of whom provided support to the Nurse to revive the Patient.

The Nurse was hailed by persons who trooped to the scene to catch a glimpse. Hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels fall below 4 mmol/L (72mg/dL).

Speaking to Kasapa News Eastern regional Correspondent, Kojo Ansah after displaying rare professionalism, the Trainee Nurse Lydia Agyei Yeboah explained, she was going to the Regional Hospital for clinical but decided to buy food at the roadside, in the process she spotted the man in convulsion state.

She said after examination suspected the cause to be Hypoglycemia hence requested persons around to provide her sugar which was given to the patient to raise the blood glucose level to normal range.

When asked what she feels about her rescue effort, the Trainee Nurse replied  it is part of the training we get, nursing is service to humanity regardless of your location so even though I feel happy, it is a normal feeling. 

Meanwhile, she said, it is important for persons with such conditions to let their family and friends to be aware of it so they know what to do in case of any eventuality.

Lydia Agyei Yeboah added that, even though diabetes is well known to be high blood sugar, some people with diabetes take medication that can also cause their sugar levels to go too low and this can become dangerous.
02.05.2017 LISTEN

The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE) in partnership with Premium Bank Ghana Ltd have opened nominations for 2017 edition of the prestigious Ghana Startup Awards.

The awards which was launched last year has being geared towards celebrating ambitious and indigenous start-up businesses making impact, contributing to economic growth, meeting social needs and putting Ghana on the global economic map.

Winners of the Awards aside the award plaques will receive various kinds of business support from Premium Bank through its HelpStation initiative.

Nomination is opened till the 12th of May, 2017 and can be made through www.thestartupnetwork.org/nomination

Categories up for nomination include: Agriculture, Education, Fashion, Finance, Health, Manufacturing, Multimedia & Tourism, Processing, Social Enterprise, Technology, Startup Entrepreneur of the Year, Startup of the Year, Student Startup of the Year and Non-Ghanaian Startup of the Year

Notable winners from last years award included EchoHouse Ghana Limited, Soronko Solutions, Regina Agyare, KP Photography, FarmerLine, Kantanka Automobile, Ameyaw Debrah Media and several others.

The awards will be preceded by the release of the Ghana Startup Club 100; a listing of the top 100 best performing startups in Ghana.

The 2017 Premium Bank Ghana Startup Awards spearheaded by The Startup Network, a project by TANOE is in partnership with KPMG, iConceptsPR, The HelpStation, Avance Media, Edel Consult, Kumasi Hive, HapaSpace, MEST and TentMaker Ghana and is part of TANOEs contribution to enhancing the Startup Eco-System in Ghana and providing the support and public recognition needed for outstanding startups in Ghana to thrive.
Ashanti regional chapter of the Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana on May Day put up a sterling protest against governments directive to halt their operations amidst the calls for the state to eradicate illegal mining otherwise called galamsey.

The group stormed the May Day parade at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi chanting war songs and daring people to stop speaking against their operations.

Speaking to Ultimate News, the Acting Executive Member of the Ashanti Chapter of the association, Frank Osei insisted that the union has contributed in putting together a taskforce to help flush out galamsey operations in the region.He complained members of the association are going bankrupt and want government to rethink its stance.

You know for about two months now it came out that all mining activities should cease we call it unfortunate because some of us are being backed by the constitution to carry out are activities. So today being May Day we realize that we need to come out here and send our petition to his Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, again we the small scale miners must go back to work now! I mean now! If the president is not careful he will put us into bankruptcy.

....We want to tell him that the solution does not mean he should stop scale mining, together we can fix the problem we are going to form an internal tax force to corporate whichever DCE takes office to make sure that we eliminate or clamp down any illegal activities.

....More so we want to assure him that all the degraded lands we will make sure that we reclaim them. We are praying that the president would consider this petition of ours and we promise that our next practice will be of good behaviour

Why did it take your association so long to form a taskforce against illegal miners?

There is time for everything but this time like I said has been a wake-up call for us because we dont want to be victimized again we want to be citizens not spectators this time around we want to assure him we took this word from his inauguration speech so he should honor that and give us the privilege and well make sure that henceforth, henceforth the right practices with regards to mining would be done, he explained.
It was a fatal mistake and I wish I had sat in a different chair as I paid rapt attention to a feud raging at the table left side. I was in an expensive restaurant of a hotel, after foolishly agreeing to meet with a friend who called and cancelled at the last minute. I was already seated near the beach side, the waves were cascading with a nice threatening thunder on the rocks and as I watched the filth beaching on the sand, and the light sea spray splashing the glass, I convinced myself it was worth staying for dinner even if I had to redesign my menu in the coming week.

Accra is food expensive these days and I am finding increasingly that what used to cost a moderate GH15 is now a bitter GH65 and threatening to rise with the proverbial retort, its not us ooo, things are just expensive. Better said in the vernacular with a knowing smile and mischievous expression, knowing very well that a man in a Mercedes Benz will never drive away from a two-cedi piece of roasted plantain. It costs that much in Tema Community 8, as I discovered earlier in the day, driving around, lost in Tema for the umpteenth time.

And I wondered again, how do you spell, oooo? Is it three or four o's or is it as long as the inquisition needs to be dragged?

Now here I am, sitting by the angry waves, wondering whether it is worth living in a democracy that can't seem to go beyond voting. Just how do we get a majority of semi-literates who think democracy gives them the right to destroy property because their choice of candidate for a District chief did not materialise?

Just like little Sylvan loudly talking back to who seems to be his mother about why his food is not here yet, and the patient boyfriend, Uncle Tommy, who would give anything to be left in a room with this spoilt bozo, and who probably can't wait for Mum to wrap up this meal and get home to a big apology on a therapeutic mattress. For now, his patience is shining through and he might be in line for next year's VGMA awards if only they could spot him.

And while all the tantrums are flying around the place, Ibrahim Mahama is giving me something else to worry about. This week he just told us about his SSNIT non-payments and penalties totalling close to a million cedis, which SSNIT of course failed to collect while his brother was in authority. He actually had the audacity with GRA, I just noticed, to issue dud cheques on an account with Merchant Bank.

And I suddenly wondered how did he slip through to have an account with this bank? When I last looked he owed the bank several million cedis and was close to pushing them into bankruptcy. So all our protests came to zilch. Nobody would prosecute him, not while his brother was at the top. And what hurts me most is that JDM does not see anything wrong with this. How much more has Ibrahim been up to and will we, once and for all, set the investigative agencies loose to get to the deep bottom of this corruption, because we are yet to look at Zoomlion and RLG. I am still waiting for the CHRAJ to let me know how far with my petition on the GYEEDA scandal. Since November 2013?

And why would a bunch of followers, with little or no clear understanding of democracy not move in to take their share of the one million one constituency money that is about to fall in the hands of their MPs and of course as they understand it, it will then move to their level.

This spate of militancy we are witnessing, first from the Invisible Forces, and then to this outright rejection of nominations by the President's office as per the Constitution needs to be looked at a little closer.

The Trump says he will deport close to seven thousand Ghanaians living illegally in the USA. Haba!, they should come home. We will find space for them as MPs. And they can travel on diplomatic passports. Even in that house they are carrying their illegal family to the States and UK. So much so that the Colonial Masters are leaking their own documents.

Now the MPs are upset. Worried they have been singled out to be treated as ordinary citizens, the story is hurting their false pride more than anything. Well everything must end.

NDC is still yelling about the cedi bond that might shore up the cash problems of this Government's first term. But I caution Nana and his team, his party people sway towards extravagance and another gaff into opposition might not see them back ever again.

And while the Parliamentary Accounts Committee is scathing over fifty cedi motorbikes and GH350 trucks sold at auction, GIMPA has no record of the title to their property in Greenhill. The Auditor has warned them in Para 832 of his report on Public Boards of this.

And in the report on Ministries Departments and Other Agencies (MDA's) they are stealing the money by heart. This from the Audit Reports of 2015 and before. In 2013, MDA's misappropriated GH395.2 million. In 2014 the amount came down to GH252.8 million. Now in 2015 they have filched GH505.2 million in various ways of which the bulk of it is in evasion of taxes, contracts and cash infractions.

With all this money slipping through government hands and piling the pressure on cash disbursements, the NPP have no excuse not to achieve their budgetary targets. In all sincerity, they only have to plug the stealing holes, trap the thieves and they will have enough money to do all they plan.

I hope unlike their political enemies they will read the Audit reports and move quickly. OccupyGhana is in court with the Auditor General in about three weeks. Why we have to take this unnecessary step to achieve what is good governance, I really do not know. I was hopeful that a new Auditor General would recognise the efforts we have made to get them to this point, but we will see our day in court if need be. It is about Ghana and the need to clear the fog.

And what was the little boy's tantrums all about? His mother had promised him if he behaved, dressed up nicely and came out with her and his Uncle Tommy, he could eat anything he wanted when they got to the restaurant. So in the restaurant, he ordered downside of rice. In Ga, it reads omo shishi the bottom black part.

And the waiter with a wink and a nod from Uncle Tommy had taken the order and now was back with an apology of no down side rice. And of course Sylvan would not accept this. So he yells for entitlement against all odds, knowing that in the end there would be knocks and deprivation of Nickelodeon viewing time, including a bottom smack and an early goodnight.

Does Uncle Tommy mind? With no intention of calming Sylvan, he urges an early exit, licking his lips as Mummy meekly agrees and offers ice cream to lure Sylvan away.

So I sit and ponder my problem and leave Sylvan to solve his. Downside rice at Labadi Beach Hotel. Honestly. Who promised the youth they would be able to choose their downside MCE with a constitution drafted by Uncle Tommy and his people? Very different objectives.

Ghana. Aha a y d papa. Alius valde week advenio. Another great week to come.

Sydney Casely-Hayford, [email protected]
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has urged President Akufo-Addo to order that classroom blocks be built in the hometown of former President John Mahama with monies that would be taken from the younger brother of the former President, Ibrahim Mahama by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

According to him, since the 2017 budget did not capture the said amount, it will be appropriate for the money to be used to develop Bole, the hometown of the businessman.

Speaking on Adom TVs Badwam on Tuesday, Ken Agyapong claimed that residents of Bole are disappointed in the former President for not fulfilling his promises of building school blocks in the town which happens to be the hometown of the Mahama brothers.

I have decided not to comment again on Ibrahim Mahamas debt issue. If Ibrahim pays the money, I am pleading with Akufo-Addo and the finance minister and Dr Bawumia that when the budget was prepared, this money was not stated and so they should transport that 12 million cedis to Bole and build more classroom blocks for them because Bole residents are cursing Mahama for abandoning his hometown, he said.

The GRA has asked two companies owned by Ibrahim Mahama to clear their indebtedness to the Authority earlier than originally planned.

Assistant Commissioner for Communication at the GRA, Robert Mensah, said the decision was reached after the two companies consistently defaulted.

The GRA has therefore handed down a new ultimatum for Ibrahim Mahama to settle the debts in two weeks.

Mr Kennedy Agyapong, had, for several weeks, alleged that Mr Mahama issued dud cheques to the Customs Division of the GRA. He had subsequently been on a media crusade, agitating that EOCO should investigate the younger brother of the former President.

It is an offence, under the laws of Ghana, to issue a cheque, knowing very well that you do not have sufficient funds in your account to meet the face value of the cheque.

According to media reports, Mr Mahama issued 44 different dud cheques linked to three bank accounts valued at over GH10 million to the GRA.

The cheques were meant to pay for import duties on heavy-duty vehicles that he had imported into the country on a number of occasions.

Reports also say, although the cheques were not honoured, the GRA kept accepting them, apparently because of Mr Mahamas status in society. But the issue was taken up when the new government took office, especially with threats from Mr Agyapong that he would not rest until Mr Mahama was arrested and prosecuted.

The firebrand MP said most pupils in all public schools in the former Presidents hometown, are lying on the floor to study.

This, he noted has forced him to make such passionate appeal to ensure that pupils in Bole get the needed resources to learn.

He maintained that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is committed to transforming lives including improved education especially in deprived towns.
02.05.2017 LISTEN

The commodities downturn has revealed the fragility and structural weaknesses of many African economies. With fast-growing populations, African states are under intense pressure to deliver for their citizens. At the same time, austerity is impacting Africas traditional donors, with foreign governments focused on domestic priorities rather than overseas largesse.

Meanwhile, climate change and income inequality are fuelling conflict and migration and creating new humanitarian challenges. As David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, has noted, the scale and complexity of current humanitarian needs are increasingly out of step with the resources, policies and practices available to meet them.

Its clear to us that we need a new approach to development. We need to rethink the role of the State and the contribution of donors and the private sector to sustainable development. We need progressive new compacts which engage all actors to solve the continents toughest, most intractable development challenges together. We have the frameworks to guide this. The Sustainable Development Goals alone contain 17 goals and 169 targets.

In our view enterprises have a vital role to play in development. They are skilled at delivering public goods and services and can often be held more accountable than governments. In our view governments must understand their limitations and recognise that they alone dont hold the solutions.

Countries like Botswana realised this long ago and have managed to create inclusive growth by enshrining cooperation and conversation with industry and civil society in the enforcement of mining laws, for example, to generate shared value for society from its diamond wealth. Rwanda holds some lessons for us too. The discipline introduced into its development planning process now extends to the use of data and evidence from industry and civil society for policy-making.

Across the board, we need to encourage greater collaboration and greater pooling of evidence from governments, donors, private sector and NGOs in order to determine which policies deliver the greatest positive impact. At the heart of this needs to be a focus on the beneficiaries - the people who all too often are passive recipients rather than active participants in the development process.

We need to focus on measuring not just outcomes but impact - not how many classrooms were built or teachers hired but how many children are receiving a quality education and building relevant skills and knowledge they can deploy productively in decent jobs. Defining these collective goals  through the Sustainable Development Goals framework  and creating clear accountability around each actors part in achieving the goal, needs to be given much more focus.

New coalitions of donors, corporates, governments and civil society, powered by new models of blended finance, offer fresh solutions to old problems. By freeing parties from the restraints of their traditional roles each actor can be encouraged to bring their full skill set, networks and technologies to bear.

This is about solving the thorniest market failures and the most intractable social challenges, which in turn will create more predictable operating environments and a larger addressable consumer market for industry - critical factors for job creation on a massive scale.

We are advocating for a new development model which looks at the contribution of diverse partners to deliver positive impact and to solve different aspects of a complex problem. This might be stimulating agricultural production in northern Zambia or it might be cleaning up the Niger Delta and creating sustainable income-generation opportunities for communities. Thats the model we need in Africa today, and a model that Africa can export to the rest of the world.

Marcus Courage and Patrick Utomi were in conversation at the inaugural Positive Impact Summit hosted by Palladium.

Marcus Courage is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Africa Practice Ltd, a strategic advisory firm. He is Director of Alkebulan Ltd.

Patrick Utomi is a Nigerian professor of political economy and management expert. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and a former presidential candidate.
Coventry University, a public research university based in England in partnership with the Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) and African Institute for Transformational Entrepreneurship (AITE), organized an entrepreneurship and employability masterclass to equip the youth mostly students on becoming successful entrepreneurs in future.

The masterclass provided participants a platform to interact and share ideas with alumni of Coventry University. Held in Accra on Saturday 29th April, 2017, two insightful sessions were held with speakers from Coventry University and the British Council, Ghana.

The first session led by Mr. Simon Hill, Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Coventry University, presented insights into innovation, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, leadership, socio-economic development, and policy formulation, all which are courses that are provided by the African Institute for Transformational Entrepreneurship, (AITE).

Mr. Gideon Brefo, a representative from the British Council Ghana, led the second session and offered insights on topics based on the recent report Universities, Employment and Inclusive Development: Repositioning Higher Education in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

This masterclass presentation took a valuable look at the qualities employers value in graduates including knowledge in field of study, ethics and integrity, problem solving, critical thinking, ability to work in a culturally diverse environment and work experience. Being a successful entrepreneur, Gideon also shared his entrepreneurship experience with participants.

Further to the training, participants took part in a personal branding exercise after which a selected few were given the opportunity to present an elevator pitch that could be used at interviews or networking events.

More, a graduate of Coventrys International Terrorism masters course and the Executive Director of West Africa Centre for Counter- Extremism (WACCE), Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar during a press briefing after the masterclass, shared his experience on how he stopped a young man joining ISIS with just hours to spare, and of his ongoing commitment to fighting terrorism.

Last year I saved a young mans life. He had been radicalised online and was on his way to join the terrorist group ISIS after he spent time online looking for meaning in his life.

Just a day before leaving to join the group he watched my TV outreach programme on counter-radicalization  that was what changed everything and he changed his mind.

West Africa is one of the deadliest regions for terrorism. My plans are to expand my counter terrorism work to include the entire West Africa region, helping to dissuade vulnerable groups and individuals from engaging in violent extremism and falling into the void of terrorist recruitment.

Dr. Osei Kofi Darkwa, President of GTUC & a Senior Member of Staff at Coventry University said that the two institutions have been in a collaborative partnership since 2010 offering high standard Masters programmes.

He added that our collaboration has given a number of students the advantage of international opportunities, while based in Ghana. Students have the option to graduate at GTUC or Coventry University at the end of their studies, and several also choose to join CU Summer Schools in Coventry during their degree.

Madam Jane Debra, President for Coventry University Alumni, Ghana Chapter, encouraged participants to cultivate the habit of seeking advice during challenges.

The masterclass ended with a networking ceremony which brought together business experts like and executives from Coventry University.
Energy think-tank, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is warning the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) might be negatively affected if government delays with the implementation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)s compact II programme.

ACEP wants the government to meet with the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU) to resolve outstanding pertinent issues over the agreement.

ACEP's Executive Director, Benjamin Boakye told Joy News Tuesday, a further delay of the compact II programme will erode efforts to retool ECG to deliver quality service.

We have a September deadline to ensure that the arrangement goes through and it is so short a time, so the earlier the stakeholders came together to resolve the pertinent issues there, the better for us, he said.

The implementation of the Ghana Power Compact agreement signed between the MCC and Ghana government in 2014 has stalled following some misunderstanding.

The Compact was to open the countrys energy market to independent power producers (IPP) and to improve the management of ECG.

Former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper signing the agreement in Washington as former President John Mahama and former US Secretary of State, John Kerry looked on.

This came after the country was hard hit by an erratic power supply that plunged the nation into what came to be known as dumsor.

Many local businesses collapsed because their owners could not afford to fuel generators to power production, experts have said.

The compact was to invest an amount of $350 million out of the total $498.2 million into the revitalization of ECG but it hit a snag after PUWU criticised the agreement for lack of transparency amongst others.

Some ECG workers demonstrating over the concession agreement

The Union said governments decision to privatise the company because of so-called inefficiency is ill-informed because the failure of state institutions to pay debts owed ECG for power consumed is the main problem facing the power distributor.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his May Day celebration speech Monday assured no worker of the company will be laid off under a renegotiated agreement.

He told the workers who had gathered at the Black Star Square his government had taken a second look at the agreement to eliminate clauses that could lead to job losses.

PUWU General Secretary, Michael Nyantakyi told Joy News the ECG workers were still not comfortable with the arrangement.

He maintained PUWU wants government to consider listing ECG on the Ghana Stock Exchange to raise the needed funds instead of giving it out on concession under the MCC programme.

But ACEP said the back and forth between government and PUWU is dragging the arrangement expected to inject some vibrancy into ECG.

Mr Boakye cautioned that rather than talking about the big pointers, government should get the stakeholders together.

He said an agreement with a broader framework on how to attract private capital into ECG has to be reached in the coming days.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | [email protected]
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says he expects Ghana's credit rating to improve in the next few months.

His optimism is based on assurances given to the credit rating agencies that government will be prudent with its expenditure this year, boost revenue and meet most of the macroeconomic targets set out the 2017 budget.

This was after the minister met the rating agencies in Washington DC and New York in the U.S. as part of the Non-deal road show which ended in New York on Wednesday.

According to the Finance Minister, the rating agencies have shown signs that are encouraging. I think that they are seeing an economic team that is capable, that has energy, there is some excitement around it and a commitment that they have not seen before, so I think, in forward looking they all are going to be more positive, than prior times.

In a response to timeliness of this action by the rating agencies, Mr. Ofori-Atta said engaging these institutions is all about trust; the thing about rating agencies is one of relationship, and a sense of transparency and credibility and I think that we are getting that through.

Ghanas troubles with the rating agencies

The country over the years has struggled in securing a favourable credit rating from these agencies; Moodys, Fitch and Standard and Poors.

Moodys for instance in September 2016 gave Ghana B3 rating but Changed Ghanas outlook to stable from negative. Fitch, on the other hand, affirmed the countrys ratings at B but with a negative outlook.

Standard and Poors in April last year gave Ghana B- ratings but with a stable outlook. All these verdicts, analysts say were influenced by the countrys rising public debt which hit GH122 billion as at December last year according to the Bank of Ghana.

This put the countrys debt to GDP ratio above 70 percent. Most of these institutions have ranked Ghana just one level above junk status.

Analysts say this means that, if measures are not implemented quickly, to move Ghana from the B2 and B3 categories, the cost of credit to the country could hit the roof.

For some, it is good news that Moodys gave Ghana a stable outlook, which is optimistic.

Others say depending on how the new administration implements that IMF extended credit programme, that could also influence Ghanas credit rating going forward.

Poor rating means that Ghana will be paying more interest when it borrows from the international market, especially when it comes to the issuance of local bonds and possibly a Eurobond. According to the 2017 Budget government, government has set aside a little over 10 billion cedis as interest payments.

Finalising the Eurobond deal

According to Government, the non-deal road show was successful because officials were able to convince donors, international institutional investors in US and London about governments commitment to stabilise the economy.

The team also used the opportunity to engage other international institutions like Millennium Challenge Corporation and other development partners.

The non-deal road show was jointly led by Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawuamia and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr. Enerst Addison.

The None-deal roadshow took the team to London, Washington DC, New York and Boston. The Vice President has maintained that government has no immediate plans of issuing a Eurobond despite this exercise.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Wiafe | Joy Business |New York
Kigali (AFP) - Around 20 of Africa's endangered Eastern black rhinos are returning in an "extraordinary homecoming" to Rwanda after the species disappeared there 10 years ago, the African Parks organisation said Tuesday.

The rhinos are being moved from South Africa to the Akagera national park in eastern Rwanda, according to the non-profit group that manages protected areas for African governments.

"This extraordinary homecoming will take place over the first two weeks of May," it said in a statement.

The Eastern black rhino, one of the sub-species of the rhinoceros, is in critical danger of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Back in the 1970s, more than 50 black rhinos thrived in the savannah habitat of the Akagera park, but their numbers declined due to wide-scale poaching and the last confirmed sighting was in 2007.

'Great symbol of Africa'

The illegal and lucrative trade in rhino horns, especially prized in Asia, has led to poaching and the decline of the species in Africa

'Rhinos are one of the great symbols of Africa yet they are severely threatened and are on the decline in many places across the continent due to the extremely lucrative and illegal rhino horn trade,' said African Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead.

According to the conservationists, there are fewer than 5,000 black rhino in the wild worldwide, with only about 1,000 of the Eastern sub-species.

Since 2010 African Parks has boosted security at Akagera and has prepared to accept the rhinos with financial help from the Howard Buffett Foundation, headed by the son of US billionaire Warren Buffett.

The measures taken include deploying a helicopter for air surveillance and an expert rhino tracking and protection team as well as a canine anti-poaching unit.

"We are fully prepared to welcome them (rhinos) and ensure their safety for the benefit of our tourism industry and the community at large," said Clare Akamanzi, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board.

In July 2015, Rwanda had reintroduced lions in the Akagera park, 15 years after they had disappeared. The lions were decimated in the years after Rwanda's genocide in 1994 as Rwandans who had fled the slaughter returned and occupied the park killing the lions to protect their livestock.

The park, which takes its name from the nearby Kagera river, is located near the border with Tanzania.

With the reintroduction of the rhinos, Akagera, which welcomed more than 36,000 visitors last year, will now boast being home to Africa's "big five" -- rhino, lion, elephant, leopard and buffalo.
By Laudia Sawer

Tema, May 02, GNA - Companies who want to provide social amenities to their host communities have been advised to consult experts before execution.

Mr Solomon Noi, Head of Waste Management Department, Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), who gave the advice, said seeking professional advice would ensure a more viable and appreciated projects in the receiving communities.

Mr Noi gave the advice during a stakeholders' forum in Tema organized by the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) to find workable solutions to some encroachments on the company's right-of-way.

He stated that companies mostly embark on projects as part of their corporate social responsibility without seeking the needed advice from the right quarters making the projects go waste after completion

According to him, experts were only contacted after completion of such projects, when beneficiaries abandoned the amenities due to social defects and other issues.

He stated for instance that even though WAPCo had provided three waste containers for the Bankuman community in Tema Manhean to prevent them from dumping on the Company's right-of-way, it was not yielding the needed result.

The Head of Waste Management noted that due to the inability of the company to consult his outfit before placing the containers in the community, its lifting had become problematic leading to its overflow and subsequent dumping on the ground.

He further explained that the TMA had zoned the whole of Tema Manhean and given it to Zoomlion Company Limited to lift and empty 23 containers under the National Sanitation Improvement Package,

According to him, even though the Assembly pleaded with the Zoomlion Company to add the three containers placed in the community by WAPCo which was not captured by the initial contract, they sometimes failed to do so since they were not being paid to do so.

Touching on a toilet facility provided for the community by the company, he stated that even though a permit was issued by the Assembly for its construction, his outfit's advice was not sought.

He explained that instead of connecting the facility to the existing sewer line, a septic tank was constructed, which he said could not hold the soak away which was accumulated with water.

Mr Noi said the technical defect came to his attention after the Assembly referred the issue to his outfit when it became difficult for residents to use the facility.

He indicated that such technical defects could have been taken care of from the planning stage of such projects if the relevant professionals were contacted before implementation.

GNA
By Laudia Sawer

Tema, May 02, GNA - The Tema Traditional Council (TTC) has called for the re-planning of the land near the gas transmission area of the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO) in Tema Manhean.

The land which was a residential area was acquired by WAPCO for the laying of its gas pipeline which stretch from Nigeria through Togo to Ghana to transmit natural gas to power producers.

Even though officials of the Company said the needed compensation had been paid to land owners before the laying of the gas pipelines, some residents of Bankuman have extended their activities to the right-of-way which could lead to a massive fire outbreak.

Nii Amarh Somponu II, Tema Shipi and Secretary of the Tema Stool Land, who called for the re-planning, said because the place used to be a residential area, it was difficult for residents to fully understand the dangers of their activities near the pipelines.

Nii Somponu said it was about time the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) re-planned the area to ensure the safety of residents and properties.

He said there was the need for them to create access routes for residents living near the right-of-way of WAPCO as its absence had led to its use as a thoroughfare.

Speaking at a stakeholders' forum on solutions to encroachment on the WAPCO right-of-way, he gave the assurance that the TTC would officially write to TMA and TDC to re-plan the area.

He urged the city planners not to hesitate to demolish some of the structures to create a buffer and an access route to the community as a measure to protect the national asset.

Mr William Osei, Head of Planning at TDC, confirmed that the entire area was planned by his outfit for residence but was given out to WAPCO and those leaving within the right-of-way of the gas pipeline, resettled before the commencement of the project.

Some residents in the area said they rented their structures and were not aware of the looming dangers of their activities on the gas pipelines.

They therefore appealed to the relevant institutions to embark on intensive and practical education on the issue to community members.

GNA
By Isaac Newton Tetteh

Tema, May 2, GNA - The Love Nest Foundation, a Tema based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has held a leadership summit with a call on the youth to make good use of opportunities that come their way.

The summit which was on the theme, 'Unleashing the Power within', was aimed at empowering young African adults to take up the challenge of being independent without depending on political and religious leaders.

Reverend Nana Agyemang Jackson, an inspirational speaker based in the United States of America, in a keynote address, said it was about time African youth put their potential to use instead of being superstitious and depending only on prayers to survive.

Rev Jackson stated that even though prayers were good, depending only on it could not help the youth to realize their potentials and develop them to their advantage.

He advised them against blaming others for their failures but should rather evaluate their actions and channel their activities towards achieving their goals.

He noted that it was unfortunate that in Africa, instead of empowering the youth to achieve greatness, fear was put into ambitious young people, killing their dreams eventually.

Rev Jackson said it was sad that with the availability of abundant natural resources, African continue to be poor due to bad leadership and lack of encouragement for people with vision.

He urged participants to take their education serious in order to be in a better position to change the dwindling fortunes and image of the continent.

Love Nest Foundation is an advocacy organizations that seeks to empower young people and provide a place for the less privileged in especially rural communities.

GNA
02.05.2017 LISTEN

Tumu (U/W), May 2, GNA - Social Initiative for Literacy and Development Programme (SILDEP) has blamed the increasing number of unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions on lack of access to family planning and safe abortion services in the country.

The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has therefore appealed to government to legalize safe abortion and broaden the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover family planning services to make such services available and easily accessible to all across the country.

Mr. Moses Dramani Luri, the Executive Director of SILDEP, made the appeal in a statement to congratulate Ghanaian workers for their commitment and effortless contribution to the development of mother Ghana.

The statement said such services would curtail the increasing number of unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions that were claiming lives of many including teenagers who could not afford the cost of family planning services in the country.

It noted that while SILDEP was happy with efforts by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to curb maternal deaths in the country, the situation was still worrying as two pregnant women from Sissala East and Sissala West District lost their lives in the last two months.

The statement therefore called on all stakeholders to partner government and the GHS to educate women on issues that could cause maternal deaths.

The statement said SILDEP was ready to work with all stakeholders towards addressing the challenges to create a better society for all. GNA
02.05.2017 LISTEN

Kumasi, May 02, GNA - Heads of Christian churches and para-church organizations in the Ashanti Region have asked the government to be resolute and sustain the momentum of the fight to stop illegal mining (galamsey)

They said it should refuse to be intimidated by the 'no votes' threat and go to every length to halt the unrestrained destruction of water bodies, land and forest resources.

This was contained in a statement they issued at the end of their meeting in Kumasi and read to journalists by the Right Reverend Professor Osei Safo-Kantanka, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Ghana Evangelism Committee.

They called for what they termed 'wise and safe extraction of gold and other mineral resources'.

They indicated that as leaders, they had a responsibility to contribute to the effort towards safeguarding the environment.

It was a dominion mandate of Christians to have responsibility not only to God but also their fellow human beings and to generations yet unborn in the use of the environment.

The Rt. Rev Prof Safo-Kantanka noted that they were stewards of the environment and would one day be held to account for their stewardship to God, adding that, the long silence of church leaders on the galamsey menace made them accomplices in the on-going destruction.

He said it was time that they told their church members involved in the illicit mining activity to quit.

'We want to tell all our church members, whether they are actively involved in this gold mining, or indirectly benefiting from it by selling their farmlands, or employing people to mine for them, that destruction of the environment in order to earn a living is unacceptable both to God and to humanity. The end does not justify the means'.

He reminded colleague pastors' to step up the teaching ministry on the Christian's responsibility to the environment.

The pulpit should be used to educate and bring knowledge to the people.

The Rt. Rev Safo-Kantanka expressed worry over the reported involvement of chiefs, politicians, security officers and public officials in the galamsey operation and urged them to cease doing that.

GNA

By Kwabia Owusu-Mensah GNA
NDC Member of Parliament for Juaboso, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh says hell not be surprised if the Akufo Addo government which he describes as vindictive, plot to have businessman Ibrahim Mahama hauled before court for not paying his TV license fee.

According to him, the high level of hatred for Mr Mahama by some elements in government and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reached the realms of absurdity, as his detractors move heaven and earth to nail him.

Issues about Ibrahim Mahama whos brother of ex President John Mahama has in the past two weeks dominated the headlines.

The business tycoon was first picked up by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over several dud cheques he issued to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) which could not be honoured.

He has been ordered to pay GH12.7m to the state by May 8, 2017. The amount represents duty for construction equipment he cleared at the Tema Port for which he issued the said cheques.

On Saturday, Ibrahim Mahama, was arraigned at the special SSNIT Court Saturday for his companys inability to pay the SSNIT contributions of its staff.

Engineers and Planners together with its Owner and Directors failed to pay SSNIT contributions of their employees for the periods February 2015 to July 2015 and June 2016 to October 2016.

The unpaid contributions amounted to about 700,000 cedis.The substantive amount however has attracted a penalty of 400,000 cedis, brings the total indebtedness to SSNIT to over one million Ghana cedis. But the company in a statement claimed it has since the suit settled its debt.

But speaking on Adom TVs Bedwam show, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said the government is unjustifiably persecuting Mr Mahama and trying relentlessly to tarnish his reputation.

Ill not be surprised if tomorrow hes hauled before the law court with the charge that he jumped the red light, the next time, hell be in another court with the claim that he has not paid his TV license fee. Should he be persecuted because hes a brother of a former president when hes doing legitimate business? A leading member of the governing party has vowed publicly to kill himself if Ibrahim Mahama is not jailed, and so in order that the person does not carry out his threat of killing himself, the businessman must be harrassed and suffer for no wrong done. Ibrahim Mahama is being unfairly treated.
Tripoli (AFP) - The head of Libya's UN-backed unity government on Tuesday held a rare meeting with a military strongman who supports a rival authority in the violence-wracked country, official media said.

Fayez al-Sarraj and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar met face-to-face in Abu Dhabi, the LANA news agency said, for only the second time since Sarraj was named prime minister-designate in late 2015.

Sarraj and Haftar met "thanks to international and Arab mediation", according to LANA, which is loyal to the parliament based in eastern Libya, after a first meeting in January last year.

Libyan television broadcaster 218 reported that the two held talks "in private" after posing for a photograph together.

Political rivalry and fighting between militias has hampered Libya's efforts to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Haftar, who backs an administration based in the far east of the country, has refused to recognise the authority of the UN-backed Government of National Accord since it started working in Tripoli in March last year.

In February, Sarraj said Haftar had refused to meet him in person in Cairo for Egypt-backed talks to discuss possible amendments to a UN-backed agreement signed in late 2015 that gave birth to the fragile unity government.

The Libya Political Agreement (LPA) gave no role in Libya's future to Haftar, whose forces control much of the country's east.

But Haftar, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army, has since established himself as a key player, especially after seizing the country's key oil terminals in September.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Tuesday's meeting came after a change of tack from Haftar, who seeks nationwide presidential polls next year.

Haftar is "now pursuing a different strategy... exchanging his support for an amended LPA for a guarantee to have presidential elections early in 2018 in which it would be thinkable for him to run", Toaldo said.

The meeting also comes as Sarraj seeks "badly needed legitimisation" from the eastern authorities, even as he struggles with internal support in western Libya where factions are hostile to Haftar, he said.

"I doubt that anything negotiated by Sarraj would be accepted peacefully by factions in western Libya if it is seen as giving Haftar a too prominent position within the security sector or the political system," Toaldo said.
About 4,000 workers in the petroleum sector are likely to lose their jobs within the next few months if government fails to stop the illegal sale of petroleum products in the country.

This is the caution from the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs).

The Association explains that the illegal trade which has been perpetrated for over year now, has also led to a massive drop in profits aside the difficulty in repaying debts owed banks.

The CEO of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Kwaku Agyeman-Duah disclosed this to Citi Business News at the sidelines of a press conference to outline the impact of the illegal trade on the operations of members.

This month alone, we have had indication that over 4000 people will be redundantif your station is running down, how do you get money to pay utilities and workers' salaries? he queried.

Mr. Agyeman-Duah also warned that the development if unchecked, could serve as a conduit for money laundering and terrorism financing.

It is very worrying in the sense that government is losing revenue and we are also losing our business, it is also a seed where if not properly checked, it becomes a place where we have a source of funding for terrorism since it is a cheap source of money which could also trigger money laundering, he said.

According to Mr. Agyeman-Duah, the other means adopted by the illegal operators for their act include; illegal diversion of export products to the domestic market, illegal diversion of non-taxed industrial products for sale as petrol as well as the dangerous practice of Tanker-to-Tanker transfer of the illegal products.

NPA intervenes at Tema Port

The concerns by the Oil Marketing Companies come at a time that the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is intensifying moves to clamp down on the illegal fuel trade business especially at the ports.

The CEO of the NPA, Hassan Tampuli in an interview with Citi Business News last week also said that No vessel be allowed to discharge petroleum products at the Tema port, main harbor, fishing harbor or dry dock.

Consequences of illegal trade on the economy

The AOMCs also warned of dire consequences of the illicit trade activities on other sectors of the economy and the petroleum sector.

These are threat to the fight against the dumping of dirty fuel on the market, threat to the survival of the banking industry, rising default in the payment of petroleum taxes/levies and the exacerbation of price war.

As a result of some dissonance on the current deregulation regime, the price war amongst OMCs are really hurting some OMCs. While efforts are being made to correct them, the presence of illegal products exacerbates the price war and inevitably leads to the sudden demise of some OMCs.

Government to come to the rescue

The AOMCs has since given the government a two day ultimatum to get the issue addressed.

It contends that, the government has the requisite authority, tools, instruments and relevant resources such as security institutions to stamp out this menace within this period. We also believe that our regulators, security operatives and the governmental agencies know the culprits and that they should act without fear or ill-will.



By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Some unidentified men are said to be threatening some sellers at the Konkomba Yam Market in Accra whose stalls were razed following bloody clashes there.

The men are reported to be demanding ransom from the sellers before they will be allowed to rebuild their shops.

Secretary to the Konkomba Yam market, Ezekiel Dannah has told Joy News the development has compelled some of the affected sellers to go to their hometown.

Related Article: Konkombas, Dagombas at Agbogbloshie clash; 2 dead

The rest, he said have gone to seek shelter elsewhere in Accra to allow for the issue to be addressed.

Some criminals have infiltrated us and are bent on stalling the peace process, Mr Dannah told Joy News Manasseh Azure Awuni Tuesday.

Related Article: 2 more arrested in Konkomba, Dagomba clashes at Agbogbloshie

Peace has returned to Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra after violent clashes some ethnic groups on April 11.

At least one person died and a number of others including a pregnant were injured during the clashes.

The police have intensified security presence in the area to avert further clashes in the future.

Manasseh reports some police officers have been stationed there with three armoured cars along the main road leading to the Agbogbloshie community.

Related Article: Mahama, Iddrisu, others can stop Konkomba, Dagomba clashes  MP

Mr Dannah said although peace has returned to the place, some people have constituted themselves into groups to foment trouble in the community.

He said these "criminal groups" wielding machetes move about in the market to drive away sellers who fail to pay money before rebuilding their stores.

He said the community leaders have been on the look out to arrest persons found to be behind the threats and hand them over to the police.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | AKABP
Residents of Somey near Adina in the Volta region are accusing an Indian salt mining firm, Seven Seas, of depriving them their livelihoods by preventing from mining salt there.

Two weeks ago, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, visited the area and directed Seven Seas Salt Company, which was at the centre of the clashes with residents, to stop drawing underground water for its operations with immediate effect.

The company was given a 30-day ultimatum to fully implement a contractual agreement to develop 300 metres at the northern and the southern belts of the concession area for residents of the communities to participate in the salt mining.

But the residents say the company has taken a large share of the concession and they are being excluded.

Acting paramount chief of the traditional area, Torgbui Sape Agbo told Joy News they supported Mr Amewu's directive to the company but said government was yet to put its feet on the ground to ensure compliance.

"If they could put in more efforts in resolving the issue, I think it would go a long way to help both the community and the company," he said.

Photo: Torgbui Sape Agbo

He said considering that the company has stopped operating as a result of the clashes, it presents the opportunity for government to step in and resolve the protracted conflict once and for all.

Togbui Agbo believes the resolution would enable the community to survive.

"The salt that they are using to feed their company is also relied on by the residents so they should give the residents some allowance. The 300-metres that they have provided is uphill which the residents cannot win salt there," he said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
Thursday 27th April marked the celebration of 30th anniversary of the European scholarship program ERASMUS by the European Union delegation and some of the European member states at the University of Ghana. At the event, the French embassy announced the organisation of the first higher education fair and the forthcoming launch of a French alumni platform.

Maiden edition of the France-Ghana higher education fair and the creation of the France Alumni platform

Against the backdrop of the France & Ghana 1957-2017: moving forward together initiative, the French embassy and the Agency Campus France are organizing the first ever France  Ghana higher education fair from the 3rd to the 6th of October, during which will be launched the France Alumni platform. The platform is already operational and registration is currently in progress. Based on the first 150 people to register on the platform between 10th April and 31st May 2017, a raffle draw will be held to determine the winner of a special prize.

The Campus France Agencys role in the promotion of the French higher education in Ghana

The Campus France is a public agency in Ghana which has since 2012, operated from its national main office at the Maison Francaise of the University of Ghana. Another branch was also opened on the KNUST campus during the France - Ghana Higher Education meetings in June 2015.

The agency organizes many informative seminars and workshops across the country to promote French higher education opportunities among Ghanaian students and foreign residents in Ghana who are interested in pursuing their studies in France.

Campus France Ghana also assists travelling students in visa application procedures.

The growing importance of cooperation between Ghanaian and French Universities

In 2013, the Embassy of France and the Vice Chancellors Association of Ghana organised the first France-Ghana Higher Education conference. The event, which has since become an annual meeting, aims at strengthening ties in the domain of higher education, promoting our respective systems and exchanging ideas on issues relating to the development of tertiary institutions in order to make them more attractive for prospective students. Various Ghanaian and French universities have signed partnership agreements, such as: the mutual recognition of studies and qualifications, the ISA LILLE  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) Fast track program, as well as the partnership between Sciences Po Paris and the University of Ghana.

From 2012 to 2016, about 800 Ghanaian students pursued studies at French institutions of higher education. Among those, the French embassy every year grants about a 100 scholarships namely at Masters and Phd levels.

What is the Erasmus Program?

The Erasmus program (European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is an exchange program of students and lecturers among European universities and colleges and educational institutions all over the world. Through this program, students get the opportunity to study in different European Union member states. Since the inception of the program a total of 267 students from Ghana have been offered scholarships from the Erasmus Mundus joint Master Degree Program and 42 doctoral candidates have received fellowships.
President Nana Akufo-Addo will this month pay official working visits to some countries in the ECOWAS region.

The visits will afford the President the opportunity to introduce himself, as the new Ghanaian leader, to the governments and peoples of neighbouring countries, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo.

A statement from the Flagstaff House said the visit will also afford him the opportunity to explore and deepen our bilateral relations with them and reiterate Ghanas full commitment to the ECOWAS project.

On Tuesday, he left Ghana to begin the first phase of his two days tour which will take him to Ghana's immediate neighbours, Togo.

From there he will move to Burkina Faso from May 4-5 after which he will also visit Ivory Coast from May 5-7, 2017.

The President will, in the remaining days of the month, visit the other 7 countries, with the second phase taking him to Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Benin, Cape Verde, and, then, finally to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

He will be accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway and officials of the Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana from the first phase of his tour on May 7, 2017.

In his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
Juba (AFP) - About 400 British soldiers will join the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan in the next weeks in one of Britain's largest operational deployments worldwide, the force said Tuesday.

A statement said the first of the British troops, "proudly wearing their distinctive blue UN berets, arrives in Juba today to join the United Nations Mission in South Sudan."

The British contingent, the first to join the 13,000-member UNMISS force since it was set up in 2011, is made up of medics and military engineers.

The engineers will be deployed at UN camps housing displaced civilians in Bentiu and Malakal in the north, where they will help improve routes, security and drainage.

Almost 80 medics will staff a hospital in Bentiu that provides care for civilians as well as for the 1,800 UN peacekeepers based there.

The deployment of the troops comes three weeks after Britain's International Development Minister Priti Patel said the targeted killings of specific ethnic groups in South Sudan amounted to "genocide".

But the decision to join UNMISS dates back to the former government headed by David Cameron.

After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, the country descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than 3.5 million people displaced.

More than 1.9 million people are internally displaced and more than 1.7 million have fled to safety across the country's borders.

In February, South Sudan and the United Nations formally declared a famine in parts of northern Unity State affecting 100,000 people, a disaster UN officials said was "man-made" and could have been averted.
Two final year students of the Mankraso Senior High School have been remanded into prison custody for stealing 12 laptop computers.

A 34- year old accomplice is also in police grips over the computers belonging to the school.

They are 20 year old Yussif Zakaria, Kingsley Boamah, who is 19 and Kwaku Gariba an auto-mechanic.

School authorities reported the theft of the laptops which had gone missing from the schools computer laboratory on April 27, 2017 to the Mankraso police. The laboratory is now left with twenty-nine computers.

Police say a student of the school spotted the two final year students breaking into the laboratory and quickly alerted school authorities.

The two suspects however managed to outwit authorities and took the gadgets away.

Police Chief Inspector Kofi Agyei Sabeng told the Mankranso Circuit Court the students stole keys to the laboratory before embarking on the crime.

According to police, the two later collaborated with Kumasi-based Gariba, an auto-mechanic, to sell the computers for them.

The three, upon arrest, admitted the offence for which they were charged and arraigned before court.

Meanwhile, police have been able to retrieve five of the laptop computers.


The Governing Council of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners (IHRMP), Ghana, has paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, to discuss pertinent issues affecting impacting on HR Development in Ghana.

The delegation was led by the President of the Institute, Mr. John Wilson, who congratulated the new Minister on his appointment. Mr Wilson briefed the Honourable Minister on the role the Institute has been playing in national development. He reiterated that the Institute continues to train highly skilled HR practitioners through its Professional Certification Programme. He continued that the Institute is currently in talks with the Public Services Commission to train human resource practitioners in the Public Service. Mr. Wilson expressed the Institute's willingness to support the Ministry in addressing pertinent issues on the labour front, and requested the Honourable Minister to contact the Institute on any human resource management challenge and/or labour issues that may require IHRMP's involvement. He also assured that the Institute is poised to make valuable contribution towards National development anytime it's called upon. He further said that on the development of the National Strategic HR Plan for the country, the Institute is ever ready to support the National Workforce Development Plan of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

Welcoming the delegation, the Honourable Minister was happy to identify himself with the Institute, and pledged his support for the activities of the Institute. He commended the Institute for developing Code of Ethics and Conduct to regulate human resource practice in the country. He acknowledged the herculean task of the Ministry but was quick to add that he and his team have accepted the challenge and would work to promote human resource management and development in the country. He suggested that the Institute and HR practitioners in the country should project Human Resource Management issues to the forefront of businesses and at the national level stating, ..today's business and HR thinking is about developing employees to become more productive to the business. He promised to collaborate with the Minister for Education to complete work on the HR Bill, which was highlighted as the key requirement of the Institute. He accepted the offer of support from the Institute and promised to keep the relationship and engage more. He advised that the Institute should reach out to practicing human resource practitioners who are not members, to help build a strong profession both in the public and private sectors in the country.

Other members of the National Governing Council present were Mr. Ebenezer Agbettor, the Executive Director, Messrs Kwame Apedzi, Leonard Quarcoopome and Seth Dzordzorme, all Executive Members.
Tunis (AFP) - Tunisian and international non-governmental organisations warned Tuesday of deteriorating freedom of the press in a country considered to be a rare success story of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

"The Tunisian government these past weeks has not stopped tightening its grip on the press," they said in a joint statement published on World Press Freedom Day.

Twenty-five associations, including the Tunisian Press Syndicate, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International, said they were "deeply concerned" about the creation of a regulatory body for audiovisual communication.

Six years after a popular uprising toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the rights groups expressed concern about the recent banning of a small daily publication.

"It's the first time since the end of the dictatorship... that a newspaper is banned in this way," they said.

The Tunisian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Tunisian media was largely silenced under Ben Ali.

But the 2011 uprising gave rise to unprecedented freedom of expression in Tunisia. The country ranked first in North Africa in RSF's latest World Press Freedom Index.

Amnesty also published a separate statement on Tuesday in which it urged Tunisia to "demonstrate its commitment to human rights", especially in stemming torture and gender-based discrimination.

"While Tunisia has made some progress on opening up political and civil space and some legislative reforms have been introduced, the security sector has remained largely unchanged and in recent years there has been a resurgence of violations committed with impunity," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty's North Africa research director.

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday reviewed the human rights situation in Tunisia for the first time since 2012.

"This review comes at a critical moment for Tunisia," said Morayef.

"It provides a crucial opportunity to take stock of where Tunisia's transition stands in terms of human rights reforms six years on from the uprising and in the face of ongoing security challenges."
Information available to the Chronicle has established that a local mining giant Okobeng Mining company is not involved in the illegal mining contrary to some media reports. Okobeng is a legitimate mining company with the relevant certificate from Ghana minerals commission, the environmental protection agency, and the other authorized state institutions.

The media reported earlier this week that the minister of lands and natural resources John Peter Amewu had ordered the mining firm to halt any mining activities at Domenase in the Nzema Municipality in the Western Region.

The supposed order was said to have been given by the minister during his tour of some mining areas in the western region as part of the fight against illegal mining (Galamsey).

However according to official accounts, the supposed order was never given in the first place. Documents in possession of this paper clearly established that Okobeng is not engaged in any act that contravenes the mining laws of the country. THE FACTS. It is also not true that a given prospective mining license was given to the mining company two months ago.

According to our checks at the minerals Commission, the prospective license was rather issued in August 2016, which was followed by authorization by the EPA on December 6 2016 for the mining to do prospective on the said mining concession. This also means that the two major requirements that a company needs to meet before starting legal mining were duly met and adhered to by Okobeng.

Secondly, the claim that Okobeng has been mining 30 meters to the River Ankobrah for the last two months is baseless and unfounded. Further investigations reveal Okobeng has not even started any prospecting on the said concession, let alone, mine 30 meters from the River Ankobrah.

The CEO of the company, Nana Okobeng, declined to comment on the matter, saying his lawyers had advised him not to speak to the media on the matter. Okobeng Mining has embarked on the several social intervention projects in the area as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Some of the beneficiaries include the Fiaseman Secondary School, St Augustines Secondary School at Bogoso and Tarkwa Secondary School. It has also embarked on a number of projects in the Prestea Huni- Valley District.

The CEO of the company is also a well-known philanthropist in the area, and has been supporting needy but brilliant students with scholarships. Further investigations revealed that Okobeng Mining Company in line with the Governments commitment to fight galamsey and to protect water bodies and the environment, has single-handedly been battling illegal miners engaged in shallow mining, which has direct and immediate negative effects on the environment.

The CEO with the support of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), recently engaged the services of 20 ex-servicemen to battle illegal miners, including some Chinses nationals. The move was to prevent the illegal miners from destroying the River Ankobrah which is one the largest rivers in the Western Region of Ghana.

The company has demonstrated its commitment to helping the government fight illegal mining, and says the government should ensure that local businessmen engaged in lawful enterprise should not be victimized, a source said.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd [ASX:PLS] traded up 28.6% to a high of 44 cents this morning.

What happened to Pilbara Minerals?

It probably wont come as a surprise that PLS is a small lithium miner. Blue-chip stocks rarely run up 28% in a day, even on extremely positive news.

This morning, PLS announced steps towards becoming a low-cost lithium producer. While the company doesnt produce lithium yet, theyve received commitments to funding and other forms of help from Chinese lithium company Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd.

Jiangxi has agreed to provide funds of no less than $20 million for Stage 1 of PLSs road to commercial production. They will also buy 25% of expanded production and fund up to 50% of Stage 2 in the Pilgangoora Project.

PLS managing director Ken Brinsden said:

With the chemical grade spodumene off-take now completed, the Pilbara team together with our financial advisors, BurnVoir Corporate Finance, are fully focused on arranging the balance of the Pilgangoora Projects development funding.

In that regard, we are well advanced and with the support of our major customers we look forward to announcing a successful funding solution in the near term.

What now for PLS shares?

While it all sounds rosy for PLS, the company is still in pre-commercial stages. Unless you know a lot about the industry, a speculative mining stocks isnt something Id run into. Even with a bit of common sense, mining reports and industry nuances are hard to grasp.

But if you are looking to make big money from cheap miners, let resource analyst Jason Stevenson help.

Jason has a great track record within the resource sector. In his advisory service, Resource Speculator, Jason has tipped stocks that have run up 52.4%, 57.6% and 100%.

Jason also has a report, The Top 10 Australian Mining Stocks, which could help you profit from miners in 2017.

To get a free copy of Jasons report, click here.

Regards,

Harje Ronngard,

Junior Analyst, Money Morning
Microphone and US Flag View Photos

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz blasted President Donald Trump in the Weekly Democratic Address.

Schatz was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

Hi Im senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii.

This week marked the first 100 days of Donald Trumps Presidency. And it was unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. From the nominations of unqualified cabinet secretaries like Betsy DeVos and Scott Pruitt, to the failed attempt to banning Muslim refugees from our country. This administration and this Congress, have governed with cruelty. And broken every promise they made to the American people.

During the campaign we heard the President promise that he would keep jobs here at home. Buy and hire American. And hold countries like China accountable for their unfair trade practices. But as President, Donald Trump has proposed deep cuts to job training programs, refused to label China a currency manipulator and has done nothing to stop companies from outsourcing jobs.

To get elected, Donald Trump promised health insurance for everybody. But what we saw was an attempt to strip 24 million people of their health care. What we saw was an attempt to impose an age tax that would have allowed insurance companies charge you more as youve got older for your health insurance.

As a candidate Donald Trump promised time and time again to drain the swamp. But he has filled the swamp in the first 100 days. hes done the opposite. Filling his administration with lobbyists and friends.

And his conflicts of interest and the ongoing investigation into his Russian ties continue to cast a shadow over the Administration And its policies.

President Trump made a lot of promises to make life better for working and middle class Americans. But when he proposed his first budget it was clear his priorities are making life better for the rich, not for every day Americans. American people expect bipartisan compromise, from the President and the Congress. But unless the President changes his approach and reaches out to the Democrats, the next 100 days will be just like the first a series of broken promises to the families of America.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
- Governor Fayose has been conferred with a new title

- At the workers' day celebration in Ekiti state, labour unions ggave him the title, Comrade

- He was lauded his outstanding leadership qualities

Governor Ayodele Fayose has been officially named a Comrade by workers under the aegis of Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and Trade Union Congress(TUC).

Legit.ng gathered that he was conferred with the title on Monday, May 1, during a programme organised in celebration of the 2017 Workers' Day.

The event took place inside the main bowl of Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti.

According to Lere Olayinka, the governors aide, he was decorated with a muffler with the inscription 'Comrade Ayodele Fayose' by Ekiti State NLC Chairman, Prince Ade Adesanmi and the Ekiti State TUC Chairman, Comrade Odunayo Adesoye.

The workers' day celebration took place inside the main bowl of Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti

The anchor of the programme said Fayose was honoured for his outstanding leadership qualities, especially for the way he handled the herdsmen menace.

READ ALSO: Workers day! See how workers humiliated Saraki, Dogara, labour minister in Abuja

He said: "Unionism is not all about salary payment, we would have conferred this title on you since last year but for the unfortunate demise of 7 of our colleagues. Your stance on the nefarious activities of herdsmen remains a template across Nigeria. That is leadership.

Fayose was decorated with a muffler with the inscription 'Comrade Ayodele Fayose'

"Promotion of over 15,000 workers that you approved in one fell swoop has been on the table for more than 3 years before you took over. Security crack teams set up by your administration has in no small measure reduced criminality in the state.

"These steps are commendable. Your effort at empowering Ekiti women we must also commend, these amongst other rare feats attained during your tenure are the reasons for conferring on you the title Comrade Governor."

READ ALSO: Proceed on medical leave without any further delay - Eminent Nigerians urge Buhari

Fayose was dressed in a shirt and white short with a red fez cap.

The workers day in Ekiti state took place inside the main bowl of Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti

The Nation reports that there was a drama at the celebration when workers demanded payment of their salaries.

As the governor was rounding off his address, the workers shouted salary! salary!! salary!!! Some of them shouted: Osoko, we are hungry.

Fayose was honoured for his outstanding leadership qualities, especially for the way he handled the herdsmen menace

Responding to them, he said: I can only pay your salaries when I get cash backing from Abuja. At times, we get cash backing three weeks after we held FAAC meetings.

The state workers are owed six months arrears while local government employees have not been paid for seven months.

As Governor Fayose was rounding off his address, workers demanded payment of their salaries

Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has bestowed Governor Fayose with the title of honorary governor of Biafra Republic.

Watch this Legit.ng video of Nnamdi Kanu being released from Kuje prison after meeting his bail conditions on Friday, April 28.

Source: Legit.ng
- Chief Bisi Akande, has appealed to Nigerians to start praying for the restoration of President Muhammadu Buharis health

- The former interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) made the appeal in a statement released on Monday, May 1

- He said his appeal is in order to avert a looming crisis which the president's health crisis might trigger

- To read more about President Buhari's state of health and other news about the Nigerian leader, please visit: https://www.legit.ng/tag/buhari-news.html

Former interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande has appealed to Nigerians to start praying for the restoration of President Muhammadu Buharis health.

Akande made the appeal in a statement released on Monday, May 1, adding that it would avert a looming crisis which the development could throw the nation into.

He stated that he knew the president was seriously ill when he did not show up in Kaduna last Saturday, April 29 for the wedding ceremony of his grandson.

Akande noted that corruption had started fighting back now and the nation needed Buhari to hold on to ensure a total victory against the forces of evil.

Akande warns that the president's health should not be used to for political gains

READ ALSO: Factional labour union pushes for N100,000 as new minimum wage for workers

He however, warned those who might want to make political gains from the presidents ill health to have a rethink, saying Nigeria of today was quite different from that of 1993.

Part of the statement read seen by Legit.ng read: The health of the leader is intricately intertwined with the health of the nation. It is more so in a delicately fragile union of nations called Nigeria. I did not see President Buhari at the wedding of his grandson in Kaduna last Saturday. I was sad and I wept.

When last we met at the wedding of his daughter in Abuja last December, I complained to him that I was not happy about his stressful looks. His reply connoted some allusions to circumstances where an honest man fighting corruption is surrounded mostly by unpatriotic greedy ruling class. He felt painfully frustrated.

He assured me he would soon be going on vacation. I then knew that corruption has effectively been fighting back. And I prayed for Nigeria. That was why Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and I rushed to meet him in London in February this year when he was sick and could not return as scheduled from his vacation. The rest is history but we must appreciate that his poor health is already taking its toll on the health of Nigeria as a polity.

There are two challenges facing the country today. The first and the most critical is the health of the president which, unfortunately, is a development beyond his control and for which we did not prepare. The second is the disorder and lack of cohesion between the National Assembly and the presidency.

These are two great red-flag dangers that have the potential of plunging the country into unprecedented chaos and of destabilising the gains of democracy since 1999.''

Akande and Asiwaju Tinubu visited President Buhari in London in February when the president was on medical vacation

READ ALSO: After Nnamdi Kanu's release, PDP makes huge demand from Buhari

Meanwhile, a Pentecostal Bishop, Reverend Seun Adeoye, has urged Nigerians to pray for the quick recovery of President Buhari, saying his well-being is so important to the nations co-existence and stability.

Bishop Adeoye warned that if anything should happen to President Buhari, such would be a difficult burden for the nation to bear as Nigeria will fall into wrong hands that are ready do anything to turn it into their private estates.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Department of State Services ((DSS) says a federal government agency is protecting a wanted person

- The person in question is a former special adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku

- The DSS had declared Kuku wanted for allegedly sponsoring Niger Delta militants

The DSS says a federal government agency is protecting a former special adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku from prosecution.

Nigeria's secret police however refused to name the agency involved in the matter.

Legit.ng checks however revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) might be the agency the DSS was referring to.

Despite the frequent public show, it is obvious all is not well between the DSS nd EFCC bosses

The EFCC has been probing Kuku for a while. Although the former presidential aide has been in the United States since 2015.

According to the DSS, the agency aiding Kuku claims to be probing him but is in fact doing the opposite.

READ ALSO: President Buharis sickness taking its toll on Nigeria - Akande

The DSS said: It is sad to note that, in the course of our investigation, we discovered that an agency, which is also saddled with an investigative authority, is rather creating a platform for criminal fugitives.

We discovered, in particular, a fugitive, who is widely known to have looted our commonwealth, still has the audacity to use the machinery of that particular agency to harass and haunt adversaries who are aware of his loot and heinous crimes.

From our findings, we discovered that the agency in reference is now in criminal connivance with fugitive Kingsley Kuku, a former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on the Federal Government Amnesty Programme on the Niger Delta.

Sadly enough, the agency in question, which claims to be investigating the fraud, is ironically directly and brazenly facilitating the concealment of the looted several billions of naira belonging to the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.

Kingsley Kuku has been in the US since 2015 when Jonathan left power

The DSS said the government agency, which recently raided the home of a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, carried out the raid based on the instruction of Kuku.

READ ALSO: Popular Nigerian pastor reveals shocking revelation about Buharis ill health

Legit.ng recalls that on November 30, 2016, unknown gunmen, numbering about twenty raided the Abuja residence and office respectively of Nwuche where they carted away cash in local and foreign currencies as well as some of his documents.

A staff of the former Deputy Speaker who witnessed the two raids had told journalists that while the gunmen who stormed the residence in Maitama wore jackets with EFCC inscription on them, those that raided the office wore military camouflage and were all armed with pistols and rifles.

Source: Legit.ng
- A very crucial meeting has held among three former leaders of Nigeria in Minna

- The meeting which held in secret, was between Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd)

- There are speculations that the meeting was held to discuss issues not unconnected to President Muhammadu Buhari's health

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), have met behind closed doors in Minna, the capital of Niger state.

The meeting took place on Monday, April 1.

According to Leadership, the meeting which lasted for over two hours was held at the hilltop home of former military president, IBB.

It was learnt that visitors who usually besiege Babangidas house were streamlined, with some of them stopped from entering the house ahead of the arrival of former President Obasanjo at about 3:00pm yesterday.

Before the arrival of Obasanjo, former head of state, General Abubakar was already in IBBs house waiting.

On arrival, Niger state governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, received Obasanjo at Minna airport and took him to IBB home at hill top without official retinue.

Legit.ng gathered that the governor led Obasanjo to the inner chamber where the duo of IBB and Abubakar were waiting.

President Buhari's health is speculated to be one of the issues discussed by OBJ, IBB and Abdulsalami

It was learnt that after the usual pleasantries, even the closest domestic and security staff in the house were excused from the inner chamber at the time the meeting went into closed door.

It was also gathered that the Niger State governor who initially received Obasanjo later left the three elder statesmen.

The former leaders met for over two hours before Obasanjo left the state at about 6:00pm.

Details of the meeting were still not known at the time of writing this report, but a source close to one of the former leaders told our correspondent that the former leaders may have discussed some crucial national issues.

Meanwhile, the founding national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, has observed that some persons with political interests within the corridor of power were harping on President Muhammadu Buharis health to cause confusion in the country.

He, however, urged Nigerians to pray fervently for the presidents health, saying the health of the leader is intertwined with the health of the nation.

Akande pointed out that there are two challenges facing the country at the moment, the first and most critical being the health of the president, which he described as an unfortunate development that is beyond Buharis control.

He said the second challenge was the disorder and lack of cohesion between the National Assembly and the Presidency.

In statement he issued yesterday, Akande said: These are two great red flag dangers that have the potential of plunging the country into unprecedented chaos and of destabilising the gains of democracy since 1999.

The greatest danger however is for political interests at the corridor of power attempting to feast on the health of Mr President in a dangerous manner that may aggravate the problems between the Executive and the National Assembly without realizing if, in the end, it could drag the entire country into avoidable doom.

As delicately fragile the Union of nations making up Nigeria, so delicately fragile the democracy and the rule of laws governing the polity of the Union called Nigerian Federation. Certain Nigerian leaders, having been blindfolded by corruption, assume the possibility of using money in manipulating the national security agencies to intimidate, suppress and hold down certain ethnic nationalities or playing one ethnic nationality against the other with a view to undermining the constitution and perversely upturning the rule of law.

To avoid the ugly consequences of letting President Buharis ailments throw Nigeria into confusion, I am urging all Nigerians to begin to pray for his divine healing and perfect recovery.

Akande warned those hoping to harvest political gains out of the health of the president to desist, adding that they are making a big mistake.

He continued: This is not Nigeria of 1993. We are in a new national and global era of constitutionalism and order. We hope Nigerians have enough patience to learn from history. My greatest fear, however, is that the country should not be allowed to slide into anarchy and disorder of a monumental proportion.

The health of the leader is intricately intertwined with the health of the nation. It is more so in a delicately fragile union of nations called Nigeria.

Expressing his feeling about the presidents health, Akande said, I did not see President Buhari at the wedding of his grand son in Kaduna last Saturday. I was sad and I wept. When last we met at the wedding of his daughter in Abuja last December, I complained to him that I was not happy about his stressful looks.

His reply connoted some allusions to circumstances where an honest man fighting corruption is surrounded mostly by unpatriotic greedy ruling class. He felt painfully frustrated. He assured me he would soon be going on vacation. I then knew that corruption has effectively been fighting back. And I prayed for Nigeria.

That was why Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu and I rushed to meet him in London in February this year when he was sick and could not return as scheduled from his vacation. The rest is history but we must appreciate that his poor health is already taking a toll on the health of Nigeria as a polity.

Source: Legit.ng
- Lamido is said to have arrived in Dutse early on Tuesday for his trial

- Security agencies have been put on high alert for his arrive in anticipation of protests

- Lamido was arrested on Sunday, April 30 morning for allegedly trying to incite his supporters against local government elections in Kano

Vanguard is reporting that the Nigeria Police Force Zone 1 Command in Kano has taken former Jigawa state governor Sule Lamido to Dutse for trial.

According to the report, Lamido was escorted by heavily armed police officials to the Jigawa capital in an hour drive on Tuesday, May 2 morning.

READ ALSO: President Buharis sickness taking its toll on Nigeria - Akande

Vanguard also quotes a security source on the trip to Dutse as saying: We left Kano for Dutse around 5.30am, and as I speak to you, we are already in Dutse for formal arraignments of the former Governor..

Lamido was escorted by policemen to Dutse for trial

The Zone 1 spokesman Samba Sokoto said Yes, Lamido is in Dutse to face trial. 

Legit.ng gathered that the police and other security agencies have been placed on red alert in Dutse to prevent likely protest from Sule Lamidos supporters.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Lamido was arrested early on Sunday, April 30 for allegedly trying to disrupt local government elections in Kano through his supporters.

He was arrested at his Sharada-Kano home on Sunday, April 30 morning and taken away to the Zone One Command of the Nigeria Police in Kano where he was held until being moved to Dutse today, May 2.

Lamido was said to have been arrested for allegedly telling his supporters to the local government elections slated for July 1.

The police on Sunday gave its reasons for arresting Lamido through Kano state police spokesperson Samba Sokoto.

Sokoto said Lamido made some inciting statements during Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) meeting in Dutse, Jigawa state.

The ex-governor's alleged offence is contrary to Section 114 of the penal code and the police vowed to charge him to court after investigations.

Lamido was on Tuesday morning docked on a four-count charge at a court in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a Nigerian man lamenting bitterly how he regrets voting for the All Progressives Congress in the last elections

Source: Legit.ng
- The immediate past governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, said he had only one wristwatch

- His speech a The Platform has sparked a social media debate

- Some are commending him for give a good speech while others are saying he lied

The former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, has incurred the wrath of some Nigerians for saying he has only one wristwatch.

Speaking on Monday, May 1, at The Platform, the flagship programme of Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos, the former governor made some statements which did not go down well with some people.

He said he has only one wristwatch which he has worn for 17 years. He added that he has only two pairs of black shoes.

READ ALSO: Lamido arrives in Dutse for trial

Peter Obi said he only has one wristwatch which he has used for 17 years but Nigerians are not convinced

Obi said: I have said it to Nigerians, Peter Obi wears only black shoes, and I have two pairs of it, and I travel with it. The purpose of shoe is to protect the leg from being hurt. Nothing else. I bought this from Marks and Spencer, $49.99, finish.

They said we didnt even see watch, and I have said it to everyone, this is the only watch I have, I have worn it for 17 years. The purpose of watch is to keep time. Why would I keep a watch at home? Whose time is it keeping?

The former governor had some words for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government and also talked about the recent search of his apartment in Osbourne, Ikoyi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He wondered why anyone would keep such huge cash in a building, as it could have been used to empower some graduates.

Some Nigerians have taken to social media to react to his speech. While some are applauding him for pointing out the truth, others are criticizing him for saying he has only one wristwatch.

Legit.ng has gathered some of the reactions from socila media.

READ ALSO: President Buharis sickness taking its toll on Nigeria - Akande

READ ALSO: Awww! See the before and after photos of President Buhari

The former governor was on the list of occupants of the luxury apartment building in Lagos where operatives of the EFCC discovered the sum of $43.4million.

Obi and his wife own apartment 1B.

Legit.ng previously reported that Obi commended President Buhari for releasing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu.

He said the president heeded to the voice of reason in his decision to release the IPOB leader.

Watch the Legit.ng video below to see what Nigerians think about the recession and President Buhari's promises to them about it:

Source: Legit.ng
Amidst reports about ill health of President Muhammadu Buhari, posters showing 'Buhari 2019' have surfaced in Abuja.

The posters which suggest that the the Nigerian president might want to have a shot at the next political dispensation has received lots of reactions online.

READ ALSO: Revealed! Why it is risky for Buhari to be treated in Nigeria

See the posters below:

While some wish the president a quick recovery, some are of the opinion that the president needs to be of good health first before pursuing any 2019 ambition.

More reactions below:

What do you think about this move? Would you re-elect President Buhari come 2019?

Source: Legit.ng
The Nigerian Senate has rejected calls to stop a bill legalizing the Peace Corps of Nigeria.

The resolution was reached during plenary on Tuesday, May 2 after lawmakers in the upper of legislature debated on the matter.

While some lawmakers were against continued legislative proceedings on the bill and wanted it to be stopped, others argued otherwise.

A Peace Corp of Nigeria event with members in uniform

Senator James Manager stood against the bill but Senator John Enoh supported the bill and wants it passed immediately.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu urged caution.

READ ALSO: Buhari 2019 poster spotted in Abuja (SEE)

"The bill should be passed, it will serve as a means of employment for Nigerian youths," Senator Garba Binta submitted

"The bill should be stepped down due to the controversies which surround the establishment," Senate minority leader Godswill Akpabio said.

But Senate Majority Leader Ahmed Lawan raised a point of order and stated that the reading stages have been passed and stopping the bill is no longer an option.

He however noted that the bill could be delayed while the House is briefed properly on what to do.

Senate President Saraki said the Senate should comply to proper guidelines and consider the stand and relationship of the green chamber on the matter.

READ ALSO: Emir Sanusi releases his April salary payslip

The matter was referred to Judiciary committee and is expected to report back in two weeks before legislative matters on the bill can continue.

Recall that Legit.ng reported earlier that the federal government arraigned the national commandant of the Peace Corps of Nigeria Dickson Akoh before a Federal High Court siting in Abuja.

Akoh and the trustees of the Peace Corps were slammed with 90 counts including money laundering.

They were alleged to have laundered an aggregate sum of N3.5 billion obtained through extortion in April, 2016.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of Nigerian sharing their opinion on whether the Nigerian Senate should be scrapped.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has said that he will continue to criticize President Buhari

- He alleged that Buhari will destroy the country if left unchecked

- Fayose also noted that Nigerians should have a President valued for money and votes

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has called on Nigerians to continue criticising President Muhammadu Buhari because the President is on his way to destroy the country.

Fayose, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors Forum, gave the call while reacting to a question on whether he is the main opposition voice to the Buhari-led government.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Lamido arrives in Dutse for trial

Speaking with The Sun, Fayose said: Its not as if I am the main opposition to Buhari, I am just a believer in fairness, wherever criminals belong, whoever they are, Muslims or Christians, it does not matter, crime is crime, wickedness is wickedness, brutality is brutality.

The Ekiti state Governor, Ayodele Fayose

Legit.ng gathered that Fayose further noted that: I will continue to say it as it is, because when we all keep quiet we will be taken one after the other and we will be destroyed by this administration. We must remember that Nigeria is greater than all of us, the power of the people is better than those of us in power.

One day we will all die whether its by oppression or sickness, so let me say I am not afraid of anything. If you dont die, age will take everything away from you.

Look at our President, if you can see his heart, he wishes he was 42 years old because that is the age and time one can be active. May God give him good health because it is in good health that Nigerians can benefit.

READ ALSO: Revealed! Why it is risky for Buhari to be treated in Nigeria

When the President comes out every Friday, do we say we have a ceremonial President? Let us have a President valued for money and votes. You cant deceive people forever because the truth hurts and the hunger in the land is ridiculous. The people are hungry and angry.

Watch this Legit.ng video as Nigerians comment on the claim that President Buhari has taken Nigeria out of recession:

Source: Legit.ng
- Former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, is to be remanded in prison until May 4 when applications for his bail will be decided

- Chief magistrate, Usman Lamin, says needs time to decide on the application for bail and polices report on the case

- Meanwhile, PDP has called for the unconditional release of the former and other political detainees in government custody

Former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, has been remanded in prison by a magistrate court sequel to his arraignment for allegedly inciting disturbance.

Chief Magistrate Usman Lamin, ruled that Lamido is to be in the Dutse prison until May 4 when applications for his bail will be decided, Premium Times reports.

READ ALSO: President Buharis sickness taking its toll on Nigeria  Akande

According to the magistrate, he needed time to decide on the application for bail and another on the polices First Investigation Report, (FIR) brought as evidence in the case.

The ruling of the court however, sparked protests by the former governors supporters outside the court, despite the heavy presence of security operatives at the court and around Dutse.

This forced the police to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Legit.ng recalls that the former governor was arrested at his Sharada-Kano home on Sunday, April 30 morning and taken away to the Zone One Command of the Nigeria Police in Kano where he was held until he was arraigned today, May 2.

Former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, is accused of inciting violence.

He was docked on a four-count charge at a magistrate court in Dutse, the Jigawa state capital.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader is accused of inciting his supporters to violence in the build up to local government elections set to hold in Jigawa on July 1.

READ ALSO: Panic over Buhari's health: OBJ, IBB, Abdulsalami to meet secretly in Minna

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the unconditional release of Sule Lamido, and other political detainees in government custody.

The PDP made the call in a statement issued by Dayo Adeyeye, the national publicity secretary of the committee on Monday, May 1.

Adeyeye described the arrest of Mr Lamido as outrageous and anti-democratic and not based on the frivolous allegation of inciting the public leveled against him.

The party said true reason Lamido was arrested has to do with the forthcoming local government elections in Jigawa state.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a Nigerian man lamenting bitterly how he regrets voting for the All Progressives Congress in the last elections

Source: Legit.ng
- The Lagos monarch, Oba Rilwan Akiolu has allegedly said that Lagos is not part of Yoruba land

- Oba Akiolu had in a week ago reportedly snubbed Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi

Barely one week after he reportedly snubbed Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi when they met at a function, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has allegedly released bombshell, saying Lagos is not part of Yoruba land.

Legit.ng gathered that a statement reportedly emanated from Akiolus palace, detailed the historical background of Lagos and why it should not be regarded as part of Yoruba land.

READ ALSO: New details emerge on why Oba Akiolu snubbed Ooni of Ife

The purported statement read: Coming from the palace, with what I was told by my late paternal grandmother who is a descendant of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and also reading from factual Historical books, let me share this Knowledge with you all on Eko/Lagos.

Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu

Modern day Lagos was founded by Prince Ado, the son of the Oba of Benin, Prince Ado was the first Oba of Lagos, the son of the Bini King, Prince Ado, named the town Eko until the Portuguese explorer Ruy de Segueira changed the Maritime town to Lagos, which at that time from 1942 was Portuguese expedition center down the African Coast.

It was a major centre of the slave trade until 1851. Lagos was annexed by Britain via the Lagos treaty of cession in 1861, ending the consular period and starting the British Colonial Period. The remainder of modern day Nigeria was seized in 1886 when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established in 1914 Lagos was declared its capital due to the struggle of the Bini King.

Lagos experienced growth prior to the British Colonial rule and even more rapid growth during the Colonial rule throughout the 1960s, 70s, continued through the 80s and 90s till date. Thanks to the Awori's, Bini's, Yoruba's, migrants across the nation and world at large, as no particular group of people can take the glory alone.

Lagos is made up of Lagoons and creeks. The Lagos lagoon, Lagos Harbour, five cowne creeks, Ebute-Metta creeks, Porto-Novo creeks, New canal, Badagry creeks, Kuramo waters and Light house creeks.

The Awori's and Bini's are known to be the first settlers of the Eko land. The Awori's are speakers of a distinct dialect close to that of the Yoruba language with a rich Bini mixture. Traditionally, Awori's were found in Ile-Ife, they were known to be the Bini's who followed their self-exiled Prince, the first son of the Ogiso (now called Oba) of Benin Kingdom, whose step-mother was after his head.

The exiled Benin Prince Izoduwa known to the Yorubas as Ooduwa (Oduduwa) was made ruler of the Ife people due to his powers and followers from the Great Benin-Kingdom.

Izoduwa (Ooduwa) was made the first King of Ile-Ife in 1230 AD. His followers from his father's Kingdom in Benin are the today's Awori people who settled in Eko now called Lagos.

In the 1300, the King of Benin-Empire heard from one of his traders who was a settler in Eko on how the Bini's were treated by the Awori's who lived in their area. Upon hearing this, the King of Benin commanded the assembling of a war expedition, led by his son, Prince Ado, which headed the settlement of the Awori's and demanded explanation.

On arriving Eko, Prince Ado and his Army were more than received. The Aworis asked the Bini Prince to stay and become their leader. Ado agreed on the condition that they surrender their sovereignty to the Oba of Benin, to which the people agreed. Hearing this, the King of Benin gave his permission for Prince Ado and the expedition to remain in Eko.

The Oba of Benin sent some of his chiefs including the Eletu, Odibo, Obanikoro and others to assist his son, Oba Ado in the running of Eko.

"From the crowing of Prince Ado as the first Oba of Lagos (then called Eko), Lagos served as a major center for slave trade from which the Aworis, the Oba of Benin and his son the Oba of Lagos and all the children/descendants who took over as his successors for over four centuries supported the trade.

The Oba of Benin was the head of the Benin Empire which are the present day Western, Southern and Eastern modern day Nigeria. The King never obliged anyone to speak the Bini language as he believed everyone was entitled to their own choice of language.

The name Eko was given to it by the first king of Lagos, Oba Ado, the young and vibrant Prince from Benin. Eko was the land now known as Lagos Island, where the king palace was built.

READ ALSO: I did not snub Ooni of Ife - Oba Akiolu FINALLY reveals what truly happened

"The palace is called Idugaran meaning "palace built on pepper farm" Oba Ado and the warriors from Benin together with the early Bini's settlers in Eko and the Awori people settled in the southern part of Eko called "Isale Eko". "Isale literally means bottom ". Must have been used to indicate downtown (as in down town Lagos)

The statement further states that: Until the coming in of the Benin's 1300AD , Lagos geographical boundary was Lagos mainland, Lagos Island, the seat of the Oba of Lagos then consisted of a pepper farm and fishing post. No one was living there.

About 1450 AD some Yorubas who hailed from Isheri in Ogun-state and Ekiti were allowed by the King to settle in Eko during a war, they came in a very large numbers thereby surpassing the numbers of the Awori's and Bini's. (Hence Yorubas claim to own Eko due to their numbers).

Oba Ado fell in love with a beautiful woman whose father was Awori and mother a daughter to one of the chief; they had two sons and also a daughter Erelu Kuti, who begot Ologun Kutere who later became King.

Bombshell as Akiolu allegedly says Lagos is not Yoruba land

Oba Akintoye, a descendant of Prince Ado whose mother was the first queen from Awori ascended the throne as Oba of Lagos in 1841, he attempted to ban slave trade with the help of the British, but the local merchant, the Aworis, Bini's and a few Yorubas who were already integrated and married to Awori's and Bini's strongly opposed the intended move and disposed and exiled the king and installed Akintoye's brother Kosoko as Oba, at exile in Europe, Akintoye met with British Authorities who had earlier banned slavery in 1807 the British decided to support the deposed Oba to regain his throne.

With the success of the British intervention in 1851, Akintoye was reinstalled as Oba of Lagos. In practical terms, however the British influence over the Benin Empire had become absolute, and then years later in 1861 Lagos was formally annexed as a British Colony.

This led to the fight of the British and the Bini King, the leader of the Benin Empire for years, which finally led to the fall of the Empire and the capturing of Oba Ovonramwen.

Oba Akintoye of Lagos was the first Oba not to be buried in Benin. Prior to this, all the Kings of Lagos were buried in Benin. They passed on taxes to the Oba of Benin until the British settled in.

READ ALSO: Fayose reveals REAL reason he will not stop criticizing Buhari

Until today, the Oba of Lagos is the head of all the Obas in Lagos because the Binis believe that wherever they or their offspring are they are senior. The status of the Oba of Lagos is different from other Obas most of whom were given back their crowns and staff of office only within 40 years ago.

Those who got their lands back was the original land owners they were mostly descendant of Prince Ado others children of the Olofin.

Watch this Legit.ng video where Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi talks about how Nigeria will be great again:

Source: Legit.ng
- Lagos based lawyer has urged Nigerian Senate to declare the office of the president vacant

- He also urged the Senate to immediately swear in the vice president as the acting president

- He said the country can not continue to endue an ailing president

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Lagos-based lawyer has called on the Nigerian Senate to declare the office of the president vacant and swear in the vice president as acting president immediately.

The lawyer said this in a statement made available on Tuesday, May 2.

READ ALSO: GOOD NEWS: FG to build modular refineries in oil-producing

According to him, the country can not continue to endue an ailing president.

Adegboruwa also urged the Senate to immediately swear in the vice president as the acting president

His statement read: "Since I personally got to know of the ill health of General Buhari, I've changed a lot of my views concerning his government. We are all human after all, and no one can play God or rejoice over another man on account of his ill health.

"I then decided to pray for the President and also to lie low, in respect of my usual assessment of his policies, in order to give him enough time to fully recover. But hard as I tried, I couldn't just convince Uncle Lai Mohammed or any other member of General Buhari's cabinet, to publicly admit to the people of Nigeria that the President is truly and seriously sick, as sick could be, even though I personally know the true position.

"On account purely of his ill health, the President has not been performing his official duties, he has not been able to preside over the Federal Executive Council and he has not been seen in public for about two weeks now.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Buhari receives briefing from Attornery-General, NNPC boss

Going further, Adegboruwa said that even though the President is human, the Constitution anticipates a fit and proper chief executive, to be in charge of and run the affairs of Nigeria, which General Buhari cannot presently fulfill.

"The option before Nigeria presently is for the Senate to declare the office of the Preside vacant and to constitute a medical panel of experts to examine the health status of the President in order to determine if he can still continue to function in office.

"In the meantime, the Vice-President should be sworn in as Acting President. We cannot continue in this fashion whereby a cabal has taken over the affairs of Nigeria, causing great panic in the land, purely for their own selfish ends. Enough is enough!

"It is based on the foregoing that I find it hard to align with activists, who seem to suggest that all that the President needs presently is a medical vacation and begging him to so proceed. That cannot be the option before our great nation, with all due respect to these patriots. Somebody capable, fit and proper, must be in charge of Nigeria, not a cabal. And our nation cannot be ruled by proxy, through a cabal that was not elected into office.

"Where on earth did the activists meet with the President, to know that he is sick and deserves a medical vacation? Has any of them been privy to know his health status? Just yesterday, Nigerians were being insulted by the aides of the President that he is so fit and healthy that he will contest and win the 2019 election, when I know that there are ministers and aides who have never ever spent as much as 20 minutes with the President, since they were appointed.

"We do not need to wait for the Yar'adua scenario before we take steps to save the President from himself and his handlers.

"I do sympathize with the President but that sympathy is dwindling daily on account of the President's quest to hold on to power at all costs, even when it is manifestly clear that he is not fit to do so.

"I pray and will keep praying that God Almighty will show mercy on the President and perfect his healing. But our nation must move on," he said.

Meanwhile, recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that amidst reports about ill health of President Muhammadu Buhari, posters showing 'Buhari 2019' have surfaced in Abuja.

The posters which suggest that the Nigerian president might want to have a shot at the next political dispensation have received lots of reactions online.

In the video below, Legit.ng asks Nigerians if President Buhari's administration has taken the country out of recession. Here are their responses.

Watch the video:

Source: Legit.ng
Legit.ng came across a very touching story about a woman who was divorced by her husband even though she had no idea.

A woman is currently facing what could easily be the worst situation of her life after she discovered her husband's attempt to divorce her.

According to a post shared on Facebook by popular human rights lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye, the unnamed woman discovered that her husband had already gone to court in an attempt to divorce her.

Her husband had hired a lady to impersonate her while he got the court to sign a divorce certificate on their behalf.

READ ALSO: Boy wishes his friend 'happy birthday', causes a stir on social media

Sharing the story, Emeka wrote:

"One morning, the woman was trying to tidy up her husband's desk in his home office, as routine chore. She saw a yellow document with court stamps on it. What surprised her was that her name and her husband's name were written on the document as Mrs. versus Mr. As she looked further she saw the word "ORDER" boldly written on it.

It was a divorce certificate, her own divorce certificate. She discovered that according to the certificate, the wife (that is her) had gone to court to ask for divorce from her husband and the court granted the divorce and stated: "The marriage between Mr and Mrs, is hereby dissolved." This woman nearly fainted.

She snapped the certificate with her phone camera. Let's say it turned out that this man had reasons to prove that he is no longer married to this woman. He was up to something sinister. He needed a divorce certificate. He planned with another woman for that woman to answer the name of his wife. They all filed the paper without the real wife knowing.

READ ALSO: 16-year-old boy jumps off building because his parents seized his PS4

When the case came up in court, the woman, impersonating the wife, stood up and answered the wife. And the man was there and he answered for himself. The Court asked the woman if she really wanted divorce, and she said yes. They asked the man what he wanted and he said he too wanted divorce. They couple have three children - 2 girls and 1 boy. The Court asked the woman what she wanted to happen to the children, and she said the children should be given to the man that she did not want to see them again. The judge asked her if she was sure of that and she said yes. The court granted divorce and awarded custody of the children to the man. Shakena!

This woman is looking at this divorce certificate. She knew she never filed any. She knew she never went to court. She knew that her husband never even mentioned to her that he wanted divorce. This is happening now in Nigeria and DPA is looking into it.

READ ALSO: Man thought to be the world's oldest man dies aged 146 (photos)

What will you do if this was your case? Before you react, note that the Nigerian courts do not have cameras and cannot tell whether this woman was the one that came to the court or not. The judge sees many people and after three months, the judge cannot identify the woman that appeared before him. So, it is not easy to show that it was not this woman that came to court on that date.

What would you do if you found yourself in this position?

Meanwhile, Thin Tall Tony, a former Big Brother Nigeria contestant said his wife asked him to lie about his marital status while he was in the house:

Source: Legit.ng
- Soldiers came under attack from Boko Haram terrorists in Borno

- More than 100 terrorist were killed in the encounter

- However, five soldiers reportedly died while about 40 were injured

Soldiers of the Nigerian Army came under attack when suspected Boko Haram terrorists launched a surprise attack on them.

According to a soldier who exclusively sent this report to Legit.ng on the condition of anonymity, the attack occurred between Tuesday, April 25 and Thursday, April 27 in Mongunu, Borno state.

READ ALSO: Anyone working against our Remembrance Day deserves death - IPOB

According to the soldier, five suicide bombers attacked Brigade 27 Task Force.

40 soldiers were reportedly injured as a result of the encounter while five soldiers lost their lives.

Military vehicles were also destroyed by the terrorists.

The soldier however said more than 100 terrorists were killed in the encounter supported by 120 Task Force battalion.

READ ALSO: Declare president's office vacant and swear in Osinbajo as acting  Adegboruwa

He claimed there was no helicopter to evacuate the dead and wounded while they were also forced to withdraw.

He noted however that the 120 Task Force battalion was spending its third year in active combat while the army has failed to rotate it.

Source: Legit.ng
- A coalition of over 22 democratic elements under the auspices of National Coalition of Democrats have called out the former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

- They expressed dismay over the activities of Tinubu describing him as a leader of a cabal

- They alleged that Tinubu is seeking to use issues around President Muhammadu Buhari's health as an opportunity to achieve a clandestine motive

A coalition of over 22 democratic elements under the auspices of National Coalition of Democrats have expressed dismay over the activities of Tinubu.

Addressing a press conference in Jos, the Plateau state capital, on Tuesday, May 2, the group described Tinubu as a leader of a cabal seeking to use issues around President Muhammadu Buhari's health as an opportunity to achieve a clandestine motive.

The conference was addresed by Ambassador Melvin Ejeh, the Executive Director of Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI) and Dr Charles Okoroji of the Action Against Oppression Initiative (AAOI).

The groups accused Tinubu of heading a cabal trying to profit from Buhari's illness

They stated that Nigerians have followed the recent turn of event around the Presidents health and how some self acclaimed political gladiators are making a storm out of a tea cup in pursuit of reinventing their fledgling political stature.

They however used the occasion to warn the cabal in the strongest terms to desist from such illicit act forthwith as it is prepared to do all that is permissible within the law to resist their attempt at power grab while hiding under the pretext of Mr President's health challenges.

READ ALSO: Stop intimidating presidential aspirants  Fayose tells APC

Part of the statement read: In recent days, we have seen a cabal go to work. Members of this cabal had been secretive hitherto but they have developed a measure of boldness since Mr President took out time to rest in the last couple of weeks. The dangerous thing about this cabal is its ethnic tilt and composition which points to something dangerous for the country.

Since the leader of the cabal, whom we have since been able to gather is, former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly gave the go ahead for open attack on President Buhari, his foot soldiers have been hard at work. In a curious but saddening case of deception, they are hiding their agenda behind the facade of national interest.''

They alerted the general public that, in the near future more reports aimed at causing maximum damages would be published by an online medium.

In furtherance of the agenda, the coalition also noted that some unconscionable Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have similarly been recruited to mobilize unwary Nigerians for an evil plot.

The coalition also strongly believe that the comments credited to former APC Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, while presented as the intervention of an elder statesman are in reality the position jointly adopted by a meeting of the cabal that is trying to unseat the president for their clansman.

Akande had cautioned that the president's health should not be subjected to politicking

The group said it is placing it on records for Nigerians to bear in mind that none of the many utterances and statements being issued around President Buhari's health are being done with good intentions pointing out that such conduct is unwarranted.

"We urge President Buhari not to allow the antics of this cabal to stampede him into cutting short his recuperation time. No one is God and health challenges occur to mortals and is not by choice", the statement concluded.

READ ALSO: Declare office of the president vacant and swear in Osinbajo as acting president  Adegboruwa tells Senate

Meanwhile, a Pentecostal Bishop, Reverend Seun Adeoye, has urged Nigerians to pray for the quick recovery of President Buhari, saying his well-being is so important to the nations co-existence and stability.

Bishop Adeoye warned that if anything should happen to President Buhari, such would be a difficult burden for the nation to bear as Nigeria will fall into wrong hands that are ready do anything to turn it into their private estates.

Source: Legit.ng
- A whistle-blower in the US has earned more than $500,000 for reporting information that aided an investigation

- The person exposed a company he/she was working in and helped the SEC investigation

- The award is the second announced by the United States SEC in the past week

On Tuesday, May 2, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a whistle-blower who exposed fraud in his own company earned an award of more than $500,000.

The information the person reported, prompted a SEC investigation into misconduct that resulted in penalties, which would not have been found out otherwise.

Jane Norberg who is the chief of the SECs Office of the Whistleblower said: This company employee saw something wrong and did the right thing by reporting what turned out to be hard-to-detect violations of the securities laws.

Whistle-blowing has helped expose wrongdoings

Company insiders are in a unique position to provide specific information that allows us to better protect investors and the marketplace. We encourage insiders with information to bring it to our attention.

According to Premium Times, this is the second whistle-blower award announced by the SEC in the past week.

READ ALSO: Whistleblower narrates what transpired in Lagos apartment where EFCC seized $50m

Usually, whistle-blower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed $1 million.

All payments are made out of an investor protection fund established by Congress that is financed entirely through monetary sanctions paid to the SEC by securities law violators.

Meanwhile, the Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG), on Friday, April 21, in Abuja, said the Federal Governments whistle-blower policy has given the war against corruption the necessary bite it needed to be effective and successful.

READ ALSO: Extend whistle-blower policy to proliferation of arms - Ekweremadu tells FG

The group said this in a statement signed by its Protem Chairman, Mr Austin Braimoh and Secretary, Mr Cassidy Madueke.

What do Nigerian celebrities think of the whistle-blowing policy? Legit.ng spoke to them, listen to what they had to say:

Source: Legit.ng
The Police in Kogi have arrested a Youths Corps member, Aka-Jude Tersoo, for breaking into the ATM platform of the Lokoja branch of the Eco Bank Plc.

A statement issued on Tuesday in Lokoja by the state police command said that Tersoo was arrested at about 2:30 a.m. while breaking the ATM machine along with another suspect, Godwin Idih.

READ ALSO: Declare office of the president vacant and swear in Osinbajo as acting president  Adegboruwa tells Senate

The statement which detailed achievements of the police command in March and April, said that Tersoo and Idih were caught in the act by a police patrol team on duty which promptly arrested them.

The Police in Kogi have arrested a Youths Corps member, Aka-Jude Tersoo, for breaking into the ATM platform of the Lokoja branch of the Eco Bank Plc

The incident happened on April 26.

The statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP William Aya, said items recovered from the suspects include a digger, axe and one iron pipe.

Others are: six ATM cards of different banks belonging to individuals.

The statement said that police also arrested one Abimaje Yakubu while attempting to collect N8.4 million with a cloned cheque across the counter of one of the commercial banks in Lokoja.

Police said that the suspect who hailed from Abocho, Dekina Local Government Area, had approached the bank with the aim of collecting the money from the account of one Mr Victor Edomwande, of FAVA Travels, Ikoyi, Lagos.

READ ALSO: Panic in Jos as dead man grabs brothers hands in mortuary

When contacted, the account owner denied issuing the cheque and the suspect was promptly held by the bank officials and later handed over to the police.

In another development, the police command said it had recovered eight vehicles believed to have been stolen from within and neighboring states by one Yakubu Mohammed who is now at large.

According to the statement, the vehicles were recovered from their buyers who live in different parts of the state.

The details of the recovered vehicles are: a Toyota Carina with registration number Kogi AJK 397 AA, a Toyota Camry, Lagos, no: EKY 47 AW, Toyota Corolla, with no: Benue AY 58 MKD, Toyota Ballon, with no: Benue, AU 503 MKD, Toyota Ballon, with no: Lagos GGE 850 BV , Toyota Carina, no: Kaduna 903 ZAR, Toyota Carina wagon, no: FCT KWL 47 AW and three other Toyota Camry and Carina cars without number plates.

Six persons believed to be buyers of the stolen vehicles have also been arrested by police, the statement said.

It said efforts were being made to track down Yakubu Mohammed, the main suspect.

Aya said that the command had also arrested Ibrahim Taiwo and Owolabi Kayode for crude oil theft in Kabba area.

He said that the two suspects were intercepted while trying to escape with 33,000 liters of crude oil suspected to have been siphoned into a truck from burst oil pipeline.

He said that the truck with registration number Lagos KTU 338 XK was impounded by the police while N195,000 cash was found on the suspects.

The Police Spokesman said said that 18 robbery suspects and two burglars were also arrested within the same period.

He said that the items recovered from the suspects include two AK47 rifles, one locally made pistol, charms, live and expended cartridges and 27 rounds of live ammunition.

Aya said that all the suspects would be charged to court very soon.

In the video below, Legit.ng asks Nigerians if looters should get death penalty. Here are their responses.

Watch the video:

Source: Legit.ng
- Aisha Buhari has addressed rumours that her husband's health is really bad

- According to the wife of the president, Buhari, on Tuesday, May 2, continued to carry out his responsibilities

- This comes after the president was away for two weeks as he was absent from public functions

Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, says the health of her husband is not as bad as being perceived.

Not until Tuesday, May 2, President Buhari was not seen in public for almost two weeks.

His absent from the last couple of Federal Executive Council meetings held at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja, also triggered speculation that the presidents health may be very bad, even after his return from the UK for medical vacation.

Aisha Buhari says her husbands health not as bad as being perceived

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Oba of Lagos palace reportedly on fire (video)

But in series of tweets on her official Twitter handle, Aisha Buhari, disclosed that the presidents health is not that bad.

Aisha said in one of her tweets that Buhari has continued to carry out his responsibilities, and that he met with Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, and Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday, May 2.

Below are her tweets.

READ ALSO: Whistle-blower gets $500,000 for exposing own company in US

After some days of rest away from the office, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, May 2, returned to work.

The President's personal assistant on new media Bashir Ahmad disclosed this in a couple of tweets on his verified Twitter handle.

According to him, President Buhari received briefing from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) General Managing Director Maikanti Baru.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a man on the streets of Lagos who has harsh words for President Buhari because he believes the Nigerian leader is not doing so well for the masses

Source: Legit.ng
Sahara reporters also quoted a source at the Presidency that a new date has tentatively been set for May 10, for the president to return to London and continue his treatment.

READ ALSO: Buhari is happy - NNPC boss reveals what he discussed with the president

Sahara Reporters also said that the president reportedly arrived at his office yesterday looking frail and low in energy to meet with the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, and Attorney General Abubakar Malami.

It said the presidents handlers implemented the controlled appearance

The president during his appearance did not speak with State House journalists.

Legit.ng however could not verify why it was only the two officials selected to meet the president.

The news outfit also reported that the presidents wife wanted him to return to his doctors in the United Kingdom to continue his treatment and to allow him to recuperate fully.

They reported that a source at the villa said Aisha is now in charge of her husbands care, having taken over from his daughters, Halima and Zahra, in addition to his doctor and several medical personnel.

READ ALSO: President Buhari frowns at delay in passage of anti-graft Act

Sahara reporters also quoted a source at the Presidency that a new date has tentatively been set for May 10, for the president to return to London and continue his treatment.

In the video below, Legit.ng asks Nigerians if President Buhari's administration has taken the country out of recession. Here are their responses.

Watch the video:

Source: Legit.ng
- Mrs Taiwo Obasanjo, the mother of Abraham Olujonwo, is planning a massive protest at the venue of his son's wedding

- In a letter to security agencies and the church, Mrs Obasanjo detailed how she plans to successfully create the planned drama at the wedding venue

Despite losing at the court, Mrs Taiwo, wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, says the planned wedding between her son, Abraham Olujonwo, and Tope Adebutu cannot hold this month.

Olujonwo is the first child and only son of Taiwo Obasanjo. She says the date of the wedding must be changed.

Mrs Taiwo plans to cause chaos by openly protesting at the Methodist Church venue of the wedding ceremony on May 13, saying the date has ab occultic implication.

Taiwo Obasanjo also said she has the belief that she could be arrested at the venue of the wedding ceremony

"I have informed the Nigeria Police Force and the military police of my planned public protest on the 11th of May. I intend to stage a peaceful protest on the day of the wedding outside the federal palace, and on the 13th of May outside the Tinubu Methodist Church and outside Eko Holiday Inn, the reception venue.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Oba of Lagos palace reportedly on fire (video)

"This protest is to bring out people to praise the Almighty God very loud with songs and drummers to sing and dance like King David as they hold the 'demonic' ceremony. We will not insult or abuse anyone.

Part of the warning letter to the church

Another part of the letter

"I am inviting the generality of the people to join us in this peaceful protest," she said in a letter informing the church of her plans just as she added that she and her team would be armed with placards.

Mrs Taiwo Obasanjo's letters to the police, the Nigerian Army and the church were obtained by Legit.ng in the evening of Tuesday, May 2, 2016.

In one of the letters to the GOC of the 81 division of the Nigeria Army, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos seeking for protection, Mrs Obasanjo said: "Sir, these two dates are not for wedding but a clever specially concealed spiritual agenda to cause a great holocaust by inviting unsuspecting numerous souls to a banquet of death to feat on human flesh and blood to serve their covenant with Satan."

In the letter to the church, she said there would be a lot of disasters after the wedding.

"After the wedding, you will be hearing and seeing incidents of plane crashes, fire, multiple road accidents, tankers and trailiers killing people, cancers, diseases of the kidney, liver, prostrate, eyes issues and diverse health problems causing strange death in people and the economic situation will worsen.

"My son, Olujonwo Obasanjo, is innocent. He is a Daniel in the lion's den and he is a captive of multiple strong men and women of our world. He is bewitched, cast under the spell of dark powers of ultra-wicked cruelty originating from Rosemary Dacosta and her daughter, Tope Adebutu," she said.

READ ALSO: Declare office of the president vacant and swear in Osinbajo as acting president  Adegboruwa tells Senate

The Nigerian Army acknowledged receiving the notification letter from Mrs Obasanjo.

Through Leutenant Colonel I Ogundele, the army however asked her to take the matter up with the Nigeria Police.

In their reactions, some Nigerians asked that Mrs Obasanjo's revelation should be critically looked into while others wondered why she could go this far just to halt her son's wedding. Read some of the comments below:

Meanwhile watch this woman who drums with her hands and legs:

Source: Legit.ng
Consumers aim to keep their families healthy with nutritious, natural foods and supplements to fill the gaps, support healthy development and build strong immune systems. Pets are increasingly included in the equation, and consumers are buying specialty foods and supplements for these furry family additions.

According to analysis by Gfk and reported in a recent INSIDER infographic, global sales of pet food amounts to roughly US$70 billion, and two-third of sales take place in the United States ($24 billion per year) and Europe ($20 billion per year). Dog owners represent the largest share of global spending. Considering natural, the United States leads in sales of natural" pet food, which accounts for 69 percent of dollar sales in the pet retail channel. Globally, natural pet food is seeing interest in the U.K. (38 percent of sales in the pet retail channel), the Czech Republic (22 percent) and Greece (20 percent).

Additionally, consumers are turning to nutritional ingredients in pet supplements to keep animals healthy and to support healthy joints, shiny coats, digestion and more.

As demands for pet nutrition increases, manufacturers and marketers are innovating to bring new solutions to market. At SupplySide West 2017 in Las Vegas, Sept. 25-29, new exciting, effective consumer packaged good (CPG) products in the animal nutrition category will have the opportunity to be recognized as part of the SupplySide West CPG Editors Choice Awards. INSIDER editors review new product launches across a range of categories, including the animal nutrition category, to determine which products stand out (products are selected based on market innovation, consumer need, scientific substantiation and the "cool" factor). Five finalists in each category will be recognized at SupplySide West, and one winner will be chosenas determined by our health and nutrition editorsand announced at the show. There will be additional media coverage across the SupplySide Health & Nutrition Network brand sites, including photos and discussion of each brands unique positioning.

Nominations are open through July 31, 2017. Products must have been launched to the U.S. consumer market between Summer 2016 and July 2017. Product prototypes are not eligible. A minimum of two product samples are required for each product entered, so make sure to allocate plenty of time to complete the nomination process and provide samples by the entry deadline.

We here at INSIDER look forward to your nomination, and cant wait to see whats new, exciting and innovative in the animal nutrition category.
Indonesia is exploring a number of new options for nuclear power, including high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and a thorium molten salt reactors.

Indonesia has signed several nuclear deals

* In early 2015, they signed a contract to build and test a pebble-bed HTGR at Serpong with a consortium of Russian and Indonesian companies led by NUKEM Technologies.

* in August 2016, they signed a cooperation agreement with China Nuclear Engineering to develop small HTGRs in Kalimantan and Sulawesi by 2027.

* they have signed agreements with Russias Rosatom to develop a floating nuclear power plant to power smaller inhabited islands.

* in March 2017, three state-owned Indonesian power companies completed a 10-month-long preliminary feasibility study for a 250-MW molten salt reactor that would use a combination of 80% thorium and 20% uranium (the uranium would be enriched to 19.75% U-235, and the fuel would be delivered to the plant as fluoride salts). The reactor is from the ThorCon International nuclear startup. ThorCon is a company owned by Florida-based consulting firm Martingale Inc. The prefeasibility study stems from a memorandum of understanding the company signed with the Indonesian state firms in December 2015.

Indonesia has a lot monazite and Thorium, which is recovered from the countrys substantial tin mining industry.

The ThorCon reactor is designed for installation 15 to 30 meters underground.

ThorCon noted that an entire plant can be manufactured in blocks on a shipyard-like assembly line, claiming that a single large reactor yard can churn out 100 1-GW ThorCons per year. Manufacturing costs for building a 500-MW ThorConLand power plant are about $1.2/W, it said. Generation costs could hover around $0.024/kWh. Capital costs are low, it said, because the reactor operates at 700C, enabling the use of supercritical steam turbine generators, such as those installed at modern coal plants.

The designers foresee no technical reason why a full-scale 250-MW prototype cannot be operating within four years.

The plan is for prefission testing to begin in 2018, and fission testing in 2020.
The workplace, like almost all places where people interact, can be a petri dish of conflict. Offensive remarks, unrealistic demands, people taking credit for others work, bullying  the transgressions that occur can take many forms. They also have the potential to escalate out of control and permanently damage relationships.

Gabrielle S. Adams, an assistant professor at the London Business School and a visiting fellow at Harvard University, has examined the role that empathy and forgiveness can play in resolving these conflicts.

In recent studies, Professor Adams found that misunderstandings often exist between the victims of harm and the people who committed the harm. In many cases, the transgressors did not intend a negative effect, whereas the victims tended to think that the damage was intentional. In addition, transgressors frequently felt guilty and wanted to be forgiven much more than their victims realized.

When someone feels wronged, it can help to actively empathize with the person who is perceived as the wrongdoer, according to a study that Professor Adams conducted along with M. Ena Inesi, also of the London Business School. That can enable the victim to realize that the transgressor may well wish to be forgiven, their study found.
Season 3, Episode 4: Sabrosito

Episode-opening images dont get more promising than this: the sight of Don Eladio, the backslapping Mexican drug lord, diving blissfully into his backyard pool.

Fans of Breaking Bad recognize this shot as a callback to a moment that is chronologically in the future  Eladios demise in Season 4. You may recall that later dive as an involuntary reaction to the lethal poison that Gus Fring delivered by way of a bottle of very expensive liquor, the endgame of his counterattack against the cartel.

For those who hoped that Better Call Saul would tell the stories of the most unforgettably villainous characters from Breaking Bad, watching this weeks episode was like greeting a beloved friend whom you feared had died. Hello again, Don Eladios hacienda, which a bit of Google searching reveals is actually located in New Mexico and is up for sale at a reduced price of just over $1 million. We werent simply reintroduced to these people and their web of meth, cash and forced bonhomie. We learned new parts of their back stories and thus their motivations.

Specifically, we learned why Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis) loathes Gus. Guss meth is so profitable that when his patron, a toupee-sporting Juan Bolsa (Javier Grajeda), shows up to pay tribute to Don Eladio, he brings far more greenbacks than Hector. And the superior haul is even packed and presented more neatly. Its humiliating! Its plain that Hector and his Albuquerque operation, fronted by an ice cream store called El Griego Guinador (The Winking Greek), is no match for Gus and his operation, fronted by fried chicken. Hectors supply route was compromised in the previous episode, and now we understand a new facet of Hectors rage: No doubt he suspects that Gus was behind the accident that led the D.E.A. to El Griego, which is busted early in this episode. Worse, without those ice cream trucks driving back and forth to Mexico, Gus is going to out-earn Hector yet again.
The media industry has been rife with consolidation in recent years: Cable companies, film studios and telecommunications firms have all been bought and sold at a rapid clip.

Now, local television stations are at the center of the deal-making frenzy.

Last week, a day after the Federal Communications Commission eased regulations over how many stations an owner may have, Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest local broadcast group in the country, said it would buy 14 New York-based stations for $240 million.

The timing of Sinclairs deal may not have hinged directly on the change, but it demonstrated a demand for broadcast station mergers. Sinclair did not reply to requests for comment.

And now, a bidding war has begun over Tribune Media, the owner of WGN America and, in New York, PIX 11.
Viewed through the prism of goosing the economy and creating jobs  as Mr. Trump has pledged his efforts should be viewed  its hard to see how breaking up the biggest banks would help, especially in the short term. Indeed, it would most likely have the opposite effect.

Mr. Trumps chief complaint about Wall Street is that he doesnt think lenders are extending enough money. I have so many people, friends of mine, that had nice businesses. They cant borrow money, he famously said. They just cant get any money because the banks just wont let them borrow, because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank.

Given that commercial lending is at a record, according to the Federal Reserve, thats a hard statement to square.

But lets be generous and assume for a moment that he is right. What is undoubtedly true is that big banks would probably be even more conservative with their loan books during whatever transition would be required to comply with a new version of Glass-Steagall. Such a law would inject as much uncertainty into the economy as Dodd-Frank did initially, when banks were sorting out how they would comply. The process did throw some big banks lending into a state of paralysis.

And while proponents of ending too-big-to-fail love to point to the repeal of Glass-Steagall as the culprit, by now that meme should have resolved itself.

I dont think that Glass-Steagall was a cause of the crisis, Ben Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve chairman, who has no horse in this race, told me matter-of-factly.

Indeed, he said, he would be worried if the law were brought back, because it would hamstring the government if it ever needed to intervene in a crisis similar to what happened in 2008. If Glass-Steagall had been in effect, we couldnt have had some of the failing firms taken over, Mr. Bernanke said. JPMorgan took over Bear Stearns, and so on.
Le Coucou in New York, which opened a little less than a year ago, was named Best New Restaurant on Monday at the James Beard Foundations annual award ceremony in Chicago.

Le Coucous chef, Daniel Rose, is a Chicago native with restaurants in Paris. In a three-star review of the French restaurant in November, Pete Wells of The New York Times described Mr. Roses sauces as dynamic, with precise and rewarding flavors. Mr. Rose owns Le Coucou with Stephen Starr, who has restaurants in New York, Paris and Philadelphia, and was named Outstanding Restaurateur.

Michael Solomonov, the chef and owner of Zahav in Philadelphia and Dizengoff in New Yorks Chelsea Market, was this years Outstanding Chef.
Mr. Safire, a speechwriter and special assistant to President Richard M. Nixon, did not disappoint those waiting to pounce.

On April 17, 1973, Mr. Nixon declared that real progress was being made in getting to the bottom of the Watergate scandal. I condemn any attempt to cover up in this case, no matter who is involved, said Mr. Nixon, who was very much involved, as it would later turn out.

As far as Mr. Safire could see, the president had triumphed. And on that note, he began writing his Essay column on the Op-Ed page: For Richard Nixon, this is comeback time  and when it comes to comebacks, the worlds leading expert has just made his appearance on the right side of the Watergate investigation.

David Halberstam, a highly respected journalist and former Times correspondent, told the publisher  known as Punch  that he had made a mistake hiring Mr. Safire. He is a paid manipulator, Mr. Halberstam said, just warming up.

A few years ago when you had just taken over the paper you were handed a tough decision on the West Coast edition, Mr. Halberstam told Mr. Sulzberger. You said  Its a lousy paper. Close it. So Punch, this time the play is to you. Its a lousy column and its a dishonest one. So close it. Or you end up just as shabby as Safire.
I had an inkling that somebody would be studying Zika twins, so I started asking infectious disease experts about them. The subject turned out to be even more compelling than Id imagined. In the two known cases of identical twins born to Zika-infected mothers, both twins have severe brain damage. Thats the case with one set of fraternal twins, too. But in six other sets of fraternal twins in Brazil, including the original case, one twin is seriously impaired while the other appears to be healthy. I thought it would be fascinating to meet one of those pairs of twins to see their differences and observe how their families were coping.

I did not anticipate the situation of Joao Lucas and Ana Vitoria da Silva Araujo, twins whose different fates had overwhelmed their mother and caused the brain-damaged twin, Joao Lucas, to be placed with a guardian. These twins, more than a year old when I met them, became a window into much more than the Zika virus. Their story reflects struggles with poverty and lack of education; health care resources so scarce that people have to travel long distances just to get basic, low-tech services; the need for friends and acquaintances to take on ad hoc roles as substitute caregivers for children in crisis.

Together with Tania Franco, who served as a translator and fixer; Adriana Zehbrauskas, a photographer; and Gleidson Marcos, a driver who also made sure we were safe, I followed Joao Lucas and his guardian, Valeria Gomes Ribeiro, as they went from one appointment to another in the city of Recife.

Ms. Ribeiro, who was already a guardian for a teenager with developmental disabilities and had taken in an aunt with dementia, had stepped in to care for Joao Lucas. She is a cousin of a neighbor of his biological mother, Neide Maria Ferreira da Silva, who had given birth to 10 children before having the twins and proved unable to handle such an impaired baby.

Joao Lucas suffered serious symptoms: seizures, breathing difficulties, trouble with muscles and joints. He could not sit up or support his head on his own, and he had to wear leg braces even though he couldnt crawl let alone walk. His medication sometimes made him so groggy he barely seemed to notice when a therapist at one clinic tried to stimulate his sense of touch by brushing his shoulders, back and arms with sponges. Yet at the next clinic he failed to stay still for a hearing test, so Ms. Ribeiro stood and rocked him repeatedly, despite her own fatigue.
Hi Susan,

As with my answer to Len, youll get no argument from me. Insurance is prudent even when the risks are statistically rather small, such as the possibility of fire in a home. We should continue to invest in fundamental climate research and promising clean-tech, and we should redouble our investments in proven non-carbon energy sources, particularly next-gen nuclear power.

But also as with my previous answer, my question is this: How much? Homeowners will buy fire insurance, but theyll also weigh the price in light of their overall needs. We need to hedge against prospective risks. We need to provide for current needs. The climate-advocacy community sometimes conveys the impression that all of this is not just necessary, but relatively straightforward and affordable. I wish it were that simple.

A decade ago we were plowing money into ethanol subsidies as one response to climate change. But that turned out to be not just environmentally destructive but was also arguably responsible for the spike in food prices that soon followed, as farmers turned away from cultivating corn for human consumption to cultivating it for ethanol production. Another example: The New York Times recently reported on the massive increase in smog over London. The cause? Let me quote from the story:

The British government provided financial incentives to encourage a shift to diesel engines because laboratory tests suggested that would cut harmful emissions and combat climate change. Yet, it turned out that diesel cars emit on average five times as much emissions in real-world driving conditions as in the tests, according to a British Department for Transport study.

In other words, to say we want to take out insurance for climate change is perfectly sensible. But whether we know were buying the right insurance, at the right price, is less clear, and it behooves us to look closely at the fine print before we sign on.

Jason: The whole connection to the Clinton campaign is absurd. Polling is not science. Science transcends politics. (Also, for the most part the polls were right, Clinton won the popular vote by about 2 percentage points. She just didnt win them in the right places.)

Hi Jason,

Of course polling isnt science! Its an art, but one that increasingly is based on rigorously tested assumptions, sophisticated mathematical models, computer algorithms, behavioral analysis and so on. Its an effort to peer into the future under conditions of dynamic uncertainty. And, in that sense, its not altogether different from climate modeling. The climate is an intensely complex system. Seemingly tiny differences in terms of inputs can make dramatic differences in terms of results. We should be humble about what we can know a year into the future, never mind a century, and we should be refining our assumptions continuously. That calls for more investment in science, not less.
The United States has long seen itself as a beacon of democracy and a global advocate of human rights and the rule of law. It has faltered, sometimes badly, undermining leaders whose views did not fit its strategic objectives and replacing them with pliant despots. Yet for the most part American presidents, Republican and Democratic, have believed that the United States should provide a moral compass to the world, encouraging people to pursue their right to self-government and human dignity and rebuking foreign leaders who fall short.

Like so much else under President Trump, though, this idea has now been turned on its head and people are worried about the very survival of the values on which America built its reputation and helped construct an entire international system, including the United Nations. The latest example is Mr. Trumps decision to invite Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, to the White House.

Though the Philippines is an ally and a democracy, Mr. Duterte is neither a democratic leader nor a worthy ally. For about two decades as mayor of Davao, he was accused of allowing death squads to roam the city and kill freely. Most victims were poor drug users and low-level criminals, but bystanders, children and political opponents were also caught up in the bloodshed.

After his election last year, Mr. Duterte took the killing campaign nationwide, effectively giving free license to the police and vigilantes. He has boasted about his tenure in Davao, and admitted to personally killing three kidnappers without trial. The mayhem got so bad that last week a Filipino lawyer formally asked the International Criminal Court to charge Mr. Duterte and 11 officials with mass murder and crimes against humanity over the extrajudicial killings of nearly 10,000 people over the past three decades.
There may be some question whether Russia was behind the hacking attacks on one candidates computers or is covertly meddling in some other way in Frances politics. But Senator Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was most likely on target when he said that the Russians are actively involved in the French elections. Whether Russias efforts are effective is another question; yet another is how to counter them.

Moscows interest in the election is not hard to understand. France has been a pillar of the European Union, an important member of NATO and pivotal on maintaining sanctions on Russia. Of the four leading candidates, three would seek closer ties to Russia: Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, who has received millions in loans from Russian banks and traveled to Moscow last month for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin; Francois Fillon, the scandal-scarred candidate of the mainstream right; and Jean-Luc Melenchon, a far-left populist who has lately surged in the polls.

The fourth candidate, Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister, is strong on maintaining Russian sanctions and favors strengthening the European Union, which Mr. Putin would dearly like to see weakened. Not surprisingly, Mr. Macrons campaign charges that Russia is spreading fake news about him through its state-funded media, such as RT and Sputnik, including rumors about his sex life.

How effective such efforts are is hard to gauge. RT and Sputnik have small audiences, and are not particularly sophisticated in their effort to push what the director of the Sputnik bureau in Paris called, with no hint of irony, a pluralism of truth. Russian disinformation does get recycled on social media, like a false report last month that Mr. Fillon had made a huge recovery in opinion polls.
INTERNATIONAL

An article on Sunday, about demonstrations in Russia, misquoted an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, Aleksei A. Navalny. In a recent video, Mr. Navalny said that four charities had spent $66 million to maintain luxury residences for Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev, not $66 billion.



A picture caption with an article on Sunday about a threat to the street-food culture in Southeast Asia misidentified a Vietnamese dish shown in a bowl in the photo. It is banh da cua, not bun cha.

NATIONAL

A picture with an article on Sunday, about a judge overturning part of the bail system in Houston, was published in error. It showed a building that was once the Harris County jail, it is no longer used for that purpose.



An article on Saturday about the Los Angeles riots in 1992 misstated the makeup of the jury that acquitted four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King. It included an Asian juror and a Hispanic juror, it was not all-white.
Anyway, Ms. Wintour was not alone. In years past, people have taken the themes very seriously. This time, it was more like a general invitation to let the freak flags fly, and so lots of people, aside from Ms. Wintour, did.

Katy Perry wore a red veil and dress by John Galliano for Maison Martin Margiela that left her looking like the bride of Frankenstein. Nicki Minaj was more Elvira: Mistress of the Dark by way of a Las Vegas showgirl in a caped black and red dress that was designed with H&M.

The bright spot?

Its not that uncomfortable, she said.

Helen Lasichanh  the wife of this years co-host, Pharrell Williams  should have been so lucky.

She was stuffed into a bright red Comme des Garcons gown that actually had no arms. So while Mr. Williams stood by her talking about how easy it was to put on his ripped jeans and plaid CDG jacket (Im a man, he said), her preparation process was more involved.
William M. Hoffman, whose epochal play As Is was in the vanguard of Broadways coming to grips with the AIDS epidemic and who wrote the groundbreaking libretto for John Coriglianos opera The Ghosts of Versailles, died on Saturday in the Bronx. He was 78.

The cause was cardiac arrest, his husband, William Russell Taylor II, said.

Mr. Hoffman began his career as a book editor at Hill and Wang, where he published gay and lesbian playwrights in the New American Plays series and in the 1979 anthology Gay Plays: The First Collection. In doing so, he promoted the careers of Jane Chambers, Tom Eyen, Joe Orton, Robert Patrick and Lanford Wilson, among others.

He followed his success as a writer by teaching, as a professor of journalism, communication and theater at Lehman College of the City University of New York, and as the host of Conversations with William M. Hoffman, a regularly scheduled program in which he interviewed theatrical and musical personalities on the cable channel CUNY-TV.

In 1985, Mr. Hoffmans As Is and Larry Kramers The Normal Heart represented the opening salvo in the theatrical war against AIDS, Prof. Roger W. Oliver of The Juilliard School and New York University wrote in The Juilliard Journal in 2010.
A jury recommended on Monday that prosecutors file criminal charges against seven Milwaukee County jail employees over the death of Terrill Thomas, an inmate who the authorities say died of dehydration after going a week without water.

The jury found probable cause to charge the seven staff members, including two supervisors, with felony abuse, according to Erik Heipt, a lawyer representing Mr. Thomass estate.

Nothing like this should ever happen in an American jail, Mr. Heipt said, and were pleased that justice is taking its course.

The jurys inquest began April 24, exactly one year after Mr. Thomas, 38, was found dead in his cell. The Milwaukee County district attorneys office, which had requested the inquest, is not bound by the recommendation.
AUSTIN  A man killed one student and wounded three others on Monday at the University of Texas, walking calmly from one to another and stabbing them with a bowie knife, setting off panic and rumors of a larger wave of violence.

The university police identified the suspect as Kendrex J. White, a 21-year-old student who was quickly arrested. Witnesses described the suspect as eerily composed during the episode near Gregory Gymnasium, and said that when he was confronted by police officers, he did not speak or appear to hurry.

Rachel Prichett, 19, a student from Austin, said she was standing at a food truck when she heard screaming, turned and saw a man holding what looked like a small machete approaching her, just walking calmly with the knife to his side.

The suspect walked behind a man a few feet away from her, then grasped the mans shoulder with one hand and with the other hand stabbed him in the back, thrusting the knife all the way in.
BOGOTA, Colombia  President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela said Monday that he would convene an assembly to rewrite the countrys Constitution, which he said would quell mounting protests against him.

But the plan was quickly rejected by his opponents as an attempt to avoid elections.

In a televised address on International Workers Day  on which both the president and his opponents held demonstrations  Mr. Maduro said he would call together what he described as a citizens constitutional assembly of the people, the communities, the peasants to rewrite the governing charter.

The presidents plan came at a time of deep desperation for his unpopular government. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have been protesting in Caracas and other cities, calling him a dictator and demanding that he schedule elections that his government postponed.

To many, Mr. Maduros call to rewrite the Constitution seemed like an effort to divert attention from the political crisis he has been facing in the streets and to avoid elections that his governing United Socialist Party is likely to lose, according to polls.
These interpretations have been enthusiastically adopted by the Islamic State.

Also, some interpretations of classical Islamic law, and of certain passages in the Quran, forbid Muslims from having non-Muslim political leaders. Medieval Islamic jurisprudence, still regarded as valid by some, is used to justify slavery and the execution of prisoners.

Image A 2006 painting by the Dutch artist John van der Sterren depicts Indonesias founding leader, Sukarno, cradling an independence fighter in the 1940s. The rebels Christian cross has made the image a symbol of the drive to reinterpret Islamic law. Credit... Nahdlatul Ulama

Some predominantly Muslim countries have been moving to reinterpret Islamic law within their borders, with some sending delegations to a 2016 international conference of scholars, religious leaders and clergy members in Morocco on protecting the legal rights of religious minorities living among them.

The Indonesian initiative, however, aims to directly approach governments around the world, both Muslim-majority and otherwise, as well as at the United Nations, to achieve a global consensus on reforming what it views as archaic interpretations of Islam.

The challenge we face is not confined to religious views that emerged through an intellectual process conducted a thousand years ago. We are also confronted by religious and political authorities whose institutions are deeply intertwined with these views, and thus continue to inculcate such teachings among each new generation of Muslims, Mr. Yaqut said.

Nonetheless, some Islamic scholars and experts note that because there are so many diverging interpretations of Islamic law and the Quran, it would be difficult to reach an international consensus on reforms.

Theres a whole library of interpretations of jihad  Muslims must fight non-Muslim states to expand territory, for example, said Ruud Peters, an emeritus professor of Islamic law at the University of Amsterdam. But since the 19th century, there have been interpretations followed by many Muslim states to only defend against attack from non-Muslim states.

Another problem, scholars and experts said, is the cultural differences among predominantly Muslim countries in interpreting Islamic law. Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, for example, practices one of the most liberal forms of Islam in the world, while simultaneously having a secular government and Constitution, with full rights for Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other religious minorities.
The White House clarified that Mr. Trump would only consider a meeting if the North Korean leader met a series of conditions, starting with a sharp curtailment of his provocative behavior. North Korea carried out its most recent ballistic missile test, which failed, only last week.

We want to hold out the possibility that if North Korea were ever serious about completely dismantling its nuclear capability and taking away the threat that they pose both to the region and to us, the press secretary, Sean Spicer, said, there is always going to be a possibility of that occurring. But he added, That possibility is not there at this time.

For now, the Trump administration is pursuing a more traditional strategy of tightening economic pressure on the North  mainly through its neighbor, China  and backing that up with threat of military action. Mr. Trump said last week that while he wanted to solve the crisis with North Korea through diplomacy, a major, major conflict was possible.

Some experts said Mr. Trumps openness to diplomacy reflected the influence of China, which has long urged the United States to speak directly to North Korea. Since Mr. Trump met last month in Florida with President Xi Jinping of China, he has praised Mr. Xi for what he insisted was Chinas willingness to use its leverage over the North to curb its behavior.

The Chinese have told Trump, Youve got to talk to these people, said Joel S. Wit, an expert on North Korea at Johns Hopkins University, who was involved in diplomacy during the Clinton administration that led to a nuclear agreement with North Korea in 1994.

Theyre trying to create the right circumstances for talks, Mr. Wit said, ramping up the pressure on the Chinese, ramping up the pressure on the North Koreans, and then opening up an escape route.
When asked about this years presidential election, French historians often draw a comparison that could initially seem outlandish.

The war that France fought in Algeria, they said, cleaved French society, opening crises of identity and integration that still drive politics, much as the Civil War lurks within the racial and regional politics still roiling the United States.

The Algerian war was a French civil war, Benjamin Stora, the conflicts foremost historian, said in a recent interview from his home in Paris.

In Algeria, independence groups fought to end 130 years of French rule. Within France, Mr. Stora said, the war was an ideological conflict over two conceptions of the nation, one that saw France as an empire and Algeria as core to its greatness, and another that rejected colonialism. The war also became a struggle over whether French identity could expand to include the mostly Muslim Algerians.
MOSCOW  The Russian police detained about 20 gay rights protesters on Monday, among them the leader of a group that is helping gay men escape from the southern province of Chechnya, where they face abuse, including torture.

The protesters held a demonstration on the sidelines of a May Day parade in St. Petersburg, Russias second-largest city.

The treatment of gays in Chechnya has prompted protests outside Russia, but the demonstration on Monday was the first significant action inside the country, and it ended, perhaps predictably, with arrests. Russia has strict rules on political activity in public.

Some protesters lay on the pavement draped in a rainbow flag and the flag of Chechnya. Others carried placards objecting to the mistreatment of gay men in Chechnya, news footage showed.
Frederick Wisemans judgment of whats wrong with ballet is far from crazy. That esteemed filmmaker, having directed his inquisitive gaze on American Ballet Theater and Paris Opera Ballet in documentaries, has expressed dissatisfaction with the narrow subject matter of most ballets: the fairy tales, the antique love stories, the avoidance of contemporary life. Thats an old complaint, long shared by ballet insiders, experts and reformers.

Mr. Wisemans proposed treatment, though, is extreme, almost the equivalent of electroshock therapy. As a fellow with the Center for Ballet and the Arts, he suggested a ballet based on Titicut Follies, his notorious 1967 documentary about a state prison for the criminally insane.

Its easy to imagine how that idea could go offensively wrong. But James Sewell, a Minneapolis-based choreographer, bravely took up the challenge, and at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts last weekend, his company gave the New York premiere of his Titicut Follies: The Ballet. It wasnt a disaster. Thats too strong a word for a work this mild.

The ballet borrows scenes and figures from the film, sensibly starting and ending with the part thats already theatrical, the inmate-and-staff musical revue that gives the documentary its title. This introduction of artifice is a hopeful sign, since so much of the films power isnt transferable: the sad setting; the close-ups; above all, the ambiguity and shock of fact. The ballet has to rely on the powers of ballet.
Netflix will add a warning to the start of 13 Reasons Why, its series about a teenagers suicide, as an extra precaution for viewers, the streaming network announced Monday. The move came after mounting criticism from mental health experts who say the shows portrayal of suicide is incorrect and potentially dangerous for vulnerable adolescents.

On Tuesday, Netflix would not disclose what the newest warning will say. Episodes depicting rape or the suicide of the character Hannah Baker already had warnings, and the show is rated TV-MA.

While many of our members find the show to be a valuable driver for starting important conversation with their families, we have also heard concern from those who feel the series should carry additional advisories, Netflix said in a statement on Monday that did not mention suicide.

In recent weeks, school counselors recommended that students with a history of suicidal thoughts refrain from watching, for fear that the series may spur copycat behavior or self-injury. Netflix would not comment on whether the new advisory will suggest that adolescents with such a history should not watch 13 Reasons Why.
 An American missile-defense system intended to counter threats from North Korea is now operational in South Korea, where it has electrified the countrys presidential campaign  partly over questions of who will pay for it.

The system, called Thaad, went live a day after President Trump declared his willingness to meet with North Koreas dictator. Hillary Clinton, in a television interview, mocked the suggestion as impulsive and naive.
1. President Trumps push to get a new health care bill through the House was dealt a huge blow by an influential Republican who refused to support it.

The lawmaker said it torpedoes protections for people with pre-existing conditions, who are also speaking out against the bill  and so is the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

He gave a moving monologue about his newborn son, Billy, who has a heart defect. Above, Mr. Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, in February.
ATHENS  Greece and its international creditors said on Tuesday that they had reached a preliminary deal allowing the country to receive crucial bailout payments in exchange for promises to raise taxes and to further cut pensions and social spending.

The agreement  the culmination of months of talks  paves the way for the transfer of more than 7 billion euros, or about $7.6 billion, of emergency funds to Athens. It also comes before a series of elections in France, Britain and Germany in the coming days and months, with European officials eager to avoid giving fuel to far-right parties.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to the approval of eurozone finance ministers and the Greek Parliament, Athens will make changes to its labor and energy markets, cut pension payouts, and increase taxes.

The deal was a prerequisite for talks on easing Greeces enormous debt burden, which is about 300 billion. The issue is a point of contention between the International Monetary Fund, which advocates debt relief for the country, and European Union members, notably Germany, which have taken a harder line against Athens.
SAN FRANCISCO  Facing new corporate demands and political pressure from a Trump administration that wants to curb immigrant work visas, Infosys, one of Indias leading tech outsourcing companies, said Tuesday that it will hire up to 10,000 Americans to serve its clients in the United States.

The move makes Infosys the latest Asian technology company to portray itself as a jobs creator as President Trump threatens to take action against companies he sees as hurting American workers.

Last month, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing government agencies to review employment immigration laws to promote Hire American policies. That included offering suggestions for how to reform the H-1B visa program, which operates as a lottery to bring skilled foreign laborers to the United States each year  usually tech workers.

But Infosys is also making its move to hire American driven by other forces. Its home base of India has become a less appealing place to do the grunt work of programming as wages rise there and skilled labor has become more difficult to find. A study of 36,000 engineering students at 500 Indian colleges released last month found that only 5 percent could write software code correctly.
When the Italian airline Alitalia went bankrupt in 2008, the government swooped in with taxpayer money and Pope Benedict  a regular rider  offered the carrier a blessing. Six years later, as Alitalia stumbled into debt yet again, the government engineered another rescue.

But on Tuesday, even a papal decree would not have been enough to save Alitalia from what threatened to be its final stand, as Europes most troubled airline filed for bankruptcy once more, this time amid signs that the government, and the Italian people, were fed up from providing life support.

The latest drama over one of Italys most visible industrial symbols has plunged the already chaotic political and economic environment into further uncertainty. The country was regrouping after voters, in a populist outpouring, rejected constitutional changes in a December referendum that felled Matteo Renzi, then Italys prime minister.

Uncertainty over the health of the nations banks, plagued with 360 billion euros, or about $390 billion, in bad debt, has also been rattling global financial markets. Investors are worried that Italy, a too big to fail member of the eurozone, may set off another round of uncertainty for the single currency should new problems in the countrys banking system jeopardize its economy.
In 2016, Alpha Natural Resources secured a $12 million bonus package for its executives during bankruptcy proceedings, saying they should be compensated for navigating the complexities of the process. The previous year, the company lost $1.3 billion.

Seven Arch Coal executives received about $8 million in bonuses three days before the company filed for bankruptcy in January 2016, seeking to cut $4.5 billion in debt. An Arch Coal spokeswoman, Logan Bonacorsi, said that the company had consistently given out bonuses in the first quarter of the year, and that they were driven mainly by safety and environmental performance metrics.

Some workers at Arch Coal sites, including some truck drivers, are employed by third-party businesses, and the company had no insights into wage rates at those companies, she said.

Vic Svec, a Peabody spokesman, said that average industry wages were lower than those at Peabody, whose coal miners can earn wages and bonuses nearing six figures per year. He said the majority of stock bonuses would be shared by employees below the companys executive ranks, though he declined to give a detailed breakdown.

An Alpha Natural Resources spokesman, Steve Hawkins, declined to comment.

Coal miners face other woes. Mr. Trump has proposed eliminating funding for programs that support laid-off miners in Appalachia. Congress, however, reached a last-minute deal this week to finance health benefits for more than 20,000 retired miners  miners whose employers have long gone bankrupt, leaving taxpayers to pick up the tab.

You dont have to guess who they think most of, said Bob Cox in Beaver Dam, Ky., who worked in Appalachias mine tunnels for 35 years before losing his last coal mining job in 2002, at age 56. Mr. Cox has an early stage of black lung disease.

I feel like I gave them the best part of my life, and they paid me  guess the way it was supposed to be, he said. But in the end, it didnt turn out in my favor.
Thomas DeGrezia, who opened the shop last July with Matthew Porter, said he cold-fermented the dough for about three days before letting it rise in an oil-lined pan with grated cheese for 12 hours. (The name is a play on dodici, Italian for 12.) It is cooked for 10 minutes without stretching the dough, resulting in a collapsed, airy crumb. The result is a six-slice pizza that Sofia will sell only by the pie.

If all that seems a lot of bother for pizza, the partners say it reflects the time, labor and cost of making the pies.

We use all imported flours, and we also use an imported, unfiltered, organic Sicilian olive oil, said Mr. DeGrezia, who traces his pizza heritage to J& V Pizzeria, which his grandfather helped found in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in the 1950s. Of the four cheeses on it, one is a daily-hand-made, fresh mozzarella, and another is a 36-month red cow Parmigiano-Reggiano that gets shaved on top right before serving.

The first round of four tickets, for two nights this week, sold out on the day they were announced. The partners plan to offer additional dates for the remainder of May, and to serve the DoughDici a few days weekly through the end of summer.
Dr. J. Mario Molina, the outspoken chief executive of the California health insurance company founded by his father, was abruptly removed from his position at Molina Healthcare, according to an announcement by the company on Tuesday. His brother, John, the companys chief financial officer, was also immediately replaced.

Dr. Molina, the subject of a profile in The New York Times earlier this year, was one of the foremost critics of the steps taken by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to overhaul the federal health care law. Under his leadership, Molina, which specializes in providing care to low-income individuals under the Medicaid program, had become a mainstay of the individual insurance markets created by the law. The company signed up about one million customers in the state marketplaces, and it offers Medicaid plans in 12 states and Puerto Rico.

Attempts to reach Dr. Molina for comment were unsuccessful, and the company declined to make any executives available for interviews.

But Molina had been struggling financially in the individual marketplaces and stunned investors when it reported that it had lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year, for which executives blamed a flawed government formula. Dr. Molina repeatedly warned that the company could withdraw from the markets if federal officials failed to make changes to the program. Molinas stock fell significantly on the news of its 2016 results.
To get a waiver, a state would need some other way to cover people with potentially serious medical conditions, ranging from a reinsurance program that helps pay for customers needing very expensive care to a high-risk pool. Such pools existed in 35 states before the Affordable Care Act, but they served only a small fraction of the people who needed coverage and most were underfunded, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

States could also seek to opt out of a requirement that all insurance plans cover 10 essential health benefits, including prescription drugs, maternity care, mental health care and addiction treatment. By allowing insurers to cover less, the change could bring down premium prices, but also leave people without access to services that hundreds of thousands have received under the Affordable Care Act, including treatment for opioid addiction.

It is hard to predict how broadly the waivers would affect the millions of people with pre-existing conditions. Many people do have lapses in coverage between jobs or at other times, and they could be priced out of any program a state set up. Healthy people would most likely gravitate to plans that offered minimal coverage, which could greatly increase costs for those who need more comprehensive care.

Governors have so far remained quiet about whether they would seek waivers, but for many people who rely on the individual insurance market, these provisions hark back to a time when insurers scrutinized the health of all individuals before they could sign up. In some states, policies were available with riders that excluded a given condition. Insurers could also just charge those with medical conditions much higher prices.

Larisa Thomason, of New Market, Ala., remembers the day 15 years ago when her husband got a letter from Humana informing him that his policy would not cover any cancer care because a preventive colonoscopy had turned up several benign polyps. Likewise, an insurer in Wisconsin refused to cover any treatment related to Alice Thompsons reproductive system, starting in 2003, because a doctor had written in her medical record that she should have a hysterectomy to eliminate painful menstrual periods.

Had I gotten ovarian or uterine cancer, I wouldnt have been covered, said Ms. Thompson, 62, of South Milwaukee. For 10 years, I was living under this uncertainty of what if.
After President Bashar al-Assad of Syria was accused of using sarin gas in an attack on his countrys people, and images of dead children shocked the world, a missile strike on a military airfield ordered by President Trump was celebrated in some of the United States media. The conventional wisdom held that standing up to Mr. Assad would teach a lesson. More than one journalist invoked the notion of beauty in describing the attack.

But missiles and bombs do not teach, and are not beautiful. All they make are corpses and rubble. Last Men in Aleppo, a documentary both urgent and mournful, opens in the ancient Syrian city of the title, in the aftermath of a barrel-bomb attack by Russian aircraft. Members of the search-and-rescue group known as the White Helmets  which was also profiled in an Oscar-winning 2016 short, now streaming on Netflix  comb through the ruins of a building, eventually extracting a baby who survived its collapse. This is only the first of many such scenes. The repetition would be numbing if each did not yield a new horror. An infant, dead, its neck snapped, its head flopping, as a volunteer hoists the body. A calico cat with its back limbs pulverized, trying to scurry out of a corridor and into shelter  where? Nowhere. And so it goes.

The movie, directed by Feras Fayyad, with Steen Johannessen as co-director, takes a direct, often galvanizing cinema verite perspective, some artfully shot opening and interstitial footage notwithstanding. In one scene, the movies central figures, Khaled, a warm, bearish father of two, and Mahmoud, an intense younger man, are trying to douse a car fire when their White Helmets crew, and a camera operator, come under attack and have to run for cover. Its terrifying. Khaleds sweet young daughters provide respite, but their presence also increases a sense of dread. These are beautiful, kind human beings. We dont want anything bad to happen to them.

But from where we sit in a movie theater, theres nothing to be done.

This is an essential film, but it is also a terribly dispiriting one. We all navigate challenges and endure loss, but Last Men in Aleppo is likely to make you almost ashamed of your comforts and leave you with a feeling of impotence. I suspect its the filmmakers wish that once those initial feelings ebb, moviegoers will ask what they can do to help. This picture doesnt offer hope; its aim is to compel us to create some.
A summer of misery could follow this springtime of discontent for commuters who pass through Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, judging by Amtraks preliminary plan for extensive track repairs at the station.

The plan, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, calls for the closing of tracks for two long stretches that would last for nearly three weeks in July and almost the entire month of August. Amtrak has shared the plan with the two commuter railroads with which it shares Penn Station: New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road.

Officials of the three railroads are meeting this week to devise a final schedule for the work, but there is no doubt that travel will be disrupted. Penn Station is the busiest rail terminal in North America, and New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road are two of the three busiest railroads in the United States.

The plan presented by Amtrak outlined 21 repairs and described their locations. But it did not explain how the work would affect train schedules during the track closings. The work plan appeared to indicate that at least two tracks at a time would be closed off during the periods in July and August.
For nearly 20 years, Debrah Lee Charatan has tried to stay outside the media spotlight trained on her husband, Robert A. Durst, who is facing trial in Los Angeles in the killing of Susan Berman, his confidante.

But that may be ending.

In a $100 million lawsuit filed Monday in State Supreme Court in Mineola, N.Y., by Carol Bamonte, Mary Hughes and Virginia McKeon, the three sisters of Mr. Dursts first wife, Kathleen Durst, Ms. Charatan is described as a coldblooded opportunist who in cooperation with Mr. Durst conspired and agreed to conceal the whereabouts of Kathleen Dursts body from her family. Ms. Durst disappeared in 1982. Her body has never been found.

Ms. Charatan, a real estate executive in New York, controls her husbands financial affairs, pays his team of lawyers and is the chief beneficiary of Mr. Dursts 2003 will and an estate worth an estimated $100 million.

Among the many twists and turns of Mr. Dursts 35-year tale is the fact that Ms. Charatan, 60, lives with Steven Holm, a real estate lawyer who has worked for Mr. Durst, 74.
I dont have the money to buy an Indian Larry bike, Mr. Docherty said. But I had to get here. Some of the guys from the bike club back home want me to pack up some stuff, T-shirts and badges.

Indian Larry bikes are made from scratch. From the handlebars to the kicker pedals, they are soldered, sculpted and painted in the Brooklyn shop, including the iconic Indian Larry down tube, for which two muscular humans strain to twist steel heated to 900 degrees. Even the nuts and bolts are made on the premises.

Mr. Docherty discovered Mr. Desmedt, a reformed bank robber and addict turned charismatic philosopher, master welder and mechanic, on the Discovery Channel television show The Great Biker Build-Off. In 2004, when Mr. Desmedt was filming the series in North Carolina, he died from a fall while doing a basic trick: standing on his bike, arms outstretched. (He had just sped through a wall of fire.) He was 55 and left behind his wife, Bambi Desmedt, a burlesque performer known as Bambi the Mermaid of Coney Island.

While Mr. Docherty examined the bikes, Ed Newbert, an oncology nurse from Boston, walked in. I figured Id make the pilgrimage, he said. He walked two hours from Union Square to get to the shop so that he could sight-see along the way.
The big blue dot on the map is not a subway stop, historical site or destination restaurant.

Instead, it is another New York City landmark: scaffolding.

The dot marks a wood-and-steel frame covering the front of a long-unfinished project on a brownstone-lined block in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The permit for it was issued by the citys Buildings Department in January 2006, and it is now the oldest such scaffolding in New York, according to department records.

The 11-year-old scaffolding is on a new map developed by the Buildings Department that displays more than 7,700 similar structures currently parked in front of city buildings. Many of them have been up for years with officials sometimes having no idea when they will come down, or, in some cases, if they are even needed anymore.

Though intended to protect passers-by from falling debris, these eyesores known as sidewalk sheds have often become a blight, drawing a barrage of complaints from residents and businesses that they block light and views, attract crime and litter and impede foot traffic along congested sidewalks.
The goal of provoking conversation worked, but it came at a heavy price. Afterward, many students associated our organization solely with the Yiannopoulos event. That was extremely unfortunate as the aim of the event was more a demonstration of free expression than any endorsement of what he had to say.

I think that part of the reason organizations like mine bring speakers like Mr. Yiannopoulos is we know the conservative media will cover it. Most of those events can be put on at very little cost because of generous sponsorships, and they give the groups that host them a greater voice and attention on campus.

With that in mind, my advice for students who oppose such speakers is twofold. First, deny them the attention they crave. Mr. Yiannopoulos is only a sensation for the reaction he gets from other people. He says very little of substance and stages his speeches to be more theatrical than anything else. By having a huge protest, students who oppose his ideas play into his hands. If nobody showed up to these events, the students who bring these speakers would stop. It wouldnt be fun anymore.

If you cant ignore the speaker or if you feel too strongly about his or her ideas, then show up with well-prepared questions. Virtually all of these speakers will have a Q. and A. session and this is your chance to shine. Do your homework. Call them out on the facts. This might even change minds in the audience, too.

My second piece of advice is slightly more involved: Join the organizations who bring these types of speakers, or partner with them to turn one-sided speech into a debate. Just show up to a meeting and say you are interested. The next time they discuss who to bring to campus, you will likely have a say. Voice your opinion. Talk about what a certain speaker wont help change on campus, or why a debate would be more interesting. Conversations around a table are much better for consensus building than yelling at one another across a room.
Lets face it: Current political realities have made a final status agreement between Israelis and Palestinians unachievable now. So Israelis need to focus instead on creating conditions, on both sides, in which an accord might be possible in the future.

To be sure, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattiss visit to Israel last month and President Trumps scheduled meeting on Wednesday with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, could lead to new talks.

But even if they do, resumed negotiations now would almost certainly fail  or boomerang. Every other attempt at direct, bilateral negotiations has failed, and violence has often followed. Each disappointment, in turn, only deepens the profound mistrust and misunderstandings between the leaders on both sides, which further erodes confidence among Israelis and Palestinians that peace can ever be attained.

In short, the peace process is broken.

Yet it remains true that only a two-state solution can safeguard the Zionist dream  a state that is Jewish, democratic and secure. A unitary state would no longer be Jewish if a majority Arab population controlled it, nor a democracy if a Jewish minority ruled an Arab majority. It would instead be a breeding ground for prolonged civil war.
Hence the colorfully named Fixated Persons Investigations Unit, which the New South Wales police announced last month. Its intended to find people like Mr. Jabar and prevent them from radicalizing fully.

But police unit might be a misleading description. In fact, it is a partnership between the N.S.W. police and the health department that, rather than arresting suspects, is more likely to take tips and send the people concerned to a mental health professional.

The rationale, as the N.S.W. police commissioner, Mick Fuller, explained, is that in about 80 percent of cases of lone wolves like Mr. Jabar, a family member or a friend noticed a significant change but didnt have the confidence to call anyone to report it. The idea is that this will change if when you call and say, Look, Im concerned about my son, police are not going to come through the door with a sledgehammer.

This is remarkable for the admission it makes: Terrorism has outgrown the ability of law enforcement, and if the state is going to keep up, it will need to incorporate something akin to a pastoral role. That, to be sure, is a radically countercultural approach  something you could hardly imagine hearing from a politician  but it is born of years of research and bitter experience.

In Australias case, the plan has the advantage of borrowing from Britains experience with its Fixated Threat Assessment Center, which has been running since 2006. That center was created not to find terrorists but to find people with obsessive, stalker-like fixations on public figures  especially politicians and the royal family. Such people overwhelmingly suffer some form of mental illness, particularly psychosis, hence the partnership with the health department.

Can you extrapolate this to terrorism? Only if you assume there is something about lone-wolf terrorism that is qualitatively different from the more networked, group-based version that has dominated terrorisms history. That history shows that terrorists only rarely suffer from any kind of personality disorder or psychological condition, which is why the search for the terrorist personality has proved fruitless and been discredited.
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In our politically polarized country, its easy to find confirmation for your beliefs. Just ask your like-minded friends. Or watch the television shows, read the writers and listen to the politicians who tend to be on your side.

In my column today, I urge both Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, and her critics to consider evidence that runs counter to their pre-existing beliefs.

I hope DeVos will be open to the evidence showing that school vouchers have largely been a failure, and I hope progressives will be open to the evidence showing the many successes of charter schools. Too often, people either reflexively support both vouchers and charters or oppose both.
Late on Friday, the Office of Government Ethics sent a little-noticed memo to the White House, with the subject, Data Call for Certain Waivers and Authorizations. It could have been titled: You Said Youd Clean Up Government. Now Prove It.

On the campaign trail and in office, President Trump proclaimed his determination to keep his administration free of lobbyists, foreign agents and special interests, who have reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost, as he said in his inaugural address.

A week later, Mr. Trump signed an executive order requiring executive branch employees to obey a list of rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest. But the order is rendered practically worthless by a clause allowing waivers to ethical rules for any White House staff, without any written explanation or public disclosure. Thats why the ethics office, which ensures that public servants enter government free from potential conflicts of interest, is demanding that the White House provide the names of executive branch officials who have received waivers, on what issues, by June 1.

The Obama administration required that waivers to its anti-lobbying rules be accompanied by a detailed explanation written by administration ethics lawyers, and filed with the ethics office. In 2009, Republican Senator Charles Grassley, a veteran Senate investigator, demanded that the ethics office release the waivers. The American people deserve a full accounting of all waivers and recusals to better understand who is running the government and whether the administration is adhering to its promise to be open, transparent, and accountable, Mr. Grassley wrote.
Wasted food. Hungry people. How do we get the two to meet?

One answer is: Create an app. Just as Airbnb connects producers and consumers of short-stay housing, and eBay connects producers and consumers of, well, everything, new apps can connect stores and restaurants with soup kitchens, pantries and shelters that need their excess food. And apps can also organize volunteers who make the deliveries by car, bike or foot power.

Organizations like Food Rescue US and Rescuing Leftover Cuisine  a new, smaller organization that sent me on the fried chicken pickup  make volunteering simple and painless. It took about a minute to sign up and get access to a calendar of food rescue tasks; I picked convenient ones and downloaded complete instructions. Mullins argues that this strategy is the only way to scale up, because its cheap  few staff, no trucks, no warehouse. His organization works in 11 regions and plans to be in at least 50 by the end of 2018. Dozens of other such groups exist around the country.

Last month, however, food rescue made a leap to a national scale. Feeding America is the national network of 200 food banks  large food warehouses that supply local soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters in every county in America. Until now, a restaurant, store or catering service with excess food (unless it was a regular on the organizations pickup list) had to call around to various feeding programs to see which one wanted food and could come to get it. Or the store could call the food bank, which would pick up the food if the donation was large enough, then refrigerate it, and distribute it the next day.

Now Feeding America matches donors and recipients with an algorithm. A restaurant can go on Meal Connect to post an offer of, say, eight trays of fried chicken and biscuits. Meal Connect will automatically match that offer with the closest food pantry or soup kitchen that can get it up right away.

Diana Aviv, Feeding Americas chief executive, said that Meal Connect makes it possible to rescue prepared food and smaller quantities of food  and to do so quickly. This allows us to provide real hot meals  virtually at the same time that someone coming off the street and paying for it would get it, she said.
PORT OF ENTRY 031619 Cut  Round 2 TRT 10:47 TITLE & OPENING CREDITS Music Fades in FADE IN Exterior of Howard Johnson Hotel at night. A car passes, then a plane crosses the purple sky. TEXT CARD Many refugees spend their first night in America at an airport motel. Shots of refugees arriving to the Howard Johnson: Through the lobbys automatic glass doors, Devi Pathak exits the hotel shuttle van, tilt from close up of feet walking in the lobby to Pathak father in lobby, close up of Durga Pathak and her mother waiting in the lobby. Wide Shot of people walking down the hallway with a luggage cart. Music fades out LOWER THIRD Newark, New Jersey. IOM Worker 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. IOM worker Hassane Abakar shows a couple how to open their room door. Hassane Abakar SUBTITLES When the light is green, it meansyou can open it. It has to be greenbefore you open it. An IOM Worker and Dennis & Pyne families stand in the hallway trying to figure out their rooms. IOM Worker 1 Your family have two rooms. IOM Worker 2 off-camera Two rooms, okay. You have 5, right? Angel Dennis Yes. IOM Worker 2 off-camera Two rooms. MS Dennis sisters looking at room from hallway and getting bags. IOM Worker 1 116 and 117. IOM Worker 2 off-camera 112 and 113 is Dennis. Angel Dennis Thats you. CU Dennis family youngest sister zoom out to eldest, David Pyne & IOM worker. IOM Worker 2 off-camera Bring your bag. Your bag. Wheres your bag? Angel Dennis Our bag? IOM Worker 2 off-camera You dont have bag? Bring it, bring it. IOM Worker 1 See this? Angel sister We all can sleep here? IOM Worker 1 Yeah, you can sleep together. You have two rooms. Angel sister We want to sleep together. IOM Worker 1 You want all together? Okay.. Another IOM Worker shows a man how to use the bathroom sink. IOM Worker The bathroom. This one, open. This one cold water. See? This one, hot. Hot water. A woman holds the door nearby, listening. IOM Worker And this is for the coffee, if you want it. Right here. Thats the soap. The same IOM Worker takes a food order from the Magar family. IOM Worker 1 Chicken, vegetable? What do you need? Magar mother SUBTITLES Whatever is good. Especially for the kids. Whatever is good for the kids. IOM Worker 1 All of you, chicken or vegetable? Or chicken? IOM Worker 2 off-camera SUBTITLES Meat? Meat? IOM Worker 1 Masu? Ok. You want masu? Ok. 105 wants chicken. They need chicken. IOM worker walks out. Magar father is left staring at door. Pathak Mother and Durga Pathak are furiously opening their luggage looking for items. The TV plays in the background. Durga Pathak SUBTITLES Give me this bag. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES These are the dishes. Pan down to luggage. Pathak Mother off-camera SUBTITLES Hold on to the seal. Dont lose that one. Durga Pathak SUBTITLES Okay. Zoom in to Durgas hands opening bag. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES If we break this, the bag might get lost tomorrow. MS opened luggage bag with Pathak mother and Durga rummaging through. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES Everything is messed up. Durga Pathak tries to contain the mess of an open body powder container. Pathak Mother off-camera SUBTITLES Keep it in the bag. If it spills, it spills. Durga Pathak and Mother squat by the luggage with Father and Son behind. Durga Pathak SUBTITLES Where is my makeup? Pathak Mother SUBTITLES You need it right away? Durga Pathak SUBTITLES No, just asking. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES I dont know where it is. Durga Pathak SUBTITLES Maybe you didnt put it in the bag. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES Did we open all six bags? Durga Pathak SUBTITLES Maybe you didnt even bring it. Pathak Father looks down at luggage. From the hallway, we see the Pathak family overwhelmed by luggage in the entry area to their room. The Magar mother drinks water from a bowl on the bed of their room. Medium shot of kids on bed, tilt up as baby coughs and his sister pats him on the back. Magar Mother SUBTITLES Its enough, its enough. Mother hands the bowl to a child. Magar Mother SUBTITLES Take it there. Magar Child SUBTITLES Where? There? Zoom in to father watching. Magar Mother SUBTITLES Dont play too much with that water. The Magar child exits the bathroom and returns the bowl to a backpack. TV Background audio (If you see something, say something to local authorities) Magar Mother off-camera SUBTITLES Put it in the bag. Magar Child SUBTITLES I didnt know how to use the faucet. Where do we go to eat rice? The Magar father watches from the bed. Magar Mother off-camera SUBTITLES Dont make noise. The Magar child plays at the mirror and laughs Magar Child SUBTITLES I almost went into the mirror. MS of window in Magar room with childrens laughter in background. Montage of Pyne brother and sister watching a Mars 2112 restaurant commercial on TV. TV audio Your visa to the red planet awaits at Mars 2112, a space themed restaurant and arcade for the whole family. You check in, you get a visa, and then we land you on Mars. While youre here, check out the Martian gift shop, where you can take a piece of Mars home with you. The TV audio fades out under a wide shot of the empty hallway. TV audio And keep your eyes peeled, Mars 21. In another room, the Lama parents and son are sitting on their beds. Lama Father SUBTITLES Will Jeewan come here to pick us up? Lama Son SUBTITLES Jeewan wont come here. Hell meet us in Erie. Lama Father SUBTITLES Erie. CU of Lama Mother listening. Lama Father off-camera SUBTITLES If things arent good in Pennsylvania, can we move to another place or not? MS Lama father sitting. Lama Father SUBTITLES Yes, we can. Lama Mother off-camera SUBTITLES We can go anywhere within the US. Lama Father SUBTITLES We cant go to Canada or another place right? Lama Son off-camera SUBTITLES No. Pan to Lama son and Mother sitting on bed. Lama Mother SUBTITLES Can we move after sometime? I dont think so. CU of Lama Fathers hands. Lama Father off-camera SUBTITLES Maybe we can when we become citizens after 5 years. Lama Son and Mother sitting on bed. Lama Mother SUBTITLES Later on, maybe after 10-12 years. CU Lama Father listening. Lama Mother off-camera SUBTITLES We have to study as well as work. Without work we cannot feed ourselves. Depending on what kind of job I can get, I should work. CU Lama Mother listening. Lama Son off-camera SUBTITLES How about keeping up with religion? CU Lama Fathers hands, zoom out tilt up to MS sitting on bed. Lama Father SUBTITLES Yes, we have to ask about here. The Lama son stares with a hesitating smile. Outside the motel, cars stream by. Short montage of the motel at night: WS of 2 clerks in the lobby, a woman exits the lobby sliding doors seen from above, long shot of a man delivering food down the hallway. The two youngest Pyne brothers sit at a desk eating their food, pan to the eldest brother David watching over them. David Pyne SUBTITLES Make sure you eat well. I need to wait a bit for my own food. Pan back to young brothers eating. David Pyne SUBTITLES What? Young Pyne brother 1 SUBTITLES You are waiting for that sweet Liberian food. MCU Pyne young brothers eating. David Pyne off-camera SUBTITLES You guys are silly. David removes his shoes. Pan back to boys continuing to eat. Young Pyne brother 2 SUBTITLES David, are we going to sleep in the air-conditioned room? Zoom in to young Pyne brother 2. David Pyne off-camera SUBTITLES If you sleep near the air conditioner, your nose is going to run. Young Pyne brother 2 SUBTITLES I guess we will sleep on the furthest bed with the blanket. David folds clothing for the following day. Young Pyne brother 1 off-camera SUBTITLES I dont want to leave this room; I want to stay here every day. WS Dennis young brothers by food, smiling. David Pyne off-camera SUBTITLES Is that what you came to this country for? CU David Dennis folding clothing. David Pyne SUBTITLES No, thats not what you came for? Pathak mother hovers over her son Bikash Pathak who is inspecting his dinner delivery. Bikash Pathak SUBTITLES Its too much. I cant eat all this. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES Eat what you can and leave the rest there. Pathak Mother walks past camera holding food. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES What kind of meat is it? Its one big piece. Pathak mother stands near her daughter Durga who is also inspecting her food. Durga Pathak SUBTITLES Look at this meat. I dont know how they make it. Pathak mother scrunches her face from the salt. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES Its just like the food on the plane. Bikash licks his fingers and puts more salt on his food. CU salt pouring on chicken. Bikash Pathak SUBTITLES Get me one more. Get me one more. TV background audio: Welcome and thank you for choosing Howard Johnson, Newark Airport. Reflection of the motel hallway in a dark window. Montage of late night at motel: wide shot of hallway with a cleaning cart, wide shot of dark room with sleeping people, WS sleeping people in a bright room, medium shot of Durga Pathak lying on the bed with TV remote in hand. Pathak father sits on a bed, while Pathak mother stands in the background. Kung Fu Panda is on the TV in the background. Pathak Father SUBTITLES Its about to be morning in Nepal. 4:15 Bikash Pathak stares at the TV while lying on bed. Pathak father sits on bed. Pathak Father SUBTITLES She was Mrs. Gurung. They were husband and wife. MS Pathak Father and Mother talking. Pathak Mother SUBTITLES Maybe they came as refugees as well. Pathak Father SUBTITLES They were educated and got good jobs. People like us, what can we do? Pathak Mother SUBTITLES The kids will get educated. Pathak Father SUBTITLES The kids will WS Pathak father on bed with mother in background. Empty hallway in the hotel. Through the motel doors in the lobby, we see the shuttle van and the doors opening. Agam walks out. A luggage cart is pushed through the doors. Agam and an IOM worker open a room door and walk in. Agam sits alone in the room and removes his shoes from his backpack. Close up of his diary and pen on the table. Agam off-camera SUBTITLES Todays date is December 5th, around 5 in the evening around Kathmandu airport. A hand reaches for the diary. Agam sits on a bed and reads the diary. Agam SUBTITLES When I was taken to the airport from the International Office for Migration (IOM), I felt like I was getting away from everyone. I was scared. Close up of Agam holding diary. Silhouette of Agam sitting and reading. Agam SUBTITLES I couldnt see anything from the planes window, as everything was dark. Window of the motel room with night and lights in the background. Agam off-camera SUBTITLES I was thinking about my family and friends. CU Blurry lights through window. Music fades up. Montage of morning at motel: Daylight exterior of birds in tree in front of motel. WS Pathak family bringing luggage to hall. WS people pushing luggage carts down hallway. MS Pathak son and parents pushing cart in lobby. WS motel lobby with family waiting & IOM worker in foreground. CU Lama son waiting in motel lobby. WS people entering van outside of motel. CU Exhaust pipe of van pulling away. WS Hallway with daylight. MS window of motel room with plane passing by. Fade to black. CU Lama son laughing. Tilt down to hands Lama Son SUBTITLES Mother, you sing too or at least clap. Pan to Lama father singing and dancing. CREDITS START Zoom out to WS dancing and singing. Tilt down to feet and back up. Lama father sits down and smiles. Fade to black. COPYRIGHT
It is hardly surprising that Pope Francis would draw criticism on a visit to a dictatorship where Islam is the dominant religion. That comes with the job. Catholic conservatives have misgivings about his embrace of Muslims  especially in a country, Egypt, where radical Islamists have murdered Christians. Secular liberals are wary of a visit that could be interpreted as support for an authoritarian leader. And every word from the leader of so powerful a church is bound to be parsed, as was his ill-advised comparison of refugee camps to concentration camps.

But papal visits are not diplomatic missions, even though a lot of diplomacy is inevitably involved. They are, as Francis explained to reporters on the flight back to Rome, about values. And though Catholics may differ on whether the pope has gone too far in his social message or not far enough on issues like abortion and sexual abuse by priests, it is hard to deny that what Francis said and did in Egypt are worth heeding.

He was there, of course, to express solidarity with the victims of two terror attacks on Coptic churches on April 9, Palm Sunday. Bombs for which the Islamic State took responsibility exploded in a city north of Cairo and in the main cathedral in Alexandria, killing at least 45 people. Francis condemned any invocation of religion to justify such crimes, yet once again he rejected the notion that Islam and violence are intimately intertwined, most notably in a meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of a mosque associated with Islamic scholarship. The only fanaticism that religious believers should have, he declared, is that of charity. And when he met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who stands accused of serious human rights violations, Francis declared that history does not forgive those who preach justice but then practice injustice.

That may look like a political balancing act, but it is also a consistent human and common-sense approach that has marked Franciss papacy from the start. However one rates the popes visit to Egypt and whatever one thinks the proper role of a religious leader should be, the pontiffs message of faith, humility, peace, tolerance, dialogue and tenderness  that last a quality he urged on political leaders in a recent TED talk  is a reassuring departure from the cynicism, cruelty, populism and tribalism on the rise in so many corners of the world, especially in traditional bastions of democracy and freedom.
While there is no love lost between Democrats and Republicans these days, they do seem to agree on one thing: North Koreas rapidly accelerating nuclear program poses a grave threat to the United States. And yet, despite bipartisan unity and President Trumps frequent saber-rattling, one element of our North Korea policy remains puzzling: Why arent our sanctions against the country stronger?

North Koreas nuclear program is much more advanced than Irans ever was, but the sanctions the United States has imposed on North Korea are nowhere near as harsh as those on Iran before the 2015 nuclear deal. This is especially troubling since North Korea already possesses nuclear weapons and is developing systems that would enable them to hit the United States.

On Friday, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson led a special session of the United Nations Security Council to discuss strengthening sanctions against North Korea. Its a good impulse, but the center of the action on North Korea sanctions should not be the United Nations  or even the White House. If the Iran experience taught us anything about imposing crushing sanctions, it is that congressional action is critical.

For the United States to hit North Korea with the full brunt of our sanctions arsenal, Congress must act swiftly and aggressively using our most potent economic weapon: secondary sanctions. These are not aimed directly at the target country but rather at third parties conducting business with that country (for example, Chinese banks facilitating North Korean payments).
An Associated Press-NORC poll found nearly mirror-opposite partisan reactions to the question of what kind of culture is important for American identity. Sixty-six percent of Democrats, compared with only 35 percent of Republicans, said the mixing of cultures and values from around the world was extremely or very important to American identity. Similarly, 64 percent of Republicans, compared with 32 percent of Democrats, saw a culture grounded in Christian religious beliefs as extremely or very important.

These divergent orientations can also be seen in a recent poll by P.R.R.I. that explored partisan perceptions of which groups are facing discrimination in the country. Like Americans overall, large majorities of Democrats believe minority groups such as African-Americans, immigrants, Muslims and gay and transgender people face a lot of discrimination in the country. Only about one in five Democrats say that majority groups such as Christians or whites face a lot of discrimination.

Republicans, on the other hand, are much less likely than Democrats to believe any minority group faces a lot of discrimination, and they believe Christians and whites face roughly as much discrimination as immigrants, Muslims and gay and transgender people. Moreover, only 27 percent of Republicans say blacks experience a lot of discrimination, while 43 percent say whites do and 48 percent say the same of Christians.

Taken as a whole, these partisan portraits highlight contrasting responses to the countrys changing demographics and culture, especially over the past decade as the country has ceased to be a majority white Christian nation  from 54 percent in 2008 to 43 percent today. Democrats  only 29 percent of whom are white and Christian  are embracing these changes as central to their vision of an evolving American identity that is strengthened and renewed by diversity. By contrast, Republicans  nearly three-quarters of whom identify as white and Christian  see these changes eroding a core white Christian American identity and perceive themselves to be under siege as the country changes around them.

Americans of both political parties sense the unraveling of a broadly shared consensus of American identity, although they cite different reasons for feeling that way. About seven in 10 Republicans and Democrats fear that the United States is losing its national identity, the A.P.-NORC survey found. The two political parties may not share much, but each is increasingly aware that the other has embraced a radically different vision of Americas identity and future.
The United States under Trump has embarked on a valueless foreign policy. The president has not met a strongman whose machismo does not beguile him. He prefers guns to diplomats. Militarism and mercantilism constitute a new policy, unconstrained by any consideration of what the United States stands for in the world or the values its alliances have defended since 1945.

This is a radical departure. America is also an idea. That idea is inextricable  whatever the countrys conspicuous failings  from the defense of liberty, democracy, human rights, open societies and the rule of law. Realist, neoconservative and liberal internationalist schools have different interpretations of how this may be achieved, and what limits exist on Americas capacity to extend the reach of freedom. But the unblushing, public embrace of the torturer for mutual gain does not appear in any pre-Trump foreign policy manual I know.

A very friendly conversation with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines leads to a White House invitation for a man accused of waging a brutal extrajudicial drug war. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey cements his repressive and increasingly imperious rule in a dubious referendum and gets a congratulatory call from Trump. The red carpet rolls out for Egypts autocratic president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who becomes Trumps great friend. President Xi Jinping of China goes from currency manipulator to terrific person and seems to inspire in Trump an embarrassing awe. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, having been lumped early on with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany as somebody Trump may or may not be able to trust, basks still in Trumps agnosticism on brutality.

The message is clear: The United States has granted carte blanche for despots. Whatever brutality Trumps autocrat-friends inflict on human beings, whatever contempt they have for a free press or the rule of law, is no longer an American concern. Of course, the United States has allied with ruthless strongmen before; Stalin was one. But Trumps moral abdication, divorced from any coherent strategic objective, has ushered America into new territory. This is not effective foreign policy realism; it is a form of depravity.
In 1967, Le Ly Hayslip, then known as Phung Thi Le Ly, was a teenager living and working in Da Nang. A peasant girl who had survived war and rape in her rural village, she had migrated to Da Nang to escape persecution from both Vietnamese Communists and anti-Communists. In 1972 she married an American and moved to the United States, and in 1989 she would publish her powerful autobiographical account of being caught between two sides, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. In 2017, it remains perhaps the only first-person book in English about the experiences of Vietnamese villagers caught in the crossfire of the Vietnam War. In her life and work, Ms. Hayslip embodies my broad definition of what it means to be Vietnamese, an identity that includes those in Vietnam or in the diaspora, as well as those who write in Vietnamese or in other languages, in this case English.

I came across her book as a college student at Berkeley in the early 1990s. It moved me deeply, not only because it was a compelling memoir, but also because it was one of the few books in English by a Vietnamese writer. (Co-written, in her case, with Jay Wurts.) Searching for my own history as a Vietnamese refugee brought to the United States by an American war in my country of origin, I had not found much available to me in English, either in the original or in translation. The overwhelming amount of American writing about the war was by Americans, and it was, not surprisingly, about Americans.

There were a few exceptions. Tran Van Dinh was a former diplomat from the South, the Republic of Vietnam, who stayed in America and wrote two novels dealing with the Vietnam War, No Passenger on the River (1965) and Blue Dragon, White Tiger (1983). As a precocious child who read everything I could about the war, I came across the latter in the public library of San Jose, Calif., my hometown, and was puzzled by its anomalousness. Even then I knew that it was rare to find Vietnamese writers in the United States speaking about this war, or to hear any Vietnamese voices at all in mainstream America.

Immersed in the stories, feelings and memories of the Vietnamese refugee community in which I grew up, I was determined to tell some of those stories, for I knew that Americans as a whole knew very little about them. Only a small cadre of Americans believed that it was necessary and urgent to learn more about Vietnamese voices and experiences, without which a more complete American understanding of the Vietnam War would never happen. American ignorance of Vietnamese history, culture and politics helped draw the United States into a war and a country that it did not comprehend. This pattern of ignorance arguably continues today, both in terms of what Americans continue to ignore about Vietnam and what Americans refuse to know about the Middle East. Literature plays an important role as a corrective to this ignorance.
 The Times interviews Ivanka Trump. What does it mean to be an adviser to the president  and also his daughter? Jodi Kantor and Rachel Abrams, two reporters at The Times, have been covering Ms. Trump.

Background reading:

 More about Mr. Trumps call to President Duterte.

 Photo essay: Inside Mr. Dutertes brutal campaign against drugs in the Philippines, our photojournalist documented 57 homicide victims over 35 days.

 Ms. Kantor, Ms. Abrams and Ms. Haberman write about Ms. Trumps West Wing agenda.

Tune in, and tell us what you think. Email us at thedaily@nytimes.com. Tweet me at @mikiebarb. And if that isnt enough, we can even text.

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For decades, the downtown in Bethesda, Md., had little more than a hardware store, a toy store and a few restaurants. The small urban core along Wisconsin Avenue was mostly a place to pass through on the way to the District of Columbia a few miles to the south, or the Bethesda Naval Hospital or the National Institutes of Health several blocks to the north.

But in the mid-1980s, as the Metro subway systems Red Line was extended to Bethesda, the unincorporated community began to take on the characteristics of a small city. Soon several high-rise buildings were constructed. They were filled by law firms, financial service companies and trade associations.

Hotels, restaurants and boutiques soon followed, and a Barnes & Noble bookstore opened as an anchor in a revitalized retail area a few blocks from the Metro station. It was not too long before a bank replaced the hardware store on Wisconsin Avenue, movie theaters opened, and dozens of new restaurants arrived in the new pedestrian-friendly streetscape.
Airbnb, the online room rental platform, has popularized a way for people to rent out their spare rooms or homes for what are typically short stays. In the process, the company has sometimes been accused of flouting housing laws and driving down the inventory of available homes for sale or long-term rent, leading to a spate of disputes with cities.

Airbnb has methodically been dealing with the legal brouhahas. It has sometimes sued cities, including San Francisco and New York, for what it says are unfair laws that hamper its hosts. And the company is increasingly trying to find ways to work together with cities to disentangle itself from legal complications.
The notion of urban wildlife may suggest images of rodents and pigeons. But as backyard birders can attest, more desirable wildlife persists in cities, a topic studied by the Chicago-based Urban Wildlife Institute and eight new partner research bodies across the country.

These members of the Urban Wildlife Information Network use wildlife-monitoring tools like motion-triggered cameras to track animal behavior and encourage biodiversity in cities.

Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute  a branch of the Lincoln Park Zoo, which has been monitoring wildlife in Chicago since 2010  cites the nationwide expansion of coyote populations as one example of an urban wildlife success story. Ninety-nine percent are good at avoiding us and eating squirrels and rats, the sorts of things were not concerned with, and making our urban lives more magical, said Mr. Magle.

Certainly, not all wildlife encounters are welcome. Coyotes have been known to prey on house pets, for example. The initiative, in part, aims to educate urban dwellers in avoiding conflict.
Before the recent March for Science, scholars and journalists debated the likely effect of the protest: Would it defend science against politicization or unnecessarily polarize the public on the value of the scientific enterprise?

Some early evidence suggests the march may have widened the divide among liberals and conservatives in their views of scientists but not, crucially, toward the research they conduct.

As a purely organizational matter, the protests seem to have been a success. A crowdsourced estimate compiled by political scientists puts the number who participated in the march in the United States at 334,000 to 525,000 people.

But the effect of the science march on public opinion is less clear. Though partisan and ideological resistance to scientific findings is widespread in some politicized domains like climate change, overall confidence in the scientific community among both liberals and conservatives remains robust, especially relative to other institutions in society. In particular, though the intensity of support has declined somewhat among conservatives, overall confidence remains largely stable. In the 2016 General Social Survey, for instance, approximately 40 percent of respondents said they had a great deal of confidence in the scientific community, an essentially identical result to 1977 (41 percent) and 1991 (40 percent).
Mr. Sessions  who, in the first months of his tenure, ordered a broad review of federal agreements with law enforcement agencies  will oversee the outcomes of other cases, including those surrounding the deaths of Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold by a New York police officer, and 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland.

The bar for charging police officers with federal civil rights violations is extremely high, and prosecutions are rare. Even the Obama administration, which cultivated an aggressive reputation on such cases, declined to prosecute officers in several high-profile killings, most notably the 2014 shooting of Mr. Brown, and it saw challenges in bringing charges in Mr. Sterlings death.

On Tuesday evening, around the Triple S Food Mart parking lot where Mr. Sterling was killed, people congregated in the same way they did last summer. Mr. Sterlings face is painted near the entrance, with stuffed animals in front. Signs advertise specials on cigarettes and fried chicken, and another reads, Stop the Killing.

Im not surprised, because it happens all the time, said Kosher Weber, 21, an African-American resident of Baton Rouge, her voice cracking in anger. Where do things go from here? Theres no justice. Theres no nothing.

Derrick Brody, 45, said: Over and over again. They kill a human being, and they get away with it, just cause they got a blue suit.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District, which serves 1.4 million people on the east side of San Francisco Bay, told customers last week that it planned to raise water rates 9.25 percent on July 1 and another 9 percent the next year. The water agency in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, is proposing to raise rates 7 percent per year for the next two years.

Call it the paradox of conservation.

About 80 percent of the costs of delivering water to urban customers are fixed  pipes, treatment plants, reservoirs. But water bills are set up to recover most of those costs by charging customers a per-gallon fee, said David Mitchell, who studies water policy at M.Cubed, a public policy consulting firm.

So when usage drops sharply, as it did during the drought, rates have to go up. The fixed costs have to spread over fewer gallons, Mr. Mitchell said. He predicted that water utilities statewide will be raising rates in the next few years to make up for the revenue shortfalls caused by the drought.

For the East Bay Municipal Utility District, revenue is down 12 percent this fiscal year, as a drought surcharge ended and the average user cut back from 250 gallons a day to 200.
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday sharply questioned President Trumps conduct in office, criticizing his foreign policy pronouncements and penchant for posting on Twitter, and described herself as part of the resistance.

During an interview with the CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, Mrs. Clinton, who has kept a relatively low profile since her defeat in the presidential race, repeatedly characterized Mr. Trump as struggling in the presidency. The interview was at an event hosted by Women for Women International, a nonprofit group, in Midtown Manhattan.

Mrs. Clinton voiced disbelief at what she cast as the White Houses slapdash approach to issues like health care and the North Korean nuclear program.

She repeatedly said that Mr. Trump did little to prepare for the presidency. And but for the actions of Russian-backed hackers and the F.B.I. in late October, Mrs. Clinton said, she would have won.
CHARLESTON, S.C.  More than two years after a North Charleston, S.C., police officer fired eight rounds toward the back of a fleeing and unarmed black motorist, the lawman whose burst of gunfire was recorded on video stood in a federal courtroom Tuesday to plead guilty to charges that he violated the slain mans civil rights.

The plea by the officer, Michael T. Slager, assured a rare conviction of a law enforcement official for an on-duty killing, and it left him facing the possibility of life in prison for the April 2015 shooting of Walter L. Scott. Mr. Slager pleaded guilty to a single charge of willfully using excessive force to deprive Mr. Scott of his civil rights.

We asked for justice, Anthony Scott, one of Mr. Scotts brothers, said. We received justice.

Mr. Slager said little during a brief hearing in United States District Court here, but he acknowledged the factual basis for the plea agreement, which said he had used deadly force even though it was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances.
Labeling a high school freshman a great kid with awesome parents and a 3.5 grade point average would usually be the ultimate compliment.

But when it comes to an unarmed black teenager who died at the hands of the police, such remembrances become fraught with questions over how black victims are perceived.

That is what happened after a police officer in suburban Dallas fatally shot Jordan Edwards, 15, late Saturday night. Jordan was sitting in the passengers seat of a car that was driving away from the officer who fired at it, Chief Jonathan Haber of Balch Springs said, adding that the shooting did not meet our core values.

In the aftermath, those who knew Jordan well were quick to laud the person he was.

Awesome parents, Chris Cano, the father of a friend, told a local television station, WFAA. He was not a thug. This shouldnt happen to him.
WASHINGTON  With two days left before an 11-day recess and no vote scheduled, House Republican leaders considered last-minute changes to their latest bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, including at least $8 billion in extra spending to answer the concerns of an influential Republican who had come out against the measure.

The scramble for votes  and a potential new willingness to throw money at the bill  underscored the price another failure would carry if Speaker Paul D. Ryan could not rally his considerable House majority around a legislative priority that Republicans have promised for seven years.

Republican leaders were ready to move on from health care after the embarrassing collapse of their measure in March, but President Trump pressed Mr. Ryan hard to deliver on a major campaign promise and personally pressured House members to fall into line.

If the effort fails, it will greatly weaken the presidents hand on Capitol Hill and cast a shadow across the rest of his legislative agenda, especially the deep tax cuts and rewrite of the tax code that he has proposed  and that are likely to be no easier to tackle than health care.
A month before Donald J. Trump was elected president, he and his aides watched his daughters coolly composed surface crack open.

Inside Trump Tower, the candidate was preparing for a debate when an aide rushed in with news that The Washington Post was about to publish an article saying that Mr. Trump had bragged about grabbing womens private parts. As Ivanka Trump joined the others waiting to see a video of the episode, her father insisted that the description of his comments did not sound like him.

When the recording finally showed he was wrong, Mr. Trumps reaction was grudging: He agreed to say he was sorry if anyone was offended. Advisers warned that would not be enough.

Ivanka Trump made an emphatic case for a full-throated apology, according to several people who were present for the crisis discussion that unfolded in Mr. Trumps 26th-floor office. Raised amid a swirl of tabloid headlines, she had spent her adult life branding herself as her fathers poised, family-focused daughter. She marketed her clothing line with slogans about female empowerment and was finishing a book on the topic. As she spoke, Mr. Trump remained unyielding. His daughters eyes welled with tears, her face reddened, and she hurried out in frustration.
WASHINGTON  The National Security Agency vacuumed up more than 151 million records about Americans phone calls last year via a new system that Congress created to end the agencys once-secret program that collected domestic calling records in bulk, a report disclosed Tuesday.

Although the number is large on its face, it nonetheless represents a massive reduction from the amount of information the agency gathered previously. Under the old system, it collected potentially billions of records per day, according to a 2014 study.

The new report, an annual surveillance review published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, offered the first glimpse of how the new system is working. That the National Security Agency still collected such a large volume of calling data, even if it was only a fraction of what the agency once gathered, showed the challenge of conducting 21st-century surveillance and data monitoring within constraints set up to protect Americans privacy.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the agency has analyzed large amounts of communications metadata  records showing who contacted whom, but not what they said  to hunt for associates of terrorism suspects. For years, it did so by collecting domestic call records in bulk.
The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder. Thats why we have scoured the internet for political writing from the right and left that you might not have seen.

Has this series exposed you to new ideas?

Tell us how. Email us at ourpicks@nytimes.com.

From the Right
CHICAGO  Progress made by black Americans in recent years is threatened by President Trump and his policies, the National Urban League said in a report released Tuesday.

The Urban Leagues annual review found persistent racial gaps, but also notable headway toward equality, during President Barack Obamas administration. The report warned that proposals to reduce education funding and limit federal oversight of local police departments could reverse those gains under Mr. Trump.

It would be difficult to pinpoint any moment in recent history where so much economic and social progress stood at such dire risk as it does today, said Marc H. Morial, the civil rights groups president.

What are the areas of racial inequality?

African-Americans and Hispanics continue to lag behind their white counterparts in employment, income and education. There were measurable gains, however, under Mr. Obama, when the black unemployment rate fell and more African-Americans graduated from high school.
Right on a street corner in downtown Flint, Mich., Bobby Crim drops his backside to the wet sidewalk, spreads his legs wide wider ouch and slowly lowers his head, that famously clever head that masterminded Michigan state politics for two decades, until his forehead touches the pavement. Mission accomplished, he pops to his feet like he was fired from a toaster.

Bobby Crim, by the way, is 85 years old.

Ready for a run? he asks.

Joining us are a pack of guys who, like Bobby, are never not ready. For 40 years, most of them have joined Bobby every single August for his namesake race, the Crim 10-Miler. But as streaks go, this is one case where the run is even more impressive than the runners. Few American cities have survived the string of calamities that Flint has endured: auto plant shutdowns, poisoned drinking water, a three-time F.B.I. ranking as the most dangerous city its size in the country. Yet somehow the race that Bobby began in 1977 remains as festive and unbreakable as Bobby himself.

So what is Bobbys secret? How can a man born during the Hoover administration not only keep running three races in one weekend (after finishing the 5K and 10-miler, Bobby hustles back to the starting line to join his two great-granddaughters for the Teddy Bear Trot), but make it such a blast that thousands of people want to join him? Bobby must be a master of both persuasion and human performance, and thats why Ive come to Flint: to see if Bobby can help me, a man in his mid-50s, prepare both myself and a donkey to run a long-distance race together through the Rockies.

Youre not going to believe this, Bobby says as we begin our jog with three locals including Ryan McLincha, whos not only run every Crim but is currently kayaking from Flint to the Statue of Liberty. But one of the best years we ever had was after news about the water crisis broke. More than 15,000 runners showed up for the Crim last August, the second largest field in the races history.
There may have been a failure in the vaccination blockade after the first monkeys began showing up dead in Minas Gerais, said Mr. Barros, referring to the Brazilian state that has been hardest hit in the outbreak, with more than 160 fatalities.

Infectious disease specialists are trying to determine why yellow fever is emerging with greater ferocity this year in Brazil. Dr. Anna P. Durbin, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said a combination of factors might be in play, including climate change and the deforestation of areas that serve as buffer zones between tropical jungles and urban areas.

A big concern is for the virus to jump the Panama Canal into Central America, Dr. Durbin said.

The virus may also have the potential to spread to Puerto Rico and cause travel-related cases in the continental United States, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and Dr. Catharine I. Paules, both of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said recently in The New England Journal of Medicine. In late April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of a shortage of yellow fever vaccine in the United States because of recent manufacturing problems.

As epidemiologists monitor yellow fevers advance into parts of Brazil, monkeys are still turning up dead, either at the hand of man or as a result of the virus. Researchers say the virus is threatening species already at risk of extinction, like the golden lion tamarin, which lives in the forests of Rio de Janeiro State.

Karen Strier, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin who has studied monkeys in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil since the 1980s, said she had never seen monkeys die from disease in such high numbers. She described a sense of emptiness in a reserve near Caratinga in Minas Gerais State, where howler monkeys had largely vanished.
KATHMANDU, Nepal  The rescue team had nearly given up when it spotted distant figures on a ledge.

Over the course of 47 days, since two young Taiwanese trekkers wandered off the trail in a snowstorm, the searchers had tried almost everything: aerial surveys by helicopter, bushwhacking through deep forest, trying to follow the movements of vultures.

The father of Liang Sheng-Yueh, one of the missing students, had even consulted an astrologer. But they found nothing.

Alerted by a fellow searcher who saw what he assumed were two bodies on the ledge, the leader of the rescue team, Madhab Basnet, carefully made his way to the site, using a handmade ladder the rescuers had quickly fashioned. When he reached the ledge, he was shocked when one of the two, an emaciated and badly weakened young man, spoke to him.

He said that his girlfriend, Liu Chen-chun, 19, had died three days before.

He said his girlfriend was in a lot of pain and grief, Mr. Basnet said. He said he ate salt and water and thats how he survived.
But their success has also drawn scrutiny, with officials in both China and Australia examining whether they are paying required taxes and complying with other regulations.

The business is in many ways a byproduct of Chinas huge interest in a different kind of Australian product: international education, considered one of the nations top exports, worth $15 billion a year. Nearly a third of the 450,000 foreign students in Australia are from China, and the figure is growing.

Peter Cai, a fellow at the Lowy Institute, a think tank in Sydney, said the students had become a powerful force helping Australian products break into China. Just through the daigous own personal networks, they enable a new market for a small- and medium-sized business in Australia, he said.

I think were almost entering a new phase of the China-Australia economic relationship requiring greater understanding of the Chinese market, he added, and the students provide that understanding.

Chinese purchasing agents first appeared in Europe, buying and shipping luxury goods like handbags for Chinas growing middle class. But the trade has shifted to Australia in recent years as the Chinese student population in Australia has expanded and consumers in China have grown more anxious about food and product safety.

Worries over infant formula, for example, surged in 2008 when six babies died and more than 300,000 children fell ill from drinking Chinese milk products that had been tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical. Many in China turned to imported milk powder in response, but reports of distributors or retailers adulterating it with Chinese formula prompted consumers to directly seek supplies from overseas.
In 2011, Mr. Babis founded his own political party, ANO (the name means Yes in Czech), and in the 2013 parliamentary elections, the party placed second, behind Mr. Sobotkas Social Democratic Party. The parties formed an uneasy coalition, and Mr. Babis was named finance minister.

In January, the Czech establishment teamed up against Mr. Babis, enacting a law that would bar cabinet ministers from owning media companies or more than one-quarter of any company seeking government contracts or European Union subsidies.

Mr. Babis responded by declaring that he would place his business holdings in a trust.

The controversy involves corporate bonds that Agrofert issued in 2012 under a program that allowed buyers of the bonds to enjoy a tax exemption on the interest. Mr. Babis bought some of the bonds himself. The authorities are looking into how he obtained the money to buy the bonds, and whether he benefited improperly from the transaction.

Mr. Sobotka said that Mr. Babis had set a bad example.

It is unacceptable for the finance minister not to be able to prove the origins of his property, especially since he is a member of a government that has built its program on a fight against tax evasion, Mr. Sobotka said at the news conference. It is impossible for the government to chase small entrepreneurs when a billionaire is evading taxes.

Mr. Sobotka said it was a difficult decision.

If I ask the finance minister to resign, I might turn him into a martyr in the upcoming months, the prime minister said. He has been preparing for that role for the past few days already. I chose the only possible decision.
The European Commission said on Tuesday that it would not start requiring Americans to obtain visas for travel to the European Union, at least for now.

Right now, United States citizens generally do not need visas to enter any of the unions 28 member nations, but citizens of five of those nations  Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania  need visas to travel to the United States.

That disparity has been the subject of a diplomatic dispute between Washington and Brussels that threatened to escalate in March, when the European Parliament asked the commission, the blocs executive body, to retaliate by ending visa-free travel to Europe for Americans.

The Parliaments resolution was nonbinding, and the commission said Tuesday that it would not comply with the request. Doing so would be counterproductive at this moment, and would not serve the objective of achieving visa-free travel for all E.U. citizens, it said.
On Tuesday, the centrist Mr. Macron also received the unexpected backing of Yanis Varoufakis, Greeces former finance minister in the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and a darling of the political left.

Mr. Varoufakis, writing in an op-ed for Le Monde, said that French progressive voters have all the reasons to be angry against Emmanuel Macron because of his economic policies, but he said it was crucial to keep Ms. Le Pen from winning power. Mr. Varoufakis also praised Mr. Macron for personally reaching out to him at the height of Greeces debt crisis in 2015, to try to reopen talks.

I think it is my duty to ensure that French progressives, who are about to enter (or not enter) the voting booth in the second round of the presidential election, be fully aware of this as they make their choice, he wrote.

Many hard-left voters have been put off by Mr. Macrons economic policies and his support for labor regulation overhauls when he was economy minister. So much so that the France Unbowed movement of Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-left candidate who received 19.6 percent of the first-round vote, announced that its members were not inclined to turn out for Mr. Macron on Sunday.

In an unscientific online survey of Mr. Melenchons supporters conducted by his party, only 34.8 percent said they would vote for Mr. Macron against Ms. Le Pen. Nearly two-thirds of those who participated in the poll said they would abstain or cast a blank ballot in the final round.

Though more than seven million people voted for Mr. Melenchon in the first round, fewer than 250,000 people took part in the online straw poll. Voting for Ms. Le Pen was not one of the options.

Ms. Le Pen may have an equally difficult time, no matter whose words she uses, persuading the supporters of her vanquished rivals to back her candidacy. Damien Abad, a former spokesman for Mr. Fillon, said that she was unlikely to persuade many of those who had voted for Mr. Fillon. Francois Fillons voters arent fooled, he told BFM-TV. They wont be bought because one copies parts of their candidates speech.
Relations between Germany and Russia have been fraught since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea and then destabilized the rest of Ukraine by its not-so-secret promotion of an insurgency in the southeast of the country. Russia also denies interfering in recent elections in the Netherlands and France, with any such plans for the German election this fall probably of particular concern for Ms. Merkel.

Ms. Merkel has led the effort among European leaders to keep Western sanctions in place until the fulfillment of the peace agreements signed in Minsk, Belarus.

One crucial economic matter is building a second branch of the Nord Stream pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe. The strategy is to bypass Eastern European countries by shipping natural gas under the Black Sea in the south and the Baltic Sea in the north. If completed, the system of subsea pipelines would allow Russia to shut off gas to Eastern European countries during political disputes without disrupting hard-currency earnings from customers in Western Europe.

Germans have been among the staunchest supporters of the plan, while European capitals generally hostile to Moscow are opposed to increasing dependence on Russian gas.

The head of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, was quoted in Russian news reports last week as saying that the two sides had agreed on paying for construction costs, with Russia paying about half of the more than $10 billion and five European companies the rest.

The twin issues of Crimea and Ukraine could block any improvement in relations, Ms. Merkels spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said before her visit. These are burdensome circumstances which cannot just be talked away, he said.

Berlin also has doubts about Russias intervention in Syria, particularly its support for President Bashar al-Assad in the face of repeated evidence that he deployed chemical weapons against his civilian population.
MOSCOW  Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, said on Tuesday that a doctor told him he had lost 80 percent of the sight in one eye after suffering a chemical burn when an assailant threw a green liquid in his face last week.

The eyes vision may improve, but the outlook is unclear, Mr. Navalny wrote on his website, citing his doctor.

Initially, the attack had appeared less serious; dousing opposition figures with green dye is a common occurrence and often attributed to pro-Kremlin activists. Typically, a type of topical medical disinfectant has been used. It is difficult to wash out but harmless.

Mr. Navalny, who has declared his intention to run in Russias presidential election next year, had already been splashed in the face with green dye once this spring, without any adverse affects.
WASHINGTON  President Trump reopened direct communications with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday and sought to reignite what he hoped would be a special relationship by agreeing to work together to broker a cease-fire in war-torn Syria.

In their first telephone conversation since the United States launched a cruise missile strike on Syrias Moscow-backed military to retaliate for a chemical weapons attack on civilians, Mr. Trump agreed to send a representative to Russian-brokered cease-fire talks that start on Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan. He and Mr. Putin also discussed meeting each other in Germany in July.

But American and Russian officials offered divergent accounts of their interest in establishing safe zones in Syria to protect civilians suffering from a relentless, six-year civil war. A White House statement said the two leaders had discussed such zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons. The Kremlin statement made no mention of safe zones, and Mr. Putins spokesman said they had not been discussed in detail.

Still, at the talks in Astana, Mr. Putins envoys plan to propose that Russia, Iran and Turkey act as buffer forces separating government and rebel forces in some areas of Syria. The government of President Bashar al-Assad is skeptical of the plan, seeing it as the first step toward a partition of the country, according to diplomats and analysts.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  Islamic State militants attacked a checkpoint on Tuesday used by refugees fleeing fighting in Syria and Iraq, killing more than three dozen people, according to local Kurdish militants and monitoring groups.

It was one of the largest recent attacks in the area, Hasaka Province in northeastern Syria, by the Islamic State, which has been under pressure in its main urban centers of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

The attack took place near Al Hol refugee camp, which hosts nearly 17,000 people, most of them Iraqi refugees but also including displaced Syrians, according to the International Rescue Committee. The group said several children were among the dead and injured.

The battle began with an Islamic State assault on a checkpoint controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish force that works with the United States against Islamic State militants, according to Kurdish militia representatives, who said attackers had also targeted civilians in a temporary camp for the displaced.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  Saudi Arabias powerful deputy crown prince slammed the door Tuesday on the prospect of dialogue with Iran, the kingdoms regional rival, accusing it of following an extremist ideology and seeking to take over the Muslim world.

The prince, Mohammed bin Salman, 31, who is second in line to the throne and serves as defense minister, said Saudi Arabia would fight what he called Irans efforts to extend its influence.

We are a primary target for the Iranian regime, Prince Mohammed said, accusing Iran of seeking to take over Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia. We wont wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia. Instead, well work so that the battle is for them in Iran.

The two countries, which stand on opposite sides of the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, are competing for religious and political influence across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, ruled by a Sunni royal family, is a close ally of the United States and accuses Iran of spreading its revolutionary ideology to destabilize the Arab world. Saudi leaders have taken heart from the Trump administrations criticism of Iran.
What happened to officers involved in 13 recent cases that were caught on video

Note: The officer who arrested Ms. Bland was charged with perjury. None of the employees in the jail where she died were charged.

These 13 cases have fueled outrage, heightened racial tensions and instigated protests around the nation. In some of the cases, the police offered an explanation for their actions, but raw videos led many to conclude that the police actions were unjustified.

So far, officers have been indicted or charged in seven cases . In four cases, grand juries declined to bring charges.

Officers in all 13 cases were placed on administrative leave or reassigned  a routine step that is not a form of discipline, said Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director at the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Criminal charges have been brought against officers in fewer than half of the cases. Indictments are usually handed up by local grand juries, which make the decision in secret.

Courts have given leeway to the police on using deadly physical force if officers reasonably feel their lives are in danger, and juries are often reluctant to convict police officers, Mr. Dunn said.

Prosecutors may feel pressure not to charge officers because they work with and rely on the police daily, and at times, facts can be distorted or withheld by the police, leaving prosecutors with incomplete or wrong information, he said.

However, for victims families, some action against the officer is very important to them, whether thats criminal prosecution or dismissal from the department, Mr. Dunn said.

Officer Betty Jo Shelby, 42, was charged with first-degree manslaughter after fatally shooting Terence Crutcher, 40, an unarmed black driver, in Tulsa, Okla. A county investigator said that Officer Shelby became emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted.

Officers who have been charged In the case of: Terence Crutcher Samuel DuBose Sandra Bland Walter L. Scott Laquan McDonald Betty Jo Shelby Ray Tensing Brian Encinia Michael T. Slager Jason Van Dyke Officers who have been charged In the case of: Terence Crutcher Samuel DuBose Sandra Bland Walter L. Scott Laquan McDonald Betty Jo Shelby Ray Tensing Brian Encinia Michael T. Slager Jason Van Dyke Officers who have been charged In the case of: Terence Crutcher Samuel DuBose Sandra Bland Walter L. Scott Laquan McDonald Betty Jo Shelby Ray Tensing Brian Encinia Michael T. Slager Jason Van Dyke

Former South Carolina police officer Michael T. Slager, who was recorded on video when opened fire on a fleeing black motorist, killing him, in 2015 pleaded guilty.

In the case of Freddie Gray, who died last year from injuries he suffered while in police custody, three of the six officers involved were acquitted of all charges, including one of murder. Prosecutors also dropped all charges against three other officers, ending one of the most closely watched and unsuccessful police prosecutions in the nation.

Officers acquitted in the Freddie Gray case Charges dropped Edward M. Nero Caesar R. Goodson Jr. Brian Rice Garrett E. Miller William G. Porter Alicia White Officers Acquitted in the Freddie Gray Case Edward M. Nero Caesar R. Goodson Jr. Brian Rice Charges Dropped Garrett E. Miller William G. Porter Alicia White Officers acquitted in the Freddie Gray case Charges dropped Edward M. Nero Caesar R. Goodson Jr. Brian Rice William G. Porter Alicia White Garrett E. Miller

After months of unrest and calls for his resignation, Officer Darren Wilson was cleared by a state grand jury and the Justice Department in the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, in Ferguson, Mo. Mr. Wilson eventually resigned, but said that he hoped to continue in police work.

In the case of Keith Lamont Scott, the prosecutor in Mecklenburg County, N.C., decided not to charge Officer Brentley Vinson, saying that his use of deadly force was justified because he feared for his life and those of his fellow officers.

Many of the victims families have agreed to settlements of $5 million to $6.5 million.

In settlements, police departments and cities rarely admit wrongdoing, said Joanna Schwartz, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who is an expert on police misconduct litigation. Almost every settlement agreement states that theres not an admission of fault, she said.

Note: The University of Cincinnati settlement also includes an on-campus memorial to Mr. DuBose, college educations for his 12 children and an apology from the universitys president. The lawyer for Sandra Blands family announced on Sept. 15 that they had reached a $1.9 million settlement in their wrongful death civil suit. A lawyer for Waller County, Texas, noted that the settlement still needs to be approved by the county commissioners.

For the public, however, a large settlement is a clear signal that a city recognizes that something very wrong happened, Mr. Dunn said. I dont think any police department in the country pays out millions, he said, if they think they have done the right thing.

But its a mistake to equate settlement with police reform, he added.

In many large cities, the settlements do not even come out of the police departments budget. In New York, for example, payments are made from the citys general funds, insulating the agency against any real consequences, said Gabriel P. Harvis, a civil rights lawyer and former lawyer for the city.

Civil rights investigations were opened in several cases.

Four of these cases, including last weeks fatal shooting of a black man in Baton Rouge, La., prompted the Justice Department to open civil rights investigations. In Baltimore and Chicago, the department opened broader investigations into the practices of the Police Departments.

Note: The Justice Department had already been investigating the Cleveland Police Department. Two weeks after Tamir Rice was killed, it said it had found a pattern of unreasonable and unnecessary use of force by officers. The Justice Department has said it is also reviewing the case.

Real justice, Mr. Dunn said, is ending police violence and holding officers who engage in violence accountable for their actions. Police leadership makes a big difference, and so does litigation against a police department that challenges police behavior, he said.

In Ferguson, federal officials and city leaders released an agreement in January seeking to overhaul the citys justice system. The agreement came after months of negotiations stemming from the Justice Departments scathing critique of the citys police and courts after the shooting of Mr. Brown.
We last updated this article at on Thursday, May 4.

House Republican leaders are working intensively to gather votes for the American Health Care Act, a sweeping bill that would overhaul the health care system, effectively repealing and replacing Obamacare. An earlier attempt at passage in March failed, but the bill has been amended, and a new vote is planned for Thursday.

Will the bill pass the House?

Estimates vary about precisely where the vote count stands. Several news organizations, including The New York Times, are performing an unofficial whip count, repeatedly asking members of Congress how they plan to vote and why. The numbers above represent the aggregated answers reported by five news outlets, including The Times.

Below, the Republican lawmakers each organization is counting as a no vote.

Potential Republican votes against the A.H.C.A., counted by each news organization NYT NYT HuffPost HuffPo NBC NBC The Hill Hill WaPo WaPo

The differences among published counts reflect the fluidity and uncertainty of the situation, as well as varying levels of strictness about what constitutes a no vote. Democrats have said they will unite against the bill, so Speaker Paul Ryan can afford only 22 defections by Republicans*.

Negotiations are expected to continue. Republican lawmakers have already made several revisions to the bill, many devised to appeal to the partys right flank, and some meant to lure votes from members of the New York delegation. Additional changes to win votes remain possible.


Austin Conscientious Objectors to Military Taxation

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According to the National Priorities Project , about 25% of our tax dollars go to the Pentagon to finance the men, women, and weaponry that enables the United States military to fight the current wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and elsewhere. An additional 13.2% goes to pay the national debt much of which was borrowed to pay for war.[1]

Pacifism and "Indirect Complicity"

To many in the peace community, particularly, all pacifists, both the active combatant and the person not on the battlefield, both military and civilian, who supports and finances the conflict by their tax dollars, must bear moral responsibility for, are indirectly complicit, and may be psychologically, emotionally, and morally injured by the killing or injuring of another human being in war. This extension of the scope of moral culpability beyond the members of the military, beyond the active combatant, is not new. Quaker John Fuller made a similar observation almost two centuries ago.

"What difference is there, in principle, between killing a fellow man in war and paying another man to kill him? And, again, do not the Friends pay one man to kill another when they pay their share of the general tax towards the support of the government and the means of national defense?" [2]

I think it accurate to say that all pacifists have a firm, fixed, and sincere religious and moral objection against both directly and indirectly fighting in and supporting war or the bearing of arms in any form. Consequently, given this nation's long history of respect for religious freedom and the Supreme Court's recognition of the right to conscientious objection, [3] the Trump Administration's current effort to effect meaningful tax reform offers a timely and judicious opportunity to take the next logical and morally required step of recognizing conscientious objection not only to military service (direct participation in war), but also to what is equally as morally abhorrent to pacifists, the paying of taxes that support war and the bearing of arms in any form (indirect participation/the financing of war). As Conscientious Objectors (CO's) are granted relief from military and combat service, killing in war, so should CO's be allowed a nonviolent and nonmilitary alternative to the use of their tax dollars for war and the taking of life.

The Hobby Lobby Precedent

Conscientious Objection to Military Taxation (COMT) is not new and relief from having to pay military taxes has been sought by pacifists and others concerned with issues of peace, religious freedom, and conscience for many years. In fact, in the late 1990's, Quaker tax resisters filed three court cases using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 and the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of religion to seek relief from penalties imposed upon tax resisters and to make the case for the legalization of Conscientious Objection to Military Taxation. Sadly, these cases were dismissed both by the lower Courts and by the Second and Third Circuit Court.

Though the Supreme Court has yet to consider the merits of Conscientious Objection to Military Taxation specifically, the recent decisions in what has become known as the "Hobby Lobby Case," provide a clear legal precedent. Judge Roger Wollman of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down the first federal decision that the court must defer to the employers'

". . . sincere religious belief that their participation in the accommodation process (the Contraceptive Mandate of the Affordable Care Act) makes them morally and spiritually complicit in providing abortifacient coverage . . ."

Additionally, in this decision, the Court recognized, as have pacifists, the profound immorality of indirect complicity, and the moral culpability of a person who makes it possible for others to kill by their support, financial or otherwise. Judge Wollman continues,

"It is not our role to second-guess honest assessment of a difficult and important question of religion and moral philosophy, namely, the circumstances under which it is wrong for a person to perform an act that is innocent in itself but that has the effect of enabling or facilitating the commission of an immoral act by another."

In Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby Stores (6/2014) the Supreme Court concurred with Judge Wollman's decision. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations -- regarded as persons since the controversial "Citizens United" decision of 2010 -- cannot be required to engage in an activity which violates the corporation owners' strongly held religious beliefs/moral convictions, again the Affordable Care Acts' provision that employers "provide and facilitate four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in their health insurance plan" -- the Contraceptive Mandate.

In an opinion supporting the Hobby Lobby decision, Associate Judge Samuel Alito, referencing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), writes;

"The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate . . . against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in a manner required by their religious beliefs . . . Our responsibility is to enforce the RFRA as written, and under the standard that RFRA prescribes, the HHS contraceptive mandate is unlawful.

Certainly the scope of the Hobby Lobby decision that owners of corporations not be required to act in violation of their strongly held religious beliefs/moral convictions must have universal application, i.e., must apply as well to all persons not only those who own corporations. Consequently, the Supreme Court has, by once again asserting and now clarifying the scope of the Constitutional importance of respecting religious and moral convictions, provided guidance and a clear legal precedent for Conscientious Objection to Military Taxation. Justice Kennedy's concurrence elaborates on the importance of this decision. He writes:

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The Shakyamuni Buddha

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Press freedom, despite its wider misuse through the nexus of power-addicts and money-mongers, is instrumental to applying democracy.

It is essential to develop a pro-press-freedom public opinion helpful for accelerating collective citizen development. It means that the individual empire-centered approach to applying democracy widens the space of public suffering, which can be coped with by means of the ethical practice of journalism. Since the ethical side of journalism implies enriching the quality of journalism, both in terms of public wellbeing-content and ethical presentation, it must never be misperceived as a hindrance to press freedom. Public wellbeing-content in journalism today has apparently been jeopardized due to excessive emphasis on glamor, prominence and superficiality. Most authentic information lies at the grassroots level. Neglecting this fact does not enrich our fundamental principle of press freedom.

The nature of journalism undoubtedly shows that it is an area of human exercise in which businesses can invest and hope to reap profits through good journalistic practices. While journalistic practices get worse or degraded, media promoters cannot benefit much. This is the reality which must not be evaded under any pretext.

A proper utilization of press freedom would be to let journalism go on as per its fundamental principle of doing good for the public as a whole, rather than benefiting the few and harming the majority. When the few always weaken press freedom in the name of press freedom itself by pursuing a line of profiting in an unhealthy manner at the cost of public interests, it would be the most unwise to expect democracy to function in a healthy manner.

There are a number of international legal and human rights instruments, for instance the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its subsequent human rights treaties, to guide the journalism sector abundantly, rather than just to lip-trumpet.

Practical Implications of the Noble Eightfold Path for Ethical Journalism:

When it comes to utilizing press freedom both for investors and long-term public wellbeing, it would be helpful to derive some important values from the Buddhist code of human communication. For this, the Noble Eightfold Path -- considered as the pivotal synopsis of all Buddhist teachings -- deserves our attention.

Chapter 22 of Digha Nikaya mentions the eight constituents under the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration. All of the eight components can be useful towards developing journalistic insight to utilizing press freedom most ethically and wisely.

Buddhist scholars commonly state that there are more than 80,000 discourses delivered by the Buddha during his active 45 years 2500 years ago. It seems it takes a whole life to go through all those scriptures documented in the Pali language or in translated versions. However, the Noble Eightfold Path, which is the short-cut crux of the Buddha's teachings, facilitates laypersons efforts to understand Buddhism in connection with improving their practical lives. The Noble Eightfold Path is equally relevant and useful for the ethical development of journalism on a global scale. Its eight constituents, scattered in different Buddhist treatises, are briefly interpreted in connection with utilizing press freedom human-centrically for the better.

1. The Right View: The Buddha refers to the Right View as the insight into the four natural truths of the existence of suffering, the origin of suffering, the possibility of ending suffering and the way to practically end suffering. After getting enlightened, he taught about these causes-and-effects Laws of the Nature with regard to people's liberation from suffering or dukkha. However, understanding the natural causes, effects and coping ways of suffering is equally relevant for everyday life. This is something applicable to human communication in general and journalism in particular.

The Right View can apply to journalism, especially in the context of seeking truthful information. In the process of pursuing quality journalism, journalists can remarkably enhance their professional capacity should they internalize and practice the following:

1. Symptoms (Suffering)

2. Diagnosis (Origin or Cause of Problem)

3. Prescription (Treatment or Methodology of Solving the Problem)

4. Procedures (the practical methods of solving the problem)

Journalists have to be research-minded from step one to last. They have to be very investigative in the process of gathering authentic information. Therefore, understanding the general climate of their profession and digging into ground realities is a great need on their side. Thus, the Right View aspect of Buddhist teachings is relevant for journalists. In essence, the Right View is about understanding the truth and getting psychologically prepared to act accurately.

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Los Angeles May Day 2017

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Coast to coast, Americans joined together to march for and on behalf of immigrant rights on May 1, 2017. Though the groups marching represented many causes and organizations, they were united in their respect for immigrants and their families.

In Los Angeles, more than 50,000 took to the streets. Some of the groups marched down Broadway from Olympic. These marches were separated into sections, forming multiple parades. Organizers of a march starting from MacArthur Park and joining the others near City Hall stated that in MacArthur Park alone there were 30,000 participants.

Among the groups participating were March and Rally L.A., Black Lives Matter, the ACLU, the SEIU, the UFCW, the Teamsters, the IBEW, the Steelworkers, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, and people of various races and backgrounds. Leading two of the marches were Native American dancers, representing the various original occupants of North America. Though the Democratic Party did not formally march through Los Angeles, they provided some of the signs people carried. Many who marched were from the Democratic Party and will be delegates to the May 19-21 Convention in Sacramento. Many Republicans marched as well. Support for immigrants is not a partisan issue among grassroots members of the major parties in spite of how the political leaders try to play it. For most Americans, it is a moral issue. America is a land of immigrants.

Some of the marchers had been separated from their families as a result of I.C.E. raids. Signs calling for an end to these raids were present throughout the march. California Senate President pro-Tem Kevin de Leon's SB 54, making California a Sanctuary State, appears headed for passage. The current federal budget proposal includes no money for a border wall. With America marching for immigrants' rights, anyone up for election in 2018 who stands against immigrants could be out of a job in 2019.
Now, more than ever, it has become clear that the world must end the existence of billionaires and the ultra wealthy. They are a danger to humanity, the planet and the future. Laws must be passed that make it illegal to be a billionaire.

This is as big a project as the moon landing, but it can be done, though, be assured, attackers will say it is crazy.

Trump's money made his campaign possible. Trump's money enabled him to make outrageous lying claims. The glamorization of billionaires seduced millions of people who clamor for authoritarian figures of power in their lives to embrace Trump.

Trump has surrounded himself with more billionaires and multi-hundred millionaires as cabinet members and advisors, giving them unprecedented power-- why? Because they're billionaires, as if that is enough.

Billionaires are freaks, economic mutants that are extremely dangerous to democracy and the middle class. Some of us feel it is time to make it illegal and impossible to be a billionaire.

I published my first article to directly address the need to end the existence of billionaires (through laws and regulations) in 2011, "De-billionairize" the Planet. I start the article, saying,

"When people grow past seven and a half feet, they live very short lives. Almost all of the largest creatures that have walked the earth are extinct. Whales are threatened too, though totally because of humans. Nature doesn't approve of really big. Matter of fact, it kills or severely handicaps biological anomalies and freaks that become really big. I'm suggesting that we do such a "natural" thing with billionaires-- eliminate their existence and prevent them from developing. Billionaires are too big. The power they command through their wealth is too dangerous to be allowed in the control of any flawed human. The economic influence they wield produces warps in the capitalist space-time-economic dimension that prevent capitalism from operating in a free, natural state, as strange attractors change the dynamics in chaotic systems. We have seen the effects of billionaires like the Koches, Waltons, Mellons, Scaife and Soros on American politics. They spend hundreds of millions influencing the political process. They are not alone. They do this along with transnational corporations that the Supreme Court has traitorously and perversely given rights of corporate personhood. Both Billionaires and the largest corporations must be eliminated, boycotted, civil resistanced and legislated out of existence."

In 2013 I wrote Billionaires Are Dangerous to Humanity, Dangerous to the Earth, which said, "-Billionaires are dangerous. There may be a small percentage who are good people with good intentions. That is not enough a reason to hold back from the calls by me, Thom Hartmann and others to make it illegal and impossible to be a billionaire."

In 2014 I published notes from my interview, Chomsky on Billionaires, Wealth Inequality and How Aristotle and Madison Dealt With Them. I asked him about the idea of getting rid of billionaires and he replied,

"You're right, there shouldn't be multi-billionaires while the United States has the worst poverty level in the developed world, outside of Turkey, which is just a total scandal. That shouldn't be happening, but the reasons are institutional structures and specific decisions that have been made all along the line which create these situations and those can be reversed, in fact I think we can go well beyond that to much more just and free institutions in the first place."

And in 2015 I wrote Bad Billionaires-- The Most Dangerous Predators On The Planet, which said,

"Billionaires are the most dangerous predators on the planet. Just to be clear: Psychopaths are predators. Sociopaths are predators. Narcissists are predators.

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"The bottom-up revolution is fueling tremendous change in politics, commerce, and how people relate to each other. Rob Kall's book Bottom-Up provides a powerful guide to how organizations can understand and tap bottom-up's power. "



Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"In this book, Rob Kall is fueling a discussion that is long overdue, one that can perhaps shake us out of our current herd mentality, back to true community and intertwined purpose. His bottom-up discourse may serve to turn us all upside down just long enough to view our current politic from a different perspective."



Dr. Mari K. Swingle, author of i-Minds: How Cell Phones, Computers, Gaming, and Social Media are Changing Our Brains, Our Behavior, and the Evolution of Our Species
[A similar version of this article first published at Inside Syria Media Center]

Inside Syria Media Center has written about an investigation to expose U.S.-backed sources of weapon supplies to the ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria.

The U.S. supplier list includes Chemring Group PLC (UK) with global operations including the U.S. based operations of Chemring Ordinance, which signed a contract with the American government and received $47 million in accordance with the Non-Standard Equipment and Weapons Procurement Program. Orbital ATK, another U.S. company was granted $50 million within the program.

The Bulgarian newspaper Trud, which initiated a journalistic investigation, sent an official request to both companies to clarify what the received money was spent on. Chemring responded that some ammunition for the U.S. and its allied armies was purchased from Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi(VMZ-Sopot). It included 122mm rockets for the Grad MLRS, 73mm anti-tank shells and 40mm ammo for rocket launchers. The other company, Orbital ATK, simply ignored the request.

Ammo of these types is not in service in the U.S. army. Chemring Ordinance refused to disclose which U.S. allies it was intended for referring to the confidentiality of the supply contract. To be mentioned is that earlier Inside Syria Media Center wrote a piece on military vehicle deliveries carried out by the Liberty Passion ship via the port of Aqaba in Jordan on the pretext of tackling ISIS. In this case, the Bulgarian weapon supplies to al-Qaeda are transported via the largest Saudi port of Jeddah.

First, the munitions produced by VMZ-Sopot and purchased by the U.S. are delivered to the Bulgarian port of Burgas to be loaded on the Marianne Danica contracting carrier. This carrier has already traded twice in the route from Burgas to Jeddah.

To be noted is that the carrier makes no calls at any ports while spending on average 8 hours in Burgas and Jeddah -- a minimum time required for fueling and cargo-handling operations, according to the tracking website Marinetraffic.com.

At the same time, Marianne Danica officially declares that it transports included extremely dangerous cargo. According to automated Identification System (AIS) the cargo type is Hazard A (Major) which is the class for explosives and weapons. However, this cargo is evidently not intended for Saudi Arabia as its army is equipped with the armament provided by Western states only.

Neither the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Bulgaria nor the owner of the ship H. Folmer & Co have officially provided the information on the transported cargo along the route Burgas-Jeddah and the Bulgarian weapons' recipient country.

Moreover, Amnesty International declares this company and carrier had already been involved in a scandal while carrying tear-gas and riot control weapons, including arms to Egypt in 2011. Then, the US State Department spokesperson admitted that H. Folmer & Co had been granted a license to transport armaments.

The fact of Bulgarian weapons deliveries to terrorists is confirmed by the Free Syrian Army deputy commander Col. Malik al-Kurdi. In an interview with the Trud newspaper, he claimed that "a headquarters (HQ) has been set up in Turkey and Jordan to ensure cooperation between the special services of 15 states. We warned the U.S. and the EU that the weapons delivered in this HQ gets directly into the hands of the terrorist organizations."

Bulgarian-made PK variant machine guns and an RPG-7 rocket launchers were used in Western Aleppo Province in Syria, according to a Syrian opposition commander. Source: balkaninsight

It looks like a double game of a "ratline" for special services of various countries to arm and finance al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra. This most certainly is happening in Syria. This falls under their own countries definition of terrorism when others pursue these practices.

The recipient of the Bulgarian weapon purchased by the U.S. became evident in December 2016 when two million shells and four thousand rockets for the Grad were found at depos in the eastern districts of liberated Aleppo. The depos belonged to Jabhat al-Nusra.

VMZ-Sopot has announced it's hiring additional employees and has adopted continuous shift working to keep up with the demand of the new orders from the Trump administration.
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"The world is seemingly full of disconnected crises, but Rob Kall begs to differ. An exceptional pattern thinker, he connects a range of contemporary challenges through a framework of bottom-up solutions in a world dominated by top-down thinking. Mining extensive interviews with thought leaders and exploring an eclectic mix of leading-edge ideas, Bottom-Up describes a variety of latent and emergent characteristics of an evolutionary paradigm shift that's changing the world. Whether your focus is in business, leadership, activism, or organizations, Kall offers a practical conceptual map and toolset to engage the planetary evolution taking place all around us. If you want to make a difference and need inspiration for how to participate in this global transformation, there is plenty in this book to draw from."



Antonio Lopez, author of The Media Ecosystem
This article is the fourth part of a four-part series on Truthdig. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.



Cover of the 1550 edition of Machiavelli's Il Principe and La Vita di Castruccio Castracani da Lucca.

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From Trotsky to Burnham, from Burnham to Machiavelli and Machiavelli to neo-conservatism, the circle of British imperialism closes

The recent assertion by the Trump White House that Damascus and Moscow released "false narratives" to mislead the world about the April 4 Sarin gas attack in Khan Shaykhun, Syria is a dangerous next step in the "fake news" propaganda war launched in the final days of the Obama administration. It is a step whose deep roots in Communist Trotsky's Fourth International must be understood before deciding whether American democracy can be reclaimed.

Muddying the waters of accountability in a way not seen since Senator Joe McCarthy at the height of the Red Scare in the 1950s, the "Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act" signed into law without fanfare by Obama in December 2016 officially authorized a government censorship bureaucracy comparable only to George Orwell's fictional Ministry of Truth in his novel 1984 . Referred to as "The Global Engagement Center," the official purpose of this new bureaucracy is to "recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining United States national security interests." The real purpose of this Orwellian nightmare is to cook the books on anything that challenges Washington's neo-conservative pro-war narrative and to intimidate, harass or jail anyone who tries. As has already been demonstrated by President Trump's firing of Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian government airbase, it is a recipe for a World War and like it or not, that war has already begun.

This latest attack on Russia's supposed false narrative takes us right back to 1953 and the beginnings of the cultural war between East and West. Its roots are tied to the Congress for Cultural Freedom, to James Burnham's pivot from Trotsky's Fourth International to right-wing conservatism and to the rise of the neo-conservative Machiavellians as a political force. As James Burnham's The Struggle for the World stressed, the Third World War had already begun with the 1944 Communist-led Greek sailors' revolt. In Burnham's Manichean thinking the West was under siege. George Kennan's Cold War policy of containment was no different than Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement. De'tente with the Soviet Union amounted to surrender. Peace was only a disguise for war and that war would be fought with politics, subversion, terrorism and psychological warfare. Soviet influence had to be rolled back wherever possible. That meant subverting the Soviet Union and its proxies and when necessary, subverting Western democracies as well.

The true irony of today's late stage efforts by Washington to monopolize "truth" and attack alternate narratives isn't just in its blatant contempt for genuine free speech. The real irony is that the entire "Freedom Manifesto" employed by the United States and Britain since World War II was never free at all; but a concoction of the CIA's Psychological Strategy Board's(PSB) comprehensive psychological warfare program waged on friend and foe alike.

The CIA would come to view the entire program beginning with the 1950 Berlin conference to be a landmark in the Cold War not just for solidifying the CIA's control over the non-Communist left and the West's "free" intellectuals, but for enabling the CIA to secretly disenfranchise Europeans and Americans from their own political culture in such a way they would never really know it.

As historian Christopher Lasch wrote in 1969 of the CIA's cooptation of the American left, "The modern state" is an engine of propaganda, alternately manufacturing crises and claiming to be the only instrument that can effectively deal with them. This propaganda, in order to be successful, demands the cooperation of writers, teachers, and artists not as paid propagandists or state-censored time-servers but as 'free' intellectuals capable of policing their own jurisdictions and of enforcing acceptable standards of responsibility within the various intellectual professions."

Key to turning these "free" intellectuals against their own interests was the CIA's doctrinal program for Western cultural transformation contained in the document PSB D-33/2. PSB D-33/2 foretells of a "long-term intellectual movement, to: break down world-wide doctrinaire thought patterns" while "creating confusion, doubt and loss of confidence" in order to "weaken objectively the intellectual appeal of neutralism and to predispose its adherents towards the spirit of the West;" to "predispose local elites to the philosophy held by the planners," while employing local elites "would help to disguise the American origin of the effort so that it appears to be a native development."

While declaring itself as an antidote to Communist totalitarianism, one internal critic of the Program, PSB officer Charles Burton Marshall, viewed PSB D-33/2 itself as frighteningly totalitarian, interposing "a wide doctrinal system" that "accepts uniformity as a substitute for diversity," embracing "all fields of human thought -- all fields of intellectual interests, from anthropology and artistic creations to sociology and scientific methodology;" concluding, "That is just about as totalitarian as one can get."

Burnham's Machiavellian elitism lurks in every shadow of the document. As recounted in Frances Stoner Saunder's The Cultural Cold War , "Marshall also took issue with the PSB's reliance on 'non-rational social theories' which emphasized the role of an elite 'in the manner reminiscent of Pareto, Sorel, Mussolini and so on.' Weren't these the models used by James Burnham in his book The Machiavellians ? Perhaps there was a copy usefully to hand when PSB D-33/2 was being drafted. More likely, James Burnham himself was usefully to hand."

Burnham was more than just at hand when it came to secretly implanting a fascist philosophy of extreme elitism into America's Cold War orthodoxy. With The Machiavellians , Burnham had composed the manual that forged the old Trotskyist left together with a right-wing Anglo/American elite. The political offspring of that volatile union would be called neoconservatism whose overt mission would be to roll back Russian/Soviet influence everywhere. Its covert mission would be to reassert a British cultural dominance over the emerging Anglo/American Empire and maintain it through propaganda.

Hard at work on that task since 1946 was the secret Information Research Department of the British and Commonwealth Foreign Office known as the IRD.

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Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.

This commentary is not legal advice, and we do not have a lawyer-client relationship. If you are involved in, or contemplating, suing or being sued for defamation you should consult a lawyer, preferably one with experience in such matters. Lest you wonder, that cannot be me; I've long since turned my bar memberships in Iowa, Texas, and the District of Columbia to "inactive" status. -- N.J.]



I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. . . . So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace . . . we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected. . . . we're going to have people sue you like you've never got sued before."



-- Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Rally, Ft. Worth Texas, Friday, February 26, 2016, Hadas Gold, "Donald Trump: We're going to 'open up' libel laws," Politico, February 26, 2016.

What was new about Justice Brennan's analysis for the Supreme Court in the landmark defamation decision, New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 967 (1964), was that he approached the language involved from a First Amendment perspective rather than, or in addition to, solely a defamation analysis.

He wrote,

"[W]e consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."

fault

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Vote for your favourite video starting May 9th to May 14th. There is 1000 on the line for the winning team!

Real Riders

by Aaron Bartlett

When I first heard the plan to hold the EWS Film Festival in Madeira last year I was secretly hoping that Id get an invite to compete! Ive been out to Madeira to shoot mountain bike content twice now, both in 2016 and both were amazing experiences. With the Film Festival edit, I wanted to shoot something which was more like a personal project, where I had creative control and where I could produce something a little bit different to the normal type of video I produce. Coming from a Downhill background I decided that it would be cool to take some of my close friends from home and shoot more of an adventure style edit, documenting their experiences in a new and exotic mountain bike environment. The guys at 661 were stoked on the idea and we were all excited to get out shooting for the week.



Overall Im really happy with how the video came out. It was tricky to know beforehand whether the concept was going to work, especially with riders who arent used to shooting for 6 days straight! In that respect it was a bit of a leap of faith but it turned out that Ash and Haby did a great job and we all had an incredible time riding and shooting. Even though Ive been out to Madeira three times now, every time Ive been to new tracks and locations and the charm and variety of this small island continues to blow my mind! A big thank you to all that believed in the project and supported us!  Aaron Bartlett

Vink and Anderson Shredding Madeira

by Bart Cautaertst

"From the first touch on the tarmac until the bikes were full of dust: every step traveled in Madeira dropped our jaw a bit more to the ground. You can believe the hype: every square inch of this island looks like its designed to ride a mountain bike on. The whole island looks four countries into one: every area had a different surface and background. The Freeride Madeira crew makes the most of what they have and shaped the mountain into awesome trails. Not only that, but they also showed us their hidden treasures and took us to the most amazing restaurants and viewpoints. Every stop made us feel like we were in some kind of movie and some could as well have been used as a location for the new Jurassic park. Every day in Madeira ends at the sea, the perfect background for a beer and some nice food.  Bart Cautaertst

Lonely Island

by Ettienne Van Rensburg

When I got the invite to take part in the Film Festival back in December I had no doubts as to who I wanted to be in my crew, a call and text later and we had Matt Hunter onboard as well as Bryn North. Two Africans and a Canadian going into the unknowns of Madeira. Matt would be doing the riding, naturally, we started throwing around ideas and toned it down from jumping out of military helicopters to something we'd like to call "Lonely Island" Matt arrives on the island and can't seem to find anyone else, he sets off on his own to explore the vast diversity there is to be found on all the corners of Madeira. During the film you'll see many different sides of Madeira being showcased, there's a stark contrast between the landscape and something's it's just a thirty minutes drive from one of the other spots. We've never really filmed a mountain bike "edit" so this was a new challenge for us but working with Matt was a treat and we learned a lot, he is a true perfectionist and takes a lot of pride in his work, there's a reason he is the godfather of Freeride mountain bike.



The island is truly a beautiful place, with great food and people. John, from Freeride Madeira, graciously drove us around every day to all the spots and at night showed us the local spots to eat and hangout. Madeira solidified a special place in all our hearts and we look forward to returning soon.  Ettienne Van Rensburg

Four Corners

by Jacob Gibbins

Madeira is my favorite place in the world to shoot mountain biking, I have been about ten times now and so when I got the invitation to be part of the Film Festival it was a no brainer and I got straight on the phone to Olly Wilkins. Olly is one of the best, fastest and most stylish riders in the UK on a trail bike, he's also f*cking funny and great fun to be around. The perfect recipe for this project. We had been chatting about ideas for videos here and there for years so decided we would try something with a bit of humor, but not cheap dick jokes kind of funny, a bit more polished. I got my good mate and top filmer Ben Walton in to help with the shoot as two cameras are always better than one and the rest is history. A lot of time editing, a lot of time on WhatsApp talking over the finer points and we are stoked with the outcome and hope you lot are too. The Four Corners.  Jacob Gibbins

For the past few years, Madeira has been a hot spot for many well-known cinematographers and riders for film productions like the 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson launch video with Rat Boy to the most awaited mountain bike film of 2017, DEATHGRIP . As a bike holiday company, we have been a part of the production of over fifteen mountain bike films on the island having the pleasure to work side by side with some of the best professionals in the industry promoting Madeira as a unique mountain bike destination.From the 8th to 14th of May, we're proud to organize the Enduro World Series Madeira that will take place on the Eastern part of the island, but there's always so much to explore. Because we love to show the best of Madeira to those who visit us we were inspired to organize the Enduro World Series Film Festival with the concept of showing the four sides of the island on each film, allowing everyone to understand that Madeira has various riding areas all different from another and that makes us a destination famous for the incredible variety of terrain, landscapes and vegetation.With the support of the Madeira Tourism , we were able to invite four teams of three elements each to produce a short edit during this Winter and Spring. Each team had a week to shoot and we took them to some of the best trails around the four sides of the Island. Every edit was shot on different trails that were chosen according to the riders style of riding. The premier of the four films will be on the evening of the 9th of May in Machico, during the Enduro World Series official presentation where a cinema room will welcome over two hundred people and where they will be able to vote for their favorite film. On that evening the films will also go live here on Pinkbike where the world wide community will also be able to vote for their favorite. We will have a Pinkbike winner and a Film Festival winner announced here on the 14th of May.Each team was invited with the criteria of gratification for passed collaborations with Freeride Madeira . We would like to thank the filmmakers and riders for their hard work. A special thanks to Pinkbike and Visit Madeira for making this project a reality. We can't wait to welcome you in Madeira!See you on May 9 when voting begins!
Writings on the Wall

Many years ago, I got a phone call from Troy Torres at a political candidates office. He had seen an election estimate I had written and didn Read morePower of polls and weekend talks
Automotive Starter And Alternator Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-02 08:33:12

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616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Modern day automobiles widely use starters and alternators. These are generally used in diesel and gasoline engines. The rising investments on R&D by key players in the market coupled with acquisitions and mergers is expected to make the global automotive starter and alternator market flourish in near future. The manufacturers of automotive starters and alternators are expanding their businesses to emerging economies like China, India, Russia, etc. as these countries are focused on development of automotive sectors in order to serve the rising demand across the globe.Electric starters are expected to dominate the segment during the forecast period. The different types of electric starters used in automotive sector are gear reduction, inertia starter, folo-thru drive and moveable pole shoe. Based on alternator type, the claw pole alternators are projected to witness significant growth in near future.Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: DriversOne of the major factors driving the growth of the global automotive starter and alternator market is increase in production of vehicles across the globe. According to OICA, the total vehicle production increased by around 1% in 2015. Moreover, increasing adoption of electric vehicles due to environment concerns such as rising air pollution, is further expected to escalate the demand for automotive starter and alternator market during the forecast period. Additionally, increasing preference for light weight and fuel efficient vehicles is further projected to escalate the demand for automotive starters and alternators in near future.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2575 Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: RestraintsThe increasing production of hybrid vehicles is anticipated to hamper the growth of the global automotive starter and alternator market. The hybrid vehicles use one or more motors which ignite with the help of internal combustion engine. Due to this reason, these vehicles have eliminated the use of automotive starters and alternators which, in turn, is expected to restrict their demand in near future.Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: SegmentationThe global automotive starter and alternator market can be segmented on the basis of starter type, alternator type and vehicle type. On the basis of starter type, the market can be segmented into electric, hydraulic and pneumatic. On the basis of alternators, the market can be further segmented into claw pole alternator and cylindrical alternator. On the basis of vehicles, the global starter and alternator market can be further segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and passenger cars.Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Region wise OutlookBased on regions, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the automotive starter and alternator market over the forecast period. Asia Pacific, led by emerging economies like China and India, is projected to be the dominant region during the forecast period due to the presence of continuously increasing automobile manufacturing companies in this region. North America, led by U.S. is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The increasing demand for starters and alternators in North America, owing to rising production of vehicles, coupled with continuous investment in this market is expected to fuel the demand for automotive starters and alternators in near future. The automotive starter and alternator market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is anticipated to witness steady growth due to sluggish demand in this region. However, increasing demand for vehicles is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for automotive starters and alternators in near future.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2575 Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified in the global automotive starter and alternator market are mentioned below:Valeo SA, Denso CorporationRobert Bosch GmbH, Ningbo zhongwang auto fittings Co.,LTD Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric CorporationASIMCO Technologies Ltd, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.BBB Industries, Unipoint Electric MFG Co., Ltd.Remy International, Inc.. Lucas Electrical LimitedMitsuba Corporation
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616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

The global dental imaging equipment market is estimated at US$ 2,088.2 Mn in 2015 and will expand at a moderate CAGR during the forecast period 2016-2024.CBCT Imaging To Fuel Growth of Global Dental Imaging Equipment MarketAdoption of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) will continue to influence global dental imaging equipment market revenues. Dental professionals and radiologists are preferring CBCT over traditional dental imaging techniques as it helps reconstruct a 3-D image of oral and maxillofacial region.As a product type segment, cone-based computed tomography currently accounts for over 18% revenue share of the global dental imaging equipment market. This segment is anticipated to increase at a year-over-year growth rate of 5.3% in 2016 over 2015 and reach US$ 396 Mn in revenues. In terms of market volume, 1,193 units of CBCT systems are expected to be sold in 2016.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-861 Cone-beam Computed Tomography in Dental Imaging - Market DynamicsDriversCone-beam computed tomography is one of the latest advancements in the global dental imaging systems and is considered as a prominent product-type segment in the global market for dental imaging equipment. The use of CBCT imaging equipment has increased in various aspects of dentistry and periodontal surgery. Implant dentistry and interventional radiology are some of the key clinical verticals that extensively use the CBCT imaging equipment. As a result, cone-beam computed tomography is emerging as an important and the most enhanced dental imaging system in private dental clinics, hospitals and ambulatory surgical centres. Moreover, the demand for CBCT scanners has increased in oral surgery, endodontics as well as orthodontics. Additionally, the rising number of cosmetic dental surgeries and complex dental procedures will continue to drive the growth in the demand for CBCT imaging equipment in the global market. The use of CBCT as an integrated surgical component in image-guided radiation therapy is also observed as the key factor fuelling the demand for cone-beam computed tomography in the global dental imaging equipment market.RestraintsThe risks of using CBCT technology are perceived as the main restraints challenging the growth of the segment in the global dental imaging equipment market. Unlike the conventional extraoral X-ray imaging, the radiation delivered by CBCT systems is higher, causing unanticipated damages on the health of the patient. Owing to this, several dental practitioners are reluctant to use these systems extensively, thereby lowering the adoption of cone-beam computed tomography.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-861 The risk of radiation exposure through CBCT is higher among children and teens  a key demographic undergoing dental surgeries. Also, the higher threat towards cancer incidence has drastically plunged the demand for CBCT equipment in hospitals. The technical disadvantages of CBCT systems such as lack of standardised scaling system for reconstructed dental values and the absence of bone density assessment are also expected to limit the growth of cone-beam computed technology in the global dental imaging equipment market.CBCT Imaging Equipment - Market OutlookThe effective surgical outcomes from the use of CBCT imaging equipment in dentistry have boosted the prominence of the technology in the global market. CBCT imaging products and devices are observed as the fastest growing product-type segment in the global market. The cone-beam computed tomography has gained prominence in North America, which is one of the leading region in the global dental imaging equipment market.global dental imaging equipment marketThe upsurge in the installation of CBCT imaging systems in the US is expected to register a CAGR of over 8% during the forecast period. As a result, the CBCT segment in North America is expected to account for US$ 297.3 Mn by the end of 2024. In Europe, the growth in demand for cone-beam computed technology is expected to expand at a CAGR of over 7% and reach US$ 174.2 Mn over the period of next 8 years. At a similar CAGR, the CBCT equipment market in the Asia Pacific region is expected to attain over US$ 134 Mn by the end of the forecast period.Key Players in the CBCT Imaging Equipment MarketDanaher Corporation, one of the leading companies in the global market for dental imaging equipment, is dominating the global market share, owing to the companys flagship products that include enhanced CBCT equipment. The other major players in the CBCT imaging equipment market include, Planmeca Oy, Carestream Health, and Dentsply Sirona.In the year 2015, the intraoral x-ray systems type held the majority market share of the global market, followed by extraoral x-ray systems and cone-beam computed tomography. At an estimated CAGR of 7.5 % during 2016-2024, the CBCT segment is estimated to continue its upsurge in terms of market share throughout the forecast period and attain the third most prominent product-type sub-segment in the global dental imaging equipment market.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-02 08:02:02

- Leading Irish software company committed to growth and its future in Ireland -

Globoforce Dublin Headquarters Expansion to Create 100 Jobs

Drury|Porter Novelli

Luke McDonnell, 085 7127243

luke.mcdonnell@drurypn.ie

Globoforce (www.globoforce.com), a leading provider of social recognition solutions co-headquartered in Dublin and Boston, has today unveiled its new 45,000 sq ft Dublin headquarters at Park West, Dublin 12, and announced the creation of 100 jobs over the next three years as the company continues to expand globally. Recruitment is underway for the first phase of the jobs and 50 of these positions are expected to be filled within the next year. The state-of-the-art headquarters is designed to represent Globoforces mission to inspire greater humanity, productivity, and teamwork in the workplace.

The new 100 highly-skilled jobs will range from graduate level upwards and will be in the fields of software development, software engineering, user experience, analysts, finance, customer service and customer success. Globoforce currently employs 400 people globally with 210 in its Dublin office. The jobs announcement further strengthens the companys commitment to growth and its future in Ireland.

Dublin native, Eric Mosley, co-founder and CEO of Globoforce said: These are very exciting times for Globoforce. When I co-founded the company in 1999 we started out with 5 employees in Dublin, we now employ more than 400 people in Dublin and Boston, and the company is growing year on year. With international blue chip clients such as InterContinental Hotel Group, LinkedIn, and Symantec, I am proud that we are a successful Irish tech company competing on a global scale.

Building an award-winning culture starts with your employees and in Globoforce we have the best people in the business. Through our social recognition platform, we currently help more than 3 million employees around the world have positive experiences at work. As the company expands, we have a strategy of reinvesting profits into research and development driving thought leadership and innovation across all our platforms.

Todays announcement is a major vote of confidence in our people and commitment to our future in Ireland, said Niamh Graham, Vice President of Global HR, Globoforce. Recruitment is underway for the first phase of the 100 jobs and it is an opportunity for top talent in our technology, operations and finance functions to work with one of the worlds most innovative tech companies. These roles are being created in a direct response to increased customer demand, new client wins and to further our global growth strategy.

Julie Sinnamon, Chief Executive of Enterprise Ireland, said: Enterprise Ireland welcomes todays announcement of 100 new jobs and Globoforces move to its new Dublin headquarters. Globoforce is an inspiring example of an Irish founded company that demonstrates global ambition when it comes to building a strong export business out of this country. That growth is based on continuous investment in innovation and product development and a strong commitment to building scale from its Irish base.

The companys new human-centric space spans five floors and overlooks the Grand Canal at Park West. The office features digital walls, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, stairwells with inspirational messages, open and closed booths for private conversations, collaboration spaces, relaxation areas, and a game area. A wellness room offers yoga, meditation and amenities for new mothers, while the Globocafe provides employees with healthy snacks, a coffee bar, and modern diner style seating.

About Globoforce

Pioneer of the WorkHuman movement, Globoforce helps make work more human for millions of people and organizations worldwide. Its cloud-based social recognition software combined with a modern values-based approach, helps build award-winning cultures where employees feel more appreciated and socially connected at work  driving a sense of belonging and inspiring the entire organization to reach their full potential and achieve business success. Founded in 1999, the company is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts and Dublin, Ireland.

To learn more:

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201705010055
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-02 06:19:30

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President & CEO Garuda Indonesia and Angkasa Pura II share vision of making Soekarno-Hatta Airport the best smart-connected airport in the regionCENGKARENG, INDONESIA, May 2, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - President & CEO Garuda Indonesia Pahala N Mansury and President & CEO of Angkasa Pura II Muhammad Awaluddin inaugurated Garuda Indonesia international flight operations service at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang on Monday (1/5) by releasing flight GA 820 route Jakarta - Kuala Lumpur and welcoming the arrival of flight GA 823 route Singapore - Jakarta.Flight GA 820 from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur destination, departed at 08.35 Local Time, while the arrival of flight GA 823 route Singapore - Jakarta landed at 08.15 Local Time. Both direct flights were greeted and released by the President & CEO from Garuda Indonesia and AP II.President Director & CEO Garuda Indonesia Pahala N Mansury said the official operation of Garuda Indonesia international flight service at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport marked the companies ongoing effort to enhance service excellence commitment and increase the convenience of all passengers in enjoying Garuda Indonesia flight service."We would also like to extend our greatest appreciation and gratitude to Angkasa Pura II who successfully provided an international airport service with modern facilities which surely will further support the operational service services that we provide to all passengers." "With the vision of Garuda Indonesia-based Indonesian hospitality service that is also aligned with Angkasa Pura II's vision of making Soekarno-Hatta the best smart-connected airport in the region, Garuda is optimistic that the presence of this international Terminal 3 service will not only be a concrete step towards the development of competitive infrastructure and transportation services Global, but also a milestone for the development of national tourism aspects in the eyes of the world," concluded Pahala.Meanwhile, President Director of Angkasa Pura II Muhammad Awaluddin expressed "We are grateful for the support of the public, Ministry of Transportation, especially the Directorate General for Air Transportation and other stakeholders at Soekarno-Hatta Airport so that on May 1, 2017, international route flights can be served through Terminal 3 Where this special first stage is operated by Garuda Indonesia," he explained."AP II is optimistic that the operation of international flights in Terminal 3 can further make Soekarno-Hatta Airport one of the supporters of tourism growth, in addition to the increase of Indonesia's economy," said Muhammad Awaluddin.On the other hand, Angkasa Pura II completes the operation of international flights in Terminal 3 with facilities supporting parking facilities that can accommodate about 1,200 private vehicles for regular parking. Then as a form of familiarization of the service users towards the building of International Terminal 3 parking, for seven days or starting from 1-7 May 2017 regular parking users will be free of vehicle parking fee.As for the parking of the vehicle, Angkasa Pura II also provides 2 parking garage area that is East Inap Parking and West Inap Parking located in the office area in the middle of the airport area where passengers who want to invite the vehicle can make reservations first through the smartphone application "Orangapark Parking" which can be downloaded through Google Play.In addition, on 1-7 May 2017 all tenants including food and beverages in the area of Terminal 3 International in cooperation with Angkasa Pura II will be granted an additional 10% discount to all airline passengers or airport visitors, excluding any existing discounts.In line with Garuda Indonesia's international flight service to Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Garuda Indonesia is optimistic that it will further strengthen the 5-star service and increase the capacity of pre-light and post-flight services provided to all passengers.International flight services in Terminal 3, Garuda Indonesia will further expand the capacity of its pre-post flight service to all users of the service users. At Terminal 3 later, Garuda Indonesia will operate 26 check-in counters as well as a significant increase in executive lounge capacity with an area of 2,100 m2 comprising 350 seats for business class and 56 seats for first class.About Garuda Indonesia GroupGaruda Indonesia Group [IDX:GIAA] operates a total of 194 aircraft, consisting of ten (10) Boeing 777-300ER, twenty-five (25) Airbus A330-200/300, two (2) Boeing 747-400, seventy-six (76) Boeing 737-800NG, eighteen (18) Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen, and fifteen (15) ATR72-600, with a 146 aircraft operated by Garuda Indonesia, and forty (40) Airbus A320 and eight (8) Boeing 737-300/500, or 48 aircraft operated by Citilink, with an average aircraft age of 4.6 years.Concerning services performance, the management is implementing the "Excellent Services" program that requires sustainable service development. It has shown remarkable results with "The World's Best Cabin Staff" award received by Garuda Indonesia's cabin crew from Skytrax (an independent aviation rating institution in London) for the third consecutive time (a hat-trick) from 2014 to 2016.In addition to the World's Best Cabin Staff award, Garuda Indonesia has maintained its reputation as a five-star airline, including being named; Top 5 World's Best Airlines in Asia, Top 10 World's Best First Class Airlines, Top 10 World's Best Economy Class Airlines, and The Most Loved Airline.Aside from Skytrax, Garuda Indonesia also won the "Outstanding Food Service by a Carrier" award from Pax International Magazine, the Top 10 World's Most Favourite Airlines from TripAdvisor, Best Cabin Services by Smart Travel Asia, and Best First Class Sparkling Wine-Champagne from Business Traveller. For more information, please visit www.garuda-indonesia.com Contact:Garuda Indonesia -Benny S. ButarbutarVP Corporate CommunicationBenny@ garuda-indonesia.com Source: Garuda Indonesia GroupTopic: New ServiceSectors: Daily Finance, Airlines, Travel & Tourism, Daily NewsFrom the Asia Corporate News NetworkCopyright  2017 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
Reprocessed Medical Devices Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-02 11:10:26

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616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Cardiology devices segment is anticipated to reach the highest market value during the projected periodThe Cardiology Devices segment is likely to create absolute $ opportunity of a little more than US$ 15 Mn in 2018 over 2017. By the end of 2027, Cardiology Devices segment is projected to reach a market valuation close to US$ 700 Mn, expanding at a CAGR of 18.4% over the forecast period. The Cardiology Devices segment dominated the Asia Pacific reprocessed medical devices market in terms of revenue in 2016, and the trend is projected to grow throughout the forecast period. Cardiology Devices segment is anticipated to be the most attractive segment, recording an attractiveness index of 4.3 over the period of assessment.Alternative product deployment and external partnerships are encouraging manufacturers to increase production focus on cardiology devicesThere has been an increasing healthcare spending by the governments of some of the developing countries such as Australia, India and China owing to a growing geriatric population and growing awareness among the population regarding health-related issues. However, despite increased healthcare spending in the Asia Pacific region, the growth rate is slow, which creates a requirement for healthcare facilities to focus on cost cutting in order to stay in tune with the universal healthcare system. Increasing healthcare spending in response to growing healthcare problems is the driving factor for the cardiology devices segment.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ap-3211 Most of the prestigious hospitals in Asia Pacific are focussing on reducing the cost of medical devices for better results with the smarter use of their resources. Many hospitals are using cardiology devices as a supply chain cost reduction strategy. This fuels the growth of the cardiology devices segment in the Asia Pacific reprocessed medical devices market. Stringent regulations by various local regulatory bodies provides assurance to hospitals and practitioners regarding the quality of cardiology devices. The need to maintain quality, safety, manufacturing standards and effectiveness as specified by regulatory bodies is estimated to invoke trust in healthcare facilities and practitioners. For instance, in Australia, SUDs are considered as new distinct medical devices. The reprocessing companies are responsible for all conformity assessments, safety, efficacy standards and all the legal liabilities of the remanufactured product.Growing awareness regarding the use of reprocessed medical devices particularly cardiology devices and growing concerns regarding safety and efficacy is driving the growth of the cardiology devices segment. Due to regulatory hurdles regarding in-house reprocessing, hospitals are focussing on entering into agreements with companies for reprocessing of their medical devices. This is driving growth in the third party cardiology devices segment. Increasing awareness about cardiology devices helps save healthcare expenses each year. Reprocessed medical devices such as cardiology devices are sold at approximately half the price of a new product. Availability of cardiology devices at less prices is propelling the demand in the cardiology devices segment.asia pacific reprocessed medical devices marketCardiology devices segment in India is anticipated to expand at an attractive CAGR of 23% over the period of forecastSend An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-ap-3211 The cardiology devices segment is estimated to account for more than 50% revenue share of the Australia reprocessed medical devices market by 2017 end and is predicted to gain more than 1000 BPS in its market share by 2027 over 2017. Cardiology devices segment is likely to create absolute $ opportunity of more than US$ 1 Mn in 2018 over 2017 in the country. By the end of 2027, cardiology devices segment is projected to reach more than US$ 70 Mn, expanding at a CAGR of 18% over the calculated period. In New Zealand, the cardiology devices segment is projected to reach close to US$ 16 Mn by the end of 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 16% over the forecast period. In China, revenue from the cardiology devices segment is anticipated to register a CAGR of 24.8% over 20172027, to reach more than US$ 180 Mn by 2027. The cardiology devices segment in the India reprocessed medical devices market is estimated to create absolute $ opportunity of close to US$ 2 Mn in 2018 over 2017.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-02 08:05:02

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Ophir Holdings & Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of Ophir Energy ("Ophir"), OneLNGSA and La Compania Nacional De Petroleos De Guinea Ecuatorial ("GEPetrol") have signed a detailed Umbrella Agreement ("UA") that establishes the full legal and fiscal framework for the Fortuna FLNG Project, Africa's first deepwater FLNG project.

The UA reconfirms the participation rights of GEPetrol as partners for 20% of the upstream portion of the project, and for a future potential participation of up to 30% ownership of the midstream FLNG vessel by the Republic of Equatorial Guinea or a designated State company. These participations create alignment with the EG Government throughout the project value chain from upstream through to LNG marketing. Signing the UA was one of the key milestones to be delivered ahead of Final Investment Decision ("FID"). The Fortuna FLNG Project FID is on schedule for mid-2017 with first gas expected in mid-2020.

Project Update

The execution of the UA completes one of the four key milestones required for FID. The other three milestones are: (i) the award of construction contracts for the upstream and midstream vessel, (ii) the completion of the project finance facility and (iii) a decision on the amount of gas to be termed at FID and signature of resulting LNG SPAs. With respect to these milestones:

(i) The impending award of construction contracts is well progressed and on schedule.

(ii) Term sheets have been agreed with a consortium of China-based lenders. The counter-parties to the financing have now entered into final documentation stage.

(iii) The Fortuna partners will decide in the coming weeks the amount of the expected 2.5MMTPA to put under contract at FID from the several offtake options available.

As previously announced the expected total capital expenditure for the integrated project is approximately $2 billion to reach first gas. Approximately $1.2 billion is expected to be debt financed, with full drawdown by the start of commercial operations.

His Excellency, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, commented: "This agreement is in line with the government's objective to deliver important projects that monetizes our gas, promotes local content and brings world-class petroleum technology to Equatorial Guinea. It also has brought us one crucial step closer to realizing the historic Fortuna FLNG project. The participation of Equatorial Guinea's national companies was critical to Fortuna's success and to maximizing the project's value at every level of the gas supply chain. The Fortuna Project targets becoming the first choice supplier of LNG for the Gulf of Guinea region."

Nick Cooper, Chief Executive of Ophir, commented: "The Umbrella Agreement is the important foundation agreement which formalises the value chain economics for the Government of Equatorial Guinea and the project participants. We welcome the introduction of Equatorial Guinea's national companies as project partners and the alignment of interests that this brings.

The remaining milestones of the construction contract awards, the finalisation of debt and the LNG offtake are as advanced as we had wanted them to be at this stage. The Fortuna FLNG Project therefore remains firmly on schedule for an FID by mid-year."

Jeff Goodrich, CEO of OneLNG commented: "Signing of the Umbrella Agreement is a significant milestone. It represents an innovative way of doing business, brings alignment throughout the entire value chain to all of the Project Stakeholders, and provides clear line of sight to FID for the project. The Fortuna project remains on track to become Africa's first deepwater FLNG project."

This announcement has been determined to contain inside information.

For further enquiries please contact:

Ophir Energy plc + 44 (0) 20 7811 2400

Nick Cooper, CEO

Tony Rouse, CFO

Geoff Callow, Head of IR and Corporate Communications

OneLNG +44 (0)20 7063 7900

Stuart Buchanan, Head of Investor Relations

Brunswick (PR Adviser to Ophir) +44 (0)20 7404 5959

Patrick Handley

Wendel Verbeek

About the Umbrella Agreement:

As previously communicated, final State Approval of the overall project, including the Umbrella Agreement, is the final milestone at FID.

About OneLNG:

OneLNG is joint venture between Golar LNG Limited and Schlumberger to rapidly develop low cost gas reserves to LNG. The combination of Schlumberger reservoir knowledge, wellbore technologies and production management capabilities, with Golar's low cost FLNG solution offers gas resource owners a faster and lower cost development solution that increases the net present value of their asset.

About Ophir:

Ophir Energy is an independent Upstream oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Africa and Asia. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.





This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Golar LNG via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-05-02 05:21:08

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JAKARTA, Apr 28, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Wintermar Offshore Marine (IDX:WINS) has reported 1Q2017 financial results. Revenue from WINS fleet falls 39% YOY, reflecting the lagged effect of depressed oil prices in 2016.Overall Revenue including Chartering Division fell by 44% YOY to US$ 13.1 million compared to US$ 23.3million in 1Q2016. This was caused by the lagged effect of the near standstill in tendering activity experienced in the second half of 2016, which resulted in lower charter rates at the same time as the utilization rate dipped below 50%.Although sentiment in the oil industry seems to have bottomed and tendering activity has picked up in 2017, the OSV sector lags the oil price by 6-9 months. The low first quarter result reflected the negative sentiment in the industry in the latter half of 2016 where few contracts were awarded.-Owned VesselsThe utilization rate of Owned Vessels fell to 49% in 1Q2017 from 57% in 1Q2016. High tier vessels saw a bigger dip in utilization as several of them completed contracts last year and there were no significant new contracts of work that began in 1Q2017.Lower fuel, crewing and operations costs contributed to a 11% decline in Owned Vessel Direct Expenses to US$10.5 million, mainly from a 23% fall in crew costs, with 46% and 51% reductions in maintenance and fuel costs respectively.At the Gross Profit level, Owned Vessel Division recorded a loss of US$ 1.05 million for 1Q2017 compared to a profit of US$ 3.6 million in 1Q2016. On a QOQ basis, there was a slight improvement in Owned Vessel performance compared to the loss of US$ 1.5 million in 4Q2016 as crewing costs continued to fall.-Chartering and Other RevenuesThe Chartering Division was also negatively affected by the severe downturn last year. Revenue and Gross profit from Chartering Division fell by 59% YOY and 39% YOY to US$ 2.9 million and US$ 0.6 million respectively.Other Revenues were stable while Gross profit from this division rose 16% to US$ 0.2 million.-Operating ProfitIndirect expenses fell by 4% to US$ 1.9 million as reductions in marketing, telecommunications and administration costs were offset by slightly higher salary and training expenses as well as professional fees paid.An Operating loss of US$ 2.2 million was recorded for 1Q2017 compared to an Operating profit of US$ 2.6 million in 1Q2016.-Other income and expenseInterest expenses fell by 8% YOY to US$ 2.1 million because of lower debt. Associates recorded a loss of US$ 0.3 million and there was an asset impairment of US$ 0.6 million from reclassifying vessels for sale at a potential loss.Overall Total net other expenses declined by 19% to US$ 3 million YOY.-EBITDA, Debt and ImpairmentEBITDA for the first quarter 2017 amounted to US$ 4.8 million, a fall of 51% compared to the first quarter in the previous year, but slightly better than 4Q2016. The positive cash flow supported the continued payment of loan installments, enabling the Company to bring down the net gearing further to 49% from 50% at the end of FY2016.Net interest bearing debt fell by US$ 6 million to US$ 111 million as at end March 2017, a reduction of 5.1% from year end 2016.In line with management strategy to sell older vessels, several vessels were reclassified as held for sale, as reflected in the asset impairment value of US$ 0.6 million booked in 1Q2017.-Net loss attributable to ShareholdersNet loss attributable to Shareholders for the period 1Q2017 was US$ 4 million, compared to a net loss of US$ 1.4 million in 1Q2016.-Contracts on hand are finally picking upAlthough the financial results for 1Q2017 continue to be weak, the marketing activity has been trending up steadily for the first few months of 2017.As a leading indicator, the contracts on hand which declined steadily last year due to a lack of activity have started to rise again with the award of new contracts of work in the past few weeks.-Industry OutlookSince the end of December 2016, there has been higher optimism that oil prices are settling into a more stable trading range. There is increased activity in South East Asia with a number of contracts awarded over the past few months.Despite the higher activity, there is still oversupply in the OSV industry, which has caused charter rates to fall even further in the latest rounds of tenders.There is new drilling activity in South East Asia, as indicated by some new tenders for drilling rigs in Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia so far this year. We are optimistic that business conditions are improving, but because of the price competition, we expect it will be several months before this is reflected in better financials for the Offshore support sector.-StrategyCost control continues to be a key focus, with emphasis on improving the efficiency of fuel and operations. At the same time marketing efforts have been extended geographically as well as expanding the client base. We will seek to build up other income through building new client relationships in new industries.Cash flow will be enhanced through speeding up asset sales of older fleet. With the reasonably low gearing of 46%, the Company is well positioned to weather the cycle.-Planned Corporate ActionWintermar has announced a plan to issue up to 400 million new shares through a placement without pre-emptive rights, which will require approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders (GMS) on 18th May 2017. If approved at the GMS, the Company has a two year window to issue such shares.The approval of the shares issuance will allow the Company the flexibility to raise funds as and when required, and provide funds to reduce debt, strengthen equity, increase working capital and fund any possible business opportunities that may present themselves in the coming 24 month period.About PT Wintermar Offshore MarinePT Wintermar Offshore Marine Tbk (IDX:WINS) is an Indonesian offshore marine services company that owns a fleet of 80 vessels ready to handle a large variety of marine support services required in upstream oil and gas exploration and production activities including transporting crew, equipment and supplies, as well as providing services such as anchor handling, towing, and mooring of offshore rigs. Our young and growing fleet, comprising a wide variety of vessel types, enables us to offer innovative vessel and logistics solutions to serve our client base of multinational oil and gas companies. In 2011, WINS became the first shipping company in Indonesia to be certified with Integrated Management System by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance, comprising ISO 9001:2008 (Quality), ISO14001:2004 (Environment) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety). For more information, please visit www.wintermar.com Contact:Ms. Pek Swan LayantoInvestor RelationsPT Wintermar Offshore Marine TbkTel +62-21 530 5201 Ext 401Email: investor_relations@ wintermar.com Source: PT Wintermar Offshore MarineTopic: EarningsSectors: Daily Finance, Energy, Marine/OffshoreFrom the Asia Corporate News NetworkCopyright  2017 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
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.




Mathews Nissan News:1972 Datsun pickup wins its class at the Concours d'Elegance of Texas - Nissan continues to Win with 2017 TITAN XD Platinum Reserve @ $15,000 OFF MSRP....

By: A3Marketing - Steve G.

End

-- Mathews Nissan Is Winning...........Many years ago, Tennessee residents, Marvin & Hazel Askew, purchased a 1972 Pea Green Datsun 521 Pickup at Hippodrome Oldsmobile in Nashville, for $2222.24 - It's home for the past few years has been the Nissan Heritage Hall.This weekend,andafter 45 years... so all of us at Mathews Nissan take a moment to celebrate the elegance and excellence of the Nissan brand, and we offer that same high standard to our customers everyday.This 1972 Datsun 521 (a pickup from Nissan's Heritage Hall that is affectionately known as Sweet Pea) was honored as a Class Winner in the Truck Category at the recent Concours d'Elegance of Texas (COT). The Concours featured a truck class, which is not common in classic car shows.Nissan was a premier sponsor for this 6th annual COT, which was held at the Richard Greene Linear Park in Arlington, Texas.This year's Concours d'Elegance of Texas featured 125 of the finest motorcars in America, many seldom seen publicly. It was a great opportunity to see mechanical sophistication, elegance, and the best in automotive style  all traits embodied to some extent by this pristine green Datsun that comes from an era when small pickups were just that, small.In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at NissanUSA.com and InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the U.S. media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2015, the company sold more than 5.4 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 12.2 trillion yen. Nissan engineers, manufactures and markets the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: ASEAN & Oceania; Africa, Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America and North America. Nissan has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and Mitsubishi Motors since 2016 under the Renault-Nissan Alliance.is a Six-Time Award Winning DealershipMathews Nissan is committed to providing the Best Customer Care for All Our Nissan Family, including our own customized Fuel Center and Maintenance Excellence.Mathews Nissan is an AWARD WINNING dealership in Clarksville for new and pre-owned Nissan vehicles, thanks to our quality automobiles, low prices, and superior sales staff. Come and See Us and View All Inventory_ Pre-Qualify for Finance_ Military Discounts and Military Pay NO TAX185 Highway 76Clarksville, TN 37043Owner: Gary MathewsGM: Terry Yarbrough
At Boca Raton Community High School, no one eats lunch alone

By: Teach Anti Bullying Inc.

Contact

Maria L Novak

***@maria-l- novak.com Maria L Novak

End

-- In Florida, no student at Boca Raton Community High School eats alone thanks to a little club called We Dine Together. Each day, these students walk around their school's courtyard introducing themselves to any and all of their classmates spotted eating alone during lunchtime.And, Teach Anti Bullying Inc. took notice. Teach Anti Bullying (TAB) is a PA-based non-profit whose sole purpose is to raise awareness and support families and children who are being impacted by bully-related issues in their school or community.TAB founder, Dr. Claudio Cerullo, reached out to Mr. Jordan Hernandez, club adviser, to show support, but more importantly to honor the students and their teacher. On April 26, 2017, Teach Anti Bullying Inc. honored Mr. Hernandez and students Denis Estimon, Allie Sealy, Kinsley Florestal and Jean Max Meridieu with gold medals, a $100 check to further their club, and a plaque which reads "Thank you for your compassion, empathy and love for those who dine alone.""There is a chasm that is created during lunch - it is one of the most divided and segregated times of the day across our country," says Mr. Hernandez. "This club has been able to bridge that gap of difference and bring people together."Teach Anti Bullying Inc is an anti-bullying and school violence prevention non-profit that assists schools, communities, and organizations nationwide in the programmatic development of both bullying prevention and school violence preparedness. More information is available at www.TeachAntiBullying.org
Transitioning to employee-owned companies offers tangible solution to region's "silver tsunami"

By: Project Equity

Contact

Franzi Charen

***@project- equity.org Franzi Charen

End

-- The Industrial Commons and its national partner Project Equity, announced today that almost  of Western North Carolina small businesses are owned by aging baby boomers, demonstrating which small businesses in the WNC region are most vulnerable to permanently closing business or consolidating within a few years. It also identifies industries to be impacted and the vast numbers of employees affected. The data is being released in an effort to demonstrate the opportunity for these WNC small businesses to transition to employee-owned companies."It has been in the face economic loss that we asked 'how can we bring WORK back differently?' The Industrial Commons is dedicated to building a new vision of southern labor by rooting equity and workplace democracy in local businesses."- Molly Hemstreet, Co-founder The Industrial Commons and Opportunity Threads.Project Equity, a nonprofit that fosters local economic resiliency, compiled the data as part of a broader national data presentation to educate the workforce and small business communities about the coming "silver tsunami" of businesses at risk of closure or consolidation. "This data reveals how local businesses in WNC could be affected; it's clear that not only will employees be impacted but so too will industries,"said Alison Lingane, co-founder, Project Equity. "While it's important to draw attention to the data and its implications, it's necessary that everyone also understand that we have a real possibility to sustain small businesses over the long term by transitioning some of them to broad-based employee ownership." Small businesses provide 46% of all jobs in the WNC region, so this ownership changeover risks not only the loss of local business ownership, but also job loss, and local business tax base. "Employee ownership is one of the best ways to keep thriving businesses locally rooted into the next generation."The data presentation aims to make the business ownership changeover tactile and shows over 12,000 privately-held businesses with employees44.7%of the totalspread across the 28 WNC counties and segmented by industry. The data presentation also estimates 132,000 employees, and $26.6B in total sales and $4B in payroll, of these companies, to help paint the picture of the true impact of potential business closure or consolidation. The data are drawn from the U.S. Census 2012 Survey of Business Owners."Looking at the manufacturing data, it is clear that growing more employee-owned businesses is a viable solution, if not a crucial one," says Franzi Charen, co-founder of The Industrial Commons. The Industrial Commons points to the region's once thriving textile industry and cities that within Western North Carolina, the heritage industry resurgence is underway. "The opportunity to create employment through employee-owned businesses will harness industry knowledge and expertise while increasing access to locally-rooted wealth" Charen added.Visit http://www.project- equity.org Visit http://www.theindustrialcommons.org
The SmallGEO satellite was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) earlier this year, and the satellite is now in orbit with the help of Noliac actuator stacks.

By: Noliac A/S

Contact

Noliac A/S

Att.: Lotte Beck

info@noliac.com

+4549125030 Noliac A/SAtt.: Lotte Beck+4549125030

End

--SmallGEO is a new versatile European satellite platform that can accommodate a wide range of commercial telecommunications payloads and missions. SmallGEO's first flight carried the Hispasat 36W-1 satellite, and it was launched on a Soyuz rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.Read more about SmallGEO at http://www.esa.int/ESAThe three-tonne satellite was released by Soyuz into its transfer orbit 29 minutes after lift-off. It used its own thrusters to make its way to its final destination at an altitude of 36,000 km over the equator. These thrusters are equipped with Noliac piezo actuator stacks.In total, eight thrusters was equipped with Noliac piezo stacks, in addition, also the two proportional valves was equipped with the same type of Noliac stacks.In space, there is no room for failures. Therefore, all components used in satellites must pass a long range of strict qualifications and acceptance tests. Cedric Goueffon, Global Sales Manager at Noliac A/S, explains:- We are proud that we produce piezo actuators with market leading quality and level of reliability. These parameters are in high demand in most industries, but for space applications, these are even more important. Our actuators passed all the tests needed to be included in this exciting European space project. We are happy that the launch of the satellite went well, and we look forward to join future space projects.Learn more about our piezo actuators at http://www.noliac.com/ products/actuators/ If you want to know more about our piezo actuators, please contact us using our Request for Quote form or contact sales at http://www.noliac.com/ contact/
Germany-based E-Commerce business intelligence specialist yStats.com's new report "Malaysia B2C E-Commerce Market 2017" projects that online retail sales in Malaysia will increase at a lower rate than its regional neighbors.

By: yStats.com

Infographic: Malaysia B2C E-Commerce Market 2017

Contact

yStats.com Press team

***@ystats.com yStats.com Press team

End

-- While forecasts cited in the yStats.com report indicate that theof total retail sales inwill grow from the present single percentage point to overby 2025, this growth rate isby other regional markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines. The Malaysian government has initiated acalling for private sector cooperation tothe rate of E-Commerce sales growth. Favorable to this growth are the ready Internet infrastructure and the interest of young adults in making purchases online.Several other interesting facts are presented in the publication. Online retail sales inare dominated by the marketplace model. The yStats.com report shows that theB2C marketplaces,andhave announced intentions to attract more sellers to their portals. Other trends in E-Commerce include the sales throughand the rising use of mobile devices to connect with sellers.yStats.com GmbH & Co. KGBehringstrasse 28a, D-22765 HamburgPhone: +49 (0)40 - 39 90 68 50Fax: +49 (0)40 - 39 90 68 51E-Mail: press@ystats.comInternet: www.ystats.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/ystatsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ystatsFacebook: www.facebook.com/ystatsFounded in 2005 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, yStats.com is one of the world's leading secondary market research companies. We are committed to providing the most up-to-date and objective data on Global B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment markets to sector-leading companies worldwide.Our multilingual staff researches, gathers, filters and translates information from thousands of reputable sources to synthesize accurate and timely reports in our areas of expertise, covering more than 100 countries and all global regions. Our market reports focus predominantly on online retail and payments, but also cover a broad range of related topics including M-Commerce, Cross-Border E-Commerce, E-Commerce Delivery, Online Gaming and many others. In addition to our wide selection of market reports, we also provide custom market research services.We are proud to cooperate with companies like Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. Given our numerous citations in leading media sources and journals worldwide, including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, we are considered one of the most highly-reputed international secondary market research companies with an expertise in the areas of B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment.
By: Texas Trust Credit Union

Contact

Kristine Tanzillo

***@duxpr.com Kristine Tanzillo

End

-- Texas Trust has awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Grand Prairie ISD student, Jemiah Williams.Williams is a senior at Dubiski Career High School. She has been accepted at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she plans to study business with an emphasis on foreign policy and social issues. Her long-term professional goal is to become a lawyer and politician."We value education as the solid foundation on which bright futures are built. This scholarship is a small way we can help Jemiah achieve a brighter future," said Shelley Carlson, vice president of marketing for Texas Trust. "We wish her great success at Howard and in her professional endeavors following college."Williams was selected for the scholarship by the school district.About Texas Trust Credit UnionTexas Trust Credit Union was created in 1936 when a group of Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation employees pooled their savings so they could help each other achieve financial goals. Today, more than 84,500 members are served through checking and savings accounts; loans (personal, mortgage, auto, and small business); credit cards; insurance products; and investment services. Texas Trust Credit Union supports local students through its "Spirit Debit Rewards" program. With every eligible swipe of an SDR card, funds are donated to the school or district of the member's choosing. To date, Texas Trust has donated over $1.4 million since August 2011. Texas Trust serves members in Dallas, Tarrant, Henderson, Ellis, and Johnson counties through 17 locations in Mansfield, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, Midlothian, DeSoto, Hurst, and Athens. With assets of $1 billion, Texas Trust is one of the largest credit unions in North Texas and the 17th largest in Texas. For more information, visit http://www.TexasTrustCU.org or follow us on facebook.com/texastrustcu or Twitter at @texastrustcu.
Alaska Travel Adventures Announces New Executive Appointments Alaska Travel Adventures begins the Alaska summer travel season with several new appointments to its senior management team. By: Alaska Travel Adventures JUNEAU, Alaska - May 2, 2017 - PRLog -- Today Alaska Travel Adventures (ATA) announced three new executive appointments. Mike Wallisch has been selected by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Dindinger to succeed Chris Meier as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO); ATA announced Meier's transition to the position of ATA President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in December 2016. Also newly appointed is Sarah Lowell, ATA's new Director of Sales, and Tor Wallen, who will be joining as Skagway Director of Operations.



"We are excited to have Mike join the ATA senior management team. His experience and credentials in the Alaska and Colorado visitor industry are a perfect match for ATA," said Alaska Travel Adventures CEO, Robert Dindinger.



For 22 years Wallisch owned and operated Alaska Adventures Unlimited (AAU), a charter sport fishing business in Sitka before selling in 2015. Most recently he served as Senior Manager of Operations for Steamboat Resorts, a division of Wyndham Vacation Rentals in Steamboat Springs, Co.



"I look forward to helping ATA continue to provide their customers unparalleled vacation experiences. ATA's unique product mixture combined with their entrepreneurial spirit makes this an ideal career move," says Wallisch. "I have known the Alaska Travel Adventures management team for 25 years. I have found them to be knowledgeable, innovative and hard working people. I look forward to contributing to the culture of their company." Mike Wallisch is a Littleton, Co. native and University of San Diego graduate. He and his wife Syd plan to live full time in Juneau.



ATA President, Chris Meier, remarks, "Mike has been a friend and highly respected industry colleague for many years. He is innately qualified to function as COO for ATA. We know Mike will also bring a fresh perspective both in terms of our current operations and future product developments. His experience with the cruise industry, and the Alaska visitor industry as a whole, is particularly advantageous."



Sarah Lowell joins ATA as Director of Sales after an extensive career with Era Helicopters, where she most recently served as Juneau Base Manager.



"Sarah is uniquely qualified to direct ATA's sales efforts based on her experience, contacts, and relationships in the Alaska visitor industry," says Chris Meier.



"This is a great opportunity to work with a Juneau-based company that shares my passion to deliver an exemplary Alaska vacation experience to hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world," says Lowell.



Sarah Lowell was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Although her position will require her to oversee sales of ATA's entire portfolio of diversified vacation products from Fairbanks to Ketchikan, Lowell plans to remain in Juneau. Lowell currently serves as President of the Juneau chapter of the Alaska Tourism Industry Association and is active in community projects.



Tor Wallen, a 15-year travel industry veteran brings a combination of operations and logistics experience to ATA's Skagway Director of Operations position. ATA's Skagway presence includes: Alaska Motorhome Rentals, Ship Creek RV Park, self-driven Hummer tours, a Stampede hike and eat tour, and the Liarsville Trail Camp and Salmon Bake.



"Tor is a welcome addition to our Skagway operation. I believe his experience in a multitude of disciplines will prove beneficial in leading our team members. We look forward to the leadership he will provide," said Meier.



Wallen has worked for several cruise and maritime security companies, including Princess Cruises and Tours, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Coast Cruise Line, Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska and American General Services.



"I am excited to join the hard working and innovative team at Alaska Travel Adventures. Their reputation as industry leaders in Alaska vacation travel is exemplary. I look forward to helping that continue," Wallen said.



Wallen was raised in Juneau and attended George Washington University where he worked for both President Clinton and Senator Joe Lieberman.





is one of Alaska's most diversified vacation travel companies. Founded nearly 40 years ago, ATA now employees a staff of 400 statewide to serve 200,000 customers throughout Alaska and Canada. ATA continues to be a leader in "soft" adventure travel. The company offers more than 30 excursions and vacation packages that include whale watching, canoeing, kayaking, river rafting, RV rentals, self-driving Jeep and Hummer tours, gold panning and salmon bakes.



Media Contact

Mary Dindinger

mdindinger@bestofalaskatravel.com Mary Dindinger End -- Today Alaska Travel Adventures (ATA) announced three new executive appointments. Mike Wallisch has been selected by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Dindinger to succeed Chris Meier as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO); ATA announced Meier's transition to the position of ATA President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in December 2016. Also newly appointed is Sarah Lowell, ATA's new Director of Sales, and Tor Wallen, who will be joining as Skagway Director of Operations."We are excited to have Mike join the ATA senior management team. His experience and credentials in the Alaska and Colorado visitor industry are a perfect match for ATA," said Alaska Travel Adventures CEO, Robert Dindinger.For 22 years Wallisch owned and operated Alaska Adventures Unlimited (AAU), a charter sport fishing business in Sitka before selling in 2015. Most recently he served as Senior Manager of Operations for Steamboat Resorts, a division of Wyndham Vacation Rentals in Steamboat Springs, Co."I look forward to helping ATA continue to provide their customers unparalleled vacation experiences. ATA's unique product mixture combined with their entrepreneurial spirit makes this an ideal career move," says Wallisch. "I have known the Alaska Travel Adventures management team for 25 years. I have found them to be knowledgeable, innovative and hard working people. I look forward to contributing to the culture of their company." Mike Wallisch is a Littleton, Co. native and University of San Diego graduate. He and his wife Syd plan to live full time in Juneau.ATA President, Chris Meier, remarks, "Mike has been a friend and highly respected industry colleague for many years. He is innately qualified to function as COO for ATA. We know Mike will also bring a fresh perspective both in terms of our current operations and future product developments. His experience with the cruise industry, and the Alaska visitor industry as a whole, is particularly advantageous."Sarah Lowell joins ATA as Director of Sales after an extensive career with Era Helicopters, where she most recently served as Juneau Base Manager."Sarah is uniquely qualified to direct ATA's sales efforts based on her experience, contacts, and relationships in the Alaska visitor industry," says Chris Meier."This is a great opportunity to work with a Juneau-based company that shares my passion to deliver an exemplary Alaska vacation experience to hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world," says Lowell.Sarah Lowell was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Although her position will require her to oversee sales of ATA's entire portfolio of diversified vacation products from Fairbanks to Ketchikan, Lowell plans to remain in Juneau. Lowell currently serves as President of the Juneau chapter of the Alaska Tourism Industry Association and is active in community projects.Tor Wallen, a 15-year travel industry veteran brings a combination of operations and logistics experience to ATA's Skagway Director of Operations position. ATA's Skagway presence includes: Alaska Motorhome Rentals, Ship Creek RV Park, self-driven Hummer tours, a Stampede hike and eat tour, and the Liarsville Trail Camp and Salmon Bake."Tor is a welcome addition to our Skagway operation. I believe his experience in a multitude of disciplines will prove beneficial in leading our team members. We look forward to the leadership he will provide," said Meier.Wallen has worked for several cruise and maritime security companies, including Princess Cruises and Tours, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Coast Cruise Line, Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska and American General Services."I am excited to join the hard working and innovative team at Alaska Travel Adventures. Their reputation as industry leaders in Alaska vacation travel is exemplary. I look forward to helping that continue," Wallen said.Wallen was raised in Juneau and attended George Washington University where he worked for both President Clinton and Senator Joe Lieberman. Alaska Travel Adventures is one of Alaska's most diversified vacation travel companies. Founded nearly 40 years ago, ATA now employees a staff of 400 statewide to serve 200,000 customers throughout Alaska and Canada. ATA continues to be a leader in "soft" adventure travel. The company offers more than 30 excursions and vacation packages that include whale watching, canoeing, kayaking, river rafting, RV rentals, self-driving Jeep and Hummer tours, gold panning and salmon bakes. Email : ***@bestofalaskatravel.com Tags : Alaska Travel Adventures , Alaska , Tourism , ATIA , Travel Industry , Alaska Highway Cruises , Alaska Motorhome Rentals , Whale Watching , Gold Creek Salmon Bake Industry : Tourism , Transportation , Travel Location : Juneau - Alaska - United States Subject : Executives Account Phone Number Disclaimer Report Abuse Account Email AddressAccount Phone Number Alaska Travel Adventures, Inc. News Alaska Travel Adventures Appoints New Company President


By: Meltzer Lippe Goldstein & Breitstone

Steve Israel and Lew Meltzer

Media Contact

Kathleen Caputi

kcaputi@epoch5.com Kathleen Caputi

End

-- Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP, one of Long Island's largest law firms, has announced the formation of Meltzer Lippe Strategies, a group designed to help clients navigate all levels of government. Former United States Congressman Steve Israel will act as senior strategic adviser, working with Lew Meltzer, Chairman of the Firm. Israel will not conduct lobbying activities.In defining the scope of Meltzer Lippe Strategies, Lew Meltzer explained, "Our keystone and specialty practice groups such as Tax, Corporate, Real Estate, Trusts & Estates, Labor & Employment, and Commercial Litigation are well positioned to serve the evolving needs of our clients. Adding the strategical expertise of Steve Israel, with his more than 25 years in the public service arena, brings a sophisticated strategic planning element to the government relations process that will benefit many of our clients."Steve Israel was a Member of Congress for 16 years and was widely respected on both sides of the aisle as a leading strategist. As one of only nine members in the House Democratic Leadership, he has a singularly behind-the-scenes understanding of how Washington officials think. He served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, House Armed Services Committee and House Financial Services Committee. His insights on how Congress operates appear regularly on CNN (where he is now a Political Commentator)as well as,60 Minutes," FoxNews, MSNBC and elsewhere."Over the years I have gained a profound respect for the Meltzer Lippe firm" said Steve Israel. "When Lew Meltzer indicated that he was interested in adding value to the firm to his clients who had needs in this area, I agreed that it was appropriate for me to take on that role. I will not be lobbying for clients, but I will advise them on understanding of current thinking and trends in Washington."In addition to his role at Meltzer Lippe, Steve Israel chairs the Global Institute at Long Island University where he will teach, write and host events about foreign policy and national security. Before his service in Washington, Steve served nearly ten years on the Huntington Town Council."Chief among the firm's goals is a deep understanding of our clients' businesses and therefore, their objectives and problems, says Meltzer. "We also do the things we believe our clients want."Meltzer Lippe is one of the largest law firms on Long Island. With offices in Mineola and Manhattan, the firm's practice encompasses all aspects of corporate and business law, tax law, employment and labor law, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint ventures, litigation, real estate, tax-exempt organizations, wills & trusts, estate planning & administration, construction law, employee benefits and executive compensation and government relations and regulatory affairs.Photo Caption:Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP, one of Long Island's largest law firms announced the formation of Meltzer Lippe Strategies, a group designed to help clients navigate all levels of government. Former United States Congressman Steve Israel (left) will act as senior strategic adviser, working with Lew Meltzer, Chairman of the Firm (right). Israel will not conduct lobbying activities.
Interis | BDO has signed a national contract with reDock for a 12-month term worth more than $73,000. reDock for Bids will roll out nationally across Canada.

Contact

Jamie Walker

Marketing Manager at reDock

***@redock.com Jamie WalkerMarketing Manager at reDock

End

-- Interis | BDO has signed a national contract with reDock for a 12-month term worth more than $73,000. reDock for Bids will roll out nationally across Canada to accelerate Interis | BDO Canada LLP Consulting Business Line operations. Interis has now been using reDock for Bids for more than three years, before and after the merger with BDO Canada LLP. With the new contract, reDock is being deployed to at least 10 Consulting Business Line regional offices with more than 50 new users.The concept of reDock was pitched as an invention by Pierre-Olivier Charlebois back in January 2014. We went from an idea, to a conceptual pilot, and finally, to a fully operational solution within two years. Over that timeframe, the reDock team has demonstrated an exceptional technical ability and complete understanding of our proposal preparation business problem. They have created a solution that has tremendously improved our RFP response efficiency and compliance. Now, more than 3 years in, I cannot see our team without reDock. It would be like going back to paper and pencilMarc Fournier, Partner, Advisory Services of Interis | BDO"Interis | BDO was the first firm to commit to reDock. Our deep engagement with their team has been instrumental in developing an RFP response and proposal software that catered to consulting organizations. We wish them continued success in growing their thriving practice." - Pierre-Olivier Charlebois, CEO & Founder of reDockSince its merger between Interis and BDO in 2013, Interis has continued to provide a full spectrum of services specializing in strategy and operations, transformation, and risk management. Coupled with BDO's national resources, and a strong foundation of serving public sector clients, Interis has further expanded its capabilities across Canada to help meet the evolving needs of its clients.BDO Canada LLP is a Chartered Accounting Firm founded over 90 years ago which has grown to more than 100 locations both nationally and internationally. BDO Canada LLP specializes in auditing & accounting, computer consulting, forensic accounting & litigation support, small business services, taxation, and consulting in business.reDock believes that truly great software should free people so they spend more time on the optimal use of their talents. Our RFP Software leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to extract meaningful corporate content into segments that can be repurposed to accelerate document creation and deliver winning business outcomes.reDock for Bids is a software service with a Customer Success model that accelerates your proposal process. We expertly use AI to contextually match RFP requirements with content that accurately defines work you've done, the people who did the work, and how they did the work.
Rising rental income and continued low interest expenses meant that earnings from property management increased by 11 per cent in comparison with the previous year. Growth in value continued both in the management portfolio and through the major projects during the quarter. After take-overs and changes in vale, property value

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Cushman & Wakefield has renewed and rebranded its exclusive arrangement with Forton as its affiliate in Bulgaria and Macedonia. The formal affiliate appointment follows the 2015 global merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ. Forton has been Cushman & Wakefields partner since 2006. From today, Forton will rebrand as Cushman

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The countries bordering the Mediterranean Seafrom Algeria to Egypt in North Africa; from Israel to Syria in the Levant; and Turkey, Greece, and Italy in Europeare facing unprecedented stress. A former lieutenant with the Italian Navy is now a RAND Europe researcher, working to help others appreciate the scope of the crisis in the Mediterranean.

The boat has become a symbol of the crisis in the Mediterranean: a creaky fishing boat, maybe, or a sagging rubber raft, crowded with refugees seeking a better life on a new shore.

It's a powerful symbol, a marker for the thousands of men, women, and children who have died in recent years taking that risk. But it's only one part of a crisis that now stretches across the Sahara Desert, through the lawless towns of North Africa, deep into organized crime rings in Europe.

Border patrols can't stop it. Rescue missions can't solve it. The problems facing the region, an ongoing RAND initiative shows, reach far deeper than Western governments have been willing to acknowledge. And that means fixing them will require reaching deeper still.

It came from the frustration of seeing how oversimplified the problem was being presented, said Giacomo Persi Paoli, a researcher with RAND Europe who led the project. The problems are so deeply interconnected that we can't solve them with this firefighting approach, putting out one fire at a time.

He speaks from experience.

A Man with a Mission

It was dusk when the boat first appeared as a blip on the radar screen off the coast of Libya. On board the Italian naval frigate where Persi Paoli was a lieutenant, an emergency buzzer clanged as the captain ordered all hands on deck.

Persi Paoli could see hundreds of arms waving and reaching for help as the old wooden fishing boat came into view, rolling on the waves. He and his shipmates saved 400 lives that night, the first of what would be half a dozen rescue missions in which he participated. He remembers just hoping the little boat would stay afloat long enough as the waves pounded against its ragged hull.

Photo by Mark Ellis

You could really tell that without you, these people wouldn't have seen the light of the next day, he says now. We were desperately looking for these people, because we knew they were out therewomen, kidsand they needed help.

More than 5,000 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean last year, the deadliest on record. They came from the shelled neighborhoods of Syria, the desperate villages of Eritrea and Gambia. Somalia lost so many people to the sea that a warning began to make the rounds of Twitter there: #DhimashoHaGadan, or Don't Buy Death.

That's what people see on the nightly news: the bodies washed ashore, the crowded migrant camps, the boats. But Persi Paoli, who left the Italian Navy in late 2013 and joined RAND as a research leader specializing in national security, wanted to widen the lens. He called the project the Mediterranean Foresight Forum.

Follow the Money

The researchers traced the roots of the crisis back to the shattered promise of the Arab Spring and the cratered cities of Syria and Libya, but also to European capitals too divided to act. They mapped the smuggling routes that now crisscross Africa and the Middle East, and then followed the moneybillions of dollars every yearto criminal networks flourishing in North Africa and Southern Europe.

They showed that what may have once been many individual threats to the stability of the region have now merged, creating a cycle of unrest that feeds back on itself. In Libya alone, for example, the same black markets that provide fake passports and flimsy boats to migrants can also deliver hashish to European drug dealers and shoulder-fired missiles to Syrian fighters.

Poverty in West Africa, unrest in North Africa, and the terrorist threat of ISIS can no longer be treated as unrelated challenges.

The grinding poverty of West Africa, the unrest of North Africa, and the terrorist threat of ISIS can no longer be treated as unrelated challenges, the researchers concluded. Those problems now all seem to literally spill into the Mediterranean Sea, they wrote, threatening the security and stability of the two continents that share its shores. The future of Europe has become inextricably linked by sea to the future of the Middle East and North Africa.

All of these pieces get reported on, but nobody really weaves them together, says Michael McNerney, a senior researcher at RAND, where he serves as associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center. We need to look at the big picture, because if these problems continue to destabilize Europe and the region, that could be devastating for U.S. interests.

The crisis is getting worse, he added. But there is no one stepping up, offering resources or saying, 'We need to radically reconsider what we're doing.'

The Immediate Need for a Long-Term Strategy

The United States, Europe, and NATO need to begin sharing intelligence in a way they have not managed since the migrant crisis began. They need to put more ships into the Mediterranean, more security agents at the border. But they also need to take an active rolethrough trade deals, for examplein stabilizing countries like Tunisia before they get pulled into the exodus.

The response from Europe and the United States has so far been too little, and too late. What should have been rapid, robust engagement has often been more of a cautious voyage of discovery, the researchers wrote in one of a series of recent reports. They suggested a diplomatic surge as a practical first step, to bring the nations of Europe, the United States, and NATO together to hammer out a single, unified strategy to address the crisis.

The response from Europe and the United States has been too little, too late.

From across the Atlantic, the security and stability of the Mediterranean region might seem like a European problem, they noted. But what happens therefrom Syria to Egypt to the beaches of Libyahas a direct impact on the security and interests of the United States. That should add some urgency to Department of Defense planning.

The scale of the problem is unprecedented, Persi Paoli said. You can't think of solving it just by managing the immediate crisis. It's long term. But if you don't start doing something, you won't get any closer. In ten years, we'll still be talking about the need for a long-term strategy.

In Search of Safety and Stability

It's been a few years since he was out there, scanning the horizon for the next boat. The enormity of what he saw still comes to him in unexpected moments: the people reaching from the water, the refugees huddled on deck. It was a reminder, as he worked on the Mediterranean Foresight Forum, of the stakes involved: not just the safety and stability of two continents, but the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who have made the journey, and thousands more who have yet to start.

When my daughter was born and I held her in my arms, that's when it really hit me, he said. There were pregnant women on those boats that we rescued. There were small children. They were people that, because of us, at least had a chance.

Somewhere in North Africa or Syria, there are parents who are having to go through that, just to give their children that chance.

 Doug Irving
The founder and chairman of Persian language satellite network GEM TV has been shot dead in Istanbul.





Saeed Karimian, 45, was seemingly assassinated along with his Kuwaiti business partner in the Maslak area of the Turkish city on 29 April.The Hurriyet Daily News reported that two masked gunmen got out of a Jeep before opening fire on Karimian and his associate. The car was later abandoned and burned.GEM TV can be received in Iran, where satellite TV is popular despite it being illegal. Its policy of airing dubbed or subtitled Western films, documentaries and series has received criticism in the republic.Karimian had previously been tried in absentia by a Tehran court and sentenced to six years in prison for spreading propaganda against Iran and the Islamic Republic.GEM TV, initially established in 2001 in London, is now headquartered in Dubai and uses the Hotbird and Yahsat satellites to reach audiences across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Europe. Its Facebook page confirmed the passing of its founder and chairman with great sorrow, describing Karimian as a great man who with a pure and kind spirit spent his life with honesty and sincerity for dignity of Iran.The network broadcasts 17 Persian language channels, as well as one each in Kurdish, Azeri and Arabic. Its programming includes Americas Got Talent, The X Factor and Turkish TV series such as Magnificent Century, Kuzey Guney and Merhamet.
After a six-month beta testing phase, the LiveTree.com rewards-based social crowdfunding site, designed for developing and marketing creative video content, has now begun operation.





Focusing on Web series, shorts, features, documentaries and any creative project with a social benefit, LiveTree provides funding, marketing and access to relevant partners. Unlike other crowdfunding models, the platform helps maximise a projects reach and potential via so-called branchers, who use their own networks to help promote concepts to potential investors, bloggers and the wider creative community. Anyone who shares a project via this branch out model earns percentage rewards when someone in their network funds it. LiveTree also encourages institutions and industry partners to help market projects by dedicating a percentage of the funds they raise to a non-profit organisation.Within its first six months, LiveTree has built an online community of more than 10,000 investors and has raised some 150,000. It is presently expanding by a factor of two every month.The project is the brainchild of Ashley Turing (pictured), a tech entrepreneur and consultant whose previous roles have included advising tier-one investment banks on data artificial intelligence for regulatory risk, launching an online gaming company in Switzerland and working with the founder of Winamp, and Microsoft I founded LiveTree to empower people online, while helping independents and charities. LiveTree uses commercial and technological creativity to fund grass-roots creativity, Turing explained. It also brings best practice in technology, social purpose and democratic rewards to the creative industries. Our objective is to harness social-community networks to generate the financial backing needed to bring many different types of creative projects to fruition. Our branch out model, by giving access to millions of potential backers, supporters and influencers, offers an effective, low-cost route to creative success.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged the European Union to open talks on aspects of Turkey's bid to join the EU, warning that otherwise Ankara would have nothing to discuss with the bloc and would say "goodbye."

Erdogan's comments came after EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on May 2 that Turkey under Erdogan has turned its back on joining the EU.

Erdogan made the remarks during a ceremony in Ankara to celebrate his return to membership of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"From now on there is no option other than opening the chapters you have not yet opened," Erdogan said.

He said that if the EU did not open those chapters -- a reference to specific aspects of the accession process -- then "goodbye."

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on May 2 that Erdogan planned to meet with top EU officials on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels later in the month.

Erdogan previously confirmed that he would attend the May 24-25 NATO summit.

Erdogan has been at the helm of Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and, since 2014, as president.

Erdogan's rejoining of the ruling AKP follows his narrow victory in last month's referendum boosting the powers of the president.

Most of the constitutional changes approved in the April 16 referendum will take effect after the November 2019 election.

But an amendment that reverses a requirement for the president to be nonpartisan and cut ties with his or her party came into effect immediately, allowing Erdogan to return to the AKP.

The party is expected to reelect Erdogan as its chairman at an extraordinary congress on May 21.

Tension between Erdogan and the EU was already high because of European concerns that he was trampling on rights and punishing opponents in a clampdown after a failed coup attempt against him in July 2016.

Those strains increased during the campaign for the referendum, when Turkey clashed with several countries that hindered his efforts to rally support for the constitutional changes among Turks living abroad.

Erdogan labeled the actions of some Western leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as "fascist" and accused them of behaving like "Nazis" after Turkish government officials were prevented from campaigning in favor of the referendum among the Turks living abroad.

Turkey applied to become a member of European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, in 1987 and opened membership negotiations with the EU in 2005.

But progress has been slow, with 16 out of 35 negotiations chapters opened and only one chapter completed.

Accession negotiations have effectively come to a halt after Erdogan's government instituted a state of emergency following the failed coup attempt.

The state of emergency, which is still in force, has allowed the Turkish government to rule by decree. More than 47,000 people have been arrested and 100,000 have been purged from the police, army, and other institutions for alleged connections to terrorist organizations.

In November, the European Parliament put negotiations with Turkey on hold over human-rights and rule-of-law concerns, though the move was not binding. In December, the EU said it would open no new areas in Turkey's membership talks in the "prevailing circumstances."

In a debate at the European Parliament on May 2, the author of the parliament's annual report on Turkey called on the EU to suspend the accession process for Turkey if the constitutional changes backed in the referendum are implemented without changes.

Kati Piri, a Dutch social democrat, said that with "such a constitution it is clear that Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union.

During his speech on May 2, Erdogan also touched upon the situation in Syria, saying he would discuss possible operations in Syria's Manbij and Raqqa with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an official visit to Russia on May 3, and with U.S. President Donald Trump later this month.

He also said Turkey would not allow Kurdish militant groups to achieve their goals in northern Syria.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy.

Relations between Ankara and Washington have recently been strained over U.S. support for the YPG in the fight against the Islamic State extremist group in Syria.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels, Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa
Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine.

But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown.



The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes  dual-use technology.

The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case.

The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war.

At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products.

But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States.



A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers.

These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components.

The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China.

Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU.

"Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24.

"Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

Chinese Cameras, California Chips

Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets.

Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media.

"The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019.

The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components.

One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone.

Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers.

Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military."

The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology.

Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone.

Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication.

Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone.

Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran."

"TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said.

Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions.

"This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

'No Authorization'

Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP).

The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia."

"As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. .

But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020.

The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries.

The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine.

BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward."

The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes.

"For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations."

BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines."

Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
Initially being piloted in UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany, Apollos Truck and Bus Radial Tyres (TBR) range will also be expanded to other European markets. These tyres have been specially designed and tested for European customers and was on display at the Commercial Vehicle Show held from 25- 27th April 2017 at the National Exhibition Centre(NEC) in Birmingham.

Apollo Tyres is the first and to date, the only manufacturer to launch an entire TBR range online with a new go-to-market approach. The new range of TBR tyres has been tested over 250 million kms and across 6 European countries, proving successful over a wide variety of applications by 50 fleets and drivers.

The Apollo range of TBR tyres exudes quality, reliability and performance and outperforms others in the market. It is presented through online platform ApolloTyresDirect.com thereby offering complete transparent pricing and is without hidden costs or complex deals. Devoid of ancillary expenses, makes these tyres more cost efficient directly from the company to customers.

This launch today, is the culmination of our five-year testing and development programme for the Apollo brand of truck-bus radials in the UK and Europe. Streamlining the process was paramount to the success of this project. We are finding new ways to provide premium tyres how and when our customers need them, whether directly to the end user or providing new service opportunities for dealers. And of course, even though we are completely online, our Customer Service teams are always available to help customers, wherever they may be, says Benoit Rivallant, Group Head of Global Product Management for Commercial Vehicles, Apollo Tyres.

Photo Caption: Left to Right: Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman & MD, Apollo Tyres Ltd; Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd; and, Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, placing a time capsule at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the greenfield plant in Hungary.

Apollo Tyres has a total of 6 manufacturing plants across the globe. The company recently inaugurated a state of the art Greenfield factory in Hungary and four R&D centers at various locations across the world. The Hungary plant was built at an investment of 475 million Euros (INR 3,460 crores). This unit has the capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car tyres and light truck tyres along with 675,000 commercial vehicle tyres in its first phase.

News Release
On the direction of Uttar Pradesh Govt, a Special Task Force (STF) conducted raids on several petrol pumps in the city of Lucknow. What was unearthed post the raid, was a multi-crore state-wide petrol pump scam. Yes. The 13 petrol pumps which were caught, had installed a remote controlled chip in the fuel pump machines.

What this chip used to do, is when it was activated, it would deliver lesser fuel as against what is shown on the fuel meter reading. So, a consumer would as to fill a liter of petrol, but what he or she was really getting was 900 ml, despite the meter showing 1 liter. This means, in the city of Lucknow alone, such petrol pumps were looting citizens by more than INR 15 lakh ever day.

Speaking about the fraud going on in UP, an officer from the STF stated  A chip is inserted into these fuel dispensing machines mother boards that quickens the pulse rate for fuel dispensing. These can be remotely controlled. So when they are dispensing fuel to consumers, they are switched on, and when there are checks by authority, the switch is turned off.

One of the petrol pump manager who has been arrested stated  I used to switch on the remote myself each morning. When there were checks by the oil company, the remotes were switched off.

The STF caught the one of the person associated with installing this remote-controlled chip, and found out that he has managed to sell such a chip to thousands of petrol pump stations across the state of Uttar Pradesh. In all, there are about 6,000 petrol pump stations in UP. This means that the STF needs to carry out more searches, across the state. But, there is one problem. The petrol pumps across the city of Lucknow, have now gone on strike. Why? They do not want the govt to interfere, and conduct raids.

The decision to go on strike is reportedly taken after 3 petrol pumps owned by the Chief of UP Petrol Pump Association, Mr B N Shukla were raided and locked down by STF for installing the chip. As one of our reader, Mr Sabharwal rightly puts,  Petrol Pumps in Lucknow are on strike because government is running inspections. So its like all the students opposing the examination because of the presence of invigilator in the room.

On top of this, there is now a report which states that there is a petrol pump in Lucknow which disappeared overnight. So heres what happened. The owner of the petrol pump got to know that they are going to be raided by the STF team. Before the STF team arrived, the owner of the petrol pump managed to dislodge all the fuel dispensing machines and hid them in a storage vault. He then closed the petrol pump and put up a board saying  Under Renovation.
The new court order, banning sale of BSIII vehicles in the country, which came into effect in April 2017, resulted in a hefty inventory of unsold stocks. One of the largest vehicle manufacturer in the country, Tata Motors reveals that they have over 18,000 units of vehicles  15,000 in their stockyard, and remaining 3,000 with their dealers, reveals Reuters.

Though it is going to be a difficult move forward, in order to sell this unsold stock, Tata Motors plans on export of some of these stocks over the next 4-6 months with the balance stocks to be converted to BS IV technology.

Even as the new order came into effect from 1st April 2017, it has been proposed since 2015 citing the urgent need to bring in less polluting vehicles. However, automakers argue that the order did not propose banning sale of older technology vehicles in the country on the same date. This has led to huge financial losses for companies leaving them with unsold stocks.

According to research firm Crisil, the ban on sale of BS III vehicles has resulted to losses worth INR 2,500 crores for commercial vehicle manufacturers in the country while two wheeler makes have also suffered manifold losses. Manufacturers were of the opinion that the govt would allow them to sell the unsold stock, as was the case during previous transitions (BS2 to BS3). But this time, govt had different plans. They stated that from 1st April no BS3 vehicle will be allowed to be sold in the country.

Some automakers such as Toyota and Bajaj stalled production of BS III vehicles well ahead of the ban and hence do not suffer from accumulated stocks. However, others understood that the ban was only on manufacture of BS III vehicles and not on sales and hence have to face such a dilemma. The Supreme Court has gone ahead with the ban stating that details of the ban were very clear from the start and that public health took precedence over piling stocks.

Indias most powerful truck
Men need more frequent lung cancer screening than women, according to research presented at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC).

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening for lung cancer with low dose computed tomography (CT) in adults aged 55 to 80 years who have a 30 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years.

"Less frequent screening would reduce radiation exposure but previous studies of longer screening intervals produced varied results," said lead author Dr Mi-Young Kim, a radiologist at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. "This may have been caused by differences in the clinical and radiological presentation of lung cancer in women and men."

This study investigated sex differences in newly developed lung cancer and calculated the optimal CT screening intervals for women and men. The study retrospectively included 46,766 patients who underwent chest CT screening at Asan Medical Center between January 2000 and February 2016. During the study period, 282 patients developed lung cancer. Of these, 186 patients were diagnosed from the initial CT scan and were excluded from the study, while 96 patients (85 men, 11 women) were diagnosed from subsequent CT scans and were included in the study.

In the 96 patients, the researchers analysed the CT screening intervals and the stage and pathology of lung cancer when it was diagnosed, to see if there were any sex differences.

The average time between lung cancer being diagnosed on CT and the previous CT scan was significantly longer in women (5.6 years) than in men (3.6 years). However, the lung cancer stage at diagnosis was higher in men: 82% of lung cancers diagnosed in women were stage I compared to just 49% in men.

Pathological analyses showed that solid nodule (72%) was the most common finding in men, while ground glass opacity nodule (45%) was the most common in women. In men, adenocarcinoma was the most common type (42%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (35%), small cell lung cancer (18%), and others (5%). All women patients had adenocarcinoma.

Kim said: "Because ground glass opacity nodule is the most common feature of lung cancer in women and all cases are adenocarcinoma, the growth rate of cancers might be low. Most female patients were non-smokers (82%), who have a lower risk of lung cancer, while 87% of men were smokers. We included all patients screened for lung cancer in a 17-year period, but the number of women patients was low and further studies are needed to confirm the sex differences we found."

She concluded: "Our study suggests that the annual follow-up interval for CT is too frequent for women, and scans every 2-3 years might be suitable. By reducing the number of unnecessary CT scans, we can decrease radiation exposure and increase cost effectiveness."

Commenting on the significance of the research, Dr Pilar Garrido, head of the Thoracic Tumour Section of the Medical Oncology Department at Ramon y Cajal University Hospital, Madrid, Spain, said: "Lung cancer is the most common cancer globally, but debate about the optimal screening strategy is ongoing and current selection criteria are based only on age and pack-years. Several studies have highlighted that lung cancer has different features in women compared with men, thereby defining a different entity in female patients."

"Cancer incidence is expected to increase in the future, further straining limited healthcare resources," continued Garrido. "Personalised screening strategies, such as a gender approach, could be a way to optimise results and allocate resources appropriately."

She concluded: "The benefits, harms and feasibility of implementing gender-based lung cancer screening policies should be assessed and compared with those of current recommendations. The rate of non-smoking lung cancer is different between men and women and varies among countries. This should be taken into account when considering a gender-based lung cancer screening policy."
Researchers from Italy and Portugal describe yet another new sauropod species from 150 million years ago, from Wyoming, USA.

The new species, Galeamopus pabsti, is the most recent dinosaur to be described by paleontologists from the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Turin, Italy; the Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and the Museum of Lourinha in Portugal. This Jurassic dinosaur was originally excavated in 1995 by a Swiss team, led by Hans-Jakob "Kirby" Siber and Ben Pabst, in Wyoming, in the United States and is the latest in a series of new discoveries by the paleontologists Emanuel Tschopp and Octavio Mateus, which started in 2012 with Kaatedocus siberi. The paper describing the new species was published online in the open access scientific journal PeerJ on Tuesday, May 2.

Galeamopus pabsti is similar to the famous dinosaur Diplodocus, but with more massive legs, and a particularly high and triangular neck close to the head. It is the second species of the genus Galeamopus to be shown to be different to Diplodocus by the same researchers (the first being published in 2015, in a paper which also reinstated the brontosaurus as a distinct genus). The new species is dedicated to Ben Pabst, who found the skeleton, and prepared it for mounting at the Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland, where it is one of the main attractions of the permanent exhibit.

Diplodocid sauropods are among the most iconic dinosaurs. With their greatly elongated necks and tails, they represent the typical body shape of sauropods. Species of this group occur also in Africa, South America, and Europe, but the highest diversity is known from the USA: more than 15 species of these gigantic animals are known from there, also including the famous Brontosaurus. Researchers are still baffled by this high diversity of giants, and are continuing their studies to understand how such a diversity could be maintained by the ecosystem in which they lived.
The rift in the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica now has a second branch, which is moving in the direction of the ice front, Swansea University researchers revealed after studying the latest satellite data.

The main rift in Larsen C, which is likely to lead to one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, is currently 180 km long. The new branch of the rift is 15 km long.

Last year, researchers from the UK's Project Midas, led by Swansea University, reported that the rift was growing fast. Now, just 20km of ice is keeping the 5,000 sq km piece from floating away.

Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University College of Science, head of Project Midas, described the latest findings, "While the previous rift tip has not advanced, a new branch of the rift has been initiated. This is approximately 10km behind the previous tip, heading towards the ice-front.

This is the first significant change to the rift since February of this year. Although the rift length has been static for several months, it has been steadily widening, at rates in excess of a metre per day.

It is currently winter in Antarctica, therefore direct visual observations are rare and low resolution. Our observations of the rift are based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry from ESA's Sentinel-1 satellites. Satellite radar interferometry allows a very precise monitoring of the rift development."

Researchers say the loss of a piece a quarter of the size of Wales will leave the whole shelf vulnerable to future break-up. Larsen C is approximately 350m thick and floats on the seas at the edge of West Antarctica, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

Professor Luckman said, "When it calves, the Larsen C Ice Shelf will lose more than 10% of its area to leave the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded; this event will fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

We have previously shown that the new configuration will be less stable than it was prior to the rift, and that Larsen C may eventually follow the example of its neighbour Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 following a similar rift-induced calving event.
William Shakespeare wrote with a quill, Helen Keller liked her typewriter, and the oval squid prefers to use its body, when it comes to expressing love. But unlike these famous authors, the romanticisms of Sepioteuthis lessoniana were unknown. Until now.

Recent research out of the National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), and published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, has finally deciphered the previously unknown symbols and shapes the oval squid decorates itself in, and how they are used.

The animals make use of naturally occurring chromatic components, which are stored within their bodies. They use these to paint their skin with lines, spots and stripes, of varying shades and complexities, to signal their desirability to future lovers and warn off potential foes. Researchers, led by Prof Chiao, took to the East China Sea, near the city of Taipei, to study the oval squid in the wild. Underwater they built an attractive home, made of bamboo branches and leaves, to provide the female oval squid a safe place to nest, lay their eggs, and provide shelter to hatchlings.

Over the course of three months scuba divers recorded the movements and displays of the gathering squid, looking for repeating patterns of tone change between mating partners. Amazingly they also observed the underwater show included elegant and specific movements that varied depending on the gender and social status.

For instance, should two males get into a fight over a possible partner, then they will swim around each other, vying for the higher position. The conclusion of this "dance" is when the winner literally ends up on top of the loser. He cements this victory with a strong visual display, broadcasting his success to all, including his future mate. The loser is not completely defeated however as he can still have a chance to fertilize some of the female's eggs, all be it outside of her egg laying period. In a rapid movement which the researchers termed "male-upturned mating," the squid will approach above her, flip himself upside down, place his sperm and scoot away, passing on his genes to the next generation.

Female oval squid are polyandrous, meaning that they will, during their egg laying period, take multiple males to be their mate. Like the fighting males, they too will use expressive patterns to determine possible partners. A dark pattern on her body indicates a rejection of the pursing male's advances.

In total, the researchers found five common behavior patterns with their own intricate movements and tone signals, and which are also dependent on an individual squid's standing in the group. This intricate language of patterns, movements and associated behaviors have been compiled into an "ethogram" (a dictionary of a species' communication methods) which will assist in future behavioral studies, not just in these expressive cephalopods, but in other species too.

In time, we may come to understand the exact meanings in the symbols the romantic oval squid adorns on its body. But until then, we will have to make do with the sonnets of Shakespeare to make our partner swoon.
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One thing ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) took advantage of in 2014, when they captured over a thousand of Iraqi Army vehicles, was to use the several dozen (at least) armored trucks they had captured as combat vehicles. These were American 6x6 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) vehicles that weigh over 14 tons. The U.S. Marine Corps bought over 10,000 between 2005 and 2011 and one of the export customers was Iraq. The MTVRs in Iraq often had the optional armor kit, which made the truck bullet and shell fragment proof. The armor kit included adding a machine-gun mount and bullet proof glass as well as strengthening the suspension and other mechanical components to handle the several tons of weight. In some respects armored MTVRs were more useful to ISIL than MRAPs (bomb proof armored trucks) because the MTVRs required less fuel and were faster on road and more stable off-road.

ISIL also copied the improvised truck armor American troops used after 2003 for several years before MRAPS and trucks with factory installed armor arrived. Many of these armored trucks were simply given to the Iraqi security forces as American troops left as the U.S. military didnt need all of them. ISIL certainly found them useful for moving quickly about on roads (paved or otherwise) and making surprise attacks on Iraqi forces. The ISIL armored trucks were vulnerable to light anti-armor weapons like RPGs and Western equivalents. Hellfire missiles would also knock them out but because MTVRs had additional armor for the drivers compartment, putting a Hellfire into the armored cargo area would probably disable the vehicle and destroy everything in the cargo compartment, but the two or three in the drivers cab would probably survive.

ISIL also used these armored trucks for suicide truck bombs. This way the suicide bomber could literally barge into a heavily guarded target (usually a walled compound with only a few vehicle access points) and detonate tons of explosives once inside. This was becoming increasingly difficult as local security forces adopted defensive measures developed by the Americans and Israelis. In some parts of Syria and Iraq warplanes were told to attack any of these armored trucks they saw moving, especially if they were painted in the garish color schemes ISIL favored.
Popular Anime/Hentai Torrents Website NYAA Down: Here Are Top Anime Torrent Site Alternatives

We reported about the worlds popular Anime/Hentai torrent download website, NYAA being shut down.

The NYAA admin has confirmed our worst fears! They said that they had shut down the website in response to certain court proceedings which could have hurt them.

They have clarified that the shutdown of NYAA was their own decision and not a result of some form of internal subversion or engagement by government or legal entities. They have also confirmed that NYAA will never be revived again.

The Anime/Hentai lovers community was left flabbergasted to hear the news of NYAA being closed down.

To help them find good quality substitute anime/hentai torrent download websites, we have collated information from different websites including Reddit. Here are some top anime/hentai download torrent websites so that your anime and hentai download needs go on uninterrupted.

Nyaa.se users are looking for Nyaa alternatives and can join anime torrent sites like BakaBT, HorribleSubs and Tokyo Toshokan. HorribleSubs, in fact, recommends that anime/hentai lovers can use magnet links for all Nyaa torrents on their website.

ALSO READ: 10 Best Anime Torrent Websites

Best Nyaa alternative sites:

Nyaa mirror websites:

nyaa.pantsu.cat

(Nyaa replacement /mirror by former NyaaTorrents moderation staff)

(Nyaa replacement /mirror by former NyaaTorrents moderation staff) AcgnX Torrent

(full Nyaa archive without Sukebei torrents)

Nyaa Sukebei alternatives (hentai/JAV, h-games):

Oppaitime (private torrent tracker)

JAVjunkies

OneJAV

Nyaa Sukebei mirror:

NSFW Nyaa (18+) content can be found on sukebei.nyaa.se

Unblock Nyaa Torrents

If Nyaa torrents or its alternatives are not opening for you there are strong chances that it is blocked by your ISP following some legal/government orders.

You can use VPN or proxy sites to get Nyaa unblocked in such cases. VPNs are also recommended to keep maintain your privacy as law agencies in many countries have recently started tracking users who download pirated content using torrent sites.

Find out additional ways to unblock torrenting sites

How To Download Torrent Files?

To download files using torrent, simply download the torrent file from any torrent site and open it in a torrent client.

You can find torrent clients for windows and mac from the link provided below

Is Torrenting Legal?

In principle, Torrenting is legal. However, if you are downloading and redistributing copyrighted content then its an illegal activity.

In fact, the copyright holder may even take legal actions against you. This comes under the category of pirated content.

That said, if you are sharing non-copyrighted content then Torrenting is completely legal.

Lastly, if you are looking for some legal websites to watch Anime then do check out Best Websites To Watch Anime Online.
Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems. Its Defense Systems segment designs, develops, and produces weapons and mission systems. It offers products and services, such as integrated battle management systems, weapons systems and aircraft, and mission systems. This segment also provides command and control and weapons systems, including munitions and missiles; precision strike weapons; propulsion, such as air-breathing and hypersonic systems; gun systems and precision munitions; life cycle service and support for software, weapons systems, and aircraft; and logistics support, sustainment, operation, and modernization for air, sea, and ground systems. The company's Mission Systems segment offers cyber, command, control, communications and computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; radar, electro-optical/infrared and acoustic sensors; electronic warfare systems; advanced communications and network systems; cyber solutions; intelligence processing systems; navigation; and maritime power, propulsion, and payload launch systems. This segment also provides airborne multifunction sensors; maritime/land systems and sensors; navigation, targeting, and survivability solutions; and networked information solutions. Its Space Systems segment offers satellites and payloads; ground systems; missile defense systems and interceptors; launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; and strategic missiles. The company was founded in 1939 and is based in Falls Church, Virginia.
LAVAL, QUE. Shareholders in Valeant Pharmaceuticals used the company's annual general meeting Tuesday as a forum to vent their frustrations at lingering issues that have dragged down their investment in the drugmaker.

CEO Joseph Papa heard from investors who said they were unhappy with several issues that have plagued Valeant, such as its low share price and an insufficient response to negative media coverage.

"Last year I was very angry, very upset and frustrated at what happened to the company," said one shareholder at the company's headquarters in Laval, north of Montreal.

Read more:New Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO got $63 million in compensation

The grumbling came after Papa said Valeant is making progress to stabilize itself after nearly two years of challenges, including a stock price that has plummeted from nearly $350 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in August 2015 to almost as low as $10.

In late afternoon trading Tuesday, its shares climbed for a second day in a row, gaining about seven per cent at $14.15.

Papa said he understands why shareholders are upset, adding that he believes Valeant's stock doesn't reflect its value because of legacy issues including its massive debt.

After spending the past year cutting $3.6 billion U.S. from its $32 billion debt, Papa said the meeting marks the first day of a new era for Valeant.

"I believe we can turn this around," he later told reporters.

Still, Papa warned it's not a simple process and he expects a couple of years will be required to repair the business and improve its financial results.

He said he remains committed to cutting Valeant's debt by $5 billion through non-core asset sales and operational results by February. The company is targeting up to $8 billion worth of asset sales by that date. It has delivered $2.7 billion so far.

After refinancing its obligations, Papa said the company has "the luxury of some time" to use its auction processes to gain the best price.

Reducing debt is one of Valeant's biggest challenges but Papa said he would like to get it down to between $15 billion and $20 billion over several years.

Papa also told shareholders he is still examining the possibility of changing the company's name given the negative perception surrounding it, something he first mused about last year.

We have thought about our name, Papa said. We are looking at the alternatives. He cited the bad publicity the company has experienced as a consideration.

No final decision had been made but the company was very serious in considering the idea, Papa said.

With files from Bloomberg

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OTTAWACanadas export bank is doubling its growth forecast this year, a sign it doesnt expect U.S. President Donald Trump to upend globalization of trade.

Export Development Canada (EDC), in its spring 2017 report Tuesday, forecast the total value of Canadian goods and service exports to rise 6 per cent in 2017 and 5 per cent in 2018, buoyed by energy and aerospace. Shipments of metals and ores are also expected to rise significantly. The federal corporations previous report, released last fall, forecast 3 per cent export growth for the current year.

The report titled Globalization at the Brink? is a nod to the headwinds Canada faces from Trump, amid looming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and disputes over lumber and dairy rules. However, it concludes strength from the U.S., Europe and in developing markets creates an opening for exporters willing to shrug off the Trump factor.

Read more:

Canada delivers third-straight monthly trade surplus

Lumber may only be the beginning of Trumps trade tiffs with Canada

What Donald Trumps anti-Canada rant means: Walkom

The opportunity for our companies is to stay around the table while everyone else is running scared, Peter Hall, EDC vice-president and chief economist, said in an interview. In the U.S., positive signs include key demographic groups re-entering the labour force as industrial capacity tightens, while growth is catching on, too, in Europe.

Were not going to counsel Canadian firms to do crazy things, but weve had no reason to really depart from the story weve been telling, Hall said. We are a financial institution saying, look, there are opportunities here.

EDC also forecasts Canadian gross domestic product to grow 2.4 per cent this year and 2.2 per cent in 2018, above the developed-markets average but trailing U.S. growth in that period.

Canadas expected export growth in 2017 will be driven largely by an 18-per-cent increase in the value of energy exports, in part due to a return to normal volumes after wildfires near Albertas oilsands last year, the report said.

The 2018 increase is due in large part to aerospace  namely, Bombardier Inc.s C Series airplane, Hall said. The program has received cash injections from both the Quebec and Canadian governments and is now the subject of an anti-dumping allegation from Boeing Co.

Total global GDP is forecast to grow at 3.5 per cent in 2017 and 3.8 per cent in 2018  strong figures at odds with protectionist political sentiment. GDP growth in emerging markets is projected to reach 5 per cent in 2018, led by India at 7.6 per cent, EDC said.

Ultimately, the dissenting votes are about making the economy great again  and thats now happening, all on its own, Hall wrote in the report. Economic data shows growth, jobs and continued expansion are already coming down the pipe despite threats to globalization and trade, the report said. But if that risk is ultimately unlikely, this could be one of the greatest moments of opportunity in the new millennium.

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When you buy a product or service, you agree to a set of terms and conditions that you expect to be honoured.

I often hear about companies that fail to follow their own contract rules. Customers may climb the corporate ladder with a complaint and still get no relief, as these stories show.

Mexican hotel charged for room not used

Joanne Clarke and her husband took six family members to the Grand Sunset Princess resort in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico, from Dec. 25, 2016, to Jan. 1, 2017.

In early February, she wrote to the CEO of Sunwing Vacations, outlining problems they encountered (such as rude hotel staff and lack of promised amenities).

I never got a response, she said. The main problem is that were owed $500 for a room we rented on our last day at the resort. It was already occupied and we couldnt use it.

The family had rented four rooms on Jan. 1 from noon (checkout time) until 6 p.m. (pickup time), but only three rooms were free. The front desk manager could not find another room, but said hed reimburse them for the cost.

Clarke tried to get an immediate refund posted to her credit card. She was told the hotel manager had to approve the transaction and wasnt working that day.

We contacted the hotel many times, but the staff always had a different excuse as to why they couldnt refund the money, she said on March 30.

Our travel agent at the Flight Centre also made many attempts. The hotel now says that tax laws dont allow them to refund money out of the country.

We spent $20,000 to take our family to the resort and I refuse to pay them $500 for a room we didnt get.

Rachel Goldrick, a spokesperson for the large Canadian-owned travel company, said Sunwing only heard about the dispute in late March. (Clarkes letter must have gone astray.)

Because of a discrepancy between what the hotel offered and what Clarke said was wrongly charged, Sunwing Vacations had to check the credit card receipt. Once that arrived, it agreed to a refund.

Real Canadian Superstore overcharges for reduced item

Steve Chan had a frustrating time at the superstores Scarborough Town Centre location. He heard there was a sale on Goody brand combs, with 50 per cent off the last ticketed price.

I bought a comb priced at $6.94, which should have been $3.47. But after checking out, I saw they had charged me $4.94, he told me.

He asked for a correction, but a customer service staffer said the original price (hidden behind the last ticketed price) was $12.49. If he didnt want to pay $4.94, hed have to pay $6.25 (half the original price).

The store staffer wrote final sale on his receipt, which meant he had trouble returning the comb the next day. He finally got a refund.

Although its only a small amount of money, this behaviour feels very offensive. Its obviously bullying to the customer, he said.

Karen Gumbs, a spokesperson for Loblaw Companies, which owns the chain), blamed poor staff training for the error.

The price of the Goody items has been reduced a few times and the customer discount is now more than 50 per cent of the original price, she said.

Unfortunately, the signage in the department was not updated to reflect the additional discount, creating a confusing experience for the customer.

We have followed up with store management and are updating our procedures to assist with preventing this confusion in the future.

Chan was happy to see that preventive action would be taken. He said Loblaws should teach customer service staff how to handle customers inquiries politely and properly.

Goodlife Fitness cancels membership without notice

Justin Porter, a Goodlife customer for 15 years, had never missed a payment. Then he changed bank accounts and forgot to tell the company.

I was set up on direct withdrawal and I missed a payment (my fault admittedly). When I walked into the gym and was told my account was suspended, I called Goodlife and paid the outstanding balance, he said.

Later, I was told that my account was cancelled. I had to go to a new Goodlife and sign up as a member.

At no time did they email me, call me or write me to advise that my account was going to be or was in suspension. Ive spoken with three levels of seniority and all of them have washed their hands of it.

Carla Brown, Goodlifes manager of member accounts, called Porter the same day she received his forwarded email. He now has his membership reinstated  and at the same rate he was paying before.

Its great to hear the member was satisfied, she said.

My advice: Service providers should treat you fairly and respectfully, whether you pay $20,000 for a vacation or $4.94 for a comb. They should not cut you off without notice if you are a long-time customer in good standing.

Standing up for your rights can be tough  and lonely  when no one is listening. You may have to bring in outside help to reinforce your point.

Ellen Roseman (eroseman@thestar.ca ) appears in Smart Money.

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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALANDThe composer of the opening guitar riff for Eminems Lose Yourself says the soundtrack of a New Zealand political ad is a blatant rip-off.

Jeff Bass told the High Court in Wellington on Tuesday that the song titled Eminem Esque that was used by the ruling National Party during its 2014 election campaign sounds like Lose Yourself Lite.

But, he added, It doesnt taste so good, though.

Eminems music publishers Eight Mile Style sued the National Party over its use of the song. The judge-only copyright infringement case started Monday and is expected to last about six days.

Read more: Eminem battles New Zealand political party in copyright trial over Lose Yourself

The party has previously said it purchased the soundtrack for its TV ad from an Australian-based music supplier and doesnt believe it has infringed anyones copyright.

Bass, who lives near Detroit and travelled to New Zealand to testify, picked up an acoustic guitar and strummed the famous riff that opens the Oscar-winning 2002 song in front of eight lawyers and a judge in the courtroom.

He said he wrote the song with Eminem and Luis Resto over 18 months.

I picked up a guitar and started playing that opening guitar chord, he said. At that time, I didnt know if it was a song or not.

He said Eminem, a.k.a. Marshall Mathers III, put together a drum track but then they got stuck.

It took him a number of months to author the perfect lyrics that were just right for the beat, Bass said.

He said they finished as Eminem completed work on his film 8 Mile.

It really developed in a little studio we had set up in his trailer, Bass said. He said Resto replaced some of the guitar elements with keyboards in order to remove some of the rock feel of the song without losing the hip hop tone.

Defence lawyers argue the musical composition of the song isnt particularly original. One of them asked Bass if he considered the soundtrack Eminem Esque to be musically inferior.

Being that its a blatant rip-off, yes, Bass responded.

The lawyer asked if it was weaker because it was different. It doesnt feel like Lose Yourself? the lawyer asked.

It doesnt feel like me playing Lose Yourself, Bass said.

The lawyer asked Bass if hed agree that the Led Zeppelin song Kashmir has a similar chord pattern.

No. None whatsoever, Bass responded.

Judge Helen Cull asked Bass if the guitar strum hed performed in the courtroom was common.

Bass said that while hed heard those chords played before, hed never heard them in that particular rhythm. He said that by putting an accent on the third beat it was as if he was playing guitar and drums at the same time.

The intention was to create a tense, hypnotic feeling, Bass said. It starts playing, and never goes away. Along with that drum beat, it actually will hypnotize you, where you are feeling that somethings going to happen.

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It was the time in life when Mark Lukach and his wife, Giulia, meant to be building their careers, saving for a home and planning for a family.

They were in their late 20s and married  having met and fallen in love as undergraduates at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.  and believed they had a head start on making a beautiful life together.

But three years after moving to San Francisco, the couple faced an unexpected challenge: Giulia, who at 27 had just taken on a new job, experienced a sudden psychotic break, which led to a month-long stay in a psychiatric ward.

In his memoir, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward, Lukach details his and Giulias journey through her episodes of illness and recovery. Along the way, readers meet their English bulldog, Goose, and their young son, Jonas.

Lukach, now 34 and a history teacher at a private school in the San Francisco Bay Area, spoke with theStar about how a memoir emerged from his familys experience with mental illness.

Giulias first unexpected psychotic episode happened when she was just 27. It must have been terrifying for both of you. When did you start writing about your experience?

I started writing almost immediately. But it wasnt writing to be published. It was writing emails to her parents and my parents as a way to keep them informed. Everyone was so desperate for information. I would spend a lot of time at the computer sorting out my thoughts through these very lengthy emails. And in order to tell them what was going on, I had to make sense of it all to myself first.

How many emails did you write?

Well over a hundred. And these emails would take two or three hours to write. The first (psychotic) episode took up about nine months of our lives. Giulia was in the hospital for the first month and then when she was home, she was heavily medicated and going to sleep really early. So at night I would write these emails. Every little detail felt so essential. Her illness was like this mystery and I believed that if I was able to unlock some clue, then maybe we would be able to get out of what we were in.

When did you first realize these emails that you were writing would or could turn into a published story?

After her first episode, when Giulia got better, there was this huge gap between us. She thought, Hey, Im better, I dont want to think about the serious heavy stuff, I just want to have fun. And I was like, Youre better, but now I need to feel bad; this was a hard nine months and I need someone to process it with. At first, the primary goal was to write a story for Giulia so she could get a better sense of what the year had been like for me, to bridge that gap. Then some friends nudged me  and only after talking with Giulia  I submitted an essay to the New York Times and that got the process started.

How hard was it to relive some of those moments that you and Giulia experienced while you were writing, reviewing and editing this book?

There are some parts that I still cant read without crying, especially the stuff that involves our son. Im a full-time teacher, so Id spend the day at school, then I would come home, pick up our kid, play with him, cook dinner and put him to bed. Then I had to psych myself up and go into the office and work on this for a few hours knowing that I had to relive some of the hardest moments Ive gone through. There were some nights that I wasnt up for it.

How does it feel to be on the other side of those hard writing days?

I feel like I put in the work to process what this (Giulias mental illness) meant for me and my life. And I think Giulia, in reading the book, in all its different iterations, the two of us put in the work to come together as couple after these traumatic hospitalizations. I look back and feel this was such a therapeutic and healing process for the both of us . . . As hard as it was, theres no question it was worth it.

Do you have a message to those, at any age, who are working through mental illness, either themselves or as a caregiver to someone they love?

What I would say to people is twofold: First, Ive become such a big believer in the impermanence of things. Especially for someone who is going through a bout of depression or who is feeling suicidal, those feelings, although they can be so all-consuming, they are not permanent . . . you will not feel that way forever. The other thing I would say, for someone on my side of the equation, as the caregiver, is how important it is to take care of yourself. I threw myself at trying to fix things and I got so drained I wasnt being a help anymore  I wasnt thinking as clearly as I needed to, I wasnt as healthy or as rested as I needed to be. You never know how long or short caregiving is going to be, so you need to take care of yourself so you can be up for the challenge.

Read more: Book excerpt: After her first 24 hours alone in the psych ward

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

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Indigenous leaders are demanding an inquiry into the deaths of all indigenous children in care after the recent deaths of two northern Ontario teenage girls in provincial group homes last month.

Poplar Hill First Nations Amy Owen, 13, took her own life on April 17 after she was taken out of her community near the Manitoba border and flown to live at a Prescott group home in eastern Ontario.

I dont know why the parents have to go through this. I always thought they would bury me first. I always prayed for her, hoped she wouldnt do anything like this, said her father Jeffrey Owen, 36.

She would secretly call us. At the agency she was at, they forbade her to talk to us and they always delayed and delayed visits, he said.

Fort Albany First Nations Courtney Scott, 16, died in a house fire at her group home on April 21 in Orleans, Ont. She was also living away from home, removed at a young age along with her sisters and brothers.

To me, I havent seen my granddaughter for so many years, she was so small the last time I saw her. She was maybe 12. She was happy when she saw her mom, said her grandmother, Madeline Koostachin. The family has many unanswered questions about the fire and what happened to Courtney.

Another Poplar Hill girl, Kanina Sue Turtle, 15, was taken into care and she died Oct. 29, 2016. Her family is still waiting for details on if whether Kanina committed suicide, said her father, Clarence Suggashie.

The kids should be in the community here. They should keep them here so they dont lose their culture, their language and we can see them, Suggashie said.

Owen, Scott and Turtle are members of one of Nishnawbe Aski Nations 49 northern Ontario First Nation communities, and NAN has inherent jurisdiction over their well-being regardless of where they live, said NAN deputy grand chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum.

But provincial legislation and how services are delivered do not coincide with NANs jurisdiction over their kids, said Achneepineskum.

It is very obvious the services, the resources and the policies governing those resources need to be fixed. Why should a child have to travel so far away to get basic services? she asked.

We want an inquiry.

Achneepineskum added they have no official records that confirm the number of youth the NAN communities have lost while in care, but the loss of two young lives in a matter of weeks must be examined.

The province is trying hard to bring mental health services to kids in remote communities and they are working with their indigenous partners, including the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, on improving outcomes, said Rob McMahon, a ministry of children and youth spokesperson.

Where needed, and often as a last resort, there are times when a young person travels outside of their home community to receive care. Childrens aid societies and indigenous child well-being societies supervise, monitor and track the placement of children in their care, including the children they place in residential resources outside their jurisdictions. However, there is no formal reporting by societies of these numbers at this time, McMahon said.

Mental health services are difficult to access for NAN kids and First Nations-led child agencies struggle with both a severe lack of services and high suicide rates among the youth. It is difficult to access diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services and delays makes treatment even more elusive.

Owen and Scotts deaths follow the tragic suicides of two girls from Wapekeka First Nation, Jolynn Winter, 12, and her friend, Chantell Fox, 12, who took their lives last January after a plea for emergency mental health funding was refused for the remote community more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. Another four girls were flown out of Wapekeka for urgent mental health care. An anonymous private donor stepped in to pay $380,000 for the emergency care Health Canada had initially refused to provide.

Amy had no means of getting any mental health help closer to home so she had to be flown to Ottawa, completely cut off from her Anishinaabe culture, language and from everything she knew, said Achneepineksum. To visit, her parents would have to take a flight to Sioux Lookout, then to Thunder Bay and then to Ottawa, which is expensive.

How can they expect a child to deal with their mental health issues when they are so disconnected with their families? Phone calls will not do, she asked.

Owen said his daughter Amy tried to commit suicide when she was taken away from her family and placed in a Pickle Lake home. It broke her spirit, he said. I wish I could have done something to prevent this. I wish I could drive there and just go pick her up. There were just so many things I wish I could have done.

Amy was receiving one-on-one supervision, he said, because she was high risk for suicide. I dont know how she could have done this when she was supposed to have all this support. Why was she left in a room for so long? By the time they checked on her it was too late, he said.

If they were closer to home, we could visit. Amy wasnt into hurting herself when she was with us. She was smart, outgoing, she liked to have fun. She loved her family, especially her little sister. She even looks like her, Owen said. Amy had seven brothers and sisters ranging in age from 18 to 5.

When Irwin Elman, Ontarios Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, found out about Owen and Scotts deaths, he insisted there be immediate changes concerning conditions in group homes and how far First Nations kids are taken outside of their communities for care. Frankly, children should survive our attempts to protect them. That is a pretty low bar in terms of outcome but . . . we need to do something now, Elman said.

Elman has asked the ministry better analyze the 19,000 serious occurrence reports they see every year and they should be used daily to identify homes at risk and visit them immediately to speak to the kids and assess the available supports.

Immediately they should create a roster of clinicians, in my opinion, mental health professionals and trained child and youth workers who can be quickly deployed to homes in crisis to support young people and stabilize the homes, he said.

And then the ministry should determine the numbers and situations of First Nations children living in group homes in southern Ontario. And then they should immediate reach out to those kids through culturally appropriate means to see how they are, he said.

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WINNIPEGA man was sentenced to 23 years in prison Monday for randomly attacking two women in separate sexual assaults that left both victims with severe physical and emotional trauma.

Justin Hudson, 22, was given consecutive sentences for the attacks, which were committed with a teenage co-accused in different areas of Winnipeg on November 7, 2014  a night that started with a plan to go out and steal cars, court was told.

He was presented with an opportunity and brutalized each woman because he could not control his anger, provincial court Judge Tim Killeen said in handing down his sentence.

The accused must be separated from society to protect others and to denounce his crime.

Read more: Naked and nearly dead, sexual assault victim recalls suffering at sentence hearing

Hudson, along with a co-accused who is waiting to be sentenced, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

The first attack occurred when the two were walking down a street and came across a 16-year-old girl. They robbed, beat and sexually assaulted her. She ended up in the frigid Assiniboine River and dragged herself out 100 metres away, only to be beaten unconscious with a hammer and left for dead.

She was found the next morning by a passerby and spent days clinging to life in hospital. She later became an advocate for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

Hours after the first attack, Hudson and his co-accused repeatedly beat and sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman. She spent three days in hospital with severe injuries to her skull and other areas.

The victims and Hudsons co-accused, who was a minor at the time, cannot be named under a court order.

The Crown asked for a life sentence at a hearing last year, while the defence sought a sentence of 12 to 14 years.

Defence lawyer Amanda Sansregret noted that Hudson was neglected and sexually abused during his upbringing. A psychologists report said he has a cognitive disability, had a lot of trouble in school and was bounced between several homes.

He was in the care of Child and Family Services and found himself suddenly without any support when he turned 18.

Killeen said a lengthy sentence, but not a life sentence, was justified for Hudson.

His background, his limitations, his history of being abused and neglected, lead to a conclusion that his responsibility has not risen to the point where a life sentence is needed, the judge said.

He will have the possibility of rehabilitation (and) a release at an age where he can have some semblance of a more-normal life.

With enhanced credit for time served, Hudsons sentence going forward is 19 years and four months.

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MONTREALA year ago Tuesday, Pierre Karl Peladeau abruptly quit as leader of the Parti Quebecois for family reasons and went back to running his media empire. A bit more than a month later, Bernard Drainville  the former minister in charge of the PQs controversial secularism charter and PKPs house leader in opposition  also resigned.

With the official opposition decapitated, the ruling Quebec Liberals had cause to believe the second half of their mandate would feature more smooth sailing than their choppy first two years in office.

Instead, 12 months later, Premier Philippe Couillard and his team are learning the hard way that the notion of keeping ones friends close and ones enemies closer applies to politics.

Drainville resigned shortly after political broadcaster Jean Lapierre died in a plane crash. As influential commentators go Lapierre was second to none in Quebec. His sudden death left a big void in the provinces French-language punditry universe. Over the past year, Drainville has essentially filled that void.

A seasoned communicator who spent years on high-profile assignments for Radio-Canada prior to politics, Drainville is no less a household name than Lapierre. But as opposed to the former federal minister, he spent his time in politics fighting the Quebec Liberals.

Meanwhile over the year since he left politics, Peladeau has beefed up the Quebecor contingent in the national assembly. About a dozen members of the Quebec press gallery are on the companys payroll. (By way of comparison, La Presse and Le Devoir each have three national assembly correspondents.)

Quebecor now boasts an on-site investigation unit. As far as I know it is the only one of its kind within the national assembly precinct. No provincial government would see that as a promising development. By definition such a unit is not in the business of beating the competition in the reporting of the day-to-day life of the national assembly. Its mission is to dig in places that politicians would like to keep off-limits to the media. When it comes to setting the agenda of the press gallery, an investigative team can be in direct competition with the government.

Couillard just got a taste of that. He spent the last week scrambling to (once again) distance his government from that of his predecessor after a series of Quebecor media stories resurrected the issue of Liberal ethics.

No self-respecting media organization could fail to want to match the news  backed by confidential police documents  that the provinces anti-corruption unit was as late as last year still looking into the activities of former premier Jean Charest.

The opposition parties had a field day. So did the head of the Montreal police union. In a radio interview, Yves Francoeur alleged political interference had blocked criminal charges against a member of Couillards caucus. That assertion has yet to be sustained.

The fact that none of last weeks stories featured a smoking gun does little to mitigate the damage to the governments message track.

The issue of integrity has been the Liberals Achilles heel. Couillard has spent the past three years trying to put distance between his government and the scandals that saw, among others, former deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau charged with multiple counts of corruption. Normandeau and six co-accused are still awaiting their trial to start.

The Liberals now argue that Peladeau is marshalling his journalistic forces to mount an air war against the government in the lead-up to next years election. To shore up their narrative they note that PKP visited Quebecors national assembly bureau last week to personally congratulate his journalists on an investigative job well done.

What is certain is that Quebecor has a larger-than-life media footprint in Quebec. It owns TVA, the provinces largest private network, as well as the newspapers with the largest circulation in print. It has journalistic boots on the ground across Quebec.

In the last election a plurality of Quebec voters turned out to be impervious enough to the allegations of corruption swirling around the Liberals at the tail end of Charests last mandate to hand the party a majority government after only 18 months in opposition.

But the next Quebec campaign will take the Liberals into uncharted territory. Since the 1995 referendum, their most effective election weapon has been the perspective  under a PQ government  of another vote on Quebecs political future. Thats an option that PQ leader Jean-Francois Lisee has put on ice until at least 2022.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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OTTAWADefence Minister Harjit Sajjan on Tuesday bowed out of an annual fundraising event originally set up for veterans of the war in Afghanistan, an event whose main beneficiaries include military personnel returning from combat.

He is pressing ahead with a major speech on Wednesday to industry and military experts that is expected to address the Liberals' much-anticipated defence policy.

The embattled minister had been scheduled to speak at the 8th annual "To the 'Stan and Back" event at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday.

But founder Cheri Elliott said she was told at the last minute that a scheduling conflict had arisen and he would not be able to attend.

"The official reason for his not being able to attend is he was asked to be elsewhere at the time. That is what I was told," said Elliott, who is the mother of a serving Canadian Forces member.

Sajjan spoke last year at the event, which raises money for service members as well as first responders dealing with PTSD and other psychological trauma.

Read more:

Trudeau backs Sajjan after exaggerated combat claim from Afghanistan mission

Harjit Sajjan apologizes for claim about Afghan offensive

Sajjan falls short in explaining Afghan episode: Editorial

The minister's office would not reveal the nature of the scheduling conflict, but said Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr stood in for Sajjan at the fundraising event.

A spokesperson also confirmed the minister still planned to deliver the keynote address to a luncheon hosted by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute on Wednesday.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan accused Sajjan of skipping the fundraiser to hide from veterans, especially those who had served in Afghanistan.

"If he walked away from that (CDAI speech), it would be vacating his responsibilities as a minister," Bezan said. "But it is incredibly disappointing and cowardly for him not to be at the Afghanistan veteran fundraiser."

Sajjan, a former soldier and veteran of the Afghan war, faced sustained fire again in question period on Tuesday over his comments exaggerating his role in Operation Medusa, a key battle involving the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan in 2006.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood alongside his minister as interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose repeatedly called for Sajjan's resignation.

Ambrose accused Sajjan of having embellished his military record for political gain, while Trudeau praised Sajjan's "exemplary record" as a soldier, police officer and minister.

The prime minister also rebuffed NDP calls to open an inquiry into the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, which Sajjan had earlier refused.

New Democrats later released a letter from NDP leader Tom Mulcair to Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson asking her to look again at whether Sajjan was in a conflict of interest in this decision because of his work as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan.

Dawson earlier refused to open such an investigation, after Sajjan told her that he was not involved in, nor had any knowledge about the transfer of Afghan detainees.

The partisan bickering on Tuesday extended beyond question period, as the Liberals pushed back a so-called opposition day that they had promised to the Conservatives for Thursday.

Conservative House leader Candice Bergen accused the government of postponing the opposition day until next week to avoid a full day of questions about Sajjan's conduct.

Central to that would have been a non-binding motion the Tories say they intended to table and which would have seen MPs vote on whether they still had confidence in the defence minister.

"The minister of defence has to resign, and this is a motion that would have forced the prime minister and the minister of defence to address this," Bergen said.

Government House leader Bardish Chagger, however, said the scheduled opposition day had to be postponed because more time was needed this week to debate a budget bill.

"There's a slight tweaking taking place in the calendar because we do need to debate certain pieces of legislation," she said.

Meanwhile, a watchdog group that tracks military impostors says many veterans are still upset with Sajjan despite his apology Monday, but that Ambrose went too far in accusing him of "stolen valour."

Ian White of Stolen Valour Canada said the term refers to the fraudulent wearing of military medals and other decorations, which is illegal under the Criminal Code, but which Sajjan didn't do.

"We see absolutely no benefit the minister of defence could have derived from these lies  in fact it appears to be hurting his reputation more than anything," White said.

"Regardless, it is not stolen valour in the context of the Criminal Code of Canada."

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A Brampton-based construction firm should be banned from bidding on City of Toronto contracts for three years, a city committee is telling council.

City staff had said Four Seasons Site Developments work on a delay-riddled College St. sidewalk beautification project was problematic enough to warrant the rare and serious penalty.

The city, which is managing the $3.45 million reconstruction effort for the local merchants group that initiated and funded it, fired Four Seasons from the project which stretched from Havelock to Shaw Sts. last fall.

The Star had chronicled merchants anguish at plummeting revenues as customers navigated trenches and a maze of fencing, or simply gave up, and Four Seasons fell behind the four-month schedule for both sides of College.

The company fell short, city staff allege in a report, on contract management, work performance, responsiveness to issues, minimization of disruptions to the public and public safety.

Four Seasons chief executive Rohit Bansal told councillors on government management committee Monday that his company did nothing wrong. Any fault lies, he said, with city inspectors who did little to address problems, merchants who were sometimes abusive to his workers and pedestrians who frequently dismantled safety barriers.

The discovery of a buried diesel tank, and ensuing environmental concerns, delayed the work, he added.

We are a proud committed workforce of many Toronto residents, a family of immigrant workers who work hard and make the city their home, Bansal told council, adding he was speaking for 120 workers. The bulk of their work, he later told reporters, comes from City of Toronto contracts.

Julia Rapp said her Rapp Optical revenues plummeted between 30 and 40 per cent last July and August thanks to prolonged construction mess that made it treacherous or impossible to enter her shop.

A three-year ban is the least council can impose, she told reporters. Ideally we would hope that they would be barred on city contracts entirely.

Councillor Pam McConnell suggested a compromise  a two-year ban with a third year of probation where Four Seasons could bid on contracts up to $1.5 million  but the committee opted for the tougher penalty.

Committee chair Paul Ainslie, a Scarborough councillor, said he is confident council will send a strong message, as it is doing with an ongoing auditor general probe, to companies that do a total of $1 billion in city construction.

If you do business with the City of Toronto and you bid on a contract, then you are legally obligated to fulfill the contract to the best of your ability, he said.

During Mondays meeting it was revealed Four Seasons had just won a legal victory against the city, convincing a Superior Court judge that the citys chief purchasing official exceeded his powers in February when he decreed a temporary six-month bidding ban.

That decision allows Four Seasons to bid now on tens of millions of dollars in pending city construction work, but would not prevent city council from imposing a ban at its May 24 meeting.

Bansal declined to say if he would challenge any council-imposed ban in court.

Its too early to predict that, he told reporters. Im hopeful that council will see the right ray of light.

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Most kids know it as freeze tag. But to the 14 students in Paul Alcamos kindergarten class, the chasing game is freeze tag hand-up shout-out.

Thats a version the kids designed themselves to make sure everyone can play  including friends who use wheelchairs. Instead of touching someone to freeze them, those children can shout out a name. Non-verbal players can raise a hand and point.

They actually invented a new game, recognizing the different abilities of all our children, says Paul Alcamo, teacher at the unique kindergarten, which brings together kids with disabilities and without, and is on the site of Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto.

When the children explained, I was bursting with pride, says Alcamo, who has taught the class since its 1997 launch and encourages the youngsters to collaborate and think creatively to make sure everyone is included.

But now the future of the program  described by participants and parents as a small but powerful model of inclusion  is uncertain.

The reason: declining enrolment of able-bodied students. For 20 years, they have come through the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, the lab school at the University of Toronto, and paid tuition to attend. But none have signed up for September.

The board of the Bloorview School Authority has given notice it will not operate as an integrated class and all spaces will go to other children who need intensive support.

That decision has galvanized former students along with current and past parents who plan to appear at a board meeting Tuesday, armed with hundreds of signatures and testimonials, to argue against the move.

They want the decision reversed and a chance to attract families to keep the program going next year. They also want to collaborate with the board on a longer-term plan to access alternative funding and bring it into the community.

This is the dream, this is what so many families like mine who have kids with a disability want, says Beth Dangerfield, a special education teacher whose 6-year-old daughter Abby is in the class where she receives therapy and uses an assistive device to communicate.

Dangerfield says Abbys able-bodied peers play an integral part in her education, self-confidence and how she sees herself and her circle.

But one long-time advocate for inclusion in the public system says the days are long past when special programs should exist. Instead, they should be the norm for all school-age children.

This could be done in every school and would have a positive impact on all students and teachers, says Reva Schafer of the Toronto Family Network.

Dangerfield and other parents complain the decision to end the Bloorview integrated kindergarten was made despite their plans to hold an open house and campaign to attract new kids for September, at a cost of $7,500 a year.

And they question why the program hasnt been marketed and expanded at a time when research has shown the benefits of inclusion for all students, and school boards who say they embrace the principles need examples of successful models to learn from.

We need to keep this program, says Dangerfield. We need to study this program and we need to expand it to every school.

But without the necessary enrolment, the Bloorview School Authority made the very difficult decision to change it next fall, says board chair Dr. Julia Alleyne. She did not rule out the possibility of resuming the integrated class in the future.

The Bloorview school, which has more than 200 students at all levels this year, gets education ministry funding for hospital patients or referrals. Any efforts to access funding for able-bodied students would be up to the Jackman Institute, she said.

Jackman principal Richard Messina calls the program the jewel in the crown of integrated programs.

It has always been our hope that the ministry or TDSB would see it as successful demonstration worth following and funding in an alternative way where teachers, psychologists, (occupational and physical) therapists could visit and learn from whats going on, he says.

Its the most explicit, overt, tangible demonstration of what the job of a teacher is, which is to identify ways we can create an environment both physical and philosophical where every child can be a full contributor.

Both partners cite the introduction of full-day kindergarten in Ontario as one factor that caused enrolment to dwindle from about a dozen able-bodied kids to six by 2014, and four last fall, who are in their second year of the two-year program.

Many who have spent time in the classroom, from parents to researchers to teachers seconded from the Toronto District School Board for several years to co-teach with Alcamo, say if the change proceeds it will be a huge loss.

Whats lost is what should be  this should be everywhere, says Robin Green, whose 5-year-old twins Isabella and Sydney are in their second year.

Fabiana Bacchini agrees and says its important for her son Gabriel, 4, who has cerebral palsy, to be surrounded by friends who adapt their activities without a fuss to include him.

Sometimes people cant go as fast as me, so they just have to shout or raise their hand, says Masaru Fernandes, 5, recounting a recent game of freeze tag during an after-school playdate with his classmates.

The reciprocal benefits for all kids in the class is key, says Coralee McLaren, a nursing professor at Ryerson University, who spent 10 weeks there in 2010 on a research project on movement. Her study found the children benefitted academically and physically from being together.

The research needs to continue to move this agenda forward, says McLaren. She later sent her own daughter, now 8, and says it transformed the way she sees the world and her consciousness of accessibility and the needs of everyone around her.

The program is one of only a handful in the country, says Alcamo, who has taught about 270 children since it was launched. Delegations come through regularly from as far away as Japan. So do Masters students from OISE/U of T.

Alcamo, who won a Premiers teaching award for excellence in 2011, is accustomed to his students coming up with solutions like their adapted freeze tag. Its evidence that when kids learn and play together in a environment where everyones needs are equal, they become people who know how to advocate, think of others needs, problem-solve and make sure no one is left out, he says.

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The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has awarded $12,000 to a Muslim couple, who claimed their landlord failed to accommodate their prayer times and notify the wife when she was home alone before bringing in prospective new tenants for apartment viewings.

The respondent discriminated against the applicants by failing to accommodate their religious practices relating to prayer times by providing advance notice shortly before showing the apartment, tribunal panel vice-chair Jo-Anne Pickel wrote in a recent 38-page decision.

He also failed to accommodate their religious practices by refusing to remove his shoes when entering their apartment and especially their prayer space. Finally, he also harassed them, at least in part, because of their religiously-based accommodation requests.

The decision is believed to be the first of its kind from the tribunal with respect to discrimination based on creed and housing.

The overall intake of human rights cases based on creed has been on the rise, up by 13 per cent to 837 last year compared to 741 in 2015. During the same period the number of inquiries specifically about Muslim identity went up by 39 per cent to 196 cases from 141, said the Human Rights Legal Support Centre.

Pickel rejected the landlords argument that the tenants were attempting to impose their way of life on others, ruling that theres no evidence to support the claim.

This claim by the respondent echoes arguments that have become common within public discourse. Unfortunately, attempts by Muslims to practice their faith have increasingly been interpreted as an attempt to impose their way of life on others, wrote Pickel.

Far from seeking to impose their way of life on anyone, the applicants were merely making simple requests for the accommodation of their religious practices.

According to the tribunal, Walid Madkour and Heba Ismail, who immigrated to Canada from Egypt, moved into their Brampton apartment in December 2014 and agreed a month later to move out of the unit by Feb. 28, 2015 due to issues with the temperature of the apartment, the use of the internet and the request for a quiet environment at night.

The human rights complaint was based on the events and correspondence between the couple and the landlord when the landlord started planning viewings of the apartment to prospective tenants in late February 2015.

Despite repeated requests by Madkour for an additional five-minute warning so his wife had time to put on modest attire before the viewings, the landlord John Alabi  a Christian, according to the ruling  would only provide blocks of time that prospective tenants would be coming, with 24 hours notice.

The tribunal found Alabi discriminated against the couple when he failed to comply with their request that he remove his shoes when he entered their apartment and especially when he entered the prayer space in the bedroom, which must be kept free of any contamination, including any discharge from humans or animals.

Although the landlord insisted he was wearing indoor shoes and that he had removed rubber coverings on the shoes when he entered the couples apartment, that was disputed by the couple, who videotaped Alabi during one of the viewings.

On the video, the tribunal said, Ismail could be heard telling Alabi he should remove his shoes as she and her husband prayed in the bedroom, adding that it was disrespectful and an act of racism not to do so. However, the respondent could be seen wearing shoes on the video whereas the prospective tenant was in socks, noted the tribunal.

The respondents refusal to remove the shoes when walking into the applicants prayer space represented vexatious conduct linked to the applicants religion that was known to be unwelcome, said the tribunal.

There is no doubt that the respondent knew that the conduct was unwelcome as the applicants told him so a number of times.

Peta-Gaye Drummond, Alabis counsel, said her client was disappointed at the tribunal decision, feeling it was unjust.

He has maintained that the accusations against him arise out of misunderstanding. In his 15 years as a landlord, he has rented to so many people from different ethnic origins and has not had this kind of dispute being labelled a discriminator, she said. He was sympathetic to the tenants, but maintains his innocence.

Drummond said her client is considering filing a request for reconsideration to the tribunal, which must be submitted in 30 days.

In an interview, Madkour said he and his wife never intended to create trouble or inconvenience, and are relieved the case is over.

I feel the page is closed. It was a painful experience for my wife. We just wanted to forget about the case and move on, said Madkour, who along with his wife has since moved to a different city.

We are happy with the tribunal decision because it proved that if you are genuine, you get your rights. We didnt do anything wrong. Being different is nothing to be ashamed of.

Ismail, who immigrated to Canada in 2012, said she and her husband had not experienced discrimination and racism in the country.

It was not about money, she said. We dont want anyone in the future to have the same experience. No one should be able to get away with it.

Alabi has also been ordered to take the Ontario Rights Commissions online courses, Human Rights in Rental Housing and Policy on Human Rights and Rental Housing, within 30 days.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he would be honoured to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under the right circumstances.

Trumps comments came amid heightened tensions with North Korea, whose nuclear weapons program has sparked deep concerns in the international community, and just a day after Trump said he would not rule out military action against North Korea.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News in a Monday interview. If its under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.

The president acknowledged that his willingness to meet with a dictator known for oppressing his people  comments that are sure to spark an outcry from everyone from diplomats to the human rights community  was more than a little unconventional.

Most political people would never say that, Trump said in the Bloomberg News interview, but Im telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news.

The president has a history of praising, and even seeming to admire, the strongmen dictators who more typically earn international condemnation than begrudging respect. His relationship with and seeming fondness for Russian President Vladimir Putin dogged his campaign and now continues to distract in his administration.

Trump also hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi at the White House last month, despite Sissi being barred from the White House under former president Barack Obama, after coming to power through a military takeover. On Saturday, he invited Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the White House, despite the leaders controversial war on drugs that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Filipinos.

The president has also praised Kim before. In an interview with CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday, Trump said Kim was a pretty smart cookie because at a very young age, he was able to assume power.

A lot of people, Im sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else, Trump said on the Sunday show. And he was able to do it. So obviously, hes a pretty smart cookie.

Kim had his uncle executed in 2013. He is also widely believed to have had his half brother assassinated in February.

And during the campaign, Trump expressed a willingness to meet with Kim should he visit the United States, saying, What the hell is wrong with speaking?

I wouldnt go there, that I can tell you, Trump said at a campaign rally in June. If he came here, Id accept him. But I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off.

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BEIJINGChina urged the United States and North Korea on Tuesday to make contact as soon as possible and ease tensions amid rising belligerence from the two sides over the Norths nuclear weapons program.

The call for negotiations from Chinas Foreign Ministry came after U.S. President Donald Trump opened the door to a possible future meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong Un.

Trump told Bloomberg News during an interview that he would be honoured to meet with Kim at an unspecified future date if it would be appropriate.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Washington and Pyongyang need to take concrete steps toward peace and avoid further escalating a crisis that has quickly spiraled into a top global security concern.

China has been pushing for the two sides to back down following a string of missile tests by North Korea and a massive live-fire artillery drill last week that was described as its largest ever.

Read more:

Trump says he would be honoured to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un

North Korean missile tests fails hours after UN meetings on nuclear weapons

U.S. calls for tougher action on North Korea, China offers different strategy

Across the border, South Korea on Tuesday said a U.S.-sponsored missile defence system is now operational  over Chinas strong objections. U.S. and South Korean troops conducted joint exercises last month along the Norths border.

Against that backdrop, Geng said China has taken note of the more diplomatic messages sent by the Trump administration and considers them constructive.

Both sides should reach a political resolution as soon as possible, Geng said. The most effective way of attaining an improvement is to seek ways to re-establish dialogue and contact.

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MOSCOWAnzor was lying on a dirty floor as a man in army boots jumped on his back. His agony worsened when his captors started torturing him with electric shocks.

Its a feeling like they are breaking every bone of every joint in your body at the same time, he said.

Anzor is a gay man from Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where dozens of men suspected of being gay were reportedly detained and tortured, and at least three of them were allegedly killed.

After his ordeal, Anzor fled Chechnya and is now in hiding in Moscow, fearing not only for his own life but for the safety of his relatives. He spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of using only his first name.

Read more:

Russian journalist who reported on Chechnyas anti-gay purge receives death threats

No reliable information on Chechen gay killings, Moscow says

UN rights agency condemns abuse of gay men in Chechnya

Chechnya police round up more than 100 suspected gay men, kill 3: Russian report

Antipathy to homosexuality in Russia is widespread. Gay rights activists requests to hold rallies are routinely rejected by officials and any rallies that do take place are often attacked by anti-gay thugs. But this anti-gay purge, sanctioned by top local authorities, is unprecedented, said Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program co-ordinator for Human Rights Watch.

Another gay man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the AP that he was also arrested in Chechnya and held with dozens of others.

We were tortured every day. Beside beatings, we were beaten several times a day with polypropylene tubes. We were tortured with electricity, he said.

For 20-30 seconds they spin the handle, you feel the electricity, then you fall down, they stop it, and then immediately you come back to consciousness and you are ready again for a new discharge, he said. And it goes on five, six, seven times.

The abuse was first reported in April by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which said that about 100 men suspected of being gay were rounded up and tortured, and that at least three were killed.

Western governments and rights groups have urged Russian authorities to investigate.

Chechen officials vehemently deny not only the reported torture of gays, but sometimes their very existence.

There are no homosexuals in Chechnya. You cannot detain and persecute those who do not exist, Alvi Karimov, a spokesman for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, told the Interfax news agency.

Homosexuality is a taboo in conservative Chechnya, and the gay community there was used to leading a double life  marrying, having children and hiding their sexuality from even their closest family members. The only time a gay man in Chechnya could be himself is when he met with another gay person, typically through social media, Anzor said.

The rest of the time we are pretending, he said.

Anzor, who talked to the AP at a safe house provided by LGBT activists, fears for the lives of his family members who will become pariahs in the patriarchal Chechen society if his identity is revealed.

Sometimes families turn away from such people, some families get rid of such people, he said of gays, a word he is visibly uncomfortable using. Im scared for my family, my sisters and brothers. I dont want them to suffer for me.

Anzor, in his 40s, said the ordeal began when police stopped the car in which he was riding with friends in the town of Argun. They were taken to a police station after officers found a sedative pill on one friend. Small details that Anzor didnt want to make public led the police to believe that he and one of his friends were gay, he said.

They were brutally beaten in front of the police station chief and taken to a shed. Anzor spent 10 days there.

He said the shed had dozens of men who were beaten and abused by camouflaged men. In the first few days, the beatings were so frequent that he stopped feeling any pain, Anzor said, overcome at the memory. Inmates were made to attach the clamps of electric wires to their toes and fingers  and the captors would then turn on the power.

Then the torture stopped. Several days later Anzor was taken outside and told that he was free to go  without any explanation.

He thought about going to a neighbouring region and reporting his bruises and injuries at the hospital there, but got scared.

I thought if I would go there, they would be people like that there, too, he said, laughing nervously.

The other gay man who spoke to the AP said that his ordeal began when police arrested him in a crowded place, because his number was found in the phone of another gay man arrested earlier.

He said that he believed his captors, dressed in camouflage, were abusing them one by one in a bid to find more gays.

They were beating information out of us, he said.

The man, in his 30s, said that when the abusers lost interest in one person, the torture would stop. He was eventually freed, and like Anzor, fled Chechnya and sought shelter through LGBT activists in Moscow.

Human rights groups have previously documented torture and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by Kadyrovs security forces against opponents and Salafi Muslims. Lokshina said the methods used against gay men echo these abuses  its their standard tool box, she said.

Putin last month met with Kadyrov in the Kremlin and the Chechen leader dismissed the reports.

The so-called good people write that in our republic  Im even ashamed to say it  people get arrested and killed, he said. Putin apparently didnt press him further.

Im in absolute shock. We have never seen anything like this, said Tatyana Vinnichenko, head of the Russian LGBT Network, which is aiding about 40 gay men who have fled Chechnya in recent weeks.

Vinnichenkos phones ring every few minutes as she co-ordinates efforts with other activists on hospital treatment, plane tickets and housing arrangements. Two of the men have already left Russia for another country which is visa-free for Russians, and two more have just received visas and should be leaving for Europe soon.

LGBT activists have been meeting with foreign diplomats, pleading that granting a visa to gay survivors of torture could be a matter of saving their lives.

Vinnichenko said, with dismay, that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been unwilling to engage in a dialogue on visas for the torture victims.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department told the AP that it was unable to discuss individual cases since visa records are confidential but added that it categorically condemns the persecution of individuals based on their sexual orientation.

After he was released, Anzor stayed in Chechnya to tend to his ailing mother, but eventually felt compelled to leave.

My friends, people I have socialized with were all rounded up. If they caught me again, I know for sure I would not have made it out of there alive, he said.

He told his family he was going away on business when he left for Moscow in early March and he hasnt been back since. He clings to the hope that he will be able to go home to see his mother once again  and scoffs at the Kremlin meeting between Kadyrov and Putin.

I think Putin knows about it, he knows it even better than me  he is the president of Russia after all, he says. I dont know why he allows all of this to happen.

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Before being elected, U.S. President Donald Trump made a promise he said would take two minutes to fulfill: Facilitating the release of Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden in 2011 and was subsequently arrested by Pakistani authorities.

But 103 days into Trumps administration - and on the sixth anniversary of the raid in which bin Laden was killed in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad - the Pakistani surgeon is still being held on vague charges. His case adds to concerns that the administration is not willing to back foreigners who have risked their lives for the United States during conflicts abroad. Such worries have mounted since Trump temporarily banned Iraqi translators who worked alongside American soldiers from entering the United States shortly after his inauguration.

In the case of Afridi, Trump had initially committed to help. I would tell them, Let him out, and Im sure they would let him out, said Trump, speaking to Fox News one year ago. But the then-presidential candidate soon learned the hard way that Pakistan had no intention of resolving the dispute quickly.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

The covert 2011 U.S. raid in Abbottabad - conducted without the prior knowledge of Pakistani authorities - left officials there deeply embarrassed. Days after bin Ladens death, Afridi was captured and accused of having run a fake vaccination program for the CIA to obtain DNA samples that could prove the al-Qaida leader was in the city.

The program was reportedly launched under the assumption that bin Laden lived in the Abbottabad compound together with other family members. Whether Afridi actually managed to collect samples from bin Ladens family remains unclear.

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Western medical charities subsequently warned that the fake immunization scheme undermined their credibility in the country and posed a serious challenge to their own vaccination programs.

The criticism came at the right time for Pakistani authorities who sought to prosecute Afridi. A government commission initially said the hepatitis immunization program constituted a case of conspiracy against the State of Pakistan and high treason. But officials later announced that Afridi had instead been sentenced for alleged ties to Islamist militant groups.

The surgeons role has been openly praised by American officials, but he was viewed as a traitor by many in Pakistan, where authorities have made clear they are willing to risk a possible deterioration of U.S.-Pakistani relations over the case. Only days after Trumps inauguration, Pakistan denied travel documents to the imprisoned doctors family, a move viewed as a show of resolve to Trump.

Following Trumps 2016 remarks, the then-GOP presidential candidate immediately faced a strong backlash from Pakistani authorities. The countrys interior minister, Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan, said the government of Pakistan and not Mr. Donald Trump would decide the fate of the doctor.

Pakistan is not a colony of the United States of America, said Khan at the time. He should learn to treat sovereign nations with respect.

But Pakistan is also a sovereign nation that has for years heavily relied on American aid. Since 9/11, the United States has paid Pakistan billions of dollars to support some of the countrys counterterrorism operations.

U.S. frustration with Pakistans alleged lack of commitment to fighting terrorism has led to cuts in both civil and military aid in recent years. Although officials recently asked the United States for assistance in curbing attacks from militants within Pakistan and signaled willingness to discuss Afridis case with the Trump administration, Pakistani media outlets reported last month that the country was not ready to compromise on national interest - a reference to the imprisoned doctor.

During the first days of Trumps administration in February, Afridis family was still optimistic about efforts to free the surgeon. Calling him a true American hero, his brother told The Washington Posts Pamela Constable at the time: [Trump] is a man of action who does what he says.

But for now, there has been no action, and Afridi will mark the sixth anniversary of his arrest in a Pakistani prison.

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Black and Hispanic Americans continue to lag far behind whites economically  and their prospects look much worse under U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a report to be released Tuesday by the National Urban League.

Despite promises of a new deal for black America, any recent progress made toward racial equality is increasingly under threat, said Marc Morial, the leagues president and chief executive. The presidents incendiary rhetoric on the campaign trail has translated into discriminatory public policy, he said.

The social cancer of hate continues to metastasize, thriving in a climate conducive to hostility towards religious and racial minorities, permeating even at the highest levels of national discourse and threatening to further crack our fractured nation, Morial wrote in the report.

Read the latest on U.S. President Donald Trump

In an interview with The Post, he pointed to Trumps intent to roll back key Obama-era policies from expanding health care coverage to greater police oversight as evidence that the future for black America is precarious.

The annual report found the standard of living for African Americans is 72 per cent that of the average white person.

That measurement, known as the equality index, has been virtually unchanged for blacks for years, but its various components  economics, education, health, social justice and civic engagement  have moved up and down.

African Americans have made gains over the past year with increased access to health care as well as in education, as a higher percentage of blacks are receiving associates degrees. Their economic picture also improved slightly, with a boost in black womens earnings and growth in the percentage of black-owned businesses.

But those gains were neutralized by a decline in social-justice equality between blacks and whites, the report said. African Americans experienced an increase in incarceration after an arrest. And whites posted a greater decline than blacks in terms of their likelihood of being the victim of a violent crime.

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The only area in which blacks have achieved parity with whites is in civic engagement.

While the Obama years were no panacea for Americas long-standing racial inequities, they were a steady climb toward improvement, the report said.

Trump, who attempted to woo black voters last fall with a 10-point plan for urban renewal, has promised to further improve life for African Americans with increased school choice, safer communities and financial reforms to make it easier to start a business. Trump, in his New Deal for Black America, also promised to restore African Americans civil rights by protecting them from illegal immigration.

No group has been more economically harmed by decades of illegal immigration than low-income African American workers, Trump said in the plans announcement. He vowed to reinvest into the inner cities the money saved by barring Muslim refugees from entering the country.

Rep. Karen Bass, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus executive committee, said in an interview that blacks and Hispanics see past Trumps effort to pit the two minority communities against one another.

He is intentionally trying to drive a wedge between two populations that are both in need, Bass said.

Inequalities between Hispanics and whites were slightly narrower than for African Americans, according to the report.

The standard of living for Hispanics is 78 per cent that of whites, with continued improvement over previous years driven by gains in health and education. In health, Latinos saw improvements in maternal mortality and greater insurance coverage, for both adults and children, compared with whites. Health is the only area in which Latinos have achieved parity with whites.

Like blacks, Hispanics also saw a rise in the share of young adults earning associates and bachelors degrees and a decline in high school dropouts. Hispanic women also saw a boost in earnings, and Hispanics overall experienced a growth in business ownership.

Latinos lost ground relative to whites in the area of social justice, with a rise in incarceration rates and female homicide rates.

The economic inequalities exist in all parts of the country, the report shows, but the income and unemployment gap is wider in certain cities.

For the second year in a row, Milwaukee was the least equal metropolitan area for African Americans, with a black unemployment rate of 14 per cent compared with 3 per cent for whites. Other Midwestern cities such as Toledo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit also fared poorly in terms of racial disparities in unemployment.

The five cities are all former manufacturing towns, where African Americans were disproportionately employed in the auto, steel and meat packing industries. Those industries have migrated to the Sunbelt to escape the influence of powerful unions, said Bernard Anderson, a former Labor Department economist who helped develop the first State of Black America report 41 years ago.

Whites, meanwhile, were more likely to have other job opportunities, he said.

The nature and pace of the industrial transformation had an impact on the ultimate racial disparity and employment, said Anderson, management professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School.

San Antonio posted the smallest black-white unemployment gap.

Rochester, N.Y. has the biggest unemployment disparity between Hispanics and whites. But Hispanics appear to have achieved racial parity with whites in terms of unemployment rates in Sarasota, Fla.; Salt Lake City; and El Paso.

Minneapolis-St. Paul had the largest black-white income inequality, with the median household income for African Americans at $31,672 compared with $76,581 for whites. Californias Riverside-San Bernardino area has the smallest black-white income gap for the third year in a row.

The Washington metropolitan area posted the highest median household income for both blacks and whites, although with a yawning disparity  $68,054 for blacks and $112,177 for whites. Latinos also earned the most in Washington  $69,481  compared with other cities.

African Americans in Toledo fared the worst, with a median household income of $23,693. That figure is half of the lowest median household income for whites, at $46,012, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The income gap between Hispanics and whites was largest in Springfield, Mass., where the median household income for Hispanics was $24,929  the lowest for Hispanics in the nation  compared with $62,321 for whites. Modesto, Calif. had the smallest Hispanic-white income gap.

The report presented a range of solutions to protect progress that has been made in narrowing the economic gap between white America and blacks and Hispanics, including universal preschool, doubling federal investment in Pell Grants to allow more low-income students to attend college, and enacting a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour.

The report also called for expanding summer youth employment programs, broadening access to low-income housing assistance, protecting food assistance for poor families, and providing incentives so that more doctors accept Medicaid, government health insurance for the poorest Americans.

Some of these solutions had been presented to Trump during a White House meeting in March with Congressional Black Caucus leaders.

In response to the one question Trump repeatedly posed to black Americans during his campaign  What do you have to lose?  Rep. Cedric L. Richmond said African Americans have plenty to lose under Trump given his budget priorities, proposed policies and personnel decisions.

From appointing an attorney general with a hostile record on issues of justice, equality, and civil rights, to proposing massive cuts to programs of critical importance to the most vulnerable in our communities, this president has made it clear that he intends to roll back the progress we have made in recent years, Richmond wrote in a column included in the report.

Trump has proposed major budget cuts to agencies responsible for overseeing federal programs spanning housing to health care that help low-income Americans, who are disproportionately black.

The administration has also proposed rolling back president Barack Obamas Labor Department initiatives that would expand the number of workers eligible for overtime. Trump is also pulling back from the Obama Justice Departments recommendations on police reform.

Given what weve seen so far in terms of the kinds of policies that are being set forth by this administration, I dont sense that there will be great gains on narrowing these gaps, and in some cases, they could widen, said Valerie Rawlston Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institutes Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy and one of the reports authors.

She said in an interview that the annual reports provide a consistent barometer of how black and Hispanic Americans are faring beyond the political talking points.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Labor Department.

The Urban League issued its first State of Black America report in 1976, prompted by President Gerald R. Fords State of the Union address, which neglected to mention black Americans, and the Democratic response by Sen. Edmund Muskie which also omitted racial equality from his list of endangered promises.

It introduced an equality index in 2005 as a way to measure how far African Americans have progressed in achieving racial equality with white America. The Hispanic equality index was added in 2010.

The report will be formally released during a news conference Tuesday in Washington, coinciding with the National Urban Leagues annual policy conference during which the civil rights organization will share its findings and recommendations with members of Congress.

What happens in Washington counts  for the good and potentially for the bad, Morial said. We must remain vigilant and protect our progress.

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LONDONRescue officials are hopeful that a surfer who was plucked from the sea after more than 30 hours adrift off the western coast of Scotland will make a full recovery despite severe hypothermia.

Matthew Bryce was being treated at Belfast Hospital in Northern Ireland Tuesday after an intense search the previous day ended with him being winched into a Coast Guard helicopter shortly before the light faded.

Coast Guard Operations Specialist Lawrence Cumming said the 22-year-old surfer is making progress after his ordeal.

He was conscious and breathing but severely hypothermic, Cumming said. Lifting a hypothermic person from the water is hazardous, but it was done successfully, and he was then taken to the nearest big hospital, which was in Belfast.

He said Bryces survival was greatly aided by his use of a thick wetsuit that includes boots and a hood. The surfer also managed to remain atop his board, lessening his exposure to the cold water.

Bryce said in a statement released by the hospital that he was so grateful to the rescue team.

I cannot thank those enough who rescued and cared for me, he said. They are all heroes.

His father, John Bryce, said the experience had been an absolute roller coaster with a happy ending.

To get that call from the police last night to say that he was alive was unbelievable, John Bryce said.

Bryce apparently suffered stomach cramps and was unable to paddle properly and was swept out to sea, said Steve England, editor-in-chief of Carve magazine, a surfing publication.

Its not mega-common but it has happened before, England said. He was really lucky. There are very strong currents up there. To end up off the coast of Northern Ireland, he was caught in a serious open ocean current. Its so good that our rescue services were on it.

England said Bryce seemed to be an experienced surfer with quality equipment.

Lord knows how they found him, England said. Its needle in the haystack stuff.

The search was complicated because officials were only notified that Bryce was missing roughly 24 hours after the surfer entered the water, making it more difficult to predict his likely location.

That meant it was a very, very large search area, said Cumming. Lifeboats from Scotland and Northern Ireland scoured the waters as the helicopter searched from the air.

Bryce was spotted by the helicopter crew at about 7:30 p.m. Monday shortly before the light started to give out.

We were moving toward twilight and then darkness, said Cumming.

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BALCH SPRINGS, TEXASPolice in suburban Dallas fired the officer Tuesday who shot and killed a black 15-year-old boy riding in a vehicle leaving a chaotic house party, taking the swift action sought by the teenager's family and protesters who link the case to other deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

The Balch Springs, Texas, officer, identified as Roy Oliver, was terminated for violating department policies in the shooting death of Jordan Edwards, police chief Jonathan Haber said.

Edwards, a high school freshman, was leaving the party with his two brothers and two other teenagers Saturday night. Police arrived at the scene to investigate an underage drinking complaint and spotted the vehicle leaving. Oliver opened fire as the teenagers were driving away.

Shots from his rifle pierced the front side passenger window, hitting Edwards in the front seat, according to Edwards' family attorneys, Lee Merritt and Jasmine Crockett. His 16-year-old brother was driving.

Haber said Oliver, who joined the department in 2011, had committed "several" violations of policy, but wouldn't say what they were because Oliver is entitled to appeal his firing. The Dallas County district attorney and the Dallas County sheriff's office are investigating the case. The race of the fired officer was not revealed.

Police originally said the teenagers' vehicle was reversing "in an aggressive manner" toward officers, but Haber said Monday that video taken at the scene proved the vehicle was actually driving away.

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The police department's latest statement, released Tuesday night, says officers entering the house heard gunshots ring out during a "chaotic scene with numerous people running away from the location." As officers exited the house, they encountered the vehicle backing out onto a main road and driving away despite their attempts to tell the driver to stop, the new statement said.

The Dallas County medical examiner ruled Edwards' death a homicide.

Thousands of Facebook and Twitter users have posted about the case in recent days with the hashtag "#jordanedwards," some comparing his death to other police shootings of young black men, such as 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, who was fatally shot in November 2014 as he held a pellet gun.

Edwards' family had called for the officer to be fired and criminally charged. Both Merritt and Crockett have credited Haber for correcting the mistaken statement and moving quickly to fire Oliver.

"No other city has moved at the rate Balch Springs has," Crockett told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "It's just unbelievable. It's absolutely unbelievable that a department did what a department should do."

But a family statement released Tuesday night called for disciplinary action against other officers who "extended this nightmare for those children."

"Our family is working hard to deal with both the loss of our beloved Jordan and the lingering trauma it has caused our boys," the family statement said.

Cindy Stormer, an attorney for Oliver, issued a statement saying the shooting was "recent and still being investigated."

"Everyone should wait until the facts come out and we know more," she said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Friends have described Edwards as a good student and popular athlete. Edwards and the four people with him decided to leave what was becoming an unruly party as they heard gunfire and police were arriving, Merritt said, citing what witnesses had told lawyers.

As they drove away from the party, Crockett said, the brother driving the vehicle heard multiple gunshots that were close enough to leave his ears ringing. It took a few moments before the people inside in the car noticed Edwards slumped over, she said. They couldn't tell if he was already dead.

The brother who was driving pulled over and tried to motion to police for help, she said. Instead, Crockett said, he was detained and handcuffed. Crockett said the driver wasn't formally arrested, but a separate statement from the family released through Merritt says the two brothers were arrested.

Based on what the video captured, Haber said previously that he questioned whether what he saw was "consistent with the policies and core values" of his department. Haber wouldn't say what problems he saw, but Balch Springs' official use-of-force policy encourages officers facing an oncoming vehicle to "attempt to move out of its path, if possible, instead of discharging a firearm at it or any of its occupants." The video has not been released.

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Last week Ontario announced it will offer a publicly funded pharmacare system for children and youth in Ontario. This is a small step in the right direction, one that is arguably most important for its symbolism in a national debate.

Why just a small step? Because Ontario is adding universal, comprehensive pharmacare coverage to the age group that uses medicines least often. Many working-age Ontarians, who are far more likely to require medicines than children, will still be uninsured.

Why symbolic? Ontarios new pharmacare program signals that government is taking responsibility for this component of health care, integrating it with medical and hospital care. This is as it should be.

Several national commissions on Canadas health care system have recommended adding prescription drugs to our publicly funded universal medicare system. No federal government has ever acted on those recommendations. Not yet, anyhow.

By creating pharmacare-junior, Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Eric Hoskins are in essence calling on the federal government to help finish the job and create a pharmacare program for Canadians of all ages.

Here are four reasons why Canada needs a universal, public pharmacare program  and what Canadians can do to make it happen now.

The most important reason for universal pharmacare in Canada is that access to essential medicines is a human right according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO recommends countries protect that right in law and with pharmaceutical policies that work in conjunction with their broader systems of universal health coverage.

Consistent with this, every other high-income country with a universal health care system provides universal coverage of prescription drugs. It is time Canada did the same.

It would save lives. Canadas patchwork of private and public drug plans leaves millions of Canadians without coverage. As a result, Canadians are three to five times more likely to skip prescriptions because of cost than are residents of comparable countries with universal pharmacare programs.

A 2012 study estimated that inequities in drug coverage for working-age Ontarians with diabetes were associated with 5,000 deaths between 2002 and 2008. Nationally, this human toll would be far greater.

It would save billions of dollars every year. Canadians spend 50 per cent more per capita on pharmaceuticals than residents of the United Kingdom, Sweden, New Zealand and several other countries with universal pharmacare programs. This amounts to spending $12 billion more each year and still not having pharmacare.

Why? Because the universal pharmacare programs in other countries use their purchasing power to obtain better drug prices than our fractured system. Among many examples of such price differences, a years supply of atorvastatin, a widely used cholesterol drug, costs about $143 in Canada but only $27 in the United Kingdom and Sweden, and under $15 in New Zealand.

It would help Canadian businesses. The rising cost of pharmaceuticals are a growing burden for businesses. Part of the problem is that Canadian employers waste between $3 billion and $5 billion per year because employment-related private insurance is ill equipped to manage pharmaceutical costs effectively.

Another part of the problem is that the number of prescription drugs costing more than $10,000 per year has grown almost tenfold in the past decade. Because such costs can quickly render a work-related health plan unsustainable  particularly for small businesses  it is best to manage them at a province- or nation-wide basis.

But this will not happen unless citizens speak up.

Billions of dollars in savings to Canadian taxpayers, employers and households equals billions of dollars of lost revenues to pharmaceutical industry stakeholders. Those stakeholders will not likely make it easy for government to implement universal pharmacare, no matter the benefit to Canadians and the broader economy.

To make pharmacare a reality for Canada, citizens need to get informed and involved. If they support the idea of universal, public pharmacare, they need to let others, particularly elected officials and political candidates, know they care and that they will support a government that takes action. There is a parliamentary e-petition circulating right now in the hope of doing just that.

Without such a groundswell of public engagement, it is unlikely the federal government will implement a universal pharmacare program any time soon.

Steve Morgan is an expert adviser with EvidenceNetwork.ca and a professor in the UBC School of Population and Public Health.

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Harjit Sajjan is a brave man: even his critics agree on that. The general who commanded him in Afghanistan commended Sajjan for remarkable personal courage. Its a record to be proud of.

All of which makes it even more puzzling, as well as disappointing, that the defence minister would grossly exaggerate his role in the biggest Canadian military operation against the Taliban.

On Monday Sajjan took a third stab at explaining his claim to be the architect of Operation Medusa, a drive against Taliban fighters in September, 2006. It didnt go well.

Sajjan repeatedly apologized to the House of Commons for what he called his mistake, and said he was ready to own it and learn from it. What he didnt do was actually explain it.

Nor did he acknowledge that his statement  made first in a CBC interview in 2015, then again last month in a speech in India  was more than a simple mistake. It was not a one-off slip of the tongue, but something he inserted into a prepared speech.

This is the kind of thing that military people find particularly unacceptable  claiming a bigger share of the credit than you deserve when you face danger alongside comrades-in-arms.

And Operation Medusa was dangerous. Twelve Canadian soldiers died fighting the Taliban west of Kandahar. Sajjan was a reserve major who by all accounts did outstanding work in intelligence and won well-deserved praise. But as he himself now acknowledges, he was far from being the architect of the operation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood up for his minister on Monday, saying Sajjan still has my full confidence.

Thats fine, but the most important thing in this case is that Sajjan retain the confidence of the military he oversees. Its not clear he has that now, and he will have to do a better job at explaining his statements if he wants to weather this storm.

For one thing, he could actually explain what motivated his claim, rather than endlessly repeating a handful of rehearsed lines. He has responded three times, beginning with a bland statement of regret on Friday and ending with Mondays apology. But he has yet to give a convincing explanation of why he embellished his role in the Afghan operation, or what exactly he has learned from this episode.

This is all the more unfortunate because Sajjan appeared to be an ideal person to fill the role of defence minister when Trudeau appointed him in November, 2015. A former Vancouver policeman who served three tours of duty as a reserve officer in Afghanistan, Sajjan had the front-line credentials to win respect among military people.

Since then, his tenure has been rocky. The Canadian Forces decades-old problems with procuring new equipment have certainly not gotten any better. Indeed, it was reportedly frustration with the stalled process for approving a naval supply ship that prompted the forces deputy commander, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, to allegedly divulge cabinet secrets and get himself fired.

There are signs things are getting even worse for the military. The recent federal budget postponed billions of dollars in planned defence purchases, leading to fears that vital equipment for the forces will be delayed even more.

And Sajjan himself has been accused by the opposition of fudging the truth in other areas, including the role of Canadas CF-18 fighters in Iraq and the capability of the air force.

Sajjans impressive background and personal valour make him the kind of minister that people from all parties should want to succeed. But he will have to do better if he is to survive this episode and retain the confidence of the people he leads.

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General Motors (GM) - Get Free Report said today that it has ended its operations at its Venezuela plant after a judge in the country ordered the seizure of the plant last month, Reuters reports.

The plant's closure will cost GM about $100 million.

GM's Valencia plant in Venezuela was seized on April 18 by judicial authorities which led the automaker to fire 2,700 workers.

The GM plant had not manufactured a car since the beginning of 2016 due to parts shortages and stringent currency controls.

GM executives have expressed their readiness "to talk with government officials and union leaders about the circumstances under which it could be possible to start production and employ some number of workers with a new, viable business model."

Shares of GM were sinking over 3.5% during mid-morning trading on Tuesday following the report.
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (R), President Trump's nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to China, said today that he would do everything in his power to address what he labeled as China's "unfair and illegal" sales of under-priced steel, Reuters reports.

"I want to do everything I can to make sure that we stop the unfair and illegal activities that we've seen from China in the steel industry," Branstad said today at his Senate confirmation hearing.

President Trump signed a presidential memorandum last month asking Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to "proceed expeditiously" on an investigation into steel imports.

The president called it a "historic day for American steel," and that his administration would "fight for American workers and American-made steel, and that's beginning immediately."
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a "very good" phone conversation this afternoon, touching on a number of pressing issues.

The two leaders discussed the Assad regime in Syria, one of Russia's allies, and "agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," a White House statement read.

Trump and Putin also both agreed that the two must work together to "eradicate terrorism throughout the Middle East."

They also both spoke about how to "best resolve the very dangerous" and ongoing situation in North Korea.
The Senate on Tuesday approved Wall Street lawyer and Goldman Sachs (GS) - Get Free Report adviser Jay Clayton to be the chairman of the nation's securities regulator, in a mostly party-line vote after a number of Democrats reiterated their complaints that the White House candidate had massive conflicts of interest.

Clayton was approved to head the Securities and Exchange Commission on a 61 to 37 vote, with ten Democrats, including Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Mark Warner, D-Va., backing him. In addition, 51 Republicans voted to approve Clayton, with one abstention.

With the approval, Clayton is set to join the agency's five-member oversight panel, giving it a 2-1 Republican edge in votes. The Trump Administration must still nominate two commissioners, one Democrat and another Republican, to fill the remaining empty slots on the agency's panel.

In the hours leading up to his approval, some Democrats said they would vote against Clayton, arguing that he won't be an effective enforcer at the nation's securities agency because of his background as an adviser to Wall Street institutions, including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank (DB) - Get Free Report , means that he will have to recuse himself on numerous key issues.

In addition, they expressed concerns that Clayton won't move to adopt rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act, written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, including one Democratic-backed measure seeking to have companies compare CEO pay to that of their workers.

"Mr. Clayton will be forced to sit out of numerous decisions integral to the SEC," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on the Senate floor. "His absence could undermine the SEC's ability to prosecute wrongdoing."

Democrats argued that Clayton will need to recuse himself from a wide variety of enforcement actions because of his background as a long-time M&A lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. During his 20-plus years at Sullivan & Cromwell, Clayton provided advice on a number of big mergers and private equity deals, as well as many public offerings, including Alibaba Group's (BABA) - Get Free Report blockbuster $25 billion IPO in 2014 and Ally Financial's (ALLY) - Get Free Report $2.4 billion IPO, also in 2014.

"Mr. Clayton's law firm and former clients will create a steady stream of conflicts for him, forcing him to recuse himself in cases involving former clients for two of the four years he could serve as chair," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, who also voted against Clayton.

Democrats also complained that he lacked enough knowledge on enforcement matters to effectively oversee the largest financial companies.

Republicans backed Clayton, reiterating their support for comments made by Clayton at his confirmation hearing that he will focus on taking regulatory actions to help increase the number of corporations conducting IPOs in the United States.

"With an SEC led by Clayton, we will ensure that the U.S. financial system and markets remain the preferred destination for investors around the world," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

Jim Cramer and the AAP team takes a deep dive into Alphabet (GOOGL) - Get Free Report following last week's strong earnings report. Find out what they are telling their investment club members. Get a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

The approval comes after Clayton received a vote of 60 to 36 on Monday to advance past a procedural hurdle that set the stage for the final vote Tuesday.

At his conformation hearing, Democrats also took issue with Clayton's comments about a recent trend of companies conducting IPOs giving insiders control. Clayton suggested that the trend represents a "change in the balance" of power that has emerged due to a dearth of public offerings of late.

Those comments didn't to ease concerns raised by big institutional investors and activist hedge funds, all of which are putting pressure on the SEC to block public offerings that would follow in the footsteps of Snap's (SNAP) - Get Free Report recent unprecedented debut last month with non-voting shares.

Shareholders argue that the issuance makes the company behind the Snapchat app unaccountable to investors and that the SEC should block exchanges from allowing similar offerings. Backers of Snap argue that the non-voting structure is necessary to encourage IPOs and protect companies from activist investors.

Meanwhile, over on Real Money, Cramer argues that going against Warren Buffett on the eve of Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting is a real suckers game. Get his insights with a free trial subscription to Real Money

Clayton added that the governance structure, which gives insiders control of the votes at many tech giants, including Facebook (FB) - Get Free Report , is the result of a lack of companies coming to the public markets. "My sense is that there is so much thirst for public companies that it is easier for a company to set a particular set of governance requirements than there may have been in the past," he said.
Luxury hospitality brand Shaza Hotels has appointed the new members to its managerial team across Oman and Saudi Arabia.



Sherief Abouelmagd joins the group as cluster general manager of Oman, a role that will see him take responsibility for both Mysk Muscat and Shaza Salalah with the entire teams of both hotels reporting to him.



An American national of Egyptian origin, Abouelmagd has nearly 30 years of quality hotel experience from the US, Middle East, and other parts of the GCC. Some of the key positions he has held over the course of his career are at the Cairo Marriott Palace Hotel, the Melia Hotels across Egypt and Doha and in both city hotels and resorts. Shaza will this year be inaugurating a Mysk in Muscat and a Shaza Resort in Salalah.



Mohammed Ghanem has been appointed as the general manager of Shaza Makkah. Hailing from Jordan and holding a diploma in Hospitality Management, Ghanem brings with him 20 years of quality experience in the hospitality industry. Of these two decades, his most recent years had him concentrate predominantly on the Makkah market. He has previously worked with the InterContinental Hotels and more recently with the Marriott Group.



Shaza Makkah is situated a small stroll away from the Holy Mosque and the beating heart of the city and the entire Islamic world. The lyrical rapture of the call to prayer within earshot, the hotel is close enough to feel the pulse of the haram, yet just far enough to provide calm and serenity to replenish the pilgrim. Shaza Makkah will witness a soft opening on November 1.



Shafik Alaaeddine has been named the general manager of Mysk by Shaza, Al Mouj in Muscat, Oman. He returns to the Shaza family after a gap of three years, having worked earlier with Shaza Al Madinah as executive assistant manager. A Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management and Alumni of Starwood Leaders Program, Alaaeddine brings with him 12 years of quality experience in the hospitality industry, having recently held the position of hotel manager with Starwood Hotel & Resorts  Le Meridien, Gabon.



Mysk by Shaza Al Mouj will witness a soft opening on August 15.



With the imminent opening of Shaza Makkah, Amjad Irshaidat has been promoted to the post of country general manager for Saudi Arabia. He first joined the Shaza family in 2010 for the opening of Shaza Al Madinah, and has been part of the family since.



Set within the illuminating city, Shaza Al Madinah basks in the shadow of the haram. With minarets peeking through the vista, the aura of the haram is everywhere to be seen and felt. Shaza Al Madinah is the intimate and discreetly luxurious choice of the culturally refined. - TradeArabia News Service
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- The number of al-Shabaab recruits from Kenya being killed by the militant group is increasing

- The recruits are accused spying by the terror group

- The new revelations were made by Operation Linda Boni director James ole Seriani

Terror group al-Shabaab is in turmoil after new reports emerged that the militants were killing their own members.

According to the report, the militants are in particular killing recruits from Kenya.

READ ALSO: Horror as an alleged KDF soldier opens fire inside a bar

The Kenyan recruits are accused of being spies by their Somali counterparts.

Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.

READ ALSO: KDF soldiers SURVIVE deadly attack

The latest details of the killings were revealed by Operation Linda Boni director James ole Seriani.

Seriani said the Kenyan recruits are not trusted by the militants for fear of being government spies.

"We have reports that at least six Kenyan youth who had joined al-Shabaab in Somalia were killed between March and April this year alone,

"Most Kenyan recruits are no longer trusted by the militia group; they are suspected to be Kenyan government spies,'' Seriani said.

READ ALSO: Uhuru, Raila and others badly exposed: They have no morals. All these old men will die sooner or later

Al-Shabaab fighters on the move.

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According to Seriani, most of the Kenyan al-Shabaab recruits killed by the militants are from Lamu county.

Militant group al-Shabaab has for a decade since its emergence used recruits outside Somalia to carry out its terror attacks.

The recruits from as far as Tanzania, Uganda and the Middle East have been responsible for major terror attacks in Nairobi, Mombasa and KDF camps in Somalia.

Watch TUKO Hot below:

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

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The Opposition has threatened to take the Government all the way to the Privy Council over o
Militants launched 55 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

In Mariupol direction, militants used 120mm mortars, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms to shell Ukrainian positions near Pavlopol (30 km northeast of Mariupol). Militants also launched attacks on ATO troops outside Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk), using 82mm mortars, ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft mounts and heavy machine guns. Ukrainian strongholds near Hnutove (19km north-west of Mariupol) came under 82mm mortar, grenade launcher, heavy machine gun and small arms fire.

In Donetsk direction, Russian-backed militants fired at Ukrainian servicemen near Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk), using 120mm and 82mm mortars, antitank missile systems, grenade launchers and small arms. Terrorists also used 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms to shell Ukrainian positions near Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk).

In Luhansk direction, Ukrainian strongholds outside Novozvanivka (70km west of Luhansk) came under grenade launcher and heavy machine gun fire. The enemy also used automatic grenade launchers and small arms to launch attacks on ATO troops near Valuiske (20km north-east of Luhansk), Krymske (42.5km north-west of Luhansk) and Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk).

ol
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine has sent Ms. Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, a letter of invitation for a special mission to prepare a report on the ease of doing business.

This is reported by the Ministrys press service.

"Last year, the mission did not work in Ukraine and, consequently, the Doing Business 2017 report did not take into account some of our achievements. In particular, it did not mention the amendments to the tax code (including a decrease in the single social contribution rate), creation of open access to real estate data and so on. To avoid such a situation this year, we invite a mission to visit Ukraine," First Vice Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv said.

ol
More than 160 participants and delegation members of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 arrived in Ukraine over the past day.

This is reported by the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

"The employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine are taking systemic measures to meet and register at the border the participants in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, who are now actively arriving in Ukraine. More than 160 participants and delegation members arrived in Ukraine in last 24 hours," the statement reads.

It is noted that a total of almost 400 participants and delegation members of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 already arrived. Most of the participants were registered at the Boryspil and Kyiv airports.

ol
The Ukrainian Embassy in the United Kingdom confirmed information about the detention of Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of illegal border crossing in the town of Orford in eastern England.

The Ukrainian Embassy posted this on Twitter.

The British Border Guard Service confirmed the detention of seven Ukrainians citizens during the illegal crossing of the UK border near Orford on April 30, reads the report.

In addition, the embassy noted that they continue to take needed measures so that to protect the rights of the Ukrainian nationals

iy
I know I look different, a bit weird, but is it my fault? This is how God created me, says Hosson. But I am just like you. I have feelings. People are always avoiding me. I barely have friends. Only my father understands me, supports me and encourages me to help other children to study in my neighbourhood.

Her friend and neighbour, Faiza, 12, is one of her few friends.

Hosson is my friend, and I love her very much. She never scared me because of how she looks. She is always helping me and the other children to study. I know people call her names. It is not fair, it is cruel, says Faiza.

Hosson is the youngest of nine siblings from a very poor family in Malla district. But she loves school and gets high marks.

When I went to school for first time, I used to cry when other children bullied me and called me beast. Even the teachers, they were so cruel, says Hosson. They would ask me to sit in the back of the class as they thought I had a contagious disease.

But one day, she recalls her father coming to school to speak to the head master and teachers. With tears in his eyes, he pleaded with them to treat her with respect and dignity.

That day had a major effect on my life as a child, says Hosson. That day I resolved not to allow anyone to treat me badly and to stand up for myself.
Fifty-six years ago today, Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro banned multiparty elections and declared Cuba a socialist nation.

Addressing hundreds of thousands of Cubans at a May Day parade (read his speech in English here), Castro openly identified himself as a Marxist-Leninist, setting off a decades-long Cold War with the United States.

"If Mr Kennedy does not like socialism, we do not like imperialism," Castro said, referring to then-president John F. Kennedy. "We do not like capitalism."

The May Day proclamation came just one month after the failed U.S.-sponsored invasion of the island by Cuban exiles, the so-called Bay of Pigs operation.

The invasion force of 1,300 men landed at Bahia de Cochinos, but was quickly crushed. The days that followed saw thousands of anti-Castro rebels confined in makeshift prisons; hundreds were later executed.

Castro came to power in 1959 after leading a successful revolt against dictator Fulgencio Batista and his government.

From the start, the United States worried that Castro was too leftist in his politics. He implemented agrarian reform, expropriated foreign oil company holdings, and eventually seized all foreign-owned property in Cuba.

He also established close diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and the Russians were soon providing economic and military aid to the Caribbean nation.

By January 1961, the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Decades later in 2014 (long after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union), former U.S. President Barack Obama restored full diplomatic relations with Cuba. The U.S. opened an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century as Obama vowed to "cut loose the shackles of the past" and sweep aside one of the last vestiges of the Cold War.

The historic deal broke an enduring stalemate between the two countries, divided by 144 kilometers of water and decades of mistrust and hostility dating from the days of Theodore Roosevelts charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War that brought independence to Cuba.

The visit by Obama in 2016 was aimed at cementing the new relationship between Washington and Havana. Some years before, in 2008, an aging and unwell Fidel Castro officially stepped down, handing power to his brother, Raul.

Fidel Castro died Nov. 25, 2016, at age 90.
In the face of international outrage, U.S. President Donald Trump's spokesman says the decision to invite authoritarian Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and other East Asian leaders to the White House is part of a strategy to isolate North Korea.

"It is an opportunity to work with countries in that region who can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday. "And, frankly, the national interests of the United States, the safety of our people and the safety of people in the region are the number one priorities of the president."

In telephone conversations over the weekend, Trump invited the leaders of Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines to visit. But it was the invitation to the firebrand Duterte that touched off shock waves on Capitol Hill and infuriated the global human rights community.

Invitation questioned

"President Trump weakens American values when he fails to stand up for human rights," said Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, in a written statement. "President Duterte has overseen the illegal killing of thousands of his own people in the Philippines. By welcoming Duterte to meet with him at the White House, Trump risks giving Duterte's actions and his brutal human rights violations an American stamp of approval."

"It sends a terrible message to the world," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch.

Duterte has been scorned internationally for his war on drugs, which has featured the extrajudicial killings of thousands of people. He is reported to have bragged to British media that he personally killed three suspects while he was mayor of the southern city of Davao.

Jonah Blank, Asia analyst at the Rand Corporation, noted that even some White House and State Department staff were caught off guard at news of the Duterte invitation. "It's a balancing of the values America has stood for under both Democratic and Republican administrations, versus a desire to have warmer relations with problematic leaders," Blank told VOA.

Trump isnt concerned

Trump brushed off concerns about Duterte's reputation in an interview Monday with Bloomberg News. "The Philippines is very important to me strategically and militarily," the president said. "I look forward to meeting him. If he comes to the White House, that's fine."

The invitation to Duterte raised questions Monday at the White House about whether Trump had been fully briefed on the Philippine president's human rights record. "The president gets fully briefed on the leaders he's speaking to," Spicer said. "But the number one concern of the president is to make sure we do everything we can to protect our people."

Trump even mused to Bloomberg that he might be willing to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the White House. Spicer, however, clarified that such an invitation could only come if circumstances change in North Korea.

"Under the right circumstances was, I believe, the phrase used," Spicer said. "We've got to see their provocative behavior ratchet down immediately. There's a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior and  to show signs of good faith. Clearly conditions are not there right now."

Not so fast

Duterte on Monday seemed in no hurry to accept the White House invitation. He told reporters in Manila, "I cannot make any definite promises," noting that he already is scheduled to visit Russia and Israel in the coming months.

Duterte also said he told Trump that military threats are not the best tactic for dealing with North Korea.

"I said, mister president, I do not think that you can scare Kim Jung Un with the fire power. Our greatest chance of getting some dialogue with America and North Korea would be through the intercession of China," Duterte said.

Regional analysts Monday questioned the role the Philippines might be able to play in any effort to put military pressure on Pyongyang.

The Philippines could provide diplomatic support for the U.S. position on North Korea, but not much else, said Malcolm Cook, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. "U.S. forces in Japan and South Korea, and Japan's own self-defense forces, are key. The Philippines is far away and is not a node in the U.S. ballistic missile defense system."
A group of Hispanic workers is suing a Michigan industrial plant that fired them for taking part in the Day Without Immigrants protest in February.

The Detroit Free Press newspaper reports the workers have taken their case to the National Labor Relations Board in Washington.

Their lawyer, Tony Paris, tells the newspaper the company discriminated against them because they are Hispanic immigrants who took part in a political protest.

Paris says EZ Industrial Solutions questioned about 20 workers about whether they planned to take part in the nationwide protest. The plant allegedly threatened to suspend any worker for one week if he marched.

Paris says instead of a weeklong layoff, the workers were fired and the company threatened to report them to immigration authorities.

One of the affected employees says those who work at EZ have an "informal schedule." She says they stayed home for as much as three days at a time without penalty or being made to justify the absence.

In a message sent to the Detroit Free Press, an official with the EZ Industrial Solutions said the law is clear that someone cannot simply fail to show up on the job and take part in a nonwork-related political protest without consequences.

He said he is confident the lawsuit will be dropped.
Islamic State is claiming to have attacked and captured a volatile district from the rival Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.

The Syrian-based terrorist group in a statement through its Amaq News Agency says overnight clashes for the control of Chaprhar in Nangarhar province killed at least 10 Taliban fighters.

It added that three enemy fighters were captured alive while the rest fled the area. IS said both sides used light and heavy weapons in the fighting.

The Taliban has not yet commented on the fighting.

Clash between rivals confirmed

A spokesman for the provincial government, Ataullah Khogyani, has confirmed the clashes between the rival militant groups.

He said 21 Taliban fighters and seven IS militants were killed in the fighting. He added that civilians were also caught in the cross-fire, leaving three people dead and five others wounded.

None of the claims could be verified independently.

Separately, the Taliban and IS have both taken credit for a suicide car bombing of an American military convoy they said took place Monday in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar.

Similar details released

Both the groups have released almost identical details about the damages through their official means of communication, claiming the blast left at least six U.S. soldiers dead.

The U.S. military confirmed the attack on a coalition convoy, but said there were no casualties and the incident occurred in the nearby Achin district, which is believed to be IS's main regional base in Afghanistan.

We can confirm there was a vehicle borne attack on a coalition convoy in Achin district, Nangarhar province. One vehicle was disabled, but there were no coalition casualties or injuries, U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Salvin told VOA.

Islamic State leader killed

Achin is where the two American soldiers were killed during a joint raid with Afghan Special forces last week against a cave-and-tunnel complex.

Pentagon officials said they suspected IS chief Abdul Hasib was also killed along with 35 fighters in a brutal three-hour gunfight in the Mohmand Valley in the mountainous district.

But despite the apparent success of U.S. and Afghan forces in killing the leader of IS in Afghanistan, some questions remain.

The location of the IS headquarters complex is just a couple of kilometers away from an extensive IS tunnel-and-cave complex targeted two weeks ago with the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal. Officials said the ordnance killed 92 IS fighters, though as many as 800 may have been in the area.

'The right weapon'

This weapon was the right weapon against this target, General John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said at the time.

The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive minefields, and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so that we could continue our offensive.

Yet despite those assertions, other officials said it was unclear whether the bomb made any significant impact on IS operations in the area.

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
Leading accommodation provider Oaks Hotels & Resorts, a division of Minor Hotels, is proud to announce the launch of its first ever airline loyalty programme partnership, joining Air New Zealand's Airpoints programme to give travellers the opportunity to earn valuable rewards.

To celebrate this milestone, Oaks Hotels & Resorts is offering triple Airpoints Dollars on accommodation bookings at a selection of its most popular properties until 31 May, allowing members to earn up to 60 Airpoints Dollars for each eligible stay for travel from 1 June until 30 September, 2017.

With the choice of 48 hotels and resorts spanning popular leisure and CBD destinations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, South and Western Australia, as well as New Zealand's Queenstown, Airpoints members can now take advantage of this incentive when booking accommodation.

Airpoints Dollars can be used toward the cost of flights with Air New Zealand and Star Alliance Airlines, as well as room upgrades, car rentals and purchases through the increasingly popular Airpoints Store.

Chief Operations Officer of Oaks Hotels & Resorts, Mike Anderson, commented, "The hotelier is looking forward to embarking on this exciting initiative with one of the world's leading airlines to provide its members with impressive rewards, even more competitive rates and additional ways to earn Airpoints Dollars, simply for booking accommodation at any one of Oaks Hotels & Resorts' 48 properties across Australia and beyond," he said.

Air New Zealand's General Manager Loyalty, Mark Street, said, "Oaks Hotels & Resorts will offer our 2.4 million members an outstanding accommodation option, particularly at key Australian destinations that our members love to travel to. An attractive Airpoints Dollar earn rate will help our members to be able to travel again sooner."

For more information, please visit www.minorhotels.com/oaks/airpoints

About Minor International

Minor International (MINT) is a global company focused on three core businesses: hospitality, restaurants and lifestyle brands distribution. MINT is a hotel owner, operator and investor with a portfolio of over 520 hotels under the Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, NH Collection, NH, nhow, Elewana, Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis and Radisson Blu brands in 56 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe, South and North America. MINT is also one of Asia's largest restaurant companies with over 2,300 outlets system-wide in 24 countries under The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club, Riverside, Benihana, Thai Express, Bonchon, Swensen's, Sizzler, Dairy Queen, Burger King and Coffee Journey brands, in addition to over 1,000 outlets of MINT's strategic alliances (i.e. S&P and BreadTalk). MINT is one of Thailand's largest distributors of lifestyle brands and contract manufacturers. Its brands include Anello, BergHOFF, Bodum, Bossini, Charles & Keith, Esprit, Joseph Joseph, Radley, Zwilling J.A. Henckels and Minor Smart Kids. For more information, please visit www.minor.com.

Lynsey Trembath

Nmedia PR

0404 866 887

Minor
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke at the annual May Day celebrations Monday in Nairobi, a day when many countries celebrate workers. But in sub-Saharan Africa, about three-fourths of those laborers work in the informal sector, without contracts or job protections, according to the International Labor Organization.

Kenyatta pledged to tackle high unemployment during his May Day speech.

One hundred meters away, 31-year-old Christine Ndunge continued her work selling sodas and snacks. She has been a street vendor at a public park in central Nairobi for several years.

"These days getting a job is hard," she said. "I have decided to employ myself so that I can survive. Like now, it's a rainy season  there are not enough customers to buy drinks. I motivate myself to continue selling because there is nowhere else I can work."

In his address Monday, Kenyatta announced that Kenya will be raising its minimum wage by 18 percent.

The crowd cheered, but analysts say policies like raising the minimum wage won't help a majority of the workforce.

According to the Kenyan government's 2017 economic survey, 833,000 jobs were created last year. However, less than 20 percent of those jobs were in the formal sector.

"There is that disconnect," said Kwame Owino, CEO of the Institute of Economic Affairs in Kenya. "So on one side, we have unions, which are talking for people who are in the formal sector, raising wages. And when that happens in standard economics, one of the first things that happens is employment shrinks. So when that employment shrinks in the formal sector, most of these people fall back to the informal sector. We are solving the wrong problem."

He said Kenya and other African countries need to improve conditions for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs in Africa often struggle to raise capital. Owino said what governments can do is create new regulations making it easier for small businesses to get loans. He said policymakers can also streamline the process of registering and running a legal business and make it cheaper.

Josphat Mwendo, a trained mechanic, spent years unsuccessfully looking for a job. Finally, the 32-year-old started fixing cars for money himself. Now, he has three people he pays to help him.

"I don't feel good because they did not speak about people like us," he said. "I think it's good to think about those who have employed themselves too, so that they can know their worth and also feel they are Kenyans like the rest."

The problem is particularly acute among young people.

A recent study by the Brookings Institution found that Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 are just a third of the continent's total working-age population, but account for nearly two-thirds of the continent's unemployed.
Chanting "Yes, We Can" in Spanish and English, hundreds of people marched to the White House in observance of May Day.

The march and rally, combined with a general strike, are intended to champion workers' rights like other May Day demonstrations around the world. But this protest had the added impetus of protesting anti-immigrant policies of President Donald Trump by highlighting the role immigrants play in the U.S. economy.

About 150 businesses in the D.C. area closed, most of them restaurants and legal offices. Other businesses offered a paid day for employees who wanted to demonstrate.

El Rancho Migueleno in Arlington was one business that remained open, but paid employees who wanted to protest.

Owner Oscar Amaya also hired a van to take 12 of his workers to Dupont Circle, the staging area for the march.

WATCH: Aline's video report on the march

Amaya, who came from El Salvador in 1990, told VOA in Spanish that he left the choice up to his employees, but that in his opinion, the "most important thing was to get out and march."

He said his biggest concern is the fear that the community is experiencing. "People don't want to go out to work, let alone have fun," he said.

Amaya said his business has been affected by Trump's policies because many of his Latino customers are afraid to come to the restaurant to dinner.

Trump has issued three executive orders pertaining to immigration, including one that loosens the criteria by which undocumented immigrants can be deported, and calls for hiring more immigration agents.
AARP is planning to run radio ads to encourage people to call their members of Congress and ask them to oppose any action to block states from helping to set up the retirement savings programs. If you want to join the effort, call AARPs retirement savings hotline at 844-453-9953. (John Maier Jr./For The Washington Post)

Im at a loss as to why some Republicans on Capitol Hill want to block the creation of workplace retirement plans for small-business employees.

We know that Social Security will soon face some serious funding issues.

And with fewer companies offering pensions these days, we know that workers have to save for their own retirement. The percentage of employers still offering a traditional defined benefit plan to new hires has fallen significantly, according to advisory services firm Willis Towers Watson. In 2015, only 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered a traditional pension plan to new employees, down from 59 percent in 1998.

And increasingly, companies that still offer a pension have stopped or frozen the accrual of benefits for plan participants.

We also know that when a company offers a defined-contribution plan such as a 401(k), employees are more likely to save for retirement. Only 5 percent of people who dont have access to a workplace retirement plan will go out on their own and open an individual retirement account, said Sarah M. Gill, an AARP senior legislative representative.

And workers are 15 times more likely to save for retirement if they have access to automatic payroll deduction plans, Gill said.

[Who wouldnt want workers to save for retirement? These guys. ]

Heres why I make these points.

Right now in the Senate, there is an effort to stop states from creating retirement plans for small-business employees. But the smaller the business, the less likely that the company has the resources to set up its own retirement plan. About 55 million private-sector employees in the United States have no access to retirement savings plans at work, according to AARP.

To help encourage workers to save, the Obama administration made it easier for states to facilitate retirement plans. Several states have approved such programs, and many other jurisdictions have been considering doing it, too. But the Republican-led Congress is trying to undo the policy, which could stall the initiatives.

To be clear, the states are facilitating the creation of these retirement plans, which are run by private investment firms. Employees put in their own money and control how it is invested, just like they would if they worked for a company that offered a workplace retirement plan.

Republicans and business groups who oppose the new plans argue that its not the role of states to create retirement plans for nongovernment workers. They also contend that such plans will discourage employers from establishing plans for their workers.

This is hogwash.

Despite decades of federal incentives, employer sponsorship of retirement savings plans has not grown, especially amongst small employers, wrote Nancy LeaMond, AARPs executive vice president, in a letter to senators.

If youve got a workplace plan or youve invested on your own for retirement, you might think this battle isnt your business.

[7 of 10 Americans plan to work in retirement]

And you would be wrong.

The more people save for their own retirement, the less drain and strain on federal, state and local government funds.

The national cost of public assistance on the retirement-age population is projected to be $86 billion in 2032, according to a recent report by the University of Maine. The fiscal cost from the retirement-age population does not have to grow to such a magnitude, though. Increasing retirement income through greater pre-retirement savings can substantially reduce taxpayer contributions for public assistance.

Listen to William A. Birdthistle, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and author of Empire of the Fund: The Way We Save Now, who has studied this issue in depth.

I wish we didnt need state solutions to what is a nationwide problem of far too few Americans having access to a prudent and affordable savings plan, Birdthistle told me in an interview.

But by bringing together large groups of investors, the state plans can achieve economies of scale and harness bargaining power to drive down the cost of fund fees. And with auto-enrollment, they will provide help for so many workers who have no pensions, no retirement plan, and awful prospects for accumulating a nest egg, he said.

AARP is planning to run radio ads to encourage people to call their members of Congress and ask them to oppose any action to block states from helping to set up the retirement savings programs. If you want to join the effort, call AARPs retirement savings hotline at 844-453-9953.

Weve seen how regular folks can make a difference. It certainly did with Congresss first attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act. The politicians who oppose the state-facilitated retirement plans arent looking out for the interest of people who need every possible incentive and initiative to save. And when people save, it helps us all.

Write Singletary at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or michelle.singletary@washpost.com. To read more, go to http://wapo.st/michelle-singletary.

Read more:

Trump tax reform: Hes got some explaining to do.

Yes, all debt is bad debt

Forced to take Social Security before your full retirement age?
(Ron Charles/The Washington Post)

The descendants of Zeus were the worlds first tabloid stars. If you can believe the lying media of ancient Greece, things went to Hades pretty soon after Tantalus murdered his own son and fed him to the gods. That special recipe was eventually passed down to a grandson  so much for the benefits of eating dinner with family. These glamorous people endured rape, murder, incest, cannibalism and a deadly wardrobe malfunction.

All this mischief seems like a lot of excitement for Colm Toibin, an Irish writer whose novels have largely tilted toward the other side of the thrill meter. A gorgeous stylist, Toibin captures the subtle flutterings of consciousness better than any writer alive. The Master, his 2004 novel about Henry James, is a wondrous act of imitation and reinvention. Nora Webster (2014), inspired by the quiet life of his mother, is a miracle of restrained sorrow and joy.

But he spoke in a different register in The Testament of Mary, a monologue that earned three Tony Award nominations on Broadway and later, when released as a novel, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013. Here, the elderly mother of Jesus is simmering with rage over the fate of her son. Cross that woman with Greek mythology, and you get something like Clytemnestra, the furious matriarch who dominates Toibins new novel, House of Names.

[Colm Toibin loves the movie version of his novel Brooklyn]

This isnt just a captivating retelling; its a creative reanimation of these indelible characters who are still breathing down our necks across the millennia. And far from feeling constrained by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, Toibin ventures into the lacunae of the old legends and pumps blood even into the silent figures of Greek tragedy.

He endows Clytemnestra with a hybrid voice that sounds both strangely modern and ancient. I have been acquainted with the smell of death, she says in the opening line, and you too will know that sickly, sugary smell by the end of this extraordinary story of carnage. Murder makes us ravenous, she goes on, fills the soul with satisfaction that is fierce and then luscious enough to create a taste for further satisfaction. She delivers these lines while smiling over a pair of her victims left rotting in the sun, then immediately recalls the crime that provoked her wrath.

Author Colm Toibin (Brigitte Lacombe)

We already know the general outline of her grievance, of course, but her seething recitation feels fated and suspenseful: With his ships stalled in the harbor, Clytemnestras husband, Agamemnon, sacrificed their daughter to the gods to make the winds blow again. When he returned home victorious, she wreaked her revenge.

The novels action picks up here when Clytemnestra is teetering atop a precarious kingdom. With Agamemnon dead, she must contend with rebellious subjects, a conniving new lover and her surviving children, Orestes and Electra, who are definitely canceling their Mothers Day plans.

Despite the passage of centuries, this is a disturbingly contemporary story of a powerful woman caught between the demands of her ambition and the constraints on her gender. A Mediterranean Lady Macbeth, she stabs with a knife and flirts with her eyes. She orders murders and feigns weakness. Her power must always be exercised clandestinely. Orestes comes to despise his mothers chirping voice, the jokey inconsequentiality of her tone. But he also understands her strategic personality. She had learned to sound stupid, he says. Beneath all her simpering and insinuation, there was fury, there was steel.

Much of the novel simmers in this stillness between the heaves of storm. The principal characters loathe one another but remain suspended in the polite intrigue that envelops this palace full of lingering echoes and whisperings  and lots of sex. (Clytemnestras lover, Aegisthus, frequently comes to bed after sleeping with one of the maids or a guard  hes an equal-opportunity abuser.) These are family members determined to live in a world of their own inventions. All thats required is the aggressive maintenance of their pretense.

Running beneath these dark corridors filled with rough desire rages a theological argument that reminds us that existential despair is not an invention of the modern age. While Electra clings to her faith that the gods will bring justice, Clytemnestra says, I live alone in the shivering, solitary knowledge that the time of the gods has passed. In one of the novels chilliest passages, she claims, Our appeal to the gods is the same as the appeal a star makes in the sky above us before it falls, it is a sound we cannot hear, a sound to which, even if we did hear it, we would be fully indifferent. This reflects Toibins own loss of faith, but its particularly interesting because House of Names maintains the fierce tension between Clytemnestras atheism and Electras piety as they pursue their competing futures.

Never before has Toibin demonstrated such range, not just in tone but in action. He creates the arresting, hushed scenes for which hes so well known just as effectively as he whips up murders that compete, pint for spilled pint, with those immortal Greek playwrights.

If youve endured many classic retreads  Macbeth set in Nazi Germany; The Great Gatsby spiked with hip-hop  you may be skeptical. So many of those earnest projects end up desecrating literary graves, but thats not the case in House of Names. Toibins reverence for the ancient texts is perfectly married to his modern sensibility  a union even Clytemnestra could celebrate.

Ron Charles is the editor of Book World. You can follow him @RonCharles.

On May 16 at 7 p.m., Colm Toibin will be at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington. politics-prose.com.


Anu Yadav, left, Jesse J. Perez as Macbeth, Brett Johnson, background, and Brayden Simpson in Shakespeare Theatre's Macbeth. (Scott Suchman/Shakespeare Theatre Company)

The Shakespeare Theatre Companys new Macbeth makes its modern military charge right off the bat. Soldiers storm the Harman Hall stage, rifles popping. Out of the mayhem emerge three witches, a woman and two men: American-sounding covert operatives spreading unrest and looking for a puppet to be their next tin-pot dictator.

Director Liesl Tommys action-packed production is a tale of Africa suffering at the hands of Western interventionists. It is never more alive than during its battles; this show is notably fluent in the vocabulary of African violence. Child soldiers? Yes  thats who Macbeth recruits to assassinate his erstwhile sidekick Banquo and Banquos son. Necklacing? Yes  a tire is tossed over the head of a victim and doused with gasoline as shes wrestled offstage.

Even so, as Macbeth productions go, this is not unusually violent or especially bloody. Nor is it particularly engaging, emotionally. The CIA-like witches have a lot of sway here, and Hecate  their boss, not typically the most memorable character in the play  is the ultimate puppet master, in a torn-from-the-headlines twist far too juicy to be spoiled here. The operatives even have a Men in Black quality, at one point donning sunglasses and flashing something like a neuralyzer at bystanders as they stride away from a scene  though its probably just a cellphone. They routinely snap photos of carnage with their phones.

What all this means is that Shakespeares thread of individual tragedy takes a back seat to political melodrama. Tommy, who was raised in South Africa and who was nominated for a Tony last year for her Broadway staging of Eclipsed with Lupita Nyongo, torques the play toward African strife but never fully gets her leading characters there. Macbeth is a play of second thoughts, the conscience that increasingly dogs Macbeth and his equally ambitious wife. But you dont really get much of a bead on these famously conflicted personalities.

Nikkole Salter has a slightly better time of it as a Lady Macbeth who first appears in a Harvard T-shirt, reclining in a chair and looking lost. The opportunity for power animates her, though Salter, who was in Tommys 2009 Eclipsed at Woolly Mammoth, hardly throws herself into overdrive as Lady Macbeth goads the couple toward their first murder. She preens contentedly in a magnificent red dress during a coronation scene that features a luxury sedan for the new ruling couple, and she cradles a candle during the sleepwalking scene. (Childlessness seems to plague her.)

Still, shes elusive, not frighteningly ruthless or erotically charged, even during abrupt conjugal clinches with Jesse J. Perezs Macbeth. Salters human-scaled Lady Macbeth never quite finds a commanding, revealing moment.

Neither does Perezs earnest Macbeth, whose soliloquies are often spotlighted as action freezes around him. Perez is most assertive with Macbeths pride, symbolized by the upward twisting thrust of Macbeths trademark power salute. But the plays horror lies in Macbeths recognition of where he is as one murder leads to another: I am in blood stepped in so far, he says, that should I wade no more returning were as tedious as going over.



Double, double, toil and trouble: the witches in Macbeth. (Scott Suchman/Shakespeare Theatre Company)

So what kind of man is this unexpected murderer? We dont get early clues, and as the plot thickens, Perez oddly turns to wisecracks. Peculiar comedy creeps into the banquet scene with the ghost of Macbeths erstwhile sidekick Banquo (an appealing McKinley Belcher III), and the climactic battle features lines delivered like sarcastic movie quips. Does this Macbeth get his self-image from Hollywood?

The performance really only strikes a compelling tone visually. John Coynes set is like a gash in the earth with a seam of gold in the back wall and thin, vertical light tubes glowing with color and reconfiguring around the sloped stage. Its a show of strong images: the pomp of the Macbeths coronation, the witches (David Bishins, Tim Getman and Naomi Jacobson) clandestinely monitoring action via electronic eavesdropping devices, soldiers and assassins executing vicious attacks with machetes.

Marcus Naylor emerges in the late stages as a soulful Macduff; Myra Lucretia Taylor is vivacious and funny in the plays comic-relief role of the porter; and Petronia Paley and Sophia Ramos are reasoned as Duncan (here a queen, not a king) and the adviser, Ross. Its a contemporary, watchable show, if long at 2 hours 50 minutes. But its a lesser Macbeth that so dramatically shrinks its king and queen to pawns.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Directed by Liesl Tommy. Costumes, Kathleen Geldard; lights, Colin K. Bills; sound design and original music, Broken Chord. With Corey Allen, Nicole King, Brett Johnson, Nilanjana Bose, Trinity Sky Deabreu, Horace V. Rogers, JaBen Early, Stephen Elrod, Scotland Newton, Kelsey Rainwater, Christopher Michael Richardson, Brayden Simpson and Anu Yadav. Through May 28 at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. Tickets $44-$118, subject to change. Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org.


Chef Lior Lev Sercarz blending spices at La Boite, the spice shop he founded in 2009 in New York. (Thomas Schauer/La Boite)

Whether theyre found in a cupboard, a drawer or a rotating rack, a host of little-used spices are probably taking up valuable real estate somewhere in your kitchen  and theyve probably been there for years. Maybe its a jar of allspice you only crack open for gingerbread cookies at Christmas, the sumac you were inspired to purchase by the Ottolenghi cookbook on the coffee table or that jar of Himalayan pink salt that just seems too fancy to use.

Use it all, says chef and spice purveyor Lior Lev Sercarz, and use it now. Your spice cabinet should be a place of inspiration, he says, not a place to gather dust.

Raised in a kibbutz in Israel where he recalls the food as being either bland or vinegary, Sercarz sees spices as the place where recipes should start, rather than an afterthought sprinkled on just before serving. A potato can be transformed into a meal, just with the addition of spices, he says.

[Mix up some spices, then put them on almost anything]

Start by taking stock of whats tucked away in that cabinet, beginning with the darkest recesses, which most likely house the spices that have seen the least use. If theyve been there longer than a year  as Sercarz suspects they have  you dont have to discard them, but you could consolidate several. Try creating blends with them, to use as seasoning for dips and sauces, dry rubs for meat, poultry and fish, or even to amp up the flavor in coffee and cocktails.

If you make blends, you will find ways to use them across recipes, from sweet to savory, says Sercarz. Its an edible tool.

He suggests using the spice pantry the way you use your refrigerator, where items are regularly eaten and replaced and stock is rotated every few months from the back to the front. New additions should be marked with a date one year from when purchased, just to give you a deadline for using it up, or, at the very least, creating a new blend with whats left.



Most people dont need a recipe, they just need the application, says Lior Lev Sercarz. (Thomas Schauer/La Boite)

Take ground cloves, for instance. As a spice with a tongue-numbing quality, it can frighten home cooks with its intensity, yet Sercarz sees it as a versatile vehicle for flavors  when used in moderation. In his latest book, The Spice Companion: A Guide to the World of Spices (Clarkson Potter, 2016), he recommends blending cloves with other spices that might also be found in the back of the cupboard, such as juniper berries, galangal and licorice root, to create a seasoning for sauteed savoy cabbage, or to add a spicy note to a traditional old fashioned cocktail.

[The secret to punching up your summer beverage game]

Most people dont need a recipe, they just need the application, Sercarz says. Hence, hell suggest dusting fresh scones with a mixture of cloves and confectioners sugar or mixing cloves with balsamic vinegar and grated apples to accompany pork chops.

Sercarz particularly urges home cooks to stop thinking of individual spices as relating to specific cuisines. He points out that black pepper, a native of Kerala, is hardly limited to Indian recipes, yet we tend to use chipotle powder only in Mexican recipes, or relegate curry leaves to, well, curry.

Its a spice, he says. It doesnt matter where it comes from.



Sercarz co-authored The Art of Blending in 2012; his Spice Companion: A Guide to the World of Spices was published late last year. (Thomas Schauer/La Boite)

Not only is pepper used across all cuisines, different types of pepper have specific flavor profiles, so it sometimes makes sense to switch out the black peppercorns for other varieties, such as herbaceous green or delicate white. This practice enhances different recipes and allows for a deeper appreciation of the characteristics of that variety.

When cleaning out the cupboard, take time to taste the spices. (Sercarz considers anything that can be dried and used to add flavor a spice, so this includes herbs, bark, berries, leaves and so forth.) Then start consolidating them into new combinations, such as celery seed with cayenne pepper. You could use that blend to flavor a compound butter, bloody mary or crab cake. A blend of marjoram, dried mint and fennel seed can season grilled fish, be sprinkled over bruschetta or lend a grassy note to emulsified olive oil and orange juice to drizzle on raw baby turnips.

[Where to buy spices around Washington]

You probably already have a signature chicken recipe where you use a certain combination of spices, says Sercarz, like salt, pepper, paprika and oregano. Just go ahead and make a batch of that blend for yourself, consolidating it into one jar, then try it on eggs, or roasted fish or whipped into goat cheese.

At La Boite, Sercarzs New York spice store, youll find more than 40 spice blends for inspiration, with combinations that can seem unusual or spark an aha moment. Fenugreek, cumin, dried onion and garlic become a perfect foil for spinach and lamb, while lemongrass, ginger and palm sugar can highlight either a fruit smoothie or a spicy dish of clams and chorizo. That little jar of pumpkin pie spice thats hiding in the corner of your cupboard would be just as much at home in a chickpea curry as on the Thanksgiving table, because, in Sercarzs philosophy, a blend really has no limitations.

Ive never had spices that dont work together, Sercarz says, its just about adjusting the ratios. And even when I think a blend is very savory, Ill have a customer put it into a brownie and prove me wrong. I love that.

Kristen Hartke is a Washington food writer and editor. Watch Sercarz and Food editor Joe Yonan work with spices in their Facebook Live session here.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has lunch with students in the cafeteria at Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia, on Monday. Purdue announced a rule change on school lunches that would allow for delays on more healthful school lunches. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Schools wont have to cut more salt from meals just yet, and some will be able to serve kids fewer whole grains, under changes to federal nutrition standards announced Monday.

The move by the Trump administration partially rolls back rules championed by former first lady Michelle Obama as part of her healthful eating initiative.

As his first major action in office, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the department will delay an upcoming requirement to lower the amount of sodium, or salt, in meals while continuing to allow some schools to avoid rules that all grains on the lunch line must be 50 percent whole grain.

Schools could also serve 1 percent flavored milk instead of the nonfat now required.

If kids arent eating the food, and its ending up in the trash, they arent getting any nutrition  thus undermining the intent of the program, said Perdue, who traveled to a school in Leesburg, Virginia, to make the announcement.

Before he signed the proclamation, Perdue and Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts ate chicken nuggets, fruit and salad with children at Catoctin Elementary. Perdue said he doesnt see the changes as a rollback, but were just slowing down the process. He praised Obamas nutrition efforts as first lady but said he wants the healthier meals to be more palatable.

He said the department will work on long-term solutions to further tweak the rules.

The changes reflect suggestions from the School Nutrition Association, which represents school nutrition directors and companies that sell food to schools. The group often battled with the Obama administration, which phased in the healthier school meal rules starting in 2012.

The Obama administration rules set fat, sugar and salt limits on foods in the lunch line and beyond. Schools have long been required to follow government nutrition rules if they accept federal money for free and reduced-price meals for low-income students, but these standards were stricter. Obama pushed the changes as part of her Lets Move campaign to fight childhood obesity.

The Trump administration changes leave most of the Obama administration rules in place, including rules that students must take fruits and vegetables on the lunch line. Some schools have asked for changes to that policy, saying students often throw them away.

But health advocates who have championed the rules are concerned about the freeze in sodium levels, in particular. School lunches for elementary school students are now required to have less than 1,230 milligrams of sodium. The changes would keep the meals at that level, delaying until at least 2020 a requirement to lower sodium to 935 milligrams. That requirement was scheduled to begin in the 2017-2018 school year.

By forgoing the next phase of sodium reduction, the Trump Administration will be locking in dangerously high sodium levels in school lunch, said Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Becky Domokos-Bays, the nutrition director for Loudoun County, including Catoctin Elementary, said she has had a hard time adjusting sodium in popular foods she serves. Kids like her chicken noodle soup, she says, but rejected it when she lowered the sodium content because it was thinner and had less taste.

About 20 people, including Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk, showed up at the school to support the healthier meals. One sign read: Sonny  Our children do not want big business soda, chips and fries!
Idahoans are opposed to taking in more refugees from the Middle East and overwhelmingly supportive of congressional term limits, a recent poll says.

The poll found 78 percent support for 12-year congressional limits, with 18 percent opposed and 4 percent undecided. The poll also found 55 percent of Idahoans oppose accepting more Middle Eastern refugees, with 42 percent in favor and 2 percent undecided. Respondents were more divided on whether they think more restrictive immigration policies of the type supported by President Donald Trump will help or hurt the state's economy  45 percent said help, 41 percent hurt, 14 percent didn't know.

Salt Lake City-based pollsters Dan Jones and Associates polled 628 Idahoans on behalf of Idaho Politics Weekly between Feb. 16 and 28. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error.

U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, who represents Idaho's First Congressional District, has introduced a proposal for a constitutional amendment to impose 12-year term limits on Congress. While support for term limits is strongest on the right, the poll found super-majority support in every political demographic. Eighty-one percent of Republicans, 82 percent of independents and 66 percent of Democrats support the idea. By philosophy, 88 percent of people who consider themselves very conservative, 83 percent of the somewhat conservative, 75 percent of moderates, 69 percent of somewhat liberals and 63 percent of very liberals support the idea.

Term limits are a perennially popular idea with voters  other polls in recent years have shown similar levels of support as this one  but they haven't gotten as far with the lawmakers who would be limiting their own careers by approving them.

When the Republicans took control of Congress in 1994 part of the "Contract With America" many of them ran on was 12-year term limits, but the idea never went anywhere once they were in power. Some states tried to term-limit their members of Congress at the same time, but those efforts were voided in court. At the state level, Idaho voters approved term limits for state lawmakers in 1994 and in a few election thereafter, but the state Legislature voted to repeal them in 2002 over then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's veto.

Idahoans are much more divided by political philosophy when it comes to immigration-related issues. Seventy-four percent of Republicans oppose taking in more refugees from the Middle East, while 77 percent of Democrats favor taking in more. Fifty-three percent of independents oppose taking in more Middle Eastern refugees while 45 percent favor taking in more. Sixty percent of Republicans say Trump's immigration policies will help Idaho's economy, while 79 percent of Democrats say they will hurt and independents are almost equally split, with 44 percent saying Trump's immigration policies will hurt and 42 percent saying they will help.

Idaho Politics Weekly broke down the results on taking in Middle Eastern refugees by religion as well, and found people who say they aren't religious favor taking them in by 57-42. Born-again Christian oppose taking in any more by 71-27, while Catholics are opposed 62-39 and Mormons 54-42. Mainline Protestants are slightly supportive of taking in more refugees by 51-46.
Dear Readers: What are your uses for spare change? Asked and answered! Here are some of your responses:

 I save it toward a vacation.

Janet in New Hampshire

 I saved my coins for 13 years  the total amount was $4,216.55!

A Reader, via email

 I have a prescription bottle in my glove compartment that holds exactly $10 in change  for tolls or drinks. I also keep change on my dresser, which goes to the Sunday school mission. No heavy purse to carry.

M.M. in Whitehouse, Tex.

 We save our change for birthday and Christmas presents.

Betty M., Crown Point, Ind.

 We secretly give spare change to someone in need.

Sandra S., Timberville, Va.

 My husband quit smoking cold turkey. He used that money for a wagon and a bike for the children.

Jan M., Rogers, Ark.

 I read your column every day in the Orange County (Calif.) Register. I have a ceramic piggy bank and use it daily toward our yearly trips to Branson, Mo.

G.T., Midway City, Calif.

Thank you for your responses!

Dear Readers: Do you know some basic sales terminology? The Federal Trade Commission says that a sale must offer merchandise at a substantial, not merely nominal, reduction from the original price. Here are some types of sales:

Seasonal: Seasonal sales are held to promote popular items for use now, such as lawn furniture in the summer and sweaters in the fall.

Closeout: If a manufacturer decides to discontinue an item, the retailer can buy these items at a discount and pass on the savings to you.

Special purchase: These usually are first-quality items that were overproduced.

Dear Heloise: I lived in Foster Village, Hawaii, the same time you and your family lived there. In fact, your mother (the original Heloise, 1919-1977) stopped at my house one day and asked to use the phone! She had forgotten to unplug the iron, she thought. She was such a doll!

Barbara F., now residing in The Villages, Fla.

Barbara F.: Fabulous! I loved our time in Hawaii! Readers, what memories do you have of your mother? Mothers Day is May 14.

Dear Heloise: I had trouble threading needles until I dabbed a tiny drop of clear nail polish on the tip of the thread and allowed it to dry. Now its no problem!

Mary J. in New York

Dear Heloise: Here is an easy and cheap facial mask that will tighten pores: I beat two egg whites until frothy, and I spread it over my clean face and throat, avoiding the eye area.

I let it dry, then rinse with cool water. This mask makes my pores feel clean and tight.

Ana G. in Florida

Heloises column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
THE DISTRICT

American University investigating racist incident

Bananas were found hanging from string in the shape of nooses on the campus of American University in what the school described Monday as a racist incident that is under investigation.

The bananas were found at three locations at the private university in Washington, according to a statement from Fanta Aw, AUs interim vice president of campus life. Aw said the fruit had been marked with the letters AKA. Those are the letters of the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, whose membership is predominantly African American.

These racist, hateful messages have no place in our community, the statement said. The safety of our students is paramount.

An AU spokeswoman said the bananas were discovered early Monday at a shuttle bus stop, in front of the Mary Graydon Center, and near another building.

We have initiated efforts on multiple fronts to investigate the incidents, inform and support our community, and condemn the act, the statement said.

 Sarah Larimer

MARYLAND

Inmate suicide investigated

A 30-year-old inmate committed suicide in a Prince Georges County jail over the weekend, corrections officials said.

The man was found unresponsive in the bathroom of the medical unit shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday, according to a statement from the countyDepartment of Corrections. Corrections staff performed CPR on the man, who was later pronounced dead, the statement said.

Prince Georges police are conducting a death investigation and the Department of Corrections is conducting an internal investigation to insure policies and procedures were properly followed, the statement said.

The mans name was not released pending notification of his family.

He was identified as a detainee who arrived at the jail on Saturday in connection with a first-degree assault.

 Lynh Bui

VIRGINIA

Man allegedly hit officer with vehicle

A 32-year-old man fled in a vehicle Sunday as police tried to investigate a reported dispute in Arlington, striking an officer and crashing into another vehicle before trying to flee on foot.

The incident started just before 3 p.m. when police were called to the 4200 block of 2nd Road North and North Glebe Road for a dispute in process that possibly involved a firearm, according to Arlington County Police. Police did not provide details of the reported dispute.

Officers found a man  later identified as Brian Williams, of no fixed address  sitting in a parked vehicle. Police said he reversed the vehicle and drove toward an officer, hitting her but causing no injuries.

Officers pursued the man to Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive, police said, where he struck another vehicle and ran. He was caught and arrested and is charged with attempted malicious wounding of law enforcement, felony eluding and other offenses.

 Dana Hedgpeth

THE REGION

U.S. marshals take over hunt for escaped prisoner

Federal law enforcement has taken over the search for a Maryland prisoner who escaped from the parking lot of the states psychiatric hospital, after police concluded that he was not in the immediate area.

The U.S. Marshals Service will take over the investigation into locating David M. Watson, 28, who was serving a more than 100-year prison sentence in Delaware for the attempted murder of police officers, according to Howard County police. Authorities announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Watsons capture.

Watson, who also faces attempted murder charges in Wicomico County, was transported from Delaware to Clifton T. Perkins Hospital in Jessup for an evaluation on Friday morning when he escaped as two guards were unloading him from a van, police said.

Watson has several body tattoos, including the word SIN on his hand, EVIL on the back of his neck and WATSON on his arm.

 Lynh Bui
Gov. Mike Lowry delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature in Olympia, Wash., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 1996. (Louie Balukoff/Associated Press)

Mike Lowry, a Washington state Democrat who served in Congress from 1979 to 1989 and whose later single term as governor was marred by a sexual harassment accusation, died May 1. He was 78.

A news release from his family confirmed the death and said the cause was complications from a stroke. No further information was immediately available.

In Congress, where he represented a district that included Seattle, Mr. Lowry was a leading Democratic critic of President Ronald Reagans economic policies and also fought against the arms buildup and restrictions on abortions.

Long an advocate of international trade that became crucial to the state, Mr. Lowry was credited with saving the Export-Import Banks direct loan program. He was on the House Budget Committee and worked on wilderness and marine sanctuary legislation and other issues.

Mr. Lowry served as governor from 1993 to 1997. He decided not to seek reelection after a single four-year term. His political stock, already low after a 1993 tax increase, plummeted when his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, accused him of sexually harassing her and using crude and offensive language.

Mr. Lowry denied any wrongdoing but agreed to a $97,500 out-of-court settlement, which he paid with his own money.

Michael Edward Lowry was born on March 8, 1939, in St. John, Wash., where his family homesteaded in 1882, before statehood. He was a 1962 graduate of Washington State University and subsequently worked as a legislative aide in the state legislature and a staffer for a nonprofit health-care organization. He was on the King County Council from 1975 to 1978.

He twice lost races for the U.S. Senate, losing to Daniel Evans in 1983 and Slade Gorton in 1988. He decided to run for governor when the retirement of then-Gov. Booth Gardner opened up the post. He lost a race for commissioner of public lands in 2000.

Survivors include his wife, Mary; a daughter; a sister; and two grandsons.
A man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames inside the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, late on Sept. 11, 2012. (AFP/Getty Images)

A Libyan militant charged with leading the lethal 2012 attacks on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi will ask a federal judge to throw out his statements to American authorities during his overseas capture and interrogation for 13 days aboard a U.S. Navy vessel.

The move to toss Ahmed Abu Khattalas statements was disclosed in a court filing late Monday as U.S. prosecutors and his defense prepare to argue the question using live testimony this month from 16 witnesses, including an onboard doctor and FBI interrogators, in the run-up to a September trial.

Abu Khattalas request renewed a challenge to evidence gleaned through hybrid military-civilian policies adopted by U.S. officials to wring intelligence from terrorism suspects while preserving the ability to try them in civilian courts.

Abu Khattala, 45, pleaded not guilty last fall to charges including murder, conspiracy and destroying a U.S. facility in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

He was questioned by U.S. military, intelligence and law enforcement officials shortly after his June 2014 capture by U.S. Special Operations forces, his attorneys have said. He was interrogated again by a second FBI team aboard the USS New York, at which point he allegedly waived his right to not answer questions.

[U.S. will not seek death penalty for accused ringleader in Benghazi attacks]

In pleadings in Washington before U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the District, Abu Khattalas lawyers with the federal public defenders office of the District and the Lewis Baach law firm challenged whether the defendant was able to exercise his constitutional right against self-incrimination while in military custody and being transported to the United States.

[Benghazi terrorism suspect challenges U.S. interrogation policy, prosecution]

At a two-week hearing set to begin May 10, Abu Khattalas lawyers said, they planned to call Hawthorne Smith, a clinical psychiatrist and associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, to testify to the effects of the defendants long first-hand exposure to torture and extreme human rights abuses in Libya, including whether he would have been capable of providing a knowing waiver of his right to an attorney.

Prosecutors with the national security section of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District consented to Smiths testimony at the May hearing but reserved their right to challenge his testimony at trial, according to the new filings.

[Meet Ahmed Abu Khattala, an alleged ringleader of the Benghazi attack]

Those filings show that the government expects to call 14 witnesses at this months hearing, including the captain of the USS New York; five FBI officials, including agents who interviewed Abu Khattala, were present when he was apprehended or were onboard; a physician who attended to him; and senior State and Justice department officials.

On Sept. 13, 2012, a Libyan man investigates the inside of the U.S. compound in Benghazi after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. (Mohammad Hannon/AP)

Mondays court filing acknowledged the mostly secret nature of the governments case to this point but also revealed a previously undisclosed court order from Cooper in April that said some of the May hearing would be held out of public view to protect classified information.

Abu Khattala was charged by sealed complaint in July 2013 in the deaths at Benghazi. The U.S. government in January 2014 designated Abu Khattala a terrorist and Ansar al-Sharia, an armed militia he led that seeks to establish sharia law in Libya, a terrorist organization that allegedly carried out the attacks.

[U.S. captured Benghazi suspect in secret raid]

In June 2014, Abu Khattala was lured to a villa south of Benghazi and captured in a secret raid, coinciding with his formal indictment. He was held in military custody and interrogated for five days by a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, according to his attorneys, who contend that information from such efforts may further intelligence-gathering but cannot be admitted as evidence.

After that, a second group of FBI agents told Abu Khattala that he was under arrest and read him his Miranda rights, according to U.S. officials and defense filings.

His defense lawyers say that Abu Khattala asked for a lawyer, that the government did not have one available and that FBI agents interrogated him for seven more days.

The government says Abu Khattala never invoked his right to remain silent or his right to counsel.

Both sides have agreed that two members of the intelligence team will testify in a closed part of the May 10 proceeding. The onboard physician will testify in public, but the doctor and one of the intelligence team members will be identified using aliases for their safety, both sides agreed.

The government has agreed to declassify some material sought by Abu Khattalas defense attorneys, but other still-classified information will be presented under a silent document rule, which allows it to be admitted into evidence and known to the parties, a witness and the judge while not being discussed in open court.

Abu Khattalas lawyers earlier failed in an attempt to dismiss most of the 18-count indictment against him, urging the federal courts not to legitimize what they called the well-planned lawlessness . . . [of his] arrest, abduction and interrogation.

Cooper denied their requests in February 2016 but said if there were such a violation, the proper remedy would be to exclude unconstitutionally obtained evidence, something this months hearing will decide.

[Fact-checking the Benghazi attacks]

The upcoming hearing returns the spotlight to attacks that became a partisan lightning rod during last years presidential election, raised in debates and dramatized in a feature film released nationwide in early 2016.

While running as a Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, secretary of state at the time of the attacks, repeated her categorical denials of the long-debunked charge that she impeded rescue attempts, while acknowledging State Department findings that security was inadequate for Benghazi.
The D.C. Council on Tuesday confirmed Peter Newsham as police chief, voting 12 to 1 to make the veteran the 30th leader of the Districts crime-fighting force since the department was formed at the start of the Civil War.

Newsham, 52, has been serving as acting chief since Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) chose him to fill in for Cathy L. Lanier, who retired in September after serving for nearly a decade. In February, Bowser named Newsham to lead the police force.

I am very pleased that they have confidence in my ability to do this job, Newsham said after the vote.

In a statement, Bowser said that Peter understands the value of working with the community, he is constantly looking for new ways to increase accountability, and his empathy for those affected by crime drives a sense of urgency around making MPD work better for residents in every ward.

Three council members who supported Newsham, including former mayor Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), expressed reservations. They cited concerns over differing views of policing and the departments handling of protests, including mass arrests during Januarys presidential inauguration. But those council members said they had overcome their initial hesitations.

Newsham joined the force in 1989 and quickly rose through the ranks, earning a law degree along the way. His confirmation comes as the city is experiencing a crime drop, particularly in assaults and robberies. Challenges remain in reducing homicides and continuing to engage residents. His five-year contract has an annual salary of $253,817.

[Cathy L. Lanier retires as D.C. police chief to take NFL job]

Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, said Newshams nomination has not only been about the qualifications of this particular nominee, it also has elevated the profile of police interactions and community trust.

Gray, who abstained on voting for Newsham during committee hearings, said the new chief won him over during extensive meetings. Gray is pushing for the hiring of more police officers and rebuilding the department from 3,800 to 4,000 officers.

Two council members, Robert C. White Jr. (D-At Large), and Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8), discussed youthful interactions with police that did not end well, and both said they believed they were treated unfairly because they are black. Speaking broadly, Robert White said, We have to realize there are many things about our policing policies and our justice system that are broken.

Trayon White said Newsham recently impressed him while handling the arrest of a 10-year-old boy that had roiled several residents, but ended to my satisfaction. He said that encounter left him feeling that Newsham had the heart to do this job.

But David Grosso (I-At Large), voted against confirmation. He said he doesnt believe Newsham fits a department that should promote deep collaboration with neighborhoods. He said as policing across the country moves away from zero-tolerance arrest policies and into a new era of community partnerships, I want a chief who is visionary and thinks outside the box. I do not see this nominee helping us achieve that.

Grosso said it is time to end the perception that more police solve all our problems.

On Monday, Newshams critics continued a last-ditch appeal to slow down the councils vote as they criticized the departments arrest of more than 200 people during Inauguration Day protests that turned violent. The group contends that bystanders and law- abiding protesters were swept up indiscriminately.

The critics have compared the Jan. 20 response to mass arrests that occurred under Newsham during demonstrations 15 years ago. In the earlier case, police trapped largely peaceful protesters in Pershing Park and arrested them for failing to disperse. The city ended up paying $11 million in civil settlements.

Newsham said that officers handled 2,400 demonstrations last year and made arrests in almost none of those. He said the Jan. 20 situation differed from others because we had a small riot in our city by people who came here intent on destroying property and breaking the law.

I hate the fact there are people pushing the false narrative that the MPD indiscriminately arrested people who were here to protest, Newsham said. He noted that of 230 arrests, a grand jury returned indictments against most.

As he takes over as permanent chief, Newsham said one of his biggest challenges will be retaining and hiring officers, and he noted bills proposed by Bowser that offer incentives to his workforce.

Police have made arrests this year in some high-profile cases, including the slaying of a visiting artist apparently targeted in a random attack on Capitol Hill and the 2009 disappearance of a D.C. woman whose body has never been found. Still, other crimes that have shocked the community remain unsolved. Police have not yet made arrests in this years fatal shooting of a teenage college student home from spring break or last years killing of a Democratic National Committee staffer.

The confirmation also comes as a grand jury is reviewing the September shooting of a motorcyclist, Terrence Sterling, by a police officer. The shooting, which occurred the same day Newsham became interim chief, has been questioned by Sterlings relatives and sparked protests.

[D.C. Council signals support for Newsham]

Bowsers selection of Newsham over several internal candidates and others revealed a desire to continue the path forged by Lanier and involves cultivating a broad base of community residents and leaders, and frequently engaging the public.

As Newsham advances some familiar policies, he will be doing so with different people. Last month, Diane Groomes, the chief of patrol, announced her retirement. She and Lanier had been one of the departments most popular members, ubiquitous at community meetings and events. Newsham used her departure to shake up his upper echelon, splitting her duties geographically among two senior officers promoted to patrol chiefs  Lamar Greene and Robert Contee.
A hospital in Frederick, Md., was partially evacuated Tuesday after two men who received a suspicious package showed up in the emergency room with burns and breathing problems, authorities said.

The men, who live on Military Road in Frederick, sought treatment for minor burns and breathing problems at Frederick Memorial Hospital about noon after receiving a package in the mail with an unknown substance, said Clarke Pennington, a Frederick police spokesman.

The package was later found to contain a common household chemical, according to a spokesman from Frederick County Fire and Rescue Services.

The two men brought the package with them, Pennington said, and Frederick Memorial Hospital was partially evacuated. Military Road was closed as well.

Were taking the precautions of actually evacuating around the situation just to determine what it is and how much further we have to go today, Pennington said.

The hospitals emergency room was closed to new patients, and patients already there were moved to a different location in the emergency room, hospital spokeswoman Melissa Lambdin said. Other patients or visitors who wished to leave were able to do so, she said.

It is business as usual for most of the hospital, Lambdin said.

Frederick County fire officials were at the hospital investigating the substance, a spokesman said. He declined to say whether the substance was a powder or a liquid.

Pennington said he could not provide more information about the men or who they work for because it is part of an ongoing investigation.
It was early Saturday morning in upper Northwest Washington, close to the border with Montgomery County, when the light on Connecticut Avenue turned red  and the motorcyclist, in obedience to traffic regulations, halted.

That is the proper thing to do in almost every conceivable circumstance, but at about 1:55 a.m. Saturday, at Connecticut and Oliver streets, it did not turn out well, according to a report from D.C. police.

As the motorcyclist and his companion  who had been northbound  were stopped at the light in the Chevy Chase area of the District, five people came up from behind and pulled them off the motorcycle, police said.

One of the five, according to a police account, appeared to have a pistol. The motorcyclist and his companion, now on foot, fled the scene, the police said.

But they got a glimpse of the motorcycle being pushed into Oliver Street just below Chevy Chase Circle, police said. They also indicated to the police that the robbers had a pickup truck.

No injuries were reported.
A man sought in connection with graffiti found on the Mall. (U.S. Park Police)

Authorities on Tuesday released a photo of a man being sought in connection with graffiti mentioning the assassination of John F. Kennedy that was found on the Mall in February.

[Memorials damaged with graffiti]

The graffiti, on the Washington Monument and the World War II, Lincoln and D.C. War memorials during Presidents Day weekend, was scrawled in black permanent marker, and portions were difficult to read. One message read Jackie shot JFK, while another mentioned the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Another said that blood test is a lie and mentioned leukemia, cancer and HIV, saying get second opinion.

On Tuesday, U.S. Park Police released a photo of a man they are searching for in connection with the incidents.

Cleanup efforts are seen at the Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 21 after it was marred with graffiti. (Perry Stein/The Washington Post)

Police asked anyone with information about the man or the graffiti to contact them at 202-426-6710 or call their anonymous tip line at 202-610-8737.
Rod J. Rosenstein had dedicated most of his career to prosecuting fraud, corruption and other white-collar crimes before he was tapped to lead the U.S. Attorneys Office in Maryland in 2005.

It was a challenging time for the office, Rosenstein recalled. Violent crime was at near-record levels in Baltimore City and had been for some time, and of course it was the post-9/11 era.

Much of his experience didnt directly align with the states safety priorities, but he began to expand his expertise and reorganized his team to take on violent crime while holding steady on his longtime pursuit of public corruption. A Republican appointee, Rosenstein remained in the job for 12 years  through a Democratic administration.

Those management skills, the bipartisan history and his low-key, precise demeanor are what he now takes to the job of deputy attorney general under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Stephen M. Schenning will serve as Marylands acting U.S. attorney until President Trump nominates, and the Senate confirms, someone to permanently fill the position.

Days before the Senate confirmed Rosenstein to the second-highest position in the Justice Department, Rosenstein, 52, discussed the work he did in Maryland from his office in downtown Baltimore. He comes to the job as the department is expected to tackle major issues including drug enforcement and mandatory-

minimum sentences, violent crime in cities and the high-profile investigation of Russias ties to Trump associates during the 2016 campaign.

Rosenstein has confronted many similar issues firsthand as U.S. attorney.

[Grilled on Russia probe, deputy attorney general pick sidesteps Democrats calls for special prosecutor]

In Maryland, where Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has declared a state of emergency to fight the opioid crisis, Rosensteins office worked closely with federal and local law enforcement to target drug distributors. Overdose fatalities are now investigated as homicides, not suicides, with law enforcement searching for evidence that leads to sources and sellers.

If you think about the traditional view, you have someone who overdosed on drugs and youd think, Well, its their own fault because they took too many drugs,  Rosenstein said. But if the drug that theyre taking is illegal and a drug they shouldnt have had, then someone committed a crime by giving them that drug.

Since 2015, the Maryland Attorney Generals Office  working with the U.S. Attorneys Office and other federal law enforcement  has indicted more than 50 drug traffickers. The idea is to disrupt the supply chain to prevent further harm, particularly from a particularly powerful batch of drugs that can set off a string of overdoses, he said.

The opioid crisis is about people dying from the drug, Rosenstein said. The crack wars were about people dying from bullets, largely as the result of criminal organizations warring over turf because they were trying to make money selling the drug.

Rod Rosenstein before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 7 (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Rosenstein is expected to play an important role in determining how the Justice Department handles drug-charging policies and the use of mandatory-minimum sentences. Sessions has indicated that his office will pursue mandatory minimums as it clamps down on gun and drug crime, possibly undoing Obama administration policies that considered such sentences discriminatory against minorities and low-level drug offenders.

In some cases in Maryland, Rosenstein said, mandatory minimums were a valuable tool. When applied appropriately, he said, they can stop offenders from committing more crime and induce people to share information about other criminal activity.

[Jack Johnson, former Prince Georges executive, sentenced to 7 years for corruption]

A career criminal is not going to be persuaded to cooperate out of some sense of patriotism, Rosenstein said. Weve had cases where people have come in and cooperated, and they might have information that allows us to resolve a dozen murders or more because theyre facing a mandatory minimum.

In Baltimore, violent crime dropped 15 percent over Rosensteins first 10 years in office.

But enforcement alone wasnt enough to address crime, he said. He also wanted the office to focus on community and direct outreach.

Borrowing an idea from Virginia and other offices, Rosenstein worked with local law enforcement and social agencies to develop a call-in program. Likely recidivists were brought in to speak with police and prosecutors, who gave warning lectures about the consequences of getting caught with guns. The program helped drive down shootings and homicides in the city over a six-year period, according to former federal prosecutors for Maryland.

Those attending the meetings would be connected to such resources as information on jobs or housing opportunities.

In some cases, I felt sorry for these career criminals, Rosenstein said. They had been repeatedly prosecuted in the state system and had gotten light sentences. When they sat down in front of our federal prosecutor, they were told, Hey, because of your crimes and the volume of drugs you were dealing and the fact that you had a gun, youre facing a mandatory sentencing of 10 to 20 years in prison in federal court.

[This man could soon be handling Americas most politically charged investigation]

Rosensteins roots in public-corruption investigations reach to the days when he was one of the Whitewater prosecutors investigating Bill and Hillary Clintons real estate dealings in Arkansas in the 1990s.

His office prosecuted former Prince Georges county executive Jack Johnson for bribery and brought cases in a scheme in which more than a dozen Baltimore prison guards helped a notorious gang traffic drugs, launder money and order criminal activity from behind bars. More recently, his office announced the indictment of seven Baltimore police officers and the breakup of a pay-to-play scandal involving former Maryland politicians and the Prince Georges liquor board.

That has not been an accident, Rosenstein said of his focus on corruption. Its because weve had people committed to those cases who have exceptional experience.

Before packing and leaving Baltimore, the Bethesda resident pointed out meaningful items that filled his offices: a photo of his two young daughters  now teenagers  in matching blue dresses and hair bows; an image of Rosenstein in his 20s, grinning with a chisel and hammer as he chipped away at the Berlin Wall; and framed printouts of meaningful quotations.

One he reflects on often is from a 1940 speech that U.S. Attorney General Robert H. Jackson gave describing the qualities of good prosecutors.

The citizens safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility, part of the passage reads.

Rosenstein said, It means that before filing charges, we should pause and ask, What if we are mistaken? 
A Metro train using the newer 7000 series of metro cars comes into the station at the Georgia Ave-Petworth stop. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

A congressional spending bill set to be voted on this week maintains full federal funding for Metro, a positive sign for the struggling transit agency as it seeks continued support from a Republican-controlled Congress, officials said Monday.

The bill authorizes $150 million in grant funding through the end of September, but its unclear whether Congress will approve funding for the remainder of the 10-year, $1.5 billion federal program  or renew it after the two remaining years of payments. Congressional Republicans have indicated they want to see significant changes from Metro, including labor concessions, before renewing it.

The federal government will again fulfill its statutory obligation to Metro by meeting its $150 million obligation to provide a dollar-for-dollar match in combination with Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia for Metros capital budget, Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) said in a statement Monday. Much of these resources are used for safety improvements and replacing old rail cars and other equipment, she added.

[Metro GM proposes new business model and $500 million a year in extra funding to save D.C.-area transit agency]

The funding bill also includes $125 million in funding for Marylands light-rail Purple Line, which would connect riders to Metro but will be overseen by the Maryland Transit Administration. Purple Line funding was in jeopardy under President Trumps proposed budget, which limited transit construction aid to projects that already have full funding grant agreements. Maryland officials were four days from signing such an agreement in August, but the federal government postponed the ceremony indefinitely Aug. 4 after a federal judge revoked the lines environmental approval, which made it ineligible for federal funding.

Purple Line construction remains on hold as U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon reconsiders his ruling. The $125 million is contingent upon a federal agreement for the project being reached before the fiscal year ends in September, according to WTOP, which was the first to report the Purple Line deal.

Comstock is in the process of drafting a Metro reform bill that would overhaul the agencys governance and labor practices. It is the more likely of two Metro overhaul proposals to pass the GOP-controlled Congress. The other, by Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), would give Metro an extra $750 million in federal funding over 10 years in exchange for changes in its governance structure and some labor concessions, but it does not eliminate binding arbitration, as some Republicans want to do.

Metro receives the $150 million annual allotment under the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA), and the money is matched annually by the District, Maryland and Virginia. Democrats are pushing for PRIIA funding to be renewed  and increased  to meet the agencys needs, but Republicans have said the transit agency must enact significant reforms.

[Democrats fix for Metro: $750 million from feds in exchange for governance, labor changes]

Still, in a bipartisan letter in March, congressional leaders wrote to House Transportation subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and ranking Democrat Rep. David E. Price (N.C.), underscoring the need for continued full PRIIA funding this year. Among the signees were Comstock and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and five other members of the regions congressional delegation.

Led by General Manager Paul Wiedefeld, [Metro] is making progress on improving the systems safety and returning it to a state of good repair, the letter read. However, reaching that goal will not be possible without continued investment by the federal government.

[2 U.S. lawmakers want to fix Metro by rewriting its governing charter]

Wiedefeld is pushing for dedicated funds from local governments to provide $500 million a year for equipment and maintenance and says Metro needs $15.5 billion over a decade to remain safe and reliable. Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans is pushing for PRIIA funding to be renewed at double its current level to meet the transit systems needs beyond the next decade.

Metro expressed its gratitude Monday that the federal funding would be continued.

We are very grateful to our regional congressional delegation for once again ensuring this critical funding is included in the appropriations bill, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. This funding is the backbone of our capital budget and is used to address safety and reliability issues.

Congressional leaders argued that the funds would bolster safety and reliability, with federal dollars going to the purchase of new rail cars, which Metro is using to make improvements that include revamping its fleet as it retires aging 1000-series models to meet a recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board and unloads its unreliable 4000-series cars.

These authorized federal funds are essential to ensuring [Metro] is able to continue to make progress and purchase new rail cars with advanced crash-

resilient technology to replace the oldest cars in its fleet . . . and make other upgrades to its core infrastructure, the letter reads.

[Metro imagines a future without federal funding, and it isnt pretty]

Connolly, who drafted the letter to Diaz-Balart and Price, hailed the renewal of federal funding as a beacon of hope in the regional funding discussion surrounding Metro.

I think its a hopeful sign moving forward that were making some headway in persuading people that Metro is a very important investment that needs to be sustained, and secondly I think its a very hopeful sign not only for the next two years of PRIIA, but our ability to try to get that extended for another 10 years, he said.

[Trump budget plan would deal blow to Washington regions transit; Purple Line at risk]

Connolly said Wiedefeld has succeeded in generating the confidence of Congress, but added that regional leaders are playing the long game . . . in trying to get Metro to its earlier luster, and thats a very tough challenge.

Evans called the continuation of funding a testament to Wiedefelds leadership.

I have to say, Im not sure we would have got it if it wasnt for Paul and the confidence that he has been able to generate throughout the region and Congress. Thats a key thing, he said.

Of Metros future federal funding prospects in light of the PRIIA decision, Evans said, I feel pretty good about it.
Maryland leaders and transit activists called on a federal judge Tuesday to issue a ruling allowing the Purple Line to be built in the Washington suburbs, saying a delay in a court case blocking the project is costing taxpayers money.

The light-rail plan to connect Montgomery and Prince Georges counties needs a favorable court ruling to get its federal environmental approval reinstated before it can secure $900 million in federal grants and begin major construction.

Let me just say very politely, Judge, your delay in making a decision is costing taxpayers money  every day, every hour,  Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said at a rally in downtown Silver Spring.

Purple Line construction remains on hold as U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon reconsiders his August decision to revoke the lines environmental approval. The ruling, which favored the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by Purple Line opponents, made the project ineligible for federal funding. It came days before Maryland officials were scheduled to sign an agreement for nearly $1 billion in federal construction aid.

Prince Georges County Council member Dannielle M. Glaros (D-Riverdale Park) said her community is counting on the line to connect residents to jobs and rejuvenate aging inner-Beltway suburbs.

Every day we wait, we cost taxpayers money, and we lose economic development opportunities along the line, Glaros said.

Criticism about the amount of time Leon has taken to reconsider his decision was more muted Tuesday than Maryland Gov. Larry Hogans recent public allegation that the judge is biased. Hogan (R) told reporters, inaccurately, that Leon lives at a country club in the path of the 16-mile Purple Line alignment and that the judges wife was involved in an opposition group.

[Md. governor accuses Purple Line judge of conflict of interest]

About 100 Purple Line supporters gathered on an outdoor patio of the new Silver Spring library  an area designed to be a future Purple Line station  amid the grinding noises of an apartment building under construction nearby. A sign behind the podium announced that construction on the rail station there would be starting soon.

We are building here, and we did so in anticipation of the Purple Line being here, Leggett said.

Maryland officials have said the state has spent more than $380 million on planning and designing the project and would lose hundreds of millions more in contract penalties if it is canceled. The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has signed a 36-year, $5.6 billion contract with a consortium of companies to help finance construction, build the line and then operate and maintain it.

If the court ruling favors the project, major construction could begin within a few weeks, state officials have said.

[Some Purple Line construction will have to wait until nesting season ends]

Purple Line supporters cheered as activists noted that Congress is expected to approve a federal spending bill that includes $125 million toward the Purple Lines $2 billion construction.

However, that $125 million, as well as another $200 million previously designated for the project, is contingent upon Maryland officials signing a federal funding agreement before the fiscal year ends in September.

Congress has made itself clear  we want the Purple Line built, Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) said.

Purple Line supporters faced questions from the media about whether it was proper to demand that a federal judge issue a ruling on their timetable, rather than his own.

Its not wrong for us to ask the judge for a timely decision, said Prince Georges County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D). All the information is in there. This is too important.

Under the original schedule, Purple Line construction was to begin last October, with trains carrying passengers in spring 2022.

However, construction was delayed indefinitely after Leon ruled that the Purple Lines federal environmental approval did not adequately consider what impact Metros declining ridership could have on the Purple Lines ridership. The Purple Line would be operated by the state but would connect to four Metro stations.

[Judge cites Metro ridership woes in Purple Line decision]

The Purple Lines projected ridership was part of the environmental study that analyzed the cost effectiveness of light-rail versus a bus line.

Opponents have argued that federal and state officials did not sufficiently consider Metros falling ridership when they chose light rail for a Purple Line over a rapid-bus line that would be less expensive and spare a wooded recreational trail.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) asked Leon to reconsider his August decision, and the Maryland attorney general had asked for a ruling by last Friday  a deadline that came and went. In December, the FTA told the judge that the Purple Line would have sufficiently strong ridership, even without passengers connecting to the Metro system.

Maryland transit officials recently said the project remains on schedule, even with the delays, because they can resequence the work.
United Airlines chief executive Oscar Munoz on Tuesday took personal responsibility for an incident last month in which a passenger was battered and dragged from a flight, saying at a congressional hearing, We had a horrible failure three weeks ago.

Munoz again apologized personally to David Dao, the passenger who boarded a United plane in Chicago and then refused to give up his seat when the airline needed it to accommodate crew members. Police were summoned, and Dao, 69, was dragged bloodied from the flight as other passengers captured the scene on video.

[A man wouldnt leave his United flight. So he was dragged off.]

There will come a day when Americans wont accept your apology, said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.) during the hearing before the House Transportation Committee. We have a problem. It shouldnt be as bad as it is.

Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said that theres something clearly broken when passengers have been treated the way they have. Shuster warned airlines to seize the day because if carriers do not reform their passenger policies, Congress will impose rules, and youre not going to like it.

(Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

[United and man dragged from flight reach amicable settlement]

Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.), the panels ranking Democrat, said passenger rights have gotten short shrift as the industry has consolidated into four major carriers that handle 80 percent of flights. DeFazio said 40,000 ticketed passengers were bumped from their flights last year. Very few passengers have any idea what their rights are, he said.

Munoz acknowledged Uniteds failures in his opening statement.

We called law enforcement when a safety or security issue did not exist, he said. We rebooked crew at the very last minute. We didnt offer enough compensation or travel options to incentivize a passenger to give up a seat. And, most important, our employees did not have the authority to do what was right for our customers.

Last week, the airline released the results of an internal investigation into the matter, saying it had failed on multiple fronts and promising changes in an effort to win back the publics trust. That same day, it also announced that it had reached a confidential settlement with Dao, a Kentucky physician.

Tuesdays hearing showcased stark differences between how airline executives and their customers view the state of the industry. While executives bragged that they are losing fewer bags, have improved their on-time performance and are offering consumers a better flight experience with more choices and cheaper fares, lawmakers spoke of calls from angry constituents who said they had been bumped, delayed and treated with indifference when they tried to complain. Lawmakers also griped about smaller seats and the lack of choices when it came to booking their own flights home.

In addition to two hearings this week, Daos ordeal has prompted a flurry of legislation, including a bill that would ask the secretary of transportation to review the practice of overbooking and whether there should be limits on the number of seats an airline can sell on a flight.

(The Washington Post)

It was a long day for airline executives, and Uniteds Munoz in particular, who called Daos forced removal a mistake of epic proportions.

[Senate bill would expand protections for air travelers, require study of overbooking]

Perhaps the best line of the day came from Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), who quipped: You know youre having a bad day when the group that lectures you on customer service is Congress.

The executives did have their allies, who blamed government overregulation for creating some of the problems and Dao for not listening to aviation security officers who ordered him to leave the flight.

Much of the focus, however, was what actions airlines are taking to prevent a repeat of Daos violent encounter.

Munoz reiterated his pledge that the dragging incident would prompt a culture change at United, starting with a new focus on the customer. He said United would reduce its reliance on overbooking and now offer up to $10,000 in flight vouchers to fliers who give up overbooked seats. He also said that no passengers who had been seated would be asked to leave the airplane, except in situations involving security or safety.

Munoz was joined by United President Scott Kirby, who defended overbooking as necessary in some situations.

We view overbooking where we can incentivize a customer to take an alternative flight as a win-win situation for both the airline and those customers, Kirby said, and 96 percent of the incidents where we have an overbooking we were able to get customers to be volunteers [to take another flight]. And in todays world, where were increasing the compensation to $10,000, we hope to drive that down to zero.

The four Chicago Department of Aviation officers involved in the April 9 incident at OHare International Airport have been suspended for their handling of Dao. The head of the Chicago Aviation Authority, Ginger Evans, is expected to testify at a Senate hearing Thursday.

United was not the only airline that had to answer for recent episodes involving passengers.

Officials at American Airlines again apologized for an April 21 incident that involved a flight attendant who allegedly tried to pull a baby stroller away from a customer who was holding a baby. A video of the incident shows the mother in tears as another passenger confronts the flight attendant.

American publicly apologized in the aftermath, removed the flight attendant from service and upgraded the woman and her family to first class for the balance of her international flight.

It shouldnt take a media event or a viral social-media outcry to get executives in this industry to rethink how they treat their customers, said William J. McGee, an aviation consultant with the Consumers Union.
Alexandria Vice Mayor Justin Wilson (D) pitches raising the advertised tax rate by 5.7 cents per $100 of assessed value at a recent council meeting, as seen in this screen-capture from the meeting webcast. (Courtesy of Alexandria, Va.)

The Alexandria City Council signaled Monday night that it plans to raise the local property tax rate 5.7 cents, an attempt to address years of overcrowded schools, aging buildings, outdated sewers and a still-growing bill for Metro.

The proposal, which the council will vote on Thursday evening, would cost the owner of an average Alexandria home about $356 more per year in property taxes. The tax rate would rise to $1.13 per $100 of assessed value, the same rate as in neighboring Fairfax County, but higher than Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun counties.

Alexandrians also are likely to see large increases in fees for storm water management, sewer line maintenance, refuse collection and other services, costs that Mayor Allison Silberberg (D) estimated will add an additional $350 or so to a homeowners annual bill.

Silberberg unsuccessfully tried to limit the proposed tax-rate increase to 3.6 cents, which is higher than the 2.7 cents City Manager Mark Jinks proposed in February.

Five point seven cents is too much to ask the taxpayer to shoulder, she said.

The rest of the council members said that they, too, were reluctant to raise taxes, but added that years of underspending on schools and infrastructure have caught up with the city. They stood solidly behind Vice Mayor Justin Wilsons proposal to increase the tax rate by 5.7 cents, a motion he made in March, the day after scores of school activists called for more spending.

Our problem is weve had so many years of neglect of our schools and our facilities that we are never going to get on top of it, but at least we can make a major jump, said Redella S. Del Pepper (D), who was first elected in 1985 and is the longest-serving council member.

Weve never had as many students as we have now. Theres a severe deficit in seats. Children in some cases are sitting in what used to be storerooms, said council member John T. Chapman (D). This is something we need to tackle as a community.

The council members said they intend to create a joint city-schools task force to investigate and guide the creation of a facilities plan that could result in shared buildings and a plan that both the city and the schools agree to.

The City Council and the school board are independent entities under Virginia law, but the schools have no taxing authority, so the district must seek a portion of the money raised by the local property tax. That has resulted in a political pas de deux each year in which each party tries to raise as much as possible for its priorities.

Once and for all, we need to end the political games that have gone on as long as I have been on council, said council member Paul Smedberg (D), first elected in 2003.

Some of the costs the council has grappled with this spring include Metros request for $7 million more for its operations and safety work; a school district operating budget $9.6 million higher than the current years, to cover an expected 2.8 percent increase in enrollment as well as other costs; an additional $7.8 million for both merit salary increases and health-care costs for the citys 2,563-person workforce, which is 4 percent smaller than it was in 2009; and a $9.1 million contingency fund in case of federal budget cuts.

The budget leaves out $4.5 million the city had planned to contribute to the construction of a 50-meter swimming pool at the Chinquapin Recreation Center, a project that the city had agreed to develop under a public-private partnership. Advocates for Alexandria Aquatics had just begun raising money for the pool and hoped to start construction in 2018.
In this 2005 photo, Edward Long, who at the time was chief financial executive of Fairfax County, and Susan Datta, then-head of the Department of Management and Budget, go over notes before giving a fiscal report. Long is retiring from the post of county executive after 40 years in various Fairfax County government posts. (James M. Thresher/The Washington Post)

Fairfax County Executive Edward L. Long Jr. announced Tuesday that he will retire in September, ending a 40-year career in county government that paralleled the development of Virginias largest jurisdiction into a wealthy model of suburban living and lately focused on tight budgets, overcrowded schools and traffic-clogged roads.

Long, 64, began working with the county as a budget analyst in 1977 and rose through the ranks of county administration. He retired briefly before taking over as county executive in 2012 when Anthony H. Griffin retired from the post.

During Longs tenure, Fairfax become one of the countrys most affluent communities, with tens of thousands moving into new residential developments throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the county has 1.1 million residents, more than any other city or county in the Washington region.

Long, whose current salary is $330,000 a year, oversaw some major developments that deepened the countys growth  most notable being the overhaul of Tysons Corner and Reston around Metrorails Silver Line extension toward Dulles International Airport.

Those revitalization projects created new skylines of office towers and residential buildings and cemented Fairfax as an economic powerhouse in the region.

Sharon S. Bulova (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. (Evy Mages/For The Washington Post)

My initial enthusiasm did not wane over the years, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my long career with the county, Long said in a letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors announcing his Sept. 15 retirement. My last five years as County Executive have been especially rewarding, and leading Team Fairfax has been the highlight of my career.

But the past few years have also been marked by headaches for Long as he struggled to fund schools and other services during a tepid economy that has not kept pace with the demands of growing populations of elderly and low-income residents in Fairfax.

During county budget meetings, Long frequently has been a voice of gloom, outlining in his straightforward style the rocky fiscal road ahead.

This is probably going to be one of the most somber budgets that Ive had to deal with in my 40-plus years with the county, Long told county supervisors last fall when he introduced the budget proposal for fiscal 2018.

On Tuesday, the 2018 budget received final approval. It left some priorities unfunded and fell $47 million short of what school officials had requested, the latest sign of belt-tightening in Fairfax as revenue has remained relatively flat.

Mostly apolitical and uncontroversial, Long has nevertheless experienced some challenging moments in his years with the county.

In 2000, as director of the Department of Management and Budget, Long and other top county finance officials were caught by surprise when an employee in the Office of Investment and Cash Management embezzled $2 million from county investment funds.

Officials later said they may have missed warning signs that showed the employee had considerable personal debt, a red flag for workers who are able to access their employers funds.

As county executive in 2015, Long tried to block the appointment of a longtime community activist to a police advisory commission set up to recommend a series of reforms in the wake of the 2013 fatal shooting of an unarmed man outside his home.

Long told Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon S. Bulova (D) he thought the activist, retired D.C. police officer Nicholas Beltrante, would use his spot on the commission to push for a civilian board to review allegations of police misconduct.

Beltrante was eventually included in the commission.

Also in 2015, Long proposed that the Board of Supervisors try to generate extra revenue by asking voters to approve a tax on restaurant meals and other types of prepared foods  a controversial idea in Fairfax that voters rejected last year.

In announcing Longs retirement, Bulova called his pending departure bittersweet, noting that he had just passed his last county budget.

I know how much hell miss it, Bulova joked, before saying that the county will launch a nationwide search for his replacement.

Sitting nearby inside the county government center, Long grinned.
KENTUCKY

Court lets gay couple sue clerk for damages

A federal appeals court Tuesday revived a damages lawsuit against Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who in 2015 refused to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples because it conflicted with her Christian beliefs.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati said a lower court judge erred in finding that damages claims by David Ermold and David Moore became moot, after a new state law last July excused clerks such as Davis, from Rowan County, from having to sign marriage license forms.

While the couple eventually did get a license, a three-judge appeals court panel said they could sue over Daviss initial refusal to grant one, after the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2015 said the Constitution guaranteed a right to same-sex marriage.

Ermold and Moores case was sent back to U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning in Covington, Ky.

The refusal of Davis to issue licenses made her a national symbol for opposition to the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

 Reuters

TEXAS

Suspect in stabbings mentally ill, police say

The man suspected of stabbing four students at the University of Texas, one fatally, suffered from mental health troubles and had been involuntarily committed for treatment in another city, authorities said Tuesday.

University Police Chief David Carter said Kendrex J. White was obviously suffering from some kind of mental difficulties, but he did not elaborate on the suspects condition or treatment.

White, 21, who was also enrolled at the Austin campus, was armed with a large hunting knife. He was described by former classmates as intelligent and easygoing and was active in a student group for black professionals.

Two of the people wounded in Mondays attack were treated at hospitals and released, and a third remained hospitalized, university President Gregory L. Fenves said.

The student who was fatally stabbed was identified as freshman Harrison Brown. Fenves described him as a talented musician who had not yet decided on a major. The president met with Browns family Tuesday morning.

Brown was the first person to be stabbed as White struck a path across a plaza in the heart of campus. Before the attacks, White was seen in the student activity center appearing normal. As he left there, he kicked a woman as if to get her out of his way, the police chief said.

Wielding a large Bowie-style knife, White attacked Brown and then another man who was sitting at a picnic table, stabbing the latter in the back of the head. A third man was stabbed while waiting in line at a food truck before White assaulted a fourth victim, Carter said.

White was charged with murder, and more charges are expected, acting Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said.

 Associated Press

Colgate investigates racial bias in safety alert: A Colgate University campus safety director has been placed on leave while officials review a lockdown prompted by a black student carrying a glue gun for an art project. Colgate President Brian W. Casey posted a statement Tuesday saying the review of the difficult, painful situation would include the role of implicit racial bias during the reporting and response. He said a student called campus security at about 8 p.m. Monday reporting a black male with what appeared to be a gun. The liberal arts school in Hamilton, N.Y., then issued a Twitter alert about a person with a gun. It said a law enforcement search was underway and told students to find a safe space and remain indoors.

Foster father acquitted of sexual abuse: A New York foster father accused of sexually abusing six of the more than 100 boys he cared for over two decades was acquitted Tuesday of all charges against him. Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu, 60, was cleared of 17 counts involving abuse of the children. Many of the boys had mental, intellectual, emotional and behavioral issues. The verdict came on the seventh day of jury deliberations in Suffolk County in a case that put a national focus on the foster care system.

Amtrak schedules Penn Station repairs fo summer: Amtrak is anticipating as many as 44 days of limited service this summer for repairs at Pennsylvania Station in a preliminary plan that appears to favor the national passenger railroads needs over those of a half-million daily New York City commuters. Much of the track and platform work would take place during weekdays. Commuters have endured five weeks of upheaval at Penn Station in the wake of two Amtrak derailments.

 From news services
CALIFORNIA

Police say gunman was upset about breakup

A gunman who opened fire at a pool party in San Diego on Sunday evening, killing one person and wounding six others, was despondent over a recent breakup, police said Monday.

Before the attacker was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police officers, he called his ex-girlfriend on the phone and made her listen in as he carried out his rampage, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

There were initial concerns that the shooting was motivated by racial animus because the attacker  identified by police as Peter Raymond Selis, a 49-year-old white man  had shot six black people and a Hispanic man. But a day after the shooting, Zimmerman said police had zero information this was racially motivated. Instead, she said the victims were in the area when Selis began to shoot indiscriminately at a crowd gathered at the pool in a condominium complex.

Selis was a resident of the complex, police said. According to bankruptcy filings, he struggled in recent years with sizable debt and had worked as a mechanic at a Ford dealership in San Diego.

Zimmerman said Selis and his girlfriend broke up in the days before the shooting, and Seliss relatives said he was distraught and depressed over the breakup.

 Mark Berman

and Abigail Hauslohner

TEXAS

Suspect in paramedics shooting is found dead

A man suspected of shooting and critically injuring a paramedic who was tending to a shooting victim on Monday was found dead in a Dallas home, authorities said.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said that a police robot found two bodies in a home, including that of the suspected gunman, as authorities scoured a neighborhood east of downtown after the shooting. The mayor said the threat to the neighborhood was over.

Rawlings said the paramedic was out of surgery and in intensive care at a hospital. The civilian whom the paramedic was trying to help when he was shot is also in intensive care.

Emergency responders were treating the civilian about 11:30 a.m. in a neighborhood east of downtown when another person approached, opened fire and critically injured the paramedic, according to officials.

Interim Police Chief David Pughes said officers at the scene were told that the suspected shooter and the person found shot in the street were neighbors whod had a dispute.

 Associated Press

OHIO

Executions postponed as court ght continues

Gov. John Kasich (R) on Monday delayed nine executions as a court fight continues over the constitutionality of the states lethal injection process, including a contested sedative used in problematic executions in at least three states.

Kasichs announcement postponed next months execution of child-killer Ronald Phillips until July and pushed back eight other executions.

Kasich said the timing of arguments before a Cincinnati federal appeals court makes the delay necessary. The court is hearing Ohios appeal of a federal judges order that found the states latest execution process unconstitutional.

The effectiveness of the sedative midazolam is expected to be front and center in those arguments. Thats especially true given last weeks execution in Arkansas of Kenneth Williams, a convicted killer who lurched and convulsed 20 times during a lethal injection process Thursday that began with midazolam.

Midazolam was also used in Ohio in January 2014 when Dennis McGuire gasped and snorted during a 26-minute procedure, the states longest. Executions in the state have been on hold since then.

 Associated Press
John W. Littlefield, a former chairman of pediatrics and physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine whose research advanced the field of genetics, died April 20 at a retirement community in Cockeysville, Md. He was 91.

The cause was complications from dementia, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Dr. Littlefields accomplishments included playing a leading part in discovering the role of the ribosome in protein synthesis. He developed the technique of using amniocentesis to diagnose prenatal genetic disorders, and he helped pioneer the derivation and study of human stem cells.

John Walley Littlefield was born in Providence, R.I., on Dec. 3, 1925. He graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, and completed his medical studies in 1947 when he was 21.

Dr. Littlefield was called to active duty during the Korean War in 1952 and served as a doctor aboard a hospital ship stationed off the coast of Korea. He was a member of the Navy Reserve and was later recalled to active duty, stationed near the Arctic Circle.

After leaving the Navy, he joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School and the staff of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

From 1957 to 1958, Dr. Littlefield and his wife lived in Cambridge, England, where he was a research assistant to James Watson and Francis Crick, who several years later earned the Nobel Prize in medicine for their study of the molecular structure of DNA.

After returning to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1958, he delved deeper into genetic research and achieved something family members said was a proud accomplishment for him  development of a method to isolate hybrid cells, a technique that would be used by researchers in genetic mapping.

In 1966, he was appointed chief of a new genetics unit at the Childrens Service at Massachusetts General. There he gained renown as a champion for genetics  then a new discipline that became recognized as a medical specialty in 1982.

During the 1960s, he also co-founded the Genetics Training Program at Harvard Medical School that trained scientists and clinicians and supported researchers in the field. He became a full professor at Harvard Medical School in 1970.

Three years later, Victor A. McKusick, who was known as the father of medical genetics, brought Dr. Littlefield to Hopkins. He assumed the position of professor and chairman of pediatrics at its school of medicine and pediatrician in chief of the childrens hospital of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

He continued his work on cultured cells while overseeing a facility that had 250 beds, 60 professors and saw more than 200,000 patients a year.

Family members said Dr. Littlefields greatest legacy may be his work in the use of amniocentesis  the isolation of fetal cells from the womb that diagnoses genetic disorders in fetuses. His innovation enabled women to be tested before they gave birth.

After Dr. Littlefield retired in 1992, he became an integral member of John D. Gearharts research team at Hopkins, which first identified and isolated human stem cells that were capable of forming all cell types in the body.

Dr. Littlefield, who also taught courses in ethics in genetics, was the author of more than 200 scientific publications.

His wife, the former Elizabeth Lascelles Bette Legge, died in 1995. Survivors include his companion, Nancy Warner of Baltimore; three children; and seven grandchildren.

 Baltimore Sun
Continuing public concerns over high-priced hepatitis C drugs are taking a new twist as Louisianas top health official proposes using an obscure federal patent law to get the medicines at a much lower cost. If successful, other states could reap the benefits.

Covering treatment for the 35,000 uninsured and Medicaid-

dependent residents with hepatitis C would cost the state $764 million given current drug costs, a staggering sum that would have to be pulled from schools, public services and infrastructure programs. Louisianas budget runs to $31.2 billion a year, but its discretionary programs, such as health care, account for $3.6 billion.

We dont have the resources, said Rebekah Gee, the states health secretary.

Gee wrote to one of the nations leading public health experts last month to explore tapping a 1910 patent law that gives federal regulators the power to appropriate inventions and use a product in the interest of the public good. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Defense Department used the law to buy dozens of medicines at lower costs.

Joshua M. Sharfstein, an associate dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, took Gees query to other top academic and legal health specialists. Their meeting ended with the group concluding that Louisiana should pursue action under U.S. Code Section 1498.

This is the path that would be the most viable to be able to get what you need for people in Louisiana, said Sharfstein, a former deputy commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration.

Under the law, the Trump administration could sidestep patents and contract with a generic supplier to provide a lower-priced version of expensive antiviral drugs such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, which are made by industry leader Gilead Sciences.

The government would have to pay the drugmaker only reasonable compensation and prove, per the statute, that using the product benefits the government. A favorable ruling for Louisiana would mean the strategy could be used by any state.

Gee, who also is working more broadly to raise bipartisan support to force a change in hepatitis C drug prices, said she thinks using the patent law could be a win-win for the state and industry.

Pharma needs to think about different approaches to profitability, she said. Sometimes quantity can be an important driver of profit, not just the price of each unit of this drug.

Her proposal would need approval from Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who oversees the federal agency that administers Medicaid. During his confirmation hearings, Price said he would be committed to making certain that drug prices are able to be afforded by individuals.

Prices record from his years in Congress and as a Georgia state lawmaker indicates that he believes government influence should be reduced in health care. During his confirmation hearing, he praised a Medicare Part B program that allows pharmacy benefit managers to negotiate drug prices.

Rachel Sachs, an associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis who attended the recent Johns Hopkins meeting, said she believes the case is strong in invoking Section 1498, even though pharmaceutical companies may have multiple patents and exclusivity periods to protect their drugs.

The federal government has a direct financial interest in controlling hepatitis C, Sachs said, noting that many of those infected are covered by public programs such as Medicaid or through state prison systems.

The trade association Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America declined to comment on the potential use of the law. Gilead did not return calls for comment.

The high prices of hepatitis C drugs have been an ongoing concern for public health officials across the country. In 2015, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said states should not unreasonably restrict coverage of treatments for people with the disease. Last year, the National Association of Medicaid Directors asked Congress to act, calling hepatitis C a pervasive public health threat.

Hepatitis C infections, which spread through blood or other bodily fluids, are usually silent for many years until the virus damages the liver enough to cause symptoms such as jaundice and fatigue. An estimated 2.7 million Americans now have chronic hepatitis C.

Through its Medicaid program, Louisiana covered Sovaldi and Harvoni for 324 people last year at an average cost of $85,000 each. Treating more of its infected Medicaid population would be prohibitive for the state without lower-priced drugs, according to an online budget allocator tool created by Peter B. Bach, director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Using estimates of drug costs from Gileads public filings, the tool shows how millions of dollars would need to be shifted in the states discretionary budget to pay for those treatments. For instance, cutting K-12 funding by $26 million would cover treatments for 3,176 hepatitis C patients. Too often, Bach said, discussions about costs do not illustrate the trade-offs. These numbers are so large that its very difficult to think about them proportionately, he said.

Boston patent lawyer Hannah Brennan, who co-authored a 2016 paper on Section 1498, told those at the Hopkins meeting that the Defense Departments medical-supply agency relied on the law during a three-year period in the 1960s to procure 50 drugs for $21 million in savings. In one example, the government obtained the antibiotic nitrofurantoin for nearly four times less than the patent holders price. In the 1970s, Brennan said, use of the law for purchasing medicines petered out, probably because of pharmaceutical lobbying and greater attention to patent protection.

But that has not stopped other agencies, including the National Gallery of Art and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, from tapping Section 1498. Brennans paper notes that the government routinely relies on the patent law to act in the publics interest for inventions ranging from electronic passports to genetically mutated mice.

In 2001, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson threatened to use the law to gain a lower price on the Bayer drug Cipro, an antibiotic that also is given to people exposed to anthrax. The agency and the company later reached a deal.

Now, 16 years later, health experts are working with Gee to craft a Section 1498 proposal on hepatitis C drugs.

This is exactly the moment and exactly the kind of scenario for doing so, Memorial Sloan Ketterings Bach said.

Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Demonstrators clash with opponents during a May Day rally in New York Citys Union Square on Monday. The protests occurred as the scope of President Trumps approach to immigration is coming into focus. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Thousands of labor and immigrant rights activists took to the streets Monday for a wave of protests in conjunction with May Day, a day that sparks protests annually among progressives but which took on a sharper edge this year over concerns about President Trumps agenda.

While the protests were largely peaceful, a march in Portland, Ore., turned violent when a sea of black bloc anarchists set fire to newspaper boxes, slashed the tires of police vehicles and sprayed anarchy signs on storefronts. Police revoked the protest permit and declared the scene a riot, arresting more than two dozen people.

In New York, several protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to Wells Fargo over the banks role financing private Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, according to local news reports. In Oakland, Calif., four protesters were arrested for trespassing after sneaking past security at the Alameda County government building and unfurling a sign related to sanctuary cities, according to the sheriffs office.

The protests focused primarily on immigration and labor. Groups urged immigrant workers to skip work, school and shopping to highlight their impact on the economy. In Austin, activists staged a sit-in at the governors office at the capitol complex to protest a Texas bill increasing immigration enforcement in Texas.

The demonstrations occurred as the scope of Trumps approach to immigration is coming into focus. Immigration arrests rose 33 percent in the first weeks of the Trump administration, including thousands of people who were unlawfully present but otherwise had no criminal record, according to a Washington Post analysis. He has pledged to build a wall that stretches across the U.S.-Mexico border, despite a number of setbacks.

Meanwhile, tensions are rising between far-left and far-right activists. While masked, black-clad activists on the left have been known to vandalize storefronts and damage cars, they have mobilized heavily in the wake of Trumps election to oppose his supporters, particularly those who espouse racist views.

Groups of Trump supporters, including members and allies of the loose coalition of far-right activists known as the alt-right, have recently become engaged in opposing the antifa groups  sometimes violently  and accuse them of trying to block free speech.

In Seattle, at least two people were arrested when a large anti-Trump contingent and a smaller pro-Trump group converged at Westlake Park. The event appeared otherwise peaceful in the early evening, and Mayor Ed Murray said it was the smallest May Day turnout he had seen during his four years in office, according to the Seattle Times.

But in Portland, where the May Day march included a large contingent of black bloc anarchists and antifascists, there was significant damage left in its wake. As the march turned by the federal courthouse in the early evening, rocks collided with the windows. Soon a smoke bomb went off, then Pepsi cans flew over the crowd at police.

After police announced that the permitted protest was now illegal, the antifa crowd ran south, smashing windows, lighting fires and spray-painting businesses.

By rush hour, Portland police had protesters detained by city hall, making at least nine arrests. Three fires were set in major intersections. Windows and ATMs were sprayed with red anarchy signs.

May Day has roots as a spring festival in European pagan cultures, but it was dubbed International Workers Day by socialist, anarchist and communist groups. The moniker commemorates the Haymarket affair, the name given to the violent confrontation that took place in Chicago in 1886 between police and union strikers demanding an eight-hour workday.

It became associated with immigrant workers in the United States in 2006, after weeks of massive protests over a bill that would have cracked down on immigrants in the country illegally. The marches, which took place in the spring and on May 1, are credited with energizing Latino workers and killing the bill, although demonstrators did not achieve their goal of comprehensive immigration reform.

Leah Sottile contributed to this report.
TWIN FALLS  When Doug Vollmer said goodbye to his wife of 57 years, he also said farewell to an invaluable business partner and office manager.

But the owner of American Real Estate & Appraisal was joined in mourning and celebration last month, as the business community honored the life of a woman who gave her time to help others. DeAnna Vollmer, 73, died April 13 after struggling with ovarian cancer for more than a decade.

On Thursday, she was posthumously recognized with a 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce.

She was honored for doing the things she liked to do, Vollmer said during a phone interview with the Times-News.  She never really expected any kind of recognition; she just did it.

Over the past 50 years, DeAnna Vollmer was a part of local organizations such as the YWCA, Jaycettes, Toastmistresses, the hospital auxiliary, Cub Scouts and First Baptist Church.

She was involved in so many good things, said Kim James, who nominated DeAnna for the award before her death. She was just a good person.

DeAnna Vollmer was born Nov. 7, 1943, in Twin Falls to LaVern and Alda Strong. She grew up on the Crystal Springs Orchard ranch between Filer and Buhl, and married Doug Vollmer when she was 15 years old. Theyd known each other since eighth grade, her husband recalled.

The couple opened American Real Estate & Appraisal in 1973. Throughout the years, DeAnna continued to support her husband not only at the business, but as he took City Council and mayor offices in the 80s and 90s. Doug Vollmer received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

Aside from her volunteerism, DeAnna Vollmer is remembered largely for the kind of person she was. Friends and family remember receiving personalize cards shed made on the computer over the course of many birthdays. For 40 years, she hosted an annual open house Christmas party, which grew to include more than 250 friends and family.

She was selfless, so everything was about everybody else, even toward the end, said Lucy Wills, a family friend of 30 years whod grown close to DeAnna over the past few years. You never felt anything less than important  when you were with her.

When DeAnna Vollmer didnt send a Christmas party invitation last winter, James said she knew that something was wrong.

DeAnnas ovarian cancer had been in and out of remission for 12 years, her husband said. And in January, she told him she couldnt undergo chemotherapy anymore. The treatments had zapped her energy, and Vollmer understood that it was time.

She had a lot of dignity, he said.

DeAnna knew that shed been nominated for the award, but died before she could receive it.

It still comes as a shock that shes really gone, he said.

She was a kind person, never really grumbling at anybody, Vollmer said. She had a signature smile that everybody treasured.

And her signature statement: Cherish each day. Now go do good things.

She lit up everybodys life that she touched, and she made a different in everyones life that she touched, Wills said.

In his speech on Thursday, Twin Falls Mayor Shawn Barigar noted that DeAnna Vollmers dedication to family and community personified the kind of quality place Twin Falls is  and that we strive to continue to be as a community.
MIDDLE EAST

New Hamas manifesto aims at rebranding

The Islamist militant group Hamas on Monday unveiled what had been billed as a new, seemingly more pragmatic political program aimed at ending its international isolation.

With the new manifesto, Hamas casts itself as an Islamic national liberation movement, rather than a branch of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed by Egypt. It also drops explicit language calling for Israels destruction, though it retains the goal of eventually liberating all of historical Palestine, which includes what is now Israel.

It is not clear whether the changes will be enough to improve relations with Egypt, which, along with Israel, has been enforcing a crippling border blockade against the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized the territory in 2007.

Hamas, however, clung to hard-line positions. It reaffirmed that it will not recognize Israel, renounce violence or recognize previous interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals  the Wests long-standing conditions for dealing with Hamas.

The new platform seemed to cement the ideological divide between Hamas and its main political rival, the Fatah movement of Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas drove out forces loyal to Abbas in its 2007 takeover of Gaza, a year after defeating Fatah in Palestinian parliamentary elections. Reconciliation efforts have failed.

 Associated Press

TURKEY

Erdogan: Referendum to be held on E.U. talks

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will decide in a referendum whether to continue pursuing membership in the European Union.

In an interview Monday on Indian television, Erdogan accused the E.U. of not being sincere or honest and of making Turkey wait at its gates.

He said, Turkey will choose the next path of a Brexit-like referendum.

Turkey, a Muslim-majority nation, began E.U. membership negotiations in 2005, but the talks have made little progress.

Ties with E.U. nations soured before a divisive Turkish referendum last month on expanding presidential powers, with Erdogan voicing harsh criticism of several E.U. nations.

The E.U. said this weekend that Turkey must provide clearer signals on whether it intends to meet E.U. criteria on human rights and the rule of law.

 Associated Press

KASHMIR

India accuses Pakistan of mutilating 2 soldiers

Two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated Monday in an ambush by Pakistani soldiers along the highly militarized de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between the two sides, the Indian army said. But Pakistan denied any such attack, calling the Indian claims false.

Separately, five police officials and two bank employees were killed when suspected rebels ambushed a bank van in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

Pakistani soldiers fired rockets and mortar rounds at two Indian positions southwest of the Line of Control, the army said in a statement.

It said Pakistani soldiers also ambushed an Indian patrol operating between the two posts and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers.

The Pakistani army denied committing any cease-fire violation along the Line of Control. It also said that the allegations of mutilating Indian troops bodies were false.

In the past, both countries have accused the other of initiating border skirmishes.

 Associated Press

Turbulence injures 27 on Aeroflot flight: Twenty-seven people were injured, several with suspected spinal damage, after an Aeroflot Boeing 777-300 on which they were traveling from Moscow to Bangkok hit strong turbulence. The Russian Embassy in Bangkok said that Flight SU270 hit an air pocket on its approach to Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Airport. It said 24 of the injured were Russians. The other injured were from Thailand.

Pakistan extends house arrest of top Mumbai attack suspect: Pakistan has extended for three months the house arrest of a senior militant wanted by the United States. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed heads Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity widely thought to serve as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The State Department is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 From news services
SYRIA

Islamic State militants kill dozens in northeast

Islamic State militants staged a surprise attack Tuesday at a crossing frequently used by Iraqi and Syrian civilians seeking safety in northeastern Syria, killing at least 37 people, mostly civilians, Kurdish officials and activists said.

The militants struck before dawn after sneaking into the village of Rajm Sleibi, along a front line that separates the Kurdish-controlled Hasakah province from Islamic State-held areas farther south. Some militants reportedly blew themselves up at a Kurdish checkpoint while others attacked sleeping civilians in a nearby camp sheltering hundreds who had fled Islamic State territory.

A spokesman for the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria said the attack started with an early-morning assault by the militants on a checkpoint belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed and Kurdish-dominated force battling the Islamic State.

The militants then committed a massacre against civilians as they sought to enter SDF-controlled territory, the spokesman said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 38, including 23 civilians, many of them Iraqi.

The Islamic State is under attack by an array of forces in Syria and Iraq.

 Associated Press

RUSSIA

Navalny claims partial loss of sight after attack

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Tuesday that he had lost 80 percent of sight in his right eye after an assailant threw green liquid in his face last week and he could not get treatment abroad because of a travel ban.

Navalny, who hopes to run for the presidency next year, in March organized the biggest anti-government demonstrations in Russia in years and is the most prominent challenger to President Vladimir Putin, who is widely expected to run for a fourth term in 2018.

On Thursday, a man whom Navalnys supporters have identified as a member of an ultranationalist group threw green liquid in his face in Moscow. It was the second time Navalny had suffered such an assault in as many months.

The green solution, zelyonka, is sold as an antiseptic in Russian pharmacies and is not considered harmful though it stings the eyes.

But Navalny said Tuesday that he had suffered a chemical burn to his right eye after the assault, robbing him of 80 percent of his sight in that eye. He said a doctor had told him that the antiseptic must have been mixed with something else.

For now, the loss of sight is not irreversible, Navalny said. But he said he was unable to get treatment in a specialized clinic in Switzerland or Spain because of a travel ban imposed over what he calls a politically motivated embezzlement conviction.

 Reuters

Saudi prince rules out dialogue with Iran: Saudi Arabias deputy crown prince has ruled out any dialogue with Iran, which he said is busy plotting to control the Muslim world. In a rare interview aired on Saudi TV, Mohammed bin Salman said his country would crush Iran-aligned fighters in Yemen, where Saudi forces lead a coalition intervening in a civil war. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran compete for influence in the Middle East. Mohammed said it is Irans goal to control the Islamic world and . . . their logic is to pave the way for the arrival of al-Mahdi. Shiites believe that Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century, will one day reappear to establish global Islamic rule.

Libyan premier, rival general in UAE for mediation talks: The prime minister of Libyas U.N.-backed government and a powerful rival general met in the United Arab Emirates in the latest effort to resolve the countrys long-running conflict. Libya TV said Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter and Prime Minister Fayez Serraj agreed on holding presidential and parliamentary elections next year, but it is unclear how such a vote would be held in the fractured country. Libya sank into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed strongman Moammar Gaddafi. The nation is split between rival governments and warring militias.

 From news services
President Trumps first 100 days in office were mostly about empty noise. The next 100 likely will be the same.

There is no principle at the heart of Trumps policies. In many cases, there are no policies at all, just improvised attempts to bridge the gap between Trumps rhetoric and inconvenient reality. This is no way to run a corner bodega, let alone the greatest nation on Earth.

What kind of president calls North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a pretty smart cookie, as Trump did in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation? Who uses words of grudging admiration for a brutal dictator who consolidated power by executing hundreds of people, including his uncle? Who gives props to the leader of a rogue regime that threatens U.S. allies with nuclear weapons and may soon have missiles that can target Seattle?

The aides and surrogates who speak for the president will have to walk back those remarks, just as they have walked back so many others. Id feel sorry for Trumps mouthpieces, but they chose to do those jobs.

What kind of president invites a man like Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House? Duterte has addressed his countrys problem of drug-fueled crime with a campaign of assassination that has killed more than 7,000 people without arrest, trial or judgment, according to Human Rights Watch. Thats not the kind of leader the U.S. president usually invites to drop by.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Yet Trump and Duterte had a very friendly chat by phone Saturday, according to the White House. The State Department and the National Security Council were reportedly caught off guard. Those who claim Trump is on a learning curve should be honest and acknowledge that he takes two steps forward, then two full steps back.

What kind of president guarantees health insurance for those with preexisting conditions, under the back-from-the-grave Obamacare replacement measure being considered by the House, when no such guarantee of affordable coverage is in the bill? I guarantee it, said Trump. Not really, says the legislation.

In the Face the Nation interview, it became clear that Trump does not understand what is in the bill he so vocally supports. States would be allowed to void the preexisting- conditions requirement if they established high-risk pools to accommodate the unhealthy. But there is no requirement that states provide the ample funding necessary to make such an arrangement viable. The bill would punish the sick and renege on a central Trump campaign promise. He is being either dishonest or clueless.

What kind of president seeks to govern a divided country  he lost the popular vote, remember  by holding campaign-style rallies designed to appeal only to his political base? Trump skipped the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner; the last sitting president to do so was Ronald Reagan in 1981, when he was recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in an assassination attempt. Trump decided instead to continue his absurd and self-defeating war against the news media.

Speaking in Harrisburg, Pa., Trump called CNN and MSNBC fake news and railed against the failing New York Times. Meanwhile, journalistic icons Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein stood on the dais at the WHCA dinner as a reminder that this isnt the first time an administration has sought to deflect scrutiny by attacking the media  and that what Bernstein called the best obtainable version of the truth will emerge if journalists do their jobs.

Protesters at the Harrisburg event waved Russian flags, a reminder that the question of possible collusion between Trumps campaign and agents of the Russian government remains unresolved. Woodward and Bernstein inspired a generation of journalists who are determined to unearth the answer.

I chalk up two actual accomplishments for the administration in the first 100 days. Neil Gorsuch was nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court. And substantial progress has been made on a pro-business  and mostly anti-consumer  agenda of deregulation.

But what else has worked out the way Trump promised? He didnt, after all, label China a currency manipulator. He didnt, after all, pull the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He didnt, after all, get funding to start building a border wall. He did, however, order a missile strike in Syria, breaking his pledge of an America First foreign policy.

This nation isnt being led, its being buffeted this way and that by the presidents bluster. What British politician Gordon Brown once said about a rival is true, in spades, about Trump: The more he talks, the less he actually says.

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.
This is what laissez faire looks like.

Washington, in its wisdom, deregulated the airline industry and later looked the other way as it underwent a series of mega-mergers leaving a four-carrier oligopoly controlling 85 percent of the market. And what do we have to show for it? Reduced competition; packed cabins; tiny seats; proliferating fees for food, bags and flight changes; outsourcing of maintenance; boarding delays; higher fares in many cases; labyrinthine contracts that protect airlines rather than consumers; and routine overbooking.

While airlines invest millions in perks for those who fly in premium classes, recent weeks have found United Airlines re-accommodating a paying passenger, a doctor, by hauling him off a plane, bleeding, to make room for United employees, and American Airlines suspending a flight attendant who allegedly hit a mother with a baby stroller.

Congress summoned airline executives to testify Tuesday before the House Transportation Committee, and while they offered the requisite apologies for the highly publicized abuses of the doctor and the mom, they offered Orwellian rejoinders when confronted with the ordinary abuses they routinely inflict on millions of travelers.

The overbooking that causes thousands to be bumped from flights they paid for?

(The Washington Post)

We view overbooking as something that actually helps us accommodate and take care of thousands more customers than we would otherwise be able to, said United Airlines President Scott Kirby.

The imposition of steep ticket-change fees?

Theyre mostly about our way of offering low fares to consumers, Kirby maintained.

And will those checked-bag fees, imposed because of high fuel costs, go away now that fuel prices are low?

Kerry Philipovitch, American Airlines senior vice president of customer experience, said that we put our fees in place to give customers more options and more choices.

How considerate.

Bob Jordan of low-cost Southwest Airlines explained why his airline, unlike the big boys, doesnt charge such fees: If youre going to travel, it makes sense that you can bring your clothes along with you.

The executives even used their appearance to request that Congress deregulate the industry further, asking for the government to privatize the Federal Aviation Administration  there is legislation pending to put the air-traffic control system under the airlines control  and to relax regulations on how airlines advertise fares. Yall place a lot of stuff on us, complained United chief executive Oscar Munoz.

Such chutzpah at one time would have led legislators to re-accommodate the executives, United-style. But this GOP-controlled Congress, and the Trump administration, are all about relaxing business rules.

I dont believe in overburdening our businesses, Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) told the executives, saying only that Congress would act the next time if they dont police themselves this time.

Likewise, Eric A. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) said he didnt want to apply re-regulation, instead encouraging the industry to do some self-regulation to demonstrate that you dont need interference from Congress.

I couldnt agree more, Munoz replied.

Rep. Brian Babin (R-Tex.) assured the executives that I dont like regulation if I can get away with it, while John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) embraced the industry view that more people are able to fly at lower prices because of overbooking.

With the prospect of legislative action off the table, committee members took turns complaining about their own aviation experiences.

Duncan complained about a maintenance delay this week in Knoxville. It caused me to miss votes last night, and I hate to miss votes, he said.

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) let it be known that he has elite status on every airline up there except for Alaska.

Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) said he just spent 30 hours getting from Washington, D.C., to Minneapolis.

Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) complained that an airline recently failed to notify her of a flight cancellation, and I could have changed flights. And Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) complained about the teeny tiny, awful seats on his flight Monday.

I apologize that you had an uncomfortable flight, Philipovitch replied.

Heres whats more uncomfortable: The abuses of the unfettered airline industry, and Washingtons refusal to do anything about them, are typical. Nearly a decade after the financial crisis, corporate chieftains are again astride the country like a colossus, while workers and customers languish. President Trump promised to help the forgotten man, but his solutions do the opposite: repealing banking reforms, granting large tax cuts to the wealthy, and cutting government efforts to protect workers and consumers.

And passengers. At Tuesdays hearing, the chairman, Shuster, offered the perverse suggestion that Congress help airlines and other industries by enacting tort reform so that they wouldnt face so many damn lawsuits from pesky customers.

It was a revealing proposal. Airlines are caught abusing passengers in graphic ways, and the top House lawmaker overseeing the industry responds by proposing a crackdown  on passengers.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
HOW FAR should private companies be pushed to solve public problems? How far can  or should  a developer building on private land with private money be pushed to address the shortage of affordable housing in gentrifying Washington, D.C.? Is it sufficient to meet, even exceed, the requirements of city law? Or is it fair to demand even more because of the citys great needs? Those are questions being raised in a contentious, and increasingly ugly, controversy over a redevelopment proposal for an aging housing complex in Northeast Washington. The answers could have implications that reach beyond whether this one project gets built.

At issue are plans by MidCity Financial Corp., the Bethesda-based owner of Brookland Manor, to redevelop the 535-unit apartment and shopping complex located on roughly 20 acres east of the Rhode Island Avenue Metro into a new mixed-use community that will include up to 1,760 residential units. There is little dispute that the 80-year-old buildings are nearing the end of their useful life or that denser development would make smarter use of the land. Opposition, largely led by community organizers at OneDC, centers on the number of affordable housing units that would be built and concerns that low-income, minority tenants will be displaced.

Under the plan that won preliminary approval from the citys zoning commission, MidCity has promised to permanently reserve 373 units for very-low-income families under the project-based Section 8 program of the Housing and Urban Development Department. D.C. law requires far less  10 percent moderately affordable units, no very-low-income units. MidCitys willingness to continue project-based housing for the neediest is unusual; the units were set aside 40 years ago as a condition of obtaining a federally subsidized mortgage, but that mortgage will be paid off this year and so the obligation ends. That MidCity from the start volunteered to do more than the legal minimum is why Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), the council member whose ward is home to the project, told us he backs it. So do 180 tenants who have signed a letter of support.

Nonetheless, tenants anxiety about change and what it might mean for them is understandable; they have seen people like them priced out of neighborhoods, and their concerns must be addressed. MidCity, disputing charges it has undertaken a campaign to displace people, said it will work to keep tenants in the rebuilt community. New apartments will be built before old ones are demolished. Opponents are right that promises are easier made than kept. But working against  indeed, even seeking to demonize  a company that seems committed to carrying out the mission of its founder, who was nationally recognized for his dedication to affordable housing, serves no one, least of all the tenants.

The city has a responsibility to hold developers to their promises. It also has a responsibility to find the right balance between encouraging public-mindedness and keeping business opportunities viable. When the zoning commission votes this month on whether the company can proceed with its plans, lets hope thought is given to what happens if MidCity is turned down, and what message that will send to other developers.
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS have settled on a bipartisan spending plan to keep the government open for the next five months, and, to judge from the document, their priorities are not President Trumps priorities.

To be sure, the $1.1 trillion measure includes $1.5 billion in new border-security money and exceeds previously enacted defense spending caps to the tune of $14.8 billion; Mr. Trump hailed both as victories for his agenda. But the presidents border wall gets not one dollar  indeed, Mr. Trumps abandonment of a demand for funding was the concession that made this deal possible. Meanwhile, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Environmental Protection Agency, Pell Grants for college students and Community Development Block Grants were held essentially harmless, with respect to their fiscal 2016 spending levels. The National Institutes of Health gets a $2 billion increase. All were targeted for big cuts in Mr. Trumps fiscal 2018 budget plan.

These results are a tribute to the Democrats skillful leveraging of their power, even as a minority in both houses; to the Republicans pragmatic fear of a politically costly partial government shutdown  and to the stubborn persistence of good old-fashioned political horse-trading, even under this supposedly disruptive president. The establishment is in low regard just now in politics. Yet when the government needs to function despite polarization and division, the art of compromise  even of the least-common-denominator variety  is what keeps it going. Fortunately, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) understand that.

One heartening element of the bill incorporates a bipartisan commitment to the idea that America will keep faith with those who have served this country abroad  even if they arent Americans. It provides for the admission to this country of 2,500 Afghans who worked as translators and the like for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, under the Special Immigrant Visa program. The programs authority had lapsed, forcing the government to stop processing new applications two months ago. Now that situation has been remedied  at least for five months.

Its a temporary victory for basic common sense  much like the spending bill itself. The measure keeps agencies operating, but no one should be under any illusion that it fixes government in the sense of actually restoring a sustainable long-term balance between revenues and outlays.
Regarding the April 27 Metro article Woman told not to nurse in church:

The two sides of the controversy over the woman breast-feeding her child in church suffer from the ennobling smokescreen of principle. That principle tends to create a prejudice on a grand issue that blinds common sense.

Of course a woman should be able to breast-feed in church or anywhere else when the need arises. Of course she shouldnt haul out her naked breast (partly shown in a photograph accompanying the article) in the middle of a sermon. Of course discretion, especially in a church, should have guided her to a middle ground that would have satisfied both objections.

Like it or not, the breast is not merely a milk bag. It is also part of our sexual wiring. To deny that is to negate the earliest history of humanity, carving its voluptuous longing in stone. Cite the freedom of other cultures if you like. They are not this one, and I am quite happy that the breast remains attractive  not just a clinical orb of fat and lactation.

Charles Glendinning, Ashton

Many people feel uncomfortable with public breast-feeding. Having a wife who breast-feeds our toddler of 19 months in public, I fear she will encounter the same bias in public places and institutions. Annie Peguero was quoted as saying she felt her rights were violated. But no national Breastfeeding Bill of Rights exists.

The Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to nursing mothers. New York state went a step further with the formal Breastfeeding Mothers Bill of Rights. However, no federal statute exists defining the rights a mother has to nurse her child in a public place. Laws protect public breast-feeding in 49 states and the District of Columbia  Idaho is the holdout  against indecency charges, but incidents such as this still occur. Without clear language defining the rights a mother has to nurse in public, discrimination will continue against an act that, for thousands of years, has sustained our children.

Thomas Cieslak, Herndon
For those who claim that Donald Trump has been pasteurized and homogenized by the presidency, his sour, 100th-day speech in Harrisburg, Pa., was inconvenient.

Trump used his high office to pursue divisive grudges (Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer is a bad leader), to attack the media (composed of incompetent, dishonest people) and to savage congressional Democrats (they dont mind drugs pouring in). Most of all, Trump used his bully pulpit quite literally, devoting about half his speech to the dehumanization of migrants and refugees as criminals, infiltrators and terrorists. Trump gained a kind of perverse energy from the rolling waves of hatred, culminating in the reading of racist song lyrics comparing his targets to vermin. It was a speech with all the logic, elevation and public purpose of a stink bomb.

On a selection of policy issues (Chinese currency manipulation, NATO, the North American Free Trade Agreement), Trump has been forced to accommodate reality. But those who find the president surprisingly conventional must somehow dismiss or discount this kind of speech, which George Wallace would have gladly given as president. They must somehow ignore the children in the audience, soaking up the fears and prejudices of their elders. They must somehow believe that presidential rhetoric  capable of elevating a country  has no power to debase it.

It is not sophisticated or worldly-wise to become inured to bigotry. The only thing more frightening than Trumps speech  arguably the most hate-filled presidential communication in modern history  is the apathetic response of those who should know better.

[Trumps first 100 days, in his words and ours]

(The Washington Post)

For vigorous and insightful criticism of Trump, we should turn to someone who is not an American at all. He is a Czech intellectual, playwright and politician  who also happens to be dead.

I viewed Trumps speech immediately after reading Vaclav Havels essay Politics, Morality and Civility (in an edition recently issued by the Trinity Forum). Havel surveyed the post-communist politics of his time and found leaders willing to gain the favor of a confused electorate by offering a colorful range of attractive nonsense. Sound familiar? His diagnosis continues: Making the most of this situation, some characters with suspicious backgrounds have been gaining popular favor with ideas such as, for instance, the need to throw the entire government into the Vltava River.

The great temptation, in Havels view, is for people to conclude that politics cant be better  that it is chiefly the manipulation of power and public opinion, and that morality has no place in it. This demoralized view of politics would mean losing the idea that the world might actually be changed by the force of truth, the power of a truthful word, the strength of a free spirit, conscience and responsibility.

Genuine politics, argues Havel, is simply a matter of serving those around us; serving the community, and serving those who will come after us. And this responsibility grows out of a moral and spiritual reality. Genuine conscience and genuine responsibility are always, in the end, explicable only as an expression of the silent assumption that we are observed from above, that everything is visible, nothing is forgotten.

Any kind of serious social renewal begins, in Havels view, with each of us. That is: in all circumstances try to be decent, just, tolerant and understanding, and at the same time try to resist corruption and deception. But political leaders can and should carry this work forward. I feel that the dormant goodwill in people needs to be stirred. People need to hear that it makes sense to behave decently or to help others, to place common interests above their own, to respect the elementary rules of human coexistence.

[100 days of Trump, two lonely accomplishments]

Read the whole essay  a Czech giving voice to real Americanism. It is certainly not the spirit of Trumpism, which exemplifies the moral and spiritual poverty Havel decries: the cultivation of anger, resentment, antagonism and tribal hostilities; the bragging and the brooding; the egotism and self-pity. All is visible. None will be forgotten.

The alternative to Trumpism is the democratic faith: that people, in the long run, will choose decency and progress over the pleasures of malice. The belief that they will choose the practice of kindness and courtesy. The conviction that God blesses the poor, the hungry, the weeping and the stranger. Faith in the power of the truthful word.

It is the job of responsible politics to prepare the way for new leaders, who believe that all of us are equal in dignity and tied together in a single destiny. But this can take place only if we refuse to normalize the language of hatred.

Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook .
Melissa Sceranka, of Baltimore, smokes an e-cigarette in 2014 at Vapefest in Herndon, Va. The Trump administration has suspended enforcement of a rule finalized last year that imposed strict oversight over electronic cigarettes and cigars for the first time. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

The Trump administration has delayed enforcement of a rule finalized last year that imposed strict oversight over electronic cigarettes and cigars for the first time.

The move, which the Justice Department revealed in court filings Monday night in both the District and Alabama, comes as the vaping and tobacco industries are launching a concerted effort to roll back the Food and Drug Administration regulation through both legislation and litigation. A bipartisan group of lawmakers had tried over the weekend to insert language into a must-pass funding bill that would have exempted thousands of products from FDA scrutiny.

In the motions, Justice Department attorneys joined with industry groups challenging the rule to ask for an additional three-month delay in two different cases to give new leadership personnel at the Health and Human Services additional time to more fully consider the Rule and issues raised in this case.

According to FDA officials, the agency is postponing any deadline established under the rule  which extends the FDAs regulatory authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah and pipe tobacco  set for May 10 or later.

As a result, as of next week, cigar manufacturers will not have to submit their plans for putting addictiveness warnings on their products. Information on what ingredients are contained in e-cigarettes and cigars will not have to be submitted starting Aug. 8, and interstate commerce of products including the label of light, low or mild will not be banned as of that date.

Aspects of the rule that went into effect last summer, including provisions that bar the sale of these products to anyone under 18 or the distribution of free samples, are still in effect.

Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the legal and legislative jockeying shows how the cigar and e-cigarette industry have waged a war to alter, gut and basically repeal what public health advocates see as critical.

From a pure public-health standpoint, theres been no factual change from the overwhelming public record that prompted promulgation of the rule, Myers said. The administrations decision yesterday means that the public will continue to lack the information about what products are on the market, what effect theyre having and whats in them.

[Trump officials turn to the courts to block Obama-era rules]

While the administration has not indicated what it will ultimately do about the 2016 rule, the decision to side with the industry in delaying the rule represents a sharp policy shift from the previous administration. Industry officials are optimistic that they will get a favorable hearing from the administration, especially considering that a large number of lawmakers are on their side.

What weve got to do is rein it back in, said Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association president Ray Story, referring to the 2016 rule. When it came to the administration, he added, I certainly think that they are going to curb regulation, just to curb regulation, because its bad for business.

But he added, I certainly dont think theyre going to lift the veil and say, Here you go, e-cigarettes, you can do whatever you want to do. 

Several senior Trump administration officials have ties to the tobacco and vaping industries. Chad A. Readler, the acting assistant attorney general for the civil division  whose name was on a March 1 brief asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division for an extension in a case involving the rule  represented R.J. Reynolds at the law firm Jones Day before joining the Justice Department.

And Scott Gottlieb, whos in line to become the next FDA commissioner, served on the board of the e-cigarette firm Kure until May 2016 and retained stock in the company even after he was nominated to his post. He pledged to sell his stock if he won Senate confirmation, which is expected this month. He also said he would not weigh in on matters involving Kure for a year following his resignation from the board, which means this recusal period ends sometime this month.

The Justice Department said in a filing that Readlers name appeared in filings as a matter of course, but he had not participated in the case.

An FDA spokesman referred any questions related to Gottlieb to the White House, which did not respond immediately.

Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the appropriations panel overseeing the FDA, said Gottliebs one-year recusal does not solve the conflict of interest at all.

The Obama administration vigorously defended what is known as the deeming rule, which got its name because the Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the FDA jurisdiction over cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco and any other tobacco products that the [HHS] Secretary by regulation deems to be subject to this chapter. It was finalized a year ago, and challenged by the Cigar Association of America and multiple e-cigarette companies.

Vaping proponents argue that their products can help wean smokers off combustible cigarettes, while critics argue that nicotine remains highly addictive and many e-cigarettes appeal to young people because of their combinations of candy and fruit flavors.

From 2011 to 2014, according to a brief the FDA filed in August, use of e-cigarettes among high school students rose from 1.5 to 13.4 percent.

Vaping has evolved into an industry thats targeted at our children, Merkley said, adding that becoming addicted to nicotine can have lifelong health impacts.

Keith Nelson, the TVECAs chief political officer, said that when it comes to the health impacts of electronic cigarettes, most of it is somewhat premature, because this is a nascent industry.

But he noted that two major e-cigarette companies  NJOY and Electronic Cigarettes International Group Ltd.  have gone bankrupt since the rule went into effect. And he added that the rule, which applies to any e-cigarettes introduced since Feb. 15, 2007, requires firms to conduct not just health-based research but behavioral research and psychological research on the impact of your product and all the combinations of these products.

The numbers start to add up, Nelson said. The industry needs some relief.

While major tobacco companies such as R.J. Reynolds and Altria, which contributed $1 million and $500,000, respectively, to Trumps inauguration, have not sued the federal government over the rule, they have pressed lawmakers to curtail it. Both firms have subsidiaries that manufacture electronic cigarettes.

You cant simply apply antiquated regulations on a category that did not exist when those regulations were passed, said David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds American Services Company, in a statement. We do support, however, a regulatory framework based on level of risk, one that enables responsible innovation of products that may present less risk compared to cigarettes.

The companies back language that Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.) sought to attach to this weeks continuing resolution, which would have given the FDA oversight only over vaping products introduced as of Aug. 8, 2016. That provision was blocked by Senate Democrats.

A separate bill, which Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), introduced last week, would change the FDA classification so that e-cigarettes would no longer be classified as tobacco products.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Scott Gottlieb was already confirmed as FDA commissioner.

Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
The board of the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday ousted president Jim DeMint after days of turmoil and internal debate, blaming him for management and communication problems that have roiled the venerable conservative think tank.

Thomas A. Saunders III, chairman of the Heritage Foundations Board of Trustees, said in a statement that the 22-member board unanimously requested and received the resignation of DeMint, the firebrand former senator from South Carolina. Heritage founder Ed Feulner will serve in his place until a permanent successor is chosen.

After a comprehensive and independent review of the entire Heritage organization, the board determined there were significant and worsening management issues that led to a breakdown of internal communications and cooperation, Saunders said. While the organization has seen many successes, Jim DeMint and a handful of his closest advisers failed to resolve these problems.

In his own statement, DeMint called the critique puzzling, saying the board had praised his work for the past four years and approved annual performance bonuses for the entire management team.

He said he was proud of his work at Heritage, citing accomplishments such as the think tanks role in helping lead President Trumps transition team.

I will continue to be part of that great fight for freedom for years to come, DeMint added.

The decision was announced at the conclusion of an hours-long, closed-door meeting in which the board contended with deep disagreements among its members that resonated beyond the organizations Capitol Hill headquarters.

Unhappiness with DeMint among Heritage board members began shortly after the former senator took over the think tank in 2013, a move that coincided with the departure of some longtime academic researchers. At the same time, DeMint won applause in some quarters for increasing the organizations political clout and outreach to grass-roots conservatives.

Trumps election initially appeared to vindicate DeMints approach. Heritage served as a policy and staff pipeline for the Trump campaign and the transition, helping provide a blueprint for the White Houses 2018 budget proposal. Last week, during a speech to the National Rifle Association, Trump personally thanked DeMint and Heritage for supporting the confirmation of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

While the alliance with Trump raised the think tanks profile, it also repelled some ideological conservatives who did not view Trump as consistently compatible with conservative traditions.

The dissatisfaction with DeMint, fueled by several factors, came to a head this month as his contract came to an end. Among the issues was tension between DeMint and Feulner, his predecessor, who was concerned that the DeMint-era emphasis on political activism overshadowed the institutions role in the intellectual development of the conservative movement, according to people familiar with the situation.

DeMint also reportedly clashed with Michael Needham, chief executive of Heritage Action for America, the organizations advocacy arm, whose pugilistic approach alienated some congressional Republicans and GOP leaders.

But board trustee Bill Walton said the issue was not Needham versus DeMint.

Its boring old management stuff, said Walton, saying that excessive bureaucracy prevented papers from getting approved rapidly and scholars from getting permission to attend meetings. We think we can make it leaner and more effective.

Since its founding in the 1970s, Heritage has been one of the preeminent purveyors of conservative ideas in Washington. The think tanks annual budget of more than $80 million is equal to those of the Cato Institute and the American Enterprise Institute combined.

After DeMint took over, however, some Republicans chafed at the organizations new focus on political advocacy, particularly its targeting of GOP members. Heritage Action led the charge against President Barack Obamas signature health-care law, in some cases pressuring lawmakers to vote against funding the government to prevent funding for Obamacare, a maneuver some GOP leaders saw as self-defeating.

On Tuesday, Saunders said the decision to part with DeMint was difficult and necessary, adding that it will make Heritage stronger in the short term and the long run.

Longtime Heritage staffers predicted the current dispute would pass quickly.

Heritage is a strong institution that has been here since the 1970s, said Brian Darling, a senior official at Heritage for seven years before leaving to join the staff of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Jim DeMint did a tremendous job launching attacks on Obamacare and helping to confirm Justice Gorsuch. The organization changed under his leadership in ways that made some people uncomfortable. But the changes were in the margins and the organization will still stand strong and prosper in the future.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Hillary Clinton emerged from political hibernation Tuesday by declaring herself part of the resistance to Donald Trumps presidency  and spreading blame for why it is not her sitting in the Oval Office.

Making a rare public appearance, Clinton attributed her surprise loss in the 2016 election to interference by Russian hackers and the actions of FBI Director James B. Comey in the campaigns homestretch.

If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president, Clinton told moderator Christiane Amanpour, the CNN anchor, at a Women for Women International event in New York.

Clinton stated broadly that she takes absolute personal responsibility for her failure to win the White House. Yet the Democratic nominee declined to fault her strategy or message, nor did she acknowledge her own weaknesses as a campaigner or the struggles by her and her advisers to at first comprehend and then respond to the angry mood of broad swaths of the electorate.

Instead, Clinton attributed her defeat to a range of external forces, including saying she was a victim of misogyny and of false equivalency in the news media.

1 of 55 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See what Hillary Clinton has been doing since the presidential election View Photos The former Democratic candidate and secretary of state has returned to public life after a post-election-loss respite. Caption The former Democratic candidate and secretary of state has returned to public life after a post-election respite. Jan. 28, 2018 Hillary Clinton appears on screen reading an excerpt from the book, Fire and Fury, during a skit at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York. Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

Clinton said she was confident that she was on track to winning the election until two things reversed her momentum: the release of campaign chairman John Podestas emails, which were allegedly stolen by Russian hackers, and Comeys Oct. 28 letter to Congress that he had reopened the bureaus investigation into her use of a private email server.

I was on the way to winning until the combination of Jim Comeys letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off  and the evidence for that intervening event is, I think, compelling [and] persuasive, Clinton said.

On Nov. 6, two days before the election, Comey wrote again to Congress saying that the FBI had found no new evidence to change its conclusion that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

[How Donald Trump won: An oral history of the 2016 campaign]

Clinton talked about the unprecedented interference, including from a foreign power whose leader is not a member of my fan club  referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom she tangled as secretary of state.

In a pair of tweets Tuesday evening, Trump responded to Clintons claim that Comeys statements had a role in her defeat, writing that the FBI director was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!

The phony  Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election, the president wrote, before posing a rhetorical question: Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?

When Amanpour asked whether Clinton thought misogyny contributed to her loss as the first female presidential nominee, Clinton said, Yes, I do think it played a role. She added that sexism is very much a part of the landscape politically and socially and economically.

Amanpour tried to draw out self-reflection from Clinton.

He had one message, your opponent, and it was a successful message: Make America great again,  Amanpour said of Trump. Where was your message? Do you take any personal responsibility?

I take absolute personal responsibility, Clinton said. I was the candidate. I was the person who was on the ballot.

But then Clinton went on to blame Comey and the Russian hack of Podestas emails for her loss. There was a lot of funny business going on, she said.

Clinton added that she would detail her mistakes in her forthcoming book. Youll read my confession and my request for absolution, she said with a touch of sarcasm.

Robert Shrum, a Democratic strategist who advised two losing presidential nominees, Al Gore and John F. Kerry, said Clinton is not applying enough weight to her own failures, especially her economic message, in analyzing her loss.

I have a measure of real sympathy, but it is also true that you cant just blame the things that happened to you, Shrum said. Part of credibility here begins with saying, These were things that happened to me that really hurt and couldve cost me the election, but there were decisions I wish I made differently as well. 

Losing a close presidential race can be devastating, and even traumatic, for a politician who long aspired to the office. After his 2000 defeat, Gore grew a beard and gained weight. Following his 2012 drubbing, Republican Mitt Romney retreated into seclusion in La Jolla, Calif., where he was spotted pumping his own gas, with his hair preternaturally flopping over his forehead.

When a presidential candidate loses, they usually fall into a deep funk, said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University. Theyre overtaken by a sense of personal mistakes that they made, but also trying to blame great external forces that robbed them of the prize.

By her own acknowledgment, the experience has been no different for Clinton. Day after day, photos popped up on social media of her walking her dogs in the woods near her home in Chappaqua, N.Y. Clinton said Tuesday that she has been keeping busy writing a memoir, due out this fall. She described the process as cathartic yet excruciating.

Its a painful process reliving the campaign, as you might guess, she said.

[In the Chappaqua woods, a search for Hillary Clinton]

Now, six months after the election, Clinton is stepping back into the public arena. She wants to be heard and to stay relevant, even as her Democratic Party is turning the page on the Clinton era and looks for new figures to lead it out of the political wilderness.

Im back to being an activist citizen  and part of the resistance, Clinton said.

Some Democrats would prefer to lead the resistance themselves.

She continues to be an important voice, but were focused on new battles now, said Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-Mich.). I dont think its productive to re-litigate that race. I get up every morning and Ive got to live with Donald Trump as president.

But Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), one of a handful of Democrats who endorsed Clintons primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, said that being freed from life as a candidate might change the way voters hear Clinton.

Maybe she can speak a little more openly now, Ellison said. I think its a good idea for her to do a book tour, to plug into the energy thats out there.

In a 35-minute question-and-answer session with Amanpour, Clinton reprised familiar themes and lines from her campaign. She talked about supporting the aspirations of women and girls, and also weighed in on North Koreas nuclear ambitions.

This is one of those wicked problems, she said. There has to be a regional effort to basically incentivize the North Korean regime to understand that it will pay a much bigger price regionally, primarily from China, if it pursues this reckless policy of nuclear weapons development.

Clinton ribbed Trump a few times in the interview, leaving no doubt that she disapproves of his policies as well as his personal conduct. She suggested that Trump should tweet more about her than about foreign affairs, saying, Im happy being the diversion.

He should worry less about the election and my winning the popular vote than doing some other things that would be important for the country, Clinton said.

To that point, she was quick to fact-check Trumps regular commentary about his historic election, in which he won the electoral college but lost the popular vote.

Remember, Clinton said, I did win more than 3 million votes [more] than my opponent.

David Weigel, Aaron Blake and Ashley Parker contributed to this report.
The Democratic Party should not impose support for abortion rights as a litmus test on its candidates, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday, because it needs a broad and inclusive agenda to win back the socially conservative voters who helped elect President Trump.

This is the Democratic Party. This is not a rubber-stamp party, Pelosi said in an interview with Washington Post reporters.

I grew up Nancy DAlesandro, in Baltimore, Maryland; in Little Italy; in a very devout Catholic family; fiercely patriotic; proud of our town and heritage, and staunchly Democratic, she added, referring to the fact that she is the daughter and sister of former mayors of that city. Most of those people  my family, extended family  are not pro-choice. You think Im kicking them out of the Democratic Party?

Those comments from one of the Democrats most powerful and high-profile women come at a moment of opportunity and struggle within the party. It has been shut out of power in Washington, controlling neither house of Congress nor the White House, and its ranks have been decimated at the state and local level.

Given Trumps unpopularity and the recent stumbles that Republicans have made in Congress, Democrats have great hopes of making significant gains in the 2018 midterm elections. But the opposition party is also gripped by an internecine battle for its own identity, moving leftward with calls for ideological purity by portions of its activist liberal base while also trying to reach out to the rural, working-class Americans who turned against Democrats last year.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) listens to reporters Tuesday in her office on Capitol Hill. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post)

Abortion has become a flash point.

Newly installed Democratic National Committee Chairman Thomas Perez and former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came under criticism by abortion rights advocates during their unity tour last month, when they appeared together at a rally for an Omaha mayoral candidate who has sponsored legislature bills to restrict abortion.

Perez responded with a statement declaring that support for abortion rights is nonnegotiable for Democrats, and that they should speak with one voice on it.

At the time, Pelosi bristled at the party chairmans comments, saying on NBCs Meet the Press on April 23 that of course it is possible for an abortion opponent to be a member of the Democratic Party. She added that she has served for many years in Congress with colleagues of her party who do not share her own liberal views on the subject.

On Tuesday, she went further, arguing that the Democrats cannot afford to enforce an ideological test on the abortion issue.

In our caucus, one thing unifies us: our values about working families, Pelosi said. Some people are more or less enthusiastic about this issue or that issue or that issue. Theyll go along with the program, but their enthusiasm is about Americas working families.

She also suggested that the partys presumed rigidity on social issues is one reason that Democrats were unable to appeal to segments of the electorate that might otherwise have been in tune with their broader agenda.

You know what? Thats why Donald Trump is president of the United States  the evangelicals and the Catholics, anti-marriage equality, anti-choice. Thats how he got to be president, she said. Everything was trumped, literally and figuratively by that.

Pelosis comments drew a guarded rebuke from Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading abortion rights advocacy organization.

Encouraging and supporting anti-choice candidates leads to bad policy outcomes that violate womens rights and endanger our economic security, Hogue said via email.

The platform approved by Democrats at their national convention in Philadelphia last year went further than the Party has ever gone to stand up for the womens rights. It didnt just seek to protect abortion access  it sought to expand it, Hogue said. If the Democratic Party is going to gain back power, it cant go backward, it cant back down and it cant trade away these principles.

Polling indicates that a significant portion of people who consider themselves Democrats do indeed have misgivings about abortion, which has been legal nationally since the Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Surveys by the Pew Research Center have generally found that about 3 in 10 Democrats say that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

Pelosi expressed doubt whether any hard-line antiabortion candidate could win a Democratic presidential primary. She also noted that the debate over abortion no longer boils down to whether a candidate is for or against the basic right to the procedure, but rather over whether and what types of limits should be imposed.

As a result, within the Democrats, I dont think that youll see too many candidates going out there and saying, Im running as a pro-life candidate,  she said. Its how far are you willing to go on the issue  but lets not spend too much time on the subject.

Its kind of fading as an issue, she said. It really is.

Pelosi pointed to Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) as a case study in how the Democrats tolerate diverse views. Casey describes himself as personally opposed to abortion, but he has also fought alongside other Democrats against efforts to withdraw federal funds from Planned Parenthood.

Bob Casey  you know Bob Casey  would you like him not to be in our party? Pelosi said.

That name has particular resonance within the party. Caseys late father, Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, was denied a speaking spot at the 1992 Democratic National Convention when he asked to present a minority report opposing the partys platform plank on abortion, which declared reproductive choice as a fundamental right that should receive government financing.

In the wide-ranging interview, Pelosi expressed satisfaction at the fact that Republicans in Congress have thus far failed to overturn the health-care law that was the signature domestic legacy of the Obama administration  and one of her own greatest legislative accomplishments when she was House speaker.

Pelosi was able to win passage only after adding assurances that the new law would not use government funds for abortion. She also recalled: Look, we worked with the nuns. The nuns helped us pass the Affordable Care Act. The nuns. The Catholic nuns  thank God for the Catholic nuns. The Catholic hospitals are speaking out against the current GOP legislation to overturn the law.

Do we subject them to a test and say, Before you speak out on this bill, we want to know where you are on this, that and the other thing?  Pelosi said. No. No.

David Weigel contributed to this report.
Local business owners regularly reach out to Better Business Bureau to ask what scams we hear going around. We are glad youre asking.

As we celebrate National Small Business Week, which runs from April 30 to May 6, BBB is encouraging shoppers to support their local businesses. Its also a good time to remind business owners and managers of the scams aimed at them on a daily basis.

Here are some of the top scams targeting small businesses according to AARP:

Phishing emails. Scammers pose as top executives and email instructions to employees to pay a vendor or bill. The money sent is wired to a scammer-run account.

Deactivating webpages. Businesses are falsely told through emails or letters that their website address, Facebook account or other online presence is about to be deactivated. This is a way for scammers to phish for log-in credentials, distribute malware or obtain cash with fake renewal schemes.

BBB imposters. Business owners and employees should be aware of fake BBB emails with attachments. The emails look very much like a notice of a complaint from BBB, but may contain links to malware that can infect your computer, steal passwords, etc. If you are ever uncertain if an email is the real deal, reach out to BBB at 208-342-4649.

Directory/ Yellow Pages scam. Scammers like to pose as Yellow Pages or another business directory and bill businesses hundreds of dollars for allegedly buying an ad or providing listing services. Double check invoices carefully and reach out to the real company directly to verify.

To protect your business, take the time to train your team. Have a conversation about how to spot scam tactics, and who needs to be contacted to verify requests. Double check every invoice before paying. And if you do come across a scam targeting businesses, help warn others by reporting it to bbb.org/ScamTracker.

Small businesses have an enormous impact in local communities as well as the U.S. economy. Of the 28.8 million small businesses in the U.S., an estimated 750,000 are in the Northwest. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, creating two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.
(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Investors looking to buy a condo at Trump Tower in the Philippines would have found, until this week, some high-powered video testimonials on the projects official website.

There was Donald Trump, in a message filmed several years before he was elected president of the United States, declaring that the skyscraper bearing his name near the Philippine capital would be something very, very special, like nobodys seen before. Then there was his daughter Ivanka Trump, now a senior White House adviser, lavishing praise on the project as a milestone in Philippine real estate history.

Four months into President Trumps tenure, his business relationship with a developer who is one of the Philippines richest and most powerful men has emerged as a prime example of the collision between the private interests of a businessman in the White House and his public responsibility to shape U.S. foreign policy.

The potential conflict first came into focus shortly before Trump was elected, when the Philippines iron-fisted president, Rodrigo Duterte, named the Trump Organizations partner in the Manila real estate venture his top trade envoy.

The connection burst back into public view this week, after Trump stunned human rights advocates by extending a White House invitation to Duterte, known for endorsing hundreds of extrajudicial killings of drug users, following what aides described as a very friendly phone call. Trump aides have said the outreach to Duterte is part of a broader effort to isolate North Korea.

Although the promotional videos were posted online in 2013, the continued presence of Trump and his daughter in marketing materials for the Manila tower reflects the extent to which they remain key selling points even as they have vowed to distance themselves from their global real estate and branding businesses.

After The Washington Post inquired Monday about the use of the Trumps in promoting the Manila project, the links and videos on the corporate website could no longer be accessed. Nonetheless, their lingering connection to the propertys sales pitch shows how difficult it is to separate the president from Trump-branded projects, particularly in foreign markets where there is less oversight of how his image is used.

[Trump keeps praising international strongmen, alarming human rights advocates]

Amanda Miller, vice president of marketing for the Trump Organization, said the material was historical clips that were not related to ongoing sales and marketing activity. Ivanka Trump was not aware that she was still featured in materials touting the Manila project, according to someone familiar with her views. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Trumps company does not own or invest in the Manila project, a luxurious 57-story tower nearing completion in Makati, a bustling financial center that is part of metropolitan Manila.

In a long-term licensing deal, the projects development company agreed to pay royalties for use of the Trump brand. Trump reported receiving $1 million to $6 million in payments from the project between 2014 and mid-2016, according to his financial disclosures.

Jose E.B. Antonio, chairman of the development company, has retained his leadership of the firm even as he functions now in his official capacity as a Duterte appointee. Kris Cole, a spokeswoman for the developer, said that Antonios envoy role is an unpaid, nongovernmental position promoting Philippine business interests in the United States.

Antonio, who Cole said was traveling and could not comment, told Bloomberg News in November that his role is to enlarge the relationship between the two countries, adding of his business relationship with Trump: I guess it would be an asset.



Donald Trump Jr., left, and Eric Trump, right, pose with local developer Jose E.B. Antonio during a news conference on the launching of Manila's Trump Tower project in June 2012. (Pat Roque/AP)

Trump company executives directed their international business associates to pull any promotional materials featuring Trumps presidency or Ivanka Trump, officials said. A Trump lawyer circulated documents in January pledging that no company communications or social-media accounts will reference or otherwise be tied to Trumps high office or public power.

Trump left the management of his company to his two adult sons, but he retained his ownership stake and can still withdraw money from his business interests at any time.

Now, to ethics experts who have warned for months that Trumps refusal to divest from his business created the potential for his personal financial interests to compete with his public role, Trumps recent interactions with Duterte serve as a worrisome sign.

It does look like the way he is handling U.S. policy to the Philippines is consistent with Donald Trumps business interests, said Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who is an expert on government ethics. It is inconsistent with how the U.S. has been relating to Duterte since he came to power. But it is consistent with what is important to Donald Trump.

[How Trumps tax proposal could impact his own business empire]

The $150 million Manila tower, which was originally slated to open last year, is set to be finished in the coming months, with 95 percent of the units sold, according to the Trump Organization.

The Trump family has been a key part of marketing the project since it began in 2012 with promises of becoming one of the Asian nations tallest towers.



A Trump Tower billboard is seen in Manila in July 2012. (Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images)

An early billboard inviting potential buyers to live exquisitely in the tower featured a large portrait of Ivanka Trump wearing a black sheath dress and diamond pendant earrings. Miller said the sign was removed several years ago.

The project, by Antonios development firm Century Properties Group, has continued to tout its connection to the Trumps, even in the months since Antonio assumed his post in the Duterte administration.

Jose Roberto Robbie Antonio, the developers son, who called himself a good friend of the Trumps in his online biography, said in one video, Were really privileged not just to partner with such a remarkable organization, but with a fantastic family. The elder Antonio describes the project as a celebration of a partnership between two corporations, a partnership between two families, a partnership of two countries and a partnership of people who have the same passion  the passion to build the best real estate projects in the world.

Cole, the development firms spokeswoman, said the younger Antonio was traveling and could not comment.

The site also included promotions for Ivanka Trumps jewelry collection, with blurbs describing her as a scion of brand sophistication. Other descriptions cited the Trump lifestyle, while the Trumps appeared in videos talking up the bona fides of their business partner and his work.

Youre not going to see a better-appointed building than this one Ivanka Trump said in an eight-minute video she narrated, adding that the developer is one of the most innovative real estate firms in Asia.

Manila represented a great opportunity for our brand, Ivanka Trump says in a promotional reel. The video ends with a plug from Donald Trump, who says: Its really great working with Century Properties and the Antonio family. True professionals, they really know what theyre doing.



The website for the project in Manila.

On another page of the website touting media coverage of the project, the top story was a 2015 piece from a Philippine website headlined, Donald Trump happy with strong sales of Trump Tower in Makati.

Since founding his development company in the 1980s, Antonio has become one of the countrys wealthiest star developers, with a net worth that Forbes estimates at $195 million. His companys share price climbed 20 percent on the Philippine Stock Exchange the day Trump won the election.

The relationship between the Antonios and the Trumps goes back at least a decade, when Jose Antonio dispatched his son, a company managing director, to Manhattan to oversee the development of a luxury condominium on West 56th Street near Trump Tower.

Robbie Antonio took the opportunity to get to know the Trumps, meeting first with Ivanka at her office, he told the Philippine network ANC in an interview. He said he hit it off with the Trump siblings.

At the right juncture, I called them up to discuss a deal in Manila, and they were very excited by the project and the location, and they wanted something significant, Antonio told the network.

Its always a great thing when you can take a friendship and then turn it into a great business relationship, Donald Trump Jr.  the presidents oldest son, who now runs the family company  told ANC.

The Antonios development firm has built a reputation for signing deals with celebrities to help promote their brand. Antonio, who in November referred to himself as a liaison to the stars, signed Paris Hilton, a socialite heiress of the family that founded the Hilton hotel empire, to design the beach club at his nine-building Azure Urban Resort Residences, and Hilton appeared on a promotional billboard at Manilas domestic airport.



Robbie Antonio attends an event in Miami Beach in 2013. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Best Buddies)

Like Trump, Robbie Antonio is known for conspicuous consumption. For the walls of his $15 million Manila mansion, he paid millions of dollars to commission top artists to paint dozens of portraits of himself, according to a 2013 Vanity Fair article about the then-36-year-old multimillionaire. The median income for a Philippine family in 2015 was about $5,300 a year, national data show.

The Trump Tower in Manila is one of more than a dozen luxury residential projects around the world licensed by the Trump company, including projects in Seoul; Mumbai; Istanbul; Dubai; and Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Although Trump pledged in January that his company would push for no new foreign deals, the company continues to pursue Trump-licensed projects that already were underway in Indonesia and other countries.

The Trumps and the Antonios also have discussed partnering on new Trump resorts and other projects in the Philippines, Jose Antonio said in interviews late last year.

In one promotional video predating his fathers presidency, Donald Trump Jr. promised that this will not be our last project in the Philippines, adding, Were really looking forward to rolling out a couple things.

Miller, the Trump company spokeswoman, said this week that the company has no plans for additional projects in the Philippines.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
The aim has become very simple for House Republicans stumbling closer to passing a bill to revise the Affordable Care Act: just get it off their plates and over to the Senate.

In the messy effort to rally their often unruly party around a measure to replace big parts of President Barack Obamas health-care law, House leaders have been forced to leave other objectives by the wayside and focus on one simple, political goal: pass a bill they can say repeals Obamacare  even if it has no hope of survival in the Senate  to shield their members in next years elections.

I would hope it gets changed over there, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) told Bloomberg News, echoing other center-right members who explicitly said they were willing to pass the new revision in hopes that the Senate would strip out the harsher provisions.

Even that goal, however, is proving elusive. By late Monday, House leaders had collected more votes than ever but still appeared to be shy of the 216 Republicans they need to pass the measure. Theyre stuck between conservatives and moderates, both keenly aware of how they can be attacked on the issue next year.

If youre in the House, what you should be thinking now is that if it doesnt survive, it all comes back to you, said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). I think what they should be focused on is getting the process moving and, frankly, passing the obligation over to the Senate.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

The White House, where aides have suggested a Wednesday vote is possible, continued to lobby members Monday even though no vote had been scheduled. Vice President Pence hunkered in his office on the House side of the Capitol, with undecided and yes-voting members stopping by to talk.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), a conservative member of the whip team who had endorsed the previous version of the bill, told reporters that the votes were there to pass the new version. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said hes pretty confident of the same. But several members from swing seats, including Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), said outside Pences office that they remained undecided on how they would vote.

Even some members who won their seats partially on promises to repeal the ACA are blinking, citing changes to the proposed replacement that would allow insurers to charge higher premiums to patients with preexisting conditions if their state got permission from the federal government.

In 2010, Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) campaigned for a safe Republican seat in Congress by pledging to fight government-run health care. Every two years, he won easy victories while telling voters he was fighting to repeal Obamacare.

On Monday, Long came out against the American Health Care Act with a few kind words about the law it was designed to replace. During unrelated votes Monday night, Long could be seen in a lengthy conversation with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.).

I have always stated that one of the few good things about Obamacare is that people with preexisting conditions would be covered, Long said in a statement. The MacArthur amendment strips away any guarantee that preexisting conditions would be covered and affordable.

[How preexisting conditions could derail House Republicans health-care bill, explained]

Over the weekend, President Trump hadnt helped. In an interview on CBS Newss Face the Nation Sunday, Trump said the latest bill would beautifully protect those with preexisting medical conditions  which is not fully true.

[Trump guarantees protection for those with preexisting medical conditions  but its unclear how]

As Republicans have struggled to find a health-care bill on which they can reach a consensus, Ryan agreed to support an amendment that would allow insurance providers in some states to deny coverage or charge higher premiums to people with preexisting conditions or costly health problems, as long as that state set up high-risk pools that could help cover the cost of care.

Proponents have said this would lower premiums for healthy individuals, but critics have argued that it would dramatically drive up costs for those who are seriously ill. Proponents also noted that states can choose to leave current mandates in place.

Conspicuously absent from the House Republican effort to get to 216 is much talk about what happens in the Senate. There, Republicans will run up against the Senate parliamentarian, who must rule on whether some provisions are allowable in a budget reconciliation bill  the vehicle theyre using to repeal the health-care law to avoid a Senate rule requiring a 60-vote win that would require Democratic votes.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is likely to introduce a substitute version removing those provisions, just as he did back in 2015, when Congress passed a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act that Obama then vetoed.

All of the policy considerations and policy constructs assembled by the House over the past couple of months may become moot, said Chris Jacobs, who advised the House Republican Conference on health policy while the 2010 health-care law was being passed.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said the House should move quickly on passing its bill. Im not going to tell them what to do, but I am going to say that if they dont move pretty quickly, we ought to see what we can do in the United States Senate, Grassley said.

But Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), the one Republican who opposed a Senate test vote on repeal in January  arguing that it did not go far enough  warned that even the new version of the AHCA fell short of his standard.

It still could be improved a great deal, but its an open question of whether the Senate would fix it or make it worse, said Paul. Im not excited about having taxpayer money going to insurance companies. That was a big part of Obamacare, and its a big part of this.

Theres also no talk of getting a score from the Congressional Budget Office on how the changes would affect the cost of the bill or how many Americans it would cover, even though Republicans came under heavy fire in March for advancing their original measure without an estimate from Congresss official scorekeeper.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) dismissed concerns that the GOP bill will have to undergo major revisions in the Senate  or that Republicans wont even be able to pass it in the House.

Legislating takes time, he said. Its worth remembering it took Obama 14 months to pass Obamacare, he said. The House repeal bill was on the floor for 14 days. Thats not nearly long enough to draft legislation as consequential as this.

Despite the resistance from some members, House Republicans cant get around the fact that for seven years, they have promised to repeal the Democrats health-care law. As the pressure mounts, theyre striving to just get the bill passed and let the Senate worry about how it could actually become law.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) noted that reality in a Monday interview with CNN. He said that the House bill remains a work in progress and that some of it would be scrapped in negotiations.

The House has to pass a bill, said Cassidy, who has written a replacement bill that retains much of the Affordable Care Act. Itll go to conference committee. Im sure the administration will be involved. There will be two other times when what the White House is advocating can be addressed.

Cassidy was skeptical of the modified AHCA, which creates high-risk pools for people with preexisting conditions.

I suspect the advocates for the bill will say thats their guarantee, he said. I will insist that the presidents pledges be met. And the president pledged that he would take care of people with preexisting conditions.
A man walks by election campaign posters of French presidential candidate for the En Marche! movement of Emmanuel Macron, left, and French presidentialcandidate for the far-right Front National party Marine Le Pen with graffiti reading "Neither banker, nor fascist" in Rennes on May 2. (Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images)

The last time the National Front was on the verge of power, in 2002, nearly 2 million people took to the streets of France to reject the party of far-right extremism.

Those protests took their toll: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the convicted Holocaust denier and co-founder of the National Front, was crushed in the elections final round, receiving 17.8 percent of the vote that year. In a symbol of political sacrifice, some leftists even wore clothespins over their noses as they voted for Jacques Chirac, Frances conservative incumbent.

Republican Front is the French term for the bipartisan opposition that has prevented an extremist from winning the presidency. It is what defeated Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2002, but its impact on his daughters bid in 2017 has yet to be seen.

[Emmanuel Macron could fight off French populism. But it wont be with his ideas.]

This year the National Front is again on the cusp of power with a far greater chance of winning the presidency than in 2002. According to polls, Marine Le Pen will win at least 40 percent of the vote in the second and final round  more than double her fathers total 15 years ago. But there have been no notable mass protests this year on anything close to the same scale. Although many politicians and voters remain opposed to the National Front, few can claim to be taken aback by its ascent.

There was no element of surprise this time, said Dominique Moisi, a French political scientist and the author of a well-known book about the role of emotions in political discourse. In 2002, people were genuinely shocked by the fact that someone like Jean-Marie Le Pen could actually reach power. This time, everybody expected it.

When Marine Le Pen emerged in second place from the elections first round with 21 percent of the vote, politicians from both the left and the right immediately backed her opponent, the former investment banker Emmanuel Macron. But in a remarkable break with tradition, others did not.

The most notable example remains that of Jean-Luc Melenchon, the outspoken, witty ex-Trotskyist defeated in the elections first round but who won 19 percent of the vote. Although he urged his fellow leftists to support Chirac in 2002, Melenchon has stubbornly refused to endorse Macron in the final round of this years vote.

Some on the far right, such as politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, have even endorsed Le Pen  much to the chagrin of Frances conservative establishment.

Likewise, a growing number of anti-Le Pen voters have refused to lend their support to Macron, who is widely faulted for labor reforms he drafted as economy minister and is seen by many on the left as too much of a neoliberal.

A poll released late Tuesday indicated that about 65 percent of Melenchons supporters said they would not vote for Macron in the final round. As the gap narrows between Macron and Le Pen, many of the Melenchon backers appear to lean toward leaving their presidential choice blank or staying home altogether.

[French voters face choice between hope and fear in runoff for presidency]

On Monday in Paris, thousands gathered for the annual International Workers Day union demonstrations. The largest of these events  held in Pariss symbolic Place de la Republique, a vast pedestrian square whose center is a statue of Marianne, the avatar of the French Republic  condemned Le Pen but stopped short of endorsing Macron for Sundays final round.

Im here because I want to say no to the National Front, but also because I want to say no to Macron, said Valerie, 53, a Melenchon supporter and a nurse in a Paris public hospital who declined to give her last name. Whoever wins, there will be no one who defends the rights of workers.

There is no more Republican Front,  said Hamid Djodi, 57, the owner of a cleaning company in Paris. He was standing in the Place de la Republique wearing a mask that had superimposed Marine Le Pens hair onto Jean-Marie Le Pens face.

For years, the right and left just divided the Republic with their disputes, and now there is little left. In 2002, we believed it, this idea of a Republican Front. But now we dont believe it anymore  all you have is a capitalist running against a fascist.

Moisi said that the failures of the past three French presidents  Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande  to reconcile French citizens with the political process is one reason that relatively few are protesting this year.

The political atmosphere has greatly deteriorated since 2002. Suffering and anger have grown so much since that time, and these two emotions explain the fact that no one is in the streets as they were in 2002.

Valerie, the Melenchon supporter, said that in 2002 she had voted for Chirac, who was ultimately much more of a traditional conservative than Macron, whose platform has sought to blend economic reforms with social liberalism.

Macron is far too much on the right  just look at his labor reforms, she said, referring to a slew of changes Macron advocated last year, which he had promised would stimulate a stagnant economy by injecting more competition into the workplace.

I protested against that, and so Im protesting against him.

Despite slight fluctuations in the past week, most still place Macron winning nearly 60 percent of the vote in the second round, with Le Pen taking close to 40 percent.

Even if unsuccessful, Le Pen will probably win a significant percentage of the vote, Djodi said, and the Republican Front will have failed in its mission.

That family doesnt change  like father like daughter, he said, gesturing to his mask.

Read more

Breitbart sees potential to expand in Europe amid French, German elections

Growing anti-Muslim rhetoric permeates French presidential election campaign

Charles de Gaulle would roll over in his grave over what has become of French politics

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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The Justice Department has decided not to bring charges against the officers involved in the death of Alton Sterling, whose videotaped shooting by police in Baton Rouge last summer prompted unrest across the city, and is planning to reveal in the next 24 hours that it has closed the probe, according to four people familiar with the matter.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Sterling family had yet to be informed by the Justice Department of the decision, and it is unclear how and when the department will announce its findings.

We have not heard nor received an update and are unaware of any charges that may or may not be filed, said Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the Sterling familys attorneys. We have not received word, nor has the family been given any notice of upcoming updates regarding this case.

The case will be the first time under Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the department has publicly declined to prosecute officers investigated for possible wrongdoing in a high-profile case, and officials in Baton Rouge have been girding for a possible reaction there.

Sterlings death last summer sparked tense protests across the city. President Barack Obama weighed in on the matter then, declaring his confidence in the Justice Department probe and remarking, We have seen tragedies like this too many times.

(The Washington Post)

[Murder, plain and simple: Grief in Baton Rouge days after Alton Sterling shooting]

The shooting came the day before a police officer in Minnesota gunned down school cafeteria manager Philando Castile during a traffic stop that was broadcast on Facebook, and in the same week that a black man upset by police and out to kill white people gunned down five officers in Dallas. A little more than a week later, another gunman targeting police shot and killed three officers in Baton Rouge.

By the police account, officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake saw Sterling, 37, outside a convenience store in July after it was reported that a man had threatened someone there with a gun. Sterling, who was selling CDs outside the store, fit the description of that man, according to a search warrant affidavit in the case.

A video of the shooting shows Sterling lying on his back with two officers on top of him. One of the officers appears to yell, Hes got a gun! and then shots ring out. A detective wrote in the search warrant affidavit that officers had observed the butt of a gun in Sterlings front pants pocket. At issue in the investigation was whether Sterling was reaching for the weapon, as officers claimed, when he was shot and killed.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Local police and city officials have said this week that they believed a decision was imminent, but they and representatives for Sterlings family said they had not been told when an announcement from the Justice Department was coming. Some local schools have sent notes to parents informing them of action plans in case of major protests, and several local lawmakers have publicly called on the Justice Department to end the suspense.

The Department of Justices failure to communicate with the community has created angst and nervousness, and I fear carries the potential for increased tension between the community and law enforcement, Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D), whose congressional district includes part of Baton Rouge, wrote in a letter to Sessions on Friday. It is inappropriate and against the interests of public safety . . . to allow this level of uncertainty to continue.

(Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Substantiating federal civil rights charges is extraordinarily difficult, requiring prosecutors to present evidence that might speak to an officers intent at the time of the incident. Even in the Obama administration, federal prosecutors declined to bring such charges in high-profile incidents.

[Opinion: Alton Sterlings death appears to be another police shooting that was both legal and preventable]

In the case of Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, the Justice Department found no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilsons stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety.

Investigators reached a similar conclusion in the fatal 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, concluding that they could not prove that the use of force was objectively unreasonable based on all of the surrounding circumstances.

Civil liberties advocates fear, though, that the Justice Department under Sessions and President Trump might be even more reluctant to prosecute alleged wrongdoing by police.

Trump has cast himself as a pro-law-enforcement president, and Sessions has previously questioned broader police reforms. Last month, Sessions ordered the Justice Department to review the court-mandated reform agreements it has with troubled police departments across the country, and he has said he is worried that such agreements might bar aggressive police tactics.

Sessions also has  unlike the previous attorney general, Loretta E. Lynch  offered a tacit endorsement of whats known as the Ferguson effect, which refers to the contested idea that police might be afraid to get out of their cars and enforce the law for fear of ending up on a viral video.

Sessions had, though, seemed to distinguish prosecuting individual officers from imposing sweeping reform agreements on departments. He said last month that while such cases were usually easier to prosecute in state court, he did not feel that they chilled good policing, nor would he hesitate to involve the Justice Department when it was appropriate to do so.

The Justice Department on Wednesday reached an agreement with former North Charleston, S.C., police officer Michael Slager in which he pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge in the shooting death of Walter Scott, an unarmed black motorist who was shot in the back as he ran away from a traffic stop. His killing, like Sterlings, was caught on video.

The Justice Department under Sessions still has a major investigation of possible police misconduct in the case of 43-year-old Eric Garner, who died after he was taken to the ground and put in an apparent chokehold by New York City police in 2014. That incident  like Sterlings death  was caught on video and prompted outrage across the country.

The case was the subject of a vigorous debate under Lynch, who decided only at the end of her tenure to allow prosecutors to move forward and again present evidence to a grand jury. The timing of her decision effectively left the matter to Sessions, who last month declined to comment on what he might do.
President Trumps choice to be ambassador to China pledged Tuesday to leverage a personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping to persuade China that it is risking its own security if it fails to prevent a nuclear crisis with North Korea.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) is expected to win confirmation and could be on the job in Beijing by the end of the month. He faced Senate questioning about the Trump administrations shifting priorities in dealing with a country Trump had accused of raping the U.S. economy but now considers a crucial partner in heading off conflict with North Korea.

It is probably the most pressing issue that we have right now, Branstad said of the effort to talk North Korea out of nuclear weapons and missile capabilities that threaten the United States and its allies.

I want to do everything I can to be a go-between between our two countries to help convince the leadership in China that its in their interest to work together to stop this dangerous direction that is coming out of North Korea, Branstad told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Branstad placed the complex and shifting U.S. relationship with China in personal and folksy terms. He said that although he has known Xi for more than 30 years and considers him a friend, he would not hesitate to challenge him on behalf of the United States.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, left, speaks with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, as he testifies Tuesday on his nomination to be ambassador to China. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

He said little about Trumps turnabout on China since his bristling campaign rhetoric blaming China for stealing American jobs and manipulating its currency to harm U.S. business. Branstad pledged to respect the one China policy governing U.S. policy toward Taiwan and criticized Chinese military activity in disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Although concerns over North Korea dominated, senators also asked about the new administrations commitment to human rights, religious freedom and prosecuting the theft of intellectual property.

Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) opened the confirmation hearing on a contentious note, accusing China of outright theft of American intellectual property as well as discriminatory trade and investment practices.

Branstad got no hostile questions at his confirmation hearing and won praise from some of the panels Democrats.

There really is not an option for a military first strike by the United States, Sen Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) told Branstad. We really are faced with changing their calculation in North Korea so they take action to eliminate this threat. Which takes China.

China is responsible for 90 percent of North Korean trade and is the reclusive regimes most important ally.

Branstad did not dispute allegations from senators of both parties that China has undermined U.N. efforts to rein in North Korea by looking the other way as the country skirts economic sanctions.

Branstad said additional sanctions on Chinese firms or other entities might be appropriate in response to sanctions-busting, but he otherwise advocated engagement and persuasion done quietly and without confrontation.

Their leadership is critically important to doing that, Branstad said. It needs to be done in a way that they dont feel it threatens them.

Trump has warned China that if it cannot prevent North Korean nuclear advances, the United States will act on its own.

China could play a critical role in convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs, a strategic policy that would boost the security of America, China and the entire world, Branstad said.

Branstad promised to work every day to represent American values to the Chinese leadership, including fair trade, human rights and a free press.

Branstad was chosen for one of the most important U.S. diplomatic postings because of his political loyalty and long experience with China, which is unusual among American politicians.

Branstad was an early and important Trump ally, a rare senior GOP elected official backing the businessman and outsider candidate over more experienced mainstream Republicans last year.

He also has managed the expansion of Iowas trade with China over six terms as the states governor while building a relationship with the man who became Chinas president. As a young politician, Xi visited rural Iowa in 1985, when Branstad was in his first term as governor. The two men have corresponded and visited each others countries since, and Branstad aides say they can be frank with each other.

Trump now says he likes and appreciates the Chinese leader, whom he invited to his Florida resort for a two-day summit last month.

At a farewell dinner last week in Iowa, Branstad told state Republicans of his hopes for the job.

I hope we can use that great first impression that we made to continue to build a relationship between our two countries for the benefit not only of the United States of America and the Peoples Republic of China, but for all the people of the world, the Des Moines Register quoted Branstad as saying.
As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepares for his first meeting with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday, the Arab leader and his advisers are expressing a kind of optimism not heard in years.

The Palestinians are saying they think Trump might be the one  with the right mix of bombast and unpredictability  to restart peace negotiations with Israel with the aim of securing Palestinian borders, a capital and a state.

It is an unusual moment because hope is not in abundant supply in the Middle East these days.

Most Israelis and Palestinians tell pollsters that they have low expectations for any change. Israels military occupation of the West Bank turns 50 years old in June, and Trump has called a possible Palestinian-Israeli accord the toughest deal in the world.

Similarly, former U.S. peace negotiators in Washington and their Israeli counterparts in Jerusalem say conditions are not right for a renewal of talks.

Theres incredibly low expectations for the Trump-Abbas meeting, said David Makovsky, a former negotiator who is a scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Theres no context for a grand deal, he said. Makovsky said neither Trumps base nor the Jewish American community seems to be pushing for new talks.

[Trumps Middle East diplomacy just got more complicated]

But Abbas and his aides insist that movement is possible and say Trump just might be able to make headway.

Nine months of peace talks under then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry broke down amid bitter recriminations by Israelis and Palestinians in April 2014.

Since then, there was a year-long spike in violence by lone-wolf-style Palestinian assailants armed with knives and family cars, leading to tough countermeasures by Israeli security forces.

Abbas told Japanese reporters last month that he is prepared to hold a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington under the patronage of President Trump.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump said: I want to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians. There is no reason theres not peace between Israel and the Palestinians  none whatsoever.

Trump sent former real estate attorney-turned-Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt to Jerusalem and Ramallah in March to explore the possibilities. Greenblatt got good marks from both sides. Trump also named his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as his point man for making peace in the Middle East.

In March, Trump met with Netanyahu at the White House, where administration officials pushed for constraint on the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, on land the Palestinians want for a future state. Those talks ended with no firm agreement. There are about 400,000 Jewish settlers living the West Bank on land they say was promised to them by history and God.

By the end of the Obama administration, Palestinian leaders had moved away from seeing Washington as the key to a peace deal, emphasizing instead their campaign to internationalize the Palestinian quest for statehood, through U.N. resolutions and a symbolic gathering of world diplomats in Paris.

Trump has spoken with Abbas on the telephone. The meeting Wednesday will be their first face-to-face.

[Trumps real estate lawyer-turned-diplomat wades into Middle East]

Abbas, 82, is not known for his oratory or sparkle, in public or private. He is often guarded and does not hold news conferences or tweet. He is unpopular among his own people, who question his legitimacy. Palestinian elections are years overdue.

But Abbas and his circle want to hear what Trump has to say. We are glad that now the U.S. administration listens about us from us, and not from third parties, Abbas told the Japanese reporters.

Jibril Rajoub, a top Palestinian official and a leader of the dominant Fatah political party, told The Washington Post on Monday: We are very optimistic. I was in the States recently, and I was told this conflict is a priority issue for President Trump and he is serious to engage and have the ultimate deal.

Rajoub added: From our side we will cooperate with President Trump. We believe that he is not in the pocket of anyone, except the American people. Trumps America first policy extends to national security, which means settling the core of the conflict in the Middle East, he said.

The new chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Husam Zomlot, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last week: When you have a president who from Day One commits himself to peace, and invests time and effort in reaching a solution, thats the definition of a historic opportunity.

President Trump has the political capital, the relationships with all the parties involved, and the will to actually achieve this goal, Zomlot said.

Since taking office, Trump has met with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, Jordans King Abdullah II, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israels Netanyahu.

Some administration officials have pressed for a regionwide push to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a grand bargain that would give the Palestinians a clear road to statehood in exchange for the moderate Arab states public recognition of Israel.

Netanyahu often says he is prepared to meet Abbas anywhere, anytime, without preconditions  before listing his preconditions: that Abbas must recognize not only Israel, which Abbas has done, but Israel as the Jewish state. Abbas has been reluctant to do so, in part because more than 20 percent of the Israeli population consists of Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

Today, Israel and its congressional supporters are urging Trump to push Abbas to stop social welfare payments that the Palestinian Authority makes to the families of Palestinian prisoners and assailants either wounded or killed by Israeli forces during terrorist attacks.

This would be hard for Abbas because prisoners and martyrs are almost unassailable in Palestinian society. The issue has become even thornier since one of Abbass main rivals, Marwan Barghouti, and hundreds of other prisoners began a hunger strike more than two weeks ago. Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court of five counts of murder and membership in a terrorist organization.

Abbas is also hemmed in by the Islamist militant movement Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

If Trump asks Abbas if he speaks for the Palestinians in Gaza, his answer might be a muddle.

Abbas has been fighting with rival Hamas over payments to government workers in Gaza, security arrangements, taxes and who should pay to keep the lights on in the economically crippled enclave.

This week, Hamas issued a policy document, a kind of addendum of its hard-line anti-Jewish founding charter. The new document states for the first time an apparent acceptance of an interim Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders, without recognizing Israel. Some see a softening of Hamas positions, to stay relevant. Israel called it propaganda from a terrorist organization.

Dennis Ross, a longtime U.S. peace negotiator, said at a panel Monday in Washington that after 30 years, I can safely say that we are at a low ebb.

He said, Theres complete disbelief on both sides in an ultimate deal.

Sufian Taha in Ramallah contributed to this report.

All 100 U.S. senators ask U.N. for equal treatment for Israel

Does Trump support a two-state solution? Hard to tell.

Abbas consolidates power and pushes out rivals

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive for a meeting in Sochi, Russia, on May 2. (Pool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko via Reuters)

In their first publicly announced conversation since the United States launched a Tomahawk cruise-missile strike in Syria last month, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the humanitarian crisis in Syria in a phone call Tuesday, with both countries expressing interest in working toward a cease-fire in the region.

The two men also discussed the possibility of trying to organize a personal meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg in July, according to the White House and the Kremlin.

The phone call came amid escalating tensions between Russia and the United States in recent weeks, following a targeted military strike on a Syrian air base in April that Trump ordered in retaliation for a sarin nerve-agent attack allegedly carried out by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence, the White House said in a readout of the call.

The White House described the conversation as a very good one, while the Kremlin called it businesslike and constructive.

But the dueling readouts contained some discrepancies. Though both governments spoke of a cease-fire, with the United States announcing that it planned to send a representative to the cease-fire talks that begin in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the Trump administration also said the two leaders spoke of establishing safe zones in Syria. The Russian government, however, did not mention the possibility of safe zones.

The conversation also included, according to both readouts, a discussion of fighting terrorism in the Middle East, and the dangerous situation in North Korea.

Saying that lasting peace in Syria is impossible without the participation of the United States, Putin expressed hope Tuesday  ahead of his conversation with Trump  that Moscow and Washington could agree on how to end the six-year-old conflict.

I hope that we will achieve understanding on joint measures in this very important and very delicate area of international politics, Putin said at a nationally broadcast news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with the Russian leader Tuesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Putin has said the chemical attack, which killed more than 80 people, was a provocation by rebel forces, an assertion the Trump administration has dismissed while placing the blame on Assad. Trump, who spent his election campaign expressing admiration for Putin, said after the missile strike that relations with Russia may be at an all-time low.

The two presidents spoke after Trumps inauguration in January and again when Trump offered condolences in the wake of an April 3 bombing in the St. Petersburg subway that claimed 16 lives.

Certainly, without involvement of such a country as the U.S., these problems cannot be solved efficiently, Putin said.

[ Tillerson meets with Putin amid deepening tensions over U.S. strikes in Syria ]

On Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed in a phone conversation to meet on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting next week in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to State Department and Russian officials.

Putin has orchestrated a peace process in Syria that has brought together competing regional powers Iran and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Sochi on Wednesday to discuss Syria with the Russian leader.

But despite Putins expressed hope for a rapprochement with Trump over Syria and the cooperative tone of Tuesdays phone call as expressed in the readouts from the White House and Kremlin, some Russian analysts have ruled out cooperation between Russian and U.S. forces.

The American demand to remove Assad rules out the possibility of Russian-American cooperation in Syria, because we wont allow the removal of Assad before his term is up, Dmitry V. Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, said recently. Of course, we will not give in to such blackmail.

Russia is committed to a peace process, put together by Putin, that brings together Turkey, Iran and Syrian rebel groups. Putin also wants to use Syria as the site of Russias permanent military base in the Middle East.

Konstantin Sivkov, a member of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Science, said that an alliance with the United States is impossible.

At the heart of Russian uncertainty was the impulsiveness of decision-making that led Trump to order the April 7 missile strike on a Syrian government air base.

The lack of consideration of these decisions, and lack of a clear goal and assessment of the consequences, sharply raises the possibility of military conflict, he said.

Merkel, meanwhile, arrived in Russia to meet with Putin as German industry stepped up pressure on her to lay the groundwork for improved economic relations with Moscow. Those relations have been dampened by international sanctions tied to the Kremlins 2014 annexation of Crimea and its proxy war on behalf of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

But Merkel and Putin sparred over Ukraine, where a peace process worked out with the German chancellors considerable effort, called the Minsk accords, has bogged down, with both sides accusing the other of breaking cease-fire agreements.

I would like us to make sure that the sanctions are lifted upon the implementation of the Minsk accords, Merkel said at the news conference.

In Ukraine, many oppose the stipulation in the Minsk accords that would allow two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine broad autonomy. Kiev considers it a Kremlin ploy to prevent Ukraine from integration with Western European organizations.

The issue is a matter of national pride in Russia, where nightly reports on state-controlled news programs tell of atrocities by Ukrainian fascists while denying the involvement of Russian armed forces in the conflict. Tuesday was the third anniversary of an event in which Russia says Ukrainian nationalists in Odessa forced people into a building and burned them alive.

Those responsible have still not been held accountable and have not been punished, Putin said. The international community cannot either forget about that or allow such barbarous crimes to be committed again in the future.

A Western condition for the lifting of sanctions has been Russias return of Crimea to Ukraine, which Moscow has ruled out.

Alexei Pushkov, a senior Russian legislator, tweeted Sunday that neither sanctions nor resolutions will change the fact of the unification of Russia and Crimea. They can kick themselves, but they cant have it back.

Merkel also brought up allegations that authorities in the Russian province of Chechnya arrested 100 gay men, at least three of whom died, according to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last month that Moscow had received no confirmation that any violations against gays took place.

I asked the president to use his influence to protect the rights of minorities, Merkel said.

Putin, in response to a question about the detention of protesters in Russia, said Russian police behave far more liberally and with more restraint than European authorities, who use tear gas and truncheons to break up demonstrations.

Another cause for tensions between Germany and Russia is the assertion from European political parties that Russia is meddling in their elections with hackers and fake news stories, the same accusations that the U.S. intelligence community directed at Moscow following Trumps election victory.

Russia backs the candidacy of right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, who will face off against centrist Emmanuel Macron in Frances presidential runoff vote Sunday.

[ Cyberattack on French presidential front-runner bears Russian fingerprints ]

The Kremlin has consistently denied involvement in any of the election campaigns.

We never interfere with the political life of other countries, Putin said Tuesday while dismissing the allegations that Russia had also interfered in the U.S. presidential election as rumors created for a domestic battle.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia meddled in the election in favor of Trump  an issue Democrats have sought to highlight along with Trumps positive statements about Putin during the campaign, before the airstrikes in Syria strained relations between Washington and Moscow.

Trumps bromance with Putin appears to be back on track, Adrienne Watson, deputy communications director at the Democratic National Committee, said Tuesday with regard to the phone call. Instead of sending Putin a tough message on backing Assads brutal regime, Trump appears to be opting for a strategy of appeasement.

Anthony Faiola and Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin, Rick Noack in London and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more

Russia condemns U.S. missile strike on Syria, suspends key air agreement

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Moon Jae-in, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, prepares for a televised presidential debate in Seoul on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, ahead of the May 9 election to replace former president Park Geun-hye. (Ryu Seung-Il/Bloomberg)

South Korea is on the brink of electing a liberal president with distinctly different ideas than the Trump administration on how to deal with North Korea  potentially complicating efforts to punish Kim Jong Uns regime.

He is also a candidate who fears that the U.S. government has been acting to box him in on a controversial American missile defense system and circumvent South Koreas democratic process.

I dont believe the U.S. has the intention [to influence our election], but I do have some reservations, Moon Jae-in told The Washington Post in an interview.

Barring a major upset, Moon will become South Koreas president Tuesday, replacing Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in March and is on trial on bribery charges. Because Park was dismissed from office, Moon will immediately become president if elected, without the usual transition period.

[ Transcript of the Post interview with South Korean presidential candidate Moon Jae-in ]

(Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

With Moon pledging to review the Park governments decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antimissile system, the U.S. military has acted swiftly to get it up and running. This has sparked widespread criticism here that the United States is trying to make it difficult, if not impossible, for Moon to reverse it.

The final components for THAAD were taken to the site in the middle of the night last week, triggering protests, and the system became operational Monday. It is designed to shoot down North Korean missiles, but many in South Korea fear it will make them more of a target.

[ Controversial missile defense shield operational in South Korea ]

It is not desirable for the [caretaker] South Korean government to deploy THAAD hastily at this politically sensitive time, with the presidential election approaching, and without going through the democratic process, an environmental assessment or a public hearing, said Moon, sitting on the floor in a Korean restaurant after an evening rally in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

Would it happen this way in the United States? Could the administration make a unilateral decision without following democratic procedures, without ratification or agreement by Congress?

Privately, Moon aides say they are furious about what they see as the expedited installation of THAAD. U.S. Forces Korea said the deployment is in line with plans to have the system operational as soon as possible.

But Moon warned that the U.S. actions could undermine south Koreans faith in Washington and complicate the countries security alliance.

If South Korea can have more time to process this matter democratically, the U.S. will gain a higher level of trust from South Koreans and, therefore, the alliance between the two nations will become even stronger, Moon said.



But in a move that shocked South Koreans, President Trump said last week that he would make Seoul pay $1 billion for THAAD, despite an agreement that South Korea provides the land and the United States supplies and operates the battery.

Far from hurting Moon, Trumps insistence could actually boost Moons chances of becoming president, as it has angered people who were on the fence about THAAD and further enraged the systems opponents.

Is South Korea a colony that has to cough up cash whenever the U.S. wants it to? Park Hee-ju, an anti-THAAD activist, told the left-leaning Hankyoreh newspaper, which Moon helped found.

Even conservative papers have been taken aback. Trumps mouth rocking South Korean-U.S. alliance, declared a headline in the right-wing Chosun Ilbo.

[ In South Korea, mystification over Trumps defense and trade comments ]

Moon, 64, a former human rights lawyer who was chief of staff to former progressive president Roh Moo-hyun, has a commanding lead in opinion polls. He regularly attracts twice the support his closest rival, centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, does.

Thanks to THAAD, and to North Koreas recent provocations and Trumps tough talk, foreign policy is at the top of the election agenda.

Moon, who is closely associated with the sunshine policy of engagement with North Korea, could hardly be more different from Park  or from Trump.

He wants to reopen an inter-

Korean industrial park and in TV debates has talked about South Korea taking the initiative on North Korea. He wants South Korea, not the United States, to have operational control of the military alliance if a war breaks out.

American analysts say that some of Moons campaign pledges  such as his promise to reopen the industrial park  are fantastical, and the candidate struck a markedly more measured, more diplomatic tone in the interview.

The answer is no, Moon said when asked whether he would seek to rebalance the security alliance with the United States.

I believe the alliance between the two nations is the most important foundation for our diplomacy and national security. South Korea was able to build its national security, thanks to the U.S., and the two nations will work together on the North Korean nuclear issue.

But Moon did say he wants South Korea to be able to take the lead on matters on the Korean Peninsula.

I do not see it as desirable for South Korea to take the back seat and watch discussions between the U.S. and China, he said, although he would not approach or open talks with North Korea without fully consulting the United States.

[ President Trump says he would be honored to meet with North Korean dictator ]

Moon has said he would be willing to go to anywhere, including Pyongyang, to make progress on denuclearizing North Korea.

I could sit down with Kim Jong Un, but I will not meet him for the sake of meeting him, he said. I will meet Kim Jong Un when preconditions of resolving the nuclear issue are assured.

There is some overlap here. Trump said this week that he would be honored to meet Kim under the right circumstances. This comment struck a markedly different tone from Trumps recent talk about the potential for military action, the deployment of warships to the region and the possibility of a major, major conflict.

Indeed, Moon stressed the factors that he and Trump have in common  such as their belief that the Obama administration policy of strategic patience toward North Korea was a failure. Moon agreed with Trumps method of applying sanctions and pressure to bring North Korea back to negotiations  although this is essentially what strategic patience was.

I believe President Trump is more reasonable than he is generally perceived, Moon said. President Trump uses strong rhetoric toward North Korea, but, during the election campaign, he also said he could talk over a burger with Kim Jong Un. I am for that kind of pragmatic approach to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Even if there is a large divide between Moon and Trump on most issues related to North Korea, analysts doubt this will put much strain on the alliance.

For the last decades, through two conservative presidents, South Korea had a more friendly relationship with the United States, said Kang Won-taek, a professor of political science at Seoul National University.

Moon Jae-ins position is clearly different from those conservative presidents, but, generally speaking, I dont think relations between the two countries will change that much, Kang said. After all, we have a common enemy.

Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report.

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The messy business of governing Brazil, a country with 35 active political parties, has long taken place far from the symmetrical towers and domes of Congress that dominate the capitals skyline.

Instead, backroom deals have been the norm, with the countrys most powerful politicians and business leaders deciding the affairs of government over boozy lunches, steak dinners or drinks in dimly lit hotel bars. The daily scheming and bribing would kick off early, one participant told investigators, often at breakfast in the Golden Tulip Hotel on the citys outskirts.

But three years into the sweeping corruption probe known as Operation Car Wash, an initiative now targeting more than 100 members of Brazils political elite, the dining room at the Golden Tulip is silent. The investigation has upended politics-as-usual in Brasilia and opened up a path for outsiders to have a say in government for the first time in generations.

[Brazils huge corruption scandal is spreading to the rest of Latin America]

The Car Wash probe uncovered a complex kickback scheme in which, among other things, Brazils largest construction companies paid lawmakers in return for lucrative contracts and favorable legislation. The investigation has been propelled by a string of plea-bargain agreements, leaving longtime friends and allies pitted against one another as more defendants turn states witness.

Brazilians protest in December along Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo against political corruption and in support of the Operation Car Wash probe. (MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL/AFP/Getty Images)

Its pretty much paranoia, said David Fleischer, an expert on Brazilian politics and professor at the University of Brasilia. At this point, everyone is apprehensive and has a lot of ulcers.

The intricate system of alliances and favor trading on which the various coalitions depended meant that parties could ignore voters in presidential elections and still wield significant power in Brasilia. Even the current ruling party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, largely avoided contesting presidential elections, preferring to bargain for positions of authority with whichever party was in power.

That system began unraveling in 2015 after the Car Wash probe extended to the ruling government with the arrest of Sen. Delcidio do Amaral for allegedly taking kickbacks from the state-owned oil company, Petrobras, and offering to help a former company head avoid prosecution in exchange for his silence. The executives own son recorded Amaral, who had offered to help the executive flee to Spain.

Amaral soon struck a deal of his own with investigators and turned in a recording of the then-education minister offering to pay for the senators legal defense if he promised not to collaborate with investigators.

Such deals unfolded for months, snaking their way up the political-establishment ladder and even bringing down the anti-corruption minister, who resigned after leaked recordings appeared to show he had tried to derail the probe. The Car Wash investigation has now reached both heads of Congress, the foreign secretary, President Michel Temers chief of staff and five former presidents.

As Brazils old guard turns on itself, radicals and outsiders who once operated on the political fringe are taking center stage. These politicians are among the few who have not been implicated in the corruption probe  in part, critics argue, because they were never important enough to take part in the routine swindling engaged in by the governing elite.

Im on my seventh mandate, and Ive never been accused of corruption. Thats like winning a trophy in Brazil, said Jair Bolsonaro, a self-proclaimed admirer of President Trump and an ultraright representative in Brazils lower house. Some polls estimate that support for Bolsonaro  who has called for gay children to be beaten and praised a man who tortured guerrillas such as former president Dilma Rousseff during Brazils military dictatorship  at 30 percent among young people planning to vote in the 2018 presidential election. Whether Bolsonaro can parlay that support into a win is questionable, but it mirrors the rise of anti-establishment candidates around the world.

The conservative majority was silent, he said. Now we are ready to fight.

Joao Doria, a millionaire who is often compared to Trump, capitalized on this anti-establishment sentiment to win Sao Paulos mayoral race last year, claiming he would run the city the way he managed his businesses. Analysts predict that he will be a favorite in the 2018 presidential race.

Rousseff, whose coalition government imploded last year, said in an interview last week that she worries the infighting in Brazil could carve out a path for such a candidate.

When a government becomes irrelevant, politics becomes irrelevant, Rousseff said. It opens a space for patriotic saviors to come through, for politics that just uses symbols and political marketing, and has a strategy based on post-truth.

[Brazils ex-president fears the rise of a Brazilian Trump]

But the changes in the landscape have not been lost on the political establishment, whose members are seeking to reinforce their grip on power even as they try to steer clear of Car Wash. Last month, the president of the Senate met with Temer and his top aides to discuss implementation of a closed-list voting system, which would require voters to cast a ballot for a list of politicians generated by each party, rather than for an individual candidate. The party would then distribute seats in Congress accordingly.

The system, which needs a simple majority in Congress to pass, would shelter politicians involved in the corruption probe from the publics ire by sandwiching them in a list of clean politicians. It would also give party leaders greater say over who can run, neutralizing the risk of outsider candidates.

The elected political class is mobilizing and creating measures that would make the renewal of the political class in Brazil much more difficult, said Alexandre Bandeira, a campaign strategist and head of the Strattegia consulting firm in Brasilia. We have a situation where the people who are currently being investigated are the ones who will decide the rules for 2018.

For Brazils embattled politicians, staying in power past next years election is critical. Members of the current government who face criminal charges are tried in the Supreme Court, considered much more lenient than the lower courts. The cases of politicians who lose their seats are relegated to the lower courts, which favor harsh sentences.

But the struggle for power also has broader  and longer-term  implications for Brazils citizens.

We are facing a key moment, Bandeira said. The closed-list system will not only limit the players in politics, but it will further alienate an electorate that already feels disassociated from the political class.

Read more:

How a scandal that started in Brazil is now roiling other Latin American countries

Brazil swings to the right, setting the stage for a Trump-like leader

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It was March 2020, and the world was closing down as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At first, the news of...
Tens of thousands of immigrant and native-born workers and young people marched across the United States to mark May Day, the holiday of the international working class, and oppose the Trump administrations scapegoating of immigrant workers.

The largest protest was in Los Angeles, where an estimated 20,000 participated. Other significant demonstrations took place in Washington, DC., Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, New York and dozens of other large cities. They also took place in smaller communities, such as Grand Rapids, Michigan and Homestead, Florida, where thousands of migrant agricultural workers and their supporters protested.

In some cases, workers defied employer threats and walked off their jobs to join the protests. In Philadelphia, where teachers strikes are prohibited by state law, an estimated 1,000 educators who have been working without a contract for four years called in sick. In Chicago, teachers and furloughed Illinois state workers joined protests. A delegation of TV and film writers who are locked in a fight with Hollywood producers joined the protest in Los Angeles.

The protests expressed growing opposition to Trump and solidarity with immigrant workers facing mass arrests and deportations. However, the organizers of the rallieswhich included the Service Employees International Union, the hotel worker union UNITE HERE! and various organizations with close ties to the unionssought to channel this opposition behind the Democratic Party. They were silent on the open support the AFL-CIO and several industrial unions have given Trump based on his economic nationalist program.

In Los Angeles, New York City and other locations, Democratic mayors postured as friends of immigrant workers while concealing the role of the Obama administration, which oversaw record numbers of mass deportations and launched wars that produced the worst refugee crisis since World War II.

Many of the workers and youth who spoke to the World Socialist Web Siteexpressed their opposition to both big business parties and their policies of austerity, war and attacks on democratic rights.

In Los Angeles, Maria, a Mexican immigrant, said, We are all here to fight for immigrant rights, for the future of students. Obama deported so many of us. And now I dont know what else to say, since Trump is increasing deportations. The two parties, Democrats and Republicans, are responsible for everything that is happening. Theyve done nothing for an amnesty. We cant even walk on the street with our kids without fearing deportation. Often, we see kids crying because their parents are being taken away. Its so sad.

Ive seen so much in 40 years here. Weve all signed petitions, sent them to congressmen to stop it, and nothing happened. We live in a limbo, without knowing whats going to happen next. One could write a book on the abuses weve seen. Living conditions are difficult. Salaries are so low, rent so high. Imagine the situation for us. But we keep on fighting.

Dulce, a University of Southern California (USC) employee, said, Immigrant status doesnt define who people are. Everyone should have full citizen rights. Immigrants havent had much say in their immigration status. People should have the basic right to choose where they want to live. People come from countries where they dont feel safe. Im thinking of Muslim countries that have been banned by Trump. Its ridiculous that our politicians are not allowing them to come into this country.

Dulce pointed to the impact of war on migration. I think the US influence in Central America has created a lot of tensions. The US didnt allow them to have the presidents they chose. This eventually caused violence and civil wars that impoverished those countries, which is a big factor why people want to immigrate to the US. The US goes into war for big corporate benefits, financial gains, colonizing other countries. This doesnt represent the peoples will.

Eduardo, a Mexican worker, added, We are going backwards here, like in Mexico. Instead of uniting, so we can be strong, we are pitted against each other. We workers support each other, but we need immigrant rights. Just like Obama, Trump is now deporting en masse. The only difference is that with Obama deportations were not discussed so much as now. But they are the same. The people with power conceal the truth from us and end up destroying our families.

I cant prefer one candidate over another when they are all lying to us. We are all clear about Trump. In fact, in a way he is pushing us to unite and fight for our rights. The Mexican government is no different when it comes to hiding the truth: look at the Pena Nieto record, look at the states role in the case of the 43 desaparecidos (disappeared teaching college students) in Ayotzinapathey all lie.

As for the endless wars, Eduardo added, Wars are worthless. Instead of helping others, they kill children and innocent people who have nothing to do with anything.

This city was built with immigrant hands, Crystal said. We are all immigrants to this country. Im very opposed to the policies of the Trump administration. Just like we built this country together, we must unite and work together as one. Im here for all those people who work and pay taxes, and I think we are not supposed to be deporting them.

Our country is very broken, we are quite divided, and the big budgets used for the military should be used against poverty, against starvation. We have kids living on the streets, yet we are paying for a war we dont even know where or how its happening.

Ana is a young woman born in the US of Salvadoran parents who is now studying medical radiology in a two-year program at Prince Georges Community College. She spoke to the WSWS at the protest in Washington, D.C. She came to the demonstration with her four-year-old daughter Ava. Im here for the people who are affected by what Trump is doing, and I have family who could be involved, she said. The raids and the fear are breaking up my family and friends.

Simon, a construction worker from Mexico, has lived and worked in the United States for 22 years. He marched with his two US-born sons, Alexis, who is in high school, and Simon Jr., in middle school. Alexis said, Immigrants make up this country. Like my father, they build everything. We need to support our community. Alexis said there had been a student walkout at his high school over bad conditions, including not enough textbooks.

Maria and Andres are immigrants from Colombia who met in the United States and married earlier this year. Both have worked as Spanish teachers. We are here standing against all this politics of Donald Trump against immigration, Maria said. Its all the politicians, Democrats and Republicans, and we all are affected.

Andres added, Its not just immigration that brings us here. Were also here about the war that is coming with North Korea or Syria.

In Detroit, Michigan, Giselle, a student at Lincoln Park High School, said, We shouldnt let Trump divide us. They are not only deporting immigrants, they are oppressing us at work. For a long time, I was too young to see what was happening. I knew my parents were struggling. Now I see everyone who is poorLatinos, blacks and whitesare struggling. If money was used for us, not the rich, you wouldnt have people on the freeways begging for food.

These problems were here before Trump, and they are getting worse now. Obama deported 2.5 million immigrants. Both parties are for war, not the people.

Juan Garza, a tax preparer, said, Why separate people with walls. Were all brothers and sisters all over the world. Everybody is working to support and feed their families. Everybody needs work, but the corporations want cheap labor. They want workers fighting each other for jobs. They blame immigrant workers to divert attention from what theyre doing.

In Chicago, several young people spoke to the WSWS. David, a high school student from the southwest side, said, Theres a lot of things said about immigrants that are not true, and we want to fight back on that. Were fighting for our rights to be equal to all, to be citizens and to be treated equally. Discrimination isnt just here, its in other countries too. Being part of this fight is like being involved in a family for me. Its the most important thing I can do.

Luis, a Gage Park High School student, said, Were here because changes to immigration law would make a huge difference for us Mexicans. We have undocumented parents, and we are going to be helping them become citizens.

Theres a lot of discrimination. I believe people should know the truth about the USthe real truthbecause the US puts out an image, but I think people should know that its really worse over here than it is in other countries.

Daniel, also from Gage Park, added, What he said, that the US has this image of people being free, freedom of speech and things, its true. In reality, they dont give those rights to everyonedefinitely not to immigrants.

An older worker added, We need funding for schools, for the homeless, for health care, but it goes to war. Both parties are the same in funding it.

At the rally in New York City, Luisina said, I am very against any kind of deportation. Undocumented workers are people too. The US economic system is very happy to exploit them with cheap wages. There are friends of mine who work at fancy coffee shops. They work four hours extra every day, and they get paid no overtime. This just benefits the businesses. I am from Argentina, and I dislike the way money dominates everything in the US. We have to defend workers from other countries.

Two Italian tourists, Andrea and Paola, were also at the rally. Paola said, We dont like the economic problems, the war. Andrea added, We have the same problems in Italy. There are refugees from Syria but we have no wall. What we would like to see happen is to end the power of the big banks.

In Boston, Vita, whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic, said, Workers should be able to prosper, no matter what. But things are moving in the wrong direction, and thats why were out here.

A noontime protest was also held in front of the Massachusetts state house. In the working class city of Chelsea, adjacent to Boston, an estimated 50 businesses closed during the day Monday because workers walked off the job to join protests. Nearly 50 percent of the Chelseas population is Latin American.
Having repeatedly threatened to take military action against North Korea, US President Donald Trump declared yesterday that he was willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, he told Bloomberg News .

Trump, underscoring that an offer was being made to the North Korean leader, said: Most political people would never say that but Im telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him.

The offer of talks is effectively an ultimatum: accept US terms for negotiations or confront the prospect of war. The US navy has positioned an aircraft carrier strike group and a nuclear submarine in waters off the Korean Peninsula and is engaged in joint exercises with South Korean and Japanese warships.

Trumps declaration that he would be honoured to meet with Kim Jong-un also underscores the rank hypocrisy of Washingtons posturing on human rights. Its denunciations of human rights abuses, whether in North Korea or anywhere else, are turned on and off to suit US strategic and economic interests.

Trump warned last Thursday that there was absolutely a definite chance of a major, major war with North Korea, while at the same time adding that wed love to solve things diplomatically, but its very difficult.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spelled out the terms of any talks in a meeting of UN Security Council ministers last Friday. After declaring that the US preferred a negotiated solution to the confrontation, he added: North Korea must take concrete steps to reduce the threat that its illegal weapons programs pose to the United States and its allies before we even consider talks.

Tillerson insisted that North Korea would have to denuclearise: that is give up its nuclear facilities and weapons. We will only engage in talks with North Korea when they exhibit a good-faith commitment to abiding by the Security Council resolutions and their past promises to end their nuclear programs, he said.

The same message was delivered by White House press secretary Sean Spicer who emphasised that Trump would only meet with Kim under the right circumstances. He insisted that North Korea had to ratchet down its provocative behaviour immediately. Theres a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior and to show signs of good faith. Clearly, conditions are not there right now.

The threat of military action, however, is always in the background. Speaking at the UN last week, Tillerson reiterated that all options were on the table and warned of catastrophic consequences if a negotiated solution was not found. He pressed UN members to impose crippling sanctions on North Korea and to downgrade diplomatic relations, warning that they will be backed with military action if necessary.

Even as he offered to speak to Kim Jong-un, Trump told Fox News yesterday that the North Korean leaders recent statements were very inflammatory and horrible. He declared, however, that he was not going to speak about his plans for military action or set red lines for North Korea. I dont want to talk about it. I can say this, hes very threatening, hes a big threat to the world, Trump said.

The US president underscored his willingness to attack North Korea by referring to his cruise missile strikes on Syria last month. After criticizing President Obama for setting red lines to the Syrian government and not enforcing them, Trump added: I actually covered [Obamas] red line for him in Syria.

The Trump administration is waging a concerted diplomatic offensive to exert maximum pressure on North Korea directly, or via its ally, China. Trump has spoken to the leaders of Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, inviting them to visit Washington. The Australian prime minister is due to meet the US president later this week.

India has announced that it will freeze North Korean assets and ban its military officers from training in the country. An external affairs ministry spokesman said that India was also banning travel, investigating North Korean-flagged ships and taking financial measures against Pyongyang.

Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, chided Trump for suggesting over the weekend that South Korea should pay $1 billion in costs for the installation of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile battery. Weve got to stand with our allies. There cant be any daylight right now, Royce told the Washington Post .

The THAAD installation, which is part of US anti-missile systems that are central to preparations for war against China, as well as North Korea, have provoked widespread opposition and fed into the political crisis in South Korea. The country is in the midst of presidential elections following the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye. The frontrunner, Democrat Moon Jae-in, has postured as a THAAD opponent.

In a bid to prevent Trumps comment from further fueling opposition in South Korea, national security adviser H.R. McMaster stepped in on Sunday to declare that the US would pay for the THAAD system until any renegotiation.

In his comments to the Washington Post, Royce urged the Trump administration to work more closely with Congress, which is due to begin discussing legislation today for new sanctions not only on North Korea, but also against banks and corporations that do business with Pyongyang. It will also push for North Korea to be put back on the State Departments list of state sponsors of terrorism, allowing further penalties.

Comments to USA Today by former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton underscored that the prime target of US preparations for war is not so much North Korea but China. North Korea has no oil or substantial natural resources, and, despite the continual denunciations of its nuclear weapons program, poses no significant threat to the US and its allies. But it is strategically located, sharing borders with China and Russia, and has acted as a buffer against US bases in South Korea and Japan.

Bolton, who was on Trumps short-list for secretary of state, dismissed efforts to force North Korea to denuclearise and suggested that pressure be placed on China to accept the peaceful reunification of the Koreas under the auspices of South Korea. The alternative was a pre-emptive U.S. attack, with worse consequences for Beijing: regime collapse, huge refugee flows and US flags flying along the Yalu River [border with China].

While the Trump administration does not spell it out, it is seeking one way or another to eliminate North Korea and weaken China, as it prepares for confrontation on other economic and strategic fronts. As Bolton crudely put it: China can do it the easier way or the harder way: Its their choice. Time is growing short.
Around 140,000 people marched yesterday in demonstrations across France for May Day, in the run-up to the second round of the presidential elections between former Socialist Party (PS) Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and neo-fascist National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen.

Fifty thousand people marched in Paris, 10,000 in Toulouse, 5,000 in Lyon, Marseille, and Rennes, 4,000 in Bordeaux and Nantes, 2,000 in Strasbourg and over 1,000 in Lille. Protests drawing several thousand people took place in several mid-sized cities. In many demonstrations, groups of marchers chanted slogans opposing both candidates, such as Neither Macron nor Le Pen or, as in Rennes, Le Pen, Macron, we don't want them.

The French media expressed surprise at the relatively small May Day protests this year, compared to the massive demonstrations against Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2002, the other time that the FN reached the second round of the French presidential elections. The trade unions also failed to agree on a common demonstration and organized separate marches or gatherings. The largest trade union in the private sector, the PS-linked French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT), mobilized virtually none of its forces.

The lack of a response in the working class to the unions' lukewarm calls to protest on May Day is yet another reflection of the broad collapse of the French political system. After the elimination of the candidates of France's two main big-business parties, the Socialist Party (PS) and The Republicans (LR), workers and young people are demonstrating their lack of faith in the union bureaucracies.

The relatively small size of the protests cannot be attributed to satisfaction by workers and young people with political or social situation. On the contrary, class tensions are explosive. One poll found 69 percent of the population is hostile to both candidates in the second round. Similarly, two-thirds of the French people said that the class struggle is a daily reality of life for them.

The powerful sentiment of opposition that exists in the working class in France and across Europe can find no expression, however, in the reactionary operations of the French unions to back the militarist candidacy of Emmanuel Macron, the free-market former Rothschild banker. Masses of workers and youth sense that the calls to block Le Pen issued by the bulk of the political establishment are barely disguised appeals to vote Macron, and that he will attack the social and democratic rights of the workers no less than Le Pen.

Among a large section of protesters, there was broad hostility to both candidates and anger at an election between two openly reactionary candidates.

In Paris, members and sympathizers of the Parti de l'egalite socialiste (PES) distributed leaflets calling for an active boycott of the second round, and for participation in the successful public meeting the PES organized after the march to explain its active boycott call. They met a warm response from the marchers, apart from pro-Macron union officials.

The union bureaucracies tried to de-politicize the rallies, putting forward demagogic slogans such as calls to impose social progress, which are empty and false if they do not give a perspective for a struggle against the social onslaught the next president will launch against the workers. Or they called for a social third round, as if the presidential elections had no real significance.

When they took a position, they called in one way or another to vote for Macron. In Paris, the main banner of the CGT, which has supported President Francois Hollande's PS government since the beginning of his term in office, declared: Put an end to the social retrogression that benefits the far right.

The CFDT held a common rally with the UNSA (National union of autonomous unions) and the Federation of Student General Assemblies (FAGE) in Paris. Its banner, featuring France's blue-white-red tricolor flag and an effigy of Marianne, the symbol of the republic, stated: For Marianne, vote against Marine Le Pen.

The CGT called for an anti-Le Pen vote without mentioning Macron, but with the same intention as the CFDT. Our slogan is clear, we must defeat the FN to obtain social progress. The FN is a racist, xenophobic, anti-woman and free-market party, declared CGT General Secretary Philippe Martinez.

The FO trade union, one quarter of whose members voted for Marine Le Pen in the first round according to one recent poll, did not specify whom it was endorsing.

Martinez's call was echoed by many pseudo-left political parties at the demonstrations. The NPA, which called for demonstrations together with the trade unions, also indirectly called for a Macron vote with its slogan, National-sexist, homophobic and racist, fight the National Front! Lutte ouvriere (LO, Workers Struggle) issued a call, Against the racist Le Pen and the banker Macron, make the camp of the workers heard, intending to steer the workers, as LO inevitably does, behind the trade unions, which openly support Macron.

The Paris protest included many youth and unorganized students who marched without banners and wanted neither Le Pen nor Macron. There were cries of Neither capitalism nor fascism and, in response to accusations from the political establishment that anyone not voting for Macron is a neo-fascist supporter, Siamo tutti antifascisti (We are all anti-fascists in Italian).

Many of the protesting youth were manifestly continuing on May Day the protests against both second round candidates organized a few days before, with blockades of high schools and spontaneous unauthorized demonstrations across Paris.

The PS government set up a massive security and surveillance deployment around the May Day protests. According to the police prefecture, more than 9,000 policemen, paramilitary police, and soldiers of Operation Sentinel (the army's ongoing deployment inside France) were officially mobilized for the occasion.

After a few groups of masked protesters at the head of the march threw objects at the riot police, a large, heavily-armed police detachment assaulted the entire protest, launching repeated volleys of tear gas.

Defeated Unsubmissive France candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has left his voters only with the perspective of a call to vote Macron or to abstain, called on the former PS minister to make a gesture to his supporters. He raised the PS' unpopular free-market labor law, which it imposed last year in the face of overwhelming popular opposition and mass protests. Macron responded by declaring at a meeting held in Paris that he did not support retracting the law.
Members of the band The Eagles (L - R) Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit attend the premiere of the film "History of the Eagles Part One" during Sundance London, at the O2 Arena in London in April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/Files (Reuters)

By Jonathan Stempel

REUTERS - The Eagles have filed a lawsuit accusing the owners of a Mexico hotel of using the name "Hotel California," arguably the band's most famous song, without permission.

In a complaint filed late Monday, the Eagles said owners of the 11-room Todos Santos hotel in Baja California Sur "actively encourage" guests to believe the hotel is associated with the band, in order to sell t-shirts and other merchandise, and make guests feel welcome.

This allegedly included piping "Hotel California" and other Eagles songs through the hotel sound system, and selling t-shirts in that refer to the hotel as "legendary," resulting in apparent confusion among many guests who posted online reviews.

The Eagles also noted that the defendant Hotel California Baja LLC has applied with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the Hotel California name.

"Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in 'Hotel California,' which is false," the complaint said.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks a variety of damages and a halt to any infringement.

Neither the hotel nor the lawyer who filed its trademark application immediately responded on Tuesday to requests for comment.

The Todos Santos hotel was named Hotel California when it opened in 1950, but went through a series of name changes before a Canadian couple, John and Debbie Stewart, bought it in 2001, and according to the Eagles began using the original name in marketing. Its website is ((http://hotelcaliforniabaja.com/)).

"Hotel California" is the title track from the 1976 Eagles album of the same name, and won the 1977 Grammy award for record of the year.

It is known for its long guitar outro featuring Don Felder and Joe Walsh, and complex lyrics sung by Don Henley.

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In an interview with CBS News last year, Henley said the song is about "a journey from innocence to experience. It's not really about California; it's about America."

The case is Eagles Ltd v Hotel California Baja LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 17-03276.

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(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
The Kremlin's international TV news outlet RT has cried foul over a decision by French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron to ban it, along with affiliated radio outlet Sputnik, from his campaign headquarters.

Campaign staff for Macron told media outlets that RT and Sputnik spread "fake news" and seek to undermine the independent candidate's campaign.

Former banker Macron is a pro-European centrist widely tipped to win the French presidency Sunday in a runoff by beating far-right leader Marine Le Pen, head of the Front National (FN).

Read more: French Presidential Election: Centrist Macron, Far-Right Leader Le Pen Advance to Runoff

RT has challenged Macron to identify news stories from it that are not fact-based. State-funded RT and Ruptly have been denied accreditation with the Macron campaign along with radio service Sputnik, which is part of another Russian government media group Rossiya Segodnya.

Anna Belkina, a spokeswoman for RT, told The Hollywood Reporter that the closed-door policy, which shuts its reporters out of Macron's campaign headquarters press briefings, was "the latest continuation of a story that started a couple of months ago with this constant invocation of fake news accusations against RT from the Macron's campaign." She added: "We have never spread fake news or anything of that sort or run any kind of campaign against Mr. Macron."

Macron's campaign was "making very serious claims and accusations" that they had not substantiated, said Belkina. "They have to substantiate it; you cannot just label something you disagree with fake news."

When reporters from international news agency Reuters asked Macron for examples of fake news stories by RT, campaign managers failed to identify any.

But a Macron spokesman told Reuters that both RT and Sputnik exhibited a "systematic desire to issue fake news andinformation." He added: "Spreading lies methodically and systematically - that's a problem. If this creates problems with the Kremlin, it will be the subject of an open discussion in the event of [Macron] being elected."

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The spokesman did not identify any example of fake news stories, said Reuters, though the news agency pointed to a Feb. 4 report by Sputnik "quoting a pro-Putin center-right French legislator as saying Macron was a puppet of U.S. political and financial elites and that revelations about his private life would soon be made public."

That report seems to have played a part in Macron being forced, days later, to deny rumors of an extra-marital gay relationship, according to the news agency.

Belkina agreed that "RT does have a strong editorial voice," but insisted the news service had "never been anti-Macron. We are not in the business of picking sides politically whether it is the French election or any other political process."

Xenia Fedorova, France bureau chief for RT, told THR: "Since the beginning of the campaign our journalists have experienced unfair treatment from Macron's team [due to] absolutely baseless accusations of 'fake news' in relation to our election coverage. We think it's a selective approach and goes against the rights of journalists to have access to information."

She added that RT's France coverage was provide by largely French journalists "many with years and years of experience" and that accusations of fake news could be "immediately debunked with simple research of our website." Belinka also insisted that RT France was "providing balanced coverage; all of the reporting on every candidate is fact based."

However, while not anti-Macron, headlines on RT France do highlight a positive slant towards the Front National.

A headline Monday about defeated leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon's TV interview was framed as critical of Macron, whereas other French news sources highlighted that Melenchon said a vote for FN would be a "terrible mistake." The two subsequently appeared at a ceremony Monday morning to honor a Moroccan man who was killed May 1, 1995, by FN supporters, but that event was not mentioned on the RT site.

RT also framed anti-Le Pen marches as "scattered" and weaker than anti-FN protests in 2002, whereas French papers highlighted the numbers and the many organizations calling for votes against her.

The Macron campaign had no immediate response to THR's request for comment.

Read more: French Media, Entertainment Stocks Rise After First Round of Presidential Election
Fyre Festival organizers are facing a $100 million class-action lawsuit for fraud, misrepresentative advertising and breach of contract, arguing that refunding the ticket price is not enough to compensate for the debacle. Concertgoers paid a minimum of $1,200 for tickets to the promised social-media oasis and luxurious music experience and were woefully disappointed as the event was not as marketed and quickly descended into chaos before being canceled altogether.

The festival, which took place on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas, was set to feature a lineup including big names like Blink-182, Major Lazer and Migos. But when guests arrived, instead of being greeted with A-list models and high-end amenities, they were faced with dirt fields, tents and plastic folding chairs. Attendees scrambled to leave the island, struggling to hail taxis and get on airplanes.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism released a statement Monday (May 1) in defense of Great Exuma amid speculation that the island lacked the necessary infrastructure to host the Fyre Festival.

"Exuma is one of the most beautiful and developed islands in The Bahamas and we in the Ministry are so disappointed that there have been false claims surrounding the island," director general Joy Jibrilu said in the statement. "We want to ensure that all stakeholders and guests know of the development and infrastructural capacity of this island."

Additionally, the ministry explained that Fyre Festival was originally meant to be held on Norman's Cay, not Great Exuma. While Great Exuma itself is a well-developed island within the Bahamas, the festival was held in an undeveloped subdivision called Roker's Point.

"The infrastructure on Great Exuma is second to none. The island has potable water, water and sewerage, Internet and cable television services, an electricity plant, a waste management system, a mini hospital, police officers, a local government and border patrol officers," she said.

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Read the full statement from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism below:

Director General of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Joy Jibrilu, defended the island of Great Exuma amid reports from the organizers that it lacked the necessary infrastructure to host the Fyre Festival.

The Director General said it is important that visitors to The Bahamas, and especially to the Exumas, know the facts.

"Our first priority was to ensure the safe return of all Fyre Festival guests. Secondly, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism jealousy guards our brand and that of our 16 islands. As a result, we have been following every story and lead, as well as interviewing festival attendees in order to get as many viewpoints as possible. The organizers of the event, which was a private event, have readily admitted that they were in over their heads, and they have taken full responsibility for all that has transpired, and have issued a statement to this effect. The Ministry has been actively engaged with the international media in ensuring that the integrity of The Bahamas is maintained.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism will always look to work with organizations and events that will advance our destination, as we have with partners like the PGA, LPGA and IAAF. It is our goal to deliver world-class experiences to our visitors. The Bahamas is a destination that has successfully staged dozens of major events including the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the IAAF World Relays and various regattas throughout the Islands of The Bahamas, just to name a few," she said.

The Director General added, "Exuma is one of the most beautiful and developed islands in The Bahamas and we in the Ministry are so disappointed that there have been false claims surrounding the island. We want to ensure that all stakeholders and guests know of the development and infrastructural capacity of this island."

Despite reports, the waters surrounding Great Exuma are not shark infested. Each year, thousands of guests enjoy the pristine waters of Exuma without incident. Compass Cay, which is in the northern Euxma chain, is a popular destination for tour boat operators and allows guests to swim with and feed nurse sharks.

Claims that the island of Great Exuma is a remote private cay with no infrastructure are also patently false.

The Fyre Festival organizers originally planned to hold their festival on Norman's Cay, a small private island in the Exuma chain. However, the venue was later changed to the island of Great Exuma. Exuma is made up of 365 cays and islands with the largest being Great Exuma.

The infrastructure on Great Exuma is second to none. The island has potable water, water and sewerage, Internet and cable television services, an electricity plant, a waste management system, a mini hospital, police officers, a local government and border patrol officers.

International flights arrive at the airport on Great Exuma daily, as the island is home to several high-end resorts, such as Sandals Emerald Bay, Grand Isle Resort and Spa, among many others including Hideaways at Palm Bay, the Exuma Beach Resort, Staniel Cay Yacht Club, February Point, Club Peace and Plenty and Palm Bay Beach Club.

The island is also an hour away from Miami via airplane.

Many American celebrities own private islands in the Exumas including Johnny Depp, David Copperfield and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, to name a few.

The organizers decided to host the Fyre Festival in an undeveloped subdivision community in Roker's Point. The area, which is on the beach, is directly opposite Grand Isle Resort and Spa and Sandals Emerald Bay.

While many vendors who assisted the organizers in staging the event are saying that they have yet to be paid, Fyre Festival co-founder Billy McFarland has assured the Ministry of Tourism that the vendors will be paid.

Director General Joy Jibrilu said a team from the Ministry of Tourism is on Exuma and is in regular contact with the Fyre team to ensure that all vendors are paid, and to determine the way forward.

The Director General noted that, even though Fyre Festival was a private event, once the MOT became aware of the event shortcomings, they did intervene to mitigate as much as possible any fallout, and in particular to try and secure the welfare of visitors who came in for the event. She pointed out that The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has received commendation from both the promoters and guests for its efforts in this regard.
DHAKA (Reuters) - Police in Bangladesh said on Tuesday they had arrested the IT chief of a banned militant Islamist group that has been blamed for the killing of several secular bloggers and gay rights activists. The suspected militant, identified as Ashfaqur Rahman, worked as the IT head of the al Qaeda-inspired militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, the chief of Bangladesh's counter-terrorism police, Monirul Islam, told a news conference. Rahman was arrested late on Monday in the capital, Dhaka, he added, as the handcuffed man was paraded before the media. Islam said Rahman was a close aide of the groups head of military operations, former army major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who went into hiding after the Bangladesh military accused him of involvement in a plot to topple the government in 2011. Rahman, who joined the militant group while studying computer science at university, used to gather information including the movements of targeted bloggers by hacking into their social media accounts, Islam said. The authorities blame Ansarullah Bangla Team for a series of attacks since February 2015 in which at least five bloggers, a publisher and two gay rights activists were hacked to death. Al Qaeda and Islamic State have claimed responsibility for killings of foreigners, liberals and members of religious minorities in Bangladesh, a majority-Muslim nation of 160 million people, over the past few years. The government denies either group has a presence in Bangladesh, blaming home-grown groups instead. Police and army commandos have killed more than 60 suspected militants and arrested hundreds since a deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe in July last year. Twenty-two people were killed, most of them foreigners. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Gareth Jones)
DETROIT  Old cars can learn new tricks.

For a few hundred dollars, drivers can add new safety technology  like forward collision warning systems or backup cameras  to older cars.

Cars are lasting longer than ever thanks to improving quality. The average U.S. vehicle is now 11.6 years old, according to the consulting firm IHS Markit.

But that means millions of car owners are missing out on technology that could potentially save their lives. Forward collision warning systems, for example, can reduce the risk of a crash by 27 percent, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Consumers have to do the math to decide whether it's better to add aftermarket systems to an older car or save up for a new one. Balance the cost of new safety  which can be hefty  with the increased maintenance older cars usually need. If you don't want an extra camera cluttering up your dashboard, you may want to save up for a new car with built-in systems.

To get blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning and lane departure warning on a new, 2017 Altima SL, you have to spend $28,570 for the car and add $3,000 in options.

For a fraction of that amount  $500  you could add an aftermarket forward collision system, backup camera and blind spot detection monitors to an older car. You could also consider a late-model used car. A 2015 Nissan Altima SL with blind spot monitoring, a rearview camera and lane departure warning can be found for less than $20,000, for example.

Buyers may want to wait on a new car because the cost of safety tech is coming down. Toyota is now offering a $300 package on some vehicles that includes forward collision warning and lane departure warning. Starting with the 2018 model year, all vehicles sold in the U.S. will be required to have backup cameras. And most new cars will have standard automatic emergency braking by 2022.

Shawn Sinclair, an automotive engineer with Consumer Reports magazine, says forward collision warning is the most important feature to consider if you're thinking about adding tech to your car. Even though it won't stop the car from hitting an obstacle  automatic braking isn't available as an aftermarket option  it will warn drivers so they can slow down or maneuver away. Blind spot detection and rear cameras are two others she considers critical.

"But at the same time, you have to say, 'Hey I have this 10-year-old car, maybe it's time to turn it in,'" she said.

The quality of aftermarket systems varies considerably. Read reviews or ask a trusted mechanic for recommendations.

Here are four safety features to consider:

FORWARD COLLISION WARNING/LANE DEPARTURE WARNING: Sinclair suggests a system from Mobileye, a tech company that also supplies most major automakers. Mobileye's cameras and software can recognize other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and even speed limit signs. The system alerts drivers when they leave a lane and when a collision is up to 2.7 seconds away. Sinclair says it costs around $1,000 to buy the system and have it installed by a Mobileye technician.

There are many less expensive and easy-to-install dashboard cameras that double as collision warning systems. Garmin's Dash Cam 35 monitors up to 130 feet in front of the vehicle; if the driver is going 30 mph or faster, it will issue audio and visual alerts of impending collisions. The Dash Cam 35 costs $130 on Amazon.com.

BLIND SPOT DETECTION: Blind spot systems use sensors to monitor the sides of the vehicle and flash an icon to the driver if something is in the way. Sinclair recommends Goshers Blind Spot Detection System, which costs $239. It monitors within 10 feet of the vehicle. Sinclair recommends having a professional install the system; it took her mechanic four hours to do it.

BACKUP CAMERA: According to government statistics, roughly 250 people are killed each year in backover accidents, many of them children. China's Yada brand makes a weather-proof camera with night vision that attaches to the rear of the car. When the car is in reverse, it sends images wirelessly to a 4.3-inch monitor. Pep Boys sells the system for $129. If you don't want a monitor in your car, Auto Vox has one that displays the image in your rear-view mirror. It's $139 on Amazon.com.

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: Hum, developed by Verizon, works like General Motors' OnStar system. It will automatically call emergency services if the car has been in an accident. It sends alerts to drivers' phones if there's a mechanical problem and lets drivers press a button if they need roadside assistance. Hum works in cars built in 1996 or later. It costs $10 per month; a two-year subscription is required. There are also one-time set-up and activation fees totaling $50.
Astronomers have discovered a rare star full of calcium that could teach us more about the stellar explosions called supernovas.

Its a story of love and death, with two stars orbiting the same point  a binary star system  until one day the larger star explodes and floods its mate with material. A study in Nature Astronomy found the scientists detected a star in the remnants of the supernova comparable in size to our sun, but its atmosphere is strongly polluted with calcium and other elements to have them in concentrations many times greater than the sun. That could mean the supernova is part of a class of calcium-rich supernovae  the origin of which is strongly debated.

Read: This Star Like a Lighthouse Orbits a Black Hole

Those supernovas are rare, so discovering another could help scientists understand how they work.

Lomonosov Moscow State University, which had an astrophysicist leading the research, explained that in the supernova remnant there is a neutron star, which would be what is left of the exploded giant, which can be detected from X-rays. But there is also a sun-like star that can be seen in the optical wavelengths  the ones that include ultraviolet, visible light and infrared.

calcium-star2

Photo: Vasilii Gvaramadze

A supernova is the biggest possible explosion in outer space and occurs when a star takes on too much mass. That can happen because it is an old star or, in the case of some binary stars, because it consumed its companion.

It would look beautiful up close, right up until the energy intensity vaporized you, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explained. One of the greatest events in the universe.  happens maybe only once per century per galaxy.

If youre looking to get a front row seat to one, you are out of luck  NASA said the sun is just not big enough to cause a supernova once its ready to die.

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supernova

Photo: NASA/JPL

Vasilii Gvaramadze, the lead scientist from Lomonosov Moscow State University, said his team will continue studying the new binary system in hope of understanding how the stars orbit, what the neutron star was like before it exploded and the levels of other elements in the sun-like stars atmosphere.

Previously, scientists generally thought calcium-rich supernovas formed with old stars that have used up all their fuel when there is a detonation in a shell of helium around the star, the university said. But the new findings imply that under certain circumstances a large amount of calcium could also be synthesized by explosion of massive stars in binary systems.

Learning about these space explosions gives us clues about how our universe works. One kind of supernova has shown scientists that we live in an expanding universe, one that is growing at an ever increasing rate, NASA said. Scientists also have determined that supernovas play a key role in distributing elements throughout the universe. When the star explodes, it shoots elements and debris into space. Many of the elements we find here on Earth are made in the core of stars. These elements travel on to form new stars, planets and everything else in the universe.

See also:

How are Stars Born? When a Supermassive Black Hole Farts

Astronomers Found an Enormous Star-Planet Hybrid

Related Articles
Kigali (AFP) - Around 20 of Africa's endangered Eastern black rhinos are returning in an "extraordinary homecoming" to Rwanda after the species disappeared there 10 years ago, the African Parks organisation said Tuesday.

The rhinos are being moved from South Africa to the Akagera national park in eastern Rwanda, according to the non-profit group that manages protected areas for African governments.

"This extraordinary homecoming will take place over the first two weeks of May," it said in a statement.

The Eastern black rhino, one of the sub-species of the rhinoceros, is in critical danger of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Back in the 1970s, more than 50 black rhinos thrived in the savannah habitat of the Akagera park, but their numbers declined due to wide-scale poaching and the last confirmed sighting was in 2007.

- 'Great symbol of Africa' -

Rhinos are one of the great symbols of Africa yet they are severely threatened and are on the decline in many places across the continent due to the extremely lucrative and illegal rhino horn trade, said African Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead.

According to the conservationists, there are fewer than 5,000 black rhino in the wild worldwide, with only about 1,000 of the Eastern sub-species.

Since 2010 African Parks has boosted security at Akagera and has prepared to accept the rhinos with financial help from the Howard Buffett Foundation, headed by the son of US billionaire Warren Buffett.

The measures taken include deploying a helicopter for air surveillance and an expert rhino tracking and protection team as well as a canine anti-poaching unit.

"We are fully prepared to welcome them (rhinos) and ensure their safety for the benefit of our tourism industry and the community at large," said Clare Akamanzi, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board.

In July 2015, Rwanda had reintroduced lions in the Akagera park, 15 years after they had disappeared. The lions were decimated in the years after Rwanda's genocide in 1994 as Rwandans who had fled the slaughter returned and occupied the park killing the lions to protect their livestock.

The park, which takes its name from the nearby Kagera river, is located near the border with Tanzania.

With the reintroduction of the rhinos, Akagera, which welcomed more than 36,000 visitors last year, will now boast being home to Africa's "big five" -- rhino, lion, elephant, leopard and buffalo.
America's infrastructure is in desperate need of repair, but despite promises made by President Trump back in February, there's been little-to-no movement on the issue in Washington, D.C. Until there is, states will have to take action themselves if they want to fill in their expanding potholes and shore up their crumbling bridges.

And that's just what California is doing: on Friday, state legislators passed an increase on gas and diesel taxes. And in a nod to the growing electric car market, the new bill also assesses EV owners an annual fee, since they won't be paying taxes at the pump.

What can Californians (and those passing through) expect to pay? The bill includes the following:

A 12-cent increase on the gasoline tax, which brings it to $0.30 per gallon. (There's also a variable excise tax of 17 cents per gallon included in the legislation.)

A 20-cent increase on the diesel tax, which brings it to $0.36 per gallon.

A $100 annual fee for electric car owners.

An increase in registration fees that ranges from $25 to $175, depending on the value of the car being registered.

The gas and diesel taxes kick in this fall, on November 1, 2017. Registration fees go up as of January 1, 2018. The electric car assessment is delayed until 2020 so as not to dissuade consumers from purchasing EVs.

Governor Jerry Brown says that the new taxes and fees should bring in an additional $5.2 billion per year--money that he and the legislators who supported the measure say that the state desperately needs. Estimates suggest that California currently needs $130 billion worth of infrastructure repairs and improvements.

The majority of California's new tax revenue will be dedicated to upgrading roads, bridges, and other infrastructure elements. The cash is to be split evenly between state and local projects. Roughly $700 million each year will be earmarked for mass transit initiatives.

A bumpy ride

Tax increases have always been contentious in the U.S, and this bill was no exception. Even in left-leaning California, Governor Brown had to spend considerable political capital (and pork) to win votes for the legislation. Estimates suggest that he and his team doled out roughly $1 billion in side projects to entice key voters.

Tax-averse opponents haven't given up hope that the new law can be undone. Some want to put a repeal measure on the ballot. And at least one group is launching a recall campaign to unseat Democratic state Senator Josh Newman from Orange County in retaliation for his support of the bill.

All of which is to say: if the fight for increased infrastructure funding is this contentious in true-blue California, it may be exponentially tougher for Trump to get his $1 trillion bill passed by the U.S. Congress--especially if it involves new taxes. Stay tuned.
What would it be like to hop on a humpback whale for a piggyback ride? Researchers got the next best thing when they attached cameras to the ocean mammals backs in Antarctica.

The cameras stick on with suction cups that dont hurt the whales and stay for a day or two, National Geographic says. They track the creatures and capture a whale's-eye view of a changing undersea universe, helping reshape our knowledge of whale life in the Southern Ocean. And they do that without inserting humans into their underwater world.

humpback-whale-1945416_1920

Photo: Pixabay, public domain

The Southern Ocean is the water that covers the bottom of the world, the extreme south of Earths oceans. This whale research is taking place on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula  the tentacle of the continents land that points toward the tip of South America.

Video footage (below) has taught the experts more about whales, including that they feed in water far deeper than expected, and they may use their blow holes to create openings in the ice to breathe. The cameras also offer views of social interactions, like play.

Read: 6 Extreme Places on Earth Where Life Thrives

Humpback whales are enormous, up to 60 feet long and between 50,000 and 80,000 pounds, so theres a lot of feeding footage to be had. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the gray and white mammals can eat up to 3,000 pounds of crustaceans, plankton and small fish every day. The whales can live about 50 years.

Its really beautiful when they are swimming under the sea ice, scientist Ari Friedlaender, an ecologist with Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, told National Geographic. Theyre so fluid and moving around in three dimensions and just cruising. But to be honest, we dont know what everything were watching means yet.

Humpback whales have been in the news lately for a more tragic reason: They have been washing up dead on the East Coast of the United States and experts are not sure why. More than two dozen mysteriously died last year and there have been 15 additional dead humpback whale cases since the beginning of this year, according to Popular Science. NOAA is investigating, using autopsies to find out what is going wrong. So far, 10 of the 20 dead whales that have been necropsied clearly showed signs of being hit by boat propellers. That stands out because normally, NOAA only gets an average of 1.4 reports of boats hitting whales per year.

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In other cases of unusual marine animal deaths, toxic algae and infections have also been the culprit, though it is still unclear if those factored into the recent whale deaths.

See also:

This Sea Creature Is Basically Spider-Man

The Aliens Are Probably Marine Creatures, Not Land Animals

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The director of the CIA has made an unannounced visit to South Korea as tensions in the region ratcheted up.

The visit comes after North Korea conducted another missile test on Saturday that appeared to fail shortly after launch  the third botched attempt this month. Despite the North's tests seeming unsuccessful, they have provoked hostilities with its Asian neighbours and the US.

Mike Pompeo and his wife were in the South Korean capital on Monday, an embassy official said, although they refused to say how long the visit lasted.

Video not available for syndication

Trump's security adviser says North Korea will be solved 'one way or another'

The CIA chief arrived in the country over the weekend for meetings with the head of South Korea's National Intelligence Service and high-level officials in the presidential office, according to South Korean media reports.

North Korea suggested on Monday it would continue its nuclear weapons tests, saying it would build-up its nuclear forces "to the maximum" in a "consecutive and successive way at any moment".

Meanwhile, in a show of its military power, the US sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean Peninsula to take part in drills with the South's naval forces.

Japan's navy dispatched its largest war ship reportedly tasked with escorting US military ships off the Japanese coast.

The helicopter carrier Izumo departed the Yokosuka port near Tokyo earlier on Monday.

Japanese media reports said it will meet up with and escort a US supply ship, a first-time mission under new security legislation that allows Japan's military a greater role overseas.

They said the US ship is expected to refuel other American warships, including the USS Carl Vinson.

Japan's Defence Ministry said only that the Izumo would participate in an international naval event in Singapore on May 15.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would "not be happy" if North Korea carried out another missile test, adding that his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping would likely feel the same.

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He refused to say whether this meant military action, saying: "I don't know, I mean, we'll see." He added: We shouldn't be announcing all our moves. It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is.

Associated Press contributed to this report
The Daily Beast

Fox NewsAs Democrats currently seem to be outperforming expectations in their House election races, Fox News pundits reflected on the absolute disaster that saw voters fail to usher in a red wave, as some on the right had predicted.A passionate Marc Thiessen slammed the Republican party for failing to make the red wave and urged it to do a really deep, introspective look in the mirror right now because this is an absolute disaster, while claiming the party needed to turn back. We have
WASHINGTON  Exactly one year ago, out-of-work West Virginia coal industry worker Bo Copley delivered one of the 2016 presidential races most memorable moments when he challenged Hillary Clinton. Now Copley tells Yahoo News he has set his sights on unseating his states Democratic senator, Joe Manchin.

With everything that has happened over the past year, with all of the attention we have received, with all of the people saying, We really appreciate you representing us, we thought maybe people want someone to represent them who understands what theyre going through, Copley said in a Tuesday telephone interview. Its what Gods telling me to do.

Copley, 40, said he is filing some of the preliminary paperwork needed to get into the 2018 race. If he wins the Republican primary, hed come up against Manchin, who used to govern West Virginia, where President Trump thumped Clinton by a 42-point margin. Given the states political tilt, Manchin is a key target for Senate Republicans looking to protect or expand their majority.

Asked for his assessment of Trumps tumultuous young presidency, Copley replied: So far, its kind of what I expected. There are some hits and there are some misses. He praised Trump for executive actions rolling back environmental restrictions blamed for hurting the coal industry, but added that the presidents lack of government experience was hurting him elsewhere.

The Tuesday announcement came one year to the day after Copley, who lost his coal-company job in September 2015, became a defining figure in the 2016 campaign after confronting Clinton in Williamson, W. Va. Two months earlier, during a CNN town hall in March 2016, Clinton had said, Were going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.

Bo Copley speaks to the media a year ago, after a campaign event for then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Williamson, W.Va. (Photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

Copley, a former maintenance planner and fill-in foreman, slid a photograph of his three children across the table toward her on that day in May.

I want my family to know that they have a future here in this state, he said. I just want to know how you can say youre going to put a lot of coal miners out of jobs and then come in here and tell us how youre gonna be our friend, he added, as Clinton listened intently.

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The former first lady then described her language as a misstatement.

What I said was totally out of context from what I meant. Because I have been talking about helping coal country for a very long time and I did put out a plan last summer, she said. What I was saying is that, the way things are going now, we will continue to lose jobs. Thats what I meant to say.

The exchange, a rare unscripted back-and-forth between a candidate and a voter, made Copley something of a star for the GOP. In October, Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito held a hearing on the devastating effects that EPAs anti-coal regulations are having on our state. Copley was a witness, describing the events leading up to his layoff from the mining giant Arch Coal.

Copleys candidacy may be a long shot. The Republican primary is expected to be crowded, with more established candidates who have resumes in state or even national politics. Manchin, who has been raising money and possesses a sizable campaign war chest, won by 24 points in 2012 while Barack Obama lost West Virginia by 27 points. Polling in late 2016 found the incumbent beating potential Republican challengers, though Copley was not included among them.

Manchin, who won his Senate seat in a 2010 special election, mostly hasnt joined his fellow Democrats in rhetorical attacks on Trump. He was one of the few in his party to vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. He has cheered Trumps actions such as his executive orders greenlighting the stalled portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline and withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Back in December, Manchin met with the president-elect at Trump Tower amid talk that the senator was under consideration for energy secretary, but he opted to remain in the Senate. In 2012, Manchin released one of the most memorable ads of that years election cycle, pinning Democratic climate-change legislation to a tree and shooting it as a sign of his willingness to buck his party.

Copley praised Manchin for working to secure retired coal miners health benefits as part of a compromise spending bill to keep government open to Oct. 1. He said he and the incumbent were fighting for the same cause on that.

But Manchins support of Clinton in 2016 showed that he has lost touch with his constituents, he said.

A spokesman for the Manchin campaign, Jefrey Pollock, told Yahoo News that the senator looks forward to the coming campaign and having the voters review his clear record of strongly defending West Virginias interests.

Its an important race. Of the 33 Senate seats up for grabs next year, 25 are held by Democrats, 10 of those in states Trump won. Theres also a special election scheduled in deep-red Alabama to fill the vacancy left by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Republicans have a narrow 52-48 edge in the Senate, and Democrats are predicting that their voters will be unusually active in next years midterm election.

Asked about his own politics, Copley said, The thing that Ive thought about the most is that we seem to be in the most divided system that weve ever seen, and declared that its time to put those things aside and work on compromise.

Not being a political person  not being in politics, or a politician  I would be the kind of person who would listen to the arguments from both sides, do whats right, he said.

Read more from Yahoo News:
President Trump arrives to speak at the National Rifle Association Leadership Conference, April 28, 2017, in Atlanta. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

THE OBSTRUCTION QUESTION. Over the weekend, President Trump tweeted criticism of Democrats for being leaderless and obstructionist.

The Democrats, without a leader, have become the party of obstruction.They are only interested in themselves and not in what's best for U.S.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2017

This, along with similar criticism of historic Democratic obstruction from White House aide Kellyanne Conway, made a number of groups on the left very happy, as they have been working hard to obstruct Trumps agenda. Kellyanne Conway inadvertently calls the resistance effective, boasted a Share Blue story.

Observed Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, after Republicans and Democrats came to a budget agreement: There is no downside to strongly fighting Trump with backbone. Its good politics and good policy  and a prerequisite to Democrats inspiring voters and winning big in 2018.

Its stunning turnabout given Democratic complaints about Republican obstructionism under Obama, but taking pointers from the party that defeated them is the new Democratic way. And Republicans dont like it one bit.

Trumps supporters see that Democrats have not even made a pretense of cooperation with the candidate they elected, asserted columnist Marc Theissen, a former George W. Bush speechwriter, in the Washington Post. The Democratic Party is no longer the opposition; it is The Resistance.'

All of this is sending a message to Trump voters, he writes: The Democrats unrelenting, hyperventilating obstruction of Trump has sent [a crystal clear] message to millions of Obama-Trump voters: We dont hear you. We loathe your president and all of you who put him into office. And were going to show you what you can do with your Trump vote, by doing everything in our power to undermine the man you elected.

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Its a note of caution Democrats may choose to dismiss as Republican concern trolling (undermining opponents with faux-sympathetic advice), yet at some point candidates hoping to be lifted by anti-Trump fervor will have to explain how they intend to repair relations with the white-working-class communities that turned against them in 2016.

Thats something they were unable to do despite talking endlessly about the economy during the most recent presidential election, reports Greg Sargent in a piece on some recent polling: A shockingly large percentage of these Obama-Trump voters said Democrats economic policies will favor the wealthy  twice the percentage that said the same about Trump.  Obama-Trump voters, many of whom are working-class whites and were pivotal to Trumps victory, are economically losing ground and are skeptical of Democratic solutions to their problems.

The conclusion of the post-election analysis he discussed, by the Democratic super-PAC Priorities USA, was that [Hillary] Clinton and Democrats economic message did not break through to drop-off or Obama-Trump voters, even though drop-off voters [who didnt cast a ballot in 2016] are decidedly anti-Trump.

ANOTHER CAUTIONARY NOTE FOR DEMS. A flashing yellow light comes from across the Atlantic, reports the Washington Post: In 2015, Britains Labour Party tacked to the left, repudiating the middle-way philosophy that had won it three elections under Tony Blair. Voters responded by handing the party its worst defeat in three decades.

Rather than scramble back toward the center, Labour lurched further left. The party elected as its leader Jeremy Corbyn, a white-bearded baby boomer from the back benches who, like Bernie Sanders in the United States, ignited an improbable movement among young activists with his attacks on the rigged capitalist system and unquestioned fidelity to socialist ideals.

Now, with less than six weeks to go before Britain votes once more, the Corbyn-led Labour Party is on course for an electoral beatdown so broad and deep it would make the drubbing the party took in 2015 look like a triumph.

MAY DAY MAY DAY. May Day rallies took place and are expected around the country at more than 100 locations, including in New Yorks Union Square. In San Francisco, protestors targeted a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, reports Meagan Day of Mother Jones magazine:

It's May Day and the babies are painting the streets red ???? pic.twitter.com/3gZ1MgYg8w  Meagan Day (@meaganmday) May 1, 2017

This is what solidarity looks like: @DemSocialists and friends block the ICE building garage doors while indigenous dancers block the street pic.twitter.com/SoTB4LaZdr  Meagan Day (@meaganmday) May 1, 2017

And in D.C. they chanted Si, se puede! [Yes, we can!] and marched against the Trump administrations criminalization of immigrants at a march co-sponsored by CASA in Action and 32BJ SEIU, among other groups:

Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez joined the marchers, as did Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and a number of House of Delegates members from Virginia and Maryland.

PITCHFORKS OUT FOR SHERIFF CLARKE. Thousands are expected to take to the streets of Wisconsin on Monday to demand that the governor remove controversial Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, a tough-talking firebrand who wants to use his deputies and correction officers to enforce federal immigration laws, reported CNN in a set-up piece. Among other concerns, organizers of the march in Milwaukee are critical of Clarkes desire to join the Department of Homeland Securitys 287(g) program, which essentially deputizes local law enforcement agencies to operate as federal immigration agents.

Clarke warned last year during a campaign appearance for Trump-Pence, It is pitchfork-and-torches time in America.

Scenes from the protest courtesy of Fox6 Milwaukee political reporter Theo Keith:

For the second time in three months, demonstrators stretch from end to end on the 6th Street Viaduct. #MayDayMKE #MayDay2017 pic.twitter.com/zPUBCEb44w  Theo Keith (@TheoKeith) May 1, 2017

The protesters want @SheriffClarke removed from office, though @GovWalker  who has that power  says he will leave it up to voters. pic.twitter.com/LTc9jYAxbF  Theo Keith (@TheoKeith) May 1, 2017

GOP RETIREMENT WATCH. Being in the majority but not being able to move legislation is a demoralizing business, GOP sources tell me  as is being on the receiving end of endless constituent pressure over the actions of the administration. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Floridas longest-serving member of Congress and political godmother to Miami Republicans, is quitting Congress after nearly four decades in office, providing Democrats a prime opportunity to pick up a seat that heavily favors them, reported Politico on Sunday.

In leaving Floridas newly drawn 27th Congressional District, Ros-Lehtinen almost assured the Democrats will pick up her seat. No Republican-held House district gave Trump a lower share of the vote in 2016 than Ros-Lehtinens. Trump got just 39 percent of the vote in the district, while Hillary Clinton got more than 58 percent  more than 5 points better than Barack Obama in 2012, even as Florida shifted into the Republican column in 2016.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee couldnt be more excited about her decision. Theres no question that her retirement is a game changer and this race is a top pick-up opportunity in 2018, said DCCC spokesman Tyler Law in a statement.

A MARCH FOR TRUTH ON TRUMPS RUSSIAN TIES. The #TrumpRussia Twittersphere is taking its activism offline, announcing a Saturday June 3 March for Truth and demanding the appointment of a special prosecutor to examine possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Over the weekend the group launched a fundraising effort for planned protests in D.C., L.A. and New York, which gained attention online.

Lead organizers include Andrea Chalupa, Jordan Uhl and Justin Hendrix  friends who have met through Twitter, in Chalupas description  all of whom have been obsessed with the story. But it was only after the Daily Beast reported that the Senate Intelligence Committee was desperately understaffed and ill-prepared to undertake a real investigation into the question of Russian election-meddling that they decided to issue a call for a march.

Already theyve had feelers from organizers in Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, Raleigh, Portland, Grand Rapids, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Helena and Charleston.

Were pleased to see some from red states joining in, said Hendrix. Its been impressive to us how much infrastructure seems to be in place for this kind of activity.

BOOM TIME FOR PUBLIC COMPLAINTS ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL ETHICS. Reports Evan Osnos in the New Yorker, in a piece examining the net of federal and local laws and regulations into which Trump has galloped: Between October and March, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics received more than thirty-nine thousand public inquiries and complaints, an increase of five thousand per cent over the same period at the start of the Obama Administration. Nobody occupies the White House without criticism, but Trump is besieged by doubts of a different order, centering on the overt, specific, and, at times, bipartisan discussion of whether he will be engulfed by any one of myriad problems before he has completed even one term in officeand, if he is, how he might be removed.
Democrats have saved arts funding under threat from Donald Trump, including money for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).

Both houses of congress are expected to vote on the spending bill to keep the government funded for the current fiscal year this week before it goes to Mr Trump for his signature.

Representative Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, which is made up of Republicans who dissented on Mr Trumps replacement to Obamacare, said he and other conservatives were disappointed.

Read more

Congress passes last-minute measure to avert government shutdown

We'll see how it plays out this week but I think you're going to see conservatives have some real concerns with this legislation, Mr Jordan told CNN.

This spending bill is really more of a temporary reprieve. It is different from the skinny budget for federal spending Mr Trump introduced earlier this year, which is meant to cover spending for the next financial year, beginning in October 2017.

Arts, climate change, and passenger rail service funding could be reversed once he introduces his full budget proposal for the next financial year. He is expected to introduce that later this month.

Arts-related agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) have been spared cuts until September 2017 as well.

The three organisations provide money for everything from public television programming to community theatres and scholarly research.

CPB's budget will remain the same, at $445m (345m). The NEA and NEH will each see a small budget increase to $150m (116m).

This windfall is not expected to happen again once Mr Trump introduces his full federal budget proposal the week of 22 May.

Mr Trump has made clear he wants to eliminate or drastically cut federal funding to all of these arts-related agencies.

Michael Montgomery, a Detroit-based consultant to cultural and nonprofit organisations, told The Independent that the skinny budget cuts are possibly a warning shot...to NEA, NEH, CBP and their grantees that they should be more sensitive to the political and cultural sensitivities of the broader Trump constituency or be prepared to suffer the budgetary consequences.

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The spending bill also does not include Mr Trumps pledge to cut $100 million in his full budget to climate change programmes. The proposed cut would affect several government agencies like NASA and the US Coast Guard, both which may face up to 14 per cent cuts in the next financial year.

It does, however, make a small one per cent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, a far cry from the proposed 28 per cent for the next financial year.

The spending bill also includes an increase in funding of $105m (81m) to Amtrak, the federally-funded passenger rail system.

However, Mr Trump has proposed a $2.4bn (1.9bn) which would cut passenger rail services to more than 200 communities in the rural US.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received $34bn (26.4bn) for cancer research in part due to former Vice President Joe Biden, a fierce advocate since his son died of brain cancer.

Mr Trump plans to cut NIH funding into rare diseases in the budget for the next financial year.

Congress is also set to approve approximately $600m (465.5m) for the border wall with Mexico, one of Mr Trumps loudest campaign promises.

He had originally asked for $1bn (776m) for new construction for this financial year, but Congress spending bill will only cover replacement fencing, access roads, communications, and surveillance.

Mr Trump estimated that the nearly 2,000-mile border wall could cost less than $10bn (7.8bn), but most estimates put it around double that amount to take into account new construction.

Democrats also held off a cut to funding Planned Parenthood, the nationwide network of womens health clinics.

Republicans want all federal funding cut to the organisation because it provides abortion services to women. However, only three per cent of the health services it provides are related to abortion.

The cut to funding will likely be included in Mr Trumps full budget.

Mr Trump is expected to sign the spending bill and release his full budget the week of 22 May.
SHOSHONE  Police are searching for a man who tried to abduct a 9-year-old girl Saturday in a wooded recreation area popular with children.

The man grabbed the girl about 12:45 p.m. Saturday in the area knows as the gravel pits at the end of East Sixth Street and pulled her into the woods before she was able to escape and cry out for her sister and two friends who were riding bicycles nearby, Shoshone Police Chief Cliff Katona said.

She did a good job, Katona said. Shes got a strong personality. And her yelling drew the attention of the other ones.

The girl initially described the suspect as a tan or dark-skinned man in his early 20s wearing a sleeveless white shirt with blue writing on it, torn blue jeans and sandals. Later, she added she believes he was Hispanic with short black hair and long sideburns with a braided key chain hanging from his belt.

Witnesses also described seeing four Hispanic men in the area around the same time in a blue, older model Honda Civic with Lincoln County license plates.

Police are trying to track down the Civic and have also interviewed a registered sex offender that the girl and her parents believed somewhat fit the description of the suspect.

We checked that out and interviewed him, and we believe he was at his place of employment at the time, Katona said. But we havent ruled that out and are not finished pursuing that lead.

The gravel pits is a wooded area at the end of a residential street with a stream that snakes through bike trails and small hills. The area is popular in the spring and summer for biking, and in the winter for sledding.

The 9-year-old who was grabbed is the only one of the four girls who saw the suspect, Katona said.

All four girls are scheduled for CARES interviews this week, which the police chief said will help them cope with the situation and possibly provide new clues to police. The victim will also provide a description of her attacker for a composite sketch.

Parents should talk to their children about being aware of their surroundings, being vigilant and always going places in groups, Katona said.

Always being with a group is a big deterrent and probably helped in this case, Katona said.

Police also plan to send extra patrols to area and increase their visible presence on the weekends when children are out of school, he said. This is at the top of our priority list.
Researchers from Italy and Portugal announced Tuesday the discovery of a new dinosaur species that lived 150 million years ago in what is Wyoming today. Named Galeamopus pabsti, the Jurassic era dinosaurs fossil was excavated in 1995 by a Swiss team.

Paleontologists from the University of Turin in Italy, and Universidade Nova de Lisboa along with Museu da Lourinha in Portugal, described the new sauropod species in a paper titled Osteology of Galeamopus pabsti sp. nov. (Sauropoda: Diplodocidae), with implications for neurocentral closure timing, and the cervico-dorsal transition in diplodocids, that appeared Tuesday in the journal PeerJ.

GaleamopusPabstiSkull

Photo: Octavio Mateus

G. pabsti was similar to the more famous dinosaur genus Diplodocus, whose members grew over 80 feet in size. In comparison, G. pabsti had more massive legs, and a particularly high and triangular neck close to the head, according to a statement Tuesday by the authors of the paper.

The species was named in honor of Ben Pabst, who along with Hans-Jakob "Kirby" Siber, led the Swiss team of excavators who first found the fossil. Sauropods had greatly elongated necks and tails, and large bodies. They were found in South America, Europe and Africa, but most diversity is known from North America, specifically the U.S.

GaleamopusPabstiReconstruction

Photo: Davide Bonadonna

In another study, also announced Tuesday, researchers from the Imperial College London along with colleagues in France and elsewhere in Europe said they identified an overlooked fossil in a museum to be the earliest known member of a giant dinosaur family called titanosauriforms, which were a subgroup of sauropods.

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Discovered in France in the 1930s, the fossil had been largely ignored up till now. Researchers have named the species Vouivria damparisensis, and suggested in a statement it lived about 160 million years ago. Species that made up the titanosauriform family were among the largest land creatures to have lived, and the most famous member of the family was the brachiosaurus.

The individual specimen of V. damparisensis whose fossil the researchers examined was over 15 meters long and weighed about 15,000 kilograms. With a long neck held diagonally upward, a long tail and four legs of equal length, it was likely a herbivore.

VouivriaDamparisensis

Photo: Imperial College London/ Chase Stone

Philip Mannion, lead author of the study from Imperial College London, said in a statement Tuesday: Vouivria would have been a herbivore, eating all kinds of vegetation, such as ferns and conifers. This creature lived in the Late Jurassic, around 160 million years ago, at a time when Europe was a series of islands. We dont know what this creature died from, but millions of years later it is providing important evidence to help us understand in more detail the evolution of brachiosaurid sauropods and a much bigger group of dinosaurs that they belonged to, called titanosauriforms.

The name of the species pays homage to Damparis, the village where the fossil was found. The first word of its name derives from an old French word whose Latin root means viper. In the region of Damparis, la vouivre is a mythical winged reptile.

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Donald Trumps administration is set to relax rules on the nutritional standards of school meals, dismantling legislation Michelle Obama fought hard to introduce during her time as First Lady.

The National School Lunch Programme, which provided nutritionally balanced meals to children for free or for a reduced price, was set up under the Obama administration to help tackle childhood obesity.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was expected to announce a new rule allowing more regulatory flexibility in the school lunch programme on Monday at Catoctin Elementary School in Virginia.

He was scheduled to eat lunch with students there, along with Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Read more

The difference between Obama and Trump's first 100 days in 14 pics

It is unclear what the new rule will entail or what effect it will have on school meals, but conservative Republicans have long sought to reverse the programme. Many have complained about the cost of the initiative, which allowed schools with students living in poverty to provide free breakfasts and lunches without requiring proof of an individual child's family income.

The law required the government to use recommendations from the Institute of Medicine to make meals in schools more nutritious, including more fruit and vegetables and less salt and meat. It also prevented schools from selling snacks high in salt, sugar and fat in cafeterias and vending machines.

Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association, responded to the announcement by saying the regulations had begun to work and that 99 per cent of schools were complying with them.

Improving children's health should be a top priority for the USDA (US Department of Agriculture), and serving more nutritious foods in schools is a clear-cut way to accomplish this goal, NBC reported Ms Brown as saying.

Rather than altering the current path forward, we hope the agency focuses more on providing technical assistance that can help schools get across the finish line, if they haven't done so already.
President tells Bloomberg News he would absolutely meet North Korea leader

Sean Spicer: Clearly the conditions are not there right now

Donald Trump: Im telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Donald Trump has said he would be honored to meet the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, under the right circumstances.



Trump did not make clear what preconditions would have to be met for such a meeting to occur, but his administration has demanded a freeze on nuclear and long-range missile tests as well as a readiness to negotiate North Koreas complete nuclear disarmament.

Trump and his senior officials have also stressed that they will consider military options for constraining Kims regime if it perseveres with testing nuclear warheads or continues the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the continental US.

The administration has sent an aircraft carrier and a guided missile submarine to the region, as a sign of its resolve, though most military analysts say pre-emptive strikes could trigger a catastrophic war.

Trump made his suggestion of talks earlier on Monday in an interview with Bloomberg News. If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, he said. I would be honored to do it. If its under  the right circumstances. But I would do that.



Most political people would never say that, he added. But Im telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news.





At Mondays White House press briefing, spokesman Sean Spicer said a lot of conditions would have to be met before any summit meeting, and that North Koreas provocative behaviour would have to be ratcheted down immediately.

Spicer added that Pyongyang would have to show signs of good faith and added: Clearly the conditions are not there right now.

President Trump has made several complimentary references to Kim, describing him in a CBS interview over the weekend as a smart cookie. Spicer also offered qualified praise, claiming: Hes obviously managed to lead his country forward, while noting: He is a young person to be leading a country with nuclear weapons.

Story continues

In the years since the armistice ending the Korean war in 1953, there has never been a meeting between US and North Korean leaders. In 2000, the then secretary of state Madeleine Albright met Kims father, Kim Jong-il. There has been no high-level contact since then.

Trump first offered to meet Kim Jong-un last June, during the election campaign, in order to highlight his differences with Hillary Clinton.

What the hell is wrong with speaking? And you know what? Its called opening a dialogue. Its opening a dialogue, Trump said. If he came here, Id accept him, but I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off when we give them these big state dinners.

He went on to suggest he would serve Kim  and other visiting leaders  a hamburger on a conference table.

However, his overtures were stonewalled by Pyongyang on Monday, with the North Koreas foreign ministry saying the country would speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program at the maximum pace in response to the new US sanctions.

A statement from the foreign ministry spokesman said the government was ready to respond to any option taken by the United States.

It said that during recent US-South Korean military drills, US aggression hysteria reached its highest point and the situation on the Korean peninsula inched closer to the brink of nuclear war.

Since coming to office in January, Trump has sent conflicting signals about his administrations policy on North Korea, its readiness to use force, the culpability of China in failing to rein Pyongyang in, and its readiness to talk directly to Kims regime.

Last week, the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, raised the possibility of direct talks as long as denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was on the agenda. Last July, the North Korean regime declared itself in favour of that goal.

Asked for details about the exact preconditions for talks, a state department spokesperson said by email: First and foremost these provocative tests must end. Then we will look for other indications [North Korea] is really ready to engage.

The diplomatic wrangling comes as a controversial missile defence system whose deployment has angered China became operational in South Korea on Monday.

Washington and Seoul agreed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery deployment in July in the wake of a string of North Korean missile tests.

It has reached initial intercept capability, an official said.
Photo credit: Andrew Brookes / Getty

From Popular Mechanics

Back in March, it was reported that a Lithuanian man has scammed "two major U.S. technology firms" out of approximately $100 million. New information published by Fortune has revealed additional information about the incident including that the two firms are Google and Facebook.

The man, Evaldas Rimasauskas, allegedly impersonated an Asia-based manufacturer, Quanta Computer, that frequently contracts with both Facebook and Google. Rimasauskas is accused of sending emails pretending to be Quanta to both companies, redirecting multiple large payments.

Rimasauskas also allegedly faked letters, contracts, and invoices as if they were from Quanta, even forging the signatures of various executives. Money was funneled into multiple bank accounts around the world, including in Latvia, Slovakia, and Hong Kong.

Rimasauskas used these fake documents to allegedly scam Google and Facebook out of tens of millions of dollars for parts and supplies over a two-year period, from 2013 to 2015. The total amount the two companies lost is estimated at around $100 million.

Facebook and Google claim to have received most or all of their money back, with a Google spokesperson saying "We recouped the funds and we're pleased this matter is resolved," and a Facebook spokesperson saying "Facebook recovered the bulk of the funds shortly after the incident."

This underscores the increasing dangers of scammers and hackers, where even large international corporations are falling victim to sophisticated scams. Corporations and governments will have to develop equally sophisticated defenses if they want to avoid leaking money or secrets.

Source: Fortune via BBC

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A former FBI interpreter reportedly ran away to marry an Isis terror leader before realising her mistake and coming back to the US to turn herself in.

Daniela Greene travelled to Syria where she was wed to German national Denis Cuspert, who rapped under the moniker Deso Dog in his homeland, before changing his name to Abu Talha al-Almani in Syria.

Videos featuring the one time musician  whose primary role is to attract Germans to the terror group  show him on bloody battle fields and threatening former President Barack Obama.

Just a month after her departure, Greene realised her mistake and headed back into the US, according to CNN.

Read more

350 civilians have died in US-led strikes against Isis, say Pentagon

Greene used online tools like Skype to get close to Cuspert before she lied to her FBI employers to travel to Syria, according to Federal Court documents seen by the broadcaster, which also said that she tipped him off to the fact that he was under investigation.

On her return to the US she admitted what she had done and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it, John Kirby, a former State Department official told CNN.

Most westerners trying to go to an Isis region in Syria risk getting their heads cut off," he added. "So for her to be able to get in as an American, as a woman, as an FBI employee and to be able to take up residence with a known ISIS leader, that all had to be coordinated.

Greenes story was kept secret when she first returned from Syria. Looking to avoid contaminating the investigation through allowing the case to go public with major media organisations, a federal court sealed most of the documents pertaining to her case.

Once prosecutors determined that Greenes cooperation with them had finished they asked that the judge unseal some of the documents.

People familiar with Greene said that they hadnt seen anything that would lead them to think she would defect from the FBI. She had undergone an extensive vetting period for her job with the agency, after completing a Masters degree in history.

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At the time of her departure, she had an American husband who she told that she was going to visit her parents in Munich, Germany. Instead went to Istanbul where she contacted Cuspert.

But after joinng him in Syria, she quickly determined she had made a mistake.

Greene reportedly quickly began sending messages to someone she knew back home discussing the option to return to the US and cooperate with any investigation into her actions. She returned in August 2014 and was promptly arrested.

Greene was ultimately given two years in prison but she has since been released.

She now fears that if her location and identity were known her life would be in danger but she is known to currently work as a hostess in a hotel lounge.

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For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.
The man who sprayed a California pool party with bullets over the weekend called his ex-girlfriend to make her listen to the gunfire, cops have revealed.

Read: Video Shows Cops Confronting Pool Party Gunman 'With a Beer in One Hand and a Gun in the Other'

The woman, who was not identified, had just broken up with him, police said.

Video from the scene shows the gunman, 49-year-old Peter Selis, relaxing in a lounge chair as he appears to reload, pointing his gun and firing.

One witness said Selis "was sitting there with a beer in one hand and a gun in the other."

Seven people were shot  one fatally  during the rampage at an upscale apartment complex where apartments rent for $4,000 a month in University City, near La Jolla.

Drew Phillips, a guest at the pool party, is a former co-worker of the gunman.

"Nothing was going on and he just opened fire on innocent civilians," he told Inside Edition. "We heard nothing. No monologue, no nothing."

Phillips said he didn't appear to be intoxicated and he believed his friends offered him the beer he was holding when he was opening fire.

The gunman was heard telling people: "You can leave or stay here and die."

Read: Cashier Unfazed as Man Points Gun at His Head During Robbery: 'He Wasn't That Intimidating'

The break-up with his girlfriend was said to have triggered the rampage. All of his victims were black or Hispanic, but authorities said race was not believed to be a factor.

The gunman was killed in a hail of gunfire after police responded to the scene.

Selis is a former auto mechanic at a San Diego Ford dealership. Bankruptcy papers filed in 2015 revealed he had amassed $400,000 in debt.

Watch: Tearful Girl Who Pleaded With Politicians After Charlotte Shooting Gets to Be Policewoman

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Doha (AFP) - Hamas was to unveil a new policy document on Monday that eases its stance on Israel after earlier calling for the country's destruction, party officials said.

The announcement was due to be made in the Qatari capital Doha, where exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is based, at a press conference scheduled for 1745 GMT.

Leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement have long spoken of the more limited aim of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without explicitly setting it out in its charter.

But after years of internal debate, the party leadership is to publish a supplementary charter that will formally accept the idea of a state in the territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967, a senior Hamas official has said.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

The original 1988 charter will, however, not be dropped, just supplemented, and there will be no recognition of Israel, as demanded by the international community, officials have said.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and the new document is aimed in part at easing its international isolation.

The announcement of the new charter was originally scheduled for 1545 GMT but was delayed by two hours because the hotel where the event was to take place backed out of hosting it at the last minute, Hamas said in a statement.

It was also to be broadcast live in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave run by Hamas.

One Hamas leader, Ahmed Yusef, has told AFP the updated charter was "more moderate, more measured and would help protect us against accusations of racism, anti-Semitism and breaches of international law".

It will "differentiate between Jews as a religious community on the one hand, and the occupation and Zionist entity on the other", he said.

It will also distance itself from the Muslim Brotherhood, to which it was closely linked when formed.

Story continues

Israel was not convinced, however, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying "Hamas is attempting to fool the world but it will not succeed".

"They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians," David Keyes said in a statement, referring to rockets fired from Gaza and tunnels used to carry out attacks.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008.

The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for 10 years.

UN officials have called for this to be lifted, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Israel says it is needed to stop Hamas from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used to make them.

Hamas remains deeply divided from Fatah, the party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas based in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas's announcement comes ahead of Abbas's first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday.
Twin Falls County

Friday arraignments

Ashley May Webb, 24, Twin Falls; two counts battery against a health care worker, $20,000 bond, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 5.

Scott Alan Wade, 45, Kimberly; petit theft, own recognizance release, public defender appointed, pretrial June 13.

Isaac James Holt, 22, Twin Falls; battery in the presence of a child, public defender denied, pretrial June 20.

Monday arraignments

Henry Guiets Lozada, 32, Gooding; two counts forgery, grand theft, $50,000 bond, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 12.

Edgar Vyacheslavich Bagramyan, 26, Twin Falls; forgery, possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, $50,000 bond, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 12.

Esai Elfido Loya, 22, Twin Falls; trafficking in heroin, major contraband in a correctional facility, $75,000 bond, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 12.

Lindsay Cole Petersen, 35, Kimberly; driving without privileges, eluding, $2,500 bond, public defender appointed, pretrial June 20.

Adam Keith Christensen, 40, Jerome; two counts assault or battery on certain personnel, possession of a controlled substance, destruction or alteration of evidence, $25,000 bond, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 12.

Maritzabell Murrlio, 31, Twin Falls; false information, $500 bond, public defender appointed, pretrial June 20.

Azucena Solis, 37, Twin Falls; possession of a controlled substance, own recognizance release, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 12.

Zackary Donovan Dick, 23, Boise; driving without privileges (two or more offenses in five years), own recognizance release, public defender appointed, pretrial July 18.

Amanda Patricia Kimbrough, 37, Hagerman; possession of paraphernalia, $1,000 bond, public defender appointed, pretrial June 20.

Larry Dean Kimbrough Jr., 26, Twin Falls; possession of a controlled substance, $25,000 bond, public defender appointed, preliminary hearing May 12.
The following material contains graphic images that may be disturbing. Parents are advised that these images may not be suitable for young children.

Shelly survived a mass shooting that killed five at her workplace in the Cascade Mall  but she was left with crippling PTSD. The Doctors sent her to PTSD Specialist Dr. Eugene Lipov for a pioneering therapy. Now Shelly is back with an update on her condition.

Dr. Lipov performs a systemic amygdala blockade  an injection in the right side of Shellys neck at the C6 vertebra to block signals of stress and trauma in her brain. Its a brief procedure thats usually effective, but Shelly says she feels no lessening in her symptoms afterward.

Watch: Mass Shooting Survivor Lives with PTSD

Shelly undergoes the procedure again, this time with an injection at the C3 vertebra. While lying in the recovery room she says, I feel so much more calm. I definitely think it worked.I feel different now when I think about the incident. She adds, Its not like youre a different person. Youre back to normal.

Shelly says that she cried all the way to Chicago for treatment, but on the way home she felt completely unstressed. Dr. Lipov says, That double injection or sequential block -- weve been doing that more and more. Because what it seems to do is, when you do a C6 injection on the right side, it seems to reboot only part of the amygdala, the brain part responsible for PTSD. When we do one at C3, it seems to kick in the second part of it.

Watch: Surprises for Mass Shooting Survivor

Now that shes feeling better, one of Shellys priorities is to take her three children on vacation  theyve never been on a trip together. ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork announces that shes getting some help with that vacation, courtesy of hotel search website Trivago! Theyre providing $5,000 for a dream vacation for Shelly and her family!
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Tuesday admonished President Trumps praise of various authoritarian leaders around the globe, calling his apparent affinity for such figures very disturbing.

Appearing on MSNBCs Morning Joe, McCain was asked to address the presidents recent remark that he would be honored to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

I dont understand it, and I dont think that the president appreciates the fact that when he says things like that, it helps the credibility and the prestige of this really outrageous strongman, McCain said. You know, the largest gulag left on earth is in North Korea, and we all know about their human rights abuses.

I think its very disturbing, he later added.

Trump sparked some backlash the day before when he told Bloomberg News that he would meet with Kim if it were appropriate and under the right circumstances. That comment followed the revelation that Trump had extended an invitation to the White House to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while addressing the media following the conclusion of the 30th ASEAN Leaders Summit in Manila, Philippines, Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo: Bullit Marquez/AP)

Slideshow: Philippines deadly drug war >>>

During the daily press briefing Monday, the New York Times Glenn Thrush needled White House press secretary Sean Spicer on the presidents affection for Kim and Duterte, as well as past gestures to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. (Trump, who showered Putin with praise during the 2016 campaign, is set to talk to the Russian leader over the phone Tuesday afternoon.)

Does the president have a thing with these totalitarian leaders? Thrush asked. Does he admire something about the way these guys conduct themselves?

Spicer responded by zeroing in on Trumps comments to Bloomberg, characterizing them as diplomatically, economically and militarily important to address the threat of North Koreas nuclear capabilities. Other than Kim, the strongmen cited in the question have little to no connection to negotiations over North Koreas nuclear program.

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McCain has been a full-throated critic of Trumps, both during his candidacy and presidency, but has consistently praised the administrations national security team. And he seemed to warm to Trump after the president launched a missile strike against Syria in April. He highlighted that tension on Morning Joe.

There are many things that the president has done that I strongly support as far as national security, McCain said. But the statements and the comments obviously fly in the face of everything Ive stood for and believed in all my life.

Although the veteran senator and former presidential candidate pointedly advised Trump to consider much more carefully his comments, he tempered his criticism with a somewhat wistful prediction.

Presidents grow in office, McCain said. I still believe this president can grow in office.

_____

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Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Vladimir Putin insisted Tuesday that there was no alternative to a stalled Ukraine peace plan as they struggled to mask deep rifts during a first meeting in Russia since 2015.

Merkel pushed Putin at a frosty encounter to ensure a ceasefire in war-torn east Ukraine, but the Russian leader laid the blame on Kiev for a European-brokered peace deal hitting a dead end.

The rare visit also saw the German chancellor confront Putin over rights issues in Russia, including the alleged persecution of gay men in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya.

"I think we have differences but international politics means to always keep looking for dialogue," Merkel said at a press conference in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

The meeting was meant to focus on preparations for the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, and no major breakthroughs were expected on mending the deep divisions caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

The German leader has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and for supporting a pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Merkel said she hoped some of the sanctions could be lifted if a flatlining peace plan brokered by her and French President Francois Hollande in 2015 was fulfilled.

And both leaders admitted there was no choice but to stick to the process despite its running into a brick wall amid recriminations from all sides.

"We cannot think about any alternative and we should not have to think of it," Putin said at a press conference.

"It is impossible to create new plans without achieving elementary results for what we outlined in previous years."

- Gay rights -

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow, and the two leaders have scaled back contacts as the Ukraine crisis has driven ties to a post-Cold War low.

Putin talked up economic ties between the two countries, insisting that "our cooperation makes a significant contribution to stabilising the world economy."

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But it was clear that despite pledges to talk there remain deep gulfs between the German leader -- seen as a major bulwark of the Western liberal order -- and the Kremlin strongman, who many accuse of trying to undermine it.

At the press conference Merkel said she raised recent high-profile accusations of rights abuses in Russia, including allegations the authorities in Chechnya were rounding up gay men.

"We received very negative reports about how homosexuals are treated in Chechnya," Merkel said. "I asked President Putin to use his influence to guarantee the rights of minorities."

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Putin-loyalist and strongman leader of Chechnya, has fiercely denied claims of a crackdown in the socially conservative region, and after a delay Russian investigators said they are probing the allegations.

Putin was also forced to deny that Russia was planning to meddle in German elections that Merkel is competing in later in the year after claims that Moscow interfered with the US presidential vote.

"We never interfered in the political life or the political processes of any other country," Putin said.

- Trump talk, Erdogan meeting -

The meeting with Merkel comes ahead of a busy diplomatic push for Putin.

After meeting Merkel, he was expected later Tuesday to hold his third phone call with US President Donald Trump.

The two leaders are looking to make headway on ties in the face of deep rifts over the conflict in Syria and after claims of Russian hacking during the US elections.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also due to meet Putin in Sochi on Wednesday.

Putin and Erdogan have inched closer together on Syria as Erdogan's ties with Europe have deteriorated in recent months.

burs-am-del/gtf/js
New York (AFP) - A Metallica cover band distraught after its equipment was stolen has been able to return to stage after a gift from surprise benefactors -- the metal legends themselves.

Blistered Earth, a four-piece band from Spokane, Washington that covers Metallica classics and emulates the group's headbanging look, said a trailer with all its gear was snatched after a show last week in Portland, Oregon.

After two days, the band -- which lost three guitars, two bass guitars and a drum-kit plus an array of amplifiers and pedals -- said everything had been replaced.

"Sometimes when bad things happen it really brings out the best in people," Blistered Earth wrote on Facebook.

James Hetfield "and the rest of the guys in Metallica (thanx guys) have seen fit to replace our equipment. Thank you guys!!"

There was no immediate word from Metallica. The band on May 10 begins in Baltimore an extensive tour of North America and Europe after completing a leg in Latin America.

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TWIN FALLS  A masked gunman walked into Dominos Pizza a few hours after the end of the Super Bowl, one of the chains busiest days, demanded money from an employee and fled with more than $1,800 in cash.

The hysterical, hyperventilating employee called police and reported the robbery, but she was so shaken she couldnt give a statement until the next day.

Thats how the story was initially reported to police, anyway.

Detectives later learned the robbery was staged and concluded the masked gunman was working with the employee and her fiance, the getaway driver.

Last week, the fake robber, Nicholas Anthony Slane, 35, of Twin Falls pleaded guilty to felony counts of burglary and grant theft. He admitted he entered the pizza parlor with the intent to take money and took in excess of $1,000.

Prosecutors say Slane pulled off the staged robbery Feb. 6 with the help of his relative, Dustin Camryn Farnworth, 22, and Farnworths fiancee, Katelyn Nicole Plaster, 20, both of Twin Falls.

Farnworth is accused of driving Slane to Dominos and later splitting the money with him at Slanes house; Plaster, the Dominos employee, is accused of facilitating the staged heist.

All three were originally charged with felony counts of burglary, grand theft and conspiracy to commit burglary, and all three waived their right to a preliminary hearing.

As part of his plea deal, prosecutors dismissed the conspiracy charge against Slane as well as a charge in another case for possession of heroin. But no set sentence was established in the plea agreement, so both prosecutors and Slanes defense attorney will be free to argue for whatever sentence they deem appropriate.

Plaster was due to be arraigned Monday in Twin Falls County District Court but the hearing was delayed until May 15. Farnworth is set to be arraigned May 8.

Slane will be ordered to pay restitution to Dominos for the money he stole, according to the plea agreement. But the deal does not require him to testify against Plaster or Farnworth.

Slane is scheduled to be sentenced for the staged robbery and an unrelated methamphetamine charge June 19.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican security forces on Tuesday arrested accused drug kingpin Damaso Lopez, believed to be locked in a bloody struggle for control of the Sinaloa Cartel against the sons of its captured leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The attorney general's office announced that its agents with the help of the army had captured Lopez, one of the top-ranking figures in the world's most successful drug cartel, which has been destabilized by "El Chapo's" extradition in January to the United States.

Lopez, nicknamed "The Graduate," was captured in an apartment in a middle-class Mexico City neighborhood in the early hours of Tuesday, a few weeks after a video emerged of him eating at a Mexico City restaurant.

He was held at the apartment with a heavy army presence outside the building before being sped in a convoy of white vehicles through the city to a unit of the attorney general's office, live TV footage showed.

Lopez is himself a former security official who Mexican officials say played a role in orchestrating Guzman's first escape from prison in 2001, before joining the cartel.

Guzman, who broke out twice from prison in Mexico, was recaptured for the last time in January 2016. One of the world's most wanted drug lords, he was extradited to the United States to face charges there on Jan. 19, the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president.

Trump has vowed to break the power of transnational drug cartels and said that his planned wall on the U.S.-Mexico border would stem the flow of drugs into the United States. He has issued executive orders that aim to improve coordination between U.S. law enforcement agencies and their foreign partners.

Guzman's latest imprisonment triggered a violent power struggle that has led to daylight gunbattles involving truck-mounted machine guns in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, with Mexican officials attributing the bloodshed to a tussle between Lopez and the former leader's sons.

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(Reporting by Dave Graham and Miguel Gutierrez; Editing by W Simon and Grant McCool)
Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., on Capitol Hill in April. (Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage for the Recording Academy)

President Trump voiced displeasure with congressional gridlock over the weekend and criticized archaic rules in both the Senate and House for holding up his agenda.

But as the House tries to revive its repeal and replacement of Obamacare this week, some in Congress maintain that one way to overcome dysfunction and to help the president pass key legislation is to do something that might seem counterintuitive: Bring back earmarks.

Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., said that if Republicans had restored a limited form of earmarks right after the election, the House might have already passed a health care bill and be on its way to tax reform. In 2010, after Republicans gained control of the House, they banned the practice of allowing members of Congress to set aside money for projects in their districts because the process had been abused.

By last November, however, there were enough votes to bring earmarks back, Rooney told Yahoo News. Yet he didnt push for a vote because House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., asked him to hold off.

I was asked to sort of let this percolate for a while. We would address it in the first quarter, and then Paul asked if we could push it to the second quarter because we had health care and everything going on, Rooney said.

Rooney remains hopeful the issue will be voted on in the next few months, but said he regrets he didnt push harder last year.

There is a part of me that thinks about the fact that if I had insisted on a vote back in [November], it would have passed, we might have gotten s for it for a week, but we wouldnt even be talking about it right now. Members would be requesting what they need in their districts. And health care may have passed, Rooney said.

That last point  the argument that the House would have already passed a health care bill if earmarks existed  springs from the idea that the well-intentioned 2010 earmark ban has actually backfired and produced gridlock in Congress.

Republicans ended earmarks because the practice had been abused by lawmakers like Randy Duke Cunningham, a California Republican who took bribes from defense contractors in exchange for military contracts and ended up in prison for eight years.



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But in eliminating one problem, Congress has created two more, say Rooney and others who want to bring back earmarks in a limited form. First, the money that Congress used to earmark is still being spent, but now its being allocated by unelected bureaucrats in federal agencies. Its made the presidency more powerful by ceding constitutional authority over spending to the executive branch, and its placed decisions about how federal money is spent in the hands of people who are far less interested in and far more removed from the issues of specific congressional districts.

Speaker Ryan himself articulated this concern last November when earmarks first came up for discussion at the Republican retreat. Were going to be spending the first quarter of 2017 figuring out just how we can make sure we can restore the power of the purse to the legislative branch to hold the unelected branch accountable, Ryan said. When we say drain the swamp, that means stop giving all this power to unelected people to micromanage our society, our economy and our lives, and restore the Constitution.

The second problem is that members of Congress have lost a key reason for being, representing their constituents interests in the legislature. And some members have decided that they have to justify their existence through other means, such as opposing whatever leadership proposes. In other words, Congress doesnt work and cant solve problems  can barely even do the basic work of keeping the government up and running  in part because theres very little reward for doing so.

Success for lawmakers used to mean securing federal money for roads, bridges or other projects in their districts. But since the earmark ban, theyve had to look elsewhere for wins. Opposing leadership pleases antiestablishment voters.

All members of Congress are parochial beasts. They respond to the parochial concerns of the district that sent them, said former Wisconsin congressman Reid Ribble, who retired last year after being elected to Congress during the tea party wave of 2010. Ribble joined the Freedom Caucus at its formation in early 2015 but quit the group near the end of that year out of frustration with its tactics.

Rep. Mark Meadows district in North Carolina, for example, is staunchly conservative and far to the right, Ribble said. Its normal that he would respond to those voters in a way that gets them to stand up and cheer.

This grandstanding is a new form of showing your citizens back home youre fighting for them, Ribble said. They get rewarded for what theyre doing and so they keep doing it.

Earmarks would also give congressional leaders a tool to more effectively whip votes, something that has become increasingly difficult over the past several years. A deal to fund the government, or to reform the immigration system, would be more easily passed if members on the fence could bring something home to their constituents.

But critics say earmarks are just a form of corruption. The real toxicity of earmarks is their use as favors  bribes in another context  to legislators who in exchange support other spending or legislation favored by congressional leaders, especially members of the appropriations committees, wrote Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Rooney is on the House Appropriations Committee, so earmarks would increase his power in Congress. He was indignant at the thought of personally benefiting from his efforts to get federal money for work to strengthen the dike around Lake Okeechobee or for beach replenishment on Manasota Key.

Im not getting any kickbacks for that, Rooney said of what would happen if he were able to secure an earmark for those projects. You know, Heritage Action and these people that come out with these reasons why we shouldnt bring these back, its like because people were doing illegal things. If they were doing illegal things they should go to jail, and they did. But when youre talking about, that were so irresponsible here in the House, that were such children, that we cant do our jobs for our district, its like why are we here?

Rooney wants to limit earmarks at first to Army Corps of Engineers projects that deal with various forms of infrastructure.

If there is something nefarious going on there, then it should come out and the guy shouldnt get reelected. Were all accountable every two years, Rooney said. At some point you want to have a work product at the end of the day that you helped accomplish. But there are people  who are fine with being called congressman, getting reelected, and thats it. And I think that that sucks, quite frankly.

And proponents of earmarks say this is simply the way government works  through compromise and deal-making  even if it isnt always pretty.

Political realism, journalist Jonathan Rauch wrote in 2015, sees governing as difficult and political peace and stability as treasures never to be taken for granted, and it therefore values incrementalism and, especially, equilibrium  and, therefore, transactional politics.

Back-scratching and logrolling are signs of a healthy political system, not a corrupt one. Transactional politics is not always appropriate or effective, but a political system which is not reliably capable of it is a system in a state of critical failure, Rauch wrote.

Rooney says he is still hoping for a vote in the House before the August recess. Hes open to a provision requiring that any lawmaker seeking an earmark publicly argue for its merits on the floor of the House chamber.

But earmarks have some influential opponents. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote a piece opposing such a move, and Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., John McCain, R-Ariz., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Lee all wrote to Trump asking him to oppose earmarks.

When I asked the White House about whether Trump would support Rooneys proposal, press secretary Sean Spicer was noncommittal. Its a House issue, he wrote in a terse email.

For now, that remains the case. But if it comes up in the House at any point in the next few months, Trump will have to choose a side.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Members of New Yorks Puerto Rican community play instruments while rallying in solidarity with protesters in Puerto Rico at a May Day event in New York City. (Photo: Caitlin Dickson/Yahoo News)

As soon as Monica Rivera Rosado saw on Facebook that members of New York Citys Puerto Rican community were rallying in solidarity with thousands of protesters in San Juan Monday afternoon, she dropped what she was doing and rushed over to Union Square.

Ive been seeing all the posts of people marching throughout the streets in Puerto Rico and you know, I miss it. I want to be there, said Rosado, who grew up in the island territory but is currently getting her masters degree in environmental education at New York University. I definitely support the student movement, and I wouldve loved to be involved in their fight right now.

Mounting frustration over Puerto Ricos crippling debt crisis and expected austerity measures reached a timely boiling point on Monday, as workers in cities around the country and the globe took to the streets in honor of May Day, or International Workers Day.

By the time Rosado arrived, representatives from a variety of countries and causes had descended upon Union Square in a mass of chants, signs, and flags. Amid the crowd, the familiar rhythm of tambourines and drums quickly led her to the small but enthusiastic Puerto Rican contingent.

Were a very loud culture, definitely people with instruments and making noise, Rosado said. It definitely [feels] like home, like I was with my people fighting for what we believe in and supporting our strike back home.

Signs show a sampling of the many causes represented in Union Square in honor of International Workers Day on May 1. (Photo: Caitlin Dickson/Yahoo News)

Since May 1, 1886, when tens of thousands of workers from across Chicago walked off the job to participate in protests that ended in violent clashes with police, so-called May Day celebrations (in the United States, at least) have attracted a blend of organizations and interests, including socialists, anarchists, union organizers, workers rights advocates, and immigration reformers.

Mondays events in New York were no different, as a diverse lineup of organizers took turns speaking out in a variety of languages against everything from unfair treatment of immigrant workers to the NYPDs controversial broken windows policing strategy to the concept of law enforcement and government in general.

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What was different, however, was that beneath the vast web of interests and, sometimes seemingly conflicting messages was the unanimous opposition to a new, common enemy: President Donald Trump.

Its always been a collective event, said Leilani Dowell, an organizer with the New York City-based Workers World party, a socialist organization dating back to 1959.

Organizers with the World Workers Party, a socialist organization founded in 1959, sit in New York Citys Union Square during a workers strike on May 1. (Photo: Caitlin Dickson/Yahoo News)

Weve come out here every year for May Day since 2006, when the huge immigrant uprising happened, she said, referring to massive Latino-led protests against proposed changes to federal immigration policy. But we think its all the more important this year given Trumps attacks on migrants and actually, all workers in general.

Despite increased interest in this years strike, as well as the addition of new advocacy groups that have emerged in the wake of Trumps election, Dowell said that the turnout at Union Square Monday afternoon was comparable to years passed. However, she suggested that the same policies driving new interest in the annual protests  specifically, the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration  have likely also discouraged many others from participating.

I think theres a lot of fear, she said.

George Zacatelco, a pastry chef and U.S.-born son of Mexican immigrants, affirmed Dowells theory.

Zacatelco said he took the day off to rally in solidarity with the Cosecha movement, a young immigrant rights organization created in response to Trump, but he had a hard time convincing other employees at the Harlem bakery where he works to do the same.

Some of them are not here because theyre undocumented and theyre afraid to come out, especially with this whole new immigration policy, he said.

Of course, thats not the only reason why most of his coworkers declined to join in Mondays strike.

Its pretty hard being a working-class person, you have bills to pay so not a lot of people can be here, he said. In other countries, May 1st is  you get the day off. But not here.

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A U.S. soldier killed in Iraq over the weekend has been identified by the Pentagon as 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. Lee died after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated during a patrol near Mosul, according to the division.

Lee, a native of Bluffton, Georgia, was conducting security as part of advise-and-assist support to partnered forces when the IED went off, the Department of Defense said in a statement Sunday. An investigation into the incident has been launched, according to the department. This was reportedly the 25-year-old's first deployment.

Lee became a platoon leader after joining the Army in 2015. Last December, he was deployed to Iraq as a part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the anti-Islamic State group fight that comprises of coalition nations working with partners in Iraq and Syria.

Weston C. Lee

Photo: 82nd Airborne Division/US Army/Handout via REUTERS

"1LT Wes Lee was an extraordinary young man and officer. He was exactly the type of leader that our Paratroopers deserve," Col. Pat Work, Falcon 6, commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said in a statement on the divisions Facebook page. "Our sincere condolences and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time."

He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal posthumously. His other awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Ranger Tab, the Parachutist Badge, and the Army Service Ribbon, according to the division.

Lees brother Chester posted a brief statement Sunday on Facebook.

"God has gained himself one hell of a soldier," Chester wrote in a Facebook post. "My brother, my friend, Weston Lee died in Iraq yesterday. And I am completely and utterly devastated. Right now I and my family could use your prayers and love. I will miss you Weston but I know right now your telling God whats the next mission."

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Lees high school Southwest Georgia Academy (SGA) also took to Facebook to pay tribute to him.

The SGA family mourns the loss of one of our own this morning. SGA Alum Weston Lee. Your dedication and sacrifice for our Country will never be forgotten. Prayers and thoughts for his loved ones and all those that knew and loved Weston. Once a Warrior, Always a Warrior, the statement read.

Lee was one of over 1,800 soldiers from 2nd Brigade deployed in Iraq to support the warn-torn countrys efforts to battle the Islamic State group (also called ISIS). His death is the second American military fatality since the beginning of the operation to retake Mosul from ISIS over six months ago. In October, 34-year-old Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason C. Finan died in an IED explosion near Mosul.

Lee's death was the third U.S. casualty this week in the global fight against ISIS. On April 27, two Army Rangers were killed during an operation against an ISIS affiliate in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte failed to condemn China's push to control most of the disputed South China Sea on Sunday after hosting a regional summit, handing Beijing a political victory.

A day after taking centre stage as host of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders' meeting, Duterte released a bland chairman's statement that ignored last year's international ruling outlawing China's sweeping claims to the key waterway.

"We took note of concerns expressed by some leaders over recent developments in the area," said the 25-page statement without any mention of what these issues were, which countries were thought to be responsible, and which heads of state raised them.

China has been turning reefs and shoals in areas of the sea claimed by the Philippines and other nations into artificial islands, and installing military facilities on them.

ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the sea, but China insists it has sovereign rights over nearly all of it.

Throughout the summit Duterte said the Philippines and other nations were helpless to stop the island building, so there was no point discussing it at diplomatic events such as Saturday's meeting.

China is not a member of the 10-nation ASEAN, but its ambassador to Manila worked hard to influence the tenor and content of the chairman's statement, diplomats earlier told AFP.

Analysts agreed the bland statement was a result of Chinese pressure.

"This reflects the Cambodianisation of Philippine foreign policy. We're starting to behave like Cambodia, which is extremely sensitive to China's strategic interests," said Renato de Castro, international studies professor at Manila's De La Salle University.

At an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting last year in Laos, Cambodia -- which has strong economic ties to Beijing -- controversially blocked a proposed joint communique referring to the international tribunal's ruling against China.

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Duterte has vowed not to "taunt or flaunt" the tribunal ruling while pushing closer ties with China in the hopes of attracting billions of dollars in Chinese investment.

His predecessor Benigno Aquino had pushed hard at ASEAN summits for the bloc to voice its strong opposition to Chinese expansionism, and official statements at those events often reflected that.

Aquino also filed the case at the international tribunal. But the ruling against China came after Duterte took power last year.

"On the ground, there is no hindrance to China achieving absolute dominance in the South China Sea, whether in military or civilian terms, regardless of parameters set by international law," said Jay Batongbacal, from the University of the Philippines.

The statement "makes it more difficult for ASEAN to agree soonest on a consistent and unified basis for dealing with China and the maritime disputes," he said.

An earlier draft of the chairman's statement seen by AFP cited a reference to "respect for legal and diplomatic processes".

Another version also contained a call, championed by Vietnam according to diplomats, to cease "land reclamation and militarisation" of the sea.

Both references were absent in Sunday's final statement.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says that he may have to turn down an invitation from US President Donald Trump to visit the White House.

Mr Duterte, who has pivoted his country away from its strong alliance with the United States in favour of an increased focus on ties with China and Russia, said that his busy schedule would keep him from making a stop in Washington even though a firm date had not been set for a trip to the US.

I am tied up. I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia, I am supposed to go to Israel, Mr Duterte told reporters when they asked if he planned on accepting the White House invite.

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Trump invites controversial Philippines president to White House

Mr Trump extended the invitation to Mr Duterte during a telephone call on Saturday. The White House released a statement about the call later in the evening, describing it as a very friendly conversation. That call was criticised by human rights groups who have criticised Mr Duterte for a violent anti-drug campaign in his country that has resulted in over 7,000 killings at the hands of Philippine National Police officers and unidentified vigilantes.

By essentially endorsing Dutertes... war on drugs, Trump is now morally complicit in future killings, John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, told the New York Times about the call. Although the traits of his personality likely make it impossible, Trump should be ashamed of himself.

The White House defended the invitation amid criticism from human rights groups and others, saying that the phone call was one of several calls made after the administration began getting signals from leaders in Southeast Asia that they felt neglected by the president's focus on Japan and China because of increased tensions with North Korea. The White House said that Mr Trump also extended invitations to the leaders of Thailand and Singapore during phone calls on Sunday.

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, when asked about the Duterte invitation, said that a meeting with the Philippines leader would help the US isolate North Korea and that doing so would help to ensure the safety of American lives.

"Obviously there's a human rights component. It's a question of balance," Mr Spicer said. "Top priority is protecting the American people."

Though he said he may decline his invitation to come to Washington, Mr Duterte indicated that the relationship he has with the US has warmed since Mr Trump took office. Mr Duterte opened up a major rift between former President Barack Obama last year, telling the president then that he could go to hell and calling him a son of a wh***.
PARIS (Reuters) - One French police officer was seriously burnt and two others injured in clashes at a May Day demonstration in Paris on Monday in which protesters threw Molotov cocktails and other missiles, the police said. Television pictures showed policemen trying to shake flames from their riot gear, and of tear gas enveloping the streets around Paris' Bastille monument. This year's May Day came less than a week ahead of the final round of a presidential election where voters must choose between the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron. Some trade unionists and left-wing activists sought to make the day one of national solidarity against the National Front, mirroring protests in 2002 when Le Pen's father, party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, was a candidate. Marine Le Pen tweeted her support for the injured policemen and said the incident was the type of unacceptable behavior that she no longer wanted to see on French streets. (Reporting by Sophie Louet and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
The Justice Department will reveal soon that they will not bring charges against the white police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black man - Alton Sterling - in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to reports.

Police said they were were responding to a call that someone who fit the description of Mr Sterling was illegally selling CDs and threatening people with a gun outside of a convenience store in July 2016.

Bystanders' video from the scene appeared to show two white officers on top of Mr Sterling arresting him. One of the officers appears to yell, Hes got a gun!, and then shots ring out. A search warrant affidavit said that officers had observed the butt of a gun in Mr Sterlings front pants pocket. At issue in the investigation was whether Mr Sterling was reaching for the weapon, as officers claimed, when he was shot and killed.

Read more

Alton Sterlings 15 year-old son calls for 'no more violence'

His death led to mass protests in the city, and officials were preparing for potential further demonstrations once a decision was announced.

The Justice Department (DoJ) will apparently announce their decision sometime this week, according to the Washington Post.

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Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the Sterling familys attorneys told the Post that the family "have not received word, nor has the family been given any notice of upcoming updates regarding this case."

Earlier in the day, the Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards said he had not been informed when the judgement will come.

I don't have any information as to what the decision is going to be or when it's going to be announced," he told USA Today. "But I work under the assumption it's coming sooner than later.

Video not available for syndication

Related: Second video shows police shooting Alton Sterling

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If no charges are brought against the officers, the case will be the first time under Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the department has publicly declined to prosecute officers investigated for possible wrongdoing in a high-profile case.

Democrat representative Cedric Richmond, whose district includes part of Baton Rouge tweeted that the fact the Washington Post appeared to confirm no charges being sought, but state officials and the family had not yet been notified was an "indictment" on the Justice Department.

Fact that @washingtonpost confirms but the family & state officials haven't been notified is an indictment on DOJ. https://t.co/QvRF6cVUW7  Rep Cedric Richmond (@RepRichmond) May 2, 2017

Mr Richmond said the report "completely undermines the credibility and transparency" of the DoJ.

At the time of the shooting, then-President Barack Obama declared his confidence in the DoJ probe, saying that we have seen tragedies like this too many times.
TWIN FALLS  Twin Falls elementary schools want to offer all-day kindergarten to more students, but finding money to pay for it isnt easy.

The Twin Falls School District only gets enough state money for half-day classes, but some children need extra help. And Idaho is among only six U.S. states where students arent even required to attend kindergarten.

But research shows many benefits to all-day kindergarten, including increased academic achievement and positive effects on emotional and social development.

In past years, weve had full-day kindergarten at some of the schools, Superintendent Wiley Dobbs said. Weve been able to cobble together some money.

Now, of Twin Falls nine elementary schools, theres only full-day kindergarten for some students at Lincoln Elementary School.

Educators are seeing big academic gains at Lincoln.

The results are stunning at how well the kids are doing, when measured by the IRI, the Idaho Reading Indicator, Dobbs said.

Trying to launch all-day kindergarten offerings is an ongoing discussion, elementary programs director Teresa Jones said.

Its possible some schools may launch all-day kindergarten next school year, Dobbs said. But they wouldnt necessarily be available to all students. The decision will be left up to individual schools, depending on their students needs.

Right now, we have a lot of principals trying to think outside the box to see how they can financially support all-day kindergarten, federal programs director Bill Brulotte said.

Options include grant money, asking parents to pay or using state literacy money.

Parents: If youre interested, contact your childs school or keep an eye on school newsletters. Rock Creek Elementary School has already surveyed parents this spring.

Lincoln Elementary has had all-day kindergarten for 12 years. It was initially paid for using a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant and with Title I funds for the last seven years.

There are two full-day sessions, accommodating a daily average of 46 students. Its only for children who are struggling academically. Once students reach grade level proficiency, theyre transitioned out.

Among all Lincoln kindergartners this fall  not just in full-day kindergarten  42 percent tested at benchmark on the IRI. But by this winter, that climbed to 90 percent.

Murtaugh School District has also seen benefits of all-day kindergarten. It has offered it for 23 years, way before it was the thing to do, Superintendent Michele Capps said.

Its paid for using the districts regular budget. With only one kindergarten class, it means paying for a full-time kindergarten teacher instead of part-time.

Even during tough budget years, weve never given it up, Capps said.

Murtaugh also offers preschool for 4-year-olds using grant money.

When the district started all-day kindergarten, the purpose was to help English language learners. At the time, we were having a lot of Spanish-speaking kids come in, Capps said.

Plus, many parents were working outside Murtaugh, making the half-day kindergarten schedule problematic.

What are the results of all-day kindergarten? Students are just more prepared, Capps said. By the end of October each school year, most children are reading.

With a half-day class, she said, its a rush to meet students basic needs.

But offering all-day kindergarten in Murtaugh is a different scenario than bigger districts. There are fewer than 400 students in Murtaugh from preschool through 12th grade  compared to about 9,300 in Twin Falls.

In past years, a handful of Twin Falls schools have offered all-day kindergarten. Weve seen such good results when weve been able to fund that, Dobbs said.

I.B. Perrine Elementary School had a program paid for by a federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant.

And full-day kindergarten continued for a couple of years after funding dried up, thanks to parents paying for it. But now, it doesnt have that offering.

Twin Falls school officials say theyd rather see state money appropriated for all-day kindergarten before preschool.

Without all-day kindergarten classes, its so hard to get students to proficiency, Jones said.

And without state money, Twin Falls schools are looking at other funding options.

One possibility is using state literacy money. State legislators appropriated $9.1 million to help elementary schoolers who score below grade level on the Idaho Reading Indicator.

Its the first year of the funding. The Twin Falls district received about $370,000 and money was used for literacy training for teachers and a digital intervention program for students.

If we were to fund some teachers for extended day kindergarten, that would be a different use of that money than this year, Jones said.

Educators say struggling kindergartners could use the extra help. But schools are forced to think outside the box to come up with the cash.

*This story was edited May 2 to correct information about Lincoln Elementary Schools all-day kindergarten program.
Chief says killing of Jordan Edwards also violated departments core values and changes official account, saying teens were driving away at time of shooting

Jordan was just the latest victim of a practice the Department of Justice has routinely described as dangerous and unnecessary. Photograph: Lumigraphics/Getty Images

When a Dallas-area police officer fired shots into a moving car on Saturday night, killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, the officer did so in direct violation of federal guidance and widespread police department best practices.

According to the officers police chief, he did so in violation of the departments core values as well.

Jordan was just the latest victim of a practice the Department of Justice has routinely described as dangerous and unnecessary. A 2015 Guardian investigation found that about four people a month were killed in similar incidents where police fired into moving vehicles. Data from the Guardians Counted database, which recorded how many people were killed by US police in 2015 and 2016, suggests that that number killed by police gunfire after officers shot into vehicles remained unchanged in 2016, at 48.

Jordan was in the passenger seat of a car authorities initially said was being driven backwards in an aggressive manner when a Balch Springs, Texas, officer opened fire. On Monday, police chief Jonathan Haber changed the official account, citing body camera footage that showed the vehicle was driving away when the officer fired his rifle at Edwards.

Officers were responding to reports of drunken teenagers and heard gunshots when they arrived on the scene.



Lee Merritt, an attorney representing Jordans family, said the teens in the car were not the ones police had been called about. He said Edwards and the teens he was traveling with were trying to leave a party, concerned that it might be getting violent, when police fired at their car.

The officer, who has not been identified, has been placed on routine administrative leave.

Typically in shootings like this, police say that the the vehicle itself is being used as a deadly weapon, justifying the use of deadly force. Experts, however, say that shooting at moving vehicles is ill-advised for a number of reasons. For one, it is extremely difficult to hit a moving target, and officers waste time aiming and firing that could be spent getting out of the way.

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Secondly, shooting at a car is no guarantee that it will stop. In many cases, for example the shooting of Samuel DuBose in Cincinnati in 2015, shooting someone behind the wheel of a car leads to the vehicle driving unguided until it hits something, potentially endangering bystanders.

Most large police departments in the country, including those of New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Denver, prohibit officers from shooting into cars. In fact, had the officers responding to the scene where Jordan was killed been from nearby Dallas, they probably would have been trained to respond differently. The Dallas police rulebook prohibits officers from firing at vehicles unless it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person, and advises officers to get out of the way, rather than fire, whenever possible.

But many smaller departments, such as Balch Springs, whose rulebook was not immediately available for review, do not have such restrictions.

Below are some other notable shootings since the 2015 Guardian report where police defied federal guidance, fired into vehicles, and left someone dead:

Jeremy Mardis, 6, Marksville, Louisiana

3 November, 2015: Officers shot and killed Jeremy Mardis, a 6 year old boy with autism, while trying to apprehend his father, Christopher Few. Immediately after Fews vehicle stopped during a chase, two deputy marshals got out of their patrol cars and began firing into the vehicle, hitting Mardis four times and Few twice. The incident was captured on body cameras.

The two deputy marshals who fired their weapons, Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse Jr, were both indicted on murder charges and arrested. Stafford was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison in March. Greenhouses trial is scheduled to begin in June.

Doll Pierre-Louis, 24, Miami Gardens, Florida

26 May, 2016: Doll Pierre-Louis was trying to flee a traffic stop for speeding when the arresting officer, who was on a motorbike, jumped onto the hood of Pierre-Louiss vehicle as he tried to turn around. Florida Highway Trooper Misael Diaz then shot through the windshield of the car before jumping off as Pierre-Louis drove away. A short distance away, Pierre-Louis who was travelling with his girlfriend, struck another vehicle and finally stopped. If he felt that his life was threatened and the vehicles going to run you over, you know, thats assault with a deadly weapon, said patrol spokesman Joe Sanchez.

The case remains under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.



Eric Harris, 22, New Orleans, Louisiana

8 February, 2016: Eric Harris was shot by officers when he put his car in reverse at the end of a car chase with Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office deputies. The chase started in Jefferson Parish, but ended in the city of New Orleans a neighboring jurisdiction. Harris crashed his car into a pole, and when his reverse lights came on, the deputies who were about 20 feet behind the vehicle, said they feared for their lives and fired. New Orleans deputy police chief Arlinda Westbrook said at a public forum in March 2016 that if that was our police officer, because its so contrary to our policy, they would have been arrested on the spot, in reference to the deputies actions. A gun was recovered from the vehicle.

A regional civil rights task force headed by the FBI declared in March that no charges would be filed against the officer.



Jacqueline Salyers, 32, Tacoma, Washington

28 January, 2016: Police were trying to apprehend Jacqueline Salyers boyfriend Kenneth Wright, who was wanted on felony drug and gun charges. When officers approached the vehicle, Wright, who was in the passenger seat, put his hands up, but Salyers, in the driver seat, put the car in gear. Fearing for his life officer Scott Campbell fired, killing her. Wright later said Salyers was frightened by the officers screaming and panicked. Salyers was pregnant when she died. Toxicology reports showed she had a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine in her system at the time as well. A gun was recovered from the vehicle.

The Pierce County prosecutor ruled the shooting justified in May 2016.

Kenneth Kennedy, Kingman, Arizona

29 October, 2016: Kenneth Kennedy attempted to flee during a traffic stop and bumped two police cruisers during his attempt, authorities said. Deputy Mark Giralde fired at the windshield, killing Kennedy after he started driving at the deputy, according to police. Kingmans wife was also in the car at the time but was unharmed.

Bullhead City police are still investigating the incident.
By Andreas Rinke and Denis Pinchuk SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a rare visit to Russia, said that Berlin and Moscow had to keep talking despite their disagreements, but those same differences overshadowed her talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. At a news conference following a meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, diverging positions were aired over Syria, Ukraine, Russian respect for civil rights, and allegations Moscow is interfering in other countries' elections. Their body language suggested tensions: their facial expressions as they spoke to reporters were stern, and the two leaders barely looked at each other. "I am always of the view that even if there are serious differences of opinion in some areas, talks must continue," Merkel said. "You must carry on, because otherwise you fall into silence and there is less and less understanding." Merkel was making her first bilateral visit to Russia since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014, a move that set off the worst confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. Since Germany is holder of the rotating presidency of the G20 group of leading nations this year, Merkel has been meeting key members in preparation for a summit. Asked by a reporter if she feared Germany could be subject to Russian attempts to interfere in its forthcoming parliamentary election by disseminating fake news, Merkel took a firm line. "I am not an anxious person, I will fight the election on the basis of my convictions," she said, adding Germans would deal decisively with any cases of false information. But Putin, standing alongside her, bristled at the suggestion Russia had meddled in the U.S. presidential election and that it was planning more of the same in Europe. Allegations about Russia trying to get Donald Trump elected as U.S. president were "rumors", Putin said, generated as part of internal political battles in the United States. "We never interfere in the political life and the political processes of other countries and we don't want anybody interfering in our political life and foreign policy processes," said Putin. UKRAINE'S SHAKY PEACE On the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists are fighting Kiev's rule, Putin and Merkel said they agreed on the need for the full implementation of the Minsk agreement, an internationally-brokered peace deal that is now effectively stalled. Putin however launched into an attack on the pro-Western administration in Kiev, saying it -- and not Russia or its allies -- was forcing the separatist region away from Ukraine. That contradicts Berlin's position. "The events in eastern Ukraine are the result of a coup d'etat, an unconstitutional change of power in Kiev," Putin said, referring to street protests that forced out Ukraine's previous, Moscow-leaning leader. Asked by a reporter about a deadly poison gas contamination in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, which Western governments said was a chemical weapons attack by Syrian government forces, Putin said that was unproven. Touching on a sensitive point for the Russian authorities, Merkel said she had raised concerns with Putin about police breaking up anti-Kremlin protests, as well as other issues that human rights organizations say are a cause for alarm. Those include reports, denied by the local authorities, that homosexuals are being detained and tortured in the Russian region of Chechnya, and a Supreme Court ruling last month banning the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group as extremist. I have in my talks with the Russian president indicated how important the right to demonstrate is in a civil society and how important the role of NGOs is," Merkel said. "We have heard some very negative reports about the treatment of homosexuals in Chechnya and I asked President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to guarantee minority rights here as well as with Jehovah's witnesses." Putin denied that Russian police had violated protesters' rights by arresting them, and fired a barb back at his European counterparts. "Russia's law-enforcement bodies behave in a far more restrained manner than their colleagues in other European countries," Putin said, without specifying which countries he had in mind. (Additional reporting by Alexander Winning and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow, and Madeline Chambers in Berlin; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Chicago (AFP) - Police declared a riot in the northwest US city of Portland after "anarchists" threw rocks, smoke bombs and soda cans at officers during a May Day rally, while thousands more marched in other major cities.

At least three people were arrested. Several businesses in Portland's downtown area were also vandalized by groups of people wearing black masks who were seen breaking storefront windows, throwing incendiary devices and attacking a police vehicle.

The violence prompted authorities to cancel the permit for the march and warn that anyone remaining on the streets risked being arrested. People were advised to stay away from the area.

"Due to actions of anarchists in #MayDayPDX march, permit was cancelled. Law-abiding participants asked to use sidewalks and leave the area," the Portland police said in a tweet.

"If you do not need to come to Downtown Portland, please stay away. #MayDayPDX is now considered a riot."

The rally had kicked off with speakers denouncing the recent crackdown by President Donald Trump's administration on undocumented immigrants and discussing workers' rights.

But as the crowd marched in the downtown area, police said "anarchists" disrupted the march.

In a nod to a failed ad campaign by Pepsi featuring supermodel Kendall Jenner walking through a street protest and handing a can of Pepsi to a police officer, some Portland marchers threw cans of soda at police.

- Thousands march in cities -

In major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, thousands took to the streets downtown to protest against Trump's policies.

New York's initially peaceful demonstration of some 4,000 participants grew tense in the evening as protesters clashed with Trump supporters, some of them brandishing placards featuring the president's slogan "Make America great Again."

Black-clad anti-Trump supporters, their faces uncovered but carrying anarchist black flags, also entered the scene.

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Several dozen police officers quickly arrived to separate the two groups and prevent violence. The protest began to disperse after sunset.

More than 100 groups joined the march in Los Angeles.

Police said at least one person was arrested after masked protesters threw rocks at supporters of Trump holding a rally in the downtown area. The protesters also burned an American flag.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed the crowd at one point, vowing that the city would push back against Trump's policies and protect its large immigrant community.

"As long as I am mayor, the LAPD will never be a deportation force," he added. "They will be your police officers."

Marchers in Chicago, the de facto capital of the US Midwest, represented a wide variety of causes, including activists for immigrant rights and the environment, labor unions demanding a higher minimum wage, and supporters of reproductive rights.

There were colorful rallies before and after the two-mile march, with attendees carrying American and Mexican flags, the rainbow flag representing gay rights, and signs such as "Stop the Trump Agenda."

"The election of Donald Trump is a challenge to all of us, whether we will stand up and speak up for our values," said Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat.

Labor groups representing laborers, hospital and home nursing care workers, food workers, teachers and others, called for a higher minimum wage.

Abortion rights supporters held up signs in support of Planned Parenthood, a non-profit health provider that Republicans and the Trump administration are seeking to defund.

Police reform and racial justice groups criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including unsuccessful attempts to ban refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries.

"We have to come together and we have to stop this guy. He is not the king of the United States," said Oscar Cruz, 58, describing himself as a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for 28 years.

President Trump has ordered more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws, speeded-up deportations, and ultimately wants to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border.

"It's criminalization of our communities -- black, Latino, Asian, Arab -- that is the problem. That is what we're organizing against," said Barbara Ransby, a professor at the University of Illinois.
Vilnius (AFP) - Russia has refused a Lithuanian bid to question ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev over Moscow's deadly 1991 crackdown on independence protesters in the Baltic state, justice authorities in Vilnius said Tuesday.

"Russia rejected a legal assistance request over Gorbachev," the Vilnius county court said in a statement.

A Lithuanian judge wanted to summon Gorbachev, 86, to testify in a criminal case in which dozens of former Soviet officials are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes over the bloody repression of protesters.

Moscow has refused to cooperate and only two suspects, both Russian citizens, attend the trial which opened last year, a quarter century after Soviet forces killed 14 civilians and injured hundreds as Lithuania broke free from the USSR.

Lithuanian prosecutors have refused to formally charge Gorbachev, who was in power from 1985 to 1991. But the former Soviet leader has always been viewed with suspicion in the Baltic nation of three million occupied by Moscow after World War II.

"Russia is shielding a person suspected of a crime. The one who shields a suspect is an accomplice," Lithuania's independence icon Vytautas Landsbergis told AFP on Tuesday.

Soviet troops entered the capital Vilnius after Lithuania declared independence from Moscow in 1990 and stormed the city's television tower. Tens of thousands formed human shields against the troops.

Lithuania, now a member of eurozone and NATO, has strongly criticised Russia's intervention in Ukraine, and recently welcomed troops on its soil from the US-led alliance to deter Moscow.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia could launch a land offensive in Yemen to crush its Iranian-aligned Houthi enemies but the cost in casualties would be heavy on both sides, the kingdom's powerful deputy crown prince said on Tuesday. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is Saudi defence minister, also said in a nationally-televised interview that Riyadh's decision to mount a military campaign to end Houthi control of swathes of Yemen in 2015 was necessary to restore the country's internationally-recognized government. He added that Riyadh was unable to hold a dialogue with its arch-rival Iran because of what he called the Islamic Republic's extremist ideology. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi, Editing by William Maclean and Gareth Jones)
By David Schwartz

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Lawmakers have violated the Arizona constitution by failing to adequately fund school facilities and repairs, according to a lawsuit filed against the state on Monday by school districts and education groups.

The lawsuit claims that the Arizona legislature has short-changed school districts by several billion dollars since 2009 despite court rulings mandating that the state pay for facility construction and maintenance.

In a joint statement, the coalition of school districts, educational organizations and parents said the legislature has long been responsible for turning its back on public school districts."

State leaders have ignored this obligation far too long, the group said. They have lost this fight once, and it is time to step up and adequately fund public schools according to the law.

The lawsuit is the latest step in a long-running legal battle between educators and the state over capital items. Arizona was sued in 1991 over capital funding for its schools, and the state Supreme Court ruled three years later that the state was required to provide funding for facilities in all school districts.

A 1998 settlement agreement provided $1.3 billion to bring facilities up to state standards, plus $200 million a year for building maintenance and another $200 million a year for soft capital items such as textbooks, buses and technology.

Monday's lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, says that annual payouts have since been cut back. It does not specify an amount being sought by the plaintiffs.

State officials will be reviewing Monday's lawsuit in detail, "but our focus right now is on passing a budget that will increase education funding, Patrick Ptak, a spokesman for Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, said in a brief statement to Reuters.

A May 2016 ballot measure approved by voters called for an additional $3.5 billion to be reallocated from the state's land trust fund and used for general education funding over the next decade. That money was not aimed at capital improvements.

(Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Patrick Enright and Leslie Adler)
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden is to lift identity checks on people entering the country from Denmark imposed at the height of the migration crisis, it said on Tuesday. Sweden introduced border controls after more than 160,000 people sought asylum in 2015. That required an exemption from the EU's free-movement rules which is due to expire on May 11. Lifting the ID checks will end delays suffered by thousands of cross-border commuters, but the government says it will not lead to a return to the huge influx of asylum seekers whose number dropped to less than 30,000 in 2016. "We will not return to the levels we had then (2015)," Home Affairs Minister Anders Ygeman told reporters. "We want to have the maximum possible control over those who come to Sweden." While ID checks on trains, buses and some ferries from Denmark will end, there will be tougher checks on arrival at the Swedish border, including increased camera surveillance, vehicle x-rays and number plate checks, the government said. People arriving in Sweden will have to show they have the right to enter the country, not just present ID. (Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom)
Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for shoring up Syria's frail truce as Russian-led peace talks involving Syrian rebels and regime officials are set to begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

"We consider that this situation -- the ceasefire -- needs to be strengthened, and this is precisely what our representatives will work on tomorrow and the day after in Astana together with the sides in the Syrian conflict," Putin said at a news conference in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Our task is to create conditions for unification, the cessation of hostilities, the cessation of mutual destruction and the creation of conditions for the political cooperation of all opposing sides."

The two days of talks -- sponsored by Syrian regime supporters Russia and Iran along with rebel-backer Turkey -- are the first since US President Donald Trump infuriated the Kremlin by launching a missile strike against Assad's forces over an alleged chemical weapons attack last month.

A rebel delegation led by Mohammad Alloush, leader of the Jaish al-Islam faction, has arrived in Astana for the talks, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

An advisor to the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Yehya Aridi, told AFP that the group would participate in the talks with "approximately" the same delegation as in previous rounds of negotiations.

The rebels did not separately confirm Alloush's participation. Regime negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari will lead the Damascus delegation.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura will also take part in the talks which could pave the way for a new round of UN-brokered peace negotiations in Geneva this month, the United Nations said Monday.

The Astana negotiations are viewed as complementary to the broader Geneva talks on a political settlement, but neither have yielded real progress so far.

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The last round of talks in March saw a delegation from Damascus meet representatives from the talks' sponsors Russia, Iran and Turkey, but leaders of armed rebel groups stayed away for the first time over alleged violations of a fragile ceasefire deal.

Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said a US delegation led by Stuart Jones -- acting assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Affairs Bureau -- would observe this week's talks.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have confirmed plans for a telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in which Syria is expected to raised.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
TWIN FALLS  The City Council will likely vote later this month on a resolution declaring Twin Falls a community where all residents are welcomed, accepted, and given the opportunity to connect with each other without bias in pursuit of common goals.

The Council listened to two hours of public testimony Monday evening. Of the 28 members people who spoke, 21 supported the resolution and seven opposed it.

The Council didnt vote  it was listed on the agenda for discussion, not as an action item  so a final vote will likely be scheduled later this month. However, the Councils discussion made it clear that, if nobody changes their minds, it will pass 5-2.

Its important for the migrant in our community who doesnt feel welcome, Mayor Shawn Barigar said. Its important for the person at the grocery store whos wearing a headscarf being judged. Its important for the gay person who cuts hair at a shop in Twin Falls being judged for being gay.

Councilman Greg Lanting said the resolution would help to counteract the less-than-welcoming impression of Twin Falls some people could get from following media coverage of Twin Falls  the debate over refugee resettlement here has gotten national attention over the past year.

I believe that we have been painted just as the Muslims have been painted with a wide brush, he said.

Vice Mayor Suzanne Hawkins and Councilwoman Nikki Boyd said they plan to vote against the resolution. Hawkins said the resolution is divisive and redundant and most likely unnecessary because Twin Falls is already a welcoming place. Although the public testimony at Council meetings has been overwhelmingly in favor of the idea, Hawkins said, outside of meetings she has gotten far more feedback from people opposed to it. The City Council, she said, should be debating issues like the citys finances, not ones such as refugee resettlement over which they have no control.

I think we are really muddling in an area where we dont belong, she said.

Boyd said the resolution wouldnt say anything that isnt already in the citys strategic plan.

I believe everything that weve talked about that we believe is is already in writing, she said.

The resolution originated out of a Boy Scout Eagle Scout Service Project at the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center. Troop leader Mark Crandall brought it to the Council, and his original pitch envisioned something more like the welcoming city resolutions that have passed in Boise and Ketchum  Boises mentions refugees specifically.

However, the language of the resolution City Manager Travis Rothweiler presented Monday doesnt mention immigrants or refugees. Instead, it lists points in the citys strategic plan, such as sections calling for a responsible community and a secure community, and relates it to goals such as giving everyone who lives in Twin Falls the chance to contribute to community life and encouraging residents, businesses and community groups to join in a community-wide effort to adopt policies and practices to promote unity, inclusion, understanding, and equity.

Rothweiler said he would prefer to call it a neighborly city resolution rather than a welcoming city, to allay the fears of opponents who view it as a precursor to becoming a sanctuary city that doesnt cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. He said he had gotten extensive public feedback on the proposal and tried to word the resolution in a way that incorporated that while not taking a political stance.

Serving does not necessarily allow us to pick sides, Rothweiler said. And in this resolution, what we tried to do this evening was to take a balanced approach.

Most of the public testimony, however, was about refugees. Crandall praised the resolution Rothweiler and city staff had crafted.

I think a resolution like this would go a long way toward helping us as a city and showing the world that hate does not define us, Crandall said.

Melissa Joelson compared current anti-Muslim sentiment to the long history of prejudice against other groups  Germans; Irish Catholics; Jews; Mormons; Poles; Italians. Muslims in Twin Falls, she said, are often spoken of as the other, but theyre school teachers, tailors, carpenters, shop owners, forestry biologists, restaurant owners, and of course the yogurt maker, a reference to the Chobani yogurt factory.

Weve got over most of these biases, Joelson said. And now its time to get over the last.

Terry Edwards, who opposes the resolution, said the issue is safety, and that the people making it about refugees were the biggest bigots in town. He questioned how Twin Falls could be a welcoming city when Planned Parenthood is allowed to offer abortions here.

Were a welcoming city and were welcoming people into town to kill babies? he asked.

He ended by invoking the refugee crisis in Europe, which has been inundated with mostly Muslim refugees from the Middle East since 2015.

Has anybody even seen whats happening in Europe? ... Lets welcome them all here, Edwards said. Im sure they would like that.

Glenneda Zuiderveld, who said she was speaking on behalf of the family of a young girl who was sexually assaulted by three refugee boys from Iraq and Eritrea at the Fawnbrook Apartments last year, said she doesnt see the need for the resolution. Twin Falls can be a welcoming place without it, she said.

Why all of a sudden do we have to put our name to something to make us a great city? she said.

Zuiderveld blamed the boys backgrounds for their actions and said that, if refugees are going to resettled in Twin Falls, the community needs to decide what to do to make sure something similar doesnt happen again.

There is a different culture, she said. And its just not food and its not music. ... There is a different culture, and it would be awfully naive of us not to take that into consideration for our children. And obviously these boys were practicing their culture. That is a hard reality.

Some wording of the resolution could change, Rotheweiler said, but the Council didnt give him further instructions. A final version of the proposed resolution is expected to be presented at a future Council meeting.

Its important for the migrant in our community who doesnt feel welcome. Its important for the person at the grocery store whos wearing a headscarf being judged. Its important for the gay person who cuts hair at a shop in Twin Falls being judged for being gay. Twin Falls Mayor Shawn Barigar

Editor's note: This article has been updated to indicate that 'Rothweiler' is City Manager Travis Rothweiler.
At least one person has been killed and three more possibly seriously injured following a mass stabbing and assault on the University of Texas at Austin campus.

Police took one person into custody after the stabbing and warned students and the public via social media channels to stay away from the area. The Austin Police force and the University of Texas at Austin Police Department worked together to respond to the incident.

Local emergency responders said that there were three victims who came in as patients and that one of them was in critical condition, local media reported.

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Warren says Obama does not understand 'lived experience of Americans'

Confirmed details about the suspect and their motive were not immediately available after police took them into custody.

Students in the nearby Gregory Gym were reportedly evacuated for their safety, according to reports from local news organisations. No further threat to campus safety were reported, the University of Austin Police Department said via Twitter.

The universitys campus is loaded just streets from downtown Austin and the Texas capitol building. The school is one of the largest universities in the United States.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner on Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump made a bizarre claim about Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, and said the Civil War wouldnt have happened at all if Jackson had still been around at the time it began.

While speaking to Washington Examiners Salena Zito, Trump said the whole Civil War could have been avoided if only the U.S. had a better negotiator at the time and not someone like Abraham Lincoln, who Trump thought was not up to the task.

Trumps interaction with Zito started off with the president saying: [Jackson] was a swashbuckler. But when his wife died, did you know he visited her grave every day? I visited her grave actually, because I was in Tennessee.

Zito responded to that by saying: Oh, that's right. You were in Tennessee.

And it was amazing. The people of Tennessee are amazing people. They love Andrew Jackson. They love Andrew Jackson in Tennessee, Trump continued.

Zito replied: Yeah, he's a fascinating...

Following this, Trump made the puzzling claim about Jackson: I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. And he was really angry that  he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, There's no reason for this. People don't realize, you know, the Civil War  if you think about it, why? People don't ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?

Trump's claim about Jackson being angry were hard to understand, since Jackson died in 1845 and the Civil War started only in 1861, 16 years after his death. Users on social media were quick to poke fun at the president.

However, Trump clarified his comments Monday night and said he didnt actually say or think Jackson was alive during the Civil War, but he stood by his broader claim that the seventh president of the U.S. could have prevented the violence if he would have been alive at the time.

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Trumps admiration for Jackson has been quite evident as the president has often compared himself to the president who held office from 1829-37. On March 15, Trump also visited Jacksons 1,000 acre estate in Nashville, Tennessee, to mark Jacksons 250th birth anniversary. During a speech he gave during his visit, Trump described why he admired Jackson so much.

Trump said Jackson recognized "true leadership" meant "putting America first, which was also one of Trump's campaign slogans. He added: "It was during the [American] Revolution that Jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite. Does that sound familiar? Captured by the [British] redcoats and ordered to shine the shoes of a British officer, Jackson simply refused. From that day on, Andrew Jackson rejected authority that looked down on the common people."

Making strange claims is not a new phenomenon for Trump. In an interview with Reuters last week, while commenting on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the president suggested there was no concrete reason for the two sides to have been fighting all these years.

I want to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians, Trump said. There is no reason there's not peace between Israel and the Palestinians  none whatsoever. So we're looking at that, and we're also looking at the potential of going to Saudi Arabia, he added.

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Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump took a fresh shot at his predecessor Barack Obama and suggested the US Civil War could have been avoided, in a series of media interviews broadcast Monday.

Trump told the Sirius XM POTUS radio channel that his president hero, the "swashbuckler" Andrew Jackson, could have avoided the Civil War had he not died a decade-and-a-half before.

"Had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldn't have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart," Trump said. "He was a swashbuckler."

"People don't realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? People don't ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?"

More than 600,000 people died in the conflict that convulsed America between 1861 and 1865, which was triggered in large part by disputes over the future of slavery and has framed much of the nation's politics in the centuries that followed.

In March, Trump made a political pilgrimage to the Tennessee home of Jackson, America's first populist president who himself owned scores of slaves.

Trump praised "the very great" Jackson's willingness to take on "an arrogant elite."

However Trump has been less complimentary about his immediate predecessor, Obama, appearing to renew controversial allegations that the 44th president bugged his phone.

"You saw how everybody saw what happened, and I think that was inappropriate," Trump told CBS in a separate interview.

In March, Trump tweeted claims that Obama had wiretapped the phones at Trump Tower in New York.

Pressed on that allegation, which has since been rebutted by intelligence agencies and even Congressional Republicans, Trump was evasive.

"I think you can take it any way you want. Our side has been proved and everybody is talking about it.

"I think that is a very big surveillance of our citizens. I think it's a very big topic. And it's a topic that should be number one. And we should find out what the hell is going on."
New York (AFP) - President Donald Trump is reviewing a possible breakup of large US banks, according to a published interview Monday.

Trump told Bloomberg News that he was considering a "21st century" version of the 1933 Glass-Steagall law that separated consumer lending and investment banking and was repealed in 1999 by President Bill Clinton.

"I'm looking at that right now," Trump said in an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg. "There's some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So we're going to look at that."

Trump's comments are his first on the subject and follow other statements from administration officials such as National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressing broad support for the idea.

Several liberal Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have also supported a breakup of the biggest banks.

However, the Trump administration has not released details about what an eventual breakup plan might look like.

Shares of large banks gave up some of their gains following the Bloomberg report, but stayed in positive territory.

Near 1730 GMT, JPMorgan Chase was up 0.6 percent at $87.46, Citigroup was up 0.8 percent at $59.61 and Bank of America was up 1.2 percent at $23.61.
President Trump has doubled down on his assertion that President Andrew Jackson could have prevented the Civil War.

President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the Civil War started, saw it coming and was angry, Trump tweeted late Monday. Would never have let it happen!

In a Sirius XM Radio interview published earlier that day, Trump seemed to suggest that Jackson, a slaveholding plantation owner who died in 1845, could have struck a deal to stop the Civil War, which began in 1861, and that the causes of the bloodiest conflict in the nations history had not been thoroughly assessed, addressed or discussed.

I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldnt have had the Civil War, Trump said. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart, and he was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, Theres no reason for this. People dont realize, you know, the Civil War, you think about it, why? People dont ask that question. But why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?

Related: Trump on the Civil War: Why could that one not have been worked out?

The comments raised the eyebrows of many historians, who questioned Trumps understanding of Jacksons beliefs specifically and American history in general.

First of all, historians have actually talked about the reasons for the Civil War quite a bit, said Kevin Kruse, a professor of history at Princeton, in an email to Yahoo News. Second, theres an overwhelming consensus among historians that the Civil War came about because of slavery. Simply put, the war came because the Southern states seceded, and they seceded  as they quite clearly said themselves at the time, over and over again  because of slavery.

One has to wonder why the 45th president, who has plenty to do, is blithely relitigating what Shelby Foote called the crossroads of our being, Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, wrote in an email to Yahoo News.

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On MSNBCs Morning Joe Tuesday, Meacham said Trumps remarks are a projection of the presidents fundamental and enveloping narcissism.

Also read: Historians react to Trumps Civil War comments

Meacham said Trump told him a year ago that he thought he himself could have struck a deal to avert the Civil War. Trump has repeatedly compared himself to Jackson.

The presidency itself enhances your fundamental characteristics, he added. Its very hard once youre there to change.

During a panel discussion on CNN Monday night, former Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, a Republican, defended Trumps belief that a slaveholder could have prevented the war.

That doesnt mean you cant work for peace, Kingston argued.

Tara Setmayer, a conservative commentator, wasnt buying it.

OK, honestly, this is a nice try, Setmayer told Kingston. Ive been watching Trump supporters trying to candy-coat this, and it was an asinine thing for Donald Trump to say.

President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the Civil War started, saw it coming and was angry. Would never have let it happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2017

Setmayer said she understands Trumps fascination with Jackson because some observers have compared the two. But she doesnt understand the need to defend every Trump statement.

Why cant you guys just stop and say what the president said was stupid? she said. Why do you feel the need to just constantly defend everything this man says? It was a ridiculous statement. I mean, I dont get it.

Yahoo News Christopher Wilson contributed reporting to this story.

Read more from Yahoo News:

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and President Trump. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Bullit Marquez/AP, Evan Vucci/AP)

Does Donald Trump have a new favorite strongman? Trump, who as a candidate basked in the approval of the authoritarian Vladimir Putin, has used his time in office to embrace tough guys around the globe, praising the growing power of an autocrat in Turkey, respecting the survival instincts of North Koreas Kim Jong Un, and recently calling Chinas unelected leader, Xi Xinping, a very good man. Now its the Philippines turn. In another spontaneous foreign policy initiative, Trump used a Saturday phone call to invite the countrys controversial president, Rodrigo Duterte, for an official White House visit. Duterte played coy, sending a message back that he might be too busy to meet with the American president, and Trumps naive diplomacy is likely to boomerang back against America.

Calling Duterte controversial is like calling the Titanic wet. Duterte relishes making transgressive comments to inflame his opponents and rally supporters. He has vowed to personally kill drug addicts, called them zombies unable to rejoin society, and once offered to eat the liver of a terrorist, if it was served with salt and pepper.

Duterte is also enormously popular at home, with an outsider image that has obvious appeal to Trump. The Philippine president has brought an almost messianic zeal to reforming Philippine politics and ending the corruption that has left the island nation of 100 million people economically stagnant for decades. Using populism and threats, baiting opponents on television and steamrolling opposition, Duterte has become the very model of the modern nationalist strongman Trump seems to appreciate instinctively.

The problem is what Duterte does with his power. He came into office vowing a ruthless war on crime and disorder in the islands, at different points suggesting he would kill 700,000 or even three million criminals. In practice, this policy has meant the wholesale death of drug addicts and petty criminals, more than 7,000 people killed just since last July 1. Most have been shot dead in suspicious police operations encouraged by Duterte, giving rise to claims of framed suspects and extrajudicial killing. About a third of the killings appear to be the work of clandestine death squads or loosely organized vigilante groups who are turning Dutertes bloodthirsty rhetoric into action. In a righteous frenzy to impose law and order, Duterte has unleashed a demon on his own country.

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Slideshow: Philippines deadly drug war >>>

The death squads arent just a matter of bad optics in Washington. I spent almost a month covering the killings in Manila. I visited about a dozen murder scenes throughout various Manila slums, and interviewed police officers and politicians around the islands. In jails and at the scenes of gruesome late-night assassinations, I saw evidence that points to state involvement in these mysterious murders. There are now confessions by numerous police officers or contract killers who said they carried out killings orchestrated by police and political leaders in support of Dutertes campaign. Two men have separately testified to Duterte himself participating in an earlier wave of vigilante killings.

Maybe Trump thinks he can rub elbows with such men and come away clean. Certainly, the American presidents agenda is to win the Philippines, which under Duterte has made friendly overtures to China, back to its traditionally close relationship with Washington. This is naive, both because the Philippines isnt going anywhere (it has literally the most pro-American public in the world, including in America itself) and because Duterte himself is one of the few Filipinos who hates America, and is an unlikely convert to Trumpism. A White House dinner will probably help the Filipino president look statesmanlike, but it will leave traces of blood.

One analogue would be Turkeys Reycep Erdogan, who also got a congratulatory phone call from President Trump as soon as he won a major national referendum allowing him to consolidate power in his own office. Erdogan has used the excuse of the July 2016 coup attempt to purge almost 150,000 people from government jobs, including tens of thousands of teachers opposed to his increasingly Islamist cultural dictates. Thousands of secular army officers and common soldiers have been arrested, along with over 1,000 judges and lawyers who opposed Erdogan. Like Duterte, Erdogan has rallied his nationalist, conservative base by agitating against internal enemies. In the Philippines, that focus has been on the most disadvantaged people in society. Most victims in the wave of killings are poor laborers and slum dwellers caught up in the drug trade, often impoverished addicts and the low-level dealers, typically fellow addicts, who service them.

The American president, who has lent his name to an unfinished skyscraper in Manila, sees only the upside of having another populist friend. Duterte, allowing for cultural differences, has shown a rhetorical affinity with Trump, having variously labeled Barack Obama, Pope Francis and the head of the U.N. Human Rights Commission sons of whores, and berating his opponents and critics as morons, traitors and zombies, even joking about rape and comparing himself jovially to Hitler. The political appeal of a free-spouting political volcano like Duterte should be obvious. Duterte may wear blue jeans and talk about blood, but he speaks Trumps language. Like the other strongmen, he makes Trump seem normal by association. Trump recognizes this, and seeks to frame himself in a world of like-minded men.

Thats the problem: though located at opposite ends of the spectrum, Trump and Duterte are on the same spectrum, and think alike. But the nationalist impulse always needs enemies. Duterte has fed his own popularity with the bodies of 7,000 people so far. Trump isnt likely to get popularity, or anything else, if his Filipino friend does show up.

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Patrick Symmes is the author of The Boys from Dolores: Fidel Castros Schoolmates From Revolution to Exile.



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Read more from Yahoo News:
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Monday he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions, in comments that contrasted with earlier threats of military action.

As Pyongyang threatens to carry out a sixth nuclear test that would further inflame tensions, Trump appeared to offer the prospect of a diplomatic off-ramp.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him I would, absolutely. I would be honored to do it," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg.

"If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that," Trump said.

South Korean analysts said the US president was "groping for an exit" after weeks of heightened tensions over the North's weapons ambitions.

In recent weeks Trump has threatened and berated the regime, fearing it may be months away from marrying nuclear and long-range missile technology --- making a strike against the western United States possible.

Trump's main gambit has been to encourage China to use its leverage to pressure Pyongyang -- a strategy that has failed to produce results in the past.

The Republican president has also said he is ready to act alone in the stand-off, however -- and on Monday signaled that this could involve face-to-face talks with Kim, who has yet to meet a foreign leader since taking power.

"Following weeks of huffing and puffing, Trump is apparently groping for an exit," said Hong Hyun-Ik of Sejong University in Seoul.

"True to his mentality as a businessman, he has driven the situation close to the edge but stopped short of pushing it over the cliff in order to get the upper hand in future negotiations. "

- CIA chief's visit -

In the latest rhetoric to fuel jitters across the region, North Korea -- which has carried out five nuclear tests in the last 11 years -- warned Monday that it was prepared to carry out another test "at any time and at any location" set by its leadership.

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The regime will continue bolstering its "preemptive nuclear attack" capabilities unless Washington scraps its hostile policies, a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency.

"The DPRK's measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership," the spokesman added, apparently referring to a sixth nuclear test and using the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang intensifies its warnings every spring, when Washington and Seoul carry out joint exercises it condemns as rehearsals for invasion. But this time fears of conflict have been fueled by a cycle of threats from both sides.

The joint drills have just ended, but naval exercises are continuing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, and US B1-B bombers carried out bilateral missions with South Korean and Japanese aircraft in the region Monday.

CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea on an unannounced visit Monday as tensions mount on the peninsula.

Pompeo's visit coincided with news that the controversial US missile defense system known as THAAD -- whose deployment has angered China -- was operational in South Korea.

US Forces Korea said THAAD was "operational and has the ability to intercept North Korean missiles and defend the Republic."

- 'A pretty smart cookie' -

Trump on Sunday repeated his determination to resolve the threat posed by North Korea, warning in a CBS interview: "We cannot let what's been going on for a long period of years continue."

But the US leader also offered some backhanded praise for Kim, saying he had faced a formidable challenge in taking over the country at a reported age of 27 after his father's death in 2011.

"He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power," Trump said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," he said.

That comment left the White House struggling to downplay Trump's apparent admiration.

"His point was he assumed power at a young age when his father passed away and there's a lot of potential threats that could have come his way and he's obviously managed to lead a country forward, said Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
This weeks meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas may be an important public step toward restarting a Middle East peace process that has been stalled since 2014. It may even mark the first step toward making the ultimate deal, the lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians that Trump has said he wants the chance to secure.

But its important to note that the White House meeting wont mark the first point of contact between the 82-year-old Abbas and the Trump administration. A low-profile but potentially influential White House official by the name of Jason Greenblatt already met with Abbas in Ramallah, in the West Bank, on March 14 as part of a wide-ranging listening tour to Israel and the Palestinian territories  and then met with him a second time at an Arab League summit in Amman, Jordan, later that month. A former Trump Organization chief legal officer, Greenblatt has the official title of the White Houses representative for international negotiations. But unofficially hes the administrations Middle East peace envoy. If an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached during the Trump administration, it will be Greenblatt  who earned his new position by virtue of his personal relationship with the president, despite little experience with his new duties  working to bring the parties to the table and keep them there.

Greenblatt has been placed at the very center of the radical political experiment Trump came into office promising. In the presidents view, the entrenched political establishment was one of the primary sources of Americas problems, and the countrys social and political ills could only be remedied if people from outside the alleged Washington swamp were finally allowed to have a crack at them. The job performance of people like Rex Tillerson, who became secretary of state after years as an ExxonMobil executive, or school choice activist-turned-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a real-time test of one of the central value propositions of Trumps presidency: That America is in need of bold new approaches to national governance that only Trump and his team of outsiders can provide.

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Greenblatt is one of those outsiders. But unlike most of his colleagues in the West Wing and cabinet, he has been off to a strong start, at least judging by bipartisan accounts from policymakers and observers in the United States and the Middle East.

Whats impressed me about Mr. Greenblatts early forays into Middle East diplomacy is his interest and willingness to listen to a broad range of voices, said Daniel Shapiro, who served as President Barack Obamas ambassador in Tel Aviv between 2011 and January of this year. He seems to understand that the success or failure of Middle East peace efforts is not going to depend only on the decisions of the leaders.

Peace advocates have seen encouraging signs out of Greenblatt as well. I think weve been positively impressed with the foundation that hes laid, said Jessica Rosenblum, the vice president of communications for J Street, which describes itself as a pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group.

Greenblatts success so far reflects well on his own diplomatic abilities, but it may have as much to do with the nature of his assigned task. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process seems especially primed for a newcomers fresh thinking. After all, a quarter century of careful, deliberative, and well-intentioned professional U.S. diplomacy hasnt resulted in an Israeli-Palestinian agreement or even a clear path toward one.

So far, the former real estate lawyers record suggests that the peace process is one area where a fresh approach could actually pay off  assuming Trump has the focus and patience needed to seriously take on one of the worlds most infamously intractable conflicts.

***

Greenblatt began working at the Trump Organization in 1997, after a career that included time as a real estate lawyer for a New York-based firm and a short-lived foray into the cappuccino-making business. Over the next two decades, the Yeshiva University and New York University law school graduate would work his way up to executive vice president and chief legal officer at the Trump Organization. As one of the top lawyers in the company, Greenblatt oversaw due diligence, contracting, and other legal dimensions of Trumps real estate deals  including some of the more controversial ones. Israel never came under Greenblatts portfolio for the simple reason that Trump has still never taken on a project in the country and has no documented business interests there.

Greenblatt is an observant Jew and tweeted a photo of his tefillin bag while en route to the Middle East in March. As Greenblatt told me during an interview last July, Trump respected his religious observance and always wished him a restful Shabbat even when a tough negotiation came up against the weekend holiday.

Greenblatts career as a Middle East hand began less than a year ago. During the campaign, Greenblatt was one of the co-chairs of candidate Trumps Israel Advisory Committee, along with David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer who is now serving as the U.S. ambassador to Israel. In contrast to the notably outspoken Friedman, who was also a fundraiser for a West Bank settlement, the soft-spoken Greenblatt had never tried to participate in Middle Eastern affairs and had never even publicly commented on the region until the campaign kicked off.

Early in the general election, Greenblatts elevation to the height of the Middle Eastern policy firmament appeared to be just another example of Trumps reliance on dubiously qualified people who were already within his orbit  in April 2016, The Forward ran a Jewish Telegraphic Agency profile of Greenblatt with the headline No Experience Necessary. When I interviewed him last July, Greenblatt candidly admitted just how much he still had to learn about his subject area and acknowledged that he wouldnt even have been involved in politics if his longtime boss werent running for president.

Today, Greenblatts closeness to Trump and his lack of previous diplomatic experience are actually starting to look like assets. Greenblatts listening tour in March took him to places that few other people in his position have been  like the Jalazone refugee camp, outside of Ramallah, where he met with local youth leaders. No American Middle East envoy had visited a West Bank refugee camp since the early 1990s. Greenblatt met with a range of political and civil society figures in the West Bank, as well as a cross section of folks from Gaza, which is currently under the control of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas. Later that month, he attended an Arab League summit in Amman, a relative rarity for a senior American official. At the summit, he had a second meeting with Abbas, whom he has reportedly impressed, and sat down with a number of Arab foreign ministers.

Greenblatts visits with Israelis displayed a similar broad-mindedness. He met with settlers, generals, and students and tweeted a picture with Gershon Edelstein, the head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, one of the most respected religious academies in Orthodox Judaism. Someone more conscious of diplomatic convention, working for a more cautious or traditional administration, might have veered away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts thornier territory during a first official visit to the region. And a more traditional diplomat might not have seen the public diplomacy value in dropping by the Ponevezh fresh off a visit to a Palestinian refugee camp  or of visiting either place at all.

Trumps envoy approached the region with fresh eyes and won fans on both sides of the Green Line as a result. Greenblatt conveyed a very good impression that he is curious, that he wants to understand different people, their take on the situation, their aspirations, and their aspirations and their concerns, said Nimrod Novik, a former foreign-policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum.

Greenblatt is only in the world of Middle East diplomacy because his longtime boss was elected president, but in the context of Israeli-Palestinian affairs, the appearance of favoritism might actually help him. As Novik explains, both the Israelis and Palestinians are adept at gaming the negotiating process and at exploiting any perceived distance between an envoy and the administration back in Washington. Its harder to stall an envoy, or to go behind the envoys back and appeal to other, friendlier administration officials or congressional allies, when the sides believe that the mediator is a direct extension of the president. When the parties know that the envoy speaks for the president and directly with the president, they are very careful not to play games, Novik said.

That isnt always the case. Shapiro said both the Israelis and Palestinians tried to come between Middle East envoy George Mitchell and the White House during Obamas first term. The Israelis looked for other channels besides Senator Mitchell, and even at a certain point the Palestinians werent certain if he was the authority they should be speaking to. During Obamas second term, Secretary of State John Kerrys dogged peace efforts suffered from the perception on both sides of the Green Line that he cared about reaching a Middle East settlement more than his boss did.

Greenblatt is about as personally close to the president as someone in his position could be. And Trump has been remarkably and even uncharacteristically consistent on Israeli-Palestinian peace, repeatedly saying he wants to be the one to broker the ultimate deal. Closeness with an engaged president is a powerful tool for an envoy  as long as theres a policy vision and a sustained commitment from the Oval Office underlying his work.

Its far from obvious that thats currently the case. Trumps policies on the peace process have been broadly in line with previous U.S. administrations, and the new president publicly put his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on notice about settlement construction during a joint press conference after their meeting on Feb. 15, telling the prime minister hed like to see him hold back on settlements for a little bit. But that hasnt yet translated into the kind of clear-cut U.S.-Israeli understanding on settlement construction that will need to be reached before Trump can really attempt to relaunch the peace process. Trump would also need to reassure an ever skeptical and often recalcitrant Abbas that entering into negotiations with Israel really is in his best interest  an objective Trump could advance by explicitly endorsing the U.S. governments official preference to date for a two-state outcome to the conflict. The president hasnt done that yet, though this weeks meeting presents an ideal opportunity to change course.

Inevitably, the measure of Greenblatts work is whether it actually brings the sides back to the negotiating table, creating space for the kind of diplomatic breakthrough that can change the dynamics of a now-static process. The Trump administration is up against the same challenges as its predecessors, obstacles like Israeli settlement construction, Palestinian terrorism and incitement, and a regionwide security vacuum. Traditional diplomacy hasnt had the answers to any of these problems. As to whether a Trump-style alternative will fare any better, a lot depends on the presidents notoriously fickle intentions and commitment  regardless of how admirably his envoy performs.

Photo credit: ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images
By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump came to office promising that he would produce so much winning that Americans would be sick of it. As he struggles to produce wins, some signs of frustration are starting to appear. Democrats' gleeful declarations that they outsmarted Republicans in a battle over a spending bill that avoided a government shutdown drew the ire of the president. Democrats were happy that funding for Trump's Mexico border wall was not included. Trump tweeted on Tuesday that maybe a government shutdown would not be so bad and that Republicans should consider changing Senate rules to make it easier to pass spending and other bills without any Democratic support. "Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!" he wrote. His comment frustrated some of his fellow Republicans in Congress, who chafed at the suggestion that the White House could dictate Senate rules, or send a message that a shutdown, which costs the economy millions, was desirable. "I think it would be a good thing at this point if the iPhone was put in a safe, locked away and maybe returned in four years," Republican Senator Bob Corker, who was once on the short list to be Trump's vice president, told reporters. "That's just not constructive. Those are the kinds of things that should never happen, and... it's damaging to our credibility. It's damaging to trust here within the (Capitol) building," Corker said. Trump marked his 100th day in office on Saturday and used last week to argue that he has made major progress in rolling back federal regulations and improving the climate for job creation. But with his healthcare reform effort flagging, Trump has been unable to get a major piece of legislation through a Congress controlled by his own Republican Party, leaving him without a signature victory. With Democrats celebrating concessions they extracted in the spending bill, Trump used a Rose Garden ceremony honoring the Air Force Academy's football team to declare he and Republicans got more from the legislation than might appear. "After years of partisan bickering and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the American people," Trump said. THREE NEWS BRIEFINGS White House budget director Mick Mulvaney gave three news briefings to promote Trump gains from the bill, the first on Monday night and the second on Tuesday morning in a conference call for reporters. The conference call was marred by technical issues at times, with Mulvaney straining to be heard over orchestra music that mysteriously began playing. "All right," Mulvaney told reporters at one point. "I'll try to answer it one more time, and clearly we're having a lot of background noise here." Later, in the White House briefing room, Mulvaney said he understood Trump's frustration, accusing Democrats of trying to "spike the football" by publicly celebrating the budget deal as a Democratic victory in an effort to make the president look bad after he negotiated in good faith. He said Democrats were thwarted by Republicans in their attempt to add bailout money for Puerto Rico. "We've got a lot to do between now and September. I don't anticipate a shutdown in September, but if the Democrats aren't going to behave any better than they have in the last couple of days, it may be inevitable," Mulvaney said. Democrats quickly denounced Trump's musings about closing the federal government. "Here we saw Democrats and Republicans working together in the best traditions of the Senate, and the president disparages it in a way that's destructive," Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would debate the funding bill this week and that most Republicans did not favor a change in the rules to make it easier to pass legislation without Democratic support. Trump said his fellow Republicans had to acquiesce to Democratic demands in spending bill because the party's majority was too slim to win the 60 Senate votes needed to advance the legislation without them. Republicans hold 52 of the Senate's 100 seats. "The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%," Trump wrote on Twitter Republicans last forced a government closure in 2013 for 17 days. Democrats said Trump would shoulder the blame for any shutdown now. (Additional reporting by David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Steve Holland and Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Chizu Nomiyama, Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - US President Donald Trump meets Mahmud Abbas Wednesday for their first face-to-face talks, with the Palestinian leader hoping the billionaire businessman's unpredictable approach can inject life into long-stalled peace efforts.

Abbas makes the trip to Washington while politically unpopular back home, but hoping Trump can pressure Israel into concessions he believes are necessary to salvage a two-state solution to one of the world's oldest conflicts.

Palestinian officials have seen their cause overshadowed by global concerns such as the Syrian war and Islamic State group jihadists, and want Trump's White House to bring it back to the forefront.

"Palestinians are hoping that Trump's unpredictability might play in their favour," one Jerusalem-based European official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"They are going to be very disappointed. They can't be sure of anything."

Examples were seen early on, with Trump backing away from the US commitment to the two-state solution when he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February.

He said he would support a single state if it led to peace, delighting Israeli right-wingers who want to see their country annex most of the occupied West Bank.

Trump also vowed to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem, a prospect that alarmed Palestinians but which has been put on the back burner for now.

At the same time, he urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a longstanding concern of Palestinians and much of the world.

One of Trump's top advisers, Jason Greenblatt, held wide-ranging talks with both Israelis and Palestinians during a visit in March.

Abbas and Trump spoke by phone on March 11.

- Pressuring Hamas? -

Trump's unpredictability is far from Abbas's only concern, with polls suggesting most Palestinians want the 82-year-old to resign.

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Abbas's term was meant to expire in 2009, but he has remained in office with no elections held.

The bitter split between Abbas's Fatah party, based in the West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, has also taken a new turn in recent days.

Some analysts say it seems Abbas is seeking to increase pressure on Hamas in the impoverished strip, but he risks being blamed for worsening conditions in the enclave of two million people.

Israeli officials say the Palestinian Authority dominated by Abbas's Fatah has begun refusing to pay Israel for electricity it supplies to Gaza.

Rights activists say exacerbating an already severe power shortage in the strip under an Israeli blockade for 10 years could be catastrophic.

The reported move comes after the PA announced earlier in April it would temporarily cut stipends to its Gaza civil servants.

The PA said it was forced into cutbacks by falling foreign aid, but others alleged it could be aimed at stirring discontent in Gaza and destabilising the Hamas administration there.

- Regional support -

With those difficulties in mind, Abbas may face demands from Trump that could be "political suicide" for him to implement, the European official said.

Such demands may include stopping payments to families of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, a policy heavily criticised by Netanyahu as encouraging further violence.

Doing so could further open Abbas to accusations of bending to Israel's will, particularly with one of his rivals in Fatah, Marwan Barghouti, leading a hunger strike involving hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails since April 17.

Barghouti is serving five life sentences over his role in the second Palestinian intifada, but he is popular and polls suggest he could win the Palestinian presidency.

Trump has spoken of reviving the idea of a regional peace initiative, pulling in countries such as Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab nations to have signed peace treaties with Israel.

Both Abbas and Trump have recently met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II.

After meeting Abbas on Saturday, Sisi urged Washington to help restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Jamal Shubaki, Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, said Abbas, Sisi and Abdullah shared the same goal of explaining "to the new American administration their attachment to the Arab peace initiative".

The proposal made in 2002 holds out normalised ties between Arab nations and Israel in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Abbas's visit also comes amid speculation about when Trump will visit Israel.

An Israeli official confirmed that talks on a visit were under way, but no date had been set. Israeli media reports have said it could occur in late May.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed militias said on Monday they had pushed Islamic State fighters out of the old quarters of Tabqa, a strategically vital town controlling Syria's largest dam, hemming the militants into the remaining modern district along the shore. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance made up of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighting groups, are fighting a multi-phased campaign to drive Islamic State from its stronghold of Raqqa, 40km (25 miles) downstream and east of Tabqa. The SDF will wait to assault Raqqa until it seizes Tabqa, its military officials have previously said, but it had made slow progress since besieging the town in early April. This changed on Thursday when the SDF began to advance north into the old city. On Monday the SDF said in an online statement it had taken the last three neighborhoods of the old city and an adjoining industrial district. SDF forces were now fighting Islamic State in the three modern quarters of the town which lie along the Tabqa reservoir, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said. Islamic State still control the dam. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said on Monday the SDF now controls about 80 percent of Tabqa. In recent weeks the SDF has also squeezed Islamic State's pocket of territory around Raqqa, which the jihadist group has used as a base to plot attacks and manage much of its self-declared caliphate since seizing the city in 2014. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Toby Chopra)
This week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas heads to Washington as President Donald Trump makes his first major foray into Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Thus far, the administrations approach has exceeded expectations. Fears that Trump would quickly move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and declare open season for Israeli settlement construction have not materialized. Instead, he has declared his intention to make Israeli-Palestinian peace a priority. He has taken early steps to build a good relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while still encouraging the Israelis to restrain settlement activity. He has dispatched a special envoy  Jason Greenblatt, the presidents special representative for international negotiations  who has conducted a wide-ranging listening tour to get smart on the issues. And the White House invitation to Abbas is a sign that Trump appears willing to engage on this issue in a way that does not shatter previous norms. However, now the hard work begins.

Given his natural inclination to make a splash, Trump may look for a big breakthrough on a final peace agreement and use their meeting to ask Abbas to resume negotiations. This would be unwise and is unlikely to work. For Abbas, going back to negotiations with the Israelis comes with a major cost. After nearly 25 years of failure, the Palestinian public considers negotiations as purely an excuse by the Israelis to buy time while they continue to build settlements and perpetuate the occupation. This is especially true right now, as Abbas faces internal political pressure from a major Palestinian prisoner hunger strike led by one of the men looking to succeed him  Marwan Barghouti. To go back into negotiations, Abbas will need a high-profile concession from Netanyahu that he can sell. But given the power of the far-right wing of the Israeli governing coalition, Netanyahu will not be able to take such a step.

The United States may try to sweeten the deal for Israel by leveraging the converging interests that Israel and the Arab States share in pushing back on Iran. The hope would be to get the Arabs to start publicly engaging with Israel, which would be politically helpful for Netanyahu, in exchange for Netanyahu making concessions to the Palestinians. But this formula is also unlikely to work. The Arab States are already getting the security cooperation they want from Israel and are happy to keep it quiet. They would need to see serious steps from the Israelis on the Palestinian front to take the risk of going public  steps that are again not possible given the right wing government in Israel.

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Despite these obstacles, Trump may succeed in getting the parties back to the negotiating table through sheer persistence. But as former Secretary of State John Kerry learned in the 2013-2014 negotiations in which we participated, fear of being blamed by the United States can get the parties to the table  but it will not get them to make the major trade-offs on core issues such as the future borders of the Palestinian state, security arrangements for Israel, the final disposition of the Palestinian refugees, or arrangements for Jerusalem. The moment is simply not ripe for a big initiative.

Trump should instead seek a series of smaller steps from all sides that improve the quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians on the ground, preserve the possibility of the imperiled two-state solution, dissuade both sides from taking unhelpful steps, and create a better environment for future negotiations. Importantly, he should not make steps by the Israelis contingent on steps from the Palestinians, or vice versa. Dont get drawn into negotiating between the two sides. Just individually work with both sides and get them to each take positive steps, unilaterally.

The Israelis should be asked to make moves to improve the Palestinian economy and expand basic freedoms. Israelis should see these steps as in their own interest: a more prosperous Palestinian economy should lead to a happier citizenry and more peaceful conditions on the ground. Vigorously addressing the vast economic imbalance between Israelis and Palestinians  is in everyones interest. A key obstacle to Palestinian economic development is land access. Population density in Palestinian-controlled areas is more than four times higher than in Israel and the 60 percent of the West Bank under Israeli administration. If a small percentage of the West Bank under Israeli control were transferred to the Palestinians  carefully selected for economic value where housing could be built, solar fields created, agribusiness developed, marble mines opened, and tourism developed  it could boost Palestinian GDP by double digits, creating much-needed jobs.

Palestinians seek an end to Israeli restrictions on their ability to leave or enter the West Bank through Jordan. Israel could almost immediately add an extra shift of customs officials to keep the borders open 24 hours a day, instead of only during prescribed hours.

Gaza has dire economic and humanitarian needs. With unemployment at 40 percent  higher than any country on Earth  and electricity unavailable for the majority of the time, what Gaza desperately needs is power. Since under existing arrangements Israel is the major power supplier to Gaza, an additional electricity transmission line could be completed swiftly. As a follow-up, an agreement for a natural gas pipeline to Gaza should be concluded, though this would take a few more years.

The Trump administration also should help implement a number of agreements that the Israelis and Palestinians signed themselves  with the encouragement of the U.S. government  over the past few years. Some examples include bringing much needed 3G communications technology to the West Bank, removing the indirect taxation of health services, and repairing water systems. Implementation would replace outdated arrangements from the 1990s that are causing aggravation on the ground. These advances would have the additional benefit of dramatically tamping European criticism of Israel.

Israelis also seek an end to what Netanyahu described as Palestinian call[s] for Israels destruction inside their schools, inside their mosques, inside their textbooks. The Palestinian leadership should double down on its condemnations of incitement, no matter how much pressure they face from their own population. Despite the fact that Palestinians would argue that U.S. government-funded studies have already shown that incitement has been removed from Palestinian textbooks  and that Israel even allows Palestinian textbooks to be used in Israel-controlled East Jerusalem  problems persist. The Palestinian Authority should undertake an education advancement program that would deepen critical thinking skills, embrace a culture of inclusion, advance entrepreneurship, integrate technology into the classroom, and build stronger parent involvement. The Palestinian leadership already has such a plan, but what they need is the funding and partnership to implement it. Israelis and Palestinians will need a referee to help determine if progress is being made. In the 1990s, a joint American-Israeli-Palestinian trilateral commission monitored incitement. The Trump administration should push to revive such an entity.

Finally, there is the question of settlements. There have been reports that the administration is negotiating with the Israelis on what types of settlement activity would be acceptable and what are not. The Trump administration should avoid diving into this morass which could send the United States deep into a never-ending negotiation vortex. Moreover, even if Netanyahu and Trump could agree on terms, Israels pro-settlement coalition would balk. Instead, Trump should leverage his good relationship with Netanyahu to privately press him for as much restraint as possible without forcing an explicit agreement.

Ultimately, getting each side to take these small unilateral steps is not sexy. It requires patience  but the first 100s days of the Trump presidency may have instilled a dose of realism in the Trump team. If the American president can successfully convince both sides to take these actions, we might at least start to see improvements on the ground that create better conditions for peace in the future.

Photo credit: THAER GANAIM/PPO via Getty Images
Beirut (AFP) - A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance is advancing against the Islamic State group in the key town of Tabqa near the jihadist bastion of Raqa in northern Syria, a monitor said Sunday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces now control "more than 70 percent of Tabqa," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said: "The Old City has been entirely taken and there is fierce fighting going on at the gates of the new town."

He said the alliance was bombing IS positions in the new town.

The SDF published photos Sunday it said showed items retrieved from newly captured parts of the town, including at least a dozen guns, as well as missiles, ammunition, and an IS flag.

The SDF entered Tabqa on Monday as part of their offensive against Raqa, IS's de facto Syrian capital.

Supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, the SDF surrounded Tabqa in early April.

The town sits on a strategic supply route about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa, and served as an important IS command base, housing the group's main prison.

It is also adjacent to the Tabqa dam, another important strategic prize which remains under IS control.

The assault on Tabqa began in late March when SDF forces and their US-led coalition allies were airlifted behind IS lines.

The city is home to an estimated 85,000 people, including IS fighters from other areas.

IS has put up fierce resistance, including using weaponised drones, a tactic the group perfected in neighbouring Iraq.

The group is also fighting street-to-street and using suicide attackers and car bombs to slow the SDF's advance, according to the Observatory.

The assault on Raqa, dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates", was launched in November and has seen SDF fighters capture large swathes of countryside around the city.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
TASHKENT (Reuters) - Uzbekistan's police routinely uncover militant Islamists among Uzbek migrants returning home and plan to expose those who remain abroad via social networks, Interior Minister Abdusalom Azizov said on Tuesday. An Uzbek asylum seeker has been charged by a Swedish court over a deadly truck attack in Stockholm last month that put Uzbekistan, a largely Muslim Central Asian nation, in the global spotlight. Five people were killed in the attack. "I will not hide the fact that almost every day we uncover people ... who have returned (from abroad) and start spreading the Wahhabi ideology here," Azizov told reporters, referring to the ultra-conservative strand of Islam that inspires some militant groups and is banned in Uzbekistan. "There are many attempts (to spread it in Uzbekistan), but so far we are stopping them all," he added. Azizov said most Islamist suspects returning to Uzbekistan had been radicalized while living abroad, "in Russia, Turkey, other countries". Uzbekistan, which battled armed Islamists on its own soil in the 1990s, said last month it had tipped off a western nation before the Stockholm attack that Rakhmat Akilov, the suspected perpetrator, was an Islamic State recruit. It did not say which nation it had contacted about Akilov. Tashkent's poor human rights track record under its late president Islam Karimov limited its security cooperation with the West. But Shavkat Mirziyoyev, elected president last year following Karimov's death, has overseen the release of several political prisoners, winning praise from Washington. "But in some countries, including Sweden, our (suspected radicals) are treated as refugees," said Azizov. He added that his ministry planned to publish a wanted list of Uzbek militants on social networks to help draw them to the attention of potential foreign employers and landlords. Azizov did not say how many Uzbek nationals were returning home or how many of them were suspected militants. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's decision to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Washington, saying his cooperation was needed to counter North Korea, even as the administration faced human rights criticism for its overture to Manila. Trump issued the invitation on Saturday night in what the White House said was a "very friendly" phone conversation with Duterte, who is accused by international human rights groups of supporting a campaign of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines. There is nothing right now facing this country and facing the region that is a bigger threat than whats happening in North Korea, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told ABCs This Week during a weekend in which Trump sought to firm up support in Southeast Asia to help rein in North Koreas nuclear and missile programs. North Korea suggested on Monday it would continue its nuclear weapons tests, saying it will bolster its force "to the maximum" in a "consecutive and successive way at any moment" in the face of what it calls U.S. aggression and hysteria. Priebus insisted the outreach to Duterte doesn't mean that human rights don't matter, but what it does mean is that the issues facing us developing out of North Korea are so serious that we need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get to make sure we have our ducks in a row. Since he came to power last year, Duterte has often sniped at Washington, his country's longtime ally, has sought to mend relations with China and spoken of improving ties with Russia. Asked on Monday about his invitation from Trump, he was non-committal, telling reporters: "I'm tied up. "I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia and go to Israel," he said, referring to already scheduled visits. Foreign Ministry spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said that once a formal letter of invitation came it would be accepted. The invitation for Duterte to the visit White House at an unspecified date appeared to be the latest example of the affinity Trump has shown for some foreign leaders with shaky human rights or autocratic reputations. For instance, he expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign, hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the White House and has had warm words for Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump is pressing to do more to rein in its ally and neighbor, North Korea. On Sunday, Trump also extended a White House invitation to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former general who heads a military government that took power in a 2014 coup. Prayuths administration had strained relations with Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama. Celebrating a man who boasts of killing his own citizens and inviting him to the White House, while remaining silent on his disgusting human rights record, sends a terrifying message, said John Sifton, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch. By effectively endorsing Duterte's murderous war on drugs, Trump has made himself morally complicit in future killings, he said. A Trump administration official insisted, however, that the invitation was not a reward to Duterte or an endorsement of his policies but a decision that engagement with the Philippines was better than withdrawal which could intensify bad behavior by Duterte. Its not a thank you, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Its a meeting. The official denied a New York Times report citing administration officials saying the State Department and the National Security Council were caught off-guard by the invitation to Duterte and were expected to object internally. "We were not surprised. The guys who prepared for the call were unified on this," the official said. 'ON THE SAME PAGE' ON NORTH KOREA Priebus made clear that North Korea was the top priority. If we dont have all of our folks together  whether theyre good folks, bad folks, people we wish would do better in their country, doesnt matter, weve got to be on the same page on North Korea, Priebus said. But taking a swipe at Trump for his invitation to Duterte, Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy tweeted: We are watching in real time as the American human rights bully pulpit disintegrates into ash." Thousands of Filipinos have been killed since Duterte unleashed his fierce anti-drugs campaign nearly 10 months ago. Police say they have killed only in self-defense, and the deaths of other drug dealers and users was down to vigilantes or narcotics gangs silencing potential witnesses. Human rights groups say official accounts are implausible and accuse Duterte of backing campaign of systematic extrajudicial killings by police. The government denies that. Duterte was infuriated by the Obama administration's expressions of concern about extrajudicial killings after he took office last year and threatened to sever the long-standing U.S. defense alliance. Duterte spoke positively about Trump, a fellow populist, after the U.S. presidential election in November, and the new administration has sought ways to mend the alliance. In a summary of Saturdays phone call between the two leaders, the White House said the two discussed the fact that the Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world. The White House statement included no criticism of Dutertes methods. (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Mary Milliken and Nick Macfie)
Is this T-shirt dress disrespectful to the military? (Photo: Forever 21)

A controversial dress sold at Forever 21 is being called disrespectful and even potentially illegal.

The ripped gray T-shirt dress that reads ARMY is a replica of the shirts worn by servicemen and -women during physical training. It ranges from $24 to $28 and is sold in conventional sizes (currently sold out) with a hood and long sleeves, and plus sizes, which have short sleeves. The dresses, which have a knifelike slash down the back, are part of a military line that also includes camo-print overalls and jumpsuits.

The problem: Some say the shirtdress is disrespectful to the men and women who serve their country, while others claim the price is a plain ripoff.

Forever 21 Ripped Off The Armys PT Shirts And, Somehow, Made Them Even Worse https://t.co/ZfO5yfHWjb pic.twitter.com/viKY03Lkdy  Daniel Alarik (@danielalarik) April 30, 2017

Forever 21 really took the shirts the army wear for PT and tryna sell it for a 40 piece i got an attitude pic.twitter.com/nSlHH3ibPG  Adrian (@AdrianB_5) April 29, 2017

Lol @Forever21 for taking army PT shirts and calling it "fashion" pic.twitter.com/osNcVgY4a1  Joanne Plescia (@jplesh_20) April 28, 2017

Why is this a fashion statement? one commenter asked on the blog Army Wife 101. One of the most disrespectful things I see is people wearing our uniform improperly as part of fashion, whether it be PTs or any piece of the combat uniform. These uniforms symbolize so much more than a look. Very disappointing.

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Another wrote, Forever 21 has lost my business. As a retired veteran, I find this disrespectful. This is something earned, not something to be sold as a fashion trend.

Blog the Fashion Law even questioned whether the Army shirts are a trademark infringement, given the militarys intellectual property rights to camouflage prints and related slogans.

Photo: Forever 21

In 2016, Kylie Jenner was also on the receiving end of criticism when she wore a shirtdress by V2 Bentley that bore the word Army.

Forever 21 is regularly in the hot seat, it seems  most recently in March, when two customers in Modesto, Calif., drew attention to a graphic T-shirt that featured lightning bolts and the number 88, which they claimed resembled a code phrase used by white supremacists that stood for Heil Hitler (H is the eighth letter in the alphabet). The women also said the lightning bolts represented the SS, a military organization under Adolf Hitler.

Whats more, Forever 21 has been accused of copying other designers. In June, it ignited controversy after releasing a T-shirt that was a bit too similar to Kanye Wests Life of Pablo tour merchandise. And in March, a Texas-based creative director called for people to boycott the brand after discovering that a Forever 21 bralette resembled his clothing and featured the same phrase he used on his own designs: Do Not Touch.

Yahoo Style could not reach a representative at Forever 21 for comment.

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
The iPhones Hey Siri feature helped save three fisherman from what could have otherwise been a tragic turn of events. According to Fox 4 News out of Florida, three fisherman were cruising along about 4 miles off the coast when they began encountering a violent spate of waves. Before long, the crews 18-foot boat proved no match for the waves as water began overtaking the boat.

Don't Miss: Even more Galaxy S8 problems are beginning to pop up

Per the report, one of the fisherman used the Hey Siri feature on his iPhone 7 to call 911. Shortly thereafter, a helicopter from the coast guard went out in search of the trio before finding them and bringing them back to safety.

They had an iPhone 7, which Im learning today is waterproof. However, he couldnt touch the screen with his fingers because they were cold, but he used Siri to call 911, Sgt. James Barrett said.

Notably, this isnt the first instance weve seen of iPhone owners utilizing Hey Siri in order to call for help when dialing 911 wasnt feasible. Just a few months ago, for example, a four-year old used the feature in order to call 911 after his mom passed out. And this past summer, a mother in Australia used the feature to call for help while she tended to her 1-year-old daughter who had stopped breathing.

As the BBC reported a few months back:

Stacey Gleeson grabbed her iPhone and ran to the childs room to help her but dropped it as she turned on the light. She shouted at the handset to activate Siri and told it to get the emergency services on speakerphone as she began CPR. Ms Gleeson told the BBC she feels it may have saved her daughters life.

The Hey Siri feature on the iPhone was originally introduced on the iPhone 6s and is made possible by Apples M9 motion coprocessor. Apple has advertised the feature as a helpful way to use the iPhones various features hands-free  with the companys Cookie Monster commercial being a prime example  but Hey Siri appears to be incredibly useful in emergency situations as well.

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Courtesy Local 33  UNITE HERE(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) -- Eight graduate student teachers at Yale University have been on hunger strike since last Tuesday in an effort to push a collective bargaining agreement with the university forward.



The protesters, including four men and four women who are part of the new Local 33-Unite Here union, say that their fast is indefinite or until the schools administration agrees to discuss an agreement with the eight departments that joined the union. They say they have only consumed water.



"Im pretty hungry, and Im tired most of the time," Charles Decker told ABC News, a graduate teacher for Yales Political Science department and one of the eight fasting. "But one thing that has kept my spirit up is the steady unyielding flood of support."



Yale University President Peter Salovey said in a statement, My primary concern is for the health and safety of our students. While I deeply respect their right to freedom of speech and expression, I urge our graduate students to reconsider this decision and to avoid actions that could be harmful to their well-being."



On April 12 and April 25, Local 33 filed to begin negotiations with Yale and the university refused, according to a spokeswoman with the union.



The university said in a statement that "this action is unwarranted by the circumstances" and that Local 33's "micro-unit strategy" of holding elections in individual departments is unusual compared to other universities and led to a low voter turnout of approximately 9 percent.



The university has asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to look into the protests and Local 33's individual department strategy, which it calls "exclusionary."



Decker told ABC News that local clergy, government, and many within the Yale community have been supportive of Local 33's protest at Yale, including Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Senator Richard Blumenthal.



He says one of the points they want to discuss is having more graduate students of color and asking the university to recruit and maintain faculty of color.



Decker's colleagues in other departments that joined the union say they are also fighting to make the campus a safer place for women. More than 50 percent of graduate women at Yale have reported being sexually harassed on campus, according to a 2015 study by Yale University and the Association of American Universities.



Currently, graduate student teachers receive a stipend of $30,000 or more, grants or fellowships for the full $39,800 tuition and access to primary medical care. However, the medical plan does not include mental health care, dental, or vision.



Yale released a statement on April 27 saying that the school provides unsurpassed support to doctoral students. Over a students entire doctorate program, it continues, the schools cost per student is nearly $375,000 for a single doctoral student and more than $445,000, for students with families.



The statement also said that "if a student has a spouse, but no dependent children, Yale pays half the cost of the spouses health insurance. If a student has a spouse and children, the university covers the full cost of their health insurance."



Decker says that there is almost no access to adequate mental health care, and in his experience it has taken months before he was seen by a healthcare professional due to Yale's low coverage. He also says that with pay cuts from last year that he believes even the most experienced teachers are not being paid equally for their work.



Several processions have occurred on Yales campus since February 23, when the graduate student teachers from eight departments at the school voted in favor of forming the new union, Local 33, through the NLRB.



Yale says it currently has five-year contracts with their Local 34 and Local 35 unions for their clerical, service, and maintenance employees.



This "indefinite" fast comes about three weeks before the Ivy League schools graduation.

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Notorious for its strong stance against Israel, Hamas has released a document showcasing a shift in its policies by affirming that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. It also stressed that the group does not wage a struggle against Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine before blaming the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.

The document was made public in Qatar by Khaled Meshaal, Hamass leader in exile since 2004, who vowed that they will not back down from the Palestinian right to return. He said they will remain defiant towards the Zionist ideology or entity and to ensure Palestines freedom from the [Jordanian] river to the [Mediterranean] sea. It wants a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

Tel Aviv is cautious with the document and a spokesman for Prime Minster Netanyahu alleged that Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed. The real Hamas according to him is they (Hamas) dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians.

Hamas has refused to recognize Israel and the document didnt signal a change a position in that case. Palestinian activist, Raja Abdulhaq, doesnt think that there is a new initiative or new policy but rather a new way of qualifying what Hamas has been endorsing for the past 60 years.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is expected to be at the limelight this week as President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Israel this week.
Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco has acquired 100% of the stakes of United States biggest oil refinery after the Shell pulled out of Port Arthur refinery in Texas. The completion of the deal, that was first announced last year, gives Aramco a stronger foothold in the US and offers Saudi Arabia an opportunity to continue on its Vision 2030 plan aimed at diversifying the economy and increasing investments. Port Arthur has a production capacity of 600,000 barrels per day.

The refinery was owned in a joint venture called Motiva Enterprise between Aramco and the Royal Dutch Shell. The enterprise established in 1989 began to operate on the basis of parity, 50-50, since 2002. The partnership began to be rocky which led to Shell deciding to do away with its shares and Aramco confirmed the completion of the process.

However, the Saudi oil giant obtained the exclusive right to sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, the eastern half of Texas and the majority of Florida. On the other hand, Shell assumes sole ownership of Norco and Convent refineries in the state of Louisiana, and 11 distribution terminals.

Details of the agreement are yet to be clear but it is expected to be a major boost to the Aramco considering that it is preparing for an initial public offering in 2018. Its been declared the largest IPO in history, with the state-run company expecting a valuation of $2 trillion.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein has raised eyebrows over Egypts policies to combat extremism as he highlighted that a state of emergency, the massive numbers of detentions, reports of torture and continued arbitrary arrest  all of this we believe facilitates radicalization in prisons. He noted that the series of measures adopted by the Egyptian authorities to crackdown on civil society are not the way to fight terror. Al-Hussein acknowledged that national security must be a priority for every country, but again not at the expense of human rights.

His comments were not welcomed by the spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid of the Egyptian foreign ministry. We dont see the High Commissioner criticizing other states implementing states of emergency that dealing with similar conditions, he observed. Zeid explained that the population is being targeted by terrorist operations and the government is determined to neutralize the threat. He termed the al-Husseins remarks as irresponsible and unbalanced considering the situation on the ground while arguing that the state of emergency was passed by the parliament in conformity with the rules and restrictions outlined by the constitution.

On Monday, unidentified gunmen operated a drive-by shooting on a police convoy near the main ring road around Cairo, killing three officers and wounding five others. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack although the Interior Ministry stated that the matter is being investigated. Two weeks ago, a leaked video has emerged that appears to show members of the Egyptian military shooting unarmed detainees to death at point-blank range in the Sinai Peninsula and staging the killings to look as if they had happened in combat. Many opposition voices accused al-Sisi regime of faking attacks and killing innocents as terrorist individuals and groups.

Since the ousting of the coalition government led by the Muslim Brotherhoods Mohammed Morsi in 2013 in a military backed coup detat led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, there has been a surge in terrorist attacks in the country. The situation has led to the government embarking on counter-terrorist measures to reduce the attacks which often target government and security officers but recently, Christians too. Egypt last month was shaken by one of the bloodiest attacks in years when Islamic State group suicide bombers targeted two Christian churches, killing 45 people.
Morocco and France reiterated commitment to further strengthen their partnership, notably in the fields of security, sustainable development, culture and education said the Royal Office in a statement.

The statement was issued following a luncheon in Paris hosted by the French President Francois Hollande in Honor of King Mohammed VI and the delegation accompanying him, including cabinet members.

The statement added that the two heads of state expressed satisfaction at the special and multifaceted character of Moroccan-French relations which transcend the political agenda.

They voiced confidence regarding the future of Moroccan-French partnership and stressed its strategic importance at the bilateral, euro-Mediterranean and African levels, said the Royal Office.

In this respect, President Holland congratulated King Mohammed VI on Moroccos return to the African Union and lauded the Kingdoms contributions to the development efforts in the continent, said the statement.

For his part, King Mohammed VI thanked President Hollande for his personal commitment to strengthen the Moroccan-French friendship and reiterated Moroccos willingness to further promote the special ties between the two countries, the statement added.

The Royal visit to Paris comes at a particular context marked by an electoral presidential race with high stakes for the future of France and the EU. Pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right anti-immigration Marine Le Pen began a final duel for the French Presidency due on May 7.

Polls suggest that Centrist Emmanuel Macron will enter the second round of voting as a clear favourite over his rival, Le Pen.

President Hollande has previously called on French voters to reject Le Pen and back Emmanuel Macron, his former economy minister whom he described as a leader who would defend the values which will bring French people together at such an important moment, a serious time for Europe, the world and France.
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.
Thirteen civil society leaders on Monday urged Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to take a medical leave immediately as his heath situation is deteriorating.

In an open letter titled President Buhari should take medical leave immediately, the civil society leaders questioned Buharis absence from the latest two weekly cabinet meetings and speculation about his ability to run the country.

We are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay, the activists wrote.

Muhammadu Buhari who returned from a long medical leave in March said he would need more rest and health tests.

The presidencys failure to explain Buharis absence during cabinet meetings and publics events, continued to fuel rumors and agitations with many Nigerians demanding a regular bulletin on the presidents health.

Buhari had formally made his vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, acting president when he left for treatment, but that appointment can only stand when the president is out of the country.

Osinbajo played a prominent and active role in Buharis absence, chairing cabinet meetings and traveling extensively in the West African nation to represent him.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday announced plans to increase the minimum wage ($106 a month) by 18 percent in the East African nation.

We know that for two straight years, we have not increased the minimum wage. So, after consultation with key stakeholders, I have directed that the minimum wage be increased by 18 per cent, Kenyatta said.

He also announced some labor reforms including an increase in non-taxable bonuses and overtime to cushion low-income earners.

We want to continue doing these things. Give us the opportunity to continue with the good work, President Kenyatta told workers on Monday.

The reforms and investments will make us even more attractive to domestic and foreign investors, which will, therefore, produce more jobs, he argued.

Kenyas public debt stands at about 50 percent of GDP and the economy grows at a steady 5 to 6 percent a year.

Kenyatta, who runs for the presidential election in August, told parliament recently that additional borrowing by his government in the last four years had been used to fund the most aggressive agenda in Kenyas history.

Critics have accused Kenyattas government of putting the country at risk by increasing debt and not doing more to tackle corruption.
Burkina Fasos Government on Monday announced over 22,700 vacancies for people willing to enter the civil service.

According to the government, a total of 22,755 positions will be opened in due course to give chance to the youths to get back to work.

The Minister of Communication and government spokesperson, Remis Fulgance Dandjinou, who was speaking after a Council of Ministers meeting, said that the health and education sectors will share 81.33% of all the posts to be filled.

The landlocked West African nation is making a solid comeback, after a series of political tests in recent years.

Roch Marc Christian Kabore, an affable and strongly built banker, who was elected President in late 2015, pledged to fight youth unemployment, improve education and modernize the health system with a promise to make healthcare for children under six free.

The opposition, which protested a week ago, has meanwhile expressed some reservations about the move. It tagged the plan as a partisan selection procedures to reward militants.

Burkina Faso is one of the fastest rising gold producing countries in the world. It has been the fourth largest gold producer in Africa since 2012.
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The News in Brief

Georgia, Iran Mull Railway Connection



Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili paid a two-day official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran on April 22-23, where he held talks with President Hassan Rouhani, Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri and Majlis Chairman Ali Larijani.



The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes developing ties with Georgia in all fields, President Rouhani said at his meeting with PM Kvirikashvili. Iran and Georgia have great potential and capabilities for developing ties in the fields of economics, science and culture, he added.



At the meeting of President Rouhani and PM Kvirikashvili, special emphasis was drawn on the Persian Gulf-Black Sea transport and transit corridor. The Iranian President said on this matter: today, transit is very important in the region and with regard to connecting Irans rail system to Astara (town in northern Iran) and Azerbaijan and good rail and road connection in Georgia, deepening Tehran-Tbilisi ties in this field can make great developments in the region.



The Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor featured at Kvirikashvilis meeting with Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri as well. The most important issue is the issue of North-South corridor and connection of the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea through Iran-Armenia-Georgia or Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia, Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Tehran Times.



According to the Vice President, Iran has already expressed it readiness to connect the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea through the North-South Corridor, which would connect Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran on its path.



PM Kvirikashvilis administration said in its press release of the meeting, that the Iranian side expressed readiness to cooperate with Georgia in the energy sector, including electric power exchange and providing Georgia with Iranian natural gas.



Several memoranda of understanding and agreements were signed by Georgian and Iranian ministries and between private sector representatives, respectively.



As part of his visit to Tehran, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili also met with Majlis (Iranian Parliament) Chairman Ali Larijani.



Led by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the Georgian delegation included Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, Economy Minister Giorgi Gakharia, Environment Minister Gigla Agulashvili, Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Tariel Khechikashvili and the Prime Ministers Foreign Advisor Tedo Japaridze.



Kvirikashvilis trip to Iran came three days after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifs visit to Georgia. (civil.ge)







UNM against Central Election Commission



Zaza Bibilashvili, one of the leaders of the United National Movement party, says that the election code will be changed in order for the National Movement to be fined if it expresses support for Mikheil Saakashvili.



According to Bibilashvili, the initiative of the Central Election Commission  to declare the participation of a person, who has no right to participate in the pre-election campaign, as a violation  is specifically directed against one person who is considered by Bidzina Ivanishvili as the main threat to his Georgian Dream party.



According to him, "in parallel with the violence on the constitution", the government has taken another step to further restrict democratic processes and usurp power in the country.



"These changes prove that Ivanishvili thinks that the protection of his family-clan regime is possible only through illegalities and injustice. He understands that his government cannot last long in the conditions of a fair and democratic electoral environment. We guarantee that, together with the Georgian people, we will remove him from Georgia, as he is the biggest enemy of the country," Bibilashvili said. (IPN)







Inter RAO affiliates start investment dispute with Georgia



Gardabani Holdings B.V. and Silk Road Holdings B.V., Dutch affiliates of the Russian power-holding Inter RAO, have notified Georgia of an investment dispute on compensation due to the depreciation of the Georgian currency, the lari, Prime Business News Agency reports.



The companies sent letters to the Georgian President and ministers of foreign affairs, justice, and energy on April 14, saying that the country has violated its liabilities under an international agreement signed with the Netherlands on the stimulation of investment and mutual protection of interests.



Silk Road bought 75.11% in Georgian power grid company Telasi in 1998, and Gardabani bought 100% in hydropower plants Krami-1 and Khrami-2 in 2011. The purchase contracts say that Telasi and Khrami-1s tariffs were to increase if the lari depreciates against the U.S. dollar and Khrami-2s will rise if the lari depreciates against the Japanese yen.



These obligations were also confirmed by a memorandum on cooperation signed by the government of Georgia in 2013, the Vedomosti Business Daily reported.



But in 2014, the Georgian regulator created a methodology for the calculation of tariffs that did not encompass these obligations. In 20132016, the lari lost 31% against the U.S. dollar and 13% against the Japanese yen, but the regulator rejected requests of Telasi, Khrami-1 and Krami-2 to raise the tariffs, Vedomosti reported.



An Inter RAO representative told the business daily that the company wants agreements to be adhered to strictly, and the compensation may amount to tens of millions of U.S. dollars. The company is in constant dialogue with authorities of Georgia and it does not plan to sell these assets, the person said.



Gardabani and Silk Road did not name the amount of the compensation they want to receive, saying only that they want to solve the dispute through negotiations, but reserve the right to file a suit to an international arbitration court if the negotiations fall through. (ipn)




Is that not what the Democrat Party has created right here in America, transforming a once prosperous, strong, united, and safe nation into a debt-laden, militarily weak, socially divided, and increasingly dangerous society? Here are some of the Bizarro policies and beliefs inflicted on us by the neo-socialist, globalist, anti-American Democrat Party over the past few decades  PAUL E. SCATS
@KyraGurney

Former Florida state representative Erik Fresen was back to business as usual on Tuesday, speaking at an education event in Miami less than a week after pleading guilty to failing to file a tax return for 2011.

The former House education budget chairman was a panelist at an event organized by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce on education options in the downtown area. Fresen advocated for charter schools and discussed the need to better promote the strength of Miami-Dade schools to business interests and families in the downtown area.

Fresen, who represented House District 114 until he was term-limited last year, has ties to the charter school industry. He has worked as a land-use consultant for Miami architecture firm Civica, which has done work for charter school management company Academica, whose founder is Fresen's brother-in-law.

One topic Fresen did not discuss at Monday's event: his tax troubles. In a statement filed with his plea agreement, Fresen admitted to failing to file federal tax returns between 2007 and 2016, eight years of which he served as a state legislator. Fresen still owes at least $100,000 in back taxes, according to prosecutors.

At the panel discussion, held at the Hilton Miami Downtown, Fresen dodged a question from the Miami Herald about why he had not filed federal income tax returns. Fresen faces from probation up to one year in prison for his misdemeanor conviction and will be sentenced in August.
Gov. Rick Scott will hit the road starting Wednesday for a three-day, 10-city tour of TV markets to keep criticizing his fellow Republicans who run the Legislature.

Scott's "Fighting for Florida's Future" tour will urge Floridians to contact their lawmakers "and urge them to invest in key priorities for Florida's future." The governor is still asking the Legislature to fully fund Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida and to allocate $200 million to help fix the Herbert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee. All three are on the legislative chopping block as leaders work to finalize work on the budget

"Unfortunately," Scott said in a statement, "the politicians in Tallahassee still haven't committed to funding these important priorities, which he emphasized account for less than 1 percent of an $83 billion state budget. Not funding the three items could cost Florida "hundreds of thousands of jobs," Scott said.

The locations are Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach, Miami, Pensacola, Panama City, Naples, Sarasota, Jacksonville and the Space Coast.
Ending what he called "20 years of talking," Senate President Joe Negron's top priority, construction of a massive new reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee, passed the Legislature Tuesday and is headed to Gov. Rick Scott's desk.

The bill (SB 10), sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, would create a massive new water storage facility to reduce harmful discharges of toxic blue algae from Lake Okeechobee and restore water flows to the Everglades. The Senate accepted a House amendment to reduce potential borrowing from $1.2 billion to $800 million, the amount Bradley told senators equals half of the project's total cost, which is to be shared between the state and federal government.

"I promised my constituents that we would dramatically expand southern storage by leveraging existing water infrastructure, and utilizing a combination of state, local, and private land," Negron said in a statement released right after the 33-0 vote. "After twenty years of talking about southern storage, this legislation establishes and fully funds a concrete plan to achieve this critical component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan in a reasonable amount of time."

Soon after the House gave final approval to the Lake O project, the House also passed an amended Senate bill that fulfills a priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran: a statewide referendum in 2018 that asks voters to increase the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $75,000.

Immediately after the homestead vote, Corcoran's office issued a statement calling it "a big win for all Floridians. If passed by the voters, this additional exemption will be one of if not the largest tax cut in the history of Florida at $645 million." Tuesday's vote sends the homestead exemption proposal directly to the November 2018 ballot.
@craigtimes

The Pentagon says maintaining the current moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico beyond 2022 is essential for developing and sustaining our nation's future combat capabilities," according to a letter sent to U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach.

The Department of Defense "cannot overstate the vital importance of maintaining this moratorium, Anthony M. Kurta, the acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, wrote in the letter, released Monday by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's office.

In 2006, Nelson and then-Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican, successfully brokered a deal to ban oil drilling off much of Floridas Gulf Coast through most of 2022. As a result, there is currently a no-drilling zone that extends 125 miles off much of Floridas Gulf Coast and as far as 235 miles at some points to protect vital military training areas in the eastern Gulf until June 30, 2022.

Even as President Donald Trump was signing an executive order encouraging an expansion of offshore drilling, Florida lawmakers from both parties have filed legislation to extend by five years a ban on oil drilling off much of Floridas Gulf coast until 2027,.

The debate over expanding drilling is occurring just after the seventh anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which left oil tainting beaches in eight Florida Panhandle counties. Trump just ordered an easing of the safety measures implemented in the wake of that disaster, which killed eleven people and caused billions of dollars in damages.
For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page
The construction workers rebuilding the Madison Street Bridge are approaching a major milestone. In a week theyll be ready to open one half of the deck and start work on the other.

The $7 million bridge is set to finish in August and is on schedule, despite an early cold snap that delayed construction, according to Frontier West owner Mike Murphy.

Couldnt be any worse than January, February, he said.

Even the cool, rainy spring didnt slow them down.

We slugged away, he said. Didnt have a choice, really.

Got to be finished before that first Griz home game in August, Murphy said.

By next Monday, May 8, Murphy said his crews should be making the switch to working on the west half of the bridge, opening up the completed east lanes, with widened pedestrian sidewalk and bike lanes.

The underbridge will close the same day they switch sides, Murphy said, until the project is finished.

Bicyclists and pedestrians can use the completed half of the bridge to cross at Madison Street.

The west half of the bridge will receive the same treatment as the east. The deck will come off and the double supports on the south end will be replaced by a single column, before the new road is put on, along with the sidewalk, railing and light poles.

Murphy said the soon-to-be-completed half will be 100 percent finished, with no additional touches to be added in the summer.

Itll pretty much be the same as youre seeing now, he said.

According to a news release from Big Sky Public Relations Josh Galassi, the right hand turn onto Front Street will remain closed for a while, as will the trail connector from Maurice Avenue on the south end of the bridge.

Galassi, along with Frontier West and the Montana Department of Transportation, continue to hold public meetings every other Monday at 11 a.m. in the lobby of the Double Tree.

The next meetings are scheduled May 8 and 22.

MDT runs a live webcam for construction projects around the state at montanadotwebcams.com. The Madison Street project can be viewed all the way back to its January start, one image at a time.
One of Montanas other fire seasons should get rolling in the next few days as several national forests try to complete their spring burning projects.

The North Fork Ranger District in Idahos Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest plans to start two forest restoration burns covering several hundred acres on Wednesday, weather permitting. While that could potentially send smoke east over Lolo into the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys, current atmospheric conditions should help out the breathability.

Idaho is our main culprit for wildfire smoke, Missoula City-County Health Department Air Quality Technician Sarah Coefield said Monday. But these understory burns usually produce less smoke than a wildfire would. And the disturbed air systems weve been having are good for moving smoke away from our breathing space.

National Weather Service forecasts call for a few more days of wet weather in western Montana, followed by a clearing and warming shift Wednesday and Thursday. Both circumstances help with air quality, either by making it hard to start fires or clearing airsheds quickly before smoke can build up.

Thats good, because the the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest has burns planned in five ranger districts besides North Fork. Closest to Missoula, the Lochsa/Powell Ranger District has 316 acres in two areas planned. Moose Creek Ranger District has one burn of about 350 acres set. The Palouse Ranger District plans to burn 140 acres across four sites. The Red River Ranger District has 630 acres slated in four sites.

The Salmon River Ranger District has 331 acres set for three timber sale sites, and another 2,000 to 4,000 acres planned for hazardous fuels reduction in the Kessler, Blue Mountain, Monument, Wickiup, Blue Ridge and Blacktail drainages.

And the Idaho Panhandle National Forests along Montanas northwest border have about 5,000 acres scheduled for burning this spring.

Ranger districts inside Montana also have some anticipated spring burning projects, but may miss much of their early-season window.

Its been so wet, and to burn you have to have specific relative humidities, Coefield said. Now were into green-up, where everything was too wet and now its too green. Id love it if they could pull off some of their burning, because its important to do.

Private-property burners have had better luck than the Forest Service. Coefield said about 3,000 people have filed burning permits in the Missoula area, and already have logged about 4,400 burns. Most of these involve small slash piles or agricultural refuse, while some larger piles are burning on logging sites.

By this time last year, the (Montana) ranger districts had put in a lot of understory burns, Coefield said. The Rattlesnake hasnt had any proposed yet so far this year. In the Seeley Lake area, they had one understory burn requested, but I doubt they did it because it started raining.
The use of high-cost borrowing methods such as payday loans and a lack of retirement and college savings plans may be keeping many in Montanas Native American population in an endless cycle of poverty.

There are more than 62,000 Native Americans in Montana, making up 6.6 percent of the states population, and a new national study has found that they are more likely to have high levels of financial distress compared to other demographic groups.

Native Americans are also relatively more likely to use high-interest, risky alternative borrowing methods such as pawn shop transactions or auto-title loans. Theyre less likely to have money saved up for their childrens college education and only a quarter of survey respondents could come up with $2,000 in 30 days in the event of a financial emergency.

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the First Nations Development Institute recently published the results of a study that suggests there are segments of American society that have not seen their financial capabilities change much since the Great Recession nearly a decade ago.

Using a nationwide survey, the studys authors found that, on average, only 64 percent of Native American and Alaska Native people have a savings account, money market fund or CD, compared to 68 percent of African Americans, 79 percent of Asian Americans and 77 percent of whites.

Also, 37 percent of Native American households have used a higher cost, non-bank method to borrow money, such as a high-interest payday loan, within the last five years.

While financial literacy is not the only indicator of financial wellness, this report reveals stark contrasts among different ethnic groups, with Native Americans, Hispanics and African-Americans trailing national averages, said FINRA Foundation President Gerri Walsh. Over time, effective financial education programs, coupled with access to affordable financial products and continued economic growth, could improve the financial capability of Native peoples.''

According to a 2013 report from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, nearly 35 percent of Native Americans in Montana live in poverty, lower than only the Native populations in North and South Dakota and much higher than the U.S. average of about 23 percent.

For the 2010 Census, the official definition of living in poverty meant having a household income of $14,570 or less for a family of two or $22,050 for a family of four. According to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, the unemployment rate on some of Montana's reservations is twice or three times as high as the statewide average of about 4 percent.

Gary Mottola, the research director for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and an adjunct professor of statistics at Villanova Universitys Economics Department, said that the study found that Native Americans lagged behind whites and Asian Americans as far as financial capability, but were generally on par with African Americans and Hispanics.

However, in some key aspects, Native Americans' financial health was not on par with all demographic groups. Only 32 percent of Native Americans reported that they were setting aside any money for their childrens college education. The next lowest was 39 percent for both African Americans and whites.

Native Americans "ranked low in setting aside money for childrens education, Mottola said.

Also, only 33 percent of Native Americans said they have tried to figure out how much to save for retirement, compared to 35 percent for Hispanics, 36 percent for African Americans and 41 percent for both whites and Asian Americans.

The studys authors were Mottola and Sarah Dewees, the senior director of research, policy and asset-building at First Nations Development Institute.

As Native nations continue to experience economic growth, and per capita incomes continue to increase for Native people, financial capability may improve as well, they wrote in their conclusion. However, the findings in this brief suggest there is still much work to be done to help increase the financial capability of (native) peoples and provide opportunities for financial education and financial inclusion.
BILLINGS  A Washington man has admitted to federal charges accusing him of bringing a woman to Billings work as a prostitute.

During a Monday hearing in U.S. District Court, Andrew Anthony Rivera, 23, of Tacoma, pleaded guilty to transportation of a person with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

A plea agreement calls for a second charge to be dismissed at sentencing and for the sentencing range to be between two years and eight years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus said evidence would show that a law enforcement operation in April 2016 led to online communications with a person who was offering sex for money. Officers went to the Lexington Inn in Billings at 2 p.m. and identified an individual as S.B.

S.B. told officers that she had traveled from Washington with Rivera to engage in prostitution and that Rivera kept most of her earnings from commercial sex, Baucus said.

Rivera showed up at the motel later in the day and was detained, Baucus said. Rivera had $3,000. Officers also executed a search warrant on Riveras car and found multiple hotel receipts from different cities with S.B.s name on them and a notebook of sex rates and references to S.B., he said.

S.B. also told law enforcement several months later that Rivera took the photos that were posted to her Backpage ads and that ads for her for the Billings area were from April 2016.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan continued Riveras release on conditions. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters will sentence Rivera at a date to be determined. He faces a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A blog that focuses on our unique program that teaches natural horsemanship, heritage breed conservation, soil and water conservation, and even folk, roots, and Americana music. This blog discusses our efforts to prevent the extinction of the Corolla Spanish Mustang. Choctaw Colonial Spanish Horse, Marsh Tacky, and the remnants of the Grand Canyon Colonial Spanish Horse strain.
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The Pentagon's latest survey of sexual assault in the military estimates that the number of sexual assaults decreased to 14,900 in 2016, down from the 20,300 measured in the last survey conducted in 2014. Meanwhile, the number of sexual assaults reported by victims in 2016 rose slightly to 6,172, an increase that Pentagon officials said indicated greater awareness of the care and responses available to victims.



Overall, this year's report shows indications of progress, Dr. Elizabeth Van Winkle, the acting assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, said at a Pentagon news conference to release the report.



She later added, "We don't confuse progress with success."



"We must eliminate sexual assault in the military, said Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis in a statement. Our department cannot tolerate actions that weaken unit cohesion, leadership, or training -- the ingredients of combat effectiveness. The increased reporting and decreased prevalence captured in this report reflect higher confidence among our troops in our programs and policies.



"Every policy and every decision must keep faith with our people and ensure our military is ready to fight," continued Mattis. "This starts with treating all hands with respect and setting an atmosphere of trust that builds combat readiness. I will not tolerate conduct prejudicial to our values"



Every two years, a Pentagon survey estimates the "prevalence or rate of sexual assault, which is defined as rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual contact, abusive sexual contact and attempts to commit those offenses.



The survey estimated there were 14,900 sexual assaults in 2016, the lowest recorded by the survey since it was first conducted in 2006. The survey estimated 26,000 sexual assaults in 2012 and 20,300 in 2014.



According to the numbers released Monday, the number of victims reporting sexual assaults rose to a record high of 6,172 in 2016, up 1.5 percent from 6,083 in 2015.



We see the increase in rates of reporting as an indicator of a continued trust in our response and support systems, said Van Winkle.



About 9 percent of the reports were from service members who reported an incident that occurred prior to their military service.



The new numbers show one in three victims of sexual assault stepping forward to report an assault. That's an increase from the one in four who did so in 2014 and a significant increase from 2012 when only one in 10 sexual assault victims reported an assault.



But more than half of service members who reported sexual assaults said they perceived negative experiences or retaliation associated with their report.



The survey found "58 percent of active duty service members (58 percent of women and 60 percent of men) indicated experiencing a negative outcome they perceived as professional reprisal, ostracism, and/or maltreatment after reporting sexual assault." Those numbers "roughly the same as measured by surveys in 2012 and 2014."



Of the 14,900 incidents in 2016, 8,600 were reported by women and 6,300 were reported by men, the first time that more women than men reported that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact.



"While women are at higher risk for sexual assault, male service members traditionally account for the majority of the survey-estimated victims of sexual assault because the department is mostly comprised of men," states the report.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Julie Cajune, nationally recognized Salish educator and University of Montana Western alumna, is the featured speaker at the 120th commencement on Saturday, May 6.

Montana Westerns graduation starts at 11 a.m. at the Straugh Gymnasium in Dillon.

A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, Cajune has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Montana Western and a master's in bilingual education. She was one of the first people to teach the Salish language in the school system on Montanas Flathead Reservation.

Chancellor Beth Weatherby said Cajune has had a significant impact on American Indian education.

Cajune is executive director for the Center for American Indian Policy and Applied Research of the Heartlines Project. She was profiled in UTNE Reader publication as one of 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.

She is executive producer of Heart of the Bitterroot and produced and directed the film Remembering the Songs with the help of a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant.

Montana Western will award 440 degrees to 348 graduates, including 192 associate degrees, 222 bachelor degrees, and 26 certificates. In 2016, officials awarded 452 degrees  the most ever.

All told, 78 students will complete two or more degrees.

Overall, 47 percent graduate with honors, a grade point average of 3.33 or higher. Sixty percent of graduates are female and 40 percent male. Montanans comprise 72 percent of the graduates. Overall, 28 states are represented among the graduating class.

The university will also honor Bob Hanson, Montana Farm Bureau president, with the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Editor's Note: This story was updated 5/2/17 to make the following correction: The company engaged in a legal fight with Anaconda-Deer Lodge Co. is not Letica Land Trust, but Letica Land Company, LLC.

A new battle has begun over the Modesty Creek Road near Anaconda, and Anaconda-Deer Lodge County commissioners will decide Tuesday whether it will return to court.

Letica Land Co. LLC, a Michigan-based limited liability company, is seeking damages from the county following a three-year legal fight over public access to Forest Service land via the road. The county lost that fight in November 2015 when the Montana Supreme Court determined the upper part of the road is private.

Now Letica Land Co. claims the county should pay for damages that occurred when the public was allowed to access the area, pointing to both physical and constitutional harm  Specifically, legal documents claim the county used heavy equipment to move a berm.

The amount of money Letica is seeking is not immediately clear from court filings.

The county, through a prepared statement, said it denies all liability related to Leticas remaining claims.

However, the countys insurance provider advised Anaconda-Deer Lodge to ask Letica Land Co. to make a proposal for settlement, according to the county's statement. The county considered Letica's proposal in closed session during last weeks commission meeting.

Commissioners will vote Tuesday whether to accept or reject Letica Land Co.s proposed settlement, which hasnt been made public. If the county chooses to reject it, Anaconda-Deer Lodge will go back to court.

Letica Land Co. filed court documents late last year seeking damages from the county.

But the original battle started in 2012 when commissioners and others cut the lock on a gate that had blocked access to Modesty Creek Road since 1980. The county argued that Modesty Creek Road was established in the 1800s and had been a county road. It was open to the public until 1980 when private landowners erected a locked gate across the road, denying access.

A three-year legal tussle between the county and Letica Land Co. ensued. That fight led to the states Supreme Court ruling in November 2015 that the upper portion of Modesty Creek Road is private property, essentially cutting off access to the public land beyond. The high court said the county acquiesced to the locked gates for 30 years.

The upper portion of the road leads to Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest land, which includes several lakes.

The lower portion of the road, which the high court granted the county the right to access, leads to private property and is, essentially, a dead end.

Calls to county attorney Ben Krakowka and Missoula-based attorney Martin King, representing Letica Land Co., were not returned Monday.
A former Butte resident recently was recognized as the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney of the Year for Pierce County, Tacoma, Washington.

John Cummings, son of John and Helena (Lazzari) Cummings of Butte, received the award during a ceremony in March at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.

Cummings graduated from Butte High School in 2001, then graduated with high honors from Gonzaga University in Spokane. He graduated with honors from the Seattle University School of Law.

Cummings said he has always wanted to be a prosecutor and went to work for the Pierce County district attorneys office even before graduating from law school.

He is active in volunteer work in Tacoma, serving as president for the Rainbow Center for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth and also volunteers at the OASIS center for displaced young adults, many of whom have been thrown out of their home for being LGBTQ.

His sisters are Katie (Justin) Metcalf, Maggie Cummings and Abby Cummings.

Much like his grandparents, John believes we need to look out for each other in this world and puts his heart and soul into seeking justice for the many victims of crime in the Pierce County, his parents said.
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Let's be real, people: When President Donald Trump constantly savages journalists for reporting "fake news," he's faking it.

The man-child has a constant need for the attention that only mass media can provide. He watches cable news obsessively, reads the papers the same way, particularly the New York Post and, with someone there to explain the big words, The New York Times. When any report falls short of outright adulation, he throws a tantrum. And his followers roar their approval. The voted for him because they were angry at being left behind, angry at anybody and everybody identified as part of the "establishment" that they don't really comprehend -- they still are, but they love their Donald.

So it was on his 100th night in office. He spoke in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a state chosen because it had raised a big finger to that establishment and voted for him. "I could not possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles away from Washington swamp ... with much, much better people," he bellowed. It also was more than 100 miles away from the subdued, but still pretentious, White House Correspondents' Association dinner, that annual event where self-important media types and self-important Hollywood celebs mingle with self-important political types to tell each other how important they are. It was a little deficient in the celeb department; most of those stayed away, still getting over their post-traumatic stress disorder after Hillary's loss. She wasn't there either. In fact, the political ranks were depleted because the leaders of the Trump administration were boycotting in support (voluntary or coerced) of their great leader Donald Trump, who declined his invitation to attend. He became the first sitting chief executive not to show up since Ronald Reagan, who did have an excuse: He was recovering from being shot.

Trump's excuse was that he wanted to be as far as he could from the gathering of journalists who "are a disgrace ... incompetent, dishonest people." Not only do they spread "fake news," he says, but they work for "failing" organizations and are overall "enemies" of America.

It makes me proud to be one of those scumbags, but what's interesting is how seriously so many of my fellow lowlifes take these attacks. It's just part of the Donald Trump comedy routine that has served him so well over the decades. But like him, they are hypersensitive to criticism. Time and time again, they described the dinner as a celebration of journalism and a free press and all that jazz. What it was instead was a celebration of themselves and their thin skins.

"We are not 'fake news,'" Jeff Mason, the association's leader, declared as the audience roared approval. "We are not failing news organizations. And we are not the enemy of the American people." Take that, POTUS!

Of course, they had to share the TV screen with a president who was out celebrating his 100-day milestone with the folks who had been with him from day one. The self-serving coverage of the dinner had to share an audience with the self-serving speech of the president. And on a Saturday night, the television audience probably numbered in the dozens.

Can you imagine what it will be like if President Trump actually attends the dinner next year? He says he's considering it. But then, he's considered many issues during his first days, but doesn't have much to show for it. The job, he explains, is harder than he thought it would be.

Assuming he doesn't get tired of the drudgery, and assuming he hasn't created some international emergency, it wouldn't be a surprise if he actually did show up at the reporter shindig, mingling with his enablers. Without them, he'd be just another bankrupt contractor. With them, while pretending he's against them, he's all for them. They made him president, the guest of honor.

(c) 2017 Bob Franken

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
We have viewed numerous TV commercials, and read editorials and letters to the editor labeling Greg Gianforte an outsider and an East Coast millionaire.

As Real Montanans who were born and raised in Montana, we would like to address our version of what constitutes a Real Montanan. Apparently, residing in Montana over 20 years and raising a family here doesnt qualify. Our definition of a Real Montanan includes someone who loves Montana and the people in it. It is someone who history has proven generously shares his resources with others without consideration of their political party, religion, or culture. (Yes, even Democrats!) It is someone who uses his time, energy and money to start programs in schools to help our children earn a good living and be successful in life.

Although Greg seemingly doesnt like to tout his generosity, it is important for voters to know that the Gianforte Foundation has funded many and diverse projects around the state that help Montanans. Our family has personally benefited from Gregs generosity. When our son was struggling to start a new software company Greg rolled up his sleeves and spent many hours helping him through the complex process of starting a new business. Without Gregs help and expertise there is a good chance that the company would not have been able to get off the ground. Our sons company currently employs 10 Montanans, but based on recent demand his company is anticipating having to hire many more.

So despite the fact that Greg is not a Real Montanan and even worse, A Millionaire, we are supporting Gregs congressional candidacy because he has proven that he is committed to helping all Montanans.

-- Norman Nybo and Anita Nybo, Bozeman
Beginning with the Copper Kings, Montana has a long history of wealthy men  and corporations  trying to buy elections. Will we let this history repeat itself?

Greg Gianforte  a wealthy man backed by even wealthier interests  is following the script of those whove bought elections before him. He and his dark money supporters are plastering the airwaves with an ugly smear campaign. He has put on almost no free public events. If he wont listen to Montana voters on the campaign trail, what makes you think hell do so once in Washington?

Rob Quist, on the other hand, is traveling the state, talking with voters about their concerns. Hell support investment in Montanas infrastructure and fight to protect public lands, Social Security, and Medicare. Rob Quist is listening to voters now, and hell listen to Montanans after hes elected to office.

Do your part to show the world that Montana is not for sale by going to the county courthouse during business hours, with your ID, to vote. Not yet registered? No problem. At the courthouse, you can register and vote at the same time. Or vote at your polling place on May 25. Lets elect Rob Quist.

-- Martha Kohl, Helena
GREAT FALLS  A federal judge has accepted a Montana woman's guilty plea to second-degree murder for the death of a 13-month-old girl whose body was found in a trash can.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris set an Aug. 10 sentencing hearing for 43-year-old Janelle Red Dog of Poplar.

The Great Falls Tribune reports Red Dog told Morris that she had been taking care of 13-month-old Kenzley Olson when the girl became sick with pneumonia.

She says she hit the girl twice on April 18, 2016, to quiet her, and the baby also slipped and hit her chin that day.

She says the girl stopped breathing on the drive to the hospital the next morning, so she put Kenzley in a duffel bag and dumped the bag in a trash can.
MUSCATINE  Chris Dettbarn has many titles. He is a correction officer at the Muscatine County Jail. He is a hunter and a metal detection enthusiast. But in April and May, he has another title, one that he has cultivated throughout his lifetime: The mushroom whisperer.

Dettbarn, who has been hunting mushrooms since he was 8, is often the first among his friends to find morels in the Iowa thicket. For a few short weeks each spring, he will forage for mushrooms on friends properties across Louisa and Muscatine counties.

It all started out as a treasure hunt. Growing up in northern Iowa, Dettbarn, now 49, imitated the adults around him.

Me and the neighbor kids, we were just playing and we saw some locals carrying them and we said, we can find those, Dettbarn recalled.

The children ran to the edge of the swamp and collected mushrooms, which they brought home.

We took them to mom and dad and they ate them, he said. It wasnt anything that we were interested in eating.

But as he grew up, Dettbarn too, developed a taste for morels and other mushrooms. Nowadays, he collects morels to fry in butter and oil, and shares the rest with friends.

For Dettbarn, foraging in the forest is part puzzle, part relaxation. Looking for mushrooms is an excuse to be outside.

Youre not thinking about the outside world, youre just looking for trees, he said.

On Tuesday morning, he used that excuse to enjoy the solitude of the woods.

Scaling the muddy hills of a friends property in Louisa County, Dettbarn looked for dead elm trees, the spot where morel mushrooms are likely to grow.

This time of year, he said, mushrooms grow on hilltops. Their spores will slowly travel downhill, and by Mothers Daythe last day Dettbarn will look for mushroomsthey will grow at the foot of the hills.

But a big part of mushroom hunting, he said, is about sharing them with others.

This spring, he said, about 200 people have contacted him asking for mushrooms.

Every year Ive got a list as long and as tall as I am for people wanting mushrooms, he said.

Some of the people on his list can no longer forage on their own, such as a former neighbor who now lives in a nursing home because of Alzheimers disease.

She doesnt know who her family is, but when I take a plate of mushrooms, she remembers my name, she remembers that I was her neighbor, he said. She cant remember her family, but she remembers the mushrooms.

Or his friend, Tom, who has since died of prostate cancer. He wanted to eat morels before he died, so Dettbarn collected a few pounds and shipped them overnight to Tom's house in Colorado.

Mushrooms make people happy.

I just like to find them because its a challenge to find them and it brings people a lot of happiness, he said.
WASHINGTON, DC  Gov. Terry Branstad earned high praise  and apparently a clear path to confirmation  from a Senate panel that questioned him for nearly two hours on his nomination to be United States ambassador to China.

Youve had an outstanding hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told Branstad Tuesday morning. The governors on-the-ground experience with China  (and) understanding of what drives the thinking within China will serve us well.

Referring to Branstads nearly 23 years as governor, Corker thanked him for his willingness to give up a very comfortable place  apparently issues of re-election are not a problem  to go to a post that is much more temporary yet, in many ways, far more meaningful from the standpoint of our security and the world security.

The ranking Democrat, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, offered his compliments to Branstad's commitment to upholding human rights, open markets, rules-based order in the South China Sea and press freedom.

I must tell you the way you expressed it I believe expresses what I would hope to hear from our ambassador-to-be to China," Cardin said. He then asked Branstad about human rights in China, which he believes is moving in the wrong direction.

Although later Branstad said that human rights wasnt always at the top of his agenda when leading international trade missions to China and other nations, he always tried to recognize my responsibility as an American to represent our values.

It would be my intent as ambassador to bring up those difficult issues that the Chinese may not particularly want to talk about, but are important, said Branstad, who was flanked by his wife, Chris, and two sons, Marcus and Eric, who is a Trump liaison to the Commerce Department, as well as staff members.

Answering Cardins follow-up question, Branstad said he would not only be willing to meet with Chinese who may disagree with their government, but to travel to other parts of the country to meet with them as well.

Regarding religious minorities in China, Branstad noted hes a Catholic and would want to attend a Catholic church while in China.

Human rights was not the only issue senators explored with Branstad.

They returned several times to North Koreas recent military activity and Kim Jong-uns attempts to develop deliverable nuclear weapons.

Chinas lack of willingness to play the role that has to be played has got to change, Corker said, warning that without China stepping up something severe is going to happen in the region.

Branstad agreed North Koreas recent action present a threat to all of humankind. He expressed a belief there are things China can do through diplomacy and economic pressure to send a clear signal that they, as well as the United States and other countries, do not tolerate this expansion of nuclear technology and missiles by the North Korea leadership.

I would want to do all I can to serve as a key go-between as we explore how we can work together with China and other Asian nations to contain North Korea, Branstad said.

There was a focus on protecting intellectual property rights from China, which Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, called a serious offender.

Branstad noted Iowa has had some experience with that, referring to a Chinese national being convicted of attempting to steal information about seed corn from Pioneer DuPont, which is based in Delaware, which is represented on the Foreign Relations Committee by Democrat Sen. Chris Coons.

The governor said hes heard from many companies about their concerns with intellectual property theft. As the Chinese economy develops, he said, Hopefully, they will see there is a danger to them as well of having their intellectual property stolen by other countries.

That demonstrated Branstads command of the range of hot button issues, said Susan Neely, who worked on his first gubernatorial campaign and was his chief of staff.

That really came through today as you listened to questions and he had something to relate to all of the questions, she said after attending the hearing.

It was easy for Branstad to make connections as senators brought up their concerns with selling chicken, pork and beef to the Chinese. He told them his preference would be to serve beef from Iowa, not Australia, at the embassy.

He was introduced by Iowas two Republican U.S. senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, who praised who work ethic.

He will bring Midwestern humility and level-headed leadership to the job, Grassley told the committee. He is a workhorse who is unafraid to get in the trenches to get the job done.

Having worked with him, Ernst expressed confidence Branstad will exemplify the same leadership, thoughtfulness, and dedication in his role as ambassador to China on behalf of the United States as he did for the people of Iowa.

I look forward to him being confirmed by the Senate and bringing the Iowa Way to Beijing, she said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to recommend Branstads confirmation next week with a vote by the full Senate before the end of the month.

Following the hearing, Branstad and his family were headed to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
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 []
No sooner had luxury British car brand Bentley announced its launch in Kenya than the luxury vehicles started becoming a common sighting on Kenyan roads.

The Bentley dealership is being set up through a company called Bentley Nairobi, with the first models expected to arrive in June.

Already, local customers have paid for five Bentleys whose prices start from $270,000 (Sh27 million) and can top the $390,000 (Sh39 million) depending on the level of customization.

The dealer will start selling the Bentayga (SUV), Flying Spur (sedan) and Continental GT (two-door coupe) and could further expand the line-up to include Mulsanne.

With the models yet to arrive, it appears the pricier Bentley Mulsanne is becoming a fan favorite among Kenyans. Two have already been spotted on Kenyan roads and word on the street is that there could be about two more.

The first one was spotted in January. The pics:

Check out the latest one:
STOCKTON  California police have arrested 23 men and women in a human trafficking and prostitution sting.

The Modesto Bee reports Tuesday that a three-month long investigation of the website stockton.backpage.com led the Stockton Police Department to eight young girls involved in prostitution. The girls ranged in age from 14 to 17 years old.

Police say two 19-year-old men were arrested last week in relation to the alleged human trafficking of the girls and booked into the San Joaquin County Jail.

In a separate case, San Joaquin County Sheriff's officers made contact with more than 200 people on an undisclosed property who they say were soliciting sexual services, both online and in person. Officials say 21 men and women were arrested Friday on suspicion of soliciting sexual services for money or loitering with the intent to solicit.
Opening statements in what is expected to be a month-long murder trial of two defendants in the death of 3-year-old Kayleigh Slusher -- her mother Sara Krueger and her boyfriend Ryan Scott Warner -- continued Monday afternoon in Napa County Superior Court.

This case is about a little girl who experienced pain, suffering and ultimately death at the hands of two people she trusted most, began Deputy District Attorney Lance Hafenstein, speaking about Kayleigh, the girl who died in her mothers apartment in 2014.

At least one of the defendants  Warner or Krueger  inflicted the majority of the abuse while the other, at the minimum, aided and abetted the abuse, Hafenstein said. The defendants had the intent to kill, the intent to torture Kayleigh Slusher, he said.

Warner, 29, and Krueger, 26, are being tried separately, but simultaneously before Judge Francisca P. Tisher and separate juries.

"The defendants had silenced Kayleigh but her body still spoke volumes, Hafenstein continued, describing her injured spine, broken rib and punctured small intestine.

Warner had been living with Krueger and Kayleigh for about six months at the time of Kayleighs death, Hafenstein said. After he was taken into custody, he told police that despite the fact that Sara wasnt really his girlfriend  that the two hadnt labeled their relationship  he had been taking more care of Kayleigh than her own mother, Hafenstein said.

Warner thought that Kayleigh was behind in her potty-training, Hafenstein said, so he took it upon himself to help her. That's what he told police he was doing the last night Kayleigh was seen alive, he said.

Kayleigh had been sick earlier that day -- Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 -- and, thinking that maybe she was constipated, Warner sat her on the toilet. He left her sitting on the toilet and went to sleep, Hafenstein said.

When Krueger woke up around 4 p.m. on Thursday, Warner heard her yell Why is my daughter sleeping on the bathroom floor? Oh my God, Ryan, shes dead, Hafenstein told the jury.

Warner told the police that they didnt call 911 because they had been using drugs, Hafenstein said. Warner folded up Kayleighs body, placed her in red duffel bag and left the apartment with Krueger. They walked from their apartment complex to Target where they purchased ice cream like it was any other day, he said.

Since it would be days or even weeks before he thought Kayleighs body would be found, Warner put her body in the freezer supposedly to preserve it for autopsy, Hafenstein said. Warner told police that Kayleighs body was left there overnight, Hafenstein said.

The next day, after putting Kayleigh's corpse in bed, Warner and Krueger left the apartment for the last time, catching a ride from a man they met where the day-workers hang out by Black Bear Diner across from Home Depot, Hafenstein said. The man who gave them a ride to Vallejo later said that Krueger and Warner were acting normally, he said.

They eventually made it to the airport in San Francisco where they were affectionate and smiling, he said. Instead of taking a flight, the two later returned to the East Bay.

Methamphetamine was always more important to defendant Warner, Hafenstein said. He didnt care about Kayleigh, who just got in the way of his drug use, and, at times, treated her like a piece of meat.

In his opening statement, Warner's defense attorney, Mervin C. Lernhart Jr. tried to shift blame for Kayleigh's death to her mother. Its probably that the injury that caused Kayleighs death was inflicted by someone who lived in the apartment."

"Just because Ryan (Warner) was living with Sara (Krueger) and Kayleigh at the time of Kayleighs death, does not mean that he was responsible for Kayleighs death, Lernhart said.

Warner moved in with the family in summer 2013 after he and Krueger reconnected on Facebook. While he lived there, both he and Krueger began using methamphetamine, Lernhart said. As Saras drug use increased, she became more high strung and irritable, he said.

Warner noticed that Krueger was being harsher with her discipline of Kayleigh, Lernhart said. The two got into an argument about Kruegers treatment of not only Kayleigh but of Warner as well the same week of the little girls death, Lernhart said.

Krueger later told police that the two had been fighting about money, Lernhart added.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, not long before Napa Police came for a second welfare check, Kayleigh began vomiting or maybe even dry heaving, Lernhart said. Warner had been cleaning a pipe using a cleaning solution that he had put into a measuring cup.

Ryan and Sara believed Kayleigh was sick because she drank the fluid in this cup, Lernhart said. Krueger told a friend that she had called poison control, but she didnt, he said. Instead, they gave Kayleigh water to try and flush out the suspected poison.

That evening, Lernhart said, when police came for a welfare check, Kayleigh was still sick, so Krueger asked them to leave, Lernhart said.

That same evening, Lernhart said that Warner heard yelling and crying from one of the bedrooms. When he went to check it out, it looked like Krueger might have been spanking Kayleigh, so Warner stopped her, Lernhart said.

When Warner put Kayleigh on the toilet, then fell asleep, Lernhart said Krueger later told police that she didn't wake up until 4 p.m.

Perhaps Sara was not being truthful when she said she had slept until 4 p.m.," he said. She responded to a text message that morning around 11 a.m., he said, saying that she, Warner and Kayleigh had to leave town.

The best case scenario, he said, is that both Warner and Krueger were "frightened" and "scared" thinking that they had poisoned Kayleigh. But Warner wasn't responsible for any abuse, he said -- if anything, he might be guilty of being an accessory after the fact.

I think the evidence will show that Sara inflicted the physical injuries on Kayleigh," Lernhart concluded.

Both Krueger and Warner have been held without bail at the Napa County jail since their arrests on Feb. 2, 2014. If convicted, Krueger and Warner could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. The DA is not seeking the death penalty.

The Warner and Krueger trials are scheduled to continue in Napa County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Several hundred people marched in support of immigrants rights in downtown Napa on Sunday, with a rally in front of City Hall where Mayor Jill Techel and Police Chief Steve Potter were among the speakers.

The event was organized by Latinos Unidos in solidarity with Womens March Napa Valley.

The peaceful marchers carried banners and signs in Spanish and English with messages to stop deportations and to keep immigrant families together. Placards said wine country needs immigrant workers.

Speakers at City Hall also included Napa Vice Mayor Juliana Inman, American Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia, state Senator Bill Dodd, county Supervisors Alfredo Pedroza and Brad Wagenknecht, and Irit Weir, leader of the Napa Valley Womens March.
The murals created for the 2015 BottleRock music festival have outworn their welcome.

Its time to remove the bold geometrics and wild jungle scene that adorn the faces of Chardonnay and Riesling halls and consider what comes next, the Expos board of directors said last week.

Rather than return to boring, single-color walls, directors said they may try working with the community on a replacement mural or two.

A final decision on what to do with the BottleRock murals wont be made until the directors May 23 meeting, which will give the public a chance to argue for their retention, the board said. This means the murals would remain for this years festival at the end of May.

Director Tom Trzesniewski said the BottleRock murals may be appropriate for a spirited music festival, but he didnt think they suited the Expo during non-festival times.

Were somewhat of an institution here. We should present ourselves as such, he said.

Other directors declined to say harsh things about the BottleRock murals, while agreeing the fairgrounds could aspire to something better.

I think were over these a little bit, board member Jeri Gill said gently.

When BottleRock paid to add artistic facades for the 2015 festival, it did so with the understanding that the Expo could ask for their removal at any time at BottleRocks expense, Expo CEO Joe Anderson said.

BottleRock officials understand that the murals may be on the way out, but are satisfied that they will remain for this years festival, Anderson said Monday.

BottleRock declined to comment for this story.

Director Belia Ramos suggested the Expo could work with the Napa County Arts Council and others to create murals more in line perhaps with what wed like the facility to display.

John F. Dunbar, Yountville mayor and fair board president, said deciding on a replacement mural or two would not be easy. When youre talking about art, you can have five people with 10 ideas, he said.

Gill said she would like Chardonnay and Riesling walls stripped of their murals after this years BottleRock and repainted neutral colors before the Napa Town & Country Fair in August.

Then the Expo could network with the community on what might replace them. Ideally, one or more Expo buildings could have new murals in time for 2018s Arts in April celebration, Gill said.

Ramos said murals have become a thing, with cities all over the world promoting images on buildings as a way to improve public aesthetics and bring in tourists.

In Napa, geometric and fantasy paintings are going up in the Rail Arts District along the Vine Trail in the central city. Yountville is sponsoring dual murals that will be painted under Highway 29 on California Drive this spring.
A small collection of flamingos has begun to gather on my desk.

Over the years of running this now-flagship fundraiser for Grace Episcopal Youth Group, people have enjoyed bringing me items themed with the pink birds. Salt & pepper shakers, tape dispenser, stuffed flamingo. Its pretty fun.

Flamingo flocking, as is the common term, has been around in youth group and marching band circles for years. Id come across the idea several times over the course of my fundraising research. In 2013, as the youth group began preparations for major fundraising for our first trip to Haiti, I hesitantly put the topic of flamingos on the table. The students loved the concept and every spring since, teams paint the town pink in the name of mission work.

The students enjoy the opportunity to be a little sneaky for a good cause. Word is spread about what we are embarking on in a few months (this year, a trip to Guatemala to help expand homes in the village of Sumpango, and to bring joy and friendship to orphans living with HIV). The church gets a little PR. And, we raise money toward our trip, which offsets the cost of everything from building supplies to the food and water well consume while traveling.

One thing I love about the flocking is that I am not in charge. I have a super-parent, Jackie Rosenbrand, who coordinates the effort with the assistance of a few others. They manage eight flocks a night in Angwin/St. Helena, and then run a separate flocking in Napa. Its quite thorough. But the role I do get to play is that of dispatcher: my phone number is on every letter that appears alongside the pink birds, explaining the concept and what to do. (Make a donation of $25 and well remove them  make a donation of $35 and you tell us where they land next!)

So during flamingo season, I hear from a lot of community members. Every now and again I get a complaint. Turns out not everyone loves the idea of teenagers on their lawn at 9 p.m., covering it with pink plastic lawn ornaments with ninja-like stealth. Point taken. But most of the calls (and comments in person) I receive focus on the sheer joy that comes over people when they see the flamingos.

The stories are the best. One year, a child took a flamingo into his room and slept with it that night (children particularly love the flocks.)

Another time, several friends pitched in an extra donation to get multiple flocks onto one lawn for their friend who was recently home from several weeks in the hospital. Ive spent up to 20 minutes on phone calls from people just diagnosed with cancer, or just gone through the loss of a loved one. The wake up to pink birds on their lawn, and suddenly they are smiling. Last week, I spoke to a community member who had just lost her brother unexpectedly. She talked, I listened, and she told me that thanks to our flamingos, her children were laughing for the first time in weeks.

Turns out that plastic birds do a lot more than we could have ever imagined. These pink beauties bring our community together.

Now, if only someone would invent a flamingo emoji.

Erika Trez

Grace Episcopal Church

St. Helena
NATO welcomed the 20th anniversary of the Convention on Chemical Weapons on Saturday (29 April 2017), in a letter from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Mr Stoltenberg praised the OPCWs work, noting that 94% of all declared chemical weapons worldwide have been eliminated under their monitoring over the past 20 years, with the remainder to be destroyed within six years.

While welcoming progress, Secretary General Stoltenberg also stressed that the job is far from done, pointing to recent attacks in Syria and Iraq as evidence that some states and non-state actors are still prepared to use chemical weapons to inflict barbaric harm.

Mr Stoltenberg reiterated Allies strong support for the global non-proliferation regime and thanked the OPCW for its vital contribution to peace and stability in uncertain times.
NATO Allies and partners, together with representatives of the donors community, reaffirmed their long-term commitment to continue supporting the financial sustainment of the Afghan security forces, at the plenary meeting of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund Board, today (Tuesday, 2 May 2017). Participants discussed the Trust Funds achievements in 2016 and 2017, the plans for 2018, the coordination with the donor community in Afghanistan, and the implementation of auditing arrangements. They also discussed the ongoing coordination in Afghanistan between the Afghan authorities and the various funding streams, including the Afghan National Army Trust Fund itself, the Law and Order Trust Fund for the Afghan Police (administered by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP), the budgetary contributions of the Afghan Government, the bilateral contributions provided, especially the bilateral Afghan Security Forces Fund of the United States, and possible additional adaptations of the ANA Trust Fund aimed at improving joint training and interoperability of the Afghan security forces in key areas, such as medical support, explosive ordnance disposal, and counter-IEDs, amongst others.

The adapted Afghan National Army Trust Fund is NATOs response to the International Communitys commitment in the framework of the 2012 Chicago Summit to continue to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in its efforts to sustain sufficient and capable National Defence and Security Forces.

Together with our Resolute Support Mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces and institutions and the NATO-Afghanistan Enduring Partnership, our Afghan National Army Trust Fund has been an important part of NATOs endeavour to continue supporting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in its efforts to achieve a stable and secure Afghanistan, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General said. Todays meeting reconfirmed our continued commitment and the donor nations continued commitment to the safety and security of Afghanistan and its people, the NATO Secretary General added.

The Afghan National Army Trust Fund board is composed of national representatives of donor nations and the Trust Fund manager (represented by the United States). NATO Secretary General and a donor nation representative co-chair the Board. Plenary meetings of the Board were held on 1 September 2014, 26 June 2015, and 11 May 2016. Mr.Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, Ministry of Finance of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan took part in todays meeting.
The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will address the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Sub-Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE), on Wednesday 3 May 2017.

The speech will start at 15:00 and will be webstreamed live on the website of the European Parliament - http://www.europarl.europa.eu/. Still and video images will be published on the NATO website after delivery.

In the margins of the event, Mr. Stoltenberg will meet the Minister of Defence of Estonia, Mr. Margus Tsahkna.

There will be no media opportunity around the bilateral meeting. Still imagery will be available on the NATO website after the event.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg)
Saturday, April 29, 2017 by: JD Heyes Tags: Collapse , debt , financial ruin , Governments , pensions This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) The so-called mainstream media  which claims to be the first and last voice in all societal trends  is just now catching up to an issue that Natural News founder/editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, noticed (and has been following) for months now, and that is this: Pension funds across the country are about to run dry, leaving millions of Americans economically strapped.

In an April 17 column, Trib writer Terry Savage notes that scores of Americans who are working now and are contributing to a pension fund are not likely to see a single dime of that money by the time they retire, because the payouts promised long ago are outstripping the funds income.

Citing a recent study by an organization called Truth in Accounting, which examined the health of 237 municipal pension funds around the country, Savage reported that many of these funds are approaching the point of insolvency. (RELATED: Pension Panic: The Coming Financial Bubble Nobody Is Talking About)

Although it has taken decades for many of these pension funds to get into such bad shape, only now are the details being revealed, says Sheila Weinberg, president of Truth in Accounting and a CPA who has dedicated her life to requiring full and useful disclosure of federal, state and local debt obligations, Savage wrote, adding the disclosure that she is a board member of the organization.

This new data will shock and scare anyone who is expecting to receive a pension when they retire from their public sector job (here are the latest figures, from 2015). And yet, it wont surprise our regular readers because Adams has been on top of this issue for months.

In a November podcast, Adams warned that most public pension funds are teetering on bankruptcy and that, without major changes, these funds will fail.

Ive been talking about this for many years. If youre depending on a pension, your pension is going to be wiped out, he says at the start of his podcast, noting further that the so-called mainstream media has largely been silent about this approaching fiscal disaster.

Indeed he has. As long ago as January 2008, Adams predicted that public pension funds would either go bust or have to be dramatically scaled back because they would run out of funds:

My prediction for 2008  2012 is a massive wave of municipal bankruptcies, state bankruptcies and escalating national debt. We are going to see cities and states go belly up, pension programs terminated (or watered down), and financial institutions teetering on the brink of disaster. [Emphasis added]

The time frame may have been a little off, but clearly, Adams prediction was prophetic nonetheless.

In November 2012 he warned of the coming EBT riots  EBT being an electronic card that has replaced food stamps from years ago  as well as a coming financial collapse that would also affect Social Security, Medicare and federal workers retirement pension payments.

The following year, in July of 2013, the Health Ranger issued a warning to all police, firefighters, school teachers and other public-sector workers: Most government pensions will be confiscated within a decade. He noted further that mega-cities like Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and others were heavily in debt and that their pension plans were already in danger of going bankrupt:

Chicago, for example, owes $19 billion in pension payments that it doesnt have, and the city of Los Angeles is more than $30 billion in the hole. The story is much the same in every major U.S. city.

In addition, Adams predicted months in advance that officials would freeze Dallas pension fund before it happened because he could see the financial writing on the wall.

Now, it seems, the so-called mainstream media is finally figuring out that large pensions promised by Democrat-leaning city governments in a different economic era are no longer feasible in todays economy, as cities grapple with new expenses including increased welfare benefits, federally mandated regulations, Obamacare and a host of other liabilities. (RELATED: Debt Collapse Perfect Storm Shaping Up That Will Almost Instantly Wipe Out Pension Funds Nationwide)

[I]t is easier for the federal government to get away with underfunding pensions  because it can always print the money. Cities and states dont have that option. When their money runs out, a lot of retirees are going to be hurt, writes Savage earlier this month.

Adams has seen this coming for years.

Follow more news about the collapse of pensions nationwide at Pensions.news.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

ChicagoTribune.com

NaturalNews.com

StateLabData.org

Collapse.news
(Natural News) Honeybee colonies were found to be heavily laden with toxic pesticides, according to a recent study. As part of the study, researchers at Cornell University examined 120 honeybee colonies placed near 30 apple orchards around New York state. The bees were allowed to forage for a few days during the flowering season. The research team then assessed each colonys beebread to check for pesticide residues. Beebread refers to the honeybee food stores that were made from gathered pollen.

The research team found that the beebread in 17 percent of honeybee colonies exhibited acutely high levels of pesticide exposure. The study also found that 73 percent of colonies displayed chronic pesticide exposure. According to researchers, more than 60 percent of pesticides found were accounted to surrounding farmlands and orchards that were not sprayed during the blooming season. The studys lead researcher inferred that the pesticides might be coming from other treated crops that surround the orchard. It could also be that pre-bloom sprays have accumulated in nearby flowering seeds, the lead author stated.

Surprisingly, there is not much known about the magnitude of risk or mechanisms of pesticide exposure when honeybees are brought in to pollinate major agricultural crops. Beekeepers are very concerned about pesticides, but theres very little field data. Were trying to fill that gap in knowledge, so theres less mystery and more fact regarding this controversial topicWe found risk was attributed to many different types of pesticides. Neonicotinoids were not the whole story, but they were part of the story. Because neonicotinoids are persistent in the environment and accumulate in pollen and nectar, they are of concern. But one of our major findings is that many other pesticides contribute to risk, said study lead author Scott McArt in ScienceDaily.com.

The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Pesticides can wreak havoc in the human body

A vast number of studies have long established that pesticide use and exposure result in detrimental health effects among humans. A type of pesticide called neonicotinoids, for instance, was known to affect the bodys central nervous system. These synthetic pesticide chemicals do not limit their damage to the nervous systems of insects, warns environmental scientist and lab director Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. Via the same biochemical pathways, these same pesticide chemicals also disrupt and damage the nervous systems of humans, promoting Alzheimers and dementia, Adams warns.

According to a report by the European Food Safety Commission (EFSA), neonicotinoid pesticides inhibit the normal development and function of the human nervous system. The toxic pesticide was also known to cause damage in brain structures and functions essential in learning and memory. As a result, EFSAs Plant Protection Products and their Residues panel has called for a definition of standards that will indicate when developmental neurotoxicity studies can be submitted.

According to the panel, two types of neonicotinoid pesticides  acetamiprid and imidacloprid  were shown to negatively impact the development of neurons and brain structures associated with functions such as learning and memory. It concluded that some current guidance levels for acceptable exposure to acetamiprid and imidacloprid may not be protective enough to safeguard against developmental neurotoxicity and should be reduced. These so-called toxicological reference values provide clear guidance on the level of a substance that consumers can be exposed to in the short- and long-term without an appreciable health risk.

A 2016 review also showed that exposure to the toxic chemical was associated with adverse developmental or neurological outcomes such as autism spectrum disorder and anencephaly. The pesticide was also found to cause a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. Chronic neonicotinoid exposure was also associated with memory loss and finger tremor. The findings were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Furthermore, the National Cancer Institutes Agricultural Health Study showed that farmers using toxic pesticides had higher cancer rates compared with the general population. According to the study, farming communities exhibited higher rates of multiple myeloma, soft tissue carcinoma, leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

EFSA.Europa.eu

EHP.NIEHS.NIH.gov

Cancer.gov
Sunday, April 30, 2017 by: Earl Garcia Tags: NASA , pipelines , power lines , railways , Space This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) Solar flares may negatively impact the planets power grids, railway systems, and underground pipelines through a phenomenon called geomagnetically induced currents (GICs), a recent study found. These effects may disrupt food logistics, manufacturing, electronic transactions and internet functions, experts warn.

To examine how solar storm-induced GICs affect the planets structures, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with heliospheric scientists, magnetospheric physicists, power engineers, and emergency management officials from various research institutions and industries during a pair of intensive week-long workshops in 2016.

According to researchers, the sun regularly ejects a stream of magnetic solar material called solar wind, as well as occasional huge clouds of solar material known as coronal mass ejections. The research team said these solar materials interact with the planets magnetic field, which in turn leads to temporary changes. As a result, geomagnetically induced currents are formed just under the planets surface.

The team also noted that long, thin, metal structures near the planets surface  including underground railroads, power lines and pipelines  may serve as conductors for these GICs. This means that electric currents may easily travel underground, the researchers said. In effect, GICs may negatively affect all these structures, the experts added.

How GICs affect power systems, railways and pipelines

The research team cautioned that GICs may be more challenging to manage in affected power systems, as they require careful control of electric currents to keep the power on. According to the researchers, GICs from strong solar activities may also lead to voltage collapse. Voltage collapse can cause temporary blackouts in certain areas, and may affect various industries such as transportation, health care, and commerce. However, researchers noted that GICs were unlikely to cause major power system damages. (Related: Know more about the latest developments in space science at Space.news).

For permanent transformer damage to occur, there needs to be sustained levels of GICs going through the transformer. We know thats not how GICs work. GICs tend to be much more noisy and short-lived, so widespread physical damage of transformers is unlikely even during major storms, said Antti Pulkkinen, a Space Weather Researcher at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The study also found that GICs may interfere with railway signals. As per the research team, these railway signals typically operate on an automated closed/open circuit system, which determines whether a train is on the track. The study revealed that GICs may alter these signals, which in turn may prompt the system to detect a train when there is actually none. The study also showed that GICs flowing in pipelines may produce false signals. In turn, this may prompt pipeline workers to inspect otherwise normally functioning pipelines.

The teams previous research on GCIs have lead to the adoption of new standards in preventing blackouts. In fact, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now requires power companies to prepare for potential GIC disruptions.

The findings were published in the journal Space Weather.

Chinese study demonstrates how GCIs affect power grids

A Chinese study published in 2008 has shown how GCIs impact power grid operations. According to the researchers, unknown severe transformer vibration and increased noise have been noted in certain parts of Guandong, China when two power transmission lines  the Yang-Huai power transmission system and a 500 kV long-distance transmission line  started operating in 2001. To determine the mechanism behind the phenomena, the research team compared more than ten magnetic storms and examined data on transformer neutral currents. The experts then concluded GCIs caused the disturbances.

In addition, the research team also noted that GIC levels in Guangdong Power Grid was much higher compared with those of Yang-Huai power transmission system. However, grid structure and coast effect may have contributed to this, the experts said. The findings were published in the Chinese Journal of Geophysics.

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

NASA.gov

OnlineLibrary.Wiley.com
(Natural News) On March 26 of this year, a newborn at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Medical Center tested positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a superbug that cannot be treated with conventional antibiotics. According to hospital officials, the baby has since tested negative. However, it was revealed that the infant was one of 10 babies infected with MRSA between August 2016 and March 2017 while being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit.

All of the infants have been successfully treated and none have died, hospital officials said. John Murray, a hospital spokesman, has insisted that the infection was contained to a single unit and that no new uninfected babies have since been admitted to that ward.

The source of the virus has yet to be identified, reported the DailyMail.co.uk. Although all 220 staff members have undergone preemptive measures to kill any potential MRSA bacteria, the outbreak continues. The most recent MRSA case was detected in March and involved four staff members testing positive for the virus; all four have since tested negative.

Of the outbreak among infants, county officials told the LATimes.com that they did not inform the public because they saw no evidence that the infants being treated the neonatal unit (NICU) of the UCI Medical Center were at higher risk than infants admitted anywhere else. We do not have evidence that infants admitted to UCIs NICU are at higher risk than infants admitted elsewhere, so a public notification would not serve to prevent or lower the risk of infection transmission [emphasis added], stated Murray.

The outbreak only came to light after Marian Hollingsworth, a board member of Californias Healthcare Associated Infection Advisory Committee (HAI-AC), filed a complaint with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

According to Hollingsworth, she became aware of the outbreak in August after a friend who works in the UCI Medical Center complex informed her about it. Im a mom of four. Id be outraged if no one told me. I think hospitals have a lot to learn yet about infection control, and everyone needs to be on it to help prevent it, Hollingsworth said.

A state inspector visited the UCI Medical Center to investigate the outbreak on March 20, after Hollingsworth filed her complaint. The investigation was completed on April 3 and, in a letter to Hollingsworth, state officials found that the hospital had not broken any state or federal laws. In a statement, Hollingsworth noted that it appeared as though the UCI Medical Center and government officials were attempting to handle the outbreak internally.

Lisa McGiffert, Director of the Consumers Union Safe Patient Project, has commented that these kinds of outbreaks were oftentimes uncovered by the media or discussed in medical journals, but many were kept secret. McGiffer continued by saying that the public had the right to know about all outbreaks, as the disclosure would result in hospitals working harder to prevent any future infection incidents.

This wouldnt be the first time hospital officials and staff failed to inform patients or the public about what was truly going on behind closed doors. In the same state, doctors attempted to hide the body of a baby who died after receiving eight vaccinations almost all at the same time. There have even been claims that the government has been helping hospitals cover up cases of superbug infections, because Government authorities are clueless about how many infections there are, or how many patients are dying, wrote Betsy McCaugher for RealClearPolitics.com. (Related: Read more on hospital- and healthcare-related news by visiting Medicine.news)

Its like McGiffert told the LATimes.com: Patients have a right to know.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

ABCNews.go.com

LATimes.com

BeckerHospitalReview.com

RealClearPolitics.com
(Natural News) A recent survey published by the Morning Consult noted that more than half of all Americans  51 percent  say that national political media is out of touch with everyday Americans, while just 28 percent  not even one-in-three  said the same media understands the issues everyday Americans are facing.

In addition, just 38 percent said they have a lot or some trust in the media to cover the Trump White House fairly, while 52 percent said they have little faith or no faith the mainstream media would cover the president in an unbiased manner.

And almost on cue, CNN proved why this is the case: The network, in a new report, is pushing transgenderism, as if its the most normal thing in the world, providing advice to parents and others about how to start a conversation with kids who think they are a different sex. (RELATED: Ten more states file suit against Obamas transgender bathroom nonsense)

The report began:

What happens when you bring a group of sixth-graders together to meet  for the first time  someone who is transgender? You get an easy and honest conversation that speaks volumes about how we can talk to our kids about gender and how much we can learn from their openness.

Hennessy, a 32-year-old transgender male, recently participated in a workshop held by SheKnows Media a leading womens lifestyle company.

What gender do you think I am? Hennessy asked 11 sixth-graders in New York City who are members of SheKnows unique Hatch program, which focuses on teaching digital literacy and citizenship to the next generation. The program is in its fourth year.

It doesnt just stop with the Alt-Left madness of confusing our children about sex, sexual identity, and what is (and is not) considered normal, which of course is one of the main objectives of all this. But the effort seeks to introduce additional nonsensical behavior, such as changing the English language: No longer should kids use the pronouns he, his, her, and hers. No  its garbage talk like Ze and Zir.

The Left insists upon teaching our children a language that doesnt even formally exist. But it gets worse: They insist upon meting out scorn and derision as punishment to anyone (including children) who fail to use such idiotic references. As the purveyors of political correctness to the extreme, they are under the impression that the Left gets to decide what behaviors all of society must adhere to, even if it is to cater only to a tiny fragment of the population.

If you dont treat it like a gross, icky, weird, evil thing, they dont treat it like a gross, icky, weird, evil thing, Hennessy told CNN, which continued:

When kids as young as 4 or 5 years old use female pronouns when they meet him, he tells them, Oh, no, Im a boy, at which point they often ask, What, youre a boy?

He then explains to them what being transgender is. And boom, they get it right away, he said.

Newsflash, genius: Boom, kids dont get it right away. While they may be polite and accommodating in your presence, the fact is on the inside, theyre telling themselves that youre about the weirdest thing theyve ever seen, and they dont know how to process it or you, at least not yet. Even the American College of Pediatricians thinks so.

And by the way, here are some general inquiries for the Left: What gives you people the right to confuse and disrupt childrens minds in this way? Do you not think that being a child in todays hypersexualized pop culture environmental (which is also the Lefts fault) is difficult enough without your confusing them about what sex people are/ought to be? What gives Left-wing educators the right to subject the children of parents who want no part of this PC lunacy to such people?

Like it or not, we dont all agree on whether this kind of behavior is right or wrong, normal or abnormal, mainstream or outside of the mainstream, typical or atypical. Our common sense tells us that when less than 1 percent of Americans identify as the opposite sex, thats not a common thing, hence, it doesnt fall within the textbook definition of normal. That doesnt mean such people should be persecuted or shunned  but it does mean we ought to be very careful how we present this issue to our very impressionable children, most of whom are already struggling with things like self-confidence, identity, social acceptance and a hundred other emotions. (RELATED: Bill Nye goes FULL LUNATIC with vulgar transgender music video singing about moist vagina and how transgenderism is evolution)

CNN, in its never-ending attempt to be the most Left-wing kook media outlet on the planet, continues to fail because like the rest of the mainstream media outlets it still hasnt figured out the content it believes is cutting edge and important isnt to the vast majority of Americans.

Recent surveys (once again) bear that out.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

NPR.org

CNN.com

CampusInsanity.com
(Natural News) The vaccine debate rages on, with some vehemently pro and others vehemently against vaccine mandates and toxic ingredients. The mainstream media and medical community would have us believe that vaccines are 100 percent effective and 100 percent safe, 100 percent of the time. Anyone who has ever taken the time to read a vaccine insert can tell you that such a claim is simply not true. Nonetheless, the media and most U.S. states continue to push hard for every citizen to be immunized with a long list of vaccines that often contain hazardous ingredients (such as mercury and aluminum).

Though 47 U.S. states allow vaccine exemptions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain such an exemption for religious or personal reasons. Many states will only grant an exemption if a child is allergic or has some other health reason  a compromised immune system due to chemotherapy, for example. The decision not to vaccinate can have far-reaching implications for a family in terms of access to schooling and other issues.

The three vaccines which are touted as being the most important, since they are for the most common and supposedly most easily preventable diseases, are: The MMR vaccine (mumps, measles and rubella); the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough); and the varicella vaccine (chickenpox).

Four of the states have really pushed for all three vaccinations, namely Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Nebraska.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, other states which have thrown their full weight behind immunization programs are:

MMR: North Dakota, New Mexico, Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee and Maryland.

DTaP: California, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire.

Varicella: Kansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

The mainstream media continues to insist that vaccination offers herd immunity, and that those who refuse to inoculate their children are compromising the health of the community in general. CBS News, for example, notes, U.S. medical experts spoke with CBS News for World Immunization Week (April 24  30) and raised concern about the number of Americans who still arent vaccinating their children or getting their own shots, which continues to fuel preventable disease outbreaks.

The article then goes on to reference the huge increase in the number of mumps cases in the U.S. in recent years  up from 229 cases in 2012, to 5,748 cases in 2016. It also notes that colleges have been particularly hard hit.

While it is true that the number of mumps cases on college campuses has been increasing dramatically, it is simply not true to blame this on the people who are choosing not to inject themselves or their children with these toxic shots.

The CBS article claims, The MMR vaccine doesnt offer total protection, but after two doses, 97 percent of people are protected, say experts. Immunization resulted in a 79 percent drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2015 worldwide.

Is that true? Well, lets look more closely at some of the campus outbreaks.

In 2016, 40 Harvard University students were infected with mumps  all had been vaccinated. In that same year, 193 students were diagnosed with mumps at the University of Missouri. Again, every single one of those students had received both doses of the MMR shot before getting sick.

These examples fly in the face of the herd immunity theory, which states that if a very high percentage of people in a community are vaccinated there wont be enough vulnerable people left to spread the disease, thereby ensuring that everybody is protected. If that theory were true, the Harvard and Missouri cases could never have taken place. (RELATED: Did you read about the vaccine-resistant mumps outbreak on Long Island?)

Though evidence is mounting that vaccines are far less effective than we have been led to believe, many are pushing for even more vaccinations to be added to the schedule. In spite of the MMR vaccines links to autism and other serious health problems, vaccine advocates like Dr. Paul Offit insist that adding a third MMR shot to the schedule will solve the problem.

Anyone who dares to look at the situation objectively is sure to realize that there has to be some other motivation behind the push for this ever-increasing number of vaccinations.

Sources:

CBSNews.com

NaturalNews.com

ANH-USA.org
(Natural News) Energy drinks are all the rage these days; estimates suggest that between 2008 and 2012, the energy drink market exploded by a staggering 60 percent. In 2015, it was reported that the market was expected to reach a value of more than $21 billion in 2017. Nowadays, there are more than 500 energy drinks available for purchase.

The energy drink industry has done a great job of making their offerings seem like the cool beverage of choice. And to make matters worse, the industry can even market their products as supplements rather than beverages, which can exempt them from needing to provide a nutrition facts label  and it can be very confusing to consumers for a number of reasons. Some people may even incorrectly believe that these drinks are just as safe as coffee, or that they are a better option than regular soda. Even product manufacturers purport the myth that their beverages are no different than a cup of coffee. But the truth is that energy drinks are emphatically not the same as coffee or cola.

A new study has emphasized this by showing that drinking just 32 ounces of energy drinks a day can cause potentially harmful changes to heart function and blood pressure. These changes go well beyond what caffeine can do alone.

According to the FDA, doses of caffeine equivalent to 400 milligrams, or about 5 cups of coffee, are safe for human consumption. But energy drinks are notorious for containing other proprietary energy blends, which are often comprised of ingredients that are of a questionable nature. Little is known about the safety of these ingredients. Plus, downing several energy drinks a day, as many people do, can easily put someone well over their daily caffeine limit. Sources say that alone can increase your risk of headaches and changes to blood pressure  never mind the issue of what other goodies are put into energy drinks. Some of these drinks may have even led to fatalities.

To measure the safety of these ingredients, researchers compared the physical changes observed in a group of 18 healthy men and women after they consumed a commercial energy drink. The team also recorded the physical changes that were produced after the group consumed a beverage loaded with the same amount of caffeine, but none of the other ingredients featured in the energy drink.

The energy drink used in the study contained 320 milligrams of caffeine, four ounces of sugar, an array of B vitamins, and a proprietary energy blend which consisted of taurine and other ingredients that are practically standard for drinks like Red Bull or Monster. (RELATED: Read more stories about questionable ingredients at Ingredients.news)

The research team used an electrocardiogram (often called an ECG or EKG) to monitor the participants hearts electrical activity during the 24-hour period following the beverage consumption. As reported by NBC News, An ECG change known as QTc prolongation and sometimes associated with life-threatening irregularities in the heartbeat was seen after drinking the energy drink, but not after drinking the caffeine beverage, the study team reports.

The authors of the study say that several drugs have actually been pulled from the marketplace for causing similar irregularities in heart function. The team explains that the study subjects blood pressure increased by up to 5 points after consuming the energy drink, while consumption of the caffeine-only beverage yielded a modest blood pressure increase of just one point.

While the researchers say that these changes are not necessarily harmful for healthy individuals, they could prove hazardous for people with certain heart conditions. While not involved with the study, Dr. Jennifer L. Harris from University of Connecticuts Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, located in Storrs, explains that there are still significant concerns about the beverages, especially the way they are marketed to young boys. She says that ER visits among adolescents and young people in relation to energy drink consumption are on the rise. More than half of the cases of people who got sick from energy drinks between 2010 and 2013 were children.

Harris also noted, Some of these ingredients (including taurine and guarana) have not been FDA-approved as safe in the food supply, and few studies have tested the effects of caffeine consumption together with these novelty ingredients.

Sources:

NBCNews.com

USNews.com
(Natural News) The days of the Veterans Administrations chronic shortfalls and criminal treatment of the nations warriors may be coming to a close, thanks to a recent piece of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald J. Trump. But until the law kicks in and real reforms begin to take shape, many VA hospitals will continue to underserve the very people they are in existence to serve in the first place.

As reported by Off the Grid News, the last known living U.S. survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941  which triggered Americas entry into the global conflagration  was recently denied hearing aids at a VA in Philadelphia for a very common, and wholly unacceptable, reason: Federal bureaucracy. (RELATED: Trump delivers: Taking SWAT team approach to slashing bureaucracy)

The site noted that a paperwork error on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs was reportedly to blame.

CBS Philly reported further that the vet, Alexander Horanzy, 94, went to the VA to get the hearing aids, and they were sitting in front of him on a table after he was told he had already been approved to receive them and had them tested and fitted.

So I drove him up there and they wouldnt give them to him, said his granddaughter, Joyce Fiore, in an interview with KYW News Radio. They said his medical records were lost in a fire. They had them right there, so he was denied.

The vet himself was not happy about the snafu either. I was so darned mad I couldnt even talk, he said. My granddaughter was there with me, so we just walked out.

Reports noted that Horanzy nearly perished seven decades ago after contracting malaria while fighting in the mosquito-filled jungles on New Guinea. The Greatest Generation Fondation noted further that prior to his combat there, he had seen the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a young Army private.

Nevertheless, the VA lost his paperwork and because of the VAs fault, Horanzy wasnt able to get the hearing aids Fiore said he desperately needed.

He cant talk on the phone much and [hear] the TV, she said. Its very hard for him, she added, noting without the aids he has difficulty getting through his day.

The Greatest Generation Foundation has set up a GoFundMe page to help Horanzy pay for his hearing aids, which is here. At the time of this writing, $7,868 had been donated; Horanzy only needed $6,500 for the hearing aids.

These kinds of outrages will hopefully become fewer and farther between, thanks to recently passed reform legislation aimed at fixing what has chronically ailed the VA. As reported by The National Sentinel:

In keeping campaign pledges to fix the broken VA system, President Donald J. Trump signed legislation on Monday sent to him by the GOP-controlled Congress that gives vets the choice of seeking care for military-related conditions in the private sector.

The Veterans Choice Improvement Act tears down barriers that Congress had erected around original choice policies enacted in the wake of the 2014 scandal in which a number of veterans had died waiting for care after being placed on phony rosters as a way to make it appear as though the facilities were keeping up with demand. At the time more than 100 facilities around the country were involved in various cover-ups, prompting the two-year pilot program that gave vets some choice but still limited where they were permitted to see private physicians. (RELATED: Drowning in bureaucracy  U.S. has more tax preparers than all police, firefighters combined)

But now, with expanded choice the law of the land, it may just be the relief valve the system needs in order to function better: By shifting a portion of its patient load to the private sector, the VA will be left with fewer vets to treat and thus, the available resources can be stretched further than ever before, The National Sentinel noted.

No solutions are perfect, but this one gets close.

See more outrageous (but true) news stories at OutrageDepot.com.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

Corruption.news

OffTheGridNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
Two exceptional Emory College creative scholars  music major Michael Crawford and creative writing major Darby Jardeleza  are the 2017 recipients of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts.

Awarded annually to the graduating senior or seniors who have demonstrated the highest standard of proficiency in one or more of the performing or creative arts, each Sudler Prize is accompanied by a $6,000 award.

Arts faculty who have mentored the students say they are two of the most extraordinary and accomplished undergraduate students to ever study in their respective departments.

Music major Michael Crawford, from Loganville, Georgia, graduates May 8 with concentrations in violin performance and composition.

Michael is a mature individual, highly respected by his peers and the faculty alike here at Emory for not just his intellectual and creative prowess, but for his genuine collegiality, clearly demonstrated passion and highly commendable work ethic, says Richard Prior, conductor of the Emory University Symphony Orchestra (EUSO) and director of performance studies. This young man lives for music and creativity.

Crawfords strong work ethic coupled with his extraordinary artistic talent produced a remarkable undergraduate career. The current EUSO Concertmaster, Crawford won the EUSO Concerto and Aria Competition performing the Barber Violin Concerto in his junior year. He is a two-time recipient of the Department of Musics competitive Blumenthal Award for undergraduate composition, an unprecedented achievement.

I learned as much from him as he learned from me, says John Anthony Lennon, music professor and Crawfords instructor in Composition and Counterpoint. What more could a teacher ask?

This spring, for the first time in the history of the department, Crawford completed both an honors recital in composition and a full senior recital in violin performance.

Crawford, who will begin graduate study in music composition at Temple University this fall, says that his Sudler award is a testament to the department that nominated him.

It represents how much the music department here has supported my endeavors and invested in me to help me get to where I am now, says Crawford. I am very grateful and humbled to be a recipient.

During fiction writer Darby Jardelezas time at Emory, the creative writing major and Arabic minor from Bluffton, South Carolina, has demonstrated a talent for storytelling that, to her professors, goes beyond even graduate-level work.

Darby has a commanding voice and a fearless authorial presence, says Joseph Skibell, Winship Distinguished Research Professor in the Humanities. She has a fierce, relentless sense of what makes for a compelling telling, complimented by an ironic and psychologically penetrating grasp upon the worlds she describes and creates.

Jim Grimsley, a faculty adviser to Jardeleza, echoes Skibells praise. She has a talent that is truly extraordinary, an ability to write delicate, beautifully conceived short stories in a prose that is pristine, mature, and full of poetic nuance.

Darby writes with an intense passion for her subjects and for the form and content of each piece of prose, says Grimsley, professor of practice in English and creative writing. She has the kind of elegant touch with a sentence that enables her writing to shimmer with multiple meanings and levels, to accomplish an enormous density in a short space of words, and to write stories that touch the reader without effort.

Jardaleza, who is the co-founder of the Emory Literary Club and the 2016-2017 Stipe Society of Creative Scholars Creative Writing Fellow, plans to take a gap year before applying to Master of Fine Arts programs. Looking back on her time at Emory, Jardeleza credits the Emory Creative Writing Program with much of her success.

My Sudler nomination is just another example of the incredible help and support I've received from my professors in the Creative Writing department, specifically Jim Grimsley and Joseph Skibell, she says.
Emory Law 100 Emory Law celebrated its centennial year by honoring 100 alumni and faculty who have made extraordinary contributions to the law school and the world at large. This group of notable men and women, nominated by a Centennial Advisory Committee consisting of faculty, staff and alumni, represents the best of Emory Laws story, both past and present. View the full list.

When you turn 100, you might be expected to look backward more than forward. Not so for the Emory University School of Law on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, which was marked with a formal celebration April 29 featuring former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. senator and Emory Law alumnus Sam Nunn.

The Emory Law Centennial Gala, which drew a crowd of 1,200 to a transformed Woodruff PE Center, was the culmination of a weekend of reunion and Centennial-themed events, and the final event in a series of nationwide events celebrating Emory Laws founding in 1916.

And while the event commemorated milestones in the law school's history, its focus was on the future, and the key role that both Emory Law and the rule of law more generally can play in solving disagreements and healing divisions.

We still live in the most interdependent age in human history. Interdependence is a force for good and bad," Clinton said in his keynote address. "If you believe in the rule of law, you must find a way to build up the positive and reduce the negative forces of our interdependence.

Expanding the Us

As the gala began Saturday night, the first person at the podium was a recently accepted student, Sean Ripoll Cruz 20L, who radiated enthusiasm for his new academic home. Though fresh on the scene, he already embraces Emory Law's tradition of excellence and competitive spirit. If anyone wants to share any class notes, I am at table five," Cruz joked.

Underlining the feeling of family and community that characterized the evening, Cruz had the honor of introducing his mother, an artist retired from the Metropolitan Opera, Aixa Cruz-Falu, who beautifully rendered the National Anthem.

The nights themes, threaded through all the speakers remarks, were Emory Laws tradition of respect for the rule of law and belief in diversity of thought, as well as a larger appeal to everyone, regardless of profession, to help with what Clinton suggested in his keynote address: expanding us and shrinking them.

In his welcome remarks, Dean Robert Schapiro acknowledged his role as the weaver of the many narratives that constitute Emory Law.

I have been honored to meet students and alumni from around the world. You have shared your stories with me and you have challenged me. You have inspired me to make Emory Law a better place, a place of which we all can be proud, and for that I am very grateful," he said. "Tonight we honor our past and dream of our future.

President Claire E. Sterk touched on several chapters of the schools early history, including the work of Bishop Warren Aiken Candler, Emorys chancellor at the time, to establish a vision for that first law class of 26 students.

Ever since its founding, Sterk said, Emory Law has educated its students to create a world that is more just.

The president went on to talk about Eleonore Raouls crafty move, registering for Emory Law in 1917 when Candler was away, yet the rules barring women were still firmly in place. Raoul stayed and became the first woman to graduate from Emory University. That tells you something about the creativity that comes with the rule of law," Sterk quipped.

She detailed other key moments in the schools history, including the contribution made by Henry Bowden 34L, chair of the Emory Board of Trustees at the time, and then-dean of the law school Ben Johnson 40L, who successfully argued the case that desegregated Georgias private colleges and universities. Three years after that suit was filed in 1962, Emory began to admit African Americans  first Ted Smith 65L, followed by Marvin Arrington 67L and Clarence Cooper 67L.

The president also noted the more modern aspects of the school, detailing the degrees beyond the JD that graduates may earn  including the JM and LLM  as well as the points of intersection law has with professions such as the social sciences, humanities, public health and healthcare.

Sterk also credited the work of the law clinics, which, she said, fight for justice on the part of people who are so vulnerable, including women and children and our nations veterans. And she remarked on the many joint degrees available to Emory Law students, including those with public health, theology, business and the graduate school.

As Sterk concluded her comments, she urged attendees to, Keep in mind these words from a father of an Emory alumna: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

Those were, of course, the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the father of Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King 90L 90T, who earned one of the joint degrees the president highlighted.

King also invoked her father as she gave the evening's invocation, asking that the assembled pursue his dream of a more beloved community.

Nunn finer

Taking the stage to help honor former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn 61L 62L with a Lifetime Achievement Award, Clyde Tuggle, senior vice president and chief public affairs and communications officer for The Coca-Cola Company, explained to the crowd, Emory students come into the university with a Coke in their hands and leave with one as well. In addition to the Coke toasts that welcome new students and honor graduates, the tradition marks milestones across the university.

Tuggle thanked President Clinton for making the trek from the empire state of the North to the empire state of the South and then turned his attention to Nunn, who spent 24 years representing Georgia in the U.S. Senate. During that time, he served as chair of the powerful Armed Services Committee and chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

His legislative accomplishments include the Department of Defense Reorganization Act and the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which provided assistance to Russia and the former Soviet republics to secure and destroy their excess nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

In 1997, he retired from public office but not at all from public service, Tuggle said, and that is borne out by the fact that Nunn currently serves as co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization working to reduce the threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. He is also a distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

Thanking Nunn for the work that he has done to free the future from the shadow of nuclear incidents, terror and warfare, Tuggle asked the audience to raise the Cokes at their tables to this proud son of Emory, a man of towering character and undersized ego, a relentless warrior for understanding security and peace, and truly a leader deserving of your recognition as a recipient of the Centennial Lifetime Achievement Award.

100 who shaped Emory and the world

Nunn was not the only Emory Law alumni honored for the school's centennial. During the gala, Schapiro recounted the names of those who had received alumni awards at a separate earlier event. The dean then turned to the Emory Law 100, a list of alumni who "celebrate the best of Emory Law, past and present. The list honors alumni and faculty for advancing the rule of law, making history at Emory or beyond, or significantly enhancing Emory or the Emory Law community.

The full list, along with short biographies of the winners, is available here.

To kick off the Emory Law 100, an impressive intergenerational pairing brought Judge Clarence Cooper onstage with Janiel Myers 18L, who recently became the first

black editor-in-chief of the Emory Law Journal, the law schools oldest publication.

Myers presented the Emory Law 100 medal to Cooper, who after being one of Emory's first African American graduates, went on to become the first African American assistant district attorney hired to a state prosecutor's office in Georgia and then senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Susan Clark, the law school's associate dean of marketing and communications, and Ethan Rosenzweig 02L, dean of admission, financial aid and student life, read the names of the other Emory Law 100 honorees who were in the audience. As they did so, student ambassadors were at tables to honor the winners with medals. Martin Worthy 41C 47L, celebrating his 70th year as an Emory Law alumnus, earned an affectionate response from the crowd as he received his.

As Chilton Varner 76L, an Emory University emerita trustee and Emory Law distinguished alumna, introduced Sam Nunn, she emphasized that he has been a leader his entire life. Varner had the audience chuckling as she revealed that Nunns transfer to Emory after three years at Georgia Tech saved him from a lifetime of trying to master mechanical drawing as part of his engineering program.

She quoted Nunn himself on his early-career transformation, saying, I dropped into law school, descended into the practice of law, and sank into the depths of politics. When describing his work in the Senate, she offered, Time and time again he reached across the aisle in demonstrations of bipartisanship that would be literally unimaginable today.

When Nunn spoke, he evidenced the modesty that Varner had extolled, as he paid homage to President Clinton and offered words of thanks to Emory Law, saying many of the Emory Law 100 are my heroes.

As lighthearted as he was in regard to himself, Nunn was serious about promoting civility as a remedy for what is wrong in the current political climate. Praising our system of government and its checks and balances, Nunn said that it compels us to work together to overcome differences.

We are in a race between cooperation and catastrophe here and abroad," he said. "Can we restore civility in our political system? Today in America, this is an open question.

A welcome return

After Nunn's remarks, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed dropped by to offer hearty congratulations to the school and to Sterk and Schapiro for their leadership. Reed, drawing laughs, called himself the sorbet between two extraordinary courses, nestled as he was between Nunns appearance and Clintons.

Describing the night as a historic and powerful moment, Reed thanked the Emory administration, faculty and student body for all that they have done for the city of Atlanta. I bow in honor of you, he concluded, and all your contributions.

Sam Feldman 18L, student body president for the coming academic year, then introduced the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton. Talking about his class and the challenges of the next century, Feldman said that he and his fellow students must do three things: look to each other; look to the law schools distinguished alumni; and look to those lawyers and leaders who share in the pursuit of our common goals, and in doing so we renew our commitments to ourselves and each other to become trailblazers when there is no path and problem solvers when there is no easy solution.

It has been 22 years since Clintons last visit to Emory for an economic conference that the White House staged at Cannon Chapel. He began by talking about the Emory Law graduates he had advanced during his administration, including five judges and two ambassadors. He also described a high point of his White House years being a meeting of Nelson Mandela with American church leaders, including Bernice King.

Clinton recalled that he was still governor of Arkansas when he met Nunn and took over leadership of the Democratic Leadership Council from him. The two men didnt always agree.

Clinton noted a trip that he sent Nunn, former President Jimmy Carter and former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell on in 1994 to ease out Haitian military dictator Raoul Cedras. None of the three men was particularly excited about the assignment, especially Nunn.

I told them to go down there and let it be known that they disagreed with me, Clinton said. Because when you have rule of law and a free society, you can have disagreements. As a result of the groups negotiation skill, the transfer of power there happened peacefully.

When Clinton spoke of the achievement of the Nunn-Lugar Act, he reminded the audience that American taxpayer money went to secure the nuclear assets of the former Soviet Union.

Declaring that it was worth every penny, Clinton continued: I dont know if we could pass something like this today. It was not a world of alternative facts, but a world of alternative arguments.

Getting an early start on the next 100

That point set Clintons path for the remainder of the evening, as he talked about the ways that we can recover our balance in America. He talked about the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, which he set up with former President George W. Bush, that puts people of very different perspectives together out of the conviction that diverse groups make better decisions than homogeneous ones.

Both Nunn and Clinton are men who still care deeply about national life. Both believe that we must listen better to one another. We get periodic fevers," Clinton explained. "Countries have emotional lives, but it is well that the illness not go undiagnosed.

In his words and those of Nunn, it surely did not. Even better, Clinton clearly saw a remedy in what Emory Law offers.

He closed a night of singular inspiration with these words: We would be better off if Emory Law, in the past 100 years, had educated even more people about the weight of evidence, the strength of argument, the balance of logic and passion, and the goal of equal, fair and honorable treatment  and of expanding us and shrinking them.

So go do it, he implored. Youve got another 100 years.
16:11

The mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was killed in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village here today.



The 42-year-old soldier, who belonged to the army's 22 Sikh Infantry, was beheaded yesterday by Pakistani troops, who similarly mutilated the body of Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF's 200th Battalion.



A large number of mourners from his village and surronding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to him.



His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government should give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy.



Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA "who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away".



"My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he has served in the Army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief," he told reporters.



Senior army officers and those from the civil administration were also present as buglers sounded the 'Last Post' and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute.



His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a bedecked vehicle. The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.



A Pakistani special forces team had yesterday sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.



Singh is survived by his aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, who are aged between 11 and 14.



Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was to arrive at his village a week later on holiday, his family and friends has demanded a befitting reply be given to to Pakistan Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre should give free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a stern lesson.



"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," Kaur said.



The anger was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the Indo-Pak international border, against Pakistan. While "Shaheed Paramjeet Amar Rahe" slogans rent the air, "Pakistan Murdabad" slogans were also raised. Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab today, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.



The martyr's father Udham Singh said he was proud of his son, but wanted that Pakistan be given a befitting reply. "Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson," he said. Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.





Image: Lok Janshakti Party activists burning a banner during a protest against Pakistan for mutilating two jawans. PTI Photo


23:36

In a series of events instigated by the Maoists near Gadchiroli's Bhamragarh district in Maharashtra, 14 personnel from the Maharashtra Police and one Central Reserve Police Force official were injured on Wednesday.





Earlier in the day, a brief encounter between Maoists and the security personal resulted in one 37 Bn CRPF and two personnel of the Maharshtra Police being injured, who were later airlifted to Raipur.





Subsequently, troops of C60, the anti-naxal wing of the Maharashtra Police were sent as reinforcement. Out of this, 12 of them were reportedly caught in a landmine blast in the region, which was also planted by the Maoists.





No fatal injuries were reported and the injured have reached Bhamragarh safely.
NEW YORK: In a bid to provide more natural voice experience, Amazon has introduced new "Speech Synthesis Markup Language"(SSML) features to its voice assistant Alexa that allows it to whisper, bleep and even change its pitch.

SSML is a standardised markup language that allows developers to control pronunciation, intonation, timing and emotion.

"We are excited to announce five new SSML tags in the US, Britain and Germany that you can use with Alexa, including whispers, expletive bleeps and more," the company said in a statement.

SSML support on Alexa allows users to control how Alexa generates speech from their skill's text responses. Developers can add pauses, change pronunciation, spell out a word and add short audio snippets.

Amazon is set to host a webinar on May 18 on the new code, that will give a more clear idea on SSML.

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Male jumping spiders court whomever, whenever, but females decide who lives, dies

Male jumping spiders will try to mate with any female, but that lack of discretion could cost them their lives, says a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher.

In a newly published study, UF/IFAS entomologist Lisa Taylor and her team documented the courting techniques of jumping spiders. They found that male spiders spend much time and energy  including singing and dancing  trying to mate with potential females, even when these females are the wrong species.

We think that one reason these displays have evolved in male jumping spiders is to compensate for the fact that they cant tell females of closely related species apart, Taylor said. Males run around courting everything that looks remotely like a female, and they place themselves at a very high risk of cannibalism from hungry females of the wrong species who have no interest in mating with them.

Gif by Daniel Zurek

For the study, scientists searched for spiders along the shores of a river in Phoenix, Arizona. When they found one, they watched and recorded everything it did, using a voice recorder. If it was a male, they monitored how many other females he encountered, which species and whether or not he tried to court them. If it was a female, they recorded how many males and which species tried to court her.

They also documented whether males were attacked or eaten by females.

Taylor thinks that a males colorful courtship dance allows him to identify himself to a female from a safe distance. These displays likely allow females to tell the males of different species apart. Then females can decide what action to take while the male is still a safe distance away.

This study provides some new insight into the age-old question of why males go to such ridiculous lengths to impress females, Taylor said.

Lisa Taylor assisted in the making of a recent episode of National Geographic WILD's Untamed with Filipe Deandrade.

In jumping spiders, the answer might be that these colorful displays let males identify themselves to females without being eaten, she said.

The females of many species look a lot alike, and males dont seem to have a good way to tell them apart. But the males of most jumping spider species look different from one another, so females make the decisions. The male strategy seems to be to court anything that looks remotely like a female and hope for the best, Taylor said.

Jumping spiders are commonly found in residential backyards, and most people dont even know theyre there, Taylor said, much less that the male spiders are singing and dancing.

People might be interested to know that their yard is teeming with confused, but adorable, male jumping spiders that are running around singing and dancing for every female in sight and that these males spiders are pretty clueless about how to find the right species of female, she said.

The study is published in the online journal PLOS ONE.
Congress leader A.K. Antony on Tuesday said that in his eight years as Defence Minister during the UPA regime just one incident of mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies had taken place, but since the BJP-led NDA came to power in May 2014 three such incidents have taken place. He also expressed concern over the attacks on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Antony, who was Defence Minister from October 2006 to May 2014 during the two United Progressive Alliance governments, told reporters: "During my time, eight years, once this kind of incident took place. Now three times. I do not want to go into details." Antony said Monday's incident in which the Pakistan Army killed an Indian soldier and a BSF trooper and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir has hit the morale of the people and the Army. Pakistan has denied the charge of violating the ceasefire and of mutilating the bodies of Indian soldiers. "It (the incident) has affected the morale of Indian people, Indian Army and also the continuous attacks on military installations has put a question mark about the security structure on the border. More than anything, it has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army," Antony said. He termed the act as cowardly and inhuman and asked the government to give a free hand to the Army to seek retribution. "My only request to the government is to give freedom to the Army to take appropriate action at an appropriate time as a reaction to this cowardly, inhuman, barbaric action by the Pakistan (army)," Antony said. During Antony's term as Defence Minister, on January 8, 2013, Pakistani soldiers entered Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers -- Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. The bodies of both were mutilated. In November last year, three soldiers were killed, and one of them was beheaded, in Jammu and Kashmir on the Line of Control -- in action that the army said bore the "signature" of the Pakistan Army's Border Action Team. Pakistan had denied the allegations. In October last year, the body of 27-year-old Indian soldier was mutilated by terrorists, who fled back to the Pakistan-occupied part of Kashmir under cover fire by Pakistani troops. --IANS ps-ao/rn ( 401 Words) 2017-05-02-17:18:12 (IANS)
"The act is not only barbaric but also against humanity. The AAP is with the central government and Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) on this issue," Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh told reporters.

"The party will support the Prime Minister in whatever steps he takes on the issue." He said the AAP's sympathies were with the families of the deceased soldiers.

India has accused the Pakistan Army of killing a soldier and a BSF trooper and "mutilating" their bodies near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

--IANS am/mr

( 132 Words)

2017-05-02-17:28:17 (IANS)
Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop his "Mann ki Baat" and instead start "Gun ki Baat" to teach Pakistan a lesson. In a sharp reaction to the recent killing and the mutilation of two Indian soldiers on the Line of Control, Thackeray said Kashmir is "burning" and the government must take action. "Its time to stop 'Mann ki Baat' and start 'Gun ki Baat' against Pakistan," he demanded in a reference referring to the PM's monthly radio broadcast. Earlier, Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam, of the Sena, took potshots at Modi, saying he should concentrate more on national security than elections. "What's stopping the centre from taking direct action against Pakistan? How many more soldiers should be lose and how many more widows we should see before India does something?" he said, demanding direct action against the neighbouring the country for its aggressive acts. Shiv Sena - a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance - also urged the central government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss, what, it said, was the "worsening situation" in Jammu and Kashmir. "What is happening is serious. It is very sad," said Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut. "We are such a big country and yet these things are happening. It does not portend well for us. As a nation, we have to take some decisions. There should be an all-party meeting to discuss the happenings in Jammu and Kashmir and on the Line of Control," Raut told media here. The demand by the Sena, also a part of the BJP-led coalition ruling Maharashtra, comes after a spurt in violence in the state and killing annd mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers by a Border Action Team of Pakistan on Monday. On several occasions earlier, the Sena and Thackeray have demanded tough action by India against Pakistan for its continued aggression from across the border. --IANS qn/ahm/vd ( 336 Words) 2017-05-02-20:00:09 (IANS)
Earlier raids at petrol pumps by the police Special Task Force had busted a major racket duping consumers selling less fuel at high price. The racket involved use of chips and remote controls.

After the sudden shutdown on Tuesday, the District Magistrate called a meeting with the pump owners, following which the strike was called off.

The authorities promised there would be no victimization.

Uttar Pradesh government spokesman and Health Minister Siddharthanath Singh, however, ruled out any laxity in the action against errant petrol pumps involved in the racket.

He said the government would not succumb to any pressure.

"Let me make it very clear that there will be no let up in the checking of petrol pumps. The raids will continue but we can assure that no innocent person will be harassed," he added.

Petrol pump owners said if any machine was found compromised, that alone should be sealed and not the entire pump.

It was also agreed that a Magistrate would come along during the surprise checks.

In Lucknow alone, over two dozen petrol pumps were sealed earlier after the fuel filling machines were found compromised. As many as 23 persons, including managers, pump owners, staff and electricians, were arrested.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has ordered an audit of petrol pumps across Uttar Pradesh and also other states to check similar illegal practices.

--IANS md/in/mr

( 261 Words)

2017-05-02-16:26:09 (IANS)
Condemning Pakistan's move of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers who were killed in a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday said the incident shows barbaric nature of Islamabad forces. "All those incidents taking place in the valley is a very worrisome issue for India and its security. These incidents show the barbaric nature of Pakistan forces as the way they beheaded two Indian soldiers and took their bodies with them from Poonch region," Azad told ANI. He added that the behaviour of the Indian Government is not pleasing at this moment because no government till date has said that they will not hold talks with Pakistan or other stakeholders. "President Pranab Mukherjee and General Secretary T. K. Viswanathan said that they will not talk with Pakistan or any stakeholders, then how will the situation improve? In politics you need to talk," he asserted. Azad further said that this is a very tragic moment both for the state and the nation. "I feel the government is unable to get hold on the situation. No matter how much we criticize Pakistan and its Army forces, they will not understand," he added. Blaming the alliance of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Azad said the current situation in Kashmir is the outcome of this coalition. "The PDP-BJP alliance will not last longer. Earlier, in regard with some less complicated issues, the Congress Party solved the Mizoram, Punjab and Assam issue. This issue is much more important. Therefore, the government needs to talk about it otherwise our own nation will face the consequences," he added. Azad further said that Pakistan and the militants are gaining benefits from disputes within the Indian Government. The Pakistan Army yesterday denied India's charge of mutilating two of the latter's soldiers and described itself as a highly professional force that never disrespects any soldier. "Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on LOC or a BAT action in Buttal sector (Indian Krishna Ghati Sector) as alleged by India. Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies is also false," the Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) said in a statement. The Indian Army confirmed the news by releasing a statement on Twitter. The Army, in a tweet said, "Pak Army carried out unprovoked Rocket and Mortar firing on two forward posts on the line of control in Krishna Ghati Sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded." (ANI)
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta is appearing for the Gujarat Government, while senior advocate Kapil Sibal is appearing for Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand.

Teesta, her husband and the two NGOs - Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace - earlier approached the apex court challenging the October 7, 2015, verdict of the Gujarat High Court, which had rejected their pleas for defreezing their personal bank accounts.

One of the residents of Gulberg Society had filed a complaint against Setalvad and others alleging that money was raised to make a museum at the Gulberg Society in the memory of those killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, but it had not been utilised for the purpose.

The high court had upheld the verdict of a lower court in this regard observing that the probe was at a serious point.

In their plea before the apex court, the petitioners have alleged that their accounts were "illegally freezed" without following the due process of law.

The Gujarat Police filed an affidavit in the apex court alleging that the funds collected by them for setting up of museum in memory of the riots victims of the Gulberg Society were spent on personal use. (ANI)
India and Turkey has signed several agreements and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on several fields. India and Turkey signed Cultural Exchange Program for 2017-2020 A MoU for Cooperation between Foreign Service Institute of India and Diplomacy Academy of Turkey was also signed. An agreement between the Government of The Republic of Turkey and the Government of The Republic of India was signed on gainful occupation for family members of the members of diplomatic mission or consular post. A MoU was signed between Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India and Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), Turkey. A cooperation agreement between Press Trust of India (PTI) and Anadolu Agency (AA) of Turkey was also signed. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed satisfaction with regular high-level contacts between the two countries that provide the much-needed impetus to progressive enhancement and deepening of bilateral ties across the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation. Both the leaders laid high emphasis on people-to-people contact and strengthening cultural linkages between the two nations. The two leaders noted that ties of culture and language - the Sufi traditions, the exchanges and influences of the Turkish language on Hindi and vice versa among other linkages - provide a deep connect between our people. Both Prime Minister Modi and President Erdogan, during the discussions, affirmed that the relationship between India and Turkey was anchored in historical exchanges between the Leaders and the peoples of the two nations. The richly diverse and secular democracies of both nations provide a valuable base to further cement the ties between the two nations. Both the leaders agreed that India and Turkey, being among the top 20 economies in the world with sound economic fundamentals and increasing convergence of positions, could contribute to addressing international issues of mutual interest such as new economic order, stability and security of the respective regions. The two leaders noted that bilateral relations between the two nations have been strengthened by the exchange of high-level visits from both sides. Prime Minister Modi highlighted that Turkish investments in India's manufacturing sector, especially in India's flagship programmes like "Make in India" would be mutually beneficial to both sides. President Erdogan agreed that India's infrastructure requirements and their ambitious vision of developing Smart Cities match well with Turkish capacities in construction industry. Both the leaders agreed that mutual cooperation in the field of IT, pharmaceuticals, health and tourism is beneficial to growth of bilateral trade between the two nations. Both the leaders agreed on the necessity of holding frequent civil aviation meetings to boost bilateral cooperation and discuss the pending issues in that field in order to encourage the people-to-people contacts. They agreed that the new Cultural Exchange Programme would further cement cultural connections and institutional relations. President Erdogan extended invitations to President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Modi for visiting Turkey at mutually convenient time. Erdogan thanked President Mukherjee and the Prime Minister for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation. (ANI)
"These are bizarre allegations made against the Telangana Police. Being such a senior leader and former chief minister, he should not say things like these. He must either substantiate with evidence or apologise," Naidu told ANI.

Lauding the Telangana Police's efforts in being proactive in countering terrorist activities, Naidu stated that such accusations could demoralise the forces.

"The Telangana Police have been on the forefront in countering terrorism. They have even shared reports with their neighbouring states from time to time. Such comments can bring down the morale of the police," he added.

In a string of tweets earlier today, the Congress leader accused Telangana Police of setting up a 'bogus ISIS site which is radicalising Muslim Youths and encouraging them to become ISIS Modules'.

Furthermore, Singh asserted that if KCR was involved then he should own up and resign.

Recently, the Lucknow district administration ordered a magisterial probe into the death of ISIS terror accused Saifullah, who was killed on the outskirts of Uttar Pradesh capital after long hours of anti-terror operation on March 8. (ANI)
India and Turkey has condemned the use of double standards in addressing the menace of terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system. Holding a joint statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged views on other international issues of common concern, most notably the fight against terrorism. The two leaders reiterated their strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomever, and declared that there could be no justification for terrorism anywhere. Both the sides urged all countries and entities to work sincerely to disrupt terrorist networks and their financing, and stop cross-border movement of terrorists. They also called for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. On UN cooperation and reforms, the two leaders jointly agreed that the delegations of both the countries to the United Nations must cooperate closely and agreed on continuing with this close cooperation at the UN fora. Recognizing the need for comprehensive UN reforms including the Security Council expansion to make the body more representative, accountable and effective, both the sides agreed to work towards the reform of the UN Security Council in order to enhance its democratic nature and to reflect the reality of the twenty-first century. India and Turkey also underlined the shared interest of underlining global non-proliferation objectives. In this regard, President Erdogan welcomed India's accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016. Prime Minister Modi thanked President Erdogan for Turkey's support for India's membership of the MTCR and applications to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Wassenaar Arrangement. India and Turkey noted that there is an immense untapped potential for growth in the trade bilateral trade and investment. They also agreed to encourage business efforts to achieve a level of at least $10 billion by 2020 in bilateral trade. The bilateral trade between India and Turkey is $ 6.4 billion. The two sides expressed desire to hold the Turkey-India Joint Economic Committee meetings regularly. Both the leaders expressed satisfaction that the Business Forum held during the state visit provided a platform for the business community to further explore commercial opportunities. On the energy sector, the two sides agreed to improve cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbons, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Taking note of the tourism potential of the two nations, the two leaders agreed to encourage more tourist exchanges. In this context, both Leaders expressed their desire to further encourage tourist exchanges between the two countries within the framework of the "Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism" signed in 1995. Prime Minister Modi highlighted in this regard that Indian film industry is now producing films and television shows abroad, which will eventually lead to increased tourist interest. (ANI)
Mother of Lance Naik Hemraj- whose body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2013 called on the Centre to step up and retaliate. This come after Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013. "They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now," said the mother of Hemraj. She further called on the Government to try and understand how painful it is to lose one child and pressed for retaliation. "The government must take stern action against Pakistan. They have not fulfilled any of the promises made to the martyr's family till now," she added. Resonating similar sentiments, the brother of Hemraj asserted that the situation is very upsetting and India must resonate to Islamabad's atrocities. "It is a very sad situation, the way our soldiers are losing their lives and the government is not taking any action in this regard. The centre should take stern action against Pakistan so that such incidents are not repeated in future," said the brother of Hemraj. "Under Modi government, almost every day one soldier is losing their lives. The government is not at all concerned about the people. They don't have any solid strategy to tackle this kind of situation," said another relative. Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier. "Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement. It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and also severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013. Indian Army killed terrorist Anwar Khan in August 2015 in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir. He was part of a 15 member team of Lashkar and Jaish terrorists in the BAT team that killed Hemraj and Sudhakar. In fact, the BAT is a brutal and barbaric arm of Pakistan Army. Its actions along the Line of Control (LOC) may be not in public domain, but the Indian Army has been bearing its brunt for long. The raiding members of BAT are specially instructed not be caught on the Indian side. Defence experts say that the Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the BAT which employs highly trained terrorists for Trans-LoC action up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres. In February 2000, seven months after the Kargil War, a Pakistani BAT killed seven Indian soldiers in Nowshera in Rajouri district. The army was shocked to discover the headless body of a soldier, Sepoy Bhausaheb Talekar. Defence experts say that the Pakistani BAT beheads and mutilate the bodies of Indian soldiers to terrorise troops and wage psychological warfare. The SSG commandos and terrorists of BAT mainly use AK-47 rifles, Swiss-made snow clothing and snow boots, Digital Navigation Consoles like Skype and VoIP.(ANI)
On a tip-off, tchild rights NGO Balala Hakkula Sangam, along with child line and District Child Protection raided the house of K Bheem Reddy residing in the Engineers Colony at Vanasthalipuram and rescued the child.

According to officials at the District Child Protection Unit, the girl, who hails from Balija Pally of Wanaparthy, was working as a bonded labour at the retired engineer's house for the last six months after her father, Shankar, was paid Rs 20,000.

Office-bearers of the NGO alleged that the girl was beaten up by Reddy's wife Jalaja whenever she asked for permission to visit her mother.

Although there was no physical abuse involved, the girl was often subjected to domestic violence.

The NGO upon receiving the information, approached the labour department for the rescue of the child but they said they were busy in the May Day celebrations.

President, Balala Hakkula Sangam Achyuta Rao said, "We approached the labour department for the rescue of the bonded girl but they denied by saying they were busy in celebrating May Day."

The girl was later sent to Kachiguda girls home and her employer Bheem Reddy was taken into the custody of Vanasthali Puram Police. (ANI)
Locals and ex-defence personnel in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir chanted anti-Pakistan slogans on Tuesday and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi take stringent action against Islamabad, for mutilating the bodies of two Indian militants in Krishna Ghati sector here. (Indian Army age badho hum tumhare saath hain, Bharat Mata Ki Jai), these were some of the slogans raised by the locals. Ex-servicemen Sharma called on Prime Minister Modi to take stringent action against the Pakistan Government for such inhuman behavior with the Indian militants. "We want our Prime Minister to take stern action against the Pakistan Government for mutilating the bodies of two Indian Militants in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district," Sharma told ANI. Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013. The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act. "Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement. Yesterday, the Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack. They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m. The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian Territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post. It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in Srinagar yesterday and took stock of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju here on Tuesday paid his last respects to BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar, who was killed by Pakistan Army near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said. Sagar's body was brought to Palam airport where he was paid last respects and was prepared for the journey onward to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria. "We will take the body in a helicopter. Travelling time to Deoria is about three-and-half hours. The entire arrangement will be made by the BSF and the Uttar Pradesh government," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told media persons. Speaking to a news channel on the Kashmir issue, another BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was "firm and the forces are doing their job in containing those who are inspired and instigated from across the border". According to the Indian Army, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Border Security Force trooper Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan Army in an "unprovoked" attack in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Monday. --IANS vn/in/dg ( 200 Words) 2017-05-02-14:46:11 (IANS)
Hailing the 'massive' victory of the BJP in the recently held MCD elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, Amit Shah, today said that the people of the national capital have rejected the 'politics of excuses'."Delhi has rejected politics of excuses. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal must meet our booth workers to know the reasons behind our victory rather than blaming the EVMs for their defeat. The allegation, which has been echoed by few other parties as well was rubbished by the Election Commission," Mr Shah said while addressing the newly elected BJP councillors as well as the outgoing councillors of the three Municipal corporations of Delhi.The BJP chief said that oppositions made all efforts to stop the winning streak (Vijay Rath) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but now that the chariot has reached in Delhi. The party will work towards a victory in the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections."The election results in the city send a message across the country," Mr Shah said adding that winning election in Delhi came with a great responsibility because it was not only the capital of the country but represented the entire country.Lashing out at the Arvind Kejriwal Government, Mr Shah added that BJP's win in the MCD elections was a rejection of the negative politics followed by the Aam Aadmi Party.The BJP chief urged the new councillors to work for the people and not for themselves."Delhi's election is a referendum for the BJP as the city has people from all regions across the country," Mr Shah added.Speaking on the occasion, BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari said that the historic decision has come with a responsibility and it was their duty to perform diligently.UNI SDR/AR SNU 1437 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-877067.Xml
Two masked gunmen barged inside the Ellaquai Dehati Bank and looted Rs 65,000 from the bank.

Earlier yesterday, militants opened fire at a cash delivery van of a bank in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam, killing five police constables and two bank officials.

The terrorists attacked the van when it was returning after dispensing cash to local bank branches.

Earlier on April 28, alert security forces foiled a bid by two militants to loot a branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank (JK Bank). One militant was arrested, while the other managed to flee.

The incident happened when the bank's Mehandi Kadal branch employees had gone to offer Friday prayers and the branch appeared to be closed. (ANI)
According to officials, the Home Minister and the Governor also discussed Monday's terror attack in Kashmir's Kulgam district that killed seven people and the killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilation of their bodies by Pakistan Army personnel near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch.

Vohra is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the situation in the state, especially against the backdrop of Monday's violence.

The spike in stone-pelting incidents by students which has caused law and order problems in the valley was also discussed, the officials said.

They said the issues like infiltration from across the border with Pakistan and steps to control the situation also figured during the meeting.

The meeting comes after the Home Minister chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the situation in the state.

Monday's meeting was attended by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, RAW chief Anil Dhasmana and Central Reserve Police Force chief Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar.

--IANS bns/sar/vt

( 205 Words)

2017-05-02-16:02:10 (IANS)
Condemning as 'barbaric', the attack by the Pakistani Army and the mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers, the Congress today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of always being in a 'campaign mode' and lacking a policy on national security.Addressing reporters, AICC spokesperson Kapil Sibal said despite the knowledge that Pakistan has not learnt any lessons and was constantly indulging in terror strikes from across the border, the Prime Minister had invited the ISI to Pathankot, celebrated birthdays in Lahore and invited them (Pakistan PM) to his swearing in ceremony.''We condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack by the Pakistanis & the mutilation of the bodies of two of our soldiers. When the UPA was in power, there was a woman MP who asked if they should send bangles to the then Prime Minister. Will that woman MP, who is now a Union Minister, send bangles to the PM,'' Mr Sibal said.Accusing the Prime Minister of indulging in inaction on the issue of national security, Mr Sibal said, ''What kind of a PM and what kind of a government is this. Despite knowing that Pakistan has not learnt any lesson and was constantly indulging in terror strikes from across the border, he (PM) invites the ISI to Pathankot, celebrates birthdays in Lahore and invited people with hate for India to his swearing-in ceremony.It is a tragedy that this government does not have any policy towards Pakistan.'' Blaming the inaction by the Prime Minister for repeated terrorist attacks by Pakistan, Mr Sibal said, ''PM should understand that there is no use of having any expectation from Pakistan. There is neither any need to indulge in embraces nor to celebrate birthdays. I want to ask the PM who is responsible for the death of 135 jawans in the last 35 months.''Who is responsible for the martyrdom of a major in Kupwara and the Naxal attack on jawans in Sukma. They had claimed that terrorism would end after demonetisation but on the contrary the terorrist strikes have risen.''Charging the Prime Minister with always being in a 'campaign mode', he said, ''The security of the borders will happen only when the PM gets time from campaigning and event management. On the one hand, the Pakistani killed Indian jawans in Krishna valley, on the other hand, the BJP is celebrating 'Vijay Diwas' in Delhi. We celebrated 'Vijay Diwas' only when Pakistan was divided. That a celebration is being organised after incidents in Sukma and Kashmir is a matter of shame.''It is sad that the PM does not have any policy towards national security. What is to be done and when, has to be decided by the Army but for that a policy will have to be devised. The PM does not want to hold discussions with us because he has no time for discussions and wants to only indulge in campaigning and celebrating 'Vijay Divas'. These people only think of the 2019, 2024 and 2029 elections. So when will they think about security?''UNI AR RSA SHK 1606 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-877146.Xml
The Punjabi community is bringing laurels to India from all across the globe and one such achievement has been made by Ranbir Sodhi. Making Punjabis proud globally, Dhuri-born Ranbir Sodhi has been elected to the Council of Governors of Vantaa once again. He has been inducted as a Valttutettu, an Indian equivalent of MLA, in the recently-concluded elections. He has been elected three times in a row for the position in the Finland province. A Social Democratic Party representative, the businessman-turned-politician became the first immigrant from India to be elected in the Vantaa Assembly in 2007. Sodhi, who resides in Hiekkaharju city in Vantaa, will represent the fourth most populated city of Finland with a population of over 2.20 lakhs. He did his graduation from Government College in Malerkotla and MA in Economics and Financial Management from Punjabi University, Patiala. He has been living in Vantaa for over 30 years along with his wife and son and runs a night club business in Finland with his brother. Terming his victory a milestone for India and the Punjabi community, Sodhi said over 2,000 Punjabi immigrants lived in Finland. He said the people of Vantaa voted him because of his commitment to the society. Sodhi said that development of the infrastructure of the province and taking care of the social welfare of the people were his topmost priorities. Vantaa has the biggest airport in Finland and a science-centre, Heureka. He said the people had full faith in him and unlike India, the people in Finland questioned candidates if they fail to deliver. ''I am thankful to the people and promise to fulfill all their expectations with utmost dedication,'' he said, talking on the phone from Finland. The visionary man wants to make the province of Vantaa, a prominent landmark in Finland. The people of Vantaa have always supported him and he wanted to reciprocate their faith by offering them his dedicated services. Sodhi has plans to visit his motherland Punjab soon and aims to initiate trade relations between Finland and India with special focus on Punjab.UNI JS AE SHK 1646 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0100-877223.Xml
Social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be used in a strategic and effective way to disseminate news, Ms Joy Mayer told a group of journalists here today. Ms Mayer, a consulting fellow at the Reynolds Journalism Institute, an adjunct faculty member at the Missouri School of Journalism and at The Poynter Institute,who conducted the programme through Webinar, was part of a training programme. She taught participants to build a network of local influencers and advocates who can use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social/digital media in a more strategic, meaningful and effective way. The programme was organized at the American Center here for journalists, social media practitioners, citizen journalists and students, who want the latest insights into emerging technology, innovation and social networks in Kolkata. The U.S. Consulate General Kolkata and global leader in journalism The Poynter Institute for Media Studies organized the training programme titled "Strengthening Journalism through Social Media". Inaugurating the webinar Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate Kolkata Andrew Posner said, "The goal of this programme is to build local communities of journalists and social bloggers so that they can address the local issues in a strategic way." The programme included a webinar conducted by The Poynter Institute with leading American journalism instructors and a social media certificate programme. Thirty participants, from different background, selected through an application process, attended the webinar in Kolkata. Kolkata webinar topic Creating a Social Media Strategy was taught by Ms Mayer.The participants also learnt how to increase engagement with audience, how to craft successful social posts, how to measure success on social media and how to create an effective social media strategy. Similar webinar titled "Become a Social Media Ninja" will be conducted in Guwahati on May 9 where training will be given by Al Tompkins, one of America's most requested journalism and multimedia instructors, associated with the The Poynter Institute. Besides the two "live" webinars, The Poynter Institute offered a package of three to five e-learning courses which the participants can do online from home. In the certificate programme, participants will examine best practices used by journalists and activists to make their voices heard and explore some of the core tools most commonly used today. When they're done, they will have a solid understanding of what it takes to build a successful social media strategy. Completion of the course will earn them a certificate from The Poynter Institute.UNI PL KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-877531.Xml
Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjit Singh, who died in a Pakistan jail in 2013, on Tuesday asked the Centre to act firmly against a 'Coward' Islamabad for mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers. "Pakistan is coward and a betrayer. It stabs in the back. This attack indicates its cowardice. I felt deeply grieved after hearing this news. It made me infuriated," she said. "Mere condemning and saying that the sacrifice of the soldiers will not go in vain will not work. We should give a befitting reply to them and not act softly. I want the government to take serious steps instead of merely condemning it," she added. On Monday, Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district along the Line of Control. The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act. "Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement. The Pakistan Army, however, denied India's charge and described itself as a highly professional force that never disrespects any soldier. "Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on LOC or a BAT action in Buttal sector (Indian Krishna Ghati Sector) as alleged by India. Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies is also false," the Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) said in a satement.(ANI)
A State-run Chinese daily today indicated for the first time Beijing's interest in mediating between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, arguing that ensuring peace in South Asia was vital to protect China's economic interests. ''Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan,'' an opinion piece in the state-run Global Times said. Beijing has so far held a neutral position on the issue of Kashmir, as India had been maintaining from the very beginning that the issue had to be resolved bilaterally without any third party mediation. While stressing that China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, the author of the article said that Beijing could not turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments. China is developing a 50 billion dollar economic corridor along with Pakistan that passes through occupied Kashmir, and over which India had expressed its objections several times at various fora. The article underlined that China had been at the center of a regional power shift, and therefore it now needed to learn how to act as ''a stabilizing force and conflict mediator in the region.'' According to the author there was so much to learn for China about how to play its role as a regional power at a time when the country is witnessing a boom in outbound direct investment. ''For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region. In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests,'' the Global Times article said. The author also cited China's recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya issue to highlight ''the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability.'' '' The Rohingya issue has long been a cause of instability in the Rakhine state; therefore China has a strong interest in helping tackle the issue to ensure regional stability,'' the article said.UNI NAZ ADG SHK 1912 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-877650.Xml
Odisha Samajawadi Party chief Rabi Behera today demanded a thorough enquiry into the alleged cheating of consumers by the petrol pump owners in Odisha. In a letter to Union Minister of state for petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Mr Behera said cheating consumers by the petrol pump owners by manipulating the chips in their petrol pumps was not only confined to Lucknow but also in other parts of the country, including Odisha. He demanded exemplary action against the wrong doers and said strong action must be taken against the guilty in the wake of the Lucknow exposure. Mr Behera further said the involvement of Petroleum Ministry Officials in the corruption cannot be ruled out and should also be enquired. He said petrol pump owners have looted crores of rupees by cheating the consumers. The loot money, the SP leader said, should be recovered from the petrol pump owners and deposited in Prime Minister's Relief Funds to help students from poor background for higher studies and poor patients for better medical treatment.UNI BD DP AD1934 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877739.Xml
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat started his four-day trip of North East India today. Mr Bhagwat arrived at Guwahati at 1100 hrs this morning and met with the RSS workers in Keshav Dham, RSS headquarter in Assam. He than travelled to Hojai and took part in a valedictory function at an ongoing RSS camp in the area. Mr Bhagwat will also visit ongoing RSS training camps in Itanagar, Silchar and Karbi Anglong. His four-day long visit to the North Eastern states assumed significance on the backdrop of 'cow vigilantism' deaths in Assam. Prominently, tribal population in North East India are beef eaters and it would be interesting to RSS chief's comments on the same issue. Time and again, Mr Bhagwat's comment on the Christian missionary has created quite a flutter among various groups in the region.UNI ABI AD1937 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877746.Xml
The first phase of National Waterways-5 from Dhamara-Paradeep to Pankapala through Mangalagadi would be implemented in next four years with an investment of Rs 1243 crore. A meeting held here jointly by Odisha Chief Secretary A P Padhi and Inland Waterways Authority of India Chairman Nutan Guha Biswas to review the progress of the project decided to carry forward the work in close cooperation between central and state agencies. The distance from Dhamara to Mangalagadi is around 28 km and from Paradeep Port to Mangalagadi is around 67 km. The distance from Mangalagadi to Pankapala will be around 106 km. There are 12 Railway, NHAI and PWD bridges on this stretch, which would be redesigned and customized for the waterway. A SPV has been formed for the purpose involving the Odisha government, Paradeep Port Trust and Dhamara Port Trust. Mr Padhi asked the Collectors of the districts concerned to undertake a survey of the villages along the river banks and identify the points used by the people for crossing the river. The IWAI chairman assured to provide all assistance for setting up the ghats on those points for carrying forward the river dredging works. Official sources here said the proposed waterway consists of rivers like Bramhani, Kharsua, Kani, Dhamara, Mantei, Mahanadi delta and East coast canal spread over the States of Odisha and West Bengal. It stretches over 588 kms out of which 492 kms are in Odisha and the rest 91 kms are in West Bengal. The waterway has been designed to provide connectivity between Paradeep-Dhamara ports- Kalinganagar Industrial cluster and Mahanadi coal field.UNI BD DP AD1940 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877755.Xml
Chief Minister N Biren Singh has assured to enhance security for the oil tankers and transporters to ensure safety of drivers and conductors travelling on national highways. He said that a dedicated 24X7 hotline number (0385-2450214) will be opened at DGP's office from tomorrow to attend the calls of transporters and drivers of oil tankers, LPG bullet tankers and trucks operating service on the National Highways in case of any emergency. Another hotline mobile number having Whatsapp facility will also be activated soon. The transporters are on a stir after repeated attacks on oil tankers and drivers at Kangpokpi areas of the Imphal Dimapur highway. The drivers today informed the chief minister that Manipur vehicles were harassed in neighbouring states. Mr Biren today spoke to Assam Finance Minister Hemanta Biswa over the phone and discussed the matter. He said he was assured by Dr Biswa that a joint meeting of five SPs of different districts of Assam will be held tomorrow to discuss the matter.More UNI NS AD1946 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877768.Xml
The Washington Post/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- For President Trump, cookies come in a variety of flavors -- "smart," "tough" and even "dishonest."



And depending on what mood he's in, it may even be a combination, such as "warm, smart [and] tough."



Much like the nicknames that George W. Bush was famous for during his presidency, Trump appears to be fond of applying the moniker "cookie" with various descriptors to world leaders and others.



Trump raised some eyebrows when he called North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un a "pretty smart cookie" in an interview with CBS News.



I can tell you this, and a lot of people dont like when I say it, but he was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father, when his father died. Hes dealing with obviously very tough people, Trump said in the interview.



A lot of people, Im sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it, Trump added. So obviously, hes a pretty smart cookie.



The phrase "smart cookie" along with "tough cookie" was Trump's go-to description during the campaign.



During an October campaign rally in Colorado, Trump said Russia was run by "a very smart cookie," referring to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump added that Putin was "much smarter, much more cunning" than President Obama.



"Putin, pretty tough cookie, right?" Trump said to the crowd of supporters gathered at Burlington, Iowa for an October 2015 rally.



He's also referred to himself, his father, Reince Priebus, Winston Churchill, Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, Todd Palin, supporters at his rallies, the "guys that formed ISIS," policemen and others as "tough cookies."



"And I think people are maybe a little surprised because I can be a tough cookie," Trump said during a MSNBC interview in October 2015.



Here's what Trump said about:



Lyndon Johnson ("smart cookie": "I respect Lyndon Johnson because he was one smart cookie. But I mean Lyndon Johnson was a major player. He was a very very tough cookie and he was able to silence his critics by doing that. So were going to get your voice back." (Nov. 1, 2016, Eau Claire, Wisconsin rally)



Mitt Romney ("warm, smart, tough cookie"): "He's [Romney] a warm, smart, tough cookie and that's what this country needs. We need somebody that's tough, that will stop China and OPEC and all these other nations from just ripping us up. And i think he can do it." (Feb. 3, 2012, on CNN)



Politicians ("dishonest cookies": "Oh that voter fraud, you know these politicians are brutal. Theyre brutal. They are brutal. They are a bunch of dishonest cookies, I gotta tell you." (Feb. 3, 2016, Little Rock, Arkansas)



Chris Christie ("tough cookie"): "Christie is the governor of New Jersey but he was the former prosecutor and a tough cookie and I thought honestly, I thought Marco was going to faint." (Jan. 24, 2016, Muscatine, Iowa)



Rally-goer in Ohio ("rough-looking cookie"): "Look at this guy. And I do love him. He's a rough-looking cookie though. I'll tell you. We love -- we have a lot of love. Believe me." (Dec. 1, 2016, Cincinnati, Ohio)



And that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Nagaland Chief Minister AShurhozelie Liezietsu on Tuesday urged the Naga people to seek an early and amicable settlement to the six-decade-old separatist Naga movement. "Nagas have been suffering for too long and we want to see an early solution which is amicable and honourable," he told a large gathering of Ao Naga and Angami Naga tribes here on the occasion of the premier Ao festival Moatsu. "Nagas have been suffering for too long due to non-resolution of the political problem," Liezietsu said. Moatsu festival this year had a unique feature in that the Ao community had invited the Angami community to partake in the festival. Accordingly, more than a thousand Angami tribals, dressed in their unique cultural attires, joined in the celebrations at Mokokchung, the district headquarters of the Ao Nagas. "Let's do our best to be in a position of a civilised state because fighting for supremacy in a family can never help a family to move ahead and it can never compete with other peoples of the country," he said, hinting at the fragmentation of the Naga political groups into factions. "Each one of us need to contribute our best to see that it (Naga political issue) is solved once and for all, each one of us has a role. If there is no peace, there cannot be progress and development." Dwelling on the genesis of the Naga movement for self-determination, the Chief Minister recalled how 2,000 odd Nagas were taken to the warfront in Europe during World War I. They returned home with the feeling that Nagas were different from other peoples of the world. After the Nagas came back, they officially formed the Naga Club in 1919 through which awareness was created for the Nagas to move towards togetherness and also the political consciousness to stay as one people. "We need to be Christians not only in Church. There is no looking back now: we need to build our Naga brotherhood on a stronger foundation. Let this be a milestone between our different communities and between God and us," Liezietsu said. --IANS rrk/mr ( 359 Words) 2017-05-02-20:18:09 (IANS)
"Our government issued notification for the surrender and rehabilitation of Naxalites (Maoists) with incentives, providing gainful employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, so that they become part of the mainstream," Banerjee said.

The Trinamool Congress supremo said so far, in West Bengal, 328 Left Wing extremists have surrendered. This includes 111 Maoists in 2017 (till date).

"Already 205 surrenderers have been enrolled as Special Home Guards. Now, 11 more are being enrolled as Special Home Guards and another nine cases are in process. Thus, total of 225 surrenderers will be enrolled for employment till date," she said.

"Apart from employment, surrendering Maoists get financial incentives as well as assistance for housing, medical and child education, as per norms set up by the government," she added.

--IANS sgh/ahm/dg

( 159 Words)

2017-05-02-20:22:10 (IANS)
Naiba Konyak, sitting MLA of the Tobu Assembly Constituency under Mon district, has offered to vacate his seat for Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu, who is not a member of Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA). In a statement, Tobu District Demand Committee (TDDC) Secretary P Shammaoh and the TDDC claimed that the public of Tobu Assembly Constituency, along with Naiba Konyak, the sitting MLA have decided that the MLA vacate the seat and enable Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu contest the bye election so as to join the 12th NLA unopposed from the constituency. The TDDC said this decision was made in order to ensure the stability and continuity of the present Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) Government led by the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) party. The decision was also conveyed to the Nagaland Minister for Rural Development & REPA C L John, when the public of Tobu area representing all the villages under Tobu sub-division held a meeting at CL John's residence in Dimapur. According to the TDDC, the Tobu public has requested the DAN Government to consider the offer seriously in order to allow the smooth functioning of the government. They maintained that the offer was in the interest of the present DAN Government and the people of Nagaland in general. At the meeting with the Mr. John, the TDDC said the public leaders apprised him of problems and inconveniences faced by the Tobu-Moka public under the present administrative set up. TDDC said that C L John acknowledged the difficulties faced by people of Tobu-Moka of Mon district; the Minister also said that the priority in infrastructural development was long felt for Tobu sub-division. Regarding the demand of Tobu district, John has expressed belief that the present DAN Government led by Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu would take up the issue seriously, adding that he would be in favour of any decision taken by the wisdom and leadership of Dr. Shurhozelie, the release said. Dr Shurhozelie did not contest the last election and his Constituency Northern Angami-I and his son Khriehu Liezietsu won the seat. But due to demand of the Nagaland MLA and selected him as their leader, he assumed the office of the Chief Minister, however, he must be elected within six months from the date of assuming the office. UNI AS AD2053 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877903.Xml
Continuing with his verbal attacks, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today cautioned t the BJP to be more careful of Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for he may stake his claim to the chair of Chief Minister of Assam. "The BJP will have to take care of Himanta Biswa Sarma because after sometime he will say that (Sarbananda) Sonowal should step down so that he can take over. He will not remain where he is. He left the Congress because of that," he told reporters here. Dr Sangma, the veteran Congress leader said that the Assam minister would be more of a problem for the BJP than he was for the Congress. "I know him well," Dr Sangma said. Once a close associate of former Congress Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Sarma had resigned from his ministry in 2014 following differences. He joined the BJP in 2015. In an obvious reference to Sarma, the Chief Minister also stated that people from other states are asserting themselves in Meghalaya without knowing about the ground reality. "What type of home work have they done before commenting?" Dr Sangma asked.UNI RRK AD2132 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877937.Xml
According to a statement by the Inspector General of Assam Rifles (North), the liquor was found hidden in two Mahindra Boleros bearing vehicles.

A total of 1,182 bottles Rum, 1432 cans of beer, 144 bottles of whisky and 03 bottles Breezer, approx amounting to Rs 3 lakh rupees were seized.

A total of four personnel were apprehended who were alleged owners of IMFL, to include one woman.

All the apprehended persons along with the illegal liquor were handed over to Sanis Police Station.

In another search operation by 28 AR in general area Foothill Road Junction in Bhandari of Wokha district on April 29, troops also captured IMFL being smuggled into Nagaland worth Rs 7,50,000.

The liquor was found hidden in two vehicles.

The driver and passengers were apprehended along with the liquor. A total of 1862 bottles of Rum, 432 bottles of Whisky, 456 cans of beer and 144 bottles of Vodka were seized.

All apprehended persons along with illegal liquor were handed over to Bhandari Police Station, it said. UNI AS AD2146

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877950.Xml
In an attempt to send across government's intent of zero tolerance against cross border movement from Bangladesh, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal paid a visit to Indo-Bangla border at Silchar sector in Karimganj district today. With the visit he became the first ever chief minister to have visited those border areas when he stepped in Tukurgram after crossing river Kusiara and took stock of the existing barbed wire fencing along the border. He interacted with the on-duty BSF personnel and took stock of the border security and the steps being taken to deal with nefarious activities stemmed out from the international border and other related issues. The BSF officers apprised Mr Sonowal of the steps being undertaken to fortify the fencing along 128 km border between the two countries. The BSF also informed that the barbed wire fencing along 118 km has already been completed and the remaining 10 km will be completed very soon. The National Buildings Construction Corporation and Central PWD are executing the fencing works along the border between India and Bangladesh along Silchar sector. Mr Sonowal assured the BSF that the State Government would press in technological solutions to aid BSF's endeavour maintain constant vigil along the border. The chief minister also interacted with the villagers at Turkugram and took stock of their health, education and connectivity issues. He also directed Inland Water Transport Department to introduce day-night ferry services between Bhanga and Turkurgram State PWD Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, Deputy Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly Dilip Kumar Paul, Chairman of Assam Industrial Development Corporation Mission Ranjan Das, Principal Secretary of Home and Border L S Changsan, and a host of senior officers accompanied the chief minister during his border visit. UNI SG AD2150 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-877952.Xml
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi, Thackeray said the former was still talking about 'Mann ki Baat', when he should be talking about 'Gun ki Baat', hinting towards a well-planned military strike against Pakistan.

"Soldiers are dying on the border. Women are getting widowed. And our Prime Minister is still talking about his 'Mann ki Baat'. It's time he talked about 'Gun ki Baat'," Thackeray said, while addressing a public meet here.

Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been at loggerheads since the 2014 Assembly elections, as a result of which both parties independently fought the recent BMC elections held in the state.

The Congress, along with other Opposition parties, have also condemned Prime Minister Modi and the Centre over not reacting appropriately to the dastardly act by Pakistan.

The Centre, on the other hand, has stoically put forth a stand of not politicising a "serious matter."

Meanwhile, tension continues to rise between India and its neighbour Pakistan over the mutilation.

The Indian Army had confirmed the development in a statement, deriving wrath from all sections of people and political circles in India. (ANI)
The commercial rocket Falcon 9, owned by Elon Musk, lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, reports the CNN.

Seven minutes after liftoff, the first-stage rocket booster separated from the upper stage and fired its engines again.

An on-board computer then guided the rocket to a pinpoint landing on a 300-foot platform back at Kennedy Space Center.

The satellite was made for National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a U.S. Government agency that develops and maintains spy satellites.

The NRO says the satellite aims to survey potential threats to the United States by tracking terrorists and monitoring the development of nuclear weapons in other countries.

It also has the capability to provide an early warning of a potential missile strike. (ANI)
"Google confirmed it had removed support from Google Maps but suggested that move might be temporary," technology website cnet.com reported on Tuesday.

The removal was not mentioned in the release notes, and Google has not indicated whether it will reinstate support for watchOS.

Amazon and eBay, both of which previously included Apple Watch support in their iOS apps have also removed their apps. Both were last updated in April.

"It's unclear why the companies decided to remove support for their apps on the Apple Watch, or whether Apple had a role in their decision," the report noted.

Apple launched its smartwatch two years ago, but the early software version was limited and apps initially were extensions of their iPhone apps.

Apple released watchOS 3 software in 2016 that allowed app developers to make standalone apps for the Apple Watch.

--IANS anuj/in

( 183 Words)

2017-05-02-11:10:11 (IANS)
Addressing a joint news conference after his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his Black Sea residence, Putin said accusations of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election were "simply rumours" and were being used as part of the political fight in Washington.

Putin also denied interfering in the European elections, The Washington Post reports.

The U.S. intelligence agencies, however, earlier said they had proof that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic email accounts, aimed at benefiting President Donald Trump's campaign and harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Merkel asserted she was confident that Germany could take on any disinformation campaign targetting Germany's upcoming election.

Merkel's visit to Sochi is her first trip to Russia in two years even as the relations between the two countries remain strained over the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Merkel and Putin last met in Germany in October for talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process. (ANI)
In his letter, Fatemi declared that all these allegations were false and baseless, days after his removal from the post.

The Express Tribune quoted Fatemi, as saying that, "Such allegations are particularly hurtful to someone who has served Pakistan for nearly five decades with honour and integrity."

Sharif had sacked Fatemi on Saturday after an inquiry committee constituted to probe the controversy surrounding a report by Dawn about a key meeting on national security, recommended the adviser's removal over charges of leaking the report to the newspaper without due permission.

In the controversial story attributed to unnamed sources, Dawn correspondent Cyril Almeida had reported that in a high-level meeting on national security held on October 3 last year, the civilian leaders had spoken about the 'growing diplomatic isolation' of Pakistan for lack of action against some militant groups.

Reportedly the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general was present in the meeting attended by a number of functionaries, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif.

The news report had whipped up a storm and while the federal government had repeatedly denied it as 'fabricated and planted', the top army brass had called it a breach of trust on national security. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump invited Duterte to Washington to discuss important bilateral relations, said the White House on Sunday following a "very friendly" telephone conversation between the two leaders, Efe news reported.

"I'm tied up I cannot make any definite promise...I'm supposed to go to Russia, Israel," said Duterte during a visit to the Chinese fleet in Davao on Monday.

Duterte's statement on President Donald Trump's invitation is seen to come at a time when the Philippines is giving priority to its relations with China.

The US government said it sought the support of Asian nations to isolate North Korea amid heightened tensions due to Kim Jong-un regime's missile tests and its continuation of nuclear weapons program.

Duterte, in his statement on Monday, also hinted at a possible engagement in the joint military drills with China in the west of Mindanao Island, a troubled region where pirates and Islamist terror groups remain active.

Three Chinese warships concluded a three-day visit to the Philippine port city of Davao on Monday in an attempt to strengthen the bilateral defence relations despite both being embroiled in the territorial disputes over sovereignty issue in the South China Sea.

The Philippine leader visited the Chinese President Xi Jinping in October and since then, both countries have strengthened their bilateral relations through several cooperation agreements.

--IANS vgu/

( 252 Words)

2017-05-03-01:14:04 (IANS)
In an interview on Monday, Donald Trump expressed his willingness to meet Kim Jong-un sometime in the future although White House press secretary Sean Spicer said later the conditions for such a meeting are not yet in place, Efe news reported.

"We have noted the recent remarks and positive signals conveyed in them. We also believe the US and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as direct parties on the Korean nuclear issue, should make credible efforts at an early date and show good faith," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

That would help in the resumption of peace talks, according to the official, who called dialogue the only "realistic and viable way" at a time of escalated tensions in the region.

Trump's remarks came amid rising tensions with Pyongyang owing to its repeated missile and nuclear tests, to which Washington responded by sending a fleet led by the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to waters near North Korea.

--IANS vgu/

( 194 Words)

2017-05-03-02:54:08 (IANS)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 00:54:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAKU, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan and Turkey on Monday started joint live exercises, said the Azerbaijan's defense ministry.

The military exercises, held in Azerbaijan, will last five days in accordance with an agreement on military cooperation between the two countries.

The military exercises are aimed at improving the interaction between the two armies and sharing the experience through joint headquarters planning, according to the statement of the defense ministry.

The exercises are also expected to improve capabilities of Azerbaijani and Turkish units to conduct military operations.

The drills involve armored vehicles, artillery systems and mortars as well as the military and transport helicopters of the air force and air defense units.

Military cooperation between the two countries started in 1992 with a bilateral agreement signed on military education. Since then, the two governments have been closely cooperating on defense and security.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 02:29:34|Editor: An

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Photo taken on April 19, 2017 shows Mariusz Marczak's cow farm in Lipnice, Poland. (Xinhua/Chen Xu)

WARSAW, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Never before has Mariusz Marczak showned so much interest in the Chinese market half a world away from Poland.

"We want to produce more quality milk for Chinese consumers," the 31-year-old cow breeder and milk producer says when Xinhua reporters recently visited his cow farm.

Marczak, also a new father of 1-year-old daughter, keeps around 170 milk cows in the small vilage of Lipnice, more than one hour's drive from the Polish capital of Warsaw.

Just about 60 kilometers west of Marczak's cow farm, the Polish city of Lodz now has a direct cargo railway connection with Chengdu, the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The rail connection is one of the symbolic projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, a China-proposed transnational network of trade, investment and economic development.

"As a milk producer, I look to the Chinese market, as it is a huge opportunity. We want to produce more quality product to satisfy Chinese consumers. I can assure you that the Polish milk products stand firm as far as quality is concerned," Marczak tells Xinhua.

Marczak took over the family farm from his father who started his career with only three cows in 1970s. Marczak had never thought about taking his current career until he graduated from the university where he studied agronomy.

"I start work at around 6:30 a.m. every day. When I come to the cowshed, first I check the cows' health parameters to see if everything goes as usual, then I do some cleaning work and give fresh food for the cattle. Thereafter I go out to work in the fields," Marczak recounts his daily routine, while his daughter looks at milk cows with curiosity.

The cows stay in pleasant conditions, some were freely eating and drinking, some were enjoying massage with the help of automatically-rotating brushes, and some were performing mechanical milking process on their own.

Marczak has equipped his farm with automatic milking machines and three tractors etc. and now his farm produces around 3,000 liters milk a day. Thanks to mechanization, he manages the large farm only with his father's help. Apart from cows, they are cultivating 70 hectares of field, 35 hectares of which grows corn for cow feeding.

"At the beginning, I never thought it was possible," says Stanislaw, Marczak's 65-year-old father. But it was due to hard work and good cooperation with Lowicz Cooperative Plant (OSM Lowicz) which was created 110 years ago.

"Our cooperation began in the 70s and lasted uninterruptedly until now. And it ensures stable price and reduces risks," he said.

Szymon Makos, export Specialist form OSM Lowicz, shares Marczak's views on the Chinese market.

"Last year, we exported about 600 containers of milk products, worth about 10 million euros, to China, but we do hope it will continue to rise, as we are capable to produce much more," Makos says.

OSM Lowicz now produces more than 250 types of products and exports them to 56 countries and is among top 5 dairy producers in Poland. The plant in Lowicz is their biggest one, but they also have five more around the country. They export UHT milk and cream, butter, whey powder and yogurt drinks to Chinese market.

To meet the taste of the Chinese consumers, they have done lots of research and developed a kind of yogurt drink with Greek-style last October.

"Jovitos Greek-style yogurt is especially designed especially for the Chinese market. In order to achieve our goal we had taken many visits to China taking part in food fairs and events and visited supermarkets in China, we listen to the consumers' opinions to see what is most popular. Furthermore we do our best to provide best quality product, tailored to the their requirements," Makos says.

"We equipped our factories with modern facilities and are using the newest technologies in processing annually more than 570 million liters of milk," Makos says. Comprehensive quality control is being done by qualified personnel in accordance with standards.

"We are ready to increase production and export more to Chinese market," he adds.

Following the Russian embargo on European agricultural products in 2014, more Polish producers have turned to the Chinese market.

According to Polish official data, the value of Polish agri-food exports to China has grown dynamically in 2014. Dairy products consist of more than 30 percent of Polish agri-food export to China in 2015.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is an opportunity to improve the bilateral trade cooperation in agri-food sector. We are convinced that the Polish food products can be attractive to the Chinese in terms of price and quality," says Katarzyna Szymanska, head of Unit of Export Support Office of Agricultural Market Agency of Poland.

The increase of cargo trains between China and Poland becomes more appealing as more and more Polish food products, such as wine, has already used this transportation mode.

"The regular, fast rail transport may be a drive to establish new, fruitful business relationships by a greater number of entities whose maritime transport was too long or whose goods did not qualify for this type of transport," Szymanska says.

In addition, Szymanska believes that Poland can become the regional center of trade exchange between China and Central and Southeast Europe.

Although the milk products are currently sent to China through maritime transport, the producers believe the cargo railway transport could be a good solution, especially taking time cost into consideration.

"Lodz, the starting point of railway connection is only 50 kilometers from our plant, while the harbor on the seaside, almost 300 km. The transportation costs directly influence the final cost of the product, so it would be beneficial for every part to decrease it," Makos says.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 08:21:00|Editor: ying

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BOGOTA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A small army plane crashed in central Colombia on Monday, killing eight people on board.

The "Cessna-type plane" crashed into the Majui Hill, in the department of Cundinamarca, as it was flying between Tolemaida and Guaymaral, according to the news website RCN Radio.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos expressed "solidarity with the relatives of the victims," in a message posted on Twitter.

The crash occurred at 5:16 p.m., and "everyone on board appears to have been killed," the news agency said, adding emergency crews were headed to the site.
Thousands of people rallied around Union Park in Chicago to fight for fair work accommodations and stand up for immigrant families this Labor Day.(Xinhua/Wang Ping)

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Americans on Monday took to streets in major U.S. cities including Washington D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to join May Day demonstrations for the rights of workers, women and immigrants.

"It is not my first time to join the event. I joined because the workers of America have been giving a very rough deal for really long time. Workers need more rights, shorter work days, better safety, laws for better pay," Treg Waahl told Xinhua , referring to May Day as the International Workers Day.

"You have to keep asking, keep trying." said Waahl, who was among hundreds of people marching in the downtown of Washington D.C. Monday afternoon.

"I am a cabin maker, I never had an employee because I cannot afford to pay the health insurance. I cannot teach anybody what I do. I think that is really wrong." another protester, identified himself as Philips Palmer, said.

People attend an Immigrants and Workers March protesting against President Donald Trump's immigration policies at Dupont Circle in Washington D.C., the United States, May 1, 2017.(Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

Zakiya Scott, one of the organizers, told Xinhua that the May Day demonstration is the culmination of a series of protests starting from early April by a newly formed umbrella organization called the Majority coordinating more than 50 protest groups across some 100 U.S. cities.

Besides the traditional themes, this year's May Day "is also being used as to call attention to Trump's empty job creation promises, pro-corporation, and anti-worker stances," he said in a statement, citing May Day as U.S. President Donald Trump's 101st day in office.

Also on May Day in Oakland, California, at least four demonstrators have been arrested by police after they chained themselves together to block a county building in protest against Trump's tough immigration policies.

In downtown Chicago, organizers estimated an attendance of 20,000 people in the May Day rally. They carried banners and signs calling for immigrant and workers'rights, environmental justice and a higher minimum wage.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made a speech to express his support for the protest against President Trump's policies in front of the City Hall on Monday. Tens of thousands of people gathered in downtown Los Angeles for the May Day march dubbed "Resist Los Angeles."(Xinhua/Gao Shan)

In a Los Angeles park, several thousand people chanted "love not hate" in opposition to the new administration.

The White House had no immediate response to the May Day demonstrations.

More than 100 people gather in front of the City Hall in Houston to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies on the Internaitonal Labor's Day, May 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhong Jia)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 08:53:01|Editor: ying

Soldiers participate in the "death run" match on the second day of the Ninth Annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center in Amman, Jordan, on May 1, 2017. The event kicked off on Sunday with the participation of elite military, special forces, counter terrorism and law enforcement officers with 32 teams from 17 countries. (Xinhua/Shen Yang)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 09:21:08|Editor: ying

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SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Engineers have warned that apartment balconies across Melbourne are unsafe and prone to collapsing.

The warning came after a balcony collapsed in an inner-city suburb on Saturday night, leaving one woman with critical injuries.

Paramedic crews attended the scene in Melbourne's inner south-east after the 27-year-old woman fell two stories during a house-warming party.

An investigation by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) concluded that mortar securing the balcony's brick balustrade weakened while the woman was leaning on it, causing it to give way.

Karl Apted, vice-president of the Association of Consulting Structural Engineers Victoria, said it appeared that the brickwork was not reinforced and only held together by the mortar.

"I see it enough to say it does not surprise me when these balconies collapse," Apted told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

"In terms of engineering, I'd suggest they may not have had any engineering. I would find it unlikely that an engineer would have approved an unreinforced balcony handrail."

Ian Robson, a building surveyor for the local council who investigated the scene of the collapse, said that poor building requirements for balconies between the 1960s and 1990s were largely to blame for collapse.

"Buildings of this area can be hit or miss, there was a boom in the 1960s and some of them weren't built that well. The whole building will have to be reviewed now," Robson said.

"It was never strong enough when it was built, that's the thing, but it's probably deteriorated."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 09:36:10|Editor: ying

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SEOUL, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. strategic bombers had conducted air force drills with South Korean fighter jets amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

An unnamed South Korean military source was quoted as saying two B-1 Lancer supersonic bombers carried out air force trainings over the peninsula for two to three hours on Monday.

The U.S. bombers reportedly departed from the U.S. Anderson air base in Guam and arrived at South Korea's east waters at about noon on Monday.

The supersonic bombers conducted joint exercises with several F-15K fighter jets of South Korea, before staging a separate drill with fighter jets from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, which was recently sent to the peninsula.

Then, the bombers flew to the west waters of South Korea to drop target-practice bombs at the training ground.

The sortie, made by one of the three key U.S. strategic bombers including B-2 and B-52 bombers, came amid the rising tensions on the peninsula.

USS Carl Vinson has been sailing in waters off the peninsula after the U.S.-South Korea joint annual war games which ended at the end of April.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) denounced the war games as a rehearsal for invasion.

China has said that efforts on non-proliferation and promotion of peace talks have to be strengthened so as to bring the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula to a peaceful settlement.

The Trump administration of the United States has said that all options are on the table to resolve the DPRK's nuclear program.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 10:06:15|Editor: ying

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CANBERRA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian jihadists are taking readily-available travel "gift cards," or stored value cards (SVCs), to the Middle East to fund terrorism, according to a government report released on Tuesday.

The report, released by Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), found 12 instances in which the prepaid cards were "highly likely" to have been used to fund terrorism.

Some SVCs can be loaded with up to 75,000 U.S. dollars at any one time, and are then used as a regular debit card both in Australia and overseas.

Australia's Minister for Justice Michael Keenan released the report on Tuesday, saying there were currently more than 10 million active prepaid SVCs in circulation in Australia, with a total value of around 1.5 billion Australian dollars (1.13 billion U.S. dollars).

"In Australia, foreign fighters have used SVCs to fund their terrorist activity before and after departure to the conflict zone, and have been used to facilitate money laundering and cyber enabled fraud," Keenan said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"Internationally, we have seen SVC's used to fund terrorist attacks, including the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015."

AUSTRAC CEO Paul Jevtovic said some SVCs were deemed to be a greater risk than others, with reloadable cards which allow ATM withdrawals the most common used in terror funding.

"SVCs that can be loaded, reloaded and redeemed in cash, carry a higher level of risk than SVCs that do not carry these features," Jevtovic said.

"SVCs that can be redeemed internationally, such as pre-paid travel cards, carry greater levels of risk than those that can only be redeemed in Australia."

He said while SVCs were used by many Australians travelling overseas, and given as gifts to others travelling, business owners who sell the cards should "familiarize themselves" with risk assessment procedures to ensure the cards are not used for terror funding.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 10:11:16|Editor: ying

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YANGON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's western Rakhine state has planned to export 10,000 tons of Matpe beans to India in the current fiscal year 2017-18 which began in April, official media reported Tuesday.

Accordingly, arrangements are underway to plant Matpe beans in the state during the coming rainy season and will export the surplus to the neighboring country, Rakhine State Minister of Planning, Revenue and Commerce U Kyaw Aye Thein was quoted as saying.

The Matpe beans are likely to be shipped directly from the state's Sittway Port instead of Yangon to boost trade in the state, he said, however, doubting that if vessels with a weight of exceeding 3,000 tons could berth at the port.

The state minister revealed that a proposal of building a new port is being submitted to the central government.

Rakhine state's Sittway and Maungtaw border trade points had high trade volume in the past but due to the current situation, trade value there was only around 5 million U.S. dollars, according to statistics.

The state government is finalizing a plan of establishing a trade zone in Kanyinchaung, Maungtaw township this year.

According to the state government's major plan of development of the state, it is divided into north, middle and south zones. The north zone will mainly accommodate agricultural and livestock sectors with Matpe beans planting and fresh water fish breeding.

Myanmar exported 1.2 million tons of beans and pulses annually with 80 percent going to India, followed by China, Indonesia, Japan and European countries.

Meanwhile, India proposed to increase its demand for Myanmar's mung beans and pigeon peas by 25,000 tons per year starting this year.

Statistics also show that Myanmar earned over 2.93 billion U.S. dollars from agricultural exports in the last fiscal year 2016-17 which ended in March, up by 315 million dollars from the previous fiscal year of 2015-16.

Accounting for 25 percent of the total export earning during the year, the agricultural export was topped by various peas with 1.4 billion U.S. dollars.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 10:16:17|Editor: ying

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SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Australia is far from the typical setting you might imagine for a polar bear, but two week-old twins born on the Gold Coast are currently doing very well, a spokesperson for Sea World told Xinhua Tuesday.

The cubs first health report was delivered by a veterinarian team monitoring the pair by film in a maternity den.

Although they still have a while to go before they grow to the size of their 250 kilogram mother Liya, their current size of 600 grams each, is regarded as healthy.

As for their father, Sea World explained there may be a love-triangle going on at the theme park.

"She had access to both our male polar bears at Sea World, Hudson and Nelson and we couldn't tell that she was pregnant," the spokesperson said.

Despite Australia's warm weather, the state of the art facility has proven a comfortable destination for the ice-loving migrants.

"It is a bit warm but we have numerous ways to keep them cool!," the spokesperson said.

"There is only 30,000 polar bears remaining worldwide and we are trying to raise awareness about global warming and conservation."

"So the twins are a welcome addition."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 10:16:17|Editor: ying

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CANBERRA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said none of its aircraft have been involved in Middle East bombing raids which have caused an estimated 350 casualties since the beginning of coalition bombing in the region.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the ADF said that its F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet multi-role aircraft were not responsible for any confirmed civilian casualties, after the coalition forces in the Middle East said that was likely that "at least 352 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve."

The ADF admitted that its aircraft may have been involved in two raids which resulted in "credible claims" of civilian deaths in Iraq back in 2014.

The ADF also said it would begin to publicly report when Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) jets are used in combat in an effort to increase transparency, while it said it would also report on claims of civilian casualties "on occurrence."

"The decision comes after weighing the importance of reporting ADF air strikes in Iraq and Syria against the potential propaganda advantages it might provide (Islamic State) and any risk to the safety of ADF personnel on operations," the statement said.

"Defence takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously. All ADF personnel operate under strict rules of engagement designed to minimize the dangers to civilians and comply with Australia's obligations under international law."

The reports will be released every two weeks, and will include information regarding any Australian strikes, including detailed summaries of their locations in Syria and IraqEnditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 10:36:20|Editor: ying

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SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists called for action on Tuesday, as new research shows deforestation has driven lots of the world's animals to the brink of extinction.

Researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney warn species ranging from butterflies to frogs and lizards are all at risk.

"The amount of expected extinction is really high, I think the scientific community should find the result disturbing," Associate Professor John Alroy told Xinhua Tuesday.

"Previously, research has focused on a local extinction, but what is new about this research is that it's not about a local or small forest but about complete extinction globally."

Tropical forests are home to the majority of all plant and animal species, and according to the findings, disturbing their ecosystem could have a severe impact.

"A mass extinction could have happened right under our noses because we just don't know much about the many rare species that are most vulnerable to extinction," Alroy said.

More than half of the world's species are found in tropical forests, even though they only make up 10 percent of the earth's land surface, so according to Alroy, the solution is to "create more areas that are protected from deforestation."

"A lot more field work needs to be done in the tropics and the time to do this is now," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 11:01:24|Editor: ying

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WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Monday U.S. President Donald Trump will speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, their first call since Washington and Moscow wrangled over a U.S. strike on Syrian government last month.

According to the daily schedule of Trump released by the White House, the call will be made on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT).

Trump on April 6 ordered a targeted missile strike at a Syrian military airfield in response to a chemical weapons attack in the rebel-held Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun allegedly launched by the Syrian government.

After the U.S. strike, Syrian state TV called the assault an "aggression" and both Russia and Syria had denied that the Syrian government launched the chemical weapons attack.

The Russian government also condemned the U.S. strike against the Syrian government as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law."

After the incident, Trump told reporters last month that the United States is "not getting along with Russia at all" and the relations between the two countries "may be at an all-time low.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 11:11:25|Editor: ying

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LISBON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people in Portugal on Monday marched from Lisbon's Martim Moniz square down to Alameda D. Afonso Henriques, calling on the government to raise salaries and improve working conditions.

The demonstrators chanted "People united will never be defeated," and waved trade union banners.

"We are here to fight to eradicate poverty," Rego Mendes, 74, a pensioner and freelance technical engineer, told Xinhua at the protest.

"Charity is not enough, we need policies to raise salaries, for the fiscal burden to take people's income into account and for health and education to be taken care of by the state," he added.

The protest was organized by Portugal's workers' union CGTP, and other events have also taken place across the country including gatherings, cultural and sport events.

According to the Portuguese trade union UGT, the workers' struggle has led the current Socialist government to raise the national minimum wage, restore four national holidays and the recovery of salaries. However, there are a lot left to achieve.

"We have low salaries compared to other European countries and we need to fight for better working conditions," said Ana Inacio, 21, unemployed, as she waved a banner. "We also need to fight for women's rights, we shouldn't be asked if we are going to have children at an interview."

Despite the country's debt level worsening following two bank rescues in 2014 and 2015, the current government has managed to maintain economic recovery and achieve political stability.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa has insisted on reversing austerity which was imposed by the previous administration after the country had to sign a 78 billion euro (85.1 billion U.S. dollars) international bailout in 2011.
TOKYO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Some 20 to 30 people were likely injured as a car crashed into a hospital Tuesday morning in Oita prefecture, southwestern Japan, local media reported.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 12:01:31|Editor: An

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CHICAGO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people gathered Monday on the International Labor Day to demand the legitimate rights for workers and immigrants.

Braving heavy rain, they held banners, chanted slogans, waved flags, and gathered in the Union Park in west Chicago.

"We've been fighting to gain union rights and the 15-dollar per hour for over a year now." said Olivia Pac, who has worked at Chicago O'Hare Airport for four years.

"It's been a very tough fight," she said, adding that it was not the airlines but the workers that run the airport, help passengers and clean the airport.

"But the City of Chicago doesn't want to provide us with healthcare and doesn't want to pay for the 15-dollar per hour for all the physical work we have to do at the airport. That is why I'm here today," she told Xinhua.

Vernon Beck, union president of NIPSCO workforce, said his union was 5present to support other unions and keep solidarity. He wants to raise the awareness of what the workers are going through since the 19th century.

The International Labor Day takes its root in Chicago. On May 1, 1886, some 350,000 U.S. workers struck and protested nationwide to demand improvement of work conditions and introduction of an 8-hour-a-day work system.

Though the protest ended in bloody slaughter of union leaders in Chicago, it planted the roots for fight for workers' rights and interests, and May 1 was listed as the International Labor Day in 1889 to commemorate the history. The United States legalized the 8-hour-a-day work system in 1935.
TOKYO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A car crashed through a hospital window and into the lobby of the hospital in Oita Prefecture in southwestern Japan on Tuesday, leaving 13 people injured, local police said.

According to the police, no one has died as a result of the crash and the 13 injured have been receiving treatment at the site of the hospital for light wounds, local media reported.

The driver of the mini car was a woman in her 70s, the police said, who are investigating the cause of the crash.

The elderly driver also suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash, that occurred at around 10:45 a.m. in Oita City.

Oita Nakamura Hospital is a general hospital located to the east of the Oita prefectural office in the city center.

The hospital opened in 1951 and there are currently about 500 staff members and 260 beds. It has about 20 medical departments.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 13:06:40|Editor: ying

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WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he's considering breaking up the nation's biggest banks, a vow he had made during the presidential campaign.

"I'm looking at that right now," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg News. "There's some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So we're going to look at that."

Trump's remarks appear to suggest that he's considering a revived version of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, which separated consumer and investment banking but was repealed in 1999 due to financial deregulation.

Many people have blamed the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act for contributing to the financial crisis in 2008. During the presidential campaign, Trump had also called for a "21st century" version of the Glass-Steagall Act.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump was reiterating his past support for a modernized version of the Glass-Steagall Act, but the White House would not release any proposals soon.

"We're not at a point where we're ready to roll out details of that yet," Spicer said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 13:11:41|Editor: ying

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CANBERRA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has defended his government's plan to cut university funding and raise fees, saying that it will not affect Australia's status as a desirable destination for international students.

Under the proposed changes, announced late on Monday evening, university students studying the average four-year degree would be slugged an additional 2,000 to 3,600 AU dollars (1,500 to 2,715 U.S. dollars), while the overall amount cut from university funding would total 2.8 billion AU dollars (2.11 billion U.S dollars).

Also, once students have graduated and are earning a full-time wage, they will be required to pay back the loan once they are earning 42,000 AU dollars (32,700 U.S. dollars) - down from the current threshold of 55,000 AU dollars (41,500 U.S. dollars). This will mean more Australians are paying back their higher education loans, freeing up more money for the government to spend elsewhere.

Following the announcement, some Australian university vice-chancellors raised concerns that the changes would scare off prospective international students. Monash University Vice-Chancellor Margaret Gardner told the minister that it would be harder to sell the "quality" of its education in the wake of funding cuts.

Despite the concerns, Birmingham said the measures would benefit universities by boosting their long-term sustainability.

"We believe they can absorb such an efficiency dividend without it having any detrimental impact on (universities') bottom lines or teaching or learning," Birmingham said in comments published in Tuesday's newspapers.

He added that the changes would mostly affect Australian citizens, and that Australia's reputation as a desirable destination for international students would remain untouched.

"International education is Australia's third largest export, valued at 16.6 billion U.S. dollars and supporting around 130,000 jobs. We must nurture and grow our reputation for providing quality education to Australians and to the world," Birmingham said.

"We must continue to be a beacon for the best and brightest from around the globe - whether they are PhDs, post docs, academic staff or undergraduate students. We welcome and want to partner with the best in the world."

The changes will be officially floated in the federal budget, to be released on May 9, but will require the support of the crossbench to pass through Parliament.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 13:16:42|Editor: ying

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CARACAS, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday announced the creation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution to break a political deadlock that has brought the country to a standstill.

"It is time, it is the way (forward) and they have left me no choice," Maduro said during a May Day rally in Caracas, referring to the right-wing opposition and successive anti-government protests that have gotten increasingly violent.

"I call on the original constituent power to achieve the peace the country needs, to defeat the fascist coup and to have the sovereign people impose peace, harmony and true national dialogue," said Maduro.

The three-part process would begin with a popular referendum to gauge whether drafting a new constitution has sufficient backing among the electorate.

If it does, then "approximately 500 constituent assembly members" would have to be elected to draft the new laws, Maduro said.

The constituent assembly can dissolve public powers and call general elections, echoing a previous assembly created by his predecessor Hugo Chavez in 1999.

Finally, a referendum would be held to approve the contents of the new document.

Maduro said he has designated a presidential commission headed by Education Minister Elias Jaua Milano to follow through on the procedure.

"This will be a citizens assembly made up of workers," Maduro said. "The day has come, brothers. Don't fail me now. Don't fail Chavez and don't fail your motherland."

According to messages posted on the Twitter account of the right-wing opposition coalition, known by its acronym MUD, opponents of the government received the news with suspicion, branding it an attempt to seize power through "constitutional fraud."

National Assembly President Julio Borges on Monday urged Venezuelans to continue fighting and blocking streets with more protests.

"This is a scam to deceive the Venezuelan people with a mechanism that is nothing more than a coup," Borges claimed.

The ruling socialist party and the right-wing opposition have been locked in a bitter power struggle that has obstructed governing and led to violent anti-government protests, leaving at least 29 people dead last month.

Maduro accused the opposition of conspiring to overthrow him and undermine the country's struggling economy.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 13:26:43|Editor: ying

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SEOUL, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen South Korean lawmakers on Tuesday announced their defection from the minor conservative Righteous Party, with just a week left before a presidential election.

The lawmakers, who created the new party earlier this year, held a press conference in the parliamentary building, saying they will join the former ruling Liberty Korea Party and throw support behind Hong Joon-pyo, the party's candidate for the upcoming presidential election slated for May 9.

The Righteous Party was officially launched on Jan. 24 as 32 former Liberty Korea Party members, who had voted for the impeachment bill on former President Park Geun-hye, divided the former ruling party.

The new conservative party drew much attention from voters as it was created by younger generation politicians who argue for new conservative values in the country, where conservative President Park was removed from office over corruption allegations.

Yoo Seong-min, the Righteous Party's presidential candidate, received a favorable evaluation following TV debates, but his support rate hovered around 5 percent, the fifth among five major presidential candidates.

Yoo's colleague lawmakers demanded the merge of candidacies with Hong, the Liberty Party Korea candidate, but Yoo refused it and vowed to run the presidential race to the end.

In addition to the 13 members, two to three could reportedly defect the Righteous Party in the near future.

Hong recently emerged as a conservative candidate who can represent the conservative bloc as his support score came closer to Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party.

Moon Jae-in, a longtime frontrunner and a candidate of the biggest Minjoo Party, widened his lead in recent polls, more than doubling the approval rating of Ahn, a runner-up to Moon.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 14:01:48|Editor: ying

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PHNOM PENH, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A U.S.-backed Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalist, who has been accused of concealing his identity during a prison visit with two opposition lawmakers last month, did not appear in court on Tuesday, a court's spokesman said.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court's spokesman Ly Sophana said the court's deputy prosecutor, Seang Sok, summoned RFA's Khmer service deputy director Huot Vuthy, better known to listeners as Chun Chanboth, to appear in court on May 2, but he did not show up on the schedule.

He added that the court's deputy prosecutor is considering the next procedure against Vuthy.

RFA said in a statement late Monday that Vuthy "will not return to Cambodia after a weekend trip (to Thailand) at the behest of RFA leadership."

Vuthy fled to Thailand on April 28 before traveling to the United States on April 30.

He was accused of providing "false declaration" to the Prey Sar prison guards on April 19 in order to get into the prison with two opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers to meet with 16 imprisoned CNRP officials and activists.

A photo posted to the country's leading news website, Fresh News, showed Vuthy wearing a cap and sunglasses and standing behind the lawmakers, and another photo showed the prison's sign-in book in which Vuthy wrote a wrong name alongside the title "assistant."

Under the charge of "false declaration," Vuthy could face up to two years in prison if he is convicted.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 14:31:52|Editor: An

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BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- China Railway Corp. posted a 34.8 percent profit drop year on year due to decreased freight caused by muted coal demand, a report said Tuesday.

The state-owned railroad operator's total profit stood at 39.65 billion yuan (5.75 billion U.S. dollars) last year, National Business Daily reported, adding that its gross revenue declined by 0.97 percent year on year to 907.45 billion yuan.

"Coal products account for more than half of all railway freight. Any drop in coal demand will impact railway freight revenue significantly," said Zhao Jian, a professor with Beijing Jiaotong University.

The company's freight revenue totaled 257.48 billion yuan in 2016, decreasing for a third year in a row.

In 2016, however, passenger train services contributed more revenue than freight for the first time in three years. Passenger revenue hit 281.75 billion yuan, up 12.4 percent year on year.

As a result, the company's net profit rose to 1.08 billion yuan in 2016, up from 681 million yuan a year before.

China aims to cap coal consumption at 4.1 billion tonnes by 2020 and use cleaner fuel to boost green growth. By 2020, the share of coal in the country's energy mix should fall below 58 percent, according to the energy sector's five-year plan for 2016-2020, released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration.

Coal accounted for 64 percent of primary energy in 2015.

The share of non-fossil fuels will rise to more than 15 percent and the share of natural gas should reach 10 percent.

The country's push for cleaner energy is partly a response to smog in northern China, which prompted the government to step up efforts in the war against pollution.

Substances directly related to coal burning are health hazards, including sulfates and soot, major components of PM2.5, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 14:36:53|Editor: ying

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ISLAMABAD, May 2 (Xinhua) -- At least three militants were killed and several others injured when army repulsed a terrorist attack in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of South Waziristan on Tuesday morning, officials said.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the mouthpiece of Pakistani army, said in a statement that militants from Afghanistan stormed two military border posts in the South Waziristan Agency which is located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The Pakistani border forces gave a befitting response by killing three militants and injuring scores others, the statement added.

No loss of life was reported on forces' side.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 14:36:53|Editor: ying

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SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Queensland State Government in Australia will extend battery storage trials for residential homes in the city of Townsville, it announced Tuesday.

Plagued with surging power prices, the state's electricity bills have soared 150 percent over the past eight years, leaving the government looking for innovative solutions to the problem.

"New batteries have been installed in the participating nine homes including a Tesla Powerwall in one of them, along with new advanced home energy management systems (HEMS)," Queensland Energy Minister Mark Bailey said in a statement.

"The trial will explore the advanced functionalities of new HEMS, battery storage, solar PV and a new tariff being trialled for the first time."

The approach will also provide participants with information regarding their energy consumption in an attempt to encourage them to minimize their use during peak demand.

"This combination of ongoing engagement, technology and behavior changes should lower participants' average demand for the month which could translate into lower power bills," Bailey said.

One of the first to sign up to the original trial in 2011, Barry Lowe, said he was very happy to continue the initiative, adding that "Aesthetically the Powerwall is great."

Although the scheme has ran successfully, the near 10,000-U.S. dollar price tag for a Tesla Powerwall might mean the rest of the state will have to wait quite some time if they want to implement their own.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 14:46:54|Editor: An

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by Will Koulouris

SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Australia needs to make the most of economic opportunities with China, the chief executive officer of Blackmores said on Tuesday, noting that developing strong economic partnership between the two nations is vital for Australia's long term success.

Christine Holgate made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua. She said one of the key ways Australia can capitalise on the booming relationship with China is through embracing China-proposed Belt and Road initiative.

Blackmores is Australia's leading natural health company.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of Silk Road.

Holgate called on Australia to actively engage with countries along the Belt and Road routes.

"The route from China down to Australia is really down through ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and we at Blackmores already have strong relationships with many of the countries that China does also," she said.

"China is one of the biggest foreign direct investors in a lot of the ASEAN countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and others, and they are all countries that Blackmores is pursuing growth with," she added.

Embracing the growing desire for Chinese tourists to visit Australia, in the China-Australia Year of Tourism 2017 which was officially launched in Sydney in Feb., is also crucial, according to Holgate.

"Now experts believe that 1 percent of Chinese tourists that come in adds 5 billion dollars to our economy, but they also believe that the 5 billion has a multiplier effect," Holgate said.

Holgate believed that this is a "massive opportunity" that Australia needs to capitalise on, but was adamant that tourism was not the only way in which the influx of Chinese people into Australia could lead to mutually beneficial outcomes for both sides.

"We have an incredible diaspora of Chinese people in Australia. We have some of the most amazing, young Chinese students at our universities. Let's help those students get really meaningful work experiences in our businesses," she said.

Holgate had a clear message to share with Australian businesses who think it may be difficult to enter into business with China.

"The reality is ... just because our countries are different, we look different, our language is different, we have a lot more similarities," she said.

"So let's embrace that diaspora, let's embrace these students, and we have this incredible army of people right on our doorstep to help us and help us adapt."

Aside from the obvious benefits on the financial side of doing business with China, Holgate said that her own company, Blackmores, has taken lessons from China in the way they advance their own natural health solutions.

"I think we have a lot to learn from Chinese society about the use of herbs in medicine, which can help us be more successful for our customers, and consumers here in Australia," Holgate said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 14:51:55|Editor: ying

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SEOUL, May 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks posted the biggest quarterly profit in six years thanks to a one-off factor, financial watchdog data showed on Tuesday.

Net income of local commercial banks was 4.3 trillion won (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March quarter, up 49 percent from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

It was higher than any first-quarter figures recorded in the past six years.

One-off factors led to the banks' earnings, including the South Korean currency's appreciation to the U.S. dollar that increased profits from foreign exchange-relevant derivatives. Profits from bond and stock sales also contributed to the strong earnings.

Loss from loans to troubling shipbuilders and shipping firms reduced to 0.8 trillion won in the quarter compared with 1.8 trillion won a year earlier.

The government-led restructuring of major shipbuilders and shipping firms have been underway as lower profits and higher costs hit the industries amid the global economic slump and weaker trade.

Interest income, a main source of revenue for local banks, increased 4.3 percent, sending the net interest margin to 1.58 percent in the first quarter that was up 0.03 percentage points from a year ago.

The net interest margin, which tumbled to an all-time low in the third quarter of last year, rebounded for the two straight quarters.

Return on asset for banks rose 0.24 percentage points over the year to 0.76 percent in the first quarter. Return on equity advanced 2.97 percentage points to 9.71 percent.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 15:06:57|Editor: liuxin

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DAMASCUS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured 80 percent of the city of Tabqa in northeastern Syria from the Islamic State (IS) group, a monitor group reported, and the SDF spokesman told Xinhua on Monday.

The SDF advance in Tabqa comes as part of the group's declared-offensive against the IS group in the northeastern province of Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF, a rebel group led by Kurdish fighters and backed by the U.S., captured most of Tabqa, in Raqqa countryside, except two neighborhoods, close to the Euphrates Dam, the largest dam in Syria.

Meanwhile, Talal Silo, the SDF military spokesman, told Xinhua that there are three neighborhoods under the IS control in the Thawra area in Tabqa, as well as the Euphrates Dam.

He added that the military operation will continue to strip IS from the three remaining neighborhoods and the dam.

For its part, the Observatory, which says it relies on a network of activists on ground, said that negotiations are underway for the evacuation of the remaining IS militants from Tabqa toward Raqqa city.

It added that the negotiations between local dignitaries from Tabqa and the SDF haven't reached any results yet.

The SDF led by the Kurdish fighters and the U.S. coalition has been fighting against IS in northern Syria for months, with the aim of stripping IS of its main stronghold in Raqqa.

The U.S. carried out several airdrops of forces on Kurdish-held areas to back the Kurdish groups in their battles against IS in Raqqa.

Two days ago, pictures of U.S. soldiers and vehicles were seen in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria.

The Syrian government repeatedly said that it deems the U.S as a force of occupation, as it entered Syria without coordination with the administration of President Bashar al-Assad.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 15:27:00|Editor: liuxin

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NEW DELHI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Indian capital have arrested a woman lawyer for allegedly honey-trapping a senior lawmaker of the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The woman lawyer has been picked up for questioning from her residence in Ghaziabad near the national capital on charges of honey-trapping, drugging and shooting obscene videos of 67-year-old BJP parliamentarian K.C. Patel," a senior Delhi Police official said Tuesday.

The police action came after Patel, a member of parliament from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat's Valsad constituency, last week filed a complaint, alleging extortion by the woman after being honey-trapped and filmed in an "objectionable position."

The woman, on the other hand, has moved a court in Delhi, alleging that she was raped by the BJP parliamentarian at least six times. "I was raped by the lawmaker a number of times. Now I have been framed by the police," she told the media.

However, the BJP lawmaker has said, "I have full faith in justice and doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani ho jayega (we will know the truth)," he said.

According to the police official, the woman lawyer heads a gang that honey-traps high-profile people, especially lawmakers, after approaching them for help. She had last year filed a rape case against a lawmaker of the main opposition Congress party in similar circumstances.

"The woman had earlier extorted money from at least 15 other people, including some businessmen and a senior politician," he added.

The BJP has not commented on the matter yet.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 15:27:00|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Chen Shulong, former vice governor of east China's Anhui Province, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office for actions including "superstitious activities" and trading power for sex, an official statement said Tuesday.

Chen was found to "completely lack political beliefs," to have severely violated the Party's code of conduct and rules and to have long abused his power to seek "huge profits," according to a statement from the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

"Chen was driven by a lust for power and money, and his outlook on the world, life and values were severely twisted," it said.

The CCDI said that not only had Chen refused to cooperate in the Party's investigation, he had engaged in superstitious activities on numerous occasions, used public funds for his own recreational activities, and falsified personal information submitted to Party organs.

Chen traded power for sex and money, and crossed the moral bottom line, said the statement. He also connived with his relatives, allowing them to use his influence to seek "huge profits" for themselves.

According to the statement, Chen was found to have intervened in market economic activities and judicial affairs.

Chen accepted gifts and money, used his influence to seek benefits for others, and is suspected of having taken a huge sum of bribes, the CCDI said. He is also suspected of abusing power, causing heavy losses of public funds.

"As a high-level official, Chen was politically clinging to power, economically insatiable and morally bankrupt. Even after the 18th CPC National Congress, he still showed no sign of restraint and [his wrongdoings] were of a grave nature," said the statement.

Chen will not serve as a delegate to the Party's 18th National Congress.

Sanctions against Chen have been approved by the CPC Central Committee.

Chen's illegal gains will be confiscated and his case transferred to the judiciary, it added.

Chen was put under investigation for "serious discipline breaches" by the CCDI on April 7.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 15:32:02|Editor: liuxin

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LOS ANGELES, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people gathered in downtown Los Angeles Monday for the May Day march and rally against President Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration and deportation policies.

The protest dubbed "Resist Los Angeles" was organized by a coalition of labor, immigrant-rights and faith-based groups. Huge crowd moved through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, holding banners and signs with slogans such as "Immigrant rights are worker's rights," "If Trump builds a wall, we'll tear it down," "Don't trust those who seek to divide you, workers of the world unite" and so on.

"The reason I come here is to support the immigrants, because I am an immigrant also, and to stop this hate message this administration with Trump is sending to the community," said Laura Padilla, a middle-aged Mexican-American woman.

"I protest that man, I protest his character and I protest his abuse of Capitalism," said Lori Hinkston, a white woman holding an anti-Trump placard.

"We want to safeguard our rights to work. Although today is a working day, but we come here to gather for our rights. My boss agreed to give me a day off for the event," said Rangel Rafael, an immigrant working in a local sewage company.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed the crowd from a large stage that was erected in front of City Hall. Grandson of an immigrant from Mexico, he vowed to push back on President Trump. People cheered as he promised that Los Angeles Police Department will never be a deportation force as long as he is the major of the city.

"We don't just resist, we persist," he said.

Organizers predicted that more than 100,000 people would participate in the massive march in recognition of May Day, also known as the International Workers Day, but the crowd obviously fell short of that goal.

Los Angeles police did not give an official crowd estimate. Authorities told reporters they were estimating around 15,000 participants while one of the organizers believed it is definitely 30,000 to 40,000, according to City News Service.

Meanwhile, around 100 pro-Trump activists carrying signs reading "Trump make America great again" and U.S. national flags gathered just around 200 meters away. The small group stood near an intersection and faced off with demonstrators just across the street. Insults were shouted back and forth as a line of police stood in between the two groups.

"With him being in the office, it kinda kicked off the pride and dignity for the nation again," said David Toms, one of Trump's supporters.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 15:42:03|Editor: liuxin

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TRIPOLI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Libya's national oil corporation on Monday said the oil production has raised to over 760,000 barrel per day (bpd), the highest since 2014.

Mustafa San'alla, head of the national oil corporation, said the corporation is planning to increase the production to 1.1 million bpd by August.

"The year 2016 recorded the lowest revenues of the state in its recent history, which was 8.6 billion dinars (about 6.08 billion U.S. dollars), San'alla said in a statement on Monday.

The expenses were almost 30 billion dinars (21.26 billion dollars), with a deficit of 21 billion dinars (14.88 billion dollars). This constitutes a cumulative deficit, since the closure of oil ports and fields, of 57 billion dinars (40.39 billion dollars)," he added.

San'alla also said that the deficit of the public budget was covered by the reserves of the central bank of Libya, which kept on decreasing since 2013.

He revealed that the closing oil ports and fields caused a loss of more than 130 billion dollars.

Libya's oil sector has been suffering since the uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The oil production in Libya was 1.6 million bpd before the 2011 uprising.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 15:47:04|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- China's railway traffic during the International Labor Day holiday rose 6.7 percent year on year, indicating growing enthusiasm for travel among Chinese.

About 49 million passenger trips were made via railway from April 28 to May 1, up 3.09 million from last year, according to the China Railway Corporation.

Traffic peaked on April 29, when about 13.7 million trips were made in a single day, up 5.8 percent year on year while hitting a record high for the International Labor Day holiday.

To accommodate the holiday rush, China Railway Corporation added a total of 1,901 train trips nationwide.

Railway traffic has been rising steadily during China's holidays as interest in travel has increased in the past few years. The country's tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan (11.5 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue during the holiday, up 16.2 percent from a year earlier, official data showed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 16:22:10|Editor: liuxin

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RIYADH, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) militant group recruitment of expats in Saudi Arabia is increasing with 342 recruits in less than a year, Okaz local news reported on Tuesday.

The report said focusing on foreigners is due to nationwide campaigns which have enhanced awareness among locals about the risks of joining terrorist groups.

This week, the interior ministry announced the arrest of 14 foreigners among 46 arrestees who were behind previous deadly terrorist attacks.

In according to the ministry's statistics, 843 foreign terrorists have been arrested in the last five years, of which Syrians top the number of foreigners with 109 arrestees.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 16:47:16|Editor: liuxin

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CAIRO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen were killed and five others were wounded in a gun attack on a police convoy in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Unidentified militants riding two vehicles approached a moving security convoy and shot down policemen stationed at an intersection of the ring road, in Nasr City eastern the capital, around 11:45 a.m. Monday" the statement said.

Police returned fire at the attackers, and chased the vehicles in an effort to apprehend the perpetrators, the ministry added.

No group yet has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt has been fighting a wave of anti-security attacks following the ouster of the Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

That attacks, which were mainly centered in Sinai while rarely happened in Cairo, have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province has claimed responsibility of most of the attacks.
Egyptian military police patrol a street near the Vatican's Apostolic Nunciature where Pope Francis stays during his two-day visit in Cairo, on April 29, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

CAIRO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen were killed and five others were wounded in a gun attack on a police convoy in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Unidentified militants riding two vehicles approached a moving security convoy and shot down policemen stationed at an intersection of the ring road, in Nasr City eastern the capital, around 11:45 a.m. Monday" the statement said.

Police returned fire at the attackers, and chased the vehicles in an effort to apprehend the perpetrators, the ministry added.

No group yet has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt has been fighting a wave of anti-security attacks following the ouster of the Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

That attacks, which were mainly centered in Sinai while rarely happened in Cairo, have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province has claimed responsibility of most of the attacks.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 17:42:26|Editor: Yamei

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BAGHDAD, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead a senior official of the North Gas Company (NGC) and his bodyguard in Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Tuesday, while two policemen were killed in separate attack in central country, security sources said.

Mohammed Younis Salih, NGC's deputy head, was shot dead in the morning by armed men while he was heading to his company in Wahid Huzayran neighborhood in southwestern Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Salih's bodyguard was also killed by the attack, the source said, adding an investigation was launched.

In a separate incident, two policemen were killed and an officer wounded when a would-be suicide bomber opened fire on a police checkpoint in eastern the city of Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, a local police source anonymously told Xinhua.

The policemen at the checkpoint fired back on the attacker and killed him after their bullets blew up his explosive belt, just before reaching his target inside the checkpoint, the source said.

Authorities in the city imposed curfew, blocked the entrances and tightened security measures.

The troops and allied paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units carried out a search operation in the city after intelligence reports said that two more suicide bombers could be hiding in the city, the source added.

The attacks came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from their major stronghold in the western side of Mosul in northern Iraq.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 18:37:35|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HOHHOT, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of firefighters are battling a fire in China's largest forest in the Greater Hinggan Mountains.

The fire broke out at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Beidahe forest in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said regional fire authorities.

More than 700 police have been mobilized to extinguish the blaze. Strong winds and mountainous terrain are making their work difficult.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

A fire broke out Sunday in another forest in the area. It has been put out and cleanup is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 18:52:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HOUSTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies participated in the 48th Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), which kicked off Monday in Houston.

Although the organizer did not give an exact number of Chinese companies attending this conference, it is a fact that more and more Chinese oil and gas companies have shown their interest in this event.

Leading Chinese companies such as China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), China National Petroleum Corp. and China Petroleum Chemical Corp. attended the event, and the different models of drilling equipment from some Chinese companies are eye-catching.

Jin Xiaojian, president of China Offshore Oil Engineering Co., LTD, told Xinhua that the world offshore oil exploitation is actually a booming industry. Many experts also said that the oil and gas industry is still a sunrise one because oil and gas remains to be the efficient and green energy.

"As an offshore oil and gas explorer, CNOOC is making great efforts to be a world-class enterprise. We can say that after the development over the past three decades, CNOOC is now actually an international level energy company," he said.

Founded in 1969, OTC, the largest event in the world for the oil and gas industry, is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters.

This year's event features more than 300 technical papers from leading upstream firms, more than 60 technical sessions, 24 topical breakfasts and luncheons, along with several in-depth panel discussions. The annual event attracted over 2,300 exhibitors and attendees from 100 countries and regions.

OTC Chairman Joe Fowler said that the conference represents an invaluable platform for new business opportunities and technologies, especially in challenging times.

"OTC is important because it is the best source of technology for new offshore developments," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 19:17:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council has approved a "Chinese Brands Day," to be held on May 10 each year starting this year, according to a statement made public Tuesday.

The cabinet's decision was in response to the request for instructions filed by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner.

Detailed work for the day will be done by the NDRC and other government departments, the statement said.

The plan to create the day appeared in a guideline on making full use of brands' role in upgrading supply and demand structure issued last year by the State Council.

Chinese Brands Day will publicize brands owned independently by Chinese companies, tell the stories of the brands and raise brand recognition, the guideline said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 19:27:44|Editor: Xiang Bo

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DUBAI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The seven-day Abu Dhabi book fair which closed Tuesday has brought Chinese literature closer to readers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and beyond.

As this year's official "guest of honour" country, China's participation at the 27th Abu Dhabi book fair was the country's largest at a foreign book fair to date.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE which supports China's The Belt and Road Initiative, the strategy to bring the Far East with the Middle East, Africa and Europe closer together in relation to trade, investments and cultural exchange.

Xiao Guanglu, the representative for China as "guest of honour," told the Abu Dhabi daily, The National, that the 650 sq.-metre Chinese pavilion hosted books of "famous Chinese authors" as well as 3,400 titles and 5,400 copies in Arabic, English and Mandarin."

Nasser Yousuf Alzaabi, a sales director at Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Media, told Xinhua "I think this is a great book fair. The UAE government's mission is to connect people through reading, to reach out to all people in the world."

On China's role at this edition, Alzaabi said "The Chinese has a big culture, and this book fair is a great platform to merger their culture with our culture. It is normally difficult for us to access Chinese literature, but this year's book fair made it easy."

Moroccan historian and scholar Abdallah Laroui, who was awarded the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the category "Cultural Person of the year," told Dubai daily Gulf news in an article published earlier in the day he considers to be "very important" for the future of Arabs to have different and very variant culture.

The Confucius Institute at University of Dubai and several schools in Abu Dhabi started to offer lectures in Mandarin. The 300,000 Chinese community is one of the fastest growing group of foreigners in the Gulf Arab state.

Since 2014, China's becomes Dubai's biggest trade partner.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 19:32:45|Editor: liuxin

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LONDON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- MPs from the House of Commons warned Tuesday that the government has left Britain's nuclear industry at risk in the case of leaving the European Union (EU).

The all-party Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee said the government must act urgently to ensure the industry's continued operation after Brexit.

The MP who chairs the committee, Iain Wright, said Prime Minister Theresa May has made it politically unfeasible for Britain to remain long term in Euratom, Europe's atomic energy community, set up by the EU in 1957.

A report from the committee recommends maintaining access to the Internal Energy Market and retaining membership of the Emissions Trading System until 2020 at least.

MPs say that in the longer term they are concerned that Britain will become a "rule taker", complying with, but unable to influence European rules and standards. The report cautions that Brexit must not distract the government from delivering essential climate change policies.

The committee has warned that any interval between Britain leaving the Euratom and entering into secure alternative arrangements would severely inhibit nuclear trade and research and threaten power supplies.

The report says: "The government argues that the UK must leave Euratom as a result of the triggering of Article 50, but the report states that legal opinion is divided."

The committee says withdrawal from Euratom is an unfortunate, and perhaps unforeseen, consequence of Prime Minister May's objective of ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in Britain.

"Ministers must end the uncertainty and resolve the matter by securing alternative arrangements as urgently as possible," the report adds.

MPs on the committee said there are strong concerns in the sector that new arrangements will take longer than two years to set up and recommends delaying departure from Euratom to give the industry more time to establish alternative arrangements.

If this is not possible, the government should seek transitional arrangements, which may need to be longer than the three years proposed by the European parliament.

The report also highlights concerns that if British standards diverge too far from those in the EU, Britain could become a dumping ground for energy inefficient products.

Labour Party MP Wright, who chairs the committee, said: "The impact of Brexit on Euratom has not been thought through. The government has failed to consider the potentially disastrous ramifications of its Brexit objectives for the nuclear industry. Ministers must act as urgently as possible. The repercussions of failing to do so are huge. The continued operations of the UK nuclear industry are at risk."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 19:57:49|Editor: liuxin

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KIGALI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda on Tuesday received ten eastern black rhinos from South Africa after the last individual was documented in the country a decade ago, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said.

The first batch of ten rhinos was re-introduced to Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda, RDB said in a statement, adding that the translocation of total 20 such rhinos is expected to be completed over the first two weeks of May.

The reintroduction is being done by the RDB and African Parks, a South Africa-based non-profit organization which manages Akagera National Park in partnership with the RDB.

"The return of the rhinos to Rwanda's Akagera National Park opens a new chapter in our conservation journey and we are grateful to all our partners that contributed to this achievement. We are fully prepared to welcome them and ensure their safety for the benefit of our tourism industry and the community at large," said RDB CEO Clare Akamanzi.

The reintroduction of rhinos has solidified Akagera's Big Five status, a classification that would boost tourism growth and generate further employment opportunities for local communities, said according to RDB.

"Rhinos are one of the great symbols of Africa yet they are severely threatened and are on the decline in many places across the continent due to the extremely lucrative and illegal rhino horn trade," said African Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead.

"The rhino's return to this country however is a testament to Rwanda's extraordinary commitment to conservation and is another milestone in the restoration of Akagera's natural diversity," Fearnhead said.

Back in the 1970s, more than 50 black rhinos thrived in Akagera National Park, but the number declined under the pressure of wide-scale poaching until the last confirmed sighting of the species in 2007, according to the RDB.

Akagera National Park is Rwanda's only protected savannah region with a wide range of animals including buffalos, elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos and antelopes.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 20:02:50|Editor: liuxin

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ATHENS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Greece and its international lenders have reached a preliminary deal on disbursement of a new bailout loan to the indebted country, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos announced Tuesday.

"The negotiation is completed, there's white smoke," he told Greek national news agency AMNA, referring to the signal Vatican would use after the election of a new pope.

The agreement includes a new round of austerity measures and tax reforms by the Greek government, which include further reductions on pensions and indirect tax hikes.

In return, the European Union will provide a fresh bailout loan to the country which has a huge debt to pay in July.

Greece's creditors, including the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, also confirmed the conclusion of a preliminary agreement.

All sides made compromises, therefore "we are pleased with some things, and we are less pleased with others," Tsakalotos said Tuesday.

The Greek Parliament will vote on the agreement, most likely on May 13, the Greek Finance Ministry said.

Eurozone finance ministers also need to approve the agreement at their next meeting likely on May 22.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 20:07:51|Editor: liuxin

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BAGHDAD, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Up to ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and six others wounded on Tuesday in an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on a military base in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial security source said.

The attack occurred at about 5:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) when IS militants attacked the military base at Sakkar area in east of the town Rutba, some 370 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Fierce clashes erupted between the two sides before the attackers withdrew to the desert, leaving ten soldiers killed and six others wounded, while the bodies of seven IS militants were left at the scene, the source said.

Rutba, lies on the Baghdad-Amman international road, was taken by the IS in 2014, but was recaptured by the security forces in mid-May 2016.

Observers believe that IS group intensified attacks against Iraqi security forces in other provinces across Iraq, particularly the Suni provinces of Kirkuk, Salahudin and Anbar to revenge to their heavy casualties in Mosul.

The Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from their major stronghold in the western side of Mosul in northern Iraq.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 20:22:53|Editor: liuxin

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SOFIA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Ognyan Gerdjikov here on Tuesday reported that during his governance, the state treasury has collected more revenues while the number of crime cases has decreased.

The caretaker government ends its term with a surplus in the treasury amounting to over 1.6 billion BGN (894 million U.S. dollars), Gerdjikov said at a press conference.

"On the revenue side of the budget, the money is 785 million BGN," he said on the eve of the election of the new coalition government, which is expected to be held by the end of this week.

The figures indicated a well-functioning economy, said Gerdjikov, who is a professor of civil and commercial law.

From the beginning of the year to April 25, the National Revenue Agency collected 238.9 million BGN, more than that in the same period of 2016 or 5.9 percent more on an annual basis, Gerdjikov said.

Meanwhile, revenue collected by the National Customs Agency increased by 16.1 percent, or 385.7 million BGN more year-on-year, he said.

Speaking about the achievements of the Ministry of Interior, Gerdjikov said that from the beginning of the year to April 20, the number of registered crimes has decreased by nearly 12 percent.

The number of killings has fallen by 23 percent, robberies by 16 percent, theft in homes and offices by 22 percent, and thefts of motor vehicles by 30 percent, Gerdjikov said.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev appointed the caretaker government on January 27. While announcing the cabinet's composition, structure and priorities, Radev said that it was extremely important for the government to ensure the financial, social and economic stability of the country, as well as the security of the citizens. (1 U.S. dollar = 1.79 Bulgarian lev)
The energy ministers of Qatar (L) Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, UAE's Suhail al-Mazrouei (C) and Saudi Khaled al-Falih, attend the 3rd GCC Petroleum Media Forum on April 20, 2017 in Abu Dhabi. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

DUBAI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Despite the rebound in oil prices in the last 12 months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director of Middle East and Central Asia Department Jiahd Azour said Tuesday that more reforms and fiscal consolidation are needed in the Gulf region's two biggest economies to spur growth.

Briefing the media about the IMF's outlook study the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan released today, Azour said the IMF expects the UAE real gross domestic product to increase by 1.5 percent in 2017, down from 2.7 percent last year.

The picture look even bleaker for Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest economy, for which the IMF expects 0.4 percent this year, compared to 1.4 percent last year.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are major oil suppliers. Azour noted while last year's agreement by major oil-producing countries to crude oil production has helped increase oil prices (from below 26 U.S. dollars in January 2016 to around 50 dollars nowadays), the IMF expects the price of oil to remain volatile around and to average 55 dollars per barrel (159 liter) in 2017 and in 2018.

Azour noted that energy price reforms in both countries have eased fiscal pressure and that the six Arab countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) will introduce a five percent value-added tax on Jan. 1 2018. Consequently, the IMF expects the GCC to generate in 2017 a combined current account surplus, after two years of current account deficits.

In addition, liquidity in the Emirati and Saudi banking sector has eased in recent months, said the Washington-based multinational lender IMF in its outlook. For the UAE, the IMF sees loan demand rising due to the "idiosyncratic event," the World Expo which the UAE sheikhdom of Dubai will host from October 2020 to April 2021.

"However, more fiscal reforms and investments into non-oil sectors, education, healthcare, capital and social protection are needed," he added.

Azour said the UAE and Saudi GDP growth would pick up to 4.4 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 20:27:54|Editor: liuxin

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FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, May 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 militants have been confirmed dead as the military aircraft pounded Taliban hideouts in Zebak district of northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan province Monday night, a senior police official in the northern region said Tuesday.

"Acting upon intelligence reports, the aircraft of security forces targeted the hideouts of the armed Taliban insurgents in Zebak district late last night killing at least 20 enemies on the spot," General Shir Aziz Kamawal told Xinhua.

Six vehicles and two motorbikes of the militants were also destroyed in the attacks, the official said.

The deadly air raids conducted after the capture of the Zebak district by Taliban militants couple of days ago.

Taliban militants, according to the locals, have been attempting to overrun Zebak's neighboring Ashkashim district and government forces have been fighting back to foil the plans.

However, local observers believe that the possible fall of Ashkashim district to the Taliban militants would enable the armed group to have direct access to Pakistan's Chitral district.

Badakhshan province, with Faizabad city as its capital, 315 km northeast of Kabul, has been the scene of Taliban increasing insurgency over the past three years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 21:08:01|Editor: liuxin

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NEW DELHI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed when a car plunged into a gorge in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh Tuesday, a senior police official said.

"The accident took place near Janog in Nerwa area of state capital Shimla district when the driver of the speeding car lost control of the vehicle and rolled 300 meters down into the deep gorge. All the six bodies have been pulled out," said the official, on condition of anonymity.

The occupants of the car were returning home in Manhu after attending a wedding party in Kuthar, the official said, adding that a probe has been ordered into the incident.

The accident came barely a fortnight after 44 people were killed in the hilly state when a bus plunged off a mountain road and fell into a river. The private-owned bus was travelling from a small town in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand.

India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world. More than 400 people are killed in accidents every day. Road accidents happen mainly due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 21:13:01|Editor: An

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Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto receives an interview in Budapest, Hungary, April 18, 2017. China's development will have important effects on Europe's future, and the Sino-European cooperation is expected to help promote the competitiveness of Europe, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said. (Xinhua/Yang Yongqian)

BUDAPEST, May 2 (Xinhua) -- China's development will have important effects on Europe's future, and the Sino-European cooperation is expected to help promote the competitiveness of Europe, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said.

"According to our point of view, worldwide politics as well as world economy have come to a turning point, and in that turning point and after," China will play "a great role," Szijjarto told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The Hungarian top diplomat said, "The development of China is going to have an effect on Europe's future development itself, and we view the cooperation of China and Europe of an utmost importance."

Szijjarto said that he expected the Belt and Road Initiative to materialize itself in the form of concrete investment projects, the sooner, the better, as China's investments, and the export of European goods toward China have an essential role for the continent's future.

According to the minister, the current deficiencies in infrastructure make European goods less competitive on the Chinese market, compared with goods coming from some other regions.

"We expect that Chinese investments will appear in larger number in the future in the European area and when Chinese companies think about enlarging their European presence, we wish that they would think primarily of Hungary," he pointed out.

Szijjarto also underlined that the relations between China and Hungary have never been so good as presently, from political, economic and cultural aspects.

The official identified the automotive industry as one of the fields in which China and Hungary could beef up cooperation.

"As for the automobile industry, we have just inaugurated the first European factory of BYD in Hungary, and Hungary is the flagship of the European auto industry," he stressed, pointing out that with 9 percent, Hungary has the lowest corporate tax rate in the EU.

Szijjarto also considered the food industry as a flagship sector of the Hungarian exports to China.

"Because of the very strict Hungarian food sanitary regulations -- our constitution guarantees GMO free products in the agriculture and the food industry -- Hungarian food products can become interesting for the new, more demanding Chinese customers," he said.

About the project between Hungary and China, Szijjarto said that the Budapest-Belgrade railway's "every single element conforms with the relevant EU regulations."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 21:48:07|Editor: Yamei

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes statements in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 16, 2017. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Sunday night that the proposed constitutional changes were accepted in a referendum, paying the way for the country to introduce the presidential system. (Xinhua/DHA/Depo Photos)

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Tuesday, the first concrete step he took after referendum win that granted him sweeping powers and probably begin working on a cabinet overhaul for changes in key posts.

The historic change enables the president to become head both the state and a political party in parliament, a first in republican history.

The crucial referendum where 51.4 percent of electors voted in favor of a transition from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, paved the pay for Erdogan to rejoin the AKP that he founded in 2001 and chaired until his election as three mandates of prime minister and head of state in 2014 by popular vote, a first in Turkey.

Turks voted also to hand executive powers to Erdogan. The constitutional changes revoked the requirement of impartiality for the head of state.

But Erdogan's influence was always there as he vowed to be "an active president" and acted as one, chairing cabinet meetings and campaigning for his party in parliamentary elections and the recent referendum.

After rejoin the AKP as a member, Erdogan will be reelected as the chairman through a symbolic election in an extraordinary congress on May 21.

"We will happily invite our president to our party and there's no barrier to him becoming chairman," said Binali Yildrim, the Prime Minister and current Chairman of AKP, who ironically will lose his post after the first legislative elections, planned for 2019, in line with the approved constitutional revision.

Xinhua has learned from various sources that the president seems keen on changing the helm of the economic policy, in rather troubled waters after several years of constant growth, making Turkey the Middle East's largest economy and one of the G20 group.

The state of emergency declared after last year's failed coup also worries investors who don't see room for much needed economic reforms.

Before leaving Istanbul on Sunday for a visit in India, his first foreign visit post referendum, which will mainly focus on enhancing the bilateral trade and anti-terrorism partnership between the two countries, Turkish president replied to insistent questions on the matter, but saying only that "the Prime Minister has a say on this issue, it's up to him to decide."

"For the moment, it is not on the agenda what you'll never know what the future will hold," he went on as saying not dismissing formally rumours of a change.

At the AKP front, prudence prevails on such a measure.

"It will not be a big surprise if there are changes in the government. The president has the right of taking decisions with the prime minister in order to make the system work better," a source close to the government said on condition of anonymity.

"The purpose of the constitutional referendum was to make Turkey a more stable country, so that is what its going to happen," added the source.

The rumors running in Ankara's political circles suggest some significant figures could be on their way of the cabinet, such as Ali Babacan, former Economy and Foreign Minister who is seen as foreign investors as a very credible name in global terms.

Also, mentioned in those secretive circles is the official spokesman of Erdogan, Ibrahim Kalin, a highly influential and loyal figure to the president, seen as the future Minister of Foreign Affairs replacing the actual Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"From time to time, injecting fresh blood in the cabinet is a necessity of democracy," said Yildirim, confirming a possible reshuffle.

Abdulkadir Selvi, journalist at mass circulating daily Hurriyet, wrote on Monday that the number of Kurdish ministers was in the works in order to try to give a fresh impetuous to a possible solution to the Kurdish conflict amid renewed fighting over the past two years between security forces and separatist rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"There will be a change in the cabinet. Six or seven ministers are expected to change," said Selvi, explaining also that the results of the referendum where major cities, such as Istanbul and Ankara voted "no" against Erdogan, has caused serious concern in AKP.

Another immediate outcome of the referendum will be the reforms to the official body, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), that controls judges and prosecutors, where Erdogan will appoint new members, a measure strongly criticized by the opposition as seen as a breach to the separation of powers.

Meanwhile, it is expected to be the abolition of military courts in the aftermath of the referendum, which consist of the military court of cassation, the high military administrative court and other military courts.

The parliament is then required to enact the constitutional changes and amend laws accordingly within six months. This period will consist of the legislative preparation for the entire constitutional change package denounced by the opposition as having granted excessive powers to a single man, thus President Erdogan.

"One amendment would even allow the president to order disciplinary inquiries into any of Turkey's 3.5 million civil servants, said Metin Feyzioglu, the head of the bar association.

"This means that the local branch of the AKP in a particular town would have de facto power over the public servants in that town," said Feyzioglu.

Unless an early election, which is quite possible, according to experts, Erdogan has to wait the next presidential election, which is currently set for November 2019, to see the office of prime minister abolished and some of the parliaments powers scrapped off in his favor.

And Erdogan does absolutely have to win this election to complete his victory.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka arrives at a two-day European Union summit at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 18, 2016. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

PRAGUE, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka announced at a press conference on Tuesday that he would submit his cabinet's resignation to President Milos Zeman within the week over controversial business activities of Finance Minister Andrej Babis.

Sobotka said it is unacceptable to keep Babis at the ministerial post, as he's in a position involving interest conflict.

He explained that Babis as the finance minister controls the Financial Administration (FS), a body that is supposed to investigate his controversial purchase of untaxed one-crown bonds from the Agrofert company in 2013 when he owned it.

The prime minister said he hopes his resignation could enable an impartial investigation.

He explained that he wants to free the government coalition parties' hands to discuss ways to solve the situation. If the government coalition parties agreed on the continuation of their joint coalition, it would be necessary to discuss the post of the finance minister.

Sobotka said he wants to explain his step to his coalition partners at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
GWANDA, Zimbabwe, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Wearing torn rubber gloves, Lydia Sibanda sits on a bucket while squeezing out the insides of mopane worms.

She is among the scores of people who have erected plastic tents at a roadside bush in the arid cattle-ranching area of Gwanda in southern Zimbabwe, where they are harvesting and preparing the worms for sale.

"We were at another site in this area but after the worms were finished, we decided to move to this site where we can still find them," she said.

In Zimbabwe, the mopane worms are a popular dish with the rural people and are considered a delicacy in the cities.

"I enjoy eating the worms either as a snack or with sadza (thick maize porridge)," said Wellington Kuziwa, a security guard in Harare. "The worms are tasty and I usually eat them twice per week," he added.

The worm is the large caterpillar of the Gonimbrasia belina species, commonly called the emperor moth. It is called a mopane worm because it feeds on the leaves of mopane trees after it hatches in summer.

The worm is mainly found in southern parts of Zimbabwe where mopane trees abound.

In Zimbabwe, the worm is not only a cheap source of nutrition, but also a source of livelihoods for many.

"I started harvesting and selling the worms this year and in the short period I have been doing this, I have managed to raise money to sustain my family, pay school fees for my children and pay rent," said the 46-year old Sibanda, a single mother of three.

Sibanda's family lives in the city of Kwekwe while she stays in Beitbridge to sell the worms to locals and those crossing into neighboring South Africa to resale them.

"I can get 100 U.S. dollars per week from selling the worms. I charge 25 U.S. dollars for a 20-liter bucket and since the worms are getting scarce, I am now getting about four buckets per week, instead of 10 during the peak period," she said.

The peak harvesting season usually starts around March and lasts until April, so Sibanda and her colleagues will soon go back home and wait for another season next year.

Vimbai Dube, 59, left her rural home in Mberengwa more than 100 km away to camp in the bush and harvest the worms.

She expected to exchange the worms for the staple maize as her crops failed due to excessive rains this year.

"I managed to get 10 buckets of the worms in the past two weeks and I am going to exchange the worms for maize," said Dube, a grandmother of nine who is fending for her family as her asthmatic husband can not work.

A single mother of three, Viola Mashavira, 44, came all the way from the capital Harare to harvest the worms for sale.

Mashavira said the business of harvesting and selling the worms was easy as it does not require any capital outlay compared to cross-border trading which is also risky.

She said even after she resumes cross-border trips to Mozambique where she buys various items for resale in Zimbabwe, she would revert to mopane business when its season starts.

Nhamo Mushamba said she used to struggle to survive by selling cabbages in the border town of Beitbridge, a business she said did not make much money.

"In the future, I will suspend cross-border trading and do the mopane business once its season starts," she added.

Ishibosheth Chikodzi, 29, is one of the few men that were in the bush also harvesting the worms. He travelled from Chivhu some 300 km away to try his luck with the worms.

"I used to do piece jobs in Chivhu and I was struggling to survive from the little money that I got. But through harvesting and selling worms here I have managed to raise money which I will use to start a poultry project," said the father of two.

As the mopane season is coming to an end, the worms are becoming difficult to find and people now travel longer distances to find them.

Guvava said they were now surviving on the benevolence of a few plot holders who still have the worms in their farms.

"We are now negotiating with the plot holders to allow us to harvest the worms in their farms in return for a fee," he said.

Local traditional leaders often warn people from faraway places to stop harvesting the worms, arguing the worms should only benefit local people.
File photo shows South Sudanese women carry water in a UN camp in Juba, capital of South Sudan, Dec. 22, 2013. (Xinhua/Lu Rui)

ADDIS ABABA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has called on the South Sudan warring parties to desist from escalating violence in the world's youngest nation.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, has expressed his deep concern over the increasing military clashes in South Sudan, especially in the restive Upper Nile region, according to a statement of the pan-African bloc on Sunday.

The Chairperson called on the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition and other armed movements in South Sudan to immediately desist from fighting, which continues to negatively impact on the security, safety and life of civilians in the country.

"The renewed fighting in South Sudan is a clear indication that the warring parties continue to believe in a military solution, fully disregarding the plight of innocent civilians which they claim to represent and defend," he said.

"The immediate consequences of the military clashes on the civilian population are shattering and therefore it should be understood that those engaging in this callous behaviour should be held accountable."

He strongly called on the TGoNU, as well as on the other warring parties to immediately cease hostilities and uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians as provided for in the Constitution of the country and the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 22:58:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MANILA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The communications chief of Philippine presidential office said on Tuesday that the government's anti-drug efforts launched 10 months ago are making "enormous strides", adding that the Philippines can now clearly see the results.

"We have made enormous strides," Martin Andanar, Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office, told a forum organized to provide a clearer picture of the results of the government's drive to fight the drug menace that ills the country.

Andanar said illicit drugs have become a serious problem in the Philippines, with estimated 4.7 million drug users in the country.

"The Philippine drug market is an estimated 120 billion pesos (2.4 billion U.S. dollars) drug industry," Andanar said.

Andanar said of the 4.7 million drug users, about 1.3 million have surrendered or a 24.45-percent decreased in the number of estimated total drug market, adding the government's anti-drug campaign has resulted in the reduction of crime index by 28.57 percent.

Nevertheless, Andanar said the drug problem confronting the country requires "herculean efforts."

"There's so much work to be done but we choose to believe that illegal drug trade has met its match, and that is the political will and uncaring resolve of (President Rodrigo Duterte) and his relentless mission to divert our country from the dangerous trajectory of becoming a narco state," Andanar said at the close of the forum.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Isidro Lapena told the forum that the drug problem has become "massive and now poses a threat to the national security."

Police Deputy Director General for Administration Ramon Colet Apolinario said the anti-drug campaign will be further strengthened.

"This will remain enforced. This time with a stronger and more determined implementation," he said.

He also said the forum shall provide for the perfect opportunity to portray the true picture and accurate information as far as the national drug campaign is concerned."

Based on the data released by the Philippine National Police on Tuesday, there are currently 9,432 homicide cases under investigation as far as the government's all-out war against illegal drugs is concerned.

The police noted that, of the 9,432 cases, about 1,847 are drug-related and 1,894 are not drug-related, adding that some 5,691 homicide cases are under investigation.

The Philippine government under Duterte launched the anti-drug campaign when he assumed the presidency on June 30 last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 23:08:23|Editor: An

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (C) poses for a photo with Chinese navy sailors on missile destroyer Changchun in Davao City, the Philippines, May 1, 2017. A Chinese naval fleet has begun a three-day friendly visit after arriving Sunday at Davao City in the southeastern region of The Philippines. (Xinhua/Yu Wei)

by Xinhua Writer Yang Ke

MANILA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A flotilla of three Chinese naval ships wrapped up its goodwill visit to the Philippines on Tuesday, leaving in its wake blooming friendship and aspirations to enhance relations between the two countries.

The three Chinese warships, guided-missile destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jinzhou and replenishment ship Chaohu, docked on Sunday in the southern Philippine city of Davao, hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, for a three-day visit.

The visit, the first by Chinese military ships to the Philippines in seven years, aims to expand communication, promote cooperation and improve the friendship between China and the Philippines.

Relations between China and the Philippines have experienced ups and downs in the past several years. But territorial disputes in the South China Sea were brought under control after President Duterte came to power last June.

Duterte has once said he prefers negotiation to confrontation over the South China Sea issue. "There is no sense in going to war. There is no sense fighting over a body of water," Duterte told Xinhua in an exclusive interview last year.

"It is better to talk than war. We want to talk about friendship, we want to talk about cooperation, and most of all, we want to talk about business. War would lead us to nowhere," he added.

In its newly unveiled development strategies dubbed Dutertenomics, the Philippine government would spend 8.4 trillion pesos (167 billion U.S. dollars) for infrastructure in the next six years.

China's Belt and Road Initiative, which focuses on infrastructure building, dovetails with Philippines' development strategy.

In a press conference at the end of the ASEAN summit held in Manila, Duterte lauded China's Belt and Road Initiative as being "good for the Southeast Asia region," saying it would help China's neighbors like the Philippines.

Trade and investment might be Duterte's first thoughts when normal bilateral relations between China and the Philippines resumed after years of disputes over the South China Sea.

Duterte said he was very "impressive" with the visiting Chinese ships. "It is really part of confidence building and goodwill to show that we are friends," Duterte told reporters after he visited Changchun.

Duterte said that he is open to holding joint military drills with China. "I agree (to the idea). They can have joint exercise here in Mindanao, maybe in the Sulu Sea," Duterte said.
BRUSSELS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Poland took over the leadership of NATO's Baltic air policing mission on Tuesday from the Netherlands, NATO said in a press release.

NATO Baltic air policing missions have been carried out since 2004 with NATO allies taking turns deploying their interceptors and staff in the Baltic states in a four-month rotation.

The Polish Air Force's four F-16 fighter aircraft will patrol the skies over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for a term of four months.

The jets will deploy from their home base at Poznan together with a detachment of pilots, technicians, maintainers and supply staff.

Spain will replace the German Air Force in the mission with five F-18 fighter jets deployed at Estonia's Amari airbase.

Poland has now led the mission six times.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-02 23:13:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VIENNA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is making progress with its nuclear program and its launching of missiles is extremely worrying, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday.

"I remain seriously concerned about the nuclear programme of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Last year, it carried out two more nuclear tests. It continues to launch missiles and threaten other countries. This is extremely worrying," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told a conference.

The DPRK declared its withdrawal from The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation (NPT) of Nuclear Weapons in 2003. All IAEA nuclear inspectors have since left the country, making it difficult to monitor the DPRK's atomic program. The DPRK is no longer an IAEA member state.

"Without direct access to relevant sites and locations, the agency cannot confirm the operational status of North Korea's nuclear facilities. But all the indications suggest that North Korea is making progress with its nuclear program," the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog said.

He said that though it is difficult, his team was trying to collect information regarding the DPRK's nuclear program, urge the country to fully comply with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and cooperate with the agency in implementing its NPT Safeguards Agreement.
PHNOM PENH, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Tuesday convicted a South African man of cross-border drug trafficking and sentenced him to life in prison, according to a verdict.

Jacobus Dawie Botha, 30, was arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport on Sept. 23, 2016 for trafficking 587 gm of cocaine into Cambodia. The man swallowed drugs (hiding drugs in his stomach) and travelled on a flight from Brazil via Dubai and Bangkok to Cambodia.

"Jacobus Dawie Botha is charged with illegally possessing, transporting and dealing drugs under the Drug Law," said the verdict read by Phnom Penh Municipal Court's Presiding Judge Kim Rathnarin.

"The court decides to sentence him to life in prison and to fine him 40 million riel (10,000 U.S. dollars)," the verdict said.

During a hearing last month, Dawie Botha confessed that he swallowed some 100 packages containing cocaine, which was worth about 90,000 U.S. dollars on the market, adding that it was his first attempt to bring the drugs into Cambodia.

Under the Cambodian law, the convict has one month to appeal against the ruling.
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VILNIUS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania's SEB bank increased the forecast for the Baltic country's GDP growth for 2017 to 3.2 percent from the previous projection of 2.5 percent, according to the bank's marcoeconomic report published on Tuesday.

The bank also expects Lithuania's economy to expand by 3 percent in 2018.

However, it urged structural reforms without any delay.

"The country's economy has been improving consistently, nevertheless, the country fails to catch up with the Western Europe's living standards at a faster pace; all this points to the need of immediate assistance to the Lithuanian economy," the bank said in the report.

Gitanas Nauseda, chief economist at SEB Lithuania, noted in his presentation of the report that improved eurozone's economy has been the main driver behind the increased Lithuania's industry and other sectors' activity.

According to Nauseda, business-friendly general election outcome in the Netherlands, and "most probably" similar situation in France contributes to the better economic trends in the eurozone.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's economy also benefits from increased investments both in private and EU-funded projects, the expert was quoted as saying in the bank's statement.

In the opinion of Nauseda, regional policy issues are particularly important for Lithuania as the country will enter into the period without generous EU aid as of 2020. Curbing excessive emigration from Lithuania is another priority issue for the country, Nauseda underlined.

The chief economist of SEB Lithuania said that the country should also decide on the future tax policy, including a shift towards a progressive personal income tax.

Lithuanian central bank expects the country's economy to grow by 2.6 and 2.8 percent this and next year respectively, while the Finance Ministry's projections stand at 2.7 and 2.6 percent in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Last month, Swedbank, another major commercial bank in Lithuania, increased Lithuania's GDP growth forecast for 2017 and 2018 by 0.2 percent each year to 3.0 percent and 2.7 percent respectively.
DHAKA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The Detective Branch (DB) of Bangladesh Police have arrested a key member of a banned militant outfit in capital Dhaka.

A DB spokesperson told Xinhua Tuesday Ashfaqur Rahman Ayan is IT chief of the banned Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) blamed for killing and attacking many secular writers and bloggers in the country.

"Ayan was arrested on Monday night from a capital Dhaka area which is very close to the key diplomatic enclave Baridhara," said the DB official.

Last month, death sentences awarded to two Ansarullah militants were upheld over a blogger murder in 2013.

The High Court Division bench had then also ordered life imprisonment to six others including ABT chief Mufti Jashimuddin Rahmani.

A special tribunal in Bangladesh capital Dhaka in December 2015 handed death penalty to two and various jail terms to six others for killing the secular blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in February 2013.

Razib was the first of six bloggers killed in Bangladesh in a series of deadly attacks against writers in the country.

It was not known immediately whether Ayan was involved in any of the killings or attacks.

The DB official says ABT implicated in crimes including some brutal attacks and murders of "atheist bloggers" from 2013 to 2015 and a daring bank heist in April 2015. The gang was outlawed in May 2015 days after the bank robbery in Savar on the outskirts of capital Dhaka.
BUJUMBURA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- At least three persons were injured in three grenade explosions in separate attacks in Burundi's western province of Bubanza on Monday night, the Burundi News Agency reported Tuesday.

Unidentified people exploded a grenade in a house at Mugoma village in Musigati district, without causing casualties, and ran away. When they realized that they were about to be caught by villagers who ran after them, they exploded a second grenade, injuring three.

The injured were sent to a health center.

The state-run agency said the third grenade was blasted by unidentified people in a household at Tebero in Rugazi district, without making casualties.
BRATISLAVA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Slovak opposition wants to dismiss Parliamentary Chairman Andrej Danko through a no-confidence motion to be held at an extraordinary session on Thursday, announced Parliamentary Vice-Chair Bela Bugar on Tuesday.

Last week, opposition party leader Igor Matovic of OLaNO-NOVA accused employees of the Parliamentary Office of reading letters sent to Members of Parliament (MPs) without their knowledge and that the correspondence had been censored. According to Matovic, Danko was responsible for the legal violation.

"Danko has violated the constitutional right of people who send letters to members of Parliament," explained Matovic.

However, Parliamentary Office head Daniel Guspan rejected Matovic's accusations, describing the claims as lies. He also called on Matovic to present evidence for his claims or to desist from making the accusations.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday that he saw no reason to debate Danko's ouster and that his social democratic party Smer wouldn't vote in favor of such a motion.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 00:28:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BERLIN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen has canceled her trip to the United States, so as to investigate the recent event surrounding a soldier on suspicion of terrorism, a ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

The minister will go to Illkirch to investigate the recent events surrounding the soldier Franco A. The priority will be solving the current events, according to the ministry.

A panel consisting of 100 high-ranking army executives will be held in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the ways to solve "the accumulated cases."

Von der Leyen has sparked a wave of indignation from political opposition and the German Armed Forces Association with her open letter to members of the German army. She criticizes an "obvious weakness in leadership at different levels."

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Hans-Peter Bartels on Tuesday pointed out the responsibility of the minister.

"Now that Mrs. von der Leyen says there is a problem with leadership, one obviously has to say: leadership starts at the top," Bartels said on German radio.

In the past three and a half years, the minister missed the opportunity to set a course to end problems, according to Bartels.

Von der Leyen has been defense minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces since 2013.

"The German army has an attitude problem," von der Leyen told public television channel ZDF on Sunday. The criticism was a reaction to the case of German soldier Franco A., who allegedly planned a state-threatening act of violence motivated by right-wing extremism, as well as a series of abuse cases in the German army's training units.

It could not be considered as an isolated case anymore, according to von der Leyen.

"This is incredible," Head of the German Armed Forces Association Andre Wuestner responded, "no one can comprehend how a minister retreats to the stands and judges her own team."

According to Wuestner, the minister accepts further damage to the relation between politics and army without specifying which facts she criticizes.

SPD spokesperson for defense policy Rainer Arnold also demanded an apology from the minister.

This blanket insinuation of an attitude problem is "an insult to every righteous soldier," Arnold told the Passauer Neue Presse.

There is a structural problem concerning information policy and the investigations of right-wing events within the German army that "should long have been combated by the minister," Arnold said, according to his party.
NAIROBI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed confidence on Tuesday that closer partnership between his country and Somalia will enable the two countries to overcome terrorism and other challenges facing them.

Speaking in Nairobi when he bade farewell to outgoing Somali Ambassador Gamal Mohamed Hassan, Kenyatta said he is particularly keen to see more coordination between the two countries in promoting peace.

"I want to assure President Mohamed that he has a friend here. I like his approach of prioritizing security and we will work together in this," he said in a statement issued in Nairobi after the ceremony.

The two countries have borne the brunt of terrorism attacks from Al-Shabaab militants who have increased their attacks on the two countries, especially in Somalia where the insurgents have been seeking to topple the government.

Kenyatta said he was also keen to work with his Somali counterpart in encouraging formal trade between Kenya and Somalia.

"I look forward to opening one border post -- either at Liboi or Mandera -- with President Mohamed to encourage the people of our two countries to do legal trade," President Kenyatta said.

"We need to work together to formalize the cross-border movement of our people," he added, noting that the two countries will be holding regular high-level meetings to enhance their cooperation, saying "Somalia's problem is our also our problem".

Hassan, who has been appointed a minister in the new Federal government, thanked Kenyatta and the people of Kenya for making his tour of duty successful.
NICOSIA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- In an encouraging change in the troubled Cyprus reunification negotiations, the country's President Nicos Anastasiades announced progress on core issues discussed at a new meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Tuesday.

"We have had a constructive meeting today," Anastasiades said after a four-hour negotiating session with Akinci in the presence of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General's special adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide.

The announcement came against the background of two earlier meetings which ended in sharp disagreements.

Anastasiades said they made progress on the definition of the term "permanent residence" and on the issue of applying the four so-called basic border freedoms of the European Union (EU) -- freedom of movement of people and capital, and establishment of residence and business.

He also said that progress was made on the issue of the effective participation of the Turkish Cypriots, who make up about 22 percent of the island's population, in federal institutions.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said that the progress was due mostly to the Turkish Cypriot side withdrawing objections and demands it raised after agreement on these issues was made in the early stages of the negotiations.

"But there are still some points related to what has been agreed which are still pending and must be ironed out," Anastasiades warned.

The Cypriot President also said it was still too early to resume the international conference on Cyprus that ended in failure last November, after Turkey put forward a demand for its citizens to be accorded the four basic EU freedoms.

"When enough progress will have been achieved, there will be no reason not to return to the international conference," said Anastasiades.

The Cypriot President, representing the Greek community, and Akinci have been in talks for two years on how to end the partition of Cyprus, brought about by Turkish troops who occupied the northern part of the island in 1974, in reaction to a coup engineered by the military rulers of Greece at the time.

There is an air of urgency to the negotiations as presidential elections are scheduled for next February in Cyprus, which is run exclusively by the Greek Cypriots since the Turkish Cypriots pulled out of the government.
MOGADISHU, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A senior Al-Shabaab militant on Tuesday surrendered to Jubaland State forces in El-Wak town in Gedo region of southern Somalia, officials said.

Security Minister for Jubaland State in Somalia Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur said the militant member took advantage of the Somalia president's amnesty offer.

"Senior official of Al-Shabaab militant, Abdirim Sheikh Hassan, surrendered to our forces in El-Wak town today. He was head of the health affairs for the militants in Gedo region," Hassan said.

The latest move comes after 11 members of the militant group have so far surrendered to the regional administration in the past two weeks.
by Chrispinus Omar

NAIROBI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Senior Kenyan government and UN officials on Tuesday called for measures to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between the rich and poor countries under the South-South Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development.

Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Planning Mwangi Kiunjuri said the South-South Cooperation, which begun after the Bandung Conference, the first major Asian-African development cooperation platform, should become a major forum to promote the achievement of the UN poverty eradication goals.

Kiunjuri said the South-South cooperation event provided a platform and an opportunity to effectively engage and exchange knowledge and experience on managing and promoting the South-South Triangular Cooperation as a tool to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Kiunjuri said the Vision 2030 is the country's transformative agenda towards improved living standards for its people, wealth creation and becoming a globally competitive nation.

"As we implement our vision, we take cognizance of the fact that South-South cooperation is an integral part, particularly in fostering strategic partnerships to enable our countries move together in the path of inclusive sustainable development that leaves no one behind," he said.

Kamau Macharia, Kenya's Permanent Representative to the UN, who attended the meeting, said cooperation in the area of technology transfer, trade and development was crucial for countries in the global South, to achieve economic development and to trade more with each other.

Kenya like many other countries in the South is currently implementing long-term development blue print, the "Kenya Vision 2030".

Delegates from Asia, South America, North America, Japan, South Korea and from West Africa, are attending the South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development forum to discuss how to work together in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Macharia said countries in the East African should manage their trade relations with their neighbours in order to improve economic growth and reduce poverty.

He said trade between Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Rwanda and Burundi could still grow as well as trade with countries in the North such as Ethiopia under the South-South Cooperation.

"We have to manage the relations with our neighbors in a way that does not politicize the internal disagreements between the respective countries in the region. Tanzania is a neighbor and it has been benefiting from the trade between the African countries," Macharia said.

Macharia said countries in East Africa could continue to open borders to trade with each other in order to further improve the regional economy.

Trade between the five East African Community (EAC) states declined to 5.63 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 from 5.8 billion in 2013, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Kenya's latest economic data show the country's total exports declined to 5.78 billion dollars in 2016 from 5.8 billion dollars in 2015 but African countries remained the biggest destination for exports.

KNBS latest data released recently showed trade within the EAC declined 3.1 percent with the Kenyan portion of exports valued at 2.34 billion dollars while Europe still accounted for 24.5 percent of the exports.

Pakistan remains Kenya's main export destination in the Asian region, accounting for a bigger portion of Kenya's 7.4 percent of the 1.4 billion dollars worth of exports to the Asia.
ADDIS ABABA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- African Union (AU) and German officials discussed their cooperation and current issues on the African continent on Tuesday.

The visiting Sigmar Gabriel, Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Germany, met and held talks with Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, on the premises of the pan-African bloc in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The two sides have deliberated on the cooperation between Germany and AU, current issues pertaining to peace, security and emerging issues on the African continent, as well as on the Africa Initiative under the German Presidency of the G20 this year.

They told the press after their meeting that they have also discussed the current situations in Somalia, particularly the drought in the country and the Somalia conference to be held in London this month.

The Somalia conference in London is expected to be attended by heads of states from East African countries, key partners, and senior international figures among others.
NAIROBI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday that it has secured 10.7 million U.S. dollars to help roll back famine in South Sudan and to assist hungry people in Horn of Africa countries hit by drought.

WFP Regional Director for East and Central Africa, Valerie Guarnieri said the funds from the Danish government will assist people in South Sudan and support the drought response in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

WFP said the contribution will also feed South Sudanese refugees who have fled into Uganda. Some of the contribution will help build longer-term food security and resilience.

The funds will help to rehabilitate a key supply road in Sudan along the northern corridor into South Sudan to supply assistance to 250,000 refugees and local people.

"Saving lives now, before any deeper deterioration, reduces both the human cost and financial cost, compared to intervening when it is too late and many people have perished," Guarnieri said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

"If the international community does not act now, the drought in East Africa and the Horn could very easily end up being one of those silent disasters that cost thousands of lives," said Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tornaes.

In northwestern Kenya, Danish funding will help WFP respond to high malnutrition rates among the most vulnerable women and children under the age of five because of drought.

WFP said the contribution will support supplementary feeding for Ethiopian children under the age of five and pregnant and nursing women to combat malnutrition.

The remainder of the funds will help children and pregnant and nursing women in areas with critical malnutrition levels, it said.
RIGA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Demand for Latvian residence permits that foreign nationals can obtain by investing their money in costly real estate, banks or other businesses, has dwindled recently, according to a report published on Latvian public media website lsm.lv on Tuesday.

Furthermore, many of the foreign investors who had previously obtained such temporary residence permits had lost them, either because they did not bother to extend them for another five years or because their extension request was denied.

According to statistics released by the Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration, the number of non-European Union (EU) nationals applying for Latvian residence permits in return for investments in real estate fell from 2,250 in 2014 to just 205 in the period between Jan. 1, 2016 and April 25, 2017.

A significantly smaller number of applications has been submitted by foreign investors seeking Latvian residence permits against investments in banks or other businesses.

The economic difficulties in Russia, which is the country of origin of most of the foreign investors applying for Latvian residence permits, and Latvia's decision to increase the amount of money that has to be invested to obtain such permits are considered to be the main reasons for the slump.

The Office of Citizenship and Migration's deputy head Maira Roze believes that for some of the foreigners, maintaining a property in Latvia might have become too expensive.

Furthermore, Latvian security services are now vetting residence permit applicants and foreigners seeking an extension of their residence permits much more thoroughly than before.

"The competent authorities are checking extension requests more closely because they have received extra funding for such activities. Their capacity has been increased. Quite a lot of these permits are extended, but there are rather many denials as well," said Roze.

Some of the residence permit holders that have attracted security services' attention give up their residence permits in order to avoid in-depth examination, the migration authority's official said.

Last year, the Latvian Security Police recommended denying 30 residence permit applications and annulling 11 residence permits, according to its annual report.
VILNIUS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A working group of specialists has proposed on Tuesday a reform of state universities which would see a number of universities shrinking from 14 to 8 in a bid to increase the quality of higher education.

The group of specialists formed by Lithuanian prime minister Saulius Skvernelis has proposed to reform the country's state universities' system by merging some of the universities into those covering wide range of study programs, technology universities and specialized academies.

"The network's reform process is complex, up to 200 million euros are o be invested, 150 million will be allocated from the EU programs," Agne Paliokate, the member of the working group, was quoted as saying by news website vz.lt in a press conference.

A number of study programs would be cut from 1,800 to 700 in a bid to "concentrate the potential of science and studies" and adjust it to the needs of the country's labor market.

The experts expect the reform would help improve higher education quality, while universities' consolidation would save administration costs. Efforts to reshuffle the network of state universities follows a decrease in number of students, pointed out Eugenijus Butkus, the adviser for the Lithuanian education minister.

"Numbers show that situation is barely controllable, bold moves are needed," Butkus spoke at the conference.

According to the plan, bachelor's studies should be shortened from 4 to 3 years, the most talented students would be granted with free study for their bachelor.

The reform which is still a subject to the approval of the parliament is to kick off later this year.

Prime Minister Skvernelis stated cutting the number of universities is not a goal itself.

"We change the funding for the universities, make agreements with the universities, promote academic research work, increase lecturers' qualification, optimize the management of the universities' and its' assets, set the threshold for the future students," Skvernelis told journalists on Tuesday.

"These changes will force the universities, which want to meet the requirements, to consolidate," he explained.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, the leader of the Homeland union-Lithuanian Christian democrats, the largest opposition party at the parliament, called the plan as "ambitious", though, lacking answers to all issues.

"However, we are ready to support the direction," Landsbergis told news agency BNS.

The announcement of the plan follows the most recent calls from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to the country to reform its higher education system "as soon as possible in order not to become an "outsider" in terms of higher education among the other countries".

"Due to the current number of universities in the country, Lithuania finds itself marginalized; the consolidation of universities must be implemented as soon as possible," Thomas Weko, a representative of OECD, has recently told Lithuanian government.

According to the report from 2016, quoted by Weko, 10,000 students in Lithuania share 2.9 educational institutions on average, while this indicator in Finland and Ireland amounts to respectively 1.2 and 1.1. Other countries which participated in the research host less than 1 educational institution for 10,000 students.

Lithuania currently has 14 state-governed universities.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 02:08:52|Editor: An

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Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Rao Hongwei (C, Front), Mayor of Kigali Nyamulinda Pascal (2nd L) and other Rwandan officials visit an urban road upgrading project carried out by a Chinese company in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, on May 2, 2017. China Road and Bridge Cooperation (CRBC) has started an urban road upgrading project in Kigali, which is expected to improve the overall traffic situation in Kigali and the landlocked country. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- China Road and Bridge Cooperation(CRBC) has started an urban road upgrading project in Rwanda's capital city Kigali, which is expected to improve the overall traffic situation in Kigali and the landlocked country.

The 54.56 kilometers road upgrading project, invested by China Export-Import Bank in form of preferential loan, will effectively enhance the road traffic capacity in the urban areas of Kigali, facilitate the local residents to travel, promote the development of tourism, so as to promote the development of the local economy.

Kigali is growing fast with many people coming into the city, the road upgrading project is being built for the perspective of making Rwanda's roads wider to meet the needs of growing population, Mayor of Kigali Nyamulinda Pascal told Xinhua Tuesday after visiting the site, adding that he is happy that the Chinese company is doing a good job and the progress of the project is good.

Kigali's City Engineer Nkurunziza Alphonse told Xinhua that this project will improve traffic and other conditions of the city's central business district, employment, public transport and etc. He also said the work is going very well.

Pascal, Alphonse, Director General of Rwanda Transport Development Agency Guy M. Kalisa and other Rwandan officials on Tuesday jointly visited the project, accompanied by Chinese ambassador to Rwanda Rao Hongwei.

CRBC will deliver a good road to the city and has taken measures to ensure that the project will be finished on time and with good quality, according to Li Jianbo, Director General of CRBC Kigali Office.

CRBC has been rooted in Rwanda 43 years, the company's first project in Rwanda is Kigali-Rusumo road of 160 kilometers long and has been completed for 40 years which is still in good condition and has maintained the reputation of "African Model Road".

CRBC was awarded Engineering Quality Award by the city in March for another urban road upgrading project of Kigali, which also presented the company Distinguished Contribution to the Beautification of Kigali City in 2010.
Photo taken on May 2, 2017 shows the Leadenhall Building in London. (Xinhua/Wang Wanqi)

LONDON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- CC Land Holdings Ltd, a firm run by Chinese property tycoon Cheung Chung-kiu, has agreed to buy London's "Cheesegrater" skyscraper for 1.15 billion pounds (1.49 billion U.S. dollars), the company announced Tuesday.

In an announcement released by the Hong Kong-based developer, the company announced the acquisition of the Leadenhall Building, the tallest building in the city of London, which is known as the Cheesegrater because of its wedge shape.

The commercial tower has over 46 floors and approximately 610,000 square feet of office and retail space.

The building's tenants include a number of major international insurance companies as well as financial institutions, technology, and professional service businesses. The current annual rental income of the building is approximately 40.2 million pounds (51.9 million dollars).

CC Land bought the property from the developer behind the 224-meter tower, British Land, and its joint venture partner Oxford Properties, the global property arm of a Canadian pension fund.

The deal is the biggest sale of a single building in the UK since 2014, when the HSBC tower in Canary Wharf was sold to Qatar's sovereign wealth fund for 1.18 billion pounds. It is also one of the biggest Chinese purchases of British property.

CC Land said the acquisition of the building was in line with the group's business strategy to invest in quality property developments in mature cities globally, as it is an iconic and award-winning building situated in the prime financial and insurance districts of London.

"Completed in 2014, the Leadenhall Building is a world class skyscraper and office tower boasting an impressive lease portfolio commanding strong recurring rentals and will be held by the group as an investment property for long term capital growth. It is expected that the Leadenhall Building will generate a stable and strong recurrent income," said the announcement.
LISBON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Tuesday he was optimistic regarding the country's unemployment figures, suggesting that they "seem to confirm economic growth."

The president's remarks come after Eurostat revealed that Portugal's unemployment rate saw one of the biggest decreases in the eurozone in March, falling to 9.5 percent from 10.2 percent in the previous month.

"Following Croatia, Portugal saw the best evolution in terms of employment," Rebelo de Sousa said at the sidelines of a visit to Lisbon's armed forces central hospital. "It is a great (source of) joy, especially coming from Eurostat which is always rigorous in the statistics it presents."

Rebelo de Sousa added that unemployment and growth figures at the end of 2017 would surpass expectations of the government, the Bank of Portugal, European institutions and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Prime Minister Antonio Costa also expressed his optimism at the country's improved unemployment figures last week, claiming that the figures reflected that the government's economic policy had been successful.

According to figures released last week by the country's statistic agency, Portugal's unemployment rate fell below 10 percent in February for the first time in eight years.

Antonio Costa was sworn in as prime minister in November 2015, and since then tens of thousands of jobs have been created and the International Monetary Fund has forecast that the deficit will fall below 3 percent of GDP in 2016. However growth was at a moderate 1.2 percent in 2016 and public debt still exceeds 130 percent.
SKOPJE, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Former Parliamentary Speaker Trajko Veljanovski declared Tuesday that he would not abdicate his post to newly-elected Speaker Talat Xhaferi, who was voted in last week by the SDSM-led coalition.

That Xhaferri was voted for by only the Socialist Democratic Union (SDSM) and the ethnic Albanian parties, which have a combined 67-seat majority in parliament, has angered VMRO-DPMNE supporters and protesters.

"We don't even know how many MPs (Members of Parliament) participated in the voting. There was no broadcast of the voting and the decision cannot even be registered in the official bulletin, which is a condition for it to become official. So, everything that has happened is illegitimate," Veljanovski argued.

Following his statement, the SDSM issued a press release calling on Veljanoski to vacate his office and allow Xhaferi to assume the position.

Stressing that Xhaferi was the new Speaker of Macedonia's Parliament, SDSM said Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov was duty bound to give the mandate to form a new government to SDSM President Zoran Zaev.

Meanwhile, VMRO-DPMNE MPs held a meeting on Tuesday in the Parliamentary Speaker's office as a way of reaffirming its position that the election of new Speaker had been illegitimate.

However, DUI MP Artan Grubi told reporters Tuesday that Xhaferi had asked the Parliament's secretary-general to provide conditions for him to assume office.

According to Grubi, Xhaferi is the Speaker representing the will of the majority of citizens and added that DUI expected the new opposition should come to its senses.

The political deadlock in Macedonia continues as Ivanov has refused to give Zaev the mandate to form a government, arguing that Zaev's platform would lay the groundwork for a future partition of the country.

Nearly five months after a Dec. 11 parliamentary election, Macedonia's political class still hasn't been able to find a way out of the crisis.

The acceptance of ethnic Albanian parties platform by SDSM further deepened the crisis here while the stalemate reached a climax at last Thursday's plenary session when protesters entered parliament.

Around 100 people sought medical assistance after the protests turned violent. Among the injured were over 70 civilians, 22 police officers, and three members of parliament.

Protesters have been in the streets of Skopje for the past two months over the political situation in the country.
by Peter Mutai

NAIROBI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has made progress in the promotion of human development on well-being and quality of life, outpacing several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a survey released on Tuesday in Nairobi.

Kenya was ranked 146th out of 188 nations in the Human Development Index (HDI) survey 2016 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Kenya was followed by Tanzania and Cameroon, which were ranked 151th and 153th respectively.

According to the report, while Kenya has shown progress in improving access to education, health and sanitation, more people rising out of extreme poverty, people living longer, and fewer people being malnourished, there are still imbalances across socioeconomic, ethnic and racial groups, urban and rural areas as well as among women and men.

The report, titled 'Human rights for Everyone', finds that millions of people are not benefiting from progress, with the gap set to widen unless deep-rooted development barriers, including discrimination and unequal political participation, are tackled.

The report also finds that mobile money transfer, such as M-Pesa in Kenya, is a successful technology that helps transform the unbanked sector.

The report said that 12 percent of African adults have a mobile banking facility, with Kenya leading at 58 percent.

"The digital revolution raises the hope of addressing daunting challenges on food security, provision of healthcare, combating climate change and meeting energy needs," says the report.

Speaking during the launch of the report in Nairobi, UNDP Kenya County Director Amanda Serumaga said the survey presents an opportunity for an open and fruitful debate on human development challenges.

Serumaga blamed gender disparities in human development such as long-standing patterns of exclusion from household and community decision making for limiting women's opportunities and choices.

"We will continue to utilize the findings from these reports to inform our development support in partner countries," she said, adding that the findings and recommendations will add value to the on-going debate on the development agenda in Kenya.

Professor Michael Chege, an International Development Consultant said Kenya has made strides largely due to progress in free primary education and infant immunization in health sector.

Chege said that Kenya can do much better since the government has seen commitments over the years.

Between 1990 and 2015, Kenya's life expectancy at birth increased by 3.4 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.6 years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.0 years.

This, the report says, is the same period that Kenya's HDI value increased from 0.473 to 0.555, an increase of 17.3 percent.

The report finds that each year, 15 million girls in developing countries marry before the age 18, and if there is no reduction in the incidence of early marriage among girls, 18 million girls will be married before age 18 by 2050.

According to the report, Sub-Saharan Africa remains burdened by the world's most uneven distribution of development gains, with women, girls, people living in rural areas, migrants, refugees and those in conflict-affected areas systemically left behind. Gender inequality remains a serious challenge to human development in the region.

"Countries in sub-Saharan Africa can leverage this to build cooperation in the region and beyond to tackle persistent deprivations and inequalities," said Selim Jahan, the report's lead author.

Jahan said that regional and global cooperation will be especially important for reducing the vulnerabilities of marginalized groups to climate change, conflict and economic volatility.

He called on countries to look at the quality of education offered through free primary education and not merely enrolment.

"The countries must begin to empower people to voice issues affecting them to help influence change in their lives," he added.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning Mwangi Kiunjuri said the East African nation has established direct cash transfer, free hospital cover and legal aid program for 10,000 elderly people.

"We are in the process of transforming Kenya towards an equitable society through the increase of devolution funding beyond the constitutionally allocated 15 percent," Kiunjuri added.
LAGOS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has recorded 2 million barrels of crude oil production, following the peace and stability being enjoyed in the nation's oil and gas sector, a top official said on Tuesday.

Maikati Baru, Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) disclosed this to reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital, after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on the activities of the corporation and its subsidiaries.

Baru said he briefed the Buhari on the relative stability in the nation's oil and gas sector in recent time.

The NNPC boss told reporters that he informed the president on the situation of fuel supply across the country, crude oil and gas productions as well as the corporation's ability to supply gas to the power sector. He said the president expressed delight over the reported stability in the oil and gas sector.
DURBAN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- South Africa is ready to host the African leg of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Durban.

The WEF Africa will meet under the theme "Driving economic transformation in Africa through inclusive growth models". Global and regional leaders in government, business, academic, civil society, media and the arts will meet and discuss inclusive growth among other range of issues between May 3 to 5.

Over 2,000 delegates are expected to attend, including 21 heads of state. The conference will include high level sessions, workshops and televised panels.

The host City, eThekwini municipality confirmed Tuesday that they are ready to host the event. The road closures around the venue, emergency medical services, traffic control, the police and parking are all in order.

Phillip Sithole, Acting Deputy City Manager for Economic Development and Planning, said the City will get many benefits from the conference.

Sithole said, "A number of high profile investors are coming to our City. International media will also be covering the event. It is a good opportunity to change perceptions of the City as well as attract investment."

EThekwini Governance and Human Resources chairperson, Barbara Fortein said the conferences will benefit the City in many ways. "We see increased hotel occupancy, restaurants are visited and jobs are created even if it is in the short term," she said.

The South African Police also said they are ready to ensure the delegates are safe during the WEF Africa. The police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said various police sectors are in place to ensure the WEF take place in a incident-free environment.

"The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure has put measures in place to ensure that the event will take place in a safe and secure environment. Various departments within this structure, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), have been activated to deliver on their respective mandates with the ultimate objective of ensuring the safety of all role players, including delegates."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 03:29:02|Editor: xuxin

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Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (Front) testifies before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a hearing considering him to be U.S. Ambassador to China on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 2, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, said on Tuesday that if confirmed, he would work to "positively influence" the U.S.-China relationship. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

WASHINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, said on Tuesday that if confirmed, he would work to "positively influence" the U.S.-China relationship.

"As Governor of Iowa, I saw first-hand the importance of a positive and healthy trade relationship between our two countries," Branstad said here at his confirmation hearing.

If confirmed, he hoped to work towards the goal of positively influencing the U.S.-China relationship, he added.

As the governor of a U.S. state whose economy is mainly driven by agriculture industry, Branstad noted that almost one out of every two rows of Iowa soybeans is sent to China, as well as 33.5 million U.S. dollars in pork in 2016.

However, the importance of trade between the United States and China extends well beyond agriculture, he said.

"Aviation products, manufactured goods, chemicals, electronics, and many other products and services are exported to China daily and help support and sustain the American economy," he told U.S. lawmakers.

Calling U.S.-China relationship "multi-faceted," Branstad also noted that the two countries must work together on major security issues, including the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and cybersecurity.

Branstad also said that he looked forward to "connecting with the Chinese people and continuing a vibrant exchange of culture and ideas."

Branstad, 70, is the longest-serving governor in the United States, who also has long nurtured a close relationship with China and has visited China multiple times.

He served as the governor of Iowa in 1983-1999, and again since 2011. He was nominated by Trump to be the next U.S. ambassador to China in December 2016.
MOGADISHU, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and international partners in Somalia on Tuesday called on leaders in the regional state of Galmudug to resolve their differences through dialogue and reconciliation.

In a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the envoys from the UN, Africa Union, EU, U.S. decried that dialogue aimed at achieving reconciliation has stalled

"The partners call on all parties to avoid any actions that could undermine reconciliation efforts, and they stand ready to facilitate the reconciliation process if all parties agree," the partners said.

Observers say the dispute, which started in January and led to a vote to remove the President from office, is potentially destabilizing.

President Abdikarim Guled lost no-confidence vote in Parliament in January after lawmakers criticized him of poor leadership.

Guled, who had been in office since July 2015, resigned in February, citing health reasons prompted his sudden decision.

The international partners, who are closely following the developments in Galmudug, said they were encouraged by the positive steps taken by the parties in the past few weeks to open dialogue aimed at achieving reconciliation, holding inclusive elections and establishing a broad-based administration which is critical for the legitimacy, improved security and viability of the regional state.

"International partners are disappointed to learn that the dialogue has stalled," they said, calling on all parties to continue the dialogue in good faith.

The partners also urged the warring parties to pursue all opportunities to achieve reconciliation and prioritize the establishment of an inclusive administration in Galmudug.
LUSAKA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Tuesday reiterated its commitment to creating a conducive environment to allow for a booming private sector.

Inonge Wina, the country's vice-president, said the government has been endeavoring to create a conducive environment by reforming policies through removal of some business regulations.

In remarks delivered at the start of a two-day National Economic and Business Conference in Lusaka, the country's capital, she said the government recognizes the importance of the private sector in economic development and job creation.

The private sector, she said, was the backbone of the country's economic development, hence the need to ensure that it operated in a conducive environment.

According to her, without addressing the various challenges faced by the private sector, it would be difficult for the government to achieve its development goals, adding that a strong partnership with the private sector was vital.

The theme for the two-day conference is "Achieving Inclusive Growth and Development through Diversification and Industrialization," which the Zambian vice-president said tied well with the government's agenda of promoting diversification and industrialization to unlock the country's potential.

She further underscored the importance of micro, small and medium enterprises as key drivers of economic growth.

Geoffrey Sakulanda, the president of the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), called for close collaboration between the government and the private sector in order to achieve the government's diversification and industrialization agenda.

While commending the government for putting diversification and industrialization at the center of development, he noted that this will only be achieved if there was strong partnership in addressing several challenges facing businesses in the country.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe said the government's focus was to make Zambia an industrialized nation.

She however said this will only be achieved through private sector participation.

The objective of the conference, organized by the private sector, was to offer the government objective economic advice on formulation of appropriate national economic policies to achieve growth through diversification and industrialization.
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- More than 11,000 civilians suffered casualties because of conflict in Afghanistan last year, the highest number recorded since the United Nations began tracking them in 2009.



Of those casualties, nearly 3,500 people were killed, according to a report released Monday by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).



The sobering statistics come more than two years after the combat phase of the United States war in Afghanistan, the longest war in U.S. history, came to a close, and four days after two U.S. soldiers died in combat in Nangarhar province.



Since the U.S.-led effort in Afghanistan closed in December of 2014, U.S. forces have supported the Afghan governments efforts to fight ISIS and the Taliban in the country.



Civilians are fleeing their homes in droves to avoid harm. The report documented more than 660,000 people who fled their homes in 2016, the highest number of displacements on record and a 40 percent increase from the year before.



The Office of the Special Inspector General, which Congress authorized to oversee Afghanistan reconstruction for the U.S. government, did not immediately respond to ABC News request for comment.



A Department of Defense spokesman referred ABC News to DoD comments already contained in the SIGAR report, which include, DOD IG will also continue to review and assess the Departments efforts to train and equip Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.



2 Army Rangers may have been killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan



Meanwhile, the U.N. secretary generals special representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, has also spoken on the issue for a U.N. Mission in Afghanistan report released last week.



It is civilians, with increasing numbers of women and children, who far too often bear the brunt of the conflict, Yamamoto said at the time. With the so-called fighting season imminent, I appeal to all parties to take every measure possible to prevent unnecessary and unacceptable harm to Afghan civilians.



The SIGAR report released Monday also paints a disturbing picture of civilian life in Afghanistan, detailing high rates of domestic violence and drug sales and use.



The U.S. government has invested $8.5 billion in countering Afghanistans narcotics economy, but the country remains the worlds largest opium producer, supplying around 80 percent of the worlds heroin. Afghanistans opium production was about 4,800 tons in 2016 alone.



Drug use among women and children is among the highest documented worldwide, and 30.6 percent of households tested positive for some form of illicit drug, the report read.



A U.S. Agency for International Development survey found that 53 percent of married women had experienced physical violence since age 15, and nearly one-third reported physical abuse taking place within the year before the survey. When accounting for sexual and emotional abuse in addition to physical violence, 56 percent were abused by their spouse, and 52 percent had experienced it within the year before the survey.



The Inspector General report was released the week after Secretary of Defense General James Mattis visited Afghanistan to meet with service members and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He was joined by the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, who spoke at a news conference about their interest in defeating ISIS in the country.



Were going to keep going until theyre defeated in 2017, Nicholson said. By annihilating them here, it should be very clear to ISIS main there is no space to come to in Afghanistan.



Nicholson has characterized the situation in Afghanistan as a stalemate, and said he was concerned about the high number of casualties taken by U.S.-allied Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.



He and General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, requested additional troops be sent to Afghanistan from the United States and NATO allies.



U.S. and NATO leaders agree that additional troops and expanded authorities would enable their forces to provide the necessary advisory support... helping to address Afghan forces capability gaps, assist in essential leadership development, and allow for greater oversight of the U.S. taxpayer dollars committed to the ANDSF, the Inspector General report read.



Mattis has not said whether he will recommend more U.S. troops be sent.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
File photo shows Iranian young girls spending time at a cafe in central Tehran, capital of Iran, on Jan. 26, 2017.(Xinhua photo)

TEHRAN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The 30th Tehran International Book Fair opened here on Tuesday, with Italy as a special guest of this year's event.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in a written message that he feels honored that his country is the special guest of the cultural event, Tehran Times daily reported.

He also said that this will be a turning point in the history of cultural cooperation between the two countries, according to the report.

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani said in a speech during the opening ceremony that "this cultural event shows Iranians' interest in learning, as paying due attention to wisdom is highly recommended in Islamic thought."

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Reza Salehi Amiri, said in a speech that his ministry is planning to entrust the task of organizing the book fair to the publishers in the future.

"To achieve such a goal, We should find out how our libraries, our publications and the technology are run and we intend for the non-governmental organizations active in producing, distributing and selling books," he said.

"The increasing number of book publications indicates the growing change in Iran's publication industry. The fair needs to offer new innovations and pave the way for more Iranian publishers to participate in the international arena," he added.

The 30th Tehran International Book Fair will be held from May 3 to 13, 2017 in the southern district of Tehran. The theme of this year's event is "Read one more book."

Publishers from 32 countries will attend the event.
HELSINKI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Norwegian units participated in the Finnish military maneuver Arrow 17, which began on Tuesday in central western Finland.

The Finnish Defense Command said the two-week-long exercise aims to enhance the capability of mechanized units in offensive combat. The Command said some 2,200 Finnish soldiers and 130 unspecified armored vehicles are taking part in the exercise.

Foreign troops include a U.S. Army infantry company of 125 soldiers equipped with armored Stryker personnel carriers and a Norwegian mechanized platoon of 50 soldiers with CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.

An instruction on armour tactics attended by soldiers from Sweden, Denmark, and Estonia, will also be held around a Finnish military base at Niinisalo, southwestern Finland.

Such type of Finnish mechanised exercises have been open to international input since 2014.
by Eric J. Lyman

ROME, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Italy's battle to increase tax revenue without raising tax rates expanded last week to include U.S. online retailing giant Amazon.com, Inc., which Italian officials said underpaid its tax bill in Italy by at least 130 million euros (141 million U.S. dollars).

The probe follows on the heels of a similar investigation worth some 224 million euros into the activities of Google, the dominant online search engine, and experts told Xinhua additional similar cases were likely to emerge in the coming weeks and months.

In late 2015, Amazon reached a 318-million-euro settlement with computer and mobile device maker Apple.

"This is the dominant problem of this era," Francesco Tundo, a tax law expert with the University of Bologna, said in an interview. "How does a country calculate the tax obligations of a company when much of its revenue and expenses are digital and not clearly based in any one location?"

Tundo and other experts say the case of Amazon is a little less complicated than the cases involving Google or Apple because the company does have a solid, tangle product: customers use the Italian version of Amazon's web site to buy products that are delivered to them in Italy.

But the products may still be shipped from warehouses outside Italy, and the Italian subsidiary of the company benefits from name recognition and a shipping and information network developed over the course of years, mostly outside of Italy.

For its part, Amazon denies any wrongdoing.

"Amazon pays all the taxes we are required to pay in every country where we operate," the company said in a statement. "Corporate tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given our heavy investments and the fact that retail is a highly-competitive, low margin business."

According to Carlo Garbarino, a tax law professor at Bocconi University in Milan, the problem will persist until the European Union (EU) can make a single legal standard that covers the entire 28-nation bloc.

"As things stand now, you have individual countries trying to resolve European problems," Garbarino said. "This will continue as long as each country has its own set of laws."

Tundo agreed. "Italy will most likely recover some money from Amazon in this case, but there are hundreds of cases with smaller companies that will never come to light," he said.

"When it comes to cases like this, by the time tax officials look into a past-due tax bill it's almost too late. It is much better to prevent the problem than it is to try to fix it after the fact," Tundo said.

The public prosecutor's office in Milan, where the Amazon case was filed, did not respond to requests for comments on the developments.

Tundo said the Amazon case was a civil proceeding and that it remained possible that tax officials could open their own separate, independent investigation into Amazon's tax obligations for the 2009 to 2014 period in question.

Amazon was founded in 1994, and the company has operated its own Italy-only site since 2010. Since 2013, the Italy site has been the country's largest online retailer. (1 euro=1.09 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 04:39:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. white former police officer on Tuesday pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges by shooting dead unarmed black motorist Walter Scott in April 2015 in North Charleston, the state of South Carolina.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a 250,000-dollar fine at sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled, local media reported.

Michael Slager, 35, the former North Charleston police department patrolman, was fired after cellphone footage of the killing went viral. In the footage which has been viewed millions of times worldwide, he pulled over Scott due to a broken taillight.

Scott, 50, then ran from the traffic stop and was struck five shots by Slager in the back.

Slager's murder trial ended last December in a hung jury. The state of South Carolina, as part of the plea bargain, will drop the murder case and file no new charges against the plea.

"The defendant used deadly force even though it was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances," the plea agreement says.

Slager's federal trial was set to begin on May 15, and jury selection was slated to begin May 9, according to a NBC News report.

"We hope that Michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss," Slager's lawyer, Andrew Savage, said in a statement Tuesday.

Slager was also indicted last year on charges of using a firearm in committing a crime of violence and obstructing justice.

The shooting heightened tension between white police and black communities across the United States over alleged excessive use of force by law enforcement and systemic racism in policing.
COPENHAGEN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The immigration authority in Denmark revealed on Tuesday the country's first blacklist banning six foreign religious preachers from entry, local media reported.

The six are not allowed to enter Denmark for at least two years, according to English newspaper The Copenhagen Post.

"The government won't accept hate preachers coming to Denmark to preach hate against Danish society and indoctrinate listeners to commit violence against women and children, spread ideas of a caliphate and undermine our founding values," Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Stoejberg was quoted by the paper as saying.

"So I am naturally very pleased that it is now clear to everyone that these people are not welcome in Denmark," she added.

The Danish government announced a plan last May to establish a blacklist after a hidden-camera documentary exposed radical preachers in Danish mosques. The plan was broadly approved by the Parliament.

"This shows that a person can be put on the list by doing something that would be in breach of the blasphemy paragraph if it happened in Denmark," Jacob Mchangama, director of thinktank Justitia, was quoted by Danish news agency Ritzau as saying.
RABAT, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Morocco vowed to deepen multifaceted partnership with France, Morocco's king office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement came following a meeting between Morocco's King Mohammed VI and French President Francois Hollande in Paris, and contained the king's appreciation for Hollande's personal commitment in favor of the bilateral ties.

The king also assured Hollande of Morocco's support for strengthening relations between the two countries.

The two leaders highlighted their personal relations of esteem and mutual respect, calling it the basis to renew partnership in the fields of security, sustainable development, culture and education, the statement said.

They expressed confidence in the vitality of the partnership, which transcends political agendas and has a strategic scope for the two countries, the statement added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 05:04:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The controversy over the role of non-governmental organizations in rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean heated up Tuesday as humanitarian outfits defended themselves from incendiary rhetoric from right-wing politicians in Italy.

"Some aren't volunteers, but are making money off these wretches," said Matteo Salvini, chief of the right-wing anti-immigrant Northern League party. "Someone is in the (human) traffickers' pocket, someone is engaging in ethnic cleansing in both Africa and Italy."

Salvini spoke in the Sicilian city of Catania, where local prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro alleged on national television that some humanitarian NGOs "could be financed by human traffickers -- I know there have been contacts."

Speaking on Agora talk show on RAI public broadcaster last week, Zuccaro said the aim could be "to destabilize the Italian economy," suggesting that human traffickers are in direct contact with some NGO vessels off the coast of Libya.

He later conceded his comments were "hypothetical" and that "in theory, I should investigate first and then speak out."

Lower House Deputy Speaker Luigi Di Maio -- who is from the populist Five Star Movement and its likely candidate for prime minister in the next general election -- jumped onto the bandwagon, saying that NGOs are acting as "migrant taxis".

The NGOs, he said, must answer to "extremely grave accusations" from both EU border agency Frontex and the Catania prosecutor of being "in cahoots with human traffickers... and of transporting criminals."

Di Maio cited the Frontex 2017 Risk Analysis report, which noted that "all parties involved in search-and-rescue operations (including Frontex and other EU missions) in the Central Mediterranean unintentionally help criminals achieve their objectives at minimum cost (and) strengthen their business model by increasing the chances of success."

The agency concluded that "search-and-rescue efforts will continue as long as the migratory crisis persists in the Central Mediterranean not only because they relate to international legal obligations, but also because they stem from European values."

Crusading anti-mafia journalist Roberto Saviano, who lives under round-the-clock police protection due to death threats from organized crime, took aim at Di Maio for his comments on Tuesday.

"The protagonist of the controversy... is speaking tomorrow at Harvard," Saviano wrote on Facebook, suggesting that a topic of his talk could be how fomenting "a culture of suspicion and cynicism... can produce a despicable blend of misinformation and racism, the victims of which are the last, the weak."

"The damage done to the volunteer sector by the irresponsibility of those hiding behind hypocrites is already enormous," Saviano added, saying the rhetoric has unleashed a slew of "comments full of hate and prejudice" against such organizations as UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders.

"Mustn't forget the absolute priority of every activity at sea: to save human lives," UNHCR Italy tweeted Tuesday.

"Insulting and vilifying humanitarian organizations means throwing tens of thousands of people into the arms of death," Amnesty International Italy director Gianni Rufini told public news broadcaster RAI News 24.

The attacks on NGOs "are a cover-up for Europe's incapacity to take on responsibility," Rufini said.

Frontex operations are moving further and further away from the migrant boat route where most shipwrecks occur, and humanitarian organizations have stepped in to fill that void, he said.

His words were echoed by Doctors Without Borders Italy chief Loris De Filippi, who told the Senate Defence Committee on Tuesday that "European policies, not humanitarian organizations, are favoring human traffickers."

The committee has summoned Italian officials as well as NGOs to a series of hearings this week in an effort to shed light on the allegations.

Like many humanitarian organizations, De Filippi called for safe, legal channels for migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war zones in Africa and the Middle East as the only way to defeat human traffickers.

Also on Tuesday, Prosecutor Francesco Paolo Giordano from the Sicilian city of Siracusa told the committee that his office has no information as to "alleged oblique or shady ties between NGOs and migrant traffickers. There is no investigatory element."

Giordano added that "some NGOs are more cooperative than others but we've never seen this as obstructing the course of justice or abetting any crimes -- rather it's an ideological attitude stemming from a humanitarian point of view -- they are in favor of the migrant not the police."

Over 40,000 migrants, including refugees, entered Europe by sea as of April 23 this year, with over 80 percent arriving in Italy and the rest in Spain and Greece, according to the latest report from the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Over 1,000 people have died in the attempt so far this year, according to IOM.

NGOs came into play in 2014, when Italy shut down its Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue mission. They include the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), Doctors Without Borders, SOS Mediterranee, Jugend Retter from Germany, Proactiva Open Arms, Save the Children, Sea Watch, and Boat Refugee.

There are 15 NGO vessels operating in the Mediterranean, according to Frontex.

IOM Rome spokesman Flavio Di Giacomo said that in 2016 alone, of a total of 181,436 rescued migrants who were brought to safety in Italy, NGOs saved the lives of 49,796.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 05:04:18|Editor: ZD

Combination of file photos show Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 29, 2016 and U.S. President DonaldTrump at a press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 15, 2017. (Xinhua)WASHINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russia n counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the Syria n crisis and fighting terrorism in the Middle East, the White House said on Tuesday.

The two leaders also discussed "the very dangerous situation" on the Korean Peninsula, the White House said in a statement.

"The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons," said the statement, adding that they also discussed "at length working together" to fight terrorism across the Middle East.

The United States would send a representative to the cease-fire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan on May 3-4, the statement added.

It was the first phone call between Trump and Putin since Washington and Moscow wrangled over a U.S. strike on the Syrian government last month.

On April 6, Trump ordered a targeted missile strike at a Syrian military airfield in response to a chemical weapons attack in the rebel-held Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun.

After the U.S. strike, Syrian state TV called the assault an "aggression" and both Russia and Syria had denied that the Syrian government launched the chemical weapons attack.

The Russian government also condemned the U.S. strike against the Syrian government as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law."

After the incident, Trump told reporters last month that the United States is "not getting along with Russia at all" and the relations between the two countries "may be at an all-time low."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 05:24:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades met on Tuesday at the UN's Good Offices to continue the Cyprus talks, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"There was a good discussion between the sides on several outstanding issues, even if several differences remain," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

The talks was under the auspices of the UN secretary-general's special adviser Espen Barth Eide.

The leaders have scheduled two more meetings to be held on May 11 and May 17, he said. "We hope that they will do their utmost to move the process forward decisively in the crucial weeks ahead."

The United Nations has been involved in solving the Cyprus problem, trying to keep the peace and promote a political settlement for more than 45 years.

Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey occupied its northern part in reaction to a coup by the Greek Cypriot natioanlists in an attempt to incorporate Cyprus into Greece.

The leaders of both Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus have said that after four decades of negotiations, they are close to a solution by the end of this year, provided they can overcome difficulties in agreeing on security arrangements and the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 05:24:21|Editor: xuxin

Greek Deputy Ombudsman for children's rights Giorgos Moschos (C) addresses a press briefing on the situation of refugee and migrant children in Greece, in Athens, Greece, on May 2, 2017. Greece has made strides in the protection of refugee and migrant children in recent months, but more should be done to secure a better future for children in need, UNICEF representatives and Greek officials said in Athens on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Greece has made strides in the protection of refugee and migrant children in recent months, but more should be done to secure a better future for children in need, UNICEF representatives and Greek officials said in Athens on Tuesday.

At least 20,000 minors, including 2,000 unaccompanied children, are among the 64,000 refugees and migrants stranded in Greece after the closure of the Balkan route to central Europe and the launch of the EU-Turkey agreement in March 2016 to stem the flows via the Aegean Sea, according to the official data provided by UNICEF and Greek authorities during a press briefing on the situation of refugee and migrant children in Greece.

Addressing the event organized by UNICEF's Refugee and Migrant Response Team in Greece, UNICEF's Country Coordinator on the Refugee and Migrant Response, Laurent Chapuis, and Greek officials gave an overview of the work done so far and the challenges remaining to improve the living conditions of refugee children and facilitate their smooth integration into local society through education.

They all acknowledged the significant progress steps achieved, urging for more joint and coordinated efforts by the Greek state, European partners, international organizations and civil society to close existing gaps.

Greek Deputy Ombudsman for children's rights Giorgos Moschos presented a report on the situation of refugee and migrant children in Greece in the second half of 2016 based on the findings of the independent authority's monitoring mechanism, which is supported by UNICEF.

Approximately 8,000 minors are accommodated in 34 state-run open refugee and migrant centers nationwide, about 1,000 unaccompanied children live in special shelters, while more than 6,000 children are hosted in apartments and hotel rooms under a UNHCR program.

The 38 percent of asylum requests submitted in 2016 in Greece were submitted by underage refugees, according to the Ombudsman's report.

From November 2015 until April 2017 some 4,800 underage refugees were relocated in other European countries, including 245 unaccompanied children, while 59 minors returned to Turkey under the March 2016 agreement.

About 2,800 children were attending afternoon classes in Greek public schools until early 2017.

The main goal for Greek authorities is to improve the everyday life of all these children so that they will no longer feel outsiders, Moschos said.

"After more than a year from the launch of the EU-Turkey agreement, with more than 60,000 refugees and migrants stranded in this country, including 20,000 kids, the basic challenges for the Greek state is to offer these children the possibility for social and educational integration," the Greek official told Xinhua.

Sofia Tzitzikou, President of the Hellenic National Committee for UNICEF, called for more efforts to ensure access to education for all refugee and migrant children.

"These children I believe -- this is our view in UNICEF -- are a treasure. Societies become richer when welcoming children from other civilizations," she told Xinhua.

"We do no longer like the use of the term refugee child," she said, stressing that there are no differences between children forced to leave their homes due to war with other kids.

Tzitzikou stressed that the number of refugee children in Greece represent only one percent of the population of all minors in the debt-laden country, therefore they should not be viewed as an "unbearable burden".

Periklis Tziaras, President of the National Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA) of the Greek Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Social Solidarity, referred to the assistance provided in particular to unaccompanied children.

The capacity of the shelters established has increased impressively in a year, also with UNICEF's financial support. Due to the debt crisis EKKA did not have the necessary funds to create the shelters without international aid.

"Unfortunately the influx of unaccompanied minors has not decreased so much compared to last year. We are receiving many requests to provide shelter... From 350 beds available a year and a half ago we have now reached 1,350 beds. The country has achieved a Herculean task in this case," Tziaras told Xinhua.

"The work is not over. There are still a lot of efforts to be made to protect the most vulnerable of those children against some of the risks of exploitation, trafficking, smuggling, gender based violence, prostitution," Laurent Chapuis said, speaking to Xinhua.

"So UNICEF intends to continue invest in direct service delivery with Greek partners but also to work with the state at central and municipal level for the state to strengthen its own capacity to prevent and respond to these issues in the longer term, and that is what UNICEF intends to do here in Greece," he said.

UNICEF has allocated 16 million euros (17.5 million U.S. dollars) for various programs to support refugee and migrant children in Greece in 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 06:14:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday launched anti-dumping duty (AD) and countervail duty (CVD) investigations against imports of tool chests and cabinets from China and Vietnam.

The investigations are in response to a request from Waterloo Industries, a U.S. manufacturer of tool boxes, according to the Commerce Department's fact sheet.

The company alleged that tool chests and cabinets from China and Vietnam were sold to the U.S. market at prices below the fair value with dumping margins of 159.99 percent and 21.85 percent, respectively.

The company also claimed that Chinese exporters and producers of such products received improper government subsidies.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), another U.S. trade authority, is scheduled to make its preliminary inquiry determinations around May 26.

The probe will continue if the ITC determines that there is a reasonable indication that imports of such products from China or Vietnam materially injure or threaten the domestic industry of the United States.

Last year, imports of these products from China and Vietnam were estimated at about 989.9 million U.S. dollars and 77 million dollars, respectively, according to the Commerce Department.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has kept urging Washington to abide by its commitment against protectionism and help maintain a free, open and just international trade environment.
Father and daughter funeral tomorrow

The little girl, a first year student of the Caparo Roman Catholic Primary School will be buried alongside her father Solomon Joseph, 36, at the Mamoral Public Cemetery following a 2 pm service at Solomons home on Mamoral Main Road. Saleesha and Solomon were shot to death at the home of her (Saleesha) mother Kernisha Bissoon, 22, at Leekam Road in Mamoral.

The double murder took place sometime between last week Thursday and Friday. Police believe gunmen made Solomon watch as they shot his daughter once in the neck. He was later shot twice in the abdomen.

The double murder rocked the rural community leaving many stunned. Yesterday, grandfather Peter Joseph told Newsday the overwhelming support of family and friends have been giving him the strength to carry on. We have to deal with it...what can you do, he asked rhetorically.

In several Facebook posts on Saturday, Bissoon expressed her love for her daughter and questioned why little Saleesha and Solomon both had to leave her at the same time especially at a time when she (Bissoon) was still struggling to deal with her mothers death. Investigators are yet to establish a motive for the murder.

No one has been arrested. Homicide officers are investigating.
Las Cuevas man shot dead

The man has been identified as Roger Clement. While reporters were unable to speak to relatives, police said Clement was believed to be the relative of a well-known gang leader.

According to reports, residents of St Michaels Village, heard gunshots at 3.30 am, from inside Clements house. When they checked, they found Clement and a woman identified as Melanie Noriega, lying on the floor bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Neighbours placed the victims in a car and took them to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Clement died while receiving treatment while Noriega remains warded in a critical condition. No arrest has been made and investigations are continuing.
Police question kidnap victim

She said she successfully kicked her way to freedom yesterday morning through the back passenger seat of the car which was parked in a lonely area along the M2 Ring Road, Debe near Gandhi Village.

According to a report, just before 8 am yesterday, an off duty police officer driving through the area rescued the distressed woman.

Her hands, police said, were bound with tape and her mouth gagged.

The report further stated that the police officer contacted the San Fernando CID about the alleged abduction.

The woman, whose identity was not released, was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where she was examined and discharged.

Up to late yesterday she was being interviewed by police at the San Fernando station.

The car has been impounded.

Sgt Morrison and PC Rampersad visited the scene and are investigating.
Rowley gets additional time to file defence in ambassador lawsuit

The matter came up for hearing yesterday before Justice Frank Seepersad who granted an extension to May 8 but not before he expressed his disquiet with the pace with which the matter was proceeding.

He has adjourned the case to May 29. Representing Charles is attorney Devesh Maharaj while Reginald Armour SC and attorney Nadine Nabbie appear for Rowley whose response was expected to be filed on March 3.

In his notice of application Charles of Union Hall, Cross Crossing, is seeking a declaration that the decision of the prime minister to revoke his appointment was illegal, made in bad faith and is contrary to fundamental human rights.

He says he was not provided equality before the law and equality of treatment. Charles will also be asking the court to declare that he had a legitimate expectation to maintain his rank and position as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary upon returning to Trinidad and Tobago and therefore Rowleys decision to revoke his appointment as ambassador was a deprivation of his legitimate expectation that he would have retained his position.

He also believe the decision is flawed and defective as the prime minister failed to provide reasons for the revocation.

Charles is seeking an order redirecting his appointment in addition to compensation. According to Charles, he was appointed Ambassador in March 2012.

He said he never had any previous interaction with Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses and in Sep tember 2015, Moses visited the UN Headquarters in New York to attend the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.

Charles said he and Moses attended a series of meetings in which he briefed the minister and advised him on several issues including a meeting of CARICOM foreign ministers.

Charles said that on September 30, 2015, Moses met the Ghanian foreign minister and while it was customary for advisors to attend, the minister did not want him (Charles) present at the meeting.

Charles said he later learned that the Ghanian minister had his advisors present at the meeting which concerned the planned visit by PM Rowley to Ghana in 2016.

He said at the end of 2015, he was asked by the acting permanent secretary of the Foreign Affairs ministry to submit his resume which he did although this was not the norm. He said on September 20, 2016, he received an instrument of revocation of his appointment.
Court approves 105 interceptions by police

The report said the offences for which the warrants were granted include drug trafficking (42); gang activity (32); larceny (11); murder (three); corruption (three); money laundering (two); fraud (one) and tending to pervert the course of justice (ten).

One person was arrested during this period and three criminal proceedings have started.

There are no convictions as proceedings are pending before the courts.

There have been 101 criminal investigations based on information obtained as the result of the interception of a private communication under a warrant. Under the Interceptions of Communications Act, the commissioner, SSA director and the Defence Force chief of staff are authorised to apply to the court for warrants for interception of communication.

No such warrants were sought by the SSA director and the Defence Force chief of staff in 2015.

In the report, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon underscored the importance of interception of communication to curb crime. In addition to the 2016 report, Dillon also promised to lay the 2012, 2013 and 2014 which were never laid in Parliament by the last government.

The report said interception of communications, facilitates the early detection of criminal conspiracies and will continue to be used by authorised officers, as part of their arsenal in curbing crime and minimising criminal activity and crime as a whole. The report also said Government will continue to support, a fair balance between the privacy of individuals and the legitimate activities of law enforcement under the Act.
KILLED FOR GUNS

Marine engineer Nizam Mohammed, 56, was at his Lilian Heights, Arima home in company with his wife Debbie who is a part-time UWI lecturer and their six-year-old son, when at at 5.30 am, three bandits entered the yard. At the time, Mohammed was preparing to leave for his workplace in Chaguaramas.

One of the men placed a gun to Mohammeds head and ordered him to hand over his pistol.

The other two went into the house, accosted Mrs Mohammed and ordered her to hand over her pistol. The woman who was hugging her son, later unlocked a metal safe and handed over the weapon to the bandits, who then demanded jewelry.

As the three were leaving the yard, one of them shot Mohammed in his chest. He slumped to the ground and died at the scene before his horrified wife could summon help. A report was made to the Arima police station.

Head of Northern Division Snr Supt Mc Donald Jacob along with ASP Hospedales, Inspector Birch and officers of the Homicide Bureau along with Crime Scene Officers visited the scene. As police processed the scene, footage from the houses closed-circuit (CCTV) were viewed by investigators.

When Newsday visited the scene, Mohammeds knapsack was on the ground next to his vehicle in the garage. Officers recorded statements from a weeping Mrs Mohammed in the gallery.

Police sources said the killers had prior knowledge that both Nizam and Debbie were owners of firearms and may have been keeping the couple under surveillance.

Neighbours said the crime situation was such that owning a firearm was no guarantee to keep the criminals at bay. A relative who asked to remain anonymous, described Mohammed as a loving, hard-working man who was always willing to assist anyone in need.

This is a real shock to us. Everyone is devastated as you can well imagine. Nizam was a decent person. We are all very distressed over what has happened, the relative said. The relative added that Mohammeds house was burglarised a few years ago and a licensed firearm, kept in a drawer, was stolen. Lingvobalt vertim? biuras Lietuvoje

Snr Supt Jacob told Newsday, I have a real serious problem with criminals who choose to violate a persons personal space when that person is making an effort to live a happy life and make sacrifices so they can enjoy peace and harmony. I have a problem when criminals choose to violate peoples rights and freedoms. Every effort will be made to find the perpetrators of this crime. Mohammeds father was Police Commissioner from 1996 to 1998 and died on June 1, 2013, after suffering a stroke. Mohammeds murder was the 171st for the year.
Now high court cases stall

Justice Malcolm Holdip had to adjourn seven cases, despite the fact that in all these cases, both the State and defence attorneys were ready to proceed.

Ayers-Caesar lasted all of 15 days as a judge before tendering her resignation to President Anthony Carmona so that she could revert to her previous post as Chief Magistrate and adjudicate on several outstanding matters in the lower courts.

Senior attorneys at the bar had expressed the view that Ayers-Caesar should not have been elevated until her partheard cases in the lower courts were heard and dealt with.

Upon taking up her appointment, Ayers-Caesar was assigned to the Third Criminal Assize court where she replaced Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor who is now sitting in the Second Assize court.

Holdip is presiding in the First Assize.

Ayers-Caesar had adjourned several cases last week when she was welcomed to the bench by attorneys in San Fernando.

Yesterday, she was expected to fix for trial any of the seven cases on the Third Assize court list. The cases are: causing death by dangerous driving; indecent assault; attempted murder; possession of drugs for trafficking; common assault; causing death by dangerous driving and possession of drugs.

Justice Holdip adjourned his court and called the Third Assize court to order where he then proceeded to adjourn all seven cases.

P r o s e c u t o r s Shabanna Shah and Krishna Jaglal were present and when each of the seven cases were called, Shah announced the prosecutions readiness to proceed.

Defence attorneys Chateram Sinanan, Cedric Neptune, Kevin Ratiram and Jason Jackson, all indicated their readiness to proceed in their respective matters.

Criminal cases have already been assigned to the court for the month of May and that means a judge  either Alexis- Windsor or Holdip  would have to leave their courts and adjourn the list until a new judge is assigned to Court Three.
Roget repeats take your platform and go statement

He reiterated his stance yesterday while addressing the May Day march at Harris Promenade in San Fernando.

Roget again blasted the multinational corporation saying it must respect the laws of sovereign Trinidad and Tobago. If you do not respect our laws, take your platform and go! he said yesterday.

Addressing trade union members from the Joint Trade Union Movement, following a march from the OWTU headquarters on Circular Road under blistering sunshine, Roget declared the union is not afraid of making bold statements meant to protect the rights of workers and the countrys patrimony.

It is the workers who turn the wheels of the economy and who face dangers in the various workplaces in order to keep the economy going, he said. Roget lamented that after all the struggles to become an independent nation and a republic, those in authority, still allow multinational corporations to set the rules of engagement.

Multinational companies abuse TTs resources and government is not defending the sovereignty of the state. He warned the working class not fall for the claims of big business that, times are hard and sacrifices must be made when they (big business) demand more from labour.

How the hell this country has no money when the banks and big businesses continue to declare huge profits,  he asked. Roget accused government of failure to protect citizens from criminals and for sending home thousands of workers.
Govt spite behind Caroni Green closure

There are persons sitting in their offices in Port-of-Spain making decisions affecting peoples lives on matters for which they know nothing about, Lalla charged. If this is what passes as good governance in this country, then we are in a very bad way, Lalla said, adding that at a time when the nations food import bill is well over a billion dollars, this government chooses to close down state entities that deal with growing food crops for both local use and export.

He said when Caroni Green was established in 2014, it used a $22M grant from the European Union (EU) to outfit it and since that time, has produced more than 1.25 million pounds of produce for the export market. Produce included hot peppers, pumpkins, paw paw, corn and tomatoes. Lalla said the revenue generated from exports went from $700,000 to $2.9 million, in three years.

Despite all of this, he added, government used the excuse that Caroni Green was a burden on tax payers and thus had to be shut down. Lalla said the company submitted audited reports annually showing its operating costs and earnings. He revealed that at the time this government decided to wind up Caroni Green, the company had more than $5 million in its account and this could have sustained workers until the end of the financial year.

Lalla said that ex-workers are in the process of forming an Agricultural Co-operative with the primary objective of preserving their livelihood.

We want to ensure these workers livelihood and at the same time, contribute to the agricultural sector, Lalla said, noting that while they respect governments right as owner of the company to take whatever decision, they are equally confident of their ability to successfully manage two farms formerly under Caroni Greens management, at Union East in Couva and one in Cunupia.

We believe that the business strategy adopted by CGL of targeting export and import substitution, is a sound one and will provide great benefit to the local economy in terms of foreign exchange generation and conservation, Lalla said.

Present at the press conference were former prime minister Basdeo Panday and Opposition MPs Rudy Indarsingh, Rushton Paray, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Ramona Ramdial and Devant Maharaj, the latter being a former Agriculture Minister during the Peoples Partnership
CJ: Judiciarys hands tied in many instances

We sentence, accompanied with a great deal of frustration, but we are constrained to sentence people within the confines of a legislative structure that is imposed on the judiciary, which is why, we have been trying to find creative means of establishing exactly the sort of restorative principles you have been talking about, he said. Asked to comment from the floor at a Bocas Lit Fest forum on crime and punishment on Sunday at the Old Fire Station, Abercromby Street, Portof- Spain, Archie said, What we have is an ordering of priorities and a lack of education at the level of people who set policies. We do not set policies in the judiciary. It was unfortunate, he said, that there is a perception that the judiciary, a small component of the justice system, is perceived as having the power to change what needs to be changed. The concept of national security in this country, he said, is really skewed.

The Ministry of National Security receives about $10 billion a year, which is about 20 percent of the national budget, recurrent.

The judiciary receives less than half of one percent of the national budget, he said.

Let us stop spending $20 billion on the conventional notion of national security which is batons and prison cells, he said adding that there needs to be greater discussions on the justice system.He said the judiciary tries to engage the policy makers but they have not reached the level of understanding of what the justice system needs to truly restore people and to bring them to a place where they could be productive members of society. What we do not teach in the education system is how to resolve conflict. Archie said unless people are assisted in making the right decisions they will end up before the courts.
TT goes to World Bank for inter-island vessel

A release from the PATT said that, in the best interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, a decision was made to terminate this tender process and approach the World Bank. The release added PATT is of the view that the World Bank can provide requisite expertise to determine the specifications for a suitable cargo vessel for the needs of the inter-island service.

The assistance of the World Bank, the release said, will be sought to determine an acceptable methodology to comply with the tenets of good procurement practices. PATT said, it was satisfied that this approach will realise the best option in the long term and that a resolution will be arrived at within the next three months.

In keeping with its mandate to provide efficient and reliable inter-island transport services, PATT said, its board and management team is assuring the public that the best available options will always be pursued to ensure that there is no disruption in the service.

At this time there is an interim solution that will be in place to ensure that cargo requirements are met on the service, until a suitable vessel is obtained.

PATT said, it was guided by Cabinets decision to charter a roll on-roll off cargo vessel to service the sea bridge between the islands.
Police association wants special allowance for single parent cops

This proposal is one of the many in a package which was delivered to Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Beresford Riley on Friday last for the period 2014 to 2016.

On January 10, the CPO invited the association, led by Inspector Michael Seales, to submit proposals.

Seales delivered those proposals in which the association proposed a 13.5 percent increase in salaries.

Yesterday Seales defended the position saying, 13.5 percent is substantially lower than what we would have settled for before and, more importantly, it is much lower than what is available for the market for compensation for police officers.

On the last occasion the market survey would have generated 16 percent market shift which would have been available for officers had we been able to negotiate the full 16 percent. About the proposal to pay a $2000 allowance to single police officers with children, Seales said information reaching the association suggests that it is extremely difficult for those officers to survive on existing salaries.

More than 15 percent of the workforce consists of single parents. One of the other proposals, according to Seales, is a new allowance which is the Community Police Unit allowance to foster a strategy to help communities rebuild themselves and be able to have that relationship with the police to make the communities a stronger one.

Seales believes by encouraging the Community Police Unit to partner with the public, they will have a better incentive to carry out this mandate if they are given this $1500 allowance.

He also revealed that the association is asking for a merit allowance for divisional commanders whose strategies result in crime being decreased by 50 percent.

He said one of the major proposals also include an off duty callout allowance where officers who are on vacation leave and called out to work for two weeks or more could be paid $3,000 monthly for the duration of the call-out.

Additionally, the association is also asking the CPO to consider the re-absorption of all special reserve police officers into the service.
Parents press pause on school protest

Representative Joel Scott told Newsday yesterday that Education Minister Anthony Garcia spoke with him on Saturday afternoon. He said Garcia asked him to give him a couple of weeks as he will be seeking to source funds to complete the renovation of the building. Work on the building stopped abruptly in October 2015, Scott said. The renovation had been between 70 to 80 percent complete, he said, but since then, due to a lack of security on the premises, the building has been vandalised.

Parents met yesterday and agreed, Scott said, To give the minister until month end to see how far he has reached in sourcing the funds. The other matter of concern is the number of buses that transport the children from the Second Street location in San Juan to Tunapuna where the two schools are currently housed.
Guanapo Church probe continues

This information is contained in the Commissions 2016 report which was laid in the House of Representatives last Friday. Out of the 41 complaints which the Commission dealt with last year, the top three complaints all concern this matter. In each case, people have been interviewed, statements have been recorded and documents have been obtained. The status of investigations continuing is attached to the three complaints about the Guanapo Church which were first raised in 2010. Manning died on July 2, 2016.

The complaints contained in the report include matters raised during the respective tenures of Mannings former administration, that of Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the incumbent Dr Keith Rowley administration.

Commission chairman Zainool Hosein said out of the 41 complaints dealt with by the Commission in 2016, 15 were completed and one was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This was a complaint against the Government about bid rigging and corruption relative to the services offered by a contractor Hosein added there are currently 13 matters which the Commission has referred to the DPP. He also said investigations are continuing into 25 complaints this year and one complaint was referred to the Commissions compliance section. That complaint involved a request for an investigation into the actions of a temporary senator.
Property tax valuators not yet on the field

The deed, certificate of title, a previous land and building tax receipt and utility bills (WASA and TTEC) would help the Commissioner of Valuations in determining a propertys annual rental value.

The ministry also said, The property tax has been in existence since pre-independence. However, the ministry said, the former Peoples Partnership government, waived the payment of property tax for the period 2010 to 2015. As such, the tax is payable with effect from 2016. The ministry added that land tax has been in effect in India, Jamaica, Canada, the United States and Eastern European countries for quite some time. In a separate statement, the United National Congress Youth Arm alleged the implementation of the property tax will leave students vulnerable to increased rental fees from landlords and cause a high tertiary education drop-out rate.

At last Thursdays post-Cabinet news conference, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said landlords compliance with the Property Tax Act could have the effect of the rents being charged to their tenants being reduced.

He explained that because the Act allows renters to get into the system to certify the rent they actually pay, their landlords must now declare what that rent is
Reema calls for needs of disabled to be given priority

She says they are not adequately provided for in public places and at private functions. She is also calling for greater emphasis to be placed on the needs of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and for the formulation of national policies on education and in other areas of national development.

This, she said, will ensure that all citizens are able to contribute to this countrys sustainable development regardless of their abilities.

Carmona was speaking at the opening of a regional workshop on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Hyatt Regency, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.

The workshop was organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the local office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Carmona suggested that the participants encourage leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to declare a caribbean decade for disabled people to run from 2018 to 2028 which, she said, would inspire action to bring the differently abled fully into Caribbean society.

She urged presenters and participants to deal with the issue of reporting, remarking that for too long there had been a lag in the submission of national reports to the various human rights committees and that the reports are used as one of the ways of measuring the national implementation of the obligations under the various human rights treaties. She said what she called reporting fatigue might be due to the absence of comprehensive data which is often an important part of the reporting mechanism.

There must be proper data and properly directed data collecting in the Caribbean. Data informs policy, effective planning, transformational initiatives, holistic philosophies and the necessary human activism. Minister of Social Development and Family Services Cherrie-Ann Critchlow-Cockburn said since June 2015, when this country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the ministry made efforts to meet the obligations under the convention.

She said a critical part of this obligation was the revision of the draft National Policy on Persons with Disabilities which, she said, was intended as a framework for the governments mandate in supporting the initiative. Critchlow- Cockburn said the ministry plans, very soon, to hold a series of consultations to finalise the revised draft policy.

She said while a lot is being done, much more needs to be done both here and in the other countries which were represented at the meeting. Critchlow- Cockburn said her ministry is committed to working closely with the UNDP to protect the rights of those with disabilities.

Richard Blewitt, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for TT, told Newsday many people with disabilities have tremendous assets and capacities to offer society. He expects that all government officials at the conference would be inspired to take up their responsibilities to follow up and report, on a timely basis, the progress they have made in their countries in ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He said while many Caribbean countries had ratified the convention, reporting on their work was an important part of the process because it was about accountability and transparency.
Kamla tears up property tax form

Addressing a rally at the Debe FunSplash Water park, following a motorcade through ten southern UNC constituencies, to protest the property tax, Persad-Bissessar dared government to lock her up, for failing to submit the form by the May 22 deadline. She said she has received legal advice that the form is null and void, and no one is under any obligation in law to fill out and submit the forms.

Declaring she is prepared to fight the property tax, a fiery Persad- Bissessar blasted government saying it wasted the savings her Peoples Partnership left in the countrys coffers. I told you, we will fight them in the courts, fight them in the streets and in Parliament. She urged people to join the battle against the this back breaking tax which she renamed the poverty tax.

Here is the first battle that is in your hands and which you can win and we all can win, said Persad- Bissessar as she held and then tore up the property tax form. You are getting in your mail boxes a form like this. Does it have a name in it? Does it have an address on it? I am a lawyer, but I have consulted with other lawyers and we have gone through the Valuation Land Act and we have gone through the Property Tax Act and it is very clear that this form is null and void, she said.

And today I tell you, you have no obligation in law to fill out this form and send it in, none whatsoever.

There is nothing in the law, they cannot prosecute you. They can do you nothing, she said.
Sinanan promises to fix North Oropouche road

They called on Minister of Works Rohan Sinanan to address their plight immediately as they feel they are being overlooked because they reside in a rural area. The protestors were pacified though with assurance coming from Minister Sinanan that work will begin on fixing the road in three weeks time.

The road has been impacted negatively due to the laying of pipelines in the area with the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA) on April 19, 2016, promising restoration of the roadway will commence on Wednesday 20th April, 2016 with resumption of the pipe laying project beginning on Monday.

The Authority apologises for the inconvenience caused and thanks the residents for their patience and understanding in this matter. Irate residents say they have been patient for far too long as the bad road is affecting their health, vehicles and jobs. Fishing Pond resident Prakash Ramkissoon explained to Newsday how the road affects his community.

Now is dry season so is real dust. Villagers complaining, business people complaining, people that selling their food have to stop because of the dust. And when rain fall is mud so we have it real bad. I think Fishing Pond road is one of the worst road in Trinidad. We take the Minister word and we cleared the road and we wait on him (now).

In the next two weeks things going to happen again if he dont fix the road, he declared.

Ramkisoon continued, They get in touch with the Minister Rohan and he say in three weeks time he will fix the road. We say we want it in writing but he say dont worry it will fix. We say okay we will take your word for it. The villagers themselves helped clear the debris and all the burning thing from the road with the hope that in three weeks time he will fix the road.
Ministry launches National Aid for Trade Strategy

This Strategy is geared towards matching donor funding with the needs of the country to build the supply side capacity and trade related infrastructure. This means that the Government will now have a structured programme of trade related project interventions which can be used to target specific donor funding.

Donors will now be able to use Trinidad and Tobagos Aid for Trade Strategy as a framework for mobilising resources to address the trade priorities of Trinidad and Tobago and the related projects. For our exporters the Strategy provides a unique opportunity to obtain resources to address critical constraints that hinder their capacity to trade.

Gopee-Scoon informed the audience that the Aid for Trade Strategy is of primary importance for a country like Trinidad and Tobago, which at this time is seeking to diversify its exports in the non-energy sectors. She said, Currently, Trinidad and Tobago faces numerous trade-related challenges in its domestic environment.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is therefore focused on addressing such challenges as, the lack of internationally accredited testing facilities, inadequate financing mechanisms, underdeveloped market intelligence, congestion at the ports, and absence of payment mechanisms to facilitate e-commerce. The Strategy covers a three year period from 2016 to 2019 and presents a coherent framework of priority areas, identified by domestic business support organisations, Ministries and agencies, necessary to address the challenges faced in expanding trade in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Aid for Trade framework consists of three pillars: Export Diversification, Competitiveness and Trade Facilitation. Each Pillar contains, objectives, priority areas and projects that are aligned with Governments Draft National Strategic Development Plan, Vision 2030. Senator Gopee-Scoon urged the private sector to become actively involved in the implementation of this Strategy to ensure that aid also promotes investment for trade.

The Ministry will have general oversight for the implementation of the Aid for Trade Strategy, country ownership at the highest political level and effective intra-governmental co- ordination will ensure successful implementation of the Strategy. Trinidad and Tobagos National Aid for Trade Strategy includes a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

Norris Herbert, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry stated that, The Aid for Trade Strategy will be a key tool in diversifying the economy. He acknowledged the dedication and commitment of those involved in the development of the National Aid for Trade Strategy and called for continued discussions and collaboration amongst stakeholders.

Candice Lackhansingh, Programme Coordinator at the Ministry, delivered a detailed presentation on the strategy. She outlined the Structure of the Aid for Trade Strategy and described the priority areas and projects to which Donors can target their assistance. She further explained how the strategy would be implemented.

Lackhansingh concluded by calling for the continued development of project proposals by the various stakeholders.
SECRECY: Georgia now copyrighting state laws to prevent people from reading all the details

An open-access law advocate has uncovered a sinister plot within the state of Georgias government that seeks to keep the full letter of the law out of view of its citizenry. It has to do with the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.), the law of the land in Georgia, which Carl Malamud says at the current time is copyrighted, meaning that the average person has no access to it without paying a hefty licensing fee.

Many people arent aware of what Malamud is now revealing publicly  mainly that the laws that govern Georgians are considered to be private property only accessible by a privy few  but hes on a mission to change that. And while its costing him a pretty penny, as well as plenty of time in court defending his case, Malamud hopes that his efforts will eventually pay off in benefit of the public interest.

As it turns out, Georgians, or anyone looking up the law in the state of Georgia, are only permitted to access its abbreviated version (available at www.legis.ga.gov). While this may be helpful for getting a general overview of the legal landscape throughout the state, this abbreviated version is missing all of the annotations that correspond to specific court decisions and precedents that have guided the progression of Georgia law throughout the decades.

In other words, the free copy of the law offered by the state isnt the real deal and wouldnt hold any weight in a court of law. Any Georgian who accesses it and tries to defend himself or herself based on its face value merits will surely be met with disappointment in a courtroom, as its missing key elements of the actual law as contained in the copyrighted version that would not only substantiate a case, but also provide clarity as to the law itself. (Related: Georgia has a history of using the law to abuse its citizens, including in fake marijuana raids.)

Malamud sued by Georgia government, told that distributing Georgia law is illegal

According to reports, Malamud recently shelled out the $1,207.02 necessary to access the full copyrighted Georgia law from its contracted publisher, LexisNexis, and proceeded to distribute it to appropriate parties. Because hes from out of state, the cost for obtaining these records is much higher than what Georgians would have to pay, which is still costly at a price of $385.94 for a printed set.

As well as posting the full law on his own website, Public.Resource.org, Malamud also sent it to key leaders in Georgias state government. He explained in his correspondences with these individuals why he was mailing out the full law, and for what purpose.

Access to the law is a fundamental aspect of our system of democracy, an essential element of due process, equal protection, and access to justice, Malamud wrote in an enclosed letter he mailed to Georgia Speaker of the House, David Ralson, the states legislative counsel, and a number of other prominent individuals including lawyers and policymakers from around Georgia.

Not long after, Malamud was told to cease and desist and remove all such information from his website and anywhere else he posted it, the state insisting that its laws hold an exclusive copyright. The state then took Malamud to court, where U.S. District Judge Richard Story sided with the state in maintaining that Georgia state law in its entirety is a private, copyrighted work that the public cant have access to without first paying.

Malamud is contesting this decision, arguing that fair use provisions should, indeed, apply to state laws that govern citizens. This is especially true for non-profit organizations like Public.Resource.org, which Malamud says exists for the benefit of the public, and not for any private gain.

Any lawyer would ignore this publication and any of its components at his or her peril, says Malamud about the nature of the free copy of the law that Georgia provides to its citizens. No matter how you slice that cheese, it all looks the same. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated, every component of it, is the official law  Our publication of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated should be encouraged, not threatened.

Sources for this article include:

ActivistPost.com

Public.Resource.org

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As the second largest mobile market in the world, India presents great opportunities for device manufacturers. However, it is a developing country with a demographic that covers every imaginable socioeconomic strata, which has made it very hard for manufacturers that are not based in India to figure out the market. The announcement by HMD, the Finish company that has licensed the Nokia brand, to introduce the Nokia (News - Alert) 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3 and Nokia 3310 line of phones to India offers a range of devices with different price points to address this complicated market.





The re-introduction of Nokia under HMD to India comes after the brand lost its No. 1 global position in the mobile market. And one of the phones that made Nokia so popular is the 3310, which was dubbed as the 'Indestructible phone' and it is still in use in many developing countries. In terms of brand recognition and loyalty, the Nokia name still carries a lot of weight, and HMD is looking to capitalize on it.

After HMD announced the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3 and Nokia 3310 at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) earlier this year in Barcelona, the phones will finally arrive in India during the month of June in a staggered release. Although the price for the Indian market hasn't been announced, the price in the UK is as follows for all the phones.

The Nokia 3 is listed at 149.99 pounds (around Rs 12,400) or $193.67; the Nokia 6 for 229.99 pounds (around Rs 19,000) or $296.96; the Nokia 5 for 189.99 pounds (around Rs 15,700) or $245.32; and the Nokia 3310 for 59.99 pounds (around Rs 4,900) or $77.46.

The Nokia 6 has a Qualcomm (News - Alert) Snapdragon 430 processor, 5.5-inch full HD display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 16MP rear and an 8MP front cameras.

The Nokia 5 also has the Snapdragon 430 processor along with a 5.2-inch 720p HD display, 2GB of RAM (News - Alert), 16GB of storage expandable via a microSD card, a 13MP rear and 8MP front cameras.

The Nokia 3310 has been upgraded with a 2.4-inch display, a 2MP rear camera, microSD card support, 2G connectivity and 22 hour talk time and 30 days of standby time 1200MAh battery.

The Nokia 3 has a MTK 6737 quad-core processor, a 5.0-inch 720p HD display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and 8MP front and rear cameras.

These phones will be competing against local brands that have entry level smartphones coming in at $50, and Google (News - Alert) CEO Sundar Pichai is pushing OEMs to develop smartphones for developing markets such as India for a mere $30. For the service side of the industry, $30 phones mean there will be hundreds of millions of new customers, but for device manufacturers such as HMD, being able to compete at these price points is going to be a tough road ahead.

Edited by Alicia Young
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Thousands of French nationals, including the presidential front runner Manuel Macron, Monday paid homage to Moroccan Brahim Bouarram, killed 22 years ago by members of the extreme rightist Front National party.

Bouarram was thrown into La Seine river in Paris in 1995 on May 1 by four supporters of the Front National, who were taking part in a demonstration of the far right party.

Bouarram, 29, was drowned in the river, leaving behind two children.

The crime took place one week before the run-off of 1995 presidential election. Then President Francois Mitterrand paid tribute to the Moroccan citizen, throwing a bit of lily of the valley in the river where Bouarram died.

The main suspect, Mickael Freminet, aged 18 at the time of the crime, was handed 8-year prison sentence, three years after the assassination.

Manuel Macron, candidate of the En Marche Movement, tipped to win the presidential seat, is facing off FN candidate Marine Le Pen on May 7 for the run-off.
After abandoning Syrian refugees on the Moroccan borders in harsh conditions, Algeria proceeded to impose a ban on foreign journalists who have criticized this inhumane act at a moment it continues to lag behind, taking the 134th place in the freedom of the press index, issued by Reporters without Borders.

Moroccans come on top of a list of 150 journalists deemed persona non grata in the Algerian territory. The names were communicated to all Algerian consular services abroad to deny entrance of these journalists to Algeria by air, land and sea, local papers reported.

In addition to Moroccan reporters, the list includes famous Arab journalists from Egypt and other Arab countries who have openly criticized the Algerian regime and President Bouteflika.

The decision to deny access to foreign reporters comes as Algeria braces for May 4 elections amid an atmosphere of voter apathy and an impending budget crisis that threatens Algerias oil-funded social peace.

The restriction of access against foreign journalists critical of the Algerian regime was taken at a time Algeria sinks in the freedom of the press ranking established by Reporters without Borders. The freedom of the press in Algeria thus went from bad to worse losing 5 places to take the 134th place among the most authoritarian countries in the globe.

International rights NGOs have repeatedly denounced restrictions of the freedom of expression in Algeria. In its annual report 2016-17 on the state of human rights in the world, Amnesty International decried the prosecution in Algeria of peaceful critics, including human rights defenders, in unfair trials, and the forced closure of media outlets.

Last December 11, Mohamed Tamalt, a journalist and an outspoken critic of the Algerian regime, lost his life in Algeria after a hunger strike while in custody.

Mehdi Benaissa, the chief executive of Algerias KBC news, and Ryad Hartouf, the producer of the channels current-affairs program, were given Six-month prison sentences on fabricated charges after they broadcast a political satire that displeased the government.
Faced with widespread voter apathy and growing calls to boycott the legislative polls of May 4, the Algerian regime stumbles desperately to keep the political status quo using religion and conspiracy theories to urge a massive vote of disenchanted worshipers.

Imams were asked by the religious affairs ministry to tell worshipers in mosques to cast their ballot otherwise the country would be mired in a new disaster. This confusion of politics and religion came to evidence the Algerian regimes own manipulation of mosques for political ends. By doing so, the authoritarian Algerian regime is validating the principle of using religion and mosques for political ends, which is at the heart of the extremist project.

The critical press in Algeria is awash with stories about Algerian Imams pressured to call on citizens to vote. An Imam in Algiers went as far as foreseeing a foreign occupation if Algerians did not vote by large numbers, noting that all parties are equal.

Another Imam in Jijel urged worshipers to vote in order to avoid triggering the anger of Bouteflika, Algerias ailing president who has not made a public speech for years and whose meetings with foreign officials have been all called off recently.

In the same vein, Minister of religious affairs Mohamed Aissa spoke with an angry tone against the calls by several Algerian influential figures on social media to boycott the elections. He accused them of defaming the prophet and religion because of their stands against maintaining the authoritarian status quo, which May 4 elections are seen to perpetuate.

Religion was also disturbingly resorted to by several political parties in their electoral campaigns. Leader of the MSP party, Abderazak Mokri, made the funniest use of the religious sentiments of his supporters when he said I call on Algerians to vote massively for our party (Hamas) in order to be able to liberate Palestines capital and that of all Muslims, Al Quds.

The average Algerian citizen sees the election to be an empty process that may bring little change as the country braces for an economic crisis on the backdrop of the states inability to maintain its spending spree on social welfare.

Algeria has been depleting its coffers with reserves falling from $194 billion in 2013 to $109 billion last February. Besides the decreasing revenues and ailing economy, Algeria faces instability threats emanating from the struggle between the regimes elites, opacity regarding succession of President Bouteflika and a domestic Jihadist threat coupled with a possible spill-over of the turmoil in Libya and Mali.

The absence of genuine reforms and the adoption of austerity measures including new taxes and reduction of subsidies also threaten to infuriate protests. In Algeria, protests have always been expressed in the street rather than through the ballot box or institutions. The price hikes have always been met with violent protests as was the case in 2011. Then, the government had enough reserves to buy off social peace.

Amid such gloomy domestic and regional prospects, the ruling FLN leaders call for voters to maintain status quo under the guise of safeguarding stability, which most regime critics describe rather as stagnation leading to an abyss

Corruption is another vote apathy driver. Fixing polls has been a widespread practice in previous elections in a country where observers do not have the freedom to carry out their monitoring mission. As the FLN, which has been dominating Algerias governments since independence, is expected to win by large margins in a rugged electoral system, several opposition parties opted as well for boycotting the election.
Trump with Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Obamacare appears set to (once again) escape the reach of Paul Ryans sledgehammer  but faithless insurers continue to dig tiny knives into the laws marketplaces.

Last year, Aetna drastically scaled back its participation in the Affordable Care Act, after finding itself unable to turn a profit off of covering the disproportionately sick (and, thus, expensive) customers who flocked to the laws health exchanges. After providing coverage in 11 states individual marketplaces at the start of 2016, Aetna retained its presence in just four this year. (The insurers decision to scale back its participation may also have been influenced by the Obama administrations refusal to green-light its desired merger with Humana.)

In 2018, Aetna will cut that figure to three. As The Wall Street Journal reports:

Aetna said it expects 2017 losses on its individual business will amount to roughly half its loss last year, which was $450 million. Its individual enrollment is 255,000, down from about 964,000 at the end of 2016, but the first-quarter total was larger than it had expected, and Aetnas chief financial officer, Shawn M. Guertin, said the company was seeing higher cost levels than we had previously projected among enrolleesAetna has said it would pull out of Iowas ACA marketplace in 2018, and its remaining states are Delaware, Nebraska and Virginia. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Aetna isnt the sole exchange insurer in any of its regions.

Aetnas decision comes three months after Humana announced that it would be withdrawing completely from the ACA marketplaces, and amid uncertainty about the laws future. The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to cut off federal payments that subsidize the purchase of health insurance for low-income Americans. Some insurers have warned that such a move would cause giant premium spikes, while others have said that the loss of the so-called cost-sharing payments would force them to exit the exchanges.

Still, while Obamacare could certainly be strengthened by a whole host of reforms (and/or replaced by good old-fashioned socialized medicine), the laws marketplaces are not in a death spiral, despite the GOPs fondest wishes. And even as Humana and Aetna pull back, other insurers are looking to expand into new state exchanges  barring acts of Trumpian sabotage, anyway.
Mural of Alton Sterling. Photo: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

The Justice Department will not bring civil-rights charges against the officers who fatally shot Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last year, the Washington Post reports.

Video of the 37-year-old Sterlings death showed him lying on his back with two officers hovering over him. One of the officers appears to shout, Hes got a gun, and then Sterlings life ends in volley of gunfire. The footage sparked protests across the city. When Philando Castile was killed by a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota, one day later, both mens deaths generated sustained national attention. Later that week, at a protest of Sterling and Castiles deaths in Dallas, an African-American man shot five police officers dead. A little over a week after that, another gunman with a hatred of law enforcement murdered three officers in Baton Rouge.

The criminal investigation of Sterlings death hinges on whether he was reaching for a gun at the moment he was killed. As the Post notes, substantiating federal charges is profoundly difficult, as it requires prosecutors to prove an officers subjective intent. That hurdle proved to be too high for the Obama administration in many high-profile officer-involved shootings. While there is no reason to give Jeff Sessionss Justice Department the benefit of the doubt, its far from clear that its predecessor would have reached a different conclusion in Sterlings case.

The Justice Department on Tuesday did secure a guilty plea from former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager in the shooting death of Walter Scott, an unarmed African-American who was shot in the back as he fled a traffic stop. In that case, at least, the video left little room for Jeff Sessionss reasonable doubts.
Mitch McConnell has been clear about wanting to hang onto the final form of filibuster, and so have a majority of senators. Photo: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

As noted earlier today, the president threw a temper tantrum on Twitter, calling for a government shutdown in September and/or a rules change to eliminate the legislative filibuster. The Republican senators, who would have to vote almost unanimously to execute a nuking of the filibuster, started pushing back against Trumps suggestion almost immediately.

In their zeal to defend the dilatory procedure, GOP senators mangled history rather hilariously. John Kennedy of Louisiana said: The Founding Fathers set it up this way  Its worked for centuries. Well, not exactly. According to the reigning expert on the matter, Brookingss Sarah Binder, the first filibuster was in 1837. It was conducted by Senate Whigs, none of whom were, or are, regarded as Founding Fathers. It was, in fact, hardly ever used until the civil-rights era, and even then, was rare. The real boom time for the filibuster began in 2009, with the election of Barack Obama and the decision by Mitch McConnell to engineer, via a strategy of total obstruction, a 60-vote threshold in the Senate for just about everything.

Perhaps recalling these glory days and anticipating future Democratic presidents, McConnell has made lots of negative noises about killing the legislative filibuster. He was even more definitive after Trumps conniption, as The Hill reports:

Asked if Republicans would nix the 60-vote filibuster to allow legislation to pass by a simple majority, McConnell told reporters, that will not happen.

And actually, it is unclear if McConnell could go totally nuclear, even if he wanted to. Last month, after he nuked the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, 28 Senate Republicans and 33 Senate Democrats signed a letter opposing any further erosion of the right to filibuster. Maybe Trump doesnt care what happens after he is gone. But other Republicans do. And in any event, as the health-care debacle shows, being able to pass legislation by a simple majority is sometimes not enough, at least with the current cast of characters.
In what must feel like a recurring nightmare to Paul Ryan, the drive to pass health-care legislation may again stall just short of victory. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Five-and-a-half weeks after a House vote on the American Health Care Act a.k.a. Trumpcare  was canceled despite all sorts of bully-boy threats and upbeat talk from the White House and GOP congressional leaders, they are all at the crossroads again. And again, the talk is optimistic (notably Gary Cohns claim yesterday that they had the votes to pass the revised version, a.k.a. Zombie Trumpcare), but the confirmed numbers are significantly less promising.

According to a New York Times compilation of whip counts from five news organizations, the bill that cannot afford to lose more than 22 House votes has already lost somewhere between 20 (HuffPost and NBC News) and 22 (The Hill). The calculation of undecided votes varies more from source to source, from NBCs 16 to The Hills 57. HuffPost lists eight as Lean No, separate from ten listed as Undecided. A majority of the dissenters are what is often called centrists or moderates, but there are House Freedom Caucus holdouts as well.

White House and leadership sources, of course, are talking an upbeat game, but they did last time as well. This weeks most surprising announcement was that Representative Billy Long of Missouri, who supported the original AHCA, will vote against the revised version because it undermines protections for people with preexisting conditions. Long is a conventional conservative from a very safe Republican district, which gave him 68 percent of the vote in 2016, and Trump 70 percent. He is precisely the kind of House Republican who should be in the bag for Ryan on this bill. But hes not.

There are more positive assessments of the situation, including this one from the well-sourced Robert Costa:

Some well-placed House Rs tell me the health-care bill still needs anywhere from 3-6 more Republicans, whip count close but not yet there  Robert Costa (@costareports) May 2, 2017

Timing is another issue: The House is supposed to take a weeklong break on Thursday, but could push that off or cancel it to continue another health-care push. It is not a good sign, however, that Republican leaders fear sending their members home on the brink of this vote. In addition, the longer the vote is delayed, the more vulnerable it might become to a horrendous score from the Congressional Budget Office.

The really depressing fact for the GOP is that even if this bill gets out of the House, its prospects in the Senate are terrible, with one knowledgeable source saying there are only 25 senators who would vote for it at present. That means House members voting for Zombie Trumpcare really have no idea what the final product will look line down the road. A no vote may look like the safer option.
Photo: Eric Raptosh/Blend Images/Getty Images

The Republican tax-cut plan has been caught in the vise of an obscure but extremely powerful Senate rule. The Byrd Rule prohibits using a budget-reconciliation bill  which cannot be filibustered, and thus does does not need Democratic votes  to increase the budget deficit outside the ten-year budget window. That means the Republican tax-cut plan either needs to offset its planned tax cuts for rich people with tax increases on non-rich people, which is politically unpopular, or else expire after ten years, like the Bush tax cuts did.

But The Wall Street Journals Richard Rubin reports that there may be a way out of this vise. Senate Republicans could simply vote as a majority to extend the budget window beyond ten years (a decade simply being a convention). The budget window could be 20 or 30 years. Then they could pass a huge tax cut for affluent people that expires, but the expiration date would lie so far in the future that it might as well be permanent.

Rubin does not conclude that the GOP has settled on this tactic. He merely presents it as an option being considered by some influential members of Congress and the administration. But it appears to be an almost cost-free solution for a party faced with unpalatable trade-offs.

To be sure, theres no such thing as a permanent tax cut, anyway. As soon as it passes, Democrats will run for office promising to cancel out the Trump tax cuts for the rich, and will have the chance to do so if and when they get full control of government. But increasing taxes is politically painful  even just taxes on the rich, which are politically popular to raise, because rich people have a lot of influence. A tax cut that lasts for two or three decades is, functionally, a permanent change.

If you take seriously all the reporting that Republican deficit hawks are concerned about passing a yuge tax cut because of red ink, then you probably think this idea will have trouble. But I dont take that seriously. The Republican Party has people who dont like social-transfer spending, but nobody in the Republican Party cares about the deficit. And so the long budget window is where they will land.
Bill Shine. Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for TIME

Last Monday, Rupert Murdoch invited embattled Fox News co-president Bill Shine to lunch. The public outing to Marea, a high-end Italian restaurant near Fox News headquarters, was designed to signal that Shine was secure in his job at a moment when Fox News was being buffeted by lawsuits and negative media reports. But just a week later, Shine was gone from the network. This afternoon, Murdoch announced Shine had resigned.

In the days following the lunch, Shine realized he had lost the confidence of Murdoch, sources said. He expressed mounting frustration to colleagues about the companys not defending him. Rupert isnt fighting for me, Shine told a friend. To another colleague, he said, Its a witch hunt. The day after the lunch, Shine told friends he had asked Murdochs sons, James and Lachlan, to release a statement supporting him. They refused. (Both sides denied this.)

Whatever the case, sources say that Murdoch had decided by the middle of last week that Shine needed to go. Shine had become a flashpoint for outside critics and Fox News employees, especially women, who saw him as representative of the sexist culture that flourished under Roger Ailes. One female executive told me last week that Shine failed to deal with allegations of harassment. The executive recalled complaining to Shine about a male colleagues treatment of women, to which Shine replied: Hes a necessary evil.

By late last week, it was clear to some inside Fox News that Shine might be fired. On Thursday, Sean Hannity tweeted at me, saying, Gabe i pray this is NOT true because if it is, thats the total end of the FNC as we know it. Done. If Hannitys tweet  stray umlaut and all  was meant to show Shines value to the Murdochs, it had the opposite effect. According to a source, Murdoch saw the tweet as not helpful to the situation.

This morning at 9 a.m., Shine met with Murdoch to put an end to the speculation. According to a friend, Shine said, What are we doing here? Lets make a deal. The separation was amicable, sources on both sides said. Shine told Murdoch, Ive invested nearly a quarter century of my life helping to build this network and Im sick of becoming a distraction.

Shortly after I broke the news of Shines departure, Fox News employees scrambled to make sense of the shakeup. I have no idea what is going on, one anchor told me. They soon got their answers when Murdoch announced he was elevating Shines deputy, Suzanne Scott, to be president of programming. Jay Wallace, a longtime Fox producer, will be president of news. While the ascension of a woman to a top leadership role is a marked change for Fox, Scotts appointment shouldnt be seen as a culture change. Like Shine, she was a fierce Ailes loyalist. And as Ive reported, she enforced Ailess dictums, including his miniskirt dress code for on-air women. She was also involved in monitoring former Fox booker Laurie Luhn while Ailes allegedly carried on a psychologically and sexually abusive relationship with Luhn (Scott denies knowing about it).

Many people at Fox News dont expect Shine to be the last of the Ailes acolytes to leave. In the wake of Hannitys tweets last week, sources inside Fox speculated today that he might follow Shine out the door. But a close friend of Hannity said thats not the case: He didnt leave for Ailes. He aint leaving for Shine. Hannity tweeted tonight that he is not negotiating an exit from Fox.

Meanwhile, the networks general counsel Dianne Brandi is being discussed as the next possible departure, given she signed many of the sexual harassment settlements (including Luhns). As of tonight, Fox executives said Brandi is safe. But Shines departure proves how quickly that state of affairs can change.
Lets talk, supreme leader to supreme leader. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

President Trump has a thing for strongmen. As a private citizen, the mogul often found occasion to praise Vladimir Putin, Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Assad, and Chinas authoritarian government  specifically for showing a firm hand to the students at Tiananman Square: They were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.

Becoming the so-called leader of the free world has not tempered Trumps enthusiasm for the vitality of authoritarians. In recent weeks, the president congratulated Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan for effectively ending his nations democracy, expressed approval of Rodrigo Dutertes program of extrajudicially assassinating supposed drug dealers, and reiterated his admiration for Kim Jong-uns success in securing the title of Supreme Leader at such a young age.

And on Monday, Trump said that he would be honored to meet with the young man, should circumstances allow it.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News. If its under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.

Most political people would never say that, Trump acknowledged, but Im telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him.

Given Trumps odd affinity for the strength of human-rights abusers, his eagerness to meet with the North Korean dictator may strike some as shocking and unprecedented. But, in fact, on the level policy, Trumps stance toward Pyongyang is arguably more hostile than that struck by Barack Obama during his presidential campaign, when the young senator suggested that he would negotiate without preconditions with Americas enemies, including North Korea and Iran.

I will meet not just with our friends, but with our enemies because I remember what Kennedy said, that we should never negotiate out of fear but we should never fear to negotiate, Obama reasoned.

Of course, Obama never suggested that he would feel honored to meet with Ayatollah Khamenei (and if he had, impeachment proceedings would surely have begun days after).

Trump did not specify what the right circumstances for such a meeting would be. But Americas preconditions for direct engagement are widely seen as a pause in Pyongyangs nuclear program, and a declaration that the regime is open to negotiating over denuclearization.

With North Korea on pace to develop a nuclear missile capable of reaching the American mainland by 2020 (according to some estimates), tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have steadily heightened in recent months. This past week, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile, and South Korea announced that a U.S. missile shield deployed to the nation is now ready for operation.
New York City is entering its tourist season, the annual vendange that, last year, separated 12.7 million international tourists from their freshly exchanged U.S. dollars. Before the election, that number was expected to grow by some 3 percent. But, according to estimates from NYC & Company, Trumps immigration policies, plus a relatively strong dollar, may dissuade several hundred thousand would-be travelers. The company now expects the number of international visitors to drop by 2 percent this year, to 12.4 million. Standing to lose approximately $120 million in tax revenue, the city recently jumped into action with what amounts to a Nah, Trump doesnt mean it publicity campaign (tagline: Welcoming the World). But on an overcast Friday, as a chill wind whistled through Times Square, and Elmos and Elsas stood waiting either for a sucker or an NYPD citation, the uncertainty of world events, including the pending French election and Europes own populist struggles, seemed to dog even the most optimistic tourists.

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

Photo: Julia Rothman

*A version of this article appears in the May 1, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.
Baylor University. Photo: Allen Holder/MCT via Getty Images

Once again, a college fraternity  organizations long known for their sensitivity and reasonable decision-making  has found itself in hot water. This time around, its Baylor Universitys chapter of Kappa Sigma, which was suspended by the school on Monday evening, after throwing a Cinco de Drinko party.

Per student reports, Saturday nights party involved attendees wearing costumes that offensively stereotyped Mexicans  sombreros and serapes, or construction worker or maid outfits. There were also reports of students painting their faces brown and chanting, Build that wall. (Per the Waco Tribune-Herald, a Baylor spokesman said the university has no direct evidence of students wearing brown faces, though it would investigate that detail if it arose.)

The Hispanic Student Association, LatinX Coalition, and the NAACP organized a protest on Monday, during which hundreds of students showed up. People should know that this isnt about attacking the frat and it isnt about attacking a certain group of people, Kristen Williams, president of Baylors NAACP, told the Baylor Lariat. This is actually just trying to administer unity and love for this campus. Were just trying to bring awareness to the situation that happened.

As for how Baylor responded, in addition to suspending the frat, VP for student life Kevin Jackson released a statement, saying: Baylor is committed to a Christian mission that actively supports a caring and diverse campus community, and we do not tolerate racism of any kind on our campus. When any incident that does not align with our faith and mission is brought to our attention, it is thoroughly investigated by the University, and appropriate action is taken.
The New York Times printed new details about Ivanka Trumps feminist brand. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Accomplice, complicit, or whatever you want to call her, theres no doubt Ivanka Trump has outsize influence on her dads views. Shes been portrayed as a moderating force in the White House, but those conjectures are largely based on well-timed press leaks rather than statements the First Daughter has made herself. Unlike her outspoken father, the guarded First Daughter has been much more difficult to pin down.

But a New York Times profile published Tuesday contains some interesting new details about Ivanka, including when she first became interested in feminism (hint: when she realized she could monetize it) and her behind-closed-doors response to that Access Hollywood tape. Heres everything new we learned about Ivanka, whose new book, Women Who Work, is conveniently out today.

1. She clashed with her dad about his response to the Access Hollywood tape.

When the president refused to apologize right away, Ivanka reportedly almost lost it:

Ivanka Trump made an emphatic case for a full-throated apology, according to several people who were present for the crisis discussion that unfolded in Mr. Trumps 26th-floor office. Raised amid a swirl of tabloid headlines, she had spent her adult life branding herself as her fathers poised, family-focused daughter. She marketed her clothing line with slogans about female empowerment and was finishing a book on the topic. As she spoke, Mr. Trump remained unyielding. His daughters eyes welled with tears, her face reddened, and she hurried out in frustration.

2. Her interest in gender equality sprang from a rebranding effort.

According to the Times, some of Ivankas employees express surprise at her new policy interest, especially given that she once had to be cajoled into implementing a maternity-leave policy. In fact, those who had known her at various points throughout her life said she had not seemed especially focused on gender politics or policy. But that changed when feminism became part of her marketing strategy:

But penetrating the mass market presented a challenge: Ms. Trumps gilded life felt distant to women who shopped at Macys. So, late in 2013, she and her husband gathered with a few employees in front of a whiteboard in their Upper East Side apartment. Sheryl Sandbergs Lean In had just topped the best-seller charts, and Ms. Trumps team wanted its own catchy yet accessible slogan.



The brainstorming solidified into a new motto: Women Who Work.



Ms. Trump and her team set about tailoring her image to fit the concept. An internal document lists one of her challenges as perceived as rich and unrelatable. (An additional one: Most of her followers on social media were men.) Ms. Trump was told to post more down-to-earth pictures on her Instagram feed  less made-up model, more mommy.



Definitely the brand changed her, and her interests really solidified, said [Abigail] Klem, who took over the day-to-day operations of the Ivanka Trump brand after the election. Soon, her office had a play area where children could use crayons and toys while their parents worked.



3. She also tried to rebrand working moms.

As part of the rebranding effort, Ivankas team conceptualized a podcast that would feature her as a chic business guru interviewing people like Sheryl Sandberg and Spanx founder Sara Blakely. According to the Times, the pitch described the supposed impact of the Women Who Work brand campaign: the outdated caricature of a working woman  frazzled, androgynous and entirely one-note  began to crack.

4. She wasnt exactly onboard with her dads presidential campaign at first.

Ivanka was riding high before her dad announced his bid for president; sources close to her described the preceding period as one of the most fulfilling of her life. And like her dad, who recently told Reuters that he misses his old life, Ivanka reportedly wasnt thrilled about leaving her business and relocating to Washington:

Last week, speaking in her newly repainted West Wing office  stark white with metallic accents, a contrast to the creamy traditionalism of the rest of the West Wing  Ms. Trump appeared alternately energized, defensive and daunted. Behind the scenes, advisers say, she has been frustrated, unhappy about giving up her life in New York, and determined to prevail and make the best of a White House tour that she never expected.

5. And there are times when she wishes he would phrase things differently.

Javier Palomarez, the chief executive of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, described one of the conversations hes had with Ivanka in recent months. Lets talk about your dad, she reportedly said in one of their earliest exchanges. She asked if he would be 100 percent absolutely proud of everything that came out of your fathers mouth, especially when his father was age 70. She acknowledged that there was a difference between their fathers, Mr. Palomarez said  hers is the president.

6. Although she acknowledges shes largely ignorant when it comes to government affairs, shes still determined to make an impact.

Based on her quotes, it seems like Ivanka was going for an I know I dont know much, but Im willing to learn appeal. At different points, she told reporters, I do believe that in time Ill get to the right place; Im really, really trying to learn; Im still at the early stages of learning how everything works; and Theres a lot I dont know about how government works and how things get done, but I feel I know enough now that I can be much more proactive about the type of change and reform that Id like to see happen. But it doesnt seem like that self-awareness is stopping her from trying to influence policy:

Even though she has no government or policy experience, she plans to review some executive orders before they are signed, according to White House officials. She calls cabinet officials on issues she is interested in, recently asking the United Nations ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, about getting humanitarian aid into Syria. She set up a weekly meeting with Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary.



Other officials added that she had weighed in on topics including climate, deportation, education and refugee policy.


Diana Falzone. Photo: Michael Stewart/WireImage/Getty

Yet another woman has filed a gender-discrimination claim against Fox News today, bringing the total number of lawsuits against the media company to at least 15. Fox News online reporter Diana Falzone filed suit in New York Supreme Court alleging she was demoted after publishing an essay in January on Fox News website about suffering from endometriosis. The male-dominated senior management of Fox News obviously objected to the fact that a female on-air host had disclosed that she suffers from a womens reproductive-health condition, which, in their eyes, detracted from her sex appeal and made her less desirable, the lawsuit claims.

Related Stories ExFox News Host Alleges Network Operatives Hacked Her Phone in Smear Campaign

Falzone has appeared on Fox since 2008, on Hannity as well as the Fox Business Network with hosts Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo. She also hosts online shows on Fox News website.

In the suit, Falzone says she cleared her essay with her supervisors, Refet Kaplan and Chris Kensler, executives at Foxnews.com. In the piece, Falzone goes into detail about her experience with endometriosis, which affects an estimated 176 million women globally. It was just days after my 33rd birthday when my doctor delivered the worst news of my life: I will likely never have a child and fulfill my greatest wish of being a mother, she wrote. When hit with the news that I am infertile, I could not stop crying. And not only was it very unlikely Id ever conceive, my health was in jeopardy.

Falzone says that after the piece ran, Kaplan told her that the Second Floor, referring to the networks top executives Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy, no longer wanted her appearing on-air. According to the suit, Kaplan said Falzone was permanently banned from ever appearing on air on any Foxnews.com, Fox News Network, Fox Business News Network or any other Fox News medium and would never again be permitted to host her own shows or conduct her own interviews. Falzone claims that a producer later told her she was also banned from doing voice-overs. When Falzone asked Kaplan why she was being demoted, he declined to say, according to the suit.

Falzone says she filed a formal complaint on the 21st Century Fox hotline that the company set up last year to report harassment, but the company did not address the matter.

Falzone is being represented by Nancy Erika Smith, who also represented former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson as well as contributor Julie Roginsky.

A Fox News spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Is he still dating with Alexa Chung?

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witch one was in big little lies



how does one get invited to the met gala? because kate hudson goes every year

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alexander / the one on the left

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lmao. i'm laughing because this comment is funny cus i agree, idk how kate hudson goes every year. i assume its because her mother is goldie hawn.

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I think it's also about the designers and they seem to love her

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Kate is well liked, on a personal level. No one is quite sure why Jessica Alba is invited tho.

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The MET Gala is a fundraiser. Based on my understanding (and being too lazy to google it myself), designers and companies make donations and in return they get seats/tables. The designers invite celebrities to sit at their table + dress them for the night (and get all the red carpet pr from posts and media etc.).



A lot of the time that's why you see Stella McCartney's date is Kate Hudson + other folks who she's all dressing.

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Apparently everyone has to be approved by Anna Wintour first even if their paying or being taken as a guest. I read this article the other day http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-style/red-carpet/new-yorks-night-of-nights-is-all-about-politics-and-pettiness/news-story/1ae5030b092ce231346fd36dcccc1007 Apparently everyone has to be approved by Anna Wintour first even if their paying or being taken as a guest.

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hdu i have my own hbo login thank you very much!



is alexander skarsgard still dating alexa chung?

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Yeah they're still together

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ugly white men post?

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how are they ugly?

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i was simply referring to their faces, not their souls

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UGH BILL. he's so tall irl

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theres a younger one???



Alexander Skarsgard keeps on being the stuff of dream, namely my erotic dreams.

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Alexander is the oldest, Gustaf (on the show Vikings) is the next one, Bill is the younger one, then there's Valter who's the youngest but he's only acted in Swedish stuff so far.

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FOUR OF THEM?! God we are not worthy.

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Ty for this info sis 

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Gustaf got seriously screwed genetically.

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Oh the met gala is tonight? Awesome. Alex is the only reason I watched true blood as long as I did and he was great in Big Little Lies.

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i think bill is sofa king hot

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mte, I saw it coming very early on, I was really surprised to see other people be surprised about it, it was kinda obvious to me

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yep

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What does it say on her face?

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Lmao, I was just about to ask my mom for her login so I could watch BLL

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i don't understand the theme of the met gala it looks like fancy prom dresses of some

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Chris Hemsworth >>>>

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LOL same here, but at the same time I don't want the quality of shows to suffer because of it.



People talk about how actors get paid so much, but when you think of it it's not as much as they used to back in the 90s (in film at-least, tv's a diff story). It kind of sucks if it ends up going to the execs, but it probably will like you said.

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Good, I just hope these writers are properly being compensated. Television has been on a roll these past couple of years, I don't want anything to slow it down.

Film on the other hand...







Edited at 2017-05-02 12:32 pm (UTC)

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Without knowing what the details of the last deal was it's hard to say what this actually means, but everyone in the article seems happy about so yay I guess!



and yay for parental leave

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i'm so happy SOME unions still exist and are fighting for living wages.



i have no idea why a majority of americans don't. we're stronger together than we are apart.

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Ditto. It makes me sad how our labor unions got decimated and demonized.

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I only knew a few details about why things ended up in such a precarious situation, so it'd be interesting to know what the details of the deal are.

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Yay that's good for the union and I don't want my TV shows to suffer again, but I kinda liked the drama last time because I'm a terrible person.

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I feel bad for writers who are writing amazing tv shows with 13 episodes a season and are being paid less than writers for shitty shows that have 22 episodes of filler crap.

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Idk. I don't think it would be fair for someone who worked on 13 episodes to be paid the same as someone who did 22.



Imagine an employee who is paid a salary of $80k a year, working 40 hours a week and another employee doing the same job getting the same salary for 24 hours. It just doesn't make sense. Even if the employee working less hours is a better worker.

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But it's not the same? Because the amount of work that goes into each episode for a 13 episode season is often longer than the amount of work for each episode in a 22 episode season? That's part of the reason so many shows are going towards shorter seasons, for an increase in quality because you can spend more time and money on each episode? But because writers are paid per episode, they will get paid less for more work overall.



Edited at 2017-05-02 06:46 pm (UTC)

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I agree, I can appreciate the argument that the writers are losing out when they're being tied to exclusive contracts for shorter seasons, but I don't see why someone writing for a ten episode series deserves the same compensation as someone who is breaking episodes for a year-round 22 episode series

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I'm glad they came to a resolution, for the writers as well as the shows.

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So that mean The Amazing Race is done? I'm sad.

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"An interpretation of that story in a different culture" = Asian pop culture getting #WhiteWashedOUT https://t.co/Xg1VchyXXC  Kulture (@kulturewatchdog) 201752

He argues that it

a business decision to cast Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley in lead roles

Instead, it was a creative one,

he said.

Producer , Actor Masi Oka (Heroes ,Hawaii Five O) responds to casting contriversy of Netflix Death Note movie .wasnt

They could have gone [with an] Asian [actor], I cant deny that. The studios were adamant about trying to cast Asian actors. I mean, this was a difficult one. It was something we were definitely conscious about.

Oka further explained. So if youre trying to make the Hollywood version that already has a version in Japanese, then its like, where do you draw the line? ( FYI There is Hollywood remake The Girl with the dragon tattoo set in Sweden )

He pauses. I do think its case by case Its not, Oh, were definitely not going to hire Asians. Sometimes, someone just walks in and its like,  Thats the guy or  thats the girl or sometimes its a totally different interpretation, and thats amazing, he says. At the end of the day, you cast whats best for the role and what makes sense for that adaptation.
run girl ruuuun

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Run gorl.

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Didn't she used to date Douglas Booth? Good grief

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yeah. what a downgrade.

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excited for this movie tho

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Lmao, I was going to post this gif.

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I really need to rewatch this movie, lmao

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ok xenu, you start this rumor every time he films anything with a blonde.

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This is dumb, they're clearly filming a fake kissing scene, it was also done in the very first movie. They're working.

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he's looking good!

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don't do it girl

scientology isn't worth it

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not worth it

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that said, she needs to not play with fire like this. unless she can finally break him away from scientology and destroy the backbone of the cult once and for all #destined #theone this is the best he's looked in a long timethat said, she needs to not play with fire like this. unless she can finally break him away from scientology and destroy the backbone of the cult once and for all #savior

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are they not... filming scenes.

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that's what i thought

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it looks like they're just filming but if not, love yourself sis

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She was so great in The Crown and I'm glad she's getting more work but please let this rumor not be true. Also that hair color is doing her no favors.

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I have a crush on her from seeing her perform A Streetcar Named Desire, guh.

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That's the MTM Barbie mold? Huh.

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It's 2017 and they still can't design barbie dolls with less visible joint lines?

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I remember back in the 90s/early 2000s maybe there was a gymnast barbie I had that was flexible but made out of like... idk flexible plastic or whatever and it was the creepiest/grossest shit ever, she was like made of clay lol

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i think for awhile companies were really trying to do like a weird silicone/rubber-like skin over a highly articulated armature and it *always* looked creepy and gross.

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I remember those. They always got really dirty like..the dirt just stuck on the skin

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lmao I had that doll too and it was so weird and creepy looking.

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I think the joint lines in this doll are on purpose since she's a gymnast.

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cute! I don't like the jumpsuit though, I would've preferred something red white and blue, or said Team USA on it or something.

she looks so different

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what is that bullshit eye color on the doll? is she wearing twilight contacts? why not make them dark brown like the person it's supposed to be?

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mte the doll would look much more like gabby if they had them dark brown smh

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still feel so bad for her

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me too. this girl is an american hero and has gotten SO much shit.

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she's such a beauty

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I'm glad they didn't make her barbie do a ring leap, seeing as irl!Gabby can't do one properly ;)



But this is super great though.

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Her switch rings on beam are sooooo tragic. They're good on floor though. Sadly this is the case for a lot of gymnasts. Their leaps on floor are good, but are tentative on beam.

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I love Gabby, she's accomplished so much and I'm nhf all her haters (including you simone u should know better)

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what did simone say?

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I'm pretty sure Simone doesn't like Gabby.

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It was just some petty teenage drama. Gabby wasn't answering any of the Final Five's texts and lied to them about it, saying that her phone wasn't working. Then Gabby made some tweets about how she loves all her texts and how funny they are with another friend. Simone then called her out on twitter about it and Gabby tweeted and deleted about how her phone was working and she did text Simone or something. Gabby didn't need to lie about why she wasn't answering their texts or she should have at least covered her tracks better and not expose herself lol. Simone didn't need to make such petty drama public.

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Is dat a pic filter?



Yaaaas iconic

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that's a pretty doll



i predict that gabby will soon go down the road of skin bleaching & other forms of cosmetic surgery. i mean, look @ that wig

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cute ^.^

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Uranium prices have rebounded a little in recent months. With spot rates rising to a current $22.75/lb  after falling as low as $18 in late 2016.

But a new plan from the worlds top producer could help get prices moving upward again. As this major plans to increase its presence in buying and selling uranium around the world.

The firm is Kazakhstan state miner KazAtomProm. Which said this past week that it is setting up its first-ever trading subsidiary, to become more active in setting uranium prices.

KazAtomProms commercial director Riaz Rizvi told an industry conference late last week that a trading arm based in Switzerland has now been established. With full staffing for the office expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.

Director Rizvi noted that after that point, KazAtomProms uranium traders will become active in the spot market. A fact that could be very significant for uranium prices.

Heres why: uranium spot prices generally fall well below long-term prices. As the chart below shows, theres been an approximately $10 to $20 gap between the two marker prices over the past decade.

(Click to enlarge)

Spot uranium prices tend to lag long-term prices by $10 to $20 (source: Cameco)

KazAtomProm sees a big reason for that spread: a lack of trading in the spot market. As Rizvi put it, The problem is the fact that we are not buying and selling material. Related: OPEC Has Failed

Rizvi pointed out that in other commodities, long-term prices generally dont rise much above the cost of storage. If that happens, traders and other market participants simply buy up spot product and keep it, to sell in the future.

KazAtomProm may now be planning to bring such a strategy to uranium. Which could help to narrow the gap between spot and long-term prices  especially given the financial power this big firm has behind it.

That in turn could lead to a significant rise in spot prices. Storage fees for some industry groups runs as little as $0.22/lb yearly  meaning spot rates could rise a lot from the current $10 to $20 discount to long-term, and still offer a profitable arbitrage. Watch for potential changes coming in uranium trade and pricing starting in Q3.

Heres to stepping into the market.

By Dave Forest

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Has OPEC failed? Thats the question analysts have begun to ask, approaching the groups next meeting later this month. When the members gather at their headquarters in Vienna, it will likely be to agree on an extension of production cuts in place since January.

Those cuts, originally intended to re-balance markets and boost prices, had an initial positive effect but their ultimate impact has been difficult to measure, as inventories have declined only gradually while global oil shipments have increased. New production from outside of OPEC, particularly in the United States, has kept global inventories high.

Its generally believed that OPEC members will recognize the need to extend cuts, with one observer calling it a 100 percent probability. There is some speculation that Russia, a non-OPEC state whose cooperation is crucial to the overall success of OPECs strategy, may prove intransigent when it comes to cutting more production, but that skepticism was partly assuaged last week when Russias government indicated their compliance had neared one hundred percent.

As far as major OPEC producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran are concerned, an extension of the existing arrangement makes sense. Riyadh has been over-cutting and wants higher prices to support the partial IPO of Saudi Aramco next year. Iran and Iraq were both partly exempt from the production cuts, with Iran successfully recovering production to 3.8 million bpd.

While its unlikely Iran or Iraq would agree to reducing production, theres little reason for them to protest an extension of the deal, especially when theyve been able to seize market share from others, like Saudi Arabia, who have had to cut more. Fears that oil could plunge below $40 a barrel if no extension is agreed upon have begun to percolate, putting pressure on OPEC to deliver an extension at their May meeting. Related: OPEC Has Failed

It cant be denied that OPECs removal of 1.2 million bpd, combined with Russian cuts, has had an impact on global supply and supported declines in inventory. Its also evident that declining investment since the price crash in 2014 will likely translate into a much tighter supply situation in the future, an outcome that OPEC is undoubtedly counting on, considering some of its members (particularly the Gulf States) can increase production and take advantage of higher prices with relative ease.

But in the short-term, the OPEC deal hasnt been the success story many hoped. American production, following a slump in 2016, has returned and shows few signs of slowing down, at least until the end of the year. Recovering production in U.S. shale has been supported by an increase in activity in the Gulf of Mexico, where offshore projects have started to come on-line. A federal administration with a boisterous, ambitious attitude regarding future energy production supports feelings that the future is bright for U.S. fossil fuels: executive orders on opening up offshore, approving long-dormant pipelines and freeing up federal land have only added to the air of confidence in the U.S. patch.

OPEC cut production, sure, but its strategy didnt seem to cut into imports by OPEC customers, particularly China, which have increased despite alleged reductions in OPEC output. American imports of Saudi Arabian oil have also increased, while total imports from OPEC in the first quarter of 2017 rose in January, according to EIA data, followed by a decline in February. Saudi Aramco has offered discounts on products and crude headed for Asian markets, after further discounts were offered in April and May. The move is motivated not only by an interest in seizing more market share but also in improving the performance of Saudi Aramco, which faces its first partial IPO next year and is being dogged by skepticism surrounding the initial $2 trillion estimation of the companys worth.

Crude shipments from OPEC members rose slightly once the cuts went into effect, indicating a certain disconnect between rhetoric and reality. Refiners in the West continue to take advantage of low crude prices and high refining margins to make a killing the short term. A big U.S. inventory draw did little to affect prices, which declined shortly thereafter on additional fears of a continued glut in supply. Related: The Return Of Bearishness In Oil Markets

Meanwhile, the U.S. rig count ticks steadily upward, fueling expectations that U.S. production will top levels last seen in 1970, the year American conventional crude production peaked. Its no coincidence that 1970 is also when OPEC first truly began to throw its weight around the global petroleum market, and the year oil scholar MA Adelman noted oil prices began their mutation due to OPEC pressure on major companies.

Its now fairly clear that an OPEC production cut extension will be reached this month. But the real question is whether a cut will prove OPECs viability in influencing major trends in the market. Its members have long been focused on their own domestic agendas, but 2017 could be the year the groups unity starts to come undone. Saudi Arabia is focused on its IPO, Iran and Iraq on seizing market share and recovering production, while many other member states including Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela continue to struggle with immense challenges and instability. As American production recovers to a historic level, its possible that OPECs failure to act as a lever on price could auger a permanent decline in the groups fortunes.

With doubts surfacing over whether the first round of cuts was a true success, all eyes will be on OPEC in the second half of this year, measuring whether the cartel that isnt really a cartel still has the juice to deliver on its rhetoric.

By Gregory Brew for Oilprice.com

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Two months ago we first suggested that OPEC may be fabricating data about its production cuts - and certainly overstating the "success" of the Vienna production cut deal - by looking at the rising Chinese oil imports, and by extension, rising oil deliveries by OPEC nations.



As JPMorgan wrote back in February, the IEA estimated that OPEC crude oil production fell by 1mbd to 32.06mbd in January, suggesting an initial compliance of 90 percent with the output agreement reached at the end of 2016. The latest oil supply details released by Chinese customs on Monday suggest a reduction of supplies was not yet seen by China, the worlds largest oil importer.

In fact, quite the contrary: crude oil shipments from the 11 OPEC nations rose 4 percent from December 2016 - in a time when production was supposed to be declining - to 4.6mbd in January, accounting for 57 percent of Chinas total oil imports.

Fast forward two months when Reuters analyst Clyde Russell looks at the same data and asks whether "it is time to call the crude oil output cuts by OPEC and its allies a failure?"

Echoing what we cautioned two months ago, Russell said that "certainly there is an increasing disconnect between the rhetoric of OPEC and other producers cutting output on the one hand and the reality of a well-supplied crude oil market and mixed signals on the level of global inventories on the other." Related: Saudis Further Discount Crude To Asia

The paradox: on one hand, OPEC and non-OPEC producer nations, including Russia, have been touting the high compliance with the agreement to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from January to June. Having failed to boost the price of crude sustainably above $50, OPEC is now set to prolong the deal for another six months, with the announcement expected at a meeting scheduled for May 25. Needless to say, Russell is skeptical that merely extending what (N)OPEC tried before for another six months, will succeed.

When the deal took effect from Jan. 1, Brent traded in a narrow range for two months, before falling sharply in early March, but the support level of $50 held, with only a brief foray to an intraday low of $49.71 on March 22.

But Brent is once again testing the bottom of the post-agreement range, dropping to as low as $51.42 a barrel on Monday, as skepticism mounts over the ultimate effectiveness of the OPEC measures.

And it is here where Russell notes that, more important for determining the longer-term price outlook is to look at the amount of oil available and the levels of inventories, something we have been skeptical about since the Vienna summit, and certainly since our February article.

The math is simple: for OPEC and its allies to achieve their aim of sustainable higher prices, both global supplies and inventories have to be reduced. Yet "it's here that the main evidence of the failure of the OPEC agreement is to be found."

As the charts below demonstrate, oil shipments by tanker around the globe were at a record high in April, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain and Commodity forecasts. As of last week, the data shows that an average 50.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude is being shipped in April, up from the previous record 46.1 million bpd in January. While the data excludes crude moved by pipelines, it's extremely unlikely that pipeline supplies have been cut by more than seaborne cargoes have increased.

Worse, the data also shows that Saudi Arabia, which set out to make the largest output cut among those producers party to the November deal, is actually increasing tanker shipments in recent months, to levels well above those that prevailed late last year.

In short, OPEC may be producing less - if one only believes the OPEC-sourced data - but actual global deliveries of oil have never been higher!

And here are the four charts in question which prompted Russell to declare the OPEC deal a failure.

(Click to enlarge)

Some more details: Saudis are expected to ship 8.29 million bpd in April, up from 7.94 million bpd in March, 7.73 million bpd in February and 7.83 million bpd in January. Furthermore, Chinese customs data released last week showed that the world's biggest crude importer received higher supplies from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Angola, Iran and Iraq in March than it did the previous month.

Repeating virtually verbatim what we said two months ago, Reuters then goes on to say that "the Chinese numbers don't exactly fit in with the narrative of successful output cuts, rather they show the opposite."

For those confused, what the above means is that a picture emerges in which there is a gaping difference between reducing output and actually cutting supplies. As a result, while it is likely the case that OPEC and its allies have been in high compliance with their agreed output cuts, it hasn't necessarily translated into significantly lower shipments of crude oil.

Then there is, of course, the shale wildcard: U.S. producers outside the agreement have been increasing production and shipments. The plentiful supply of oil can be seen in global inventories, with the International Energy Agency saying recently that inventories in industrialized countries were still 10 percent above their five-year average." Related: South Africas Huge Bet On Nuclear Energy

There is some good news for oil bulls: "barrels stored in less visible places, such as in developing nations and in floating storage, do appear to be drawing down, but there is a question mark over whether this is happening fast enough to provide a basis for higher oil prices in future months. But for OPEC and its allies to achieve lasting success, they will actually have to reduce the amount of crude being shipped."

So far, not only has that not happened, but the Vienna deal participants have been aggressively boosting deliveries in behind the scenes attempts to capture market share from each other.

In a separate report from Bloomberg, according to the head of research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia - the worlds biggest crude exporter - has been rapidly losing market share to Iraq and Iran as a result of OPECs agreement to curb supplies in order to bolster prices, If youre talking about winners, you can count Iran and Iraq, Christof Ruehl said Wednesday at a conference in Dubai.

OPEC agreed to production limits for most of its members at a meeting in November and brought 11 other nations on board with the deal in December. Saudi Arabia, OPECs biggest producer, agreed to cut output by 486,000 barrels a day while Iraq said it would cut 210,000 barrels a day. Iran was permitted to increase output by 90,000 barrels a day, according to the OPEC accord.

Ironically, U.S. shale production has increased by almost exactly the amount that Saudi production has declined by, suggesting that Saudi Arabia is losing market share not only to Iraq and Iran, but also to US oil producers.

Saudi Arabia knew it would lose share because Irans production was on the rebound, said Robin Mills, founder of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy. The Saudis agreed to production cuts at a time when Iranian production was at a high.

The struggle over market share is most pronounced in Asia, according to Mills and Edward Bell, commodities analyst at Dubai-based lender Emirates NBD PJSC. Iran and Iraq increased crude sales to China last month, while Saudi Arabia slipped behind Russia and Angola as the largest suppliers to the nation, data released Tuesday by the General Administration of Customs show.



The Saudis are losing out because other countries are able to squeeze out more production, Bell of Emirates NBD said. Saudi Arabia is cutting crude pricing to Asia to hold on to its share, Bell said. The kingdom just released its official crude pricing for June, once again cutting prices to Asia in a bid to defend its market share.

The bottom line, according to Russell, is that it doesn't matter how much you talk about reducing output or drawing down producer inventories, what ultimately matters for the price is the amount of crude that buyers can access. And right now, the data on crude flows indicates that the OPEC deal is failing, even as Saudi Arabia is facing increasing market share losses, which will sooner or later prompt the kingdom to aggressively undercut its competition once prices fail to rebound materially, sending the price of crude tumbling once again, as OPEC goes back to square one in a world where the real question market is not the future of supply, but what happens to demand.

By Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A rift has opened between Libyas U.N.-backed government and its powerful National Oil Corporation (NOC), threatening the fractured countrys political cohesion and its nascent petroleum-industry recovery.

On Monday, NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla announced that the country has built its oil production up to 760,000 barrels per day and planned to go ahead with plans to expand production to 1.1 million bpd by August of this year.

Just a few days earlier, that same official openly criticized Libyas Government of National Accord (GNA), a United Nations-backed government whose formation last year raised hopes of political unity in a nation divided by warring militant groups. Sanalla said the GNA aimed to wrest control of NOCs petroleum deals for power over Libyas economic future.

Oil profits will be the lifeblood of any successful future government in Libya. Under Gaddafis reign, fossil fuels made up over 90 percent of Tripolis revenues, which the government used to provide heavy food and consumer goods subsidies to its citizens in exchange for loyalty.

After years of internal struggle, the NOC has managed to develop a firm grip over 90 percent of Libyas oil export revenues. The company achieves this by claiming to maintain its independence from various factions vying to run the country until elections are held, but Sanallas recent statement condemning the GNA breaks from this policy.

The NOC owes its recent stability to the Libyan National Army, which operates under strict orders from Khalifa Haftar. The Gaddafi-era generala U.S. citizen who lived in the United States for 20 yearshas managed to defend the nations oilfields and prevent rival groups from interfering with production operations. Related: OPEC Has Failed

Haftars maneuvering has ushered in a period of stability in Libya, which has earned him a say in political matters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken note of the burgeoning figure, offering him weapons, tours of Russian vessels, and direct access to senior Russian officials..

Sanallas attack on the GNAs credibility and alleged sabotage of the NOCs work signals a shift in favor away from the pro-Western United Nations and towards Russian interests. Haftar and GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj have long been at odds as well.

The latest conflict occurred in February in Cairo, a city considered to be Haftars home turf due to Egypts backing of LNA military ventures via air strikes. The generals departure from the Egyptian Capital without meeting with al-Sarraj caused him to lose aerial support from Libyas eastern neighbor as well as from the United Arab Emirates.

The NOC remains the most powerful domestic factor in the Libyan political arena due to its power over the oil resources necessary for the reconstruction of major cities affected by six years of civil war. Haftar and his LNA is the greatest military strength in the country. Both parties distance from the GNA suggests the international communitys plan for the future of Libya inches closer to complete failure each day.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Aramco now controls 100 percent of the Port Arthur, Texas, oil refinery  the largest such facility in the United States  according to an announcement on Monday.

The deal regarding the 600,000 barrels-per-day facility had first been announced in 2016. Previously, Aramco, which is wholly-owned by the Saudi Arabian government, owned 50 percent of the refinery in a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell.

The two oil companies rocky relationship caused Shells departure. A statement on Monday from Aramco confirmed that the split up had reached completion according to CNN Money.

The deal also grants Aramco full ownership of 24 distribution terminals as well as the exclusive privilege of selling Shell gasoline and diesel fuel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, east Texas and most of Florida.

The new setup profits Riyadh, which is preparing for the initial public offering of Aramco in 2018. Its been declared the largest IPO in history, with the state-run company expecting a valuation of $2 trillion.

Low oil prices have caused the KSA to be concerned about the success of the IPO. This led Riyadh to push through a deal with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that allows the supply glut to fade over the course of 2017, before the Aramco listing goes live.

Saudi Arabia is the United States second-biggest crude oil supplier, after Canada. The deal will give Saudi easier access to American consumers, who will feed their cars fuel pumped from Aramco facilities worldwide.



Related: OPEC Has Failed

President Donald Trump, who recently completed 100 days in office, has had a rough start with both of the United States largest energy allies. Senior level officials from Canada and Saudi Arabia have both warned Trump of political and economic repercussions if fuel imports from either country are throttled.

By Zainab Calcuttawala of Oilprice.com

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Like the other major oil companies, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) benefited from the higher oil prices in the first quarter this year, but the U.S. exploration and production group booked an adjusted loss for Q1 that missed analyst expectations for a profit.

Excluding special items, ConocoPhillips reported an adjusted loss of US$19 million for the first quarter, or a loss of US$0.02 per share, compared to Thomson/Reuters I/B/E/S estimates that it would post a profit of US$0.01 per share. In the first quarter last year, ConocoPhillips had posted an adjusted loss of US$1.2 billion, or a loss of US$0.95 per share.

Including the special items, ConocoPhillips Q1 2017 earnings were helped by a financial tax accounting benefit related to an asset sale in Canada. Including that divestment gain, the company booked earnings of US$800 million, or $0.62 per share, compared with a loss of US$1.5 billion, or a US$1.18 loss per share, for the first quarter of 2016.

On an adjusted basis, the first-quarter result improved from the same period last year mostly due to higher realized prices. In the first quarter of 2017, the companys total realized price was US$36.18 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), compared with US$22.94 per boe in Q1 2016, reflecting higher average realized prices across all commodities.



The companys production in the first quarter, excluding Libya, rose by 2 percent on the year, when adjusted for downtime and dispositions.



Related: Uranium Prices Set To Rise In 2017

ConocoPhillips continued to cut expenses in the first quarter, reducing production and operating expenses by 4 percent year over year, and cutting adjusted operating costs by 6 percent annually.

Last month, ConocoPhillips closed a deal to sell its assets in the San Juan Basin in the Southwestern U.S. to Hilcorp Energy Company for US$3 billion, bringing its total divestment proceeds for 2017 to US$16 billion.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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A deputy manager at Iraqs Northern Gas Company was gunned down today by an unidentified group of men on the way to his office in Kirkuk, in the autonomous region of Kurdistan. According to the local police, as quoted by Reuters, Mohammed Younis and his driver were targeted from a speeding car and died instantly.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to local media said that there were three assailants in a black BMW who opened fire against Younis car.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The autonomous region of Kurdistan is preparing for an independence vote perhaps as early as this year, despite signals from the central Iraqi government that the regional parliament, which has been paralyzed for two years now by inter-faction squabbles, cannot hold a referendum.

Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad are rising amid the drive for independence, mostly because some of Iraqs biggest oil fields currently fall within Kurdistan Regional Government Territory. The two governments have an agreement, under which Erbil receives a portion of the central budget in exchange for part of the crude oil output but the Kurdistan authorities have more than once demonstrated that they would be much happier if they controlled the local oil riches alone.

At the same time, Iraq is planning to bump up its crude output considerably in the coming years, and the crude it pumps from the northern fields will be instruments for these plans.



Related: OPEC Has Failed

Meanwhile, there remains the IS factor: the terrorist group is perhaps what is keeping Erbil and Baghdad together in a united front against it. The Islamic State has targeted oil infrastructure in Kurdistan before, and earlier this month the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline was blown up just days after restarting shipments. Although no group claimed responsibility for the explosion, IS militants were among the likely perpetrators.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Libyan oil production has now topped 760,000 barrels  the highest level since December 2014, according to the countrys National Oil Corporation (NOC), which made the announcement on Monday, Mining Weekly reported.

NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said the company planned to increase production further. Previous goals have Libya producing 1.1 million barrels by this August.

The lack of a unified governing body in Libya has made the North African nation a haven for smugglers and traffickers who bring boatloads of people to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. Fighting between the two rival governments and related militant groups has affected the recovery of Libyas oil sector since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Still, there is tangible progress in the oil sector, which has caused the jump in output from 622,000 barrels per day in March.

The El-Feel oil field in western Libyaoperated by a joint venture between Italys Eni and Libyas National Oil Corporation (NOC)reopened last week after two years, and expects to start pumping oil as soon as a power outage is fixed, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Other oil facilities that had been closed due to militant activities have also become operational again. In late April, the Wafa oilfield reopened oil and gas pipelines to its nearby port after local elders negotiated an agreement with an armed group that had caused NOC to enact a force majeure. The shutdown had started on March 26.



Related: Saudis Further Discount Crude To Asia

Libya is exempt from the terms of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) deal to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day to limit supply glut that has plagued oil markets for 2.5 years. Six years of domestic strife has caused the nation to lose its former status as one of the most prolific oil producers in Africa.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- An American man and his Canadian girlfriend who went missing in Belize were found dead Monday afternoon, local police confirmed to ABC News.



Autopsies have not yet been performed and police have not released any information on what they believe happened.



Drew DeVoursney, 36, and his girlfriend Francesca Matus, 52, were reported missing by their friend Joseph Milholen, who went to the home of Matus in the Corozal District of Belize on Friday to take her to the airport, from which she was scheduled to fly home to Toronto.



Milholen told police in Belize that he could not find Matus at her home and that DeVoursney's bicycle was parked in her driveway, although Matus' car was gone.



Milholen told local authorities that the last time he saw the pair was on Thursday at a bar in Corozal Town, Belize.



"That's the hardest part, it's just that we don't know anything, we don't know where he is, or what's going on," Char DeVoursney, Drew DeVoursney's mother, told local ABC News affiliate WSB-TV of Atlanta, Georgia, ahead of the discovery Monday.



She added that it was very unlike her son to not communicate where he is with his family.



David DeVoursney, the brother of Drew DeVoursney, told WSB-TV ahead of Monday's discovery that what happened to the couple "is a complete mystery."



Global Affairs Canada, a department of the Canadian government, told ABC News previously that it was aware of reports of a missing Canadian citizen in Belize, and that it was providing consular assistance to her family and was in contact with local authorities.



A U.S. State Department official said the department was aware of the reports as well but had no further comment.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
By Shahriyar Smith

Outrage over Pepsis new protest-themed ad is common here in the Pacific Northwest. We are, after all, no strangers to protest. And whats more, we take it seriously. Protests are part of our culture  a form of street cred.

We know how to spot a fake, which Pepsis ad certainly is. It shows a multi-ethnic crowd of good-looking people with signs bearing banal platitudes like join the conversation marching through the streets while singing, dancing and even playing the cello. But the ad is also more than that. Kendal Jenner handing an unarmed cop a Pepsi shouldnt have us this worked up, but somehow it does.

Perhaps it is because the ad touches on something odd about protests today that we never talk about. Quite often, well-to-do families with children no older than eight or nine can be seen walking uncomfortably close to individuals clad in gas masks and military fatigues. Crowds are politely ushered by police lights and sirens along carefully planned routes negotiated with the city long in advance. People understand on an important level that there is, in fact, no real risk, no real conflict  only symbolism.

Its healthy, everybody gets something out of it, and at the end, we all go home safe and sound. The sociologist Emile Durkheim called it effervescence. Today, symbolism has come to define the raison detre of protest in America.

All this points to an awkward fact: that modern protests have effectively become parades. The real risks faced by the protests of the civil rights era  the fire hoses, police dogs and public assassinations  no longer exist as they once did. They gave way in the 90s and 2000s to an open nostalgia for that eras unrealized revolutionary promises. The Seattle WTO protests in 1999 and the Iraq war protests in 2003 all utilized this political nostalgia to significant effect. Portland famously earned the nickname little Beirut during the 1991 Gulf War protests.

Since the election of Donald Trump, however, protests appear to have moved beyond nostalgia and sentimentality, straight into kitsch. They have become parades in all but name, designed not to achieve specific policy goals but instead to facilitate and legitimize public displays of anxiety and frustration. Just look at Portlands Womens March earlier this year, where protesters posed for selfies with police. This symbolism is what Pepsi was marketing.

In so doing, the ad inadvertently exposed this symbolism for what it was. It didnt hide it with anything specific or substantive. And it didnt pretend it to be anything other than what it was.

In this way, the ad offended a sacred cow of contemporary protest culture. It reflected a basic truth back at the American public: that kitsch is often and easily commercialized. It showed the unthinkable: the symbolism of protest as protest.

If todays protests involved real risk like those of decades past, if they were still about the form and the substance of protest, the ethos of Pepsis ad would not have been salient as a means of appealing to consumers. By bringing us face to face with the image of protest as kitsch, as parade, it struck a very real chord  just not in the way they intended.

By endangering a sacred cow of American politics, by pulling back the curtain of symbolism, the ad threatened to dispel an illusion. The hidden figure behind the curtain would be exposed. Protests might no longer speak with the booming voice of Oz. So, the ad was pulled, but not before the damage was done.

After all the controversy, people may no longer hear a voice from on high when listening to the protests of tomorrow. They may recognize, instead, the sound of outrage that once rose to meet Pepsis latest ad. They might listen and hear a chorus of moos, rising to exalt another sacred cow. Whatever Pepsis original intent, they have inadvertently done the work of serious art  speaking truth to power in all its bovine forms and calling the powerful to account, where they may be hiding in the unlikeliest of places.
Challenges to Free Expression and Academic Integrity on Campus

Join Cascade Policy Institute for a special event

with Dr. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.

Monday, May 8, 2017, 6:00-7:30 pm, at the Crowne Plaza Portland-Lake Oswego

With a constant stream of headlines about campus disruptions and lightweight curricula, alumni are rightly concerned about the erosion of academic freedom and the decline of academic standards on American college campuses. The evenings presentation will spell out why the trends are so worrying and ways in which some intrepid college leaders, college trustees, and alumni donors are showing how to stand up for academic excellence and intellectual openness that the public demands.

Dr. Merrill is executive director of the Fund for Academic Renewal, a program of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which works with donors to create and monitor high-impact gifts to colleges and universities. ACTA is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at Americas colleges and universities.

There is no charge for this event, but reservations are required in advance due to space limitations. A dessert buffet with coffee and tea will be served.

If you have friends, family, or colleagues who may be interested in learning more about Cascade Policy Institute, please invite them as our guests.

More information and ticket reservations can be found here.

Founded in 1991, Cascade Policy Institute is Oregons premier policy research center. Cascades mission is to explore and promote public policy alternatives that foster individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic opportunity.
A Canadian mans Star Trek-inspired license plate has been revoked after his public insurance company received complaints that it was offensive to indigenous people. The two-year-old plate, which reads ASIMIL8, is a sly reference to the Borg, evil aliens in Star Trek who assimilate their prey and go by the motto Resistance is Futile.

Manitoba local Nick Troller was informed by an agent from Manitoba Public Insurance on Wednesday that they had received complaints from two people about the word assimilate, which they claimed is offensive to minorities. He was then served a letter informing him that it has been brought to the attention of this office that the personalized plate ASIMIL8 is considered offensive, and was ordered to surrender it immediately.

This reminds me of a basically unrelated thing: years ago a lefty friend of mine was commenting on the political incorrectness of the idea of the Borg. She was arguing that ST:TNG was demonizing collectivism. "As if," she said, laughing,"losing your individuality were the worst thing that could happen to you..."

It is, of course, imperative here, as always, to remember that there is no such thing as political correctness (and also that political correctness is good, and just, and merely ordinary politeness/civility, etc....) To deny that is the epitome of political incorrectness....
Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association

Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America.
A key GOP moderate climate change ally of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, is leaving the House at the end of the two-year session.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, announced over the weekend she will not seek re-election in 2018, the Associated Press reported.

The Miami Republican is a co-sponsor of the resolution Stefanik introduced that recognizes the importance of climate change, and encourage the House to take action.

Ros-Lehtinen and Stefanik have voted against the majority of Republicans on climate change measures three times, so far this year.

In January, they were among five House Republicans that voted in support of an amendment to require an accounting of green house gas emissions of a federal housing rule.

In February, they were among 11 House Republicans that voted against rescinding an Obama administration rule intended to reduce waste of natural gas.

In March they voted against legislation Stefanik said threatens the privacy of individuals who participate in scientific studies.

Stefanik, through her E-PAC political action committee, contributed $1,000 to Ros-Lehtinens re-election campaign in March, before the Florida Republican announced she will not seek re-election.
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When Matt Rozell, a teacher at Hudson Falls High School, started researching the train of concentration camp survivors found at the end of World War II, he never envisioned it would result in connecting those survivors with their liberators or produce more than a dozen reunions.

He also didn't know the cover photo, from one of those soldiers, would take on a life of its own, as indicated in this recent article, which received widespread attention in both Israel and Germany.

According to journalist Ofer Aderet, writing in the newspaper Israeli newspaper Haartez:

"After I published my article, I received an email from N., a Jewish woman who lives in Europe. She wrote that she was the granddaughter of the woman in the photo  a Jewish woman from the Hungarian town of Mako who was 35 at the time of the photo. Her daughter holding her hand was 5.

The woman, who died in the 80s, and her daughter didnt immigrate to Israel after the Holocaust as did some of the liberated passengers, but returned to Hungary. N. says her grandmother and mother suffered psychological problems all their lives because of the trauma they endured.

Alas, when I asked to meet the girl in the photo whos now 77, I was told she preferred to avoid publicity."
FORT EDWARD  A Vermont man who destroyed a $1,000 computer inside Washington County Jail is headed to prison for up to 3 years.

Robert Brown, 30, of Williston, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal mischief, a felony, for a September incident in which he beat up a computer terminal. He was in jail on an unspecified charge at the time of the incident.

Brown has a prior felony conviction, and under state law is required to serve a state prison term for any subsequent state Penal Law felony within 10 years.

Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan imposed a 1-1/2- to 3-year prison term for the conviction.
GRANVILLE  A collision between two shopping carts and an alleged threat with a cane led to an arrest over the weekend.

The charges stemmed from a fight in the Price Chopper store on Quaker Street, in which one customer was accused of chasing another around the store with a walking cane on April 24, police said.

The alleged cane-wielder, George R. Juckett, 51, of Hebron, was charged not only with threatening another store-goer, but also with lying to police about how the confrontation occurred, according to State Police.

Police were called to the store around 7:25 on April 24 for the report of a fight. Juckett told troopers that the other man had caused the problem by ramming the motorized shopping cart he was using with another cart, officials said.

Troopers checked the store's surveillance video and saw that Juckett actually rammed the other man's cart, then got out of it and began pursuing him with the cane raised over his head, police said.

He was charged Sunday with misdemeanor counts of menacing and making a false written statement and noncriminal disorderly conduct, before he was released pending prosecution in Town Court.
Uber has registered drivers in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties who are ready to go as soon as the state licenses the drivers.

We have seen more than 50,000 drivers sign up across the state, and we are seeing that number climb every day, said Danielle Filson, an Uber spokeswoman. Uber cant wait to bring reliable, affordable transportation options to upstate and the suburbs this summer.

Saratoga Springs officials are hopeful Uber will be up and running in the region by the August track season, said Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen.

As a tourist destination, its very important that we keep up with our competitor cities, where ride-hailing services are already available, she said.

Its not yet clear if an August time frame can be met, said EDC Warren County President Edward Bartholomew.

Ride-hailing has the potential to boost local tourism and workforce development, said Tori Riley, president and chief executive officer of Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce.

People who live in rural areas that are off the Greater Glens Falls Transit Service bus route and who cannot afford reliable vehicles or do not drive could use ride-hailing to commute to work, she said.

Several workers could band together and split the fare, which typically is less expensive than a cab fare, she said.

I think this is going to be a game-changer for the workforce, she said.

Ride-hailing, in and of itself, is a new source of employment, Riley said.

I do think its going to be a great opportunity for students and maybe people between jobs to earn some income and meet new people, she said.

This legislation will certainly provide passengers additional options for transportation as well as increasing transportation for residents in more rural areas of our region, Bartholomew said.

July 9 is the earliest ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft can operate upstate under a new state law that directs the state Department of Motor Vehicles to develop a process to license drivers.

Its unclear how long it will take to develop and implement the licensing process.

The DMV is working to draft the required regulations to ensure that ride-hailing services can be enjoyed by New Yorkers this summer, said Joseph Morrissey, a DMV spokesman.

Ride-hailing services use an app to schedule taxi-like rides.

The state legislation prohibits ride-hailing drivers from picking up riders by street hails, or soliciting riders in any way other than through a mobile phone app, Bartholomew said.

It also prohibits them from accepting cash payments for rides, or from operating a vehicle with a legal capacity of more than seven passengers, Bartholomew said.

Municipalities regulate cab companies that operate in their jurisdiction and license cab drivers.

But the state will regulate ride-hailing companies and license ride-hailing drivers.

Municipalities may designate no-idling areas and restrict travel lanes for ride-hailing drivers and are allowed to enforce traffic and parking restrictions.

A criminal background check, and possibly fingerprinting, will be part of the application process, Bartholomew said.

Individuals are disqualified from being a driver if theyve had a driving while intoxicated or reckless driving conviction within the past three years, or have been convicted within the past seven years of a sex crime, homicide, Class A felony or violent felony, Bartholomew said.
GREENWICH  Rachel Hall of Greenwich was crowned the 52nd Washington County Dairy Princess at the pageant held April 30. Hall, daughter of Chris and Cathy Hall, will be the head of a new team of dairy princesses for the 2017-2018 year.

In front of more than 100 people at the Middle Falls Firehouse, the four candidates offered speeches on dairy promotion and information. They each answered the impromptu question, As a member of the Washington County Dairy Princess team you represent the entire dairy industry. What are some key messages that you want the consumer to know?

Citing health and nutritional benefits of milk and other dairy products, the candidates also brought up issues about animal welfare, environmental stewardship and farming practices.

First Alternate is Kassidy Kuzmich, daughter of Brady and Kia Wolff of Argyle. Alternate Dairy Princesses are Shania Danio, daughter of Greg and Sherrie Danio of Greenwich; and Mackenzie Casey, daughter of Bridget Beecher of Hartford.

The outgoing dairy princess team of Julia Houser and Sara Stein, both of Greenwich, made thank-you speeches, reflecting on their year of dairy promotion and service. They acknowledged the more-than 40 Dairy Ambassadors who participate in the program, gaining life skills, learning lessons and raising self-confidence while promoting dairy products.

Chairwoman Betsy Foote thanked the many farmers and agriservice donors and praised the efforts of Julia and Sara.

For information on hosting a dairy princess at an event or learning more about the program, call 744-7942. For updates on the teams activities, go to www.washingtoncountydairyprincess.org.
Residents of the Cambridge area were picking up Tuesday after a storm late Monday pounded the area, damaging numerous homes and vehicles.

Authorities reported numerous downed trees in the village of Cambridge and adjacent areas of the town of Cambridge and White Creek.

Scott Lucey, an East Main Street resident and village trustee, had pine trees come through the roof of a porch at his home, and damage the main part of the home as well as destroy one vehicle and heavily damage another. He said cleanup was ongoing Tuesday as he talked with his insurance company.

It sounded like a freight train. It was quick, 20 or 30 seconds, he said of the wind.

More than 2,200 local National Grid customers were without power as of early Tuesday thanks to severe storms that pounded the region late Monday, hitting part of southern Washington County hardest in our region.

There are trees down everywhere, Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell said. It was all around the village and outside the village.

He said at least one home and two vehicles on East Main Street were damaged by fallen trees and branches, while residents of a home on Route 22 near Shunpike in White Creek had several vehicles damaged.

National Grids outages were concentrated in White Creek and Cambridge as well as central Saratoga County. By Tuesday evening, only a handful of customers were without power in southern Washington County.

New York State Electric & Gas reported no outages as of early Tuesday.

Police reported numerous trees and limbs brought down by winds and lightning, but no road closures as of Tuesday morning.

Numerous severe thunderstorm warnings were issued late Monday as a strong line of storms blew through, bringing high winds and frequent lightning. The storm responsible for the Cambridge-area damage hit around 11 p.m. and was designated as a severe storm because of the potential for wind damage.
EC can issue notification for Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll on or after November 11 after court decides on Azam Khan's plea: SC.
Meanwhile, Congress announced on May 1 that its new bipartisan budget deal would extend the voucher program, known as the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), through the 2019 fiscal year. The program currently serves roughly 1,100 low-income kids in the DC area.

School vouchers have gained new attention in the months since President Trump appointed Betsy DeVos as his Secretary of Education. Both Trump and DeVos have pushed for vouchers as part of a larger approach toward education rooted in "school choice."

According to the administration's philosophy, parents should wield ultimate control over where their kids go to school, and the best way to foster that freedom of choice is to make education less of a public good and more of a marketplace.

Vouchers are a major component of that mission because they repackage public funds, in the form of tax dollars, as a kind of gift certificate that kids can use to pay for private education.

In theory, vouchers could improve the quality of a child's education by allowing them access to schools they couldn't afford to pay for without a subsidy. But a growing number of studies have found that vouchers actually yield negligible, and potentially harmful, effects.

For instance, analyses carried out in Louisiana found that voucher-using students in the 50th percentile in math had dropped to the 26th percentile by the end of the first year. The second year saw modest rebound, but still well below the starting point. Similar drops have been recorded in Indiana and Ohio.

The Washington, DC study revealed students fell by about 5.4 percentile points in the national distribution of math test scores. Reading scores also fell, but by an insignificant amount. On the heels of those experiments, critics are claiming the data may indicate that voucher programs aren't just ineffective but potentially harmful.

"I am always disappointed when Congress intervenes in DC local matters, and I think this is one of those areas where it is extremely consequential," David Grosso, a Washington DC council member, told the Post.

The DC voucher program is the only one of its kind that receives federal funds to support school vouchers. All other programs receive state-allocated money.

As part of its recommitment to the DC vouchers, Congress has also called for a less rigorous approach to future studies about its effectiveness.

Currently, studies compare voucher recipients to kids who applied for vouchers but didn't receive them. This is the accepted gold standard: comparing an experimental group with an identical control for whom the conditions don't change.

The new standards would compare voucher recipients to kids with "similar backgrounds" in the local public and charter schools. Experts regard this as a generally weaker comparison since not all public-school students fit the same profile as kids whose parents feel they need vouchers.

Secretary DeVos reacted to the reauthorization positively, saying the study's limited findings didn't necessarily reflect the progress made in DC private schools since 2004, when the program began.
The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told Politico on Monday that the committee is not going to issue new sanctions against Russia over its election interference, saying it would instead work on new bills to sanction Iran over its ballistic missile program and counter Russian aggression in Europe.
It's not a new rumor, but it seems more and more like a good idea, especially considering that the iPhone's main competition from Samsung's Galaxy S8 has wireless charging.

It's not clear exactly which iPhone models could come with wireless charging, whether it's the rumored ultra-premium "special edition" model, the "S" models of the iPhone 7, or both.

If any of Apple's upcoming iPhone models support wireless charging, it'll fix one of the main issues with Apple's recent departure from including the standard 3.5mm headphone jack in its iPhones. Indeed, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus do not have a standard headphone jack, which forces users to use wireless Bluetooth headphones, or use wired headphones with the included headphone adapter that plugs into the iPhone's Lightning port.

The problem is that the iPhone 7 Lightning port serves two purposes, including charging and listening to music with wired headphones, but it can only be used for one purpose at a time (unless you buy a special dongle from a third party). If an iPhone user wants to keep using wired headphones with the headphone adapter, it doesn't allow the user to charge their smartphone at the same time, as the Lightning port would be occupied by the headphone adapter.

Wireless charging would solve that issue, as an iPhone user could charge their iPhone wirelessly while using the Lightning port for either Lightning headphones or Apple's packed-in adapter for wired headphones. In a way, it would be like getting the dedicated headphone jack back, as the iPhone's Lightning port could be used exclusively for listening to music instead of both listening to music and charging.

It's not an issue for those who are happy using Bluetooth headphones, as the Lightning port can be used exclusively for charging the iPhone, and there's no conflict between charging and listening to music.
The two companies are GBfoods, a leading multinational food Group headquartered in Barcelona, and Helios Investment Partners, a premier Africa-focused private investment firm.

GBfoods are producers of Gino, Bama, Jago, Pomo, Jumbo, Star, GrandItalia, Gallina Banca products on the Ghanaian market as well as other markets worldwide.

With this transaction, Africa becomes the key market for GBfoods, where Jumbo has been present for more than 40 years.

The company will operate in 30 African countries, including Nigeria and Ghana.

This partnership creates one of Africa's largest FMCG groups

The joint venture will be known as GBfoods Africa Holdco B.V.

GBfoods Africa Holdco B.V. has acquired assets from different African companies including leading brands such as Jumbo (bouillon), Gino and Pomo (tomato paste), and Jago (milk powder and mayonnaise), as well as Bama (mayonnaise) distribution rights for Africa.

The agreement also includes three production plants in Africa, one in Ghana and two in Nigeria, and incorporates more than 600 workers from different nationalities. This will result in a leading pan-African culinary products company with presence in over 30 African countries.

With this transaction, GBfoods reinforces its leadership position as one of the most influential international groups in the food industry, consolidating its commitment to Africa.

READ ALSO: Bank of Ghana reviews minimum capital

Chief Executive Officer of GBfoods Ignasi Ricou said the acquisition gives them more potential to grow in Africa.
A student who spoke to Accra-based Starr FM said The school authorities together with the machomen stood at the gate with a list and if they check through the list and you are owing, then the machomen will beckon you to go back home and if you try to resist they force you out of the school compound. Most of the students from first year to final year have been sent home for owing as little as GHC50.

If any student who is indebted refuses to leave the classroom after their names have been mentioned the machomen, are ordered to get them out of the place.

In a related development, an administrator of the school who gave his name as Sammy, said the heavily built men are security officials of the schools.
The beautiful lawyer and entrepreneur is in the USA to participate in the 2017 edition of Fortune-U.S. Department of State Global Womens Mentoring Program.

The program provides participants with unique opportunities to develop their management and business skills while gaining experience in the U.S. business and non-profit environment.

Sandra completed the one week orientation program where she attended leadership workshops and other business organization and development skills.

She also got the opportunity to go to the White House and met two of Donald Trumps Deputy National Security Advisers; K.T. McFarland and Dina Habib Powell.

She also met Ivanka Trump who doubles as US presidents daughter and assistant as well as meeting Kellyanne Conway who is also the counsellor to President Trump, and Melanie Trump's Chief of staff.

She also had dinner and spend time with some of Fortune's Most Powerful Women. She got the chance to engage with the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde.

Sandra is currently in Philadelphia to work with her mentor, Jami Wintz Mckeon at her company Morgan Lewis & Bockius for the next two weeks.

Jami Wintz Mckeon is the first female chairperson of the firm which is the largest in America and one of the five largest firms in the world.
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The accused is charged with committing felony by aiding the escape of kidnappers, to which he entered a `not guilty plea.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Julius Babatope, told the court that the accused committed the offence on April 19 at Atere Area, Agbowa in Ikorodu.

He alleged that the accused helped the kidnappers clear a passage on the waterway for their escape.

Babatope said the offence contravened Section 406(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs M.O. Olajuwon, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N200,000 with two responsible and gainfully employed sureties in like sum.
These remittances have continued to serve as a pool of foreign exchange for the country

A survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service has indicated that Ghana received a total of GH1.36 million remittances in six districts in the Ashanti Region and Brong Ahafo region within 12 months.

The districts included; Mampong Municipal, Sekyere Kumawu and Asante Akim North in the Ashanti Region and Brekum Municipal, Nkoranza South and Techiman Municipal in the Brong Ahafo Region, funded by the International organisation for Migration Development Fund.

In 2014, Ghana received a total of 2 billion dollars while the figure reached over 4.9 billion dollars in 2015.

The UK came in the third position with 258 million dollars while Italy was in the fourth position with 131 million dollars.

Germany was in the fifth position with 105 million dollars.

CUE IN: Poverty in Africa can be reduced by international remittances

Cote dIvoire came in as the sixth country with 92 million dollars while Canada and Togo were in the seventh position with 73 million dollars.
During the meeting, the President of Ghana congratulated Mr. Charles William Zwennes on his elevation to the position of Board Chairman and wished him well.

The President of Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL), the largest shareholder of HFC Bank (Ghana) expressed Republic Banks commitment to work with HFC Bank (Ghana) in enhancing their skills in SME and Energy financing which will go a long way in assisting the Government with their private sector driven economic recovery plans.

READ ALSO: HFC Bank Ghana appoints new board chairman

He also reiterated his commitment made at an earlier meeting with the Minister for Business Development, Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal for assisting in facilitating a contingent of business men from the Caribbean region who were prepared to invest and deepen trade links with Ghana.

His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo endorsed the initiative and reiterated his Governments position of Ghana being open for business and investments.

Mr. Le Hunte congratulated the President on his Governments first 100 days in office and the initiatives taken so far in stabilizing the exchange rate and creating renewed confidence in the economy.

HFC Bank Ghana Limited is a leading Universal Banking Institution in Ghana and the most diversified financial institution.

As a one-stop financial institution, its services include Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Mortgage Banking and Micro Finance.

READ ALSO: HFC Bank Ghana goes full throttle

HFC Bank Ghana Limited has been instrumental in the development of the mortgage industry in Ghana and continues to be the number one home loan provider in the country with over 30% share of the mortgage industry.
The structure, without any cooling machine, was erected in 2004 and is expected to take in three bodies at a time, which are normally prone to quick decomposition as a result of the heat, Accra-based Starr FM reports.

The zinc metal creates a lot of heat. Definitely, when you put somebody inside, considering the heat, by the time the person spends about 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours inside, the person may somehow start decomposing, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. William Gudu, told Accra-based Starr FM.

He added that Once a corpse starts decomposing, it is prone for infection. And once a corpse starts to decompose, it will be attracting flies. Flies would go there and go to other peoples foods. You see all these people sitting here (pointing at patients and families sitting nearby), they eat here. The flies stand on their food when they are eating here. In case there is a corpse there which is having a trouble, the flies may be coming from there.

Dr Gudu explained that the kiosk mortuary was erected to serve as a temporary answer to the unease patients suffered in battling with dead-body sights in the wards.

The tension that goes around when somebody dies is what brought about this structure. I came and met it (the structure). When a patient dies, most of the clients or patients in the ward migrate out. Until the corpse is picked out, most of them would be outside.

Supposing you get sick and you are admitted in the ward, and somebody dies on the next bed, what would run through your mind psychologically? The first thing that would run through your mind is the next person who would die- is it going to be me? So, most of them would move out. That was somehow the reason why this structure was created, he said.

What are health experts saying?

The Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, Noble Asakeya Alagskomah, has called on authorities to quickly organise a stakeholders conference over the issue.

A mortuary is as important as a clinic or a hospital. Where to keep corpses is very, very important so that they dont get decomposed- because they would pose health hazards to members of that health facility and the entire community, especially in terms of contagious diseases.

I would appeal to the elite in Bongo, business men and women, opinion leaders, traditional authorities to quickly organise a stakeholders conference to address this critical issue, he said.

On his part, the Member of Parliament for Bongo, Edward Abambire Bawa, has promised to provide the facility with solar panels for lighting purposes.

Meanwhile, a mini mortuary is under construction but at a slow pace due to financial constraints
According to Dr Justice Yankson,the Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association, medical practitioners in Ghana are under enormous stress as there were too few doctors in the country to cater for high number of patients that throng the country's hospitals on a daily basis.

"We always wish we had enough time to explain everything to the patient but due to the high number of patients relative to doctors, we are unable to do that", he said in an interview with Accra-based Class FM.

He thus appealed to the government to put in measures that would help reduce the ratio in the country.

We are appealing to the Ministry of Health to put in the right measures to reduce the high patient-doctor ratio so that we can attend to everyone very well.

Dr Yankson's comments were made as part of appeals from worker groups in Ghana for improved working conditions on the occasion of May Day celebrations across the world.
The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mrs Effia Tenge told journalists that the police had a tip-off about some people trying to smuggle Indian hemp to Nigeria and headed to the scene at Darkuman junction in Accra.

According to her, the police upon arriving at the warehouse saw a number of "Ghana must go" bags containing used clothes.

She said the officers subsequently confiscated the bags and took them to the police station.

However, when the bags were opened at the police station, police found 154 parcels of compressed dried leaves concealed in second-hand clothing.
President Nana Addo will first go to Togo then to Cote DIvoire and subsequently to Cameroon.

Among the things he will talk about, he is expected to focus on the pollution of some water bodies due to the activities of illegal miners in Ghana.

The move by the President comes days after a powerful delegation from Ivory Coast called on President Akufo-Addo at the Flagstaff House to express concern about the constant pollution of some of their water bodies due to Galamsey activities in Ghana.

The Nana Addo-led government has faced intense pressure from the media and the general public to clamp down on galamsey.

The government has promised to do all within its power to fight the menace which is destroying major water bodies in the country.

Watchers of the sector have further predicted that Ghana may soon be importing water from neighbouring countries if the menace is not tackled.
Many had then gathered at the scene but were ignorant about the condition of the patient and so feared to get closer to him.

READ ALSO: Mampong student nurse commits suicide over choice of course

But the trainee nurse, who is currently doing clinical services at the Eastern Regional Hospital quickly rushed to render first aid service to the patient.

She subsequently asked persons around to provide her with sugar which was given to the patient to raise the blood glucose level to normal range.

The patient regained consciousness and was later handed over to the family members who had then arrived at the scene.
He said the worker indicated that a higher authority has asked him not allow former NDC diplomats and heads of government departments to use the leisure room any longer.

He noted that pleas from the other MPs for him to be spared were ignored.

Mr Mabengba was reportedly sent out to join private citizens at the public waiting room.

Fortunately for me, I was sitting in the lounge with one of the NPP MPs and also a minister, Hawa Koomson, and I told her look at what your people are doing  they are asking me a former ambassador, minister, an MP not to use the lounge.

Meanwhile, I know that while were in government this place was free and even cited several examplesI remember when we lost [and] the vice president visited, I received them at the airport, all of them including non-appointees of government, we were all allowed to pass through the VIP and today they did that to me, he told Accra-based Starr FM.

In fact, I wanted to refuse that order but I said if I do it that young man might lose his job because they would say he asked me to leave and I didnt leave, he said.

Mabengba believes that the decision to bar former NDC government appointees from using the lounge was politically motivated.

I told them, fortunately for me there was so many NPP people in the lounge with the minister that I will make case out of it not because I want redress but just wanted to be on record that after we left off, we were prevented from using some facilities so that if in future my party comes to government and the same measures are put in place, no sanctimonious pastor or civil society organizations or whatever should come and tell us that what we are doing are not correct , he said.

But authorities of the airport have denied issuing such orders.
Speaking at his church service on Sunday 30th April 2017, the prophet indicated that he had just returned from the Holy Land after meeting with three prominent Israeli mayors of Jerusalem, Tiberias and the Jordan Valley.

He said that Israel offered him both land and facilities in an area around the biblical site of the Sea of Galilee for him to hold meetings for international pilgrims.

This is where my Father in Heaven came from  its non-negotiable, Joshua explained, adding it was not a decision he undertook lightly.

Its the best place for you to meet Prophet T.B. Joshua. After your healing, blessing and deliverance, you can move around all the spiritual monuments which will establish your faith, he noted.

According to him, his decision to leave was not related to the persecution he endured during his ministry.

He believed that the move would enable people to appreciate what his ministry had been contributing to both the local economy and Nigerias international image.

This is the most persecuted ministry in the world. Who are the people persecuting the ministry? My people, Africa.

That is why I choose to live a lonely life. If you want to see me, come to this church. I dont go out. It has not been easy  because I dont know who is a friend or who is an enemy.

If you learn T.B. Joshua is not around, I am in a revival. I live in the church here. I dont have a house outside.

Anytime you pray, remember Africa in prayer. Many heroes and great people have been chased out of Africa. There are many geniuses in the Western world who are originally from Africa.

What happened to me from the beginning of my ministry is enough to chase me out of this country  but I am still in your midst. Upon the persecution and hatred. I decided to follow the path of love.

You show hatred; I show love. When I go for a revival, you will see the stadium full but I am not carried away by that. I leave where Im celebrated to live where Im persecuted.He further advised the church: Where you are not celebrated is the best place to stay, to get strength. When you are in the midst of a battle, you are building yourself.

That is why I decided to stay where I am not celebrated here in Nigeria. When the grace of God is amid challenges, it gets stronger.
The three are believed to have begun plans to take over the control and leadership of the party in order to prevent former president John Mahama from leading the National Democratic Congress (NDC) towards Election 2020.

Members of the NDC recently witnessed weeks of on-air mudslinging, finger pointing and accusations about how the 2016 campaign was prosecuted.

The Botchwey Committee was set up to offer party members the opportunity to give reasons for the party's defeat.

Sources at the Ridge and Adjiriganor residences of Mr Rawlings have told the aL-hAJJ newspaper that the former military leader, his wife and Mr Amidu and other like-minds are ready to launch scathing attacks on the immediate-past president, Mr John Mahama.

The source said they are, however, awaiting the Prof Kwesi Botchwey committee to submit its findings and recommendations to the National Executive Committee before they strike.

I can tell you that the old man (Mr Rawlings), madam (Mrs Rawlings), Martin and others have been meeting and they have agreed that soon after Kwesi and his people submit their report, old man will start touring the regions to talk to our supporters, the source said.

Another source indicated that Mr Rawlings saw the partys defeat at the polls as golden opportunity to take over control of the NDC. So the first strategy is to plot the defeat of all current executives who are not in their good books and plant their favorites there.

READ ALSO: Kwesi Botchwey committee calls for truce in NDC

When they get their preferred candidates to occupy the leadership positions by which time their assigns would have succeeded in denting the image of Mahama, it would be easy to determine who leads the party into the 2020 elections, the source said.

He added that They are considering two sects of ticketsone is Martin Amidu and Goosie Tanoh as flag bearer and running and the other is Kwesi Ahwoi and Martin Amidu. The Kwesi Ahwoi and Martin Amidu ticket has not been concluded on because that will be dependent on whether the Ahwois will agree to team up with the Rawlings camp to fight Mahama.

The source also indicated that should the Ahwoi camp turn down a request to team up with the Rawlings camp, the latter will present Martin Amidu as flag bearer at congress and when he wins, Goosie Tanoh will be nominated as running mate.

In the run-up to the 2016 election, Mrs Rawlings who broke away from the NDC to form her own party, labelled accusations on members of the NDC, calling them corrupt and undeserving to lead the country.
"John Dickerson is a fair-minded journalist, and one of the most competent people who will ever walk into your office, and you treat him like that," the late-night host said during his monologue.

Colbert then unleashed on Trump.

"Mr. President, you're not the POTUS, you're the 'gloat-us.' You're the glutton with the button. You're a regular 'Gorge Washington.' You're the 'presi-dunce,' but you're turning into a real 'prick-tator," Colbert said.'

He continued:

"Sir, you attract more skinheads than free Rogaine. You have more people marching against you than cancer. You talk like a sign-language gorilla that got hit in the head. In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c--k holster."

Colbert wasnt finished. Watch the entire monologue below:

He also conducted a mock interview with Trump:
It's something former President Barack Obama started tackling with his 2015 Precision Medicine Initiative.

The excitement is logical: to treat cancer, it makes sense to have as much information as possible. It offers the potential to find unexpected options that otherwise might have been missed if that genomic information wasn't available.

But in reality, some cancer doctors feel differently, particularly about the disparity between the promise of these tests versus the reality in 2017.

According to a Medscape survey of 132 oncologists, 36% thought genomic testing is not useful now. Meanwhile, 61% of those who responded said that less than a quarter of their patients would benefit from the testing.

Dr. Jack West, a Medscape Oncology correspondent who authored the survey, said that's in large part because we don't have much data about how these personalized treatments tailored to a person's genetic results compare to the standard way doctors address a particular cancer diagnosis. Ideally, the two methods would be compared head to head in a randomized controlled trial, and at the end, doctors could see if there was an increase in survival among those who took the genetic tests.

By West's estimate, there are more than a dozen companies that make these multi-gene tests that are meant to guide cancer treatment. Among them, there's not a lot of standards for doctors to navigate to get a good sense of how one test stacks up to another. West, who is the medical director of the thoracic oncology program at the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, likened it the "Wild Wild West."

Right now, one of the ways these tests are vetted is in whether or not they're able to give a person a result they can act on. West argued that even though you might be able to act on something, it might mean having to fly across the country for a clinical trial that might not end up working any better than what they might have received at their local hospital.
Currently underway today 30th April 2017 for day 1, It's impressive how many Nigerian food brands there are and GTBank Food & Drinkis exploring just that and impressively to vendors advantage.

The Water Corporation venue of the event tucked away in the heart of Victoria Island is abuzz with eager 'tasters', shoppers, sightseers, expert chefs, window shoppers, just name them.

A walk through the organized gate into the venue gives you a peek at what to expect, eager crowd hurriedly taking their 'branded hand fans' and a quick grab of water bottles heading straight for the farmer's market for a display of the freshest produce and then scattered mini diners of whatever whets your appetite then the journey to 'fooding' begins.

Entering the exhibition venue, you are in awe of how many people are inside -with vendors all over in one of the most organized cubicles settings ever- (there's a map to guide if you'd rather walk straight to your preferred vendor, you'd do that in a breeze despite the huge crowd) just happily going round nibbling at a snack at a baked goods corner or sipping on a cocktail or plain old shopping away in the most 'organized chaotic' shopping destination for everything food with music and activities going on around, it's awesome.

The Masterclass sessions were eye opening with Chefs who knew their onions, making cooking the most fun.

Chef Stone; Abiola Akanji an alumnus of the French Culinary Institute and owner of The Red Dish Culinary School held people bound to his demonstration in the most engaging ways with his detailed explanation and teaching skills -the time was spent in the most engaging way and boy was the hall filled with aroma that got everyone on their feet as tasters?

International food blogger Jehan Powell came right after with her special recipes for rich cuisines with a Caribbean edge, the hall was soon laced with a herb rich aroma.

The most engaging session had to be Chef Brian Malarkey, an award winning restaurateur and TV personality with restaurants across the US who made sure there was no dull moment with his (Salt bae) demonstrations while showing tips to the impressed audience.

Chef Brian Malarkey at his session hinted at taking "back a lot of ideas with me" after seeing the huge platforms and what the vendors had to offer loving the richness of the produce he saw on display.

The day goes on with Chef Lerato Umah-Shayor and Chef Tolu Eros of Cookie Jar Bakery and Eros & Gourmet Foods who are able to hold attendees attention with their culinary expertise.

My eyes couldn't stay off the mobile kitchen that beats most modern kitchen and made demonstrations seamless (workplaces could have been done in a way to get audience to actually see what's cooking) with bits as in-built ovens, fridges and attention to details with extinguishers oh and a clean up after everything leaving everywhere spotless, the financial institution again delivers on her promises.

133 exhibitors/vendors, 10 seasoned chefs, 'indoor children playground', lots of food/consumables and everything in between even the crowd and the seemingly over the top everything comes almost out of this world.
The courts President, Mr Ademola Odunade, who dissolved the marriage between Fatimah and her husband, Abdulkareem Abulahmed, said the decision was taken in the interest of peace and tranquility.

Fatimah had told the court that her husband, Abdulkareem, was an unrepentant drunk, who had been raining curses on her and the children.

Odunade, however, awarded the custody of the last child of the marriage to Fatimah and directed Abdulkareem to pay a monthly feeding allowance of N5,000 for the child.

The court also ordered Abdulkareem, who resides Amunloko area of Ibadan, to take responsibility for the education and welfare of the child.

Fatimah told the court:My Lord, Abdulkareem is irresponsible and has abandoned us."

He rains curses on our four children and I believe that he is possessed by some demons. He drinks to stupor.
He said that the accused had aided the escape of some alleged kidnappers in the area by leaking some information about the movements of some security agencies to them.

They were deployed in Ikorodu to arrest the kidnappers, the prosecutor.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Sections 411 and 415 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 as amended.

Chief Magistrate M.O. Olajuwon granted bail to the accused in the sum of N200,000 with two gainfully employed sureties in like sum.
Ghana News Online reports that the Abia State-born Ogbonnaya was arrested with the drugs concealed in the second-hand clothing which was packed in 'Ghana must go' bags for onward transportation to Nigeria.

Briefing journalists on the arrest of the suspect in Accra, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Effia Tenge, said the police received a tip-off about some people trying to smuggle Indian hemp to Nigeria and proceeded to the scene at Darkuman junction in Accra.

ASP Tenge added that when the police arrived at the warehouse, where the narcotics were kept, they saw a number of bags containing used clothes. The officers then confiscated the bags and took them to the police station and when they were opened, the suspected narcotic was found.

According to Tenge, the police counted 154 parcels of compressed dried leaves and tests conducted on them showed they were Indian hemp.
Omojuwa.com reports that officials of the Lagos State Fire Service have been deployed to the palace and are doing their best to put out the fire.

The cause of the fire still remains unknown.

Just last week, the Oba publicly shunned the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

Omojuwa.com reports that a certain Tunde Awoyeni claimed that the palace of the Ooni of Ife would invoke the wrath of his ancestors on the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.
Ogbu committed the offences while in prison serving a 10-year sentence at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison for an undisclosed crime.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ogbu was charged alongside Chuks Ibebugbu for conspiring to defraud Edetchukwu.

The men were initially arraigned on June 10, 2011 on a 10-count charge by the EFCC, bordering on obtaining money by false pretences and stealing.

NAN reports that Ogbu defrauded Edetchukwu between May and October 2009 at the Kirikiri Prison of N12.3million under the pretext that he was detained by the EFCC for allegedly bringing $2.5 million into the country.

Justice Lateefa Okunnu, however, in her judgment on Tuesday discharged and acquitted Ibebugbu due to insufficient evidence provided by the prosecution during the trial.

She noted that prison officials aided the crime by allowing Ogbu to open a bank account and wear regular clothes instead of prison uniform.

Ogbus physical appearance tricked Edetchukwu during his visits to the prison into believing that he was not a convicted prisoner, she said.

By allowing the defendant to wear mufti clothes, the Kirikiri Maximum Prison facilitated the crime, she said.

Okunnu pronouncing the sentence said, I have listened to the plea of counsel.

I have noted that names of a lot of notable personalities were put on the line during the planning of this crime and I have also noted that the defendant has remained unrepentant.

I sentence the defendant to 18 years each on counts two to 10.

The sentence is to run concurrently, Okunnu said.

Earlier, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Mr Nnaemeka Omewa, had told the court that the accused told the complainant that he needed some money to clear himself from the anti-graft agency.

Omewa said that the convict promised Edetchukwu that the $2.5 million in the custody of the EFCC would be deposited in the branch of the Bank PHB where he was the manager.

The prosecutor said that Edetchukwu, a branch manager of the defunct BankPHB now Keystone Bank, had wanted to meet his accounts deposit targets at the bank.

He believed Ogbus tale and sourced funds to give Ogbu to sort himself out at the EFCC, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor also requested for a stiff sentence for Ogbu from the court.

He said, In just two years of his serving part of his 10- year prison term, he committed this heinous crime; imagine what will occur when he is allowed to live freely in society

I hereby urge Your Lordship to pass maximum sentence on the first defendant, Omewa said.

However, the lawyer to the convict, Mr Olanrewaju Ajanaku, in his plea for mercy before the court, asked for a light sentence, saying that Ogbu was now a changed man.

I pray that the court should temper justice with mercy; the defendant has been in custody since 2009.

His wife died in 2014, he has three children who are of tender ages, his wings have been clipped and he is now a changed man.
Momoh is the business woman who tried to commit suicide by jumping into the lagoon from 3rd Mainland Bridge on March 24, 2017.

She was subsequently arraigned on April 21, at the Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate Court. Reuben Abati has penned a lengthy piece in defence of the business woman who tried to take her life.

"On March 24, one Ms Taiwo Titilayo Momoh attempted suicide at the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos. Both the police and concerned citizens rescued her from killing herself.

The said Ms Momoh was arraigned on April 21, at the Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate Court on a one-count charge to wit: That you, Titilayo Momoh on the 24th day of March 2017 at about 10.00 hours at the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos did attempt to commit suicide by jumping into the river and thereby committed an offence under Section 235 C.17, Vol. 3 of the Criminal law of Lagos State 2015.

The accused person has since been granted bail in the sum of N500, 000, with two sureties in like sum. She is also required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Her case has been adjourned till June 2017.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State is hereby invited to take special notice of this case and to enter a nolle prosequi to ensure its discontinuance. The exercise of the power of nolle prosequi as spelt out in Sections 174(1) and 211 of the 1999 Constitution has been a subject of much debate.

This is in spite of the Supreme Courts position in The State vs Ilori, due to the tendency of some AGs to abuse such powers. But there is not a scintilla of doubt in my mind that by discontinuing the Titilayo Momoh case, the AG Lagos would have acted in the public interest, the interests of justice and the need to prevent the abuse of legal process. I state this with due regard to the right of the court to be seized of the matter in question, attempted suicide being an offence in the statutes. The key issue, nonetheless, is that there are related matters of public interest, beyond legalism.

Section 235 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State under which Ms Titilayo Momoh has been charged for non-fatal suicidal behaviour is in pari materia with Section 326 and 327 of the Penal Code and Criminal Codes respectively. The Criminal Code states expressly: Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for one year. Thus in letter and spirit, the extant law on pari-suicide in Nigeria criminalises the act. The only problem is that the law sounds like the law that is applied to the act of coup making.

If you plot a coup and you succeed, you get away with it, but if you make the mistake of failing, you find yourself in very serious trouble. The extant law on suicide deals with you if you fail, but the same law is helpless if you succeed. The only difference is that whereas a coup is an act of treason against the state, suicide is a coup against the self.

Government exists because there is a society composed of people, living people who are happy to be alive and contribute their own quota to society. When people begin to kill themselves at will, and at the slightest provocation, the responsibility of government should be to inquire into the causes of such demolition of the right to life, and therefore make amends  so the cause of being-ness and the welfare of the people can be better addressed.

For this reason, the Nigerian legislature, including the State Houses of Assembly, should take a second look at the extant law on attempted suicide. In truth, the law has been rarely applied, the last publicised application being the case instituted against certain persons by the in 2013, persons who had formed the habit of travelling on the rooftop of trains, instead of buying tickets and taking proper seats.

The NRC took some of those persons to court for attempting suicide. They ended up getting a slap on the wrist, they were asked to pay fines. It must have been obvious to the court that these were not suicidal cases, but persons who just wanted a free ride on the train, and could only do so from the roof.

The arraignment of Titilayo Momoh is, however, a serious matter. If she goes to trial, she could, in fact, be convicted, since hers is a clearly straightforward case. She had confessed with her own mouth that she wanted to die because she had too many financial debts to pay, a Bureau de Change also swindled her, she sought help from everywhere, including her church but nobody was willing to help her, and so, she decided to end it all.

When she was rescued from jumping into the Lagoon, everyone sympathised with her. She suddenly got the help that society had previously denied her. She returned to her textile shop and was beginning to pick up the pieces of her life again, only for the police to invoke the law and take her to court.

Her arraignment exposes the problems with the law. She now probably wishes she had actually committed suicide. The legal matter she is now battling with could throw her into even greater debt: paying lawyers, sorting out logistics, and as the wheel of law still grinds slowly, she could experience worse depression. The same travails that drove her to the edge of the cliff have not been made any lighter.

The other thing to note is that the relevant statutes in gender terms refer to himself. Can we possibly interpret the law strictly and literally and insist that the law on suicide only has the male gender in mind? So why is Titilayo, herself, being charged when the law says himself? I know what the canons of the rule of interpretation say, and how gender-insensitive the phrasing of the law is, so, maybe I need not stretch this further. But another reasonable response by a common man to the Titilayo Momoh case would be to ask why she is the only one being targeted.

In the first quarter of 2017 alone, there were more attempted suicide and suicide cases than there were in the whole of 2016, and the figures keep increasing. Ms Momoh was rescued the same week alongside one Abigail Ogunyinka, who actually jumped into the Lagoon and was fished out by divers. In Mazamaza another woman, Emerald, was also rescued after she had jumped.

Much earlier, Tiwa Savages husband, Tee Billz, was dissuaded by friends and concerned persons from jumping into the Lagoon. There have also been persons who succeeded in their suicide efforts and can no longer be reached by the long arms of the arm. There was Dr Allwell Oji, and reported cases from Ogun state (25), Ebonyi (10), Delta (4), Oyo (4), Kano (6), the latest case being that of a University of Lagos young undergraduate who killed herself after she was accused of stealing makeup kit worth N2, 000 (the current equivalent of $5 or $6!).

The court of law is not under any strict obligation to embark on a hunting expedition for cases by itself and it is no defence in law to play the victim by asking why the neighbour who committed the same offence has not been charged to court: the court deals only with what is duly brought before it.

But even if there is a case to answer, Ms Momoh, the accused in the present case is likely to wonder why she is the only special target for litigation. Research on para-suicide informs us that persons who failed in the first attempt are at a high risk of a second attempt. By seeking to put failed suicide attempters to trial, is government encouraging all such persons to succeed by all means?

The shaming and trial of such persons may even drive them underground, away from public places where the attempt may be noticed and stopped.

It is partly for this and other reasons, principally the recognition that persons who attempt suicide need help rather than vilification, and that prevention is better than cure, that many countries of the world have decriminalised suicide attempts. The latest country to do so is India. In 1961, the British who offered us the common law origin of our own law on suicide attempts decriminalized non-fatal suicidal behaviour. Other countries where suicide attempt is no longer a crime include Egypt, Botswana, Cameroon, Angola, South Africa, Eritrea, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The World Health Organization recognises depression as the leading cause of suicide in the world. Globally, more than 300 million people are suffering from depression and related disability.

The (NMA) has also disclosed that 90% of reported suicide cases in Nigeria are traceable to depression. At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, 10% of all referrals are attempted suicides. This year, WHO chose as the theme for the World Health Day on April 7: Depression, lets talk.

Persons suffering from depression are advised and encouraged to talk about their problems within the community and seek help from existing institutions and from professional counsellors including psychologists, psychiatrists, mental hospitals and sociologists.

Depression is a form of mental psychosis, attributed to such existential issues as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sadness, low self-esteem, poverty, marital crisis, indebtedness, loss of a loved one, and so on.

In Nigeria and other African countries where mental ill-health is regarded as lunacy simpliciter, most persons who are depressed find it difficult to talk about it. Any form of mental ill-health in Nigeria is still covered by the colonial law, called the Lunacy Act, 1958. That law dehumanises anybody that requires mental healthcare.

A Mental Health Policy 1991 has tried to state the basic principles in line with international conventions, but the Act of 1958 remains the enabling law.

Since 2003, three attempts have been made to introduce a Mental Health Bill, but each time it was tabled, the National Assembly did not consider it important enough.

Further, there are just about eight mental health hospitals in Nigeria, some psychiatric units in major hospitals, and less than 150 professional psychiatrists to a population of nearly 200 million.

Similarly, there are no enough psychiatric nurses or professional counsellors. Out of the few psychiatrists, we have in the country, some have since left the profession to go into politics.

The hospitals are poorly staffed, poorly equipped and poorly referenced in popular culture and conversation. And at the few mental hospitals that we even have, those who are expected to help other people are busy fighting among themselves  the internal politics at the in Uselu, Benin City, for example, is worse than the politics of Nigeria! As it were, anybody who is depressed in Nigeria is at the risk of suicide. Lunacy is a taboo subject, and yet the people face more problems daily that require mental health counselling.

The sudden increase in attempted suicide cases in our country should provide the needed impetus for review and introspection, not the vilification of persons who are already societys victims.

It is even surprising that The Lagos State Police Command will choose to scapegoat Titilayo Momoh and take her to court.

In 2016, Ms , the Lagos State Police PRO (as she then was) had announced that the police was not interested in taking any person who attempted suicide to court out of the recognition that such persons needed help.

In line with this, the Lagos Police Command set up a special unit to patrol the bridges in Lagos, to prevent people from jumping into the rivers.

The Lagos State Government also set up an Aquatic Rescue Unit, and it is this unit that helped in rescuing at least two reported cases between January and March 2017.

Two hotlines have also since been announced to assist persons in need of urgent help (08062106493, 08092106493). Is it likely that the Lagos State Government in collaboration with the police, and civil society groups have taken these preventive and emergency rescue steps in order to capture persons who attempt suicide so the courts can have cases to handle?

If true, it is ill-advised because this will neither reduce cases of suicide nor prevent people from committing suicide.

Governments at all levels should talk about depression and help the people  through good governance  to reduce the number of people seeking to die at the slightest emotional provocation.
The President's rare public appearances lately has fuelled speculations that all is not well with his health.

Buhari had returned from the United Kingdom on March 10 after an extended medical vacation, but he only appeared publicly a few time since then.

According to Mrs. Buhari, her husband's health is not as bad as it is being speculated.

The First Lady revealed this on Tuesday, May 2, in a series of tweets.

"I wish to inform everyone that his health is not as bad as its being perceived, Meanwhile he continues to carry out his responsibilities," she tweeted via her handle - @aishambuhari.
Lawal was suspended from his position as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) by President Buhari to pave way for his investigation.

The Senate had indicted the suspended SGF for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

According to Vanguard, Lawal was summoned at night on Monday, May 1, 2017, by the Osinbajo panel to shed more light on the grass cutting contract.

The panel also discovered that the suspended SGF was still a director on the board of the company - Rholavision Technologies Limited, when he assumed office.

It was also established from Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents that Lawal resigned from the company on September 16, 2016.

ALSO READ: How Babchir Lawal allegedly got N200m bribe from contract awarded by him

A source also revealed that He was also given the ample opportunity to defend why the cash from the contract sum was immediately transferred to his former company, when in reality records from the Corporate Affairs Commission proved otherwise.

The Osinbajo panel has also interrogated the suspended boss of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke.
President Buhari met Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation, and Maikanti Baru, group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC).

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, a member of the Presidential committee investigating Babachir Lawal, suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the final report would be submitted on Wednesday.

The three-man panel is also investigating Ayodele Oke, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

ALSO READ: Babachir Lawal, Oke might be handed over to EFCC

Baru said he briefed President Buhari on various activities of the NNPC and its subsidiaries.

I briefed Mr President on the state of the NNPC and its subsidiaries and also nationally to get him briefed on the situation of fuel supply, crude oil productions, gas production and by extension, ability to supply gas to the power sector, the NNPC boss said.

We had an extensive briefing as you could see; I passed here over two hours. I spent quite some time with him to discuss these national issues.
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- A U.S. man and his Canadian girlfriend, who had been missing in the Central American nation of Belize, were found dead Monday afternoon, according to police.



Autopsies are set to be performed Tuesday on Drew DeVoursney, 36, of Atlanta, and girlfriend Francesca Matus, 52, of Toronto.



Police have yet to release any information on what they believe may have happened, but here's what we do know about their disappearance and death:



The couple had been reported missing by a friend



Joseph Milholen, a friend of the couple, ventured to Matus' home in the Corozal District of Belize Friday to take her to the airport, he told police. She had been scheduled to fly to a different home in her native Toronto.



Milholen told police in Belize that Matus was not at her home when he got there, and her car was gone.



DeVoursney's bicycle, he said, was parked in her driveway.



Milholen told authorities that the last time he saw the pair alive was on Thursday at Scotty's Bar and Grill in Corozal Town, Belize.



They were described by friends as being "well-liked," according to a report in the CBC.



Car allegedly found in a field



Matus owned a white 1998 Isuzu Rodeo, which was found roughly 10 miles from Scotty's bar, sitting in a remote sugar cane field, according to DeVoursney's brother David, who spoke to Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the case.



Drew DeVoursney had been expected to fly home to Atlanta later this week, according to the paper.



His brother told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV prior to Monday's discovery that what happened to the couple at the bar "is a complete mystery."



Three countries involved



In addition to Belize, two other countries have been pulled into the mystery because of the nationalities of the deceased.



Global Affairs Canada, a department of the Canadian government, told ABC News previously that it was aware of reports of a missing Canadian citizen in Belize, and that it was providing consular assistance to her family and was in contact with local authorities.



A U.S. State Department official said the department was aware of the reports as well but had no further comment.



Drew DeVoursney is a former Marine who completed multiple tours of duty in Iraq, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The campaign posters emerged amidst growing concerns on President Buhari's health.

President Buhari has missed the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for three weeks in a row.

President Buhari was also absent at the Workers Day celebrations at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

observed that President Buhari's major supporters are bent on prevailing on the President to contest for a second term in office.

President Buhari's campaign posters were seen around Wuse, Garki, Airport Road and other major points of attraction drawing the curiosity of residents.

The posters had the inscriptions: "Nigerians resolve, Buhari 2019, after healing comes greatness, just believe"

Presidential aides have maintained that President President Buhari is not as sick as 'being suggested in the media'.

A source hinted that "the are working on the President to ensure he comes to complete his numerous programmes for the county."

"It's time for Buhari to complete the rebuilding process of that region which would require him to have another term of office to be able to do so," the source said.

"That is exactly what is required of the President in all the sectors that he has re-engineered in the last two years and a second term ticket is the key to seal it," the source added.
The Nigerian leader returned home on March 10, 2017, after spending some 50 days in the United Kingdom.

What was supposed to be a short leave period soon morphed into a full blown medical vacation.

"I can't recall being so sick in my life", Buhari said upon his return.

Since his return, the Nigerian Presidency has been managing information concerning the President's health, while ensuring that nothing unauthorised is given away.

Buhari has missed two of the last three federal executive council meetings.

The President was also absent from Friday prayers last week and skipped the wedding of his grandson and aide.

Buhari was also conspicuously missing from the nation's May Day celebration in the capital city.

"All is not well here", one top ranking Villa official told Pulse while craving anonymity for this story because he hadn't been authorised to comment on the subject. "Baba needs the prayers of all Nigerians", he added.

Buhari has looked gaunt, frail and shorn of colour on the few occasions he's been seen in public recently.

There are reports that the Nigerian leader is battling a prostate cancer condition, however, Pulse hasn't been able to independently verify those.

The signs that all hasn't been well with Buhari gained currency recently when APC chieftain Bisi Akande said the President is being held hostage by a cabal.

"The greatest danger, however, is for political interests at the corridor of power attempting to feast on the health of Mr. President in a dangerous manner that may aggravate the problems between the executive and the national assembly without realising if, in the end, it could drag the entire country into avoidable doom", Akande, a former chairman of the APC, said.

Akande and former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu, were among the first set of Nigerians to visit Buhari in February, during the latter's medical sojourn in London.

Akande added that: "Let me warn today that those who wish to harvest political gains out of the health of the President are mistaken. This is not Nigeria of 1993.

"We are in a new national and global era of constitutionalism and order. We hope Nigerians have enough patience to learn from history.

"My greatest fear, however, is that the country should not be allowed to slide into anarchy and disorder of a "monumental proportion."

Akande also said: "We must appreciate that Buhari's poor health is already taking a toll on the health of Nigeria as a polity."

Our sources have disclosed that Buhari is being pressured to relinquish power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

However, added the sources, the cabal within the Presidency has stood its grounds, insisting that an apparently ailing President, carries on.

Akande was obviously referring to this cabal in his comments.

Pulse was also told that reports in certain sections of the media detailing how the Nigerian leader has been unable to feed or drink properly in the last couple of days, are correct.

The Presidency cabal is being led by Chief of Staff Abba Kyari and Mamman Daura, Pulse was told.

"It's a power game in here", another Villa official disclosed. "The tussle for power is intense".

There are indications from within the corridors of power that a political solution is being fashioned out by the nation's former Presidents and prominent leaders.

On Monday, former Presidents Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), Abdulsalam Abubakar and Olusegun Obasanjo, converged on IBB's Minna mansion to seek a solution.

The fear within this circle of former Presidents, Pulse was told, is that Buhari's lingering health crisis is capable of steering the nation down another path of leadership crisis last seen during the Umaru Yar'adua era.

The meetings are being held to forestall the Yar'adua scenario, Pulse was told.

Back in the day, the national assembly had to invoke the 'doctrine of necessity' before power was handed to then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.

This time, no one wants it to come to that.

"They are meeting to see how they can resolve this as quickly as possible", was told as it pertains to the Minna meeting.

Those meetings and many others will continue in the next couple of days, it has been learned; even as civil society organisations have prevailed on Buhari to step aside in order to better deal with his health.

"Why is the president hiding his state of health?" Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka queried in disbelief last week. "He's supposed to understand he's public property."

Buhari's ministers would rather not discuss the President's health in the media.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed who came under a barrage of attacks after saying the President will be working from home, has reiterated that his initial comments had been taken out of context.

Mohammed and the President's spokespersons have maintained that Buhari only needs a period of sustained rest after undergoing a series of tests and treatments abroad.

Transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi says instead of sustaining speculation around the President's health, Nigerians should be concerned with whether Buhari is delivering on his campaign promises.

Amaechi said given his advanced age, there's nothing strange with respect to the President's failing health.

In March of 2010, Buhari called for the impeachment of then President Yar'adua, insisting that he's left the national assembly with no choice after failing to disclose the status of his health.

Buhari also called on Yar'adua to resign for failing to disclose the status of his health.

Yar'adua passed on weeks later.

The state of health of a Nigerian President has become a rather sensitive subject in Africa's most populous nation; even before Yar'adua's death.

Obasanjo battled allegations concerning the state of his health as democratic President and General Sani Abacha passed away in the Villa with no information to this day regarding what ailed him.

There are fears that Nigeria is headed down the path of another constitutional logjam with Buhari's illness and with the insistence of the cabal that he wouldn't be handing over the reins to Vice President Osinbajo who has been calling the shots rather admirably amid Buhari's disappearing acts.

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Getting an ailing President out of office in Nigeria hasn't been made any easier by the constitution.

Section 144 (1) of the Nigerian constitution, as amended, reads as follows:

The President or Vice President shall cease to hold office if:

a) By a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the federation, it is declared that the President or Vice President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office and

b) The declaration is verified, after such medical as may be necessary by a medical panel established under subsection 4 of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Section 144 (2) (3) states as follows:

Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion, the President or Vice President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

3) The President or Vice President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this constitution.
Ngige told newsmen on the sideline of the celebration that what happened was as result of infiltration by non-workers into the rally venue and not necessarily workers anger about minimum wage.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was disrupted for close to one hour by workers who barred government officials from delivering the speech from the federal government.

He said that the workers had no reason to be angry with the present administration because it had been very friendly with them.

The Federal Government has been friendly to workers to the extent that it even went ahead and initiated the bailout fund.

No government has done that before and that was because we did not want to lay off any worker.

So what happened today is that some people who are not really workers infiltrated this arena and they started causing some problems.

Be that as it may, we are going to address the issue of minimum wage, we are also going to address the issue of backlog of promotion areas and allowances of all sorts.

We captured them in the 2016 budget but for some reasons the releases are not forthcoming but the president of the senate has assured us now.

So we are going to capture them in the 2017 budget and once its captured in the appropriation, the minister of finance will handle the rest," he added.

Ngige insisted that the venue was infiltrated by non-workers due to some factionalisation within the labour federation, adding that the conclusion was reached based on intelligent report.

He said the issue of minimum wage was being delayed because the government employed what it called a tripartite negotiation also known as social dialogue so as to capture all sectors.

He said this was because the issue did not concern the government or public sector alone but also the private sector so it needed time to carry everybody along.

We have finished the framework for the composition of the committee of the minimum wage and we have passed it round to government to source the requisite and qualified persons that will man this committee.

We are going to address the issue of minimum wage; we are also going to address the issue of backlog of promotion arrears and allowances so workers should be patient and give us some time.

Within the next quarter, the minimum wage committee will start functioning and in the next three months too backlog of all arrears and other allowances that are due to them will be paid, he said.

However, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, and his counterpart, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Bobboi Kagama, said that Nigerian workers had expressed anger and disappointment on the non-implementation of the minimum wage thereby disrupting the 2017 May Day celebration.

According to them, workers have today expressed their sadness, challenges, as many of them have not earn their salaries, so it is a demonstration of anger on the situation in the country.

They said The challenges workers are passing through are enormous, workers have expected that either the President or the Vice president would have been present to respond to workers yearning and anticipation.

Workers attitude today have shown that it is an accumulation of anger, and that the economic situation is biting very hard on them as many of them cannot pay their bills.

Also, some workers who spoke with NAN believed that there was no infiltration of the venue by non workers as claimed by the minister but what played out was an accumulation of grievances against the government.

Mrs Asaba Lydia a unionist of the Nigeria Civil Service Union said the workers were taken for granted by the government thus the reason for sending representatives rather than coming themselves.

Lydia said the issue began with the ministers act by sending the permanent secretary to represent him while he represents the president, adding that it was not fair to the workers.

She said A day such as this, the government could not even honour workers by attending the event themselves, if the president is not available what about the Vice President?

We have tried to follow the norm as workers and it has not worked so now we are saying we are tired of failed promises, enough is enough 

Mr Dassey Heblom, a civil servant, said they workers refused to listen to the speeches of the government officials because every year it had always been stories without action or implementation.

We are tired of talks, we want action, that is all we are saying, imagine we are even celebrating this day without salaries not to talk of the accumulation of unpaid allowances, he said.
Fani-Kayode was the spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign organisation in 2015.

The former minister in a tweet said The attempt to rubbish the D-G of NIA and destroy him by certain elements in govt. will fail. He did not spend one kobo on GEJ's campaign.

Fani-Kayode had earlier alleged that Oke was covering up for Rotimi Amaechi.

According to reports, the suspended NIA boss said the money that was discovered in the Ikoyi apartment was meant for covert operations.

The minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi recently alleged that Fani-Kayode received N2b from the Rivers state government for a runway project and abandoned it.
The ailing head of state spent two months in London earlier this year, officially on vacation and to have routine medical tests for an undisclosed illness.

But he has missed two out of the last three cabinet meetings, was absent from Friday prayers last week and failed to attend his grandson's wedding on Saturday.

Buhari himself has disclosed he had blood transfusions and other tests in London and disclosed he "couldn't recall being so sick".

Aides, who during his absence maintained he was "hale and hearty", now say he had a "long period of treatment" in the British capital and needs rest.

His spokesman Garba Shehu said Buhari had spent most of his time at his private residence since returning from London in early March and was working from home.

Despite assurances that Buhari's health is nothing to worry about, the presidency is increasingly being urged to be more open about his condition.

"Why is the president hiding his state of health?" Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka said last week. "He's supposed to understand he's public property."

On Tuesday, a group of leading civil society activists urged Buhari take medical leave, as his absence "has fuelled further speculations and rumours" about the true state of his health.

"We are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay," they wrote in an open letter.

A former chairman of Buhari's All Progressive Congress party, Bisi Akande, also expressed worries, saying "the health of the leader is intricately intertwined with the health of the nation".

"To avoid the ugly consequences of letting President Buhari's ailments throw Nigeria into confusion, I am urging all Nigerians to begin to pray for his divine healing and perfect recovery."

The health of Nigeria's president has been a sensitive issue since the death in office in 2010 of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, which saw months of political turmoil.
He said this is not a serious concern for only Nigerians but the international community too.

Obasanjo stated this on Tuesday, May 2, while delivering a lecture at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

The inauguration lecture of the Olusegun Obasanjo Good Governance and Development Research Centre was titled, "Leadership, Governance and the Challenges of Development in Nigeria: The Way Forward."

The ex-president lamented that in spite efforts by successive governments in the anti-corruption fight, it still poses a threat to the development of the country.

Obasanjo said, "The lack of successful prosecution of high-profile corruption cases involving Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) is giving serious course for concern, both for Nigerians and the international community.

"We must take away the proceeds of illicit enrichment and remove negative role models in our society.

"I know that each arm of government has its responsibility and we must respect the separation of powers under our constitution.

"At the same time, we must have an acute and common perception of our problem and do all that is necessary to mitigate the impact of corruption in our society."

He urged Nigerians, including the Church and the Mosque, to united against corruption.

He said the effect of fighting corruption would be evident in the standard of living of the citizens.

"The aim of fighting corruption is most importantly, to remedy the dark sides of bad governance, such as poverty, unemployment, hunger and disease; as well as improving the well-being of the citizens," he said.

"Hence, we must pay equal attention to the economy which is the bedrock of all-round development.

"The beginning of getting leadership right is to make the electoral system transparent and credible to ensure that only the choices of the people are actually elected into electable political offices.

"People with integrity, vision, wisdom and purpose should be elected, not those who try to buy their way into leadership position."
According to Leadership, Obasanjo was received at the Minna airport by the Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello and discreetly driven to the venue of the meeting.

Reports say the meeting was held at the Hilltop residence of General Babangida.

Sources also say the meeting, which lasted two hours, did not start until all domestic staff were asked to leave the inner chambers.

According to reports, all visitors to the residence were restricted from entering before Obasanjo arrived.

Though the details of the meeting was not made public, sources say the former Presidents met to discuss critical national issues.
Lamido was imprisoned on Tuesday, May 2, on the orders of a Magistrate Court in Dutse.

The former governor was arrested on Sunday, April 30, after the state government accused him of making comments capable of breaching the peace.

Lamido is said to have encouraged his supporters in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to engage in violence.

The case was adjourned till May 4 when Lamido will be allowed to make an application for bail.

Meanwhile, the PDP has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using security agencies to attack opposition party members.
According to reports, the former Governor was arrested in his Kano home on Sunday, April 30, 2017.

The Kano state police command told newsmen that Lamido was arrested for allegedly inciting violence, adding that he will be charged to court.

Lamido, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Umar Kyari, said The governor of Jigawa State, who raised a false alarm against Lamido, is stiff scared over his presidential ambition in 2019 and the local elections in the state slated for July 1 this year.

But it is rather too late for anyone to stop Lamido from achieving his political ambition come 2019 since the people have already seen that he has what it takes to rule Nigeria and lift it out of the woods.

According to Vanguard, the Force Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh said It is true that the former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, is still being interrogated by our operatives after honouring our invitation on Sunday. The state government complained against his directive to his supporters to cause trouble and we had to wade in.

Based on the petition by the state government, we are looking into the issues raised against him and he might be charged to court if there is enough evidence to prove the allegations against him.
According to a US-based online news medium, Per Second News, the workers, who are between 50 and 100, commenced strike on Tuesday, May 2.

It was learnt that the workers are owed five-month salary arrears, and that their working conditions are unfavourable.

The report also said that the Nigerian flag in front of the building was tattered.

"We are being owed for the past five months," one of the aggrieved workers was quoted as saying.
The PDP made the call in a statement issued by Mr Dayo Adeyeye, the National Publicity Secretary of the Committee on Monday in Abuja.

The party stated that its attention has been once again drawn to unwarranted arrest and detention of Lamido by men of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in Kano State.

Adeyeye described the arrest of Lamido as outrageous and anti-democratic and not base on the frivolous allegation of inciting the public levied against him.

He said The true reason for his arrest, however, has to do with the forthcoming Local Government elections in Jigawa State.

The arrest of former Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue, according to the party, was also linked to the forthcoming Local Government elections in the state.

We are therefore calling on the security agencies in the country to release unconditionally, Lamido, Suswam, former Governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu, and all other political detainees in their custody, the party stated.

Adeyeye added that PDP was also aware that members of the opposition would be in for a hard time in the run-up to the 2019 general elections with more arrests and intimidation of their prominent leaders.

He added that Lamido merely asked the people to defend their votes against rigging, saying how is that a crime?

If you are not planning to steal the peoples votes, why should you be afraid if the people are advised to defend their votes?

Of course, no thief would want the owner to guide his house against burglary," he said.

The PDP recalled that prior to 2015 general election there were inciting statement credited to some members of the then opposition party and any arrest was never made.

Adding that It was not a sign of weakness by the PDP led Government. It was in deference to freedom of speech, democracy and peace.

If this ugly trend is not stopped forthwith, it may lead to breach of peace and public disorder, the party warned.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Akeredolus nomination at the party primary was rejected by some members of the the partys National Working Committee (NWC) and notable leaders of the party within and outside Ondo State.

The submission of his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the partys candidate in the Nov. 26, 2016 governorship election led to the call for the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, by some party leaders.

Adesanya said: You will recall that APC was riddled with crisis in the buildup and after the governorship primary in Ondo State."

Four days after the governorship primary, I had a brief discussion with two men who claimed to have come from the National at the party secretariat in Akure."

Their demand was simple: withdraw your support for Akeredolu and call for the nullification of the Sept. 3, 2016 governorship primary of the party won by Akeredolu by issuing a press statement as the state publicity secretary condemning the conduct of the election."

They went as far as saying that Akeredolu was not in the equation and there was no way he could fly the partys flag since the owners of the party were not comfortable with him as the governorship candidate, he said.

The APC spokesman said thereafter, he started receiving strange telephone calls from some leaders outside and within Ondo State on the need for the party in the state to mobilise the media to tag the election as a fraud and to call for another primary.

Thereafter, one of the men who met me at the party secretariat, called around mid night, claiming he was directed by one of the leaders (name witheld) based outside Ondo State, to get my bank account details."

Three days after, the same men arranged for a meeting at a popular hotel in Akure where they offered me N50 million after about an hour meeting."

These men increased the offer to N70 million and then N100 million, claiming that I should issue press statements in support of the position of the appeal panel constituted by the party to look into the conduct of the primary."

At that point, I knew trouble was brewing, I politely asked for the adjournment of the meeting which they both agreed and drove off in a wine Range Rover Sport, he said.

Adesanya said that the men arranged for another meeting on the third day after series of conversations via telephone at a different hotels where they offered to pay him N50 million cash instantly and pay the balance later.

He said that after some few minutes of the chat, one of them who is usually addressed as Alhaji, said: P.R.O, we are ready to give you N50 million cash right now and thereafter pay you the balance of N50 million either by cash or into your bank account.

Just before I could say Jack-Robbinson, the second man offered to show me something inside their car. On getting there, he unzipped one out of about five or six bags in their car boot, surprisingly it was filled with bundles of N1,000 notes."

We went back to our seats to continue our discussion and I politely informed them that it was too late for me to be in possession of such huge sum of money and suggested we should meet at the same venue very early the following day."

After that meeting, I ran for cover. I refused to sleep at home until Akeredolus name was finally submitted to INEC by the party, he said.

Adesanya commended the national chairman of the party for standing by the truth on the Ondo State Governorship Primary even in the face of inducement, threat and intimidation by some party leaders.

Adesanya alleged the same treatment was melted on him as the spokesman of the party in Ondo State by some party leaders outside the state with the intention of using him to propagate falsehood to discredit the result of the governorship primary of the party.

Severally, I was threatened by some notable leaders and some unknown persons insisting that I should stop defending the primary or face the consequences."
Queen's College has been in the news for the last few months for all the wrong reasons. Three students died, and over 1000 others were hopsitalised.

The good news at the moment is that the Ministry of Health ran checks on all the water delivery points in the school, and it has been confirmed safe.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Health said:

I am delighted to inform you that based on the results of the analysis of the latest water samples collected on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, all water delivery points have been certified to conform to official specifications and I hereby recommend to the School Authority resumption of Students of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos.

Now, this is a good thing for the students of course. But it also begs one questions;

How are we sure this won't happen again?

The water in Queen's College didn't just get contaminated immediately. It was a gradual process of negligence and complacency from the school authorities, something that could have taken months to happen.

Think about this. There are over 100 Federal Government Colleges all over Nigeria. Queen's College happens to be one of the best and most reputable of them. Are there any measures being taken by the Federal Ministries of Health and Education to make sure this doesn't happen again?

People who attended boarding schools remember routine inspections carried out by the school authorities on the students.

Again, who will inspect the school authorities?

I remember my secondary school years. It was run by the Nigerian military and they had an obsession with order and cleanliness. While nothing drastic happened while I was there, there's an interesting story.

We had this tank that brought water for us when we ran out of water in school. One day, the water level got too low and could barely come out of the tank's tap.

But boys being boys, we climbed the tank to scoop water through the top. When we opened the tank, lo and behold, the rust and filth was so bad, it's a wonder none of us fell ill.

Multiply that scenario, times over 200 schools run by Government bodies all over the country.
"I will shortly present my resignation to President Milos Zeman. It is unacceptable for Andrej Babis to stay on as finance minister," said Sobotka, in an announcement six months before an October election.

"I want to free the hands of coalition parties so they can launch negotiations on a solution to the situation or agree on the organisation of earlier elections," he added.

Having taken office in 2014, Sobotka's leftist CSSD has shared power in a three-member coalition government with Babis's centrist ANO and the smaller centre-right KDU-CSLChristian Democratic parties.

Presidential spokesman Jiri Ovcacek declined immediate comment. Under the Czech constitution, there is no deadline for the president to accept the government's resignation.

Contacted by AFP, political analysts in Prague said that an early election was unlikely to be called during the summer, pointing instead to the possibility of a minority caretaker government being installed until the October ballot.

Ranked by Forbes as the Czech Republic's second most wealthy citizen, Babis ran the sprawling Agrofert conglomerate before putting his assets into a trust earlier this year to ward off conflict of interest allegations.

Last week Sobotka asked Babis to clarify his past use of some 55 million euros-worth ($60 million) of tax-free bonds in connection with Agrofert operations.

Babis has alleged that Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, a member of Sobotka's CSSD, ordered police to investigate his business dealings, an allegation the minister has flatly denied.

Babis who has ruled out any wrongdoing, is riding high in opinion polls, with ANO scoring 33.5 percent support compared to just 16 percent for Sobotka's CSSD in a survey conducted by the CVVM pollsters in April.

Babis is also the Czech Republic's most popular politician with a 56 percent approval rating according to another April survey by the CVVM pollsters, compared to 39 percent and sixth spot for Sobotka.
During the three-day visit starting Wednesday, the council will press for quick implementation of the peace deal after some delays, exacerbated by the devastating mudslides last month.

"These processes always have problems," Uruguay's Ambassador Elbio Rosselli said Monday at a news conference ahead of the visit.

"We believe that the message that we want to give to the process is basically 'you have to keep going at it.'"

Under Colombia's peace deal, the FARC agreed to a 180-day timeline to complete disarming, which ends on June 1.

"The date for the so-called D+180 is still the target that both parties which to attain for this stage, particularly with regard to the 'dejacion de armas' -- the leaving of arms," said Rosselli.

Council envoys will visit one of three "transition zones" set up for FARC combatants to turn in their weapons under UN supervision and begin their return to the mainstream.

The United Nations set up a political mission in Colombia in January to help shore up the peace accord, led by Jean Arnault of France.

Arnault told the Security Council last month that 6,804 FARC combatants had moved into the disarmament camps along with 1,541 militia members.

The FARC launched its guerrilla war against the Colombian government in 1964, after a peasant uprising that was crushed by the army.

The conflict has killed 260,000 people, displaced nearly seven million and left 60,000 missing, according to official estimates.
The document was unveiled in the Qatari capital Doha by exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who is due to step down soon after serving his maximum of two terms.

Speaking to AFP, Meshaal said he hoped the new US administration would "act with more seriousness on the Palestinian cause and change its misconceptions about the Palestinian people."

The press conference was also broadcast live in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas, and the document was posted on the movement's website.

"We in Hamas believe that renewal and reinvention is a necessity," Meshaal said at the event in a Doha hotel.

While the new document does not amount to recognition of Israel as demanded by the international community, Hamas officials say, it formally softens its stance in a few key areas.

Hamas leaders have long spoken of the more limited aim of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without explicitly setting this out in their charter.

But after years of internal debate, the new document formally accepts the idea of a state in the territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967.

It also says its struggle is not against Jews because of their religion but against Israel as an occupier.

"We are not fighting against the Jews because they are Jewish," said Meshaal.

"We are waging this struggle against the aggression of Zionists."

However, the original 1988 charter will not be dropped, just supplemented, in a move some analysts see as a way of maintaining the backing of hardliners.

Asked if Hamas would negotiate directly with Israelis, Meshaal replied: "Our policy is we will not engage in direct negotiations with the Israelis because nothing in the conditions and circumstances convinces us that any conclusions can be reached."

Direct talks is "a process, it's a game we will not fall for it."

The new document also continues to speak of liberating historic Palestine, including areas that are today part of Israel.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and the new document is aimed in part at easing its international isolation.

'More moderate'

One Hamas leader, Ahmed Yusef, earlier told AFP the updated charter was "more moderate, more measured and would help protect us against accusations of racism, anti-Semitism and breaches of international law."

It also does not refer to the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Hamas was closely linked when formed.

Israel was not convinced, however, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying "Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed."

"They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians," David Keyes said in a statement, referring to rockets fired from Gaza and tunnels used to carry out attacks.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for 10 years.

UN officials have called for this to be lifted, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions, but Israel says it is needed to stop Hamas from obtaining weapons or materials it could use to make them.

Hamas remains deeply divided from Abbas's Fatah, and speculation has mounted over who will succeed the 82-year-old as Palestinian president.

Abbas's first meeting with Trump in Washington takes place on Wednesday.

The bitter split between Fatah and Hamas has taken a new turn in recent days.

Some analysts say it seems Abbas is seeking to increase pressure on Hamas in the impoverished Gaza Strip, but he risks being blamed for worsening conditions in the enclave of two million people.

In one example, Israeli officials say the Palestinian Authority dominated by Abbas's Fatah has begun refusing to pay Israel for electricity it supplies to Gaza.

Rights activists say exacerbating an already severe power shortage in the strip could be catastrophic.
The Islamist movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, unveiled a new policy document on Monday night ahead of a first face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party remains at loggerheads with Hamas.

Some analysts see the move as an attempt by Hamas to ease tension with regional allies and assuage hostilities with global powers.

Speculation has also mounted over who will succeed 82-year-old Abbas, whose Fatah movement is based in the occupied West Bank, as Palestinian president.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, while it has strained relations with many Arab states.

Some diplomats said while the announcement was potentially positive, they would need more to convince them the party had really changed its approach.

"It is a piece of paper. We will see if there is a real shift or if it is window dressing," one Western diplomat said.

While still attacking Israel, the document accepts for the first time pre-1967 armistice lines as a matter of "national consensus" -- in what many interpreted as implicitly accepting the existence of Israel.

Hamas officials however said that it did not amount to a recognition of Israel as demanded by the international community.

The document also says its struggle is not against Jews because of their religion but against Israel as an occupier, with Hamas officials stressing it was a shift.

One Hamas leader, Ahmed Yusef, told AFP the updated charter was "more moderate, more measured and would help protect us against accusations of racism, anti-Semitism and breaches of international law."

However the Islamist movement will still not negotiate directly with Israel and the original hardline 1988 charter will not be dropped, just supplemented, in a move some analysts see as a way of maintaining the backing of hardliners.

Israel rejected the document, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman accusing Hamas of "attempting to fool the world."

Israel has fought three wars with Hamas since 2008 and maintains a crippling blockade on Gaza.

On Tuesday, there were a number of Hamas-organised protests against the decade-long blockade, with a few thousand protesters taking to the streets in different cities.

Muted response

Benjamin Netanyahu, a political analyst in Gaza, said the document sought to help improve regional and global relations.

The document made no reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas was a splinter movement.

In 2013, Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in Egypt, and the movement has since been suppressed in several Middle Eastern countries.

"Hamas has been isolated regionally and internationally since the outbreak of the so-called Arab Spring and the exclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt," Abu Saada said.

"It is about assuring Egypt and the other Arab states there is no relationship between Hamas (and the Brotherhood)."

There was little initial public reaction, either positive or negative, on Tuesday.

The United States, Russia and other global players remained silent, with Arab states remaining largely quiet.

The office of UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov did not comment on the contents of the document.

Another Western diplomat said that as the document did not officially recognise Israel or renounce violence, it would be impossible for them to change position publicly.

Congressman Ed Royce, chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, offered a rare reaction, downplaying the document's significance.

"Until Hamas recognises Israel's right to exist, its words are meaningless. I will see to it that Hamas remains designated a terrorist organisation as long as it continues to launch rocket attacks against Israeli civilians."

A third diplomat based in Israel saw some reason to be positive, but stressed it would be unlikely to lead to any shifts in relations in the short term.

"Diplomats have been pushing for a change to the charter for a long time," he said. "You need extremists to move towards the centre."

Yossi Mekelberg from the Chatham House think tank in London said that while Israel was publicly bullish, some would interpret it as a positive sign.

But he noted the issue had not received extensive coverage in Western media.

"If you look at Europe, it is pretty self-obsessed right now," said Mekelberg, also a professor at Regent's University London. "They are hardly interested in Hamas.
Police blamed rival drug gangs for the surge of violence in and around a slum lying along Avenida Brasil, one of the city's main arteries.

Three police officers were wounded and two gang suspects were killed, Rio de Janeiro security state Roberto Sa told a press conference.

Police arrested 45 people and captured 32 military-style rifles, Sa said.

Tension was high as heavily armed police tracked down gang suspects and tried to stop a burst of looting by local residents, who were shown on national television ransacking a truck.

Television footage also showed plumes of black smoke rising from the area, which is close to Galeao International Airport.

Police Colonel Andre Silva told Globo television that the violence started "with a possible invasion (of the Cidade Alta slum) by a rival faction."

The bus arson "was to distract us and cause confusion so that the criminals could flee," he said, insisting that their plan had failed.

Rio de Janeiro state has run out of money to fully pay even many basic services and police are paid late. Security has been disintegrating since the end of the Olympic Games held here last year.

Sa praised police for performing under such difficult circumstances, noting that they had not gone on strike as occurred in the neighboring Espirito Santo state in February, triggering a total breakdown in law and order.

"They have avoided a chaotic situation," Sa said, calling the response on Tuesday "rapid, efficient, avoiding a bloodbath and seizing 32 rifles in one go."

Shootouts are a daily reality in the poor parts of Rio called favelas, with drug gangs battling for territory and against police.

An ambitious plan to restore order through community policing is stumbling, forcing the cash-strapped police to return to period raids, a tactic often criticized for exposing peaceful residents in the warrens of streets to deadly stray bullets.
The royals were vacationing in southern France at the time at a chateau owned by Viscount David Linley, the son of Princess Margaret, the late sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

One of the most intimate shots shows the Duchess of Cambridge topless and having suncream rubbed into her buttocks by husband William.

Laurence Pieau, the editor of Closer in France, Ernesto Mauri, chief executive of the Mondadori group which owns the magazine, and Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides, two Paris-based agency photographers suspected of having taken the topless photos, will appear on charges of invasion of privacy and complicity.

The royal couple are not expected to attend the trial in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre.

The case has already been delayed for four months after the lawyer for the agency photographers was granted more time to prepare their defence.

Prince William's Kensington Palace office refused to comment when contacted by AFP.

Pieau defended her publication's actions at the time of the initial scandal, saying the pictures were not in the "least shocking".

Grainy snaps

Police said two paparazzi were confirmed to be near the chateau at the time of the royal couple's stay after combing through lists of hotel guests and telephone numbers.

But both photographers have denied taking the photos, despite evidence that both received substantial payoff amounts after the images' publication.

The magazine however has always refused to divulge the identity of the photographer who took the topless pictures.

A week before Closer published the shots, other images of the couple from a different angle were printed in La Provence.

The paper's publishing director at the time, Marc Auburtin and photographer Valerie Suau will also go on trial Tuesday over those photos.

Suau has been charged over taking photos of Kate in a swimsuit in the same place, but the publication has denied that the photographer took any topless images.

The grainy snaps triggered a furious reaction from the British royal family and a furore in Britain where several newspapers had rejected an offer to buy the pictures.

The angry royal couple launched legal proceedings soon after they were published, with their lawyer arguing that the photos were particularly distressing for the couple as it brought back painful memories of William's late mother Princess Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.

French authorities sided with the couple by banning any further reproduction of the pictures before launching a probe into how the snaps were obtained.
The protesters allege that a deal struck between the Social Democrats (SDSM) to govern alongside ethnic Albanian parties, which emerged as kingmakers after an early election in December, would threaten national unity.

The accord would sideline the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party of former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, which opposes in particular a plan to make Albanian the official language.

Last Thursday evening the protesters stormed parliament over what they said was an illegal vote for a new parliamentary speaker, ethnic Albanian Talat Xhaferi.

The riots, condemned by both the European Union and the United States, injured about 100 people, including the SDSM leader Zoran Zaev.

The SDSM and their allies accuse the VMRO-DPMNE of inciting the violence and fanning ethnic divisions in a bid to cling to power.

"We've been ignored for 60 days. We will continue to come," Bogdan Ilievski, one of the organisers of the protest, said outside parliament, where a strong police presence had been deployed.

"We have to continue our battle, we don't have another country," he said.

The protests were peaceful, though local media reported that an incendiary device had been found.
Recent reports of a brutal crackdown on gay men in the mainly Muslim North Caucasus region led for a decade by strongman Ramzan Kadyrov have caused an international scandal.

Riot police in helmets detained young activists -- some holding rainbow flags -- and bundled them into police vans during Monday's parade in Saint Petersburg's historic centre.

Police detained 17 activists, according to local news site Fontanka.ru and OVD-Info, a site monitoring activist detentions.

"Some people who breached public order at the parade were detained," a police source confirmed to AFP, without giving details.

Several protesters lay on the ground covered with a Chechen flag while another threw earth on top of them to symbolise killings, Fontanka reported.

Some carried rainbow flags and shouted "Kadyrov to the Hague!" Fontanka reported, referring to the international criminal tribunal.

Ruling party lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, one of the chief proponents of a controversial 2013 law that bans "gay propaganda" for minors, shouted abuse at protesters, a video posted by Life News site showed.

In March, Novaya Gazeta opposition daily reported that Chechen authorities were imprisoning and torturing gay men in the conservative region where homosexuality is taboo and can be punished by killings by relatives.

A group of Chechen men in a safe house close to Moscow later confirmed to AFP that they had fled the region in fear of their lives.

Kadyrov rejected the "provocative" reports while meeting President Vladimir Putin last month.

Russia's Prosecutor-General's office said it had opened an inquiry but had not received any official complaints from victims.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed the reports, saying there had been "no confirmation" of violence and arrests.
The number of graft accusations to have hit the PP, other parties, unions and companies over the years have made corruption a main concern of Spaniards after sky-high unemployment, opinion polls show.

In the latest development, the former PP regional president of Madrid was arrested last month as part of a probe into embezzlement of public money.

Earlier in April, the PP president of the southeastern region of Murcia was also forced to resign as he too is being investigated for alleged corruption.

"The most corrupt is (Mariano) Rajoy," banners read at the protest on Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square, referring to the conservative prime minister.

"It's the main problem in the country," said Jose Martin, 59, a former employee at Bankia, a bank that was nationalised during the crisis and whose former executives have been found guilty of misusing funds and are under probe for fraud.

"They are emptying state coffers," added his wife Carmen Juarez, a 56-year-old civil servant, pointing to "clear spending cuts in education, in health."

"It's obscene."

Dolores Sanz, a 69-year-old former hospital worker, said many in Spain were struggling to make ends meet after a severe economic crisis.

"It's all linked: if there is corruption, the money goes and there is no money for important things like people's salaries," she said.

Spain last year scored its worst ranking in Transparency International's annual corruption perceptions index.

The PP has been particularly hard hit by graft allegations, but its rival Socialists have also been affected.

Such is public anger over the issue that many voters have flocked to two relatively new parties -- the far-left Podemos and the centre-right Ciudadanos.
Malta currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and will do so until June 30.

Muscat has been battling fresh allegations that a third Panamanian offshore company belongs to his wife.

Having an offshore company is not illegal but it is often associated with money laundering schemes. Michelle Muscat has strongly denied the accusation and although a probe has been launched it is unlikely to conclude before the poll.

"My duty is not just to protect myself and my family but also to safeguard my country, and I will not tolerate a situation where jobs are lost because of uncertainty," said the prime minister, calling the snap election a year before the scheduled end of his first term.

Muscat was elected with a strong majority in 2013 but his tenure has been riddled with allegations of corruption and mystery dealings with countries such as Azerbaijan.

Thousands took to the streets last week to protest against corruption after an investigation revealed hidden offshore companies of Muscat's energy minister, Konrad Mizzi, and his chief of staff, Keith Schembri.

Muscat was subsequently criticised for failing to take decisive action against him and Schembri.

The prime minister has, however, delivered what he calls "an economic miracle", with the first national budget surplus in 35 years, record low unemployment and steady economic growth.

Last month Malta's left-of-centre government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote over the Panama Papers scandal.

Following that endorsement Muscat had said it "gives us the energy to continue to work hard and achieve results."

The Panama Papers affair involved a massive data leak from the Mossack Fonseca law firm that revealed secretive offshore entities used by many of the world's wealthy to stash assets and in some cases evade taxes and launder money.

The leaks have created problems for political figures in many countries around the world.

Spanish industry minister Jose Manuel Soria resigned last month after he was shown to have connections to offshore companies that he had initially denied.
Shiite Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are the Syrian regime's most important military supporters after Russia in its battle against mainly Sunni rebels.

"We will send advisers in all fields and offer all help at our disposal so the resistance front doesn't break," the ground forces commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, told the Fars news agency.

"They are present there now and we will deploy more as long as there is a need for advisory support."

Pakpour said that advisers from the Guards' ground forces, including the Saberin Special Forces Unit, were working alongside those from the Guards' Quds Force foreign operations arm.

Syrian chief of staff General Ali Abdullah Ayoub was in Tehran for talks on Tuesday.

In his meeting with Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan, Ayoub said Syria was "indebted to Iran's support," the Guards' SepahNews website reported.

Dehghan said: "The nations of Iran and Syria are fighting on the same front to remove the lethal threat of terrorism and restore peace and security to the region."

As well as advisers, Iran has sent thousands of "volunteer" fighters recruited among its own nationals as well as the Shiite communities in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It also has military advisers and trainers deployed in Iraq.
"We consider that this situation -- the ceasefire -- needs to be strengthened, and this is precisely what our representatives will work on tomorrow and the day after in Astana together with the sides in the Syrian conflict," Putin said at a news conference in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Our task is to create conditions for unification, the cessation of hostilities, the cessation of mutual destruction and the creation of conditions for the political cooperation of all opposing sides."

The two days of talks -- sponsored by Syrian regime supporters Russia and Iran along with rebel-backer Turkey -- are the first since US President Donald Trump infuriated the Kremlin by launching a missile strike against Assad's forces over an alleged chemical weapons attack last month.

A rebel delegation led by Mohammad Alloush, leader of the Jaish al-Islam faction, has arrived in Astana for the talks, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

An advisor to the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Yehya Aridi, told AFP that the group would participate in the talks with "approximately" the same delegation as in previous rounds of negotiations.

The rebels did not separately confirm Alloush's participation. Regime negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari will lead the Damascus delegation.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura will also take part in the talks which could pave the way for a new round of UN-brokered peace negotiations in Geneva this month, the United Nations said Monday.

The Astana negotiations are viewed as complementary to the broader Geneva talks on a political settlement, but neither have yielded real progress so far.

The last round of talks in March saw a delegation from Damascus meet representatives from the talks' sponsors Russia, Iran and Turkey, but leaders of armed rebel groups stayed away for the first time over alleged violations of a fragile ceasefire deal.

Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said a US delegation led by Stuart Jones -- acting assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Affairs Bureau -- would observe this week's talks.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have confirmed plans for a telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in which Syria is expected to raised.
Elliott Aviation, a provider of business aviation services, will host a career fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13 at its Moline headquarters on the south side of the Quad-City International Airport.

The 350-person company is hiring for 15 or more open positions, including workers skilled in upholstery refurbishment, aircraft wiring, woodwork, industrial painting, aircraft maintenance and more.

Marketing director Andrew Evans said many of the positions use skills that are transferrable from other trades and industries such as automotive mechanic, automotive painting, cabinetry, wiring and more. Most of the positions do not require a college degree and Elliott offers its own training program.

Job-seekers are encouraged to sign up early at www.elliottaviation.com/careerfair.

Elliott Aviation president Greg Sahr said the company is looking for workers who share the company's values of unmatched quality, uncompromising integrity and unbeatable customer service. "We are looking for people with the right skills and right attitude that can help us grow in Moline."

Headquartered in the Quad-Cities since 1936, Elliott Aviation has been stationed at the airport since 1961. A second-generation, family-owned business, its street address is 6601 74th Ave., Milan.
MUSCATINE  When Tom Meeker sunk $40,000 into maintaining The Pearl Button last fall, he thought hed be all set for the next five years.

Then the March 6 tornado hit and Meeker got calls that the 45-ton sidewheeler wasnt in its usual dock.

It broke from the dock and went clear across the harbor and hit the other bank and all the windows broke out of it and the lights in the celling went out, but we didnt realize how much trouble we had with the main frame so the Coast Guard made us pull it out, said Meeker, who owns the boat.

The Coast Guard and surveyors began inspecting the boat the week after the tornado hit. But the surveyors wanted to take a closer look so they put the boat on a tugboat and took it to Buffalo, Iowa, to be inspected. And though they peppered their conversations with Meeker with "Thats a lot of damage," he was sure the boat would recover.

When we took it up to Buffalo and we left it, I never even pictured it was not coming back, he said. It was kind of all a surprise. I just figured we might have to do a little work to it and bring it back.

But the inspection revealed damage to the boats main frame that would take $200,000 to fix.

It was more damage than what the boat was worth, he said.

Last Thursday, it became clear the boat was too far gone, and Meeker decided to scrap it. The damage, Meeker said, wasnt the only deciding factor. As a sidewheeler, The Pearl Button couldnt run when the water level was high and in the past three years, there have been many days they couldnt sail the boat.

Though many people took photos of the boat, Meeker said, fewer actually wanted to sail on it. But The Pearl Button, with its ornate railing and sidewheel, looked like it belonged on the Mississippi.

The Meekers, who also develop downtown real estate, bought the boat eight years ago to serve as a tourist attraction.

We were trying to think, How can we help these businesses and how can we try to work toward a destination? Meeker said. We figured it would bring customers to downtown and relate the riverfront to downtown.

Meeker said he hasnt decided if he will replace the boat.

Its a hard decision, because it was an expensive hobby. It cost us probably $10,000 to $15,000 a year just to keep it. So its a hard decision what to replace it with if we do, he said. Maybe well go with something a lot smaller, just because we do have a nice dock out here.
One of the funniest movies, which is destined to be televised along with its lower-budget kin in the not-too-distant future, is Unforgettable, a high-camp melodrama that will appeal to those who long for the catfight days of television shows such as Dynasty. The unintentional hilarity that ensues after the set-up will be delicious to anyone who enjoys so bad theyre good films.

Aside from its comedic factor, this is a television screenplay dressed up in feature film attire.

Rosario Dawson plays Julia, a young woman who is about to marry David (Geoff Stults, J. Edgar) the man of her dreams and become a stepmother to his daughter, Lily. Julias experience with domestic violence some time before still haunts her.

Katherine Heigl is Davids ex-wife Tessa, who cannot stand the thought of someone else helping to raise the little girl she had with David. She still loves David and eventually becomes determined to thwart the romance he has with Julia. Shes a lot like the Betty Draper character from televisions Mad Men.

Cheryl Ladd (yes, *that* Cheryl Ladd from televisions Charlies Angels) plays Tessas overbearing mother, who earns the nickname Cruella Chanel at one point.

At first, Julia does all she can to show the little girl that she cares about her. She provides a special quilt for the little girl, who refuses to use it. When Tessa realizes just how serious David and Julia are, she begins to scheme about how she can break them up. When Tessa finally becomes completely unhinged, we watch her take extreme measures to torment Julia.

We see Tessa begin to unravel even more as the bond between Julia and David grows more intense. Her psycho-ex takes on a more and more sinister tone. In one scene, we see her combing her daughters hair and saying Now you're perfect. Just like Mommy. In another scene, Julia and Tessa have a stand-off about how to handle Lilys fearfulness of riding a horse.

Eventually, Tessa becomes an out-and-out monster. When murder enters the picture, we know that the script will include a catfight thats every bit as outrageous as any goofy soap opera scene.

Out of all the ensemble, its Dawson who delivers the most sincere performance. Part of that is because her situation is the most honest part of the script, which does indeed nail the sort of terror that people experience long after a domestic-violence experience is over. Julia never really feels safe, and doesnt want to reveal what happened between her and her ex-boyfriend.
A new micro-brewery is set to join the Quad-City beer scene in the upcoming months.

Wake Brewing, which promises to offer "an eclectic taste" of brews, is on track to open near the end of the July at 2529 5th Ave., Rock Island, according to owner Jason Parris.

He's teaming up with his brother Justen Parris, who will serve as the main brewer.

"There's a uniqueness to what we're going to do that starts with ingredients you won't find commercial beers," Jason Parris, a 42-year-old Davenport resident, said. "It's going to be something different for our area."

Parris, the booking manager at Rock Island Brewing Company, or RIBCO, says his love of craft beer began about 10 years ago, when he got into homebrewing after a stint as a touring musician.

"I would travel and taste beers on either coast. You could really taste different areas of the country," he said. "I figured out that I can make beer, too."

His batches of beer were "terrible at first," he said.

"You just keep honing your skills and then the beer starts to taste like beer," Parris said.

The resulting recipes will soon be on tap at Wake Brewing, which Parris hopes will add to the mix of Q-C breweries. In the meantime, you can try samples of Wake brews at some events at the Figge Art Museum.

"When people say we already have a lot of breweries, I say Portland, Oregon, has 138 breweries and 10 percent of that is about 14 breweries and we're not there yet," Parris said. "If we can't be 10 percent as cool as Portland, we have a ways to go."
Judge grants Liggins' motion to delay trial

The third trial of murder defendant Stanley Liggins, which was set to begin May 22 in Waterloo, is officially off the docket.

Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Marlita Greve on Monday granted a request by his newly appointed attorneys, Waterloo public defenders Aaron Hawbaker and Nichole Watt, to delay the trial to give them more time to prepare.

Greve set a status hearing for Jan. 3 to determine new dates in the case. She has not yet ruled on a second request by the attorneys to have Liggins, 55, held in the Black Hawk County Jail, rather than the Scott County Jail in Davenport, pending trial.

Liggins is charged in the September 1990 strangulation death of Jennifer Ann Lewis, 9, of Rock Island, whose burned body was found near a Davenport elementary school. Prosecutors say she also was sexually abused.

He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1993 and 1995. The Iowa Supreme Court overturned the first conviction, and on Nov. 6, 2013, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed the second conviction.

Liggins has been in the Scott County Jail in lieu of bond since February 2014.

Hawbaker and Watt filed their appearances in the case April 24, less than a week after Greve granted Liggins request to fire his former appointed attorneys, Derek Jones and Miguel Puentes of the Davenport public defenders office.

Greve granted Liggins' motion earlier this year to move the trial from Scott County to Black Hawk County, citing the heavy pretrial publicity surrounding the case.

 Tara Becker

Man pleads not guilty in teen's slaying

BURLINGTON  One of two men accused of killing a Burlington teenager has pleaded not guilty and has waived his right to a speedy trial.

The Hawk Eye reports that 22-year-old Jorge Sanders-Galvez waived that right at a hearing Monday at which one of his attorneys was allowed to withdraw because of a conflict of interest. Sanders-Galvez's trial was tentatively scheduled to begin June 27, but Judge Mary Ann Brown says a new date will be set later.

Sanders-Galvez and Jaron Purham, 27, are accused of shooting to death Burlington High School student Kedarie Johnson. The 16-year-old's body was found March 2, 2016. Purham remains in St. Louis County Jail in Missouri, awaiting trial on unrelated charges.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the slaying.

 Associated Press

Appeal in death of student continues

SYCAMORE, Ill.  A man serving a decades-long prison sentence in the 2010 death of a Northern Illinois University student is continuing an appeal of his conviction.

Chief Judge Robbin Stuckert on Monday partially denied a motion by the state to dismiss the appeal of William Curl of conviction in the death of 18-year-old freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller of Plainfield. Her burned body was found in a park two days after she disappeared.

In May 2015, Curl, 40, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, saying he only agreed to plead guilty because his court-appointed attorney made mistakes. He also claims he entered the plea because then-DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack threatened to prosecute Curl's 13-year-old son in connection with Keller's murder.

Stuckert set a May 23 hearing during which a date for an evidentiary hearing may be determined.

 Associated Press
It is up to us to remember, to teach, and to continue.

That was the message Monday night from United Auto Workers 865 member Josh Saunders, who discussed the Haymarket Affair. Saunders spoke to other members of the new Quad-City chapter of the national Democratic Socialists of America at a potluck that 22 people attended at Laborers Local Union 309, Rock Island.

The Haymarket Affair was the aftermath of a bombing at a labor demonstration May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square, Chicago. The bombing happened after a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day. Someone  To this day, no one knows who that person was, Saunders said  threw a bomb at police. Seven police officers and at least four civilians died as a result of the violence that ensued.

Eventually, eight anarchists  seven of whom were sentenced to the death penalty  were convicted of conspiracy. One of the jury members was a friend of one of the police officers that were killed, Saunders said.

Illinois Gov. Richard Oglesby commuted two of the death sentences. One committed suicide in jail and four were hanged in 1887. Eventually, The (remaining) Haymarket martyrs were pardoned, Saunders said. He called the Haymarket Affair one of the worst government frame-ups in U.S. history. Its up to working-class people like ourselves to keep the memory of these men alive.

Chase Burghgrave, of Rock Island, chairman of the Quad-City group, said that the national organization has grown since the 2016 Presidential election.

There are so many people fighting for many different things, said Amber Rajcevich, of Davenport. Were all fighting against the same systemic issues," said Rajcevich, who said she was an "armchair liberal" for some time before she joined the group.

The Haymarket Affair generally is considered the origin of International May Day, which also is known as International Workers Day, an observance for workers.

The Democratic Socialists of America was founded in 1982. The Quad-City chapter officially was recognized by the national organization in April 2017.
A top Iowa Democrat said Tuesday there needs to be a resolution to questions over whether Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds has the power to appoint a successor when Gov. Terry Branstad steps down.

A day after Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller issued an opinion saying Reynolds doesn't have the power to appoint a new lieutenant governor, the Democratic leader in the state Senate, Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said he expects the courts to eventually get the matter. "This is a big issue, and if there's going to be a constitutional fight over this, we need to get it resolved," he said.

Miller's 23-page opinion, which also affirmed the proposition that Reynolds would become governor  and essentially occupy both offices  left Republicans fuming. Across the spectrum, Republicans ripped the decision and accused Miller of flip-flopping for political reasons, because he initially said she would have that power.

Democrats, on the other hand, were conspicuously silent Monday.

Hogg said Tuesday that was not by design. But he said he's had a chance to review the issue, and he agrees with the conclusion that Reynolds does not have the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor. Nor, he said, is it a good idea.

"The idea that she would appoint a lieutenant governor who has never been elected to anything is a problem," he said. Earlier this year, a bill introduced by a Senate Democrat that would require such an appointment to be subject to legislative confirmation, but it was never taken up.

It's not clear what will happen next. Reynolds said after the decision was released on Monday that she would stick to Miller's initial advice from December.

Miller said Monday the December opinion was a "quick" decision that was changed after a deeper look.

Ben Hammes, a spokesman for the governor's office, said Tuesday it still is examining its options, but he reiterated, "we still believe the law is on our side." Republicans point to a 2009 law they say backs them up.

The National Lieutenant Governors Association also weighed in on the matter Tuesday, called Miller's decision "disappointing."

In the event the matter does end up in the courts, it's not clear who would bring such a case. Miller said Monday he would not challenge such an appointment himself, but he didn't explain why. A spokesman Tuesday would only say that he didn't consider it appropriate.

However, Gary Dickey, who was a general counsel to Gov. Tom Vilsack, said he or other attorneys would likely challenge an appointment, according to the Associated Press.

State Sen. David Johnson, an independent from Ocheydan, who was the one who asked Miller for a definitive opinion on the question in February, said Tuesday he hasn't considered it himself.

"The idea has not crossed my mind," he said. Johnson said he was just seeking certainty. "Those questions needed to be asked," he said.
DES MOINES  Every day, Larry Buck Koos still relives the events of Sept. 9, 2014.

Koos, a former Jackson County Supervisor, said every day he recalls being in the courthouse in Maquoketa, Iowa, on that fateful day. He hears the gunshot, remembers wrestling the shooter to the ground. He hears the second gunshot, which killed the shooter.

Every day, said Koos, who escaped from the incident with minor injuries. Its just something that ... yeah, every day.

Koos possesses a rare perspective of gun violence in Iowas public buildings, having lived through that incident. And Koos says he is concerned with a new state law that allows Iowans to sue local governments if they feel adversely affected by any ban on firearms in public buildings, including county courthouses.

The new law was approved recently by Republican majorities in the Iowa Legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Terry Branstad. It was part of a broad piece of legislation that included multiple changes to Iowas gun regulations, including the addition of a so-called stand your ground law.

Local gun bans at public buildings that differ from state law have been prohibited by state law since 1990, but such bans have nonetheless been implemented and gone largely unchallenged.

The new law maintains the prohibition of local gun bans and adds a provision that creates an avenue for Iowans to sue local governments over those bans.

That new provision drew concern and criticism from officials -- like sheriffs, judges and county attorneys -- who work in public buildings.

Koos was a supervisor for 12 years until losing his re-election bid this past November. He now works in the courthouse in a different capacity. He said he agrees with those who have reservations with the new law.

Koos said he does not believe more people carrying guns would have made the Jackson County Courthouse any safer the day of the shooting. He said it might have made the situation worse.

I dont know what the outcome would have been, what would have been different about it if everybody would have pulled a gun out and started shooting, Koos said. If I had a gun, would I have pulled a gun? I dont know. I just think Im glad I wasnt in that position to make that decision. ... I just think it would be chaos.

Security has been upgraded at the Jackson County Courthouse after the 2014 shooting. Its security camera system was updated, and security guards have a central kiosk with monitors that show activity throughout the building.

Koos said he fears the new law could undermine those new levels of security. He agrees with the myriad other public officials who have said they are concerned with the new law because it opens the door for citizens carrying guns into public buildings where emotions often run high.

Koos said he understands the argument that a gun ban may not deter an individual who is determined to bring a firearm into a public building, but said he thinks a ban could keep guns out of a situation where an individual becomes angry in a moment of high emotion or stress.

The shooter in the 2014 incident was upset about his property tax assessment.

Bad guys are going to bring in a gun no matter what. I get those arguments, Koos said. Im afraid of people who are not so bad but in the heat of the moment get a sentence handed down or find out they dont get custody of their children, and all of a sudden they have a gun at their side.

A similar backstory produced another high-profile incident in Iowas history. In 1986, a homeowner upset about sewer backup shot and killed Mount Pleasant Mayor Edd King.

Tom Vilsack was appointed to replace King as mayor. Vilsack went on to become a state legislator, Iowas governor and U.S. agriculture secretary.

An attempt to reach Vilsack for this story was unsuccessful.

But the Mount Pleasant and Jackson County incidents should not be used as arguments against the new law, said Richard Rogers, with the Iowa Firearms Coalition, the pro-gun rights group that helped draft the legislation. Rogers said he supports heightened security designed to prevent such events, but not restrictions on individuals constitutional right to carry firearms.

Rogers noted the state law that prohibits local gun bans was approved in 1990, just a few years after the Mount Pleasant incident.

The Iowa Firearms Coalition is all for actual security, but we also (dont want restrictions that) override peoples fundamental right to defend themselves, Rogers said. Im not anti-security, Im anti-false sense of security and violating peoples rights.

Rogers said he does not think responsible gun owners will use a gun for offense in public buildings, nor does he think bans will prevent determined individuals from bringing in guns.

The idea that just because someone has a firearm on them, assuming theyre legally carrying, theres very little reason to expect those people are just going to go off, Rogers said. While its certainly possible, it just doesnt happen.

What might happen is someone who is already unstable and already has a beef with the county or city or state, and they come armed, even if that person did happen to have a permit (to carry a gun) if all youre having is a sign (noting guns are banned), youre not going to deter them anyway.

But for Buck Koos, whose feelings are shaped in large part by that traumatic incident that he still relives each day, banning guns in public buildings is worth the effort to keep people there safe.

I have maybe a different outlook than other people, Koos said. I guess the day of the shooting, one gun was one too many.
Donald Trump is no tyrant-in-waiting regardless of how much the left tries to say otherwise. But the president's predilection for strong-men and their tactics demand rebuke from all members of Congress, including Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

Trump's administration has considered rollbacks of libel laws in order to hobble the media with spurious lawsuits, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus admitted.

"I think its something that weve looked at, and how that gets executed or whether that goes anywhere is a different story, he said Sunday during an appearance on ABC's "The Week."

It's unclear how such an assault on the First Amendment would actually work. Libel laws are, by and large, state-level matters, a fact Trump apparently didn't realize during the campaign.

A few Republican lawmakers blasted Priebus for even going there.

"White House has no power to change the #1stAmendment, and we Americans will fight any effort to abridge the freedom of speech or the press," tweeted Rep. Justin Amash, R-Michigan.

But, like with so many abnormalities from this White House, most Republicans either remained silent or downplayed the severity of such a message coming from the White House.

Even Nixon never called the press the "enemy of the American people." Trump, yet again, railed against the media Saturday night, as the Beltway press corps held its annually absurd White House Correspondent's Dinner.

Trump has every right to savage the press thanks to that First Amendment, which irks him so. But Trump's attacks on the media capstoned a week where he flaunted increasing hostility to anyone who challenged his authority and an unwillingness to recognize that the system is built upon antagonistic relationships.

He mentioned breaking up the 9th Circuit, which has struck down his most contentious executive orders. He threatened congressional Republicans who don't fall in line on the health care package. He blasted the Senate's 60-vote rule. He kept signing executive orders at a never-before-seen pace. His war on facts simply won't cease.

In a few short days, Trump displayed utter contempt for the very checks on power that differentiate president from monarch.

Much was made of last month's comments by Ernst, in which she cautiously expressed discomfort with Trump's near weekly retreats to Mar-a-Lago. That's a start, I suppose, especially considering Trump's dismal approval ratings. But, still, Ernst makes no mention of the obvious pay-to-play scheme Mar-a-Lago is running. Nor did she broach any of the broader ethical questions about the business dealings of Trump and his children-turned-advisers.

Grassley, too, hasn't said too much, though he kept Trump at a distance during the campaign, unlike Ernst. Last week, for example, Grassley's staff twisted to say something positive about Trump's tax plan while not expressing actual support. At least Trump started "the conversation" about tax reform, the release said. Hardly full-throated support.

Priebus' flippant reference to gutting free speech came just a day after Trump shocked even his own staff and State Department by holding a call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a man who brags about extra-judicial killings of suspected criminals. Trump invited the strongman to the White House during the call. Remember, Trump is the same guy who swooned over Russia's Vladimir Putin throughout the campaign.

Adding insult to injury, Trump on Friday became the first sitting president in three decades to address the National Rifle Association's annual meeting. He ticked all the boxes, pledging to tear down gun restrictions wherever he can. But Trump's rhetoric in the past has even surpassed the uncompromising NRA following last year's shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

The takeaway is simple: The Second Amendment is sacrosanct. The First Amendment and any limits to presidential power are expendable annoyances.

In the past few days, Trump has grown increasingly hostile to the most fundamental limitations on his power, Congress and the courts included. And, yet again, he's cozying up to a murderous thug.

At what point do Grassley and Ernst start pushing back?
In collecting $400,000 from a Wall Street investment firm to make a single speech, Barack Obama is following in the Gucci-clad footsteps of past presidents. Ronald Reagan landed a $2 million speaking gig in Japan. George W. Bush, on his way out, announced it was time to "replenish the ol' coffers." Bill and Hillary Clinton reported making more than $235 million after leaving the White House.

But to acknowledge that Obama has plenty of precedent on his side is not to say that his choice is wise. Indeed, it's unfortunate.

Obama's propulsion onto the lecture circuit arrives at a moment of populist disgust with Wall Street greed and the Washington swamp (can doors revolve in swamps?). It comes after a campaign in which Hillary Clinton's Goldman Sachs speaking fees became a symbol of entitled elitism. So imagine the powerful message Obama would have sent -- the reverse precedent -- had he chosen to renounce this road to riches.

Or, imagine this, had he chosen to speak publicly, at as many places and on as many topics as he liked. Just not behind closed doors, for an amount equivalent to his White House salary -- and seven times what the typical household makes in a year. Such a move would have been understood as an implicit -- and well-deserved -- rebuke of the Clintons' compulsive speechifying.

This is not to argue for a post-presidential vow of poverty. I don't begrudge the Obamas their reported $60-million plus joint book deal, of which their publisher has said a "significant portion" will be donated to charity. That should leave plenty for the Obamas to live as luxuriously as they could want.

Books are a public good, available to all. If the market bears $60 million to hear from the Obamas, great. OK, I hear you saying, the market commands $400,000 for an Obama speech. But the speech -- this particular one a health care conference put on by investment banking firm Cantor Fitzgerald -- is only available to a privileged few, paid for by an even more privileged few. To this crowd, $400,000 is a paltry bonus in a bad year for a middling analyst.

Indeed, some of those to Obama's left have focused on the Wall Street aspect of the deal. "I think it just speaks to the power of Wall Street and the influence of big money in the political process," Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told Bloomberg's Steven Dennis. I think it's unfortunate." Similarly, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on SiriusXM's Radio Andy that she was "troubled" by the speech.

The Wall Street angle feels like unfortunate icing on an already distasteful cake. Would we really feel better if Obama were taking the money from, say, a public university? At least the Cantor Fitzgerald check comes from folks who can easily afford it -- not out of taxpayer dollars.

More fundamentally, what is really revolting about all this unseemly money-grubbing isn't who's writing the checks, it's the unnecessary vacuuming of endless sums. Sure, Hillary Clinton's conduct was infuriatingly boneheaded because she knew she might be -- at a certain point, she knew she was -- running for president. The fact that she was seeking office opened her to suggestion that those signing her speaker's checks were currying future favor.

Obama, by contrast, is done with electoral politics, at least the kind that have him on the ballot. His office said a portion of his income will go to charity. But is this rapaciousness really the image he wants to cultivate -- for himself or for fellow Democrats? Having left his party in such terrible condition, does he really have to offer opponents ammunition to attack him as hypocritical?

Some readers will argue there is an unfair racial double standard in accepting that previous presidents have cashed in big time and demanding that Obama refrain from doing precisely what they have. "So the first black president must also be the first one to not take money afterwards?" Trevor Noah asked on "The Daily Show" Thursday. "No, no, no, no, no, my friend. He can't be the first of everything."

Hogwash. This isn't about holding the black guy to a higher standard -- it's about trying to hold everyone to a higher standard. Times have changed, and what was once placidly accepted as post-presidential business-as-usual may no longer be.

A wise man once said, "I do think at a certain point you've made enough money." That was Obama 2010, on regulating Wall Street. Maybe Obama 2017 could talk to that guy.
PIERRE  At the encouragement of the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs and the South Dakota Department of the Military, Gov. Dennis Daugaard has proclaimed May as National Military Appreciation Month, a time for all to honor, remember, recognize and appreciate those who have served in the past and those now serving, as well as their families.

The vigilance of the members of the Armed Forces has been instrumental to the preservation of freedom, security and prosperity enjoyed by the people of this great nation, the Governors proclamation states. The success of the Armed Forces depends on the dedicated service of its members and their families.

National Military Appreciation Month includes: Loyalty Day on May 1, Victory in Europe Day on May 8, Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 12, Armed Forces Day on May 20 and Memorial Day on May 29.

"It is certainly fitting to dedicate a month to consider all of the ways that members of our armed forces both past and present have earned and preserved our American way of life, said Adjutant General Timothy Reisch, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of the Military. We also honor in a special way, the many contributions and tremendous support of our military family members without whom our service would be impossible."

The days provide an opportunity to honor, remember, recognize, and appreciate those who serve and have served. These men and women continue to play a major role in the development of our country documented through a history of uncompromising honor, dedication to duty and genuine love of country, according to South Dakota Veterans Affairs Secretary Larry Zimmerman.

The month of May provides a great opportunity to remember, honor and pay tribute to our nations heroes  heroes who set aside their personal safety to defend and protect their family, their community and their nation from those who would threaten our way of life, said Larry Zimmerman, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs. These men and women step forward every day to train, fight and defend our freedoms.
A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that challenged voting by absentee ballot in Detroit, saying a Republican candidate for secretary of state failed to produce any evidence of violations. Wayne County Judge Tim Kenny says critics have raised a red flag of election law wrongdoing. But Kenny says his ruling takes down that flag. Kristina Karamo and others sued to try to force Detroit voters to vote in person or go to the city clerks office to get an absentee ballot. They made a variety of allegations about how Detroit reviews signatures on absentee ballots and monitors ballot drop-off boxes. The judge says they failed dramatically to back up any of it.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. | A member of the Mohawk tribe has been crowned 2017 Miss Indian World at the Gathering of Nations.

The 23-year-old Raven Swamp, of Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada, received the honor this weekend out of 23 Native American women representing their different tribes. Contestants were judged on areas of tribal knowledge, dancing ability, public speaking, and personality assessment.

Dancers from across the United States, Canada and Mexico came to Albuquerque this weekend for the Gathering of Nations  one of North America's most prominent American Indian powwows.

The powwow featured a number of competitions for dancers, drummers and performers.

Miss Indian World will represent native and indigenous people as a cultural goodwill ambassador for one year.
The Rapid City Council voted unanimously Monday to allocate $75,000 to Youth & Family Services for drainage improvements.

The council also voted to delay until its May 15 meeting a decision on a possible allocation of $75,000 to proposed affordable housing development Freeland Ranch Community Inc.

The decisions were made after council members debated what local organizations and projects would receive Community Development Block Grant money.

Barb Garcia, manager of the Rapid City Community Development Division, said the department projects to have about $250,000 in funds for demolition work and land acquisition for small affordable housing from the CDBG program in 2017, but those funds have yet to be administered.

The federal budget must first be approved. The allocations made and debated by the council come from that projected pool of money.

Garcia's department is tasked with receiving and overseeing the disbursement of CDBG funds to local organizations.

Garcia added that her department could probably spend only about $100,000 of those funds by the end of the year  the deadline for using the funds set by HUD  because there arent enough eligible development projects to receive the funds.

The CDBG program, a federal effort within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is geared toward low and moderate income individuals and issues such as affordable housing.

The proposed Trump administration budget eliminates the CDBG program, which was allotted $3 billion in federal funding in 2017 and allocated about $5.2 million to South Dakota in 2017. The elimination now seems unlikely, though, as Congress has proposed a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year that would continue the $3 billion in funding for CDBG.

In other council actions:

 Less than two months after the city rejected a bid by R.C.S. Construction Inc. for a city water improvement project because the company claimed it mistakenly underbid the work by $60,000, the city awarded R.C.S. a contract for the same project at a price $154,000 higher than its original bid. The project, which would provide potable water to the citys Wastewater Reclamation Facility on South Side Drive, was originally estimated by consulting engineers to cost $550,392. The latest estimate by those engineers rose to $650,515, with R.C.S.s bid rising to $739,295.

 The March 2017 General Fund cash balance report was acknowledged, with $6.8 million in the fund as of March 31. That figure is the lowest since at least 2013, according to city documents. The March 2016 report had the fund at $12.3 million.

 A total of $200,000 in Capital Improvement Plan funding was approved for the West Memorial Park improvement project. The improvements will include work on the areas stormwater drainage, landscaping, irrigation, bike paths and sidewalks.
The regular meeting of the Belle Fourche City Council on May 1 held before a light audience addressed mostly routine business. However, councilwoman Kayla Kinard brought up the issue of the resignation of former Reserve Officer Sally Sprigler.

Kinard noted that the resignation brought up several issues of impropriety by the council administration.

Kinard said she thinks that the council is obligated to look into the allegations stated by Sprigler. It could be indicative a larger problem, Kinard said.

The council owes it to the public, Kinard noted, and its employees to have the best working conditions available.

She also wants to look at the Police Committee. Presently, there is no council person on the committee that has any law enforcement background or experience. Kinard mentioned there is someone on the council who does have that experience and should be on the Police Committee.

Her comments were duly noted by Mayor Gloria Landphere.

Two proclamations were given by Mayor Landphere.

May 15 to 19 has been proclaimed as S.D. Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Week. The Torch Run is a grass roots fund raising campaign to raise money for Special Olympics in South Dakota.

On May 18 to 20, Special Olympic athletes from Belle Fourche will be participating in the 2017 State Summer Games in Spearfish.

The plan for the Torch Run is to begin at Belle Fourche City Hall at 2:30 p.m. Then on State Street, west to 5th Avenue, and then continuing south to the corners of Highways 85 and 34.

There will be 10-15 officers along with escorts and follow vehicles.

The purpose of the run is to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics.

The end of the run will be at Black Hills State University to mark the opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics State Summer Games.

The second proclamation made by the mayor was for National Police Week. May 14 to 20 has been proclaimed to honor fallen law enforcement officers and their families.

The mayor added a public salute to the service of law enforcement officers in the community of Belle Fourche and in communities across the nation.

Two new officers were sworn in by the mayor. Dylan Bell and Joshua Gallagher have been added to the Belle Fourche Police Department.

The council discussed a drainage issue at the property of Wyatt Hix at 713 8th Avenue. Hix was present to point out what he thought needed the council's attention.

He indicated that the apartment building being planned next to his property will not have adequate gutters and the engineer's office should not have approved the building permit.

City Attorney Dwight Gubbrud explained that the council cannot tell anyone how to build as long as the plans meet the international building codes.

Mayor Landphere explained that the process had been discussed with the appropriate people and a decision had been made. Gubbrud continued by telling Hix that he should visit with his neighbor and discuss the building plans. Those who are certified in reviewing the plans have assured him that the building codes have been met.

In other council business:

*A one way sign will be placed at the alley on the east side of the Post Office

*Payment to E-Z Fabrication for the baler reline was approved in the amount of $43,322

*The Butte County Post was designated as the official newspaper

*Katie Satzinger was elected president of the Council and Monte Talkington was elected as vice president.

*Up to $18,000 was approved for the overlay project on west Roundup Street.

*Up to $48,500 was approved for reconstruction of street at viaduct on 10th Avenue.

*Up to $14,000 was approved to place a valley gutter and create handicap ramps at Stanley and 11th Avenue.
Dear Editor,

As almost any public school board member or superintendent can tell you, many of our states citizens are screaming for property tax reform while also being fully supportive of adequately funding our public schools.

According to a poll conducted by Reform for Nebraskas Future, 77% of respondents indicated they were supportive of property tax reform. The vast majority of our elected officials at the state level even campaigned on the promise of property tax reform, and for good reason.

Nebraska K-12 schools receive 49% of their funding from local property taxes while the national average is 29%. (U.S. Census Bureau, Public Education Finance, 2016  Based on 2014 Survey Data.)

Nebraska K-12 schools receive 33% of their funding from state sources while the national average is 47%. (U.S. Census Bureau, Public Education Finance, 2016  Based on 2014 Survey Data.)

Nebraska ranks 49th in the country in the percentage of K-12 funding that comes from the state. (U.S. Census Bureau, Public Education Finance Report, June, 2016 https://www2.census.gov/govs/school/14f33pub.pdf)

The school funding formula, TEEOSA, which was implemented back in 1990, has only been fully funded two or three times over the past 15 or 16 years. In most instances, due to increasing needs, the TEEOSA calculation comes out more expensive than the state wants to allocate, so in order for the state to balance their budget, they underfund schools and force us to make up the difference with local property taxes. Thats how this current system works.

Some folks like to blame spending as the culprit for high property taxes but its really a funding issue. Many of the school districts most reliant on local property taxes, like York, have an annual average spending increase of less than 1.6% over the past eight years. Yorks state equalization aid has plummeted from $3.7 million to $225,000 in that same span as land valuations increased. We have a school funding problem, folks.

Our state senators must decide soon whether they want to represent their constituents, the 77% of Nebraskans that are calling for property tax reform, or if they will succumb to a few very wealthy and powerful people instead. How our state senators handle various bills down the stretch will show us who they truly care about.

Mike Lucas

Superintendent of York Public Schools
Dr. Nathaniel Gallegos, assistant professor and chair of the Business department, was presented the Chadron State College Teaching Excellence Award at the annual CSC Faculty and Staff Recognition Luncheon.

He brings a wealth of experience to CSC including work in government law offices in California and Ohio, work with private businesses, university research in New Mexico and two years as an active reservist with the U.S. Navy.

Gallegos, who began teaching at CSC in 2013, said he was humbled by the award.

Its my honor to be embraced as an educator by my students. Education has been the biggest challenge of my life, he said.

Authenticity, student engagement and fostering student inquiry are hallmarks of his teaching philosophy, Gallegos said.

Technique is never a substitute for truth and passion, he said, commenting on text from Parker Palmers The Courage to Teach.

Being a first generation college student, a Mexican-American, a veteran, and a student who completed remedial courses in community college, Gallegos feels he possesses a profound common path with many CSC students.

Gallegos acknowledged his CSC colleagues and mentors with contributing to his success at CSC.

I owe all my gratitude to Dr. Mary Jo Carnot for all she invested in helping me develop my pedagogy and method. My extended gratitude to Dr. Timothy Anderson for modeling professionalism, to Dr. August Bruehlman for introducing me to continued strategic thought, Dr. Richard Koza for his mentorship and being my trusted friend right from the start and to Dr. Hyer for all his patience, guidance and support. God blesses me with work and Im so blessed to have found Chadron State, Gallegos said.

When he joined the CSC Business Academy faculty he was new to course design and pedagogical style. He credits the Quality Matters (QM) program with helping him successfully make the leap from his career as an attorney to the classroom.

He fully embraced the QM program, becoming a QM master peer reviewer and adopting QM principles with the certification of his MBA law course. He also published an article on ADA course compliance and presented it at the 2015 National QM Conference.

In 2014, he asked to teach Agricultural Policy (ECON 432) for the chance to develop smart consumers in a course related so closely to his graduate work and research in agricultural economics. Gallegos said he includes TED Talks, NPR podcasts and PBS documentaries in the course, in addition to other assignments such as detective work to analyze food labels.

In addition to receiving a $1,000 award and plaque, Gallegos now becomes a finalist for the Nebraska State College System Teaching Excellence Award to be announced later this year. It is presented annually to one full-time faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching, service and leadership across the system, including Chadron, Peru and Wayne State Colleges.

The NSCS Board has awarded the NSCS Teaching Excellence Award since 1984.
Catherine Ratliff won the Goldie Wells Award, a prestigious lifetime achievement award

HOT SPRINGS  Catherine Ratliff, a Hot Springs Democrat, has won a prestigious South Dakota Democratic Party Award, the Goldie Wells Award.

The Goldie Wells Award is a lifetime achievement honor, also one of three awards given annually at the South Dakota Democratic Partys annual McGovern Day, to recognize exemplary activists within the state party.

According to McGovern Day Awards Nomination Rules, the nominee must have given many years of service to the state Democratic Party and set an excellent example of tireless work and dedication to the ideals of the Democratic Party at many levels and with many projects.

The Fall River County Democrats, represented by local attorney Pat Ginsbach he is secretary of the group  nominated Ratliff for the award, noting that we believe Catherine Ratliff exemplifies the same philosophy Goldie Wells had in being a member of the Democratic Party.

Catherine has worked for 38 years to make sure that the Democrats had a presence in southwestern South Dakota, writes Ginsbach in the nomination. She has been a candidate for States Attorney, who came within 151 votes of ousting an entrenched Republican prosecutor. She took on an incumbent Republican State Senator in 2006 and came close to defeating him also. She used her organizational skills to help the Democrats sweep the county offices in 1992 and was instrumental in getting Republicans on the resolution board in 2002 to agree to count all the ballots in Oglala Lakota County that indicated what the voters intention was in casting their vote for the United States Senate. As a result, her actions assured the successful reelection of Tim Johnson in his campaign against John Thune.

But Catherine has done a lot more than just run for office and work towards the support of statewide candidates, Ginsbach continues. She was instrumental in organizing a voter registration wherein she provided the necessary information so volunteers could go throughout our county and register voters. From 1980 through the last election, she was instrumental in recruiting volunteers to act as poll watchers during general elections. She made herself available as a lawyer to answer any questions those poll watchers had while the votes were being cast. She developed an excellent working relationship with the auditors of Fall River county, who were always Republican, but willing to work with Catherine and provide her with information when she requested it, in a timely fashion.

Catherine has been instrumental in recruiting candidates to run for office, whether it be for the school board, city councils, offices at the county level and at the state legislature. Catherine has served as the Chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee on at least two occasions at the state Democratic Convention.

Fall River County Democrats chairwoman Karla LaRive and other group members added more information on Ratliff to Ginsbachs nomination with an attachment to the form. This included a brief biography.

Ratcliff, this information notes, was born in Texas to a father who was a third generation Methodist minister and a mother who instilled in her children an interest in politics. She moved to Hartford, South Dakota while in high school, attended South Dakota State University (SDSU), was married and had three sons. She then returned to college, got her degree and worked as a community organizer for the Community Action program in Brookings. She also helped at SDSU, doing human needs surveys, and worked for the states Office of Aging, spending time in Pierre during the 1970s, working out of that office.

She later went to law school and completed her degree in two and a half years, rather than the usual three.

Ratliff came to Hot Springs following her graduation from law school, and opened a successful law practice here. Her work included providing legal services to countless Native Americans on Pine Ridge.

In 2016, Ratliff was diagnosed with cancer and relocated to Sioux Falls to be closer to her sons.

Although she no longer lives in Hot Springs, she continues to support the Fall River Democrats with ideas and information., opening her home to any Fall River Democrats visiting Sioux Falls.

Catherine is the reason our party has continued to have success in the southwestern corner of South Dakota for the last 37 years and we believe that she is deserving of the Goldie Wells Award.

The state Democrat Party executive board announced that Ratliff had won the award on April 26, after a review of all nominations.

Ratliff was honored with the award during the McGovern Day Luncheon on April 29.
Oelrichs residents urge county to look at land use policy in dealing with

the federal government

HOT SPRINGS  Land use in Fall River County appears to the main focus of two Oelrichs residents who are urging the county commissioners to beef up their power for local control over land use decisions.

Wes Davidson and Orval Frahm, both from Oelrichs, presented county commissioners with some information regarding The Code of the West at the April 18 commissioners meeting.

Davidson explained to the commissioners at that meeting how the county should become more involved with the decision-making process when it comes to things like endangered species, windmills and other land uses.

Davidson told the commissioners that federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service should coordinate with the county on changes in land use, how this should be mandated to protect the constitutional rights on landowners.

Davidson and Frahm presented the commissioners with three documents:

Code of the West

One of these was a 2006 copy of The Code of the West authored by the commissioners of that time frame  Glen Reaser, Mike Ortner and current Fall River County Commissioner and Commission President Joe Falkenburg, along with several county departments: highway, building and emergency services, sheriff and auditor.

This document  taken from an original work by John Clark, a Larimer County, Colorado commissioner  spells out how The Code of the West was an unwritten code of conduct (first chronicled by author Zane Grey) that espoused the values of integrity and self-reliance, and how these values guided the decision-making, actions and interactions of the pioneers.

In keeping with that spirit, The Code says, we offer this information to help the citizens of Meade County who wish to follow in the footsteps of those rugged individualists who lived outside city limits.

The Code goes on to talk about how rural life is far different from city life, especially for those who decide to build a rural home. Some of these differences include:

Emergency response times  sheriff, fire department, and medical care  can be long and costs for services expensive.

Road issues are common, especially since Fall River County has more than 1,780 square miles of roads. Some roads are public and county-maintained. Others are private, maintained by road associations, road districts, or private individuals. Even some public roads are not maintained by anyone. Harsh weather and heavy truck traffic can destroy roads. Also, school buses travel only maintained roads and rural residents may have to drive their children to a bus stop.

Gravel roads create dust, and in general, the county was not treating roads at that time. Dust is a fact of life for rural residents. Unpaved roads are not likely to be paved in the forseeable future, The Code says. Also, unpaved roads can be slippery when wet, plus mail, parcel and newspaper delivery can be sketchy on rural roads.

Utilities are another issue. Water, sewer, electric, trash, telephone and other services might not be available, some of these things at all times, others sporadically, as bad weather knocks out electricity, for example, sometimes for a week or more. Higher costs will also be incurred by rural homeowners to tap into these services. Sewer might need to be replaced by a septic tank. Water might be a well, expensive to drill, tough to maintain, or a cistern, that requires hauling water. Cell phone coverage can be sketchy. Trash can be more expensive.

County issued building permits are required for most construction. Easements could be an issue. A platted professional survey should be done. Subdivisions and developments may have limits on the property.

Water rights can be a huge issue, especially if ditches or irrigation lines cross your property.

Nature is not always friendly in rural areas. While a grove of ponderosa pines in The Hills may be a beautiful building site, it could also be a catastrophe when it comes to a fire; same for a bottom that might flash flood, or other locations that could suffer serious damage in the event of a natural catastrophe. Essentially its builders beware.

Living in the boondocks, next to a ranch or a farm has its perks, but also some down sides: Farmers burn their ditches to keep them weed free and some wont like the smoke. Same goes for pesticides and herbicides. Overspray or spray drift can happen, and some people would have severe allergic reactions to this. Animal manure stinks. Regardless, agriculture is an important business in Fall River County, and rural residents shouldnt expect the county government to intervene in normal farming or ranching operations.

 Open range laws apply in South Dakota. If you dont want the neighbors critters getting into your ground, fence them out. Also, many farm animals, like bulls, can be dangerous. Be aware.

The Code concludes with this statement, Even though you pay property taxes to the county, the amount collected does not cover the cost of the services provided to rural residents. In general, tax revenues derived from commercial, industrial, agricultural and forest uses and activities in the county subsidize the lifestyle of those who live in the country by making up the shortfall between the cost of services and the revenue received from rural dwellers.

Land Use

The second document the commissioners received was a 2011 county policy, No. 2011-01, Land Use Policy for Fall River County, adopted by the commissioners in early April of 2011.

This document focuses on lands held publicly in the county.

The Land Use document talks about the importance of agriculture and livestock grazing in the county, and opposes reductions to grazing allotments or any other change that would hamper our agricultural industry, while also opposing reductions to public access to public lands, tourism and recreation also being economically important.

It also opposes any introduction or re-introduction of any species not currently present in out county  except for the biological control of noxious weeds and invasive plant species.

But it also opposes further additions to public lands, unless an equal value of land is returned to private ownership, and restrictions on public access to archeological resources.

What this policy favors is also clearly spelled out: good forestry management and immediate attention to disease outbreak or infestation in the forests or grasslands. Plus, the county favors safe mineral extraction agricultural and recreational activity on public lands to include, but not limited to, livestock grazing, hunting, hiking, ATV riding, rock hounding, horse-back riding, sight-seeing, photography or camping.

Editorial

The final document the commissioners received was a recent Guest Opinion by Karen Budd-Falen, an attorney, from an unknown source discussing how President Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke have made promises about putting federal land use decision making back into the hands of local people.

The editorial contends there are three main ways a local government can influence federal decision-making on land use.

 Consistency review  This mandates that federal actions be as consistent as possible with local land use policies. However to do this, the local governments, like the county, must have a written land use policy  such as No. 2011-01  and abide by certain conditions: a review of federal actions in the county, a process for dealing with federal agencies, the land use policy should include a review of local custom and culture, also the policy should include economic data and analysis that goes beyond normal facts and figures. The best available information about the effects of a federal decision on local land use would come from the local government itself.

 Coordination  Federal rules also requires the U.S. government agencies to coordinate with local officials, and vice versa, to protect constituents. A land use policy provides the vehicle for doing this, Budd-Falen says.

 Cooperating agency status  A cooperating agency rule allows local governments to participate in federal decision-making when the applicant is a locally elected board, such as the commissioners, and has special expertise.

Local governments can have a major impact on federal agency decisions if they are prepared and willing to take on the challenge, Budd-Falen concludes.

The purpose of this is that were asking the county commissioners to reinforce The Code of the West and ordinances and the policies of the county, Davidson said. The reason for this is the over-aggressiveness of federal land management agencies -- they could declare this a monument. We just want to reinforce the existing rules and policies of the county.

Theres no secret about what were trying to accomplish. Without a land plan you have no standing, and the Forest Service, BLM, Game Fish and Parks can come in and do things. Were not asking for any changes, just making sure the county enforces what is on the books.

Fall River County Auditor Sue Ganje said Davidson and Frahm are on the Tuesday, May 2 commissioners meeting agenda to revisit this issue and revisit this issue.
The National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is marking its 25th anniversary on May 13.

Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers nationwide collect nonperishable food items during the nation's largest single-day food drive.

Last year, nearly 32,000 pounds of food was collected in Rapid City, Debbie Renner of Feeding South Dakota said in a release. Were hoping to surpass that number this year with 35,000 pounds.

Before the drive, a shopping bag and postcard will be mailed to more than 80,000 Rapid City area residents, who are encouraged to leave nonperishable food items by the mailbox on May 13.

All local food items will go to the Rapid City Pantry shelves, which are usually depleted after holiday donations have been distributed.
Darby School will host their first all-alumni reunion, July 7-8.

The reunion is open to everyone that attended or graduated from Darby Schools and will include a dinner, softball and horseshoe tournaments and a grand finale at the Bull-O-Rama in Darby.

Members are excited at the prospect of an all-alumni reunion, said Shelby Rogala, community outreach coordinator and Darby graduate, 2008. Attending a small school means many members were as close with students a few grades ahead or behind them as those in their own class. An all-alumni reunion gives everyone the chance to reconnect with the larger community that was part of their time at Darby Schools.

The association is partnering with the class of 1967 who is hosting their 50th class reunion.

The Darby Alumni Association formed in September and created all-alumni reunion to bring alumni together and support current students through mentorship and donations.

Rogala said the Darby Alumni Association hopes the reunion can provide a space for all students connected to Darby to get together, stay in touch and have a good time.

Organizers hope the reunion will be an annual event.

For more information, or to register, contact Rogala at srogala@darby.k12.mt.us or 406-821-3252 ex 1498. Stay connected with the associations Facebook page: Darby MT Alumni or website, www.darby.k12.mt.us/community.alumni.
By Review Nepal

Guwahati : Union Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha on Monday said that the centre is planning to build an aerotropilsh in Assam which would bring huge benefits to the region in terms of civil aviation and air connectivity.

While meet the Assam CM at Brahmaputra State Guest House in Guwahati the Union minister requested the Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to allot 2000 acres of land within hour-long distance from Guwahati City near Brahmaputra River for the aerotropilsh.

Both discussed various issues pertaining to development of civil aviation sector in the state.

The Assam CM assured all cooperation in this regard and said that it would be huge opportunity for the Northeast to open air links with the South East Asian countries.

It is to be mentioned that an aerotropolis is an airport centric metropolitan hub where infrastructure and economy are all based on the access to the airport which serves as a commercial point like any traditional metropolis which contains a central city commercial core area and commuter-linked suburbs.

Saying that the Act East Policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been at forefront of the development agenda of the state the Assam CM stated the proposed aerotropilsh would bolster the air connectivity in the region and open the North-eastern region as the business hub of the South East Asia.

Sonowal also requested the Union minister for sending officials from the Union Civil Aviation Department for conducting aerial survey of the entire stretch of Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri with helicopter for identifying suitable locations setting up airports in the state.

Saying that the Northeast has the potential to be the growth engine of the country with opening road and air links with the South East Asian countries, Sonowal urged the Union minister for starting direct flights on the Guwahati, Bangkok and Guwahati- Singapore routes which would speed up the momentum of economic growth of the region by increased tourist inflow and trade activities.

Referring to the government plan of dredging the Brahmaputra River from Sadiya to Dhubri, the Assam CM said that increased depth of the river would enable plying of cargo ships on Brahmaputra through Bangladesh to Chittagong port for which agreement with Bangladesh government has already been made and it road, water and air connectivity would see a huge improvement in the state in near future.

Union Minister of State Jayant Sinha also urged the Assam CM for expediting the work of metro train in the in Guwahati so that access to proposed aerotropilsh and airports can be improved.

Sonowal apprised Sinha that the government is working on starting metro train in the city and it would be complete by the time aerotropilsh comes up in next few years.

He also apprised the Union Minister of State of government's plan of making a State Capital Region including nearby areas of Guwahati city and industry majors of the country are being invited to set up base in the state to take advantage of the infrastructure boom of the state.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
By Review Nepal

Guwahati : Security forces on Monday had apprehended five poachers from Assam's Baksa district and recovered three handmade guns.

According to the reports, army and Assam police had jointly launched operation at Bongaon area in the BTAD district and nabbed five poachers.

The nabbed poachers were identified as Kamaleshwar Basumutary, Peter Ishlari, Nileshwar Ishlari, Goliath Basumutary and George Hajuwari.

Security personnel had recovered three handmade guns in possession from them.

A police official said that, three nabbed poachers were involved several rhino, wild elephant killing incidents in past time.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati: The last Saturday evening clinic at Guwahati Press Club was successfully conducted by Assam's popular healthcare institute Dispur Hospitalson 29 April 2017. Dr Udayan Saikia from the hospital offered free consultations to over 30 media persons along with their dependents. The participants also got their weight, blood pressure & sugar checked by nurse Sonmani Dutta and health worker Biswajit Das in the weekly health camp.

The next camp under the 'Evening with a Doctor' series on 6 May will be graced by Apollo Chennai Hospital's senior gynecologist Dr A Vinutha. Organized exclusively for lady members of the press club along with the spouses (also daughters) of media persons, the camp will begin at 4 pm on the press club campus and continue till 6 pm. Prior to it, the experienced gynecologist will also deliver a talk on various gynecological issues at the press club auditorium starting at 3 pm.

Earlier on 22 April, four senior Homeopathic physicians namely Dr SK Das, Dr Susanta Malakar, Dr Gayatri Dutta Baruah and Dr Ramanand Gupta attended the OPD clinic for the benefit of the press club members. It was predeceased by two MMC Panbazar hospital physicians (Dr Madhab Rajbongshi and Dr Hitendra Nath Chakravarty) on 8 April and two Ayursundra Superspecialty physicians (Dr Prerit Sarma and Dr Ayona

Barthakur) on 1 April health camp.

It may be mentioned that eastern India's one of the pioneer press clubs launched the unique healthcare initiative last year. Dispur Hospitals' managing director Dr Jayanta Bardoloi initially supported the endeavour with raising a doctor's chamber at the press club premises in August 2016. His hospital also conducted the first episode of evening OPD clinics.

Till date a number of practicing doctors from Medanta-the Medicity Hospital, Apollo Chennai Hospital, GNRC Group of Hospitals, Down Town Hospitals, Narayana Super-Specialty Hospitals, Swagat Super-Surgical Institute, Sankaradeva Nethralaya Guwahati, Wintrobe Hospital, Barthakur Clinic, Nemcare Hospital, Rahman Hospitals, Sun Valley Hospital, Sight First eye-clinic, Government Ayurvedic College,

Institute of Dental Science & Research Center etc attended the camps.
By Review Nepal

Guwahati : Police on Monday had arrested two persons in connection with on Sunday's lynching of two alleged cattle thieves in central Assam's Nagaon district.

Nagaon police had arrested two persons named Robin Bordoloi and Dewaram Bordoloi for their alleged involvement in the lynching incident.

Nagaon district Superintendent of Police Debraj Upadhay said that, following the incident police has started investigation by registering a case and arrested two persons hailing from Pukhuripar village near Kachamari area for their alleged involvement into the incident.

'We have taken the matter very seriously and already registered a case,' the top Assam cop said.

On Sunday, a mob lynched two youth, between the age group of 20-25 years, suspecting them to be cattle thieves at Jalmoigaon near Kachamari under Jajori police station in the central Assam district.

The youths succumbed to their injuries while they were admitted at hospital in serious condition.

The deceased youths were identified as Abu Hanifa and Riyazuddin Ali.

A group of people intercepted the youths on suspicion of stealing cattle and attacked them in paddy field.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Kathmandu, Nepal: Deep Basnyat has been recommended as the Chief Commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Basnyat has been serving now the CIAA as the acting Chief Commissioner of CIAA.

A meeting of the Constitutional Council (CC) held on Tuesday recommended Basnyat as the Chief of the anti corruption body. As per the constitutional provision, the recommendation of the CC has to be endorsed by the Parliamentary Special Hearing Committee before making appointment from the head of state.

The post of the Chief Commissioner of the CIAA was lying vacant after the Supreme Court (SC) had declared disqualified to then Chief Commissioner Lokman Singh Karki.
Supreme Court (SC) of Nepal

Kathmandu, Nepal: The Supreme Court (SC), the Apex Court of the country, has on Tuesday put off the final hearing on the writ petition filed by DIG Nawaraj Silwal.

The SC had already scheduled the hearing for Tuesday on the writ filed by DIG Silwal challenging to the government decision to appoint Prakash Aryal the Inspector General of Nepal Police (IGP).

The scheduled hearing on the case was taken importantly as government allies have registered an impeachment motion against of the Chief Justice Sushila Karki after the judiciary and the executive differed over the issue of the high profile case.
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The Sunday Guardian Live

The mysterious rise of Yogi Adityanath as a centre of power contenders amongst B.J.P./RSS leaders seems to baffle the public. It is a wrong assessment that he has been installed at the instance of Modi / Amit Shah. They are too politically astute not to create another power centre against themselves.

Though Yogi was no doubt a Thakur (bollywood perpetual tormentor of the weak, and ruthless in accomplishing his aim) a he was a Mahant for long time thus establishing easily his credential to Brahamanical family leadership of RSS. Yogi has proved this by openly announcing immediately his aim of Hindu Rashtra (against all sense of realism and which is a constitutional monstrosity) but is pleasing to Mohan Bhagwat and his coterie.

A win in 2019 could throw Modi beyond challenge and simultaneously weakening of hold of RSS. Modi has succeeded in creating an illusion of development man who by his oratory conceals his total communal stance and anti Minorityism. But Yogi on the other hand flaunts Hindu fanaticism and that is why RSS is keen to keep him as an alternative. It is a clear signal by Bhagwat and his coterie to Modi that an alternative is being created to him, if he is too neglectful to RSS bosses.

However there is a serious legal challenge to the continuance of existing position of Yogi as a Chief Minister and Member of Parliament at the same time. This is a constitutional conundrum which ill befits a Chief Minister of biggest State in the country.

Article 164(4) permits a non member of state legislature to remain a Minister for 6 months without getting elected. This anomaly is explained by historical necessity when in early periods institution of the Parliamentary system in U.K. was brought in and especially for colonies which were being given legislatures for the first time. As a matter of fact that Ivor Jennings in his aCabinet Governmenta has pointed out athat the House of commons is however critical of such exceptionsa .

Article 75(5) makes a similar provision for automatic vacation of a Central minister at the expiry of 6 months unless he is elected to parliament. This shows that these are two distinct bodies and separate provisions are applicable to each. This has no applicability for a situation like that of Yogi - how then is it possible for Yogi to continue as a Chief Minister of U.P. and Member of Parliament at the same time. And if someone argues for it, then it automatically means that he can simultaneously be a Chief Minister of U.P. and Prime Minister of India (by getting elected a MLA of U.P. Assembly as he is already a Member of Parliament.) How ridiculous and a constitutional monstrosity.

The suggestion if any that Yogi can retain parliamentary seat for 6 months (seeking the analogy of 6 months from Article 75(5)) of being elected as a Chief Minister cannot stand scrutiny, because there is no such provision in law on the subject. Either the position in law can be that he cannot both be a Prime Minister and Chief Minster at the same time and thus ipso facto cannot be at the same time a Chief Minister of U.P. (may be by factually treating him as MLA under 164(5) of the constitution;) but how does he save his position as member of the parliament at the same time, because there is no such provision to this effect under the constitution. In my view Constitution does not permit a person to be a member of two legislatures of state and Central at the same time. The defence to Yogi is not available that he can continue Chief Minister after getting elected within six months and therefore can continue as a member of parliament for 5 years or at the minimum for 6 months. This is perverse logic and destroys the very spirit and purpose of responsible democratic government. If this argument of Yogi is to be accepted we can have a laughable queer mixture of a same person being a Chief Minister of a State and Prime Minister of India. Can any more quixotic illustration be imagined.

Under our Constitutional scheme one can take advantage under either 164(5) or 75(5). You can not invoke both, and therefore ipso facts once elected as a Chief Minister he ceases to be a Member of Parliament. Yogi is being asked to do this ill befitting role of keeping his Parliamentary seat so that he could vote for B.J.P. in the forthcoming presidential poll following Mr. Mukerjees term being over soon. It hardly befits the office of a Chief Minister of the largest state apart from the legality of holding both offices at the same time.

This argument is put forward by saying there is no specific prohibition against Yogi holding both State Assembly seat and parliamentary seat. To me this argument is totally destructive of what Dicey has pointed out in law and convention of the Constitution, namely (pg. 430) aThat the conduct of the different parts of the legislature should be determined by rules meant to secure harmony between the action of the legislative sovereign and the wishes of the political sovereigna a This would mean that all laws must be to effectuate the will of the people who are sovereign under our constitutional set up. The conduct of the legislature should be regulated by understanding of which object is to secure the conformity of parliament to the will of the nation. That is why Dicey termed conventions as a strong law.

I am of the view that the moment Yogi became the Chief Minister his, seat in parliament automatically stood vacated and his continuance as M.P. is therefore illegal. I feel that if Yogi does not resign his seat in parliament forthwith his right to Chief Minister of U.P. would come to an end.

If however a lenient view is to be taken because of the somewhat uncertainty of law, the least that Yogi should do is to appear before Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and offer apology for having attended the sittings (after taking over as Chief Minister U.P.) wherein the Speaker, Chairperson, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha may take a lenient view and only admonish him and impose a token fine of Rs. One, and thus close the matter. Will yogi take this graceful initiative and at the same time maintain prestige and dignity of the office of a Chief Minister and Member of Parliament.

Rajindar Sachar

Dated: 26/04/2017

New Delhi
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted on Friday a new resolution on the Sahara, just hours after the Polisario withdrew from the buffer zone of Guerguarate, a locality at the Morocco-Mauritania border.

Following the announcement of the in-extremis withdrawal of the Polisario from Gueguarate, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously passed resolution 2351, which extends the MINURSO mandate for one year, and urges neighboring countries to contribute to the political settlement process of the Sahara conflict.

For Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, the liberated territory myth put forward by the Polisario to justify its presence in the buffer zones of the Moroccan Sahara is a mere lexicon and gesticulations contrary to international legality and Security Council resolutions.

The buffer zones demilitarized following the ceasefire agreement signed in 1991 under the auspices of the UN have been occupied by the Polisario, which started claiming they were liberated territories.

The Sahrawi separatist Front took advantage of Moroccos restraint and of the MINURSOs limited logistical and human resources to impose a fait accompli, although the cease-fire agreement stipulates that it is up to the UN mission to exercise exclusive control over the buffer zones in Western Sahara.

Lately, after it suffered a series of setbacks on the continental and international diplomatic chessboard, the Polisario was encouraged by its Algerian mentors to position its militiamen in Gueguarate, the only buffer area at the border between Morocco and Mauritania.

The undeclared purpose of this Algeria-backed maneuver was precisely to disrupt the traffic of goods between Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa and consequently undermine Moroccos influence in this sub-region.

Yet, despite the malevolent manoeuvers by Algerian leaders, inciting the Polisario to escalate tension in Guerguarate, Morocco avoided falling into the Algerian trap. Algeria was seeking to fuel a new tension between Rabat and the UN especially following the appointment at the helm of the UN of former Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Guterres, a fine connoisseur of the genesis of the Western Sahara conflict.

After the Guerguarate episode, the big question then is whether the UN will exact the withdrawal of the Polisario from the other demilitarized zones in order to facilitate a fresh start for negotiations on a sound and firm basis.
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Border guards in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region direct a drone to patrol border areas in the region recently.ZHAO YONGFENG/CHINA DAILY

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region plans to deploy drones to patrol its borders as it further tightens security this year, a senior official said.

"Xinjiang will deploy drones, set up barbed wire and install surveillance cameras along the border to prevent people crossing the border illegally," Jerla Isamudin, deputy chairman of the region, said in an interview. Xinjiang needs to further enhance cooperation in exchanging terrorism-related intelligence with neighboring countries, he said.

The region has been working on connecting People's Liberation Army border control units to the power grids since 2014 to provide an efficient electrical supply to high-tech equipment. In 2017, 29 more frontier defense companies in Xinjiang will have electricity and will not have to rely on unstable solar energy and diesel generators, PLA Daily reported in March.

Northwest China's Xinjiang neighbors eight countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it has a border of more than 5,600 kilometers. It has been China's main battleground in the fight against terrorism.

Many terrorists who carried out attacks in the region in recent years received training abroad and then entered illegally, and some also fled across the border, according to the regional police authority. Chinese authorities believe the penetration of religious extremism from abroad has prompted people to carry out violent attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country in recent years.

Shohrat Zakir, the region's chairman, said in January that Xinjiang would impose tighter entry-exit measures in 2017.

In 2016, the regional legislature passed a regulation on border control, which took effect in December. The regulation requires people living along border areas to report strangers to public security authorities within 24 hours. Also, those who damage surveillance equipment along the borders will be punished in accordance with the regulation.

Nayim Yassen, director of the Xinjiang People's Congress Standing Committee, the regional legislature, said the committee will examine the works on border control and give suggestions for improvements later this year. Xinjiang sees keeping the region stable as a priority.

Chen Quanguo, the region's Party chief, has said the local security situation is an important index in evaluating officials.


Parents of detained man look to Trump for help
"Plunge into the intrinsic range of unfamiliar expressions, inside this wild sanctuary that offers a sonorious glimpse into the reveries, melodies, and rhapsodies of a great donkey orchestra."

What will undoubtedly be the strangest film I catch at the 2017 edition of Hot Docs, David Redmon and Ashley Sabin's document of empathy on the most maligned of beasts, the humble Donkey, plays out like a fly-on-the-tail Frederick Wiseman film, Do Donkey's Act? is kind of an inversion of Titicut Follies through the needles-eye of Au Hasard Balthazar, only ponderously plush with purple prose, narrated with picnic panache by none other than Willem Dafoe.

It takes about 10 minutes or so to get into the rhythm of the film, but once you hang-five on the vibe (bro), the unconventional presentation becomes weirdly addicting. Seventy One minutes feels right, but I could have handled double that.

"Step into their shade."

Filmed with a precision designed to capture maximum empathy, designed slow things down to the point where you can actually take a long look at what is typically an unremarkable beast, the hypnotic hullabaloo of the vociferations and vocal sing-songs of Bobby Peru keeps a curious onlooker on their toes. Is it OK to get a chuckle out of an compassionte endeavour, such as a Donkey Sanctuary? That is the provocation here. It's kind of marvellous in a way a movie seems to quote Robert Bresson, T.S. Elliot and Dr. Seuss all simultaneously. It achieves a dignity to the animal by way of transcending absurdity.

"Pleasurable palettes stimulate dancing ears."

Self-described, with more than a bit of self-awareness, as ethno-poetic-animal-fiction, Do Donkeys Act? was filmed across several Donkey sanctuaries, in Cork, Ireland to Brisbane, Australia, Upstate New York, and Guelph, Canada, over a period of five years. It makes wonderful use of macro lenses, sit-and-stare medium shots, and no-fuss-no-muss industrial farm mise-en-scene. the animals themself, in the process of healing, recuperation, grooming and dentistry go, as Mark Twain said, briskly, put on no airs, are docile, though opinionated.

When it goes to such an avant garde use of the domentary format, come for the cinematography, stay for the balladry and doggerel. Empathy shall be your treasure.

"A brute frenzy of speculative vibrancy. Deferential contact with beasts of burden. Embrace the donkey in the knock-down box. It was, indeed, a hairy massacre."

Cinema. Amen.
 Death around the blogosphere | Main | The federalization of the death penalty 

February 3, 2007

More on the SCOTUS deadly, but still shrinking, docket

This week brought some new coverage of one of my favorite issues: the excessively large number of capital cases on the Supreme Court's ever shrinking docket. The ACS Blog's Martin Magnusson has this great post entitled, "The Dominance of the Death Penalty on the Decreasing Supreme Court Docket." The post echoes my concerns about a SCOTUS docket "filled with criminal cases that have no impact on the vast majority of American inmates."

Relatedly, this Washington Post article discusses comments by Chief Justice John Roberts about the court's docket. I found this quote especially notable:

"I regarded this as a matter of great concern when I was a practicing lawyer, somewhat less significant when I became a Court of Appeals judge," Roberts said. And now that he has seen it from the high court's viewpoint, he says that at times, there just are not that many cases that merit the court's review.

I guess this means that CJ Roberts and the other Justices will understand why, because I am a practicing lawyer particularly in the arena of non-capital sentencing jurisprudence, I am always eagerly rooting for SCOTUS to take more non-capital sentencing cases.

Some (of many) recent related posts:

February 3, 2007 at 04:06 PM | Permalink

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 ACS on Death Penalty and the Supreme Court from StandDown Texas Project

ACS Blog has a little gem, The Dominance of the Death Penalty on the Decreasing Supreme Court Docket. It's written by Martin Magnusson.The Supreme Court's docket has dramatically decreased in the past twenty years. When Chief Justice Rehnquist assumed ... [Read More]

Tracked on Feb 5, 2007 11:31:03 AM

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 Revving up for Claiborne and Rita: a series and background | Main | Two interesting reads at FindLaw 

February 6, 2007

Why is the cert pool so beloved?

Tony Mauro has this great new piece at law.com entitled "Alito Recaps First Year on High Court." Among other ground covered is Justice Alito's new affinity for the cert pool and his belief that the Court's docket woes have nothing to do with the pool:

Alito, like many other Court-watchers, has a hard time explaining why the Court is taking and deciding so few cases.... There is one theory about the shrinking docket that Alito rejects completely. Some, including Justice John Paul Stevens, have linked the decrease in the docket to the increased influence law clerks have in screening incoming cases because of the so-called cert pool. With eight of the nine justices  all but Stevens  pooling their clerks for the scrutiny of incoming cases, one clerk ends up summarizing each petition for eight justices. Since clerks are risk-averse by nature, under this theory they have a greater incentive to recommend against granting review, rather than risk urging the Court to take a case that could turn out to be flawed or poorly presented. Over time, the theory goes, this dynamic has resulted in the Court granting review in fewer cases. "I don't think the cert pool is responsible," Alito says flatly. The clerks make recommendations about what to do with each case, he explains, but the justices decide. "There are plenty of cases where the clerks recommend a grant, and we deny, and plenty where they recommend we deny, and we grant." The pool memos written by individual clerks, Alito says, "convey a way of identifying good candidates for us taking a closer look." On the overall subject of the clerk pool, Alito has set aside earlier concerns about whether it gave clerks too much power, and now says "my intention is to stay in it. I'm pretty pleased with it." He adds, "It's not perfect, but with the number of petitions we get, it is very valuable." The Court last term received 8,521 petitions, 80 percent of which were on the unpaid docket, filed by prisoners and other indigent parties. Some petitions are easy to identify as cases that should be rejected, and others are clear grants, Alito says. "But when you have a petition that says there is a conflict between these three circuits and four other circuits over this point, someone has to read all those opinions." That is where the cert pool has proven its worth, Alito says.

Justice Alito's final comment is both telling and disappointing, since it highlights that what really makes the pool "very valuable" in his eyes is that it saves the Justices a lot of time. Now, I am all for SCOTUS efficiencies, but shouldn't Justice Alito and the new Chief more rigorously question the costs and benefits of the time-savings and other aspects of the cert pool?

Notably, the growth of the cert pool has not only paralleled the shrinking of the docket, but also the proliferation of long fractured opinions. Perhaps if the Justices spent more time personally reading cert petitions and lower court rulings (and not just summaries from one clerk in the pool), they might directly discover areas of the law in need of extra attention and also might better appreciate the mess they sometimes make by issuing fractured rulings.

Some related posts:

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 Tuesday Roundup from ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

The Ninth Circuit has affirmed the certification of a class of Wal-Mart employees alleging widespread sex discrimination by that employer. Jack Balkin discusses two competing theories of the Commander-in-Chief: Under the first theory, the Constitution'... [Read More]

Tracked on Feb 6, 2007 5:27:16 PM

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Law clerks are indeed influential -- just look at how much influence they have in determining who gets interviewed for next year's clerkships! Why is it that in law, so many important decisions are left to the inexperienced? Just look at law review -- you have law STUDENTS (most about 24 yrs old) deciding what gets published -- and hence, we gets scholarly attention. Can you imagine if the New England Journal of Medicine had medical students making editorial decisions or Science and Nature leaving that to grad students? I think the would be highly criticized and rightly so.

Posted by: Steve | Feb 6, 2007 4:26:01 PM

Notably, the growth of the cert pool has not only paralleled the shrinking of the docket, but also the proliferation of long fractured opinions.

The growth of the cert pool has paralleled a lot of things without necessarily causing them. This reminds me of the rants about Congress doing a lot of its work through committees.

It's not as if justices sit in sealed bubbles and read nothing other than merits briefs and cert pool memos. They know the law, and probably read a good number of lower court opinions from the cert pool.

Justice Alito's final comment is both telling and disappointing, since it highlights that what really makes the pool "very valuable" in his eyes is that it saves the Justices a lot of time.

What other possible reason is there for having a cert pool? It could be that this time saving comes at too much of a cost, and that the optimal solution might be to have 2 or more clerks independently examine each cert petition, or to have the Justices read all of the paid petitions, but with the number of frivolous petitions filed each year, I don't think you'd find much opposition to some kind of an initial screening mechanism for the petitions.

What's unclear to me, and what I think might be worth knowing, is how dismissive the cert pool memos are and to what extent the Justices rely on them. Would you be less concerned if it turned out that cert pool memos favored cert or recommended a closer look more than 10% of the time?

Posted by: | Feb 6, 2007 4:56:43 PM

The article says: "The Court last term received 8,521 petitions, 80 percent of which were on the unpaid docket, filed by prisoners and other indigent parties."

Is there actually a separate docket for IFP cases? As in, a separate track for cert petitions attached to motions for IFP status? If so, that seems grossly unfair. Why should petitions filed by the indigent be treated any differently than petitions filed by the rich? I dare say that most criminal cases involve indigent defendants. Why should those defendants who stumble into rich pro bono law-firm representation be treated differently than pro se defendants or defendants whose attorneys don't or can't agree to foot the bill for the filing?

Attaching any significance to the fact that a petition comes with money attached would be a gross violation of the Court's obligation to do justice for ALL.

Posted by: A | Feb 6, 2007 9:08:48 PM

If I'm not mistaken, a substantial portion of the granted cases come from the IFP docket. (and probably OVER-represented in terms of merit, I'd wager)

Posted by: | Feb 6, 2007 9:58:51 PM

Relax, A, the separate "dockets" are purely administrative. The process for reviewing the petitions is the same substantively. The "paupers" are excused from the requirement to have the petitions printed in the little booklet format, and they get to file fewer copies.

The disadvantage comes not from a separate docket but from the fact that a pro se petitioner may have a good case for certiorari but be unable to articulate it. Of course, paid petitioners with poor lawyers have the same disadvantage. Perfect equality isn't going to happen.

Posted by: Kent Scheidegger | Feb 7, 2007 12:43:19 AM

OK, that makes me feel better.

Posted by: A | Feb 7, 2007 4:26:49 PM

Alito's comments are comforting in my mind.

He identifies the main time savings as determining through careful review if circuit splits really exist. Supergenius law students can do this well.

The implication, backed up by the data, is that much of the deviation where cases are granted in the absence of a split or a clerk recommendation involve "important issues" and that the Justices are paying close attention to the petitions (in summary form) on that score.

Posted by: ohwilleke | Feb 9, 2007 12:28:52 PM

IS THIS REPORTED GAY SANTA MONICA COMMISSIONER JUST ONE BAD EXAMPLE OF A NEW POLICY IN AMERICAN FAMILY COURTS ALL ACROSS AMERICA OF DON'T ASK AND WE WON'T TELL ???



LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY THAT COMMISSIONER DAVID J. COWAN OF SANTA MONICA CA COURT HOUSE IS A CLOSET GAY MAN OR FOR THAT MATTER ~ OPEN GAY MAN, THAT HAS SOMEHOW BEEN GIVEN COURT CASES INVOLVING FAMILY CHILD CUSTODY ISSUES AND IS THE NEWEST FACE OF WHAT IS TO COME IN AMERICAN FAMILY COURTS ACROSS AMERICA ?????????????????

MR.DAMON DUVAL AND HIS TWO WONDERFUL CHILDREN (MAYA & JAZZ ) HAVE ALL NOW BEEN KEPT APART FROM ENJOYING EACH OTHERS COMPANY BY COMMISSIONER DAVID J. COWAN SINCE DECENBER 4 2008. FOR SOME VERY UNCLEAR REASONING THIS APPARENT GAY NAPOLEON COMMISSIONER APPEARS TO BE MORE INTERESTED IN MR.DUVALS MENTAL HEALTH STATUS THEN THE LIVE IN BOYFRIEND OF HIS EX WIFE OF THE LAST 2 YRS., WHO HAS BEEN REPORTED TO THE EL SEGUNDO POLICE DEPARTMENT AS HAVING TOUCHED MR. DUVALS LITTLE 3 YR OLD MAYA ON HER PRIVATE PARTS ??

THIS SANTA MONICA COURT COMMISSIONER APPOINTED CHILDREN'S COUNCIL AT MR. DUVALS REQUEST (LAWYER AMY NEIMAN OF SANTA MONICA CA) WHO HAS BEEN MORE INTERESTED IN ACTING AS A MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT( WITHOUT THE QUALIFIED DEGREES ) AND MISLEADING THIS CHILD CUSTODY MATTER INTO GAY NEVER NEVER LAND WITH THIS SANTA MONICA COMMISSIONER FOLLOWING HER FEMALE INTUITION & ADVICE CONCERNING THE MENTAL HELATH STATUS OF MR. DUVAL!

FOR SOMEONE WITHOUT MENAL HEALTH DEGREES TO QUESTION THE PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT OF THE MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT WHO HAS ALWAYS STATED CLEARLY TO THE COURT THAT MR. DUVAL IS OF SOUND MIND AND WOULD TESTIFY IN PERSON TO THE COURT CONCERNING THIS FACT, IS ALMOST ANOTHER FUTURE LEGAL CASE FOR LA COUNTY WAITING TO HAPPEN ?

**WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE LA COUNTY COURT SYSTEM TO OPEN A INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS THAT ENCOMPASS THIS POSSIBLE CHILD PEDOPHILE CUSTODY CASE AND HOPE THAT ALL CURRENT COURT APPOINTED LAWYERS WORKING FOR LA COUNTY LIKE AMY NEIMAN ARE ADVISED TO HELP PREVENT CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS RATHER THEN CREATING ONE IN THE FUTURE !



LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS WILL CONTINUE WRITING ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC LEGAL CASE ON THE WWW UNTIL A PROPER OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION OF THESE PEDOPHILE CHARGES HAS BEEN PROPERLY ANSWERED !!!

LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS HAS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME WITH ANY RESULTS THAT COME FROM THE EL SEGUNDO POLICE CONCERNING THIS INVESTIGATION DUE TO THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP OF MR. DUVALS FORMER WIFES CURRENT DIVORCE ATTORNEY (MR.ROY KIGHT )HAVING HAD HIS LAW OFFICE SITUATED IN EL SEGUNDO FOR THE LAST 20 YRS.+ , AND HAVING GOOD FRIENDS IN EL SEGUNDO TO DO HIM CERTAIN FAVORS WHEN NEEDED !!!

~ A SIX MONTH RESTRAINING ORDER THAT BEGAN THIS CHILD CUSTODY SEPERATION OF MR. DUVAL AND HIS CHILDREN WAS BASED ON A EL SEGUNDO REPORT THAT MR. DUVAL SAYS WAS CLEARLY FABRICATED ABOUT HIM TO MAKE HIM LOOK BAD TO THIS PRESIDING JUDGE ~

*** ISN'T IT A LITTLE ODD THAT THIS EL SEGUNDO LAWYER MR.ROY KIGHT WAS ABLE TO PREDICT 22 MONTHS AHEAD OF TIME BY TELLING MR. DUVAL OUTSIDE A SANTA MONICA COURT~ ROOM THAT HE WAS "GOING TO TAKE AWAY ALL HIS CHILD VISITATION AWAY BETWEEN HIM AND HIS CHILDREN AND THAT THIS IS A POKER GAME FELLA AND ARE YOU READY TO PLAY " ***

NO MR. DEVALS MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT THE ISSUE IN THIS LEGAL CASE, THE REAL ISSUE HERE IS DID THIS DIVORCE LAWYER ROY KIGHT SET MR. DUVAL UP WITH GAINING FALSE TESTIMONY IN EL SEGUNDO CA AND INFLUENCE THE EL SEGUNDO PEDOPHILE INVESTIGATION OF HIS 3YR, OLD DAUGHTER ???



ATTORNEY ROY KIGHT IS ON THE RECORD AS HAVING PREVIOUSLY THREATENED MR. DUVAL OUTSIDE THE SANTA MONICA COURT ROOM AND WE FEEL MIGHT ALSO BE SO CAUGHT UP IN THIS CUSTODY BATTLE AND THAT HE MIGHT HAVE HAD WAY TOO MUCH INFLUENCE AND INTEREST WITH THE PEDOPHILE INVESTIGATION THAT NEVER TOOK PLACE ????????????????

LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IF LAWYER ROY KIGHT WOULD ADMIT UNDER OATH (AND SUPPLY INVESTIGATORS HIS PHONE RECORDS) AS TO NOT EVER ATTEMPTING TO INFLUENCE THE FORMER (NOW RETIRED EL SEGUNDO POLICE DETECTIVE MULRONEY CONCERNING THIS PEDOPHILE CRIMINAL LEGAL CASE ???????????????????????????

WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE INTERESTED IN PREVENTING FAMILY COURT GAY COMMISSIONERS AND JUDGES ACROSS AMERICA FROM CONTINUING TO ALLOW THEIR COURT APPOINTED LAWYERS LIKE (AMY NEIMAN OF SANTA MONICA) TO MISLEAD JUDGES AROUND THE COUNTRY LIKE WHAT HAPPENED IN MR. DUVALS CHILD CUSTODY CASE IN SANTA MONICA CA,TO CALL THEIR GOVERNMENT LEADERS WHO THEY FEEL MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP MAKE THE NEEDED CHANGES IN THIS LEGAL PROCESS FROM SEPERATING AND DESTROYING OTHER FAMILIES IN OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS OUR COUNTRY !!!



***PLEASE ENTER THESE TITLES LISTED BELOW INTO ANY WWW SEARCH ENGINE TO SEE THE FIRST OF MANY WRITTEN ARTICLES CONCERNING MR. DUVAL AND HIS TWO CHILDREN. THE PICTURE OF THIS CARING AND LOVING FATHER WITH HIS TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN IS SPECIAL AND SAYS IT ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!



1) SANTA MONICA SCANDAL CREATED BY THE U.S. CONGRESS ~

2) PRESIDENT OBAMA YOU TUBES 4 U.S KIDS !!!

3) AMERICAN DIVORCE COURTS NEED A GIDEON FROM U.S.SUPREME COURT !!!



LAINDYMEDIA.ORG HAD THIS VERY SPECIAL PICTURE FEATURED WITH THE ARTICLES ! WE ALSO ENCOURAGE ANYONE INTERESTED TO ALSO WATCH THE VIDEOS MR. DEVAL HAS OF HIM SPENDING YEARS OF TIME BEING TOGETHER WITH HIS KIDS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS (beach,hikes in Santa Monica Mountains,riding scooters in parks,etc on ~

BIGDADDYMAYAANDJAZZ.COM OR AT THE END OF PREVIOUS ARTICLES UNDER VIDEOS .....



LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS IS A WWW LOBBY GROUP MADE UP OF VOLUNTEERS WHO CONTINUE TO LOBBY AROUND THE WORLD ON THE WWW FOR MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS TO ALL BE AFFORDED PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION BY OUR U.S. CONGRESS IN CIVIL, CRIMINAL AND FAMILY COURTS OF LAW NATIONWIDE.

JUST ENTER LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS OR OUR PHONE NUMBER INTO ANY WWW SEARCH ENGINE TO READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD !

lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com (424-247-2013)

WE ALSO WANT TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER SMALL SAMPLE OF OTHER WRITTEN ARTICLES THAT LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS HAS PUBLISHED ON THE WWW.

1) TROY DAVIS,PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AMERICA IS NOT THE OLD SOUTH ~ AFRICA !!!

2) MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM !

3) REV RICK WARREN, THESE REALLY ARE CRIMES AGAINST HUMNITY ISSUES !!

4) ARE THEY KINGS OF SLAVES OR THE U.S. CONGRESS ??

5) PRINCE CHARLES, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT IRAN GAVE U.S. JOURNALIST ROXANA A FAIR TRIAL !!!

6) INTERNATIONAL PROTEST WITH GOOGLE NEWS STORY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT TO SAVE 2 AMERICANS !!!

7) DOES OPRAH CONDONE THIS INJUSTICE ???

8) INNOCENT AMERICANS ARE DENIED HC RIGHTS WITH THEIR FEDERAL APPEALS !!

9) U.S. JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS IN NEED OF BILLIONS IN BAILOUT FROM IVORY TOWER U.S. CONGRESS !

10) WHEN THE INNOCENT ARE ABANDONED BY THE GUILTY !!

11) PRESIDENT OBAMA DID NOT CREATE THIS MESS, BUT LETS ALL SAY A PRAYER FOR HIS SUCCESS !!!

12) ACTOR CHRIS NOTH AND MARK BURK SLANDERED BY MODEL BEVERLY JOHNSON !!

13) POORER AMERICAN S NEEDS WORLDS COURT HELP !

14) WILL THE ROYAL FAMILY NOW HELP PRESIDENT OBAMA FREE THEM ?

15) U.S.CONGRESS DECADES OF NEGLECT & ABUSE OF POORER AMERICANS ~ A SAD AND TRAGIC REALITY !!!

16) AND GEORGIA WANTS TO EXECUTE TROY DAVIS ???

17) IS NELSON MANDELA NEEDED IN AMERICA TO CORRECT THIS INJUSTICE ???

18) THIS SUPREME COURT KNEW REAL JUSTICE ?

19) 100,000 INNOCENT U.S. PRISON INMATES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OFF BY OUR GOVERNMENT !!!

20) WORLD COURT FINDS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN USA !!!

21) WHY DO POORER AMERICANS NEED GOD TO LOBBY OUR U.S. CONGRESS SENATOR OBAMA ???

22) WHERE ARE AMERICAS RELIGIOUS LEADERS WHEN IT BECOMES THIS EASY TO EXECUTE EVEN INNOCENT AMERICANS ???

23) MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED BY RICH AMERICA !!!

24) AMERICAS JUDICIAL SYSTEM NEEDS C*H*A*N*G*E...

25) WILL THE POPE NOW SPEAK OUT ABOUT THESE AMERICAN INJUSTICES ???

26) WHEN GODS FACE BECAME VERY RED !!!

27) ARE AMERICAS RELIGIOUS LEADERS BEING SILENCED ?

28) IS THE U.S.GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY ??

29) THANK GOD PRESIDENT OBAMA RESPECTS OUR POORER AMERICANS !!!

30) U.S.CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS HAD TO BEG U.$ CONGRE$$ ...

31) GOD AND PRESIDENT OBAMA ARE WALKING HAND IN HAND ON THIS ONE !!!

By LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS

lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com 424-247-2013

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DouglasField



THIS SANTA MONICA COMMISSIONER DOES NOT BELONG IN FAMILY COURT ANYWHERE IN AMERICA !!!

ALL OUR READERS ARE ENTITLED TO KNOW THAT MR. DUVAL HAS BEEN PICKETING IN FRONT OF THE SANTA MONICA COURTHOUSE NOW FOR 21 WEEKS MONDAY - FRIDAY FROM 9AM TO CLOSING AT 4:30 PM !

LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS IS IN TOTAL DISBELIEF THAT COMMISSIONER DAVID COWAN WOULD EVER THINK THAT HE IS EVEN CAPABLE SOMEHOW OF EVER BEING A FAMILY COURT JUDGE IN THE FUTURE IN SANTA MONICA WITH THIS BIASED JUDICIAL MENTALITY TOWARDS STRAIGHT MEN WITH THEIR CHILDREN !

IT IS OBVIOUS TO ANY HONEST PERSON VIEWING THIS LEAGL HORROR STORY THAT COMMISSIONER COWAN HAS DONE EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO DESTROY THE LOVING RELATIONSHIP MR. DUVAL HAS HAD WITH HIS TWO CHILDREN AND I WOULD DARE SAY THAT THIS COMMISSIONER COWAN WOULD BE WELCOME TO SIT IN ANY COURTHOUSE IN FAMILY COURT WITH MEAN SPIRITED CALLOUS DECISIONS AS THESE PORTRAYED IN THE DUVAL LEGAL CASE !!!!

**LAST MONDAY THIS SO CALLED GAY COMMISSIONER, AGAIN CONTINUED HIS CALLOUS DECISION MAKING IN THE DUVAL LEGAL CASE BY TURNING DOWN MR. DUVALS (AND ANY LOVING FATHERS NORMAL REQUEST) TO BE WITH HIS KIDS ON FATHERS DAY !

MR. DUVAL IS SUPPOSE TO ONLY GET 10 MINUTE PHONE CALLS EVERY NIGHT WITH HIS TWO KIDS (IF THE EX WIFE DECIDES TO EVEN PICK UP THE PHONE ?)

COMMISSIONER COWAN HAS ISOLATED TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN FROM A LOVING FATHER WHO HAS SPENT YEARS HAVING FUN AT THE BEACH,HIKING IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS, RIDING SCOOTERS ALL OVER VENICE BEACH ETC...WITH HIS KIDS ???

*** PLEASE VISIT MR. DUVALS WEB SITE

BIGDADDYJAZZANDMAYA.COM TO SEE THE VIDEOS OF DAMON DUVAL WITH HIS KIDS AT THE LOCAL POOL, IN THE SCHOOLS ON SPECIAL EVENTS ..ETC

MR. DUVAL HAS SPENT YEARS ENJOYING AND LOVING HIS TWO CHILDREN TO HAVE THIS ONE MAN CONTINUE IN HIS VICIOUS ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THE LOVING BOND HE HAS HAD WITH BOTH CHILDREN.

LAWYERS FOR POOR AMRICANS HAS INFORMED MR. DUVAL THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR HIS GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO CONTINUE BEING THE LOVING FATHER TO BOTH LITTLE MAYA AND JAZZ !!!

SANTA MONICA COURT HOUSE HAS NOW BECOME A FUTURE BATTLE~ GROUND LOCATION FOR STRAIGHT FAMILIES IN AMERICA TO DEMAND TO HAVE THEIR COMMISSIONERS AND JUDGES NOT BE CLOSET GAYS OR OPEN GAYS DECIDING CHILD CUSTODY MATTERS !!!

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER COWAN FOR DEMONSTARTING TO STRAIGHT AMERICA THAT BIASED GAY MEN LIKE YOURSELF DO NOT RESPECT TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES AND SHOULD NEVER EVER BE IN FAMILY COURT OR EVER GIVEN CHILD CUSTODY LEGAL CASES !!!

Posted by: LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS | Jun 11, 2009 1:19:07 AM



ARCHBISHOP JOSE GOMEZ GOT SUCKER~PUNCHED BY TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY & SATAN BY ALLOWING HIMSELF TO BE SNARED INTO A PHONY MEETING (PRESS FORUM) WHICH WAS THEN RELEASED TO ALL U.S. AND FOREIGN MEDIA OUTLETS TO MISLEAD TEXAS CATHOLIC VOTERS AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AT LARGE INTO BELIEVING THAT THE VATICAN & U.S. CATHOLIC CHURCH SOMEHOW CONDONE THEIR DEMONIC DEATH~ROW EXECUTION POLICIES !!!

* NO RELIGION OR RELIGIOUS LEADER IN AMERICA CONDONES THESE STATE SANCTIONED MURDERS IN

* GOVERNOR RICK PERRY'S TEXAS PRISONS !



POORER AMERICANS ~ U.S.RELIGIOUS LEADERS & BEYOND ARE ALL BECOMING WELL AWARE OF THESE DEMONIC ACTS IN GOVERNOR RICK PERRYS TEXAS PRISONS !!!

SATAN & TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY NOW ATTEMPT TO INVOLVE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS POLITICAL COVER WITH THEIR VISIT 2 SAN ANTONIO ARCHBISHOP JOSE GOMEZ ??

~ DEAR POPE ~

EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS WELL AWARE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE THAT SPEAKS OUT AGAINST EXECUTIONS.

**PLEASE ALSO BE AWARE THAT IF EXECUTIONS ARE TO EVER BE ABATED HERE IN AMERICA,CATHOLIC LEADERS SUCH AS ARCHBISHOP JOSE GOMEZ HAVE TO BE BETTER INFORMED ABOUT THOSE IN POWER WITH LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS IN OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT (SUCH AS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY OF TEXAS) WHO ARE ALLOWING EXECUTIONS OF EVEN THE POSSIBLE INNOCENT FOR THEIR OWN POITICAL GAIN **

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WHEN WILL THE ICC OPEN THEIR INVESTIGATION INTO U.S. TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY ???

TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY & SATAN HAVE DRIVEN THEIR HELTER SKELTER DEATH ROW POLICIES 2 U.S.SUPREME COURT & INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) IN A MICHAEL DUKAKIS TANK ?

SATAN & TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY HAVE BIGGER FUTURE POLITICAL AMBITIONS THEN SAVING A POSSIBLE INNOCENT HANK SKINNER LIFE ?

TOP TEN REASONS WHY TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY & SATAN ARE DENYING TEXAN HANK SKINNER DNA TESTING PRIOR HIS POSSIBLE WRONGFUL EXECUTION ???

"And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free "

BEHOLD SARAH PALIN FANS, SATAN & GOVERNOR RICK PERRY ARE ALREADY DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN MAKING SURE THAT THEY WILL BE THE ONLY REPUBLICAN 2012 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE~S !!!

1) BOTH DO NOT BELIEVE THAT EXECUTING THE POSSIBLE INNOCENT ARE WRONGFUL EXECUTIONS ??

2) BOTH DO NOT VALUE POSSIBLE INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE LIKE OTHERS ~

3) BOTH THINK ONLY GIRLY MEN ASK FOR DNA TESTING BEFORE THEIR POSSIBLE WRONGFUL EXECUTIONS ??

4) BOTH HAVE BIG FUTURE PRESIDENTIAL POLITICAL AMBITIONS AND REALLY NEED THE TEA PARTY BACKERS & NRA MEMBERS TO CARRY IT OFF ?

5) BOTH WANT FINANCIAL POLITICAL SUPPORT $$$ FROM WEALTHY TEXANS WHO DISLIKE THE GUILTY POOR OR EVEN THE INNOCENT POOR IN AMERICA!

6) * IS THE ONLY DEMONIC THING TO DO *

7) BOTH BELIEVE THEIR WRONGFUL DEATH ROW TEXAS PRISON POLICY OF DON'T ASK AND WE WON'T TELL IS PROPER ?

8) BOTH BELIEVE A FEW DEMONIC LIKE MISTAKES HERE OR THERE OF INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE BEING WRONFULLY EXECUTED IS TO BE EXPECTED WITH THEIR TEXAS DEATH ROW EXECUTION POLICIES ...

9) THE DEVIL AND HE BOTH ENJOY DOING IT ?

10) *** NEED THE NATIONAL ATTENTION ON BEING TOUGH ON CRIME BECAUSE THEY ARE SECRETLY PLANNING THEIR JOINT 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BID AND HAVE TO TAKE AWAY NATIONAL ATTENTION FROM REPUBLICAN SARAH PALIN ON THIS CRIME ISSUE ***

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SATAN & TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY RECEIVE TELEPHONE CALL FROM DR.JACK KEVORKIAN EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXECUTIONS IN TEXAS & STATE ASSISTED SUICIDES IN OREGON & WASHINGTON !!!

** SATAN & GOVERNOR RICK PERRY OF TEXAS OBVIOUSLY VIEW U.S. HUMAN LIFE DIFFERENTLY THEN RELIGIOUS AMERICANS **

DEAR DR. JACK KEVORKIAN,

TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY APPEARS TO HAVE ATTEMPTED TO MODEL HIS TEXAS DEATH ROW PRISONS AFTER THE STATES OF WASHINGTON AND OREGON STATE ASSISTED SUICIDE NEWLY ENACTED STATE LEGISLATIVE LAWS !

PLEASE SIR, IF YOU COULD FIND THE TIME TO CALL, INFORM AND EXPLAIN TO GOVERNOR RICK PERRY OF TEXAS THE VARIOUS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE SANCTIONED EXECUTIONS OF POSSIBLE INNOCENT INMATES ON HIS TEXAS DEATH ROW AND THESE WILLING TERMINAL ILL RESIDENTS IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST ???

~ HALF OF AMERICA DOES NOT WANT U.S. EXECUTIONS EVER & THE OTHER HALF ONLY WANTS EXECUTIONS OF THE CONFIRMED GUILTY GOVERNOR PERRY !!!

NOT ONE U.S. RELIGION OR RELIGIOUS LEADER AGREES WITH TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY EXECUTING EVEN THE POSSIBLE INNOCENT... poor americans ~

** SAVING POSSIBLE INNOCENT U.S. LIVES IS OBVIOUSLY NOT ON SATANS OR TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRYS AGENDA **

* APPARENTLY TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY NEEDS AMERICANS & U.S.RELIGIOUS LEADERS PRAYERS 4 HIS OWN FREEDOM *

WHILE SATAN & TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY WERE DENYING HANK SKINNER THE ABILITY TO HAVE HIS DNA TESTED TO PROVE HIS POSSIBLE INNOCENCE BEFORE HIS TEXAS EXECUTION, THE LORD WAS IN OHIO HELPING THESE STATESMEN CREATE THIS FUTURE LEGISLATION TO SAVE INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE !!!

GOD HAS SPOKEN & THESE PRECIOUS STATESMEN FROM OHIO HAVE LISTENED UNLIKE GOVERNOR PERRY OF TEXAS ???

THANK YOU LORD ~ THIS OHIO GOVERNOR OBVIOUSLY HAS YOUR HEAVENLY CONCEPT ON THIS ONE !

THANK YOU GOD FOR ALSO ALLOWING THIS FANTASTIC STAND DOWN TEXAS PROJECT TO CONTINUE BRINGING NEW LIFE TO OUR AMERICAN POOR WHO ARE HAVING CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY INFLICTED ON THEM ALL ACROSS OUR WONDERFUL AND CHANGING COUNTRY !!!

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

New Ohio DNA Law Called 'Model', 'Best in Nation'

The text of the new law is here; you can also view the fiscal note and bill analyses. Governor Ted Strickland's brief press release is here.

State Senator David Goodman sponsored SB 77, which expands DNA testing for certain convicted felons, eliminates DNA testing for felons who pleaded guilty or no contest, preserves biological evidence in criminal proceeding and improves eyewitness identification procedures.

"This bill updates Ohio's DNA law and will play a significant role in the modernization of Ohio's system of criminal justice," Strickland said. "The new procedures will help improve criminal investigations and save lives."

"Ohio's new DNA law called model," is the Columbus Dispatch report by Jim Siegel.

With the stroke of Gov. Ted Strickland's pen yesterday, experts say Ohio now has some of the best laws in the country to protect the innocent from wrongful convictions and put the right people behind bars.

Strickland, joined by a handful of men who were exonerated after serving years in prison for crimes they did not commit, signed Senate Bill 77. It sets statewide standards for retaining biological evidence, requires the taking of DNA from anyone arrested on a felony charge and requires new procedures for suspect lineups.

"It's a good day for justice and fairness," said Strickland, flanked by Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, and Rep. W. Carlton Weddington, D-Columbus.

Goodman introduced the bill after a Dispatch investigation in January 2008 exposed widespread shortcomings in Ohio's DNA law, including the derailing of prisoner DNA tests by systemic indifference or hostility.

Attending the bill-signing were two men freed as a result of the newspaper's series: Robert McClendon of Columbus, who served 18 years for a child rape that DNA testing showed he did not commit; and Joseph Fears Jr. of Columbus, who wrongly served more than 25 years for two Columbus rapes.

Other Ohioans freed in the past decade by DNA evidence - Walter Smith, Clarence Elkins and Danny Brown - also joined the governor.

"I feel very emotional about what we've accomplished today," Goodman said, noting the six-year process of drafting and changing DNA-evidence laws. "It's going to improve the criminal-justice system in so many different ways."

Marc Kovac writes, "DNA collection requirements for criminals, accused OK'd," for the state's News-Leader.

The new law includes provisions concerning the storage and access of DNA samples, providing a mechanism for individuals convicted of crimes to prove their innocence.

It creates a new statewide task force to establish standards for collecting, storing and cataloging biological evidence.

It requires law enforcement to follow certain procedures when conducting live or photo lineups for witnesses to identify potential law breakers.

And it calls for anyone 18 years or older who are arrested on felony charges to submit DNA samples to law enforcement -- something that has prompted concern about civil liberties and government intrusion into citizens' lives.

Strickland downplayed those concerns.

The Cincinnati Business Courier has, "Ohio's new DNA law a model, experts say."

"Ohio is truly the national leader on innocence reforms and will be the role model other states look to as they contemplate similar measures in the coming years," said Mark Godsey, director of the Innocence Project, in the Dispatch report.

Florida's Lakeland Ledger notes the new law with, "Ohios DNA law considered best in country," posted by Shoshana Walter.

-Requires DNA samples to be taken from anyone convicted of a felony after July 1, 2011.

-Requires agencies to retain biological evidence for up to 30 years in murder and sexual-assault cases. Five year limit when defendant pleads guilty.

-Allows DNA testing for parolees and anyone in the sex offender registry.

-Requires blind suspect lineups, meaning the officer either doesnt know the identity of the real suspect or uses a photo-lineup technique in which only the witness can see the photos.

-Provides incentives for investigators to record interrogations.

And:

There are some similarities to some Florida laws already on the books.

In 2006, Florida required DNA evidence to be preserved for anyone who could petition for postconviction DNA testing (that would apply only to those convicted of felonies). My understanding is that before that law went into effect, each court system throughout the state had different policies about when and how evidence got destroyedmany Florida counties simply destroyed DNA evidence that might have led to exonerations.

That wasnt the case in Polk, though. The Clerk of Courts office told me that before the 2006 law, Floridas 10th Judicial Circuit actually saved all evidence in life or death sentence cases.

Earlier this week, Sharon Coolidge wrote, "DNA bill helped by University of Cincinnati students," for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Watch any crime cop show on TV and DNA evidence likely played a role in capturing the bad guy.

But in real life, lawyers say that evidence isn't always available.

DNA will be more readily available in years to come because a group of University of Cincinnati students helped craft bill that overhauls the state's criminal justice system in an effort to avoid wrongful convictions.

Gov. Ted Strickland is set to sign Senate Bill 77 into law today.The bill creates:

A requirement that DNA be saved in all serious crimes for five years in plea bargain cases and for 30 years, or until a person gets out of prison, if a person is found guilty at trial.

Police incentives for recording interrogations start to finish.

A requirement that police lineups and eyewitness photo identifications be double blind, meaning the officer in charge of the lineup doesn't even know who the suspect is.

An expansion of post-conviction DNA testing to allow convicted felons better access to DNA testing.

A requirement that DNA be taken from people after arrest on felony charges, instead of after conviction as happens now.

The provisions take effect by the end of the year, except for DNA collection after arrest, which is delayed due to the anticipated $1.9 million-per-year cost.

A March 25 Columbus Dispatch article, "Lawmakers OK Ohio DNA bill," reported the new law's legislative passage.

In their final session before heading into an Easter break, Ohio lawmakers moved bills yesterday designed to improve criminal investigations, ban texting while driving and give local law enforcement more power to tackle illegal immigration.

After setting modern records this session for a lack of legislative action, the House and Senate opened the spigot and sent a number of measures to Gov. Ted Strickland, including one that would require the collection of DNA evidence from anyone arrested on a felony charge in Ohio.

Strickland is expected to sign Senate Bill 77, which also opens DNA testing to parolees. The bill also requires blind suspect lineups - where the presiding officer does not know the identity of the true suspect or can't see the picture a witness is viewing - and sets a new 30-year standard for retaining biological evidence in cases of murder and sexual assault.

The limit is five years when a defendant pleads guilty, a House-added provision that bill sponsor Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, opposes. "I think it's too short a period of time, and individuals will potentially have some problems down the line," he told the Senate before a final concurrence vote.

But, Goodman added, he agreed to the compromise and said it's "still a very good bill."

Related posts can be found in the DNA, eyewitness identification, and state legislation indexes.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010 at 11:20 AM in DNA, Eyewitness Identification, Forensics, Law Enforcement, State Legislation | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Clarence Elkins, Danny Brown, David Goodman, DNA, exoneration, eyewitness id, eyewitness identification, Florida, Joseph Fears, law enforcement, lineup, Mark Godsey, Ohio, Ohio Legislature, Robert McClendon, SB 77, Senate Bill 77, Ted Strickland, University of Cincinnati, Walter Smith

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LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS IS A WWW VOLUNTEER LOBBY THAT SINGS OUT FOR MIDDLE~CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS.WE CAN BE FOUND WITH ANY WEB SEARCH ENGINE BY OUR NAME OR TELEPHONE NUMBER.

lawyersforpooreramericans-AT-gmail.com (424-247-2013)

*** GREAT SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT PROTECT THE INNOCENT BECOME THE GUILTY GOVERNOR RICK PERRY !!!

** TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY PLEASE STOP ALLOWING SATAN & HIS DEMONS TO INFLUENCE YOU WITH THESE TEXAS STATE SANCTIONED EXECUTIONS(MURDERS) OF THE POSSIBLE INNOCENT !!!

* DR. KEVORKIAN STYLE STATE ASSISTED SUICIDES IN OREGON & WASHINGTON CONFUSES TERMINATOR TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY

*** YOUR BOTH WRONG AND OUT ON A LIMB GOVERNOR RICK PERRY & SATAN ~ TEA PARTY MEMBERS & THE NRA ALSO VALUE POSSIBLE INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE !!!

SATAN HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO SPIN THESE WRONGFUL RICK PERRY TEXAS EXECUTION FIASCOS INTO HARMING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH !!! ARCHBISHOP JOSE GOMEZ BECOMES A POLITICAL TOOL TO BE USED & DISCARDED BY SATAN & GOVERNOR RICK PERRY OF TEXAS !!!

By LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS 424-247-2013

* GOVERNOR RICK PERRY & SATAN STAND ALONE IN AMERICA WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR DEMONIC EXECUTION POLICIES IN TEXAS !!!

Posted by: LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS | Apr 22, 2010 6:12:52 PM

TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY & SATAN HAVE BEEN SNARED~RELIGIOUS AMERICANS !!!

CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN OTHER THEN SATAN HOW TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY ON ONE HAND PARDONS FORMER TEXAS INMATE TIMOTHY COLE WHO WAS WRONGFULLY EXECUTED WITHOUT BEING ALLOWED TO EXONERATE HIMSELF USING DNA TESTING IN TEXAS , AND WITHIN THE SAME MONTH THIS SAME GOVERNOR RICK PERRY OF TEXAS DENIES YET ANOTHER DNA TEST PRIOR ANOTHER POSSIBLE WRONGFUL EXECUTION OF HANK SKINNER ????????

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SATND DOWN TEXAS PROJECT

Friday, April 23, 2010

Cole Advisory Panel Meets

The Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions met yesterday in Austin. Today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, "Timothy Cole panel questions the creation of a Texas innocence commission," written by Dave Montgomery.

An advisory panel bearing the name of a wrongfully convicted inmate from Fort Worth is apparently leaning against recommending the creation of a state innocence commission amid concerns that it would create a new bureaucracy and duplicate work already being performed in Texas law schools.

The concept of an innocence commission to investigate whether convictions are wrongful was among several recommendations discussed Thursday by the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel. Cole, who died in prison after being convicted for a sexual assault that he didn't commit, was recently given a posthumous pardon by Gov. Rick Perry.

The panel deferred votes until its next meeting, but members generally expressed reservations about creating an innocence commission. Some members called for bolstering similar work now under way in four Texas law schools.

The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech, the University of Houston and Texas Southern University have projects or clinics that examine questionable convictions. Similar projects are in operation across the country.

The commission's stance generally tracks that of Perry, who believes a commission "would create an added layer of government," said Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle. Perry's deputy general counsel, Mary Anne Wiley, is a member of the panel.

And:

Cory Session, Cole's brother, said he supports the panel's position and complimented it for its efforts to improve the state's criminal justice system. Cole's case has come to symbolize widening efforts in Texas and other states to correct legal weaknesses that have led to improper convictions. The panel was created by the 2009 Legislature as part of a push that also expanded benefits for former inmates who were exonerated after being cleared by DNA evidence.

"We're pleased with the work they're putting forth so far," said Session, who attended Thursday's meeting along with his mother, Ruby Session, who led the family's 25-year-long battle to clear Cole. He introduced her at the meeting as "the mother of the wrongful conviction movement."

Two exonerated former inmates, Stephen Phillips and Christopher Scott, also addressed the panel.

"I knew I was innocent. Hardly anybody else did," said Phillips, who spent 26 years behind bars before being released in 2008. "I was afraid I was going to die."

He said that efforts like those of the Cole panel have raised hopes among innocent people behind bars.

Earlier coverage of the panel and of Tim Cole's posthumous exoneration begins with this post. An OpEd coauthored by Cory Session on wrongful convictions and DNA testing is noted here.

Friday, April 23, 2010 at 10:11 AM in DNA, Eyewitness Identification, Forensics, State Legislation, Task Force on Inigent Defense, Texas Legislature | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Allison Castle, Christopher Scott, Cory Session, DNA, exoneration, eyewitness identification, innocence, Mary Anne Wiley, Rick Perry, Rick Perry, Stephen Phillips, Task Force on Indigent Defense, Texas, Tim Cole, Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions, wrongful conviction

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Wednesday, April 07, 2010

New Ohio DNA Law Called 'Model', 'Best in Nation'

The text of the new law is here; you can also view the fiscal note and bill analyses. Governor Ted Strickland's brief press release is here.

State Senator David Goodman sponsored SB 77, which expands DNA testing for certain convicted felons, eliminates DNA testing for felons who pleaded guilty or no contest, preserves biological evidence in criminal proceeding and improves eyewitness identification procedures.

"This bill updates Ohio's DNA law and will play a significant role in the modernization of Ohio's system of criminal justice," Strickland said. "The new procedures will help improve criminal investigations and save lives."

"Ohio's new DNA law called model," is the Columbus Dispatch report by Jim Siegel.

With the stroke of Gov. Ted Strickland's pen yesterday, experts say Ohio now has some of the best laws in the country to protect the innocent from wrongful convictions and put the right people behind bars.

Strickland, joined by a handful of men who were exonerated after serving years in prison for crimes they did not commit, signed Senate Bill 77. It sets statewide standards for retaining biological evidence, requires the taking of DNA from anyone arrested on a felony charge and requires new procedures for suspect lineups.

"It's a good day for justice and fairness," said Strickland, flanked by Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, and Rep. W. Carlton Weddington, D-Columbus.

Goodman introduced the bill after a Dispatch investigation in January 2008 exposed widespread shortcomings in Ohio's DNA law, including the derailing of prisoner DNA tests by systemic indifference or hostility.

Attending the bill-signing were two men freed as a result of the newspaper's series: Robert McClendon of Columbus, who served 18 years for a child rape that DNA testing showed he did not commit; and Joseph Fears Jr. of Columbus, who wrongly served more than 25 years for two Columbus rapes.

Other Ohioans freed in the past decade by DNA evidence - Walter Smith, Clarence Elkins and Danny Brown - also joined the governor.

"I feel very emotional about what we've accomplished today," Goodman said, noting the six-year process of drafting and changing DNA-evidence laws. "It's going to improve the criminal-justice system in so many different ways."

Marc Kovac writes, "DNA collection requirements for criminals, accused OK'd," for the state's News-Leader.

The new law includes provisions concerning the storage and access of DNA samples, providing a mechanism for individuals convicted of crimes to prove their innocence.

It creates a new statewide task force to establish standards for collecting, storing and cataloging biological evidence.

It requires law enforcement to follow certain procedures when conducting live or photo lineups for witnesses to identify potential law breakers.

And it calls for anyone 18 years or older who are arrested on felony charges to submit DNA samples to law enforcement -- something that has prompted concern about civil liberties and government intrusion into citizens' lives.

Strickland downplayed those concerns.

The Cincinnati Business Courier has, "Ohio's new DNA law a model, experts say."

"Ohio is truly the national leader on innocence reforms and will be the role model other states look to as they contemplate similar measures in the coming years," said Mark Godsey, director of the Innocence Project, in the Dispatch report.

Florida's Lakeland Ledger notes the new law with, "Ohios DNA law considered best in country," posted by Shoshana Walter.

-Requires DNA samples to be taken from anyone convicted of a felony after July 1, 2011.

-Requires agencies to retain biological evidence for up to 30 years in murder and sexual-assault cases. Five year limit when defendant pleads guilty.

-Allows DNA testing for parolees and anyone in the sex offender registry.

-Requires blind suspect lineups, meaning the officer either doesnt know the identity of the real suspect or uses a photo-lineup technique in which only the witness can see the photos.

-Provides incentives for investigators to record interrogations.

And:

There are some similarities to some Florida laws already on the books.

In 2006, Florida required DNA evidence to be preserved for anyone who could petition for postconviction DNA testing (that would apply only to those convicted of felonies). My understanding is that before that law went into effect, each court system throughout the state had different policies about when and how evidence got destroyedmany Florida counties simply destroyed DNA evidence that might have led to exonerations.

That wasnt the case in Polk, though. The Clerk of Courts office told me that before the 2006 law, Floridas 10th Judicial Circuit actually saved all evidence in life or death sentence cases.

Earlier this week, Sharon Coolidge wrote, "DNA bill helped by University of Cincinnati students," for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Watch any crime cop show on TV and DNA evidence likely played a role in capturing the bad guy.

But in real life, lawyers say that evidence isn't always available.

DNA will be more readily available in years to come because a group of University of Cincinnati students helped craft bill that overhauls the state's criminal justice system in an effort to avoid wrongful convictions.

Gov. Ted Strickland is set to sign Senate Bill 77 into law today.The bill creates:

A requirement that DNA be saved in all serious crimes for five years in plea bargain cases and for 30 years, or until a person gets out of prison, if a person is found guilty at trial.

Police incentives for recording interrogations start to finish.

A requirement that police lineups and eyewitness photo identifications be double blind, meaning the officer in charge of the lineup doesn't even know who the suspect is.

An expansion of post-conviction DNA testing to allow convicted felons better access to DNA testing.

A requirement that DNA be taken from people after arrest on felony charges, instead of after conviction as happens now.

The provisions take effect by the end of the year, except for DNA collection after arrest, which is delayed due to the anticipated $1.9 million-per-year cost.

A March 25 Columbus Dispatch article, "Lawmakers OK Ohio DNA bill," reported the new law's legislative passage.

In their final session before heading into an Easter break, Ohio lawmakers moved bills yesterday designed to improve criminal investigations, ban texting while driving and give local law enforcement more power to tackle illegal immigration.

After setting modern records this session for a lack of legislative action, the House and Senate opened the spigot and sent a number of measures to Gov. Ted Strickland, including one that would require the collection of DNA evidence from anyone arrested on a felony charge in Ohio.

Strickland is expected to sign Senate Bill 77, which also opens DNA testing to parolees. The bill also requires blind suspect lineups - where the presiding officer does not know the identity of the true suspect or can't see the picture a witness is viewing - and sets a new 30-year standard for retaining biological evidence in cases of murder and sexual assault.

The limit is five years when a defendant pleads guilty, a House-added provision that bill sponsor Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, opposes. "I think it's too short a period of time, and individuals will potentially have some problems down the line," he told the Senate before a final concurrence vote.

But, Goodman added, he agreed to the compromise and said it's "still a very good bill."

Related posts can be found in the DNA, eyewitness identification, and state legislation indexes.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010 at 11:20 AM in DNA, Eyewitness Identification, Forensics, Law Enforcement, State Legislation | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Clarence Elkins, Danny Brown, David Goodman, DNA, exoneration, eyewitness id, eyewitness identification, Florida, Joseph Fears, law enforcement, lineup, Mark Godsey, Ohio, Ohio Legislature, Robert McClendon, SB 77, Senate Bill 77, Ted Strickland, University of Cincinnati, Walter Smith

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 "Tell the Client's Story: Mitigation in Criminal and Death Penalty Cases" | Main | After his guilty plea to a civil rights offense, what federal guideline range and ultimate sentence will Michael Slager face for killing Walter Scott? 

May 2, 2017

Florida legislative debate provides interesting sign of the modern mandatory-minimum drug sentencing times

This new local article from Florida, headlined "Steube bill aimed at curbing overdoses sparks drug sentencing debate," highlights how legislators even in traditionally "tough" states are starting to have much more nuanced discussions about mandatory minimum sentencing proposals. Here are the interesting details:

Legislation aimed at tackling the opioid epidemic in Florida sparked a debate about mandatory minimum drug sentences in the state Senate Tuesday, prompting an amendment that put the measure sponsored by two Southwest Florida lawmakers in jeopardy. Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, have been pushing a bill that would establish penalties for the possession of large amounts of fentanyl  a powerful synthetic opioid often laced with heroin  and its many derivatives. Manatee and Sarasota counties were the top two communities in the state for fentanyl-related deaths per capita in 2015, according to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission. Fentanyl was responsible for 911 deaths across Florida in 2015, and continues to be a major health crisis across the state. But mandatory minimum drug sentences have come under increasing scrutiny nationwide and there is bipartisan concern in the Florida Legislature about what many lawmakers view as overly harsh sentencing laws. The fentanyl bill  with the mandatory minimums included  already has passed the House, but both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate took aim at the sentencing aspect of the bill Tuesday. The Senate amended the bill  over Steubes objections  to strip out the mandatory minimums, which included at least three years in jail for possession of between four and 14 grams, at least 15 years for possession of between 14 and 28 grams and at least 25 years for possession of more than 28 grams. That amendment may kill the bill. Boyd does not seem inclined to push for it now, saying in a text message: I dont believe the bill deals with this deadly opioid problem as amended. Boyd said if the House takes up the Senate bill he would seek to strip off the sentencing amendment. But that likely would keep it from clearing the Senate. Steube noted that the amended legislation still makes possession of large amounts of fentanyl a crime for the first time. Were still taking  in my opinion  a good step in the right direction, Steube said of the amended bill. The Senate debate showed the appetite within the chamber for criminal justice reform, an issue that has been championed by Republican Senate President Joe Negron. Some lawmakers argued that any reforms tackling mandatory minimum sentences should be done in a comprehensive way and that the fentanyl bill was not the right place to start the discussion. I have some concerns about how we have these bills come along and we put minimum mandatories on them every year, said Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island. But Bradley added that the Senate needs to have a global discussion about the issue and argued against the amendment. Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, countered that its the right conversation to have because minimum mandatories dont work in my opinion. Judges need to have discretion over when to crack down and when to show leniency added Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. Tough drug sentencing laws can destroy lives, he said. Steube said he is sympathetic to concerns about mandatory minimums but believes reform efforts should start with a drug such as marijuana that is not deadly. I certainly didnt want this bill to be the bill thats talked about, he said. The amendment was proposed by Sen. Randolph Bracy, one of the few Democrats in the chamber to chair a committee. The Orlando lawmaker was not expecting the amendment to generate such a robust debate. He hopes to address the issue of mandatory minimums in a broad way in his committee next year.

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 Ohio Gov Kasich officially pushed back nine executions as lethal injection litigation comes before en banc Sixth Circuit | Main | Highlighting prosecutorial efforts to prevent rolling back of mandatory minimums 

May 1, 2017

Justice Gorsuch refusing to jump into the cert pool

A decade or so ago after the Blakely and Booker rulings created extraordinary churn in lower courts, I used to think a lot about how the US Supreme Court set its docket. (More specifically, as posts here and here highlight, I used to complain a lot about SCOTUS taking up so many capital sentencing cases and so relatively few non-capital sentencing cases.) In the context of thinking about these SCOTUS docket issues, and in writing up a little recent article on the topic, I came to the tentative conclusion that the modern development of the "cert pool," which has come to be used by nearly all the Justices to consider which cases to review on the merits, was not such a healthy development.

I provide all this background as a set up this interesting SCOTUS news from inside the Beltway via the New York Times: "Gorsuch, in Sign of Independence, Is Out of Supreme Courts Clerical Pool." Here is how the article gets started:

In an early sign of Justice Neil M. Gorsuchs independence and work ethic, he has decided not to join a labor pool at the Supreme Court in which justices share their law clerks in an effort to streamline decisions about which cases to hear. Justice Gorsuch joined the court last month. His decision not to participate in the pool was confirmed by Kathleen L. Arberg, the courts public information officer. The only other member of the court who is not part of the arrangement is Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justices in the pool receive a common pool memo on each petition seeking Supreme Court review  more formally, petition for certiorari  from a single law clerk. The memo analyzes the petition and makes a recommendation about whether it should be granted. As a law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Anthony M. Kennedy in 1993 and 1994, a young Mr. Gorsuch wrote quite a few such memos. Justices who do not participate, by contrast, have their law clerks review all of the roughly 7,000 petitions filed each year, looking for the 75 or so worthy of the courts attention. The pool has been criticized for giving too much power to law clerks and for contributing to the courts shrinking docket. For almost two decades until 2008, only Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in 2010, stayed out of the pool. He said it had caused the lessening of the docket. You stick your neck out as a clerk when you recommend to grant a case, he told USA Today. The risk-averse thing to do is to recommend not to take a case. Some scholars have traced the decline of the Supreme Court docket to the pool. In the early 1980s, the Supreme Court decided more than 150 cases a year. These days, it decides about half that many.

A few posts from nearly a decade ago on SCOTUS docket issues:

May 1, 2017 at 07:05 PM | Permalink

Comments

Which is better, 75 or 150 instances of lawbreaking, selection by Harvard Law clerk assholes, and of appallingly terrible and tyrannical, big government decisions by Blame America First, Hate America Most Ivy criminal cult drones, for our lawyer besieged nation? These people are so stupid, they do not even know they are stupid. They think they are smarter and better than everyone else. Lawyers are the stupidest people in our country. These Supreme Court assholes are the stupidest of all lawyers. They are the stupidest people in our nation. Life skills class students, learning to eat with a spoon, have more common sense than these calamitous assholes.

Posted by: David Behar | May 1, 2017 10:08:39 PM

Low life, dirtbag, Harvard Law scum, uber weasel Justice Kennedy may retire.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/01/politics/justice-anthony-kennedy-retirement-rumors/

He should be told, he will be impeached if he fails to do so. This is the guy that legally immunized butt fucking. The latter is the cause of the mass murder of 40 million people around the world. He is one of the greatest mass murderers in human history.

Posted by: David Behar | May 2, 2017 6:43:01 AM

somebody forgot to take his meds this morning. I wonder who.

Posted by: James | May 2, 2017 7:19:57 AM

"Some scholars have traced the decline of the Supreme Court docket to the pool. In the early 1980s, the Supreme Court decided more than 150 cases a year. These days, it decides about half that many."

The pool was put in place in the 1970s. The docket was limited for a variety of reasons, including reduction of mandatory appeals.

Posted by: Joe | May 2, 2017 9:29:51 AM

David, your two comments here are examples of the uncouth rants that prompt many to tune out and complain about your use of this forum. As you know, I am disinclined to ban you, but I am persistently annoyed that you must include coarse lawyer-bashing rants with basic commentary. Have you considered the possibility that your first comment might have had more impact if you just said, say, "Because I dislike nearly all they do, I would rather see SCOTUS decide only 75 rather than 150 cases each year."

In short, please try a little harder, David, to mind your manners.

Posted by: Doug B. | May 2, 2017 9:31:27 AM

For instance, Stevens was out of the pool, but recall him saying he was okay with the reduction of the docket. Stevens repeatedly on record opposed them deciding various cases, including overturning state court opinions protecting constitutional rights in ways the majority held was too generous. He also opposed deciding the question on certain non-criminal issues as well.

Anyway, Gorsuch being a clerk who took part in the pool is probably notable. Also, maybe, that Alito isn't a member. Ideologically, think Gorsuch leans that way, and so far, he like Alito is active/strict in questioning.

Posted by: Joe | May 2, 2017 10:53:30 AM



This rant by Supremacy Claus is so over the top, I am speechless. About all I can do is shake my head in disbelief.

Bruce

Posted by: bruce cunningham | May 2, 2017 11:42:23 AM

Doug. Thank you for your kind advice about being more diplomatic, less candid. I will try to do better. It is likely that internet rudeness has a high recidivism rate, and deterrence is not likely to work. But, do not give up on your worthy rehabilitation efforts.

That being said, you can serve your readers by explaining what is up with those Harvard Law grads. You know many more than I do, and can give more insider information. They are quite different from the rest of us.

I assume that most had close to a 4.0 average in college. They reached that achievement by studying 80 hours a week for 16 years. Do you think that makes them different from other people? Others may have had more street experience, or more frustration in life, or more suffering. Others may have been the victims of crime, going out of the house once in a while.

Even if ultra-conservative, they always end up supporting a growth in the power and control of government over the assets of others. Scalia was conservative, yet led the charge against mandatory sentencing guidelines.

It was also Scalia that stated that members of a jury pool may do better than the lawyers nominated to be Justices of the Supreme Court. He came to my school for an interview. I was prevented from discussing Scholasticism, St Thomas Aquinas, or the notebooks of Henry of Bratton, with this devout and knowledgeable Catholic. Bratton means Brittany, a French province. So all this pointless lawyer proceduralism is not even English. It is French methodology. It was far more advanced than today. Any lawyer allowing his case to reach substance felt humiliated. They could all do a Roberts, but in three languages, in fluent English, fluent French and fluent Latin. Is that OK?

Posted by: David Behar | May 2, 2017 12:58:15 PM

Bruce. Article I Section 1 gives lawmaking power to a Congress. Judicial review is prohibited by it. It is not covered in any way by Article III. If you know something about the subject that I do not, please feel free to share it with the class. I notice that Doug did not chide you for your personal insult and attack. You lawyers like things the way they are. You are doing well. The rest of us are not doing well.

Posted by: David Behar | May 2, 2017 1:02:34 PM

My thought, on reading the article in the Times today, was that Gorsuch felt that the clerks in the pool could not be relied on to spot cases in which he and the Court could further a conservative, business-oriented agenda.

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 "Leading with Conviction: The Transformative Role of Formerly Incarcerated Leaders in Reducing Mass Incarceration" | Main | "Tell the Client's Story: Mitigation in Criminal and Death Penalty Cases" 

May 2, 2017

US Justice Department releases "data on incarcerated aliens"

I just received notice of this new Department of Justice press release titled "Pursuant to Executive Order on Public Safety, Department of Justice Releases Data on Incarcerated Aliens." Here are excerpts:

President Trumps Executive Order on Public Safety in the Interior of the United States requires the Department of Justice to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on data collection efforts. The data in this release shows a significant prison population of incarcerated aliens. Illegal aliens who commit additional crimes in the United States are a threat to public safety and a burden on our criminal justice system, said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. This is why we must secure our borders through a wall and effective law enforcement, and we must strengthen cooperation between federal, state and local governments as we strive to fulfill our sacred duty of protecting and serving the American people. Below is a summary of data collected under Section 16 of the Order, which directs the Secretary [of Homeland Security] and the Attorney General . . . to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports regarding the following subjects: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States.... By way of satisfying the departments first quarterly report of this data, below is information regarding aliens currently incarcerated under the supervision of BOP. This data is current as of March 25, 2017: There are 45,493 foreign-born inmates currently in BOP custody, of which 3,939 are U.S. citizens (either naturalized or derivative). Of the remaining 41,554 foreign-born inmates (aliens): Approximately 22,541 (54.2 percent) are aliens for which final immigration orders have been issued for their removal;

Approximately 13,886 (33.4 percent) are aliens who are under ICE investigation for possible removal;

Approximately 5,101 (12.3 percent) are aliens still pending adjudication (in other words, ICE has charged these aliens as removal cases, but a final disposition has not yet been reached); and

Approximately 26 (0.1 percent) are aliens who have been granted relief on the basis of asylum claims.... At the departments direction, US [Marshals Service] has begun providing ICE with complete data on all foreign-born detainees on a daily basis. The first of these data transfers to ICE took place on April 5, 2017, with a transfer of data associated with approximately 19,000 foreign-born detainees. ICE anticipates that its analysis of this data will soon be complete, and the department will then provide an updated status report.

May 2, 2017 at 11:29 AM | Permalink

Comments

I'm glad to see that this report uses "illegal alien" and not some squish term.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | May 2, 2017 11:31:51 AM

The term "illegal alien" from my understanding is a reference to them being in this country via the violation of immigration laws. The concern for usage here was noted by Emily Bazelon in a 2015 article entitled "The Unwelcome Return of Illegals." The usage of the term "illegals" in this context was common enough for a political strategist offer advice:

Ten years ago, the political strategist Frank Luntz issued a proclamation about the language of immigration. Always refer to people crossing the border illegally as illegal immigrants  NOT as illegals,  Luntz instructed fellow conservatives. Illegals sounds harsh and spiky.

It really turned off certain audiences. I have also seen this, which is partially what motivated a recent comment of mine. Bazelon continues, again not saying anything that also could not be found other places, including by the people themselves:

The more common phrase, illegal immigrant, also implies suspicion, but strip the noun from it and the entire identity of a person who crosses the border without permission, or outstays his or her visa, is reduced to that of a criminal: What rights could he or she be entitled to?

The "entire identity" is another way of using the term I used ("essence"). This is not news to those who have studied the history of reactions to immigration in this country. A general feeling of the "other," an understanding of a tainted group, even if specific members might be okay. This is so even if the specific term "illegal immigrant" is somewhat more recent than let's say the battles over French immigrants in the 1790s or Irish immigrants later on.

The easy move from "illegal alien" (over "illegal immigrant" even -- "alien" suggesting "foreign" or "other" -- with or without the science fiction context) to "illegal" is troubling. Finally, it is curious to me that others who violate documentation requirements are not similarly as commonly labeled "illegals." It just might be that the term has a connotation that is readily understood to be problematic, even if on some level it is technically accurate.

Again, I'm not saying something novel here. The actual immigrants etc. have said such things in more eloquent terms. I'm sorry to belabor the point, but do think the language is used for a reason, as is the push against it including by media stylistic manuals, people like Justice Sotomayor and many immigrants and people like myself who are descendants of them.



Posted by: Joe | May 2, 2017 2:03:56 PM

Well, Joe, there is a reason they are "other"--they have violated our laws to be here. So thinking about them as "other" isn't really wrong or even remarkable. Yeah, it sucks to be an illegal alien, but it also sucks to be impacted by massive unchecked illegal immigration. Does the flag incident in a California school whereby native citizens were told they could not wear the American flag in school because it made immigrants mad enough to threaten them happen without massive illegal immigration--don't think so.

Finally, it is curious to me that others who violate documentation requirements are not similarly as commonly labeled "illegals."---Oh good grief. This is self-parody.

Massive illegal immigration should be opposed by anyone who believes in democracy. No one voted for any of this.

Posted by: federalist | May 2, 2017 3:40:58 PM

Those states seem to be lacking in the key detail -- the actual immigration status of the inmate. Instead, we have the status of their deportation case. The reason for the requirement of the immigration status as shown by the quote from the AG is the concern about illegal immigrants. As such, more significant than their present deportation status is which category the immigrants fall into: 1) permanent residents; 2) work visas; 3) student visas; 4) asylum/refugees; 5) illegal due to overstaying visas (i.e. entered lawfully but not currently entitled to stay; and 6) illegal because of unauthorized entry. (There are probably other categories that I am missing.) If, as is currently suggested, criminal justice concerns should be part of the immigration debate, we need the missing data.

Posted by: tmm | May 2, 2017 5:15:20 PM

There are 45,903 foreign-born inmates in BOP custody--how many are in state custody, and how many criminal aliens are walking the streets?

Posted by: federalist | May 2, 2017 5:35:41 PM

Well, Joe, there is a reason they are "other"--they have violated our laws to be here. So thinking about them as "other" isn't really wrong or even remarkable.

The "other" part comes from the "alien," which is not by definition someone who "violated our laws." It isn't "remarkable." It is somewhat troubling since people (non-citizens) who are in various ways like us are seen as others.

Not that violating laws is remarkable. People do that regularly. John Roberts even joked about doing it. Libertarians criticize overcriminalization per the "three felonies a day" things. So, it isn't even trivial laws. As with other things, alleged neutral lines turn out to be selectively applied, repeatedly for dubious reasons.

Yeah, it sucks to be an illegal alien, but it also sucks to be impacted by massive unchecked illegal immigration.

The "unchecked" part is a result of various factors, particularly the general policy judgment of the people at large that finds undocumented immigration not so essential to fix above and beyond other things. As with the death penalty's application, the problem, if there be one, is widely spread out. The negative impact has been studied as well and repeatedly shown not to be worth the negative treatment. This leads again local people, including governments, to balance various factors here. Finally, it isn't even unchecked. "Unchecked" here means "not limited enough in my view."

Does the flag incident in a California school whereby native citizens were told they could not wear the American flag in school because it made immigrants mad enough to threaten them happen without massive illegal immigration--don't think so.

I don't know what this most recent thing that got you upset out of the news came from but concern for the feelings of others arise for a variety of reasons, including conservatives who are upset about being disrespected in some fashion.

Finally, it is curious to me that others who violate documentation requirements are not similarly as commonly labeled "illegals."---Oh good grief. This is self-parody.

No, it's an argument, which people who sneer like this repeatedly fail to address very well. Again, there are lots of people who regularly break the law by violating documentation rules. This includes licensing laws in place for public safety. But, they are not as readily labeled "illegals."

Massive illegal immigration should be opposed by anyone who believes in democracy. No one voted for any of this.

The people repeatedly have voted for this, including for local members of government in so-called "sanctity cities" who balance various things, don't simply have a zero tolerance, when dealing with them. Your disagreement with said people is noted and is part of a debate that has been here about as long as this country has.

Posted by: Joe | May 2, 2017 7:19:18 PM

[I'm going to end there for now.]

Posted by: Joe | May 2, 2017 7:21:33 PM

Here's a link to the snopes page discussing a California school dealing with near-riot conditions on Cinco de Mayo as fed referenced. Disturbingly, the page references yet another case where a United States flag caused problems at school.

The adults in the room need to stand up. the snopes page quotes some (hispanic?) students who are angry that caucasian students are wearing "their" flag on a Mexican holiday. The response that immediately comes to my mind is that it's "our" flag, which should included the speaker who was angry. Although students don't enjoy the full robustness of the First Amendment while at school, I don't like the message or the reactions of the school administration.

A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit of the students who were sent home, and the court of appeals affirmed the dismissal. The court actions were foreseeable due to the authority that school officials have to curtail constitutional rights to avert disruptions in the school function and purpose, a power which authorities outside the school arena do not possess.



http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/flagshirts.asp

Posted by: MarK M. | May 2, 2017 8:57:42 PM

I'm sorry, but am I the only one who finds the summary of the report confusing? The AG is directed to report on ... foreign-born persons or non-citizens? Those in ICE custody or those in Bureau of Prisons custody? Both are under Sessions, but there are major differences. Those covered by the report are apparently those in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons -- by definition, persons held in relation to criminal charges, awaiting trial or serving sentences if they have been convicted and sentenced. The required report apparently does not include persons in the custody of ICE awaiting adjudication of applications for removal, petitions for asylum, etc., all of which are civil. Yet the information in the summary is only rarely available for individuals who are in Bureau of Prisons custody. As to those individuals, the most that one usually knows is that there is an ICE detainer and that transfer to ICE will occur only when the criminal penalties have been served. It seems a bit strange to talk about the status of civil proceedings for individuals in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. Maybe it would make sense if it were the case that the 45,493 individuals are in ICE custody (though in that case, how is it that about 3,000 US citizens are in there, too?). As it is, the summary appears to mix apples and oranges.

Posted by: Allen Bentley | May 3, 2017 12:07:22 AM

Joe, there are 11 million illegals--that's pretty closed to unchecked--are you really parsing that much?

With respect to the democracy--the law, you know, the thing that is supposed to be followed, says they aren't supposed to be here. If the law isn't enforced in a manner that allows for the before your eyes transformation of the country, then democracy itself is undermined.

As for the school incident, it is beyond appalling that American citizens were forced to remove their American flag clothing at the behest of alien thugs. In any sane society, the alien thugs would be put across the border in a nanosecond.

And I am not getting into the rampant document fraud, gang issues, human trafficking, general disregard of private property rights on the border or the many other bad things that illegals bring, I once had to say to someone who was obviously an immigrant on a beach, "En mi pais, tiramos nuestra basura." The arrogance of coming to another country and expecting welfare, being able to litter etc etc. is just appalling.

The society as a whole would be better off without illegal immigrants. It really is that simple.

Gee, I wonder what percentage of California prisons are illegals or the offspring of illegals? My guess--quite a large one.

Posted by: federalst | May 3, 2017 12:31:32 AM

The school story doesn't state that the (Hispanic?) students were aliens. Speculation, superstition, and guesswork are not substitutes for facts. Second, the offspring of illegals--if born in the United States, are as American as you believe yourself to be.

Posted by: MarK M. | May 3, 2017 2:29:28 AM

Mark. Any of those events take place after the election?

If one does, call ICE. Deport the students and parents. Deport the school administration, for that matter.

Posted by: David Behar | May 3, 2017 4:07:42 AM

A farmer told me that he would be ruined if not for illegal aliens. Picking is a skilled profession, and Americans cannot learn it. So there should be a waiver program for farmers to hire illegals, and then for them to return home upon finishing the harvest.

All weasels should be deported to Weasel Land, where they do not use the accurate and proper term, illegal aliens, or the equally proper and accurate, illegals.

Because all PC is case, anyone bothered by PC should hunt an appellate judge and beat their ass. One such judge upheld massive damages for sex discrimination by the use of the non-preferred pronoun to address a transgender at work, even though non-preferred pronoun was the real one, and the preferred one was fictitious and delusional. That reptile judge should have been driven from the state.

Posted by: David Behar | May 3, 2017 4:15:18 AM

Mark, some were aliens. And whether or not the offspring are Americans, they problems they cause are directly tied to illegal immigration.

But of course, Mark can't acknowledge the absolute outrage.

Posted by: federalist | May 3, 2017 7:56:16 AM

Fed. Trump was right. These aliens are 3% of the population, and 30% of federal prisoners. That means they have 10 times the expected criminality, excluding illegal immigration. They are illegals, without counting their immigration crimes. Smoking raises the risk of lung cancer ten fold. These illegals are like a strong carcinogen, toxic.

This is according to left wing, biased, Obama's GAO in 2011.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11187.pdf

Posted by: David Behar | May 4, 2017 7:41:44 AM

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Last week brought us the TED2017 conference, the annual future-looking soapbox for white male tech founders born into wealth (they prefer the term serial entrepreneurs) to propose solutions no one ever asked for to deferential and politely clapping audiences. Inventor of the wildly popular Tesla electric car Elon Musk did not disappoint during his TED talk slot Friday, taking time out from his busy schedule of union-busting and model-banging to propose a brand new network of underground tunnel-based superhighways that could whisk passengers at speeds of nearly 125 miles per hour and make traffic congestion a thing of the past. One example route he gave: You could get from Westwood in LA to LAX in five minutes, as opposed to the 30 to 60 minutes it would take via the 405.

Musk calls it a 3D tunnel network, ostensibly because inclusion of the word 3D will seduce billions more in venture capital from angel investors. As we see from the above animated rendering above from Musks Boring Company that intends to build these elaborate underground networks, cars would simply drive up to street-level elevator platforms and be lowered into trolley-powered subterranean highways in cities of the future that otherwise contain no existing forms of plumbing or underground infrastructure that might inhibit the tunnels construction.

There's no real limit to how many levels of tunnel you can have, Musk mused in his TED talk. You can go much further deep than you can go up. The deepest mines are much deeper than the tallest buildings are tall, so you can alleviate any arbitrary level of urban congestion with a 3D tunnel network. This is a very important point. So a key rebuttal to the tunnels is that if you add one layer of tunnels, that will simply alleviate congestion, it will get used up, and then you'll be back where you started, back with congestion. But you can go to any arbitrary number of tunnels, any number of levels.

Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging...  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2016

The idea was apparently born from Musks December 2016 road rage tweet seen above.

A few civil engineers have weighed in on the ease and logistics of Musks proposed high-speed transit tunnels. I would put what Mr. Musk is saying today in the bulls**t category, engineering consultant Thom Neff told Wired. The idea of Musk thinking he can have this magic machine and go in there full bore, its not gonna happen.

For a full version of Musks TED Talk last week, check out the video above. And for a full perspective on the massive improbability that Musks nationwide network of tunnels could ever become reality, check out San Franciscos Central Subway project, an underground development that started four years ago, is still scheduled to tear up downtown for another whole two years, and will cover but a measly 1.7 miles.

Related: Elon Musk Wants To Send You To Mars By 2024
The next frontier in fusion cuisine to hit the Financial District lunch scene will be on display at a place called Torshi MeXiterranean, and from the look of it the concept is basically the result of a "what if Chipotle and a gyro place had a baby" conversation. This could indeed be a winning formula, if an odd one, and Hoodline brings us a first look at the menu, which includes a la carte items like falafel tacos, gyros, and a mezze plate (concerningly it's misspelled "mezza") with an optional scoop of guacamole.

The logo: a cactus wearing a fez.

The customizable part of the menu lets guests pick a base  tacos, burrito, wrap, bowl, or salad  add a protein  carne asada, pollo asada, beef & lamb gyro meat, shawerma, or falafel  and then top it with your choice of vegetables, hummus, dolmas, guacamole, tabbouleh, Turkish slaw, or rice and beans.

Torshi MeXiterranean has moved into what was formerly a Bistro Burger location on Leidesdorff Alley, around the corner from 343 Sansome Street (near Sacramento).

The place ran into some "last-minute technical issues" that delayed its opening, according to Hoodline's tipster, and they were hoping to open today  although if I know Yelpers, it must not have opened today, because none of them have gotten their Yelp firsties logged on the site yet.

But be on the lookout as the opening may be this week.






A teen driver who was killed Monday afternoon in San Francisco's Outer Sunset neighborhood was gunned down by a fellow motorist who fired at least six shots.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the 15-year-old male victim was shot at 12:01 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Kirkham Street.

The SF Chronicle reports that the victim, who was identified by the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office as Daly City resident Reajohn Jackson, was apparently driving a white Pontiac sedan at the time of the shooting.

"Police say a car pulled up next to the white car being driven by the teen on the busy boulevard," NBC Bay Area reports, "and someone started shooting at the white car."

The sedan's 16-year-old passenger was not injured, ABC 7 reports.

The shooting caused the vehicle to spin around, eventually resting in a southbound direction while in the northbound lane.

"At least five rounds had pierced the drivers side," the Ex reports. Witnesses tell NBC that they heard at least six shots, and describe the car as "riddled with bullet holes."

Jackson was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to the SFPD. His death marks San Francisco's 19th homicide for 2017.

Police say that they're hopeful that area surveillance footage might reveal details of the shooter's vehicle. Speaking to ABC 7, SFPD spokesperson Officer Giselle Talkoff said "There was talk of a mention of a vehicle in that area at that time so at this time we're going to try to see if there's anything related that we can find."

According to police officers who spoke with NBC, it's believed that Jackson was targeted, but a motive is not yet apparent.

Area resident Rose Widness tells NBC that she drove through the intersection just moments after the shooting.

"We went to the corner and saw the young boy lying there, and we didn't know if he was alive or dead," she said. "We thought it was a car accident. It's kind of scary. You don't expect things like that happening in your neighborhood."

Derek Hom, a parent of a student at nearby St Ignatius High School, disagreed. "I know things can happen," he told ABC 7 regarding the shooting, which caused a lockdown at the school. "It doesn't really matter what neighborhood. It can happen anywhere."
THEATER

Its Andrew Lloyd Webber, By Jeeves!

Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is world famous for very good reasons; his scores for Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera, Evita and others are legendary classics. Songs from his musicals are known to many whove never seen the works from whence they came. Based on the novels of P.G. Wodehouse, By Jeeveswhich Webber composed to lyrics and book by Alan Ayckbourndebuted in 1975 under its original title, Jeeves. Alas, it wasnt a huge success. He reworked the piece and, 20 years later, it achieved better results.

In its current guise, By Jeeves now makes its way around the worlds stages. It will receive its Milwaukee premiere via Windfall Theatre this month, featuring Cleary Breunig as Bertie Wooster, Ben George as her valet, Jeeves, and direction by Carol Zippel.

May 5-20, Village Church Arts, 130 E. Juneau Ave. For tickets, call 414-332-3963 or visit brownpapertickets.com.

Young Playwrights Festival

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents three one-act plays written by the winners of their high school playwriting competition. Saying Grace, by Alexandra Gieske (Homestead High School) involves a family dealing with its eldest members in an assisted living facility. Pride & Pancakes by Kyle Radomski (Ronald Reagan High School) concerns a pancake-eating champ cheering on a friend toward their own personal goal. This Just In by Malaina Moore (Rufus King International School) is about a young Milwaukeean who lost a friend in a police-involved shooting incident.

May 4-7, Broadway Theatre Center Studio Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit milwaukeechambertheatre.com.

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Art

Written by Yasmina Reza and directed by Lindsey Erin, Art is a dark comedy about the nature of art and the opinions of people, in this case a trio of long-time friends, about it. It premiered (in its original French) in 1994 at the Comedie des Champs-Elysees in Paris, in London in 96 and on Broadway in 98. Can friendship survive the friends discussion about artespecially, say, when one acquires an all-white painting that costs him a pretty penny?

May 5-20, Brumder Mansion, 3046 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, call 414-388-9104 or visit brownpapertickets.com.

Improv Extravaganza!

Milwaukee Youth Theatre presents its first totally unscripted improv show, a project directed by Second City-trained MYT Education Outreach Coordinator Brittany Curran. As MYT bills this event, Students will learn how to think on their feet and create stories on the spotjust like actors of Second City and on Whose Line is it Anyway?

May 5 and 12, Lincoln Middle School of the Arts, 820 E. Knapp St., Room 208. For tickets, call 414-390-3900 or visit milwaukeeyouththeatre.org.

Little Gem

Milwaukee Irish Arts presents Elaine Murphys comedic play, Little Gem, a play that, per Irish Arts Joan End, cleverly interweaves monologues from three generations of women in the same family to relate a year in the lives of these women, which makes such pertinent stops along lifes journey as love, sex, birth, death and salsa classes.

May 5-8, Irish Cultural Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave. All performances are pay what you can. For more information, call 414-377-3879 or visit milirisharts.wordpress.com.

...

DANCE

Body and Sole

Marquette Universitys Dance Program presents an informal collection of works choreographed by both students and faculty. The program includes a range of dance stylesclassical ballet, tap, African and modern dance. There will be two tap dance pieces: a traditional tap piece and a more contemporary rhythmic tap dance. As for ballet, there will be both a medieval court dance and a contemporary piece. Students will also present their own solo works as well as a structured improvisation.

2 p.m., Sunday, May 7 at Varsity Theatre, 1326 W. Wisconsin Ave. This event is free and open to the public.

Real Time: inside/outside

The third in a series of dance performances at Milwaukees Urban Ecology Centers takes creators and curators of Real Time, Andrea and Daniel Burkholder, to the Menomonee Valley. It features a screen dance created on the trails near the Center and live performance both inside the Centers Valley Room and outside, surrounded by Natures beauty. This series is fully funded by an open-priced, pay-what-you-can ticket structure.

8 p.m., Friday, May 5, Urban Ecology Center, 3700 W. Pierce St.

...

MUSIC

Pioneers & Prodigies

The Festival City Symphony concludes its Symphony Sundays season with some terrific and riveting Romantic music. The Ruy Blas Overture of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is perhaps the most robust work of the composer. Henryk Wieniawskis Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor (1862), a piece with a finale boasting a dashing rondo of Gypsy melodies, presents violinist Frank Almond as the soloist. Finally, theres the unjustly overlooked gem of American composer Amy Beach: Symphony in E Minor, Op. 32 (1896)better known as the Gaelic Symphony given its many references to Irish, English and Scottish melodies.

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3 p.m., May 7, Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-286-3663 or visit pabsttheater.org.
 Expand Photo credit: Mike Miller

Charmingly situated in Milwaukees Third Ward, Bavette La Boucherie (330 E. Menomonee St.) is a butcher shop and cafe specializing in local and sustainable meats, delicious soups, sumptuous sandwiches, flavorful salads, creative plates and desserts. Inspired by both her extensive travels and the subtleties of everyday life, chef and owner Karen Bell continues to produce excellent dishes by imaginatively utilizing local meats and ingredients. Bell spoke with Off the Cuff about her former restaurant in Madrid, Spain, the opening of Bavette, and the challenges of whole animal butchery.

Did you always want to be a chef?

No. I think I figured it out when I was at UW-Madison and I was studying to be an English teacher and, my third year in, decided that it wasnt for me. At that point, I decided I would give culinary school a go and when I started I knew it.

I understand that you opened a restaurant in Spain. How did that come about?

I was living out in San Francisco and my sister was living in New York and we both wanted to go live abroad somewhere and we chose Spain. We moved there and it was initially going to be for a year to learn a new language and live abroad, but a year came and went. I started cooking when I was there and when the year came and went I wasnt ready to leave, so I decided to stay until I didnt want to. So after a few years of working in a restaurant, I decided I wanted to open my own restaurant there to cook the food I wanted to cook. There was no one cooking like that at the time and I started exploring it and found a space and was able to afford it and open it up.

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So when did you decide to open Bavette?

I had moved back here and I wasnt thinking about opening something after Spain. I was back here doing consulting and I realized that I would work just as hard for myself as I do for someone else. So I did get to a point where I knew I wanted to open a restaurant. At first it was going to be more of a restaurant than the butcher shop concept, but that changed after seeing the resources that we have in Wisconsin and being exposed to whole animal butchery and that having a resurgence around the country. So then I went more in the direction of the butcher shop, and the restaurant came a bit later. Over time, the restaurant was an opportunity to use the whole animal and that was something that was important to us.

How were you introduced to whole animal butchery? How is the method reflected on Bavettes menu?

Bavettes menu is completely designed around whole animal butchery. We started as a butcher shop and the restaurant started later. The restaurant came in part as a way to be able to continue receiving the whole animal and using it up in an effort to be sustainable. It is very difficult to sell the whole animal in a solely retail capacity. I would say only about 20% of the animal is sold through the case. The rest we use for our sandwiches and the menu. We also make pates, stocks, render the fat and make sausages with the trim. I began to become interested in whole animal butchery when I moved back to Wisconsin. Part of it had to do with being back in the state, another part with a growing resurgence of whole animal butchery across the U.S., and finally my growing interest to learn a new trade, my increased awareness of food politics, and also to continue my education and experiences.

Learn more about Bavette La Boucherie and view their daily menu at bavettelaboucherie.com.
Even though its not all that far from Milwaukee, Im not sure Ive ever driven through Fond Du Lac, nor could I point it out on a map. Usually the only time I hear about it is whenever TV news is reporting on snow fall totals or tornado warnings in other parts of Southeast Wisconsin. As Matthew Weinberger of the Fond Du Lac/Sheboygan-born dream-rock band Township tells it, Im probably not missing much.

Its your average Wisconsin town, Weinberger says. Lots of bars, lots of restaurants, a really crappy mall. So there really isnt a whole lot to do. Its precisely because there was so little going on there, Weinberger says, that Township came together in the first place. Thats why we found ourselves hanging out, introducing each other to different bands and making music together.

In the beginning, the band played the kind of pop-punk, emo and post-hardcore that goes over well, at least among a certain all-ages subset, in just about any city, but they quickly began to refine that sound. Their influences became more specific. Nicholas Halverson drew from his love of shoegaze and dream-pop, while Weinberger looked to the grander soundscapes of post-rock.

As we started writing more we became a little more on the ambient side, Weinberger says. The songs got a little slower and we moved away from the quicker, fast, fun, jumpy parts. It kind of matured as we did and went from something you could bob your head to, to something you could almost fall asleep to.

Weinbergers joking about the falling asleep thing, mostly, but theres a touch of truth to it. The groups just-released debut Impact Bliss is the kind of album that rewards close listening yet also deters it. Save for the occasional striking riff, the record seems designed to deflect attention from itself. The guitars murmur, the vocals muffle themselves under a blanket of echoes and the tempos rarely rise from a tortoise-paced crawl. Like some of the albums it most recallsCodeines Frigid Stars, Galaxie 500s On Fireyou can be absorbed in it one moment then forget youre listening to it altogether the next.

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Milwaukee is lucky to have a couple of bands that touch on these sounds: Estates put a harder, heavier edge on them; Haunter tempers them with indie-pop; and there are always a few solid shoegaze acts active at any time here. But in truth this is niche music, and it doesnt have anywhere near the same built-in audience that other genres have, especially as the hardcore acts on the all-ages bill that Township predominantly plays around Milwaukee and surrounding cities.

That should be a disadvantage for the band, thengoing from playing a popular kind of music to a decidedly less popular onebut Weinberger says more often than not it works in their favor. If nothing else, the sound helps them stand out.

Milwaukee is a good place for this kind of music, Weinberger says. Whether the people going to shows know they like it or not, it seems like some of the hardcore kids who wont admit they listen to anything but hardcore will end up liking our band. Weve come to embrace it. We like doing something a little different.
Every week, the Shepherd Express will serve as a clearinghouse for any and all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Trump administration and other activities that promote social justice. We will publicize and promote actions, demonstrations, planning meetings, teach-ins, party-building meetings, drinking/discussion get-togethers or any other actions that are directed toward fighting back to preserve our liberal democratic system.

Thursday, May 4

Mental Health Services Community Conversation, 5:45-7:30 p.m., Hillside Terrace Family Resource Center (1452 N. Seventh St.)

The Milwaukee County Mental Health Board is partnering with the Zeidler Center for Public Discussion to facilitate a guided community conversation to gain additional insight on community priorities for the 2018 budget. Attendees will be given the opportunity to share personal experiences, ask questions and provide in-depth input.

Saturday, May 6

Peace Action Wisconsin: Stand for Peace, noon-1 p.m. @ Corner of Layton and Howard avenues

Every Saturday, from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action Wisconsin to protest war. Signs will be provided for those who need them. Protesters are encouraged to stick around for conversation and coffee afterwards.

Sunday, May 7

Bay View Tragedy Commemoration, 3 p.m., @ Corner of Superior Street and Russell Avenue

This event commemorates the killing of seven people by Wisconsin state militia on May 5, 1886, during a protest march in Bay View near the site of the former iron mill. A reenactment of the event, complete with larger than life-sized puppets, will be staged by actors. This will be the 131st anniversary of the Bay View Tragedy.

Wednesday, May 10

Refuel the Resistance, 5-8 p.m., Bounce Milwaukee (2801 S. Fifth Court)

Every Wednesday, Bounce Milwaukee offers a space to organize, as well as a free drink to anyone who brings evidence of resistance in the past week, including protest signs, an email to an elected official or a selfie at the capital.

To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@shepex.com. Together, we can fight to minimize the damage that this administration has planned for our great country.
Tom of Finland, the new film biography of gay cultures leading homoerotic artist, Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), aka Tom of Finland, is making its way through the festival circuit. Its already received critical acclaim and an award. For those unfamiliar, the artist created an iconic body of work featuring tall, square-jawed, broad shouldered and hard-muscled caricatures of the very epitome of male fantasy.

Gays always had their heartthrobsTarzan, movie gladiators, Brando in The Wild Ones or the big jock on campus. But, although they all oozed that certain male mystique, they were ultimately straight and unattainable. Tarzan had Jane; gladiators preferred killing each other to kissing each other and the big jock inevitably went off with the prom queen. But Tom of Finlands devilishly grinning macho mensoldiers, sailors, motorcycle bad-boys in squeaky black leatherasserted homoerotism and took it to an unencumbered mutual climax. Suddenly, rather than the McCarthy eras mincing queer stereotypes or Tennessee Williams emotionally frail and suicidal archetypes, gay men could identify with strapping, thick-necked toughs in excessively tight navy crackerjacks or classic police uniforms, replete with knee high jack-boots and excessively flaring jodhpursand always with even more excessively flaring bulges.

With such imagery dancing in my head, I entered my first Euro leather bar, Boots, in Frankfurt, Germany, with a certain sense of abandon. A Tom of Finland guy adorned the bar logo so I naturally expected a lions den of doe-eyed, leather-clad lads seductively slung across bar stools. Instead, the place was practically empty save for a couple of much older, stouter guys, albeit arrayed from head to foot in silver-studded leather. I overheard one of them gushing, in high gay German Tuntendeutsch, about his collection of bootlegged Maria Callas recordings.

Still, although it may have belied reality, Tom of Finlands iconography of the leather fetish subculture inspired exactly that embrace of queer nonconformity. According to Milwaukee activist Si Smits, co-founder of several local leather clubs and the owner of the former Boot Camp Saloon, that hyper-masculinized fantasy propelled LGBT culture, encouraging people to shed their inhibitions and come out. It contributed to LGBT liberation in general and to the leather worlds self-awareness in particular.

And, although the artist died in 1991, beyond the leather scene, his once underground brand is now an established and enduring cultural phenomenon. A Tom of Finland exhibit recently hung at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. In 2014 the Finnish Post Office even issued commemorative postage stamps. And, if youre looking for a Tom shower curtain, duvet cover or fashion wear, online sales outlets supply it all.

Meanwhile, Toms original message still inspires the competitive leather contest scene that culminates each year with International Mr. Leather (IML) held in Chicago at the end of May. Smits, who attended the first IML in 1979, recalls at most a couple of hundred attendees. Today, decades later, the annual event draws exponentially larger crowds of leathermen and leatherwomen for a wild weekend of parties and the naming of a new International Mr. Leather. This year, Milwaukees Mr. Harbor Room, Chad Barr, will vie for the title.
When the last Ice Age receded more than 12,000 years ago, the glaciers left behind unique landscapes of woods, hills and wetlands across the Midwest. Today, the Ice Age Trail, a thousand-plus mile footpath entirely in Wisconsin, serves as a rejuvenating way for hikers to discover the natural beauty that spans the Badger state. The volunteer-built trail, which began its construction in the 1950s and is not yet complete, is one of just 11 National Scenic Trails and sees more than 1 million visitors a year.

In a new book published by the Wisconsin Historical Society, author and runner Melanie McManus chronicles her personal journey exploring the entirety of the trail. Thousand Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail documents the challenges and rewards of thru-hiking this iconic state path. McManus, who set records in 2013 and 2015 for the fastest times on the Ice Age Trail, completed her supported hike in 36 days and 34 days, respectively. In her inspiring memoir, McManus documents her solo encounters in the wild and provides strategic advice for future thru-hikers. As she battles bugs, bears and blisters, McManus discovers the unique beauty, history and geology of Wisconsin as well as the redemptive powers of hiking and outdoor adventure.

McManus will detail her adventures and discuss her book Thousand Miler at Books and Co. on Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m.

Book Happening:

Secret Words

10 p.m., Mondays

Comet Cafe, 1947 N. Farwell Ave.

Comet Cafe has been an East Side favorite for decades. In addition to a full bar and vegan-friendly menu, they now offer budding authors a creative and competitive outlet with their weekly Monday night Secret Words writing series. Sponsored by Milwaukees Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, Secret Words is a thematic writing exercise that anyone can play once they learn that weeks secret word. At midnight, all entries are read aloud and voted on by a peer jury. Top vote-getting submissions are set to be published in a forthcoming anthology. The word is outSecret Words begins every Monday at 10 p.m.
Norman Oppenheimer wants to make a deal. Better yet, he wants to help you make a dealany deal he can conceive, regardless of how far-fetched, as he connects the dots in his mind between powerful people. In Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Richard Gere plays Oppenheimer the macher, a matchmaker not of marriages but of business alliances. Oppenheimers problem is that his sense of importance exceeds reality in this funny-sad, eventually bittersweet tale.

Written and directed by Joseph Cedar, a New York-born Israeli filmmaker, Norman is on one level a send-up of certain tendencies in Jewish-American life, especially in relation to the gravitational pull of Israel. Gere is marvelous as Oppenheimer, a man always calculating the angles, inserting his foot into every door and his nose into everyones business. Oppenheimer answers insurmountable obstacles with a dismissive wave of his hand. Through tireless chutzpah, he occasionally makes a deal, albeit they usually dont work out as planned.

In a bid to arrange a meeting between a New York financier and Israels visiting deputy trade minister, Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), Oppenheimer stalks the Israeli through Manhattan streets, follows him into an expensive mens shop and strikes up a conversation with his usual air of a man about to take a friend into his confidence. Let me buy you the shoes, Oppenheimer insists as Eshel tries on a handsome pair. It will be my privilege to buy you the shoes. Before you say no, put your feet in them.

As is sometimes the case, Oppenheimer wins by sheer persistence, convincing the reluctant politician to accept the gift and arching his brow almost imperceptibly when presented with a bill for $1,192 and change. The investment pays offsort ofwhen Eshel returns to New York three years later wearing those shoes. Hes now Israels prime minister and, attending a reception in his honor with the citys Jewish leaders, warmly embraces Oppenheimer in the receiving line. Eshel even blurts out something about making the macher my honorary ambassador to New York Jewry. Oppenheimer eagerly mistakes the hyperbole for a genuine portfolio, only to be swept up in a bribery scandal that threatens to topple Eshels government.

Norman is an emotionally complicated story. Eshel is genuinely fond of his footwear benefactor but has little time for him except to ask a favor: gain his son, a boy with low grades, admission to Harvard. Pulling half-a-dozen strings, Oppenheimer manages that feat even though the favor wont prevent the prime ministers staff from proposing the macher as the fall guy for the scandal.

Cedar assembled an impressive supporting cast headed by Charlotte Gainsbourg as an Israeli official investigating the bribery charges. Steve Buscemi plays Oppenheimers rabbi, who counts on the macher to raise millions of dollars to save the synagogue from foreclosure. Oppenheimer is eventually stalked by his emotional doppelganger, an almost spectral schmoozer called Katz, played by a shambolic Hank Azaria.

But most of all, the movie belongs to Gere, who makes us see that Oppenheimers endless schmoozing comes from a misguided urge to be helpful and make everything work out even when it probably wont. Like a holy fool he derives no material benefit from his quest and lives on pickled herring and Ritz crackers. With white buds plugged into both ears and a cellphone always at hand, every corner on the wintry New York streets becomes his office. Hes got everyones number but few will answer his calls. His delusions are transparent to most everyone except himself.

Norman opens May 5 at the Oriental Theatre.
Smart Rating: 90.03

Release date: Friday, February 10, 2017

Genre: Action, thriller

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne

Retired super-assassin John Wick's plans to resume a quiet civilian life are cut short when Italian gangster Santino D'Antonio shows up on his doorstep with a gold marker, compelling him to repay past favors. Ordered by Winston, kingpin of secret assassin society The Continental, to respect the organization's ancient code, Wick reluctantly accepts the assignment to travel to Rome to take out D'Antonio's sister, the ruthless capo atop the Italian Camorra crime syndicate.
HAWARDEN, Iowa | A flood warning has been issued for the Big Sioux River north of Hawarden.

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls said the warning will be in effect from late Tuesday to Friday afternoon. Minor flooding in farm fields is forecast.

At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the river was at 17.8 feet. Flood stage is at 19.0 feet, and the river is forecast to crest at 19.4 feet Thursday morning.

Heavy rain and light snow Sunday and early Monday have caused the river to rise.
STORM LAKE, Iowa | Until Saturday, I don't think I'd ever heard Chicago played at a funeral service.

Leave it to Randy Renshaw to change that.

Randy Rey Renshaw, 66, died one week ago and was buried on Saturday at Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in his native Storm Lake.

His funeral service, officiated by the Rev. Matt Miller, featured a piano solo from Emily Lappe, Renshaw's granddaughter, as well as recordings of "My Life" by The Beatles and "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago, Renshaw's favorite band, a band he met in person five months before his death.

A sign next to his coffin on Saturday read, "I'd rather be at a Chicago concert."

For 25 years, Renshaw helped direct news coverage and hosted "Open Line" at KSCJ-AM 1360 in Sioux City. His daughter, Erin Lappe, of Wesley, Iowa, talked of Renshaw's pride in covering breaking news events in Sioux City, such as the explosion that rocked the Terra Industries plant near Port Neal in 1994.

His career began in the late 1960s as Randy served KAYL Radio as a high schooler in Storm Lake, where he graduated in 1969. His full-time career began in 1973 at KLGA in Algona, Iowa.

"I remember being with Dad in Council Bluffs on June 28, 1979, when the phone on the wall rang," Lappe recalled. "Dad answered the phone and was told a tornado had hit Algona. He left to go to work covering it and I didn't see him for three days."

Lappe said her father came by his conservative political streak honestly. For politics, that of the Republican persuasion, dominated conversation at Renshaw Plumbing, the business on Michigan Street in Storm Lake that was owned and operated by the Renshaw family.

Randy was the only child of the late Jack and Helen Renshaw. He spoke about Storm Lake and his family often, even as his career transitioned to Sioux City in the mid-1980s, a city he came to call his home through two stints of radio service.

Lappe talked of her dad's smile, his beautiful penmanship, and the soft spot he had in his heart for stray kittens. She also touched on his flaws: Going without socks, forgetting to get the oil checked in his vehicle, and not keeping up to speed on various changes in technology.

"He had a golden voice," Lappe said with a giggle, "even after two pots of coffee and who knows how many packs of cigarettes."

"Is it really work when you enjoy your job as much as Randy did?" Miller asked.

Despite being in the center of the public eye thanks to his years of work in radio, Miller said Renshaw eschewed the limelight. He rarely attended broadcasting conventions and preferred that any plaques or certificates he earned for news coverage simply be mailed to him.

It was fitting that a few boats dotted the horizon on Storm Lake on the day of Renshaw's burial. Some of his greatest memories, family members said, involved landing keepers and reliving tales of errant -- and painful -- casts, and the big ones that somehow slipped away. His funeral program featured a copy of "A Fisherman's Prayer" and a picture of an empty boat sitting along the lakeshore.

"Dad," Lappe concluded, "today we send you home to be with Grandpa and Grandma."
SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Richard VanCleave, 34, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of third-degree sexual abuse. As part of a plea agreement, a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor was dismissed.

VanCleave arranged to meet the girl at a Sioux City hotel on Jan. 29. Court documents said that the girl told VanCleave she was 13, but he told her he didn't care "as long as he didn't get caught."

In addition to the prison sentence, District Judge Patrick Tott ordered VanCleave to register with the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for life and also serve a special sex offender sentence in which he will be on lifetime parole after completing his prison sentence. If he were to violate terms of the special sentence, he could be sent to prison.
SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man pleaded not guilty Monday to a federal firearms charge.

John McPherson, 47, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

According to an indictment, McPherson has a 1997 conviction in California for assault with a deadly weapon.

McPherson was found guilty in Woodbury County District Court in April of carrying a dangerous weapon and assault on a peace officer. He was sentenced Friday to 191 days in jail and given credit for the 191 days he'd already served in the Woodbury County Jail. He will remain in federal custody while awaiting trial.

McPherson had been charged after an Oct. 20 incident in which a Sergeant Bluff police officer fired a shot into a Jeep. Officers called to a Sergeant Bluff mobile home park to serve an arrest warrant on someone else encountered McPherson, who was sleeping in the driver's seat of a parked Jeep. After knocking on the vehicle's windows, police said, McPherson made movements with his hands toward his waistline and the officer fired a single shot.

The shot did not strike McPherson, and officers found a loaded .45-caliber handgun in the waistband of his pants.
SIOUX CITY | Morningside College will present two honorary degrees at its spring commencement at 2 p.m. May 13.

Debra Humphreys, vice president of strategic engagement at the Lumina Foundation in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Thomas Rosen, president and CEO of Rosen's Diversified Inc. in Fairmont, Minnesota, will both receive the honorary degrees and are featured speakers.

The ceremony will be on the campus lawn in front of the Hickman-Johnson-Furrow Learning Center.

Humphreys is getting recognized for her work at the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C., and the Lumina Foundation, a press release from the college said.

Rosen is a 1970 graduate of the college and is receiving the degree for his "generous financial support" for the college and his 16 years of service on the Morningside College Board of Directors.

A baccalaureate service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. May 13 in Grace United Methodist Church, 1735 Morningside Ave.

Both the commencement and baccalaureate ceremonies are open to the public.
SPENCER, Iowa | A Spencer student is facing a felony charge after police say he posted a threat involving the Spencer Community School District on social media.

According to a news release from the Spencer Police Department, authorities were contacted in reference to the threat shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday. Officers investigated the complaint and searched the student's home.

Police determined the student did not have the means to carry out the threats that were posted online and charged the juvenile with threats of terrorism, a class D felony. The student was released into parent custody.
SIOUX CITY | A 21-year-old man has been arrested after police say he robbed a Sioux City credit union Tuesday.

The robbery took place around 11:30 a.m. at the Municipal Credit Union, 103 S. Fairmount St.

The suspect, Joshua Isaiah Webbs, Sioux City, was booked into the Woodbury County Jail Tuesday night and charged with first-degree robbery.

The Sioux City Police Department said Webbs turned himself in at 7:30 p.m.

His bond has been set at $100,000.

Police Sgt. Ryan Bertrand said a single male suspect allegedly entered the business, demanded money from the clerk and displayed a weapon. He fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to police.

The vehicle allegedly used in the robbery was found abandoned in the Greenville area after the incident.

The credit union was closed for the remainder of the day Tuesday. No one was injured in the incident.
SIOUX CITY | Citing reductions in state aid, Western Iowa Tech Community College President Terry Murrell has proposed eliminating three faculty positions to balance the college's budget.

Murrell said Monday he will recommend the WITCC Board of Trustees cut two full-time and one part-time teaching positions for the 2017-18 school year. The move would save between $250,000 to $300,000 in salary and benefits, he said.

The board will meet on May 8, with a final decision due by May 15.

Murrell said this is the first time in his six years as president that faculty positions could be reduced, citing the situation as "not ideal."

The president did not identify in which departments the cuts would be made, or how the classes taught by the displaced instructors would be replaced.

If the board does not approve the recommended reduction in faculty, other cuts in the budget would have to be found, he said.

WIT currently has 74 faculty members and operates with a budget of $33.6 million. The budget for 2017-18 has not been set.

The reductions are tied to mid-year budget cuts by state lawmakers that cut state funding to Iowa's 15 community colleges by $3 million. Early in 2017, the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad cut $118 million from the state budget, effective for the the last five months of the fiscal year through June. That step followed a weakened estimation of state revenues.

For the 2017-18 fiscal year, community colleges will share in a $1.6 million increase in state funding.
STORM LAKE, Iowa | A 36-year-old man is in custody after he allegedly grabbed a knife during a fight and assaulted a police officer Monday evening.

The Storm Lake Police Department said officers were dispatched to a fight in the 700 block of Geneseo Street around 6 p.m. Monday. When they arrived, a victim said Sefton Akin, of Storm Lake, confronted him in the hallway of his apartment and attempted to choke him.

The man struck Akin and retreated into his apartment and called the police. The department said Akin then went into his apartment and grabbed a 6.75-inch knife and returned to the victim's door and attempted to make contact with him.

Police arrived and arrested Akin and took him to the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, where he was evaluated and released. Afterward, police allege he assaulted an officer while he was being booked into the Buena Vista County Jail. He was subdued and placed in a cell.

Akin has been charged with going armed with intent -- a class D felony, carrying weapons, public intoxication, assault causing injury, assault on a peace officer and interference with official acts.

His bond has been set at $5,000.

The victim of the assault sustained minor injuries, and the officer who was assaulted was uninjured.
WASHINGTON | Sioux City officials lobbied representatives in the nation's capital Tuesday to continue support of a federal infrastructure grant program and for Community Development Block Grants, both of which may face cuts under the new administration.

City representatives met with the offices of Reps. Steve King, David Young, Dave Loebsack, and Rod Blum; Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst; and representatives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Tuesday, offering positions on several issues including federal infrastructure funding and housing assistance.

"We're concentrating on expressing concerns with proposed cuts to the HUD funding, which provides approximately $2 million to the city of Sioux City for Community Development Block Grant funds," said Jeff Hanson, Sioux City's community development operations manager. Hanson said the city wants to see the current level of funding continue through the grants.

According to a position paper authored by city staff, around 300 homes in Sioux City received CDBG funds to complete projects over the past five years. Also during that time, a CDBG-funded revolving loan fund resulted in creation of 32 jobs, nearly 1,500 people used CDBG-funded food pantries, more than 8,200 people benefited from CDBG-funded park improvements and more than 27,000 benefited from CDBG-funded public infrastructure and utility projects.

Under President Donald Trump's proposed budget, Community Development Block Grants could be cut altogether. The same goes for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) infrastructure grants, which support transportation improvements.

Sioux City received a $1 million TIGER planning grant in 2014 to plan a proposed $19.3 million viaduct on 18th Street, which would stretch 500 feet from Floyd Boulevard to Steuben Street and span the Union Pacific Railroad and Canadian National Railway tracks, eliminating long wait times at train crossings.

The project will require additional federal funding to move forward and is currently pending for an $11.6 million FASTLANE grant through the DOT.

Councilman Alex Watters said he believes the delegation has received a good reception in its infrastructure talks.

"Sen. Ernst expressed how important infrastructure is to her, and that was a good reception," Watters said.

More than 60 local leaders are in Washington this week for the 63rd annual lobbying trip led by the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. The delegation was scheduled Tuesday night to attend a reception hosted by retired Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr. and his wife, Mary, at their McLean, Virginia, home. Mary Winnefeld is the sponsor of the USS Sioux City, an LCS 11 naval ship that is scheduled to be commissioned at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in the summer of 2018.
DES MOINES  Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday it appears she will be taking the oath to become Iowas next governor yet this month.

Gov. Terry Branstad is slated to appear Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of the process for him to be confirmed as President Donald Trumps pick for ambassador to China.

After that, it may possibly take up to three weeks for the process to play out, but its still speculation at this point, Reynolds told reporters during the administrations weekly news conference. Right now, were at the mercy of the federal government, so anything is possible, she added.

Reynolds said gubernatorial transition plans still are being formulated and once more is known she expects she and the governor will announce a timeline for when he resigns as governor and she takes the oath.

After the hearing, well get some sense, I think, of what that timeline looks like and well build off of that, said Reynolds.

Reynolds said the deadline is May 22 for the governor to take action on bills passed during the recently completed 2017 legislative session, and she expects the two will spend considerable time this month going over the policy and fiscal budget bills.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa | The most unusual break tables in Siouxland are found in the corporate center serving Diamond Vogel, the 91-year-old paint company founded in Orange City.

They come from Sticks, Inc., the high-end furniture and decor designer/manufacturer in Des Moines.

"The concept began with one of the owners and part of the third generation, Mark Vogel, who saw some of the work of Sticks, which planted the seed," said David Vander Werff, director of human resources at Vogel Paints.

The Vogels invited a couple of Sticks representatives to Orange City to interview principals at the company while gathering a history of the organization and its impact in the Sioux County seat.

Quotes line the edges of each table, words that help detail the history of this firm.

"They designed what I'd call kind of a folk art," Vander Werff said. "Their wood engraving, inking and staining. We've used these tables every day for 19 years and we've never refinished the tops.

"It's got to be a Vogel finish on the top," he added.

Vander Werff's favorite table illustrates the history of Diamond Vogel and features a picture of founder Andrew Vogel, along with one of Andrew's well-known statements: "The secret is your relation to your fellow man. Keep that in balance. Use the gifts you have and that makes the business."

Andrew Vogel started this business in his garage in 1926, putting to work two small grinders and his third-grade education.

Vogel's original message rings true today, said Vander Werff, who attributes the company's growth and success to relationships that have grown among customers and fellow employees.

"The intent was to help this building as a corporate support center to remind everybody who they're serving each day as they're working," said Scott Heemstra, director of manufacturing.

The thought: Even in idle time, as at lunch or during a coffee break, the pillars of success upon which the company has grown, can be reinforced.

One table shows the different divisions of the company; another features 14 different states in which Vogel Paints has an economic presence. Easy Liner, for example, is a subsidiary firm and it has a place on one of the break tables.

"This helps people remember who they're serving from a corporate standpoint," Heemstra said.

Another table shows the U.S. flag and the flag of Holland, an artful depiction of where the Vogels came from and where they've stood the past three or four generations.

"This (table) talks about Vogel Traffic Services, an international company offering traffic coatings through the world; with a world map, world flags and spray-marking equipment," Vander Werff said.

Sticks, which traces its origins to founder Sarah Grant some 25 years ago, has received national acclaim for its distinctive line of furniture, accessories and object art. The company began by designing items such as ornaments and candlesticks, but grew to do larger pieces, such as dining sets, beds and armoires.

Each piece, like each break table found in a corporate center in Orange City, is hand-crafted.

"We eat on them every day," Vander Werff said. "They're in excellent shape."

They're also incredibly interesting, a collection among Siouxland's most colorful.

"Anyone who comes and looks at it is surprised and intrigued by it," Vander Werff said.
President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Tuesday at the Environmental Protection Agency, which officials said looks to curb the federal government's enforcement of climate regulations by putting American jobs above addressing climate change.

The order represents a clear difference between how Trump and former President Barack Obama view the role the United States plays in combating climate change, and dramatically alters the government's approach to rising sea levels and temperatures -- two impacts of climate change.

Trump said during the signing that the order will "eliminate federal overreach" and "start a new era of production and job creation."

"My action today is latest in steps to grow American jobs," Trump added, saying his order is "ending the theft of prosperity."

A White House official briefed on the plan said Monday the administration believes the government can both "serve the environment and increase energy independence at the same time" by urging the EPA for focus on what the administration believes is its core mission: Clean air and clean water.

More important than regulating climate change, the official said, is protecting American jobs.

"It is an issue that deserves attention," the official said of climate change. "But I think the President has been very clear that he is not going to pursue climate change policies that put the US economy at risk. It is very simple."

Tuesday's order initiates a review of the Clean Power Plan, rescinds the moratorium on coal mining on US federal lands and urges federal agencies to "identify all regulations, all rules, all policies ... that serve as obstacles and impediments to American energy independence," the official said.

Specifically, the order rescinds at least six Obama-era executive orders aimed at curbing climate change and regulating carbon emissions, including Obama's November 2013 executive order instructing the federal government to prepare for the impact of climate change and the September 2016 presidential memorandum that outlined the "growing threat to national security" that climate change poses.

"The previous administration devalued workers by their policies," the official said. "We are saying we can do both. We can protect the environment and provide people with work."

The White House official went on to argue that the best way to protect the environment is to have a strong economy, noting that countries like India and China do less to protect the environment.

"To the extent that the economy is strong and growing and you have prosperity, that is the best way to protect the environment," the official said.

The executive order also represents the greatest fears climate change advocates had when Trump was elected in November 2016.

"These actions are an assault on American values and they endanger the health, safety and prosperity of every American," Tom Steyer, the president of NexGen Climate, said in a statement. "Trump is deliberately destroying programs that create jobs and safeguards that protect our air and water, all for the sake of allowing corporate polluters to profit at our expense."

Andrew Steer, CEO of the World Resources Institute, said that the executive order shows Trump is "failing a test of leadership to protect Americans' health, the environment and economy."

Some environmental advocates have already said they plan to take legal action against the Trump administration.

But as much as Democrats and climate advocates will decry it, Trump's executive order follows the President's past comments about climate change. Though Trump told The New York Times during the election that he has an "open mind" about confronting climate change, he also once called it a hoax.

"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," Trump tweeted in November 2012.

"I will also cancel all wasteful climate change spending from Obama/Clinton," Trump said in October 2016.

On Tuesday, ahead of the signing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer declined to say whether Trump still believes climate change is a hoax.

"He does not believe ... that there is a binary choice between job creation, economic growth and caring about the environment," Spicer said. "That's what we should be focusing on."

The changes, the official said, do not mean the Trump administration will not look to protect the environment any longer, the official said, but when pressed about the human impact on climate change and Trump's beliefs, the official was reluctant to say whether all government officials in the Trump White House believe humans cause climate change.

"I think there are plenty of rules on the books already. We will continue to enforce that provide for clean air and clean water. And that is what we are going to do," the official said. "The President has been very clear that he wants the EPA to stick to that basic core mission that Congress set out for it."

The changes also reflect the view of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who routinely sued the organization he now leads during his time as the Attorney General of Oklahoma. In an interview with CNBC earlier this month, Pruitt argued incorrectly that carbon dioxide isn't the "primary contributor" to climate change, a comment that goes against most scientific research.

This executive order is also an attempt by the Trump administration to make good on its promise to bring more coal jobs back. The official said that Obama's regulations "were not helpful" to the coal industry and these reversals are the President honoring "a pledge he made to the coal industry."

"We are going to put our coal miners back to work," Trump said at a March 2017 event in Kentucky. "They have not been treated well, but they're going to be treated well now."

He added: "The miners are coming back."

On Tuesday at the EPA, Trump welcomed a group of miners that attended the signing and said the order was "putting an end to the war on coal."

It is unclear whether Trump's order will actually bring back coal jobs, in part, because of market forces like the rise of clean energy that are already putting pressure on the coal industry.

Robert Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, told CNN in January that coal employment "can't be brought back to where it was before the election of Barack Obama" because of market pressure.

This story has been updated.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. The Consumer Banking and Lending segment offers diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses. Its financial products and services include checking and savings accounts, and credit and debit cards, as well as home, auto, personal, and small business lending services. The Commercial Banking segment provides financial solutions to private, family owned, and certain public companies. Its products and services include banking and credit products across various industry sectors and municipalities, secured lending and lease products, and treasury management services. The Corporate and Investment Banking segment offers a suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients. Its products and services comprise corporate banking, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate lending and servicing, equity, and fixed income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research capabilities services. The Wealth and Investment Management segment provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, and trust and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net worth, and ultra-high-net worth clients. It also operates through financial advisors. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Avery Dennison Corporation manufactures and markets pressure-sensitive materials and products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and internationally. The company's Label and Graphic Materials segment offers pressure-sensitive label and packaging materials under the Fasson, JAC, and Avery Dennison brands; graphics products under the Avery Dennison and Mactac brands; and reflective products under the Avery Dennison brand. This segment provides its products to the home and personal care, beer and beverage, durables, pharmaceutical, wine and spirits, and food market segments; architectural, commercial sign, digital printing, and other related market segments; construction, automotive, and fleet transportation market segments; traffic and safety applications; and sign shops, commercial printers, and designers. The company's Retail Branding and Information Solutions segment offers brand embellishments, graphic tickets, tags and labels, and sustainable packaging solutions, as well as creative services; radio-frequency identification, visibility and loss prevention, brand protection and security, shelf-edge, and price ticketing and marking solutions; and care, content, and country of origin compliance solutions. It serves retailers, brand owners, apparel manufacturers, distributors, and industrial customers. The company's Industrial and Healthcare Materials segment provides tapes and other pressure-sensitive adhesive-based materials and converted products, mechanical fasteners, and performance polymers under the Fasson and Avery Dennison brands; and tapes under the Yongle brand for wire harnessing and cable wrapping. It serves automotive, electronics, building and construction, electrical, general industrial, personal care, and medical markets. The company was formerly known as Avery International Corporation and changed its name to Avery Dennison Corporation in 1990. Avery Dennison Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Mentor, Ohio.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. manufactures and sells motorcycles. The company operates in two segments, Motorcycles and Related Products and Financial Services. The Motorcycles and Related Products segment designs, manufactures, and sells Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including cruiser, touring, standard, sportbike, and dual models, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and related services. This segment sells its products to retail customers through a network of independent dealers, as well as e-commerce channels in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The Financial Services segment provides wholesale financing services, such as floorplan and open account financing of motorcycles, and parts and accessories; and retail financing services, including installment lending for the purchase of new and used Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as well as point-of-sale protection products comprising motorcycle insurance, extended service contracts, and motorcycle maintenance protection. This segment also licenses third-party financial institutions that issue credit cards bearing the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley-Davidson, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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.
A Christian minister in California attempted to challenge the states ban on conversion therapy for minors. The U.S. Supreme Court decided to leave the ban intact on Monday, rejecting the ministers assertion that the ban is in violation of religious rights.

California banned conversion therapy in 2012. This is the second time in three years that the law has been challenged by the plaintiff.

Donald Welch, ordained minister and licensed family counselor, was the plaintiff for this case. He believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman only and questioned the constitutionality of banning conversion therapy for minors, a process that would use counseling, hypnosis, electric shock therapy and other methods to convert homosexual adolescents to heterosexuality.

According to the hearings court papers, the view of homosexuality as a mental illness has been discredited for decades, rendering the practice of conversion therapy as needlessly harmful.

Welch testified alongside a Catholic psychiatrist and a man who has undergone conversion therapy. After the plaintiffs free speech claim was denied, Welch and company attempted to pursue a claim that the ban violates their freedom of religion.

The 9th US Circuit Court of appeals rejected their arguments last October.

Conversion therapy is also banned in New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New Mexico, the District of Columbia as well as many bans being passed in individual cities, including Lake Worth and West Palm Beach in Florida.
(AP) Anzor was lying on a dirty floor as a man in army boots jumped on his back. His agony worsened when his captors started torturing him with electric shocks.

"It's a feeling like they are breaking every bone of every joint in your body at the same time," he said.

Anzor is a gay man from Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where some 100 men suspected of being gay were detained and tortured, and at least three of them were killed.

After his ordeal, Anzor fled Chechnya and is now in hiding in Moscow, fearing not only for his own life but for the safety of his relatives. He spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of using only his first name.

Antipathy to homosexuality in Russia is widespread. Gay rights activists' requests to hold rallies are routinely rejected by officials and any rallies that do take place are often attacked by anti-gay thugs. But "this anti-gay purge, sanctioned by top local authorities, is unprecedented," said Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program coordinator for Human Rights Watch.

Another gay man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the AP that he was also arrested in Chechnya and held with dozens of others.

"We were tortured every day. Beside beatings, we were beaten several times a day with polypropylene tubes. We were tortured with electricity," he said.

"For 20-30 seconds they spin the handle, you feel the electricity, then you fall down, they stop it, and then immediately you come back to consciousness and you are ready again for a new discharge," he said. "And it goes on five, six, seven times."

The abuse was first reported in April by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Western governments and rights groups have urged Russian authorities to investigate.

Chechen officials vehemently deny not only the reported torture of gays, but sometimes their very existence.

"There are no homosexuals in Chechnya. You cannot detain and persecute those who do not exist," Alvi Karimov, a spokesman for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, told the Interfax news agency.

Homosexuality is a taboo in conservative Chechnya, and the gay community there was used to leading a double life - marrying, having children and hiding their sexuality from even their closest family members. The only time a gay man in Chechnya could be himself is when he met with another gay person, typically through social media, Anzor said.

"The rest of the time we are pretending," he said.

Anzor, who talked to the AP at a safe house provided by LGBT activists, fears for the lives of his family members who will become pariahs in the patriarchal Chechen society if his identity is revealed.

"Sometimes families turn away from such people, some families get rid of such people," he said of gays, a word he is visibly uncomfortable using. "I'm scared for my family, my sisters and brothers. I don't want them to suffer for me."

Anzor, in his 40s, said the ordeal began when police stopped the car in which he was riding with friends in the town of Argun. They were taken to a police station after officers found a sedative pill on one friend. Small details that Anzor didn't want to make public led the police to believe that he and one of his friends were gay, he said.

They were brutally beaten in front of the police station chief and taken to a shed. Anzor spent 10 days there.

He said the shed had dozens of men who were beaten and abused by camouflaged men. In the first few days, the beatings were so frequent that he stopped feeling any pain, Anzor said, overcome at the memory. Inmates were made to attach the clamps of electric wires to their toes and fingers - and the captors would then turn on the power.

Then the torture stopped. Several days later Anzor was taken outside and told that he was free to go - without any explanation.

He thought about going to a neighboring region and reporting his bruises and injuries at the hospital there, but got scared.

"I thought if I would go there, they would be people like that there, too," he said, laughing nervously.

The other gay man who spoke to the AP said that his ordeal began when police arrested him in a crowded place, because his number was found in the phone of another gay man arrested earlier.

He said that he believed his captors, dressed in camouflage, were abusing them one by one in a bid to find more gays.

"They were beating information out of us," he said.

The man, in his 30s, said that when the abusers lost interest in one person, the torture would stop. He was eventually freed, and like Anzor, fled Chechnya and sought shelter through LGBT activists in Moscow.

Human rights groups have previously documented torture and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by Kadyrov's security forces against opponents and Salafi Muslims. Lokshina said the methods used against gay men echo these abuses - it's "their standard toolbox," she said.

Putin last month met with Kadyrov in the Kremlin and the Chechen leader dismissed the reports.

"The so-called good people write that in our republic - I'm even ashamed to say it - people get arrested and killed," he said. Putin apparently didn't press him further.

"I'm in absolute shock. We have never seen anything like this," said Tatyana Vinnichenko, head of the Russian LGBT Network, which is aiding about 40 gay men who have fled Chechnya in recent weeks.

Vinnichenko's phones ring every few minutes as she coordinates efforts with other activists on hospital treatment, plane tickets and housing arrangements. Two of the men have already left Russia for another country which is visa-free for Russians, and two more have just received visas and should be leaving for Europe soon.

LGBT activists have been meeting with foreign diplomats, pleading that granting a visa to gay survivors of torture could be a matter of saving their lives.

Vinnichenko said, with dismay, that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been "unwilling to engage in a dialogue on visas for the torture victims."

In Washington, the U.S. State Department told the AP that it was "unable to discuss individual cases" since visa records are confidential but added that it "categorically condemns the persecution of individuals based on their sexual orientation."

After he was released, Anzor stayed in Chechnya to tend to his ailing mother, but eventually felt compelled to leave.

"My friends, people I have socialized with were all rounded up. If they caught me again, I know for sure I would not have made it out of there alive," he said.

He told his family he was going away on business when he left for Moscow in early March and he hasn't been back since. He clings to the hope that he will be able to go home to see his mother once again - and scoffs at the Kremlin meeting between Kadyrov and Putin.

"I think Putin knows about it, he knows it even better than me - he is the president of Russia after all," he says. "I don't know why he allows all of this to happen."

If you want to help gay men flee Chechnya, you can participate in this Facebook fundraiser here.
(WB) The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro says her father supports her efforts to spearhead LGBT-specific issues in the country.

He understands, Mariela Castro told Hatzel Vela, a Havana-based reporter for the South Florida television station WPLG. He is supportive.

Mariela Castro, who is director of Cubas National Center for Sexual Education that is known by the Spanish acronym CENESEX, spoke with Vela last week at her organizations headquarters in Havanas Vedado neighborhood. WPLG broadcast the interview on Monday night.

Same-sex marriage in Cuba will take long time

Mariela Castro became CENESEXs director in 2007 after her mother, Vilma Espin, who was the president of the Cuban Federation of Women, passed away.

Transgender people have been able to obtain free sex-reassignment surgery under Cubas national health care system since 2008, although independent LGBT activists with whom the Washington Blade has spoken maintain only a few dozen people have been able to undergo the procedure. Mariela Castro, who is a member of the Cuban National Assembly, in 2013 voted against a proposal that banned discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation because it did not include gender identity.

CENESEX since 2007 has commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia  which is May 17  in Havana and in other cities around the country. Mariela Castro spoke with WPLG less than a week before she is scheduled to speak at a press conference in the Cuban capital that will mark the beginning of this years series of events.

Mariela Castro told Vela she remembers the stares and disapproval from people that she saw in 2007 when she and a group of trans people walked around Havana to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

I was scared, she said.

Then-President Fidel Castro, who is Mariela Castros uncle, in the years after the 1959 Cuban revolution that brought him to power sent more than 25,000 gay men and others deemed unfit for military service to Military Units to Aid Production, which were labor camps known by the Spanish acronym UMAP. The Cuban government forcibly quarantined people with HIV/AIDS in state-run sanitaria until 1993.

Cuba repealed its sodomy law in 1979. Fidel Castro in 2010 apologized for the work camps during an interview with a Mexican newspaper.

Mariela Castro, who publicly supports marriage rights for same-sex couples, told reporters in March there is a legislative package that would extend rights to LGBT Cubans.

She said earlier that month during an appearance at a film festival in the Mexican city of Guadalajara the country does not like to copy anyone as she discussed why Cuba has yet to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Mariela Castro during the WPLG interview dismissed criticism from independent activists who say she has not done enough to publicly advocate for the issue.

It is something that takes a long time, she told Vela.

Critics of Cubas human rights record should inform themselves

CENESEXs International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia events will take place less than six months after Fidel Castros death. They will also occur against the backdrop of continued criticism over Cubas human rights record.

Independent LGBT activists with whom the Blade regularly speaks maintain authorities harass and detain them because they publicly criticize Mariela Castro and her fathers government. Plainclothes officers and security officials on Monday detained a protester with an American flag as he briefly disrupted a May Day celebration in Havanas Revolution Square.

The U.S. and Cuban in 2004 began the process of normalizing diplomatic relations.

I want to respond politely, Mariela Castro told Vela in response to his question about those who question her efforts to spearhead LGBT issues against the backdrop of Cubas human rights record. They should inform themselves.

Get rid of your hate, prejudices and stereotypes, she added, speaking directly to Cuban exiles in Miami who remain opposed to her fathers government and the normalization of relations between the U.S. and the Communist island.

 Michael K. Lavers, Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association.
A man reportedly persecuted in a secret anti-LGBT Chechen prison is speaking out about the torture, interrogation and murder of gay and bisexual men.

Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported claims that over 100 men in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya were rounded up, suspected of homosexuality. At least three men are now dead, and one survivor has come forward to speak about his experience.

They tell parents to kill their child, the man told FRANCE 24, choosing to remain anonymous in fear of his safety. They say, Either you do it or we will. They call it, Cleaning your honor with blood.

The man is afraid to go home in fear his family will kill him  revealing an account of a fellow prisoners death.

They tortured a man for two weeks, he explained. They summoned his parents and his brothers who all came. They said to them Your son is a homosexual. Sort it out or well do it ourselves. They replied, Its our family, well do it. The family took him and killed him in the forest. They buried him there. They didnt even give him a funeral.

According to the survivor, people are tortured with electricity and deprived of food. They are also lined up and forced to give themselves a womans name.

Weve always been persecuted, but never like this, he said. Now they arrest everyone. They kill people. They do whatever they want. They know that nobody will come after them. Because the order has come from above to cleanse the nation of people like us.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has denied the persecution of gays. In a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov claimed the reports were unfounded accusation against our republic, according to a translation by FRANCE 24.

A spokesperson for Kadyrov has also denied the gay purging, claiming you cant detain and harass someone who doesnt exist in the republic.

The British government reports Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov wants to eliminate LGBT Chechens by the start of Ramadan on May 26. He made the threat in Russian language media, PinkNews reports.

Human rights groups report that these anti-gay campaigns and killings are orchestrated by the head of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, said Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Alan Duncan according to PinkNews. He has carried out other violent campaigns in the past, and this time he is directing his efforts at the LGBT community.

Check out the FRANCE 24 video below.

If you want to help gay men flee Chechnya, you can participate in this Facebook fundraiser here.
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




Cassini Inches Closer To Saturn NASA

As NASAs Cassini spacecraft prepares to shoot the narrow gap between Saturn and its rings for the second time in its Grand Finale, Cassini engineers are delighted, while ring scientists are puzzled, that the region appears to be relatively dust-free.

This assessment is based on data Cassini collected during its first dive through the region on April 26.

With this information in hand, the Cassini team will now move forward with its preferred plan of science observations.

The region between the rings and Saturn is the big empty, apparently, said Cassini Project Manager Earl Maize of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Cassini will stay the course, while the scientists work on the mystery of why the dust level is much lower than expected.

A dustier environment in the gap might have meant the spacecrafts saucer-shaped main antenna would be needed as a shield during most future dives through the ring plane. This would have forced changes to how and when Cassinis instruments would be able to make observations. Fortunately, it appears that the plan B option is no longer needed. (There are 21 dives remaining. Four of them pass through the innermost fringes of Saturns rings, necessitating that the antenna be used as a shield on those orbits.)

Based on images from Cassini, models of the ring particle environment in the approximately 1,200-mile-wide (2,000-kilometer-wide) region between Saturn and its rings suggested the area would not have large particles that would pose a danger to the spacecraft.

But because no spacecraft had ever passed through the region before, Cassini engineers oriented the spacecraft so that its 13-foot-wide (4-meter-wide) antenna pointed in the direction of oncoming ring particles, shielding its delicate instruments as a protective measure during its April 26 dive.

Cassinis Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument was one of two science instruments with sensors that poke out from the protective shield of the antenna (the other being Cassinis magnetometer). RPWS detected the hits of hundreds of ring particles per second when it crossed the ring plane just outside of Saturns main rings, but only detected a few pings on April 26.

When RPWS data are converted to an audio format, dust particles hitting the instruments antennas sound like pops and cracks, covering up the usual whistles and squeaks of waves in the charged particle environment that the instrument is designed to detect. The RPWS team expected to hear a lot of pops and cracks on crossing the ring plane inside the gap, but instead, the whistles and squeaks came through surprisingly clearly on April 26.

It was a bit disorienting  we werent hearing what we expected to hear, said William Kurth, RPWS team lead at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Ive listened to our data from the first dive several times and I can probably count on my hands the number of dust particle impacts I hear.

The teams analysis suggests Cassini only encountered a few particles as it crossed the gap  none larger than those in smoke (about 1 micron across).

Cassini will next cross through the ring plane Tuesday, May 2, at 12:38 p.m. PDT (3:38 p.m. EDT) in a region very close to where it passed on the previous dive. During this orbit, in advance of the crossing, Cassinis cameras have been looking closely at the rings; in addition, the spacecraft has rotated (or rolled) faster than engineers have ever allowed it to before, in order to calibrate the magnetometer. As with the first finale dive, Cassini will be out of contact during closest approach to Saturn, and is scheduled to transmit data from this dive on May 3.

More information about Cassinis Grand Finale, including images and video, is available at: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/grandfinale
We can't seem to find the page you are looking for.

You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link.
Iconoclast Coffee Roasters has never been out to win an Edmonton popularity contest. In 2009, owner Ryan Arcand quietly started roasting coffee in a warehouse on Alberta Avenueespecially back then, hardly a trendy part of town. I started very slow and low in business, he says. Bought a roaster and started selling to one customer. Today, the companys a fixture of the Edmonton coffee scene (and my former employer), but all Iconoclast coffee still passes through the same 15-kilogram Has Garanti roaster, about which Arcand is characteristically matter-of-fact: Four motors, four switches, and an on/off burner, Arcand says.

When I worked as a barista for Arcand, I spent my downtime behind the bar weighing coffee out into Iconoclasts signature brown paper bags. It has a distinct, almost savory taste that Arcand attributes to his own intuitive methods and his trusty Has Garantis patina. Arcands coffee has gained a strong following in Edmonton, though (perhaps because of his insistence on doing things differently) it took a few years for Iconoclast to establish itself.

In the summer of 2013, Iconoclast opened a cafe space in the front portion of an industrial bay in the Oliver neighborhood, where Arcand had moved the roasting operations. Opposed to any kind of advertising, he didnt even change the sign outsidejust rolled up the bay doors, set up a few tables, and, with the help of friends, started building a bar out of reclaimed pallet wood.

Since then, Iconoclast Koffiehuis (a reference to Arcands affection for all things Dutch) has become an established, unique figure in the local coffee community. A tiny sandwich board outside the door is still the cafes only signage. Inside, tables are set up around the bar, the record player donated by a customer, the wood stove that helps to heat the large space in the winter, the ping-pong table, and the roasting and packaging area in the back. Bicycles hang on the walls, green onions sprout in buckets of dirt by the window, and old mail-sorting shelves display retail coffee alongside jars of local honey, bike bells, and Hario brewers. A glass pastry case and a red La Spaziale espresso machine dominate the bar.

I think of [the cafe space] within the context of the public commons, Arcand says, referring to a set of cultural and natural assets that are (or should be) available to everyone in a society. I believe coffee has played a historic role in developing public spaces. I want to continue in that tradition by offering a place thats not exclusive.

Arcand runs his business on some other unusual principles. Iconoclast coffee is not fair- or direct-trade certified. Arcand sees his responsibility lying closer to home. He says that though he buys from small brokers with ethical business practices (like Cafe Imports, Royal Coffee, and West Coast Coffee Traders), he is primarily focused on paying his staff a living wage and providing accessible community space.

Hes also dedicated to non-plastic packaging, wholesale delivery by bicycle whenever possible, keeping his own photograph out of the press (including this article), and maintaining a strictly local presence and customer base. Hes refused requests to wholesale Iconoclast Coffee in other Canadian cities, including Vancouver. I dont think thats relevant, he says, because there are roasters in every city all over the world.

Arcand is not, however, opposed to expanding his business within Edmonton. Iconoclasts new location, which opened late last year, is less a full cafe than a lunch stopa brick alcove inside the historic LeMarchand Mansion, which also houses a womens boutique, art gallery, psychologist, and law offices. A joint venture between Arcand and the buildings owners, Iconoclast at LeMarchand is intended primarily to cater to other occupants and their clients. All this might seem a far cry from the public commons, which is (in theory at least), a classless, free-access institution, but Arcand sees the new model as a complementary aspect of his business.

Its a private-public partnership, he says. Despite any opportunities hes created for private or public misinterpretationhe doesnt seem too worried about what anyone thinks of him.



Iconoclast Coffee Roasters has multiple locations in Edmonton, Alberta. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook Twitter , and Instagram

Lizzie Derksen is a Sprudge contributor and print publisher based in Edmonton, Alberta. Read more Lizzie Derksen on Sprudge.
News of yet another massive horse racing payout has come to light in recent days, as a handicapper that wagered roughly $33 has reaped an enormous payout of more than $1.45 million.

According to a report by the Daily Star, a middle-aged British handicapper that wishes to remain anonymous placed a 19 wager  which works out to $33.70 Canadian  on an accumulator wager on Punchestown races via Coral.

The handicapper, whose father was a bookie, has played the horses for more than 30 years. "I've been placing these accumulator bets pretty much every day for 20 years, he said, and winning this bet is the realization of a lifetime dream.

The Daily Star piece explains that the handicapper made his wagers and then went out for the night. He checked his wagers the next morning and realized that he had a seven-figure return coming his way.

The handicappers five-horse accumulator turned out to be a life-changing wager, as Das Mooser (who won at odds of 10-1), Woodland Opera (9-2), Definite Ruby (7-1), Bacardys (10-1) and Canardier (33-1) each won their respective races.

The payoff, 822,972.75, works out to be $1,459,864 in Canadian funds.

I don't know what I'm going to do with the money, as it's only just sinking in, the handicapper said, but I have a few ideas and it is going to change my life."

The handicapper went on to say, I don't know if I'll even carry on betting after this, as I feel I've achieved my goal."

Corals PR Director, Simon Clare, has commented on the big win, stating that "This is the most incredible big-win story that we have ever encountered and a just-reward for our customer for 20 years of perseverance placing these 'small-stake big-win' bets day-in day-out.

Clare later went on to say that "this inspired customer has landed the biggest ever horse-racing win with Coral of over 800k for just 19.

This past March, the Standardbred Canada website featured a story about a retired accountant in London, England that placed 2 worth of wagers and nailed a 457,067.52 six-horse accumulator.

(With files from the Daily Star)
Congress has reached a tentative agreement on a bill to fund the federal government through September 30, 2017. Importantly, the bill contains limited H-2B cap relief and other H-2B provisions beneficial to users of the program like the horse industry.

The H-2B program is used by members of the horse industry, principally horse trainers and owners who cannot find American workers to fill semi-skilled jobs at racetracks, horse shows, fairs and in similar non-agricultural activities.

The cap for H-2B visas for the first half of the fiscal year was reached on January 10. For many employers that means no H-2B workers will be available if they are needed in 2017. This could cause many horse employers to struggle to find enough workers and force many to reduce their operations.

The bill provides the Secretary of Homeland Security with the authority to raise the H-2B cap when he determines that there is an economic need. However, it limits the total number of H-2B workers that may enter the U.S. during fiscal 2017 to 129,547, up from the current cap of 66,000. It should be noted, even if the bill passes it will still be up to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administration to use this authority.

The American Horse Council and horse industry have been urging Congress to provide immediate H-2B cap relief and supports the inclusion of this provision in the spending deal. Congress is expected to pass the bill before the end of the week, but until that happens changes to the bill are still possible.

(American Horse Council)
Guideposts Names John F. Temple III President and CEO

Contact: Kelly Mangold, Guideposts , 203-749-0250DANBURY, Conn., May 2, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Guideposts, a faith based non-profit that reaches millions of people through products and services that inspire, uplift and encourage, announces the appointment of John F. Temple III, as President and CEO.John comes to Guideposts after serving as the first-ever Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York City. John helped form the unit in recognition of the devastating impact that human trafficking has on its victims and their families. Under his leadership, the unit developed innovative approaches to combat trafficking on a domestic and international scale. His holistic vision brought together diverse stakeholders to build the anti-trafficking community across multiple disciplines, geographies and industries.John's focus on community-building, led to unlikely partnerships. For example, John partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense's research agency, known as DARPA . DARPA is an agency committed to creating breakthrough technologies to advance national security and is responsible for innovations such as the internet and GPS. In partnership with DARPA and others, John saw opportunities to revolutionize the office's use of data to create actionable intelligence and assist victims.His leadership has helped reshape the way human trafficking crimes are investigated and prosecuted and has earned him worldwide recognition as an expert in the field."John's leadership, passion and innovative approach will expand the reach of the Guideposts ministry," stated Elizabeth Peale Allen, Chairman of the Guideposts Board of Trustees. "His heart for Guideposts, compassion for people and deep desire to impact individuals in positive ways will lead the organization to new heights.""I'm thrilled to be joining the Guideposts' family and its long tradition of making a difference in people's lives. I look forward to working with the Guideposts community and building on that legacy  to be a force for positive change in the world," stated John F. Temple III.About Guideposts Guideposts is a non-profit organization that touches millions of lives every day through products and services that inspire, encourage, and uplift. Through magazines, books, prayer networks and outreach programs, Guideposts reaches people in their time of need, with timely and timeless messages of hope, reassurance and faith. For more information on Guideposts, please visit www.guideposts.org and follow Guideposts on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram.
Mat Staver Meets with VP Pence on Israel Independence Day

Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit



WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Vice President Mike Pence has invited pro-Israel leaders to meet at the White House in commemoration of Israel's Independence Day. Joining the commemorative meeting will be Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, President of Christians in Defense of Israel, and Founder and President of Covenant Journey.

During this historic celebration of Israel's Independence Day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is expected to vote on a proposed anti-Semitic resolution condemning Israel. Drafted by Arab states, the UNESCO resolution rejects Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem and denies any Jewish connection to key holy sites. All 100 U.S. senators signed a letter asking U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to address and correct this shameful discrimination against Israel.



Independence Day is founded on the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel by the Jewish leadership led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948. The Israeli Air Force will celebrate Independence Day with its much-celebrated annual aerial display over Israel, including the first flight in 2017 of the American made stealth Israeli F-35i fighter jet. The "I" following "F35" stands for "Israel" because Israel removes some of the technology in the jets it purchases and installs its own advanced technology.

"I am honored to join Vice President Pence and other key pro-Israel leaders to celebrate Israel's Independence Day at the White House," said Staver. "I am encouraged that the Trump administration is sending a clear message to the U.N. to finally honor Israel's right to exist. It is past time we stopped imposing failed ideas on Israel. We must stand with Israel and against anti-Semitism," said Staver.

Who has heard such a thing?



Who has seen such things?



Shall a land be born in one day?



Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?



For as soon as Zion was in labor



she brought forth her children....



Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,



all you who love her;



rejoice with her in joy,



all you who mourn over her. Isaiah 66:8,10

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Christians in Defense of Israel is an education and advocacy organization.

Covenant Journey provides Christian college-age students who have leadership potential with a life-changing journey in Israel to strengthen their Christian faith and equip them to be goodwill ambassadors for Israel. Students who are selected pay $500 and the rest of the journey is underwritten, including flights, tour bus, hotels, food, tour guide, leaders, speakers, and more.
21 people, from whih 12 died, have become sick from a mystery illness since attending a funeral in Sinoe County, Liberia on April 23.

Symptoms of the illness include headache, diarrhea, vomiting and confusion. Health officials immediately tested the victims for Ebola, yellow fever and Lassa fever, but they were all ruled out.

The communication director for Liberias Ministry of Health explains: April 25, we got a call from the Sinoe County health team about a series of unexplained deaths. and adds: Timing of the events, duration between disease onset and death, higher case fatality among children are all suggestive of ingestion or exposure to a contaminant. But we are still not aware of what killed them.

CNN reports that People came to the funeral from six counties. Some of the victims died in the hospital in Sinoe County, a four-hour drive southeast of the capital city, Monrovia. One person died in a hospital in Monrovia. Four people have been discharged from the hospital.

Those currently hospitalized have stabilized, and their status is improving.

Liberia, along with Guinea and Sierra Leone, had been at the epicenter of the global outbreak of that disease, which infected roughly 28,600 people and killed more than 11,300 in those three countries beginning in 2013. The WHO declared Liberia free of active Ebola transmission in June 2016.

Scientits are currently analysing the samples taken and will be looking for other hemorrhagic fevers and for bacteria, if there was any common exposure to water contamination or food contamination.

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With tax changes aplenty in the most recent Budget announcement, what does this mean for investors seeking income? Taha Lokhandwala investigates.

This years Budget brought around another fresh set of amendments for financial advisers to absorb  with a further stripping down of tax breaks likely to hamper client income strategies.

Many revelled in 2015 when the then chancellor George Osborne announced the creation of a 5,000 dividend tax-free allowance, implemented last April.

However, his successor, Philip Hammond, broke hearts as he reduced it to 2,000 less than a year later.

The change will affect those taking dividends outside of tax-free wrappers, and could cause a headache for advisers planning client income strategies where such wrappers tax allowances are exhausted.

HMRC is cracking down and becoming far better on every facet of tax avoidance  Ben Yearsley

The reduction in allowance  which comes into force in April 2018  could force advisers to restructure how to provide clients with equity income strategies, a favoured method given where bond yields stand.

Planners could shunt investors into tax wrappers where possible, however, others may have to consider lower-yielding investments to avoid triggering a tax liability.

Creating a tax efficient structure isnt particularly easy, says Wealth Club founder Ben Yearsley. Dividends are becoming more heavily taxed now, and HMRC is cracking down and becoming far better on every facet of tax avoidance.

With the change in the dividend tax rules, I wonder whether there will be a move to effectively take more income from capital and be charged capital gains tax at 20 per cent rather than income at up to 45 per cent, he added.

Efficient income

Mike Horseman, managing director of advice firm Cockburn Lucas, believes the Budget has forced the hand of advisers into creating more innovative strategies to secure client income as efficiently as possible.

Tax optimisation has never been more important, he said.

Mr Horseman explains his own strategy is based around three pillars: tax, investment strategy and withdrawal policy.

This includes using the full range of capital vehicles, such as Isas, open-ended funds, pensions accounts and alternatives, such as venture capital trusts, enterprise investment schemes and maximising business property relief.

Demonstrating your worth will require an in-depth knowledge of both the clients objectives and tax position both now and modelled into the future, so you can ensure the client receives maximum income receipt utilising all available tax wrappers, he says.

It is entirely possible to legitimately save tens of thousands of pounds of tax, using both personal allowances and the new dividend allowance as well as taking advantage of capital gains tax allowances.

Advisers will have to move quickly to create such structures, however, with the government keen to minimise transition periods where it ends up haemorrhaging revenue.

Room for manoeuvre

The Office for Budget Responsibility acknowledged the governments decision to preannounce its previous package of dividend taxation reforms had cost the Treasury 800m in revenue, as taxpayers reduced their prospective liabilities in the intervening nine-month period.

There is less room to manoeuvre on this occasion. However, those overseeing portfolios do have some breathing space.

A rising Isa allowance allows investors to shelter a larger amount, while transferring holdings to other vehicles such as Sipps could also be an option.

In the UK the expectation of significant increase in investment has been a damp squib --- Gavin Haynes

Specialists have pointed to the so-called bed and Isa or bed and Sipp strategies, where investors sell holdings and immediately buy them back via a tax wrapper.

Gavin Haynes, managing director of Whitechurch Securities, agrees with Mr Horseman. He says it was now more important than ever to maximise other forms of tax efficiency. He also suggests the greater use of capital gains tax allowances.

Given the change, investors who had been taking advantage of the 5,000 break but don't need to maximise their income would be encouraged to reduce their focus on income generating investments and look for growth where they can still use their capital gains tax allowance, he says.

Market rhetoric

However, the tax changes announced in the Budget was not the only area to affect clients and advisers desire for income. Since the new UK government came in last summer, and Donald Trumps US presidential election victory in November, investor expectations for infrastructure spending has rocketed.

General rhetoric in markets has been one of fiscal and government balance sheet expansion  with central bank interventional becoming a dated and accepted ineffectual policy.

Infrastructures ability to provide income and uncorrelated returns from equity markets has seen demand surge in the last 12 months. This year alone, the average premium of infrastructure investment trusts  the favoured vehicle  has gone from 13.9 per cent in January peaking at 15.9 per cent in March.

Yet the Budget was Mr Hammonds second opportunity to provide funding and detail on any potential infrastructure plan  but investors were left wanting, potentially damping the sectors prospects.

Certainly in the UK the expectation of significant increase in investment has been a damp squib as the fiscal stimulus discussed by the Chancellor post referendum has been put on the back-burner, says Mr Haynes.

Mr Yearsley warned advisers turning to the very expensive sector for income strategies to be wary of what theyre going into, specifically if on the back of government rhetoric.

He said: Everyone has been chasing the assets they have clearly become more expensive. So what was once a cheap niche diversifier has become far more mainstream and more expensive.

You also need to differentiate between spending plans that say both Mr Hammond and Mr Trump have given speeches on, and ones already generating income.

New plans, if they ever come to fruition, will not generate income for at least the next decade.

Mr Haynes agreed. He added: It is going to be important to be selective as valuations are not cheap given the huge demand for income producing assets.

Find out more about Fidelitys range of income solutions
It was late spring last year when Hollie Hillman first got a call from Craig Dieffenbach about a potential deal to buy the Monticello Hotel. A group of Seattle investors wanted to launch a multimillion dollar renovation of the historic property, and they were searching for local partners to be the face of the endeavor.

Hillman agreed to meet with Dieffenbach at Marys Bar and Grill in West Longview, where she was joined by her business associates Kathy Nelson and Breanna Alleman. (Nelson is also Hillmans romantic partner. Nelson and Alleman, her daughter, own Marys.)

The idea of being involved in the hotels rebirth was exhilarating.

Its the Monticello. Its the icon of Longview. Weve all been born and raised in Longview; thats the biggest opportunity of your lifetime in Longview. We were really excited to be a part of it, Hillman said.

Within weeks, Nelson and Alleman joined with the Seattle investors to form the Monticello Place LLC (Hillman was never listed as a part owner). But less than six months later, clashes over management styles turned the deal into a nightmare, Hillman recalled.

Hillman spoke by phone Monday from a state prison in Gig Harbor, where she is serving 17 months for a 2015 felony assault unrelated to her time at the hotel. The 34-year-old refused to take the fall for the hotels troubles, and said that much of her controversial management moves during her short stint at the hotel were actually direct orders from Dieffenbach himself.

Shortly after the hotel purchase in September, Hillman said she was kind of just thrown in to take care of operations for Dieffenbach. Hillman said she was never paid for her time there, but instead worked as a volunteer with the expectation that it would help Nelson and Allemans investments succeed.

Dieffenbach, who has a felony record for drug dealing, wanted to stay out of public view, so Hillman said she essentially operated as the messenger for his decisions on everything from who to evict to who to fire and hire.

I never fired or evicted anyone without Craig telling me to, she said. He was the boss.

Without any prior landlord experience, Hillman said she and Alleman just tried their best under his direction. Yet sometimes disagreements erupted over what they saw as unjust evictions or unfair personnel decisions.

Craig would tell us to do things and we would have to figure out the legal ways to do them. We would have to tell him a lot of times thats not how it can to be done, she recalled. At times, Dieffenbach would hint at suing if they didnt follow through.

We are strong women, but we kind of let a man overpower us in this situation, she said.

Sometimes it seemed as if Dieffenbach was trying to push out certain employees by reducing hours or changing employees duties, she said.

It was hard to be the messenger for someone who doesnt care about the community, Hillman said.

Hillman said Dieffenbach at one time wanted her to evict a tenant in order to make a two-story apartment. After that tenant threatened to sue the company, Hillman said she got blamed for Dieffenbachs decision. The situation made her so uncomfortable she decided to quit, she said.

Part-owner Katya Stelmakh wrote in a letter to the Monticello Places corporate board that Hillman had apparently exhibited rude behavior and online hostility to members of the public on social media, in addition to issuing unjustified evictions and personnel decisions that seemed to be driven by personal interest to benefit her outside acquaintances, according to the letter. The corporate board eventually had Hillman removed and banned from the premises in October.

Hillman said she did not know what Stelmakh was referring to, because she never received a formal explanation or dismissal. She said she left the unpaid role voluntarily. In December, Alleman also stepped down from operations at the hotel for what she called moral reasons after the company evicted one tenant in particular.

By March, Alleman and Nelson separated from Monticello Place LLC. According to Hillman, the Longview investors sunk a lot of money into the hotel, but she declined to say how much they lost.

Hillman said it is unfair for her to be blamed for the corporate turmoil because she was only officially involved in operations for a few weeks in September and October and shes been in prison since November.

I kind of feel like Ive been used as scapegoat  Its an easy way out, especially since where Im at, she said.

In spite of her disagreements with Dieffenbach, Hillman said that she still thinks the hotel can succeed.

I think that Craig has a great business mind and he knows how to run the business  I wish him the best of luck. I just wish that this back and forth bickering would go away, she said.
Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a bill that aims to find the cause and solution to elk hoof rot disease.

The bill, which passed both houses of the Legislature by unanimous vote, directs Washington State University to establish an elk monitoring system in Southwest Washington.

Sightings of elk with deformed, broken, or missing hooves have increased dramatically in Southwest Washington in the past decade, and advocates for the legislation said the disease has spread to nearly every county west of the Cascade Range.

WSU must work collaboratively with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state veterinarian and tribes. WSU will also have to provide updates to the Legislature and state Fish and Wildlife Commission at least annually.

Tests in the United States and abroad show these abnormalities are strongly associated with treponema bacteria, known to cause digital dermatitis in cattle, sheep and goats.

The bill would require the new WSU Veterinary College program to hire five full-time employees at a cost of $1.5 million for the 2017-2019 biennium. The program doesnt take effect unless the state allocates the new money.
Drug allegation  Longview police arrested Steffanie May Williams, 34, Kelso, on Saturday morning on suspicion of a narcotics violation and a failure to appear warrant.

Burglary, narcotics  Cowlitz sheriffs deputies Saturday arrested Carlton Charles McAbee, 26, Vancouver, on suspicion of residential burglary, third-degree theft and a narcotics violation.

Drugs  Sheriffs deputies on Saturday evening arrested Thomas Sherman Wright, 50, Longview, on suspicion of a drug offense on a failure to appear warrant.

Weapons allegation  Kelso police on Saturday arrested Matthew Shad Bonser, 46, Longview, on suspicion of a narcotics offense and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Firearms Kalama police early Monday morning arrested Gildardo Cruz Vera Strickler, 29, Tacoma, on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm . He also was put on a Department of Corrections hold.

Vehicle theft

 Kalama, Saturday night. Gray 2000 Toyota Rav 4 with a missing gas door. Washington license AZV1291.

Vehicle prowl

 200 block Kelso Drive, Sunday. Kelso.

Theft

 400 block N. 19th Avenue, Kelso. Sunday. Blue Surface 604 electric bike valued at $1,950.

Robbery

 700 block Cedar Street, Kelso. Saturday. Victim jumped by a man, backpack with cellphone and wallet taken.
Students and teachers pose for a picture with staffs from British Council and HSBC on April 27, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Kids Read China team held the group's third community event at the Pingu No 8 Primary School in Beijing on April 27, 2017.

The event  developed and delivered by the British Council, and supported by HSBC  was designed to encourage primary school students to read at school and at home, and had a long-term goal of improving academic performance, language and critical thinking.

The Kids Read China team's third school meet was themed around Easter and planned to coincide with world book day on April 23, 2017.

HSBC volunteers facilitated storytelling games at the event, and allowed the students to take part in an Easter-themed quiz at the end to showcase what they learnt. The main focus for the day, however, was on inter-cultural exchange and storytelling.

Children from across six schools, assisted by the Kids Read China team, will now go on to compete for a top spot at an upcoming inter-school art competition. The British Council and its supporters will then prepare the Kids Read China team for the second year of the program, and will integrate the fun and learning into an additional 12 schools across China.
tech2 News Staff

After the launch of Samsung Galaxy S8 and Xiaomi Mi 6, everyone is eagerly waiting for the launch of the successor to the OnePlus 3T. According to previous reports, it is expected the OnePlus will launch the OnePlus 5 instead of the OnePlus 4.

The Chinese smartphone maker has not issued any statements for the launch of the upcoming flagship. However, despite the lack of clarity from OnePlus, the Internet is full of rumors about the OnePlus 5. According to a previous report, the device was spotted on a Chinese device certification website, hinting at a nearing launch date. The report was followed by a controversial render leaked by India Today.

According to the latest report, alleged photos taken with the cameras on the OnePlus 5 have leaked out. True-tech, was the first one to leak the photos online. According to the report on True-tech, the website sourced the image from an anonymous leaker. The report clarifies that it cant provide any proof that these photos are the real deal or just clever editing of the metadata. The report includes a link to a .zip archive with full resolution images for users to download and examine for themselves.

The report suggests that the OnePlus 5 will feature a dual-camera on the back because some of the images have enhanced depth-of-field.

True-tech also suggests that the depth-of-field may have been added via software. The report goes on to add that the two sensors on the rear camera might both be 16 MP units.

We downloaded the images to examine the images and the EXIF data for ourselves. The images were unimpressive even though they seemed to have been shot in decent lighting conditions. Focus was also off in some images. The EXIF data seems to suggest that the OnePlus 5 will come with Android Nougat 7.1.1 out of the box.

We can expect the smartphone to launch soon as June 2017 marks one year since the launch of the OnePlus 3, the last major upgrade by OnePlus in terms of hardware. The OnePlus 3T was a minor upgrade, so it doesn't count.

There is no official word on when we can expect OnePlus to launch the OnePlus 5.

The OnePlus 5 is expected to pack in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 8 GB RAM and 2K AMOLED display panel with an effective resolution of 2048x1080 with a 5.5-inch screen.
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Over 347 million smartphones were shipped in the first quarter of 2017, higher by 4.3% from the same period last year, research firm IDC said. While the growth dipped to low single digit for the first time, the first quarter numbers indicate that the industry could show some rebound in 2017, as per IDC's preliminary data. The growth rate of 4.3% is slightly higher than IDC's previous forecast of 3.6%.

"The first quarter smartphone results further prove that the smartphone industry is not dead and that growth still exists ... we believe the industry will show some rebound in 2017, and the strong first quarter results certainly support this argument," IDC program vice-president Ryan Reith said. While there are many premium re-designed flagships that have entered the market, IDC said going ahead, most of the growth would come from more affordable models in a variety of markets.

Samsung continued to lead the tally with 22.8% share, followed by Apple (14.9%), Huawei (9.8%), Oppo (7.4%) and Vivo (5.2%). This comes right after the latest research from Counterpoint's Market Monitor service points that smartphone shipments in India grew a healthy 15% annually in Q1 2017, reaching 29 million units. The top five brands contributed to almost 70% of the total smartphone market. Xiaomi, for the first time, jumped to the number two spot while Samsung continued to retain the top spot. Vivo, OPPO and Lenovo (includes Motorola) made up the rest of the top five.

With inputs from PTI
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida on Monday, carrying the company's first satellite for the U.S. military, and breaking a 10-year monopoly held by a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The 23-story tall rocket took off from its seaside launch pad at Kennedy Space Center at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT.)

It will put into orbit a classified satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, an agency within the Defense Department that operates the nation's spy satellites. Nine minutes after takeoff, the rocket's main section touched down on a landing pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, just south of NASA's spaceport.

Landing A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on May 1, 2017 at 6:44am PDT

Last month, Space Exploration Technologies Corp flew its first recovered booster on a second mission, a key step in company founder Elon Musk's quest to cut launch costs. The National Reconnaissance Office bought SpaceX's launch services via a contract with Ball Aerospace, a Colorado-based satellite and instrument builder. The terms of the contract were not disclosed. Musk battled for years to break the monopoly on the military's launch business held by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

SpaceX sued the U.S. Air Force in 2014 over its exclusive multibillion-dollar contract with United Launch Alliance. The company later dropped the suit after the military agreed to open more launch contacts to competitive bidding. SpaceX has since won two launch contracts from the Air Force to send up Global Positioning System satellites in 2018 and 2019.

Monday's launch was the 34th mission for SpaceX and the fifth of more than 20 flights planned for this year. The privately owned firm, based in Hawthorne, California, has a backlog of more than 70 missions, worth about $10 billion.

Reuters
Nine dead in violence across Indian Kashmir

AFP, Srinagar :

India's security forces suffered a double blow Monday in disputed Kashmir, with five policemen shot dead in a bank raid and two soldiers killed in an attack along the border with Pakistan.

Suspected militants opened fire on a bank van carrying cash around 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar, killing everybody on board, police said.

"All the seven in the van, five policemen and two bank employees, were killed," director general of police S. P. Vaid told AFP about the raid in Pumbai in Kulgam district.

The gunmen made off with cash and weapons, another police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

In a statement to a local news agency, homegrown Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack and warned more would follow.

Suspected militants in recent months have targeted banks in the southern region of the Kashmir valley, where armed groups have been fighting against Indian rule for decades.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947 but both claim the territory in its entirety.

In a separate incident earlier Monday, the Indian army accused Pakistan of killing two of its soldiers and mutilating their bodies in an "unprovoked" rocket and mortar attack in the tense border region.

The Indian army said in a statement that Pakistani troops attacked a patrol operating between two border posts on the de facto frontier known as the Line of Control in the remote Himalayan region.
Merkel makes rare Russia visit as Putin backs warmer ties

German Chancellor Angela Merkel shaking hands with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

AFP, Sochi :

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will Tuesday meet President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in her first visit to Russia since 2015, signalling renewed dialogue between Berlin and Moscow.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow's ties with the EU have plunged to a post-Cold War low.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Moscow for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backing the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was "not frozen" but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel's visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries' relations "to fully normalise", while meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

Berlin and Moscow said Tuesday's talks agenda includes preparations for July's G20 summit in Germany as well as Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europe's backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

"There are two topics that weigh down relations... the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit. Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies.

Seibert called this "a difficult context that one cannot ignore," but added that "our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements."
British Council holds orientation programme for Education Officers

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid MP attends an orientation programme for District Education Officers and Upazila Secondary Education Officers organized by the British Council at Le Meridien Hotel in the capital recently.

Campus Report :

The British Council organised an orientation programme for District Education Officers and Upazila Secondary Education Officers at Le Meridien Hotel in the capital recently. Education officers play a key role in executing different education policies of govt. They implement, monitor, supervise and evaluate the education policies, programmes and projects in field level. They also resolve local challenges which hinder effective implementation of any education programmes or projects by consulting with teachers and local communities and play a significant role in providing feedback from policy users to policy makers so that any shortcomings can be addressed.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid MP was present at the orientation programme as the chief guest, along with Professor Dr SM Wahiduzzaman, Director General, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and Barbara Wickham, Director, British Council.

The British Council has been running its flagship global education programme, Connecting Classrooms, since 2009 in Bangladesh. The programme is co-funded by the Department for International Development (DFID).

The programme was aimed at building the capacity of secondary level teachers and head teachers from across the country to support them integrate a range of core skills into the curriculum. Following the success of the programme, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) and the British Council have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for even more effective implementation of the Connecting Classrooms programme in Bangladesh. Nurul Islam Nahid MP said, "It is time for collaborative work. I believe Ministry of Education and the British Council jointly can make a significant impact on our education and help us to reach our education goal."

Barbara Wickham said, "As we all are committed to ensure a vision of 21st century knowledge and skills for all students, it is critical that we support educators in mastering the required competencies that ensure positive learning outcomes for students."


Online class for BIA Diploma at DIU

Secretary of the Bank and Financial Division Md. Eunusur Rahman addressing the inaugural ceremony of an online class for Bangladesh Insurance Academy Diploma Course held on Sunday at the Conference Room of Daffodil International University in the capital.

Campus Report :

The inaugural Ceremony of Online class for Bangladesh Insurance Academy (BIA) Diploma course held on Sunday at the Conference Room of Daffodil International University (DIU). Md. Eunusur Rahman, Secretary, Bank and Financial division, was present as chief guest where Prof Dr Yousuf Mahbubul Islam, Vice Chancellor, DIU was present as special guest. Ahmedur Rahim, Director, Bangladesh Insurance Academy (BIA) presided over the program.

Md. Eunusur Rahman said that, online classroom is the demand of new age. For many reason people can't attend classroom like traffic jam and so other business and online classes are very essential for those students.

"Is it possible to build a digital Bangladesh?" A few days ago people said like that. But nowadays it is proven that we reached a milestone on the way to digital Bangladesh. Today's program is the example of the advancement of digital Bangladesh, he added.

Prof Dr Yousuf Mahbubul Islam said that today's world is moving forward on technology. Why we backdated? If our education system can't absorbed with technology, we obviously looser from developed world. In the mean time he gives thank to jobsbd.com and BIA for taking this time-consuming initiative.

KM Hasan Ripon, CEO, jobsbd.com, the program was addressed by Prof Dr Engr AKM Fazlul Hoque, Registrar, DIU, Prof Dr Farid A. Sobhani, Director, HRDI, Syed Mizanur Rahman Raju, Director of Students' Affairs, Dr Binoy Barman, Director of Daffodil Institute of Languages (DIL), Abu Taher Khan, Project Director, Innovation and Incubation Center (IIC), Md. Anowar Habib Kazal, Senior Assistant Director of DIU and SM Ibrahim Hossain, Chief Faculty Member, MH Miraj Hossain, Secretary (In-Charge), and Aporna Saha of Bangladesh Insurance Academy.


Terrific Apr 29 cyclone of Ctg recalled

Chittagong Bureau :

The horrors and horrifying memories and terrific moments of the devastating cyclonic storm and tidal surge of April 29, 1991 was recalled on Saturday in the port city. On the black night of April 29, 1991 , the cyclonic storm accompanied with tidal surge caused huge lives and properties in coastal areas of south Chittagong including islands of Sandwip, Kutubdia and Chokoria.

Different socio-cultural and political organizations in Chittagong arranged a day-long programmes remembering the trail of destruction and loss of lives and property in the south-eastern part of the country caused by the devastating cyclone on the fateful night.

People of greater Chittagong region, particularly the country's entire coastal belts are still being haunted by the frightening memories as they lost their near and dear ones in the cyclone.

The organizations which arranged separate discussion meetings to remember the day are Upakulio Unnyan Foundation, Sandwip Association, NGO Jote, Coast Trust Association, Patenga Anti-Social Resistance Committee, World Vision Bangladesh, YPSA Chittagong City, Anwara Samity on Chittagong, Jattri Kolyan Samity and Kutubdia Samity.

Special prayers for the deceased, feeding the destitute, holding of milad, remembrance meeting, photo exhibition, lighting of candles in memory of those who were killed were the highlights of the day's programmes. Nearly two lakh people of the coastal upazilas, mostly from Banskhali, Anwara, Chakaria, Sandwip and Kutubdia died and millions of people were rendered homeless on this day in 1991. Chittagong Mohhanagar Awami League organized a discussion meeting and special prayer at Darul Fazal Market, remembering the day with its President


Navy warship Swadhinata left Chittagong Port for Singapore to take part International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) Asia-2017 on Tuesday.
Removal of illegal structures from St Martin`s Island

THE government has asked the owners of 106 residential hotels in St Martin's Island in the Bay of Bengal to remove their structures built illegally by May 10. Earlier on April 21, the Department of Environment (DoE) had asked the owners to demolish 38 residential hotels from the island by May 20 but the latest directive covered the longer list and asked owners to remove them even 10 days earlier. We welcome the move; which should have come much earlier as the ruthless exploitation of the island continues over the years. But in our view mere directive to remove the structures is not enough; the order must be fully implemented to be sure that the government has been able at last to clear the mess created by powerful people defying the existing environmental laws.



It appears that the government acted this time following a rule by a High Court Bench on March 21 against eleven persons including four Secretaries asking why contempt of court charges should not be brought against them over neglecting an earlier court order for protecting the Saint Martin's. The Coral Island is a natural treasure that we can't allow to be destroyed. At least seven ships carry over 5,000 tourists daily there overcrowding the island. Many are regularly disturbing turtle's habitat in bushes; they buy coral and throw non-biodegradable trash and debris in the sea. They are destroying mangrove plants and causing irreparable damage to the land strip that man can never create again.



DoE official of Cox's Bazar district made the disclosure of the government order on Saturday saying owners have been already asked to remove their structure on their own. If they fail within the stipulated time, legal action would be taken against them. He reaffirmed the resolve not to allow the destruction of sea borne bio-diversity of St Martin's by way of businesses related tourism; it must stop. .



It is known to all that powerful people are ruthlessly exploiting the tiny island for commercial purpose. Many have built hotels and restaurants; others are running steamer services to the island under the shelter of the ruling party bigwigs. They have bought land; which is illegal and also built the infrastructure illegally.



What is noticeable is that since 2001 when the "Biodiversity Protection and Eco-Tourism" in the island ended, there is no more government run development plan giving the impression that the island has virtually passed to the control of private individuals. Earlier the government declared it as Ecologically Critical and Tourist Sensitive Zone in 1999, but it was not followed by any guideline for tourists and others leaving the island vulnerable to private exploitation. In our view the High Court action can now protect the island at the end.
Govt to cut rice import duty

Badrul Ahsan :

In the backdrop of huge damage of boro paddy due to flash flood in the north-east haor regions, the government is set to slash import duty on rice, sources said.

The Directorate of Food has recently sent a proposal to the Food Ministry recommending the duty cut by 14 percent.

According to the proposal, the Department apprehended losses of six lakh tonnes of Boro rice, which was unpredictable.

It suggested bringing down the import duty to 10 per cent from the existing 28 per cent.

According to the Food Ministry official, the proposal has already been sent to the Commerce Ministry and it would go to the NBR through the Ministry for maintaining the formalities.

'We have sent a proposal to the Food Ministry for cutting rice import duty as the rice price has increased in the local market because of a "real" and "psychological" impact of flash flood on the market,' said Md Badrul Hasan, Director General of the Food Directorate.

The government imposed import duty on rice in May 2015 for the protection of local farmers as the prices of the item went down below the production cost due to import of lower-priced rice,' he said.

Although losses of six lakh tonnes of rice is being apprehended, there will be no shortage of rice, he said.

'But it has a psychological impact which might push up the price of the item in the local market.'

It has not yet been decided whether the public or the private sector would import the rice.

'If we can import, the psychological impact could be managed and the prices of rice will remain stable,' he said.

Badrul Hasan, however, said, generally the prices of rice start to decrease in the market from mid April every year as the boro rice produced in haor region arrives in the market.

But this year the price of rice increased in mid April as the flash flood damaged crops in haor areas, he added. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh data, the price of coarse variety of rice in last one year increased by 31.82 per cent to Tk 45 a kg from Tk 34 a kg.

The coarse variety of rice was selling at Tk 43-45 in the city markets on Tuesday.

The price of BR-28 rice and Miniket rice continued to increase and coarse variety of Miniket rice was retailing at Tk 52-54 a kg, while its fine variety was selling at Tk 55-57 a kg in the city markets.

BR-28 rice was retailing at Tk 48-52 a kg.


I would be honoured to meet Kim Jong-un, says Trump

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has said he would be "honoured" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in the right circumstances.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would - absolutely. I would be honoured to do it," he told news organisation Bloomberg on Monday. The previous day he described Mr Kim as a "pretty smart cookie".

The comments come amid escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

The White House issued a statement following Mr Trump's remarks, saying North Korea would need to meet many conditions before any meeting between the two leaders could take place.

Spokesman Sean Spicer said Washington wanted to see the North end its provocative behaviour immediately.

"Clearly conditions are not there right now," he added. Media captionIn the CBS interview, Mr Trump talked about the current tension between the US and North Korea. In Sunday's interview with CBS, President Trump noted Mr Kim had assumed power at a young age, despite dealing with "some very tough people". He said he had "no idea" whether Mr Kim was sane. The North Korean leader had his uncle executed two years after he came to power, and is suspected of ordering the recent killing of his half-brother. President Trump, asked what he made of the North Korean leader, told CBS: "People are saying: 'Is he sane?' I have no idea... but he was a young man of 26 or 27... when his father died.

He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. "And at a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie." On Saturday North Korea conducted its second failed ballistic missile test in two weeks. Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises. The US sent warships to the region and began installing a controversial anti-missile system in South Korea last week. On Sunday, an article from Pyongyang's state-run news agency KCNA urged the US to "ponder over the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by their foolish military provocation". North Korea has carried out repeated missile tests in recent months and is threatening to conduct its sixth nuclear test. President Trump told CBS the US was "not going to be very happy" if further tests were carried out. When asked whether this would mean military action he said: "I don't know. I mean, we'll see."
Inner conflicts make BSMMU paralyzed

Reza Mahmud :

Huge grouping among the physicians and teachers create a massive anarchy at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University(BSMMU), the lone medical university in the country.

Such conflicts of higher officials have collapsed the chain of command, leading to a complete mess that affects holding of class regularly. The chaos also mounts.the patients' sufferings as the doctors did not follow their duty rosters in the hospital.

"Grouping among Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Kamrul Hasan Khan and Pro-VC (Education) Professor Dr. ASM Zakaria Swapan and more three sub group makes the BSMMU paralyzed," said a physicians' leader, preferring anonymity.

Insiders pointed to various conflicts of interest that created the grouping. The conflict between the top boss and the second-in-command first came public in last January on appointment of 200 nurses, evolving a controversy.

Since then, the situation is gradually worsening. The top officials of the BSMMU, pro-Awami League doctors organisation, Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad (Swachip) and Bangladesh Medical Association leaders are involved in this grouping. When contacted, Professor Dr. ASM Zakaria Swapan told The New Nation yesterday, "There is no problem in the educational systems at the university. I try to work together with other officials. I cannot say anything about the medical service of BSMMU Hospital. The VC and Pro-VC (Admin) are liable to control the sector."

The teacher and doctor leaders blamed that some influential groups are involved in corruption through employment business and procurement process. The deprived officials are now react to such graft by violating duty rosters. Apart from these, the leaders are also involved in showing up muscle power, some alleged.

While talking to this correspondent, some attendances of the patients admitted there blamed the doctors and nurses for the existing stalemate in the hospital.

"The doctors and nurses have not been found in round to beds timely. If we ask for any help from the nurses, they react harshly. They want to check our gate pass. But it is unusual to check gate pass every moment. We are fed-up," said Gita Rani Das, preferring not to name her patient.

Besides, the medical students also expressed their unhappiness over irregularities in their class routines.

"We have been victimised by the teachers' grouping," said one student, preferring anonymity.

The neutral doctors and officials said they are embarrassed by the chaos.

"We are really embarrassed when we see the broken chain of command at our renowned university. We are disappointed that the anarchy is gradually going beyond control," said one of them.

When contacted, the VC Professor Dr. Kamrul Hasan Khan told The New Nation, "Some conspirators are making false allegations against me. There are no irregularities at the BSMMU. Everything is sound."

But the former Pro-VC, Professor Dr. Rashid-E-Mahbub said, "We feel pity about which is going on in BSMMU now. The high officials of the institute are also teachers. If they found anything wrong, they should solve that through discussions. But they are involved in wrong activities. The government should intervene to solve the crisis soon."

Earlier, Health Minister Mohammad Nasim told a group of journalists that the government would solve the problems of BSMMU after consulting with the higher officials.


3 WDB top men suspended

Corruption, delay, negligence in dam construction

Special Correspondent :

Three high officials of Water Development Board have been suspended in the wake of widespread allegation about large-scale financial corruption, negligence and delay in constructing and maintaining the dams in the country's northeastern haor belt.

The Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday in an official order conveyed the decision to the WDB authorities. The suspended officials are: Chief Engineer of Sylhet [Northeastern Zone] Mohammad Abdul Hai, Superintendent Engineer of Sylhet Nurul Islam Sarkar and former Executive Engineer of Sunamganj Afsar Uddin.

Officials said the decision of suspension was carried out at the directive of Minister for Water Resources Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud.

Of the suspended, Afsar Uddin was earlier withdrawn from Sylhet and attached to the Head Office by the WDB authorities on April 15 when local people and farmers had raised specific allegations of corruption against him.

In a statement issued by the Ministry concerned yesterday termed the above allegations against the WDB officials "serious" and added that three officials, directly involved in the embankment construction, were suspended for the sake of impartial investigation.

At the same time, the Water Resources Ministry has also reconstituted the investigation committee, which was formed on April 9 to probe the allegations of corruption. In the new four-member probe committee, Additional Secretary of Water Resources Ministry Mohammad Ali Khan has been made convenor and Joint Secretary Montu Biswas Member-Secretary.

Two other members are Joint Secretary of the same Ministry Khalilur Rahman and Chief Monitoring Officer of WDB Kazi Tofail Hossain.

As per estimation given by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, the Boro paddy of 2,19,840 hectares of land in six haor districts has been damaged in the flash flood where 50,088 families have directly been affected.

Meanwhile, a primary investigation report of the Ministry concerned found large-scale financial corruption and irregularities in constructing new dams and repairing old ones in the haor areas.

The situation was a man-made crisis, it is alleged, as the WDB Engineers and its enlisted contractors did not complete the construction of the dams in many areas in due time. Of the 116 packages, the contractors had only completed 20 per cent of the total works though the contractors were given work order to complete the works by March 31.

Whereas the Ministry of Finance had allocated Tk 86 crore in the haor areas for construction and maintenance of the dams. Of them, Tk 65 crore was given through the WDB and the rest Tk 21 crore was given through the Money for Work programme. The contractors had withdrawn Tk 25 crore without completing their works.

Apart from departmental WDB investigation, the Anti-Corruption Commission the Water Resources Ministry and Sunamganj district Administration have formed separate inquiry committees to find out the irregularities in constructing the dams.

The vast haor area went under waters due to flash flood and upstream water caused by heavy rain in late April. Blaming the WDB Engineers for embankment collapse, several organizations held human chains and rallies in Dhaka at that time.

Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid a visit to Sunamganj on April 30 to see the condition of haors and cautioned that stern action would be taken if anyone is found involved in corruption and negligence in constructing the dams.

According to officials, there are 2200 kilometers of dam in entire Sylhet division, of them; about 1450 kilometers in Sunamganj district. Out of 2, 23,082 hectares of land in Sunamganj, the paddy on 1,49, 912 hectares washed away due to the flash flood, said Sheikh Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of Sunamganj district.

The vast area of Kishoreganj, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Netrokona is a mosaic of wetland habitat, where there are rivers, streams, irrigation canals and large areas of seasonally flooded cultivated plains, and hundreds of haors and beels. This zone consists of about 400 haors and beels, varying in size from a few hectares to several thousand hectares, officials said.

The New Nation in a report titled 'Corrupt WDB officials to face music' on April 27 pointed to such massive corruption by the WDB Engineers.


Road mishaps claim 3 lives

Staff Reporter :

At least three persons were killed and 10 others injured in separate road accidents in Tangail and Jhenaidah districts on Tuesday and Monday, according to our correspondents.

The injured persons were admitted to different hospitals and clinics near the accident spots.

In Tangail, a man died and six others got injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a car on the Dhaka-Bangabandhu Bridge Highway in Sadar upazila.

Sergeant of Elenga Highway Outpost Zahangir Hossen said the accident took place at Dharun around 12:00pm when a Pabna-bound bus from Dhaka collided with the car leaving latter's driver, Fatik Miah, 40, dead on the spot and three others injured.

The injured were admitted to Tangail Medical College and Hospital, he added.

In Jhenaidah, two people were killed and four others injured in another head-on collision between a truck and a three-wheeler on Jhenaidah-Kotchandpur Road in Kotchandpur upazila on Monday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Pankaj Halder, 25, son of late Kartik Halder of village Kagmari in Kotchandpur, and Nimai Halder, 50, resident of village Singia at Kaliganj in the district.

Kotchandpur Police Officer-in-Charge Aminul Islam Biplab said six people, including the duo, were heading towards Nihalpur of Darshana in Chuadanga riding on the three-wheeler to see a bride for Pankaj.

The speedy truck hit the vehicle around 5:30pm when they arrived near Kotchandpur fire service office, leaving Nimai dead on the spot and five others injured.

The injured were rushed to Jessore General Hospital where Pankaj succumbed to his injuries around 7:30pm, the OC said.

The body of Nimai was sent to Jhenaidah General Hospital morgue for autopsy on Tuesday morning, he added.
Drug peddler shot at by cop in city

Staff Reporter :

Police shot at a drug peddler in "self-defence" while conducting a raid in the city's Kadamtali area early Tuesday.

The man has been identified as Pichchi Falan, 28. He is undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical

College Hospital under Police guard, police said.

He is a member of local gang 'Billal Group' and accused in seven to eight cases, said Kazi Wazed Ali, Officer-in-Charge of Kadamtali Police Station.

"Getting information that Falan and several others were holding a clandestine meeting on the WASA Road, Kadamtali, a team of the local police went there around 2:15am. Sensing police presence, Falan and his cohorts hurled crude bombs at police, forcing the latter to retaliate with gunfire that left Falan bullet-hit, " the OC said.

However, though he was arrested, his accomplices managed to flee the scene, the OC added.

Police recovered four crude bombs and 2,200 pouches of heroin from the spot.
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.
The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee will consider bills by New Orleans Sen. J.P. Morrell today to refocus the state's film tax credit program on support of Louisiana-based companies and industry.

Bills by Sen. J.P. Morrell to refocus the state's Motion Picture Tax Credits program seek to position the state to take advantage of shifts in the industry that are driving demand for more episodic, scripted productions.

The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee was set to consider a raft of bills by Sen. Morrell when it met Monday morning in Baton Rouge, but his bills involving revision of the movie tax credits program will have the attention of Acadiana locals that are part of the movie industry. Morrell's SB177 and SB235 would shift the focus of the tax credit program toward supporting the in-state artists and companies that have developed over the 15-year life of the state's film tax credit program.

SB177 changes the tax rate of those working for companies that benefit from the film tax credit program. SB235 is where the big changes are made.

The bill would set the floor of projects eligible for tax credits at $300,000 (projects as small as $50,000 are currently eligible for credits under the existing program. It would retain the 30 percent tax credit now in the current law, but make additional credits available if certain conditions are met.

Movies or series that are shot outside the New Orleans area would be eligible for an additional 5 percent tax credit. Another 10 percent in tax credits could be available if the production is based on a Louisiana-written screen play. An additional 10 percent in tax credits could be awarded based on the size of the Louisiana payroll of the productions receiving the credits. The overall amount of the credits that could be awarded to any single production is reduced from $30 million to $20 million to allow the $180 million annual cap on credits to be used to support more productions.

Sherri McConnell Photo by Robin May

Sherri McConnell of Louisiana Economic Development says the Morrell bills reflect input from the state's growing in-state film-making industry.

"Governor Edwards directed LED to review the film tax credit program last year and we've been talking with stakeholders trying to once again come up with a program that can build on what the earlier versions of what the program has created and position Louisiana to get a better return on our tax credit investments in this industry," McConnell explains. She was in Lafayette on Friday to talk about the legislation and the program.

"The industry has changed a lot since Louisiana first started offering film tax credits," McConnell says. "We think Sen. Morrell's bills position us to take advantage of those changes."

Primary among those changes has been the expansion of producers and outlets for original production work. Netflix and Amazon offer original episodic series to their subscribers, as does Hulu. Other online services are rumored to be considering breaking into the original content field. That is creating new demand for smaller, scripted productions that Morrell's bill seeks to position Louisiana to capitalize on.

"The interest in original content from these providers has created a huge demand for content," according to Kody Chamberlain, a Lafayette-based writer and artist whose work has appeared in a variety of media ranging from comics to movies to video games.

Kody Chamberlain Photo by Robin May

Chamberlain says the additional tax credits for use of screenplays by Louisiana writers could draw more work to the state that could help feed the emerging content demand for scripted series. He also points to how the propose tax additional tax credit for productions shot outside of New Orleans could have affected a notable series that opened its first season based in Louisiana.

"The first season of True Detectives was about this area  Crowley, Lafayette, Rayne  but it was all shot in New Orleans," Chamberlain says. "Had that five percent additional tax credit been available then, it might well have been shot out here."

McConnell says Chamberlain and Adam Hensgens are examples of the kind of indigenous movie talent that the Morrell's revision of the film tax credits are designed to support.

"We have succeeded in building a talent base here over the past 15 years through the film tax credit program," McConnell says. "What we believe we can do with these changes is start directing more dollars to support that talent so that it can stay here."

Adam Hensgens Photo by Robin May

Hensgens, a Crowley native, is heading up the Lafayette location of Bckstory, a non-profit that provides support and job training for film makers. The organization is based in New Orleans.

"We have a group people who work on each others' projects, basically," Hensgens says. He produced his own short for $8,000 that won a showing in the New Orleans Film Festival which has led to other work. He says Louisiana has a group of film makers who have been finding national audiences. He points to Baton Rouge film maker Sam Claitor as an example.

"Sam's made three movies that have cost about $750,000 each and they've all made money," Hensgens says. "I've worked on his projects, so have others. He's worked on the projects of some of the people who've worked with him."

The proposed changes in the state's film tax credit program, Hensgens says, position the state to help draw production dollars here in ways that would help further support the state's own talent.

McConnell says part of Morrell's bill would direct impose a two percent fee on those purchasing the credits and the proceeds from that fee would be used to support in-state talent.

Chamberlain says the changes in the industry are putting a premium on storytelling, talent that comes naturally to many in Louisiana. He points to industry examples where the storytellers are the key to a company's success.

"John Lassetter is a great storyteller and he's been the heart of Pixar," Chamberlain says. "William Joyce is the genius behind (Shreveport's) MoonBot Studios. I think their success points to the future of the industry being based on good stories. To get good stories, you need good writers. The changes in the tax credits would help support and keep writers here."

Chamberlain says he spends a good bit of time flying to and from California pitching story ideas. The typical project takes about three years to develop. Being based in California would make the business easier but he believes it would cut him off from the source of his ideas.

The shifts in the industry are also changing the power distribution inside the industry itself. All roads don't lead just to Hollywood anymore, according to Chamberlain.

"Look at what's winning awards these days," Chamberlain says. "It's smaller budget projects, stories that focus on stories, not the blockbusters loaded with special effects. These credits would help us produce more of these kinds of stories here."

Ultimately the Louisiana Legislature will decide whether this particular story has a happy ending.
House leaders say they will move HB1 through the Appropriations Committee today with a vote on the House floor set for Thursday.

Photo by Robin May

The House Appropriations Committee will unveil its changes to HB1, the state's budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, in a meeting that began this morning at 9 a.m. By the time the committee finishes its work today, Committee Chairman Rep. Cameron Henry says, its work on the budget will also be done and it will be on its way to the House floor for a vote later this week.

The bill in its current form represents the budget recommended by Gov. John Bel Edwards and his administration. Henry says his committee divided into sub-groups to examine the budget in discreet pieces rather than as a whole. He explains that his allows a more detailed examination of the budget than having the full committee examine it as has been customary in the past.

"Having the sub-groups look at the budget allows them to drill down in greater detail in each segment of budget down to the program level," Henry explains. The committee chair spoke with The Independent by phone on Friday.

Much of that work took place out of the public spotlight. In earlier years, the entire Appropriations Committee pored over the budget in hearings that lasted for hours in a process that stretched out for days and weeks.

In this session, there was curiously little public work done on the budget in a fiscal only session which is limited to 45 days in session over 60 calendar days. The Appropriations committee met as a body fewer than five times over the first three weeks of the current session.

Last week, details of a general framework emerged. Republicans were going to base their budget on 97.5% of the Revenue Estimating Conference's revenue projections for the coming fiscal year.

Henry says to do otherwise is irresponsible.

"What we've learned over the last nine years is that the projections of the Revenue Estimating Conference are not accurate," Henry says. "We have the record of mid-year budget cuts to prove that. So, what we've done is start with that assumption and based the budget on a percentage of that estimate which we feels will provide us a margin for error if  as we assume will be the case  the REC's estimate is wrong."

House Republican Caucus leader Rep. Lance Harris of Alexandria says budgeting from that basis should produce a surplus for the state at the end of the next fiscal year and reduce the size of the so-called fiscal cliff in the following fiscal year when temporary taxes passed in 2016 are set to expire.

"We believe we come out about $240 million to the good on this budget using this approach," Harris tells The Independent. "It also cuts the size of the fiscal cliff in half. It goes down from about $1.3 billion to about $700 million. That's still a problem but it's not nearly as big as it could have been."

Harris and the Republicans hold a 60-41-3 majority in the 105-member House. Budgets require only majority votes.

Rep. Gene Reynolds of Minden leads the House Democratic Caucus. He says Democrats have been shut out of the budget process by Henry and others. He says the problem for members of his caucus  and presumably the Edwards administration  is what will be cut and by how much. He spoke with The Independent by phone on Friday afternoon.

"We are concerned about the collateral damage that can result from the approach that is being used," Reynolds says. "We want to remind our Republican colleagues that there are people attached to those dollars who depend on those programs for services. They have not been able to provide us with much in the way of details."

Harris says he intends to move the budget out of the House by the end of day Thursday. Henry says that will give the Senate "three weeks or so to work on it  which is more time than they've been given in previous years."

Henry acknowledges that his committee's work is one phase of a process that will not end until just before the session does. That knowledge stems in part from the lesson he learned last year in his first year as Appropriations chairman. In 2016, HB1 was fiercely debated and amended in two-days of extended floor discussion. More than 30 amendments were considered, about one-third of which were approved.

The Senate received HB1 with about two weeks left in the 2016 session. Sen. Eric LaFleur's Senate Finance Committee reworked the bill with five days left in the session. The Senate adopted the revised budget, which sent it back to the House for approval. The Senate changes were rejected, which sent the bill to a conference committee which always consists of an equal number of members from the House and the Senate.

Conference committees deliberate behind closed doors trying to reconcile the differences between the budgets passed by the two chambers.

We appear to be headed toward a conference committee settled budget again, as more giving the Senate more time to consider the budget will not erase the differences in perspective that inform the thought processes in the two chambers. The Senate is more hospitable to the administration and is less ideological. Control of the House resides outside the Capitol, in the hands of interest groups and political organizations that are not part of the government.
More than 400 students are candidates for May 11 graduation.

Lenny Lemoine Photo by Robin May

Lenny Lemoine, president and CEO for The Lemoine Company, will deliver the keynote address to graduates during South Louisiana Community Colleges Spring 2017 graduation on Thursday, May 11, in the Cajundome Convention Center starting at 6 p.m.

More than 400 students are candidates for graduation.

Lemoine has served as both an executive and principal with construction management and contracting companies over the last 35 years. He has varied hands-on experience in both the private and public sectors of commercial, industrial and health care construction.

Company leaders recently invested $30,000 to support student scholarships through an endowment at SLCC. The endowment will support SLCCs College to Church effort, which brings educational opportunities to underserved populations through religious congregations. The $30,000 Lemoine investment will be matched with $20,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents, for a $50,000 total endowment.

Lemoine graduated from Cottonport High School in 1973 and received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture business from LSU in 1979. He began his career in Cottonport as administrative and financial manager of Cottonport Lumber Company. The retail lumber yard assets were sold in late 1979 at which time Lemoine and his brother, Tim, founded The Cottonport Company.

The firm relocated from Cottonport to Lafayette in late 1983, and the name of the company was changed to The Lemoine Company. In 2001, Lenny Lemoine assumed his current role as president and CEO of the general contracting firm.

The company is ranked one of the top health care contractors in the nation by Modern Healthcare Magazine.

Last year The Lemoine Company earned the No. 9 spot on ABizs list of the Top 50 Private Companies in the region with $185 million in 2015 revenues; in 2013, Lemoine was named ABizs Entrepreneur of the Year.

The firm provides philanthropic outreach through its Built to Serve initiative, distributing more than $100,000 annually, primarily supporting the companys three key initiatives: those fighting and surviving cancer, disadvantaged youth and deployed members of U.S. Armed Forces.

Lemoine is an active member of the Acadiana community, currently serving on the board of directors and Executive Committee for Lafayette Central Park, UL Lafayette Foundation and One Acadiana.
The bill before the Senate Finance Committee removing the statutory mandate that state funds go to itemized state and local programs was held to allow the author additional time to build her case.

Senate Bill 226, by Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Chalmette, would give lawmakers more latitude when it comes to funding levels, especially during economically tough times, which potentially could permit broader, more equitable reductions.

Currently, the only major areas not protected by some statutory or constitutional dedications are higher education and health care  the two primary targets for reductions when it comes to spending cuts.

Some lawmakers argue that many dedications arent reviewed for effectiveness as often as they should and have become stale over time. Erasing the automatic funding could free up money to put into departments and programs that need it most.

Sen. James Fannin, R-Jonesboro, warned Hewitt about potential consequences. Sometimes, freeing it up means . . . moving from where its needed to where it may not be needed.

Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, called SB226 beneficial because the targeted funds need to be scrutinized, and state law already mandates annually reviewing at least a portion of them. I know were not doing that.

Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, pointed specifically to the Telecommunications for the Deaf Fund and asked if that would be completely eliminated.

Hewitt said it would, along with a similar fund for the blind, because it does not meet one of the five criteria already in law. But Hewitt noted the result may mean those programs ultimately would receive more funding than they currently do.

Libby Murphy, who came to the meeting on behalf of the Louisiana Association for the Blind, is against Hewitts bill in its current version.

Thats the problem with funds like this that serve a small population, Murphy said. Unless theres a huge outcry for the need, then its generally not given as much attention.

Murphy said Louisiana leads the nation for the number, per capita, of individuals who are both deaf and blind. It is also second in the world.

Sen. Ronnie Johns, R-Lake Charles, said while he agreed with the concept of the legislation he nonetheless warned some of the funds are bonded. If this goes away, youre talking about an incredible problem.

Hewitt encouraged Johns to point those sorts of things out before the bill again comes before the committee next week. We know for a fact that there will be some changes to this (bill).
The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.
BENTON  Franklin County Board Chairman Randall Crocker formally declared a state of disaster for Franklin County on Monday.

The declaration was made after recommendation of Director of Emergency Management Ryan Buckingham and other officials, according to a news release from Franklin County Emergency Management.

"Local agencies have been working tirelessly since last Friday to ensure public safety and to protect the property of local residents," Buckingham said in the release.

A thorough damage assessment is expected later this week.

In Franklin County, Sheriff Donnie Jones said the rainfall covered areas already prone to flooding, such as Yellow Banks Road, but also closed some surprising areas as well. He said Illinois 37 north and south of West Frankfort was closed over the weekend and that the portion of the highway north of town was still closed Monday. He said on Monday the water seemed to be receding.

Jones said despite having so much rain, he was not aware of any injuries as a result of the flooding.

Randolph County was in a similar boat. Randolph County Sheriff Shannon Wolff said there were some rural road closures over the weekend and that the county was monitoring Illinois 3, but as of Monday had not decided to close it. He said they would be closing the flood gates on Illinois 155 at Prairie du Rocher, a community that suffered during 2016s New Years flood.

Wolff also said the locks are closed at the Jerry Costello Lock and Dam in rural Randolph County near Ellis Grove.

Charlie Bargman, Chesters emergency management coordinator, said the Missouri Department of Transportation, which controls the Mississippi River Bridge at Chester, had sent a memo Monday indicating that despite forecasts predicting the river cresting Friday morning at 43 feet 5 inches, it did not have plans to close the bridge.

Concern grew farther south. Dana Pearson, coordinator for Union County Emergency Management, said flooding had closed Ware/Wolf Lake Road, Morgan School Road, Kaolin Road and Old Cape Road in the county, but that the primary concern was the farmland and communities along the Mississippi River.

Pearson lives in Cobden and said he recorded 13 inches of rain between Thursday and Sunday. He said the river is projected to crest at 45 feet 9 inches in Union County this week, which is four inches more than the New Years flood last year. While on paper it sounds worse than last year, Pearson said the ground this year was much more saturated, which is better for the levees.

Pearson said typically, the county sandbags around sand boils on the levee and fills the area with water to equalize the pressure. Pearson said because there is already water in those areas, in a way, the work is already done for them.

Pearson said while all the rain over the last week certainly impacted the region with flash flooding, along the Mississippi River the big concern is the possibility of more rain upstream.

Its got to stop raining in the north, Pearson said of the threat of river flooding.

Both Wolff and Pearson said people need to stay off of the levees during flooding. Wolff said floodwater sightseeing can get in the way of work crews and can damage the levees  not something he wants should a major flood event come about.

At the bottom of the state in Alexander County, the high waters are nothing new for residents. The countys engineer, Jeff Denny, said it is still too early to tell how bad things might get, but at the moment he said they are, so far, so good.

Denny said the biggest problem Alexander County is facing with all the rain and the potential for a 51-foot flood crest at Cairo coming this weekend is the breach in the levee at Olive Branch during last years flood. Denny said the levee has not been repaired because the county was waiting to see if the Army Corps of Engineers would repair it. He said Alexander County is in a federally-run levee repair program, but after running cost-benefit analysis, it was deemed the repair was not worth the cost.

So we are just wide open to flood, Denny said. He explained that because the breach is large and the area is so rural, it was perfect storm for failing the test. Denny said the county is working on a repair plan with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which has helped design the new levee and has been helping with permits, however, funding is still the big question. Denny said Alexander County has some funds, but not near enough.

The primary focus this weekend was evacuating Horseshoe Lake. Denny said campers had to be evacuated, as well as farm equipment.

In Springfield, Gov. Bruce Rauner opened the State Emergency Operations Center after heavy rains and severe weather pounded the state over the weekend.

According to a news release from the governors office, representatives from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois State Police, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the American Red Cross have reported to the SEOC to coordinate deployment of state resources and personnel to assist communities preparing for or already battling floodwaters.

In the release, Illinois Emergency Manager James Joseph said with the flash flood threat shrinking, the focus is shifting to a potential river flood fight.

While the heavy rainfall and flash flood risks have subsided, were now focusing on river flooding that will increase in several areas throughout the week, Joseph said.

According to charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in one 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. April 30, the Carbondale Airport received 2.9 inches of rain, while some locations along the Mississippi near Chester received nearly 4 inches of rain.

In a flood warning issued by the National Weather Service Monday, there still was the possibility for flooding expected through Tuesday for 16 counties in both Southern Illinois and Missouri, including Randolph County. According to the warning, flooding is the result of runoff from 5 to 7 inches of rain, which fell from Friday to Sunday.
The clouds parted Tuesday, but the flood fight continues for many communities in Southern Illinois, with three counties making disaster proclamations because of rising waters.

After receiving upward of 13 inches in some areas this past weekend, large-scale flash flooding occurred throughout the region.

Through the weekend, there was a great effort among emergency managers to handle life safety issues. Roadways were covered, neighborhoods were flooded and some residents were forced from their homes.

With the threat of yet more rain coming later in the week, many communities are trying to catch their breath while still being proactive. Late Monday, Franklin County Board Chair Randall Crocker announced a formal declaration of disaster in the county on the recommendation of the countys director of emergency management, Ryan Buckingham.

Jackson and Williamson counties released statements of disaster declarations Tuesday.

Buckingham said his recommendation came after emergency crews worked tirelessly over the weekend to help with public safety and property protection concerns. He said while this declaration does not ensure aid from either the state or federal governments, it will help streamline any potential requests for emergency resources in the coming weeks.

Buckingham is asking residents of Franklin County to submit damage assessment reports to the county by calling 618-439-4362. He said these reports will help the county assess how much was damaged and to provide an accurate report to both the state and to the feds about how much damage was sustained.

Franklin County Emergency Management Agency said it would be opening a disaster resource center at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the lobby of the West Frankfort Public Safety Building, at 201 E. Nolen St., which will be open to all Franklin County residents affected by the flooding. The center will stay open until 7 p.m., and local and nongovernmental agencies will be on hand to give information and resources and collect damage reports. Food cleanup kits and other resources will be available from the Red Cross after noon.

Buckingham said Franklin, like many other regional counties, was already cash-strapped before this recent disaster.

Our county, like many counties in Illinois, we are in a state with our funding (that) we have trouble having enough money to operate on a day-to-day basis, Buckingham said.

Add this week's flooding to Februarys tornado, and those funds get even tighter.

Its definitely a financial disaster from the word go, he said.

With more rain looming in the forecast, Buckingham said there is very little they can do but keep their eyes open for potential problems.

The only thing that we can do at this point in time is be prepared once again to take on additional water, Buckingham said. Its virtually impossible to predict how the situation is going to look.

While more rain is certainly the furthest from what he would like, Buckingham said Tuesday there was a silver lining  in West Frankfort, which seemed to take a lot of the damage in Franklin County, the water was receding and roads closed from high water are once again open.

Williamson County Board Chairman Ron Ellis on Tuesday formally declared that a state of disaster exists in Williamson County, according to a news release from the county's Emergency Management Agency.

The director of Williamson County EMA, Kelly D. Urhahn, made the recommendation Tuesday after local officials responded to a variety of issues caused by extreme weather and flooding over the weekend, the news release states.

Several homes in Herrin, Marion, Johnston City and other areas throughout the county have been affected by the disaster, and multiple roadways have sustained considerable damage and continue to remain closed due to high or rising water, Urhahn said.

Additionally, Urhahn said officials throughout Williamson County are monitoring the potential for additional flooding in the region Wednesday.

Shelter is available for county residents at St. Joseph Catholic Church Family Center and Facility at 600 N. Russel Road in Marion, and flood-damaged homes and future evacuations may be reported to Williamson County EMA by calling 618-998-2123 or 618-694-1741.

Officials ask that the community take the following actions: anyone living in a flood prone area of the County should continue to keep a close eye on the situation and take immediate action if needed; children should not be allowed to play in flood waters; and morotists should detour away from flooded roadways.

Jackson County Board Chairman John Rendleman also signed a proclamation of disaster Tuesday after heavy rainfall this past weekend caused flooding and damage to roads and infrastructure in the county.

According to a news release from Jackson County Emergency Management Agency, there are near record flooding forecasts for the Mississippi and Big Muddy rivers, and additional rainfall expected Wednesday and Thursday threatens additional flash flooding.

A statement from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office on Monday said the Big Muddy River near Murphysboro is expected to crest early Thursday at 40 feet, however, the current lower levels of the Mississippi River are aiding in draining the Big Muddy downstream of Murphysboro.

Officials from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Jackson County EMA met Monday with officials from Grand Tower and levee districts in the county, the release states, and there appears to be no threat of levee failure.

Jackson County opened a facility at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the former Curwood Plant on North 19th Street in Murphysboro for residents who need sandbags for their private property. It will close at dark and reopen Wednesday at 6 a.m. According to a news release from the Murphysboro Emergency Management Agency, residents will have to fill and transport their own sandbags. State Representative Terri Bryant donated five dump truck loads of sand toward the effort.

The Illinois Department of Transportation closed the Cora flood gates on Illinois 3 at the Jackson/Randolph county line on Monday. The sheriff's office was asking motorists to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

Robert Lakotich, street supervisor for Johnston City, reports that cleanup efforts are in high gear, but that flood waters have receded from streets and yards.

10th Street between Market and Chestnut remains closed in Johnston City.

Lakotich said residents evacuated from their homes during the weekends downpour have returned to their homes and that their basements seem to have absorbed most of the impact of the flood. He said the city has stepped in and provided dumpsters to residents so they have a place to put water-soaked debris.

The flood waters also caused blow-out along the railroad tracks that pass through the city, depositing a large amount of gravel in a residents yard and causing some instability on one of the tracks. Lakotich said the employees for the railroad began immediate repair work on the damage and have since restored that section of track to working order.

Additionally, the street department has had to re-dig many of their ditches and provide temporary fixes for pipes that have washed out. Concern for additional rainfall remains a constant though, as the ground is saturated, and waters in Lake Creek remain high.

Doug Phillips, street department supervisor for the city of Marion, reports that roads and byways in the city remain in good condition after this weekends treacherous conditions. Phillips said his crews are in high gear removing debris from creeks and drainage ditches, and are ready for further action if rain continues.

At the height of the flood, Phillips said his department helped evacuate residents from the Marion City Housing Authority on North Marion Street, as well as residents from the Lighthouse Shelter on North Madison Street and a few homes in the area.

Phillips said the aftermath of the storm has left tons of debris at the mouths of tributaries and culverts, but the street department currently has 12 workers, two excavator machines and eight trucks working to clear those areas. It appears that a weeks worth of maintenance prior to the event has paid off, he said.

Phillips said Marion's roads fared well, and sustained no collapses or washouts. Some damage to the edges of roadways did occur on Old Creal Springs Road and Market Street off Boynton, but on the whole the citys streets are in great shape, he said. He said the department is staying positive in the face of several weeks of heavy cleanup work.

With flood waters down more than 12 inches since Tuesday morning, streets in the city of Harrisburg are all clear, Mayor John McPeek said. The city remains on high alert, however, as more rain is predicted for the region later this week.

McPeek says the city will continue pumping remaining flood waters, which discharge into the Saline River, in preparation for further precipitation. In addition, he said, the city will continue to monitor the level of the Ohio River. As the Saline River discharges directly into the Ohio, it is expected that ground water levels in the region will be impacted by further rise in the Ohio.

Benton businessman Clint Joiner of F.B. McAfoos & Company in Benton gave Franklin Baptist Disaster Relief Association more than $2,600 of new Stihl chain saws and tree pruning equipment to help with flood cleanup. The tools were donated by regional Stihl distributor, Crader Distributing Company of Marble Hill Missouri. The Franklin Baptist Disaster Relief Association is made up of local volunteers that travel throughout the area, assisting with disaster cleanup.

In Perry County, emergency workers have responded to three calls to rescue motorists who have driven through flood waters. In a news release, Perry County Sheriff Steve Bareis said it is imperative that residents exercise extreme caution during floods. He said never to drive through flood waters and to seek higher ground if an area is prone to flooding. He also said that deer, too, have been displaced by floodwaters and that motorists should be extra cautious.

Jackson County EMA provided the following precautions when confronting flooding:

Get to higher ground.

Stay away from flood-prone areas, including dips, low spots, valleys and ditches

Avoid flooded areas or those with rapid water flow. Do not attempt to cross a flowing stream. It takes only 6 inches of fast-flowing water to sweep you off your feet.

Don't allow children to play near high water, storm drains or ditches. Hidden dangers could lie beneath the water.

Flooded roads could have significant damage hidden by flood waters. Never drive through flood waters or flooded roads. If a vehicle stalls, leave it immediately and seek higher ground. Water only 2 feet deep can float away most vehicles.

Do not camp or park vehicles along streams and washes.

At night, it is harder to recognize flood dangers.
OP student wins

Young Entrepreneur

Scholarship

COLUMBIA -- The National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation announced that Keagan Riser of Orangeburg is among six South Carolina high school seniors who won scholarships through the NFIBs 15th annual Young Entrepreneur Awards.

The scholarship program rewards and encourages entrepreneurial talents among high school students who own and operate their own small business.

Riser attends Orangeburg Preparatory Schools and will receive an NFIB/June Lennon Young Entrepreneur Award.

The seniors who won a Young Entrepreneur Award received a $2,000 college scholarship.

Five additional students were named finalists for NFIBs top two scholarships: the 2017 NFIB Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2017 NFIB Dan Danner Leadership Award and will be honored at an event in Washington, D.C. on July 27. The top two winners will receive a $15,000 scholarship, and the remaining three finalists will each receive a $5,000 scholarship.

To qualify for an NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award, students must be seniors in high school who own and operate their own small business. They are required to write an essay describing their entrepreneurial endeavors and future goals. NFIB members around the country interview the applicants for the Young Entrepreneur Awards.
An Orangeburg woman says she recently became familiar with phone scammers the hard way.

I was caught off-guard, you know, Amber McCain said. You have those off days.

For a short while, McCain was elated to find out that she had been awarded a grant of $9,000 from what she thought was the Federal Bank of New York.

Two weeks ago, McCain received a call from a Washington number. It was a woman claiming that she was eligible for a grant.

To receive her grant, she would need to register her name. But there was a cost.

To register your name, you have to get iTunes cards, McCain said she was told. They tell you to stay on the phone with them because they want to instruct you after you buy the cards.

Placing her phone into her pocket as instructed, she went into a nearby Dollar General and bought $180 worth of gift cards -- three worth $50 and two for $15. She was told that she had to keep the reason for buying so many cards a secret.

She said you cant tell them that youre getting $9,000 in grant money because the store takes 90 percent of it, McCain said. If they ask, tell them that the money youre being wired, in ten minutes, is for personal use.

After buying the cards, she went into her car to scratch off the backs and give the caller each code.

McCain said she also had to give her credit card number.

I crazily gave them my credit card because they said, Well we can forward the money on your card, she said.

McCain was then transferred to a man who claimed to be with the Federal Bank of New York.

The man said, Yes we have the $9,000 and we need to send it to you right away because it is unsecure money now that youve registered.

We need to wire it to you and, of course, this is the bank and the wiring cost is $450.

McCain said, Well I dont have no $450.

The man asked when she could have it or if she could borrow it, but McCain told him, I cant borrow it, I have all broke friends.

McCain said if she had known that she would be charged again, she would have never sent any money in the first place because she had to scrape up the $180.

Dont worry, because youre going to get back your $9,000, plus your $180, she was told. Well also send the $450.

Youre going to get everything back so you dont have to worry. Youll have it all back in like 10 minutes, a half-hour the most, youll have all your money, McCain said they told her.

After refusing to pay the $450, she asked if they could simply send her the money by mail. She was told there would be a cost of $250 because it would be going across state lines through Federal Express.

McCain refused again, saying, Forget it, Ill just consider it $180 learning to not be crazy next time.

Two days had gone by and the same group called her again. This time, it was a man who only gave the name Melvin.

When he asked her to register again, she told him that she had already heard their process, registered with the iTunes cards and the only step left was for her to pay the wiring costs to receive her money.

Melvin asked how much they told her to pay for wiring the funds and to test them. McCain told him $150 instead of $450, she said.

He never corrected me or anything, she said. I just threw out a number.

McCain said she was told that the money she previously paid could not be used anymore and she would have to register again.

At this point, McCain figured out their plan and yelled, This is a scam!

Now, she said shes scared to answer her phone.

Earlier in the same week, she had been called by people claiming to be from the IRS demanding that she pay $75,000 or she would lose her home, car and 401k and go to jail for five years for tax evasion.

McCain said after telling the callers she is determined to fight the claims, they told her Well, report down to the police station because youre going to be arrested.

People are so devious, McCain said.

Im a trusting person and I tend to trust because I guess I think folks are like me, she added. Im an easy target, I guess.

She said after refusing the grant, she immediately cancelled her credit card and reported the incident to the police. No record was immediately available of her calling authorities.

Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office spokesman Richard Walker said, If it seems too good to be true, it is.

The most common scams involved the intended victim being promised usually a large sum of money but in exchange for that sudden windfall, the victim must first pay a fee, or taxes, or an enormous shipping fee to have their funds sent to them, he added. An answer to that is simply have the caller subtract the taxes from the winnings and send the rest. They may respond that they need a good faith down payment. You simply reply that you do too.

Walker said scam tipoffs include:

 Requiring an upfront payment to receive your winnings.

 Prize packages worth less than $10,000. The FBI steps in for amounts greater than $10,000 and the scammers know it.

 Requiring money be sent almost immediately through some instant cash transfer service or pre-paid card.

Simply put, if in doubt, call us, Walker said. Before you send any money to anyone unknown, call us. Well be glad to examine any documentation youve received or speak with the caller ourselves.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York warns against scams on its website, saying it is not involved in any federal grant program.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York does not maintain grant money or any other type of funds/accounts for individuals, the website says. Please remember: the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will never contact the public via unsolicited phone calls or e-mails asking for money or any other type of personal information.

The IRS website states that it initiates most contacts through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service and will only call for special circumstances such as an overdue tax bill, to secure a delinquent tax return or a delinquent employment tax payment, or to tour a business as part of an audit or during criminal investigations.

Citizens should beware of threats to bring in law enforcement or revoke a drivers license, business license or immigration status. Such threats are common tactics scam artists use to trick victims into buying into their schemes.

After the ordeal, McCain is not upset over the loss of her $180.

Money aint everything to me, she said. Money is a thing where, although I have none, its not like its a loss of my life.
Your readers may know that Gov. Henry McMaster recently signed phase one of state pension reform in South Carolina. This bipartisan legislation resulted from several months of meetings by a committee comprised of Republicans and Democrats from both the House and the Senate.

Orangeburg Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter served on this joint committee, and she deserves thanks and credit for her hard work. She also deserves thanks and credit for her commitment not to stop here but to move on to phase two of pension reform, the transition to a modern form of retirement security for state employees.

Phase two is intended to give state employees more control over their retirement plans and greatly lessen the burden on taxpayers. Rep. Cobb-Hunter will be an integral part of phase two, and I hope that you will give her your support to finish the job.

Kevin L. Bryant

S.C. lieutenant governor

Columbia

The real problem is 

I went to the Dorn VA Hospitals Urgent Care Unit in Columbia after getting a diagnosis at the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg: gross infection of the gallbladder.

Less than two hours after I passed out in the VA waiting area, they scraped me up and diagnosed me with alcohol withdrawal. They treated me for alcohol withdrawal for four days. It must have worked because I haven't had a drink since. BUT people knowing me will tell you I haven't had a drink of alcohol in at least 40 years before this.

After four days, they transferred me to Palmetto Richland Memorial.

The doctors at Richland said I would have been dead in four to six hours as all of my organs and blood were infected and shutting down. Richland provided a specialist for each organ and put me on life support. I woke from a coma more than a month later and was in physical therapy for many weeks. I never regained much of my strength.

At least I am alive  for now. Veterans deserve better care through the VA.

James F. Russell, Cordova

Give to local pet shelters

April 30 was National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, and with an estimated 6.5 million pets entering shelters every year, theres no shortage of furry friends still looking for a new home. One way everyone can help shelter animals  whether or not were able to adopt one  is by supporting local shelters with donations.

Unfortunately, like the animals they care for, shelters are often quite in need. Despite common misconceptions, the Humane Society of the United States and ASPCA are not umbrella organizations for local humane societies or SPCAs; and they give very little of the hundreds of millions of dollars they collect to local shelters. Only 1 percent of the money given to the Humane Society of the United States trickles down to local pet shelters while the group spends millions on ads, which local groups cant afford.

To get the most out of charity, make sure to donate to your local shelters. Money, time or supplies can make all the difference to needy animals in your neighborhood.

Will Coggin

Research director

Center for Consumer Freedom

Washington
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

Carpet Weavers Day will be celebrated in Azerbaijan for the first time on May 5.

President Ilham Aliyev signed an order in November 2016 on the establishment of a professional holiday Carpet Weavers Day, which will honor weavers of Azerbaijan's enchanting and vivid carpets.

Bright, colored and unique Azerbaijani carpets are well-known all over the world for their quality and high artistic value. Azerbaijani rugs are the honorary "residents" at the White House, State Department, and every important museums in the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Louvre, Victoria and Albert Museum, Vatican, and the Hermitage.

Thanks to the care of the country, the Azerbaijani carpet art was included into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in late 2010.

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum will host a series of events devoted to the contemporary carpet art, such as roundtable, exhibition, and workshops on May 4-5.

More than 100 country's leading and individual weavers, carpet artists and experts, teachers and students of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts and other professionals working in this field will attend the event.

Various issues, including todays development of carpet art and its current problems and solution ways; research and promotion of the forgotten weaving techniques and passing them to the future generation; provision of carpet weavers with raw metarials; preservation of specific characteristics of each region in the period of globalization, etc will be discussed at the round table.

Furthermore, a fairy-exhibition will feature works of participants from all corners of the country, such as carpets and carpet products that were woven with natural dyes. The exhibition aims to preserve carpet art and support individual weavers working in this notable field.

In addition, workshops on the forgotten pile and flat woven techniques will be organized as part the events.

For more information, please visit:

www.azcarpetmuseum.az

www.facebook.com/AzerbaycanXalcaMuzeyi/

Tel.(+99412) 497 20 16
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

A mud volcano located in 15 km south-east of Baku on the shore of the Caspian Sea oil field, erupted on Tuesday morning.

Called Lokbatan, the mud volcano was revealed in 1810 and is one of the world's 5 most active volcanoes. The volcano is a world record holder with 25 eruptions recorded so far.

The Republican Seismic Survey Center of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) reported that the volcano erupted at 07:55:51 local time.

A depth of the volcano was at 4 km, while the eruption lasted for 4 minutes: Tremors were recorded before and after volcano.

Earlier, the Otman Bozdag volcano erupted in the suburb of Baku on February 6.

Azerbaijan is a world leader, not only for the number but also for the activity of its volcanoes. Roughly 350 out of over 1000 mud volcanoes in the world are located here. Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes definitely should be part of any tourist's itinerary.

Most are located on Absheron, around Baku. There are 100 near the Gobustan Reserve alone. There are another 200 on the islands of the Baku archipelago and in Shamakhi and Shirvan regions, two hours drive from Baku.

Mud volcanoes are one of the visible signs of the presence of oil and gas reserves hidden deep beneath land and sea in the Caspian region. Azerbaijan's rich fields of oil and gas condensate such as Lokbatan, Garadagh, Oil Rocks, and Mishovdag were discovered near mud volcanoes.
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AfricaRice is a CGIAR Research Center  part of a global research partnership for a food-secure future. It is also an intergovernmental association of African member countries. For more information visit: www.AfricaRice.org

A propos dAfricaRice

AfricaRice est un Centre de recherche du CGIAR  un partenariat mondial de la recherche agricole pour un futur sans faim. AfricaRice est aussi une association intergouvernementale composee de pays membres africains. Pour plus dinformations, visiter : www.AfricaRice.org
Jonah Energy will acquire 1,200 producing wells and 27,000 acres from Linn Energy if the $580 million deal in southwest Wyoming closes as expected.

The Denver-based company, which is actively drilling in Jonah, announced Tuesday morning its intent to begin development of the new assets in Sublette County by the end of the year, adding three rigs by early 2018. About 80 percent of the new acreage is undeveloped, according to a company statement.

The forward-looking buyout is welcome news in an industry thats weathered years of depressed prices, bankruptcies and production cuts.

Jonah will pay for the new assets with a corporate loan and investor equity. The company said it expects the EBITDA earnings from the Linn assets to hit $100 million for its first year.

The transaction significantly expands our footprint at an attractive valuation while leveraging the concentrated and efficient nature of our operations, said CEO Tom Hart in a statement Tuesday.

The seller, Linn Energy, was one of the largest firms to file for bankruptcy in 2016, when the price of natural gas fell below $2 in an oversupplied market. It emerged earlier this year as two separate companies.

In a statement, Linns executives said the sale in Wyoming would allow for greater flexibility for its operations shale plays like the STACK and horizontal plays in Louisiana and Texas.

The Jonah acquisition doesnt appear to be a significant change for the famous gas field, some say.

Jonah is already operating about half of the wells it intends to buy, said Brian Jeffries, director of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority.

This looks like one of the ordinary rationalizations going on out in the oil patch from time to time, Jeffries said.

By expanding the companys assets in the same region, they can increase productivity without driving up costs, he said.

That may help you in a struggling gas price environment, he said. Its probably not enough to spur a whole lot of extra stuff. But it certainly makes sense if you are trying to drive costs down to consolidate.

The assets averaged 150 million cubic feet of equivalent per day in 2016.

Reducing costs has become the refrain of earnings calls and investor notes in the last few years as prices declined and the glut of natural gas continued to flow. Jonahs first acquisition after forming was a $1.8 billion purchase from Encana in 2013, and a tight operations cost approach served the company well through the following downturn, said Paul Ulrich, spokesman for the company.

Steve Kirkwood, of Casper-based Kirkwood Oil and Gas, said the buyout was probably a smart move for Jonah.

I think for them, they have a long-term strategy, he said. They are buying out a project in a field they already operate, adding more assets in a core area.

Operators like Kirkwood hope Wyoming will have a central role if the Rockies gas market expands and the price environment improves.

Theres reason to believe gas in the region can fill a market niche if there is some more exploration, Kirkwood said. His company relies on a prospective method of being one step ahead of the trend.

Gas produced in the resource plays has slowed way down, so there isnt as much gas coming from those plays. I think weve got to find some gas over on this side of the Mississippi, he said. I think there is ultimately going to be a need for more.

If so, Jonah will hold a dominant position in the prolific field thats seen large firms like British Petroleum and Encana pull back.

This is really exciting news for Jonah. Weve made a decision to invest $580 million into what we believe is a very promising acquisition in the Jonah field, the anticline and NPL acreage, said Ulrich, the Jonah spokesman. This acquisition gives us decades of running room in Wyoming for future development, and we couldnt be more pleased.
Real Food starts May 16

Its time to stop eating so many processed and packaged foods and start eating more whole foods! Join this five-week program and learn how to plan meals, shop, and cook using whole, natural ingredients. Also learn how to read labels and decipher ingredient lists. Real Food will meet Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:30 starting May 16 and finishing June 13. Classes will be held at the UW Extension office at 2011 Fairgrounds Road. Half of the class time will include hands-on healthy cooking in our foods lab. The cost is $30, which covers all materials, including food. For more information and to register, contact Karla Case, RD, at 235-9400 or kcase@natronacounty-wy.gov. Register soon as classes fill up quickly.

Buddhists meet

David Vaughn is a Buddhist living in Casper who finds himself feeling more and more isolated and wishing that he had someone to share his Buddhist interests with. But there are no Buddhist temples here; no place for people who wish to share stories of Dharma or Karma, no place to learn and exchange meditational techniques, no place to meet people of like minds for friendship, conversation, companionship, or even romantic interest.

So Vaughn has decided to take matters into his own hands and do something about it. He proposes to establish a Casper Buddhist Fellowship, and set up a common meeting place where the Buddhists of Casper can congregate at regular intervals to practice our Buddhist customs; where Buddhists can go to and feel safe, mingle with other Buddhists, and experience all of those most wonderful things that the Buddhist religion has to offer.

Vaughn invites all who are interested to contact him at davidvaughn991@yahoo.com so that a dialogue might begin.

Saturday watercolor sessions

The schedule for the Saturday Morning Watercolor Sessions from 10 a.m. to noon for May and June at Art 321 is below. These are coordinated by Ellen Black, 265-6783. $10 per session.

May 6, practice session; May 13, Matting and Framing Your Paintings; May 20, practice session; May 27, Techniques for Aerial Perspective.

June 3, practice session; June 10, Oriental Painting, Claudette Mowery; June 17, practice session; June 24, Big Brush Landscape.

DAV mobile van in Casper

The DAV Mobile Service Office Van will make a visit to Casper on May 4, parked at the Casper National Guard Armory, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

One of the various services DAV provides at no cost to veterans is the Mobile Service Office Program. These offices-on-wheels travel to under-served communities across the country to help veterans and their families obtain the services and benefits they have earned. Staffed by highly trained DAV National Service Officers, the MSOs provide professional support throughout the claims and appeals process. When you come to one of the MSO locations, please bring your identification, Social Security number, and any other pertinent documentation regarding your military service. DAV membership is not required to utilize these free services. For more information about MSO stops in the area, please call Leroy Kenner, NSO Supervisor at (307) 433-2752.

DAV info seminar

So many veterans feel confused about benefits and services theyve earned. Theres so much to know, and so many changes from one year to the next. Thats why local members of the nonprofit DAV (Disabled American Veterans) will present a veterans Information seminar from 6 to 9 p.m. May 3 at the Casper National Guard Armory, 5905 CY Ave. Like all DAV services, the seminar is free to all veterans and members of their families. In conjunction with the seminar, from 8 to 9 p.m., the NSOs will be providing claims assistance. For further information, please contact NSO Leroy Kenner Jr. at 307-433-2752.

McIntyre photo workshop May 5-6

If you love the photography of Suzette McIntyre now on display at Art 321 Gallery, you will be eager to sign up for her workshop coming in May. Convergent Photography is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, instructed by McIntyre. Participants need to bring a digital camera. Fee is $130 for members/ $170 non-members.

Job fair May 3

The Department of Workforce Services is holding a Youth Job & Career Fair with the intent of informing youth and young adults in Casper of job openings, career opportunities, and college or training options that are available to them in the Casper community.

Youth and young adults between ages 16 and 24 who want to jump-start their careers are encouraged to attend. Individuals should dress to impress and take copies of their resumes to the Agriculture Resources & Learning Center from 9 a.m. to noon on May 3.

The event aims to connect youth with a range of employment opportunities and help them explore the diversity of education and career options available to them in the future.

For more information, call 234-4591.

Babysitting class at rec center

The next Babysitting 101 class for ages 11 to 14 will be offered from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 6 at the Casper Recreation Center. Babysitting 101 is a fun, interactive class that trains the emergent babysitter in important topics such as: getting a business started, understanding the likes and dislikes of children and getting equipped with ideas for playing with kids of all ages. Students will learn solutions to the most common problems babysitters face and how to perform basic first aid. They also make and fill their own babysitting bag to use on the job and receive first aid information and a resource guide.

The cost of the class is $20 for those without a rec center pass and $18 for those with an annual rec center pass. Registration can be completed at www.activecasper.com, by calling 235-8383 with a credit card, or by stopping at the Rec Center at 1801 E. Fourth St.

Felt scarf workshop at Nic

A felt scarf workshop will be held from noon to 3:30 p.m. May 13 at the Nicolaysen Art Museum, instructed by Tatiana Lushnikova. Fees are $40 for members, 30 for students with valid student ID, and $55 for non-members. Please pre-register and pay by May 8. Bring a friend and save $10 on your class fee. This class is recommended for high school students and older.

In this class, students will learn the process of wet felting and produce their own piece of handmade fiber art.

For more information, contact Zhanna at zgallegos@thenic.org or call 235-5247.

Mindfulness workshop at UU

Everyone is invited to a free two-hour workshop facilitated by mindfulness instructor Tim Clark at 4 p.m. May 14 at the Unitarian Universalist Community of Casper, 1040 West 15th St.

Attendees will explore the what, why, and how of living in the present moment, how to develop mindfulness, how to use it to stay present, and where those efforts lead. The class will be mostly discussion with some meditation.

Clark has more than 25 years of experience with many different meditation traditions.

For more information, contact Laura at 259-4469 or info@uucasper.org.

Job fair in Douglas May 17

The Douglas Workforce Center is hosting a job fair on Wednesday, May 17, at the Eastern Wyoming College campus in Douglas. The event is open to veterans only from 10 to 10:30 a.m., and then welcomes the general public from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Job seekers are encouraged to bring copies of their resume and dress for an interview. For more information call the Douglas Workforce Center at 307-358-2147.

Corporate team building with (theater) murder

Casper Theater Company will be teaching teambuilding workshops.

After determining areas of emphasis designed to a specific business, the workshop will be steered in that direction.

For more information, visit www.caspertheatercompany.net, or Casper Theater Company on Facebook or call Casie at 247-6167, or Donna at 267-7243 to set up a time.

Teen Challenge spring groups

Smart Step Families: Putting two families together is never easy. The Smart Step Families, led by a Christian couple, will give answers and encouragement. Thursday evenings starting in March. Call Pastor Mark or Linda at 259-1081.

Insight: Discovering the path to Christian character, especially in the midst of stress. For more information, call Teen Challenge Wyoming at 258-5397. There are nine sessions to the class.

Professionals in Recovery: An ongoing Christian recovery group. For more information, call Gary at 267-7777.

Free to Grow: Helping people overcome disappointments and setbacks that have arrested or are presently hindering their emotional and spiritual development. Starts in February and meets on Thursdays. For more information, call Jane at 797-7271 or Judy at 251-5644. There are 12 sessions to the class.

Peacemaking: In this world of division and conflict, its important for Christians to stay grounded in what the Bible teaches about resolving differences with others in a God- honoring way. Sunday at 4 p.m. For more information, call Teen Challenge Wyoming at 258-5397. There are 12 sessions to the class.

Stepping into Freedom: A Christ-centered 12-step program that offers support for anyone struggling with a life controlling problem like drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual addiction, gambling or workaholism. There are 12 sessions to the class.

New ministry at HPCC

Family Life Ministry at Highland Park Community Church is offering premarital, marriage enrichment, and parenting workshops, seminars, retreats and conferences, empowering families to thrive through Gods love. Please visit the website for more information or to register, http://hpcc.church/FLM.

Dementia caregiver support

Wyoming Dementia Care offers five Alzheimers Caregiver Support groups each month. Caregivers of those with dementia-related illnesses and the loved ones they care for are welcome at any of the group sessions. Professional staff from Intermountain Home Companions will be on hand to offer separate activities and snacks for those who need care. There is no charge for Wyoming Dementia Cares support groups or for the respite care provided during the approximately one-hour sessions.

The morning support group sessions meet on the first and third Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at Central Wyoming Senior Services, 1831 E. Fourth St. The afternoon support groups meet at 1 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Life Care Center of Casper, 4041 S. Poplar. The evening groups meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Meadow Wind Assisted Living, 3955 E. 12th St.

For information, email wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com or call Dani Guerttman at 265-4678.

Family continues suicide support

Good Grief, Support will continue at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at the 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott, by request of attendees. Anyone who is grieving a suicide or death or considering suicide is encouraged to attend. Attendance, as well as the content, will be strictly confidential. The Fresh Start Cafe will be open, and you can eat during the meetings. This meeting place was offered by Dan Cantine of the 12-24 Club. You need not be a member to attend. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom.

New depression group begins

J.R.s Hunt for Life is offering See it Clearly, a free peer support group for people suffering from depression and other mental conditions that lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. The group is led by like-minded peers wishing to offer support. Anonymity and confidentiality is offered to all attending. Meetings are at 6:45 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 500 South Wolcott in the conference room on the second floor, (12-24 Club). Those who have considered or attempted taking their life or are struggling are welcome. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom.

Parkinsons exercise

Rocky Mountain Therapy is offering a Parkinsons exercise program. Join us from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays at Rocky Mountain Therapy, 2546 E. Second St., Building 500. These classes are open to anyone with Parkinsons or caring for someone with Parkinsons.

Thursdays class is tailored for the individual with more advanced Parkinsons and focuses on improving endurance, safety and managing symptoms. We are open to all ages and can tailor the class to meet varying exercise needs. The cost of the class is $5. To RSVP, call 577-5204 and ask for Jerri or Shannon.

Celebrate Recovery every Friday

Celebrate Recovery meets at 5:30 p.m. every Friday at Highland Park Community Church, just south of Elkhorn Valley Rehabilitation Hospital on East Second Street. A family meal starts the evening, followed by praise and worship. At 7 p.m., theres either a lesson from Celebrate Recoverys planned curriculum or a testimony by a person who has found recovery through Christ. Then, people go to gender-specific small groups until 8:30 p.m., when dessert and fellowship conclude the evening. Child care is available at no cost. For more information, contact Chris at 265-4073.

Here and Now: Dementia-focused monthly art class

Classes are every third Tuesday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. There is no charge. Here and Now is a program made possible through a collaboration between Wyoming Dementia Care and the Nicolaysen Art Museum. It is designed to provide a supportive environment for people with dementia and Alzheimers and their loved ones.

To register, contact Dani with Wyoming Dementia Care 265-4678, ext. 106, or at wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com or Zhanna Gallegos at 235-5247 or at zgallegos@thenic.org.
Wyoming assumed management once again of wolves within its borders last week, and those apex predators wandering outside the northwest corner of the state can be shot on sight.

The Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., entered its final order in favor of Wyoming in a lawsuit that landed wolves back on the endangered species list in 2014. The court announced in early March that it had upheld the states plan but had not issued its final order.

The decision is what Wyoming wolf managers hope is the last legal battle in a roller-coaster legal process.

All indications are that this decision shows once again that Wyomings plan is a sound management plan, said Brian Nesvik, chief of the Wyoming Game and Fish Departments wildlife division. They will remain in the hands of state management. For Wyoming this is, again, this is a time for us to celebrate. This is a good thing for Wyoming to be able to take on another wildlife resource.

No changes were made to Wyomings wolf management plan from when the state oversaw the carnivores between 2012 and 2014, Nesvik said.

That means Wyoming will manage the 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation.

Wolves in 85 percent of the state are considered a predator and can be shot on sight, similar to coyotes. They are classified as a trophy animal in the northwest corner of the state and subject to fall hunting seasons. Those seasons have not yet been set, Nesvik said, adding that wolves in those areas cannot be hunted right now. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will set those seasons after a public comment period.

The feds killed about 115 wolves in 2016 because of livestock depredations, he said. In 2015, the service killed about 54 wolves.

Because of the high number of wolves killed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, Nesvik estimates hunting season quotas this fall will be similar to those before wolves went back on the list.

Gov. Matt Mead expressed his satisfaction with the courts decision in a news release sent Tuesday evening.

I am delighted that the Circuit Court recognized Wyomings commitment to manage a recovered wolf population, Mead said. Our wolf management plan is a result of years of hard work by people across Wyoming. We recognize the need to maintain a healthy wolf population.

Wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone in 1995. They have been off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho since 2011.
Natasha Blust grinned as she packed her new trombone in its case at The Hill Music Company. The Rock Springs High School junior recently won this years Wyoming Symphony Orchestras Instrument Giveaway Contest.

The contest provides a professional-quality instrument to one Wyoming student a year to support his or her musical aspirations.

Blust said the contest provided her the opportunity to perform on an instrument that will help her reach her potential as a musician and person.

Music has taught me that connection to other beings, empathy, love, and relentlessly pursuing what you love is what life is all about, she said in her essay for the competition.

Blust went from a timid elementary student to finding her passion and a place through school bands, she wrote. Teachers described her as confident, hardworking and talented in letters of recommendation for the contest.

Shes made All-State Band the last three years and shes a leader in her high school bands, Rock Springs High School director of bands Brian Redmond said in his letter. Shell also perform in Europe this summer with the Wyoming Ambassadors of Music.

Blust aims to pursue music and become a commercial airline pilot. Shes already earning her civilian pilots license.

Her dedication to flying parallels her dedication to playing  both activities requiring focused dedication, practice, and perseverance, Redmond wrote.

She plans to major in music in college, maybe at Ohio State University or the University of Southern California. Both schools are known for their marching bands and music programs, she said. Being a commercial pilot will allow her to pursue music without the pressure of money, she said.

If I follow my heart and go for what I love, hopefully Ill just come out, in the end, fine, Blust said last week after choosing her instrument.

Winning the contest earned her a professional-level trombone she wouldnt have been able to purchase, she said. The new instrument is a Conn 88H0 model donated by The Hill Music Company and valued at about $4,000. It has a fuller sound, and the high notes are easier to play, Blust said.

Its both warm and clear, and its more my personality than the brighter, more in-your-face sound of other trombones, she said. Its now my baby, and I have to find a name for it.

Blust named her student instrument Tia the Trombone. Shes been playing it since sixth grade.

She was so excited about the new trombone that she flew to Casper after a spring snowstorm led to several highway closures and travel warnings around the state. Her mother works for an airline, which made the option possible.

Blust hopes to make All-State again next year, participate in other honor bands and maybe perform the local community college band. She credits her junior high and high school band teachers for pushing her to work hard.

I owe everything to the two of them, honestly, Blust added.
Thermopolis photographer Jeb Schenck stood on a beach in Iceland as chunks of glacier ice floated by. As he set his exposure, he also had to keep his tripod upright as the waves came in. But there were much bigger hazards to mind.

Several times, a block of ice about the size of a pickup comes roaring in, Schenck said. At the last moment, I had to grab the camera and run for dear life so I wouldnt get crushed.

Schencks photography show at the Nicolaysen Art Museum Chasing Light is a series of about 60 color and black and white images from his adventures around the world. His talk during the Casper Art Walk Thursday will include some of the stories and even an interactive demonstration of how the brain processes visual information.

Visitors can take in views of his travels over four continents, from jewel-colored ice on Icelands black sand beaches to the remote Huayhuash Andes, according information from the Nic. The show also offers stunning views of Yellowstone, Hot Springs State Park and a storm over the Red Desert.

Whether close to home or traveling far continents, Schenck searches and often waits  for hours or weeks  for conditions that may only last a few seconds.

Thats why its called chasing the light, he said.

The chase has taken him to Patagonias high ridges, where hes waited in the freezing dark for more than an hour and braced against 80-mile-an-hour gusts to capture predawn color shifts. His photography has appeared in several books and advertising campaigns for Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Barrons and several airline magazines, according to biography information from the Nic.

Schencks interest in photography began at about age 5 as he helped his family develop agricultural images in a dark room. He later captured the first digital photographs of Mount Everest in 1988 as a high altitude team leader for a Wyoming Everest expedition. Those images, made while field testing a Canon digital camera prototype, were broadcast to millions on ABC and CNN, he said.

Hes worked as a professional mountain guide but opted for a career in teaching, he said. Hes taught high school and college photography, well as photography workshops for the last 41 years, according to his biography information from the Nic. He still teaches some graduate courses on mind-brain research. Thats also a subject he researched for his doctorate degree, which was partly inspired by a photography problem, he said.

Schenck will offer a demonstration on the subject during his artist talk, showing how the brain distorts visual information with a black and white pattern.

Even when you know it should look at it one way, no matter how hard you try, the brain will interpret it a different way, he said. Everything is interpreted emotionally and also visually distorted.

Photography requires what fine art photography pioneer Ed Weston called the flame of recognition to see the potential in a scene as well as the technical skill to capture and recreate the image, Schenck said.

With my images, its an emotional interpretation of my memory, he said. Youre looking at my interpretation of what I remembered.
Vibrant artwork by local fifth-graders hangs from every wall of the Nicolaysen Art Museums main gallery. An adjoining gallery features sculptures and art created by Natrona County High School students. Around the corner are pieces by professional Wyoming artists, famous Western painters and even prints from Dali and Picasso.

The student work is being displayed alongside the greats as part of two art shows on display this month at the downtown Casper museum. The NCSD 5th Grade Art Show spotlights young artists in the Natrona County School District, while Diversity of Expression showcases NCHS advanced art students.

Show organizer and Mills Elementary School art teacher Ashtan Johnson-Christensen said its always interesting to see how students create art that is completely different  despite the same materials, directions and teaching.

My favorite part of it is watching the kids get to see their artwork up in the museum because theyre so excited and proud of themselves, she said.

The high school students pieces also look nothing alike. The projects range from works exploring nature to commentary on social and political issues.

The final step in the artistic process is to present work for display, NCHS art teacher Sheila McHattie said.

Its so awesome that the Nic provides this opportunity for our kids, she said.

The elementary and high school students alike are excited their work is on public display.

I really like my pictures in the show, because it gives me a chance for people to see my work and see what I do, NCHS senior Kati Mooney said. Her photograph of a star-filled night scene combined with a daytime image is part of the show. She captured the images last fall during a class trip to the Yellowstone National Park area to learn and practice techniques.

Until the show, artwork produced by Lincoln Elementary students had been confined to the school or home. Now, Mauricio Sotos two-point perspective artwork of a castle surrounded by a moat is hanging at the Nicolaysen. He learned about using perspective and vanishing points while making the piece, he said.

He described the feeling of his artwork in a museum as weird. But its also exciting, he agreed.

Elizabeth Perrys piece for the show is an image of King Tut carved into thick tin foil. Then she turned over the image and added colors. She learned about ancient Egypt while creating the project, she said.

Sage Graves created an oil pastel piece of dolphins in rainbow colors for a class assignment that allowed students to choose the subject and medium. She enjoyed shading with the pastels bright colors, and dolphins are her favorite animal, she said.

Shes happy that its displayed where anyone can view it.

I actually feel pretty impressed that people from other places can actually get to see it, Sage said. People get to wow it. They get to see it by famous artists and photos and things like that.
A three-year legal battle between the city of Casper and former Councilman Craig Hedquist will continue.

Hedquist is taking his lawsuit against the city to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court dismissed the case, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Hedquist, a former city councilman, claims that then-city manager John Patterson violated his civil rights by conspiring to sabotage both his political career and the success of his construction company.

But a district court judge dismissed Hedquists suit last month in a summary judgment.

Judge dismisses Hedquist lawsuit A judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that former Casper City Councilman Craig Hedquist file

Plaintiffs claims of a conspiracy to remove Mr. Hedquist from the City Council lacks supporting evidence, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson.

Johnson also rejected Hedquists claim that his company was labeled a non-responsible bidder for public contracts because he had criticized the citys bidding process.

Citing delays in public projects Hedquist Construction was working on, Johnson ruled that there was no evidence that Hedquists public comments had led to his being barred from receiving city contracts  Hedquists mere speculation does not suffice, the judge wrote.

Hedquist is appealing both Johnsons final judgment dismissing the case as well as several prior orders denying his attorneys access to certain city documents relevant to the lawsuit. His attorney, John Robinson, declined to comment on the appeal.

The legal victory, on April 14, was a bright spot for an embattled city administration.

Its certainly nice to have a conclusion and even nicer to have this conclusion, then-City Manager V.H. McDonald said at the time.

McDonald had announced his retirement the week before in the wake of the release of a survey that indicated low morale at the Casper Police Department and accused McDonald and city management of ignoring complaints from high-ranking officers.

While McDonald had initially intended to resign June 1, he moved up his retirement to mid-April at the request of City Council leadership.

Hedquists time on Council was viewed by many as especially contentious, and after his resignation and Pattersons retirement, City Hall moved to a more cooperative era and a smooth working relationship between Council and city management.

Will Casper's next city council be more assertive? Casper City Councils emphasis on unity over open disagreement may be coming to an end as fo

That cooperation has started to fray in light of the accusations leveled by the police department and a cohort of newly elected council members who are comfortable confronting city management.

Before the cases dismissal, a trial was scheduled for June and could have resulted in a hefty monetary ruling against the city at a time when the municipality has been battered by Wyomings economic downturn and lower-than-expected sales tax revenue this year.

Hedquist is also suing former Casper police chief and current City Councilman Chris Walsh, alleging that he illegally used law enforcement databases to access information about Hedquist at the behest of Patterson. Walsh has denied any wrongdoing.

That lawsuit is ongoing.
The University of Wyoming will likely lay off employees in the coming weeks as the states sole four-year college grapples with more than $40 million in budget cuts.

Exactly how many staff members are likely to lose their jobs  and how much UW hopes to save by laying them off  is still up in the air, university spokesman Chad Baldwin said. The number will likely be less than 50.

Any employee served with a pink slip will find out in mid-May and at the latest be gone from the university by June 30.

Baldwin said Monday that any layoffs would not include faculty members.

UW Staff Senate Vice President Rachel Stevens said the layoffs were expected. The senate was concerned about it, she said, but there was little its members could do.

She said university policy dictates that laid-off employees be given 30 days notice. The staff senate had requested more advance warning and that affected employees be given a face-to-face meeting with their supervisors with a human resources representative present. She said Albany County workforce service representatives would also be available.

Staff members were publicly notified that layoffs were likely in an April newsletter circulated by the universitys Staff Senate. Baldwin told the Star-Tribune in November that the school planned on laying off roughly 20 staff members in the next fiscal year, a timeline that appears to have accelerated. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

Associate Vice President for Human Resources Jeanne Durr indicated that, due to the budget crisis, employee layoffs in the near term are likely, the newsletter said.

Last June, Nichols said layoffs were inevitable.

We have managed to avoid program cuts and layoffs in the fiscal year that begins next month, she said. But those types of reductions will be unavoidable in the following year.

The university has lost tens of millions in state funding during the current two-year budget cycle amid an ongoing decline in the energy sector. In the past year, the school has announced more than $29 million in reductions to address cuts made by the state. Because 85 percent of the schools budget is tied up in personnel, its nearly impossible to significantly trim costs without turning to staffing.

Baldwin said he wasnt sure how many staff members would be laid off because the decisions would be made by individual deans and department heads. Nor could he indicate how much money the university hoped to save through the layoffs for the same reason: Each department and school within UW has a certain reduction target it must meet, so the severity of layoffs will likely vary across campus.

Nichols, who came to the university a year ago, has eliminated more than 300 positions in her time at the school, a number that will likely rise to nearly 400, Baldwin said. The majority of those positions were already vacant.

More became vacant after the university rolled out a pair of early-retirement incentives. The first, announced last summer, was offered to both faculty and staff. It created 50 vacancies, largely through staff; only a dozen or so faculty accepted the buyout. UW then decided to offer a new retirement incentive for only faculty.

Baldwin said at the time that faculty were given more notice this time around, which administrators hoped would increase the number of people who chose to leave. It appears to have worked: Baldwin said Monday that 40 faculty accepted the incentive  more than administrators anticipated. Roughly 20 of those positions will be eliminated.

Baldwin said there was not any potential that Nichols will declare financial exigency, a scenario in which the university can eliminate tenured professors. She did declare a financial crisis last year.

Asked if more cuts would mean layoffs or exigency, Baldwin said he didnt want to speculate.

It would be really, really serious, he said. I dont know how we would absorb that.

Baldwin flatly denied rumors that more than two dozen people had already been laid off from the Outreach School, which has effectively been eliminated and its duties absorbed elsewhere on campus. He said no one at the Outreach School had been notified that they would be losing their job. Indeed, he said, no one at the university had been laid off yet.

Alyson Hagy, the interim dean at the Outreach School, also disputed the rumor. In her five months in the job, two people had resigned, she said, but otherwise, staffing levels were the same.

Baldwin attributed the Outreach School claim to people fearing for their employment. Outreach School Associate Dean Jeff Edgens said last month that layoffs were possible as the entity reorganizes. Some employees there might have an inkling that they will lose their jobs, Baldwin said Monday, and word may have started to spread that people had already lost their jobs.
Two Wyoming women have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to bring a controlled substance into the state penitentiary.

Natalie Anderson, 30, of Cheyenne and 35-year-old Katrina Pearson of Mills are accused of trying to deliver the synthetic form of marijuana known as "spice" into the Wyoming State Penitentiary. They both pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Court documents say the women sent drugs into the prison through envelopes carrying magazine subscription cards that had been dipped in a liquefied form of spice.

A prison staff member became suspicious and began swapping out the tainted cards for clean ones and completed the delivery of the mail.

Authorities say the suspects were tied to the crime through phone calls from inmates and text messages.
PHOENIX  Arizonans wont have to worry the state or city will demand a background check before someone can privately sell a refrigerator, a microwave  or a gun.

Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday signed legislation that bars all levels of government from requiring that the owner of any personal property be forced to search a federal or state database before transferring the item. The law, which takes effect later this summer, also says governments cant require the involvement of a third party in such transfers of personal property.

Sen. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, said the legislation is the outgrowth of a concern from a constituent who heard of restrictions being enacted elsewhere and wanted to be sure Arizona not only makes those illegal for itself but keeps cities and towns from their own such interference.

But the only such laws approved by voters in other states apply only to firearms, designed to close what some call the gun show loophole that allows individuals with multiple firearms to sell them at such events without getting the same background checks required for sales through licensed gun dealers.

The gun legislation is the latest bid by lawmakers to forestall some public demand for background checks for all sales, not just those made by licensed gun dealers.

For the moment, there are no state laws. But former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly are using their organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, to lobby for such an Arizona law and to work to elect legislators who will approve such a check.

The more immediate effect would be on a Tucson ordinance that says anyone who wants to sell firearms at the city-owned convention center has to first make sure a background check has been done on the buyer to ensure that person is legally entitled to own a firearm.

Rep. Randall Friese, D-Tucson, said previously he believes SB 1122 could be used to try to overturn the 2001 Tucson ordinance.

That ordinance spells out that any firearm transferred on city property first needs a background check. It was specifically aimed at the gun shows that used to occur regularly at the citys convention center. The city law was challenged in court by gun show promoters as illegal, but a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals found that Tucson, as a charter city, has wide latitude in deciding the use of its property.

The Arizona Supreme Court declined to review the issue. As a result, gun shows have been moved to private venues.

Other signings

The governor on Monday also signed several other measures.

One with potentially broad effects would impose new restrictions on in-state moving companies.

Federal law already governs situations where people move from state to state. But the state Attorney Generals Office said there are many complaints from people moving within Arizona that a company quotes one price, picks up the goods but then insists on additional cash before delivering the items.

This new law not only requires up-front estimates but also says household goods must be delivered once the property owner pays that amount. Any dispute over additional services would have to be resolved later in court.

Ducey also penned his approval to legislation to allow up to 35 electronic billboards within a 40-mile radius of Bullhead City.

That legislation was sought by lobbyists for Lamar Advertising who said they were not part of the 2012 deal that made most of the state off-limits to the internally illuminated signs. The only place new ones are permitted is a swath from the eastern edge of the Phoenix metro area west to Yuma, protecting telescopes and dark skies for Southern, Southeastern and Northern Arizona.

The deal includes limits on illumination and a requirement the signs be switched off at 11 p.m. It also is crafted to bar the signs in and around Lake Havasu City and Hoover Dam.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some May 2 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
Olga's Borscht

1 lb. chopped meat, any kind

1 teaspoon Vegeta*

2 beetroots

 pound carrots

2 onions

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2-3 cups stock

 pound cabbage, shredded

4 to 5 potatoes, sliced

 pound celery

3 tablespoons parsley

1 bayleaf

Salt, black pepper to taste

Cover meat with water (about five cups), add Vegeta and bring to a boil and simmer for 45-50 minutes. When tender, remove from heat and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Slice beets, carrots and onions into strips and place with the meat in a deep casserole dish. Add tomato paste and 2-3 cups of the water you cooked the meat in. Cover and cook on stovetop over medium heat, stirring and adding more stock as necessary.

After 20 minutes, stir in cabbage and simmer for another 15 to 18 minutes. Add the sliced potatoes, celery, parsley, bayleaf, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve with fresh slices of tomato and lemon, a dollop of sour cream and dark rye bread.

*Vegeta is a condiment that includes salt, dehydrated vegetables and other flavor enhancers.
Pima County Sheriff's deputies are asking the public for help identifying a man riding a BMX bicycle to a credit union on the northwest side and robbing it.

The March 15 robbery was captured on a surveillance camera at Hughes Federal Credit Union at 7970 N. Thornydale Road, said Deputy Ryan Inglett, a sheriff's spokesman.

The robbery was reported shortly before 11 a.m., and when deputies arrived they learned that the robber had already left. No one was injured inside the bank, said Inglett.

Investigators interviewed witnesses and reviewed the surveillance footage, which showed the robber rode a BMX bike to the bank, Inglett said.

After the man entered the bank, he jumped over the teller's counter and demanded money. He is seen in the video also taking money from tellers' registers. He then left the credit union through the back door and headed south.

The robber is described as possibly white and in his 20s to 30s. He is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red, white and black motocross helmet, a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, gray cargo shorts, black socks and gray shoes.

Robbery assault detectives ask that anyone with information call 911 or 88-CRIME, an anonymous tipster hotline.
The Arizona Daily Stars Sportsmens Fund Send a Kid to Camp program raises money so children from low-income households and military families can attend overnight YMCA, Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps and Camp Tatiyee, for school-age children and older teens with special needs, at little or no cost to their families.

Our goal is to raise $190,000 and send 650 local boys and girls to area camps this summer. So far, weve received 1,028 donations totaling $144,372, which puts us three-fourths of the way to our goal.

Since 1947, the Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund has helped pay for 38,551 children to go to camp. Were one of the oldest 501(c)3 charities in Arizona and one of the most efficient in our giving, with 97 cents of every dollar going to send kids to camp.

Your contribution qualifies for the Arizona tax credit of up to $800 for donations to qualifying charitable organizations. Donations are welcome throughout the year.

Recent donations include:

Wallace Roberts, $200.

Marcia Robinson, $400.

Judy Roemmelt, $200.

Theresa Romine Lee, $100.

Vic and Kay Rudek, in memory of Frank Fitzpatrick, $100.

Anna Sakowski, $25.

Eric Schindler, $100.

Suzanne Schoen, $50.

Donald Schroeder, $100.

Sally Schuneman, $100.

Marlene Shamis, $50.

Faye Shevel, $25.

Blaine and Patricia Smith, $100.

Charles Smith Jr., $100.

Byron Snyder, $200.

David Stallings, $100.

Harold Staves, in memory of grandson Luke Anderson, $100.

Sue Steiner, $50.

Peter Stewart, $50.

Richard Stockton, $200.

Deborah Summers, in memory of Jeanette Summers, $200.

Roy and Gloria Swope, $300.

J. T., $300.

Don and Josie Tanner, in memory of Tim Tanner, who dedicated his lifes work to helping foster children grow, learn and become young adults, $150.

Thunder Mountain Moose Lodge 2475, $200.

Sally Tiffany, $20.

Mary Topmiller, in memory of Tim Fagan and Mary Topmiller, $100.

Howard and Patricia Tuller, $50.

Joe Uremovich, $25.

Luis and Linda Vasquez, $100.

Nasario Verdugo, $30.

Louise Warrick, $200.
Tucson area residents who get their health insurance through UnitedHealthcare just lost a major system of local providers.

Efforts to reach a resolution between Northwest Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare failed at midnight Sunday, officials with both for-profit entities confirmed Monday morning.

Northwest Healthcare, which operates both Oro Valley Hospital and Northwest Medical Center, said Monday that UnitedHealthcare has rejected every proposal we have offered.

Officials with UnitedHealthcare say both Northwest and its parent company, Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, turned down a five-year agreement offer.

Both sides say they remain committed to finding an acceptable solution.

In the meantime, the now-severed contract affects tens of thousands of patients, most of them on Tucsons northwest side.

The end of the contract means patients covered by UnitedHealthcare will no longer be able to use their health insurance for services at Northwest Medical Center and Oro Valley Hospital, except for emergencies. And they will also no longer be able to have visits to Northwest Allied Physicians and Northwest Healthcare urgent care centers, among others, covered by their insurance.

Whos affected

Affected patients include UnitedHealthcares Medicaid, Medicare Advantage (not MediGap plans), and individual and employer-sponsored plans. UnitedHealth officials last week said they already had a transition-of-care plan in case the contract wasnt resolved.

Patients receiving ongoing treatment for special conditions, or women in their third trimester of pregnancy, may be eligible for continuation of care benefits.

We know that Northwest Healthcare and our providers being forced out of network with United is concerning for our patients with United coverage, a statement from Northwest spokeswoman Kimberly Chimene says.

We will continue to work toward an agreement with United. In the meantime, we will help patients navigate this transition and what it means for them.

Both Northwest Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare have set up websites to provide patients with more information.

Northwest Healthcare officials said they sent out more than 60,000 letters to local patients covered by UnitedHealthcare who have used their facilities in the last year. The insurance company estimates about 46,000 patients are affected.

Rejected outright

UnitedHealthcare is based in Minnesota, but its Phoenix-based Arizona Healthcare CEO, Dave Allazetta, on April 17 said that the company considers itself local and committed to the community. It has more than 7,000 employees in Arizona.

UnitedHealthcare all along has told the Star that the crux of the dispute was with efforts to get Northwest on board with a value-based care model that ties reimbursements to quality measures like mortality and readmissions.

Were really trying to change the way they are compensated, using the value-based contract. They are asking for apples. We are offering them oranges, Allazetta said last month.

What were both trying to discuss is a necessity to create a compensation scheme built around quality and performance. Its not unique. We do it with other hospital facilities, not only in Tucson, but in Phoenix as well.

On Monday, Northwest officials said they offered to tie their proposed increases in reimbursement to Uniteds value-based agreement, but that United rejected that outright and every compromise we offered.

Northwest officials contend United is not acting in the best interest of their members or our community, Chimene wrote.

Transition plan

UnitedHealthcares West Region medical director and Tucson resident Dr. Tom Biuso said that moving forward, patients are already getting help finding new providers. They can call the number on the back of their insurance card or go to a company webpage set up for those affected.

United has been very proactive, where patients can call the number on the back of their card and get help with continuity of care, Biuso said.

We have been proactive in helping them find a new physician and then providing continuity of care when it applies.

Biuso said UnitedHealthcare officials have met with other Tucson-area health systems, and says they are equipped to provide access to care for disrupted patients.

Im confident the network is more than adequate to handle the disruption, he said.

Biuso stressed if someone is acutely ill, they should always go to the nearest emergency facility.

In an emergency, they can get their care. Also, many patients have an out-of-network benefit where they can access the urgent cares that Northwest has, or one of the physician groups, he said. It may not be prohibitive at all, but I can understand how it would make the patient unhappy.

Biuso said the last time he checked, applications for continuation of care have been getting approved at a rate of 90 percent with a turnaround time of three days.

Were trying to do everything in our power to mitigate disruption, Biuso said. Behind the scenes the contract dialogue still goes on.

Patients disappointed

Without Northwest Healthcare, patients with UnitedHealthcare who live in north and northwest of Tucson  in areas such as Oro Valley, Marana and SaddleBrooke  are going to find themselves driving 40 minutes or more to get to a provider.

Tucson resident Linda Davis was approved for special continuation of care with UnitedHealthcare to keep her Northwest Healthcare physicians, since she was diagnosed with a rare cancer in October and would like to keep the same doctors.

Her surgeon, primary-care doctor and endocrinologist are all employed by Northwest Allied Physicians, which is part of Northwest Healthcare, her husband, Kevin Davis, said.

The couple has a Medicare Advantage plan through UnitedHealthcare and is hoping to switch insurance companies. Davis said he no longer wants to be covered by UnitedHealthcare.

I know there are two sides to every story and I am kind of disappointed in Northwest as well, said Davis, a former hospital administrator. I just feel like UnitedHealthcare sold us a bill of goods that wasnt true.

SaddleBrooke resident Don Jensen was in disbelief Monday afternoon. Hed really been hoping for an agreement. SaddleBrooke residents are facing an hours drive each way to seek care outside of the Northwest Healthcare network.

The fact that they are still talking gives me some hope, he said.

Tucson insurance broker Raymond Magnuson of Magnuson & Associates said that in some cases, Medicare will allow a special enrollment period. But he has not yet heard if that will be allowed for the Medicare Advantage enrollees affected by the United Healthcare contract.

A response from Medicare was not immediately available Monday afternoon. Regular open enrollment for changing Medicare plans is always at the end of the year, for coverage starting Jan. 1.

Magnuson does have commercial clients  small businesses  that want to change insurers because of the contract failure, and will be able to do that midyear, he said.

In the next 24 to 48 hours these things will become much more clear, Magnuson said. But as we sit here today Im telling clients to move forward assuming UnitedHealthcare is not in the Northwest network.
Northwest Healthcare is no longer in UnitedHealthcare's network - a contract termination that will affect thousands of Tucson area patients.

As has been the case throughout the dispute, each side had its own version of what happened.

"As of midnight last night, Northwest Healthcare has been forced out of UnitedHealthcares network," Northwest Healthcare spokeswoman Kimberly Chimene wrote in an email this morning, adding that the company will continue trying to work with UnitedHealthcare.

"We worked tirelessly through the weekend to try and come to a resolution in order to maintain vital patient access to our health system."

Officials with UnitedHealthcare issued a statement today that said despite numerous attempts over the weekend to reach an agreement, Northwest Healthcare and its parent company Community Health Systems turned down an offer for a five-year agreement that would have kept the systems hospitals, ambulatory clinics and physicians practices in-network.

The contract affects tens of thousands of patients, most of them on Tucson's Northwest Side.

The end of the contract means patients covered by UnitedHealthcare will no longer be able to use Northwest Medical Center and Oro Valley Hospital, except for emergencies. And they will also no longer be able to have visits to Northwest Allied Physicians and Northwest Healthcare urgent care centers, among others, covered by their insurance.

A contract termination affects UnitedHealthcares Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, individual and employer-sponsored plans (but not MediGap plans). UnitedHealth officials last week said they already had a transition-of-care plan in case the contract wasn't resolved.

Patients receiving ongoing treatment for special conditions, or women in their third trimester of pregnancy, may be eligible for continuation of care benefits.

Officials with Northwest Healthcare, which is owned by Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, had been hopeful for a resolution. UnitedHealthcare officials said they had been hopeful, too.

UnitedHealthcare's Arizona Health Plan CEO Dave Allazetta was in Tucson on Thursday and made an in-person proposal to Northwest Healthcare CEO Kevin Stockton. They met for about an hour, UnitedHealthcare officials confirmed.

But there was no agreement.

"Despite our significant compromise and request for a contract extension to continue working through the details, United has rejected every proposal we have offered," Chimene wrote.

"We understand this impacts our patients in-network access to care at Northwest Healthcare. We will continue to try reach an amicable agreement with United that ensures our patients have the freedom to choose their providers and hospitals, while keeping out of pocket costs down."

UnitedHealthcare officials said that members who are currently getting treatment with a Northwest Allied physician or specialist should call the number on their health insurance ID card to request a Continuity of Care benefit.

"Other Tucson hospitals and physician practices are supportive and prepared to accept our members for care," the insurance company's statement says.

"For more than 20 years, weve been working with the Arizona community to ensure residents have access to a broad network of care providers. UnitedHealthcares goal remains to find an acceptable solution that would renew in-network access to the health system's hospitals and physicians with a contract focused on quality, affordable health care."

Both sides of the dispute have written newspaper op-eds, as well as letters to patients. Northwest Healthcare said it sent out more than 60,000 letters to UnitedHealthcare patients who had used a Northwest facility in the last year. It also set up a website called Stand Up to United Az.

Southern Arizona's largest physician organization  the Pima County Medical Society, last week called on both entities to do the, "moral and ethical thing," and resolve the dispute for the sake of patients.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): Condemning as barbaric the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday wondered if Union Minister Smriti Irani would now gift bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she had wanted to send to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a similar killing in 2013.

During the Congress-led UPA rule in 2013, after a terror attack on Indian soldiers, Irani while addressing a public meeting had offered to send bangles to Manmohan Singh.

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We condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack by the Pakistanis and the mutilating of the bodies of two of our soldiers, the Congress spokesperson said, briefing mediapersons.

During the UPA regime there was a woman MP (Smriti Irani) who said the Prime Minister should be gifted bangles. Will the same MP who is now a Minister send bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?, Sibal asked.

He also said there should be a policy to tackle terrorism and the government should discuss it with the opposition.

He said the BJP-led NDA government will have time to protect the borders only if they have time to spare from election campaigns. What kind of a government is this that despite knowing that Pakistan will not change its ways, they invited the ISI to Pathankot, said Sibal, referring to the Pakistani team that went to Pathankot to probe the 2016 terror attack on an Indian airbase.

In the last 35 months, 135 soldiers have died in Jammu and Kashmir. Who is responsible for this? he asked.

They said demonetisation will end terrorism, but terror attacks only increased after that. I remember when Hemraj was beheaded (in 2013) Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) said We should get 10 heads for oneHow many heads will they get for two? Sibal wondered.

India on Tuesday blamed Pakistan for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
Help India!

By Twocircles.net Staff Reporter

The government must pledge to the Assam Accord of 1985 and decide citizenship rights accordingly, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind said on May 2 at a press conference in Delhi.

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Condemning the treatment of foreigners on religious line and terming it as state-sponsored communalism, Maulana Mahmood Madani said that Jamiat had always supported composite nationalism and opposed two nation theory. How can any government welcome Hindu and denounce Muslim in the same issue and same case? If there are foreigners, they should be ousted forthwith but we will not tolerate harassment to the genuine citizens, he said.

Maulana Badruddin Ajmal said that the Assam State Jamiat Ulama has taken a strong stand to defend the Assam Accord-1985 in the Supreme Court and engaged a team of lawyers for the same.

As per the instruction of the Supreme Court, JUH has filed written submissions and produced all relevant documents before in the Supreme Court on 01/05/2017.

It must be pointed out that the Assam Accord had been executed by Rajiv Gandhi-led Central Government in 1985 which guaranteed that those who came and settled in Assam till 25/3/1971, would be treated as Indian citizens. Accordingly, Citizenship Act 1955 was amended by the Parliament and section 6-A was included. However, this decision was challenged and it was claimed that instead of that cutoff date i.e. 25/3/1971, the base year should be 1951, to decide the citizenship of people in Assam. It also challenged the validity of Assam Accord-1985 claiming it as unconstitutional and claimed National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be updated with 1951 in the base year.

The cases were earlier before Division Bench of Supreme Court which raised 13 questions on Assam Accord and asked defending parties to file answers in the Court. Later, the cases were shifted to Constriction Bench of Supreme Court comprising of five judges. The Constitution Bench directed all the parties to submit a written submission and connected documents on or before 01/05/2017.

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said it has submitted answers to those 13 questions and produced all relevant documents before the Supreme Court on 01/05/2017.

The final hearings of the connected cases have been fixed on and from 8th May 2017 before a Constitution Bench comprising of five judges. The outcome of which shall affect many lakhs of people.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): As many as 54 attacks on journalists were reported in 16 months, mainly by lawmakers and law enforcers, a report compiled by media watchdog Hoot said on Tuesday, a day ahead of the World Press Freedom Day.

The report said the actual figure could be much higher as a minister told Parliament that 142 attacks on journalists took place between 2014-15.

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The stories behind each of these attacks reveal a clear and persistent pattern. Investigative reporting is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Journalists who venture out into the field to investigate any story, be it sand mining, stone quarrying, illegal construction, police brutality, medical negligence, eviction drive, election campaigns, or civic administration corruption are under attack, it said.

The attacks were committed by political parties and their leaders (8), police (9), and mobs resisting media coverage (9).

Apart from attacks, the report took into account invocation of sedition law, suspension of Internet services in a region, self-censorship on part of media companies, censoring of films and other arts, among other instances which may frustrate free functioning of the media.

The shutdown of the printing presses of two Kashmir newspapers after the killing of militant Burhan Wani, and the ban on Kashmir Reader for three months during the same period, were cited in the report as instances of media censorship.

Other such instances included a one-day ban on NDTV news channel for its coverage of the Pathankot attack last January, which  supposed to have revealed strategic information about the operation.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry however put the ban on hold after the channel approached the Supreme Court.

The sedition law was also used unsparingly and went viral, as the report said.

A large number of cases were filed  18 between January and June last year. By the end of the year, the figure was 40, it said.

The media watchdog cited examples of killings of Right to Information (RTI) activists, and appointment of bureaucrats as Chief Information Commissioners instead of persons of eminence in public life, as the concerned Act says.

Currently, 91.6 per cent of Chief Information Commissioners in states are retired bureaucrats, as are 93 per cent of Central Information Commissioners, the report said.

Jammu and Kashmir suffered the longest and bans on Internet services the most  13 times in 16 months, with Haryana coming second with Internet suspension nine times in as many months.
According to the UN, approximately 281,740 refugees made the sea crossing to Europe within the first eight months of 2016.

An estimated to one in every 52 people died at sea during the journey, making last year the deadliest year on record for migration in the Mediterranean, and the death toll for 2017 is yet to decline as more people continue to risk the journey.

As a consequence of overpopulated life boats and illegal smuggling, hundreds of migrants are left fighting for their lives, and EU authorities - in coercion with NGOs - are frequently debating who's responsible for rescuing them.

Italy; Europe's Frontline

The Italian coastguards, who have been known to save as many as 6,500 refugees from the Mediterranean in one day, work effortlessly to rescue packed dinghies unlikely to reach the coast safely.

However, tensions have flared politically as the UN calls for an international effort to minimise the death toll of refugees at sea. While Italian politicians have argued they "need an influx of migrants and immigrants for our country to work," the coastguards have asked to support at sea to monitor the number.

The country has maintained their position as Europe's frontline for the migrant crisis for the last three years, and more than 400,000 migrants have successfully travelled to Italy from North Africa in the last two years.

Shipping steps in

Thousands of ships among a multitude of industries cross the Mediterranean every day, and a large sum of them first-hand witness the deadly journey refugees undertake.

According to the European Community Shipowners Association (ECSA), commercial vessels rescued 42,061 people in 2014, which is 25.2 per cent of the total number of arrivals across the Central Mediterranean.

This number is likely to have almost tripled by 2018, due to the ongoing civil war in Syria and brutal conflict in Yemen.

The soar in the shipping industry rescuing migrants materialised after the cessation of Mare Nostrum - a year-long project launched by the Italian Navy to carry out a humanitarian operation aiming to save the lives of as many migrants at sea as possible.

The MTI Network, an incident response organisation supporting the shipping industry, state: "Successfully rescuing migrants is only part of the problem.

"Maintaining calm onboard, providing food water and shelter, to sometimes hundreds of people, is a huge challenge for any crew. Successfully disembarking such numbers of refugees, often at small Mediterranean ports, can also raise difficulties if public and political sentiment towards asylum seekers is low."

A moral obligation

International NGOs have continually reenforced that the refugee crisis is in a need of unified, global support and a country or certain industry is not solely responsible for the current migration cataclysm.

However, many argue that the decision of saving innocent lives at sea comes down to a moral obligation over 'professional responsibility.'

Paul Shields, an export operator who's name has been changed for anonymity reasons, believes the choice of those working in the shipping industry is a 'no-brainer:'

"When you see another human drowning in front of you, it doesn't matter who you work for or what the rules and regulations state.

We are morally obliged to save as many lives as we can, and ensure they reach safety in whichever country that may be," he said.

"I couldn't live with myself knowing that I chose to export oil over the life of a 3-month-old baby. Human instinct naturally tells you what to prioritise in that situation, and suddenly your job role is irrelevant."
Celebrating the 100th day of his presidency by telling a crowd of supporters in another of the many campaign-type rallies what a terrific job he has done, "accomplishing more than any other president in the first 100 days," president Trump also made one of the most incredible statements yet during a weekend CBS Oval Office interview and apparently opened up the White House guest list to two dictators.

Trump, what can you believe? Absolutely nothing!

Getting frustrated as the CBS reporter pressed him on the question of Obama wiretapping Trump Tower, President Trump was finally asked point blank if he still stood behind those incredible tweets wherein he called former President Obama sick and bad in a series of March online rants.

Trump kept saying it was all proven (nothing was proven except that Trump made it all up) and he had his own opinion, finally making the truly bizarre statement, I dont stand behind anything [Ive said.]

Let me repeat that, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, told CBS reporter John Dickerson on camera that he doesnt stand behind anything he has said. No equivocation. No limitation on what he was referring to, just the statement that no one should rely on anything he has said, ever!

Trump on history, why a Civil War?

In another weekend interview, President Trump wondered aloud why no one ever asked why there had been a US Civil War. (Just FYI - In the US this is a subject which is discussed endlessly in history classes and thousands of books.) President Andrew Jackson, who was responsible for attempted genocide of the Cherokee Indian Nation in the infamous Trail of Tears (see below), is one of Trumps heroes, a slave-holder upon whom the president keeps heaping praise.

Part of President Trumps history lesson for the nation included the statement that President Andrew Jackson was "really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, 'There's no reason for this. Probably not true since former President Jackson died in 1845, 16 years before the US Civil War began in 1861, so it is unlikely that he was angry about the war.

This claim was apparently too much even for President Trump who hours later tried to explain his bizarre statement in more tweets.

Trump on dictators.

Until this weekend we only knew President Trump admired one living demagogic dictator whose political opponents and opposition reporters keep dying. But Russian President Putin now has company as a friend of Donald who Trump admires because President Trump has invited the President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte to the White House.

President Duterte has bragged about personally killing suspected drug dealers and suspected drug addicts - reminiscent of candidate Trumps claim he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave. (a major New York street) in broad daylight and not lose any support.

WARNING: foul language in the following video.

Trump on North Koreas Kim Jong-un.

Even more bizarre than his invitation to the admitted murderer who heads the Philippine government was President Trumps statement that he thought North Korean President for Life Kim Jong-un was a smart cookie, and went on to praise him for his ability to take over a country at his young age.

President Trump also said he would be honoured to meet with Kim Jong-un, which would make him the first US president ever to meet with one of the North Korean hereditary family of dictators.

It is widely thought that Jung-un ordered the death of his brother by nerve agent and that he has had members of the military who displeased him killed by anti-aircraft guns.

NOTE: disclaimer -, this reporter is part Cherokee but Jacksons Indian Removal Act of 1830 resulted in the near destruction of the Native American Cherokee tribe when they were forced to move west of the Mississippi and thousands of men, women, and even children were brutalised to death on the forced march. Numbers are inexact but it is thought that nearly 6,000 of the 16,000 Cherokee who were marched west in 1938 died.

Personally, I dont know which is worse. Did Trump not know Jackson was a brutal, slave-holding racist or that he knew and still considers him a great president and wonderful role model.
UK's former Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced his intention to return to the political scene in the UK. He will not stand for the elections or leave his foundations, but "I will go out and reconnect with the voters, " Tony Blair told The Daily Mirror.

Tony Blair: Reformed obstinate and energetic during his tenure

At Downing Street between 1997 and 2007, Tony Blair said that "Brexit has given me a direct motivation to get more involved in politics. You need to get your hands dirty and I'll do it. " The former Prime Minister, 63, wants to warn his fellow citizens about the risks of Brexit.

With a very futuristic ideology, something that seems easy in British society, which boasts of having invented this sport, explains that being in the European Union was "playing in the Champions League of trade agreements", and that the agreement Exit that can reach Great Britain will leave him in a situation like the Premier League (equivalent to the Second Spanish division). " We are relegating ourselves, European" Blair said.

As a good Scot from Edinburgh, Tony Blair is a strong supporter of the UK's retention in the EU, virtually impossible since the majority of British (almost 52% compared to 48% of voters) voted to leEuropeanUnion in a referendum held on June 23, 2016.

Now Blair predicts that "In the not too distant future the British people will want to return to the European Union, that may take a generation, but at some point we will want to return."

Tony Blair: "I do care about this Country"

The Ex-Prime Minister said in his interview with The Daily Mirror that "he does not want Britain to go through this historic moment without my words, that would mean that I do not care about this country, and I do care." Since his departure from His Majesty's Government and the cessation of his political leadership a decade ago, Tony Blair has been working mainly as a consultant for various companies in the energy and financial sector, as well as charitable work, among other tasks.

He also serves as the representative of the Quartet of Peace for the Middle East, where he has not made much progress because of the obstinacy of Palestinians and Israelis.

The hypothesis, regularly fed by his closest circle and many of his co-religionists, of a return to active politics has been overhauled over the last two years in the face of the decline of the Labor Party, now led by Jeremy Corbyn, too leftist for the standards of modern Laborism.
US President Donald Trump has said that he would be open to a meeting with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator whos been ignoring warnings of punitive measures from the US and China (much to Trumps chagrin), but only under the right circumstances. The purpose of such a meeting would be to cool off the tensions currently boiling between their two nations with regards to the incendiary issue (pun absolutely intended) of Kims nuclear weapons program.

I would absolutely meet with Kim Jong-un, says Trump

Trump said he would be honoured to meet with Kim Jong-un, on the condition that it would be appropriate for (him) to do it.

He seemed enthusiastic about it, saying he would absolutely meet with Kim if the two countries could work that out, but made sure to make it clear that he would only do so under the, again, under the right circumstances, but then backtracked yet again by saying, But I would do that.

So, to sum up, Trump would like to meet with Kim but would only do so under the right set of circumstances but would definitely do it but again would only do it under the right set of circumstances but he would absolutely do it. The President was making these bold claims during an interview with Bloomberg News conducted yesterday.

No US President has ever met a North Korean leader whilst in office

Its worth noting that no sitting President of the United States has ever met with a North Korean leader.

The very idea of it is absurdly controversial, but then so is Trump himself. But Trump isnt just going over there willy-nilly right this second. Remember, he said hed only meet with Kim under the right circumstances. So, what exactly do those circumstances entail?

According to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, the Trump administration is going to have to see some changes in the way Kim and his regime over in Pyongyang are handling things before he gets to meet POTUS.

Spicer said that North Koreas provocative behaviour will need to be ratcheted down immediately if such a meeting is to take place. Spicer added that clearly, the conditions are not there right now for Trump to go over there to meet Kim or, worse yet, have Kim over for a steak dinner at the White House.

Trump is risking nuclear war by threatening military action

In an attempt to get Pyongyang to curb the advancement of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which was brought on by trigger-happy Trumps Presidential win in the first place, Trump has been threatening military action. Hes sent a Navy strike force to North Korean waters, which has only made Kim more eager to develop nuclear weapons and an intercontinental missile (so far, no luck, thankfully), and has threatened that if the strike force fires one single bullet, he will nuke America. Clearly, this is a delicate matter that Trump is only just finally taking seriously.

The strike force has deployed a brand-new anti-ballistic missile system to South Korea, the shrew, nicer cousin of the nuke-toting North.

Visiting Seoul during the weekend, Mike Pompeo, the Director of the CIA, will be taking meetings with the US Forces on the Korean peninsula and employees at the embassy  this announcement was made by Daniel Turnbull, a US Embassy spokesman. However, Pompeo will not be taking any meetings with South Korean Presidential candidates, despite the fact their elections are just next week. The candidates currently taking the lead have focused on what theyll be doing about their relationship with Pyongyang and the threats posed by them during their campaigns  that plays well to terrified, paranoid South Korean voters. No meetings on the Korean peninsula for Trump as of yet, but well see how that develops as long as hes happy to absolutely meet with Kim Jong-un.

This isnt the first time Trump has said he would meet with Kim Jong-un. He said during his Presidential campaign that he would meet with Kim and that there was a 10% or 20% chance that he would be able to talk him out of those damn nukes, cause who the hell wants him to have nukes?
In an interview with Bloomberg News, US President Donald Trump has said that he would be honoured to meet with Kim Jong-un, but only under the right circumstances. The media has since exploded surrounding this issue, and the burden is on White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to explain why Trump said hed be happy to sit down with the guy threatening to nuke the t*ts off the United States.

Spicer has taken the strategy of noting Kims positives

Spicers strategy in explaining Trumps comments to reporters has been to say wonderful and laudatory things about Kim in an attempt to get everybody hes threatening to kill on his side.

Its a bad strategy, because the US are supposed to be at odds with North Korea. Its strange to see a Washington official saying positive things about the leader running the nuclear weapons program in Pyongyang. That wont get Kim to curtail his nuclear threats. Hes just sitting in his front room right now, watching this on his giant TV, clapping his hands with a big grin.

Of the compliments Spicer paid Kim, first and foremost was calling him a smart cookie. The Trump administration likes calling intimidating political figures cookies. Trump called Vladimir Putin a tough cookie once. Its the formula they use. Spicer then told Kims life story, noting how he assumed power at a young age after his father, Kim Jong-il, died, and praised Kim Jong-un for how he has nobly managed to lead a country forward, even though he was faced with a lot of potential threats when he assumed power over North Korea.

Spicer said that Kim is a young person to be leading a country with nuclear weapons, quite possibly in an attempt to get people to sympathise with him.
President Trump reminded everyone yesterday that he was a little hazy on certain aspects of American History. You remember General Andrew Jackson, looks like Charlton Heston in 'The Pirate.' Victor of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815,- fought after a peace treaty had been signed, later 7thPresident of the USA.Well please tell that to'The Donald'!

The Confusion

In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Trump expressed some confusion on why the Civil War, 1861-1865, actually took place? Expressing that Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the first shot was fired at Fort Sumter, 'was very angry about it.' and would have stopped the slaughter had he been alive?

Trump also said that Jackson who had a reputation as a harsh slave owner, and carried out the first of many long lasting assaults against the Native American tribes, 'was a very tough person, but was a man with a big heart?' Confused...probably not as much as Trump? This, of course, comes in the wake of growing tensions in New Orleans as under cover of darkness statues of the Confederate fallen are being removed, following the disappearance of Rebel-Flags from civic buildings in the South. One can only wonder how long the battlefields of Vicksburg, Manassas, and Gettysburg will stand protected, for history may be written by the victor, but they have no need to erase its monuments as well.

The Remedy

president Trump has made much of the fact that he is not a reader; a discipline his predecessor prided himself on. Books and what is contained within their pages seem to be an anathema to him and unfortunately making sweeping statements about things you really know very little about only confirms that fact. He has yet to learn the lesson that, (a) do not perpetuate fake-news yourself, and (b) the fact we should all learn at some time or other; if in doubt shut up.

Perhaps a crash course in the key points of US and world history would help. Even skip reading some of the thousands of volumes on social history that the White-House must contain would certainly do no harm.

It is utterly wrong to try and judge the events of the past through modern eyes. We cannot erase mistakes and atrocities by removing them from a page, knocking them down- tell that to ISIS - nor apologizing for them; they stand testament to what happened right or wrong. It is said that someone who does not now the course of one's own countries history, does not know themselves? But then try explaining that to the President?
US President Donald Trump has said that he would be honoured to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, with whom tensions have been rising recently. China has a huge role in this conflict, since theyre the mediator between the United States and North Korea. North Korea is a client of China, and Xi Jinping, the President of China, has supposedly been developing quite the friendship with Donald Trump, if that can be believed. Theyve had their problems in the past  for example, Trump called China a currency manipulator and then later said that he would never do that, having already done it  but they seem to have found common ground with the North Korea crisis.

This is just a few days after Kim, according to Trump, disrespected China

China threatened Kim they would be taking punitive measures if he continued testing missiles, and then Kim went and tested a missile anyway (and failed miserably). Trump denounced Kim after the test for disrespect(ing) China. Today, a Chinese official spoken out about Trumps mention of a potential meeting with Kim Jong-un.

The official said that dialogue and construction (i.e. a meeting between Trump and Kim) is the only feasible way towards denuclearising North Korea and bringing peace and stability to the nation. Geng Shuang, the Foreign Ministry spokesman for China, added that this would be the only correct choice for dealing with the crisis, and that all sides of the conflict need to find a breakthrough in the resumption of peace talks as soon as possible.
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has been forced to push back against allegations of colluding with Russia. While the rumor of his link to the Kremlin have been ongoing since the early days of the election, the scandal has heated up, much to the chagrin of the new president.

Trump on Twitter

When it comes to the possibility of Donald Trump working with Russia, most of the American people seem to have already made up their minds. For those who support the president, they blame the "fake news" media for unfairly attacking the former host of "The Apprentice," while the rest look at the available evidence, which points to a likely connection between both sides.

From failing to release his tax returns, to former and current associates being caught communicating with Russian officials, the Trump administration is in hot water in regards to the scandal of Russian interference. As the pressure mounts, Trump took to Twitter on April 3 to voice his frustrations.

Such amazing reporting on unmasking and the crooked scheme against us by @foxandfriends. "Spied on before nomination." The real story.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2017

"Such amazing reporting on unmasking and the crooked scheme against us by @foxandfriends. 'Spied on before nomination,'" Donald Trump tweeted out, before referring to the Fox News story as "The real story." In a follow-up series of tweets, the president continued his attack on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Was the brother of John Podesta paid big money to get the sanctions on Russia lifted? Did Hillary know?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2017

"Was the brother of John Podesta paid big money to get the sanctions on Russia lifted? Did Hillary know?" Donald Trump wrote on Twitter early Monday morning. In his final tweet as of press time, the billionaire real estate mogul hit back at Hillary Clinton for a second time.

"Did Hillary Clinton ever apologize for receiving the answers to the debate? Just asking!" he tweeted.

Did Hillary Clinton ever apologize for receiving the answers to the debate? Just asking!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2017

Moving forward

Despite the evidence that has been presented by the majority of the mainstream media, Donald Trump is sticking with conservative-leaning news outlets in an attempt to push his own conspiracy theory that he was spied on during the election. While it's unknown how it will all play out in the end, it appears that the president is not happy with how the press has handled the story.
It was just over a week ago when Donald Trump failed to unite the Republican Party behind his health care replacement bill. While the GOP has shown signs that they are not on the same page on the issue, the president is not done deflecting blame onto the media.

Trump on Twitter

For the better part of the last eight years, Republicans have made it one of their top talking points to attack the Affordable Car Act, or Obamacare. Whether it was a conservative candidate running for office on a national or local level, it was considered a prerequisite to bash Obamacare and rally behind its repeal and replacement.

During the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump made eliminating Obamacare one of his top talking points and was able to use that message to help him pull off the shocking upset win over Hillary Clinton. With Republicans in majority-control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it seemed as if Obamacare was on its last legs, but the GOP was unable to get on the same page and the bill was pulled before a vote could even take place. Trump and some Republican lawmakers have publicly fought over the issue, but the president took to Twitter on April 2 to voice his thoughts.

Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R Party!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2017

"Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R Party!," Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday morning.

Not stopping there, the former host of "The Apprentice" continued on social media, vowing that the repeal and replacement of Obamacare will hopefully take place in the near future.

Talks on Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare are, and have been, going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2017

"Talks on Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare are, and have been, going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck," Donald Trump added in a follow-up tweet.

Trump's tone and message is different than other recent Twitter messages where he bashed the House Freedom Caucus for opposing the bill, while even calling out certain members by name.

Moving forward

As of press time, it's unknown when the Republican Party will once again attempt to push a new health care plan. After their latest bill failed on the House floor, Donald Trump indicated that he was planning on moving on to other parts of his agenda, like tax reform.
At a joint press conference on Tuesday, German chancellor Angela Merkel raised concerns over the Russian stance on gay people. Specifically, Merkel pointed to the alleged killing of more than 100 gay men by Chechen authorities, a story broken by the NY Times on April 1st. Chechnya authorities denied the reports, suggesting that the report was filled with lies and disinformation.

Merkel Calls for an Investigation.

Merkel has called for a thorough and full investigation by the Russian government into these allegations. As chancellor of Germany, Merkel has an interest in advancing human rights not just in her own country, but also globally.

At the press conference, Merkel also criticized Russias handling of a LGBT protest. Russian police, instead of allowing the protest, instead arrested those people who demonstrated against the LGBT persecution. In doing so, Merkel called for the protection of Freedom Of Assembly, which Russia was not interested in allowing.

Russia's Issues with Jehovah's Witnesses.

Angela Merkel further criticized Vladimir Putins failure to protect minority interests not just for LGBT people, but also for Jehovahs witnesses, who were denounced as an extremist organization by the Russian Supreme Court. Russias ban on Jehovahs witnesses immediately led to several hate crimes against the religious sect, which is now grouped into the same category as Nazis and Isis.

On the evening of the ruling, Russian citizens in Saint Petersburg blocked Jehovahs witnesses from leaving the premises and threw rocks at the building in which they worshipped. The Russian government has made no official statement on any incidents involving Jehovahs witnesses.

Future Decisions by the Russian Government for LGBT and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Merkel raised these concerns after a private meeting occurred between the two government leaders. She hopes that Russia will fully investigate allegations of abuse of LGBT people in Chechnya, that Russia will in the future respect the right of freedom of assembly, and that Russia protects the rights of the Jehovahs witnesses who have been declared extremists by the Russian government.

Ultimately, the authority for such decisions rests with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Putin had no response for Merkel at the press conference, but his governments actions in the next few months will act as his words.
May 1, 2017

It looks like Ukraine is becoming Turkey's new go-to defense technology partner. Strategic ties between Turkey and Ukraine in the fields of defense and military cooperation are flourishing. The latest development was the April 19-22 visit to Turkey of the commander of the Ukrainian navy, Vice Adm. Ihor Voronchenko, and his delegation.

Voronchenko visited Golcuk shipyards, where Turkey built the Ada-class SW corvettes TCG (Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Gemisi, or "Ship of the Turkish Republic") Heybeliada, Buyukada and Burgazada and delivered them to the Turkish navy in 2011 and 2013; the TCG Kinaliada is under construction there. Turkish and Ukrainian navy personnel participated in the Eurasia Partnership Maritime Interdiction Operations held April 3-7 in Ukraines port of Odessa. The Turkish navy visited Batum, Georgia; Novorossiysk, Russia; Constanta, Romania; and Varna, Bulgaria, and held joint air defense exercises with the Ukrainian navy at Odessa.

Meanwhile, high-level defense industry visits between Turkey and Ukraine have become frequent. The volume of trade between the countries, which was $3.7 billion in 2016, is expected to reach $20 billion in five years now that they have signed a free-trade accord. Their mutual defense industry projects involve satellite technology, warships and navigation systems, radars, engine technology, phased space rockets and ballistic missile systems, solid fuel rocket engines, long-range ballistic missiles and even cruise missiles.

Recently, when Austria restricted technological support for the engine of the Altay main battle tank Turkey designed and is producing using mainly local technologies, Ankara turned to Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman visited Turkey on March 14, and the two countries signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding in which Ukraine is proposing its 6TD-3 engine for the Turkish tank.

What encouraged this rapidly developing defense industry and military technology cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine?

The first reason is geographical: Unlike other NATO and European countries, Turkey is a neighbor of both Russia and Ukraine and is therefore always careful to balance its relations with both.

The other reason is Black Sea geopolitics. According to Devrim Yaylali, an expert on the naval defense industry who spoke with Al-Monitor, although the Black Sea appears to be an inland sea, it still has vibrant, heavy traffic coming from the rivers of Europe and Russia and also from Turkeys straits. Russia's invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014 have added to the complexity of security politics of the Black Sea. Ukraine has a long Black Sea coast, and the country's contribution to Black Sea security is important for Turkey.

For Ukraine, Turkeys role in restraining Russia in the Black Sea and supporting Ukraines membership in NATO are important assets.

Yaylali added: Turkey doesnt want any other navies in the Black Sea other than those of [coastal] countries. That is why it is crucial for Turkey to maintain good relations particularly with naval and coast guard forces of all [coastal] states. This was demonstrated by the Turkish navys visit to all the Black Sea countries" during the 2017 Sea Star exercises.

Another motive for Turkey and Ukraine to cooperate: Both countries want to share military technology to expand and strengthen their national defense industries. Neither has a self-sufficient defense industry.

Yaylali says Ukraine's navy is weak. He explained: Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has not added any new vessels to its navy. After Russias occupation of Crimea in 2014 and its seizure of some of the Ukrainian navy vessels, Ukraine doesnt have a navy to speak of. Before 2014, Ukrainian warships had gone to the Mediterranean and twice to the Gulf of Aden to support NATO operations. But today, for Ukrainian ships to move out of the Black Sea is only a dream.

To defend its naval interests, Ukraine will have to make a major investment. It could buy secondhand military vessels from NATO countries or build them in Ukraine. This explains Ukraines interest in the experience Turkey has gained in constructing warships locally. Turkey can provide Ukraine with technical support to design and produce a warship in its own shipyards. Turkey can also provide standard NATO weapons systems, sensors and radars for vessels Ukraine can build.

Turkeys interest in the Ukrainian defense industry is basically in satellite technologies, diesel engines, ballistic missile solid fuel engines and cruise missiles. It is interesting to learn, based on their joint projects, that Turkey is particularly interested in cruise missiles.

According to defense industry expert Arda Mevlutoglu, Ukraine has advanced capability in electronic warfare, radar technology and engines. Mevlutoglu said Turkeys most urgent needs from Ukraine are diesel engines.

When Turkeys sale of self-propelled howitzers to Azerbaijan didnt materialize  after Germany, for political reasons, blocked sales of engines for the howitzers  Turkey began looking to Ukraine as the alternative source of engines, Mevlutoglu added.

Ukraine also has significant knowledge and experience in basic sciences such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, and their applications. Turkey seriously lags in these fields. The two countries last year launched projects to develop joint sonar systems. They also have student exchange programs, especially in the engineering fields needed in the defense industry.

Of course, not to be ignored is Ukraine's geopolitical importance; most of the natural gas Ankara buys from Russia reaches Turkey via pipelines passing through Ukraine.

What is becoming apparent is that Ukraine is the nearest and most willing potential partner to help Turkey overcome the interruptions in military technology transfer from the United States and Europe because of frequent political disagreements. However, Ukraine suffered tremendous economic and human resources losses with ongoing clashes since 2014 and Russias annexation of Crimea," Mevlutoglu said. "Much of its defense industry was either looted by Russian intelligence services or simply fell into Russian hands because they were in Crimea. That is why we have to wonder if Ukraine can deliver its promises of strategic cooperation. That is why it would be wiser if Ankara focuses on what Ukraine can do instead of what it promises.
On Saturday, New York's #Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute bowed down to worship the work of edgy rule breaking fashion legend #Rei Kawakubo, the designer whose work follows a language of asymmetry and angularity.

In the last few years guests at the Met Gala have taken the themes very seriously, but this year the Rei Kawakubo focus was an invitation for guests to find their inner freaks.

The garments the star-studded #celebrity guests chose to don were as far-reaching as the planets, as inner freaks were celebrated and alter egos were donned in a festive and conceptual night of fashion, design and celebrity.

The world was also treated to gothic style wedding gowns, dresses that appeared to have been made from scrap metal and jackets from pip cleaners.

Model #Cara Delevigne wore a thick coating of glittery silver paint on her newly shaved hair and a metallic pantsuit from #Chanel that gave her the look of an alien in an office suit. She has been teasing the world about shaving her head in the past few weeks, and tonight's do was the culmination of many days of waiting to see her without her tresses.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour  the lady behind the studious vetting and pairing of the whole night, and in fact from the whole fashion season  arrived wearing a metallic gown from Chanel too, as did Johnny Depp's daughter #Lily Rose.

#Katy Perry came enclosed in a dramatic red dress by John Galliano for Maison Martin Margiela that gave her the look of a gothic bride dipped in tomato ketchup  or perhaps blood. Nicki Minaj looked similarly gothic, with her caped red and black dress that was designed with H&M.

This years co-host, #Pharrell Williams brought this wife Helen Lasichanh enclosed in a dazzling tomato red Comme des Garcons gown that didnt have any arms.

Pharrell Williams, meanwhile wore ripped jeans and a plaid jacket that was more simple in execution and concept. He described his style focus for the night as 'Weekend at Bernies' with a touch of humor.

Super models come out of the woodwork

#Kendall Jenner, meanwhile, climbed the stairs at 8pm clad in a sexy La Perla gown that featured pretty much the contents beneath it, with her svelte figure and her sultry expression attesting to her reputation as the world's hottest model.

Feminist writer and director #Lena Dunham and stellar #Girls producer Jenni Konner wore a matching set of plum purple gowns from Elizabeth Kennedy. Dunhams' was one shouldered and featured red and black checks as well as a subtle Panned Parenthood pin beneath its ruffle. Konner wore a puff-sleeved burgundy column dress and the two chose the matching look as a nod to past Comme Des Garcons collections that have featured garments that come attached so that two people must wear them together. We really took the theme to heart, Ms. Dunham told the media on the stairway as she crept up it step by step. We even forced Ms. Wintour to weigh in.

The #Met Gala is Vogue magazines biggest branding opportunity of the entire year, and it raises money for the Metropolitan museum of Art's Costume Institute  in fact, this money comprises the centers whole budget.

For this reason many celebrities were paired with designers by the magazine and many went with the designers too.

Hot celebrities and designer dates

And each major celebrity brought with them an elite fashion date, in the form of a hot designer.

#Kerry Washington came with Michael Kors wearing one of his grand gowns, as Jennifer Lopez swept in to the night in a soft blue Valentino dress, bringing with her, Alex Rodriguez, her new man and also Valentino himself. The companys new designer, Pierpaolo Piccioli, arrived not long after with an Oscar-nominated actor from the movie Love called Ruth Negga.
#Ivanka Trump is her father President Donald Trumps most favored West Wing aide, according to the New York Times. She give him advise and her perspective on many different issues and topics, from finance to immigration to matters of international diplomacy. Fittingly, her portfolio seems to contain few limitations giving her a unique freedom to operate in the White House as a novice political aide. At the same time, she is also the most powerful women in the White House's administrative staff, most of whom are men.

According to sources within the administration, #Ivanka Trump and her father talk from morning until evening about policy, politics, diplomacy and the current news in Washington and the United States.

Aides say that she has given her voice to issues such as deportation, education climate, gender politics, and refugee policy and that she offers a fresh and different perspective to many of Trump's aides.

She might not have any government or policy experience, but she will apparently be looking over and commenting on some #executive orders before they are signed, this as was reported anonymously by White House officials. Last week she reached out to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, about organizing some humanitarian aid for Syria, which is torn up by a ravaged war, and which Ms Trump is keen to help.

Her week to shine

Last week seemed to be one of Ms Trump's weeks, and she told interviewers that she planned to act as a moderating force in an administration that was voted in by populist sentiments.

And it's no surprise: she is a social liberal from #New York who is married to a Jew. She has always kept company with more left wing business people and even celebrities. She threw a party for a Democrat a few years ago.

Admitting that she was hoping to exert more influence in the power hungry town of Washington DC, Ms Trump also admitted that she is most definitely a novice.

And it's her keen awareness of her limitations that is giving her a push.

She wants to very much focus on gender inequality in the United States and internationally, which is surising coming from one of Donald Trump's children. She wants to work on initiatives that give women and families more affordable child care options, and she is keen to work and manage a global fund for female entrepreneurs.

Noticeably, without a history in the playground of Washington politics, it seems that Ms Trump may bring much optimism to her role, which could well give Democrats and those on the left more willingness to listen to her and work with her.

In fact, Ivanka Trump has long been interested in gender issues, ever since she worked on a campaign called Women Who Work that she used to sell dresses and shoes. Before her father won the election, she was working on a book called Women Who Work and it is finally being published this Tuesday. This stands in stark contrast to her father's record on women.

In creating for herself a niche of gender initiatives, she is positing herself into a frightening set of gender dynamics where women seemed to have been left behind by the #Trump campaign.

First there was the horrifying #Grab Her Pussy matter that stormed into the press  and her life  in 2016. Then there has been the many men in Trump's cabinet, amongst them Stephen Bannon, Mike Pence and Reince Preibus, who consider themselves experts on women's reproductive rights.

Indeed, it is refreshing to see a professional yet inexperienced woman storm into #Washington and claim her space. Confidence, charisma, intelligence and nous. Let's hope Ivanka Trump brings with her a regenerating force to a stumbling administration, one that needs to listen to women.
Joe Biden told a New Hampshire crowd that the democrats are in crisis, and he doesn't blame President Trump for it. He thinks they need to come together, decide what's important, and develop a plan to make it happen.

What went wrong in 2016?

According to Politico, Joe Biden thinks that Democrats need to come together and discover what they want moving into the next election. He thinks one of the reasons that the Democrats lost the 2016 election was they were so divided on which candidate they wanted to support. He explained that following Senator Bernie Sanders' loss in the primary election, many Democrats "jumped ship" and supported Trump.

The former vice president thinks that was the wrong decision and ultimately decided the election for Trump.

Joe Biden and his staff have been planning a strategic timeline in the event he decides to run for president again https://t.co/l6yecP9gFa pic.twitter.com/vEsLeu4eue  POLITICO (@politico) April 30, 2017

Make a plan and stick to it

Biden urges Americans to make a plan and stick to it. He thinks the Democrats need to develop a plan to defeat Trump and stick together until the end of the 2020 election. One of the biggest hurdles the liberals face is the sheer numbers of the Democrats they jump parties when the going gets tough. In order to defeat Trump in 2020, we need Democrats that will make a stand and stick to their word.

Do you think Joe Biden's assessment of the Democratic Party is right?
Last year, Joe Biden spoke openly about his need to stay active in politics even after Obama's term was over. He said he wouldn't close the door on running for office but wasn't ready to dedicate his time to it either. Many took that to mean that he hadn't decided if he was going to run for the 2020 election, yet. Even after Joe spoke at a New Hampshire Democratic Party dinner, liberals are left wondering what his plans are.

Rebuilding the Democratic Party

Biden says that he isn't planning on running for President but wants to help rebuild the party.

He thinks the Democratic Party is fractured and he wants to make sure they win the presidency back in 2020.

Joe said that in order to recover from the devastating loss in 2016, the Democrats need to discover what they want, and rebuild the party. He added that his biggest worry is that Trump's presidency will demoralize the liberals.

We have to return to this sense of anything is possible, anything is possible in America," Joe Bidden said, according to Politico. "In order to do that, we have to rebuild this consensus that there used to be a basic bargain in America.

Joe Biden Shuts Down 2020 Rumors: 'Guys, I'm Not Running' https://t.co/SteLFA7kvM  TheWrap (@TheWrap) May 2, 2017

The former vice president revealed that opioid abuse is on the rise in America and divorce rates are higher than they have ever been, especially in the 40-55 age range.

He believes these statistics are telling how fractured America is right now.

Will Biden run in 2020?

Biden claims that he isn't planning on running again. After all, he ran for office in 1984,1988,2004,2008, and considered in 2016. So, the idea of him running again is not likely. But, the liberals still hold on to that glimmer of hope that he MAY decide to run.

During the Democratic Party dinner, a crowd cheered for Joe, chanting, "Run, Joe, run." Biden seemed pleased that the Democrats believe in him and are responding to his speech. Joe crushed them immediately when he confirmed their worst fears, "Guys, I am not running in 2020, sorry."

What is Biden's goal?

The former vice president has a clear vision right now, and that is to warn the Republicans about the danger of a Trump reelection.

He wants to make sure they know that, if they, reelect Trump, that could destroy many other valuable social programs that keep the middle class in place.

He hasn't, publically at least, said he planned to run for office. The only thing he has said about the next presidential race is the Democrats have to band together to defeat the tyranny of Trump.

Everyone needs see Joe Biden's powerful speech about campus sexual assault pic.twitter.com/zOmOVXn1xv  NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 28, 2017

Joe Bidden's age a factor in not running?

If Bidden decided to run for 2020, he would be 77 at the time of the election. Many feel that may be "too old" for the demands of the presidency. However, President Trump will be 74 and seems to be in much poorer health than the three years older, Joe.

Whether his age is a factor in his decision not to run, at this time, is not known. If age is a factor, then at 74 for next election, should disqualify Trump.

Democrats have to band together

I think most Democrats would agree with that. Most agree that we need to unite to defeat him and find the best candidate to do that. If it's not Joe, we need to find someone who will go out, guns blazing, to take back the presidency for the Democrats.

Trump embodies so many qualities that could damage the country, not just for his term but fo years to come. It took President Obama eight years to semi-recover the country from eight long years of George W. Bush's regime. Let's just hope that Trump's administration only has four years to destroy the country, not eight.

It's up to the Democrats now. Their job has to be to hold Trump accountable and band together to defeat the Republicans in 2020. If Joe Biden decides to run, he will have most of the party backing him up.
Following the election of Donald Trump, the issue over what role Russia played in his campaign has created a cloud of controversy that has hovered over the administration ever since. While Trump has denied any wrongdoing, billionaire owner of the Dallas Maverick, mark cuban, has decided to give his thoughts.

Cuban on Trump

Not long after Donald Trump first announced he was running for president, speculation began in regards to the relationship between the billionaire real estate mogul and Russia. As the months moved forward, Trump pushed back against the reports that linked him to the Kremlin, with the former host of "The Apprentice" labeling any media outlet reporting otherwise as "fake news." With the help of right-wing media outlets like Breitbart, and the conservative hosts on Fox News, Trump had enough support from the press to keep his agenda alive.

In recent weeks, the Russian scandal has only increased, as turmoil surrounds past and current advisers like retired Gen. Michael Flynn and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as well as the questionable behavior of House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes. The reaction has been split down party lines, but noted Trump critic Mark Cuban decided to give his thoughts during a lengthy April 1 Twitter rant.

2) Russians have made him a lot of money buying condos and investing in his bldgs and hosting his beauty pageant.That makes them his friends  Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 1, 2017

"Here is my take on Trump and Russia," Mark Cuban said, as he took part in over a dozen tweets explaining his thoughts. "Russians have made him a lot of money buying condos and investing in his buildings...That makes them his friends," Cuban tweeted out, before adding, "He (Donald Trump) ignored their backgrounds.

But that's not unusual. Starbucks takes anyone's money and so do most businesses including mine."

4) He spoke favorably about Putin to get his approval for Russians to get $ out of Russia and into Trump deals. He saw it as easy money  Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 1, 2017

6) As people with Russian connects came into the campaign he had no clue that those connections were possibly being influenced by Russia  Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 1, 2017

"He spoke favorably about (Vladimir) Putin to get his approval for Russians to get $ out of Russia and into Trump deals.

He saw it as easy money," the co-host of "Shark Tank" continued. Cuban went forward with his thoughts, before also noted that he didn't think Donald Trump led the Russian hack of the DNC. Mark Cuban went on to explain that there was "No chance" that the president led the Russian-backed hacking because of he was not mentally capable of doing so.

Cuban also said he believed that Putin "recognized Trump's greed" and "took advantage" of of his shortcomings to help influence the election results.

8) when Manafort got "hot" he got rid of him but the campaign approach had been established. Bannon took it to the next level FTW  Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 1, 2017

10) I think Putin recognized trumps greed and took advantage by back channeling coordinated misinformation in an attempt to influence voters  Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 1, 2017

Mark Cuban didn't stop there, as the billionaire hit back at Donald Trump for not "understanding" what was going on, accusing the president of "turn(ing) to Fox News" to get his information. While many might disagree, Cuban has made it clear about how he thinks the entire scandal has unraveled.

12)Because he didn't recognize or understand as it was happening he has no idea what to do now or how to respond. So he turns to Fox News  Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 1, 2017

Moving forward

While it's unknown if Mark Cuban's theory holds any water, many are certain to continue their speculation in regards to the ongoing scandal between Donald Trump and the Russians. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again dismissed the allegations that he hacked the Democratic National Committee in favor of Trump, despite reports from the FBI and Justice Department showing otherwise. As of press time, Trump is under investigation over what his ties are to the Kremlin, but his supporters and right-wing media allies don't seem to mind either way.
It was earlier this month when the New York Times published their bombshell article about Bill O'Reilly. Fast forward to present day, and yet another host on Fox News is feeling the heat of Sexual Harassment allegations.

Hannity's tirade

For nearly 20 years, Bill O'Reilly was one of the top hosts on cable news, helping lead Fox News to become the most watched news channel in the process. Despite his success, O'Reilly's tenure with the network came crashing down when the New York Times uncovered that the former Fox News host had been accused of sexual harassment by at least five women who had previously worked at the network.

In addition, O'Reilly had reached a $13 million settlement with the women in an attempt to keep the story out of the public eye. After massive backlash and a loss of dozens of sponsors due the scandal, Fox News decided to fired O'Reilly, marking an end of an era in the process. Within days, Sean Hannity was hit with similar allegations, this time coming from former network contributor Debbie Schlussel who accused the host of trying to bring her back to his hotel room. Hannity denied the allegations, and as seen in a series of Twitter posts on April 30, is now taking further steps to defend himself.

Oh FYI, Whoever you are just remember, IP addresses are traceable. Get Ready.  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 1, 2017

Taking to Twitter on Sunday night, Sean Hannity made threats over the sexual harassment allegations against him, but was vague in who he was directing his message to.

"Oh FYI, Whoever you are just remember, IP addresses are traceable. Get Ready," Hannity wrote on his Twitter feed. "There is Zero chance they can stop me with lies, attacks, slander defamation, and NOW sabotage," Hannity tweeted out just moments later, before adding, "I have a massive army, ALL OVER THIS. SOON!!"

There is Zero chance they can stop me with lies, attacks, slander defamation, and NOW sabotage. I have a massive army, ALL OVER THIS. SOON!! https://t.co/MWBZEQZWR2  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 1, 2017

Brown. No crying at all. Full focus and resolve for truth and justice. Stay tuned. https://t.co/BNphGvaBKk  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 1, 2017

Over the course of his next several tweets, Sean Hannity responded to those who wrote back to him.

One Twitter user mocked Hannity for "cry(ing) a lot of someone with a fake black belt." "Brown. No crying at all. Full focus and resolve for truth and justice. Stay tuned," the Fox News host replied.

I said the same thing. Ha. And it's true. And it's not only me they r after It's anyone and everyone who publicly supports @POTUS https://t.co/TnkROg3r0d  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 1, 2017

Sadly sadly I agree with this. I have 3 high powered attorneys and 2 amazing top class investigators I have hired. They have no idea ..... https://t.co/ZGNf8DY2Fc  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 1, 2017

The next three tweets were in response to supporters of Sean Hannity, with the host appearing to virtually pump his chest about his plans in the future.

"I said the same thing. Ha. And it's true. And it's not only me they r after It's anyone and everyone who publicly supports @POTUS," he tweeted.

Thank you all irredeemable deplorable friends. I'm shutting down. Don't want to give more away than I should. A team is on this. Stay tuned https://t.co/GaQuwssV5T  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 1, 2017

Double down

In response to a supporter claiming the media has been trying to get him fired and Donald Trump impeached, Sean Hannity replied in agreement. "Sadly sadly I agree with this. I have 3 high powered attorneys and 2 amazing top class investigators I have hired. They have no idea .....," he concluded. In his final tweet as of press time, Hannity added, "Thank you all irredeemable deplorable friends. I'm shutting down. Don't want to give more away than I should. A team is on this. Stay tuned." While it's unknown what Hannity has in mind, it appears he is not going to back down anytime soon.
Border guards in the Xinjiang Uygur antonomous region direct a drone to patrol border areas in the region recently.ZHAO YONGFENG/CHINA DAILY

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region plans to deploy drones to patrol its borders as it further tightens security this year, a senior official said.

"Xinjiang will deploy drones, set up barbed wire and install surveillance cameras along the border to prevent people crossing the border illegally," Jerla Isamudin, deputy chairman of the region, said in an interview. Xinjiang needs to further enhance cooperation in exchanging terrorism-related intelligence with neighboring countries, he said.

The region has been working on connecting People's Liberation Army border control units to the power grids since 2014 to provide an efficient electrical supply to high-tech equipment. In 2017, 29 more frontier defense companies in Xinjiang will have electricity and will not have to rely on unstable solar energy and diesel generators, PLA Daily reported in March.

Northwest China's Xinjiang neighbors eight countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it has a border of more than 5,600 kilometers. It has been China's main battleground in the fight against terrorism.

Many terrorists who carried out attacks in the region in recent years received training abroad and then entered illegally, and some also fled across the border, according to the regional police authority. Chinese authorities believe the penetration of religious extremism from abroad has prompted people to carry out violent attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country in recent years.

Shohrat Zakir, the region's chairman, said in January that Xinjiang would impose tighter entry-exit measures in 2017.

In 2016, the regional legislature passed a regulation on border control, which took effect in December. The regulation requires people living along border areas to report strangers to public security authorities within 24 hours. Also, those who damage surveillance equipment along the borders will be punished in accordance with the regulation.

Nayim Yassen, director of the Xinjiang People's Congress Standing Committee, the regional legislature, said the committee will examine the works on border control and give suggestions for improvements later this year. Xinjiang sees keeping the region stable as a priority.

Chen Quanguo, the region's Party chief, has said the local security situation is an important index in evaluating officials.


President Trump's administration has pledged a $1 trillion investment in improving America's infrastructure and many believe it will generate opportunities for foreign investors, including those from China.

The question is how? A conference on China-US cooperation in the real estate industry offered a few answers.

Tony Spitaleri, former mayor of Sunnyvale, CA, said it would take only three projects in New York City to "use up" the dedicated federal budget.

"The reality is we need many more trillions of dollars for infrastructure," he said at a conference last week in San Francisco that gathered developers, service providers and government officials from both China and the US.

Analysts believe Trump's infrastructure plan most likely will rely heavily on public-private partnerships. "What's important to me is that not only all of you (Chinese investors) have investment in the housing works, but you also look into the infrastructure projects that we need  tremendous amounts of money, tremendous amounts of resources," Spitaleri said.

In about 10 years, China has established an extensive high-speed rail system nearly 20,000 kilometers in length, and plans to add another 10,000 kilometers over the next five years. This network, so far the world's largest, has connected mega metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with economically underdeveloped regions.

Improving state-wide logistics by transporting goods and commodities, the high-speed rail also carries tens of thousands rural immigrants on lower-incomes to urban areas for job opportunities and a chance to better their lives.

In contrast, Spitaleri said, the US rail system "is slower than a snail and we even call it 'snail-rail'." Spitaleri visited China several times on the Silicon Valley Mayors' Trips and got first-hand experience riding China's high-speed trains.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade last year between China and the US reached $519 billion, 211 times what it was in 1979 when the two nations decided to formalize relations. China now is the largest trading partner of the US, its third-largest destination for exports and largest origin of imports.

In 2016, Chinese companies' direct investment in the US increased 132 percent, as compared to their American counterpart's 52.6 percent growth rate in China, and hit a record high of $19.5 billion.

According to joint research by the US-China Business Council and Oxford Economics, China-US bilateral trade and investment in 2015 created 2.6 million direct and indirect jobs in the US, as well as 1.2 percent of the US' yearly total GDP.

Real estate is one of the hottest investment fields. The San Francisco Bay area, the global center of new technology and innovation, draws an influx of dollars from global investors, including ones from China.

"San Francisco started revitalization about 10 years ago," said Darlene Chu, executive director of ChinaSF, an economic development agency under the San Francisco mayor's office. "We are very proud that we started introducing Chinese developers into San Francisco beginning with Vanke in 2013."

In December of the same year, ChinaSF held its first US investment summit in Beijing with a focus on the real estate market and it proved to be a success. The president of Guangzhou Fuli Real Estate Group, inspired by opportunities he learned about at the summit, flew on his private jet to San Francisco two days later and currently his company has 10 projects throughout the state of California, four in the Bay Area alone, Chu recalled.

To date, approximately 50 Chinese developers have jumped into the white-hot real estate market of California, infusing it with their expertise and funding and upgrading local infrastructure, said Mike Liu, co-chair of the real estate committee of the Chinese Enterprises Association in North California, a sponsor of the conference.

Chinese investment in real estate not only creates government revenue and local jobs, but it helped the Bay Area housing market, severely damaged in the 2008 financial crisis, recover quickly, said Luo Linquan, consul-general at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco.

The bilateral relationship  through partnerships with China in infrastructure  grows stronger and stronger, said Spitaleri.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com.
Congress has given a five-month extension to the federal EB-5 visa program that is popular with Chinese investors and gives green cards in exchange for investments in American businesses that create jobs.

The visa program was given a one-week extension until May 5 as part of a spending measure  called a continuing resolution  approved by Congress on April 28 to avoid a shutdown of the federal government. Then on Sunday Congress extended a new funding bill until September 30, which also gave EB-5 a five-month extension without changes.

EB-5 targets foreign investors who put at least $500,000 in a project that creates a minimum of 10 jobs in an economically-depressed region.

In return, investors receive a two-year visa with a good chance of obtaining permanent residency for them and their families. About 10,000 EB-5 visas are awarded each year and previous estimates indicate that Chinese account for about 85 percent of recipients.

"Congress did this to give itself more time to try to resolve some big-ticket items like additional funding for the military and healthcare reform," Stephen Yale-Loehr, a law professor at Cornell University wrote in an email.

Some members of Congress say that weak government oversight has resulted in a program that is rife with fraud and abuse, and that it favors projects in affluent urban areas over ones in rural communities. They want to either end the program that was set up in 1990 or reform it.

The White House issued a statement to The Washington Post last week saying that the Trump administration is weighing changes to the program.

"There are serious concerns held by the administration regarding the EB-5 visa program, in part because it is not being used as it was primarily intended," said Michael Short, a White House spokesman. "The administration is continuing to evaluate reforms to the program, which we believe is in need of substantial repair."

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the US Department of Homeland Security, administers EB-5. It estimates that since 2012 at least $8.7 billion has been invested in the US economy and 35,150 jobs created through the EB-5 program.

Homeland Security has proposed increasing the minimum investment from $500,00 to $1.35 million in a "targeted employment area," one with high unemployment or a rural area.

The proposal suggests raising the minimum investment to $1.8 million for developments in low- to average-unemployment areas, up from the current $1 million.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com
Captain Hu Jie of CNS Changchun gives a cap from the missile destroyer to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, right, onboard the ship on Monday during a PLA Navy goodwill visit to Mindanao, the first stop of a 20-nation, three-vessel tour. YU WEI / FOR CHINA DAILY

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visited Chinese warships docked in his hometown on Monday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Duterte boarded the guided missile destroyer Changchun, which arrived with two other vessels in Davao city on Mindanao island on Sunday for a three-day goodwill visit.

Duterte said he is open to the idea of conducting joint military exercises with China. "I agree (to the idea). They can have joint exercises here in Mindanao, maybe in the Sulu Sea," Duterte told reporters after visiting the warship at the Davao city wharf.

Duterte said he was impressed by the warship. "It's all carpeted. It's so beautiful. Inside, it's like a luxury hotel," he said. "It's clean."

He said the visit to the warship was part of the confidence building and goodwill between Manila and Beijing.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would meet with Kim Jong Un, the leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), "under the right circumstances", but the White House downplayed the comment by saying that "clearly conditions are not there right now".

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News on Monday. "Under the right circumstances, I would meet with him."

This was the first time that Trump, who has just passed 100 days of his presidency, opened the door to a future meeting with the DPRK leader. On the campaign trail, he had said he was willing to meet with Kim.

But the president's remarks diverted sharply from recent US talks regarding the Korean Peninsula. On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the United Nations Security Council Ministerial Session on DPRK that Pyongyang must take concrete steps to reduce the threat to the US and US allies "before we can even consider talks".

"As we have said before, all options for responding to future provocation must remain on the table," Tillerson said.

Trump's comments have left the White House scrambling to explain the US policies and downplay his remarks.

"The key part of the president's statement was 'under the right circumstances' and that is the key. And those circumstances do not exist now," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.

"There's a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior and to show signs of good faith. Clearly, conditions are not there right now."

He added, "I don't see this happening anytime soon."

When asked why Trump said he would be "honored" to meet Kim, Spicer said, "I guess because he's still a head of state. So it is sort of - there is a diplomatic piece to this."

Shi Yinhong, director of the Center of US Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, noted that Trump made the remarks when the US-Republic of Korea joint drills had just ended, but naval exercises are continuing with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

"I'm not sure he was serious when he made the comments," Shi told China Daily by telephone. "His remarks indicated his administration's policy (regarding North Korea) is not clear; there exists confusion."

Beijing, however, has been consistent and clear in its policies in dealing with the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, Shi said.

Beijing has proposed a "two-track approach", namely to make parallel progress on the two tracks of denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism on the peninsula.

In addition to sanctions, the UN resolutions concerning the Korean Peninsula also stress resolving such issues through peaceful manners, avoiding actions that may intensify the situation and resuming the Six-Party talks at an early date, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the UN Security Council meeting chaired by Tillerson on Friday.

"We must stay committed to the path of dialogue and negotiation," Wang said. "The use of force does not resolve differences, and will only lead to bigger disasters."

As the only way out, dialogue and negotiation also represent the sensible choice for all parties, he said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com
Betty Grebenschikoff doesn't hesitate to say what Shanghai means to her.

"If I hadn't gotten to Shanghai, I would not be here today," the 88-year-old told China Daily.

Grebenschikoff is one of five Holocaust survivors featured in the documentary Survival in Shanghai.

The 90-minute documentary produced by Shanghai Media Group, which tells how the city helped shelter Jewish refugees during World War II, received the Gold Remi Award on Saturday at the 50th annual WorldFest-Houston, an independent international film festival.

Last week the film was screened at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in Manhattan, with a support from Asia Society. More than 1,000 people attended.

The documentary tells the story of the more than 20,000 European Jews who fled to the city from Nazi Germany.

In creating the film, the Shanghai Media Group spent eight months interviewing 30 survivors of the Shanghai Ghetto, a segregated area created after the Japanese took over Shanghai around the time they bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Grebenschikoff is also the author of Once My Name Was Sara, a memoir that details the flight of her family from Germany to Shanghai days before her father's anticipated arrest by the Gestapo.

She said she does a lot of speaking, particularly to children.

"I always tell them I'm not only an author, I'm also a movie star," she laughed.

Grebenschikoff was born in Germany in 1929. When she was 9 years old, she had to escape with her parents and sister because the government was coming after Jewish people.

"They wanted to take us to the concentration camp," she recalled.

"So we had to run away, and we found refuge in Shanghai, China, which was the only open port at that time that admitted Jewish people without any passports or visas."

Grebenschikoff's family made a life there with the help of local residents. What made the support more precious was that life was difficult for Chinese people as well, as they were suffering under Japan's occupation.

Of the many things Grebenschikoff remembers of that time, the friendliness of the Chinese people stood out.

"They accepted us; they never called us 'dirty Jews' like what they did in Germany," she said.

Grebenschikoff went to a Jewish school in Shanghai.

"I grew up there, for the most part I was happy there, even if it was a very hard life," she recalled.

After the war, Grebenschikoff's family found out that 6 million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust, including members of her extended family.

"I never saw them again," she said.

In 1950, she left Shanghai with her husband, going to Australia for three years. In 1953, she arrived in the United States.

"Every time I go back, I feel like I'm coming home, because I grew up there, I spent my youth there and also there is

a Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum," she said.

Grebenschikoff's time in China left a lasting impression on her, even when it comes to the simpler things.

"I love Chinese food. I love soy source. I use chopsticks a lot when I'm home, even for non-Chinese food, and anything Chinese always makes me happy," she said.

Grebenschikoff donated her Shanghai-made wedding dress to the museum.

Ellen Chaim Kracko was a Jewish refugee baby born in Shanghai in 1947. With a birth certificate issued by the Shanghai government, Kracko wonders if she could be considered a Chinese citizen.

Kracko's family realized they couldn't stay in Berlin, so they tried to get visas, but no place was open to them in 1938.

Kracko's father, who was engaged to her mother at the time, tried to get tickets out and failed, but then fate intervened.

Her father was asked by an agent that there were 16 tickets available because of cancellations, and the destination was Shanghai. He decided to go immediately, and in March 1939, 16 members of her family set sail for Shanghai. The trip was supposed to be short, but turned out to be a 10-year stay.

As a stateless refugee, Ellen Kracko was accepted into the United States in 1948. After living in Israel for three years waiting for the paperwork to be done, Kracko finally landed in New York with her aunt.

"There are so many people out here who do not know the story that is really a part of our history. More people should know that," Kracko said..

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, US President Donald Trump's nominee as US ambassador to China, speaks during a confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. Chen Weihua/China Daily

Terry Branstad, the nominee for US ambassador to China, said he hopes to use his unique relationships with Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump to positively influence US-China relations.

Branstad made the remarks on Tuesday morning during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

His wife Christine Johnson and his two sons, Eric and Marcus, sat behind him. Branstad has two sons, one daughter and seven grandchildren.

"If confirmed, I hope to use my unique position as an old friend' of President Xi and a trusted confidant of President Trump to positively influence the US-China relationship," he said.

Branstad, who is serving his sixth term as Iowa governor and is the longest-serving governor in US history, described his relationship with Xi which goes back to 1985. Branstad was then serving his first term and met Xi, who was leading an agriculture delegation from Hebei province, Iowa's sister province.

"A connection was made and a friendship was founded. To this day, President Xi still speaks fondly of Iowa and the hospitality he enjoyed there so many years ago," said Branstad.

When Xi visited the US in February of 2012 as China's vice-president, he went to Iowa to visit the people who hosted him in 1985, people he referred to as "old friends", including Branstad.

Branstad told lawmakers on Tuesday that as Iowa governor, he saw first-hand the importance of a positive and healthy trade relationship between the two countries, adding that one out of every two rows of Iowa soybeans is sent to China, as well as $33.5 million in pork in 2016.

He said as ambassador, he will continue the work he started as governor to open up the Chinese markets to American businesses of all sorts. "This will be good for the American people as it will create more jobs, and good for the Chinese people as they will have more access to the best-made products this world has to offer," he said.

"In keeping with the president's mission, I am also committed to making sure that the trade relationship between the United States and China puts the American worker first," he said.

He described US-China relations as "multi-faceted," citing last month's meeting between Xi and Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where they agreed to cooperate more closely on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Serious concerns about China-US relations, such as a potential tit-for-tat trade war, have been dramatically reduced since Branstad first accepted Trump's nomination for the post on December 8.

Trump has talked positively of Xi after their meeting in Florida. He has also accepted Xi's invitation to visit China. Last month, a US Treasury Department report found that China is not manipulating its currency.

The Chinese government reacted favorably to Branstad's nomination. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in December that "Mr Branstad is an old friend of the Chinese people, and we welcome his greater contribution to the development of China-US relations."

Branstad told lawmakers on Tuesday that as governor, he travels to all 99 counties in Iowa every year. "As ambassador, I hope to continue this tradition by visiting every province in China," he said.

"With a country as large and expansive as China, I know there is much life and activity outside of Beijing. I look forward to connecting with the Chinese people and continuing the vibrant exchange of culture and ideas that we began in 1983," he said.

Branstad signed the Iowa sister-state agreement with Hebei in 1983. The following year, he led a 50-person Iowa delegation to the northern China province. Last year he made his sixth trade mission to China.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a boy from a small farm in Leland, Iowa, would one day have the opportunity to become, with your consent, the ambassador to one of the world's most influential countries and one of America's largest trading partners," the 70-year-old Republican politician told lawmakers in the Tuesday hearing, which lasted less than two hours.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Denver offers an array of delicious choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ranging from casual to elegant. Many of the restaurants on our list pride themselves with building relationships with local farms to source the freshest seasonally available produce. Whether you are looking for New American cuisine, classic French dishes or Italian fare, here are the best romantic restaurants in Denver.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. Fruition Restaurant  Fruition Restaurant

Fruition Restaurant is a tiny eatery that has been drawing foodies from around the world to experience Chef Alex Seidel's refined farm-to-table New American cuisine. Drawing inspiration and naturally sourced ingredients from his 10-acre farm in Larkspur, Seidels seasonal cuisine is both simple and sophisticated, with rich, earthy flavors and tastes. Try the porcini mushroom consomme, which takes you into the forest where the mushrooms grow, or the sweetly seared scallops. Committed to serving great food in an inviting and cozy ambiance, Fruition Restaurant is a place to gather with friends. 1313 E 6th Ave, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-831-1962



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2. Steuben's Food Service  Steuben's Food Service



Steubens Food Service is a Denver-based eatery that serves classic regional American cuisine from a retro-style diner. Run by Wolkon and his wife, Jen, this unique eatery presents everyone's favorite regional classics, such as pot roast, New York strip steak, and meatloaf. Diners can enjoy nightly specials throughout the week, as well as Happy Hour food and drinks specials on certain evenings. Steuben's cuisine is also available from their food truck, which can be found at locations around town. 523 E 17th Ave, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-830-1001

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3. Viewhouse  Viewhouse



Located in Denvers Ballpark next to Coors Field, Viewhouse is a popular bar and grill occupying a three story building with a spectacular rooftop deck overlooking the mountains, and more importantly, the ballpark and the ongoing games. Viewhouse is known for its endless themed parties such as Silent Disco Yoga, but also for a fun, lively atmosphere, popular pub grub redefined by chef Jose Guerrero, plenty of beer on tap, and great cocktails. It is the place where you can bring your kids to watch the game from the rooftop or bring a date in the evening to sip cocktails by a fire pit. Viewhouse Ballpark, 2015 Market Street, Denver, CO 80205, Phone: 720-878-2015,

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4. Corinne  Corinne

Corinne is a modern cocktail lounge/bar/restaurant just off the lobby of the upscale Hotel Le Meridien in downtown Denver. With comfortable leather sofas and armchairs, small marble bistro tables, and a fire pit, it has a relaxed, stylish bistro atmosphere. The food is Modern American with French touches  try jumbo shrimp Louie or Bacon-Wrapped Filet with bleu cheese crust, served with mashed potatoes and broccolini in beef jus. Corinne is the perfect spot for a power lunch  it is even advertised as Enjoy lunch in 45-min or it's free! The fully stocked bar attracts an after-work cocktail crowd but it is also a perfect spot for an afternoon tea with a piece of apple strudel or banana cream pie. 1455 California Street, Denver, CO 80202, Phone: 720-996-1555



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5. Guard and Grace  Guard and Grace

Guard and Grace is a modern, elegant, and upscale steakhouse located in the lobby of the CenturyLink building in downtown Denver. It is the place where the power lunch crowd comes to wine and dine clients, but also the place for a celebratory dinner or a romantic encounter. The decor is sleek, with deep colors, a huge piece of wall art, and a beautiful outdoor patio. The food ranges from superb steaks and options from a large raw bar to delicious sandwiches. The extensive menu offers something for everyone. A very respectable wine list has a number of wines offered by the glass, and the bar makes classic but also fun and interesting cocktails. 1801 California St. #150 CenturyLink building lobby level, Denver, CO 80202, Phone: 303-293-8500



6. Panzano  Panzano

Serving award-winning Italian food in downtown Denver, Panzano lives by their motto of: Those who eat well, live well. Located at Hotel Monaco in a comfortable and elegant dining room with cozy booths, Chef Elise Wiggins menu features creative dishes inspired by Northern Italy, such as Crespelle ai Funghi (crepes with mushrooms and white truffle oil) and Capesante (scallops with spinach and ricotta). In addition to the impressive menu, Panzano offers regular specials while the bar serves great wine, Colorado beers and craft cocktails. 909 17th St, Hotel Monaco Denver, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-296-3525

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7. Snooze Eatery  Snooze Eatery

Snooze is a bright eatery that aims to add an element of fun and energy to morning meals through great food, excellent service, and a casual, friendly atmosphere. Founded by brothers Jon and Adam Schlegel, Snooze serves a menu of delicious breakfast foods with a creative twist, from pancakes with marshmallows to Eggs Benedict, omelets, and heaps of huevos rancheros. Residents, families, and friends line up to get their slice of morning pie, enjoying free coffee while they wait. 2262 Larimer St, 303-297-0700; 700 N Colorado Blvd, 303-736-6200; 1701 Wynkoop Street #150, 303-825-3536



8. The Rotary  The Rotary

The Rotary is a delicious churrasco-style rotisserie in Denver, owned and operated by people known for their work at popular national restaurants such as Chez Panisse and Gramercy Tavern. The restaurant, which is inspired by traditional churrascarias and French open-hearth cooking styles, utilizes fresh seasonal produce from Denver's Altius Farms greenhouse facility, paired with meats slow-cooked over wood fires to maximize flavor. Rotisserie plates highlight chicken thighs and pork shoulder, topped with diners' choice of chimichurri, peri peri, and aji verde sauce. Craft sandwiches are also prepared on ciabatta from Hinman's Bakery, served up alongside peri peri bowls served over diners' choice of brown-butter jasmine rice or mixed greens. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and paleo options are available upon request. 217 S Holly St, Denver, CO 80246, Phone: 303-900-7759

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9. Maria Empanada  Maria Empanada

Maria Empanada is a delightful Argentinian-style empanada joint in Denver, featured on the Food Network series Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives for its unique, reasonably priced savory and sweet empanada flavors. The restaurant, which has been owned by chef and restaurateur Lorena Cantarovici since 2011, produces more than 1,500 empanadas each day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, stuffed with classic Argentinian fillings. Flavor options range from traditional ground beef and pepper or seared steak and egg variants to adventurous flavors such as sweet corn, caprese, spinach bechamel, and ham and cheese. Empanadas are available individually or by the half-dozen or dozen, served up alongside Spanish-style tortillas and tortas throughout the day. At breakfast, diners can enjoy sausage, egg and potato, or chorizo-style empanadas paired with tartitas or Spanish breakfast bars. 1298 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80210, Phone: 303-934-2221



10. Potager Restaurant  Potager Restaurant

Potager (meaning garden kitchen) is just that  a little garden restaurant that serves a seasonal, garden-driven menu in a rustic setting. Chef Teri Rippeto's menu is a perfect example of cooking and eating in concert with the seasons, where dishes are prepared with locally sourced, market-fresh ingredients (produce is listed along with the name of the farmer on the menu). Choices include lamb meatballs, pan-roasted mahi-mahi, and wood-fired herb chicken, with sides like roasted farm radishes, souffle, and spring greens and nettle minestrone. Add to that comforting service, and a warm, home-away-from-home setting, and you have the makings of a perfect meal. 1109 Ogden St, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-832-5788



11. Duo Restaurant  Duo Restaurant

Serving creative, locally sourced farm-to-table fare in a warm, rustic space, Duo is located in the heart of Denvers hip Highlands neighborhood. Boasting a relaxed, unassuming dining space that captures the true essence of the corner restaurant, owners Stephanie Bonin and Keith Arnold bring diners a menu of seasonal cuisine made with ingredients supplied by more than forty local partners. From a delicious brunch menu featuring chocolate French toast and zippy cake  a unique sausage grit cake dripping with caper brown butter  to a dinner menu featuring Boulder lamb and rabbit, desserts are a must-try. 2413 W 32nd Ave, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-477-4141



12. Beatrice and Woodsley  Beatrice and Woodsley



Inspired by the wilderness of the forest and the solitude of the city, Beatrice & Woodsley bring the beauty of the Colorado wild into the city with a woodsy, playful setting in which guests can savor creative New American cuisine and innovative cocktails. Owner Kevin Delk established the restaurant over ten years go with the goal of enticing diners who were looking for a unique dining experience and still stands by this principle today serving elevated dishes and upscale libations. The elegantly romantic spot serves signature entrees such as duck leg confit, braised lamb shank, bouillabaisse, bubble and squeak, and pork shoulder, along with freshly prepared salads, appetizers, desserts, and a hand-curated wine list. Beatrice & Woodsley is open for dinner Monday through Sunday, and brunch over the weekend. 38 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80209, Phone: 303-777-3505



13. Bistro Vendome  Bistro Vendome



Bistro Vendome is a traditional Left Bank-style cafe with a beautiful garden that serves slightly modern twists on classic French cuisine and the closest youll get to Paris in the heart of Denver. Located in the famous Larimer Square, the charming cafe is run by chef Jennifer Jasinski and business partner Beth Gruitch and serves an alluring menu with timeless classics like escargot, onion soup, and steak frites, along with modern, seasonally driven creations. Surrounded by brick walls, ivy, and shady trees, the bistro offers a quiet oasis in the midst of the bustling Larimer Square where diners can enjoy some happy-hour bubbly, a brunchtime croque madame, or a three-course French dinner in a friendly and warm ambiance. Bistro Vendome is open for dinner Monday through Sunday, and brunch over the weekend. 1705, 1420 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80202, Phone: 303-825-3232

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14. Rioja  Rioja



Overlooking the bustling Larimer Square in downtown Denver, Rioja is a warm Mediterranean eatery that serves a menu of locally sourced, inventive Mediterranean dishes and globally-inspired wines in a vibrant dining space. Strung lights and handsome brick buildings create a fitting backdrop for the James Beard Award-winning crown jewel on the square and one of the pioneers of the Denver restaurant scene. Boasting indoor and outdoor seating overlooks the square, the elegant restaurant oozes style and sophistication with a menu to match featuring handmade pasta such as black garlic-squid ink bigoli, artichoke tortelloni, and saffron cavatelli with lobster, as well as hearty entrees like Wagyu bavette steak; spice rubbed lamb loin and Serrano ham-wrapped octopus. An extensive wine list provides an excellent selection of pairing partners to the cuisine. Rioja is open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner seven nights a week, and brunch on the weekend. 1431 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80202, Phone: 303-820-2282



15. Mizuna  Mizuna



Hailed as one of the top restaurants in the city, Mizuna is an intimate neighborhood joint helmed by Chef Frank Bonanno who presents a creative menu of New American cuisine paired with fine wines in an elegant setting. Bonanno and his culinary team experiment and explore the finest locally sourced and seasonal ingredients to create an ever-changing menu firmly rooted in French cooking techniques with dishes that reflect the bounty of each season on both land and sea. The restaurant boasts a relaxing ambiance with linen-draped tables and soft yellow tones where diners can savor exquisite dishes such as Foie Gras Pie, Burgundian Escargot, Smoked Spanish Octopus, and Seared Yellowfin Tuna. A signature selection of fine wines accompanies each course, with suggestions given by the professional and friendly staff. Mizuna is open for dinner only, Tuesday through Sunday. 225 E 7th Ave, Denver, CO 80203, Phone: 303-832-4778

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16. Table 6  Table 6



Table 6 is a classic American bistro with rustic interiors, an open-plan kitchen, and friendly, welcoming staff who serve the menus simple and elegant dishes. Chef Mike Winston focuses on creating modern comfort food with eccentric touches while owner/sommelier Aaron Forman pairs the dishes with excellent wines from around the world. Table 6 offers a relaxed, casual, and utterly comfortable atmosphere, perfect for a date or a meal with friends. 609 Corona St, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-831-8800



17. Bittersweet  Bittersweet Housed in what used to be an old gas station, Bittersweet is owned by Olav and Melissa Peterson, who have breathed new life into the old building and created an intimate and comfortable eatery. Two dining rooms with high ceilings are adorned with Melissa's artwork, old maps, and plush chairs, and indoor/outdoor fireplaces which add to the cozy ambiance. Bittersweet serves a garden-to-table menu based on classic French cuisine that changes seasonally and gives old favorites a new twist. The Wagyu Hangar Steak is served with chanterelle mushrooms and a bone marrow sauce, while the Scottish Salmon is accompanied by octopus, mussels, clams and purple potatoes. 500 E Alameda Ave, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-942-0320



18. Barolo Grill  Barolo Grill Barolo Grill in Cherry Creek North is renowned for serving homemade cuisine from Tuscany and the Piedmont region of Italy along with delicious wines in an elegant and stylish setting. Owner and wine director Ryan Fletter is also proud to feature small family wineries that are dedicated to sustainable farming and winemaking philosophies, boasting one of the largest collections of Barolo wines outside of Italy. Barolo offers patrons two ways to dine: an a la carte or a prix fixe, five-course tasting menu, packed with unexpected combinations, such as risotto with escargot. 3030 E 6th Ave, Denver, Colorado, Phone: 303-393-1040



19. El Five  El Five El Five is the latest dining experience from the owners of popular Denver restaurants Linger, Ophelia's, and Root Down, opened to the public in 2017 atop the fifth floor of a building in the city's Lower Highlands district. The restaurant serves up Eastern Mediterranean and Spanish-inspired small plates throughout the week in its colorful dining space, which offers indoor and balcony seating service. Diners can share mezze platters of delicacies such as jamon iberico or Mediterranean-style spreads or select from a tapas de Gibraltar menu, which showcases favorites such as patatas bravas, goat cheese croquettes, Moroccan lamb sausage, or Turkish-style flatbread pizza with apricots and pheasant confit. Shareable paellas are also available, served up alongside an extensive craft cocktail menu. 2930 Umatilla Fifth Floor, Denver, CO 80211, Phone: 303-524-9193



17 Perfect Romantic Restaurants in Denver

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Venue Spotlight: Wellshire Event Center

Found within the Wellshire Golf Course, the Wellshire Event Center has been one of Denmarks top choices for all kinds of special events, especially corporate events, weddings, holiday celebrations, special family occasions, and even private golf tournaments since 1926. The place can be found at the corners of Colorado Boulevard and Hampden Avenue. Its just seven minutes away from the Denver Tech Center and five minutes away from Cherry Creek. The place offers enough free parking for guests.

Weddings

Wellshire Events Center has been the choice of many couples as the place to get married since 1962. This means that the events center has a long list of successful wedding ceremonies, receptions, and cocktails in its history. The Wedding Events Manager and staff are all experienced and well trained to help you get the perfect wedding that youd always dreamed of. Meanwhile, the venue comes complete with all the space and equipment you need to make the perfect day, may it be a grand wedding where everyone you know is invited or an intimate gathering of your closest family and friends.

Corporate Events

Wellshire also boasts its capability to be a full service meeting venue with ample free parking for all corporate meetings and activities. The venue is guaranteed to make sure that all participants are comfortably seated to ensure a successful business event. Meanwhile, experienced bartenders and culinary staff ensure that your participants are fed and have the beverages they desire.

Speaking of food, Wellshire offers a wide variety of selections that companies can choose from, ranging from hors doeuvres to the main course. All these options can be tailor-fit to suit the needs of every event.

Charity Events

Wellshire has also been known to be an ideal venue for all kinds of Charity Events ever since it opened to the public. Its central location and ample free parking makes sure that all invited guests and interested parties can find their way and be part of the cause. The venue is flexible enough to accommodate charity gatherings of all sizes, may it be a meeting of 20 members of the board or a fundraiser thats expecting several hundred guests.

Special Occasions

Being home to a wide variety of banquet rooms, Wellshire is also a place where families and friends can celebrate any occasion, may it be a grand family reunion or a small birthday party. Thanks to its central location and ample free parking space, hosts are sure that their guests will be able to access the venue easily and on time.

The versatility of the venue also guarantees that hosts can set up the place in the way they want, may it be for an intimate gathering of 20 guests or a grand celebration of up to 600 people.

Whatever your purpose, Wellshire Event Center is ready to make sure that it all runs smoothly. For more information, feel free to visit their official website or all 303-759-3333.

Address

Wellshire Event Center, 3333 South Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80222, Phone: 303-759-3333

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Venue Spotlight: Seawell Ballroom at Denver Theater

Known for creating venues for unforgettable moments and experiences in all kinds of events, the DCPA Event Services has been around since 1998, making weddings more than just a ceremony, fundraisers more than just dressing up for charity, and corporate events more than just a gathering of co-workers. Its a place where people make memories in the best way possible.

Seawell Ballroom

One of the most notable venues of DCPA Event Services is the Seawell Bedroom, a place where no idea is too ambitious or extravagant. Its situated above the Helen Bonfils Theater Complex, boasting 10,000 square feet of versatile event space with breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountain Peaks and Denvers Lower Downtown skyline and urban architecture. At night, the event places ceiling becomes a starry sky with mirror-lined walls that lets guests see themselves as they look up. Whether youve dreamed of a Shakespearean-themed wedding or plan on throwing a party with floating DJ booths and flying dancers, the venue is ready to make your wildest imaginations come to life.

DCPAs team in charge of the Seawell Ballroom has all the creative and technical expertise in order to adhere to the most daring requests while helping you stay within your preferred budget. All kinds of custom lighting, sound, video, and design is at the disposal of a highly competent and friendly event staff.

Capacity: Following a theater style of seating, the venue can seat up to 1,000 guests and 800 people for other designs. For those who plan on hosting smaller events, there are creative ways to divide the room to facilitate more intimate gatherings.

Features: The ballroom is also equipped with a wide variety of LED lights. You can choose from 250 fixtures so youre sure to find the lights that are best for your event. It also comes with top of the line sound system and large HD screens for high quality video projections for all kinds of purposes. Finally, the event comes equipped with a wide selection of microphones, spot lights, and other devices needed for different kinds of events.

Food and Beverages: DCPA Event Services only caters exclusively through Epicurean Catering. They must be the ones to provide food and beverages, with the notable exception of wedding cakes. Thankfully, Epicurean Catering has been known as one of the top-ranking Colorado caterers since 1982.

Other Perks:

- The Seawell Ballroom is also close to many restaurants and hotels, making it ideal for events that will host guests from out of town.

- DCPA Event Services is also a popular place to hold memorable events because theyre very accessible. It will be easy for guests to make their way to the place on time.

- Speaking of accessibility, DCPA Event Services is also known for being accessible even to handicapped individuals.

To know more about the Seawell Ballroom and DCPA Event Services visit their official website or call 303-572-4466.

Address:

Speer & Arapahoe atop the Bonfils Theatre Complex, 1101 13th St., Denver, CO 80204, Phone: 303-893-4000

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania should be on everyones list of U.S. cities to explore on a weekend trip. Home to famous attractions such as at the Liberty Bell, the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial and Independence Hall, the city also offers incredible art museums, beautiful gardens, great tours and excellent restaurants. Best things to do in Philadelphia, PA with kids include the Philadelphia Zoo, Please Touch Museum, the Academy of Natural Sciences and Smith Memorial Playground.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA  Courtesy of Dave Newman - Fotolia.com

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the largest and most renowned museums in the country with a collection of over 227,000 objects and items. Located at the west end of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the museum is one of the top Philadelphia attractions, home to a range of works from the Western world that date back to the first century CE and from Asia that date back to third millennium BCE. Modern art collections include works by Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Salvador Dali, as well as American modernists, with contemporary art being showcased in works by Jasper Johns and Sol LeWitt. The Museum is also home to the Rodin Museum, the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building and several historic houses in Fairmont Park. The Museum hosts around 25 special exhibitions every year, including traveling and touring shows. 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA, Phone: 215-763-8100

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2. Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Courtesy of trekandphoto - Fotolia.com

Independence Hall is the historic site of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Resting at the center of the Independence National Historical Park on Chestnut Street, Independence Hall was completed in 1973 and is now a World Heritage Site. Visitors can explore the famous building on a guided tour, which includes visiting the famous Assembly Room where George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, the design for the American flag was decided, and the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed. Tickets are needed to tour Independence Hall and are available at the Independence Visitor Center. 520 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-965-2305 More weekend & day trip ideas: 12 Best Things to Do in Harrisburg.

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3. Things to Do in Philadelphia: Rodin Museum  Courtesy of pixs-sell - Fotolia.com

Nestled between the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia is the Rodin Museum. Dedicated to showcasing the works of Auguste Rodin, the museum was designed by French architect Paul Cret in the beautiful Beaux-Arts style and is surrounded by formal French gardens designed by French landscape designer Jacques Greber, which serve as a magnificent backdrop for some of Rodins sculptures. Today, the Rodin Museum houses one of the most comprehensive public collections of Rodins work outside of Paris and is one of the citys most defining icons. 2151 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-763-8100



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4. Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania  Courtesy of Zack Frank - Fotolia.com



The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is a historic public garden and educational institution that aims to promote and inspire an understanding of the relationship between plants and people. Spanning 92 acres, the beautifully maintained gardens are home to over 12,000 labeled plants, trees and flowers across a range of collections, including an azalea meadow, an English park, a holly slope, a Japanese Garden and a stunning sculpture garden. The Arboretum also boasts a variety of exhibits, collections, and educational programs to enjoy: see the forest from a 50-foot high canopy walk through the treetops on the interactive Tree Adventure exhibit, or delight in the Garden Railway, which features a quarter mile of looping, winding and tunneled model railroad tracks, complete with cable cars, bridges and model trains. 100 E. Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-247-5777

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5. Things to Do in Philadelphia: The Barnes Foundation  The Barnes Foundation



The Barnes Foundation was founded in 1992 by Albert C. Barnes to promote and inspire an appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture. The Foundation has two main campuses that are open to the public: one on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which houses a world-famous art collection, and the other in the suburb of Merion, which houses the Arboretum and the Foundations archives. The facility on Benjamin Franklin Parkway boasts one of the worlds finest Post-Impressionist and Modern collections with works by European masters such as Picasso, Renoir, Matisse and Modigliani, as well as Old Master paintings, Native American ceramics, African sculpture and decorative arts and antiquities. The Barnes Arboretum, located at the Merion campus, contains more than 2,000 species/varieties of trees and woody plants. 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-278-7000

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6. Things to Do Near Me: Philadelphia Zoo  Courtesy of jgolby - Fotolia.com



The Philadelphia Zoo is located at the corner of 34th Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia's historic Fairmount Park and is home to more than 1,300 animals, many of which are rare and endangered. The zoos 42-acre landscape is home to several eco-friendly animal habitats designed to offer personal encounters with the animals, from lions to lizards, as well as a variety of top attractions and adventures, including the Amazon Rainforest Carousel, Lorikeet Encounters, draft horse and pony rides, camel safaris, paddleboats and a train ride. If you are wondering what to do in Philadelphia with kids, this is a great place to visit. The Philadelphia Zoo features a world-class breeding program and works alongside many groups around the world to protect the natural habitats of the animals in their care. 3400 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-243-1100

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7. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  The Academy of Natural Sciences

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is the place where scientists reveal the mysteries of nature through exciting exhibits and activities. You can see the real skeletons of giant dinosaurs, meet live birds or tarantulas, and watch butterflies flutter around in their natural habitat. The Academy is the oldest institution of its kind in the West, founded in 1812 when Philadelphia was the center of the new nation. Its numerous exhibits are the result of 200 years of research and samples collection of hundreds of scientists, who travel the world looking for answers to the Earths natural history. The Academy also offers fun activities such participating in the real archeological dig, talking to the researchers, or meeting the feathered, furry and scaly residents of the museum. Next read: water parks in PA 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-299-1000



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8. Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Courtesy of HT777 - Fotolia.com

Please Touch Museum is the foremost childrens museum in the state of Philadelphia, providing families with children under the age seven with a variety of interactive and fun-filled experiences to encourage learning through play. The Museum offers an array of educational programs, including exhibits and displays, theater and art, music and movement, carousels and collections. The Please Touch Museum features two floors of stimulating and interactive exhibit zones designed to encourage education through immersion, such as City Capers, Roadside Attractions, River Adventures, and Wonderland. Children can also partake in several educational programs like theater shows, story times, sing-a-longs, and special programs based on mathematics, engineering, science, and technology. Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, 4231 Avenue of the Republic, (formerly North Concourse Drive), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-581-3181



9. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA  Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is made up of a working art school and modern museum, which is internationally known for its collections of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Established to promote the transformative power of art and art making, PAFAs nationally acclaimed art school offers classes in painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture, and the opportunity for students to exhibit their works in the institution's museum. Visitors can explore America's rich artistic heritage on a guided tour through the museum, which features temporary and permanent exhibitions. 118-128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-972-7600

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10. The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  NPS Photo

The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial is located in the vast rotunda of The Franklin Institute. The memorial features a colossal statue of the statesman that stands 20 feet high. Designed and sculpted by James Earle Fraser, the sculpture rests on a pedestal made from white Seravezza marble and is the focal point of the Memorial Hall. Visitors can enjoy a short multimedia show entitled Benjamin Franklin Forever, which takes a look at Benjamin Franklins impact on the world. The memorial is open to the public at all times when The Franklin Institute is open, and admission is free. 222 N 20th St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-448-1200



11. Things to Do in Philadelphia: Mural Arts Program Tour  Courtesy of gabe9000c - Fotolia.com

The Mural Arts Program is a mural program that aims to transform places, individuals, communities and institutions through the preservation and presentation of contemporary and modern forms of art. The Mural Arts Program is home to the worlds largest collection of outdoor public art, which includes the world-renowned History of Immigration mural, which is over 600 feet in length. Visitors can enjoy guided tours around the Mural Arts Program, which includes a detailed insight into the artistic process behind each mural, the artists involved and the history of the communities so closely linked to this unique art form. Public and private tours are led by professional guides and include walking, trolley or train options. Mural Arts Center, Thomas Eakins House, 1729 Mt Vernon St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-685-0750

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12. HAHA X Paradigm, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Courtesy of HAHA X Paradigm

HAHA X Paradigm is a Philadelphia-based creative studio that was founded in 2012 by Ginger Rudolph, the founder of HAHA Magazine, along with Paradigm Gallery's Sara McCorriston and artist Jason Chen. The collective, which has been profiled in Philadelphia Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philly Voice, is a unique artist-to-community initiative that crafts public art projects throughout the city, working with regional artists and brands to develop one-of-a-kind campaigns and projects. Past projects have included artworks developed for the South Street Spring Festival and the Fourth Street Bainbridge Green Pop-Up. Philadelphia visitors can view the collective's works on display throughout the city's Queen Village neighborhood, including beautiful converted junction boxes along Bainbridge Street.



13. Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Courtesy of Nikonite - Fotolia

Reading Terminal Market is a historic covered public market that sells a variety of farm-fresh produce, meat and seafood, freshly baked goods and groceries, artisan cheese, honey and beer, arts and crafts, books and clothing. Located on the corner of 12th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia, the 80,000-square-foot market is housed in a former train shed at the Reading Terminal and is one of Philadelphias most recognizable landmarks, hosting over 100 vendors selling their wares for over 120 years. The market is open every day of the week, year-round and is a popular source for culinary treats and unique gifts and merchandise. 51 N 12th St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-922-2317



14. What to Do Near Me: The Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Courtesy of rabbit75_fot - Fotolia.com

Bearing the timeless message: Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof, the Liberty Bell is one of the nations most iconic symbols. Once known as the State House Bell, the Liberty Bell rang in the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, what is known today as Independence Hall. The Bell, its famous crack, and much-repeated inscription became a symbol of hope and a herald of liberty. The Liberty Bell is housed in a modern visitors center which showcases the history of the bell and how it came to be cracked, as well as the role it played in the development of a free and fair society through a range of exhibits, films, and displays. 6th St & Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-965-2305



15. Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse  Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse



Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse has been providing children with an invaluable place to learn for more than a century. Located in East Fairmount Park, the Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse is surrounded by acres of rolling hills, open fields, and wooded forests, which are scattered with over 50 pieces of unique and age-appropriate play equipment. The Playhouse rests in the center of the Playground and spans more than 16,000 square feet of space, housing education-focused play areas such as a railroad terminal, a kitchen, an artists studio and more. The Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse also offers a range of on-site programs, such as Story Time, Crafts in the Playhouse, and Ready, Set and Play! 3500 Reservoir Drive, East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-765-4325

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16. Le Virtu, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Le Virtu



Inspired by family-friendly Italian-style meals in Abruzzo, Le Virtu (The Virtues) offers guests a bold menu of Abruzzese-inspired cuisine, made with fresh, locally sourced or imported ingredients and traditional cooking techniques. Following age-old methods, meats are house-butchered and house-cured, pasta is hand-cut and savory ragus are left to slow-cook and simmer for hours. The rustic menu features slow-roasted lamb and pork dishes, thick soups, fresh pasta with homemade sauces and rich sheep's milk cheeses. Desserts choices include saffron pannacotta, chestnut pudding, and tarte pognoli. Le Virtu presents an intimate wine list with wines sourced from the Abruzzo region, as well as a range of craft beers and signature cocktails. 1927 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, Phone: 215-271-5626

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17. Bank and Bourbon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Bank and Bourbon



Located in the elegant Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Bank and Bourbon is a trendy American bar and restaurant with a large 220-seat dining room with rustic touches, comfortable leather seating, and soft lighting. Bank and Bourbon offers more than 80 kinds of bourbon in its innovative barrel-aging program in addition to creative cocktails and familiar American cuisine with the exquisite interpretation and flare of celebrated Chef Tom Harkins. Classic dishes are prepared using seasonal, local ingredients with surprising touches: Juicy roasted chicken comes with piquant salsa verde and the cauliflower salad, with its roasted florets, is sprinkled with sherry vinegar and pumpkin seed brittle. 1200 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-231-7300



18. Vedge Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA  Vedge Restaurant



Vedge was opened in 2011 by Chefs Richard Landau and Kate Jacoby and is well known for its vegan menu. Located in the historic Tiger Building on Locust Street, Vedge offers a classically elegant dining experience with a menu that has no animal products. The menu, which highlights a bold, creative approach to cooking, features dishes such as Cauliflower Socca and Saffron Corn Broth or Portabello Carpaccio with shaved kale and sunflower seeds. Innovative desserts are also vegan, featuring items like Figgy Cheesecake and Mud Pie. Unique cocktails, beers and wine are also served. 1221 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, Phone: 215-320-7500

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19. a.kitchen and a.bar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  a.kitchen and a.bar



a.kitchen and a.bar are two avante garde restaurants located at AKA Rittenhouse Square at 18th and Walnuts Streets, respectively, which showcase the compelling cuisine of award-winning Chef Eli Kulp, accompanied by an innovative wine and spirits program. Using an old-school technique of cooking over coals, Chef Kulp presents a menu of creative dishes and small plates with a modern flair, made from fresh seasonal ingredients. The kitchens sibling eatery, a.bar, is a 42-seat raw bar located directly on the bustling corner of 18th and Walnut Streets with beautiful views of the park, and features an outstanding selection of cuisine from seafood to sandwiches. Pair cuisine with intriguing house cocktails and boutique wines for an unforgettable dining experience. a.kitchen: 135 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA, Phone: 215-825-7030, a.bar: 1737 Walnut Street NE Corner, 215-825-7035



20. Woodford Mansion, Philadelphia, PA  Woodford Mansion



Woodford is an elegant country home and summer retreat that once belonged to a local merchant, William Coleman, and today stands as a National Historic Landmark and museum for the public to enjoy. Built along the banks of the Schuylkill River during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the house is furnished with an exquisite collection of antiques and vintage decor that highlight the lifestyle of the wealthy during this time. The house can only be explored on guided tours. Located in East Fairmount Park, the museum is close to other historic Fairmount Park houses like Strawberry Mansion, and popular cultural attractions, such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Boat House Row, and the Please Touch Museum. 33rd & Dauphin Streets, East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA, Phone: 215-229-6115



21. Things to Do in Philadelphia: Rescue Spa  Rescue Spa



Rescue Spa is Philadelphia's premier luxury day spa and offers a highly personalized, comprehensive, and integrative approach to skin care. The Rescue Spa provides an unparalleled program of skin care, nail care, and massage therapy. Rescue uses the finest skincare products from Biologique Recherche, Institut Esthederm, and Valmont and combines them with the latest technological advancements such as Microcurrents, Microdermabrasion, LED, Refirme, and eMatrix. A Rescue facial includes a comprehensive diagnosis of the clients skin and an analysis of their lifestyle. Rescues skin care experts undergo extensive training to be able to advise clients on the products best suited to their needs and their skins state. 1601 Walnut Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102, Phone: 1-866-772-2766,

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22. Things to Do in Philadelphia: Tria  Tria Tria consists of four restaurants dedicated to sharing the love of wine, cheese, and beer. The Tria Cafe was the to open and has become a Philadelphia institution. Established in 2004 as a gathering place for people to enjoy great wine, beer and cheese amongst friends, Tria Cafe serves a seasonal European-style cafe menu of gourmet light fare accompanied by an ever-changing fermentation menu of local craft and imported beers. All four Tria eateries offer a casual, laid-back atmosphere in which to enjoy good food, wine, and beer. They boast beautiful views of the city and are open for dinner seven days a week. Tria Cafe Rittenhouse, 123 S. 18th Street, 215-972-8742; Tria Cafe Wash West, 1137 Spruce Street, 215-629-9200; Tria Taproom, 2005 Walnut Street, 215-557-8277



23. Things to Do in Philadelphia: Double Knot  Double Knot Double Knot is a unique hybrid restaurant venue by executive chef and Ultimate Cake-Off star Michael Schulson, opened in 2016 in Philadelphia's Washington Square West neighborhood next door to his popular contemporary Asian restaurant Sampan. The all-day restaurant concept serves up coffee shop beverages by Elixr during the daytime hours, along with a variety of imported hand pours, teas, and matchas. At lunchtime, visitors can create their own rice, noodle, salad, or bahn mi plates filled with a variety of meat and vegetarian protein options. Downstairs, a basement-level izakaya joint serves up sushi and robatayaki meat offerings during the evening hours, with speciality cocktails, wines, beers, and sakes available on both levels. 120 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, Phone: 215-631-3868



24. Things to Do in Philadelphia: Penn Museum  Penn Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, commonly known as the Penn Museum is a world-renowned archeology and anthropology museum and research institution. Located on the Penn campus, the museum features collections of objects and materials from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean World, South and East Asia, and Mesoamerica, as well as artifacts from the indigenous peoples of Africa and Native America, collected from more than 300 archaeological and anthropological expeditions conducted around the world. Visitors can enjoy docent-led tours around the museums galleries, which see over 25,000 guests each year. 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phone: 215-898-4000



25 Best Things to Do in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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9th Street Italian Market

The 9th Street Italian Market is the nations oldest outdoor market and is considered to be the beating heart of Philadelphias Italian community. Extending from Fitzwater Street in the North to Wharton Street in the South, the market offers an array of Italian-influenced products and goods, from grocery shops, cafes and restaurants to butcheries, bakeries, cheese stores and delicatessens.

The market features bright, colorful metal awnings covering the sidewalks where vendors sell their items seven days a week, year-round. Outdoor stands, cafes and restaurants open early and serve customers until late into the evening.

919 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA, Phone: 215-278-2903

The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ

The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ is the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world. Located in the seven-story high open court at Macys Center City, the organ is played every day, Monday through Saturday and during the holiday season, with special concerts held throughout the year.

The instrument consists of 28,604 pipes in 463 ranks and is famous for its beautiful orchestra-like sound that builds up from the mass of pipe-tones. Music lovers can hear the organ play during weekly concerts held in the Macys Center court where admission is free.

Macys Center City, 1300 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA

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More Ideas: The Woodlands

As one of the most historically significant cities in the United States, Philadelphia is home to some of the nation's most stunning and storied buildings. All around the city and greater Philadelphia area, wonderful historic landmarks and places can be discovered, and The Woodlands is one of them.

A National Historic Landmark District located on the banks of the Schuylkill River, The Woodlands is a 53 acre site with history dating all the way back to 1770. It features a stunning, Federal-style mansion, a carriage house, a stable, and extensive grounds which are largely taken up by a rural cemetery and arboretum.

Tens of thousands of people have been buried at The Woodlands, and the estate is filled with history and stories. It's a beautiful historic location, originally being owned by Philadelphia lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, in the 1730s. The estate was passed down through the Hamilton family to Andrew's son, who was also named Andrew.

However, after the second Andrew Hamilton passed away, his heirs sold off a lot of the land and The Woodlands Cemetery Company of Philadelphia bought up a large chunk of it, creating a new cemetery. In modern times, The Woodlands is one of Philadelphia's best wedding venues, as well as a key events hub and a historic attraction for the public to enjoy.

- Location - The Woodlands is situated at 4000 Woodland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

- Getting There - If you're traveling from the center of the city, you can take Walnut St, 38th St, and Baltimore Ave towards Woodland Avenue and The Woodlands. Those traveling from further away will want to reach the I-76 and follow it towards exit 346A or B, depending on your direction of travel, and then follow Baltimore Ave towards Woodland Ave. If you're relying on public transport to reach The Woodlands, you can simply ride the SEPTA trolley westbound to 40th and Woodland Ave on any of the lines, except 10, and walk a short distance to The Woodlands.

- Important Information for Visitors - The grounds of The Woodlands are open to the public on a daily basis, from sunrise through until sunset, but there are some rules to be aware of. You can bring furry friends along, but all dogs need to be leashed at all times and owners should clean up after their dogs too. Visitors may choose to drive around the area but must keep to a maximum speed of 15mph. You can only park at The Woodlands if you're visiting the estate, and all guests are encouraged to treat the property with care, paying special attention to the fragile graves and the delicate plants and foliage of the grounds.

- Tours - One of the best ways to experience The Woodlands in all its beauty and learn more about the history and significance of this place is to take a tour. Walking tours of The Woodlands are organized on a regular basis, usually beginning either in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon, with friendly guides leading the way, showing small groups around, introducing them to the stories of The Woodlands and answering questions along the way. Tours typically run for about an hour and occur on weekdays only, but you can schedule a tour at another time by contacting The Woodlands through email (info@woodlandsphila.org) or phone (215 386 2181).

- Weddings and Special Events - If you're planning some kind of special occasion or memorable event in Philadelphia and want to find the perfect fairy tale venue to bring your dream day to life, The Woodlands might be the perfect place. This historical estate has played host to a wide range of events over the years, including weddings, receptions, corporate get-togethers, and even family reunions. It offers up a range of interior and exterior spaces for your convenience and comfort, including the mansion itself, the old stables, and the grounds. Up to 70 people can enjoy a sit-down meal in the mansion, while 125 can be catered to for a party, and larger groups can make use of the exterior event spaces too.

- Events and Activities at The Woodlands - All through the year, both in the summer months and during the cooler seasons, The Woodlands hosts all kinds of fun and interesting events and activities for guests to enjoy. Examples include outdoor movie nights, grounds walking tours, family fun days, special seasonal events for Christmas and Halloween, and much more. You can head over to the official Events page of The Woodlands site to check out all of the upcoming activities.

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More Ideas: The Rail Park

A beautiful and ever-evolving city, Philadelphia is the sort of place where the past and the future are always interacting. The city is home to some of the most important historical sites in all of America and has a fascinating and highly-prized heritage, but also continues to push forward into the future, forging its own path and telling the beginnings of whole new stories. In keeping with the citys distinctive blend of past, present, and future all coming together, the Rail Park is one of the most exciting projects to hit Philadelphia in recent years.

The Rail Park - A 3-Mile Long Green Space In Philadelphia

Transforming old, disused railroad lines into a park that can be used and enjoyed for generations to come, the Rail Park project really embodies the spirit of Philadelphia. It's set to become one of the biggest parks of its kind in the world, eventually stretching across 50 city blocks and linking ten different neighborhoods together. So far, Phase One of the project is completed and the first part of the park is now open to the public, but more work is still to be done.

- The Story of the Rail Park - The Rail Park is being built on a pair of disused Reading Railroad lines. These lines were once used for transporting people and cargo in and out of the city, but have since fallen into a state of abandon and disrepair. The Rail Park project is set to change all of that, and Phase One of the project has already proven what a big difference some greenery can make and how these tired old tracks can be given new life and become an important recreational space for the people of Philadelphia.

- All About Phase One - Phase One of the Rail Park is the first quarter mile stretch of the ultimate 3-mile project goal. It's fully finished and open to the public. A pet-friendly park that is fully free to enter and open from 7am10pm on a daily basis, Phase One is just a little taster of what the Rail Park could ultimately become. The whole thing has been designed and developed by the non-profit organization, Friends of the Rail Park, with the support and help of volunteers, donors, and sponsors from around the city of Philadelphia and beyond.

- The Future - Phase One might be finished, but there are more big plans for the Rail Park in the future. When the park is finally complete, it will pass by 50 blocks in total, offering green spaces and safe walking paths for millions of people to use and enjoy on a regular basis. It's set to be twice as long and double the width of the famous High Line in New York City, becoming one of the biggest and most impressive parks in the entire world, offering an inviting, safe space for the public where happy memories can be made and nature can be enjoyed.

Support The Rail Park

If you're visited Phase One of the Rail Park and want to see more, or just want to support an eco-friendly and city-enhancing plan in Philadelphia, there are a few ways you can help out. As previously mentioned, the Rail Park is being created by the Friends of the Rail Park non-profit organization, so the help of donors and supporters is needed for this project to make it all the way through to completion:

- Donations - Like any non-profit, the Friends of the Rail Park rely on donations to keep on expanding and enhancing the Rail Park, as well as organizing events to raise awareness and help to get more people visiting the park and interested in its development. Donations to the Friends of the Rail Park can be made securely and easily online, or you can mail checks to PO Box 15737, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

- Become A Member - To take your donation one step further, you might want to consider becoming a full member with the Rail Park. There are three tiers of Rail Park membership available: Friend, Steward, and Sustainer. Each tier of membership has its own price and offers unique benefits. Friends of the Rail Park, for example, receive their own Rail Park map, a souvenir pin, invitations to special events, and a regular newsletter. Sustainers, meanwhile, will receive 10 decorative brass pins, a map, the newsletter, and a private tour of the Rail Park for you and your friends or family.

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Plan a trip to Seattle for a weekend of great food, unique attractions and romantic views. Regardless of your taste, the citys restaurants are famous for their amazing cuisine and welcoming atmosphere.

Choose from fresh seafood, fantastic sandwiches, creative farm-to-table fare and unforgettable desserts. Whether you are hungry for Mediterranean, Asian, Hawaiian, French, Italian, Japanese or New American cuisine, here are the best restaurants in Seattle.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. RockCreek Seafood & Spirits, Seattle  RockCreek Seafood & Spirits

RockCreek Seafood & Spirits is a seafood-focused restaurant and bar located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. Open daily for dinner and weekend brunch, RockCreek has a seasonally changing menu that features sustainably sourced seafood around the globe. The restaurant also uses locally sourced products from the Northwest, including crab, oysters, and mussels. Tropical fish like Hawaiian Ono and Kona Kampachi are also on the menu, as well as East Coast staples like Striped Bass. RockCreek Seafood & Spirits is one of the best restaurants in Seattle for couples. The spacious eatery is housed in a double-story fishing lodge, with a large central dining area filled with hand-crafted tables, a stylish bar, a lovely open-air patio, and an upstairs loft for private dining. 4300 Fremont Avenue N, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-557-7532

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2. Westward & Little Gull, Seattle, WA  Westward & Little Gull

Westward & Little Gull on North Lake Union serves a Mediterranean menu for brunch and dinner in a stunning location with a lakeside view. Executive Chef Zoi Antonitsas balances Mediterranean and Northwest flavors, and many of his dishes are prepared in a wood-burning oven. The approach of those who run this water-inspired restaurant is natural and casual, with a focus on fresh ingredients and high-quality produce. If you are looking for unique romantic restaurants in Seattle to celebrate a special occasion, Westward & Little Gull is a great place to visit. Westwards menu includes nibbles, vegetables, fruit, fish, seafood, meat, and poultry. And with sweets such as the Theo chocolate mousse or the Butterscotch pot de creme, you definitely wont want to skip dessert. 2501 N Northlake Way, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-552-8215

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3. Joule, Seattle, WA  Joule

Joule is a Korean-fusion steakhouse that serves Northwest-Asian cuisine in a sophisticated and refined setting. Home to James Beard-nominated chefs and celebrated husband and wife cooking team Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule presents fusion-inspired meat dishes and creative, shareable sides for lunch and dinner. Joule is also open for brunch, and has become popular for all-time favorites such as French toast and grits. Highlighting Koreas love of beef, starters like steak tartare and bone marrow are followed by a variety of steak cuts served with eclectic sides such as truffled pine nuts and sorrel. Joule is also known for its wine dinners, which allow guests to enjoy an intimate evening of dining and drinking, with a focus on the unique northwestern wine list. 3506 Stone Way N. Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-632-5685



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4. AQUA by El Gaucho, Seattle, WA  AQUA by El Gaucho



Couples are in for an impeccable dining experience at AQUA by El Guacho. This fine dining restaurant boasts of its fresh seafood, superior service, and fantastic waterfront views of Elliot Bay. Their exhibition-style kitchen is open for diners to see, specializing in a wide selection of seafood dishes like yellowfin tuna au Poivre and salmon rillette. They also offer quality cut steaks including a 28-day dry-aged Niman Ranch All-Natural Prime Certified Angus Beef steak, which is charcoal grilled to perfection. Enjoy your meal accompanied by a superior selection of wine and spirits along with signature cocktails like the Aqua Mule. 2801 Alaskan Way, Pier 70, Seattle, WA 98121; Phone: 206-956-9171

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5. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle, WA: Canlis Restaurant  Canlis Restaurant



With innovative dishes, romantic sweeping views, and unparalleled service, Canlis is the perfect location for an intimate dinner for two. The picture-perfect restaurant is housed in a modern building with beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows to take in views of Seattle, Lake Union, and the Cascade Mountain range. In addition to great views, diners can expect to feel like they truly matter, seeing as thoughtful service has been the heart and soul of this award-winning restaurant for the past seven decades. Their menu is simple yet elevated, offering a multi-course dining experience where guests may choose three of their courses and be surprised with several others in between. Everything about Canlis will surely give couples an evening worth remembering. 2576 Aurora Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109; Phone: 206-283-3313

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6. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle, WA: Le Panier  Le Panier



Resting in the heart of Seattles Pike Place Market, Le Panier is a traditional French bakery that has been serving homemade bread, pastries, and other French delicacies for over 10 years. Named after the large willow baskets that carry baguettes fresh from the oven, this warm and welcoming bakery is owned by Kristi Drake and Thierry Mougin, who have created their own little French haven serving traditional and artisanal French treats. From freshly baked baguettes and bread to sweet and savory patisseries, Thierry and his team of bakers present a mouthwatering array of French delights that they make from scratch every day. Le Panier is one of the best Seattle restaurants for fans of traditional French baked goods. 1902 Pike Place, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-441-3669

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7. Tulio Ristorante  Tulio Ristorante

Known as one of the best Italian restaurants in the country, Tulio Ristorante has been serving authentic Italian cuisine for 23 years. Named in honor of his father, Tulio Ristorante is owned and managed by Chef Walter Pisano whose passion for Italian cuisine shines through in every dish. Using only the freshest Pacific Northwest ingredients, his menu offers diners traditional Italian dishes with an innovative twist, such as Korobuta pork shank with ricotta whipped potatoes. From breakfast and brunch to lunch and dinner, the restaurant is an excellent choice. Its intimate and elegant dining room creates the perfect setting for appreciating Chef Pisanos exquisite cuisine, and an impressive wine list presents excellent wines to accompany each dish. Phone: 206-624-5500



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8. Restaurants in Seattle, WA: Tat's Deli  Tat's Deli

Tat's Deli offers visitors an authentic East Coast deli experience in the heart of Seattle. From the extensive menu of delicious eat-in, take-out, and delivery meals to the friendly and convivial service and bustling atmosphere, this fantastic little deli doesnt disappoint. Located in Pioneer Square, Tats serves an extensive breakfast and lunch menu consisting of classic deli favorites such as Philly steaks, hoagies, hot subs and unique sandwiches, soups, salads, and sides. Tats also has a mobile food truck that can be found at popular lunch spots throughout town. Tats caters special events and parties as well. 159 Yesler Way, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-264-8287



9. Cafe Campagne  Cafe Campagne

Located in the historic Post Alley of the Pike Place Market, Cafe Campagne is one of Seattles foremost classic French restaurants. Known for its traditional French cuisine and wine and elegant and sophisticated atmosphere, Cafe Campagne evokes all the aspects of a classic Parisian brasserie, from the beautiful decor to the mouthwatering menu. Dishes are made with only the finest locally and internationally sourced ingredients, many of which are handcrafted in-house. Examples include the charcuterie, duck confit, smoked salmon, and preserved items. Guests can find the perfect accompaniment to every meal,as Cafe Campagne has an excellent selection of wines that are handpicked by the cafes expert wine director. 1600 Post Alley, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-728-2233

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10. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle: TRACE  TRACE

TRACE Restaurant is a stylish restaurant and bar in downtown Seattle that offers diners a contemporary urban dining experience. Led by Executive Chef Steven Ariel, TRACE will delight foodies and aficionados alike with its innovative, farm-to-table menu, which consists of regional specialties made with local, seasonal, and organic products from the Pacific Northwest. A chic sushi bar serves freshly made sushi and sashimi, and the kitchen makes a point of using sustainably caught seafood. The award-winning designer bar offers a range of dynamic hand-crafted cocktails and liquor from regional distilleries, as well as a notable wine list that consist of both local and international vintages. 1112 4th Avenue, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-264-6060



11. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle, WA: Matt's in the Market  Matt's in the Market

Matts in the Market is a warm and welcoming restaurant in the heart of Pikes Place Market. Dan Bugge, who worked as a fishmonger in the market for many years, eventually fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the owner of this popular eatery. The menu consists of delicious dishes made with local ingredients from the nearby market. Using a variety of fresh seasonal products from the market, Executive Chef Shane Ryan creates a range of dishes that have diners returning on a regular basis. Offering spectacular views of Elliott Bay and the market's famous clock through beautiful arched windows, Matt's intimate setting is the ideal place for a business lunch or romantic dinner for two. 94 Pike Street, Suite 32, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-467-7909 More vacation ideas: 25 Best Things to Do in Seattle.

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12. Terra Plata  Terra Plata

True to its name, Terra Plata (meaning "earth-to-plate") is an inviting restaurant in the famous Melrose Market that serves a tempting menu of farm-to-table fare. Inspired by seasonal products from local growers and artisan producers, Chef Tamara Murphys passion for cuisine shines in her creative and delicious plates, such as the Yakima asparagus with fried duck egg or the water buffalo burger with taleggio, pickles, and arugula. Take your lunch in the beautiful rooftop dining area overlooking the edible garden, and enjoy a selection of seasonally-inspired handcrafted cocktails, locally brewed draft beer, or excellent wines by the glass. 1501 Melrose Avenue, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-325-1501



13. Wild Ginger  Wild Ginger

Inspired by the beauty and culture of South-East Asia, Wild Ginger has been serving delectable Pan-Asian cuisine to diners for over a quarter century. Owned by Rick and Ann Yoder, Wild Ginger is one of Seattles most celebrated restaurants, bringing a taste of Asia to both locals and visitors. Dishes like young mountain lamb marinated in Indonesian soy sauce and Cambodian-style Kom Pot short ribs with turmeric, galangal, and honey are sure to delight. Wild Ginger offers a lunch and dinner menu as well as a special vegan menu, and selections from each one of them can be ordered to eat-in or take away, and an impressive cocktail, wine, and beverage list provides the perfect accompaniment to the meal. 1401 Third Avenue, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-623-4450



14. Portage Bay Cafe  Portage Bay Cafe

Portage Bay Cafe is one of Seattles favorite places to enjoy a hearty breakfast, lazy brunch, languid lunch, or intimate dinner for two. With four locations across the city, Portage Bay Cafe boasts an extensive menu of delicious made-to-order meals, using only the freshest local ingredients sourced from surrounding farms and producers. From pancakes, eggs, and organic granola for breakfast to crisp garden salads, homemade soup, and jam-packed sandwiches, shwarmas, and burgers for lunch, Portage Bay Cafe has something for everyone. The cafe also provides a cold lunch delivery service and can be booked for private events in the evenings. 4130 Roosevelt Way NE, 206-547-8230; 391 Terry Avenue N, 206-462-6400; 2825 NW Market, 206-783-1547



15. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle, WA: Palisade  Palisade



Located in the Elliot Bay Marina with sweeping views over the bay, the Palisade is an elegant restaurant that serves Pacific North-West seafood in an unrivaled setting. This classic landmark restaurant has an enticing menu that features a variety of culinary delights, ranging from its famous Seattle City View Brunch to fresh salads, soups and chowders, succulent seafood, and prime-cut steaks. A chefs early prix-fixe menu is also available and has three courses to choose from while the stylish bar serves an impressive range of handcrafted cocktails, spirits, fine wines, and local brews. Enjoy a laid-back lunch of freshly caught seafood and crisp salads against a backdrop of breathtaking marina views. 2601 West Marina Place, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-285-1000

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16. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle: Revel  Revel



Owned by celebrated husband and wife cooking team Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi (the founders of Joule), Revel is a fairly new yet already celebrated restaurant that serves traditional Korean dishes prepared using classic French techniques. Housed in a modern industrially designed space with a long butcher-block table, wood banquettes, and a stylish bar, Revel is a trendy restaurant with a menu that is just as slick. Think short rib and scallion dumplings, lemongrass beef and cilantro noodles, and pork belly and bean sprout pancakes  and dont forget dessert. The Szechuan peppercorn ice cream is not to be missed. Enjoy colorful cocktails and soju, as well as a variety of fine wines and craft beer from Quoin, Revels sister bar. 403 N. 36th St, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-547-2040



17. Romantic Restaurants Near Me: Assaggio Ristorante  Assaggio Ristorante



For a more casual yet intimate date night, come to Assaggio Ristorante. Inspired by the Italian way of life, this Italian restaurant is the perfect setting for couples to slow down and simply enjoy the company of those who matter most. Their delicious menu, thanks to Chef Mauro Golmarvi, is centered on authentic Italian recipes and techniques that have been passed on from generation to generation. Customers can expect a truly Italian dining experience from freshly made pasta to homemade fish stock to imported Italian cheeses. Highlights from their menu include Pici Carbonara, slow-cooked organic veal shank, and classic tiramisu. 2010 4th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98121, Phone: 206-441-1399

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18. Romantic Restaurants Near Me: The Whale Wins  The Whale Wins



The Whale Wins on Stone Way North serves lunch and dinner with a menu that includes American and European dishes. Renee Erickson, an award-winning chef inspired by some of her favorite places in England and southern Europe, opened The Whale Wins in 2012 with her partners Chad Dale and Jeremy Price. The Whale Wins has a cottage-like interior and a homey wood-fired oven, creating a casual ambience. This warm neighborhood restaurant has a vegetable focused menu that includes pantry, small plates, main plates and sweets. Guests can choose to be seated in the dining room, at the bar, or on the garden patio. 3506 Stone Way N, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-632-9425



19. Romantic Restaurants Near Me: Sushi Kappo Tamura  Sushi Kappo Tamura



Sushi Kappo Tamura on Eastlake Ave is a Japanese restaurant with an open kitchen that serves cocktails and sushi in a contemporary and elegant space. Executive Chef Taichi Kitamura, who has always been fascinated with aquatic life, grew up in Kyoto. At Sushi Kappo Tamura, the chef is always happy to interact with his guests and show them how to debone a whole fish. The menu changes daily and the chef uses fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients in his creations. The restaurant also has a first-class Sushi bar with fine delicacies such as Alaskan king crab, squid, salmon and wild prawns. 2968 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-547-0937

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20. Romantic Restaurants Near Me: Spinasse  Spinasse



Spinasse is a rustically styled restaurant on 14th Ave that opened in 2008. For dinner, they serve traditional cuisine from Northern Italys Piedmont region. Chef Stuart Lane prepares refined, simple dishes using special methods from Piedmont and incorporates Pacific Northwest products. Pastas are handmade, and desserts and dishes are seasonally inspired. Spinasse is an intimate, cozy restaurant with an open kitchen. The menu includes various delights such as perfectly cooked pastas, ravioli, and chicken. For dessert, visitors may try Panna cotta, Torta di cammomila, or ZuppaInglese al limone. 1531 14th Ave, Seattle, Washington, Phone: 206-251-7673



21. Romantic Restaurants in Seattle: Chan Seattle  Chan Seattle



Chan Seattle on Pine St. serves modern and classic Korean dishes along with Asian-inspired drinks. Chef Heong-Soon Park always delivers the very best of Korean cuisine, taking the dining experience to a whole new level with seasonal, fresh, locally grown ingredients and bold flavors. Korean drinks and food, classic and contemporary, meet Western cooking methods in this powerful fusion. This cozy restaurant is located in a popular part of town and serves great food at reasonable prices. Chans menu includes small dishes, seasonal dishes, seafood, meat and poultry, flavorful vegetables, and delicious desserts such as rice beer ice cream, ginger creme brulee and pumpkin candy power. 86 Pine St, Seattle, WA, Phone: 206-443-5443



22. Romantic Restaurants Near Me: Saltys on Alki Beach  Saltys on Alki Beach



What could be more romantic than enjoying a delicious meal with the one you love on Saltys waterfront patio? The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor dining options, both of which boast serene harbor views. And theres no need to worry about Seattles chilly weather thanks to numerous heaters and fire pits situated throughout the patio to keep you warm and toasty. Saltys menu specializes in seasonal seafood and local fare including seafood chowder, lobster tail, and grilled fish. A full-service bar also offers wine, beer, spirits, and several unique cocktails. Customers are sure to be in good hands at this award-winning and service-oriented restaurant. 1936 Harbor Avenue SW, Seattle, Washington 98126, Phone: 206-937-1600

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23. The Pink Door, Seattle, WA  The Pink Door Since its opening in 1981, The Pink Door has been a popular restaurant destination amongst locals and visitors. Many aspects of the restaurant are closely tied to the owners Italian-American heritage from the buildings Duomo-inspired color palette to the simple, local produce-driven menu. Popular items on their lunch and dinner menu include the Pink Door Lasagna and Pink Door Cioppino. Diners can have their meal inside or out on the deck overlooking Elliot Bay. They can also expect to enjoy eclectic decorations alongside unique entertainment like trapeze, tarot, and cabaret. If visiting in the evening, be sure to adhere to their dinner dress code, which discourages athletic gear including flip flops. 1919 Post Alley, Seattle, Washington 98101, Phone: 206-443-3241



24. Cafe Torino, Seattle, WA  Cafe Torino Like true Italians, those at Seattles Cafe Torino take their coffee seriously. First, they use only Lavazza beans and make them into any version of coffee drink you can think of: cappuccinos, macchiato with cocoa called Torinese, Becerin with chocolate, coffee, and cream, and of course a standard drip coffee, light or dark roast. This modern, sleek cafe also serves Portland Steve Smith Tea for those who are not java addicts. They also serve excellent sandwiches with imported Italian meats such as Parma ham, pistachio-studded Mortadella and Genoa Salame, and some superb in-house made biscotti and cookies. You can have a cold or grilled sandwich made with their Udi gluten-free bread. Their signature cookies are made with polenta flour and can come with a delicious ice cream filling. 422 Yale Avenue North, suite B, Seattle, WA 98109, 206-682-2099



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HA NOI  The Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) and two Japan-based companies -- Tatsuno corporation and Nomura Trading Company -- will extend the agreement on technical cooperation and technology transfer signed between them in August 1999.

Accordingly, Tatsuno will continue to support Petrolimex Equipment Joint Stock Company (PECO) to manufacture and assemble new generation fuel dispensers with user-friendly multi-pumps.

Nomura Trading Company will import equipment for Petrolimex and assemble a series of Semi-Knocked Down dispensers designed by Tatsuno.

According to Petrolimex general director Tran Van Thinh, during a recent visit to Japan, Petrolimex had asked Tatsuno to continue supplying new equipment and technology for Petrolimex, such as steam recovery fuel dispensers and super lightweight oil guns.

Tatsuno chairman Hiromichi Tatsuno expressed his desire to continue long-term cooperation with Petrolimex and PECO for the modernisation of petrol stations.

Petrolimex is the largest petrol retailer in Viet Nam, accounting for 50 per cent of the market share with over 2,300 stations nationwide and more than 4,000 petrol dealers.  VNS
Tay Ninh Province police on April 30 busted a drug trafficking ring operating between Cambodia and Viet Nam, arresting three traffickers and seizing 21 kilos of heroin.  VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY  Tay Ninh Province police on April 30 busted a drug trafficking ring operating between Cambodia and Viet Nam, arresting three traffickers and seizing 21 kilos of heroin.

Nguyen Tung Anh, 17, of Hai Duong Province, and Pham Van Thuan, 24, of Hai Phong City, were caught illegally transporting 13,031 tablets of heroin, weighing a total of four kilos.

Anh and Thuan said that they had been hired for VN10 million (US$439) each by a Cambodian man to carry heroin from Svay Rieng Provinces Bavet City to the Moc Bai International Border Gate.

Later that day, Vietnamese and Cambodian police officers confiscated an additional 17 kilos of heroin, packed in 50 plastic bags at Thien An Hotel in Bavet City.

Nguyen Manh Tien, 19, from Quang Ninh Provinces ong Trieu District, was arrested on May 1 for collaborating with Anh and Thuan in trafficking drugs to Viet Nam.

Police are continuing their investigation.  VNS
Zenoss Inc., the leader in hybrid IT monitoring and analytics software, today announced that Greg Stock of Zenoss is a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Award in Central Texas. The awards program, which is celebrating its 31st year, recognizes entrepreneurs who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Greg was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 9, 2017 at the JW Marriott Austin.

"I am honored to be named as a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award," said Greg Stock, chairman and CEO of Zenoss. "This distinction reflects the incredible team we have put together here at Zenoss and our commitment to customer success."

Now in its 31st year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities and more than 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National competition. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 18, 2017. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.
CEDAR FALLS -- The intertwining relationships of four important German musicians at the heart of the Romantic Era were explored Saturday in the Great Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on the University of Northern Iowa campus, as Music Director Jason Weinberger led the wcfsymphony in a concert of works by Theodor Kirchner, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

The concert was preceded by an informal discussion, with audience members seated onstage in the orchestras chairs, led by Weinberger and the evenings soloist, pianist Mimi Solomon. The connections between the evenings composers were outlined. In brief: Clara Schumann, daughter of piano pedagogue Friederich Wieck, became one of the dominant piano soloists of her time (mid-1800s), as well as an important composer for the piano, and one who set new standards for taste and repertoire.

Robert Schumann, an icon of the era, also a student of Wieck as a young man, defied Claras fathers wishes to marry her  yet they had a loving marriage, with each also supporting the other musically until his early death. Theodor Kirchner, a less-famous musician, apparently was a friend of all three, and had an affair with Clara after Roberts death.

Brahms, one of the giants of music, was announced to the world by Robert Schumann, and over the years drew close to both Robert and Clara. The conjecture has been that he and Clara were in love, and left it a platonic relationship out of respect for Robert.

Out of this seething cauldron of emotion and repression, as only 19th-century Europe could manage it, came the program for the evenings concert. Mimi Solomon, who in addition to her far-flung concertizing is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, gave some illustrative samples of the music to come.

The concert began with the Nur Tropfen of Theodor Kirchner. The title translates to Mere Drops, and is a set of seven miniatures originally for string quartet, and expanded successfully by Weinberger for string orchestra. Kirchner was known as a miniaturist (he wrote over 1000 piano pieces), and these short movements, named only by their tempo indications, proved to be true representatives of Romanticisms predilection for vignettes. Uncomplicated and charming, they would have fit perfectly in a musical salon or piano parlor of the time. They brought to mind the huge output of works of shorter duration from this period, from Mendelssohn to Schumann himself to the many pianists such as Stephen Heller, to a favorite miniaturist, Norways Edvard Grieg.

Next followed Robert Schumanns Introduction and Allegro (Op. 134, 1853), for piano and orchestra. It was written for Clara, who performed it often. The singular beauty of Schumanns piano writing is prominent in the works melodic twists and rhythmic ideas. Ms. Solomon understandably read this (and the following piece) from the score, as I doubt they are in anyones permanent repertoire. She gave a marvelous interpretation that showed her familiarity with the composer, as well as fluid technique and compelling rubato.

After taking the trouble to learn these compositions, I hope that she has a chance for repeat performances of these seldom-heard works. While the piano writing was worthy of the composer, the orchestral writing seemed a bit arbitrary and occasionally out of place  Schumann was never considered a master of orchestration, and his scoring in this piece seems a bit haphazard. The piano writing, as expected, is the works saving grace.

We then heard Clara Schumanns Konzert-Satz in F Minor for Piano and Orchestra, dating from 1847, which remained unfinished and was completed by the Belgian Josef de Beenhouwer only in 1986. It appears the Clara intended this as the first work of a full concerto, similar to her earlier Concerto in A Minor from 1836. Again, Solomon exhibited both technical mastery and creative license. The work has drama and pathos, and to me is superior to that of her husband, the previous work, though not to his masterpiece, his own Concerto in A Minor of 1845.

After intermission, the audience was treated to the Symphony No. I in C Minor (Op. 68, 1867) of Johannes Brahms. This piece was the wcfsymphony's only full-orchestra major work of classical music played during the 2016-17 season, and the orchestra made the most of it.

The symphony was nearly 20 years in gestation  it was very difficult at that time to write a symphony in the shadow of Beethoven. Yet Brahms fearlessly used as a model some aspects of Beethovens own Symphony in C Minor  the immortal 5th. It was well enough received that the work began to receive the accolade, Beethovens 10th. And soon there appeared in Europe the phrase, The Three Bs (Bach, Beethoven and Brahms). Clara Schuman, incidentally, was invaluable to the symphonys existence, having encouraged Brahms all the way along.

The orchestra in the Great Hall was at its best. Its difficult to narrow compliments down to a few, but I would recognize the 2nd movement solo of concertmistress Anita Tucker, excellent passage work in the strings, the entire horn section, woodwind principals, and (Tuckers husband) tympanist Alan Lawrence. Some of the iconic Germanic conductors from the past, such as Otto Klemperer or Wilhelm Furtwangler, might have raised an eyebrow  some of the tempos were a bit sprightly. But Weinberger extracted every bit of drama from the work, and the evening came to a vociferously applauded conclusion.

Thanks are due to the evenings sponsors Heartland Financial Services, Western Home Communities, radio station 93.5 The Mix, William Clohesy, Sally Malcomb, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and the R.J. McElroy Trust.

The wcfsymphony's next appearance is at the Riverloop Ampitheatre in Waterloo on June 3rd, where they will present Broadway  Theater Music Under the Stars.

Thomas Tritle holds emeritus status at the School of Music of UNI, and is the former principal horn and program note writer for the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra.
DAVENPORT -- The third trial of murder defendant Stanley Liggins set to begin May 22 in Waterloo is officially off the docket.

Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Marlita Greve on Monday granted a request by his newly appointed attorneys, Waterloo public defenders Aaron Hawbaker and Nichole Watt, to delay the trial to give them more time to prepare.

Greve set a status hearing for Jan. 3 to determine new dates in the case. She has not yet ruled on a second request by the attorneys to have Liggins, 55, held in the Black Hawk County Jail, rather than the Scott County Jail, pending trial.

Liggins is charged in the September 1990 strangulation death of Jennifer Ann Lewis, 9, of Rock Island, whose burned body was found near a Davenport elementary school. Prosecutors say she also was sexually abused.

He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1993 and 1995. The Iowa Supreme Court overturned the first conviction, and on Nov. 6, 2013, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed the second conviction.

Liggins has been in the Scott County Jail in lieu of bond since February 2014.

Greve granted Liggins' motion earlier this year to move the trial from Scott County to Black Hawk County, citing the heavy pretrial publicity surrounding the case.
MARENGO  On Palm Sunday in April 2000, Cora Okonski argued with her fiance about money when it turned physical and fatal, a Tama County prosecutor said during his opening statements Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of Tait Purk in an Iowa County courtroom.

It was April 16 and during the argument, Okonski threatened to call police about Purks criminal activity after he suggested postponing their upcoming wedding due to financial concerns, Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren said.

Purk grabbed her in a choke hold and slammed her to the floor, Heeren said, adding Purk then dragged Okonskis body to the bathroom and put her in a closet. The next morning, according to Heerens account, Purk went back to the closet, touched or slapped her face and said, Youre not calling the cops now.

Heeren said Purk then put the body in the back of his pickup and buried her in a remote area.

Purk, 50, is charged with killing Okonski, 23, in a case in which charges were not filed until this past December. The trial, moved from Tama County due to pretrial publicity, started Monday in Iowa County District Court with jury selection. A jury of nine women and five men was seated Tuesday afternoon.

Testimony is to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday and the trial is expected to go into next week.

Aaron Siebrecht, Purks lawyer, in his opening statement Tuesday told the jury the prosecution has no evidence, the prosecutors and family want closure and they simply decided Purk is a bad guy.

Dont confuse me with facts  Ive got my mind made up, Siebrecht said. Dispense with evidence  direct or circumstantial. There is no evidence  only theories and speculation.

But Heeren told the jury they will hear from Okonskis neighbor, Ricki Jo Weber Sanchez, who is going to testify that Okonski told her earlier on Palm Sunday that she was scared Purk was going to kill her and asked Sanchez to leave a window open. Okonski also asked her to call police if she heard screams, Heeren said.

He then detailed how Purk went through the motions of searching for Okonski, beginning April 17, 2000. Purk started talking to friends and relatives, called the sheriffs office and was advised to file a missing-person report, which he did on April 19, Heeren said. Purk then called Okonskis parents and told them they had a fight, Heeren continued. He told them Okonski asked him for money to buy cigarettes and went to the store, but never came back.

Heeren assured the jurors they will come back with a guilty verdict after hearing all the evidence in the case.

Siebrecht asked the jury to return a verdict of not guilty because, he said, there is no proof that Okonski is dead or was killed.

He said she had a difficult childhood and issues with her parents. He painted her as a gypsy, a free spirit, and said it wasnt surprising that she would be gone a few nights.

He said a Tama police detective who opened a missing person investigation talked with two people at truck stops who said they had seen Okonski after April 16, 2000, but added the detective never followed up on those leads.

He also reiterated it was Purk who reported Okonski missing.
WATERLOO -- A Waterloo man is facing charges in a stolen property case.

Last Friday, Black Hawk County Sheriff's deputies executed a search warrant at 3215 Doris Lane in, Waterloo as part of a stolen property investigation.

Deputies have been working in cooperation with authorities from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois in which large volumes of property have been illegally obtained from auction sites throughout Iowa and other states.

Authorities have been stationed at the Doris Lane address and have spent several days seizing and removing stolen property from there. Deputies have now arrested Paul Block Jr., 48, of 3215 Doris Lane for first-degree possession of stolen property. He remains in the Black Hawk County Jail on a 25,000, cash-only bond.

Authorities in Wisconsin have also filed a warrant for Block and charges from other states and jurisdictions are also expected.
HUDSON  As President Trump proposes cutting agriculture programs and renegotiating trade deals, students in Hudson High Schools FFA chapter may have more questions about federal farm policy than usual.

Who better to pose them to than newly confirmed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue?

Thats just the person two of the chapters members talked to Monday as their peers looked on. The 42-member FFA chapter was one of six from around the country that participated in a 45-minute town hall-style question and answer session with the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Students gathered in Hudsons ag classroom dressed in their navy blue FFA jackets for the event through You Tube Live.

Purdue expressed optimism about the future of agriculture, tackled questions on trade disputes and talked about conservation efforts by farmers. With one questioner asking about a product that came before the USDA for approval, he admitted to not knowing enough to give an answer.

These are questions Im going to have to go and study on, said Purdue. Its my fifth day on the job. The Senate confirmed his appointment to the position April 24.

Other FFA chapters participated from Leesburg, Va.; Eau Claire, Wis.; Dover, N.H.; Greeley, Colo.; and Indianapolis. The national FFA organization recommended participating schools.

To me, its very humbling because we have very many, many strong FFA programs in the state of Iowa, said Dennis Deppe, Hudsons FFA adviser and agriculture teacher.

When Hudson was first called on to ask a question, senior Maria Geisler, president of the FFA chapter, stood up. She pointed out that, for Iowa and surrounding states, the Mississippi River is an important part of the infrastructure to transport farm products around the U.S. and across the world.

What would you do as the secretary of agriculture to improve the infrastructure in the United States? she asked.

The president has proposed a very costly, very significant infrastructure program, responded Perdue. Agreeing rivers and ocean ports are important to the transportation of agricultural goods, he suggested infrastructure dollars need to be used for enhancing production so we can keep growing and thriving.

When Hudson was called on again, freshman Kacie Herring brought up the issue of those in America who dont have enough food. Noting 42.2 million Americans live in food insecure households, she asked what steps Perdue would take to improve the situation.

He pointed out the U.S. agricultural sector produces plenty of food, and its relatively affordable. The farmers of America, the producers of America, are doing more than their share, said Purdue.

A student at another site asked about the threat of cuts to the department presented in the administrations budget.

Weve had no real input or impact, said Purdue, since Trumps budget proposals were unveiled before he was confirmed. While the agriculture secretary will advocate for programs, if cuts are approved were going to manage the budget were given.

Perdue also faced budget cuts in a former position as governor of Georgia and learned how to protect priority programs. We did more with less, he said.

Other Hudson students also were prepared to ask questions.

I wish he would have talked about technology a little bit, said Lane Marlow, a junior. He expressed concern veteran farmers doing their job the old-fashioned way are getting pushed out by younger counterparts who have gone higher tech and are making more money.

For senior Ethan Griffith, the issue was corporate farms versus family farms, like the one run by his family. He worries the solution is getting bigger, like those corporate players, or getting out of the business.

Theres all these corporate farmers that are taking over everything, and we cant compete, said Griffith. If he would have touched more on that, it wouldve helped me out. I dont want to lose what my familys built.
CEDAR FALLS  U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, has announced the schedule for four upcoming town halls next week.

They will be as follows:

7 p.m. Monday at Dubuque Senior High Schools Nora Gym, 1800 Clarke Dr.

7 p.m. Tuesday at Kirkwood Community College Johnson Hall Gym, 6301 Kirkwood Blvd. S.W., in Cedar Rapids.

7 p.m. Wednesday, May 10, at Cedar Falls High School Gym, 1015 Division St.

12 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at Marshalltown Community College Babe Harder Gym, 3700 S. Center St.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the evening events and 11 a.m. for the afternoon event.

The town halls are free and open to 1st District residents. But the events require an RSVP, and attendees must provide a valid ID proving they are residents of Iowas 1st District.

People can RSVP online through Blums congressional website at https://blum.house.gov/about/events.

Those without access to Internet can call Blums Washington, D.C., office to RSVP at (202) 225-2911.

Signs and banners will not be allowed.

Left-leaning activists had been calling on the Dubuque businessman to hold a town hall since shortly after he was sworn in for a second term. He announced last month he planned to hold four town halls the week of May 8.
CEDAR FALLS  Speakers at Monday nights May Day rally took turns celebrating immigrants and workers, calling for unity among the groups.

But Lisa Munoz, of the Cedar Valley Advocates for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, brought deeper context to the rally.

Immigrant rights are workers rights, Munoz told a crowd of more than 80 gathered at the First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls. This is a structural issue, but solidarity, unity, we can do this, workers, immigrants, together.

Americans for Democratic Action Iowa organized the rally in conjunction with May Day rallies taking place across the globe for International Workers Day. The hourlong rally  moved to an indoor location due to weather and concerns about counter-protests  featured several speakers committed to both workers and immigrants rights.

Natalia Cruz Tinoco, of the Hispanic Latino Student Union at University of Northern Iowa, stressed throughout her short speech how immigrants come to the United States to work.

This is the land where we wanted to come for a better life for ourselves, no matter where we come from and if its for your children or anything, its OK to be here, and we want to work. Thats what we were taught, Cruz Tinoco said.

She said both she and her mother are United States citizens, and both are working on their degrees.

Cruz Tinoco was one of the few to mention the Trump administrations desire to build a wall on the border with Mexico. She said its more important to build bridges.

Unity was a key point for many speakers.

Joe Gorton, president of UNIs United Faculty union, thought back to the 1930s when both unions and immigrants were under attack, and compared it to threat he said both groups face today. He noted what ultimately helped both groups improve their lots.

A big part of how we turned that back and built the New Deal was through our unity, Gorton said. He said today, We have substantial opposition and resistance that we have to push through, as well.

Gorton said liberals or progressives need to call out Democrats who dont stand up for progressive policies.

UNI professor Harry Brod spoke of his familys experiences as Holocaust survivors who emigrated to the United States. He also stressed unity in a parable about putting out a fire by Israeli writer Amos Oz.

People can run from the fire, write an angry letter or bring a bucket of water to help. Those without buckets can bring a glass. Those without that can bring a teaspoon.

The teaspoon is little, and the fire is huge. But there are millions of us, and each one of us has a teaspoon, Brod quoted. He produced a teaspoon and added, If you dont have a teaspoon, I will loan you mine.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Gov. Terry Branstad earned high praise  and apparently a clear path to confirmation  from a Senate panel that questioned him for nearly two hours on his nomination to be United States ambassador to China.

Youve had an outstanding hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told Branstad Tuesday. The governors on-the-ground experience with China  (and) understanding of what drives the thinking within China will serve us well.

Referring to Branstads nearly 23 years as governor, Corker thanked him for his willingness to give up a very comfortable place ... to go to a post that is much more temporary yet, in many ways, far more meaningful from the standpoint of our security and the world security.

The ranking Democrat, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, offered his compliments to Branstads commitment to upholding human rights, open markets, rules-based order and press freedom.

Branstad said while human rights wasnt always at the top of his agenda when leading international trade missions, he always tried to recognize my responsibility as an American to represent our values.

It would be my intent as ambassador to bring up those difficult issues that the Chinese may not particularly want to talk about, but are important, said Branstad, flanked by his wife, Chris, and two sons, Marcus and Eric, who is a Trump liaison to the Commerce Department, as well as staff members.

Human rights was not the only issue senators explored.

They returned several times to North Koreas recent military activity and Kim Jong Uns attempts to develop deliverable nuclear weapons.

Corker warned if China doesnt step up, something severe is going to happen in the region.

Branstad said there are things China can do through diplomacy and economic pressure to send a clear signal that they as well as the United States and other countries do not tolerate this expansion of nuclear technology and missiles by the North Korea leadership.

I would want to do all I can to serve as a key go-between as we explore how we can work together, Branstad said.

There was a focus on protecting intellectual property rights from China, which Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, called a serious offender.

Branstad noted Iowa has had experience in that area, referring to a Chinese national convicted of attempting to steal secrets about seed corn from Pioneer DuPont. He said hes heard from many companies about concerns with intellectual property theft.

As the Chinese economy develops, he said, Hopefully, they will see there is a danger to them as well of having their intellectual property stolen by other countries.

Branstad easily made connections as senators brought up concerns about selling chicken, pork and beef to the Chinese. He said his preference would be to serve beef from Iowa, not Australia, at the embassy.

He was introduced by Iowas two Republican U.S. senators, Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst, who praised who work ethic.

He will bring Midwestern humility and level-headed leadership to the job, Grassley told the committee. He is a workhorse who is unafraid to get in the trenches to get the job done.

Having worked with him, Ernst expressed confidence Branstad will exemplify the same leadership, thoughtfulness, and dedication in his role as ambassador to China on behalf of the United States as he did for the people of Iowa.

I look forward to him being confirmed by the Senate and bringing the Iowa Way to Beijing, she said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to recommend Branstads confirmation next week with a vote by the full Senate before the end of the month.

Following the hearing, Branstad and his family headed to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
Late last month, we assessed the recently completed legislative session and discussed some of the changes and new laws.

One thing wed like to add is our relief at seeing the board that handles public transparency questions emerged from the session nearly intact.

The Iowa Public Information Board had been threatened with elimination, but in the last days of the session, lawmakers decided the nine-member volunteer panel actually saved more money than it cost.

The Legislature approved a $323,198 budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, an increase over the current $273,198 the board could spend after mid-year reductions cut into its initial authorization.

Along with many state newspapers, we pushed for the creation of the board when it was proposed, believing it to be an essential service for the state.

In 2008, a coalition that included the American Society of Newspaper Editors released a study that ranked Iowa 31st among all states in government openness. Still, it was another five years before the creation of the Iowa Public Information Board. Its main function was to handle complaints and violations related to open meetings and open records laws.

It had been predicted the board would handle roughly 350 cases per year, beginning in fiscal year 2013. Instead, the board handled 643 cases in its first 12 months of operation.

It was a clear sign the panel was indeed needed. The board reduces the need for and the extra expense of litigation  often an insurmountable hurdle for many who would otherwise push their cases for transparency.

Apparently, this year, lawmakers deduced it can save the government money as well.

Thats an essential service for Iowa, and we dont want to close that board, said Sen. Dennis Guth, a Republican from Klemme. It would actually cost us money in the long run because they help us save legal fees.

In the years ahead, we hope money isnt the only consideration.

If people truly are the government in our society, then we must do everything possible to see our government dealings at every level are transparent.

The nine-person panel can fine people and agencies for willfully violating the pubic openness laws. However, its duties are not limited to punitive actions. It also mediates disputes and works to educate public officials and citizens alike about open meetings and open records laws.

To us, there was no question the board was needed. There were plenty of examples of government agencies circumventing transparency laws at the time the board was formed.

The funding means the board can continue its work to investigate and help resolve disputes about open meetings and public records, but it still will have to leave one of its three paid positions vacant.

Margaret Johnson, the boards interim executive director, said in 2016 the board received 107 formal complaints and 768 informal, informational inquiries.

As technology and laws change, transparency laws always will need review, and vigilance must be maintained. Use of email, for example, has become a topic from the federal government all the way down to local officials.

Its disconcerting the very existence of this useful board was in question. We hope all will come to see the importance of conducting government business in an open manner.
Q: How many registered Republicans and how many registered Democrats are in the state of Iowa?

A: According the Iowa Secretary of States Office, there are 665,165 active and 25,118 inactive Republicans, making 690,283 total Republicans in the state. There are 625,937 active and 31,798 inactive registered Democrats, making 657,735 registered Democrats in the state.

Q: What are the yearly salaries for the governor, lieutenant governor and state treasurer?

A: Gov. Terry Branstad has a yearly salary of $130,000, and both Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and state treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald have a yearly salaries of $103,212.

Q: If I find a dead deer on my property, am I allowed to claim and keep it?

A: You may need a LOT general deer license. Call the Department of Natural Resources at (515) 725-8200 regarding your specific situation.

Q: How do you go about having a nonprofit business audited when you think theyve embezzled funds?

A: You may file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. You can submit a Form 13909, Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form online or download the form to print and mail.

Q: How many years have to go by before you are selected for jury duty again?

A: According to Iowa Code 607A, a person shall not be required to serve or attend court for more than a term of service, serve in more than one grand jury, or serve or attend as both a grand and petit juror in a two-year period.

Q: Has Iowa ever had chain gangs that were in prison to clean up our roadways? Does any state still have them?

A: Yes, Iowa did use chain gangs, but they were eliminated mostly due to the expense of having many close supervisors. A few states still use chain gangs today, like Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

Q: What federal prison is Russell Wasendorf Sr. in? How long has he been in prison?

A: Wassendorf is serving a 50-year sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. He has been in prison since January 2013.

Q: Can a 14-year-old driver with licensed passenger drive after dusk if they only have a learners permit and no drivers ed?

A: According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, a driver with an instruction permit can drive at any time with adult supervision, meaning a parent, guardian, custodian, or immediate family member at least 21 years of age, a driver education instructor, or with a licensed driver at least 25 years of age with written permission from a parent, guardian or custodian.

Q: How much electricity does the average home computer use per hour?

A: It varies greatly, due to the many different hardware configurations that computers can have. Most estimates say the average desktop computer has a power usage of somewhere between 60 and 300 watts, so between 0.06 and 0.3 kWh.
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May 1, 2017 | By Julia

New Zealand is about to get its first ever 3D printed electric car. Currently in development by Ira Munn, an entrepreneur working out of local tech charity Accelerating Aotearoa, The Drop is a three wheeled electric car designed for commuters. The vehicle will be motorway legal and have a battery range of up to 300 kilometres, making it the first 3D printed electric car by and for New Zealanders.

Ira Munn

The innovation began as part of New Zealands push to make electric cars mainstream: in 2016, the government launched a program to increase the adoption of electric vehicles. The countrys current target is to double New Zealands number of electric cars each year, with an ultimate goal of reaching 64,000 by 2021.

Its an ambitious goal, but one that is readily achievable with makers like Munn hard at work. "It's a first for New Zealand and I'm really excited that New Zealand can have an electric car it can call its own," Munn told local press.

The entrepreneur made the move to New Zealand from the U.S. in 2015, where he promptly set up his business Ierospace. A chance encounter led him to Judy Speight of Accelerating Aotearoa, a local charity that supports technology education and development.

Munn has partnered with the organization ever since, an avenue he hopes will connect him to young people, who Munn sees as integral to the future of 3D printing.

I think theres a lot of creativity here in south Auckland that hasnt been unlocked yet, said Munn.

So far, the Auckland-based entrepreneur is well on his way. Munn has been developing the car for the past year, and thanks to the help of Massey University engineering students, the Drop was able to be manufactured using a 3D printer.

An initial prototype is expected to be ready by August of this year. Munns hope is that the full car will be available for the market by March of 2018, at a negligible cost of only $10,000.

Unsurprisingly, the maker is a big user of public transport, and is optimistic that more electric vehicles in Auckland will positively impact the environment. Im excited about Ierospace having a role in helping accomplish that goal, he said.

In addition to the green benefits of electric vehicles, the 3D vehicle kits will also be built from recyclable materials.

"I want our footpaths for pedestrians to be safe from vehicle exhausts ... we'll be improving the environment in many ways," Munn said.

Munn will be showcasing The Drop along with Massey University's 3D printer this September at Conferenz's evworld expo in Manukau.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Oset Babur in Harvard Magazine:

Imagine a business that creates a perfectly energy-efficient environment by adjusting ventilation rates in its workplace. On paper, the outcome would seem overwhelmingly positive: fewer greenhouse-gas emissions to the environment and lowered costs to the business. Its an idyllic scenario, except for what Joseph Allen and his team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) describe as the potentially serious human cost: workers with chronic migraines, nausea, fatigue, and difficulty focusing. Fortunately, these side effects are avoidable.

The truth is, we absolutely can have buildings that are both energy-efficient and healthy, says Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science. In 2015, his team published a two-part study that quantified the cognitive benefits of improved environmental conditions for workers. The first phase took place in the Syracuse University Center for Excellence, where knowledge workers, such as architects and engineers, went about their regular workdays as Allen and his team manipulated environmental factors. We werent looking to test an unattainable, dream-state workplace. We wanted to test scenarios and conditions that would be possible to replicate, he explains. They adjusted ventilation rates, carbon dioxide levels, and the quantity of airborne VOCs (volatile organic chemical compounds that are emitted by common objects such as desk chairs and white boards). At the end of each day, the team asked workers to complete cognitive-function assessments in nine key areas, including crisis response, decisionmaking, and strategy. We saw pretty dramatic effects, he reports: workers in optimized environments scored 131 percent better in crisis-response questions, 299 percent better on information usage, and 288 percent higher in strategy.

More here.
Melik Kaylan in Forbes:

So first the Dutch, and then the French have voted back into the center and rejected the populist-nationalist axis. A good deal of flack still pocks the scene but you can feel a general drift on the European air. Geert Wilders, the self-appointed anti-Islam Dutch firebrand, a brave man whatever you think of his policies, got left standing at the altar. And now Marine Le Pen. Certainly the mood might yet change in France before the run-off, with more Daesh-linked attacks or other spoilers. But they already had a terror attack timed to affect the vote and it didn't work. If anything, it seems to have consolidated the center. Many still doubt the trend. Here the New York Times idly suggests that the failed far-left French candidate, Melenchon, may yet tilt things towards Le Pen: he has refused to back the new front-runner Macron in the run-off. But it won't happen.

The French, like the Dutch and Germans, are unlikely to merge the political poles, the far left and right, in the way that the anglo-saxon world has embraced. Here's why. Core Europeans have finally woken up to the extremity of the danger. By that I refer not to the inner beast of fascism or authoritarianism or whatever 'ism the bien pensant side discerns in the bud. Rather, Europeans have detected a more pressing danger  the forces from without working to push them off-balance: the Trump-Putin-Erdogan factor.

More here.
Joe Halstead at Literary Hub:

Mount Lookout, West Virginia is a blip on the radar, little more than a collection of families, a few modest doublewide trailers, and a post office. To get to my parents house, you have to break off from US Route 19 and take East Mount Lookout Road, driving through a collection of trailers scattered through the hills, past big-ass trucks resting in driveways like content, fattened grizzly bears. That night, I sat in the living room with my mom and dad, watching the nation break down over Trump on live TV. My dad sat to my left, slightly in front of me, my new nephew, Joshua, bouncing on his knee. Every once in a while my dad turned around and looked at me, to make sure I was still there and that I was having a good time. He said hed like to go kill a deer. I said Id like that, too. Understand this about me: Ive done this for most of my life. Its simply part of who I am. Its part of who you are, too. Pull back the curtain of civilization and what you see is the quasi-medieval zombie world, or a Lord of the Flies, in all of us. Its just the modern world that keeps a lid on it. Im tempted to indict it, but my complicity makes such a critique feel self-righteous and hypocritical.

On TV, they were debating whether Trump is a total climate-change denier or if he merely denies that human activity has contributed to climate change.

Dont ever be one of them environmentalists, Joey, my dad said. His gaze turned elsewhere when he added, First they take your job, then they take everything you got.

more here.
With no Democratic challenger, Johnson secures third term in House

Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson won reelection for his third term representing South Dakotas only U.S. House district.


Signs Agreement to Expand Technology and Product Footprint into Medicinal Marijuana Market

Perth, May 2, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Algae.Tec Limited ( ASX:AEB ) ( ALGXY:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Collaboration and Licence Term Sheet ("Agreement") with Jardin De Invierno SA ("JDL") to expand its technology and product footprint into the rapidly growing medicinal marijuana and associated markets.



The annual medical cannabis and related markets exceeded US$6 billion in 2016 with a projected compound annual growth rate of 26% through to 2021 when the market is expected to reach US$21 billion. This is in addition to the global nutraceuticals market which currently exceeds US$205 billion and growing at a significant global rate.



Algae.Tec is at the forefront of developing technologies that optimize controlled growing environments for high value natural products, including medical cannabis. The unique technology platform developed by Algae.Tec is able to significantly increase yield whilst dramatically reducing costs when applied to controlled cannabis production. This will position Algae.Tec as a market leader in the controlled cannabis production space globally.



By utilizing Algae.Tec's proprietary LED lighting technology the cost of production can - just in relation to power - be reduced by over 60% when compared to traditional methods. When combined with growing and yield efficiencies and additional cost savings the Algae.Tec technologies have a significant positive impact on revenue generation from medical cannabis.



Jardin De Inviemo SA (JDL), is a biosciences company focused on the production and development of cannabis extracts, derivatives and related intellectual property. JDL has state-of-the-art research & development and production facilities in Uruguay and is the only company federally licensed to cultivate, research and export Cannabis Sativa L Specie for human and agricultural applications.



JDL's President, Julian Strauss said "JDL is pleased to be working with Algae.Tec on this important cannabis research and development program. Companies from around the world are coming to Uruguay looking for access to unfettered and legal cannabinoid research and development. Only JDL can provide this collaborative service as the only totally unfettered federally licensed research company in the world. This agreement further validates our business strategy and our standing as the premier cannabinoid research and development company in the world."



Algae.Tec's Managing Director, Peter Hatfull states "This is the first of many opportunities to utilise the unique controlled environment technologies that have been developed by Algae.Tec and rewards the years of research and development undertaken to reach our goals in the high yield cultivation of algae. This collaboration will demonstrate that the innovations achieved to date can be used to enhance the growth and yield potential for a range of agricultural products. We look forward to working with the team at JDL to bring this Agreement to fruition and to expand our footprint into this rapidly growing market."



APPENDIX:



The key terms of the Agreement are as follows:



- AEB and JDL will grant each other an exclusive and perpetual license to use all proprietary plant breeder's rights, products, derivatives, delivery systems and related intellectual property jointly developed between JDL and AEB pursuant to the proposed License and Collaboration Agreement.



- AEB agrees that it will work with JDL in respect of: (i) developing and commercializing AEB's proprietary growing technologies for their application specifically for the nutraceutical ingredient market for therapeutic medicinal cannabis products; and (ii) developing and commercializing all formulations and technology related to cannabis extracts;



- In addition, JDL will grant AEB a distribution license with respect to its own IP for commercial distribution;



- The consideration payable from AEB to WGP will be as follows:



o An initial payment of US$2m ("AEB Payment") payable in AEB shares at the 5-day VWAP of the shares as at the date of the Collaboration and License Agreement subject to any shareholder, regulatory or any other approvals that may be required for the issue of the shares (50% of such shares to be subject to a holding period equal to the development period with the remaining 50% able to be traded to AEB"s advisors subject to ASX regulations)



o A payment of US$500,000 from JDL to AEB ("JDL Payment") in respect of the exclusive license being provided to JDLfor AEB's growing technology platforms and their application to cannabis and cannabis related products, which may be set off from the AEB Payment;



o The commitment to a development budget of US$1,500,000 over 18 months (to be defined in the Collaboration and License Agreement) subject to a capital raising of no less than US$4,000,0000 on terms acceptable to the Board of AEB.



o A mutual royalty of Net Sales Value or profit share or similar (to be defined in the Collaboration and License Agreement as it applies to specific co developed IP).



The Agreement is conditional upon:



- Execution of definitive transaction documentation;



- Any necessary regulatory or shareholder approvals; and



- A capital raising of no less than US$4M on terms to be agreed by the Board of Algae.Tec.



About Algae.Tec Limited





Algae.Tec Limited (ASX:AEB) (OTCMKTS:ALGXY), founded in 2007, is a specialist algae producer, focused on developing technology that captures waste carbon dioxide to produce commercial quantities of algae for use in the food and fuel sectors.

Algae.Tec has carried out in excess of six years of laboratory, bench-scale and pilot tests and product trials to-date; assessed competitive algae technologies; and has applied the development phase results to detailed engineering evaluations of commercial plant operations. Collectively, these activities have led to the development of unique proprietary technology and know-how for high efficiency production and harvesting of algae.

Algae.Tec's algae technology has demonstrated exceptional performance, providing step-change improvements in productivity, product yield, carbon dioxide sequestration, plant footprint requirements and substantial capital/cost savings versus agricultural crops and other competitive algae processes in the industry.

Algae and its byproducts can be used for many applications including nutraceuticals, personal products such as soap and face cream, protein food sources plus bio-polymers and fuels.
The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a woman journalist booked for abetting the suicide of an army jawan and also under the Official Secrets Act after observing that prima facie no offence is made out against the accused.

Justice Revati Mohite Dere on April 26 granted anticipatory bail to Poonam Agarwal, a senior journalist with The Quint and retired soldier and war veteran Deepchand Singh.

Last month, the Deolali Camp police in Nashik registered a case against Poonam and Deepchand under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including abetment of suicide of the jawan from Kerala Roy Mathew.

The scribe was also booked under sections 3 (spying) and 7 (interfering with officers of the police or members of the armed forces of Union) of the Official Secrets Act.

According to police, she was booked for violating Army rules by entering prohibited areas and conducting a shoot there.

Agrawal is accused of entering Heig Lines in Deolali camp without the permission of authorities and filming the premises besides carrying out a sting operation on Mathew and other jawans on February 24 in which she is said to have asked leading questions.

The case was registered after Mathew (33) was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in an abandoned barrack in Deolali cantonment here on March 2.

According to police, Mathew featured in the sting operation carried out by Poonam and Deepchand exposing the buddy (Sahayak) system in the Army and had committed suicide over fear and shame.

Poonam and Deepchand approached the high court after a sessions court rejected their anticipatory bail pleas.

Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for Poonam, argued that the sting operation was carried out in public interest and to expose the malaise in the Indian Army.

The High Court after hearing the arguments said, After viewing the said clip, it appears that the purpose of the sting operation was to show that the Sahayaks were made to do menial work like taking their seniors dogs for walks, taking their seniors children to schools and so on.

Prima facie at this stage, taking the prosecution case as it stands it is doubtful whether any offence under IPC or Official Secrets Act is attracted in the peculiar facts of the case, Justice Dere said.

Merely because the sting operation was done in a prohibited area would not automatically attract provision of the Official Secrets Act, the court said.

The court granted Poonam and Deepchand anticipatory bail on a surety of Rs 25,000 and directed them to appear before the police on three days -May 2, May 3 and May 4 for recording their statement and questioning.

The court also directed Poonam to surrender to the police raw footage of the sting operation.

Mathew had joined the Army 13 years ago and was working as an artillery gunner with the Rocket Regiment 214 in Nashik camp for the last one year.
With former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah raking a row with through his Kupwara attack was aimed to spread hatred against Muslims remark, the Centre has reiterated that senior politicians should refrain from making statement that lower the morale of the security forces.

There is a clan which indulges in selective condemnation of violent incidents and makes a hue and cry on such acts, but turns a blind eye when the security forces attain martyrdom. A soldier who sacrifices his live for the nation is supreme, Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh told the media.

Earlier on Saturday, Abdullah courted another controversy by saying, The noise is not so much about 25 CRPF jawans getting killed in Chhattisgarh, rather, the noise is about three army men killed in Kupwara. They are beating the drum to increase hatred towards Muslims, please keep this in mind.

Nowadays, new tricks are being played, be careful. This is not an attack on particular sect of people, but on all of us, he added.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also slammed the Centre for banning Internet and other social media services in the Kashmir Valley.

I called on the government and told them dont take such types of measures. They are mistaken that the by imposing ban, conditions will improve. The situations will not improve until and unless talks are not held with all. They think they can suppress us with force. The more they try to suppress it, the more fire it will create, he said.
Donald Trump is celebrated his first 100 days in the White House on Saturday as one of the most successful in US history despite widespread criticism over a presidency plagued by disruption, confusion and chaos.

Critics are marking the milestone by lambasting his struggle to convert campaign promises into tangible achievements, which his supporters blame on obstruction by his opponents.

Under a relentless spotlight since stunning the world in November with a victory over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, the 45th US president has seen his bid to tear up his predecessors landmark health-care reforms founder in Congress, where many of his other legislative priorities have also run up against cold political gamesmanship.

Funding for his promised wall along the US border with Mexico was stripped from a federal spending bill in order to prevent a government shutdown.

His bare-bones tax plan, hastily unveiled this week in the hope of burnishing his first 100 days with a success story, has been savaged as a multi-billion-dollar giveaway to the wealthy that will send the national debt soaring.

Trump has signed dozens of executive orders, including several that roll back Obama-era regulations on industry or lift bans on oil and gas drilling, efforts Republican lawmakers and voters widely praised.

But US courts have blocked his most high-profile order, a temporary ban on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries entering the United States.

Trump has put on a brave face nevertheless.

The first 100 days of my administration has been just about the most successful in our countrys history, the real estate billionaire said in his weekly address on Friday, despite having called the 100-day milestone arbitrary, a false standard.

Under pressure

Trump will escape the pressures of his office for a campaign-style rally in front of a typically adoring crowd Saturday evening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

But even if his core supporters still fully back him, he is the least popular US leader in modern times at this stage of his presidency, polls show.

Democratic lawmakers have gleefully described his opening century mark as a slow-motion train wreck, a period of dramatically diminished stability, legislative failures and broken campaign pledges.

Much of the news media carried that message on Saturday.

A New York Times editorial titled 100 Days of Noise From Donald Trump excoriated his ignorance of policy and politics and warned about his danger to American institutions. Governing, so far, has turned out to be more than Mr. Trump can manage, the paper wrote.

His determination to leverage his office to expand his commercial empire is the only objective to which Americans, after 100 days, can be confident this president will stay true.

Demonstrators in New York City staged a march under the banner 100 Days of Failure, while tens of thousands at the Peoples Climate March in Washington criticized his rollbacks of environmental protections and Obama administration climate policies.

But Trumps supporters blamed any shortcomings on obstruction from Democrats.

Fox News, a favorite among conservatives, topped its website with an article praising Trumps record under the headline: 100 days of disruption: How Trump rewrote the presidential playbook as Dems tried to derail plans.

Republicans have rallied behind his one palpable achievement: the appointment of the conservative judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

But warning signs have tempered any positivity, including Fridays Commerce Department announcement that US economic growth slid to its lowest level in three years during the first quarter of 2017.

And the White House is under the cloud of investigations by Congress and the FBI into Russias apparent interference in last years US elections, and whether there was any collusion with the Trump campaign.

Rising global tensions are also preoccupying the White House. The United States has pledged to step up sanctions to force North Korea to resume dialogue over its nuclear program, as Trump warned of the risk of a major conflict with Pyongyang.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune spotlighted Somali parent Ikram Mohamed, who at one point addressed one doctor in the audience: Measles is a curable disease... but autism is not a curable disease -- it goes on for the rest of their life.

The free community resource meeting was held at Safari Restaurant & Event Center in Minneapolis. Initially the event was booked at the Brian Coyle Center, but pressure from the Minnesota Department of Health forced it to move (MDH had held its own Somali forum at BCC the previous week).

The meeting was hosted by the Organic Consumers Association, Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota, and National Health Freedom Action. Blaxill, other speakers and advocates wanted Somali families to know that Minnesota law gives them the right to fully informed consent or to opt out of any or all vaccines and still attend daycare, school and receive benefits.

By Nancy Hokkanen Age of Autism Editor-at-Large Mark Blaxill spoke at a Minnesota community meeting April 30 about that states measles outbreak, vaccines, vaccine injury and exemption rights. About 90 members of the Twin Cities Somali community attended the event.

After the speakers presentations, the question-and-answer session gave autism parents an opportunity to talk about how the disorder has affected themselves and their families.

Emotions ran high after one pediatrician claimed twice there is no scientific evidence that the MMR vaccine causes autism; after claiming the meeting was a travesty, he was booed by the audience. After he retreated, a woman called him out, saying, Please, look at me -- do you have a child with autism? Do you? I wish I did not listen with the docs like him. When I took my son to vaccinate him, and I say, is this the autism shot? She said, Baloney. I regret that day of my life.... Dont listen to your doctor.... Listen to your rights. Listen to your mind, what its telling you... As a parent, we are the ones suffering  we are the ones dealing with this disease.

Another Somali mother pleaded fervently with doctors in the audience to listen to parents, rather

Ikram Mohamed discussed Somali families experiences with vaccine-induced autism. [Photo: Jeff Wheeler, Minneapolis Star Tribune]

than insulting them. Tearfully she spoke of families struggling with as many as five children with autism. Blaxill said he has cried about his child just as Somali parents have  It motivated me, he said.

Blaxill brought up the loss of civil public discourse about vaccine policy. One of the things that has diminished [civil discourse] the most is that when people who are in positions of power abuse their power, or abuse their rights -- people suffer, Blaxill said. And thats the dynamic here. Doctors are powerful. Public health authorities are powerful. parents have rights; families have rights, and thats whats important to protect. Because that power can be abused; it often is.

The topic of financial incentives was raised. The pediatric profession, the dominant economic function, is the delivery channel for the vaccine program, Blaxill said. That is why the vast majority of pediatricians are in practice A large percentage of pediatric revenue comes from the well-baby visit. And if you took that away, there would be a substantial economic loss.

Another pediatrician told the audience that shed recently chosen to inject immunoglobulin into infants too young to be vaccinated, whod been exposed to measles. She claimed vaccines dont shed live virus, and insisted that the bottom line is we do not know what causes autism. Those statements also were met with boos and rebuttals; the meeting ended shortly thereafter.

Minnesota currently has 32 cases of measles  30 in the Twin Cities metro area, and two in outlying counties.

On May 5, the University of Minnesota is hosting Autism Initiative Day; the 2:45 pm presentation is ASD Prevalence Research and Community Engagement with Somali and Immigrant Families.

###

[On a personal note: The Star Tribune quoted the pediatrician who vaccinated my infant son: Dr. Sheldon Berkowitz, who works at a Minneapolis clinic that treats many Somali-American patients, said Blaxill minimized the impact of measles. A decade ago Dr. Berkowitz was contacted by attorneys about my sons VICP case, which Special Masters later tossed out as untimely filed. Five decades ago I had measles  almost everyone got measles  and public panic was nonexistent.  Nancy Hokkanen]
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Helen Naylor, right, stands in the living room of her home on Florence Avenue that she recently sold with some of the furniture that she has donated to Mental Health America of Aiken County for The Cottage at Nurture Home. Also pictured are Mental Health America Executive Director Lisa Tindal, left and Marcia Quinn and Jack Wetzel, whose guidance led to Naylor's decision to help Mental Health America and The Cottage at Nurture Home.
50 years ago today the first Airbus aircraft, the A300B, embarked on its maiden flight. On this historic anniversary we look back with pride and admiration at the aircraft and programme that were at the beginning of the Airbus story.

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May 2, 2017

Soon after Turkish air force jets carried out a wave of airstrikes against Kurdish targets in northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq on April 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over the phone. The reported tone of the conversation speaks volumes about the new low in Turkish-American relations ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans planned May 16 meeting with President Donald Trump.

According to three separate sources familiar with the details of the exchange, it went horribly. Cavusoglus shrilly defensive explanation of why Turkey had ignored US calls to back off and bombed the headquarters of the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) on Mount Karachok, killing 28 militants and endangering US special operations forces lives, didnt cut any ice. One of the sources told Al-Monitor on condition of strict anonymity, At one stage in the conversation Tillerson was kind of like saying 'OK, whatever, you go your way, we will go ours.' Another said, It wasnt quite that dramatic, but concurred that the phone call went badly.

Turkeys top diplomat has a reputation for being very undiplomatic. Cavusoglu is brusque, aggressive and there is talk that he may soon be replaced. But according to the sources, Tillerson was the undiplomatic one this time. Tillerson made no attempt to disguise his fury over the attacks. Cavusoglu didnt get to say much, one of the sources said. The Turkish military reportedly gave only 52 minutes' warning to coalition forces before carrying out the airstrikes, putting their lives at risk. The United States had troops in Syria within six miles of the strikes.

A coalition official told Al-Monitor on condition that he not be identified by name, The Turks did not even provide specific coordinates for where they would be bombing. All they gave us was a box. The lack of information was probably to prevent the coalition from tipping off the YPG so it could clear out in time.

Ibrahin Kalin, the presidential spokesman whose name is making the rounds as a potential replacement for Cavusoglu, is due to arrive in Washington May 8 for meetings with National Security Council and State Department officials to smooth the ground ahead of Erdogans trip.

The former academic, who also taught at Georgetown University, is together with Turkeys spy chief Hakan Fidan the go-to people for Western officials when they want to get a message across or questions answered. Kalin is said to enjoy the backing of Erdogans younger son Bilal. But Berat Albayrak, the energy minister who is married to Erdogans elder daughter Esra, wants to be the foreign minister as well.

The head of the Turkish Armed Forces, Gen. Hulusi Akar, is also expected to hold talks in Washington before Erdogans arrival, presumably to persuade Pentagon officials to accept Turkeys offer to partner with US forces in the long-planned operation to capture Raqqa, Al-Monitor has learned. He is unlikely to succeed.

To be sure, many analysts are voicing skepticism about the success of the Trump-Erdogan meeting. Fundamental differences will remain unresolved, said Gonul Tol, the executive director of the Middle East Institutes Turkey program. Tol told Al-Monitor, For as long as the United States and the Syrian Kurds are in partnership, relations between Ankara and Washington will by default remain rocky."

Tol added, "Turkish hopes that Trump would change course in Syria in Turkeys favor were unrealistic from the start. Surprising as it may sound, the Trump administration is seriously alarmed by Turkey's rapid descent into authoritarianism and view it as an unreliable ally.

Yet Turkeys increasingly roguish behavior will likely remain unchanged. Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview, The airstrikes against the YPG were Erdogans way of being heard. She added, He is telling the Americans we can disrupt your plans, and he can."
April 28, 2017

To some legislators' consternation but to no one's real surprise, Lebanon's parliamentary elections have been delayed yet again for at least three months.

On April 12, the day before parliament was scheduled to meet, President Michel Aoun invoked Article 59 of the Lebanese Constitution, which allows him to postpone a parliamentary session for one month. He may do so once during the legislative term.

Speaker Nabih Berri had called for the session to discuss extending parliaments term, as members failed to agree on a new electoral law before a constitutional deadline expired. Aoun wants a new law implemented before elections are held for parliament, whose term ends June 21. He doesn't want the legislature to extend its own term without elections, which he considers illegal, but he also doesn't want a legislative vacuum. However, the constitution requires that voters be given 90 days to prepare for an election, so  because of repeated delays  one now can't be scheduled before August at the earliest.

In a televised speech, Aoun addressed the Lebanese people, saying, I have warned repeatedly against the extension since it is unconstitutional and will definitely not be the path toward the recovery of the government and its authorities and institutions on a sound constitutional basis.

Minutes after Aoun announced his decision, Berri set another session for May 15. In the meantime, Lebanese political forces continue their quest to agree on an electoral law by then. Simon Abi Ramia, a member of parliament's Change and Reform bloc, told Al-Monitor that despite differences between the parties, political forces seek to agree on a new electoral law and his political bloc will strive to prevent a parliamentary extension by all means.

Aoun wants to replace the contested 1960 Electoral Law, which is based on a majoritarian (winner-take-all) district electoral system with limited exceptions. That law allows Muslim leaders to select Christian parliament members in some constituencies. Aoun, a Maronite Christian, along with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, are insisting on a "total proportionality" system, while others want either a hybrid law or the majoritarian system.

On the eve of April 13, the date set for the session to discuss the extension, the specter of civil war came back to haunt the Lebanese amid a sharp division of political forces and a serious threat by Christian political forces to take to the streets to prevent the session. They threatened to block the roads to prevent legislators from even reaching parliament.

The mounting tension might have escalated into a sectarian rift in the country if Aoun hadn't moved to contain the situation.

Adel Yamin, a constitutional expert and law professor at Lebanese University in Beirut, noted that the April 13 parliament session would have coincided with the anniversary of the outbreak of the Lebanese war. "Aoun defused political and popular tension that risked turning into a sectarian division," he told Al-Monitor.

But what if parliament fails to pass a new electoral law? And what if, during the May 15 session, it approves the urgent draft law submitted by member Nicolas Fattoush to extend parliaments term for an additional year? Does the president have other constitutional cards up his sleeve?

Yamin said Aoun has several options.

Aoun may address a letter to the parliament urging it to reject the extension and approve a new electoral law that takes into account the requirements of the constitution and the 1943 National Pact. Parliament would then have to consider the letter within three days and take action.

Yamin noted that to consider the extension draft bill, parliament would need a quorum, which is the attendance of at least 65 of the 128 members. The proposal would then need a majority of the members present to pass. If parliament were to approve the extension, Aoun could ask  one time only  for parliament to reconsider the draft within five days. Then, to pass, the reconsidered draft law would need an absolute majority: 65 of the 128 members.

Yamin explained that if parliament passes the extension draft law, Aoun will have the right to appeal before the Constitutional Council within 15 days after the law is published in the Official Gazette. The council has the option to void the law, and its decision is final.

If the parliaments term expires without any consensus being reached on the new electoral law, Aoun  with the assent of the prime minister and the minister of the interior and municipalities  can hold an election based on the amended law of 1960 at least 90 days after the decree is published, despite the vacuum it would create, Yamin added.

The parliamentary elections situation has hit a new low amid the threats of protests, in particular by the Christian political forces objecting to the extension. But Yamin noted that the environment gives the president another option: Go directly to the voters and ask them to express their opposition to parliament's attempt, as he sees it, to violate the constitution and control the state by an extension.

Lebanon's last parliamentary elections were held in 2009. After a four-year term during which they couldn't agree on the electoral law, they voted to extend their term for 17 months. Another extension in 2014 has kept them in office until this year.
May 2, 2017

Egypts famed cotton industry is starting to revive following a Central Bank decision to float the pound last November and a crackdown on false Egyptian cotton worldwide, the countrys farmers and exporters say.

The production and export of Egypts most famous crop have been hit hardest since the January 25 Revolution, which led to a security vacuum and looser regulations degrading the quality of the local cotton.

According to the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Egypts cotton exports jumped by 63.9% during the first quarter of the planting season of 2016/2017.

In a February statement, the official statistics agency said that Egypts cotton exports were 202,500 bales in the period from September to November compared to 123,600 bales in the same period a year earlier.

Experts and farmers attribute the increase in the demand of cotton to record cotton prices in the marketing year 2016/2017 because of a devalued pound, which encouraged farmers to double the area planted with cotton, as well as a worldwide crackdown on fake cotton following a scandal of allegedly fake versions of the crop.

In August 2016, a US retail chain accused Indias textile manufacturer Welspun of using cheaper, non-Egyptian cotton in bed sheets and pillowcases. The Indian manufacturer acknowledged the accusations, admitting that some of their products were falsely labeled as 100% Egyptian cotton.

Following this announcement, internationally, retailers have begun to more closely monitor their products labeled as 100% Egyptian cotton, many requiring manufacturers to provide attestation for products labeled as such.

In an effort to crack down on these fraudulent practices and ensure quality, in 2016, the Cotton Egypt Association started licensing the use of the Egyptian cotton logo to suppliers and manufacturers all over the world. Carrying the logo means that the association certifies the authenticity of the Egyptian cotton through DNA analysis.

The Cotton Egypt Association has been receiving requests from many manufacturers to license their Egyptian cotton logo. This has increased the demand for Egyptian cotton in the world market and is expected to continue as more companies get licensed, Wael Alma, the associations managing director, said.

The Cotton Egypt Association estimates that about 90% of global supplies of Egyptian cotton last year were fake.

In February, the Cotton Egypt Association signed an agreement with Indias Welspun to promote and market Egyptian cotton products worldwide after assessing its supply chains. Under the agreement, the two organizations agreed to work together to create programs for the promotion of the Egyptian cotton logo in the retail markets across the globe.

The sheer nature of Egyptian cotton makes it a luxury to be cherished by all. Welspun wants the world to know about Egyptian cotton, and we want to help promote it among the consumers and the makers alike, said Dipali Goenka, the CEO and joint managing director of Welspun India Ltd.

Economist Ahmed el-Shami said that if Egypts cotton industry returned to its previous glory, the economy would flourish, the spinning and textile industries would boom, and stalled factories would reopen.

Egyptian cotton is an abandoned golden egg. If it is well-marketed across the world, it will inject billions of dollars into the states coffers and revive an economy in dire need of hard currency, Shami told Al-Monitor.

In a March report titled Egypt: Cotton and Products Annual 2017, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasted that Egypts cotton area would double to 110,000 hectares and production would almost double and reach 340,000 bales in the marketing year (MY) 2017/2018.

Imports, the report also indicated, are forecast to drop by 20% to a record low of 420,000 bales, while exports are forecast to increase by 66% to reach 200,000 bales.

Several factors contributed to the rebound in Egypts cotton prices in MY 2016/17. These include a historical drop in cotton area and production, the floating of the Egyptian pound by which it weakened essentially 100% vis-a-vis the US dollar, and an increased demand for Egyptian cotton in international markets, the report stated.

In MY 2016/2017, farmers were able to sell their long staple varieties grown in the Delta between 2,700 Egyptian pounds ($150) and 2,750 Egyptian pounds ($153) per qintar, 116% higher than the indicative prices announced by the government of 1,250 Egyptian pounds ($69) per qintar.

As for short- and medium-staple varieties grown in the Upper Egypt region, farmers sold their crop at 1,900 Egyptian pounds ($105) per qintar, 73% higher than the governments indicative prices of 1,100 Egyptian pounds ($61) per qintar.

In the past two years, the Egyptian government has taken measures to restore seed purity and cotton quality. The governments moves came as Egyptian cottons reputation and quality had deteriorated significantly due to the seed companies lack of effective quality assurance systems that resulted in inferior, mixed-variety output.

According to an analysis released by the Central Arbitration and Testing General Organization on the physical fiber properties of Egyptian cotton varieties, the length, strength, firmness, color, trash count and maturity have all improved in cotton produced in MY 2016/2017 compared to cotton produced in MY 2015/2016.

This development has increased the demand and the prices for Egyptian cotton in the local and international markets and is expected to continue in MY 2017/2018, the USDA report said.
May 2, 2017

Three Gulf airlines discreetly rejoiced May 2 as Congress lambasted their US rivals at a hearing.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee called the hearing on declining customer service at domestic airlines following a series of well-publicized incidents. These include the violent removal of a paying customer from an overbooked United Airlines flight last month.

Throughout the hearing, House members took turns blaming poor customer service on industry consolidation and dwindling competition. The negative publicity is widely seen as a blow to the Big Three airlines  United, American and Delta  as they lobby the Donald Trump administration to review the open skies agreement with the Gulf airlines, which the US carriers accuse of being unfairly subsidized.

The hearing "should humble the three US major network carriers, but it probably won't," said Kevin Mitchell, the chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, an industry trade organization in favor of international competition. "Their arrogance is born of failed corporate cultures that only increased competition from the Gulf carriers and other airlines can reverse. Not in a million years would the cultures at Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines or Qatar Airways have allowed such atrocious treatment of a guest like Dr. David Dao aboard United Airlines Flight 3411."

Instead of spending millions of dollars on their campaign against the Gulf airlines, Mitchell told Al-Monitor, the US carriers should spend the money on "improving their cultures, products and services."

Lawmakers did not directly link customer service woes with the Gulf airlines battle, but members of both parties said a lack of competition was to blame for the state of the industry. In the short term, that makes it unlikely that they will rush to defend domestic airlines against rival carriers that by all accounts treat their customers better.

"I do think that some of the customer service issues we've had are because of lack of competition and we've gone too far in monopolizing," committee member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., told Al-Monitor.

While airline industry officials argued that they face intense competition and transparent pricing, one of the witnesses argued that customers often don't actually know what guarantees they're purchasing when they pay for a ticket online.

What happed to Dao "powerfully brought home, once again, that consumers are at the mercy of powerful airlines in an ever-more concentrated industry, facing increasingly less competition, and showing less interest in how their passengers are treated," said William McGee, an aviation consultant at Consumers Union. "We hope we have seen the last of the airline mergers. But in many ways, we have already lost the benefits of competition, and no new scheduled passenger airline has emerged since 2007."

Lawmakers also made clear that they want to see progress on the part of the airlines amid the public outcry, another reason to doubt that they will rush to reopen the open skies agreement.

"I shouldnt need to remind you that Congress will not hesitate to act, whenever necessary, to ensure your customers are treated with the respect they deserve," Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., told the assembled airline leaders in his opening remarks. "If we dont see meaningful results that improve customer service, the next time this committee meets to address this issue, I can assure you, you will not like the outcome."

In 2015 alone, the Big Three airlines spent more than $6 million on their Partnership for Open and Fair Skies seeking to curtail Gulf airline subsidies, according to tax filings reviewed by Politico. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, has pushed to preserve the existing open skies agreement as part of its $13.5 million-a-year lobbying campaign, while Abu Dhabi-based Etihad even has its own in-house lobbyist.

The three US airlines had hoped to enroll congressional support amid new threats from the Gulf carriers on lucrative trans-Atlantic flights to Europe. When Emirates began service from Athens, Greece, to Newark, New Jersey, in March, their Partnership for Open and Fair Skies campaign got 25 House members from New York and New Jersey to sign on to a letter asking Trump to cancel the route until the subsidy issue is resolved.

At the same time, the US airlines are well-aware of the value of pro-competition arguments. Even as they seek to undercut their Middle Eastern rivals, they've framed the issue as US resistance against foreign government-backed monopolists.

"The subsidies allow the Gulf carriers to operate without concern for turning a profit, unlike US airlines, and therefore focus entirely on stripping market share and driving out competition," the CEOs of the Big Three airlines wrote in a Feb. 1 letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asking him to review enforcement of the open skies agreement. "The subsidy-enabled capacity dumping by the Gulf carriers has nearly eliminated US carrier service to the Middle East and India. If left unchecked, we will continue to see the Gulf carriers expand in the US market, causing further harm to hard-working Americans."
May 2, 2017

On April 20, Irans Guardian Council announced the slate of six candidates who will compete in the May 19 presidential elections. In recent months, as the vote has approached, the conventional wisdom among political observers has been that the election is incumbent President Hassan Rouhanis to lose. But a series of surprises have cast doubt on this expert consensus: Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put in a surprise bid for candidacy on April 12, against the stated wishes of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while recent polls of voter preferences for prospective candidates show a tighter race than anticipated. This increased competition is a crucial component of elections in Iran.

Historical trends suggest that Rouhani will be the likely winner next month. But it is in the interest of the political establishment to aim for a competitive election while keeping the scales in Rouhanis favor. Managed uncertainty helps drive voter turnout, and high levels of electoral participation are valuable for the Islamic Republic. In a country with a diverse, politically active and young population, the democratic process is an important tool that is used to channel political engagement. It is in the supreme leaders interest to ensure that the democratic process is perceived as legitimate and serves as a tool for mass participation in the political process.

This has been particularly clear under Khameneis leadership. The first presidential election after the 1989 death of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, saw President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani easily re-elected with historically low voter turnout; only 50.66% of eligible voters came out to the polls in 1993. That set an alarm that ramped up campaigning efforts, leading to a much more competitive election in 1997, which brought participation up to nearly 80%. Since then, election campaigns have attracted between 60-70% of voter turnout with an all-time historic high of 85% during the disputed 2009 elections, which led to escalated division and conflict.

Despite this managed uncertainty, election outcomes have been consistent to such an extent that it is essentially an unwritten rule of Iranian politics that, short of a political catastrophe, Iranian presidents serve a second term  but never a third. This allows a necessary level of continuity in foreign and domestic policies that allows the incumbent administration to capitalize on diplomatic ties built during its first term. Indeed, the two-term presidency gives the executive enough time to be effective without allowing him to entrench himself in the government so deeply that he could challenge the political order or the role of the supreme leader.

This is not to say that the outcomes of elections are a foregone conclusion, but rather that the Iranian political establishment has strategic preferences for electoral politics that are evident from previous election cycles. This tradition of managed competition is also evident in the current election cycle.

The most obvious intervention the supreme leader has made is the decision to bar Ahmadinejad from running. Khamenei had advised the former two-time president last year that he shouldnt register to run, saying it would not be in his interest and that of the country. But Ahmadinejad registered anyway, dismissing the supreme leaders comments as just advice. He retains a dedicated following that would have eagerly supported him, and early polling showed his favorability narrowly trailing that of Rouhanis. He is also a deeply polarizing figure, and had he been included in the roster of candidates he likely would have mobilized large numbers of voters eager to cast their ballots against him as well.

The Guardian Councils choice to exclude Ahmadinejad from the candidate list is indicative of two things: It demonstrates that there are limits to the risks the supreme leader is willing to take to bring Iranians to the polls, and it reaffirms his preference for a two-term presidency. Ahmadinejad served his two terms; at a minimum, barring his candidacy prevents him from returning to power and accumulating more authority. More importantly, it indicates a concern about the kind of competition that Khamenei would like to see. In particular, he wants to avoid a campaign that stokes political divisions that could escalate  as happened in 2009.

Instead, the slate of candidates who will compete over the next month has been handpicked to allow serious political debate and contestation without it spilling into the streets. The list of candidates represents and attracts a variety of voters from different segments of society with diverse political and religious inclinations.

Consider the conservatives selected to run against Rouhani. Ebrahim Raisi, a cleric with close ties to Khamenei, is widely perceived as the biggest threat to Rouhani from the conservative side, but hes a relative unknown. Just earlier this month, a majority of poll respondents said they did not know enough about him to express a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him. He will also be splitting the conservative vote with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the popular mayor of Tehran who came in second in the 2013 elections. These two candidates will bring out conservative voters  but neither is likely to get enough votes to defeat Rouhani.

One way to interpret this roster of candidates is that it has been designed to protect Rouhani while laying the groundwork for the 2021 presidential elections. Rouhani is not facing a serious challenge from the Reformist side. The second-most prominent moderate-Reformist candidate is his own First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, who has said he is only running to stand side-by-side in support of the incumbent. Rouhani can draw a unified moderate-Reformist vote and secure his second term while hard-liners split their vote among candidates, as in 2013, thereby keeping voter turnout relatively high. This cycle can also serve as a test run for Raisi, raising his profile and setting him up as a contender for 2021.

The past several weeks have challenged oversimplified expectations for an easy win for Rouhani  and he will face a more difficult campaign than anticipated. But when the votes are finally tallied in May, he will likely come out on top. A competitive race is in the strategic interests of the Iranian political establishment  a campaign that motivates high voter turnout and grooms future candidates  but so is a second Rouhani term.
May 1, 2017

The State of Israels 69th Independence Day, on May 2, is overshadowed this year by the 50th anniversary of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War that took place on June 5-10, 1967. This underscores the fissures gouged in the core of Israeli society by the countrys impressive military victory, which continue to tear it apart.

In the 69th year of the states establishment, one part of its Jewish society  under the orchestration of the government  will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem and raise a glass to 50 years since the liberation of Judea, Samaria (the biblical names of the West Bank) and the Golan Heights. Another part of Jewish society, along with the states Arab minority, will mark the jubilee of the forced annexation of East Jerusalem to Israel and its occupation of the West Bank. (For now, the Syrian civil war has removed the Golan Heights from the equation.)

On May 1, at ceremonies marking the countrys national Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers, and on the morning on its Independence Day, millions of Israelis sing the national anthem, "Hatikva" ("Hope"): To be a free people in our land. Does ruling over another nation make the Jewish people residing in Zion freer than they were 50 years ago? And where is our land anyway? Even after 69 years of existence, our land does not have recognized borders. There is not even agreement about where they are among the millions of Israelis and Jews who identify with Zionist values, but refuse to take part in the flag parade in the Old City of Jerusalem held annually on Jerusalem Day (celebrating the 1967 unification of the city), and do not celebrate the liberation of Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights captured by Israel in 1967.

On the 69th anniversary of its independence and the 50th anniversary of its splendid military victory in June 1967, Israel is moving away from the realization of the Declaration of Independence crafted by its founders and read on the 5th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (May 14), 1948. It says the state will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel. It also says that the State of Israel will ensure complete equality of social and political rights for all its citizens, regardless of their religion, race and gender. It calls on the Arab people, residents of the State of Israel, to preserve peace and take part in the building of the state based on full and equal citizenship and appropriate representation in all the states institutions, both temporary and permanent.

In 1966, on the eve of the liberation/occupation, the State of Israel took an important step toward promoting the freedom of all its people by abrogating the military rule that had limited the rights of the countrys Arab minority. Some 1.8 million Arab citizens of Israel currently enjoy full political rights and play a significant role in the building of the state. But since June 1967, Israel has been using its military might to rule some 3 million other people (Palestinians) who live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the 2 million Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Israel holds their fate in its hands, depriving them of their freedom, trampling on their dignity and violating their basic human rights.

We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land, says the Declaration of Independence.

More than 15 years have gone by since all the member states of the Arab League extended a hand to Israel in an offer of peace and good neighborliness with their 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. The Arab League confirms the initiative each year anew and continues to extend its hand in peace. But instead of accepting the outstretched Arab hand, Israel has taken the lands it conquered in 1967 and is holding on to them. The word "shalom" (peace) is at best considered a synonym for naivete, and at worst an equivalent of defeatism.

Sixty-nine years ago, the fathers of the Jewish community in Palestine appealed to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the comity of nations. The 1979 peace agreement with Egypt, the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan and especially the 1993 Oslo Accord with the Palestinians opened the gates of the comity of nation to the State of Israel. But the ongoing occupation and the settlement enterprise in those occupied lands are closing those gates in Israels face. A good many faithful members of the extended Jewish family (Jews living outside of Israel) are also closing their hearts and pockets to the Israeli occupier, refusing to continue donating money to the Jewish state.

The founding document of the State of Israel promises freedom of conscience, education and culture for all its citizens. The evils of the occupation and the desire to conceal them erode Israelis freedom of conscience to the extent of declaring open season on anyone who opposes these evils. On April 26, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely incited against activists of two human rights groups  BTselem and Breaking the Silence  by calling these army veterans and law-abiding citizens an enemy. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin compared these two rights groups to the Basque terrorist underground.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett tells the children of Israel that a nation cannot be an occupier in its own land and trots out the biblical narrative as irrefutable proof of Israels ownership of Judea and Samaria. School principals and teachers who invite representatives of human rights organizations to address students risk their jobs. Minister of Culture Miri Regev punishes cultural institutions that enable artistic expression of creators and works that deviate from the mainstream.

And despite it all, 44% of the Jewish public in Israel grades Israels situation as good or very good, and 39% rate it so-so. The Israel Democracy Institute monthly Peace Index, issued at the end of April, found, surprisingly, that two-thirds of Israels Arab citizens are pleased with the situation of the state. Their rating of its achievements (except in defense issues) was even higher than that of the Jews. A very large majority (86%) of the Jews and a small majority (51%) of the Arabs are proud of being Israelis.

It appears that the Israeli public prefers to see the half-full glass of a state founded 69 years ago that has flourished on the blood, sweat and tears of the Jewish people. It succeeds in ignoring the other half of the glass, the one poisoned with the blood, sweat and tears of another people.
May 2, 2017

In what seems to be a rite of passage, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Cairo April 29 and Amman April 30 before heading to Washington for his important visit to the White House May 3.

The two US allies in the region have become a crucial part of the Palestinian negotiating strategy. While late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat routinely visited Egypt before any major decision, Abbas has added the Jordanian capital as the second-most important Arab capital in his must-visit plans before any major trip.

Hamadeh Faraneh, a member of the Palestinian National Council since 1984 and a former parliament member in the 13th Jordanian parliament, listed to Al-Monitor a number of reasons for this regular pilgrimage: Jordan and Egypt were the two countries that were in control of Palestinian areas before the 1967 Israeli occupation. They are also the two countries that have signed peace agreements with Israel, and they border Palestinian territory.

Faraneh explained that this is the fifth coordination meeting in the short period since the Jan. 20 inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Abbas met with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan before the Arab summit in March, during the Arab summit, before the two leaders went to the White House and after the two Arab leaders returned from Washington," he said.

While the majority of the public statements by all parties are focused on the issue of the two-state solution and the Palestinian demands for a settlement freeze in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334, Faraneh believes that there are many  more practical issues that are being discussed behind the scenes.

Of major concern to Palestinian negotiators are the reported US conditions for restarting peace talks that US envoy Jason Greenblatt presented in March when he met Palestinian and Arab leaders. The nine-point plan for the United States to accept the two-state solution includes requirements to reform the Palestinian security in coordination with Israel, end the open checks that are sent to Gaza and show in practical ways that Palestinians are opposed to terror.

Speaking to Al-Monitor, Faraneh said that the nine-point plan seems like a carbon copy of the commonly repeated Israeli talking points. It seems that Jason Greenblatt, like his predecessors, is nothing more than a postman for the Israelis, said Faraneh.

Some of the decisions in the weeks before Abbas departure to Washington appear to be an attempt to respond to some of these demands, such as the reduction of financial support by the Ramallah government to Gaza.

Jamal Shobaki, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt and the Arab League, reflected in a press conference May 1 at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo the depth of coordination with Egypt. He said, We dont make any move without first asking the advice of Egypt.

Shobaki also spoke on Egypts Dream TV April 29 on the importance of the tripartite coordination. Palestinian coordination with Egypt and Jordan is crucial in order to counter attempts by Israel to escape from the commitments toward the two-state solution, Shobaki said.

Speaking to the press after the April 29 meeting with Abbas, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed the renewed US role in the Middle East. He said, There is no doubt that the United States is back playing an active role in the restart of Palestinian-Israeli talks.

In further explaining the importance of the coordination with Jordan and Egypt, Faraneh pointed out other reasons, saying, For Jordan and Egypt, this is a national security issue.

Faraneh explained that for Jordan and Egypt, Palestine is a local domestic issue in the same way that Israel has become a domestic issue in the United States. Faraneh further noted that in Jordan especially, almost every Jordanian family has relatives in Palestine. He said, When someone is killed, Palestinian families open a wake in Jordan." Faraneh listed a number of daily protest events in Jordan in support of the current hunger strike held by the Palestinian political prisoners to prove how close the two countries and their families are.

The pilgrimage to Cairo and Amman are not symbolic visits, nor are they protocol meetings. Egypt and Jordan are quickly emerging as the patrons of the Palestinian leaderships current negotiating strategy. This was evident in the role of these two countries in the drafting of the decisions at the March 29 Arab summit. The fact that Jordan was the host of the Arab League summit means automatically that Amman holds the presidency of the Arab League until March 2018, when Saudi Arabia will hold the next summit. With the Arabs' largest leading country and the presidency of the Arab league supporting him, Abbas is hoping that he can slightly change the balance of forces in favor of a process that will allow fairness and justice in the difficult Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
May 2, 2017

Turkish-EU ties appeared set on a collision course before the April 16 referendum that aimed to increase the powers of the Turkish presidency by switching Turkey to a presidential system of government and, by extension, increasing the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Accusations about dictatorial tendencies were leveled at Erdogan; he countered by accusing European leaders of acting like Nazis and supporting terrorists and coup plotters against Turkey.

Now that Erdogan has gotten what he wants from the referendum, regardless of the continuing debate about the fairness of the vote, tensions between Ankara and the EU may be subsiding.

Meeting in the Maltese capital of Valletta last week, EU foreign ministers chose to disregard calls from within their ranks (from Austria) and from the European Parliament for an end to or suspension of talks on Turkeys EU membership because the country has strayed from the democratic path.

Prior to the meeting in Valletta, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe had placed Ankara on its watch list over the deteriorating state of its democracy. This is why the leniency accorded Turkey by EU foreign ministers caught many by surprise.

EU ministers went a step further during their informal meeting  known in EU jargon as the Gymnich  and threw an olive branch to Ankara.

In her statement after the meeting, Federica Mogherini, the EUs high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said they "respected the result of the referendum even though the Council of Europes Venice Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had flagged voting irregularities.

Mogherini added that the implementation of the constitutional amendments decided on by the referendum should be in line with Council of Europe and OSCE recommendations. The crucial point for Erdogan, however, is that the EU is not formally rejecting to the changes that will make him Turkeys sole ruler.

Mogherini also said Turkeys EU membership bid would continue. It is not suspended, nor ended, but as you might know, we are currently not working on opening any new negotiation chapter.

Mogherinis remarks pleased Ankara, even though it is obvious that its membership bid cant proceed under these circumstances.

Erdogan had threatened to hold a referendum on whether Turkey should end this bid unilaterally, but that was clearly contingent on the EUs position regarding the referendum results.

It is unlikely that Turkey will opt to end this bid unilaterally now. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was also invited to Valletta  where judging by press reports he had very chummy meetings with key European colleagues  was clearly happy.

I saw the positive atmosphere [at Valletta]. I also saw that they have understood their mistake if indeed they are honest, he told the Turkish media after the meeting.

The continuing defiance of Europe reflected by Cavusoglus remark was clearly aimed at a domestic audience. But he also said nothing to indicate that Ankara would heed calls for strengthening Turkeys democracy.

While the results of such Gymnich talks are not binding, they nevertheless provide an indication about the official line the EU will take.

The democratic opposition in Turkey clearly expected stronger language from the EU regarding the results of the referendum. It has, however, become apparent that Turkeys strategic importance for the West has yet again trumped European desires to put Erdogan on notice.

This also vindicates Erdogan and strengthens his hand as he prepares to meet European leaders at the NATO summit at the end of this month.

Because of our strategic value [and capacity to do damage], they prefer to keep us where we are rather than cut off negotiations [for EU membership]. Its almost as if they are saying, Do what you want, as long as you dont harm our interests, retired Ambassador Oguz Demiralp said, adding that this also suits Ankara.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said prior to the start of the Valletta Gymnich that his government was "strictly against breaking off the accession talks with Turkey, indicating that this would be a completely wrong reaction.

"In NATO, we did not exclude Turkey even during the times of military dictatorship [in Turkey]. Why should we now have an interest in pushing it in the direction of Russia?" he said to reporters.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault seconded Gabriel. "How can we ignore Turkey? Nobody wants a breakup with Turkey, Ayrault said, pointing to the fight against terrorism and dealing with Syrian refugees among the key areas where cooperation with Ankara is vital.

Mogherini added, I think I am on the record in the last couple of years as saying that Turkey is not only a candidate country, [but also] that Turkey is ... a strategic partner for the European Union on many different things."

In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also underlined Turkeys strategic importance for the West, especially regarding relations with Russia.

Without doubt, NATO would suffer from weakness without Turkey, he said, adding, Turkey is a key country for the security of Europe.

An EU official briefing the press after the Valletta talks indicated that nobody wanted any rash decisions, like formally suspending the accession negotiations at this time, except for the usual suspects  the Austrians.

Retired Ambassador Unal Cevikoz argued that the EU is not admitting to mistakes toward Turkey, as Cavusoglu claims, and said there is no fundamental change in the EUs position on Turkey.

It is applying the most reasonable, diplomatic and polite manner to show Turkey the path it must follow so that it draws lessons and does its homework, Cevikoz wrote in his column for the daily Hurriyet.

Demiralp is not optimistic about that happening. We all know how weak the possibility of Turkeys returning to the reform agenda is, he said, indicating that Ankaras ties with the EU will continue to weaken because of this.

Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and avid supporter of Turkeys EU membership, believes this bid has reached a dead end.

Turkey and the EU will have to create a new framework for their relationship one way or the other, Ulgen said in an article for The Financial Times.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who heads the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament, also believes that Turkish accession to the EU is not realistic anymore. He says a new association agreement has to be worked out for Ankara.

Giving prevailing circumstances in Turkey and Europe, that is a path that Erdogan could also choose to follow, although this remains debatable.

For the moment, the pro-government camp in Turkey is happy about the course of ties with the EU post-referendum.

They say Europe doesnt like us. Thats true, but we have to put aside that slogan now, Mustafa Karaalioglu, a columnist for the pro-government but moderately critical daily Karar, wrote recently.

Europe likes us to the extent that we like Europe. That is the case today, as it was 500 years ago. The question is how much do they respect us? The rest is irrelevant, Karaalioglu wrote.

Judging by Mogherinis statement after the Valletta meeting, Erdogan has gotten respect for now at least. How Turkish-EU ties shape up after this, however, is anyones guess.
May 2, 2017

Turkish authorities denied its citizens access to Wikipedia, and on the same day, US troops began to deploy along the Turkey-Syria border to prevent Turkey's military from attacking the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the main US ally in Syria against the Islamic State (IS). There is no correlation between the two developments, but the irony is there: Turkey is keeping the West out, just as the West is keeping Turkey in.

The Turkish air force on April 25 bombed the YPG general command, its Denge Rojava Radio premises and some other targets in northeastern Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that Americans and a number of allies and partners of Turkey were given advance notice. It came out later that the United States was notified just 52 minutes before the bombing.

Some pundits offered an analysis that Turkey was testing American resolve before a May 16 meeting between Erdogan and US President Donald Trump. Those observers said Ankara, by escalating its fight against the YPG, was putting pressure on the United States to choose between Turkey  its formal NATO ally  and those Kurdish partners on the Syrian battlefield who Turkish leaders see as terrorists as a security threat.

That analysis might have seemed reasonable at first glance, but developments belied its validity. After the attacks, US troops visited the bombed areas where American and wanted-by-Turkey YPG commanders gathered for a photo-op  to the dismay of Turkeys leaders. But what made Erdogan, in his own words, seriously saddened was the US troop deployment along the border.

By April 28, the US Army had begun deploying three units on the Turkey-Syria frontier to prevent further Turkish attacks on the Kurds. The first unit spread between Derbesiye and Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain), the second unit between Serekaniye and Tel Abyad, and the third between Tell Abyad and Kobani. The US armed columns are also deployed in and around Qamishli, across from Turkeys Nusaybin, very close to Syrian army units.

On April 30, as reported by local Kurdish sources, Russia deployed troops near Afrin, Syria's farthest northwest Kurdish canton, also to deter Turkish attacks. The Afrin front on the border had been witnessing intense artillery fire.

Earlier, Russia had declared Turkey's attacks on the Kurds in Syria unacceptable. On April 27, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, We are greatly disturbed by reports of Ankaras operations.

The US pro-Kurdish troop deployment on the border to the east of the Euphrates River and the Russian pro-Kurdish troop deployment to the west of the river at Afrin naturally emboldened the Syrian Kurds and their Arab allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

SDF spokesperson Talal Silo said that with US forces along the border, the SDF doesn't expect new attacks from Turkey in northern Syria.

Therefore, if the Turkish bombing and the attacks on the YPG were a test for the United States to choose either Turkey or the Syrian Kurds in the approaching operation to take the IS stronghold of Raqqa, the Pentagons response was unequivocal: the SDF.

It can also be read as the Syrian Kurds are reliable and Ankara not so much when it comes to fighting IS.

Erdogan is pinning much hope on his meeting with Trump, but the airstrikes are unlikely to make any radical difference in its outcome.

In the foreseeable future, the only option left for Erdogan will be to take the risk of confronting the American military in Syria. Can he be so audacious as to be undeterred by the American troop deployment and follow a dangerous policy of brinkmanship?

Nothing is impossible as long as the Erdogan enigma continues.

At the moment, Syrian Kurds enjoy American military cover against their Turkish nemesis. That ultimately could evolve into Kurdish self-rule under American military protection  a nightmare for Turkeys current leadership.

Thus, the latest Turkish attack in Syria against the Kurds ended as a political blunder rather than an ultimatum to the United States.

That blunder, which further alienated both Washington and Moscow, concealed another setback on the European front. A recent EU meeting of foreign ministers, including Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu, was misleadingly portrayed as if the Europeans had taken a step back in their standoff with Turkey, which has long sought EU membership.

Cavusoglu, following the Malta meeting April 28, talked to Turkeys state-owned news media, Anadolu Agency, about the "positive atmosphere on the EU side and said EU members "understood their mistakes in their sometimes-contentious relations with Turkey.

He is not solely responsible for misleading the public on the outcome of the meeting. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherinis statement on respecting the results of Turkish referendum while acknowledging the outcome is hotly contested contributed to the delusion concerning the state of Turkish-EU relations. For pro-EU Turkish democrats, Mogherini's statement was nothing less than being stabbed in the back, reminiscent of the infamous British appeasement policy regarding Germany during the prewar period in the 1930s.

Despite the comments of Cavusoglu and Mogherini, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who handles EU membership applications, said after the meeting that "currently, at least," Turkeys violations of human rights and general rule of law clearly aren't EU-compatible. The EU, pretty sure that Erdogan has no intention of returning to European norms, will keep the relationship on ice. That is, perhaps, what both sides wish for the moment.

As a former EU ambassador told me, EU-Turkey relations are icy, but they're not yet frozen. Turkey knows the EU parameters very well, so if Turkey is interested in moving membership negotiations forward, it knows what it has to do.

Moreover, EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have said they would like to meet with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit May 25. A well-informed source who wanted to remain anonymous told me German Chancellor Angela Merkel arranged the potential meeting because she doesn't want to meet Erdogan privately. This is a growing trend as far as many European leaders are concerned. They simply do not want to meet one-on-one with Erdogan.

Turkeys military capabilities on the southern front (Syria) are blocked by the United States and to an extent by Russia as well. As for Turkey's European ties, it appears all is frozen on the Western front.

Thanks to its foreign policy, Turkey has never been so lonely  never so isolated.
A major fast food chain will unveil a new "quasi-utensil, fry-fork hybrid" this week at three McDonald's restaurants in the Huntsville area.

The Frork, designed for scooping up ingredients that may fall while eating McDonald's new Signature Crafted Recipes sandwiches, will be available at select McDonald's stores with the purchase of a Signature Crafted Recipes sandwich while supplies last.

McDonald's locations on 2234 Winchester Road in Huntsville, 1529 U.S. 72 East in Athens and 1745 Gunter Ave. in Guntersville will offer the deal Friday, May 5 as part of a nationwide rollout.

Anthony Sullivan, spokesman for OxiClean, recently discussed the Frork in McDonald's first ever infomercial, which aired Sunday in New York and is now posted to McDonald's YouTube channel.

The Frork and Signature Crafted Recipes -- Pico Guacamole, Sweet BBQ Bacon and Maple Bacon Dijon sandwiches -- are McDonald's latest attempts to win back business.

The eatery recently removed artificial preservatives from its chicken McNuggets and high fructose corn syrup from its buns. McDonald's also plans to serve only fresh beef patties, not frozen, in Quarter Pounder burgers at U.S. restaurants by mid-2018.

In March, McDonald's said mobile order and pay will launch in 20,000 restaurants in some of its largest markets by the end of 2017. The company is also experimenting with different food delivery models, including partnering with third parties for ordering and fulfillment throughout the world.

McDonald's comparable U.S. sales jumped 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to an earnings report last month. Operating income for the quarter also increased 13 percent.

"There's a sense of urgency across the business as we take actions to retain existing customers, regain lapsed customers and convert casual customers to committed customers," said McDonald's President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook.

Click here for more Alabama restaurant news from AL.com.
Bishop Karen Oliveto

This Wednesday, April 19, 2017 photo shows Bishop Karen Oliveto in the sanctuary of a United Methodist Church near her office in Highlands Ranch, Colo. The highest court in the United Methodist Church considered whether to invalidate the election of the denomination's first openly gay bishop, Oliveto, amid a struggle to avoid schism over the Bible and same-sex relationships. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

(David Zalubowski)

Bishop Karen Oliveto, elected last year as the first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church, can stay in her post for now but she could be removed after a disciplinary review, a church court ruled on Friday.

The United Methodist Book of Discipline forbids the ordination of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals." Oliveto leads a United Methodist conference in Colorado. The Judicial Council, the denomination's top court, said her election violated church law and that she may be removed through a disciplinary process that would include a trial.

The United Methodist Church, the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination with 7.4 million members and more than 12 million worldwide, has debated homosexuality at its General Conference every four years for four decades.

Since 1972, the United Methodist Church has kept its policy against homosexuality. It bans same-sex unions and does not allow openly practicing homosexuals to be ordained. The United Methodist Book of Discipline calls homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching."

The possible removal of an openly gay bishop could bring the denomination to the brink of schism over the issue of the traditional Christian interpretation of homosexual behavior as a sin.

In the aftermath of the ruling that Oliveto's ordination breaks church law, Alabama bishops are counseling United Methodists to remain calm and focused on ministry.

Bishop David Graves

Bishop David W. Graves, head of the Alabama-West Florida Conference, released a statement addressing the matter on Saturday:

The consecration of a gay bishop violates church law, the top court of The United Methodist Church has ruled. However, the bishop "remains in good standing," the Judicial Council said until an administrative or judicial process is completed. "Under the long-standing principle of legality, no individual member or entity may violate, ignore or negate church law," said the decision. "It is not lawful for the college of bishops of any jurisdictional or central conference to consecrate a self-avowed practicing homosexual bishop."

For months we have discussed this matter in our town hall gatherings, video presentations, and information provided around Episcopal elections. With this Judicial Council decision, I know that some of you are pleased with the decision and others are not. As I stated, these emotional decisions are always divisive.

However, the United Methodist Church polity and doctrine have not changed. Only General Conference can change the Book of Discipline. As we reported earlier in the week, a special General Conference session has been called to address our way forward around human sexuality matters. It will take place on February 23-26, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri.

In response to this decision I am meeting with conference leaders in the upcoming days. Rest assured that we are engaged in conversations about what the implications could be in our denomination. I have arrived at the Council of Bishops meeting in Dallas, Texas, where I continue to pray for our Church in the midst of these difficult conversations. This will be a lengthy process that has been returned to the Western Jurisdiction for review under supervision. This decision means Bishop Oliveto will continue as a Bishop of the Church until such process is completed.

Again my counsel to you is this: we must stay focused on the mission and ministry of making disciples. Furthermore, in the Alabama-West Florida Conference we will abide by The Book of Discipline. In that context I ask you to join me as we win people to Christ, see the unseen, transform lives and change this corner of the world. Easter begs us to proclaim this message to the world.

Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, head of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, also issued a statement on Saturday:

The Judicial Council in the United Methodist Church interprets specific questions related to particular situations. During their April 25-28, 2017, meeting in New Jersey the Judicial Council ruled on several items, including a petition from the South Central Jurisdiction requesting a declaratory decision on the Western Jurisdiction's episcopal election, consecration and assignment of Karen Oliveto.

The Judicial Council stated that "it is not lawful for the college of bishops of any jurisdictional or central conference to consecrate a self-avowed practicing homosexual bishop." The decision also described the fair process that our United Methodist Church Constitution provides for bishops under complaint and said that Oliveto remains in good standing until an administrative or judicial process is completed. It specified that the jurisdiction, president or secretary of the affected college of bishops must act to initiate a process of review of the bishop's ministerial office. (www.umc.org/news-and-media/consecration-of-gay-bishop-against-church-law)

Like our culture, United Methodists are not of one mind about this decision. Also, we are in pain for those who are hurt by our church conflict.

During this time in our denomination, my prayer is that as North Alabama United Methodists, we will continue to be:

gracious in our conversations and actions;

respectful of perspectives different than our own;

patient as we await the recommendation(s) of the Commission on a Way Forward and the February 23-26, 2019, called special General Conference;

prayerful for our denomination as we seek to discern a way forward that honors God and each other.

In the midst of our current denominational climate, I urge all United Methodists to stay the course, confident that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Keep focusing on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Remember that the God of Creation is with us . . . Jesus Christ our Savior redeems us . . . and the Holy Spirit is transforming us.
Friars.jpg

The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, a religious order of Franciscan friars founded 30 years ago, poses for a picture on the grounds of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Ala.

(Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word)

The world famous Alabama TV nun Mother Angelica died on Easter Sunday 2016. More than a year later, the sprawling spiritual empire she founded - including EWTN Global Catholic Network - continues running like a finely oiled machine.

That's partly due to her foresight in founding a new order of Franciscan friars 30 years ago who would make sure her mission continued in the direction she intended.

She founded Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale in 1962, selling fishing lures to raise the funding, then founded Eternal Word Television Network next door in 1981. She moved the monastery to a 400-acre farm near Hanceville in 1999, and built up the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a spiritual retreat on the farm that includes a medieval-style church and a castle that serves as a visitors' center, gift shop and conference center.

She founded the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word on May 2, 1987.

That group of friars now leads daily Mass at the EWTN chapel in Irondale and also for the nuns at the monastery and shrine in Hanceville.

They also oversee administration of the shrine and help coordinate spiritual work at EWTN Global Catholic Network.

One of the first friars was the Rev. Joseph Mary Wolfe, now chaplain of EWTN. He came to Alabama in 1985 to work as an engineer at EWTN, after working for General Electric in Iowa.

Mother Angelica is shown Dec. 15, 1999 outside at Our Lady of the Angels Adoration Monestery near Hanceville, Ala.

"Mother announced that she was founding this new community," Wolfe recalled. "The sisters had eyes on me as a potential member. They were praying for me. I walked into her office and said, 'Mother, 12 nuns praying against one guy is bad odds.'"

He gave in and helped launch the new community of friars.

With the growth of EWTN into the world's largest religious network, the nuns had been pulled more and more away from their mission of prayer in a cloistered environment.

"The nuns were very involved in the beginning," Wolfe said. "They answered live calls to the network. She understood their vocation was different."

Mother Angelica envisioned the friars taking a larger role in the network so the nuns could go back to their mission.

"We're more involved than we've ever been," Wolfe said.

Friars give tours at EWTN in Irondale and also at the Shrine in Hanceville. They run a retreat house for visiting priests at a barn converted to living space for priests who need a spiritual sabbatical.

"There are 12 rooms there to accommodate priests," Wolfe said. "This is a place to come free of charge, to get their batteries recharged."

The friars help run cameras at the network and their on-air presence is visible at the daily Mass that's televised worldwide.

Castel San Miguel is the visitors' center at Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It was recently expanded to host larger spiritual retreats, including one this month on the centennial of the visions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal.

Castel San Miguel, the castle at the shrine in Hanceville, recently expanded with a new wing to host spiritual retreats and an enlarged gift store that now has an expanded Spanish-language Catholic literature section.

The Shrine draws thousands of visitors every year to the rural Cullman County location on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River.

"It's a beautiful location for prayer," Wolfe said. "You can experience a lot."

The new conference center addition will open with a spiritual retreat led by Wolfe on May 12-14, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the visions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal.

The shrine includes a Nativity Grotto, featuring full-size statues of the Nativity, and the Pope John Paul II Eucharistic Center. A museum about the life of Mother Angelica is planned for a building nearby.

"We have the baptismal font where she was baptized, and I think we're going to have the bathtub where she tested the fishing lures. She drew out the original drawings of the monastery on graph paper and we will have that on display."

The Mother Angelica Museum won't be ready for at least a year or two.

"There's been a lot going this past year," Wolfe said.

While she still ran EWTN, Mother Angelica worried that one day the network might drift away from the evangelistic mission she set in motion. That's one reason she founded the friars. But so far, that hasn't been a problem.

"The key people have remained here since she left in 2001," Wolfe said. "They grasped Mother's vision. We have the key people that Mother trained herself."

"That's a key opportunity for us to teach the faith," Wolfe said. "We all have different personalities, but we all have that same vision of fidelity to the faith. That's a great privilege. We want the Mass to be beautiful and educational. We want to teach the scripture. We've tried to enhance the music."

Sometimes people criticize the grandiosity of Mother Angelica's architecture in recreating a Medieval monastery and church, which she said she intended to honor and reflect the glory of God.

"Beauty is part of how we evangelize," Wolfe said. "God is the source of all beauty."

The Catholic Church maintains an emphasis on helping the poor while also keeping a sense of God's majesty in worship, he said.

"We're called to help the needy," Wolfe said. "Great buildings give dignity to people's lives. It's not a monument to Mother Angelica. It's meant to be there a long time to enrich the lives of many people, foretelling our destiny of being with God in heaven."

Father Joseph Mary Wolfe serves as EWTN chaplain.

Wolfe doesn't regret moving from Iowa to Alabama to help out the fledgling Catholic TV network that changed the course of his life.

"It's been a wonderful adventure, watching it grow," he said. "People's lives have been changed."

The friars are now an integral part of the work that Mother Angelica left behind.

"We have a wonderful comraderie and legacy," Wolfe said. "She's given us an opportunity to reach so many people."
Authorities say a Georgia couple scammed more than $43,000 from credit and debit card holders in four states, and one of them is still on the loose.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was in Etowah County's Southside today to announce the results of an investigation which began last month there when investigators say they discovered cards being skimmed in the city.

Janique Shontie Crafter, 29, of Macon, Ga., has been charged with financial transaction card fraud forgery and financial identity fraud in Bibb County, Ga., where she is currently being held. She also faces first degree property theft and identity theft charges in Alabama.

Marshall said authorities are still seeking James Edward Faulks II, 37, of Macon, Ga., who is also wanted on other warrants. More than 300 victims were involved, from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and as far away as Colorado. Purchases were made with compromised information in Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Pelham, Moody, Leeds, Oxford, and in Atlanta, LaGrange and Macon, Ga.

The investigation began on April 12, when Southside police received a report of a woman whose bank information had been used to make purchases in Hoover. Investigators contacted Family Savings Credit Union in nearby Rainbow City. There, Fraud Investigator Paula Knowles said she began to see evidence of around a dozen compromised accounts - all emanating from a gas station in Southside.

"We were starting to see purchases within a minute or two of each other from multiple locations around the Birmingham area," Knowles said. "It was happening too quickly to be normal transactions."

Southside then began working with the Alabama AG's office, and within a day, investigators had uncovered security footage of the two involved, Marshall said. Southside Deputy Police Chief Philip Roberson said police canvassed locations in the Birmingham area and found video of the couple, as well as their vehicle and tag number, which traced back to Georgia.

Carter was arrested in Georgia on April 19. Marshall said authorities have video of Faulks from a week-and-a-half ago. The two could face additional federal charges.

How did they do it? Attorney General's office Special Agent Jake Frith said the two used blue tooth attachments which were inserted into the gas pumps to take the information. Using a universal key to open the pumps, a person can be in and out with the equipment attached in less than 30 seconds.

The information was then taken and fed into other equipment which transferred the financial information onto gift cards, some which were seized with the PIN numbers written on the back. Authorities said the two used the information to make Western Union money orders, from $1,000 up to $2,980. The amounts were kept low to avoid having to show identification to clerks.

They then made purchases - everything from smart TVs to video games to a washer/drier set and 70 pairs of women's shoes.

"She was living large on other people's hard work," Roberson said.

Marshall said the fraud could run higher than $50,000 once all the cases are sorted out. He praised multiple agencies in Alabama and Georgia, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service.

Etowah County District Attorney Jody Willoughby said it was a case of "outstanding cooperation" between agencies. U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams said cases like this are sometimes hard to pin down because of their scope, involving multiple jurisdictions in several states. It was only through a quick response from both banks and investigators that the case was cracked, he said.
house of representatives feb 9 2016 julie bennett.JPG

((Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com))

A plan to redraw some legislative districts in the Alabama House of Representatives drew strong opposition today from the Legislative Black Caucus, raising the likelihood of filibusters that could threaten other bills during the final nine days of the session.

The House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee approved the plan on a party line vote, with Democrats opposed.

Early this afternoon, the Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee held a public hearing but took no vote on the proposed Senate plan.

The district plans for Jefferson County, and how they would affect the partisan split in the state's most populous county, are a key point of contention.

After the House committee meeting, Reps. John Knight, D-Montgomery, and John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said the Republican majority was not willing to compromise and predicted the dispute would have to be settled by federal courts.

"There's no genuine effort as we speak right now to try to compromise on this plan," said Knight, chairman of the Black Caucus. "I think that they're trying to get by with doing the very least that they possibly can as relates to the constitutionality of the plan."

Asked how the disagreement would affect the rest of the session, Knight said it could jeopardize other legislation.

"This is extremely important to the Black Caucus," Knight said. "It means that very few things will get passed if they're not willing to compromise on this plan."

Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne, co-chairman of the reapportionment committee, said he had tried to work with most legislators on the plan and would continue to do so.

Davis said he planned to introduce a substitute for what the committee approved today with further revisions. Davis said Black Caucus members would have a chance to review it before it's introduced on the floor.

He stressed the importance of trying to approve a plan during the legislative session.

"If we don't get this done we may be subject to a special session and the costs that are associated with a special session," Davis said.

Davis also said a legislative solution would be better than having a court appoint a special master to draft a plan.

But Rogers said there's almost no chance of a compromise that would not be challenged in court.

"Slim and none. Slim died yesterday," Rogers said. "The fact is they don't want to negotiate. They've shown they don't want to negotiate."

Under the current district plan, Jefferson County is represented by 10 Republicans and eight Democrats.

The proposed new plan approved by the committee today changes that split to nine Republicans and eight Democrats.

Rogers said the split should be eight Democrats and seven Republicans, or eight from each party. He said control of Jefferson County is pivotal because it drives the state's economy more than any other.

"We're prepared to start a filibuster, bill reading all day today, for the rest of this session," Rogers said.

Under the current Senate map, five Republicans and three Democrats represent Jefferson County. The proposed new map would change that to four Republicans and three Democrats. It moves the district of Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, outside the county.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said the split should be 3-3.

"I think that's reflective of our population," Smitherman said. "It's about 50-50 almost now, the census says. It reflects the guidelines we've been given with respect to keeping county lines."

Smitherman said that on Wednesday the committee would be presented an alternate plan moving the district of Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper, outside of Jefferson County.

Smitherman said Jefferson County representation is the primary dispute in the redistricting plan.

In January,

that the Legislature improperly used race as the main factor in drawing nine House districts and three Senate districts in 2012, when it reapportioned district lines based on the 2010 Census.

The court ruled the 12 districts could not be used in next year's elections. Moving the lines of those districts will affect many others.

The nine House districts are District 32, represented by Barbara Boyd, D-Anniston; District 53, represented by Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville; District 54, represented by Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham; District 70, represented by Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa; District 71, represented by A.J. McCampbell, D-Livingston; District 77, represented by Knight; District 82, represented by Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee; District 85, represented by Dexter Grimsley, D-Newville; and District 99, represented by James Buskey, D-Mobile.

The three Senate districts were District 20, represented by Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham; District 26, represented by Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery; and District 28, represented by Billy Beasley, D-Clayton.

The court ruling came as a result of lawsuits filed by the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, Alabama Democratic Conference, and others. The plaintiffs claimed is that the Legislature placed race as the main factor in drawing some districts, over traditional principles like maintaining county and precinct lines and communities of interest.

The plaintiffs challenged the lines in 36 districts, all 35 majority black districts, plus House District 85.

The court upheld the boundaries of 24 of the 36 that were challenged.

Dorman Walker, the attorney who represents the reapportionment committee, told both the House and Senate committees that the proposed plans fixed the problems found by the court.

The court found that the 12 plans were racially gerrymandered because certain precincts were split for the purpose of putting blacks in one district and whites in a neighboring district.

Walker said the new plan fixes the precinct splits that the court found suspicious in those 12 districts and in the other majority black districts.
A 36-year-old man died Saturday, more than two weeks after he was found injured, barely conscious and wearing only one shoe on the side of a Midfield roadway.

Now police and family members are trying to figure out what happened to Joshua Glen Matusek, and determine whether he was the victim of a terrible crime or an unfortunate accident.

"We just have no idea what truly happened,'' the victim's father, Frank Matusek, said from his Texas home. "He did have his problems but, man, he was just a great kid. He had a beautiful smile."

Josh Matusek - a father of two daughters and a son - was found at 3:23 a.m. on Friday, April 14, according to the Jefferson County Coroner's Office. Midfield police were dispatched to Woodward Road near Faith Way on a report of a person down. Though he was somewhat conscious, he was unable to give first responders any information about who he was and what happened to him.

He was taken to UAB Hospital and admitted to the trauma unit with broken ribs, two collapsed lungs, several cracked vertebrae and road rash on his arms and legs. For days, he was listed under the name November November because, without any identification, they had no idea who he was. "He was there for 10 days without anybody knowing who he was,'' Frank Matusek said. "I'm not sure why they didn't run his fingerprints."

Ultimately, authorities were able to identify him through a tattoo on his stomach that included his last name. On April 23, Frank Matusek received a call from UAB Hospital. "I jumped in my truck and drove up there,'' he said. "Me and his son. We stayed with him the whole time."

Josh Matusek was kept in a medical coma, only brought out occasionally to see if he could follow commands. He did once, but never again. The ventilator was at its highest setting, and still he struggled. His kidneys began to shut down, and pneumonia set in. Then his blood pressure dropped to drastically low levels.

"At that point, we realized it was the machines keeping him alive,'' Frank Matusek said. "We felt like we were trying to fight God's will."

They authorized the hospital staff to let him go. "We got to be there, holding him, when he passed,'' the grieving father said.

Josh Matusek was pronounced dead at 11:31 p.m. Saturday.

Frank Matusek said he and his grandson, however, were blessed by the staff at UAB and everyone else they encountered during their stay in Birmingham - other patients' families, hotel workers and even restaurant owners where they frequently dined. He described strangers praying with them almost daily.

"One lady from the pharmacy came in his room and said, 'Whatever happens, it's God's will. He won't take away the fall but He will put enough people around you to cushion the fall,''' he said. "God surrounded us."

"The hospital pulled out every stop they could,'' he said. "I wouldn't have wanted my son anywhere else."

Frank Matusek said his son wasn't perfect. He was young when he had his own son, now 20, and then years ago moved from Texas to the Florence area where he had two more children. Josh Matusek's son lived in Texas, and his daughters - ages 17 and 14 - lived in Alabama.

"At some point, he started going down the wrong path, drugs and stuff,'' Frank Matusek said. He would do well for a while, get a job and then backslide again. The cycle continued for years.

When Josh Matusek was doing well, he would stay in contact with his father. When things weren't going so well, he rarely called unless it was to ask for money. "This continued for quite a few years,'' Frank Matusek said.

Father and son last talked about two months ago. "I told him, 'You need to stay in touch with me, call me at least once a week so I know you're alive,''' Frank Matusek said. "I didn't hear from him again. Then I got the call from the hospital. That was pretty tough. From the looks of his hands and feet, we think he was living on the streets."

"All of the family, we are at peace with his death because we know he is in a better place,'' he said. "I do wonder did I do enough as a parent? Did I not do enough? I'm definitely second-guessing myself. But he was an adult and I told him I would help him when he started helping himself."

Though at peace, they still want answers. An autopsy was underway Tuesday that police hoped would shed more light on what happened to Josh Matusek. "We're trying to piece it all together,'' said Midfield police Sgt. Jesse Bell. "We just don't know what happened. Any information from the public would be wonderful."

Frank Matusek said the possibilities include his son being hit by a car or thrown out of a car. Authorities said they just don't yet know. "I do feel like somebody did something to him,'' he said.

The family is praying for answers. "It would just help to get closure for us and justice for him,'' he said. "I don't want to let this go. Everybody deserves justice, and I want to see if I can get some for Josh."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Midfield Police Department at 205-923-7575.
A final decision is still more than two weeks away but U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks may well run for the Senate later this year.

The Republican Brooks, in his fourth term in the House of Representatives, told AL.com on Monday that he is "seriously considering the race."

It's the first public comments from Brooks on the Senate race that has now jumped to the forefront of Alabama politics after Gov. Kay Ivey moved up the special election by almost a year to fill the seat held by Jeff Sessions, who resigned in February to become U.S. attorney general.

Candidates have until May 17 to qualify for the Aug. 15 party primaries. Brooks, a native of Huntsville, said he probably won't announce his decision until just before the deadline.

Brooks is the only member of Alabama's congressional delegation considering a Senate campaign. Reps. Robert Aderholt, Bradley Byrne, Gary Palmer, Martha Roby, Mike Rogers and Terri Sewell have said they will not run.

"I have polling data, I have talked with various individuals to discuss how much money would be required to be competitive and whether there are available sources of money to be competitive," Brooks said.

Brooks' campaign war chest alone would appear to make him a strong candidate the instant he announces he's in the race. According to his most recent campaign finance disclosure filed on March 31, Brooks has $1.2 million in available cash.

That's more than any other Alabama House member as well as Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to the position by former Gov. Robert Bentley for which the special election has been called. Strange has said he has raised than $763,000 so far.

"That's one of the strong points," Brooks said of his would-be candidacy. "I have almost half-a-million dollars cash on hand more so than the second place person and more than $1 million cash-on-hand more than every other candidate - rumored or announced."

That could change if Del Marsh, president of the Alabama Senate, declares his candidacy. Marsh, R-Anniston, has said he is considering a run and his personal wealth would be a factor, Brooks said.

"It appears Del Marsh may put in large sums of his own money so that would diminish the firepower advantage I appear to have," Brooks said.

Brooks also sounded off on a Politico story last week, which reported that the National Republican Senatorial Committee is warning political operatives not to work against Strange. For vendors who backed candidates opposing Strange, the NRSC said it would withhold future business.

"I have a number of different reactions," Brooks said. "First, I'm disappointed that the special interest groups in Washington would combine to try to suppress Alabama's senatorial choices by engaging in intimidation and strong-arm tactics. Second, I've been here for a while and I'm used to seeing how the powers that be act so this strong-arm tactic is not surprising.

"Third, it doesn't affect my decision one iota because I never use those guys anyway. I much prefer the intellect and understanding of Alabama people in my campaign staff."

Given that backdrop, however, Brooks said he is anticipating a negative campaign for the Republican nomination. Along with Strange, state Rep. Ed Henry, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and Christian Coalition of Alabama President Randy Brinson have announced their intentions to run for the GOP nomination.

"I am seriously considering the race," Brooks said. "That's a fair description. But I'm also very undecided. I have to be convinced I will have sufficient funds to defend against the personal attacks that would undoubtedly be launched by opposing campaigns in a race of this magnitude. And if I don't have a comfort zone that I will have seven figures to defend myself with, I won't run.

"And that starts with the NRSC but it's also everybody else. The NRSC plays for keeps and the decorum and honor are not as important as wins in their scorebook."
The Alabama Public Charter School Commission made history Tuesday by overturning the Birmingham board of education's denial of a charter school operator's application.

The Commission's action marked the first time a local charter authorizer's denial was overturned.

STAR Academy's application was denied by the Birmingham board in January. They appealed to the Commission in early March.

Birmingham City Schools' Cedric Tatum represented the Birmingham board on the Commission and was the lone no vote against overturning the denial.

Tatum questioned whether the Commission had the authority to overturn the denial because the Birmingham board, as the local authorizer, denied STAR Academy's application according to guidelines based on the law.

This was the first time the Commission ruled on appeals.

Before the vote, Commission Chair Dr. Ed Richardson read a memo from state superintendent Michael Sentance confirming the Commission's authority to consider STAR Academy's appeal.

In the memo, Sentance also said it is the state department's responsibility to oversee local charter authorizers to ensure best practices are being followed.

Thomas Rains, who serves as co-vice chair of the Commission, in supporting STAR Academy's appeal, said children in Birmingham City Schools need options, citing proficiency results from annual testing.

The vast majority of Birmingham City's schools had proficiency results below the mean math and English language arts statewide, with the majority of those schools showing proficiency levels 30 percent below the mean.

Thirteen of Birmingham's 42 schools were labeled "failing" in January based on the provisions in the Alabama Accountability Act.

STAR Academy will be located in the East Lake community of Birmingham and plans to open with 248 students in preK, kindergarten and first grade, in the 2018-2019 school year.

Jonta Morris will serve as principal of STAR Academy and said she "cried tears of joy" when she heard the Commission's decision. "We are really excited to deliver on the promise to provide opportunities for children in the community."

Morris said the community's support has been key along the way. "Our collective village has really created this moment."

In a statement to AL.com, Birmingham school board member and mayoral candidate Randall Woodfin said the actions of the Commission were an overreach. "This abuse occurred last year with the minimum wage increase, and again today when the Alabama Public Charter School Commission overturned the Birmingham board of education's denial of STAR Academy's application," Woodfin said.

The Commission upheld the Birmingham board's denial of a second charter applicant, iBestow, in a unanimous vote.

As part of the appeals process, the Commission held a public hearing on the applications in Birmingham on April 24.

In a third action, the Commission passed a resolution confirming a Huntsville charter operator must seek permission from the federal court to operate because the city's school system is operating under the remains of a desegregation order.

Alabama's charter school law was enacted in 2015. A bill currently under consideration in the House is meant to clarify any provisions that are unclear, according to the bill's sponsor, Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur.

Alabama's first public charter school, the ACCEL Day and Evening Academy, will open in Mobile in August.

Charter schools are public schools and are not allowed to set eligibility requirements for enrollment. If more students enroll than there is space in the school, a drawing is held to award a seat in the school.

This article was updated at 5:30 p.m. to include comment from Jonta Morris and add details from the meeting. Updated at 7:20 p.m. to include comment from Birmingham board member Randall Woodfin.
Nearly a month after taking office following her predecessor's resignation amid a scandal, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says she's settling into the job and aiming to improve her state's image.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Ivey said she believes Alabama's most pressing three problems are overcrowded prisons, aging roads and bridges and a "spending problem." Ivey said she supports some type of prison construction and a gas tax to fund road improvements, but doesn't think there's a need for other tax increases at this time.

She's the second woman to serve as Alabama governor. After serving six years as lieutenant governor, she took the state's top office when Gov. Robert Bentley resigned April 10 amid an impeachment push in the fallout of an alleged affair with a top aide.

Ivey, 72, said she hopes people know her from her time as state treasurer and lieutenant governor, adding that she, "won't lie, steal or cheat and I won't tolerate anyone who does."

Here are highlight's of AP's discussion with Ivey:

ON BENTLEY'S RESIGNATION

She said Bentley called her to his office on April 10 a few hours before he announced his resignation.

"Everybody assumed it was going to be coming soon. I walked in and I sat where you are sitting and he told me he was going to retire today and it was going to be about 5 o'clock. I told him he had done the right thing. He was comfortable in his own decision. ... I think everybody was relieved the situation somewhat had some finality to it. We can move on and turn a page."

WHAT VOTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HER

"I have hope they have watched my services in the two terms I served as state treasurer and the six years as lieutenant governor. I won't lie, steal or cheat and I won't tolerate anyone who does. I try to work hard and be thorough and straightforward."

HER PRIORITIES

"The priorities for this administration immediately have been to stabilize the ship of state and to be sure everything is running like it ought to run, and that's no small task. And secondly, is to work to improve the image of Alabama. So when I leave here I hope that people can say I've made some contributions that made the state better than when I got here."

WHAT SHE SEES AS THE TOP THREE PRESSING PROBLEMS FACING ALABAMA

Ivey said the state has a "spending problem" and she supports a gas tax to support transportation infrastructure and prison construction to relieve overcrowding.

"The budgets are always a tough issue. Certainly, we've got the prison situation that has got to be addressed, sooner than later. I'm hopeful they are going to get a bill done this session. We do need to get some prisons built sooner rather than later."

However, Ivey said it became clear that Bentley's $800 million prison plan wouldn't pass. She said there are discussions about what else might be done.

Ivey said she also supports an effort to raise Alabama's gas tax to fund road and bridge improvements. That proposal has so far stalled in the Legislature.

"We've got to pay for roads and bridges that are in disrepair. School buses now have to travel around certain bridges. ... We want safety for our school buses. We want safety for our families. We want safety for our commerce. It's just part of doing business and we haven't had a gas tax increase in the last 25 years. It makes sense to tend to business."

TAXES AND REVENUE

The state's previous two governors-- Bentley and Gov. Bob Riley -- proposed large tax increases, mostly without success. Ivey supports a gas tax to fund road construction, but isn't convinced yet there's a need for other revenue measures.

"I think we've got a spending problem more than having a budget problem. We've got to learn how to spend less."

Ivey said she canceled plans to install a swimming pool at the gubernatorial residence at Fort Morgan that's being made useable through a refurbishment funded with BP oil spill funds.

"We don't need to spend money on a swimming pool. I just don't think it is a necessary expense. There again I'm trying to get a handle on spending. You got a whole Gulf of Mexico out there to swim in."

ON RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR IN 2018

"You bring up an interesting possibility. Certainly, being in office sooner than expected gives some wind to those thoughts, but right now I've got to spend my time and focus and energy on doing the job at hand."
Thousands of labor and immigrant right activists took to the streets Monday for a wave of protests in conjunction with May Day, a day that sparks protests annually among progressives but which took on a sharper edge this year over concerns about President Donald Trump's agenda.

Across the country, groups urged immigrant workers to skip work, school and shopping to demonstrate their impact on the economy. In Austin, activists staged a sit-in at the governor's office at the capitol complex to protest a bill increasing immigration enforcement in Texas.

Elsewhere, some of the actions led to arrests. In New York, several protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to Wells Fargo over the bank's role financing private Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, according to local news reports. In Oakland, California, four protesters were arrested for trespassing after sneaking past security at the Alameda County government building and unfurling a sign related to sanctuary cities, according to the sheriff's office.

And late Monday, police in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle braced for the possibility of violence as far-left "anti-fascists" gathered to march, and Trump supporters and far-right activists prepared to counterprotest - a faceoff that has previously erupted in brawls in Berkeley, California, and Seattle.

The demonstrations come as the scope of Trump's approach to immigration is coming into focus. Immigration arrests rose 33 percent in the first weeks of the Trump administration, including thousands of people who were unlawfully present but otherwise had no criminal record, according to a Washington Post analysis. He has pledged to build a wall that stretches across the U.S.-Mexico border, despite a number of setbacks.

And they come as tensions are rising between far-left and far-right activists. While masked, black-clad activists on the left have been known to vandalize storefronts and damage cars on May Day and during other demonstrations, they have mobilized heavily in the wake of Trump's election to oppose his supporters, particularly those who espouse racially charged views.

Trump supporters, meanwhile, including members and allies of the loose coalition of far-right activists known as the alt-right, have more recently become engaged in opposing the "antifa" groups. They accuse these groups of trying to block free speech and have sometimes confronted them violently.

In Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray urged calm Monday. Seattle has in the past been the site of violent protests on May Day, as anarchists damage property after dark, when many of the main demonstrations are finished. Far-left and far-right groups have clashed there in recent weeks over planned speeches by conservative provocateurs.

"We celebrate & encourage peaceful #MayDaySea rallies but not violence," he tweeted Sunday night.

Tensions were high Monday afternoon in Portland, where more than a thousand marchers overflowed downtown Shemanski Park. Protesters waved red cloth flags - some adorned with a yellow hammer and sickle, a communist symbol. From the stage, speakers spoke of ICE raids in local courthouses. Above the crowd waved signs preaching solidarity.

Toward the rear, about 100 black bloc anarchists stood in a huddle with faces and hair covered with black masks. They wheeled in three gigantic black papier-mache spiders, eyes glowing red. All around the park stood police, reporters and legal observers.

But as of Monday evening, the protests nationally were overwhelmingly peaceful.

May Day has roots as a spring festival in European pagan cultures, but it was dubbed International Workers' Day by socialist, anarchist and communist groups. The moniker commemorates the Haymarket affair, the name given to the violent confrontation that took place in Chicago in 1886 between police and union strikers demanding an eight-hour workday.

It became associated with immigrant workers in the United States in 2006, after weeks of massive protests over a bill that would have cracked down on immigrants in the country illegally. The marches, which took place in the spring and on May 1, are credited with energizing Latino workers and killing the bill, although demonstrators did not achieve their goal of comprehensive immigration reform.
Moore.JPG

Roy Moore may have the highest voter floor in the upcoming Republican Senate primary, but he likely has the lowest ceiling as well.

Our political memories are short. It's easy to forget that this election is shaping up to look a lot like one we've experienced before. Roy Moore, for one, hopes the results are the same.

When Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb resigned in August 2011, both Charlie Graddick and Chuck Malone lobbied Gov. Robert Bentley for the appointment to replace her. Ultimately Malone was successful in securing the nod from Bentley, but Graddick decided to run against him in the 2012 election. Roy Moore was the third candidate in the primary.

Graddick and Malone split half of the primary votes down the middle, and Moore won the primary with 50%. For as much as he dominated the primary, Moore squeaked by Robert Vance with 52% of the general election votes.

The good news for Moore is that he likely has the highest floor in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Let's call it somewhere around 20% to 35% of voters in the primary election who will likely vote for Moore come hell or high water. Moore's low-water mark happened two years earlier in 2010 when he finished fourth in a crowded gubernatorial primary field with only 19% of the vote.

But Moore isn't likely to avoid a runoff as he did in 2012. In that election, Moore had far more name recognition than either of his opponents. That isn't the case in 2017. Strange has name identification that competes with Moore's, and the field isn't complete just yet. Candidates like Rep. Ed Henry (R-Hartselle) and Randy Brinson will eat into Moore's voter base and put downward pressure on his ability to repeat the primary results from 2012. Henry in particular has been hustling, he's connecting with voters and might just surprise a few folks.

Even so, Moore has one of the easiest paths to secure one of the slots in a primary runoff. That begs the question of who will take the other spot.

As the field stands right now, Senator Luther Strange is the smart bet, but that could change quickly. Alabama Senate Pro Tempore Del Marsh looks ready to launch a Senate campaign of his own.

Both Strange and Marsh are good campaign fundraisers. The challenge for them is that they're business-friendly conservatives likely to garner the same type of support. Supporters of both Strange and Marsh will likely give equally to both or stay out of the primary entirely. We could easily see a split field like Graddick and Malone which works to Moore's advantage.

That only makes the electoral dynamics even more complicated.

One of the most interesting aspects about Moore's candidacy is that he likely possesses the highest vote floor and lowest ceiling at the same time. Voters who love Moore really love him, and those who don't like him will do anything to keep him from winning. That likely means heavy crossover voting in the primary and runoff, and independent expenditures by groups who can't stand Moore in both primary stages and the general election.

If Vance is any indicator, even a centrist Democrat or independent might have a sliver of hope against Moore in the general election. It's far from a probability, but even a Hail Mary pass connects once in a while.

We still have a couple of weeks before the qualifying date, so plenty of this could change as the field grows. Look for Marsh to enter the race and make the field look a lot like the 2012 Alabama Supreme Court race. That would seem to be good news for Moore, but a few important differences give the rest of the Republican field and even hapless Democrats a reason for optimism.

Cameron Smith is a regular columnist for Al.com.
Arrests and clashes take place in several US cities as tens of thousands rally for International Workers Day.

Tens of thousands of labour and immigrants rights activists have taken to the streets to commemorate International Workers Day across the US, with reports of arrests and clashes in several locations.

International Workers Day, also known as May Day, has been commemorated on May 1 since its introduction in the late 19th century. For American leftists and labour rights groups, it symbolises the rich history of the struggle for workers rights.





This year, however, the day assumed added significance, with a movement against right-wing US President Donald Trump fuelling the protests, marches and actions.

The Movimiento Cosecha, a movement that campaigns for the rights of the estimated 11 million undocumented people in the US, rallied its activists for a nationwide strike and called for a day without immigrants on Monday.

In Portland, Oregon, police revoked the demonstrators permit mid-protest when anti-fascists, or Antifa, confronted officers, setting a police four-wheel-drive vehicle ablaze and throwing Molotov cocktails and projectiles.

Police fired stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets and made dozens of arrests, local media reported.

Police cruiser that was damaged near Madison and 10th #maydaypdx pic.twitter.com/omcnz0xVgW  Dave Killen (@killendave) May 2, 2017

Along with several other activist groups, the Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council (MACC) organised a series of protests in New York City. On Monday afternoon, MACC and other anti-authoritarian left-wing groups assembled in an anti-fascist bloc for a large rally in Union Square.

Trump supporters and members of the Alternative Right (alt-right) movement tried to interrupt the protest in Union Square and clashed with Antifa and other protesters. Elsewhere in the city, at least 32 people were arrested during demonstrations and confrontations in the city.

This May Day, its important to not just fight back but to show that this movement cannot be repressed, Matthew Whitley, a spokesman for MACC, told Al Jazeera. This May Day has the potential to be a rallying cry for the broader anti-authoritarian left and especially the anarchist movement.

READ MORE: US anti-fascists hope to make racists afraid again

In the evening, MACC held a solidarity demonstration for prisoners outside the Metropolitan Correctional Centre, making as much noise as possible so that those locked up on the inside could hear them. This May Day is especially about the most exploited and marginalised of workers, which is immigrants, undocumented immigrants and the incarcerated, said Whitley.

An estimated 15,000 people participated in May Day rallies throughout Los Angeles, California, while similar protests were staged in San Francisco and Oakland, as well as other cities and towns.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, more than 4,000 people marched, while at least a thousand took to the streets in Homestead, Florida, the New York Times reported.

Throwing immigrants under the bus

The White House press office did not reply to Al Jazeeras request for a comment on Mondays protests.

Following in the tradition of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and presidents before them, Trump declared May 1 to be Loyalty Day. In a proclamation released on Friday, Trump said: The United States stands as the worlds leader in upholding the ideals of freedom, equality and justice.

It added: Together, and with these fundamental concepts enshrined in our Constitution, our Nation perseveres in the face of those who would seek to harm it.

Maria Svart, national director of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), says the group marks International Workers Day each year but this years commemorations come at a crucial moment, adding that the DSAs membership has grown from 5,000 to more than 20,000 since Trumps election.

May Day, International Workers Day, is the chance to remind ourselves, as well as the bosses, bankers and policymakers of the 1 percent, that we dont have to take this treatment, she told Al Jazeera, referring to socioeconomic inequality.

Arguing that Trumps particular brand of right-wing populism effectively tapped into grievances felt by workers and those living in economically-deprived communities, Svart said: Unfortunately, he chose to throw one set of working people, immigrants, under the bus to do so, and used longtime stereotypes about people of colour being lazier than white people to attack programmes that support all people when they need it.

READ MORE: What is International Workers Day?

The DSA held rallies in New York City and Washington, DC, among other places.

The Socialist Alternative, a national left-wing party that says it has also experienced a surge in membership since Trumps election, had called for International Workers Day to be marked with a nationwide strike.

Kshama Sawant, a Socialist Alternative leader and city councilor in Seattle, told Al Jazeera that the US is experiencing a historic opportunity as anger with Trump grows and foments a broader progressive movement.

Socialist Alternative, which has called for the release of all immigrant detainees and for the plan to build a wall on the Mexican border to be scrapped, also endorsed calls for a strike on Monday.

The day after Trump was elected virtually everyone was stunned and the Democratic Party establishment  was paralysed, Sawant added. Alluding to a series of protests since Trumps inauguration on January 20  focusing on issues from womens rights to science  she said: Who wasnt paralysed? Ordinary working people.

Ideology laid bare

Over the weekend, tens of thousands marched to protest against Trumps environmental policies in the Peoples Climate March in Washington, DC.

In February, mass protests against Trumps choice for labour secretary, Andrew Puzder, eventually led to him withdrawing his nomination from consideration. Among the groups demonstrating was the Fight for $15 campaign, a grassroots movement that demands that the federal minimum wage be raised to $15 an hour.

When Trump introduced what was commonly referred to as the Muslim ban  a restriction on immigration and visits for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries  protests and civil disobedience at airports across the nation played a crucial role in pushing back.

In recent weeks, violent clashes between Trump supporters, among them members of the far-right and neo-Nazis, and anti-fascists gripped Berkeley, California, and concluded with several arrests and injuries.

READ MORE: What is the alt-right and what does it stand for?

Henry Giroux, an American academic and author of America at War with Itself, says that growing anger is partially fuelled by young people who know they have been written out of the script of democracy.

They know they are the zero generation  zero jobs, zero hope, zero future. They know theyre a long-term investment in a country that only believes in short-term investment, he told Al Jazeera. The ideology has been laid bare for young people. The other side of it is not all young people think alike, so you do get fascist elements among young people on the right.

Nonetheless, Trumps approval ratings are still stacked against him, with 52 percent of the country disapproving of his performance, according to the polling website FiveThirtyEight.

Back in New York City, MACCs Matthew Whitley said the protests are a form of self-defence and definitely a gesture against the emboldened far-right, who are pushing a nativist agenda by targeting immigrants and communities of colour.

People across the world are perhaps realising that politics are possible again and we dont have to rely on technocrats, he concluded. People see the day-to-day violence and racism of the system much more starkly.

Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_








As new political document is released, questions arise over Hamas next moves and new strategy.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal announced in the press conference, held on Monday, the election of Hamas' new leadership and Ismail Haniya's replacement of Meshaal.

Hebron, Occupied West Bank  In the past couple of weeks, the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, succeeded in making the issue of its new political document a major news headline. It was not just about propaganda; Hamas was also preparing its anxious supporters for the release of the document, while gauging reactions on the leaked clauses of the new document.

The controversy surrounding the movements former Charter, first published in 1988, is not new. It dates back to the second Palestinian uprising (known as the Second Intifada) in 2000, especially after the late Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin stated in 2003 that Hamas would accept the two-state solution as a temporary solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Hamas then signed the Palestinian Cairo Declaration in 2005, indicating its readiness to join the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) without the prerequisite of the PLO adopting Islam as a framework for liberation. Hamas also then participated in the elections in 2006 and became the ruling power.

All of these developments showed a clear contradiction between the terms of the Hamas Charter and the movements political discourse and behaviour.





Several Hamas leaders have repeatedly criticised the Charter, as did the opponents of the movement. Despite such criticism, the Charter remained untouched for nearly three decades. Though the movement clearly realised the need to take such criticisms into consideration, however, it did not dare to replace the Charter.

Instead, it released a new one on Monday and was keen on several occasions to emphasise that the new document was not to replace or nullify the old one. This indicates that Hamas might be concerned about the unity of its ranks and its support base, which prevented any change in the Charter previously.

Along the years, Hamas struggled so as not to appear  to the Palestinian people  to be a follower of the PLO, especially since the PLO is constantly subject to local, regional and international pressures that could portray Hamas as a defeated movement, which would mean losing a portion of its supporters.

According to analysts, joining the PLO could create divisions within the Hamas movement. For this reason, releasing a new political document was a safer option for maintaining the groups organisational structure.

READ MORE: Hamas political document  What to expect

It is possible to explain Hamas strategy in the next phase, and the factors that pushed it to announce the new political document now, by analysing some of the clauses of the new document.

The new document is more in accordance with the movements rhetoric and behaviour in the past few years. It can be argued that the provisions of the new document are neither a replacement of, nor in contradiction with, the 1988 charter clauses. Rather, the document provides interpretations of the former charter.

Since the end of the Second Intifada, the movement has  on several occasions  expressed its desire to participate in the administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the PLO, and to partner up with all of the Palestinian factions.

After releasing the document, Hamas now seems more capable of building this partnership, and confirmed to its opponents that its rhetoric and behaviour are proof of its readiness to be a homogeneous part of the Palestinian political system.

And while Hamas initially presented itself first as an Islamic movement, and recognised armed resistance as the only legitimate form of resistance, here it is today, declaring itself a Palestinian movement without connections to any non-Palestinian groups, and calling on the PLO to be rebuilt on democratic foundations, while also accepting all kinds of resistance as a legitimate right, as shown in articles 25, 29, and 30.

Going forward, Hamas is expected to pay greater attention to the issue of joining the PLO, and will seek to build Palestinian alliances to overcome the era of Oslo Accords, with the possibility of accepting an agreement on the areas occupied in 1948.

READ MORE: How Palestinians should respond to Trumps one state

In its new document, Hamas shows more maturity than the usual emotional rhetoric of Palestinian leaders. It recognises that a relationship with the Arab governments is necessary to ensure the freedom of movement for Palestinians, at the bare minimum. It also sees the importance of securing financial support for Palestinian institutions from the region.

Here, it seems that the absence of any reference to Hamas relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in the new document, was a face-saving tactic in front of its supporters at home and abroad, thus facilitating the movements efforts to mend fences with regional actors.

Hamas close connection with Egypts Muslim Brotherhood has resulted in troubled relations with Egypt, Jordan and United Arab Emirates.

The new document emphasises the movements rejection of sectarian extremism and bigotry and affirms its support for the values of tolerance, justice, and minority rights. It also made it abundantly clear that its conflict is with Zionism as a political movement, and not Judaism  a clause that prevented it from establishing relations with western governments in the past.

Such changes will make it easier for Hamas Palestinian supporters across the world to defend it, but the movement will remain a party that the Western governments will refuse to deal with.

The document also re-emphasises its rejection of the Middle East Quartets demands; reaffirming its rejection of the Oslo Accords, its decision not to recognise the legitimacy of Israel, and its support for armed resistance.





This month, the movement is also expected to announce a new Hamas leader to replace Khaled Meshaal. The most likely successor is 54-year-old Ismail Haniya, Hamas Gaza-based political leader, known for his flexible positions.

The February 2017 election of Yahya Sinwar, a founding member of the groups military wing, as the new leader of Hamas in Gaza, led some to predict the dominance of the military arm over the political wing of the movement.

However, Sinwars ascendancy was necessary for preserving the movements unity and achieving balance. The aforementioned fear of Hamas softening its stance towards Israel in this new document, required the Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing, to highlight and reaffirm the movements focus on armed resistance.

This was not only achieved with the election of Sinwar, but also by the local medias promotion of Qassam achievements in recent months in an attempt to stave off the fears that Hamas may slip into the PLO framework.

Electing Haniya would be in line with the democratic values that Hamas has advocated in its new political document and ensures a channel of communication with external players. Similarly, Sinwars election was important for maintaining the cohesion of Hamas as a resistance movement.

Haniya, who is known for his moderate stances since the mid-1990s, when he was one of the supporters of the first legislative elections in 1996, would be a good choice in Hamas viewpoint for succeeding Meshaal with the new political document in hand.

READ MORE: Gaza: Israel seeks to drag Hamas into war

Among other leaders in the movement, Haniya is one of the most accepted by the rest of the Palestinian factions. And as he is a leader in Gaza, he will relieve the movement of the accusations that it was bowing to pressures after it was exiled from Syria to Qatar, which will make it more capable of building relations with regional powers.

If Haniya is elected, it may be possible for Hamas to manoeuvre more smoothly with the Arab states and western powers.

In the coming days, news headlines will focus on Hamas acceptance of a state within the 1967 borders, but it seems that the new political document will push Palestinians even further away from this option.

Hamas has placed this provision because it is temporary, and Hamas sees that liberation is not incumbent on statehood, which means that its focus will be on the PLO and not the PA.

Now that it has accepted new methods of resistance as legitimate, Hamas may, in fact, seek to establish a coalition based on popular resistance that rejects the Oslo Accords.

Belal Shobaki is a policy analyst at Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, and the head of the political science department at Hebron University.
After years of speculation, Hamas unveiled its new political document on Monday, outlining its general principles and policies, which build on the 1988 charter released shortly after the groups founding.

Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas political bureau, held a press conference in the Qatari capital Doha, where he officially announced the documents release.

Al Jazeera later spoke with Meshaal, who has been leading the organisation since 1995 and is expected to step down in the near future, about the new political document.

Al Jazeera: Can you explain the new political document? Will it replace Hamas old charter?

Khaled Meshaal: Hamas new document has been in the making for four years. It is intended to function as a guiding principle for the Hamas organisation to deal with new emerging realities in our Palestinian society, our conflict with Israel and in the outside world.

This document reflects our position for now, which means that we are not a rigid ideological organisation. This document also shows that we are a dynamic and adaptive organisation and that we are eager to change if it is in the best interests of our people. In the future, Hamas will issue more papers and policy guidelines to deal with new realities.

The old charter was a product of its era, 30 years ago. We live in a different world today.

Al Jazeera: One of the most important aspects of the new document is your acceptance of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, a marked change from Hamas previous stance. Why the change?

Meshaal: We have said it many times over, that Hamas would not stand in the way of establishing a Palestinian state that would come as a product of negotiations between Israel and other Palestinian groups.

Even though we would accept and welcome that eventuality, this does not necessarily mean that we would have to recognise Israel or surrender our principle that all of Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people.

READ MORE  Khaled Meshaal: Not a war of choice

Al Jazeera: How long have you been a member of Hamas?

Meshaal: I am one of the founders of the organisation. I was there since day one. I was part of the founding and launch even before Hamas was officially declared in 1987. In 1977, 10 years before Hamas was officially announced, I was working with others to lay the intellectual groundwork Hamas was founded upon. Therefore, I was a member of its consultative council and leadership structures since day one.

Al Jazeera: During Mondays press conference, you called for the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea, or all of historic Palestine. Lets suppose, hypothetically, you somehow were able to achieve that  what would happen to the Israeli Jewish citizens?

Meshaal: What we want is to restore our national rights on our own lands, to facilitate the return of our refugees and to live free in an independent sovereign state. This is what the Palestinian people are looking and hoping for.

We dont have to answer to the Israeli propaganda claims that try to make us seem monstrous when it comes to Jews. Arabs and Muslims were highly moral and ethical with their enemies during wartime. They committed no massacres of innocent civilians. Here, I recall the Muslim leader Salahuddin al-Ayyubi (Saladin), who spared the lives of Jerusalems inhabitants when he liberated the city from the Crusaders in 1187. Hamas has its humanitarian dimension, but it will not coexist with occupation and colonisation.

Al Jazeera: In about two weeks time, there will be an election for a new Hamas leadership, and you will step down as the leader of the group. What will be your new role?

Meshaal: I was an elected leader of the group since 1995, when our bylaws did not restrict the number of terms a leader can serve. But in the past decade, we put a term limit to our bylaws that limited the period to two terms, four years each time.

I will continue to be the son of this organisation. We are also trying to show a good example that one can still contribute to the organisations goals and serve his people without having to be in the top leadership position.





Al Jazeera: Is Hamas a democratic organisation?

Meshaal: One hundred percent. I think in terms of our internal policies and operations, we practise democratic governance you seldom see in this region. We are also pragmatic.

Unfortunately, in our region, pragmatism has gotten a bad name because of the bad practices of those who called themselves pragmatic. That said, however, our pragmatism is positive and is connected to upholding our principled positions, not sacrificing them.

Al Jazeera: Currently, you say you reject dialogue with Israel, whether in negotiations or not. Suppose that the Israelis said they were willing to engage in negotiations with you. Is there anything, ideological or otherwise, preventing you from talking to the Israelis as a strategic choice?

Meshaal: For us, the principle of negotiations or not is not something set in stone. It is a matter of politics and it is dynamic. In our history, we have many examples where Muslim leaders have negotiated with their enemies, such as Prophet Muhammad and Salahuddin. The current circumstances have not matured enough for us to benefit from any negotiations with Israel.

Currently, Israel is not interested in peace. Israel feels it is not obligated or forced to have peace with the Palestinians and give us our rights. When we are strong enough to create a reality that will force Israel to reconsider its positions against us, only then negotiations will have value and meaning for us. Look at, for example, the PLOs negotiations experience with Israel. It got them nowhere after decades of futile talks with Israel.
Last months Associated Press (AP) report on the estimated 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and United Nations personnel around the world wasnt precisely breaking news. Allegations of serious misconduct directed by peacekeeping troops have dogged the UN for years. But the AP report contained several testimonies from the victims of Sri Lankan peacekeepers, who sexually abused and raped children during the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and these searing testimonies once again highlighted the cost of impunity for sexual violence by UN personnel.

Beyond a blemish on the reputation of the UN, these violations fuel a culture of violence that undermines the potential for sustainable peace.

Within the organisation, sexual violence by peacekeepers is treated with condemnation and, at most, re-location. The UN has no power to prosecute them for their crimes and the Status of Forces agreements (SOFA) that govern UN missions insulate peacekeepers from the criminal jurisdiction of the host country. As a result, the sole responsibility to provide accountability for the crimes of UN peacekeepers rests with their own governments.

In 2007, more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeeping troops were sent back to their home country from Haiti in disgrace as a result of sexual abuse allegations. The Sri Lankan government promised to investigate and prosecute the guilty but it has not done so. While the Ministry of Defence has stated that 20 members of the contingent were subjected to disciplinary sanctions in 2009, no one has been prosecuted. And Sri Lankan troops have continued to deploy with UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and elsewhere.

The focus on the appalling failure to prosecute these soldiers for their crimes obscures the fact that the issue is not just criminal violence on an individual level, but rather it emerges from entrenched political cultures that, intentionally, result in a collective failure to protect vulnerable people.

Conflict-related sexual violence is a major thematic focus for the UN. Yet, despite clearly qualifying under the requirement that it be directly or indirectly linked (temporally, geographically or causally) to a conflict, the sexual violence of peacekeepers is rarely understood to be tied to conflict dynamics. But peacekeepers are explicitly political actors.

Impunity beyond national borders





While peacekeeping missions are newly created forces, they are made up of national contingents that have been socialised in very particular rules of engagement, rooted in the particular underlying political agendas of their home country.

The Sri Lankan troops that deployed to Haiti were members of a military apparatus that had been fighting a brutal civil war for over two decades and was implicated in widespread and systematic human rights abuses. Arriving in Haiti, the Sri Lankan contingent brought with them a deeply entrenched culture of impunity for crimes against civilians.

Rape, in particular, became endemic as a form of political repression, and reprisal, over the course of the conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It was almost never prosecuted. Despite frequent reports of sexual violence during combat operations, and the routine commission of custodial rape against both women and men, Sri Lankan military personnel have been convicted for exactly one instance of wartime sexual violence: the 1996 gang rape and murder of Tamil schoolgirl Krishanthi Kumaraswamy. The default response of successive Sri Lankan regimes to allegations of military rape, and indeed all state-perpetrated human rights abuses, has been denial and, when pressed, window-dressing inquiries that lead nowhere.

READ MORE: UN proposes steps to curb sex abuse by peacekeepers

In the final phases of the war in 2009, rights groups reported widespread sexual violence (rape, forced abortions, forced prostitution) of vulnerable populations amongst other alleged war crimes. While a few high-profile cases were covered in the local media, none resulted in convictions. Sri Lankan military forces, from rank and file cadre up to high-level commanders, are guaranteed protection from prosecution.

Carrying with them past crimes and heavy-handed tactics, peacekeepers are hardly the neutral incoming forces they are construed as. As they land, they also occupy a particular political space in their host country. Their function is to ensure stability and prevent the resurgence of violence; necessarily a status quo enforcing role. They are therefore tied, especially in the minds of aggrieved or marginalised populations, to the states political agenda. This means that the violence of peacekeepers is, in some senses, the violence of the state.

If Sri Lanka's participation in UN peacekeeping has proven anything, it is that abusive military cultures survive transplantation to new environments. by

Extreme marginalisation

Like Sri Lanka, Haitis civil strife over the past three decades has been marked by state-sanctioned rape, forced disappearances, and massacres of civilians  largely to quell political dissent and resistance. MINUSTAH bases, like those the Haitian children were reported as being forced into, are carefully placed in neighbourhoods whose resident have lived their entire lives under the shadow of state violence. To civilians in this area, rape at the hands of armed men is inevitable. In 2007, a Haitian woman interviewed confirmed the depth of this militarised culture of violence. (There is) no difference between the police and the gangs. They all have guns and they can do whatever they want, she said.

State-perpetrated sexual violence places all its victims, but particularly women, in positions of extreme marginalisation. These victims often find themselves ostracised by their communities and at an increased risk of retribution by military forces. An under-recognised result of this violence is its impact on womens political perceptions in ways that encourage identification with extremist, or violent, political movements.

In Haiti, before the arrival of the peacekeepers, the prevalence of rape had already created an urgent need for self-protection, and a deep disillusionment with the state, leading to a significant increase in women joining the armed gangs and vigilante groups driving pervasive violence. The sexual violence of peacekeepers, tied to both the protection failures and the violence of the state, has only exacerbated these dynamics. Rape by state military forces, as a political act, will always have a political impact. Rape by UN peacekeepers, often the last resort for protection, will leave in its wake even more willing recruits for armed groups.

OPINION: The sex-for-food scandal in Central African Republic

If peacekeepers carry their politics with them to their host country, they dont leave them there. As successive waves of Sri Lankan peacekeepers have returned home from Haiti, they have re-engaged in the ethnic conflict; first in combat roles, and then, following the end of the war in 2009, as part of the occupying force in northeast Sri Lanka. Several of the peacekeeping contingents leadership went on to positions of high authority in the Sri Lankan military, including brigade and division commander, and director of military intelligence.

These individuals have presided over a heavily militarised former conflict zone in which rape and sexual exploitation of vulnerable Tamil women, similar to that inflicted on the Haitian population, have been common. This violence undermines prospects for a lasting peace. From our post-conflict research in Sri Lanka, several interviewees noted that, when people in the community think of the situation now of Tamil women, they think we have to resurrect the LTTE.

Driving a resurgence of violence





Just a few weeks before the Sri Lankan troops were sent home in 2007, the contingents former second-in-command, Colonel Mahinda Weerasooriya, told a domestic newspaper that by participating in UN peacekeeping operations: We have proven that the Sri Lankan army is not an army that violates human rights and we have proven that we are a well-disciplined army.

Yet, if Sri Lankas participation in UN peacekeeping has proven anything, it is that abusive military cultures survive transplantation to new environments. Soldiers who exploit and abuse vulnerable populations at home will do so abroad as well  undermining the prospects for peace in both spaces. Peacekeeper violence has political impacts far beyond the creation of new victims.

While it is incontrovertible that peacekeepers who abuse civilian populations should be prosecuted for their crimes, these individual trials are not enough. Peacekeeper violence should be treated with the same seriousness as other types of conflict-related sexual violence. National contingents should be more thoroughly vetted before deployment, and stronger monitoring and disciplinary sanctions should be imposed to prevent and punish violations on the ground. Without these comprehensive measures, UN peacekeeping forces will not only fail in their mission to create the conditions for lasting peace, they will be one of the driving forces behind a resurgence of violence  wherever they go.

Dr Kate Cronin-Furman is human rights lawyer and political scientist. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her work has appeared in the International Journal of Transitional Justice, The Washington Posts Monkey Cage blog, The Atlantic, The National Interest, and The New York Times.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Al Jazeeras senior political analyst comments on the mystery behind the US policy shift on North Korea.

President Donald Trump has taken the Washington foreign-policy establishment by surprise in recent days by making a number of policy U-turns concerning the countrys friends and foes in the South Pacific region.

As the world reacts to President Trumps indication that he would be willing to meet the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un under the right circumstances, Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeeras senior political analyst, offers his view on the latest developments indicating a change in US Asia policy?.

Is there a real US policy change on North Korea?





Marwan Bishara: Its hard to determine whats real in the American world of fake news and alternative facts. But Trumps recent overtures to the infamous Kim Jong-un, including his willingness and readiness, to meet the North Korean leader under the right circumstances, may signal a new diplomatic approach.

Trump has told the Bloomberg network that in fact it would be his honour to meet the young Korean leader. This is not business as usual and more than an off-the-cuff utterance. His press secretary Sean Spicer has doubled down on the honour a few hours later.

Theres seems to be a pattern developing here.

Trump has made similar statements praising the North Korean despot. Last week, he praised Kim for being able to lead his country forward despite big challenges from the generals and others, calling him a pretty smart cookie.

This also comes against the backdrop of another controversial move to invite Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House despite the latters hostility towards the US and its policy in the region.

OPINION: Is war coming to North Korea?

Taken by surprise, Washington liberals and Democrats have already criticised Trump for embracing the US nemeses and alienating its friends, such as Japan and South Korea.

The Washington Post and New York Times have indicated in their editorials that they see a pattern of the president embracing world despots .

But this is only the latest smack of hypocrisy in Washington.

When President Obama toured the Middle East seeking the wisdom of its despots and expressed his willingness to talk to Tehran, and started a diplomatic dialogue with Iran over its nuclear programme, he was also accused of chumming up to his countrys foes at the expense of its friends.

Today, its the Democrats turn to throw the same accusations at the Republican president.

Whats behind the change?

Marwan Bishara: In one word, China.





Like his predecessors, Trump has come to realise that to get things done, hell need to work with, not against China.

His hostility towards China as a currency manipulator and unfair trader has taken the backseat to a new charm offensive directed at his new friend, Xi Jinping, a good man whos trying to help out.

Hes a good man, Trump said. Hes a very good man, and I got to know him very well. Hes never met him before.

This included among others, Trumps granddaughter singing to the Chinese first couple their favourite song in Mandarin. Im sure this reminds Trumps detractors of George W Bush looking in Putins eyes and finding him trustworthy.

In my view, President Xi was able to convince President Trump, during their Florida summit, about his willingness to make certain trade adjustments and corrections, and his readiness to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis.

In return, its likely that Trump will now help his new friend solidify his international stature before his re-election in the next Chinese Congress. Its a win-win for both leaders.

OPINION: When Xi Jinping met Donald Trump

Beijing has always encouraged Washington to speak directly to Pyongyang, but now there is a new US leader willing to give this approach a chance. I can imagine Xi explaining to Trump why, like the American president, stroking Kims ego helps doing business with him.

Meanwhile, in order to maintain the positive momentum and refrain from antagonising China, Trump will no longer take calls from Taiwanese leaders. And hell look favourably at US China trade relations.

What now, where do they go from here?





Marwan Bishara: It depends if all these moves are tactical or strategic, and whether they are part of a coherent grand strategy; or even a new Trump pivot to Asia.

The US is pursuing a dual-track approach that maintains military, economic and diplomatic pressures on North Korea, while at the same time leaving the door wide open for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear question.

Normalisation of North Koreas relations with the West will also require aid and investments from North Koreas neighbours.

Dont expect a major breakthrough soon. Any progress will depend on the future of US-Chinese relations and the personal relationship between Trump and Xi, which seems to have got off to a good start.

Already in a nod towards Washington, China has abstained during a recent vote on a Syria resolution despite Russias veto.

Like his predecessors, Trump has understood that China is too big to alienate and too powerful to antagonise.

REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: Trump-Xi summit  A view from China

And perhaps his generals have explained to him why superpower politics goes beyond quid pro quo transactional dealing and wheeling, and beyond beef trade and currency valuation.

That the US needs to approach China strategically and systematically with all the tools at its disposal, including the projection of power and the hedging of influence, leveraging trade, underwriting diplomacy and more.

President Obama spoke of why a prosperous China is good for America and the world, but went on to contain Chinas influence through new economic and security alliances with its neighbours.

President Trump might, just might be pursuing a different pivot to Asia; a pivot that has China as its main subject not its object.
Opposition and several Latin American nations condemn presidents call for a new constitution to end Venezuelas crisis.

Fresh violence has erupted in Venezuela, a day after President Nicolas Maduro called for the constitution to be rewritten.

Armed men clashed on Tuesday with riot police who fired tear gas in Caracas, where hundreds of people blocked streets.

State ombudsman Tarek Saab said on Twitter that masked men threw Molotov cocktails at a building housing a branch of his department in the northern city of Valencia.

A stun grenade reportedly went off in the courtyard of the opposition-controlled National Assembly legislature in Caracas as politicians prepared to hold a debate on how to pressure Maduro.

His plan, announced on Monday, has inflamed the opposition, which is calling for even bigger demonstrations to demand elections. A mega protest is planned for Wednesday.

International concern is also rising, with Chile and Argentina among the countries expressing worry.

The United States condemned Maduros announcement, while Brazils foreign minister, Aloysio Nunes, branded it a coup.

President Nicholas Maduros proposal for a constituent assembly is a coup detat. It is another break with democracy, violating the countrys constitution, Nunes said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Nunes said social organisations controlled by Maduro would elect the constituents and draw up a constitution as he wants it.

READ MORE: Maduros high-stakes gamble

The Venezuelan opposition says that the move further weakens the chances of holding a vote to remove Maduro, whom they blame for an economic crisis that has sparked food shortages and rioting.

Maduro said the process to bring in a new constitution was necessary to fend off what he describes as an attempted foreign-backed coup against him.

Washington reiterated its concerns for democracy in Venezuela after Maduros constitutional announcement.





We view it as a step backwards, said top state department official Michael Fitzpatrick.

This process is not, by the initial indications, shaping up to be a genuine effort of national reconciliation, which is really what Venezuela needs now.

The head of the Organization of American States, a regional bloc with its headquarters in Washington, slammed Maduros move.

The announced proposal is wrong-headed, unconstitutional and fraudulent, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said in a video message.

The past month of protests has shut down many schools and businesses.

Prosecutors said 28 people were killed last month in violence between protesters and police.

Conflicting reports of attacks by government-backed thugs or pro-opposition agitators have sown fear among citizens.

OPINION: The art of surviving a Venezuela on the brink

Lucia Newman, Al Jazeeras Latin America editor, said the demonstration planned for Wednesday may be held at the presidential palace, a move that would put protesters and riot police in direct confrontation.

This is only the beginning, say government opponents, of what they call a national rebellion to try and force the president out, or at the very least force him to call elections. They aim to increase the pressure on Wednesday with what they call a mega march, said Newman.

Many workers walked to work on Tuesday as protests disrupted transport and metro stations were closed.

Normally it takes me half an hour to get to work. Today it was two hours, David Ramos, a 58-year-old labourer, told the AFP news agency.

But you have to protest. There is no food or medicine.

Caracas bus driver Luis Guillermo Perez, 52, kept on supporting Maduro however, as the protests forced him to take detours.

Why are they blocking everything? They demand freedom and they are denying us freedom of movement, he said. People are anxious.

The opposition is demanding early elections to replace Maduro.

The president instead said he was invoking his power to create a 500-member constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution.

That would cut out other political parties and the opposition-controlled Congress from the process.
Social media users and politicians criticise minister of interior after publishing 10-point plan on German values.

Thomas de Maiziere, Germanys interior minister, has attracted criticism and mockery after publishing an article saying migrants must accept a dominant culture that includes shaking hands and rejecting full-face veils.

The row came a week after German parliament passed a law to stop the use of face veils by civil servants, judges and armed forces personnel at work, and five months before Germanys general election.

In a Sunday paper commentary, where he outlined a 10-point plan defining German culture and values, de Maiziere wrote: [In Germany] we say our name and shake our hand when greeting. We are an open society. We show our face. We are not burqa.

This statement was reversed on social media, with some Twitter users turning it into We are not de Maiziere.

Wir sind nicht de Maiziere.#Leitkultur  linuzifer (@Linuzifer) April 30, 2017

Others went deeper and made fun of what appears to be a German tradition to shake hands. One user was complaining that at breakfast no one shook his hand and was wondering if he could deport his family.

Niemand wollte mir heute am Fruhstuckstisch die Hand geben. Uberlege, ob ich meine Familie nicht ausweisen lassen kann. #Leitkultur  Christian Jakubetz (@cjakubetz) May 2, 2017

But others struck a more serious tone, arguing that the 10 principles outlined by de Maiziere for the dominant culture were dangerous incitements against Muslims, adding that no election campaign could justify such positions.

10 Thesen von #DeMaiziere zur #Leitkultur sind gefahrliche Stimmungsmache gg Muslime. Kein Wahlkampf rechtfertigt das!  Sawsan Chebli (@SawsanChebli) April 30, 2017

READ MORE: Europes nationalist international

This is not the first time that the so called dominant culture debate has emerged in Germany. In 2000, Chancellor Angela Merkel had to step in and threaten some members of her party with expulsion to keep the Christian Democratic Union from falling into disarray. Both internal and external criticism led to this debate being dropped.

The subject is deeply sensitive for many Germans out of concern, given the countrys Nazi past, that dominant culture risks straying in the direction of nationalism and repression.

Whoever comes to us has to adapt

According to de Maizieres article, Germany needs a dominant culture to act as a common thread through society, especially because migration and an open society are making us more diverse.





The minister said that education is a value, not only an instrument and performance and quality generate wealth. Performance has made our country strong.

Commenting on the role of religion, de Maiziere said that our state is neutral, but friendly towards churches and religious communities  Church towers shape our landscape. Our country is shaped by Christianity.

Political reactions

Reacting to de Maizieres commentary, Martin Schulz, chancellor candidate for the Social Democrats, told German media that our dominant culture freedom, justice and good coexistence just as stated in the constitution.

The leader of the German liberals criticised the conservative minister for not being able to formulate a modern migration policy: and for re-igniting an old and surpassed debate.

Once again, its about religion, Christian Lindner, the Free Democrats leader, told local media.

READ MORE: German nationalists divided over ideology amid protests

De Maiziere was criticised even by some of his fellow conservatives.

Ruprecht Polenz, former general secretary of Merkels Christian Democrats (CDU), distanced himself from de Maiziere, saying the idea of a dominant culture was problematic given that German values were already set out in the constitution.

I think it raises the question about where there is still a need for binding rules and how a dominant culture fits in with the diverse cultures in Germany, Polenz told Deutschlandfunk.

Other conservatives, however, seemed to be pleased by de Maizieres thesis.

A debate about a dominant culture is long overdue, said Bavarian conservative Andreas Scheuer.

The far-right Alternative for Germany, which has dipped in popularity after last year capitalising on fears about the migrant crisis, also derided the theses as electioneering.
Clashes between armed groups in central Ouaka province leaves at least 45 civilians dead in three months, report says.

Armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) have killed at least 45 civilians in apparent reprisal strikes over the past three months, a human-rights watchdog says in a new report.

The violence pitted armed groups against one another in the central province of Ouaka, which is on the border of the mainly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south of the country.

As factions vie for power in the Central African Republic, civilians on all sides are exposed to their deadly attacks, Lewis Mudge, Africa researcher at the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said on Tuesday.





CAR has seen violence since 2013, when a mainly Muslim rebel coalition called the Seleka toppled President Francois Bozize and went on looting and killing raids, prompting Christians to form self-defence militias.

The Seleka and other groups have since splintered, prompting further violence even as the country held a democratic election won by President Faustin Archange Touadera who was sworn in in March 2016.

One witness to the recent attacks, identified only as Clement, said advancing fighters from the Fulani Union for Peace in Central Africa (UP) shot four of his children dead including a seven-month-old baby during an attack in March.

Killings by the rival Popular Front for the Renaissance of Central African Republic (FPC) were also reported.

HRW based its tally on interviews with residents in the town of Barbaric in April. It said the overall figure was probably higher since dozens of people are still missing.

Persistent violence

The United Nations, which has a 13,000 safe-keeping mission in the former French colony, sought to disperse fighters with air strikes in Ouaka as they advanced on the town of Barbaric.

The US has imposed sanctions on militia leaders.

Still, the violence persists. Medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said last month that it was the worst seen in a years-long conflict and reported mutilations and summary executions.

READ MORE: Displaced and forgotten in Central African Republic

In December, the UN told Al Jazeera that a recently formed rebel group in the CAR has inflicted havoc in the western half of the country, displacing thousands and emptying towns and villages in a country already hit hard by instability.

The Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation group, or 3R, was formed in late 2015 and has displaced at least 30,000 people in the Ouham-Pende region in CAR, debilitating relief efforts in the region.

The UN says that the relief efforts in CAR remain underfunded; only 36 percent of the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan was financed.
No responsibility claim for incident in busy Cairo district, the latest in a long line of attacks on security forces.

Three Egyptian police officers have been killed in a drive-by-shooting in Cairo by men armed with machine guns, according to the countrys interior ministry.

Two cars approached a police patrol in the busy neighbourhood of Nasr City late on Monday before opening fire at the officers. Five others were wounded in the incident.

The interior ministry did not specify how many assailants were involved and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt is currently battling several armed groups mainly concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula following the 2013 military coup that toppled Mohamed Morsi, the countrys first democratically elected president.

Field Marshal turned President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has since overseen a crackdown on opposition in which hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been killed and thousands, including Morsi, jailed or sentenced to death.

The Hasam Movement, which the government alleges is an offshoot of the Brotherhood, has claimed several attacks in or near Cairo, including the assassination of a police officer and the attempted killing of a senior prosecutor.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the countrys most active armed group, has pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, and has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers.

The attacks have dented the recovery of tourism after a 2011 uprising drove away tourists, a major source of the countrys revenue.
Head of Tripoli-based government and rival general meet in Abu Dhabi for direct discussions.

Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libyas UN-backed government, has met renegade general Khalifa Haftar in the United Arab Emirates, in a rare meeting between the key figures from two rival Libyan camps.

The two men held face-to-face talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday thanks to international and Arab mediation, the LANA news agency said.

There was no official statement after the meeting, the second since Sarraj was named prime minister-designate after a UN-backed deal in late 2015.

But sources close to Haftar, head of the self-styled Libyan National Army, described the two-hour meeting as positive, according to a Reuters news agency report.

READ MORE: Libya  Who controls what

International powers have for months been pushing the two men to discuss resetting the UN-mediated agreement that led to the creation of Serajs Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

The deal, which gave no role in Libyas future to Haftar, was an attempt to end the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Haftar is the dominant figure for factions in eastern Libya that have rejected the GNA, contributing to its failure to expand its power in Tripoli and beyond. Rival armed factions in the west of the country have backed the GNA.

Both men were expected to discuss army-related amendments to an agreement signed by the Libyan factions in Morocco in December 2015, according to Abu Bakr Baeira, a member of the Tobruk-based parliament in eastern Libya, which backs Haftar.

Libyan television broadcaster 218 reported that the two held talks in private after posing for a photograph together.

Emirati officials did not immediately comment.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a close ally of Haftar, is scheduled to visit the UAE on Wednesday. It is unclear if he will be part of the talks.

Haftar, whose forces control much of the countrys east, has refused to recognise the authority of the UN-backed GNA since it started working in the Libyan capital in March 2016.

In February, Sarraj said that Haftar had refused to meet him in person in Cairo for Egypt-backed talks to discuss possible amendments to the UN-backed deal.

The army commander has established himself as a key player, especially after seizing the countrys key oil terminals in September.
Army loses 10 soldiers in raid in Anbar province, just hours after killing of Iraqi Kurdish oil executive in Kirkuk

Fighters from ISIL have killed at least 10 Iraqi soldiers in the countrys western province of Anbar, according to officials.

No claim of responsibility for the killing has been made.

We had 10 soldiers killed and six wounded in an attack by Daesh early this morning, an army lieutenant-colonel told AFP news agency on Tuesday, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, also known as ISIS.

Speaking to AFP, a police officer and a local official confirmed the attack and casualty toll.

In a separate incident earlier on Tuesday, armed men fatally shot a senior executive of Iraqs state-run North Gas Company (NGC) as he was heading to his office in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police and company sources said.





Mohammed Younis, Iraqi Kurdish deputy manager of NGC, and his driver were killed instantly when assailants in a speeding car fired on their vehicle, police sources said.

Kirkuk has a mixed population of Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs.

It has been under Kurdish control since June 2014, when ISIL overran the northwest of the country and Iraqi security forces collapsed.

The largest city in northern Iraq, Mosul was captured by ISIL in mid-2014.

On April 23, ISIL fighters attacked a police base in a town that is being used as a staging ground for the Mosul offensive, killing at least three policemen.

Backed by the US-led coalition, Iraqi forces launched an operation, their largest in years, in mid-October last year to retake the city.

They retook the side of the city that lies east of the River Tigris in January and launched a push on remaining ISIL fighters in western Mosul, which is more densely populated and has seen fierce fighting.

On the west bank of the Tigris, Iraqi forces control southern neighbourhoods and are slowly surrounding Mosuls Old City, whose narrow streets are expected to make federal operations very difficult.

Residents who managed to escape from the Old City say that there is almost nothing to eat but flour mixed with water and boiled wheat grain.

The loss of Mosul would be a huge blow to ISIL.

OPINION: Iraqi Kurdistan  Playing the independence game

According to an Iraqi military spokesman, ISIL only controls 7 percent of Iraq, down from the 40 percent of the national territory over which it ruled three years ago.

The only two other significant towns ISIL still holds are Hawija and Tal Afar. The group also controls territory in remote areas of western Iraq, near the Syrian border.

Iraqi forces on Thursday launched a fresh push against ISIL-held villages there, as part of a months-old operation to retake areas along the Euphrates in Anbar.

Fighting has killed several thousand civilians and fighters on both sides, according to aid organisations.
Civilians, SDF members killed in ISIL attack on Kurdish-held crossing used by civilians fleeing violence, monitor says.

At least 37 people, including dozens of civilians, have been killed in an attack by ISIL fighters targeting a crossing along Syrias northeastern border with Iraq, according to a monitoring group.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five suicide bombers detonated explosives before dawn on Tuesday in Rajm al-Salibi, a village in Hasaka province that is home to a temporary camp sheltering hundreds of displaced people.





The explosions were followed by gun battles between other ISIL attackers and US-backed Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at a nearby checkpoint, leaving dozens of people wounded.

The area where the attacks took place is where many refugees escaping violence in Iraq were gathering, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of Observatory, told the DPA news agency, adding that the attackers might have come from Iraq.

The Observatory monitors Syrias conflict via a network of contacts on the ground.

They thought I was dead

The International Rescue Committee said thousands of people from the Iraqi city of Mosul, where Iraqi forces have been battling ISIL fighters, have travelled west to the Rajm al-Salibi crossing since October, often via people smugglers.

In a statement, it said several children were among the dead and wounded.

It was three in the morning when Daesh came and started to shoot at people, Abdulah Khalef Hamid, an Iraqi refugee from Mosul, told the Associated Press news agency, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

I was wounded and they thought I was dead so they left me. We were around 200 families, they left at sunrise, he said, adding that his mother-in-law was killed in the attack

Nasser Haj Mansour, an adviser to the SDF, confirmed to the Reuters news agency that several civilian casualties included people who fled ISIL from Syrias Deir Az Zor and Iraq.

Redur Khalil, a spokesman for the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria, told AP the attack came a few hours after ISIL suicide bombers dressed in civilian clothes sneaked into al-Shadadi town and attacked SDF forces, triggering clashes.

ISIL, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and is also known as ISIS, said that a group of 16 fighters had launched an attack on Kurdish checkpoints, killing and wounding dozens.

It said some ISIL fighters carried out four attacks inside al-Shadadi which mainly targeted military posts, while others carried out attacks inside Hariri village and a sixth squad hit the barracks at Rajm al-Salibi.

The attacks came as Kurdish fighters backed by the US-led, anti-ISIL coalition continued their mission in the town of Tabqa, which sits on a strategic supply route about 55km west of Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL in Syria.

After taking the old city, we now control around 90 percent of Tabqa  we advanced against the ISIL and pushed further to the other parts of the city, Jihan Sheikh, of the Ghadab al-Furat, a Kurdish group fighting under the SDF, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, has seized large swaths of northern Syria from ISIL in a campaign to drive the group out of Raqqa.
US-backed forces have advanced in Tabqa as they eye the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa, a spokesperson says.

Kurdish forces are reported to have taken 90 percent of Tabqa city in Syrias Raqqa province from ISIL amid clashes that have left an estimated 19 people dead.

The claim was made by the official spokesperson for Ghadab al-Furat, a Kurdish group fighting under the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which launched a campaign in October 2016 to retake Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, in northern Syria.

After taking the old city, we now control around 90 percent of Tabqa  we advanced against the ISIL and pushed further to the other parts of the city, Jihan Sheikh, of the Ghadab al-Furat (dubbed Wrath of the Euphrates), told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

Talal Silo, an SDF spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the Euphrates dam  also known as Tabqa dam  and some neighbourhoods are still controlled by ISIL but ongoing clashes are taking place to fully recapture the city.





The first, second and third neighbourhoods that make up al-Thawra city, in addition to the Euphrates dam are still under ISIL control, but the battle continues to liberate them, Silo said.

Tabqa city is made up of two parts, the old city and al-Thawra city, which is also known as the new city.

According to Pentagon estimates from last year, the SDF has more than 40,000 fighters.

Clashes are still taking place, at least 19 ISIL fighters have been killed in the fighting. We managed to recover their weapons, cars and a tank, Sheikh said.

Ahmad, a Tabqa-based activist, told Al Jazeera that at least 131 civilians have been killed in Raqqa in the past 44 days.

Our city is destroyed. One of the main hospitals in Tabqa was destroyed in an air raid and many field hospitals too.

What people should know is that south of Tabqa there are oil fields producing millions of pounds a day. Why else would the US back these Kurdish fighters to this extent?

The Rojava Defence units, another Kurdish group taking part in the campaign, said at least 5,000 civilians fled the fighting and reached safe areas but are in the need of urgent humanitarian aid.

In Rajm Salibi, in the northern Syrian province of Hasakah, at least 24 civilians and SDF fighters have been killed in fighting between the SDF and ISIL, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The SDF is trying to retake Raqqa province after capturing the south of Tabqa last week.

ISIL captured Raqqa in January 2014, and took Tabqas airbase from the Syrian government in August the same year.

It lost the strategic Tabqa airbase , about 45km west of Raqqa, to the SDF last month.

The SDF was founded in Syrias mainly Kurdish northeastern region in October 2015 and is made up of at least 15 armed factions, mostly fighters from the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units and the Free Syrian Army.

The United Nations recently said in a press release that at least 39,000 newly displaced people fled to the Jib Al-Shaair makeshift camp in Raqqa, where four out of five people are staying in the open air without appropriate shelter.

As the Syrian conflict enters its seventh year, more than 400,000 people have been killed in the fighting and over 12 million Syrians  half the countrys prewar population  have been displaced from their homes.
Troops vehicle attacked by gunmen after hitting a mine, in latest assault in area regularly targeted by armed groups.

At least eight Malian soldiers have been killed in an ambush on a military convoy in the countrys west-central region, according to an army spokesman.

Armed assailants attacked the troops vehicle on Tuesday after it hit a mine near the town of Nampala in the restive Segou province.

The provisional toll is eight dead and some people wounded, Colonel Diaran Kone, an army spokesman, told the Reuters news agency, holding unspecified groups responsible.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but rebel groups  some linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)  have stepped up a series of attacks in recent months in a campaign against the Malian government and its international allies.

READ MORE: Tuareg factions to boycott Mali peace conference

Last July, 17 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base in Nampala, which sits close to the Mauritanian border. The attack was claimed by the Ansar Dine group.





A similar attack on the garrison town in January 2015 claimed the lives of 11 Malian soldiers.

Northern Mali fell to groups linked to AQIM in March 2012. They were driven out of key towns by a French-led military intervention the following year, but have now spread further south.

The Mali security forces are struggling to keep security despite the presence of French and United Nations troops.

Last weekend, the government extended a state of emergency by six months.

Three Malian groups with previous al-Qaeda links recently joined forces to create the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), led by Iyad Ag Ghaly of Ansar Dine, and have already killed soldiers further east near the Burkina Faso border.

France said it killed more than 20 fighters hiding in a forest near the border last weekend in an operation that involved both air and ground strikes.
Joseph Muscat decides to hold poll a year in advance following allegation that his wife owns offshore account in Panama.

Maltas Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has called a snap general election for June 3, bowing to pressure over his family being embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal.

With Mondays announcement, Labour Party leader Muscat, whose 2013 election as prime minister broke a 15-year-old tenure by conservatives in Maltas government, defied opposition demands for his resignation.

He denied allegations that his wife, Michelle, owns an offshore company in Panama.





Everybody knows about the attacks made in the past few days on me and my family. I have nothing to fear because I am clean, Muscat told a large crowd in the capital Valletta for the annual Labour Day celebrations.

Having an offshore company is not illegal but it is often associated with money-laundering schemes. An investigation has been launched, but it is unlikely to conclude before the poll.

Muscat said he would ask the president of Malta to dissolve parliament.

My duty is not just to protect myself and my family but also to safeguard my country, and I will not tolerate a situation where jobs are lost because of uncertainty, he said.

Muscat was elected with a strong majority in 2013, but his tenure has been riddled with allegations of corruption and mystery dealings with countries such as Azerbaijan.

Anti-corruption rally

Thousands took to the streets last week to protest against corruption after an investigation revealed hidden offshore companies of Muscats energy minister, Konrad Mizzi, and his chief of staff, Keith Schembri.

Muscat was subsequently criticised for failing to take decisive action against him and Schembri.

The prime minister has, however, delivered what he calls an economic miracle, with the first national budget surplus in 35 years, record low unemployment and steady economic growth.

Last month, Maltas left-of-centre government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote over the Panama Papers scandal.

Following that endorsement Muscat had said it gives us the energy to continue to work hard and achieve results.

The Panama Papers affair involved a massive data leak from the Mossack Fonseca law firm that revealed secretive offshore entities used by many of the worlds wealthy to stash assets and in some cases evade taxes and launder money.
Protesters demand equality and rights with less than a week until presidential poll, as police clash with demonstrators.

A previous version of this story (May 2, 2017) said French police carried and used "hand grenades". The grenades were non-lethal tear-gas grenades.

Paris, France  With less than one week to go until Sundays presidential election, tensions were high as tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on International Workers Day, or May Day.

Various groups protested against racism, capitalism, police brutality, the far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and her frontrunner rival, centrist Emmanuel Macron, and called for workers rights and social equality.

Police in their hundreds, decked out in riot gear and armed with tear-gas canisters, tear-gas grenades and batons, travelled in vans with sirens hours ahead of the march to the Place de la Republique.

Undocumented migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, demanded an end to deportations.

Meanwhile, trade unionists called for greater workers rights and anti-Le Pen activists called on people to vote against the far right.

We want to show that left-wing citizens are mobilising against the National Front [FN], and that we are not merely bystanders, an anti-Le Pen organiser told Al Jazeera.

Le Pen wants people to believe that she is going to protect the weakest while [she is instead] reinforcing inequality and creating a hierarchy of poverty.

On April 23, Le Pen, a Eurosceptic, came second in the first round of the presidential election, winning 21.4 percent of the vote.

Emmanuel Macron, a pro-EU centrist, won 23.9  meaning the rivals will compete for Frances top job on May 7.

A lot of extreme right groups in Europe are watching this election, Mohamed Slemani, an activist, told Al Jazeera.

If Le Pen wins the presidency, its the end of EU. I was in Rome last week and saw pro-Le Pen posters.

Disenchanted with Macrons politics, he said that he was undecided how to vote on Sunday.

He said he was also disillusioned with some elements of the left, explaining that they do not prioritise Islamophobia.

There are between 5.5 million and 6.2 million Muslims in France, or roughly 7.6 percent of the total population  making the group the largest Muslim minority in Europe.

The community often comes under attack as many conflate Islam with terrorism.

Slemani said the first victims of Islamophobia are women who are visibly Muslim.

If Le Pen wins, Muslim women will be the first target, he said, suggesting that activists must build networks to combat all forms of social inequality.

During Mondays rally, several other political, activist and underground groups gathered under various banners, from the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Turkey and pro-Palestinians, to the trade unionist CFDT and UNSA organisations and the losing leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon with his Unsubmissive France party.

Several people said they were likely to vote for Macron in a bid to stop a Le Pen presidency, but some had reservations about their decision.

First of all, Im here to defend workers rights, Diego Berjer, a 19-year-old student, told Al Jazeera.

The second reason is because of the political context. Its important to demonstrate against Le Pen. I will never enter dialogue with people who are racist and fascist.

Unfortunately, against my heart, I will vote for him [Macron] on Sunday. I dont like his neoliberal policies. Hes a repulsive person.

Mathurine, who works in insurance, said she came out to protest against the FN and Le Pen.

Im black, I dont want her to take power. Racism is a big problem in France. If she becomes president, we will have a civil war, Mathurine said.

Theres a high level of unemployment and Le Pen made a link between joblessness and foreigners. She also played on the issue of terrorism. Im not for Macron, but to fight against Marine [Le Pen], Im going to vote for Macron.

Others said they would consider abstaining in Sundays vote.

Im against fascism, said Alain Biaros, a film director. I wanted to abstain, but if there is some danger [of a Le Pen win], I will vote for Macron [but] I dont like his policy. Hes a candidate of the banks.

Thomas, a musician, wore a homemade cardboard placard announcing he would abstain.

Macron has implemented policies that make workers lives more precarious, he said. I wont fall for this blackmail.

The rally began peacefully in the early afternoon with a festive atmosphere.

Later in the day, clashes erupted as police fired tear gas and used tear-gas grenades on anti-fascists and other demonstrators.

Al Jazeera saw several protesters injured in the violence, while images posted on social media showed a number of police also wounded.

A witness, who requested to remain anonymous, said: At the head of the march, police charged the demonstration and surrounded a group of around 200 to 300 young demonstrators who were predominantly dressed in black. I didnt see any action or any violence that could have justified the violence of the police.

One photographer, who was bleeding from the head, told Al Jazeera that a tear-gas canister struck him.

With additional reporting by Naima Bouteldja
German chancellor lands in Sochi  her first visit to Russia in two years  to improve bilateral relations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks expected to focus on the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

The meeting on Tuesday comes after two other high-ranking German officials visited Moscow this spring in an apparent effort to revamp bilateral relationships.

The official purpose of Tuesdays meeting is the preparation of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, but the two leaders will also discuss the crises in Syria and Ukraine.





In March, Putin told visiting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel that he wanted to improve relations between the two countries, which had deteriorated after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

The so-called Minsk agreements which are supposed to end the conflict between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatist forces have not been fully implemented.

The meeting comes more than a week after a monitor from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was killed by a landmine in Luhansk, one of the two eastern Ukrainian regions where armed groups are fighting for secession.

The Russian ambassador to Germany was quoted by the media as saying that Merkels visit comes amid a highly confrontational situation.

READ MORE: Why do Russians love Putin so much?

German opposition parties from the Left have called on the chancellor to take the first step and try to make amends. The leader of the Left Party demanded an end the ice age of German and Russian ties, according to newspaper reports.

The Greens took it one step further and asked that Merkel distance herself from the NATO missile defence shield in eastern Europe, local media reported.

The Kremlin has repeatedly criticised the shield and boasted about its capabilities to destroy it. Russia is also unhappy with NATO soldiers being deployed in the Baltic region and Poland.
German and Russian leaders discuss Ukraine and Syria conflicts as ties between the West and Moscow remain tense.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have confirmed their commitment to the Minsk agreement for resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking after meeting in the Russian city of Sochi on Tuesday, Putin said there was no alternative to the Minsk deal.

For her part, Merkel, stressed that implementation is a problem, not the agreement itself.





The accord was signed by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to stop the fighting in eastern Ukraine and withdraw heavy weapons 15km on either side of the front line. It also says local elections must be held in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

We cannot change that deal and make new plans just because we cannot enforce basic agreements, Putin said, adding, however, that the Kiev government lost its chance of resolving this conflict a couple of years ago.

Now the situation is a lot more complicated in the political and economic terms, he said.

Putin also tried to distance Russia from the conflict by stressing the need for direct talks between Kiev and the leadership of the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Merkel urged Putin to do everything in his power to achieve full ceasefire between Russia-backed rebels and the Ukrainian government forces.

INTERACTIVE: Ukraine divided  stories from warring sides

Ukraine should be given access to its own state border, Merkel said, stressing the need of holding local elections in the separatist regions that would lead to a legitimate leadership within Donetsk and Luhansk.

By implementing the Minsk agreement we want to come to a position where we can actually end the sanctions against Russia [imposed for its role in the conflict and for annexing Ukraines Crimea Peninsula in 2015], she said.

The two leaders also discussed the Syrian conflict, the violence in Libya and the human rights abuses in Russia.

Al Jazeeras Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Sochi, said the meeting was important because the relations between Russia and the West have been so strained over the past few years.

Nobody expected any breakthroughs when it comes to the Syria and Ukraine conflicts. But the meeting is important in the realm of international relations, she said.

They are on the same page when it comes to Syria, but see the Ukraine conflict a little different. If anyone was looking for uneasiness between the two leaders, I think they wouldnt have found that.

Human rights in Russia

Merkel expressed concern to Putin about reports of violence against homosexuals, especially in Chechnya, urging the Russian president to use his influence to put an end to the abuse.

She also stressed the importance of protecting the freedom of people to assemble and express themselves in public.

The possibility of the right to demonstrate is a part of civil society, she said, reacting to the detention of hundreds of protesters in Moscow in recent weeks at anti-government demonstrations.

Putin said Russian police were more reserved and liberal than their counterparts in some European countries who use tear gas unlike Russia.

He also shrugged off allegations that Russia would try to meddle in the upcoming German parliamentary elections and dismissed such claims regarding the United States as unsubstantiated rumours.
Mexican authorities say they have captured one of the Sinaloa drug cartel leaders whose struggle for control of the gang following the re-arrest of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman has set off a wave of violence.

Known by the nickname El Licenciado  the Graduate  Damaso Lopez heads a faction at odds with two sons of Guzman, the former cartel leader who was arrested last year and extradited to the United States.

The attorney generals office on Tuesday said soldiers and prosecution agents had detained a drug gang leader it called Damaso N. A federal official confirmed the suspect is Lopez.

READ MORE: Violence in Sinaloa surges after El Chapo is extradited

Al Jazeeras John Holman, reporting from Mexico City, said the arrest was significant because the Mexican government will be hoping that this stops the civil war thats really erupted in Sinaloa amid the power struggle between Lopez and Guzmans sons.

Authorities distributed photos showing soldiers in full battle gear guarding the entrance of an upscale apartment building on a major boulevard in Mexico City, not far from downtown.





Lopez was long considered Guzmans right-hand man and is believed to had helped him escape from a Mexican prison in 2001.

Believe it or not, this man was actually part of the state prosecutors office in Sinaloa, Holman said, adding that Lopez personified an overlap that often exists between the world of Mexicos authorities and the criminal world.

Even more incredibly, he was a top figure in the administration system for the countrys prisons, and he allegedly used that position to help Guzman escape prison over 15 years ago. Just before that happened, he resigned and seemed to dedicate himself wholly to the cartels activities.

The US Department of the Treasury designated Lopez as a drug kingpin in 2013 for his role in Guzmans narcotics trafficking activities  and for playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking.

As a senior Sinaloa cartel operative, Lopez is responsible for multiple-ton shipments of narcotics from Mexico into the United States, it said.

Lopez would not be the first high-level drug suspect from outlying provinces captured in the capital. While Mexico City officials say drug cartels do not control territory in Mexico City, they acknowledge that drug lords have sometimes lived in the city and moved drug shipments through the capital.

With Guzman in jail, the Sinaloa Cartel has been controlled by Ismael El Mayo Zambada Garcia and Rafael Caro Quintero, two of the most traditional, old-school capos, plus Lopez, and Guzmans sons, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar.

Guzman faces several charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka says his government will step down over the business dealings of his finance minister.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said that his government will resign, in a surprise move amid an escalating row over the business dealings of his finance minister and political rival, Andrej Babis.

The announcement on Tuesday reflects tensions in the countrys ruling coalition six months before a parliamentary election that Sobotka is expected to lose.

Sobotka said there are suspicions that Babis, the countrys second richest businessman, avoided paying taxes in the past. The billionaire politician has dismissed any allegations against him as lies or half-truths.

I will shortly present my resignation to President Milos Zeman. It is unacceptable for Andrej Babis to stay on as finance minister, he said.

The president plays a key role in a crisis like this one because he has a right to select a new prime minister.

READ MORE: Czech court rejects suit over school veil ban

Sobotkas leftist CSSD party took power in 2014 in a three-member coalition government, which included Babis centrist ANO.

Babis is riding high in opinion polls, with ANO scoring 33.5 percent support compared with just 16 percent for Sobotkas CSSD, according to a survey conducted by the CVVM pollsters in April.

The finance minister has insisted that Sobotkas move to question his business dealings is part of the political battle before the October 20-21 general election.

Babis and the presidential office did not immediately comment on Sobotkas announcement.

Last week, Sobotka asked Babis to clarify his past use of some 55 million euro-worth ($60m) of tax-free bonds in connection with Agrofert, a sprawling conglomerate that he ran before putting his assets into a trust earlier this year to ward off conflict of interest allegations.

Sobotka said on Tuesday that he could fire Babis, but that would mean his rival would be given extra time to campaign before the upcoming vote.

Thats the reason Im opting for the only reasonable solution which is available, and thats the governments resignation, he said, adding: A trust of the public in politics is at stake.

Sobotka and his cabinets resignation will give the coalition a chance to form a government again, but without Babis. Another option is for parliament to call early elections.

But political analysts in Prague told the AFP news agency that an early election was unlikely to be called during the summer, pointing instead to the possibility of a minority caretaker government being installed until the October ballot.
UN cultural agency calls on occupying power to end projects aimed at altering character and status of the Holy City.

UNESCOs executive board has passed a resolution that criticises Israels actions in occupied Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian leaders hailing the move as a step forward and a victory for international law.

The resolution, which describes Jerusalem as occupied and declares Israels sovereignty over the city null and void, was backed by 22 countries, a UNESCO spokesman said on Tuesday.

The United States, Germany, Italy and seven other board members voted against it.





Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki welcomed the result of the vote, saying that the world had chosen to stand on the side of what is right in the face of [Israels] injustice, occupation and its illegitimate policies.

We will defend our heritage and culture, our past and our future, Malki said.

We will face all the campaigns of distortion and destruction led by the Israeli occupation authority, armed with international law and the will of our Palestinian people who are capable of creating a future free from occupation.

The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan.

It calls on Israel, as the occupying power, to cease persistent excavations, tunnelling, works and projects in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

It reaffirms the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions, while accusing Israel of taking actions that have altered, or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City.

The resolution, which has softer wording than another UNESCO decision last year, also criticises Israel for its blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

READ MORE: Take a tour of West Jerusalems Palestinian history

The Israeli foreign ministry, which called the resolution an unnecessary politicisation of UNESCO, had started ramping up its criticisms of the UN body well before Tuesdays vote.

The proposed resolution will not affect our determination to operate in Jerusalem, it said on Thursday. It will, however, impair UNESCOs deteriorating status and relevance.

The executive board decision now goes to the plenary, which will consider the issue on Friday, UNESCO spokesman Roni Amelan said.

We understand very well that we are struggling against a huge power supported by many countries, including the US. And we know that our success will be cumulative  step by step, stone by stone, Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, told Al Jazeera.

We know it wont change the reality on the ground immediately, but this is certainly one step forward.

In 2011, the Palestinians were admitted as a member state of UNESCO, which led the US to suspend its payments to the organisation.

Israels occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the besieged Gaza Strip, is considered illegal under international law.

More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group BTselem.

On the watch of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, settlements expanded an estimated 23 percent between 2009 and 2014.
Melissa Hawthorne stood before the Florida Constitution Revision Commission to make an impassioned plea.

Her son suffered at the charter school he attended because the school wasnt held to any standards and failed to discover his learning disability, Hawthorne said. Only after attending a public school did he get the help he needed.

At a public meeting at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on April 26, Hawthorne implored the commission not to make any changes to Article Nine of the Florida Constitution, which deals with the quality and requirements of the education system.

Hawthorne was just one of many who attended the meeting to share which parts of the state constitution they thought should or should not be amended. Such amendments could be placed on the 2018 election ballot by the commission.

Armed with stacks of amendment proposals, carefully planned speeches and cards indicating their opinions, the people of Central Florida let the commissioners know their views on hot-button issues, such as open primary elections, an independent judiciary, environmental issues and a womans right to choose regarding abortion.

The most popular issue of the night was education. There were a number of speakers who emphasized that Article Nine of the Florida Constitution should not be changed.

In the audience, many green cards went into the air to indicate support for not allowing school vouchers and charter schools to receive public-school money. Alachua County school board member Eileen Roy spoke at the hearing in defense of public schools.

Public schools are the bedrock of American democracy, Roy said to applause from the audience.

Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and Inglis Mayor Drinda Merritt attended the meeting to talk about maintaining cities ability to govern themselves in the constitution.

They both made speeches focusing on the positives of cities being able to pass laws that directly affect their citizens. Both felt citizen-centered government should maintain its ability to listen to and decide whats best for the people.

The only government that has any idea what the residents want is the local government, Merritt said.

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission will review amendment proposals and choose ones to be placed on the 2018 election ballot after traveling around the state to hear from other people.

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Some conservatives believe that immigration is more important than any other issue, because if we dont get control of our borders, nothing else matters. Open the floodgates of our welfare state to the uneducated, impoverished, and unskilled masses of the world and in a generation or three America, as we know it, will be gone.

So naturally the people who hold this opinion were elated when Donald Trump entered the presidential race -- with his independence from the illegal alien lobbies on the left and the right -- and were more elated (but not really surprised) when he won the presidency.

Correspondingly, these Trump supporters were mortified when the president recently said that illegal aliens who had been brought to this country as children (i.e. the Dreamers) could rest easy; that the administration was targeting only violent criminals and that, basically, they could stay.

Moreover, the recent news that Agricultural Secretary Sonny Purdue has been investigating ways to give amnesty to illegal aliens who work on Americas farms has deepened the sense of betrayal among Trump loyalists. Even in rural Georgia, the donors who write big checks for campaigning politicians are pro-illegal alien.

The forgotten men and women of this country were not expecting to be forgotten again quite so quickly.

While this infiltration of the cabinet and partial reversal of Trumps personal position are concerning, however, they are no cause for despair. On the contrary, the situation on illegal immigration -- the possibility that the laws on the books may actually be enforced -- has not looked this good in thirty years (if then). Specifically, the possibility that any significant number of the illegal aliens in this country will attain any extended form of legal status appears to be small and shrinking. Simply put, amnesty is dead.

The reasons for this are twofold. First, by giving voice to blasphemous truths and thereby rallying people to his side and winning the election, Trump has, here as in so many other places, changed the gestalt on illegal immigration. Second, by setting in motion the pent-up forces of law enforcement and giving those forces Jeff Sessions and John Kelly to guide them, the realpolitik of the immigration battle has shifted and shifted irrevocably.

Regarding the first point, the media was horrified at the rhetoric of rapists and drug dealers and anchor babies and the Wall with which Trump emerged from the presidential campaign gate. But everyone in America knew what he was talking about and those who agreed with him were massively relieved that they could now speak the unspeakable truths in public. Since Trump subsequently won the election, the passionate view of a sizeable portion of America -- that they dont want illegal aliens here -- has now been exposed regardless of the mass of blue smoke and mirror polls that purport to show that Americans are actually in favor of amnesty and just voted for Trump presumably out of confusion.

This rallying of those who are most opposed to illegal immigration is a stupendous and absurdly unlikely achievement because that particular constituency is, almost by definition, the least able to voice its views. Those most impacted are middle class and lower middle class. It is they whose jobs are taken, whose raises are postponed, whose schools are filled with non-English speaking children that absorb precious resources for remedial English, whose public parks are trashed and whose emergency rooms serve as the local clinic for the illegal underground. These leftover people who supported Trump struggle to teach their children to obey the rules while illegal immigration teaches those children that the rules are for suckers.

The folks on the receiving end of this bludgeon dont write $2700 checks to their preferred congressional candidate. They have no voice. Or, actually, they have only one small voice, and that is their ballot. That voice, multiplied fifty million times, has now been heard and it cant be un-heard.

But the concrete, realpolitik reason that amnesty is dead is that the appropriate law enforcement policies have been set in motion and they are gaining momentum fast!

I have long argued that the illegal alien community in the United States is highly fragile. President Trumps executive order directing Immigration and Customs Authorities and Border Patrol officers to broadly interpret their jurisdiction for capturing and removing illegal aliens has had the immediate effect of decreasing attempts to cross the border as well as inspiring panic in illegal immigrant communities. Police officers and county sheriffs have told me that, even at the height of the Obama era of nonenforcement, illegal aliens shunned the police. Now, in the era of Trump, the possibility of going to work and ending your week in Mexico is a real and potent threat. (This is particularly true if you live, as I do, in Massachusetts). It is a commonplace that law enforcement professionals go to sleep muttering 5% enforcement equals 95% compliance.

At the same time, businesses cannot prosper in an environment of uncertainty. The initial impulse of business owners in agriculture and other illegal-alien-heavy industries is to demand, yet again, some succor from the government in terms of work permits for their illegal workers. Just such measures are championed by incoming Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. However, assuming this relief is not forthcoming in the near future (and Ill get to that in a minute) the only rational policy is for business owners to begin exploring their other options -- which might include automation or wage increases.

When every small business owner in America finally takes paper and pencil and sits down at the kitchen table with their spouse and says honey, we are going to have to figure out how to make our business work when we cant hire illegal aliens anymore, then and only then will the light appear at the end of the tunnel.

But the key to the problem and the reason for optimism is this: with the law now being enforced, however incrementally, even without funds for more agents, even without funds for the Wall, even without E-Verify, the pressure to re-evaluate in the illegal alien and the business communities will only grow. The success of the policy in reducing the inflow and initiating self-deportation will feed back on itself. For years the only salient argument of the open borders advocates on both the right and the left was that enforcing the current laws on the books was impossible. As it becomes obvious how easy, in fact, enforcement is, those advocates will be forced to rely on their more avaricious motives for keeping illegal aliens here.

Equally crucial in the realpolitik is this: the only path for interrupting this virtuous law enforcement cycle goes through Congress, which failed to pass amnesty under either Bush or Obama, despite mighty efforts. Whether and how Trump will attempt to collude with Paul Ryan and the Democrats to move an amnesty through Congress is uncertain. Certainly for Trump such a blatant abandonment of the forgotten men and women would carry a high price. But nevertheless a battle like that could be in the future cards. We will need to keep the phone numbers of our representatives handy.

The battle is far from won. Eleven million illegal aliens and an untold number of business owners still need to get their minds right and our champion in the White House shows distressing signs of going wobbly. But Ill proclaim it anyway. Ding, dong, amnesty is dead.
Dont listen to liberals, because the Muslims will cut your heads off. Thats the comment that warranted the KRQE headline, Parents accuse Belen priest of making discriminatory comments against Muslims. Apparently no one had a problem with the dont listen to liberals part. Instead, being well trained in political correctness, it was the moment Fr. Jonas Romea, a priest in Belen, New Mexico, told a group of pre-K to eighth grade Catholic kids that there were Muslims terrorists that caused the problem. Specifically mentioning Muslims cutting heads off was when parents became terribly offended on behalf of Islam. The next thing you know, a reporter at KOAT Action News was asking Fr. Romea if he didnt think his remarks were Islamophobia? Fr. Romea said that he denied that label, and strengthened his point by saying: Recent reports out of the Middle East show that Catholics around the world are under attack. The news pieces that we get from there tell us that actually, Christians are being slaughtered.

KRQE reported that after receiving complaints about Fr. Romeas remarks (made during a homily to students at Our Lady of Belen Church,) the Archdiocese of Santa Fe sent out a letter to parents saying the homily didnt fully embrace the message of Jesus Christ.

Later, Fr. Romea sparred with KOAT reporter David Carl asking, Are all people burglars? No, not all people are burglars. But my next question is, do you lock your doors at night?

Carl responds, I do. I do. So are you lumping in Muslims as burglars? Are you making an equivalency there? Carl knows better, but with progressively tweaked critical thinking techniques designed to disarm traditional reasoning, Fr. Romea is easily mocked, then easily silenced with a craftily edited interview. By this time, he has been so intimidated -- by someone or some governing body -- that he will not even name that religion that he mentioned -- Islam.

The original story aired March 30th. By April 12th, Fr. Romea issued what some local people told me they believed to be a coerced apology which can be read here; and by April 28th he found himself terminated from the diocese. (This fact was told me by someone who had spoken directly with Fr. Romea himself, and was also present during the April 30th mass where Fr. Romeas departure was discussed. There has been no official statement from the diocese.)

Romeas apology contained the sentence: I have come to realize that the Islamic Faith is not to be equated with terrorism and vice-versa.

Sadly, 84-year-old French priest Jacques Hamel didnt get a chance to concur with that statement, having had his throat slit by ISIS militants less than a year ago during a quiet morning Mass. One has to wonder what kind of internal spiritual struggles these Catholic Christian leaders are suffering as the world keeps forcing them to the ground -- symbolically or literally -- to grovel toward Mecca.

In New Mexico, the incident took on an overtly political tone when former senator Michael Sanchez reportedly shone a spotlight on it by Tweeting what happened wasnt right and that he stands with Muslims.

Stories of priests being silenced as they try to speak against Islam arent new, but arent abating either. Earlier this month, the diocese of Orlando, Florida reprimanded a priest for teaching his students about Muhammed from the writings of Catholic Saint John Bosco. The story, not surprisingly unearthed by the Huffington Posts Documenting Hate Project, ended with the Orlando diocese stating the information provided in the sixth grade class is not consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

This past February, the Rev. Peter West, pastor of St. John's Catholic Church in Orange, NJ made news calling moderate Islam a myth and openly supported President Trumps travel ban, (though its characteristics changed over time.) A spokesman for that diocese said, we are concerned about Father West's comments and actions, and will be addressing them according to the protocols of the Church."

Journalist Mark Mueller, writing for NJ.com, told his readers:

(Father Wests) attacks, while popular with many of his 7,300 Facebook followers from around the country, run counter to the statements and philosophies of his own leader, Newark Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, and his ultimate boss, Pope Francis.

What is really happening in small Catholic dioceses across the country, one can only guess; but you can be sure the politically-correct thought police are on duty everywhere.

Looking beyond our borders, we see precedents in places like Germany -- where a Catholic priest was banned from preaching after speaking at an anti-Islamization protest; and a priest arrested in France for being too hard on Islam, and having his website shut down.

It is the greatest irony that while there is no known Catholic priest, nor adherent of Catholicism, that has been charged with beheading a Muslim in modern times, that those who warn against Islam are the targets of censure and ridicule by their own societies. Instead of shouting never again to the ideological/religious perpetrators of such violence, Americans robotically repeat not every Muslim is an extremist! Strangely, this phrase seems to have been beaten into us harder than the sharp edge of every reported radical Muslim sword that has slaughtered man, woman, and child around the globe.

Susan D. Harris can be reached at www.susandharris.com
The looming crisis with North Korea provides a perfect illustration of whats gone wrong with the way Washington works. Everyone is so eager to propose a policy, no one can be bothered to articulate an objective. So policymakers start arguing about what to do, before deciding what they want to accomplish. Thats like arguing over what route to take, before deciding where you want to go. (Which, to point out the obvious, is why we keep ending up in the middle of nowhere, or upside down in a ditch.)

Here's one possible objective that would defuse this crisis and perhaps even bring a few decades of stability: to turn North Korea into a modern version of East Germany.

For those of you too young to remember the Cold War, during those decades after World War II Germany was divided. West Germany was free, prosperous, and an American ally. East Germany was a miserable dictatorship, not very prosperous, and a Soviet satellite. (To get a feel for what life was like in East Germany, watch the great movie The Lives of Others, and the German television series Weissensee.) But during all these decades, East Germany was never a threat to West Germany, or to the U.S. Its communist regime wanted only to be left alone. And in return, the West Germans and the Americans made it absolutely clear they had no intention of unifying Germany by attacking or otherwise bringing down the East.

When the Korean war ended with an armistice in 1953, that country was divided. South Korea became free, prosperous, and an American ally. North Korea became a miserable dictatorship, not very prosperous, and a sort-of satellite of China. The difference between Germany and Korea is that while East Germany wanted only to be left alone, North Korea keeps threatening to conquer South Korea and reunify the country under its control, and to fire nuclear-armed missiles at the U.S. itself.

President Trumps Got Their Attention

But now, for the first time in its history -- and thanks entirely to President Trump -- North Korea faces the real possibility of a massive military attack, certainly to destroy its nuclear facilities and perhaps even to obliterate the regime itself. And there's nothing like the looming prospect of an attack by the United States to get a government's attention.

Simply put, it may be possible to defuse the current crisis without a war by cutting a deal along these lines: If North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons and cease threatening South Korea and the U.S., the U.S. and South Korea will guarantee North Koreas sovereignty.

Once again, there's an historic parallel between Korea and Germany: Adolf Hitler was crazy; a foaming-at-the-mouth, chewing-the-carpet raving lunatic. He was also a brilliant, cunning politician who not only held onto power, but who kept within his grip the total loyalty of Germany's military leaders. These generals weren't crazy; they were hard, practical, highly intelligent men who had fought and lost World War I and then rebuilt Germanys war machine. They knew in their bones that another world war would devastate their country. They understood that invading Russia would end in catastrophe.

Yet the generals didn't get rid of Hitler. While a small number were prepared to overthrow Hitler, most were caught up in appalling, fawning loyalty to him that had more to do with twisted psychology than with military strategy. The minority willing to act received no encouragement from the Western Allies. The others plunged ahead, caught in Hitler's hypnotic spell. There's no way to know this for sure, but it's widely accepted among historians that if the generals had gotten rid of Hitler in 1937 or 1938, there would not have been a Second World War. (Plots to overthrow Hitler by some brave German continued after the war started, but by that time it was too late; all their efforts failed.)

We can argue all day whether Kim Jong-un is crazy, but its obvious he isnt, um, normal. He's held onto power, and hes kept within his grip the loyalty of North Korea's generals. These generals arent crazy. Crazy people cannot build weapons, organize complex programs to develop nuclear bombs -- or build roads, operate electric power systems, keep the trains and buses running, assure that at least some food gets produced and distributed, operate schools and hospitals. They must be hard, practical, and highly intelligent. And while they may not be charming and fun to hang out with, they arent suicidal.

How to Organize a Coup dEtat

Today, just like the German generals in the Spring of 1939, North Koreas generals are careening toward war. But the point of studying history is to learn from it. Back in 1939 there was no serious effort in London, Paris, and Washington to try and break Hitlers grip on his generals and to help them organize a coup detat. So the world plunged into war. Might it be possible to do this now? Is there some way to break Kim Jong-uns grip on his generals -- to snap them out of their hypnotic spell and help them to organize a coup before it's too late?

For an effort like this to have even a chance of success, well need answers to these questions:

Who are these guys? Presumably our intelligence service knows at least something about the two or three dozen officials who actually run North Korea. Well, which ones are most likely to abandon Kim and work with us? Who are the ones we would like to see take power?

How do we reach them? Of course, we can communicate with these generals over the airwaves, so to speak. That would involve official statements by President Trump and his national security team threatening war, and clearly offering a guarantee of regime survival in exchange for disarmament. But there must also be ways of reaching these officials individually -- and very privately.

What precisely do we want them to do? We want the generals to replace Kim and his closest advisors with officials who will work with the U.S. to dismantle North Koreas nuclear weapons program, then work with South Korea to establish the kind of sullen but stable peace that existed for decades between West and East Germany.

What help do they need? Its possible that a serious threat to attack by President Trump, combined with the offer of regime survival in return for disarmament, will be sufficient to push at least some of the generals into taking action. But they may need more help, for instance a massive propaganda campaign to generate support for them before they act by telling the North Korean population how their lives will become immeasurably better once Kim is replaced. The generals also may need the kind of help that only a powerful intelligence service like ours can provide, for instance a covert communications system so they can be in touch with us, and with one another, without being overheard by Pyongyangs security officials. They may even need the kind of help only the Pentagon can provide, for instance SEAL Team Six.

Chinas help would vastly increase the chances of success. Beijings diplomatic and intelligence services probably have a better grasp of whats actually going on in Pyongyang than ours. And they can probably provide detailed information about which generals to work with, and which to avoid -- or remove. Most of all, the North Koreans would have far more confidence that a guarantee of sovereignty by the U.S. and South Korea would hold if Chinas leaders backed it publicly, as well as privately. And if the Chinese would promise to provide the level of economic support that North Korea needs to keep it at least stable, and perhaps more prosperous than it is now, that would help encourage the generals to act. Lets hope that President Trump at least talked about all this when he met at Mar-a-Lago last month with his new best-buddy, Chinese president Xi.

Dont bother asking the usual Washington policymakers whether turning North Korea into a modern version of East Germany might actually be possible. They will reply -- in unison, within two-billionths of a second -- No, this is impossible! Kim Jong-un is crazy, and the North Koreans will never give up their nukes or agree to stop threatening South Korea and the U.S. Well, they may be right. On the other hand, these are mostly the same geniuses who told us, also with 100 percent confidence, that it was impossible to win the Cold War, and impossible for Donald Trump to get elected president. Impossible things sometimes do happen, even in politics -- especially in politics. Given the risk we face of nuclear war, this is worth a shot.

Herbert E. Meyer served during the Reagan administration as Special Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIAs National Intelligence Council. He is author of Why is the World So Dangerous.
Progressives and liberals, in their pursuit of "diversity," smugly assert that no matter what differences exist among people from various cultures, nations, and regions of the world, the similarities are more important. In the end, people care about the same basic thing: making a better life for themselves, their children, and their families.

This appeal to emotion deliberately ignores a crucial fact: large numbers of people from many other cultures, nations, and regions either reject outright, oppose, or are indifferent to individual rights; specifically, the unalienable rights of individuals, set forth in the Declaration of Independence, upon which the United States was founded and built.

From the very beginning of U.S. history, the acceptance of these individual rights has been the core element of American culture. But in 1965, the federal government adopted Progressive-liberal ideology on immigration; Congress passed and the president signed a law that amended the Immigration and Nationality Act. This law resulted in a surge of immigration, and began to change America's cultural makeup.

Since 1965, the vast majority of legal immigrants (more than 80 percent) have come from cultures, nations, and regions that have traditions not of individual rights but of collectivism or authoritarian rule. And this is not a natural occurrence; under the 1965 law, the federal government set up the system in a way that ensures this outcome.

Overall, the federal government has been permitting about one million people a year to legally immigrate. (These statistics on immigration do not include illegal immigrants, widely estimated at eleven million, the vast majority of whom also have come from cultures and nations with traditions of collectivism or authoritarian rule.)

The consequences of such "diversity" are dire. Many experts on history and politics have demonstrated that cultural, national, and regional factors play a decisive role in human behavior, and that people with a collectivist or authoritarian heritage are far more likely to support violations of individual rights by a government, or authoritarian conduct by a government, or both, for the purpose of securing government-invented group rights and other collectivist policies.

In particular, the historian Carroll Quigley, a former professor at Georgetown University who taught and influenced future president Bill Clinton, demonstrated that cultures and civilizations are fatally weakened from within by a rejection of the principles upon which they were built, and then after being so weakened, are finished off by outsiders who "submerge" (i.e., inundate) them.

For the last half-century, Progressives and liberals have been pushing the United States down this same road to ruin.

Nevertheless, some people claim that none of these lessons from history apply to America. Basically, they refer to the United States as a nation of immigrants, and they argue that concerns expressed in prior centuries about immigration turned out to be unfounded.

However, the distinguished scholar Thomas Sowell, countering this argument, has shown that circumstances today are not the same as circumstances during earlier periods of immigration from Europe. For example, in the past, immigrants not only came to America to become Americans, but American society itself expected immigrants to assimilate; specifically, to learn and to adopt the elements of American culture, including the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. But during recent decades, in the name of diversity, Progressives, liberals, and many advocacy organizations (including Hispanic advocacy organizations such as La Raza, and Muslim advocacy organizations such as CAIR) have been encouraging immigrants to keep their native cultures. In the words of Sowell, there are many people today, including politicians, who are working actively "to keep foreigners foreign and to make other Americans accept and adjust to that."

Notably, Progressives and liberals use many of the same arguments, and rely on the many of the same appeals to emotion, for refugees that are used, and relied on, for immigrants.

In short, Progressives and liberals aggressively insist that diversity is a good thing, while denouncing as hateful anyone who favors taking a stronger position on immigration or refugees. Moreover, even Republican politicians, when framing their own arguments, often weaken their own case by timidly refusing to counter the Progressive-liberal dogma on diversity.

Ultimately, the issue, when framed correctly, is one primarily of rights. Governments do not exist to pursue ideological concepts or utopian fantasies such as diversity; governments exist to secure the rights of the people. Indeed, the United States was created on this principle, which is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.

The federal government's policies on immigration and refugees, though, not only undermine the securing of the unalienable rights of the nation's citizens, but also pose a serious threat to the nation's future.

Paul Pauker is the author of Morality and Law in America. He also runs a site dedicated to advancing the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property.
Here we are all discussing President Trump and his first 100 days. As if it matters, yet.

Politics combines two impossible dreams. Some people want to use government and politics to return to the golden age of the past; other people want to use government and politics to realize a fantastical dream of the future.

President Trump got elected at least in part by promising to recover for the white working class the good old days of good jobs at good wages in the good old manufacturing industry of the 1950s. He proposed to do this with good trade deals, building a wall, and repealing ObamaCare. Oh, and tax cuts.

President Obama got elected by promising a new golden age of Hope and Change. He implemented this by bailing out state and local governments, passing ObamaCare, regulating finance, putting the brake on fossil fuel energy development, and dividing the nation on race and gender.

In other words, U.S. politics is nothing more than baying at the moon while chanting spells and burning witches. But politics has never restored a golden age, and there is no chance that politics will get us to the next one.

Enough of tawdry political lies: let us instead try to imagine the future without incantations and burning heretics.

First, the future is closer than you think. The day when AI will take over the world and make all todays jobs irrelevant is coming soon. A much smarter man than I told me that at lunch last week. On that day, it wont just be the white working class dying of despair, but the haughty knowledge workers as well. So what will we do? Will we die of opioid overdoses? Will we descend into vice like rich kids in Victorian novels? Will we all become creative artists? Or will we, as Marx prophesied, hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner?

Second, nobody knows nothing, and what they do know is wrong. It is obvious that the average liberal protester, veteran of the Womens March, the March for Science, the Peoples March for Climate, knows nothing except to repeat the catch-phrases thought up by their cunning leaders and their bribed apologists in the media. The average worker thinks that good manufacturing jobs can be brought back. Climate scientists tell us that the Earth that is in an ordinary interglacial in the middle of an Ice Age is warming catastrophically. The average politician thinks that prosperity can be legislated with a government program. And race and gender hustlers want us to believe that nothing has changed since the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s.

Third, Force is not the Answer. It is comical that the very people marching and protesting and chanting War is not the Answer deeply believe that government force is the answer to every economic and social problem, from low wages to the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the Silicon Valley tech industry. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says that Americans are two-to-one in favor of raising the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, reducing the cost of college, increasing financial regulation, and making the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Ill bet we are, as long as somebody else is forced to pay for it.

So here we are after 100 days of Trump, and we dont yet know if President Trump is a genius or a buffoon; we dont know if the Democrats are going down for the count or to a glorious victory in 2018.

I tell you what: if Trump is a buffoon, what does it say about a political elite that was roundly defeated by a buffoon? Today the wise heads are tut-tutting because Trump admits that the job of president is much harder than he thought. Isnt that exactly what every start-up entrepreneur finds out?

We do know this. Whether the Trump presidency represents a move away from the hegemony of the liberal ruling class or just an interregnum in the ratcheting growth of big government, the end of Trumps first 100 days is not even Winston Churchills end of the beginning.

Brexit in Britain, Trump in America, and Le Pen, win or lose, in France, are all signs that the great Western middle class of flyover country and la peripherique is waking up to the fact that they have been had.

Nobody knows where it will end, and nobody knows what President Trump is really going to do about it.

But I tell you this: at the end of the Trump presidency we will realize the political issues we are fighting over today have been made completely irrelevant by events, dear boy.

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also see his American Manifesto and get his Road to the Middle Class.
Big media, Democrats, and the rest of the Trump-hating world continue pushing the false narrative that the Russians hacked the election. Never mind that there is no evidence of such a hack, despite over a year of investigation by U.S. intelligence agencies, the FBI, and journalistic sleuths at the New York Times and Washington Post.

Instead, it was the very same media pushing the Russia hacking story that sabotaged and destroyed the Hillary Clinton campaign. This is not to say that this is the sole reason Clinton lost. She was a lazy and uninspiring candidate. She ignored voters, particularly in the rust belt, whose support she needed. Writing off the white working class vote, she instead pandered to coastal elites, minorities, and other assorted victim and grievance coalitions.

There were consequences to such a campaign, ignoring or impugning large swaths of the electorate which she needed to win the presidency. The consequence being losing. Which she soundly did. The media enabled her self-destructive behavior, hiding the truth, which did not become apparent until about 8 p.m. on election night.

In the world of addiction, enabling can be defined as, removing the natural consequences to the addict of his or her behavior. Without natural consequence, nothing changes. An addict experiencing the damaging consequences of his addiction on his life has the most powerful incentive to change. 

Hillary as the addict, addicted to power, the pursuit of the presidency. The media as her enabler, shielding her from the consequences of her campaign strategy, removing any incentive for her to change direction. Ultimately, like an alcoholic hitting rock bottom, the elephant in the room was obvious to all on election night as state by state, the consequences of her actions became manifest.

First there was the narrative. Hillary Clinton as the smartest woman in the world. President Obama told us, There has never been a man or a womannot me, not Bill, nobodymore qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America. The media parroted this in their news shows, panel discussions and opinion pieces. She was the second coming. We heard it and Mrs. Clinton heard it. Incessantly.

Then there was her opponent, a troglodyte, a knuckle-dragging ignoramus with a room temperature I.Q. A tax cheat, a philander, a sexual predator. A carnival barker. A buffoon. The extreme opposite of Mrs. Clinton. The least qualified candidate ever to run for president. We heard it nonstop from the network news show and most cable outlets. The Sunday morning panels of establishment Republican #NeverTrumpers repeated the mantra. Mrs. Clinton heard it, too. And believed it.

What about the polls? All the smart set pollsters told us Clinton would win. In a landslide. From Real Clear Politics to poll guru Nate Silver, all agreed that Mrs. Clinton had a 90 to 95 percent chance of winning. And stuck with this up until election night.

Finally, there was denial of the electoral elephant in the room. Not just Donald Trumps appeal to middle America. But the Clinton campaign, to use the addiction analogy, being fall-down drunk, passing out, all the things exhibited by an out of control alcoholic.

In the recently released peek behind the curtain of the Clinton campaign, the book Shattered, we now learn, The campaign was an unholy mess, fraught with tangled lines of authority, petty jealousies, distorted priorities, and no sense of purpose. Despite facade of perfection, control and steadiness portrayed by the media, the reality was chaos and dysfunction.

If the book authors knew this, why didnt the media? And if they did, why did they not report it? Why did they gloss over Mrs. Clinton collapsing on a New York City street, needing to be dragged like a sack of potatoes into a waiting van? Why no discussion of her bizarre facial tics, her crossed eyes, her dark sunglasses, her five-minute coughing spells?

Voters noticed these things, despite the best efforts of big media to cover them up. Classic enabling behavior. The alcoholic didnt really pass out, she just needed a nap. The gambling addict doesnt really have a problem, she just had a run of bad luck.

Classic enabling, a codependent relationship between the media and Hillary Clinton, going to great efforts to explain, excuse or hide her dysfunctional campaign. Until the evening of Nov. 8 when it became obvious that this was all a charade.

No wonder Hillary Clinton was devastated on election night, unable to concede or address her supporters. Instead, sending John Podesta to make excuses for the failed campaign. Mrs. Clinton listened to the sycophantic media, believing their puff pieces about how smart and well-qualified she was. How Trump was a doofus who didnt know how to tie his own shoes. How America adored her. How she would easily cruise to the White House. In a landslide. Her destiny finally fulfilled.

All an elaborate fantasy concocted by the media. Typical enabling of an addict. The media over functioning to compensate for Mrs. Clinton under functioning. All the while ignoring the glaringly obvious problem.

Addiction recovery involves the 12-step program. The first step is admitting the problem. In Clintons case, that her campaign had become unmanageable. Unwinnable. Obvious to the authors of Shattered. Joe Biden knew it. Michael Moore knew it. Bill Clinton knew it. The media knew it. Yet they pretended everything was fine.

If the media was honest in their campaign coverage, forcing the Clinton campaign to acknowledge that everything was not fine, and if they adjusted accordingly, who knows how the election might have turned out? Too late now.

How ironic that the Trump despising media played a significant role in his election. Call it karma. Call it payback. But as long as the media remains in denial mode, blaming the Russians and James Comey for Trumps victory, the more likely history will repeat itself in 2018 and 2020.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Back in January, conservative columnist Dennis Prager gave his take on the state of the union  and it was not good. The piece, titled "America's Second Civil War," begins with the following:

It is time for our society to acknowledge a sad truth: America is currently fighting its second Civil War. In fact, with the obvious and enormous exception of attitudes toward slavery, Americans are more divided morally, ideologically and politically today than they were during the Civil War.

The radicalism of the '60s has come to fruition, and a new kind of civil war has begun. Although there isn't any shooting or fatalities, at least not yet, make no mistake: a "cold" civil war has started. It's a civil war that's in its infancy and very likely could become a hot civil war like the big one in the 1860s. This one will involve a small group of extreme leftists creating enough mayhem to ignite widespread violence in their goal to overturn the existing political, social, and economic order that's been in place since the founding of the country. Places like Berkeley and Portland, as well as most of academia, are testing grounds for what will spread beyond the perennial locations of protest and higher education. As a recent piece in the Weekly Standard bluntly put it, "This Is War."

Now we're in the midst of the ultimate battle in the culture war  the battle for the First Amendment  and if Republicans don't recognize this is a war and fight like their existence depends on victory, nothing else will matter.

The Democratic Party is in the process of being completely co-opted by the most extreme leftists, who were midwifed out of the tumultuous 1960s. There have been feeble objections by the current leaders of this new left, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, to let conservatives have their say in the midst of a nationwide veto of the First Amendment by violent and unruly protests. They even criticized Obama for getting a $400,000 payday speaking to Cantor Fitzgerald, the epitome of the Wall Street financial organizations he railed against during his presidential campaigns and administrations.

The pleas of Sanders and Warren to uphold the sanctity of the First Amendment had a shelf life of about twelve hours and were completely ignored by the mainstream media. Even Bill Maher and the ACLU have spoken out against the radical "antifa" (as in anti-fascist) left. The only coverage this group is getting is on conservative websites. But during a recent rally in Boston, Sanders and Warren appeared together and reverted to form by egging on their faithful followers and signaling their extremist base to stay the course in the "revolution" by preparing for their next big fight against Trump.

In an outstanding piece recently posted by the Chicago Tribune, "The Lies We Were Told About Who Would Kill Silence Free Speech":

It's there in front of you, the thuggish mobs of the left killing free speech at American universities. The thugs call themselves antifas, for anti-fascists. They beat people up and break things and set fires and intimidate. These are not anti-fascists. These are fascists. This is what fascists do. Surveys suggest that many young Americans think the First Amendment should be amended so as to not allow offensive speech. So the students have learned their lessons well.

In the end, however, Sanders and Warren are the faces of the latest incarnation of the most radical and authoritarian leftism that's been rearing its head off and on since the '60s. A Sanders acolyte is even challenging Nancy Pelosi, one of Congress's most enduring liberals, in a primary, which tells you everything you need to know about how extreme the Democratic Party has become over the last fifty years.

Now the party appears to be approaching critical mass, where its New Left forefathers would be proud. The current New Leftists might think they're the vanguard of a social revolution, but it goes much deeper than that. They are precipitating a new kind of civil war, one that in all likelihood will not end well.

Another quote from "This Is War" puts the current movement in historical context: "History has shown a small group of people, especially when they're willing to oppress others and commit violence against their fellow countrymen, can attain power."

Lenin, Marx, and Mao would all be proud.
It seems that the news of Obama getting $400,000 for a speech to a Wall Street firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, and that Random House will pay Obama up to sixty million dollars for two books has upset the usual Kool-Aid drinkers who support Obama. Or maybe it was the spirit of May 1, the commie holiday.

First, Van Jones, the Communist who once worked for Obama and now works at CNN, said Obama should do a "poverty tour" to visit poor areas.

Fat chance. During his presidency, Obama's policies contributed to the increase in poverty. Obama vacationed at Martha's Vineyard, while Michelle vacationed in Hawaii, France, Italy, Vail, Mexico, and other non-poverty spots. The Obamas flew to Manhattan for "dates" and regularly had lavish parties at the White House. They lived large at taxpayer expense. Obama did not care about the "poverty areas" while he was president, so why would he care now?

Senator Warren, already in her campaign for 2020, echoed Van Jones:

I think President Obama, like many others in both parties, talks about a set of big national statistics that look shiny and great but increasingly have giant blind spots. That GDP, unemployment, no longer reflect the lived experiences of most Americans. And the lived experiences of most Americans is that they are being left behind in this economy.

Finally, two Democrats, one a commie and one a candidate, tell the truth about Obama that was obvious to conservatives and to the voters who elected Trump. Obama does not care about the poor. He also does not care about security of our country given his appeasement of Iran on the nuclear deal, and his failure to enforce our borders and enforce immigration laws.

The question should be why Warren and Jones, as representatives of the Democratic Party, are surprised that Obama is cashing in. Obama was supported by Wall Street, Hollywood millionaires, and the well paid mainstream media. He did nothing to improve the economy and went out of his way to damage the economy with his refusal to approve the oil pipeline and offshore drilling, his war on coal, and his numerous regulations on business.

Jones, the commie, should ask his former boss, Obama, to "share the wealth" of the $60 million.
Nancy Pelosi told this to Jonathan Karl on ABCs This Week, April 30, just before she confused President Trump and President Bush:

I see everything as an opportunity. And I've never have seen [sic] so much willingness to help win. And winning means winning for the American people, that either we win or whoever wins understands the priorities of the American people.

What on this globe is she talking about? For the monolithic media, being the leader of the House Democrats means never having to explain yourself, much less speak clearly. But then, logic seems to be insurmountable for leftists these days.

It is one thing, however, for leftist logic to amount to mere gibberish. It is quite another thing when the artfulness of leftist language betrays the intent to suppress individual liberty.

The New York Times on April 28 printed a letter said to be from an anthropology professor at a Midwest university. The last paragraph of the letter, having to do with the cancelation of Ann Coulter's speaking appearance at the University of California, Berkeley, began: "Ann Coulter has had ample opportunity to express her opinions in public." The letter continued: "It would be perverse to portray her as a victim of censorship simply because she cannot express her ideas on the Berkeley campus." How did the anthropology professor come to this conclusion?

Earlier in the letter, the professor stated: "Free speech is meant to prevent censorship, to allow people to express any ideas in public, however unpopular or unsettling. It does not imply that these ideas must be expressed anywhere, anytime, under any conditions."

That the writer's logic seems rather out of joint is understandable, as his statement of the facts is equally convoluted. He acknowledged, at the start of the letter, the "possibility of violence" in response to the Coulter appearance, adding that it was her "decision" not to speak at Berkeley. It is, I believe, generally conceded that university officials acted to discourage the Coulter appearance in response to threats of violence from individuals having the rather skewed view of the concept of "free speech" shared by this anthropology professor, who complained in his letter, "Alas, the idea of free speech has progressively been expanded way beyond its original meaning."

The writer inserted one further point to hammer home his reasoning: "The New York Times, for example, is under no obligation to publish an outrageous and offensive letter in the name of 'free speech.'"

That statement is quite beside the point, the Times being under no obligation to print anyone's letters. Clearly, however, the Times deemed it fit to print a letter from an anthropology professor that endorses a threat-of-violence veto by leftists over the free speech rights of conservatives.

I was tempted to conclude by inquiring: American Civil Liberties Union, where are you? But what's the point?
Today is Israel's Independence Day. Daniel Greenfield so eloquently explains, starting with Yechezkel (Ezekiel)'s comparison of the Jewish people to a scattered skeleton of dry bones in a barren valley:

And He said unto me: 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered: 'O Lord GOD, Thou knowest. Then He said unto me: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

And so it happened. Seventy-two years after Europe, under the leadership of Germany, thought it had finally solved its "Jewish problem" by slaughtering over six million Jews along with untold millions of others, 50 years after the Muslim countries sought to do the same to the Jews in Israel, Israel is celebrating its 69th anniversary as a free and independent Jewish country in this modern era. It wasn't easy then, and maintaining it now, in the face of enemies still fanatically devoted to destroying it, has met setbacks. But the country continues to joyously thrive with an ever increasing population:

8.68 million, which is more than 10 times what it was when the state was founded in 1948. 74.7% (6.484 million) are Jewish, 20.8% (1.808 million) are Arab, both Muslim and Christian, while the remaining 4.5% (388,000) are non-Arab Christians, members of other religions or people of no religion. There are also 183,000 foreign nationals living in Israel. Also, last year, there were 174,000 births while 30,000 people immigrated to the country.

However, Greenfield cautions:

Human beings quickly learn to take things for granted. A century ago the prospect of a Jewish state was as likely as a city on the moon. There were those who busily worked, agitated and struggled for it, but to the majority of Jews it was a distant dream. And yet as in a dream it exists. It is a matter of a plane ride for a Jew anywhere in the world to arrive there and walk its streets. Most people think of miracles as entities of smoke and flames. As insubstantial things you cannot see or touch. The incredible and the unbelievable. But those are wonders. Miracles are everyday things whose wonder is difficult to hold in your mind. The tree that shades the lane. The sun that shines above. A state built out of the ruins of fallen empires rising like a green shoot in springtime to the light. Now that the State of Israel exists too many take it for granted. Others have unknowingly slipped into the narrative crafted by our enemies, whose goal is to portray the State as a terrible burden, both for the Jews and for everyone else. A burden that is best dismantled for a return to Egypt. Miracles after all are not supposed to exist and people react badly to them. When the Jews multiplied in miraculous numbers in Egypt, Pharaoh shuddered and brought out the chains and murdered their children. When G-d threw open the gates of Egypt, still he pursued them into the falling waves. For thousands of years, The Country That Should Not Have Been, struggled against pagan invaders. And when Israel finally fell and the Jews became exiles, for thousands of years they became The People That Should Not Have Been. Now Israel is once again, The Country That Should Not Have Been.

But now:

Within a decade that land was bursting with productivity and industry. With settled cities and great works. With toil and labor and art and song. A land that had once been a pile of stones and dust. A relic of history had become new again. And at the wall of the temple, priests who were the descendants of Aaron raised their hands once more to bless the people. "May the Lord bless you and keep you." And he had. None of this stilled the fury. The world does not like miracles. Miracles testify to the miraculous. They warn us of the limits of our powers. They wake the Pharaohs of the world out of their dreams of godhood and endless power. They remind they of that which they do not wish to be reminded of. That there is a G-d in this world. Miracles testify that they and their dreams of a thousand year Reich or a united world are mortal.

As Israel celebrates last year, this year, next year, all the years in Jerusalem, read Greenfield's whole post of the now full-fleshed, covered Jewish bones fulfilling the biblical prophecy in their promised home after a 2,000-year interruption, flourishing in their land despite their implacable, hate-filled enemies.
While it's commonly known by now that the new spending bill that Congress and the Trump administration agreed to funds mostly Democratic priorities, and doesn't fund President Trump's border wall, what's not widely known is that the new legislation goes even farther than this. Not only does it not fund the border wall, but it prevents the government from constructing a border wall with any funds.

This is important because the government is already authorized, under a 2006 law, to build the wall. It was just a question of funding. Before this bill, the president could conceivably reallocate border security funding from things like "technology" to the border wall because the wall was authorized. Now, when the president signs this bill, he will no longer have the option to build the wall by reallocating funds. Even if Donald Trump somehow got the Mexicans to pay for it, this legislation would still prohibit him from building the wall. Trump has incredibly agreed to give up the authorization already on the books to allow him to build a wall.

And what is Trump's reaction to this? The president says he's "very happy" with the pending legislation and plans to sign it.

This legislation funded all the Democrats' priorities  Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, and a big bailout to Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the president, who wanted to cut the EPA by a third, has to settle for a tiny 1% cut. He got less than half of what he wanted for the military, and all of the environmental regulations he wanted to cut were rejected by Democrats. Democrats were incredulous that they, out of power in all branches of the government, got everything they wanted and Trump got nearly nothing. They are now emboldened to demand even more when the next spending bill comes up in September.

Just look at this WaPo headline: "Democrats confident they can block Trumps agenda after spending-bill win."

President Trump could have threatened a veto unless he got at least some of what he wanted. He didn't.

So it raises the question: is he simply a terrible negotiator, or does he have no real interest in building a border wall?

I get the feeling he'd like to build a border wall if it would be easy. But he is afraid to take on the Democrats to get it done. If Ronald Reagan were president, he would have shut down the government before signing such a bill. He would have gone over the heads of Congress to the American people and given speech after speech staking out his positions.

That's how Reagan got a Democrat Congress to pass sweeping tax cuts. But Trump can't even get a Republican Congress to spend $1.4 billion on a border wall. Trump simply isn't willing to fight. His idea of fighting is to post an angry note on Twitter. That's not how one fights to win in the court of public opinion.

So now we will soon have legislation on the books, with Trump's signature, that will prevent the government from building a border wall. If Hillary Clinton were president, she would have done exactly the same.

Exit question:

1) How do Trump supporters feel when they hear the president say he is "very happy" with a bill that outlaws border wall construction? Do you still think this is all part of a master plan to improve border security? If constructing a wall takes time and needs to be funded in advance, at what point shall we begin judging Trump on his words and actions?

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
Once again, congressional Republicans delivered a swift kick to the crotch of their voters, in the form of their proposed budget this week. Congressional big spenders reached a deal Sunday, with a bill over 1,600 pages in length. Almost as long as Obamacare. But at least it's a budget. Last year, Congress had no budget, instead papering over their fiscal irresponsibility via temporary spending measures.

Since this budget is proposed by the Republican Congress, with the expectation of the Republican president signing it into law, one would reasonably expect that the budget represents Republican priorities  funding programs promoted on the campaign trail and cutting or eliminating spending which they campaigned against.

What were President Trump's priorities as a candidate? Build the wall. Cut wasteful spending on Planned Parenthood, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other financial black holes.

What about congressional campaign promises? Remember their priorities over the past eight years to rein in out-of-control spending by Obama and the Democrats? Including Obamacare and trillion-dollar deficits?

In 2010, Republicans told us they needed to win the House before they could repeal Obamacare and advance a conservative agenda. Done. In 2014, they told us they needed the Senate, too. Done.

Yet nothing from Congress other than excuses. Afraid of the Obama veto pen, they told us they needed a Republican president to get anything done.

Here we are with a Republican Congress and president, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say the Democrats are still in charge.

Photo credit: Michael Key, Washington Blade

Leading Democrats certainly like this week's budget deal. Chuck Schumer happily announced, "This agreement is a good agreement for the American people." Nancy Pelosi was similarly pleased "that Democrats won the removal of about 160 partisan riders." Good to know that leaders of the political party that lost over 1,200 elected seats over the past eight years got much of what they wanted in the budget and are pleased.

What about Republicans? What about the voters responsible for sending the Democratic Party into exile, a total repudiation of their liberal agenda? Programs that should have been cut or eliminated are funded, all contrary to myriad campaign promises.

What isn't funded? The wall  Trump's signature campaign issue first mentioned during his glide down the escalator at Trump Tower when he announced his candidacy.

Back to my original question. Why bother voting for Republicans? Controlling the legislative and executive branches of the federal government means nothing. It's as if the Democrats were still in charge  2008 all over again.

Here we are, 100 days into the Trump administration with a Republican majority not seen in decades. Obamacare hasn't been repealed. Tax reform is nothing but talk. Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities are funded. And the wall is a wall to nowhere.

It's obvious that congressional Republicans have no interest in following through on their campaign promises. Or on the major campaign agenda items of their president. Why weren't these bills written and submitted on inauguration day? The Obama stimulus bill was written and ready to go on day one.

Unfortunately for President Trump, he has no allies in Washington, D.C. The Democrats loathe him. Same for the bureaucratic Deep State, lobbyists, and the media. But what about his own party? What about those enjoying the electoral majority he helped secure who have no use for Trump and his agenda? How can a reasonable person conclude otherwise?

Now what? The ball is now in Trump's court. The White House should write the legislation, rather than the Chamber of Commerce and other GOP donors. Trump could also take a stand and veto this budget, as it doesn't reflect his priorities. Gutsy move, but this is a gutsy president.

Send the budget funding sanctuary cities but not a border wall back to Ryan and McConnell to fix. If the government shuts down, so what? Send Congress back to the drawing board, rather than meekly accepting a budget the Democrats and the media are thrilled about.

Otherwise, why vote Republican? As Mrs. Clinton said, "What difference, at this point, does it make?"

Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Madeleine McCann: the woman in purple and plum

Only one front page features Madeleine McCann today: the Daily Star leads with Hunt for woman in purple.

News is that amystery woman in purple was spotted where she vanished 10 years ago. On Page 6, theres more. Indeed, Police are SET TO SWOOP' on the prime suspect in Madeleine McCanns disappearance.

What do we know of this mysterious woman? Only that she was seen lurking outside the McCanns holiday apartment 90 minutes before we know the child vanished. Two witnesses saw her staring at the holiday flat. Scotland year believe they know the womans identity. She could have been involved in the youngsters disappearance.

Daily Mirror (Page 5: A woman in purple now Maddie cops No1 suspect.

Big news, then. But the paper says the woman is someone British police are thought to be searching for. We hear from Jenni Murat, whose son Robert Murat was the first arguido but was formerly cleared of suspicion in 2008. Shes quoted: I saw the woman standing on the corner of the street She caught my eye as she was dressed in purple-plum clothes. It struck me as strange. Its so unusual for anyone, particularly a woman, to be standing alone on the street in our resort, just watching a building.

You can read more about how innocent Mr Murat was brought to the polices attention here. Indeed, the Express mentions it online:

At the time he was living with his elderly mother, Jenny, at their villa, Casa Liliana, only a couple of hundred yards from apartment 5a. In one of the greatest blunders of the case, police arrested him after hearing vague suspicions from a British journalist who was nowhere near Luz at the time Madeleine vanished.

That British journalist worked for the Daily Mirror.

The Mirror quotes a police insider who says the woman is not currently resident in Portugal. Police are ready to move in and arrest the mystery woman. It is a hugely significant line of inquiry.

No other newspaper features the news in it print editions.

Is that because its not new news?

In 2015, the Daily Express reported:

Jenny Murat, 78, the mother of wrongly accused Robert Murat, has potentially breakthrough evidence but no one has spoken to her. At 8pm on May 3, 2007, she went to a supermarket and then drove past Apartment 5a and saw a woman hanging around. Her notes from the time say: There was a woman standing on the corner under a lamp post. I dont remember much of her other than she was of slight build and was wearing a plum coloured jacket. She moved around the lamp post as if trying not to be noticed. As she turned into the driveway of her home, Casa Liliana, she was nearly hit by a car going the wrong way. When I stopped to open the gates I could not see the car but the woman was in the road looking in my direction.

And in 2009, the Express reported the words of a woman who wished to remain anonymous:

The slim, Portuguese-looking woman in a plum-coloured top and white skirt with long, dark, swept-back hair acted furtively when she was spotted at 8pm on May 3 in 2007 near the Mark Warner Ocean Club complex. She was standing under a streetlight at a crossroads only 40 feet from where Madeleine was sleeping with her brother Sean and his twin sister Amelie.

Not quite the New Clue the Star presents it as, then.

Anorak

Posted: 2nd, May 2017 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Alitalia board okays special administration request Flight schedule will not be modified says airline

(ANSAmed) - Fiumicino, May 2 - Alitalia's board on Tuesday decided unanimously to present a request for the airline to be put into extraordinary administration. The move comes after staff voted against a plan to turn around the troubled company featuring job losses and salary cuts. Alitalia said in a statement that its flight schedule will not be modified.




(By Paul Virgo) - Rome - Alitalia's board on Tuesday decided unanimously to present a request for the airline to be put into extraordinary administration. The move comes after staff voted against a plan to turn around the troubled company featuring job losses and salary cuts. Alitalia said in a statement that its flight schedule will not be modified. Premier Paolo Gentiloni's cabinet is meeting on Tuesday to examine a decree featuring urgent measures to ensure Alitalia services continue.



The government is set to name commissioners to run the company while it is in administration and seek new investors and authorise a bridge loan to ensure it is able to stay in business.



Etihad CEO James Hogan expressed regret after the UAE company joined other Alitalia stakeholders in approving a request for the troubled Italian airline to be put into administration.



Etihad Airways bought a 49% stake in Alitalia with a deal reached in 2014. "We did everything in our power as a minority shareholder to support Alitalia, but it's clear that the company needs deep restructuring on a vast scale to survive and grow in the future," Hogan said. "Without the support of all the stakeholders in this restructuring process, we cannot continue to invest. "The strategy initially developed by Alitalia at the time of Etihad's investment and implemented from 2015 onwards led to significant improvements. "Our investments, together with those of the other shareholders, helped to protect thousands of jobs over the last three years. "Italy remains an important market for us and we will continue to work with Alitalia as a commercial partner, in addition to our direct presence in Italy".



Italian shareholders and Etihad were committed to recapitalizing Alitalia and financing the plan to turn around the company to the tune of two billion euros.



Trade unions agreed to the plan, featuring major cost reductions, but it was rejected by the employees in a vote.






If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both
Istanbul New Airport will replace the citys existing international airport, the Ataturk Airport, where ever-growing traffic is causing congestion, and expansion is not feasible due to its location.

IGA, a joint venture founded to construct and operate the new airport in four phases, has picked ADB Safegate to conduct an AGL design review and install its intelligent airfield solutions including intelligent LED ground lighting and visual aids. These will improve throughput and efficiency, and enable safer and more sustainable operations.

Once all phases are complete, the Istanbul New Airport will serve over 200 million passengers annually to more than 350 destinations. Innovation, efficiency and safety are imperative to ensure that the airport is congestion-free and traffic flows smoothly, even in adverse conditions, said Yusuf Akcayoglu, CEO, IGA Airports Construction With ADB Safegate working closely with us right from the design review to implementation, we know that together we can truly deliver seamless and future-proof operations.

ADB Safegtae is responsible for the complete visual guidance approach, starting with a comprehensive airfield ground lighting (AGL) design review to assess and implement an AGL solution to best suit the airports needs.

Its proposed equipping the taxiway system with full switching ability and the addition of a single and double channel Individual Light Control and Monitoring System (ILCMS). With intelligence built into each light fixture, the ILCMS will control the lights individually or by defined segments, rather than selected circuits, providing large gains in power savings and making maintenance easier and more cost effective. The lighting will also allow increased flexibility in guidance and routing. Fully equipping the taxiway system with our sustainable solutions will ensure safe operations in all visibility conditions, and the flexibility to optimize capacity and throughput. With 35,000 intelligent LED lights powering the airfield runways and taxiways, this will be the worlds biggest AGL implementation. ADB SAFEGATE will also supply and commission all visual aids including transistor regulators, transformers, approach solutions (flashers, PAPI, approach lighting), energy efficient power solutions and mounting equipment. The deal was signed in September 2016 and deliveries begin this year, continuing into 2018. Our customers can count on the completeness of our offering in the key domains of airport operations including services, said

Christian Onselaere, CEO, ADB Safegate. Our approach is solid, and considers how each airport can maximize its capacity and performance. We offer solutions to match the needs of the airport, with the option to customise if needed. We look forward to a long-lasting relationship with IGA and helping them realize their vision of making the worlds largest airport project at Istanbul a resounding success.
The decision follows the rejection of a restructuring proposal by workers last month.

Etihad Airways which had invested in the airline and said it had been prepared to recapitalise and finance the restructuring backed the move. When the rescue package was originally mooted, the unions had agreed to support the moves.

Alitalia say that two-thirds of the structural cost cuts are unrelated to labour but the negative vote means the airline cannot proceed with the restructring.

Although schedules are continuing as normal t Alitalia said tit was unable to proceed becasue of the negative vote by the workforce and now faces a serious economic and financial situation. "
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan has signed an order on relieving Yuri Khachaturov, the newly appointed CSTO Secretary General, from the post of Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia, the Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS.

Yuri Khachaturov was recently appointed as Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), assuming office from May 2.
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a message on World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Armenpress presents the full text of the message.

Journalists go to the most dangerous places to give voice to the voiceless.

Media workers suffer character assassination, sexual assault, detention, injuries and even death.

We need leaders to defend a free media. This is crucial to counter prevailing misinformation.

And we need everyone to stand for our right to truth.

On World Press Freedom Day, I call for an end to all crackdowns against journalists  because a free press advances peace and justice for all.

When we protect journalists, their words and pictures can change our world.
Daan Roosegaardes Smog Free Tower, which can reportedly clean up to 30,000 cubic meters of air per hour, has been tested in Rotterdam and will be installed in public parks in Beijing.
The Writers Guild of America early Tuesday morning reached a tentative deal with the major studios and networks for a new film and TV contract for the unions nearly 13,000 members.
Saul Steinbergs famous New Yorker cover portraying how Manhattanites view the rest of the world came to mind when I read Robin Pogrebins NY Times article about the Metropolitan Museums tentative (to my mind, wrongheaded) proposal to discriminate against out-of-towners in charging admission fees.

Especially at a time when our President is fueling his supporters xenophobia, the last thing we need is to make foreigners (let alone fellow citizens) feel less welcome at our countrys premier repository for world culture by instituting a two-tier admissions structure. This foreign extortion would give new meaning to cultural exchange.

I myself took umbrage, some years ago, at Russian institutions practice of surcharging foreignersa policy that my family sometimes circumvented when our then teenage son, using his rudimentary high-school Russian, executed our ticket transactions. (Im sure he fooled nobody, but they appreciated his effort.)

Just imagine how this Met sign will look with an added out-of-towners category: The amount you pay is up to youunless you live outside New York.

There are two U.S. art museum I can think of (there may be others) with an admissions policy that privileges locals: The Detroit Institute of Arts now offers free admission to residents of three local counties, as payback for their 2012 passage of a millage to help support the then endangered museums operations. Unlike the Mets collections, a large portion of the DIAs collection was owned by the city, and the possibility of monetizing masterpieces to satisfy the citys creditors was on the table. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Also privileging locals is the Art Institute of Chicago (click Admission Information tab). More details on the AICs 2009 change in admission pricing, here.

I fully understand the Mets imperative to find new ways to increase revenues and cut expenses. In a previous post about its perilous financial state, I predicted that we might soon see an end to the museums admirable, long-standing policy of not charging extra for admission to major special exhibitions, as many museums currently do. I also speculated that the museum might reinstitute its previous economy measure of rotating gallery closures (saving some money on guards).

All were doing is exploring, Met president and acting CEO Daniel Weiss told Pogrebin. Fair enough. But the notion of an out-of-towner fee is a trial balloon that ought to be shot down.
Its under pressure after growth in Chinese manufacturing slowed faster than expected.

Global benchmark Brent crude for July was down 31 cents at $51.74 a barrel by 11.13 GMT (7.13 am ET). US crude for June was down 24 cents at $49.09 a barrel.

London: Oil edged below $52 a barrel on Monday as rising crude output and drilling in the United States countered Opec-led production cuts aimed at clearing a supply glut.

US drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to April 28, bringing the count to the most since April 2015, energy services company Baker Hughes said on Friday.

Crude output C-OUT-T-EIA in the United States has hit its highest since August 2015, government data shows. The U.S. rig count indicates that there is plenty more to come, analysts at JBC Energy said in a report, referring to the outlook for US production.

Global benchmark Brent crude for July was down 31 cents at $51.74 a barrel by 11.13 GMT (7.13 am ET). US crude for June was down 24 cents at $49.09 a barrel.

Prices also came under pressure after an official survey showed on Sunday that growth in Chinese manufacturing slowed faster than expected in April, potentially weighing on the outlook for oil demand.

The moderation in the China PMI (purchasing managers' index) could see commodity prices come under some modest pressure," ANZ bank said in a note.

US output gains are limiting the impact of efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day for six months until June to banish a persistent glut.

Opec and participating non-Opec countries meet on May 25 to discuss whether to extend the reduction.

Given that inventories remain high and prices are half their mid-2014 level, Opec members including top exporter Saudi Arabia support prolonging the curbs.

Last week, Irans Oil minister said Opec and non-Opec countries had given positive signals for an extension of output cuts, which Tehran would also back.

Oil prices fell though they closed higher on Friday on growing hope that Opec might agree to extend production cuts to reduce a glut. But many investors have continued to be put off by the obstacles.
Going backless with a plunging neckline did not compensate for the ill-fitted dress.

Deepika Padukone at the Met Gala event in New York. (Pics: AFP)

Mumbai: Whenever we witness our Bollywood celebrities attending any international events; we expect them to slay it in style.

Alas, Deepika Padukone failed to keep up with our expectations and made a fashion blunder on the red carpet of the Met Gala event in New York.

Dressed in an embellished white satin silk dress, diamante headband in place, the actress finished the look with statement earrings, cat eye, and nude lip colour.

The theme for this gala was Rei Kawakubo & Comme des Garcons, and Deepikas silk dress did not even remotely do justice to the theme.

Going backless along with a plunging neckline did not compensate for her ill-fitted dress.

The sexy siren has given us some breathtaking tastes of her looks in the past and we are definitely not in favour of this look.
The filmmaker known for posting nasty comments on Twitter, praised Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

Mumbai: If you have not liked 'Bahubali 2: The Conclusion,' then you might need a psychiatric help, feels filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma.

RGV recently took to Twitter to send out the message that producer Shobu Yarlagadda should sponsor the mental health checkups of people, who disliked the second installment of S.S. Rajamouli's magnum opus.

"Be sad on person who disliked #Baahubali2 as he/her needs psychiatric help nd I request producer @Shobu_ in to pay doctor bill for charity," he wrote.





In another tweet, reacting to Yarlagadda's post, "Baahubali storm in USA !!" the 'Sarkar' helmer wrote, "Sir calling BB2 just a storm is insulting it ..it's a typhoon having intercourse with a volcano to produce lots of baby earthquakes."





Earlier, applauding 'Bahubali 2' for its successful release at the Box Office, the filmmaker wrote, "I just got admitted in hospital infected with Bb2Jealousitis and am glad to see all film makers are already admitted and many in ICU."





"No Eid.No Diwali.No Salman.No Aamir No Sharukh n still dub film #Baahubali2 opens biggest in History.. @ssrajamouli slaps face of Bollywood," read his other post.





On that note, ' Bahubali 2: The Conclusion,' starring Prabhas, Anushka Shetty, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah Bhatia and Sathyaraj, became the highest first day grosser in the history of domestic Box-Office, by raking a total of 121 crore on its very day of release.
She not only upped her fashion game but also reinvented what we thought is just a winter garment, the trenchcoat.

Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra returned to her homeland India for a few days and has now returned to the international circuit with a bang.

Priyanka Chopra and her fashion risks deserve a separate film of their own. The actress not only upped her fashion game at the Met Gala 2017 but also reinvented what we thought is just a winter garment, the trenchcoat.

With hair tied up in a clean high bun, dramatically ever-lasting train of her trenchcoat and ankle-length boots, Madame is emanating fireballs and making heads turn. The custom Ralph Lauren outfit, which required a helper to take her up the stairs, has fetched PeeCee international fame and some of the prestigious Fashion & Lifestyle magazines have featured her in their best dressed category.

A cover with a leading magazine may be? Even better, a second Hollywood flick? We are already beyond excited!

See all the inside photos here:
Actor Soodesh Berry is known as someone who will never mince words.

Actor Soodesh Berry is known as someone who will never mince words. Having been a part of the industry for at least three decades, the veteran actor feels that Bollywood isnt growing. He says, My funda has always been Get cheated but dont cheat. We may lie on camera but we shouldnt lie in real life. In this industry where people are mostly fake, we should try to be as real as possible. When you are real, you feel better mentally and spiritually. In this industry, one has to have the ability to forgive, forget and move forward in life.

The actor further adds that each day, he attempts to be a better person. He says, I am competing with myself. I believe I am a piece of God. Every one should be able to take care of their body. They should be true to oneself. I am fit because I forgive and forget.

Soodesh who has been a part of many Bollywood films has successfully moved to television over the years and is doing exceptionally well as Harak Singh in Shakti and Maricha in Chandrakanta. When we ask him about his stint on television, he says, Both television and films need style, stamina and the same amount of concentration. Perhaps I am the only actor who is doing television and cinema as per his wish.
The officials in Srinagar said that the cash van of Jammu and Kashmir Bank was intercepted by the gunmen outside Kulgam's Pombai village.

A senior police official paying tribute to the police personnel who were killed by suspected militants in their loot of a bank cash van, in Kulgam district of south Kashmir. (Photo: AP)

Srinagar: Five Jammu and Kashmir policemen and two bank employees were killed when militants attacked a cash van in southern Kulgam district on Monday afternoon.

Hizb-ul-Mujahedin, the formidable Kashmiri militant outfit, while owning responsibility said it, however, did not kill the bank employees. They were killed by the CRPF personnel accompanying them, the Hizbs Operational spokesman Burhan-ud-Din was quoting as saying by local news agency CNS.

The officials in Srinagar said that the cash van of Jammu and Kashmir Bank was intercepted by the gunmen outside Kulgam's Pombai village. The van was heading towards Anantnag town after unloading cash at the bank's Nehama branch, they said and added that the gunmen opened indiscriminate fire, resulting into the death of five policemen including a sub-inspector and two bank security guards.

A report from Kulgam said that the victims were taken to the district hospital at Kulgam but doctors declared them brought dead. They had sustained multiple bullet wounds and had died due to blood loss, said a hospital official.

The assailants who had suddenly appeared from a roadside apple orchard took the service weapons of the policeman including four INSAS rifles and one AK 47 Rifle with them after committing the crime, the police officials said. The security reinforcements launched a massive manhunt for them.

A statement issued by the police in the evening said that the Hizb-ul-Mujahedin terrorists including Omar Majeed and his two associates attacked the cash delivery van. In the attack five policemen and two security guards of the J&K Bank were martyred. To pay homage to these martyrs, a wreath laying ceremony was held in the District Police Lines during which IGP SJM Gillani led civil, police and security force officers and jawans in laying floral wreaths on their mortal remains, the police statement said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Kashmir range) SP Pani said that preliminary investigations had revealed that it was a group of three militants being led by Hizbs local commander Omar Majeed which attacked the van at 4.15 pm. The gunmen after stopping the cash van asked those on board to get down. They found the van empty and apparently in fit of anger shot the policemen and the bank guards in cold blood, another police official who requested anonymity said.

The slain men have been identified as ASI Bashir Ahmed Dar, Selection Grade Constables Farooq Ahmed Bhat and Muhammad Qasim and constables Muzaffar Ahmed Bhat and Ashfaq Ahmed Hajam and J&K Bank security guards Javed Ahmed Bhat and Muzaffar Ahmed Laway.

Though the suspected militants have looted cash from different branches of mainly Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the Valley on several occasions in the past, it is for the first time that the bank employees or the policemen escorting them in a cash van have been targeted.

Hizb spokesman Burhan-ud-Din told the news agency that the attack was carried out by a special squad of the outfit which besides inflicting casualties snatched four service rifles from the policemen "We didnt attack the vehicle with an intent to loot the cash. We have enough cash. We condemn the killing of two bank employees and want to clarify that they were shot dead by CRPF personnel and not by mujahedin, he claimed adding that militants can never target innocent Kashmiris.

The policemen and bank employees were killed on a day when Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi to discuss Jammu and Kashmir and the situation following the killing of 25 CRPF troopers by Maoists in Chhattisgarh.

Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, strongly condemned the killing of five police personnel and two bank officials by unknown assailants.In a statement, she said the officials were on duty to disburse and collect cash at a local bank branch and their killing reflects the dangerous criminalisation turn the society is taking. He also condemned the killing of two soldiers in cross LoC fire in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district and the death of a civilian in Sundays grenade attack in Srinagar. She said, I have been warning of the ill effects of violence time and again. I appeal the civil society to rise to the occasion to make the future of our younger generation peaceful.

In the evening, militants opened fire at the vehicle of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Farooq Ahmed, at Dangerpora in Pulwama district but he and his security guards escaped unhurt. "The security personnel escorting the officer returned the fire, forcing the militants to flee," said the police here.

In the evening, militants opened fire at the vehicle of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Farooq Ahmed, at Dangerpora in Pulwama district but he and his security guards escaped unhurt. "The security personnel escorting the officer returned the fire, forcing the militants to flee," said the police here.
Kashmir Valley has been embroiled in utter chaos and violence after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's was killed by security forces.

Srinagar: The Border Security Force (BSF) has said that the killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilating their bodies on the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday was a well coordinated act of the Pakistan army and the neighbouring countrys Border Action Team (BAT).

It was a well coordinated act between Pakistan army and the BAT as the Indian patrol party came under simultaneous fire from four sides," a senior BSF officer said on Tuesday.

Also read: After Pak mutilates jawans, Oppn attacks PM, calls for strong action

He also said that the BAT which mutilated the corpses of Armys Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head-Constable Prem Sagarcomprises terrorists in the garb of mujahedin (holy warriors).

The officer said the fact that the attack took place a day after Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC in PoKs in the Haji Pir sector which is not far from Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch cannot be overlooked either. Gen.

Bajwa had during his visit reiterated support to the Kashmirs freedom cause. He had, however, said that even though the people of Pakistan could not remain indifferent to the barbaric treatment meted out to defenceless Kashmiris in Jammu and Kashmir, the countrys army would keep its response purely in the military domain in accordance with its values.

BSFs Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command, K.N. Choubey, told reporters in Jammu that the Pakistani troops carried out unprovoked rocket and forward mortar firing on two forward posts on the LoC and that the the BAT team took advantage of it and mutilated the bodies of the jawans.

He said the joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector to defend the LoC.

When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (Forward Defence Locations) from Pakistan's side and two ambushes which they had set up started firing simultaneously. Our jawans were engaged in this. In between this, the BAT action, which consists of regular army and mujahideens and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two jawans," he said.

Replying questions, he said that though he would not like to offer a formal comment on it but no one can deny the fact that the attack and the gory act of mutilating the slain soldiers bodies came a day after the Pakistan army chief had visited the LoC in neighbouring Hari Pir sector.

I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, everybody knows that this has taken place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army Chief to the frontal area, he said.

The BSF ADG said the Army and the BSF are together going to have threadbare review of the situation as this was not the first incident of its kind but only the latest in a series of such brutal acts taking place along the LoC and come up with a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in order to minimise such occurrences in future.

He denied that already laid down SOP was ignored as the victims are reported to have been taken unawares when targeted and said, The SOPs are always followed. We learn from every such incident that takes place.

The BSF in Kashmir works under the operational control of the Army. We will brainstorming together and come out with a more revised SOP so that such incidents are minimised.

Meanwhile, Jammu witnessed a number of protests against Pakistan on Tuesday. At one such protest the ex-servicemen from various parts of Jammu region including Poonch chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and demanded that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, should take stern action against the neighbouring country. They also pledged their support to the Army and other security forces in the event of their deciding to teach Pakistan a lesson.
The Modi-Erdogan meeting came in the shadow of Turkish president's comments on Kashmir, in which he called for a multilateral dialogue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting at Hyderabad house in New Delhi. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: In a clear message to visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had advocated a multilateral dialogue to resolve Kashmir issue, India on Monday asserted that it is a Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

The virtual rejection of Erdogan's suggestion came in the course of his discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the two countries held that "no intent or goal or reason or rationale can validate terrorism" and decided to work together to deepen cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to effectively counter this menace.

Erdogan also assured India of his country's full support in the fight against terrorism as he held "extensive" discussion on this evolving threat with Modi, who described it as a "shared worry".

However, Modi-Erdogan meeting came in the shadow of Turkish president's comments on Kashmir, made during a TV interview ahead of his visit to India.

Erdogan had said, "We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all."

The remarks were not well received here as they were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

Asked if the Kashmir issue or Erdogan's proposal of multilateral dialogue to resolve it figured during the meeting between the two leaders, External Affairs Ministry

Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said India's position that Kashmir is its integral part is very sharp and publicly known.

"We conveyed our viewpoint clearly on terrorism and Kashmir (to the Turkish side). It was made clear that there cannot be any justification for terrorism whatever is the intent. We clearly conveyed that the issue of Kashmir is essentially an issue of terrorism.

"We told them that we have been victims of cross-border terrorism and and state-sponsored terrorism for 40 years. As far as Kashmir issue is concerned, we have always been ready to resolve it with Pakistan. Not only Kashmir but also all other bilateral issues should be resolved in a peaceful manner," Baglay said.

He also said that the government has made many attempts to have bilateral talks with Pakistan to address issues, including Kashmir as per the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.

Asked about the response of the Turkish side, Baglay said they heard it "care and attention".

India's discussion on Kashmir with Turkey came on a day when two Indian security personnel were beheaded by Pakistan army in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, addressing a joint media event with Erdogan,

Modi said countries across the world need to "work as one to disrupt the terrorist networks and their financing and put a stop to cross-border movement of terrorists", in an obvious reference to Pakistan-based terror groups.

The international community also need to stand and act against those that conceive and create, support and sustain, shelter and spread these instruments and ideologies of violence, the prime minister added.

Condemning the Naxal attack on CRPF personnel on April 24 in Sukma, in which 25 of them were killed, Erdogan said,

"Turkey will always be by the side of India in full solidarity while battling terrorism... And terrorists will be drowned in the blood they shed."

Asked if there was a difference of opinion on the definition of terrorism as Modi talked about cross-border terrorists and Erdogan mentioned the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist

Organisation (FETO), Baglay said there was a convergence on condemning terrorism and an agreement that it was a menace which needed to be tackled effectively.

The spokesperson also said the Turkish side mentioned the presence of FETO (in India). "Any organisation in India has to work within the parameters of our laws, rules and regulations," he added, without mentioning if India has assured action against the group.

During his statement, the Turkish president had referred to the FETO, saying the outfit is active in 170 countries. He said the Turkish government has informed the countries about

FETO's operations and hoped India will take action against it.

After a failed coup in July last year to topple Erdogan, Turkey had blamed the FETO for it and said the outfit has "infiltrated" India. Turkey had also asked India to take action against the organisation.

"We will never bow down to terrorism or the propaganda of the terror outfits," Erdogan, who also invoked Mahatma Gandhi, said. He said terror outfits will never be able to "shackle our resolve" to combat the menace.

Modi and the Turkish leader had a comprehensive discussion and took stock of full range of bilateral relations, including political and economic, the External Affairs Ministry said.

Referring to changing times where societies face new threats and challenges every day, Modi said the context and contours of some of the exiting and emerging security challenges globally are "our common concern".

"In particular, the constantly evolving threat from terrorism is our shared worry. I held an extensive conversion with the Turkish president on this subject. We agreed that no intent or goal or reason or rationale can validate terrorism," the PM said.

The two leaders, who addressed a India-Turkey business forum earlier in the day, also pitched for enhanced trade and business ties.

Observing that India and Turkey are two large economies which present an enormous opportunity to expand and deepen commercial linkages, Modi said at the level of the two governments, there is a need to approach the entire landscape of business opportunities in a strategic and long-term manner.

"Our bilateral trade turnover of around 6 billion dollars does not do full justice to convergences in our economies.

Clearly, the business and industry on both sides can do much more," he added.

He further said, "We would like to encourage stronger partnership of Turkish companies with our flagship programmes and projects, either on their own or in collaboration with the Indian companies."

Erdogan also emphasised the need to increase bilateral trade to at least USD 10 billion, as soon as possible, and added that the countries will look at ways to expand cooperation in the energy and infrastructure sectors, in particular.

After the Modi-Erdogan meet, the two sides exchanged three pacts, including one between their telecom authorities.

In his media statement, Modi also referred to Rumi and Sufi tradition in India. "While Rumi found his home in Turkey, his legacy continues to enrich the Sufi traditions of India as well," he said.

Modi also thanked Erdogan for his country's support to India's aspiration for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership as well as other export control regimes like Missile Technology Control Regime.

Turkey has been maintaining that the NSG should come out with a system to consider the entry of countries which are not signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has also supported Pakistan's case for NSG membership.

There was also convergence on United Nations Security Council reforms during the meeting of the two leaders, Baglay said.
The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday conveyed to his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull India's concerns about the impact of the recent decision to abolish a popular work visa used by a majority of Indians.

Modi conveyed the concerns during a phone call initiated by Turnbull, a PMO statement said.

"Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of the recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals visa programme," the statement said.

The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue, it added.

About three weeks back, Turnbull had announced his decision to abolish the 457 visa, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs.

"We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa," he had said.

A majority of those using the visa programme are Indians. During the telephonic conversation, Turnbull thanked Modi for the success of his recent visit to India.

"The two Prime Ministers also discussed the follow-up action taken after the visit of Mr. Turnbull to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen the bilateral relationship," the PMO statement said.
While Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked for 'free hand' for the army in dealing with terror, Congress slammed Modi for inaction.

Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh (left) and BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar (right), whose bodies Pakistan mutilated after killing them in a ceasefire violation on Monday. (Photos: PTI)

The Congress on Monday asked the government to "wake up from its slumber" after two soldiers were killed on the Line of Control (LoC) and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan, and urged the Prime Minister to take the Opposition into confidence while framing a policy to tackle such incidents.

Holding the government responsible for the "absence of policy or direction to tackle Pakistan or terrorism", the Congress took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking when he will display "his 56-inch chest" to Pakistan.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also strongly condemned the killings and described them as a "barbaric and disgraceful act".

"The government must move beyond platitudes and hold Pakistan to account," he tweeted.

Congress' senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said such cowardly acts are unacceptable in a civilised society and are not conducive to Pakistan's own interests and security.

Expressing concern over rise in terrorist incidents in the country post-September 2016 surgical strike, he attacked the BJP-led NDA government over its Kashmir policy saying "it has been a disaster marked by political opportunism".

AICC in-charge of communications Randeep Surjewala said 200 soldiers have been martyred in J&K since May, 2014 and asked what this government was doing and the incident displays "lack of a credible political leadership in the country and absence of a policy or direction" in this regard.

"It really shows a serious lapse in national security on part of the present BJP Government. When will BJP government wake up from its slumber. We have seen enough rhetoric and we have seen a lot of words. It is high time for a decisive policy and a decisive line to tackle terrorism, as also to tackle Pakistan," Surjewala said.

He also asked when India can have a credible and decisive policy to tackle Pakistan and to deal with terrorism and for how long will the nation have a "complete vacuum in our diplomacy as also the strategic policy of dealing with Pakistan in terrorism".

"Was 56-inch chest an empty 'Jumla'? Pakistan has been attacking India with impunity. When is Prime Minister Modi planning to show off his '56 inch chest' to them and send them cowering?" he asked.

Citing figures, Surjewala claimed in J&K alone in the last three years, 200 jawans made the supreme sacrifice and 91 civilians were killed, and Pakistan committed 1,343 ceasefire violations, besides 12 major terrorist attacks in Punjab and J&K.

Sharma called on Modi to break his silence and spell out a policy on Kashmir after taking the opposition into confidence on the issue and on internal security to stop rising terrorist incidents sponsored from across the border.

"It is the Prime Minister's duty that he takes the Opposition leadership into confidence.

The Prime Minister should hold a meeting with Opposition leaders and discuss the policy he has in mind to control what is happening in Kashmir and along the border.

"The situation is serious and we cannot overlook it and the Prime Minister should focus on governance and stop propaganda and claims," Sharma told reporters.

He said the government lacks comprehension of the situation as it has allowed things "to deteriorate and go completely out of control because of its sheer lust for power, political opportunism and formation of a government (in J&K)" which ignored the realities of internal security challenges in that region.

"We condemn what Pakistan did. It must stop terrorism and realise that these actions are unacceptable in a civilized world. It deserves to be condemned firmly and Pakistan must realise that these actions are unacceptable in a civilized society and they are not conducive to Pakistan's own interest, its own security and the welfare of its people," he said.

He said there have been six major attacks on army camps and 41 army officers and soldiers have been martyred in these attacks.

"Therefore, what is happening today, the situation has to be reversed. This situation cannot be allowed to drift any further," he said.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday termed the mutilation of two Indian Army soldiers as intolerable and asked the Centre to act sternly against Pakistan.

"This is something which is not acceptable. These incidents can't be tolerated. The government has to answer this. How this can be achieved, the government, if wants, can discuss with us," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told ANI.

Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh on Monday urged Modi to take strong action against Pakistan in the wake of the mutilation of two Indian soldiers. "A strong reaction is needed from a prime minister who does not care about political fallout at the cost of national esteem," he told PTI.

The expelled Samajwadi Party leader was in Wagah on Monday as part of a parliamentary delegation vising Indo-Pak border posts.

He said despite attempts by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Modi to improve relations with Pakistan, Islamabad's attitude has not changed.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday strongly condemned the barbaric attack, demanding a 'free hand' to the Army to tackle dangerous situations in the line of duty.

He said that our soldiers are being exposed to all kinds of risks and atrocities, not only at the hands of enemy forces from across the border but sometimes also at the hands of civilians, as happened recently in Kashmir.

Reacting strongly to Monday's incident in which bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated, he urged the central government to send out a strong signal to the inimical forces against indulging in such atrocities and barbaric acts.

He backed the Indian Army's warning of "appropriate response" for the "despicable act." Such unprovoked acts of excessive violence cannot be tolerated or allowed to go unpunished, he said, adding that the Indian soldiers were "not a dispensable commodity to be sacrificed at the altar of such uncivilised and savage assaults".

In a similar vein, he also came down heavily on those criticising the Indian Army's action of tying a man to a jeep to protect its soldiers from the vicious attack unleashed by civilians during the recent elections in Kashmir.

The civilians tried to take the law in their hands, he said, adding that it was the duty of the army officers to protect their jawans.

Coming out in defence of an army officer, in the line of fire from various quarters, including a section of the media, over his 'human shield' action, Amarinder said the officer was simply doing his duty.

The CM said, "had I been in the same situation I would have carried out the same action."

In a message to his former comrades in army, he said, "Regardless of your rank on retiring don't forget your past and that you belong to one of the finest armies in this world."

"Initiative is part of our training and curtailing it is killing the very essence of regimental soldiering," he further said, adding, "I hope and trust that officer is suitably awarded for his decision and that all of us fully support his action."

Time has come to "smash the head" of Pakistan, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday said as it announced a nation-wide protest by its youth wing Bajrang Dal against mutilation of two Indian soldiers in Kashmir.

Demanding stern action against the stone-pelters in Kashmir, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokesperson Vinod Bansal said "These stone-pelters and those who are backing them should be dealt with in the same way as those who attack the army."

Urging the government to give free hand to Indian soldiers after mutilation of its two jawans, he said that its high time when government should take a decisive action against Pakistan.

"Time has come to smash the head of Pakistan, otherwise such incidents will continue to happen," Bansal said.

He also informed that Bajrang Dal will hold demonstrations across the country tomorrow to protest against the mutilation of Indian soldiers and continued attacks against the security personnel in the Valley.
'Indian Army age badho, hum tumhare saath hain, Bharat Mata Ki Jai', were some of the slogans raised by the locals.

Poonch: Locals and ex-defence personnel in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir chanted anti-Pakistan slogans on Tuesday and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take stringent action against Islamabad, for mutilating the bodies of two Indian militants in Krishna Ghati sector here.

'Indian Army age badho hum tumhare saath hain, Bharat Mata Ki Jai', were some of the slogans raised by the locals. Ex-servicemen Sharma called on Prime Minister Modi to take stringent action against the Pakistan Government for such inhuman behavior with the Indian militants.

"We want our Prime Minister to take stern action against the Pakistan Government for mutilating the bodies of two Indian Militants in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district," Sharma told ANI.

#WATCH: Locals & ex-servicemen shouting anti-Pak slogans in Poonch (J&K), as mortal remains of 2 Indian soldiers, are being taken to Jammu pic.twitter.com/D5ocLRuG4u  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013. The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

Yesterday, the Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack. They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian Territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in Srinagar yesterday and took stock of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also strongly condemned the killings and described them as a 'barbaric and disgraceful act'.

Family mourns demise of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh who lost his life in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch(J&K), in Tarn Taran on Monday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday hit out at the Modi government after two soldiers were killed on the LoC and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan. Holding the government responsible for the "absence of policy or direction to tackle Pakistan or terrorism", the Congress took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking when he will display "his 56-inch chest" to Pakistan.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also strongly condemned the killings and described them as a "barbaric and disgraceful act".

"The government must move beyond platitudes and hold Pakistan to account," he tweeted.

Congress' senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said such cowardly acts are unacceptable in a civilised society and are not conducive to Pakistan's own interests and security.

Expressing concern over rise in terrorist incidents in the country post-September 2016 surgical strike, he attacked the BJP-led NDA government over its Kashmir policy saying "it has been a disaster marked by political opportunism".

AICC in-charge of communications Randeep Surjewala said 200 soldiers have been martyred in J&K since May, 2014 and asked what this government was doing and the incident displays "lack of a credible political leadership in the country and absence of a policy or direction" in this regard.

"It really shows a serious lapse in national security on part of the present BJP Government. When will BJP government wake up from its slumber. We have seen enough rhetoric and we have seen a lot of words. It is high time for a decisive policy and a decisive line to tackle terrorism, as also to tackle Pakistan," Surjewala said.

He also asked when we can India have a credible and decisive policy to tackle Pakistan and to deal with terrorism and for how long will the nation have a "complete vacuum in our diplomacy as also the strategic policy of dealing with Pakistan in terrorism".

"Was 56-inch chest an empty 'Jumla'? Pakistan has been attacking India with impunity. When is Prime Minister Modi planning to show off his '56 inch chest' to them and send them cowering?" he asked.

Citing figures, Surjewala claimed in J&K alone in the last three years, 200 jawans made the supreme sacrifice and 91 civilians were killed, and Pakistan committed 1,343 ceasefire violations, besides 12 major terrorist attacks in Punjab and J&K.

Sharma called on Modi to break his silence and spell out a policy on Kashmir after taking the opposition into confidence on the issue and on internal security to stop rising terrorist incidents sponsored from across the border.

"It is the prime minister's duty that he takes the opposition leadership into confidence. The prime minister should hold a meeting with opposition leaders and discuss the policy he has in mind to control what is happening in Kashmir and along the border.

"The situation is serious and we cannot overlook it and the prime minister should focus on governance and stop propaganda and claims," Sharma told reporters.

He said the government lacks comprehension of the situation as it has allowed things "to deteriorate and go completely out of control because of its sheer lust for power, political opportunism and formation of a government (in J&K)" which ignored the realities of internal security challenges in that region.

"We condemn what Pakistan did. It must stop terrorism and realise that these actions are unacceptable in a civilized world. It deserves to be condemned firmly and Pakistan must

realise that these actions are unacceptable in a civilized society and they are not conducive to Pakistan's own interest, its own security and the welfare of its people," he said.

He said there have been six major attacks on army camps and 41 army officers and soldiers have been martyred in these attacks.

"Therefore, what is happening today, the situation has to be reversed. This situation cannot be allowed to drift any further," he said.
Under the Modi government, almost every day one soldier is losing their lives, a relative said.

The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done, Lance Naik's mother said. (Representational Image)

Srinagar: Mother of Lance Naik Hemraj, whose body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2013 called on the Centre to step up and retaliate.

This comes after Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

"They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences everyday. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now," said the mother of Hemraj.

She further called on the Government to try and understand how painful it is to lose one child and pressed for retaliation. "The government must take stern action against Pakistan. They have not fulfilled any of the promises made to the martyr's family till now," she added.

Resonating similar sentiments, the brother of Hemraj asserted that the situation is very upsetting and India must resonate to Islamabad's atrocities.

"It is a very sad situation, the way our soldiers are losing their lives and the government is not taking any action in this regard. The centre should take stern action against Pakistan so that such incidents are not repeated in future," said the brother of Hemraj.

"Under Modi government, almost every day one soldier is losing their lives. The government is not at all concerned about the people. They don't have any solid strategy to tackle this kind of situation," said another relative.

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and also severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

Indian Army killed terrorist Anwar Khan in August 2015 in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir. He was part of a 15 member team of Lashkar and Jaish terrorists in the BAT team that killed Hemraj and Sudhakar.

In fact, the BAT is a brutal and barbaric arm of Pakistan Army. Its actions along the Line of Control (LOC) may be not in public domain, but the Indian Army has been bearing its brunt for long. The raiding members of BAT are specially instructed not be caught on the Indian side.

Defence experts say that the Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the BAT which employs highly trained terrorists for Trans-LoC action up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres.

In February 2000, seven months after the Kargil War, a Pakistani BAT killed seven Indian soldiers in Nowshera in Rajouri district. The army was shocked to discover the headless body of a soldier, Sepoy Bhausaheb Talekar.

Defence experts say that the Pakistani BAT beheads and mutilates the bodies of Indian soldiers to terrorise troops and wage psychological warfare. The SSG commandos and terrorists of BAT mainly use AK-47 rifles, Swiss-made snow clothing and snow boots, Digital Navigation Consoles like Skype and VoIP.
The rare achievement has given the girls the much needed impetus to go ahead with acquiring more knowledge by pursuing higher education.

Bhubaneswar: Bringing glory to their community, nine girls from the Dongria Kondh tribe have this year successfully cleared the High School Certificate Examinations (HSC) conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE).

Students of Kansur Educational Complex managed by Dongria Kondh Development Authority (DKDA) near Kalyansinghpur in the district, these girls reached the milestone by overcoming many challenges associated with their life and lifestyle.

The rare achievement has given the girls the much needed impetus to go ahead with acquiring more knowledge by pursuing higher education.

Making the Dongria Kondh an educated tribe is my aim. So, I want to become a teacher by pursing higher studies, said Subarna Jakasika, one of the successful girls.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik took to social media Facebook to congratulate the girls. Congratulations to the girls from Dongria Kondh tribe on passing HSC exam. They are the harbingers of change. Proud, the chief minister wrote. After creating a milestone, the girls have vowed to infuse new life into their community.

In our community, normally girls do not pursue education. We want to break this mindset. As we passed the high school test, we also want others from our tribe to do the same, said Lucky Kadraka, another successful girl.

The Dongaria Kondhs generally marry off their girls soon after the attainment of puberty putting an end to their academic aspirations. This is one of the foremost reasons of a discouraging literacy rate among the girls in the tribe.

However, the Kansur educational complex has played a significant role in helping the tribal girls continue their studies.

It is quite satisfying that the nine girls from Niyamgiri hill areas who had enrolled in the complex have successfully cleared the HSC examinations. We will facilitate their higher education, said Sabitri Mandika, headmistress of Kansur educational complex.

The Rayagada district administration, happy over the achievement of the girls, has decided to felicitate them soon.

Dongria Kondhs inhabit Rayagada, Koraput and Kalahandi districts in Odisha though they are found concentrated in Kalyansinghpur, Bissam Cuttack and Muniguda blocks of Rayagada district.
Day after Pak forces behead jawans, Gen. Rawat tells Armymen that entire nation stands behind them.

Jawans keep vigil at Poonch in J&K on Tuesday, a day after ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar: Army chief General Bipin Rawat who is on a two-day tour of Kashmir valley on Tuesday visited the Line of Control (LoC) to review the situation during interaction with local commanders and troops. Gen. Rawat had arrived in Srinagar on Monday, hours after two jawans were killed and their bodies mutilated in a well coordinated act by Pakistan Army and the Border Action Team (BAT) along the LoC in Poonch sector.

A defence spokesman here said that accompanied by the Udhampur-based Northern Command and Srinagar-based 15 (Chinar) Corps GOC-in-Chiefs, the Army chief was during his visit to the frontier briefed by formation commanders on the security situation along the de facto border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture besides overall operational and logistical preparedness.

The Army chief impressed upon all to remain vigilant and thwart any misadventure from across especially now as the summer sets in, the spokesman said.

He added that during his interaction with troops, Gen. Rawat reassured them that the entire nation stood behind its soldiers in their brave endeavours to safeguard countrys sovereignty and integrity and maintain peace in the valley.

On Monday, the Army chief had visited Panzgam garrison in Kupwara district where three soldiers including a captain were killed in a militant attack last week.

He was briefed by the officers on the April 27 incident during which two militants were also killed in the Armys retaliatory fire.

Later in the evening, he was briefed by the Chinar Corps Commander on the prevailing situation in Kashmir at a meeting held in Srinagars Badami Bagh Cantonment.

As per a statement issued by the Chinar Corps, the Army chief appreciated the synergy being shown amongst all security agencies and complimented the troops for undertaking operations with firmness and resolve.

Gen. Rawat also visited the Armys 92-Base Hospital here to enquire about the health of soldiers recuperating and wished them all a speedy recovery.
BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao denied all the allegations by Congress.

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Central government for failing to have a comprehensive national security policy. Congress leader Kapil Sibal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having no policy on how to deal with Pakistan.

The Prime Minister is busy in attending birthday parties of Pakistan leaders and inviting Joint Investigation Team into our air bases instead of giving a befitting response, Mr Sibal said. He said that when the UPA was in power, a woman BJP MP who now is a Union minister wanted to send bangles to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Now will she also be sending bangles to the current Prime Minister over this failure, Mr Sibal asked. He said the government should take off its bangles and do something.

Referring to the statements of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj when she was in opposition, Mr Sibal asked the government as to how many heads will the government bring back of Pakistanis in lieu of two heads.

The Congress termed the decision of the BJP to hold Vijay Diwas for the MCD election victory at a time when security personnel are being martyred as shameful. There is a part time defence minister, there is a part time defence policy of the government, Mr Sibal said.

BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao denied all the allegations by Congress.
55 terror camps active at LoC; Army to respond to dastardly act; Pak in denial.

New Delhi: Indias director-general of military operations, Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatia, spoke to his Pakistan counterpart, Maj. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, on the hotline on Tuesday and described Mondays beheading of two Indian soldiers by a Pakistani border action team in the Krishna Ghati area of Poonch in J&K as a dastardly and inhuman act.

The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act was beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response, the Army said in a statement. Lodging a strong protest, the DGMO also conveyed to the Pakistani general that the Pakistan Army post in the vicinity of the incident site gave full fire support to the BAT action.

The Army said the DGMO also communicated Indias concerns over the presence of BAT training camps close to the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Indian Army has already vowed an appropriate response to the despicable act while the Pakistan Army establishment has denied any involvement in the attack.

Jammu and Kashmir governor N.N. Vohra met Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday in the wake of increasing incidents of violence both in the Valley and along the international border. The two discussed various issues regarding the current law and order situation and agreed the next few months were extremely critical. Sources said the home minister asked the governor to ensure adequate security measures were in place so that there was no spurt in violence in the summer season.

Mr Singh and Mr Vohra also discussed the possibility of deploying more security personnel in the Valley over the next two to three months. The two also discussed the possibility of an increase in violence in the Valley, more so after the state government starts functioning from the summer capital, Srinagar, from May 8.

During the DGMOs hotline interaction, the Pakistan Army asked India to produce actionable evidence on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team had sneaked across the LoC and beheaded the two Indian personnel.

The Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of the world from situation within the Kashmir Valley, Pakistans Maj. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza claimed.

These Pakistani denials had little impact at Vainpoin village in Punjab, where 42-year-old Paramjeet Singh was laid to rest with full military honours. As the buglers sounded the Last Post, and his body, wrapped in the Indian tricolour, was brought for cremation, his relatives insisted they be shown the body. Finally, the ceremony went ahead after civil and military officials intervened. His wife Paramjit Kaur demanded that the Centre give a free hand to the Army so that Pakistan was taught a lesson.

Pakistani flags were burnt at some places in Punjab, including Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan be paid back in the same coin.

In New Delhi, defence minister Arun Jaitley held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the beheading issue is learnt to have figured. But there was no official word on it.

In another incident in the Valley on Monday, militants killed five policemen and two bank employees as they robbed a cash van.

The intelligence agencies have claimed that nearly 55 terror camps were still active along the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Of these, 20 camps have come up in the past four months and were being used to push militants into India.

All 55 terror camps are said to be operating actively and after the surgical strikes by Indian Army Special Forces on launchpads across the LoC on the night of September 28-29, increased activity was seen at all these camps.

With 20 new camps coming up this year, there has been a sudden increase in infiltration attempts, with at least 60 such incidents being reported since January this year.

Intelligence sources said that efforts were being made by terror groups operating in PoK to increase the presence of militants in the Valley. As of now only 160 terrorists are reported to be active in the Valley.

Pakistani agencies are working on a two-pronged strategy. While on one hand they are increasing attacks along the LoC and directing terrorists to target security forces, on the other they are using overground workers to instigate local youth to resort to stone-pelting in order to vitiate the atmosphere, an intelligence official said.
STF officials said the device helped petrol pumps rake in profit worth Rs 14 lakh per month.

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd is planning to cancel licences of petrol pumps found using the device to dupe consumers, people familiar with the matter said.

Lucknow: Petrol pumps in Uttar Pradesh went on a flash strike on Tuesday in protest against crackdown by a special task force which found several of them using a chip-based device to dispense less fuel.

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd is planning to cancel licences of petrol pumps found using the device to dupe consumers, people familiar with the matter said.

A number of petrol pumps, including one owned by the Uttar Pradesh petrol pump dealers association president B.N. Shukla, were sealed in Lucknow.

Some petrol pumps in the state capital, however, reopened on Tuesday after the intervention of district officials. A huge rush of motorists was seen at these petrol pumps.

The Yogi Adityanath government will not come under any pressure. The police action is justified and it was in favour of consumers, UP minister Suresh Khanna told reporters. The association members are likely to meet the chief minister soon and we expect the deadlock to end, he said.

The STF started the raids on April 27. STF officials said the device helped petrol pumps rake in profit worth Rs 14 lakh per month.

The chip, costing Rs 3,000, reduced quantity of fuel dispensed by 5-10 per cent. It is attached with a wire linked to a remote control to set the limit.

If a person buys one litre of fuel, the person would get only 940 ml or even less.
The woman had approached a city court claiming that the police had not acted on her rape complaint against the legislator.

New Delhi: A woman, in her 30s, who had alleged that she was raped by a BJP MP, was arrested from her home in Ghaziabad on Tuesday on charges of honey trapping the legislator.

K.C. Patel, the MP from Valsad in Gujarat, had filed a police complaint last week claiming that he had been drugged by the woman who had taken obscene videos and photographs of him.

The woman had approached a city court claiming that the police had not acted on her rape complaint against the legislator.

The woman was picked up from her home in Ghaziabad and questioned, following which she was arrested by the Delhi police on Tuesday.

The accused woman has been arrested and further investigation is underway. She has been booked for extortion and under the relevant section of the Prevention of Corruption Act(POC), said a senior police officer.

Officers said that she has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act since she had claimed in front of Patel that she will have to pay the magistrate and the police to hush up the rape case.

Anybody who indulges in extortion in the name of government departments is likely to be booked under POC Act, the police said.

She had allegedly installed CCTV cameras inside her house at strategic locations and she used those recordings to extort money. The police is also probing about her other gang members and how much money she had amassed through extortion.

The police have also recovered some videos and are searching for other people whom she had targeted. There are some recordings that are in polices possession where she can be heard bargaining with her targets. Sources said that the woman targeted MPs who are above 60 and would do a full research on their profile and their paying capacity. Till now, she has not targeted MPs based in Delhi.

In the case of K.C. Patel, she had found his number through a website that has details of MPs and contacted him while he was in his constituency on the pretext of some work, sources said.

It is also suspected that the woman is backed by a notorious gangster, sources claimed.

The MP claimed that she had threatened to file a rape case against him if he did not pay her Rs five crore.

Patel had alleged the woman invited him to a place in Ghaziabad for some work and offered him a soft drink laced with sedatives.

She had also filed a rape case against a Haryana MP last year at Tilak Marg police station but later changed her statement. It is suspected that she received Rs 1.60 crore from the MP. She had conned several MPs but none of them came forward to file a police complaint since their reputation was at stake.

Police have launched a probe and will find details of other victims who had been blackmailed by her.

The police produced her before a special court at Tiz Hazari which remanded her to five-day police custody after the police told the court that she was needed for interrogation.
An aerotropolis is a place where the layout, infrastructure and economy are centred on an airport.

Guwahati: The civil aviation ministry has asked the Assam government to give at least 2,000 acres to set up an aerotropolis in the state.

An aerotropolis is a place where the layout, infrastructure and economy are centred on an airport.

Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha, who was in Assam, said he has discussed the matter with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

The minister has requested the state government to allot land comprising 2,000 acres at a distance of one hour from Guwahati, close to the Brahmaputra, the chief ministers office said in a statement.

The aerotropolis will bring huge benefits to the region via better air connectivity, it said.

Mr Sonowal has assured cooperation to the plan as it would be a good opportunity for the Northeast to open air links with the South East Asian countries, the statement said.

Mr Sonowal also asked Mr Sinha to start Guwahati-Bangkok and Guwahati-Singapore direct flights to increase the number of tourist visiting the region, the statement said.

It said Mr Sonowal asked Mr Sinha to send his ministrys officials to the state for conducting an aerial survey of the entire stretch along the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri for identifying suitable land.

The chief minister briefed Mr Sinha of the governments plan for making a state capital region which would include nearby areas such as Guwahati city, the statement said.

It said Assam has invited big companies to invest in the state by taking advantage of infrastructure boom.
The order virtually rules out a bypoll before October, due to Ramzan in May-June & Amarnath Yatra, due to take place from last week of June.

The entire Kashmir Valley has witnessed a surge in stone-pelting incidents. Clashes have also taken place between groups of students from colleges and schools and the police. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: The Election Commission has cancelled the byelection in Anantag in Jammu and Kashmir, that was due to be held on May 25, citing the law and order situation in the state, which it said was not conducive to the holding of polls.

In a 10-page order late Monday night, the EC said it was informed by state government officials that the situation in the area is not good, the overall situation is scary and not very conducive (to the holding of polls).

The bypoll, earlier due to be held on April 12, was put off till May 25 due to the poor law and order situation. The EC order said a fresh date would be announced later.

Highly-placed commission sources said the EC had asked the Union home ministry to provide around 740 companies of paramilitary personnel to be deployed for the bypoll. However, the home ministry had said it could only give around 300. A company usually comprises around 100 paramilitary personnel.

The entire Kashmir Valley has witnessed a surge in stone-pelting incidents. Clashes have also taken place between groups of students from colleges and schools and the police. The Union government has recently ruled out holding talks with the separatists. After studying all aspects, the commission found there had been no marked improvement in the law and order situation after April 10, when the EC had deferred the byelection.

The order said on the contrary, reports pointed out that a further and continuous deterioration in the situation and incidents of stone-pelting, violence and rioting had been taking place. The apprehension expressed by the chief electoral officer that there may be reluctance on the part of polling personnel to go to the polling locations in view of the fear in their minds with regard to their safety and security is also a matter of concern, the commission order said.
The traditional April 1-March 31 financial year has been introduced in India in 1867 by the then British government.

Bhopal: In a first of its kind move in the country, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet here on Tuesday gave the approval to advance the commencement of financial year to January 1 from the existing April 1, breaking a 156-year-old tradition in the country.

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to declare English calendar year, January 1-December 31, as the states financial year, following the Cabinet decision.

Incidentally, Tuesdays Cabinet meeting has been dubbed as tiffin (lunch) Cabinet meeting with ministers carrying their lunch boxes to discuss the Cabinet agendas as per instructions from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans office.

All the ministers, including the chief minister, had brought lunch boxes from their homes to have lunch together over the Cabinet meeting.

Sources in chief ministers office said the newly constituted Anand (happiness) department had suggested the step to create a positive atmosphere in the meeting.

The state Cabinet decided to commence financial year from January one and end in December 31, breaking away from the traditional April one- March 31 financial year. The next budget session will be held in December-January to bring into effect the new financial year, state parliamentary affairs minister Narottam Mishra told reporters while briefing them on the cabinet proceedings.

The Union government is also mulling to advance the financial year as per recommendations by Dr Shankar Acharjya committee constituted to suggest financial reforms.

The traditional April 1-March 31 financial year has been introduced in India in 1867 by the then British government.

The cabinet also decided to accord Narmada river, lifeline of MP and Gujarat, a living being for her protection and preservation.

The MP legislative assembly would pass a resolution in this regard on Wednesday.
While Deepika was sartorially devoid of drama at her MET Gala debut, Priyanka went over the top with her flowing trail. Who did it better?

Bollywood beauties Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone marked their debut at the famed Met Gala fashion fiesta in New York sporting extremely different looks. While Priyanka wore a fawn Ralph Lauren trench coat with a long trail, Deepika sported a simple white satin Tommy Hilfiger gown with more attention to detail on her ornate hair accessories. Predictably, the Internet is abuzz with opinions on their sartorial choices. So we got fashion experts to give a thumbs up or down to the ladies.

Seema Khan

The MET is all about sassy, edgy and out-of-the-box fashion. The idea of turning the trench coat to a gown was a very bold move. Deepika looked angelic and beautiful but I wouldve loved to see her in bright colours. Both of them have a nice Indian skin tone and therefore, a pop of colour in their outfits would have been amazing. Deepika has a great body and I would have preferred something dramatic and edgy for her that would make heads turn. A structured outfit would have done wonders for her. I would definitely opt for brighter lips for the two of them.

Karn Malhotra

Priyankas outfit was a great take on a trench coat, well executed! I would have personally preferred a good dose of lustre to the ensemble as per the demands of the event. The style stays loyal to the classic trench coat fabric and button details.

I would have opted for a fabric with some sheen  preferably a steel or slate grey to make it look less boring. Id have also used self on buttons to steer the attention away from them and make it more red carpet-worthy. In my opinion, the outfit was styled well and I would probably not change anything about the hair and makeup. For my outfit style and shade though, I would choose shoes and earrings to match with my fabric and colour change and would opt for diamond string danglers in platinum along with a pair of metallic (matching the earrings) funky sky-high zanottis stilettoes. Deepikas body would be a treat to work with. Keeping up with the theme, I would have put her in a black lace cold shoulder (full sleeve) ball gown with a thigh high slit, showing off her leg.

Surily Goel

I think both of them looked phenomenal in their outfits. I loved what Priyanka was wearing. The trench coat with the trail and an off-shoulder was very experimental. Deepika looked pretty but not that experimental. She has a very hot body and long legs; I wouldve given her something sexier, which would accentuate her body and long legs. Something hotter  like an asymmetric hemline, a low back. Also, her hair couldve been wilder. A sense of style as opposed to her pretty look is what I wouldve opted for Deepika. For PeeCee her make-up and hair could have been better, she was definitely trying to catch eyeballs with her outfit and she did. It was more of a Star Wars kind of an outfit, not ideal for the red carpet may be. A nice colour pop for both of them wouldve been great.

Priya Kataria Puri

Priyankas outfit definitely stood out. Her outfit was appropriate and fabulous, and paid homage to the classic beige trench. I would have preferred a white colour trench, which would have added a wow factor to the look. The dress had an avant garde kind of feeling. However, I feel she should have worn it in off-white and black colour. Her hair couldve been a Japanese kind of a bun  that would have been really interesting. There was nothing unusual or risque about Deepikas outfit unlike what you usually expect at the MET gala. It was like any other classic outfit that she would wear for a red carpet event. I would have loved if she had experimented with something fun and wild with hair and make-up. One can go crazy with their imagination at MET. With a personality and style like hers she can definitely carry off any elaborate or over the top look.
The cashier can be seen calmly handing over cash to the robber as he doesn't seem to care about the weapon.

Being robbed at gunpoint can be a terrifying experience for anyone but some people manage to amaze us all by staying calm even in the face of death. A new video going viral on the internet has everyone talking about just how cool someone can be when faced with a loaded gun.

The CCTV footage from a store shows an armed robbery where the cashier is asked to hand over money by a man holding a gun. The cashier seemed completely unaffected by the gun and calmly took out cash from the counter and handed it over to the robber.

The video comes after that of a New Zealand kebab shop owner who just ignored a robber until he left the eatery.

Click below to watch
In a major rejig last year, Khan had made it to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), partys top decision making body.

New Delhi: A day after accusing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas of "plotting a coup" in the party, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Monday resigned from the partys Political Affairs Committee (PAC).

Speaking to reporters after the PAC meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the party leadership was upset with both Khan as well Vishwas for airing their differences in public.

He said the PAC has accepted Khan's resignation. Arvind ji is upset with both Kumar and Amanatullah. The PAC also discussed Vishwas absence from the meeting. Even he

(Vishwas) has been giving interviews and releasing video. The party is also unhappy with this.

"The CM and other party leaders are upset over statements given outside the party forum. If anyone has grievances, they can raise them with the party leadership, Sisodia said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said such developments were denting the party's image and affecting the morale of volunteers, while "warning the party leaders not to air their grievances in public, but at appropriate party fora."

Remaining defiant, Khan, however, said he stood by his remarks against Vishwas.

Kumar Vishwas is an RSS-BJP agent and Arvind ji will soon realise it. He (Vishwas) talks about disconnect between party volunteers and leadership, but he had invited (former Delhi Commissioner) B Bassi and (National Security Advisor) Ajit Doval for his birthday party.

It was Bassi, who had arrested AAP MLAs and workers under false pretext, the Okhla legislator said.

In a major rejig last year, Khan had made it to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), partys top decision making body.

He had on Sunday claimed that poet-turned-politician Vishwas was calling MLAs to his residence and coaxing them to rebel against Kejriwal or to join the BJP.

His allegations were ridiculed by senior AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Meanwhile, senior AAP legislators have demanded expulsion of Khan from the party. It is learnt that a few MLAs of the party also signed a letter, urging the top leadership to expel the Ohkla MLA. A separate letter, with the same demand, has been released by a Punjab MLA of the party.

Delhi Ministers Kapil Mishra, Imran Hussain, Dwarka MLA Adarsh Shastri are among the signatories to the letter, a party source said.

Earlier, Vishwas had differed with Kejriwal on the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs). He had refused to attribute the AAP's recent poll upsets to alleged manipulation of EVMs and had instead stressed on the need to introspect.

Earlier on Monday, Kejriwal met Sisodia at his residence. Sisodia and senior party leader Sanjay Singh also met Vishwas at his residence in Ghaziabad.
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Justice Karnan had earlier said he will not appear before a medical board for examining his health as directed by the apex court.

New Delhi/Kolkata: Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan on Tuesday ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants against seven judges of the Supreme Court, including the CJI, for not being represented before him, even as the Attorney General said he was not sure whether the "gentleman" would undergo medical tests as ordered by the apex court.

Justice Karnan, who ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) stating that top seven judges of the apex court have not been represented before him, directed the high court's registrar general to issue the NBWs to these judges to be executed through the Director General of Police or Commissioner of Police, New Delhi.

Justice Karnan passed a "suo motu judicial order in the interest of the nation to protect the general public from corruption and unrest", invoking Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code.

"Today the accused judges are called absent no representation issue non-bailable warrant against the accused call on 08.05.2017 (sic)," the order signed by Justice Karnan said.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was today arguing in an Aadhaar matter before a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, said he was not sure whether Justice Karnan would follow the direction given by a seven-judge bench on Monday to undergo medical check-up regarding his mental health in the contempt case.

"I do not know whether the gentleman, who was asked yesterday, would submit to the order of the seven-judge bench of this court," he said.

"I have read that he (Justice Karnan) has asked the seven judges of this court (who have passed the order yesterday) to undergo medical tests," he said while arguing in the Aadhaar matter about whether a person can be forced to give his finger prints.

The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, had taken note of the "tenor" of Justice Karnan's orders and press briefings and directed his medical check-up by doctors with police support, as the Calcutta High Court Judge did not appear before it.

Reacting to the order, a belligerent Justice Karnan had yesterday said in Kolkata that he will not appear before such a medical board as directed by the Supreme Court.

Taking note of the fact that Justice Karnan has been passing orders despite being restrained and holding press briefings, the apex court had said that "the tenor of press briefings as also purported orders passed by him indicate that he may not be in a position to defend himself.

"Therefore, we consider it in the fitness of the matter to require him to be medically examined. We hereby direct the Calcutta Hospital to constitute a board of doctors to examine Shri Justice CS Karnan and submit a report," the bench had said.

Talking to mediapersons in Kolkata on Monday, Justice Karnan had said he will not appear before a medical board for examining his health as directed by the apex court.

He had also threatened to "pass suo motu suspension order against the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal, if the DGP functions against my wish."

Justice Karnan had on March 31 appeared before the apex court which granted him four weeks' time to respond to the contempt notice while rejecting the submission that his administrative and judicial powers be restored.

Refusing to appear before the apex court again, Justice Karnan had on April 13 issued an order asking the seven judges to appear before him on April 28 and then extended the date of appearence to May 1.
The incident occurred at around 1.30 am when Mr Tiwaris staffers were in an SUV near the MPs residence in North Avenue area.

New Delhi: The Delhi police on Monday arrested two men who had allegedly barged into the residence of BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and attacked his staff late on Sunday night.

The attackers live inside the staff quarters in President Estate, where they stay with their elder brother, who works as a cook in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The police, which had initially dubbed the case as arising out of a road rage incident, later said the matter appeared to be a conspiracy, as claimed by Mr Tiwari.

The incident occurred at around 1.30 am when Mr Tiwaris staffers were in an SUV near the MPs residence in North Avenue area. It hit the duos WagonR car and due to the impact, the WagonR turned turtle, police officials said. The two men, identified as brothers Jai Kumar and Jaswant, got agitated and called up their friends who arrived in a tempo armed with iron rods and sticks, and barged into the residence of Mr Tiwari, they said.

Once inside the premises, they roughed up three of his staff members using the rods and the sticks, even as the act was being captured in a CCTV camera there, a senior police official said. One of the staff members informed the police, which soon rushed to the spot and held the two main suspects from outside the MPs residence.

On the basis of the CCTV footage, the police is trying to find the other accused, said the officer. Mr Tiwari, MP from Northeast Delhi, has alleged a conspiracy behind the attack on his personal assistant, cook and driver and the ransacking of his residence.

My residence at 159 North Avenue has been ransacked by 8 to 9 people, he tweeted. It looks like a conspiracy and the police are involved in it. No one should be spared, Mr Tiwari said.
Decision aimed at curbing use of fake PAN cards, attorney-general tells SC.

The A-G said that due to Aadhaar, government has saved over Rs 50,000 crore on the schemes to benefit the poor as well as the pension schemes.

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday strongly defended before the Supreme Court the law linking Aadhaar card with PAN cards, saying it was done to curb the use of fake PAN cards across the country.

Making this submission before a bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhusha, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi said Aadhaar was very essential when the country was witnessing all round progress, especially technologically. It was an essential requirement to keep pace with the growth. Rejecting the charge that making Aadhaar mandatory violated an individuals right to privacy, the A-G said the privacy concerns regarding Aadhaar were wholly misplaced and asked what do you want? A vacuum? It cannot be like that. An individual has a social contract with the state under which no constituent can say that I dont want to be identified.

The A-G said that the programme of PAN had become suspect as it could be faked while Aadhaar is a secure and robust system by which the identity of an individual cannot be faked. The A-G said that due to Aadhaar, government has saved over Rs 50,000 crore on the schemes to benefit the poor as well as the pension schemes.

He said that around 10 lakh PAN cards have been cancelled, while out of the 113.7 crore Aadhaar cards issued, no case of duplication has been found by the government. He also said that Aadhaar was an effective tool to check the menace of terror funding and circulation of black money. He said a biometric identification system was an essential feature of contemporary society, and dismissed privacy concerns surrounding the unique ID number.

The apex court is hearing three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 139 AA of the Income-Tax Act which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act 2017.

Section 139AA provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making an application for allotment of PAN number with effect from July 1 this year.

The petitions were filed by Binoy Vishwam, a senior Communist Party of India leader, Bezwada Wilson, a dalit rights activist, and S.G. Vombatkere, a retired Army officer. Mr Datar along with senior counsel Shyam Divan contended that making Aadhaar mandatory is a complete violation of of right to equality and the information of the individual is sought to be forcefully obtained by the State machineries by negating the requirement of consent, by making the consequences of non-enrollment drastic.

They also argued that the Government cannot indirectly make Aadhaar mandatory through Income Tax Act.Eom.
Over 50 transgender from Pune protested at the Council Hall.

Pune: Demanding loan waiver for farmers in the state, transgender community in Pune went on a one-day hunger strike at Council Hall in Pune on Tuesday. Shetakari Swabhimani Sanghatana chief Raju Shetti backed the hunger strike, demanding loan waiver for farmers in the state. Over 50 transgender from Pune protested at the Council Hall.

Chandani Gore, a transgender from said, Farmers, who feed us, have been committing suicide as they are unable to pay loans and the government is not doing anything about the issue. We want the government to waive off farm loans across the state as soon as possible. If the government does not grant loan waiver till June 2, we will not allow chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to enter Pune. We will beg and collect money. We will give the money to the chief minister so that he could waive off loans of at least one or two farmers. It is unfortunate that CM has to take help from transgenders. The state must also announce a common minimum price for agriculture products.

Meanwhile, over 100 workers of Swabhimani Shetakari Sanghatana also protested at Council Hall in Pune, demanding loan waiver for farmers. Mr Shetti said, People across the society are coming forward, demanding farm loan waiver. We are happy that even transgenders have come forward to back our demand.

He added, But the government is not ready to wake up. The state government must declare common minimum price for agriculture products as recommended by Swaminathan Commission. Farmers have been facing problems as the production has been affected by natural calamities.
The police found 999 Corex syrup bottles in 18 boxes valued at Rs 1.20 lakh from the accused persons.

Mumbai: The Mumbai crime branch has arrested two persons who used to get Corex cough syrup bottles and Nitravet tablets from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and sell them at triple the rate to drug addicts in Mumbai.

The accused were apprehended after unit III of the crime branch received a tip-off that they might be in possession of narcotic contraband. When they were checked after being nabbed in Kurla late on Sunday, the police found 999 Corex syrup bottles in 18 boxes valued at Rs 1.20 lakh. A team headed by Jagdish Sail and officer Sanjay Nikumbe said that when the accused were questioned, they revealed that they had bought each bottle at the printed cost of Rs 98 and later sold them without prescriptions at about Rs 300 per piece in Mumbai. The accused were identified as Santosh Halwai (37) and Aslam Naik (37) - both residents of Kurla west.

A crime branch officer said, This cough syrup is not an over-the-counter drug and needs a proper prescription for being sold. Cough syrup is one of the most sought

after drugs for getting a high by addicts and the accused cashed in on that. We are questioning them to find out since how long this has been going on and who assisted them.

Officials said that the accused had been doing this for several months now and even the wife of one of the arrested accused had several narcotics cases against her.

The police is trying to find if the accused had fixed customers and acted at anyones behest.
Marathe applied to the SBI for reimbursement of the consultation fees and the costs of medicines.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has asked the State Bank of India (SBI) to clarify its stand on the plea of a senior citizen and husband of its former employee, who is seeking reimbursement of Rs 6 lakh as the cost of importing a cancer medicine for his wife.

The division bench headed by Justice Anoop Mohta has issued the notice to the SBI after the plea was filed by Pune resident Nagesh Marathe. In the plea, Mr Marathe has said that his wife Ranjana worked for the banks Pune branch from 1983 till she died in June 2015, but the bank has refused to reimburse the cost of medicine, which was imported for her from Belgium.

According to Mr Marathe, though the medicine was procured from Belgium at the cost of Rs 6.10 lakh, however, it could not be administered to her as her health deteriorated and she died.

The petitioner said that since 2013 when Ranjana was diagnosed with cancer and the treatment was initiated, the bank paid all her bills on a regular basis. Later, Mr Marathe applied to the SBI for reimbursement of the consultation fees and the costs of medicines. According to petitioner, the bank said it would reimburse only Rs 2 lakh of the entire bill and denied reimbursement of the remaining amount stating that importing medicine was not allowed and not required as the same treatment was available even in India. According to petitioner, medicine Kadcyla TMD-I was not available in India.
The railways spends Rs 113 crore for every service but earns approximately a mere Rs 60 lakh.

Mumbai: Running a single service itself is costing the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) fortunes, thereby compelling it to propose a rise in suburban railway fares by 50 per cent in the fare timetables in different variations. A single service is costing the MRVC a loss of Rs 53 lakh, which makes it a large amount considering that one train delivers eleven services.

The railways spends Rs 113 crore for every service but earns approximately a mere Rs 60 lakh. According to officials, the overall losses incurred for running the Mumbai railways has gone from Rs 1,400 crore to nearly Rs 1,600 crore. This comes when the railways is grappling with earning some revenue from non-ticketing areas like advertising revenue from hoarding on platforms. In fact, both central and western railways have begun charging commuters with one rupee for using the toilets.

Railway officials are of the view that Mumbai suburban has always been a peculiar case but with the competitive metro and its demands for competitive fares, it is time that fares for the city are increased. An official said, The railways has been bearing the brunt of running Mumbai local for more than 50 years now, since the expansion of far off suburbs has been putting stress on our resources.

In another proposal, the railway has said that it should be allowed to increase the first class fares specifically as more commuters in the past four years have begun shifting to the city.

Railway activist Nirmal Tikamgarh said, There should be a middle ground somewhere as the railways cant always suffer losses but at the same time the common man and their needs should be considered. He further added, I think the state and railways should come up with a revenue model for the railways and stick to it, only then will the pressure be off both the commuter and the railways.
It will be interesting to see how the saffron leader restores faith in his leaders.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will meet his party workers across the state for three days, starting on Tuesday, for the first time after the Zilla Parishad (ZP) and Panchayat Samiti elections. The motive behind the meeting, which will be held at Rangsharde Hall in Mumbai, is to take stock of the partys situation in the state.

On May 2, Tuesday, Mr Thackeray will meet his party corporators from Brihanmumbai Municipal Council (BMC) as well as MLAs and MLCs from Mumbai to discuss the Developmental Plan (DP) that is in process now for citys planning till 2034.

On May 3, he will take stock of the Panchayat Saminit and ZP results, in which Sena by itself could win only in Ratnagiri in the multi-corner elections in February. It will be interesting to see how the saffron leader restores faith in his leaders at the meeting, because Mr Thackeray had drawn flak from other parties for not having campaigned himself in the rural part of the state, as he was busy with BMC elections. This caused the party to drop down to number four. It will be interesting to see how the saffron leader restores faith in his leaders.

On last day, Mr Thackeray will meet party MLAs to discuss Goods and Services Tax Bill, on which he will also clarify his stand. Maharashtra legislative houses will meet on May 17 to discuss and pass state GST, due to which Sena fears loss of revenue to municipalities. Therefore, it may demand a provision or word from state government of which it is also a part, to compensate all municipalities.
Opposition parties have slammed Mr Fundkar for taking the trip, calling it insensitive whereas the government backed his decision.

Mumbai: State agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar has landed in hot water over an official trip to Australia and New Zealand amidst the tur dal (pigeon pea) procurement crisis in state. Mr Fundkar, parliamentary affairs minister Girish Bapat, Assembly speaker Haribhau Bagade and council chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar are on a 10-day tour to these countries for a commonwealth study tour.

Opposition parties have slammed Mr Fundkar for taking the trip, calling it insensitive whereas the government backed his decision.

As India is part of the commonwealth group of nations, members of every state legislature in the country get an opportunity to visit and study different parliamentary systems of commonwealth countries. This year, members of the Maharashtra legislature are visiting Australia and New Zealand for 10 days on a study tour.

Opposition leader Dhananjay Munde termed Mr Fundkars going on the trip as the height of insensitivity. We too were invited for this tour. But we didnt go. We dont oppose idea of going out for tur, but the agriculture minister should have stayed back and helped farmers, said Mr Munde.

However, state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar backed Mr Fundkar. We should not make allegations every now and then. If someone is going out to get knowledge, which would ultimately help state, then we should welcome it. It is also a part of his duty, said Mr Mungantiwar.
Right-wing trollers were uspet that journalists Ms Swati Chaturvedi and Ms Barkha Dutt were speakers.

Mumbai: A panel discussion organised by the Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi featuring Maneka Gandhi, Union minister for women & child development, and journalists Swati Chaturvedi and Barkha Dutt has been cancelled, allegedly because of social media trolls.

The programme Womens Participation in the Online Public Space was scheduled for May 8. The embassy, while confirming the cancellation, cited scheduling dates.

Right-wing Twitter handles were irate over the fact that the Swedish embassy had called Ms Dutt and Ms Chaturvedi, who have openly spoken against trolls in their columns and books. The trolls went to the extent of compiling lists of Swedish products to be boycotted if the embassy did not cancel the talks. Some netizens even claimed that they had kept on calling the Swedish Embassy along with dozens of their friends so as to get the event cancelled.

The programme  a panel discussion  was to be held on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, and the invitee was ambassador Harald Sandberg.

The keynote address was to be delivered by Ms Gandhi. Swedens minister for foreign affairs Margot Wallstrom was to address the gathering in a video message.

The panel discussion was to be moderated by Ms Dutt, and the panellists include Ms Chaturvedi (author of I am a Troll), Dr Anja Kovacs, (Internet Democracy

Project), Anju Pandey (UN Women), Osama Manzar (Digital Empowerment Foundation) and Ida Ostensson (Make Equal, Sweden).

Confirming that right-wing Twitter handles had asked the Swedish consulate to cancel the event, Suresh Nakhua, a Mumbai-based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) volunteer, who had asked his followers to make a list of Swedish products being sold in India, said, We called the embassy and registered our protest. We even took to social media and even threatened them, saying that a list of products coming in from Sweden was being made. The government might have realised a Snapdeal-like situation may arise and hence they called of the event. The right-wing Twitter handles didnt spare Ms Gandhi, a BJP member, and there were some demands that she should be thrown out of office for participating in the event alongside Ms Dutt and Ms Chaturvedi.

Stating that the panel discussion on had been cancelled due to scheduling issues of the panellists, the Embassy of Sweden told The Asia Age, We are looking into fresh dates for an event and look forward to a discussion on how to ensure that online spaces remain open to constructive debate, especially when it comes to womens participation  a global issue that is as relevant in Sweden as it is in India.

Asked whether trolling was the specific reason for the cancellation, the embassy replied, The decision was taken only due to scheduling issues of the panellists. Many right-wing Twitter handles were seen congratulating each other after the event was cancelled.
The pilot, an American national, was a commander on Jet Airways wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft.

National Aviators Guild directed its members not to fly with the expats in the cockpit from May 1.

Mumbai: Jet Airways has sacked the foreign pilot who allegedly assaulted a trainer during a simulator training session last month, an incident that triggered a call for boycott of all expat pilots in the private airline.

The pilot, an American, was a commander on Jet Airways wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft. The pilot in question has been removed from the job after a thorough internal investigation into the incident, a Jet source said.

The action against the pilot was taken after a trainer alleged the expat commander physically assaulted him during a simulator training session at the airlines Bengaluru facility in early April.

The airline carried out a thorough investigation into the incident after it received a complaint from the trainer. After the probe, it was decided to terminate his service contract, the source said.

A senior Jet official confirmed the development. Significantly, after the incident,

Jets pilot body National Aviators Guild (NAG) directed its members not to fly with the expats in the cockpit from May 1. It also demanded the ouster of all expat pilots from the airline immediately. However, the NAG later kept its directive in abeyance, saying it wants to give some more time to the Jet management to address their concerns. The guild claims representation of around 1,000 of the total 1,500 pilots in the leading Indian carrier.
The Assembly is also expected to discuss issues faced by farmers.

The opposition has demanded a special Assembly session to discuss farm loan waiver, akin to one scheduled to be held for the passage of GST.

Mumbai: While leaders of Opposition parties met governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, Shiv Sena ministers met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over the demand to hold a special session of Assembly to discuss farm loan waiver. The Maharashtra Assembly will hold a special session from May 20 to 22 for the passage of Goods and Service Tax (GST). The Assembly is also expected to discuss issues faced by farmers.

Opposition leaders including Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Dhananjay Munde, Sunil Tatkare, Jayant Patil of PWP, Jogendra Kawade met Mr Rao, demanding a special session of the assembly to discuss the agrarian crisis. If the government can call a session for passage of GST then it must hold a session for farmers too. Else it will be an injustice to the farmers, reads the opposition leaders letter.

Opposition parties had boycotted budget session and held Sangharsha Yatra, demanding loan waiver for farmers. Opposition leader Mr Patil said, We were raising the demands in the Assembly, but the state government suspended 19 MLAs of the opposition. Therefore we had no option than to go to people and expose this government.

We asked Devendraji to call a special session for farmers. Only because of Senas consistent follow-up, farmers issues are being solved in the state, claimed Sena minister Ramdas Kadam. Mr Kadam also claimed that government is positive over calling a special session to discuss loan waivers for farmers.

After our demand of purchasing all the tur dal from the farmers, the government started the tur dal centre. A provision of Rs 1000 crore has been made on immediate basis for the purchase. There are other issues of the farmers like loan waiver, compensation for hailstorm. A special session of the state legislature should be convened to discuss the issues of farmers, Sena minister Eknath Shinde said.

Opposition parties have slammed Sena. Sena leaders should understand they cant be in ruling and opposition at the same time. They should quit the government if they are really concerned about farmers and hit the road with us, said Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde.
The "Avvaiyar Award" was constituted by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2012 to honour women actively working for social reform.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government today honoured social worker Padma Venkataraman with the state's "Avvaiyar Award" for 2017.

Padma, daughter of former President of India, the late R Venkataraman, was honoured for her efforts in the areas of women's welfare and rehabilitation of leprosy-affected persons for the past 30 years, an official release said here.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami gave away the award to Venkataraman, the release said, adding, it carried a cheque for Rs one lakh, a gold medal weighing 8 gm, and a certificate.

The "Avvaiyar Award" was constituted by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2012 to honour women actively working in the areas of social reform, women's development, culture, media, inter-faith harmony, and administration, among others.

Venkataraman, Chairperson of Women's Indian Association (WIA), called the award a "great honour."

"This only reflects on Chief Minister and the Government of Tamil Nadu's involvement in advancement of women, children, the differently-abled and the leprosy affected people," she was quoted as saying.

The award will "only strengthen our resolve" to serve the society as best as possible, she added.
She decided to wear a sari as it would visually show her support for everything the Donald Trump government is against

Jacobs has been a fan of Indian sarees for quite a while and fell in love with textiles when she came to Chennai in 2015. (Photo: Instagram/StacyJacobs)

Trump's administration has made people get down on the streets and protest against him in every way possible to show their intolerance. A US woman however chose a unique way to make her protest and decided to wear a sari as it would mean more than just holding banners during the march and photos have now gone viral.

According to a media report, Stacy Jacobs clearly stood out at the recent 100 days of resistance because she wore a sari in protest. The US woman has worn the #protestsaree in the march against the ban on Muslims and several other issues. Jacobs has been a fan of Indian sarees for quite a while and fell in love with textiles when she came to Chennai in 2015.

Stacy used the attire because it would help her stand out in the crowd and make her point while supporting South Asians at the same time too. It is also an attempt by her to support people who were wrongfully racially attacked in the US from time to time and it looks like she is certainly making a difference.
One major change from the past is that the military option is truly obsolete.

As if the Panama Papers and Dawn report werent enough, the Pakistans prime minister also has some explaining to do regarding Indian business tycoon Sajjan Jindals visit to Pakistan last week. The controversy isnt surprising, given past accusations of Sharifs softness for the Indian business world. And yet, it is unfair to paint Jindals audience with Nawaz Sharif with the same brush as the other scandals.

The meeting couldnt have been about private interests. Sharif wouldnt have risked a meeting at such a precarious time for his government unless he was sure he had his bases covered. He would have known that Jindals arrival with a delegation and drive to Murree would not remain under wraps for long. The establishment had to have been on board.

So whats this all about?

Most likely, it is the latest attempt by India and Pakistan to get back to talking stuff. While this is out of sync with the heated rhetoric emanating from New Delhi and Islamabad of late, I am not surprised at the initiative itself: no matter which way the leadership of these two countries comes at the problem, the indisputable fact is that India and Pakistan cannot serve their ultimate national objectives by ignoring each other in todays global environment.

One major change from the past is that the military option is truly obsolete. Neither side can fight their way to a Kashmir solution. The latest reminder of the futility of forcing the issue through non-diplomatic means was provided by the controversy surrounding the Uri attack and Indias surgical strikes that followed. When you cut through all the noise the episode generated, the number one lesson you draw is that both sides lost. Terrorist attacks in the disputed territory bring Pakistan nothing but international humiliation  now with threats of international sanctions  and India learnt that its use-of-force options are all but non-existent. Meanwhile, risks of escalation in a nuclear environment are ever-present.

But there are broader, strategic reasons for engaging. Pakistan has spent much of its existence trying to look west; ally with external powers to stay outside Indias orbit of influence; fought wars; and used asymmetric means to settle scores. It hasnt worked. Instead, India is building a decisive military and economic advantage in this equation. More of the same would, therefore, be suicidal for Pakistan.

For India too, the equation sans Pakistan will always be suboptimal. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried his hand at the isolate Pakistan policy. That too was never going to work.

Encouragingly  and this may explain why the Jindal meeting was permissible  I find increasing evidence of this reality sinking in among the Pak-India establishments. One change in Pakistan especially is discernible  you dont find nearly as much pushback to the basic idea that Pakistans future lies in a connected South Asia as you used to in the past. The debate now is on how, when, and on what terms, not why.

The timing of Jindals visit also suggests that decision-makers on both sides are mature enough to recognise the need to isolate tactical problems from strategic pursuits. What is next?

Despite positive change, I dont expect much. Policy mindsets, much less execution of policies, are unlikely to change in the short run. A one-step forward, two steps backward approach is likely to remain the norm.

Both leaderships would have to tread carefully. Naysayers wont forego an opportunity to cry foul, and domestic political compulsions, especially in India, will continue to throw a spanner in the works. The threat of a terror attack on the Indian side  not only remains real but will increase as bilateral engagement grows.

The realistic best-case scenario is that quiet conversations persist. To maximise chances of success, the interaction must be conducted purely through the backchannel format. No other mechanism has delivered tangible progress between the two sides in recent times.

Reports that Jindals visit may pave the way for a publicly announced Sharif-Modi meeting are worrying in this regard. Public signals of a thaw would stall the effort even before it has truly taken off. Both sides also need to agree on a verification mechanism to determine the origins of any terrorist attack that may otherwise sabotage talks, and avoid playing into the hands of non-state actors.

By arrangement with Dawn
The committee of MPs said Google, Facebook and Twitter should be forced to do more to take their role in preventing the spread of terrorism.

Social media companies rely on their users to report extremist and hateful content for review by moderators, the report said.

British MPs have called for new rules to impose hefty fines and sanctions on social media companies, including Facebook and Twitter, who fail to remove terrorist and criminal content from their platforms.

The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee has said in a report released this week that it is "shockingly easy" to find terrorist material online and companies should now face multi-million pound fines and sanctions unless they begin taking robust action.

The committee, headed by former Labour Cabinet minister Yvette Cooper called on British Prime Minister Theresa May to punish social media companies who fail to remove criminal content after its investigation found they are "shamefully far" from tackling terrorist and criminal postings properly.

"Social media companies' failure to deal with illegal and dangerous material online is a disgrace. They have been asked repeatedly to come up with better systems to remove illegal material such as terrorist recruitment or online child abuse,"

Cooper said.

The committee said it was "completely irresponsible and indefensible" that online companies do not take down banned material as soon as it is posted and warned that multi-million pound fines should be introduced to force them to take it seriously.

The committee of MPs said Google, Facebook and Twitter should be forced to do more to take their role in preventing the spread of terrorism and paedophilia seriously.

"Social media companies rely on their users to report extremist and hateful content for review by moderators. They are, in effect, outsourcing the vast bulk of their safeguarding responsibilities at zero expense," the report said.

"We believe that it is unacceptable that social media companies are not taking greater responsibility for identifying illegal content themselves. In the UK, the

Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) monitors social media companies for terrorist material.

"That means that multi-billion pound companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter are expecting the taxpayer to bear the costs of keeping their platforms and brand reputations clean of extremism," it said.

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd welcomed the report and said its recommendations were being studied carefully.

"We have made it very clear that we will not tolerate the internet being used as a place for terrorists to promote their vile views, or use social media platforms to weaponise the most vulnerable people in our communities," Rudd said.

"We will continue to push the internet companies to make sure they deliver on their commitments to further develop technical tools to identify and remove terrorist propaganda and to help smaller companies to build their capabilities. I will expect to see early and effective action," she said.
Interim Conservative opposition leader Rona Ambrose criticised Sajjans initial comment as stolen valour.

Canadian defence minister Harjit Singh Sajjan receives the guard of honour at South Block in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

Toronto: Canadas defence minister Harjit Sajjan has apologised in Parliament for claiming to have been the architect of the countrys largest battle in Afghanistan.

Harjit Sajjan on Monday repeatedly said sorry for what he called a mistake while being grilled by opposition lawmakers about his remark last month during a speech in India.

The battle involving Canadas Operation Medusa was planned and executed in 2006 by then-Maj Gen David Fraser, who was responsible for all NATO forces in southern Afghanistan.

At the time of the operation, Sajjan was a major in Afghanistan, a much lower rank.

Interim Conservative opposition leader Rona Ambrose criticised Sajjans initial comment as stolen valour and asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to dismiss him.

Trudeau said Sajjan acknowledged the mistake and continues to have his full confidence.
Duterte expressed concerns about not being able to fit in a visit to Mr Trump even though no firm date has yet been proposed for it.

Davao: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he might turn down an invitation by Donald Trump to visit the United States.

Mr Duterte, who has loosened the Philippines long alliance with the United States while strengthening ties with China and Russia, said he could not commit to the American President because of a busy schedule that included a trip to Moscow.

I am tied up. I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia, I am supposed to go to Israel, he told reporters when asked about Mr Trumps invitation made in a telephone call on Saturday.

Mr Duterte expressed concerns about not being able to fit in a visit to Mr Trump even though no firm date has yet been proposed for it.

Nevertheless, Mr Duterte said relations with the United States were improving now that Trump had taken over from Barack Obama who criticised his anti-drug war that has claimed thousands of lives.

Mr Duterte said that his efforts to loosen the alliance were only a response to the drug war criticism. It was not a distancing (of relations) but it was rather a rift between me and the (US) state department and Mr Obama, who spoke openly against me, he said.
During the last call on April 3, Trump pledged support to Russia over a deadly bomb attack in the Saint Petersburg metro.

Washington: US President Donald Trump will speak with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over telephone Tuesday, the White House said.

There was no indication about the topics of discussion for the two leaders. The call was scheduled for 2200 IST (1630 GMT).

Trump has already spoken by telephone twice with Putin since taking office in January.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned conversation Tuesday, in comments to the Ria Novosti news agency.

On January 28, the two men discussed how to defeat the Islamic State group in a congratulatory call from Putin, according to officials.

The last time, on April 3, Trump pledged support to Russia over a deadly bomb attack in the Saint Petersburg metro that killed 15 people.

US ties with Russia are under scrutiny after US intelligence agencies said hackers directed by the Kremlin accessed the Democratic National Committee networks ahead of the election that put Trump in the White House.

The FBI is probing any links between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government. The Pentagon is probing Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over payments received from Russian government-linked firms.
Gorka is a former Breitbart national security editor who has been outspoken on the need to confront Islamic terrorism.

Washington: Sebastian Gorka, a controversial national security aide and deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, will leave the White House in coming days.

Mr Gorka is a former Breitbart national security editor who has been outspoken on the need to confront Islamic terrorism. He had vigorously defended the travel ban and the Presidents continued use of the phrase radical Islamic terrorism.

In his role in the White House, he has become one of Mr Trumps most prominent public cheerleaders frequently hitting the radio airwaves to defend the Presidents counter-terrorism policies and public statements. A senior administration official said that Mr Gorka had initially been hired to play a key role on the Strategic Initiatives Group, an advisory panel created by Trumps chief strategist Steve Bannon to run parallel to the National Security Council (NSC).

But that group fizzled out soon. Mr Gorka was unable to get clearance for the NSC after he was charged last year with carrying a weapon at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, according to CNN.
Protesters flooded streets in Chicago. They demanded 'Donald Trump has got to go!' at the White House gates.

New York: Thousands of people chanted, picketed and marched on cities across America on Monday as May Day demonstrations raged against President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Protesters flooded streets in Chicago. They demanded "Donald Trump has got to go!" at the White House gates. And they sparked at least four arrests after creating a human chain to block a county building in Oakland, California, where demonstrators demanded that county law enforcement refuse to collaborate with federal immigration agents.

Despite the California clash, the initial rounds of nationwide protests were largely peaceful as immigrants, union members and their allies staged a series of strikes, boycotts and marches to highlight the contributions of immigrants in the United States.

"It is sad to see that now being an immigrant is equivalent to almost being a criminal," said Mary Quezada, a 58-year-old North Carolina woman who joined those marching on Washington. She offered a pointed message to Trump: "Stop bullying immigrants."

The demonstrations on May Day, celebrated as International Workers' Day, follow similar actions worldwide in which protesters from the Philippines to Paris demanded better working conditions.

But the widespread protests in the United States were aimed directly at the new Republican president, who has followed aggressive anti-immigrant rhetoric on the campaign trail with aggressive action in the White House.

Trump, in his first 100 days, has intensified immigration enforcement, including executive orders for a wall along the US-Mexico border and a ban on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries.

The government has arrested thousands of immigrants in the country illegally and threatened to withhold funding from jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local and federal immigration authorities.

The travel ban and sanctuary cities order were temporarily halted by legal challenges. Trump has said his policies are meant to keep America safe.

In Chicago, 28-year-old Brenda Burciaga was among thousands of people who marched through the streets to push back against the new administration.

"Everyone deserves dignity," said Burciaga, whose mother is set to be deported after living in the U.S. for about 20 years. "I hope at least they listen. We are hardworking people."

In cities large and small, the protests intensified throughout the day. Teachers working without contracts opened the day by picketing outside schools in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Activists in Phoenix petitioned state legislators to support immigrant families. And in a Los Angeles park, several thousand people waved American flags and signs reading "love not hate."

Selvin Martinez, an immigrant from Honduras with an American flag draped around his shoulders, took the day off from his job waxing casino floors to protest.

"We hope to get to be respected as people, because we are not animals, we are human beings," said Martinez, who moved to Los Angeles 14 years ago fleeing violence in his country.

The White House did not respond to requests for a response to the May Day demonstrations.

Several protesters, like 39-year-old Mario Quintero, outed themselves as being in the country illegally to help make their point.

"I'm an undocumented immigrant, so I suffer in my own experience with my family," said Quintero at a Lansing, Michigan, rally. "That's why I am here, to support not only myself but my entire community."

In Miami, Alberto and Maribel Resendiz closed their juice bar, losing an estimated revenue of $3,000, to join a rally.

"This is the day where people can see how much we contribute," said Alberto Resendiz, who previously worked as a migrant worker in fields as far away as Michigan. "This country will crumble down without us." He added, "We deserve a better treatment."

While union members traditionally march on May 1 for workers' rights around the world, the day has become a rallying point for immigrants in the US since massive demonstrations were held on the date in 2006 against a proposed immigration enforcement bill.

In recent years, immigrant rights protests shrank as groups diverged and shifted their focus on voter registration and lobbying. Larger crowds returned this year, prompted by Trump's ascension, as immigrant groups join with Muslim organizations, women's advocates and black leaders to push back against the president.

Immigrant advocates said they hope their message will reach Trump, congressional lawmakers and the public and provide a sense of unity and strength to those opposed to the administration's policies. Many said they hoped a show of strength would help persuade politicians to rethink their plans.
The two countries are bound by a defence pact and 28,500 US troops are stationed in the South.

Seoul: South Korean media on Monday warned of a Trump risk threatening the alliance between Washington and Seoul.

The two countries are bound by a defence pact and 28,500 US troops are stationed in the South. But the new US President has said that Seoul should pay for a billion-dollar US missile defence system being deployed in the South to guard against threats from the North.

The remarks stunned Seoul, with South Korean politicians immediately rejecting his push. Trumps mouth rattling Korea-US alliance said a front-page headline in South Koreas top-selling Chosun daily on Monday.

There are issues that are far more important than just money, it said in an editorial. If either country keeps reducing the alliance to the matter of money or the economy, it is bound to undermine basic trust.

Another South Korean newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, accused Mr Trumps administration of sending confusing and contradictory messages, creating a chaotic situation that dealt a huge blow to the bilateral alliance.
Angela Merkel has been the main mediator with Vladimir Putin over the crisis in Ukraine.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscows ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine. (Photo: AP)

Sochi (Russia): German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Tuesday meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on her first visit to Russia since 2015, in a signal of renewed dialogue as deep strains remain over Ukraine.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscows ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine.

Berlin has said the meeting will above all focus on the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July and no major breakthroughs are expected on bridging the deep rifts between the two sides.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supporting the pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country. Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West, and a European-brokered peace plan to end the conflict has hit a dead end.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was not frozen but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

Merkels visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries relations to fully normalise, while meeting German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

The German leader has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europes backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Frances Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

Last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

There are two topics that weigh down relations... the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies. Seibert called this a difficult context that one cannot ignore, but added that our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements.

Both sides have also said the talks will cover the conflict in Syria, where Putins military backing for leader Bashar al-Assad has set him at odds with the West.

The Kremlin added that the visit would be an opportunity to discuss the current state and prospects of bilateral relations.
3 separate spokesmen for Le Pen used the word wink to describe the extracts copied word for word from Fillon.

Paris: Marine Le Pen deliberately plagiarised verbatim parts of an address of a former presidential candidate as a wink to him and the voters she hopes to peel away in a runoff, her spokesmen said on Tuesday.

Francois Fillon, former Republicans candidate, delivered a speech on Frances role in Europe and the world on April 15 just two weeks before Le Pens discourse on Monday.

The subject is at the heart of Le Pens campaign. She promises to pull France out of the European Union and return to the franc currency, and has denounced globalisations effects on the French economy and culture.

Three separate spokesmen for Le Pen used the word wink to describe the extracts copied word for word from Fillon. At no point in the speech did she cite Fillon or acknowledge the source of the extracts.

I think with part of the right, we have exactly the same vision on the national identity and independence, Louis Aliot, Front National vice president, told LCI television on Tuesday.

Immediately after being eliminated in the first round vote, Fillon called for his supporters to back her centrist rival, Emmanuel Macron.

Both Macron and Le Pen are going after the voters of the 9 other candidates knocked out in that vote, in which Frances two main parties both failed to make it to the second round for the first time in the countrys modern history.

Macron is promising an ethics bill that will block office-holders from conflicts of interest, nepotism and other ethical issues that have infuriated voters.

Macron, who started his own political movement just a year ago, also promised he could get a legislative majority to pass the measure and others he says France needs to pull itself from the economic doldrums.

Legislative elections are in June, and whoever is president will depend on lawmakers to implement an agenda. Macron, who has pulled support from the right and the left, said on Tuesday candidates will have to quit their parties to run in his movement.
The victims had been accused of planning to steal cattle. Two people have been arrested on murder charges. Episodes of intolerance towards minorities have increased with the rise of Hindu nationalists. At least, ten Muslims have been killed since 2015.

Guwahati (AsiaNews)  Two Muslims were lynched on Sunday by a cow protection mob in Nagaon, a district in the Indian state of Assam, allegedly for planning to steal some of the animals deemed sacred by Hindus.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Ram Puniyani, president of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai, slammed the latest case of violence against religious minorities.

The latter are increasingly targeted by Hindu nationalist extremists since Narendra Modi and the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) took over the Union government in 2014, buoyed more recently by the victory of Yogi Adityanath, a radical guru, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

"These incidents, Puniyani said, have been instigated by cow protection policies approved by government authorities. It is an emotional-identity subject that the BJP uses to polarise society along religious lines." However, these incidents are not due a supposed "love for cows, but rather to a feeling of hatred against Muslims," said the secular-oriented activist.

The two victims, Abu Hanifa and Riyazuddin Ali, were aged 20 and 25 respectively. They were chased by people for about 1.5 kilometres and beaten with sticks. When police arrived on the scene, their conditions were desperate. Brought to hospital, they died from their injuries. The police later arrested two people on charges of murder.

The cow is a sacred animal for Hindus and eating it is an outrage to the gods. However, Hindu nationalists have used this to put pressure on Christian and Muslim minorities, who raise and rely on livestock to make a living.

In many states, slaughtering and eating beef has been banned; however, this has not been limited to Hindus but has been imposed on others as well, forcing them to follow practices outside of their religious beliefs.

Some human rights groups report that since 2015 at least ten Muslims have been murdered for allegedly stealing, selling, or slaughtering beef.

Suspicion alone of illegally slaughtering cows can trigger episodes of extreme violence, such as the murder of a Muslim family man who was torched in Uttar Pradesh in 2015 by an angry mob of Hindu extremists who had accused him of eating beef. After months of investigation, it was discovered that the meat was buffalo. Last year in Gujarat, four Dalits were beaten for skinning a cow (in fact it was a lion).

NGOs complain that the situation has worsened since the BJP won in recent local elections. Indeed, one of the first acts of the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, was to close illegal slaughterhouses to protect cows. Similarly, the Gujarat government has imposed jail time and a fine of 100,000 rupees (US$ 1,550) on anyone who kills a cow.

In early April, a 55-year-old Muslim died in Rajasthan following two painful days after he was kicked and punched by a mob of Hindu radicals who had accused him of illegally transporting cattle (he had actually bought the animals legally at a livestock fair).

In view of such repeated cases of violence, Ram Puniyani said that "The ruling party turns consciously a blind eye because such incidents help them in politically mobilising their base and reinforce their political agenda."
by Christopher Sharma

About 249 MPs out of 593 signed the motion. Government loses coalition partners. Move casts doubt on local elections set for 14 May.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews)  Nepali Congress (NCI) and Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist Centre) lawmakers sponsored a motion to impeach Chief Justice Sushila Karki.

For some analysts, this creates uncertainties about upcoming local elections on 14 May, which have already sparked divisions between ruling parties and those that support the Madhesi and Tharu minorities.

Over the past few weeks, the local Catholic Church had expressed itself in favour of peaceful elections.

CPN MP Min Bahadur Bishwokarma and CPN-MC chief whip Tek Bahadur Basnet were among the 249 MPs (out of 593) who backed the motion.

Reacting to the move, Home Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bimlendra Nidhi tendered his resignation, whilst Kamal Thapa, another deputy prime minister and leader of the Hindu royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) also pulled out of the government.

According to the constitution, an impeachment motion can be tabled in parliament with the support of at least a quarter of all legislators, and requires two thirds to pass. Karki is accused of interfering with executive orders and biased rulings.

Attorney General General Raman Shrestha said that Karki's impeachment is necessary because she has interfered with the appointment of a new chief of police.

We decided [to act] after she ignored our request that she stop interfering with executive prerogatives, said Mr Bishwakarma. We are not doing this to undermine local elections.

For Bhim Bahadur Rawal, leader of the main opposition party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist), "This is a biased and dictatorial move. We are opposed to this motion that interferes with the judiciary."

According to Ramp Kamal Thapa, the motion is "an attack on the independent judiciary. For him, "This decision was taken without consulting us".

"We are one of the main coalition partners, he added, but the government acted without our support and for that reason it would not be ethical to remain part of it. So today we have decided to withdraw from the government."

Writer and analyst Keshaw Presad noted that "the demands from Terai-based party have yet to be addressed. The Home Affairs minister responsible for security has resigned. Part of the coalition quit, and this makes local election on 14 May uncertain. This will prolong Nepal's transition and instability.

If local elections do take place, they will be the first in 19 years. Meanwhile, Karki was suspended from her post with immediate effect.
Presented to Doha by Khaled Meeshal, the Charter represents a moderate and modern position in the Islamist movement. They recognize the borders of 1967, though not the legitimacy of the Israeli state. For the first time, Zionism and Judaism are separated.

Gaza (AsiaNews / Agencies) - On May 1, a new Hamas Islamic Organization Charter was presented by the leader in exile, Khaled Meeshal, at the Sheraton hotel in Doha, capital of Qatar. It came two days after the visit of Palestinian Authority President Mohammad Abbas to Washington. The new text, while not recognizing the existence of the Jewish state, in many respects is a softening of Hamas's positions, both towards Israel and Fatah.

The document, the result of four years of work, has 11 chapters and 41 articles. As far as its status is concerned, there is an ongoing internal debate, officials now define it as a "benchmark" which, however, does not completely replace the 1988 Charter.

It does not demand Israel's destruction, and for the first time separates Zionism and Judaism: "Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion." Earlier, Hamas called for a war against all Jews.

Secondly, the Charter recognizes the Palestine Liberation Organization (OLP) as the "national framework" of the Palestinian people, which, however, requires reconstruction of "democratic foundations to safeguard the rights of Palestinians". This official recognition of PLO represents a radical change to the original constitution, in which Hamas was an alternative.

In addition, Hamas recognizes the role of the Palestinian Authority to "serve the Palestinian people and safeguard their security, their rights, and their national project".

Its acceptance for the first time of a Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967 is also a landmark move. However, this recognition does not include the formal acceptance of the solution of the two states and Israel.

It also rejects the Oslo Accord and the related agreements. The Charter recognizes the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital and the return of Palestinians who fled over the years since 1948, as a "national formula for consensus ".

As for refugees, the document specifies the refusal of any attempt to deprive them of the right to return, including those of integration within other countries, and their right to compensation.

The document moves away from that of 1988 in other aspects that attempt to modernize Hamas's political vision and its objectives: it does not refer to the Muslim Brotherhood, with which there was explicit connection in the former, but is simply defined as a national movement "With Islamic reference".

It mentions the Christian Palestinians and the sacred places. It is clearer on the role of children and women who have "a key role in the project of resistance, liberation and the construction of the political system". It also speaks of non-violent resistance, thus "diversifying the means and methods [of resistance] as an integral part of the conflict management process."

In his statement, Meshaal said that his intent is to make "Hamas position", a "viable, renewable developing movement in their ideologically awareness and political as "crystal clear": "We don't want to dilute our principles but we want to be open. We hope this (document) will mark a change in the stance of European states towards us".

This document is considered the latest act by Meshaal, before he possibly steps down as the leader of Hamas's political office.

Israel said the document aimed to deceive the world that Hamas was becoming more moderate. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it is a "smoke screen", while Hamas continues to prepare for the war against Israel.
Naypyidaw does not want external interference in the resolution of the dispute concerning the Muslim minority inside. Spokesperson Aung San Suu Kyi: "We will resolve the issue bilaterally". Beijings interest masks the construction of a $ 1.5 billion oil pipeline.

Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The government of majority Buddhist Myanmar has rejected the mediation offer with Bangladesh advanced by Beijing to resolve the ongoing issue of the Muslim Rohingya minority.

A spokeswoman for Naypyidaw's executive says it does not want external influences, or the powerful Chinese neighbor's intervention to resolve one of the biggest domestic problems in the country, involving the same Nobel Laureate and current Foreign Minister and Government Leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

In recent months, violent clashes have increased between the Myanmar military and what they call "a militant group of Muslim Rohingya" in Rakhine State. The Rohingya are a Muslim group of just over one million people, originally from Bangladesh who live mostly in refugee camps scattered across Myanmar. The latter has refused to grant them citizenship.

Since early last October, at least 90 people have been killed and about 34,000 have been displaced. Meanwhile, the military continue to go from village to village to clear the territory of rebel elements. The Rohingya have complained of summary executions, arbitrary arrests, rapes, houses torched in a what the government has called clearance operations intended to strike those who have attacked Myanmar security forces.

In recent days, China offered itself as a mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh, while tens of thousands of people continue to live in critical conditions in refugee camps near the border between the two countries. So far Naypyidaw and Dhaka have not reached an agreement on the management and care of the Muslim minority.

Zaw Htay, spokesperson for the Cabinet of State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, stressed that "Myanmar and Bangladesh are already trying to solve the Rakhine question." The Burmese government's policy, he added, is to "resolve this issue bilaterally between Myanmar and Bangladesh" without external interference or third-party intervention.

"We can understand China's offer for mediation," the spokesman concludes, "because it has interests in the region, starting with the Kyaukphyu pipeline. However, as I said in the past, our idea is to settle the dispute between us."

In short, the Burmese government responds to Beijing's offerings just as China responds to foreign powers when interests or issues are at stake  such Tibetan Buddhism or controversy in the eastern and southern China Sea - by means of the principle of non-external interference.

In this case, Beijing intends to intervene not out of humanitarian concern, but out a mere economic and commercial interest. There is the pipeline linking the harbor town of Kyaukphyu, in the bay of Bengal, with the city of Kunming, capital of the Yunnan province at stake. A strategic project worth around $ 1.5 billion.
South Korea approaches the May 9th presidential election. Favorite Moon Jae-in says Seoul has definitive word on the anti-missile system. The candidate promotes dialogue with North Korea and criticizes the conservative government for its aggressive policies. Chung Eui-yong: "We must choose what is best for our national interests." Joint military operations between Washington and Seoul continue. Trump: "I would be honored to meet Kim."

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A US spokeswoman based in South Korea said today that the controversial Thaad anti-missile system is "operational and has the ability to intercept North Korean missiles and defend the Republic of Korea."

The High Altitude Area Defense Terminal, the deployment of which was brought forward on the back of pressure from the United States, has been the focus of strong controversy in recent days, and testing relations between Washington and Seoul.

South Korea is looking ahead to the presidential election on May 9th. The favorite, Liberal Party leader Moon Jae-in, says that the next Seoul administration will have the definitive word on the deployment of Thaad. Moon's office said that its deployment should be suspended immediately until then.

On April 27, US President Trump had said he wanted Seoul to pay for the system, which amounted to about one billion dollars. Kim Ki-jung, a consultant for Moon's foreign policy, replied that the suggestion was "an impossible option". Last April 30, Herbert McMaster, US National Security Adviser, attempted to appease the controversy, pointing out that the US would support the cost of operations.

In a book published in January, Moon claims that South Korea should learn to "say no to the Americans." The South Korean Democratic Party candidate promotes dialogue with North Korea and criticized the conservative government for its aggressive position, which is doing little to stop Pyongyang's development of weapons. Seoul said the decision to use Thaad was ultimately a military decision taken by the United States.

Many South Korean analysts now question the motivations behind the American president's assertions and the rush with which the US has wanted to deploy the anti-missile system. "Trump is using Thaad like a guinea pig to test his relationship with Seoul," said Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the Kyungnam University's Far Eastern Studies Institute in Seoul. "Trump seems to be testing South Korea's commitment to the Korea-US alliance. I wonder if he does it because he already thinks Moon will win the elections, "Kim added.

A second Moon adviser for foreign policy said that Trump's comments about Thaad's cost pose fundamental questions as to where the alliance could be directed. "This is a new dimension," said Chung Eui-yong, former South Korean ambassador to Geneva, who leads a team of consultants. "Our position is that we should review the Thaad even if we do not for pay it, but Trump's remarks have changed the fundamental aspect of this problem," Chung said. "We must choose what is best for our national interests."

Despite the political controversy over the last few days, joint military exercises continue between Washington and Seoul. Tensions in the Korean peninsula have increased, with repeated threats from North Korea and the presence of a group of US warships and a nuclear submarine. Two US bombers participated yesterday in an exercise with South Korea's aerial force in what the United States has called a routine operation.

The flight of the two bombers took place when US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in appropriate circumstances, although Pyongyang said it wanted to continue with his nuclear tests. Despite this, Trump said he would be "honored" to meet the young Northern dictator.
by Luca Galantini

The first 100 days of the new US president's foreign policy in Asia have been characterised by continuity with past democratic and republican administrations, and new threats to Syria, Iran, and North Korea. This has marginalised the UN and boosted arms sales.

Milan (AsiaNews)  Donald Trumps military and political intervention in Asia during his first 100 days as president belies the isolationist and neutralist platform he vigorously advocated during the US election campaign.

The Trump cyclone caught the international community unprepared, showing on the ground a quick activism and decision-making ability, with the clear intention on his part of making Americans forget Barack Obama's colourless foreign policy.

Indeed, the effective "America first" and "Make America great again" slogans with which President Trump won millions of votes must be seen instead as a sign of a continuity with the history of US foreign policy, which has always put security and national interest first, according to an inevitably more and more hegemonic logic that has made the US the world's policeman starting in the 20th century.

A hasty interpretation of Trump's political platform by scholars and mass media has obscured the central thread of US foreign policy for more than a century  the so-called Monroe doctrine  that brooks no meddling in US interests and national security by other states, even outside US territory.

This has resulted in a world-wide political strategy that is inevitably "imperial", capable of economically and politically fulfilling America's great ambition of making America great again, under both democratic and republican administrations, and Trump's moves reflect this.

In the early 19th century, US President James Monroe laid down foreign policy principles still used to justify US intervention outside its borders. Monroe said that the US would not tolerate any intervention by foreign powers in the Americas, and that any involvement would be considered an attack on the peace, security and liberty of the United States. This laid the ground for US political hegemony in the Americas, oddly ending US isolationism in the name of national freedom and security.

Since then, the Monroe Doctrine has been interpreted more broadly to cover the whole planet, on behalf of a fideistic messianism with which US political rulers feel moved to support, often nonchalantly, the cause of democracy in the world.

In the 20th century, President Franklin D. Roosevelt supported the view that the US was entitled to use force in the western hemisphere in case international obligations damaged US national interests. President Thomas W. Wilson justified US intervention in World War I as an way to defend democracy and the right of nations to be free from the oppression of the empires of Central Europe. Similarly, President John F. Kennedy justified intervention in Cuba and Vietnam as a way to counter the totalitarian communist danger. George Bush used the same argument with respect to his military intervention and preventive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, i.e. the defence of liberty and democracy.

Turning to President Trump's muscular geopolitical action in Asia, one cannot but see continuity with previous US interventionism, which de facto up subordinate the interests and policies of other states to US political, economic and military power.

It is no accident that Trump, at the press conference following the bombing of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's air base, felt it necessary to justify US intervention to the world by referring exclusively to alleged "crimes against humanity" committed by the Assad regime.

In fact, the US administration has yet to provide any evidence to the international community that would prove Assad's responsibility. The military operation was carried out ignoring the United Nations, especially the Security Council, showing that the system of multilateral consultation and the participation of the international community in the diplomatic resolution of the crisis are not exactly at the top of Trumps agenda.

Even more worrying is the crisis in US-North Korean relations, and thus also in the relationship with the latters patron, the People's Republic of China.

The US's interest in controlling the northwest coast of the Pacific and containing China is at the heart of its very close military and political cooperation with South Korea and Japan. In this context, North Korea is just a starter for the show of force between the Trump administration and China to decide which will hold the political, economic and military leadership in Southeast Asia and the Far East. North Koreas dictatorial regime has long been a useful buffer state for Communist China, which obviously has no intention of allowing Korean reunification under democratic auspices, with the risk of having a loyal US ally on its border. At the same time, the devastating effects of Kim Jong-un's dictatorial regime represent a real threat to the security of Japan and South Korea, Trump's most loyal allies.

This explains the forceful policy, which does not exclude, according to some US think-tanks, the "very dangerous" option of pre-emptive war to defend allies should China lose control over North Korea. However, a preventive war, which is what the Bush administration conducted in accordance with its National Security Strategy after the terrorist attacks at the Twin Towers, has never been accepted and legitimised by the international community and the United Nations.

The application of the Monroe doctrine in Asia by the Trump administration does not end with Syria and North Korea. US-Iran relations are rapidly deteriorating since, according to Trump, the Islamic republic is the main culprit for the instability in the Middle East and the world.

Trump's threat to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal and possible economic sanctions against Tehran as envisaged by the UN Charter in such cases are evidence of this. The attack on Syria and the freezing of relations with Iran are also a boost to the US-Israeli partnership, after it reached a low point during Obama's presidency.

Unfortunately, this means pushing detente in the Middle East back by many years, since it completely ignores the major role played by Arab Sunni regimes and governments  not infrequently formally allied to the United States - in indirectly supporting International terrorism and destabilising the Arab and Islamic world along fundamentalist lines. At the same time, it ignores Irans legitimate aspirations  like any other state  for a regional role in the Middle East, seriously penalising Teheran's exports through the ban on the use of US dollars in financial transactions despite the end of the international embargo.

Unfortunately, two important factors play an important role in this complex picture.

The first one is the gradual marginalisation of the United Nations from managing political crises in Asia. This violates the first article of the UN Charter, which tasks the international community with maintaining peace and security in the world.

The second is the rapid increase in military spending by major Asian countries. Official figures by the Stockholm Institute for Peace Studies indicate a steady rise in military spending in Asia, primarily by China, up 5.4 per cent over in the last year. At the same time, President Trump has explicitly pushed for a historic rise in US military spending. Security and national interest obviously and unfortunately rely on the growth of the arms industry rather than on international co-operation.
Colonel Claims Russia Planted Nuclear Missiles Along The U.S. Coastline

Trending News: Russia Hid Nukes Along The U.S. Coastline, Says Former Colonel

Long Story Short

Russia has hidden secret nuclear missiles in the Atlantic Ocean with the capability to annihilate U.S. coastal cities, according to a former Russian colonel.

Long Story

Many of us are too young to remember what it felt like to wake up every morning with the nagging thought that today could be the day Soviet nukes rain down on our heads. Heck, even I was too young to remember the Cold War, but this news makes me understand what it might have been like just a tad.

Viktor Baranetz, a retired colonel and former defense ministry spokesman told local media that Russia has been quietly seeding the U.S. shoreline with nuclear mole missiles, according to The Independent.

What is a mole missile? They dig themselves in and sleep until they are given the command, Baranetz is quoted as saying.

So, Putin allegedly hid nuclear missiles at the bottom of the U.S. coastline  by cities like New York and Miami  which could launch a massive tsunami killing millions of Americans. Comforting.

Baranetz added: "Oh, it seems I've said too much. I should hold my tongue. In short, we have something to provide an 'asymmetrical' (and cheaper) response to the Americans."

Too much? Ya think!? What the hell do you think is gonna happen leaking secrets like that? That guy poisoned with plutonium comes to mind.

While it does make sense that Russia would try and do something sneaky to solidify their nuclear strength, its still just one guys statements. And the official Kremlin line is that the whole thing is strange.

I would suggest that you not take newspaper reports like this seriously, government spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly said.

Ahh, sigh of relief I mean, the Kremlin always tells the truth, right? Gulp.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Is this guy full of sh*t?

Drop This Fact

Russian State TV reported on plans to build a giant nuclear torpedo system back in 2015.
The former oil and gas group head of Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) in Australia has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Singapore.Michael Joyce, who spent more than 19 years at NRF, has relocated from Sydney, moving back to Singapore where he previously headed the office of legacy firm Deacons, which was acquired by NRF in 2009. He also previously led NRFs corporate and commercial business unit in Brisbane.Joyce, who becomes an M&A and projects partner at Akin Gump, has extensive experience advising private-sector and government clients on natural gas and oil value chains matters. He also acts on power project matters in relation to the acquisition, development and operation of coal, gas-fired and renewable-power projects, joint-venture structuring and regulatory compliance issues.He is also experienced in the mining industry, including acting for clients on greenfield and brownfield mine acquisition and development. He has also worked on greenfield infrastructure development, including equity and financial arrangements. Joyce has extensive international experience, having advised on matters involving more than 20 jurisdictions globally, including on outbound investment from Japan.Kim Koopersmith, Akin Gump chair, said that Joyce is a perfect fit for the firm in Asia, specifically its regional energy practice, with his ability to navigate cross-border energy issues. Robert M. Griffin, the US BigLaws Singapore office partner-in-charge, said that in addition to his extensive experience in the oil and gas sector, Joyces projects and infrastructure experience complements the firms energy practice in Singapore.Joyce joined Allens Arthur Robinson in 1989 as an associate after graduating with a degree in law from the University of Sydney , where he also finished his masters degree in 1993. He then became general counsel at ITOCHU Australia, a Japanese general trading company, in 1992. He joined NRF in 1998.
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A trio of top firms have acted on the $225m Ross River solar farm in Queensland, the nations largest single-stage solar project yet. Mills Oakley (MO) and King & Wood Mallesons ( KWM ) advised ESCO Pacific and Palisade Investment Partners, the co-investors and developers of the solar farm, which reached financial close on Monday. Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) advised Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), and Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac), which provided financing for the project.MO advised ESCO and Palisade on a wide range of matters for the project, including power purchase negotiations, construction, operations and maintenance, planning and property. KWM advised on the financing plan, the initial acquisition, and Palisades initial investment in the project.Expected to be completed by constructor Downer Utilities in 12 months, the 148MW project located 20km southwest of Townsville consists of about 420,000 solar panels, which will provide enough energy to power more than 65,000 homes. The successful close of the project was achieved without debt finance from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation or a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, a significant achievement for Queenslands solar industry, HSF said.The MO team is led by partner Luke Westmore, who is assisted by partner Daniel Livingston, special counsel Danny OBrien and Damiano Castelli, senior associate James Williams, associate Mary-Anne El-Hage, lawyers Jordan Lyon and Luke Duggan, and graduate Nicole Guglielmi.The KWM team advising Palisade is led by partner Roderick Smythe, who is supported by solicitors Jahan Navidi and Jennifer Darmody. Partner Craig Rogers advices ESCO, with support from solicitor Adam Black. Palisade is a long-time KWM client as the firm also advised on the establishment of the Palisade Renewable Energy Fund.The HSF team is led by partner Gerard Pike, who is supported by executive counsel Alison Dodd, senior associates Helen Beatty and Caroline Rowe, and solicitors Michael D'Agostino and Michael Thurin.
Hi there,I am writing this on behalf of a dear friend. She has applied for a onshore Prospective marriage visa. Her first visa was rejected with an unregistered migration agent. She was then recommended another agent who suggested she re-do a new visa application.I posted last week for advise here asking if she had rights to get a copy of her visa application and was given the code of conduct. She eventually got a digital copy of the Applicant visa for her partner who is overseas.We have found lots of errors made in the application from date of births to incorrect information on where they met and got engaged and so and so on.Also in the application, the 4 aspects of the relationship are only 3-5 sentences long with grammatical errors and lack of information about the relationship. It simply is very poorly done and I feel for her. If I was a CO, there is noway I would look at the application with sincerity and being genuine.She is very upset. She has made an appointment with the Immigration lawyer. She advised me that it was a receptionist that completed her application and not the Immigration Lawyer himself.The receptionist also does the correspondence with her and she has had no contact with the Immigration lawyer since the first appointment she had with him.Is there any Immi migration lawyers on here that can give me some sound advise on what she can do in this instance.Can she get them to correct her application or is it to late?I know simple changes can be made with Form 1023 for incorrect answers. But what about the rest of the application and poor lack of evidence of the relationship. She has paid a lot of money for a service that is simply a disgrace. I feel in my heart that her application will be rejected again. She emailed me the copy of the Applicant and I wanted to cry for her. Thanks for listening.
Sponsored feature: On Buddhas Trail

In the second edition of the Great India Drive, Autocar India drives from the home of Dalai Lama to the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, and to one of the most sacred monasteries in Sikkim.

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Though a big SUV, the Tucson was effortless to drive on narrow hill roads. We visited Thekchen Choeling temple in Dharamshala to seek blessings before the drive.

There is a rather nondescript stone marking the exact spot where Buddha was born in 623 BC. Surrounding the stone marking Buddhas birth spot are mud brick structures in a cross wall system that date back to the 3rd century. These are remains of buildings that were built over the centuries to commemorate the place where Prince Siddhartha was born. Protecting this site is a simple white building that is known as the Maya Devi Temple.

We are in Lumbini, located in the Terai plains of southern Nepal. Its been a long drive from Dharamshala where the Great India Drive was flagged off four days ago. This is the second edition of this initiative by Hyundai where motoring journalists from across the country are invited to drive to a destination of their choice. In the first edition of the Great India Drive, we drove the Creta from Leh to Mumbai through Orchha in 2015. This time our vehicle is the recently launched Hyundai Tucson. And the purpose of the drive is to promote Hyundais road safety initiative in India  Be The Better Guy. We would be handing out specially monogrammed Hyundai caps to people along the way in exchange for a pledge to follow driving rules.

Autocar India had decided to take a more ambitious route for the second edition of the Great India Drive with the Tucson. Since Dharamshala is home to His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, the face of Buddhism to the world, we decided to follow the Buddhist trail through India and Nepal. The route planned was not just to stitch together Buddhist landmarks but also to test the Tucsons capabilities through various terrains and conditions. The journey would take us through the mountain roads of Shimla and Rishikesh, down to the plains of Nepal and back up to the mountains to Kathmandu, and then back to Siliguri in India before we reached our final destination, Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim.

The snow-capped peaks of the Dhauladhar range provided the perfect backdrop for the flag off from outside the gates of the Fortune Hotel in Dharamshala. As Y K Koo, MD and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., waved us off, we reset the tripmeter to zero, slotted the drive to D, and headed for Thekchen Choeling temple to seek the blessings before starting our journey. Thekchen Choeling is the home of the Dalai Lama. Its a Buddhist temple with a residential complex where the Dalai Lama and his devotees live. After seeking the blessings of Shakyamuni Buddha, we set course for Shimla, our first destination on this drive.

The first two days would see us drive on the hill roads of Himachal and then to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. How would the big 4.5-metre SUV fare on the steep, narrow roads? It didnt take long for us to find out. On narrow hill roads, overtaking is as much an art as it is science. Since you cant overtake on blind curves, you have to take advantage of any open stretch you get to pass the slower vehicles. It is here that the 185PS engine showed its stuff. We just left the transmission on normal Drive mode, tapped the accelerator and the huffing-puffing lorry was in our rear view mirror in an instant and we could now enjoy the open stretch in front of us. If you think traffic jams in Delhi or Mumbai are bad, you wouldnt want to get stuck during rush hour in Shimla. Theres a drop on one side and the mountain on the other, creeping up a steep incline. At times you have to choose getting a scratch on your car or rolling down the mountain. It is here the Tucson automatic box really helped, freeing us from the tiring clutch-handbrake-accelerator pedal dance. At times the Tucsons electrically-folded mirrors had to be closed to let the traffic on the opposite side to pass by. That the Tucson has both front and rear parking sensors and a high driving position meant that we could navigate the big SUV with millimetre accuracy.

Its on the second day of the drive, on our way from Shimla to Rishikesh that we came across one of the best driving stretches. The 80-odd kilometres between Solan and Nahan have little traffic, smooth black asphalt and engaging curves. The Tucson hungrily gobbled up the stretch, and we wanted to go back and do it again. We unfortunately had a schedule to stick to, but promised ourselves that we would be back.

The highlight of the third day of our drive was entering Nepal through the Banbasa border in Uttarakhand. A narrow bridge connects the two countries, and theres just enough space for one car to pass through. The gates are opened for vehicles every two hours, so if you are planning to drive to Nepal, check the timings.

It was relatively painless as we had the original papers of the car as well as our driving licences. But we had to go through about 10 checks before we were cleared to enter Nepal. On the Nepal border we paid Rs 300 per day our car would be in Nepal. Plus another Rs 50 for a temporary registration. A further Rs 275 and we were all cleared to go and drive in Nepal. It was past sunset by the time we entered Nepal, where we spent the night at Mahendranagar.

We had clocked over 1,000km on the tripmeter by this time, driving long hours through all sorts of terrain and road conditions, but the big SUV was running without a hiccup or breaking a sweat.

Our destination for day four of the drive  Lumbini. It was a 450km drive to the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. The major part of the road skims past and through the Bardia National Park and is sparsely populated. Driving on this immaculately maintained road, and cutting through the forest, we felt that we were driving in Europe rather than Nepal. The only non-European bit were road signs in Nepali language all along the road warning you of keeping your speed in check and be vigilant of wild animals crossing the road. And we were glad to pay heed since we spotted a deer and a bunch of wild animals by the roadside.

Lumbini is not only Buddhas birthplace but also a site to see different Buddhist architectures and cultures from across the world. There are different monasteries and pagodas built by different countries. Each monastery has its own design, significance and importance. It would take a week to explore the whole complex, but we had just one morning, as another long drive lay ahead of us to Nepals capital city Kathmandu.

The road to Kathmandu reminded us that not all roads in Nepal are as good as the roads we drove on the previous day. In fact, the road between Narayangadh and Mugling, a 36km stretch is closed every day between 10am and 4pm to facilitate road building. When, after an hours wait in the queue, we finally drove into the closed section, we realised that there was no road but just a boulder-strewn dirt track. Though the big potholes did not ruffle the Tucsons composure, there was one enemy even this SUV could not defeat. Dust from the vehicles ahead made it impossible to see more than a couple of metres ahead. Bad visibility and a rough road slowed us down to nearly a crawl and it took us two hours to cross the 36km stretch. It meant that the run to Kathmandu had to be done in the dark. Kathmandu had gone to bed by the time we arrived at our hotel. We were tired but elated. We were half way through our journey, and we would be spending the whole of next day in Kathmandu before turning back towards India. And that is another story that will be continued in the next issue.

Copyright (c) Autocar India. All rights reserved.
Photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

A situation where an exiting employee is unable to return his or her company vehicle is rare but can occur. Companies should be prepared to implement processes to avoid these scenarios from happening.

Erik Rasmussen, director of strategic operations for PARS Inc., a fleet driveway company, said that this type of situation is rare since companies are usually anxious to get their vehicles back from exiting employees.

To avoid finding itself in this situation, a company should spell out close-out processes with each exiting employee before retrieving the vehicle. If a former employer is not responding or is taking too long to recover a fleet vehicle, the separating employee should discuss the urgency with his or her human resources department, Rasmussen said. Proper communication with the various stakeholders involved in employee separation, he added, is vital.

Ensuring a Smooth Exiting Process

If a separating employee contacts the human resources department to pick up a fleet vehicle and gets no response, calling the companys fleet support phone number would be a second option. The call might route to an internal fleet department or fleet management company.

At a Glance To prevent the rare instance in which an exiting employee is unable to return a company vehicle, fleets should: Suggest the ex-employee contact human resources or the companys fleet support phone number.

Encourage fleet stakeholders to be on the same page about how vehicles are picked up.

Utilize active reporting, which is a status reporting process between the company and the employee.

Either way, [the fleet department or fleet management company] will be concerned about the safe and speedy recovery of the vehicle asset and will often be able to work with the transporter to expedite the pickup of the fleet vehicle, Rasmussen said.

In some instances, Rasmussen said separating employees work out deals with human resources to leave a vehicle at an agreed-upon location. Maybe they have negotiated with human resources that theyre going to leave the vehicle at a hotel or with the hotel manager. Those [situations] are a little rarer.

Rasmussen noted an instance in which PARS received an order to pick up a car from a separating employee who decided to abandon the fleet vehicle in an airport parking lot.

Hes also witnessed a separating employee leave a fleet vehicle with a former coworker or manager.

But in a situation in which the employee wants the vehicle taken away and cant get a response: I think the key is communication, and again, where we see a lot of success is when the companies that are separating with this employee communicate well upfront. The ones that are effective provide our contact information, for example, to the separating employee, Rasmussen said.

If the employee does not get an adequate response from human resources, he or she should contact the fleet manager or fleet management company, both of which will usually be very concerned about getting that vehicle asset back. They will usually be able to contact a transporter to get the vehicle out of the ex-employees driveway, Rasmussen added.

Kathy Massey, corporate vice president, client relations, for AmeriFleet, a vehicle logistics services provider, also noted that this sort of situation  an exiting employee being unable to return a vehicle  would be a strange situation to find oneself in. The fleet management company, she added, should know where all vehicles are at all times. If it happened, it would seem to me to be an isolated case, she said.

Massey agreed with Rasmussen that communication among the various stakeholders is vital. The fleet manager, fleet management company, and vehicle logistics company should verify with each other how many vehicles should be picked up in a given time period, noting any trouble spots.

Lets say the logistics company went back to the [fleet manager] or fleet management company and said We picked up 99 of the vehicles, but one wouldnt release it. There is a follow  through to find out how that happened, Massey said. There must be some resolution for each one where there is not a solid termination pickup. It had to be between the client and the logistics company that there is a disconnect there. But [the logistics company and fleet management] have to be confirming their sheets to make sure theyre both on the same page and not missing any.

All stakeholders at AmeriFleet work on the same master spreadsheet to track progress. During the project, meetings take place once a week over the phone or on Skype.

Wrap-up meetings after the project are just as important as meetings that take place before the vehicle pickups take place, Massey said. If all the vehicles were not picked up, fleets need to address the reasons why for each vehicle.

Some of them are valid reasons, like the driver is purchasing it, or maybe an auction picked it up instead because it was not in good condition, Massey said. There are lots of reasons but at least confirm every order and where that asset went to make sure there were no holes in the process. Preparation is key, but also wrapping up the project to make sure you are reviewing it at that time too, to tie up all the loose ends and make sure that everything that was supposed to be deployed and picked up was completed as such, because there are a lot of changes and moving parts.

One pharmaceutical company fleet manager who asked for anonymity agreed with Massey on the need for coordination among the various stakeholders involved in a fleet downsizing. The fleet manager said the human resources department at her company leads the collaboration between stakeholders during downsizing projects. This involves the return of company vehicles to the fleet department; the IT department working to return laptops from exiting employees; and the travel and expense department overseeing the return of corporate cards. The human resources department or a third-party close-out company oversees the return of pharmaceutical samples and sales literature from the drivers.

The anonymous fleet manager noted the importance of her fleet partners in the process, including the driveaway company and the vehicle remarketing company, which manages the pharmaceutical companys employee vehicle purchase program with a website that employees can use to see if they are interested in purchasing any fleet vehicles due for replacement. If no one purchases a specific vehicle, the driveaway company goes through the entire pickup process with the driver.

Tips to Streamline the Vehicle-Return Process

Active reporting is a process Rasmussen recommends that companies employ as a way to streamline exiting employees vehicle return processes. Through active reporting, the parties involved report the status of a project at least once a week, and at times multiple times per week.

Rasmussen also recommends the use of close-out documents. He noted that close-out documents are more common in larger acquisitions, but fleets of all sizes could use some form of close-out document when a fleet driver leaves the company.

The document maps out the companys expectations of the separating employee, such as how to handle drug samples in the case of a pharmaceutical employee. It might also specify how to handle return of IT equipment, remind an employee to make sure all of his or her personal belongings are out of the vehicle, or to leave the toll tag in the company vehicle. The document might also tell the employee whether the driveaway company will be picking up the vehicle.

Again, communication is key, setting the expectations upfront and then proactively communicating to that separating employee. And as part of that communication, also providing them with the right contact information if they have questions, Rasmussen said. For questions around their company vehicle, and surrendering their vehicle, call the transporter. Have all that contact information there so theyre reaching directly out to the right person versus fishing around through human resources. Human resources is not always going to be the fastest path to the answer theyre seeking.
Thailand flag courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Mitsubishi Motors has become the No. 1 automotive exporter in Thailand with total export volume of 309,915 units for the 12-month period ending March 31.

The company's Laem Chabang factory in Thailand is now the largest global production hub for Mitsubishi Motors, with more than 80% of all its local production sold for export, according to Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi Motors Thailand operates four plants in Thailand that employ more than 6,000 workers. Last fiscal year, the company's Thai operations produced 356,000 vehicles, according to the automaker.

The main export destinations are Europe (28%), ASEAN and Asia region (25%), North America (21%), Oceania (12%), others (14 %).
Ara Abrahamian, a businessman leading Russias largest Armenian Diaspora organization, admitted on Tuesday that he did not expect the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) to comfortably win last months parliamentary elections.

Abrahamian seemed disappointed with the official results of the April 2 vote, while accepting their legitimacy. I read international newspapers [which said] that there were very normal elections [in Armenia] for the first time, he told reporters in Yerevan.

I feel sorry, he went on. You had a chance in those elections and I dont know how you used it  Yes, the results were unexpected. But I can say one thing: the will of the people is final for me.

The Armenian-born tycoon, who has long enjoyed the Kremlins backing, urged Armenians to press the election winner to deliver on its campaign promises. We must now create a mechanism for the fulfillment of their promises, he said.

Abrahamian, 60, announced plans to start political activities in Armenia in October 2015 as he marked the 15th anniversary of his Union of Armenians of Russia. He said he will most probably set up a political party to contest the April 2017 elections. He stated in November 2016, however, that he will steer clear of Armenian politics for health reasons.

Abrahamian was not among 30 wealthy Russian businessmen of Armenian descent who issued a joint statement during Prime Minister Karen Karapetians official visit to Moscow in January. They voiced full support for profound reforms planned by Karapetians cabinet and expressed readiness to finance business projects in Armenia.

The entrepreneurs led by billionaire Samvel Karapetian (no relation to the prime minister) went on to set up a multimillion-dollar investment fund for that purpose. Officials in Yerevan say that it will invest $300 million in the Armenian economy this year alone.

In what appears to be a related development, the Armenian government and the state-controlled Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) created a similar fund in March. An agreement on its establishment was reached during Karen Karapetians January talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The Armenian premier lived and worked in Russia from 2011-2016, holding senior executive positions in local subsidiaries of the Gazprom energy giant. He has repeatedly pledged to improve Armenias investment climate since taking office in September.

Abrahamian said that the business environment still leaves much to be desired. He also complained that the Armenian authorities have not shown sufficient interest in his initiatives and, in particular, a business forum organized by his union in Yerevan last year.

When the governor of one of Russias biggest banks, Herman Gref, spoke [at the forum] there were barely 15 people in the auditorium listening to him, he said. This is a misfortune, it shows the work of the authorities.
James Burger covers county government and politics for The Californian. He can be reached at 661-395-7417. Follow him on Twitter at @KernQuirks and on Facebook at Tbc James Burger.

Harold Pierce covers education and health for The Californian. He can be reached at 661-395-7404. Follow him on Twitter @RoldyPierce
PRAIRIE MINING LIMITED

NEWS RELEASE | 2 May 2017

COKING COAL QUALITY RESULTS ESTABLISH JAN KARSKI AS A HIGH VALUE ULTRA-LOW ASH COKING COAL MINE



HIGHLIGHTS

Recent coal quality testwork establishes the potential to produce high value ultra-low ash semi-soft coking coal (SSCC) at Jan Karski

Independent analyis by coal market consultants predicts that Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC would potentially realise a 10% premium to international benchmark SSCC prices

Washability results demonstrate the ability to produce ultra-low ash (<3%) semi soft coking coals that are in high demand from global stealmakers due to the considerable commercial advantages of enhanced value in use and lower CO2 emissions

Coke oven tests demonstrated exceptional results with Coke Strength after Reaction (CSR) of 51.5, exceeding typical CSR parameters of internationally traded semi soft coking coals

Preliminary washplant flow sheet redesign anticipates a significantly upgraded product split of 75% ultra-low ash semi-soft coking coal, and is not expected to result in a reduction of overall saleable coal product yields, or material project cost increases

Preliminary discussions with select European steel makers have confirmed the suitability of ultra low ash, high CSR semi-soft coking coals to be utilised in coke oven blends

Benchmarking of the Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC against semi-soft coking coal currently produced by OKD in the Czech Republic demonstrates the potential of the Jan Karski product to replace these coals in the regional market





Prairie Mining Limited (Prairie or Company) is pleased to announce the results of enhanced coal quality analysis and test work from a recently completed borehole (Cycow 9) at the Jan Karski Mine (Jan Karski). Key results from the expanded coke oven and washability test work indicate the potential to produce a high value ultra-low ash SSCC with a high CSR, with a high 75% product yield. Preliminary analysis by independent consultants indicates that the Jan Karski Ultra-low ash SSCC could achieve a 10% premium to international SSCC benchmark prices, due to several superior qualities.

Prairies CEO Ben Stoikovich commented: The expanded washability and coking analysis from the recently drilled Cycow 9 borehole has confirmed that a high value Ultra-Low ash SCCC can be produced from Jan Karski, at a product yield of 75%. This transforms Jan Karski into a predominantly coking coal project with superior semi-soft coking qualities that have potential to achieve market pricing of some 10% above the standard international SSCC benchmarks. With the expected closure of coal mines in the Czech Republic that produce SSCC by 2022, there is a growing regional market opportunity for Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC coals.



For further information, contact:

Ben Stoikovich

Chief Executive Officer

+44 207 478 3900



Artur Kluczny

Group Executive  Poland

+48 22 351 73 80



Sapan Ghai

Corporate Development

+44 207 478 3900

info@pdz.com.au





RESULTS FROM RECENT DRILLING AND EXPANDED COAL QUALITY ANALYSIS



Prairie completed drilling the Cycow 9 borehole at Jan Karski in February 2017. Cycow 9 was a large diameter, PQ size borehole and the first of its kind to be drilled at Jan Karski enabling sufficient quantities and sized coal from the 391 seam to be collected to meet the requirements for physical coke testing, specifically confirmation of CSR and extended coal washability test work. The analysis and testwork was conducted at leading fully accredited European laboratories in Poland, Germany and the UK. The CSR test is considered vital in testing for a coals coking properties important to steelmakers as it is an indicator of the performance / strength of the coke produced from the coal. The full range of standard coking tests were also conducted as shown in table 1 below:





Table 1: Analysis results from Cycow 9 borehole  391 seam

TOTAL MOISTURE ar% 10-12% ULTIMATE ANALYSIS COKING PROPERTIES

Carbon daf% 81.90 FSI 5.5

PROXIMATE ANALYSIS Hydrogen daf% 5.42 Gray King Coke G5

Inherent moisture adb% 3.4 Nitrogen daf% 1.91 Roga Index 69

Ash ar% 2.6 Sulphur ad% 1.16 CSR % 51.5

Volatile Matter ar% 33-36 Oxygen daf% 7.10 CRI % 39.1

Fixed Carbon ad% 57 Ash in Coke % 3.3

RO(MAX) & MACERAL ANALYSIS Sulphur in Coke % 0.87

ASH CHEMISTRY Vitrinite % 74.40

SiO2 db% 33.32 Liptinite % 13.20 Giesler Plastometer

Al2O3 db% 29.63 Inertinite % 12.40 Initial Softening C 379

Fe2O3 db% 20.30 Mineral Matter % 0.00 Max Fluidity temp C 416

CaO db% 4.49 RoMax % 0.88 Resolidification C 435

MgO db% 1.73 Max Fluidity ddpm 90

TiO2 db% 0.98 OTHER COAL PROPERTIES

NaO2 db% 0.96 Sulphur ar% 1.09 ASTM Dilation

K2O db% 1.10 HGI average ad% 44 Softening Temperature C 370

P2O5 db% 3.41 Phosphorus ad% 0.034 Max Contraction Temp C 408

SO3 db% 2.36 Max Dilation Temp C 433

Other db% 1.72 Max Contraction % C 32

Max Dilation % D 35



JAN KARSKI COKING COAL KEY QUALITY ADVANTAGES



Ultra-low Ash



Washability analysis from the Cycow 9 borehole and previous boreholes drilled by Prairie across Jan Karski has demonstrated that due to the low inherent ash and excellent washability characteristics of the 391 seam, Jan Karski SSCC coal is unique with typical ash product level of less than 3% (air dried) and far superior to typical ash levels for major coking coal brands (both hard and soft) traded internationally and produced domestically in Europe. With an average ash specification of 2.6%, the Jan Karski SSCC is an ultra-low ash product compared to all the comparison coals. Low ash provides a number of technical benefits including improved coke strength and caking properties, and reduced fuel rate in the blast furnace.

The ultra-low ash content increases the coals value-in-use to steel and coke makers, making the product highly saleable in both the domestic European and international markets. One of the key outcomes of utilising ultra-low ash coking coal to produce low ash coke ash is the resulting decreased fuel rate. This has a key environmental benefit for steel makers that results in a reduction in CO2 emissions per tonne of hot metal produced.



Prairies analysis predicts increasing global demand for ultra-low ash coking coal for blending with hard coking coal (HCC), because of a continuing trend of rising average ash levels in globally traded hard coking coals. Premium hard coking coal resources with low ash are becoming increasingly scarce, forcing consumers to make concessions on HCC ash levels. Ultra-low ash coking coals for blending are becoming increasingly sought after by consumers seeking to blend-down the ash levels in their coke blends. This is a particular advantage for European steelmakers where EU regulations focus on reduced CO2 emissions. This trend has important implications for the future marketability of Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC.



Coke Strength After Reaction



The measured CSR (51.5) of the 391 seam from Cycow 9 borehole at Jan Karski is at the top end of the range for semi-soft coking coal. A CSR figure of 51.5 shows the coal has the ability to form a coherent coke mass. The Jan Karski coal has a number of features conducive to forming good coke for a semi-soft type coal:



1. the coal is ultra-low ash and low inertinite, meaning the coke has few inertinites to bind;

2. the coal has higher rank for a semi-soft compared to typical Hunter Valley and Maules Creek semi-soft coking coals; and

3. the coal exhibits moderate fluidity and reasonable total dilatation.



Further CSR analysis will be undertaken as part of future drilling programs.



Other Positive Attributes



Other Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC quality positives are its high vitrinite content, and low phosphorous levels, mid-range FSI (5.5), Gray King Index (G5). The volatile matter is in the range typical for Australian traded SSCCs, with the rank of the Jan Karski coal being slightly higher and closer to a semi-hard coking coal specification.





PRICE BENCHMARKING



Independent coal market specialists CRL Energy Ltd (CRL) were appointed by Prairie to analyse the potential value of Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC in the market. CRL took two approaches to price benchmarking. The first approach applied the method used by the Platts publication of international benchmark coal prices. The second was a proprietary approach adopted by CRL based on value in use assessment incorporating assumptions regarding a typical Western European coking coal blend used by steel makers and proportions of Jan Karski ultra-low ash SSCC included in the blend.



The Platts coal market publication shows a number of penalty/premium factors that can be used to calculate relative value of coking coals against a stated benchmark. The limit of this method is that it assumes all markets would derive the same value from a particular coal; this is not strictly applicable in all cases, since value is also a function of the other coals in the blend, coke versus PCI rate and plant configuration. The benchmark coal used in this evaluation is the Rio Tinto Hunter Valley semi-soft, hence this coal is calibrated at 100% of the benchmark. The Platts benchmarking shows the Jan Karski coal specification is valued at 112.7% of the Rio Tinto semi-soft specification. The only comparable coal is the Blackwater coking coal (which is more of a semi-hard type specification) and the NZ SSCC (a low ash semi-soft coking coal).





Both Platts benchmarking and value in use modelling show Jan Karski is a high value semi-soft, driven substantially by the ultra-low ash. The Platts specification benchmarking suggests Jan Karski should be priced at a 10% premium above the benchmark Rio Tinto Hunter Valley semi-soft coal.



WASHPLANT DESIGN UPDATE AND COKING COAL YIELD



Dargo Associates, specialist coal handling and preparation consultants were appointed to re-evaluate the potential yields of ultra-low ash coking coal from the Jan Karski mine, and develop a conceptual washplant flow sheet. To evaluate the yield of ultra-low ash coal, the washability tests were extended to give more information on separation in the lower density ranges. Separating at low density increases the quantities of near density material and the extended washability test work was used to identify the most efficient wash plant process. The washability results of from the recently drilled Cycow 9 borehole were consistent with the results from washability analysis conducted for all of the eight boreholes Prairie has drilled across Jan Karski, demonstrating exceptionally high yields of ultra-low ash (<3%) product coal at RD1.35 float.

Because the Prairie coal will be washed at a lower density to achieve the ultra-low ash product, higher ash coal will report to the residual thermal coal which is washed at a higher density, and typically sold into the steam coal market.

Preliminary analysis has shown that the production of ultra-low ash SSCC (<3%) results in an overall yield of saleable coal of 82%, which is similar overall yield as indicated in the original Jan Karski Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) published in March 2016. Overall mine yields are hardly impacted by the ultra-low ash beneficiation as any coal lost due to the lowering of ash on the ultra-low ash SSCC product reports to the thermal product.

The predicted ratio of ultra-low ash SSCC to thermal coal is 75% coking coal to 25% thermal coal. The thermal coal product is anticipated to have 13% ash, and will be in line with typical API2 specification export quality thermal coal. Should Prairie decide to sell a typically higher ash Polish domestic thermal coal of up to 25% ash, the overall yield will increase further.

COMPARISON TO SEMI SOFT COKING COALS PRODUCED IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC



Semi soft coking coal is produced in the Czech Republic by mining company OKD, formerly New World Resources. The two mines at OKD that produce semi-soft coking coal are Karvina CSA and Darkov mines. According to Prairies estimates these two mines combined currently produce approximately 1.8mtpa of semi-soft coking coal. In recent press reports indications are that these mines will cease production by 2022.



Jan Karski Ultra-low ash SSCC coal quality parameters compare favourably with the coals produced at Karvina CSA and Darkov mines, with a summary comparison of coal qualities indicated in table 2. These types of coals find wide acceptance in European coke ovens and particularly in stamp charging coke batteries that are widely used in Poland and Central Europe.



Table 2: Jan Karski Ultra-low Ash SSCC compared to OKD Czech mines

Parameter Jan Karski Ultra-low ash SSCC Darkov Karvina CSA

Rank (Ro) 0.88 1.15 1.00

VM % 33-36 27 28

Ash % 2.6 8.0 8.0

FSI 5.5 4.5 5

Vitrinite % 74 43 42

Dilatation 35 25 25

Fluidity 90 300 500

Phos % 0.035 0.01 0.25

CSR 51.5 45-48 45-50

Coal Type HV SSCC MV SSCC MV SSCC





FORWARD WORK PROGRAM



Prairie is planning additional drilling program at Jan Karski to conduct more detailed coking coal analysis and develop a comprehensive marketing strategy around the Jan Karksi high value low ash SSCC. The works program will aim at:



 Performing a more detailed evaluation of the coke products;

 Further developing a technical marketing strategy by ongoing identification and evaluation of potential customers; and

 Performing a comprehensive blending evaluation of the resource for specific customers.



BACKGROUND ON JAN KARSKI

In March 2016, Prairie announced the results of a PFS for the Jan Karski Mine confirming the technical viability and robust economics of the Project and highlighting its potential to become one of the lowest cost, large scale strategic coal suppliers to be developed in Europe.

The Study utilised an updated Coal Resource Estimate (CRE) for the Project which comprises a Global CRE of 728Mt including an Indicated Resource of 181Mt from two coal seams, the 391 and 389 seams. The PFS incorporated a mine plan based on an initial Marketable Ore Reserve Estimate generated from the indicated resources within the 391 and 389 seams.

Table 3: Jan Karski Mine Resource JORC Coal Resource and Reserve Estimate - 389 & 391 Seams

Coal Seam Indicated Coal Resource

In-Situ (Mt)

389 17

391 164

Total 181

Probable Recoverable Coal Reserves (Mt) 170

Probable Marketable Coal Product (Mt) 139



Forward Looking Statements

This release may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Prairies expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Prairie, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Prairie makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that release.



Competent Person Statements

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on, and fairly represents information compiled or reviewed by Mr Jonathan ODell, a Competent Person who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr ODell is a part time consultant of the Company. Mr ODell has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr ODell consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.



The information in this announcement that relates to the Coal Resources and Coal Reserves was extracted from Prairies announcement dated 8 March 2016 entitled Pre-feasibility Study Confirms LCP As One of The Lowest Cost Global Coal Suppliers Into Europe which is available to view on the Companys website at www.pdz.com.au.



The information in the original announcement that relates to Exploration Results and Coal Resources is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled or reviewed by, Mr Samuel Moorhouse, a Competent Person who is a Chartered Geologist and is employed by independent consultants Royal HaskoningDHV UK Limited. Mr Moorhouse has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.



Prairie confirms that: a) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original announcements; b) all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Coal Resource and Coal Reserve included in the original announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant Competent Persons findings are presented in this presentation have not been materially modified from the original announcements.



To view the announcement in full including all figures and illustrations please visit www.pdz.com.au



JORC Code, 2012 Edition  Table 1 report

SECTION 1 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES AND DATA

(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections.)

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary

Sampling techniques  Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling.

 Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used.

 Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report.

 Coal cores were taken from continuous cores in the Carboniferous sections of the boreholes.

 Assessment of coal quality and type is based on the results of laboratory tests of the coal samples taken from the borehole cores.

 All seams equal to, or thicker than 0.60 m were analysed.

 Dirt (rock) partings in-seam less than 0.05 m were included in the coal sample and analysed with the coal.

 Dirt partings equal to, or thicker than 0.05 m were analysed separately.

 Average core yield was 99.9%. Core yields for both target seams, 389 and 391 were 100%.

Drilling techniques  Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc).  The borehole was drilled open hole to 21 m below the base of the Jurassic, approximately 695 m, and cased. Continuous coring was used in the in the coal measure strata below. Core diameter was 85 mm (PQ).

Drill sample recovery  Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed.

 Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples.

 Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material.  During the drilling of the borehole coal samples were collected from the drill core using methods that were standard for the coal industry in Poland (according to GWP and international standard ISO 14180:1998(E)  Solid mineral fuels  Guidance on the sampling of coal seams)

 Core recovery was determined for the coal samples by measuring the lengths of recovered core and weighing broken/fragmentary core and calculating length to provide an overall recovery length and percentage as compared to the drilling depths. Final checks are provided by comparison with thicknesses determined from the suite of geophysical logs.

 Core recoveries were recorded for each core run and for individual seams.

 There is no known relationship between recovery and quality.

 All cores were photographed.

Logging  Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies.

 Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography.

 The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged.  The cores have been logged and analysed in sufficient detail to support the this announcement. Cores were analysed by Centralne Laboratorium Pomiarowo-  Badawcze Sp. z o.o. laboratories certified to Polish national standards and at AHK, Knight Energy Services Ltd. Certified to international standards. The results are considered fit for purpose.

 Detailed borehole records are presented in the Borehole Documentation which contains the written description, graphic log (borehole card) and details of analyses and interpretations, including the final accepted seam thicknesses.

 The Carboniferous section was fully cored and logged throughout.

Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation  If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken.

 If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry.

 For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique.

 Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples.

 Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling.

 Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled.  Cores were not split but sampled as whole core as is standard practice with coal core. Detailed core recovery measurements were made allowing assessment of the representative nature of the core analysed. Cores were wrapped in plastic to prevent moisture loss prior to analysis.

Quality of assay data and laboratory tests  The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total.

 For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc.

 Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have been established.  Laboratory procedures were to the standard industry practices.

 Geophysical logs used in the boreholes include natural gamma, density (gamma gamma), acoustic scanner, dual laterolog and caliper logs. These are of sufficient quality to be used for quantitative (i.e. seam thickness) determinations.

 The laboratories used are accredited to national and international standards and have adequate quality control practices including analysis of standards and participation in round robin exercises.

Verification of sampling and assaying  The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel.

 The use of twinned holes.

 Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.

 Discuss any adjustment to assay data.  Geological supervision over all drilling works was performed by geological staff contracted to PDCo who are qualified and licensed according to Polish Geological and Mining Law

 These geological staff also performed detailed core logging.

 Twinned boreholes were not used.

 Primary data is held as hard copy (laboratory certificates etc.) and this has been transferred to electronic spreadsheets.

 No adjustments have been made to assay data.

Location of data points  Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.

 Specification of the grid system used.

 Quality and adequacy of topographic control.  The borehole location has been accurately determined and surveyed in the Poland CS2000, zone 8 grid system.

 Detailed topographic maps are available.

Data spacing and distribution  Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results.

 Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied.

 Whether sample compositing has been applied.  This announcement of exploration results relates to a single borehole, Cycow 9.

 Sample compositing has not been used.

Orientation of data in relation to geological structure  Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type.

 If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material.  The borehole was nominally vertical and the coal seams have low to moderate dip and relatively simple structure and so there is no structural or orientation bias to the sampling.

 The borehole has been surveyed for verticality with maximum deviation of approximately 22 m at a depth of 985 m.

Sample security  The measures taken to ensure sample security.  All core samples were handled by staff contracted to PDCo under supervision of a licenced geologist. Core samples were marked for way up orientation placed in plastic in fully labelled wooden core boxes. These staff also undertook core sampling and in the case of the target seams this was supervised by consultants contracted to Prairie Mining.

Audits or reviews  The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data.  The data and techniques have been reviewed by the Competent Person and are considered adequate and appropriate.



SECTION 2 REPORTING OF EXPLORATION RESULTS

(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary

Mineral tenement and land tenure status  Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings.

 The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area.  Prairie has held the exploration licences to five Exploration concession areas that constitute the Jan Karski Mine: Cycow (K-6-7; No. 23/2012/p, updated 2013), Syczyn (K-8; No.21/2012/p), Kulik (K-4-5; No.20/2012/p), Kopina (K-9; No.22/2012p) and Sawin-Zachod (No35/2014p).

 On 1 July 2015, Prairie announced that it had secured the Exclusive Right to apply for, and consequently be granted, a mining concession for the Jan Karski Mine.

 As a result of its geological documentation for the Jan Karski Mine deposit being approved, Prairie is now the only entity that can lodge a mining concession application over the Jan Karski Mine within a three (3) year period.

 The approved geological documentation covers an area comprising all four of the original exploration concessions granted to Prairie (K-4-5, K-6-7, K-8 and K-9) and includes the full extent of the targeted resources within the mine plan for the Jan Karski Mine. Prairies geological documentation did not include the Sawin-Zachod concession which may be added at a later date.

Exploration done by other parties  Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties.  Not applicable.

Geology  Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation.  The deposit is a Carboniferous hard coal consisting of coal seams separated by units of mudstone and sandstone.

Drill hole Information  A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes:

o easting and northing of the drill hole collar

o elevation or RL (Reduced Level  elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar

o dip and azimuth of the hole

o down hole length and interception depth

o hole length.

 If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case.  X: 5683824.01 Y: 8438762.15 (Polish CS2000 zone 8)

 H: 179.84 m a.s.l

 Nominally vertical, deviation approximately 22 m at 317o at base of hole.

 Hole length/depth  986.30 m (drilling)

Data aggregation methods  In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.

 Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.

 The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated.  Coal seams have normally been sampled as one continuous sample. Dirt partings of 5 cm in thickness or less have been sampled with the coal.

Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths  These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results.

 If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

 If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg down hole length, true width not known).  The boreholes are nominally vertical and the coal seams form part of a stratiform deposit dipping at approximately 0  5 degrees.

 Intercept lengths used in the model are drill intercept lengths which will be modelled in 3D removing the need to calculate the true thickness. Because of the very low dip the difference between intercept thickness and true thickness is not significant.

Diagrams  Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views.  Not applicable

Balanced reporting  Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results.  Not applicable.

Other substantive exploration data  Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples  size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances.  Not applicable.

Further work  The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

 Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive.  Prairie Mining may drill further boreholes if deemed appropriate.










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A heroin dealer who supplied Class A drugs to an undercover police officer in Bath will be sentenced later this month.

Aaron Blake, aged 25, was due to appear in Bristol Crown Court today (May 2) to learn his punishment after admitting his crime before Magistrates.

However, the defendant did not show up due to an administrative delay.

On Wednesday, March 15, Blake appeared in Bath Magistrates Court where he admitted supplying 0.16 grammes of heroin to undercover police officer Ben in the Walcot area of Bath.

Undercover officer Ben was placed on the streets of Bath as part of Operation Hydra  a four-month-long undercover drugs bust.

More than 50 people supplied or offered to supply heroin or crack cocaine to undercover officers calling themselves "Joe", "Ben" and "Rob" during the operation.

On July 21 last year, officer Ben made calls to the Milo drug line, which led him to Thomas Street in Walcot to meet with Blake.

He gave the defendant 10 in exchange for 0.16 grammes of the banned drug.

Blake, of St Pauls Road in London, gave the officer heroin with a 19 per cent purity, which he had concealed in a blue bag in his mouth.

The sentencing has been adjourned for two weeks.

The defendant is due back in court on Tuesday, May 16 at 2pm.
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A photo of two Franciscan friars astride Harley-Davidson motorcycles hangs on the wall of a Bible study classroom at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Beaumont.

The image gives parishioners Cole Roedahl, 16, and Colin Tofo, 17, a different perspective on becoming priests. They say the picture is proof their religious mentors have lives outside their church duties.

Barbettte Finch, a high school youth minister and confirmation instructor at St. Anne's, said more than a dozen of her students expressed interest in the priesthood after attending a retreat in early March. She said the Franciscans swayed them.

"If you know they ride around on Harleys, you know they're cool," Finch said of the young friars.

That could prove to be a surprisingly critical factor in the Catholic Church's future.

Facing an acute shortage of priests brought on by aging in its ranks, and hoping to connect with younger parishioners, the Catholic Church is intensifying its recruitment of young men to the priesthood, an effort made more difficult by the different motivations and interests of the millennial generation.

In a pastoral letter to the Catholic community on March 24, the Most. Rev Curtis Guillory, bishop of Beaumont, addressed the church's challenges in recruiting and replacing priests and deacons within a diocese of 44 parishes and seven missions.

"Some may think there is no shortage because there is usually a priest at the altar for Mass, even if he is not the pastor," Guillory wrote. But, the bishop pointed out, in cases where pastors have to cover two parishes, programs like religious education have already been combined.

Although "I have no immediate plans to close parishes and missions," Guillory stressed the importance of recruiting young men from the diocese's parishes to address the growing need.

Appeal of religious vocations

Deeply rooted in the church since they were children, Roedahl, Tofo and fellow Bible study classmate 15-year-old Keith Nelson said they see more pros than cons in becoming priests.

Nelson said he is attracted to the idea of impacting a large number of people. His parish has 1,338 registered families.

Tofo knows a lot people assume that all priests do is celebrate Mass.

"Young people don't realize that priests do have lives outside of the church," Nelson said.

Roedahl said even though there aren't young priests to connect with younger parishioners at his church, he's still developed a close relationship with Monsignor William Manger and Monsignor Michael Jamail through altar-serving for the parish priests.

Manger, the church's pastor, is 83. He is one of four diocesan priests over the average retired age of priests mentioned by Guillory in his pastoral letter.

The Rev. Kevin Badeaux, pastor at St. Joseph in Port Arthur, said he thinks a decline in Catholic schools since their peak in the post-World War II era has contributed to a drop in the number of priests.

"Children would look up to the priests and sisters they would see everyday," Badeaux said.

The first time Roedahl thought of becoming a priest was when he saw the Franciscans.

"They're fun and outgoing, but at the same time they're holy and have a relationship with God," Roedahl said.

Now he sees priests as people - like the Franciscan brothers.

"I know them really well through altar-serving," Roedahl said. "I talk to them before every Mass and they'll crack jokes and just have normal conversations with me."

Roedahl laughed as he recalled times that Jamail has jokingly sprinkled holy water on him and his classmates during Mass.

"It's not as straightforward as people think," Nelson said of priests' demeanor.

Tofo said he heard the priests from his parish talk about going to Saltgrass Steak House. He remembered a time when he was younger and thought priests never left the church.

"I knew the church provided a lot, so I just assumed they stayed in their house," Tofo said, laughing. "I didn't know they went out to eat."

Before strengthening his religious faith, Roedahl said it was hard to balance being cool and having a relationship with God.

"There's always going to be people who judge you, there's no doubt about that," Roedahl said about his considered vocation.

He said surrounding himself with people, like his Bible study classmates, who are understanding of his faith has helped keep him pointed in the direction of his vocation.

"I have a strong support system," Roedahl said.

As West Brook High School students, Roedahl and Tofo aren't exposed to a religious atmosphere daily. The majority of their peers at St. Anne's attend Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School.

"I think people think that talking about faith isn't cool, because the view of cool nowadays is doing one thing all the time because that's what works," Nelson said. "To be Catholic and think about God you don't have to say his name 24/7. You just have to know he's there 24/7."

Marriage in the church

One of the recognized discouragements to many who might consider the priesthood is the general prohibition against marriage.

"I've talked to a ton of people who say they would become priests if they could get married," Roedahl said. "It would change a lot."

Nelson, Roedahl and Tofo agree that if the church allowed priests to marry and have families, other people their age might consider a religious vocation.

But, they say, such priests might be less devoted to the church.

The true marriage is between the priest and the church, Tofo said.

"I don't think it's impossible to be married and be a priest, but I think it's difficult," Badeaux said.

As a priest, Badeaux said, he is essentially married to the church, which takes a lot of sacrifice and commitment.

Not only would marriage make a priest's devotion to God more difficult, the salary isn't enough to support a family, he said.

The church permits some exceptions to the rule of marriage in the priesthood, according to the Associated Press.

"Priests in the eastern rite Catholic Church are allowed to be married, as are married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism," the Associated Press reported.

The Diocese of Beaumont has one married priest, the Rev. Martin Nelson of Our Lady of Victory in Sour Lake, who was an Episcopal priest before converting to Catholicism.

Nelson said that for priests, the church community substitutes for a traditional family.

Badeaux, 59, said he believes a lot of societal factors have contributed to a steady decline in the number of priests.

Smaller families now often place a premium on having children and grandchildren.

Badeaux said he can recall a time when having a priest in the family was an honor. Now parents with fewer children would rather the family name be carried on than have their sons join the priesthood.

Flint Barboza, a 47-year-old ministerial assistant for Monsignor Jerry McGrath, will be ordained in August.

He said when he first realized he wanted to become a religious leader 20 years ago, he was already married.

According to the Diocese of Beaumont web page, parishioners who want to become deacons must be between the ages of 32 and 58, financially stable and, if married, married for at least three years.

Barboza said he thinks those guidelines exist so deacons can have a support system through their journey.

Entering the struggle

Nelson, Roedahl and Tofo know the challenges they face if they enter a short-handed church. But religious work isn't supposed to be easy, they said.

Abut 6 million Texans identify as Catholics, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study. Of those, 57 percent are under 50, including 20 percent between the ages of 18 and 29.

Twenty-seven percent were between 50 and 64, and 16 percent were over 65. In his pastoral letter, Guillory said the population of Catholics in the borders of the diocese is roughly 71,902. He states it is approximately 11.5 percent of the diocese's general population.

Barboza, who has been juggling several responsibilities within the church, is aware of McGrath's heavy workload. As a deacon he hopes to provide some relief.

He will be able to perform a lot of McGrath's duties, though not consecrating the host, hearing confession and anointing the sick, Barboza said.

When Barboza and nine other deacon candidates are ordained in four months, 20-year-old Fernando Vargas will take over Barboza's duties as ministerial assistant. After becoming involved in the church in high school and shadowing Barboza, Vargas said he has considered a future as a deacon.

"I've always believed I've had a vocation for religious work," Vargas said.

More deacons could ease the workload, but the real relief will come from commitment to full-fledged priesthood, lately a hard sell to young men. There are currently five seminarians studying for the diocese.

Badeaux has experienced the shortage firsthand.

He said that last weekend he struggled to find a priest to celebrate the Port Arthur parish's five weekend Masses while he was out of town for mission work. He was out of town for Friday mass, one Saturday mass and three Sunday masses. He said parish deacons ended up giving communion, designed for deacons, to the parish of 1,250 families.

"I think once you start your journey of becoming a priest, it's hard," said Nelson. "But surrounding yourself with people who provide that strength for you from the seminary to the church, it becomes easier over time."

SFlores@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/_saraeflores
A 34-year-old Kirbyville man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in a federal prison for drug trafficking charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced.

"Stefone Dwayne Palomo pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2016, to conspiracy to distribute and possess meth-amphetamine," the office said in a news release.
Jean McCarthy  the second oldest practicing nurse in the U.S.  was honored by the Hellenic American Academy in Lowell, Mass., April 26 as a part of the school's ongoing effort to honor community heroes like police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and nurses, according to the Lowell Sun.

Students, parents and faculty, as well as the mayor, a state senator, members of the city council and nursing students from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell all attended the ceremony.

Speaking on her vocation, Ms. McCarthy highlighted the importance of communication with patients and said she hopes the emerging reliance on technology doesn't take away from the important personal touches essential to the nursing profession. She offered a bit of advice to nursing students in attendance:

"Listen to the patient and see if they're afraid of something, or explain what you're doing and why," she said, according to the Lowell Sun. "It's important to have communication with [patients]."

Ms. McCarthy began her career in 1946, spending several years in the Boston area. She was previously employed at Massachusetts General in Boston and Sancta Maria Hospital in Cambridge, Mass. For the last 24 years, Ms. McCarthy has worked at Lowell's Community Family Alzheimer's Day Health Center.

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Delaware County Memorial workers vote in favor of 3-year labor agreement
Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices is the most widely supported initiative to lower high drug costs among Americans, according to a new survey from Kaiser Family Foundation.

The survey, conducted April 17-23, polled a nationally representative sample of 1,171 adults. KFF asked respondents to share their views on nine different policy actions to lower high drug costs.

A majority of respondents favored every policy action except one, which called for patients to pay a larger share if they choose a high-cost drug over a similar, cheaper version, according to the survey.

Here is a breakdown of public support for each action policy by political party.

1. Allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to get a lower price on medications for Medicare recipients

Democrats: 96 percent

Republicans: 92 percent

Independents: 92 percent

2. Making it easier for generic drugs to enter the market to increase competition and reduce costs

Democrats: 84 percent

Republicans: 91 percent

Independents: 91 percent

3. Requiring drug companies to release information on pricing practices to the public

Democrats: 84 percent

Republicans: 84 percent

Independents: 88 percent

4. Limiting the amount drug companies can charge for high-cost treatments, such as hepatitis or cancer drugs

Democrats: 78 percent

Republicans: 79 percent

Independents: 79 percent

5. Creating an independent group that oversees the pricing of prescription drugs

Democrats: 74 percent

Republicans: 71 percent

Independents: 74 percent

6. Allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs imported from Canada

Democrats: 66 percent

Republicans: 75 percent

Independents: 77 percent

7. Allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs from online pharmacies based in Canada

Democrats: 73 percent

Republicans: 59 percent

Independents: 68 percent

8. Eliminating prescription drug ads

Democrats: 59 percent

Republicans: 53 percent

Independents: 59 percent

9. Encouraging people to buy cheaper drugs by requiring them to pay a higher share if they choose a similar, higher cost drug

Democrats: 40 percent

Republicans: 57 percent

Independents: 60 percent

More articles on supply chain:

Poll: GOP prioritizes lower drug prices over reducing government's role in healthcare

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Supply chain tip of the week: Target services  not supplies  for cost savings
The American Medical Association approved of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia's ruling on the proposed Anthem-Cigna merger.

Here are four notes:

1. The appeals court upheld a lower court ruling blocking the proposed merger.

2. The Anthem-Cigna merger would have been a $54 billion deal.

3. The AMA argues the merger would disadvantage patients because it would likely lead to higher premiums and destroy competition in the marketplace. Additionally, the merger would decrease the total number of national carriers to three.

4. The AMA along with 17 state medical societies campaigned to halt the merger, proposed in 2015.

"The appellate court sent a clear message to the health insurance industry: a merger that smothers competition and choice, raises premiums and reduces quality and innovation is inherently harmful to patients and physicians," said Andrew W. Gurman, MD, AMA president.
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India on Monday reportedly rejected Turkey's offer to host multilateral talks on Kashmir. However, India had asserted that it is only ready to speak with Pakistan on all bilateral issues, including Kashmir. Notably, Turkey's President Erdogan last year told that Turkey was in support of the struggle of our Muslim brothers and sisters in Kashmir.
A water company supplying around 1.6 million UK homes and businesses is being sold to a consortium led by German insurer Allianz.

Affinity Water, the largest water-only supply firm in England and Wales, is being bought by a team of investors, which also includes London-listed HICL and fund manager DIF.

The deal signals the latest interest among overseas investors for UK infrastructure, coming after a minority stake in Thames Water was sold to a consortium of Canadian and Kuwaiti investors in March.

Affinity supplies around 900 million litres of water a day on average across parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and some London boroughs, as well as Folkestone and Dover.

The deal sees Morgan Stanley's infrastructure team and M&G Investments-owned Infracapital sell their 90% stake in Affinity, while French water and waste group Veolia will sell its 10% holding.

Both sales are expected to complete this month.

The group stressed it would be business as usual despite the sale.

Simon Cocks, chief executive of Affinity Water, said: "As a business we will continue to operate as normal, focused on achieving our strategic objective to become the leading community focused water company in the UK.

"We look forward to welcoming our new investors to the company."
Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged to get the public finances into balance 'as early as possible in the next Parliament'

Tax rises and spending cuts totalling 15 billion on top of those already planned by ministers will be needed if the Government is to eliminate the UK's deficit by 2022, a new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned.

Chancellor Philip Hammond last year tore up his predecessor George Osborne's pledge to balance the books by 2020, stating instead that he would get the public finances into balance "as early as possible in the next Parliament".

At the time the pledge was made, the next Parliament was expected to end in 2025, but the snap election has brought that date forward to 2022.

The IFS found that the coalition Government increased taxes by 10 billion a year overall as a result of decisions taken between 2010-15.

And measures announced by the Conservative Government since 2015 will impose an additional 15 billion tax burden, pushing Government revenues towards their highest level since 1986/87, as a share of the national economy.

Meanwhile, seven years of austerity has meant "significant" cuts to areas such as working-age benefits and law and order as a proportion of GDP.

Despite this, overall public spending remains higher than before the 2008 financial crash, as a result of "persistently poor" economic growth and increases in the share of national income going to favoured areas like health, pensioners and overseas aid.

The report - entitled Two Parliaments Of Pain - warned that the era of austerity is not over, with more tax rises and spending cuts to come if the books are to be balanced.

"Eliminating the deficit before a May 2022 general election would require a combination of further net tax rises and spending cuts worth 15 billion on top of what is already planned," the think-tank said.

Despite Conservative manifesto pledges to cut public spending by 1% in real terms in 2016/17 and 2017/18 - the equivalent of 15 billion over the two-year period - the report found that state expenditure is instead due to rise by 1.3% a year, a total of 21 billion.

IFS deputy director Carl Emmerson said: "The deficit is now roughly back to the level it was prior to the financial crisis, although it is still above its long-run average.

"On the tax side the impact on the public finances of substantial tax cuts has been more than outweighed by tax raising measures.

"The net tax rise in the current year from measures announced in the last Parliament is an estimated 10 billion, with an eventual 15 billion a year from measures announced in the current Parliament.

"These are helping push government revenues towards their largest share of the economy since 1986-87."

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the IFS analysis " reveals the failure of seven years of Tory Government".

"Despite promising to balance the books by 2015, the IFS says the UK's public finances 'compare unfavourably to other advanced economies' with the fifth largest deficit and the sixth largest debt pile," said Mr McDonnell.

"Only Labour has a proper plan for the public finances underpinned by our Fiscal Credibility Rule, which will allow us to grow the economy and deliver for the many, not the few."

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Baroness Kramer said the report showed deep cuts in key areas of government activity.

"Theresa May doesn't care about things that compassionate Conservatives used to care about, like the environment and social justice. She is obsessed with a hard Brexit and doesn't care about the impact that choice has on public services like the NHS.

"Instead of tackling the causes of this poor growth, the Conservatives instead are choosing to commit one of the greatest acts of economic self-harm this country will ever see: leaving the single market."

Mr Hammond said: " As the IFS acknowledge, we have made good progress in cutting Labour's deficit by two thirds so we get back to living within our means and securing our economy for the future.

"Jeremy Corbyn's nonsensical ideas would put our economy at grave risk with 500 billion more debt and borrowing. He could get into government propped up by the Lib Dems and SNP in a coalition of chaos, and we'd all pay the price with higher taxes and fewer jobs."

SNP MP Stewart Hosie said: "This is proof that the Tory austerity agenda has failed, damaging economic growth and causing pain for the vulnerable and those on low incomes.

"If there was ever a wake-up call not to cut too far and too fast to meet arbitrary targets, this is it - however, this may be the tip of the iceberg in the event of a hard Tory Brexit.

"The SNP is the only alternative to the Tories. This report shows the choice for Scotland is clear: SNP MPs that will oppose Tory cuts and stand up for Scotland, or five more years of damaging Tory austerity."
Petrol and convenience retailer Maxol has opened its biggest Northern Ireland complex in Co Antrim in a 4m investment - with plans for another four large sites.

Maxol, a fourth generation family business, said the opening of the site at Tannaghmore was a "milestone" for the company.

Companies such as Maxol have grown more ambitious after the arrival of Irish forecourt giant Applegreen, which brought bakery chain Greggs among other franchises to motorways and roads in Northern Ireland.

Maxol has around 100 petrol stations in Northern Ireland but Tannaghmore is its first motorway-style station. The A26 development between Antrim and Ballymena will also feature food franchises including healthy fast food chain Freshly Chopped, as well as Irish kebab and burger giant Abrakebabra. Coffee giant Starbucks is to follow.

Maxol, which is owned by the McMullan family - who started up the business in 1920 - has appointed catering giant Aramark as licensee to run the development.

Brian Donaldson, Maxol's chief executive, said: "The opening of this Maxol marks a milestone for the company here.

"What we are bringing to the market is transformational and at the cutting edge of forecourt services that includes retail and fresh food dining offers.

"We're delighted to welcome Freshly Chopped to the Maxol family in Northern Ireland alongside Abrakebabra and our own Moreish deli.

"We will enhance our extensive food and drink offer here later this year, when we also open a Starbucks store, bringing great quality coffee to customers."

Mr Donaldson added: "Maxol is a private business owned by the McMullan family and in 2020 we will be celebrating 100 years in business.

"I am proud to lead a company that has invested in excess of 100m over the last four years in Ireland with more than 20m invested in Northern Ireland through station openings, refits and the re-branding of nearly 100 forecourts."

"Further investment is planned for Northern Ireland with another four developments on the scale of Tannaghmore using a mix of new greenfield and existing sites, where we have adequate land as we look to extend our retail offering, with a heavy focus towards made to order fresh and healthy food."

A spokeswoman said Maxol had spent 3.75m on the 2.5-acres site at Tannaghmore.

It includes a truck facility, internal seating for 100 people, free Wifi and parking for 45 cars.

Maxol rival Applegreen now has six sites in Northern Ireland, including on the M1 coming into and leaving Belfast, and on the motorway between Glengormley and Templepatrick.

There are three other non-motorway sites. It opened its first Northern Ireland motorway site at Templepatrick on the M2 Outbound between junctions four and five two years ago.

And in Co Antrim close to Belfast International Airport, Moorefield Contracts is building a 10,500 sq ft high street retail outlet, with a sandwich bar and a forecourt with 16 fuelling bays.

Marks & Spencer is the anchor retailer at the development, which also features Irish coffee chain Insomnia, Burger King and fuel provider Emo.
From left: Donna Cunningham, James Cunningham Jnr and daughter Charlotte, with Bernadette and James Cunningham Snr, son Christopher and daughter Nicole

A Co Down family butcher in business for almost a century has been named the UK's best.

Cunningham's Butchers in Kilkeel, which employs more than 50 people, has been named the UK's Butcher Shop of the Year at the 2017 Farm Shop & Deli Awards.

And it was also named Best Retailer for Northern Ireland at the awards.

The judges applauded the company's "commitment to industry-leading standards", reflected in its growth. The company has boosted sales fourfold over the last six years.

James Cunningham Jnr, who is the fourth generation of his family to run the business, said: "We are truly overwhelmed to receive these prestigious awards. I can't thank our wonderful customers enough for their support.

"It's particularly special as we now hold both a UK and Ireland 'best butcher' title and we are so proud to bring these accolades to our home town of Kilkeel.

"Being named the UK's Butcher Shop of the Year is testament to the passion, skill and dedication of our brilliant staff without whom our business would not be where it is today. Our fantastic workforce, coupled with our ability to blend tradition with unique innovation, has resulted in a great couple of years for our business.

"Since 2010, we have grown our workforce from three members of staff to over 50, and we plan to continue building on this success by offering customers high quality products that respond to customer needs but remain steeped in local provenance. We're delighted to be playing our part in helping shine a light on Northern Ireland's strong food credentials."

Last year, the company also opened a new bistro, fresh food hall and renovated its butchery.

Nigel Barden, chairman of the Farm Shop & Deli Awards judging panel, said: "It's the attention to detail that really makes the winners stand out. Cunningham Butchers is so much more than just a butchers."
The Peroni brand was bought over by Japanese-owned Asahi in 2016

The Japanese owner of Peroni has warned that Brexit could leave the company nursing a severe hangover, with the beer giant's UK boss describing potential restrictions on trade as "evolution in reverse".

Gary Haigh, the managing director of Asahi UK, told the Press Association that it would be a "nightmare" if tariffs were reintroduced and automated EU systems for monitoring trade were replaced with pen and paper after Britain exits the single market.

He said: "One thing the EU has done is reduce the amount of administration required. There's been a concerted effort to make the movement of goods around Europe easier.

"The EU's EMCS (Excise Movement and Control System) is a completely electronic system which governs the movement of all alcohol within Europe. It's paperless, the EU invested a lot of money into it and it works like a dream.

"If we lose the EMCS system, it's going to involve a lot more administration, more people, more pens, more opportunity for error. If we also end up with duty tariffs, it's going to be a nightmare," he said.

Mr Haigh added that jettisoning the system would take the industry "back to 25 years ago", and that it was akin to "putting evolution in reverse".

Asahi UK, which also owns the Grolsch and Meantime brands, imports alcohol from Italy, Holland, Czech Republic and Poland.

The Japanese government and business lobby have been vocal about their dislike of Theresa May's decision to pull Britain out of the single market, warning that companies from the Asian nation could start exiting the UK if it ceased to be a "gateway to Europe".

Higher overheads from the UK potentially ditching the ECMS would come on top of the collapse in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote, which has also resulted in sharp increases in costs for UK firms.

However, Mr Haigh said that Asahi would swallow any extra costs rather than pass them on to customers, insisting that the firm will price Peroni at a level that "reflects the brand's equity".

"We have not passed the impact on to customers, we've taken it upon ourselves to mitigate the impact. We will price Peroni in a way that reflects the brand's equity - we've never tied our pricing to raw materials or anything else," he said.

Asahi acquired Peroni, along with Grolsch and Meantime, from AB InBev last year for around 2.5bn (2.1bn). AB InBev sold the brands in order to allay competition concerns linked to its mega-merger with SAB Miller.
An artists impression of the new student development at College Avenue

Construction giant McAleer & Rushe has doubled its pre-tax profits to 10m and says it is close to landing further big projects this year.

The Co Tyrone firm, which is involved in major student accommodation and hotel projects across the UK, saw turnover rise to 242m, according to accounts for McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd, ending December 2016.

The profit surge is expected to thrust the company back into the 2017 Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies in association with Arthur Cox, published next Tuesday.

In 2016, the firm was "on-site" with 22 projects at the end of the year.

"The company is close to securing a number of further large scale contracts, with both new and existing clients," the firm said in its strategic report.

The Cookstown company now employs 270 people and focuses on commercial office, residential, student accommodation and hotel projects. Staff numbers rose by around 60, up from an average of 209 a year earlier.

Turnover, according to its latest accounts, rose from 180m to 242m - up by 34%.

At the end of last year the firm signed a 25m deal to build and lease out a four-star hotel in Newcastle, England.

Closer to home, McAleer & Rushe is working on the construction of a new Maldron Hotel at Brunswick Street in the centre of Belfast. It will be Irish plc Dalata Group's fourth hotel here.

It also owns the Maldron Hotel at Belfast International Airport, the Clayton Hotel on Ormeau Avenue in the centre of the city, and the Maldron Hotel in Londonderry.

It's also building what will become the largest single student accommodation scheme in Belfast - a 740-bedroom development at College Avenue in Belfast, as well as more student housing at McClintock Street.

The McClintock Street and College Avenue developments are to be sold to Queen's University.

Seamus McAleer, chairman of McAleer & Rushe said: "Over the last number of years we have taken a targeted and strategic approach to business development and the whole team has contributed to the success we are currently enjoying in this our 50th year."

The company's business outside the UK, also increased, with work elsewhere in Europe rising from 3.3m to 10.9m.

Chief executive Eamonn Laverty said: "The quality of our staff and our design and build teams have been pivotal to our success and to the delivery of sustainable growth across the UK and Ireland.

"With 500m of contracted work at this point and the experienced team we have in place, we are looking forward, with confidence, to further building on these very positive financial results in 2017 and beyond."

According to the latest accounts, the highest paid director received 175,000. That was up from 127,404 a year earlier.

Economist John Simpson described the firm as a "very ambitious company doing a wide range of works".

"I suspect more than half of that would be outside Northern Ireland," he said.

The firm was last included in the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies list in 2014, when it came in at number 99.

McAleer & Rushe is also working on a joint venture with Ewart Properties to redevelop a listed building in Belfast city centre into new office space. The B+ listed Ewarts building on Bedford Street is due to be redeveloped and altered, alongside plans for a second new 17-storey building, linked by a second-floor walkway.
Size matters. Big countries with big home markets can get rich without doing much international trade. Small countries cant.

Ireland proves that rule. Its economic performance has been closely linked to its trade performance. The country was poor when it was relatively closed to international commerce up until the 1950s. The opening to trade (and investment) in the following decades led to an improved overall economic performance. Since the 1990s, and in parallel with accelerated globalisation and Europeanisation, exporting has been central to driving Irelands prosperity levels closer to those of our peers in northern Europe.

But understanding the dynamics driving trade is far from easy. There are many factors at play. A recent study, using unpublished statistics, casts new light on Irelands merchandise export performance, including by product and by foreign market. (It is important to note that all discussion in this article is of goods exports only. The important services sector is not included.)

The study, by economists at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is particularly timely given the challenges of Brexit, which make market diversification (away from the UK) something close to a national imperative.

What makes this study different is the level of detail it goes into on export performance by firm ownership  Irish and foreign. Up to now, the only reporting on the differing performances of the two sectors was the Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact (ABSEI), carried out by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

But as that survey only includes client companies of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, its sample does not include all exporters. The new ESRI study is based on unprecedented access to the Central Statistic Offices relevant data, which makes the sample used wider than that of the ABSEI.

The major takeaway from the study is the (further) proof it provides to show that foreign companies account for almost all of Irelands exports  the authors politely describe this as Irelands unique position with respect to different export behaviour by indigenous and foreign-owned firms.

The hard facts in the report are starker. It finds that 87% of export earnings in 2015 were generated by foreign companies. That, as it happens, is in line with the results of the ABSEI figures over many years.

The historically poor export performance of Irish-owned companies reflects a wider issue that needs to be highlighted so that as much as possible can be done to address it.

As this column has said a number of times in the past, often to the annoyance of those who would prefer to believe that Irelands entrepreneurial culture is in rude health, available comparative data show start-up rates are not high. Irish companies have too often sold out instead of scaling up. Nor is the level of innovation in Irish companies what it should be given our levels of education and the spillover effects of decades of high tech foreign direct investment. Penetrating foreign markets is about the most important innovation a company in a small economy such as Irelands can do, and clearly that is not what it should be.

If addressing the causes of weak entrepreneurialism has long been a challenge that has not received enough attention, a much more recent challenge  Brexit is getting plenty in the short term. On that issue, the findings of the new ESRI report can only heighten concerns. Here are some of its most important and relevant findings:

Britain remains by far the most important market for Irish-owned companies.

Over the course of the current decade (2011-15) the UK market absorbed 42% of their non-food exports. It took just under half of their food exports.

Beef accounts for almost one-quarter of the value of Irish companies exports, making it by distance the single most valuable product sold abroad by the indigenous sector. Not only does beef top the export list, it has become more dominant over the past two decades. In 1996 it accounted for 14% of homegrown companies exports.

The second-most valuable export in 2015 was also meat. What is described in the detailed classification as prepared or preserved meat, meat offal and blood accounted for 8% of indigenous exports. Its share of the total has remained stable over the past two decades.

In the rest of the top 10 exports, other meat products take the fourth, fifth and ninth slots. Other kinds of food products take a further five of the top 10 positions. Only one of the top 10 indigenous exports is non-food.

These points underscore just how massive a threat Brexit is. As the home-grown export sector is still hugely focused on the UK, a British exit from the single market will mean new tariff barriers.

If there is also an exit from the customs union, there will be non-tariff barriers too. If post-Brexit Britain unilaterally cuts tariffs on meat from outside the EU, as it will be entitled to do, the implications for everyone involved in that industry look dire.

There is no rosier way to put it.
Belfast-born author J.D. Fennell has released his debut young adult novel Sleeper - the first in a series of thrillers, that were heavily influenced by the city.

The writer explains what readers can expect from the book and why he chose to write the story.

Q. Tell us about your new novel.

A. It's a young adult thriller set during the Second World War. It's about a 16 year-old boy called Will Starling who has been pulled from the sea, with no memory of his past. In his blazer is a strange notebook with a bullet lodged inside - a bullet that was meant for him.

So the notebook is the key for him in uncovering his past and he is set on this journey through London trying to find out who he is, and along the way he comes across quite a few villains who want his notebook.

It's kind of a quest story.

When Wills memory begins to return, he realizes he is no ordinary sixteen-year-old. He has skills that make him a match for any assassin.

He's then fighting for survival with the help of Government agent and mentor, Eoin Heaney, who is a Belfast man a World War One and Easter Rising veteran.

Q. Where did the idea for Sleeper come from?

A. I love fast paced thrillers, and I wanted to write something like that.

I also wanted to set it in the 1940s in a time when people don't have mobile phones and technology.

I wanted that back to basics feel and I wanted to set it in London during the Blitz, which seemed like a great backdrop to me.

All those ingredients came together to make the book that I wanted to write.

Q. What made you want to become a writer?

A. I grew up in west Belfast in the 1970s which was a pretty treacherous time. I lived on a street called Springfield Park which was once one of the last places where Catholics and Protestants lived together harmoniously and that unfortunately all changed as time went on.

There was so much going on at that time and in my head in terms of the Troubles.

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My primary school teacher encouraged my classmates and I to write to help us understand what was going on around us and I really enjoyed that, it was like a release.

I suppose just continued that all through my adult life.

Q. Would you say growing up in Belfast has influenced your writing?

A. I think that was why I chose to write a novel that was set in the Blitz.

Although we didn't have the Blitz in Northern Ireland, the streets were littered with debris and glass and Belfast just felt like it was crumbling around us and that struck a cord.

There was a comfort factor in writing about that and I enjoyed that side of it.

Q. Take us through your writing process - how do you get an idea from your head to the page?

A. Normally I will have an idea cooking in my head for what could be a matter of months - I could have a few ideas kicking around and I typically choose the one I would want to read.

That's what I aim to do - write the book that I would want to read. It sounds like a cliche, but it's very true.

I'm very much a planner - I will write out a synopsis first of all, so that I kind of know what direction I'm going. Then I'll do a chapter-by-chapter break down, so it's good to have that as my plan.

I then start working on a daily basis to try and pull it all together.

Q. Now Sleeper has been released , what are you plans for the future?

A. Sleeper is the first in a series and I'm working on the second one right now and no doubt I'll just crack on and write the next one.

Although I enjoy writing young adult books, I also want to write a crime novel which I do have an idea for.

All my books involve people from Northern Ireland because I think we are very underrepresented - certainly in young adult fiction anyway.
Diana Henrys chicken with tarragon and Dijon mustard is a favourite of the PM

An Ulster chef is tickling Theresa May's tastebuds, for the Prime Minister has revealed that one of her favourite meals comes from a recipe from a Coleraine-born cook and food writer.

The Conservative leader named Diana Henry's baked chicken with tarragon and Dijon mustard as one of her top three dishes.

Mrs May found the recipe in one of the chef's best-selling books, Cook Simple.

Diana, a food journalist with the Sunday Telegraph and a number of magazines, has won a raft of cookery writer of the year awards.

She has also published a series of critically acclaimed books, many of them including "quick and easy recipes for people who have little time to spare but still want to eat well".

Titles from Diana, who is also a broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, include Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons; Salt Sugar Smoke; and Roast Figs, Sugar Snow.

The author, whose father owned the now-closed Farm Fed chicken operation in Coleraine, was educated at Dalriada School in Ballymoney.

She has said in interviews that her "obsession" with food started as she grew up here, though her early ambition was to become an actor or a lawyer, not a food writer.

Her mother was a keen baker with a penchant for wheaten bread and making jam, which her daughter devoured.

"Food, for me, has always been associated with good times," Diana explained.

"Being described as a good cook in Northern Ireland when I was growing up meant that you were a good baker. And the women in my family were."

Diana's mother was constantly baking cakes for bring-and-buy sales. Her grandmother, whose surname was Miller, was always bringing family tins of "beautifully decorated" fairy cakes, while her granny made soda farls every morning.

"If I was staying with her, I crept downstairs to the smell of frying bacon and warm dough," Diana said.

"It was normal for women's hands to be always covered in flour."

Diana started baking peppermint creams and coconut ices at the age of six, and tried her hand at anything she saw being made on Blue Peter.

"I have never lost the thrill that making something bestows," she explained.

The writer's family holidays often involved visits to Dublin, but her love of cooking really grew after she went on an exchange trip to France.

Her first job after leaving university in Oxford was as a TV producer, working with award-winning chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Soon after, she started to bake more and more at the weekends. After the birth of her second son, she came to the conclusion that writing about food was a better fit for her schedule than being a TV producer.

Mrs May's other top recipes for her and her husband, Philip, which were reported in the Mail on Sunday, were marinated rack of lamb with coriander and honey, from Israeli-born British chef Yotam Ottolenghi, and spice and salted squid, from British-Iranian chef Sabrina Ghayour.

Her favourite films were Casablanca, The Fugitive and You Only Live Twice.

The Prime Minister also named her top novels as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers.

Baked chicken with herbs and djion mustard

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

chopped leaves from 6 springs of tarragon (or dill or chives or basil)

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (Ive also used boneless and its fine)

salt and pepper

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 425F. Mash the Dijon mustard with the tarragon and butter until combined. Put the chicken into a roasting pan (or a baking dish) and brush or spoon the mustard mixture onto the chicken. Season, then press on the bread crumbs. Roast in oven for 35 minutes until top is golden. Serve with the cooking juices that have gathered around the chicken, some boiled new potatoes and a green salad or green snap beans.

* From A Bird in the Hand, by Diana Henry
The EUs version of its disastrous dinner with Theresa May, which has thrown the Brexit talks into turmoil, could be true, the Home Secretary has suggested.

Amber Rudd undermined No.10s dismissal of the account of the talks  after which the Prime Minister was accused of living in a parallel reality  as Brussels gossip.

None of this is really surprising, Ms Rudd said, of the horrified leaked reaction of Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission's president.

Instead, she criticised the leak itself, saying: I think its a mistake to allow those sorts of details  if they are true  to come out from a dinner. Asked if they were true, Ms Rudd replied: I dont know.

According to accounts of Wednesday night's dinner, Ms May hinted she would try to avoid paying any exit bill, telling Mr Juncker the EU had no legal power to force Britain to pay up.

She also insisted talks about a future trade deal should start early  despite the EU making clear the expected 50bn divorce bill must be agreed first.

The EU side was also astonished at Ms May's suggestion that the controversy over EU citizens future rights could be settled next month  believing she had no grasp of its complexity.

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Mr Juncker is said to have made clear to the Prime Minister that, unless she accepted the EUs red lines, there was no point in even beginning the withdrawal talks.

His last words to the prime minister as he left were: I'm leaving Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before, according to the leak.

Asked about that devastating account of the dinner, Ms Rudd told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: None of this is really surprising.

We always said its going to be difficult, these negotiations. Im not surprised that there is some briefing coming out from different sides of the negotiation

What we will always do is make sure that we conduct our negotiations more discreetly, shall we say, so that we can have a freer negotiating hand.

The comments were in stark contrast to those of Ms May, on the campaign trail in Lancashire yesterday, when she said: From what I have seen of this account, I think it is Brussels gossip.

Just look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place, which was that the talks had been constructive.

Keir Starmer, Labours Brexit spokesman, warned: Unless we change tack quickly and adopt a more constructive approach, the weaker our negotiating hand will become.

The morning after the dinner, Mr Juncker is believed to have telephoned Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, to tell her Ms May was living in another galaxy and a parallel reality.

A few hours later, Ms Merkel made an outspoken attack herself on Britain, saying: Some people in the UK are suffering under illusions.

During the interview, the Home Secretary also appeared to pour cold water on suggestions that the Conservatives post-Brexit immigration policy will be revealed next week.

We will set out in the manifesto some of our strategy towards immigration, she said, repeating that a consultation with businesses would be held over the summer.
An Irish-speaking unionist councillor has said language "should not be something that divides us" as Belfast City Council prepares to make a decision over the appointment of a new official.

Tonight's vote at City Hall over an Irish language official has the potential to be divisive.

The monthly meeting has two options going into a crucial vote on the floor of the debating chamber.

One is backed by Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance. That proposal is that the council appoints an official specialising solely in the development of Irish.

The other, from the DUP/UUP axis, is that a development official be appointed on a multi-language basis. They would accommodate the 'new Belfast' - where Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian and other languages now exist - and also cover the Ulster-Scots language portfolio.

The Irish language-only appointment proposal won the vote at committee level.

But it now goes before the full council at tonight's meeting.

And it now appears that there are financial, as well as cultural, issues surrounding any appointment.

Alliance councillor Michael Long said yesterday that the post would be 50% funded by an Irish language society, which, he added, was "entirely non-political, no matter what the Unionists may think".

He claimed that the full cost of a multi-language official would have to be borne entirely by the city council, and in turn Belfast ratepayers.

He also accused the DUP/UUP opposition to the single appointment of being "divisive".

But last night veteran unionist politician and City Hall Alderman Chris McGimpsey, an Irish-speaker himself, hit back.

He said: "The Irish language should not be an issue that divides people.

"We should be able to work out a policy on this properly.

"I have some empathy with those seeking to promote the language.

"But my problem with what is going to happen in City Hall is that Sinn Fein hijack the Irish language issue as a tool, as a political device.

"And unionists, including myself, are fed up with and just cannot accept that."

It is expected that the SF/SDLP/Alliance Party pact will be adopted at tonight's council meeting.

But one City Hall insider noted that the continued DUP opposition to the Irish language-only proposal would grate against party leader Arlene Foster's widely acclaimed gesture last week when she visited Our Lady's Grammar School in Newry.

She sat in during songs and conversations with some 30 Irish-language pupils there.

And as she left, she thanked them in Irish, saying: "Go raibh maith agat."

As for Alderman McGimpsey, he himself is no stranger to delving deep into Irish-speaking heartlands.

He once opened an address at a political forum in Crossmaglen, south Armagh, with a greeting in Irish.

And then he told his audience, in English: "I'd been told there'd be a lot of Rangers supporters here.

"Nobody told me it was Crossmaglen Rangers, not Glasgow Rangers!"
Theresa May has launched a furious broadside against the Liberal Democrats, accusing them of preparing to "prop up" Jeremy Corbyn in government in the event of a hung parliament.

The Prime Minister said it was in the Lib Dems' interests to support a Labour-led "coalition of chaos" as it offered the best chance for them to derail the Brexit process.

Her attack came despite Lib Dem leader Tim Farron's repeated declarations that he would not be prepared to join either of the main parties in a coalition after the General Election on June 8.

It will be seen as an attempt to shore up Conservative support in seats which they took from the Lib Dems in the 2010 General Election and which the Lib Dems are now aiming to win back.

Mr Farron is hoping to claw back ground, particularly in areas which voted strongly for Remain in last year's referendum.

But as she prepared to hit the campaign trail in the south west of England - where the Tories made significant gains at the Lib Dems' expense in 2010 - Mrs May said Mr Corbyn would be the real beneficiary of any vote for the Lib Dems.

Writing in the Western Morning News, she said that the election was a chance to bring the country together after the Brexit vote and that she was determined the campaign should not be a re-run of the referendum arguments.

"It is why I am determined not to allow parties like the Liberal Democrats to prosper, because it is in their interests to prop up a Corbyn coalition of chaos so that the Brexit process stalls and they can reopen the battles of the past," she wrote.

"Wherever it says Labour or Liberal Democrat on the ballot, it's a weak, nonsensical Jeremy Corbyn that gets the vote.

"At the last election, voters here in the south-west were the difference between a strong, majority government and a weak, unstable coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

"The opposition parties are lining up to prop up Jeremy Corbyn and disrupt our Brexit negotiations - a recipe for years of drift and division at this crucial time."

Meanwhile Lib Dem former leader Nick Clegg will warn that Mrs May's pursuit of a "hard Brexit" - taking the UK out of the single market - would damage those she claims to want to help the most.

Following reports of an acrimonious clash between the Prime Minister and European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker over her negotiating strategy, the ex-Deputy Prime Minister, who now speaks for the Lib Dems on the EU, will say the Tories were proving as incompetent as they were ruthless.

In a speech in London, Mr Clegg will added: "The economic damage is already being felt by the people who the Tories have always cared about least: the poor, the insecure and the vulnerable.

"If Theresa May really cared about the 'just about managing', the very last thing she should do is impose a hard Brexit on them."
The Ulster Unionist party is announcing most of its Westminster election candidates today - except for South Belfast, which remains shrouded in mystery.

Neither of the two main unionist parties are revealing who their candidate will be for the city's most liberal constituency.

Sitting SDLP MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell is vulnerable to a unionist challenger.

Former UUP leader Mike Nesbitt last night ruled himself out of the race, despite his party thinking he would the ideal candidate.

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Mr Nesbitt told this paper that while the UUP had asked him to run in the constituency, he had decided to stand in Strangford, where is a sitting MLA.

He explained that while he had considered South Belfast, he would never have agreed to be a unionist unity candidate.

The DUP yesterday unveiled its candidates in 11 constituencies, but omitted South Belfast. Senior sources said the choice would be announced next week.

Party insiders confirmed that former MLAs Emma Little Pengelly and Brenda Hale, along with sitting South Belfast MLA Christopher Stalford, are among those under consideration.

It comes as prospects of a unionist pact fade fast, with the DUP yesterday announcing that MLA Paul Girvan would challenge UUP MP Danny Kinahan for his South Antrim seat.

Last night, Mr Nesbitt said he had been honoured to be approached by his party to run in South Belfast.

"I was most pleased to have been asked and I considered running as a UUP candidate, but I was never going to be a unionist unity candidate," he explained.

"I have been extremely outspoken on the RHI scandal and extremely critical of the DUP. The idea of me being a joint candidate would go against everything that I have stood for and everything I have tried to do."

In the 2015 Westminster election, Mr Nesbitt agreed a deal with Peter Robinson that saw his party stand aside in East and North Belfast, while the DUP withdrew in Fermanagh and South Tyrone and Newry and Armagh. But the former UUP leader yesterday denied that his thinking now conflicted with his previous position.

"The circumstances are totally different," he said. "The aim of the agreement was to get Tom Elliott returned to Westminster and to unseat an abstentionist Sinn Fein MP in Michelle Gildernew so that the people of Fermanagh, and South Tyrone had representation in Parliament."

He also stressed that his "loyalties are to Strangford". "I first stood in that constituency in the 2010 Westminster election," Mr Nesbitt said. "I've been elected there as an MLA three times."

The UUP MLA additionally admitted that sitting DUP MP Jim Shannon, who has a 10,000 majority, would be "very difficult" to beat, but added: "People in Strangford want a UUP candidate. I'm happy to be that man."

The DUP yesterday revealed an all-male line up in 11 constituencies. Its seven sitting MPs - Nigel Dodds, Gavin Robinson, Sammy Wilson, Ian Paisley jnr, Gregory Campbell, Jeffrey Donaldson, and David Simpson - are all running again.

MLA Gary Middleton is standing in Foyle and Belfast city councillor Frank McCoubrey is contesting West Belfast. It will announce its candidates in other constituencies soon.

Party leader Arlene Foster said: "This is an opportunity for people to elect DUP candidates who will work for Northern Ireland. Voters will be able to show their support for the Union.

"I will be taking the opportunity to outline the benefits of our UK. We support getting the Assembly and the Executive back functioning and local ministers working on health, education and the issues that matter to people's lives here.

"This election can provide the basis for strengthening the Union and ensuring Northern Ireland sends people to Westminster who will deliver for them."

Mrs Foster last week met with new UUP leader Robin Swann to discuss a pact, but there was no agreement on key constituencies.

The UUP unilaterally pulled out of North Belfast to give the DUP's Nigel Dodds a clear run, and the DUP reciprocated for Tom Elliott in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
Houses on Ireton Street, Cromwell Street and Posnett Street were allegedly targeted

Two alleged burglars appeared in court today accused of raids in south Belfast.

Michael Daniels, 27, and Patrick Daniels, 25, face charges connected to bids to break into properties in the university area in the early hours of Monday.

Houses on Ireton Street, Cromwell Street and Posnett Street were allegedly targeted.

The pair, both of Derryveagh Drive in the city, are each charged with burglary, attempted burglary and going equipped with three screwdrivers for burglary.

Michael Daniels is further accused of two assaults on police.

Police opposed their applications for bail as they appeared together in the dock at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

But District Judge Fiona Bagnall ruled they could both be released from custody to live at an approved address.

They must also abide a night-time curfew as part of a series of conditions.

Both men are expected back in court later this month.
Newry pensioner Eileen Ruddy challenges the chairperson of Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Roberta Brownlee, about the proposed closure

Daisy Hill Hospital's emergency department will remain a 24-hr service, the Southern Health Trust has announced following a regional summit with the Department of Health.

The crunch meeting came after warnings that the department may temporarily close overnight due to staff shortages.

The summit was attended by staff from the Health and Social Care Board, the Public Health Agency, Belfast Trust, the Ambulance Service, the NI Medical and Dental Training Agency and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.

The Department of Health said all parties agreed that it should be retained because of the "clinical need" and "projected population growth".

A Departmental spokesperson said: "All attendees at the summit agreed with the Department that in light of the clinical need, current size and projected growth of the population of Newry and Mourne, acute services need to be retained there.

"Work on achieving that regional approach, in a safe and sustainable way, will now gather pace.

"This immediate pressure on emergency services in Daisy Hill is further evidence of the need for transformation in the provision of health and social care and the future planning of those services at a Northern Ireland level.

"That work also continues, in line with the principles set out in, Delivering Together document, launched last October."

Sinn Fein MP Mickey Brady welcomed the news but said more work is needed to secure the future of the service in the long term.

The Newry and Armagh MP said: "Today's announcement from the regional health summit that sustainable emergency services will remain in place at the Emergency Department at Daisy Hill hospital for the foreseeable future is welcome.

"This summit was brought together after Sinn Fein met with the head of the civil service and asked to get the Department of Health to intervene with the Southern Trust to address the problems.

"While the announcement is welcome, there is still a need for a longer term solution to the problems at Daisy Hill as there are still concerns over fracture clinics and orthopaedic services so the campaign for Daisy Hill must continue.

"Sinn Fein will continue to engage with the Trust, staff, health authorities, unions and user groups to ensure first-class health service provision for the local community."
The springer spaniel dog has been placed with a foster family

An animal welfare charity has made an appeal for help gathering evidence of cruelty against the owners of a skeletal and malnourished dog found in Londonderry.

Pet FBI in Derry are so enraged by the state the springer spaniel was found in, they intend to pursue a prosecution case against the owners.

The dog is now with a foster family until a new and loving home can be found for him.

A member of the public contacted Pet FBI at the weekend after noticing the dog in the Creggan area and thinking it had been knocked down by a car.

However, Lisa Patton from Pet FBI told the Belfast Telegraph it was a case of horrendous neglect.

"There was blood all down the back of this dog's legs which the member of the public thought were as a result of him being hit by a car," she explained.

"We collected the dog and it was clear that his pitiful creature had suffered years of neglect.

"He is skeletal - very, very underweight and so malnourished. We took him to the vet and he ate like he had never seen food in his life before.

"His coat was embedded with his own waste and he is going to need extensive dental work carried out.

"In fact his teeth are in such a bad state that the vet hasn't been able to say what age he is, but they did say he is a real sweetheart of a dog.

"He is very timid which is to be expected given that he most likely hasn't had any love shown to him.

"We have placed him with one of our most experienced foster families where he will be well looked after and loved but we want to see whoever did this to him held accountable."

Ms Patton is appealing to the public to contact them if they know where the dog was kept and who the owner was.

She continued: "The public have so far been so good and quickly offered to help with the vet bills but we would love to see whoever was responsible for this neglect and maltreatment held accountable.

"Neglect of any kind is inexcusable but this poor dog has had a torturous existence.

"The vet who examined him has already said that if the owner is found, they should be prosecuted and we totally agree with that.

"We need all the info we can attain for an Animal Welfare case and justice needs to prevail for this poor dog.

"Any information we do get will be passed on to Animal Welfare who can compile a case for prosecution."
Colonel Gaddafi with former Prime Minister Tony Blair during a meeting in 2007

The government has been accused of bringing shame on Britain over its lack of compassion for victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism.

Angry relatives blasted the decades-long failure to secure compensation for atrocities carried out with weapons and Semtex supplied by Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime. It came as a damning report by a group of MPs concluded that victims had been let down by successive governments.

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The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee highlighted a series of missed opportunities to secure compensation. It urged the next government to take firm action.

Committee chair Laurence Robertson said: "The UK government cannot allow this litany of missed chances to continue.

"There needs to be direct dialogue with the Libyan government, and if the situation there makes this impossible, the government must begin the process of establishing a fund themselves."

Last night relatives of those killed and maimed with Semtex and weapons supplied by Libya accused the government of acting disgracefully.

Susanne Dodd, whose father Stephen was killed in the 1983 Harrods bomb, contrasted its approach with that of the US administration, which previously secured a $1.5bn (1.16bn) compensation fund for victims of terror attacks blamed on Libya.

"The US government held Gaddafi to account, our government disgraced themselves," she said.

Gaddafi-supplied Semtex was used in bombings including the Harrods department store in 1983, the Enniskillen Poppy Day blast in 1987 and the Warrington attack in 1993. Today's report examines the failure of successive UK governments to pursue compensation from Libya on behalf of victims.

It states: "There is no doubt that the weapons, funding, training, and explosives that Colonel Gaddafi provided to the Provisional IRA over the course of 25 years both extended and exacerbated the Northern Ireland Troubles, and caused enormous human suffering.

Read more

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"Whilst other countries have sought compensation from the Libyan government for its role in fostering terror, the UK government has not done so, instead leaving the matter for victims themselves to resolve."

The report found:

 Almost 9.5 billion of frozen assets in the UK from the Gaddafi regime could provide "leverage" in negotiations on a compensation deal;

 The UK government has left it to victims to secure compensation for fostering terror in stark contrast to other countries;

 Tony Blair's government failed to resolve the issue on multiple occasions, most notably when Libya was seeking its rapprochement with the West, by placing the compensation issue firmly on the negotiating table;

 The exclusion of the UK victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism from the terms of the US-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement 2008 after Mr Blair left office was another missed opportunity to resolve the issue of compensation, given the determination and vigour demonstrated by the governments of France, Germany and the US.

Lawyer Jason McCue from McCue & Partners, which represents many victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism, said the government's failure to act was shameful.

He said: "Our government's continued failure to acknowledge this and seek reparations for the UK victims is a national shame."
The daughter of murdered officer Hugh Henry Martin has hit out at Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar for criticising the RUC

The daughter of murdered officer Hugh Henry Martin has hit out at Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar for criticising the RUC

The daughter of a slain RUC officer has lambasted actor Adrian Dunbar for criticising the force.

The Line of Duty star said in an interview he saw the police as an "oppressive force" when he was growing up here.

Enniskillen-born Dunbar (58) plays a Catholic former RUC officer heading a police anti-corruption unit in England in the BBC One drama.

The actor, one of seven children from a Catholic family, told the Radio Times: "The RUC were a sectarian organisation, given that they were drawn from one section of the community.

"It wasn't my section of the community, so it was hard not to see them as an oppressive force."

Maureen McComb, whose father, Hugh Henry Martin, was murdered with two RUC colleagues when their mobile patrol was ambushed by gunmen, said she had been left "disgusted" by Mr Dunbar's remarks.

Reserve Constable Martin (58) was killed alongside Constable Samuel Derek Davison (24) and Constable Kenneth Norman Lynch (22) when they were attacked by the IRA at Carnan, near Stewartstown in Co Tyrone, in June 1977.

The father-of-seven was raised close to the spot where he was murdered.

At his funeral he was described as a "faithful church member" and a "solid, respected" member of the community.

Mrs McComb, from Cookstown, said: "My father served his country without bias all his adult life. He had a great community spirit and was friends with all his neighbours, no matter (their creed or religion.

"For Adrian Dunbar to brand the RUC sectarian and oppressive is a very careless and thoughtless statement and shows total disrespect for the brave and kind men who gave their lives for their country.

"Once the word is spoken, it's very difficult to take it back. That's obviously how he feels, but if he did withdraw his statement that would not be enough. He has shown total disrespect for the forces of this country. His remarks disgust me.

"It is coming up to the 40th anniversary of the death of my father, who was brutally murdered at the hands of terrorists at Carnan, near Stewartstown.

"All of my family will be reflecting on this untimely loss of his life."

Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for South East Fermanagh Foundation, called on the Enniskillen actor to issue an apology for his comments.

"I have spoken to several RUC widows from Protestant and Roman Catholic faith backgrounds and each has expressed to me their hurt in and disappointment with Mr Dunbar's comments," Mr Donaldson said.

"Each was clear in stating that their loved one joined the RUC to serve the community - the whole community - and that they stood together facing down the scourge of terrorism, whether from so-called republicans or so-called loyalists.

"All felt that Mr Dunbar should make an apology for what he has said, comments which they each feel were misjudged and ignorant of the realities of policing in Northern Ireland over the years of Troubles.

"One of the Roman Catholic RUC widows was keen to point out to me that many Roman Catholics were forced out of the RUC by the IRA and many more would have joined but for the dangers and risks they would have been taking."
Geoff Knupfer said he was satisfied the information received about the location of Mr Ruddy's remains is 'as accurate as it can be given the passage of time'

A search operation is due to begin in a forest in France for the body of one of Northern Ireland's Disappeared.

Seamus Ruddy, a teacher from Newry, Co Down, was abducted from Paris, murdered and secretly buried by republican paramilitary group the INLA in 1985.

His body, thought to have been buried in a forest in northern France, has never been found.

A fresh search for his remains will begin on Tuesday in a forest at Pont-de-l'Arche outside Rouen, the commission set up to locate victims' remains has confirmed.

The Disappeared are those who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during Northern Ireland's Troubles.

Searches have been carried out by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR), which was set up to recover the bodies of those murdered and secretly buried, mainly by the IRA, in the 1970s and 1980s.

There have been three previous searches in the forest area for Mr Ruddy, the most recent by the ICLVR in 2008.

Geoff Knupfer, the former police officer leading the hunt, said he was satisfied the information received by the ICLVR about the location of Mr Ruddy's remains is "as accurate as it can be given the passage of time".

Mr Knupfer also headed the team that found Disappeared victims Brendan Megraw in 2014 and Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright in 2015.

"I am convinced that there is a genuine desire on the part of those supplying the information to get this resolved by finding where Seamus is buried," said Mr Knupfer.

He added: "As in other cases fresh information that refines what we already know is crucial. Everyone we have found to date has been in the area where we were told that they were.

"It is always a question of narrowing that down to a precise location. I really hope that we can do this again and find him."

The joint UK and Irish Commissioners, Sir Ken Bloomfield and Frank Murray, said that they hoped the search would be successful and that the remains of Seamus Ruddy would be returned to his family for Christian burial.

"We share the hopes and prayers of the family that we'll be successful.

"We know that the team led by Geoff are world leaders in this work and they will bring all their experience and commitment to try to bring this search to a successful conclusion," they said.

Despite extensive and painstaking searches, the bodies of four out of 16 people listed by the commission set up to locate victims' remains have never been found.

In addition to Seamus Ruddy, the remains of Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey and Robert Nairac have yet to be recovered.

The commission has asked anyone with information to contact them in complete confidence on 00800 555 85500, by writing to ICLVR, PO Box 10827, Dublin 2, or via the website www.iclvr.ie

Anne Morgan, the sister of Mr Ruddy, said: "Seamus disappeared almost exactly 32 years ago on May 9 1985.

"All we can do is what we have been doing over these long years since, which is to pray that one day he'll be found.

"Hopefully that day will come as a result of this search.

"All we want is to bring Seamus home to Monk's Hill to be buried with our mother and father."
A son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has been announced as a Sinn Fein election candidate.

John Finucane will try to unseat outgoing Democratic Unionist deputy leader Nigel Dodds in what is set to be one of the most high-profile of Northern Ireland's 18 constituency battles.

Mr Finucane, also a lawyer, has been at the forefront of his family's long legal battle to secure answers about the notorious 1989 murder.

"I'm very proud to have been nominated to go forward for selection as the North Belfast Sinn Fein candidate for upcoming Westminster election," he tweeted.

Pat Finucane, 38, who represented a number of high-profile republicans, was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in front of his wife and three children at their north Belfast home in February 1989.

The killing, one of the most controversial of The Troubles, is shrouded in controversy amid allegations the security forces colluded with the gunmen from the outlawed Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

The family has so far failed in legal bids to make the Government see through a commitment made during peace process negotiations at Weston Park in 2001 to hold a public inquiry.

Judges have upheld the Government's right to balance public interest factors, such as costs, when, years later, it opted to commission a review of case papers by QC Sir Desmond de Silva rather than instigate an inquiry.

In publishing his findings in 2012, Sir Desmond detailed shocking levels of state involvement in the case.

That included spreading malicious propaganda suggesting Mr Finucane was sympathetic to the IRA; one or possibly more police officers proposing him as a target to loyalists; and the mishandling of state agents inside the UDA who were involved in the murder.

While he found no evidence of an overarching conspiracy by the authorities to target the solicitor, Sir Desmond said the actions of a number of state employees had "furthered and facilitated'' the shooting.

He also said there had been efforts to thwart the subsequent criminal investigation.

While he was prime minister, David Cameron apologised to the Finucane family in the House of Commons.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly, the party's previous Westminster candidate, nominated Mr Finucane.

"I am confident that in John Finucane we can return a nationalist MP for the first time in the history of North Belfast and between now and June 8th we will be pulling out all the stops to make this possible," he said.
The scene of the Harrods bomb in London in December 1983

Colin Parry: His son Tim was fatally injured when two bombs placed in litter bins exploded in Warrington in March 1993

The IRA bomb which killed my 12-year-old son Tim in March 1993 was made of the Semtex supplied to the IRA by Colonel Gaddafi.

Tim sustained such serious head, face and brain injuries on the day of the bombing, March 20, that although he was not killed immediately by the bomb, his fight for life ended five days later.

Doctors in the neurosurgical unit at Walton Hospital in Liverpool, to where he had been transferred from Warrington General Hospital, declared there was no hope of survival for Tim when, on day four, the tests they conducted to establish Tims brain activity revealed there was none.

On Day five (March 25), my wife Wendy, our two other children, Dominic and Abigail, my father, Wendys parents, her sister, brother-in-law, her brother and sister-in-law all came to the hospital to spend personal time with Tim before his life support machine was switched off.

Despite being advised by the doctor in charge of Tims treatment that at the moment his life support machine was switched off Tims body might literally lift off the bed, I chose to stay with my son as he died.

As a matter of record, the doctors advice so terrified my wife that she could not stay with Tim in these final moments  something which she has deeply regretted ever since.

I held Tim in my arms and said my final goodbyes to him, before signalling to the nurse/attendant to switch off the machine.

Describing the final moments of your childs life is beyond words, because, as a parent, there is no greater pain or loss than the death of your child.

As there is no realistic, early prospect of a new, stable and democratic government being formed in Libya, the UK Government should delay no longer in enacting legislation, which follows the precedent of the United States government and which I believe would have cross-party support in Parliament, to enable the British victims of IRA attacks which used Libyan-supplied Semtex to receive financial compensation on terms fully comparable to the settlements received by American victims. In my opinion, this is the only way in which we will ever receive compensation, and when you consider that so many victims of other criminal acts have long since received compensation, then it does seem that we are the forgotten ones  the ones who for reasons utterly beyond my comprehension, successive UK governments have chosen to overlook.

Furthermore, I would say that it is unforgivable on their part that they have ignored our case.

Indeed, matters are made worse when you consider that there are significant grounds for believing that previous UK governments have actually conspired to exclude British victims of IRA attacks from a fair and just settlement.

Margaret Sefton: Her parents James and Ellen were killed by a booby trap bomb attached to their car which exploded as they drove along the Ballygomartin Road in Belfast in June 1990

I cant put into words the unimaginable loss I feel. My mum and dad were everything to me.

My dad was killed instantly and my mum died in my arms shortly after in hospital.

I am part of the legal action taken against Libya and travelled by invitation from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in September 2012 to attend a meeting regarding the victims.

I had to pay for plane tickets and hotel accommodation, and as a pensioner it was quite expensive for me. However, as I hoped it would help me gain justice for my parents, I was willing to find the money to attend.

I came away from the meeting feeling that it was an absolute waste of my time and that we had been made fools of.

I was, however, able to meet other victims from the mainland, many of whom I am still in contact with. I have realised that Jonathan Ganesh of the Docklands Victims Association also has to find considerable amounts of money to finance our campaign.

Why on earth do victims have to fight for themselves and finance it at the same time? I have been informed by our legal team, McCue & Partners, assigned to help the victims, that they have had to finance the campaign which has cost them a fortune.

Not only that but Jason McCue financed a trip to Benghazi at the height of the civil unrest to obtain a contract assuring that Libya would settle the victims on the legal writ. All we want is justice and parity with the US victims from our legal action who received closure years ago and didnt have to do it for themselves.

I feel we have been treated disgracefully and hope that finally the injustice will be rectified.

It is very sad the victims and their families, who have no diplomatic training or international negotiating experience, have been requested by Her Majestys Government to somehow find a way to rectify this appalling lack of parity.

Taken from written evidence submitted to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Melanie Elizabeth Louise Cubitt (nee Dodd): Her father, Inspector Stephen John Dodd, was killed in the Harrods bomb in London in December 1983

I was nine years old when my father was killed at Harrods. I remember on that day that I was excited to collect the Christmas tree with dad, and we were impatiently waiting for him to get back from work.

In the later part of the afternoon I noticed my mother and brother saying something about the news and how dad will probably be late as he was going to be busy.

The rest of the day I knew something was wrong as my brother was keeping myself and my little sister away from the TV and mum was constantly on the phone trying to find my father.

The next day I was told that he had been very badly hurt and was in hospital.

I remember from that day on everything changed. We went to my godparents house while my mother was at the hospital for two weeks.

We were updated that there was no change. We were not allowed to visit as his injuries were too bad.

Christmas morning, my mother told us that my father had died. It was the first time I had actually thought about death and didnt really understand how this could all happen in a blink of an eye.

The next few weeks are a blur of visitors, the funeral, police stations and press photos.

I missed my old life so much and my father immensely and built up barriers to stop myself from getting hurt like this again.

I have been told that I rarely show my true emotion and run away from stressful situations instead of dealing with them.

Things hit me hard at the age of 11 when I developed the anxiety disorders trichotillomania and alopecia, which I still struggle with to this day.

My mother and I have spent thousands on psychotherapy and wigs/hair pieces over the years. This has affected me terribly throughout my life and as a result I have developed confidence issues and often question my self-worth.

Despite this, I have managed to have a good career in sales account management and have worked hard to get where I am today.

My marriage ended a while ago and the stress that I felt was mirroring the lost and abandonment that I felt when I lost my father.

This made me realise that I still havent processed the death of my father properly.

I go into every relationship scared of losing that person and end up sabotaging it. I am back in psychotherapy at the moment.

I missed my father terribly, especially at my wedding and at the birth of my two children, who are growing up never knowing their granddad and what a great one he would have been.

Taken from written evidence submitted to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Hamida Bashir: Her son Inam was killed in the Docklands bombing in February 1996

My son was killed along with our close family friend, John Jeffries, in the London Docklands IRA terrorist attack on Friday, February 9, 1996.

The bomb, which had been placed in a large lorry directly outside Inam and Johns newspaper and confectionery kiosk, obliterated the shop and surrounding area due to the force of the explosive.

I would like to express, as I have previously stated in the media and to the Prime Minister in writing, that I will not accept or require any financial compensation for the loss of my son.

However, I have immense sympathy with all the victims of Gaddafi Semtex who have been left severely disabled such as our friend, Zaoui Berrezag. Mr Berrezag has been left severely disabled and is now blind.

I would like to respectfully inform the committee that I hold Gaddafi and the IRA equally responsible for the murder of Inam and all those killed.

Inam and John were well-known and loved by all in the community in east London.

I was overwhelmed with messages of sympathy from the local community, who are still courageously campaigning for Inam and all those who suffered due to Gaddafi Semtex.

My words are sadly not sufficient to express the tremendous pain I feel as Inam was a lovely and kind boy.

As a child he would always share his toys and sweets with the other children in school and he was a very good-hearted boy.

Every Friday he would bring home fruit for me and his dad. Sadly, my Inam did not return home on Friday, February 9, 1996.

My dear husband, Mohammed, never recovered from the loss of Inam and passed away from a broken heart within months of Inams murder.

Im sorry to inform the committee that my son and all those affected by Gaddafi Semtex in the UK have been treated disgracefully and abandoned by their own UK Government.

The United States government successfully secured compensation for their own victims from Gaddafi. Sadly, our own UK Government chose not to become involved despite desperate pleads for help by the victims and their families.

Im sorry, but the lack of support from the UK Government devalued the life of my son and every other UK citizen as the Government appeared to be more preoccupied with trade deals and oil.

Taken from written evidence submitted to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Stephen Gault: Lost his father, Samuel, in the IRA Enniskillen Poppy Day bomb and was injured himself in the incident in 1987

This report is a very strong statement  the victims definitely deserve compensation. I know Gaddafi is no longer here but Ive been part of a writ going on for 11 years with our legal team in London. Hopefully its positive news for those eagerly awaiting some sort of redress because of Libyan- supplied Semtex.

Victims have once again been forgotten by the British Government, especially when the Americans, German and French all received compensation because of acts of IRA terrorism they were caught up in. UK citizens have been denied any sort of redress for the same monetary value that others got.

Under the leadership of the current government, but also the previous Labour and coalition governments, they have forsaken the victims just to get trade deals.

Tony Blair, when he was Prime Minister, did away with the compensation claims so Britain could get oil deals with Libya going back to the late 2000s.

I remember images of Blair negotiating with Gaddafi in a tent in 2004.

That was the opportunity to seek compensation payments for the IRA victims  but instead of that he turned his back on the IRA victims just to get these great trade deals for the UK.

I wonder, if this compensation happens, if it will just be for those who took the legal writ or all victims in general? Either way, they deserve compensation, but we wouldnt even be in this situation if it wasnt for our solicitors in London who fought the case for 11 long years.

The Americans, French and Germans fought the same case but that was done away with by Blair.

One such scenario was the Harrods bombing, when a British police officer was killed yet his family didnt get a penny.

But American victims got a big payout, so theres certainly a hierarchy of victims.

If youre a UK citizen you dont get anything but if youre another nationality you do, which is totally morally wrong.

Will the British government listen? Thats the billion dollar question. This is just a recommendation from the Northern Ireland select committee so whether the government take that on board or not I dont know. But I would make the point this is an opportunity, coming up to an election in June, to sort out this victims issue once and for all.

They could use that as part of their manifesto for getting themselves back in government. Its not just a Northern Ireland issue, its a UK issue as theres scores of victims in the mainland who were injured through Libyan-supplied Semtex.

Charles Arbuthnot (on behalf of the Arbuthnot family): His sister, WPC Jane Arbuthnot, was killed in the Harrods bombing in December 1983

On December 17, 1983, Chelsea Police Station received an alert that there was a possible bomb in a car in the Harrods store area.

Hans Crescent was on my sister WPC Jane Arbuthnots beat, so she joined her colleagues to patrol the area. She was in Hans Crescent when the bomb blew up.

Like any family who had lost a loved one, we were devastated, shocked, bewildered, angry, horrified and dumbstruck.

We received enormous support from the police and the public.

I was filled with guilt and remorse as Jane had swapped a shift to welcome me home from university, my mother was in pieces and my sister had never seen my father cry.

Today, the pain is far less, but the presence of Jane is sorely missed. My father passed away, leaving my mum, brother, sister and myself and this big hole.

My older brother and sister have not had children. This was not a thought-through decision, but a circumstance of life. I have had two children and we always think how many and what children would Jane have had.

Her birthday is never forgotten. Her grave is visited around her birthday each and every year. Both my daughters are very aware of their aunt Jane.

I am sending this to the compensation inquiry as a matter of principle. An American can get copious amounts of compensation for losing the life of a loved one at the Harrods bombing, so why should the families of the British victims be excluded?

As Lord Empey said when my sister met with him: You can get compensation for a flight or train being late these days.

It is the direct discrimination that we, as a family, find incredibly unjust. My sister died doing her job, but her job was not to be blown to smithereens  her job was to protect the public and uphold the law.
Matthew Bryce has been found safe and well (Police Scotland/PA)

A surfer was rescued by the Belfast Coastguard yesterday after being swept 13 miles out from the Scottish coast and surviving in the Irish Sea for more than 30 hours.

Rescue teams said they were growing "gravely concerned" for Matthew Bryce before finding him at 7.30pm halfway between Scotland and Rathlin Island.

The surfer was hypothermic but conscious. The 22-year-old, from Glasgow, had last been seen on Sunday at around 9am in the St Catherine's area of Argyll before he left for Machrihanish beach near Campbeltown to go surfing.

The alarm was raised on Monday afternoon when he failed to return to shore, with rescue teams quickly combing large areas in their search for the missing man.

The search party was coordinated by Belfast Coastguard with rescue teams dispatched from Campbeltown and Southend. A coastguard rescue helicopter based in Prestwick was also used.

Dawn Petrie, at Belfast Coastguard operations centre, headed the operation.

"Hope was fading of finding the surfer safe and well after such a long period in the water, and with nightfall approaching we were gravely concerned," she said.

"At 7.30pm, the crew on the rescue helicopter were delighted when they located the man still with his surfboard and 13 miles off the coast."

She added Mr Bryce was "kitted out with all the right clothing" which included a thick neoprene suit.

"This must have helped him to survive for so long at sea," she explained.

The surfer was flown for treatment in hospital at Belfast.

In a separate incident yesterday, a hillwalker in the Mourne Mountains was airlifted to hospital after suffering a serious fall.

A spokesperson from the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team said the man was found at the base of an area known as the water slabs in Annalong valley.

"The casualty was assessed and treated for multiple injuries including to the head, neck and chest," they added.

An Irish Coastguard rescue helicopter was dispatched from Dublin, with the casualty airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

In total, 18 mountain rescue workers responded, along with an hazardous area response team paramedic, ambulance crew and the rescue helicopter team.

The team was stood down at 9.05pm.
The scene of the Enniskillen Remembrance Sunday bombing in 1987

As a committee of MPs recommends a compensation fund for victims of IRA bombings which used Libyan munitions, Michael McHugh answers some of the key questions.

Q. What was the IRAs connection with Libya?

A. When Colonel Muammar Gaddafi took power in north Africa in 1969, his anti-colonial zeal drew him to the IRAs anti-British and anti-imperialist message.

What was to become a 25-year relationship quickly developed into the provision of war material which was a boon to a poorly-equipped Provisional movement born the same year.

In 1973, the Irish Coastguard boarded the Claudia off the Irish coast carrying tonnes of weaponry from Libya.

But it was more than a decade before the Eksund was stopped by the French authorities.

It was on its way to Northern Ireland with around 1,000 AK-47 machine guns, more than 50 surface-to-air missiles and two tonnes of Semtex.

It is unknown how many other shipments got through.

Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: In the 1980s and 1990s, Libya was probably the most serious state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

Q. What did the Provisionals use the weapons for?

A. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee said: There is no doubt that the weapons, funding, training, and explosives that Colonel Gaddafi provided to the Provisional IRA over the course of 25 years both extended and exacerbated the Northern Ireland Troubles, and caused enormous human suffering.

The committee said shipments of arms like the Semtex explosive made possible a deadly bombing campaign from the late 1980s that included atrocities at Enniskillen, Warrington and the London Docklands, among many others. On November 8, 1987, a bomb using Semtex killed 11 people during a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen.

On April 10, 1992, a 45kg bomb using Semtex detonated outside the Baltic Exchange in the City of London, killing three and injuring more than 90 others.

On March 20, 1993, a bomb containing Semtex was detonated in Warrington, resulting in the death of two children, Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball.

On February 9, 1996, the Provisional IRA broke its ceasefire when it detonated a bomb in the Docklands area of London, killing two people and injuring around 100.

Q. What are the victims seeking?

A. Colonel Gaddafi paid substantial compensation to victims of terrorism who held US, French and German citizenship as a consequence of his support and involvement in the attacks.

British victims want the same treatment from the post-Arab Spring authorities and are demanding more support from their own government.

President of the Docklands Victims Association Jonathan Ganesh said all the victims were continually abandoned.

He said he hoped whoever is elected to power in June will rectify this moral injustice as all human life is equal regardless of race, religion and nationality.

Q. And what about what happens now?

A. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has published its inquiry report and recommended a compensation fund be established by the end of the year if progress is not made with Libya with a view to retrieving the money from the Arabs at a later date.

The next government after June 8 will have to consider the report and respond to its recommendations.

Victims across the UK will be watching to see whether they are acted upon.
Kensington Palace published this picture of Princess Charlotte as she celebrates turning two years old

A new picture of Princess Charlotte enjoying the outdoors, taken by her mother, has been released as part of her second birthday celebrations.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said they were delighted to share the photograph to mark their only daughters special day.

The Cambridges have followed a trend they set with their daughters first birthday by giving royal fans a new image of the toddler princess.

She is pictured at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, wearing a yellow cardigan decorated with images of sheep, and sporting a navy clip in her hair.

Kensington Palace said in a statement: The Duke and Duchess are very pleased to share this photograph as they celebrate Princess Charlottes second birthday. Their Royal Highnesses would like to thank everyone for all of the lovely messages they have received, and hope that everyone enjoys this photograph of Princess Charlotte as much as they do.

Charlottes privacy has been carefully guarded by her parents, and during the past year she has only been seen in public on a handful of occasions.

She made an appearance on Christmas Day, when she was taken to a church service close to the home of her grandparents, Carole and Michael Middleton, in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

Charlotte was pictured in the arms of the duchess when the royal party arrived at St Marks Church in Englefield, with older brother Prince George holding the dukes hand as they walked in. When they left, the royal children were clutching candy canes.

Charlottes first birthday was marked with the release of four official photographs by her parents.

But the young royal was first photographed on the day of her birth  May 2, 2015  when Kate held her daughter outside the private maternity wing of St Marys hospital in Paddington, central London, where the princess was delivered.

She was named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in tribute to her grandmother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her great-grandmother, the Queen.
Labours Keir Stammer says leak from Brexit dinner worrying.

Labours shadow Brexit minister Sir Keir Starmer has claimed Theresa Mays approach to talks with the EU is simply not working  after getting off to a very, very bad start.

Visiting a German-owned factory in Birmingham, Sir Keir was asked to comment on reports European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker had emerged from Downing Street talks 10 times more sceptical than before about the Governments plan for Brexit.

After joining Birmingham Erdington MP Jack Dromey in talking to managers and workers at the Guhring plant in Aston, Sir Keir also urged both Remain and Leave voters to consider the future of Britains economy.

Sir Keir, who spoke to workers from other parts of the EU worried about their right to remain in Britain, said of the Governments current stance on Brexit: I think the talks have got off to a very, very bad start.

I dont doubt that this leak (regarding talks with Mr Juncker) is irritating for the Prime Minister but the contents are really worrying.

And I think that rigid approach, that fixed approach that she has taken here in the UK is simply not working with our EU partners.

We need to be flexible, we need to be smart and we need to understand how negotiations go  so she has got off to a very, very bad start Im afraid.

Mr Dromey criticised the Government for insulting Britains EU partners and opting not to guarantee the right of workers from other parts of the bloc.

He and Sir Keir chatted with several workers as they were given a tour of machinery at Guhrings new site, which makes specialist tooling for firms including BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Airbus.

The firm, which has operated in the UK since 1973, recently moved from premises in Mr Dromeys constituency.
Archie Sheppard, 48, who was found fatally stabbed on a London bus, as a man has been arrested on suspicion of his murder. Metropolitan Police/PA Wire

A man from Northern Ireland has been murdered on the top deck of a London bus.

Archie Sheppard from Ballyclare was found fatally injured on the bus in Marylebone in the early hours of Friday morning after suffering a "violent and sustained" attack.

The 48-year-old who lived in north-west London was discovered by a passenger on the route 189 bus.

Paramedics were called but Mr Sheppard was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police charged a 38-year-old man on Monday May 1 with murder in connection with the stabbing.

Scotland Yard said John Edward Doherty of Clem Attlee Court SW6 was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon.

Doherty, of Fulham, west London was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday May 3.

Police are continuing to appeal for anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident.

DCI Noel McHugh said: We are now appealing to those who knew Archie Sheppard in whatever capacity to come forward.

It is important that we establish and get a clearer picture as to who Mr Sheppard was and the lifestyle he was leading, in particular anyone who was with him on Thursday, April 27 and anyone who stayed at his home in Neasden.

I am also making a fresh appeal for information and witnesses to come forward.

A number of people have assisted us with our inquiry but there are still a number of witnesses that have yet to come forward and I believe that they could hold vital information that could help with progressing this investigation.
Return to profit came after boss Bob Dudleys pay packet slashed by 40%.

Oil giant BP has returned to profit in the first three months of the year thanks to rising oil prices and ongoing cost cutting efforts.

The group said it swung out of the red with replacement cost profits of 1.4 billion US dollars (1.1 billion) for the first quarter against losses of 485 million US dollars (377 million) a year earlier.

A bounce back in oil prices saw Brent crude stand around 58% higher than a year earlier in the first quarter, at around 53.69 US dollars a barrel.

Bob Dudley, group chief executive of BP, said the year had started well for the group.

He added: BP is focused on the disciplined delivery of our plans. First quarter earnings and cash flow were robust.

On an underlying basis, BP nearly trebled replacement cost profits to 1.5 billion US dollars (1.2 billion) from 532 million US dollars (413 million) a year earlier.

The better-than-expected figures came after BP said it saw a 5% rise in production, boosted as the first of a raft of new projects came on stream.

Mr Dudley said: The first of our seven new upstream major projects has started up, with a further three near completion.

We expect these to drive a material improvement in operating cash flow from the second half.

The figures follow impressive earnings reports from US rivals ExxonMobil and Chevron last week as the industry benefits from a bounce back in crude prices, which had hit near 13-year lows early last year.

BPs closest rival, Royal Dutch Shell, is also expected to post a leap in profits when it reports on Thursday.

First quarter figures from BP come after it revealed last month it had slashed Mr Dudleys 2016 pay package by 40% and cut his maximum earnings by 3.7 million US dollars (2.9 million) to see off a fresh shareholder rebellion.

Its annual report showed Mr Dudleys pay package was cut to 11.6 million US dollars (8.5 million) as the group looked to avoid a repeat of last years investor revolt, when almost 60% of BP shareholders voted against his 20% pay hike.
Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin meet in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi (AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that Moscow ever interferes in elections in other countries.

During a tense appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Putin said accusations of meddling in last year's US presidential election were "simply rumours" being used as part of the political fight in Washington.

Speaking during a joint news conference following talks with Mrs Merkel at his Black Sea residence in Sochi, he also denied interfering in European elections.

US intelligence agencies say they have definitive evidence that Moscow was behind the hacking of Democratic email accounts, with the aim of benefiting Donald Trump's campaign and harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Merkel said she was confident that Germany could weather any disinformation campaign targeting its upcoming election.

Asked about the threat during the news conference, she cited two recent incidents of what she described as "gross misinformation".

In one instance, Russian media and the foreign minister claimed that a 13-year-old girl of Russian origin had been kidnapped and raped by asylum-seekers in Berlin, and that German authorities were covering up the case.

Police later determined the girl had made up the kidnapping, although a man in his 20s was charged with sexual abuse of a minor because she was below the age of consent.

Mrs Merkel said Germany would take "decisive measures" if it believed there was foreign meddling in the election, adding it was well-known that "hybrid warfare plays a role in Russia's military doctrine".

Her visit to Sochi was her first trip to Russia in two years, as relations between the two countries remain strained in large part over the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Putin last met in Germany in October for talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process. The deal brokered by Germany and France in 2015 has helped reduce the scale of fighting between Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces, but violence has continued and attempts to reach a political settlement have failed.

The two leaders heatedly disagreed on the cause of the conflict but both confirmed their support for the peace agreement negotiated in Minsk, Belarus.

AP
A Kurdish activist said the victims were mostly women and children displaced by the conflict

Islamic State militants have staged a surprise attack at a crossing frequently used by Iraqi and Syrian civilians seeking safety in north-eastern Syria, killing at least 37 people, mostly civilians, officials and activists said.

The pre-dawn attack took place after militants entered the village of Rajm Sleibi, on a front line that separates the Kurdish-controlled Hassakeh province from IS-held areas further south.

Some militants reportedly blew themselves up at a Kurdish checkpoint while others attacked sleeping civilians in a nearby temporary camp sheltering hundreds of displaced people who fled IS-controlled territory.

The International Rescue Committee said thousands of people from the Iraqi city of Mosul have travelled west to the Sleibi crossing since October, often through smugglers.

In a statement, it said several children were among the dead and wounded.

"We are appalled and saddened to hear of the attacks," said Thomas Garofalo, regional advocacy adviser at the IRC.

Redur Khalil, a spokesman for the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria, said the attack started with an early morning assault by IS militants on a checkpoint in Sleibi belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed and Kurdish-dominated force that fights IS.

The militants then "committed a massacre" of civilians as they sought to enter SDF-controlled territory, Mr Khalil said.

He added that the attack came a few hours after IS suicide bombers dressed in civilian clothes entered the town of Shaddadeh and attacked SDF forces.

Issam Amin, a media activist in Hassakeh, said victims arriving at the city's hospitals had stab wounds.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the Syrian conflict through activists on the ground, put the death toll at 38, including 23 civilians, many of them Iraqis.

IS is under attack by an array of forces in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, the SDF is fighting to recapture the town of Tabqa, an important stronghold for the militants about 25 miles south east of their de facto capital, the city of Raqqa.

The SDF has pushed the extremists to northern neighbourhoods of Tabqa, close to one of Syria's largest dams, and Kurdish officials say the battle will be over soon.

In Iraq, the extremist group is fighting for survival against Iraqi forces and their allies in the last neighbourhoods it still holds in the western part of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

The group claimed Tuesday's attacks through its media arm, Aamaq, saying its fighters attacked four Kurdish positions in the southern countryside of Hassakeh province.

Rajm Sleibi is about 18 miles south of the town of al-Hol, which houses a large refugee camp for civilians displaced from Syria and Iraq. A Kurdish activist said it is the entry point to Hassakeh for Syrians civilians fleeing the eastern cities of Deir el-Zour and Raqqa, and those fleeing from Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq.

The civilians initially spend about two weeks in Rajm Sleibi while they get security clearance from Kurdish authorities, and from there are taken then to al-Hol.

The camp is within the zone of influence of the SDF but not immediately protected by its forces.

Hawar, a news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria, put the death toll at 37.

AP

Elsewhere in Syria, opposition activists said IS killed 10 of its own after accusing them of selling weapons to arms traders.

The activists said the killings took place in the Mayadeen area in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border.

The Observatory and Omar Abu Laila, a Europe-based activist with contacts in the area, said the men were all Iraqis and they were shot dead on Monday in a main street in front of dozens of onlookers.
Victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism have demanded that the UK Government seek compensation from the north African country's rulers

There is no doubt that former Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi helped prolong and intensify the IRA's terrorist campaign both in Northern Ireland and in Britain. He donated arms, including surface-to-air missiles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Semtex explosives and 5m in funds during the 1970s and 1980s.

At least seven successful shipments got through, making the IRA the best equipped it had ever been.

These weapons and explosives were directly responsible for some of the most horrific terrorist acts of the Troubles: the Enniskillen Remembrance Day bombing, in which 11 people died in 1987; the explosion at Baltic Exchange in London, which killed three people and injured 90 in 1992; the murder of two young boys in Warrington in an explosion in 1993; and the huge Docklands explosion in 1996, which broke the IRA's ceasefire. Two people were killed that day and many more were injured due to the use of Semtex.

But that only scratches the surface of the death and destruction caused by the Libyan connection to the IRA.

Little wonder that victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism have demanded that the UK Government seek compensation from the north African country's rulers. Shamefully, only Northern Ireland and British victims have been denied that compensation.

America gained around 1bn in compensation from Libya for victims of international terrorism, as did Germany and France.

Now the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has accused successive British governments of letting down UK victims of Libyan-sponsored terrorism, pointing out a number of missed opportunities to at least press the case.

The death of Gaddafi in 2011 during an uprising complicated matters as his execution was followed by political instability.

However, there is an alternative approach, as the NI Affairs Committee pointed out. The UK has frozen 9.5bn of Libyan funds that could be used as a bargaining chip in obtaining compensation from the country's rulers.

If all else fails, the committee has urged the next UK Government to finance a compensation fund for the victims and survivors.

Legacy issues have been allowed to drag on unresolved in Northern Ireland, and it would heap insult on injury for the UK Government to continue to drag its heels on this singular issue.
The Gaddafi regime, through supplying finance, weapons and explosives to the IRA for a 25-year period, bears its share of responsibility for the death and injury inflicted on many victims.

There is no doubting that its role aiding and abetting the IRA terror campaign extended and exacerbated the Troubles, increasing loss of life and suffering.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee inquiry has examined the failure of successive governments to pursue compensation from Libya on behalf of the many victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism.

The inquiry received evidence from a number of those whose loved ones were killed in IRA attacks, as well as former senior members of the government, including former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who appeared before the committee.

IRA atrocities have left behind a lifetime of suffering for the families of those murdered and many of the injured.

The Hyde Park bomb has personal significance for me, as the four soldiers killed were colleagues of mine from the Household Cavalry.

One of those murdered that day was Lieutenant Anthony Daly. He was only 23. I know that because I served as best man at his wedding four weeks before he was murdered and later commanded his burial party.

The Hyde Park families were at Westminster last week to raise awareness of their campaign to bring a civil case against John Downey, the chief suspect, who was able to walk free from court because he was in receipt of a comfort letter sent to on-the-run IRA terror suspects.

Shamefully the families have twice been denied legal aid, and the onus is on the government to step in and provide exceptional funding so they can bring forward civil proceedings against John Downey. I would urge people to visit www.crowdjustice.org and donate to their campaign.

As the committee's report has documented, the UK government has failed victims by not securing compensation from Libya, unlike the American, French and German governments when their citizens fell victim to terrorism sponsored by the Libyan state.

When Libya was being brought in from the fringes of the international community in 2003 by the then Labour government, securing compensation should have been high on the agenda.

Instead the removal of potential chemical and nuclear weapons, and more concerning, commercial interests seemingly took precedence.

Ulster Unionist MPs Martin Smyth and David Burnside raised these matters at the time with the government, and Parliamentary questions demonstrate that the government was made aware of the demands from victims.

While the report has suggested the most preferable option is to secure compensation in a voluntary agreement with Libya, if this is not possible the government must establish its own reparations fund, preferably using some of the 9.5 billion of Gaddafi-linked frozen assets in the United Kingdom to finance it.

Time is running out for the victims and they require support. The committee report correctly states that if agreeing compensation for the victims from Libya does not look likely in the short to medium term by the end of 2017, then the government should then bring forward its own plans.

I, along with my party colleagues Lord Empey, Tom Elliott MP and other supportive MPs and Peers, have on numerous occasions met with ministers and officials, pushing for this course of action.

Lord Empey has passed legislation through the House of Lords seeking to use the frozen assets to compensate victims, and Tom Elliott was also bringing forward a debate in the House of Commons to raise awareness of the issue.

Unfortunately the snap election and reduction of Parliamentary time meant it could not progress any further.

In all our representations to date, the government has appeared very reluctant to go down the path of using some of the billions of frozen Libyan assets to compensate the victims, citing the need for diplomatic agreement.

In the next Parliament, Ulster Unionists will continue to use all our influence to press the government to take action.

There have been too many missed opportunities in the past to secure compensation.

The government must now act to recognise the victims of IRA terrorism and Libya's role in their suffering.
As role models go for women in engineering, Peggy Johnson is one of the best. Microsoft's executive vice-president of business development drives the software giant's M&A strategy and was in UCD in Dublin last month with the aim of inspiring schoolgirls to consider a career in science, tech, engineering or maths (STEM).

And while Ms Johnson, who was recently named the most powerful female engineer in the US, was primarily in Dublin to speak to students, she must also have inspired some of the many teachers in the 800-strong audience.

"I was just telling someone about my fifth grade teacher who was really the one who helped me through a few horrid classes in math and she said 'You can do it'," Ms Johnson says.

"She gave me the confidence to keep at it and it was really a turning point for me. My fifth grade teacher was super-encouraging and kept me on course and it changed the direction of my life."

Clearly, Ms Johnson had an aptitude for maths but no one in her schooldays ever suggested engineering as an option for her. That changed in 1981, when she was a business major in San Diego university. When dropping in a delivery to the engineering department, the two female administrative assistants expressed their delight in seeing a woman coming down the hallway.

"They said 'Are you here to sign up?' and I said 'No I'm just here to deliver that'." However, the women went to work extolling the virtues of engineering.

"They explained it in such a way that it just made it so exciting. They talked about solving puzzles, you know, really every one of these big jobs that engineers do, it's all about solving a puzzle," says Ms Johnson. It convinced her to take the plunge and she switched her major the next day.

Since joining Microsoft in 2014, she has overseen several acquisitions, with around 10 deals completed last year including the buyout of business-networking site Linkedin.

She was in Ireland last month for a short trip but has many connections with the country. Her father's parents were Irish and her daughter completed her degree at Trinity.

She is impressed with Ireland from a professional standpoint.

"We have been, obviously, super-happy with it," she says. "We've been here almost 32 years, so our roots are very deep in the country and it has served us well for many years. Just recently we have expanded the team here even further with the centring of our Inside Sales group."

The company announced in February that it was opening its EMEA Inside Sales division in Dublin, leading to the recruitment of 500 staff. Another 100 are also being recruited across the company, which will bring total employment numbers to 1,800.

"It's an interesting site for us because we have sales and marketing and development and a data centre and now our Inside Sales, it's quite a mix," she says of the Irish operation. "It probably is the site that looks closest to our Redmond campus (Washington) with the diversity of jobs that we have here in Ireland."

In an uncertain global political environment when concerns about foreign direct investment (FDI) are on the rise, Microsoft continues to see Ireland as a key part of its future.

"We have no plans to change the current course and speed," says Ms Johnson.

There may be more opportunities coming for Irish start-ups. Microsoft Ventures has invested in close to 30 companies last year and will now be looking internationally for new projects.

"We launched a Microsoft Ventures Early Stage Fund last year and we just recently put somebody in London who will look after this region for us. We'll be looking for early-stage start-ups to invest in that are in line with our ambitions," she says.

There are several exciting areas which Johnson is keen on.

"The areas are artificial intelligence and machine learning, business SaaS (software as a service)," she says.

"Security is another area of focus for us." "And, you know, there's quite a dynamic community of start-ups here in Ireland. So it's of great interest to us."

Ms Johnson told students last week that artificial intelligence and augmented reality were two of the most promising areas of development, with its HoloLens product allowing people to mix reality and computer-generated images.

The potential uses are vast, with Ms Johnson outlining how the product will be used for training future surgeons. "We think business applications will be some of the most innovative because we've already had a number of companies integrating it into their work flow," she says.

"One of them is ThyssenKrupp, the elevator company. If you can imagine you're an elevator maintenance man, and you go to the elevator and it may be a different model than you're used to, you could put the HoloLens on and it can augment an image around the elevator and show you 'this is the part you're looking for and you want to turn this area and you might want to tighten that'.

"In the past, the maintenance person would log on to their computer and maybe bring up schematics and flip through it."

Although there would be plenty of consumer uses for the HoloLens, it does seem as though Microsoft is increasingly concentrating on business customers rather than consumers.

However, Ms Johnson says it is focused on both. "Clearly, we're an enterprise-focused company but we also have gaming," she says. "Gaming provides us with some very good signals about consumers and what they're interested in. We have our Xbox but also our Xbox Live subscription service."

Another development in Europe is a recently opened Internet of Things lab in Munich. "Companies can come into our insider lab and they can share just an idea. They might have a prototype. They might have something that's nearly finished and we can walk them through different stages of support. We can do 3D printing. We can help them with a printed circuit board to test out hardware. We can help them on the software side.

"We had a company in China, and it took weeks and weeks off their development time because they can come in, and in an very accelerated fashion, build what they were envisioning. It made sense to put one in Munich - it's sort of in the centre of the automotive area."

Ms Johnson, who grew up just outside Los Angeles, worked at General Electric in San Diego on anti-submarine warfare technology before joining Qualcomm as a software engineer in 1989. She moved up the ranks during 25 years with the telecommunications equipment company, eventually taking up a senior role in sales and business development.

"I just got a call out of the blue from Microsoft. I was very curious because it was this 40-year-old company.

"From the outside looking in, they were having a massive change with all sorts of new and exciting programmes and a new and exciting ceo.

"But I said 'I just am not sure' because my family is all there in southern California and I have four dogs, three kids, two cats and one husband."

Joining Microsoft also meant a much higher personal profile. "It's the world stage type thing you could say and I'm naturally introverted," she says.

In a corporate world where weakness or insecurity is rarely shown, Ms Johnson is happy to share her self-doubt.
A Turkish court has blocked access to Wikipedia in a move condemned as censorship and an attack on human rights.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) said an Ankara court ordered on Saturday that a "protection measure" relating to suspected internet crimes be applied to the free online encyclopedia.

Such measures are used to block access to pages or entire websites to protect "national security and public order".

In response, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted his support for those who labelled the decision censorship.

"Access to information is a fundamental human right. Turkish people I will always stand with you to fight for this right," he said.

Turkey Blocks, an internet censorship monitor, said users in Turkey have been unable to access all language editions of Wikipedia since 8am on Saturday.

"The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country," the monitor said.

The site had initially been blocked by BTK under a provisional administration measure.

The exact reason for the ban remains unclear but Turkey's official news agency, quoting the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, said the site was blocked for "becoming an information source acting with groups conducting a smear campaign against Turkey in the international arena".

The state-run Anadolu Agency said officials had warned Wikipedia to remove content likening Turkey to terror groups but the site "persistently" did not.

Turkey had demanded that Wikipedia open an office in the country, act in line with international law and abide by court decisions and not be part of a "blackout operation against Turkey," according to the agency.

Anadolu said if these demands are met and the content removed, the site would be reopened.

Opposition lawmakers also criticised the court order.

Republican People's Party parliamentarians Eren Erdem tweeted the ban puts "Turkey in line with North Korea" while Baris Yarkadas called it "censorship and a violation of the right to access information".

Turkey's status is listed as "not free" on the 2016 Freedom on the Net index by independent rights watchdog Freedom House. It says over 111,000 websites were blocked as of May last year.

Wikipedia, a collaborative online reference work, says it is ranked among the 10 most popular websites.

AP
Police parade suspected ABT militant Asfaqur Rahman (in handcuffs) before reporters in Dhaka, May 2, 2017.

Bangladeshi police Tuesday announced the arrest of the suspected IT chief of a banned militant group that they have blamed for a series of murders targeting secular bloggers since 2013.

Ashfaqur Rahman (alias Ayan, Arif and Anik), who headed the information technology division of Ansarullah Bangla Teams (ABT) military wing, was arrested in the Norda neighborhood of Dhaka on Monday night, police said.

Rahman used his IT skills and computer science training to hack into social media accounts and collect information related to bloggers targeted for assassination by ABT, including obtaining their names and addresses as well as tracking their movements, authorities allege.

Based on the information, the attacks were carried out, Monirul Islam, chief of the Bangladeshi polices counter-terrorist unit, told a news conference in Dhaka on Tuesday.

At the time of Rahmans arrest, police said they recovered extremist-related literature and sermons by Osama bin Laden and another late senior al-Qaeda figure, the U.S.-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, along with a training manual for ABT members on how to kill bloggers.

On Tuesday, a court in Dhaka granted police a five-day remand to hold Rahman for questioning.

We sought a 10-day remand for extracting information from him, but we got five days, Masudur Rahman, spokesman for Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told BenarNews.

Police said Ashfaqur Rahman worked closely with and maintained contact with a renegade ex-army major, Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who is also known as Major Zia and is suspected of now leading ABT. Haque remains at-large.

Ashfaqur  in the primary interrogation confessed that he headed the information technology wing of the ABT. He has been very close to sacked Major Zia, Islam said during the news conference.

Rahman and Major Zia met outside the Bangladeshi capital several months ago, Islam said.

They had contacts two months ago, he told reporters, adding, Ashfaqur came to Dhaka to see another member of the outfit. Acting on a tip, we arrested him.

Rahman joined the ABT while studying computer science student at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in the northeastern city of Sylhet, police said.

He rose in the ranks of Ansarullah Bangla Team and took part in Major Zias trainings on the killings of bloggers in Dhakas Uttara and Kalapani areas, according to Monirul Islam.

ABT, which is known by various names including Ansar al Islam, has sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda and is suspected of carrying out seven separate machete-murders of secular bloggers and writers dating back to February 2013.

Six of the victims were hacked to death since February 2015, starting with U.S.-Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy, who had openly criticized Bangladeshi Islamic extremists and had questioned religion in blog postings. Roy was slain by a group of men as he and his wife were leaving the Ekushey Book Festival in Dhaka on the night of Feb. 26, 2015.

The arrest of the ABTs IT head is really a good news, but this arrest will not weaken them since they have backups, Mahfujul Haque Marzan, a professor of criminology at Dhaka University, told BenarNews.
Maria Espinosa cries outside a funeral parlor in Manila where the body of her 16-year-old son, Sonny, was taken after he died in a shooting at a suspected drug den in a suburb of the Philippine capital, Dec. 29, 2016.

The Philippine government on Tuesday defended an anti-drug campaign that has claimed more than 8,000 lives since Rodrigo Duterte became president 10 months ago, saying his administration was battling a national security threat which must be eliminated.

Criminal and narcotics-trafficking cartels have gained a toehold in the countrys 120 billion peso (U.S. $2.4 billion) illegal drug industry, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Isidro Lapena told a Manila forum attended by top police and health officials.

As long as there is demand, the drug problem will continue, Lapena said. The drug problem is massive and now poses a national security threat. We need to do something now.

Transnational drug syndicates  including Chinese triads, African syndicates using people as drug mules and Mexican Sinaloa gangs  are believed to be trafficking meth, marijuana and party pills, such as ecstasy, in the Philippines, he said.

As long as there is a good market for drugs in the Philippines, drug trafficking will continue, Lapena told the forum. Government officials had organized it to counter what they said were misleading figures reported by the international press.

There are about four million drug users in the country of 103 million people, Lapena said.

A bloody campaign

Since President Duterte took office 10 months ago and vowed to turn Manila Bay into a dumping ground for dead drug addicts and traffickers, the drug enforcement agency and police have launched more than 53,000 anti-drug operations leading to the arrests of about 65,000 suspects.

According to official police figures, more than one million drug users have surrendered, and officers have shot dead 2,692 suspects during anti-narcotics raids since June 2016. Officials were also investigating about 5,700 drug-related deaths.

The police have said that many of the killings were not of their own doing, but could be blamed on motorcycle-riding vigilantes, who typically leave signs on their victims that read: I am a (drug) pusher, do not follow my example.

But the war on drugs has also resulted in some alleged abuses, including the murder last year of a South Korean man who was abducted by a group led by a policeman and that seized him under the guise of the anti-drug campaign.

The South Koreans wife paid off the ransom, but he was later killed and his ashes flushed down the toilet, in a gruesome case that temporarily forced Manila to halt the drugs war.

The forum was meant to clear the air after Dutertes anti-drug campaign had been severely criticized by human rights groups, the Roman Catholic Church, the European Union and the United States under the presidency of Barack Obama.

President Duterte has ignored the criticisms and vowed to pardon any police officer jailed in connection to his overall drug war.

At least two town mayors publicly named by Duterte as alleged protectors of drug syndicates have also been killed  one of them by police officers who claimed the mayor traded gunfire with them as they conducted a raid inside his jail cell.

Duterte has also admitted to having killed about three people when he was the longtime mayor of the southern city of Davao.

Two of his former men  a police officer and an uneducated self-confessed hitman  have come forward to testify against him.

Their testimonies, earlier made in a Duterte-controlled Senate, were discredited, but the two have since sued the president for mass murder at the Hague-based International Criminal Court.

A murderous war against the poor

Phelim Kine, a deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch, called Dutertes drugs war abusive and said it should be stopped immediately.

Hes pursuing a murderous war against the poor that has resulted in the brutally violent deaths of thousands of Filipinos, Kine said in a statement Monday.

He noted that HRW had found a damning pattern that exposed unlawful police conduct designed to paint a veneer of legality over summary executions.

Duterte has been an enthusiastic cheerleader for those killings, Kine said. He has made repeated calls for the public to kill drug addicts as part of his anti-drug campaign. These calls constitute criminal incitement to commit murder.

But on Tuesday, the government said it had managed to seize some 14.49 billion pesos (U.S. $290 million) worth of drugs and other evidence since last year, and that the crackdown had led to a 26 percent reduction in drug supplies.

National police chief Ronald Dela Rosa admitted that corrupt policemen had coopted the war on drugs. But a relaunched campaign, spearheaded by the drug enforcement agency, would be strict and weed out corrupt officers, he said.

We follow a strict policy under the renewed Tokhang, Dela Rosa said, referring to name of the campaign, which is a combined Filipino word for knock and plead, a polite request to stop using drugs.

We dont care if its slow as long as it is sure, he said.
Philippine police on Tuesday killed a suspected bomb maker in a gunfight in the southern city of Davao, but his comrades escaped, officials said.

Police were still determining the mans affiliation, but the southern Philippines is a known hotbed of Muslim and communist guerrilla groups.

Police said a black pick-up truck carrying several armed men was spotted at dawn outside Davao, triggering a car chase.

One of the men riding in the back of the vehicle fell to the ground as the chase approached an area on the outskirts of the city. He drew his firearm, prompting the officers to open fire, Chief Inspector Oliver Navales said.

The gunman was shot in different parts of the body, Navales said. The other suspects managed to escape.

Police recovered a backpack from the slain suspect that contained a gun, ammunition and bomb-making materials, including a 60-millimeter mortar round, blasting caps and a fragmentation grenade, Navales said.

Muslim militants operating in the region have been known to use mortars in making improvised explosives.

In September last year, 15 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded when a home-made bomb ripped through a night market in Davao, in what security officials later blamed on a local Muslim group that had been trying to attract the attention of the extremist group Islamic State.

Nine people were arrested after that bombing. All of them belonged to the previously unheard-of Maute group, a small band of militants based in Lanao del Sur, a predominantly Muslim province on Mindanao island.

The group has also been blamed for an attempted bombing outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila in November.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who was the longtime mayor of Davao before becoming the countrys leader last year, has ordered the armed forces and the military to crush the Maute group.

Last week, three Indonesians and a Malaysian were among 37 suspected members of the Maute group who were killed in a Philippine military strike on a jungle camp in Lanao del Sur.
Dozens of reporters surround former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she voted during the constitutional referendum in Bangkok, Aug. 7, 2016.

Thai lawmakers Monday voted in favor of a military-backed bill that would broadly regulate the nations media after some 30 local organizations complained it would curb press freedom dramatically.

The junta-appointed National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) voted for a draft bill of what would be Thailands first law governing the media, but it removed a section setting prison terms and fines for unlicensed media members after the organizations had submitted a letter stating their concerns.

Leading figures from the Thai media handed the letter to the vice president of the NRSA, Alongkorn Ponlaboot, as it was deliberating on the draft bill, officially referred to as the Bill on the Protection and Promotion of Media Rights, Freedom, Ethics and Professional Standards.

Thai Journalists Association (TJA) members said they worried that the legislation, if passed, would subject media outlets and anyone who directly or indirectly earns income from reporting news to the public without a license to up to three years in prison and a 60,000 baht (U.S. $1,735) fine. It called those punishments too severe.

We are disturbed by and distrust this action, TJA President Pramade Lakpetch told reporters witnessing the protest letter delivery at the Parliament on Monday. When the problem is about the foundation of our home, it makes no sense to repair just the windows and doors. Any reform needs to look at the problem in a holistic manner.

After receiving the letter, Alongkorn told reporters that the reform committee would consider their concerns.

Following about eight hours of debate among assembly members, the NRSA endorsed a bill that omitted the section setting prison and fines for unregistered media, Thai PBS reported, voting 141 for, 13 against with 17 abstentions. The bill will be amended to reflect the changes agreed to during debate and sent to the cabinet for consideration.

Association members could not be reached late on Monday to answer questions on whether the NRSA had addressed all of the TJAs stated concerns in the version of the bill that was passed.

The letter raised four points of concern about the bill, including that the draft legislation would empower the National Press Council to issue licenses to media personnel; that it would allow a state representative to sit on the council; and that the bills broad provisions could include all people who criticize or comment on news or information.

Media should regulate itself

The associations position is that the media should be permitted to regulate itself. The group said the drafts interpretation of journalist is vague enough to include the general public whose websites and postings are critical of governments policies.

Since seizing power in a coup three years ago, Thailands military government has arrested government critics or people who have posted online content seen as violating the nations strict royal defamation laws. The regime, in some cases, has also summoned journalists who have published articles critical of the junta for so-called attitude adjustment detention sessions.

The proposed media legislation also goes against the 2017 constitution which states that the people of Thailand have the right to freedom of expression through speech, print materials and other formats, the associations vice president said.

We called on the government of Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha to listen to all sides, especially when deliberating laws that curbs the rights and freedom of the public, TJA Vice President Chaiyuth Yonpium told BenarNews.

Such legislation should be drafted by people who know something about the media. Or should the soldiers be the ones who draft it? Chaiyuth said, adding, Could it be possible that such legislation be drafted by elected representatives and not be pushed through under an atmosphere where anybody could be summoned (by the military) for attitude adjustment that they often refer to as a seminar?
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For Immediate Release, May 1, 2017 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (914) 806-3467, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org Supreme Court Turns Down Oil Industry Challenge to Polar Bear Critical Habitat WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's designation of more than 120 million acres as critical habitat in Alaska for imperiled polar bears. The decision comes just days after President Trump issued an executive order that attempts to rescind a ban on new offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. This victory helps ensure that polar bears keep the habitat protections they need for a shot at surviving our rapidly warming world, said Kristen Monsell, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney. But as Arctic sea ice continues to melt away, we've got to do a lot more. Polar bears and so many other species will disappear forever unless we stop Trump from green-lighting every dirty fossil fuel project he sees. Today's decision shoots down a challenge by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and the state of Alaska to the 2010 critical habitat designation, which includes about 187,000 square miles of sea ice, barrier islands and coastal areas in Alaska. The plaintiffs complained that the protections for polar bear habitat will impede oil drilling in the Arctic. The Endangered Species Act prohibits federal agencies from authorizing activities that will destroy or harm a listed species' critical habitat. Critical habitat designation does not impact subsistence activities by Alaska Native communities. Plants and animals with federally protected critical habitat are more than twice as likely to be moving toward recovery than species without it, a Center study found. The polar bear was protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2008, following a Center petition to list the species. Federal wildlife officials early this year released a report calling climate change the biggest threat to the polar bear's survival. It cannot be overstated that the single most important action for the recovery of polar bears is to significantly reduce the present levels of global greenhouse gas emissions, says the report released in January by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Scientists predict that more than two-thirds of the world's polar bears, including all the bears in Alaska, will be gone by 2050, unless strong action is taken. Arctic sea ice  which polar bears depend on for hunting and raising their cubs  hit a new record low in 2017 for the third straight year. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
For Immediate Release, May 1, 2017 Contact: Stephanie Feldstein (734) 395-0770, sfeldstein@biologicaldiversity.org Trump Administration Rolls Back School Lunch Health, Sustainability Safeguards WASHINGTON Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue signed a proclamation today to roll back whole-grain, nonfat milk and low-sodium nutrition requirements in the national school lunch program. The previous standards were instituted as part of the Obama administration's campaign against childhood obesity that has been widely supported by public-health and environmental organizations. It's not only possible to make nutritious food that kids will eat, but it's necessary for their health and the health of the planet, said Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity. This is like arguing whether ketchup is a vegetable all over again. We just can't afford to erase the progress that's been made toward healthier, more sustainable school lunches. Perdue's remarks on the proclamation highlight concerns about wasted food, claiming that students aren't eating the foods prepared under the previous administration's guidelines. But the proclamation does not indicate that any resources or assistance will be provided to help schools track and prevent food waste. Cafeterias across the country have been successful in making favorite dishes healthier in the five years that these standards have been in effect, said Feldstein. Schools need more resources to serve wholesome food kids will eat and to reduce food waste without sacrificing nutrition. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
For Immediate Release, May 2, 2017 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (914) 806-3467, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org Legal Action Taken to Protect Whales From Atlantic Oil Exploration East Coast Residents, Conservationists Back Bureau Finding That Seismic Blasts Harm Endangered Right Whales, Other Wildlife WASHINGTON Conservation groups have moved to intervene in an administrative appeal by the oil industry challenging a federal decision to reject six oil and gas exploration permits for the Atlantic Ocean. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management denied the seismic airgun survey applications in part because the loud blasts would hurt endangered North Atlantic right whales and other sensitive wildlife. In denying the permits, the Bureau found that the small, critically endangered, and declining population of North Atlantic right whales, which recent surveys say include an estimated 476 whales, would doubtless be disturbed by seismic activity. Seismic blasts are so loud they can injure endangered right whales and other marine mammals. We've been working to save right whales from extinction, and we're intervening in this appeal to ensure the safety of these rare whales from oil and gas exploration, said Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. President Trump issued an executive order Friday calling for the Department of the Interior to review its 2017-2022 offshore oil and gas leasing plan and all restrictions on offshore energy production, possibly opening up the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans to dangerous offshore drilling projects. Administration officials also said seismic testing in the Atlantic, which was removed from the final five-year plan, could proceed during that review. Seismic exploration surveys use high-powered airguns to search for deposits of oil and gas. They generate the loudest human sounds in the ocean, short of explosives. The blasts, which can reach more than 250 decibels, can cause hearing loss in marine mammals, disturb essential behaviors such as feeding and breeding over vast distances, mask communications between individual whales and dolphins, and reduce catch rates of commercial fish. In addition to the Center for Biological Diversity, today's motion was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, North Carolina Coastal Federation, South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, One Hundred Miles and Defenders of Wildlife. The groups are represented by attorneys from NRDC, the Center and the Southern Environmental Law Center. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
For Immediate Release, May 2, 2017 Contacts: Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org

Nathan Johnson, Ohio Environmental Council, (614) 487-5841, NJohnson@theOEC.org

Tabitha Tripp, Heartwood, (812) 307-4326, info@heartwood.org

Loraine McCosker, Ohio Sierra Club, (740) 590-8474, loraine.mccosker@gmail.com Lawsuit Challenges Fracking Plan for Ohio's Only National Forest Feds Overlook Danger to Wildlife, Watersheds, Ohio River COLUMBUS, Ohio Conservation groups today sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management over plans to permit hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Ohio's only national forest, the Wayne. The lawsuit aims to void BLM leases and halt fracking in the national forest. Today's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, charges that the agencies failed to analyze threats to public health, endangered species and the climate before auctioning off more than 670 acres of forest land for large-scale, high-volume fracking. "We're suing to stop this dangerous fracking plan because drinking water safety and public lands should come before corporate profits, said Taylor McKinnon at the Center for Biological Diversity. The Ohio and Little Muskingum rivers provide precious water to millions of people in Ohio and downstream states. Pollution from fracking would be disastrous for the people who depend on this water. In the lawsuit the conservation groups note that the agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act by approving oil and gas leases without addressing risks to watersheds, public health, climate and endangered species, including Indiana bats. Fracking will industrialize Ohio's only national forest with roads, well pads and gas lines, the lawsuit asserts. This infrastructure would destroy Indiana bat habitat, pollute watersheds and water supplies that support millions of people, and endanger other federally protected species in the area. The lawsuit challenges a December 2016 BLM auction of more than 670 acres of public land in the Wayne National Forest's Marietta Unit in southeast Ohio, arguing that the agency relied on outdated plans in approving the leases. Many of the parcels sold in the most recent lease auctions are near or along these rivers. We filed this lawsuit because the Wayne is an important natural resource for all Ohioans, said Nathan Johnson, public lands director for the Ohio Environmental Council. We won't let the Wayne be trashed by pipelines and frack pads. The law is on our side, and this public forest is worth fighting for. In 2014 a well pad caught fire in Monroe County, resulting in the contamination of a creek near the national forest. Wastewater and fracking chemicals spilled into Opossum Creek  an Ohio River tributary  killing 70,000 fish over a five-mile stretch. The Wayne National Forest is already so small and fragmented, but it's all Ohioans have left, said Tabitha Tripp with Heartwood. We will fight like hell to protect it and the waters that run through it. The groups have also filed an appeal with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke challenging the most recent March 2017 lease sale. And they've filed two 60-day notices of intent to sue the agencies for violating the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act claims will be ready for litigation in June. "There's no escaping the truth about what fracking will do to Wayne National Forest. Quite simply, it will destroy it," said Jen Miller, Ohio Sierra Club director. "Rather than permitting the destruction of our only national forest, we must continue to fuel the transition to clean, renewable energy which protects our wild places and creates jobs here in Ohio." The BLM intends to lease 40,000 more acres of the Wayne National Forest's Marietta Unit, setting up two-thirds of the unit to be auctioned off in upcoming quarterly BLM lease sales. The lawsuit is available online, along with a map showing areas already leased or headed for auction. Photos of Wayne National Forest are also available. Download a copy of today's complaint here.

Download a map of Wayne National Forest fracking plans here.

Images of the Wayne National Forest are available for media use here.

Download a factsheet about Wayne National Forest fracking here.
It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a
Stuff magazine recently hosted its annual Gadget and App Awards for 2016, honouring various brands such as Dell, HTC, WeChat, and Apple, among others.

Overall winners included the HTC Vive, which won the coveted Gadget of the Year award, and WeChat Wallet, which won Financial App of the Year. WeChat also took home the award for overall App of the Year.

Computer of the Year  always a hotly contested category  went to the Dell XPS 13, unseating Apple, which has dominated the category in recent years with its MacBook Pro and Air devices. It took the award based on style, portability and performance in South Africa. The computer weighs less than 1.3 kilogrammes and is barely one centimetre thick when closed. Its InfinityEdge display squeezes a 13-inch display into an 11-inch frame, available in 1080p and QHD resolutions - thats up to 3200 pixels across.

The computer market has been shrinking every year, said Chris Buchanan, director: end user computing at Dell Africa. Dell is one of only three brands reversing the trend. This award shows why. While we dont compromise on quality, discerning consumers expect more. Today work and play happen side-by-side, so the best laptops must embrace this. Stuff Magazines recognition confirms that we are on the right track. We are very proud and humbled to accept this award, and will make sure we continue to deserve it.

The Readers Choice Award for Gadget of the Year went to GoPros Hero Session action camera.

TV of the Year went to LGs OLED65E6V display, while TV Gadget of the Year went to the DStv Explora. Watch of the Year was won by the Apple Watch Series 2.

All the winners

Gadget Awards

Smartphone of the Year  iPhone 7 Plus



International App of the Year  Prisma



Audio Gadget of the Year  Ultimate Ears Boom 2



Action Cam of the Year  DJI Phantom 4



Headphones of the Year  AKG N60NC



Home Gadget of the Year  Samsung PT SmartCam



Health & Fitness Gadget of the Year  Garmin Vivoactive HR



Watch of the Year  Apple Watch Series 2



TV Show of the Year  Game of Thrones



TV Gadget of the Year  DStv Explora



TV of the Year  LG OLED65E6V



Streaming Service of the Year  Netflix



Computer of the Year  Dell XPS 13



Car of the Year  Tesla Model X



Design of the Year  Impossible Project I-1



Game of the Year  Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End



Games Console of the Year  Sony PlayStation 4 Pro



Indie Game of the Year  Inside



Mobile Game of the Year  Pokemon Go



System Camera of the Year  Fujifilm X-T2



Compact Camera of the Year  Fujifilm X70



Readers Gadget of the Year  GoPro Hero Session



Gadget of the Year  HTC Vive

SA App Awards
Geo-targeting has the potential to dramatically increase the ROI of both local and global e-commerce digital marketing campaigns. However, according to the Econsultancy Cross-Channel Marketing Report , only 39% of marketing agencies are currently using it.

The reason geo-targeting hasn't taken off is that many brands don't use it effectively, so it isn't boosting their ROI as much as they hoped.

How to create more effective geo-targeted campaigns

Creating geo-targeted campaigns isnt difficult, but youll need to invest some time setting them up. If you aren't having much success with geo-targeting, you should follow the tips outlined below.

Create separate campaigns for different regions for your contextual campaigns

If you're primarily running paid search campaigns, you can simply use location identifier tokens in your ad copy, instead of setting up separate campaigns for each region. The keywords that convert the best on one region will probably perform better elsewhere. You can always create separate, region-specific campaigns later if you want to create more locally targeted ads, but creating a single campaign is usually best to get the volume you need to test keyword targeting.

However, if you are promoting on contextual traffic sources, such as the Google display network or RTX Platform (formerly known as 50 on Red), it's a good idea to create separate campaigns. With contextual traffic sources, you'll need to optimize by blacklisting poor performing domains. Many of your best performing domains will be local news sites and blogs, so you'll need to create separate campaigns for each region you target.

Keep an eye on the competition

It's always a good idea to monitor your competition. See what types of ads they're using to attract similar visitors.

Unfortunately, you can run into a couple of problems:

You may not be able to see local ads in other regions, which may be better tailored to local customers.



Google and other search providers personalise ads for you, which can make it difficult to see what other consumers will.

You can get around these problems by using one of the best VPNs to connect to a server in the area of interest.

Be aware of local laws

Laws differ across country and state lines. You will need to be aware of them before launching any digital marketing campaigns.

Gambling related ads are one of the biggest examples. In 2007, Google and Yahoo! had to pay out over $31 million in fines for allowing online gambling ads in the US.

Other advertising laws are less commonly known. As an advertiser, you can also be held liable for offering prohibited services or failing to abide by ad copy requirements in a given jurisdiction.

If a certain service or ad type is prohibited in one jurisdiction, you will need to block it from your targeting options.

Understand pain points across geographies before creating landing pages

Lets say that you are generating leads for real estate agents across the United States. Your have accounts are in New York City and Birmingham, Alabama.

Could you use the same landing page to cater to users in both cities? Yes. Should you? No.

Keep in mind that people in both cities are going to have different needs. People in NYC may be worried about the rapidly increasing cost of housing. Or they may be real estate speculators that want to buy a property to flip after the next pricing surge. On the other hand, home buyers in Alabama may be more concerned with finding a house in close proximity to their job or family, which can be difficult since there is a smaller supply.

If you are operating in several large markets, it is a good idea to research the needs of people in those areas. You will want to test angles that relate to those customers.

Never assume that their pain points will be the same as yours. Peoples issues differ throughout the world.

Geo-targeting is an art

Geo-targeting can be a very powerful way to boost your ROI. However, you need to use it wisely.

The purpose of geo-targeting is to make your ads more relevant to your customers. Always keep that in mind while optimizing your campaigns.

Try to figure out what people in different regions are looking for and tailor your ads to their needs.
On CNN Marketplace Africa aired late last week, Eleni Giokos interviewed Whitey Basson, former CEO of Shoprite, about how Africa's largest food retailer has grown over nearly four decades.

Whitey Basson

Basson spoke about how his aim, nearly 40 years ago, was to provide low cost affordable groceries to people living in South Africa and how this has now grown to become the largest food retailer in Africa.

Thirty-seven years doesnt feel like 37 years I didnt think that we would want to be the number one immediately. I just thought, Get the business organised. Shoprite was very well planned in terms of saying This is what we want to achieve, thats the market we want to do it in, and this is the method that we have to do it.

Having now stepped away from the business, becoming a non-executive director, Giokos asks Basson about whether he will continue to advise Shoprite going forward and to outline the future direction of the business  potentially beyond the continent.

Shoprite is something which is very close to me so I dont think I would really withdraw with my assistance, if the guys needed it, for many years I think it can still grow very big, I think it has the potential of growing in some other countries outside the African continent.

Examining the current position of the business as it expands across Africa, Giokos asked Basson to outline Shoprites current margins outside of South Africa.

Before we went, we did our price surveys; we saw that product was up to 60 or 70% more expensive than in South Africa. Our margins range between three and four and a half% across all countries, concluded Basson.
The Mall of Africa, the Attacq flagship shopping mall, celebrated its first birthday on 28 April 2017. Since opening day, it has posted sales of R3.4 billion for the 11 months of trading to March 2017 and has had over 13 million people in the same period.

Acknowledging its success at a media conference, Morne Wilken, CEO of Attacq explained that the company regards the Mall of Africa as one of its most valuable assets in its property portfolio. This mall is the realisation of a very significant vision and a long-term business journey. We identified a gap in the market to develop something extraordinary in the Waterfall area in the centre of Gauteng, the financial hub of South Africa.

Given the great location, we wanted to create the benchmark mall for Africa and therefore we aptly named it Mall of Africa. Being conveniently located in Waterfall on the N1 at the Allandale off-ramp, we created a unique Gauteng destination experience for local shoppers, visitors and tourists alike.

It is proving to be an iconic super-regional shopping and the destination it was intended to be, serving a large and growing customer base as part of Waterfall City, the CBD of Gautengs newest city in the making.

There are several brands that have made their South African debut in Mall of Africa. These include The Kooples and Zara Home amongst others. There are also several new concept and flagship stores in the mall, such as Woolworths, iStore, Cotton On and Mr Price Weekend. The most recent stores to open are Huawei and Swatch, with Tashas opening in July 2017.

These top brands recognise that Waterfall is a premium destination, with the right demographic of shopper and is an exciting area to invest in. Waterfall City where the mall is located is attractive in terms of both location and the demographics of the surrounding area. It is the new corporate headquarters consolidation destination for businesses such as PwC and the newly secured Deloitte deal. Attacq views the mall as the tipping point for putting Waterfall City on the map.

Wilken concludes, We are committed to the future of Gauteng as the economic hub of the continent and to adding value to the future of South Africa  we will be part of the solution for economic prosperity in the region.

Trading statistics (April 2016  March 2017):
The new TransUnion credit USSD service gives non-smartphone users in South Africa access to credit information. Users also needn't have airtime to be able to check their credit score.

 Michael Simons via 123RF

In a country such as South Africa, where smartphone penetration is moderate and credit awareness is low, such a service is useful. In 2016, Pew Research revealed that only 37% South Africans use smartphones, with 52% relying instead on traditional mobile devices. In addition, the National Credit Regulator reported last year that less than three percent of South Africas 24.25 million credit-active people check their credit information at least once per year.

Helping South Africans manage their credit

Our goal is to help all South Africans understand and manage their credit so they can take control of their financial health, said Garnet Jensen, senior director for TransUnion South Africa. The new USSD offering makes it quick and convenient for consumers to keep track of and manage their credit health, make informed financial decisions and better prepare for conversations with credit providers during their credit applications processes.

Consumers can register for the new product by verifying basic consumer information, which is further secured through validation of the consumers cellphone number. Once registered, consumers will have access to their TransUnion Consumer Credit Score through an SMS short code number. A registered consumer can also access their credit summary information such as the number of defaults, judgments, enquiries and late payments contained in their credit report. In addition, USSD users can see their debt profile with TransUnion, as well as how their credit score compares to national averages among consumers listed with TransUnion.

Lenders use credit reports and scores to assess a borrowers riskiness and to inform the terms of a loan. Between October 2015 and September 2016, 1.7 billion credit profiles were queried with the credit bureaus, highlighting the value and importance placed on a consumers credit profile.

To access the USSD service, dial *120*8801#.
Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal said on Friday, 28 April, it would not give a profit target for the current fiscal year owing to uncertainty over prices for raw materials and finished products.

The news came as the company, a major global steelmaker, said its net profit for the just-ended year to March fell 10% from a year ago to 130.9bn ($1.17bn), citing unsteady demand and a stronger yen.

Revenue ticked down 5.6% to 4.63tn, while operating profit dropped by nearly one-third from a year earlier.

"Results were affected by a less favourable sales mix, which stemmed from sluggish demand for steel products for the energy sector," it said.

A spike in the price of coking coal - a key ingredient in steel - and drop in Chinese steel prices, has hit Japan's major steelmakers.

Nippon Steel said it would not release full-year estimates on Friday due to "the uncertainty of price trends for primary raw materials and steel products".

Source: AFP
The 2017 SMME Opportunity Roadshow, which opened in Gauteng on 20 April and moves to Port Elizabeth (19 May), Durban (19 July) and Cape Town (6 September), offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to hear expert opinion on sustainable business growth.

Source: SMME Opportunity Roadshow on Facebook

Over 450 delegates, including SMME owners, corporates and funding agencies attended the Gauteng event.

The SMME Opportunity Roadshow was created to empower growth in small, sustainable businesses in support of the national governments drive create job opportunities and boost the economy. Industry experts in finance, strategic management, tendering and marketing shared their knowledge and insight with delegates at the roadshow.

Entrepreneurs have a passion, spark, flavour and drive that education cannot give, said Martin Ackerman, CFO of Thevia, a green economy company that manufactures roof tiles made from 99% waste materials, in addressing delegates.

The small business sector has huge potential to address the key priorities of government, said Mandy Mtyelwa of the Department of Science and Technology. SMMEs are the agency for economic growth and order to improve South Africa, the country needs a transition from a mineral-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, which entails improving the quality, quantity and access to information.

One of the key sponsors of the Roadshow is Old Mutual, which is committed to the growth of small businesses throughout South Africa.

The SMME Opportunity Roadshow gives entrepreneurs the chance to learn from and connect with experienced entrepreneurs, who faced the same challenges as they do and excelled in their business and life. In addition to being a great networking opportunity, the roadshow educates entrepreneurs on how to grow their business, recognise and seize opportunities and protect their income, said Old Mutuals Personal Finance head of marketing, Ntombekaya Tisani.

What young people need to empower them for business is skills and a change of mentality, said Happy Phaleng from OUT (an LBGT community organisation). Young people should not limit their personal growth by thinking that they can only get skills by going to college.

Social entrepreneur Masonwabe Fuma, the president at Enactus University of Johannesburg, reiterated Phalengs views. When you become an entrepreneur, you get the mindset of solving problems and, as you solve problems, you create jobs.

Tessa Cooke, marketing manager of roadshow sponsors Datsun, confirmed the commitment of public and private organisations to the roadshow. The organisation is always on the look-out for partnerships aimed at improving and enabling the SME sector, so we are proud to be part of the SMME Opportunity Roadshow 2017.

The importance of growth in the SMME sector has been highlighted by the Minister of Small Business Development, Lindiwe Zulu, who stated that small businesses need to contribute at least 800,000 jobs a year to match the government's goal of creating 11 million jobs by 2030.

For more information, go to www.smmesa.co.za
During his talk at World Travel Market Africa 2017, David Germain, the director for Africa and America's Seychelles Tourism Board , took us through all that the Seychelles as a vibrant holiday destination has to offer, highlighting the Seychellois' welcoming personalities, open hearts, and consideration for the well-being of the island's flora, fauna, marine life, and beaches.

Home to islands Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, the Seychelles has become famous for its lively culture, welcoming locals, and eco-friendly environments, presenting visitors not only with a home-away-from-home experience, but one of relaxation, and appreciation for natural resources and the protection thereof.

The Seychelles way of life boasts authentic customs and traditions, including a selection of activities from a catch and release fishing system, sailing, and cruises to island hopping excursions. We all sat in admiration of the serene beauty of the Seychelles via a PowerPoint presentation that Germain prepared, where he showed us the various islands, their relationships and what visitors can expect on their holidays.

Sun, sea and sand

The Seychelles, as Germain explained, is a melting pot of multi-ethnic people, with a population of 95,000 people who live in harmony with one another. The majority of people live on the main island of Mahe, where one would find lots of fish, cooked in many ways with local aromas and spices, which is provided to international visitors.

The island prides itself on the safety and security of its guests and locals and enjoys a crime free environment where virtually no violence takes place. It is also known for its natural beauty and basks in the summer season all year round with temperatures of 26 degrees and 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Germain considers the Seychelles a niche destination and says that it is not mass, receiving just over 3,000 visitors a year, exercising and encouraging a strong sustainable programme.

Respecting the conservation

The programme, known as the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label was created to provide assistance to tourism establishments on how to operate sustainably, by conserving natural resources, reducing waste and supporting the local community.

As the Seychelles is a biodiversity hotspot, it includes a lot of restrictions as its biodiversity is at risk from human-induced pressures. Since the island is blessed with rare species of flora and fauna, including endangered birds and plants, it is vital to maintaining the protection of this natural heritage for future generations.

Playing a proactive role

Seychelles urges its visitors to stay in eco-friendly accommodation facilities, taking care to acquaint themselves with the flora and fauna of the Seychelles by visiting environmental websites.

Travellers are informed and reminded that the Seychelles quality tourism is dependent on the conservation of its natural resources, the protection of the environment and respecting both international and local regulations.

It's important to note that although Seychelles is considered a perfect getaway, it values its natural beauty and expects the same of visitors that are making their way to the island. I'll definitely be making a plan to make my way to Seychelles' sandy utopia and sticking to the biodiversity rules.

Follow Visit Seychelles via Twitter to keep up to date with the latest from nature's best-kept secret.
Imagine pumpkin soup served in a gem squash goblet, silky seaweed oil, springbok consomme and biltong like you've never experienced it before, and you can get an inkling of an idea of what's in store if attending one of the Cape Town One Star House Party pop-up restaurant events.

One Star House Party is a two-year long project created by Chef James Sharman, which sees him and his team visit 20 restaurants in 20 countries in 20 months! They have been to Vietnam, the Everest Base Camp in Nepal and most recently on a float in Kenya. Cape Town is city number eight and Team One Star has set up camp in a beautiful loft apartment in Woodstock until Thursday, 11 May. I attended the second Cape Town dinner last week and was firmly blown away.

Local flavour

As much as Cape Town is a global foodie capital, fine dining menus often lean on Western and Eastern style cooking. Not many top class restaurants wholly promote South African cuisine and ingredients. So even though Sharman and his team hail from Scotland, Ireland and Australia it was super refreshing to see traditional South African dishes and ingredients inspiring their seven course tasting menu.

We apply the techniques we gleaned while working as chefs in some of the worlds best restaurants to the local food of the country we are in and serve this to our guests, says Sharman.

Foraging for kelp this morning! Seaweed is one of the most nutritious ingredients in the world, and a key element in our #capetown menu! #onestarhouseparty #southafrica A post shared by One Star House Party (@onestarhouseparty) on Apr 23, 2017 at 10:16am PDT

Lip smack-gasms

The chefs stay in each country for a month so they have plenty of time to learn about the city and its own particular food quirks, trends and produce. Cape Town saw the team foraging their own sea weed and drying their own biltong.

And what of the food? Well it is all unique, delicious and just a little magical. Some of the outstanding courses include, beef fat focaccia, with sliced steak tartare served with biltong spice, a smoked beetroot sauce, hazelnut puree and creamy homemade butter. Assemble all those ingredients in one bite and I swear it will feel as if your mouth is being caressed by a buttery richness, hard to forget.

Another stand out dish was the snoek with seaweed oil and barley puree. Lightly cooked with a blow torch and bordering on sashimi level, this bite of snoek was perfectly balanced with the fresh and early flavours of seaweed and barley.

Dessert included two courses; a melt-in-your-mouth roasted pineapple with lemongrass oil and homemade ricotta (the best Ive ever had) as well as creamy French meringue, served with a little bag of homemade granola made out of rusks and a cup of rich, smoked dark chocolate sauce. A heavenly concoction of sweet, creamy, crunchy and smoky.

"Rusk" granola, French meringue, smoked dark chocolate. SO INCREDIBLY delicious! @onestarhouseparty #onestarhouseparty A post shared by Richard Bosman (@bosmanrichard) on Apr 27, 2017 at 2:44pm PDT

If youre a foodie make sure you dont miss out on this one of a kind dining experience!

The pop-up restaurant will be open till the 11 May. Tickets are $85 (about R1,100) each and available online on OneStarHouseParty.com. Guests are asked to BYOB.
One of SA's largest shopping centres, Mall of Africa, celebrated its first anniversary on Wednesday, saying its central position in Gauteng had boosted trade figures.

Meanwhile, Attacq, the capital-growth fund that owns the mall, has announced the appointment of Jackie van Niekerk as the new chief operations officer. The former CEO of the Pivotal Fund, she is looking to steer the development of the Waterfall City precinct.

Pivotal listed in December 2014 and was sold to Redefine Properties in 2016.

Attacq CEO Morn Wilken said on Wednesday that Van Niekerk would bring her experience in asset management to Attacq. The flagship asset was the R5.1bn Mall of Africa development, which would be a catalyst for the success of office and residential developments in the area and was the central pillar of global consultancy PwC's new Gauteng head office.

"This mall is the realisation of a very significant vision and a long-term business journey. We identified a gap in the market to develop something extraordinary in the Waterfall area in the centre of Gauteng," Wilken said.

He said the Mall of Africa was conveniently situated off the N1 highway. "We have created a unique Gauteng destination experience for local shoppers, visitors and tourists alike."

The mall achieved an average trading density, or turnover per square metre, of R2,630m for the first 11 months of operations.

Wilken said this was comfortably ahead of the average R2,000m per month that most new malls typically achieved in the first year of operation.

Its average rental of R233/m, including anchor tenants, is about 16% below that of comparable super-regional malls, which means there is upside for income growth.

Thabo Ramushu, executive director at Meago Asset Managers, said on Wednesday that the Mall of Africa was performing well above expectations.
Following a spate of incidents that have the potential to erode media freedom in South Africa, the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) has expressed its concern.

The Sunday Times reported that investigative journalist, Mzilikazi Wa Afrika recently received death threats. This comes in the wake of his hard-hitting reports on controversial developments in public office, including at state power utility Eskom.

AmaBhungane, an investigative news agency, has filed papers in the High Court in Pretoria that raise the flag about the interception of its phone conversations, which is illegal in a democracy like ours. The SABCs offices in Parliament were broken into in what is a suspicious incident, where senior journalists computers were stolen.

In another disturbing event, Times Media Group journalist, Katherine Child was manhandled, and had her cellphone confiscated and all its contents, including contact numbers and photos, deleted by bullying police officials part of the presidential VIP security.

We have raised our disappointment in the past with the polices conduct at public events, especially their regular interference with the work of journalists  in their process flouting their own Standing Order 156, which regulates their conduct at public and crime scenes.

We have witnessed a number of incidents where police officials block journalists from freely gathering information at public events and newsworthy scenes, such as public protests and car accidents.

Pepper-sprayed and bullied

Only last week SABC Journalist, Tshepiso Moche was pepper-sprayed and bullied by metro police officials off a crime scene in Pretoria.

We strongly condemn these events as they contribute to the increasingly hostile environment journalists operate under.

We will once again raise these incidents with Acting Police Commissioner, Khomotso Pahlane (and ask for the reported cases to be investigated and perpetrators brought to book).

Sanef will also be writing to National Assembly speaker, Baleka Mbete, as a follow-up to the shoddy treatment of journalists during the State of the Nation Address where we experienced unprecedented levels of security encroachment in the operation and movement of journalists in the parliamentary precinct.

We honoured Mbetes request for evidence of the events where police bullied journalists and hindered their movement or access to public spaces during the opening of parliament. Regrettably, there has been no response from her. It is our intention that the hostile environment experienced by journalists covering the state of the nation is nipped in the bud so in never occurs at future events.

South Africans need to be concerned about these developments, which are part of a broader trend of threats against media freedom. It is society and not just the media fraternity that suffers when journalistic work is hindered.

Media freedom is a public good that needs to be protected from the actions of people who want to suppress the truth, so that the media can be guaranteed of the kind of environment that will allow it to gather and impart information freely.
WASHINGTON - Twitter shares surged Wednesday after its quarterly update showed improving growth in user numbers, offsetting concerns over a decline in revenue and another net loss for the social network.

The first quarter results came in better than most forecasts for Twitter, which has struggled to keep pace in the fast-moving world of social media.

The closely watched metric of monthly active users grew nine percent from the same period a year ago to 328 million. Twitter said daily active usage rose 14 percent without offering a specific figure.

Net loss narrowed to $62 million from $80 million a year earlier for Twitter, which has never reported a profit.

Revenues meanwhile fell eight percent to $548 million -- which would normally be troubling for a social media group, but the figure was not as bad as feared.

"This past quarter has given us a lot of confidence in our focus and execution and excitement for our path ahead," Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey told a conference call.

Dorsey said Twitter remains "focused on making progress" toward achieving profitability, but offered no specific goal.

"We're delivering on our goal to build a service that people love to use, every day, and we're encouraged by the audience growth momentum we saw in the first quarter," he said in the earnings release.

Twitter shares rallied 7.8 percent to close at $15.82, the highest level since February, suggesting an easing of fears about the path forward for the micro-blogging service.

Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said in a tweet: "Much better results today from Twitter, across several categories. MAU (monthly active user) growth best for two years (though still historically low)."

Dawson added in a blog post that Twitter still faces challenges from revenue declines but that "the improved user growth and some signs of increased advertiser investment are more reassuring for long-term growth."

Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research said Twitter's results were "better than expected, with generally positive user trends" but that it still faces a difficult road ahead.

"Twitter may need to raise additional cash to fund its business given the degree to which it needs to continue spending to support an optimal business plan," Wieser said in a research note.

"Investor sentiment around Twitter will undoubtedly swing wildly around recent momentum in any given direction, making the stock itself riskier than the company in many ways."

Twitter has been seeking to broaden its appeal beyond its core user base of celebrities, politicians and journalists, ramping up efforts in video and live sports, notably.

But the company has failed to live up to early expectations, while Facebook and other social networks have been growing at a faster pace. As a reminder of Twitter's woes, Facebook-owned Instagram on Wednesday reported it has 700 million users, while the leading social network itself has more than 1.8 billion.

It remains to be seen if Twitter will reap benefits from the prolific tweeting of President Donald Trump, who uses the network to connect with his base, and often to make policy announcements.

Twitter chief operating officer Anthony Noto told analysts on the conference call there is "some evidence that we benefitted from our new and resurrected users" who follow politics.

He suggested the trend was being driven both by political players' growing use of the platform, and the fact major news organizations are increasingly migrating onto Twitter.

"As you know, we believe Twitter is the best at showing you what's happening in the world and what's being talked about," he said.

"Having the political leaders of the world as well as news agencies participating in driving that, is an important element to reinforcing what we're the best at."

Advertising continued to make up the lion's share of Twitter revenue -- but ad revenues were down 11 percent from a year ago to $474 million.

A tweet from Twitter's investor relations arm noted that "we continue to expect revenue growth to meaningfully lag audience growth in 2017."
President Jacob Zuma has signed the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment (FICA) Act, which amends the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001.

The 2001 Act and other related Acts aim to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The President is now satisfied that the Act addresses the constitutional concerns he had raised about warrantless searches.

These amendments to the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act further strengthen the transparency and integrity of the South African financial system in its objectives to combat financial crimes, which include tax evasion, money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illicit financial flows.

The amendments also make it harder for persons who are involved in illegitimate activities or tax evasion to hide behind legal entities like shell companies and trusts, the Presidency said in a statement.

Measures to strengthen anti-money laundering and the combating of terrorist financing regulatory framework in the Amendment Act include:

Requiring the identification of beneficial owners to prevent natural persons from misusing legal entities for nefarious purposes like evading tax;



Enhancing the customer due diligence requirements that will ensure that entities fully understand the nature and potential risk posed by their customers;



Providing for the adoption of a risk based approach in the identification and assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and assist in making customer compliance easier;



providing for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions relating to the freezing of assets relating to persons associated with terrorism;



Safeguarding information in line with the Protection of Personal Information;



Providing for inspection powers for regulatory compliance purposes in accordance with the Constitution; and



Enhancing certain administrative and enforcement mechanisms.

The Amendment Act sends a strong message about South Africas commitment to combating financial crime, protecting the integrity of our financial system and our tax base, and remaining part of the global financial system.

They further demonstrate South Africas membership commitments to the Financial Action Task Force and United Nations, the Presidency said.
ADDIS ABABA - The number of people in need of food aid in Ethiopia's drought-hit regions has surged to 7.7 million, over two million more than an estimate earlier this year, state media reported on Friday.

Ethiopia.  Matej Hudovernik via 123RF

The National Disaster Risk Management Commission said in January that failed rains would leave 5.6 million people in need of emergency food this year in three of the country's nine regions: Oromia, Amhara and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region.

Public relations director Ababe Zewdie told the state-run Ethiopian News Agency that cold snaps as well as localised flooding in some areas have further decimated what crops had managed to grow, causing them to revise upwards their estimates.

"Over $742 million (679 million euros) is needed to support the people affected by drought and more than 432,000 tonnes of additional food up until early July," the news agency reported.

Ethiopia is prone to droughts, and the lack of rains in the country's highlands forced 10.2 million people to seek food assistance last year.

The United Nations has warned that this year's drought in East Africa could lead to 17 million people going hungry across the region.

Source: AFP.
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Darryl Marcus will be heading US startup Pypestream's newly opened South African office as the GM Southern Africa. Pypestream was co-founded by South African expat Richard Smullen and is a private enterprise mobile messaging platform that influences intelligent automation and chat-bot technology.

Pypestream's technology provides businesses in all industries with the ability to communicate with customers at scale via mobile messaging.
Maung Gum Seng Awng was a 19-year-old university student when a scuffle with soldiers in Myitkyina led to his death on June 20, 2016.

According to police reports, Maung Gum Seng Awng was shot three times by Private Maung Maung from the 727th Supply and Transportation Battalion.

The Tatmadaws Northern Command slapped the private a two-year prison sentence, but family members and activists have called for a fuller investigation into the alleged incident.

Im not satisfied that the man who fired three bullets into my son and killed him was only given a two-year sentence, but I dont know much about laws, said Gay Wah, the victims father.

During a press conference in Yangon after the incident last year, Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo defended the soldiers actions. He claimed that the death was the result of a misfire after Maung Gum Seng Awng and other youth attacked two soldiers on security patrol.

University students and Kachin activists have called for the Tatmadaw to allow a civilian court to make an independent ruling.

Lawyer U Khun Naung, who assisted the victims family, said public support behind the case has rescued Maung Gum Seng Awngs three friends who were also at the scene from being scapegoated.

Due to public cooperation, we have successfully turned [Maung Gum Seng Awng] and his friends from being portrayed as culprits to victims, U Khun Naung said.

The public was afraid of standing up to the Burmese Military in the past, he added.

At the 10-month memorial service, the Myitkyina Kachin Public United Group called for the case to see justice, and said that while the Tatmadaw has often been accused of violating human rights in Kachin, independent investigations are too rarely conducted.



Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
Major General Myo Win, chair of the states Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC-S), said the retirees must abide by respective village rules and regulations, just as any other civilian does.

He remarks were made at a JMC-S dialogue at a church in Kyaingyi Village on April 26.

At the meeting, Naw Eh Si, administrator of Shwe Toe-Kyar In Village Group, aired complaints about the behavior of some of the retired military personnel. He said alcohol-fueled fighting is a big problem, especially as the villages in the area do not permit the sale of alcohol. He added that the village administrative office is at its wits end trying to keep the former soldiers in line with the local regulations.

Military personnel from Infantry Battalion 32 have settled in the villages after leaving the army. Sale of alcohol is prohibited in our village group, he said. Police have repeatedly had to tell [the retired military personnel] not to sell alcohol, including most recently on the night of April 23. When a stabbing case happens [after alcohol is consumed], we have to handle it. [The retirees] dont respect their neighbors. Problems arise frequently because they are selling alcohol and we have to go and try to stop them from doing it. They asked me to sign a paper giving them a license to sell alcohol. But its not beneficial for the public so I didnt sign it.

Maj Gen Myo Win assured that community that the retired military personnel are subject to the same laws as any other civilian.

A military personnel who takes a pension after turning 60 is a civilian. He was born as a civilian and he will die as a civilian. He must abide by the rules and regulations whether he is in school, an office or a village. Administrative unity is very important. We will coordinate with respective organizations on the issue of ensuring they abide by the rules, he said.

The villages in Kya-in Seikkyi township are under dual administration of the Karen National Union and the Burmese government. Village administrators say they constantly have to remind residents that they are subject to regulations from both sides.

Around 150 people from Kya-in Seikkyi township attended the JMC-S meeting, which involved JMC-S members as well as representatives from ethnic armed organizations active in the region.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
Sources from civil society organizations and local villagers, said the Burma Army had confiscated villagers land when the owners fled the armed conflict 20 years ago. As the political situation has changed, villagers now want their land back from the Burma Army.

Saw Mi Bwe, head of the Hgoo Phoh Kpaw civil society organization told Karen News that as many as 200 acres of farm and plantation land owned by 16 villagers had been taken by the army. The Burma Army had set up their base on some of the land during the last 20 years.

Saw Mi Bwe said that recently, 60 acres of these confiscated land were returned to villagers following negotiations with the related government departments.

Saw Day Htoo, a villager from Kya-in Gyi village whose land was confiscated by the Burma Army told Karen News that since there is a ceasefire, the Burma Army doesnt need the land for their camp.

Speaking to Karen News, Saw Day Htoo said.

They [Burma army] confiscated five acres of my land. I planted rubber trees and its now ready for tapping. I also had lemons which are fully grown now. I want my land back.

The Chairperson of the JMC-S and Commander of South Eastern Military Command, Division Commander General Myo Win, who joined the meeting, responded to villagers claims that the Army had taken the lands according to the vacant land and forest land laws with consultations with the relevant departments and land registration office. However, they will look into the cases and make verification to try to solve the issue.

We have released lands that we dont need or land outside of the base perimeter. There was some buildings being built for security reasons. There is also some land reserved for training purpose or future plan. For lands that are connected to the camp perimeter, we will have to make verification before we can release them, General Myo Win told the villagers at the meeting.

The JMC-S Karen State was formed with representatives from government, army, ethnic armed organization, political party and civil society organizations after the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement was signed in October, 2015 in order to oversee the situation on the ground and to solve any problems.

The meeting was part of its activities to learn and discuss about issues with local villagers in different areas. The meeting was joined by 150 people including JMC-S members, local government officials and local villagers. The issues discussed at the meeting, included the JMC-S activities, land issues, administrations of forest and other taxation issues.
As we did not have our own land, we needed to cut down a large number of trees for agriculture for many years, the 56-year-old ethnic Chin farmer said, recalling how his family of eight relied on shifting farming, a traditional livelihood practice here in the mountains of western Myanmars Chin State.

Swae Du Hmone said when they farmed their land after the heavy work of clearing the forest, the resulting harvest was often meagre. We did not get enough family income, although we were working on 3, 4 acres of land, he said.

Since 2009, he has worked with the Chokhlei Organisation for Rural and Agricultural Development (CORAD), a community NGO set up by agriculture officials in Chin State, and he built a 2-acre terrace farm plot in Falam Township on which he grows rice and vegetables such as mustard leaf and beans.

The change to sedentary farming, he said, has markedly improved his family incomes and eased their work load. We can grow plants on our farm all-year round and we can afford to send our children to school as we are receiving additional income, Swae Du Hmone said, adding that the sedentary farm allowed the family time to also raise chickens and pigs.

He is not the only one who had made the change; all along the road from Falam and the Chin State capital Hakha farmers can be seen growing vegetables, such as onions, on terrace farms.

TERRACE CULTIVATION

Kee Tu, project manager of CORAD, said the organisation had helped build 650 acres of terrace farm plots between 2008 and 2014, adding that in Htalan Yong Village some 80 acres were created.

Kee Tu said that despite such developments some 85 percent of the Chin farmers continue to rely on shifting cultivation, even though the practice provides low yields, is vulnerable to erratic rainfall, and puts pressure on the states forests and environment.

Chin is Myanmars poorest state and its communities suffer from isolation, a lack of arable land and the effects of climate change. A 2013 World Food Programme assessment said harvests from shifting cultivation were falling and food insecurity is a cyclical and chronic problem, which affects all townships of the State.

Chin is also prone to landslides, which caused massive destruction to villages, farms and roads in 2015. The disaster displaced tens of thousands of people, some of whom have had to permanently move to safer areas.

The loss of forest due to shifting cultivation is contributing to mountainside erosion and landslides, according to Kee Tu. The (2015) landslides mainly occurred in deforested areas, he said.

FOREST LOSS

Farmers who practice shifting cultivation usually remove an area of forest to farm for one or two seasons, before leaving the land fallow so vegetation can return. They then move on to clear other areas.

The forest clearing occurs on a large scale; villagers in Htalan Yong said they are allowed to cut down some 200 acres of forest and vegetation.

Salai Daniel, deputy director at the Chin State Agricultural Department, estimated some 100,000 acres are cleared annually, representing about 5 percent of the states total area.

If more forest continues to be cleared there will be a great loss of natural resources in the future, he said, adding that it is imperative that farmers switch to terrace farming soonest.

We are setting up 2 to 3 acres of model terraces in every township of Chin State and we will gradually extend this project, he said.

Talaung Zaman, project manager of CORAD in Falam, said, Forest areas in Falam Township have gradually disappeared the last 20 years. If the shifting farming system is not reduced and prevented, the impacts will be huge in the next 30 to 40 years.

But Hone Kee, a Hakha District Agriculture Department officer, said changing cultivation methods would be costly, as it requires some $1,500 to create a 1-acre terrace plot, while changing farmers attitudes will also be difficult.

Most of the farmers believe that shifting cultivation makes land more fertile than permanent cultivation. So, they dare not change the cultivation system. This is the main challenge, Hone Kee said.
The State Counsellor was seen off at Yangon International Airport by U Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region Chief Minister, U Min Thu, Deputy Minister for the Presidents Office, U Maung Maung Soe, Yangon Mayor, the Italian Ambassador to Myanmar, the British Ambassador, and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the EU.

The State Counsellor was accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin and officials, according to the report.
About 30 villagers from Kha Laing in Hsipaw Township marched on the street on April 27, demanding their lands back.

According to a locally based Shan Herald reporter: There were about 30 villagers from Kha Laing protesting in the street. They were calling for the Shan State chief minister to review the case, saying that their lands were confiscated by the army more than 30 years ago.

The villagers claim their land collectively covered about 11 acres, and that the military used it to house a sawmill.

The sawmill ceased operating about seven years ago, and now about 15 villagers are claiming their lands back, the reporter said. In 2014, they also lodged a complaint, urging the authorities to allow them to grow crops on the land.

During the era of the military junta, arbitrary seizures of farmers lands were common across the country, particularly in Shan State. By the 2000s, much of the seized land had been rented out to agri-business firms, and a massive government campaign was initiated to encourage investment in the harvesting of jatropha oil. Ultimately, the scheme failed; investors lost great sums of money, while farmers lost land and livelihoods.

Many aggrieved farmers have taken steps to reclaim their lands since the National League for Democracy came to power a little over a year ago. However, almost all report that they have been unsuccessful in their quest and that little has changed under Aung San Suu Kyi.

On December 15, Shan Herald reported that a 74-year-old villager in southern Shan States Mongpan Township collapsed and died after a construction company refused to pay compensation for land it had seized from him.

Nang Kaysi of the Ethnic Peace and Resources Project (EPRP), an organization that works to support the peace process in Burma, told Shan Herald that, according to their survey, a total of about 11,000 acres of farmland have been seized from within 18 townships across Shan State.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
According to Sai Htun Aung, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing Laikha Township, village elders and MPs met with representatives of the Burmese military on April 28. He said that the military officials agreed to give back the villagers lands.

We have submitted details of the case to the Shan State parliament. The deputy minister of defense told us that they would return the lands to the rightful owners, said Sai Htun Aung. We are now moving ahead by checking and preparing the land.

[Burmese army] Battalion No. 515 seized the residents lands in Honar Wanparng tract when they set up their base there in the 1990s, the SNLD lawmaker said, adding that the farmers claim about 184 acres of lands were confiscated.

He added that no timeline had yet been laid out for when Battalion No. 515 would officially hand over the lands.

Shan Herald reported on April 28 that the residents in Kha Laing village in northern Shan States Hsipaw Township had gathered in the street to demand the return of their lands from the Burmese military.

During the era of the military junta, arbitrary seizures of farmers lands were common across the country, particularly in Shan State. By the 2000s, much of the seized land had been rented out to agri-business firms, and a massive government campaign was initiated to encourage investment in the harvesting of jatropha oil. Ultimately, the scheme failed; investors lost great sums of money, while farmers lost land and livelihoods.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
How To Prevent Side Effects Of Prostate Cancer Treatment? Disorders Cure ians-Lekhaka

Practicing yoga just twice a week may lead to better physical, sexual and emotional health among patients undergoing prostate cancer radiation treatment, suggest the results of a trial.

Men who attended the yoga classes reported less fatigue and better sexual and urinary function than those who did not, according to the study that looked at the effect of yoga on the side-effects and quality of life issues caused by prostate cancer treatment.

"Levels of patient-reported fatigue are expected to increase by around the fourth or fifth week of a typical treatment course, but that did not happen in the yoga group," said the trial's principal investigator Neha Vapiwala from the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

"Both the severity of the fatigue as well as the patients' ability to go about their normal lives appeared to be positively impacted in the yoga group," Vapiwala said.

All of the patients in the trial underwent between six and nine weeks of external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Also to learn about the vegetable that helps reduce prostate cancer risk, click here.

The patients were randomised into two groups - one arm participated in a yoga class that met twice a week and the other arm served as a control group.

Each session lasted 75 minutes, beginning with five minutes of breathing and centering techniques and ending with five minutes of Savasana, a common yoga position.

Typical sessions incorporated sitting, standing and reclining positions that were modified using props to adapt to each patient's needs and restrictions.

Patients in the yoga group reported lower fatigue scores over time, as they attended more yoga sessions, relative to where they started.

Patients who did not participate in yoga trended in the opposite direction, reporting greater fatigue as treatment progressed, according to the study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics.

Researchers also evaluated both groups in terms of their sexual health.

Sexual dysfunction - including but not limited to erectile dysfunction (ED) - is reported by up to 85 per cent of radiation therapy patients during treatment, often due to the concurrent use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

The study found that while the yoga group's score on erectile function ended up largely unchanged from baseline, the non-yoga group saw a decline over the course of treatment.

The trial also found that while the emotional well-being of both groups increased as patients progressed through treatment, the evaluation scores in the yoga group rose more rapidly than in the control group.

With Inputs From IANS

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Story first published: Saturday, April 29, 2017, 14:29 [IST]
Ganga Saptami 2022: Date, Time, Puja Rituals, History And Significance Festivals oi-Lekhaka

Just a bath in the holy river Ganga, and Goddess Ganga will remit all your sins. Just a drop of the water from the River Ganga, and the whole of your house becomes pure. Ganga is the most sacred for the Hindus. This holy river, along the banks of which are situated other sacred places such as the Haridwar, Gangotri, Allahabad and Varanasi, is a divine river, brought to the earth by a king named Bhagiratha

Goddess Ganga blesses the populace with water, food and prosperity. The river Ganga is one of the holiest among all the rivers that grace India.

Goddess Ganga is a deity dressed in a white sari. She rides on a sea crocodile and wears a golden crown. In the three of her hands, she holds a white lily, a lute and a Japamala.

Goddess Ganga is believed to have originated from the sweat of Lord Maha Vishnu's feet. This was then stored in Lord Brahma's Kamandal. It is also thought that Goddess Ganga is the daughter of Paravata, the King of mountains.

This makes Goddess Ganga the sister of Goddess Parvati who is married to Lord Mahadev.

Ganga Saptami is also known as Ganga Jayanti, Ganga Pooja, Ganga Dussehera and Jahnu Saptani. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is celebrated on the Saptami of Shukla Paksha in the month of Vaishakha.

Ganga Saptami 2022: Date, Time

This year, Ganga Saptami falls on Sunday, 08 May 2022. Ganga Saptami Madhyahna Muhurat will be from 10:15 am to 12:52 pm. The duration is 02 Hours 37 Mins. The Ganga Dussehra will be observed on Thursday, 09 June 2022. The Saptami Tithi will begin from 14:56 on 07 May 2022 and the Saptami Tithi will end at 17:00 on 08 May 2022.

Ganga Saptami 2022: Legends And Stories

The Significance of Ganga Saptami is mentioned in holy books such as Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Narada Purana and more.

The legend says that, when King Bhagiratha was leading Goddess Ganga towards the ashes of his ancestors, he happened to pass through the ashram of Sage Jahnu.

The waters of River Ganga drenched and destroyed the ashram. This caused the Sage to get very angry and in his anger, he drank up all the waters of the river Ganga.

King Bhagiratha then pleaded before the Sage to let Goddess Ganga go without which the ancestors of Bhagiratha would not be able to achieve moksha.

Sage Jahnu's heart melted by the pleadings made by the King and he let the river trickle through his nostrils. When the river was let out, it was as if Goddess Ganga was reborn.

Sage Jahnu is now considered to be the father of Goddess Ganga. She later came to be known as Jahnavi. The day that Goddess Ganga was reborn is celebrated as Ganga Saptami.

Ganga Saptami 2022: History And Significance

Mother Ganga is said to be the holiest of the rivers. A dip in its waters is believed to have the power to wash away the sins accumulated by a man in his seven births.

The members of the Hindu community aspire to die on the banks of the holy river. It is considered very fortunate to be able to have one's ashes offered to the Mother Ganga.

Ganga Saptami is a day of great celebration and people gather along the banks of the river to worship the Goddess.

If a person is affected by the malefic effects of Mangal Dasha, he is supposed to offer pooja to Mother Ganga on the day of Ganga Saptami. This will help relieve his troubles.

Taking a dip or a bath in the river Ganga on the day of Ganga Saptami is considered to be very auspicious.

The person who does so is released from sins and shall attain moksha upon his death. He shall also be rewarded with progress, success, happiness and peace.

If one observes the pooja and takes a bath in the river Ganga, he is said to be freed from all recurpations of karma in his lifetime.

Rituals Performed On Ganga Saptami

one must get up early in the Brahma Muhurt, that is before the sunrise, take bath, and recite the Ganga Namah with utter devotion. Then, he must proceed to take bath.All this should be done early in the morning, during the Brahma Muhurat.

Aarti is done in the temples or on the banks of the river Ganga. People usually worship Lord Shiva too on this holy day.

Chanting the following Mantra regularly helps to attain peace and Happiness.

Ganga Saptami 2022: Ganga Gayatri Mantra

Om Bhageerthyae Ch Vidhmhe Vishnupatnyae Ch Dhi Mhi | Tanno Ganga Prachodyat |

Donations

Donate items in 10 numbers. If you plan on donating flowers, make sure that they are 10 in number. Lamps, betel leaves and fruits are also donated, but they should be 10 in number too. Sesame and barley seeds are also donated on this day.

Offering food to 10 Brahmins is considered very auspicious and holy. One should also remember to immerse oneself three times when taking a dip or a bath in the Holy river.
Canada NewsWire

TORONTO, May 1, 2017

TORONTO, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Mercedes-Benz Canada and its national dealer network have carried the momentum of a record-breaking first quarter into April, with 4,355 units retailed for a 2.9% increase over April 2016.

The company achieved healthy returns in April, with 3,805 luxury light trucks and passenger cars sold representing an increase of 4.0% over the same period in 2016. Year-to-date, the number of units retailed has grown to 14,565, up from 12,864 over the same period in 2016, an increase of 13.2%.

The passenger car segment's monthly sales increased by 20.7%, with 2,211 vehicles delivered, up from 1,832 units sold in April 2016. This growth was driven in no small part by the enduring popularity of C-Class models, which saw a 61.2% increase in sales over April 2016 and a year-to-date growth of 46.6%. Sales of E-Class and S-Class Sedans also climbed throughout the month.

With 1,594 vehicles sold in April, sales of luxury light trucks increased to 6,644 units delivered year-to-date, an increase of 5.5%. While the GLC SUV and Coupe models continued to be popular, the GLS was the standout performer in April: compared with April 2016, monthly sales were up 23.6% and year-to-date sales increased by 41.7%.

April marked another record-breaking month for Mercedes-AMG vehicles, with 1,034 units delivered representing an increase of 65.7% over the same period last year. This contributed to a year-to-date record-breaking total of 3,530 Mercedes-AMG units sold, a growth of 80.5% over 2016.

Demand for Mercedes-Benz vans remained steady throughout the month with 528 units sold, a slight increase over April 2016. The Sprinter Cab Chassis had a strong boost in monthly sales with an increase of 146.2% over the same period last year. Year-to-date, the Mercedes-Benz Vans division reported growth of 31.2%, for a total of 2,181 units delivered.

22 smart fortwo vehicles were delivered in April.

Year-to-date, the Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned division reported sales of 5,229 units, up from 5,080 in April 2016 for 2.9% growth. Certified Pre-Owned sales saw a year-to-date increase of 4.2%, with 4,275 units retailed, up from 4,101 in 2016. Certified Pre-Owned penetration has increased over 2016 by 1.0% year-to-date, reaching 81.8%.

"After a strong first quarter, our momentum remains steady as Canadians continue to recognize the impressive design, safety and technology of our passenger vehicles," said Brian D. Fulton, President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Canada. "Mercedes-Benz Canada is more than just its sales totals, however: it's an organization that cares deeply for its employees. I couldn't be more pleased to have been recognized this month by Great Place to Work Institute Canada. Our recent nomination as one of this year's Best Workplaces in Canada is a testament to the effort we've made to ensure that our commitment to best customer experience applies not only to our customers, but to our employees as well."

April 2017

MTD

YTD

2017

2016

%

2017

2016

%

Mercedes-Benz Vehicles

3,805

3,657

4.0

14,565

12,864

13.2

smart

22

55

-60.0

115

535

-78.5

Mercedes-Benz Vans

528

519

1.7

2,181

1,662

31.2

TOTAL

4,355

4,231

2.9

16,861

15,061

12.0

About Mercedes-Benz CanadaMercedes-Benz Canada is responsible for the sales, marketing and service of the Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG passenger vehicles, Mercedes-Benz Vans and smart. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. employs approximately 1,500 people in 21 locations across Canada. Through a nationwide network of 11 Mercedes-Benz owned retail operations and 47 authorized dealerships, Mercedes-Benz Canada sold 48,320 vehicles in 2016. This represents the best year ever for the company and has positioned Mercedes-Benz as the top luxury manufacturer in Canada for the third consecutive year.

Further information from Mercedes-Benz is available on the internet at: www.media.mercedes-benz.ca

SOURCE Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.
Masimolole allegedly complains to OP that Mabaila is campaigning inconspicuously in Mogoditshane

If indeed I am campaigning why is Masimolole bothered? Why cant he campaign himself?- Mabaila

President Ian Khama is said to have snubbed a meeting by former Assistant Education Minister Patrick Masimolole where he wanted to lodge a complaint over campaigns in Mogoditshane. A highly-placed source close to the development told this publication that Masimolole who is vying for a parliamentary seat under Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in Mogoditshane, is accusing other interested candidates especially Tshepang Mabaila of Mabaila Foundation, of campaigning indirectly in the constituency.



Mabailas crime is his continued noble cause of donating for various sectors of the society in Mogoditshane. Masimolole is the second person to express concern about Mabaila. The first was BDP Labour Sub- Committee Deputy Chairman Kgang Kgang. Mabaila, according to BDP insiders, is one of the party leaders who are Ian Khamas untouchable men. BDP insiders in the area say Mabailas conduct constitutes campaigning and that he is positioning himself to face others during this years BDP Bulela-Ditswe.







Mabaila is a Principal Health and Safety Officer at the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services. He is due to retire from the public service next month.

These donations are political but are being made in the name of charity. Everyone knows that Mabaila has an interest in the constituency as he wants to contest during the primaries for opposition-held constituencies this year, said a source in Mogoditshane close to Masimolole.



Other BDP members who have been linked to the Constituency are Kgang and BDP Youth Wing Treasurer Bruce Nkgakile. The constituency is currently under Sedirwa Kgoroba of Umbrella for Democratic Change who wrestled it from the BDP during the 2014 general election. Masimolole who came third in the polls after Botswana Congress Partys Tumiso Rakgare, filed a court application challenging the results. He later withdrew the case.



Masimololes contention with Mabailas donations is that this would disadvantage some of the contenders while sources feel that it contradicts a resolution taken last month at the BDP National Council in Gaborone which bars candidates from campaigning before the set date, which must be communicated by the party central committee. Mabaila, a former military officer, is said to be a close ally of the President. He started his foundation in 2012 after resigning from Botswana Defence Force (BDF).



Masimolole and team are said to have gone to the Office of the President on Tuesday hoping to meet the party leader to lodge the complaint. They were however, according to information gathered by this publication, turned down by Senior Private Secretary to the President George Tlhalerwa. Tlhalerwa allegedly told them that OP is not a party office and they could not be allowed to see the president on political party matters. Mabaila foundation recently donated spectacles to the elderly in Mogoditshane at Mogoditshane main Kgotla. The elderly persons were identified in the constituency and sent to a specialist doctor who made recommendations for spectacles so that they could regain their vision.



Mabaila Foundation also donated 10 full school uniforms to orphaned children and 10 fruit trees to each and every Kgotla in Mogoditshane Mabaila revealed at that time that as someone passionate about education he has launched academic awards of excellence for schools in the area from Primary to Senior School. According to information from the foundation the best performing teacher gets P20 000. Best performing students primary, junior and senior each gets P5 000. As for schools the best primary school gets P10 000, junior school P15 000 and senior school when it performs well gets P20 000.



Tlhalerwa was not available for comment as his office line and that of his secretary rang unanswered. Masimolole who kept deferring the interview as he said he was in a meeting since morning would later not pick his phone. Kgang confirmed that he is concerned about the way Mabaila is politically maneuvering in the name of the foundation. He wondered why the foundation is only focusing in Mogoditshane. The former Kweneng Region Chairman said he has not taken any step to report the matter to the party. His opinion is that Mabaila is a civil servant and should not meddle in party politics.



He said Mabaila once approached him and others suggesting that there should be a compromise. According to Kgang, relevant party structures and government departments should have long acted because this is not right.



For his part Mabaila fumed that if indeed Masimolole had attempted to report to the President it would be unfortunate. He said that would be tantamount to lack of respect for what he does for the residents of Mogoditshane, a village he has lived in for a decade. He said Masimolole should instead embrace what his foundation is doing for the constituency. If indeed I am campaigning why is Masimolole bothered? Why cant he campaign himself? If there was a problem it was to be raised by area MP Sedirwa Kgoroba not Masimolole.

I will continue doing what I have been doing in Mogoditshane whether Masimolole likes it or not. That is disrespect for me as a young person trying to change lives something he could not do as area MP for 15 years. I am the tenth person to donate a house under the Presidential Housing Scheme, was that a campaign or I was responding to a presidential call or plea, lashed out Mabaila. Regarding Kgang, Mabaila said the former is the one who approached him and told him to leave his constituency alone.

Mabaila explained that he has since dismissed Kgang because Mogoditshane is not his constituency. He revealed that if he were to campaign he would meet Masimolole at the freedom square. Mabaila said as a resident of Mogoditshane he prides himself in what he did for the constituency such as helping Mogoditshane Senior Secondary School to perform well by moving from being number 12 to being number six (6) best performing senior school in Form 5 results.

He declined to confirm his candidacy for the constituency maintaining that he is a public servant. I am leaving the public service at the end of May. I will call a press conference then to let you know my plans going forward.As if this is not enough Mabaila Foundation is fencing cemeteries in Mogoditshane and is scheduled from next week to paint residential houses in Mogoditshane. According to the foundation any house that is deemed in need of painting or repainting to give it a fresh look, will be painted.
Contrary to popular opinion, Botswana did not lose out in the contest for the African Union Commissions top seat, but in fact, won big on principle, the countrys Ambassadors who ran the campaign, say All Botswana Ambassadors based around the world were part of Foreign Affairs Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitois campaign team by virtue of their stations. Speaking to BG News about the lessons from the defeat. Ambassadors maintained that Botswanas candidate lost because she fought on the principles of transparency and openness.



Botswanas Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Charles Ntwaagae said there are always lessons to learn from all candidatures. He preferred to discuss the issue broadly by combining the AU Commission candidature that we lost and the Commonwealth Secretary General post through Mmasekgowa Mwamba-Masire as well as the candidature of Dr Gloria Somolekae at UNESCO.



We need to be a little more aggressive in our marketing of candidates; we need to come up with more robust candidate structures and provide resources. We need to cultivate more effort into our candidate and our relations with the rest of the world because when it comes to candidates, they are quite complex in terms of how you mobilise support for them. There are many factors that influence support or non-support to the candidature at any one point in time.







But in general, the lessons we get is we need to expend more resources, come up with a much more rational and robust candidature strategy. Make resources available to finance our strategies and ensure that our strategy can be sold across the world not just in Africa. We should not just pin our hopes on SADC, but work beyond SADC and build up support beyond SADC. You remember Minister Venson-Moitoi had been endorsed as a sole SADC candidate and SADC has about 15 members, he said.



However at the January summit where the election took place, she did not even get 10 votes. You can see from the votes she got that not all SADC countries voted for her, even from the first round she got 10 votes, but there are 15 member countries. It is just that it is a secret ballot; we will never get to know what happened. But, I have a strong feeling that the 10 votes Moitoi got some of them came from non-SADC members, you may find that SADC votes may have been six, with four coming from somewhere, argued Ntwaagae.



According to him that goes to show that our unity at SADC when it comes to candidates issues is very fragile. The lesson we learn from here is that we should not basically put our eggs in one basket in future. When we run for candidatures we should not put our eggs in one basket, we must put more effort in building cross-regional support. It is more important to work beyond our sub region. But rather use it as the base and do not pin too much hope into it because it never works out.



Ntwaagae revealed that beyond SADC, there were other dynamics at work in the AUC candidature in which Minister Moitoi was involved. First Africa is divided between Anglophone and Francophone Africa, besides these two main divisions, there are others as we have Luzophone (Portuguese speaking in Africa), and then there is Sub- Saharan Africa, there are so many dynamics now because of the different colonial influence that we had and the linguistic differences that exist, he said.



This provides an opportunity for external influence, he said, adding that there is always an external influence in elections that take place at Africa-level bodies like the African Union. Said Ntwaagae, I would not want to point a finger at any particular power, but there were many external forces which influenced the outcome of the elections there. It is just that the fundamental division of Francophone and Anglophone that in itself is a dynamic that we will have to contend with, which to some extent, also worked against our candidate.



The ambassador said they are not bitter against the outcome that has come out of Addis Ababa, saying they offer full support to Chad because for us what is important to us is the African continent and we continue to be a loyal member of the African continent and we have placed our full support to Chad even though they are a Francophone country, but we respect the fact that the country emerged out of a democratic process and that the president was democratically elected.



Ntwaagae maintains that, unofficially there was an external influence in the outcome of that election. So there were quite a number of dynamics which did not favour us, plus the fact that within that we could not count on the full support of SADC even though our candidate was officially a SADC candidate, there are indications that not all of the SADC countries were behind us. But remember also the Kenyan minister was on the race. The Kenyans had mounted a very strong campaign.



The Kenyans had done a lot more than us in terms of putting the resources, he said. The Kenyan foreign ministers campaign was led by both the president and his deputy who are the highest people in the land. Aircraft were made available to fly her around. The level of resources availed to her was far more than what we had put in, but she lost. But at least the leadership of her country was much more visible, but in our case, I am not being critical of my own president because he made an attempt. He appointed former President Festus Mogae to be a special envoy and of course the vice president Mokgweetsi Masisi is the one who launched Moitoi at the AU.



We also had a function in New York where VP launched Moitoi. But you know what, even if our president could have spearheaded this campaign, it is most unlikely that he could have changed the outcome of this election because of the other dynamics. Khama would not have managed to overcome the Francophone and Anglophone divisions and he could not have managed to undermine the external influence that I am talking about. There are some interests within Africa, I can tell you the Western Sahara issue had an influence in the kind of outcome we had in our own candidature, because countries mobilised around that particular issue, not that Botswana had any position against the Western Sahara independence. But once you mention Western Sahara, it means France and Morocco are involved and mind you, this was also pending and one of the decisions that had to be taken in Addis Ababa during the election of the chair was Moroccos re-admission into the AU. That issue also had a bearing.



For the Geneva-based Ambassador, Mothusi Palai this was an open competition for the entire continent, and since by competition it is just that  competition, there are no guarantees about success. Every region was putting forward its own candidate, so I say that the lesson, in fact it was the first time that we competed at that level in the African continent and we did it for two rounds, the first round we looked fantastic and went for he second round, it shows that we do have support, it may just mean that we need to invest more in the future in getting more and more of others in the African continent to support us.

Otherwise, we regard it overall as a success in the sense that it was the first time we had a go at it and we made a good show of it. We did not win, but at the end we should be content with where we are.

Brussels-based Ambassador Samuel Outlule said the main thing really is first and foremost when you are contesting you can expect that you can either win or lose.



For his part, John Moreti who is based in Kenya noted that SADC fought a gallant campaign. We fought with her, Botswana fought on principle, I think that is key. If Africa could not embrace a candidate from Botswana, perhaps the success story that Botswana is in terms of achieving good success in areas of management, particularly management of resources, economy, the checks and balances we have in our system.



Moreti said Botswana fought with honesty and brought a candidate who has experience and served with the best. So we fought on principle being transparent and open even to those we were competing with. Honestly, Africa lost the opportunity to get value from being served by somebody from a highly successful country in terms of all the elements of good governance. Maybe we could have brought something to the AU institutions, he said.



We lost the opportunity. I do not think we lost because our voice has been heard; the platform that Moitoi fought on or at least articulated to us has been good enough to tell Africa that Botswana has something very serious to offer. We would say Africa will never accept us, they have heard us, but we have drawn some very good lessons that should inform the next campaign strategy when we mount campaigns for similar positions whether it is in the AU or elsewhere, he argued.



He added, But, the critical thing is, we fought on principle, we were not going to compromise our principles simply to satisfy people who can flush a cheque book. Africa has to be transformed into a continent where systems are in place. As you know, Minister Moitoi fought on those principles that we are coming to assist a very functional administration and introduce some reforms that would really make the AU Commission fit for purpose to deliver on Agenda 2063.



Sweden based Ambassador Lameck Nthekela told this publication that he takes it as not a defeat. Actually, for us it is a win in that we have shown the world that we do not compromise on our principles, that we uphold our principles in a very positive light, transparently and we hold our heads very high. It is just because sometimes you find some of our colleagues probably because they feared that once Botswana get the reigns then issues with regard to ICC, peer review mechanism at the AU will probably come to the fore and then we will not be the darlings of this Africa, In any case we are not the darlings because of the principles that we believe in.
Debswana Mining Companys Managing Director, Balisi Bonyongo says although the diamond market seems to have stabilised, this does not call for any celebration yet. It emerged from the companys stakeholder engagement this week Tuesday that the worlds biggest diamond producer by value has realised a business improvement of 40 percent, a three-points increase from last years figure.



The improvement was largely driven by higher revenue from strong rough diamond demand, favourable exchange rates and improved cost and operational efficiencies. The first three cycles of the year 2017 started on a promising note with the cycles reaching US$729m, US$553m and US$580m respectively. Carats produced remained in line with 2015 production at 20.5 million carats, because of the companys strategy to produce to demand by maximising production at its core assets and scaling down at its lower value.



However, Bonyongo cautioned that nonetheless, volatility remains. A volatile situation is complex and anything can happen. We have to be aware of the global dynamic macro-economics when making decisions. 2017 will be a stable year and will probably remain so going ahead. 2015 stocks were all sold last year and destocking started taking place by sizeable numbers and the rough diamond demand is expected to normalise in 2017, said Bonyongo.







The global growth will depend on macroeconomic factors including; the policies of the new Trump administration in the US; the strengthening of the US dollar impacting consumer demand, economic performance in China as well as the effects of the Indian demonetisation. US is however expected to remain the main driver of the global growth through 2017.

With the anticipation of continued sales and price volatility, Bonyongo emphasised that Debswana shall maintain its operational flexibility, drive costs and operational efficiencies and improve planning and forecasting.



The companys response to these external shocks is guided by its commitment to safety matters; employee engagement and morale and driving cost and operational efficiencies hence doing more with less; preserving jobs in readiness for an upturn; investing in projects to sustain the future of Debswana; investing in communities within which Debswana operate to leave a legacy of prosperity and sustainability; investing in health and wellness and; investing in citizen economic empowerment.



Addressing the shareholders Annual General Meeting this week in London, Sir John Parker, Chairman of Anglo American plc indicated that looking to 2017 on the demand side, the fortunes of the mining industry will inevitably continue to be influenced by developments in China, where the authorities have recently reduced the countrys growth target for 2017 to 6.5 percent as the country seeks to balance its economy through a mixture of stimulus and managed slowdown.



Turning to Anglo Americans performance last year, which Debswana is a member through De Beers; Parker emphasised the importance of safety. Although the Anglo group had a most encouraging 24 percent reduction in recordable injury rates compared with 2015, the number of people who lost their lives at its operations increased from six to 11.

This contrasted sharply with the declining trend of the past few years. It was all the more surprising, given the increased focus on safety across the Group, including our emphasis on critical controls in high safety-risk areas. As a Board, we regard each loss of life with great sadness, and it is particularly distressing that several of these fatal incidents were preventable, given that they resulted from front-line operational practice being out of alignment with our safety policies, he said.



While there was a clear imperative to reduce net debt during 2016, the underlying asset strategy holds true. Going forward, Parker says the Groups commitment remains to a portfolio focused on the highest quality assets where they can deliver attractive margins and returns in the context of the right corporate and capital structure.
Policy framework is still not implemented because the Attorney General Chambers is still proposing the amendment of the PPAD Act- PPP Coordinator, Orono Otweyo

The private sector has urged government to increase its pace on implementing the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model since the policy was adopted in 2009.

Commenting in a panel discussion during the Stanbic Bank Botswana PPP conference on Wednesday, Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) representative said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MFED) should improve their pace on its processes.



The policy has been adopted in 2009 and it is still not implemented because we are still waiting for the amendment. We want to support the government and we have the money to invest but we end up taking our money offshore because we need correct legislation, he said.



Bona Life chief executive officer, Regina Vaka said the private sector is ready and eager to invest in government infrastructure but they are just waiting for the action plan. Government should improve its pace. By now we should be hearing about the action plan on this PPP project since it has been adopted in 2009.







Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, PPP Coordinator, Orono Otweyo said the policy framework is still not implemented because the Attorney General Chambers is still proposing the amendment of the PPAD Act. Currently the proposal is at the Attorney General Chambers so we dont know when it is going to be approved, he said.

Otweyo said the governments responsibility is broader because it must protect the public assets so it takes time to implement some projects. He said PPP is a complex project so the government ensures that right procedures are put in place before implementation of public projects.



We appreciate that private sector is ready to partner with us but the government responsibility is broader. We have to make sure that correct measures are in place before starting any project. This is to protect the public assets, said Otweyo.



He explained that the role of the MFED is to support government in delivering the PPP but they need the private sector to come on board. We are already moving as the government, it might not be faster as expected. We need to work together with the private sector as a team, said Otweyo.



Standard Banks Energy and Infrastructure Affairs Executive Vice President, Aadii Cajee said the success of the PPP project requires political commitment. It is important for the ministry to have political commitment to drive the PPP project. In Kenya it became successful because the President was pushing it, he said.



He said the size of the market and the costs incurred under feasibility studies also determine the success of the project. Currently MFED is in consultation with other ministries to identify potential PPP projects. The ministry has indicated that most infrastructure projects contained in the 11th NDP are potential PPP projects.



A pilot project, being the Office Accommodation for the Ombudsman and Land Tribunal, were implemented before the adoption of PPP Policy. The P55 million project was constructed for 16 months and handed over in July 2008 under a 10-year concession, which ends in July 2018.
Ndabas bodyguards assault Mangole, Modubule

I was very frightened I wouldnt want to lie- Mangole

July elective congress may become the bloodiest in the history of the Orange Revolution

Botswana Movement for Democracy National Working Committee (BMD-NWC) meeting held this week Tuesday night ended chaotic in a near fistfight, as some party leaders were manhandled.

It is now evident that the moribund BMD National Executive Committee (BMD-NEC) continues to live in opposite planets with the party left with only two months to its make or break elective congress. Though at sometimes it is played under the table, the feud between party President Ndaba Gaolathe and his Deputy Wynter Mmolotsi on the one hand against the party Chairman Nehemiah Modubule and Secretary General Gilbert Mangole on the other, shows no end in sight.







The working relationship between the two camps has soured the same month they were elected to office in Ghanzi two years ago. On the Tuesday meeting held in Gaborone, which was to deliberate on a decision made by the BMDYL National Executive Committee over the weekend to postpone their national congress, things turned nasty when the party leadership exchanged expletives. This is said to have resulted in Gaolathes bodyguards harassing and manhandling party secretary general and Chairman after the NWC meeting.



The NWC had invited the youth league to present their case to the committee and advance reasons for the postponement. At the meeting the BMD NWC endorsed the BMDYL NEC decision to postpone congress in the best interest of the party looking at the issues raised that could further divide and plunge the party into further crisis.



Prior to the chaos that happened in front of the party office, the leadership had a disagreement on the postponement. As it has always been the case, Mangole and Modubule were on the same page against Gaolathe and Mmolotsi. At the end the majority agreed to endorse the postponement. A highly-placed source who attended the meeting said: Those are BMD members who are always in the company of the president. While the meeting was ongoing they were loitering around the party office while others were at the reception.

One of them asked the deputy secretary general to notify Modubule that he is wanted outside but Modubule ignored and continued with chairing the meeting. Their argument was that Mangole and Modubule are the ones fuelling factionalism within the movement. Things turned ugly after the meeting adjourned when Modubule and Mangole were manhandled.



Another source who stated that a case has been registered with Gaborone Central Police Station, revealed that the leader of the gang (name withheld) manhandled Modubule and told him that they are going to teach them a lesson. Gaolathe is said to have come to Modubules rescue. When the strong BMD man, a former army man, let go of Modubule he then grabbed Mangole and dragged him towards the boundary wall of a house opposite the party office with the aim of bashing his head against the wall, the source said.



This is said to have happened in full view of the party president. At this time, Mmolotsi is said to have long excused himself from the meeting. Contacted for comment Wednesday afternoon, Party Secretary General Mangole confirmed that there was an unfortunate incident that involved him and his chairman. He revealed that they were confronted and manhandled. He said most of the men are always with Gaolathe hence some people regard them as presidential bodyguards.



We do not know where they were coming from and who invited them because we did not invite them. It is true that the men threatened us with beating and also insulted us accusing us (Mangole and Modubule) of messing around with their party and they are prepared to teach us a lesson. I am never threatened by any of the things that I experience but to be honest with you this time around I was very frightened I wouldnt want to lie.

The party National Organising Secretary Kabelo Mahupe is the one who rescued me from seganka sele I would not want to discuss this matter any further because it is being handled by the police as we have reported it. It is a matter that would have to also be addressed by the party internally.



Gaolathe could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was off. Gaborone Central Police Station Commander Superintendent Vincent Pitseetsile also could not be reached for comment as he was said to be out of the office while his assistants were attending a lecture at the police station at the time of going to press. BMDYL Spokesperson Kagelelo Kentse, without going into details, stated in a media release that the incident where the secretary general and chairman were manhandled by presidential bodyguards on Tuesday night was unfortunate.



The BMD is said to have postponed the youth congress, as there were fears that the congress might turn violent. The Tuesday fight could be a warning sign that the partys July elective congress could also turn chaotic thereby soiling the orange revolutions reputation. The party has not yet announced which constituency will be hosting the congress which is expected to test BMDs stability.


The fourth Astute class submarine "Audacious" being launched. A BAE Systems photo

LONDON (BNS): BAE Systems has launched the fourth Astute-class attack submarine "Audacious" for the British Royal Navy at its Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria facility on April 28.



Audacious is the fourth of seven Astute class attack submarines being built for the Royal Navy.



The 97-metre long, 7,400 tonne nuclear powered submarine emerged from the BAE facility's Devonshire Dock Hall on April 27 and the following day, it was lowered into the dock water for the first time to begin the next phase of its test and commissioning programme ahead of leaving Barrow for sea trials next year.



The submarine was officially named "Audacious" at a ceremony in December 2016.



Will Blamey, BAE Systems Submarines Managing Director, said: "Today's launch marks an important milestone in the Astute programme and demonstrates our pride in building submarines for the Royal Navy."



"Audacious enters the water in a more advanced state of build than any previous Astute class submarine, which puts us in a good position for the next phase of work - the testing and commissioning of her complex systems," the official remarked.



Armed with Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk land attack missiles, the Astute class submarines are the most highly-capable submarines ever built for the Royal Navy.



They can strike at targets up to 1,000km from the coast with pin-point accuracy, are equipped with a world-leading sonar capability and powered by a nuclear reactor.



The first three submarines of the class, HMS Astute, HMS Ambush and HMS Artful, have been inducted in the Royal Navy while the remaining vessels of the class are at various stages of construction at BAE's Barrow site.


Three faculty honored with teaching awards from College of Arts and Sciences

Derron Wallace, Adrianne Krstansky and Daniel Breen.

Three Brandeis faculty members have received teaching awards for excellence in the classroom from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Each year, students, faculty and alumni nominate faculty members who have impacted their lives for the Lerman-Neubauer 69 Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring; the Michael L. Walzer 56 Award for Teaching; and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching. The awards are overseen by the Committee for the Support of Teaching on behalf of the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

The 2017 winners were presented the awards by Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan J. Birren in a faculty meeting April 21.

The following faculty members were honored:

Adrianne Krstansky: Lerman-Neubauer 69 Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring

Krstansky, the Barbara Sherman '54 and Malcolm L. Sherman Director of Theater Arts, is a professional actor along with being an associate professor of theater arts at Brandeis. She is the winner of Boston's Eliot Norton Award and Independent Reviewers of New England Awards for her performance in Come Back Little Sheba at the Huntington Theater Company. Her film credits include featured roles in The Company Men and the HBO miniseries, Olive Kitteridge.

Her courses at Brandeis include Theater as Performance, Improvisation, Collaborative Process, Acting: Language in Action, Directing, Women Playwrights and this semester, Visions of Nature and Environmental Theater, co-taught with Laura Goldin.

Established by former Trustee Jeanette Lerman at the time of her marriage to Joseph Neubauer, this prize requires its recipient to be not only an exceptional teacher, but more importantly, a faculty member who has had a significant impact on students lives as a mentor and advisor. The award comes with a $5,000 prize.

One nomination submission for Krstansky said: Adrianne has changed my life. She facilitates a safe, supportive space for all students and opens us up to truly understanding each other. As a professor, she is sensitive to students needs, but pushes us to discover new abilities. I have never been so excited to go to class in my life. Learning feels natural with her. She allows us to teach each other, too.

Daniel Breen: Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching

Breen has been teaching in the legal studies program at Brandeis on a part-time basis since 1998, and as a full time instructor in the Legal Studies and American Studies programs since 2015. His courses include Introduction to Law, The Legal Boundaries of Public and Private Life, Civil Liberties in America, Louis Brandeis: Law, Business and Politics, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Science on Trial, and Business Law. He has directed senior theses in American Studies, and is the undergraduate advising head and study abroad liaison for Legal Studies minors. A frequent participant in Pre-Law Society and Undergraduate Departmental Representatives events, he has offered special tours of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for Intro to Law students, and moderated a panel for the Louis Brandeis 100th Anniversary events in 2016.

Established in 1986, the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching honors an individual for his or her outstanding teaching. It comes with a $2,500 prize.

He is easily one of the most inspirational, enthusiastic, and brilliant professors I have had thus far in my academic career, one nomination submission said. Professor Breen is full of positive energy, as he seeks not only to teach us but to inspire us.

Derron Wallace: Michael L. Walzer 56 Award for Teaching

A sociologist of race, ethnicity and education, who specializes in cross-national studies of inequalities and identities in urban schools and neighborhoods across the globe, Wallace's current research examines the educational outcomes of working class and middle class Black immigrants in London and New York City. He has worked as a professional community organizer and consultant with local educational authorities in London, and served as Special Assistant to the Minister of Education in Rwanda. His research and activism have encompassed work with nomads in Ethiopia, young people with disabilities in Rwanda, economically disadvantaged rural youth in Jamaica, and English language learners in Thailand.

An assistant professor of education and sociology, Wallace joined the Brandeis faculty in the fall of 2014 and his courses include Sociology of Education, Sociology of Race, Gender and Class, Critical Perspectives in Urban Education, and The Other African Americans: Comparative Perspectives on Black Ethnic Diversity.

This award is given every year to a tenure track faculty member who combines superlative scholarship with inspired teaching. It comes with a $2,500 prize.

One nomination form for Wallace said: Professor Wallace is easily one of the most passionate, rigorous, and knowledgeable professors at Brandeis. He expects his students to be as engaged as he is, and thats quite easy when you have a professor like him. He creates a class culture where everyone shows up to class prepared and ready with critical questions.

Along with the teaching awards, the Dean of Arts and Sciences Mentoring Award was awarded to Associate Professor of Language and Linguistics Lotus Goldberg and the Faculty Service Award was awarded to Professor of Biology Sue Lovett. Winners of teaching and mentoring awards for the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the Brandeis International Business School were also recognized, and are honored in events at their respective schools.
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The squeaking sound of sneakers at Brandon Universitys Healthy Living Centre was traded in for the sound of wind and string instruments as kids from across Brandon School Division and Ecole La Source filled the gym to celebrate music on Monday.

This is Brandons third year participating in Music Monday  the worlds largest single event dedicated to raising awareness for music education  launched and organized by The Coalition for Music Education.

Why is this concert important? Eric Marshall, past president of the Manitoba Music Educators Association, asked the crowd. Its important because we must recognize that music in Manitoba is strong and viable. Music education is vital and, in Manitoba, we do it better than anyone else.

Erin DeBooy/The Brandon Sun Members of the Suzuki Talent Education Program watch other students perform during Music Monday at Brandon University on Monday.

The praise raised the energy of the audience as students and teachers alike broke out into cheers and applause. Marshall took the opportunity to warn the crowd of music and arts programs across the country being lost, and give a call to action.

Students, your voice is more important than ever  Parents and community members, your voice and support is more important than ever, Marshall said. Lets keep music education on track so we can keep coming back and celebrating  Lets keep the music alive.

Performances from the Brandon Conservatory Youth Choir, Suzuki Talent Education Program, BSD elementary and high school choirs and Ecole La Source surrounded the theme of celebrating Canadas 150th birthday.

The concert wrapped up with all the groups joining in for the world premiere of O Canada, You Are My Home, a new piece commissioned especially for this event by local composer and Brandon University Prof. T. Patrick Carrabre.

Grade 4 student Kalli Eschak and Grade 3 student Darius Corbeo from Betty Gibson School couldnt have been more excited to take part in their first Music Monday, they said.

Erin DeBooy/The Brandon Sun The Ecole Harrison Grade 3 to 6 Chorale sang There Has To Be A Song on Music Monday at Brandon University.

We are one of the few lucky classes that get to come (to Music Monday), Eschak said. My favourite part is getting to listen to all the other schools and see their performances.

Corbeo said he likes coming to BU and getting to see the whole event unfold.

The songs are pretty good, too, he added.

Music is a very important part of school, Eschak said.

I love everything about music, I play piano, I dance, I sing, I do pretty much everything, Eschak said, breaking out in an impromptu pirouette.

Erin DeBooy/The Brandon Sun Young performers with the Suzuki Talent Education Program warm up before performing at Music Monday.

Music Monday is just as exciting for returning students, said Grade 9 student Josh Broome, from Vincent Massey High School.

Its nice to hear everybody come together and play music  it sounds good, its pretty and its fun to play, Broome said. Music is something we all have in common.

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG  Armed with positive results from a clinical trial conducted by the St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre, a Carberry company is now full speed ahead shipping a natural health product that can provide relief especially to seniors with digestive issues.

MSPrebiotics Inc. has been extracting a digestion resistant starch supplement from potatoes for more than a decade and selling it to hog producers.

But at one point Earl McLaren, CEO of the company, learned that the piglet gut biology was used as a model for pre-human trials for all sorts of treatments.

Having plenty of that kind of starch  prebiotics  in the gut provides food for probiotics and all of it contributes to good health and lessens the discomfort of all sorts of gastrointestinal discomforts.

We were doing very well with hog producers and from there the logical next step was a clinical trial (to test for human treatment), McLaren said.

The results of the clinical trial, just published in the peer reviewed journal Clinical Nutrition, showed that MSPrebiotics significantly increased the abundance of good bacteria. Elderly people taking MSPrebiotic had reduced constipation and an increase in the kind of good bacteria the probiotics consume, contributing to better gut health.

 See Work on  Page A3

The clinical trial, led by Michelle Alfa, a clinical microbiologist at St. Boniface, found that use of the MSPrebiotic significantly reduced bad bacteria and increased good bacteria in trial participants 70 years old and older and also in a participant group aged 30 to 50. It also created a meaningful decrease in blood glucose levels and insulin resistance, which will be the subject of a subsequent peer reviewed article.

McLaren and his brother Derek have been partners in business for more than 40 years starting with a potato farm in the Carberry area. The entrepreneurial brothers got into equipment manufacturing, making specialized gear for the potato production business for a while but were not able to get to the scale they needed.

They started working on the starch extract in 2004 with good results and plenty of demand from hog producers.

The move to the natural supplement for the human market started a few years ago when discussion began to engage in the lengthy process of a clinical trial which took place last year.

The project had a host of collaborators from Manitoba including from Deer Lodge where many of the trial participants live.

The McLaren brothers have invested more than $2 million in plant and office expansion, and have doubled their staff to 15 and expect that could grow to 50 as marketing and sales get ramped up.

Were now getting big into the marketing and global awareness side of things, said Derek McLaren.

The product is now in about 50 stores in the Toronto area and last week Vita Health started carrying it in its Manitoba stores. The company hopes to break into the U.S. market in California and they fully expect to expand into other international markets.

If you have clinical data  that is golden when you have that to prove the efficacy and safety, Derek said. We are really excited as we enter the market now. There are so many issues about gut health and diabetes. We are really getting good results. Health food stores really want the product.

The McLarens have all sorts of help from the NRC-IRAP and were glad they were able to do the trial in Winnipeg at the Asper Clinical Research Institute, at the St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre.

The most satisfying thing for us as business owners is knowing that our work is helping to create jobs in our community, Earl McLaren said. As we continue to expand sales across Canada, south of the border and overseas, it just tickles us to be able to look out the office window and be able to see the family farm across the highway.

 Winnipeg Free Press
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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The elimination or weakening of Canadas agricultural supply management systems would have a negative impact on Westman producers, Keystone Agricultural Producers president Dan Mazier said.

Once everyone realizes how integrated that supply management system is to Brandon and to the average consumer, I think that people will start thinking that this is something we should be protecting, he said.

Supply management has come under fire on a couple fronts during recent weeks, particularly as it relates to dairy, poultry and egg producers.

Perhaps most disarmingly has been U.S. President Donald Trumps protectionist rhetoric coupled with his desire to have American dairy products enter the Canadian marketplace.

Theres also Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Maxime Bernier, who has pledged to kill Canadas supply management system altogether in the event he becomes prime minister.

During a speaking engagement of Berniers at Brandons Victoria Inn in late March, local egg producer Jim Green shot back in defence of supply management, offering that its a system that was introduced decades ago to protect Canadian jobs; a purpose it continues serving.

As its name implies, supply management is a system that manages the supply and prices of certain products as well as protect sectors from foreign competition, all in order to help producers weather economic ebbs and flows.

In the free market system, you get bigger swings, Mazier said, offering these swings as potentially wasteful, wherein perishable products like milk are dumped out whenever the market becomes unprofitably flooded with product.

Right now, too much milk is being produced in United States free market system so they want access to Canadian consumers, Mazier said.

You cant blame a Canadian marketplace for them producing too much milk, Mazier said, describing this approach as a race to the bottom.

Its still too early to signal any real alarm bells, however Manitoba Egg Farmers general manager Cory Rybuck said that Bernier and Trumps rhetoric have been on their radar in recent weeks.

Bernier is one of several Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates, and Trumps barely over the 100-day mark of his presidential career, so theres still plenty that can change, he said. But, were certainly paying attention.

Including pullet farmers, there are 170 egg producers throughout the province, with 17 new operations opening since 2009, of which about half were introduced west of Portage la Prairie.

The industry has seen a 26 per cent rate of growth during the past decade, which Rybuck cites as fantastic for any group, let alone for that length of time.

The supply management places a quota on the number of laying hens per farm, ranging from about 3,000 to more than 100,000, with the average farm carrying about 14,000 layers.

Its a reliable, persistent system that has allowed farmers enough confidence to invest in their operations and pass things on to future generations; something free market agricultural sectors are seeing less of.

The longevity of this confidence depends on Trump and Bernier, should he become prime minister.

From a farmers point of view, I think itd be a loss for our industry, generally, Mazier said. I think it would be a loss to Canadian people as well.

Renegotiating or discussing how supply management might improve is always worthwhile, but talks about tearing it up entirely, such as what both Trump and Bernier have mused about, is a very uninformed statement to make, and dangerous, Mazier said, adding that they might have already made an impact, since as soon as you put uncertainty into the business world  everyone backs up.

Its more an idealogical debate than anything, Rybuck said, adding that when you start peeling back the layers of the onion to see what it contributes to the rural and urban economies, it works.

The Conservative Party of Canadas official policy is to support supply management, with both Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire and Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa MP Robert Sopuck throwing their weight behind leadership candidate Erin OToole, whose platform includes support for existing supply management programs.

Both Brandon area MPs reaffirmed their support for OToole last weekend, during which they joined him at a few campaign events around Manitoba.

On Monday, Sopuck said that supply management has generated a certain level of stability in rural areas because the price is predictable, the supply is predictable (and) the quality is very high.

During the Tories latest time in power under prime minister Stephen Harper, Sopuck said that all trade agreements they negotiated factored in the importance of retaining supply management in affected sectors.

While Sopuck said that trade deals and supply management efforts should be renegotiated on a regular basis, he clarified, The basic structure of supply management is very sound.

Last week found Trump announce the imposition of countervailing duties of up to 24 per cent on Canadian softwood lumber imports into the United Sates.

While this shift will not affect Westman as greatly as the elimination of agricultural supply management measures would, it is expected to have trickle down impacts on Swan Rivers Spruce Products Ltd., which employs about 100 people directly and another 150 on contract. The severity of this impact has yet to be determined.

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
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This article was published 01/05/2017 (2018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CFB SHILO  When Londons calling, Shilos troops want to look their best.

At a ceremony steeped in pomp and pageantry, the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) officially received its new Queens Colour Saturday morning  a cherished symbol the unit wanted to refresh for this summers trip to London.

The battalions last Queens Colour, a flag representing the units loyalty to the Crown, was received and consecrated in 1991.

Ian Froese/The Brandon Sun Maj. Adam Petrin, right, unravels the new Queens Colour for the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry as part of a consecration ceremony at CFB Shilo on Saturday.

The fabric itself was beginning to tear and we didnt want to have a bad incident in front of the Queen, explained Lt.-Col. Wayne Niven, commanding officer of 2PPCLI, after the parade.

Approximately 100 troops from the Shilo-based unit will spend three weeks in the United Kingdom performing public duties, including standing guard at Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, St. James Palace and Windsor Castle.

The Queen invited soldiers from Shilo and the Royal Canadian Artillery Band in Edmonton to the U.K. as a commemoration of Canadas 150th anniversary.

The Queens Colour represents sacrifice and loyalty, Niven said, and the aged look of the previous flag, which was marched out of the Korea Parade Square Saturday, necessitated a change.

The colours will go to London this summer, so we wanted to make sure they were in good shape.

Ian Froese/The Brandon Sun Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry Colonel-in-Chief Adrienne Clarkson, former governor general of Canada, looks out at the 2nd Battalion during a ceremony to mark the new Queens Colour at CFB Shilo on Saturday.

The new flag is the same as the 1991 version. Comparable to the red and white of Canadas national flag, the Queens Colour, trimmed in gold and red, includes the Royal Cypher for Canada at the centre of the maple leaf.

Adrienne Clarkson, former Canadian governor general and colonel-in-chief of the PPCLI, presided over the ceremony.

In her address to the approximately 200 soldiers in attendance, Clarkson described it as an honour and a pleasure to witness the consecration of the Queens Colour.

The occasion is also an opportunity to look back at what Clarkson described as a defining moment for the regiment, the Battle of Kapyong, 66 years ago last month.

The unit was called up from reserve to the Kapyong Valley where they held their own against waves of enemy soldiers during the Korean War.

Ian Froese/The Brandon Sun Troops from the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry based at CFB Shilo march during a ceremony Saturday to receive and consecrate the new Queens Colour for the unit.

For their heroic efforts, 2PPCLI received the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation, a rare honour for a Canadian unit. Soldiers wear a blue patch on their dress uniform to recognize the citation.

Clarkson told the audience she has visited Kapyong Valley, where trees have flourished but remnants of the heavy fighting remain.

Earlier in the ceremony, Clarkson and Lt.-Col Niven stood atop a military jeep for an inspection of the gathered soldiers, who spent two weeks rehearsing for the parade.

You are looking pretty sharp, she said afterwards.

The battalion moved from Kapyong Barracks in Winnipeg to Shilo in 2004.

Ian Froese/The Brandon Sun Chaplains, from left, Stephen Neil, Guy Chapdelaine and Matthew Ihuoma bless the consecration ceremony of the new Queens Colour for 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry during a ceremony at CFB Shilo on Saturday.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
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Three big names in popular music have been announced as rock acts at the North Dakota State Fair.

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Opinion

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This article was published 02/05/2017 (2017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY  Start talking about parliamentary reform at a cocktail party and watch everyone melt away. But despite being an eye-glazing topic, there are good reasons why Canadians should take interest.

The Liberal government proposes changes to House of Commons procedures to create greater accountability and to empower members to more fully participate in the legislative process. Proposals include setting aside one day a week for questions directed at the prime minister and streamlining procedures.

If greater accountability and empowerment of MPs is the goal, the government is going about it in the wrong way.

Our systems Westminster-style protocol is woefully misunderstood. Its subtle, clever and flexible, but its intricacies are not well known to many Canadians.

The system is adversarial: its the duty of opposition parties to scrutinize bills and point out flaws. In a majority situation, there are few devices to trip up the government. One is question period, which, unfortunately, is regarded by most Canadians as an unseemly display of childish behaviour. If by childish one means attention-seeking, this is true because its a clarion call to Canadians to take notice.

Question period is the most powerful instrument of accountability in our system. The prime minister and cabinet must justify their actions on a daily basis. Unlike other jurisdictions, such as Britain, they get no advance warning about what might be lobbed at them. And to garner attention, opposition parties often have to resort to behaviour they find distasteful.

Another major part of an opposition MPs job is to examine legislation closely in committees. This is where the government wants to streamline proceedings by limiting intervention by members to 10 minutes.

Dictatorships run like well-oiled machines, but democracy is messy and inefficient.

Nevertheless, time is of the utmost importance for the government as it strives to get bills through Parliament expeditiously. The opposition, on the other hand, tries to slow the process when they believe legislation is flawed. Theyre buying time to ensure their amendments and objections are fully considered.

Often those tactics seem automatic. But if a majority government is ramming bills through, it can be necessary for the opposition to slow it down.

The procedural reform proposals being made by the Liberals would hamper efforts to buy time.

As well, discussion about party discipline, which is extremely rigid in Canada, is conspicuously absent from the governments proposals. Yet in their election platform two short years ago, the Liberals promised free votes for their MPs  with generous exemptions. It would be a huge step forward to loosen party discipline  short of free votes  except on serious matters such as the budget and confidence votes.

In the United Kingdom, a three-line whip specifies how MPs are expected to vote. During a hunt, an individual whips the hounds back into the pack, as the political whip does with MPs.

They know how the party wants them to vote based on the number of lines underlining the name of the bill. Three lines signals they must attend and vote along party lines; two lines provide MPs with flexibility and one line frees them to vote as they choose.

And even when a three-line whip is in effect, British MPs sometimes defy their party leadership. In 2011, 81 Conservatives voted for a motion calling for the Brexit referendum despite instructions to the contrary.

MPs are sometimes compared to performing seals, banging their flippers on their desks to express approval and voting as theyre told. Given the wealth of expertise and experience among MPs, its tragic that theyre unable to put their skills to use. And voters are frustrated their MPs are so craven.

Party discipline allows governments to maintain majority support in the House and remain in office. However, it wouldnt be disastrous if some MPs were able to break ranks, on either side of the House.

Our winner-takes-all electoral system can create majority governments with a minority of the votes. These governments then purport to speak for everyone, ignoring opposition voices and refusing to co-operate and collaborate across the aisle.

If party discipline were relaxed, it would dent the iron control of a majority government, forcing it to make compromises and behave in a less autocratic manner. What better way to empower members to more fully participate in the legislative process?

Parliamentary reform may not be sexy, but its the next best thing to electoral reform. Perhaps groups such as Fair Vote Canada should hitch their wagon to this issue and bring about welcome changes through the back door.

 Doreen Barrie is an adjunct assistant professor in the political science department at the University of Calgary.

 Troy Media
The retrial of a childminder charged with causing serious harm to a 10-month-old baby has collapsed because of a juror researching the case on the internet.

Minutes after the jury had retired to consider their verdict following the conclusion of closing speeches, a juror requested to speak to Judge Martin Nolan about a matter of concern.

The juror said that earlier today, during initial discussions about evidence in the case, the jury foreman disclosed to her that she had googled background information regarding one of the witnesses in the case.

I now feel that I am personally tainted, and that I can't go in there and deliberate, she said.

After confirming with the jury foreman that she had googled the witness, Judge Nolan told the jury he was discharging it.

The 36-year-old childminder had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the baby at her home on March 28, 2012.

It is the State's case that on that day the baby was subjected to an assault sometime between 1:30pm and 4:30pm, when the defendant presented the child for treatment at Cavan General Hospital suffering from seizures, a detached retina, hemorrhaging in the eye and a traumatic brain injury.

This was a retrial after a jury in the first trial failed to reach a verdict. The court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions will now consider whether to go for a third trial.

Judge Nolan said he would like the DPP to consider the matter carefully given what occurred.

It's automatic that in modern society people conduct internet searches. Everyone has a laptop, he said.

Before discharging the jury Judge Nolan told the jury foreman that he indicated that jurors should not look up the case on the internet.

You disobeyed my instruction, Judge Nolan said. The judge thanked the jury for its time during the six-day trial and added that it is with great reluctance that he discharge them.

He also praised the juror who brought the matter to his attention, saying that it took courage. The judge said the defendant is entitled to a fair trial and the people of Ireland are entitled to have trials conducted fairly.

Judge Nolan remanded the childminder on continuing bail, and said the case will be dealt with on May 11.

It is a matter of great importance that the matter be dealt with expeditiously, he said.
A surfer who survived more than 30 hours stranded in the Irish Sea on his board has been described as "extremely lucky".

Mr Bryce, from Glasgow, was taken to Belfast Hospital for treatment for hypothermia.

Matthew Bryce, 22, was reported missing by family when he failed to return from a surfing trip off the Argyll coast of Scotland on Sunday afternoon.

He had last been seen at around 9am on Sunday in the St Catherines area, believed to be heading to Westport Beach near Campbeltown.

Police Scotland and the coastguard launched a large-scale search, with rescue teams from Campbeltown, Southend, Gigha, Tarbert and Port Ellen involved.

The 22-year-old was eventually found by a search and rescue helicopter at around 7.30pm on Monday, drifting 13 miles from the Argyll coast.

The coastguard believe his knowledge and wetsuit saved his life.

Conditions in the Irish Sea were also "fairly benign" throughout Monday.

Dawn Petrie, from the Belfast coastguard operations centre, said: "He'd been in the water for some 30 hours when the helicopter was delighted to spot him.

"He was extremely lucky.

"He was wearing the right equipment, had a very thick neoprene wetsuit on and did the right thing by staying with his surfboard.

"That must have helped him to survive for so long."

She said Mr Bryce was conscious when he was taken to hospital.

Police thanked everyone who had been involved in the search.

Chief Inspector Paul Robertson said: "The response to our appeal to find Matthew has been outstanding.

"It has been a real team effort and I would like to thank everyone who offered their assistance."

Alex Smith, from the coastguard, told BBC Radio Scotland: "His core body temperature was certainly very low but he is a very fit young man.

"It would've been quicker for us to find him if he had a personal locator beacon, a flare pack or a radio.

"I understand you don't want to be encumbered by too much equipment on a surfboard but even just having a shore contact who will raise the alarm if you fail to turn up.

"This gentleman was already 24 hours late when the alarm was raised."
Some nursing homes, residential centres and foster care services are being warned they need to step up efforts to protect vulnerable people.

HIQA has released a review of the regulation of health and social care in Ireland which raises concerns for a number of areas.
Update: 11.46am: A man has been charged with the murder of Samantha Walsh in Waterford.

28-year-old Danny Whelan, of no fixed abode but originally from Thurles in Co Tipperary, was brought before Waterford district court this morning.

He's been remanded in custody until next Monday when he's due before the courts, the Judge has ordered that he receive medical assistance while in custody.

Ms Walsh's remains were found on Friday after emergency services were called to her apartment on Thomas street in the city.

A post mortem has confirmed she suffered an assault.

Earlier: A man will appear in court this morning charged in connection with the murder of a woman in Waterford.

Samantha Walsh's remains were discovered at a property on Thomas Street in the city on Friday.

A man in his 20's is due before Waterford District Court this morning charged in connection with the investigation.

Samantha's family and friends alerted emergency services when they couldn't make contact with her.
A search operation is due to begin in a forest in France for the body of one of Northern Ireland's Disappeared.

Seamus Ruddy, a teacher from Newry, Co Down, was abducted from Paris, murdered and secretly buried by republican paramilitary group the INLA in 1985.

His body, thought to have been buried in a forest in northern France, has never been found.

A fresh search for his remains will begin on Tuesday in a forest at Pont-de-l'Arche outside Rouen, the commission set up to locate victims' remains has confirmed.

The Disappeared are those who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during Northern Ireland's Troubles.

Searches have been carried out by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR), which was set up to recover the bodies of those murdered and secretly buried, mainly by the IRA, in the 1970s and 1980s.

There have been three previous searches in the forest area for Mr Ruddy, the most recent by the ICLVR in 2008.

Geoff Knupfer, the former police officer leading the hunt, said he was satisfied the information received by the ICLVR about the location of Mr Ruddy's remains is "as accurate as it can be given the passage of time".

Mr Knupfer also headed the team that found Disappeared victims Brendan Megraw in 2014 and Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright in 2015.

"I am convinced that there is a genuine desire on the part of those supplying the information to get this resolved by finding where Seamus is buried," said Mr Knupfer.

He added: "As in other cases fresh information that refines what we already know is crucial. Everyone we have found to date has been in the area where we were told that they were.

"It is always a question of narrowing that down to a precise location. I really hope that we can do this again and find him."

The joint UK and Irish Commissioners, Sir Ken Bloomfield and Frank Murray, said that they hoped the search would be successful and that the remains of Seamus Ruddy would be returned to his family for Christian burial.

"We share the hopes and prayers of the family that we'll be successful.

"We know that the team led by Geoff are world leaders in this work and they will bring all their experience and commitment to try to bring this search to a successful conclusion," they said.

Despite extensive and painstaking searches, the bodies of four out of 16 people listed by the commission set up to locate victims' remains have never been found.

In addition to Seamus Ruddy, the remains of Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey and Robert Nairac have yet to be recovered.

The commission has asked anyone with information to contact them in complete confidence on 00800 555 85500, by writing to ICLVR, PO Box 10827, Dublin 2, or via the website www.iclvr.ie

Anne Morgan, the sister of Mr Ruddy, said: "Seamus disappeared almost exactly 32 years ago on May 9 1985.

"All we can do is what we have been doing over these long years since, which is to pray that one day he'll be found.

"Hopefully that day will come as a result of this search.

"All we want is to bring Seamus home to Monk's Hill to be buried with our mother and father."
A surfer who survived more than 30 hours stranded at sea on his board has hailed his rescuers as heroes.

Matthew Bryce, 22, was reported missing by family when he failed to return from a Sunday morning surf off the Argyll coast of Scotland.

The 22-year-old was eventually found by a search and rescue helicopter at around 7.30pm on Monday, drifting in the North Channel, 13 miles from Northern Ireland and 16 miles from Scottish shores.

The Glaswegian was flown to Belfast, where he is currently recovering from hypothermia.

"I am so grateful that I am now receiving treatment in hospital," said Mr Bryce.

"I cannot thank those enough who rescued and cared for me, they are all heroes."

The surfer had last been seen at around 9am on Sunday in the St Catherines area of Argyll, believed to be heading to Westport Beach near Campbeltown.

Police Scotland and the Coastguard launched a large-scale search, with rescue teams from Campbeltown, Southend, Gigha, Tarbert and Port Ellen involved, as well as colleagues on the other side of the North Channel.

John Bryce, Matthew's father, also expressed his gratitude.

"The past 48 hours have been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions for our family and we are so grateful that Matthew has been found safe and well," he said.

"To get that call from the police last night to say that he was alive was unbelievable. It was better than a lottery win - you just can't describe it.

"Matthew means the world to us; he is such a strong character both mentally and physically, and we are looking forward to being reunited with him.

"We've managed to speak to him briefly on the phone and he is obviously exhausted after his ordeal, but he is in good spirits and happy to be alive.

"Our family cannot thank the Coastguard, RNLI volunteers and police officers involved in finding Matthew enough.

"I would also like to thank our friends and family as well as the hundreds of people who offered their support on social media.

"We have been overwhelmed by your support and good wishes and we will be forever grateful to every single one of you."

The Coastguard believe Mr Bryce's surfing knowledge and wetsuit saved his life.

Conditions in the area were also "fairly benign" throughout Monday.

Dawn Petrie, from the Belfast Coastguard operations centre, said: "He'd been in the water for some 30 hours when the helicopter was delighted to spot him.

"He was extremely lucky.

"He was wearing the right equipment, had a very thick neoprene wetsuit on and did the right thing by staying with his surfboard.

"That must have helped him to survive for so long."

She said Mr Bryce was conscious when he was taken to hospital.

Police thanked everyone who had been involved in the search.

Chief Inspector Paul Robertson said: "The response to our appeal to find Matthew has been outstanding.

"It has been a real team effort and I would like to thank everyone who offered their assistance."

Alex Smyth.

Alex Smyth, the maritime operations controller for UK Coastguard, based in Belfast, said the surfer's determination helped save his life.

"He was wearing a very heavy wetsuit with a hood and boots and he held onto his surf board.

"He was out in the water for over 32 hours. It was very cold water.

"He is a fit gentleman and clearly very determined. He was very lucky," said Mr Smyth.
Students have warned a proposed loan scheme for college and university courses would spark a new emigration brain drain.

The "study now pay later " idea could see graduates pay back about 150 euro a month until they turn 33 in what researchers have claimed is the cheapest way to fund a major expansion of third level education.

The option was put forward in research being presented to an Oireachtas committee this week.

But the Union of Students of Ireland (USI) said it rejects the idea student loans are an effective way to fund the sector.

It said such a scheme would be expensive to set up, would spur on a new surge in emigration and disproportionately punish public-sector employees and workers outside the highest earning professions.

Annie Hoey, president of the USI, said repayments of 150 euro a month are "simply out of touch with the reality of graduate salaries in Ireland".

"A loan scheme is likely to spur an increase in emigration from the country to avoid debt repayment, with significant economic, skills and social consequences," she said.

The loans scheme, described as "income-contingent" was set out in research by Professor Bruce Chapman, who designed a similar system in Australia, and Maynooth University academic Dr Aedin Doris.

It warned of the impact of emigration on the scheme and that up to 10% of graduates in Ireland would not repay their loans.

The proposal suggests that graduates would only begin to repay their education debts when they start earning a certain level, a salary of 26,000 euro for loans of 16,000 euro.

Ms Hoey said the 10% non-repayment rate was "hopelessly optimistic".

The idea of loans was one of three options on funding higher education which was set out in a separate report for the Department of Education last year by Peter Cassells, with the alternatives being "free fees" and keeping the 3,000 euro registration fee.

"The Government is trying again to obscure the facts and create the impression that the only viable funding mechanism for higher education is a loan scheme," Ms Hoey said.

"The Cassells Report showed that properly tax-funded higher education is a viable option, whereas a 10 billion euro loan scheme favoured by government right now is an attempt to borrow now and move the mess of repayment down the track."
Three police officers have been killed and five others injured in a drive-by shooting in Cairo, Egypt's Interior Ministry said.

The attack happened when men armed with machine guns approached a police patrol in two cars in the Nasr City neighbourhood of the capital late on Monday night and opened fire on the officers.

The ministry said the patrol exchanged fire with the attackers, who fled the scene.

The ministry said in a statement that two of the three policemen killed had the rank of captain. It did not specify how many assailants were involved or if any of them were wounded. An investigation is under way, it added.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.

Apart from the extremist Islamic State group, the shadowy Hasm, or "Decisiveness" - a lesser militant group the government suspects is linked to the banned Muslim Brotherhood - has carried out similar attacks in the past.

The IS-led insurgency is centred mainly on the volatile, northern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, but militants have occasionally struck further south and also on the mainland - such as in last month's massive suicide bombings in Tanta and in Alexandria. Both attacks were claimed by IS.

Monday's drive-by attack came two days after Pope Francis ended a historic visit to Egypt during which security was exceptionally tight, with police swarming Cairo's streets, particularly around the Vatican Embassy in the upmarket neighbourhood on the River Nile island of Zamalek and elsewhere where the pontiff visited.

The Hasm group has claimed several previous attacks in Cairo, usually targeting police positions and patrols. Its other attacks included a shooting against the country's former chief Muslim theologian and a car bombing against the deputy of the chief prosecutor. Both escaped unharmed.

Insurgent attacks have dramatically increased in Egypt since the military's 2013 ousting of elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood leader. The violence has mainly been concentrated in northern Sinai, where Islamic State-linked militants are battling the army.

AP
UPDATE 3.30pm:German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is not satisfied with the progress of talks about the situation in eastern Ukraine, after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking after the two met for talks in Sochi, Russia, Mrs Merkel said there are still fundamental differences of opinion, emphasising that Germany believes in the democratic legitimacy of the Ukrainian government.

"We are of differing opinions about the cause of the conflict," she said, but added that the "Normandy Format" meetings of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France is still the best forum for the talks.

She added that all sides want to prevent a further escalation of the conflict and that the Normandy talks had helped.

In her first trip to Russia in two years, the pair also discussed the civil war in Syria, and Mrs Merkel asked Mr Putin to help protect the right of gays in Chechnya following reports that they are persecuted there.

She told reporters after the talks: "I asked President Putin to use his influence to protect these minority rights."

Mrs Merkel said she wanted to "keep trying to find solutions" to global problems and that Moscow has an important role to play.

EARLIER: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria.

Ms Merkel travelled to the Black Sea city of Sochi for a one-day visit, in her first trip to Russia in two years.

The pair last met in Germany in October for talks aimed at reviving the peace process in eastern Ukraine.

The new meeting comes amid tensions over Germany's support for sanctions imposed on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine.

Mr Putin appears eager to improve ties. He told Germany's foreign minister during a recent visit that it is "our common goal to fully normalise relations and to make sure all the difficulties we face are overcome".

Opening the latest talks, he said: "We must use this opportunity to talk about our relations and about more problematic issues, such as Ukraine and Syria and perhaps some other regions."
Some 400 patients are being recalled for blood tests after being treated by a doctor with HIV.

The recall affects patients who were under the care of the locum doctor, who has not been named, at three hospitals between June 2010 and February 2015.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has recalled 120 patients, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has recalled 223 and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has recalled 57.

The hospitals said patients who had undergone "invasive procedures where there is a potential risk of infection" had been identified and had been invited back for a precautionary blood test.

NHS England said concerns about the doctor first emerged in December 2015 at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) in Birmingham.

It has tried to contact one of its patients thought to be at risk but has been unable to do so.

The doctor also worked at other trusts but a review found no patients were put at risk, NHS England said.

It said the doctor no longer works for the NHS and conditions have been placed on their registration by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The doctor was also given an interim suspension order earlier this year "because they failed to comply with the conditions placed upon them".

NHS England said it will review the incident to learn lessons for the future.

Nottingham's medical director, Dr Stephen Fowlie, said the doctor had treated patients and then subsequently been diagnosed with HIV.

He said: "The risk that any patient has been infected by transmission of the virus from this doctor is extremely low.

"However, because the doctor's diagnosis was unknown during their employment with us (2013 to 2015), we are contacting patients who had had at-risk operations involving this doctor to advise they return to hospital for a blood test as a precautionary measure.

"Transmission of the virus between an infected healthcare worker and a patient with an open wound can only occur if health workers themselves have an injury with bleeding when they are delivering patient care.

"There is no evidence this happened to this doctor in any patient contact.

"We are arranging clinic appointments, test results within 24 hours, and appropriate support and advice from our specialists for these 223 patients and their families."

The Royal Cornwall said the doctor worked there for a six-month period in orthopaedics between 2011 and 2012.

Its medical director, Dr Malcolm Stewart said: "We understand this will be concerning to patients, however, it should be stressed that the risk of the virus having been passed on to any of the individuals we are writing to is extremely low.

"There has not been any instance of cross-infection following similar look-back exercises in the UK in the past.

"We are writing to 57 patients offering the opportunity, as a precaution, to return to the hospital for a blood test.

"There is no need for individuals to take any special precautions in advance of receiving our letter."

Dr David Levy, regional medical director for NHS England Midlands and East, said: "We understand that this will be a worrying time for patients who are being invited for precautionary testing and their families.

"However, clinical evidence shows that the risk of infection is extremely low and it is highly unlikely that any of the patients being contacted will have been infected with HIV.

"Advice and counselling is available for those affected by this recall, and we would encourage them to access this support."

Dr Gail Collins, medical director at Chesterfield Royal, said: "This is news that these patients will not be expecting and I offer apologies for the understandable anxiety and distress it is likely to cause them, or members of their family.

"I assure patients and people in North Derbyshire that Chesterfield Royal Hospital is committed to making sure their care and treatment is safe.

"As worrying as this issue sounds, it is extremely unlikely the virus transferred to anyone during their treatment."
Dozens of men have been arrested and weapons confiscated in Rio de Janeiro as Brazilian military police launched a major anti-crime operation on Tuesday.

The police action resulted in gang members burning public buses as the city that hosted last year's Olympics was left on edge.

The operation, which included periodic shootouts between police and gangsters, began in the morning.

By afternoon, 45 men were under arrest and dozens of weapons, including automatic rifles and grenades, had been seized, authorities said. Three officers and two gang members were injured.

In retaliation, members of the gang targeted by the sweep set fire to several buses and two commercial trucks.

RIO DE JANEIRO: 7 buses and truck set on fire this morning, blocking 2 major thoroughfares. Initial reports: Rival drug gangs. City on alert pic.twitter.com/K8uGTxw5sd  Gabriel Elizondo (@elizondogabriel) May 2, 2017

Buses burned for hours alongside a highway, snarling traffic with heavy black smoke as a military helicopter hovered overhead.

Residents of the district swarmed over one of the commercial trucks after flames subsided and carried away toothpaste and other goods they could salvage from the charred trailer as armed military police looked on.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Roberto Sa, security secretary for Rio de Janeiro state, said the offensive was intended to stop an incursion by one drug gang into another's territory.

"We are not going to occupy (the area) but we will keep a strong presence," Mr Sa said.

The burst of violence comes amid worries over rising crime in Rio, which hosted the 2016 Olympics.

Several buses were torched during a protest over pension reforms on Friday and earlier last week several people were killed during shootouts between criminals and police in Alemao, one of the city's largest slums.

Rio has frequent bursts of violence as a result of heavily-armed gangs running drug businesses from many of the hundreds of slums in the city.

They frequently shoot it out with rival gangs over territory and engage in gun battles with military police during operations.

With Brazil suffering from a severe recession, some studies suggest 2016 was Rio's most violent year in decades despite a police pacification programme that was meant to curb slum violence.

In January and February, killings rose 17% and 24% respectively from the same months a year earlier, according to Rio state government crime statistics.

AP
Australia's biggest milk producer, Murray Goulburn, will shutter three processing plants and write off almost $150 million in debts owed by farmers following last year's milk price fiasco.

Murray Goulburn said 105 workers would lose their jobs when it closed its plant in Rochester, Victoria, by next March and another 135 would be out of work with the closure of its plant in Kiewa, south of Wodonga, by next September.

Its plant in Edith Creek, Tasmania, would shut by the end of this year at a cost of 120 jobs.

The struggling dairy co-operative said closing the plants would save it between $40 million and $50 million a year.
Jon and Katie King were hesitant about adding batteries to complement solar panels on their Randwick home in Sydney's east but, one month after their purchase, they're already considering buying more.

Lithium-ion battery costs have plunged about a fifth in the past year alone and power prices from the grid are soaring, a combination that is rapidly improving the appeal of energy storage for homes and businesses alike.

Katie King at home with her family's new battery system. Credit:Kate Geraghty

"I'm an advocate in a big way," Mr King, an architect, said. "It's just added another layer of control ... and it's only going to get better."

The Kings' solar panels are slightly under five kilowatts in capacity, supplying about 12-13 kW-hours of electricity a day.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared he will "bring the school funding wars to an end" in a stunning turnaround that will see the government pump an extra $19 billion into schools over the next decade, but leave about 350 Catholic and private institutions worse off.

At a surprise press conference on Tuesday flanked by businessman David Gonski, who conducted a landmark review of school funding for the Gillard government, Mr Turnbull said he would succeed where Labor failed by delivering a genuine needs-based funding model.

The announcement came less than 24 hours after the government unveiled its higher education changes, which included a rise in student fees and cut to university funding.

A small number of wealthy private schools will have their funding cut from next year, representing a break from Julia Gillard's promise that no school would lose a dollar under any funding changes. Private schools like Loreto Kirribilli in Sydney, and Melbourne Grammar School, are likely to be affected.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared he will "bring the school funding wars to an end" in a stunning policy turnaround that will see the federal government pump an extra $19 billion into schools over the next decade.

At a surprise press conference flanked by businessman David Gonski, who conducted a landmark review of school funding for the Gillard government, Mr Turnbull said he would succeed where Labor failed by delivering a genuine needs-based funding model.

Mr Gonski will conduct a new review for the government - dubbed "Gonski 2.0" by Mr Turnbull - on how the extra money can best be spent to ensure it boosts student performance and school results.

Next Tuesday's budget will include an extra $2.2 billion extra for schools over the next four years on top of the $1.2 billion announced in last year's budget.
The student newspapers of some of Australia's most prestigious universities have been denied access to the lock-up for next week's federal budget, which will lay out fee hikes for university students and a multibillion-dollar funding cut for the higher education sector.

Described as "suspect" by the publications, the decision will see students locked out of the opportunity for early access to official budget documents, and briefings from Treasury officials, at Parliament House.

The Australian National University's Woroni, the University of Sydney's Honi Soit and the University of Melbourne's Farrago - which were all present at the 2016 lock-up - are among the publications crying foul, suggesting the decision is a "concerted move to avoid scrutiny and criticism" from student journalists.

"By locking student media out of this crucial political event, the federal government has denied us the opportunity to closely analyse a budget which will have a massive impact on young people," the publications said in a joint editorial, also signed by the University of Newcastle's Opus, Western Sydney University's W'SUP, and the ANU's Observer.
Last week I sauntered to the sandstone loveliness of the University of Melbourne to talk about the coming federal budget.

I was there to talk to 10 student journalists from the university's esteemed magazine, Farrago.

A return to the barricades? Students from the University of Sydney Uni and the University of Technology Sydney protest proposed funding cuts in 2014.

It was, it turns out, all for nothing.

They had all applied to attend the federal budget lock-up in Canberra next Tuesday, and they were much enthused at the prospect.
She's been caught in the middle of Kelly Landry and Anthony Bell's marriage breakdown, but Erin Molan is maintaining her innocence.

The Channel Nine The NRL Footy Show host, who recently got engaged, was mentioned when former Getaway host Landry's text messages to Bell, a high-profile celebrity accountant, were read to the court on Tuesday as part of a hearing over an apprehended violence order taken out on Landry's behalf in January.

Erin Molan and Anthony Bell were crew members on the super maxi Perpetual Loyal. Credit:Instagram/erin_molan

"I know about Erin. Just saw her run to you," Landry wrote to Bell on December 28 following his victory in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Molan was part of the crew of Bell's supermaxi Perpetual Loyal.

Acting on Molan's behalf, a Nine spokesperson told Fairfax Media on Tuesday that they are "very disappointed" by former Channel Nine host Landry's claims and they find them "offensive and defamatory".
We've all been there. You get the invitation to a party and the dress code is "party" or "dress to impress". Impossible.

So imagine being a Hollywood starlet and finding out the dress code for this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between.

Risky but on point. Rihanna in Comme Des Garcons at the Met Gala. Credit:Getty

As the New York Times' Vanessa Friedman put it when describing Kawakubo, the Japanese designer is among modern fashion's most influential and yet somehow anti-fashion designers.

"She refuses to accept any of the rules that govern normal clothing design: that clothes need to be flattering, for example, or that they need to have armholes ... She goes where most other designers fear to tread, which is to say, into the realm of clothes that look really, really weird."
If your doctor learnt you had incurable cancer while you were on an overseas cruise, would you want to be told immediately or finish the holiday in blissful ignorance?

Jenny Scott's doctor decided to let her finish the cruise.

Jenny Scott's doctor decided not to tell her she had lung cancer until she finished her cruise.

According to the test results, Mrs Scott's prognosis was dire. No medical benefit could be gained by forcing her to abandon one last holiday.

He decided to deliver the news at their consultation scheduled for the day after her return, in one week's time.
A five-year-old boy was playing with his young sister in his house when he was struck by a single bullet that police believe was fired from the street into the property overnight.

The young boy screamed out in pain when the bullet hit his hip, alerting his parents who came running to his aid inside the single-storey house on Morison Avenue in Lurnea in Sydney's south-west about 9pm on Monday.

The boy's parents drove their son to Liverpool Hospital with the bullet still lodged in his side.

The boy has since been transferred to The Children's Hospital at Westmead, where he remained in a stable condition on Tuesday.
It was not uncommon for newly bought goods to appear and then suddenly go missing again at Eman Sharobeem's Immigrant Women's Health Services, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has heard.

In one case a new washing machine simply "disappeared" while a treadmill that was ordered for the community centre was delivered only to be removed after "less than a year".

Former Australian of the year finalist Eman Sharobeem at the ICAC on Monday. Credit:Peter Rae

In another example, 12 leather chairs that were ordered could not be found by staff even when the chief executive, Ms Sharobeem, who was overseas, assured them by email that they were in a meeting room stacked behind other chairs.

A reclining massage chair, which the not-for-profit government funded organisation charged visitors $5 to use (staff could use it free), was also purchased. (Its whereabouts is unknown.)
The Houghton Highway Bridge north of Brisbane was transformed into a car park on Tuesday afternoon, after a single-vehicle rollover.

The crash happened just before 1pm about halfway across the bridge and police closed all northbound lanes while the accident was cleared.

"Delays as far back as the eye can see" from the Houghton Highway Bridge at Brighton, according to Dave Andrews on Twitter. Credit:Dave Andrews - @chopperdaveqld

One lane reopened about 30 minutes after the rollover before all northbound lanes were reopened at 2.30pm.

Australian Traffic Network reporter Dave Andrews, who was caught in the traffic jam, said there was confusion among frustrated drivers as to what had happened.
Police are searching for an injured man after a vehicle explosion in Logan on Tuesday morning.

Passers-by reported seeing a man running from a vehicle at Boronia Heights after it exploded about 7.30am.

Queensland police are searching for the injured man, who they believe requires medical help. Credit:Glenn Hunt

The man, believed to be aged in his 40s, had visible injuries to his face, arm and legs, according to police.
Be the first to know. Sign up for our breaking news alert A man will front court on Tuesday accused of raping a woman on a cruise ship off Queensland. The 33-year-old man was arrested on Monday when P&O Cruises' Pacific Aria docked at Brisbane's Portside Wharf in Hamilton. The man was arrested when he disembarked the Pacific Aria on Sunday. Detectives from the North Brisbane Criminal Investigation Branch charged him with two counts of rape, allegedly committed on Saturday while on board the 1260-guest cruise liner.

A police spokesman said the alleged rapist and victim knew each other but would not reveal their relationship. A spokesman for Carnival Australia, P&O Cruises' parent company, said the company asked police to investigate after a woman complained a travelling companion had assaulted her. "A cabin was sealed and, having reported the alleged assault to police, we have been assisting them fully in their inquiries," he said, in a statement. "Care trained staff assisted the female passenger. "Pacific Aria returned yesterday after a three-night roundtrip cruise from Brisbane."
Mojgan Shamsalipoor with her brothers and sister in Iran. Pictured (left to right): Omid, Hossein, Mojgan, Majid in his army uniform and Marjan. Credit:Hachette Australia Speaking about Iran, Mr Jafari says in the book: "One day I was walking along a road and all of a sudden, near a five-storey apartment, I saw a bag hit the ground in front of me. People gathered around the bag. As I got closer I realised it wasn't a bag. It took my mind a while to understand what I was seeing. I saw part of a brain, and other things. A woman had jumped. She was young, a school student, and she suicided because she loved somebody but her Muslim parents would not allow the relationship. I cannot clear the image of her from my mind, even today." In Australia, you wouldn't blink an eye if your son wanted to hang out with friends and record rap songs. Milad Jafari and wife Mojgan on the Gold Coast. Credit:Hachette Australia But in Iran, Mr Jafari was thrown in jail for doing just that.

Deals with people smugglers and their separate, long, terrifying journeys by boat provide more glimpses into their lives. Milad Jafari, Mojgan Shamsalipoor and James Knight. Credit:Hachette Australia I believed that Australia accepted people from other countries, and this boat trip was a new start. Whatever happened to me in Iran was finished, and I was going to lock away all the memories and put them in the ocean. Ms Shamsalipoor describes being crammed on a boat with 60 people for nine days along with her brother Hossein and toy bear Daniel for comfort. And her hopes for a better life: "I believed that Australia accepted people from other countries, and this boat trip was a new start. Whatever happened to me in Iran was finished, and I was going to lock away all the memories and put them in the ocean. I was so relieved. I was going to a place where I could study, work, have my own friends, do whatever I wanted. I now know it wasn't that simple."

Mojgan was very proud when she started school in Australia and could finally wear a uniform. Pictured with Milad Jafari at Yeronga State High School. Credit:Hachette Australia Ms Shamsalipoor and Hossein were released from detention in September 2016 on a three-month bridging visa, which has been repeatedly renewed. But as part of the conditions of the bridging visa, Ms Shamsalipoor is expected to make plans to return to Iran, such as getting an Iranian passport. Under the Same Sky, by Mojgan Shamsalipoor, Milad Jafari and James Knight, published by Hachette Australia Credit:Hachette Australia "We cannot go back," Mr Jafari told Fairfax Media.

Their futures rest on Immigration Minister Peter Dutton intervening in Ms Shamsalipoor's case to allow her to apply for a partnership visa. The couple is in limbo as the days tick down until Ms Shamsalipoor's latest bridging visa expires, but continue to work, study and try to live their lives. "It all depends on the minister. It all depends on him," Ms Shamsalipoor said. Other parts of the book provide insights into the differences in culture between Australia and Iran, such as council pick-up days, the need to wear bicycle helmets and a "dream of tasting fast food like McDonald's and Hungry Jack's". There are also small acts of kindness from the Brisbane community, such as the police officer who helped a stressed, lost young woman with poor English when she accidentally got on the Gold Coast express train trying to get to Milpera State High School on her second day and ran out of money on her Go Card.

"I thought I was stuck with no way home. It was frightening. But the policeman took out his wallet, pulled out some money - I think 10 or 20 dollars - and put it on my Go Card... He was so lovely. I will never forget him. Thank you, Mr Policeman. Another angel," says Ms Shamsalipoor in Under the Same Sky. Ms Shamsalipoor said it was difficult to share some of the stories in the book, but Mr Knight, who interviewed them, was understanding and did not push her. The 23-year-olds hope by telling their story, they can help others understand. Ms Shamsalipoor said she wrote eight journals while in detention, but they were in Persian. "So then (publisher) Hachette approached me, I believe this story is not only my story, it would be the story of thousands of other girls who are still suffering," she said.
A Gold Coast school thrown into turmoil by a 'suspect package' scare has been deemed safe, its principal says.

Parents and students arriving at Palm Beach Currumbin State High on Wednesday morning were directed to the oval as police investigated a package, believed to be an envelope containing white powder.

Police respond to a 'suspect package' at Palm Beach Currumbin State High. Credit:7 News

Emergency services were called to the school about 6.15am but a little less than two hours later, PBCSH acting executive principal Blair Hanna said the school was safe.

"Local emergency services have completed all of the required safety checks and have deemed the school safe and clear to reopen," he said about 8.10am, via the school's Facebook page.
The man accused of murdering Brisbane's McCulkin family 43 years ago allegedly plotted to stop the two key witnesses in his trial from giving evidence, a court has heard.

Vincent O'Dempsey has been in custody since being charged with the murders of Barbara McCulkin and her children Vicki, 13, and Leanne, 11.

Barbara McCulkin (right) and her daughters Vicky (left) and Leanne (centre) disappeared from their home on January 16, 1974.

The trio have not been seen or heard from since January 16, 1974.

It is alleged O'Dempsey was at the family's Highgate Hill house on the night they disappeared and took them away in his distinctive orange Charger.
Today, he's head of UX at a business called On a Roll 21. "I'm the oldest one in the company," Liberman laughs. He says being an older worker is advantageous to the business. "I have the confidence to put the brakes on if something is not going down the right path and we need to step back and rethink things. Older people are also often better able to see the bigger picture, as well as build rapport more easily." It's essential for all businesses to recognise the value older workers bring to an organisation because Australians are staying in the workforce for much longer than in the past. Our ageing workforce According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, as at March 2016, 13 per cent of Australians over 65 remained in the workforce, up from just 8 per cent.

Older people are also often better able to see the bigger picture, as well as build rapport more easily. Alex Liberman Marissa Sandler is one business owner who sees the increase in the number of older workers as a commercial opportunity. She is the co-founder of Careseekers, an online platform that connects people looking for in-home support with aged care, disability and post-operative care workers. "We have many care workers in their 50s and 60s on the site. Many are retired nurses who are looking for a more flexible lifestyle because nursing shifts are long and often not flexible. With Careseekers they can choose their own hours; for instance they might find a three-hour shift nearby that suits them," she explains. Sandler says there are substantial benefits to hiring older workers. "They are so reliable and their communication is fantastic. They are professional and their ability to relate to what the family is experiencing is really important. "So aside from the fact they have great technical skills, they have that emotional experience and intelligence that is so necessary in these roles. A lot of the time we are supporting adults who are going through decisions and choices care workers have been through themselves."

Sandler points to one situation where a care worker was supporting a woman whose much older husband had dementia as an example of the added support older workers can offer. "She was able to support the husband as the care worker, and she became great friends with his wife, who was around her age. That has continued on even after the husband entered assisted care. This rich experience our worker could offer is far from an isolated example." Supporting older workers While older workers have skills and attributes younger staff are still developing, it's important to recognise they also have particular needs employers should take into account. For instance, Sandler says she sometimes needs to take older users through her site and how to use it step-by-step, as they may not have the same IT skills as younger people.
London: In the battle against fake news, Andreas Vlachos  a Greek computer scientist living in a northern English town  is on the front lines.

Armed with a decade of machine learning expertise, he is part of a British startup that will soon release an automated fact-checking tool before the country's election in early June. He also is advising a global competition that pits computer wizards from the United States to China against each other to use artificial intelligence to combat fake news.

Andreas Vlachos, a computer scientist at the University of Sheffield in England, is one of a growing number of researchers looking for ways to use artificial intelligence to combat fake news. Credit:NYT

"I'm trying to channel my research into something that is useful for everyone who's reading the news," said Vlachos, who is also an academic at the University of Sheffield. "It's a positive way of moving artificial intelligence forward while improving the political debate."

As Europe readies for several elections this year after President Donald Trump's US victory, Vlachos, 36, is one of a growing number of technology experts worldwide who are harnessing their skills to tackle misinformation online.
A woman with a broken leg has had hot soup thrown over her after she dobbed in passengers who were smoking on a tram.

Meg Rayner, a media adviser, got on the number 12 tram at Crown as it headed to East Melbourne just after 8am on Tuesday.

At Swanston Street, a man and a woman got on the tram. The woman was smoking a cigarette.

"She ashed over another passenger and we were all choking on the smoke, so I tweeted Yarra Trams and asked them to kick them off," Ms Rayner said.
A man has been shot dead and two others have been wounded after shots were fired at a house in Melbourne's south-east on Tuesday night.

Police investigators have been told three men aged in their 20s were inside a property in Church Road, Keysborough, when a number of shots were fired about 9.55pm.

All three men were hit. One suffered a suspected gunshot wound to the chest, and died at the scene.

The others were shot in the leg and the arm and were raced to hospital for treatment for their injuries, which are not life-threatening, Victoria Police Senior Constable Adam West said.

Homicide detectives are investigating the shooting.
On the same day the state government committed to funding the fifth year of the Gonski school-funding agreement, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced $19 billion of extra funds for schools over the next decade and a review of funding, dubbed "Gonski 2.0".

The Andrews government is predicting a massive shortfall that will lead to schools having to scale back programs that support the neediest students.

Victorian schools will be $630 million worse off under the federal government's school funding plan, state Education Minister James Merlino has warned.

Education Minister James Merlino noted that the latest NAPLAN tests showed Victorian students were "ahead of the pack" Credit:Chris Hopkins

Schools are now scrambling to work out how they will fare under the model, which will lead to funding increases at more than 9000 schools and cuts at 24 over-funded and mostly independent schools.

Mr Merlino said Mr Turnbull's policy would hurt Victorian students in 2018 and 2019.

"It's extraordinary that on the same day we confirmed we will meet our Gonski obligations for 2018, the Turnbull government makes an announcement that still leaves a massive shortfall of $630 million against the Gonski agreement," he said.



"Malcolm Turnbull should just get on with the job of funding schools  like we have done in our budget."

The Andrews government has not committed to funding the final year of the Gonski agreement, but its budget locked in $1.4 billion of needs-based funding under the deal for 2018.
More than a quarter of the Andrews government's $1.9 billion family violence package announced in Tuesday's budget will go to funding specialist centres, the majority of which will not be completed until the second half of the next four-year term.

The 17 safety and support hubs will be built in areas with the highest rate of family violence at a cost of $448 million. While five will be launched later this year  in Barwon, Bayside Peninsula, Inner Gippsland, Mallee and north-east Melbourne  the other 12 are not expected until at least mid-2019, or perhaps not even until 2021, given more than $180 million has also been allocated in 2020-21.

The government has funded more than 200 of the 227 recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence, with 154 funded in this year's budget.

The centres provide a location for victims of family violence and their children to access police, counselling, child protection, housing and financial support.
Infrastructure spending, payroll tax reform and funding to reskill retrenched manufacturing workers and boost female participation in the workforce are among jobs measures in the Victorian budget.

While the Andrews government announced a $221 million cut to payroll tax for regional businesses and threshold changes for small business over four years, it will still reap almost $6 billion in payroll tax.

The budget estimates that payroll tax revenue will grow by 3 per cent to $5.9 billion in 2017-18, and 5 per cent over the following three years reflecting an increase in full-time and part-time jobs.

In the year to March Victoria's average employment rate grew by 3.4 per cent.
A Perth council that told a resident their house extension plans couldn't be approved unless they handed four metres of land back to the Crown for free has had the condition thrown out by the State Administrative Tribunal.

The Walcott Street block, bought by its new owners in 2016 after coming on the market for the first time in 100 years, is 673 square metres, with a rear driveway exiting out onto Bercove Lane.

The rear laneway at the centre of a State Administrative Tribunal fight between a local council and home owner. Credit:Google Maps

The City of Stirling told a Mount Lawley resident their application to extend their house in October would only be approved on the condition they "transferred a 2m x 2m truncation" to the Crown to allow a laneway along the north boundary of the property to be widened.

The council argued the land would need to be ceded because the owners were proposing to build a new carport which would increase traffic and require changes to the laneway.
Police are calling for any information that could help locate 14-year-old Tavleen Kaur who was last seen in the Midland area on Friday morning.

Police say Tavleen was last seen around 11am on April 28 and is described as being dark skinned, around 177cm tall, with black hair (usually tied up), brown eyes and a slim build.

14-year-old Tavleen Kaur is missing. Credit:WA police

It is unknown what she was last wearing.

It's thought Tavleen may be travelling in with a male in a white Ford Falcon sedan, registration 1CJW651.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has shown a fascination with populist 19th-century US president Andrew Jackson since he has occupied the Oval Office, hanging Old Hickory's portrait in the Oval Office, visiting his plantation in Tennessee and placing a wreath at his tomb.

In an interview that aired on Sirius XM satellite radio on Monday, Trump suggested that if Jackson had governed a little later than his 1829-1837 terms, the American Civil War might have been averted. Then Trump questioned why the bloody conflict had to happen.

"Had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart," Trump told his interviewer, Salena Zito. He said that although Jackson was a "swashbuckler," after his wife died, Jackson visited her grave every day.

Jackson, a slave owner who was instrumental in the forced removal of Native-American tribes from the US Southeast in the so-called Trail of Tears, died nearly 16 years before the start of the Civil War.
Information war is very different from cyber war. An image from classic 1983 hacking film War Games, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. Credit:United Artists For years, the notion of 'information security' in places like Russia, China and the Middle East, seen through Western eyes, was viewed as a code for government censorship and propaganda. The cyber security-information security split between democracies and autocracies was a matter for policy analysts, diplomats and regulators. Security means information security in China. Credit:Getty Images The Russian influence campaign that backed Donald Trump in the 2016 election changed all of that.

The fact that these two visions of internet security - cyber security and information security - coexisted for so long helps explain part of the shock that Western democracies have had in the past year. Not just the Great Wall but the Great Firewall, too. Credit:Getty Images History Nevertheless, the signs of the cyber/information security culture clash have been there for some time. Psychology once figured more prominently in popular culture. An image from the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange based on the 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess. Credit:Warner Brothers

In 2012, Western countries, led by Western technology companies (which work under their own culture and political presumptions) rejected a proposed change in an International Telecommunications Union treaty which tilted toward the information security model of understanding the internet. "Spurred on by search giant Google and others, the Americans took a hard line against an alliance of countries that wanted the right to know more about the routing of internet traffic or identities of web users, including Russia," according to Reuters. Security in authoritarian nations means also controlling the information space. Police officers cordon off a street at the presidential administration building during a protest in downtown Moscow, Russia. Credit:AP At the time, nations like China and Russia suspected "the US of using the Net to sow discontent and launch spying and military attacks", Reuters reported. For authoritarian nations like China and Russia, Western-favoured ideas available on the web such as 'human rights', 'corruption reform' and even 'democracy' were simply code for advancing Western power.

Conspiracy theory can be used to chip away at the notion of factual truth in democracies. (Picture: tweet from an InfoWars editor). Credit:Twttier/PaulJosephWatson To that end, members of the "information security alliance" like China and Russia had long been developing deeper and more complex doctrines to control and influence the information that goes to their citizens - and beyond. In 1999, before social media was invented, Russia responded to a United Nations request for input on the subject of information in the context of security, by saying there should be laws "preventing the threat of the use of information technologies and means to influence social consciousness with a view to destabilising a society and state". Cyber security: It's not the same game as information security or information war. Credit:MOD/Wikicommons The next year Russia adopted an information security doctrine that considered "information security as the foundation of the security of the state," writes Darczewska. "Information weapons" were identified as "one of the instruments to pursue political objectives."

Psychology Crucial to understanding Russian-style information war, the document showed "the duality of the Russian strategists' thinking, which combines a technological approach to information with a psychological one", she wrote. Recent thinking in Russian information war focuses on conflict in a globalised "psychosphere" - people's minds and imaginations, independent of political and military boundaries. Taking a strategic approach to news, websites, trolling and posting on social media, but also cable TV networks like Russia-backed RT and Sputnik, pop culture and spectacle, Russia has worked to render all information and news sources equally suspect in the minds of Western citizens. The use of conspiracy theory, combined with amplified news about terror attacks and sexual violence, helps sow confusion and distrust in Western publics, which in turn corrodes faith in evidence.

"All these efforts constitute a kind of linguistic sabotage of the infrastructure of reason," writes Peter Pomerantsev. "If the very possibility of rational argument is submerged in a fog of uncertainty, there are no grounds for debate - and the public can be expected to decide that there is no point in trying to decide the winner, or even bothering to listen." From that point, a society becomes much more vulnerable to manipulation. A recent report on so-called "alternative narratives" and conspiracy theories found on Twitter drives home the point. In a 10-month examination of the "alternative media ecosystem" found on Twitter, Washington University's Kate Starbird concluded there was "evidence of intentional disinformation tactics designed not to spread a specific ideology but to undermine trust in information generally". These sorts of "Leninist information tactics ... aimed to spread confusion and 'muddled thinking' ... as a way of controlling a society." Information sciences

But so far, the heavy psychological component in Russian influence campaigns seems little understood. Once upon a time, psychology in the West was a dominant science for understanding society, people and institutions. It was frequently referenced even in popular culture. But nowadays, concepts from the information sciences - basically the internet itself - help shape the popular understanding of other sciences. And so today, when discussing influence efforts coordinated online on bots and social media - the focus on technology, and the hope for a technological solution - may actually blind people to the ultimate intended effects of campaigns, which can be more psychological in nature. China

When it comes to information security, Russia is not alone. The Chinese Communist Party, which has sought to control what is 'fit to know' since the 1940s, began adapting to the realities of the internet once it came to China. Like Russia, China has long advocated for information security through "internet sovereignty" - essentially, control over the internet their people interact with. Beijing has achieved that to a large degree with the use of the Great Firewall, an immense network of censors and administrators to guide public conversation and filter out unwanted news from abroad. As China's power grows, however, it is extending its information security reach outwards into the global sphere - and that has implications for countries like Australia. Shanthi Kalathil, director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies, wrote: "China is directly manipulating elements of the information ecosystem at their source, whether in the conceptual stage of Hollywood films or at the editorial level of news reporting."

Market-conscious Hollywood producers now shape productions to gain acceptance in the huge Chinese market, giving Beijing de facto veto power over certain films and actors. US actor Richard Gere, an outspoken "friend of Tibet", said recently there are "definitely movies" he can't be in "because the Chinese" won't finance them if he participates. In Australia, Chinese government funds flow into universities and political parties and purchase media outlets, all in an effort to create "a broad, uncritical approval of China's government and its foreign policies". Over time, such influence in the global information market nudges the public to accept a Chinese Communist worldview on topics of importance to the party. Unlike the realm of cyber security, what's in play are ideas, perceptions, understandings, which can have vivid consequences for the direction of democracies in the world.

Internet 'freedom' Most Western nations don't think along these lines when considering the internet. The leading lights of internet freedom - focusing on online rights - have almost nothing to say about an internet used to sow false and divisive ideas in the public sphere. Australia-based Digital Rights Watch proclaims that "a free and open internet is the cornerstone of a modern approach to human rights". The group's support of "democracy" calls for stronger oversight of intelligence agencies and transparency on trade deals that affect intellectual property, among other things. The focus is on keeping the government out of data, ensuring privacy and supporting free expression online, all of which are important principles to defend.

But none of them address complex organised efforts to subvert, constrain or discredit stable, legitimate democracy using information. The US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, for example, is organised to "to defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, and support freedom-enhancing technologies". The Centre for Democracy & Technology, based in Washington, lists as its issues privacy and data, free expression, security & surveillance, the EU and internet architecture. Most of the organisations lobby for access to the internet, for freedom of speech and against unwarranted state-sponsored surveillance. These issues have gained prominence in the aftermath of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of National Security Agency secrets.

Few organisations are focused on ensuring that the shared information zone of the internet isn't rendered useless for democracy by tainted information, propaganda or influence operations. Yet the issue with information war is not so much about defending free speech  but defending the ideas that underpin functioning and productive democracies. How to defend against an onslaught of information manipulation designed to wreak havoc on democracy, or to undermine the morale of its citizens, is an issue not even on the radar of the internet's most prominent defenders in the West. And that is the heart of the battle. Loading
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday attributed her defeat in the 2016 presidential election to interference by Russian hackers and FBI Director James Comey, and declared herself to be "part of the resistance" to Donald Trump's presidency.

"If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president," Clinton told moderator Christiane Amanpour, the CNN anchor, at a Women for Women event in New York.

After spending the past six months in relative hibernation, Clinton made a rare public appearance on Tuesday and ruminated extensively for the first time on her loss. She said she has been busy writing a memoir, a process she described as a "cathartic" yet "excruciating" and "painful."

While Clinton said she takes "absolute personal responsibility" for losing to Trump, she did not assign any blame to her strategy or staff. Nor did she point to her own weaknesses as a candidate or the struggles by her and her team to understand the angry mood of key parts of the electorate.
Seoul: North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic US bombers flew over the area in a training drill with the South Korean air force.

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the United States.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.
Latest News NABs net profit up 8.3% Good results driven by home loan growth, rising interest rates

Refinancing volumes soar in changing market Brokers need to take advantage of $16.9 billion boost

While tackling housing affordability is an important conversation to have, it is important to define exactly what problems are being examined, said Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, chief executive officer and managing director of real estate group Mirvac.Speaking at the Committee for Economic Development of Australias (CEDAs) 2017 NSW Property Market Outlook in Sydney on Friday (28 March), Lloyd-Hurwitz urged caution around government policies that treat the Australian housing market as one homogenous whole.She outlined a six-point plan that focused on increasing housing supply for owner-occupiers to the market in a faster, cheaper manner.The property industry is looking for radical planning reform tackling taxes & levies, faster release of land, faster approval of rezoning & development opportunities, more co-accessible development, incentives to developers to fast-track supply of affordable housing, and greater acceptance of density done well, she said.This would allow the industry to deliver more housing with greater speed and flexibility in order to meet sustainable housing goals and create a city for everyone.We have got to get better at planning. Collaboration across all levels of government, not-for-profits and private sector is required.The National Housing Supply Council, which was abolished in 2013, should be brought back as it served a critical role providing accurate data which was used to form sound housing policy, Lloyd-Hurwitz said.Its pleasing to see both sides of the Federal Government and Opposition embracing this idea.Any state-based housing initiatives which have shown promising results should be rolled out nationally, she said.For example in Victoria, stamp duty has been abolished for first home buyers on homes up to $600,000 and a shared equity scheme has been introduced. In NSW, we have a similar program where stamp duty doesnt apply to purchases of new homes up to $550,000.Lloyd-Hurwitz also pointed out that the Keystart initiative in Western Australia which includes low deposit home loans could be made into a national program as well.The government could also lend its support to insurance, finance and rental assistance, she said. For instance, a nil-fee government-backed insurance scheme could be implemented to allow for reduced deposits and shared equity schemes.The affordable housing bond and aggregator model proposed by the Federal Government and supported by the Opposition is a sound concept, Lloyd-Hurwitz said. The National Rental Affordability Scheme or similar rental assistance scheme should be reinstated to assist low income families provide more choice to renters.The formation of an institutional build-to-rent sector would deliver vast-scale, well managed rental stock to the market, she told the audience.This would provide another viable, secure housing choice. Were expecting institutional money ready to invest in this asset class but in its infancy it does need support from state and federal government through targeted incentives to help produce that institutional-scale capital into the build-to-rent sector.Lastly, it is important to rethink the tax burden imposed on the new supply of housing, Lloyd-Hurwitz said. For instance, up to 50% of the cost of a single block of land is made up of added taxes, charges and regulatory costs.This includes stamp duty which has a number of negative market impacts such as being a hurdle to first home buyers and a hamper to property transactions for people looking to up or downsize their current properties.Transitioning away from stamp duty is not simple at all. In NSW at $8bn, it is the state governments single largest source of revenue, but it is a conversation which should be had, she said.
Latest News NABs net profit up 8.3% Good results driven by home loan growth, rising interest rates

Refinancing volumes soar in changing market Brokers need to take advantage of $16.9 billion boost

Teachers Mutual Bank has announced the appointment of Mike Lanzing as the new general manager of its sister brand UniBank.Lanzing has decades of experience in both mutual and listed banking institutions, having worked in senior business development roles for AMP, BankWest and the Australian Military Bank.This includes building the third party channel at Bankwest in Sydney, he told Australian Broker.I understand the need to provide high quality service to the broker market and Im looking forward to doing so with our third party distribution team led by [head of third party distribution] Mark Middleton.Middleton is head of third party for all Teachers Mutual Bank brands including UniBank and Firefighters Mutual Bank.The bank will continue to offer high-quality customer service to all third-party channel customers, whilst at the same time looking to build on the strengths of our products, such as our 100% mortgage offset facility, he said.Lanzing will also lead the UniBank team through a rebranding campaign throughout the coming months to grow key markets in the university sector.We certainly hope to capitalise on the strong growth we have already experienced in the first quarter this year through UniBanks third party channels over the next year.Lanzing and Middleton will be working closely together to realise these goals.Im delighted to accept the appointment as UniBanks general manager, Lanzing said. In partnership with Teachers Mutual Bank, Im looking forward to making UniBank the first choice for staff, students, and graduates of the tertiary education sector.Steve James, chief executive officer of Teachers Mutual Bank, expressed his delight at having Lanzing join the UniBank team.His industry insight and proven record of business development achievements will be a key asset in growing our UniBank brand nationally, he said.We will be excited to see the growth in our UniBank brand over the next 12 months under Mikes leadership.
Latest News NABs net profit up 8.3% Good results driven by home loan growth, rising interest rates

Refinancing volumes soar in changing market Brokers need to take advantage of $16.9 billion boost

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What to do in Pennsylvania if you made an error on your mail-in ballot
If you have an interest in African history, youll probably have heard of Joseph Kony and his Lords Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group in Uganda. For those who havent, he is one of the most pitiless warlords ever known, even for a continent that has produced some of the most notorious of men such as Charles Taylor, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, and Idi Amin.

Kony and his LRA have terrorised that area of Africa for around two decades. Heres a bakers dozen of facts, both startling and otherwise, about this spokesperson of God and spirit medium.

Joseph Kony Biography, Wiki

Although he would grow up to be known popularly as Joseph Kony, his complete name is Joseph Rao Kony and he was born on July 24, 1961. Both his parents, Luizi Obol and Nora Oting, were farmers. Apart from the fact that his parents were farmers, his larger family is known for farming in his village of Gulu in the Nothern Uganda.

Although he was made to always attend church and was even a Catholic altar boy, Kony was always vengeful and quick to violence, even as a child. He was one of the youngest in the family of six children.

For his education, the boy who would grow to be highly infamous began but didnt finish his elementary school as he later got to drop out when he was only 15. After leaving school, the boy later joined his brother who was a witch doctor. He got to learn traditional healing from him and he became a traditional doctor.

It was with the emergence of the Holy Spirit Movement among the Ugandans which was in a revolt against Yoweri Museveni who had taken over power in the country, that Kony soon became popular. His faction of the movement was known as the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), and it was this rebel group that he would go on to use to terrorize a lot of people in different places untamed for a very long time.

In years to come, Kony would go on to destroy villages, torture and kill men, rape and maim women, and force children into joining his army. According to him and the LRA, all they wanted was the ousting of Museveni and the formation of a new government that would follow the Ten Commandments.

With efforts to catch him and curtail his activities failing, Joseph Kony extended his activities beyond Uganda to other countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Central African Republic (CAR) where he keeps attacking civilians.

Although he is still wanted in the International Court of Justice for crime against humanity that saw him and his LRA killing more than 10 thousand people and forcing more than 24 thousand children to join the forces, he is still running free and wild.

Here are 13 Facts About Joseph Kony and Lords Resistance Army

1  His father was a Catholic lay catechist and his mother was an Anglican member.

2  According to a former classmate of his, when he attended primary school, Kony who would later become one of the most feared and hated rebel leaders in the world was a brilliant dancer who loved football.

3  Joseph Kony apparently got the idea for his LRA from watching and taking part in the activities of former prostitute Alice Lakwenas Holy Spirit Movement and Yoweri Musevenis Uganda Peoples Defence Force, then known as the National Resistance Army (even pinching most of the name).

4  These activities included mass looting, burning houses, rape, genocide, and murder, all of which apparently matched in nicely with Konys preferences since his own LRA later carried out many of the same activities. During this time over two million people found themselves living in concentration camps after the Museveni governments helicopter gunships burned their homes (and killed many of them in the process).

5  After Musevenis troops defeated Lakwena in 1988, Kony founded his LRA and first came to the worlds notice in the 1990s as he abducted children in the thousands, to become either fighters or sex slaves. He and his senior men took their choice of the captured girls, fuelling speculation that he himself now has around 60 wives.

6  He believes himself to be a spirit medium, claiming a host of 15 or so spirits tell him whats going to happen, and when the enemy is making plans to attack. He insists his men follow his rules and rituals strictly, such as stating they must make the sign of the cross before going into a fight in order that they wont be killed, and draw crosses in oil on their bodies and on their guns. He tells them the oil is the Holy Spirits power.

7  Kony doesnt hesitate to kill his own Acholi people, apparently believing that cleansing them is the role God has assigned him, and using biblical quotes to explain the necessity  to him, they have failed in support of his cause. He is quoted as saying if they didnt support him, they must be finished.

8  Apart from abducting children for his army and harem and killing anyone who doesnt support him, Konys LRA has committed many vicious acts on those it captured. Lips, ears, noses, and fingers are cut off, bodies cut and mutilated, girls raped and people murdered at any time, without warning.

9  When challenged on these atrocities in an interview he gave in 2008, he claimed that hes not the monster that hes made out to be and that it was actually Musevenis men that cut off ears and put out eyes of the Acholi people whilst claiming they were LRA fighters. He said that he couldnt do that to his brother  although apparently, its okay to kill said brother if he wont join Konys LRA.

10  That interview was soon after the start of some very delicate peace negotiations brokered by South Sudan authorities, but the LRA was divided over whether to accept them. Then the talks broke down entirely when Konys second in command, Vincent Otti, suddenly died mysteriously. Otti was very much pro peace and pushed to get the talks going, and it is thought that having decided not to sign, Kony simply ordered him killed.

11  Almost in response to this, it seems, the LRA set out on the offensive again. During the so-called Christmas Day Massacre of 2008 and the subsequent weeks, they beat more than 800 people to death and abducted as many more from the north-eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

12  After this, Musevenis army, with help from the West, stepped up its campaign against the LRA and over the past few years has significantly reduced it in both size and ability to function. They have not, however, destroyed it entirely or captured Kony, and it continues to rumble on, killing and abducting as before although on a much smaller scale.

13  Due to his excessive violence and crime against humanity, Joseph Kony now has an Interpol Red Notice out on him  the closest thing there is to an international arrest warrant. The Western World really wants him stopped, just as do the people of the DRC, the CAR, Uganda and surrounding areas.

Lets hope it wont be too long before they succeed.


After living in San Francisco for the first eighteen yeas of my life, in late August 1972, I moved out of my family home in the Sunset District and relocated to the Santa Clara Valley to begin college. For the first two years, I might have called home to speak with my parents once or twice a month, just to say hello. I certainly would not have wanted to give them the impression that I wasnt independent. I didnt own a phone, so I relied on a pay phone in the hallway of the dormitory at Bellarmine College Prep, where I was living and working at the time. I continued living at Bellarmine for those first two summers, as well.

In late August 1974, I moved to Nassau, in the Bahamas, where I had accepted a teaching position at Saint Augustine College. I lived in one of the guest rooms of the Saint Augustine Monastery, perched on a hill above the school campus. To call home, I had to walk over to the monastery kitchen to use the phone. Ill admit, I did experience a bit of homesickness in my first semester in Nassau, but the cost of calling home was prohibitive, so my usual means of communication with my parents was by postal mail.

When I returned to the Santa Clara Valley, I again lived in the dormitory at Bellarmine. As I had done previously, I relied on the hallway pay phone to call home. I kept rolls of quarters handy to insert into the coin slot every three minutes or so to continue the conversation. As was the case in my first two years of college, one or two calls per month seemed to keep everyone happy.

Even after Kathy and I married, calls to my parents in The City were weekly, at best. We had our hands full raising our boys, and I was confident that my parents had better things to do with their time than talk on the phone. Things changed, however, after my Dad died on the last day of July 2008.

In the days and weeks following my Dads services, calls to my Mom ended with her saying, Okay, Ill talk to you tomorrow. At first, I thought tomorrow? It didnt take long for me to realize that, yes, Mom meant tomorrow!

So for the past eight years or so, I have called my Mom every night, as do my sisters. Even my brother, now living in Rome, calls my Mom every morning, which is right around dinner time in Rome. I usually call at 8:00 p.m. While some might think I am fulfilling some type of unreasonable parental obligation, I know thats not the case. Im embracing a tremendous gift. Many of my friends dont have the opportunity to call their mother any more. Im well aware of this. So, for me, having the opportunity to do so  every night  is an experience I cherish.

As the old Irish ballad states so clearly, A mothers love is a blessing It most certainly is. Its a blessing for which I am especially grateful.




Top takeaways from Election Day in New Jersey

The expected red wave didn't crash in New Jersey, but one closely watched race was too close to call.
A Cayuga County village is asking the state Legislature to approve a bill that would allow it to fill two clerk positions with candidates from within the county or from neighboring counties.

Fair Haven Mayor Jim Basile said he contacted state Sen. Pam Helming and Assemblyman Bob Oaks and urged them to push for legislation that would allow the village to lift the residency requirement for its clerk-treasurer and deputy clerk positions.

Current law requires employees to live in the village.

The change is needed, Basile said, because of a limited pool of candidates in the village. The village's population is 727, according to a 2015 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. With a large number of retired residents and children, it could be difficult to find two residents from the community to fill those positions.

"I think we're being short-sighted if we don't reach out around the community and the adjacent counties," Basile said.

The bills sponsored by Helming, R-Canandaigua, and Oaks, R-Macedon, would allow Fair Haven to hire a clerk-treasurer and deputy clerk from another municipality in Cayuga County or an adjoining county.

Other local governments across the state have made similar requests in recent years. The bills typically advance quickly through the legislative process.

The clerk-treasurer and deputy clerk posts in Fair Haven are appointed positions. Terri DiGregorio is the current village clerk-treasurer. Her deputy clerk is Johanne Van Der Linden.

DiGregorio and Van Der Linden are village residents.

While both positions are currently filled, Basile is preparing for the future. He said DiGregorio could retire in the next five years. Van Der Linden is already eligible for retirement, he added.

"We need to be prepared," he said.

Once the state Legislature approves the change, Basile plans to begin the process of identifying candidates within a year. One idea he has is to bring in a potential successor who can shadow DiGregorio and receive proper training before becoming the full-time clerk-treasurer.

The bill to ease the residency requirement has been referred to the Assembly Local Governments Committee and the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations. There's no indication of when the bills will be considered by the committees or either chamber.

The state legislative session ends in June.
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The Aussie design duo behind Aje partner collaborate with Aboriginal artist Minnie Pwerle to beautiful effect

Considering the genesis of the collection and the nature of the inspiration, the Art Gallery of New South Wales was an inspired setting for last night's Aje Resort 2018 presentation in Sydney, just ahead of the upcoming Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia. Emerging from the cavernous darkness of the 19th Century Art room came a sophisticated assembly of looks from one of Australia's best-loved homegrown brands.

Pieces and prints were inspired by the work of indigenous artist Minnie Pwerle in a collaboration between Edwina Robinson and Adrian Norris of Aje who selected three works from the Pwerle archive. Working with the artist's grandson and great-granddaughter, Fred and Jade Torres through the Pwerle Gallery, Robinson and Norris paid homage to the works by way of digital prints throughout the collection and a short fashion film that was shot in the Alice Springs area where the artist practised.

Click through the gallery for Buro's picks from the collection and for more, read Buro's interview with co-founder Edwina Robinson.
With the much-awaited Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) coming into effect on Monday, some buyers are hopeful it will end their woes but many are unaware of the benefits arising from the new regulatory regime.

Under the central law, each state has to notify rules and set up a regulatory authority to manage the real estate sector. Uttar Pradesh notified the rules last November but is yet to set up a regulator. The law provides for strict penalties against promoters and builders for not fulfilling promises.

K K Kaushal, a flat buyer of Amrapali Dream Valley project in Noida Extension, is not sure what the fallout of the new law would be. " will take its own time. I don't think we can expect to come up with solutions very soon. We have hope from the new Uttar Pradesh government, though," Kaushal said.

He had booked his flat in 2010 and was told that possession would be available by 2015. "It has been seven years and the project is not yet ready. Work came to a halt at the project site. It's been almost two months, no work is going on at the site," Kaushal told IANS.

Like Kaushal, there are many such buyers who booked flats in that project and 600 of them have started a campaign against the developers. Some went and met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, while many recently joined a candlelight march as a protest.

Amit Kumar, who booked his flat during the same time in Jaypee Greens in Noida, is still waiting for his flat, promised to him for 2013. But he's hopeful that might bring about a change.

"At least now, real estate developers won't be able to take buyers for a ride. Buyers don't have any rights in the country. There should be a panel comprising buyers, developers and bankers (who provide loans) to monitor the project," he told IANS over phone from Oman.

Dushyant Naagar, a farmer leader, has been fighting since 2012 to rein in developers. "Lot of farmers are home buyers. Real estate developers collect money from buyers, even when the land is not cleared by the authorities. Almost 90% of builders have not deposited money with the Noida Authority after taking money from the buyers," Naagar told IANS.

He was promised possession of an Amrapali flat in Noida Extension in 2014. He says brokers should also face the same penalty as builders under RERA. He feels the new law will build pressure on builders who will now have to pay penalty for any delay. "This will be binding. Till now, once the buyer gave money, he was at the mercy of the builder. It is a new hope now," he added.

Ramkumar Choudhary, who has a small business in Noida, booked a flat in 2009 in Supertech, Noida extension. He was to get possession by 2013-14. He said the builder is ready to return the money, but without interest.

"They have refused to give the flat. There is a committee of Greater Noida aggrieved buyers. We have done dharna (sit-in protest) outside Supertech office at Noida Sector 58. Some people have filed court case, which is still on," Choudhary said.

RERA allows buyers to cancel their option for a project and receive the full refund along with interest. It also allows a buyer to receive interest for any delay if he or she does not want to cancel. But Choudhary is not sure if he can repose hope in RERA.
Cairn Energy Plcs tax dispute with India has taken a new turn, with a war of words breaking out between the Edinburgh-based company and the Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta group. Cairn Energy has approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), complaining about non-payment of dividend due from its holding in Cairn India. Cairn Energy held 10 per cent stake in Cairn India, which, after merger with Vedanta, stands reduced to five per cent.
A state of emergency is in effect for several counties along Lake Ontario, including Cayuga, due to flooding that's already impacted several communities.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued the state of emergency Tuesday during a visit to Monroe County. The declaration covers Cayuga, Jefferson, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence and Wayne counties.

Flooding has been observed in Monroe and Wayne counties. High water levels have been reported in Fair Haven, a village in northern Cayuga County.

With the state of emergency in place, agencies may issue emergency permits if large-scale response actions are necessary, according to the governor's office.

The state also launched a Lake Ontario rapid response team consisting of representatives from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, National Guard, New York State Police and state Office of General Services.

The city of Rochester and Monroe County will be represented on the team.

A flood assistance hotline has been launched to serve as an information source for local residents. The phone number for the hotline is (866) 244-3839.

The state has deployed 365,000 sandbags to be placed in lower elevation areas along the lake. Wayne County will receive 115,000 sandbags and Monroe County will get 80,000.

Fair Haven has a sandbag machine on standby if needed, Mayor Jim Basile said Tuesday. Five sandbaggers have been transported to Niagara, Monroe and Wayne counties.

"If the flooding does get worse, we'll have the equipment here," Cuomo said at a press conference Tuesday.

The International Joint Commission, which manages Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River water levels, said lake levels increased 17.3 inches in April  the third-largest increase recorded in the month of April since 1918.

Lake Ontario's average water level was 247.77 feet at the end of April, according to the commission. That's the sixth-highest level recorded since 1918 and the highest in nearly 25 years.

Critics have blamed Plan 2014, a water level management plan adopted by the International Joint Commission in December, for the flooding woes. But the commission has said that weather conditions, not Plan 2014, have caused the flooding issues seen along the lake.

"Though it has been nearly 25 years since water levels have been this high, higher levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River have occurred several times in the past and will occur again in the future," the commission said Tuesday. "These high water levels are a result of exceptionally wet conditions and high water supplies, and would have occurred under any regulation plan."

Cuomo, who said he opposed Plan 2014, said the state asked the International Joint Commission to release additional water through the Moses-Saunders Dam between the U.S. and Canada. The governor believes releasing water through the dam into the St. Lawrence River will lower Lake Ontario water levels.

The state's request, Cuomo said, was denied. The state is appealing the decision and urging federal officials to get involved.

Regardless of what happens with the water level management, Cuomo committed to having the state ready to respond to any flooding that occurs.

"We're not going anywhere. We'll be right here. We'll be here for the duration," he said. "If flooding does become a problem, we'll be in a position where we can bring all the resources to bear that we need. And the resources will be right here."
The Supreme Court's order restricting OEMs from selling has taken a toll on commercial vehicle sales in the country during the month of April, as all OEMs have reported a significant drop.


A joint team of the ED and CBI is in London to seek extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, sources said on Tuesday.

The five-member team, comprising three officials from Central Bureau of Investigation and two of the Enforcement Directorate, left for London on Monday.

The sources said the team would push for the extradition of Mallya, who fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued recovery of Rs 8,191 crore he owed to Indian banks by his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The government has said that its agencies were making their best efforts to have Mallya face trial in India.

Mallya was arrested and granted bail in London last month. The next hearing of the case will be on May 17.

The Indian government had in February this year, handed over to British authorities a formal request for Mallya's extradition, saying it had a legitimate case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.
As the Ruias bid farewell to their 58-million-tonne Vadinar oil terminal by end of 2017, has chalked out a sturdy two-year plan to make up for the earnings loss from this asset.
has terminated the services of a foreign pilot who assaulted an examiner during a training session, sources said on Tuesday.

According to sources, the foreign pilot who operated a Boeing 777 aircraft was found to have assaulted a designated examiner last month during a training session in Bengaluru.

"The service contract of the pilot has been terminated after an internal investigation found him to be guilty of assault. The thorough investigation was initiated after the trainer reported the assault incident," a source said.

Subsequently, Jet Airways' pilots union demanded that the airline removes all foreign pilots. The pilots' union  National Aviator's Guild (NAG)  had asked its members not to operate flights with foreign pilots from May 1.

However, the NAG later deferred its decision and is soon expected to meet the company's management over the issue.

The airline currently employs around 60 foreign pilots, while the union has more than 1,000 Indian nationals.
KLM- a part of one of the largest airlines in Europe, is looking to increase its presence in India as it plans to launch a new flight to Mumbai and enhance cargo co-operation within the country. At present, the airlines, which is a part of the Air France-KLM group, however, operated in a limited capacity and faces intense competition from airlines based in Europe and the Gulf. . PIETER ELBERS, president & chief executive officer, tells to Aneesh Phadnis.
UK-based today said it has formally completed the 100-million-pound deal to acquire the speciality steels division of Tata Steel UK and has now taken control of unit in South Yorkshire.
is planning to reduce the sugar content in all its carbonated drinks in line with its parents churning of its beverages portfolio worldwide.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reclaimed the tag of Indias most-valuable company in terms of market capitalisation from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). At Tuesdays closing prices, had a market cap of Rs 4.52 lakh crore, while RILs was Rs 4.46 lakh crore. On April 24, RIL had overtaken as the countrys most valuable firm after four years. RIL stayed on the top for just five trading sessions. Since the gap in market value of both the firms is narrow, experts see a see-saw battle ahead. RILs foray into telecom has fuelled a rally in the Mukesh Ambani-led companys stock price in recent months. On the other hand, weak growth forecast for software exporters has weighed on the Tata group flagship company. So far in 2017, shares of RIL have gained 27 per cent, while those of have lost 3.2 per cent. Almost a year ago, TCSs market cap was 1.67 times that of RIL. Since then, TCS has lost 13 per cent in market value, while RIL has gained 43.3 per cent.
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has created quite a splash around the Modi governments Digital India project. The Mukesh Ambani-run firm has consistently promoted its telecom subsidiary as a key driver of Digital India.
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Twenty public colleges and universities in New York will receive $2.5 million for efforts to prevent drug use and underage drinking, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

The grant recipients include some of the largest schools in the State University of New York system, such as Binghamton University and the University at Buffalo.

In central New York, SUNY Cortland, Onondaga Community College and Tompkins Cortland Community College will receive funding.

"College is a formative time in young people's lives and it is critical that we provide our students with the necessary tools to avoid making bad decisions with potentially life-altering consequences," Cuomo said in a statement. "Through campaigns aimed at combating drug use and underage drinking, we can help set students on the right path by creating a campus environment that fosters education, awareness and growth for all."

The state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services administered the grant program, which will provide each college with $125,000 annually over a five-year period. The funding period will be July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2022.

Schools will be tasked with developing programs that aim to reduce drug and alcohol use and related problems, including overdoses and physical injuries.

The programs will also target alcohol and drug availability on college campuses.

Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez, commissioner of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, said the state funding will help prevent tragedies that can occur due to alcohol and drug abuse.

"Experimenting with drugs and alcohol in college is not a harmless rite of passage; it can have serious lifelong consequences," she said.
The BJP wants to inculcate patriotism in the students and the Modi government is helping by launching a campaign for it. The Union government has devised a Vidya Veerta Abhiyan (Knowledge and Warrior Campaign) that will involve 100 universities to start with.
The poll war for the seat of power in (UP) was fought on several issues, one being electricity. The now-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in its poll manifesto promised 24-hour supply. However, this delivery will be on the shoulders of its debt-ridden distribution companies (discoms), a beleaguered system and years of a distorted rate structure. SHRIKANT SHARMA, the states power minister, tells Archis Mohan and Shreya Jai what they intend to do. Edited excerpts:



UP recently signed a power for all agreement with the Centre. What are some of its salient features?



The past government due to its own political motives did not sign it but we went ahead, as we want to give cheap power to consumers. We currently have 16,500 megawatt (Mw) available; during peak hours, demand rises to 17,500 Mw or more. To start with, we are now a part of the central pool to procure power through medium-term agreements. We would participate in the bidding on DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price, the Union power ministrys e-bidding and e-reverse auction portal for procurement of short-term power by discoms). The benefit would be passed on to consumers. It is the Prime Ministers vision that the state should have 24-hour power by 2019, and every village and farm should get power at cheap rates.
The Council, or UNHRC, will examine India's human rights record on Thursday. This is part of the UN body's Universal Periodic Review started in 2008. This will be India's third review, but significantly its first during the tenure of the Narendra Modi government.
Describing Pakistan as a "rogue state", Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said the government would take "appropriate action" against it for the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) yesterday.

He also blamed Pakistan squarely for funding terrorism and influencing the situation in Kashmir.

Retorting to the opposition questioning the Centre's political will to take any military action, he remarked: "There is will, there is kill", without elaborating.

"We are very firm, we will do whatever is possible, and the government is already at it. You will hear about it (the government's response)," Naidu said.

He condemned the mutilation of the bodies of the soldiers and said, "It is not right to make public statements on what the response (of the government) should be. The Defence Minister has made a statement. You will get the information with confirmation on what the result will be."

Naidu, the Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, and Information and Broadcasting, was speaking to reporters after a review meeting on the implementation of work concerning his departments in Karnataka.

Pointing out that problems related to Pakistan and Kashmir are not new, Naidu said it is proving to be really a "rogue state".

"We want to have good relationship with Pakistan which is our neighbour, but they are not behaving accordingly -- crossing the border, mutilating the jawans -- it is brutal. It has to be condemned and the international community should also understand this," he said.

He added: "You will see that the government of India will take appropriate action."

Two Indian soldiers -- Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of BSF -- were beheaded by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

On the violent situation in Kashmir and the May 25 Anantnag by-election being cancelled by the Election Commission today, Naidu said efforts are being made to normalise the situation there.

He said, "Everyone knows who is responsible for the Kashmir situation. The neighbouring country has been training, funding terrorism there. All efforts are being made to restore normalcy, there is a responsible, elected government there, they, with the help of central government, will resolve the issue."

The Union minister said the Kashmir situation should not be politicised as it would not be in the interests of the country.
The launch on May 5, of GSAT-09, a communication satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), will bring India closer to its neighbours Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans suggestion that Kashmir be resolved through multilateral negotiations, was met with a polite rebuff from New Delhi which said the issue facing both Turkey and India was one of terrorism and that it was ready to talk to Pakistan on all bilateral issues, including Kashmir, thus, turning down Turkeys offer of hosting mulatilateral negotiations. Ways to strengthen bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, Indias claim to becoming a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and a similar bid by Pakistan were among key issues that were understood to have been discussed but India got few reassurances beyond continued cordiality in relations.
A team of officials from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday met with Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) here to discuss former liquor baron Vijay Mallya's extradition case.

The CPS will be arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities when the flamboyant tycoon's extradition case comes up for hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on May 17.

"I can confirm that our lawyers have met with officials from the CBI today (on Tuesday) to discuss the case," a CPS spokesperson said today.

A three-member joint CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana had arrived in London earlier today. A fourth member is expected to join the team tomorrow, with meetings with CPS scheduled throughout this week.

"Our aim is to build a strong, infallible case and these meetings will help resolve issues across the table. The CPS will be arguing based on documents provided by CBI and ED, therefore a joint team is here to address queries they may have," official sources said.

Mallya, the 61-year-old chief of the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines who owes over Rs 9,000 crore to various Indian banks, has been living in Britain since March last year.

The CBI has two cases against him - one related to the Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India-led consortium.

Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard last month on fraud allegations, triggering an official extradition process in the British courts.

He attended a central London police station for his arrest and was released a few hours later after providing a bail bond worth 650,000 pounds, assuring the court of abiding by all conditions associated with extradition proceedings, such as the surrender of his passport and a ban on him possessing any travel documents.

"When the case returns to court on May 17, the District Judge is likely to set down a timetable for the service of any evidence to be submitted by either side in the proceedings, and list a date for a final hearing.

"There might be a few more hearings in this case in the coming months to deal with case management or any issues that arise, before the final hearing takes place, at which the full arguments from both sides will be heard by the District Judge,"explained Jasvinder Nakhwal, partner at Peters and Peters Solicitors LLP and member of the UK's Extradition Lawyers Association.

If the District Judge rules in favour of extradition, the UKhome secretary must orderMallya's extradition within two months of the appropriate day.

However, the case can go through a series of appeals before arriving at a conclusion.

India and the UK have an Extradition Treaty, signed in 1992, but so far only one extradition has taken place under the arrangement -Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, who was sent back to India last October to face trial in connection with his involvement in the post-Godhra riots of 2002.

However, unlikeMallya, he had submitted to the extradition order without legal challenge.
In a major attack, terrorists on Monday shot dead seven people, including five policemen, after dragging them out of a vehicle carrying cash of a bank in Kulgam district of south Kashmir.

The cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank, which was returning to Kulgam district headquarter from Damhal Hanji Pora, was waylaid by a group of heavily-armed terrorists this afternoon, a police official said.

He said the terrorists pulled out the five police personnel and two bank employees from the vehicle and shot them from point blank range.

While four cops and two bank employees -- including a bank security guard -- died on the spot, the fifth cop succumbed to injuries at a hospital, the official said.

Among the deceased is an assistant sub-Inspector of Police.

The militants have reportedly decamped with four service rifles of the slain cops but the police official said these reports were being verified.

The police is also investigating whether the militants had taken away any cash.

militant outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.

A spokesperson of the Hizb told a local news gathering agency that its cadres had decamped with four weapons from the scene of the attack.
The Army on Monday killed an Indian soldier and a BSF trooper and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army said, and warned of an appropriate response to the "unsoldierly act". denied the charge.

The dead were identified as Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF's 200 Battalion. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the Army would "react appropriately" to Pakistan's "extreme form of barbaric act... that such acts are unheard of during war and definitely during peace times.

"The government of India strongly condemns the incident.. The country has full faith in its Army. The sacrifices of the soldiers will not go in vain."

The Army's Northern Command said the Army in the morning fired rockets and mortar shells on two forward posts on the LoC -- the de facto border that divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries -- in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district.

The two were killed in the unprovoked firing as they were patrolling the LoC, army sources said, adding Pakistan Army men then crossed over 250 meters into Indian territory and mutilated their bodies.

"It was a pre-planed operation. They crossed over 250 metres inside and set up ambushes to carry out the attack," an army officer told IANS.

The Udhampur-based Northern Command based said: "A BAT (Border Action Team, which generally comprises Pakistan Army personnel and its trained militants) was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pakistan Army, the bodies of the two soldiers in the patrol were mutilated.

"Such despicable act of the Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," it warned.

The Pakistan Army denied violating the 2003 ceasefire on the LoC and mutilating the Indian soldiers' bodies.

"Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on LoC or a BAT action ... as alleged by India. Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies are also false.

"Pakistan Army is a highly professional force and shall never disrespect a soldier, even Indian." A similar statement was issued by the Pakistani Foreign Office.

But the firing on the tense border sector continued till late Monday evening, Indian Army sources said in Jammu.

In a November incident, three Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush by the Pakistan Army and the body of one of them was mutilated.

The two countries had in 2003 agreed on a ceasefire in the border region that has been violated by sporadic firing incidents.

India has been accusing Pakistan of violating the ceasefire.

The Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire in various sectors along the LoC in Poonch on April 3, 4, 5, 8, 17 and 19. In March, there were four violations on the LoC.

--IANS

ao-sar/mr
A former maintenance supervisor at the University at Buffalo in western New York will serve jail time for soliciting and receiving bribes from a contractor.

Dean Yerry, 63, of Henderson, Nevada, was sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation after he pleaded guilty in February to second-degree bribe receiving, a felony. He'll also pay a $40,000 fine.

"This defendant violated the public trust, subverted the government procurement process and greedily enriched himself while giving a favored contractor an unfair advantage," said state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott.

Scott launched the investigation which revealed Yerry received as much as $100,000 in bribes from a painting contractor. The payments were made from the end of 2013 through 2014.

In exchange, the painting contractor received more than $1 million in contracts to paint student living centers.

Yerry, who previously lived in Sloan, a Buffalo suburb, has since retired from the University at Buffalo. He now lives in Nevada.
The mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was killed in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village here today.

The 42-year-old soldier, who belonged to the army's 22 Sikh Infantry, was beheaded yesterday by Pakistani troops, who similarly mutilated the body of Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF's 200th Battalion.

A large number of mourners from his village and surrounding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to him.

Senior army officers and those from the civil administration were also present as buglers sounded the 'Last Post' and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute.

His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a bedecked vehicle.

The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.

A Pakistani special forces team had yesterday sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

Singh is survived by his aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, who are aged between 11 and 14.

Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was to arrive at his village a week later on holiday, his family and friends has demanded a befitting reply be given to Pakistan



Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre should give free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a stern lesson.

"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," Kaur said.

The anger was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the Indo-Pak international border, against Pakistan.

While "Shaheed Paramjeet Amar Rahe" slogans rent the air, "Pakistan Murdabad" slogans were also raised.

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab today, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

The martyr's father Udham Singh said he was proud of his son, but wanted that Pakistan be given a befitting reply.

"Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson," he said.

Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.

Struggling to hold back her tears, his daughter Simardeep said she was proud of her father, who had laid down his life for the nation.

Udham said Paramjeet had wanted to give the best possible education to his children and had talked about renovating his house so his kids could get more space to study and play.

His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government should give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy.

Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA "who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away".

"My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he has served in the Army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief," he told reporters.

A childhood friend of Paramjeet also asked, "Why can't our government give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Give our Army a free hand. The Sikh Regiment alone is enough to take on Pakistan.
With the Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) cracking down on errant across the state, their owners went on a strike in Lucknow to protest against the action.

The strike was later called off after the Lucknow district administration officials assured the petrol pump owners in a meeting that those running their business honestly should not be afraid of any action.

Several in Uttar Pradesh had been caught by STF sleuths using electronic chips and remote controls to dispense a lower quantity of petrol and diesel to consumers.

A number of petrol pumps, including one owned by UP Petrol Pump Dealers' Association President B N Shukla, had been sealed in Lucknow after they were caught cheating consumers.

"The in the state capital went on strike late last night. Due to fear of STF action, their staff had run away and they had no option but to go on strike," an official of the association said.

"We assured petrol pump owners that they should not be afraid of any action if they are running their business honestly. They have called off their strike," Additional District Magistrate (Civil Supplies) Alka Verma told PTI after the meeting.

A delegation of petrol pump owners later met Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma to explain their position.

The sudden strike caused inconvenience to the people, who were seen lining up outside company-owned outlets, which were open.

"The Yogi Adityanath government will not come under any pressure. The police action is justified and it was in favour of consumers," Cabinet minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.

His Cabinet colleague Siddharth Nath Singh described the problem as temporary and said the government would not "bow down to any pressure".

He also blamed the previous SP government for not taking adequate steps to check the menace.

The STF had initiated the crackdown on April 27 night when it raided seven petrol pumps.

According to the force, they were tipped off that an electronic chip was being installed at the petrol pumps helping them get a profit worth lakhs of rupees per month.

The chip, costing around Rs 3,000, reduced the output by nearly five to 10 per cent. It is attached with a wire which is linked with a remote control.

The remote control sets the limit and if a customer purchases one litre petrol, he actually gets 940 ml or less.

On an average, the petrol-pumps using this device were earning an undue profit Rs 14 lakh per month, according to the STF.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had yesterday ordered inspection of all petrol pumps in Uttar Pradesh and random checks elsewhere to detect short-selling of petrol and diesel by tampering with the system in dispensing units.

Pradhan had said though the responsibility of right quantity of product dispensed lies with state governments as their weights and measures department installs seals on dispensing units, two officials of state-owned fuel retailers have been suspended following the raids.

Oil marketing company representatives will accompany the UP police STF and officials of the state's weights and measures department, the food and civil supply department for inspection of all petrol pumps in Uttar Pradesh, he said.
Defence Minister on Monday handed over a number of devices developed by the DRDO to National Security Guard (NSG), Delhi Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

The devices handed over to NDRF included 'E-Nasika', a hand-held equipment which is capable of rapid detection of chemical agents well below their toxic limits.

Jaitley also handed over to NSG an equipment called 'OTL-300'. It can instantly detect partially camouflaged optical elements, such as telescopes, binoculars and night vision devices.

The 'OTL-300' was given to Delhi Police also.

Another portable equipment, capable of remotely identifying explosives, was handed over to P S Purohit, additional director in Intelligence Bureau.
Emerging markets saw a fifth straight month of net 'non-resident' portfolio inflows in April, their best run since the first half of 2015, data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed on Tuesday.
Attending the Business Summit in New Delhi, as part of a two-day official visit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is determined to enhance relations with India and will take measures to ensure this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while welcoming the Turkish President said it is important for Turkey and India to boost bilateral trade. Erdogan's visit is the first trip at the presidential level from Turkey to India in seven years.

During the bilateral talks, PM Modi and Erdogan covered the fight against terrorism, efforts to boost bilateral ties, the prevention of Gulenist Terror Group (FETO) activity in India and New Delhi's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG).

1. On combating terrorism

India and Turkey strongly condemned the 'use of double standards' in combating terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation in effectively dealing with the menace both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. PM Modi and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT)

2. On India's membership of the MTCR

PM Modi thanked Erdogan for Turkey's support for India's membership of the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) and its application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well as Wassenaar Arrangement, an export control regime. Turkey conveyed its support for India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group for which Modi expressed his gratitude.

3. On United Nations reforms

PM Modi and Erdogan stressed on the need for comprehensive reform of the global body including expansion of the Security Council to make the body more representative, accountable and effective.

4. On business relations



Erdogan pitched for free trade agreement with India. The two leader resolved to expand trade ties and agreed to encourage business efforts to achieve a level of at least $10 billion by 2020 in bilateral trade. "Our bilateral trade turnover of around $6 billion does not do full justice to convergences in our economies," said Erdogan.

5. On PM Modi's 'Make in India' mission

PM Modi said that Turkish investments in India's manufacturing sector that Turkish investments in India's manufacturing sector. Both leaders agreed on mutual cooperation in the field of IT, pharmaceuticals, health and tourism is beneficial to the growth of bilateral trade between the two nations. Erdogan went on to add that India's infrastructure requirements and their ambitious vision of developing smart cities match well with Turkish capacities in the construction industry.

6. On improving energy cooperation

Modi and Erdogan have decided to improve cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbons, renewable energy (solar and wind) and energy efficiency.

7. Modi's visit to Turkey

Erdogan extended invitations to President Pranab Mukherjee and to Modi for visiting Turkey at mutually convenient time.

8. MoUs signed

India and Turkey have signed several agreements and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on several fields. They signed Cultural Exchange Program for 2017-2020. A MoU for Cooperation between Foreign Service Institute of India and Diplomacy Academy of Turkey was also signed.

An agreement between the Government of The Republic of Turkey and the Government of The Republic of India was signed on gainful occupation for family members of the members of diplomatic mission or consular post.

9. On strengthening cultural linkages

PM Modi and Erdogan agreed that ties of culture and language - the Sufi traditions, the exchanges and influences of the Turkish language on Hindi and vice versa among other linkages - provide a deep connect between our people.

10. Turkey on India-Pakistan relation

While there was no mention of Kashmir during the bilateral talks, Erdogan ha had earlier said that the India-Pakistan dispute on Jammu and Kashmir could be resolved through multilateral talks involving his country's participation. We should not allow more casualties to occur, and by strengthening multilateral dialogue  we can be involved  I think we have to seek out ways to settle this question once and for all, which will benefit both countries, he said.

India rejected Turkey's offer to mediate talks between New Delhi and Islamabad. Turkey has supported Pakistan's position on Kashmir at different forums
Seafood exporters are optimistic about the removal of anti-dumping duty by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on shrimps exported to United States, the largest market for Indian marine products.

The anti-dumping duty has been in force on Indian frozen warmwater shrimps since 2004-2005. The levy was for five years. In the fifth year, a 'sunset review' was initiated by DOC (department of commerce) of the US government.
In May 2016, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). while issuing the final guidelines on Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) noted, The use of offshore financial accounts for tax evasion and avoidance is a pressing concern for governments all around the world. From 2017, 56 countries including India, will start sharing tax information on automatic basis and the number will increase to more than 100 in 2018. India has also signed Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the USA for implementing the FATCA enacted by the USA. These developments will enable the Indian tax authorities to automatically receive information of Indian residents who have stashed assets in foreign participating jurisdictions.



Since these guidelines were issued, the US led initiative has found many more takers. Under FATCA, India will not just receive information about its residents in other countries but also give out information on a reciprocal basis to other nations who ask for it from time to time. On the anvil is the sharing of virtually every aspect of a bank account with India and various nations around the world once respective governments identify these accounts as requiring scrutiny.

Information that will now be shared between nations include the name, address, tax identification number (TIN) or permanent account number (PAN) of the bank account holder. Other details include bank account number, date and the place of birth about the person on whom information is being sought. If India or any of the nations want, they will also automatically receive information about the account balance in the concerned account at the end of each financial year. In case the account was closed during the year, then India is entitled to receive (and to provide to other nations) information on the last balance before the closure of the account.

In case of custodial accounts set up in the name of someone but managed by someone else additional information can be sought by the government. These include the amount of interest paid to the account in addition to any dividends that have been paid into it.

Information exchanged under the new arrangements applies to individuals, corporations, partnerships, trusts and even unincorporated associations. Under the India-US agreement that came into force in 2015, India can provide information to the US on high value accounts of US residents in India that have a balance of more than $1 million. In addition, the US can also get information on low value accounts with a balance of between $50,000 to $1 million. The India-US agreement also provides for India to receive such information. The agreement states, the Government of the United States of America collects information regarding certain accounts maintained by US financial institutions held by residents of India and is committed to exchanging such information with the Government of India and pursuing equivalent levels of exchange.



While the agreement holds much promise in the exchange of information between the India and US, there are certain other roadblocks in store for the Modi administration in its global hunt for Indian tax evaders. While this year 56 nations will be exchanging information under FATCA, certain countries known to be offshore tax havens are yet to sign the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA). India had signed the MCAA in 2015. For instance, while nations like Mauritius, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands are signatories to MCCA. Others like Panama and Hong Kong are yet to come on board. This means that India cannot get information from these nations as of yet. Both Panama and Hong Kong are known to be preferred destination for money laundering and tax evasion by Indian residents and corporations.
Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to switch to the financial year from the existing April-March cycle, with the state cabinet endorsing the move on Tuesday.
The much-awaited Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act (the Act) has come into effect. The ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation recently notified 69 out of the total 92 sections of the Act and this set the ball rolling for States to formulate, within a maximum of 6 months, rules and regulations as statutorily mandated. Since land is a State subject under the Constitution, even after the Centre enacts legislation, State governments have to ratify them. States now have to set-up the Real Estate Regulatory Authoritys (RERA) and the Real Estate Appellate Tribunals and have only a maximum of 1 year from the coming into effect of the Act to do so.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to defeat the doctor-pharmaceutical company nexus and make medicines affordable by making it compulsory to prescribe drugs in the generic name.
There's a good possibility the proposed $15 million aerial gondola at the New York State Fairgrounds will be delayed, according to Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney.

Mahoney appeared on ESPN Syracuse's "On the Block" with Brent Axe Monday to discuss a range of topics, including the controversial gondola.

During the exchange with Axe, Mahoney revealed that higher than expected costs for a new expo center at the fairgrounds may require state and local officials to abandon the gondola project, at least for now.

Mahoney cited experts who have said that to attract major horse shows, the expo center would need to be bigger. The state has already allocated $35 million for the design and construction of the facility.

"If the price tag gets too big, that will come before the gondola and we have to put it off again," she said.

The idea for a gondola was included in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to invest $70 million for a second phase of improvements at the fairgrounds. Along with the expo center and gondola, he called for $20 million to improve the Orange Lot and install an on ramp from the lot to Interstate 690 west.

The 2017-18 state budget deal included the funding for the three projects.

Despite the agreement, critics have dismissed the gondola as an example of wasteful government spending. State Sen. John DeFrancisco, who served on a state fair task force responsible for making recommendations to the governor, said the panel didn't endorse the gondola.

Mahoney defended the task force's work in an interview last week and said the 21-member committee discussed the gondola before it was included in Cuomo's $70 million plan.

The plan for the gondola was to make it a year-round attraction, Mahoney told The Citizen. A terminus near gate 10 of the state fairgrounds would feature an area where visitors could sample New York-made beverage and food products.

The gondola would transport passengers from the fairgrounds to Lakeview Amphitheater. It would also be used to link the fairgrounds with the county's "Loop the Lake" trail system.

A private operator would be tapped to run the gondola, Mahoney said.

But now the gondola faces uncertainty due to the needs of the expo center. The 80,000-square-foot facility, as proposed by the governor, would feature open space for events and up to 5,000 seats. For equestrian events, there would be a removable arena and as many as 2,000 removable bleacher seats.

A fact sheet released by Cuomo's office said the center could host large farm and tractor shows, boat shows and other events.

"The biggest car auctions, the biggest trade shows, it will be one of the largest venues in the country, literally to host shows" Cuomo said in January. "So it would open up an entirely new market."
The government today decided to waive stamp duty of Rs 210 crore on the transfer of land lease, for the revival of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Limiteds (FCIL) Gorakhpur unit.
A four day Naval Commanders Conference commenced this morning at New Delhi. Honble Defence Minister Shri Arun Jaitley addressed the Naval Commanders and interacted with them along with Honble RRM Dr Subhash Bhamre, Defence Secretary and other senior functionaries of the Ministry of Defence. .

.

At the outset, the Honble Defence Minister complimented the Indian Navy for its professionalism & deep commitment towards protecting the maritime interests of the country including the huge maritime boundary as also meeting a large number of international obligations, in line with the countrys defence diplomacy requirements. .

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During his address the Honble Defence Minister spoke about the prevailing & emerging security situation in the sub continent as also the expanding presence of the extra regional powers in India Ocean Region. He also referred to the situation on the Western Border and its linkage to the internal security. He urged the Commanders to be prepared at all times as Preparedness is the best Deterrent". .

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Acknowledging the various crucial requirements of the Indian Navy, the Honble Defence Minister assured the Commanders that the Govt. is working on all issues very positively and is going to increase the resources to make good the shortfalls soon. .

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The Defence Minister lauded the efforts of India Navy in indigenisation and urged the Commanders to focus on furtherance of Domestic Expertise building up. .

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Concluding his address, the Honble Defence Minister said that due impetus through appropriate Defence Procurement policies (such as SP Model which would be finalized soon) is being given to make good the critical capability shortfalls viz. ship borne Multi Role Helicopters (MRH), conventional Submarines and Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs). .

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__________________________________________________________________________.

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DKS/AC
The Trump administration recently announced an emergency meeting with 100 senators at the White House, where many speculated that Trump would disclose new intelligence to justify U.S. military action against North Korea, or else more sanctions.
China now has a "vested interest" in mediating between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue because of its nearly $50 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through PoK, an article in a state-run daily has said.

The article in the Global Times, a ruling Communist Party of China publication, indicated Beijing's latent interest in playing a bigger role in the region.

Claiming that China had mediated between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya refugees issue, the article said, "China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn't mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments."

"Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan," it said.

China's recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya issue shows the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability, the article said.

"China has been at the centre of a regional power shift, thus the country now needs to learn how to act as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in the region," it said.

There is so much to learn for China about how to play its role as a regional power at a time when the country is witnessing a boom in outbound direct investment, the article said.

"For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region," it said.

"In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests," the article said.

This is perhaps the first time that Chinese official media started floating Beijing's interest in playing a mediatory role to resolve the Kashmir issue.

China's official stand is that the Kashmir issue left over from history should be resolved between India and Pakistan though Beijing has been stepping up its investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

While China in the past has played down reports of the presence of its troops in PoK, saying that they were there to deliver humanitarian assistance, its $46 billion China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the disputed Gilgit and Baltistan region increased its involvement in the disputed areas.

India has protested against China over the CPEC and is yet to name an official delegation to take part in a summit of the Belt and Road initiative, of which CPEC is a part. The summit is to be held from May 14-15.

Chinese official media also referred to last month's participation of Chinese troops for the first time in the Pakistan Day parade as a sign of Chinese military playing a role in regional stability.
No one expects negotiations over Britains exit from the European Union to go smoothly over the next two years, but a German newspapers account of a dinner last Wednesday between the British prime minister, Theresa May, and senior European Union officials suggests that round one, at least, was particularly discordant.
The United States has long seen itself as a beacon of democracy and a global advocate of human rights and the rule of law. It has faltered, sometimes badly, undermining leaders whose views did not fit its strategic objectives and replacing them with pliant despots. Yet for the most part American presidents, Republican and Democratic, have believed that the United States should provide a moral compass to the world, encouraging people to pursue their right to self-government and human dignity and rebuking foreign leaders who fall short.
The Republican president of the United States said hed be honoured to meet with North Koreas leader under the right conditions. That he thinks the country may need an economic stimulus package. Or possibly a gas-tax hike for better roads. Maybe even break up the big banks. And certainly a health care Bill even more generous than Obamacare for people with pre-existing conditions.
French presidential candidate is facing accusations of plagiarism after a speech she made resembled parts of an address delivered by her defeated rival Francois Fillon just two weeks earlier.

Several sections of her speech on Monday in Villepinte, north of Paris, appear to repeat almost word-for-word comments Fillon made in an address on April 15, BBC reported.

An official of her National Front (FN) party said she had made a "nod" to Fillon and it showed she was "not sectarian".

Le Pen faces centrist Emmanuel Macron in the final round on May 7.

The similarity in the speeches was pointed out by the Ridicule TV YouTube channel, initially set up by Fillon's supporters to attack Macron before the first round of voting that saw Fillon eliminated from the contest.

Ridicule TV said the far-right presidential candidate had plagiarised Fillon's speech "word for word" and set the two speeches side by side, inviting viewers to make up their own minds.

The videos were also posted on Twitter.

On April 15, Fillon, of the centre-right Republican Party, made a speech in Puy-en-Velay in which he made specific mention of the geography of France's borders, paid tribute to the French language and spoke of a third "French way" for the 21st century.

Le Pen, who has temporarily stepped down as head of the FN party in a bid to widen her appeal, repeated almost verbatim these passages from Fillon's speech.

Fillon had also quoted from World War I Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and writer Andre Malraux.

In her speech ahead of Sunday's second round run-off, Le Pen also used the same quotes.

The Liberation newspaper said that what was supposed to have been a key speech for the second phase of voting in the election became instead a focus of ridicule for social media users.

However, Le Pen's campaign manager, David Rachline, played down the accusations of plagiarism, saying the speech was a form of tribute to Fillon, which "was appreciated" by his supporters.
North Korean leader has threatened to destroy USS Michigan, an American naval submarine, if it gets any closer to the Communist nation's waters.

The Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine is currently docked at a naval base in South Korea's Busan, where it was recently joined by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group, the Daily Mail reported.

Pyongyang has warned that if the USS Michigan "tries to budge even a little, it will be doomed to face the miserable fate of becoming a underwater ghost.

"The urgent fielding of the nuclear submarine in the waters off the Korean peninsula, timed to coincide with the deployment of the super aircraft carrier strike group, is intended to further intensify military threats toward our republic," a North Korean website claimed.

Pyongyang also warned of sinking the USS Carl Vinson if it edged any closer to the North.

"Whether it's a nuclear aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine, they will be turned into a mass of scrap metal in front of our invincible military power centred on the self-defence nuclear deterrence," the website said.

The threats come as relations between North Korea and the US become increasingly tensed, with President Donald Trump hinting that America was willing to take military action if carried out another missile test after Friday's failed test.



Trump, on the other hand, offered some backhanded praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, calling him "a pretty smart cookie" in a television interview.

The US President is famously guarded about his strategic military thinking, but suggested that his administration will be the one to de-fang Kim.

"This should've been done and taken care of by the Obama administration. Should've been taken care of by the Bush administration. Should've been taken care of by Clinton."

Trump said North Korea had "disrespected" China by attempting to launch another ballistic missile as the President counts on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to encourage Pyongyang to give up its pursuit of missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

In a show of force against North Korea, the US has dispatched USS Carl Vinson to the waters off the Korean peninsula and was on Saturday spotted sailing north offshore Nagasaki in Japan towards North Korea.
Some weeks passed, and the Americans Northern Army grew as the Congress let General Washington send more troops. The patriots were now camped where the Mohawk and Hudson rivers met.

There were small fights here and there when British and patriot groups ran into each other, but the only real battle had come some weeks ago in Bennington. That had been an unexpected defeat for Burgoynes army.

A large group of Germans had been sent there for horses and grain but ran into New England militia instead and were soundly thrashed. It was not only a shock to the British, but cost Burgoyne a large number of his Hessian soldiers, as well as their leader, killed in the fight.

It also made him think that he should cross from the east bank of the Hudson to the west as he led his army towards Albany. As long as he stayed on the east bank, the New England militias repeatedly attacked his men.

But the west bank was not much more friendly, and, as the Northern Army grew, the best change for Luke and Sylvie was the arrival of Colonel Daniel Morgan and his riflemen.

These Virginia backwoodsmen were tough, experienced soldiers and their long rifles were deadly accurate.

Sylvie was pleased when Luke and the horses, David and Jonathan, went out with a half-dozen of Morgans men to watch over them, and Luke admitted it made him feel safer, too.

There were still moments, however.

When a rifle cracked in the brush nearby one day, Luke moved cautiously to the other side of the horses, who were hauling a load of wheat from an abandoned farm back to the American camp.

Moments later, however, one of Morgans men came out of the bushes holding up a fat rabbit by the hind legs. Got some stew for your sister, Seth Baker said. Did Jonathan jump?

No, but I did, Luke said. You scared me half to death!

Seth laughed and hung the dead rabbit from a corner of the loaded wagon. Then he patted Jonathan on the shoulder. Youre getting to be as bold as your partner here, he said.

Hes used to us hunting, Luke explained. One or two shots wont spook him. Its that rattle of muskets when a bunch are going after each other that bothers him.

Seth gave Jonathan another pat and reached up to scratch his ear. Well, we cant all be war horses, there, Jonny boy  he started, then paused. Hold on now.

Luke froze as Seth sighted his long rifle up the hill to the left of the road. He cocked his hammer, held his breath and slowly squeezed the trigger.

Got him! he said, and Luke saw the other five riflemen come out of the bush at the sound of the shot.

Got another rabbit! Seth called out. Yall come over to Sylvies for dinner. We got enough stew for everybody now!

The men laughed, waved and disappeared back into the woods. Seth reloaded his rifle, then started up the hill to retrieve the second rabbit.

Were only half a mile from camp, Luke called after him. Were going to find them all up and armed, thanks to you!

Well, its good practice for them, Seth shouted back.

Sure enough, at sunset, the other men from the patrol gathered at the Van Gelder camp for dinner.

It was not uncommon for them to drop by: Several of Morgans men found excuses to stop at the camp, and Sylvie did extra laundry and mending for them, in return for the wild game they brought for her popular stew pot.

Morgans Riflemen were rough frontier types, but, while some called her Miss and some of them called her Maam, they all treated her with respect. If Sylvie felt safer about Luke when the riflemen went out in the field with him, Luke felt safer about Sylvie, too, knowing that these tough, gentle woodsmen stopped by the fire so often.

That evening, the New York militia came in from two days patrolling and John Van Gelder joined the circle at dinner.

Looks like well be moving again, and maybe for the last time, he said. The riflemen and his children all paused to hear what he would say next.

Gates is setting up on a hillside over the Hudson, John Van Gelder continued. Its steep enough to be hard to attack, and he can plant cannons there to sweep the river and the road, too. Hell have Burgoyne blocked, land or water.

About time, Seth Baker said. I know yall Dutchmen liked your General Schuyler, but Granny Gates wants to fight and so do I. Enough of this pickin at each other.

John Van Gelder shrugged. Congress wouldnt give Schuyler any troops. Its better now with their favorite, Gates, in command. Besides, Burgoynes getting worn down. If he had any sense, hed go back to Ticonderoga, send for reinforcements and wait for next spring.

Baker nodded. From what his deserters tell us, theyre running out of food and running out of men. Theyre still a good, tough army, but theres fewer of them now than when they started out.

Sure enough, four days later, Luke found himself driving David and Jonathan up the hills at Bemis Heights with material for the coming battle, then loading their cart with grain and vegetables from the abandoned farm to take back to the American camp.
Blindfolded, would you know the smell of your mom, a lover or a co-worker? Not the smells of their colognes or perfumes, not of the laundry detergents they use  the smells of them?



Each of us has a unique odourprint made up of thousands of organic compounds. These molecules offer a whiff of who we are, revealing age, genetics, lifestyle, hometown  even metabolic processes that underlie our health. Ancient Greek and Chinese medical practitioners used a patients scent to make diagnoses. Modern medical research, too, confirms that the smell of someones skin, breath and bodily fluids can be suggestive of illness. The breath of diabetics sometimes smells of rotten apples, experts report; the skin of typhoid patients, like baking bread.
Prime Minister Theresa May will lead Britain's talks and is approaching the negotiations with goodwill, her spokesman said on Tuesday, responding to criticism that her government underestimated the complexity of the process.

"We are clear that we will make a success of and we will secure a deal that works in the best interest of Britain and the European Union," the spokesman told reporters.

"All I can say is that we approach these talks in a constructive manner and with huge amounts of goodwill."

After meeting May at her Downing Street residence on Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was reported to have said he was "10 times more sceptical than I was before" about the possibility of sealing a deal.
After two false starts on President Trumps promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Trump administration officials ratcheted up pressure on the House on Monday to vote on a revised version of the Republican repeal bill this week, even as support may actually be eroding.
Googles pain may be Rupert Murdochs gain. Murdochs News Corp is introducing a new service to ensure online ads dont appear next to fake news or offensive videos, marking the latest salvo in the billionaire media moguls long battle with the worlds biggest search engine.
At a time of growing tensions between nuclear powers  Russia and NATO in Europe, and the U.S., North Korea, and China in Asia  Washington has quietly upgraded its nuclear weapons arsenal to create, according to three leading American scientists, exactly what one would expect to see, if a nuclear-armed state were planning to have the capacity to fight and win a nuclear war by disarming enemies with a surprise first strike.
Russian President on Tuesday denied that Moscow ever interfered in elections in other countries.

Addressing a joint news conference after his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his Black Sea residence, Putin said accusations of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election were "simply rumours" and were being used as part of the political fight in Washington.

Putin also denied interfering in the European elections, The Washington Post reports.

The US intelligence agencies, however, earlier said they had proof that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic email accounts, aimed at benefiting President Donald Trump's campaign and harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Merkel asserted she was confident that Germany could take on any disinformation campaign targetting Germany's upcoming election.

Merkel's visit to Sochi is her first trip to Russia in two years even as the relations between the two countries remain strained over the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Merkel and Putin last met in Germany in October for talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process.
Shares of real estate companies were in focus on Tuesday with the Nifty Realty Index gaining nearly 3% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day deals. By comparison, the Nifty 50 moved up 0.3% to 9,352 levels. Thus far in calendar year 2017 (CY17), the Nifty Realty index has rallied 56%, as compared with 14% rise in the Nifty 50 index.

The outperformance in CY17 comes amid multiple developments on the policy initiatives front - from the implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) that came into force with effect from May 1, 2017 - to amendments in Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) regulations and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), which are seen as a long-term positive by analysts.
A day after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amanatullah Khan resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) following his accusation on party leader Kumar Vishwas that he was 'planted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)', the latter launched a scathing attack at him, asserting that whatever he was saying were not his words, adding that he should have been thrown out of the party long before.

"The things Amanatullah has said about me, if he had said the same for Arvind Kejriwal or Manish Sisodia, he would have been thrown out of the party in 10 minutes. But he had said such thing so many times, yet he wasn't ousted," Vishwas told the media here.

"Ammanatullah is just a mask; someone else is speaking behind his mask. I would appeal to them to not go against me as I had once put up posters for AAP and defended them," he added.

Asserting that he was not interested to hold the position of chief minister or party president, Vishwas said that he would give reply to the one, who spoke against the nation.

Earlier in the day, in a veiled attack at Amanatullah, the AAP leader tweeted that his old strategy would not work.

Amanatullah Khan yesterday resigned from the PAC of the party following a high-end meeting of the party members with Kumar Vishwas conspicuously absent.

Amanatullah, while emerging out of the PAC meeting, categorially named Kumar Vishwas as been "planted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)" to disbalance the party. Earlier, he had just made a veiled attack on the AAP leader.

"I have resigned from the PAC. I stand by what I said about Vishwas. He is working at the behest of the BJP and the RSS. In fact, he has been planted by them to create disharmony in the party," he said.

"Vishwas ate cake with Ajit Doval and Bassi when AAP MLAs were arrested," he added.

The infighting among the party members beamed out when after Khan's resignation, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia asked all party MLAs and workers to not issue out public statements.

"No MLAs, workers should issue out public statements. We need to have trust in the party and its leadership. If there is any issue, talk to Arvind Kejriwal. He is always there," he said, while adding that such comments result in denting the image of the party.

"We have three years during which we have to work on WiFi, schools, health, etc. These small statements result adversely affect the morale of our party workers," he said.

The PAC meeting, aimed at discussing the infighting within the party with senior party leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey and Ashutosh, concluded with Amanatullah resigning from the PAC.

A day before, Amanatullah, without naming anybody, asserted that some people were trying to get hold of the AAP and break the party.

"I have said that some persons are trying to get hold of the AAP and break the party. Arvind Kejriwal has also tweeted that some persons are trying to break the AAP. I am also saying the same. The BJP is behind this conspiracy. There are four AAP MLAs who are being lured that either you should make convenor or join BJP, which is offering each MLA Rs. 30 crore," he said.

"Some people of BJP have directly talked with those MLAs also. When there is a forum, the PAC in the party, where issues can be raised then what is the use of going to the media?"

Amanatullah further questioned why "those people" didn't campaign for the party in Punjab and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, hinting at Kumar Vishwas, who didn't appear for the party's various rallies during the Assembly elections.

Following this, as many as 37 AAP MLAs demanded Kejriwal to sack Khan.

The MLAs also demanded a probe to ascertain on whose behest Khan made such statement.

Kejriwal also came in defence of Vishwas calling him a younger brother.

"Kumar is my younger brother. Some people are trying to drive a wedge between us. They are enemies of the party. They should refrain. No one can separate us," he had tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts have been keeping busy the last several months. In January, the district held the annual Klondike Derby for Cubs and Boy Scouts alike. It was held at the town of Niles Volunteer Fire Department. Even though there was a lack of snow, the boys still were outside doing age group-specific Scout activities.

The Cub Scouts worked in groups to do their best at ice rescue. Cub Scouts would rescue a person from make-believe ice, which entailed the use of a rope and tying a knot and pulling the scout (over the snow-ice) to safety. They also did a sled race where they had three Scouts on a sled and several pulled them a specific distance and back again. The Cub Scouts divided into groups and did a tug-of-war. As a special activity, the Cub Scouts strategically worked together in groups on the orienteering activity of using a compass to locate hidden items.

The older Boy Scouts had their own outdoor activities they engaged in. The sled race consisted of using sleds (which were Scout-built) that are similar to those used in Alaskan dog races. They load the sleds with items needed for an overnight campout. The Boy Scouts have a course they have to follow, with several Scouts pulling the sleds. Boys Scouts have a requirement for orienteering and being able to find locations that would be used during the daily activities, too. They were also challenged to use their knowledge of tying knots for use on their sleds and for setting up tents. These are just a few of the events done by the scouts during this day-long event.

Then, March brought the Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts and alumni of Scouting inside for the Cayuga County District Cub Scout and Alumni Pinewood Derby races. The races were held at Fingerlakes Mall during the Youth Fair there. The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby race brought in racers who had built their cars from a simple block of wood. The boys have to design their cars, have an adult cut it out and then the Scouts continue on with the sanding and painting, all while following specific rules and guidelines of the district derby. Failure to follow the rules can lead to elimination.

After all racers had finished their preliminary races, the tension rose to find out who would continue on to the finals. During the final round, excitement rose due to a tie, which ended up requiring another tiebreaker race to determine third and fourth places.

The final winners of the race were:

First place: Ethan Jenson, Pack 11

Second place: Micah Fisher, Pack 59

Third place: Colin Larison, Pack 95

Fourth place: Mark Sochan, Pack 54

Fifth place: Alex Urben, Pack 40

There were also specialty awards given out.

The judges for the specialty awards have a difficult job in determining which of the many cars stand out as having the best design, paint and overall quality. With 54 cars to choose from, it was a difficult decision, as all the cars were really creative. The specialty awards were given out for:

Best design: Logan Wood, Pack 40

Best paint job: Taylor Casbohm, Pack 40

Judges choice: Braeden Bilak, Pack 6.

The judges this year, as in the past, are individuals who have no direct connection to the Cub Scouts.

Following the awards presentation, registration opened for those alumni Scouters (including current and former Scouts, leaders and family members) who would take a try at winning the title of the Alumni Pinewood Derby 2017. There were several current leaders, Cub Scouts and family members who took on this challenge. The final winner of the alumni race this year was Jacob Varga, Wolf Scout of Pack 6. His car was fast and furious, as it had already done well during his pack's race and the district race, too.

The Boy Scouts also held a Scout Show during the Youth Fair that day. Area Boy Scout troops were focusing on the outdoor portion of Scouting. Troop 58 from Fleming brought its monkey rope bridge for the youth to try to climb across. Also present was Troop 21 from Owasco with its rock climbing wall for all to attempt to reach the end and ring the bell without falling. The kids enjoyed trying their skills on both of these. Troop 43 of Auburn brought you full circle to see how a campsite is set up, and Scouts were present to talk with youth about their experiences camping. The Camp Rotary Cub Scout Summer Camp had a display with information regarding this years camp theme and planned events during camp.

More information regarding summer camp can be obtained at cnyscouts.org under the "Camping" section or by contacting the Longhouse Council at the number listed at the end of this article.

Along with the May 1 Seward Day ceremony honoring William H. Seward, this has been a busy beginning to the 2017 Scouting year. This years Boy Scout Spring Camporee will be held May 19-21 at Hoopes Park. The public is invited to stop by and see what Scouts do during their Camporee. The Cub/Boy Scouts will also be participating in Auburns Memorial Day Parade May 29. With spring upon us, dont be surprised to see Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts out and about cleaning up area parks and trails in an effort to do their part to keep the environment clean. If you would like more information on Cub Scout packs/Boy Scout troops or Venturing (which is girls/boys ages 14 to 18) in your area, contact the Longhouse Council at (315) 463-0201.
The son of Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar, who lost his life in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Monday, has said that the last rites of his father would not be performed until Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrives at their hometown.

Earlier today, the mortal remains of the braveheart were brought to his village here amid slogans in his praise by hundreds of villagers, who had gathered to pay their respect to the departed soul.

The Pakistan Army on Monday had mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers, identified as Prem Sagar and Naib subedar Paramjit Singh, who were killed earlier in a ceasefire violation at Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district.

The Indian Army confirmed the news, releasing a statement on Twitter.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked Rocket and Mortar firing on two forward posts on the line of control in Krishna Ghati Sector.

Simultaneously a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court will today hear the plea filed by former Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and senior counsel Indira Jaising in connection with the designation of senior lawyers.

Jaising challenged the procedure for designating senior advocates in the top court.

In her petition, Jaising questioned the discrimination meted out to capable advocates when it comes to "giving them the gown".

She had alleged violation of Articles 14 and 15 in the procedure followed, and had contended that the present procedure is arbitrary and wholly non-transparent.

Jaising's petition had sought judicial scrutiny of the top court's method to designate lawyers as 'senior advocates', terming the process "opaque, arbitrary and fraught with nepotism".

She had said such arbitrary designation of 'senior advocates', whose fees are more than three times those of non-designated advocates on an average, had created a "class of undesirable elitism", making legal services unaffordable to litigants.

In April 2016, the apex court said it had put on hold use of its discretionary power to confer the coveted 'senior advocate' designation on lawyers as recognition of their ability, court craft and legal knowledge.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday slapped fresh charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against Anubhav Mittal, the prime accused in the ongoing ponzi scam case.

This follows an earlier case registered in February 2017 on the basis of an FIR by the Special Task Force (STF), Uttar Pradesh Police in the case of multi-level marketing and ponzi scheme running at Noida.

A group of persons and companies were found to be involved in the cheating of approximately 6.5 lakh investors to the tune of Rs. 3700 crores in the name of promotion through likes on the URL sent by them.

The investigation in the said case is being done expeditiously and as a result of that, simultaneous searches at five premises located at Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Noida belonging to offenders have been conducted by the ED's Lucknow zonal office.

The modus operandi of the accused according to their business scheme as alleged were that through their web portal they promoted a scheme whereby users would earn money by liking the webpage which was fictitiously shown associated to International Social Media Groups like Google and Facebook.

The accused also promoted four systematic investment plans offering various incentives depending upon the investment made by the user.

The multilevel marketing and ponzi schemes were run by M/s Ablaze Info Solutions Private Ltd, M/s Social Trade India Pvt Ltd, M/s 3W Digital Pvt Ltd, M/s Intmaart India Pvt Ltd., the brain child of Anubhav Mittal, Ayushi Agarwal and others.

A preliminary enquiry under provisions of PMLA revealed that incriminating documents relating to cheating of funds from public at large and documents pertaining to investments of cheated funds in valuable assets were concealed at various places.

The investigation resulted in recovery of incriminating documents revealing the offence of money laundering and possession of a huge sum of money.

The directorate had also demanded details of transactions from related banks which were used by the accused.

The directorate will seek custodial investigation of the accused arrested by the STF and there accomplices.

Further to secure the investments of the public, provisional attachment of all moveable and immoveable properties which are proceeds of crime or acquired by means of tainted money, will be attached under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 3 in Sochi.

Both the leaders are likely to discuss bilateral relations, regional issues including Syria's ceasefire as Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria last week.

"The presidents will discuss, among other issues,the strengthening of the ceasefire regime, the situation with prisoners and issues of mine clearance," Mustafa Yurdakul, the ministry's deputy director for Syria policy said, Sputnik reported.

The most significant aspect of their meeting is that talks for procuring Russia-made S400 air defence system is at final stages and may pop up during their discussions.

Both Russia and Turkey are carrying out their operations against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Russia will put forward several proposals to resolve Syria crisis including a possible deployment armed groups of guarantor states for monitoring ceasefire.

The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members are concerned over growing Turkey's close defence ties with Russia.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan today in Sochi.

Both the leaders are likely to discuss bilateral relations, regional issues including Syria's ceasefire as Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria last week.

"The presidents will discuss, among other issues, the strengthening of the ceasefire regime, the situation with prisoners and issues of mine clearance," Mustafa Yurdakul, the ministry's deputy director for Syria policy said, Sputnik reported.

The most significant aspect of their meeting is that talks for procuring Russia-made S400 air defence system is at final stages and may pop up during their discussions.

Both Russia and Turkey are carrying out their operations against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Russia will put forward several proposals to resolve Syria crisis including a possible deployment armed groups of guarantor states for monitoring ceasefire.

The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members are concerned over growing Turkey's close defence ties with Russia.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India, the World T20 2007 champion, lost six points to slip to fourth position in the latest ICC T20I Team Rankings released on Tuesday.

The Virat Kohli-led team are now on 118 points, three points behind World T20 2009 winner Pakistan, which has joined second-placed England on 121 points after gaining five points but is ranked behind the World T20 2010 winner by a fraction of a point.

England has benefitted significantly as it has risen three places after gaining seven points to now sit on second place. Eoin Morgan's side is four points behind table-topper New Zealand, which is on 125 points after dropping two points.

South Africa have also slipped two places to fifth ranking after conceding six points, but are one point ahead of Australia.

Australia has swapped places with reigning champions, the West Indies, which is 14 points ahead of 2014 winner and eighth-ranked Sri Lanka (95 points, down by four).

Bangladesh is ranked 10th on 78 points after gaining four points, while Zimbabwe has retained its 12th rank after gaining three points.

Among the non-Test playing sides, Afghanistan and Netherlands have moved in opposite directions. Afghanistan is the side to benefit most after England as it has gained six points and climbed to 90 points. But while Afghanistan has strengthened its ninth position, the Netherlands has dropped nine points to slip one place to 14th rank.

Scotland are on 11th rank on 67 points (up by four), followed by the UAE in 13th (52, up by four), Netherlands in 14th (49, down by nine), Hong Kong in 15th (46, up by three), PNG in 16th (39, down by four), Oman in 17th (38, down by one) and Ireland in 18th (36, down by four).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Unknown gunmen on Tuesday looted Rs. 65,000 from a bank in Kader village of Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district.

Two masked gunmen barged inside the Ellaquai Dehati Bank and looted Rs 65,000 from the bank.

Earlier yesterday, militants opened fire at a cash delivery van of a bank in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam, killing five police constables and two bank officials.

The terrorists attacked the van when it was returning after dispensing cash to local bank branches.

Earlier on April 28, alert security forces foiled a bid by two militants to loot a branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank (JK Bank). One militant was arrested, while the other managed to flee.

The incident happened when the bank's Mehandi Kadal branch employees had gone to offer Friday prayers and the branch appeared to be closed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calcutta High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan on Tuesday directed the court's registrar to issue non-bailable warrant against seven Supreme Court judges.

The order copy was given by Justice Karnan's associate on his behalf.

The seven judges include Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice Pinkai Chandra Ghose and Justice Kurian Joseph.

Justice Karnan tagged the apex court judges as 'accused' for not being present.

Justice Karnan instructed the registrar general at the Kolkata High Court to issue NBW against the seven judges, to be executed through the Director General of Police or Commissioner of Police New Delhi.

Earlier, in response to the apex court ordering an examination of his 'mental health', Justice Karnan asserted that he would issue a suo-moto suspension order against West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP), if he forcefully conducted a medical checkup.

"If the West Bengal DGP comes to check my mental health forcefully, then I will issue a suo-moto suspension order against him," said Karnan at a press conference.

Karnan further asserted that the DGP should take all the seven accused judges for medical test too.

"Before coming to check on me, the New Delhi DGP should take all the seven accused judges and produce them to psychiatric medical board to conduct a medical test," he said.

The apex court has constituted a medical board to examine the mental condition of justice Karnan on May 5 and has also directed the DG West Bengal to assist the medical board to get Justice Karnan examined.

The medical reports will be submitted on or before May 8. The next hearing will be held on May 9.

The Supreme Court said in its order that High Courts, any tribunal and authority would not take any cognizance on the orders passed by Justice Karnan.

Earlier, in an unprecedented move, the apex court invoked its powers to initiate contempt proceedings against Justice Karnan, for writing letters casting aspersions on several judges.

Justice Karnan has been accused of circulation of disparaging letters against sitting High Court judges of the Madras High Court, and he has also allegedly written about Supreme Court judges in his letters to the Prime Minister's Office.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The woman accused of honey-trapping Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP K.C. Patel, was taken in for interrogation by the Delhi Police today.

The woman was taken into custody from her house here.

Earlier, Patel alleged that he was honey-trapped by a Supreme Court lawyer, who drugged him and shot a video of him in a compromised position.

The lawmaker from Gujarat alleged that he was accused of rape and the woman threatened to upload the video and photos online.

He said that he had registered a complaint with the Delhi Police against the woman for demanding Rs. 5 crore from him.

"I have full faith in justice and everything will become crystal clear. I am ready to cooperate fully with the police investigation," Patel told the ANI.

The woman, however, said that she was first approached by Mittal on the pretext of giving her more cases for work. She said that she was raped many times.

"One day, I met K.C. Patel in the Supreme Court. First I didn't know who he was. He himself introduced himself to me as a BJP MP from Gujarat. He said that he wanted to discuss some case with me and that he needed an advocate," she told ANI.

"He gave me his visiting card and asked me to meet him at his place and on the next day, I received a call from him. He had asked me to come and when I went to his house, he raped me," she added.

Refuting Patel's claim, the victim said, "I never demanded anything from him. He is deliberately making such accusations to hide his misdeeds. He was neither drugged and even if he was drugged, how can he be in a state of mind to rape."

She also alleged that the police was hand in glove with the Patel and deliberately did not register the case, despite visiting the police station several times.

"On March 15, I went to the police station to register the complaint, but they did not register. I was sitting idle in the station for several hours. On March 20, I again went to the station, but they again refused to file my complaint. Later on 6.30 p.m., I got a threatening call from the MP while I was in the station. How can someone know about this? It proves someone is leaking this to him," she said.

The victim said that she has now filed a petition in the Patiala High Court seeking registration of the FIR against Patel. In the complaint, she also alleged that the Delhi Police failed to lodge an FIR against him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) facing a rift, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia are making efforts to convince co-founder member Kumar Vishwas, who had hinted at breaking up from the party here.

"Kumar Vishwas is an integral part of our movement. He has some grudges and I am sure we will convince him," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister went to Vishwas' residence in Ghaziabad to hold talks with him.

Earlier in the day, Vishwas accused the AAP leaders of conspiring against him.

"The things Amanatullah has said about me, if he had said the same for Arvind Kejriwal or Manish Sisodia, he would have been thrown out of the party in 10 minutes. But he had said such thing so many times, yet he wasn't ousted," Vishwas told the media here.

"Amanatullah is just a mask; someone else is speaking behind his mask. I would appeal to them to not go against me as I had once put up posters for AAP and defended them," he added.

He said that he will not compromise with his principles and soon take a call on his future action.

"Will not keep silent on the mistakes of the AAP party," said Vishwas, adding, "I'm not interested in becoming the Chief Minister ever".

He clarified that he will not join any political party.

Earlier, AAP leader Amanatullah Khan had asserted that Vishwas was 'planted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)'.

Amanatullah yesterday resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) following a high-end meeting of the party members with Kumar Vishwas conspicuously absent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and an opportunity to reflect on the prevalence and impact of mental illness and addiction in America. Nearly 60 million people in the United States face the day-to-day reality of living with a mental illness, and nearly every American is affected by it through their interactions with coworkers, friends and family.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness New York State Ribbon Campaign takes mental health out of the shadows to let people know that there is help and hope for both individuals and families. NAMI ribbons will be tied around the four pillars at Auburn Memorial City Hall throughout May to encourage the community to learn the facts about mental illness, to see persons for who they are and not just their illness, and to step up to help people affected by mental illness get the help they need. One way to understand what mental illness is, and to assist persons in non-crisis and crisis situations, is to take a Mental Health First Aid course.

The National Council for Behavioral Health sponsors the Mental Health First Aid program, and NAMI of Cayuga Countys trained facilitators offer the program to the local community.

Just as CPR helps you assist a person having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. Participants learn how to apply the Mental Health First Aid five-step action plan which is:

 Assess for risk of suicide or harm

 Listen non-judgmentally

 Give reassurance and information

 Encourage appropriate professional help

 Encourage self-help and other support strategies

Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency, which is the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better and use their strengths to stay well. Taking an eight-hour class or two four-hour classes is a way to take action, become informed and help others in our community. Call NAMI Cayuga County at (315) 255-7443 to inquire about scheduled Mental Health First Aid course dates.

Give support and companionship to persons experiencing a mental illness and to their families as they come to terms with it. For families and friends of loved ones with a mental illness and/or addiction, NAMI Cayuga County provides a bi-monthly family support group meeting at Auburn Community Hospital in the second-floor assembly room from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month. This month, the meetings are May 2 and May 16.

A NAMI Family Support Group is peer-led by family members of individuals living with a mental illness. The meeting allows participants to share their experiences in a safe, confidential setting, voice their concerns, develop supportive relationships and learn about local mental health resources and how to access their services. In this group setting, families work toward a realistic future by learning coping skills as they adjust to the trauma caused by mental illness, understanding that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that often have environmental triggers, seeing their loved one first as a person and not the illness, and not tolerating the stigma associated with mental illness.

Stigma is one of the most challenging aspects of living with a mental illness. Stigma is often fueled by lack of awareness and inaccurate information. Public stigma depicts people with mental illness as being dangerous and unpredictable. These inaccurate beliefs can become internalized, leading to self-stigma, which causes people to feel ashamed, embarrassed and damaged for something that is out of their control. These negative perceptions prevent many from seeking the help they need to feel better. Treatments for mental illnesses are highly effective. Between 70 and 90 percent of individuals receiving a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life. It is important to encourage our family members, friends and coworkers to seek help and support, because not reaching out can lead to a loss of hope and worsening of their medical condition. To make a difference, we as a community need to become aware of the issues and disadvantages people face. We need to acknowledge that people with mental illness are entitled to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to arrive in Russia on Tuesday to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

Merkel's visit to Russia is coinciding with US President Donald Trump's recent phone call with President Vladimir Putin, reports Sputnik.

The agenda for the talks between the two leaders will mostly be the conflicts in Ukraine, Syria and the situation in Libya as well as bilateral relations between Russia and Germany.

Ties between Moscow and the West deteriorated when the Crimean Peninsula voted in a referendum to separate from Ukraine and rejoin the Russian Federation. Tensions further strained after the chemical attack in Syria's Idilib province, which the Western countries blamed it on Assad regime

Merkel's first trip to Moscow since May 2015 indicates normalcy in ties through renewed dialogue amid strained Russia-European Union relations.

According to reports, Ukrainian civil war remains the key point of contention between Russia and Germany. As Berlin is keen to push the Minsk agreements and workout a roadmap to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, Germany has been insisting that sanctions against Russia will be lifted only after the Minsk peace process is implemented in letter and spirit.

Merkel is also likely to discuss the preparations for the G20 summit to be held in Hamburg in July.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mother of Lance Naik Hemraj- whose body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2013 called on the Centre to step up and retaliate.

This come after Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

"They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now," said the mother of Hemraj.

She further called on the Government to try and understand how painful it is to lose one child and pressed for retaliation.

"The government must take stern action against Pakistan. They have not fulfilled any of the promises made to the martyr's family till now," she added.

Resonating similar sentiments, the brother of Hemraj asserted that the situation is very upsetting and India must resonate to Islamabad's atrocities.

"It is a very sad situation, the way our soldiers are losing their lives and the government is not taking any action in this regard. The centre should take stern action against Pakistan so that such incidents are not repeated in future," said the brother of Hemraj.

"Under Modi government, almost every day one soldier is losing their lives. The government is not at all concerned about the people. They don't have any solid strategy to tackle this kind of situation," said another relative.

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and also severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

Indian Army killed terrorist Anwar Khan in August 2015 in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir. He was part of a 15 member team of Lashkar and Jaish terrorists in the BAT team that killed Hemraj and Sudhakar.

In fact, the BAT is a brutal and barbaric arm of Pakistan Army. Its actions along the Line of Control (LOC) may be not in public domain, but the Indian Army has been bearing its brunt for long. The raiding members of BAT are specially instructed not be caught on the Indian side.

Defence experts say that the Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the BAT which employs highly trained terrorists for Trans-LoC action up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres.

In February 2000, seven months after the Kargil War, a Pakistani BAT killed seven Indian soldiers in Nowshera in Rajouri district. The army was shocked to discover the headless body of a soldier, Sepoy Bhausaheb Talekar.

Defence experts say that the Pakistani BAT beheads and mutilate the bodies of Indian soldiers to terrorise troops and wage psychological warfare.

The SSG commandos and terrorists of BAT mainly use AK-47 rifles, Swiss-made snow clothing and snow boots, Digital Navigation Consoles like Skype and VoIP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday urged the Centre to convene an all-party meeting in the capital to discuss the course of action against Pakistan in wake of the barbaric mutilation of Indian soldiers.

"Our farmers and soldiers are the ones whose situations are the worst in the country. If we will not make efforts to improve their condition, then there is no use of a government in the county. The condition of our country is getting worse and it is very unfortunate. It is needed to call all party meeting in Delhi to discuss the situation," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told ANI.

Raut further asserted that such incidents are being repeated time and again, adding that India should take strong measure against Pakistan now.

"From the time our government has come into power, since then Pakistan has increased its barbaric acts. Even during the Congress regime we use to say that we will kill two people in return of one, but nothing happened," he said.

Meanwhile, the last rites of Poonch hero, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh was performed in his home town Tarn Taran, Punjab and wreath laying ceremony of Head Constable Prem Sagar was concluded in capital.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

The Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Expressing grave concern over the brutal Krishna Ghati incident, Indian Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt on Tuesday raised the issue of Border Action Team (BAT) camps near the Line of control with his Pakistani counterpart.

Bhatt also raised the issue of fire support provided by the Pakistani posts.

"DGMO Indian Army conveyed that such dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the Indian Army said in a statement.

Earlier today, while highlighting the fact that the brutal Krishna Ghati incident occurred post the visit of the Pakistan Army Chief to the Line of Control (LoC), the Border Security Force (BSF) revealed that Islamabad's BAT, involved in the attack, comprises Mujahedeen terrorists as well.

"I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, everybody knows that this has taken place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan Army Chief to the frontal area," said BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command K.N. Choubey.

Yesterday, the Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian Territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the wake of the long-standing tussle regarding the fishermen taken into custody by the Sri Lankan authority, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking assistance on the matter.

In a letter, the chief minister asked Prime Minister Modi to secure the immediate release of five fishermen and the fishing boats that were in the Sri Lankan custody.

Earlier, in a letter dated March 7, Palanisamy requested the Centre's intervention in connection with the incident where a fisherman from Tamil Nadu was shot in the Sri Lankan waters, although the island nation's navy denied any involvement in the incident.

Palanisamy said the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India should be summoned forthwith and "the strong feelings of the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu about the unprovoked firing on fishermen and non-adherence to earlier agreements on this issue should be conveyed in no uncertain terms."

A group of Indian fishermen, who were fishing between Danushkodi and Katchatheevu off the Tamil Nadu coast, were allegedly fired upon by the Sri Lankan Navy in which one fisherman was killed.

Reportedly, 500 boats went for fishing in the first week of March from Rameshwaram. The Sri Lankan Navy started firing in which Pricho died of the bullet injury on his neck and another man named Saravanan got injured.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttarakhand on Wednesday.

He will begin his visit by offering prayers at the Kedarnath Temple.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Patanjali Research Institute in Haridwar.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat yesterday flew to Kedarnath to review the preparations ahead of the Prime Minister's visit.

He visited the medical centre set up at Kedarnath to provide prompt medical facilities for the pilgrims and interacted with the medical team deployed at the centre.

He also visited the accommodation arrangements made for the pilgrims at Kedarnath.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Locals and ex-defence personnel in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir chanted anti-Pakistan slogans on Tuesday and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi take stringent action against Islamabad, for mutilating the bodies of two Indian militants in Krishna Ghati sector here.

(Indian Army age badho hum tumhare saath hain, Bharat Mata Ki Jai), these were some of the slogans raised by the locals.

Ex-servicemen Sharma called on Prime Minister Modi to take stringent action against the Pakistan Government for such inhuman behavior with the Indian militants.

"We want our Prime Minister to take stern action against the Pakistan Government for mutilating the bodies of two Indian Militants in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district," Sharma told ANI.

Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

Yesterday, the Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian Territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in Srinagar yesterday and took stock of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The family of slain solider Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, whose body was brutally mutilated by the Pakistani Army in Krishna Ghati, Jammu and Kashmir opened the coffin to see his body before cremating.

The martyr's cremation was held up for a while after his kin created a scene, demanding to see his body first.

"Whose body is this? It is all behind this box! We are not being shown the body? Why are they not showing us the body, they just said that it is Paramjit's body. It is just written on the box," said the kin of the solider.

However, after seeing his body, the satisfied family of the soldier proceeded to cremate his body with full honors.

Mourning the demise of their beloved brother Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, the family called on the Centre to assure justice and go to war with Pakistan if they have to.

"The Centre should take strict action. If war is the solution, then we should just go to war with Islamabad and finish the issue once and for all. By any chance if the issue can be sorted out with dialogue then even that should be tried," said the brother of the slain jawan.

Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

The Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the second meeting of the Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) here on May 15 and 16.

The theme of the meeting will be "Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development: Making India Resilient by 2030".

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju will deliver the valedictory address on May 16.

The event will include a ministerial session and a plenary session on the theme " Perspective on Disaster Risk Reduction: Sendai and Beyond".

There will also be five technical sessions on the themes "Understanding Disaster Risk", "Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance to Manage Disaster Risk", "Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for resilience", " Enhancing Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response and to Build Back Better in Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction" and "Sendai Framework for DRR: Monitoring".

The Platform aims to bring together the whole range of India's disaster risk community from government, parliamentarians, local self governments, media, international organizations, ngos, local community representatives, scientific and academic institutions and corporate businesses etc.

The NPDRR was constituted in 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States President Donald Trump has called for a 'good shutdown' in September to fix the "mess" in the Senate.

He said that legislation needs 60 votes in the Senate because of the filibuster and suggested that it would be necessary to elect more Republicans or "change the rules."

"The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We.... either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good "shutdown" in September to fix mess!" Trump tweeted.

Republicans are still split on whether to approve a bill Trump supports to roll back the Affordable Care Act, and also Trump had to agree to major concessions on a stopgap spending bill in order for it to win support in the Senate, which requires 60 votes to pass the legislation where as Republicans only control 52 votes in the 100-seat chamber.

According to Senate rules, 60 lawmakers need to agree before most bills can move to a final vote.

Trump is apparently disappointed with the spending deal Congress is poised to approve this week.

Votes on the USD $1.1tn budget deal which would fund the government through September are expected this week.

Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers are sent home and national parks and museums are closed during the shutdown.

Last time, 16 days shutdown took place during Barack Obama's administration in October 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WATERLOO  It smelled like urine in the large open room of the former Newark State School, Kevin Smith remembered. He counted 60 metal beds, 60 metal closets, 60 metal chairs. A small space with a television and a couch was tucked into a back corner.

People, 60 of them, were milling around with nothing to do. They got up when they were told. They ate what they were told. This is how they lived, and where they lived, in this one big nightmare room.

Smith, who is the executive director of the Arc of Seneca Cayuga, was recalling a field trip he took sometime in the 1970s to Newark, a state institution for people with developmental disabilities. He was nothing short of dumbfounded.

"This isn't like 18th-century Charles Dickens," he said, almost laughing with incredulity while recalling the scene. "This is, this is modern society."

The image stuck with Smith, and after graduating from college with a degree in psychology in 1977, he took a summer job at the Geneva chapter of the Arc, a service provider for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But after two months, Smith didn't want to leave. He ended up staying at the branch for five years before transferring to the Arc of Seneca Cayuga (then the Seneca Cayuga ARC).

With nearly 36 years of service at the organization, the Geneva resident is retiring at the end of May.

Smith said when he started at the Arc, there were just 15 staff members and 26 people to serve. Those numbers have grown significantly, with more than 500 staff members serving nearly 1,200 individuals in Seneca and Cayuga counties. There are 26 service sites across both counties, and the operating budget is more than $25 million.

Smith has helped to open 15 new group homes for people with disabilities, developed work programs and started businesses  anything to try and provide new opportunities for those under the organization's care. But Smith waved those things off.

"You can build all the houses you want, all that other infrastructure and whatever, but what really matters is: Are you impacting people's lives, and are you doing it positively?" he said. "And that's been the one constant I think, that has been through my 36 years. I tell new staff when they come in all the time, 'No matter how long you decide to stay with us, whether it's a few months, which is fine, or a few years, or God forbid 36, understand you're working at an organization where you have the ability to impact somebody's life.'"

Though the Arc was started in the 1940s and '50s by parents who did not want to send their children to state schools, it took decades before the organization garnered support. It wasn't until 1972 when views began to shift. An ABC News report by Geraldo Rivera showed the deplorable conditions in which residents lived at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island: excrement streaked across walls, children sitting naked on the floor. It was worse, Smith said, than what he had witnessed in Newark.

The news report, Smith said, led to a national outcry. In 1975, former New York Gov. Hugh Carey signed the Willowbrook Consent Decree. It didn't close the institution, but it required a tremendous overhaul of how it operated, adding that its residents had a "constitutional right" to be protected. It wasn't until 1991 that state schools were shut down altogether. At that time, the Arc gained momentum, providing care and opportunities for those freed from the state institutions.

"We worked to make sure that people were treated correctly, and they had a say in what they did everyday, and just stuff that you took for granted," Smith said. "That, somehow somebody forgot. Somebody forgot that people are people."

Though much has progressed over the years, there are still similar institutions in other states throughout the country. That's something the Arc continues to tackle, hoping to close those facilities and provide more opportunities nationwide. While the tune has changed for the better in New York specifically, Smith is still concerned for the agency's future. With Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Medicaid reform, the Arc of Seneca Cayuga has experienced funding cuts over the years, causing a period of retrenchment. That's partially why Smith thinks it's a good time for him to leave.

"We worked hard to keep what we have to make sure people with disabilities aren't hurt by some of the state's new policies," he said. "It's a good time for the agency, the organization, to be able to kind of take a look at itself and say, 'What do we do well? What do we have to improve on, and how can we continue to grow and thrive in this kind of environment?' So with that, it's a really different skill set that somebody needs to operate an organization that's changing from the type of opportunities that we had over the last 20 years to now, looking at how to do more with less, and make sure that the agency is sustainable."

Taking Smith's place will be Allen Connely, who hails from western Pennsylvania. For the last seven years, Connely has been the executive vice president and COO of Keystone Independence Management, a nonprofit management service organization. One of the services that company provides is assisting individuals who have visual impairments as well as physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Smith will wrap things up during the month of June. After that, he said, he'll take some time to reflect on his work and decide what's next.

"I think there's very few people who can say they've had that opportunity, to make a difference in literally thousands of people's lives over the course of your career," he said. "I feel like I'm the Arc of Seneca Cayuga, and I've got to change my mindset to, what am I now? I got to figure that out."
The Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill.

Earlier, President Pranab Mukherjee gave his nod to four supporting legislations related to the GST Bill.

The Rajya Sabha passed four GST Bills without amendments setting the stage for the government for the launch on July 1.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the GST will lead to new tax regime.

The four bills passed on April 6 - the Central GST bill, the Integrated GST bill, the Union Territories GST bill and the compensation law - have already been cleared by the Lok Sabha, where the government enjoys majority.

Now, a state GST Bill will be presented in the state assemblies for their approval.

The GST rates will be discussed by the powerful GST Council on May 18-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As cigarette smoking is higher among lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals, a study reveals that LGBT individuals, who live in smoke-free communities, are more likely to want to quit smoking than those in communities without smoking bans.

The University of Missouri-Columbia researchers have found that 94 percent of those, who live in smoke-free communities, were more likely to quit smoking, compared to the 76 percent of those who lived in places without smoking bans.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking among lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals is higher than among heterosexual adults--nearly 24 percent of the LGBT population smoke compared to nearly 17 percent of the straight population.

Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have found evidence of lower smoking prevalence and greater intentions to quit among the LGBT smokers who live in communities with smoke-free policies.

"Past research indicated despite overall declines in smoking, higher smoking rates persist in the LGBT community, due in part to social norms," said Jenna Wintemberg, instructor of health sciences in the School of Health Professions.

"LGBT people face hostility and can feel excluded from social spaces, leading individuals to create their own spaces such as bars and nightclubs, which are often targets for marketing and promotion by the tobacco industry," Wintemberg added.

They surveyed participants during Missouri Pride festivals with questions about where they live, personal tobacco use and support for smoke-free policies.

"Smoke-free policies have several positive outcomes for all people, not specifically those who identify as LGBT," said principal investigator of the study Jane McElroy.

"These outcomes include overall lower smoking rates and changes in social norms regarding smoking, McElroy added.

Researchers also found that only 35 percent of Missourians from the study sample lived in an area with a comprehensive smoke-free law, compared to 82 percent of the population nationally.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, congratulated the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force for unearthing the racket involved in short delivery of fuel at petrol stations in Lucknow. These raids were carried at 11 petrol pumps out on specific information regarding tampering with fuel calibration by use of electronic chips. Of these, electronic chips were found at 9 fuel stations, 3 of which belong to IOCL and the other 6 belong to BPCL.

The Minister said that he held talks with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and DGP of Uttar Pradesh on this issue. The Central and State Governments have decided to hold a meeting in Lucknow in light of the raids, which would be chaired by the Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh and will be attended by representatives of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Oil Marketing Companies.

The Minister said that all fuel stations in Uttar Pradesh will be re-assessed by a team comprising of representatives from State Government's Weight and Measures Department, Civil Supplies Department, Special Task Force and the Oil Marketing Company.

At the same time, random surprise checks will be conducted all across the country at fuel stations. The instructions to this effect have been given to all concerned. Shri Pradhan said that the Central Government hopes for full cooperation from the States as Weights and Measures is a State subject and the annual supervision cum certification of fuel delivery units at fuel stations is carried out by the Weights and Measures Departments of the concerned State.

Shri Pradhan said consumer interest is paramount and that strict action will be taken against those found guilty of tampering with fuel calibration. He said that those dealers violating the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) will also face strict action mounting to even termination of licences.

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Ambuja Cements' consolidated net profit rose 38% to Rs 396.96 crore on 6.8% growth in net sales to Rs 5631.90 crore in Q1 March 2017 over Q1 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017.

Shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) will be in focus after announcing a hike in petrol and diesel prices. Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) on 30 April 2017 announced an increase in the price of petrol and diesel with effect from the midnight of 30 April/1 May 2017. Petrol price was hiked by Rs 0.01 per litre and diesel price was raised by Rs 0.44 a litre at Delhi (excluding state levies).

In addition to this, daily revision of prices of petrol and diesel is being implemented on pilot basis, in the cities of Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Puducherry District, Udaipur and Vizag with effect from 1 May 2017.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories said that the audit of the company's formulations manufacturing plant - 3 at Bachupally, Hyderabad by the US FDA, has been completed on Friday, 28 April 2017. The company was a Form 483 with 11 observations. These observations are mostly procedural in nature, reflecting the need to improve people capabilities and strengthen documentation and laboratory systems. The company will address them comprehensively within the stipulated time. This is for your information. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017. Domestic stock markets remained closed on Monday, 1 May 2017, for a local holiday.

GAIL (India) has awarded contracts for pipeline laying works of Kochi-Koottanad-Mangaluru pipeline for another 131 kilometre section at a cost of approximately Rs 200 crore. The balance 111 kilometres stretch will be awarded by July 2017. GAIL (India) is targeting to complete the entire project by December 2018. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017, when the domestic stock markets were closed for a local holiday.

Marico and Kansai Nerolac Paints are scheduled to announce March quarter earnings today, 2 May 2017.

Thermax announced that the company has won export contracts from a leading African conglomerate to supply 4 utility boilers, 8 heat recovery steam generators and 2 flue gas steam generators for its refinery and petrochemical project coming up in Nigeria. The scope of supply covers design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing and testing, and supervision of commissioning of these equipment at the site. The order is valued at approximately $ 157 million. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017. Domestic stock markets remained closed on Monday, 1 May 2017, for a local holiday.

Raymond's net profit rose 10.97% to Rs 37.54 crore on 1.64% growth in net sales to Rs 772.46 crore in Q1 March 2017 over Q1 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017. Domestic stock markets remained closed on Monday, 1 May 2017, for a local holiday.

Navin Fluorine International's net profit fell 6.73% to Rs 29.38 crore on 5.79% growth in net sales to Rs 200.53 crore in Q1 March 2017 over Q1 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017. Domestic stock markets remained closed on Monday, 1 May 2017, for a local holiday.

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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into two Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers, strengthening the Government's commitment to foster a non-adversarial tax regime. Both the agreements also have a Rollback provision in them.

The 2 APAs signed yesterday pertain to Information Technology and Banking & Finance sectors of the economy. The international transactions covered in these agreements include Software Development services, IT enabled services and KPO services.

With these, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 154, which includes 11 bilateral APAs and 143 unilateral APAs. The CBDT expects more APAs to be concluded and signed in the near future.

The approach and functioning of the officers in the APA teams have been appreciated and acknowledged by the industry in India and abroad.

The APA Scheme was introduced in the Income-tax Act in 2012 and the Rollback provisions were introduced in 2014. The scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the arm's length price of international transactions in advance for the maximum of five future years. Further, the taxpayer has the option to rollback the APA for four preceding years. Since its inception, the APA scheme has attracted tremendous interest among Multi National Enterprises (MNEs) and that has resulted in more than 800 applications (both unilateral and bilateral) having been filed in just five years.

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H. E. Mr Nicos Anastasiades, Hon'ble President of the Republic of Cyprus urged Indian industry to invest in the country's key areas including banking and finance, shipping and transportation, education, science and technology, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and tourism in order to stimulate trade and investments between the two countries said at 'India -Cyprus Business Session' jointly organized by ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI.

He said, Cyprus's shipping industry has been one of the most successful export services of our country, as Cyprus enjoys the privilege of being one of the most influential global hubs for ship owning and ship management services, and home to some of the world's most prominent names in shipping; offering competitive ship registration costs and favourable tax regime for ship management and other international business enterprises.

The education sector also has the capacity of becoming another significant area of collaboration between Cyprus and India. The three state Universities, and the five highly esteemed private universities offer a wide range of courses and degree programmes, attracting foreign students from all over the world, rendering the island a major educational centre in the region.

Another field of great prospect relates to science and technology, on which India possesses much-needed and much-welcomed experience and expertise, which could greatly benefit Cyprus. Attracting talent is very important for boosting our entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem. For this reason, we have very recently introduced an attractive Start-up Visa Scheme, under which startups from India can easily locate in Cyprus and have easy access to the EU market.

Other areas of co-operation which could be actively explored are those of renewable energy on which Cyprus has a long-standing expertise, and Tourism, Mr Nicos Anastasiades added.

In this respect, the Protocol on Air Services Agreement to be signed on Friday in New Delhi can pave the way for establishing direct connectivity between our two countries; thus increasing the so far very modest number of tourism exchanges if one considers the potential that this sector holds. A new strategy recently completed aims to diversify and enrich the tourist product. With the first luxury casino resort, the marinas and other major projects this is a space to watch out for new investments, said the Cyprus President.

Cyprus is now emerging stronger than ever from an unprecedented crisis and our journey along the road to recovery has been faster than anyone could predict, enjoying one of the fastest growing economies of the EU; currently just short of 3% of the GDP.

We recognise the importance of maintaining sound public finances. We are committed to maintain a stable and competitive tax regime.

We shall continue to invest in our human capital, supporting higher education and research.

In particular, the Government has developed a new legal framework, which establishes the procedure of direct licensing of large investments, and it applies on pilot cases a fast track licensing mechanism for investment projects. I would encourage foreign investors, including Indian investors, to invest in projects in Cyprus, which the Presidency can promote through its fast track mechanism for receiving the relevant licenses within short and specific timeframes.

Mr Sandeep Jajodia, President, ASSOCHAM said, Cyprus is not only an attractive investment destination but could be used as a gateway to EU for Indian businesses. The other area where India can contribute is imparting and providing host of digital skills and services. Besides, India can provide world class healthcare facilities which will complement your booming tourism sector.

Mr. Deep Kapuria, Chairman, CII Central Europe Committee, and Chairman, Hi-Tech Group said that Cyprus location in the Eastern Mediterranean at the crossroads of three continents gives it easy access to the markets of West Asia, North Africa, Russia and Southern Europe. It can act as a gateway to these regions for Indian companies, particularly the EU of which it is a member state.

Mr. Rakesh Bakshi, Sr. FICCI Executive Committee Member and Chairman & Managing Director, RRB Energy Ltd added, enriching and broad-basing our economic relations would hold us good and role of tourism and hospitality sector can play an integral role in catapulting our relations to next level. Information technology & information technology enabled services, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and R&D, to mention a few will certainly and needed verve to our economic engagements.

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Hero MotoCorp rose 0.65% to Rs 3,332.15 at 11:32 IST after the company announced price hike across different models to partially offset the commodity cost increases, effective from 1 May 2017.

The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017, when domestic stock markets remained closed, for a local holiday.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 86.84 points, or 0.29%, to 29,831.56

On the BSE, 7,735 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 43,544 shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 3,382 and a low of Rs 3,303.55 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 3,739.90 on 8 September 2016 and a 52-week low of Rs 2,829 on 6 May 2016.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 39.94 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Hero MotoCorp announced price hike from Rs 500 to Rs 2,200 across different models to partially offset the commodity cost increases, effective from 1 May 2017.

Hero MotoCorp's total two-wheeler sales declined 3.5% to 5.91 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. The two-wheeler industry witnessed heavy retail off-take towards the end of March 2017 in view of the transition from BS III to BS IV vehicles. With the ongoing marriage season, the company expects to maintain the trend of robust retail sales in May 2017.

Hero MotoCorp's net profit fell 2.7% to Rs 772.05 crore on 12.1% decline in net sales to Rs 6245.90 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.

Hero MotoCorp is the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer in terms of production capacity. The company has six manufacturing plants, including five in India including Dharuhera, Gurgaon, Haridwar, Neemrana and Halol and one in Colombia.

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Sales rise 8.00% to Rs 938.59 crore

Net profit of Kansai Nerolac Paints declined 81.24% to Rs 116.17 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 619.32 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016. Sales rose 8.00% to Rs 938.59 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 869.09 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016.

For the full year,net profit declined 43.71% to Rs 505.94 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 898.85 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. Sales rose 6.99% to Rs 3988.17 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 3727.60 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Mar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Sales938.59869.09 8 3988.173727.60 7 OPM %17.4915.51 -18.3215.56 - PBDT187.23144.35 30 828.91607.33 36 PBT169.72127.27 33 759.42539.61 41 NP116.17619.32 -81 505.94898.85 -44

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Key benchmark indices edged in early trade tracking positive sentiment on Asian bourses. At 9:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 83.54 points or 0.28% at 30,001.94. The Nifty 50 index was up 24.80 points or 0.27% at 9,328.85.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.3%. The BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.53%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Overseas, Asian stocks edged higher amid resumption of trading at major stock exchanges after being shut for a public holiday on Monday, 1 May 2017. US stocks closed slightly higher on Monday, 1 May 2017, shaking off comments from President Donald Trump about breaking up the big banks.

Closer home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,052 shares rose and 369 shares declined. A total of 64 shares were unchanged.

Among corporate news, Ambuja Cements was down 2.28% at Rs 240.35. The company's consolidated net profit rose 38% to Rs 396.96 crore on 6.8% growth in net sales to Rs 5631.90 crore in Q1 March 2017 over Q1 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017.

ONGC rose 1.29% after the company said its new oil and gas discoveries grew by 35% to 23 new discoveries in FY 2017 over FY 2016. ONGC said that FY 2017 has been one of the most successful years of the last decade in exploring oil and gas with more thrust in increased exploration activities during the year. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.

GAIL (India) was up 0.12%. The company has awarded contracts for pipeline laying works of Kochi-Koottanad-Mangaluru pipeline for another 131 kilometre section at a cost of approximately Rs 200 crore. The balance 111 kilometres stretch will be awarded by July 2017. GAIL (India) is targeting to complete the entire project by December 2018. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017, when the domestic stock markets were closed for a local holiday.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) was down 0.52%. The company said that the audit of its formulations manufacturing plant - 3 at Bachupally, Hyderabad by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), was completed on 28 April 2017. DRL has been issued a Form 483 with 11 observations.

These observations are mostly procedural in nature, reflecting the need to improve people capabilities and strengthen documentation and laboratory systems. DRL said it will address them comprehensively within the stipulated time. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) fell 0.27%. Ratings agency CARE reaffirmed its ratings on the company's long term bank facilities amounting to Rs 184 crore with CARE AAA with a stable outlook. It also reaffirmed its ratings on the company's short term bank facilities amounting to Rs 66 crore with CARE A1+. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017.

Tata Motors declined 0.9% after the company's total passenger and commercial vehicle sales declined 21% to 30,972 units in April 2017 over April 2016. The company's commercial vehicle sales were affected by the Supreme Court judgement announced on 29 March 2017, with the ban on BS3 sales, leading to the need for a higher quantity of BS4 stock for April sales.

Tata Motors' commercial vehicles sales in the domestic market slumped 36% to 16,017 units in April 2017 over April 2016, an unusual decline, in exceptional circumstances. Tata Motors expects production, wholesales and retails to pick up in May and June. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) advanced 2.11% after the company's total sales rose 19.5% to 1.51 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. Domestic sales grew by 23.4% to 1.44 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. Exports declined 29.4% to 6,723 units in April 2017 over April 2016. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) was up 0.68%. The company's total two-wheeler sales declined 3.5% to 5.91 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. The two-wheeler industry witnessed heavy retail off-take towards the end of March 2017 in view of the transition from BS III to BS IV vehicles. With the ongoing marriage season, the company expects to maintain the trend of robust retail sales in May.

HMCL raised the prices - ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,200 - across different models to partially offset the commodity cost increases, effective from 1 May 2017. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.

Eicher Motors rose 2.15%. The company on 1 May 2017 said that total sales of VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) declined 42.4% to 3,089 units in April 2017 over April 2016. VE Commercial Vehicles is an unlisted subsidiary of Eicher Motors.

Separately, Eicher Motors on 1 May 2017 said its total motorcycles sales grew by 25% to 60,142 units in April 2017 over April 2016. Exports surged 36% to 1,578 units in April 2017 over April 2016.

Shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) edged higher after announcing a hike in petrol and diesel prices. BPCL (up 0.98%), HPCL (up 0.98%) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) (up 0.83%) advanced.

IOCL on 30 April 2017 announced an increase in the price of petrol and diesel with effect from the midnight of 30 April/1 May 2017. Petrol price was hiked by Rs 0.01 per litre and diesel price was raised by Rs 0.44 a litre at Delhi (excluding state levies).

In addition to this, daily revision of prices of petrol and diesel is being implemented on pilot basis, in the cities of Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Puducherry District, Udaipur and Vizag with effect from 1 May 2017.

The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Monday, 1 May 2017, reviewed international prices of crude oil and petroleum products for the month of April 2017. In the case of PDS Kerosene, the under-recoveries with effect from 1 May 2017 will be Rs 10.68 per litre.

On the macro front, the combined index of eight core industries comprising nearly 38% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 202.9 in March 2017, which was 5% higher compared to the index of March 2016. The data was released by the government yesterday, 1 May 2017.

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For month of April 2017

SML ISUZU announced that the Company sold 768 units in the month of April 2017 compared to sale of 1404 units in April 2016. 275 BSIII vehicles have been returned by customers/dealers during April 2017 (not adjusted in above) pursuant to Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment pronounced on 29 March 2017, banning sale of BSIII vehicles post 1 April 2017. As the sales return is out of vehicles sold before 31 March 2017, appropriate adjustment is carried out in the books of accounts for FY 2016-17.

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May is Older Americans Month, designated by the U.S. Administration on Aging to pay tribute to senior citizens in our communities. Every year since 1963, May has been a month to appreciate and celebrate the vitality and aspirations of older adults and their contributions to our communities. It has been a time to celebrate older Americans, their stories and their contributions. Led by the Administration for Community Living, the annual observance offers a special opportunity to learn about, support and recognize our nations older citizens.

This years Older Americans Month theme is Age Out Loud. This theme is intended to give aging a new voice, one that reflects what todays older adults have to say about aging. Getting older doesnt mean what it used to. For many aging Americans, it is a phase of life where interests, goals and dreams can get a new or second start. Today, aging is about eliminating outdated perceptions and living the way that suits you best.

Take Barbara Hillary, for example. A nurse for 55 years who dreamed of travel, at age 75 Hillary became the first African-American woman to set foot on the North Pole. In 2011, at age 79, she set another first when she stepped onto the South Pole. Former president George H.W. Bush celebrated his 90th birthday by skydiving. Actress Betty White, now 95 years old, became the oldest person to host "Saturday Night Live" in 2010, coincidentally during May  the same month recognized as Older Americans Month.

Every year in May, the Cayuga County Office for the Aging celebrates Older Americans Month by holding a Senior Citizens Day. This is a day that local seniors look forward to, to reconnect with each other after the long winter and to celebrate being an older American. This years festivities will be held on Tuesday, May 23, at the Emerson Park Pavilion on Owasco Lake, 6914 E. Lake Road, Owasco. Join us at noon for lunch with the Cayuga County Legislature. At 1 p.m., the legislators will hold their meeting right at Emerson Park. The first item on the agenda will be to recite a proclamation and to honor the Cayuga County Senior Citizens of the Year. The award winners will be recognized for their outstanding volunteer contributions to their communities. There will be a reception immediately following the awards before the meeting resumes official business.

The Cayuga County Office for the Aging wishes to focus on how older adults in our community are redefining aging  through work or family interests, by taking charge of their health and staying independent for as long as possible, and through their community and advocacy efforts. We can also use this opportunity to learn how we can best support and learn from our communitys older members.

Reservations for the May 23 Senior Citizens Day recognition luncheon at the Emerson Park Pavilion can be made by sending your name, address, telephone number and number of people attending to the Cayuga County Office for the Aging. The cost for the luncheon is $12 per person. Make checks payable to the Cayuga County Office for the Aging and send them to 160 Genesee St., Auburn, NY 13021 by May 12. For more information, you can contact the office at (315) 253-1226.

Please join us on May 23 to celebrate Older Americans Month and to honor our local Senior Citizens of the Year!
Union Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Sushri Uma Bharti launched Bundelkhand water conservation programme at Bandri in Sagar District of MP. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said this programme will benefit drought prone areas of Bundelkhand region. She said that her Ministry has prepared a master plan for artificial recharge of ground water in Bundelkhand region. In UP region of Bundelkhand, around 1100 percolation tanks, 14000 small check dams/Nala bunds and 7200 Recharge pits/shafts have been identified. In MP region of Bundelkhand, around 2000 percolation tanks, 55000 small check dams/Nala bunds and 17000 Recharge shafts have been identified. The Minister said as a part of ground water exploration, 234 wells in UP are proposed to be constructed in five districts of Bundelkhand i.e., Banda, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Chitrakoot and Mahoba. Similarly 259 wells in MP are proposed to be constructed in the districts of Datia, Sagar, Damoh, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur and Panna in the Bundelkhand region of the State.

Sushri Bharti said her Ministry has taken up new initiatives under National Ground Water Management Improvement Schemes (NGMIS) with an objective to effectively improve ground water conditions in stressed blocks, ensure sustainability of resource both quantitatively and qualitatively, participatory approach in ground water management and institutional strengthening. In Bundelkhand region of UP, six districts covering an area of 11851 sq km have been considered under this initiative. In Bundelkhand region of MP, five districts covering an area of 8319 sq km have been considered under this initiative.

The Minister informed that Incentivization Scheme for Bridging Irrigation Gap (ISBIG) scheme is being prepared by the Ministry with an objective to complete CADWM works along with correction of system deficiencies in canal network for bridging the gap between Irrigation Potential Created (IPC) and Irrigation Potential Utilised (IPU), improving the water use efficiency in irrigation and providing assured supply of water to every farm field and transfer of control and management of irrigation system to the Water Users' Associations (WUAs). In Bundelkhand region of UP, Betwa and Gursarai canal, Rajghat canal, Ken canal system, Gunta Nala dam and Upper Rajghat canal with target to bridge 17,1030 hact under this scheme is being proposed. The scheme will benefit Jhansi, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Lalitpur and Banda districts in Bundelkhand region. In Bundelkhand region of MP Rajghat Canal Project with target to bridge 68007 ha under this scheme is being proposed. The scheme will benefit Tikamgarh and Datia districts.

Sushri Bharti said in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, aquifer mapping for 14,350 sq.km has already been completed in the districts of Lalitpur (5058), Jhansi (5077) and Hamirpur (4500). Similarly in Bundelkhand region of MP, aquifer mapping of 22104 sq. km covering the districts of Chhattarpur (7594), Sagar (9270) and Tikamgarh (4880) has been completed.

This would be utilized in preparation of sustainable ground water management plan of these areas.

The Minister informed that under fast track implementation of water conservation schemes in Bundelkhand of region of MP 100 new water bodies with estimated cost of about Rs. 100 crores with tentative potential creation of 5000 ha would be taken up. Similarly, 60 new water bodies/bandis with estimated cost of about Rs. 70 crores with tentative potential creation/restoration of 2000 ha would be taken up in Bundelkhand region of UP.

Similar programme for Marathwada region of Maharashtra is also being launched. Seven schemes with target to bridge 53365 ha gap between IPC and IPU are being proposed. The scheme will benefit Aurangabad, Latur, Nanded, Prabhani, Nanded, Solapur and Osmanabad districts and involve an expenditure of Rs. 250 crore. An area of 3727 sq.km in Marathwada is proposed to be covered under National Ground Water Management Improvement Schemes involving an expenditure approximate of Rs. 380 crore. Aquifer mapping of 9101 sq. km. of area in Marathwada has been completed. Management Plan of 7775 sq. km has been submitted to Maharashtra government. Under Fast track implementation of water conservation schemes 50 new water bodies with estimated cost of about Rs. 60 crores with tentative potential creation of 5000 ha would be taken up.

Under Water conservation programme for Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK) region of Odisha, nine projects with target to cover 0.68 lakh ha of potential under the scheme to bridge the gap between PIC and IPU is being proposed. The scheme will benefit Malkangiri, Bolangir, Nuapada, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Bargarh districts of KBK region and will involve an expenditure of Rs.400 crore. 305 wells have been constructed in the region. 89 water bodies from KBK region with estimated cost of Rs. 32 crore and targeted revival of irrigation potential of 5739 ha have been included for providing central assistance under PMKSY. These water bodies are part of cluster of 760 WBs in Odisha in which central assistance of Rs. 107 crore has been released including those in KBK region. Out of the 99 ongoing major medium irrigation projects to be completed in phased manner by March, 2019 under AIBP, four projects namely Lower Indra (KBK), Upper Indravati (KBK), RET irrigation and Telengiri shall benefit KBK region. Ultimate irrigation potential of these schemes is 1.44 lakh ha. During 2016-17, an amount of Rs. 233 crore was released for these schemes under AIBP and CAD Schemes. Under Fast track implementation of water conservation schemes 75 new water bodies with estimated cost of about Rs. 50 crores with tentative potential creation of 2500 ha would be taken up.

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At least 20 militants were killed when the military aircraft pounded Taliban hideouts in northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, a police official said on Tuesday.

"Acting upon intelligence reports, the aircraft of security forces targeted the hideouts of the armed Taliban insurgents in Zebak district late last night, killing at least 20 enemies on the spot," General Shir Aziz Kamawal told Xinhua news agency.

Six vehicles and two motorbikes of the militants were also destroyed in the Monday attacks, the official said.

The deadly air raids were conducted after the Taliban captured Zebak district a couple of days ago.

Taliban militants, according to the locals, have been attempting to overrun Zebak's neighbouring Ashkashim district too and government forces have been fighting back to foil the plans.

--IANS

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As many as 54 attacks on journalists were reported in 16 months, mainly by "lawmakers and law enforcers", a report compiled by media watchdog Hoot said on Tuesday, a day ahead of the World Press Freedom Day.

The report said the actual figure could be much higher as a minister told Parliament that "142 attacks on journalists took place between 2014-15".

"The stories behind each of these attacks reveal a clear and persistent pattern. Investigative reporting is becoming increasingly dangerous. Journalists who venture out into the field to investigate any story, be it sand mining, stone quarrying, illegal construction, police brutality, medical negligence, eviction drive, election campaigns, or civic administration corruption are under attack," it said.

The attacks were committed by political parties and their leaders (8), police (9), and mobs resisting media coverage (9).

Apart from attacks, the report took into account invocation of sedition law, suspension of Internet services in a region, self-censorship on part of media companies, censoring of films and other arts, among other instances which may frustrate free functioning of the media.

The shutdown of the printing presses of two Kashmir newspapers after the killing of militant Burhan Wani, and the ban on Kashmir Reader for three months during the same period, were cited in the report as instances of media censorship.

Other such instances included a one-day ban on NDTV news channel for its coverage of the Pathankot attack last January, which "... supposed to have revealed strategic information about the operation".

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry however put the ban on hold after the channel approached the Supreme Court.

The sedition law was also used unsparingly and "went viral", as the report said.

"A large number of cases were filed -- 18 between January and June last year. By the end of the year, the figure was 40," it said.

The media watchdog cited examples of killings of Right to Information (RTI) activists, and appointment of 'bureaucrats' as Chief Information Commissioners instead of "persons of eminence in public life", as the concerned Act says.

"Currently, 91.6 per cent of Chief Information Commissioners in states are retired bureaucrats, as are 93 per cent of Central Information Commissioners," the report said.

Jammu and Kashmir suffered the longest and bans on Internet services the most -- 13 times in 16 months, with Haryana coming second with Internet suspension nine times in as many months.
E-commerce company Amazon.in on Tuesday said it is set to double its storage capacity with the addition of 14 new fulfilment centres (FCs) in 2017 in India, including the recently announced seven specialised ones for large appliances and furniture.

The Indian unit of the American e-commerce giant said the additional new seven FCs will be set up in Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to support its regular business, all of which will be fully operational by the end of this quarter.

Besides, the company also announced doubling of storage capacity of the FC in Ahmedabad and six times more space at the urban FC in New Delhi to support increased customer and seller demand.

"We are excited to announce our plans for 2017 which will double our storage capacity to support this exponential growth of Amazon.in. We recently announced seven FCs dedicated to large appliances and furniture and with this capacity doubling, we will now see 41 FCs in India for 2017," Akhil Saxena, Vice President, India Customer Fulfilment, Amazon India, said in a statement.

"These 41 FCs will bring us closer to our customers and enable thousands of small and medium businesses to fulfil their orders in a cost-efficient manner. With close to 5,000 new jobs created by these 14 new FCs, we continue to remain committed to investing in infrastructure and technology in India."

The company said the new FCs will enable the sellers of the three new states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, empower more sellers to gain access to and service customers across the country at significantly low operating costs.

"The company's FCs will cover a total area of close to 4 million square feet and offer a storage capacity of over 13 million cubic feet," the statement said.

Currently, over two million products are available for immediate shipping through the network of Amazon's FCs in India.

"It (the company) grew almost 85 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 and continues to rapidly expand to tier-2 and -3 cities and more in its aim to deliver to the most remote parts of India," the statement added.

--IANS

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Armed men shot and injured a cash van driver of a bank and decamped with Rs 1.33 crore on Tuesday, police said.

The incident occurred at around 10.30 a.m. on the busy Zirakpur-Patiala highway, when five to six robbers followed the Axis Bank van from Rajpura town towards Banur in two vehicles, including a Scorpio SUV.

The robbers intercepted the cash van near the Chitkara University campus and Gian Sagar group of institutions, fired at the driver and took away the cash.

The injured driver was rushed to a hospital in Rajpura town, 45 km from here.

Senior police officers rushed to the spot, but the robbers had fled by then.

An alert has been sounded and checking intensified in the area.

--IANS

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BJP national President on Tuesday advised party workers here to be humble and accountable to the people and warned them against getting swayed by the landslide victory in the state assembly elections held earlier this year.

"There is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government now in the state, and therefore, your responsibility has increased manifold," he told party leaders and workers at the concluding session of the state executive held in the state capital.

The "advisory" assumes significance in the backdrop of several high-handed acts of BJP workers and leaders, such as a mob attack on the Saharanpur SSP's house and beating up of police at Kannauj.

Speaking in the presence of the party's state President and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior leaders, the BJP chief hailed the party workers.

"The party cadres have worked very hard for three years since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to achieve this stunning victory and hence the workers and leaders need not only to be fair in their conduct but also remain connected to the people."

He also attacked the previous governments in the state over the past 15 years and accused them of plundering the state for self-promotion and doing nothing for the people.

"But all that is a thing of the past now and we are working for all-round development of the state with the credo given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi - Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas," he said.

Shah also exhorted the workers and state leaders not to rest and instead be prepared for winning other elections and to ensure that the people standing on the last step of the social ladder were benefited by the schemes rolled out by the central and state governments.

He also praised the Yogi Adityanath government and said the state government had begun to work for the people.

Earlier, on his first visit to the state capital after the installation of the BJP government, was accorded a grand welcome by party workers at the airport.
Australian scientists called for action on Tuesday, as new research said deforestation has driven lots of the world's animals to the brink of extinction.

Researchers at the Macquarie University here warned species ranging from butterflies to frogs and lizards were all at risk, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The amount of expected extinction is really high, I think the scientific community should find the result disturbing," Associate Professor John Alroy told Xinhua news agency.

"Previously, research has focused on a local extinction, but what is new about this research is that it's not about a local or small forest but about complete extinction globally."

Tropical forests are home to the majority of all plant and animal species, and according to the findings, disturbing their ecosystem could have a severe impact.

"A mass extinction could have happened right under our noses because we just don't know much about the many rare species that are most vulnerable to extinction," Alroy said.

More than half of the world's species are found in tropical forests, even though they only make up 10 per cent of the earth's land surface, so according to Alroy, the solution is to "create more areas that are protected from deforestation".

"A lot more field work needs to be done in the tropics and the time to do this is now," he said.

--IANS

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A young man driving a new luxury car had a providential escape on Tuesday when the vehicle caught fire in a south Delhi locality. The accident led to a traffic jam for around an hour on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyover.

Police said Gagan Kalra, aged 20 and an MBA student at the Amity University in Noida, was driving the car, bought only five days ago, when it caught fire in the Maharani Bagh area at 4.40 p.m.

"A phone call about the fire damaging the car was received at the Sunlight Colony police station. A fire tender was rushed to the spot but the car was gutted by flames by the time firefighters reached there," a senior police officer told IANS.

Gagan, a resident of Kailash Colony in south Delhi, had not switched on the car's central locking system or else he could have been trapped and injured, the police officer said.

He said Gagan noticed fire emanating from the bonnet and immediately applied brakes to get out in time.

"I gifted the brand new Mercedes Benz-CLA-200 to my son Gagan, which cost over Rs 35 lakh. I cannot believe it caught fire," said car owner Bobby Kalra.

"The traffic jam extended up to four km from the Yamuna flyover on the DND route towards Delhi and took an hour to clear after a crane removed the gutted car to roadside," the officer added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi Police Assistant Sub-Inspector was on Tuesday suspended for mishandling the assault on Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari's staff.

"ASI Kailash Chand, who was posted in a PCR unit, could have prevented the seven attackers from barging into Tiwari's residence where they attacked his personal staff," said a senior police officer.

A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against Chand, the officer said.

Action against Chand was taken after Tiwari complained to senior police officers against him following CCTV footage which showed Chand entering and coming out of Tiwari's residence after the incident, the officer added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Tuesday launched an e-learning programme for Syrian refugees in Jordan that explains their rights and responsibilities under the country's labour laws.

The programme is part of on-going efforts by the ILO to help formalise the work of Syrian refugees in Jordan, the international agency said in a statement.

It outlines the benefits of working legally through obtaining work permits, as well as the procedures needed to obtain them, Xinhua news agency reported.

Developed with support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Corporation, the programme consists of video segments and other training material, covering work permits, workers' rights, sectors open to non-Jordanian workers, social security and occupational safety and health.

"Helping Syrian refugees become formally employed is an important step towards protecting workers and improving their conditions at work," said Maha Kattaa, a coordinator for the ILO Syrian Refugee Response in Jordan.

"We have, therefore, designed a free, easy-to-use programme, which is accessible through smartphone devices, to encourage more Syrian workers to apply for work permits."

The programme will initially be used by 500 Syrians in Irbid, Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman, working in the construction sector and the agricultural sector, where a large number of workers are women.

It will be expanded to reach more workers in other sectors.

The number of Syrian refugees stands at approximately 1.3 million, according to the government of Jordan, including 657,000 registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with a vast majority living in urban areas.

According to official figures, there are around 44,000 Syrians who have obtained work permits in Jordan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PORT BYRON  After more than 20 years in the making, the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park will soon celebrate the start of its first full season in Port Byron. But according to the New York State Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation, the state can't do it alone.

At a public meeting Monday night, members of the Canal Society of New York State and the Thruway Authority came together to ask the community for help as the park plans to open later this month.

Located near Route 31 in the village, the $9.6 million park officially opened last September and welcomed roughly 2,600 local, national and international visitors in just eight weeks. This year, the site of Lock 52 will remain open seven days a week for six months.

That means the park will need many more hands on deck, former Canal Society President Thomas Grasso said.

"It was a great year last year, although it was brief," he said. "It's going to be a long haul. There's a lot of moving pieces ... and we need help putting the port back in Port Byron."

"We can't do this without you," said Jennifer Givner, Director of Communications at the Thruway Authority.

That's why the Canal Society passed out dozens of applications at Port Byron Middle School Monday night, asking those in attendance to circle an "area of interest"  from landscaping and fund raising to clerical work and communications  while former Port Byron Mayor Andrea Seamans discussed the growing need for both paid travel counselors and volunteers.

Seamans said the park is looking to hire one park director and 14 travel counselors to handle paperwork, answer phones and offer directions at the Visitor's Center. Meanwhile, she said the site will also need volunteers to help man the center and give tours of the recently restored Erie House.

"You greet (visitors) with a smile and it opens a whole new world," Travel Counselor Patty Weston said. "It's an honor and a privilege to be a part of this."

"Magical things happen when the public sector and the government come together for a common goal," Grasso added. "There is no better example than this park."

According to the Thruway Authority, beginning in mid-May, the park will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. Anyone interested in applying for a position as a paid counselor or volunteer should visit canals.ny.gov or call Seamans at (315) 776-4582.

"It's going to take baby steps at times and giant steps at others ... but we'll take things one step at a time," she said.
There were no automatic blocking of bank accounts that did not comply with Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

However, in the case of mutual funds, the blocking kicked in automatically, according to industry officials.

"The FATCA non-compliant bank accounts did not get blocked. Perhaps the patch for the software is not yet ready. Till the last week of April we were under impression that FATCA is applicable only for those having accounts overseas or for foreigners having accounts in India," an experienced official with a government-owned bank told IANS preferring anonymity.

"Only during the last week of April we were told to get all the bank accounts FATCA compliant. That's not an easy task," he added.

The situation in the mutual fund industry is different.

"In case of FATCA non-compliant (mutual fund) folios, an investor will not be able to redeem unless the account gets compliant. Once the investor gives the declaration then the folio gets compliant and redemptions can be done," Balasubramanian, Chairman, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) told IANS on Tuesday.

"Investments in the case of systematic investment plan (SIP), where the monthly instalments are to be received from the banks will not be affected. The investments will continue to happen," Balasubramanian added.

"As per the mutual fund industry data, the total number of folios that were not FATCA compliant were between 8-9 lakh. Subsequently some of the investors may have submitted the self-certification forms," Gaurav Nagori, Senior Vice President-Head of Customer Service and Operation, DSP Blackrock Mutual Fund, told IANS.

Balasubramanian said compliance is an easy process.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), in a statement issued earlier, had said account holders of banks, mutual funds and National Pension Schemes (NPS) would have to be informed that their accounts would be blocked if self-certifications were not submitted by April 30, 2017.

What is FATCA?

"FATCA is a unique piece of legislation, enacted in the US, which requires financial institutions (FIs) to provide information about account holders who are US persons to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)."

"Non-compliant FIs are liable to a punitive withholding tax of 30 per cent of their US sourced income," Rahul Jain, Partner, Nangia and Co, an international tax advisory and accounting firm, told IANS.

"The agreement is reciprocal in nature and allows for India to receive tax information in respect of its own residents," he said.

"The FATCA agreement will, therefore, allow for exchange of information between the two countries and will help considerably in detection of unaccounted money held by US persons in India and vice versa," he added.

Under Indian Income Tax rules, financial institutions have to obtain self-certification and carry out due diligence in respect of all individual and entity accounts opened between July 1, 2014, and August 31, 2015.

The last date for submission of self-certification ended on April 30, 2017.

According to Jain, any organisation or individual who has not been able to submit its or his FATCA self-declaration by the deadline of April 30 could make such declaration now and ask for his account with the Indian FIs to be unblocked or de-frozen.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five more persons were arrested for allegedly barging into the residence of BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari and attacking his employees, police said on Tuesday.

The five were identified as Pardeep Kumar, 24, Om Prakash, 31, Parsu Ram, 32, Sunil Kumar, 33 and Jagdish Chander, 42.

On Monday, police arrested two brothers - Jai Kumar and Jaswant Singh.

According to police, the attack followed an incident of road rage involving a Tiwari staff member.

The two brothers were travelling in a car that hit the vehicle driven by one of the MP's staffers just outside his house.

Tiwari made public CCTV footage showing the two attackers first arguing and then beating his staff members -- cook Ashok Pathak and personal assistant Abhinav Mishra.

"Both the brothers -- Jai Kumar and Jaswant Singh -- were travelling in a Wagon R car which bumped into a Scorpio car driven by one of Tiwari's drivers and another staff outside his house in North Avenue area on Sunday late night," a senior police officer said.

"The brothers were then joined by these five accused persons who are said to be their friends. They barged into Tiwari's residence carrying rods and thrashed his staff, including Personal Assistant (PA). The entire act was captured on the CCTV cameras," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The centre on Tuesday was said to be weighing its options in the face of mounting demands for a strong response to Pakistan over the mutilation of two soldiers' bodies on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir even as a top Indian Army officer asserted that the incident merited a "response".

Emotions ran high as the bodies of the Army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and the BSF's Head Constable Prem Sagar reached their home towns -- Tarn Taran in Punjab and Deoria in Uttar Pradesh -- for the last rites.

The families and relatives and those gathered to pay their homage demanded revenge against Pakistan for mutilating the bodies after killing the two in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Monday.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the morning and the situation arising out of the beheading of the soldiers came up for discussion. There was no official word on what transpired but sources believe that the government's response in the current situation could have been among the points of discussion.

The anger over the killings and decapitation was reflected in the statement of a slain soldier's daughter, who demanded "50 Pakistani heads" in revenge for her father's killing, a sentiment that was echoed in both the funerals.

Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the sacrifices of the soldiers would not go in vain but did not elaborate. However, he said everyone should speak in one voice on the issue.

But Pakistan continued to be in denial mode as Director General Military Operations Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt spoke over hotline with his Pakistani counterpart and expressed "grave concern" over the mutilation.

The DGMO told the Pakistani military commander that "full fire support" was provided by a Pakistani military post to the killers.

"DGMO Indian Army conveyed that such dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norm of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," an army statement said.

Lt. Gen. Bhatt also expressed concern over the presence of training camps of the Border Action Team (BAT), made up of Pakistani military and the terrorists it trains, close to the LoC.

On his part, the Pakistani official said there was no ceasefire violation from their side nor was there mutilation of Indian soldiers, a statement from the Army's Inter-Services Public Relations said.

Meanwhile, there was political sparring with the Congress launching a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Senior leader and former Defence Minister A.K. Antony said there have been at least three incidents of mutilation of Indian soldiers since the BJP-led NDA came to power in May 2014 while there was only one during the 10-year Congress-led UPA rule.

"During my time, eight years, there was only one incident of mutilation. During the NDA government's time, there have been three incidents of mutilation. Moreover, these incidents have shattered the morale of Indian people, Indian Army."

Antony also said the continuous attacks on military installations have put a question mark over the security structure on the border.

"My only request to the government is to give freedom to the Army to take appropriate action at an appropriate time as a reaction to this cowardly, inhuman, barbaric action by the Pakistan (army)," Antony said.

His colleague and former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal also needled the government by recalling what BJP leader Smriti Irani had said at the time of the beheading incident during the UPA rule.

"During the UPA government, a woman MP (Irani) had then asked if bangles should be sent to Manmohan Singh. That MP, who is now a minister, will she send bangles to Narendra Modi," he asked at a party briefing.

"What kind of a Prime Minister and what kind of a government is this when it knows that Pakistan will not mend its ways. They call the ISI to Pathankot. They go to Pakistan to spend someone's birthday when that country has nothing but hate for India. The PM should understand that he should have no expectations from Pakistan and there is no need for hugs and celebrating birthdays."

Sibal said Modi was spending more time in election campaigning than thinking about the country's borders.

"So, remove your bangles and show what you can do," Sibal told Irani.

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi said statements by Modi in the past over Pakistan have turned out to be an albatross around his neck.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra met Home Minister Rajnath Singh here on Tuesday to discuss the worsening security and law and order situation in the state.

According to officials, the Home Minister and the Governor also discussed Monday's terror attack in Kashmir's Kulgam district that killed seven people and the killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilation of their bodies by Pakistan Army personnel near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch.

Vohra is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the situation in the state, especially against the backdrop of Monday's violence.

The spike in stone-pelting incidents by students which has caused law and order problems in the valley was also discussed, the officials said.

They said the issues like infiltration from across the border with Pakistan and steps to control the situation also figured during the meeting.

The meeting comes after the Home Minister chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the situation in the state.

Monday's meeting was attended by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, RAW chief Anil Dhasmana and Central Reserve Police Force chief Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar.

--IANS

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(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.)
A joint team of the ED and CBI is in London to seek extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya who is wanted in India for defaulting on over Rs 8,000 crore in bank loans, said informed sources on Tuesday.

The sources said that the five-member team, comprising three officials from Central Bureau of Investigation and two of the Enforcement Directorate, had left for London on Monday.

They said the team would push for the extradition of Mallya, who fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued for recovery of Rs 8,191 crore he owed to a consortium of Indian banks by his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The government has said that its agencies were making their best efforts to have Mallya face trial in India.

Mallya was arrested and granted bail in London last month. The next hearing of the case will be on May 17.

The Indian government had in February this year, handed over to British authorities a formal request for Mallya's extradition, saying it had a legitimate case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) has launched a campaign in the government and private schools of Delhi to make students aware about legal issues, an official said on Tuesday.

"During the campaign, the students from class 9 to 12 will be made aware about various socio-legal issues such as gender inequalities, sexual offences, teenage pregnancy, drugs substance abuse, juvenile justice, traffic rules violation, fundamental rights and fundamental duties," DSLSA said in a statement.

The programme which began on Monday would continue till May 8.

The objective of this campaign is also to instil respect of law amongst students.

The legal literacy classes are being conducted by sitting and retired judicial officers, members of bar, social workers, academicians and counsellors.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as Berlin-Moscow relations remain stuck at a low over the Ukraine crisis and Syrian war.

Merkel, making her first trip to Russia since 2015, will meet Putin at his summer residence in Sochi on the Black Sea coast, CNN reported.

The issue of sanctions is likely to be high on the agenda. Merkel has openly backed the European Union's decision to place sanctions on Russia following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

She has been the lead mediator in talks with Russia over Crimea, according to the report.

Both the leaders are expected to discuss the Minsk agreements, a deal brokered by Merkel and French President Francois Hollande with the aim of resolving the Ukraine crisis.

Germany has said that lifting the sanctions would depend upon Russia complying to the agreements, which involve a ceasefire, and pulling weapons and pro-Russian forces out of the area.

Putin and Merkel will also discuss the fight against terrorism and the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The two leaders and their governments stand on opposing sides of the Syrian war. Putin is the most powerful ally of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Merkel has openly called for Assad's ouster.

Russia is widely criticised by the West for propping up Assad's regime with powerful airstrikes that have decimated swathes of the country, reported CNN.

The leaders will also discuss the current state and prospects of bilateral relations, including energy, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, the Kremlin said, and will exchange views on the forthcoming G20 Summit to be held in Hamburg in July.

The Russian President also plans to speak with his US counterpart Donald Trump before Merkel's arrival on Tuesday, a spokesman for Putin told state-run media TASS.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also travel to Sochi to meet Putin on Wednesday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Methanol-blended fuel could be the answer to the twin challenges of slashing India's oil import bill while simultaneously reducing the country's carbon-footprint, V.K. Saraswat, a member of the NITI Aayog that has succeeded the Planning Commission, has said.

"We are working on how to structure the entire methanol economy in India. In the last six months, we have done a lot of work and come up with a paper on the same," Saraswat, a member of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, told IANS in an interview.

The former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief said there was a potential to blend up to 85 per cent domestically -produced methanol with petrol, thus substantially reducing the nation's oil import bill.

In China and Israel, he said, 15 per cent methanol in petrol is a well-accepted norm.

Saraswat said the feasibility study had indicated that "methanol economy" was a viable option as not only was methanol a "clean fuel", but it can be produced from coal -- particularly poor quality coal with high ash content -- "which is available in our country in large quantities".

"When methanol burns in the IC (internal combustion) engine, it does not emit any particulate matter or sulphur dioxide or NOx. It produces only carbon dioxide and steam.

"And you can convert carbon dioxide into methanol again. So it becomes a carbon-neutral system. So, from the point of view of pollution, it is very clean and is the best option," added Saraswat, who wore the triple hats of Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D), during his DRDO tenure.

He added that even cost-wise, methanol was comparable with other fuels being used at present.

"Hence, we should try to convert that coal (high-ash content coal) into methanol and use it for production of energy whether for mobility or electricity generation."

Saraswat said that the project was a work in progress and may soon be a reality.

"Whenever you introduce an alternate fuel, there are steps to be taken and those steps are being progressed today. In our scheme of things, priority would be first given to bulk users -- like railways and defence forces -- and then it would go to the common consumer as that would require a supply chain network."

As for the vehicle engines, Saraswat said, minor modifications would be required and kits have already been developed by many countries.

Israel and China have already addressed the technological issues, he said, adding: "We just need to adopt them like we did in case of CNG."

Acknowledging that CNG could not become a large-scale phenomenon, Saraswat said it was not because of technological issues but because supplies were not adequate.

"That's why when we introduce methanol, we want to ensure we have adequate supplies. So, we are looking at production, storage and distribution. We are also looking at conversion of engines -- who will do it and where it would be done."

"We are also bringing the manufacturers of diesel generator sets, engines and energy devices into our discussions so that there is a comprehensive road map for introducing the system rather than doing it in bits and pieces," he said.

Saraswat added that instead of a piecemeal approach, there should be a life-cycle approach, so that the project yields the desired results.

During his illustrious career, Saraswat, one of India's most accomplished scientists and researchers, was associated with the development of liquid propulsion rocket engines and missiles like the Prithvi, Dhanush and Prahaar.

(Vishav can be contacted at vishav@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday decided to itself inspect the most polluted stretch of Ganga river, between Haridwar in Uttarakhand to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh -- to get the clear picture.

The green panel has been hearing the 32-year-old case of pollution in the river since February 6, after the Supreme Court forwarded the matter to it.

So far, it has reprimanded the officials and even ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam officials for irregularities and shut down industries along the stretch. However, it is, for the first time, that the tribunal had decided to make an on the spot inspection.

NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar on Tuesday pointed out the absence of definitive data on the quality and quantity of pollutants being discharged into the river.

"It will be in the interest of justice to have site inspection of most polluted parts of Ganga in segment B of Phase-I (Haridwar to Unnao).

"Therefore, we direct the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Union Environment Ministry, Water Resources Ministry, the Central Pollution Control Bord, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Bord, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to make all preparatory steps for inspection at Kanpur at the first instance," the bench added.

According to the CPCB report, there are over 1,000 Seriously Polluting Industries (SPI) and 30 storm water drains lining the Ganga in the stretch between Haridwar and Kanpur and more than 800 million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage being poured into it.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Pakistani military on Tuesday warned India against any "misadventure" following the killing of two Indian soldiers on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing," a Pakistan Army spokesperson said.

The Pakistan Army also asked India to provide "actionable evidence" to substantiate its charge of Pakistani ceasefire violations and allegations that Pakistani troops "mutilated" the bodies of two Indian soldiers.

India said a soldier and a BSF trooper were killed and their bodies "mutilated" on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

The Pakistani Director General Military Operations (DGMO) rejected as "baseless and unfounded" the Indian allegations.

He said Pakistani troops did not cross the LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries.

The DGMO said the Pakistan Army was a "professional military outfit". "Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of the world from the situation within the Kashmir Valley."

The DGMO told his Indian counterpart that "we are fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said India should regain its position of providing leadership in higher and reverse the trend of migration for higher studies.

Applauding the Lovely Professional University (LPU) for encouraging foreign students from a number of countries to study on its campus, he said the trend of a large number of Indian students going abroad for higher studies should be reversed.

"A large number of Indian students go abroad for studies... Let there be a reverse migration," Mukherjee said, addressing the eighth convocation of the LPU at its Phagwara campus near here.

LPU, a leading private university which has students from all 29 states and 50 countries, conferred a honoris causa doctorate degree upon President Mukherjee.

"International students at LPU are ambassadors of carrying Indian culture and values to their own countries when they go back," Mukherjee said.

The President regretted that no Indian university was in the top 200 ranking globally but added that many universities were working hard in this direction.

He emphasised the need to provide quality and improving research standards in universities in India.

Mukherjee bestowed Ph.D degrees, 38 gold medals and 164 awards on meritorious LPU students for their outstanding academic and research performances.

The President also inaugurated the largest convention centre of India 'Unipolis' at LPU campus. The centre can cater to more than 30,000 people.

LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal said: "LPU has constantly added value by incorporating the best practical and technical practices in the curriculum to bridge the gap between through books and the realities of the outside world, so the students are fully equipped to deliver their best.

"We are confident that our students will be able to meet all the challenges faced by them. It is our constant effort that we create future professionals who will strive to bring about a positive change in this world."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South Korean banks posted the biggest quarterly profit in six years -- thanks to one-off factors, data provided by a financial watchdog showed on Tuesday.

Net income of local commercial banks was 4.3 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in the January-March quarter -- up 49 per cent from a year earlier, Xinhua news agency quoted the Financial Supervisory Service as saying.

It was higher than any first-quarter figures recorded in the past six years.

One-off factors led to the increased earnings of the banks, including the South Korean currency's appreciation to the US dollar that increased profits from foreign exchange-relevant derivatives. Profits from bond and stock sales also contributed to the strong earnings.

Loss from loans to troubling shipbuilders and shipping firms reduced to 0.8 trillion won in the quarter compared with 1.8 trillion won a year earlier.

The government-led restructuring of major shipbuilders and shipping firms have been underway as lower profits and higher costs hit the industries amid the global economic slump and weaker trade.

Interest income, a main source of revenue for local banks, increased 4.3 per cent, sending the net interest margin to 1.58 per cent in the first quarter that was up 0.03 percentage points from a year ago.

The net interest margin, which tumbled to an all-time low in the third quarter of last year, rebounded for the two straight quarters.

Return on asset for banks rose 0.24 percentage points over the year to 0.76 per cent in the first quarter. Return on equity advanced 2.97 percentage points to 9.71 per cent.

--IANS

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Canadas opposition has launched an all-out attack on Indian-origin Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan calling upon him to resign or be fired for exaggerating his military record in Afghanistan, though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was standing by his minister.

In speech in New Delhi last month, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa against Taliban -- a statement which the minister has since retracted.

Operation Medusa was Canada's largest military operation since the 1950s, one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war. Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period during the 2006 offensive.

Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan had said in a speech.

Trudeau and Sajjan endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused the Defence Minister of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, the Toronto Star reported.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons. He had also apologised on the social media two days earlier for the claim.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valour of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly.

"He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," the Toronto Sun reported the Prime Minister as having said.

As a minister, Trudeau added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake" which Ambrose noted he'd made twice -- once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

National Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Thomas Mulcair joined the calls for Sajjan's resignation or firing. Mulcair slammed Sajjan for not making a "mistake" but for telling "a whopper".

"A whopper is not something you apologise for, it's something you step down for."

Sajjan was repeatedly heckled.

The minister was born in Bombeli village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district and had migrated to Canada in 1976 with his family. He is the first Sikh to serve as the Defence Minister of any other nation.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, appearing to run out of space to contain a historic supply glut that hammered prices, in Cushing, Oklahoma

Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil behemoth, took 100 per cent control of the sprawling Port Arthur refinery in Texas on Monday, completing a deal that was first announced last year.

Port Arthur is considered the crown jewel of the US refinery system. The Gulf Coast facility can process 600,000 barrels of oil per day, making it the largest refinery in North America, CNNMoney reported.

Aramco previously owned 50 per cent of Port Arthur through a joint venture co-owned with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) called Motiva Enterprises.

But the two oil giants had a rocky relationship and reached a deal in March 2016 to separate their assets. Shell put out a statement on Monday confirming the "completion" of that break-up.

In addition to Port Arthur, Aramco is acquiring full ownership of 24 distribution terminals. Aramco also gets the exclusive right to sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, the eastern half of Texas and the majority of Florida.

Saudi Arabia is already America's second-largest source of crude, behind only Canada. The US imported 1.3 million barrels of Saudi crude a day in February, up 32 per cent from last year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Seven persons were killed and dozens injured when a severe storm lashed parts of Bangladesh, an official said on Tuesday.

Four persons were killed in Rajshahi district and three in Chapainawabganj when the storm lashed the country on Monday night, Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying.

The official said the storm left a tail of destruction, uprooting hundreds of trees, flattening many tin-roofed and mud-built houses and snapping road and rail communication within the affected areas.

It, however, was a blessing for millions of Dhaka dwellers who heaved a sigh of relief at a light drizzle after days of heat wave scorched the country.

Bangladesh is affected by severe tornadoes and storms from March to mid-May ahead of a four-month wet monsoon season.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP ally and the Congress party on Tuesday attacked the government over mutilation of two soldiers' bodies by Pakistani forces along the Line of Control (LoC), with Uddhav Thackeray asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop his "Mann ki Baat" and instead take up "Gun ki baat".

Congress leader and former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal recalled the remarks of Smriti Irani in 2013 when she had threatened to send bangles to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when two Indian soldiers were mutilated by Pakistani soldiers in similar fashion and asked whether she would be sending bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi now.

Sibal also asked the government to "take off its bangles", take action against Pakistan and evolve a policy.

Clarifying the government's stand, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was acting tough against border violations and the sacrifice of the soldiers would not go a waste.

In a sharp reaction to the killing and the mutilation of two Indian soldiers near the Line of Control, Thackeray said Kashmir was "burning" and the government must take action.

"It's time to stop 'Mann ki Baat' and start 'Gun ki baat' against Pakistan," he demanded, referring to the Prime Minister's monthly radio broadcast.

Congress leader and a former Defence Minister A.K. Antony said that during the party-led UPA regime, there was just one incident of mutilation but since the BJP-led NDA took over, at least three such incidents had taken place.

"It (the incident) has affected the morale of Indian people and Indian Army, and the continuous attacks on military installations has also put a question mark on the security structure on the border. More than anything, it has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army," Antony said.

He termed the act as cowardly and inhuman and asked the government to give a free hand to the army to seek retribution.

His party colleague Sibal wondered if Union Minister Smriti Irani would now "gift bangles" to Modi.

"During the UPA regime there was a woman MP (Smriti Irani), who said the Prime Minister should be gifted bangles. Will the same MP, who is now a Minister, send bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Sibal asked.

Sibal also said the BJP-led NDA government would have time to protect the borders "only if they have time to spare from election campaigns".

"What kind of a government is this that despite knowing that Pakistan will not change its ways, they invited the ISI to Pathankot," said Sibal, referring to the Pakistani team that went to Pathankot to probe the 2016 terror attack on an Indian airbase.

"In the last 35 months, 135 soldiers have died in Jammu and Kashmir. Who is responsible for this" he asked.

"They said demonetisation will end terrorism, but terror attacks only increased after that. I remember when Hemraj was beheaded (in 2013), Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) said 'We should get 10 heads for one'... How many heads will they get for two" Sibal wondered.

Maharashtra Minister Ramdas Kadam, of the Shiv Sena, also took potshots at Modi, saying he should concentrate more on security than elections.

"What's stopping the Centre from taking direct action against Pakistan? How many more soldiers should we lose and how many more widows should we see before India does something?" he said, demanding direct action against the neighbouring country.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi said that Modi's remarks on Pakistan and black money had become an albatross around his neck.

Prasad rejected the opposition criticism and said the government was taking tough action on border violations.

"The army has issued a public statement that adequate, suitable and effective response shall be given. Let's leave it to the armed forces to completely concretise their strategy," Prasad told CNN News 18 channel.

The Aam Aadmi Party said it would support the government over its response to the mutilation by the Pakistan Army of bodies of army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF's Head Constable Prem Sagar along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
A Chinese Communist Party official has accused some colleagues of allegedly donating money to the Dalai Lama, saying this severely undermines the fight against separatism.

Some Party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, the Global Times quoted Wang Yongjun, head of the Discipline Watchdog in Tibet, as saying.

"Some have even donated to the Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations," Wang wrote in an article published on Monday in a Communist Party magazine.

A few Party officials, he said, were failing to "uphold their political integrity" and were "completely ignoring political discipline", Wang said.

"Such behaviour has affected CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism."

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 and lives in India, as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

A 2016 report issued by Tibet's Discipline Watchdog has linked 15 Party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organizations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama, the China News Service said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Striking workers of the 108 ambulance scheme will gherao the Madhya Pradesh assembly here on Wednesday in support of their demands.

Around 3,000 ambulance workers have been on strike for the past one week and have been holding a sit-in at the Idgah ground in the state capital, their union leader Aslam Khan said.

Khan said the striking workers' leaders held talks at the Additional Labour Commissioner's office on Monday evening with representatives of the company running the ambulance service in the state but there was no consensus on their working hours and salary.

A one-day session of the assembly is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured 80 per cent of Tabqa city from the Islamic State militant group, an SDF spokesman said.

The advance on Monday came as part of the offensive against the IS in Raqqa province, the de facto capital of IS, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the forces, a rebel group led by Kurdish fighters and backed by the US, captured most of Tabqa in Raqqa countryside except two neighbourhoods close to Euphrates, the largest dam in Syria.

Talal Silo, the SDF military spokesman, said there were three neighbourhoods under the IS control in Tabqa and the Euphrates Dam and that the operation will strip the IS from them and the dam.

The observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said negotiations were underway for the evacuation of the remaining IS militants from Tabqa towards Raqqa city.

It said the negotiations between local dignitaries from Tabqa and the SDF have not reached any results yet.

The SDF led by the Kurdish fighters and the US coalition has been fighting against the IS in Syria for months, with the aim of stripping the group of its main stronghold in Raqqa.

The US carried out several airdrops of forces on Kurdish-held areas to back the Kurdish groups in their battles against the IS in Raqqa.

Two days ago, pictures of US soldiers and vehicles were seen in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria.

The Syrian government repeatedly said it deems the US as a force of occupation, as it entered Syria without coordination with the administration of President Bashar al-Assad.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Tripura government on Tuesday increased to Rs 50,000 the financial assistance given to differently abled persons at the time of their marriage, a minister said.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers, presided over by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, decided to increase the assistance from the present Rs 6,000, Information and Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha told reporters here.

The assistance has been increased for the first time since 1986.

According to the 2011 Census, around 70,000 physically challenged people live in Tripura, compared with the earlier 57,000.

Tripura Pratibandhi Awdhikar Manch state Secretary Salil Debbarma thanked the state government and urged both the central and state governments to fulfil the other long-pending demands of the physically challenged people.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice - once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump has released a campaign advertisement declaring his first 100 days in the White House a success, and branding news that have reported otherwise as "Fake News".

The 30-second television advertisement released on Monday was the latest example of Trump's extraordinarily early return to politicking at a time when most Presidents would be spending their time pushing through their highest legislative priorities, The News York Times reported.

Trump, after rejecting the 100-day mark as an indicator of the success or failure of his presidency, sat for several interviews and dispatched his top advisers for virtually non-stop briefings.

Trump's aides made the case that he had accomplished significant things since taking office, despite his lack of major legislative achievements.

"America has rarely seen such success," the narrator said in the add, listing the confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, companies investing in the US, the elimination of "regulations that kill American jobs" and the approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"The biggest tax cut plan in history," the voice intoned, without mentioning that Trump has yet to offer any legislation - or even a set of policy prescriptions - for reordering the tax code to achieve the enormous cuts for businesses and individuals that he has endorsed.

"You wouldn't know it from watching the news," it said, showing the faces of anchors for mainstream news broadcasters as the words "FAKE NEWS" flash across the screen in large red letters.

The New York Times said the spot did not mention Trump's failed attempt to push through a health care overhaul, after having vowed that the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act would be his earliest priority.

Nor is there any reference to his attempts to crack down on illegal immigration, which have largely stalled.

Congress has refused to provide any money for the border wall that was a powerful symbol during the Trump campaign, and courts have blocked two of his efforts to bar travellers from on six predominantly Muslim countries.

The advertisement is paid for by Trump's re-election campaign, for which he filed papers in January, on the day he was sworn in.

His campaign said it would spend $1.5 million to air the advertisement throughout the country, a relatively small sum that does not indicate a major national public relations campaign.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Global software major Infosys on Tuesday said it would hire 10,000 American workers in the next two years, a move seen as a fallout of US President Donald Trump's executive order on H1-B visas a fortnight ago.

The city-based IT major also said it would set up four technology and innovation hubs across North America to focus on cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud and big data.

The first hub will open in the midwestern state of Indiana in August and is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers.

"The hubs will have technology and innovation focused areas and serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and energy," said the firm in a statement here.

Clients in the US contribute about 60 per cent of the company's software export revenue per year.

"We are committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the US," said Infosys Chief Executive Vishal Sikka in the statement.

The $10.3-billion company will hire experienced professionals as well as recent graduates from major universities and local and community colleges to create talent pools for the future.

"Basically, Infosys is hiring American workers to please Trump, who passed an order recently (April 19) which will force Indian IT firms to pay more salary for high-skilled employees working in the US on H-1B visas," Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and Managing Director K. Lakshmikanth told IANS here.

Infosys Deputy Chief Operating Officer S. Ravi Kumar however said the company had been hiring in the US over the years for organic growth and create talent on campuses.

"The right strategy for a company like ours is to build local talent pools and supplement them with global talent in times of shortage. The hubs will be located where we have client clusters and good local talent is available," he said.

The decision to ramp up local hiring by Indian IT majors like Infosys, TCS and Wipro comes also in light of Trump's order to ensure that H-1B visas were awarded to the most skilled and highly-paid.

"Infosys will take time to ramp up local hiring as it is very costly. It has to pay a minimum of $80,000 (Rs 52 lakh) per year to a skilled American techie. For the same amount, it can hire four software engineers in India for its offshore development work," said Lakshmikanth.

Currently, an Indian IT firm pays $60,000-65,000 per year for techies working in the US on H-1B visas and they return after three years of onsite work.

Infosys, which sends about 3,000-4,000 techies to the US every year, will get 50 per cent of the H1B visas under the new rules as part of the quota and the rest through the lottery system.

"If Infosys hires about 500 Americans techies, it will result in loss of 2,000 jobs in India for offshore operations. Automation and AI (Artificial Intelligence) will reduce hiring by another 30-40 per cent," said Lakshmikanth.

Indian IT industry representative body Nasscom, however, declined to react to Infosys' plans, saying it "doesn't comment on company specific matters".

Observing that learning and education have been the core of what Infosys offered to clients, Sikka said they make the company a leader in times of great change.

Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb said on the occasion that it was good to welcome Infosys to the state to expand its growing tech ecosystem with the addition of 2,000 jobs.

"Indiana continues to put the tools in place such as the Next Level Trust Fund and incentivising direct flights that allow us to attract and retain great companies like Infosys," he said in the statement.

The Governor also said higher education institutions in Indiana were producing a world class workforce and establishing the state as the innovation hub in the Midwest.

"I look forward to working with Infosys to elevate Indiana to the next level," he added.

To ensure that American workers are equipped to innovate and support clients in the digitisation of all industries, the company will institute training programmes in competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings as well as core technology and computer science skills.

Since 2015, over 134,000 students, 2,500 teachers and 2,500 schools in America have benefited from h computer science training and classroom equipment funded by Infosys Foundation USA.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Venezuelan President on Monday called for the creation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution.

Maduro indicated the country's protracted political crisis requires a measure of this kind to break the impasse, and allow the different political and social camps to decide the future of the South American nation, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I call on the original constituent power to achieve the peace the country needs, to defeat the fascist coup and to have the sovereign people impose peace, harmony and true national dialogue," said Maduro.

The ruling socialist party and the right-wing opposition have been locked in a bitter power struggle that has obstructed governing and led to violent anti-government protests in which some 29 people were killed.
Actress Deepika Padukone had broken down on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" due to last-minute changes in the dialogues, says Garima Wahal, who co-wrote the 2013 film with Siddharth Singh.

The two writers' dialogues have been mouthed by celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Sushant Singh Rajput.

Did anyone struggle while delivering dialogues penned by them?

"Usually, actors find it really easy to say our lines. We try and accomodate it in their world. That's why it becomes important for writers to narrate their own scripts to the actors," Singh told IANS.

Wahal pointed out that back in 2013, on the sets of "...Ram-Leela", Deepika didn't have a smooth day because of their dialogues.

"It was Day 1 of shoot for her. Deepika had broken down because of some last-minute changes in the dialogues. Last-minute changes are a favourite thing with Sanjay sir. We guess he does it to derive a certain spontaneity out of actors and to break their rhythm."

"She's usually very good with memorising her lines but the change meant completely upsetting her pattern. We sat with her that entire day and worked the lines till she got fully comfortable with that."

Talking about the scene, Singh said: "This is the scene where Ram and Leela meet for the first time as heads of their clans and divide their business periphery. What she did with the scene is something that's out for the world to see. We must add that she's a brave artiste."

The writers are now looking forward to the release of "Raabta", starring Sushant and Kriti Sanon.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Supreme Court lawyer who allegedly honey-trapped a BJP MP and later accused him of raping her was arrested by Delhi Police on Tuesday. An alleged kingpin of a blacklmailing racket, she will be in five-day police custody for interrogation.

Special Judge Hemani Malhotra allowed to quiz the woman lawyer after Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told the court that the police required her custodial interrogation to probe the extortion and blackmailing allegations by Bharatiya Janata Party MP K.C. Patel, who represents Valsad in Gujarat in the Lok Sabha.

Thed police alleged that the woman was known to have made rape complaints against 15 other people, including some businessmen and a Haryana-based politician, after filming them in objectionable positions and extorting money from them.

Shrivastava said the woman's interrogation would help in recovering visuals captured on her mobile phone and would also enable the police to get her call record and bank account details.

The police also told the court that the woman needed to be taken to her native place in Muzzafarnagar of Uttar Pradesh for further investigation and identify others accused with her in the case.

The prosecution also alleged that woman was not cooperating in the investigation. Her defence counsel objected, saying the woman had become victim of filing a criminal complaint against the BJP MP.

The woman was arrested from her residence in Indirapuram, three days after Patel filed the complaint alleging that he was honey-trapped.

In his complaint to the police, Patel said that a gang of extortionists led by the woman was demanding Rs 5 crore from him as she had filmed him in "objectionable position" after giving him a spiked drink at her residence. She had threatened to make public the clips.

The woman on Wednesday alleged that Patel raped her multiple times at his official residence on March 3. She said the MP threatened her with dire consequences if she approached the police.

She claimed the police refused to register her complaint and she approached the Patiala House Court seeking directions to the police to file the case.

"I was raped multiple times by Patel. I had to make a CD as evidence so that he stops threatening me. I approached the court to know the status of my complaint after police refused to register my case," she said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A wreath-laying ceremony was held here on Tuesday for the two personnel of the Army and BSF killed on the Line of Control by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Defence sources said wreaths were laid on the bodies of Border Security Force Head Constable Prem Sagar and the Army's Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh at the headquarters of the Army's White Knights Corps.

Both troopers were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistani troops on Monday in the Krishna Ghati sector.

"A military send-off was given to the martyrs. Wreaths were laid on their mortal remains by the Brigade Commander of the Army's 10 Brigade and the BSF Deputy Inspector General (Rajouri)," a defence official said.

"Wreaths were also laid on behalf of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army's Northern Command and the GOC of the White Knights Corps," he added.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, 42, hailed from Tarn Taran district in Punjab. BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar 45, belonged to Takenpur in Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With reference to Ajai Shuklas article, The world is watching Kashmir (May 2), I am inclined to agree with his observations that disturbing footage of girls and women in school and college uniforms defying armed security men detracts from the legitimacy of Indias response and its time-tested stance at the international level.
Offices of most political parties have an open-door policy. Anybody can walk into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road, after a cursory check by Delhi Police personnel in plainclothes. There are also private security guards, who might stop or restrict the entry of people to where party chief Amit Shah sits. Parties such as the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Janata Dal-United do not even have police personnel or private security guards; people can walk right into the office of the party chief. But the Congress remains different. There are security guards who would check the identification of visitors and ask them the reason for visiting the partys 24, Akbar Road, headquarters. There is also a reception office that scans visitors, and decides if they should be allowed to meet any of the leaders. In contrast, BJP chief Shah meets workers at least once a week, while CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury can even be seen sharing a cup of tea or cigarette with party workers.
WASHINGTON  A Trump administration plan to hire thousands of border and immigration officers has advocates concerned about a possible repeat of the last hiring binge, which they said was followed by an increase in corruption and misconduct cases.

A report Tuesday by the American Immigration Council pointed to the hiring of 8,000 Border Patrol agents from fiscal 2006 to 2009, and what it called a corresponding surge in corruption cases and complaints against officers at the agency from 2007 to 2012.

Now the Trump administration wants to repeat history by hiring thousands of additional Border Patrol agents, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, without introducing the reforms and safeguards needed to avoid the abuses and scandals of the past, the report said.

President Donald Trump proposed hiring 5,000 border patrol agents and 10,000 ICE officers as part of his sweeping series of executive orders on immigration that included his plan for a border wall, among other proposals.

Customs and Border Protection insisted in a statement Tuesday that it will not lower hiring standards in order to hire the number of officers identified by the president. It also rejected the suggestion that border agents hired during the 2006-2009 surge were worse.

These men and women are as effective and as trustworthy as any other agent, and some are now seasoned supervisors, the statement said of those earlier hires. It added that only about 17 percent of agents arrested or indicted since 2004 for corruption-related activity had been hired during the surge.

But the report cited a survey of 1,095 Mexicans deported between 2009 and 2012. Of those, 11 percent reported being physically abused by U.S. authorities and 23 percent reported verbal abuse.

It also cited an American Civil Liberties Union study of Arizonas two Border Patrol sectors, Tucson and Yuma, which found 81 complaints for unlawful searches and seizures in fiscal 2012 to 2013.

And Josiah Heyman, who wrote Tuesdays report, said Border Patrol has a worse record overall than other agencies.

This is not just a matter of a few bad apples, Heyman said during a press call on the reports release. Arrests for corruption are significantly higher in CBP compared to other law enforcement agencies.

Arizona advocates like Tucson resident Juanita Molina agreed that, in her experience, the agencys previous hiring spree resulted in civil rights violations by Border Patrol agents against immigrants.

Molina, the executive director of the immigration-rights group Border Action Network, said Border Patrol applicants were being pushed through training academies during the last hiring surge, which led to unqualified agents in the field.

The agency said in a statement that it maintains high standards for graduation from its training academies, and that will remain unchanged as it streamlines its pre-employment process.

But Molina pointed to reports that one streamlining proposal under consideration is waiving the current mandatory polygraph tests of some applicants, such as military or others who have already been screened. Such a step would be lowering hiring standards, she said.

Its hard to understand why the agency wouldnt want to do everything in its power to reach out and screen their people, Molina said.

Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said that the agencys hiring scores of applicants before led to unchecked, unaccountable and unprofessional agents operating in border areas.

That could happen again if the agencies hire more people without having systems to ensure those applicants qualify for the job, he said.

Without having those mechanisms in place, any attempt to further militarize the border regions will lead to the deterioration of our quality of life, Ramirez said.
Ten officials of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), two of them retired, were today arrested in an alleged Rs 6-crore fraud case, police said.

The officials, posted in different branches of the public sector bank in the city, have been accused of defrauding the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) through fraudulent withdrawal of over Rs 6 crore.

The arrested accused include Senior Manager of Mehdipatnam Branch T Sreenivasa Rao, G Manjula, Assistant Manager of Adarsh Nagar Branch, Ravichandra, Assistant Manager of Chikkadpally branch, P Bala Krishna, V Rama Chary Padma Nabhan (both retired Assistant Managers).

The others are T K Bayamma, N Krishna, Malini Narasimhan, K Radhika and R V Pandu Ranga Sarma (all clerks), the police said in a release tonight.

The bank officials fraudulently passed, cleared or altered cheques of HMDA in connivance with the prime accused Lunavath Shankar Naik and other accused Y Vijay Mohan Krishna and Raju Ahmed. All three were arrested in March, it said.

According to the police, the accused defrauded HMDA during 2008-2016 by forging cheques issued in favour of a private security agency, Sai Security Services.

HMDA authorities had issued 55 cheques, to the tune of Rs 76,67,735, in the name of Sai Security for their services to the state-run body.

But Naik, in connivance with Mohan Krishna, an audit officer in HMDA, and Ahmed, opened fake account in the name of Sai Security Services. They altered some of the cheques issued by HMDA and swindled an amount of Rs 6.03 crore in connivance with the arrested IOB employees (both serving and retired), the release added.

They were booked on charges of cheating and forgery, among others under IPC, and placed under arrest, the police added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 11 persons, including two women, have been killed and many injured when a severe storm lashed parts of Bangladesh.

Four persons were killed and over 100 houses were damaged as the storm lashed Rajshahi district yesterday evening.

Two women were killed in lightning at Shibganj in Chapainawabganj.

Also, five persons were killed when a boat, carrying six passengers, capsized in the Padma river in Dorgapara area during the storm yesterday, the Daily Star reported.

One of the passengers managed to swim ashore and the bodies of five persons, who went missing after the capsize have been recovered, the report said.

"Fire service personnel conducted a day-long search of the Padma yesterday. The five bodies surfaced today morning nearly three kilometres from the site of the accident, in Talaimari," said Nurul Islam, fire service official.

The storm left a trail of destruction, uprooting hundreds of trees, flattening many tin-roofed and mud-built houses and snapping road and rail communication facilities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three policemen have been killed and five others injured after gunmen ambushed their convoy in Egypt's capital city of Cairo, the government said.

The gunmen who came in two vehicles approached a moving security patrol while passing through Mohamed Zaki Square in el-Waha road near the ring road in Nasr city, Cairo, a statement by the Interior Ministry said.

The gunmen opened fire on them killing three policemen and injuring five others.

The security forces also exchanged fire with the gunmen. They are currently tracing the two vehicles to arrest the attackers, the statement said.

Different parts of Egypt have witnessed many terrorists attacks since the January 2011 revolution that toppled the ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks, mainly targeting police and military, increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The fissure in the AAP today widened with senior party leader Kumar Vishwas threatening to quit over the attacks on him by a "coterie" surrounding Arvind Kejriwal.

The party fielded Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to contain the damage who retaliated against Vishwas saying people are aware that his comments would help a "particular party".

The flurry of developments, a day after Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee over a spat with Vishwas, plunged the poll-battered party into turmoil, almost reminiscent of the 2015 bitter public spat involving Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan.

Amid murmurs that he wants to head the party, poet- turned-politician Vishwas said he harbours no ambitions to become chief minister, deputy chief minister or AAP national convener.

Several MLAs too are in favour of a greater role for Vishwas in the AAP after the party's poor show in the Punjab Assembly and MCD polls.

They also expressed their displeasure over the "coterie" surrounding Kejriwal, as claimed by Vishwas, but pledged their loyalty towards the Aam Aadmi Party chief.

"I have conveyed this to Arvind, Manish (Sisodia) and I reiterate it today that I don't want to become chief minister, deputy chief minister or AAP's national convener.

"I don't want to join any political party or Swaraj India (political party founded by expelled AAP leader Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan). I don't know what you want to do, but I don't want to do this," Vishwas told reporters outside his Ghaziabad residence, as he turned emotional.

The AAP leader was particularly upset with Khan who had alleged on Sunday that Vishwas was plotting a coup against Kejriwal and that he was an "RSS-BJP agent".

"Had Amanatullah Khan said anything like this against Arvind or Manish, he would have been shown the door in 10 minutes," Vishwas said, adding that he, along with Kejriwal and Sisodia had dreamt of an anti-corruption movement, which later became a political party.

He said Khan was merely a "mask" behind the "coterie" hatching conspiracies against him.

"A lot of tarnishing of image will take place. Let me tell those hatching conspiracies that I will not let this happen. I will take a decision in a day," Vishwas said.

Kejriwal had sought to quell rumours of a rift with Vishwas by referring to him as his "younger brother".

Earlier, Vishwas had differed with Kejriwal on the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs). He had refused to attribute the AAP's recent poll upsets to alleged manipulation of voting machines and had instead stressed on the need to introspect.

He had pointed out the "communication gap" between party leadership and volunteers after a string of electoral defeats in the past few months.

"I thought after six electoral defeats, I had pointed out the right reason for the debacle. The coterie was responsible (for the defeats) which was behind ticket distribution, the one who engineered the statements (given by Khan). The morale of our volunteers has taken a hit," Vishwas said, adding that several of them left their jobs for the party.

Vishwas appeared defiant despite the party's gag order of not ventilating grievances before the media and said he will keep highlighting the mistakes of the AAP and say what is right in the interest of the country.

"If by raising voice in favour of the nation my party gets upset, even then I will keep on raising these issues," Vishwas said.

He had also differed with Kejriwal over the controversy after the surgical strike and said it could have been avoided.

The BJP had accused Kejriwal of demanding proof for the strike last year.

"When the morale of our forces fighting terrorism were down and we raised questions. In that case, we need to do course correction," he said.

Reacting to this, Sisodia said Vishwas' comments are only hurting the party and affecting morale.

"He doesn't talk in the PAC. He should speak there," Sisodia said, adding Vishwas is turning this into a "personal fight".

"It would be wrong to say that only Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal and I made the party, which he has been repeating. He should speak in the PAC. He did not attend last night's PAC. I and Sanjay (Singh) had gone to meet him. Arvind has spoken to him for three hours at a stretch," Sisodia said.

Workers know which party, individuals and powers are getting benefited from Vishwas' television interview, Sisodia said, as he urged him to come to PAC and raise these issues.

Earlier in the day, several AAP MLAs, including Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra met Vishwas, seeking to pacify him. However, it appeared to have yielded no results.

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The owner of a Rajasthan-based advertising agency today surrendered in a court here in connection with a multi-crore government advertisement scam.

Ajay Chopra, the owner of Crayons advertising agency, was directed by the Supreme Court to surrender in a local court after his anticipatory bail applications were rejected by the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court recently.

"He was subsequently arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau," public prosecutor B S Chauhan said.

The ACB had registered the case against him over his role in issuing government advertisements worth around Rs 3 crore to a few advertisement agencies during the previous Congress regime from 2008-13.

Five separate cases were registered against Chopra in connection with the alleged corruption. Although he surrendered in all five cases, the ACB arrested him in connection with only one of these cases.

On the basis of a complaint by Shankar Lal Gurjar, the FIRs were registered in 2014 under several sections ofthe IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Apart from Chopra, the ACB had also lodged FIRs against the officials of Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Directorate of Local Bodies, and Bureau of Promotion and Investment Department, and another advertising agency's person Amit Gupta (Unison).

The ACB court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him last July as he went underground.

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The Army and the BSF today bid farewell to Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar who were beheaded by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

A wreath-laying ceremony was organised in Poonch in their honour which was attended by top ranking security officials.

The mortal remains of Singh, who belonged to the 22 Sikh Infantry, have been flown to his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. The body of Prem Sagar, of the 200th Battalion of BSF, has been flown to New Delhi for further journey to his native place in Uttar Pradesh.

42-year-old Singh is survived by his wife Paramjeet Kaur. Sagar (45) hailed from Takenpur in UP's Deoria district. He is survived by his wife Shanti.

Under the cover of heavy rocket and mortar fire, Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) had sneaked 250 meters across the Line of Control into the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir and beheaded the two soldiers yesterday. The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act".

Anti-Pakistan protests meanwhile rocked Poonch and Jammu district over the killing.

In Poonch, locals and ex-servicemen shouted anti-Pakistan slogans as the mortal remains of two soldiers were being taken to Jammu.

There have been several BAT attacks in the past in which jawans have been beheaded or their bodies mutilated.

On October 28, 2016, militants attacked a post and killed an Indian army soldier and mutilated his body close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Machil sector.

In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by BAT. It also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack.

In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.

During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Captain Saurabh Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors who later handed over his mutilated body to India.

In February, 2000, terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri had led a raid on the Indian army's 'Ashok Listening Post' in the Nowshera sector and killed seven Indian soldiers.

Even then, Kashmiri had taken back to Pakistan the head of a 24-year-old Indian jawan Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry.

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A day after the Pakistani attack, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today visited the forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and asked the troops to remain alert and thwart "any misadventure" from across the border.

During his interaction with the troops, he reassured them that the entire nation stands behind its soldiers in their "brave endeavours to safeguard the country's sovereignty and integrity and maintaining peace" in the Valley.

The army chief, who was on a two-day visit to Kashmir since yesterday, was accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D Anbu and Srinagar-based Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu.

"The army chief was briefed by formation commanders on the security situation on the border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture besides overall operational and logistical preparedness," an army official said.

He said Gen Rawat impressed upon the troops to remain vigilant and thwart "any misadventure from across especially now as the summer sets in" and snow will melt on the mountain passes.

An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated yesterday after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district which falls in Jammu province.

General Rawat yesterday visited Panzgam garrison and was briefed on the encounter with terrorists which took place on April 27.

Three armymen, including a young officer, were killed and five other soldiers were injured while two militants were also eliminated in the incident.

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At least six Samsung workers building a USD 500 million ocean platform for French energy giant Total were killed in a shipyard crane accident, South Korean authorities said today.

Two cranes collided at the shipyard in the southeastern port of Geoje, causing a 60-metre, 32-tonne crane section to break and crash onto a workers' rest area below.

Six people were killed and 25 injured in what police described as "chaotic" scenes yesterday.

All those involved were working on the Total project, which was ordered in December 2012 and is destined for its Martin Linge field off Norway.

The shipyard is operated by Samsung Heavy Industries, part of the sprawling Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate.

Yonhap agency quoted a company official as saying it had not had such a big accident for "several years".

It is the latest blow to the corporate empire, the heir to which is currently on trial for bribery in connection with the scandal that brought down president Park Geun-Hye.

A Samsung Heavy Industries spokesman told AFP the Total project, which was due for delivery by mid-June, "may be delayed a little bit".

Police said 12 crane drivers were under investigation as they look into potential operational mistakes or violation of safety regulations.

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An Australian university today signed a pact with AIIMS and three other varsities with an aim to provide 14 PhD scholarships worth Rs 25 million and also work with the premier health institute on tackling antimicrobial resistance.

The La Trobe University of Australia has inked MoUs with major institutes like Amity University in Noida, JSS University in Mysore and O P Jindal Global University in Haryana, apart from AIIMS.

The Australian university, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary, has launched 14 PhD scholarships worth over Rs 25 million, for students in India to undertake PhD programmes at La Trobe's partner university, JSS University in Mysore.

"La Trobe will also cover the cost of students travelling to, and spending upto six months studying at its Melbourne campus," said Professor John Dewar of La Trobe.

"The objective is to strengthen Australia's relationship with India," Dewar added.

The partnerships with AIIMS, Amity University and O P Jindal Global University will lead to collaborative research, and academic exchange between both the institutions.

Speaking at the event, AIIMS director Randeep Guleria said that La Trobe University will work in the area of dentistry with the Centre for Dental Education and Research apart from other research projects.

"They will work on nanotechnology and its application in medicine and dentistry. We are also exploring the possibility of developing a project to deal with the challenges of antimicrobial resistance," Dr Guleria said.

According to Dewar, these partnerships will allow students and staff in India and Australia to gain international academic and cultural experience.

Dewar said La Trobe is also committed to working with local organisations to support women students in India.

The university has also launched 'Women in Leadership Scholarship' worth AUD 80,000 for women from underprivileged backgrounds in India to undertake postgraduate studies in Australia.

Dewar said India would continue to be a strategic priority country for La Trobe.

"As we celebrate our 50th anniversary we are announcing new measures that will strengthen our already important relationship with India," Dewar said.

"La Trobe is seeing continuous demand from students from the Indian subcontinent to pursue further studies in Australia and we want to do what we can to support those students," Dewar added.

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City-based apparel-seller Rajdhani Cotton has filed a complaint with Delhi Police against Jasper Infotech Private Limited, which runs e-commerce firm Snapdeal, and its founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, for alleged non-payment of dues to them.

Speaking to PTI here, one of the promoters of Rajdhani Cotton, Rajat Gupta, said, "We have lodged a complaint with Delhi police to look into a matter of cheating and breach of trust. Snapdeal owes us Rs 67.6 lakh for business transactions between April 2014 and April 2016, but it has fraudulently withheld payments."



Police has filed a case against Jasper and its founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, under IPC sections 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy), the counsel for Rajdhani Cottons Aditya Parolia said.

The case also has also been lodged under section 120 of the Companies Act, 2013, where companies are supposed to keep accounts for eight years, he said.

Parolia said "it is the responsibility of Snapdeal to keep the accounts with them, which they have not done. This is the reason why they cannot consolidate the payments which are to be made to vendors. Whenever we go and ask them for payments, they on the contrary ask us to produce the accounts for payments."



Responding to the matter, Snapdeal spokesperson said the company will deal with the issue as per the contractual terms of the agreement and as per established process of law.

He said Snapdeal had offered to pay the amount due to Rajdhani Cottons as per the working shared by the company with the seller.

The spokesperson said the seller wishes to claim a higher amount and is unable or unwilling to provide the required documents to support the claim, and instead is resorting to complaints and notices over the past many months.

Last month, a Bengaluru metropolitan court had summoned 11 Snapdeal executives including Kunal Bahl, for allegedly violating a financial contract and owing dues to Dreams Event, a company which runs Bengaluru Fashion Week.

In February, a group of sellers from Snapdeal-affiliated All India Online Vendor Association (AIOVA) had petitioned Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for non-payment of their dues by the e-commerce firm.

AIVOA had complained that Snapdeal held Rs 300-400 crore in the form of outstanding dues and goods in transit/refunds.

In March, State Bank of India had sent advisories to nearly 100 sellers, coming under Snapdeal's capital-assist programme, to reduce their outstanding loans above their drawing power.

The advisory was issued after a letter written by AIOVA to Sitharaman, raising fears that Snapdeal may default on payments to the sellers.

The company's lead investor SoftBank is currently looking to salvage its investment by merging it with rival Flipkart.

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Congress leader Ashok Gehlot today accused the BJP government in Rajasthan of adopting a "vindictive" agenda towards its opponents.

On the arrest of former Jodhpur Development Authority chairman Rajendra Solanki by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today, Gehlot said even though Solanki was granted anticipatory bail by the High Court, the state government worked in a "vindictive" manner and filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court to get him arrested.

He alleged that the BJP government did nothing for the development of Jodhpur and was now staging a roadshow there to "mislead the people".

The former chief minister claimed that it was the previous Congress government under his leadership which had initiated the development projects in the city, which were now being inaugurated by the current dispensation.

"The BJP government is taking credit for works initiated during my government's rule," he added.

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Oscar-winning actors Ben and Casey Affleck might star in "Triple Frontier", which has been in a setback since actors Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy have left the film.

Apart from that, Paramount Pictures has also dropped the project.

Now, according to Deadline, Netflix could become the new home to the crime drama.

Should the deal be closed, the Affleck brothers will join Mahershala Ali in the film.

Ali is currently the only actor who is officially attached to star in the "Triple Frontier".

The film is set in the notorious border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil where the Iguazu and Parana rivers converge - making "la triple frontera" difficult to monitor and a haven for organised crime.

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The CBI has registered a case against a Singapore-based scamster who allegedly duped a Chennai-based gold exporter of Rs 1.67 crore by diverting its due payments to his personal account.

Suspected finagler Grace Tann used identical email addresses of the Chennai-based exporter, RKR Gold, and the Singapore-based importer, Valuemax Precious Metals pvt ltd, to deceive the latter into depositing a payment for imports to his account.

RKR Gold had exported 6.7 kg of gold jewellery, valued at Rs 1.67 crore, to Valuemax on December 18, 2013, CBI sources said.

It had asked the Valuemax to remit the payment to its Bank of India account in Chennai using its email address -- 'jk.Rkrgold@gmail.Com'.

Later, the Singaporean-company received an email from a very similar email address -- 'jk.Rkrgolds@gmail.Com' asking it to deposit the payment in an HSBC account which was in the name of Grace Tann, purportedly a resident of Woodlands Avenue, Singapore.

The funds were allegedly transferred to Tann's account using telegraphic transfer on December 31, 2013.

Six days later, the Chennai-based firm also received an email claiming to be that from Valuemax saying the payment has been made to the Bank of India branch as desired by them.

The agency has now registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and violation of Information Technology Act against Tann and unidentified others.

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The Centre today sanctioned Rs 588 crore as relief to drought-affected Rajasthan.

The decision has been taken at a meeting of a high level committee chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley besides others.

The committee approved the assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund in respect of Rajasthan to the tune of Rs 588.34 crore in the wake of drought of 2016-17, an official statement said.

It took the decision after examining a proposal based on the report of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team which visited the drought-affected state.

Besides Singh and Jaitely, minister of state for agriculture S S Ahluwalia, union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of the ministries of home, finance, agriculture and NITI Aayog also attended the meeting.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the 'Transformative Chief Minister Award' in recognition for his role in advancing the US-India partnership at the state level.

The award by the US-India Business Council would be presented to Naidu during the USIBC West Coast Summit in the Silicon Valley on May 8, a statement said.

The summit will convene 150 industry leaders from sectors such as information technology, banking, food processing, healthcare, clean energy, digital payments, manufacturing and Government of India officials to explore the impacts of manufacturing in India, digitisation, India's move towards a cashless society and the future of the US-India trade relations, USIBC said.

Participants will discuss key issues such as how Internet of Things (IoTs), smart city planning, and manufacturing issues are shaping the future of the US-India technology partnership, it said.

Led by USIBC chairman and Cisco Executive Chairman, John Chambers, the summit among others will feature Union Cabinet Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT Aruna Sundararajan.

The summit will also honour Sundararajan with the 'Transformative Leadership Award' for excellence in public service and for her commitment to advancing US-India cooperation and Digital India.

Last year's recipient for this award was Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog.

"India is changing rapidly due to digitisation and this in turn is changing how Indian consumers access information, public goods and services, and create opportunities for innovation," said USIBC president Mukesh Aghi.

"Moreover, India's digital economy has the potential for doubling to USD250 billion, contributing 7.5 per cent of the country's GDP in the next three years," he said.

"The summit will bring together top minds in the industry and the government of India to discuss these possibilities and the future of the US-India technology partnership," Aghi said.

The companies which will attend the summit include Amazon, Paypal, Deloitte, Facebook, Nuveen, Mastercard, Dell, TransAsia, Varian Medical, Visa among others.

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Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan today questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over mutilation of two soldiers' bodies by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector.

"Modi had assured that there would be no terror strikes after demonetisation. But the attacks are continuing and now the bodies of Indian soldiers have been mutilated. Why is the government with a 56-inch chest quiet?" he told reporters here while condemned the act by Pakistani forces.

He blamed BJP's Kashmir policy for increasing violence in the Valley.

"There is no let up in the violence in J&K. It is due to the apathy of the Centre. Kashmir is burning. Pakistan is repeatedly violating the LoC.

"Before forming the government both Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke of how India should kill 10 Pakistani soldiers if one Indian jawan was killed," he said.

Chavan demanded strong action against Pakistan.

On Shiv Sena meeting chief minister Devendra Fadnavis with a demand to convene special session of the legislature, Chavan said Sena should stop such "theatrics".

"Shiv Sena is in power. It should give loan waiver to farmers and if it is not able to do so, the party should quit the government," he said.

The Congress leader alleged a Rs 400 crore scam in procurement of tur (pulse).

"Senior government officials are likely to be involved. The government should act swiftly against all culprits,"he demanded.

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China today welcomed a watered down statement by the ASEAN over the disputed South China Sea issue and lauded Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's visit to a Chinese naval ship where he expressed desire for joint military exercises with Beijing.

"We read the chairman's statement from the 30th ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) summit in Manila concerning the South China Sea issue. With the joint efforts, the situation is becoming more positive," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told media here.

Geng skirted a question whether China had exerted pressure to drop references to its "land reclamation and militarisation". The references to China's land reclamation and militarisation were part of previous ASEAN statements.

It was apparently dropped as China got more support over its military push into the disputed South China Sea after Duterte completely scaled down Philippines' opposition even over last year's international tribunal award quashing Beijing's claims over the area.

"Since last year, with the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries including the Philippines, temperatures in the South China Sea situation have gone down and things have eased up. I think this accords with the interests of countries in the region," Geng said.

The relevant situation at this ASEAN summit again fully shows the positive changes in the South China Sea situation and that the joint wish of countries in this region is to seek stability, promote cooperation and seek development, and this should be respected and supported by all sides, Geng added.

China says nearly the entire South China Sea falls within its territory, with half a dozen other countries maintaining partially overlapping claims.

China has built a series of artificial islands on reefs and rocks in attempt to bolster its position, complete with military-length airstrips and anti-aircraft weapons.

The strategic South China Sea is rich in energy reserves, fishery resources and is a busy shipping route.

The Chinese media today gave front page coverage to Duterte's trip to the Chinese naval ship, which is on a friendly visit to the Philippines.

"I agree (to the idea). You can have joint exercise here in Mindanao, maybe in the Sulu Sea," Duterte said after visiting the guided missile destroyerChangchun of the People's Liberation Army navy docked at Sasa Wharf in his hometown of Davao City, the state-run Xinhua agency said.

The Chinese ships arrived in the Philippines on Sunday for a three-day goodwill visit, the first Chinese naval fleet to make a port call to the Southeast Asian country in seven years, a sign of warming ties between the two countries.

For its part China has committed billions of dollars of investment in Philippines as a gesture to Duterte scaling down Manila's vociferous claims on the South China Sea.

The visit is a clear sign that Duterte is improving Sino-Philippine ties after his predecessor Benigno Aquino III took the territorial disputes to an arbitration court in The Hague and sunk bilateral ties to an all-time low, said Zhuang Guotu, head of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University.

"Duterte made it clear that Manila does not wish to challenge Beijing or engage in any form of military conflict. His primary concern is economic cooperation, for which he knows China's help would be crucial," Zhuang told the Global Times.

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China will deploy drones, install surveillance cameras and barbed wire fencing to patrol the over 5,600-kilometre border of its restive Muslim-majority Xinjiang province bordering the PoK and Afghanistan to curb infiltration of Uyghur militants, a media report said today.

Xinjiang, which has been China's main battleground in the fight against terrorism, neighbours eight countries, including Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Xinjiang will deploy drones, set up barbed wire and install surveillance cameras along the border to prevent people crossing the border illegally," said Jerla Isamudin, deputy chairman of the region.

Xinjiang needs to further enhance cooperation in exchanging terrorism-related intelligence with neighbouring countries, state-run 'China Daily' quoted him as saying.

Many terrorists who carried out attacks in the region in recent years received training abroad and then entered illegally, and some also fled across the border, the daily quoted the regional police authority.

Chinese authorities believe the penetration of religious extremism from abroad has prompted people to carry out violent attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country in recent years, it said.

Xinjiang, home to over 10 million Uyghur Muslims, has been restive for the past several years following protests from the Uyghur community over the settlements of Hans from other provinces.

China has launched joint patrols with the Pakistan Army along the POK part of the border and launched a QuadrilateralCooperation and Coordination Mechanism in Counter Terrorism along with Afghanistan-China-Pakistan- Tajikistan Armed Forces to tighten security along Xinjiang borders.

The security has been stepped up as Xinjiang also formed the starting point for the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

China blames the separatist East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for numerous violent attacks in and outside Xinjiang.

At China's behest, Pakistan also launched military operations to wipe out ETIM training bases in its tribal areas.

Chinese officials have been saying that several hundreds Uyghurs have joined Islamic State to fight in Syria.

They apprehend that most of them were expected to return to fight at home.

The Chinese governmenthas prohibited parents from choosing names like 'Muhammad', 'Arafat' and 'Jihad' for their children in Xinjiang.

Officials said the ban introduced this month was part of an effort to "curb religious fervour".

Shohrat Zakir, the region's chairman, said in January that Xinjiang would impose tighter entry-exit measuresin 2017.

Last year, the regional legislature passed a regulation on border control, which took effect in December.

The regulation requires people living along the border areas to report strangers to public security authorities within 24 hours.

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In a rare disclosure, China's ruling Communist Party has said some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to him, undermining the fight against "separatist" forces.

A senior discipline inspection official has "lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the party's fight against separatism," state-run Global Times reported today.

Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.

The Global Times, a tabloid publication attached the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibet's discipline watchdog linking "15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities."



It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials.

This is the first time official media here has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials' links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.

Wang, in an article published yesterday in a magazine run by the CPC, the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision, wrote that "some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations."



A few party officials are failing to "uphold their political integrity" and are "completely ignoring political discipline," Wang said, adding that such behaviour has affected the CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.

In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the 81-year-old leader.

His recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh which China calls 'South Tibet' soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese "standardised" named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.

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If so, I truly hope there was a huge trade off. The Hill, BY BRANDON CARTER

President Trump brags in a new interview that he secured the release of Egyptian-American aid worker Aya Hijazi from captivity after 10 minutes with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

"As you know, President Obama tried to have Aya released for three and a half years," Trump told the Washington Examiner.

I was with President el-Sisi for 10 minutes. During that 10-minute session, I said it would be a great honor for this country and I think it would be a very positive step if Aya were released."

Hijazi was detained in Egypt in 2014 on charges of human trafficking that were widely dismissed by the international community. The Obama administration had previously lobbied Egypt for her release without success. The news of her release came after Trumps meeting with the Egyptian leader in early April.

Trump told the newspaper that el-Sisi is a good man and that the gesture was fantastic.

I know that he didn't like President Obama, and I know President Obama did not like him. But I do like him. And I thought it was a great and brilliant gesture, Trump said.
The top army commanders of Pakistan and India today talked over the hotline, a day after a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the Line of Control and beheaded two Indian security personnel.

The hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India was established at 11.30 AM, Geo reported.

"Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the report said.

The DGMO-level contact came after the local commanders of the two armies spoke last night at Rawlakot-Poonch sector along the LoC.

The local commander of the Pakistan Army told his Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violation was committed by Pakistan, the military's Inter-Services Public Relations wing said in a statement.

"Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations," the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

Pakistan Army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC.

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan's border action team (BAT) crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.

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Actor Dwayne Johnson has disclosed the plot details of his upcoming action film "Rampage", in which he plays the head of an anti-poaching unit.

Taking to Instagram, the 44-year-old actor revealed that he is currently shooting in Georgia for the film.

He also shared his picture where he could be seen sweating it out at the gym.

"Goin' primal. Good to finally have boots on the ground here in Georgia for production of #RAMPAGE...

"My best friend is a rare albino gorilla named, George. Very bad people infect George, an alligator and a wolf with a serum. All three animals grow at an unprecedented rate. They go on a deadly rampage and want to destroy the world," wrote Johnson.

The action star praised the film for having the best "VFX monster making team".

A film, which is based on the classic arcade game of the same name, also stars Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

"Rampage" will release next year.

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The ED has registered a money laundering case against the AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV and others in connection with the Election Commission bribery case.

Officials said the central probe agency has registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a Delhi police FIR in the matter.

They said the agency will probe the possible "proceeds of crime" as part of its charter under the anti-money laundering law and soon will issue summonses to the accused.

A meeting of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi police officials has taken place recently and it is expected that after the central probe agency registered a separate case, a few more such meetings could be held to take the probe forward.

and his aide Mallikarjuna were sent to the Tihar Jail till May 15 by a court in New Delhi on Monday after the police said that the accused were not needed for custodial interrogation.

was arrested on April 25 after four days of questioning by the Delhi police for allegedly attempting to bribe an unidentified EC official to get the undivided AIADMK's 'two leaves' election symbol for his faction for a by-election to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu which was later cancelled by the Election Commission.

Middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was the first to be arrested in the case, had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore to help the faction keep the 'two leaves' symbol.

The EC had frozen AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol after two factions led by Sasikala and former chief minister O Panneerselvam staked claim to it.

The AIADMK (Amma) faction leader has been accused of allegedly arranging the amount from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.

The court had on April 26 remanded the duo to a five-day custody of Delhi Police which said it needed to unearth the money trail and the entire conspiracy in the case.

Mallikarjuna, who had been accompanying Dhinakaran everywhere ever since the arrest of alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar on April 16, was arrested for facilitating the alleged Rs 50-crore deal between Dhinakaran and Chandrasekar.

Chandrasekar is in judicial custody till May 12.
Eight Malian soldiers were killed Tuesday in an attack carried out by armed men in a central area of the country regularly targeted by jihadist groups, a Malian security source said.

"We lost eight troops on Tuesday during a complex attack mounted by terrorists, between the localities of Nampala and Diabali," the source told AFP.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today warned Brussels that Turkey would bring the curtain down on its over half-century bid to join the European Union if new accession chapters were not opened.

Erdogan's threat to say "goodbye" to the European Union came minutes after he rejoined Turkey's ruling party in the first major change to come into effect following a controversial vote to boost his powers.

Relations between Ankara and Brussels have tumbled to unprecedented lows following a failed coup bid on July 15.

The EU is troubled by the state of human rights in Turkey, while Turkey is slamming what it sees as a lack of solidarity from the bloc.

Erdogan last month narrowly won a referendum on sweeping consitutional changes to create a presidential system. But the victory was contested by the opposition and gained only the most tepid of welcomes in Brussels.

"There is no option other than opening chapters that you have not opened until now," Erdogan said, referring to the individual policy areas that need to be concluded before Turkey joins the EU.

"If you open, then great. If you don't open, then goodbye," Erdogan said. "Turkey is not their (the EU's) doorman," he added.

Sixteen chapters have been opened out of a total of 35 since accession talks began in October 2005, although Turkey's bid to be a part of the bloc dates back to the 1960s.

"First you have to handle these chapters and fulfil your promises. Then we will sit at the able and talk. Otherwise, we have nothing left to discuss with you," Erdogan said.

Some EU states -- led by Austria -- have suggested that membership talks should be frozen. But EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said on Friday that talks had not been halted.

Germany has urged its EU peers not to end accession talks despite deep misgivings over Turkey's rights record, saying the country is key to European interests, not least as a NATO ally.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Friday Berlin was "strictly against breaking off the accession talks... It would be the completely wrong reaction."



EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker want to meet with Erdogan when he travels to Brussels for the NATO summit on May 25 despite the growing tensions.

Erdogan, who Monday returned from a visit to India, will however first be visiting Russia, China and United States in an indication of Turkey's priorities.

Erdogan made the remarks in a key policy speech that followed his formal return to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that he co-founded.

Under Turkey's former constitution, the head of state had to sever ties with their political party and Erdogan had to leave the AKP when he became president in August 2014 after more than a decade as premier.

The reforms permit the president to be a member of a political party, allowing Erdogan to return to the AKP which he co-founded in 2001 as a new Islamic-rooted force in Turkish politics and which has dominated the scene ever since.

Supporters of the changes say they will bring Turkey efficient governance but opponents fear they will set the country on the path to authoritarian rule.

Erdogan was welcomed as a new member at a special ceremony at party headquarters in Ankara attended by hundreds of AKP officials led by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

He signed the paperwork to become a member to thunderous applause before a rendition of the national anthem.

Yildirim confirmed that Erdogan will also be reinstalled as party chairman on May 21 at an extraordinary AKP congress.

Erdogan, who has four children, has described the AKP as his "fifth child" and has never made a secret of his desire to return to the fold.

"I was forced to leave the party I co-founded, my home, my love. This longing is thankfully coming to an end," he told the officials, some of whom were in tears.

"I am a member of my party again. This was just an official separation. Our hearts are together, always together."



He is keen to sharpen the party's performance ahead of polls scheduled for 2019 after the 'No' vote came out on top in key battlegrounds including Ankara and Istanbul in the April 16 referendum.

The new constitution envisages major changes including the abolition of the premier's post and giving the head of state power to appoint ministers.

But these changes will only come into force after elections scheduled for November 2019 and the party membership shift is one of the few measures to take effect before then.

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The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested the former chairman of the Jodhpur Development Authority (JDA) in connection with alleged irregularities in the tendering process for a development work.

"Rajendra Singh Solanki was arrested after the Supreme Court stayed the anticipatory bail order issued by the High Court last month," SP (ACB) Ajay Pal Lamba said.

He was declared arrested at the ACB office in Jodhpur, where he was summoned for interrogation this morning, he said.

The ACB had filed four cases against Solanki for alleged irregularities in various developmental works in 2013, the SP said.

"He has been accused of violating rules pertaining to administrative and financial sanctions, and also increasing the financial sanction for some of the works and changing their location," Lamba said.

Out of the four cases, Solanki has been arrested in the case in which tenders were issued twice for the construction of a community hall at the same location, the officer said.

"A tender had been floated in 2012-13 for the construction of a community hall in Mansagar's Adarsh Colony at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. However, the JDA issued a second tender for the same work in 2013-14 with the cost of the project increasing to Rs 70 lakh," Lamba said.

He said Solanki was evading arrest since the cases were registered against him.

Solanki first tried to get the FIRs against him quashed by the High Court, failing which, he had succeeded in obtaining an anticipatory bail from the court last month, the SP said.

The ACB challenged this relief to Solanki in the Supreme Court, Lamba added.

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The families of the two Indian jawans beheaded by Pakistani forces are baying for revenge by the army with the daughter of one of them today saying she wants "50 heads" for the sacrifice of her father.

Amid a pall of gloom, the mortal remains of 42-year-old Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the army's 22 Sikh Infantry were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district.

The body of BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar, 45 , was brought to Delhi for its onward journey to Takenpur in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district for the last rites.

A day after the barbaric incident that was carried out by a Pakistani special forces team which sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector, the friends and family members of the two soldiers wanted the Army to teach Pakistan a lesson.

"My father is martyred. I demand 50 heads for one head," said Saroj, the daughter of Sagar, fighting back her tears while consoling her mother.

Earlier, a wreath-laying ceremony was organised in Poonch and was attended by top ranking security officials.

Anti-Pakistan protests rocked Poonch and Jammu district over the killing.

In Poonch, locals and ex-servicemen shouted anti-Pakistan slogans as the mortal remains of the two soldiers were being taken to Jammu.

The anger aganst Pakistan was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the international border with Pakistan.

While slogans like "Shaheed Paramjeet Amar Rahe" slogans rent the air, "Pakistan Murdabad" slogans were also raised.

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab today, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that the army pay back Pakistan in the same coin.

A large number of mourners from Paramjeet's village in Punjab and surrounding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to him.

Senior army officers and those from the civil administration were also present as buglers sounded the 'Last Post' and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute.

His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a flower-bedecked vehicle.

The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.

Paramjeet is survived by his aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, who are aged between 11 and 14.

Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was to arrive at his village a week later on holiday, his family and friends has demanded a befitting reply be given to Pakistan.

Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre give a free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a lesson.

"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," Kaur said.

Paramjeet's father Udham Singh said he was proud of his son, but wanted that Pakistan be given a befitting reply.

"Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson," he said.

Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.

Struggling to hold back her tears, his daughter Simardeep said she was proud of her father, who had laid down his life for the nation.

Udham said Paramjeet had wanted to give the best possible education to his children and had talked about renovating his house so his kids could get more space to study and play.

His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy.

Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA "who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away".

"My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he has served in the Army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief," he told reporters.

A childhood friend of Paramjeet also asked, "Why can't our government give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Give our Army a free hand. The Sikh Regiment alone is enough to take on Pakistan.

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In yet another case of atrocity on the girl child, a three-year old girl was strangulated in her sleep by her father in Dhanbad district for being born a girl.

A police officer said today that the incident occured at Kurkuri village in the wee hours on monday night.

After receiving a complaint from the girl's relatives, Nirsa police station in-charge Parmeswer Prasad reached the village and recvoered the body and sent it for postmortem at Patliputra Medical College Hospital (PMCH,) Dhanbad.

A police team has been sent to Maniyadih village to arrest the father, he told newsmen.

The father, Shankar Ray, resident of Maniyadih village under Tundi block, visited his in-laws house where his wife was staying with the child on April 29, the officer said.

On Monday night, he affectionately asked his daughter to sleep beside him in the courtyard and strangled her in her sleep, police said.

"Right from the day of her birth, he had been trying to kill her as she was a baby girl. For safety of the girl, I deserted my in-law's house and have been living with my younger brother for last three years as both my parents have passed away", said the sobbing child's mother, Jyotsna (20).

Shankar and Jyotsna's marriage was solemnized in 2011. After the birth of his daughter, Shankar became disillusioned with his wife for bearing a girl child. However, he continued to visit her at her brother's place, Jyotsna's relatives told newsmen.

They said Shankar, a farmer by profession, decided to commit filicide when he learnt that Jyotsna was expecting again and feared that she would again give birth to a girl child.

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In a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, one of its employees with a top-secret security clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, according to a media report.

Rogue employee Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter- terrorism authorities on two continents, CNN reported.

Cuspert had praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.

Before travelling to Syria, 38-year-old woman translator lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.

Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

"Greene's saga, which has never been publicised, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBI-an agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathisers across the country," the channel said.

It also raises questions about whether Greene received favourable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offence, it added.

"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official.

Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011.

She was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A" identified as Cuspert.

As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.

It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad.

Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show.

"Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.

She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014 and flew on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. From there she travelled to Gaziantep city, close to the Syrian border.

She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him.

Shortly after, Greene sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law.

On August 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest.

After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on August 8, 2014.

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A fire broke out today in the office of Vadodara district collector, a fire brigade official said.

"However, the blaze was brought under control within five minutes and the situation is normal. No one is hurt in the incident," Vadodara Municipal Corporation's chief fire officer Dipak Munzal told PTI.

The fire broke out on the ground floor of the two storey building, the officer said.

He said short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire.

The staff working at the office rushed outside the premises after the blaze broke out, the officer added.

Meanwhile, Vadodara collector P Bharti, who assumed charge yesterday, is returning from capital Gandhinagar upon learning about the fire, an aide to the collector said.

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Germany's defense minister has canceled a Wednesday trip to the United States amid a government probe of a possible far-right cell with ties to the German army.

Authorities last week arrested a 28-year-old lieutenant who managed to register as a Syrian asylum-seeker without being detected on suspicion of preparing an act of violence. Investigators say the army officer may have planned to blame a possible future attack on foreigners.

The officer has been identified only as Franco A. Due to German privacy rules



German agency dpa reported today that Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants to focus on the investigation surrounding the case.

The RND media group reports defense officials believe A. was part of a small far-right group and planned to brief lawmakers late Tuesday.

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Berlin today asked the Swiss ambassador to clarify the case of an alleged Swiss spy suspected of monitoring German finance investigators who pursue cross-border tax cheats.

The foreign ministry said the ambassador was asked, at the request of Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, "to clarify the case of the Swiss citizen who has been arrested on suspicion of espionage."



German prosecutors said Friday that police had arrested a Swiss man identified only as Daniel M., 54, who was suspected of espionage activities since early 2012.

Federal police also raided several residential and business premises in and around the banking centre of Frankfurt, they said.

Die Welt daily reported that the man's alleged mission was to identify German tax investigators involved in the purchase of "tax cheat" CDs, which have upset German-Swiss relations in the past.

Several German states have since 2006 paid millions to unknown sources for the CDs, which have listed German citizens' account information with several Swiss and Liechtenstein banks.

Daniel M was thought to have worked for the Swiss intelligence service NDB in the German finance and banking sector, the report said.

German tax investigators started a major crackdown in 2010 when they got their hands on data CDs with lists of bank account holders in foreign tax havens.

Many of Germany's rich, powerful and famous have as a result had to issue public apologies for stashing away their wealth abroad and paid back-taxes and fines.

The threat of dawn raids compelled thousands of other German tax cheats to come forward and report their accounts abroad, and pay back taxes on the interest earned plus fines.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia alone has bought 11 CDs, which it says have led 120,000 German citizens to self- report Swiss bank accounts.

They have paid back billions of euros in taxes they owed, finance authorities have said.

The state's premier Hannelore Kraft said that, if the espionage case is true, it would be "a real scandal".

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Germany's Bosch, the world's largest auto parts supplier, said today it had sold its subsidiary making starter motors and generators to a Chinese buyer.

It did not disclose the price, but industry sources estimated it at more than 500 million euros (USD 550 million).

The buyers are Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group Co. (ZMJ) and Hong Kong-based China Renaissance Capital Investment, the German company said in a statement.

Their purchase of Robert Bosch Starter Motors Generators Holding GmbH (SG) is still subject to approval by antitrust and other authorities.

The buyers said they would keep the company's almost 7,000 staff at 16 locations in 14 countries.

"ZMJ will support SG in further expanding its competitive product portfolio," said the Chinese company's CEO Chengyao Jiao in a statement.

"Improved regional presence, especially in Asia, will allow SG's business to be expanded sustainably and profitably."



ZMJ is a major Chinese automotive supplier, making starters and generators as well as engine components for commercial vehicles and passenger cars.

Stuttgart-based Bosch, an unlisted family company, also makes industrial products, household appliances and power tools.

With 390,000 employees worldwide, it booked 73.1 billion euros in turnover last year, according to provisional data. It will present its results for 2016 at its annual press conference Thursday.

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The operator of Sydney's main airport today ruled out involvement in building a second major airport for the city, citing financial risks, leaving the Australian government to develop the project.

Canberra last December announced plans for another airport in Sydney, ending decades of indecision over a facility that will initially handle 10 million passengers a year.

Badgerys Creek in the western suburbs had already been selected as the site.

It is scheduled to open in 2026, easing pressure on Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport -- the main gateway into Australia -- which is reaching capacity.

The listed Sydney Airport Group, owner of Kingsford Smith, had the right of first refusal to build and operate the new multi-billion dollar Western Sydney Airport (WSA) but declined.

"Despite the opportunities that WSA will present, the risks associated with the development and operation of WSA are considerable and endure for many decades without commensurate returns for our investors," the company said in a statement to the stock market.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government would instead take on the project, with details set to be revealed in next week's federal budget.

"The airport will be a major catalyst for jobs and economic growth in Western Sydney, injecting more than Aus$1.9 billion (USD 1.43 billion) into the economy during the construction phase alone," he said.

"It is expected to deliver 9,000 new jobs to Western Sydney by the early 2030s, and 60,000 in the long-term."



The first stage will see one runway constructed, able to handle Airbus A380s and 10 million people each year, with a second expected to be needed by 2050.

Kingsford Smith Airport, which is eight kilometres (around five miles) from the city centre, handled 39.7 million travellers in 2015 and is reaching its limit. Passenger numbers through Sydney are forecast to more than double in the next 20 years.

It is also subject to flight restrictions between 11 pm-6 am. Badgerys Creek, 45 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district, is expected to be curfew-free given that fewer people live nearby.

Badgerys has been a potential site since 1986, with the government buying about 1,800 hectares (4,446 acres) in the area and the surroundings kept largely free of development since then.

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The Gujarat High Court today asked a woman police official to stay on leave till it gets verified the allegations that despite failing the physical fitness tests, she made it to the police force due to favouritism.

The division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi asked Assistant Commissioner of Police Reena Munshi to stay on leave till her case is decided.

The bench gave the direction on a plea by ACP Munshi against a single-judge bench order of Justice Paresh Upadhyay who had held her ineligible and asked her to vacate the post.

Posted as ACP in Special Branch of Ahmedabad police, Munshi is currently on leave.

Munshi's appointment in police force was challenged earlier by co-aspirant to the job Neha Parmar, who, in her petition to Justice Upadhyay, had contended that Munshi did not meet the eligibility norms in terms of physical fitness that require a woman candidate to have a minimum chest measurement of 79 centimetres, with a minimum expansion of 5 centimetres.

Parmar had backed her petition with official disclosures procured under the Right to Information Act which showed that Munshi had undergone four medical tests but failed all of them on chest measurement criteria.

Yet, the official disclosures under the transparency law revealed that a certificate from home department declared her as meeting the eligibility norms on the basis of an allegedly forged certificate of Jamnagar medical board.

The single bench had in its order on April 21 held that certain officers of the General Administration Department played mischief with the medical record and "allegations of favouritism and manipulation of record by the officers thus stand substantiated."



The court had also said in its order that Munshi being the daughter of a very senior IAS officer, the government officials manipulated record to favour her.

It was against this single-judge bench order that Munshi had moved the division bench of the high court.

Munshi was appointed as deputy superintendent of police through the Gujarat Civil Services Class-I and II Combined Competitive Examination held by Gujarat Public Service Commission.

The GPSC itself had come out, on the direction of the General Administration Department, with a second list of 317 successful candidates after scrapping its first list of 316 candidates.

With Several candidates dropped out of the GPSC's second list, the entire recruitment process of the state public service commission, which had taken unduly long to be completed, had been challenged by various candidates in the high court.

The single judge bench, in turn, had ordered the government to initiate inquiry against its concerned officials and provide the inquiry report to the petitioner candidates.

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The Delhi High Court today asked the All India Radio to expeditiously conclude the disciplinary proceedings initiated by it against the Delhi Assembly Secretary, who is stuck in a tug-of-war between the Centre and the AAP government.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, while disposing of a petition of Secretary Prasanna Kumar Suryadevara to quash the disciplinary proceeding against him, also directed him to file a written response within 10 days to the memos and charge sheet issued against him by the All India Radio (AIR).

The court said after Suryadevara filed his response, the inquiry shall proceed as per law and directed the AIR to conclude the proceedings "as expeditiously as possible".

The proceeding was initiated against him by the AIR, his parent cadre, for not returning to it even after then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had ordered his repatriation in August last year. Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had refused to relieve the official then.

In the instant matter as Suryadevara had not responded to the memos and charge sheet, the AIR had passed an ex-parte order for initiating an inquiry against him.

During the hearing, AIR's counsel said they were ready for relegating to the stage where charge sheet and memorandum were served on Suryadevara last year.

The court had earlier suggested that Suryadevara should respond to the disciplinary proceeding initiated against him by the AIR.

The AIR's proceedings against him was also being carried out for writing an article - 'Neither Office, Nor Profit', with the permission of the Delhi Assembly Speaker, who too has already moved the court against Suryadevara's repatriation.

Earlier, an issue of maintainability was raised by the services department of the Delhi government and the AIR.

The AIR and the services department had said that as Suryadevara was a central government appointee on deputation to the Delhi Assembly, therefore the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was the appropriate forum to deal with the matter.

On the other hand, it was argued on behalf of Suryadevara that since he was appointed to the secretarial services of the Delhi Assembly, he would not come under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal as per the CAT Act.

Suryadevara, an officer of the Newsreader-cum-Translator (Telugu) cadre, was deputed to the Delhi Assembly for a year after which Jung had ordered to relieve him.

Goel had, however, refused to relieve the official, insisting that since he, as the Speaker, held a constitutional office and the LG cannot repatriate the Assembly secretary without his concurrence.

Suryadevara had earlier served in the offices of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for five years and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari for over six years.

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Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) today commenced online booking for its range of cars across the country.

Through the new portal, www.Hyundai.Co.In, customers will now be able to book any Hyundai car by registering and paying a token booking amount online to their preferred dealership without visiting the outlet.

"The online car booking will empower our customers and redefine online car purchase in India by making customers' purchase journey simpler, faster, convenient yet experiential," HMIL MD and CEO Y K Koo said in a statement.

The aim of online booking is to provide an easy virtual experience of brand Hyundai to customers, the company said.

The online bookings will commence from today and will be available on Hyundai corporate and mobile websites, it added.

Hyundai, with 10 models, is the second-largest carmaker in India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ICICI Bank has created 100 'digital villages' across the country within 100 days and now plans to add 500 more to the list by year-end, its chief Chanda Kochhar said today.

The 100-village project, which also included imparting skill training and providing credit linkages to people living there, was taken up by the bank after noticing that minimum inconvenience was caused to people living in a model 'digital village' in Gujarat during the demonetisation period.

During the 100-day period, the bank provided vocational training to 11,300 villagers, including 70 per cent women, and opened more than 2 lakh bank accounts, Kochhar said, adding that a credit linkage facility was also given to many in these 100 villages to help them earn their livelihood.

The bank has also provided loans to the tune of Rs 14 crore to customers of these 100 digital villages and with more addition, the credit flow is going up, she said.

On the programme, Kochhar said it encompassed digitisation of transactions and other commercial activities besides providing vocational training, credit facility and market linkage to help villagers earn a sustainable livelihood.

"We will transform another 500 villages into 'ICICI Digital Villages' by December 2017 and train another 50,000 individuals," she said.

The ambitious project, which began in November 2016, was inspired by the success of India's first digital village created by ICICI Bank at Akodara in Gujarat in 2015.

"We were very happy with the work we did in Akodara 2 years ago. We noticed that during the demonetisation period, this village saw very less inconvenience compared to others, because of the digital banking and other infrastructure we had created there.

"This made us think that we can do more on this front and we decided to convert 100 villages into digital villages," she said, adding these efforts were also in line with the government's 'Digital India' programme and the initiatives aimed at promoting 'less cash' economy in the country.

"What we also thought that we will add skill training and credit linkages to our work in those villages. This way we have been able to promote a 'less cash' ecosystem and also promote locally required skill sets on those areas," she said.

Kochhar said the initiative has already covered 17 states, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat.

"Also, we have opened more than 2 lakh accounts so far, which covers most of the adult population in these villages. We have installed POS machines, micro ATMs and also opened accounts for Village Level Centres or VLCs.

"We have also introduced very simple features for mobile banking so that people in those villages can do banking just on the basis of SMS and without requiring smartphones," she said.

Kochhar said ICICI Bank is now picking more and more states and villages for the next phase in which it would create 500 digital villages by December 2017.

Asked whether the next 500 villages would lead to over 10 lakh accounts, she said, "It should be so. Basically, it would depend on the population of the villages, but broadly that kind of numbers should be achieved."



About skill training, she said the focus was on skills that are very local in nature and are relevant to the local needs and the area.

"We had a special focus on women, who have been trained in tailoring, dress designing and many other skills. As a result, people in those villages have begun to earn Rs 20,000 -30,000 a month and many have become entrepreneurs," she added.

On credit linkages, Kochhar said credit facilities have been extended to those wanting to start their own small business and also for the self-help groups (SHGs).

"Credit linkage has been provided to about 1,000 people directly and for over 2,000 through SHGs.

"In terms of training, 70 per cent were women. Besides, 84 per cent of those having been given training are now earning their livelihood on their own," she said.

Free vocational training was provided in association with ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, the CSR arm of the group.

The 100 villages covered so far include 16 in Gujarat, 14 each in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, 12 in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and 11 in Rajasthan, among others.

ICICI Bank said it is using Aadhar-based e-KYC to help villagers open accounts in a paperless manner, without submitting physical documents. There is a dedicated ICICI Bank branch in each village to service these accounts.

The bank has provided an SMS-based mobile service which facilitates the villagers to transfer funds, receive SMS alerts and mini-statements and know their account balance.

It is available in 10 regional languages and functions on basic feature phones as well, without the requirement of smartphones.

The training programmes included agriculture, dairy and vermicomposting, agriculture equipment service and repair, dress designing and sandstone cutting, mobile phone servicing and electrical home appliances.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mutilating the bodies of two soldiers was "a dastardly and inhuman" act that merited the unequivocal response, the Indian Army told Pakistan in a strongly worded statement in an emotive day of tears at the lives lost and a categorical denial from Islamabad.

As the families of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Singh bid them farewell, Pakistan denied India's allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation, ensuring that the troubled equation between the two neighbours was back in the spotlight with cries of a "befitting reply" being heard once again.

India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen A K Bhatt spoke to his Pakistani counterpart this morning to express his "grave concern" about the killing and beheading of the two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

"The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the Indian Army said in a statement.

The DGMO conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire" support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located close to where the incident took place.

The army said the DGMO also conveyed India's concern about the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps in close vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan- Occupied Kashmir.

Discussing the issue during the hotline contact between the two DGMOs, the Pakistan Army asked India to produce "actionable evidence" on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team had sneaked across the LoC and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

"Pakistan rejected India's allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the army statement said.

"The Pakistan army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Kashmir valley," Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza claimed.

The denials had little impact at Vainpoin village in Punjab, where 42-year-old Paramjeet Singh was laid to rest with full military honours.

As buglers sounded the "last post" and his body, wrapped in the tricolour, was brought for cremation, his relatives insisted that they be shown the body. Finally, the ceremony went ahead after civil and army officials intervened.

His wife Paramjit Kaur demanded that the Centre give a "free hand" to the army so that Pakistan is taught a lesson.

"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now? If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," she said.

While "shaheed Paramjeet amar rahe" cries echoed in the air so did slogans "Pakistan murdabad".

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the beheading issue is understood to have figured. However, there was no official word on it.

Former defence minister and senior Congress leader A K Antony echoed the anguish and told reporters that the army should be given a "free hand" to act against those behind the mutilation of the two soldiers.

Paying tribute to the two soldiers at the New Delhi airport, where the body of Prem Sagar was brought before being taken to his home in Uttar Pradesh, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said, "The nation is with the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in ceasefire violation by the Pakistan army."



Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters, "We are very firm, we will do whatever is possible and the government is already at it."



The incident, marking yet another low in the fractured relationship, comes about six months after an Indian Army soldier was killed and his body mutilated close to the LoC in the Machil sector on October 28 last year.

In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by the BAT. It had also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack.

In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by the BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.
IT firm Infosys will hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years and open four centres in the US in a bid to woo the Trump administration, which has been critical of outsourcing firms for "unfairly" taking jobs away from US workers.

The first of the four innovation centres for new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will open in August in Indiana, the home state of US Vice-President Mike Pence.

Besides, Infosys Foundation USA will fund computer science training for over 1,000 public school teachers in the summer of 2017.

Infosys, which employs about two lakh people globally, is taking a number of steps, including setting up new centres, hiring locals and training people in the US, as part of concerted efforts to mitigate the impact of visa curbs there.

The Indiana centre is expected to create 2,000 jobs for American workers by 2021, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka told PTI.

The move to hire more locals would also mean increase in labour costs for the company in the US.

The location of the other three centres will be decided over the next few months, Sikka said, adding that these hubs will train people on technology and innovation.

The centres will also help in working closely with clients in key industries like financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and energy.

The North American market accounted for over 60 per cent of Infosys' USD 10.2 billion revenue in 2016-17.

Sikka, however, said these steps were not being taken just to mitigate the impact of stricter visa norms in the US.

He said over the last three years, there has been an increase in the use of new technologies like AI and virtual reality and even the traditional projects are becoming highly automated.

"As work becomes more next-gen, you need a healthier mix of global and local talent and so, you need to rethink the traditional, what has historically been called 'global delivery model', and bring in a lot more talent locally," he added.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a growing sentiment of protectionism across various markets, including the US, that are seeking to safeguard jobs for locals and raising the bar for foreign workers.

The US had also accused Infosys and its larger rival, Tata Consultancy Services, of unfairly cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system. Every year, the US grants 65,000 H-1B visas while another 20,000 are set aside for those with US advanced degrees.

In IT firms' defence, industry body Nasscom had said these two companies accounted for only 7,504 -- 8.8 per cent -- of the approved H-1B visas in 2014-15. At the end of March 2017, Infosys had over 2 lakh people on its payroll. Technology companies use work permits like H-1B visa (in the US) to send engineers to work on client sites.

The tightening of visa norms not only pushes up operational costs for these firms, but makes movement of skilled workforce difficult. These companies are now adjusting their business models to reduce their dependence on visas and hiring more locals overseas instead.

Sikka, however, declined to comment on the investment and current mix of locals and global hires in the US.

Infosys -- which has over two lakh people on its payroll -- already hired over 2,000 people in the US in the last few years under Sikka.

The 10,000 people that will be hired will include experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges.

Infosys will also train them on key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings as well as core technology and computer science skills.

Since 2015, Infosys has trained more than 134,000 students, over 2,500 teachers and almost 2,500 schools across America and provided classroom equipment through Infosys Foundation USA.

"The future is being written in code, and there is a critical need to invest in computer science education today... it is vital that students can identify and solve complex problems, develop critical thinking skills and learn the computational thinking," Infosys Foundation USA Chairperson Vandana Sikka said in a statement.

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Islamic State militants staged a surprise attack early today at a crossing frequently used by Iraqi and Syrian civilians seeking safety in northeastern Syria, killing at least 37 people, mostly civilians, Kurdish officials and activists said.

The militants struck before dawn after sneaking into the village of Rajm Sleibi, located along a front line that separates the Kurdish-controlled Hassakeh province from IS- held areas further south.

Some militants reportedly blew themselves up at a Kurdish checkpoint while attacked sleeping civilians in a nearby temporary camp sheltering hundreds of displaced people who fled IS-controlled territory.

The Rescue Committee said thousands of people from the Iraqi city of Mosul have traveled west to the Sleibi crossing since October, often via smugglers. In a statement, it said several children were among the dead and wounded.

"It was three in the morning when Daesh came and started to shoot at people," said Abdulah Khalef Hamid, an Iraqi refugee from Mosul, who said his mother-in-law was killed in Tuesday's attack. "I was wounded and they thought I was dead so they left me. We were around 200 families, they left at sunrise," he added.

Daesh is the Arabic acronym for IS. Redur Khalil, a spokesman for the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria, said the attack started with an early morning assault by IS militants on a checkpoint in Sleibi belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed and Kurdish-dominated force that fights IS.

The militants then "committed a massacre" against civilians as they sought to enter SDF-controlled territory, Khalil said.

He told The Associated Press the attack came a few hours after IS suicide bombers dressed in civilian clothes sneaked into the town of Shaddadeh and attacked SDF forces, triggering clashes that were ongoing.

Survivors from the attack on the camp said the militants arrived in four cars before shooting several people and kidnapping .

"They were shouting 'You are infidels and you are going toward the infidels,'" said Fatima, a displaced Syrian woman who asked that her last name not be used, fearing retribution.

"They shot at the checkpoint and at the civilians there, and they dragged the youngsters and put them in the cars and drove them away," she said.

Issam Amin, a media activist in Hassakeh, said the victims arriving at the city's hospitals had stabbing and gunshot wounds.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the Syrian conflict through activists on the ground, said Tuesday's attack included suicide bombers and heavy clashes with the SDF. The Observatory put the death toll at 38, including 23 civilians, many of them Iraqi. Hawar, a news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria, put the death toll at 37.

The Islamic State group is under attack by an array of forces in Syria and Iraq.

In Syria, the SDF is now fighting to recapture the town of Tabqa, an important militant stronghold located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the IS group's de facto capital, Raqqa. Kurdish officials said Kurdish-led opposition fighters have pushed the extremists almost completely out of Tabqa and were cleaning up the town.

They said IS continues to hold the nearby dam on the Euphrates River. In Iraq, the extremist group is fighting for survival against Iraqi forces and their allies in the last neighborhoods it still holds in the western part of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

IS claimed responsibility for today's attacks through its Aamaq media arm, saying its fighters attacked four Kurdish positions in the southern countryside of Hassakeh province. Rajm Sleibi lies about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the town of al-Hol, which houses a large refugee camp for civilians displaced from Syria and Iraq.

A Kurdish activist said it is the entry point to Hassakeh for Syrians civilians fleeing the eastern cities of Deir el- Zour and Raqqa, and those fleeing from Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq.

The civilians spend about two weeks in Rajm Sleibi while they get security clearance from Kurdish authorities, and are then taken to al-Hol.

The activist spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety. The camp is within the zone of influence of the SDF but not directly protected by its forces.
Israeli security forces today shot dead a young Jewish man who ran at them with a knife at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, police said.

"Members of the security services at Hizma spotted a man running in their direction with an object in his hand," a police statement said, referring to the checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

"They considered (him) an immediate danger to their lives and opened fire."



The attacker was a 20-year-old Jewish Israeli man from Jerusalem, the police said.

He was killed on the spot, they said, later publishing a picture of a short knife he was alleged to have been carrying.

Hizma is a key checkpoint for Palestinians and Israeli settlers crossing into and out of Jerusalem.

Palestinians often carry out similar attacks at Israeli checkpoints, with a number shot dead since a wave of attacks began in October 2015.

However there was no initial indication Tuesday's incident was linked to other attacks.

No similar attacks on security forces have been carried out by Israeli Jews since the wave of violence began.

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Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S P Vaid today visited the family of a policeman in Zakoora area here, who was killed along with six others in a militant attack in Kulgam district.

"The DGP, accompanied by several other senior police officials, visited the home of martyr Constable Ishfaq Ahmad Hajam at Zakoora in the city," a police spokesman said.

Hajam and four other cops and two bank security guards were killed by militants while performing duty in Kulgam yesterday.

"Emotional scenes were witnessed during the DGP's visit to the martyr's family and the mood of the people was somber. A large number of people had gathered at the residence of the martyr," the spokesman said.

He said the DGP consoled them, expressing his solidarity with the bereaved family, and prayed for the eternal peace of departed soul.

While interacting with the family, Vaid said the entire police department was behind the bereaved families and shared their grief and sorrow.

He assured that every support would be provided to the family.

As a mark of respect, the Batpora area of Zakoora observed a shutdown, the spokesman said, adding that shops and other business established remained closed.

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Jet Airways has sacked the foreign pilot who allegedly assaulted a trainer during a simulator training session last month, an incident that triggered a call for boycott of all expat pilots in the private airline.

The pilot, an American, was a commander on Jet Airways wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft.

"The pilot in question has been removed from the job after a thorough internal investigation into the incident," a Jet source said.

The action against the pilot was taken after a trainer alleged he was physically assaulted by the expat commander during a simulator training session at the airline's Bengaluru facility in early April.

"The airline carried out a thorough investigation into the incident after it received a complaint from the trainer. After the probe, it was decided to terminate his service contract," the source said.

A senior Jet official confirmed the development.

Significantly, after the incident, Jet's pilot body National Aviators Guild (NAG) directed its members not to fly with the expats in the cockpit from May 1. It also demanded the ouster of all expat pilots from the airline immediately.

However, the NAG later kept its directive in "abeyance", saying it wants to give some more time to the Jet management to address their concerns.

The guild claims representation of around 1,000 of the total 1,500 pilots in the leading Indian carrier.

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Actor Kamal Haasan today released the first look poster of his sequel 'Vishwaroopam 2,' on his Twitter handle.

"With love my country and its people 7:04 PM - 2 May 2017," he said, releasing the poster.

Haasan appears in a bright blue suit against the backdrop of India Gate in the poster.

Sporting bandages on his chin and near the left eye, he stands with the national flag fluttering over him and his right hand placed over his heart as if taking a pledge.

The poster has kindled curiosity among fans on how racy and action packed the movie will be if the first-look appearance of the actor was any indication.

While the release date has been speculated for quite some time by the fans, the actor in the poster just said "tarteting release 2017."



The movie is written and directed by Kamal Haasan and it is being produced by the actor's production house Raajkamal Films International.

The Tamil letters indicating Vishwaroopam has been written in the style of Urdu.

"Happy to announce: Today 7pm Vishwaroop 2 Hindi first look poster & Vishwaroopam Tamizh Telugu 1st look posters release Exclusively for you," he had tweeted earlier in the day.

Vishwaroopam's earlier part had witnessed trouble during release in view of objections by some sections of people.

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Police today arrested a man from Kerala, a day after taking him into custody, on the charge of arranging the gang involved in the break-in and killing of a security guard of Kodanadu estate bungalow of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Manoj alias Samiyar was produced before Kotagiri Magistrate C Sridhar who remanded him to 15 days judicial remand.

Police said Manoj had arranged the gang members from his state to carry out the heist at the bungalow on April 24.

With this, the number of those arrested in the case has risen to five. The four arrested earlier hailed from Thrissur in Kerala and their involvement in the crime had been 'proved' through meticulous investigation and collection of scientific evidence, police had said.

Manoj, allegedly having links with hawala transactors, was interrogated in the presence of Deputy Inspector General Deepak Tomar and Nilgiris district Superintendent of Police Murali Rambha at the Kotagiri police station yesterday after he was detained at border town of Walayar in Kerala.

Investigation so far has revealed involvement of 11 persons, including the main conspirator Kanagaraj, former driver of Jayalalithaa.

Kanagaraj was killed in a road accident in Salem while his alleged accomplice Sayan has been hospitalised after he met with an accident in Kerala, both occurring on April 29.

The gang members had planned the dacoity based on Kanakaraj's information that there was a huge amount of cash in the bungalow, police said.

The Kodanadu estate figures in a disproportionate assets case involving jailed AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala and late Jayalalithaa, among others.

Meanwhile, Sayan was today questioned by a Kerala police team at a private hospital in Coimbatore in connection with the road mishap in which he was injured and his wife and daughter were killed near Thrissur, police said.

Sayan, who was driving the car, reportedly told police that the accident occurred as he was deprived of sleep in the previous days, they said.

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The family of soldiers killed in the line of duty in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday called for giving absolute powers to the Indian army in order to give a "befitting reply to Pakistan".

"Give full powers to army and place Kashmir under President's rule. If the army is given full powers, it would teach a lesson to Pakistan," Ravita Devi, wife of Babloo Kumar, who was martyred in the valley last year, said here.

"India should take revenge with hundred heads in place of two heads," Seema Chaudhary, widow of Shaheed Samod, who was also killed in Jammu, said.

They were reacting to the beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani forces along LoC on Monday.

Jai Singh, brother of Hemraj, who was beheaded in Jammu by Pakistani troopers in 2013, said, "Attack Pakistan and crush it."

Kamlesh, who lost her husband Soren Singh in the Kargil war, said enough was enough and Pakistan should be taught a lesson.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged the Trump Administration to steps to stop rising hate crimes against religious minorities and Indian-Americans in the US.

The letter urges the Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to act on the knowledge and use the resources of his department to combat both hate crimes and their root causes.

"From attacks on Indian-Americans to grave desecration at Jewish cemeteries, the recent rise in hate-motivated attacks is troubling to all Americans," a bipartisan group of 68 Congressmen said in the letter.

The letter was initiated by Rajakrishnamoorthi. Among signatories to the letter are Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera.

"These attacks seek to undermine not just public safety, but the very nature of American exceptionalism. For more than two hundred years, the United States has stood as a beacon of freedom from tyranny, oppression, and persecution," the letter said.

"A fundamental promise of our nation is that any American - regardless of where you come from, the colour of your skin, or how you pray - can trust the federal government to preserve, protect, and defend their rights," it said.

"We respectfully urge you to use the full powers of your office to stop further racially-motivated attacks and combat the roots of hatred and intolerance. We stand ready to work with you and all Americans to turn back this tide of hatred and protect the rights of every citizen," the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers thanked Kelly for his recent visit to the Congressional Asia Pacific American Caucus meeting.

"At a time when so many Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, and other religious minorities fear for their safety, we were heartened by your commitment to protecting all Americans, but we urge you to now take action to follow through on this commitment," they wrote.

At the meeting Kelly said: "One of the first things I noticed from the last administration is that there was not enough focus, in my view, on white supremacy organisations or hate organisations."



"This intolerance is truly disgusting. Now is the time to take decisive action to combat hate groups and reassure Americans that their government will protect their most basic rights," the lawmakers insisted.

Two Indian-Americans were shot in Kansas with the attacker yelling at his victims "get out of my country," the letter said.

In Florida, an Indian-American family's store was almost burnt to the ground. Many more have been harassed and threatened.

In the midst of the shooting in Kansas, a bystander rushed in, seeking to help his fellow Americans," the lawmakers wrote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After the surprise attack by Pakistani troops on Monday, the and the Border Security Force (BSF) will be revising their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on the Line of Control (LoC) to avert such losses, a top security officer said in Jammu on Tuesday.

The Indian security establishment sees a link between the attack, in which two soldiers were beheaded, and the visit by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa to the LoC a day before.

"..I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, there is no doubt about it," BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command Kamal N Choubey said when asked whether there was a link between yesterday's incident and the Pakistan army chief's visit to the area on Sunday.

"Everybody knows it well that this incident (yesterday) took place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army chief," Choubey said while talking to reporters at the BSF Frontier Headquarters in Jammu.

An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked whether the SOPs were followed by the troops during the patrolling, the BSF officer said, "SOPs are there and they have followed them. The question is basically the element of surprise. Every such incident which takes place we learn from it".

The ADG said the army and the BSF will be brainstorming together and come up with a revised SOP.

"The BSF works under the operational command of the army at the LOC. I assure you, together (the army and the BSF) there will be brainstorming and we will come out with yet more revised SoP so that such incidents can be minimized," ADG said.

The top officer said it was a "very very well coordinated and planned action" by the Pakistani army.

"The firing coming from two Pakistani FDLs (forward defence locations), and simultaneously firing coming from two ambushes and a BAT action in between, is a very well coordinated action," Choubey said.

Giving details of the attack, he said, "A joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector for boundary protection.

"When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (forward defence locations) from Pakistan's side and two ambush, which they had set up, started firing simultaneously. They engaged our jawans in this."



In between this, he said, "the (Pakistani) BAT (Border Action Team), which consists of regular army and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two soldiers while the rest were engaged."



He said the patrolling party, which was attacked, consisted of 9 men, out of which 6 belonged to the BSF and three tothe army.

Asked whether the Indian patrol party had gone out to defuse land mines, he said, "that is a routine affair on the daily basis as a morning drill."



About alertness of the troops along the LoC, he said it depends on the terrain and two many other things, as to how action takes place and the timing.

"At that time, when there is a burst fire coming from four sides, the first reaction is really to save one self. Because you already have two colleagues getting martyred, the response depends on the situation. The response is proportionate to that situation in such case," he said. The BSF officer said that troops along the International Border (IB) are very very alert.

"The launching pads (for terrorists intending to infiltrate) are always active and across the IB, they are always active. But we also are very very alert," he said.

The IB is under direct control of the BSF and "so far there has not been a single incident of a successful infiltration," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in her first visit to Russia since 2015, signalling renewed dialogue between Berlin and Moscow.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow's ties with the EU have plunged to a post-Cold War low.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Moscow for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backing the pro- Russian separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was "not frozen" but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel's visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries' relations "to fully normalise", while meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

Berlin and Moscow said Tuesday's talks agenda includes preparations for July's G20 summit in Germany as well as Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europe's backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

Last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

"There are two topics that weigh down relations... The annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies.

Seibert called this "a difficult context that one cannot ignore," but added that "our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements."



He said the leaders would also prepare for the upcoming G20 meeting in Hamburg in July, while a German government source told AFP the visit would be "above all about the G20.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Its a problem that has plagued us all. Do I save my money for something I really need, or spend it right now on something I really want?

Lisa Oltmans third grade class at St. Pauls Lutheran School got some hands-on experience in saving money from First State Bank in Beatrice. Through the program, called "Banks in Schools," the students learned that saving money, rather than spending it on an impulse item, can add up in the long run.

After a quick reading of Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shockabout two brothers who learned that sometimes building up a nest egg of savings is better than buying some broccoli-flavored gum or an inflatable moose headFirst State Bank branch manager Julie Feist and First State Insurance account manager Michelle Manes gave each student a bag with 30 cents in it. Then they opened up a toy store.

With Ziploc baggies full of jingling coins burning a hole in their pockets, Feist and Manes tried to tempt them with some neat stuff, though the real goal of the activity was encouraging the kids to save.

Were going to open the store, Manes said. There will be different items, and youre going to have a chance to buy them, but once one gets passed over, you cant come back and get it. So, think about if you want it or need it.

The first item was a choice between a rubber bracelet or a glittery pencil. There were only a couple of takers on the bracelets, though several kids determined that pencils were a necessity and handed over the three cents to buy one.

Next up were slinky spring toys in metallic purple, gold and silver. These were hard to resist, and for just five cents, who could say no? There were several students willing to drop a nickel on them.

Neon-colored sunglasses were next, but for 20 cents, the cost was a bit steeper than the slinky. A few kids took the shades, but many waited to see what came next.

The final item was a bouncy ball with glitter embedded in the plastic and an LED bulb that lit up in red or blue when it hits the ground. Only the students who had saved all their money had any chance of buying it, as it cost the whole 30 cents. For some, the final prize was worth every cent, but others werent so sure. A few children kept their entire bag of coins.

The kids who wound up with coins left in their bags were in for a surprise, however.

For anybody that saved their money, Feist said, youre going to get double the amount in your bag.

The students also received a piggy bank to hold their coins, a bag, branded with First States logo, an activity book on saving money, and an envelope containing a crisp $1 bill.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks today with President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and Syria in a signal of renewed dialogue despite profound rifts on her first visit to Russia since 2015.

"We cannot but use this visit to discuss bilateral relations and the most problematic points, by which I mean Ukraine and Syria and maybe some other regions," Putin told Merkel at the start of the meeting in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow's ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine.

Berlin has said today's meeting would "above all" focus on the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July and no breakthroughs were expected on major disagreements, although Putin earlier called for ties "to fully normalise."



Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supporting the pro- Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West. A European-brokered peace plan to end the conflict has hit a dead end.

The German leader last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

Merkel has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europe's backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

Last month, Merkel and Putin participated in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up the peace deal's implementation.

"There are two topics that weigh down relations... The annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of providing military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies.

Both sides have also said the talks will cover the conflict in Syria, where Putin's military backing for leader Bashar al-Assad has set him at odds with the West.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was "not frozen" but said progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

The G20 is now the only format for Russia to meet the other major international powers after its exclusion from the G8, now the G7.

At the G20 summit, Putin is expected to meet US President Donald Trump. Immediately after meeting Merkel the Kremlin strongman is set to hold his third phone call with Trump.

Merkel visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks focusing on preparations for the G20.

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle suggested ahead of Merkel's visit that "the diplomatic ice age... Might be nearing an end" as it sends "a strong diplomatic signal" of both sides' willingness to engage.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet today gave an in-principle nod to granting the status of "living human entity" to Narmada river, over a month after the Uttarakhand HC accorded the status to the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.

The proposal would be discussed during the one-day session of the Assembly tomorrow, Public Relations Department Minister Narottam Mishra said after attending a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Participating in the 'Namami Devi Narmade Seva Yatra' in the state last month, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had suggested the MP government bring a bill in the Assembly to accord the 'living entity' status to the river.

Chouhan had assured his government would introduce a bill to this effect in the next session of the Assembly.

At the Cabinet meeting today, the CM also asked all departments to put up the logo of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay centenary year on their letterheads, hoardings, posters, banners and advertisements.

"This is to be done with immediate effect," Mishra said.

The BJP is observing the birth centenary year of Upadhyay, an RSS-ideologue and former president of Bhartiya Jana Sangh, the BJP forerunner.

Mishra said the CM also directed officials to review obsolete laws.

"Besides, all the departments were told to prepare a two-year roadmap for the implementation of development plans and welfare schemes for the poor. These schemes should be prepared on the basis of BJP's Sankalp Patra (manifesto)," the minister said.

In a landmark judgement on March 20, the Uttarakhand high court accorded the status of "living human entities" to the Ganga and Yamuna, two of India's most sacred rivers.

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The whole country stands behind the families of the two soldiers who were beheaded by the Pakistan army along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, Minister of State for Home said on Friday.

"The nation is with the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in ceasefire violation by the Pakistan army," the minister said while paying tribute to BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar and Indian Army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh.

He was speaking to reporters after attending Sagar's wreath laying ceremony at Delhi airport. His body is being taken to his village in Uttar Pradesh.

Paramjeet Singh's last rites took place today at his village in Punjab.

The two were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army in Krishna Ghati sector in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.
FMCG major Nestle India has strengthened the range of its popular instant noodles Maggi by introducing four new regional flavours.

The new range consists of four new flavours - Amritsari Achari, Mumbaiya Chatak, Super Chennai and Bengali Jhaal, which have herbs and spices used in various regional cuisines, Nestle India said in a statement.

Priced at Rs 240 for a box of three units each of all four flavours, it would be available exclusively at PayTM Mall, it added.

Commenting on the development, Nestle India GM Foods Maarten Geraets said: "We are happy to introduce this new range and are confident that it will be appreciated by our loyal customers, who expect nothing but the best from Nestle India."



* * * * * *



Den Networks partners with Visiware, launches Playin'TV * Den Networks, one of the largest cable TV service providers, has launched Playin'TV, an interactive gaming service in partnership with French firm Visiware International.

The company is offering these games to its subscribers free till May 31 and after that it will be subscription based.

Moreover, launch of Playin'TV on DEN Boomband, its broadband service is to follow soon.

* * * * * *



Impact Guru ties up with GlobalGiving



* Online crowdfunding platform Impact Guru has tied up with non-profit crowdfunding platform, GlobalGiving enabling Indian NGO's to offer tax benefits to international donors in the US and the UK.

This partnership will enable vetted Indian NGOs and social enterprises raising money on www.Impactguru.Com to offer tax benefits to international donors in the US and the UK, particularly NRIs, People of Indian Origin, when they donate towards social causes using GlobalGiving's technology on the Impact Guru platform, Impact Guru said in a statement.

Commenting on the partnership, Impact Guru co-founder and CEO Piyush Jain said: "Impact Guru is thrilled to be partnering with GlobalGiving to address these gaps, thereby making us the platform of choice for crowdfunding by Indians globally.

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In an unprecedented move, the National Green Tribunal today said it would itself inspect the most polluted parts of Ganga between Haridwar and Kanpur to get first hand information on the river.

The decision assumes significance as usually the green panel appoints a panel of experts to inspect a site and give a comprehensive ground report to it.

NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said it has been hearing the Ganga cleaning case on day-to-day basis but there was still no definitive data on the quality and quantity of pollutants being discharged into the river.

"In the interest of expeditious disposal of this case and to bring the controversy to end, it will be in the interest of justice to have site inspection of most polluting parts of Ganga in segment B of Phase-I.

"Therefore, we direct the state governments (Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand), Environment Ministry, Ministry of Water Resources, Central Pollution Control Bord, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Bord, UP Jal Nigam to make all preparatory steps for inspection at Kanpur at the first instance," the bench said.

The tribunal said the NGT Registrar General would communicate the date and time when it would carry out the inspection.

Besides Justice Kumar, the bench which is hearing the Ganga case comprises Justices Jawad Rahim, R S Rathore and Expert Members B S Sajwan, Ajay A Deshpande and Nagin Nanda.

The tribunal had earlier said that excessive extraction of water between Haridwar and Unnao in Ganga floodplains was a serious issue and should be immediately stopped.

It had said the water which was being diverted into various canals should be regulated so as to help maintain a minimum flow of the river.

In a detailed report covering various aspects of contamination in the river, CPCB had informed the NGT that the Ganga, spanning a distance of 543 km between Haridwar and Kanpur, was affected by 1,072 seriously polluting industries which were releasing heavy metals and pesticides.

At present, 823.1 million litres per day of untreated sewage and 212.42 MLD of industrial effluents flow into the river, while three of the four monitored Sewage Treatment Plants were non-compliant with the set standards, it said.

The green panel has divided the work of cleaning the river in different segments - Gomukh to Haridwar (Phase-I), Haridwar to Unnao (termed as segment B of Phase-I), Unnao to border of Uttar Pradesh, border of Uttar Pradesh to border of Jharkhand and border of Jharkhand to Bay of Bengal.

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Satyajit Ray's son Sandip Ray today said that he had no plan to make a full length Hindi feature film on Ray's iconic fictional sleuth, Feluda.

Sandip Ray was talking to PTI during the 96th birth anniversary celebration of the master film-maker at his 1 Bishop Lefroy Road residence.

"No plan to make a Hindi feature film on Feluda now," Sandip said.

The maker of hit Bengali film "Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy", Sandip had earlier expressed doubts if the quintessential Bengaliness of Feluda and his companions could be recreated properly in Hindi adaptations of the Feluda films for big screens.

The Ray family holds the rights of the literary works on ever-popular Feluda.

"How can you transcreate the dialogue "Uth Ki Kanta Benchhe Khay" (Can a camel eat fish in the way humans can?) if you make a Hindi remake of 'Sonar Kella'? the director, whose last Feluda film was "Double Feluda", had wondered during an interview earlier.

In 1986, Sandip had directed some TV films on Feluda stories for Doordarshan under the banner "Satyajit Ray Presents".

On the topic of films facing the Censorship hurdle these days, Sandip said today, "Baba (Satyajit ray) was not very bothered about the issue to that extent during his time."



Asked if he was feeling the pressure of being the son of a legend like Ray, Sandip observed, "If I say no, I will be lying. In fact, I don't think about that very much. If you do (think) you won't be able to work."



Sandip said the Society for the Preservation of Satyajit Ray Films, popularly known as Ray Society, would hold "a very big exhibition encompassing the multiple identities of of the legend as director,writer,illustrator and composer during the 100th birth anniversary programme, which will tour all over India and even may travel abroad."



"We are already making preparation on a low key to make it an event befitting the occasion," he said.

Meanwhile, as hundreds of people thronged the residence of Ray and stood before the maestro's garlanded black and white photo, an emotional Sandip said, "Many of them belong to the present generation. And this is most heartening."



"Almost 85 per cent of the visitors today are not familiar faces belonging to previous generations. And it is a very good sign, healthy sign," he said.

To mark Ray's birthday, the Satyajit Ray Short Film Festival was being held at state-run Nandan theatre comprising six short films and two documentaries on Ray's life through his work, while the Ray Society was holding an exhibition at ICCR to celebrate 50 years of the creation of Feluda.

"I think all the events will throw up his multiple sides and not solely a film maker," he said.

Sandip said the birthday of the maestro was not a 'public affair' when his father was alive the way as it is now. "At that time some close friends only came and it was a low key affair.

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South Sudan detained an NPR journalist for nearly four days before releasing him, a spokeswoman for the organisation said.

Eyder Peralta returned to his base in Kenya yesterday but his South Sudanese assistant is still being held by authorities, Isabel Lara told The Associated Press in an email.

"We are in touch with authorities regarding his release," Lara said.

South Sudan officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Peralta's detention was the latest in a crackdown on foreign journalists in South Sudan, the East African nation that gained independence in 2011 but has experienced renewed civil war.

At least 13 foreign journalists have been denied media accreditation or visas to South Sudan so far this year. An AP reporter was detained and expelled from the country in December.

Media freedom in South Sudan was significantly restricted before fighting in Juba in July killed hundreds of people and triggered the civil war, according to a UN panel of experts report released earlier this month.

Since then, the situation for journalists has gotten worse, and some have been detained for publishing articles critical of the government, according to the UN report.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least five journalists have been killed in South Sudan since it gained independence in 2011.

South Sudan ranks 145th in a press freedom survey released last week by Reporters Without Borders.

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013, and according to UN officials the country is experiencing famine, ethnic cleansing and is close to genocide.

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A Pakistani-origin Muslim flight attendant in the US has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that his co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and part of Hezbollah and the Taliban.

Farkhan Mahmood Shah, of Edison, New Jersey, also claims in the lawsuit, filed recently in the Superior Court in Middlesex County, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents came to his house after he complained about the harassment to company officials.

Shah alleges that he was targeted for religious and ethnic harassment after the attacks of September 11, NJ.Com reported.

American Airlines failed to stop the harassment after he reported it, Shah claims in the lawsuit.

Shah, who started working at the airline in 1999 as a flight attendant, says in the suit that he was called a terrorist, part of Hezbollah and the Taliban, and other offensive names.

On one flight, he claims another flight attendant tried to convert him from Islam to Christianity.

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shah's lawsuit.

"American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Miller was quoted as saying.

Shah said he reported the alleged harassment in 2008 when he began to notice erroneous marks on his record for being late and missing work.

The complaint escalated to the airline's New York human resources office in 2013 following numerous complaints where he also brought up the record errors, the suit said.

In 2014, Shah and his co-workers were having a conversation about 9/11 and one of the workers said, "it was the Muslims and that Muslims are evil," according to the suit.

Shah responded that some had said the terrorist attack was an inside job, and ISIS was created by the CIA, citing a Hillary Clinton clip he saw, the lawsuit said. Shah claims only his comments were reported to the supervisors.

Weeks later, Shah claims in his suit that he was placed on a "watch list" by American Airlines, and FBI agents showed up at his New Jersey home.

Shah claims the harassment continued over the next two years, as his case was moved around to a number of different human resources representatives without any resolution, according to the suit.

In 2016, he filed a complaint with US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the suit states. Less than two weeks later, Shah claims FBI agents showed up at his house again, asking him if he planned on hurting anyone.

Shah received his Right to Sue letter from the EEOC earlier this year and remains on airline's staff.

The suit, which names American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, seeks damages, attorney fees and other relief.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Afghanistan's relationship with India is "unacceptable" to Pakistan, which is using proxies like the Haqqani network and Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

During a Congressional hearing, Seth Jones, Director of International Security and Defence Policy Centre at the Rand Corporation said that Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals.

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and Taliban, so it's a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

He also acknowledged that Afghanistan is India's "strongest" regional ally which is "unacceptable" to Pakistan.

"India is an enemy while the Afghan government is an ally of the Indian government," Jones said last week.

The Pakistani government views everything through the lens of fighting India, Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation.

"Unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India have come back to bite Pakistan. Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist," Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan said that in recent years the US has given over USD 33 billion in form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that supports a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise when a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor in south-western Pakistan in May, 2016.

"The list of evidence of Pakistan's support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al-Qaeda leader and America's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counter-terrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not Afghan Taliban," he said.

Speaking about the Islamic State militant group, he said: "ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January, 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS' presence in Afghanistan further complicates the country's tourist landscape".

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as "ISIS Khorasan Province".

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Pakistan Army on Tuesday asked India to produce "actionable evidence" on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the Line of Control (LoC), beheaded two Indian security personnel and mutilated their bodies.

The issue was discussed during a hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension.

"Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," according to a statement issued by the army.

Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza told his Indian counterpart Lt Gen A K Bhatt that neither ceasefire violations occurred in the Sector (pointed out by India in the mutilation allegation), nor crossing of the LoC by Pakistanis troops have taken place.

"Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Valley," Mirza claimed.

A junior commissioned officer and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the LoC in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan's border action team crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The Pakistan DGMO asked his Indian counterpart to provide "actionable evidence" related to the incident and urged the to look inwards to probe the incident, the army statement said.

He said that Pakistan was fully committed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LoC. He accused Indian troops of continuously targeting innocent civilians on LoC and apprised the Indian General that continuity of such action would invite appropriate response.

"Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing," the Pakistan DGMO warned.

The DGMOs contact followed after the local commanders level hotline contact was established last night at Rawlakot- Poonch sector on LOC between the army authorities of the two countries, the army statement said.

Local commanders of Pakistan also told Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violations was committed by their side.

"Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violations from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations," the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

Pakistan Army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.
The Pakistan military today warned India against any "misadventure" after the Indian army cautioned Islamabad that it will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers.

The Pakistan army's remarks came during a hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension.

"Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing," according to a statement issued by the army.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

The Pakistan army also asked India to provide "actionable evidence" to substantiate its charge claim that a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the LoC, beheaded two Indian security personnel and mutilated their bodies.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.

India's Vice Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand said that Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers and the army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choice.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, "We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all."



"Pakistan welcomes the Turkish President's offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement last night.

Erdogan's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India.

The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India yesterday asserted that the is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogan's remarks, saying, "Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues" in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and .

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the Foreign Office said.

It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community, including the US, have urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security.
Terrorism is a major threat to societies and collective action by the international community against it can no longer be postponed, President Pranab Mukherjee has said.

He said there can be no justification for terrorism and its use as an instrument of state policy is perilous and reprehensible.

Welcoming Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday, the president said terrorism is a major threat to all societies and India unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

"We believe that the international community should cooperate closely to address this menace. Collective, coordinated action by the international community against terrorism can no longer be postponed," Mukherjee was quoted as having said in a press release issued today by Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The president also hosted a banquet for his Turkish counterpart. In his banquet speech, Mukherjee said the scourge of terrorism has afflicted India and Turkey for decades.

"India believes that there can be no justification, whatsoever for terrorism. Its use as an instrument of state policy is perilous and reprehensible. We believe that closer co-ordination and concerted efforts by the international community are necessary to tackle this menace effectively," he said.

Mukherjee said another global challenge of unprecedented scale is the impact of climate change.

"There is an urgent need for the world to use science, technology and best practises to achieve the agreed targets so that we can honestly claim to have made the world a better place to live in," he said.

The visiting president was accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan at the event.

Welcoming the President of Turkey on his first State visit to India, the president recalled his visit to Turkey in October 2013.

Mukherjee's expressed confidence that President Erdogan's State visit will impart new impetus to bilateral co-operation between India and Turkey.

The president said he was happy to note that the bilateral trade turnover between India and Turkey has grown manifold during the last ten years.

Presently it is at the level of about USD 5 billion.

"However, the potential is much more. Our business community and investors on both sides should actively work together to avail the current opportunities," Mukherjee said.

The president said the relationship between India and Turkey pre-dates the establishment of the diplomatic ties of these two modern and independent nations.

The president said today, as two emerging economies in a globalised world, we both seek to enhance our economic co- operation to avail the current opportunities and build on our complementaries for our mutual benefit.

"India's recent economic reforms and flagship initiatives have made us an attractive business destination. India welcomes Turkish companies to invest in India -- especially in the infrastructure sector where they have exceptional expertise. Equally, we encourage Indian companies to explore prospects in Turkey," Mukherjee said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chairman of Nicco group and past president of CII Rajive Kaul was conferred with the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Sungnye Medal of the Republic of Korea for his services rendered as honorary consul general of South Korea in Kolkata.

The award was conferred by the acting President and Prime Minister of South Korea Hwang Kyo-ahn at a programme in New Delhi recently.

Kaul, who was appointed as honorary consul general in November 1998, said "I am honoured to receive the award".

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Anil Ambani Group flagship Reliance Infrastructure has filed revised papers with markets watchdog Sebi for its proposed InvIT Fund IPO, scaling down the issue size to Rs 2,500 crore from Rs 3,000 crore earlier.

Sources said RInfra filed the revised offer document or draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) after it could get NHAI permission for only seven of its 11 road assets to the fund as the remaining four are yet to complete two years of commissioning. It had planned to take 10 of the 11 completed assets in the first draft papers filed last December.

Accordingly, sources told PTI, that RInfra InvIT fund will initially own seven toll road assets that connect major cities. The initial road assets extend 1,756 lane km across three states with concession periods of 9-20 years.

Sources said RInfra has an option to retain 25 per cent of the oversubscription of the InvIT (infrastructure investment) Fund and the issue will hit the market in the first quarter of the current financial year.

The infrastructure investment fund or InvIT are those debt instruments which be traded in the market and can act as investment vehicles for the sponsors. Listing of instruments enable promoters to monetise completed assets and raise funds for other long-term projects and can raise long-term, tax-free funds from the market.

For Rinfra, the InvIT is a strategy to divest stakes in road assets and focus more on cash contracts than development projects that require equity investment.

Infra developer like IRB (which went public with its InvIT last week), GMR, IL&FS among others are keen to launch InvIT funds to raise capital in improve their liquidity.

Sources said post-IPO, consolidated debt of the company will come down by Rs 3,200-4,000 crore and that toll revenue from the seven assigned toll road assets is around Rs 400 crore, with an Ebitda of 85 per cent.

While RInfra will be the project manager of InvIT Fund Reliance Nippon Life AMC will be its investment manager.

RInfra InvIT Fund will also have right of first refusal to acquire further four operating toll road assets over the next 12-24 months for which it has the necessary approvals from NHA to transfer 100 per cent equity interests to RInfra InvIT Fund.

Last December RInfra became one of the first to file for an InvIT IPO with the Sebi for Rs 3,000-crore.

Last month the company had received National Highways Authority's consent for the fund, making it the first road developer to get the approval, and clearing the way for it to hit the capital market.

It can be noted that on April 25, IRB hit the market with a Rs 5,035-crore InvIT IPO, making it the maiden IPO from such an instrument opening for subscription tomorrow and closes on May 5. IRV has set Rs 100-102 per unit price band.

IRB's InvIT fund expects to raise Rs 5,035 crore comprising fresh issue of units aggregating to Rs 4,300 crore and an offer-for-sale of nearly 3.48 crore units by IRB Infra Developers and its arms--Modern Road Makers, Aryan Toll Road, ATR Infra and Ideal Road Builders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Absolutely Anything", the British comedy featuring Robin Williams' final screen performance, will hit the US theatres on May 12.

Atlas Distribution will release the comedy in the limited theatres across the country, reported Deadline.

"Absolutely Anything" also starred Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Michael Palin.

"Monty Python" veteran Terry Jones directed and co-wrote the movie from a script he wrote alongside Gavin Scott 20 years earlier.

"Absolutely Anything" follows a disillusioned school teacher (Pegg) who suddenly finds he has the ability to do anything he wishes, a challenge bestowed upon him by a group of power-crazed aliens (voiced by Cleese, Gilliam, Jones, Palin and Idle).

Williams passed away only three weeks after he completed the movie. He committed suicide at his home in Paradise Cay, California in August 2014. He was 63.

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Hero Group company Rockman Industries is looking to expand its carbon composites business by increasing penetration in global markets, especially in the US and Europe.

In line with its strategy, the auto component maker today said its composites subsidiary, Moldex, has opened its first office outside India at Silverstone, the home of Formula One in the UK.

"The new office will focus on expanding the carbon composites business by increasing market penetration, especially in the USA and European markets," Rockman Industries said in a statement.

Rockman Industries Chairman & Managing Director Suman Kant Munjal said the company expects carbon composites to account for about 10 per cent of its revenue over the next five years.

He further said there is a global shift towards carbon fibre in the automobiles sector, apart from motorsports and aerospace.

The company is aiming to be at the forefront of this technology by penetrating deeper into different sectors including automotives.

"The opening of the UK office is a step in that direction as it gives us access to the centre of motorsports in Europe," Munjal added.

Earlier this year, Rockman Industries had acquired Moldex Composites, a British-Indian carbon-composites design and manufacturing company, as part of its diversification strategy.

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Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi would project India's record on human rights protection at a global conference of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The top law officer, who left for Geneva tonight, said he will represent the country and "put forth India's record of protection of human rights in front of group of member nations in council."



He said he would be participating in the sessions of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Council.

The UPR is a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN member states.

It is a state-driven process, which gives an opportunity to each state to declare what action they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their countries and fulfil their human rights obligations.

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Nepal's Rastriya Prajatantra Party today quit the Prachanda-led government, a day after withdrawing its support to it over an impeachment motion against the country's first woman Chief Justice Sushila Karki.

After the second round of meeting of the party's central executive committee, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Kamal Thapa said yesterday the party had concluded that the impeachment motion was immature and irresponsible and was moved with an ill intention, prompting his party to pull out of the government in protest.

The party today formally informed Prime Minister Prachanda of its decision to quit the government, said the party's central member Rajaram Shrestha.

Four cabinet ministers and a minister of state from the party submitted a joint resignation to Prachanda at his office, Shrestha said.

Despite the withdrawal of support by the RPP, the coalition government in not facing a crisis now as it still enjoys a simple majority in the 593-member Parliament.

The RPP is the fourth largest party in the coalition government with 37 lawmakers.

The government in not facing a crisis now, but could be reduced to a minority if another partner Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum decides to pull its support.

The RPP has said the impeachment motion is likely to leave long-lasting and negative impacts on the election environment, rule of law and overall situation in the country.

The party, however, will support the efforts to hold local level elections and the constitution amendment.

The motion to impeach 64-year-old Karki was registered in Parliament on Sunday by two major ruling parties.

She was suspended on Sunday after the impeachment motion was registered against her by Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist-Centre), accusing her of "interfering" with the executive and issuing "prejudiced" verdicts.

Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi, who heads the Nepali Congress, had tendered his resignation on Sunday, expressing his reservation over the decision.

The developments came at a time when the ruling coalition struggled to secure a two-thirds majority to pass the Constitution amendment bill.

Nepal, which has been witnessing political instability for some time now, is scheduled to hold local-level polls on May 14.

Some Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the Constitution is amended to accommodate their views: more representation in parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.

The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties ahead of the local elections.

According to the new bill, the government may form a federal commission to recommend it on the issues relating to the number of provinces and their boundaries.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community.

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South Korean consumer electronics major Samsung is aiming to corner around 60 per cent market share in the premium TV segment by the end of this year also relying on decent sales of Smart QLED TV launched here today.

The launch of Smart QLED TV is part of the company's strategy to strengthen its position in the premium segment and it is expecting that TV panels of 40 inches and above would drive majority of the sales.

"We are aiming to take our share in the premium panel market to 60 per cent by the end of this year from the present 48 per cent. This would be helped by our new TV range as QLED series," said Samsung India VP, CE, Rajeev Bhutani.

He further added: "The company would also increase its share in the overall panel market to 35 per cent, from 31 per cent."



Presently, in value terms, the overall size of the indian TV market is around USD 2.4 billion (Rs 15,430 crore). The market is an intensely competitive one as new entrants have come into the low cost segments as well as in the premium 40 inch plus segment.

According to Bhutani, in panels of 32 inches and below, the industry has stagnated in the past two years.

"As far as Samsung is concerned, we would continue to operate in all screen sizes across all points. However, our endeavour would be to drive and showcase the consumer the latest innovative products, which in turn, is creating and driving the market in the 40 inch and above segment," he added.

Samsung, whose products are available at around 29,000 counters pan India, would continue to expand its reach both in rural and metro markets.

"We would keep adding as we are investing in creating logistics infrastructure and retail infrastructure," he said.

As part of its strategy, Samsung India is focusing on the customers who are replacing their CRT TVs in the rural areas, while in urban areas, it is targeting the customers who are upgrading their LCD/LED panels into smart TVs.

Presently, urban India is contributing 65 to 70 per cent of the market, he added.

"This 65 to 70 per cent market is driving the growth in 40 inches and above," Bhutani said.

Samsung, a leader in the panel segment, is now facing stiff competition from some domestic makers and Chinese players, who have gained market share in the entry level segment in non-metro regions.

"We are not competing in price point but we would compete on value additions and continue to focus on that," said Bhutani.

The company has priced the QLED series between Rs 3.14 lakh and Rs 24.99 lakh for screen sizes of 55 inch to 88 inch.

Samsung has also come up with a pre-book offer for its QLED TV under which it is offering Samsung Galaxy S8 (Gold) free to customers who book up to May 21.

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Gregory OBrien is a notable painter and illustrator and has held solo and group exhibitions. He is also is known for his illustrations of New Zealand writers work and his distinctive book covers. In May 2011, he was one of nine artists invited by the Pew Environment Group to voyage on the HMNZS Otago through the Kermadec region, resulting in an acclaimed exhibition.
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to upload on its website the report of a court- appointed panel on issues related to providing night shelters to the poverty-stricken people in urban areas in the country.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to ensure that the report of the Justice Kailash Gambhir commission be uploaded on the official website of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation for perusal and necessary action by the Centre and the states.

At the outset, the Solicitor General suggested that as the states were party to the litigation, the report of the panel can be shared on the Supreme Court website.

The court, on November 11 last year, had set up the panel headed by former Delhi HC judge Justice Kailash Gambhir to verify availability of night shelters, whether they were in compliance with the operational guidelines under National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) scheme and to probe the reasons for slow progress in setting up of shelter homes by the states and union territories (UTs).

It had asked the commission to also inquire about "non- utilisation and/or diversion/mis-utilisation of funds allocated for the NULM scheme" to provide shelters to urban homeless.

"The Committee shall issue suitable recommendations to the states to ensure that at least temporary shelters are provided for the homeless in urban areas to protect them during winter season. The state governments shall ensure compliance with the recommendations along the time frame indicated by the Committee," it had said.

While appointing the panel, the apex court had slammed the Centre and state governments for their lackadaisical approach in providing night shelters to urban homeless people.

It had said that the Centre had formulated a scheme and released huge amounts of money to state governments and the reasons for non-utilisation of funds were not forthcoming.

The court is hearing a PIL filed by advocate E R Kumar on the plight of urban homeless.

The National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) was launched in September 2013 to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shiv Sena ministers today called on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence here and demanded a special session of the Maharashtra legislature to discuss the issues plaguing the farmers.

"Farm loan waiver is the first issue that needs to be discussed. Unseasonal rains and hailstorms are also plaguing the farmers. Thus, we have urged the chief minister for a special Assembly (session) to discuss the farmers' issues. The chief minister was positive about ensuring justice for the farmers," Sena minister Eknath Shinde told reporters.

He said the delegation had demanded that the special three-day session of the state legislature, called to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill between May 20 and May 22, be extended by two days to discuss the farmers' issues.

"The chief minister has assured us of a positive response after speaking to his cabinet colleagues," Shinde added.

Another Sena minister, Ramdas Kadam, said during the meeting, they also urged the chief minister to commence tur procurement once again and provide relief to farmers who had a bumper production this year.

Meanwhile, state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the special session of the state legislature will be convened between May 20 and May 22 to ratify the GST bill.

"The Union Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) has convened a special GST Council meet in Srinagar on May 18-19, where a decision will be taken as regards which items will come under the new taxation policy. I will have to be present at that meet," he said.

Mungantiwar said the government will convene a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee to decide on the compensation amount to be provided to farmers affected by hailstorms.

"Farmers affected by natural calamities have always been provided relief. This time too the government is positive over the issue," the BJP minister said.

Asked to comment on the Sena's demand for a special session of the Maharashtra legislature to discuss farmers' issues, Mungantiwar said, "Why only three days? We are ready to convene a 30-day session to solve their problems. In July, we will be discussing the farmers' issues anyway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 55-year old shepherd was killed and six others were seriously injured while 40 goats crushed to death when a speeding van ran over them near Sathyamangalam in the district today, police said.

The seven shepherds from Sulur in Coimbatore district were taking 60 odd goats to sell them in a village shandy in Kodivery area when the mishap occurred on Erode-Sathyamangalam main road.

The van ploughed through the shepherds and the herd of goats, killing Marudhachalam on the spot.

The six other men were seriously injured and had been admitted to a government hospital, police said.

Forty goats were also crushed to death and some others injured, they said adding the van driver fled the scene, abandoning the vehicle.

Local villagers assisted police in removing the dead goats.

The injured goats were treated by veterinary surgeons in the Animal Husbandry department dispensary at Gobichettipalayam, about 30 km from Sathyamangalam.

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Stay humble and do not get complacent, BJP national president Amit Shah today told party workers, while attributing to them its overwhelming victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The party workers should not feel relaxed and complacent after the BJP's win in UP. Instead, more efforts should be made to improve party's prospects on the assembly seats and booths where it is weak, Shah said.

He was addressing the state executive meeting of the BJP here on concluding day of its two-day meet, which was held for the first time after the saffron party stormed to power in the recent Assembly elections.

Terming the BJP as a "party of patriots", Shah said, "The party workers must not sit back and relax, but make efforts to reachout those booths, where it is weak and tell people about the various welfare schemes initiated by the Centre and state governments, thereby increasing the membership of the party."



Noting that there were 16,000 workers in the BJP, he said if one party worker decides to strengthen five booths, then the party would automatically reach to 80,000 booths.

"The party workers must go the booth level and work with the dalits, the poor and the labourers, and tell them about the various welfare measures of the Centre and state government," he said.

The people should be told how the party came up with the 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra' before the UP assembly elections while working on 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas', Shah said.

Lauding the hard work of party workers, he said, "It is due to their toil that BJP which started as a 10-member party is now having 11 crore members, and is the largest political party in the world."



"It is because of the hardwork of the party workers that the party has formed government on its own strength in 14 states, while it shares power with allies in three states," he said.

The party has 282 MPs in Lok Sabha and 1,387 MLAs throughout the country, he pointed out.

"But, the party workers should not feel relaxed or complacent and take steps to ensure that BJP makes inroads to each and every part of India," he said.

After the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, people of UP wanted to get rid of casteism, dynastic politics and appeasement, and they have given a green signal by voting for the BJP, heralding a new era in the state, he said, and added that UP had been suffering from policy paralysis all these years.

"It is for these reasons that the BJP did not name its election yatras as 'Vijay Yatra' but called them 'Parivartan Yatra'. Our main aim was to help UP get free from the 15 years of misrule of SP and BSP. The Yogi government will do 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas', and we are seeing glimpses of this in the first few months," he added.

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Tata Sons will seek the approval of the Competition Commission of India and tax authorities to remit $1.18 billion to estranged partner NTT DoCoMo to settle its long-standing dispute.

"As per the...Order of the Delhi High Court, Tata Sons will take necessary permissions from the Competition Commission of India and tax authorities to remit the amount in lieu of shares to be transferred to Tata Sons as per the consent terms," Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.

Last week, the Delhi High Court rejected the Reserve Bank of India's objections in the Tata-DoCoMo case, clearing the decks for the Tatas to pay over $1.1 billion to the Japanese telecom major.

Tata Group had been locked in a legal battle with DoCoMo over the alleged breach of contractual obligations pertaining to the Indian joint venture - Tata Teleservices (TTSL).

"In terms of the...Agreement dated March 25, 2009, Tata Power is to acquire 118,222,767 (11.82 crore) equity shares of TTSL. As on the date of the Arbitration Award that is June 22, 2016, $117,128,573 (117.1 million) was payable by Tata Power for the same," Tata Power said today in the BSE filing.

The final amount that is payable would be determined on the date of the payment to Docomo and would, therefore, "vary" over the amount indicated, it clarified.

Tata Power has remitted Rs 790 crore to Tata Sons on August 09, 2016 and this "will be appropriately adjusted" against the amount governed by the stipulated terms and conditions.

It may be recalled that the two sides had gone for arbitration as the Indian company was not able to find a buyer for the Japanese telecom major's 26.5 per cent stake in their joint venture, when it exited from it.

As per the shareholding agreement, on DoCoMo's exit from the venture within five years, Tata was to find a buyer who would purchase the Japanese company's stake at minimum 50 per cent of the acquisition price, which came to around Rs 58.45 per share.

The other option was Tata purchasing the shares at the fair market value, which was Rs 23.44. However, this was not acceptable to DoCoMo and it had opted for arbitration.

The London Court of International Arbitration or LCIA in June 2016 awarded damages of about $1.1 billion in favour of DoCoMo for Tata's inability to find a buyer as per the shareholding agreement.

Thereafter, DoCoMo moved the Delhi High Court for enforcement of the award after Tata cited refusal of permission by the RBI to make the payment.

The Delhi HC ruling, last week, facilitates the payout by Tatas to DoCoMo.
Tata Sons will seek the approval of the Competition Commission of India and tax authorities to remit USD 1.18 billion to estranged partner NTT DoCoMo to settle its long-standing dispute.

"As per the...Order of the Delhi High Court, Tata Sons will take necessary permissions from the Competition Commission of India and tax authorities to remit the amount in lieu of shares to be transferred to Tata Sons as per the consent terms," Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.

Last week, the Delhi High Court rejected the Reserve Bank of India's objections in the Tata-DoCoMo case, clearing the decks for the Tatas to pay over USD 1.1 billion to the Japanese telecom major.

Tata Group had been locked in a legal battle with DoCoMo over the alleged breach of contractual obligations pertaining to the Indian joint venture - Tata Teleservices (TTSL).

"In terms of the...Agreement dated March 25, 2009, Tata Power is to acquire 118,222,767 (11.82 crore) equity shares of TTSL. As on the date of the arbitration award that is June 22, 2016, USD 117,128,573 (117.1 million) was payable by Tata Power for the same," Tata Power said today in the BSE filing.

The final amount that is payable would be determined on the date of the payment to DoCoMo and would, therefore, "vary" over the amount indicated, it clarified.

Tata Power has remitted Rs 790 crore to Tata Sons on August 09, 2016 and this "will be appropriately adjusted" against the amount governed by the stipulated terms and conditions.

It may be recalled that the two sides had gone for arbitration as the Indian company was not able to find a buyer for the Japanese telecom major's 26.5 per cent stake in their joint venture, when it exited from it.

As per the shareholding agreement, on DoCoMo's exit from the venture within five years, Tata was to find a buyer who would purchase the Japanese company's stake at minimum 50 per cent of the acquisition price, which came to around Rs 58.45 per share.

The other option was Tata purchasing the shares at the fair market value, which was Rs 23.44. However, this was not acceptable to DoCoMo and it had opted for arbitration.

The London Court of International Arbitration or LCIA in June 2016 awarded damages of about USD 1.1 billion in favour of DoCoMo for Tata's inability to find a buyer as per the shareholding agreement.

Thereafter, DoCoMo moved the Delhi High Court for enforcement of the award after Tata cited refusal of permission by the RBI to make the payment.

The Delhi High Court ruling, last week, facilitates the payout by Tatas to DoCoMo.

In a late evening regulatory filing, Tata Communications said that amount deposited by Tata Sons in the court by way of fixed deposit receipts, together with interest accrued, will be retained by the registrar of court till the clearance from CCI and Withholding Tax Certificate is obtained.

Post this, the funds will be returned to Tata Sons for onward payment to DoCoMo, the filing said.

Tata Communications said it was to acquire 158.3 million equity shares of Tata Telservices at a value of about Rs 1,058 crore as a result of the award.

"On August 2, 2016, Tata Communications paid to Tata Sons about Rs 1,058 crore as recoverable advance in anticipation of satisfaction of the award and receipt of the TTSL shares," it said, adding that the final amount payable by the company to Tata Sons could vary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Tamil Nadu government today objected to the arrest of five fishermen from the state by Sri Lanka, saying it can only be seen as an act to "derail" the diplomatic bids to resolve the issues pertaining to fishing.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister K Palaniswami raised the April 30 arrests of the five fishermen, hailing from Thangachimadam in Rameswaram, by Lankan navy.

"Such incidents of apprehension of artisanal fishermen who were fishing in a small traditional boat in their customary fishing grounds in Palk Bay can only be seen as an act to derail attempts to sort out the issues relating to the fishing in traditional waters of the Palk Bay through diplomatic efforts of the respective governments," he said.

It is "unfortunate" that the Sri Lankan government continues to "intimidate" Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu "who eke out their livelihood through the traditional fishing methods," he added.

The arrests also send out a "demoralising message" to the Tamil Nadu fishermen, Palaniswamy said.

He said it is important that the Centre tells Sri Lanka in "firm, clear, unequivocal and unambiguous terms" that these trends have to be reversed and that the Indian government is firmly committed to protect the livelihood of the poor and innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

Palaniswami said 134 fishing boats are in Sri Lankan custody and they continue to be 'precariously' perched on the seashore there.

Sri Lanka's refusal to release the boats is causing frustration and despondency among the Tamil Nadu fishermen, he said.

He said though the Lankan government agreed to consider release the boats, no final decision has been taken in this regard and even during the recent meeting of the prime ministers of India and Sri Lanka, no announcement was made on this aspect.

He appealed to the Centre to take up the issue with the highest authorities of the island republic and ensure immediate release of the boats.

He also sought the Centre's efforts to secure the release of the five fishermen arrested on Sunday.

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Pakistan today claimed that the international community has rejected India's contention that the turmoil in Kashmir is primarily a cross-border terrorism issue, as it blamed India for "scuttling" all opportunities for a "meaningful" dialogue to resolve the issue.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, in a hard-hitting statement, said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"India's contention that the Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today," Aziz said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

He also welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the issue.

The recent offer of the Turkish President Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the issue must be welcomed, Aziz said.

"In this context, the Indian counter proposal that it is ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan is no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions on Kashmir," Aziz said.

He alleged that the Indian government has broken its "own record of brutality" in Kashmir by "indiscriminately killing" unarmed Kashmiri protestors.

Aziz said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Declaration' adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul, in April last, "out-rightly rejected India's attempts of equating the Kashmiris' freedom struggle with terrorism."



"Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large scale uprising, which is going on in Kashmir, involving mostly young unarmed Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly shows that Kashmir is a burning issue requiring urgent international attention," Aziz said.

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A city court today sentenced two West Bengal natives, found in possession of fake currency notes worth Rs 80,000 in 2015, to life imprisonment.

Additional Sessions Judge P Y Ladekar pronounced the sentence after convicting Ramzan Sheikh (26) and Rezarul Sheikh alias Nasaruddin Sheikh (20) of possessing the contraband.

The Pune Crime Branch had arrested the duo after they were found with fake Indian currency notes (FICN) having a face-value of Rs 80,000 on June 4, 2015.

Additional public prosecutor Suresh Gavali told PTI that the court besides awarding life sentence to the two convicts, also imposed a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh each.

He said the court convicted the duo after examining five witnesses besides other irrefutable evidence.

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Ros is a remarkable woman. Most of us after going through a journey like hers would not have the energy or commitment to create a resource for the benefit of others. But she has, for which I am extremely grateful, as I am sure you will be too. It has truly been a privilege for our team to support her and this project, said Professor Merryn Gott Director, Te Arai Palliative Care and End of Life Research Group, University of Auckland.
Global ride-hailing platform Uber is now getting into the food delivery business in Mumbai, under UberEATS and has partnered over 200 restaurants.

"The introduction of UberEATS in India, with Mumbai as the first city to go live with its food delivery service is a major step in our global expansion strategy," Bhavik Rathod, head of UberEATS India told PTI.

"We are looking to scale to other big cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata among others going forward, but we don't have a timeline at present," he added.

He, however, did not reveal the investments the company has made in setting up the new business in the country.

Last week, UberEATS Asia Pacific Head Allen Penn said in a blog post, "I am incredibly excited about bringing UberEATS to India.

"This is a significant investment, it spans across multiple cities and regions, and it has the potential to change the food industry - with the push of a button - in one of the most vibrant food cultures in the world."



UberEATS follows the food delivery business model, charging restaurants a service fee to use its platform, and uses third-party delivery. It has already tied up with a 200-300 delivery partners, Rathod said.

Food prices are set by the restaurants according to their menus, while UberEATS plans to charge customers a nominal delivery fee of Rs 15 per order inclusive of taxes, Rathod added.

UberEATS started as a business in 2014 in Los Angeles, and has scaled to 78 cities around the world including Mumbai in the country. It is presently a stand-alone app.

This comes at a time when the food delivery space in the country is crowded with several players including Zomato and Swiggy who are looking to expand their business nationally.

Similarly, food applications and websites like Faasos, Box8, FreshMenu are looking to grow in Mumbai, Bengaluru and other cities.

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Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop his 'Mann ki Baat' and instead start 'Gun ki Baat' to punish Pakistan for killing two Indian soldiers and mutilating their bodies.

Addressing a gathering of party workers here this evening, Thackeray said whatever needs to be done on the matter "has to be done now".

"It's time...He (the PM) stops that ('Mann ki Baat') and starts 'Gun ki Baat' with Pakistan to teach it a lesson," he said.

'Mann ki Baat' is Modi's popular monthly radio address to the nation.

Two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistani troops on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

The attack was carried out by the Border Action Team (BAT), which generally comprises Pakistani army personnel and terrorists, in Krishna Ghati Sector in Poonch district.

The Sena is a constituent of the Modi government and also part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Maharashtra.

Thackeray also said his party knows Mumbai inside out and that's why it has been able to thwart attempts by the BJP to control the affairs of the financial capital.

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A former soldier thought to be the UK's longest-serving patient has died after spending 54 years in a vegetative state at the same hospital, the British media reported today.

James Morris was admitted to hospital with a broken leg in 1962 at the age of 21 but never went home after suffering a cardiac arrest on the operating table.

He was left in a vegetative state after the operation and was moved to Wester Moffat Hospital in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.

The Army veteran, who could only say three words, died in April aged 75, the BBC reported.

His brother Karl Morris, 62, said a member of staff from Wester Moffat had suggested that no-one had been in care in a single hospital longer than James.

Karl Morris said: "Over the years we found a way to communicate with him. He was all there mentally but couldn't communicate with us at all.

"He only ever learned how to say three words again - his three loves - 'home', 'pub' and 'horses'.

"We often took him on holidays in Britain and the hospital knew how much he loved the pub so they would even take him there now and again."



James was serving in the Scottish Rifle regiment, the Cameronians, in Germany when he was injured in a car crash.

He only broke his nose and thigh bone in the crash but part of his brain shut down during the operation on his thigh.

Helen Ryan, senior charge nurse at Wester Moffat, said: "Our condolences are with Jimmy's family at this time.

"Having spent such an extraordinarily long time at the hospital, Jimmy touched the lives of many. He was a good confidant and a great character and he will be sorely missed by everyone at the Heather Ward."



Wester Moffat Hospital confirmed James had spent 54 years in their care after spending two years in other hospitals.

A spokesman of the National Health Service (NHS) said they were not aware of anyone having spent longer than 54 years in an NHS hospital.

Karl Morris has praised the "unbelievable" staff at the hospital for the care they gave his brother.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress today slammed the Narendra Modi government over the killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, saying it has no policy on national security.

Party's spokesperson Kapil Sibal said it was "shameful" that the ruling BJP was organising "Vijay Parv" to celebrate its victory in the Delhi municipal polls at a time when Pakistan killed two of "our soldiers in our territory".

He also took a jibe at the government, saying it should "take off bangles and do something".

Sibal was referring External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's offer to send bangles to Manmohan Singh when Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistan during the UPA rule.

He claimed there has been an increase in civilian and security personnel causalities during the 35 months of the NDA rule so far as compared to the corresponding period during the UPA government.

He said the government can finalise a policy to deal with cross-border terrorism only if there is a full-time defence minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The American business community is encouraged by the highest level of engagement between India and the US under the Trump administration and looks forward to elevate the ties even further, the head of a top American industry advocacy group has said.

"We are encouraged to see that the two countries have had highest levels of engagement in the the first 100 days of the new (Trump) administration," Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Business Council (USIBC), told PTI.

As the Trump administration completely crossed the milestone of being in office for 100 days, Aghi said that the US-India relations continues to enjoy bipartisan support.

"We look forward to elevating our ties even further," he said based on the feedback he has been receiving from both the Trump administration and the Congress.

"President (Donald) Trump and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi have had conversations on the strategic importance ofour ties and USIBC looks forward to working on the next round of the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue," Aghi said.

The next round of the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue is scheduled to be held later this year.

Aghi said USIBC members are keen on investing in India as the country is witnessing political stability now.

On the other hand, Richard M Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US India Policy Studies at Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think-tank, said the US and India are still trying to find a new set of issues to maintain the great momentum we have seen in the relationship in these last few years.

The past agenda- led by cooperation on climate change- is not likely to survive, he observed.

"Even the defence relationship, filled with promise but with relatively little practical cooperation, may not be made a priority by the Trump administration," said Rossow, who is a close observer of India-US relationship.

"The economic relationship has already seen bumps, with Indian concerns about possible H1B visa limitations, contrasted with US concerns over new price controls on medical devices," Rossow told PTI.

"There will be a great deal of pressure on policy leaders from both sides to find common ground ahead of a leaders summit, expected this summer," he said.

After being elected as the President in November, Trump has spoken thrice with Modi.

The first cabinet-level interaction took place last month when the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley travelled to Washington to attend the annual Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Both Trump and Modi have invited each other for a state visit. Officials are now working on a mutually convenient date.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
America's relationship with China is multi-faceted and not solely focused on trade, Trump administration's nominee for US Ambassador to China said today.

Terry E Branstad said China can play a critical role in convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs.

"Our relationship with China is multi-faceted and not solely focused on trade," said Branstad in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Branstad, who is a personal friend of Chinese President Xi Jinping, said he was well aware of the critical national security issues the two countries must work together on as well.

"As (US) President (Donald) Trump made clear when he met with President Xi at Mar-a-Lago a few weeks ago, China could play a critical role in convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs, a strategic policy that boosts the security of America, China, and the entire world," Branstad said.

Reiterating that as Ambassador, he will be committed to communicating the United States' continued support of the One China policy.

"I saw first-hand many of the cybersecurity concerns the United States has in regards to China during my time as Governor, when I received my monthly security briefings. The protection of intellectual property and technology security is of the utmost importance to our country, and I will continue to make that clear in frank conversations with the Chinese government," he said.

On the South China Sea, Branstad said China cannot be allowed to use its artificial islands to coerce its neighbors or limit freedom of navigation or overflight.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To make Indian soldiers conversant with the Chinese language, the Visva-Bharati University has started a certificate-level course recently.

The university's "Cheena Bhavan" has been entrusted with the task of teaching the language to the soldiers, officiating vice-chancellor of the university Swapan Kumar Dutta said.

Dutta told PTI, "This is a certificate course in Chinese (Mandarin) which started recently and 25 Army personnel have been admitted for the course this year."



"Aimed at mental enrichment of the Army personnel, the course imparted by teachers of Cheena Bhavan will introduce them with the rich Chinese culture and the centuries-old tie between the two nations," he said.

The eligibility criteria remained the same as general students enrolled for the course, he said.

The course is being taught at an Army establishment since it was not feasible for the Army personnel to attend Cheena Bhavan classes in the Visva-Bharati campus, he said.

Since its inception in 1937, the 'Cheena Bhavan' had been working towards creating awareness about Chinese culture in the country, Dutta said.

Hence, "the certificate course should not be seen in isolation, but rather part of a cultural exchange process continuing for eight decades," he said.

An MoU was inked between the Visva-Bharati University and the Army's Eastern Command in February - for educational cooperation and facilitating academic exchange programmes - signed by the Registrar on behalf of Visva-Bharati and Brigadier General Staff(Training) on behalf of HQ Eastern Command.

The signing ceremony was attended by Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and the Officiating Vice-Chancellor, besides ohers.

Dutta said that the MoU facilitated the setting up of a library at Fort William (Eastern Command headquarters) where Bengali and English works of Tagore along with Hindi translations were being kept, he said.

Referring to Cheena Bhavan's other initiatives, Dutta said, "While our students are being recognised internationally for their command over the language, in China students of the institute who are part of the exchange programme with Cheena Bhavan organise Bengali cultural events at their campus and sing 'Rabindra Sangeet'," he said.

"We are working on Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's vision in broadening the mind through linguistic and cultural exchanges," he said.

He said the Chinese Consulate had extended all help to set up a 'Modern Chinese Laboratory' with modern equipment at Cheena Bhavan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman, who allegedly honey- trapped and blackmailed a BJP MP, was today sent to five-day police custody by a special court here.

Special Judge Hemani Malhotra allowed the police's plea which claimed that the accused was required for custodial interrogation, recovery of evidence and the arrest of her associates.

The accused was arrested from her home in Ghaziabad by the Delhi Police today.

K C Patel, the MP from Valsad in Gujarat, had filed a police complaint last week claiming that he had been drugged by the woman who had taken obscene videos and photographs of him.

Patel had alleged the woman had invited him to a place in Ghaziabad for some work and offered him a soft drink laced with sedatives. He had also claimed that she had threatened to file a rape case against him if he did not pay her Rs five crore.

The woman had earlier approached a city court claiming that the police had not acted upon her rape complaint against the lawmaker.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Last year, Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Jio disrupted the telecom space with extremely affordable 4G tariffs. The company seems to be geared to continue its disruptive streak by launching low-cost feature phones that, apparently, will do away with the need for smartphones.
Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.
A team of officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have reached London for discussions on the extradition of former liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

A four-member team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana will apprise British authorities about the finer points of the loan default cases against Mallya, CBI sources said.

Two senior ED officials are also part of the team, they said.

Mallya's extradition is now before the British court where neither the CBI nor the ED are direct parties. Indian agencies primarily aid and assist British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of absconders before the courts, an official explained.

The agencies' move to send a team to London is aimed at presenting a strong case for the extradition of the flamboyant business tycoon before the court.

The 61-year-old was arrested by British authorities last month on India's extradition request in connection with a Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank being probed by the CBI.

He was released on bail within hours by a London court which has fixed May 17 as the next date of hearing.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than INR 9,000 crore (including interest) to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

The CBI has two cases against him -- one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over INR 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.

The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge on whether or not to issue a warrant of arrest.

In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The 'wanted' person has the right to appeal to higher courts against any decision all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Under the law, the British secretary of state may only consider four issues when deciding whether to order a person's extradition -- whether the person is at risk of the death penalty, whether special arrangements are in place, whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is required and whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.
In a clear message to visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had advocated a multilateral dialogue to resolve Kashmir issue, India today asserted that it is a Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

The virtual rejection of Erdogan's suggestion came in the course of his discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the two countries held that "no intent or goal or reason or rationale can validate terrorism" and decided to work together to deepen cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to effectively counter this menace.

Erdogan also assured India of his country's full support in the fight against terrorism as he held "extensive" discussion on this evolving threat with Modi, who described it as a "shared worry".

However, Modi-Erdogan meeting came in the shadow of Turkish president's comments on Kashmir, made during a TV interview ahead of his visit to India.

Erdogan had said, "We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all."

The remarks were not well received here as they were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

Asked if the Kashmir issue or Erdogan's proposal of multilateral dialogue to resolve it figured during the meeting between the two leaders, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said India's position that Kashmir is its integral part is very sharp and publicly known.

"We conveyed our viewpoint clearly on terrorism and Kashmir (to the Turkish side). It was made clear that there cannot be any justification for terrorism whatever is the intent. We clearly conveyed that the issue of Kashmir is essentially an issue of terrorism.

"We told them that we have been victims of cross-border terrorism and and state-sponsored terrorism for 40 years. As far as Kashmir issue is concerned, we have always been ready to resolve it with Pakistan. Not only Kashmir but also all other bilateral issues should be resolved in a peaceful manner," Baglay said.

He also said that the government has made many attempts to have bilateral talks with Pakistan to address issues, including Kashmir as per the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.

Asked about the response of the Turkish side, Baglay said they heard it "care and attention".

India's discussion on Kashmir with Turkey came on a day when two Indian security personnel were beheaded by Pakistan army in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, addressing a joint media event with Erdogan, Modi said countries across the world need to "work as one to disrupt the terrorist networks and their financing and put a stop to cross-border movement of terrorists", in an obvious reference to Pakistan-based terror groups.

The international community also need to stand and act against those that conceive and create, support and sustain, shelter and spread these instruments and ideologies of violence, the prime minister added.

Condemning the Naxal attack on CRPF personnel on April 24 in Sukma, in which 25 of them were killed, Erdogan said, "Turkey will always be by the side of India in full solidarity while battling terrorism... And terrorists will be drowned in the blood they shed."

Asked if there was a difference of opinion on the definition of terrorism as Modi talked about cross-border terrorists and Erdogan mentioned the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation (FETO), Baglay said there was a convergence on condemning terrorism and an agreement that it was a menace which needed to be tackled effectively.

The spokesperson also said the Turkish side mentioned the presence of FETO (in India). "Any organisation in India has to work within the parameters of our laws, rules and regulations," he added, without mentioning if India has assured action against the group.

During his statement, the Turkish president had referred to the FETO, saying the outfit is active in 170 countries. He said the Turkish government has informed the countries about FETO's operations and hoped India will take action against it.

After a failed coup in July last year to topple Erdogan, Turkey had blamed the FETO for it and said the outfit has "infiltrated" India. Turkey had also asked India to take action against the organisation.

"We will never bow down to terrorism or the propaganda of the terror outfits," Erdogan, who also invoked Mahatma Gandhi, said. He said terror outfits will never be able to "shackle our resolve" to combat the menace.

Modi and the Turkish leader had a comprehensive discussion and took stock of full range of bilateral relations, including political and economic, the external affairs ministry said.

Referring to changing times where societies face new threats and challenges every day, Modi said the context and contours of some of the exiting and emerging security challenges globally are "our common concern".

"In particular, the constantly evolving threat from terrorism is our shared worry. I held an extensive conversion with the Turkish president on this subject. We agreed that no intent or goal or reason or rationale can validate terrorism," the prime minister said.

The two leaders, who addressed a India-Turkey business forum earlier in the day, also pitched for enhanced trade and business ties.

Observing that India and Turkey are two large economies which present an enormous opportunity to expand and deepen commercial linkages, Modi said at the level of the two governments, there is a need to approach the entire landscape of business opportunities in a strategic and long-term manner.

"Our bilateral trade turnover of around 6 billion dollars does not do full justice to convergences in our economies.

Clearly, the business and industry on both sides can do much more," he added.

He further said, "We would like to encourage stronger partnership of Turkish companies with our flagship programmes and projects, either on their own or in collaboration with the Indian companies."

Erdogan also emphasised the need to increase bilateral trade to at least USD 10 billion, as soon as possible, and added that the countries will look at ways to expand cooperation in the energy and infrastructure sectors, in particular.

After the Modi-Erdogan meet, the two sides exchanged three pacts, including one between their telecom authorities.

In his media statement, Modi also referred to Rumi and Sufi tradition in India. "While Rumi found his home in Turkey, his legacy continues to enrich the Sufi traditions of India as well," he said.

Modi also thanked Erdogan for his country's support to India's aspiration for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership as well as other export control regimes like Missile Technology Control Regime.

Turkey has been maintaining that the NSG should come out with a system to consider the entry of countries which are not signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has also supported Pakistan's case for NSG membership.

There was also convergence on United Nations Security Councilreforms during the meeting of the two leaders, Baglay said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who has been honoured by the US India Business Council as the 'Transformative Chief Minister' for advancing India-US partnership at the state level, has more reasons to be proud of this week.

Six cities from his state are among the winners of this year's "Swachh Survekshan" awards instituted by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). The "Swachh Survekshan" survey, ranks 500 Indian cities on cleanliness and other aspects of urban sanitation to choose the best ones. Tirupati, Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Ongole and Tadipatri are the selected AP cities.

The ranking has been instituted by MoUD to foster a healthy competition between cities for improving cleanliness standards. The survey is conducted by Quality Council of India.

In 2016, which ranked 73 cities across the country, Vishakhapatnam stood fifth in the overall ranking. The other cities from Andhra Pradesh that figured in the list were Vijayawada (23) and Warangal (32).

The parameters considered for the survey include waste collection, sweeping and transportation, municipal solid waste processing and disposal, open defecation free status, education and behavioural change and capacity building programmes.

The list of winning cities will be declared during an award ceremony to be organised in Delhi on May 4.

On May 8, Chandrababu Naidu will receive the USIBC transformative CM Award.


Bookies can make a kill by thinking inside the box. The special task force of Uttar Pradesh, which busted a betting ring at an upscale residential society in Noida last Friday, discovered that it was an inventive, locally-built device that kept the gambling network going.

The said device, sewed up into a briefcase by an electrician from Najafgarh in south west Delhi, could interconnect up to 32 callers to place their bets simultaneously during a live match, investigators told Mail Today.

"The suitcase connected all the phones in such a way that the bookie's voice would be audible on all phones at the same time. The phone lines of gamblers were connected to a speaker beneath the suitcase to record their stakes," said Raj Kumar Mishra, DSP Noida-STF. "The gang was using the briefcase for last one year. The set-up gave them high mobility and allowed early wrap-up in case of an emergency."

The briefcase-linked device came in two sizes: One that connected 16 phones and was available for Rs 27,000 and the other with 32-handset connectivity costing Rs 50,000. "All the mobile phones used by them were basic Nokia bar-phone. For, these vantage handsets have better battery life and audio quality," investigators said.

ALSO READ: What is RERA and how will it benefit home buyers?

Interestingly, although police have closed in on the local "Najafgarh talent" who had put in place the briefcase, they can't arrest him, for making a customised electronic equipment is not a crime. Investigators said they have been trying to extract details from the electrician. Bookies would carry several phones around them and employed multiple staff to attend calls from punters and recording their bets. The "briefcase" simplified this complex system.

Investigators said the portable device allowed the bookies easy mobility, as they could easily check into a room with a TV to operate with secrecy. The bookies arrested in Noida too had taken the flat on rent.

"Earlier, such a set up could be installed in wardrobe. Briefcase gave the bookies high mobility. One day it could be installed in a hotel room and another day at a rented apartment," a bookie told MAIL TODAY, requesting anonymity. He also disclosed that to avoid coming on police radar, most of them now use encrypted chat platform where payments are made in bitcoins.

STF DSP Mishra said punters in contact with the gang were given one of the mobile numbers. "The gang continuously received updated rates on each ball of the match from an international website, www.betfair.com and these were promptly communicated to all bookies connected to him," he said. The bookies would collect the money the next day from the people who lost. "Only close members were gambling with the gang. No random person could contact or place a bet with them. An entry was possible only if an existing member took the guarantee of new entrant," Mishra said, adding during each IPL match, the Noidabased gang made Rs 30-40 lakh.

Police suspect their total earning from this season would be around Rs 20 crore. The mastermind of the gang has been identified as Rohit Gupta, a resident of Kailash Puri in Bulandshahr.

Gupta had bought a flat for Rs 1.7 crore in ATS Village, Sector 93 A, in the name of his wife. He also bought a BMW car worth Rs 38 lakh and a Harley Davidson bike worth Rs 7 lakh. The other six accused have been identified as Ankur Govil, Neeraj Gupta, Samuel Jacob, Rahul Chana, Akash Vij and Ashok Garg. The accused had created a network in Goa, Delhi and other NCR cities.

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The Indian government seems to be getting close to bringing back business tycoon Vijay Mallya from the UK where he is currently living. After his arrest and subsequent bail a couple of weeks ago, a team of Indian officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have reached London to discuss the possible deportation of the liquor baron.

According to sources in the CBI, a four-member team will be talking to British authorities about the court cases against Mallya in India, the PTI reported. The Indian officials could be assisting British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of Mallya before the courts. They hope to present a strong case for the extradition of the flamboyant business tycoon before the court.

The CBI has two cases against him - one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over INR 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.

Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya was earlier arrested by the Scotland Yard in London. Mallya was taken to Westminster magistrates' court where he was granted bail. Mallya's next date of hearing is on May 17.



Vijay Mallaya's extradition from the UK will involve a number of process:

A decision by the judge on whether or not to issue a warrant of arrest. Vijay Mallya was detained a couple of weeks ago. He appeared at the court where he was given bail.

In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The 'wanted' person has the right to appeal to higher courts against any decision all the way up to the Supreme Court.
While most travellers try to strike the best deal by booking flight tickets months before their trip, a new survey has revealed that making the bookings precisely 24 weeks prior to departure is the ideal time.

Conducted by online travel portal Skyscanner, the study crunched two years' worth of data from over 50 million monthly users to cull out the Best Time to Book (BTTB) travel to the the top destinations across the world for Indians.

"A meaty 31 per cent of respondents assume booking more than 12 weeks in advance is the best time to book flights. 11 per cent feel that booking last minute is the key to getting a good deal. But, Skyscanner's data analysis shows booking 24 weeks prior to departure is the ideal time to book tickets," the study noted.

According to the survey, flight bookings to destinations like Bali and Kuala Lumpur, which are quite popular among Indian travellers, are cheapest if made 25 weeks prior to departure.

However, the online portal noted that both destinations receive the most bookings two weeks prior to departure where flight prices witness a surge of 16 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, indicating the lack of knowledge of Indian travellers regarding bookings.

"72 per cent of Indian travellers do not know the best time to book travel for their holidays," it said.

For destinations in Europe like Amsterdam, travellers can save up to 17 per cent by booking 24 weeks in advance.

Budapest will suit non-efficient planners owing to the flexible weeks on offer, during which they can avail optimum flight fares.

"One can book 12, 20 or 23 weeks prior to departure and still save 13 per cent on the flight tickets," the study said.

To explore Madrid without breaking the bank, Skyscanner recommended the best time to book is 15 weeks in advance.

"Knowing the best time to book flights is key to getting a good deal, so it is surprising that nearly three-quarters of Indian travellers do not know when the best time to book travel is and 69 per cent are way off in their estimations, guessing the best deals on flights can be found less than 12 weeks before departure.

"Furthermore, the majority of travellers are overspending by leaving booking until the last minute! After reviewing flight prices from the last two years, travellers can clearly see the savings they can make by booking at the right time and what to expect if they leave booking to the last minute," Reshmi Roy, Growth Manager, Skyscanner India said.

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To make Indian soldiers conversant with the Chinese language, the Visva-Bharati University has started a certificate-level course recently.

The university's "Cheena Bhavan" has been entrusted with the task of teaching the language to the soldiers, officiating vice-chancellor of the university Swapan Kumar Dutta said.

Dutta told PTI, "This is a certificate course in Chinese (Mandarin) which started recently and 25 Army personnel have been admitted for the course this year."

"Aimed at mental enrichment of the Army personnel, the course imparted by teachers of Cheena Bhavan will introduce them with the rich Chinese culture and the centuries-old tie between the two nations," he said.

The eligibility criteria remained the same as general students enrolled for the course, he said.

The course is being taught at an Army establishment since it was not feasible for the Army personnel to attend Cheena Bhavan classes in the Visva-Bharati campus, he said.

Since its inception in 1937, the 'Cheena Bhavan' had been working towards creating awareness about Chinese culture in the country, Dutta said.

Hence, "the certificate course should not be seen in isolation, but rather part of a cultural exchange process continuing for eight decades," he said.

An MoU was inked between the Visva-Bharati University and the Army s Eastern Command in February - for educational cooperation and facilitating academic exchange programmes - signed by the Registrar on behalf of Visva-Bharati and Brigadier General Staff(Training) on behalf of HQ Eastern Command.

The signing ceremony was attended by Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and the Officiating Vice-Chancellor, besides ohers.

ALSO READ: China stopped manipulating currency after I became President: Donald Trump

Dutta said that the MoU facilitated the setting up of a library at Fort William (Eastern Command headquarters) where Bengali and English works of Tagore along with Hindi translations were being kept, he said.

Referring to Cheena Bhavan's other initiatives, Dutta said, "While our students are being recognised internationally for their command over the language, in China students of the institute who are part of the exchange programme with Cheena Bhavan organise Bengali cultural events at their campus and sing 'Rabindra Sangeet'," he said.

ALSO READ: China renames 6 places in Arunachal Pradesh, claims the state as 'South Tibet'

"We are working on Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's vision in broadening the mind through linguistic and cultural exchanges," he said.

He said the Chinese Consulate had extended all help to set up a 'Modern Chinese Laboratory' with modern equipment at Cheena Bhavan.
The much-awaited Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act , 2016 has come into force from May 1, but only 13 states and Union Territories have so far notified the rules. Moreover, there has been a lot of ambiguity regarding the implementation of RERA as several states have diluted the rules and the presence of a regulator is still under question.

For instance, in Haryana, the proposed RERA draft excludes all real estate projects for which builders have applied for occupancy certificates or part-completion certificates, provided the same is granted by the competent authority within three months of application. Under the Gujarat RERA Act, only the projects launched after November 1, 2016, will come under the law. RERA is a central law, but its implementation will depend on state governments as real estate is a state subject.

Commenting on the development, Sam Chopra, founder and chairman of RE/MAX India, says, "Both state and central governments need to come out with clear rules and guidelines to avoid any ambiguity as the industry is in a state of confusion. If implemented right, RERA can bring back positive sentiments in the industry, and the much-needed transparency and professionalism."

Pankaj Kapoor, Managing Director of Liases Foras, agrees. "I think the central government will have to intervene as many states have notified a diluted form of RERA and it is not in the best interests of homebuyers."

Here is a low-down on what RERA means for existing and new buyers.



For existing buyers

Under RERA, there are fines and penalties if a developer does not adhere to delivery guidelines, including existing projects. The Act ensures that you can secure interest as penalty from your builder at the prescribed rate. But the rate of interest may vary from state to state.

"If your builder has not completed the project, the first thing you should do is form a resident welfare association (RWA). If there is already one, you should immediately become its member. In case there is more than one welfare body, try to consolidate all and form one primary body so that you can have the advantage of collective bargaining," says Chopra of RE/MAX India.

Once the welfare body is formed, a case should be filed in a high court and also in a consumer court. If the fund has been utilised by a builder for other activities, one can also file a criminal case against the builder. According to Chopra, "Benefits of RERA will not start flowing immediately. Since there are hundreds of incomplete projects, RWAs who have filed their cases can get a first-mover advantage when it comes to resolution."

For new buyers

There are several other provisions under RERA, which are going to benefit new buyers. For example, under the Act, builders have to deposit 70 per cent of the collected amount in an escrow account to ensure that money is not diverted from one project to another.

Developers will be able to sell projects only after all necessary clearances. Under RERA, builders and agents will have to register themselves with the regulator and get all projects with more than eight apartments registered before launch.

Also, regulatory bodies and appellate tribunals will have to be set up in each state to solve builder-buyer disputes within 120 days. Besides, promoters will not be able to change a project's design without the buyers' consent, and the carpet area will carry a uniform definition - a common reason for builder-buyer disputes.

Before buying your new home, check out the Act passed by your state to ensure it has not notified the watered down version.

Impact on pricing

Property prices are determined by demand and supply in the market. Considering there has been an unsold inventory of around five years in the market, real estate prices are not going to rise immediately after the implementation of RERA. But people who had delayed their home-buying decisions due to lack of trust are now expected to return as the Act has brought the much-needed transparency into the market. Chopra says, "The RERA will help customers gain back the trust that was eluding the market. Prices are not expected to rise immediately, but demand is expected to pick up during the festive season with buyers returning to the market."
Neeraj Kanwar, the flamboyant Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Apollo Tyres Ltd, is planning to enter the US, the world's most competitive market, as the company eyes acquisition opportunities across the globe to be at the top of the pecking order. Here is a close look at his strategies and vision for the company. Edited excerpts.

What is the outcome of your European foray? Will your new manufacturing unit complement your strategy there?

Our formal entry into Europe came with the acquisition of Vredestein in 2009, followed by the launch of Apollo brand of tyres two years later, and it has been very successful. Both the brands, Apollo and Vredestein, are doing well in the challenging European market. The increased demand for our products first led to the capacity expansion of the Netherlands facility by more than 20-25 per cent. Then we set up a greenfield facility in Hungary to complement that. With the Hungary capacity coming on stream, we are moving ahead. From being a replacement market-focused company, we are now looking at supplying our tyres to the leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Europe. We have also entered the truck tyres segment in Europe, which will be produced in Hungary at a later stage.

What's the locational advantage of your greenfield unit in Hungary?



Hungary was chosen over some of the neighbouring Central and Eastern European countries after considering several factors. We always consider multiple factors before shortlisting and finalising a greenfield location. These largely include ease of doing business, manufacturing costs, availability of skilled manpower, government policies, including incentive for manufacturing, logistics costs, proximity to highways and a variety of soft factors.

How relevant is your online platform when it comes to competing in the highly organised European market?

Just a few days ago, we forayed into the European commercial vehicle tyre segment through a unique online approach. This digital go-to-market business model is transparent and flexible in terms of pricing and services for the products on offer. In the fiercely competitive European market, this innovative approach to selling will help us gain customers.

We have now acquired Reifencom GmbH, one of the largest tyre distributors in Germany with physical stores and global business-to-consumer (B2C) portals. That has definitely helped us stay one step ahead of our competitors in the largest tyre market in Europe, which is Germany, and get closer to end customers. It further drives Apollo's entry into the car tyre space and strengthens Vredestein's distribution through business-to-business (B2B) and B2C channels.

After two acquisitions in 2006 (Dunlop Tyres International in South Africa) and 2009, are you still craving for more, going by the stupendous rise in profits and cash reserves?

In addition to those, we also acquired Reifencom GmbH in 2015, which operates 37 physical stores across Germany and seven international B2C portals, and also sells tyres via B2B channels across Europe. We are ambitious about growth, but do not have a fixed mindset that it has to be through acquisitions. But growth strategy is pursued, whether organic or inorganic.

As you emerge on the global scene, what are your plans to enter the US?

Now that our Hungary greenfield is up and running, the next target that I have given to my team is to look at the U.S. market. We already have a small presence there through Apollo Vredestein, and we are now looking at expanding our presence in the world's biggest automotive market. We have spruced up our team there by hiring senior industry resources. Our research and development (R&D) team is also working on products specific to that market.

What about the Cooper fallout? Are you still keen on acquisitions?

Cooper is a four-year-old story. As mentioned earlier, we follow a growth-oriented strategy, which can be organic or inorganic. In recent times, we have made substantial investments to pursue organic growth. Having said that, we are always open if the right strategic fit comes along as an acquisition opportunity and it also makes financial sense. As of now, there is nothing on the table.

How will renewed focus on R&D impact long-term growth? Do you plan to bring more of niche, high-end passenger car and specialty tyres to India?

Our R&D team is always working towards creating better and technologically advanced products for our customers worldwide. Similarly, several research projects are also under way in collaboration with several of our raw materials suppliers and universities. These efforts have secured us a leading position in the radial tyre technology in India, across categories. Gaining the majority share in the OEM market in terms of new products will be the key for R&D going forward. To support the OEM journey and competitive edge in passenger car tyres, new technologies are under development, specifically focused on extended mobility and fuel saving. On the other hand, an advanced engineering department is also working towards developing new systems, technologies and tyre sensors to enhance tyre management and the integration between tyre and vehicle electronic systems.
The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day?

Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount.

Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what "Democracy" does exists.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) today commenced online booking for its range of cars across the country.

Through the new portal, www.hyundai.co.in, customers will now be able to book any Hyundai car by registering and paying a token booking amount online to their preferred dealership without visiting the outlet.

"The online car booking will empower our customers and redefine online car purchase in India by making customers' purchase journey simpler, faster, convenient yet experiential," HMIL MD and CEO Y K Koo said in a statement.

The aim of online booking is to provide an easy virtual experience of brand Hyundai to customers, the company said.

The online bookings will commence from today and will be available on Hyundai corporate and mobile websites, it added.

Hyundai, with 10 models, is the second-largest carmaker in India.

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After the Supreme Court's interim order last month to remove a mobile tower in Gwalior over harmful radiations, the government has upped the ante by launching a website - Tarang Sanchar - today that gives information on mobile towers and their EMF (electromagnetic field) emission rates across the country. The portal, launched by communications minister (independent charge) Manoj Sinha, is accessible to everyone who wants information on telecom towers in a particular locality and whether they are complying with the EMF emission norms defined by the government.

The data on the radiation levels of telecom towers is provided by each telco while DoT's (Department of Telecom) TERM cell will monitor it. TERM Cell has done random testing of about 10 per cent towers across 22 circles. According to industry body COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India), there are about 3.3 lakh base transceiver stations (BTSs) installed in the country, and only about 0.064 per cent of the BTSs were found to be violating the emission norms.

The issue of radiation hazards is expected to gain momentum as telcos plan to expand their network. It's believed that India needs nearly 1 lakh towers per year to meet the growing data and voice traffic. The matter is expected to come for hearing at the Supreme Court in July. The apex court will listen to the petition against telecom towers. Concerns have been growing over towers with telcos busy in expanding their network. Several petitions have been filed in various high courts. Already, eight high courts have said that there are no health concerns with towers while Rajasthan high court has taken a contrarian view.

ALSO READ: Six Andhra Pradesh cities to win Swachh Survekshan awards



DoT has thus far maintained that EMF standards followed in India are ten times stricter than the international standards prescribed by International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). "Though there is no scientific evidence of any health concerns from low power mobile BTSs, a need was felt to educate the citizens about EMF emissions from mobile towers and status of their compliances. In its endeavour to clear misconceptions around the issue of mobile tower emissions, DoT has launched Tarang Sanchar Portal. The portal will generate confidence among the public about effectiveness of the EMF compliance process in India," said P.K. Pujari, Secretary, DoT.

The differing views of government and judiciary on the matter - and absence of a highly credible research report on the health hazards of towers - is expected to keep this issue alive a while.
Credit: Serggn/iStockphoto.com.

LOGAN  The attorney for one of the 16-year-old boys accused of shooting Deserae Turner said his client should not be tried as an adult and likely suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Shannon Demler said it would be in the best interest of the defendant if he be kept in the juvenile court system, because it would help him get the rehabilitation he needs.

Demlers statements came during the beginning of a two-day hearing Monday in 1st District Court. He told Judge Angela Fonnesbeck that evidence in the case showed the boy did not shoot the 14-year-old Amalga girl, and that he never had possession of the suspected gun or had contact with the girl.

State attorney Spencer Walsh argued that it was the defendant who first voiced the idea to kill Turner after the co-defendant expressed being annoyed by her text messages and social media chats. He made his opening statement while showing the court a large photo of Turner, lying in a hospital bed.

The defendants mother testified about how the 16-year-old was a twin, born prematurely and weighing two pounds 12 ounces. She described how he had a hard time staying focused in school and turning in homework on time.

While being cross examined, she told the court how earlier this year her son attempted to break her arm during a fight.

Dr. Randall Oster, a clinical psychologist, later testified about evaluating the defendant, shortly after the shooting took place. He claimed, based on the tests, the boy was anti-social and showed ADHD characteristics. He was also viewed as a loner, who struggled with acceptance.

During cross examination, Dr. Oster admitted that his health evaluation didnt help in showing the court whether the defendant was a danger to society.

Dr. Ronald Houston, a second clinical psychologist who did not evaluate the defendant but interviewed him for several hours after the alleged shooting, told the court he concurred with Dr. Osters evaluation.

After the defense rested their case, prosecutors called their first witness, Dr. Stephen Golding. He criticized both doctors findings, saying from their reports, they hadnt done enough to diagnose the defendant and determine if he had ADHD.

The two teenage boys are charged with shooting Turner in the back of the head and leaving the girl in a ditch after robbing her. Prosecutors allege they originally planned to stab her with knives. After they arrived, the co-defendant instead used a gun he had brought and shot her. Both face six charges including attempted aggravated murder, attempted burglary and obstructing justice.

The hearing is expected to conclude Tuesday afternoon, when Judge Fonnesbeck will rule whether the defendant will be tried as an adult.

<hr /><p style=text-align: center;>will@cvradio.com
Contact: Daniel Keylin

Daniel Keylin daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Gary Peters (D-MI) led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies urging them to support robust funding for State Veterans Homes that help provide long-term care to our nation's veterans. Federal funds provided by the State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program allow states to make critical facility upgrades or construct new facilities to serve aging veteran populations. For fiscal year 2017, only 10 of the 57 highest priority projects were funded, resulting in a backlog of facilities requiring upgrades or new construction.the senators wrote in the letter.State Veterans Homes are facilities that are operated by state governments and partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide nursing home, domiciliary, and adult day care services to veterans with special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans.Tillis and Peters were joined in the letter by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Dean Heller (R-NV), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).The full letter is below:Dear Chairman Moran and Ranking Member Schatz:As the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies considers appropriations for the 2018 fiscal year, we respectfully ask that you provide robust funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) State Home Construction Grant Program. Continued federal support for VA State Homes will build on the success of these facilities in serving the long-term care needs of our country's veterans.State Veterans Homes have a long history of helping ensure that veterans disabled by age, illness, or other conditions continue to receive the respect and dignity they have earned through their service. Operated by state governments, these facilities play important roles in the effort to address the unique health and quality of life needs of each state's veteran population. The VA partners with certified state homes to provide nursing home, domiciliary, and adult day care services to critical segments of the veteran population with continuing or special medical needs, including thousands of elderly veterans.Federal funds made available through the VA State Home Construction Grant Program allow states to make critical renovations and upgrades to existing facilities and construct new facilities to serve the aging veteran population. These grant opportunities are important to ensure that each State Veterans Home facility continues to meet VA's standards and delivers the highest caliber of care to veterans. The growing backlog of more than 100 construction and renovation projects across the country, the majority of which have already secured matching state appropriations, presents challenges to meeting the long-term care needs of these veterans, particularly in rural states or states lacking alternate VA-certified facilities.We recognize the difficult budgetary decisions that the Subcommittee is facing. However, we want to underscore that robust funding for the VA State Home Construction Grant Program will allow State Homes to continue to provide high-quality care for our country's elderly veterans and veterans with long-term medical needs. Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your continued support in ensuring our nation's veterans live with dignity.
A train carrying cotton from Central Asias Uzbekistan arrives in a station in Northwest Chinas Xian, Shaanxi province on Feb. 24. It was the first freight train to arrive from Uzbekistan since Xian started a Central Asia freight service as part of the Belt and Road program. Photo: IC

In just a few weeks, the Chinese president will host the Belt and Road summit  Xi Jinpings landmark program to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Reactions to the project have been, understandably, mixed.

The vision of the One Belt, One Road initiative is essentially about connectivity facilitated by infrastructure. Many developing countries urgently need investment in roads, railroads, power plants and grids, airports and ports. But to make physical connectivity work, policy coordination and regulatory harmonization also need to follow suit. In the end, the initiative is about global cooperation and integration.

But investing in infrastructure is difficult. It requires a large amount of funding, and carries non-trivial political, sovereign and financial risk. Gestation and construction periods are long, and private investors may have neither the willingness nor capacity to hold illiquid assets for a long period of time. Political leaders may change regulatory policies to pursue a political agenda, such as reducing road tolls or power or water tariffs to buy election votes, or shutting down facilities outright. An otherwise good project could be loss-making.

In developing countries with weak institutional capabilities, protracted delays in implementation can be the exception rather the rule. In many instances, the cost of funding is less of a problem than the cost overrun from overdue completion.

Many countries are also grappling with public debt, finding it more and more difficult to borrow from multilateral development institutions as they hit the debt ceiling. With limited fiscal space, governments would need to resort to levying taxes, which are always politically difficult. They also crowd out other types of investment  such as education, health or environmental protection. Governments elected for a single term are not incentivized to raise taxes for big projects, unless they can be translated into actual votes.

At a time when a large funding gap in world infrastructure impedes economic progress, when expansionary fiscal policy is particularly potent in creating jobs and stimulating the economy  someone has to take the lead. The objective is clear: The world needs to de-politicize infrastructure decisions, and create a dedicated international pool of long-term capital that is not dependent on taxes, or yearly appropriations of funds.

But why is China taking the lead? How could China convince the rest of the world that this is intended to be win-win, to bring benefit to the global community?

China is acutely aware of the urgency of infrastructure development in many low-income emerging market economies. The idea of connectivity initially emerged from cooperating with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. It then quickly became apparent that connectivity among Asian countries was not enough to achieve better economic results. If expected to play its maximum role, infrastructure needs to straddle vast territorial boundaries.

Ahead of the Belt and Road summit, some clarifications are in order. China is, first of all, not shy of proposing ideas, and then opening it for debate and discussion. Second, China needs to stress the participatory approach in implementing the Belt and Road program. It has no geographical restrictions. It is inclusive, and global integration is what it is all about. Third, it is not about replacing the role of a dominant superpower. The sequence of events reveals that China first proposed the program under the Obama administration, long before Donald Trump was elected. It is unlikely that its intention was to fill in the gap of a superpower as it recedes from the world stage. It is just that somebody has to do the job.

And America is not doing the job, even in the case of its own infrastructure upgrade. Americans are stuck  with congestion, crumbling bridges and dilapidated roads. Bipartisan debates on how to spend taxes, and a lack of leadership, are reasons that the richest countrys infrastructure is lagging behind. They have let politics get in the way.

Thus, China emerges as an obvious candidate  with capital, experience, and a vision for global integration. As Jeff Sachs writes, China has proved itself highly effective at building large and complex infrastructure (such as ports, railways, fiber-optic cables, and highways) that complements industrial capital, and this infrastructure has in turn attracted foreign private-sector capital and technology.

And yet, the world feels uneasy about Chinese leadership and Chinese money. Chinas rise has created a new ideological divide  that of a pro-China camp and an anti-China camp  across nations, political parties, and individuals. As China extends its antenna to many parts of the world, through investment and trade, it is by default reducing the relative influence of the up until now dominant power.

Some people cite historical incidences to put the world on warning: a rising power will try to challenge an established power. But many ignore the rest of the story behind the Thucydides trap. Athens did beat Sparta, but eventually suffered heavy losses. Both paid a heavy price for the conflict.

But as one Ugandan proverb puts it, When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. And one might add that the elephants would, too.

Sri Lanka is a case in point. It had, until recently, sought after and welcomed infrastructure investment from China. When China became a political tool used among contesting parties, sentiment toward Chinese involvement turned from appreciation to indignation. The politicians ran into the warm embrace of the U.S. and India, and accepted their promised financial support  only to find that the money never came. Today, they have little choice but to rekindle affections with China. China could invest billions of dollars in the next few years, and create 100,000 jobs.

Thus, it seems that the greatest barrier to pushing along and realizing the Belt and Road vision is politics, and ideology. But the perception of ideological differences between China and the rest of the world is misguided. Of course, it is pleasing to hear that Western democracies are the ones that thrive, and that authoritarian or collective leaderships (a more accurate description of China) will invariably extract and finally, fail. Time and history has proven again that this is not always the case. In fact, centralized governments have propelled and hastened economic growth. In implementing a vast area of infrastructure, strong leadership in the world economy is required.

Anything that China proposes or does is susceptible to the interpretation of harboring a political agenda. But the same could be said of the Western powers, even in cases where the guiding principle of their interventions was truly a moral and principled one. But putting aside whether there is a political agenda or not  the debate could go on and never reach a definitive answer  the right question to ask is whether there is a clear economic case to be made. Is there a significant benefit, and will that benefit be shared among many?

The U.S.-lead Marshall plan to rebuild Western Europe, lift trade barriers and to modernize industry had much of the same flavor  even though it was directly aimed against the Soviet Union, and to prevent the spread of communism. And yet the initiative was met with little resistance and controversy.

There are things that China could have done better. It could have run a better campaign to help advance the economic case. Economic strategy and skillful diplomacy would have to a great extent alleviated concerns about the initiative. Sometimes, Chinas lack of understanding and appreciation of local customs and culture created barriers and tension with the local people. Some Chinese companies behavior has been a cause of concern. Less than adequate attention to environmental protection and sustainability, and to the interests of local communities, has been a convenient excuse for some people to criticize Chinas Belt and Road initiative.

It is comforting to see that the Chinese government is fixing the problems, and the Chinese companies investing overseas, whether state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or private firms, have demonstrated their commitment to doing a better job. All of this is encouraging. Chinas values and principles, deeply rooted in its long history, are not impossible to appreciate. And the countrys development model is at least a source of inspiration, if not a model to copy. Chinas initiative represents its intention to do something for the world. It is unfair not to give China a chance.

And there are practical challenges. Partnership is the best approach to a win-win outcome. But how can China ensure that a platform where many governments, companies, and institutions join hands, works effectively? The lack of a designated institution to act as the main coordinator may become a challenge when so many parties and projects are involved.

In the end, we cannot let politics get in the way of a truly global, economically sensible, 21st-century initiative. The Belt and Road project is like an orchestra. It needs a conductor and it casts its players around the world. Who becomes the conductor and who is picked as the first-violinist is of course important. But more crucial is that it plays  and performs.

Keyu Jin is an associate professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science
| BY Ricki Green |

How will Australia perform at Cannes this year? In the lead up to the Festival, Campaign Brief will be showcasing the work we hope will impress the judges

Havas Worldwide, Sydney

This spot was created for Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for Defence Force Recruiting. The campaign focuses on all the different ways we look to further ourselves in life and aims to speak directly to people with a desire to succeed, a drive to be better  and shows them how the Air Force is the perfect place to realise their ambitions. The central theme of the campaign is based on the idea of Up, linked to the Air Forces brand position  Theres more to achieve in the Air Force.

Havas Worldwide, Sydney
| BY Lynchy |

The Clio judging onsite-judging this year willbe in China, which will take place from July 26 to August 3 at The Sanya EDITION resort, on Hainan Island, off the coast of Southern China.

As a truly global brand, we consistently seek to further our connections across the world stage, said Nicole Purcell, president, Clio. It is impossible to ignore the thought-provoking, imaginative and beautiful work happening in Asia. The creative buzz in China is something we at Clio saw as a wonderful chance to celebrate. This is an opportunity to assemble leaders from the global creative community in the region to further conversations and camaraderie that will act as inspiration for future work.
| BY Ricki Green |

Two young talents are the latest to join the growing, award-winning DDB Sydney creative team. Jane Tjokrowidjaja (left) and Anne Lau (right) are a young art director/copywriter team who both studied at Miami Ad School before heading off to roles interstate and overseas. Theyve returned home to Sydney to join DDB.

Tjokrowidjaja, who said she likes rap music and appreciates good eyebrows, studied art direction and has interned at Droga5 New York, UncleGrey Copenhagen and Ogilvy New York.

Says Tjokrowidjaja: I moved back to Sydney because I believe its one of the best places for young creatives to start their careers.

The culture at DDB is great, the team is lovely and super supportive.

Before becoming a copywriter, Lau studied playwriting at NIDA, had her shows presented across Sydney and performed slam poetry in Paris.

After studying at Miami Ad School she was hired at CHE Proximity and last year won two global advertising awards.

Says Lau: Jane and I are really excited to join DDB. It has a vibrant culture, some very talented people and plenty of opportunities for young creatives.

DDB Sydney CCO Ben Welsh said the team have hit the ground running: Jane and Anne are a great fit for our culture and are doing some great things creatively.

DDB launched a global creative initiative earlier this year that commits to increasing the number of female creative leaders in every region of the DDB network.

The Phyllis Project, named after the legendary Phyllis Robinson  DDBs first and only copywriter at its founding, and the first female copy chief in U.S history  recognises the significant role women played in igniting the creative revolution, and the need for gender equality among our creative leaders today.

DDB Sydney managing director Nicole Taylor said Robinson broke all the rules and opened doors for many women (and men) who followed.

Says Taylor: DDB is committed to continuing to bridge the gender gap that has traditionally existed in advertising.

Were proud to have a great gender balance and so much diversity here  I firmly believe diversity is key to true creativity.
| BY Lynchy |

Arcade has grown its relationship with Suntory Beverage & Food Singapore. The work, which is across four major consumer beverage brands, includes conceptualization and execution of advertising campaigns through all channels for Ribena, Lucozade, MYTEA and a yet to be launched beverage brand.

The brand campaigns which will include TVC, print and digital, will run across North and Southeast Asia in 2017. Arcade Singapore will handle the regional work with Arcades Jakarta office offering consumer insights and creativity in Indonesia, Southeast Asias biggest market.

Nick Marrett Arcade Founder and Group CEO (pictured) said, We believe driving growth through creativity is key to building great client relationships. It feels good when a client like Suntory gives you one brand, Arcade delivers and then the client rewards us with three more iconic brands. Suntory want to grow and in Arcade they have found an entrepreneurial partner with the creativity to make that happen.

Arcades relationship with Suntory began in 2015 when they won a pitch for MYTEA.
| BY Lynchy |

Hakuhodo Singapore takes an innovative approach to launch the new Biore UV Body Care Serum  a body moisturiser with SPF properties and anti-pollution benefits.

Unlike conventional methods, Hakuhodo Singapore created an interactive educational content piece on mobile that involved the viewers to actively participate in the storytelling.

Targeting office ladies, just before they head out for lunch, the ubiquitous mobile phone was used as an amplifier to inform and educate them on the importance of UV protection and hydration.

Supporting the content on mobile, the integrated campaign also included time-sensitive engagement in the digital space, as well as traditional awareness messages on traditional media.

James Keng Lim, Creative Director of Hakuhodo Singapore said, For any piece of content to be successful, it has to be personalised and speak to a specific person with a specific need in their specific buyer journey. Through a mashup of dayparting, content, and mobile strategy, we empower the ladies to be their own bosses to interact and be educated, all in their own time.

To gain traction with our target audience, we needed to up the ante. Leveraging on mobile, digital and conventional media, we were able to expand our reach to a targeted audience, more efficiently and effectivity, added Chua Hui Min, Kao Singapore Brand Manager.

Since its launch three weeks ago, the video has been watched for almost 31,000 minutes with more than 80,000 views thus far, resulting in a 47.5% engagement rate.
| BY Lynchy |

This Ogilvy Philippines concept sees KFC travel to the Venice of the Philippines in Artex Malabon, where floodwaters have not receded in decades.

The environment has prevented lifelong resident, Nanay Cora, from celebrating her birthday in over 60 years because it is difficult and costly to leave the compound. While she manages to go through her day-to-day life with a smile, KFC thought she deserved much more on her special day.
"There they (the politicians) don't know each other. Here (at OPH) everybody mingled. There they go back to their own offices. They are surrounded by people who think the same as they do. (They) don't know their opposite numbers or anybody else. It is much easier to be nasty to someone you don't know."
The ACT government insisted the laws, which were watered down from an original proposal allowing individuals to be held for a far longer period, struck the right balance and ensured the person's rights were limited in the least restrictive way possible.
Australia, on the other hand, has dragged its feet on complying with the IEA 90-day stockpile requirement. It imports a great deal of petrol, diesel and jet fuel from South Korea. Should supplies be cut from there, we will have to find it from other refineries, like Singapore, though that cannot be assured. What Australia should be doing right now is ensuring all its storage tanks are full. We should also consider buying or renting second-hand oil tankers to increase our inventories and get closer to the IEA requirement. We should also consider cancelling new oil-dependent infrastructure like road tunnels and airports and replace them with electric rail projects.
"I don't think he should be in there in the first place, they could have just given him a good kick up the bum and sent him home."
While institutions will be hit with an efficiency dividend of 2.5 per cent, equal to a reduction in university funding of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years, students will see a 8 per cent rise in course fees and a lowering of the HECS repayment threshold to $42,000 from $55,874.
Image 1, Vol. 3, entitled "Walk Unto Dusk", is just a proper finish to a fine day; an opportunity to be thankful in prayer, located at Washington, NC: Above. Image 2, Vol. 3, entitled "Cold Walk Above the Pamlico", is just one of those moments that lifts one to know that they are alive, here on the Trestle spanning the Pamlico River, located at Washington, NC: Below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.

Image 3, Vol. 3, entitled "Cold Water Below", was photographed on a unique morning in December that captured my imagination as I was riding by, located at Washington, NC: Above. Image 4, Vol. 3, entitled "Looking Back", was from that same morning, located at Washington, NC: Below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.

Image 5, Vol. 3, entitled "Seeking Supper", is that image which reminds one that fishing for a meal can be a beautiful thing, located at Washington, NC: Above. Image 6, Vol. 3, entitled "Longing", was that remarkable shot as the schooner past through the gates of the constant muse, located at Washington, NC: Below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.

Image 7, Vol. 3, entitled "Snowy Walk", is that snowy walk that leads to somewhere, located at Washington, NC: Above. Image 8, Vol. 3, entitled "Winter's Embrace", looks like it leads back to the Pamlico River Trestle, located at Washington, NC: Below. photos by Stan Deatherage Click images to expand.

I have a growing collection of images, the vast majority of which are in North Carolina, that I am now offering for sale in a limited edition format, which, as most of you know, means that I will sell a certain number of prints, and then the reproductions for that image end for perpetuity. This limited edition format will include a total of 7 to 12 reproductions, which could be printed in various formats and sizes, but, due to quality control issues, these images will not be published at any size wider than 18 inches.Most of these images have been taken over the last few years, mostly with my latest DSLR, and I would not offer them now unless they were print-worthy, and frame worthy. All printed images sold will be signed and numbered.If interested, you can contact me: onby PM, on(soon) by PM, or stan@beaufortcountynow.com by email, or contact my newly minted agent, Lynn Deatherage, at lynn.deatherage@yahoo.com.These images are of places, that at a particular moment, were beautiful, or dramatically unique. Some of these images have already been used on BCN, as well as other company publications, mostly in the popular ongoing series Across North Carolina . I hope you enjoy these pictures in some capacity now, and, or in the future.All of these images, in this series, are dedicated to the promotion of a limited edition series for sale, and can be found here in succeeding volumes.Staying in Washington, NC, we continue with the Trestle across the Pamlico River.It is a unique muse, the trestle, even for the lone fisherman.Well, it looks like we are staying in Washington, North Carolina as a finishing point to this post, with the Trestle still present. Print prices are reasonable, and will stay that way, as I negotiate how to best get my work out there to the World.To view all volumes of the images for sell as limited edition prints, and, remember, it is a growing group, please click here
That whole crazy running thing for introspective acceptance, fun and some much needed exercise: Above and below. Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.

Dancing fools: Above. It was an explosive relationship: Below.

Bradley Cooper is a most versatile actor: Above and below. Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.

They say love can make you a little crazy. And the movie begins by showing how 2 people are living proof of that. Pat (Bradley Cooper) loves his wife, Nikki. But after he came home unexpectedly andcaught her in the shower with another man, he nearly killed him. As part of a plea bargain, he agreed to spend 8 months in a psychiatric ward and take medication for his bipolar disorder. During that time, he became determined to win his wife back through hard work and selfless acts.Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence, Academy-award winner) loved her husband. And after he died in a tragic car accident she felt responsible for him being out driving at the time and she sank into a deep funk - interrupted only by frequent, meaningless sex.The title of the movie is "Silver Linings Playbook" and that's because Pat is determined to find the silver lining in his series of misfortunes. In fact, he adopts a personal motto - "Excelsior," a Latin word meaning "forever upward" - to guide him in his quest to win Nikki back and restore their marriage. For example, he believes he lost the affections of his wife because he was fat and inattentive and maybe even intellectually lazy. To win her back, was determined to better himself - running relentlessly, reading the books Nikki reads, and practicing being more attentive. He begins to ask himself: "What would Nikki want me to do?"While at first his dedication to Excelsior and his desire to win Nikki back border on creepy, you can't help but find nobility in his drive to improve himself and to prove himself the man his wife would like him to be. But then you find yourself asking: "Was he crazy because of a chemical imbalance or crazy because he was with the wrong woman?"When Pat meets Tiffany, there is an obvious attraction between two deeply flawed human beings but also some hostility. Each thinks the other is "crazier" and passes judgment. Pat calls Tiffany a slut and Tiffany accuses Pat of being a hypocrite for criticizing others while not acknowledging his own shortcomings. Underneath the tension, you sense a deep friendship will develop. Initially they are drawn to one another for the mutual benefit they can provide each other: Tiffany can sneak letters to Nikki from Pat (around the court's restraining order) and Pat can be the dance partner that Tiffany needs in order to enter a coveted dance competition that she's been dying to compete in. But in each other, their one-time faults are no longer that. They are comfortable with one another and no longer judge each other. He realizes she is a "beautiful bird with a hurt wing who just needs time to heal" and she realizes that Pat is uptight and quirky because of the tight constraints and high expectations that Nikki placed on him during their years together. She tells him: "You know what your problem is? You're afraid to live."Silver Linings Playbook is true to its title. Pat and Tiffany both find the silver linings in their situations. Sure they were hurt and were hurting but those same unfortunate situations taught them valuable lessons about their humanity and helped them find the good in themselves. In Pat and Tiffany, we're see two hurting people who need each other and grow to love each other. Through their awkward, often sweet romance, we see them heal and grow. Their relationship forms a strange catalyst that helps smooth over old family wounds and conflicts. After the dance competition, Pat sees Nikki in the audience and walks over to her, clearly thrusting a dagger into Tiffany's heart. He has a short conversation with her (he whispers in her ear so you don't know what he says to her) but then looks for Tiffany to celebrate their accomplishment - their dance scores. At that time, he gives her the last letter he will write. With that said, and without giving the ending away, let's just say that by the end of the movie, everyone is happier, healthier, and optimistic about their shared futures.Rated R. Released on DVD April 30, 2013. 122 minutes of run time.
BISMARCK, N.D.  North Dakota's governor is asking President Donald Trump for federal reimbursement of $38 million in state law enforcement costs related to months of protests over construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Gov. Doug Burgum emailed Trump on Saturday, seeking a presidential disaster declaration to pave the way for federal aid. Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki confirmed the request to The Associated Press on Monday.

White House officials didn't immediately comment on the likelihood of Trump declaring a disaster. Trump has been a champion of the fossil fuel industry and pushed for the completion of the disputed and stalled pipeline just days after taking office in January.

North Dakota's two senators, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Republican John Hoeven, have said a $1 trillion spending bill that Congress is considering includes money for a Justice Department program that could help with North Dakota's bills. But any reimbursement through that program is likely to make only a small dent.

North Dakota's costs resulted from about six months of protests against the $3.8 billion pipeline built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners to move North Dakota oil to Illinois. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of opponents camped in southern North Dakota, often clashing with police and National Guard soldiers who set up a staging area nearby that morphed into a small village. There were 761 arrests in the region between early August and late February.

The Legislature and Burgum recently approved borrowing money to fund the protest response, but that money would have to be repaid by state taxpayers. State officials and North Dakota's congressional delegation have long pushed for federal reimbursement to avoid that.

"The DAPL protest is the first time the state of North Dakota has experienced civil unrest of this magnitude," Burgum said in his lengthy letter to Trump. He added that the protest "was of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments."

The Justice Department's Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Program might be an option for some of the costs, according to Heitkamp and Hoeven. The bipartisan, $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill that's before Congress this week includes $15 million for the program.

The money would be for law enforcement emergencies nationwide in fiscal 2016 and 2017, meaning if North Dakota applied the state likely would have to compete for money, and any grant amount likely would be relatively small. Examples of past grants include $2.7 million after Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989, and about $625,000 during the Waco standoff in Texas in 1993.

It still could be "a critical and needed step forward," Heitkamp said, though she acknowledged, "we still have more to do."
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Around 122 colleges in India have been shut down progressively during the academic year 2016 to 2017. The higher education regulatory body AICTE has granted progressive closure to these colleges after they sought it. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana are the places where most of these colleges are located. However, the students who are already pursuing their studies will not be affected by this move as the closure will happen only after their completion and their certificates would remain valid.

The numbers in each state are listed below:

Gujarat - 15

Telangana - 7

Karnataka - 11

Uttar Pradesh - 12

Punjab - 6

Rajasthan - 11

Haryana - 13

Why were the colleges closed?

A senior AICTE official said, "Failing to survive, private engineering colleges either seek progressive closure to ultimately shut down or turn into polytechnic or science and art colleges. Since the best lot of students takes admission in prestigious colleges like IITs, NITs and other centrally funded institutions, the others left in the fray settle for private colleges. The low number of enrollments makes it difficult for institutions to survive.''

Given here are the list of colleges in major places:

Karnataka

S.NO. COLLEGE NAME 1 B V BHOOMARADDI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 2 CMR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 3 EAST POINT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FOR WOMEN 4 KLESS MCA COURSE BVB COLLEGE OF ENGG TECH. CAMPUS HUBLI 5 KVG COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 6 MVJ COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - MCA 7 PES INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT 8 R R COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES COMPUTER APPLICATIONS 9 REVA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 10 V. V. SANGHAS INSTITUTE OF HIGHER STUDIES IN MCA 11 VIDYA VIKAS EDUCATIONAL TRUST POLYTECHNIC

Telangana

S.NO. COLLEGE NAME 1 AL-MADINA COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE 2 BLUE BIRDS COLLEGE OF PHARMACY 3 HOLY MARY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE MCA 4 JAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE FOR WOMEN 5 KAMAKSHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 6 SRI GEERVANI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 7 SRI NAGOJI RAO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCEWOMEN

Gujarat

S.NO. COLLEGE NAME 1 ARC INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 2 B R PATEL INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER APPLICATIONS 3 C.K.PITHAWALLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 4 GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 5 J.H.PATEL COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGYPROPOSED MBA PROGRAM 6 J.S.S.S.S.S DIPLOMA PHARMACY COLLEGE DHARMAJ 7 K.P.PATEL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT COMPUTER STUDIES KSMCS 8 LATE SMT. SHARDABEN GHANSHYAMBHAI PATEL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 9 MERCHANT COLLEGE OF DIPLOMA ENGINEERING 10 OAKBROOK BUSINESS SCHOOL 11 R.H.PATEL COLLEGE OF PHARMACY 12 S. P. K. M. M. B. A. COLLEGE - JETPUR 13 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN DIPLOMA ENGINEERING COLLEGE 14 SRI MIRAMBIKA COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT 15 TOLANI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Uttar Pradesh

S.NO. COLLEGE NAME 1 ACCORD BUSINESS SCHOOL 2 ALLAHABAD INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 3 BARAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 4 GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY ALLAHABAD 5 GREATER NOIDA GIRLS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 6 GREATER NOIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MCA INSTITUTE 7 I.T.S - INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT 8 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 9 R.B. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 10 SANJAY INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT 11 SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENTDRONACHARYA GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS 12 TAKSILA BUSINESS SCHOOL

Haryana

S.NO. COLLEGE NAME 1 AMBITION INSTITUTE OF POLYTECHNIC 2 GEETA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY 3 GITM INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 4 GURGAON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 5 INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY 6 JK PADAMPAT SINGHANIA INSTITUTE OF MANAGMENT TECHNOLOGY JKPS 7 M R POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE 8 N.C.INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY 9 P D M COLLEGE OF DIPLOMA ENGG TECH 10 P.D.M. COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT 11 PRABHU DAYAL POLYTECHNIC 12 SGT INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 13 UNIVERSAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Rajasthan

S.NO. COLLEGE NAME 1 APEX INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 2 APOLLO POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE 3 ARAVALI POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE 4 BIYANI INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY FOR GIRLS 5 CAREER POINT TECHNICAL CAMPUS 6 GYAYAK COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT 7 INDIRA GANDHI BALIKA NIKETAN MCA INSTITUTE ARDAWATA 8 JECRC UDML COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 9 MAHARISHI ARVIND INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT CATERING TECHNOLOGY 10 SWASTHYA KALYAN POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE CHAKSU 11 UTTAM CHAND MALI DEVI COLLEGE OF MGT. SC.

Punjab
The dates for the AIMS test has been released by the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). It is an entrance exam named AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA-2017). The exam is scheduled to be held on June 25.

Educational requirement

Candidates must possess a graduate degree from a recognised university or institute.

Age criteria:

The minimum age limit for taking the test is 21 years.

How to apply for ATMA 2017?

In order to apply for ATMA 2017, candidates can log on to the official website aims.org.in

Paper pattern:

The exam paper comprises six sections such as:

Analytical reasoning skills

Verbal skills

Quantitative skills

Verbal skills

Analytical reasoning skills

Quantitative skills

Note:

It is to be noted that negative marking is applicable, 0.25 mark will be deducted from the marks obtained.

Dates to remember

Close of payment (through gateway): Second week of June

Last date for reprint of filled-in application form: Second week of June

Date of ATMA: June 25

Declaration of results: Around third week of June

About ATMA

The exam is conducted for taking admission to Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) programs offered at various institutes/universities.

JEE Advanced 2017 Registration Ends Today: Apply Now!
When GE Capital announced last November that it was pulling the plug on its Billings operations center by the end of this year, eliminating scores of jobs, it sent shockwaves through Billings. Despite the shock, the announcement didnt come as a major surprise.

GEs decision was like waiting for the other shoe to drop because the company had announced in the spring of 2015 that it planned to sell off GE Capital and exit the finance business. As that process was set in motion, it appeared that the days were numbered for places like the Billings operations center, otherwise know as GE Capitals Billings Center for Excellence.

Local economic development officials and Montanas congressional delegation sprang into action, making the case for keeping around 200 GE jobs in Billings.

GEs finance arm had contributed significant profits to the company over the years, but Wall Street thought the banking business was too riskly. As a result, the company has embarked on a plan to return to its industrial roots. From now on, GE will concentrate on producing things like jet engines, wind turbines and MRI machines. It will leave other companies to deal in credit cards and equipment leasing.

GEs exit from the Billings market had the potential to leave a big scar in the West End, a large building, which Big Sky Economic Development owns and leases back to the company.

As it turns out, economic development officials were looking for a new tenant months before GEs announcement last fall.

In February of 2016, BSED officials toured the Bozeman-area offices of Zoot Enterprises, a high-technology company founded by Billings native Chris Nelson. Zoot, founded in 1990, developed a system that allows financial institutions to make instant credit decisions on loans.

On average, Zoot services about 1.5 million loans per day. The company has about 260 employees in the Bozeman area and has operations in Switzerland, Germany and England. Zoot is often mentioned as a Montana success story in the states emerging technology sector.

Before long, it appeared that Zoot would become a suitable replacement for GE in Billings.

Under a letter of intent approved by the BSED board of directors on April 13, Zoot will purchase the building for $8 million, and an appraisal will take place. In addition, BSED and GE will help defray the $2.5 million cost of making improvements to the building, which was completed in 2009.

Zoot hopes to hire about 25 people during its first year in Billings, and additional people could be hired in years to come.

Steve Arveschoug, executive director of BSED, says the deal is good for Zoot, a company that hopes to continue expanding, and its good for Yellowstone County, which will benefit from new jobs in a growing sector.

With this transaction, BSED will exit the real estate business and net around $5 million when its completed. That money can be used to spur future job creation in Yellowstone County.

This timely move by Zoot is a reminder of the last time Chris Nelson and his brother, Mike, made a big investment in Billings. In 2009, the Nelson brothers bought the bankrupt Northern Hotel at a sheriffs auction and launched a multimillion dollar renovation that was completed in 2013. Thanks to the Nelson brothers, the Northern has been resurrected as a shining star of downtown Billings. And it's not a stretch to imagine that the new Zoot campus will become a center of job creation.
Visva-Bharti University has launched a short term certification course in Chinese language. Already, 25 army personnel have enrolled in the course with more numbers awaited, as per the officiating vice-chancellor of the university Swapan Kumar Dutta.

The University's 'Cheena Bhavan' has been deputed to teach the language to soldiers. As per reports, the certificate course in Chinese (Mandarin) was started recently and aims to introduce the Army personnel to the rich Chinese culture and inform them about the centuries old tie between India and China.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria for enrolling in the course is not different for the army from the general category candidates.

Where is the Chinese course for army conducted?

The course is being taught at an Army establishment since it was not feasible for Army Personnel to attend classes in Cheema Bhavan in Visva-Bharati campus.

About Cheena Bhavan

Cheena Bhavan started in 1937 and works towards creating awareness about Chinese culture in the country. According to Dutta, the certificate course should be viewed as a part of the continuous cultural exchange process set in motion eight decades ago.

MoU for the Chinese language course

An MoU was signed between the university and the Army's Eastern Command in February to facilitate academic exchange programmes and educational cooperation. The MoU was signed by the Registrar on behalf of Visva-Bharati university and Brigadier General Staff (training) on behalf of HQ Eastern Command.

Who attended the signing ceremony?

The signing ceremony was also attended by Lt. General Praveen Bakshi and the Officiating Vice-Chancellor. Dutta said that the MoU has also facilitated the setting up of a library at Fort William (Eastern Command headquarters) where Bengali, Hindi and English translations of Tagore's works were being kept.

Speaking about Cheena Bhavan's other initiatives, Dutta said, "While our students are being recognised internationally for their command over the language, in China students of the institute who are part of the exchange programme with Cheena Bhavan organise Bengali cultural events at their campus and sing 'Rabindra Sangeet'."

He also said that the university is working on Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's vision of broadening the mind through linguistic and cultural exchange. He also highlighted the help Chinese Consulate provided in setting up a 'Modern Chinese Laboratory' with modern equipment at Cheena Bhavan.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week instructing Secretary Ryan Zinke to review dozens of national monuments with an eye towards either shrinking the monuments or eliminating them altogether. The order involves all monuments designated in the last 21 years that are larger than 100,000 acres or those that Zinke decides were designated without enough local input.

Designated in 2001, the 377,000-acre Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is subject to this review. Established the same year, Pompeys Pillar National Monument could also be scrutinized.

Flanking Trump and Zinke at the signing was a delegation from Utah: Gov. Gary Herbert, Sen. Orrin Hatch, and Rep. Rob Bishop  none of whom have been shy about expressing their contempt for national monuments and their desire to sell off public lands. Using the same overheated rhetoric these politicians use to smear monuments, public lands, and public land managers, Trump made it clear he was signing the order at the behest of his Utah allies  an affront to the 77 percent of Montanans and 80 percent of Westerners who, according to a 2017 Colorado College poll, support existing national monuments.

With this order, anti-public land extremism rooted in Utah now casts its shadow over Montana, threatening our outdoor way of life, our public lands, and the business owners and ranchers whose livelihoods depend on those lands. It also threatens our culture, history, and outdoor heritage  the parts of our national and regional identity that monuments are designated to protect.

Trumps order comes at a time when Utahs lawmakers and others, including Sen. Steve Daines, are pushing legislation to gut the Antiquities Act. A central pillar of Theodore Roosevelts legacy, this 1906 law gives U.S. presidents the authority to designate monuments  that is, to set aside and safeguard public lands with outstanding natural, cultural, historical, and scientific value to the people of this country. Over the past 110 years, 16 presidents  eight Democrats and eight Republicans  have used the Antiquities Act to designate 157 national monuments.

Trump made quite clear in his remarks that he shares his Utah allies contempt for this law because he claims it gets in the way of oil, gas, and mining corporations that want to exploit these places for their own short-sighted ends.

In the two years leading up to the designation of the Upper Missouri River Breaks in 2001, a series of local meetings occurred across Montana. They involved the secretary of the Interior, Montanas governor and congressional delegation and the Bureau of Land Management. Polls and comments showed then, as they do now, that a majority of Montanans think the Missouri Breaks deserved to be protected. Its designation as a monument provides that protection while also allowing cattle grazing and maintaining the valid mining claims and oil and gas leases that existed at the time of designation. To this day, even opponents of the monument acknowledge that the designation has had no effect whatsoever on private property.

Protection of this vast landscape ensures that future generations will enjoy the same opportunity we now have to experience some of the best big game hunting in the world; to view tipi rings, rock art, and other artifacts that go back thousands of years; and to camp and hike in the same riverside spots that Lewis and Clark did in 1802. Like Pompeys Pillar, which memorializes a place on the Yellowstone River where Capt. William Clark etched his name, the Missouri Breaks and other monuments allow us to physically connect with our history and participate in our outdoor heritage  in perpetuity.

But not if Zinke and Trump kowtow to the demands of Utahs politicians.

Montanas three monuments, including the Little Bighorn Battlefield, are places that tell the story of where we come from and of who we are  as Native Americans, as European Americans, as Montanans. Join us in urging Secretary Zinke to stand up for our cultural heritage and leave the Antiquities Act and our national monuments alone.
With a brand new generation BMW X3 right around the corner, it was only a matter of time until its sportier sibling put on some vinyl and stepped into the light.



Spotted alongside other BMW and Mini prototypes, this X4 is wearing surprisingly light camouflage, letting us see its new belt line, as well as what appears to be a more muscular rear end with a slightly lower profile.

For example, the badge on the rear of the current-generation X4 is positioned pretty high up, at roughly mirror-level, whereas on this prototype its clearly in line with the doorhandles.

What this means is that the new model might actually look more like a Fastback than a Coupe thanks to the lower rear end and new roofline.

If you believe the camouflage, the taillights tend to look a little bit Mercedes GLC-ish, but thats one big if. We say innocent until proven guilty, so lets hold out on the strikingly different taillights theory until BMW offers some type of confirmation.

The 2018 BMW X4 will share its scalable CLAR architecture with the all-new X3, which means it should be both lighter and more PHEV-friendly than the outgoing model. Speaking of powertrains, we should see a number of rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants, with both petrol and diesel engines. Recent reports say to expect a flagship M-Powered version (X4 M), capable of delivering around 400 HP with the help of an eight-speed automatic transmission.

As for the cabin and on-board tech, the all-new 2018 X4 as well as the X3 could feature some, if not most of the gadgets found on the all-new 5-Series  such as semi-autonomous driving tech, new ParkNow feature, or the updated voice-operated systems that can understand natural speech.

Right now, its hard to say if the 2018 X4 will join the X3 at the latters anticipated Frankfurt Motor Show premiere in September. The X4 could just as well arrive later on in 2018 (possibly as a 2019MY). Once it hits showrooms, it will look to give the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, Range Rover Velar and eventually the 2019 Audi Q4 a run for their money.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops

PHOTO GALLERY
An absolutely insane Nissan S14 Silvia caused mayhem at the conclusion of Top Marques Monaco last month, roaring along the streets and eventually attracting the attention of local residents and police.



The Silvia has been created by Brill Steel Motorsport as a ferocious drift car but hasnt actually attended any drifting events, instead just doing the rounds at car shows throughout Europe. While it may not have seen any on-track action, it certainly has all the right ingredients to be an absolute animal.

Beneath the carbon fiber skin sits a 720 hp LS3 V8 outfitted with NASCAR internals and a Nitrous system that lifts power to 900 hp.

It has no mufflers or sound deadening and a straight exhaust system, allowing it to spit flames at a moments notice and emit a roar which prompted a local resident to complain and call the police.

VIDEO
Indian car manufacturer Mahindra is pondering launching into the U.S. and Chinese markets with an electric supercar designed by Pininfarina.



While speaking with Market Watch at the ongoing Seoul Motor Show, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra said that the vehicle would be branded a Pininfarina.

Were exploring right now the potential of building an electric supercar, which will be branded Pininfarina. Certainly, were looking to sell it in the U.S., he said.

Mahindra purchased Pininfarina for $28.1 million in 2015 and the company understandably believes that the best way to crack into the Chinese and American markets is with a bold supercar that appeals to the wealthiest car aficionados.

Competing in the U.S. is like the old Frank Sinatra song that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. So, when you sell cars in the U.S., it forces you to be the most competitive, Mahindra said.

No specific details about Mahindras potential supercar project have been announced but it could conceivably borrow some styling elements from Pininfarinas H2 Speed Concept introduced at last years Geneva Motor Show.

PHOTO GALLERY
The upcoming F1-based hypercar wont be Mercedes-AMGs only plug-in hybrid, as the brands chief, Tobias Moers, recently revealed.



In fact, the high-performance model will be just the icing on the cake, as the production version of the AMG GT Concept, shown in Geneva earlier this year, will follow, under the EQ Power+ moniker, which was introduced on the W08 F1 car.

Talking about it with AutoNews, Moers said that it is the next level, because the hypercar is a very dedicated layout. With the GT Concept, it gives you and understanding of how we define the future of performance in our standard platforms  in our so-to-speak more normal cars.

Forced to confront with the stricter emissions requirements and regulations, Mercedes-AMG will eventually adopt the plug-in hybrid technology in the rest of their products, as this is seen as the way to move forward and find new innovative solutions, according to the brands chief.

And full electric models are also seen in the companys future, Moers said, but he did not give a timetable: I would be wrong to tell you no. I dont know when down the road. But we are not changing the future. It Is going to happen.

Note: Mercedes-AMG GT Concept pictured

PHOTO GALLERY
GREAT FALLS  A federal judge has accepted a Montana woman's guilty plea to second-degree murder for the death of a 13-month-old girl whose body was found in a trash can.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris set an Aug. 10 sentencing hearing for 43-year-old Janelle Red Dog of Poplar.

Red Dog told Morris that she had been taking care of 13-month-old Kenzley Olson when the girl became sick with pneumonia.

She says she hit the girl twice on April 18, 2016, to quiet her, and the baby also slipped and hit her chin that day.

She says the girl stopped breathing on the drive to the hospital the next morning, so she put Kenzley in a duffel bag and dumped the bag in a trash can.
Mitsubishis new chief operating officer has a host of plans for the companys future and is pondering bringing a new sedan and pickup to the U.S.



With the company revitalized by entering into the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Mitsubishi is expected to return a full-year profit for the year ending March 31, a dramatic turnaround from internal forecasts prior to Trevor Mann becoming the new COO.

Speaking to Automotive News, Mann revealed that the United States as well as China and Southeast Asia are considered as the primary drivers of its ongoing recovery and is well aware of the added flexibility the automaker has after partnering with Renault and Nissan.

According to Mann, it would be conceivable for a pickup based around a Nissan platform to be launched while Renault-Nissan could also receive a tap on the shoulder to help Mitsubishi create a new sedan in the wake of the Lancers impending death.

Its something that we should look at. As we go forward and start to have common platforms, an alliance pickup platform would be quite an appropriate thing for us to do, Mann said.

As it stands, Mitsubishi already offers a pickup overseas, including in Australia and Japan where it is badged the Triton. Bringing a similar model to the U.S. could prove to be a winning move by the marque.

Beyond the potential of these two new vehicles, Mann suggested that it could restart manufacturing in North America after shutting down its sole facility on the continent last year.

One of the things that we have to start looking at is perhaps further industrialization. We dont have a plant in the U.S. anymore. Maybe using Nissans capacity, he said.

PHOTO GALLERY
Opels best-selling model last year, the Corsa, is in for a replacement, which will come in two years time.



According to German newspaper AllgemeineZeitungMainz, cited by AutoNews, the successor of the current supermini will be built using technology from PSA, after the German brand moved under their umbrella earlier this year.

This makes the new Corsa, which will be made at the companys largest manufacturing site, in Zaragoza, Spain, the fourth joint-project with the French automotive giant, after the Crossland X and Grandland X SUVs, and the Combo utility vehicle.

Based on an entirely new architecture, the new-gen Opel Corsa will be offered with 3- and 4-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, with turbocharging technology and a range-topping OPC that is believed to use a 1.6-liter unit.

Rendering courtesy of KleberSilva

PHOTO GALLERY
Step 1: The concept

The idea behind Godflesh was the representation of a god in all of their majesty  theyre in human form but also in thought form. Shadow sees them for the first time when he meets the new god Technical Boy (Bruce Langley). The flesh of these gods melds into different things, from cables and wire, to fleshy pieces and other materials, but still in the shape of a human.

That meant the visual effects crew had to find a way to acquire a performance from an actor which was not just motion capture but also representative of their whole body. That acquired performance could then be used to re-skin the actor.

The dictum was to essentially get a volumetric performance capture on set during the normal course of production, explained visual effects designer Kevin Tod Haug. So the idea was to be as light on production as you possibly could be so that when that scene came up we would slide in some sort of rigging, capture the volume in the middle of that same lighting, and then get out.

Step 2: Shooting Godflesh

A number of different set-ups were tested to work out how to capture this volumetric data. Initially a rig with 20 cameras in stereo pairs was tried out, but it proved difficult to synchronize so many together. In the end, a rig of between five and seven digital cameras was devised. It was made up of the main ARRI Alexa camera and smaller URSA Mini cameras from Blackmagic Design.

The whole point was to be nimble, since American Gods was filming fast like most television productions. As visual effects director of photography David Stump noted, those URSA cameras were very synchronizeable, and they were light and portable enough, and flexible enough, that we could just fly them in on a moments notice and build the array and shoot, and tear it out in a live action scenario.

On set, the actors were filmed performing the roles. Initially, the system was imagined without the need for tracking markers to be placed on the actors faces or bodies, but some markers were eventually added, in order to deal with difficult lighting conditions and to make it easier for tracking the cg animation.

Step 3: Re-skinning

BUF in Paris then took that footage filmed with the camera rig. Their task was to extract the performance capture and utilize the multiple angles of the actors to re-skin them into the Godflesh look. It was effectively a photogrammetry solution (where multiple photographs are used to build a 3d model and textures). In this case, however, it was like moving photogrammetry.

BUF is just really great with working with photogrammetry of one kind or another, said Haug. Theyre sort of the inventors of photogrammetry as a cg technique in our business. [BUF worked with Haug on the groundbreaking photogrammetry effects in Fight Club].

If you compare it with, say, regular motion capture, added visual effects supervisor Jeremy Ball, then BUF was not just generating an animated skeleton that theyre then applying to a model. Instead, theyre actually getting, at 24 frames per second, a shifting volumetric 3D mass of pixels. Theyre actually getting a kind of moving sculpture.

In fact, the visual effects team considered these more like three-dimensional voxels, rather than pixels. And they even gave the technique a name  Sladar  in reference to the director David Slade.

The result was that BUF could use the Sladar to drive the different kinds of animated skins on the gods, such as wire mesh. It was something the studio was able to control with high precision given the enormous amount of data at its disposal.

And Haug believes theres more that can be done with the system  for American Gods they pulled back slightly to suit the needs of the story.

I have to say that we touched about two per cent of its potential.
British Columbians will soon be voting in the provincial election for the candidate and party they think can best represent their interests in Victoria.



As long-term residents of Kelowna-Lake Country, we are writing today to express our support for Norm Letnick. It is our intention, as both constituents and citizens of this province, to vote for Norm, and share our belief that the BC Liberal party and their policies, best serve and deal most effectively with the our provinces various needs.

The BC Liberal Party is mainly a coalition of Federal Conservative, Liberal and former Social-Credit supporters. It is a coalition of free enterprisers with a social conscience, who agree on many issues, including that the BC Liberals can most effectively represent us in this election.



Over the years we have worked closely with Norm Letnick, Steve Thomson and Christy Clark. We know they are each strong community advocates and, along with their amazing staffs, have collectively worked tirelessly for the Okanagan and BC.



Over the past few weeks we have met with various party candidates, thanked them for making our democracy work better, and commended them all for putting themselves forward to serve BC.



However, given the challenges facing our province, the sense of uncertainty so prevalent today, and upon considering the various party policies, we strongly believe that Norm, Steve and Christy, the Liberal party candidates in this riding, can best provide the stability, the certainty, and the policies to ensure that BC continues to be the most secure, economically viable, and vibrant province in Canada.



Protest votes have their place in the democratic process, and voting for change is a mantra without a rational debate behind it. However, the BC Liberal party has led this province to become a leader in Canada and we are certain, will continue to provide strong, stable and focused leadership.

Special thanks to Norms wife Helene, Steves wife Brenda, Christy's son Hamish and all of their families for their support as we know public service involves sacrificing family time.

Please take a few minutes out of your busy lives to get out and vote in this election! Advanced polls start this weekend and Election Day is May 9. We are supporting Norm, Steve and Christy and the BC Liberals: we thank you for both your support and getting out to vote!

Sharron Simpson (Federal and Provincial Liberal Supporter)

Ron Cannan, P.C.
An animated video, explaining how property taxes are calculated and what they are used for, has been added to the City of Vernon website.

The three-minute video, developed by local firm Sproing Creative, is the first in a series from the city designed to inform residents about complex subjects including taxation, capital works and more, according to a city press release.

City staff prepare and mail approximately 19,000 property tax notices annually in the third week of May.

Property taxes are due the first working day in July, to avoid a penalty of 10 per cent.
Photo: City of Kamloops

An unstable slope continues to slough above a Kamloops neighbourhood.

The instability caused the evacuation of the Rayleigh subdivision last week.

Slope monitoring equipment was installed over the weekend at the Palmer-Forsyth area, and readings indicate continued downward movement of the hillside.

In addition, the city is working with the provincial government and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to investigate mitigation efforts.

This is expected to include installation of a pipe to divert water from a spring above the sloughing area. That work would take approximately seven days to complete.

The water diversion is expected to improve drying of the hillside and stop the soil movement.



The evacuation order for residents of Ramage Road remains in effect while the city continues to monitor the slope. Residents have been provided with 13 days of emergency support services.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The protectionist approach of U.S. President Donald Trump means European companies are looking to "exploit" new opportunities in Canada, the European Union's agriculture minister says.

That's one reason why Phil Hogan, the EU's commissioner for agriculture and rural development, is leading a trade mission of 60 mainly European food and drink companies to a major industry event Tuesday in Toronto.

That European business delegation stayed home while Hogan was in Washington last week for talks with U.S. officials, he told The Canadian Press in an interview Monday.

"We see Mr. Trump's declaration of being more protectionist as an opportunity for the European Union to be able to pivot to other parts of the world and other regions in order to exploit the potential that is there," Hogan said.

Hogan's visit comes after Canada's Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne pushed the same trade diversification message on a trade mission to China last week where he had Canadian softwood lumber representatives in tow. As yet another softwood skirmish  the fifth in 35 years  was breaking out with the U.S., Champagne was stressing the need to find new markets for Canadian forestry products.

Hogan met Monday with Champagne and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay before heading to Toronto, where he and his entourage of European companies from 23 EU countries will attend an international food and beverage trade show.

Hogan said he's confident Parliament will ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) before the summer break, which would mean more than 90 per cent of it would take effect under what is called provisional application.

The European Parliament ratified the deal in February.

Negotiations towards a similar EU-U.S. trade deal are not officially dead, but Hogan said that with Trump in the White House, they are currently on hold.
Photo: RDOS left of frame is Campbell Mountain Landfill

Residents around the Campbell Mountain Landfill are wringing their hands and holding their noses at the possibility that wastewater treatment sludge could continue to be composted on the site for decades to come.

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen is currently holding open houses as it decides on a new location for its organic compost (food scraps, yard waste) facility. Theyve settled on one of two locations; at the Summerland landfill or on the southern end of PIB territory.

During last weeks meeting for Penticton residents, described as a barn burner by attendee Pamela Willis, residents let the RDOS know loudly that they wanted the biosolids (sludge) composting facility out of the landfill.

It does not belong there, theyve allowed subdivisions up here, theres now quite a lot of population up on the hill, she said, referring to residents up Spiller Road, where she has lived since 1975. It stinks.

While the RDOS runs the landfill on land leased from the city, the City of Pentictons biosolids composting facility is also situated there. Sludge from the citys wastewater treatment plant is trucked up the hill, mixed with wood chips, and turned into compost.

Once the RDOS decides where it will be moving its organic composting operations, the City of Penticton will make a decision if its biosolids plant will leave with it. But the possibility that it could stay put, or worse, move to the other side of Spiller Road, has residents alarmed.

Everyone who uses Spiller Road will be driving through the middle of the dump, because it will be on both sides, Willis said Thats absolutely unacceptable to everyone up here.

She added that many people use the area in question for recreation.

But City of Pentictons public works manager Len Robson said they are still years away from making such a decision, estimating it could be three years before the RDOS has its new organic compost site up and running.

Theyve talked about us moving on the other side of the road, but weve not agreed to anything, its in discussion, and when I say discussion, I mean its been brought up, he said.

The RDOS is currently piloting a project that uses mature biosolids-based compost as a bio-cover to capture gases escaping the landfill, and Robson admits, if that pilot proves succesful it could make sense to leave the biosolids composting facility at the landfill.

There may be a good case to take all of our biosolids compost that we currently produce and use it for that process, because they would need everything that we could possibly make, he said.

RDOS solid waste management co-ordinator Cameron Baughen heard loud and clear from residents worried about having to drive through a landfill on both sides to reach their home, but said the wastewater treatment sludge facility will have to move outside of the current footprint of the landfill eventually.

As the landfill expands, we are running out of space, he said, talking long term, 20-30 years.

Baughen acknowledges that the RDOS doesnt know if they can bring the citys biosolids composting with them to wherever the new organic composting plant is built, because we have not acquired it yet.

Robson also noted that there have been informal discussions about rerouting Spiller Road all together, should the biosolids facility actually end up moving directly east of the landfill.
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Castanet News is sitting down with each of the candidates in the Penticton riding for one-on-one interviews to talk about the issues as they see it. You can find our interview with B.C. Green Party candidate Connie Sahlmark here, and we will be sitting down with B.C. NDP candidate Tarik Sayeed later on this week.

Voters only need to look at Dan Ashton's past to see what he'll bring in the future, according to the man himself. That past, he says, is a record of servicing the people in the Penticton riding.

In a one-on-one interview with Castanet News, Ashton said his greatest pride as Penticton's representative in Victoria was the newly named David Kampe Tower currently being constructed at the Penticton Regional Hospital.

"As the incumbent, and now as the challenger again, coming up, I'm standing on my record," he said. "I made two promises. One was to pay for the byelection (following his resignation as mayor), as everybody knew it, I stepped forward, but the most important one to me, and a bunch of people that I had the incredible opportunity to work with was to ensure that the Dave Kampe Tower got under construction."

With schools saved last year by last-minute funding from the provincial government in the form of the rural education fund. But as another year has passed, school districts have expressed concern that the fund won't be a stable source for schools in the riding.

Ashton told Castanet he was prepared to go to bat for the schools, but added that the community needs to get creative on the issue.

"And with all due respect, I disagree with the school board. The school boards had the opportunity, there was a very, very, very respected accountant in this community that stood up at those meetings and said, '(The school districts) have know about this for 10 years,'" Ashton said, adding that the community has lost 1,900 students since 2001.

"There are opportunities that an incredibly great group of parents ... step forward with ideas, and I think those ideas really have to be looked at in earnest by the school board to make sure that these become more of a community facility."

On affordability, Ashton says for a multi-faceted issue, a multi-pronged approach is required from the provincial government, making note of the inclusion of "in-law suites" in the Sendero Canyon developments to help with mortgages.

"There's been money that's been put forward for first-time homeowners on an interest forgivable for the first five years up to 37,500 by the government, but there's not going to be any quick fixes in this," he said, referring to the B.C. Home Owner's Mortgage and Equity Partnership.

"The job situation here in Penticton is tenuous, good paying jobs.... Those good jobs have disappeared. It's a challenge for government."

On the issue of justice, Ashton has called on the justice system to "step up," which he told Castanet meant there needed to be greater deterrence for those who are committing crimes. He pointed to an example of someone he says has overdosed 17 times.

"There's a personal responsibility, and I'll be the first to admit, there are extenuating circumstances why in society why people fall into this," he said. "But just think about an ambulance attendance attending this person X number of times when someone else is having a heart attack.

"How many chances have to be given? And I hope all chances are given, but at some point in time, people have to be held accountable to themselves."
A free event offering donated prom dresses, hair styling and makeup to Native American students will be held Saturday at the Sacred Pipe Resource Center in Mandan.

Prepping for Prom event organizers Dakota Eagle and Cheryl Kary, executive director of the Sacred Pipe Resource Center, partnered with two high schools that have prom this weekend: Bismarck High School and Solen High School. This first public event aims to help young Native American women feel special for prom, an important  and expensive  occasion many students look forward to throughout their high school years.

Because both schools have prom on the same day, and Kary is originally from Cannon Ball, Kary reached out to Solen's prom coordinator, who told her some girls would definitely be interested.

"(Solen's prom coordinator) said it would be so awesome for those girls, because a lot of them barely can afford a dress, much less all the extras  the hair, the makeup and the nails," Kary said.

Eagle also usually does nails at a monthly Sacred Pipe Resource Center event, where Native American women can get free hair, nail and makeup services. Several years ago, Eagle worked as a paraprofessional at Cannon Ball Elementary School. Last year, a group of girls, whom she had worked with at the Cannon Ball school, had their turn to go to prom. So, she helped those girls get ready.

"I asked Cheryl if she knew of any girls in the area who were needing help, to let me know," Eagle said.

Instead, Eagle and Kary decided to make it a bigger event in order to reach more girls.

Kary created a Facebook event page and put out a call on social media for volunteers in the community.

"We got responses right away," Kary said, including from a Minnesota make-up artist who is driving to Mandan this weekend.

Veronica Mahpiya, a Native American makeup artist from Minneapolis, said she learned about the event after seeing the Facebook post seeking volunteers. Mahpiya said she had wanted to do a similar event, empowering Native American women and making them feel pampered, in her own state.

When I found out they were doing something like this, I got really excited, Mahpiya said. I want to help these girls feel beautiful.

Mahpiya works for a cosmetics company in Bloomington, Minn., and has been doing makeup professionally for about six years. She said she hopes the event will help give the girls confidence.

I feel like indigenous beauty isnt recognized enough," she said.

Mahpiya didn't have a chance to go to prom, because she had her daughter when she was 17. Mahpiya, now 26, said she hopes Saturday's event will also show the students there are successful Native American women, like herself, to whom they can relate.

More than a dozen sparkly and bedazzled gowns have been donated to the Sacred Pipe Resource Center. About 13 girls have RSVP'd to the event, mostly from Solen, but Kary said last week she contacted Bismarck Public Schools' Johnson O'Malley program for Native American students, and she hopes more students will come now that the word is getting out.

There are about 10 volunteers for the event, including a woman who will braid hair and a photographer who will take photos of the girls standing in front of a twinkly backdrop.

The Prepping for Prom event will be held from noon to 4 p.m. at the Sacred Pipe Resource Center, 400 W. Main St. For more information or to volunteer, contact Kary at cheryl@sacredpipe.net.
Photo: Twitter

Voting day is still a week away, but hundreds of thousands of British Columbians have already cast ballots in the provincial election.

Elections B.C. opened advance polls last Saturday and Sunday, offering voters a chance to skip lineups and vote early.

The agency says 231,034 British Columbians took advantage of the opportunity ahead of election day on May 9.

Liberal Leader Christy Clark was in the Vancouver area yesterday, pledging that her party will create jobs and defending her government's record on climate change after a prominent environmentalist endorsed the New Democrats.

Tzeporah Berman sat on a climate-change panel tasked by the Liberal government with creating recommendations on climate change, but says the recommendations weren't fully implemented so she's supporting the NDP because of their commitment to act on the issue.

The NDP's John Horgan took aim at the Liberals on climate change during a town hall meeting while Green Leader Andrew Weaver took his campaign to the Okanagan.
Photo: The Canadian Press

British Columbia Liberal Leader Christy Clark is threatening to impose a carbon tax on thermal coal coming from the United States.

Clark told reporters while campaigning today in Merritt that she wants to make it uncompetitive to ship the coal through the province's ports.

She says if the federal government won't act, the Liberals would develop regulations that impose a carbon price of about $70 per tonne on thermal coal if they are re-elected in the May 9 election.

The plan escalates a threat she made last week after the American's imposed an average duty of 20 per cent on Canadian softwood lumber.

The coal moves through B.C. ports to be shipped to China, but Clark says it's among the dirtiest and most carbon-intense methods to generate power and heat.

NDP Leader John Horgan says if Clark was serious about thermal coal she could have done something about it years ago, accusing her of only reacting now because of the election campaign.

"The only job she cares about is her own," he said at a campaign stop in Kamloops.

About 6.6 million tonnes of thermal coal was exported through B.C. ports last year, 94 per cent of that came from the United States.

Clark says banning the coal is the right thing to do for B.C. producers of liquefied natural gas, who can help fill the need for cleaner energy in Asia.

"And now is the right time to do it, because while good trading partners co-operate, the United States has launched this unfair assault against key sectors of our economy and the workers they employ," she said in a news release.
Jonathan Haidt is a member of one of America's smallest fraternities -- those who attempt to see beyond their own prejudices. In the left-leaning Chronicle of Higher Education, he notes that "intimidation is the new normal" on college campuses. The examples are well-known: The shout-down/shutdown of Heather Mac Donald at Claremont McKenna College; the riots sparked by Milo Yiannopoulos at Berkeley; the experience of Charles Murray at Middlebury College, where he and professor Allison Stanger were physically assaulted by a mob. Stanger was sent to the hospital with injuries. She said she feared for her life. Haidt writes:

"We are witnessing the emergence of a dangerous new norm for responding to speakers who challenge campus orthodoxy. Anyone offended by the speaker can put out a call on Facebook to bring together students and locals, including 'antifa' (antifascist) and black-bloc activists who explicitly endorse the use of violence against racists and fascists." Because of flagrant 'concept creep,' however, almost anyone who is politically right of center can be labeled a racist or a fascist, and the promiscuous use of such labels is now part of the standard operating procedure."

The only word I'd quarrel with is "new." America's campuses have been down this road -- and worse -- before.

At San Francisco State, it began with a fire in a dormitory. Hundreds of students awoke to a screaming alarm and rushed from their rooms in bathrobes as smoke and flames rose 30 feet from the roof. That no one was killed or injured was a miracle. The three-alarm fire left the social room of Merced Hall a smoking ruin. The year was 1967. The following year, the campus would be host (and I use that term advisedly) to the longest "student strike" in history. Dozens more fires were set, and radical students were able to shut down the entire campus for four months (there was even an attempted bombing). The college administration, in the face of law breaking, beatings and intimidation by radical students, backed off like cowards.

Thomas Sowell was a professor at Cornell University in 1969 when bands of armed black militant students forced visiting parents out of a campus building and then "occupied" it until their demands were met. Sowell wrote:

"The armed occupation of Willard Straight Hall was about reprimands -- mere reprimands -- received by some members of the Afro-American Society for previous disruptions and violence on campus. It was a demand for exemption from the authority of a duly constituted faculty-student disciplinary body that had dared to slap them on the wrist. Apparently existing de facto double standards were not enough, though such double standards were so well established that, when a parent, evicted from William Straight Hall by the students taking it over, phoned campus security, the first question he was asked was whether the students who had evicted him were white or black. When he said they were black, (he) 'was told that there was nothing that could be done.'"

At Columbia University, students took faculty members hostage, occupied the office of the university president (David Shapiro was photographed smoking a cigar in the president's chair) and took control of Hamilton Hall. Radicals shut down the entire campus and then battled the police, with one student permanently disabling a police officer by breaking his back when he leaped onto him from a second story window. And yet the administration and large numbers of faculty, rather than denounce the student thugs, praised and flattered them. University presidents from Yale (Kingman Brewster), Columbia (Grayson Kirk) and Cornell (James Perkins), among countless others, responded with pusillanimity to the radicals' absurd demands and tactics.

But not at San Francisco State. Two presidents in quick succession had resigned rather than confront the students who were disrupting campus and committing violent crimes. And then came a third. A seemingly unprepossessing professor of semantics named S. I. Hayakawa was appointed acting president. As the radicals were chanting, drum beating and refusing to disperse, he jumped up on one of the sound trucks and pulled the plug on their speakers.

Instantly, he became a national hero, a celebrity status he was able to parlay into a seat in the U.S. Senate from California.

Hayakawa had no trouble rejecting the cant and cowardice all around him. Asked why, being of Japanese extraction, he didn't side with minorities, he said he certainly did, but the radical activists did not speak for the majority of blacks or anyone else. They were media creations, he said, adding that TV news suffers from an excess of "show business values."

There's an opportunity awaiting someone, anyone, on today's campuses, too. Stand up to the social-justice warriors, tell the truth, and you may find yourself a household name.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem described the U.S. border with Mexico as a war zone last year when she sent dozens of state National Guard troops there. Noem said theyd be on the front lines of stopping drug smugglers and human traffickers. But newly released records from the National Guard show that in their two-month deployment, the South Dakota troops didnt seize any drugs and sometimes went days without encountering any migrants at all. Noem justified the deployment and a widely criticized private donation to fund as a state emergency because of drugs making their way across the southern border to South Dakota. But the records cast doubt on whether the deployment was effective in addressing that.
Virginia College in Chattanooga will host a Career Fair Wednesday, May 17, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the campus at 721 Eastgate Loop. The event is free and open to the public, featuring career development opportunities, refreshments, giveaways, mock interviews and career workshops. Attendees will be entered to win prizes such as a Chromebook and an Amazon gift card.

Community members planning to attend must call 893-2000 to register with the campus prior to the event.

The event is part of Virginia College parent company Education Corporation of Americas national Career Fair events being held at 64 other Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute and Virginia College locations throughout 17 states.

Hosting a Career Fair presents such a valuable opportunity for students, local employers and community members alike, says Campus President Dominick DeLorenzo. Especially in todays job market, networking is becoming increasingly valuable, and we are eager to help facilitate these professional connections. We are grateful for the opportunity to invest in our community and in the Chattanooga job market with this career development event.

Community partners and local employers representing Maximus Healthcare, Erlanger Hospital and CVS will be present at the Career Fair.

The event will also allow attendees to explore the programs offered through Virginia College, including: Business Administration, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Medical Assistant, Medical Billing and Coding, Pastry Arts and Pharmacy Technician programs.

For more information about Virginia College in Chattanooga, visit https://vc.edu/chattanooga.




I am a political essayist, cultural critic, educator, and host of the podcast known as "The Chauncey DeVega Show"





I have been a guest on the BBC, National Public Radio, Ring of Fire Radio, Ed Schultz, Sirius XM's Make it Plain, Joshua Holland's Alternet Radio Hour, the Thom Hartmann radio show, the Burt Cohen show, and Our Common Ground.





I have also been interviewed on the RT Network and Free Speech TV.





I am a contributing writer for Salon and Alternet.





My writing has also been featured by Newsweek, The New York Daily News, Raw Story, The Huffington Post, and the Daily Kos.





My work has also been referenced by MSNBC, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, The Christian Science Monitor, the Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times, Raw Story, The Washington Spectator, Media Matters, The Gothamist, Fader, XOJane, The National Memo, The Root, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Free Press, the Global Post, The Lost Angeles Blade as well as online magazines and publications such as Slate, The Week, The New Republic, Buzzfeed, Counterpunch, Truth-Out, Pacific Standard, Common Dreams, The Daily Beast, The Washington Times, The Nation, RogerEbert.com, Ebony, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.





Fox News, Breitbart, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Juan Williams, Herman Cain, Alex Jones, World Net Daily, Twitchy, the Free Republic, the National Review, NewsBusters, the Media Research Council, Project 21, and Weasel Zippers have made it known that they do not like me very much.
From left, Mike Land, Dan Stelmach and Nick Sky are co-founders of ChangEd, an app that rounds up spare change from purchases and saves the extra amount to go toward student loan debt. (Kristan Lieb / Blue Sky)

Burdened with student loan debt? A Chicago startup is looking to change that.

ChangEd, based at 1871, uses spare change from routine purchases to pay down student loans.

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The company's iOS app tracks each purchase in your checking account, rounding it up to the next dollar and transferring the money into an FDIC-insured account held by ChangEd. When the balance reaches $100, the cash is sent to your student loan company.

For example: Spend $2,307.65 at the Apple Store and 35 cents goes to your ChangEd account. Spend $3.19 at the coffee shop and 81 cents goes to your ChangEd account. The company charges users a $1 monthly fee.

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The payments from ChangEd are made on top of regular monthly payments. That can help save thousands of dollars in interest without budgeting or planning payments, said co-founder Nick Sky.

The ChangEd a (Kristan Lieb / Blue Sky)

Sky, 29, started the company with his brother, Dan Stelmach, in August 2016, after Stelmach came to him with the idea.

Stelmach, 26, who got a degree in small business and business management from DeVry University while working full time, wasn't seeing a big decrease in the balance of his student loans even though he was making monthly payments, Sky said.

He looked at the spare change and payment idea, and brought it to Sky.

"He thought if we rounded up spare change from everyday purchases, we might be able to save something," Sky said.

Sky, who has a degree in entrepreneurial studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, could relate.

"I thought it had a lot of potential. A lot of people are struggling," Sky said. "I have student loans. All of my friends have student loans. It's something I felt would be impactful to a huge market."

By rounding up their transactions, Sky saw he could put away an extra $30 to $50 a month. Stelmach and Sky tested the concept with friends who handed over their bank statements and found potential for the same type of savings.

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The company says a borrower who pays $50 extra each month could save up to $10,000 in interest, based on a $37,000 loan with a 25-year repayment plan.

Stelmach said he has invested more than $20,000 into the project; the company said it has no other funding at the moment. The brothers hired a developer, Mike Land, who's since become a third co-founder.

Student loan debt totals more than $1.3 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. More than 11 percent of that loan debt was more than 90 days delinquent or in default as of December 2016.

Sky, who left a job running an e-commerce store to work on the project, said ChangEd differs from other passive savings models that round up purchase amounts because their app takes the extra step to send payments.

ChangEd soft launched in April, a month before it was planned, after Apple's App Store featured the company in its "New apps we love" section. The company says it has about 1,700 users now.

ChangEd currently works with about 80 percent of bank accounts in the U.S.; an update planned for later in May will provide more bank coverage, Sky said.

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Later updates plan to let users link credit cards, as well as allow friends and families to have their spare change applied to paying down loans of others. An Android app is also in the works.

Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance writer.

Twitter @cherylvjackson
What would it take to make every Chicago neighborhood and suburb better for walking?

It's one of the big questions the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is mulling as it prepares to develop its regional plan for 2050. The agency is hosting a series of panels and gathering community input to spur discussion on five trends and how Chicago can prepare for them.

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Joanna Trotter, senior program officer of the Chicago Community Trust, leads efforts to award grants that promote equality in community development, including making them more walkable.

Trotter will be a panelist at CMAP's forum on walkable communities May 4. She talked to Blue Sky about the structural and social considerations to make walkability available to everyone.

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Q: Could you quickly define what it means to be a walkable community?

A: What we mean is simply the infrastructure is in place with street, transit and bike availability and places that people want to walk. Can you walk around your neighborhood? Are sidewalks wide enough? Do you have bike lanes? Are there any transit links? Is there a place to park and walk around the corridor? Are there offerings and options for things you would want to walk to, whether it be sidewalk cafes, retail options, public health opportunities, or libraries? Is it safe and inviting?

Q: What's driving the desire to make neighborhoods more walkable?

A: There are a number of factors but I think there's more interest in being able to be in the community. It's not just about walking. It's about basic, human interactions, the surprise of bumping into people.

As we look to 2050 and see the increased reliance on technology and the diminishing opportunities for basic face-to face-interactions, walkable communities are going to become increasingly important as an essential pathway to building community. Neighborhoods and walkable communities  and the community infrastructure that supports them  will become even more important to facilitate the kind of neighborly interactions, chance meetings, and civic and community building that are so vital to our lives today.

Q: What are local examples of the challenges and opportunities to get more pedestrian friendly?

A: I've lived here since 2003 and came from outside of the region. What a surprise it was that many suburbs don't look like strip malls and housing subdivisions. You have really well-established communities like Oak Park, Aurora, Arlington Heights and Evanston, cities with important bones of more walkable neighborhoods or communities. That's what Chicago and the region has going for it.

The challenge here is that in neighborhoods and suburbs, the patterns of development and reinvestment have been very uneven. You have haves and have-nots. The south suburbs have struggled with reinvestment for many years and the south and west sides of Chicago have grappled with it. When the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Urban Institute did a study on Chicago segregation, compared to the 100 largest regions we're the fifth-most economically and racially segregated region. That, to me, is the biggest challenge.

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Q: How do you fix that?

A: It's really about how we support targeted investment where markets have been overlooked for decades with historic segregation and disinvestment. How do we rethink the way we're investing, particularly in areas that have been struggling for years? It's about revitalization of communities.

Q: What does it take in time, money and other resources to accomplish these goals?

A: I see them as part of a continuum. The Chicago Community Trust funding, with our great rivers, it's looking at the asset of the Chicago River and other parts of the region as a bold vision for the future.

We have our lakefront, we've protected it  and the rivers, not so much. This is a bold vision that will take decades to fully build out, not just for the riverfront but inviting people and giving access to the riverfront. You can start to plan and implement now along the entire river.

Q: What social infrastructure needs to be in place to adapt to walkable communities?

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A: The soft aspects in terms of lighting and the cultural component, the thing that celebrates the life and identity of a community, are important. You need local options, unique options that you can't find everywhere. That's what makes people want to walk to explore their neighborhoods. If I have sense of culture, history and unique offerings, that's going to make it more walkable and attractive so it doesn't look like every one of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago or 284 municipalities in the suburbs.

Q-and-As are edited for clarity and length.

Kate MacArthur is a freelance writer.

Twitter @KateMacArthur
Baxter International will stop dumping treated water into a north suburban lake, the company's CEO said Tuesday, potentially ending a more than 15-year battle with a group of residents.

Baxter is requesting permits to redirect the water into the public wastewater system, said Jose Almeida, chairman and CEO of Baxter, a Deerfield-based company that makes renal and hospital products.

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Baxter has a research, development and manufacturing facility in Round Lake, from which the water eventually flows into Long Lake. A group of residents has been fighting the company's disposal of the water in the lake since the early 2000s.

On Tuesday, members of the group Stop Pollution in Long Lake protested outside the company's annual shareholder meeting. Almeida discussed the issue during the meeting in response to a shareholder's question about the protesters.

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Baxter is in compliance with the law, but some residents near the lake "don't like the fact that we do discharge the clean water into the lake," Almeida said. Redirecting the water to the sewage system means that "water which is already treated will be treated again and would not be discharged into Long Lake," he said.

"I think with this move we will address the concerns" of the residents, he told shareholders.

After the meeting, Paige Fitton, president of the residents' group, said such a solution would please the group, but she'll believe it when she sees it.

"We are hopeful they mean it and are going to make it happen soon," Fitton said. "They're way overdue."

The group of residents who live near Long Lake has long maintained that the Baxter water pollutes the lake, affecting its clarity, health and wildlife.

Fitton said homeowners near the lake switched from septic systems to the sewer system more than 30 years ago to help protect the lake, and Baxter should have followed suit.

After the meeting Tuesday, Baxter said in an emailed statement that it's working with local and regional agencies "regarding our commitment to connect to the public wastewater system." Baxter said it has meetings scheduled in coming weeks to help advance the process of filing and obtaining "the necessary approvals for construction."

Baxter also has been at odds with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in recent months over the issue. In August, the agency sent a letter notifying Baxter of violations, namely that the company had exceeded the permitted level for total suspended solids in the water and not put enough oxygen in the water, said agency spokeswoman Kim Biggs.

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Typically, when a company is in violation, it works with the agency to reach an agreement to resolve the issue. But Baxter and Illinois EPA were unable to reach an agreement.

The agency sent Baxter a notice in February saying it intended to take legal action against the company. In March, Baxter formally responded to that notice, which the agency is reviewing to decide whether to refer the matter to the Illinois attorney general's office.

Baxter said Tuesday its treatment plant has "generally performed well as compared to applicable legal and regulatory requirements." It said it has self-reported "occasional permit exceedances."

"We continuously monitor wastewater discharge and we are operating within all permitted limits today," Baxter said.

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
Association attorneys at a recent conference offered answers to seven common questions about community association law issues. (Matjaz Slanic / Getty Images)

Community association law is extensive and sometimes quirky, and lawyers are expensive.

Attendees at the recent 2017 spring conference of the Association of Condominium, Townhouse and Homeowners Associations had the opportunity to meet with attorneys who specialize in association matters.

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Two such attorneys, David Hartwell of Penland & Hartwell in Chicago and Charles VanderVennet of Arlington Heights, fielded questions and offered legal information.

Here's a snippet of the conversation.

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Q: Who do you represent?

Not the board or board members or other individual owners, VanderVennet said.

"Sometimes an owner says, 'You have to answer to me. I pay you,'" he said. "No, you're not (my client). My client is the association as a whole. To me, that's a nice line of demarcation. It allows me to be objective even though I may not be popular with all the individual board members."

Q: Who tells you what to do?

"There are designated, authorized people  usually the board president or the manager  who can call me up and say, 'I need you to start working on something,'" VanderVennet said. "Or the person who is authorized can designate someone else. The president can say, 'So-and-so is going to call you about this project,' and that's fine."

Q: Do we need an attorney review of every contract before we sign it?

Most boards routinely ask their attorneys to review contracts for expensive capital improvements, but small contracts can be problematic as well, Hartwell said.

"Laundry room, scavenger and management contracts may not be large-dollar contracts, but they often have automatic renewal provisions in them," he said. "You might be spending only $1,500 or $2,000 a month, but if it is a long-term contract, it can be a six-figure contract."

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Q: Do we need our attorney at every board meeting?

"Absolutely not, although some associations want that comfort level," VanderVennet said.

Boards sometimes request the attorney's presence to answer questions when board members know sensitive or hotbed issues will arrive, he noted.

Q: What rules can we pass to prevent short-term rentals?

Maybe you're already protected, Hartwell said.

"Most declarations say you can't operate your unit as a business," he said. "If someone says, 'I'm not operating a business, I'm just renting it out,' I won't argue. My response is, 'Let's go to the IRS and see how you are reporting your income.'"

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Q: How can an association use its right of first refusal to buy foreclosed units?

The right of first refusal allows an association to step in and replace a buyer's offer with a comparable offer.

It's a complicated legal process that requires approval by a supermajority of owners and heaps of ready cash. Most associations can't meet those requirements quickly enough to make the deal happen, Hartwell said.

If an association has the funds and wishes to exercise its right of first refusal, Hartwell outlined a possible strategy: A supermajority of owners may approve a resolution that allows the board to buy units for a certain length of time, perhaps a year or three.

"But you can't use the right of first refusal as a screening method or to not let certain people in," VanderVennet added.

Q: What is the difference between restating and amending the declaration?

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Restating the declaration means changing outdated covenants and provisions to conform to current state and federal law.

"Restating can be done without a vote of the ownership because you are doing what the law requires anyway," Hartwell said.

An amendment changes the declaration in a significant way by taking away a right or by adding a new restriction. Amendments require approval by a supermajority of owners.

"There are procedures you have to go through, or someone will challenge you," Hartwell said. "We can't guarantee no one will file a lawsuit, but if you did it the way you were supposed to do it, you're not going to be subject to liability."

pmckuen@aol.com







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A dance party broke out at Lena Brava on Monday night, a party of mostly one as chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless celebrated another James Beard Foundation Award win.



With fluid moves, Bayless danced with and around his line cooks behind the bar at his restaurant in West Town during a planned after-party, as he and a couple hundred guests reveled in the afterglow of the Outstanding Restaurant award for Topolobampo. The fine dining Mexican restaurant owned by Bayless and wife Deann was recognized earlier in the evening at the Civic Opera House during the James Beard Awards gala. The Baylesses won a previous Outstanding Restaurant Award, for their restaurant Frontera Grill in 2007, and between them have won a total of eight.



The sight of the usually sedate Bayless (best known for his studious Mexican cuisine, serious PBS television series, "Mexico: One Plate at a Time," and yoga practice) dancing was so surprising that when word spread among guests at the loud, lively party, trays of margaritas and short rib tacos were bypassed in the rush to witness the moment. Perhaps the sight wasn't so rare  Bayless had shown his dance moves in public before during the Lookingglass Theater production "Cascabel" a few years ago.



The party packed both main floors of Lena Brava and the attached Cruz Blanca shoulder to shoulder, but conversational corners could still be found upstairs. Guests spotted included EL Ideas chef owner Phillip Foss and Farmer Lee Jones in signature overalls and red bow tie.

Jones was spotted taking photos of a living still life of a woman who rose quite dramatically from beneath a rose-petal-strewn table. She held up a lacy parasol with tiny lights imbedded in the fabric, and just posed there, a knowing smile on her face.

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Tribune's Phil Vettel contributed.
For the second year in a row, a Chicago restaurant took home top honors at the James Beard Foundation Awards as Topolobampo was named Outstanding Restaurant during the annual black-tie gala at the Civic Opera House on Monday night.



The award has a special symmetry, as Topolobampo owners Rick and Deann Bayless celebrated the 30-year anniversary of their next-door restaurant Frontera Grill on Sunday night with a big bash at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2016, Alinea won top honors as Outstanding Restaurant.



Theres the experience of learning so much and bringing back to this country, said Rick Bayless. Theres a spirit of the immigrant in all of us that weve brought back with our work.

The flavors that carry best on the plate, are the very best we create when were living our own truth, said the teary-eyed chef. [Our team] cares for the people that work with us, they care about creating an unforgettable experience for everyone that comes into our restaurant whether they come through the front door or the back. Deann has been the true heart of our restaurant since we opened our doors 30 years ago.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 29 Rick Bayless and Deann Bayless, co-owners of Topolobampo, arrive on the red carpet. Topolobampo went on to win the Outstanding Restaurant award. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Among other categories, Chicago was largely shut out Monday as only one other nominee among the nine restaurants and one restaurant group nominated ended the night with a medal. In the Best Chef: Great Lakes category, which was stacked with Chicago talent, Sarah Grueneberg of Monteverde Pastificio won. (Pro-tip: Get your reservations now.) In the press room, Grueneberg could be seen enthusiastically hugging her fellow winners and friends. Lets make this count, guys! said the exuberant chef.

It was the second year in a row that Chicago chefs had taken all the slots in Best Chef: Great Lakes category. The other nominees were Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark of Parachute; Abraham Conlon of Fat Rice; Lee Wolen of Boka; and Erling Wu-Bower of Nico Osteria .

Topolobampo, which was nominated for the first time in the Outstanding Restaurant category, is the second restaurant from the Baylesses to win in that category. Frontera Grill won in 2007.



Best New Restaurateur Stephen Starr also celebrated winning the years Best New Restaurant, Le Coucou in New York City, helmed by Chicagoland-native chef Daniel Rose.

Other highlights of the evening included Art Smiths bedazzled ensemble, a cerulean blue three-piece suit covered in iridescent crystals. There are more than I can count! said the chef. I was jogging in Nashville in pursuit of hot chicken, and I thought I wanna look like a country star. Smith sought out Manuel Couture -- who designs for Lady Gaga, Johnny Cash, Elvis and Sir Elton John -- in Nashville and decided on his final suit, designed for Little Richard, as evidenced by the elaborate lining.

Hosted by television actor and food blogger Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the evening's theme loosely centered on social medias relationship with chefs and restaurants. One interstitial moment included chefs reading mean tweets, modeled after the regular Jimmy Fallon segment with a similar name.

The Oscars of the Food World, the James Beard gala was convivial and buzzy, with both winners and nominees toasting to each others achievements. This was the third year the awards have been held in Chicago, after the city won them away from New York. The awards will continue to be hosted here until 2021, with the Media award ceremony still calling New York City home.

Even if you dont include the regional Best Chefs awards, no city or region ran away with all the prizes -- the awards featured a generous geographic spread around the country. Politics filtered in only minimally, with Starr thanking his employees many of whom are immigrants, and Best Chef: New York City Marco Canora claiming the future is indeed female, as he thanked his mother, wife and daughters. Outstanding Chef, the nights top prize, went to Michael Solomonov of Philadelphias Zahav.



For complete results, go to www.jamesbeard.org/awards






Editor's note: Topolobampo, the fine-dining Mexican restaurant owned by Rick and Deann Bayless, won Outstanding Restaurant during the James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday night. (See the story here.) In this 2014 review, read about what has kept the restaurant at the top of its game for nearly 27 years.

Topolobampo is approaching its 25th birthday (toward the end of the year) looking very much like a restaurant gearing up for 25 more.

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It's not just that the cooking is at the highest level that I've ever seen, although that's certainly the case. Chef de cuisine Andres Padilla, who has been running Topolobampo's kitchen for three years, routinely turns out one memorable plate after another, triumphs of technique and scholarship that stimulate the mind as much as they do the palate.

But there's a vibrancy to the dining room as well; the space is colorful and soothing at once, the music restrained yet infectious, and I could look at the art on the wall all day long. The all-smiles, quietly assured front-room staff gives diners the confidence to immerse themselves in the experience. Order a margarita, which will be hand-shaken and poured before your eyes, and you can feel yourself letting go. In Rick we trust.

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Rick, of course, refers to chef/owner Rick Bayless, who has won just about every culinary recognition that matters. He and his wife, Deann, opened Frontera Grill in 1987 and changed Chicago's dining scene forever. Two years later, with Frontera still playing to overflow crowds, they followed up with Topolobampo  a smaller, more upscale room that, unlike Frontera, accepted small-party reservations.

People naturally view Topolobampo as Frontera Grill's younger, albeit more sophisticated, little sister. But in a different world, Frontera might have been the younger sibling.

"That was the place we wanted to create (in 1987)," Bayless says of Topolobampo. "But we realized that starting at that level, with no track record, would have been really hard  unfathomable, really. So we started with Frontera as a midlevel restaurant  but really it was above that, considering what Mexican restaurants were like then."

A quarter-century later, Frontera Grill remains very much above the midlevel, the standard by which Mexican restaurants are measured. And Topolobampo  well, Topolobampo continues to strive, and to amaze.

Ten weeks ago, I wrote about Topolobampo's mind-blowing "1491" menu, in which every dish consisted solely of pre-Columbian ingredients (which meant no limes, cilantro, wheat and a host of other items). That remarkable effort has been replaced with a "Mexico City 1671" menu that re-creates the "collision cuisine" of indigenous Mexican ingredients and Spanish cooking style. And every eight weeks or so, Bayless will unveil a new seven-course, themed menu.

The regular menu, if one can even call it that, consists of eight flavor-profile categories (six savory, two sweet) among which are scattered 24 medium-plate dishes. Select any three for $55, five for $90 or seven for $120.

Me, I like the unofficial six-course option, wherein the meal starts with one of the menu's three a la carte, shareable appetizers. People don't always think of Frontera/Topolo as a destination for oysters, but the oysters here are absolutely pristine, and the sauces  a "minoneta" of tomatillo and habanero, and chipotle-garlic salsa  are wonderful. And the Trio, Trio, Trio  a sampling of classic ceviche, shrimp-calamari ceviche with sour-orange and habanero, and sushi-grade tuna cocktail with avocado, tomatillo, mango and lime  is pure communal joy. (The third appetizer, the grand seafood platter, is a combination of the previous options.)

After that, your choices can be as adventurous as you are. You can choose very conservatively and still be delighted, beginning with the soul-nurturing sopa Azteca (rich with pasilla, chicken, avocado and cheese), moving on to carne asada (made with 28-day aged prime rib-eye and a 29-ingredient mole negro, this is carne asada as you've never had it before) and ending with pastry chef Jennifer Jones' cajeta (goat-milk caramel) crepes with plantains, bittersweet chocolate and caramelized plantain ice cream.

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But the joy of dining at Topolobampo is reveling in the dishes that no other restaurant attempts. More intriguing treats are available in the form of raw scallops in a lime-habanero broth (the habanero's fiery character judiciously muted), topped with red wakame seaweed, slivers of salt-cured cactus petals and tiny lime bits; and rock-hen breast rolled around pork picadillo and smothered in a tomato sauce alive with toasted sweet spices (clove, cinnamon, star anise). A gorgeous quail tartlet practically overflows with pieces of smoked quail, grilled artichoke and roasted chayote, tied together with a bechamel-based sauce flavored with poblano and epazote.

Among the robust dishes, you can't go wrong with lamb. On one visit, the menu featured roasted leg in a tangy-sweet ancho-tamarind-honey sauce, with some bone-marrow-infused parsnip puree. Currently, the feature is porchetta-style lamb in pumpkin mole, a beautiful pink roulade dressed with leaves of red-vein sorrel.

The must-try dish is the pork in clemole sauce, and not just because, as part of the 1671 menu, it will be available only for another month or so. The complex plate includes roasted pork shoulder and slices of pata negra Iberico ham, along with pieces of charred turnip and savory bread pudding. Pulling the elements together is the clemole, a luxurious, bread-thickened sauce made with red chilies, pine nuts, hazelnuts and pecans. It's really a magical dish.

And while Jones' desserts are all superb (I'm still jonesing, forgive the pun, for the chocolate cake from the 1491 menu), I have to make special mention of the pretty, free-form rice-flour cake, layered with sweet plantains, brandied caramel, plantain pudding and  a terrific surprise element  crunchy, coriander-flavored crumbles.

Topolobampo has a stellar wine list, as well as course-by-course wine pairings selected by sommelier Jill Gubesch; her matches are so pinpoint-perfect (the oloroso sherry she paired with the smoked-quail tartaleta was particularly enjoyable) I'd advise diners to take that route.

Lunch, available Tuesday through Friday, features a lighter, a la carte menu, though some stalwarts from the dinner menu (ceviche trio, carne asada and halibut in three-chili mole de olla) are available. The "Topolo in 60," three courses for $25, is designed for business lunchers on limited time.

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When people ask what makes Chicago's dining scene so special, Topolobampo is one of the restaurants I point to. No other city has a restaurant quite like it. Sometimes I forget how good this place is; today is not one of those times.

Topolobampo

445 N. Clark St.

312-661-1434

rickbayless.com

Tribune rating: 4 stars

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Open: Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, lunch Tuesday-Friday

Prices: Three-, five- and seven-course dinners, $55, $90 and $120

Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Reservations: Strongly recommended

Noise: Conversation-friendly

Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking

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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.

Watch Phil Vettel's reviews weekends on WGN-Ch. 9's "News at Nine" and on CLTV.

pvettel@tribune.com

Twitter @philvettel
A brash summer surprise back in 2014, "Guardians of the Galaxy" had, as they said in the old days, plenty of pep and, for once, a lot of jokes. Audiences responded to co-writer and director James Gunn's Marvel franchise launch; it had a breezy, what-the-hell air, and even with the usual quotient of digital fireballs and shades of doomsday blue and orange, the fun was legit. Chris Pratt, as the alien-abducted earthling with a difference, commanded an entertaining crew of misfit intergalactic bounty hunters, criminals and miscreants.

For the sequel, subtitled "Vol. 2" because sequels are sold by volume, not weight, Gunn has returned as director and writer. With the freedom a big hit affords, his sequel chases after all sorts of weirdo tangents. For example: At one point rakish Peter Quill (Pratt) and company find themselves in the middle of a potentially apocalyptic action sequence. (No other kind in these movies.) A makeshift anti-doomsday device is in the hands of baby Groot, the miniature tree trunk creature voiced by Vin Diesel. Rocket the human/raccoon mutant, voiced by Bradley Cooper in the easiest money he'll ever make, needs some masking tape to mark off the end-of-world button so Groot doesn't make a fatal mistake.

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Rocket gets no help, or tape, from his colleagues busy zapping enemies. The bit keeps going and it actually gets funnier as it goes, and for a second it appears as though the missing tape is going to become a major plot point. It's stupid-smart bits like those that make up for the more routine aspects of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." In fact you could say the tape routine is the tape holding this thing together.

Let's be honest, because it won't cost us anything: This one's a step down from the original. The testy banter between Quill and Gamora (Zoe Saldana, sidelined somewhat here) comes with a here-we-go-again quality, made more apparent by Quill's references to Sam and Diane on "Cheers," one of many earthbound '80s references defining his personality. The plot this time deals with Rocket's theft of the hallowed batteries belonging to the gold-plated natives of The Sovereign, and the resulting chase and battles. Kurt Russell, stepping on over from "The Fate of the Furious" and looking like the happiest guy in Hollywood, plays Quill's long-lost father, a man named Ego with his own planet and a shadowy labyrinth of secrets. (Can any movie go five minutes these days without calling up images of our president?)

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"Guardians of the Galaxy 2" features Russell's lengthy disquisition on the merits of the 1972 Looking Glass hit single "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)," showcased prominently on the soundtrack alongside the rest of Quill's precious mixtape, by which he keeps the memory of his late mother alive. Watching Gunn's busy, clever, indulgent picture, I could've done without the use of oldies as ironically jaunty backing for slow-motion slaughter montages.

Also, that ending! Here we go again. The universe is about to be destroyed, again. Two guys are beating the spit out of each other for minutes on end, again. Gunn may be a far superior superhero storyteller to DC helmsman Zack Snyder (one franchise over, and to the right), but the endless fight sequence capping "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" evokes the endless-prime climax of Snyder's "Man of Steel." I double-dare Gunn, whose early thriller "Slither" promised great things, to get the third "Galaxy" picture down to the two-hour mark, or less. Who'd complain?

Michael Phillips is a Chicago Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and brief suggestive content)

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"  2.5 stars

Running time: 2:18

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Opens: Thursday

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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)
The new album from long-running punk band Bayside (left to right: Anthony Raneri, Nick Ghanbarian, Chris Guglielmo and Jack O'Shea) chronicles their frontman's painful divorce.- Original Credit: Handout (Megan Thompson)

Two years ago, Anthony Raneri, frontman of the Long Island, N.Y.-based punk band Bayside, went through a painful divorce, which he chronicled in real time on "Vacancy," the band's latest release.

"Vacancy" is a musical ticktock detailing the end of a marriage and its scorched-earth aftermath; it's probably the best album the members of Bayside, who got together as teenagers in 2000 and have now been together roughly half their lives, will ever make.

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The band is on a co-headlining tour with Say Anything that reaches Concord Music Hall on Friday night (Bayside will headline the show, which is sold out, and will return for Riot Fest in September).

In a phone interview, Raneri talked about how the best album of his life came from one of the worst times of his life. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation:

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Q: Before this album came out, you had some nervousness about how it would be received.

A: I have a little nervousness with every record, for sure, but we tried to change up the sound a little bit more than usual on this record. I always write pretty honest lyrics and put myself out there, but for the first time, I was asking friends if I was saying too much. The fans like it, that's all we hope for. At this point in our career, we're doing tours and we're making records to make our fans happy. We're no longer about, "How can we make more fans?"

Q: Some of these songs are kind of brutal.

A: The big difference was that most of the stuff I've written on past records was written in hindsight. Now, with (this) record, I was living it. I was writing songs with my now ex-wife in the next room, telling me she wanted to get a divorce, and me going into the next room and writing (a song about it). It was really getting all written in the middle of everything happening. ... They say that there's the five stages of grief. There's denial, there's anger, there's bargaining. All the stages take place on the record.

Q: In hindsight, are you glad you went as far as you did?

A: Yes. The only things that really matter are, I haven't heard anything from my ex about it. I don't think she's heard it.

Q: You really don't think she's heard it?

A: She told me she hasn't. And my daughter  I hope my daughter doesn't one day grow up and think it was a (lousy) thing to have done.

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Q: When you brought these songs to your bandmates, what were they telling you?

A: They were very supportive about it. They know me and they know we're musicians, this is what we do. Eleven years ago when we got into an accident on tour, and our drummer John Beatz died on tour, (lead guitarist Jack O'Shea) and I got acoustic guitars and we finished the tour. This is what we do when we're sad, we play music.

Q: The story goes that you saw the name "Bayside" on a train station on your way to give New Found Glory a demo in 2000.

A: We were traveling through Bayside (in New York City) on the way to their show, and we didn't have a name to put on our demo yet. We drove past the Bayside train station, and we were like, "Just write 'Bayside' on it." You never think when you're starting a band with all your teenage friends that whatever you decide to call it is going to stick with you for the next 20, 30 years. You don't think you're going to be attached to that name forever.

Q: Did you give it to them?

A: Yeah, we did. They were cool enough to listen to it with us. They were touring in a van at that time, they were playing in a VFW hall. They were just starting out, too. They were cool enough to put it on in the van. We stood at the van with them listening to it, and they were commenting on it and giving us tips.

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Q: That sounds great, but super painful.

A: It was. Even though we were going to see them at a VFW hall, they were rock stars to us. We grew up on punk rock. If a band had 300 kids at a show, they were a huge band.

Q: Are you writing songs for the next one already?

A: I have to be honest, I'm trying, and I'm having a hard time. I feel like "Vacancy" was a real accomplishment for me. It's really hard for us, because our goal these days is to feed the fans. We don't want to change the plot. There's lots of bands that I grew up loving that all of a sudden didn't sound like the band I grew up loving anymore, and I never want to be that. It's really important to us to sound like Bayside. ... It's like if you were writing a sitcom for 17 years, and you had to add new characters. How do you do that without (messing) up the chemistry? Every time I finish a record, it's like, OK, I pulled it off. It's stressful.

Allison Stewart is a freelance writer.

onthetown@chicagotribune.com

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When: 6:30 p.m. Friday (doors)

Where: Concord Music Hall, 2047 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Tickets: Sold out

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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)
Before HBO's harrowing prison drama "Oz" and before "The Shawshank Redemption," there was Tennessee Williams' "Not About Nightingales."

Well, sort of. Though written in 1938 for the Group Theater  which rejected it  the play remained mostly unknown until Vanessa Redgrave resurrected it in 1998 while doing research on a different Williams play. It eventually hit Broadway, with Redgrave's brother, Corin, playing the role of the vicious warden, Boss Whalen.

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Raven Theatre's production, under the direction of artistic director Michael Menendian, is sometimes riveting, while also a bit frustrating. The brutality of this tale, which Williams based on a horrifying real story from a Pennsylvania prison, receives no quarter. Given that a jury in Milwaukee just recommended criminal charges against staff at the Milwaukee County Jail in the dehydration death of an inmate last year, it feels all too relevant.

MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR

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Menendian's production starts with a line of inmates, moving with percussive ferocity, highly reminiscent of Monty Cole's production of "The Hairy Ape" at Oracle Theatre last year  another play about men caught in a world where their power is denied and their humanity debased. (In fact, Breon Arzell, who did the choreography for "The Hairy Ape," also does the honors here.)

When the show focuses on the inmates in Hall C, it's gripping. As the title itself implies, this isn't the usual Williams poetry. Jim Allison (Brandon Greenhouse), the "stoolie" who works in the warden's office and provides information on what's happening in the cages below, also writes for the prison magazine. When the warden's secretary, Eva Crane (Sophia Menendian), quotes Keats to him, he tells her that the world they're in is, well, "not about nightingales."

The budding romance between Jim and Eva provides counterpoint to the dark world of the prison, where Whalen tries to break a hunger strike by threatening the men with "Klondike"  an overheated sweatbox of a cell with one air vent. Whalen (Chuck Spencer) has designs on Eva himself, and this is where the show goes into more cartoonish melodrama, even as Whalen's leering Simon Legree-esque boss references "Little Eva" from "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

We understand that Eva sticks with the job because there's a Depression outside the walls of the island prison. (This element echoes San Francisco's Alcatraz, though a precise location isn't given.) But Eva's growing attraction to Jim needs more heat itself for us to invest in them as the forces of good for whom we should root. At present, their interactions feel a tad artificial when they need to feel dangerous.

This is partly the fault of the script, as Williams seems to stop the forward momentum in order to work in a speech heavy with symbolism just as Eva and Jim are pulling closer. Still, Greenhouse brings nuance and suitable watchfulness to his "stool pigeon." He knows he's made a deal with the devil to save himself, but as he tells Eva, "nothing has quite so much value as the skin our own guts are wrapped in."

But the ensemble of men who play the prisoners deliver sharp and detailed performances. Joshua J. Volkers as Butch, the leader of the rebellious hunger strikers, is fearsome and yet also pitiable as he hangs onto the dream of the dancehall girl he believes waits for him outside. Matthew Garry plays two different doomed prisoners, each being driven mad by the torture meted out by Whalen.

Ray Toler's set and Diane D. Fairchild's lighting design capture the nightmarish perpetual twilight of the prison, especially when we see what "Klondike" really means. David Woolley's fight direction lets us feel each vicious kick and blow exchanged between prisoners and guards.

There are elements of dark humor here as well as rough poetry. A scene where a clueless chaplain, played by Kevin Patterson, delivers a sermon at Whalen's behest filled with code words and threats, is grotesque and hilarious at the same time.

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But overall, "Not About Nightingales" feels like a play where Williams hadn't yet found confidence in his own voice. At times, it's as if he's aping the social realism of Clifford Odets. (The first act ends with the inmates chanting "Hunger Strike! Hunger Strike!," which echoes the end of Odets' "Waiting for Lefty.") At other points, it feels like an exercise in expressionism, a la "The Hairy Ape."

Raven's production doesn't overcome the rough seams Williams used to stitch together the tonal disparity in this story. But there are some tough visceral performances, and it's fascinating to see the hints of where Williams would go in the future in mapping his stories of the dispossessed.

Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

"Not About Nightingales" - 2.5 Stars

When: Through June 4

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Where: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St.

Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Tickets: $46 at 773-338-2177 or www.raventheatre.com

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2017 Tony Awards nominations: 'Hello, Dolly!' 'Great Comet' and Laurie Metcalf

What's the (stage) story?

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An appreciation of Martha Lavey that would not have been appreciated







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
"Word by Word" by Kory Stamper, narrated by Stamper, Random House Audio, 9:48

Kory Stamper's voice is full of nerdy energy, and it is one of the lovable things about Stamper's "Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries." Stamper is a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster, determined to explain how dictionaries are created, which is another lovable thing about this book, especially if you're even a teensy bit of a word nerd. Hers is a refreshing "throw out those certainties" view of our ever-evolving language  surely a frustrating approach for those who like to declare that a few good lessons in sentence diagraming would be the salvation of American literacy. Take the sentence, "What can they do but try?" Is that word "but" a conjunction? Your sixth-grade grammar teacher would say yes. But Stamper demonstrates that such conviction should remain in sixth grade. Adult English needs a more nuanced appreciation and possibly an X-rating for its fecund copulation with every language it bumps against. Stamper's writing is as clever and fun as her voice is charming. Here she is on language acquisition: "It begins with someone's explaining the universe around them to a rubbery blob of drooling baby, then progresses to that blob understanding the connection between the sound coming out of Mama's or Papa's mouth  'cup'  and the thing Mama and Papa is pointing to." Rather than pin the butterfly of English to the specimen board, Stamper presents the language in its natural habitat, full of contradictions, breaking the hearts of pedants everywhere. Real word nerds will treasure this romp, irregardless of where they stand on diagraming  or irregardless.

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"Swimming Lessons" by Claire Fuller, narrated by Rachel Atkins, Audible Studios, 9:23

Maybe it would be best if you didn't know that Rachel Atkins, the narrator of Claire Fuller's "Swimming Lessons" was the voice of the miserable female gargoyle in a "Harry Potter" video game. It might mislead you into skipping the sensitive reading Atkins gives to this heartbreaking book of fractured hope. On July 2, 1992, Ingrid Coleman wandered away from her novelist husband, Gil, and two daughters. And although Gil searched frantically for his missing wife, chasing every rumored appearance, she is never found. To say her disappearance upended her daughters' lives isn't quite fair; their lives were already unbalanced as Gil wandered away from his family whenever it suited him, disappearing for long periods without a word or forwarding address. While he was gone, Ingrid wrote him letters. "I am a writer of truths, a factualist," she tells him. "No more lifting of carpets or turning of blind eyes; what we'll have here, in these letters, are bald, bare facts." She tucks each message inside books in Gil's burgeoning book collection. Each chronicle the story of their love, marriage and, too soon, the gradual collapse of Ingrid's belief in her future. When "Swimming Lessons" opens, Gil, now an old man, has finally begun to discover the letters. Atkins' simple performance, and the musicality of her voice, add a fine shading to the depths to Fuller's graceful prose, creating an admirable combination of story, writing and narration.

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"In the Name of the Family" by Sarah Dunant, narrated by Nicholas Boulton, Random House Audio, 14:11

Some narrators' voices work like compass points in an unfolding drama, keeping the listener focused and on track. Nicholas Boulton has such a voice. He smoothly conjures a crowded Italian court of characters with his gift for accent and personification. Sarah Dunant's second tale of the papacy of Alexander VI, "In the Name of the Family," has the perfect narrator in Boulton. If you missed the first part of this tale, "Blood & Beauty," which begins when the Spaniard Rodrigo Borgia elbows his way to the Chair of St. Peter, it won't erode your enjoyment here. "In the Name of the Family" easily stands alone, and I found it the more intriguing of the two books, due to its twin perspectives of Niccolo Machiavelli and the pope's daughter, Lucrezia Borgia. Machiavelli is diplomatic adviser for Florence, a sharp observer of the aging pope and his rapacious son, Cesare  possibly the inspiration for Machiavelli's classic work of political influence, "The Prince." Lucrezia's story gets a feminist reboot; in Dunnant's hands she is both pawn and wily politician. After her jealous brother murders her second husband, the pope marries her off in a political alliance to the Duke of Ferrara. Lucrezia's journey to her new husband takes her from court to court, where she captures cities by her charm while her brother captures others with bloodshed. Among her conquests is Urbino. "No, brother, she says to herself as she turns from the window. You are not the only one who can take cities."

Jenni Laidman is a freelancer.






Last summer, the Pew Research Center released a study showing that for the first time, more 18- to 34-year-olds live at home with their parents than in any other arrangement.

So Patricia Lockwood's decision to move with her husband, in the face of medical and financial hardship, back in with her parents in Kansas City "after twelve long years away" is hardly exceptional unto itself. No, what makes it exceptional is that they are throwing themselves "on the mercy of the church," which Lockwood explains in her delightful and debauched prose debut, the memoir "Priestdaddy," "exists for me on this earth in unusually patriarchal form." This is because her father, Greg Lockwood, is one of a small and little-known number of married Catholic priests.

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As Lockwood explains, if a married minister of another faith "converts to Catholicism, he can apply to Rome for a dispensation," which, if granted, means, "He is allowed, yes, to keep his wife. He is even allowed to keep his children, no matter how bad they might be." Because her dad became a Catholic after having been a Lutheran minister, his paperwork was approved by Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), permitting him the right to work as a priest free of the requirement of clerical celibacy.

Author of the acclaimed poetry collection "Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals," Lockwood has been hailed by The New Yorker as "the poet laureate of Twitter," where she has more than 64,000 followers. The New York Times has dubbed her the "smutty-metaphor queen," and she is deservingly renowned for her boundary-pushing wit and smutty apercus.

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Here, using the same offbeat intelligence, comic timing, gimlet skill for observation and verbal dexterity that she uses in both her poetry and her tweets, she delivers an unsparing yet ultimately affectionate portrait of faith and family. And her metaphors really are deserving of royalty status, as when she tries to capture her beloved sister, Mary, saying, "I have, on different occasions  described her as 'a tricked-out club Chewbacca,' a 'highly literate female Tarzan,' and 'a jaguar who went through a human puberty.' "

Describing the Lutherans of her father's first flock with characteristic irreverent incisiveness, she writes, "If Jesus himself appeared in their midst and said, 'Eat my body,' they would first slather mayonnaise all over him." The frequency of her jokes and the grotesqueness of her hilarity lead to a high density of pleasure; virtually every page is packed with the potential to make the reader laugh out loud.

Author Patricia Lockwood (Grep Hoax)

Yet even as "Priestdaddy" is a book of leisure, capable of entertaining the heck out of you and letting you escape from your own life, so too is it a book that has something to teach you  with real pathos.

Some comedians get nervous if too many minutes go by without a laugh, cracking jokes neurotically whether the gags are necessary or not. Lockwood's jokes, though, seem neither defensive nor compulsive. Rather, they deliver something essential to the voice, character and content of her story. Moreover, she can get deadly serious when the subject merits gravity, as when she writes about the child sex abuse scandals that began to rock the Catholic church in the early 2000s.

After a raucous recounting of a celebratory dinner that she and her family attended that was presided over by Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn, who would later be forced to resign by Pope Francis for his role in shielding pedophile priests, she writes: "All my life I have overheard, all my life I have listened to what people will let slip when they think you are part of their we. A we is so powerful. It is the most corrupt and formidable institution on earth.  The we closes its ranks to protect the space inside it, where the air is different. It does not protect people. It protects its own shape."

Impressive in its amplitude  ranging from Lockwood's own coming of age as a poet and feminist to her exchanging sexual information with the seminarian also living in her family's rectory, from her husband's eye surgery to her father's getting arrested at an abortion clinic sit-in  "Priestdaddy" gives both believers and nonbelievers a great deal to contemplate. "The air of a subculture is a different air," she notes. "It is harder to breathe, but it gives purpose to every part of you, to every cell."

Frequently at odds though she is with the strict and restrictive worldview in which she was raised, Lockwood nevertheless concludes that "faith and my father taught me the same lesson: to live in the mystery, even to love it." In this memoir, she practically dares the reader not to do the same.

Kathleen Rooney is the author, most recently, of the novel "Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk."

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'Priestdaddy'

By Patricia Lockwood, Riverhead, 352 pages, $27






Barbara Nickles and Ligia Toro de Stefani are both women in their early 60s who were diagnosed with abnormal cells in a breast, or Stage 0 breast cancer as it's sometimes labeled. Nickles decided to have a double mastectomy. Toro de Stefani opted for "active surveillance" and a twice-yearly battery of tests.

"I wish I had breasts, but I am also happy they are gone so that I don't have to worry so much about breast cancer," says Nickles, whose grandmother had the disease.

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"Quality of life is the most important thing to me," says Toro de Stefani, an avid traveler and scuba diver.

The two illustrate the vexing questions facing the 60,000 women a year diagnosed in this country with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a condition in which cancerous-looking cells are found in the breast duct. What exactly is it - a pre-cancer, cancer or more a risk factor? How much treatment is too much? Too little? Which women can safely skip surgery? What about those who want more treatment than their doctors recommend?

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The DCIS conundrum is sparking increasingly heated debate among physicians as well. Most say the condition, while not cancer, needs aggressive treatment because 20 percent to 30 percent of cases will spread to surrounding tissue and become invasive cancer if left alone. To date, that has meant surgery for DCIS patients; most have lumpectomies, often followed by radiation, but some undergo mastectomies. Some women also end up taking an anti-cancer drug - such as tamoxifen - for several years.

But a growing group of oncologists, worried about overtreatment, is stepping up efforts to add another approach - active surveillance - to the anti-DCIS arsenal. Proponents are launching COMET, the nation's first prospective, randomized clinical trial to test whether such close monitoring is safe and effective for many women.

If the answer is yes, backers say, it could spare thousands the pain, trauma and cost of intrusive therapies.

"This is a trial whose time has come," said Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. "Many of us have felt for two decades that this study needed to be done, but we needed to get doctors and patients to the right point emotionally where it could go forward."

About 255,200 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, with about 1 in 4 of those with DCIS - a condition that was rarely identified before mammograms became widespread in the 1980s. Almost all women with DCIS survive over the long term, regardless of whether they get lumpectomies or mastectomies, studies have shown.

The opening of the new trial parallels greater interest in surveillance for a variety of pre- and early-stage cancers. In recent years, the proportion of U.S. men with low-risk prostate cancers being monitored rather than removed has surged to more than 40 percent. Last fall, a study by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York found that active surveillance may be a suitable approach for some thyroid cancer patients.

Shelley Hwang, chief of breast surgery at the Duke Cancer Institute, said COMET reflects the growing realization that DCIS, like breast cancer itself, represents a range of subtypes of abnormal cells and that treatments need to be tailored to individual risks. High-grade DCIS has a fast rate of cell division and is more likely to become invasive cancer, for example, while the low-grade kind has a slower proliferation rate and is much less risky.

But current screening can't differentiate between harmless and worrisome cases.

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"You are going to catch both the sharks and the minnows with the wide net of screening," said Hwang, the principal investigator of the trial. "We are working to identify and treat just the sharks."

Only women who are at least 40 years old and have low-risk DCIS are eligible for COMET. Patients have to agree to be randomly assigned to either active surveillance or standard therapy, including surgery. Women in the surveillance group will see their doctors and get mammograms every six months. Those who develop invasive cancer will be able to switch immediately to the treatment group for surgery and other therapy - which should assure them a high chance of complete recovery, Hwang said.

Both groups will be offered tamoxifen or other drugs to reduce the risk of recurrence.

A key aspect of the trial, which aims to enroll 900 participants at 100 medical centers nationwide, will focus on psychological factors: Do women in the surveillance group experience more anxiety because they aren't moving forcefully against their DCIS? Or do they benefit from a restrained approach?

The impulse to reduce overtreatment is part of a longer-term effort by physicians to "first, do no harm," said Steven Katz, an internist at the University of Michigan who researches how medical decisions are made. And from the reduced use of antibiotics to the dialing back of radiation and chemotherapy for breast cancer, "there's a sea change going on."

Yet while physicians and breast surgeons generally support testing surveillance in a trial, many say that, in practice, the approach has a long way to go. In about 20 percent of DCIS cases, biopsies miss invasive cancers that are found only when surgeons remove the entire affected area.

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Part of the problem is that doctors don't know enough about DCIS to predict when it will remain indolent or become invasive. "If we knew which DCIS was purely DCIS and would stay DCIS, we would never have to treat it," said Monica Morrow, chief of breast surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering. "Understanding the biology is the fundamental issue, but that remains elusive."

A far bigger overtreatment issue, she argues, is the sharp increase in women requesting double mastectomies when they have DCIS or early-stage cancer in one breast. "They say, 'We want it anyway for peace of mind.' "

COMET supporters say the trial could offer a way to discourage such surgeries. "If we can get to the point where we say, 'This is not cancer, but a marker of risk,' maybe we can reduce that number," said Deanna Attai, a breast surgeon at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Fewer than 2,000 women with DCIS are getting active surveillance in the United States, according to cancer experts. Most physicians don't offer it because they say there is not enough data to support it and because the current standard of care is so successful. However, some doctors will oversee surveillance if a patient has already decided against surgery.

In Toro de Stefani's case, "she was coming to me for affirmation that this was a good alternative for her," said Alastair Thompson, a COMET co-principal investigator at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, along with Ann Partridge at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Toro de Stefani, 62, sees Thompson twice a year when she drives the six hours from her home in South Texas for her next mammogram and round of testing. And while confident of the course she chose after her 2016 diagnosis, the retired cardiovascular researcher also is prepared to take more aggressive action if needed.

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"I'm not going to die of this," she declared.

In Selden, New York, Nickles faced several challenges when she was diagnosed in 2013. Her doctor said she needed a mastectomy rather than a lumpectomy because her DCIS was "diffuse" - spread throughout the milk ducts of her right breast.

Moreover, because she had large breasts, her doctor said the plastic surgeon would have to operate on her healthy one to reduce its size as part of the reconstruction procedure. Nickles, who administers echocardiograms at local health facilities, instead chose to have a double mastectomy, followed by reconstruction with implants.

"It was a no-brainer," said Nickles, 61, who responded to a Washington Post inquiry placed through the health-care social network Inspire.

She was relieved that she would no longer have to worry about her family's history of cancer, but she didn't bargain for the ensuing complications. In late January, more than three years after her reconstructive surgery, she began having night sweats and fevers. Within days, her right breast had swollen to twice its normal size because of fluid buildup. She ultimately had both implants removed.

Even so, Nickles said she wouldn't have chosen active surveillance: "I'm still feeling relieved that my cancer was removed and doesn't require ongoing vigilance."

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Desiree Basila, a math and science teacher in San Francisco, had a different reaction a decade ago after learning she had DCIS. When she met with her first surgeon, the doctor slapped down her imaging scans, brusquely said she had cancer and immediately talked about doing a mastectomy the following week.

Basila ended up seeing Hwang, who was then at the University of California at San Francisco and working closely with Laura Esserman, a longtime proponent of active surveillance. After Hwang ran through the standard surgical treatments, Basila responded, "What if I decided to just do nothing?"

She entered a small clinical trial testing whether tamoxifen could shrink tumors before breast surgery, later deciding she didn't want the drug or the operation. She has since been followed through active surveillance and now, at 62, is working as a patient advocate for the COMET trial.

"People hear 'active surveillance,' and they tend to think it means the patients are doing nothing," Basila said. "But it isn't doing nothing. It's a real commitment by patients and physicians to watch carefully. I don't think doing these brutally aggressive treatments are necessarily what's needed to have the longest and happiest lives. It's driven by blind fear."

It will probably take six to 10 years to get definitive answers from COMET, which stands for Comparison of Operative to Medical Endocrine Therapy. At some point, the findings will likely be combined with those of two European trials, called LORIS and LORD. All will be collecting and assessing tissue, blood and imaging results to determine which characteristics make DCIS mild or menacing.

Hwang thinks the long wait will be time well spent. Only hard data will bring about the treatment changes she believes will help many women.

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"People are very anxious about embarking on a de-escalation of treatment," she said. "That's the problem with our intervention-focused culture. Taking something away is very scary, and we will need evidence to bring about change."

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Since retiring four years ago, Barbara Corprew has visited Paris, traveled to a North Carolina film festival and taken Pilates classes, focusing on - as she puts it - just "doing things for me." Now the former Justice Department lawyer, who worked on white-collar crime cases, is devoting time to something completely different: She visits nursing homes every week.

Corprew is a volunteer in the District of Columbia's Long-Term Care Ombudsman's Office, a government-funded advocacy agency for nursing home and assisted-living residents.

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The ombudsmen's offices, which operate under federal law in all 50 states and the District, investigated 200,000 complaints in 2015, according to the Administration on Aging, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Of those, almost 117,000 were reported to have been resolved in a way that satisfied the person who made the complaint, and about 30,000 were partially resolved. At the top of the list were problems concerning care, residents' rights, physical environment, admissions and discharges, and abuse and neglect.

The volunteers have permission to enter any nursing home, assisted-living or other long-term-care facility anytime, unannounced, talk to any resident and go wherever they want. They respond to issues raised by residents and their families and can bring up problems they discover. All complaints are handled confidentially, even kept from family members, unless residents allow the ombudsman to reveal their identities.

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"I know how important it is to find people who care and give good quality care," said Corprew, who was an advocate for her parents when they became ill. Her mother was in and out of the hospital and a nursing home during her last years of life. So when she received a letter about the need for volunteer ombudsmen, the appeal hit home. "This was an opportunity to give back to the community and feel as if I was making a difference by representing people who didn't have a voice."

She is assigned to a nursing home in Northwest Washington. She wears sturdy lace-up shoes for the trek through the hallways, knocking on doors to speak with residents in their rooms. She has handled problems involving call bells that don't work or are out of reach, noisy roommates and procedures for bathing a resident.

She distributes brochures about residents' rights and how to contact the ombudsman, writing her name on the front. And she uses all five senses on her rounds: When coming across a chair that smelled of urine, she recalled, "the nose tells you a lot."

Most ombudsmen programs depend on volunteers. After completing two days of classroom sessions and field training and passing a criminal-background check, D.C. volunteer ombudsmen spend about three hours a week at their assigned facilities and attend monthly update meetings for at least a year. Some stay in the program much longer. The Northern Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program includes people who have been volunteering for 17 years, including one woman who is nearly 90, said coordinator Lisa Callahan.

Medical or legal experience is not required. Volunteers come from all kinds of backgrounds and careers, but they seem to have one thing in common: an abundance of compassion.

Gwendolyn Devore, another District volunteer, remembers a forlorn woman sitting in a hallway at the nursing home where her aunt lived. When she asked a staff member about the woman, the only reply was an angry look that unmistakably said, "It's none of your business," Devore recalled as she explained her interest in becoming a volunteer. "Now no one will be able to say it's none of my business."

Many nursing home residents have some degree of dementia or other disabilities that make it difficult for them to be their own advocates, while others don't know whom to approach and how. Many don't have relatives or friends nearby. An ombudsman can help fill that gap.

The volunteers are supervised by staff ombudsmen who can take over when a complaint can't be resolved informally. Although ombudsmen cannot force facility management to follow state and federal laws, "we know the rules inside and out," said Eileen Bennett, program director of the ombudsman program in Maryland's Montgomery County. When persuasion fails, ombudsmen can call in reinforcements by reporting problems to state health inspectors, fire departments, police or other agencies that can compel action.

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The ombudsman programs in the Washington area differ in some ways, especially personnel and funding. Montgomery County, Maryland, has five full-time ombudsmen, one part-timer and 40 to 50 volunteers for 34 nursing homes, 35 large assisted-living centers and 175 group homes for seniors.

The Northern Virginia ombudsman's roughly 50 volunteers and seven employees cover 29 nursing and 84 assisted-living facilities in four counties. "We try to place our volunteers at our highest-need facilities," Callahan said.

The District of Columbia has 40 volunteers and 10 employees for its 18 nursing homes, 13 assisted-living centers, and 104 group homes. Its ombudsman program spent an average of $94 per bed in 2015, compared with Maryland's $50 and Virginia's $32, which is also the national average. The programs receive federal funding under the Older Americans Act, often supplemented by state and local governments.

Ombudsmen also differ in their responsibilities. In addition to investigating and trying to resolve complaints, the District's ombudsmen can help families choose a nursing home or assisted-living center, although they don't make recommendations. District staff ombudsmen will also field complaints from people who receive Medicaid-funded health care in their own homes, as does Virginia's ombudsmen. Maryland does not.

Some volunteers drop out quickly, having discovered that spending time in a nursing home wasn't what they expected. But the experience has only made Corprew more committed.

"We all need people to care for us when we can't care for ourselves," she said. "I may be in this same situation ... and hopefully there will be other people who will care about me and will come see me and will be my advocate."

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you or a family member have a problem at a nursing home or if you're interested in volunteering as an ombudsman in the Washington, D.C., area, you may contact these programs:

District of Columbia

202-434-2190 | www.aarp.org/LCE

Northern Virginia

703-324-5861 | nvltcop@fairfaxcounty.gov

fairfaxcounty.gov/ltcombudsman

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Montgomery County

240-777-3369 | hhsltcombudsman@montgomerycountymd.gov

montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/ADS/OMBUDSMAN/OmbudIndex.html

Other areas

Go to theconsumervoice.org/get_help and click on the state that interests you.

Kaiser Health News is a national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.






The KonMari seminar that took place in downtown Chicago this past weekend was a way for participants to take the teachings from Marie Kondo's book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up even further. (Adriana Reinecke / KonMari Media)

Have you ever witnessed a room full of people spontaneously bursting into excited applause after witnessing someone fold an item of clothing?

Not only have I witnessed it, I've been one of the applauders.

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To an outsider, this moment may have looked like a simple  maybe even borderline boring  laundry folding demo, but to the 80 attendees of the KonMari Consultant Seminar, a three-day event building on the success of Marie Kondo's organizational best-seller "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" (and its illustrated sequel, "Spark Joy") that took place in downtown Chicago this past weekend, it was a sign of artistic mastery.

Participants were asked to bring an item of clothing they found difficult to fold (Kondo's books include detailed prescriptions for folding various items). One woman brought forward an asymmetrical blouse that had stumped her group, and the instructor  an affable but deliberate Japanese woman named Mitsugu Ando  had just gotten it to stand vertically on its own (a signature of the KonMari folding method).

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Applause well-earned.

KonMari refers to both an organizing methodology and a growing international brand that sprouted from the global following garnered from Kondo's tidying books.

The seminar concept  started last year with events in New York and San Francisco  is a way for participants to take the teachings from the book even further, marking the first step toward becoming certified as KonMari organizing consultants who utilize Kondo's methods.

The KonMari method is a "new approach to decluttering based on Japanese values in order to surround yourself with items that spark joy," according to Kondo's website.

"I really wanted to talk to other people who are excited about it and hear more inside tricks," said Sarah Rose, a native of Switzerland who started an organizing business (One Cut Organizing Inc.) in Oak Park last June and bases her own work on the KonMari method. "There are so many things you can learn  the tiny little things that really help in the end."

Summer Love Wade, who made the trip from Sarasota, Fla., also recently started her own organizing business (Living Simple). She went through the tidying process when her mother was battling cancer and pulmonary fibrosis, and it not only helped her tidy but helped her find clarity  she quit her job and started her tidying career.

"When that energy shifted from 'I don't want this' to 'I do want this,' that's when I made the switch," she said. She signed up for the seminar to continue on the organizing path. "I felt like there was a nugget that was missing that I really wanted to know," she said.

In order to attend the seminar, participants must have completed the method in their own homes and submitted photographic evidence to prove it, so even those who have not yet started helping others have at least seen the method in action in their own lives.

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"I decluttered my home and started organizing in a different way and I thought, 'wow,' " said Anastasia Mora, a native of Costa Rica living in Colombia. "On this side of the world we attack the problem or the disease when it's there. The Japanese are pre-emptive. I think tidying is a way of being pre-emptive with a lot of things in your life."

Though Ando led the seminar (in Japanese with an English translator), Kondo (who also spoke at the Chicago Humanities Festival on Friday night) made a brief appearance on the final day, her tiny stature only highlighting her outsized influence as she gave a motivational speech, asking participants to "contribute to a world that sparks joy through tidying."

Zach Freeman is a freelancer.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 The Lolla Bootie from Sorel for women is crafted with waterproof leather (for light rain) and stylized with cutouts and a two-tone stacked heel, providing comfort and style for spring and summer  and obviously for Lollapalooza, it's in the name), $160 www.sorel.com (Sorel)

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 A West Loop condo situated at 659 Randolph St. Unit 614 is currently on the market for $462,900. (Rick Knoell / VHT Studios)
Seventy-nine-year-old Jane Fonda is doing for vibrators what 44-year-old Jane Fonda did for aerobics videos: mainstreaming them.

And not a moment too soon.

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The new season of her critically acclaimed Netflix series, "Grace and Frankie," co-starring Lily Tomlin, sees the two women launch a business selling sex toys for women. If you happen to drive down Vine Street in Hollywood, you might see a giant billboard of Fonda and Tomlin holding ribbed, purple objects under the words "Good vibes"  in case there was any confusion about what they're holding.

And if you watch "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," you may have happened upon Fonda unveiling a vibrator on daytime TV. (Take that, "The View"!)

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"Use it or lose it, right?" Fonda says to DeGeneres, who seems uncharacteristically bewildered.

"Was this something you knew about before the character?" DeGeneres asks. "Before you researched it, was this something you knew about, I mean, were familiar with? Used?"

Fonda offers an emphatic "yes," before explaining that she owns one vibrator that doubles as a necklace. "It looks like a beautiful piece of silver jewelry."

Until it doesn't.

"I applaud her," said Lauren Streicher, medical director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause. "I've been trying to talk about this on daytime TV for years, and no one will have any part of it."

Fifty-two percent of American women use a vibrator, Streicher said, according to a 2009 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. And women over 60, in particular, need to know about their benefits.

"Sometimes nerve endings aren't as sensitive as they used to be, so what did it for you before isn't going to necessarily do it anymore," said Streicher, who wrote "Sex Rx: Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever" (Dey St.). "In addition, you have a lot of medical conditions  diabetes, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis  that can cause a desensitization of nerve endings, so there is a need for increased stimulation."

Which may explain why the Carol Wright Gifts catalog  known mostly for its compression support knee-high socks, bunion bandages and denture liners  features a two-page spread of "personal massagers" with such names as Couple's Raging Bull and The Amazing Butterfly Kiss.

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There should be no shame in the vibrator game.

"It's really just an acknowledgment that women are entitled to pleasure," Streicher said. "It's OK for men to have sex and pleasure and to desire that until the day they die, but when you look at women in their 70s talking about sexuality, that's been something mainstream media has absolutely no interest in."

Maybe Fonda will help change that.

"I hope so," Streicher told me. "When I teach medical students, I tell them: Don't ever say to a woman, 'Do you have a vibrator?' That is the wrong question. What you say is, 'When you use your vibrator ...'"

She continued: "When I ask a patient, as part of her history, 'Are you able to have an orgasm?' and she says no, I say, 'How about when you use your vibrator?'"

It lessens the stigma and leads to a more honest discussion, Streicher said.

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"We know, at best, maybe 25 percent of women are able to have an orgasm through intercourse alone," she said. "If men weren't able to have orgasms and there was a device that made it happen, there would be nothing taboo about it."

And if Fonda has her way, there won't be for much longer.

hstevens@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

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Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and studio in Scottsdale, Ariz., will mark the 150th anniversary of the architect's birth June 8 with $1.50 admission and birthday cake. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)

The sesquicentennial of Frank Lloyd Wright's birth June 8, 1867, is being celebrated throughout the year and across the country with a slew of special events, tours and exhibits.

Here are some of the highlights:

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In the Chicago area, which boasts the world's largest number of Wright creations, several of his prized properties will be open June 8 for evening tours. Register for the free tours at the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust's website, www.flwright.org, where you'll also find details about the Wright Plus 150 house walk May 20, when paying guests have the chance to go inside several private homes in Oak Park.

Also June 8, Taliesin West, Wright's winter home and studio in Scottsdale, Ariz., is marking the occasion with $1.50 admission and cake. Same for the Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York. Other spots around the U.S. that are offering $1.50 admission include the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, Calif.; Price Tower in Bartlesville, Okla.; Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis.; and Rosenbaum House in Florence, Ala.

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The self-guided tour "Wright and Like Milwaukee: A Celebration of Wright's 150th Anniversary" takes place June 3, when you can step inside a dozen architectural gems  six designed by Wright and six created by his contemporaries; www.wrightinwisconsin.org.

150 Hours of Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo is June 5-11 with a bunch of activities at the Wright-designed Darwin Martin House and Graycliff Estate in nearby Derby, N.Y.; www.darwinmartinhouse.org.

Taliesin near Spring Green, Wis., is hosting a family-friendly Wright celebration June 17 at the estate's Hillside Theater, complete with birthday cake. The Taliesin Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Scott Gendel's new choral composition honoring Wright's 150th Aug. 6-7; www.taliesinpreservation.org.

Madison's Edgewater Hotel on Lake Mendota is offering a two-night 150th anniversary package June 23-25 that includes a Wright tour of Madison and Taliesin, as well as cocktails and dinner for two at The Statehouse restaurant. Package rates start at $959 for two people; 608-535-8200, www.theedgewater.com.

Some rarely or never-before seen works from Wright will be included in the new exhibit "Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive" (June 12 to Oct. 1) at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

The Milwaukee Art Museum is staging the exhibit "Frank Lloyd Wright: Buildings for the Prairie" (July 28 to Oct. 15), revolving around Wright's early designs.

Through July 23, the Art Institute of Chicago features a special exhibit focused on Wright's Japanese prints and Japanese influences on his work.

The Illinois Office of Tourism's website, www.enjoyillinois.com, recently posted trip itineraries highlighting Wright's works in various parts of the state, including a Downstate tour that traces his Prairie Style homes and examples in northern Illinois of his middle-class-friendly Usonian architecture, a precursor to modern-day ranch homes.

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lrackl@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lorirackl

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Businessman Ron Gidwitz may have backed a winner when he became President Donald Trump's most prominent Illinois fundraiser last year  but he was forced to relive one of his less successful deals Monday, when he was grilled in court about his longtime ownership of Joliet's notorious Evergreen Terrace housing projects.

Rat-infested, stinking of urine and beset by crime problems, the 356-unit taxpayer-subsidized, low-income housing was for years at the center of a mammoth legal battle pitting the federal government and investors, including the Gidwitz family, against the city of Joliet.

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Gidwitz and his family lost  despite the backing of the feds  and were forced to sell the homes to Joliet. But his lawyers, Ungaretti & Harris, say the Gidwitzes never paid the $6.4 million legal tab they ran up fighting the city. So the law firm sued, and the Gidwitzes sued them back.

"This is, in fact, a bad business," a rueful Gidwitz, 71, said on the stand at the Daley Center on Monday afternoon. Though he paid just $1 to purchase the run-down Joliet property in the '80s, it never made much money, he said.

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In his less than an hour on the stand, Gidwitz was forced by the plaintiff's lawyer Joe Power to acknowledge that former U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Peter Fitzgerald and current U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin had all complained about "inhumane" conditions at Evergreen Terrace while his family owned it. He admitted a little girl had fallen from a window and died during a hot summer when the building's air conditioning was malfunctioning and broken window screens were not replaced, that a tenant was stabbed to death in a laundry room when security was not upgraded, that a shot man may have lay dying in the building's courtyard for an hour before police were called and that a building employee was dealing drugs.

But he blamed Joliet for repeatedly blocking investors' attempts to secure federal financing for improvements. "If you can't get planning permission for a [security] guard house, you can't build a guard house," he said.

And asked by Power whether it was true that Trump's late father, Fred Trump, had in part built his fortune through Section 8 housing similar to Evergreen Terrace, Gidwitz demurred.

"I can't speak for Donald Trump's father," he said.

Gidwitz, who declined to comment outside court, citing his ongoing testimony, should get a better chance to put his side of the story Tuesday, when his lawyers will have the chance to cross-examine him.

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews
Let's not condemn Donald Trump for suggesting that people ask, "Why was there the Civil War?" It's a relevant question, perhaps now more than ever.

In the 152 years since the end of the bloody conflict that pitted the North against the South, the most important issue in the Civil War remains unresolved. America still disagrees on what kind of country it wants to be.

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We view the world through opposite lenses, often depending on which region of the country we live in. We read the Constitution differently, just like our ancestors in the war, interpreting it in a way that suits our needs. We focus on each other's differences rather than seek common ground where everyone's voice is heard.

The double-barreled cannons, the Gatling guns and the Bowie knives of the Civil War era have long been put away, but the polarization over the direction of our country has locked us in a bitter cold war for which there is no obvious resolution.

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Though we would not settle for a country that does not offer the freedom to disagree, we must consider that, perhaps, the price of democracy has always been war, in some form or another.

What can we learn from the Civil War? In an interview that aired Monday on Sirius XM, Trump asked, "Why could that one not have been worked out?"

Trump likely was suggesting that he and his role model, President Andrew Jackson  a man who celebrated white supremacy and subjugating Native Americans  could have done a better job than Abraham Lincoln staving off the war through negotiations. That is unlikely, considering how Trump has further divided Americans during the short time he has been in office.

In the Civil War, one side had to step aside before America could move forward. There was no room for compromise. The ideals of the two sides were so mismatched, their views of right and wrong too diabolically opposed and their visions for America too different. Doesn't that sound familiar?

In 1861, Southerners were ready to secede from the Union because they felt the federal government was interfering too much in the sovereignty of the individual states. Northerners, on the other hand, saw the issue as a fight over slaves.

Near the end of the war, General William Tecumseh Sherman led Union soldiers into the heart of the South, destroying economic hubs in Georgia and South Carolina. The opposition collapsed, and the Confederacy gave up.

Everyone knew that the road to recovery would be a long, hard journey. After one-and-a-half centuries, the United States is still struggling to rebuild a unified coalition. There is no argument that we are a much better nation without the burden of slavery. But what are the lessons from the war?

I would argue that the Civil War itself teaches us nothing about ourselves that we don't already know. The real lessons came from President Abraham Lincoln, as he moved closer to victory.

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In his famous Gettysburg Address, given on the battlefield where thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers died, Lincoln did not talk about winning or losing. He talked about the thing that the soldiers had most in common  their dedication to standing up for what they believed in.

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced," Lincoln said.

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us  that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion  that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vainthat this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom  and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Perhaps this is why there was the Civil War, Mr. Trump. It serves to remind us that a nation so divided destroys itself from within.

dglanton@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @dahleeng

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A reference to Gettysburg casualties has been updated in this column. The toll is estimated to be about 50,000 soldiers killed, wounded or missing.
An Aurora man facing up to 15 years in prison for plotting to join an al-Qaida -affiliated terrorist group has told a federal judge he wants to fire his legal team and represent himself at his upcoming sentencing hearing.

Abdella Ahmad Tounisi made the request in a letter posted on the court docket Tuesday. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month by U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan.

In the one-page, typed letter, Tounisi, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2013, cited a "breakdown of trust, conflict of interest and breakdown of communication" with his current lawyers as reasons for why he wants to go ahead without legal representation.

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Tounisi, now 22, did not elaborate about the broken relationship but said he understood the consequences of presenting his own defense and that his "choice is made with eyes open."

Tounisi, who pleaded guilty more than a year and a half ago, said he would not object to any arguments made by prosecutors in their sentencing memo due early next month. He also asked the judge to hold the sentencing hearing as soon as possible.

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"As we all know, I have been incarcerated for four years now, and I would like to put this behind me," Tounisi wrote. "I sincerely say that if I would have known then what I know, I would have pled guilty in 2013. I do not wish to waste any more of the court's time or taxpayer dollars."

A copy of the letter and envelope posted on the court docket showed it was mailed from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago on April 23, postmarked with stamps that feature hearts and balloons and the word "Celebrate!"

Tounisi's lead attorney, Molly Armour, declined to comment Tuesday.

He pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of attempting to provide material support to Jabhat al-Nusra, a designated terrorist group that at one time had claimed responsibility for nearly 600 suicide bombings and other attacks.

He had just turned 18 when he was arrested at O'Hare International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Turkey, where he planned to meet a handler to transport him to a training camp in Syria, prosecutors said.

Authorities said he had pledged his support for the Syrian rebel fight on a fake recruitment website that was secretly operated by the FBI, expressing a "willingness to die for the cause."

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"Concerning my fighting skills, to be honest I do not have any," Tounisi allegedly wrote in 2013 to someone he thought was a recruiter for the terrorist group. "I'm very small (5 feet 6 inches, 120 pounds) physically but I pray to Allah that he makes me successful."

Tounisi's arrest came seven months after his close friend, Adel Daoud, of Hillside, was charged in a plot to detonate what he thought was a car bomb outside a bar in Chicago's Loop. The bomb was a fake planted by the FBI, which had been monitoring online activity between Daoud and Tounisi and used an undercover agent to pose as a terrorist looking for recruits for an attack, authorities have said.

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According to the complaint filed against Tounisi, he and Daoud had been exchanging emails, phone calls and text messages about "violent jihad" for months leading up to Daoud's arrest. Tounisi also had "recommended certain attack techniques, offered ideas about targeting and researched those locations online to analyze their feasibility," the complaint said.

While Daoud allegedly continued his role in the plot, Tounisi backed out in August 2012 because he suspected that the person Daoud was working with was an undercover law enforcement officer, according to the complaint.

Daoud has been found mentally unfit for trial and is in a federal psychiatric facility in Missouri.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jmetr22b
Five teens have been shot over the last two months along a stretch of storefronts and apartments in Logan Square, just down from the Western Avenue L station.



In early March, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were shot nine hours apart on and near the 2400 block of West Moffat Street, according to police. Then Monday night, a 17-year-old boy and an 15-year-old boy were found shot in an apartment on the block.



Police have released few details of the shootings and have reported no arrests. But the neighbors who gathered at the scene of the latest shootings blamed gangs.



"It's rare that stuff happens to someone random," said Eric Gaylord, 33, who has lived in the Northwest Side neighborhood for more than year.



The latest shootings occurred around 7:10 p.m. Monday. Officers found the boys inside a white, three-story home after receiving a call of a person shot, police said.



The 17-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the neck near the collar bone, and was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, while the younger boy was in good condition at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the hand, police said.



As investigators shuffled in and out of the home, a Chicago police dog and handler canvassed gangways and lawns. Neighbors said they heard men yelling at the house before an ambulance arrived and removed one victim on a gurney.

Police earlier identified the victims as 18 and 16, but update the ages Thursday morning.



The two were among four people shot in Chicago over an hour late Monday.



 About 7:50 p.m. on the West Side, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the 5000 block of West Ferdinand Street in the Austin neighborhood, police said. He was in a car when someone in another car opened fire, striking him in the leg. The teen went to the 4900 block of West Chicago Avenue to seek medical help and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.



 About 6:55 p.m. on the South Side, a 23-year-old man was shot in the back and buttocks in a vehicle near the 8600 block of South State Street, police said. The man went to St. Bernard Hospital and was transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition, police said.



Chicago Tribune reporter Tony Briscoe contributed.
It's never been contested that Colin Nutter was shot to death after three males got into his car to make a drug deal.

And while it's also never been established who pulled the trigger, two of the men have now, nearly four years later, been convicted of murdering the 20-year-old Highland Park man and face long prison terms.

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Philip Vatamaniuc, 21, was found guilty of murder last month by a Lake County judge. Benjamin Schenk, 24, admitted to his role and testified against Vatamaniuc.

But conspicuously absent from the trial was the third person in the car that day, Michael Coffee.

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Coffee, who like Vatamaniuc was just 17 at the time, had stolen the gun that was used to kill Nutter from a friend's father and yelled "Do it!" before the weapon was discharged, according to testimony. Coffee helped dispose of the body, and then he and Schenk used Nutter's keys to enter his home and steal another car and other items, witnesses said at Vatamaniuc's trial.

But Coffee's fate remains less certain. The Highland Park man, now 21, has been found unfit to stand trial, and authorities said he was recently transferred from Lake County Jail to Chester Mental Health Center in far southern Illinois. The facility is touted as having the highest security of all state-run mental health centers.

Citing health privacy laws, authorities have said little about the specifics of Coffee's mental health. Earlier this year, his doctors at another state mental health facility determined that Coffee was fit to stand trial, but Judge Victoria Rossetti requested further evaluation.

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If Coffee continues to be deemed unfit for trial, after about a year he would likely be taken to court for what's known as a discharge hearing. Similar to a trial, evidence would be presented against Coffee, and if the judge finds him guilty, he would be placed back into the custody of the Department of Human Services. He could be held in a mental treatment facility for years or even decades, with regular, court-ordered assessments.

Colin Nutter's father, Michael Nutter, said he hopes the state can rehabilitate Coffee.

"I am a little disappointed that he is seen unfit to stand trial," Nutter said after a fitness hearing Monday in Lake County court. Nutter attended, though Coffee was not brought up from Chester for the hearing.

"I would like him to plead guilty or stand trial," Nutter said of Coffee, "and I would like to get (it) over with as soon as possible."

While still at the Lake County Jail in March, Coffee was charged with aggravated battery of a police officer, though the charges were dropped weeks later. Neither the Lake County sheriff's office nor the state's attorney's office would comment on what led to the charges.

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Vatamaniuc faces 35 to 75 years in prison and is due to be sentenced in June. Schenk could receive 20 to 60 years in prison; his sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Susan Berger is a freelance reporter.
Fidget spinners are toys designed to enhance concentration and stimulate learning, but schools are starting to see them as a distraction and banning them. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

The latest craze in classrooms and on playgrounds comes in the form of brightly colored, hand-held trinkets that spin, have buttons to push or otherwise keep hands occupied.

The aptly named fidgets are supposed to enhance concentration, reduce anxiety and stimulate learning. But some educators aren't buying the spin. They say the toys have become a major distraction to teachers and students, and, in some cases, they're being banned from classrooms.

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The idea behind fidget devices  or what's sometimes called fidget therapy  is that they enhance the senses to allow for better and longer concentration. There's a variety of fidgets, but the type that's become suddenly ubiquitous, sold at places like convenient stores, is a small, three-pronged metal and plastic device that spins on a center ball bearing. Another popular fidget is a tiny cube with buttons and levers to manipulate.

Advocates say fidget therapy has been particularly useful for children on the autism spectrum and those who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD, or otherwise have a harder time paying attention or sitting still.

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Yet some school administrators have already soured on the trend.

"Frankly, we've found the fidgets were having the opposite effect of what they advertise," said Kate Ellison, principal of Washington Elementary School in Evanston. "Kids are trading them or spinning them instead of writing."

It took only a few days after teachers started noticing the toys before almost all of the older students had multiple devices, she said.

"All of the sudden, they're everywhere," she said. "It happened overnight."

While some cost upward of $20, cheaper versions can be had for just a few bucks.

The staff recently made the decision to ban fidgets, and Ellison sent out a letter to parents, explaining the tools are a distraction or worse, because they've caused conflict among students.

"They're treating them like they would treat a toy," she said. "So we can't have them in class or at recess."

While Ellison acknowledged the benefits of fidgets and the philosophy behind them, she said the school has other tools for students who need so-called "manipulators," like a squeeze ball, or a piece of Velcro or rubber band underneath their desk.

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"This particular kind of toy has not been part of our repertoire of sensory tools," she said.

Washington Elementary isn't alone in its thinking. On social media and in published reports, word has spread of fidgets being banned in classrooms or entire schools, usually with exceptions made for children with special needs.

Janelle Feylo of Downers Grove was pleased to see a letter from her principal at Prairieview School announcing such a ban. Feylo's fourth-grade son had recently started asking for a fidget toy and brought home a homemade device given to him by a friend. That one was promptly lost in the laundry.

Eventually, the fidget was located, but Feylo confiscated it.

"I don't think he needs it," she said. "I don't want him to get in trouble."

Occupational therapists say fidgets do work if used correctly and not just as a toy.

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"It's this idea that ... if (students are) inattentive, they could be disruptive or not learning," said Sandra Schefkind, pediatric program manager at the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Those who tend to fidget, the theory goes, can channel the urge into the mindless manipulation of the device, thus freeing them to focus on the task at hand.

It's the reason why people doodle during a class or a meeting, and why people need breaks to move around when sitting still for long periods, she said.

"Our brains can't just focus on auditory and visual challenges," said Kristie Koenig, an associate professor and chair of the department of occupational therapy at New York University. "It's the same reason why recess helps."

Koenig said educators have long included tools to enhance learning in classrooms, from stretching and water breaks to gum chewing during tests.

"You only have so much time to (spend sitting and listening or reading), then you get up to sharpen your pencil," she said. And people naturally fidget by twirling hair or tapping a foot. Fidget devices are an extension of that, Koenig said.

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While the concept isn't new, Koenig said the bump in popularity could relate to greater inclusion of students with special needs as well as, like most contemporary trends, social media. But they're not just for students with disabilities or learning difficulties, she said.

"They could help anyone," she said. "An outright ban could be counterproductive to kids who need them."

Still, Koenig acknowledges that when students use fidgets as toys or collectibles, their benefits may diminish. "We don't want kids to use them as toys to distract."

And even if some schools are banning them, the fidget trend is far from played out, said Laurie Kherani, owner of Learning Express Toys stores in Clarendon Hills, Countryside and Glenview.

"We sell through them quicker than we're getting them in," she said.

kthayer@chicagotribune.com

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Timothy Mason, 59, left, and Mariana Gerzanych, 38, leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse with their lawyers after Mason pleaded guilty to wire fraud May 2, 2017. Gerzanych was given deferred prosecution. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

The former owner of a California company selected to install a vast network of electric vehicle charging stations in Chicago and elsewhere pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraudulently obtaining at least $1 million in federal grants related to the failed green initiative.

Timothy Mason, 59, faces up to about five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.

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But in an unusual move, federal prosecutors agreed to drop the case against his co-defendant, Mariana Gerzanych, in exchange for her cooperation, a fine and community service.

In his 22-page plea agreement with prosecutors, Mason, former president of Los Angeles-based 350Green LLC, admitted he fraudulently obtained federal grants earmarked for electric-car charging station programs in Chicago, Pennsylvania and California.

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The contract signed with Chicago in October 2010 provided the company with $1.9 million in grants from the Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under that deal, 350Green was required to provide $6.8 million of its own funds to complete the ambitious project but failed to do so, according to court records.

The company also entered into similar but less lucrative contracts with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and two San Francisco-area government agencies.

According to the plea, after 350Green ran into financial difficulties in 2011, Mason began directing employees to submit false financial information to Chicago and the other municipalities to make it appear like the company was on "solid financial footing."

Mason instructed one employee to send copies of checks to the city to make it appear that subcontractors had been paid when in fact the checks had never been sent, according to the plea. Other checks were made out to a false front company, Actium Power, for amounts far greater than what chargers should cost, while the actual manufacturer of the chargers was never paid.

The scheme began to unravel after subcontractors began to complain they were not getting paid. When the city of Chicago began asking questions, Mason instructed Gerzanych to falsely tell officials the late payments were caused by other grant programs falling behind in funding, according to the plea.

Prosecutors plan to argue at Mason's July 27 sentencing that in all, 350Green was awarded $1.5 million in grant funds it was not entitled to. Mason's lawyer, Patrick Blegen, said he intends to dispute that amount.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said they would defer prosecution of Gerzanych, 38, in exchange for a $10,000 fine and 200 hours of community service, and her full cooperation in the investigation. If Gerzanych completes her end of the deal, after two years the indictment against her will be dropped.

The arrangement raised the eyebrows of Coleman, who said she'd never seen prosecutors agree to defer prosecution in her seven years on the bench.

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"Do you understand what an opportunity this is?" Coleman asked Gerzanych.

"Very much so," Gerzanych said.

Mason and Gerzanych left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse without comment. Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, also declined to comment.

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Touted with fanfare by city officials and then-Gov. Pat Quinn at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, the planned network of charging stations for electric vehicles was pitched to be the best and largest in the country. The plan called for 73 "fast-charging" stations that could charge an electric vehicle in 30 minutes for a range of about 40 miles, more than anywhere else in the country. An additional 200 stations were to allow drivers to charge their vehicles at a slower pace.

Ford and Nissan moved up the rollout of their electric cars to the Chicago market because of the 350Green project.

The Tribune reported extensively on the mounting troubles with the project's funding and implementation, as well as the ensuing FBI investigation into 350Green. Projects by the company in 19 other markets across the country also collapsed.

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Mason told the newspaper in 2013 that the expiration of the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit at the end of 2011 had sunk the project's financing. He said the company counted on the tax credit for about 50 percent of the project's funding. The tax credit was extended in 2013, at which point, Mason said, it was too late.

By spring 2013, about 169 of the 280 charging stations 350Green promised were installed, but many did not work. After 350Green stopped paying its bills and the FBI launched an investigation, a federal judge handed the network to a new company.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jmetr22b
Chicago police have issued an alert after a woman was sexually assaulted at gunpoint near Horner Park on the North Side.



The woman, 31, was walking in the 4300 block of North Campbell Avenue around 9:10 p.m. Sunday when a man approached, pulled a gun and announced a robbery, police said.



The man then ordered the woman into an alley in the 2500 block of West Pensacola Avenue and sexually assaulted her, police said in a community alert Tuesday.



The attacker was described as black, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-11 and medium build. He was wearing a dark sweatshirt.



Anyone with information can call Area North detectives at 312-744-8261.
Pedestrians walk across the bridge on the 5000 block of North Central Park Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago on Monday, May 1, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

After five consecutive days of rain that caused rivers in the area to rise, Wednesday could bring dry conditions with some sunshine, meteorologists say, but not before the possibility of another unwelcome weather occurrence  frost.

"(Wednesday) during the day looks dry across the Chicago metro, and winds will be light, so at least it will feel different," said Matt Friedlein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

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Some areas may see sunshine during the morning hours, he said.

But overnight Tuesday into Wednesday there is a chance of patchy frost in western Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties, he said. Temperatures could dip into the 30s overnight, forecasters say. But some areas, including downtown Chicago, likely will not cool to the point of producing frost, Friedlein said.

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Though conditions should be dry in and around Chicago, heavy rain could return as far north as Kankakee late Wednesday night into Thursday, Friedlein said.

Meanwhile, rivers that had risen in recent days appear to have crested  meaning water levels have risen as high as they are going to and have started receding, according to Will County Emergency Management Agency Director Harold Damron. In Shorewood, the DuPage River crested before midnight, he said.

Lake County officials are "not really" concerned about the rain, because it has not had "that much of an impact," said Bob Gardiner, a rainfall analyst with the Lake County Storm Water Management Commission. The county received an average of 0.15 inches Monday, he said.

"There is some local ponding," he said. "It's as bad as it's going to get."

Roads across the area had patches of flooding, the officials said. In Lincolnshire, there was minor flooding Monday from the Des Plaines River, Gardiner said.

In Will County, there were incidents in Bolingbrook and Wilmington where drivers underestimated the depth of the water and attempted to drive through it and got stuck, Damron said.

Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter.
Ald. Edward Burke, shown Nov. 30, 2016, reported earning more than $5,000 from each of five different investments in 2016, documents show. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago's longest-serving alderman reported earning more than $5,000 from each of five different investments last year, including a JPMorgan Chase fund that invests in energy infrastructure, according to documents filed this week.

The investment by Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, in the Alerian MLP ETF showed up on his statement of economic interests filed with Cook County Clerk David Orr 's office this week. The powerful Finance Committee chairman made other profitable investments in Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., an Indonesian energy company, a British aluminum can manufacturer and the Driehaus Small Cap fund, according to the statement.

JPMorgan Chase does significant business with the city. Employee payroll direct deposits are handled from a JPMorgan account, and the firm often plays a role in city bond deals.

Burke often abstains from voting because of various potential conflicts of interest, even after sometimes participating in the debate leading up to the vote. He also reported earning more than $1,200 in his role as a lawyer. His firm, Klafter & Burke, often handles property tax appeals for major firms with buildings in the city.

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The economic interest statements due Monday require all Cook County politicians to report various sources of income and gifts. Burke didn't list any gifts.

The filing from Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown shows she made more than $1,200 in each of two personal endeavors in 2016. One was listed simply under her name and described as "motivational/religious speaker/sales/consultant."

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She also listed The Sankofa Group, a firm she set up years ago that held title to a property given to her husband at no cost from a longtime campaign donor. The Sankofa Group later sold the building for $100,000 to a developer, and a probe into that deal later expanded into a continuing federal investigation into allegations that bribes were being paid for jobs and promotions in her office.

One company Brown did not list was Goat Masters Corp., a goat meat supply company owned by Brown and her husband that was the subject of a recent subpoena in the federal investigation.

hdardick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ReporterHal
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday said before a possible sale of the Thompson Center goes through, he wants to make sure the state or a private developer will be on the hook for any changes to the CTA station on the site.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has been pushing hard to sell the state office building since 2015, giving the mayor a political opportunity to play hardball on the deal with his former vacation friend as the two continue their public fight over Chicago Public Schools funding and other issues. At an unrelated announcement in Bronzeville, Emanuel raised the issue of the busy Clark and Lake station, which serves several rail lines from the Thompson Center.

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"We have one of the busiest 'L' stations in the entire network of 140-plus 'L' stations," Emanuel said. "If you sell it and it has to come down, who builds it? Who takes the cost? I'm not going to stick that on Chicago taxpayers. The developer or the state has to do it.

"Yes, the state gets to book the money when they sell, but who's going to build or rebuild that station?" the mayor continued. "I think I'm responsible to make sure it's not  that tab is not on the Chicago taxpayers."

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Emanuel did not say Rauner's administration had asked the city to cover any expenses related to potential changes at the "L" station. The mayor estimated that if the station had to be replaced, it could cost $80 million to $120 million.

Rauner spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis responded by pointing out that new private development on the Thomspon Center land would bring the city millions in new property tax revenue.

"As stated from the beginning, the state wants to partner with the city in the redevelopment of this site, which includes the CTA station, to better serve residents," Demertzis said in a statement.

Emanuel's remarks come as the Republican governor has renewed his efforts to sell the Thompson Center, which his administration has said is in need of millions of dollars in maintenance upgrades. In March, Rauner told reporters that House Speaker Michael Madigan had held up the sale. Madigan responded by calling the governor's remarks "disingenuous" and saying Democrats were open to the idea of a sale if issues with the city could be worked out.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_johnbyrne
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin listens to a reporter's question before a Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on April 25, 2017. (Alex Brandon / AP)

WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, 72, underwent an outpatient procedure in a Chicago hospital on Tuesday to correct an abnormal heart rhythm, his office announced.

Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, was found during a recent annual physical to have an atrial flutter, according to a news release from his office.

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He underwent a catheter ablation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Tuesday morning, his office said. Durbin's statement, quoting the American Heart Association, described the procedure as one in which an energy pulse "destroys the abnormal heart tissue and corrects the irregular heartbeat." He will remain in Illinois this week.

"I anticipate that this heart tune-up will give my classic roadster many more miles of reliable service," Durbin said in a statement.

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He also used the statement to make a political point: "My Congressional colleagues who want to cut funding for medical research and take away health insurance for millions of Americans should remember that all of us are only one diagnosis away from needing the best care for ourselves and the people we love," he said in the statement.

In August 2010, Durbin underwent minimally invasive surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center for removal of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Medical experts said at the time it was a mostly benign growth that, while highly curable, can go undetected for years and become malignant if not removed.

Durbin cast his most recent roll call vote in the Senate on Thursday and skipped a vote Monday.

Illinois' senior senator entered the Senate in 1997 after serving in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1997. He last won a six-year term in 2014.

kskiba@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @KatherineSkiba
Animal-welfare advocates oppose the declawing of cats, while New York's largest veterinary association objects to a ban on the practice. (Mel Evans / AP)

ALBANY, N.Y.  If successful, the push to outlaw the declawing of cats in New York would make it the first state in the nation to ban the controversial practice.

Animal-welfare advocates and many veterinarians say declawing involves the amputation of a cat's toes back to the first knuckle and leaves them permanently injured.

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The state's largest veterinary association opposes a ban, arguing that the procedure should remain a last resort for felines who won't stop scratching furniture or humans.

The bill didn't get a vote last year but its sponsor, Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal of Manhattan, says more lawmakers are signing on.

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Supportive veterinarians lobbied for the bill Tuesday at the state Capitol.

Declawing is banned in the United Kingdom and several other European countries and in several California cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This file photo taken on January 23, 2015, shows composer Mohammed Fairouz during an interview at a recording studio in New York. (Shaun Tandon / AFP/Getty Images)

As a musician, Mohammed Fairouz travels to other countries frequently.

Usually, there's no problem.

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But recently, after getting off an eight-hour flight from London, immigration officials at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York stopped him, Fairouz said. He was told to go into a room, where he said he stayed for hours without knowing why he was there.

Fairouz, a United States resident who was born in the United Arab Emirates, told The Washington Post that he was given no reason for his detention, other than his Muslim name. He said he was allowed to leave after nearly four hours.

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In a statement Tuesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said internal documents and surveillance video showed he was released within 51 minutes. The agency said people entering the United States, including American citizens and legal residents, must prove they're eligible to enter or re-enter the country.

The agency added that customs officers "strive to treat all people arriving in the country with dignity and respect."

But for Fairouz, detaining someone without explaining why isn't "an ideal way to treat people."

"Other countries have a dedicated line for their citizens and residents. Those lines are designed to expedite the process of getting passports stamped so that entry is as seamless as possible. The stamp is often punctuated by someone saying 'Welcome home,'" Fairouz wrote in a column published Friday by the Independent, a British online newspaper. "Indeed, many have this experience in the United States  but not me. The behavior that I experienced and witnessed is behavior that distinguishes the United States in the most embarrassing way possible."

Fairouz said he arrived at the New York airport about 11 p.m. Monday after spending a few days in Britain, where he recorded a string orchestra.

As he made his way out of the airport, he walked to a machine on which he scanned his passport and entered his fingerprint. A customs officer then told him he needed to go through additional screening and escorted him to a room. There, he and dozens of other people waited, while officers told them periodically that nobody could leave without clearance, Fairouz said. They were not allowed to use their phones or access their belongings.

When he was allowed to leave, he still did not know why he was detained, Fairouz said. All he was told, he said, is that his name is "super common."

"Yes, my name is common but my fingerprints are not," Fairouz wrote in his column. "So I didn't feel like I was getting the whole story."

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In February, Muhammad Ali Jr., son of the late boxer Muhammad Ali, and his mother were detained at a Florida airport and asked about their religion after they returned from Jamaica. A family spokesman told The Washington Post that the two were stopped by officers with Customs and Border Protection because of their "Arabic-sounding names."

The following month, Ali was detained again, this time at Reagan National Airport outside Washington. Ali and his mother had come to Washington to lobby against racial profiling  a response to what happened to him in Florida.

The incidents involving Fairouz and the Alis happened not long after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning citizens of some predominantly Muslim countries from coming to the United States. Many found themselves trapped at airports across the country after the president signed his order in January. Federal courts have since blocked enforcement of Trump's entry ban, as well as a watered-down version of it.

Fairouz said he does not want to jump to conclusions or blame the Trump administration's stringent immigration policies for his detention. He believes the problem is more systemic than racial.

"I am not attacking Donald Trump. I'm pretty sure this was happening during the Obama administration," he said. "I'm not making a racial argument. What I'm saying is that we have a [expletive] system and they're treating people very, very badly."

He said the experience has left him feeling more sad than angry that it happened in the United States, his home.

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"It is very distressing when you're in the middle of it. It causes a lot of stress, a lot of exhaustion and a lot of humiliation to people," he said. "I just don't think people should be going through this when they travel if they don't have any criminal intent, no criminal record, and have never been arrested before."

Since Fairouz, who is based in New York City, spoke out about his experience, some on social media have accused him of seeking his 15 minutes of fame.

"Fake news," a Twitter user said.

But Fairouz, an internationally renowned composer whose music has been performed at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, said he wants to shed light on a problem.

Fairouz's work has been reviewed by The Post, the New York Times, CNN, the Los Angeles Times and the National, a United Arab Emirates publication.
A U.S. antimissile defense system recently installed in South Korea is now operational, a U.S. official said Monday, in the latest sign of an enhanced U.S. response to threats from North Korea.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations overseas, said the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, an American-made system to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, had reached initial operating capability.

The U.S. military's installation of the THAAD battery in South Korea has been hotly contested. China considers the system a threat to its own security, while critics in South Korea allege that the United States is scrambling to set up the system before that country can hold a presidential election that might lead to a decision to halt its use altogether.

The scrutiny of the THAAD installation, which has been under discussion with Seoul for years, reflects heightened tensions over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs, which have made advances in recent years and which American officials fear could reach the point of posing a nuclear threat to the mainland United States.

The Trump administration has made a range of statements about its military posture toward North Korea and its willingness to employ force to prevent the continuation of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. In an interview made public Monday, President Trump said he would be "honored" to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under the right circumstances. A day earlier, he refused to rule out military action against Pyongyang.

The THAAD system has taken on new urgency for the United States as South Korea approaches its May 9 election. The leading candidate in that race has said he would review the previous government's acceptance of THAAD.

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, suggested Sunday that the United States might in the future ask South Korea to reimburse the United States for at least some of the THAAD system.

"What I told our South Korean counterpart is until any renegotiation, that the deal is in place. We'll adhere to our word," McMaster said, referring to a recent conversation with a senior South Korean official.

"But what the president has asked us to do is to look across all of our alliances and to have appropriate burden-sharing, responsibility-sharing. We are looking at that with a great ally, South Korea," he said.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak by phone Tuesday, their first known conversation since the U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base that sparked new tensions between Washington and Moscow.

The White House said the leaders would speak in the early afternoon, with Syria's six-year conflict expected to be among the agenda items. Their discussion comes one day before a new round of Russian-led talks on the Syria crisis begins in Kazakhstan.

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Despite having previously warned against U.S. intervention in Syria, Trump ordered the strikes against Syrian government targets in early April after accusing the regime of using chemical weapons in a deadly attack on civilians. The U.S. action was accompanied by a dramatic shift in the Trump administration's rhetoric toward Russia, one of the Syrian government's most important benefactors.

Trump, who spent months touting the prospect of warmer ties with Putin, declared after the strikes that the relationship between the U.S. and Russia "may be at an all-time low." Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley also sharply condemned Moscow's role in supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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Yet Trump has continued to hold out the prospect of a stronger relationship with Russia, which was a cornerstone of his foreign policy platform as a presidential candidate. He took to Twitter days after the Syria strikes to say that "things will work out fine" between the U.S. and Russia and "everyone will come to their senses."

The shifts in the Trump administration's posture came amid a steady swirl of controversy surrounding possible ties between the president's associates and Russia during last year's election. The FBI and congressional committees are investigating whether Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia as it meddled in the election.

Putin, who met earlier Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, denied that Moscow ever interferes in other countries' elections. He said accusations of Russian meddling aimed at helping Trump in his race against Democrat Hillary Clinton were "simply rumors" being used as part of a political fight in Washington.

Trump has vigorously denied any nefarious ties to Moscow, calling the Russian investigations a "hoax."

Trump and Putin have spoken twice since the U.S. president took office in January, including last month following an attack in St. Petersburg, Russia. The attack occurred days before the U.S. missile strike in Syria.
Call this one a win.

My patient's unborn baby had been diagnosed with a complex heart defect making the baby's prognosis uncertain, with a significant chance of dying before birth or soon after delivery. Throughout the pregnancy my patient and her partner met with many doctors, including pediatric cardiologists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, neonatologists and surgeons.

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All had the same objective  helping this family arrive at decisions and respecting those decisions that best aligned with their goals.

This couple felt that support and collaboration during the delivery of their baby. That's the win.

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As a high-risk pregnancy physician for 12 years, I've observed that in most of medicine  and particularly in my specialty  there are multiple unknowns, and the outcome is something over which we have minimal control. The sometimes fragile relationships we establish with patients are critical to helping them navigate that ambiguity.

Trust is a crucial component. Patients need to believe their physicians are honest and will provide them with the best available medical information. That's why the recent spate of laws and bills interfering with the interactions between patients and doctors is so disheartening and destructive.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert recently approved legislation making it mandatory for physicians to tell patients undergoing drug-induced pregnancy terminations that the procedure can be reversed. This is despite established organizations such as the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology stating that such claims are not supported by medical science.

In Texas, state Senate Bill 25 would prevent patients from suing their physicians if they deliver a child with a disability if the doctor knew of the disability and did not disclose it. The bill language presumes that the only reason a physician would tell a patient about an anomaly in the fetus is for the purpose of termination. Yet it is only one of multiple reasons that prenatal diagnosis of an anomaly is of use, including planning delivery location or arranging prenatal consultations. And while it is difficult to find an accurate estimate of the number of wrongful-birth cases in this country, it is generally accepted as infrequent.

The likelihood that doctors would lie to their patients or knowingly give them incorrect information is remote. Such behavior is antithetical to the sense of duty doctors feel to their patients. But this bill would create that uncertainty in the mind of a patient.

A law passed recently in Arkansas requires doctors to inform patients that pregnancy termination for sex selection is illegal. There is limited evidence that patients commonly seek pregnancy termination for gender selection in the United States.

Such statutes place the ethical construct of paternalism over autonomy, counter to the general direction of health care in this country. It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which it would be acceptable for a physician to withhold a diagnosis of an illness, such as HIV or cancer, from a patient out of fear for how he or she may respond to the diagnosis.

Multiple studies have demonstrated that the vast majority of women who seek abortion are certain of their decision, even in the face of such unnecessary hurdles as waiting periods and ultrasound imaging, making discussion regarding reversal irrelevant and offensive.

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Such misinformation as in Utah may mislead patients who are uncertain about their wishes into thinking that there is no harm in starting the termination process while they are deciding because the effects can be reversed. Furthermore, enforcement of such laws would be technically challenging and costly.

Legislators introduce these bills under the guise of protecting life, when they are merely restricting women's rights. They wrongfully invade territory that is the purview of a patient and her physician. They are a waste of taxpayer money and a ploy to gain publicity by manufacturing problems. It is time for policymakers to stop this interference.

Whatever popularity or visibility these laws may gain is certainly a loss for many women. And it perpetuates a loss of trust in the doctor-patient relationship I have spent my career protecting.

Dr. Priya Rajan is a maternal-fetal medicine physician and an assistant professor at Northwestern University.

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Judah Kalb still remembers when he tried to give his male friend a hug in elementary school in Chapel Hill, N.C. A counselor reprimanded him with a warning that men don't do that. "Obviously, I wasn't trying to make them uncomfortable," says Judah, 17. From that experience, he told me, he learned "the importance not only of intent, but how you're perceived."

That gap is something we all struggle with. But for autistic people like Judah, sorting out boundaries can be particularly frustrating. Questions of consent and personal space are an endless labyrinth where every word, eye movement and gesture requires translation.

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I understand this well. As a person with autism, I've struggled to assess what others need from a relationship. As a kid and young adult, I could become myopically focused on a woman I liked, no matter her reaction.

In fifth grade, I sent long-winded love letters to a classmate who didn't return my affection. In college, I continued that pattern. One night at a party, I asked an attractive woman to dance. Afterward, I got her number and suggested that we get together after exams ended. I waited a few days, then tried texting and calling. No answer. Eventually, I remembered that she frequented a particular bar. So I started going there to track her down and chat.

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To many, that story sounds creepy, even stalkerish. They're right: There's no excuse for violating others' boundaries. But back then, I was focused on my own reactions. No one taught me otherwise.

It doesn't have to be that way. Many autistic people will engage in interpersonal relationships and, yes, sex. Their educators, loved ones and parents can teach them how to do so safely, with the consent of all parties.

Judah's mom, Annissa Clarke, self-diagnosed as autistic, said she and her husband made sure their son received proper information about relationships and personal boundaries from a young age. "We've kind of been talking about it since he was a little guy in terms of, 'This is what sex can be when you reach that point when you are older and you need to always be aware of these things, and some of these things are even trickier because you are autistic,' " Clarke said.

She uses events, like the 2012 Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, to talk about consent. She has tried to stress that Judah has responsibilities as an actor and a bystander. "You know, if you're at a party with a bunch of people . . . it's not just what you personally do but what you allow to happen in your space," Clarke says. It's about "just trying to create an ethos more than just a hard, fast set of rules."

It's part of stressing a healthy outlook. "We don't want him to feel repressed or like sex is a bad thing," Clarke said.

Judah is in a relationship with a gender-fluid partner who is also on the spectrum. He says he has developed his own set of rules for how to respect others' space. "Unless I know someone really well, I generally try not to initiate any kind of hug or whatever," he said.

Shannon des Roches Rosa, whose son Leo, 16, is autistic, uses tutorial videos from writer and advocate Dave Hingsburger, who focuses on sexuality and relationships for people with disabilities. One DVD deals with how disabled people use condoms; two others discuss male and female masturbation.

"One of the problems that people can get into is they don't establish realistic boundaries as they would with other people like, 'Oh, well, you know, he grabbed my boob. That's OK' because he's autistic, Rosa said. "And it's like, 'Uh-uh. Nope.' "

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Consent is, of course, a mandatory part of any kind of intimate interaction. Any activity conducted without consent is and should be considered a violation. Using autistic people's lack of social skills as an excuse or scapegoat for not giving consent does a disservice to other autistic people and says they are not deserving of or cannot handle sexual activity or love.

"When I come across stories about people being sexually aggressive  people who then say, 'Oh, I have Asperger's'  it is frustrating, because autistics are far, far more likely to be victims of abuse than abusers," said M. Kelter, an autistic blogger who writes under that pseudonym at theinvisiblestrings.com. "Pinning violations like this on the spectrum just serves to stigmatize autistics and normalize sexual abuse."

Jason Travers, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, says two major components of sex education should be discussed with autistic people. All children, he said, need a conventional talk about anatomy, sexuality and consent.

"The other thing to be taught relates to a person's ability to protect themselves from potential harm and protect themselves from committing harm to others," he said.

Being understanding about the limits of autism is important to ensure that we have fulfilling sex lives and relationships. Similarly, teaching about consent is important not just so that autistic people respect others, but also to protect them from being taken advantage of.

Lindsey Nebeker, a development specialist at the Autism Society, said many autistic people like herself are socially naive. She had what she describes as a "confusing relationship" with a high school teacher that led to sexual abuse. On her personal website, she wrote that she dealt with self-harm and anorexia to cover up the pain.

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"I was in boarding school at that time, so I was away from my family and I didn't feel very loved," she said, seated next to her husband, Dave Hamrick, also autistic, in their home in Alexandria, Va. "So this was one person who made me feel like sort of the one to go to and be the one to comfort me."

But over the years, Nebeker has been able to foster a healthy relationship with Hamrick, with whom she has been for nine years; they married last year. The two sometimes switch between sharing a bed and sleeping in separate rooms.

Occasionally, Nebeker said, certain sounds or actions can trigger memories of the event that cause her to pull back, but she said one thing she appreciates with Hamrick is that he always asks before they engage in intimate activity.

Hamrick said it is good to know explicitly whether Nebeker is ready for any kind of activity. "It's like when I go into her intimate space," he said, "it's nice to have the consent to do it."

Washington Post

Eric Garcia, a staff reporter at Roll Call, is working on a book about autism and public policy.

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In just 100 days, President Donald Trump has damaged American democracy while simultaneously accelerating democracy's global decline.

No, Trump is not a dictator or a fascist, as some wrongly claimed. But he certainly has authoritarian tendencies and a baffling admiration for despots. He has a penchant for attacking democratic institutions and appears willing to sacrifice them in a heartbeat on the altar of his ego. And he has spouted several dangerous lies that a sizable portion of his political base unfortunately believes to be true. As a result, he has already managed to do major damage to democracy at home and abroad in five important ways.

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First, he has undercut the integrity of U.S. elections. Trump falsely claimed that millions of people voted illegally last year. That's not true. Every serious study into voter fraud has concluded that it is a minuscule problem. North Carolina conducted a vote audit for 2016, and found one case of in-person voter impersonation  out of millions of ballots cast. And yet tens of millions of Americans now wrongly believe that millions voted illegally. That is a serious challenge to public faith in the bedrock of American democracy.

Trump also actively solicited and took advantage of Russian meddling in U.S. elections. He invited Russia to hack and publish Hillary Clinton's emails. He mentioned WikiLeaks 164 times in the final month of the campaign (Trump's CIA director subsequently labeled WikiLeaks as a "hostile intelligence service"). The hacking of the Democratic National Committee was a brazen cyberattack on U.S. democracy and yet Trump has consistently been an apologist who plays down the hack rather than working to ensure it never happens again. (By the way, there is still an active FBI investigation into whether he or his campaign colluded with Russia in that attack).

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Second, he has attacked democratic institutions such as the free press and the independent judiciary. He has repeatedly dismissed credible, corroborated, truthful reporting as "fake news." But Trump has also maligned judges in highly personal and reckless ways simply because they ruled against his administration. His White house claimed that some judges (who were simply doing their job) provided a "gift to the criminal gang and cartel element in our country." He has called others "so-called judges" and claimed that it would be the fault of the courts if a terrorist attacked occurred during his presidency. This incendiary language is unacceptable and erodes public trust in checks and balances that are at the core of the U.S. democratic system.

Third, he has brazenly violated basic standards of transparency and government ethics. Democracy requires transparency. If citizens are not informed about the workings of their government, they cannot hold it accountable.

Just take his continuing refusal to release his tax returns  something that has been done by every presidential candidate since the 1970s. At first he used the extraordinarily flimsy excuse of an audit, but now he has even abandoned that fig leaf. Until Trump issues his tax returns, we don't know whether he is governing for American interests or his bank account.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has announced that it won't release White House visitor logs  so nobody can see who is coming and going to meet the president. Is there an endless stream of lobbyists? Or perhaps some high-profile foreign agents, like the ones he previously hired for his campaign? We have no clue, because Trump reversed an Obama-era policy to tell the American people who is coming to the taxpayer-funded White House.

This lack of transparency also bleeds into ethics violations and conflicts of interest that have gone unpunished  from using taxpayer dollars to promote Trump businesses to currying favor with foreign leaders apparently to receive lucrative trademarks abroad.

Fourth, Trump has hurt democracy abroad by leaving pro-democracy reformers out in the cold. When protesters took to the streets in Belarus and Russia demanding democratic reforms, Trump said nothing. That was a strategic mistake. These were protests in favor of democracy and against regimes that oppose the United States, so it should have been a no-brainer. Instead, Trump stayed silent as protesters were beaten in the streets. It was a missed opportunity and a gift to the forces that seek to undermine democratic reform abroad.

Fifth, Trump has endorsed and applauded dictators and despots, giving awful rulers a free pass to destroy democracy and violate human rights. He uncritically embraced President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi of Egypt, a military dictator who routinely tortures dissidents. He called to congratulate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on winning a rigged referendum that dismantled democracy in a NATO member state. Those signals have certainly not been lost on authoritarian rulers around the world who recognize that Trump does not care about democracy or human rights abroad. As a result, a decade of decline for democracy around the world will almost certainly accelerate.

Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy in a way that we haven't experienced before. Initial fears may have been overblown, but it's clear that he already is slowly but meaningfully eroding democracy at home and abroad. We must be vigilant. There are 1,358 days left.

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Washington Post

Brian Klaas is a fellow in comparative politics at the London School of Economics and author of "The Despot's Accomplice: How the West is Aiding & Abetting the Decline of Democracy."

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 23 (Scott Stantis)
Shoppersexit a J.C. Penney store in the Georgia Square Mall in Athens, Ga., on March 17, 2017. J.C. Penney said the company plans to close 138 stores, with liquidation sales there starting in April 2017. Most of the stores will be shut by mid-June, the company said. The closings will leave J.C. Penney with a total of about 900 store (John Roark / AP)

J.C. Penney, American Apparel, Radio Shack, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited. All closing stores in 2017. This is creative destruction, led by the growth of e-commerce giants like Amazon. It's the dance of progress: two steps forward and one step back. We've been doing it since the Industrial Revolution began. More automation leads to lower costs and fewer jobs.

The New York Times reports 89,000 brick-and-mortar retail workers have been laid off since October. That's more people than work in America's entire coal industry. But let's be optimistic and assume they'll find other jobs  at an Amazon warehouse, perhaps, or in the food-service industry. Even so, I grieve for the high school kids who will never get to go to the best business schools in the world, and get paid minimum wage to attend, as I did at the Meyer Miller shoe store in Cleveland. Where will these kids learn transactional economics or how to close a deal? How will they find professors like the veteran shoe salesman who taught me, among other things, how to tell which customers were never going to buy, the power of incentives and the history of the America that existed in the decades before I was born?

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I arrived on the sales floor in 1974 just as the revolution was hitting. Not the sexual revolution  the Ugly Shoe Revolution, which liberated men, temporarily, from black or brown, ties or loafers. This was the period of 6-inch stack heels in purple or green alligator and yellow patent-leather boots. Franco Harris was said to have had a pair of shoes with a live goldfish in the heel.

We still stocked a few styles of Allen Edmonds and Florsheim wingtips for the older Jewish men who had shopped at Meyer Miller for years and who now bent down to tie their wingtips next to young black men who might ask if I had that boot in a brighter shade of green.

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I learned more about the business world that summer than I learned in my first 10 years in advertising. Practical lessons. Like you can't sell someone something they don't want.

You could pay to attend a seminar titled "Closing the Sale." They'd teach you that when someone's ready to buy, you have to stop selling and let them. Jerry, a 70-year-old shoe salesman, taught me this lesson for free. He cut me off midsentence and took my customer to the cash register. When the customer left, he told me, "Shut up already and let the guy buy the shoes."

My fellow salesmen were older Jewish men, semiretired, many of them immigrants or sons of immigrants. They talked about the American Dream in prose, not poetry, telling me stories of moving in and out of old Cleveland neighborhoods on their way through the various levels of the working class.

They taught me real politics  the politics of the checkbook  not the value-based kind my liberal parents talked about. I listened, and I learned that America is filled with admirable people who do the most ordinary of jobs. People I might not have met had I not left my sheltered world and gotten a summer job.

They showed me how the real world worked, something we baby boomer managers wish our millennial employees knew more about. They showed me how you could move the ugliest of shoes  just drop the price low enough. And they showed me that you could still have dignity while forcing a size 12 on the foot of a 300-pound guy who insists he doesn't need a 13.

Young job candidates need more real-world experience, not more fancy internships. They need to learn how to read people, not emojis. They need practice showing up on time, not just logging on. They need to hear practical advice, like I heard from Jimmy, a salesman's salesman: "ABC. Always be charming."

Jim Sollisch is creative director at a marketing communications agency in Cleveland.
Jennifer and Jason Parks talk about their decision to move their four young daughters away from the South Shore neighborhood last year after violence struck close to home. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Witnessing the decline of South Shore is sad and frustrating. This attractive neighborhood on the lakefront, within easy commuting distance of the Loop, should never have lost its place as a bastion of Chicago's African-American middle class.

"In my mind's eye, the South Shore of my youth was pristine," Tribune reporter William Lee wrote last year. "With its big old homes and apartments, four grocery stores and doctors' offices  a black child in the '80s could feel insulated from the trappings of urban life."

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Then the violence intruded.

On Tuesday, a Tribune story chronicled the emotional and economic stress on South Shore, where a high crime rate is crushing hopes for what was one of the city's bedrock black neighborhoods. The report, written by Kathy Bergen, Angela Caputo and Lee, explores an important secondary cost of crime on Chicago's streets. Beyond the pain and fear that violence inflicts on victims and their families, crime sucks vitality out of neighborhoods. Ripple effects leave the city weaker.

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And South Shore is not alone. City leaders have not acknowledged the particular peril of black flight  middle-class black families moving out of stable city neighborhoods because of rising crime. Joining South Shore on the precipice: Chatham, Washington Park, Woodlawn and to some degree Hyde Park. Farther south, Pullman and Morgan Park. Families are moving to the suburbs, to Southern states, to Indiana.

Stability in a community requires investment of dollars, time and faith in tomorrow. That only happens where people with good, steady jobs want to live. The gentrification of Logan Square speaks to that, as does the rising livability of neighborhoods ranging from Bridgeport and Bronzeville to the South Loop and Lakeview. That South Shore is heading in the opposite direction is tragic for Chicago because the neighborhood has the housing stock, location and tradition that families should find desirable.

"It should be like Evanston," urban historian Beryl Satter told the Tribune. She's right. Squint and you see what ought to be a consummately livable, attractive neighborhood. That is, you can drive through South Shore or Pullman or any other of Chicago's struggling neighborhoods, and you can imagine what should be. You can conjure a lifeblood of busy sidewalks and occupied storefronts.

Instead, South Shore is suffering. Residents like Jennifer and Jason Parks are going elsewhere to raise their families because they don't feel safe. She is a nurse and homemaker, he is an investment banker. They sold their South Shore brick bungalow (located on the same block where Michelle Obama grew up) after a shooting, they told Tribune reporters. Those kinds of decisions are costly: Without middle-class families invested in the neighborhood, there is no positive momentum. Many businesses won't dare come, nor will home rehabbers and condo developers.

Rising crime has gradually invaded South Shore. It ranks sixth among the city's 77 community areas for incidents where one or more people were killed over the past decade, according to an analysis of Chicago Police Department data. Chicago does an efficient job of confining poverty to certain parts of the city. As a result, South Shore is a default destination for low-income renters who can't find housing in more affluent areas. The neighborhood took a big step backward during the Great Recession, hit hard by foreclosures.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 22 Jason and Jennifer Parks stand with their daughters, from left, Jada, 10, Jayla, 10, Jillian, 2, and Jenna, 6, on April 23, 2017, outside their Bronzeville home, where they moved last year after leaving South Shore. The idyllic atmosphere of their South Shore home was shattered in late 2014, when a 20-year-old man was shot dead on that block walking his brother to school. That hit too close to home for my husband, Jennifer Parks said. The couple sold their rehabbed, two-story brick bungalow and moved to a cramped apartment in a Bronzeville high-rise while having a new home built in Northwest Indiana. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

What ought to boost South Shore is Chicago's healthy job market, with some suburb-based employers moving to downtown or nearby. With Motorola Solutions and McDonald's relocating to the city, some workers might choose South Shore. So might workers at Method, a soap factory that thrives in Pullman. And plans (yet again) to redevelop the U.S. Steel South Works site on the lakefront offer hope. But big development to anchor these neighborhoods requires big help from City Hall. A singular focus. A consistent commitment to building employment and stable residential streets.

Regrettably, though, Loop workers are fleeing South Shore. From 2010 to 2014, South Shore lost the most Loop-located jobs of all 77 community areas in Chicago, according to the Metropolitan Planning Council. That was a loss of 413 jobs, a decline of 11.8 percent.

More than 400 downtown jobs gone from South Shore: That's likely hundreds of households that took their disposable income elsewhere. By contrast, MPC statistics show that the Near North Side gained 1,505 jobs, the most of any neighborhood.

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What Satter says is as accurate as it is unfortunate: South Shore could be like Evanston, or one of Chicago's healthy destinations, if it didn't frighten people away. That's another tragic cost of all the violence.

The question now: How to rescue South Shore and areas like it?

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.

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President Donald J. Trump looks on during his speech at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 29, 2017. (Tracie Van Auken / EPA)

Dear President Donald Trump:

As a mainstream media worker, I congratulate you on the completion of your first 100 days as president without facing impeachment. For a while, I wasn't sure that you could do it.

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I also want you to know that we're on to you. You're not fooling anybody with your media-bashing act, even after you cranked it up by skipping the annual dinner of White House press corps in Washington to lead yet another campaign rally, this time in a farm expo center in Harrisburg, Pa.

Sir, has anyone told you that you can stop campaigning now? That you won? That it is time to stop campaigning and start governing?

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Ah, but that's the rub, isn't it? You'd rather return to your comfort zone, where you can be cheered by crowds of people who already support you, than reach out as most presidents do to win new supporters or at least ease tensions with your opposition.

There in your safe space you were free to rail once again at the "failing New York Times" (which actually is doing quite well, thank you) or the "fake news" at CNN and MSNBC, among other media that  unlike, say, Fox News or Breitbart  are not your favorites.

It is obvious that you prefer to politic from a platform of appropriated victimization. Sure, your party controls both houses of Congress and most state legislatures, but you don't let that keep you from sounding like a lonely warrior fighting for the "forgotten Americans" against  who else?  the media, whom you once again called "very dishonest people."

"Their priorities are not my priorities, and not your priorities," you told the mammoth crowd in Harrisburg. "If the media's job is to be honest and tell the truth, the media deserves a very, very big fat failing grade."

Nice work. I know you're not dumb enough to believe all of that malarkey. Sure, you beat up on the Times, because it makes you sound big and brave to challenge the nation's most prominent newspaper.

Yet when you wanted to get your message out that you were planning to run for president, whom did you call but Maggie Haberman at the Times, who has covered you since your younger days when you would call the city's tabloids to give your spin on your latest divorce or offload blame for a financial loss.

Those good old days came to mind when your health care repeal-and-replace bill collapsed in the House. You called Robert Costa at the Washington Post and Haberman at the Times before giving remarks to a larger pool of reporters. In those calls you shifted blame to Democrats for the bill's failure, ignoring the Republicans who control both houses.

No wonder you love to bash the media. Besides the courts, the nation's free press is the only major institution left that you or your party doesn't control. When it's time to shift blame, where else can you go?

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That's as good  or bad  of a reason as any to explain why you skipped the annual dinner of the 103-year-old White House Correspondents' Association, the first president to do so since Ronald Reagan, who had a good excuse. He had just been shot the previous month in a failed assassination attempt.

Your shyness was odd, considering how, as the Times' Glenn Thrush noted, your "free-ranging press conferences" have been "a lot more democratic" than President Barack Obama's tightly controlled face-offs  with their single-page lists of pre-selected reporters.

But, after watching you at New York's Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in October, I can see why you wanted to shy away from the black-tie correspondents' dinner  as well as the annual white-tie dinner of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest media organization, a month earlier.

At the white-tie Smith dinner, your good-natured verbal jousts with your Democratic rival Hillary Clinton kept with the dinner's tradition but soured as your remarks turned nasty enough to elicit boos from the audience. Yes, sir, you were bombing long before you sent missiles into Syria.

After a couple of decades of watching presidents from both parties deliver funny speeches at the city's spring press dinners, I have to borrow one of your favorite Twitter words to describe your absence: sad.

It's not that we who attended the correspondents' dinner didn't have a good time without you. We did. But it's a sad commentary on our times that our president would rather drive more wedges between the media and the audiences that we serve than to take some time to strengthen his own relationship with us.

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Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 66 In this Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 photo, Donald Trump is shown in the 1964 Shrapnel yearbook at the New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y. (Mike Groll / AP)
JAMESTOWN  A 50-cent-per-month increase in the tax on landline telephone and cellphone connections approved by the North Dakota Legislature will generate about $10 million over two years, according to Duane Schell, director of the Network Services Division of the North Dakota Information Technology Department.

The money is earmarked for updates to the communications equipment used by dispatch centers and first responders around the state.

Its not funded at a level where we can do everything, Schell said, referring to the amount of money raised by the tax and the project to update the radio network. Thats the challenge we have to figure out.

Jerry Bergquist, Stutsman County emergency manager, said the goal is to have a statewide radio network that allows direct communications between police or fire units no matter what agency they work for.

Decisions regarding how the state will update its radio system will be handled by a board that includes representatives from law enforcement agencies, fire departments and emergency managers. The law that increased the tax on phone lines also added members of the state House and Senate to the board.

That board has a big job.

Bergquist said estimates to update radios for the entire state have been as high as $177 million. Estimates more than two years ago for updating all the radio consoles used by the dispatch centers in Stutsman, Barnes and Richland counties were as high as $1.6 million. Those counties have a cooperative agreement and use the same brands and models of equipment in their dispatch centers, Bergquist said.

That equipment is nearing the end of its life, he said. The radio consoles in the dispatch centers will no longer be eligible for service after 2018. While Stutsman County has saved some money to replace the equipment, it needs to know what equipment will work with the state network being developed.

There are 22 communications centers around North Dakota that answer 911 calls and dispatch first responders. Bergquist estimated about 15 use equipment that will become unserviceable after 2018.

Once the dispatch centers can talk to each other, he said, then you can switch out the other radio systems and equipment.

The 50-cent per line monthly tax will begin in July and will be deposited to a special fund for the radio update by the North Dakota state treasurer. Stutsman County residents already pay a $1 per line per month tax that is used to operate the Communications Center and cover local costs to upgrade equipment.
President Donald J. Trump speaks before presenting the US Air Force Academy Commander-in-Chief's football trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 2017. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)

Oh, please.

The ignorant, insular snowflakes on college campuses who want to banish conservative speakers are a piddly threat to American liberty.

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The hand-wringing and pearl-clutching on the political right about the lefty activists who object to their schools providing a forum to conservative provocateurs is preposterously out of scale to the danger these activists actually pose to the First Amendment.

Snarky firebrand Ann Coulter should have been allowed to speak as scheduled at the University of California at Berkeley, agreed. And the frightening, stifling campus protests to which other conservative speakers have been subjected are inexcusable, particularly at institutions supposedly dedicated to inquiry and freedom of thought.

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But come out from under the covers. Put on some fresh trousers. The vast majority of liberal politicians and pundits deplore this sort of suppression, which remains geographically quite limited. Rascals and rabble rousers from all across the political spectrum still have countless venues for expression, and those who wish to enjoy the vile ramblings of, say, Milo Yiannopolous, have no shortage of opportunity online.

The right dominates talk radio and cable chat, and Republicans control every branch of government at the federal level.

Freedom of conservative speech is very, very safe.

A better argument can be made that it's President Donald Trump and the GOP who are the true threats to American liberty.

On March 30, Trump tweeted "The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?" This echoed what he'd promised a year earlier on the campaign trail, "I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money."

The laws on the books say a public figure must establish that a media outlet acted with "actual malice" in order to prove libel. Relaxing that standard would have a deeply chilling effect not only on major media outlets but also everyday citizens, since social media has turned all of us into publishers.

In fact, the chilling effect would be greatest on everyday citizens, since so few have armies of lawyers to defend themselves against aggrieved politicians.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that pursuing such a change to the definition of libel "is something that is being looked at" by the Trump administration.

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In the same interview on ABC's "This Week," Priebus was asked about a related Trump tweet on Nov. 29: "Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag  if they do, there must be consequences  perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!"

"It's something that, again, is probably going to get looked at," Priebus said. "Our flag should be protected, and it's Donald Trump that talks about that issue. And you know what? It's a 70 percent issue in this country. He wins every day and twice on Sunday on our flag."

Not quite. The most recent scientific poll I could find, a 2011 survey by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and the Newseum, found just 39 percent support for a constitutional amendment to overrule the Supreme Court's finding that burning an American flag in protest is protected expression.

Yes, it's a form of expression that deeply offends many people. So is the sneering, sexist, racist claptrap from would-be campus orators. On principle I defend both forms of expression. But only the former is under threat by the president of the United States.

Fortunately, Trump's impulses to amend the Constitution to clamp down on the media and on other forms of expression he detests will be thwarted by the difficulty of passing such amendments absent an overwhelming national political consensus. Deep breaths, everyone. Free speech is safe.

For genuine threats to the core values of our democratic republic, however, you need look no further than the relentless, state-by-state efforts of the GOP to suppress minority voting. Just last month, a federal judge invalidated Texas' 2011 voter identification law on the grounds that the intent of legislators was to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters, not to combat almost nonexistent in-person voter fraud.

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Similarly, a federal court struck down North Carolina's voter ID law last summer, writing that the statute targeted "African-Americans with almost surgical precision" due to the legislature's blatant "concern that African-Americans, who had overwhelmingly voted for Democrats, had too much access to the franchise."

Shame on the those who try to deny provocative speakers the right to speak to willing campus audiences. But really. The threat they pose to liberty pales next to those engaged in campaigns of voter suppression as our peevish president hungrily looks to carve up the Constitution.

Twitter @EricZorn

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Satellite imagery late Monday evening showed the center of a large storm system continuing northeastward across the upper Great Lakes. Though flood-producing rains have shifted east with an attendant cold front, periodic showers have persisted. Cold air aloft, circulating around the core of low pressure, will keep the atmosphere unstable enough to support brief showers through Tuesday. Dry weather is expected midweek, before a similar storm system evolves over the southern Plains. This next weather producer is expected to spread rain back across the metro area Thursday and Thursday night. Heavy rainfall may occur from the far south suburbs, across Northwest Indiana. In addition, blustery northeast winds will give a feel of early November, rather than early May. Improving weather is due to arrive Sunday.
Rescue dogs will be the focus of a Pet Show set for this weekend in Aurora. (Rover Rescue / Handout)

Over the last four years, Aurora's Shawn Keating has fostered about 60 dogs for Rover Rescue, a local nonprofit dog rescue foster network.

With two dogs and a cat of her own, Keating currently is fostering Dolly, 12, a 15-pound Shih Tzu; and Dumpling, a 1-year-old tan and white boxer/pitbull mix.

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Dumpling is the sweetest, goofiest mix, Keating said.

"She is also somewhat shy and timid. Once she finds that special family, it will be a wonderful match," Keating said.

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Dolly came to a shelter in southern Indiana after her owner passed away and was given to the owner's elderly sister who had many dogs of her own. The sister couldn't take care of all of the dogs and turned them over to a shelter, Keating said.

Due to her timidness, Keating may leave Dumpling at home, but Dolly will be among about 50 dogs available for adoption at this Saturday's annual Rover Rescue Pet Show in Aurora.

In addition, a vanload of dogs will be brought up from several of the high kill shelters in Indiana that morning to the show, Teri Grandt of Rover Rescue said.

"It is one of only two times a year that all of our available dogs up for adoption are in the same place," Grandt added. "If someone is interested in several of our dogs, this is a great opportunity to see them all at the same time."

The annual Rover Rescue Pet Show is the biggest fundraiser for the organization which has rescued just under 8,000 dogs from high kill shelters in southern Indiana since 2004, group officials said.

"We rescue about 600 to 700 dogs each year," Grandt said.

Every other week, Rover Rescue volunteers rent a cargo van and drive to a halfway point where they meet a transport van that comes from Indiana. Dogs accepted by Rover Rescue are taken from small county animal shelters that have little funding, Grandt said.

Before Rover Rescue stepped in and began taking the dogs, 84 percent of all dogs taken in by shelters in southern Indiana were euthanized, group officials said.

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Today, 34 percent of the dogs are euthanized, according to the group.

"We get the dogs to our vets where they are spayed or neutered," Grandt said. "They are placed into a foster home until they are adopted."

Rover Rescue differs from some other shelters since it operates without a physical building and instead uses a network of between 45 to 60 foster homes for the dogs.

"We are always in need of foster homes for these dogs," Grandt said. "We cannot do this without foster homes."

As part of the Pet Show, owners can enter their dogs in about 20 different categories to give many dogs an opportunity to shine.

"By no means is it a cutthroat competition. We have some categories that take no talent whatsoever," Grandt said.

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About 300 to 500 people typically attend the event, she said.

For a $10 entry fee, dogs can be entered into categories such as "Most Kisses Given," "Best Costume," and "Most Tail Wags."

Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News

Rover Rescue Pet Show

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 6

Where: Aurora Turner's Club, 1335 Mitchell Road, Aurora

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What: Rover Rescue Pet Show will include a contest with 20 categories, a raffle, silent auction, bake sale, and food vendors.

For more: https://roverrescue.org/event/rover-rescue-pet-dog-show
Kendall County and the Illinois Department of Transportation closed the Millington Road bridge over the Fox River n southern Kendall County Monday due to deterioration in the bridge piers. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)

Doug Holley's Monday morning started when he noticed he had an email from Fran Klaas, the Kendall County Highway Department director.

The email informed Holley, the Millington village president, that the county had serious concerns about the safety of the Millington Road bridge over the Fox River, and that Klaas was about to hear from the Illinois Department of Transportation about whether or not to close it. That word came about 10 minutes later from the state: close it immediately.

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"It's another thorn in my side, yet it is," Holley said. "It's just something we're going to have to deal with."

Klaas said the closing came about because a consultant the county uses regularly to inspect bridges found what they call "scouring"  a form of deterioration  on one of the bridge piers. That prompted the county to hire another consultant to do specific underwater inspections, and that consultant found what Klaas called "moderate to severe" scouring. The consultant also discovered that the bridge piers are not on concrete footings in the water, just sunk down into the riverbed, called spread footing.

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The piers are more than 100 years, Klaas said, remnants from the original bridge built on Millington Road. When the current bridge was built in the 1950s, Klaas said, it was laid over the piers from the original bridge.

"They overlayed on the same footings," he said. "At the time, they probably thought there was no problem. But there is a problem."

The bridge is one of only seven highway crossings over the Fox River in Kendall County. People who normally cross the river at Millington now will have to go to Millbrook to the north, or Sheridan to the south.

"It's a Fox River crossing, and they are a precious commodity in Kendall County," Klaas said. "So, it will affect traffic everywhere."

Klaas not only warned Holley about the situation, he immediately called Millbrook city officials and told them to expect more traffic through town and over their bridge on Whitfield Road. Klaas said the county highway department and the Kendall County Board will have to figure out a way to fund the bridge repairs, but he said first officials have to "figure out how to fix it." He predicted the bridge will be closed "for many months."

"So this is going to be real inconvenient," he said.

That's something Holley echoed. The biggest concern is that it will delay the ambulances out of Sandwich, coming to what is the older, or original, part of town. Anyone going to Sandwich from the older part of Millington will have to add 10 to 15 minutes onto the trip, both ways, Holley said.

The bridge cuts off the older part of town from the newer part, which is, in effect, the Belle Rive subdivision. Holley said because all the government functions of the town are in the older part of Millington, it will inconvenience Belle Rive residents picking up their mail at the old Post Office every day, or having to come to City Hall.

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Still, Holley said in 2000, the bridge was closed for most of the summer when a new deck was put on it, and "people dealt with it, not that they liked it."

After hearing from Klaas Monday, Holley went down to the bridge and crossed it on foot, talking to people who had heard about what was to happen and came to see for themselves. He also passed around some information in Belle Rive and told residents to fill in their neighbors on what had happened.

One of the biggest rumors Holley found himself squelching was that the bridge closure had anything to with flooding from the spring rains. While the Fox River banks are overflowed in Millington, just as they are almost everywhere along the river right now, both Holley and Klaas said that had nothing to do with the closure. That was news to a couple that came by the bridge in the late afternoon, former Millington residents who had heard about the closing and came to see it.

They were surprised to find out it had nothing to do with the flooding.

"Really?" the man said. "Well, I guess Doug Holley really gets to find out what being mayor is all about now."

slord@tribpub.com
The election is a year and a half away, but a high school social studies teacher announced Monday he will run for the Democratic nomination for the 14th District Congressional seat.

The district includes part of the Aurora area.

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Victor Swanson, of Batavia, is the first Democrat to formally launch a campaign against Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren (R-Plano) in the 2018 election.

"I am running for Congress because together we need to ensure a brighter tomorrow for our children" Swanson said in his announcement. "We need to demonstrate that we care more about each other than we do about money. It's unfortunate that Congressman Hultgren and the Republicans in Washington have lost touch with the values of middle-class families. I am going to bring a positive vision to Congress that will prioritize: protecting public education, helping small businesses succeed, protecting human rights in the era of Trump, and ending the Republican war on women."

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U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgre (Randy Hultgren / Handout)

Swanson served in the U.S. Navy, and went to college on the G.I. Bill and the Illinois Veterans Grant. For the past 17 years he has been a high school social studies teacher. Swanson grew up in Yorkville and currently lives in Batavia with his wife Karen, a fellow public school teacher, and their two children, Ellie and Carter.

The Illinois 14th Congressional District was highlighted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in January as a battleground district. It was one of only 10 districts that Hillary Clinton narrowly lost that re-elected a Republican incumbent, committee officials said.

slord@tribpub.com
President Donald Trump speaks at an event in the White House Rose Garden Tuesday. Some West Aurora officials are concerned that Trump may push for education funding cuts. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)

West Aurora School District 129 officials are concerned President Donald Trump's budget plans could cut its federal funding.

"We're a little bit on shaky ground not knowing what we will receive," said Angie Smith, assistant superintendent of operations.

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Title I federal funds provide financial assistance to public schools with high numbers or percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet state academic standards, district officials said.

School officials said there's been talk that Title I funds could be diverted to vouchers and to help fund charter schools.

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Title II federal funds help public school districts with staff development.

Sarah Waddell, West Aurora director of elementary education, presented a report on the progress of developing the annual district Title I plan, which details how those funds will be allocated in the 2017-18 school year.

Waddell said the plan requires School Board approval prior to submission to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Waddell said states are required to have a plan. She said the Illinois State Board of Education adopted the Every Student Succeeds Act for Illinois last month.

"The ESSA mandates usher in changes that we need to consider as we're looking at Title I funding. We need to comply with those mandates," she said.

She said the act, signed by President Obama in December 2015, replaced the No Child Left Behind legislation. The law begins to take effect next school year.

"One of the major differences we see is (focus) on the whole child as opposed to looking at students from the lenses of math and reading," Waddell said.

She said the act looks at science, technology, engineering and math, as well as the fine arts.

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"Overall it is a welcome change," she said.

Waddell said with those changes, the district needs to reconsider its application for Title I. She said the needs assessment will be an integral part in doing that.

Waddell said the district's fiscal year 2017 allocation was $4 million, while the Title II allocation was roughly $524,000.

District 129 schools that receive Title I funds school-wide are Freeman, Greenman, Hall, Hill Goodwin, Schneider, Nicholson, McCleery and Smith elementary schools as well as Todd Early Childhood Center and Jefferson Middle School.

"We anticipate the same in 2018 in Title I funds depending on the federal government budget," she said. "Although we are slated to get the same amount in Title II, it is part of the president's proposed cuts."

Smith said Title I provides funds for math and reading intervention and supplies and resources for identified schools within the district.

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"If Title I funding gets cut, the district would have to cut those programs," she said.

Smith said the timing of the cuts is critical as well.

"If they cut the funds mid-year, the district would have to absorb those expenses," she said.

Programs cannot be cut in the middle of the school year, she said.

Smith said they are hopeful the government's stop-gap budget will get them through the first half of the next school year.

"We are confident the government's budget has been approved until the end of December. Because school districts across the country would be hard-pressed to announce mid-year layoffs, I would guess the first time we would see a cut would be in the 2018-2019 school year," Smith said. "The federal government knows how school districts plan, hopefully they will give us some lead time to make adjustments."

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Title II funds are also a worry, district officials said. Smith said they are concerned those cuts might be more widespread since those funds are associated with professional development.

"We are being conservative in how we plan for the use of those funds for next year. "Our continued fear is will these pockets of revenue, which have been reliable, be shut-off?" Smith said.

She said concerns with federal funding are coming up while the district's "most unreliable partner" - the state of Illinois - still has no budget.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
The state Department of Health is looking to hire staff and write rules on medical marijuana following passage of the states new law two weeks ago.

The undertaking represents uncharted territory for the department and the medical marijuana divisions director, Kenan Bullinger, a department veteran who was appointed to his position in February. Voters approved an initiated measure six months ago legalizing marijuana use for medical purposes.

Legislators replaced that law with a new one they wrote during the recent legislative session. Proponents said it includes necessary regulations for the federally illegal product, but still provides adequate patient access.

Gov. Doug Burgum signed Senate Bill 2344 in mid-April, and Bullinger said Tuesday, theyre aiming to have the product available in 12 to 18 months. That timeline will partially depend on the how quickly the growers and dispensaries become operational.

Among the states priorities are preventing the diversion of marijuana to people who arent qualified to use it and making sure its safe for patients, Bullinger said.

We are doing this for the people of North Dakota. They voted for it, he said. Im confident well get there.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said medical marijuana advocates should continue to pressure lawmakers and regulators to ensure the program is operational in a timely fashion and reflects voter intent. He cited the example of Maryland, where medical cannabis isnt yet available a few years after its law was passed.

Theres no reason this should take multiple years to roll these programs out, Armentano said.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia allow for comprehensive public medical marijuana and cannabis programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The North Dakota programs budget allows for six full-time employees. Bullinger hopes to start interviewing candidates for two administrative positions next week.

He is also looking at an expedited rulemaking process, which will be followed by soliciting applications for marijuana growers and dispensaries. The law allows for up to two manufacturing facilities and eight dispensaries, but the Health Department could add more if it finds increased access is needed.

Bullinger said the department has already contacted more than a dozen medical marijuana firms, with more interest coming from potential growers.

A fiscal note attached to the medical marijuana bill estimated 1,900 qualified patients would register in the first year, along with 950 designated caregivers.

Bullinger said the process of launching the new program has been a rewarding challenge.

You learn something new every day about this business, he said. Were all very happy with the direction were going.
MINOT  An autopsy is being conducted on the body of a 22-year-old college student who died from a fall in the construction zone of Minot's Broadway Bridge on April 29.

Capt. John Klug, spokesman for the Minot Police Department, said police also will be reviewing information from video cameras operating at the construction scene.

Cristian Fuentes, a Minot State University student formerly from Texas, was found Saturday morning under the bridge. Police were called at 7:35 a.m.

Klug said Monday there is little the department can confirm about the incident without more investigation.

"We are hoping that the autopsy will give us some indication of what the cause of death was," he said. "We don't have the actual answers. We don't know if it was accidental or intentional."

Klug said one of the biggest community concerns in light of the incident has been the safety of the bridge for pedestrians and motorists. The department has ascertained that strong safety measures appear to be in place.

At the time of the incident, police investigated the area and found that it was clear any pedestrians would know they were in a construction area, Klug said.

He visited the site more recently and reported the barricades and boarded stairways would make it difficult for anyone to access the construction area without going to an effort.
by Georgina D'souza

KUWAIT, MAY 1, 2017: A thanksgiving holy Mass and fellowship programme was organised on April 27 at the parish of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus in Kuwait, for the class 10 and 12 students who recently appeared for their board examinations. The event was organised by the Salesian Cooperators for over 50 students.

The evening commenced with the celebration of the holy Eucharist by Father Franco Pereira, who cited the example of the ten lepers that Jesus cured and yet it was only one grateful from among them, who came back to thank Jesus. The example helped the youth understand the importance of thanking the Lord in every circumstance. He invited all the students to express their gratitude to God for all their blessings and gifts.

The students then moved to the courtyard for a fellowship programme. Parish Priest, Father Blany Pinto directed their attention to the challenges of peer pressure and the importance of making the right choices. He encouraged them to enroll in parish youth groups and stay connected to the Church and parish activities wherever they go to pursue further studies.

Tara Ann Mathew said, "It was a beautiful experience where I was able to relax, have fun, meet lovely people and be thankful as I thoroughly enjoyed myself. God bless our parish and all the efforts of so many hardworking people that was clearly visible, this evening".



"It was a moment to cherish. The feeling of being loved and more importantly, it gave us all an opportunity to give thanks to the Almighty for bringing us together for all the good done," Vanaida Castelino said.

At the fellowship the youth and the organisers interacted, played games, danced and shared a meal. It was a memorable evening aimed at encouraging the youth to develop an attitude of gratitude.
Why these young voters in Pueblo want to get more youth involved in voting
The latest issue of Religion & Liberty is, among other things, a reflection on the 100-year anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution and the horrors committed by Communist regimes.

For the cover story, Religion & Liberty executive editor, John Couretas, interviews Mihail Neamtu, a leading conservative in Romania. They discuss the Russian Revolution and current protests against corruption going on in Romania. A similar topic appears in Rev. Anthony Perkins review of the 2017 film Bitter Harvest. This love story is set in Ukraine during the Holodomor, a deadly famine imposed on Ukraine by Joseph Stalins Soviet regime in the 1930s. Perkins addresses the significance of the Holodomor in his critique of the new movie. Romanian Orthodox hermit Nicolae Steinhardt was another victim of a Communist regime. During imprisonment in a Romanian gulag, he found faith and even happiness. A rare excerpt in English from his Diary of Happiness appears in this issue. In his column, Rev. Robert Sirico reflects on Robert Burns Man Was Made to Mourn: A Dirge as well as the horrors of the 20th century. Rev. Ben Johnson argues that, for the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin should be buried for good.

Youve probably noticed this issue of Religion & Liberty looks very different from previous ones. As part of a wider look at international issues, this magazine has been updated and expanded to include new sections focusing on the unique challenges facing Canada, Europe and the United States. A senior editor at Acton, Rev. Ben Johnson, explains this new project in What are transatlantic values?

Another feature discusses the surge of populism and why global elites are getting the boot. Robert F. Gorman, author of Actons latest monograph Whats Wrong with Global Governance?, sits down with John Couretas to expand on the themes of his latest work.

For the first In the Liberal Tradition of this newly redesigned publication, we learn about the life and work of Lucretia Mott. This fearless Quaker fought for the most vulnerable of her time and was a champion for both womens suffrage and the rights of Americas newly freed slaves.

One of Actons latest books, Lord Acton: Historian and Moralist is a collection of essays about the institutes namesake, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton. Religion & Liberty features an excerpt from this book: Stephen J. Tonsor on Actons observations of the American Experiment.

Adapted from a speech given late last year, Roger Scruton reflects on Freedom and the nation state.

Plenty of other important topics are also scattered throughout the issue: the danger of success, income inequality and the middle class, how poverty follows children well into adulthood, a brief on the accomplishments of Elinor Ostrom and much, much more. Something new in the expanded magazine are briefs, these short essays address big topics.

Enjoy the new Religion & Liberty!

You can download a PDF of the entire issue here.

Sign up to receive new issues (print or digital) of Religion & Liberty.

Featured Image: Da zdravstvuet mirovoi Oktiabr! General Research Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
By Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Tongyu Zhang

New transfer pricing regulations issued by the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), the Measures for Administration of Special Tax Investigation Adjustment and Mutual Agreement Procedures (the Measures), came into effect on May 1, 2017.

The Measures consolidate Chinas pre-existing regulations regarding self-adjustment and outbound payments with the new transfer pricing laws introduced in June 2016. In addition, the Measures integrate elements of the international BEPS program, such as regulations relating to intangibles, transfer pricing, and mutual agreement procedures, into domestic regulations.

The updates follow a year of substantial reform in Chinas transfer pricing regime, bringing it further in line with international standards. The breadth of recent changes will require many taxpayers to review and adjust internal transfer pricing policies regarding affected transactions to keep in compliance with Chinas rapidly changing tax landscape.

Expanded scope

Comparing with the prior measures (guo shui fa [2009] No.2), the scope of the special tax adjustment investigation has been expanded, including transfer pricing, cost sharing agreements of enterprises and controlled foreign enterprises, capital dilution, and general anti-tax avoidance. It also states that foreign tax residents can be subject to investigation, especially in cases relating to controlled foreign companies and general anti-avoidance matters.

RELATED: An Overview of Transfer Pricing in China

According to the Measures, tax authorities implementing a special tax investigation will focus on enterprises with the following risk characteristics:

Related party transactions with large transaction amounts, or varied types of related party transactions;

Long-term losses, low profits, or non-linear profits;

The profit is lower than the industrys level;

The profit level does not match the functional risks borne, or the earnings shared do not match the costs shared;

Related party transactions with related parties located in low tax countries or regions;

Failure to declare related party transactions or prepare contemporaneous documentation pursuant to the provisions;

The ratios of debt investments and equity investments accepted from the related parties exceed the stipulated standards;

An enterprise controlled by a resident enterprise, or by a resident enterprise and a Chinese resident which is established in a country or region with an actual tax burden lower than 12.5 percent, that does not distribute profit or reduce profit distribution, and such non-distribution or reduced distribution is not due to reasonable business needs; or,

Implements other tax planning or arrangements that do not have reasonable business objectives.

Technical details

When analyzing and assessing the related party transactions of the enterprise under investigation, the tax authorities will, in consideration of the functional risks of the respective parties in the transactions, select the party with relatively simple functions as a test target. In the course of such analysis, tax authorities should give priority to the use of public information, but may also use information not made public.

In addition to the five traditional transfer pricing methods listed in the old measures, the new Measures introduce valuation methods (cost, market, and income methods) and the term other methods that can align profits with economic activities and value creation, which must be both applied consistently with the arms length principle.

With the basis of the corresponding BEPS actions, the new Measures modify the regulations regarding the identification and pricing method of intangible assets and services trade between related parties. The Chinese tax authorities usually emphasize the importance of country-specific impacts on pricing when conducting transfer pricing analysis, such as the idea of Local Specific Advantages (LSAs).

RELATED: Audit and Financial Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Investigation implementation procedure

The Measures encourage taxpayers to adjust tax payments by themselves before being subject to an investigation. Upon receipt of the special tax adjustment risk warning by the enterprise or discovery of its special tax adjustment risks, the enterprise may take the initiative to make adjustments and top up tax payments through the new Special Tax Adjustments Self-Payment Form. The Measures support this by removing the 20 day limit for taxpayers to submit the corresponding-period materials.

Further, the Measures also alter the procedure of the special tax investigation, as well as some requirements for materials and evidence. For example, electronic data can now be regarded as evidence in an investigation. Although the overall structure remains similar, the implementation details of special tax adjustments tend to be more cautious in the new Measures.

Ensuring compliance

Tax authorities in many jurisdictions have been stepping up their monitoring system of special tax adjustments, with areas such as Beijing and Shanghai having started dedicated development of transfer pricing investigation teams since 2009. It is thus in taxpayers best interests to conduct regular review of internal transfer pricing policies and to adjust accordingly in a timely manner to maintain compliance.

As special tax adjustments become more frequent and substantial, taxpayers will increasingly seek tax relief or remedies, especially in the form of mutual agreement procedures, petitions for administrative reviews, and administrative litigation. This means that taxpayers will be required to work closely and cooperatively with tax authorities to successfully obtain relief.



About Us China Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road, and Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here, and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates is a full service practice in China, providing business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax, IT, HR, payroll, and advisory services throughout the China and Asian region. For assistance with China business issues or investments into China, please contact us at china@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017

This Dezan Shira & Associates 2017 China guide provides a comprehensive background and details of all aspects of setting up and operating an American business in China, including due diligence and compliance issues, IP protection, corporate establishment options, calculating tax liabilities, as well as discussing on-going operational issues such as managing bookkeeping, accounts, banking, HR, Payroll, annual license renewals, audit, FCPA compliance and consolidation with US standards and Head Office reporting.

Payroll Processing in China: Challenges and Solutions

In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we lay out the challenges presented by Chinas payroll landscape, including its peculiar Dang An and Hu Kou systems. We then explore how companies of all sizes are leveraging IT-enabled solutions to meet their HR and payroll needs, and why outsourcing payroll is the answer for certain company structures. Finally, we consider the potential for China to emerge as Asias premier payroll processing center.

Dezan Shira & Associates
Painting their bikes in highly conspicuous hues of yellow, orange or blue, China's 30-odd bike-sharing startups sport a parade of colorful branding and are striving to return the nation to its place of honor as the "kingdom of bicycles".

Ofo bikes along Beijing's East Third Ring Road. [Photo/China Daily]

While bike-sharing is no rarity elsewhere in the world, the Chinese version gives wheels to the concept, with customers able to find a free bike anywhere in the city closest to you (located via GPS on an app) and leave them when they are finished in their journeys.

The concept is all the rage among students and young professionals across the nation for being convenient, green and cheap. An average 30-minute ride costs 0.5 yuan (7 cents).

But the fight to become the unicorn of the burgeoning sector has proven to be a rather costly one.

In the latest development, ofo, a leading player featuring iconic yellow bike offerings, was officially added to the line-up of Didi Chuxing, the nation's dominant riding hailing app.

Didi, which drove rival Uber out of the country after years of cash burning, has folded ofo's bike-sharing functions into its "hugely popular app with 400 million users", according to a company statement.

When Didi users want to revert to bicycles as a means of transportation, ofo's service is displayed as an option on Didi's platform, which is already laden with everything from buses and taxis to chauffeur services.

Aside from app integration, Didi said it will tap into ofo's data allowing it to design "more efficient bike-bus transfer options" on its shuttle bus service.

"Didi will involve ofo into its own algorithmic model via artificial intelligence techniques and provide real-time travel options to users," said Neil Wang, China president at consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

This marks a direct counter-punch to ofo's chief competitor Mobike, which in early April got linked into WeChat, the ubiquitous messaging-to-payment app owned by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, taking the bike-sharing craze to new heights.

The tie-up allows Mobike to be at the immediate disposal of 889 million WeChat users starting a video chat, to browse news and conduct payment via the app. A Mobike icon is placed on the top of an array of e-wallet offerings, which also include Didi's services and ticket booking.

Ofo and Mobike, which are rekindling Chinese people's interest in a traditionally preferred mode of transport, are the latest darling of the capital market.

Following $450 million in Series D funding by a consortium including Didi, the cash-rich smart bike company announced a week earlier fresh strategic investment from Ant Financial Services Group, the nation's top e-payment provider.

Meanwhile, Mobike has attracted more than $300 million in investment so far this year from a list of prominent names including Temasek, Hillhouse Capital, and Tencent.

The landscape is getting red-hot as players compete to be the number one choice for bike riders. By working with Sesame Credit, a credit-rating system developed by Ant Financial, ofo waived a 99 yuan deposit fee for users in Shanghai whose Sesame Credit reached 650.

To fend off competition, rival Mobike is giving deep subsidies through random cash incentives to retain users.

Compared with the enormous input companies need to purchase huge fleets of bikes and make them accessible for rent through an app, the seemingly utopian model has already been subject to skepticism over its ability to turn a profit.

The business model followed by so many bicycle-sharing companies just doesn't appear (yet) to have any competitive advantage, according to Jeffrey Towson, a management professor at Peking University and a private equity investor.

"It doesn't create a superior service like taxi ride-sharing (more drivers means shorter waiting times). It doesn't create a much lower cost structure per unit," he said.

As bikes get fancier and more expensive, it would still take about a year to recoup the production expenses of a bike, not to mention maintenance, theft and vandalism, he added.

"While the market may well consolidate, there is no reason yet to think the business itself will generate any type of exceptional profitability," he said.

But the sector still encourages investors to plow in money and resources because of the huge traffic such apps bring in, said Lu Zhenwang, chief executive officer of Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy.

"The area is destined to be a fierce battlefield for internet giants as they strengthen online-to-offline deployment and race to become the prioritized cashless payment tool," he said.

Wang from Frost agreed, saying that the most direct support from Didi is the huge customer base and traffic it owns, which will stimulate the explosion of users as well as daily orders for ofo.

"The WeChat-Mobike linkup has proved that such strategic cooperation does boost the number of active users significantly. In the future, this is not simple investment in money, but in resource sharing in the long run," he said.
Foxconn Technology Group plans to open a production center in Central China's Hunan province for Amazon.com Inc, as part of its effort to diversify and reduce its reliance on Apple Inc, according to technology website Digitimes.

Workers at a Foxconn Technology Group plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The tech giant will enhance its production capacity at its plants in Hengyang, Hunan province. [Photo/China Daily]

The center, based in Hengyang, will produce an array of devices for Amazon, the report said, citing unnamed industry sources.

Foxconn confirmed with China Daily on Monday that it had signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Hengyang, but declined to disclose further details. Amazon declined to comment.

The plan includes building a precision-molding demonstration park and Amazon production center in the city, Digitimes reported.

The report indicated that Foxconn will enhance the production capacity of its plant in Hengyang this year, adding 30 new production lines for audio equipment and tablets, and another 15 lines for smartphones, tablet mainboards and other components.

As a main assembler of Apple's iPhone, Foxconn's expansion plan may indicate that demand for the Amazon Echo, the voice-activated personal assistant, will increase this year, analysts said.

Foxconn and Amazon have been cooperating since 2007, and it is the sole manufacturer of the Amazon Echo.

In January, Foxconn posted its first annual revenue decline since 1991. The tech giant recorded $136.38 billion in revenue in 2016, down 2.81 percent year-on-year, after its biggest client Apple saw slowing iPhones sales.

Foxconn has launched a strategy to reduce its dependence on Apple. Last year, it acquired Japanese electronics giant Sharp Corp to rejuvenate Sharp's television business and increase its production of LCD panels, with an aim to expand its product portfolio.

James Yan, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, said Foxconn has a sense of crisis and is trying to reduce its heavy reliance on Apple as the sales performance of Apple's iPhone 6S and 7 is unsatisfactory.

"Foxconn hopes to ramp up its capacity and is unwilling to just rely on a single client," Yan said, adding that Apple is also reducing its dependence on Foxconn, cooperating with other contract manufacturers, such as Pegatron Corp.

Amazon has made efforts in artificial intelligence and machine learning in recent years and has become a client offering Foxconn huge growth potential.
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R, front) receives a hat from Hu Jie (L, front), captain of China's missile destroyer Changchun, in Davao City, the Philippines, May 1, 2017. Duterte visited the Chinese warship docked in Davao City wharf on Monday. (Xinhua/Yu Wei)



Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that he is open to the idea of conducting joint military exercises with China.

"I agree (to the idea). They can have joint exercise(s) here in Mindanao, maybe in the Sulu Sea," Duterte told reporters after visiting the Chinese warship docked in Davao City wharf.

Duterte said he was very impressed by the Chinese warship. "It's very impressive. It's all carpeted. It's so beautiful. Inside, it's like a luxury hotel," he told reporters, "It's clean!"

He said the visit to the warship is part of the confidence building and good will between Manila and Beijing.

A Chinese naval fleet has begun a three-day friendly visit after arriving Sunday at Davao City in the southeastern region of the Philippines.
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The White House said on Monday the United States would continue talks with Israel about Israeli settlement activity on occupied Palestinian territory.

"I'm sure that we'll continue to have conversations with the prime minister (on Israeli settlement activity)," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said here at the daily briefing.

"That'll be something that the president will continue to discuss," said Spicer.

Israeli authorities announced on Friday that Israel intended to build 15,000 new settlement houses in East Jerusalem despite U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier call for holding back new settlement activities for a possible new effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told local media that the new Israeli settlement plan was a "deliberate sabotage" of efforts to resume negotiations.

The new Israeli settlement activity also came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was preparing his visit to the White House later this week.

The White House said last month that Trump and Abbas would "reaffirm the commitment of both the United States and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and ultimately concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel."

Also, in another statement in March, the White House said that Trump told Abbas in his first phone call with the Palestinian leader that he personally believed that peace between Palestine and Israel is possible.

In a major departure from the longtime U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump said in February that he was open to either a one-state or two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I'm looking at two-state, one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. ... I can live with either one," Trump said then at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, Trump also asked Netanyahu to "hold back" on building new settlement "for a little bit."

The former U.S. administration under Barack Obama often criticized Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which Washington considered as a major obstacle to peace.
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Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) announced Monday to re-elect President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chairman after a break of some three years, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

A ceremony will be held by the party on Tuesday to welcome its founder, President Erdogan, and renew membership for him, the Deputy Chairman Yasin Aktay told reporters after the AKP's Central Decision and Executive Board meeting.

Erdogan will first make his request to register with the AKP and then address the ceremony, which will include all party officials, AKP lawmakers and other related officials.

The President will be re-elected as party chairman at an "extraordinary" congress on May 21, according to Aktay.

Erdogan had chaired the AKP for 13 years from 2001 but had to step aside when he was elected president in August 2014, as the constitution prevented president from being affiliated with a political party on the grounds of the impartiality of the president.

The constitutional amendment that was approved by the April 16 referendum paves the way for the president to retain membership of a party.
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A woman holding a placard participates in a May Day march in Chicago, the United States, on May 1, 2017. Thousands of Americans on Monday took to streets in major U.S. cities including Washington D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to join May Day demonstrations for the rights of workers, women and immigrants. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

Thousands of Americans on Monday took to streets in major U.S. cities including Washington D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to join May Day demonstrations for the rights of workers, women and immigrants.

"It is not my first time to join the event. I joined because the workers of America have been giving a very rough deal for really long time. Workers need more rights, shorter work days, better safety, laws for better pay," Treg Waahl told Xinhua , referring to May Day as the International Workers Day.

"You have to keep asking, keep trying." said Waahl, who was among hundreds of people marching in the downtown of Washington D.C. Monday afternoon.

"I am a cabin maker, I never had an employee because I cannot afford to pay the health insurance. I cannot teach anybody what I do. I think that is really wrong." another protester, identified himself as Philips Palmer, said.

Zakiya Scott, one of the organizers, told Xinhua that the May Day demonstration is the culmination of a series of protests starting from early April by a newly formed umbrella organization called the Majority coordinating more than 50 protest groups across some 100 U.S. cities.

Besides the traditional themes, this year's May Day "is also being used as to call attention to Trump's empty job creation promises, pro-corporation, and anti-worker stances," he said in a statement, citing May Day as U.S. President Donald Trump's 101st day in office.

Also on May Day in Oakland, California, at least four demonstrators have been arrested by police after they chained themselves together to block a county building in protest against Trump's tough immigration policies.

In downtown Chicago, organizers estimated an attendance of 20,000 people in the May Day rally. They carried banners and signs calling for immigrant and workers'rights, environmental justice and a higher minimum wage.

In a Los Angeles park, several thousand people chanted "love not hate" in opposition to the new administration.

The White House had no immediate response to the May Day demonstrations.
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Three teenage females, two aged 18 and the other aged 19, were arrested Monday by Officers from London's Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

Police said they carried out search warrants Monday morning at three addresses in east London.

In a statement, the Met said the three women were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorist acts under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. They are currently in custody at a police station outside of London.

The arrests were made as part of an ongoing intelligence-led operation last Thursday in connection with an address on Harlesden Road in northwest London's Willesden district during which a 21-year-old woman was shot and wounded by armed police.

She was discharged from a London hospital, where she had been under guard by armed police, on Sunday and was immediately arrested.

Police are now holding nine people under terrorism laws as a result of the raid at the house in Harlesden Road, as well as a 10th person in custody following an incident near Downing Street when a man, carrying a number of knives, was arrested.
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At least 20 militants have been confirmed dead as the military aircraft pounded Taliban hideouts in Zebak district of northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan province Monday night, a senior police official in the northern region said Tuesday.

"Acting upon intelligence reports, the aircraft of security forces targeted the hideouts of the armed Taliban insurgents in Zebak district late last night killing at least 20 enemies on the spot," General Shir Aziz Kamawal told Xinhua.

Six vehicles and two motorbikes of the militants were also destroyed in the attacks, the official said.

The deadly air raids conducted after the capture of the Zebak district by Taliban militants couple of days ago.

Taliban militants, according to the locals, have been attempting to overrun Zebak's neighboring Ashkashim district and government forces have been fighting back to foil the plans.

However, local observers believe that the possible fall of Ashkashim district to the Taliban militants would enable the armed group to have direct access to Pakistan's Chitral district.

Badakhshan province, with Faizabad city as its capital, 315 km northeast of Kabul, has been the scene of Taliban increasing insurgency over the past three years.
BRUSSELS -- The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held from May 14 to 15 in Beijing, could be a dream venue for discussing digital silk road featuring 5G communications, a European digital expert told Xinhua.

"The Belt and Road Forum is the most important event of the year which will bring about a new dynamic of cooperation. It seems the dreamed venue to discuss digital silk road and a common roadmap for 5G," said Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business-led international association in Brussels that promotes digital cooperation.

Gambardella said he was invited to the forum and he believes the Belt and Road Initiative could promote global peace and stability by fostering economic growth and integration of participating countries.

"It contrasts with the current economic stagnation in Europe and other regions of the world," he added. [ As a digital expert, Gambardella suggested that the discussion of the forum not be limited to railway or other types of physical connection. Building a digital silk road and 5G deployment should be prioritized too.

Speaking highly of the new technology, he defined 5G as a faster wireless broadband with a speed at least 1,000 times compared to 4G network and it enables the connection of all possible electronic devices and makes new services like driverless cars possible.

"5G constitutes a technical revolution which will change people's life greatly. I hope those countries cooperate to design and implement smart 5G cities across the Silk Road," Gambardella said.

He called for the establishment of a high-level group of experts for technical support to governments which seek to deploy 5G projects.

"Local governments deserve not only the best 5G infrastructures but a global ecosystem at service level," he said.
China's homegrown and leading cosmetics group, Shanghai Jahwa United Co Ltd, posted a quarterly growth rate that is almost twice the industry average, according to the company's statement released on Wednesday.

For the first quarter of 2017, the company reported revenue of 1.34 billion yuan, up by 15 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was calculated by excluding the business it partnered with Japanese consumer goods group Kao as its distributor in China. If included, the revenue was actually down by 13.04 percent year-on-year.

Jahwa terminated its five-year partnership with Kao in early 2017. Revenue generated from the partnership, close to one billion yuan in 2016, accounted for about 20 percent of Jahwa's total.

"We are confident that the one-billion-yuan gap will be soon filled," said Zhang Dongfang, Jahwa's CEO, at a teleconference media briefing on Wednesday evening.

Zhang noted that two of the major growth drivers that will help fill the gap will be Tommee Tippee, Britain's largest nursing bottle producer that Jahwa acquired last May, and the partnership it established with Chinese traditional medicine manufacturer, Zhangzhou Pien Tze Huang Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, in an attempt to tap into the oral care market.

This is the first quarterly report since Zhang stepped in as the 119-year-old company's CEO in November. The company replaced two top leaders within three years since 2013. This is also the first time the company enjoyed a two-digit growth rate from revenue generated by its own 12 brands over the past three years.
Foreigners enjoy the beach and sunshine in Sanya, which is seeing steady growth in overseas visitors. YANG GUANYU / XINHUA

The scenery around Lecheng, a small town 6 kilometers away from the site of the Boao Forum for Asia on tropical Hainan Island, is changing daily as it is turned into an international pilot zone for medical tourism, an industry which is expected to bring in $678 billion in 2017 worldwide.

About 90 kilometers from Haikou, the capital city of Hainan province, Lecheng, with its 700-year history, was chosen in 2013 as the location for a future world-class medical tourism center.

"All the projects in the the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, the only one in the country, have been designed to sit in an area of about 20 square kilometers, on both banks of the Wanquan River. This area has been nicknamed China's Amazon and encircles Lecheng island with plush tropical scenery," said Lin Ping, deputy director of the zone's administration office.

Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and served by a cluster of high-end medical professionals, the zone will cater to patients from around the country and overseas, Lin said.

More than 483,000 Chinese went abroad for overseas healthcare and leisure, health checkups and other medical services in 2015.

To support development of the pilot zone, the central government has offered a number of preferential policies under which foreign companies will be able to set up medical organizations in the zone and foreign doctors will be allowed to practice there for up to three years.

"A total of 27 projects have been completed or are under construction, attracting an investment of 22.8 billion yuan ($3.3 billion). The main businesses of these projects involve treatment of tumors, plastic surgery, anti-aging services, leading-edge medical technology research, such as stem cells, health management and rehabilitation," said Lin.

He said another 36 projects have passed medical technology appraisals and in total the administration office has talked with developers of 92 high-end medical and healthcare projects, with a potential total investment of 60 billion yuan.

"When all the projects are completed in about five years, the pilot zone will be able to receive 5 million tourists a year. Output value of the services will amount to 80 to 100 billion yuan," said Lin.

Geng Songtao, a professor of tourism with Haikou-based Hainan University, believes that the pilot zone has many advantages that will help with the development of its medical tourism industry. He suggested that the zone makes good use of the preferential policies and produces an exquisite top-down design for the zone's development.

Hainan, once a key stop on the ancient Maritime Silk Road and now building itself into an international tourism destination, plans to be an all-in-one international demonstration zone for Chinese traditional medicine tourism by 2020.
MEXICO CITYSome have just come, while others have been ploughing on there for years. But no matter how long they have been present in Latin America, Chinese manufacturers, construction groups and service providers are providing a beneficial force to help transform the continent and its people.

Business is by nature profit-oriented, but those from China have shown themselves particularly willing to help empower regional economies, in so doing winning acceptance and approval, according to those interviewed at seven Chinese companies operating in six Latin American countries by Xinhua.

In the outskirts of Havana, the capital of Cuba, China's multinational consumer electronics and home appliances company Haier helped Cuba establish its first ever computer-assembly factory.

Since its inauguration in December, over 3,500 laptops and 4,000 tablets have been made and sold to Cuba's state companies and government agencies.

With annual production capacity of 12,000 units, the factory potentially provides more impetus for the country's digital endeavors to improve one of the lowest internet connectivity rates in the world.

"This project will give the country, its young people, schools, doctors and other professionals, the option of having an important work tool with good quality, services and properties at an affordable price," local employee Jose Antonio Sanchez told Xinhua in a recent interview.

On March 28, with the sponsorship of the world's fourth-richest man, Mexico's magnate Carlos Slim, Chinese automaker JAC Motors unveiled two compact SUVs in Mexico City, which were assembled at its plant in the municipality of Tepeapulco in the central state of Hidalgo.

With an investment of $230 million, the plant's blueprint envisages production of 10,000 vehicles in five years and the creation of 1,000 direct jobs and 4,000 indirect ones.

"We have done a lot of tests in the market. Based in Mexico, we strive for size and brand building," said David Zhang, deputy general manager of JAC International.

"From the Mexican base, we will expand into Central America and the Caribbean," Zhang added.

On April 11, China Southern Airlines inaugurated a flight connecting the city of Guangzhou with Mexico City, the company's first such flight to Latin America, which Mexico hopes will help boost tourism from China.

"China is an important tourist market," the Deputy Minister of Tourism of Mexico, Salvador Sanchez, told the inauguration ceremony.

"In 2016, Mexico received 74,300 (Chinese) visitors, a 33.5 percent rise over 2015, making (China) the second most important Asian market."

CRRC, China's State-owned rolling stock manufacturer, has been providing a comprehensive service to Argentina's railway renovation project for the past five years.

A dilapidated railroad network once hindered development of the third-largest economy in Latin America and caused accidents. Now, CRRC has been accepted as a strategic partner to revive the transportation lifeline, with its advanced equipment, technology and human resources.

In Brazil, China's biggest air conditioner producer Gree has pulled ahead of its competitors in the market, with energy-efficient technology, updated products and a comprehensive support service.

As one of the earliest Chinese home appliance producers going overseas, Gree has been in Brazil for 16 years and is present in 24 states with over 300 dealers and 500 service providers.

Apart from its efficient products and attractive designs, Gree is well known for energy and environment conservation, winning approval from the Brazilian government.

"This job fulfills me," said Andreza Rocha, a local employee of Gree Brazil. "I fit into the cultural atmosphere of this enterprise. I have learned a lot from the senior managers from China."

In Peru, Yanjian Group from East China's Shandong province has gained a strong foothold through eight years of hard work, with new contracts rolling in. Under one contract, Yanjian will build a national emergency response center in Lima.

"With our 65 years of construction experience and consideration for local demands, we pay a lot of attention to the details of design and building to meet as many requirements as possible," said Wang Shuwei, general manager of Yanjian Peru.

In Ecuador, the lives of a lot of people were saved by dialing 911, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted its north coast on April 16, 2016, killing 673 civilians.

The hot line is handled by the ECU 911 system, which was developed by the China National Electronics Import & Export Corp, integrating the country's emergency response and rescue services into a single platform.

The project started in 2011 and now there are 16 ECU 911 call centers across Ecuador, including two national ones in the capital city of Quito and the other in Guayaquil, its most populous city.

Andres Sandoval, national director of ECU 911, told Xinhua on the quake's anniversary, that thanks to the Chinese group the system had great technological capabilities, strong capacity in its servers, and strong contingency support for telecommunications.

JAC Motors' Zhang said that Chinese companies were very determined and never saw Latin America as an easy market.

"There are higher standards in Mexico. Chinese vehicles are late comers to Mexico, later than in other Latin American markets they have already entered," Zhang said.

China's IT technology and equipment providers in Cuba need more support from the Chinese government, just like the US administration helps their providers there, according to Haier.

Many Chinese companies in Latin America believe there are still great challenges for them to do business in the continent, due to its long distance, disparate standards, limited policy support and financial constraints.

But, executives from the companies add, the big market and the local people keep them staying on, no matter how big the challenge.
A view of China Southern Airline's fleet at Guagnzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, April 19, 2015. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China Southern Airlines, the country's biggest carrier by passenger volume, said Saturday its net profits slumped 42.44 percent year on year to 1.55 billion yuan ($220 million) in the first quarter of 2017.

In a report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the airline attributed its profit drop to rising global fuel prices in the three-month period.

The company's business revenue rose 10.58 percent from the same period last year to 30.97 billion yuan in the first quarter, according to the report. Earnings per share stood at 0.16 yuan.

Share price of the airline dropped 0.52 percent to 7.7 yuan on the Shanghai market Friday.

The Guangzhou-based state-owned operator announced in late March that American Airlines would spend $200 million to buy a stake in the company, which is pushing progress in its mixed-ownership reform.
A bottling line of Coca Cola in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province. [PHOTO/XINHUA]

SHIJIAZHUANG - The first phase of a Coca-Cola production base went into operation Friday in North China's Hebei province.

Currently, a five-hectare area has four production lines and an annual production capacity of 100 million unit cases (one unit case is 5.678 litres). Once the entire project is completed, it will be able to make 250 million unit cases annually.

The base, covering more than 13 hectares, is located in Hebei's Xianghe county and has joint investment totalling 350 million yuan ($51 million) from COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages and Tianjin Bohai Light Industry Group. After completion, it will have nine production lines and is expected to meet demand in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region for the next 15 years.

This is the second COFCO bottling factory in Hebei and its biggest investment.

China is Coca-Cola's third biggest market worldwide, and COFCO became its first bottling partner after the company returned to China in 1979.
DUBAI - The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said Monday the recently listed DGCX Shanghai Gold Futures Contract has had a positive "knock-on effect" on the trading activity of the Exchange's other gold products.

The Shanghai Gold Futures Contract, which the exchange said uniquely allows access to the Chinese gold market, traded a total of 2,946 contracts since its listing on March 10.

DGCX's Spot Gold contract saw six-fold growth year-on-year, while also recording a 74 percent increase in deliveries through the DMCC trading platform.

"There has also been a growing optimism for gold, especially on the back of Brexit and French election uncertainty," added the exchange which is a licensed market of Dubai's biggest industrial free zone DMCC.

Following the signing of a deal between the DGCX and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in October 2016 during the promotional "Dubai Week in China", the listing of the Shanghai Gold Futures Contract marked "the first-ever usage of the Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price in international markets," said Gaurang Desai, CEO of the DGCX.

He added that the consistent growth of DGCX's product suite, volumes and member community "helps us to create a vibrant, exciting and well regulated marketplace for all market participants across asset classes."

Paresh Kotecha, Chairman and CEO of Dubai-based commodities trading firm Richcomm Global Services, told Xinhua in an interview "the Shanghai Gold Futures Contract has given the DGCX a decisive advantage over Singapore, because in the Southeast Asian city-state Chinese gold futures are traded over the counter, but not as a standardized futures contract."

Financial derivatives such as futures and options allow traders of an underlying commodity like gold or a currency to hedge themselves against expected price fluctuations in the future. They can also be used for speculative purposes.

The DGCX which has 46 products on its quotations list already launched Chinese yuan futures back in 2015.

In 2014, China replaced India as Dubai's biggest trade partner and has retained this lead since then.

In 2016, bilateral exchange between the trade and tourism metropolis and the world's second largest economy was worth $45.23 billion, accounting for 13 percent of Dubai's total foreign trade, according to the Dubai Customs.
BEIJING - Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang called for a better rural credit guarantee system to direct more loans into the money-starved rural economy.

Establishing a government-backed system is significant to boosting efficiency of support policies for rural areas and carrying out the agricultural supply-side structural reform, Wang said during a meeting on Friday.

To help farmers secure loans, efforts should be made to build more guarantee institutions specializing in rural financing and create new business models, according to Wang.

Chinese farmers and agri-businesses have been facing difficulties in borrowing money from banks partly due to the lack of high-quality collateral, and the government is encouraging pilots in rural credit guarantees to solve the problem.

Wang urged more cooperation by governments, banks and guarantee institutions.

Outstanding agriculture-related loans in China stood at 29.23 trillion yuan ($4.24 trillion) as of the end of the first quarter this year, up 8.9 percent year on year, according to the central bank.

The growth was 1.8 percentage points higher than the level a quarter ago.
ISMAILIA - Chinese companies operating in Egypt held an employment forum on Sunday at the Suez Canal University in Egypt's Ismailia province, east of the capital Cairo.

At least 15 Chinese companies, including Chinese large industrial developer TEDA, fiberglass giant Jushi, Hengshi Egypt Fiberglass Fabric Ltd, XD-EGEMAC High Voltage Co Ltd and New Hope Group for agricultural industries, joined the recruitment forum, which was held in cooperation with the Chinese embassy in Cairo.

Ismailia's Governor Yassin Taher hailed the forum and "the clear criteria set by the Chinese companies for their needs of the Egyptian labor market," noting that most of their needs will be met among the graduates of the Suez Canal University.

"We hope for further cooperation with the Chinese side and for their continuous presence in Egypt, especially at the Suez Canal Corridor region that is economically promising," the governor told Xinhua during the forum.

He said the Egyptian and the Chinese sides discussed all aspects of cooperation including the lands required by prospective Chinese investors in Ismailia.

"We are completely ready to offer all sorts of facilitation to attract more Chinese investments and achieve further economic cooperation with the Chinese side in Ismailia," Taher noted.

The employment forum attracted several hundreds of students and graduates of various majors, such as the Chinese language, commerce and fish farming.

The Chinese companies offered some 300 job opportunities during the recruitment event and have so far received about 1,000 resumes.

Zhu Tingting, Chinese director of Confucius Institute at the Suez Canal University, said the Chinese companies in Egypt cannot grow stronger without Egyptian employees, and building a team of Egyptian professional, qualified and competitive employees is the key to the development of Chinese companies in the Arab country.

"So, it is a win-win situation, as the Egyptians hired at Chinese companies will also help Egypt reduce the unemployment rate," Zhu said.

"I hope that this kind of job fair can be held regularly and Confucius Institute will communicate with the Chinese firms in Egypt in the future to try to hold it biannually," she noted.
WUHAN - China plans to build 10 to 20 professional biotechnology and medicine zones each with a total output value of 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) by 2020, an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology said Friday.

Five to 10 professional biological manufacturing zones will also be established each with the same amount of output value by that time, said Zhang Zhaofeng, who is in charge of biological and medical technology, at a meeting on social development and sci-tech innovation held in Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei province.

China has ranked second worldwide in the number of published papers and biotechnology patents for five consecutive years, according to the ministry.

In 2015 alone, China witnessed the publication of more than 80,000 life science papers and applications for over 20,000 biotechnology patents, it said.

More efforts are needed to boost the use of biological big data and protect biological resources, as well as to develop new vaccines and antibodies with independent intellectual property rights, it said.
BEIJING - China's central bank suspended open market operations Tuesday, in a sign of policy tightening.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) withdrew 70 billion yuan ($10 billion) from the market Tuesday, as reverse repurchase agreements (repos) matured.

Reverse repos is a process by which central banks purchase securities from banks with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

"There was an increase of fiscal spending at the end of last month and liquidity in the banking system remains at a moderate level. The central bank will not conduct reverse repos Tuesday," according to a statement on the PBOC's website.

The central bank has conducted open market operation reverse repos for nine-consecutive days.

Analysts said such moves reinforced the view that liquidity in the banking system will remain tight in May, as the economy stabilizes in an uncertain environment.

China's GDP expanded 6.9 percent year on year in the first quarter, up from the 6.8-percent growth of the previous quarter and 6.7 percent in 2016.

China has set the tune of its monetary policy in 2017 as prudent and neutral, keeping an appropriate liquidity level but also avoiding excessive liquidity injections.
Employees of a power supply company in Weining county, Guizhou province, check power transmission facilities. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is screening a third batch of centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) for mixed ownership reform, officials of the country's economic planner said.

Civil aviation, telecommunication and military will be key sectors to press ahead ownership reform, China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

About 18 SOEs, including China Eastern Airlines, China Unicom and Air China, have submitted their plan to introduce private shareholders among the 19 shortlisted. National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) green-lighted the first batch of nine proposals.

"As the ownership pilot reform expands in scale and further deepens in next step, it will serve as a breakthrough point to overhaul SOEs," NDRC spokesman Yang Pengcheng said.

The third batch will likely include oil and gas giants once the industry's reform plan is officially launched, according to the planner. Each ownership reform model has its own characteristics

China Unicom announced last month that its Shanghai-listed unit, China United Network Communications Ltd, would be used as the platform for mixed ownership reform, instead of its Hong Kong-listed unit.

Air China said its State-owned parent, China National Aviation Holding Company, received approval from the NDRC to move forward with mixed ownership reform of its air freight logistics business.

The move comes as China vows to accelerate SOE ownership reform and strengthen the micro foundation of market economy, according to a statement released by the NDRC last week after the national work conference on economic system reform.

Also known as partial privatization, the mixed ownership reform would spur an increasing number of restructuring, initial public offerings, employee share-ownership and introduction of strategic investors, Deloitte noted in a report.

Local SOE reforms are expected to speed up too in regions, including Shandong, Heilongjiang, Hainan and Shanxi provinces, and Shanghai, according to the newspaper.
BEIJING -- In a bid to encourage the development of the country's logistics industry, China will offer favorable tax terms to lower the cost of commodity storage for logistics firms, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement released Tuesday.

Tax rates on urban land use will be cut by half for logistics facilities that store commodities such as agricultural and mineral products. The term only applies to facilities that cover an area of 6,000 square meters or above, according to the statement.

The tax cut will be in effect from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2019. Companies that already paid the extra will receive credit to be deducted from their taxes payable, according to the statement.

China's logistics industry has been growing steadily thanks to government support that promises lower taxes and costs. In 2016, the gross revenue of the sector hit 7.9 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion), up 4.6 percent from 2015.

China will encourage more sophisticated development of the logistics sector from 2016 to 2020 to bolster economic growth and deepen supply-side reform, authorities said.
Stephen Hawking, renowned scientist. [Photo/Agencies]

Imagine a space journey where you travel with the artificial intelligence robot Hal, which is known for being foolproof and incapable of error. Putting Hal in charge of the flight, you are able to literally be asleep at the wheel.

Suddenly the robot reports that an antenna control device has malfunctioned, but you find nothing is wrong and a comprehensive check indicates that Hal has made an error. Hal, however, insists that the problem exists and believes it is due to human error.

A conflict between man and an AI robot ensues.

You decide to disconnect him in case of any emergency. Hal, however, is determined to make a preemptive strike.

This is the scenario of the legendary science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. But with the swift development of technology, an AI robot like Hal that can rival or even outcompete human beings is maybe closer to reality than you think, and it is something that Stephen Hawking is worried about.

The renowned scientist reiterated his warning about the risks posed by AI at a technology conference in Beijing on Thursday. And his views were echoed by other participants.

"The development of full AI could spell the end of the human race," said Hawking, who is credited with pushing the boundaries of technology and science in pioneering ways.

"AI would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded," he said in a rare video speech to a Chinese audience.

According to Hawking, there is no real difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain, and what can be achieved by a computer. As a result, the real question is how to strike a balance between reaping AI's benefits while avoiding its pitfalls.

Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures [Photo/VCG]

Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of the technology incubator Sinovation Works, also expressed the concern that clever machines could undertake work currently done by humans, and destroy millions of jobs.

"More people will move toward the service industry where love and hospitality are needed to perform good jobs, such as teachers and caregivers. AI-enabled robots cannot deliver such subtle feelings," the former Google China chief said.

"Machines also can't replace the most talented people in a profession, and those in the art industry," he added.

Still, more efforts are called for to adapt ourselves to a rapidly changing era when useful knowledge can be irrelevant in seconds, Lee said.

Zhang Yaqin, president of Baidu Inc (left) [Photo/VCG]

Zhang Yaqin, president of Baidu Inc, warned a group of college students that "the machine is learning and you must learn faster".

Undoubtedly, AI is empowering a bunch of new innovations such as autonomous vehicles, from drones to self-driving cars. But it also makes it possible to make lethal intelligent autonomous weapons. Also, more research is needed to decide how a self-driving car may, in an emergency, have to decide between the minor risk of a major accident, and the major probability of a minor accident, experts said.

Privacy concern also abounds given that cutting-edge AI is becoming increasingly capable of interpreting large surveillance datasets.

Lee said tech heavyweights boast endless data, which enables them to swap user privacy for profits. It is quite hard for them to resist such attempts. Once big tech companies can't restrain themselves, it will also stifle innovation from startups.

Hawking said that although the companies are currently using the data only for statistical purposes, the use of any personal information should be banned.

"It would help protect privacy, if all material on the internet were encrypted by quantum cryptography with a code that the internet companies could not break in a reasonable time. But the security services would object to this," he said.

In long term, the ultimate concern is the potential loss of control of AI systems. That is, the rise of super-intelligences that does not act in accordance with human wishes, Hawking added.

"Success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of civilization. But it could also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks," the globally respected scientist said.
Various bicycles are parked at a subway entrance in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 4, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Proposed regulation for managing clutter put out for public comment

Seeing the boom in the bike-sharing business, along with the resulting clutter created by randomly parked bikes, the Beijing municipal government has published a draft guideline for public comment, the top transport official said on Sunday.

Zhou Zhengyu, director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, said that while the city will control the growing number of shared bikes from different companies, it will not impose a numerical cap. Instead, it will let each district government decide its own limit, taking public needs into consideration, as well as the development needs of the companies.

"People in Beijing have accepted the shared bikes well," he said. "This green transportation method has motivated more people to start to ride."

Having seen the popularity of the bikes, the authority decided to suspend the expansion of government-backed public rental bikes.

"The shared bikes from private companies clearly have advantages compared with the public bikes, even though the frequency of public bike use hasn't been affected much by the shared bikes," Zhou said.

Beijing has 86,000 public rental bikes, stationed mainly near subway stations and residential communities, commission figures show. Because the public bikes have immovable racks on which bikes must be locked, many prefer the shared bikes, which can be picked up and parked at the rider's convenience.

At present, Beijing has 700,000 shared bikes from companies including ofo, Mobike and Bluegogo. There are about 11 million registered users, equivalent to nearly half of Beijing's population, the commission said.

The rapid growth started in August, and has created a few issues, like overcapacity and traffic disorder. Some users leave bikes randomly without obeying the regulations. And some companies put huge numbers of bikes on the street to protect their market share.

The Beijing guideline asks each district government to set a maximum number of shared bikes, then provide that to departments responsible for regulating the companies. It also requires companies to use technology to strengthen the management of illegal parking, in addition to ensuring the mechanical safety of the bikes by conducting regular tests.

Users who park illegally several times would be blacklisted, and companies would be barred from providing service to anyone on the list.

Lin Lei, 30, a regular user of the shared bikes, said he believes a better-regulated industry will raise the satisfaction level of users.

"In some places, shared bikes create a messpiles of bikesbecause people just throw them after use," he said.

Yin Dafei, chief scientist in Mobike's big-data department, said the company has technology that can predict the parking patterns of shared bikes, which will help it to organize them and raise the company's operation efficiency.
Ongoing inspections continue to find violators; 'hot grid' adds another tool

The Ministry of Environmental Protection will put greater emphasis on high-tech satellite monitoring to identify pollution sources efficiently, using a grid system put in place late last year, according to the official in charge of the effort.

Now, the ministry will use its "hot grid" system, based on the satellite technology, to target more polluters - including small, unregistered, scattered companies that are operating illegally, said Li Wei, head of the ministry's department in charge of the grid system.

The satellite inspections will supplement the ongoing national environmental inspections, in which teams on the ground have uncovered violations in 28 major cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as in neighboring Henan, Shandong and Shanxi provinces, as of April 30.

The latest data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection show that about 68 percent of the 6,498 companies inspected had pollution problems.

Environmental inspectors have so far found 1,504 small polluting companies - all of which are unregistered and operating illegally - scattered in the northern region, which has seen frequent and severe smog since inspections began on April 7, according to the ministry.

More than 750 companies failed to install or use equipment to reduce emissions.

To locate smaller polluting companies more efficiently, the ministry will employ its advanced "hot grid" system, which helps identify zones where companies or other sources may be excessively discharging pollutants. The grid separates areas into grid squares, each measuring 9 square kilometers.

Emission levels in each area are determined using data collected by satellites.

Inspectors have already been using the hot grid information as a guide to find polluters, but the information will be improved with regular updates to aid inspections, the ministry said.

"We will randomly check the companies in the hot grid, which will become one of our work priorities," said Guo Lubiao, head of the inspection team from Anyang, Henan province, which assumed inspection of Xingtai, Hebei province, on April 21.

"Exposing scattered polluting companies has been one of the priorities in the initial stage of the yearlong inspection," said Tian Weiyong, head of the monitoring department at the ministry. Any small, unregistered operators that are exposed will be shut down, Tian said.

The ministry's list of inspection results, which is released daily, is growing longer.

In Xingtai, inspectors from Qingdao, Shandong province, found 173 violations, 93 of which involved illegally operating small companies not included in the government's shutdown list, said Zhao Peng, the head of the team.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn
A technician at Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co monitors the production of stainless steel wire to ensure its quality. The steel will be used for pen tips. [Photo by Zhang Xuanyu / For China Daily]

Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co, known as TISCO, makes steel for many products - from pen tips to space-grade materials.

The company, based in Shanxi province, claims wide-ranging expertise in metals and sees itself as a leader in the process of industrial upgrading.

In the past, for example, Chinese bullet trains were largely dependent on imported materials and components. Recently, the company's steel has been used in axles for the 350-kilometer-per-hour trains, showing the enhanced independency on equipment manufacturing, the company told China Daily.

And it has developed a special variety of steel for Dongfeng missiles' shells, it said. In addition, it produces high-strength steels for use in the braking systems of commercial and military aircraft.

The company is also the exclusive provider of pure iron for electronic components and relays for Chinese spacecraft that must function in a vacuum.

In 2016, three industrial standards developed by TISCO have been adopted and can be applied to 70 percent of the country's production. The standards cemented the company's leading role in the stainless steel industry, it said.

"A new industrial standard is an upgrade," said Li Jianmin, stainless steel technology director at TISCO. "The ability to establish such standards shows our dominance in the market."

Thanks in part to the company's innovation, sales of silicon steel products rose nearly 21 percent last year, in line with higher sales of high-quality stainless steel that find application in a variety of areas, the company said, from automobile exhaust systems and containers to nuclear power stations. Sales of duplex stainless steel in 2016 almost tripled from 2015.

Other research and development efforts gained momentum late last year when stainless steel exports increased by nearly 5 percent, the company said. Silicon steel is also one of the company's pillar products.

Like other Chinese companies that have gone global, TISCO also faced some challenges overseas. Late last year, it won an anti-dumping case against Turkey with regard to stainless steel exports - the fourth such legal victory.

"As a leading enterprise, TISCO has a responsibility to protect the legal rights of the Chinese stainless steel industry, and to enhance our position in international competition," said Zhang Hao, director of sales.

Amid fierce international competition, cross-border cooperation has showed some recent signs of harmony. TISCO became the first Chinese company to receive approval for stainless, silicon and carbon steels from India.

Contact the writers at renxiaojin@chinadaily.com.cn
An employee assesses samples at an authentication institute in Beijing.[Photo by Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

Exorbitant fees and poor standards will be eradicated in a bid to improve the services offered by private verification institutes. Cao Yin reports.

Third-party judicial appraisal institutes face strict new regulations after a businessman sparked a social media storm by posting details of the sky-high fee he was charged for verification of evidence required for a court case.

"I was shocked when I was told it would cost more than 170,000 yuan ($24,630) to verify a signature, a fingerprint and two company stamps for a civil case," He Xianxiang said.

In China, privately operated third-party appraisal institutes are often employed by litigants in civil cases to assess the authenticity of documents - including handwriting, official seals and fingerprints - and submit reports to courts as evidence.

The 47-year-old entrepreneur, who runs several companies in Sichuan province, refused to pay the fee, and with the help of his lawyer, Wang Wanqiong, he posted the story on social media.

When contacted by China Daily, the institute declined to discuss the dispute, which is ongoing.

He's post not only triggered public outrage, but also attracted the attention of the Ministry of Justice, the country's top authority on the management of expert testimony provided by private institutes.

In March, during the two sessions, the meetings of China's most-important legal and political bodies, Zhang Jun, the minister of justice, pledged to overhaul the industry.

Zhang confirmed that some private institutes overcharge clients and many are poorly managed. He said those factors have prompted the authorities to strengthen supervision and raise qualification thresholds for expert witnesses who testify in courts.

"We're building a unified system to manage the industry, and plan to establish an association to ensure the quality of appraisals and improve discipline within the sector," he said.

Lack of legality

Wang, He's lawyer, praised the minister's response and called for greater regulation of the industry. She added that the 170,000 yuan appraisal fee was based on a price standard issued by the ministry in 2009, but abolished last year.

Though the ministry ordered appraisal institutes nationwide to release new price standards before May last year, 17 regions and provinces, including Sichuan, have yet to comply, according to Wang: "In other words, there is no legal basis for their work at present."

The institute's original fee was much higher than 170,000 yuan, according to He: "At first, I was asked to pay 230,000 yuan. That's crazy. I never thought authenticating my fingerprint, signature and two stamps would be so troublesome."

Appraisal fees are often calculated according to the amount of money involved in a civil case, but sometimes the number of documents that require verification is also used as a basis, he added.

Wang said: "Irrespective of how the fee was calculated, there was no cap."

Last month, the ministry responded, and regions without price standards were ordered to formuate new ones and set price ceilings before June.

The size of the fee led He to conduct his own research into pricing. He discovered that in Beijing and Shanghai - which have unveiled new price standards - he would have been charged no more than 70,000 yuan.

"I'm waiting for the new price standard in Sichuan. I'm hoping it will bring good news," he said.
He Xianxiang has become a well-known figure on Chinese social media since he posted details of the 170,000 yuan ($24,630) fee he was charged for expert testimony in a civil dispute.

In 2015, the 47-year-old Yunnan province native was informed he was in breach of contract and was being sued at Chengdu Intermediate People's Court in Sichuan province.

He claims that when he reviewed the documents the court had sent, he realized his personal details had been falsified. "When I looked at the contract that accompanied the letter, I knew immediately that the signature, stamps and fingerprints had been forged. They were not mine," he said.

In 2012, He started an energy company with three colleagues in Sichuan. As a sleeping partner, He held 30 percent of the shares and did not participate in the company's management.

Later, one of the other shareholders told He the business was seeking funds because it was attempting to purchase another company.

In August 2013, He was told a bank loan had been arranged and his agreement was required. "At the time, I was in Yunnan, so a bank official visited and asked me to sign a contract agreeing to the loan," He said. "As a businessman, I knew it was not unusual and there was no problem with the procedure, so I provided my signature, seals and fingerprint," he said.

In 2014, He sold his shares and quit the company. However, he later received a letter from the court informing him that he was being sued for failing to comply with a clause in the contract that guaranted repayment of the loan.

According to He, the contract was not the one he had signed two years before, but under Chinese civil law, he is obliged to prove he didn't sign it, so he decided to employ independent assessors to verify that his details had been falsified.

That was the beginning of his ongoing dispute with the third-party institute.
New measure will see greater certainty in financial planning and remove elements of fate

As a traditional Chinese saying goes, "Farmers mainly depend on heaven or the weather for food."

Areas hit by severe disasters can see their whole year of hard work swept away.

To combat the winds of fate, the upcoming policy to establish an agricultural insurance system in piloting regions will soon help farmers to tackle the uncertainty.

The State Council's executive meeting on April 26 decided to push forward government implementation of the system by launching pilot zones to improve the overall disaster insurance in agriculture.

This aims to further enhance insurance in the agricultural sector to boost supply-side reform in agriculture and increase farmers' incomes.

According to a statement after the meeting, disaster insurance will be provided in 13 major grain-producing provinces, with insurance covering material costs and land rental impacted by disaster. Meanwhile, the government will also increase the subsidy for insurance payments in the pilot counties.

Zheng Fengtian, professor of agriculture and rural development at Renmin University of China, believes this insurance subsidy will encourage farmers to boost output due to the greater financial security.

"Previously, when a region's farming land was hit by natural disasters, farmers largely depended on government subsidy to compensate their loss," Zheng explained.

"Now, as 13 piloting regions will be covered by the government-backed insurance, this means financial subsidies for farmers in case of disasters will be more systematic, and the amount of insurance payouts will be evaluated in a more professional way."

Farmers, he added, will no longer be burdened by worries over natural disasters.

Zheng said that as most commercial insurance is profit-oriented, losses incurred in case of disasters have long become a tough balancing act between insurance groups and the government.

He believes the move will encourage farmers to grow more, especially grain, because profits in cultivating grain was traditionally much lower than for cash crops.
PFPS photo.jpg

Parents and the community alike gathered at Magnolia Middle School in Moss Point on Monday as Parents for Public Schools, in conjunction with Rep. Jeramey Anderson hosted a town hall to address Anderson's amendment to Senate Bill 2463 and how it will affect the Moss Point School District. (Gail Smith, PFPS)

MOSS POINT, Miss. - Parents and citizens of the City of Moss Point gathered within the Magnolia Middle School cafeteria on Monday afternoon to hear Rep. Jeramey Anderson's explanation as to why he introduced a piece of legislation that some in the community feel they should have been consulted with before a final decision was levied.

Parents for Public Schools hosted a town hall on Monday, in conjunction with Anderson to further the conversation with the community, an aspect PFPS president Gail Smith said should have happened before the legislation went forward.

"He answered some of the questions, but overall, we were a little disappointed," Smith said. "The fact that this was done after the fact and he did not receive input from the community because such a major decision was made that directly impacts the operation of a school district. Our PFPS board and community should have been involved. He was elected to represent us and he should have sought input from us first."

Senate Bill 2463 is an act to provide that in the Chickasaw County and Houston municipal separate school district there shall be an administrative consolidation into one school district to be designated as the Chickasaw County school district.

The language of SB2463 will divide Moss Point into five voting districts. The board of trustees of the municipal separate school district shall consist of five members, each to be elected for a term of four years.

Anderson said he felt the town hall went well and that it gave him the opportunity to have open and informed dialogue with his constituents.

"It gave us an opportunity to have an honest conversation about the direction in which our school system is going and the positive and progressive strides we can make to enhance the process," said Anderson.

Another issue that some citizens have an issue with is the cost of the election, but per Anderson, the children need to be city's primary concern.

"I've been informed that the election of school board members this year should be around or under $8,000. Critics say, the city doesn't have any money to pay for the election. However, I feel that we cannot put a price on the success of our students and it is well worth the money spent. We'll spend more tomorrow by not investing in our children's education today," Anderson said.

Mayor Billy Broomfield is one of a few citizens who don't agree with Anderson's method in introducing the legislation.

Broomfield told WLOXNewsNow that SB2463 is a "bad piece of legislation" and that it was "not necessary for the school district."

Anderson rebutted, saying, "Change is always necessary when the way we've been doing things for years don't yield positive results. The only way to make progress is to make changes and we can't do that when people fear change itself. He (Broomfield) hasn't given a valid reason as to why this law is bad for children. He's only given why it's bad for him."

The bill will go into effect July 1, and the first round of elections for districts 1, 3, and 5 will be in November, while districts 2 and 4 will be voted on in 2018. The city will then have 45 days to draw district lines.
China is to issue its first regulation on how the big data from the health sector is collected, stored and used.

Jin Xiaotao, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said the regulation will be issued soon, as the nation aims to safeguard public security.

Big data for the health industry includes patients' basic information and conditions, disease control and prevention, food safety, lifestyles and even genomes.

"This data concerns public health and national biological security," Jin said. "The new regulation is necessary, especially given that China seeks to develop healthcare data as an asset."

He said an independent management committee will be set up to ensure data security and that the regulation will define the basic rules on ownership, collection and usage.

The move comes after the State Council issued a multidepartment guideline in June to promote and regulate the use of big data in healthcare.

The guideline states that a centralized, uniform big data platform for healthcare is expected to be established by 2020 to standardize data collection, storage, reporting and security management.

"A central goal of the guideline is to improve people's health," said Jin, whose commission was among the departments that produced the document.

The guideline is also expected to play an important role in building a new economic pillar for China involving the application of big data.

Jin said the State-level strategy includes setting up a national healthcare big data center and seven regional centers as well as data research and innovation centers, which will be established with partner institutions from home and abroad.
Officials of Luoyishan village, Chengmagang town, Macheng county, Central China's Hubei province, work in the office on May 1, 2017. While most people enjoyed a long weekend, they gave up the Monday holiday to register the personal data and set up records for the impoverished farmers. Luoyishan village, located in Dabie Mountain Area, aims to relieve poverty by the end of 2017. [Photo by Wu Yan/chinadaily.com.cn]
The Foreign Ministry urged the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Tuesday to make constructive efforts for the peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

"As direct parties to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the United States and the DPRK should make political decisions as soon as possible, take actions, show their sincerity, and make constructive efforts for easing tensions on the peninsula, restore the talks and finally achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news conference.

The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue should be resolved in a peaceful manner through dialogue and consultation, which is "the only practical and feasible way to realize the denuclearization of Korean Peninsula and maintain the peace and stability of the peninsula," he said.

"And it's the right choice," he added.

The spokesman called on all relevant parities to "shoulder their responsibilities and act in the same direction" to achieve a breakthrough for the resumption of talks.
BEIJING -- Cooperation between Chinese online news service providers and entities with foreign investment should go through a security review, according to a regulation released Tuesday.

The regulation, issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, requires the providers to abide by the law, promote healthy Internet culture and safeguard national and public interest.
BEIJING -- China on Tuesday welcomed a statement from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and reaffirmed cooperation with ASEAN on the South China Sea issue.

"We read the chairman's statement from the 30th ASEAN summit concerning the South China Sea issue. With the joint efforts, the situation is becoming more positive," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a daily press briefing.

According to the statement, ASEAN leaders noticed improvements in cooperation between ASEAN and China, and welcomed progress on a framework for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) to be completed mid-2017.

China was ready to work with ASEAN countries to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), deepen maritime cooperation, agree on a timely negotiation-based COC, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, Geng said.

The spokesperson said China and ASEAN members are scheduled to finish consultation on a draft COC in the first half of 2017.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. Geng congratulated the organization on its development and spoke highly of the contributions it has made to regional peace, stability and prosperity.

He also voiced support for ASEAN's efforts to build a community, its core status in regional cooperation and larger role in international and regional affairs.

"We believe ASEAN will achieve greater development with the joint efforts from the Philippines, which holds the rotating chair, and other member states," Geng added.
Cheng Zhaoqi, author of The Tokyo Trial: For World Peace and director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies, speaks at the premiere of the book at the university on Tuesday. GAO ERQIANG/CHINA DAILY

A book outlining the history of tribunals for accused Japanese war criminals, and its far-reaching impact, made its debut in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The Tokyo Trial: For World Peace, showcases the latest viewpoints and evidence collected by researchers in China, Japan and the West, said Cheng Zhaoqi, the book's author and director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies.

"We present the readers with a more substantial and objective legal basis of the whole process, from the establishment of the court and the disputes over jurisdiction to the court trials and the discussion of sentencing and measurement of penalties," he said.

The book will be translated into eight languages, including Japanese.

On May 3, 1946, the post-World War II trials, known as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, began in Tokyo. The tribunal was active until Nov 12, 1948.

As an initiative to implement the Cairo Declarationa 1943 statement by China, Britain and the United States setting postwar goalsthe tribunal followed the model of the Nuremberg trials. Japanese leaders were tried for conspiracy to start and wage war; atrocities against humanity; and planning, authorizing or failing to prevent transgressions by commanders.

Officials in Japan have repeatedly tried to overthrow the result of the Tokyo Trial and sometimes call it "the trial of the victors", Cheng said, adding that more books denying the event than respecting it are in Japanese bookstores.

"Their ultimate purpose is to deny the Tokyo Trial and thus overthrow the international community's judgment of Japan's aggression and atrocities. Therefore, it is imperative to recognize the achievements of the Tokyo Trial, and China must air a voice of justice," Cheng said.

The trials in Tokyo and Nuremberg were not "trials of the victors" but of civilization and justice, said Wang Xin, a law professor at Peking University.

"The fundamental purpose of the trials was not revenge or punishment but long-term international peace and stabilityso countries can achieve a real reconciliation," he said.

The highly readable book, with pictures and illustrations, is also good for the public, especially younger generations, to learn about history, said Xiang Longwan, son of Xiang Zhejun, who was among the Tokyo Trial prosecutors.
The annual Art Beijing, which is running at the National Agriculture Exhibition Center, has developed into a local, affordable fair with more space devoted to little-known, homegrown galleries, an increased presence of design art and more works by young artists. Photos by Li Shanxian/For China Daily and Provided to China Daily

In the wake of competition from Hong Kong and Shanghai, the 12-year-old Art Beijing fair seeks its own niche with affordable fine art, Lin Qi reports.

Art Beijing, the capital city's long-standing art fair, opened its preview day on Saturday, the hottest April day Beijing has experienced in 66 years. The annual fair that's open at the National Agriculture Exhibition Center until Tuesday attracted fewer VIPscollectors, dealers and artists eager to have the first glancefor the preview than usual.

The absence of several prominent international galleries' branches in Beijing and a lack of blue-chip works caused a lower attendance of regular visitors.

In its 12th year, Art Beijing has developed into a local, affordable fair. In past years, there were a number of international galleries and pricey works by top-notch artists. This year, there is more space devoted to little-known, homegrown galleries, an increased presence of design art and more works by young artists.

Art Beijing has faced intensified competition since 2013, when the prestigious art-fair brand Art Basel inaugurated its show in Hong Kong, reinforcing the city's status as Asia's art-market capital.

Shanghai was catching up quickly with the launch of Art 021 Contemporary Art Fair in the same year and West Bund Art & Design fair in 2014. Both boast a prominent international presence in terms of galleries and artists. Strong sales were achieved: Transactions exceeding 1 million yuan ($145,100) were not uncommon.
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Restaurateur Eldwin Chua from Singapore has launched a second culinary brand in China, which features Chinese cuisine that intriguingly originated outside of China. Photos provided to China Daily

Paradise scored a hit in Shanghai with its colorful dumplings. Now, the chain has a new offering: food from the Chinese diaspora. Xu Junqian gets behind the scenes with the CEO.

You have to be brave or crazy to come to Shanghai, a city that is already packed with stores offering xiaolongbao and claims the soup dumpling as its ownand start selling your own version from another country.

That's what Singaporean restaurateur Eldwin Chua did in 2013, when he brought his Paradise Dynasty to Shanghai, where it became an instant hit.

"If I get people from the home country of the dumpling to crave my dumpling, I think I am capable of getting them to try any of my foods," Chua tells China Daily on a recent visit to Shanghai. He was in the city launching his second culinary brand, Paradise Classic, which features Chinese cuisine that intriguingly originated outside of China.

Chua started his trajectory in the food world at the age of 13, with an entry-level position at McDonald's.

Now, at 40, he's at the helm of a restaurant empire that boasts 13 brands with more 60 outlets around the globe, employs some 1,200 staff in and outside the kitchen, and makes $120 million in revenue in 2016. Paradise Group was the top restaurant group in Singapore by revenue last year.
Warren County Teacher of the Year Darlene Noel recently took her Phillipsburg Elementary School third grade class on a trip to Washington, D.C.

The visit to the Lincoln Memorial was quite a treat for the students.

The day began with a stop at the White House for a photo op outside the gates. From there the students traveled to Ford's Theater for a special opportunity: A paring with teaching artist Heidi Fortune who would arrange for the third graders to deliver Lincoln's address to the 166th Ohio Regiment before an audience.

After the theater stop, the students traveled to the National Mall for a picnic lunch and a visit to the Lincoln Memorial where they received special attention from a park ranger.

From there, they visited the Korean War Veteran's Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr., FDR Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.

A stop at the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech.

The trip was proposed by Noel who, as one of five finalists for New Jersey Teacher of the Year in 2016, had the opportunity to participate in an Oratory Fellowship program.

She applied and was selected as one of only 10 teachers in the country to be paired with a teaching artist from Ford's Theater to teach a class in the art of Oratory.

On April 26, the third-graders wowed an audience of over 500 people at the Phillipsburg Board of Education meeting, performing Lincoln's address to the 166th Ohio Regiment.

Do you have education news to share? To see it posted here and possibly in The Express-Times and Warren Reporter, send me an email.
Meaty tacos are enjoyed in corn tortillas at Dongguan's Al Chile, while Beijing's Tex-Mex eatery Lucky Lopez wraps tacos in fresh flour tortillas. Photos provided to China Daily

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, celebrates the day Mexico drove out occupying French forces in 1862. The date is often confused with Mexico's independence day - that's actually Sept 16, which marks the beginning of the country's war of independence from Spain.

The "holiday" has been called an invention of bars and beer companies along the Texas-Mexico border, where for decades the only wall has been a huge pile of empty Corona bottles on the morning of May 6. Marked in Mexico by military parades, Cinco de Mayo in the US has become a week-long celebration of Mexican-American culture. The fun has spread around the world, and Mexican eateries around China will embrace the party spirit on Friday.

As a native Texan, I took the opportunity of the upcoming holiday to check out a Mexican eatery in Beijing with Texas roots.

Lucky Lopez is far from the flashiest Mexican restaurant in town - nearby hotspots like Q Mex and Cantina Agave will have much livelier Cinco de Mayo parties this weekend. But Lucky Lopez, hidden in an alley near Sanlitun's bar street, offers home-style fare that owner-manager June Chow's Dallas neighbors would recognize immediately.

"We make our horchata fresh every morning," says Chow of the traditional Mexican milk-based drink with a touch of cinnamon, a great palate cooler if your food choices are a bit spicy. A source of pride here are the flour tortillas, also fresh-made daily with a tortilla press Chow toted over from the US. These are indeed beautifully soft and satisfying, especially for Americans who tend to prefer flour tortillas to Mexico's almost sacred corn versions.
By Yuan Hui and Wang Kaihao in Hohhot | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-02 07:25

Namdaq Dampilon (left), a Russian intern, studies at the Inner Mongolia International Mongolian Hospital in Hohhot. YUAN HUI/CHINA DAILY

Sassazov Ramazan runs a clinic in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The 33-year-old is interested in alternative therapies around the world and has been visiting China over the last decade to study traditional Chinese medicine.

A lesser-known variety - traditional Mongolian medicine - found in the Inner Mongolian autonomous region has aroused his curiosity since he read about it online a few years ago.

"Sometimes great medicine is hidden in the grassroots," says Ramazan.

"Though I don't understand traditional Mongolian medicine now, I'm fascinated by its pharmaceutical and diagnostic methods."

During a recent visit to China, he went to the State-owned Inner Mongolia International Mongolian Hospital in Hohhot, capital of the autonomous region, to "condition" his body.

Traditional Mongolian medicine, which is generally considered to date to Genghis Khan's time, is now stepping out of a relatively small circle of practitioners to reach more people.

Namdaq Dampilon, a 24-year-old medical intern from St. Petersburg, Russia, now stays at the hospital. He is from the Bury at community, a sub-ethnic Mongol group.

"My grandfather is a doctor, and I have an emotional connection with my ethnic roots," he says. "This led me to Inner Mongolia. I want to be a doctor of traditional Mongolian medicine, also as a way to inherit the culture."

Dampilon recalls his surprise at seeing a patient walk after being treated only with acupuncture and massage.

"Traditional Mongolian medicine has its advantages in curing stomach, lung and orthopedic diseases," he says.

"But we need to learn Western medicine at the same time to mix advantages."
Monks perform Chinese martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb 20, 2017. [Photo/Chinacutlure.org]

ON FRIDAY, a martial arts competition between a mixed martial arts expert Xu Xiaodong and tai chi master Wei Lei was held in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province. Wei was knocked out within 20 seconds, which triggered fierce online discussions about the effectiveness of traditional Chinese martial arts. Beijing News comments:

Some worry that traditional Chinese martial arts, such as tai chi, are not effective in real fights and competitions.

That worry is unnecessary. Neither Xu nor Wei is a top practitioner of their martial art; even if they were, Wei's failure could not possibly mean the failure of tai chi, let alone traditional Chinese martial arts as a whole. It was only a competition between two individuals, that's all.

However, the competition should also break a long-held superstition about traditional Chinese martial arts. For long, films and novels have portrayed traditional Chinese martial arts as bestowing supernatural powers, so that many people have unrealistic expectations of them.

This practice actually dates back to the late 1900s. As China was invaded and some parts of the country turned into colonies of the imperialistic powers, some Chinese put their faith in traditional Chinese martial arts as away to defeat the foreign invaders. In this way traditional Chinese martial arts became invested with unreal expectations and superstition.

This in turn has enabled some fraudsters to cheat practitioners and profit from the process, which has curbed the development of traditional Chinese martial arts because the cheats ruin the reputation of martial artists.

We hope the competition in Chengdu will result in a more rational appreciation of traditional Chinese martial arts.
The decision-making process of the European Union can be painfully slow, and often leaders need to burn the midnight oil to reach an agreement. But at this Saturday's summit to agree negotiation guidelines for the United Kingdom's exit from the EU, the leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states were uncharacteristically quick.

One month after London formally notified Brussels of its intention to leave the EU, the bloc's leaders took just minutes to finalize their basic principles for the two-year talks on how the UK departs from the EU.

The quicker-than-usual decision demonstrated the unity of the EU leaders as they insisted that the protection of the rights of citizens affected by Brexit, the financial settlement and the status of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, would take priority over all other issues.

The talks will not formally start until after the UK's general election on June 8 but should end in autumn 2018, which would allow both sides to go through their domestic approval procedures before the two-year exit deadline, March 29, 2019.

The EU has created a complex and sophisticated set of laws, rights and regulations to allow free flow of people, capital, technologies and goods. The dismantling of this system means the talks will be extremely tough, especially given the limited time allowed.

Fortunately, both sides have already emphasized that the rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons in the EU and their families should be protected. This should mean that the lives of 4.5 million people will face minimal disruption as a result of Brexit.

The EU is determined to ensure the delivery of European projects, agreed by the EU 28 member states, including the UK, but will now be implemented by the remaining 27 members. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator recently hinted that the UK should honor its commitments, which include the 90 billion ($98.1 billion) European Social Fund to help Europeans develop skills to find work and the 200 billion European Regional Development Fund to support isolated regions.

The 315 billion Juncker Investment Plan and the almost 80 billion Horizon 2020 research program also need to be sorted out between the UK and the EU. The relocation of the two London-based EU organizations, the European Banking Authority and European Medicines Agency, which employ roughly 1,000 staff, will also form part of the negotiations. Brussels has agreed on a "phased" strategy, which means the UK and the EU must sort out their past commitments before discussing their new relationship. London wanted to negotiate a new partnership and divorce at the same time, but this has been firmly rejected by its EU partners.

But Brussels should have enough confidence to let the UK go with the minimum of fuss. The reality is that a smooth transition and a return to as close to normal business is in everyone's best interest, including the UK's, the EU's and the rest of the world.

A recent European Parliament survey found that 57 percent of Europeans say EU membership is a good thing. This percentage is almost as high as it was in 2007 before the 2008 global financial crisis eroded Europeans' trust in the integrative machinery. But the Brexit process could again test the trust of Europeans in the EU project. It took eight years for the EU and Canada to finalize a free trade agreement and it is unlikely that London and Brussels can forge a new trade and investment relationship overnight. A vacuum will be damaging and it is the responsibility of politicians on both sides to ensure this does not happen.

The UK should leave the EU in two years time as its voters decided, but it makes sense to ensure that as few new barriers are erected between the EU and the UK as possible. In dealing with Brexit and its consequences, pragmatism equals vision, especially when dealing with the lives of ordinary families.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Britain's Princess Charlotte is seen in this undated handout photograph, taken at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, and released by Prince Willam and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, in London on May 1, 2017. Princess Charlotte, will celebrate her second birthday on Tuesday. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - Prince William and his wife Kate have released a photo of Princess Charlotte ahead of her 2nd birthday.

The photo taken by the Duchess of Cambridge was distributed Monday, one day before Charlotte turns two.

It shows Charlotte on the grounds of Anmer Hall, the family's country home, wearing a yellow cardigan sweater decorated with images of sheep.

The family is expected to spend more time in London in the coming years. Their London base is at Kensington Palace.

Charlotte's older brother Prince George, 3, plans to attend a London school in September.

AP
BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian officials say a small military aircraft has crashed near the capital, killing eight people.

President Juan Manuel Santos has expressed his condolences on Twitter to the victims of Monday's accident.

Investigators are looking into what caused the accident. Local authorities have told the newspaper El Tiempo that the Cessna Caravan turboprop may have run into an antenna or encountered bad weather.

The Bogota newspaper says three civilians were among those on the plane and the highest-ranking military officer killed was a lieutenant coronel.

The flight was traveling to a small airport outside Bogota from a Colombian military base.

AP
WASHINGTON - The White House said on Monday US President Donald Trump will speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, their first call since Washington and Moscow wrangled over a US strike on Syrian government last month.

According to the daily schedule of Trump released by the White House, the call will be made on Tuesday at 12:30 pm EDT (1630 GMT).

Trump on April 6 ordered a targeted missile strike at a Syrian military airfield in response to a chemical weapons attack in the rebel-held Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun allegedly launched by the Syrian government.

After the US strike, Syrian state TV called the assault an "aggression" and both Russia and Syria had denied that the Syrian government launched the chemical weapons attack.

The Russian government also condemned the US strike against the Syrian government as "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law."

After the incident, Trump told reporters last month that the United States is "not getting along with Russia at all" and the relations between the two countries "may be at an all-time low.
BRUNSWICK, Maine - Chaz Wing was 12 when they cornered him in the school bathroom. The students who tormented him were children, too, entering the age of pimples and cracking voices.

Eventually, he swore under oath, the boys raped him and left him bleeding, the culmination of a year of harassment. Though Chaz repeatedly told teachers and administrators about the insults and attacks, he didn't report being sexually assaulted until a year later, launching a long legal fight over whether his school had done enough to protect him.

Chaz's saga is more than a tale of escalating bullying. Across the United States, thousands of school students have been sexually assaulted by other students - a hidden horror educators have long been warned not to ignore.

Relying on state education records, supplemented by federal crime data, a yearlong investigation by The Associated Press uncovered roughly 17,000 official reports of sex assaults by students over a four-year period, from fall 2011 to spring 2015.

That figure represents the most complete tally yet of sexual assault among the nation's 50 million students in grades K-12 (children aged 5 to 17). But it also does not fully capture the problem: Such attacks are greatly underreported, some states don't track them and those that do vary widely in how they classify and catalog sexual violence.

And with school reputations and funding at stake, there is tremendous pressure to hide such violence.

"No principal wants their school to be the rape school," said Doctor Bill Howe, a former teacher who spent 17 years overseeing Connecticut's compliance with a federal law that helps protect student victims of at-school sexual assault. "It's the courageous principal that does the right thing."

The attacks AP tracked ranged from rape and sodomy to forced oral sex and fondling. Assaults occurred anywhere students were left unsupervised: buses and bathrooms, hallways and locker rooms.

States varied widely in whether they required any training to stop or address student-on-student sexual assault; only 18 told AP they did.

"Everyone feels like we don't have a problem, and the reason they feel that way is they have their heads in the sand," said Oregon psychologist Wilson Kenney, who has developed student intervention programs.

In Chaz's case, the legal wrangling took four years, with the case finally settled last year. His school in Brunswick, Maine, would make safety improvements, and Chaz would get $50,000, though not the apology he wanted.

The AP does not usually name alleged victims of sexual assault. But Chaz, who turns 18 in a few weeks, and his parents decided to speak publicly in hopes of helping others.

"I don't want this to happen to other kids," said his mother, Amy Wing.

Associated Press

(China Daily 05/02/2017 page10)
Show streamed live across world to promote cultural dialogue

HAVANA - An all-star global concert was held in the Cuban capital on Sunday to send a message of peace and promote intercultural dialogue through music.

Havana was chosen as the 2017 global host city of the concert, which was launched in 2012 with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

Streamed live to 125 countries, the show was presented by Hollywood star Will Smith, with award-winning musicians Herbie Hancock and Chucho Valdes among the performers.

Hancock thanked the citizens of the Caribbean nation for their support of jazz music, noting that the "Afro-Cuban jazz and its rich history have played a pivotal role in the evolution and enrichment of the entire jazz genre."

Recalling an old African proverb as saying that "a city without music is a dead city," Hancock said Havana today is the most lively and dynamic place on the planet.

The musical parade at the stage of the Havana Grand Theater also included world-acclaimed performers such as Quincy Jones, Esperanza Spalding, Cassandra Wilson, Ambrose Akinmusire, Carl Allen, Regina Carter and Marcus Miller.

Cuba was represented by outstanding jazz figures such as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Alfredo Rodriguez Jr., Bobby Carcasses, Roberto Fonseca, Francisco Amat and Barbarito Torres.

The performance also featured artists from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, and concluded with John Lennon's song Imagine, which was considered a call for peace and hope among the people.

The special gala was attended by Cuba's First Vice-President Miguel Diaz Canel and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

"Today, we celebrate the international art form of jazz and its power to promote dialogue among cultures, to make the most of diversity, to deepen respect for human rights and all forms of expression," Bokova said in her statement marking the event.

"The story of jazz is written into the quest for human dignity, democracy and civil rights. Its rhythms and variety have given strength to the struggle against all forms of discrimination and racism - this is the message we must take across the world today."

For an entire week before International Jazz Day, Cuba throughout the island hosted several concerts, workshops, lectures and musical jazz sessions given by well-known figures of the musical genre.

More than 190 countries held live performances and educational activities on Sunday to mark International Jazz Day.

Xinhua - Afp

Cuban musicians Chucho Valdes and Gonzalo Rubalcaba play piano at the International Jazz Day concert at the Alicia Alonso Theater in Havana, Cuba, on Sunday. Ramon Espinosa / Associated Press

(China Daily 05/02/2017 page10)
NEW DELHI - "I have a very demanding job and I like to stay indoors over the weekend to spend time with my children. Shopping for grocery online gives me the luxury to make choices at my own pace and avoid crowd for a day," said Swasti Singh, an IT professional in New Delhi. Singh is among many of India's middle class that benefit from the booming e-commerce industry in the country.

With technology increasingly making life easier, the way people are going shopping in India these days has also been transformed. From clothes to electronics to books and CDs, everything is being shopped online and within the comfort of the living room.

The remarkable trend has proved to be a boon mainly for the country's new middle class, mostly working couples, who rarely get time to spend hours in the market especially on the weekends.

Go over any popular e-commerce portal and it will be difficult to miss dynamic marketing strategies that companies are rolling out to target working couples and young families for whom time is of essence.

In the current lifestyle, double income households have become a reality. More women are stepping out of their homes to work.

As per the census in 2011, 45 percent of households across India are double income households, a rise of almost 10 percent in one decade.

With digital consumers in India standing at nearly 100 million, offering home shopping for working couples has been a key market segment of the industry.

"It has become a part of lifestyle for this target group. Working couples want to save both time and money in unexpected ways. Besides, they are more informed these days and like to do a comparison before investing in anything. In all these ways, online shopping has been a very convenient experience for this group," said M. Dalal, founder of an online grocery portal.

It is also a dream come true for shoppers as there is an abundance of information about products, price transparency and a parade of special deals almost every week.

For men as well, online shopping has proved to be a profitable venture, both monetarily and emotionally.

"I started shopping online as a conscious decision to spend time with my family. When my children want their stationary, books or toys, I sit with them and we surf online. Buying clothes and grocery online has also meant comfort," said Akash Sharma, a financial analyst.

"We check and compare prices and actually end up saving money at the end of the month. When my life becomes easier by avoiding traffic, navigating supermarkets and standing in queues, why would I not use it to my fullest" he quipped.

It is not just a definite age group that e-commerce portals target for online shopping.

"I am a university teacher while my wife stays at home after a knee replacement surgery a year back. It was very difficult to manage home and work commitments. That is when my son based in Singapore suggested online shopping and now, from grocery to medicines, we get everything delivered at home. Life has become simple and I see it as quite an essential for people like me," said Ramesh Nagar, an avid online shopper.

Xinhua

(China Daily 05/02/2017 page11)
Devin Street

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Devin Street (15) gets up after catching a pass for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 27-20. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

(Kathy Willens)

The New England Patriots claimed wide receiver Devin Street off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts Tuesday.

Street had been a member of the Patriots practice squad early in the 2016 season, but was signed off the practice squad by the Colts in September. He spent the remainder of the year with Indianapolis.

Street is a unique 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver. He initially arrived in New England following final cuts this past summer. Dallas let him go when rosters were trimmed to 53 players, and the Pats immediately added him to the practice squad. Although he was in New England for a brief period, he seemed excited about the prospect of playing in the Pats offense.

"Maybe (getting cut) is a blessing in disguise, because I'm at a place where I want to be," Street said on Sept. 7, "and I feel like they have a little want for me, too, just from working me out before."

Despite his size, Street can play a bit in the slot.

"In college, that's where I made a lot of my money -- inside," Street said. "I wasn't utilized in that aspect in Dallas, which is fine. Just got to do what you need to do. But I'm looking for the opportunity to be moved all around here."

Street will compete with former seventh-round pick Devin Lucien and undrafted free agent Austin Carr for a roster spot.
YANGON - Myanmar has vowed to continue to strive for national reconciliation and peace, setting May 24 to hold the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference in Nay Pyi Taw for five days, a dialogue open to all ethnic armed groups.

It was designated at the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting in the capital recently, and was attended by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services Vice Senior-General Soe Win, leaders of eight signatory armed groups to the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord.

The government and eight cease-fire signatory armed groups agreed on eight points with their continued peace process which include exploration of basic policy accepted by all sides and holding of national level political dialogue with groups that have not yet been inclusive and drawing of standard of operating producer.

The JICM agreed to make coordination on undertakings during the transition period from the date of signing the NCA to reaching a union agreement.

Other agreed points include tasking the JICM to demarcate the controversial cease-fire area between the government forces and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South and striving to bring non-ceasfire signatory groups to join the NCA.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been holding national region-oriented and race-oriented political dialogue in regions and states across the nation since January. The latest national level political dialogue took place in Taunggyi, Myanmar's Shan state-South, in April.

Representatives from the self-administered regions and zones submitted a total of 70 papers respectively related with politics, economy, land issues and natural resources and environmental conservation which were read during the dialogue involving the government, armed groups and political parties as well as the civil societies.

The outcome of all regional dialogues will be submitted to the upcoming second meeting of the Panglong Peace Conference expected to gather about 700 representatives.

Myanmar's previous U Thein Sein's government and eight armed groups signed the NCA on Oct 15, 2015, and the first meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Conference was held in Nay Pyi Taw in August 2016, four months after the new government led by the National League for Democracy took office.

The first meeting of the Panglong Conference agreed to find solutions through coordination and discussions towards the goal of achieving peace. That conference called for prompt implementation of peace without delay and coordination of diversified stances and opinions expressed in the event.

Xinhua

(China Daily 05/02/2017 page11)
Demonstrators walk behind banners as part of traditional May Day labor day march in Marseille, France, on Monday. Jean-Paul Pelissier / Reuters

Tense competition interrupts the usual calm of the May Day holiday

PARIS - With just six days until a French presidential vote that could define Europe's future, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron held high-stakes rallies on Monday that overlapped with nationwide May Day labor marches reminding both candidates that jobs are voters' No 1 concern.

The tense campaign interrupted the usual calm of the May Day holiday, as supporters of both candidates are taking to the streets, airwaves and social networks to weigh on an election closely watched by global financial markets and France's neighbors as a test of the global populist wave.

Le Pen's efforts to clean up the racism and anti-Semitism that has stained her anti-immigration National Front party's past may be undermined by a parallel Paris event by her father, Jean-Marie, expelled from the party over his extreme views.

Seeking to remind voters of the National Front's dark past, Macron paid homage to a Moroccan man thrown to his death in the Seine River on the sidelines of a far-right march more than two decades ago. Macron joined the man's father and anti-National Front protesters at an annual commemoration near the Louvre Museum.

The National Front traditionally holds a march in central Paris on May 1 to honor Joan of Arc, and at the 1995 event, a group of skinheads broke away and pushed 29-year-old Brahim Bourram off a bridge into the Seine, where he drowned. Then-party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen sought to distance himself from the attackers, but the death drew national outrage.

Jean-Marie Le Pen is holding the Joan of Arc event again on Monday, a march his daughter wants nothing to do with. Instead she is holding a rally in an exhibition center north of Paris.

Marine Le Pen said on Sunday that the political rupture with her father "is definitive". She called it a "violent" decision for herself, but said she did it "because the higher interest of the country was at stake".

Her event was opened by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a conservative candidate from the first-round election who shocked many French by agreeing to be Le Pen's prime minister if she wins the presidency.

Le Pen, speaking on Monday, reached out to "all those who are patriots" and who want to restore French borders and currency and "rediscover the voice of labor, defend our identity, fight against Islamic fundamentalism".

Supporters of Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, hold placards and French and European flags before a campaign rally in Paris, France, May 1, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

A united front

Meanwhile, the traditional May 1 union marches across France will be politically charged this year. Some groups want a united front to keep Le Pen from the presidency, but unions also fear that Macron a former investment banker will dismantle worker protections.

Macron, who said his plans to restructure France's complex labor laws would boost job creation, said Sunday night that May 1 "is the face of a globalization that protects workers ... an accomplishment of the great labor fights to defend worker rights. ... Globalization is not only the face of those who oppress".

AP - Reuters - Xinhua
GREENCASTLE, Ireland - For many on the oyster-rich shores of the River Foyle estuary on the northern tip of Ireland, Britain's departure from the European Union cannot come soon enough.

The hope is that Brexit will solve a decades-old sovereignty dispute over the waterway between British-ruled Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The standoff has led to a boom in the unauthorized cultivation of oysters on Lough Foyle, which licensed Irish oyster farmers say threatens their lucrative export industry.

"After almost 100 years of failing to deal with the issue, Brexit will now force the two sides to settle the issue once and for all," said Seamus Bovaird, a former manager of the Lough Foyle Fishermen's Co-Op.

When Ireland was partitioned in 1921 the main focus was on establishing peace after a bruising war of independence that led to the creation of two states on the island.

Whether by accident or willful neglect, the British government and the newly-created Irish Free State left the ownership of Lough Foyle out of the terms of the negotiated settlement.

Elsewhere along the open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, residents and businesses are concerned that new customs checks will be imposed once Britain is out of the EU.

But on Lough Foyle, Brexit spells greater legal certainty, according to Enda Craig, a member of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body that supervises the waters but has no powers over aquaculture.

"When Brexit comes in it will force the hand of the Irish government because ... the EU will have to ask it where its borders lie and then regulation can be enforced," Craig said.

Four years ago there were 2,000 oyster beds, now the Loughs Agency estimates there are around 30,000.

Only a small fraction have official licenses.

With few employment prospects in the area, many have seized the opportunity created by the territorial spat.

These oyster farmers consider themselves unlicensed rather than illegal but they still shy away from publicity and have consistently refused interviews.

Craig compared the proliferation to the Klondike gold boom in Canada at the end of the 19th century.

"This is the Irish equivalent of the Klondike - a marine gold rush with no enforcement, no guaranteed health and safety supervision or environmental controls," he said.

Traditionally, Irish oysters have been sold for the quality end of the French market, or to Asia.

Richie Flynn, aquaculture executive at the Irish Shellfish Association, said he was "very nervous" about the uncertainty and called for an immediate resolution.

"If it all unravels it would be a disaster for the guys who are doing things right," he said.

Agence France-Presse

Oyster farmer Conall Lynch displays oysters at Culmore Point on Lough Foyle at the border between Derry in Northern Ireland and Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Paul Faith / Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 05/02/2017 page10)
WASHINGTON - The White House said on Monday US President Donald Trump's meeting with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely in the near future despite Trump's openness to that possibility.

"We are so early into this process that I don't see this happening any time soon," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer at the daily briefing, adding that conditions for such a meeting have not been met yet.

"We've got to see their provocative behavior ratchet down immediately. Those are a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior," said Spicer. "Clearly, conditions are not there right now."

Earlier on Monday, Trump told Bloomberg that he would meet Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances."

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump said. "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."

Tension has remained very high over the past two months between the United States and the DPRK over the former's threat to stage military attack upon Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile programs.

The United States and South Korea also held their largest ever joint military exercises in the past two months, while the USS Carl Vinson nuclear aircraft carrier task group has arrived in the waters off the peninsula for joint drills with the South Korean military.
The Belt and Road Initiative's impact on economies across the old Silk and Maritime roads also will be one of social and cultural exchange, leading to peace and stability, said the high representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is not just economic, but also builds and promotes intercultural and interreligious (exchange)," Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser said on Friday. Al-Nasser, of Qatar, said he plans to attend the Belt and Road Forum For International Cooperation in Beijing later this month.

"In order to achieve not only a strong economy but also peace, we need stability (and we need to) work together and cooperate."

His agency, known as the UNAOC, will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cooperate on the areas of intercultural and interreligious dialogue under the Belt and Road Initiative during his visit, Al-Nasser said.

"Especially when the world today faces many big challenges, we see problems around the world coming through culture and religion," he said.

The initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, which consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build links between Asia, Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

More than 100 countries and organizations have joined the initiative and about 40 countries signed the memorandum of understanding of cooperation with China.

"This means it's a very important initiative; we need something like that today to work together," Al-Nasser said, adding that it will not just be good for China, but also for the rest of the world.

Al-Nasser has been the UNAOC's high representative since 2013. The agency was formed in 2005 to explore polarization between the Western and Islamic worlds.

One of the main pillars of the UNAOC's work is on migration and refugees, and Al-Nasser said that the Belt and Road Initiative can help strengthen ties between countries that are involved in the initiative.

"The contribution of migrants in many ways is positive," he said. "I think now with this great initiative, this will really strengthen the cooperation between countries, especially those who are on the Silk Road."

Contact the writer at amyhe@chinadailyusa.com
TOKYO - A car crashed through a hospital window and into the lobby of the hospital in Oita Prefecture in southwestern Japan on Tuesday, leaving 13 people injured, local police said.

According to the police, no one has died as a result of the crash and the 13 injured have been receiving treatment at the site of the hospital for light wounds, local media reported.

The driver of the mini car was a woman in her 70s, the police said, who are investigating the cause of the crash.

The elderly driver also suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash, that occurred at around 10:45 am in Oita City.

Oita Nakamura Hospital is a general hospital located to the east of the Oita prefectural office in the city center.

The hospital opened in 1951 and there are currently about 500 staff members and 260 beds. It has about 20 medical departments.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CollegeVine, an online guidance platform for high schoolers that provides mentorship, academic tutoring and college admissions guidance, has closed an additional $3.6 million Series A funding round led by Morningside Technology Ventures ("Morningside"), with participation by University Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. An extension of the $3.1 million round closed by the EdTech startup in Q4 2016, the new funding will be used to expand CollegeVine's digital infrastructure to better serve its growing customer base.

Morningside is a private equity and venture capital firm co-founded by internationally known investor/philanthropist Dr. Gerald Chan, who joined CollegeVine's Board of Directors last year. University Ventures is a specialty venture capital fund that focuses exclusively on promising ideas in higher education. Silicon Valley Bank provides diversified financial services to emerging growth and mature companies across numerous industries.

"Like all successful startups, the services of CollegeVine fulfill an unmet need in the market," said Chan. "The revenue growth of the company has strongly validated its value proposition, and this financing will further the strong growth trajectory of the company."

"With bookings coming in a bit faster than we had anticipated, and the need to accelerate related software development, we found it prudent to extend the round," said CollegeVine CEO Jon Carson. "We're pleased with the momentum we've achieved  a testament to our unique approach."

CollegeVine was founded by young entrepreneurs Zack Perkins, Johan Zhang, and Vinay Bhaskara as an answer to a national crisis that has seen public school guidance departments overwhelmed, with the average high schooler receiving only 38 minutes of guidance over four years. "As the economy and job market become increasingly competitive, it's more and more important to make good use of the high school and college years," said Zhang.

CollegeVine's approach combines a state-of-the-art digital platform with highly trained college student mentors to provide high schoolers with an affordable guidance resource. "The model has proven especially effective because CollegeVine's network of over 300 near-peer mentors can relate to their mentees on a personal level and are already on the campuses of the nation's top universities with access to real-time info and tools," said Perkins.

Added Daniel Pianko, co-founder and managing director at University Ventures: "CollegeVine is filling a huge void with its virtual guidance platform for high schoolers. University Ventures is excited to be part of it."

About CollegeVine

CollegeVine is a leading provider of one-on-one mentorship, academic and test prep tutoring, and college applications guidance. The company features an expansive network of near-peer advisors at the nation's top universitiestheir experience representing more than 20 different majors, substantial extracurricular activities and far-ranging success. For more information, visit www.collegevine.com.

About Morningside Technology Ventures

Morningside Technology Ventures was founded in 1986, by the Chan family of Hong Kong, to make private equity and venture capital investments. The group is managed by investment professionals who are entrepreneurial, have deep industry knowledge and are effective in the local environment in which they operate. In addition to its investment activities, Morningside Technology Ventures is strongly committed to social responsibility.
Irish supermodel Stella Maxwell bares all as she lands yet another Vogue cover

You've got to hand it to Stella Maxwell - she knows how to command attention.

The Irish supermodel (26), whose parents hail from Belfast, was recently hailed the Model of the Year at the LA Fashion Awards and she has landed yet another coup - her fourth international Vogue cover.

Maxwell, who is dating American actress Kristen Stewart, appears on the latest edition of Vogue Brasil entirely nude, save for her strategically placed hands.

She previously appeared alongside fellow models-of-the-moment Taylor Hill, Martha Hunt and Jasmine Tookes for Vogue Spain last year, a solo cover for Vogue Germany and in January, she starred on the latest issue of Vogue Japan.

Her rise in the fashion world has been a meteoric one, while some of her peers might have better mainstream name recognition, she has been busy with numerous runway shows and campaigns and became a Victoria's Secret Angel alongside a crop of fresh faces in 2015.

While we might claim as her our own, she was raised in Australia, Belgium and New Zealand, but Ireland holds a special place in her heart.

"My parents are both from Belfast. I have an Irish passport and a British passport, and I go back every summer and every Christmas, and sometimes I pop over during the year to say hi, and, of course, celebrate St Patrick's Day," she told Life magazine.

"All my family look Irish. They act Irish. My sister even has red hair... it's crazy. I'm the one that doesn't seem Irish. None of the kids in my family, my siblings, speak with an Irish accent we've never lived there full-time, we weren't born there, we just go there once or twice a year. It's weird. Our parents sound Irish, but we don't."

And while she might be in a relationship with one of the most famous women in Hollywood, you'd be hard pressed to find her or Stewart courting publicity - only a seemingly endless array of paparazzi shots of them.

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(Photo : Getty Images) China's Long March-5 Y2 carrier rocket has arrived at the launch site in Wenchang, Hainan Province.

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China's Long March-5 Y2 carrier rocket arrived at the launch base in Hainan, south China, on Sunday.



The carrier rocket left Tianjin on April 24 and sailed 1,670 nautical miles to arrive at Wenchang, Hainan Province. The rocket is scheduled to send the Shijian-18 communication satellite into the Earth's orbit this June.



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The Long March 5 has a payload capacity of 25 tons in low-Earth orbit and 14 tons in geostationary orbit. Because of its huge size, netizens have described the rocket as "Chubby-5." The Long March 5 was first launched in November.



Meanwhile, China is also set to launch the first satellite developed by teenagers, dubbed as the Shaoning Xing, in August. The move is part of the country's Teen Satellite Project that aims to encourage the young generation to think about space, STEAM education, and satellite development.



The Shaoning Xing, which also means 'Junior Sat' or 'Youth Sat,' will ride as a secondary payload on the Zangheng-1 mission, also called the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite. It is scheduled to be launched on Aug. 16 aboard the Long March 2D rocket from Jiuquan.



The Zangheng-1 is designed to stay in orbit for five years and monitor the electromagnetic situation of earthquakes with a magnitude record of above six in China and above seven globally. The 730-kilogram satellite will also carry several instruments to detect high-energy particles, plasma, and electric and magnetic fields.



China is also set to launch the Beidou-3M1 and Beidou-3M2 in July; the Beidou-3M3, Beidou-3M4, Zhongxing-6C, and Gaofen-5 in September; four 'Tianyi' satellites, the Beidou-3M5, and Beidou-3M6 in October; the Chang'e-5 in November; and the Beidou-3M7, Beidou-3M8, GaoJing-3 and -4, and Beidou-2G8 in December, according to the Global Times.



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(Photo : Getty Images) A North Korean man riding a bicycle near a North Korean flag is seen through the newly installed fence by the Chinese side in this picture taken in the Chinese border city of Dandong, Liaoning Province.

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A Chinese city has been ordered to "urgently" hire Korean translators, stirring speculation of a potential military clash that could result in an influx of refugees.



The town of Dandong was asked to recruit several Korean-Chinese interpreters to work at 10 departments in the town, including border security, public security, trade, customs, and quarantine, The Korea Times reported citing Hong Kong-based newspaper Oriental Daily, which posted a photo of the alleged mandate from the Chinese government.



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The document did not state the reason for the sudden, large-scale recruitment. But experts suggest that China could be bracing for a possible military conflict between the United States and North Korea. Dandong, with its population count at two million, plays a crucial role in North Korea's economy because a significant amount of the nation's international trade passes through the city.



In recent weeks, tensions have been rising in the Korean peninsula. The US had earlier warned North Korea to stop conducting further nuclear tests or ICBM test launch or else the US will strike.



However, a US official has revealed that a ballistic missile, believed to be a mid-range KN-17, was fired from an area in the South Pyeongan province early Saturday (local time), the Daily Mail reported. The missile reportedly blew up over land before reaching its target of the Sea of Japan. It landed around 22 miles from Pukchang airfield.



On Sunday, US' National Security Advisor Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster said that the country should be ready for military operations in North Korea, adding that the US is prepared to team up with other countries to thwart any plans Kim Jong-un has for nuclear weapons.



"We have to do something with our partners in the region and globally and that involves enforcement of the UN sanctions that are in place. It may mean ratcheting up those sanctions even further and it also means being prepared for military operations if necessary," McMaster said.



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Tagschina, North Korea, US, World War 3, interpreters, translators, Korean-Chinese interpreters
(Photo : Norwegian Army) Norwegian Army infantry drill for combat.

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The rising fear of an invasion by revanchist Russia has compelled the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland to band more firmly together in a de facto military alliance whose defense spending is increasing by leaps and bounds.



The latest manifestation of this military alliance was the affirmation of the "Nordic Defense Materiel Agreement" (NDMA). NDMA was signed by the four Nordic states in 2015.



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NDMA aims to strengthen collective security in the Nordic region and bolster the joint role played by Nordic states in the defense of their individual and collective territories. It covers joint weapons systems development and common equipment procurement programs.



These four countries see NDMA as a potential cost-savings tool, particularly where it relates to overlaps in equipment and weapons systems, and where significant savings can be made through collective rather than single-nation procurement deals.



Bolstering the agreement comes at a time when Nordic governments are facing relentless threats of invasion by Russia, whose leaders are determined to resurrect the defunct Soviet empire by once again subjugating the countries that were once part of the Warsaw Pact.



Worse, however, is Moscow's lunatic ambition of making war on NATO to attain this aim despite its military inferiority.



Moscow's bluster and increased defense spending has compelled the Nordic states to also boost their defense budgets. Norway and Sweden are boosting their defense outlays with new funding largely directed at bolstering the acquisition of more military hardware.



NDMA will pave the way for an agreed "Pan-Nordic Initiative" to create a political and legal framework for expanding and deepening defense materiel procurement cooperation.



NDMA is being implemented within the framework of the European Union Defense and Security Procurement Directive and in conjunction with the EU Intra-Community Transfer Directive for defense-related products.



Responsibility for implementing the NDMA is the responsibility of the Nordic Defense Cooperation, the interstate organization whose job is to develop stronger, cross-border collaboration between the five Nordic countries, including Iceland which isn't included in NDMA because it doesn't have a standing army and is the only NATO member country in this situation.



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TagsNordic countries, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Nordic Defense Materiel Agreement, NDMA, Russia, NATO
(Photo : Russian Navy) The sunken Russian spy ship, Liman.

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Russian state-controlled media claims Turkey has stolen the secret signals intelligence (SIGINT) spying equipment and encryption codes from the Russian spy ship, Liman, which sank off the northern coast of Turkey after colliding with a far larger ship.



Liman sank some 40 km northwest of the Bosphorus Strait on April 27. The collision between the Togo-flagged freighter Youzarsif H. loaded with sheep and the Russian spy ship occurred in foggy conditions with poor visibility. All 78 crewmen of Liman were rescued by a nearby Turkish ship.



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Liman recently returned from a three-month deployment off the coast of Syria in February where she launched SIGINT operations against the U.S. and its coalition partners fighting to oust the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who is being backed by Russia with air strikes and cruise missile strikes from Russian Navy warships in the Black Sea.



Russian media described Liman as a middle-sized spy ship (or reconnaissance ship) whose job is to intercept radio and telephone conversations, and signals from foreign satellites.



A Russian military expert said secret Russian equipment was located on the deck of the Liman, and was taken by divers of the Turkish Navy only an hour after the ship sank.



Russian media said Liman was equipped with the Don-2NP phased-array radar system designed to detect small objects in space; the Bronza hydro-acoustic system that detects submarines at long-range and a number of classified spying equipment.



It's still too early to speak about foreign sabotage theories and the possible theft of Russia's secret equipment, said retired Admiral Igor Kasatonov, former Supreme Commander of the Black Sea Fleet and First Deputy Naval Supreme Commander.



"For now there is no proof and therefore no case," said Kasatonov.



"The Russian Naval Command placed a guard unit on the site of the crash. A ship with hydro-acoustic devices is enough to understand what is going on at the bottom of the sea."



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CORRECTION

Its not every day that the countrys public schools attempt to incorporate an entirely new academic discipline. But with the CS4all  movement, thats exactly whats happening: From PreK through senior year, schools are now racing to bring computer science education to as many students as possible.

States across the country have adopted policies aimed at promoting the trend. Districts in Chicago and San Francisco have gained headlines for requiring that all students in grades K-12 be exposed to computer science. Many elementary and middle schools are working to integrate computational thinking"broadly defined as using the concepts and practices of computer science to solve problemsinto existing subjects, such as math and science. The participation rate on the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam went up 122 percent between 2010 and 2015.

As the movement has taken off, however, a number of basic questions have yet to be answered, and even more new questions have started to emerge.

How do schools make computer science education more accessible for students from groups that have historically been shut out of the field? What types of lessons and programming environments are best for novice learners? How do we know if students are learning what we want them to learn?

And, perhaps most significantly, why are Americas schools seeking to make computer science education universal in the first place?

All are topics that researchers across the country are actively investigating.

As part of Education Weeks coverage of this years annual conference of the American Educational Researcher Association being held here, staff writer Benjamin Herold dove into the work of more than a dozen researchers who are examining the new computer science movement in schools.

The following is a synthesis of six major trends for K-12 policymakers, administrators, and educators to keep an eye on.

1. Why Computer Science for All?

So far, universal computer science education is a movement without a clearly defined rationale.

At least, thats the contention of a trio of researchers focused on prodding the K-12 sector to better articulate their reasons for pushing computer science in the first place.

Doing so matters because schools vision for why they teach computer science will drive everything from the pedagogical approaches they employ to the curricular materials they purchase, said Sara Vogel, a graduate student at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York.

Based on conversations with 24 New York-based computer science educators, developers, policymakers, and others, Vogel and colleagues Dixie Ching (New York University) and Rafi Santo (Indiana University at Bloomington) developed a taxonomy of seven main arguments that are used to promote K-12 computer science education.

The most prominent is related to economic and workforce development. The idea is that grounding students in computer science will have tangible benefits for them, for industry, and the nation. When this is the operating rationale, the researchers argue, schools will often structure their computer-science programs around cultivating hard technical skills in students, sometimes through partnerships with local companies.

But does that kind of workforce-development lens make sense for 2nd graders? What about the idea that basic computational and technological literacy is now central to preparing children to be engaged citizens? Might computer science be more engaging for more students if the focus were less on how to land a job at Facebook or Google, and more on how to leverage programming and data science skills to solve problems such as climate change, or better local access to healthy food?

The reality, contend Ching, Santo and Vogel, is that if computer science education is truly going to be for all students, the discipline must be capable of serving all the functions of public schoolingsand that K-12 educators and policymakers must be prepared to decide what rationales make the most sense for their schools and districts.

Were the generation of people who get to decide what that looks like, and we should do so intentionally, Vogel said during a pre-conference interview.

2. Should schools try to make computer science education culturally relevant?

Its no secret that girls, African-Americans, and Latinos remain woefully underrepresented in both the computer science industry and in high-school computer science courses.

In response, a number of researchers and practitioners have focused on studying computer science education efforts that explicitly aim to boost interest and participation among these students by being culturally relevant.

Originally developed by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Gloria Ladson-Billings, the concept of culturally relevant instruction generally aims at helping students to succeed academically without feeling like they have to distance themselves from their own cultures and backgrounds.

Researchers including Joanna Goode of the University of Oregon have been studying what that approach looks like when applied to computer science programs and materials.

One example: the Exploring Computer Science  curriculum (which Goode helped develop), now used by roughly 40,000 students and 2,000 teachers per year.

The focus is on helping students learn basic computational concepts and skills, providing them with introductory programming experiences, and encouraging students to see computer science as a field they can succeed in. The curriculum and its accompanying professional development model also aims to connect to students everyday experiences, honor their cultural backgrounds, and help them critique social inequities.

Another example: SMASH Academy , a summer program that exposes low-income students of color to tech-sector leaders who look like them and encourages the students to tackle programming challenges that will address needs in their local communities, among other strategies.

Based on case studies, Goode touts culturally relevant computer science education efforts as having a positive impact on student engagement and interest. There are also early signs suggesting that such programs help girls and students of color become more likely to major in STEM fields and see themselves as future computer scientists.

But comprehensive data to support those early findingsand that might shed light on whether a culturally relevant approach helps students better learn fundamental computer science skills and conceptsremain difficult to come by.

3. What about computer science education for students with disabilities?

To date, theres even less researchand policy discussionabout how to make computer science education valuable for these students.

Special education professor Maya Israel and her colleagues at the University of Illinois are trying, however.

Two of Israels recent papers take a case-study approach to better understanding how special-needs childrenincluding students with autism and intellectual disabilitiestake part in their elementary school computer science lessons.

There are definitely challenges. Some of the students got frustrated and gave up. Others struggled socially, especially when it came to the collaborative activities that their teachers often emphasized. Keeping the childrens sustained attention was often difficult.

Israel wrote that she went into her research expecting that content-specific supports (e.g., visual directions to help students work through Code.org modules, or scripted guides for how to conduct collaborative conversations) might best help the children with special needs who encountered such struggles.

In at least the limited cases she studied, however, it turned out that what students actually needed was far simpler. And it was often essentially the same as what they needed (and frequently didnt get) during the rest of the school day: unfettered access to classroom technology. Explicit verbal directions. Examples of how to solve the programming problems being explored in class. Options to try out when they got stuck.

Much more research needs to be done, Israel wrote.

But, she concluded, Our results contribute evidence that students with disabilities can and should participate in [computer science education] and be provided with the supports they need, just as in all other areas of the curriculum.

4. Block- or text-based programming environments?

The K-12 computer science phenomenon has been fueled in large part by the popularity and accessibility of block-based programming environments, such as Alice and Scratch , that allow students to code by dragging-and-dropping what look like digital puzzle pieces.

The logic behind blocks is that theyre immediately engaging, and theres a low barrier to entry. Even very young children can begin a form of programming right away.

But do students actually learn the skills and concepts of computer science in those environments? And does what children learn in, say, Scratch, transfer when they begin working in the text-based programming languages used by the pros?

David Weintrop at the University of Chicago is among the researchers who are asking those types of questions.

So far, the researchers have found early evidence that yes, students do learn more off the bat when they start with a block-based programming language. But in one of the studies Weintrop presented at AERA, novice learners who worked with a text-based programming language had more long-term success once they transitioned to Java.

If schools goal is to prepare students to become professional computer scientists, theres a clear lesson to be learned, Weintrop wrote:

Blocks-based programming environments do not inherently better prepare learners for future text-based programming instruction.

In an interview at the conference, he added that the K-12 sector clearly has a lot to learn about how to build off the good things that can take place when students work in block-based programming environments.

One way to do that, he said, might be through increased use of hybrid programming environments, such as Pencil Code . These allow students to switch seamlessly between blocks and text. In another study presented at AERA, Weintrop found that students in such environments will often move back and forth between the two modes of programming, depending on what theyre working on.

Big picture, Weintrop said, the answer as to which programming environment makes the most sense for K-12 students comes back to the bigger question of why computer science in the first place?

If schools goal is prepare students to become professional computer scientists, getting them into text-based programming environments sooner rather than later might make sense.

But most experts agree its probably unrealistic and misguided to think that allor even moststudents who are exposed to computer science education will become future professionals.

If the goal instead is to help students better understand how the technology around them works, or enable them to participate in the digital public sphere, then block-based or hybrid environments might ultimately prove to be just fine, Weintrop said.

5. Can computational thinking be taught without using computers?

That was the fascinating question raised by Woonhee Sung of Teachers College at Columbia University.

The study she presented at AERA examined whether schools can help young children understand key concepts in computer science through two means: getting kids physically moving in embodied activities, and getting them to program their peers through verbal commands that the other children then act out physically.

Intriguingly, Sung found (in a relatively small-scale study) that those students who were most physically active and most involved in articulating computational commands to their peers learned more in math and were more accurate and efficient programmers than their counterparts.

Such work is still in its early days, Sung said during her talk in AERA. But the working theory is that embodied activities and asking students to take a programmers perspective could be a powerful combination.

6. How to assess whether novice students are learning computer science and computational thinking?

If theres going to be a massive public investment in computer science education, educators and policymakers need to be able to determine if students are grasping the key ideas of computer science, building the habits (such as perseverance) and social skills (such as the ability to work in a team) that will serve them well as programmers, and developing abilities that they can apply in a wide variety of circumstances.

In other words, its about a lot more than just writing computer programs that work, said Shuchi Grover , a senior research scientist at SRI International, in an interview at AERA.

That means employing multiple measures, including attitudinal surveys, multiple choice questions and open-ended tests, performance tasks, and examinations of the artifacts that student create, Grover maintained.

The big goal, she said, should be to get inside the process that students follow. Did they stumble upon a successful programming solution by accident, or did they follow a strategic debugging process? Are they able to take a solution that worked in one situation and apply it in a slightly different situation? Did they develop a deep conceptual understanding, as well as get the chance to express themselves?

Start to answer those kinds of questions, she said, and you can both tell what students have learned, and provide formative feedback that students and teachers can use in real timeto identify what skills need to be reinforced and taught more deeply, for example.

But right now, those kinds of measurement tools are rare for introductory computer science classes. One reason: Theyre incredibly time-consuming and labor-intensive to administer and analyze.

In response, part of SRIs work involves creating programming performance tasks that are intentionally designed to elicit evidence of student understandingsand misunderstandingsof key computer science concepts and principles. And the hope is that at least some of that evidence will come in the form of clickstream data and log files, generated automatically by students as theyre working.

That kind of analytics-driven approach to computer-science assessment is still in its infancy. But in a study that Grover presented at AERA, the group found some promising signs.

Program files provided valuable information about students use of various programming constructs, predefined functions and methods, and abilities for creation of working and generalizable solutions that satisfy given requirements, the SRI researchers concluded.

This work demonstrates that programming tasks can be designed thoughtfully, keeping in mind exactly what computational thinking practices wed like to see evidence of.

An earlier version of this post inaccurately stated the institutional affiliation of David Weintrop. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago.

See also:
The United Methodist Churchs highest court ruled on Friday that consecrating a practicing gay bishop is a violation of the denominations law.

In the 6-to-3 ruling, the UMCs Judicial Council referred to the denominations bylaws, known as the Book of Discipline, saying that it requires all clergy persons make a complete dedication to the highest ideals of the Christian life, including but not limited to, their commitment to abide by and uphold the Churchs definition of marriage and stance on homosexuality.

An openly homosexual and partnered bishop is in violation of these minimum standards, the ruling states.

However, the Judicial Council added that the bishops constitutional right to fair and due process must be protected, and that her position will be maintained until the full disciplinary process against her is completed.

Though the petition to the court did not name a specific bishop, it revolved mainly around Rev. Karen Oliveto, who was consecrated as bishop in July of 2016 by the Western Jurisdiction to oversee churches in the Mountain Sky Area of the UMC. This region includes churches in the states of Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and one church in Idaho.

The South Central Jurisdiction brought the petition to the Judicial Council, asking the Council to decide whether the consecration of an openly homosexual clergy is in violation of the Book of Discipline.

The issues surrounding human sexuality have been divisive in the denomination over the years. In the 2016 General Conference, the highest decision-making body in the UMC, the denomination was set to decide whether it will make homosexuality acceptable. However, it instead opted to form a commission that would deliberate on the issue. The General Conference, which usually meets once every four years, will have a special meeting in 2019 specifically regarding issues on sexuality.

Bishop Bruce Ough, the president of the UMCs Council of Bishops, encouraged members of the UMC to honor the Judicial Council ruling.

Yet, Ough added, we acknowledge that the decision does not help to ease the disagreements, impatience and anxiety that permeates The United Methodist Church over the matter of human sexuality, and particularly this case. Our compassion and prayers of intercession extend to all those who are hurt, relieved, confused or fearful.

We urge you to join your bishops in daily prayers for all United Methodists and for the denomination as we tenderly hold the unity and mission of the church in our hearts and hands, said Ough.
Mat Staver Meets with VP Pence on Israel Independence Day

Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit



WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Vice President Mike Pence has invited pro-Israel leaders to meet at the White House in commemoration of Israel's Independence Day. Joining the commemorative meeting will be Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, President of Christians in Defense of Israel, and Founder and President of Covenant Journey.

During this historic celebration of Israel's Independence Day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is expected to vote on a proposed anti-Semitic resolution condemning Israel. Drafted by Arab states, the UNESCO resolution rejects Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem and denies any Jewish connection to key holy sites. All 100 U.S. senators signed a letter asking U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to address and correct this shameful discrimination against Israel.



Independence Day is founded on the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel by the Jewish leadership led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948. The Israeli Air Force will celebrate Independence Day with its much-celebrated annual aerial display over Israel, including the first flight in 2017 of the American made stealth Israeli F-35i fighter jet. The "I" following "F35" stands for "Israel" because Israel removes some of the technology in the jets it purchases and installs its own advanced technology.

"I am honored to join Vice President Pence and other key pro-Israel leaders to celebrate Israel's Independence Day at the White House," said Staver. "I am encouraged that the Trump administration is sending a clear message to the U.N. to finally honor Israel's right to exist. It is past time we stopped imposing failed ideas on Israel. We must stand with Israel and against anti-Semitism," said Staver.

Who has heard such a thing?



Who has seen such things?



Shall a land be born in one day?



Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?



For as soon as Zion was in labor



she brought forth her children....



Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,



all you who love her;



rejoice with her in joy,



all you who mourn over her. Isaiah 66:8,10

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Christians in Defense of Israel is an education and advocacy organization.

Covenant Journey provides Christian college-age students who have leadership potential with a life-changing journey in Israel to strengthen their Christian faith and equip them to be goodwill ambassadors for Israel. Students who are selected pay $500 and the rest of the journey is underwritten, including flights, tour bus, hotels, food, tour guide, leaders, speakers, and more.
HCA has reached a deal to buy three Houston-area hospitals from Tenet Healthcare and another from Community Health Systems.

Nashville-based HCA, which operates in 20 states and the U.K., will add the 423-bed Houston Northwest Medical Center, 181-bed Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital and 444-bed Park Plaza Hospital to its network. It is buying Tomball Regional Medical Center, a 350-bed hospital, from CHS.
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A Harris County sheriff's deputy is on desk duty after he was arrested for brawling with a woman outside a south Houston shopping center.

Deputy Brian Jones, 29, was off-duty about 10:30 p.m. Sunday when he got into the fight in the parking lot outside a bar at 2533 Southmore.

TRAGIC: Two people dead following shooting at Conroe home

Jones said he told the woman to move out of a spot in the lot because someone else was trying to park. Hill later told police she was looking for something in the parking spot at that moment, authorities said.

On Monday, Houston police and the Harris County District Attorney's Office said they were still investigating what happened next.

Both are claiming the other was the primary aggressor. Hill said Jones knocked her to he ground. He said he "took her to the ground" after she pushed him for a second time during their quarrel. Jones also said the woman hit him with her cell phone, knocking off his glasses, authorities said.

SHOCKING: 1 dead, multiple injured in stabbing attack on UT-Austin campus

Houston police arrived during the parking lot scuffle and took Jones into custody. Police filed a misdemeanor assault charge against him but the Harris County District Attorney's Office on Monday said they were still reviewing any possible charges.

Jones sustained a fractured hand during the scuffle and was treated at Ben Taub General Hospital, authorities said.

He has been a sheriff's deputy for about five years and is assigned to patrol duties on the west side of Harris County.

The investigation is continuing, officials said.
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SEAFOOD

Christie's Seafood & Steaks: Born in Galveston, this family-run business has been a Houston favorite for generations. And this year, the restaurant's 100th anniversary, is a perfect time to indulge in Oysters Thermidor, chargrilled Greek-style snapper, Gulf shrimp entrees, fried seafood plates and Louisiana-flavored fare such as Cajun seafood pasta and po'boys. 6029 Westheimer, 713-978-6563; christies-restaurant.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. W

Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood Kitchen: The food is great and we haven't found another Houston kitchen that knows what a debris po'boy should be. Some of the best gumbo in town, too. 4611 Montrose, 713-807-8883; dantonsseafood.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun.; 5:30-10 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Inner Loop

Hai Cang Seafood Restaurant: Among Asiatown's fancy restaurants with live fish tanks, Hai Cang stands out. You might luck out and get the dewiest Pacific spot prawns, just flown in and served with their gleaming scarlet roe. You can count on the live lobster or Dungeness crab dishes, too, and you'll want a gang to help you eat them - which makes dining in this big, sleek room a party. 11768 Bellaire, 281-564-4288; haicangrestaurant.net. SW

Holley's Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar: Whether you want a romantic dining room or a casual spot for slurping freshly shucked oysters, chef Mark Holley has it covered. His Midtown restaurant presents Southern seafood with Asian touches. Don't miss the coconut cake. 3201 Louisiana, 713-491-2222; holleyshouston.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sun.; 5:30-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 5:30-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Inner Loop

Floyd's Cajun Seafood: You'd be hard pressed to find better fried fare, including cornmeal-crusted oysters, house-made onion rings and flavorful catfish. 20760 I-45, Webster, 281-332-7474; 1300 E. Broadway, Pearland, 281-993-8385; 16549 I-59, Sugar Land, 281-240-3474; floydscajunseafood.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat. SW, SE

Goode Co. Seafood: Gulf Coast seafood cooked with care is the hallmark of this popular brand from Houston's Goode Co. From shell-roasted oysters to stuffed fish to fried seafood platters to mesquite-grilled trout, shrimp, catfish and redfish - Goode hits the mark. The city's favorite campachana is served here. 10211 I-10, 713-464-7933 (open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.); 2621 Westpark, 713-523-7154 (open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-11 pm. Fri.-Sat.); goodecompany.com. Inner Loop, W

La Fisheria: Chef Vidal Elias Murillo is at the helm of this coastal Mexican seafood restaurant downtown. Favorites like seafood tostadas now join a new lineup of ceviches, octopus carpaccio, raw bar dishes, achiote-rubbed red snapper and deep-fried lobster. 213 Milam, 832-384-5180; lafisheriadowntown.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat., noon-6 p.m. Sun. Inner Loop

Liberty Kitchen: This is comfort fare - hickory-smoked catfish, grilled oysters and blue-crab-filled gumbo - at its Third Coast best, served up in sleek (and typically packed) environs. Also on offer: customizable poke. 1050 Studewood, 713-802-0533; 4224 San Felipe, 713-622-1010, and two other locations; libertykitchenoysterbar.com. Inner Loop

Reef: Chef Bryan Caswell's first - and still best - restaurant rarely disappoints. Gulf seafood is the star of the show: oysters on the half shell, snapper carpaccio, blue crab ceviche, jumbo crab cake and cornmeal-crusted fried oysters for starters. Well-cooked snapper, redfish, scallops, amberjack and Gulf crab are entree highlights. 2600 Travis, 713-526-8282; reefhouston.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri., 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Sat. Inner Loop

SaltAir Seafood Kitchen: Chef Brandi Key's menu impresses with its breadth: scallop ceviche, seafood campechana, snapper crudo and tuna poke give way to grilled lobster tail, baked redfish with Moroccan spices, pan-seared snapper and seared tuna steak. Want to impress? Try the seafood tower or a caviar presentation. 3029 Kirby, 713-521-3333; saltairhouston.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tues.-Thu., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri., 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat., 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. Inner Loop
The University of St. Thomas received $6.5 million from the late Houston engineer James M. Hughes' estate.

The money -- the private university's largest-ever estate -- will create a scholarship fund in Hughes' name for graduate students and undergraduates.

"He wanted the bulk of his estate to benefit the Catholic charities and organizations that were so meaningful to him, and to which he devoted much of his time in retirement," said W. Kevin Alter, an attorney and witness to Mr. Hughes's will, in a statement provided by the university.

Hughes died in April at 89 years old, the university said.

The university says that the gift contributes to its goal to grow its endowment to $100 million. It was valued at $81,018,000 at the end of the 2016 fiscal year, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers, after a 4.6 percent decline in market value.
Those who get the urge to light up when they're out having a meal or cocktail can still do so in many cities around Houston.

While the City of Houston has banned smoking in all public places, some suburbs still allow for designated smoking areas if the business owner chooses to create them.
The Detroit public schools will avoid the forced closure of some of its struggling schools by signing a partnership agreement with the state of Michigan.

Detroit and eight other districts entered into early partnership agreement discussions with the state in March after they were identified by the School Reform Office as home to 38 underperforming schools , the Detroit Free Press reports.

The schools ranked in the bottom 5 percent academically statewide for at least the last three years. Twenty-four of those schools are in Detroit, including 16 in the district and eight within the state-run, soon-to-be-dissolved Education Achievement Authority.

Under the agreement, the state cant force the closure of any of the schools for at least three years. By July 31, each school must develop a set of academic goals as part of the improvement process that will likely mandate additional learning time for students by extending the school year or the school day, the Free Press reports.

Before signing the agreements, Detroit and several other districts had sued the state earlier this year to prevent the reform office from shutting down the schools. It remains unclear if the districts have dropped their lawsuits.

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To Keep Struggling Schools Open, Detroit Will Sue State of Michigan

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Houston-based David Weekley Homes is expanding to Colorado Springs and has named Dustin Nelson as division president.

Home sales will begin in June in the communities of Flying Horse and Wolf Ranch. Both neighborhoods have views of Pikes Peak.

Since joining the company in 1998, Nelson has served as superintendent, builder, sales consultant, project manager and Dallas division president.

RELATED: Houston's David Weekley Homes, LGI Homes among nation's biggest

The nation's largest privately-held builder, David Weekley Homes has closed more than 80,000 homes since 1976. The company has been building homes in Colorado since 1993.
The Heights may have lost one Creek restaurant in a neighborhood almost dominated by them when Dry Creek Cafe closed on Yale Street, but in late April they're gaining a new happy hour spot in its place.

On the site that once housed the Creek bar at the corner of Yale and 7th, celebrated restaurateurs Justin Yu and Bobby Heugel are opening Better Luck Tomorrow - a blend of relaxed food and drink cultivated with local, seasonal ingredients in a bright and upbeat space - and bringing an "aggressive wine list" and "globally and seasonally inspired plates that have a lot of personality," according to a release from the owners.

The name also tries to bring a bit of the personality of the brains behind the bar.

"Good bars are happy places with a dash of melancholy," said Huegel.

"I like it because it's both a well wish and a sarcastic comment," said Yu.

That mixture of sincerity and wit have informed the drink and food menu too.

They'll be crafting 10 original cocktails but all will be food friendly and sourced from local farmers that reflect the flavors of the Texas Gulf Coast region.

Bar operations are headed by Terry Williams, currently of Anvil Bar & Refuge on Westheimer, which Heugel owns and is perhaps best known for to date.

Anvil is the only bar in Houston to ever be nominated for a James Beard award, the Oscars of the food world. It's fitting as the small brick bar was the first to bring craft cocktails to the city. Heugel also owns a few downtown spots that have helped revitalize nightlife in the inner-core of the city: The Pastry War, Tongue-Cut Sparrow inside The Pastry War and Nightingale Room where live music descends from the rafters while audiences drink below.

On the food side, the other heavy-hitter behind the project, Yu, is taking the helm. The man behind Oxheart is the 2016 winner of Best Chef Southwest at the James Beard Awards.

Oxheart, on the north end of downtown recently closed for a temporary re-design of its menu. Yu plans on staying involved with the restaurant while partnering in for BLT.

Matt Boesen is chef, and most recently served as sous chef at Hunky Dory.

Yu described the menu as, "food we'd make for ourselves and our friends on our day off." One example is the patty melt with crispy cheese, caramelized onions and thin beef pattys he said, "would make any French chef proud."

The atmosphere inside is a purposeful departure from the ubiquitous "reclaimed" theme in so many urban restaurants and bars. A long blue bench and neon lights will provide a "colorful and quirky" scene.

Sunday guests will be treated with a rare, high-end bottle of wine with glasses sold at cost and poured by wine manager Justin Vann.

"We'll be offering our guests something different than what they've experienced at Anvil or Oxheart," said Yu. "This bar will be playful and lighthearted while continuing to execute at the highest level."
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One of world's biggest grocery chains is targeting Conroe for one of its new locations as part of its major expansion into the U.S.

During what seemed to be an otherwise routine item on the City Council workshop on Monday, council members discussed a variance request to sell alcohol for a Lidl grocery store proposed for the corner of Loop 336 and Conroe School Lane.

The grocery chain is going through the "permitting process" with the city, with the 36,000 square foot store expected to be opened towards the end of this year or early next year, according to Fred Welch, director of the Greater Conroe Economic Development Council.

NOT HAPPY: Pearland parents speak out against planned Lidl grocery store

Lidl, which is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, operates nearly 10,000 stores in 26 countries across Europe. It recently opened a U.S. headquarters in Virginia as it begins its planned expansion across the country.

Lidl had confirmed to the Houston Business Journal last fall that it was looking to open stores in Texas, but declined to name specific locations. In an email to The Courier on Monday, a company spokesman declined to confirm any of its new locations or comment on the Conroe variance request.

"We have not announced specific store locations, and right now, our focus is in our operations along the East Coast, where we'll be opening our first stores this year," Chandler Ebeier, a spokesman for Lidl, said in his email.

WE'RE NUMBER #1: Texas leads the nation in adding grocery stores

Coincidentally, Conroe Mayor Toby Powell and Councilman Seth Gibson were both in Germany last week where Powell told The Courier he was talking to officials of German companies with operations in Conroe Industrial Park in the hopes of getting those companies to expand in the park, or to get more companies to move to the area.

Powell says he did not meet with Lidl officials, but rather did meet with other German officials, including representatives of a major German forklift manufacturer which is coming to Conroe. "We did have a great meeting with the heads of the National Chamber of Commerce of Germany," Powell said in his email. "We had a great visit about why Conroe is the place to come with all of our amenities and quality of life."

As for the Lidl variance request, a Conroe staff report prepared for the council said the chain needed a variance because Conroe prohibits selling alcohol within 300 feet of a public school. The grocery store would be about 214 feet from Peet Junior High School on Longmire Road.

In a letter to the city, the Conroe Independent School District said it did not object to the variance.

The opening of the Conroe Lidl store and others expected to be opened in the area would be expected to put competitive pressure on grocery retailers with a strong Texas presence, such as Kroger and HEB.
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Houston ISD Trustee Jolanda Jones is waging a one-woman campaign against the May 6 referendum on paying a costly fee to the state to help out school districts in need.

Her Facebook Live video posts pop up nearly once an hour featuring Jones at a different radio show or community forum, contending that voting to allow HISD to pay a $77.4 million "recapture" fee will cost the district billions in coming years. She also argues that it will deal a blow to progress in getting state legislators to rethink Texas' widely criticized school finance system.

Jones' perseverance has affected how some civic organizations view the second "recapture measure" in seven months to go before voters.

The NAACP of Houston came out against Proposition 1 in April after Jones addressed the group. So did the Pleasantville Voters League, Texas Progressive Women and African American News & Issues.

Jones said it has been an uphill battle to get her views out, especially as political groups like Houston Taxpayers for Quality Education have spent large sums on mail and online advertisements.

"No one expects me to win -- I am going against millions of dollars," Jones said. "I don't give in just because the odds are formidable. But it's going to be a low-turnout election, so I'm trying to get anyone I can to flip to my side."

At issue is "recapture," the process by which the state takes money from property-rich districts and redistributes that money to more rural or poor districts that receive less in property tax income. Houston ISD qualified as one of the property-rich districts for the first time this school year, even though about 70 percent of HISD students come from low-income families and 30 percent of students are English language learners who often require more school resources to succeed.

Last November, about 60 percent of Houston ISD voters opposed paying recapture. That was likely what spurred the Texas Senate to create a work-study group to look into overhauling the state's antiquated school finance system, Jones said.

Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Houston) sponsored legislation that would provide more funding to schools and would effectively lessen the amount Houston ISD would pay in recapture fees.

Austin lawmakers were furious with the district for refusing to pay, according to HISD trustees Rhonda Skillern-Jones and Mike Lunceford, among others. They worried it would prompt lawmakers and the Texas Education Agency to strike back.

As a result, the board voted in February to hold a second referendum on recapture.

Voters have two choices at the ballot box on Saturday: They can allow HISD to pay the state millions in recapture fees by voting "for" Prop 1, or they can refuse by voting "against" the proposition. Education Commissioner Mike Morath says rejection of the ballot measure would lead the state to remove some of the area's most valuable commercial properties from the Houston ISD's tax rolls to fund property-poor districts, such as Aldine ISD.

This year, Houston ISD owes about $77.5 million in recapture fees and could lose about $98.4 million if the state "detaches" some of its commercial properties.

By the 2019-2020 school year, Houston ISD's recapture bill could be $376 million, the district said. Or it could lose $413.2 million if it loses out on taxes from its valuable commercial properties.

Jones argues that "detachment" would be unconstitutional.

"We can't debate detachment until there's an actual detachment," Jones said. "No district has voted to detach, so that hasn't been heard at all (in the courts)."

Refusing to pay the state, she said, will continue to put pressure on the Legislature to act.

Jones also has raised questions about how Houston ISD has presented the new recapture referendum to the public, citing a paragraph on the district's website that shows the HISD could actually gain money through rising property values if voters approve paying recapture. For example, that paragraph shows the district would lose about $98.4 million with detachment but would gain $66.8 million if voters approve paying recapture.

Glenn Reed, HISD's general manager of budgeting and financial planning, said the paragraph is meant to show that under recapture the district still could see its budget increase thanks to rises in commercial property values, while it could only potentially decrease under detachment. He said that while it is likely property taxes will rise under either scenario, residential property owners could be on the hook for more money because the district no longer would be able to collect taxes from its most valuable commercial properties.

Still, Jones said she would prefer to see the district continue to refuse to pay in the hopes that it could spur change or galvanize other districts to join the fight.

"Some people feel like they're being tricked (by those in favor of Proposition 1), and they are," Jones said. "They're trying to win by any means necessary."
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Toting a Trump pinata and flying a Mexican flag, Houston protesters gathered Monday evening for the last of three May Day rallies voicing support for immigrants and workers.

Socialists, immigrants and anarchists turned out - some with creative and obscene signage - to mingle in Guadalupe Plaza Park and hear poetry and fiery bilingual speeches as dusk fell.

OPPOSITION: Houston police chief speaks out against 'sanctuary cities' bill

"President Donald Trump said the country of Mexico is rapists and killers but really he has forgotten the 11 million undocumented immigrants - we build his towers," said Leobardo Santillan, a Mexican immigrant who turned up wearing a Trump mask and flying a sign calling the president a racist Nazi.

"The Mexican community has been the target of racism and all the hate of President Donald Trump," Santillan said in Spanish. "We think he is the worst president and that he is a crazy terrorist."

The 5:30 p.m. gathering - brought together by a large coalition of groups, including the Houston Communist Party, the Brown Berets, Students for a Democratic Society and Latino Inmigrantes Triunfadores - took a decidedly more radical stance than some of the other May Day events, with rally-goers denouncing capitalism and demanding an end to the two-party political system.

IMMIGRATION AND HOUSTON: Kinder survey shows racial divides even as immigration attitudes improve

"The purpose here is to show solidarity with immigrants, working people, the LGBT community and all the people who have been marginalized and continue to be marginalized," said 27-year-old Ian Goodrum, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

"I think the time has come to stop trying to rely on politicians from the two main parties in the administration. It's time to look to something else, and that's what radicalism is."

Earlier in the day, activists met up downtown for a march to City Hall that drew provocative signage, as well as police corralling the crowds.

At the same time, a mid-day gathering at Guadalupe Plaza Park snaked through the streets to Sen. Ted Cruz's office in protest of Senate Bill 4, the pending sanctuary cities measure in the legislature, and President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

The Houston events were part of a nationwide day of action that filled in the streets in major American cities and ended in violence in some European countries.

But the Bayou City events stayed largely peaceful, punctuated occasionally by chants, poetry and song.

Surveying the crowd at the day's last event, socialist organizer and local attorney Brian Harrison declared it a success.

"I think this was a good day of action," he said. "We had a good solid turnout in the middle of the day in downtown Houston and a few hundred tonight."
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A community activist said Tuesday that the Harris County sheriff told him that teenage robbery suspects shot by police last week did not fire at officers, contrary to initial statements from the sheriff's office.

A group of four boys allegedly held up a Jack in the Box restaurant in northwest Harris County on April 24. Officers had been following them since they were suspected in a spree of similar armed robberies earlier that week, using an allegedly carjacked white Ford Mustang.

Officers from several police agencies surrounded the building and called on a megaphone for the armed suspects to come out. Houston police and state troopers opened fire near the restaurant entrance.

MORE ON THIS STORY: Judge increases bail in Jack-in-the-Box shooting

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo arrived to the scene quickly and told reporters, "We're trying to determine how many, if any, shots were fired by the suspects."

The sheriff's office said in a news release the next day that the suspects had fired first.

Community activist Quanell X said that Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told him otherwise in a 10-minute meeting shortly before noon Tuesday.

"It's wrong," the activist said. "It's a lie. They never shot."

Speaking in front of family members of the slain suspect and the two wounded suspects, Quanell X said the sheriff told him that forensic tests did not detect any gunshot-related residue on the teens' hands or clothes. One handgun was a replica weapon and tests showed that the real one, a revolver, had not been fired, the activist said.

FAST-FOOD SHOOTING: Teen killed in officer-involved shooting at Jack-in-the-Box identified

Perhaps most importantly, Quanell X said, video showed the boys throw down the weapons. He said restaurant employees told him the teens were moving to surrender.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the meeting was just a courtesy to the families of the slain or wounded suspects and that he did not share specific details of the case.

"We understand their perspective," the sheriff said. "We spoke in generalities."

However, Gonzalez did say he has not seen any evidence that the suspects did fire any shots --though it was too early to conclusively rule that out.

"It's my understanding that the individuals involved did not fire weapons," the sheriff said, emphasizing that it was far too early to be certain. He added that he has not personally seen surveillance video that Quanell X said showed the suspects throwing down their weapons.

BACKGROUND: Suspects charged in deadly shootout with police at Jack-in-the-Box

Gonzalez did confirm the activist's statement that one of the weapons turned out to be a replica handgun, though neither employees nor police had a way to know that at the time.

The sheriff also said that deputies were not among the officers who fired shots in the incident; those officers came from the Houston Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

In general, Gonzalez added, the sheriff's office is "not afraid of transparency." This incident marks one of the first high-profile officer-involved shootings since he took the reins a few months ago after defeating the appointed interim sheriff in last November's election.

READ MORE: Who is Quanell X?

Scroll through the gallery above to see how often police officers in Texas are involved in a shooting
AUSTIN -- Anti-abortion advocates are worried that the clock is ticking to pass pro-life legislation in the Capitol with just nine days left for the Texas House to debate bills.

In a press conference Tuesday, members of Texas Right to Life and a handful of Republican lawmakers called on the Texas House to take up priority legislation for anti-abortion advocates. Texas Right to Life, a top pro-life lobby group in the state, wants lawmakers to pass a ban on "dismemberment" and "partial birth" abortions.
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The Woodlands Township Board of Directors took a stand against pending legislation regarding Jones State Forest despite a rewrite of the bill that seems to protect the forest.

In a 6-0 vote, the board opposed Senate Bill 1964 and directed township staff to draft a resolution stating just that. Board member Laura Fillault was in attendance but had stepped away from the meeting during the vote.

The board will revisit the issue when the resolution is complete.

Introduced by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, SB 1964 originally sparked outrage over fears it would bring development to the forest. The wording of the bill would have allowed building for "educational purposes" in a portion of the park, which is owned and operated by the Texas A&M University system.

However, amid the controversy, Creighton has proposed new language for the bill to read "The entire territory of the Jones State Forest must remain natural, scenic, undeveloped and open."

The Texas Senate Education Committee is expected to take action on the legislation later this week.

But while the township board was pleased with the proposed new wording, members agreed the legislation is "rushed."

"We need more time, more public input," board member John McMullan said during the April 26 meeting. "I recognize and appreciate comments that this has gotten better, but I'm not ready to endorse this tonight."

Board member Ann Snyder agreed.

"I commend Senator Creighton for coming back and submitting what he did," she said. "What concerns me is the process. There was no process to include us."

While the township has no jurisdiction over the forest, it is adjacent to the community along its north boundary.

Board member Bruce Rieser said it was good news that the bill does not have a companion bill in the Texas House noting development of the forest would be a "mistake."

"I am certainly prepared to oppose any effort to develop the park," he said. "I think it would be a big mistake for the area and a big mistake for the environment."

Chairman Gordy Bunch noted the township extended an offer to have officials with Texas A&M speak but they were unresponsive.

"Don Norrell and I invited Texas A&M to come down to this meeting to present to the community what their plans are.  They have declined to present," he said. "That is concerning to us. This is not the Aggie way."

Representatives of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club and members of a local group called SaveJonesStateForest, both groups that oppose the bill and have expressed doubts about the new wording, said they still remain skeptical.

"There are a lot of concerns that could be put to rest if we weren't thinking about the bad things that could happen," Evelyn Merz, conservation chair for Sierra Club chapter, said in a previous Courier article.

Merz says The Sierra Club will continue to fight SB 1964 unless there is language in the legislation that includes a public master-planning process.

The Sierra Club and others also have questioned that if nothing is going to change with the status of the forest, why have any bill at all.

Group members also have expressed concerns about possible loopholes in the language of the bill and noted there is no mention of protecting endangered species, such as the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, which lives in the forest.

As originally proposed, the bill would have allowed building for educational purposes in up to 10 percent of the 1,722-acre property along FM 1488 and Texas 242.

Because the forest is owned by the Texas A&M University system, some fear the bill is really a scheme to build a new college campus  a claim university officials have denied.
High levels of teacher turnover in the countrys most sparsely populated state is draining millions out of Alaskas education coffers. Every time a district loses a teacher and has to find a new one that process costs an average of $20,500, adding up to $20 million a year throughout the state, according to a new study by the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research .

Imagine, if we lowered the turnover rate by 50 percent in rural Alaskasuddenly were having millions of dollars to invest in these educators and in our classroom rather than in trying to hire, Diane Hirshberg, the director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research and a professor of education policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage, told the Alaska Dispatch News .

The study found that turnover rates in rural districts averaged about 20 percent between 2004 and 2014. While in about a dozen districts, annual turnover rates exceeded 30 percent.

Connie Newman, the superintendent at the Iditarod Area School District, told the Alaska Dispatch News that she wasnt shocked by the findings at all. She told the paper that only 12 of the districts 20 teachers were planning on returning next year.

Its very expensive to try and replace them, Newman told the paper. We had to send a team to Anchorage to recruit and its pretty competitive. Our little district doesnt have quite the same resources.

One way policymakers in the state are hoping to lower teacher turnover rates is by getting more teachers with Alaskan roots. The Alaska Dispatch News reports that University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen has made preparing more educators for the states classrooms a top priority.

But this is far from a new problem and one whose resolution has long eluded policymakers. Lisa Murkowski, Alaskas long-time Republican senator, laid out the problem in one of her first speeches as a senator in 2003.

"[I]n many parts of rural Alaska the teacher turnover rate is 100 percent every three years, she said in a speech before the state legislature . We need to find innovative ways to reduce this high teacher turnover rate in rural Alaska. Rural students, like students in urban Alaska, need predictability and stability to thrive, and that is hard to achieve when you have a completely new teaching staff every few years.

A 2014 report by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation , however, called for a return to state policies that paid rural teachers a premium for staying in remote Alaskan towns: Decades ago, rural school districts offered teachers a premium salary, making teacher recruitment and retention easy. In the 1990s, limited school funding ushered in an era of high teacher turnover. Without the security of top-notch salaries, teachers found opportunities elsewhere and began leaving their posts.
A Houston man accused of chasing another man with a machete before waving the weapon at police is behind bars facing three felony charges, court records show.

Anthony Joe Williams, 36, was arrested Tuesday, more than a week after a violent outburst sparked an officer-involved shooting in north Houston.

The chaos kicked off around 12:30 p.m. on April 27, when Minh Tran heard someone beating on the metal security gate of his home on Estrellita Drive, according to court documents.

Tran came outside and asked if the man - who police identified as Williams - needed help, but got no response.

Instead, Williams turned away and walked toward the driveway security gate and scaled it, then snatched a machete from Tran's backyard.

Tran called 911 and ran back inside for his gun.

Outside, Williams continued his rampage, breaking five windows in the back of the home and yelling at Tran to shoot him.

Then, he tried breaking into the back of the home before walking around the side and busting another window, court documents allege.

Tran came outside with his gun and started running, and when police arrived minutes later , they found Williams chasing Tran with a machete.

Williams swiveled and focused his attention on the three responding officers. He ignored orders to drop the blade and walked toward police and "raised the machete in a threatening manner," according to court papers.

Two of the officers fired off shots, hitting Williams in the stomach and leg.

"As soon as the suspect went down they gave him orders again to drop the machete," Capt. Lori Bender told reporters at the time.

"He waved it around for a little bit longer and then he released the machete."

Afterward, he was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police initially said they'd found evidence of PCP in his car.

The officers who fired shots were put on a three-day administrative leave as authorities probed the incident. As with any officer-involved shooting in city limits, HPD Homicide and Internal Affairs are both investigating the case, along with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Williams is now facing two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Before the current legal troubles, Williams already had a string of arrests in Harris County dating back to at least 2001.

In 2008, he was convicted on a robbery charge and sentenced to three years in state prison. He's also faced charges for evading arrest, felon in possession of a weapon, endangering a child and a slew of other offenses.

He's currently being held without bond in the Harris County jail and is due in court Wednesday.
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The city of Houston has paused its restoration of historic bricks laid by freed slaves and their descendants in Freedmen's Town after preservationists discovered that "mounds" of the bricks were not original, the preservationists' attorney said Tuesday. However, the city said that was the plan all along.

"They brought a mixture of bricks," said Ben Hall, the lawyer who last year helped win a judge's order in favor of preservation. "That's admitted. That's not even contested. ... They brought some of the old bricks back, and they brought mounds of the new Kansas City bricks."

A resident trained to observe the contractor's work noticed that many bricks looked completely different, with two thick lines not present on the originals, said Dorris Ellis, president of the Freedmen's Town Preservation Coalition.

"It was supposed to be Freedmen's Town bricks put back in Freedmen's Town," Ellis said. "We've gone out to the storage area and we've seen bricks that should've been enough to cover the area. So I don't understand what they were doing."

READ MORE: Residents fight to save history, legacy of freed slaves in Houston's Fourth Ward

However, a Public Works spokeswoman said the bricks were approved by an archaeologist and brought in to supplement the 3,610 originals that were removed because they would not cover the entire intersection, which requires more than 13,000 bricks in total. The issue boils down to miscommunication, she said.

"We understand the important role that these bricks play in the community and in the city of Houston as a whole," said the spokeswoman, Alanna Reed. "The re-installment is temporarily suspended. The replacement bricks have been picked up. ... The new procedure is, we are going to show these archaeologist-approved bricks to the Freedmen's Town Preservation Coalition before they are installed, just so we avoid the confusion."

This latest hiccup comes six months after a city contractor on Nov. 21 disturbed a 6-foot by 10-foot segment of the bricks while using a backhoe to pull up a concrete slab, the Chronicle reported in November. A resident intervened and stopped the construction crew.

Mayor Sylvester Turner was in Mexico City at the time on a trade mission, but he took the time to fire off a tweet voicing his displeasure.

"The contractor should preserve any and all bricks removed from Andrew St," Turner wrote. "No one should have touched Andrew St w/o my specific authorization."

GIVEN COVER: Freedmen's Town rental homes named 'protected landmarks'

In December, the mayor laid out a plan for the bricks' restoration, assuring residents that the city would have an archaeologist who would oversee the job.

Last Friday, Turner laid a brick there as part of a ceremony to mark the restoration.

"The city of Houston has fulfilled its promises, the intersection at Genesee Street and Andrews Street is almost complete and these historic bricks are being reinstalled with improved infrastructure," Turner said at the time. "We recognize the important place these bricks hold in the history of our city, and today the bricks get returned home."

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: Relatives look through historic cemetery after vandals strike

The bricks, located along Andrews Street in Houston's Fourth Ward, represent "the only remaining vestige of black slave ancestors constructing physical structures inside the city of Houston with their own money," said Hall, who was among the candidates in last year's mayoral election.

"It's just a tragic erosion of history in Freedmen's Town," Hall said. "Unless the mayor and his administration feel that it's important to the history of Houston, it'll eventually be lost."

Scroll through the above gallery to see when Freedmen's Town underwent restoration in 2014
Harris County officials scrambled Monday to decide what to do next after a federal judge's ruling that the county's cash bail system is fundamentally unfair to poor people charged with low-level crimes.

With just two weeks until the 193-page order from Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal kicks in May 15, county officials are working to draft a plan to deal with the hundreds of misdemeanor offenders now behind bars and the new cases filed each day.

County officials and more than a dozen lawyers spent Monday in meetings deciding whether to appeal the order, said Robert Soard, first assistant at the Harris County Attorney's Office. He said he anticipates the legal team will have a recommendation about whether to appeal before the next Commissioners Court session May 9.

Jason Spencer, spokesman for Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, said the changes will require collaboration among multiple agencies to comply with the ruling so quickly.

"It's not just a flipping of a switch and now we can do these things," he said. "It takes time and planning to put new systems in place that weren't there before."

Paula Goodhart, administrative judge for the misdemeanor courts, was also among those in the meetings.

"Like everyone else, we're still trying to process it," Goodhart said.

Goodhart declined to answer questions specific to the lawsuit, because she is one of the defendants. Instead, she spoke about changes that have been in the works for the past two years to reform the county bail system.

"We do recognize that low- and moderate-risk people should be out pending trial," she said. "We just want to balance public safety with individual liberty interests."

On any given day, between 350 and 500 people-about 5.5 percent-of the jail population are awaiting trial on misdemeanors. But about 50,000 people are arrested in Harris County on misdemeanors each year, so the number of people who would not have to pay a bondsman or plead guilty to get out of jail could be in the tens of thousands.

County budget officer Bill Jackson said his office is working to understand how many people may be released by the judge's order and how much that could reduce the cost of incarceration at the overcrowded jail.

"This is such a moving target," Jackson said. "There's just way too many 'what-ifs' and variables."

Sharp reactions

The county and top officials were sued in federal court last year by two civil rights groups - Texas Fair Defense Project and Civil Rights Corps - and local law firm Susman Godfrey on behalf of Maranda Odonnell, a single mother who was held for two days on a charge of driving without a valid license because she couldn't afford the $2,500 bail.

Similar lawsuits filed on behalf of two other people were merged into the case in August.

On Friday, Rosenthal ruled that most misdemeanor suspects should be released without bail, sometimes called a personal recognizance bond, within 24 hours of their arrest, a big change for Harris County.

Typically, suspects arrested in Harris County are processed at the jail where a magistrate judge sets bail within hours of arrest, assigns the defendant to court and sends them to a holding cell where they can either bail themselves out or stay in jail.

Suspects accused of misdemeanors - the least serious crimes that can end in jail time - are sent to one of 16 county courts at law. They generally appear in court the next business day where a judge reviews the case and decides if the bail amount is appropriate.

Rosenthal's order would not apply to defendants involved in domestic assaults, or to those facing other warrants or charges.

Some officials, however, bristled Monday at the judge's opinion,which was handed down late Friday.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said the ruling was an example of a federal judge changing Texas law. Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack wondered whether the release of inmates could impact public safety.

"Just because somebody has been charged with a Class B or A misdemeanor doesn't mean that's a person that's a real nice person, that's real trustworthy and hasn't been involved in an active assault," Radack said.

County Judge Ed Emmett and Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman said they were waiting on further analysis from the county attorney's office.

Not all county officials have opposed the ruling. District Attorney Kim Ogg and Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis filed paperwork with the court siding with the plaintiff, saying defendants otherwise eligible for release should not be kept in jail because they are poor.

The ruling was also praised by Houston's defense attorneys and other advocates for bail reform.

"I'm very pleased to see that a federal judge has stepped in to stop the plea mill in Harris County," said Robert Fickman, a past president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association who has written extensively on the situation. "It will improve the quality of justice because the poor people who cannot afford bonds will have the chance for a lawyer to fight for them rather than pleading guilty just to get out of jail."

Tom Berg, first assistant for the Harris County District Attorney's Office, said that office has been working toward bail reform since Ogg was elected DA in November.

"We're gratified by this," Berg said. "This is a big, big step."

Looking ahead

A bill in the Texas Senate that would change the jail-release system across the state had been scheduled for a possible vote in the full Senate on Monday.

But it was not called up for debate, though it has strong support from Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht and Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller.

The bill's author and committee chairman, Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, conceded after the Senate adjourned Monday that he still lacks the votes to pass it because of continuing opposition from bondsmen.

"It's clear I've still got some work to do," Whitmire said.

Sandra Guerra Thompson, a University of Houston criminal law professor and an advocate for bail reform, said the county will need to take several steps to comply with the judge's ruling, including processing inmates faster so they can be released on personal bonds within 24 hours.

"How all of this comes together, now that you have this court order, it's too soon to know," Thompson said. "But it's fair to say that there are going to be a lot more people who would have been stuck in jail who are now going to get PR bonds."

That doesn't mean suspects won't be held accountable if they jump bail. Even a personal bail has a dollar amount attached, and they will have to pay it if they don't show up for court.

"There's no 'free bail,' " she said.

Mike Ward contributed to this report.
A former Hudson ISD kindergarten teacher who admits to having sex with four high school students - two at the same time, remains in jail and reports say she could face more charges.

Heather Lee Robertson, 38, of Lufkin, is currently charged with four counts of improper relationship between educator and student, according to KTRE-TV.

According to KTRE-TV, on Monday, Robertson had a court hearing for an unrelated DWI charge from March 30, where she pleaded not guilty. While there isn't an official court date set for the improper relationship charges, additional charges against the former primary teacher could develop, KTRE-TV reports.

Angelina County District Attorney Joe Martin told KTRE-TV Monday morning that Lufkin Police is conducting an investigation into the teacher that could bring more charges. Though, Martin didn't speak on the details of the possible future charges.

TEXAS ISSUE: Ex-Austin teacher accused of inappropriate relationship back in court

The Lufkin Daily News reports the Hudson ISD police investigation into Robertson started Thursday, April 20, when they received information Robertson was possibly sexually active with several high school students.

The Hudson ISD police received a list of possible students involved with Robertson and began questioning each of them.

One student told police he and Robertson started "chatting and sexting" on Snapchat after spring break. Then Robertson asked the boy to come over to her apartment to have sex. The boy said he had a friend with him and asked if it was OK if he came over. She then welcomed both of the boys to her apartment.

At the apartment, she told the boys to follow her to her bedroom, where she began taking off her clothes before having sex with both students at the same time, according to the Lufkin Daily News. The second student involved in the incident admitted to the encounter as well.

CONTINUED LIST: Many in 2 North Texas districts arrested for improper teacher-student relationships

Two different students said they would sneak out of their homes and Robertson would pick them up and take them back to her apartment to have sex. She would then take them back home afterward.

She is currently in Angelina County Jail on a $200,000 bond, according to KTRE-TV.

The TV station also reports Robertson's case marks the fourth one involving an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a student in Angelina County in the past four years. Click through the gallery above to see the teacher-student inappropriate relationships that have been reported in this year alone.

LOCAL ALLEGATIONS: HISD teacher charged with improper student relationship
A Houston couple is behind bars after police allegedly found marijuana, ecstasy, and Xanax in their car during a traffic stop in Houston County near Crockett.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KTRE-TV, Jesse Joie Bickman, 19, and Janee Santrece Morrow, 24, both of Houston, were arrested on child endangerment and drug charges on April 29, 2017, after Houston County Texas Department of Public Safety troopers discovered the drugs in the car and on the suspects' person.
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Two suspects are on the run after stealing an ATM from a Gallery Furniture store in north Houston Tuesday morning.

The pair broke into the store off of the North Freeway just before 5 a.m. They pried open a back door and started sawing on an ATM inside of the store, said Lt. Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department.
Those who know the whereabouts of a Texas Syndicate gang member with face tattoos may be able get a significant payout if they speak to authorities.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is offering a $12,500 reward for information leading to the capture of Agapito Salinas, 45, during the month of May. He is wanted for parole violation.
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The 21-year-old accused of attacking four students with a Bowie-like hunting knife on the University of Texas at Austin campus Monday was suffering from mental illness at the time, police said in a news conference Tuesday.

UT Austin Police Chief David Carter said Kendrex White was not part of a conspiracy or acting on a vendetta when he walked through East Campus stabbing four people, one fatally, and kicking a female student.

"We have reason to believe the individual was suffering from mental health issues," Carter said.

RELATED: Here's what we know about UT-Austin stabbing suspect Kendrex White

White was recently committed to a mental health facility in a different city and was released, he said. "But he was obviously suffering from particular issues," he said.

White was booked into jail on a charge of murder, which will be filed later today. Officials are also reviewing additional charges, said interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.

Rumors circulated on social media that White targeted victims for wearing paraphernalia that associated them with Greek Life at the University, but officials once again stated that the connection was false.

READ MORE: With no UT-Austin warning, students panic on social media amid attack reports; Twitter alerts others

Carter said none of the victims were wearing anything connecting them to a fraternity at the time of the attack.

One victim remains hospitalized, said UT President Greg Fenves.

Witnesses told police White exited the Student Activity Center and headed to the Gregory Gymnasium, across the street. A female student came into contact with White, who said the suspect kicked her out of the way in a stairwell and then stabbed a white male. White then walked southbound on the west side of the gym, where he found an Asian student sitting at a picnic table and stabbed him in the back of the head, Carter said.

AS IT HAPPENED: 1 dead, multiple injured in stabbing attack on UT-Austin campus

Then White walked south toward a food truck and stabbed the third and fourth victims. He then walked into Jester West Dorm, where he was apprehended by police.

Carter said White may have attacked more people had police not arrived when they did.

He said video of the incident exists, but it cannot be released at this time as the investigation is ongoing.

DPS Commander Joe Ortiz said security at the university would be ramped up to include troops in patrol vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and horses for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the department is told otherwise. Carter said the additional patrols would be there as long as they were necessary.

An additional stabbing reported in West Campus Monday was not connected to the attacks involving White, Manley said.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
Whats your plan?

The question is a simple one to ask, but often doesnt have an easy answer.

I find myself in a position this quarter which I havent been in for a few years. One which has me spending a lot of time thinking with students about their plans.

This quarter Im teaching a class to a group of seniors who have one final chance to meet their graduation requirements. At our school, this means they need to write and defend a Performance Based Assessment Task (PBAT). A PBAT in math is a 10-15 page math paper in which students solve a non-routine mathematical problem and convincingly argue that their strategy and solution are valid. (As Ive written before , our school is a part of the New York Performance Standards Consortium , so students meet the assessment portion of their graduation requirements by earning a passing score on these PBATs instead of standardized tests.)

On the first day of the course a few weeks ago, we read this document describing problem solving techniques developed by George Polya (which he laid out in more detail in his text How to Solve It ).

Since then, most students have found a problem they want to solve and executed the first principle, Understand the Problem, with relative ease. Yet without exception, the students stumbled as they move into the next phase: Devise a Plan. They have researched analogous problems, drawn diagrams, and defined variables/key terms. They have written pages about the problem they are solving, yet when it came time to articulate a strategy for what they are going to do to solve it, they got stuck. Why do I have to explain my plan? the students complained, Cant I just solve it and give you the answer?

The question is so common in completing these kinds of math tasks that earlier in my career I started to question the value of Polyas Second Principle. For many students, getting an answer to complex a math problem is hard enough, why complicate this further by asking them to think/talk/write about problem solving strategies abstractly?

But sitting in a room with a dozen seniors in (hopefully) their last months of high school has reinforced my commitment to the Second Principle. Ive know these students for four years (five years in a few cases) and I have a pretty deep understanding of some of the challenges they have faced and overcome in getting to the place where they are now, one or two requirements away from a high school diploma. They have overcome economic instability, learning disabilities, violence, and the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.

Yet the stark reality is that  especially in todays economy  getting their high school diploma alone wont do much for them .

What are the best options for a young person who scraped by in high school? How does one balance the immediate demands of a life lived in economic instability with desires to invest time/energy/money in a way that will lead to more stable long term outcomes? What do you do if you are 18 and you dont really know what you want to do when you grow up?

I have some ideas about these questions, but the reality is that no one can answer them for any of the young adults in my class. Each individual needs to do whats best for her or for him given the specific realities of their life.

What I can do is help them think about effective strategies for answering these questions, but this wont be effective unless such a strategy is

possible. The revolutionary aspect of Polyas Second Principle: Devise a Plan is that it allows us to take back a power which we often give up. We are not required to muddle around in the dark. The outcomes of our life are not dictated completely by chance or external factors. We can have power over the choices we make and  once weve made them  we can go back and think about whether or not they were right for us and our situation.

It is a complicated world and it feels like it gets more complicated every day. Id never suggest to a student that I know how to navigate this complexity, but I do believe that there are some etablished principles that can help. One of these is to develop a road map to use to track where you are going and evaluate whether or not youve gotten there. Requiring students to devise a plan for a complex problem and discuss that plan in detail in order to graduate high school will help them develop that map for the problems to come.

Photo by Pexels https://pixabay.com/en/art-blur-couple-directions-1850653/
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SAN ANTONIO  A KENS-TV investigative reporter who allegedly blew nearly three times the legal limit on a Breathalyzer test was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of drunken driving, according to Bexar County court and police records.

Priya Sridhar, 32, who came to KENS a year ago, was charged Saturday with driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or higher, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the Bexar County District Clerk's website.

If convicted, she faces up to one year in prison and fines.

"Drinking and driving can be deadly, and it's something we take very seriously at KENS," station General Manager Tom Cury wrote in an email Monday.

RELATED: BCSO: S.A. Univision sports anchor arrested after fleeing police on far West Side

"We ask everyone to think twice before getting behind the wheel.

According to a preliminary police report, the incident happened shortly before midnight Friday. A Hill Country Village police officer was driving on U.S. 281 North when he noticed a "suspect driving northbound all over the road from lane to lane and almost striking other vehicles," according to a San Antonio Police Department report.

The suspect, later identified as Sridhar, was failing to signal, and the officer conducted a traffic stop. Other officers responded to a backup call since the Hill Country Village officer was out of his jurisdiction.

The responding officers found the driver "highly intoxicated," the report states.

Police gave Sridhar a Breathalyzer test. According to the police report, her test results showed a blood alcohol content of .20, nearly three times the legal limit.

"Fortunately, no one was physically injured, including Priya, nor was there damage to any property," Cury said.

READ ALSO: 24-year-old Bexar County deputy arrested on drunken driving charge overnight

The reporter's arraignment is set for May 22, according to the district clerk's website.

Sridhar joined KENS in June 2016 out of Washington D.C. She was hired, according to KENS' website, to pursue investigative stories and help residents with "Eyewitness Wants to Know" reports.

"Any disciplinary action would be based upon a company review of all information related to the incident," Cury said.

In D.C., she worked as a local correspondent for a 24-hour international news channel called Arise News. While there, Sridhar co-hosted a two-hour morning breakfast show every weekend from New York City with Richard Pryor's daughter.

She also previously worked for the Associated Press.

Sridhar holds a master's degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University. Though originally from the Boston area, she has family and extended family in the Alamo City.

Sridhar also is a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

twhite@mysa.com

jjakle@express-news.net
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The invitation of Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte to the White House by president Trump has brought about a slew of controversies.

According to the New York Times, Duterte is accused of "ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines," and the administration is now facing the criticism of several human rights groups for the invitation.

The "routine diplomatic outreach" is facing even more trouble after an image of a billboard with Ivanka Trump went viral the day after Trump extended the invitation.

SURPRISE: You might be buying Ivanka Trump's clothes without knowing it

A tweet, posted by political activist Peter Brack, read: "Assistant to POTUS models in an ad for POTUS's new Tower in Manila. President of Philippines just got WH invite."

The post, which has since been deleted, stirred up enough controversy that a Trump Organization spokesperson issued a statement saying the photo was years old.

A reverse-image search on the image showed that it was, in fact from back in 2012. According to the Getty Image file, the photo was for an AFP story on the economy and property in the Philippines.

"This photo taken on July 14, 2012 shows a Trump Tower poster displayed on a roadside billboard in Manila," reads the image description. "As a Philippine property boom gathers pace, even Paris Hilton, Donald Trump and high-fashion house Versace are getting a piece of the action."

While there are some cases where the controversies associated with the Trump are well backed up, this stir was a whole lot of nothing.

Take a look through the gallery above to see the biggest falsehoods to come from Trump's White House.
AUSTIN  State officials -- including legislators -- would be required to disclose their government contracts, bond counsel work and legal referral fees under a bill that the House of Representatives gave preliminary approval to on Tuesday.

The bill's lead sponsor, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, successfully amended the bill to require disclosure of business interests of public officials if their ownership in a company is 5 percent or higher. Current law requires that disclosure if it is 50 percent or higher.

HB 501 requires disclosure of government contracts if ownership is 50 percent or higher. But by using a 2015 law that requires state and local governments to disclose owners of firms getting contracts that have ownership of at least 10 percent, the public effectively will be able to track more public officials who benefit from public dollars, Capriglione said.

The House approved HB 501 on second reading by a voice vote. Final approval is expected Wednesday, and it then would move to the Senate.

ANTI-ABORTION PUSH: Pro-life forces hoping Texas House makes move on favored legislation

House members also gave preliminary approval to a bill that would prevent ex-legislators who become lobbyists from using their campaign accounts for contributions for two years after they leave office.

The House approved amendments to make the bill take effect immediately if it becomes law, and to clarify that House members could use their campaign accounts if they decide to run for the state Senate.

The vote was 145-0. The bill is expected to win final approval Wednesday and then would go to the Senate.

State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, delayed a vote until Thursday on HB 500, which would revoke pensions of elected officials convicted of felonies related to their office.

The bills are part of Gov. Greg Abbott's call for "ethics reform," among the issues he made a priority item in his State of the State speech.
A Denver-area teen will likely soon regret jumping into a fish tank at his local Bass Pro Shops location.

According to Denver's 7News, police are looking into charging the teen for jumping into the fish tank at the Denver Bass Pro Shops in the Shops at Northfield Stapleton this past Saturday afternoon.

EVERYTHING AND MORE: Bass Pro Shops in Memphis includes hotel

Police didn't say what charges he could face, but they are looking into it. They would also like to talk to his parents, according to a Sunday story in the Denver Post.

The teen apparently hurt his head when he jumped from an indoor bridge into the tank, according to the Post. The injuries weren't too severe since he never visited a hospital, according to police.

As fans of the sporting goods store know, the sizable fish tank is just one of the many attractions the chain offers to shoppers.

"[Saturday] a teenage minor attempted to enter our aquarium as part of an intended prank. Our associates and security team quickly addressed the issue safely and without incident," Bass Pro Shops said in a statement this week.

"We also appreciate the assistance of local law enforcement. Such occurrences are extremely rare and highly discouraged," the chain added. "We host more than 120 million visitors every year and provide a safe, fun experience for families who share our respect for wildlife."

WASH ME PLEASE: Buc-ee's plans world's longest car wash for Katy location

Of course the teen's friends captured the whole thing on video because this is 2017. The stunt is a popular one, according to a YouTube search.

At least he didn't decide to get cocky on the store's archery range.
$30K Settlement for Alleged Seal Harasser Beaten by Hawaii Police

Nanakuli, Oahu beachgoers called police after a man appeared to be getting too close to a monk seal lying on the shore. The man, Jamie Kalani Rice, claims he was praying and chanting next to the seal. Honolulu Police Officer Ming Wang responded to the scene, and while the words exchanged between the two are unintelligible, video of the incident shows Rice walking away from the seal and retrieving his belongings as Wang follows and proceeds to pepper spray Rice and beat him to the ground with a baton.

Rice sued Wang and the HPD, and received a $30,000 settlement last week.

Seal Protections

The Hawaiian monk seal is an endangered species. Found nowhere else in the world, latest population estimates indicate around 1,400 monk seals in existence, just 300 in the Main Hawaiian Islands. As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association points out, federal laws prohibit anyone from the "taking" of Hawaiian monk seals and define taking as hunting, killing, capturing, injuring, harassing, pursuing, or disturbing a marine mammal.

It was NOAA volunteers that contacted police after seeing Rice approach the seal at Nanakuli, and recorded Rice's interaction with the seal and with Officer Wang. The video, below, shows Rice kneeling near the seal (apparently within a roped-off area around the seal) and rubbing sand between his hands and on his chest and arms. The seal appears to move away from Rice a few times and Rice slides closer to the seal on several occasions:

Seal Settlement

The video also shows Wang approach Rice and begin talking. The exact words are not clear from the video, but Wang almost immediately takes out and extends his baton, while also repeatedly shaking a canister of pepper spray. Rice stands up and walks away with Wang behind. After Rice picks up a bag and some belongings, Wang jumps in front of Rice, pepper sprays him, and begins to beat him with the baton.

Rice sued Wang and the City of Honolulu, claiming multiple civil rights violations along with negligence, assault, and infliction of emotional distress. Rather than litigate the case, the city offered a $30,000 settlement, which still requires City Council approval to be finalized.

Related Resources:
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.
"Sir, put down the glue gun!"

As ridiculous as that may sound, Colgate University in upstate New York was placed on lockdown last night after someone spotted a a man carrying a gun. A glue gun, that is. The man was a black student working on an art project.

"There is a dangerous situation in the Coop. Everyone is advised to leave the building," the university tweeted. And, "There is an armed person at the Coop. Find a safe space and remain indoors. If you are off-campus, stay away." The Coop is a dining hall on campus.

Then rumors spread. Suddenly there were two gunmen, and one had committed suicide. This was false.

According to Huffington Post:

During the lockdown, students in campus dorms were advised to keep their lights off to avoid attracting attention, a student told The Huffpost. The college finally lifted the shelter-in-place order shortly before midnight. "After thorough investigation, and with the assistance of the person in question, law enforcement identified the individual as a student who was using a glue gun for an art project, confirmed the misunderstanding, and released the campus from lockdown," said a Colgate statement. Some students expressed concerns on social media about the reaction to the student with the hot glue gun, and worried about what could have happened to him because of his race, particularly as rumors mounted.

Image: Luke Surl
For decades, people have wondered about the mysterious "sailing stones" of Death Valley, California. Though no one had seen them actually move, it was clear that they had, because they left behind furrows in the dry, cracked mud. It was hypothesized that the rocks were pushed by the wind, or that ice on the rocks made them float across the playa.

But in 2014 Richard Norris, an oceanographer at University of California San Diego, figured it out. He attached GPS units to some rocks, and then waited. It took two years, but he finally conclusively solved the mystery.

From Motherboard:

To figure it all out, Norris and his cousin attached specially-designed GPS units to the back of rocks they had brought into Death Valley (the National Parks Service wouldn't let them mess with the rocks that were already there). They also installed a weather station, and thenthey waited. It took two years, but finally, the rocks moved. Norris and his cousin, completely by chance, actually got to witness them in action. The researchers discussed their findings in a paper published in PLOS One. They found that when enough rain fell on the playa to pool, and the temperature dropped, the water would freeze into huge, thin sheets of ice around the rocks  which tumble onto the playa from a nearby hillside. As the morning sun began to melt the ice, if a gentle breeze blew, it could move the ice, which dragged the rocks along with it. "The ice is like the thickness of a window pane," Norris told me. "And although it's very thin, it's a huge, huge sheet of ice. It's sort of being moved sort of inextricably by these breezes and it can shove around really big things  and a lot of rock."

Motherboard interviewed Norris for its new podcast, Science Solved it.

Image: Wikipedia
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After receiving a report of a cat in a tree holding an assault rifle, the Newport Oregon Police Department attended the scene, and, after ascertaining that the gun was actually a stick, they issued a "verbal warning" to the offending cat.

"Reports of an armed cat this morning were unfounded," police said. "The feline was contacted by our canine and was determined to be in possession of a non-lethal branch."

The officers ended the tongue-in-cheek post by stating the cat had been apprehended and charged with several offenses.

"The cat was given a verbal warning for posing with what could be mistaken as an assault rifle while wearing poor camouflage attire," police said.
Mumbai, May 1 (IANS) Actor Rahul Khanna went down memory lane and cherished the happy moments spent with his late father Vinod Khanna, who died on April 27.



In his first social media post since his father's death, Rahul took to Twitter on Monday to share a photo from his childhood days.



In the black and white photo, Vinod Khanna, sporting a smile on his face, is seen holding Rahul and his brother Akshaye and swinging them on a beach.



Rahul captioned it: "Feels like yesterday."



The late actor and BJP politician, 70, passed away after battling bladder cancer.
The New York Times' new columnist, Bret Stephens, is an everyday conservative: he thinks institutional racism is imaginary, that campus rape is a big lie, and that the "Arab Mind" is "diseased". But these are just opinions, and common ones on the right. It is his anti-science positions, on display in his first fact-mangled column about climate change, that has galvanized disgust.

Much has been said about him, but it is the Times itself that has committed a "jaw-dropping error" and whose warped motives promise that it will be repeated.

Ryan Cooper in The Week directs particular ire at the Times' claim about wanting a diversity of voices, where the agreement of millions is enough to justify a hire. This allows so many possibilities that it betrays the excuse.

If the Times were really committed to ideological diversity in its op-ed page, it would at a minimum hire a conservative who actually supports President Trump, and perhaps even more importantly hire someone with Bernie Sanders-style politics. (Sanders is the most popular politician in the country, yet there are more supporters of torture among columnists of our two major national newspapers than supporters of the senator.) What we see here is that the neurotic upper-class liberal need for civil debate over important issues stops the moment we reach territory they actually care about.  A rich, glib, dumb, anti-Trump conservative, on the other hand, can give Upper East Side cocktail parties that frisson of intellectual disputation while conveniently avoiding most of the actually important questions.

Or perhaps it doesn't betray the excuse. Perhaps they mean it, and we can look forward to discussion of the Holocaust and statistical significance, say, or the social appropriateness of gay men in the presence of children, or the value of listening to infantilized womens' tall tales. Has our understanding of human biodiversity moved on in the wake of The Bell Curve? Just as certainly as I'll know where to find the provocative opinions America needs.
The Janesville Fire Department has upgraded its technology and equipment to better help overweight patients and reduce the risk of injury to emergency responders.

Janesville ambulances are equipped with power-assisted stretchers that lower and lift, The Janesville Gazette reported. They can be attached to devices in ambulance beds that make helping patients into the vehicles less strenuous.

Personally, for me, within weeks after we got it, my back already started feeling better, said Tyler Maechtle, a firefighter and paramedic. This is a back saver for everyone. It takes a lot of the risk of injury out.

The stretchers can hold up to 700 pounds.

When I first got in 30 years ago, we thought 500 pounds was excessive for our cots, said Randy Banker, Janesville fire chief.

Fire department employees said theyre responding more often to calls involving obese patients, but that their new equipment isnt always enough.

Believe it or not, they dont make homes with putting stretchers through them in mind, generally, Maechtle said.

Banker said that on rare occasions, helping an obese patient comes down to raw physical strength or unconventional methods. Banker said that at previous departments where he has worked, emergency responders had to tear out a homes wall to remove a patient too large to fit through the door. In another incident, firefighters had to create a pulley system to remove a patient from a basement.

Sometimes it takes some ingenuity and patience, Banker said.

Firefighter and paramedic Nick Kettle said it has already been determined that a wall will have to be removed if a 700-pound Beloit resident who lives at home should ever need aid.

If that person were to come out, it would be cutting out walls, Kettle said. The person wont fit through standard doorways or anything like that.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
marijuana file plants Terrapin.jpg

On Monday Akron City Council unanimously approved legislation regulating the cultivation, processing and sale of medical marijuana in Akron.

(Jackie Borchardt, cleveland.com)

AKRON, Ohio - Good news for Akronites who want to grow marijuana under Ohio's Medical Marijuana Control Program.

Akron City Council on Monday unanimously approved legislation regulating the cultivation, processing and sale of medical marijuana in Akron. And while the city requires residents to have conditional and provisional use permits in order to grow, they don't need to have them in hand when applying to the state.

Instead, Akron residents can apply to the state with a signature of a local authorized zoning authority indicating their facility would comply with zoning laws and regulations. The process of obtaining that signature remains unclear.

Akron's new law lifts the city's moratorium, which would have held medical marijuana licenses, building permits, certificates of occupancy, conditional use permits and other authorizations until September.

The state will begin accepting applications in June for review in July, and through a competitive process will award 24 licenses: 12 licenses for up to 25,000 square feet of growing space, and 12 licenses for up to 3,000 square feet.

Once state licenses are awarded, cultivators then have nine months to comply with the program requirements.

Akron's new law allows police to inspect any medical marijuana facility and vehicles at any time, and imposes city fees. In keeping with Ohio law, it prohibits medical marijuana facilities within 500 feet of a church, school, park, library or residential area.

Ohio's law, passed last June, allows certified physicians to recommend certain patients buy and use marijuana if they have any of 21 qualifying medical conditions, including AIDS, Crohn's disease, hepatitis C, sickle cell anemia and traumatic brain injury.

The law prohibits marijuana use through smoking or combustion, or any form that is attractive to children. The law approves of oils, tinctures, plant material, edibles and patches.

In Ohio, medical marijuana must be available for licensed patients by September 2018.

cleveland.com is a partner of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Every dollar buys four meals for the hungry. Click here to donate.
Vaquita.jpg

First discovered off the coast of California in 1958, the vaquita porpoise now faces extinction due to illegal fishing. The Akron Zoo has joined the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, along with 100 accredited zoos and aquariums throughout the world, to help save the endangered porpoise.

(Akron Zoo)

AKRON, Ohio - The Akron Zoo has joined the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help save the endangered vaquita porpoise.

Collectively, 100 zoos and aquariums have pledged more than $1 million to help save the mammal, which is native to the Gulf of California. In addition, the Mexican government has pledged more than $3 million to help save the species, along with the The VaquitaCPR (Conservation, Protection and Recovery) emergency rescue plan, and the United States Navy.

"Zoos and aquariums have a proud history of working to save species from extinction, including black-footed ferrets, the California condor, the Florida manatee and the blue iguana," said Dan Ashe, AZA president and CEO, in a news release. "This $1 million commitment by our members is the largest contribution other than the Mexican government. It's a bold and heroic statement that we will do everything we can to prevent the extinction of the vaquita. The next step is to join the Mexican government and the VaquitaCPR consortium to support the implementation of the rescue plan."

The vaquita was first discovered in 1958. Today, only approximately 30 vaquitas remain. Saving the species will be challenging, says Ashe, who says that not much is known about the porpoise's feeding or reproduction as it has never been under human care.

The VaquitaCPR emergency rescue plan calls for capturing and relocating the porpoises to a temporary sanctuary, in addition to focusing efforts on eliminating illegal fishing and removing gillnets from their environment, according to the AZA.

"The Akron Zoo's mission is to connect your life with wildlife while inspiring lifelong learning and conservation action," said Akron Zoo President and CEO Doug Piekarz in a news release. "We have taken action, together with our zoo and aquarium colleagues, to save this critically endangered species and we invite all residents of Northeast Ohio to do the same."

According to Piekarz, residents wishing to help the porpoise can do so by buying only sustainably sourced seafood or donating to the conservation fund.

In addition, the Akron Zoo Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers will be hosting a "Vino for Vaquitas" event Sept. 7 and 8 at the Winery at Wolf Creek. Proceeds from the event will go toward the VaquitaCPR emergency rescue plan. For more information about the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/AkronAAZK/.
020517SUPPORT FOR TIM GROWS

By Wesly Bunpalau

THE Churches in South Bougainville have openly canvassed support for incumbent South Bougainville Member, Timothy Masiu.

Speaking at Mr Masius campaign launch on Thursday last week, Bishop of the United Church on Bougainville, Reverend Tim Arthur said the leader has already been chosen by God and the election is for the people to endorse Gods choice.

On Sunday, elders of the Christian Life Centre said they will support Mr Masiu because he has the qualities and values of a God fearing leader.

Rev. Tim Arthur, who is also President of the Bougainville Council of Churches, said it was not by mistake, but by choice that Mr Masiu was elected.

Rev. Arthur offered a prayer of dedication for Mr Masiu and Bougainville Regional candidate, Patrick Nisira.

On behalf of the churches on Bougainville, I appeal to you to vote a man with moral values, accountable and transparent, said Bishop Rev. Arthur.

Ive seen all these values in the sitting Member and he has worked hard to unite all the members of the ABG (Autonomous Bougainville Government), said Rev. Arthur.

He said people must have respect for authority within government and the church adding the legal authority on the ground, which is the ABG has endorsed four (4) candidates and the people must respect its decision.

Secondly, he said when the church leader speaks, we must learn to respect the voice.

Said Pastor Sam of the CLCs Mizpa Bible School: This man, God raised him. Hes got a heart for the people. Not one leader has ever asked me to pray for him, but he asked me to pray for him in his office. Hes a humble man.

The church leaders said they are sensing and seeing a better future for South Bougainville and entire Bougainville region under Mr Masius leadership.

ENDS/




Beachwood police vehicle.jpg

Beachwood police stopped a car due to a littering offense and ended up making a warrant arrest.

(file photo)

Falsification, Richmond Road: At 1:05 p.m. April 25, an officer observed litter being thrown from a car. A traffic stop was made and it was found that the vehicle's passenger, a Maple Heights man, 23, was wanted on warrants issued by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office and Macedonia police. When questioned, the man gave police a false identity.

The man was charged with falsification and was arrested on the warrants.

OVI, Richmond Road: Just before midnight April 26, police arrested a Warrensville Heights woman, 39, for drunk driving.

Theft, Cedar Road:

At 2:30 p.m. April 25, police arrested a Cleveland man, 41, for stealing merchandise worth $129 from Dillard's at Beachwood Place mall, 26300 Cedar Road. The man was also cited for criminal trespassing.

Theft, Cedar Road: At 7:45 p.m. April 27, police arrested a South Euclid woman, 27, for stealing merchandise worth $111 from Dillard's.

Marijuana possession, Cedar Road: At 5:35 p.m. April 28, five boys were found to be in possession of marijuana while in the garage of The Hamptons apartments, 27020 Cedar Road. One of the boys is 16 years old, while the other four are 15. All live in Beachwood.

They were cited and released to their parents.

Theft from auto, Chagrin Boulevard: At 9:35 p.m. April 30, a man reported that his wallet was stolen from his car while it was parked and left briefly unattended next to a gas pump at the BP station, 25705 Chagrin Blvd.

Theft, Chagrin Boulevard: At 10:45 p.m. April 30, a front desk clerk at the Clarion Hotel, 26300 Chagrin Blvd., reported that a man stole $182 from the cash drawer and fled the property in an SUV southbound on I-271.

Marijuana possession, Chagrin Boulevard: At 2:45 a.m. April 30, police stopped a car driven by a Cleveland woman, 36, because she had a suspended driver's license. It was found that the woman was also in possession of marijuana.

The woman was cited for DUS and marijuana possession.

Assault, East Baintree Road: At 3:15 a.m. April 30, police arrested a Bedford Heights woman, 29, for a assaulting another woman inside a home.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
Brecksville Fire Station 3.JPG

The cost to renovate Brecksville's fire station rose by about $40,000 after one of the contractors hired to help with the project backed out.

(Bob Sandrick, special to cleveland.com)

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - The city will borrow $4.3 million to rebuild Royalton Road from Brecksville Road to the western municipal border, just east of Old Royalton Road.

A $1.2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation will help pay for the work. ODOT won't provide the funds until the project is completed, so the city will borrow all the money it needs upfront.

Mayor Jerry Hruby said contractors submitted bids for the project last week and the city is reviewing them. He hopes construction will begin this summer.

The city started planning the 82 reconstruction last summer. At the time, Hruby said the road was a bumpy ride for drivers. Storm water has been infiltrating the surface, and when the water freezes and thaws, it breaks up the street.

The city had considered a less expensive "mill-and-fill" project. Workers would have shaved or milled 1-2 inches off the road and filled the top with new pavement, enough to level and smooth the surface.

But City Engineer Gerald Wise recommended a complete reconstruction, which involves replacing the road down to the base and stabilizing the base. He said that about two years ago, when the city replaced storm sewers and repaired a hillside collapse along 82, he noticed that every joint in the road had eroded.

The reconstruction project will include new curbs and guardrails, and the city will replace the median between the eastbound and westbound lanes. The median will have new grass and plants.

In other action, City Council also approved:

Changes to the fire station renovation. The cost to renovate the city's single fire station on Brecksville Road has increased by about $40,000. That's because one of two construction firms awarded contracts for the job has withdrawn from the project.

In March, City Council hired Classical Construction LLC in Apple Creek to replace the station's roof, concrete slab floor and underground plumbing for $222,425. The firm had submitted the lowest of four bids for the work.

Meanwhile, council tapped Apex Construction & Management Co. Inc. in Bedford Heights to handle three side jobs, or alternates, for $90,300. Apex had submitted the lowest bid for these alternates, which included replacing the station's overhead doors, replacing the man doors and repairing the fire hose tower.

Since then, Apex backed out of the project, saying it was not interested in tackling the three alternates without working on the main job, which is the roof. The city then asked Classical to take on the three alternates. Classical had bid $130,320 for those side jobs.

A bid for community center clock tower repairs. Council hired Town Center Construction LLC in Northfield to repair the clock tower on Brecksville Community Center for $268,900.

Town Center submitted the lower of two bids. The higher bid, $329,000, came from EnviroCom Construction Inc. in Beachwood.

In November, Hruby said the clock tower, made of wood, aluminum, fiberglass and glass, was deteriorating. Rainwater sometimes leaks through the tower and into the community center, which first opened in 1992.

cleveland.com is a partner of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Every dollar buys four meals for the hungry. Click here to donate.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The PDI Group in Solon beat out competitors in six states to become exporter of the year. Today, the manufacturer of ground support products for aircraft weapon systems is being honored by the Small Business Administration.

This week is National Small Business Week - an annual event that recognizes the significant contributions of American entrepreneurship. Small businesses are often referred to as the lifeblood of the nation's economy. They create about two out of every three new U.S. jobs each year and, according to the SBA, account for 99.9 percent of all U.S. firms.

PDI Group receives the SBA's Region V Exporter of the Year Award, after winning against nominees from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The high-tech ground-support company for military aircraft, handles the delivery of weapon systems.

On Wednesday, Rob Kocian, president of Cleveland-based Auto Bolt Co. will be honored as The Ohio Small Business Person of the Year.

SBA district director Gil Goldberg is going to both manufacturing plants to present the awards so that employees who helped earn the awards can take pride in the significant honors. PDI has 48 employees.

Goldberg said PDI is a remarkable family-owned business.

"The second generation is already working in it, heading up the sales department," said Goldberg.

"They have a unique motto, 'Without ground support there is no air support.'" he said. "They sell products in 44 foreign countries that are allies to the United States. Export sales account for 50 percent of the business."

PDI is a company that has transformed a lot since Irwin Haber, president and CEO, acquired the business in 1996. At the time when he got his first SBA loan - a $1.2 million Delta loan - he was the nation's first small business to receive it. That loan was aimed at helping companies transition from defense-related firms to non-defense, at a time when the U.S. was downsizing military.

Throughout the years, the company continued to change, getting several more SBA loans along the way. Most recently, the company was just awarded a $1.5 million SBA export working capital loan.

Qualifications for the Exporter of the Year award included, overcoming adversity, continual growth in sales and employees, and a pattern of giving back to the community.

"PDI Group went from being a Solon-based manufacturer making trailers and axles for military use to becoming a high-tech ground support company for military aircraft," Goldberg said. "And this company is always supporting various organizations that help people in the Cleveland area."
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L to R: Jack Ferenczy, Teacher Christie Briggs, Ellie Foley, Caitlin Larkin

(Chagrin Falls Schools)

Chagrin Falls Middle School Teacher Christie Briggs and three eighth grade students Jack Ferenczy, Ellie Foley and Caitlin Larkin, were invited to present their 'Savin D'Espoir' project as well as other projects on Haiti at the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated Greater Cleveland Alumnae Chapter's International Awareness and Involvement Day Conference entitled Hope for Haiti: Greater Cleveland Cares.

Briggs and her students from Chagrin Falls Middle School have completed numerous projects associated with Haiti over the past few years. Last year, students collected eyeglasses for the residents of Haiti. This past December, French students learned how to make and market soap to aid students in Haiti. With the money raised from the sale of the soaps, Briggs partnered with sculptor David Shankland to provide art supplies to a school for young adults he is opening in Haiti. Students also have been learning about the culture of Haiti by communicating with pen pals at a school in Haiti.

Throughout this past semester, students in Briggs' French class have been working on independent study projects related to the culture, history and language of Haiti. They wrote and filmed movies and debuted their work on April 28 during a French movie night. The students also presented their projects to their teacher, classmates and guests, and were able to view each other's movies and projects. "We even included English subtitles in our movies for our non-French speaking family and friends," said Briggs.



At the Delta Sigma Theta International Awareness Conference, Briggs and the students presented all of the above activities. "The conference increases an international awareness and public support for communities and cultures around the world," said Laurel Darling, committee member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. " It also provides a forum to increase international awareness and involvement by promoting participation in and the education of global issues. This year, the conference specifically increased awareness of the Haitian Crisis and relief and resources." Jasmine Monroe of WKYC TV 3 served as the moderator. Not only did Briggs and her students present, they attended workshops as well.

As the school year comes to a close, in-class presentations about the independent study projects will be the focus of the speaking portion of the semester exam. In addition, students will be sending one more letter to their pen pals. "With Mr. Shankland continuing to split his time between the U.S. and Haiti, we can be sure that this letter exchange will continue with these students and for future French students," said Briggs. "It's a wonderful way to build 21st century skills and use real-life situations to solve problems and learn about language, culture and communication! It has been an amazing experience for both my students and me."
Baki Visits Bougainville

Anthony Kaybing

020517

Mutual contribution to strengthen the Bougainville Police Service is the primary concern of the Royal Papua New Guinea Police Constabulary along with the Autonomous Bougainville Government.

PNGRC Commissioner, Gari Baki is currently in Bougainville to undertake discussions as part of the ABG-New Zealand Community Policing Project and also to launch the election operations of the Bougainville Police Service.

The Commissioner also had the opportunity to meet with ABG President Chief Dr John Momis to discuss important law and order issues on Bougainville.

President Momis raised the issue of police visibility in Bougainville as a deterrent to crime and what ways to further empower the Bougainville Police Service.

The President also raised the matter of infrastructural development where the ABG has allocated K2 million for additional police housing but the issue was looking at the capacity to manage construction projects and welcomed Commissioner Bakis input in the matter.

The President also initiated discussions on continued police training for the Bougainville Police Service and was pleased to learn of Commissioner Bakis initiative to enhance RPNGC training capacity at the regional level including the possibility of establishing a dedicated police training facility in Buka.

Whilst I welcome the considerable work undertaken by the RPNGC to date in recruiting new personnel, I welcome advice that you are of the view that a critical part of any future recruitment strategy should be attracting qualified young Bougainvilleans to the force, Momis said.

The President said he considered such an approach to have significant merit and welcomed the opportunity to discuss the matter with the Commissioner further.

Momis further thanked the RPNGC for their continued commitment to the Bougainville Police Service and also made a commitment on behalf of the ABG to work in partnership.

Commissioner Baki has also assured the President that he would take these matters under serious consideration and provide the continued support that has seen progress of the Bougainville Police Service since its inception.

Ends////






Bowalley Road Rules



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With two days of play to come, Samoa and PNG remain the teams to beat with the winner most likely to be decided in their final match on Thursday

ICC: Samoa and PNG are heading for a final day showdown at the 2018 ICC Womens World T20  East Asia-Pacific Qualifier 2017 after they both recorded comprehensive wins in Sano, Japan.



In this mornings match between Samoa and Japan, the trend of bowling first continued as Samoa sent Japan in.



Japan never looked like setting a competitive total with a run rate of under two runs an over for most of the match.



Some late hitting from Rio Endo (9 not out) brought some spark to the last quarter of the innings but it was too late and Japan could only manage 49 runs from their 20 overs.



Samoa took less than 10 overs to chase down the total with player of the match Lagi Otila Telea (17 not out) continuing her good form with the bat and securing Samoa a seven-wicket win.



In the afternoon PNG were again too strong for Vanuatu winning by five wickets.



PNGs captain Pauke Siaka (33 runs and 1 for 7) put in a player of the match performance to lead her team to their third victory.

Pauke Siaka (33 runs and 1 for 7) put in a player of the match performance to lead her team to their third victory.

For Vanuatu Judy Avoks 47 was the highlight of their batting innings as they made 8 for 81 from their 20 overs.



Ravini Oa (2 for 10), Sibona Jimmy (2 for 13) and Kaia Arua (2 for 13) all picked up two wickets for PNG.



With two days of play to come, Samoa and PNG remain the teams to beat with the winner most likely to be decided in their final match on Thursday.



The 2018 ICC Womens World Twenty20  East Asia-Pacific Qualifier 2017 is taking place in Sano, Japan from April 28 to May 5 and will feature teams from Japan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu.



The top team will qualify for the 2018 ICC Womens World Twenty20 Qualifier to be held in later 2017 or early 2018.



Summary Score

Japan 6/49 (20) Tato 2/11 (4) defeated by Samoa 3/51 (9.4) Telea 17*, Miyaji 2/10 (3.4) by 7 wickets



Vanuatu 8/81 (20) Avok 47*, Oa 2/10 (4), Jimmy 2/13 (4), Arua 2/13 (4) defeated by PNG 5/82 (14.3) Siaka 33, Frank 21* by 5 wickets

Points Table
Across Asia, more and more countries are being pulled into Beijing's orbit, with the timid stance adopted by Southeast Asian nations on the South China Sea at a weekend summit a clear sign this fundamental geostrategic shift is gathering momentum.

U.S. President Donald Trump's flurry of calls at the weekend to the leaders of the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore might cheer those who fear his predecessor Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia has been abandoned in favor of an "America First" agenda.

But White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the conversations were aimed at lining up Asian partners in case tensions over North Korea lead to "nuclear and massive destruction in Asia", and mentioned no broader strategic goal.

Southeast Asian nations will need more than that to convince them the United States still has their backs.

In the meantime, some are leaning closer to China, soft-pedalling quarrels over the disputed South China Sea and angling for a slice of Beijing's "One Belt, One Road" infrastructure investment program to compensate for the U.S. abandonment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

The unexpected bonhomie that has emerged between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could give Asian countries further confidence to continue their swing toward Beijing.

"Before, most Southeast Asian states wanted to benefit from Chinese regional economic initiatives and from American pushback against China," said Malcolm Cook, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"The second part of this balance is now in question. Hence, the pressure to acquiesce to China diplomatically and on security issues is stronger."

"IT'S POINTLESS PRESSURING BEIJING"

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, piqued by the Obama administration's criticism of his human rights record, last year announced his "separation" from longtime ally the United States while on a visit to Beijing.

The White House described Trump's conversation with the firebrand Philippines leader as "very friendly" and - prompting criticism from Human Rights Watch for "effectively endorsing Duterte's murderous war on drugs" - invited him to Washington.

But, underlining his new-found friendship with Beijing, Duterte on Monday inspected a Chinese naval ships docked at his hometown, the first visit of its kind to the Philippines in years.

Duterte, who last year put aside a legal challenge to Beijing's sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea to start negotiating billions of dollars worth of loans and infrastructure investments, chaired the latest summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila.

Several ASEAN diplomats said China sent officials to lobby the Philippines ahead of the summit, and before the leaders had even gathered Duterte said it was pointless pressuring Beijing over its maritime activities.

An early draft of the summit statement seen by Reuters made references to land reclamation and militarization in the disputed waterway, but they were subsequently dropped, as were references to "tensions" and "escalation of activities".

Cook said it was clear that, with the Philippines steering the summit to this conclusion, "it is no longer just Cambodia that is acting as an agent of Chinese influence in ASEAN over the South China Sea dispute".
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As investors rush to top-performing technology stocks in the peak of earnings season, Jim Cramer looked into their quarters to see what is driving them higher. Facebook's stock has taken off ahead of its Wednesday earnings report, which worries the "Mad Money" host because the social media giant tends to report artificially weak quarters because of such runs. Cramer said that part of the reason for Facebook's perceived earnings weakness is CEO Mark Zuckerberg's philosophy: not only does he openly spend to get ahead, but he typically puts his app's users above its advertisers and investors. "Of course, we know that Zuckerberg's philosophy isn't all that different from Apple's view: you build the best product and user experience and they'll keep coming back and the investors will stay with you," Cramer said. "I'm always surprised that people consider this philosophy such a mystery."

FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google) apps on a smartphone. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

For more on where the threats lie in the technology industry, Cramer interviewed Fortinet CFO Andrew del Matto to hear about what the cybersecurity company is tackling day to day. "The hacks continue. The criminals stay out there. And there needs to be more spending," del Matto said Monday. "It's interesting, most businesses think they're competing with other businesses, but in cybercrime, you're competing with other countries, you're competing with people in a garage somewhere, and they're just spending a lot of money and there's a lot of upside for them." As Fortinet continues to offer buffers against cyberattacks and work with organizations like NATO and Interpol to expand their defenses, del Matto said ransomware is top of mind for Fortinet's high-profile clients. "They want to get whatever they can because maybe they use it against you, maybe they hold you hostage with it, and maybe they monetize it in some way by pretending they're you," he said. And as attackers become more sophisticated, del Matto said the priority should be to stay informed. "The idea is that companies and governments and people really need to think architecturally about how they protect themselves, get a lot of training, and keep themselves up to date about all the threat factors," the CFO told Cramer.

Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The stay-at-home economy is undoubtedly flourishing, so Cramer turned to one of its biggest benefactors to see how it is staying afloat: online food delivery giant Grubhub . Cramer saw the company's earnings beat as a sign on a "huge cultural sea change" upheld by pizza powerhouse Domino's , which saw gains across the board in the first quarter, including a 10 percent bump in same-store sales. Not only does the "Mad Money" host like its scale, which makes restaurants pay more for exposure on the app, but also how the service pushes restaurant chains to stop relying on their best gross margin item  alcohol  at the behest of customer convenience. Cramer also looked into a recent IPO of "digital knowledge play" Yext , a cloud-based software platform that helps companies sync information like their location and phone number across 100 services including Google Maps, Facebook, and Yelp. While any mention of the cloud can excite investors, the "Mad Money" host warned that people should not get too excited about the new tech play. "While the stock may be hot since it came public, the product is not what you'd call sexy, not revolutionary, or even moderately disruptive," he said. In fact, Cramer could see Yext falling into serious trouble if any giant, cash-flushed player like Google or Amazon tried to come after its business. "If they want this business, I think they can make a grab for it, and it would probably cost them a lot less than outright acquiring the new stock that is Yext," Cramer said. "Take a pass."

Marc Benioff, CEO of SalesForce. Adam Jeffery | CNBC
SAN FRANCISCO  Facebook knows when teens are feeling "insecure," "worthless," "stressed" or defeated"  and it quietly shared that information with an advertiser.

The social media company says it made a mistake handing over its research to an advertiser, and it says advertisers cannot target its nearly 2 billion users based on their emotional state. But the incident sheds new light on how companies like Facebook regularly mine our our daily lives, and it raises privacy issues for young people whose emotions are being monitored and studied.

According to documents leaked to The Australian newspaper, two Facebook executives prepared a report for one of the country's top banks describing how Facebook gleans psychological insights into the mood shifts of millions of young people in Australia and New Zealand by monitoring their status updates and photos.

More from USA Today:

The 23-page report showed Facebook's ability to detect when users as young as 14 are feeling emotions such as defeat, stress, anxiety or being overwhelmed. It was prepared by two of Facebook's top Australian executives, David Fernandez and Andy Sinn, and provides other information on young people's emotional well-being such as when they exhibit "nervous excitement" as well as feelings connected to "conquering fears."

Not only is Facebook able to track these emotions, it can track how they fluctuate during the week. "Anticipatory emotions are more likely to be expressed early in the week, while reflective emotions increase on the weekend," the report said. "Monday-Thursday is about building confidence; the weekend is for broadcasting achievements."

Facebook says it fields requests from advertisers to conduct research on its users. This research was done about a year ago to help marketers in Australia and New Zealand understand how people express themselves on Facebook and no ad campaigns resulted from it, it said.

"We have a process in place to review the type of research we perform and in this case that process was not followed," Facebook said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Opening up about our lives on social media can provide much needed support and advice when people feel upset or isolated. But, while people are unburdening themselves, vast amounts of data are quietly being collected and analyzed in the background, some of which is relayed in anonymous, aggregated form to marketers so they can more effectively target advertising dollars.

"People experience social media as a place to share their ups and downs. To show themselves. Now, we must revise our expectations or demand a new standard of practice from Facebook," Sherry Turkle, professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT, said in an email. "Is our emotional state something that should be 'sold' as a new commodity?"

That's a subject that may concern this next generation of consumers and their parents. "The idea that a child's depression could be turned into a commodity shocks us now, but these things become the 'new normal' very quickly," Turkle said.

Sentiment analysis is commonplace on the Internet. Computer algorithms regularly take our emotional pulse, sifting through mountains of data collected from our daily online expression in real time. This kind of analysis can be used to gauge how people feel about a political candidate or about a particular company or product. Social sentiment analysis analyzes feelings expressed on social media such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Gauging sentiment is a tricky business. Researchers say algorithms will need to become more sophisticated before they can read our feelings or predict our behavior. But Facebook's global girth gives it a distinct advantage. It employs teams of data scientists to crunch the massive quantities of data it has on its users, parsing it at highly granular levels.

That machine analysis can yield important insights such as detecting and preventing suicidal behavior. But Facebook has also come under heavy scrutiny in the past for secretly conducting research that manipulated the emotions of users by altering what they see in their News Feed without their consent.

When conducting consumer research Facebook says it carefully analyzes whether it would be beneficial to users or if it would have adverse effects on them. It also looks at whether people would be surprised if they knew the research was being conducted. All research is aggregated and anonymous, Facebook says.

Advertisers cannot target individuals based on how they are feeling or how they say they are feeling on Facebook. So someone feeling happy would not necessarily see a different ad than someone feeling sad. But advertisers can target ads to certain age groups and they can time them to run on a certain day.

Facebook critics like Jeffrey Chester want technology companies to provide lawmakers and regulators more insight into their data collection practices, and how that data is used to peddle ads, particularly in the vulnerable teen years, an anxiety-laden transition to adulthood filled with social, emotional and developmental challenges.

"The Australian leak reveals that Facebook continues to view its users  even young ones  as nothing more than cash cows that can be manipulated for marketers," said Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington. "Facebook appears to be engaging in its own form of 'psyops' where it can use the immense power of its platform to manipulate young people."
President Donald Trump said he is considering breaking up big banks, but former Wells Fargo chairman and CEO Richard Kovacevich thinks "it would be a mistake."

Kovacevich said during CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Monday that history and, more recently, the latest financial crisis, show that adding regulations on banks and limiting their lending ability has not helped the U.S. economy and the average American.

"The key to safe and sound banking is diversity," Kovacevich added. "You can't depend on any one sector, and when you become concentrated you have a very high possibility of failing sometime in the future."

He added that "it's the worst thing [Trump] can do," and he hopes the president will reconsider.

"The president has said things on many occasions that after thinking about it and getting input from others, decided to change those positions so this could be one of them," Kovacevich said

Deregulation for Community Banks

In the same meeting with community bankers where Trump suggested reinstating big bank regulations, he pledged to reduce regulations on community banks, according to Camden Fine, president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America.

Trump does not unilaterally have power over deregulating community banks, however, and "it takes mostly congressional action," Fine noted in the joint CNBC interview on Monday.

"One of the good things is most community bank regulatory relief legislation is fairly bipartisan  and that helps us a long way, particularly in the Senate," Fine added.

Kovacevich also said community banking reform is needed.

"It makes no sense that the same regulations are for big banks and small banks," Kovacevich said.
By staying under the Salesforce umbrella, apprenticeships not only fill the company's key positions with clients around the world, but start a wave of retraining that Benioff hopes will reach millions of workers.

"That's what we call our Salesforce economy," Benioff said. "Two out of the top 10 jobs in the United States that are the best-paying jobs are Salesforce administrators and Salesforce developers, and so we're trying to create a $400 billion Salesforce GDP."

Benioff's goal is to create five million apprenticeships, or training jobs, within the Salesforce network, and the CEO told " Mad Money " host Jim Cramer on Monday that he knew growing GDP was the way to reach that goal.

After meeting with President Donald Trump with the goal of spurring job growth, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff started working on boosting his own company's gross domestic product.

"This idea that we can take hundreds of thousands, which we've done so far, and scale it to millions and move them into a new workforce, this is really critical because Salesforce is a platform. That means you can build and create and extend and grow and do all these incredible things," the CEO said.

Modeling the efforts off robust apprenticeship programs in Germany and Switzerland, Benioff said that the strategy can not only help stranded workers and even refugees get jobs, but show businesses that they can play a huge role in ushering the workforce into a new age.

"Technology is a continuum. It's constantly getting lower-cost and easier to use and you see that and that's true with our company," Benioff said.

And as more of the world goes online and welcomes disrupting forces like artificial intelligence into the economy, the CEO stood firm in one long-lasting belief.

"Nothing is more important, certainly during these times of artificial intelligence, than our public education," he told Cramer. "And as it continues to grow and evolve, I think you and I know this is going to be critical that we are constantly training and retraining and creating these next-generation jobs."

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Apple is set to report earnings after the bell on Tuesday  and analysts will watch for whether consumers are buying more iPhones than last year, even with a much hyped new model on the horizon.

Here's what analysts expect Apple to report

Here are consensus estimates, according to Thomson Reuters: Adjusted EPS: $2.02 a share

Revenue: $52.97 billion

iPhone unit sales: 52 million (according to FactSet)

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Source: Apple

On iPhone unit numbers, 'investors need faith'

Apple makes most of its money from iPhones  and even if it meets estimates of 52 million, that's not a lot more than the 51 million it reported a year ago. Meanwhile, smartphone buying intent has hit a nine-year low, according to a survey of 4,075 North American consumers conducted by 451 Research and cited by UBS. To make more money, Apple will either need to outsell Wall Street's estimates or, as Cowen's Timothy Arcuri suggests, sell more expensive phones. Beyond that, UBS' Steven Milunovich suggests, Apple investors will just need to believe as reports predict the next iPhone could be game-changing. "Investors need faith that users are waiting rather than switching," Milunovich wrote in a research note on Monday. He added: "Most of the pullback in smartphone demand appears to be Apple users deferring upgrades. Less demand now could mean more later as long as the retention rate remains high." Despite skittishness around consumer buying, analysts expect Apple to forecast revenue of about $45.59 billion for the June quarter, according to Thomson Reuters, up 7.6 percent from a year ago.

Services are becoming 'really key for Apple'

Apple has been gradually grooming a new revenue source: software and services, which has posted double-digit growth the past few quarters. "I'd expect that the software and services revenue will continue to grow significantly," Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said in a statement. "This is really key for Apple and a unique way for the company to monetize its huge installed base. Content, services and payments offer new opportunities to generate recurring revenues and create loyalty to the Apple ecosystem."

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But with the delay of original content like "Carpool Karaoke," eyes may turn to the company's annual developer conference in June. "It will be particularly interesting to see how Apple combines new technologies like AR, facial and image recognition, and sensors to let consumers sense the world around them," Husson said of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.

A quarter-trillion-dollar cash pile ... and lesser numbers to watch

One figure that has analysts excited is Apple's pile of cash  which hit a record $246 billion last quarter and is only expected to grow. "Apple has been using its cash, but it's like when you're draining the bathtub but the faucet's running faster than the bath can drain," Jason Ware, CIO of Albion Financial, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Monday. "There's a huge number of opportunities out there for Apple that we, as shareholders, hope Apple capitalizes on." While its sheer size is impressive, it's also particularly important given that the new U.S. presidential administration is angling to let companies bring back foreign-held cash at a discount. That could give Apple an opportunity to beef up its services business further through expanding its content library, said Amit Daryanani, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. "To do a mega deal, like [buying] Disney, certainly getting the cash back in the U.S. would be a nice positive," Daryanani told "Power Lunch" on Monday. "Now listen, there's reason to believe that the reason that Apple hasn't done a deal in the past few years isn't because they don't have the money, but because they believe their old strategy works into content." To that end, Apple's tax expectations will be in focus. In January, the tech giant forecast a tax rate of 26 percent for the March quarter.

Looking ahead

Former Apple analyst turned VC Gene Munster wrote that Apple's earnings likely a "non-event," as investors focus on what the future holds for the next iPhone, which Munster calls the iPhone X. "There appears to be little risk from the Mar-17 results or Jun-17 guidance that would change iPhone X anticipation," Munster said. "Fast forwarding to the fall, shares are setting up to enter a range-bound period as investors playing the iPhone X trade will likely unwind positions." But least one part of Apple's guidance, its gross margins, might be of note, RBC's Daryanani said. The company said in January it expects gross margin between 38 and 39 percent for the March quarter. Apple's expected to earn about $8.95 per share this fiscal year, which ends in September, and about $10.29 per share next fiscal year, according to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates. But if the company posts more profit from each phone, that could go higher, Daryanani said.

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From left to right: Triplets Jake, Zachary, Lucas Smith, all 17 and high school seniors, and their sister, Tess, 15, at their home in Philadelphia, April 26, 2017. The children's mother, Mary Lou Smith, said all the colleges that accepted her boys wanted them to take out loans, even though a federal financial aid formula found that the family could afford to pay nothing at all.

This month, the New York State Legislature made the state the first in the nation to make tuition at the state's public colleges and universities free for many full-time undergraduates from families with income under $100,000 per year. The cutoff will rise soon to $125,000. For all the program's limitations  including the requirement to live and work in the state after graduation  the most immediate response came from jealous families elsewhere who want their own states to step up. They may be waiting a while, since the National Conference of State Legislatures reports that just eight states have created anything like this. Twelve more have bills in the works. Still, free tuition does not solve every family's financial challenge. Qualifying families in New York may still need to cover more than $50,000 over four years for fees, room and board. The Institute for College Access and Success reported this week that schools generally are still asking families with the lowest incomes to pay a higher percentage of their incomes toward college than any other groups do. There is another, very particular group of families that suffer at this time of year, too  people near and dear to my heart (and those of my colleagues). They are New York Times subscribers, people with median household incomes of $99,000 (digital) and $167,000 (print), and others like them. Nobody sympathizes with them much, and they do not ask for you to do so. But hear them out  as I do in ever larger numbers each year around this time. All week long, I spoke to them: at midnight as they worried aloud about the aid offers yet again; and at sunrise when I emailed them with thoughts and suggestions. A word cloud of their emotions about the system of paying for college would include large-font renderings of terms like "disillusioned" and "bewildered" and "disbelief." Their own parents had sacrificed and sent them to the best colleges they could get into. Or, they had worked their way through school mostly on their own. But as this month winds to a close, they and their children still found themselves haggling for more aid based on their income, assets or academic accomplishments. Many of the teenagers are disappointed: Yes, they got in  often by putting in the biggest efforts of their young lives  but no, they may not be able to afford to go to their dream schools after all. And as the deadline to make a choice nears, many families find themselves asking complex questions about whether they should pay five figures more per year  and six figures more over four years  to reach for a first-choice college that simply will not discount any further. Families with five-figure incomes sometimes do quite well when it comes to financial aid, especially if their children are particularly bright or their schools are particularly flush. It also helps if a family has more than one child going to college at the same time.

Mike Smith, the father of triplets applying to college, holds a photo of his parents at home in Philadelphia, April 26, 2017. The triplet's mother said all the colleges that accepted her boys wanted them to take out loans, even though a federal financial aid formula found that the family could afford to pay nothing at all. Alex wroblewski | The New York Times

Mary Lou Smith was hoping that her triplet sons, who are high school seniors, might benefit from all of that. She is a part-time home health aide, while her husband is on disability, and the federal financial aid formula said that her Philadelphia family could afford to pay nothing at all. Still, all the schools that accepted her boys wanted them to take out loans. Ms. Smith, who once worked as a bank teller and eventually rose to management, is furiously communicating with all of the institutions amid a haze of confusing financial aid award letters and jargon-filled emails. She said she wanted as much time to negotiate as she could get. "I can totally understand," she added, "how a high-performing, lower-income student would get lost in this process, or not even know they should be applying for help." She also has a question for her governor, Tom Wolf, a Democrat: Where is our state's broad-based free tuition plan? J. J. Abbott, his spokesman, said that in a perfect world  one in which the legislature was not dominated by Republicans, as he put it  he would gladly provide even more support for working families. "Unfortunately, the legislative dynamic and the state's current fiscal situation are not amenable to such a policy shift," Mr. Abbott said. In New York, families a bit beyond that $100,000 line that the state has drawn face their own set of difficult choices. Emily Schottland is the mother of a senior who plans to enroll in college this year. She once worked in the arts, and her husband, Thierry Royo, is an immigrant who arrived in the country without family money or the career network that might come from graduating from an American college. They did not own an apartment until they were in their 50s. Now that she is a teacher and he is a manager for a translation company, they only recently have achieved a combined six-figure income  and the increased retirement savings levels that are supposed to come with it for people who ever hope to stop working. But now comes their daughter's college choice, between a branch of a state university and two private colleges they would rather not name, since they do not want to make waves when a better financial aid offer might still emerge. They have already asked for more aid, but the private schools want to see what other schools offer first. "It's like the value of my daughter only increases to you based on how other schools see her, and not on the value she's bringing to your community," Ms. Schottland said.

Alex wroblewski | The New York Times
As a Dodd-Frank replacement bill heads to the cutting room Tuesday, one controversial provision looks likely to end up on the floor: the repeal of the Durbin Amendment, which caps the transaction fees that debit card issuers can charge merchants.



The House Financial Services Committee is set to mark up the replacement bill  the Financial Choice Act  nearly a year after a first draft was unveiled. Language to repeal the Durbin Amendment, which assigns a limit to card swipe fees and the payment of those fees to the banks, has survived until now, but comments from the committee's chairman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, have cast doubt on the repeal surviving much further.



Two financial industry CEOs and three industry lobbyists told CNBC that they have been informed in recent months by either Hensarling himself or a member of his staff that the repeal will not be part of the final bill.



In a briefing with reporters Thursday, Hensarling signaled that the future of the amendment is unclear, while acknowledging that the division over the amendment doesn't neatly match party lines.



"I know that we have members on both sides of the aisle that may be a little conflicted on the issue. ... We're still listening," said Hensarling, who added that he is "convinced that we will get the Financial Choice Act passed, regardless of the outcome of Durbin."

Republicans who oppose the original amendment and support its repeal do so because they don't believe the government should be in the business of setting prices, but disagree over who should bear the cost.
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Billionaire investor Mark Cuban told CNBC on Tuesday he started buying Twitter after the company got its act together on artificial intelligence. Twitter shares closed up nearly 4 percent Tuesday after Cuban's comment. (Source: FactSet.) In an interview on "Squawk Alley," the "Shark Tank" judge said he's been buying into companies that work in AI, deep learning and machine learning. "I started buying Twitter recently because I think they finally got their act together with artificial intelligence," he said at BTIG's 15th annual charity day in New York.

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The remarks by Cuban came six days after Twitter reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. The social media company has used algorithms to combat user harassment, vowing to prevent abusive behavior and block repeat offenders from the site. They've also used machine learning to tailor ads and tweets to users. Twitter said in its first-quarter earnings release, it "continued to use other machine learning techniques to improve the relevance of notifications, which increased engagement and brought people back to Twitter." In March, Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said the impact of AI on society would be "positive," but he appeared unsure if the U.S. government is ready to deal with the impact. "I don't know. I think so, I hope so. But if they (government) are not we are certainly going to help because it is a technology that is important, it is a trend that we need to see more of and it does help people," Dorsey told CNBC.

Twitter machine learning for ads
Securing a solid Brexit deal will be key for the U.K. but as the country heads into a General Election, British politicians shouldn't lose sight of the domestic issues facing the economy and its businesses, a business lobby group has warned.

"You could have the best Brexit deal in the world, (however) it's not worth very much if your domestic economic conditions, if the fundamentals for business in (the U.K.) aren't as good as they could be," Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, told CNBC Tuesday.

"For any business person out there who's had a mobile phone signal dropped, or poor broadband or can't recruit the people they need  these are the things that you solve at home, they're not things you solve through a Brexit deal," Marshall added.

On Tuesday, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) launched a manifesto for the upcoming General Election, which called upon the next government to not only offer answers to businesses that have questions on Brexit, but also provide coherent, strong strategies when it comes to supporting economic growth on a local, regional and national level.

To coincide with the manifesto launch, the lobby group outlined a number of key priorities it wanted the next British government to address and commit to, including no new upfront taxes on businesses during the course of the next parliament.

Other demands mentioned include the ability to deliver "frictionless future trade arrangements" with the European Union; make sure U.K.-based firms have access to "world-class digital infrastructure"; and that a new U.K. regional funding system was established.

"I think all the political parties need to accept that they're going to have to manage Brexit, but if they're not managing the United Kingdom effectively, whilst they're dealing with Brexit, then we'll never ever make a success of it," Marshall said on CNBC's Squawk Box Europe.
The battle over Buffalo Wild Wings intensified Tuesday with the company and hedge fund Marcato sending letters to shareholders touting their competing slate of directors ahead of next month's showdown vote.

The chicken wing chain asked shareholders to vote their yellow proxy card with their lineup of directors before the company's annual shareholders meeting on June 2.

Share prices were down slightly on Tuesday.

The company's slate includes one of Marcato's nominees, Sam Rovit, who has 20 years of experience in the food service industry, as well as Janice Fields, who served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of McDonald's U.S. operations from 2006 to 2010.

Buffalo Wild Wings said in March that James Damian, who had previously served as board chairman, and Michael Johnson will retire from the board at the annual meeting.

Buffalo Wild Wings called Marcato's proposed shakeup, which would add the hedge fund's founder Mick McGuire and three others directors to the board "risky and unnecessary." The letter was drafted by its three newest board members, Andre Fernandez, Harry Lawton, and Harmit Singh, who joined on in October.

"With substantial work underway, we do not believe now is the time to further shift the Board's composition  emptying the Boardroom of all institutional knowledge  or radically modify the company's mandate or strategy, as Marcato would have you do," the directors wrote. "We do not believe Marcato's suggestions  its Board candidates (other than Sam Rovit), operations or strategy  would be effective in creating shareholder value at Buffalo Wild Wings."

In Marcato's letter to shareholders, McGuire argued that B-Dubs' most recent weaker-than-expected earnings report was proof that the company needs new leadership. Last month, Marcato, which owns a 6.1 percent stake, called for Buffalo Wild Wings CEO Sally Smith to resign.

"After Buffalo Wild Wings' management team and board repeatedly refused to engage in productive discussions with us regarding these opportunities, the Company  once again  delivered disappointing financial results for the first quarter of 2017," McGuire wrote.

"To add insult to injury, these poor results were the consequence of desperate actions by management to report positive sales in the short-term by discounting the Company's most important and costly product: wings," he said. "If nothing else, these results revealed that the management team and incumbent directors have no long-term strategic plan to create value for you  the owners of Buffalo Wild Wings."

Marcato urged shareholders to vote a white proxy card to support their slate.

The activist investors began pushing for Buffalo Wild Wings to refranchise more of its restaurants last July. But tensions between the two sides worsened throughout the winter, and then in March, Marcato called for Smith's resignation.

The hedge fund has argued the executives' interests aren't closely aligned with the chain's shareholders since none of the executives owns shares, and only one director has ever executed an open-market purchase of the stock. Further, he said, management has been using equity incentive plans to purchase shares at a lower price and then sell them on the market to make cash.

Buffalo Wild Wings has defended its management, saying the team has helped generate huge returns for shareholders and it plans to refranchise some of its restaurants.

"The company is working hard for shareholders in addressing changing market conditions and consumer preferences," Buffalo Wild Wings' three new directors wrote Tuesday. "The efforts are broad-based and comprehensive, and we can assure you that our slate of directors is the team that will drive success and value."
Between insane global demand, climate change, and whatever trade-danger du jour the Trump administration's cooking up, avocados are in jeopardy like never before.

To save the beloved ingredient, horticulturists have been working to develop a variety that can grow year-round in California (as opposed to the current season, which runs from February through September), and NPR reports this week that there is now a trio of promising-looking ' cados that might be able to fulfill the promise of more guacamole.

UC Riverside researcher Mary Lu Arpaia has spent 20 years trying to produce an avocado tree that can handle central California's coldest and hottest months. She's optimistic about a type called the GEM, which is related to the Hass avocados most people buy in stores.

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The slightly more ovular GEM grows lower to ground, has a higher yield, and doesn't need much space  all great traits for weather resistance.

It also beat Hass in a recent series of taste tests. The other two: a small variety called the "Lunchbox" (a subliminal message about when to consume it), and one that still needs a name, but Arpaia insists that it "makes wonderful guacamole." Both supposedly peel nicely, and she adds that the unnamed one "doesn't brown," which would be pretty game-changing by itself if true.

California grows 90 percent of America's avocados right now. But Americans eat more than 4 billion of the things every year, and such a colossal number still requires the U.S. to import 85 percent of them, mostly from Mexican farmers.

During winter's off-months, that amount rises to almost 100 percent. A year-round Golden State supply would obviously lower the price, thereby keeping avocado-toast addicts' kvetching at a minimum, and it's also a win for farmers because the fruit could theoretically thrive anywhere that growing conditions are similar to California's.
Construction stocks soared on Tuesday after several companies reported better-than-expected earnings and investors bet demand will get a big lift from President Trump's infrastructure plan later this year.

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials , a maker of concrete and cement, closed up more than 7 percent, while Vulcan Materials closed up more than 4 percent. Valve maker Flowserve gained as much as 2 percent during Tuesday's trade, closing relatively flat.

Martin Marietta blew Street estimates out of the water, reporting first-quarter earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $791.7 million. According to FactSet, analysts expected earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $724.2 million.

The CEO of Martin Marietta, Ward Nye, was optimistic in a press release, calling the construction industry "vibrant."

"We remain highly confident that we are in a multi-year construction recovery and that Martin Marietta is particularly well positioned to benefit from the expected increased demand," Nye added.

The surge comes after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said this week that details on President Donald Trump's trillion-dollar plan for infrastructure will be disclosed "pretty soon."

Flowserve reported first-quarter earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $863.6 million on Monday. The Texas-based company beat analyst expectations, which estimated earnings at 18 cents per share on revenue of $813.3 million, according to FactSet.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.75 percent higher with most sectors and major bourses trading in positive territory.



Europe's oil and gas sector moved higher on earnings news. BP moved towards the top of the index after its profits almost tripled in the first quarter when compared to the year previous. Its shares were 1.6 percent higher on Tuesday.



Basic resources stocks capped European gains as the sector contracted over 0.76 percent. Mining giants Antofagasta , Fresnillo , Glencore and Randgold Resources all slipped by over 1.9 percent as positive sentiment from investors in the previous session appeared to dissipate.



London-based online grocer Ocado was at the top of the European benchmark earlier on Tuesday amid reports the firm was exploring a merger with Marks & Spencer. The company's shares rallied over 5.7 percent. The reports could not be independently verified by CNBC.

However, the Swiss technology group OC Oerlikon overtook Ocado in late trade and hit the top of the European benchmark. It rose 6.7 percent after increasing its full-year guidance for 2017.



Emerging markets-focused fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management reported first half revenues jumped 10.6 percent as cost-cutting and market gains combined to boost the firm's performance. Its shares moved over 4 percent higher.



Shares of Swedish polymer producer Hexpol slumped 9.4 percent on Tuesday. The Stockholm-based firm's stock was poised to post its worst trading day since March 30 as Kepler Cheuvreux slashed its rating to "hold" from "buy", citing a weaker outlook.

In the U.S., the Nasdaq set a fresh record high after yesterday's gains as investors focus on a Fed meeting, which is largely expected to hold rates steady this Wednesday but investors will be watching for indications of how monetary policy might change in the near future.



Breaking up big banks



The two political rivals in France's presidential race exchanged criticisms at the start of the final week of campaigning on Monday. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen attacked pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron as a "candidate of continuity", whereas the latter insisted he would fight "until the last second" to defeat the leader of the National Front. French citizens will elect a new premier in the second round run-off vote on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be honored to meet North Korea leader Kim Jong-un in an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday. However, the White House suggested many conditions would need to be cleared in order for the two premiers to schedule a meeting.



Elsewhere, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia on Tuesday. The meeting comes at a time when bilateral relations between Berlin and Moscow are at a low point over the war in Syria and Russia's annexation of Crimea.



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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries doesn't meet until May 25, but U.S. shale-drilling pioneer Harold Hamm is certain the producer group will extend its six-month deal to restrain output.

"Well, there's been some downward pressure" on oil prices, with traders "wondering whether or not OPEC would keep the cuts in place. But I think it's a foregone conclusion those cuts will remain in place," the chairman and CEO of oil and gas exploration company Continental Resources told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Tuesday.

OPEC members agreed last year to cut their combined production by 1.2 million barrels a day in the first half of 2017. Eleven other exporters including Russia contributed reductions of 558,000 barrels a day.

Oil prices sank more than 2 percent on Tuesday, as news that Russia had cut production and a survey indicating OPEC's output continues to decline was offset by rising supplies in the United States, Libya and Canada.

Hamm stressed that it takes a considerable amount of time to balance a market that has been oversupplied for more than two years, and the OPEC deal has only been in place since January. He noted that the summer driving season has not yet begun, making it more difficult to reduce stockpiles of crude oil and fuel.

"We're about two weeks from school being out, people on vacation. We'll see those inventories come down," Hamm said.

Asked about President Donald Trump's comment on Monday that he would consider raising the federal gasoline tax to pay for infrastructure improvements, Hamm said investments need to be made and "if that's what it takes, that's what it takes."

Hamm advised Trump on energy policy during his campaign.

Chevron CEO John Watson on Monday declined to support a gas tax hike, saying he would want the government to review how the current levy is being spent first.
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

A top conservative member of Congress said he and fellow Republicans hope to vote on and pass an Obamacare replacement bill within days  but also must be ready with another plan if those hopes are dashed yet again.

"We're hoping that we're looking at days, not weeks at this point," said Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of around three dozen conservative congressmen.

"But if it doesn't happen this week, we need to look at Plan B or C," Meadows told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Meadows also said, "I don't know that there's a whole lot of momentum" toward getting the bill to a vote.

"I want to get across the finish line," Meadows said. "What's critical to us: Move enough people to 'yes.'"

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Monday the vote would happen when enough members support the bill for passage. About 20 Republicans have indicated they will vote against it, one shy of the 21 defections the GOP can afford. Eighteen or so Republicans are undecided.

Meadows' remarks came a day after White House officials predicted that a vote on the American Health Care Act would take place this week in the House, sending that bill to the Senate.

"This is going to be a great week," White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said Monday on "CBS This Morning." "We're going to get health care down to the floor of the House. We're convinced we've got the votes, and we're going to keep moving on with our agenda."

Meadows' more-sober outlook Tuesday came a week after he cut a deal with GOP leaders that amended the bill, winning support of the bill from a number of conservatives.

The amendment grants states the ability to get waivers for insurers that would allow them to charge people with pre-existing health conditions more if they let their coverage lapse.

Although that amendment led to increased support from some members, it prompted other Republicans to say they would oppose the bill.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., former head of the Energy and Commerce Committee, cited the amendment on Tuesday when he revealed he would vote "no" on the bill.

"I know there are a good number of us that have raised red flags and real concerns" about the bill, Upton said.

Republican leaders, whose party holds a majority in both chambers of Congress, have struggled for nearly two months to persuade enough GOP members in the House to support the bill, which would repeal and replace key parts of Obamacare.

Nearly every week, there has been news about changes to the bill being made, followed by optimism that a vote will be held to pass it, followed by the reality setting in that the bill would fail in a vote.

The Freedom Caucus was a major stumbling block to an earlier version of the bill in late March, when Ryan, in a humiliating setback to him and President Donald Trump, was forced to pull the bill from a floor vote because it would have gone down in defeat. Conservatives at the time griped that the bill did not go far enough to gut Obamacare.

Despite lining up support from many Freedom Caucus members since then, GOP leaders have had to deal with the fact that changes to health-care law that make conservatives happy often makes moderates unhappy.

Many moderates are worried that the bill, if it becomes law, would lead to big increases both in the number of Americans without health insurance and in the price of individual health plans purchased by millions of people who remain insured.

The Congressional Budget Office, in analyzing an earlier version of the bill, projected that 24 million more people would be uninsured over the next decade as a result of changes to the existing law.

The latest version of the bill has not been analyzed by the CBO.

But Meadows said Tuesday an "independent analysis" since last week's amendment strongly suggests there will be fewer people uninsured than would have been under the earlier version.

Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., the head of the Democratic caucus, said the latest Republican bill is a "retread version" of the original bill.

"I think there will be a political price to pay at the ballot box in 2018" for congressmen who vote for the bill, Crowley said. "That's something for Republicans to mull over."
Greece and its creditors are expected to discuss ways to restructure the country's debt ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on May 22, a European official told CNBC on Tuesday.

Athens agreed on Tuesday to introduce new laws on labor, energy reforms, pension cuts, and tax rises. This paves the way for a fresh disbursement of money from creditors in mid-June, but above all it allows Greece, its European creditors, and the International Monetary Fund to consider how they will restructure the country's debt.

A European official who follows the bailout talks, but asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, told CNBC that there isn't a specific date for a solution to Greece's debt but the first discussions on this issue will start soon.

"From now until the Eurogroup meeting of May 22 there will be discussions to consider options for debt relief," the official said.

Greece has to legislate the new reforms within two weeks. However, these new laws won't take effect until 2019 and 2020 and will be dependent on the country's economic performance. For example, among the new measures is the promise to cut pensions in 2019 and cut the tax-free threshold in 2020 to produce savings worth 2 percent of gross domestic product. But if Athens exceeds its targets, it is allowed to offset the austerity measures and reduce taxes.

During the first stages of talks on debt restructuring, the European Stability Mechanism, which is the euro zone's permanent bailout fund, will produce a new debt sustainability analysis. Current economic forecasts indicate that Greece's public debt stood at about 180 percent of GDP in 2016.

The International Monetary Fund will also be doing its debt sustainability analysis to include the recently-agreed measures. The Fund wants an agreement on measures to make Greece's debt more sustainable before deciding whether it is participating with its own money in the Greek bailout program.

Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, spokesperson to the Greek government told reporters last month, that the IMF will make a "small" funding contribution that will not last for more than one year, so it ends at the same time as the current European program, which runs out in August of 2018.

The IMF's participation in the third bailout program to Greece is key for many euro countries, which perceive the fund's involvement as giving credibility to the reform process in Greece. One of these countries is Germany, but the upcoming federal election might reduce Berlin's room to restructure Greece's debt.

"We will get some IMF participation, but no significant number," Johannes Mayr, head of economic research at Bayern LB ,told CNBC via email.

On the debt issue, "we need a compromise between the IMF and the EU/ESM (European Stability Mechanism), he said, "and this is realistic only after the German elections."

Neil Dwane, global strategist at Allianz Global Investors, added: "National governments, like Germany, would lose popularity if they wrote off Greek debt."

"I would expect more extend and pretend from the EU and the IMF," he said via email.

The recently-agreed reform package for 2019 and 2020 took half a year to negotiate.

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The hedge fund industry is employing a growing number of people, in spite of investor concerns over its performance.

The sector currently employs 115,000 staff, up 15 per cent compared to 2010, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association, an industry group, and Preqin, a data provider.

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Growth at the collection of businesses that serve hedge funds, ranging from auditors and lawyers to brokers, has been even faster. They employed 275,000 at the end of last year, up 38 per cent compared to 2010.

Jack Inglis, chief executive of AIMA, said: "Back in December of 2010, when we last assessed this, the industry managed around $1.6tn in assets and employed about 300,000 people worldwide. Today, it manages around $3tn on behalf of more than 5,000 institutional investors and employs about 400,000 people."

In spite of that trend, concern over performance has been growing among investors who put money into hedge funds. Investors pulled $110bn from hedge funds in 2016, according to eVestment, a data provider, the highest amount since the financial crisis.

In response to this investor concern, some hedge fund managers have changed their fee structure to cut the amount that is guaranteed to them, and make more of it dependent on performance.

According to data from Greenwich Associates and Johnson Associates, average pay in the industry has dropped for the past three years.

The shake-up in fees does not appear to have had a noticeable impact yet on staff numbers in the sector.

According to AIMA and Preqin, the 33 per cent increase in the number of people directly and indirectly employed in the industry since 2010 is broadly in line with the growth in hedge funds over that period. There are now 5,500 funds in operation.

About two-thirds of the people who work directly and indirectly for the hedge fund industry are in the US. The UK is by far the second largest centre, while Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia and Canada also rank highly.

Hedge funds in the UK tend to be larger than elsewhere, employing 29 staff on average. In the US, the average was 20 while the numbers were smaller elsewhere.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the Food and Drug Administration for approving drugs too slowly. Yet the pharmaceutical industry has largely applauded the direction of the regulator in recent years.

Rigorous clinical trials are necessary, former FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told CNBC in an interview at the World Medical Innovation Forum in Boston. And while he said patient advocacy is powerful  and that heart disease is an area that could benefit from increased patient demand for reimbursement of new therapies  Califf argued advocacy doesn't change the FDA's decisions.

He also had a few words of advice for his Trump-nominated successor, Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Gottlieb received a positive vote from a Senate committee last week, and now awaits confirmation from the full Senate.
Lifestyle / Travel and Tourism

by EINPresswire

PRETORIA - "Africa's time is now!" This is the message that South Africa's Tourism Minister Tokozile Xasa is trying to get across, while endorsing her counterpart - Zimbabwe's Minister of Tourism Walter Mzembi - as the right candidate for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General position.Dr. Mzembi will face five other contenders - Georgia's Zurab Pololikashvili, Colombia's Jaime Alberto Cabal Sanclemente, South Korea's Young-shim Dho, Brazil's Marcio Favilla, and Alain St. Ange from Seychelles to lead UNWTO from 2018 to 2021.The winning candidate will replace Jordanian, Taleb Rifai, who has been at the helm of the global tourism body for eight years.Minister Xasa hosted a dinner for Dr. Mzembi in Pretoria on Friday, where she said that he was a tested leader who has been endorsed by Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and African Union."With enthusiast leaders in the caliber of minister Mzembi, we are really repositioning tourism to take center stage into the agenda of the world," she said."Should we succeed in that, we really would give a proper agenda to the world by taking our center stage because Africa's time is now."Xasa said her country was standing behind Mzembi as he had been endorsed by SADC and the African Union.She said Mzembi's work and "ambassadorship that you have done through your campaign will result in us being a strong, united and influential global player and partner".In his speech at the dinner, Mzembi said his mandate as Tourism minister of Zimbabwe bears testimony to the tough training and preparation "I have had to go through to reposition Zimbabwe after a decade of disagreement with some sections of the international community."Whereas Zimbabwe was once a to-be-avoided' destination, it is now very much a must-see' destination as confirmed by the 2015 New York Times in its 52 Must Visit Report. Earlier this year, the prestigious Conte Naste Traveller Magazine placed only two African countries in its global top 17 destinations - Zimbabwe at number 13 and Rwanda at number 14," he said.Mzembi said the highlight of that repositioning process and endorsement of brand Zimbabwe, was the hosting, in 2013, of the 20th UNWTO General Assembly in Victoria Falls and Livingstone.Mzembi has been traversing the world to garner support of the 33 members of the executive council which will vote for Rifai's successor on May 12 in Madrid, Spain.The Zimbabwean Tourism minister enters the polls with backing of the African Union, which endorsed him for the post at a heads of States and governments meeting in Rwanda last July.Current Secretary-General of the United Nations' World Tourism Organization Taleb Rifai has also praised Dr. Mzembi for his professionalism and efforts to improve Zimbabwe's brand."Whatever happens in May (the month in which the UNWTO election will take place), for me you are already a winner, you have already won," Rifai said at a gala dinner organized for Dr. Mzembi by the Zimbabwean embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia two weeks ago.
The GOP's Obamacare replacement might need some emergency treatment.

A leading House Republican on Tuesday said he has told the GOP leadership he will vote against their bill to repeal and replace key parts of the Affordable Care Act.

The loss of a vote from Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., the former chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, could make it much more difficult for Republicans to even dare to call a vote on their replacement bill, much less to get it passed this week.

Upton revealed his intention to vote against the bill during a call with a Michigan radio station. He cited the fact that a compromise amendment added to the bill last week would weaken the insurance coverage protections for people with pre-existing health conditions, which he has supported.

"This amendment torpedoes that," Upton said. "And I told the leadership I cannot support this bill with this provision in it."

"I know there are a good number of us that have raised red flags and real concerns" about the bill, Upton said. "And it's not going to get my 'yes vote' the way it is."

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Republicans, who have the majority of House members, have struggled for almost two months to convince several dozen members of their own caucus to vote for the bill, dubbed the American Health Care Act.

Democrats are uniformly against the bill, meaning that the GOP can afford only around 22 defections. With the loss of Upton, there are at least 20 current "no" votes, and another 18 or so undecided Republicans, some of whom are leaning "no."

Despite White House claims that a vote on it, and passage, could come this week, House Speaker Paul Ryan has held off calling for a vote, because of those holdouts in his caucus. In late March, Ryan and President Donald Trump agreed to yank a prior version from a planned vote because it was headed to failure.

Moderate GOP members, as well as some others, fear that the bill could lead to much-higher insurance premiums for some Obamacare customers, particularly those with pre-existing health conditions.

Those fears were reinforced last week when House conservatives won changes to the bill to allow states to get waivers for insurance plans that charge people with pre-existing conditions more for coverage if the state has a high-risk insurance pool.

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Ryan insisted Tuesday that there were adequate protections for people with such existing health problems in the bill.

But a Health Affairs Blog article posted Tuesday warned that the use of a high-risk pool to cover people with pre-existing conditions "would not be enough to solve the problems created by eliminating" several protections now in Obamacare.

"The number of people affected by peeling back these policies would be much larger than could be effectively accommodated in high-risk pools, given the levels of funding offered in recent legislative proposals," said the article by Linda Blumberg and John Holahan of the Urban Institute.

House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., walked away from reporters at the end of a news conference Tuesday without answering their called-out questions about what the "whip count" was. A whip count is a tally of the number of congressmen who intend to vote "yes" or "no" on a bill, along with the number of undecided members.

Rep. Joe Crowley of Queens, New York, the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, said the current version of the Republican bill, like the original one introduced nearly two months ago, "would still take away" insurance coverage from 24 million Americans who currently have insurance.

Crowley said the Republican holdouts "recognize" the damage the bill would do both to those millions of people, as well at to people with health issues who continue being insured at a much higher cost.

He also said that Republicans "can't run away from this vote" because it is their leadership who would be calling for the bill to be voted on, not the Democrats.

"There's no running away from this," Crowley said.

Correction: The Republicans' original bill to repeal and replace Obamacare was introduced nearly two months ago. An earlier version misstated the timing.
In the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, a largely Mexican community with a two-mile corridor of small businesses, 66-year-old Eduardo Rodriguez is offering up a taste of home. His Dulcelandia stores are packed full of some 1,000 colorful treats mainly imported from his native country, including candy like Carlos V and Pulparindo and Paletas (fruit ices). Rodriguez has built up a mini-empire of sorts with four locations in the city since launching in 1995, shortly after the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted. "We're fulfilling a niche market that people really wanted to buy from," says Rodriguez, who came to the U.S. in 1966 and has been a citizen for about 25 years. "People seem to really like what we are doing, and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to do this in the United States. It takes a lot of work and sacrifice  but I recommend to everyone that they should be entrepreneurs."

Eduardo Rodriguez launched his business Dulcelandia, selling candies from his native country, Mexico, in the 1990s after NAFTA was approved. His daughter, Eve Rodriguez Montoya has expanded on the concept launching Yogolandia, featuring healthy frozen yogurts with a Mexican twist. Photo: Larry Collins

His daughter, 36-year-old Eve Rodriguez Montoya, has taken his advice, expanding on the Dulcelandia concept with her own twist, Yogolandia, offering healthy frozen yogurts in Mexican-inspired flavors within Dulcelandia. Proud of her family's roots and job creation, Rodrigruez Montoya is hopeful the contributions of immigrant-owned businesses like her father's won't go unnoticed at a time when the debate over immigration policy has intensified within the United States.

I recommend to everyone that they should be entrepreneurs. Eduardo Rodriguez owner of Dulcelandia

"Our community is very strong and hard-working  resilient and resourceful," she said. "I'd say come to our community, get to know our people. Shop at our locations and see for yourself Little Village is full of people who came to this country to achieve the American Dream." It's impossible to deny the economic contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs like Rodriguez, especially in recent years. A 2016 report from the Kauffman Foundation found immigrants launched nearly one-third of all new businesses and were almost twice as likely as native-born Americans to start their own companies. In Illinois, immigrants make up nearly a quarter of the state's entrepreneurs, according to separate data from the New American Economy. Some 110,000 immigrant entrepreneurs reside in Chicago alone.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel Scott Olson | Getty Images

That's part of the reason why Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing back against threats from the Trump Administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities like Chicago, which protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. "Don't tell me you are pro-small business but anti-immigrant," Emanuel says. "They are inconsistent. Immigrants have a unique work ethic  they know that America is special. They know what they left behind ... "If you work hard and play by the rules, I want you to call Chicago home." That openness is what helps to inspire entrepreneur Ayenew Biru, a refugee from Ethiopia who came to the U.S. as a child in 1986 with his mother and two older brothers, after first fleeing to Sudan. Biru, now 37, has been a citizen for 20 years and recently launched his second business in Chicago, Tastes of Teff, selling products featuring the gluten-free grain teff, which is popular in his home country.

Ayenew Biru came to the U.S. as a refugee from Ethiopia as a child. Today hes working on his second business, Tastes of Teff, a gluten-free grain, in Chicago. Photo: Larry Collins

"That is the story of America  bringing the best of what you have to the United States, where you can turn an idea into something much greater," he says. "It's very rare when you go to a new place and people accept you and support you." Biru, who also runs a small business consulting firm focusing on women and minority-owned companies, sells his teff products in local coffee shops and independent grocers in the area. As an immigrant entrepreneur, his advice for others in his position, especially during a time of great uncertainty: Don't focus on things you can't control. "Stick to the fundamentals," Biru says. "If you have a business that is set up properly and you have an idea about your market and product, while there may be some issues that are a little bit different because you are an immigrant, at the end of the day it's your business that is either going to cause you to fail or succeed."
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Infosys is joining a growing list of international firms that are pledging their support for American jobs. The Indian outsourcing firm announced Tuesday it is creating 10,000 jobs in America over the next two years.

Employees walk below the Infosys logo at the company's campus in Electronics City in Bangalore, India. Vivek Prakash | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Infosys, India's iconic outsourcing firm, is also opening four new technology and innovation hubs across the U.S. that will train American workers in areas like cloud, artificial intelligence and big data. The first hub will launch in August 2017 in Indiana, which alone will create 2,000 U.S. jobs by 2021. "Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers," Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said in the announcement. "It's so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs," Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in the release. The announcement follows President Donald Trump's "Buy American, Hire American" executive order, which called for the H-1B visa program to be reviewed. Any changes to the H1-B program could hurt Infosys, which has benefited from the specialized worker non-immigrant visa. Wall Street analysts have already warned that any changes or restrictions to the H1-B program would hurt India's outsourcing sector, which relies on business from the U.S. In fact, more than half of Infosys's sales comes from the U.S., and Lockheed Martin, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and IBM are just some of the clients it has served.

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A top House Democrat on Tuesday blasted President Donald Trump for establishing closer ties with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who is accused of directing a murderous crackdown on drugs.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Joe Crowley of New York questioned Trump's invitation of Duterte to Washington following what the White House described as a "very friendly" phone call between the leaders Saturday. Crowley scolded Trump, highlighting Duterte's boasts last year that he personally killed criminal suspects while patrolling Davao City, where he was mayor, from the back of a motorcycle.

"Where I have concerns is when you reach out to dictators like Duterte. ... What kind of meeting is he hoping to have? Are they both going to go on the back of a motorcycle with M-16s and go for a joyride?" Crowley asked at a news conference. "I mean, this man has actually shot people in extrajudicial killings himself. ... And somehow we're going to invite him to the White House? That's not the American way."

Crowley highlighted the Duterte meeting as only one of his concerns about Trump and authoritarian leaders. He cited Trump calling North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un a "smart cookie," as well as Trump's scheduled phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Tuesday.

Human rights groups have accused Duterte of supporting extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, where police in several cities are widely suspected of murdering drug users and their dealers on the streets. At least 4,500 Filipinos were killed in the last five months of 2016 alone as part of the country's war on drugs.

Establishing relations with foreign leaders accused of human rights abuses is not a new for phenomenon for American presidents.

The White House has said that Trump wants to establish a relationship with Duterte because he may need his help in dealing with North Korea's nuclear threats. Trump has also said he wants to cooperate with Russia on fighting the terror group ISIS, though the United States and Russia have divergent strategic goals in Syria.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told ABC this weekend that the contact with Duterte "doesn't mean that human rights don't matter."
France's political course is likely to remain far from certain even with a win for presumed victor Emmanuel Macron, as his inability to form a parliamentary majority threatens to undermine his authority both domestically and across Europe, political analysts have suggested.

Sunday's second round runoff will mark the start of a period of tension for the country as the successful candidate waits to see if they can garner a large enough parliamentary majority in June's legislative election to enact change, Dominique Reynie, professor of political science at the Sciences Po institute in Paris, told CNBC Tuesday.

"I'm not worried about Macron's ability to win, but the question surrounds what kind of turnout he will achieve and what his ability to gain a majority in the June election will be," explained Reynie.

Polls are currently pitching centrist Macron to gain anywhere from a 59 percent to a 64 percent lead on his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen.

However, this lead will do little to boost Macron's authority in government, Reynie suggests. The independent will have to gain significant support from other parties if he is to form a majority when France once again heads to the polls on June 11 and June 18 to elect the 577 members of its National Assembly.

"It will all depend on his margin of victory. A 55 to 45 percent win for Macron would be a disaster. Even 60 to 40 is not at all a triumph; a 20 percent margin would be very difficult.

"It would be a crisis. It is not normal and would be a problem both on the streets of France and for Europe," said Reynie.

In the first round of voting, Macron's En March!, or Onwards! party, achieved a majority in 240 constituencies versus Le Pen's 216. However, Reynie says this is simply not enough.

"The smaller Macron's majority the harder it will be for him to win the general election in June. He needs support; it is not possible to have power as President without support.

"This could cause parliament to be largely fragmented like in the first round, with discussions taking place in fractured groups. Macron will have to negotiate with MPs and will be fragile and unpopular."

Fellow presidential hopefuls Jean-Luc Melenchon obtained 67 seats, Francois Fillon 53 and Benoit Hamon zero. They would need to align themselves with Macron in order for his polices to receive approval.

While former opponent Fillon spoke out for his voters to back Macron in a bid to ward off rising support for Eurosceptic Le Pen, other candidates have been less willing to offer him their support.

In 2002, when Le Pen's father and the founder of the National Front, surprised voters by making it through to the second round, campaigners rallied to throw support behind his opponent Jacques Chirac.

"The context has changed," Marjorie Alexandre, confederal assistant at workers union Force Ouvriere, told CNBC Tuesday, the day after protestors took to the streets of France for traditional pre-election May Day protests.

"We are here to defend workers' particular rights; we are not here to defend the rights of the nation," she said, arguing that she would not encourage members to support Macron in order to stave off Le Pen.

Meanwhile, Le Pen showed a change of tact over the weekend when she teamed up with former rival right wing politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and softened her stance on one of her flagship policies, suggesting there would not be an imminent departure from the euro. The move comes as part of her efforts to widen her appeal, particularly among right-wing voters.

Le Pen told the Sud Ouest newspaper that "if everyone is agreed we could take a year or a year and a half to organise a co-ordinated return to national currencies," allaying fears of a sudden exit from currency union, which opponents said would massively hurt France's economy.

She also said that she would make Dupont-Aignan, who gained 4.7 percent in the first round of voting, her prime minister if elected.
Marion Lory | CNBC

Less than a week before the second round of the French presidential election, Marine Le Pen held a major rally in the Paris suburb of Villepinte as the presidential hopeful tries to broaden her appeal to conservative voters across the country.



In a one-hour speech in front of thousands of people, she was interrupted by chants of "we will win" and "Marine president". She hit out at her opponent Emmanuel Macron and refined her project to appeal to a wider spectrum of right-leaning voters. This aim to extend her reach has been implemented by Le Pen since the first round of voting and bore fruit over the weekend as she signed an agreement with Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (a right-wing politician who lost in the first round with 4.7 percent) to join forces for the presidential election.



Le Pen promised to appoint Dupont-Aignan prime minister if she was elected as president. This was a nomination well received by supporters like Camille, who traveled to the Villepinte rally to back his choice for the presidency.

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"This appointment gives credibility to Marine Le Pen's candidacy", said Camille, who voted Francois Fillon in the first round but will now vote for the far-right presidential hopeful. A fringe of Fillon's voters are tempted to vote for Le Pen as she appears to soften her image to gather the more Conservative voters.



"Patriots from different currents can now gather to defend their country. We now form a big patriot and Republican alliance", Le Pen said in her speech on Monday, with some accusations in the French media that she had borrowed directly from a speech on April 15 from Fillon himself.

Nonetheless, if Le Pen is gaining support from outside her party, it will unlikely give her enough votes to win the election.



"Dupont-Aignan's agreement with National Front will have a marginal impact on the vote, because he was very much isolated from the mainstream Conservative right already", explained Jean-Yves Camus, a political analyst at IRIS, a French think tank.

A few kilometers away, Emmanuel Macron also held his last big rally in Paris ahead of the second round this coming Sunday. French flags were flying alongside European Union flags. The candidate for En Marche (which translates to "Onwards") also hit out at his rival. However, he also tried to convince those people who are looking to abstain from voting, which pundits believe could be a major factor in Sunday's vote. Macron urged people to mobilize themselves to defeat the far-right presidential hopeful.

Marion Lory | CNBC
Billionaire tech entrepreneur and frequent Trump critic Mark Cuban told CNBC on Tuesday he gives the president a "C-minus" for his first 100 days in the White House.

"Economically, I like what he's doing," Cuban said on "Squawk Alley" from the sidelines of BTIG's 15th annual charity day in New York.

"[But] If you don't learn from history you're doomed to repeat it," the Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" investor said. "Words matter, and I don't think he's figured that out yet."

Cuban, who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton during the presidential race, took President Donald Trump to task for saying he would be "honored" to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un under the "right circumstances," while saying that South Korea should pay for the THAAD advanced U.S. missile defense system.

White House National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster walked back Trump's statement, saying the U.S. would continue to pay for it.

Cuban did say Trump is a "great salesperson." The president had has positive interactions with world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, he added.

 Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
MasterCard reported first-quarter earnings and sales Tuesday that topped analysts' expectations, sending shares of the stock higher.

Here's what the company reported vs. what the Street was expecting:

Earnings per share: $1.01 vs. estimate of 95 cents according to Thomson Reuters' consensus survey.

Revenue: $2.734 vs. estimate of $2.651 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Shares closed 1.5 percent higher on Tuesday.

MasterCard reported a 12.7 percent increase in quarterly profit for the period ended March 31, as more consumers purchased items using credit and debit cards, the company said.

"We're off to a very good start, with strong revenue and earnings growth driven by solid transaction and volume levels this quarter," CEO Ajay Bangasaid in a statement.

MasterCard's net income rose to $1.08 billion for the quarter, from $959 million a year ago.

As of March 31, the payment network said its customers have issued 2.4 billion MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards. First-quarter adjusted gross dollar volume was up 8 percent, and purchase volume grew 9 percent, MasterCard added.

During the first quarter MasterCard also said it repurchased approximately 9 million shares at a cost of $1 billion, and has returned $238 million to shareholders in the form of dividends. The company now has $3.8 billion remaining under current repurchase program authorizations.
Former Italian Prime Minister and PD secretary Matteo Renzi casts his vote for Democratic Party leadership primaries on April 30, 2017 in Pontassieve, Italy. Laura Lezza | Getty Images

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi regained the leadership of the governing center-left Democratic Party (PD) with a comfortable victory on Sunday, partially completing his political comeback just five months after tendering his resignation. According to partial results, Renzi secured over 70 percent of the vote in Sunday's primary. Around 2 million people reportedly cast their ballots in makeshift voting booths around the country, which had been widely regarded as a key test before a general election due early next year. Sunday's overwhelming triumph for Renzi marked the first step of his ambitious and prompt bid in becoming Italy's premier once again. The animated Florence-born politician, previously dubbed the "demolition man" for his ambitious reformist policies, faced an embarrassing constitutional referendum defeat in December and was subsequently forced to resign.

"This is an extraordinary responsibility. Heartfelt thanks to the women and men who believe in Italy," Renzi wrote in an Instagram post shortly after his victory was confirmed on Sunday. The PD will now begin preparations for parliamentary elections due next May. "Most probably the next parliament will be a parliament with no majority It may be a situation like the one we have seen in Spain," Giampaolo Galli, a member of parliament for Renzi's Democratic Party, told CNBC on Tuesday. Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, currently leads a minority government having lost support to newcomer parties in a general election last year. According to the latest opinion polls, Renzi's PD remains between 2 and 8 points behind the anti-establishment and anti-euro Five Star Movement (5SM) party.



"There may be a need to call for a new election (and) there may be a need for creating coalitions which are rather unnatural," Galli added.

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'Cannot rule out snap elections'
Rachel Neasham, a travel agent for the booking app Lola, at the office in Boston, Jan. 31, 2017. Lolas artificial intelligence computer system watches and learns from every customer interaction and has a knack for making lightning-fast hotel recommendations. It made me feel competitive, that I need to keep up and stay ahead of the AI, Neasham said. Shiho Fukada | The New York Times

'It made me feel competitive' Rachel Neasham, travel agent Ms. Neasham, one of 20 (human) agents at the Boston-based travel booking app Lola, knew that the company's artificial intelligence computer system  its name is Harrison  would eventually take over parts of her job. Still, there was soul-searching when it was decided that Harrison would actually start recommending and booking hotels. At an employee meeting late last year, the agents debated what it meant to be human, and what a human travel agent could do that a machine couldn't. While Harrison could comb through dozens of hotel options in a blink, it couldn't match the expertise of, for example, a human agent with years of experience booking family vacations to Disney World. The human can be more nimble  knowing, for instance, to advise a family that hopes to score an unobstructed photo with the children in front of the Cinderella Castle that they should book a breakfast reservation inside the park, before the gates open. Ms. Neasham, 30, saw it as a race: Can human agents find new ways to be valuable as quickly as the A.I. improves at handling parts of their job? "It made me feel competitive, that I need to keep up and stay ahead of the A.I.," Ms. Neasham said. On the other hand, she said, using Harrison to do some things "frees me up to do something creative." Ms. Neasham is no ordinary travel agent. When she left the Army after serving as a captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, she wanted to work at a start-up. She joined Lola as one of its first travel agents. Knowing that part of her job was to be a role model, basically, for Harrison, she felt a responsibility for Harrison to become a useful tool. Founded in 2015 by Paul English, who also started the travel-search site Kayak, Lola was conceived as part automated chat service and part recommendation engine. Underlying it all was a type of artificial intelligence technology called machine learning. Lola was set up so that agents like Ms. Neasham didn't interact with the A.I. much, but it was watching and learning from every customer interaction. Over time, Lola discovered that Harrison wasn't quite ready to take over communication with customers, but it had a knack for making lightning-fast hotel recommendations. At first, Harrison would recommend hotels based on obvious customer preferences, like brands associated with loyalty programs. But then it started to find preferences that even the customers didn't realize they had. Some people, for example, preferred a hotel on the corner of a street versus midblock. And in a coming software change, Lola will ask lifestyle questions like "Do you use Snapchat?" to glean clues about hotel preferences. Snapchat users tend to be younger and may prefer modern but inexpensive hotels over more established brands like the Ritz-Carlton. While Harrison may make the reservations, the human agents support customers during the trip. Once the room is booked, the humans, for example, can call the hotel to try to get room upgrades or recommend how to get the most out of a vacation. "That's something A.I. can't do," Ms. Neasham said.

Diane Kim, an interaction designer at x.ai, talks with Raquel Ledezma-Haight, a customer experience associate, at the office in New York, March 21, 2017. Kims job to craft responses for the companys assistants, who are named Andrew and Amy Ingram, or AI for short, that feel natural enough that swapping emails with these computer systems feels no different than emailing with a human assistant. Hiroko Masuike | The New York Times

'How do we elegantly recover?' Diane Kim, interaction designer Ms. Kim is adamant: Her assistant doesn't use slang or emoji. Her assistant, Andrew Ingram, also avoids small talk and doesn't waste time on topics beside scheduling her meetings, she said. Ms. Kim isn't being tyrannical. She just knows her assistant better than most bosses, because she programmed him. Ms. Kim, 22, works as an A.I. interaction designer at x.ai, a New York-based start-up offering an artificial intelligence assistant to help people schedule meetings. X.ai pitches clients on the idea that, through A.I., they get the benefits of a human assistant  saving the time and hassle of scheduling a meeting  at a fraction of the price. It's Ms. Kim's job to craft responses for the company's assistants, who are named Andrew and Amy Ingram, or A.I. for short, that feel natural enough that swapping emails with these computer systems feels no different than emailing with a human assistant. Ms. Kim's job  part playwright, part programmer and part linguist  didn't exist before Alexa, Siri and other A.I. assistants. The job is like a translator of sorts. It is to help humans access the A.I.'s superhuman capabilities like 24/7 availability and infallible memory without getting tripped up by robotic or awkward language. Even in the narrow parameters of scheduling meetings, it takes a lot of machine learning to break down emails for a computer. For example, setting a meeting for "Wednesday" is different than setting a meeting for "a Wednesday," as in any Wednesday. X.ai breaks down emails to their component parts to understand intent. The automated response is where Ms. Kim takes over. Her job is to imagine how a human assistant would arrange a meeting for the boss. For a specific task, she devises different situations  for example, what if the meeting had five attendees versus two  and then she creates a flow chart of how the email exchange would go. The goal is to schedule a meeting in as few emails as possible. With that in mind, x.ai settled on a set of personality traits for its assistants: polite, professional, friendly and clear. Sometimes, it's hard to predict what will rub people the wrong way. Early on, the A.I. assistant sent emails to potential attendees saying that the assistant would be happy to put something on the boss's "calendar," but some people found that wording to be cold, and not always appropriately deferential to the other attendees. X.ai changed the wording so that the A.I. assistant says it would be happy to "find a time" that works for all attendees. Some people try to test the A.I. assistants with unusual requests. For example, people are curious what else the assistants can do and ask for help in booking hotels, flights or conference rooms (things they can't do). Others ask Amy's age, or Andrew's birthday. "How do we elegantly recover when Amy or Andrew don't know what to do?" Ms. Kim said. X.ai doesn't pretend the assistants are human. But Ms. Kim still gets satisfaction when people don't realize that the assistants are robots. People ask them out on dates. They receive thank-you emails from happy customers even though, as robots, they don't need gratitude. "They're shocked and surprised that they were talking to an A.I.," she said.

Dan Rubins, chief executive at Legal Robot, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to translate legalese into plain English, in San Francisco, March 21, 2017. Rubins trained the AI to decipher legal documents, which he said are well suited to machine learning because they are highly structured and repetitive. Jim Wilson | The New York Times

'A cesspool of legal language' Dan Rubins, chief executive Mr. Rubins has a lot of grievances with lawyers. At his former job, he recalled the time when six corporate lawyers, each billing at hundreds of dollars an hour, were inspecting a contract looking for capitalization errors. It's what prompted him to create Legal Robot, a start-up that uses artificial intelligence to translate legalese into plain English. Having reviewed nearly a million legal documents, Legal Robot also flags anomalies (strange wording or clauses) in contracts. "Lawyers have had 400 years to innovate and change the profession, and they haven't done it," said Mr. Rubins, who is not a lawyer. "It's time for some outside help." He said legal documents are well suited to machine learning because they are highly structured and repetitive. Legal Robot tapped a vast trove of contracts prepared by human lawyers in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission  "a cesspool of legal language," Mr. Rubins said  as well as past documents from law firms who wanted to help train Legal Robot's systems. After going through a large set of documents, the company's machine learning systems start to recognize patterns indicating the words that tend to go together and those that do not. However, Mr. Rubins becomes worried when the A.I. is too confident about its results. That's often a byproduct of training the computer on too narrow a set of contracts. For example, Legal Robot trained its A.I. on thousands of employment contracts from a state that allows noncompete clauses, which restrict employees from switching to a rival company. That meant when the A.I. saw contracts from states where noncompetes aren't enforceable, it nevertheless piped up to say the clause was missing. In other words, the A.I. was missing important context. Mr. Rubins, 33, said the A.I. is good at identifying potentially vague word choices. He recently received a two-page nondisclosure agreement  it was reviewed by human lawyers  from another company containing the word "shall" 30 times. The A.I. pointed out that "shall" can be vague and advised that "will" or "may" are more clear, depending on the context. Mr. Rubins doesn't think A.I. will put lawyers out of business, but it may change how they work and make money. The less time they need to spend reviewing contracts, the more time they can spend on, say, advisory work or litigation. "I really don't think we're going to get rid of lawyers," he said. "Unfortunately, we still need them."

Sarah Seiwert, a customer representative at the online test-prep company Magoosh, in her home office in Mankato, Minn., March 21, 2017. When Magoosh implemented an artificial intelligence system in February to help its customer service team work more efficiently, Seiwert noticed it was reading the questions and suggesting responses for her to use. Jenn Ackerman | The New York Times

'That was a 'wow' moment for me' Sarah Seiwert, customer representative It took two weeks for Ms. Seiwert to notice that her company's A.I. computer system was starting to pick up on her work patterns. Ms. Seiwert, 37, a customer representative at the online test-prep company Magoosh, answers student emails. When a question comes in, she searches a database of preapproved responses and finds the appropriate answer. There are thousands of different responses. Finding the right answer isn't as easy as it sounds. When Magoosh implemented an A.I. system in February to help its customer service team work more efficiently, Ms. Seiwert noticed that it was reading the questions and suggesting responses. If the suggestions were good, she would add a few niceties and send back a quick reply. But within two weeks, she noticed that even when she wasn't responding directly to an email, but following up to one that she had sent earlier, the software was suggesting the proper response. "That was a 'wow' moment for me," said Ms. Seiwert, who works from a home office in Mankato, Minn. "It's been studying and learning my patterns." As more customer service moves from phone calls to text-based conversations through chat or email, companies are looking to machine learning to help the human agents work faster. Magoosh is using software created by DigitalGenius, a London-based start-up. When an email comes into Magoosh, the system reads the email, categorizes it and routes it to the appropriate employee. After a few months, some DigitalGenius customers start to automate responses for some common questions. Basically, this happens when the A.I. has seen enough examples of how human agents handled the request that it gains confidence that its answer will be correct. Magoosh isn't there yet. But Ms. Seiwert said the software has reduced Magoosh's queue of customer requests by half, and it has made her team's goal of responding to every customer within 24 hours more manageable. Even though the A.I. is learning from the human agents, Ms. Seiwert said she doesn't foresee a future where she's out of a job. Too many questions still require a level of human intuition to know the appropriate answer. There are also times when rules need to be broken, like when customers ask for an extension on their account because of some circumstance beyond their control. "I am not convinced that artificial intelligence is going to replace us," she said. "You can't program intuition, a gut instinct. So the A.I. might get very intelligent, but I hope as a human I continue to get intelligent and not stand at a standstill."

Aleksandra Faust, a software engineer for the self-driving car company Waymo, in Mountain View, Calif., March 21, 2017. Formerly known as Googles self-driving car project, Waymo wants to build autonomous vehicles that can react properly under all kinds of unusual circumstances. Jim Wil
News / Africa

by Staff reporter

Johannesburg - "Radical economic transformation" has become the South African government's new mantra as it advocates giving the nation's black majority a bigger stake in the economy 23 years after the end of white-minority rule.What exactly it means is unclear. The phrase doesn't appear in the National Development Plan, the government's economic blueprint, and President Jacob Zuma and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, the poster boy of BEE, a trade-off between white capital, have painted different pictures of how it should be translated into policy.Zuma is due to step down as leader of the ruling African National Congress in December and as president in 2019, and Ramaphosa is one of the front-runners to succeed him. Here's what they've been saying.President Jacob ZumaThe constitution should be changed to allow the state to seize land without having to pay for it to address skewed ownership patterns. There must be a fundamental change in the structure, systems, institutions and patterns of ownership, management and control of the economy to ensure it benefits all South Africans, especially the poor, most of whom are African and female.Black-controlled companies must benefit more from the government's R500bn annual procurement budget. More companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange should be owned by black people. There should be more black industrialists and farmers.Companies and the government should do more to hire and promote black staff. Black and white professionals doing the same job should be paid equally.Deputy President Cyril RamaphosaRadical economic transformation is a "national imperative" and means building a more equal society and drawing more people into the mainstream economy.While the Constitution says the government should pay just and equitable compensation for land, a code should be drafted spelling out what this means and there should be a move away from paying market-related rates. Ownership patterns in the economy must change at a faster rate and in a more meaningful manner to enable the country's people to share in its wealth.There needs to be a massive skills development drive to prepare young South Africans for the workplace. Agricultural land must be redistributed on a far bigger scale and more speedily than is currently happening and the new owners must be equipped to farm it productively.The government should use its infrastructure investment programme to build local manufacturing capacity and where appropriate, ensure contracts go to black-owned companies. More black people should become producers, financiers and business owners.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Unknown Soldiers's Tomb on May 10, 2015 in Moscow, Russia.

Russia President Vladimir Putin asked for an impartial investigation into an alleged chemical attack in Syria that raised sensitivities within most Western capitals.

Speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin said that Russia condemns the use of chemical weapons and there should be an impartial investigation into what happened in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Syria.

Western leaders, including U.S.President Donald Trump, have asked Russia to stop supporting the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad. They blame it for dropping bombs containing the nerve agent Sarin during an attack last month.

Putin told reporters that he agreed on the need for more active talks to resolve the Syrian war.

Merkel and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine which has dragged on for several years, after Russia's annexation of Crimea. Putin said that such a conflict is a concern and confirmed the need for an implementation of the Minsk agreement by all sides. The deal, between Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, for a ceasefire was reached 2015. Yet the fighting in Ukraine has continued.
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Oil exporters in the Middle East and North Africa will see their budget deficits shrink as austerity, taxes and stable oil prices begin to take effect, a director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told CNBC. "Sizeable adjustments were made in the last two years and yesterday (Sunday) the Saudi government reemphasized commitment to bring the deficit down to balance the budget by 2020," Jihad Azour, the IMF's director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, told CNBC in Dubai on Monday. As oil prices began their slump in mid 2014, oil exporters dipped into international reserves to fund their budgets. Saudi Arabia, like many of its neighbors, introduced austerity measures, slashing energy and utility subsidies, introducing a value-added tax, and announced plans to diversify its economy.

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Last month, to soften the impact of austerity measures and curtail a public backlash, the Saudi government restored some perks and bonuses for government employees. "When you have a massive or sizeable adjustment on the public finances sometimes you have to fine tune it. And those adjustments or those reductions in the cuts are about 1 percent of the budget. Therefore, I think they will be compensated by other measures," Azour added. For the oil exporting nations of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region, the cumulative overall budget deficits for the five-year period between 2016 and 2021 are estimated at $375 billion, down from a 2016 projection of $565 billion, the IMF said in its latest Regional Economic Outlook. The average fiscal deficits soared to about 10 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2015 and 2016, the IMF said, adding that the deficit could fall below 1 percent in 2022. Saudi Arabia's budget deficit shrank to 297 billion riyals ($79 billion) in 2016. That was well below a record 367 billion gap in 2015, and below the government's projection in its original 2016 budget plan of a deficit of 326 billion riyals, according to Reuters. "What has been happening is two fronts, one is, to reduce the level of the budget deficit, and on the other hand, the diversification program through structural reforms in order to allow the economy to grow faster and the private sector to reach growth," Azour said. "Bringing down the level of budget deficit will allow the Saudi government to have additional fiscal space that can be used for more investment and more specific social programs."

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Following New York are Miami-Fort Lauderdale (No. 2), Austin (No. 3), San Jose (No. 4) and Los Angeles (No. 5). For this analysis, Biz2Credit analyzed nearly 30,000 small businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Firms identified in the study must have been in operation for at least a year and had less than $10 million in annual revenues. The Top 25 Cities for Small Business in 2017 are:

"There's a great entrepreneurial spirit and community in New York City that really reflects the global nature of the city," added Cohen, whose organization also connects small firms to a wide range of business resources. "You have businesses in all industries and so many businesses and resource providers in one place. This means it's easier to network and connect with mentors, business support organizations and other business owners."

"The density and diversity of New York City is unparalleled to anywhere in the country," said Steven Cohen, president of Excelsior Growth Fund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution that provides loans and advisory services to New York small businesses. "There are large numbers of women, immigrant and minority entrepreneurs, and they are growing at record numbers."

Historically a melting pot, New York is a diverse metropolitan area, which translates well for entrepreneurs of all ethnic backgrounds. Of the approximately 8.5 million people living in the city, more than one-third are foreign-born, the highest rate in more than a century, according to data from the New York City Department of City Planning. Immigrants bring an entrepreneurial spirit and diligent work ethic to America's shores.

New York City overtook last year's small-business city leader, San Jose, the hub of Silicon Valley, which dropped to the No. 4 spot on the list. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are still thriving, but it's the supplementary companies that are faced with challenges of growing. The skyrocketing cost of living in Silicon Valley impedes the profits of many firms. Commercial rents, housing and labor costs weigh down non-tech businesses dramatically. Furthermore, taxes are higher in California, in general. Lacking that economic balance in the area has prevented San Jose from reigning as the leader in top small-business cities this year.

New York City surpassed Silicon Valley to become the top city for small business, according to Biz2Credit's annual study of the Top Small Business Cities in America. New York's growth has been fueled by the booming real estate market and the construction industry, banking and finance (including fintech), and the city's thriving technology sector.

The annual "Best Small Business Cities in America" ranking of 25 cities is based on a weighted average of data on Biz2Credit's customers across the country. The study looks at the health of small companies in each metro area, the rate of small-business creation and the economic ecosystem for entrepreneurs, including the cost of doing business, tax climate and local talent pool. The results are tallied by Biz2Credit's proprietary BizAnalyzer tool, which then ranks the cities.

The top 10 metro areas by average annual revenue

New York ($979,674) Miami-Fort Lauderdale ($800,024) Austin ($750,023) San Jose ($640,334) Seattle ($632,114) Los Angeles ($542,712) Washington, D.C. ($542,674) San Diego ($527,957) Dallas-Fort Worth ($513,533) San Francisco ($511,991)

New York improved to the top spot after registering the highest-average annual revenues, with $979,674, and its business owners had the highest credit scores, at 646, compared to 640 for Miami, which ranked second. The city also placed atop Biz2Credit's proprietary BizAnalyzer score, which considers local economic factors that may not be applicable in other areas such as cost of doing business and tax rate.

The New York Small Business Development Center and the New York City Small Business Services have fueled small-business growth and entrepreneurship through various initiatives. These are backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who tasked city agencies with fighting inequality and fostering a city where everyone has an opportunity to succeed, per New York City's Small Business Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop.

Over the last year, New York City's Small Business Services has served more than 8,900 businesses, including more than 1,500 immigrant entrepreneurs. Additionally, they've certified more than 4,500 minority and women-owned firms, a 20 percent increase over just two years. They've provided New Yorkers with training and tools to succeed as entrepreneurs and have invested more than $130 million in community-based organizations help grow local small businesses in the community.

"The beautiful thing about starting a business in New York City is that you practically have a built-in market with such a high-density population," said Sarita Ekya, owner of S'Mac NYC, a restaurant that has been in business for over a decade in Manhattan's East Village and specializes in macaroni and cheese. "However, there is always a lot of competition, as well."

"If you can differentiate yourself, that's a game changer," continued Ekya, a first generation Indian immigrant entrepreneur who received funding through Biz2Credit in 2014 to pay for equipment and renovation expenditures. "Another great thing about having a business in New York City is that there are a lot of government resources available at low-cost or free to help new business owners out."

The top 10 metro areas by average credit score

New York (646) San Jose (644) San Francisco (640) Miami-Fort Lauderdale (640) Riverside-San Bernardino, CA (627) Los Angeles (625) Indianapolis (622) Seattle (622) Austin (621) Houston (616)

Businesses in the New York metro area were more established than those throughout the country and typically higher credit scores comes with the territory. There is also a correlation between higher credit scores and businesses with better longevity. Many of the cities in the Top 10 were represented by longer operating businesses.

Other emerging hot spots

The annual survey revealed other interesting trends.

One of the top vacation destinations in the country, Las Vegas, has emerged as the fastest-growing start-up city. Entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the stream of visitors that continue to flock to Vegas and its relatively low cost of living that make Sin City an attractive location to start a business. Nevada is one of seven states that does not collect income tax. This stimulates companies to hire more workers and generate more revenue to fuel the economy. Immigrants from Latin America and Asia, in particular, are moving in and starting businesses.

Rising to the second spot in the Top Cities list, Miami-Fort Lauderdale has emerged as a hotbed for entrepreneurs and, more specifically, Latino small-business owners. In fact, it is often regarded as the unofficial hub to Latin America, and Latinos have accounted for more than half of the U.S. population growth over the last 15 years. Additionally, the recently restored relations with Cuba, in combination with the surge of Latino immigration, will only benefit the South Florida economy.

Just four years removed from Chapter 9 bankruptcy as a result of the auto bailout, Detroit is on the rebound. Last year was a banner year for automakers, and car manufacturers are incorporating technological advances into their designs. Car buyers want the latest gadgets. Motown has risen to the top 15 of this year's study.

Among the notable movers on the list was Indianapolis, which has emerged as a Midwestern hub for entrepreneurship. It is a low-cost city with thriving e-commerce and logistics sectors that has made it an attractive destination city for immigrants and people from other areas of the country seeking better opportunities. Look for this area to continue booming as entrepreneurs seek other alternatives, especially those that can conduct business from remote locations.

 By Rohit Arora, special to CNBC.com
Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon told CNBC on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's rollback on regulations has renewed optimism in the sector, even as a survey showed increased uncertainty.

In an interview on "Squawk Box," McMahon, who was selected by Trump to lead the federal agency, said the number of planned deregulations by the president will help small businesses from the suppression they feel.

"It's not necessarily any particular reform or any particular regulation. It's just the stacks and piles of regulations that they have to comply with," said McMahon, co-founder of pro wrestling company WWE. "A small business owner is typically the CEO but also could be the janitor."

McMahon's comment came almost a week after the White House released Trump's one-pager on tax reform, which included slashing tax rates for businesses.

On Tuesday, a survey by human resources firm Paychex found that small business hiring fell in April, but wages continued to rise.

The report showed the pace of small business employment growth is down 0.27 percent from a year ago, while national hourly earnings for the month were $25.67, increasing 2.73 percent, or 68 cents, from last year.

Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO, told CNBC on Tuesday that the human resources firm is seeing part-time jobs on the rise as small businesses are a little bit more cautious.

"What we're finding now is increased uncertainty," Mucci said on "Squawk Box." "We did a survey of Trump's 100 days and saw that uncertainty is up still pretty good right now."

The Paychex report comes three days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its closely watched employment data for April.
Small business hiring fell in April, but wages continued to rise for workers, a report by human resources firm Paychex said Tuesday.

The Small Business Jobs Index decreased 0.22 percent from the previous month to 100.50. The pace of small business employment growth is down 0.27 percent from a year ago, the company said.

"The decline in the April index mirrors what was reported last month by (the Bureau of Labor Statistics), which showed deceleration of job growth," said Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO. "At the same time, the wage report shows continued growth in both hourly earnings and hours worked over the past year."



The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last month that nonfarm payrolls grew less than expected, but average hourly earnings were up by 2.7 percent on an annualized basis.

Paychex said national hourly earnings for the month were $25.67, increasing 2.73 percent, or 68 cents, from last year. Weekly earnings were up 2.92 percent from last year.

Tennessee remains the top-ranked state in small business job growth, the report said. Dallas remains the country's new top metro area for small business jobs, following a 1.45 percent one-month decrease in Atlanta last month, which had held the top position.

Earlier this year, Mucci attributed the growth to President Donald Trump's pro-business agenda, including tax reform, regulation rollback and the potential for health care reform.

Mucci said the human resources firm is seeing part-time jobs on the rise as small businesses are a little bit more cautious.

"What we're finding now is increased uncertainty," Mucci said on "Squawk Box." "We did a survey of Trump's 100 days and saw that uncertainty is up still pretty good right now."

The Paychex report comes three days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its closely watched employment data for April.
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The teams behind prestigious lifestyle companies Soho House Group and Sydell Group have joined forces to bring a big sprinkling of Mayfair glamour to the City of London with their late April unveiling of The Ned. The showstopper feature of the 11-floored building, originally built in 1924 by esteemed British architect Sir Edwin 'Ned' Lutyens for the Midland Bank, is the dazzling entrance hall which serves as a hub housing seven bars and restaurants and a stage for live performances in the midst of it all. "The Ground Floor where everyone can come is pretty spectacular," says Soho House founder Nick Jones, citing it as his favorite space in the new venture and observing that no-one would design an equivalently grand space now as it would never get through a corporate boardroom. "And I think that's the beauty of it - that there's a team of people who could see the vision of what it could be without constantly looking at the fact that it's never been done before," he added. Jones' partner at The Ned is Andrew Zobler, founder of the Sydell Group, known for trendy U.S. hotel chains including NoMad, LINE and Freehand.

Cecconi's Italian restaurant at The Ned Courtesy of The Ned

Despite an initial reluctance to visit the venue due to its location, Jones was quickly converted. "I was being polite so I came along but as soon as I walked in my jaw dropped and I thought 'My god, this is amazing'," revealed Jones, crediting the key shareholder and partner that he shares with Zobler, American billionaire investor Ron Burkle, as the bright spark who brought them together on the hugely ambitious project. "Rather than creating different spaces than Lutyens the architect intended, we worked with the way he divided up the building and made it all work for the things we wanted to do," explained Zobler, The venue is divided into areas for members and those for the general public with the majority of dining and drinking spaces, as well as the hotel rooms, open to all. Unfortunately for the non-members, however, two of the most dramatic parts remain behind the proverbial velvet rope.

The Vault bar and lounge at The Ned Courtesy of The Ned

This includes the rooftop whose elegant bars and infinity swimming pool enjoy a panoramic view over the City of London and its iconic landmarks such as St. Paul's cathedral and The Shard. The Vault Lounge  tucked away behind the twenty-tonne, 2-metre thick door that inspired a memorable scene in James Bond 007's Goldfinger  now showcases a late-night 1920s-themed cocktail bar, decorated with features reminiscent of the intrepid travelers of the era. In place of the designer wallpaper which graces the hotel rooms, the bar's walls are lined with over 3,000 of the original customer safety deposit boxes  just one of the many touches in The Ned which incorporate the Midland Bank's original features. But is all of this enough to lure the Mayfair crowd eastwards? "Well we're certainly making a big bet that they do come but I think from the last few days when we've started to open to the public and people are coming in, the excitement is really palpableThere's just a sense of a happening," said Zobler, adding that doing something smaller would not have succeeded in having the same impact.

A room at The Ned Courtesy of The Ned
Stocks linked to China's Anbang International are tumbling after a respected magazine published a detailed report examining the company's murky structure.

A handful of real estate developers fell in Tuesday's morning session  Gemdale tumbled 3.8 percent, Financial Street Holdings dropped 3.5 percent, China Vanke lost 1.8 percent. Pharmaceutical company Dong-E-E-Jiao was down 3 percent and retailer Chang Chun Eurasia fell 1.6 percent during that period. China Railway, however, bucked the trend with a 1 percent rise.

Anbang is a private firm, but its various arms are among the top 10 shareholders of a number of companies, owning anywhere from 3 percent to 15 percent, according to Reuters data.

Anbang and its chairman, Wu Xiaohui, are fending off allegations made by a prominent weekly Chinese magazine looking at the firm's labyrinthine funding and how its assets grew to a whopping $275 billion. The report by Caixin was published online over the weekend, and alleged that a lack of transparency allowed the firm to obscure transactions between Anbang and its shareholders, hinting that these parties were in cahoots to move money around.

Caixin noted odd coincidences  for instance, many Anbang investors registering their businesses in the same city on the same day, and highlighted examples of shared addresses and contact information between shareholders. It also questioned how Anbang was able to make its multi-billion dollar acquisitions, saying the firm didn't appear to have enough in the bank.

Anbang has threatened to sue Caixin and its editor-in-chief, Hu Shuli, accusing the magazine of "slander" and saying its reports were "false." The company suggested Caixin was retaliating against Anbang because the magazine failed to secure advertising and sponsorship dollars from the insurance company.
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Last May a seemingly commonplace meeting kicked off a firestorm of controversy. More than 100 experts in genetics and bioengineering convened at Harvard Medical School for a meeting that was closed to the public  attendees were asked not to contact news media or to post about the meeting on social media. The same group is getting back together in New York City next week. To the meeting organizers, last year's secretive measures were, counterintuitively, to make sure as many people heard about the project as possible. They were submitting a paper about the project to a scientific journal and were discouraged from sharing the information publicly before it was published. But there's another reason why this group of scientists, while encouraging debate and public involvement, would be wary of attracting too much attention. Their project is an effort to synthesize DNA, including human DNA. Researchers will start with simpler organisms, such as microbes and plants, but hope to ultimately create strands of human genetic code. One of the group's organizers, Jef Boeke, director of the Institute for Systems Genetics at NYU School of Medicine, told CNBC that incorporating synthesized DNA into mammalian (or even human) cells could happen in four to five years. This project follows in the footsteps of the Human Genome Project (HGP), the 13-year, $2.7 billion project that enabled scientists to first decode the human genome. "HGP allowed us to read the genome, but we still don't completely understand it," said Nancy Kelley, the coordinator of the new effort, dubbed GP-write.

Harvard geneticist George Church poses for a portrait inside his lab at Harvard Medical School. Jessica Rinaldi | Reuters

High school biology covers the basic building blocks for DNA, called nucleotides  adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). Humans' 3 billion pairs provide the blueprints for how to build our cells. The intention of GP-write is to provide a better fundamental understanding of how these pieces work together. Using synthesized genomes has both pragmatic and theoretical implications  it could lead to lower cost and higher quality of DNA synthesis, discoveries about DNA assembly in cells and the ability to test many DNA variations. "If you do that, you gain a much deeper understanding of how a complicated apparatus goes," Boeke said. Boeke likens the genome to a bicycle  you can only fully understand something once you take it apart and put it back together. "Really, a synthetic genome is an engine for learning new information." More from Modern Medicine:

Medical breakthroughs are way behind for the hard of hearing

In the land of Vikings, an ambitious effort to find a cancer cure

New guidelines for prostate cancer screening Boeke is particularly excited about what he calls an "ultrasafe cell line." Certain types of mammalian cells intended to produce certain types of large molecule drugs, called biologics. "[Cell lines] have been cultured in dishes in labs for decades. But you can't engineer the genomes  the tools for doing that are quite crude, relatively speaking," Boeke said. Sometimes these cells get infected with a virus, and it completely shuts down drug production. A synthetic cell that lacked unnecessary genetic material could, evidence suggests, be virus-resistant, consistently producing useful drugs to treat disease. The results of GP-write could also lead to stem cell therapy that doesn't run the risk of infecting the patient with another disease, which appears to be what happened to one patient who received stem cell treatment in Mexico. Or they could create a line of microorganisms that could help humans generate some of their own amino acids  nutrients we usually get from food.

We have a four- to five-year period where there can be plenty of time for debate. ... Whenever it's human, everyone has an opinion and wants their voice to be heard. We want to hear what people have to say. Jef Boeke GP-write organizer and director of the Institute for Systems Genetics at NYU School of Medicine
Efforts by Wells Fargo to move beyond its bogus accounts scandal have been set back by the loss of a big government contract.

The Philadelphia City Council voted Monday to change handlers of its $2 billion payroll account, according to published reports. Instead of continuing the arrangement with Wells, the city chose to hire Citizens Bank for the next fiscal year starting in July.

The move comes under the dark cloud that has enveloped Wells since the second-largest bank by assets in the U.S. agreed to pay $185 million in fines for opening some 2 million accounts for customers without their knowledge.

More than 5,000 Wells Fargo employees lost their jobs, and several top executives were sacked. The scandal emanated from aggressive cross-selling goals in which sales people were encouraged to enroll customers in as many programs as possible.

Philadelphia city officials said the decision to switch payroll providers was not related directly to the scandal, though it seemed to play at least some role.

"Time and time again their actions have revealed them to be the antithesis of corporate social responsibility," Councilwoman Cindy Bass said in a statement. "I want to thank my colleagues on the committee for doing the right thing and sending a message that we will not do business with companies that engage in unethical business practices."
News / Local

by Staff Reporter

Zanu PF women's league's interim secretary for administration Letina Undenge is on the firing line as she is accused of working with national party commissar Savior Kasukuwere's clique to topple President Robert Mugabe.Kasukuwere survived a spirited ouster drive on Wednesday.According to NewsDay, Women's league boss Grace Mugabe met the Zanu PF women's league's top 10 on Tuesday and discussed Undenge's issue among other items."A lot of issues were discussed, but at the top was Letina Undenge." She is facing the same accusations that led to the resignations of Eunice Sandi Moyo and Sarah Mahoka. Letina is also accused of being part of Kasukuwere's cabal that was plotting to topple the President (Robert Mugabe)," an unnamed NewsDay source is quoted saying.Letina is the wife of under-fire Manicaland provincial chairperson, Samuel Undenge, who was also booted out of his position early this week on allegations of working in cahoots with Kasukuwere. Undenge also stands accused of failing to convene regular meetings and allowing his wife to interfere with provincial structures.Women's league spokesperson Thokozile Mathuthu confirmed the meeting."It is true, we met. It was a routine meeting because our constitution mandates us to meet every month. We discussed a lot of things and I am not at liberty to tell you" she said."There is no provision in the party constitution that Undenge will control proceedings, this is done by the current chairperson. How much money has she (Undenge) used to divide people, maybe you can tell me?" I deal with issues that are official. Unless we receive communication through normal channels, I will not comment over our decision, there are normal channels to submit information".
The Asia Vision LNG carrier ship at the Cheniere Energy terminal in this aerial photograph taken over Sabine Pass, Texas, Feb. 24, 2016

The Trump administration is moving to make the United States the world's leading exporter of natural gas as a central component of both energy and trade policy.

But whether global markets, currently awash with gas, will play along remains a long shot over the next several years. Any breakdown of talks to remodel the North American Free Trade Agreement, which set the regulatory framework that allowed gas exports to Mexico to triple over the last six years, could also get in the way.

The administration's ambitions were explained emphatically last month by Gary D. Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, and they were followed up by the Energy Department's authorization last Tuesday for a Texas export terminal that Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum have pursued for years. Other administration plans include opening the way for more gas exports from Oregon to serve Asia.

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In 'Brexit' Talks, U.K. and E.U. Are Said to Be Miles Apart

In recent years, there was strong domestic opposition to the exports, from manufacturers and others, out of fear that domestic gas prices would rise, and the Obama administration moved cautiously before increasing the pace of export terminal permit approvals during its second term.

With supplies appearing bountiful, and other countries aiming to increase their own production, opposition has mostly abated, except in pockets of the East Coast and Pacific Northwest. There remains enthusiastic support along the gulf coasts of Louisiana and Texas, where there is substantial room for more growth.

For the Trump administration, the economic benefits of gas export infrastructure are paramount. Each natural gas export terminal can require an investment of $10 billion or more, produce thousands of construction jobs and consume millions of pounds of steel. Then there is the additional drilling and production of gas, which is then cooled to minus 260 degrees, condensing it to a liquid known as liquefied natural gas, or L.N.G., to be shipped on giant tankers to Asian, European and Latin American markets.

The recent expansion of the Panama Canal has quickened the route to growing markets in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia, making American gas more competitive.

"Exporting L.N.G. meets many objectives, including helping to address the trade imbalance," said Daniel Yergin, the energy historian and vice chairman of IHS Markit, a consultancy. "This supports jobs, this supports investment in energy, this supports exports, a whole host of administration objectives."

Once six facilities under construction or being expanded are completed over the next few years, the additional liquefied gas exports could amount to as much as $50 billion in annual revenue, depending on gas prices. Much of that would help balance the trade deficit with China, an administration objective.

Additionally, four big pipelines are being built this year to take more gas to Mexico, and at least two more are slated to begin transporting gas by the end of 2018. With Mexico converting its power sector to natural gas from fuel oil, the country already imports more than 5 percent of United States gas production, which particularly helps Texas gas producers and pipeline companies.

To some extent, even American coal companies could benefit from more gas exports, because exporting natural gas tends to support its price. That is important because inexpensive gas has been the leading enemy of the shrinking coal industry, a head-to-head competitor.

Proponents in the State and Energy Departments have also long argued that more gas exports can provide better security to energy-hungry allies like Japan; lessen the dependence of Europe on Russia, which has been known to use gas as a political weapon; and speed up the replacement of coal with gas to curb climate change.

But construction has begun on so many terminals in recent years in Australia, Malaysia, Russia and the United States that supplies of liquefied gas shipped in tankers are expected to increase by nearly 50 percent over the next five years while global gas demand is increasing by less than 2 percent a year.

In the United States alone, where Cheniere Energy began major liquefied gas exports only last year, shipments are expected to jump to nearly six billion cubic feet a day from the current 1.5 billion cubic feet a day by the end of the decade as a cluster of projects are completed on the gulf coast.

The momentum for start-ups hit a wall over the last two years worldwide, and four United States projects approved in recent years have not yet begun construction. Companies have been content to complete the permitting process, seek financing and markets, and develop construction plans in the hope they can act fast in case the market turns around.

"The pace follows the market and not the wishes of the U.S. government," said Nikos Tsafos, president and chief analyst at the consultancy Enalytica . "No one is really out there fishing for new projects right now."

The gas business is cyclical, and proponents say it is only a matter of time before demand picks up. China and India are increasingly turning to gas to replace coal and improve the air quality of their cities. Gas demand for transport is growing in Iran, Pakistan and Argentina. Germany has largely given up on nuclear power, and it needs natural gas to replace some of the lost power.

Some L.N.G. executives say that the global demand for gas will grow as more export and import terminals are built and that the United States will continue to have a cost advantage over other major producers, including Qatar and Russia, because of the abundance of American gas production.

"It's been demonstrated over the last two years that when you have low natural gas prices, demand increases much faster than what people think," said Charif Souki, chairman of Tellurian, a Houston company developing a $15 billion L.N.G. export project south of Lake Charles, La.

"The Trump administration has discovered the power of natural gas," Mr. Souki added. "Today, we are the top gas producer in the world, and in another three or four years, we'll be one of the top two gas exporters in the world, right up there with Russia."

That is certainly what the Trump administration is hoping for, although its policies may not have much of an immediate impact.

"We could be and should be the largest exporter of L.N.G. in the world," Mr. Cohn said at a Washington conference in April. He said the first thing the administration would do was issue a permit for an export facility in the Northwest, a reference to the Jordan Cove L.N.G. terminal in the Oregon port of Coos Bay, where a Canadian company, Veresen, has proposed to build.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last year denied a permit to the terminal as well as a pipeline to link it to production, saying the pipe would have "adverse effects on landowners." There was also strong opposition from local environmental groups.

The commission can reconsider the issue, but not any time soon, because three of its five seats are vacant and the Senate has been known to take months to confirm commission nominations.

With additional fanfare, the Energy Department last week authorized Golden Pass Products, a partnership between Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum, to export domestically produced gas from the Texas coast.

"This is not only good for our economy and American jobs but also assists other countries with their energy security," said Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who championed the oil and gas industry as Texas governor.

The Golden Pass facility, originally designed for gas imports before the shale production boom created a glut, has largely remained dormant for the last six years. With an additional investment of $10 billion or so, the plant could become a force on international markets and export two billion cubic feet of gas a day, nearly 3 percent of current American gas production.

Golden Pass claims construction of the facility would mean 45,000 direct and indirect jobs over five years, and 3,800 direct and indirect permanent jobs.

The partnership released a one-line statement in response to the administration announcement: "Golden Pass Products is pleased to have achieved this important regulatory milestone as we continue to work to develop the export opportunity."

But executives noted that the companies had not yet made a final decision on whether to go ahead with the investment.
President Donald Trump is joined by US First Lady Melania Trump (2nd R front), his daughter Ivanka Trump (2nd L front) and her husband Jared Kushner (L front) during the presidential inaugural parade on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. Sitting in the second row (L-R) are Tiffany Trump, Lara Yunaska, and Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr.

A spending bill that Congress looks set to pass this week would put more than $120 million in new money toward Trump family security, The New York Times reported, citing legislation circulated Monday.

It comes as the Secret Service and some localities have strained to cover the costs of protecting President Donald Trump and his family, including for the business or leisure travel of his adult children. Some Democrats have criticized the rising security costs for taxpayers.

The first family travels frequently, ranging from business trips to Vancouver and Dubai by Trump's adult sons, to ski weekends in Colorado and British Columbia by Ivanka Trump, the Times reported.

Roughly half of the funding would go to the Secret Service, according to the newspaper. It would cover costs while Trump is traveling and security money for Trump Tower in New York, where the president's wife, Melania, and youngest son, Barron, live.

Most of the remaining funding could be used to pay back localities, the Times reported. New York City and Palm Beach County  where Trump frequently travels to his Mar-a-Lago resort  have borne extra costs since he took office.

Read the full New York Times report.
Apple may have the largest overall stockpile, but plenty of other countries could also see substantial gains from a repatriation holiday.

Pfizer, for example, had $197 billion in unrepatriated income abroad last year, according to the ITEP report  that's about the same size as the company's total market cap. Merck, too, has seen substantial savings on untaxed earnings relative to its overall value. While some of that cash has likely gone into investments abroad, both companies would be able to bring billions back to the U.S. for domestic purchases.

"To the extent that tax changes would make it cheaper for us to access financing, then you're quite right," Pfizer CEO Ian Read said on the company's January earnings call, referring to a repatriation holiday changing the company's capital development priorities. "Some deals that previously would not have been affordable may now be affordable."

Speaking on earnings calls in recent years, executives of S&P 500 companies have often declined to provide information about their plans with offshore cash holdings. Repatriation at the current tax rate is usually avoided often enough that it is notable when large companies opt to retrieve cash and pay U.S. taxes. GE made news in 2015 when it paid $6 billion to bring home $36 billion from its sale of GE Capital.

"I am confident that we're talking about the right things," Johnson & Johnson CFO Dominic Caruso said on a conference call after a recent visit to Washington. "We're talking about a lower U.S. tax rate, we're talking about a territorial system, and we're talking about some innovation and some incentive for job creation in the U.S."

After the election, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC that a repatriation deal would allow the company to create more jobs in the U.S. The company has more than $60 billion abroad. On the company's February earnings call, Robbins said cash repatriation would not fundamentally change the company's mergers and acquisitions strategy. But it could lead to cash back to investors.

"If we were to increase our dividend, then that flows through the mutual funds, which flows through to the middle-class America, which flows through to make people feel better about their income," Robbins told CNBC after the election. "I think all that is good for business."

But Gardner argues that any tax holiday would do little to realign incentives for companies that have grown accustomed to avoiding taxes through offshoring. The move would reward larger companies for that behavior but leave smaller companies out in the cold, he said.

"These companies are offshoring profits artificially in anticipation of a special holiday," he said. "And for every company that is doing that, there are 10 small mom-and-pop companies that do business entirely in the U.S. and are complying with the law."
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Lean Daval Jr. | Reuters

Duterte's government has killed thousands. Trump has no problem with that.

Duterte came to power in 2016, winning by a landslide margin of more than 16 million votes. The 71-year-old former mayor promised to use any means necessary to fight his country's drug epidemic, and he wasn't speaking rhetorically. As Ana P. Santos wrote for Vox, drug dealers surrendered en masse, flooding the country's jails. But they were the smart ones: Still, those inmates had it better than those whose names were on neighborhood "watch lists," a list of suspected pushers and users put together by "informants" motivated by anything from civic duty to personal grudges. Many of the people on the watch list turned up dead. Bound and gagged, faces mummified in packaging tape, their corpses piled up on street corners and under bridges. Sometimes a piece of cardboard scrawled with "PUSHER. DON'T BE LIKE ME" was left as an epitaph  and a warning. The sheer numbers of killings, and the brutal ways they were carried out, stunned world leaders like then-President Barack Obama, who called on Duterte to deal with the drug problem "the right way." Duterte responded by calling Obama a "son of whore " who should "go to hell." European leaders didn't fare much better. When the European Union demanded an end to the killings, Duterte answered with a two-word reply: "Fuck you." He then flashed them the middle finger  twice  for good measure. Duterte has also been willing to pick a fight with the Catholic Church, historically one of the most powerful and revered parts of Filipino society. As Santos notes , a church in Manila exhibited photos taken by photojournalists documenting the nightly killings of alleged drug users and pushers and then sent the pictures to other churches that wanted to mount to similar exhibits. Duterte responded by calling out the church on its alleged hypocrisy over issues like family planning and revealing that he had once been molested by a priest as a teen. "I challenge the Catholic Church. You are full of shit and you all stink, corruption and all," he said . This man  unapologetically profane and unapologetically willing to turn a blind eye to the extrajudicial killings of thousands of his own people  is the man that Donald Trump just invited to the White House. And he didn't do it in spite of Duterte's brutal drug war. He did it, at least in part, because of it.

Trump likes autocrats because of the horrible things they do, not in spite of them

Trump's willingness to specifically condone Duterte's drug war  something condemned by much of the rest of the world  is in keeping with a broader part of the president's foreign policy. Take Sisi, who has imprisoned tens of thousands of dissidents since he took power and overseen a broad campaign of serious human rights abuses like torture, mass detention, and forced disappearances of journalists, aid workers, activists, students, and Islamists. In one particularly gruesome incident, a 28-year-old PhD student from Italy studying in Cairo was abducted , tortured, and murdered in what many believe was an attack by Egyptian state security forces. Sisi has said the measures were justified to fight Islamist terrorists in his country. But as my colleague Jennifer Williams notes: Sisi has violently cracked down on all forms of dissent and turned Egypt into a police state arguably worse than anything seen under former President Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011 after 30 years in power. And for all of that, Sisi hasn't actually done a very good job of fighting terrorism. Regardless, Trump didn't use his Oval Office visit with Sisi  an honor Obama had refused to extend to the Egyptian dictator  to urge him to pay more attention to human rights abuses in his own country. Instead, the president said Egypt should do whatever necessary to fight terrorism, and made clear the US would support him. "We will do that together," Trump said after the meeting. "We will fight terrorism and other things, and we're going to be friends for a long, long period of time." Or take Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who narrowly won a vote last month over a referendum that gave him vast new powers while eviscerating the parliament and judiciary  the two institutions that stood as the last checks and balances against his increasingly autocratic rule. European leaders stayed mostly silent about Erdogan's win. International monitors condemned the vote as unfair. Trump quickly called Erdogan to offer his personal congratulations. As I wrote at the time, it's possible Trump may not have understood the magnitude of what just took place in one of Washington's most important allies. The likelier scenario is that Trump understood exactly what Erdogan had just accomplished in bringing his country closer to autocracy  and that he liked what he saw.

Most US presidents have liked democratic leaders. Trump prefers the opposite.
United Continental CEO Oscar Munoz apologized again Tuesday, this time to hostile lawmakers on Capitol Hill, for the forcible removal of a passenger.

"This is a turning point for United," Munoz said told the House Transportation Committee during a tense hearing.

One lawmaker, with his hands in the air, cited frustration over problems flyers repeatedly encounter, such as complicated booking systems, confusing fees, long waits and unexplained delays.

Committee chairman, Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., opened the hearing by saying Congress will take action if airlines do not act, and he warned that they "would not like the outcome." He argued the airlines owe the public answers. "Something is broken," Shuster said.

"It is my mission to ensure we make the changes needed to provide our customers with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of respect," Munoz responded. "Ultimately our actions will speak louder than words."

The hearing was held to discuss oversight of U.S. airline customer service, following a public relations nightmare for United when a passenger was dragged off an overbooked plane for refusing to give up his seat.

The airline has since announced that Munoz will no longer take over as chairman of United's board in 2018, as was planned. Further, United will now offer passengers who give up their seats  in an overbooked situation  up to $10,000.

"For the last three weeks, I have spent every day thinking about how we got here," Munoz told the committee. "As CEO, that is my responsibility. ... We need to do a better job of solving problems in the moment."

United recently settled with the injured passenger, Dr. David Dao, and has issued a number of policy changes. Munoz has spoken up in media interviews and has sent his own memos to United's customers, apologizing and promising changes that he says will improve service.

"Why do you hate the American people?" Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Ca., who flies from San Diego to Washington weekly, grilled Munoz. "I was going to ask how much do you hate the American people, but I'm not going to ask that."

Hunter argued that airlines have created an environment where competition is nearly nonexistent at many major transportation hubs today.

Representatives of Southwest Airlines , Alaska Air , American Airlines and an aviation consultant for the Consumers Union also were present during the question and answer session with lawmakers.

As soon as the hearing began, users on social media were quick to criticize United and Munoz, as many have been doing for the past few weeks.

@BruceCSPAN: Oscar Munoz, the United Airlines boss, was late for his own testimony because he couldn't get a seat-the hearing was overbooked.

@Yuan1557800: United CEO Oscar Munoz : "man, we're soooooooo sorry, like realllllllllly sorry, seriously, sooooooo sorry.... can I go now?"

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that President Donald Trump would not, at this point, weigh in on whether new airline regulations are needed.

"I'll leave it up to Congress to decide whether it's appropriate to address this legislatively," Spicer told reporters. "Once there was a piece of legislation, then we could have an opportunity to weigh in."

Southwest announced last week it will stop overbooking passengers altogether. Alaska Airlines told the committee Tuesday that it's considering changes to its overbooking policy, but American Airlines has said it has no plans to end the practice.

Munoz has further defended the policy of overbooking, saying it helps the airline better serve passengers.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump uttered the "S"word  shutdown  on Tuesday, and it could be the best news ever for his domestic agenda.

The political class and the usual suspect pundits have turned shutdowns and the threat of shutdowns into some form of mythical political suicide. But a shutdown is likely the only way for the Trump team to shake the leaders of both parties in Congress out of their perpetual spending frenzy. It's worked before and it very well could work again. All we needed was someone to have the courage to carry out at least a shutdown threat and trigger one if necessary.

President Trump outlined the reasons why he might need a shutdown in a few tweets when he referenced the sub-60 vote reality in the Senate for the Republican Party. Knowing this, the Democrats in the Senate and the House have a real incentive to demand no cuts to the spending agenda and regime they crafted during the Obama years. And with the stopgap spending bill the Congressional Republicans just sheepishly agreed to this past weekend as proof, we know the GOP simply caved to those Democrat demands.

So, why didn't the Republicans use a possible shutdown to stand up to the Democrats and cut the spending? The reason is fear. Republicans are afraid because the conventional wisdom says that shutdowns are incredibly toxic with the voters and whichever leader or party gets the blame for any given shutdown is toast at the ballot box.

The conventional wisdom is wrong.

Because history tells a different story. With very few exceptions, voters have simply not moved to punish anyone for any shutdowns in the modern era. The latest example was the government shutdown over Obamacare in late 2013. Poll after poll showed the public blamed the Republicans for that shutdown and most experts predicted severe electoral doom for the GOP even though they eventually caved in that shutdown battle. But that doom never happened. A year later not only did the Republicans retain the House, but they finally regained control of the Senate in a massive midterm election landslide. And the biggest reason for that win was voter anger over  you guessed it  Obamacare.

Look back a little further and you see similar lessons. The government shutdown engineered by the Republicans in 1995 not only helped bring about important legislative compromises with the Clinton administration in the months that followed, but it also did not result in the GOP losing control of Congress a year later. President Clinton even got re-elected too. For the GOP, Bill Clinton, and the country, that was a win/win/win.

And when the Democratic Party-controlled House and President Ronald Reagan locked horns and caused a total of seven government shutdowns from 1981 to 1986, neither Congressional Democrats nor Reagan lost their control of the House or the White House in the subsequent elections, respectively.

Time after time, the voters have reacted to shutdowns the same way. Sure, they may respond angrily to pollsters while the shutdowns are in effect. But the long-term voting results are almost an empty set. It's the political equivalent of a referee just "letting the guys play."

But the Republicans have not learned this lesson. Even after their big 2014 win,the Republican leadership of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and then-House Speaker John Boehner not only didn't trigger another shutdown to further stop Obamacare or the impending Iranian nuclear deal, they pre-emptively promised not to even threaten to do so. By surrendering the congressional"power of the purse" before they even officially retook control of both houses of Congress, many Tea Party and other conservative Republican voters lost faith in the party establishment. And that likely played a big role in the defeat of all the GOP establishment candidates for president in the 2016 primaries.

This is all the long way of explaining that, by threatening a shutdown, President Trump is simultaneously reconnecting with his voter base, goosing the cowardly Republican leadership, and brandishing his best bargaining weapon against the Congressional Democrats. And while the White House can be excused for waiting a mere 100 days or so to do this, the Republican leaders on Capitol Hill cannot after sitting on their Constitutional budgeting duty for more than 2 years.

Again,the assembled wise men and women of Washington are already sounding alarm bells over Trump's shutdown cheerleading. That's entirely predictable. But either they're ignorant of history or deliberately suppressing the fact that shutdowns are actually a relatively low-risk exercise in political courage.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
News / Local

by Agencies

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life is the cornerstone of good health and survival.

Stasha Jordan, Executive Director of the South African Breastmilk Reserve, points out that breastmilk helps to reduce infections by strengthening these babies' immune systems. "This is even more important for babies born prematurely and of very low birth weight."Research has shown that infants who are not breastfed have a much higher risk of developing respiratory infections, diarrhoeal disease, allergies and asthma. The risk of ear infections has also been shown to be four times greater in the first year of life in babies who are formula fed. It has also been shown that breastmilk contains the perfect nutrients for a baby's brain to grow to its maximum potential and babies who were breastfed scored higher on intelligence tests.A study published in the Lancet in 2013 indicated that optimal breast feeding of infants under two years of age has the potential to prevent over 800,000 deaths per year, 13% of all deaths in children under five in the developing world.Jordan says that unfortunately not all infants have access to breastmilk and local health authorities attribute low rates of exclusive breast feeding to the prevalence of poverty and to misinformation.According to a study by South African medical researchers , formally employed HIV negative mothers were twice as likely to stop breast feeding by 12 weeks. In this study, most of the women had little or no maternity leave provision. Soon after giving birth, many poor mothers need to get working again. What little income they earned went towards purchasing formula milk instead.Jordan says that the study also indicated the early introduction of formula milk and a steady increase in breast feeding cessation amongst HIV negative women could not be prevented, despite postnatal home visits from peer breast feeding counsellors. "The researchers remarked that this scenario is unique to South Africa. The use of formula milk within the first six months of an infant's life is uncommon in other parts of continent."Jordan explains that breast milk banks can play a vital role in supporting breastmilk feeding in South Africa, however, it is important to carefully consider the regulations around milk banking in South Africa.The South African Department of Health is currently developing regulations on milk banking. While some of the existing milk banks follow standards and guidelines set by the Human Milk Banking Association of South Africa, for processing and pasteurizing, others follow the SABR guidelines modelled on the NICE guidelines for human milk banking. They operate independently using different funding mechanisms to meet community needs . Three human milk bank models, all of which are not-for-profit, are found in South Africa.Jordan says that the ethical distribution and capacity management of Donated Breast-Milk (DBM) for the NICU in hospitals have become key focus areas in the breastfeeding and healthcare sectors.She says that the current regulatory framework for human milk banking in South Africa gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of treating DBM in accordance with the ethical standard that guides the human tissue and organ donation sector. "Ten years into active human milk banking at the hospital level, we are witnessing a growing desire of prescribing doctors to exceed the current DBM user guidelines."Jordan says that an equitable allocation system for donated breastmilk that takes into consideration utility, justice and respect for person, should drive the ethical considerations that pertain to universal access and distribution of donated breastmilk."The current regulatory framework for human milk banking gives us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of treating donated breastmilk in accordance with the ethical standards that inform the human tissue and organ donor sector. Stakeholders in human milk banking in South Africa have differing views on whether access to this tissue should be a right or a privilege," says Jordan.Professor Morgan Chetty, CEO of the KwaZulu Natal Managed Care Coalition Ltd and Chairman of the IPA Foundation of SA, says that there are three ethical issues that also need to guide the use of human milk that is banked; decision making, informed consent, and conflict of interest. "In the first instance, decision making is currently guided by a combination of the best available scientific evidence, clinical experience and consideration of the needs of individual patients. If donor milk is available and the evidence of human milk's advantage over commercial formula feeding is universally accepted, the clinician's decision should be to support the choice of mother's milk."Chetty adds that clinicians must also provide information about current state of knowledge of mother's milk as part of informed consent process for infant feeds. "There is also the issue of market incentives to use commercial formula. Healthcare providers should disclose any relationship with entities that could influence their recommendations or discussions with the parents."In the face of increasing need for human breast milk, it is important that we work to overcome the negative' attitude and misperception South African women have towards breast feeding. Improving access to breast milk banking is one step in the right direction. However, we need to carefully consider the ethical considerations of breast milk banking to prevent hurting the same infants we are looking to protect," concludes Jordan.Jordan and Chetty will both be speaking at the Ethics, Human Rights & Medical Law conference, which will form part of the 7th annual Africa Health Exhibition & Congress 2017 taking place from 7-9 June 2017 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. More than 9,300 regional and international healthcare professionals and medical experts are expected to attend the event.
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Common Cause Indiana, the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP and NAACP Branch #3053 filed a federal lawsuit today challenging Marion County policies that give county residents fewer opportunities to vote early than are provided in other Indiana localities.

Given Indianas low levels of voter participation, state laws and decisions by local election officials should always seek to remove barriers to voting, not erect new ones, said Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indianas policy director. Unfortunately, thats not the case with the state law that requires a unanimous decision by the county election board for the establishment of early, in-person voting at satellite locations.

Since 2010, partisan politics has meant less access to early voting in Marion County than in other counties across the state, Vaughn added. Thats not just wrong, its unconstitutional and we are going to court to fight for equal voting access for Marion County voters.

The organizations were joined in the litigation by individual plaintiffs John Windle and Doris McDougal. The plaintiffs want the court to declare Marion Countys policy unconstitutional and order local officials to provide early voting opportunities comparable to those in neighboring counties.

While our attorney is providing his services pro bono, there are other substantial expenses that go with this sort of litigation, Vaughn said. Weve established a crowdfunding campaign at www.crowdjustice.org/case/equal-access-to-votingto raise the funds necessary and urge those who support this effort to make a contribution and share the information widely on social media. Working together, we can end this unfair practice and make voting in Marion County just as convenient as it is in neighboring counties.

Barbara Bolling Williams, President of the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP said, The Indiana NAACP is proud to stand here today to announce this challenge because this statute is harming all voters in Marion County but having a particularly pernicious effect on voters of color. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race or language group.

Bolling Williams concluded, The refusal to allow satellite voting is about controlling who has access to the ballot. Whether in intent or outcome, this practice is discriminatory and must be stopped.

Chrystal Ratcliffe, President of NAACP Branch #3053 stated, When Marion County voters were given the option of in-person, satellite voting in 2008 it was well-utilized and extremely popular  that year 19.3% of the votes cast in this county were by early voters. Since 2010 and the decision by Marion County Republicans to block access to early voting at satellite locations, the number of votes cast early in Marion County has dropped dramatically  to 12.7% in 2016. 

This stands in sharp contrast to the counties that surround Marion County, all of which have chosen to make in-person, satellite voting widely accessible. For example, in Johnson County, which made early voting available in six locations, more than half (51.6%) of all votes cast came from early voters. Marion County voters deserve the same access to early voting as voters elsewhere and we are filing this litigation to see that they get it before the 2018 election.

Doris McDougal said, As a longtime member of the NAACP, I recognize how important it is to challenge attempts to make voting less accessible. Voter suppression can take many forms and when the largest county in the state provides only one location for early, in-person voting that is the end result  it is more difficult to vote in Marion County than in most other areas of the state. This unfair law hurts not just those people who want to cast an early, in-person ballot; it also contributes to long lines on Election Day, affecting all voters. Marion County voters have been negatively impacted by this situation for too long and it is time for it to end.

John Windle said, In 2008 I voted at the satellite early voting location at North Central High School and had a great experience  it was easy and convenient  just what voting should be. That certainly wasnt my experience in 2016, when I made several attempts to vote early and was unable to because of the lack of parking and long lines at the only early voting location in the City County Building. When I learned that partisan politics is responsible for this it made me angry and I contacted Common Cause Indiana, to see what could be done. I am glad to join them, the NAACP, our attorney Bill Groth and Doris McDougal in the challenge to end this practice that discriminates against Marion County voters.

To read the complaint, click here.
Last week, around 10,000 customers, partners, analysts and employees descended on Las Vegas for NetSuites SuiteWorld conference.

This was the first SuiteWorld since Oracles acquisition of NetSuite. All eyes were on the conference to see how the tone might have changed as NetSuite entered the mothership. As previous SuiteWorlds have all taken place in the Bay Area, this was also the first time the event was held in Las Vegas. Former CEO Zach Nelson's departure from the company added to the already high levels of interest in the event.

Day one kicked off with a guest visit from Oracles co-CEO Mark Hurd. He spoke casually and informatively for a good half hour to inform attendees about what Oracles intentions are for NetSuite. To sum it up simply -- Oracle wants to provide NetSuite with as much fuel as it needs to grow, but promised to leave it alone and let NetSuite do its thing. Hurd was quick to try and dispel any preconception that Oracle would, as has traditional been seen as its modus operandi, run roughshod over NetSuites culture and start to extract as much value out of the asset in as short a space of time as possible.

Hurd answered some questions from the audience (admittedly a couple were softball ones from NetSuite employees) and didnt miss the opportunity to take a dig at competitors. He was quick to critique SAP and its (in his view) failing strategy around HANA. He also channeled his boss and Oracle founder Larry Ellison and reiterated that Oracle is the biggest cloud computing vendors on Earth -- an assertion that raised many eyebrows in the audience, especially from those people who watch vendors such as AWS.

Of course, as was always the case, it came down to definition. It was fair to assert that when it came to the full spectrum (infrastructure, enterprise applications, development platforms), there was some validity in Hurds claim.

So for a quick wrap up of what NetSuite announced (or, the stuff that I consider important) at the event

Global expansion

Mark Hurds talk could be summed up in three words (or, more correctly, one word repeated three times): he promised NetSuite will deliver more, more, more. Oracle is doubling down on its investment in NetSuite and helping it to scale its business both within existing markets and into new ones. NetSuite will leverage Oracles huge data center footprint to roll out more zones quickly alongside wresting Oracles global offices to gain more on the ground exposure. And this isnt a short-term commitment -- Hurd couldn't have said it any clearer, promising that NetSuite will be a standalone entity and given the freedom to operate forever.

To which the obvious question is one of upsell -- does Oracle see NetSuite as a gateway drug to the more expensive and expansive Oracle products? Hurd and McGeever both said no way, with McGeever stating clearly that there will be no upsell of customers.

Of course, there are edge cases -- at the show, NetSuite announced visualizations and forecasting features powered by Oracle products. There were a few ecosystem players who might have been a little uncomfortable with that, but balancing product direction with ecosystem sensitivities is something that all platform vendors need to do.

In terms of the areas in which Oracle is enabling NetSuite to invest heavily, the company spelled it out clearly. From the release:

Data Centers. Oracle NetSuite Global Business Unit plans to more than double its data center footprint from five data centers globally to 11. NetSuite currently operates five data centers, three in North America, one in Amsterdam, Netherlands and one in Dublin, Ireland. NetSuite expects to add a fourth North American data center in Chicago. As part of the global expansion plans, NetSuite will leverage existing Oracle data centers in Europe and Asia. In Europe, NetSuite is scheduled to open a data center in Frankfurt, Germany to remedy the lack of modern cloud computing offerings in the country. In Asia Pacific, NetSuite plans to initially launch facilities in Australia and Singapore, followed by Japan and China. Field offices. NetSuite expects to double its global presence, expanding from offices in 10 countries to 23 spread across the globe. The addition of Oracles field offices significantly increases NetSuites ability to meet the rising demand for cloud ERP around the world. NetSuite is establishing a new presence in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, France, Germany, Sweden, Dubai, China, India, Malaysia and New Zealand. In addition, NetSuite is expanding headcount in existing field offices by over 50 percent to provide better resources for customer demand. Development centers. Oracle NetSuite Global Business Unit is leveraging existing Oracle development centers across India, China and Japan. The development centers will be able to accelerate the development of international, regional and local features and functionality within NetSuite OneWorld.

SuiteSuccess

Key to NetSuites continued growth is finding ways to scale its business without massive costs. Along with this goes a need to ensure customers are appropriately selected, given the right information and that their deployment goes well. NetSuite currently runs a dual sales strategy, leveraging both direct and channel sales -- and in non-core markets, there has been some issues historically with partners dropping the ball.

SuiteSuccess is designed to resolve these issues -- both for direct and channel sales. SuiteSuccess is a specific NetSuite IP that codifies their experience implementing and customizing NetSuite for different verticals. SuiteSuccess is both a series of product customizations, a new way of engaging with customers and a cultural shift in the organization. SuiteSuccess is also the embodiment of NetSuites desire to move away from creating cloud versions of SAP. Instead of matching functionality with existing solutions, SuiteSuccess seeks to apply best practices to customers.

And while one would be forgiven for thinking that customers will remain adamant that their particular use case and operating model is unique, their ERP also needs to be. Jim McGeever, NetSuites head honcho, told me customers respond well to SuiteSuccess, preferring to take advantage of the newly exposed best practice and happy to have a trusted partner tell them the right way to do things. SuiteSuccess has over 300 customers and is available now, expanding globally into more industries and to current NetSuite customers over the course of this year.

I have questions regarding how NetSuite will scale SuiteSuccess, especially given their international ambitions. In some regions the channel is already the main barrier to increased growth. While one could assume SuiteSuccess will do much to help poorly-performing channel partners do a better job, time will tell if this comes to pass. McGeever pointed out that in cases where the SuiteSuccess approach had been utilized, NetSuite was 59% more likely to win the deal. He also admitted that, internally, SuiteSuccess was the hardest culture change ever to implement -- requiring training and retraining. Time will tell how that goes within the context of a channel over which the company has less control.

SuitePeople

A creation of the team (if not the tech) acquired a couple of years ago from TribeHR, SuitePeople is NetSuites foray into the human resources (HR) space. Built natively on top of NetSuite, and only offered to customers who are also using core NetSuite financials, SuitePeople aims to tick off the core HR requirements entirely within the core financial app.

As I said, SuitePeople isnt designed to be a complete HCM solution -- it doesnt offer payroll outside of the U.S., for example -- but rather aims to include people's data throughout the financial suite. SuitePeople helps enable employees to request time off, access employee directories and organizational charts, monitor upcoming vacation schedules and new hires, or publicly recognize good work.

Still very much a lightweight solution, NetSuite informed the audience that with SuitePeople it plans to provide:

Core HR capabilities: Native organization design, job and position management, workflows and compliance management, all powered by effective-dated employee master data, providing HR with the systems they need to run a best-in-class operation.

HR analytics: With pre-built reports and dashboards focused on key people metrics and compliance, including a new chief people officer dashboard.

Employee engagement: Kudos aids all employees to recognize those co-workers who have helped drive the business forward -- vital in today's world of distributed workforces.

HR compliance: Built in human resources reports, searches and notifications are paired with tailored compliance features to ensure regulatory requirements are easily met and filing deadlines aren't missed.

When asked about the potential clash with Oracles own HCM system, McGeever was very clear: Oracle is killing it in HCM. SuitePeople is core HR, and most people that are using SuitePeople are coming off spreadsheets.

MyPOV

Hurd is wrong when he says nothing has changed. Clearly, a huge amount has changed both internally and externally at NetSuite. That said, I was expecting to go into SuiteWorld and essentially see a lighter version of Oracle's Open World. That wasnt the case -- while the culture has certainly changed, SuiteWorld didnt feel like a complete departure from the days of old. A bit of a departure, but not a complete one.

In terms of their growth prospects -- both SuiteSuccess and the investment in resource and infrastructure will position NetSuite to grow very well in the years ahead -- the Oracle ownership is a real unblocker and allows NetSuite to do what it knew it had to do, but didnt have the resource base upon which to execute.

Post-SuiteWorld, Im bullish about the future, and cautiously optimistic that NetSuite wont become an evil empire itself because of it. Proof of the pudding will be whether I get invited back to SuiteWorld in 12 months time!
Microsoft last week quietly acknowledged that a year-old plan to focus phone sales on the enterprise market is dead.

"We had no material Phone revenue this quarter," said Amy Hood, the company's CFO, during an earnings call with Wall Street on Thursday.

In fact, phone revenue amounted to just $5 million for the three-month stretch, representing a massive decline of 99% from the same period of the prior year. Assuming each Windows smartphone brought $500 to Microsoft, that was a sluggish pace of just five phones sold per hour. Worldwide.

It's not as if the demise of Microsoft's phone business was a surprise. The division, which was based on the 2014 acquisition of Nokia, has been in trouble with a capital "T" since 2015, when Microsoft wrote off $7.6 billion, nearly the full price it paid for the Finnish company's mobile phone assets and a collection of associated patents.

Then less than a year ago, Microsoft ate another $1 billion and laid off another 1,850 workers as it continued to slash the phone division. At the time, experts called Microsoft's consumer phone business dead, but opined that the company could still exploit the enterprise market.

Apparently not.

"Look, it was wrong of Microsoft to buy Nokia in the first place. It was always a lost cause," said Jack Gold, of J. Gold Associates, and among the acquisition's earliest critics.

"Mobile phone [hardware] was never going to be profitable for them," Gold contended. And CEO Satya Nadella, Gold added, knew that from the start of his early-2014 tenure.

Nadella's plan for Microsoft has been centered around the cloud, Gold said, and rightfully so. "The smart move for them was to make sure that they're the cloud provider for the enterprise," he continued. And that required supporting a wide range of devices and operating systems, not focusing on Windows in mobile.

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All companies have a finite amount of attention, and using some of that to squire enterprise smartphones made no sense when the real goal and the profits were in pushing on all fronts cloud. The best thing the firm did a year ago was decide not to put "more money into enterprise phone," Gold added.

Nor were corporate customers demanding a Windows phone from Microsoft. "They ask, 'What do I need to do, Microsoft, to get my people productive?'" posited Gold. Microsoft's response wasn't to produce a Surface smartphone -- a rumor that still circulates among the faithful -- but instead it worked to support every device. "

They're telling customers, 'You don't have to worry about what front-end client [employees use] because we'll support everything on the back end.'"

Rather than its own phones, Microsoft's mobile strategy will likely be along the lines of the tie-in with the Samsung S8 and S8+, which will be sold in Microsoft's retail outlets, and once unboxed, automatically load a collection of company apps, including Office, OneDrive and Outlook.

"The money is in selling services for the phone, not the phone," Gold said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

If Mugabe and Grace did not back Zanu-PF's G40 faction to maintain the balance of forces, Kasukuwere would not have survived.Zanu-PF has two rival factions battling to choose a successor for Mugabe who is increasingly struggling with old age frailty and ill-health. The G40 faction has coalesced around Grace, while Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa leads the other faction.This comes as the party's secretary for legal affairs Patrick Chinamasa sent out a circular to the ruling party's provinces and wings on Tuesday urging party members to follow procedures laid out in the Zanu-PF constitution when handling disciplinary cases and passing votes-of-no-confidence, a move largely seen as designed to address Kasukuwere's issue.The whole of April, Kasukuwere was in the eye of a storm, facing allegations of creating parallel structures and plotting to oust Mugabe. This came after former Zanu-PF Women's League deputy secretary Eunice Sandi-Moyo and former treasurer Sarah Mahoka were booted out of the executive on allegations of indiscipline and misappropriating funds.Moyo was removed for her role in the succession battle in which she was said to have agreed to become a woman candidate for the Mnangagwa faction.It appeared Kasukuwere, who had ambitions of becoming vice-president or president, was not going to survive. However, Mugabe's determination to save Kasukuwere to avoid a power disequilibrium in Zanu-PF became evident when he had a meeting with him a fortnight ago.Insiders revealed that in that meeting, petitions which had been forwarded by different provinces supporting Kasukuwere's ouster were discussed. Mugabe was reportedly not convinced that Kasukuwere wanted to topple him, concluding that the allegations were from his rivals.The Zimbabwe Independent is reliably informed during a regular briefing on Monday this week between Mugabe, ministry of Information and security officials, Mugabe's stance on the Kasukuwere case became even more clearer."At the regular briefing on Monday, Mugabe made it known that his view on Kasukuwere's issue was that it had been handled unprocedurally and unconstitutionally."Mugabe said politburo members, according to the Zanu-PF constitution, are appointed by him and therefore, as appointees, their stay in the office or removed is determined by him as the appointing authority," a source said."Mugabe emphasised that the party constitution should be followed and as such, provinces cannot pass a vote-of-no-confidence on a politburo member, as there is no such provision in the constitution; it is not a prerogative of the provinces to do that but his."According to Zanu-PF insiders, the Women's League, led by Grace, also had a separate meeting on Monday at Mazowe in which they resolved not to meddle in the Kasukuwere issue. "Grace chaired the meeting which was attended by provincial chairpersons of the league. She told the women that they have no business in the Kasukuwere matter and that it will be handled by the main wing of the party," a source said.Sources also said Grace emphasised that the removal of Mahoka and Moyo had nothing to do with the Kasukuwere case.However, Grace reportedly said those levelling allegations against Kasukuwere should be given the chance to substantiate their claims.Informed sources told the Independent that Kasukuwere, who is in the same faction as Grace, had initially offended her by showing ambitions to succeed Mugabe at her expense. Grace is understood to be manoeuvring to land the vice-president's post on the women's quota ticket and ultimately to become president.Kasukuwere is seen by his rivals as over-ambitious and hence, his purges of structures.Sources told this paper that ring leaders who wanted Kasukuwere to lose his post were mainly from Mashonaland Central comprising the Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha, expelled youth member Godfrey Gomwe and Bindura North Member of the National Assembly Kenneth Musanhi, among others. However, according to those close to the developments, the main architect of Kasukuwere's problems was the Mnangagwa faction which wants him replaced as political commissar with someone from their camp, preferably with a military background.G40 members say the Mnangagwa faction wants to prove they are in control of Zanu-PF and the party's internal processes at a critical time in the succession race."The Mnangagwa camp wants to create an impression that they are in charge of Zanu-PF. They in fact want to stampede Mugabe to remove Kasukuwere and reshape the politburo in their own image with their ally taking over the commissariat," another source said. The sources also claim that the pressure to remove Kasukuwere is designed to target and weaken those supporting Grace, while also targeting Mugabe.The sources said the tactic used by the Mnangagwa faction was to organise effective demonstrations in all party provinces and deploy resources mostly funded from businesspersons benefitting from government projects and tenders."The Mnangagwa faction had put in place machinery to deal with those standing in their path to power," said the source."They wanted to force out Kasukuwere, they were also targeting Zanu-PF secretary of administration and minister of Home Affairs Ignatius Chombo accusing him of backing Mugabe," the source said.Kasukuwere is seen by his rivals as a political bulldozer who tried to decimate Mnangagwa's structures and purge his allies to position himself in the succession race.
Britains Prince Harry to visit Singapore

Singaporeans will have a chance for a brush with royalty as Britains Prince Harry is all set to make his first visit to the city-state. He is expected to come in June to play in a charity polo competition. He will later travel to Sydney in Australia.

Prince Harry will visit Singapore in June. Photo courtesy: Facebook page of Prince Harry

Prince Harry, the younger brother of Prince William, will participate in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup - a charity that he had started together with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, according to a news release by the British High Commission on Tuesday.

The main purpose of the charity is to provide psychosocial support for children living with HIV in Southern Africa. This charity was established in 2006.

Prince Harry is the second son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and is fifth in line for the British throne.

After completing his trip to Singapore, Prince Harry will also travel to Sydney where he will be attending events to celebrate the Australian citys hosting of the 2018 Invictus Games.
Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif reunion project Tiger Zinda Hai heads to Abu Dhabi for record 65-day shoot

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif are set to light up Abu Dhabi after Morocco and Vienna. The team shooting Tiger Zinda Hai will be in the Middle East for a 65-day schedule from Thursday. This is the longest project for any film production in the city.

YRF & Abu Dhabi Collaborate On The Biggest Shoot Of #TigerZindaHai

Read more : https://t.co/P9XydNCuqW  #TigerZindaHai (@TigerZindaHai) May 1, 2017

The Yash Raj Films (YRF) project is a sequel to the blockbuster film Ek Tha Tiger. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, it features superstar Salman Khan and actress Katrina Kaif.

Salman said in a statement: Tiger Zinda Hai is a film of sizeable scale and context. Abu Dhabi, with a variety of locations, and gracious hosts, is ideal to shoot for a film like this one. I hope that the entire unit will enjoy our time here.

Katrina said, I look forward to shooting in eye-catching locations and on the impressive set here.

Work has begun on the construction of a 20,000 sq metre space for the movies sets. The set is being designed by Rajnish Hedao from Acropolis DMG, and over 150 workers will be on site to create the films main set, many of whom helped to build the Star Wars set in Abu Dhabi in 2013. The production unit will also film at several other locations around Abu Dhabi before moving onto the set.

twofour54s Film and TV Services division will provide production services for the movie, with a crew of 300. The UAE military has expressed its willingness to provide military equipment, including choppers, during the shoot.

The films director said, A film like Tiger Zinda Hai requires a certain scale, which we found in Abu Dhabi. Keeping all the practical measures in mind, the kind of support we got on the infrastructure was phenomenal. That along with some stunning real locations makes shooting in Abu Dhabi special.

"Its going to be huge," said Jassim Al Nowais, manager of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, of the sequel to Ek Tha Tiger.

Salman Khan (left) and Katrina Kaif on set. Photo courtesy: Yash Raj Films

"We usually work with the military for one week or two weeks maximum, but having a military with you for 65 days is a first," Al Nowais said. "He is using a local crew, he is using the hotels, he is using logistics of transport, you have the lighting companies, you have some drone companies, special effects, props company  a lot is going on."

The project benefits from a 30 per cent cash rebate from the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, applicable to production costs, travel and accommodation. That incentive is also credited for attracting the Star Wars movie, Furious 7, Bollywood feature film Bang Bang and the BBCs Top Gear.

Tiger Zinda Hai is expected to be in the cinemas in December around Christmas this year.
Christopher Howarth is a senior researcher working in the House of Commons. Prior to this he worked for Open Europe, as a Conservative Foreign Affairs Adviser and senior researcher to a Shadow Europe Minister.

Henry VIII is not remembered for his love of Parliamentary democracy. His original Henry VIII clause gave himself the power to legislate by decree. That, and a passion for extra-judicial executions, mark him out as a prime example of executive overreach. Henry VIII would no doubt be appalled by modern Parliamentary democracy.

He would also be perplexed that his name is now being attached to an arcane discussion surrounding the repeal and amendment of EU legislation. Not for him the checks and balances and Parliamentary oversight to be put in place by the Government. These make the power in the Great Repeal Bill unworthy of his name. He would no doubt have felt far more at home with the untrammelled power to rule by decree personified in S.2 of the European Communities Act 1972. Regulations with direct effect, bypassing Parliament, and directives that cannot be vetoed by Parliament, all brought in by secondary legislation: That would have been far more his style.

Henry VIII was a staunch but unprincipled Eurosceptic. A latecomer to the cause, he sought, in his early years, European titles, such as Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith), and indeed King of France. The power and wealth wielded by the Papacy was very attractive to him and he made great efforts to court its power. It was his failure, in the face the Holy Roman Emperor, to be able to use it to his own cause that made him change his mind.

Nor was he the first British Eurosceptic. Ever since the Romans declared Britain an Alter Orbis  Another World beyond the ocean  there was a school of ecclesiastical thought that stated that Britain was an equal to the powers of Rome. King Athelstan, perhaps the greatest of English kings, even had himself declared Emperor of the World of Britain in 928, consciously putting himself on an equal footing with the Holy Roman and Byzantine Empires.

Henry, however, developed into a staunch champion of English sovereignty, becoming the first to categorically state that England owed no allegiance to any higher legal authority. He instigated the prototype Brexit, breaking with the Church in Rome and its associated legal, financial and political integration. To help him, he had his own Brexit Secretary, Thomas Cromwell, who had to deal with many of the same legal issues we are seeing today.

His Statute in Restraint of Appeals of 1532 dealt with the issue of the superiority of European Law, forbidding legal appeals to Rome  stating for all to know that this realm of England is an empire, and so hath been accepted in the world, governed by one Supreme Head and king having the dignity and royal estate of the Imperial Crown of the same. From which you may deduce his view of Parliamentary sovereignty was rather different than David Daviss. Cromwell went on to put forward the original Henry VIII power: the Proclamation by the Crown Act 1539, by which the king was able to make law by decree.

The original Brexit also required a series of legal acts. The Church needed putting on a new footing, Bishops appointed and Monastic lands well, privatised. Henry VIII was not a man for opposition, loyal or otherwise.

So what is the modern day Henry VIII power? The White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill sets out the need first to transpose EU legislation into UK law, but also the need to amend certain parts of them to ensure they work in the new UK context. For instance, where there is a reference to an EU agency, the UK equivalent will need to be asserted. This is not controversial, and given there are around 19,000 EU laws it would be impossible to have a separate Act of Parliament for each one. Henry VIII clauses are not new; they have their root in legislation and are overseen by Parliament.

It is therefore curious that one necessary part of the Great Repeal Bill  the power to correct or repeal EU legislation by secondary legislation (rather than by full act of Parliament)  should be singled out by opponents of Brexit as controversial, or be given Henry VIIIs name.

Henry was many things: a defender of English sovereignty, a tyrant, a Eurosceptic convert. He was interested in power  power and money for himself. The key difference between his Brexit and the current Brexit is that the current powers, sovereignty and finance being repatriated from the EU are going back to Parliament. Henry VIII would not have understood that. He would not have seen the EUs powers to legislate without Parliament as in any way wrong. He would have coveted them for himself.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Police have warned both businesses and members of the public to be wary of gangs of armed robbers who have mounted a spate of heists, particularly in and around Harare - in a new crime wave that is targeting companies and homesteads.The warning comes as the dangerous robbers have also used detonators to rob a fuel station on the outskirts of Harare last week, among their other recent heists."Armed robbers are on the prowl and members of the public are therefore discouraged from keeping large sums of money in person, cars and business premises."Police are urging the public to deposit their money in banks and engage reputable security companies to guard their premises."The Zimbabwe Republic Police is concerned with the cases of armed robbery that of late have been occurring mainly at service stations and other business premises," national police spokesperson, Paul Nyathi, warned yesterday."We also urge the public to desist from travelling during the night, especially in isolated places, to avoid being victims of this heinous crime."The robbers target places where they know large sums of money are being kept, by pouncing on their unsuspecting victims. In most instances, they are armed with pistols or dangerous weapons," he added.Elaborating on the criminals' modus operandi, Nyathi said one or more of these lowlifes would enter the targeted places and point a weapon at people there, before announcing that a robbery was under way and stealing valuables.In one incident, on April 22 this year, five robbers wearing hoodies stormed a fuel station in Beatrice, holding hostage four employees at gunpoint, including a security guard.They subsequently broke into an office and blew open a safe using explosives, before escaping with $10 161.On April 26, Nyathi said, armed robbers also left a Chegutu man for dead after they attacked him with an okapi knife and machete, while he was on his way to Bosbury Mine.In another Harare incident at Hopley Farm in Waterfalls, a 40-year-old woman and her teenage daughter were attacked by two armed robbers while they were on their way to the tobacco auction floors.Analysts who spoke to the Daily News yesterday attributed the alarming rise in crime to the country's dying economy and the worsening poverty levels.Zimbabwe is deep in the throes of a debilitating economic crisis which has led to horrendous company closures and the consequent loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.At the same time, economists have said that poverty levels in the country are skyrocketing, with average incomes now at their lowest levels in more than 60 years - with more than 76 percent of the country's families now having to make do with pitiful incomes that are well below the poverty datum line.This comes as Zimbabwe has recently been officially ranked as the poorest country in Africa.According to the Africa 2016 Wealth Report, Zimbabwe has been ranked as the country with the poorest people on the continent, with average wealth of $200 per person.In the report, AfrAsia - a Mauritius-domiciled financial institution which once operated in Zimbabwe after acquiring the now-defunct Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited - noted that back in 2000, Zimbabwe was one of the wealthiest countries in sub-Saharan Africa on a wealth per capita basis.
News / National

by Staff reporter

ZIMBABWE Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke has urged the government to urgently order the police to desist from mounting countless roadblocks on major highways, saying they were tarnishing the country's image and frustrating foreign visitors.Speaking at a ceremony for Kenya Airways' inaugural flight to Victoria Falls yesterday, the ZTA chief said the roadblocks were making it difficult to market Zimbabwe as a competitive tourist destination.Kaseke complained that on a 21-kilometre drive from the resort town to the newly-refurbished Victoria Falls International Airport, he encountered four police roadblocks."The Vice-President himself, when I talked to him, he said that he was going to call the Home Affairs minister [Ignatius] Chombo, to really talk about this issue. The police roadblocks are making this destination unattractive. We cannot be attractive when, from Victoria Falls town to the airport, you have four roadblocks," Kaseke said.Looking directly at Transport and Infrastructure Development minister Joram Gumbo at the high table, who was the guest of honour, Kaseke remarked: "I know, minister, you were not stopped, but you saw the police, you saw them standing by the road. But I am not a minister; I was stopped four times. What were they [police] asking me? They were asking me about things that are not normally asked by any policeman anywhere else in the world. And I am simply saying that this is a big, big challenge."Victoria Falls mayor, Sifiso Mpofu, acknowledged the problem of countless police roadblocks."I was hoping you would say that the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority is going to relocate its headquarters to Victoria Falls, so that we fight the roadblocks together," Mpofu said.Kaseke hailed the Department of Immigration, saying its efforts were contributing to the development of tourism, noting that tourists from more than 50 countries, who previously needed to apply for visas before visiting Zimbabwe, could now be issued with visas at the ports of entry."The principal director of immigration, the head of immigration at the moment, is doing wonders. He has worked very closely with tourism and he has moved, during the previous year, more than 50 countries from category C to category B, meaning that these countries are now getting visas at the port of entry. We are working very closely.Transport minister Gumbo commended Kenya Airways for introducing the direct flight to Victoria Falls, whose international airport was recently upgraded at a cost of $150 million, enabling the resort town to attract world-class airlines."These newly introduced flights by Kenya Airways will go a long way in further boosting confidence in our country and easing the travel challenges of tourists and investors from Africa and other parts of the world. This is indeed welcome, given that the government of Zimbabwe has declared Victoria Falls a Special Economic Zone," Gumbo said.Kenya Airways group chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze, who arrived on the inaugural flight, said it would enhance connectivity, convenience and African integration."In addition to enhancing African integration, this new route will provide a boon for Zimbabwe's tourism industry as it establishes vital links between the majestic Victoria Falls and the tourism source markets in our global network," Ngunze added.Victoria Falls becomes the airline's 52nd destination and its second city in Zimbabwe after Harare, where it operates 21 flights weekly.The direct route is serviced by a 90-seater Embraer E-190 jetliner and connects Nairobi, Victoria Falls and Cape Town. On its way back from Cape Town, the plane returns to Victoria Falls before proceeding back to its Nairobi base.Kenya Airways becomes the third major international carrier within a month, after South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines, to introduce direct flights to Zimbabwe's premier tourist destination. Although SAA has been flying to Victoria Falls for years, it recently launched a 200-seater Airbus 330-200, the largest plane to ever land at the resort.
Opinion / Columnist

Serial Losers

Treason Cases Will Not Make You Go to State House

Missed Opportunity

Cry Babies

Elections Are Not Won in Court

Huge Crowds and Voting Is Different

Moral Values

Both Parties Have Been Infiltrated

Political Blunders

Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo is a development analyst and he holds a Masters in Development studies from University of Lusaka Zambia. He heads Mentorship Institute of National Development and Sustainability (MINDS) which is responsible for policy research and analysis. He can be contacted at greatorminds@gmail.com

Honestly this is a strong analysis on why both characters have been serial losers in their own countries. They were given the opportunity long back and they missed because they were dining with the enemy. As we speak Tsvangirai should be the president in Zimbabwe and Hichilema should be the president in Zambia but alas these are just sitting in the terraces. They lack strategy and they are very emotional when it comes to loosing elections. One mistake is they are digging their own graves politically, they think going to jail will make them popular yet people have different judgements. For Tsvangirai he is a better a seasoned guy than Hichilema, Hichilema is now finished politically.Honestly it's now boring for the electorate to keep seeing Tsvangirai and Hichilema on ballot papers, their time has passed its high time, their political parties should convey conventions urgently and elect new leaders. From my own experience as a political analyst if that is the case then these two parties will emerge victorious in their respective countries, but for now I can tell you no opposition in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Hichilema has been losing elections since Mwanawasa's time and Tsvangirai has been losing election since 2000 because of silly mistakes and his opponents took advantage of those mistakes. Honestly who can vote for someone who has been losing elections five times, these guys have done their best and I think they should pass the baton to others for the sake of smooth transition.As the case with Tsvangirai he faced treason charges way back in 2000 but that did not make him go to state house. People should stop fooling themselves. That is why Zimbabweans were fooled by baba va jukwa in the run up to 2013 elections and most of them didn't go to vote thinking Tsvangirai had won elections. These are wrong assumptions to think that Hichilema will go to state house because he was charged with treason. The issue of going to state house is totally different from being incarcerated in cells. Winning an election needs intellectual capacity not these fake prophecies coming from Guy Scot and others. In fact Hichilema s association with the likes of Scot has damaged his reputation, in fact he is so desperate to be in state house, now that his chance has passed, he is now behaving like an animal or a criminal, obvious for security reasons, the state has no option except to cage him for a while. He thought Lungu was so weak that he could not cage him, in fact if he is not careful he will spend another year in prison or so.Tsvangirai was given the opportunity to walk to state house in 2008, given that he won the election by 78% margin what made him flee to Botswana instead of mobilizing people to walk to state house or to refuse to enter into a run off? This was a great mistake I tell you. Whoever advised him to flee to Botswana made a very big blunder for the whole nation, we are in this situation because of that decision. No one was going to kill Tsvangirai had he walked to state house because it was his democratic right to do that. As for Hichilema it was a bit different. Hakainde Hichilema was supposed to win in 2015, and he missed the opportunity. In fact Hichilema supported Edgar Lungu to stand in 2015 thinking that he can easily defeat him not knowing that he was digging his own grave. In fact had Miles Sampa stood in 2015, Hichilema would have been the president by now. Hichilema made wrong calculations, he thought it was easy to defeat Lungu. Those wrong judgements have made them to be where they are today. They lack proper political judgements and whoever is advising them is not doing a good job because they are sinking politically.Both of them Tsvangirai and Hichilema are known for crying over spilled milk. Honestly someone is still talking of election petition in Zambia when constitutionally Edgar Lungu was sworn in before judges, heads of state and other constitutional bodies in the world and then who can reverse that? Hichilema was given two weeks to submit evidence and his election petition was thrown out because it lacked merit. In all the constituencies their election agents were present so what happened? The Africa union, SADC, EU, Common wealth and all the diplomats accredited to Zambia they endorsed the elections as free and fair so who is Hichilema in that scenario? Just because he was not declared the winner, then he should be heard? That's a very bad political move. In fact from the petition time up to now Hichilema has lost a quite a significant number of supporters because of silly political decisions. Hichilema should begin to mature politically and start to make strong political decisions. We told Tsvangirai in 2013 that the ground was not level for a free and fair election but alas he was very confident of winning the election and he was nikuved, and we saw Tsvangirai making countrywide trips telling his supporters not to accept defeat, but who listened to that? No one everyone respected the institution of the office of the president that is RG Mugabe period.The problem with these two fellas is that they want to cover their mistakes by blaming rigging and irregularities instead of blaming themselves. In fact Tsvangirai and Hichilema should meet and exchange notes on their mistakes if they are genuine to their supporters. We have no doubt that the two can pull huge crowds but their supporters do not go to vote that is their problem. Whoever told them that by now they will be in state house made a very big mistake? For you to be in state house you have to work hard for that office. You don't win elections in court but you must have grass roots connectivity and you should make sure that all your supporters are registered and people are on the ground working, campaigning.Both Tsvangirai and Hichilema can pull big crowds. They have a talent in pulling crowds but lack strategy of winning an election. Hichilema was supposed to have copied something from Michael Sata, Sata was very intelligent, he knew everything that happened in state house on daily basis and he had infiltrated all state institutions, and he had the intellectual capacity and that is what makes someone win an election. Crowds and ballot issues and counting and announcing is totally different. There are five areas which people should analyse here- Huge crowds- Election message- Ballot issue- Announcing of results- Going to state houseDon't assume that when you pull crowds then you are assured of victory no no, you have to go an extra mile to register victory.Failed to Produce Rigging EvidenceI've been analysing the two gentlemen and I saw that honestly we are not going anywhere. They wait for courts which is very unfair to supporters and those who will be campaigning for them. I remember in 2013 when Tsvangirai lost the election or even in 2008 he failed to produce evidence how he won the election. People were very disappointed. By losing senior cadres like Tendai Biti, Tsvangirai is heading for worse times. Biti was very instrumental in winning 2008 elections. If I were Tsvangirai he should be now wowed Biti back into the main structures and begin to work with him. The problem with these politicians they do not want to forgive and bury the past. Hichilema was busy making funnies in court during the 14 day period and nothing was produced and he gathered a bunch of lawyers which failed to yield results. He had over 21 lawyers in court and what happened? Nothing. You don't win election in courts, once you hear the final whistle its game over, go back to the drawing board and begin to make preparations for 2021. Tsvangirai should be clam and stop dictatorial tendencies and begin to talk to the likes of Biti's, Mangoma and others who left mdc long back.Both characters have a weakness in women. People respect morality in the office of the presidency. If you cannot control yourself then you are bound to loose what you want. We have heard all sorts of stories about Hichilema with women and the same with Tsvangirai. Most of those women who were around Tsvangirai and almost of all them they have left him because they have accomplished their mission. Morgan made a very big mistake of dining with the enemy. His political opponents used women to bring him down. Zanu Pf knows everything about Tsvangirai because of those women who were hanging around Morgan. Tsvangirai should have married someone from his own party but alas he chose to cross the floor and he are the results for him to see. All those women were gold diggers who were after him for money and information when they saw that Morgan is broke they ran away from him. The electorate is very cautious on moral issues, religious issues and they pay much attention to that. If you want to assume office of presidency you should start to practise good moral values. Hichilema boycotted all prayer programmes and he thought he made it not knowing that he gave his enemies a way to attack him and DE campaign him. Remember both Zambia and Zimbabwe are Christian nations.If I'm not mistaken both MDC and UPND have been infiltrated at their highest levels because of wrong political moves. Hichilema made a very big mistake of putting GBM, a former defence minister. Does Hichilema know what it means when you talk of someone who was holding a security portfolio before? GBM came to UPND to spy and nothing else. Lungu and GBM are just the same and he is on the mission to destroy Hichilema and UPND. He should have seen it long back, Lungu was a friend to GBM and both, and they held the defence portfolio and both were favoured by former late president Sata. UPND is already a weak party and it will be very difficult for HH to make crucial decisions because his highest party organ is already infiltrated. Coming closer home, as for Tsvangirai there is no more opposition to talk about because even his close lieutenants have questionable credentials. Most of them since they joined the Government of National Unity, they have questionable wealthy and they have amassed wealthy in dubious ways and my question is then why is not Mugabe arresting them? That's a very big homework for yourself. Find out for yourself.Hichilema made a very wrong decision to call Lungu a hyena. That was a very wrong move. In fact he has already made Lungu popular. They are those people who didn't like Edgar, now they will begin to like him. As for the treason issue, it's HH who was wrong. My first question why would HH force himself to that programme in Litunga. Why did HH go there? Whoever advised him to go there was very wrong, because for obvious reasons that was going to be a trap for him. The intelligence guys from Lungu's office studied HH long back and in fact HH S security team has long been infiltrated if you look at the unfolding of events you would find out that Lungu knew exactly all the move for HH. Many people think it was the other way round, but alas no its Lungu who knows HH's moves and his whereabouts. Lungu knows HH's weaknesses and he took advantage of that. Why did HH force himself to the top table, was it necessary for him to be at the top table? Will that make him popular? Why did he force himself to be seen by everyone? HH is a young boy and he wants to be seen by everyone that he is around, he needs to mature in politics. Why did carry himself with that big entourage? For what reason? What was those 60 vehicles? For what? Okay fine let's pause why did HH refused to stop along Mongu road? Why didn't he pave way for Lungu? Was that going to make him go to state house? In fact he has de campaigned himself. That was a political blunder. If HH wants to be in state house he should learn to respect the office of the president itself, despite that it is occupied by someone whom he has disputes with. In fact he was luck had it been countries like Zimbabwe we would be talking of something else. He is in prison now, everyone is mocking him and he already has criminal record on him which will bar him from ascending to presidency. As for Tsvangirai he made a lot of blunders which I think if he quickly correct them he stand a chance- Occupying highlands mansion- Appointing two vice presidents instead of one, moreover someone who lost at congress- Marrying women from his political opponents- Double dipping- Dining with the enemy- Avoiding electoral reforms whilst they had the capacity- Failure to account for election resource in previous elections- Lacking proper election strategy- Weak advisors- Listening to the last person- Lack rural support base
Jerez, which again hosts the first European MotoGP round of this weekend, was perhaps the toughest non-flyaway event for Michelin last season.

A lack of rear grip saw riders battle wheelspin at the Spanish circuit, where the best race lap time of 1m 40.090s was over 1.2s slower than the previous year with Bridgestone.

"Jerez is one of the tracks that we are targeting for improvements this season," confirmed Michelin's Piero Taramasso. "It is a low grip circuit, with many directional changes, as well as being quite narrow. The diversity of the corner layout means that we need to offer a tyre with a balanced character to provide good handling from low speed through to high speed corners and from flat turns to changes in elevation, so this makes it quite technical in all aspects."

Michelin's 2017 Jerez allocation will feature soft, medium and hard compound tyres front and rear. The soft and hard rears will have symmetrical compounds, while the medium features a harder right-hand-side.

The alternative stiffer front tyre construction, original planned for testing in Argentina, will then be among the options available during Monday's official post-race test.

"We have a range of tyres that will give us the sort of progress we are looking to make and then on the Monday at the test we will be supplying some new options, as well as giving the riders some existing alternatives to try out and make comparisons with the tyres we already have in the range.

"Jerez itself is an amazing event, full of excitable and colourful fans and it's a race that has given some memorable battles and is certainly a great place to start at in Europe."
As an admittedly distant observer of Puerto Rico's debt crisis, I do not find this turn of events terribly surprising. This is probably because I cannot shake the conviction that Puerto Rico's debt restructuring hinges on resolving its wildly muddled inter-creditor priorities--and that PROMESA is a giant big punt on that score. The law pays sanctimonious lip service to "respecting the relative lawful priorities" of Puerto Rico's debt, but fails to resolve any of the burning questions about what those lawful priorities might be. Almost a year into PROMESA rule, there is still no telling whether sales tax revenue bonds (Cofinas) or General Obligation (GO) bonds, which enjoy Constitutional priority, come out on top . Curiously, while the Cofina bond holder representatives appeared to welcome a bankruptcy filing, GO bond holders complained in public; however, their bonds still rose on the news that Title III was nigh

The price movements just might reflect collective wisdom that a statutory restructuring is inevitable, and we might as well get on with it. Better yet, maybe the courts will finally sort out the priority thing. My hunch is that it would be better for the Congress or the courts to address priorities head on than for Puerto Rico to exempt some subset of its bonds from haircuts ad hoc, in hope of creating a privileged contract it could then use to access the capital markets. Sovereigns tried to anoint the Brady Bonds and later the eurobonds as a privileged class in the 1990s, with the result that all the creditors piled into the bonds, and the bonds became too big to spare the next time.
Channel programs News

Intermedia Hires Polycom CMO To Spearhead Emerging Technology Sales, International Expansion

Michael Novinson

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Cloud business application provider Intermedia has landed Polycom's top marketing executive to drive hosted VoIP sales and facilitate expansion into the United Kingdom and Australia.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, No. 189 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, will task Chief Marketing Officer Jim Kruger with building up Intermedia's name recognition around channel partners and customers to help accelerate growth. Kruger spent 16 years at Polycom, where he has, for the past four years, overseen a $60 million, 160-employee worldwide marketing operation.

"There comes a time where you need to diversify your background," Kruger told CRN. "I wanted to get more experience and move into the cloud."

[Related: Intermedia Driving Partner Profitability With Broad Portfolio Of Cloud Security, Voice Services]

Nearly half of Polycom's revenue comes from outside the United States, and Kruger said Intermedia has an opportunity to grow from that perspective. Success outside the U.S. for Intermedia will be contingent on the company localizing its message to the U.K. and Australia, Kruger said, and providing key channel partners with the tools, collateral and messaging needed to grow Intermedia's share in those countries.

"No one has the breadth of offerings and the one-stop shop that Intermedia has," said Kruger, who will start at Intermedia on May 15. He replaces senior vice president of marketing Eric Weiss, who left Intermedia in October to take the CMO job at digital wealth management firm Personal Capital.

Kruger said he plans to learn where Intermedia is in the hosted VoIP space and assess how the company can expand its presence. Kruger has 16 years of experience at Polycom selling VoIP equipment and services with 300 service providers around the globe. He said he has a good sense of what types of go-to-market programs in the space work.

Kruger said he plans to focus on customer retention in the hosted VoIP, though he acknowledged Polycom's VoIP business was more hardware-centric while Intermedia's is more services-centric. As a result, Kruger said Polycom was typically selling VoIP into service providers like Comcast, RingCentral, and 8x8, while Intermedia sells its VoIP offerings into IT channel partners.

Intermedia also can do more with the messaging, positioning and packaging of its marketing efforts around security and file backup and sharing. Kruger said he need to ascertain which of Intermedia's 30 applications are selling well or are in growth markets and align his resources accordingly.

From a channel marketing perspective, Kruger said he wants to meet with Intermedia's top partners and identify their needs and market opportunities. He also wants to focus on helping smaller channel partners drive lead generation and greater awareness of Intermedia's solutions by providing turnkey marketing programs that solution providers can leverage without having to deploy internal resources.

Kruger said he wants to craft a plan that focuses on the top 20 percent of Intermedia's partners that are committed to making significant investments in the relationship. Intermedia has shifted from a predominantly direct sales model at the time of its 1995 founding to driving 70 percent of sales through a network of more than 6,000 solution providers, SVP of worldwide sales Eric Martorano said in March.

Kruger's said his top priorities include: building up a demand pipeline sufficient to help the sales team meet its goals; boosting the quality and quantity of media outlets Intermedia is getting into; and providing channel partners with the tools and investments they need to grow their business.

Some 99 percent of Polycom's sales go through the channel, and Kruger said he's eager to continue operating under a channel-friendly and channel-centric approach.

Intermedia's growth rate and 100-percent cloud offering across a wide variety of applications were appealing to Kruger. Although Kruger's budget and resources will be smaller at Intermedia  the company has annual sales of $200 million, as compared with $1.3 billion for Polycom in 2015  he said being at a smaller company will offer opportunities to do more guerilla marketing and be creative.

"I like small companies," Kruger said. "You can be a lot more agile and have a lot more impact."
Opinion / Columnist

"(There is) only one MP, there is only one councillor, and we cannot all be president. You cannot all be members of parliament. Neither can you be councillors. So we are all here because you want to use politics, as stepping stone, so that we create a conducive environment, where those who want to do business will do business and make money. I personally, I love a better life. You know, life is good man. But life can only be good when you have money in your pocket, because money speaks. We are all here because we want money. Without money we cannot anywhere guys, let's be honest with each other. We are in politics because we want money. Once we have money we are able to send our children to school."

Part of a speech given by MDC-T Vice President T. Khupe in the UK.The above speech has elicited wide ranging debate amongst citizens. Some have said there is nothing wrong with this statement while others have said this is wrong for our democracy. It is indeed a very conflicting statement and I shall try to look at it objectively here.First, lets us begin by defining politics. Politika is a Greek word that means affairs of the cities, notably and by extension, cities were inhabited by people. Thus the correct meaning is affairs of the people in a locale. So politics is the organisation and or management of affairs of people in a country or community. Affairs' cover all aspects of human interaction.Politics is practised by public servants. The common view is that one is a public servant when in government, but it is not so. A public servant is any person who is appointed or elected to a public office, regardless of whether they serve in government or not. So yes, that Burial Society Chairman you elected to office in your neighbourhood is a public servant. He is there acting for the good of the public. In essence, he holds your money and affairs in trust, trust that he will act in your interest according to set guidelines.Indeed from the very beginning, politics has conflicted people. One area of conflict has been that public servants as gatekeepers of set resources, must not use their positions to enrich themselves. In many instances, public servants are already rewarded in the form of a salary or retainer and other benefits when they take up office. So they should not use their position of influence to further create avenues to benefit for themselves. This has led to worldwide calls for politicians to declare their wealth before stepping into office especially Presidents.With these crude observations, I arrive at the above speech by VP Khupe. The speech was given to party members in the UK. I am not aware of the exact definition of party members here. Does this mean ordinary members or leaders of MDC-T structures in the UK? The tone seems to suggest leaders of structures were the main focus of the address.The first thing that must be said immediately is that there is nothing right about the statement, whether in context, general or particular. VP Khupe and any other public servant is remunerated by party for services rendered. The services are rendered in the form of creating a better Zimbabwe for all, whether they be MDC-T, MKD, Zanu PF and or independents. Notably, the money used to remunerate her and other apparatchiks comes from the hard sweat of card holding members and other sources such as donations to the party.As and when they get into government, the money to remunerate them will come from taxes. It will be very improper to tax citizens for politicians' welfare and then hog avenues for citizens to be productive at the same time. This effectively means citizens will be funding their oppression and disenfranchisement.When public servants use politics as a stepping stone to starting businesses and making money, it opens them up to various ills that we are fighting currently in Zimbabwe. They become susceptible to corruption, to bending rules to suit their interests, to closing investment until they have received a personal share, to ignoring public business and spend the day chasing their personal interests the list is endless. All this happens to the detriment of the people they are supposed to be serving. Notably, Strive Masiyiwa was a victim of this very mentality.In a country like Zimbabwe, one would think we have first-hand experience of these ills and therefore want no more as citizens, but alas. We are suffering the curse of the oppressed and we will even help our oppressor to oppress us, even if the oppressor no longer wanted to oppress. Most worrying, we will create the next oppressor because life without an oppressor is simply inconceivable. So, many supporters see nothing wrong with the statement and spend the day doing summersaults to defend such a wrong statement.The protracted fight against Zanu PF stems from the love of money. There is nothing wrong with loving money in business, which is where those who love money must be. Public servants must work for the good of all citizens, using their passion to build infrastructure, create investment and craft laws that make equal distribution of wealth, relative to work, a reality. When they gather in a room and talk of using politics as a stepping stone to make money, it simply is stinky.Certain questions arise. What is the difference between them and Zanu PF? So when they come into power, the traffic police will be worse than they are today? Is the corruption case in Chitungwiza a harbinger of things to come? Since they have little now, will they steal more than Zanu PF? Will they grab property from citizens arbitrarily since they will have the police on their side? How worse is this going to get? More murders, abductions and beatings by police when we protest?Citizens who are defending the above are growing a snake in the house and it will grow to bite us all in future. We must refuse and correct these perceptions even in our parties. It would have been great had someone stood up in that meeting and said, "Madam VP, this does not sound well, please explain." We have had 37 years of politics of self-enrichment. Surely by now we should say enough is enough.Lastly, a rising tide lifts all boats. So it is not enough for politicians alone to be wealthy in a sea of poverty. You will never enjoy that wealth because potholes do not discriminate. Drinking or bathing with contaminated water does not discriminate. But when politicians act for the good of everyone, incomes increase across the board and everyone enjoys a better quality of life. And that is the nascent definition of politics; to improve the quality of life of all people.Fungai Chiposi, Mr.A citizen and community development activist. You can shout at me on 0772867300. It's on WhatsApp.
Channel programs News

Infosys To Hire 10,000 U.S. Workers After Trump Administration Singles Out Company For H-1B Usage

Michael Novinson

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Infosys said it will hire 10,000 American workers and open four hubs focused on emerging technologies after the Trump administration cited the firm for its heavy usage of the H-1B visa program.

The Bangalore, India-based systems integrator said the Technology and Innovation hubs will focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud and big data. Infosys said the first hub is expected to open in August in Vice President Mike Pence's home state of Indiana, and will create 2,000 jobs by 2021.

"Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States," Vishal Sikka, Infosys' CEO, said in a statement. "We are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers."

[RELATED: President Trump Set To Sign H-1B Executive Order, Tata, Infosys, Cognizant In Crosshairs]

Infosys said it plans to institute training programs around user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data, digital and core technology and computer science skills to ensure American workers are fully equipped to support clients' digitization efforts. The company said it plans to hire both experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, local and community colleges.

The systems integrator said it will partner with universities including Stanford, Wisconsin, Cornell and Princeton for a global internship program, and U.S.-based startups at the forefront of innovation such as TidalScale, Waterline Data, Airviz and Trifacta. Infosys said its charitable foundation has provided computer science education and tools to more than 134,000 students and 2,500 teachers since 2015.

Infosys was one of three companies singled out during a Trump administration briefing last month for how it uses the H-1B skilled worker visa program.

"Companies like Tata, Infosys, Cognizant will apply for a very large number of {H-1B] visas  by putting extra tickets in the lottery raffle," the Trump administration official said, according to a transcript of last month's briefing. "You have contracting firms that are not skills employers, that often times use workers for entry-level positions, and they capture the lion's share of H-1B visas."

Infosys was the single biggest user of the H-1B visa program in the U.S. government's 2016 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, according for 25,405 visas and offering an average salary of $81,705, according to U.S. Department of Labor Data compiled by Myvisajobs.com.

Infosys paid the U.S. government $34 million in October 2013 to settle allegations that the company was having employees with B-1 visas perform work designated for H-1B visa holders. B-1 visa holders are only allowed to visit the U.S., participate in meetings and negotiate contracts.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to shift the H-1B visa program away from a lottery system weighted toward lower-wage workers to a system that prioritizes higher-skilled, higher-paid workers. The shift will make it much more difficult for outsourcing giants to replace American workers, according to the Trump administration.

"People, probably in their heads, think most H-1B visas are going to these romanticized, high-skilled firms that are pioneering the technology of the future  [and] not [to] contract workers," the senior Trump administration official said last month.

Reforms under consideration, according to a Trump administration senior official, include increasing fees for visa applications (to dissuade companies from applying for more visas than they plan to use), adjusting the wage scale to accurately reflect prevailing wages, and adjusting the lottery system to give master's degree holders a better chance of getting H-1B visas relative to bachelor's degree holders.

Infosys's sales for its 2017 fiscal year  which ended March 31  climbed above $10 billion for the first time, yet fell well short of projected revenue growth of between 8.6 percent and 9 percent. And revenue growth guidance of 6.1 percent to 8.1 percent for the coming fiscal year would make it tough for the company to hit its ambitious goal of $20 billion in sales by 2020.

The company's buildup of software-centric capabilities coupled with execution challenges could turn Infosys into an acquisition target for ISVs, according to research firm Technology Business Research.

"The traditional IT services model is dying, and they need to transform," TBR's Boz Hirstov, a senior analyst covering professional services, told CRN last month. "This year is going to be really critical for Infosys in terms of make it or break it."

Infosys is the second IT solution provider to make an American job creation pledge since Trump's election in November 2016. It comes some two and a half months after Dublin, Ireland-based Accenture, No. 2 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, promised to create 15,000 American jobs by 2020, open 10 new U.S. innovation hub centers, and invest $1.4 billion in training between now and 2020.

Technology vendors including IBM, AT&T, Intel, Amazon and Sprint have all promised since Trump's election to boost their investment in the U.S. job market and make additional positions available to American workers.
Networking News

Cisco To Acquire Viptela For $610M As It Looks To Take A Major Stake In SD-WAN

Joseph F. Kovar

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Cisco on Monday said it plans to acquire Viptela, a developer of software-defined, wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology, for $610 million in cash and assumed equity awards.

With the acquisition, Cisco is looking to place its stake in the cloud-based SD-WAN technology. The acquisition is slated to close in the second half of 2017.

[Related: 2017 Software-Defined Data Center 50]

Viptela provides SD-WAN technology to several Fortune 500 companies and carriers like Verizon. Its offerings include the vSmart Cloud-based SDN-WAN Controller to centrally manage routing, policy, security, segmentation and authentication of devices; vManage Network Management System for centralized configuration and management; and vEdge routers.

Once acquired, Viptela would be the third SD-WAN technology offered by Cisco. Cisco IWAN is an on-premises SD-WAN technology, and Cisco Meraki is a cloud-based SD-WAN offering with unified threat management capabilities. Cisco acquired Meraki in 2012.

Rob Salvagno, vice president of corporate business development at Cisco, wrote in a blog post on Monday that Viptela offers a cloud-first approach to SD-WAN with cloud orchestration and branch network management as well as overlay technologies.

Salvagno wrote: "With Viptela, Cisco can offer customers more choice in their enterprise branch offices and WAN deployments, with a compelling SD-WAN solution that is easy to deploy and simple to manage."

"Together, Cisco and Viptela will be able to deliver next generation SD-WAN solutions to best serve all size and scale of customer needs, while accelerating Ciscos transition to a recurring, software-based business model," Salvagno wrote.

Cisco said it expects to combine Viptela's cloud-first capabilities with Cisco's SD-WAN capabilities to accelerate the move to next-generation SD-WAN offerings.

The acquisition is a move that Cisco really needs to do, said a solution provider that works closely with both Cisco and Viptela.

The solution provider, who preferred to remain anonymous, told CRN that Viptela provides Cisco a quick score in the SD-WAN game.

There are at least 23 vendors in the SD-WAN market, and the one that is in most competitive situations is Viptela, the solution provider said.

"It's great to see Cisco recognize the move to SD-WAN," the solution provider said. "This is the tipping point for customers moving to SD-WAN. Viptela was ready to take a big part of the market held by Cisco. Cisco was late to the game and can compete in SD-WAN now. But while it is catching up, Viptela has been moving forward."

Viptela brings to Cisco a solution rooted in simplicity, which is key as customers look to deploy at scale while cutting back on operating costs, the solution provider said.

"Today, SD-WAN is not always a Cisco-first conversation," the solution provider said. "This acquisition is a big move for Cisco."

For Cisco, the acquisition provides a well-designed cloud-based SD-WAN technology, said Prashanth Shenoy, vice president of product marketing for enterprise networks at Cisco.

"Customers are looking to move SD-WAN to the cloud even as the SD-WAN market quickly grows," Shenoy told CRN. "IDC projects the total addressable market for SD-WAN to be $6 billion by 2020."

Unlike Cisco's current IWAN technology, which is focused on on-premises SD-WAN deployments, Viptela is focused on cloud-based SD-WAN, Shenoy said.

"Viptela is a cloud-first management and orchestration solution," he said. "It fits well with IWAN. This is an opportunity to bring them both together to provide customers with both cloud-first or on-prem technology."

The combination of IWAN and Viptela serves a different customer base than Cisco's Meraki offering, Shenoy said. Cisco Meraki is a full-stack solution with routing, switching, wireless, and enterprise mobility management as a completely integrated offering.

"Viptela is being used by Fortune 500 companies and service providers, especially those with complex deployments where Meraki may not be the best choice," he said. "For customers with broad, complicated deployments with a variety of technologies like MPLS, Viptela is the best."

Shenoy did not agree with the solution provider that Cisco was late to the SD-WAN market, and said that "late" was a pretty subjective term that depends on use cases.

"You have to see what customers want and whether Cisco provides the technology," he said. "Cisco with IWAN addressed the need for on-premises SD-WAN. Other vendors like Viptela offer other technologies."

Shenoy said that he cannot discuss integration plans for Viptela before the acquisition closes. However, he said, the integration can start immediacy after the close given that Viptela offers an overlay technology.
Focus On Education

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a new push to get Windows 10 into more K-12 classrooms, along with a new Surface device targeted at college students. Microsoft is seeking to make its operating system a better fit for K-12 schools with a simplified new version, dubbed Windows 10S. And the company is positioning its new Surface Laptop as a sleek and powerful device running Windows 10S. Both moves are aimed at ramping up competition with other key players  with Google's Chrome OS and Chromebooks in K-12 education, and with Apple's MacBook line among college students.

In the following slides, we've rounded up five key things to know about the Windows 10S operating system and Surface Laptop.
It may be time for a revision of, the customer is always right, at least in the financial sector.

That, Boston Police Detective Steven Blair told an audience of bankers at the Boston Feds 2017 Cybersecurity Conference on Monday, is because too many banking customers are fraudsters, who take advantage of the generally laudable desire of front-line employees to provide good customer service.

Attendees had heard Kenneth Montgomery, first vice president and COO of the Boston Fed, say earlier that cybersecurity is now, the number-one operational and enterprise issue for the financial sector. He said the worldwide costs of cybercrime are estimated at $3 trillion annually now, and expected to double by 2021.

Blair, who handles most of the white-collar and cybercrime cases in the department, said a significant chunk of those losses are coming in two cybercrime hot spots  business phishing emails and counterfeit credit cards. Were getting killed. Were chasing our tails, he said.

He called reports that credit card fraud is declining, fluff.

Its gotten to inner city kids, he said. Theyre buying them on the black market like crazy  1,000 at a time. They get all the numbers by email and then make their own cards. Business is booming.

Their success, he said, is because of another long-time reality  humans are the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain.

Were getting killed. Were chasing our tails.

Boston Police Detective Steven Blair

That weakness exists at two levels. The one that is better known is when an employee falls for a phishing email and either downloads malware into the company network, or wires money to a criminals bank account, thinking the instruction came from a bank officer.

The emails look really legitimate, he said, as if they come from the CEO or other high bank officer.

Blair said he handles 15 to 20 cases a day involving that kind of fraud, and spends a considerable amount of time contacting banks, pleading with them to send money back.

That, he said, is difficult because the receiving bank will generally ask for a hold-harmless letter from the bank that made the fraudulent transfer.

He said one of the largest banks in the region, which he called the evil empire, generally wont send out such letters. They tell customers theyre on their own, he said.

The other weakness is on display in customer service, he said, when fraudsters, walk in with a counterfeit drivers license. They say they left their debit card at home and need to do a wire transfer.

Customer service helps them out immensely, he said, with obvious sarcasm. They come in with out-of-state license for an out-of-state customer. They take $10,000 to $15,000 in cash, but also send $200,000 or $300,000 by wire, usually to the UK, China or South Korea.

He said thieves who know which account they are going to rob will even do some advance authentication work. Theyre pretty smart, he said. Theyll call customer service a couple of weeks ahead and change the phone number. Then if you call, youre getting the bad guy.

Blair said a lot of that fraud could be stopped if banks simply got more aggressive about authentication. Make a copy of every customers drivers license. Then you can pull it up to check. Yes, it takes up a lot of space, but weve got the cloud.

He also said bank service employees should do a more detailed check of the account information. If the phone number has changed recently, thats a red flag, he said, adding that they should also demand passwords and PIN numbers.

He said he is mystified that many banks wont change their policies because they dont want to alienate customers. Id be happy if my bank was a bit more diligent, he said.

Yet another depressing fact for victims, he said, is that even if a thief is caught, in Massachusetts, the law is that if he no longer has the money, he doesnt have to pay it back.

The only note of hope he offered was, If we get notified within 24 hours, we have a good chance of getting it back for you.

Otherwise, if you want to protect your money, dont lose it, he said.

What do you think? Head to our Facebook page to let us know.
Fraud is prevalent in our digital world. Unfortunately, in both our social and professional lives, we can't always trust that those who present themselves as authentic are actually who they claim to be.

Lots of end users have learned this truth the hard way, having fallen victim to social engineering, but these scammers are tangling wider nets of deception preying upon a new category of vulnerable targets--the job seekers.

A new blog/whitepaper from ZeroFOX, talks about the concept of recruiter scams. In short, hackers are impersonating company recruiters by using their logo and providing a contact form about job opportunities via email.

As soon as an applicant engages with the fake email address, the perpetrator will either try to extract Personally Identifiable Information or demand payment for an application fee.

As upcoming college graduates search the web for job opportunities, malicious actors are capitalizing on this trend by leveraging company recruiter scams across LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ platforms to breach applicants credentials and syphon money.

Recruiter impersonation fraud is a growing concern, said Brian Reed, CMO of ZeroFOX as these scams can cause damage to a brands reputation.

"Whats been evolving is that the bad guys come up with a million ways to attack across social media, which exists on this inherent notion of trust," said Reed. Despite understanding the cybersecurity risks in the digital work, when it comes to social media, peoples guards go down.

"They assume that these social channels are different from the web in that they are more protected, but bad guys are exploiting social media every way they can," said Reed.

They are exploiting social trust, and in these newest scams, "They tend to target two areas in recruiting, the younger folks or the job," Reed said.

With relative easy, they can create a fake recruiter identity, complete with company logo and employee names, and they engage with people to sign up and pay a fee.

"What they are technically doing is creating a fake email address that might look like the companys email. They create a fake profile on LinkedIn on Twitter, and there might be a number on the end, or they may create something like Chevron Inc instead of Chevron," said Reed.

They steal the logos and graphics, collect a cast of fake employees with fake LinkedIn accounts and fake email addresses, even fake connections.

"They find the real head of HR and then create a a fake version of this person and add her to the fake company account, which has a link to the fake website, that is also connected with the fake recruiter account," Reed said.

Then, they get to work posting jobs and actively engage with people who are looking for jobs by looking for people who have posted on Monster.com or other popular employment websites.

By posting fraudulent job links to LinkedIn and sharing communication, they are able to get users to send private information. Once they have made that connection, they then fast track the user into paying a small fee, said Reed.

The result is lost and stolen PII and credit card information. Data scientists, said Reed, "Have found hundreds of active recruiting scams, and they have seen pockets of patterns particularly in the oil and gas, transportation, high tech and telecom industries. While there are scams In every industry, the highest entities are in oil and gas."

They clone the big companies because that is where the money is, but there is also an inherent trust.

So, if I'm a job applicant, I want to follow the same rules of best practices that I would as a consumer of any other product across any other industry. "Make sure it's real. Look at the domain. Be wary of the link. When you get an email address, make sure its really for the company."

On the business side, though, organizations should be monitoring for impersonations and take that stuff down. "Look across social media for impersonators that could damage the brand as well as. Recruiting people should be monitoring for themselves to see if they are being impersonated, and security teams should monitor for impersonations of all HR employees," said Reed.

For a list of security recruiters that is not a scam, head to CSO's Security Recruiter Directory.
BOSTON - Not every bank has the money or the staff to do everything on the best practices lists of multiple regulatory agencies.

As one member of the audience at the Federal Reserve Bank of Bostons 2017 Cybersecurity Conference this week noted, it is much more difficult for the minnows to comply with all the guidance out there, than it is for the big fish.

But multiple speakers and panelists agreed that most financial institutions, no matter their size, can do the basics. And, if they do the basics, while it wont make them bulletproof, they will no longer be low-hanging fruit for cyber criminals.

But too many of them, said the Boston Feds Lead Security Systems Engineer Jasvinder Khera, aren't doing the basics, as evidenced by the low priority they put on information security.

In a presentation on the benefits of threat sharing, Khera said a survey of the more than 60 participating organizations found that 67 percent had five or more full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in IT, but 33 percent had zero information security FTEs and another 37 percent had only one.

Among other weaknesses, the survey found that only 37 percent of the participating organizations required users of their guest wireless network to enter a unique ID and password. The majority  54 percent - didnt require it, while the remaining 9 percent required only a passphrase, used a shared ID and password or were starting soon on an authentication program.

An overwhelming majority, 84 percent, used third parties for data processing or storage, which meant their security depended not only on their own security posture, but that of vendors as well.

Khera said improving security doesnt always have to be costly  that a policy change can have a major impact. He said a major topic at the groups first meeting was social media. He said the Boston Fed now blocks all employee access to social media  with a few exceptions like the public relations department.

Any change like this will produce resistance, he said, but it was worth it. The drop in malware was significant and immediate.

Speaking to other preventive measures, Khera suggested using automation as a means of flagging external emails in order to reduce the number of successful phishing attacks. It would help you think twice, he said, noting that criminals have become much better at overcoming skepticism by improving the apparent credibility of their phishing attempts.

Indeed, throughout the day there were several mentions of the most recent Verizon Data Breach Incident Report (DBIR), which found  yet again  that technology cant trump human weakness. It reported that 43 percent of data breaches came from phishing and 81 percent of hacking-related breaches succeeded because of stolen and/or weak passwords.

Other recommendations for covering the basics came during a session titled, Supervising Cybersecurity: Regulator Perspective.

Michael Flynn, an examination specialist in IT for the Boston area office of the FDIC, noted that the agency has produced 11 handbooks for examiners and bankers, covering a range of cybersecurity issues, and that also provide cybersecurity assessment tools (CAT). Again, most of it came down to basic cyber hygiene, including employee awareness.

Peter Chiola, bank information technology lead expert for the Northeastern District of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said that, phishing is more of a threat than zero-days."

Patch, patch, patch, Flynn added. Most attackers are going after low-hanging fruit. So understand what you have. If you have reasonable controls, you will reduce the target tremendously.

Holly Chase, of the Massachusetts Division of Banks, said all financial organizations should, start looking through cyber attack scenarios. You need an incident-response plan. The only way to make it effective is to walk through it, she said. You cant be scrambling around on a Friday afternoon and expect it to work.

Finally, former CIA officer Daniel Hoffman, in an earlier presentation on using a human intelligence model for cyber defense, noted that the humans can be an enormous advantage  even better than high-tech surveillance.

He cited Russian intelligence officer Oleg Penkovsky, who in an effort to prevent nuclear war between super powers, spied for the U.S. and Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was eventually caught, tried and executed in May 1963. (Also see 7 of the most famous spies.)

But Hoffman said he had, provided critically important intelligence during the Cuban missile crisis.

But humans, especially malicious insiders, can be just as damaging to US national security, he said, citing massive document leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden or former US Army private Chelsea Manning.

None of us wants to think we have malicious insider, he said. We didnt want to think that at CIA. But its true. So one good principle is need to know. Not everyone needs access to everything.

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Cardtronics has announced that Dan Antilley has been named its new chief information security officer (CISO). On May 30, he will replace the current CISO Jerry Garcia, who is retiring.

"Adding Dan's expertise and experience with one of the world's largest financial institutions further emphasizes our focus on establishing Cardtronics as the premier global ATM partner for financial institutions," said Steve Rathgaber, chief executive officer, Cardtronics, in a press release. "As an organization, we made a commitment to our customers and stakeholders that Cardtronics will be a leader in information security when we first established the chief information security officer role at our company four years ago. Dan is the right person to carry forward our commitment to bank-grade safeguarding of information and our technology."

As CISO, Antilley will be responsible for Cardtronics' enterprise-wide information security and technology risk strategy, with an emphasis on safeguarding company, customer and ATM user information.

Antilley has had a 16-plus year information security career at Bank of America prior to accepting the job at Cardtronics, which provides services for 225,000 ATMs in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. Most recently, he served as the company's senior vice president, Global Information Security Operations Executive, where he was responsible for all information security operations, leading a multi-site global team of 400 people based in the North America and Asia-Pacific regions. Antilley also holds multiple patents for systems and methods related to information security risk assessment.
May 2, 2017  A co-author of an early childhood education practice called Learning Stories will give two public presentations on her work in Ventura on May 8 and in Santa Barbara on May 9.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Studies, Annie White, EdD., arranged for New Zealand educator Wendy Lee to speak in California for the first time on Learning Stories, a practice that is being adopted in the U.S. and in countries around the world.

Lee is co-director of the Early Childhood Learning and Exemplar Project in New Zealand. She created Learning Stories with Margaret Carr, Professor of Education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. The practice was so effective in New Zealand that the Ministry of Education in New Zealand now uses it nationally to assess childrens learning.

Learning Stories is when teachers write narrative stories directly to the children to explain the childrens learning experiences, White said.

With Learning Stories, early childhood education teachers write to a student instead of about a student, using informal storytelling to document what he or she did that day in school. This is used to assess children birth through kindergarten, and it involves children, parents, and families.

In the past, early childhood education teachers had to complete dry, time-consuming observations for the state assessment requirements called the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP).

Our teachers were drowning because its so tedious, White said. It lacked engagement with the families. We restored joy into teaching and assessing children.

With Learning Stories, teachers write something like Henrys Bus, a teachers observations about how two-year-old Henry was coping with his new school.

At first he wandered around the room, the teacher wrote. Then he saw the (toy) bus and smiled. He walked over to it and sat down. Then, the teacher wrote to Henry: You know how to find comfort in what is familiar to you when you come to our school.

Then, the story is shared with parents and family, who add their own comments.

We are happy that Henry is able to comfort himself. It looks like transition to toddler class is going well, Henrys parents wrote.

The teacher then writes a paragraph about what the vignette means about Henrys development, and adds an element for curriculum planning, add people and buses and stories about buses to help Henry develop further.

Inspired by Learning Stories after a research trip to New Zealand, White developed Journey of Discoveries in partnership with a California Head Start Program. Her work, a prototype for a California version of Learning Stories, earned her a spot on the coveted 2015-2016 Simms/Mann Institute Faculty Fellowship.

Whites research project for the Simms/Mann Fellowship was to introduce Learning Stories to teachers at child development centers near homeless shelters in Santa Barbara.

Young children who are homeless and at-risk can be in jeopardy of not experiencing trusting, caring relationships with adults, White said. Thus, it is essential to examine possible ways to build secure relationships with infants and toddlers.

After Lees presentations, CSUCI students will present work they have done with children and Learning Stories in Santa Barbara County and Ventura County.

Lee will be speaking from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Monday, May 8 at Child Development Resources at 221 Ventura Blvd. in Oxnard. Spanish translation will be available.

On May 9, Lee will speak from 6 to 9:30 at the Santa Barbara Office of Education (SBOE), for CSUCI Goleta campus students. SBOE is the host and a partner of CSUCI for the presentation. CSUCI also partnered with UC Santa Barbara Child Development Centers and the Pacific Coast Association of Education for Young Children.

For this presentation, CSUCI is in partnership with the Ventura County Office of Education, Child Development Resources, Child Development Incorporated and Family Childcare Network.

To attend the Ventura County presentation, register at: https://vcoe.k12oms.org/eventdetail.php?id=128166

Priority registration will be given to CSUCI students. For more information, call Maritza Garcia at 805-437-1510 or email mgarcia@vcoe.org.

To attend the Santa Barbara presentation, register at:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reclaiming-or-voices-promoting-empathy-throughlearning-stories-tickets-33314812501

Priority registration will be given to Santa Barbara residents. For more information, call Joyce Stone at 805-964-4710 ext. 4473.
Activists opposed to the deportation of a Derby man from Guatemala blocked the doors to a federal immigration court in Hartford at 450 Main St. Tuesday, according to statements and video from organizers.

Nineteen individuals were arrested at the protest for disorderly conduct and criminal trepassing in the first degree, according to a press release on Twitter by Deputy Chief Brian Foley of the Hartford Police Department. Those arrested were from various areas throughout Connecticut. Six of the 19 people arrested were from out of state.
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BRIDGEPORT - The city is paying $65,000 to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by a police officer demoted last year in connection with a fake racist letter that was disseminated around the police department.

The City Council voted to approve the settlement for Sgt. Lonnie Blackwell Monday night.

Its a fair settlement, said Blackwells lawyer, Thomas Bucci. But it does not end the litigation regarding his demotion and his being taken off the captain eligibility list, he continued.

Bucci said Blackwell has complaints pending with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

City Attorney R. Christopher Meyer declined comment on the settlement.

Blackwell, the former president of the minority police organization The Guardians, was demoted from lieutenant to sergeant by Police Chief Armando Perez in November 2016 based on investigations by the state police and the citys Office of Internal Affairs that Blackwell allegedly conspired with former officer Clive Higgins to disseminate a racist hate letter in the Police Department in February 2015. While Higgins later pleaded guilty to criminal charges for the letter, Blackwell was not charged.

In January 2014, Blackwell filed a discrimination lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the city and the Police Department seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for retaliation he claims he suffered when he complained he was being discriminated in the department because he is African-American.

Blackwell, who has been a city police officer since November 2000, claimed in his lawsuit that as a result of his leadership of The Guardians combatting discriminatory employment practices in the Police Department he Has been subjected to harassment, ridicule and unfavorable employment practices.

These practices he claims include being the subject of two anonymous racist-themed letters that were sent to then-Chief Joseph Gaudett in 2012.

A March 3, 2012 letter to Gaudett from Concerned Officers, begins: This letter is being written to you after weve received numerous complaints regarding the freedom you have allowed Lt. Lonnie Blackwell.

The letter complains about the amount of salary and overtime Blackwell received, $125,000 in 2009, $152,000 in 2010 and $168,000 in 2011.

All this to further his race hustle as the president of The Guardians. Do you as the chief of police allow this to happen in order to appear as if you have solved the racial woes of the department? the letter reads.

A second letter dated March 13, 2012 to then-Assistant Police Chief James Nardozzi also from Concerned Officers, states: Blackwell is the most powerful person in the department. He does what he wants, when he wants and no one questions him. No one.

The chief of police and the assistant chief of police took no action, essentially condoning the racial hostility and harassment being directed at the plaintiff, the lawsuit states of the letters.
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DERBY  The smile never leaves Luis Barrios face as he relives the life he built for his family in these United States.

Look, this is Jessicas diploma, he says proudly holding her 2016 Derby High diploma.

His fingers quickly point out other highlights captured in photographs that line a four-sided mantle around a flat-screen Vizio TV in their living room.

A young Jessica, now a 19-year-old University of Bridgeport freshman, holds her even younger brother, Lester, now a Platt Tech mechatronics student. The twins, Cindy and Gabriela, now 11 and fifth-graders at Bradley School, drape their arms around each other. And a collage of this seemingly all-American family posed in various happy scenes is framed with the words: Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much.

Ill never forget when Jessica was young playing in their backyard, said Marylou Wagner, the Barrios next-door neighbor on Chestnut Street. I told her: You sure have a lot of fun things citing an above-ground pool, a swing set and two horses on springs. She said: My daddy wants us to be a happy family. 

Wagner paused before saying: That just struck me as being so beautiful. I never heard a child say anything like that. Ill never forget it.

But the happiness in the Barrios home is about to be torn away. Come 2 a.m. Thursday morning, Luis must leave his home of the past 25 years and return to Guatemala per orders of the Department of Homeland Securitys U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In Guatemala he has no family  his mother and sister are dead  no home and no job.

More News Activists arrested at protest opposing Derby mans deportation

Barrios, whom Wagner describes as a fantastic neighbor with the most polite children, is one of those citizens who has been living in the U.S. without legal permission. A U.S. Immigrations judge ordered Barrios to leave the U.S. in 1998 after he failed to appear at a hearing on his asylum request.

Barrios said thats because he moved and never got the notice.

He reappeared on immigrations screens after being stopped for a broken taillight in 2011. Until February, he was always given another years reprieve.

Now Barrios, a devout Catholic who attends Sunday Mass, Wednesday Bible study and Friday prayer services at St. Louis Church in West Haven, can only hope God, pleas from Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, all D-Conn., or a last-ditch effort by his lawyer, Erin ONeil-Baker, keep him here.

On Monday, nearly 100 people demonstrated on Barrios behalf outside the Abraham Ribicoff federal building in Hartford, which houses the immigration service and courthouse, according to the Hartford Courant. Nineteen people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass after ignoring repeated Hartford police orders not to block the entrance, the Courant reported.

Although Barrios remains optimistic someone will intercede, hes also realistic.

I have my ticket, he said, as Coco, his 8-year-old Shih Tzu stays by his side. It cost him $400 for the one-way trip to Guatemala, where nothing awaits.

When youre 50 years old its hard to get any work there, said Claudia Garcia, his niece from Norwalk. Theres no work there.

Ill find something, said a hopeful Barrios, who has been cleaning out septic systems for Pease Septic in Newtown. I have to. I want my children to go to college. I want my family to keep this home.

Meanwhile, Lester said he and his sister Jessica, who was taking final exams at UB, were prepared to get jobs. Their mother, Dora, is looking for more homes to clean. And the family is hoping to avoid the worst.

Without Luis income they fear losing their house on this quiet, carefully manicured street of single-family homes off Marshall Lane.

Its not an option, said Lester. We can ask family members for help, but they can only do so much. If we lose the house, I may have to move in with my godparents in Stratford so I can continue to go to Platt.

Late Tuesday night, family members began showing up for what could be a last supper in the Barrios home.

Its sad, said Garcia. We just have to have faith in God.

As Wagner leaves, she promises to pray for Barrios. She tells Dora to come over if she ever needs anything.

This is wrong, she said. Its a terrible shame.
BRIDGEPORT  For the second time in six months  with a city budget to finalize and just days after announcing he will explore a bid for governor  Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim is in the Middle East.

The trip was not made public by the mayors office. Hearst Connecticut Media learned about it after making several inquiries Monday about the mayors absence from the City Council meeting, which he normally runs.

Ganim spokesman Rowena White could not be immediately reached Monday night for details of the trip. Hearst was told by sources that Ganim  who is Lebanese and has relatives there  was in that country in his official capacity for city business.

He also recently had a death in the family  the council held a moment of silence for his uncle. It was not clear if that was somehow a factor in the trip as well, although the mayors uncle was a lifelong Stratford resident.

In November Ganim participated in a trip to Israel sponsored by the International Conference of Mayors and the American Jewish Congress. His office at that time said the city footed his $750 airfare but other expenses were covered by the host organizations.

Ganims parents joined him in Israel, but paid for themselves, according to the city.

The mayor at the time claimed that it was a great opportunity for him to make valuable business and political contacts.

The visit to Lebanon comes at an odd time given the mayor has plenty on his plate both in Bridgeport and statewide.

Ganim last Thursday announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to weigh a run for governor in 2018. Incumbent Dannel P. Malloy is not seeking a third term, leading to an open race that Democrats and Republicans are rushing to join.

Ganims ambitions for higher office are no secret. During his first 12 years running Bridgeport from 1991 until he was toppled by a corruption probe in 2003, Ganim pursued the gubernatorial nomination, then was a candidate for lieutenant governor.

But it has only been a year and six months since voters in 2015 granted his request for a second chance and gave Ganim his old job back.

This is also the final full week for the City Councils Budget Committee to revise the proposed $542 million municipal proposal that the mayor presented them in early April. The full council must vote on a budget and forward it to Ganim by next Tuesday.

Were doing our work on the budget. Its what he gave to us. Were just going to do what we have to do, said Councilman Scott Burns, a budget committee chairman.  If hes out of the country, hes out of the country. So be it.

Ganim has done plenty of traveling since returning to City Hall. Before the journey to Israel, he was at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami, FL., a National League of Cities conference in Washington D.C., another Conference of Mayors event in Indianapolis, Indiana., the national Democratic Partys presidential candidate nominating convention in Philadelphia, PA, and Ecuador in South America for a United Nations Conference.
BRIDGEPORT  For the second time in six months  with a city budget to finalize and just days after announcing he will explore a bid for governor  Mayor Joe Ganim is in the Middle East.

The trip was not made public by the mayors office, even though Ganim, a Democrat, has pledged to run a transparent City Hall. Hearst Connecticut Media learned about it after making several inquiries Monday about the mayors absence from the City Council meeting, which he normally runs.

And even after his trip became known, his office was still unwilling to provide all but the sparsest of details Tuesday. Rowena White, Ganims spokesperson, said in a brief statement that the trip was personal and the mayor would be back Friday.

White said she did not know when he left. Ganim was in Connecticut Thursday evening to tape the Face the State political program in Rocky Hill that airs Sundays on WFSB Channel 3. And the mayors office at the start of the week issued a schedule of events he might attend.

Planned absence

Ganim is Lebanese and has relatives there. But some sources said they understood he was in Lebanon for a conference.

In November, Ganim participated in a trip to Israel sponsored by the International Conference of Mayors and the American Jewish Congress. His office at that time said the city footed his $750 airfare but other expenses were covered by the host organizations.

Ganims parents joined him in Israel, but paid for themselves, according to the city.

At the time, the mayor claimed it was a great opportunity for him to make valuable business and political contacts.

The latest trip to the Middle East had been planned for at least a week and a half. City Council President Thomas McCarthy was one of the very few who was told about it. McCarthy said Tuesday said the mayor had informed him he would be out of town, and asked him to preside over the council meeting and fill in at other appearances.

Did he tell McCarthy where he was going?

He did not, McCarthy said. Im not sure where he is.

The visit to Lebanon comes at a time when Ganim has plenty on his plate both in terms of running Connecticuts largest city and his political future.

Last Thursday, he announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to weigh a run for governor in 2018. That was one of the reasons he appeared on Face the State. Incumbent Dannel P. Malloy is not seeking a third term, leading to an open race that Democrats and Republicans are rushing to join.

Ganims ambitions for higher office are no secret. During his first 12 years running Bridgeport, from 1991 until he was toppled by a corruption probe in 2003, Ganim pursued the gubernatorial nomination, then was a candidate for lieutenant governor.

A year and six months ago, voters granted Ganims request for a second chance and re-elected him to his old job. He has also begun fundraising for a 2019 mayoral re-election bid.

Budget decisions

This is also the final full week for the City Councils Budget Committee to revise the proposed $542 million spending plan that the mayor presented them in early April. The full council must vote on a budget and forward it to Ganim by next Tuesday.

The plan is controversial. Though it holds the line on taxes, critics argue it cuts nearly $3 million from the struggling school district. Meanwhile, the proposed budget it relies on $18 million in state funds, much of which may evaporate because of the ongoing state fiscal crisis.

Were just going to do what we have to do, said Councilman Scott Burns, a budget committee chairman.  If hes out of the country, hes out of the country. So be it.

McCarthy said that if Ganim is back Friday, the mayor will have time, should the council need to discuss the budget with him before voting by the Tuesday deadline.

Retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez, a community activist and critic of the mayors, said, It seems to me that so many major decisions have to be made right now, and we need the chief executive of the municipality to be here.

And Maria Pereira, a member of the Board of Education, who aided Ganims comeback but has since become a fierce critic, said the mayor should be up in Hartford every day helping to lobby for as much state money as possible for the school district.

She said it also would have been helpful to have Ganim in town at Mondays council meeting, when that group debated and voted down the Board of Educations proposal to relocate the Classical Studies Academy magnet school to the Catholic Center on Jewett Avenue in the North End.

I dont think hes really engaged or interested in being the mayor, Pereira said.

Ganim has done plenty of traveling since returning to City Hall. Before Novembers journey to Israel, he was at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami, a National League of Cities conference in Washington D.C., another Conference of Mayors event in Indianapolis, the national Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia, and Ecuador in South America, for a United Nations Conference.

White did not respond to a request for other trips Ganim has taken between those to Israel and Lebanon.
WESTPORT  April showers bring May flowers, while on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Greens Farms neighborhood those who live in the 14-room colonial house at 25 Flower Farm Circle will feel like flowers are blooming at this address year-round.

The 6,598-square-foot house sits on a level property of 1.52 acres on a small portion of what years ago was a large flower farm; hence the street name. When the house was built in 2007 it was given four finished living levels and spacious yet intimate-feeling rooms. It was also given an open floor plan, reclaimed antique wide-board wood floors, custom millwork, coffered ceilings and elegant, timeless architectural details. It has traditional and modern elements, and it was designed as a modern farmhouse.

The original owners have continuously upgraded inside and out, adding more than $300,000 in improvements including the new Gunite heated salt water swimming pool and spa, new exterior lighting and landscaping around the pool, new outdoor fireplace, new pergola, and new privacy fencing. There is also a whole house natural gas generator, a whole house integrated phone and intercom system, and the master suite and pool area are wired for sound.

The entrance to this property is marked by stone pillars topped with lanterns that lead up the long, paved driveway lined in Belgium block and to the taupe-colored wood and stone house with black shutters and white trim. The long covered front porch has a line of columns, and the front door is framed with sidelights and a transom. The door opens to the two-story foyer.

More Information ABOUT THIS HOUSE STYLE: Colonial ADDRESS: 25 Flower Farm Circle PRICE: $3,499,000 ROOMS: 14 FEATURES: 1.52-acre level and gently sloping property, located on a cul-de-sac, proximity to Greens Farms train station, Gunite heated in-ground salt water swimming pool, spa, bluestone terrace, new outdoor fireplace, pergola, short drive to local beaches, easy commute to Post Road (Route 1) shops and restaurants, generator, new privacy fencing, ridge vents, Thermopane windows, four fireplaces, audio system, central vacuum system, skylights, some window treatments, balcony, exterior lighting, porch, sprinkler system, wood shingle roof, three-car attached garage, walk-up attic, full finished basement, zoned gas heat, five bedrooms, seven full and one half baths SCHOOLS: Greens Farms Elementary, Bedford Middle, Staples High School ASSESSMENT: $2,120,200 MILL RATE: 16.86 mills TAXES: $35,747 HOA: $750 See More Collapse

In the formal living room there is a fireplace. The formal dining room has wainscoting on the lower walls. The gourmet eat-in kitchen features a long center island with a beveled wood counter, granite perimeter counters, a tumbled marble backsplash, built-in desk area, and high-end appliances including a Viking Professional six-burner range and Sub-Zero refrigerator. Between the kitchen and dining room is a butlers pantry. It has two counter spaces topped with granite, glass-front cabinets and a beverage refrigerator.

A coffered ceiling crowns the family room, which also has a fireplace with a hand-hewn beam mantel flanked by French doors to the patio and yard. There is a wall of built-in bookshelves and cabinetry. One door leads from the family room into the three- season sunroom and another door leads into a library. French doors in the library also access the sunroom.

On the second floor there are French doors into the master bedroom suite where there is a marble fireplace, tray ceiling with a double border of crown molding, and built-in bookshelves. A door leads to a private balcony. The luxurious master bath features a tumbled marble radiant heated floor, marble vanities, jetted tub, large steam shower with multiple jets, and water closet. There are three other bedrooms on the second floor, all of them en suite. One of these bedrooms has its own sitting area. A fifth bedroom, also en suite, is found on the third floor. It has a skylight and wall-to-wall carpeting. A built-in homework station has three desk areas and built-in cabinetry.

In the cavernous full, finished basement there is wall-to-wall carpeting and very high ceiling. There is also an au pair room and plenty of space to create a wine cellar.

For more information or to make an appointment to see the house contact Patricia Prenderville of William Pitt Sothebys International Realty at 203-984-9423 or pprenderville@william

pitt.com.
Reports Suggest Sony May Drop PS5 Next Year

Everything We Know About The Rumored Sony PS5

How time does indeed fly. A mere four years ago, consumers were giddily unwrapping their brand spanking new PlayStation 4 consoles, after nearly a decade of making do with their old PS3s. Since then, Sony has shipped over 60 million units worldwide, and its predicting another 18 million will be sold by this time next year.

Sales were helped with innovations and upgrades like the PS4 Slim and the PS4 Pro. But to stay ahead of the curve, Sony has constantly look in the mirror, and something big is looming.

The something is Xboxs Project Scorpio. Announced last month, Scorpio is designed to be a future-proof (for now) and hugely powerful new console that is specifically designed to meet the potential in 4K Ultra HD TVs, among other whizzes and bangsincluding compatibility with the Xbox One. Graphics and gear nerds are expected to go ape.

If Sony announces anything related to PS5 it is only info to steal a little thunder from #Scorpio and try to keep Sony fans on the brand  Newf Nukea (@NewfNukem) May 2, 2017

But Sony is currently well ahead of Microsoft in capturing the 4K market. Its PS4 Pro was launched last November to very good reviews, and overall the PS4 has been outselling Xbox by a healthy marginso much so that the many are claiming that Sony won this generation of console wars. So why in the world is a respected industry analyst suggesting that Sony may launch a brand next-gen PlayStation by the second half of 2018?

As reported by the Wall Street Journal (sub required), Macquarie Capital Securities analyst Damian Thong is predicting that Sony is gearing for a major release sometime late next year. That could possibly be a brand new console: the PS5.

This is getting industry analysts interested and gamers glumly contemplating dropping yet more hundreds of dollars for a couple of reasons: first, because a reputable outlet like the WSJ is reporting it, and because Thong also correctly predicted the release of the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro, says Forbes.

But before you decide to junk your PS4 and sell off your library, keep this in mind: there is an awful lot of chatter suggesting that Sony is simply going to release yet another upgrade. And Manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft are starting to really rein in big bucks with online sales of games  as Uproxx notes, in 2016, the PlayStation Store made more in sales than all of Nintendo.

This what people that have PS4 think about Sony coming out with a PS5 pic.twitter.com/NQaa7LqlAg  TripleCup Chuck (@xxxcupchuck) May 2, 2017

So while few are disputing Thongs warning to expect big things from Sony sometime next year, there isnt a lot of anticipation of an entirely new console. But no one is expecting Sony to take the arrival of the Xbox Scorpio lying down.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. VICTORIA LANEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THOMAS RAY SLATEN, JR., LARSEN AND ASSOCIATES, P.L., JILL JORGENSEN, SOUTHWEST PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, INC., ROBERT MCKEY, et al., Defendants-Appellees, JIM RYGH, Defendant. No. 16-10765 Decided: May 01, 2017

Before MARTIN, JULIE CARNES, and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges.

Victoria Laney appeals the district court's dismissal of her claims against Jill Rygh, Southwest Property Management of Central Florida, Robert McKey, and The Hammocks Homeowner's Association of Orange County, Inc. (collectively, the Hammocks defendants). The district court held that Laney failed to state a claim against the Hammocks defendants under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), Fla. Stat.  501.201 et seq.; the Florida Consumer Collections Practices Act (FCCPA), Fla. Stat.  559.55 et seq.; the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C.  3601 et seq.; and the Florida Fair Housing Act, Fla. Stat.  760.20 et seq. Laney also appeals the court's announcement that it would award sanctions against her under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. After careful review, we affirm the district court's dismissal of Laney's complaint and dismiss her appeal of the sanction issue as moot.

I.

Laney is a homeowner and resident in The Hammocks, a deed-restricted community in Ocoee, Florida. As a homeowner in the community, Laney is a member of The Hammocks Homeowners Association of Orange County (the Association). Laney used to serve on the Board of Directors for the Association, but was recalled by the Association on June 2, 2008. After the recall, Laney filed a Petition for Arbitration with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations, Division of Condominiums, Time Shares, and Mobile Homes to challenge the Association's recall. The arbitrator found in favor of the Association and awarded the Association attorneys' fees. To enforce this award against Laney, the Association filed suit in Florida state court. The state court enforced the arbitration award in two orders dated February 24 and June 21, 2010.

In September 2014, Laney filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the Florida state court. In the petition, Laney said she had sent the Association a check soon after the arbitration, but that the Association never cashed it. She also alleged the Association's collection efforts were improper and asked the court to retract the discovery order about her assets. The Florida state court denied Laney's petition on October 15, 2014.

Laney filed this action in federal court on April 27, 2015. Although Laney initially proceeded pro se, she hired an attorney, Scott Siverson, shortly after filing her federal complaint. With the assistance of her counsel, Laney filed an amended complaint on July 13, 2015. She alleged that Rygh, the property manager, distributed a letter from Slaten, the Association's lawyer, at the annual membership meeting of the Association, which at least 68 homeowners attended. Laney also said McKey, the president of the Board, read the letter aloud at the meeting. The letter, dated February 26, 2014, contained information about Laney's debt and the Association's efforts to collect those debts. Laney says the letter was humiliating, factually inaccurate, and caused her neighbors to be exceedingly unkind to her. She also claims that on April 29, 2014, Southwest Property posted on its website the past due amounts she owed the Association. Laney says this has never been done to any other homeowner in the Hammocks. Finally, she alleges that Southwest Property and the Association considered her emotionally or mentally ill, and claims the Association, through Slaten, caused her arrest and unlawful incarceration.

Based on these allegations, Laney brought four claims against the Hammocks defendants. The district court dismissed all four with prejudice. The court also sanctioned Laney and her attorney, Siverson, under its Rule 11 and inherent powers after finding the case frivolous given the previous state court litigation. The district court instructed the parties to submit information about the amount of fees and costs due to the Hammocks defendants, as well as any objections. Laney appealed the district court's order.

Since the district court issued its order, the Hammocks defendants and Siverson reached a settlement with regard to the sanctions award. Siverson paid the Hammocks defendants to settle this part of the district court's order. Laney, however, never agreed to nor signed the settlement documents. On appeal, Laney is proceeding pro se.

II.

We review de novo the district court's grant of a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, accepting the factual allegations in the complaint as true and construing all inferences in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Glover v. Liggett Grp., Inc., 459 F.3d 1304, 1308 (11th Cir. 2006) (per curiam). We review for an abuse of discretion the district court's imposition of Rule 11 sanctions as well as the decision to award costs to the prevailing party. Nicholson v. Shafe, 558 F.3d 1266, 1270 (11th Cir. 2009); Mathews v. Crosby, 480 F.3d 1265, 1276 (11th Cir. 2007). This Court also liberally construes pro se pleadings and briefs. Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 2008) (per curiam); Boxer X v. Harris, 437 F.3d 1107, 1110 (11th Cir. 2006).

A.

Laney first argues Counts II and III should not have been dismissed by the district court based on the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine prohibits federal district courts from reviewing state court final judgments, because that is the role of state appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Casale v. Tillman, 558 F.3d 1258, 1261 (11th Cir. 2009) (per curiam). It is confined to cases  brought by state-court losers complaining of injuries by state-court judgments rendered before the district court proceedings commenced and inviting district court review and rejection of those judgments. Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 284, 125 S. Ct. 1517, 152122 (2005). The doctrine applies when:

(1) the party in federal court is the same as the party in state court; (2) the prior state court ruling was a final or conclusive judgment on the merits; (3) the party seeking relief in federal court had a reasonable opportunity to raise its federal claims in the state court proceeding; and (4) the issue before the federal court was either adjudicated by the state court or was inextricably intertwined with the state court's judgment.

Storck v. City of Coral Springs, 354 F.3d 1307, 1310 n.1 (11th Cir. 2003) (quotation omitted). A federal claim is inextricably intertwined with a state court judgment when it would effectively nullify the state judgment or would succeed[ ] only to the extent that the state court wrongly decided the issues. Casale, 558 F.3d at 1260 (quotation omitted).

Laney's claims against the Hammocks defendants under the FDUTPA in Count II and the FCCPA in Count III are barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The state court decisions in the record are final judgments, concerning the same parties, and are inextricably intertwined. See id. The record shows Laney's allegations in Counts II and III concerned the same conduct as the allegations in her state court proceedingsprimarily, the Hammocks defendants' attempts to collect attorneys' fees from her. If Laney were to win on her FDUTPA or FCCPA claim in federal court, this would effectively nullify the state court's decision that the Hammocks defendants' debt collection practices were permissible under Florida law. And the record also shows the state court fully adjudicated Laney's claims regarding these practices. Because Laney's claims in Counts II and III are therefore inextricably intertwined with her previous state court proceedings, and because she could have raised her FDUTPA and FCCPA claims there, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine applies and bars Laney's claims from consideration in the district court. See Storck, 354 F.3d at 1310 n.1; Casale, 558 F.3d at 1260. We affirm the district court on its ruling as to these claims.

B.

Laney also argues her claims in Counts IV and V should not have been dismissed by the district court for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). To avoid dismissal, a complaint must allege enough facts to state a claim that is plausible on its face. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1974 (2009). Thus, a plaintiff must offer factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009). A recital of the elements of a cause of action, supported only by conclusory statements, is not enough to adequately plead a claim. Id. at 67879, 129 S. Ct. at 194950. Count IV of Laney's amended complaint is based on the federal Fair Housing Act, while her claim in Count V is based on the Florida Fair Housing Act. These two statutes are substantively identical, and therefore we apply the same legal analysis to each. Bhogaita v. Altamonte Heights Condo. Ass'n, 765 F.3d 1277, 1285 (11th Cir. 2014).

Laney alleged that she was a member of a protected group under both statutes because the Hammocks defendants collectively perceived or regarded [her] as being emotionally or mentally impaired or ill. She points to 42 U.S.C.  3602(h) of the Fair Housing Act to argue that mental handicaps are protected under the statutes. But she does not allege how the Hammocks defendants' conduct in any way impacted her accessibility to housing nor how they refused to permit reasonable modifications for handicapped persons. See 42 U.S.C.  3604(a), (f). Neither does the complaint allege any sort of injury from the Hammocks defendants' alleged discrimination other than her personal interactions with the Association. Thus, Laney did not plead enough facts to state a plausible claim for relief under the federal Fair Housing Act, and by extension, the Florida Fair Housing Act. See Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S. Ct. at 1974; Bhogaita, 765 F.3d at 1285. We affirm the district court's ruling as to these claims as well.

C.

Laney finally appeals the district court's imposition of sanctions against her. However, we need not decide whether the district court's decision to award attorneys' fees and costs to the Hammocks defendants was proper. Siverson, Laney's attorney in the district court, paid the Hammocks defendants, so they say the sanctions award is moot. They have confirmed to this Court that they no longer seek any amount of sanctions from Laney. Siverson also agreed the paid sum will not be returned even if the award of sanctions were to be reversed on appeal. Therefore, this issue no longer presents a live controversy with respect to which the court can give meaningful relief. Christian Coal. of Fla., Inc. v. United States, 662 F.3d 1182, 1189 (11th Cir. 2011) (quotation omitted). This portion of Laney's appeal is dismissed as moot.

AFFIRMED IN PART AND DISMISSED IN PART.

FOOTNOTES

. Laney first identified Rygh's last name as Jorgensen. This mistake has since been corrected, but the case caption retains the style first used in the complaint and by the district court.

. Laney also brought claims against two other defendants in this case. They have settled separately from this appeal.

. The Hammocks defendants argue Laney has abandoned any challenge to the dismissal of her complaint with prejudice because her brief's statement of the issues refers only to the sanctions award. However, Laney's brief makes it quite clear that she is challenging the district court's dismissal of her claims. And in any event, we liberally construe pro se briefs. Timson, 518 F.3d at 874.

. This doctrine is named for the two Supreme Court cases that created it: Rooker v.Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413, 44 S. Ct. 149 (1923), and District of Columbia Court ofAppeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 103 S. Ct. 1303 (1983).

. To the extent Laney challenges the district court's consideration of extraneous materials on a motion to dismiss, we affirm as well. The district court was free to consider any documents attached to a motion to dismiss so long as each was (1) central to the plaintiff's claim and (2) undisputed. Day v. Taylor, 400 F.3d 1272, 1276 (11th Cir. 2005). The state court records in this case met both requirements.

PER CURIAM:
It might take a few days to see unofficial results in Pa. Here's why

politics
Nowadays, we think of Benn, and his rival Denis Healey, as big beasts

Are our current politicians duller and more pedestrian than any that has gone before?

To most of us, May, Corbyn and Farron seem very humdrum, pathetic shadows of the great beasts of yesteryear.

But it was ever thus. A century ago, the clever young Max Beerbohm despaired of his contemporary politicians.

Look at them, hark at them, poor dears! he wrote, after visiting the House of Commons.

See them clutching at their coats and shuffling from foot to foot in travail, while their ideas  ridiculous mice, for the most part  get jerked painfully out somehow and anyhow.

This was 1909. Winston Churchill and Lloyd George were among those on the front benches. Future generations would look back on them as the giants against whom their own MPs would pale in comparison.

As a public speaker he is, compared to Winston, like a village fiddler after Paganini, the diarist Harold Nicolson said of Clement Attlee. Hes now regarded as the greatest of the post-war PMs.

No one ever thinks their own lot of politicians are up to scratch. Nowadays, it is impossible for us to imagine our grandchildren reminiscing about the passion and oratory of Philip Hammond, Liam Fox, and Diane Abbott. But will they prove us wrong?

Its 30 years since the 1987 General Election. Margaret Thatcher was being challenged by Neil Kinnock and facing a threat from a coalition of the SDP/Liberal alliance led by the two Davids Owen and Steel.

As a political sketchwriter, I spent each day of that election with a different politician.

One day, I would be with Mrs Thatcher at Alton Towers watching six hydraulic diggers performing a dance routine to a reggae version of the 1812 Overture.

The next day, I would be following Willie Whitelaw around a sweet factory in Batley. He was due to visit Liverpool the next day. Dead loss for us, Im afraid  but there we are, he said.

To most of us, May, Corbyn and Farron seem very humdrum, pathetic shadows of the great beasts of yesteryear

In Northern Ireland, I sprinted around a supermarket with Enoch Powell while he sounded off against Mrs Thatcher and the evil of the Anglo-Irish agreement.

I accused her of treachery, he told the bemused young man at the till. And it is a word she has not forgotten.

The next day, I dropped in on Ian Paisley, before flying to Glasgow, where Roy Jenkins was soliciting votes outside the Presto super-market in Hillhead.

Thirty years on, these figures Thatcher, Whitelaw, Powell, Paisley, Jenkins  are remembered as much bigger beasts than the ridiculous mice, to borrow Beer-bohms phrase, we have today.

Its 30 years since the 1987 General Election. Margaret Thatcher was being challenged by Neil Kinnock and facing a threat from a coalition of the SDP/Liberal alliance led by the two Davids Owen and Steel

In Chesterfield, Tony Benn was fighting his 15th parliamentary election. Throughout that day, members of the public tackled him on local issues, such as the siting of a zebra crossing or a loose tile on the roof of a council house. But Mr Benn didnt seem to notice this.

He ended the day by saying how encouraged he had been by the number of people who had praised Mr Gorbachevs peace proposals.

Yet I had been with him all day and not a single person had mentioned either Gorbachev or his peace proposals. Benns idealism bordered on fantasy.

Yet nowadays, we think of Benn, and his rival Denis Healey, as big beasts.

Healey certainly proved it when I walked around with him on the stump in Cardiff. A voter came up and objected to Labours defence policy. I was in the Forces, he added, politely.

To everyones astonishment, Healey flew into a rage, rounding on the poor man, saying he was a liar.

You were never in the Armed Forces! The man said he had served in Aden, but Healey wouldnt hear of it, and shouted Drop dead!  a most unusual way to treat an ordinary voter. At this point, nostalgia begins to make way for something less starry-eyed.

We may hanker after big beasts, but quite how big, and how beastly, do we really want them to be?

In Rochdale market, I followed one of Britains best loved politicians as he went shopping for his enormous dinner with his mother and brother. The 28-stone Cyril Smith had a cheery word for everyone.

Back then, Cyril Smith was seen as a fat and jolly, no-nonsense sort of chap, the political equivalent of The Laughing Policeman, always described as larger than life. He is now remembered only as a sadist and paedophile.

Later the same week, I caught up with Clement Freud and Jeffrey Archer. By 2001, Archer was in prison for perjury. After Freuds death a few years ago, it emerged that he had been sexually abusing girls over the course of a number of decades.

If the days of the big beasts are, indeed, now past, then perhaps we should be more grateful to the ridiculous mice who have stepped into their shoes
For a woman to donate her eggs to an infertile couple shes never met, so they may know the joy of having children, is a truly precious gift.

Some do it out of a spirit of pure altruism, others as part of egg-sharing schemes whereby they themselves receive free or discounted IVF treatment in return for providing eggs to other couples who are unable to conceive.

A disturbing undercover Mail investigation today reveals that some unscrupulous clinics are flouting the rules by convincing poor and vulnerable women to donate eggs for money and free IVF. The eggs are then used to sell treatment to other couples for up to 7,500 a time

Quite rightly, it is illegal for clinics to pay cash for egg donations beyond a fixed sum of up to 750 for expenses. The IVF watchdog  the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority  also states categorically that no one should be pressurised, bribed, or cajoled into donating.

But a disturbing undercover Mail investigation today reveals that some unscrupulous clinics are flouting the rules by convincing poor and vulnerable women to donate eggs for money and free IVF. The eggs are then used to sell treatment to other couples for up to 7,500 a time.

Donors should have thorough counselling, but our investigation shows this can be just one cursory session. The women are often so desperate for treatment themselves that they are ripe for exploitation.

Some egg-sharers have a delayed psychological reaction  especially if they fail to conceive themselves after IVF  and any children their eggs may go on to produce have a right to seek them out once they reach the age of 18. In the longer term, these issues may create complicated mental health problems.

As a result of our expose, the HFEA has launched an investigation, which is being closely scrutinised by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. It must be thorough and it must be tough.

Yes, egg-sharing can be a good thing, but subjecting potential donors to duress or slick salesmanship is reprehensible. It reduces a precious gift to a mere commodity.

Whos deluded now?

Emmanuel Macron, tipped to be the next president of France, says the EU is dysfunctional, unsustainable and must be overhauled. Across the land, he said, people are extremely angry.

To readers of this newspaper, these will seem like statements of the blindingly obvious  but wait, theres more.

Mr Macron is not some Gallic Nigel Farage. His recipe for in-depth reform is not to loosen the stranglehold Brussels has over member states but to tighten it  with more power for the eurozone countries, a common fiscal policy, full banking union and joint finance minister. In other words not less Europe but much, much more.

Theresa May was accused by the European Commission president of living in another galaxy if she thought Brexit would be a success. If Mr Macron thinks the way to assuage public anger over the corruption, arrogance and incompetence of the EU is by forging ever-closer union, hes living in a whole different universe.

Emmanuel Macron, tipped to be the next president of France, says the EU is dysfunctional, unsustainable and must be overhauled. Across the land, he said, people are extremely angry

Why British is best

The Mail is a passionate supporter of consumer choice, but we applaud the decision of the Co-op to support our agricultural industry by ending the sale of imported fresh meat in all its stores.

British farmers operate to the highest animal welfare and hygiene standards but have been massively undercut in recent years by less rigorous foreign producers.

They will need to be competitive on price of course, or shoppers will take their custom elsewhere. But with or without Brexit, it is important to be more self-sufficient  not least because farming and food production employs four million people in the UK.

And, with no disrespect to Danish bacon or Argentine beef, what could be more enticing than a succulent York ham or a rack of Welsh lamb?
Twenty years after Tony Blair walked into No 10 as Prime Minister, the longest-serving Labour PM in history has announced his return to front-line politics.

Horrified by Theresa Mays plans for Brexit, Mr Blair is apparently looking forward to reconnecting with voters in the coming General Election campaign.

You need to get your hands dirty, he told the Daily Mirror, and I will.

'Twenty years after Tony Blair walked into No 10 as Prime Minister, the longest-serving Labour PM in history has announced his return to front-line politics by "getting his hands dirty"'

A clinical psychologist could spend an entire career peering into the murky recesses of Mr Blairs subconscious. Even by his own standards, though, his recent statement was remarkably revealing.

For one thing, it was a reminder of his world-class sense of entitlement, not least his apparently God-given right to lecture the rest of us about politics until the end of his days.

Never mind that when he stepped down as prime minister in 2007, he turned his back on Britain and spent the next decade prostituting himself across the planet.

What arrogance, then, to presume he can simply drop back into British politics whenever he feels like it.

But what was even more revealing, I think, was that image of getting his hands dirty.

It was Mr Blair who once pledged that his government would be purer than pure  a typically hubristic promise, given that all prime ministers have to make difficult, often dirty, choices.

No prime minister in recent history, though, has left office with his hands so obviously besmirched. Certainly none has smeared more ordure on his own reputation afterwards.

Perhaps he believes that intervening in the General Election campaign will wash away his sins. But there are some that no amount of scrubbing can remove.

Once the most talented politician of his generation, Mr Blair now cuts a tragically self-deluding figure.

And whatever he might tell himself, I suspect the stains of the past two decades will never be wiped clean.

THANKS, BERNIE

Mr Blair had been in office for only six months before the first stains appeared.

In Opposition, he promised to ban all tobacco advertising in sport. But then came a mysterious U-turn, with an unexpected exemption for Formula One motor racing.

It soon transpired that the Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone had given Labour a cheque for 1 million before the 1997 general election.

In return, Mr Blair pushed through an exemption for Formula One, despite the objections of Department of Health officials.

When the news broke, he maintained that he was a pretty straight sort of guy. But the Ecclestone affair was the first sign that, in reality, he was the exact opposite.

'Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone had given Labour a cheque for 1 million before the 1997 general election.'

IRAQ DECEPTION

Try as he might, Tony Blair will never emerge from beneath the shadow of Iraq.

And though it is one of the most well-worn debates in our recent history, the plain fact is that no modern prime minister has ever committed Britain to war on a flimsier pretext or against greater public opposition.

One fact alone speaks volumes about his shameless mendacity.

Even in the spring of 2003, as the invasion approached, he pretended to the British public that there was still a chance to avoid war. Yet as the Chilcot report showed last summer, he had actually written to U.S. president George W. Bush in July 2002, promising: I will be with you, whatever.

GADDAFIS PAL

For decades, Libyas dictator Muammar Gaddafi loved to present himself as the sworn foe of Britain, where his thugs had gunned down WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside Libyas London embassy in 1984.

Yet Mr Blair had no compunction about striking the notorious deal in the desert with Gaddafi in 2004, reopening diplomatic relations and paving the way for a series of lucrative BP oil deals.

To our even greater shame, it was later alleged that, around the time of the deal, Britain helped fly Libyan dissidents to Tripoli, where they were tortured by Gaddafis secret police  although the Labour Government denied this.

Mr Blair courted Gaddafi not just as an ally, but as a personal friend. After leaving office in 2007, he was twice flown to Tripoli on Libyan jets at Gaddafis expense for business meetings.

Even as Gaddafis regime crumbled, Mr Blair rang his friend and urged him to flee to safety  advice the Libyan dictator fatally ignored.

'Mr Blair courted Gaddafi not just as an ally, but as a personal friend. After leaving office in 2007, he was twice flown to Tripoli on Libyan jets at Gaddafis expense for business meetings'

HONOURS FARCE

When Mr Blair became prime minister, he promised to clean up party funding.

But in the spring of 2006 it emerged that he had recommended several men for life peerages after they had given huge loans to the cash-stricken Labour Party.

Indeed, it later transpired that not only had he given honours to three out of four people who gave at least 50,000 to his party, but had rewarded every donor who gave more than 1 million with a peerage or a knighthood.

Not since David Lloyd George openly sold peerages in the Twenties had the honours system been so flagrantly debased. Yet as so often during the Blair years, no one went to jail.

FAT CATS FRIEND

When Tony Blair left office in 2007, the economy seemed to be buoyant  yet within months it was clear that this was a miracle built on sand, as the banks collapsed and Britain lurched into a devastating recession.

Only afterwards did it become clear just how deeply he was implicated in the collapse, having transferred City regulation away from the Bank of England to the flimsy Financial Services Authority. And even as others condemned the growing culture of reckless speculation and fat-cat bonuses, he resisted all attempts to tame the banks.

He got his reward, though. Within six months of leaving office, he landed a 2 million-a-year job as a consultant to Wall Street investment bank J. P. Morgan, which has been fined a record 33 million for failing to protect British clients money  a good metaphor, you might say, for the way Mr Blair has treated the public.

DEAL WITH IRA

Mr Blairs courtiers often trumpet his involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process as his greatest accomplishment in office, conveniently forgetting the foundations were actually laid by his predecessor, John Major.

What they rarely mention is his enthusiasm for handing out secret letters that effectively protected former IRA men  some suspected of murderous atrocities  from prosecution.

He handed out these letters to 187 so-called on-the-runs  former IRA men wanted for robberies, assassinations and atrocities during the Troubles, including the horrific bomb attack that killed four soldiers in Hyde Park in 1982.

Yet in another reminder of his fundamental duplicity, he never mentioned them to Unionist politicians or the Irish government  let alone the British public. In fact, the existence of the letters only came to light years later, in 2014.

'Mr Blairs courtiers often trumpet his involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process as his greatest accomplishment in office, conveniently forgetting the foundations were actually laid by his predecessor, John Major'

PROPERTY MOGUL

In an age when millions of young people cant get a place on the property ladder, Mr Blairs relentless collection of houses is surely the most striking symbol of his apparently unbounded greed.

Since he entered politics, he has amassed a property empire of at least ten houses and 27 flats, worth 27 million, many of them registered in the names of his wife or their children.

Yet the cruel irony is that during his 13 years in office, his government built just 7,870 council houses  fewer than the Tories built every year under Margaret Thatcher.

With private rents rocketing, the poor lost out. But the Blairs cashed in.

MONEY MAD

The irony of Mr Blairs attempted political comeback is that for the past ten years he has shown virtually no interest in British politics at all.

Instead, he has devoted himself to the one thing he really cares about  his bank balance.

His astounding pursuit of personal enrichment in the past ten years has appalled even his closest allies.

Not content with charging a staggering 200,000 per speech, he has secured contracts with a bewildering array of foreign interests, including the governments of Peru, Mongolia, Rwanda, Malawi, Albania and Romania, as well as the worlds largest mining firm, Glencore, and the oil firm PetroSaudi (owned by a member of the Saudi royal family).

Surely, no British politician has ever prostituted himself to quite the same extent. And given his international business links, how can Mr Blair possibly claim that he is an objective commentator on Britains future relationship with the rest of the world?

'His astounding pursuit of personal enrichment in the past ten years has appalled even his closest allies ... Surely, no British politician has ever prostituted himself to quite the same extent'

DICTATORS VOICE

Kazakhstans dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has wielded power since 1991, presides over one of the worlds most corrupt regimes.

Torture is common, political and religious freedoms tightly restricted and five years ago the regime brutally massacred striking oil workers.

A perfect client, then, for Tony Blair, who charged Mr Nazarbayev more than 5 million a year for political advice, not including chauffeured limousines and five-star hotels.

With supreme cynicism, Mr Blair even advised the Kazakh regime on how to deal with the PR fallout of the massacre.

These events, tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress Kazakhstan has made, he insisted.

GUINEA FOUL

One of Mr Blairs murkiest associations is with Guinea, an obscure African country that he has visited six times since 2011 after securing a deal to advise its president, Alpha Conde.

By an astonishing coincidence, Mr Blair also works as a well-paid adviser to Abu Dhabis sovereign wealth fund, which secured a massive contract to invest in Guineas new bauxite and iron ore mines.

Of course, Mr Blairs friends insist that this is merely a happy accident  the kind of accident that often seems to happen to well-connected people like our former prime minister, but never to the millions who once put their trust in him.
Many spend their lives trying to work out the secret to happiness.

And while the answer might remain forever a mystery, one expert believes he has come at least a little bit closer to working it out.

Dr Randall Bell, an economist and sociologist from Laguna Beach, California, discovered happy people practise certain habits that contribute to their overall well-being.

He said: 'When it comes to happiness, your habits matter. While studies have proven that a significant portion of happiness is linked to genetics, a whopping 40 per cent comes directly from the daily rituals that you choose to engage in.

'So why not do what happy people do? It certainly can't hurt.'

Here, Dr Randall tells FEMAIL about eight simple habits happy people incorporate into every day - and explains why you should adopt them into your own routine.

Quality time: Family meals help foster relationships and leave us feeling happier. Stock image

EAT DINNER AS A FAMILY

Sitting down to eat as a family can seem almost impossible in busy households but Dr Bell insists it is worth making the effort.

He said: 'When people are actually spending time with the people and things that are of the highest priority, they feel better about themselves.

'When people are neglecting those important relationships, it can cause internal stress and anxiety.'

EXERCISE

It will come as no surprise to learn that the happiest people make time for daily exercise, even if it is just a simple 20-minute walk.

Dr Bell said: 'When we exercise, our brains secrete chemicals known as endorphins into our bloodstreams, and those chemicals flow through our bodies and simply make us feel good.'

Letting loose: A few minutes of dancing every day can help us feel happy and relaxed

DANCE

Dancing carries the endorphin rush of exercise with the added bonus of fostering our interpersonal relationships.

So next time you are waiting for dinner to cook or the kettle to boil grab your husband or wife and channel your inner Strictly Come Dancing star.

Otherwise you can just freestyle moves on your own and feel the happiness rush through you.

MEDITATE Those who meditate or pray daily are 50 per cent more likely to be happy than those who do not, Dr Bell's research reveals. He said: 'When we are in an active or conscious state, our brains waves are "beta" waves. 'When we spend solitary time, our brains switch to "alpha" waves - and this is where bursts of creative energy comes from. 'Both beta and alpha waves are important, but if we crowd out alpha waves, we lose our creative energy.' Advertisement

AVOID ROAD RAGE

Traffic jams and poor driving can send blood pressure rising but staying calm behind the wheel is an easy way to feel happier.

Dr Bell said: 'Happy people cut a lot of slack with other people.

'They put their energy into positive things, not yelling at drivers or in inanimate objects.'

DON'T GOSSIP

It can be tempting to whisper about your colleague's new relationship or share your friend's secret - but toning down the gossip could leave you feeling happier.

So next time the impulse to gossip strikes, say something positive instead.

Dr Bell said: 'Those who decide to say something pleasant attract like-minded people into their lives. And being around pleasant people makes us happier.'

Room to think: Keeping your desk free from clutter is another key step to happiness

ORGANISE YOUR DESK

In a fast-paced work environment it can be easy for your desk to become cluttered and messy but it pays to keep it neat, according to Dr Bell.

'Sorry to burst your bubble but getting organised at work can make you three times more likely to be happy.

'Many studies show that an organised space allows us to focus on doing our job more effectively as clutter causes stress.'

The same principle applies to any other work space, from shed to kitchen.

WAVE TO YOUR NEIGHBOURS

People who walk past their neighbours without giving them a friendly wave are much more likely to be unhappy, Dr Bell believes.

'If we walk by a person who is frowning, if makes us feel tense,' he said. 'When we walk by someone who is smiling, we want to smile back.

'When we wave at neighbors, we usually cheer that person up and they wave back - that's a double win.'

Me, We, Do, Be: The Four Cornerstones of Success by Dr Randall Bell (Hardcover, March 2017)
When Olivia Hargroder, 17, was born, doctors told her parents she would never learn to speak.

And now, the Brisbane-based student has gone on to achieve her dreams to become a public speaker and actress.

Olivia, who was born with Down syndrome, is now determined to use her ever-growing platform to educate people about Trisomy 21 and has recently started a petition to 'change the box' for those who wish to compete in the Paralympics.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Olivia's mother Kerry Hargroder said her daughter's passion started a couple of years ago when she was planning what she wanted to do for a living.

Scroll Down For Video

When Olivia Hargroder, 17, was born, doctors told her parents she would never learn to speak - and now, the Brisbane-based student has gone on to become a public speaker and actress

Olivia, who was born with Down Syndrome, is now determined to use her ever-growing platform to educate people about Trisomy 21

'She decided that she wanted to travel the world as an actress and public speaker so I told her she had better do some public speaking to practice,' Kerry said.

'She gave an address at the Down syndrome Association's national conference about how to educate someone with Down syndrome from her point of view and it just went from there.

'It's not just the speaking either. She's so small they have to put a box there for her and it's learning how to use all the remote controls and tech and everything so it's very impressive.'

Olivia then heard there were calls for submissions for people to speak at the United Nations headquarters in New York for International Down syndrome Day on the 21st of March.

Olivia then heard there were calls for submissions for people to speak at the United Nations headquarters in New York for International Down Syndrome Day on the 21st of March

'The first speech gave her such a big boost and she knew it's what she wanted to do - she can definitely work an audience - so she put in her submission to the UN,' Kerry said.

'They have a big conference for International Down Syndrome Day and this year the theme was 'In Our Own Voice' so they called from submissions from people with Down syndrome to ask how they wanted to determine government policy worldwide.

'Olivia has a lot to say so she knew what she needed to put in her submission.'

Olivia was the only Australian student selected to speak and on the 21st of March, she delivered a powerful speech live to an audience around the world.

Olivia was the only Australian student selected to speak and on the 21st of March, she delivered a powerful speech live to an audience around the world

'Her main message was that when a baby with Down Syndrome is born, don't have limited expectations of them,' Kerry, her mother, said

What is Down Syndrome? Down Syndrome is caused when there is an extra chromosome. People with Down Syndrome have 47 chromosomes in their cells instead of 46. They have an extra chromosome 21, which is why Down Syndrome is also sometimes known as trisomy 21. Although we know how Down syndrome occurs, we do not yet know why it happens. Down Syndrome occurs at conception, across all ethnic and social groups and to parents of all ages. It is nobody's fault. There is no cure and it does not go away. Down syndrome is the most common chromosome disorder that we know of. One of every 700-900 babies born worldwide will have Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is a genetic condition. It is not an illness or a disease. Source: Down Syndrome Australia Advertisement

'Her main message was that when a baby with Down syndrome is born, don't have limited expectations of them - to not automatically narrow down their options from the minute they are born,' Kerry said.

'When she first said she wanted to be a public speaker there was a bit of embarrassed laughter but she knew what she could do. She doesn't want to work within a "framework" she wants to challenge that belief and prove anyone can do whatever they want.'

'When I was born I was so sick that my parents couldnt even cuddle me, they stayed by my side until my heart was fixed, reading books to me,' Olivia said her speech.

'The doctor told my parents that because I had Down syndrome I would never learn to speak well that was wrong because I became a chatterbox.

'I love little kids and I have recently finished an Open University Course on Child Development that really got me thinking.

'When I was born I was so sick that my parents couldnt even cuddle me, they stayed by my side until my heart was fixed, reading books to me,' Olivia said her speech

'The doctor told my parents that because I had Down syndrome I would never learn to speak well that was wrong because I became a chatterbox,' Olivia said

'One of the things I learnt was all children are born optimistic which is great. But are all people, doctors, nurses, physios, teachers, grandparents, are they optimistic about all children? Are children with Down syndrome given the same hope as other kids?'

Olivia spoke about three of her close friends with Down syndrome who had achieved phenomenal things to prove that all children should be given equal opportunity.

'Im sure the doctor who told me I would never speak couldnt have imagined me here in New York speaking to you at the United Nations,' she continued.

Olivia spoke about three of her close friends with Down syndrome who had achieved phenomenal things to prove that all children should be given equal opportunity

What are the Paralympics boxes? The Paralympics divides athletes into boxes: Boxes 1-10: different types of physical impairments Boxes 11-13: visual impairments Box 14: intellectual impairment Advertisement

'So when a baby with Down syndrome is born, cant we just expect the best and believe they can be anything they want to be?'

Olivia also addressed an issue close to her heart - that athletes who wish to compete in the Paralympics must compete in the 'physical impairments', 'visual impairments' or 'intellectual impairments' (Box 14) category.

And athletes with Down syndrome can only compete in Box 14, where the requirement is an IQ less than 75, but they can be fully able-bodied.

Olivia and many others with Down syndrome believe this to be unfair as it is physical impairments that often hold them back.

'So when a baby with Down syndrome is born, cant we just expect the best and believe they can be anything they want to be?' She said

'Olivia has always battled horribly with physical impairments in sport, shes had loads of broken bones and issues with her knees,' Kerry said.

'She finds it really quite baffling that she was never given any acknowledgment for that in school swimming  that she couldnt compete in districts under a physical category.

'It doesnt make sense. People with Down syndrome can be fantastic swimmers within the Down syndrome community but they never make the qualifying time. She didnt feel that was fair and she is very big on fairness.'

Olivia has started a petition addressed to Glenn Tasker, President of the Australian Paralympic Committee, in a bid to change this.

'We always have physical issues: muscle, joint, visual, heart, thyroid and the problem of being very short limbed. That extra chromosome really gets in the way for us in every cell in our body,' Olivia explains.

'She finds it really quite baffling that she was never given any acknowledgment for that in school swimming  that she couldnt compete in districts under a physical category,' Kerry said

'Expect the best in children with Down syndrome because we might just surprise you,' Olivia told Daily Mail Australia

'By making us compete for slots on the team against able bodied, tall, strong athletes we are included, but in reality we are excluded.

'You will hardly see a swimmer with Down syndrome in the Paralympics, however dedicated or talented they are. A simple blood test is all you need to tell you that we have BOTH physical and intellectual impairments.

'There are around 8 million of us around the world. We need our own box! That would be fair. That would give us something to work for and train like a champion. That would give us role models we can relate to.'

Olivia has also started a Facebook page, Change The Box, to raise awareness and continues to speak at forums around the country and the world on varying topics - especially education.

'Expect the best in children with Down syndrome because we might just surprise you,' Olivia told Daily Mail Australia.
Given that her devoted clientele includes the likes of Amal Clooney, Cindy Crawford, Jade Jagger and Amber Le Bon, there's no telling who Louise Maxwell's luxurious Ibizan finca has played host to over the years.

The makeup artist and mother-of-two, who has based herself on the party island for a decade, won't name names, saying only that 'all my friends love to stay here', and that she's had 'quite a few' celebrity clients temporarily call Casa Yasmina home.

Still it's easy to imagine the enchanting alfresco dining area, decorated with Tibetan prayer flags, appealing to bohemian jewellery designer Jade Jagger, or Noel Gallagher's wife Sara MacDonald taking a dip in the private pool.

Now mere mortals too can sip a cocktail on the Moroccan-inspired roof terrace, or rustle up a feast in the rustic kitchen, as Louise has made the villa available as a holiday let.

Around 2,500 will bag you a week at the glamorous property near Cala Conta, on the south west of the island, which has been decorated throughout with pieces picked up by Louise on her travels to Morocco and India.

The finca's owner, makeup artist Louise Maxwell, has worked with clients including Amal Clooney, Cindy Crawford, Natalia Vodianova, Jodie Kidd, and Jade Jagger

The boho-chic finca is decorated with finds from Louise's travels in India and Morocco

Around 2,500 will bag you seven nights at the tranquil property, which boasts a private pool

It's close to many of the island's glamorous restaurants - but you might prefer to rustle up a feast of your own in the rustic kitchen

Colourful Tibetan prayer flags decorate the alfresco courtyard, or 'chill-out' area

The villa is on the south west of the party island, close to Cala Conta, the location for fashion shoots Louise has worked on with the likes of supermodel Natalia Vodianova

Makeup artist Louise has worked on famous faces including Jade Jagger, left and George Clooney's wife, human rights lawyer Amal, right

Louise won't reveal which of her celebrity clients have stayed at her Ibiza pad, but she's worked with models Jodie Kidd, left, and Amber Le Bon, right

SEE THE WHITE ISLE IN STYLE: LOUISE MAXWELL'S IBIZA GUIDE The makeup artist says the island's family-oriented vibe - in addition to the 'vibrant, creative' people who call it home - is what first drew her to Ibiza, and she was determined to make Casa Yasmina a 'peaceful and private oasis'. Louise says she's had 'quite a few' celebrity clients to stay in the past - but says she prefers not to name names That said, the property on the south west of the island is perfectly placed to enjoy the nightlife that made Ibiza famous - here are Louise's top tips: The restaurant: Sa Capella in San Antonio serves grilled fish and meats in an old converted church. The party: The legendary (and luxurious) Pikes Hotel - now Ibiza Rocks Hotel at Pikes - has the 'best house party feel in Ibiza', Louise says. The activity: A boat trip around Es Vedra, the tiny rock island off Ibiza's south west corner, said to be the third most magnetic spot on the planet. The beach: Cala Conta, the makeup artist's top spot for watching the sun set. 'I'll always remember an advertising campaign [I worked on there] for Stella McCartney with Natalia Vodianova,' Louise recalls. 'It was an incredible morning at Cala Conta... the sky was every colour imaginable, and the sun and the moon were out at the same time. 'The images and video were beautiful, and being able to catch moments like that is what living and working in Ibiza is all about.' Advertisement

The master bedroom in the plush villa, which has space to sleep between eight and 10

The makeup artist and mother-of-two has decorated with pieces picked up on her travels

The British makeup artist says she loves the property's 'relaxed' feel, but is so busy during the summer she is rarely there

Loungers and potted palms are dotted around the terrace that surrounds the private pool

To find out more about Casa Yasmina visit ownersdirect.co.uk.
The Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why has been met with controversy since its March release. Many have taken the show to task for its portrayal of teen mental illness and suicide. The latest addition to the list of unhappy viewers is actually a band that contributed music to the show: Car Seat Headrest.

The Seattle, Washington-based group, fronted by Will Toledo, 24, recently took to Twitter to express frustrations with a show they helped score.

'As someone who contributed to the soundtrack for 13 Reasons Why, I am obliged to tell you all that it's kind of fucked,' tweeted Toledo.

The inside scoop: The band Car Seat Headrest may have music on the 13 Reasons Why soundtrack, but it turns out they are not crazy about the show

A warning: The band didn't think the delicate topic of suicide was handled well in the Netflix series and took to Twitter to say so

Disgruntled frontman: Will Toledo, 24, leads the band Car Seat Headrest, whose song 'Oh! Starving' appears on the soundtrack of the popular, but controversial, series

Toledo then turned his attention to 'writers' - perhaps the writers of the show, or author Jay Asher, who penned the novel on which Selena Gomez-produced series is based.

'Writers: please don't tell kids how to turn their miserable and hopeless lives into a thrilling and cathartic suicide mission,' said a follow-up tweet. Toledo's sentiments reflect much of the controversy around the show.

13 Reasons Why tells the story of Hannah, a high school student, who kills herself and leaves behind a series of tapes intended to express to certain individuals how they contributed to her desire to commit suicide.

Though the message at the end of the series is one of hope and kindness - many have found the exploration of mental illness to be lacking in a way that might inspire teenagers to view suicide as a revenge 'mission,' as Toledo put it.

Instead of watching 13 Reasons Why, Toledo has offered another suggestion. In a third tweet, he says, 'Kids: this is not a narrative you need to subscribe to. Go watch "Spring Breakers" instead.'

Advice or wisecrack? It's difficult to decipher whether this tweet is meant to inspire kids, or act as a subtle dig at Selena Gomez, who produced 13 Reasons Why and starred in Spring Breakers

Leading man: Dylan Minnette, who both stars in 13 Reasons Why and is a fan of Car Seat Headrest, couldn't help but respond to Toledo's tweets

Spring Breakers being the 2012 Harmony Korine film about a group of young women on a spring break trip in Miami become bank robbers and drug traffickers.

Perhaps Toledo was being ironic in his message, or perhaps the reference is a subtle dig at Selena Gomez, who also starred in the film.

Fans of both Car Seat Headrest and 13 Reasons Why couldn't come to a consensus about Toledo's perspective. One notable opinion stuck out in the mentions: Dylan Minnette, 20, the actor who plays Clay, 13 Reasons Why's protagonist.

Minnette was disappointed to hear Toledo's disappointment in the show - particularly because he was a fan of the band before the show began production.

Steeped in controversy: 13 Reasons Why has received no insignificant amount of criticism for its potential to make suicide appear 'glamorous' to mentally ill teenagers

Doing her best: Selena Gomez, who acted as executive producer of 13 Reasons Why, recently responded to the blacklash saying, 'We stayed very true to the book.'

Though he said he was understanding of Toledo's doubts, Minnette also made a point that he's 'talked to many teens who've shared the positive impact the show's left on their lives and those around them.'

'I can assure you that everyone behind the show, including myself, have the best intentions in making it' he concluded.

Despite the controversy surrounding 13 Reasons Why, the soundtrack has generally been well-received, with listeners enjoying the blend of indie hits and new wave throwbacks.

Toledo has yet to respond to any of the feedback to his tweets, including many that ask if he has returned money he was paid for his music to appear on the show.
Dear White People actress Antoinette Robertson has revealed professionals in the industry once struggled to pick the right makeup for her complexion - and didn't accept her natural hair.

The star, who plays Coco in Netflix's series about a group of college students facing racial discrimination at an Ivy League university, opened up about beauty ideals in an interview with Glamour Saturday.

Unlike her character, a would-be politician who wears a weave because she believes it will make her more 'palatable', Robertson prefers to flaunt her naturally stunning curls, something that wasn't always possible during her past as a model.

Beauty matters: Actress Antoinette Robertson has revealed people in the industry once struggled to pick the right makeup for her complexion - and didn't accept her natural hair

Previously in her career, she encountered hair professionals who would either curl her hair more and fry it in the process, or straighten it even though her professional pictures all depicted her with curly hair.

'I remember when I was modeling people would say, "God, your hair is so gorgeous curly," and then I would get on set, and they'd burn it into submission to the point where it wouldn't curl anymore,' she told the magazine.

'One of my best friends and I had a conversation about it, and she said, "If your comp card has all of your hair curly on it, and they don't tell you ahead of time that they want to straighten your hair, why are you allowing them to do it? They don't care about the integrity of your hair."

The actress, whose parents are from Jamaica, then decided that if other professionals wanted her to straighten her hair, she would ask them to tell her so she could get it done properly by someone she trusted.

However, she ultimately chose to wear her natural curls - a choice that seemed to work for her.

Role: The star plays aspiring politician Coco in Netflix's series Dear White People (pictured) about a group of college students facing racial discrimination at an Ivy League university

Past: Previous hair professionals who would either curl her hair more and fry it in the process, or straighten it even though her professional pictures all depicted her with curly hair

'For a long time, it felt like if you were going to hire a woman of color, she had to have straight hair,' she added. 'And then when I decided to cut off all my hair and wear it curly, that's when I started booking all the commercials in the world.'

Although she's had success flaunting her natural hair, the actress understands the heartbreaking pressures that drive her character Coco to wear a weave.

'It comes from a place of being ridiculed for being herselfespecially in her adolescence,' she said. 'Her thought process is that in order to get certain types of attention, she should veer toward a Eurocentric idea of beauty.'

I decided to cut my hair and wear it curly, that's when I started booking all the commercials

The actress once had a maddening encounter with a makeup artist who couldn't find the right shade of foundation for her complexion.

'One time, somebody painted me a completely different complexion. Literally, they painted me a different color,' she said. 'I was darker; so much so if you had my hand near my face, you'd wonder if it was a different person. It looked crazy!'

At first, Robertson was 'upset' with herself and doubted her own judgement.

'I didn't want to assume that this woman didn't know how to handle women of color merely because she's not a woman of color,' she said. 'Again, there's that passivity of not standing up for myself. Because I knew I could do it better on my own than she had done it.'

Looking back on it, the actress believes she should have felt more confident and given herself permission to stand up to the makeup artist. She added: 'If it wasn't right, I should have said it wasn't right, and not feared someone thinking I'm difficult.'
From the outside, mummy blogging looks glamorous, simple and stress-free. Pen something honest, upload it to your blog and watch the readers swoop in, right?

However, when one mother's unwitting post on 'mum guilt' went unexpectedly viral, she wasn't prepared for the vitriol and backlash she would face online.

Here, Chrisi Reardon, 28, from Melbourne, speaks to FEMAIL about the darker side of mummy blogging, and why - despite her experiences - she has just re-established her blog, Mumma Do Good.

Chrisi Reardon, 28, from Melbourne (pictured), spoke to FEMAIL about the darker side of mummy blogging, which she experienced after starting up her own blog

The 28-year-old (pictured) wrote a viral post on 'mum guilt' which was swiftly read five million times and saw her at the centre of online vitriol and backlash

For Ms Reardon, her foray into blogging came about because she was struggling with post-natal depression and anxiety:

'I initially started the blog to help a friend with terminal cancer fundraise but I quickly realised I really enjoyed writing and just kept going, 'Ms Reardon told Daily Mail Australia.

I wrote the post as a pep talk to myself really, to say that not every day will be your best day and that's okay

'I had around 75 followers but I received so much love and support, it quickly brought me back to life and it made me feel less isolated and alone,' she continued.

It wasn't until the mother-of-one wrote a post on 'mum guilt straight into her phone while she was sitting on the couch in my pyjamas' that it got picked up and swiftly read thousands of times:

'I was having a bout of the mum guilts because I'd had a rough day and so my son was watching cartoons, eating dinner from a pouch - all the things you're told are "bad" as a parent.

'I wrote the post as a pep talk to myself really, to say that not every day will be your best day and that's okay.'

I wrote the post as a pep talk to myself really, to say that not every day will be your best day and that's okay,' she said (pictured with her son, Oscar)

At first, Ms Reardon (pictured) received a flood of messages from bloggers who wanted to know the secret to going viral; she also had family and friends nearly telling her to replicate the post

But before she knew it, the 28-year-old witnessed a flood of messages.

'At first, I had numerous bloggers (big and small) who wanted to "connect",' she remembered.

'They wanted to know the "secret" to going viral, what the tricks were, did I pay to promote posts and how I went from 75 followers to 6,000 so quickly.'

While this was all well and good, Ms Reardon added that her family and friends soon got in on the act - praising her for her post and telling her how successful she was going to be:

'I found myself getting really anxious about replicating that success. Instead of writing because I loved it, I was stressing out about how many likes or shares a post may get and, egged on by one blogger in particular, I would obsess over stats and follower counts.

'I was quickly becoming a very different person to the one who started writing for her 75 followers of friends and family,' she said.

She also had one blogger 'with over 60,000 followers copy and paste my viral post to pass off as her own work' - the blogger even used a picture of her son, Oscar (both pictured)

'She sent lengthy text messages to my phone after I blocked her on Facebook and called me on private numbers when I'd blocked hers,' Ms Reardon said of another blogger

This pressure was just the beginning for Ms Reardon, however.

She also had one blogger 'copy and paste my viral post to pass off as their own work'.

'They also used a picture of my son to accompany it, which was quite shocking,' Ms Reardon told FEMAIL.

'Another blogger posted rants about how I'd had the police sent to her home (we'd never met!) and somehow amassed a mob to go after her with death threats, she sent lengthy text messages to my phone after I blocked her on Facebook and called me on private numbers when I'd blocked hers.'

'She also sent messages to friends of mine who'd commented on her writing before and kept publishing and deleting cryptic posts to her followers,' she said

All of this prompted a shocked Ms Reardon to take a 'hiatus' from blogging.

'I never intended to return,' she said.

However, the Melbourne-based mother said she couldn't resist the lure of writing, and so has recently re-set up her blog, Mumma Do Good, and is tentatively getting back into writing.

Ms Reardon said that while the world of blogging is great, it can be 'nuts'. She also warned about the power bloggers have without even realising it:

'Sitting on my couch, I as able to reach over five million people with a single post. That's brilliant, but also terrible. The ability we have to reach people is immense, but that ability comes with responsibility.

'Unlike journalists, bloggers have no real checks or balances. It can be genuinely frightening with someone who has an audience of thousands (or tens of thousands!) uses that power to intimidate or bully.'

According to Ms Reardon, while people might say: 'Oh, it's just the Internet', that doesn't always matter:

'In a world that is increasingly connected, its becoming harder and harder to switch off and walk away,' she cautioned.

To read more from Ms Reardon, you can visit her blog on Facebook - Mumma Do Good - here.
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Aje celebrated its 10 year anniversary by sending a swathe of swan-like models down a makeshift runway in the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney on Monday.

The best friend design duo behind the label, Edwina Robinson and Adrian Norris, collaborated with Pwerle Gallery to bring life to the iconic Indigenous works of Minnie Pwerle.

The designs were a reflection of her art with ochre-coloured stripes and patterns adorning a multitude of soft and flowing fabrics.

In true Aje feminine style the models matched their powerful ensembles with fluffy heels, instantly breaking down the block colours into something girlier

Three key paintings were selected from the archives of Minnie Pwerle and served as inspiration for the resort 17/18 collection

Pretty in patterns! In true Aje feminine style the models matched their powerful ensembles with fluffy heels, instantly breaking down the block colours into something girly

Titled 'Awelye' - the Anmatyerre tribal word for womens ceremonies - the collection paid homage to the natural Australian landscape.

Edwina Robinson and Adrian Norris worked with Minnie Pwerles grandson, Fred Torres, and great granddaughter, Jade Torres, on the collaboration.

Three key paintings were selected from the archives of Minnie Pwerle and served as inspiration for the resort 17/18 collection.

The coveted range of womenswear will be available at David Jones from May 2017, launching into three stores across Australia before expanding into 27 stores from July

David Jones announced on Monday that Aje has entered into a department store exclusive agreement with the retail giant

Aje will also showcase an intricately embellished gown using scattered black and white Swarovski flatback transfers placed in such a way to represent the stars in the midnight sky of the Australian outback

'We feel so blessed and honoured to have been given this extraordinary opportunity to bring the work of this inspirational Australian artist to new life and new audiences through our resort collection,' the design duo said.

According to Ragtrader Aje also worked closely with global crystal brand Swarovski to create three statement pieces using more than 26,000 gems.

The two brands first met in Paris in the Spring of 2016 during a shoot by local influencer Margaret Zhang.

The shoot, which incorporated styles from both brands, has now blown out to a fully fledged venture.

David Jones Group Executive of Merchandise, David Collins, said: 'Aje is an exceptional Australian brand that we are thrilled to welcome to our stable of Australian designers at David Jones

Aje will also showcase an intricately embellished gown using scattered black and white Swarovski flatback transfers placed in such a way to represent the stars in the midnight sky of the Australian outback.

In true Aje feminine style the models matched their powerful ensembles with fluffy heels, instantly breaking down the block colours into something girlier.

The brand has a reputation for incorporating quality natural fabrics with an expensive-looking twist which was certainly on show during their resort collection 17/18.

The front row was teeming with celebrities and home grown high profile influences like Anna Heinrich and her boyfriend Tim Robards, Jesinta Campbell, Jessica Mauboy, Dami Im, and Brooke Testoni.

The front row was teeming with celebrities and home grown high profile influences like Anna Heinrich and her boyfriend Tim Robards, Jesinta Campbell, Jessica Mauboy, Dami Im, and Brooke Testoni

Bedazzling display! Models strutted the catwalk wearing more than 26,000 Swarovski crystals

In the past Edwina and Adrian have both opened up about their appreciation of the Australian landscape, particularly as Adrian grew up along the coastline, and it would seem this collection tries to highlight that special relationship the most.

Many different variations of fringe detailing and sequins rocked the runway as did tae kwon do style belts wrapped around long sleeved shirt dresses.

Madonna, Phoebe Tonkin, Kate Moss and Jessica Hart are all fans of the brand which has opened a number of stores around the country including Sydneys Paddington and Melbournes Chapel Street.

Madonna, Phoebe Tonkin, Kate Moss and Jessica Hart are all fans of the brand which has opened a number of stores around the country including Sydneys Paddington and Melbournes Chapel Street

David Jones announced on Monday that Aje has entered into a department store exclusive agreement with the retail giant.

The coveted range of womenswear will be available at David Jones from May 2017, launching into three stores across Australia before expanding into 27 stores from July.

The show was also attended by David Jones Group Executive Merchandise David Collins and General Manager of womenswear Damian Burke.

Adrian Norris and Edwina Robinson said: 'We are thrilled to be joining the David Jones family. Both the Aje and David Jones values strongly align for a shared customer base'

David Jones Group Executive of Merchandise, David Collins, said: 'Aje is an exceptional Australian brand that we are thrilled to welcome to our stable of Australian designers at David Jones.

'Renowned for beautifully crafted designs, we believe Aje answers the demand for statement daywear and unique occasion pieces. We are looking forward to welcoming the collection from May.'

Adrian Norris and Edwina Robinson said: 'We are thrilled to be joining the David Jones family. Both the Aje and David Jones values strongly align for a shared customer base.

'We look forward to this next step for Aje and are excited to share the brand with the David Jones clientele.'
A young mother-of-two has revealed how her brainwave in the shower led to a fashion empire.

Simone Taylor, from Queensland, was just like any other working mother who didn't have time to wash her hair and wanted the flexibility to spend quality time with her two baby daughters.

With no time to waste, she would wear a shower cap to preserve her blow dry in between washes - but felt unattractive with the 'ugly necessity' on her head.

'I would wear a shower cap religiously as being a busy mum I don't have time to wash and blow dry every day,' the 33-year-old mother told Daily Mail Australia.

'My husband and I would laugh at how ugly they were, I felt like an old maid wearing it  definitely not sexy.

'[But then] I had a brainwave that there could be a more fashionable style of shower caps to protect the hair from moisture.'

Simone Taylor was just like any other working mother who didn't have time to wash her hair

The young mum also wanted the flexibility to spend quality time with her two baby daughters

Fast forward three years, her brand is now stocked in 300 stores across six countries

Inspired by the timeless nature of headscarves and turbans, the savvy entrepreneur started sketching away her designs by creating a fashion forward piece for busy mothers - so they can also leave the house with the stylish shower caps on their heads.

'I drew inspiration from the turban style which has been in fashion since the 1940's,' she said.

'Celebrities like Beyonce, Kourtney Kardashian and Katy Perry have all been spotted wearing the trend recently.'

So the stylish businesswoman gave an everyday item a glamorous makeover - a chic turban with a vintage Hollywood twist, and from there, her brand Louvelle was born.

Launching the business from her family's basement, the young mother was juggling between her family and work.

'I started Louvelle with a toddler and newborn which was really hard to balance everything,' she said.

'When you have your own business that is growing fast, it is hard to switch off. It feels like there is always something urgent to be done, but I have learned that weekends and after 5pm should be family time.

'Even though I work full-time hours, I can work flexible hours and still be at my children's school events or be at home with them more than I could in a typical corporate role.'

Once upon a time: The 33-year-old mother recalled the hilarious moment she and her husband would laugh at how 'ugly' shower caps were

Australian brand Louvelle is now stocked in more than 300 independent stores in six countries

Mrs Taylor gave an everyday item a glamorous makeover - a chic turban with a vintage twist

After starting her business with just $5,000 in 2014, they broke even within months - and by their second year, the company hit $250,000 in revenue.

'I started with $5,000 in 2014 and just kept re-investing and profits back into the business to grow it organically,' she said.

'We broke even within a few months and then we were able to take on employees and an office within a year. From year one to two we had 500 per cent growth.

'We spent a lot of time on the development and patenting the designs. I think the category needed innovation and women responded to a fashionable alternative to the puffy bonnet style shower caps.

'We have not spent money on advertising, word of mouth may be a factor in the success - people love them and then buy them as gifts.'

She said one of her biggest challenges of running her own business was 'forecasting quantities', which has been 'difficult'.

'To know how much to produce for the market is sometimes a guesstimate until you have a track record to look back on, we constantly have waitlists for new products,' she said.

'Also, making big decisions on my own has been tough - sometimes there are opportunities or problems and it's up to you to make the call on the way forward.'

The mother has revealed how her brainwave in the shower led to a glamorous fashion empire

The shower turbans are both 'functional and fashion forward', made from stretchy, quick drying material with a waterproof lining and mildew resistant coating

Louvelle has since hit the market across six countries, with the brand now being stocked in more than 300 independent stores.

'We have been lucky to have Sephora in Australia and 300 independent retailers approach us to stock our shower turbans,' she said.

'I attribute this to retailers looking for a new niche product for the woman who has everything and also as a unique gift item  people often buy them for their friends and family.'

Her brand has also featured in a New York Times article - but one of her pinch-me moments was when a Vogue beauty editor wore her shower cap out of the house.

'I met a beauty editor in the Vogue offices in New York and I woke up one day to see she wore our shower turban on Instagram,' Mrs Taylor said.

'I was amazed that someone so chic was wearing my shower cap out of the house. That was my aim - to create a shower cap as chic as everything else in a woman's wardrobe.

Celebrity stylists for the Kardashians and Heidi Klum's hairdresser are among the fans of the brand.

'The Kardashians' hairdresser Jen Atkin is a fan too which is cool,' she said.

Mrs Taylor started sketching away her designs by creating a fashion forward piece for busy mothers - so they can also leave the house with the stylish shower caps on their heads

For other busy mothers who are keen to launch their own business, Mrs Taylor advises 'women need a network of support to be able to work'

The shower turbans are both 'functional and fashion forward', made from stretchy, quick drying material with a waterproof lining and mildew resistant coating.

'They are a firm fit which means steam can't get in and they also don't leave an elastic mark on your forehead,' she described.

'Our print designs are exclusive and fashion forward, so much so that people also wear the turbans out.'

Louvelle recently launched a new range of complimentary beauty accessories, including cotton silk blend eye masks (pictured)

Her company recently launched a new range of complimentary beauty accessories and loungewear, including cotton silk blend eye masks, kimono robes, headbands and vegan leather beauty bags.

'All designed in Australia from high quality fabrications,' Mrs Taylor said.

'Our retailers were asking for more products with the Louvelle luxury bohemian aesthetic to compliment our original shower turbans.'

For other busy mothers who are keen to launch their own business, Mrs Taylor advises 'women need a network of support to be able to work'.

'Whether that be employees, nannies or home help, you just can't do it all at the same time, and you will stress yourself out trying to do everything,' she said.

'The reality is that there isn't a weekly pay cheque in a small business in the beginning and you have to pay everyone else first before you get any financial reward for yourself.

'I think women should try different things and do what makes them happy and never be too hard on themselves.'
For many women, the entire process of pregnancy is overwhelming.

Between bodily changes, fluctuating hormones and topsy turvy emotional states, there is much to contend with - as one expectant mother knows only too well.

Here, Kirsty McKenzie, 32, from Canberra speaks candidly to FEMAIL about her three very different pregnancies.

'When I looked in the mirror, I felt complete and utter despair,' she recalled - talking about a moment she realised she still looked 'six months pregnant' six weeks after she gave birth to her second child.

Kirsty McKenzie (pictured), 32, from Canberra, is a mum-of-two - she spoke candidly to FEMAIL about her very different pregnancies as she prepares to give birth to her third child

'When I looked in the mirror, I felt complete and utter despair,' she recalled - talking about when she realised she still looked 'six months pregnant' six weeks after she gave birth to her second child (pictured pregnant, left, and six weeks post partum, right)

According to Ms McKenzie, while she thought she was prepared for pregnancy and the body changes, nothing can prepare you for the emotional rollercoaster of carrying a child

According to Ms McKenzie, while she thought she was prepared for pregnancy and the changes she would see in her body, nothing can prepare you for the emotional rollercoaster of carrying a child:

'It wasn't so much vanity as finding it difficult to deal with change,' Ms McKenzie told Daily Mail Australia.

'While it does happen slowly, gaining weight and getting stretchmarks for the first time was a shock to the system.'

The 32-year-old remembered breaking down to help with the emotional release.

Nevertheless, by the time Ms McKenzie gave birth to her eldest nine months later, she said she realised the power of the human body - and how much she loved her newborn baby girl:

'I accepted the changes including my "outie" belly button,' she said.

'They were my battle scars and they helped me to produce one of my greatest accomplishments, my eldest girl.'

'It wasn't so much vanity as finding it difficult to deal with change,' Ms McKenzie told Daily Mail Australia (pictured while pregnant for the third time)

Nevertheless, by the time Ms McKenzie gave birth to her eldest daughter, she embraced the changes in her body - her 'battle scars', including her 'outie' belly button

It wasn't until she got pregnant for a second time less than a year later that the mother-of-two fell into 'complete and utter despair' over her body.

'Physically and mentally, my second pregnancy pushed me to the limits of my body's capabilities,' she said.

While Ms McKenzie said she knew and was prepared for things like morning sickness and stretchmarks, 'no two pregnancies are the same'.

'I was much bigger than I was before, and mentally I found it tough to get up and get going. It was hard at the beginning because I wondered whether I would ever be able to love another child as much as my first.

Physically and mentally, my second pregnancy pushed me to the limits of my body's capabilities

'It was also hard at the end because I realised I had to go through the whole thing again - self doubt crept into my mind.'

By the time she gave birth - and suffered a ten centimetre abdominal separation in the process - Ms McKenzie said she was struggling hugely with having two children to contend with.

She also found it hard to look at herself in the mirror because she was in 'denial'.

'I bounced back physically from my first pregnancy without any real issues, but my second pregnancy had pushed my body to the extreme,' she recalled in a guest blog post for a friend.

'It saddens me to say, that again, when I dared look in the mirror at my body, a mere six weeks later, still looking six months pregnant, I felt complete and utter despair (again I cried),' Ms McKenzie added.

It wasn't until her second pregnancy that Ms McKenzie said she was pushed 'to the limits of my body's capabilities physically and mentally' (pictured pregnant)

'I bounced back physically from my first pregnancy without any real issues, but my second pregnancy had pushed my body to the extreme,' Ms McKenzie said

This time, the mum-of-two said she has had her most 'positive' pregnancy yet - she said her body is in the best place physically (pictured with her family)

Ms McKenzie is now in the 34th week of her third pregnancy and preparing to do it all over again.

However, this time she said she is coming out of her most 'positive pregnancy'.

'I've learned to juggle multiple lives as well as my own, and physically I feel the best I've felt,' she told FEMAIL.

'Everything has also been put into perspective a bit and I've learned to look at the changes within my body with a bit more understanding and acceptance.'

In a strange way, the mum-of-two said she is happy to have come out of the other side:

'For other women who are struggling with being pregnant I would say your body will not look the same afterwards, but it's not meant to look the same.

'I'm not worried about looking good in a bikini anymore. Remember you made a life; your body didn't change for nothing.'

Ms McKenzie blogs at The Mummysomniac. You can follow the blog here.
One-year-old Max Kirby was diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare tumour that grows on the brain stem, just five weeks ago.

The mass was the size of a lemon, and if it wasn't removed the little boy, from Darwin, was given just a year to live.

Renowned Sydney brain surgeon Charlie Teo saw MRI scans of Max's brain and decided to operate even though previous surgeries in Melbourne had proved unsuccessful in removing the tumour.

Now Max's family has posted an update on the life saving surgery, saying it appeared to have been a success for the little boy.

Now Max's family has posted an update on the life saving surgery via their GoFundMe page, which raised more than $150,000, and how well the operation went for the one-year-old

'Max came out of surgery earlier than expected - 10 hours in total. The surgeons were really happy with how the operation went and feel like they have removed all of the tumour from what they could see, although Max will have to get a repeat scan to confirm,' a message on their GoFundMe page began.

'He is in intensive care now and breathing on his own so far. Seems to have all movement in his arms and legs and opening his eyes. [His parents] Lincoln and Naomi are super happy at the moment as this is the best possible outcome with all the risks involved.

'There is still a long road ahead and he needs to be closely monitored over the next few days.'

Max's parents Lincoln and Naomi were said to have 'popped a bottle of champagne' to celebrate the result.

Lincoln and Naomi's one-year-old Max was diagnosed with a rare cancer by the name of ependymoma

They noticed something was wrong with the Darwin-born one-year-old when he started getting 'clingy', 'losing his balance' and 'not sleeping well' earlier this year.

Lincoln and Naomi decided to take him to a pediatrician.

He was taken to Darwin hospital where doctors performed multiple MRI scans to decipher the problem.

'Three hours later we were literally ready to board a plane to Monash hospital in Melbourne,' Max's dad Lincoln told the Daily Mail Australia.

The tumour was 'as large as a lemon' and could have blocked his spinal fluid 'at any time', hence the need for his parents to act quickly

The tumour was 'as large as a lemon' and could have blocked his spinal fluid 'at any time', hence the need for his parents to act quickly.

Two days after arriving in Melbourne little Max underwent eight hours of intensive surgery to remove his tumour, but doctors were only able to reduce it by 30 per cent.

The one-year-old was in intensive care for two weeks with multiple complications.

Max 'developed some fluid on the brain post-surgery and had to be rushed into theatre again for a drain to be put in and to monitor the pressure,' his GoFundMe page read.

'Oncologists said it was a 50 per cent survival rate. And that's if they removed the tumour entirely. So they aren't great odds,' Lincoln said.

The one-year-old was in intensive care for two weeks with multiple complications

It was at this point, their little boy 'not recovering as quickly as he should have been', that Lincoln Kirby and his wife Naomi decided to contact brain surgeon Dr Charlie Teo.

'Anything we could do to help Max we were going to do. We were told he [Dr Charlie Teo] was the best, particularly when the tumours are in difficult places like this one is.

'We sent him Max's MRI scans and he asked us if we could make it to Sydney.'

The Kirby family have since packed up their belongings at Ronald McDonald House near Monash Hospital and moved to Sydney in preparation for a $100,000 operation

'Lincoln is an apprentice boat mechanic and obviously currently not working due to being relocated between Melbourne and now Sydney,' the Go Fund Me page reads

The Kirby family packed up their belongings at Ronald McDonald House near Monash Hospital and moved to Sydney in preparation for a $100,000 operation.

'Dr Teo has advised that he would like to try to remove the tumour which is growing on Maxs brain stem.

'These tumours are frequently chemo-resistant and the best outcome for long term survival will be a full surgical resection,' Lincoln said previously.
While actors make a movie, it is the script writers who are to thank for our favourite cinema scenes and quotable catchphrases.

However, as Bright Side has revealed, this is not always the case, with some of Hollywood's most iconic scenes in fact the product of on-the-spot improvisation.

From the one-liners that have gone down in cinematic history to the endearing moments that captured viewers hearts, we reveal the most memorable scenes that might never have been...

The most iconic scene in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining had to be when Jack Nicholson says 'Here's Johnny!' but it was entirely unscripted

THE SHINING

Stanley Kubrick's take on the classic Stephen King novel is one of the world's favourite horror movies thanks to his eerie directing style and a stellar cast.

Even those who have not seen the film will be familiar with its most famous scene, which see's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) burst through the bathroom door shouting 'Here's Johnny'.

However, what is not known is that the famous line, which references the introduction of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, was entirely unscripted.

The moment where Richard Gere snaps the jewellery box shut on Julia Roberys in Pretty Woman was originally intended for the bloopers reel

PRETTY WOMAN

One of the most endearing scene's in the classic rom-com is when Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) presents Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) with a necklace.

Before she can reach for the gift Richard snaps the box shut leaving Julia in fits of giggles in what in fact was an entirely natural reaction.

In an interview with the American Film Institute, director Garry Marshall revealed that when he filmed the scene he planned to put it on a bloopers' reel as Gere's gag was not in the script.

The cat that can be seen on Marlon Brando's lap in the Godfather was actually a stray found on the set

THE GODFATHER

While Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) explains the concept of friendship to undertaker Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto) he can be seen holding a cat.

Director Francis Ford Coppola said: 'The cat in Marlon's hands was not planned for. I saw the cat running around the studio, and took it and put it in his hands without a word.'

The final scene in Lost in Translation was originally scripted to see Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson share a meaningful hug and nothing more

However, Murray whispers an unknown sentence into her ear and the scene ends with a kiss

LOST IN TRANSLATION

In a story of sexual tension and unfulfilled lust, Lost in Translation's final scene, which sees Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and Bob (Bill Murray) share their first and only kiss, became the film's most iconic.

But in the original script it was decided that the two characters would simply hold each other in the ending shot.

Yet in the finished film, Bill Murray can be seen whispering an inaudible sentence into Scarlett's ear before the pair share a kiss.

What he actually said remains one of cinema's biggest secrets with not even director Sofia Coppola in on the truth. Sofia has said: 'I love that Bill says it's between them!'

The scene in Roman Holiday where Gregory Peck pretends to lose a hand was totally unplanned provoking a genuine reaction from Audrey Hepburn

ROMAN HOLIDAY

In the scene where Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) convinces Princess Anne (Audrey Hepburn) that he has lost his hand to the Mouth of Truth, Audrey produces an entirely authentic reaction.

This is thanks to the fact that Gregory's gag was completely unplanned, leaving his co-star in genuine shock.

Robin William's improvised story in Good Will Hunting was so amusing it left the cameramen in hysterics

GOOD WILL HUNTING

One of the movie's most amusing scenes is one in which Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) tells Will Hunting (Matt Damon) a story about his deceased wife.

The story becomes increasingly ridiculous as Robin recounts his wife's bowel issues, causing both Matt, and off-screen, the camera crew, to fall into fits of laughter.

The scene was entirely unscripted with Robin fabricating the story as he went along.

Alan Rickman's death scene in Die Hard was particularly convincing because the director pushed the actor onto his air bag unexpectedly leaving him in genuine shock

DIE HARD

All Die Hard fans will be familiar with the scene where Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) meets his death as he falls from the roof of a building.

It was agreed by the actor that he would fall onto an airbag 25 feet below on the count of three.

However, in order to get the best reaction possible the director pushed Rickman on the point of 'one' resulting in a truly shocked reaction.

Jack Nicholson also improvised during The Departed when he unexpectedly pulled a gun on Leonardo DiCaprio

THE DEPARTED

This is another movie where Jack Nicholson's improv lends itself to the final product.

In the scene where Frank Costello (Nicholson) pulls out a hand gun on Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) the actor had been completely unprepared.

DiCaprio produces a genuinely uneasy reaction. In an interview with the Telegraph he said: 'It changed the whole dynamic of the scene, and that's what he does  he makes you so much better and he makes you react as an actor, and you take more chances because your character is reacting to this homicidal maniac.'
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A historic mansion once owned by a British tycoon who housed Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany has been transformed into luxury apartments.

City banker and philanthropist Otto Schiff bought the property in Hampstead, north London, in the early 1920s and later transformed it into a safe house for those fleeing Hitler's regime, leading many to regard him as Britain's answer to Oskar Schindler.

On his death in 1952 the stunning mansion became a care home for victims of Nazi persecution.

Now the Victorian era property has been converted into a number of high-end apartments starting at 2.5million.

With its elegant brick and tile hung facade, with large bays and stained glass windows, the interiors of Otto Schiff House have been carefully modernised to provide ultimate modern living while retaining historic features.

The original entrance hall with its high ceiling, original fireplace and grand staircase has been restored and now provides a stunning first impression.

The apartments, some of which offer access to private balconies, boast beautiful bedroom suites with walk-in wardrobes, spacious reception rooms and state-of-the-art technology throughout.

Other finishing touches include underfloor heating, comfort cooling and concierge.

Spacious: The apartments feature large reception rooms, some of which boast glorious bay windows (seen above)

Modern living: The sensitively decorated bedroom suites, pictured, offer the perfect place to unwind after a long day

Luxury: This marble bathroom, which features an elegant freestanding bath, would satisfy the most discerning homeowner

Hero: City banker and philanthropist Otto Schiff, left, opened the doors to his home during the Second World War, right

Bright and airy: French doors opening out onto a private balcony bring a sense of space to this open-plan living room

Historic: The Victorian-era mansion, pictured, has been carefully converted into a number of high-end apartments

Carefully designed: This corner kitchen makes the most of space while giving homeowners plenty of room to whip up a meal

Fine dining: A skylight adds more light to this elegant open-plan dining room, which offers plenty of space to entertain

High-end: One of the sprawling penthouse properties boasts an indoor terrace, left, and stylish living space, right

Flooded with light: The original bay windows of the Victorian-era mansion bring a touch of character to this reception room

Indulgence: This master bedroom suite offers ample storage space and enough room for a private sitting area, pictured

Perfect for entertaining: This open-plan living space opens out onto a private terrace, making it perfect for parties
Lauren Bush Lauren and her husband David Lauren celebrated the 13-year anniversary of their first meeting last night at the event that led to their courtship  the Met Gala.

The 32-year-old FEED founder took to Instagram on Monday evening to share a stunning black and white photo of herself posed with 45-year-old David at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Benefit, where they met for the first time in 2004.

'Tonight, 13 years ago, I met David while leaving the #metball,' she captioned the image. 'Happy Anniversary my one!'

Looking happier than ever! Lauren Bush Lauren and her husband David Lauren celebrated the 13-year anniversary of their first meeting on Monday night at the Met Gala

Stunning couple: Lauren took to Instagram on Monday night to share a black and white photo of herself posed with her husband at the event

Anniversary: The 32-year-old FEED founder met Ralph Lauren's son David, 45, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit in 2004

Representing the family: Lauren looked elegant in a backless gold and white gown designed by her father-in-law Ralph Lauren

The mother-of-one looked elegant in a backless gold and white gown designed by her father-in-law Ralph Lauren.

The new theme for this year's Costume Institute exhibition and Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, and it is the first one to honor a living designer since its Yves Saint Laurent exhibit in 1983.

Although it wasn't the easiest theme to dress for, Lauren looked radiant in the gold lame that made up the top of her halter dress, which featured a white skirt.

Lauren accessorized her gown with gold chandelier earrings and and a gold clutch, and she was all smiles as she posed with her husband, who looked dashing in a double breasted Ralph Lauren tuxedo.

Added touches: Lauren had her golden brown hair pulled back, and she accessorized her gown with gold chandelier earrings

'Best MET Table': Lauren and David are pictured with Armie Hammer, his wife Elizabeth Chambers, Michael B. Jordan (top, from left to right), Bobby Cannavale, his long-time partner Rose Byrne, Lily Aldridge, Nick Jonas, and Priyanka Chopra (bottom, from left to right)

Mother-of-one Lauren showed off her natural make-up look by wearing her hair in a chic up-do, a style that was created for her by celebrity stylist Julien Farel who proudly posted an image of Lauren on his official Instagram account.

The executive vice president of the Ralph Lauren Corporation also took to Instagram on Monday evening to share photo of the 'best MET table' at the event.

The snapshot sees Lauren and David posed with Michael B. Jordan, Armie Hammer, his wife Elizabeth Chambers, Lily Aldridge, Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Rose Byrne, and her long-term partner Bobby Cannavale, all of whom were decked out in Ralph Lauren.

Look of love: The pair gazed into each others' eyes while making their way down the carpet

History: The couple met at the Met Gala when she was just 19. David posed with model Filippa Hamilton at the event in 2004 (left), while she is pictured alone at the benefit that year (right)

After meeting at the Met Gala in 2004 when Lauren was just 19 years old, the two have returned to the high-profile social event held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year since to celebrate the anniversary of their first meeting.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is such a special place for the couple that when it came time to propose to his lady love in 2010 he chose that very spot.

David suggested that they meet at the Met to look at some new pictures before attending a dinner nearby, bur when Lauren arrived at the venue she was surprised that no one else was there but David  and the art work he wanted her to see was a series of photographs from their seven years together.

Tradition: The happy couple has celebrated the anniversary of their first meeting at the May event every year since. They are pictured at the 2016 Met Gala

Happy family: The duo wed at the Lauren family ranch in Colorado in 2011, and nearly six years later they have a one-year-old son, James (pictured)

Father and son: Lauren shared this photo of David and James in Brooklyn last month

'I created our own exhibition of our life together,' David told Vogue in 2011. 'And I got down on my knee and proposed.

'Then we went outside and took a carriage ride with a clarinetist and a saxophonist following us.'

Instead of saying 'I do' in their home city of New York, the couple wed at the Lauren family's 17,000-acre Double RL ranch in Ridgway, Colorado, over Labor Day weekend in 2011.

Nearly six years later, David and Lauren have a one-year-old son named James, and the proud mom often shares photos of her family with her 80,000 Instagram followers.




What do you have to do to receive the forgiveness of sins?, inquired an eager Miss Johnson to her squirming gaggle of gigglers in the Sunday school class.One attentive boy shot up his hand, eager to demonstrate his learning.Yes, Nigel--- What does one have to do to receive the forgiveness of sins?Nigel proudly blurted, Sin!Miss Jones intended, of course, to teach about the mechanics of forgiveness reception.Nigel was talking about pre-requisites.Just as you must take algebra if you ever hope to excel in AP Calculus, so must you sin in order to excel in receiving the debt-dissolving magic of Jesus preoccupation called the forgiveness of sins.But what if sin disappears?What if we make cozy alliances that permit us to re-name disastrous things in the eyes of heaven as mere polite peccadillos down below?What if we, concerned to preserve fragile psyches, lose the vocabulary to label, the skill to identify, and the heart to turn from things which God has called human poison?A little fib here, a small omission there. A slight breaking of marital vows. A dab of harmless gossip. Just a touch of looking down on the one competes with me. A harmless dose of extra padding of my own pockets, and little contempt toward those whose pockets are riddled with holes.If these things, and their unmentioned cousins, are just what everyone does, they are simply to be expected and excused, but not forgiven.Mistakes were made. A favorite passive-voiced gloss. No perpetrator to be found. No mistake maker any where in view.Such is a common contemporary disguise to kinda-sorta-touch at the idea that an anomalous and hurtful thing has happened....but surely not an actual act of wrong-doing that generates a residue of guilt.Certainly not an action or attitude that created a debt which needed expunging.And definitely not an injurious action for which an actor was culpable.Just a little excusing is required.CS Lewis chimes in this conversation in a most helpful way:I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiveness says Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before. But excusing says I see that you couldnt help it or didnt mean it; you werent really to blame. If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive. In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites.If there is no sin, then a religion that spends so much of its air time on resourcing forgiveness becomes largely unintelligible.The appearance of Him who will save his people from their sins is a scheduling error not a Divine Rescue.If gluttony and addiction are mere glandular issues that cant be helped; if obeying all our sexual desires in whichever fashion we find them most articulately pronounced in us is just part of our animal instinct; if preferencing our tribe, no matter what disadvantage and shame it poses for those with different skin pigmentation or accent, is merely natural, then what do we make of the worlds best selling and most indomitable Book that calls a woman most blessed if God decides not to keep a detailed ledger of her transgressions?What is she to do if she has no transgressions?King David (warrior, poet, adulterer, Head of State, murderer, troubled father, ladies man, oh, and man after Gods own heart) insists that the happiest dudes and dudettes are those that nap in the eno hammock of Gods slate-shattering refusal to hold even the slightest infraction against them. (cf. Psalm 32, Romans 4)There is a chemical reaction like an Alka-Seltzer in a glass of Brita-filtered H2O in the life of the person who believes that God has said, though you whiffed on the opportunities to disadvantage yourself for the advantage of your neighbor, I am going to throw the charges against you in the fireplace.The powerful stain-removing, debt-dissipating, infraction-erasing mercy of God can make your insides fizz with joy as the callouses are removed and the calcified places within us soften.But what is available to us when we suggest there is not actually anything to forgive?Where is blessedness to be found then?In pretending that we are ok?Puh-lease.We know we havent measured up, havent come through, and havent been the version of us that we were made to be.No matter how much Instagram curating we do, we still have a mirror to face. And theres no easy hiding from that dang mirror and the divine gaze that it often replicates.Just like you cant hide it if when youve demolished a diced-onion-smothered Krystal gut-bomb. For as soon as you go to Cross-Fit, the onion-y fragrance adheres to each bead of sweat and pollutes every nearby kettle-bell swingers nasal passage.Neither can we hide our guilt that never goes away without Christs forgiveness, no matter how much we pretend.Of course, the onion-stink of our hearts guilt may come out in different ways.It might be as an intolerable severity towards others who cannot measure up. After all, the sins we see best in others, we learned first in ourselves.Or we might turn that severity on our own selves, criticizing, despising, and loathing the loser within.Or we could find ourselves compulsively laboring as an advocate for some cause or another because, down deep, we need somehow to prove our worth, to payback what we got, or to pay-off what we did or didnt do.Perhaps, we sub-consciously presume, enough impassioned advocacy will scrub away the stains that sully us and compensate for our constantly accruing guilt-liabilities.Whichever way our most stubbornly situation guilts are disguised or concealed, the result is the same. We are cemented into a situation we cant remedy on our own.Frederick Buechner has corroborated: Its about as hard to absolve yourself of your own guilt as it is to sit in your own lap.Forgiveness for the sin-admitter though, is like the instantaneous flourishing that celiacs discover when they begin to omit gluten from their lives.All their days they have eaten as if they could harmlessly ingest homemade, stone-ground wheat bread, and could, without consequence, savor a frothy micro-brew, never realizing, all the while that a militant, miniscule protein in the grain was causing inner irritation, an inflammation of their insides.The tasty treat that seemed to be hurting no one...(after all thats a favorite justification slogan we employ, its not hurting anyone!) is actually deteriorating the lining of their intestines, poisoning their digestive tracks and corroding their hope of flourishing.Forgiveness is akin to getting authoritative word from the doctor that you should omit gluten from your life. So you throw it out like God trashes your own sins, and suddenly, your gut-health and over all physical situation is instantly improved. You feel like a person again.Forgiveness received, reveled in, and counted on is a life-long gluten intolerance sufferer who just found out, gave up the doughnuts, and suddenly found her body pulsing with a new energy and her eyes infused with a energetic light.No wonder that the sin-bearing, free-forgiveness offering Christ gave a similarly compelling short-hand description of his first appearing, namely, I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.Its been said that the guilty live in dreadful uncertainty.Its also been said, that Christ came to the world to save sinners.Both are true.Thats why Im sure glad to believe that despite what I know of myself and of all the sins we fear to name, there is One to whom we can continue to go, who knows all but will never turn his face away.-----
Bristol Palin is just a week away from her due date, but that isn't stopping the expectant mom from spending some quality time with her two children.

The 26-year-old took to Instagram to share a video of herself out for a walk with her mother, Sarah Palin, and her eight-year-old son, Tripp, on Monday, as well as an adorable picture of her one-year-old daughter Sailor Grace the following day.

In the past few weeks leading up to her due date, Bristol and her husband Dakota Meyer have been living a suburb of Austin, Texas, with their daughter Sailor and her son Tripp, her only child with her ex-fiance Levi Johnston.

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Almost there! Bristol Palin (right) filmed herself enjoying a walk with her mother Sarah Palin (left) and her son Tripp on Monday afternoon

Moving and shaking: The former vice presidential nominee was listening to music on a cellphone during the outing

Sarah has been visiting from their hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, and in the clip Bristol can be seen flashing the camera on her face before turning it on the former vice presidential nominee, who is swaying to a song she is playing on her cellphone.

Bristol then moves the camera to Tripp, who is riding a bike next to them, and he seems very unimpressed by his mother and grandmother.

The little boy throws them a look that suggests he thinks his grandmother has lost it as he shakes his head.

Although she is less than a week away from her due date, Bristol looks comfortable and well-rested in the days leading up to her becoming a mother-of-three.

Embarrassed? Bristol's eight-year-old son Tripp gave his grandmother Sarah a look that suggests he thinks she has lost it

On Tuesday, Bristol shared a precious photo of Sailor wearing a pink 'Dancing with the Stars' onsie with a tulle bottom tucked into cuffed jeans and hot pink sneakers.

Bristol appeared on the ABC reality series in 2010, and it appears that she  or her husband Dakota  still has a fondness for it.

'When dad picks out an outfit #nothingsweeter #myfav,' she captioned the sweet image, which sees the little girl posed in front of their home with the family dog Lucy.

Bristol and Dakota appear to be giving extra special attention to the tot in the days leading up to her becoming a big sister, and last week, the mom posted a heartwarming photo of Sailor enjoying a dinner 'date' with her father.

Too cute: On Tuesday, Bristol took to Instagram to share a photo of her one-year-old daughter Sailor Grace wearing the outfit her father Dakota Meyer picked out for her

Daddy's girl: Sailor Grace went on a dinner 'date' with her father Dakota last Thursday

Almost there! Bristol, who is nine months pregnant, posted a photo of herself sitting on Dakota's lap last week

'@dakotameyer0317 taking sissy on a date,' Bristol captioned the image. 'Omg talk about melt my heart!'

Bristol couldn't resist gushing about her husband while noting that Sailor looks just like her daddy by using the hashtags '#bestdadever' and '#minaturedakotameyer'.

The picture sees Sailor sitting in a high chair, holding a piece of bread, and eating the meat that was placed on a paper towel in front of her.

In about a week, Sailor is going to go from being the baby of the family to a big sister, and it looks like both of her parents are showering her with some extra love and affection.

Look of love: Bristol recently posted a series of family photos, calling Dakota, Sailor, and Tripp her 'world'

Almost there: Bristol is due to give birth to her third child  her second with Dakota  this May. She shared this picture on April 16 when she was three weeks away from her due date

Bristol is expecting her third child  her second with Dakota  and the two recently announced that they're having a baby girl.

The mom has been happily documenting her pregnancy on Instagram, and last Wednesday she shared two photos of herself sitting on her Dakota's lap.

And she had no problem suggesting that her husband may have been a bit uncomfortable because of her size.

'Real life: [whale],' she captioned the pictures, using an emoji of a whale to joke about how big she is getting ahead of her due date.
They recently admitted that they've never spoken enough to each other about their mother as they battled their grief at losing her at such a young age.

But now Princes William and Harry are set to open up about their intimate memories of Princess Diana in a documentary for HBO and ITV to mark the 20th anniversary of her death in August.

The pair will speak openly about how her influence shaped their lives in the Oxford Films produced programme, as well as her charity and humanitarian work in many fields, including landmines, HIV and homelessness.

ITV's Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual, said the film would shed new light on Diana's life through rare insight from her son's and friends who have been before been interviewed.

'This new ITV film will offer viewers a fresh and revealing insight into Princess Diana through the personal and intimate reflections of her two sons and of her friends and family, many of whom have never spoken before, to bring together a definitive portrait of a unique person who touched the lives of millions,' she explained.

Princes William and Harry will open up about their intimate memories of their mother Princess Diana for a documentary to mark the 20th anniversary of her death in August 1997

The brothers were at one point reluctant to speak about their mother - either privately or publicly - but the pair have become increasingly open of late

Executive producer, Oxford Film and Televisions Nick Kent added: This film will show Princess Diana in a way she has never seen before, through the eyes of two people who know her best.'

Ashely Gething, who was responsible for The Queen At 90, to mark the monarch's landmark birthday last year, will direct.

Back in 1997 Princess Diana was staying in Paris with her then boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, following a summer holiday to the South of France, while her children were with the Queen at Balmoral.

The couple had taken up residence in a suite at the Ritz, owned by Dodis father, Mohamed Al Fayed, when they were killed in a car driven by the hotels acting head of security, Henri Paul, who an inquest later found to be drunk and speeding as they entered the Alma Tunnel.

William was 15 and Harry was 12-years-old when their mother was killed in a car crash in Paris on August

The inquest found he had lost control of the car and crashed into a pillar, killing himself, Diana and Dodi. Only Dodis bodyguard survived.

William, who was just 15 when Princess Diana died, initially refused to speak publicly about his mother's death.

But in recent years he's been more open, especially after becoming the patron of Child Bereavement UK.

PRINCESS DIANA'S DEATH IN PARIS Diana arrived in Paris on 30 August 1997 with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed after spending nine days together on his father Mohammed Al-Fayed's yacht in Sardinia. They pair dined at the Ritz hotel, owned by Dodi's father, and left after midnight to travel to an apartment in in Rue Arsene Houssaye, just off the Champs Elysees. The Ritz's deputy head of security Henri Paul was tasked with driving a black Mercedes away from the main entrance of the hotel on Place Vendome to fool the waiting papparazzi, while Diana and Dodi exited via the rear entrance on Rue Cambon. Trevor Rees-Jones of the Fayed family's secturity team was driving the couple and took them into the Place de l'Alma underpass. Photographers pursued them into the underpass and Paul, who was under the influence of alcohol and speeding, lost control of the Mercedes 280S while trying to outrun the press pack and careered into a support pillar. Henri Paul and Dodi Fayed were killed instantly, but Diana was still alive and was removed from the wreckage She suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital several hours later. An inquest concluded that Diana's death was 'caused, or contributed to, by the speed and manner of the driver of the Mercedes and the speed and manner of the following vehicles'. The Flame of Liberty, a replica of part of the Statue of Liberty, which stands on the Place de lAlma has become an unofficial monument to the Princess, and is still visited by royal fans who lay pictures and flowers beside it. Advertisement

'Never being able to say the word "Mummy" again in your life sounds like a small thing,' he revealed.

'However, for many, including me, it's now really just a word  hollow and evoking only memories.'

As the anniversary of their mother's death draws closer, both Harry and William have been more open about the difficulties they faces after her death.

Harry opened up about how he came close to a 'breakdown' in his 20s, due to unresolved grief.

William and Harry, as well of friends of their mother who have never spoken before, will open up about her life to paint a 'definitive portrait' of the late princess

And in the same week, the brothers admitted they didn't speak to each other enough about their feelings following the bereavement.

In a video which saw the pair join the Duchess of Cambridge for a discussion on mental health Harry revealed that the pair would avoid the subject as it was too painful.

He said: 'We've never really talked about losing a mum at such a young age.'

The brothers recently admitted they hadn't spoken enough to each other about the loss of their mother over the years because it was too painful

'When you speak to other people's families and little kids and stuff you think "wow, I don't want them to go through the same things",' he explained.

'With a little bit of experience you want to do everything you can to help to stop them bottling it up.'

'I always thought, what's the point of bringing up something that's only going to make you sad. It ain't going to change it. It ain't going to bring her back,' he said.
Some teenagers spend hours agonizing over a prom dress, and end up spending hundreds or even thousands as a result. This 17-year-old did neither of those things when she spent just $15 to make her own prom dress the day before the school dance.

Shami Oshun, a high school student from Northern California, didn't have plans to go to prom until just before the dance. Without a dress, the student - who designs clothes on the side - saw no other choice but to make her own.

She began work the day before the dance, and spent just $15 on the purple tulle fabric she used to construct the gown. While she worked, Oshun updated her Twitter followers on her progress.

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A vision in purple: 17-year-old Shami Oshun of Northern California designed and made this prom dress the day before the dance, using just $15 of material

Humble beginnings: Oshun said that when she began designing the dress, she had no idea what it was going to look like

Experimenting: On Saturday - the day of the dance - Oshun was still designing and sewing. She was even forced to hand sew the final pieces of her dress when her machine broke!

Oshun told BuzzFeed News that the design process was free-form and unplanned. 'I didnt really have an idea of what the dress was going to look like,' she said.

The process began with Oshun pinning her fabric to a dress form in a basic cocktail shape. She then created a deep V neckline and a more A-line skirt. But with just hours to go before the dance, Oshun switched up her direction.

On Saturday - the day of the prom - Oshun took a plain white mini-dress and used it as a base for her purple tulle. Despite sewing machine errors, Oshun persisted and proceeded to spend more than five hours hand-sewing the stunning final result.

When it was complete, the dress had been reworked to feature a translucent floor-length skirt that was covered in deep purple floral embellishments.

Oshun completed the look with makeup by her friend Darla, featuring holographic purple eyeshadow.

The final details: Ultimately, Oshun added lush floral embellishments to the long skirt of the dress

Flawless makeup: Oshun completed her low budget, high glamour look with smokey purple makeup done by her friend

A second life: Midway through the dance, Oshun said she was forced to crop her dress - and yet she still looked equally as amazing

Needless to say, Oshun's Twitter followers were thrilled at the sight of the complete look. 'So impressive! And gorgeous! And trendy! And sexy!' praised one. 'One word honey: fierce,' said another.

Later on, Oshun updated her Twitter to say that, due to some technical difficulties, she was forced to crop the dress mid-dance. She included a picture of the new, shorter version of the dress, which elicited just as much excitement.

'GIRL,' began one Twitter user's reply. 'You served not one, but TWO LOOKS,' they praised.

Fashion innovation must come easily to Oshun, who at just 17 years old already has her own self-titled clothing line, which is available through her shop.

According to BuzzFeed News, the hype surrounding Oshun's custom prom dress has inspired her to keep designing. She says, 'Seeing that people like what I do makes me want continue.'
Hillary Clinton gave her candid impressions about last year's presidential election at a New York City power lunch today - all under the watchful eye of Meryl Streep.

The 67-year-old actress was among the crowd at the Women For Women International luncheon held on the Upper East Side in support of the nonprofit.

Streep listened as the former Democratic nominee revealed she was writing a book about her ill-fated presidential run - which she called a 'painful process ' - and answered questions from CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Supportive: Meryl Streep was among the crowd listening to Hillary Clinton during the Women For Women International luncheon held on the Upper East Side in support of the nonprofit

Attentive: The actress was all ears as the former Democratic nominee revealed she was writing a book about her ill-fated presidential run - which she called a 'painful process '

Incarnations: Streep appeared at the lunch not long after rumors that she might play the former presidential candidate herself in a new movie were revived

The actress has been an outspoken supporter of Clinton, and was famously branded 'one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood' by President Donald Trump after giving a powerful speech at this year's Golden Globes ceremony.

Streep was all ears as the former presidential candidate reminded the crowd she had won the popular vote by more than three million votes, and blamed her loss on FBI director James Comey's letter to Congress on October 28, leaked emails from Russia published by Wikileaks, and misogyny.

The actress appeared at the lunch not long after rumors that she might play Clinton herself in a new movie were revived.

Both her name and Glenn Close's were considered as casting possibilities, a source told Radar Online last month.

A good fit: The actress (spotted among the crowd) has been an outspoken supporter of Clinton, and was famously branded 'over-rated' by President Donald Trump

A Hollywood friendship: The former Secretary Of State was asked to name the actress she would like to play her in 2015, and her choice was immediate: 'Well, Meryl Streep, of course'

Belle of the ball: Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner was also in attendance at the lunch, wearing Hellessy's bold green Lapo Jumpsuit

The source said Streep had been eliminated from the pool due to her political Golden Globes speech, but a representative for Close later told Digital Spy this was 'not true'.

Both the actress and the former presidential candidate have said they would be on board for Streep to play Clinton on the big screen.

'I'm very flattered to hear that,' Streep told Variety in October 2016, before the election, after someone mentioned the presidential candidate had expressed interest in having Streep play her.

'But I'll have to wait for that role. All her great achievements are ahead of her.'

The former Secretary Of State was asked to name the actress she would like to play her in 2015 on Live with Kelly and Michael, and her choice was immediate: 'Well, Meryl Streep, of course.'
Pregnancy can be a difficult time filled with discomfort, stress, and not to mention weird cravings. Yet one photography team is reflecting on the more magical side of pregnancy with a Disney princess-themed maternity shoot.

Vic and Marie Photography, the husband and wife photo duo behind the project, were initially inspired to stage the shoot due to the recent buzz surrounding Beauty and the Beast. However, the project quickly grew out of their comfort zone.

The couple told HuffPost, 'As we talked about the ideas and planned it, the more we wanted to go outside of our own element.'

Queens in the making: Vic and Marie Photography recently organized a Disney princess-themed maternity shoot at Newman's Castle in Bellville, Texas

Keeping it simple: The moms-to-be dressed in simple jersey frocks, and added a few accessories - like an apple for Snow White - to evoke their respective princess stories

Inspiration! The photography duo said their initial inspiration came from the recent popularity of Beauty and the Beast, which features Belle (pictured above)

Vic and Marie photograph engagements, mothers-to-be, and newborns - so they certainly had experience in the maternity shoot department. The difference here was the overt pop culture references, which their traditional style typically avoids.

Soon, the shoot came together with former clients and models matched to the roles of Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine from Aladdin, and Tiana from Princess and the Frog.

Each woman was dressed simply, in jersey gowns from Sew Trendy Accessories, which retail for $139 each. The dresses, the colors of which were coordinated to match each princess, were accented with simple necklaces and hairpieces.

Rather than go all out, the photographers said they preferred to use subtle details to evoke the princess effect, and the results are undeniably elegant.

The shoot took place at Newman's Castle, a bakery in Bellville, Texas. Though the structure wasn't build until 1998, it looks exactly like a medieval castle, and even boasts a moat, a bell tower, and a dungeon. Needless to say, it was the perfect place to host a handful of princesses.

Finding their princesses: The women seen in the shoot, including Cinderella (above) were a mixt of former clients and models, and all were 'incredibly excited' to see the final pictures

It takes work to make magic! Vic and Marie said the day of the shoot was hectic, as coordinating five very pregnant women, such as Jasmine (above) was tricky

A magical moment: The women featured in the shoot, like Tiana (above), as well as many fans of the photography duo, praised the uniquely elegant shoot

Victor and Marie describe the day of the shoot as 'a mix of magic and chaos,' citing 'the wardrobe changes, the makeup retouches, the pee breaks, and one mommy close to giving birth,' as cause for the hectic mood.

And yet, the team agrees 'we managed to make it come together beautifully.'

Needless to say, the women involved in the shoot were 'incredibly excited' to see the elegant, glamorous photos that the shoot resulted in.

Fans of the photography duo were equally excited. One woman who saw the princess-themed shoot on Facebook couldn't help but comment, 'I'm going to get pregnant just to take some maternity pictures again.'
It's not just a handful of obnoxious customers that flight attendants have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

They are also at risk of inhaling poisonous fumes inside the confined cabins - despite planes being full of filters.

Known as 'aerotoxic-syndrome', it can lead to blurred vision, seizures, headaches, nausea, diarrhoea and even breathing difficulties.

In the last year, three airline crews at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport have received emergency medical care with such symptoms.

Flight attendants are also at risk of inhaling poisonous fumes inside the confined cabins - despite planes being full of filters

They were all referred to Georgia's Poison Center, in Atlanta, where doctors found it to be because of the toxic air.

In one instance, a ground supervisor at the airport became ill from the fumes after going to investigate a plane, according to Dr Gaylord Lopez.

He told Channel 2 that unsuspecting passengers could also be at risk 'because of the way air circulates'.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, added: 'We know that pilots and flight attendants are getting sick from toxic fumes.

'It's a real concern. Because if a crew member can become incapacitated, and there's a pilot flying the plane, that can be very dangerous to everyone on board.'

Vanessa Woods, a former flight attendant, has permanent neurological issues as a result of her hydrocarbon exposure.

We know that pilots and flight attendants are getting sick from toxic fumes Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants

Doctors confirmed the diagnosis after she and three other cabin crew members of Alaska Airlines were taken to hospital.

Most of todays planes have systems in which the cabin contains a mix of recycled air and warm compressed air drawn from their engines, a process known as 'bleed air'.

There are seals designed to keep oil and bleed air apart, but they can leak or fail and organophosphates contained in heated engine oil can contaminate the unfiltered bleed air that is pumped into the aircraft cabin.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the only aircraft where this does not occur, as it uses electric compressors that take their air from the atmosphere.

Known as 'aerotoxic-syndrome', it can lead to blurred vision, seizures, headaches, nausea, diarrhoea and even breathing difficulties

Those who are campaigning for recognition of the syndrome say airlines should install bleed air filters on existing aircraft to protect crew and passengers.

Yet the campaigners have faced an uphill battle in convincing the public thanks to aviation industry and medical professionals who have produced conflicting studies or shrugged them off as conspiracy theorists.

Known by scientists as 'fume events', sickness in passengers and aircrew have been recorded since the 1950s.

WHAT IS AEROTOXIC SYNDROME? 'Aerotoxic syndrome' is the term given to symptoms linked to the exposure to contaminated air in jet aircraft. Many former pilots, co-pilots and cabin crew believe they have been subjected to long-term illnesses due to the amount of time they have spent exposed to cabin air and 'toxic fumes'. Numerous scientific studies have been carried out since the late 1970s to try and determine whether contaminated cabin air is the cause of chronic health problems. Symptoms of 'aerotoxic syndrome' are said to include fatigue, blurred or tunnel vision, loss of balance, seizures, memory impairment, headaches, tinnitus, confusion, nausea, diarrhoea, breathing difficulties and irritation of the eyes, nose and upper airways. Advertisement

According to the UK's department of transport, they occur on roughly 0.05 per cent of all flights.

One such event was implicated in the death of British Airways co-pilot Richard Westgate, who died in 2012.

The 43-year-old had complained of persistent headaches, nausea and chronic fatigue and he claimed this was caused by fumes in the cockpit.

A study conducted following his death found that air in cockpits was being contaminated by contained organophosphates and other chemicals.

Senior coroner for Dorset, Sheriff Stanhope Payne, who presided over an inquiry into his death, previously said that airlines must take action to prevent passenger deaths from toxic fumes inside aircraft cabins.

In response, British Airways said the available evidence does not suggest that such chemicals are present in cabin air in sufficient quantities to pose a risk to health.

Its position was backed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which cited a number of studies.

Research conducted by Cranfield University in 2011 found that 95 per cent of aircraft cabin samples had no detectable levels of organophosphates.

A 2013 report published by Professor Michael Bagshaw, a specialist in aviation medicine at Kings College London, also noted: 'The amounts of organophosphates to which aircraft crew members could be exposed, even over multiple, long-term exposures, are insufficient to produce neurotoxicity.'
A veteran NHS doctor has blasted 'the drunken brigade' who clog up cash-strapped hospitals and jeopardise urgent care for others in need.

Gautam Das, 67, who was a senior consultant urology surgeon with the NHS for 26 years before recently retiring, said he feels no sympathy for those who end up in A&E through alcohol or have alcohol-related conditions.

In a frank confession, he admitted that the 'drunken brigade' is the 'one thing I can't abide by'.

The experienced doctor suggested others with non-booze related health problems should be given priority treatment.

He said: 'Fighting and vomiting, wasting precious NHS time Well, I have little sympathy for them. It's always more important to see someone who's had a heart attack than some idiot who has a gash in the head because of a drunken brawl.'

Dr Gautam Das said heart attack patients aremore important than drunken patients

His sentiments echo the views of NHS chief executive Simon Stevens, who has said the UK health service was being turned into a 'National Hangover Service'.

Dr Das said that when he arrived to the UK from Kolkata, India, 43 years ago, he was 'impressed with the NHS.'

'Free care? To have that worry of payment taken away from you when you're poorly? It's incredible.

He added his sympathies lie with other patients, who haven't brought on their health conditions and talked about being haunted by being unable to save a young boy with cancer.

'You cant always save someone, and thats something I learnt early on,' he told the Daily Mirror.

'I was still a trainee in my home town of Calcutta when I lost a little boy to a rare bone cancer.

'It was 47 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. I still hear his dad begging me to do something, but after various treatments, the was too aggressive. He died within two weeks of his diagnosis.'

Alcohol abuse is putting lives at risk in 'over-full hospitals'

He added: 'When disaster strikes, like last years tram crash in Croyden, if youre fighting for your life, you will be prioritised.

'There do seem to be a lot of negative reports about patients being turned away from overcrowded NHS hospitals. I have often prepped patients for huge, life-changing cancer ops and had to send them back because someones arrived on the brink of death.

'But that never meant people would not be treated. It just meant the op was pushed back a few hours. The team just worked later to make sure everyone was seen.'

Alcohol abuse is said to cost the NHS 3.5 billion a year - equal to 120 for every tax payer.

In January, it emerged that hospitals were asking relatives to nurse their loved ones back to health at home, as they had run out of space.

In the first week of the year, almost 18,500 patients had to endure waits on A&E trolleys as there were no free beds.

The Royal College of Physicians said lives were being put at risk in 'over-full hospitals', after The Mail on Sunday exposed how many of them were repeatedly at 100 per cent capacity in December.

The crisis had lead to calls for drunks to be forced to pay for their treatment if they end up at A&E.

International research showed Britain to be one of the worst countries for binge drinking.

NHS chief Simon Stevens said said: 'More than a third of A&E attendances at peak times are caused by drunkenness - casualty nurses and doctors are understandably frustrated about the NHS being used as a national hangover service.'
Hundreds of patients are being recalled for blood tests after being treated by a doctor with HIV.

The recall affects 400 patients who were under the care of the locum doctor, who has not been named, at three hospitals between June 2010 and February 2015.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has recalled 121 patients, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has recalled 223 and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has recalled 57.

The hospitals said patients who had undergone 'invasive procedures where there is a potential risk of infection' have been identified and invited back for a precautionary blood test.

Nottingham's medical director, Dr Stephen Fowlie, said the doctor had treated patients and then subsequently been diagnosed with HIV.

More than 400 patients are being recalled for tests after being treated by a doctor with HIV

SCIENTISTS MAKE CELLS RESISTANT to HIV Researchers have found a way to make cells resistant to HIV, a report reveals. In a major breakthrough, scientists have tethered HIV-fighting antibodies to immune cells, creating a cell population resistant to the virus. These resistant cells can quickly replace diseased cells, making it more effective than other therapies - and potentially curing the deadly disease. The researchers plan to collaborate with investigators at City of Hope's Center for Gene Therapy, in California, to evaluate this new therapy in efficacy and safety tests, as required by federal regulations, prior to testing in patients. Advertisement

Dr Fowlie said: 'The risk that any patient has been infected by transmission of the virus from this doctor is extremely low.

'However, because the doctor's diagnosis was unknown during their employment with us (2013 to 2015), we are contacting patients who had had at-risk operations involving this doctor to advise they return to hospital for a blood test as a precautionary measure.

'Transmission of the virus between an infected healthcare worker and a patient with an open wound can only occur if health workers themselves have an injury with bleeding when they are delivering patient care.

'There is no evidence this happened to this doctor in any patient contact.

He said: 'We are arranging clinic appointments, test results within 24 hours, and appropriate support and advice from our specialists for these 223 patients and their families.

'Patients' siblings and friends have no cause for concern and no other patients have cause for concern.'

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has set up a helpline - 0800 0152804 - for anyone who is concerned about the news.

It will also host emergency clinics, where concerned patients can undergo blood tests.

Dr Malcolm Stewart, medical director, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust Medical Director, said: 'There has not been any instance of cross-infection following similar look back exercises in the UK in the past.

'We are writing to 57 patients offering the opportunity, as a precaution, to return to the hospital for a blood test.

'There is no need for individuals to take any special precautions in advance of receiving our letter.'

The locum doctor is no longer working for the NHS, and has been referred to the General Medical Council (GMC), which has placed conditions on their registration.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital has assured patients they are committed to their care and safety

Dr Gail Collins, medical director, Chesterfield Royal, said: 'I assure patients and people in North Derbyshire that Chesterfield Royal Hospital is committed to making sure their care and treatment is safe.

'As worrying as this issue sounds it is extremely unlikely the virus transferred to anyone during their treatment.

'However, it is important we are open and honest about any issue that relates to people's NHS care and they have the right to know about it.'

The GMC served an interim suspension order earlier this year and is investigating the actions of the doctor, how their HIV positive status was confirmed and when their employers were made aware.

Dr David Levy, regional medical director for NHS England Midlands and East, said: 'We understand that this will be a worrying time for patients who are being invited for precautionary testing and their families.

'However, clinical evidence shows that the risk of infection is extremely low and it is highly unlikely that any of the patients being contacted will have been infected with HIV.

'Advice and counselling is available for those affected by this recall, and we could encourage them to access this support.

'It is our first priority to identify and provide reassurance to the individuals being contacted at this time.'
The hole-in-the-heart problem that plagues comedian Jimmy Kimmel's newborn son is one of the most common heart-related birth defects, and it usually can be fixed with surgery.

Some people even live with it for several years before it's detected although the Kimmel baby's is the most severe form and was noticed just a few hours after his birth in Los Angeles on April 21.

On his show Monday night, the comedian tearfully described the emergency operation needed after his son, William John, was found to have tetralogy of Fallot.

Here, we explain the condition.

Jimmy Kimmel, left, and his pregnant wife Molly McNearney at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in February. Their baby William John was born on April 21 - and instantly diagnosed with a hole in his heart. It is one of the most common heart-related birth defects, but his case was severe

THINGS NOT WHERE THEY SHOULD BE

Tetralogy means four, a cluster of that many defects. The main one is a hole or opening in the wall separating the two sides of the heart.

In a normal heart, the right side pumps oxygen-depleted, or blue blood from other parts of the body to the lungs to get more oxygen. The left side then pumps this oxygen-rich, red blood to the rest of the body.

These types of blood should stay separated, but a hole in the heart wall lets them mix, so some blood without enough oxygen winds up getting pumped out into the body.

This can be complicated by a second problem the Kimmel baby has - pulmonary atresia, a severely blocked heart valve, which prevents enough blood from reaching the lungs.

Kimmel shared this photo of his son William 'Billy' Kimmel shortly after he was born and rushed into emergency surgery for a hole in his heart

WHAT CAUSES THE DEFECT?

Usually the cause isn't known, although it is more common in children with certain conditions such as Down syndrome.

In some cases, genes may play a role. Or it may just be a fluke, the result of abnormal development in the womb.

WHAT SURGERY DOES

Kimmel said the open-heart operation was to open the blocked valve so there's better blood flow. It's not known what else was done to address the other problems. Billy came home six days after that and is 'doing great,' his father said.

The baby will need a second surgery within six months to fix the hole. Doctors often place a patch to close the opening, although there are a couple other possible solutions.

'They are getting him bigger until he can do a more comprehensive repair,' explained Dr. Peace Madueme, a pediatric cardiologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He has no knowledge of the Kimmel case and just discussed what's usually done.

Kimmel said his son would need a third operation in his teens.

'That usually is a pulmonary valve replacement,' which sometimes can be done through blood vessels rather than in an open-heart operation, Madueme said.

WHAT'S AHEAD

'Lifestyle-wise, kids with tetralogy do really well, normal daily activities,' Madueme said, citing Shaun White, the Olympic gold medal snowboarder with the same defect.

White appeared on Kimmel's show Monday night to talk about his case.

Tearful Jimmy Kimmel broke down on air as he revealed his 10-day-old son had lifesaving heart surgery just HOURS after he was born

An emotional Jimmy Kimmel tearfully revealed his baby son had to have lifesaving open-heart surgery soon after he was born 10 days ago.

The late night TV host opened his show on Monday with the news that his wife Molly McNearney, 39, had given birth to their second child, William 'Billy' Kimmel, on April 21 in Los Angeles.

But Kimmel, 49, quickly broke down as he detailed the terrifying health troubles Billy had endured and that he had successfully undergone risky heart surgery after he was born.

'It is a scary story... but it has a happy ending,' he said as he began a teary 15-minute opening monologue.

Jimmy Kimmel opened his show on Monday with the news that his wife Molly had given birth to their second child, William 'Billy' Kimmel, on April 21 in Los Angeles

Kimmel, his wife, their two-year-old daughter Jane and Billy were in the recovery room three hours later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center when a nurse noticed a murmur in the newborn's heart.

'He appeared a normal healthy baby,' he said.

'My wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common.

'(The doctors) determined he wasn't getting enough oxygen in his blood, either in his heart or lungs. They did an x-ray and his lungs were fine, which meant his heart wasn't. It's a terrifying thing.'

'They found that Billy was born with a heart disease.'

Kimmel said the congenital heart disease meant his son had a 'hole in the wall of the left and right side of his heart'.

Billy was rushed to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for emergency heart surgery.

Kimmel said the surgery was a success but Billy will have to have another surgery in three to six months and a third non-evasive surgery when he's older.

Kimmel said Billy had successfully undergone the risky heart surgery and was able to go home with Molly and their two-year-old daughter Jane

He broke down as he shared a photo of Billy in intensive care with tubes coming out of his little body.

Kimmel then showed a picture of the newborn following his successful surgery.

Kimmel revealed they were allowed to take their son home six days after the surgery.

He emotionally thanked a number of people, including the doctors and nurses who helped Billy.

'Every one of my friends was there 100 per cent. We had atheists praying for us, okay? We had people who do not believe in God praying to him. And I hate to even say, but even that son-of-a-b***h Matt Damon sent flowers,' he said.

'Most of all, I want to thank my wife Molly. First of all, for allowing me to have sex with her in the first place,' he joked. 'But also for being so strong and level-headed and positive and loving during the worst nightmare a new mother could experience.

'I couldn't as for a better partner and I'm so happy we had this baby together. I'm definitely getting a vasectomy after this.'

He also urged his audience to donate to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and pleaded with politicians to make sure all Americans, regardless of wealth, have access to healthcare.

'If your baby is going to die it should't matter how much money you make,' he said.

'I hope you never have to go there but if you do you'll see so many kids from so many financial backgrounds being cared for so well with so much compassion.'
Although the annual Met Gala is meant to celebrate fashion, an alternative theme this year seemed to endorse smoking.

Despite the known dangers of tobacco use, Hollywood stars ignored health risks and posed for pictures dangling cigarettes from their mouths and fingertips.

Decades of research point to the multiple issues smoking can lead to, including lung cancer, clogged arteries and shortened life expectancy.

With the hazards that tobacco are proven to cause, medical experts are condemning celebrities who are glamorizing the harmful practice.

Figures show that smoking rates for teens are at an all-time low following anti-tobacco programs and Hollywood censoring smoking in movies, restricting it for younger audiences.

Nonetheless, Bill Blatt of the American Lung Association warns that younger people seeing the glamorized snapshots may be encouraged to pick up a cigarette.

Dakota Johnson was one of the many stars snapped at the Met Gala smoking in the bathroom. Cancer experts have slammed Hollywood celebrities for 'glamorizing cigarette use'

Bella Hadid was pictured smoking next to Lara Stone, Paris Jackson and Ruby Rose. Smoking at an early age for women can cause fertility issues

Blatt, the national director of tobacco control programs at the American Lung Association, said he was disappointed in the pictures.

He said: 'It is a little alarming. At one point smoking was fashionable but we are worried that younger people will try and emulate the stars. Celebrities smoking is one of the most effective forms of marketing.'

Blatt said that although lung cancer is one of the most commonly associated results of smoking and the leading cancer killer, tobacco virtually harms every aspect of a person's body.

In the United States, tobacco use kills more than 480,000 people every year  more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Those who are heavy smokers are 87 percent more likely to develop a life-threatening disease, research shows.

Even those who only smoke once a day are 64 percent more likely to have a shorter life expectancy than non-smokers.

Marc Jacobs, 54, Courtney Love, 52, and her daughter Frances Bean Cobain, 24, all posed for a picture in the bathroom while smoking. Lung cancer is one of the most commonly associated results of smoking and tobacco virtually harms every aspect of a person's body

Rita Ora also shared a snap with Mr Robot actor Rami Malek, 35, who held a cigarette in his mouth

In addition to being a 'deadly product', cigarettes link back to addiction, heart disease, harming the respiratory system and even fertility issues.

Blatt added that with young women such as models Bella Hadid and Slick Woods, smoking can prevent pregnancy and cause issues maintaining carrying a baby to full term.

Experts are concerned that the Hollywood glamorization of smoking influences teens to pick up the practice. And even the industry agrees.

The Motion Picture Association of America can determine the rating of a movie in the G, PG and PG-13 rank, based on the amount of smoking shown in a film.

However, smoking rates are falling rapidly. The rate among adults in the U.S. fell to 15 percent in 2015 thanks to the biggest one-year decline in more than 20 years, according to a report.

The rate fell two percentage points from 2014, when about 17 percent of adults said they had recently smoked in a large national survey.

Slick Woods and model Adwoa Aboah posed for Ashley Graham's camera, while Jourdan Dunn can be seen posing in the background. Smoking rates are falling rapidly over the years and was down to 15 percent in 2015

Taylor Hill, Behati Prinsloo and Hailey Baldwin all posed for a picture, in which Behati was openly smoking a cigarette

About 50 years ago, roughly 42 percent of U.S. adults smoked. It was common nearly everywhere - in office buildings, restaurants, airplanes and even hospitals.

The smoking rate's gradual decline has coincided with an increased public understanding that smoking is a cause of cancer, heart disease and other lethal health problems.

Experts attribute recent declines decline to the mounting impact of anti-smoking advertising campaigns, cigarette taxes and smoking bans.

The increased marketing of electronic cigarettes and their growing popularity has also likely played a role. But it is not yet clear whether this will further propel the decline in smoking, or contribute to an increase in smoking in years to come.
Here is the latest jail booking report from Hamilton County:

ADAIR, MELISSA BROOK

2407 HICKERY VALLEY ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37421

Age at Arrest: 37 years old

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga

Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)

---

BISHOP, JOHN BYRON

1005 PARK CITY RD ROSSVILLE, 30741

Age at Arrest: 61 years old

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County

THEFT UNDER $1000

---

BLEVINS, RANDALL LEE

3721 6TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407

Age at Arrest: 35 years old

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County

VIOLATION OF PROBATION (VIO.

OF SEX OFFENDER REGIS---BONDS, DAMIEN VINCENT1405 CAROUSEL ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---BUCHANAN, TAYLOR HOUSTON140 MASTERS ROAD HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyCONTEMPT OF COURT NON CHILD SUPPORT---BUTLER, WILLIAM BLAKE126 OAK CIRCLE DR RINGGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaVIOLATION OF PROBATION POSSESSIONOF CONTROLLED SUB---CARTER, MICHAEL DARNELL727 EAST 11TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37402Age at Arrest: 42 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE)---CAVIN, MIA MAREE26 BELLFLOWER CIRCLE CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDOMESTIC ASSAULT---CORNELISON, JAMES DEAN2627 OAKWOOD CIR CHATTANOOGA, 37415Age at Arrest: 54 years oldArresting Agency: Red BankASSAULT - DOMESTIC---DAVIS, WARREN GLENN1611 DUNCAN AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374043012Age at Arrest: 47 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE---ELLIS, CHRISTOPHER LEE4258 GREEN ACRES DR OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaVIOLATION OF PROBATION (DOMESTIC ASSAULT )VIOLATION OF PROBATION ( POSSESSION OF CONTROLLEDVIOLATION OF PROBATION ( POSSESSIONOF CONTROLLED---ELLIS, JENNIFER LYN4258 GREEN ACRES DR OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OVER $1,000 (AUTO)---GREEN, FELICIA SHAWNTA4904 WOODLAND VIEW CIRCLE CHATTANOOGA, 37410Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaCRIMINAL TRESPASSING---GREEN, JAMES DANIEL36 WILLIARD LANE WILDWOOD, 30757Age at Arrest: 38 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE - SECOND OFFENSEMOTORCYCLE HELMET LAW VIOLATIONDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEREGISTRATION, DRIVING UNREGISTERED VEHICLEFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYPOSS. OF HANDGUN WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCEUNL. CARRYING OR POSSESSING WEAPONFAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANETHEFT OF PROPERTY (UNDER $500)---HANKINS, RICHARD JAMES500 WEST MLK CHATTANOOGA, 37379Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountySTALKING---HARDEN, MISTY LEE5511 NATIONS ROAD OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRYVIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY---HARRIS, JAMAYCA AALIYAH720 IVY DRIVE OAKLAND, 38060Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: UTCPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE---HICKS, KIMBERLY HELEN720 LANCASTER DR SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, 37377Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: Signal MountainDOMESTIC ASSAULT---HUBBARD, DEANELLA RENEE6827 KNOLLCREST DRIVE HARRISON, 37341Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyDOMESTIC ASSAULT---JENKINS, MITCHELL LAMAR2581 SUGAR CREEK ROAD GEORGETOWN, 37336Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (ASSAULT)---JENNINGS, DERRICK RAMEL3951 VALPARISO CIRCLE DECATUR, 30034Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---KELLY, MENTORY LATRICE310 W 37TH ST CHATTANOOGA, 37410Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY---LEDBETTER, ANTHONY LOREN107 LEGGETT RD SALE CREEK, 373739523Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE MUSHROOMSPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE MARIJUANAPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA---MCCOOL, NORMA JAN316 GREEN GORGE RD SIGNAL MTN, 37377Age at Arrest: 57 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFAILURE TO APPEAR---MCMAHAN, JOSHUA STEPHEN178 MAPLE WAY RINGGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest: 37 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgePUBLIC INTOXICATION---MOORE, CHARLESETTA DANELLA1900 WILSON STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY---NEELY, KEITH LAMAR490 CARMAN RD MEIGS, 37322Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---NICHOLS, BRANDON LEE324 HIDEAWAY LANE SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY---PAIZ-TERCERO, DOMINGO3619 5TH AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaDOMESTIC ASSAULT---PATTON, DAQUISHA LASHAY1613 VANCE AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaTHEFT OF PROPERTY UNDER 1000---PHELPS, CHESTER ARTHUR2602 CANNON AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374045621Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: Federal MarshallBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---POE, STEVEN TYLER401 GREEN ACRES RD MEMPHIS, 381170000Age at Arrest: 19 years oldArresting Agency: UTCRECKLESS ENDANGERMENT---RODGERS, MARCUS EVAN7477 COMMON BLVD APT123 CHATTANOOG, 37421Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaAGGRAVATED ASSAULT (DOMESTIC)---SHROPSHIRE, DEVONTE8610 BROOK SHADOW DRIVE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (ROBBERY)---SIMMONS, BENNY WAYNE81 MOUNTAIN TRAIL DR TRENTON, 30752Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFUGITIVE (CATOOSA COUNTY, GEORGIA)---SMITH, ANTHONY JEROME3725 FOUNTAIN APT 51 EAST RIDGE,Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeDOMESTIC ASSAULT---SPANGLER, ERIC RYAN7621 GREENSHANTY ROAD OOTLHAW, 37421Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTYAGGRAVATED BURGLARY (OCCUPIED HABITATION)THEFT OF PROPERTYAGGRAVATED BURGLARY (OCCUPIED HABITATION)---SULLIVAN, MITCHELL REYNOLDS6919 MARTHA AVENUE EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 46 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHE---TATE, JAMES ALEXANDER1626 ROBERTS AVE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 18 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaCRIMINAL TRESPASSING---TATE, LASHUN KASSIDY3916 JASMINE ST CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 36 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaSIMPLE POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE---TELLIS, CYNTHIA ANITA727 E 11TH ST CHATTANOOGA, 374033104Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaPUBLIC INTOXICATIONRESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESSDISORDERLY CONDUCTRETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICER---THOMPSON, JUSTIN ANDREW8112 HOLLY HILLS LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: ChattanoogaVIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAINING OR---THOMPSON, TRISTAN DOUGLAS3700 DODDS AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374072230Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFAILURE TO APPEAR ( THEFT PROPERTY )---WEDDLE, SPENCER DAVIS9453 ROBINSON FARM RD OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA---WHITE, ROBERT DAVID1713 SANTA BARBARA CIRCLE SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: CollegedaleBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)---WILSON, JOSH RAY92 COUNTRY GREEN RD RINGGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest: 19 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyTHEFT OF PROPERTY---YOUNG, KEYARRA L727 EAST 11TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 374033104Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: Hamilton CountyFUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN DEKALB COUTNY, AL)---ZUNIGA, RODRIGO JAVIER6902 SANDY COVE DRIVE HARRISON, 37341Age at Arrest: 38 years oldArresting Agency: CollegedaleBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)

Here are the mug shots:

ADAIR, MELISSA BROOK

Age at Arrest: 37

Date of Birth: 08/25/1979

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)

BISHOP, JOHN BYRON

Age at Arrest: 61

Date of Birth: 08/10/1955

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT UNDER $1000 BLEVINS, RANDALL LEE

Age at Arrest: 35

Date of Birth: 03/09/1982

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

VIOLATION OF PROBATION (VIO. OF SEX OFFENDER REGIS BONDS, DAMIEN VINCENT

Age at Arrest: 22

Date of Birth: 08/20/1994

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)

BUCHANAN, TAYLOR HOUSTON

Age at Arrest: 28

Date of Birth: 04/08/1989

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

CONTEMPT OF COURT NON CHILD SUPPORT BUTLER, WILLIAM BLAKE

Age at Arrest: 27

Date of Birth: 11/30/1989

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

VIOLATION OF PROBATION POSSESSIONOF CONTROLLED SUB CARTER, MICHAEL DARNELL

Age at Arrest: 42

Date of Birth: 11/14/1974

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

FUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE) CAVIN, MIA MAREE

Age at Arrest: 21

Date of Birth: 09/05/1995

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DOMESTIC ASSAULT CORNELISON, JAMES DEAN

Age at Arrest: 54

Date of Birth: 09/25/1962

Arresting Agency: Red Bank



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

ASSAULT - DOMESTIC DAVIS, WARREN GLENN

Age at Arrest: 47

Date of Birth: 08/04/1969

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

ELLIS, CHRISTOPHER LEE

Age at Arrest: 31

Date of Birth: 11/03/1985

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE

DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE

POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA ELLIS, JENNIFER LYN

Age at Arrest: 32

Date of Birth: 06/12/1984

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT OVER $1,000 (AUTO) GREEN, FELICIA SHAWNTA

Age at Arrest: 32

Date of Birth: 03/19/1985

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

CRIMINAL TRESPASSING GREEN, JAMES DANIEL

Age at Arrest: 38

Date of Birth: 09/13/1978

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

FAILURE TO APPEAR

FAILURE TO APPEAR HANKINS, RICHARD JAMES

Age at Arrest: 24

Date of Birth: 11/21/1992

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

STALKING HARDEN, MISTY LEE

Age at Arrest: 35

Date of Birth: 08/13/1981

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

VIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

VIOLATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY HARRIS, JAMAYCA AALIYAH

Age at Arrest: 21

Date of Birth: 10/21/1995

Arresting Agency: UTC



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE HICKS, KIMBERLY HELEN

Age at Arrest: 32

Date of Birth: 03/23/1985

Arresting Agency: Signal Mountain



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DOMESTIC ASSAULT HUBBARD, DEANELLA RENEE

Age at Arrest: 27

Date of Birth: 07/28/1984

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DOMESTIC ASSAULT JENKINS, MITCHELL LAMAR

Age at Arrest: 35

Date of Birth: 01/03/1982

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

VIOLATION OF PROBATION (ASSAULT)

JENNINGS, DERRICK RAMEL

Age at Arrest: 24

Date of Birth: 03/05/1993

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)

KELLY, MENTORY LATRICE

Age at Arrest: 37

Date of Birth: 12/29/1979

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT OF PROPERTY LEDBETTER, ANTHONY LOREN

Age at Arrest: 27

Date of Birth: 09/27/1989

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE MUSHROOMS

POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE MARIJUANA

POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA MCCOOL, NORMA JAN

Age at Arrest: 57

Date of Birth: 12/29/1959

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

FAILURE TO APPEAR MCMAHAN, JOSHUA STEPHEN

Age at Arrest: 37

Date of Birth: 04/26/1980

Arresting Agency: East Ridge



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

PUBLIC INTOXICATION MOORE, CHARLESETTA DANELLA

Age at Arrest: 24

Date of Birth: 01/23/1993

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT OF PROPERTY NEELY, KEITH LAMAR

Age at Arrest: 29

Date of Birth: 11/08/1987

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)

NICHOLS, BRANDON LEE

Age at Arrest: 26

Date of Birth: 07/18/1990

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT OF PROPERTY PATTON, DAQUISHA LASHAY

Age at Arrest: 23

Date of Birth: 04/20/1994

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT OF PROPERTY UNDER 1000 PHELPS, CHESTER ARTHUR

Age at Arrest: 21

Date of Birth: 10/14/1995

Arresting Agency: Federal Marshall



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)



POE, STEVEN TYLER

Age at Arrest: 19

Date of Birth: 10/02/1997

Arresting Agency: UTC



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT RODGERS, MARCUS EVAN

Age at Arrest: 33

Date of Birth: 12/08/1983

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (DOMESTIC) SHROPSHIRE, DEVONTE

Age at Arrest: 24

Date of Birth: 08/19/1992

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

VIOLATION OF PROBATION (ROBBERY) SIMMONS, BENNY WAYNE

Age at Arrest: 31

Date of Birth: 05/08/1985

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

FUGITIVE (CATOOSA COUNTY, GEORGIA) SMITH, ANTHONY JEROME

Age at Arrest: 22

Date of Birth: 01/07/1995

Arresting Agency: East Ridge



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

DOMESTIC ASSAULT SPANGLER, ERIC RYAN

Age at Arrest: 24

Date of Birth: 10/01/1992

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

THEFT OF PROPERTY

AGGRAVATED BURGLARY (OCCUPIED HABITATION)

THEFT OF PROPERTY

AGGRAVATED BURGLARY (OCCUPIED HABITATION) SULLIVAN, MITCHELL REYNOLDS

Age at Arrest: 46

Date of Birth: 04/22/1971

Arresting Agency: Hamilton County



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED S

VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHE TATE, JAMES ALEXANDER

Age at Arrest: 18

Date of Birth: 01/19/1999

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

CRIMINAL TRESPASSING TATE, LASHUN KASSIDY

Age at Arrest: 36

Date of Birth: 08/16/1980

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

SIMPLE POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TELLIS, CYNTHIA ANITA

Age at Arrest: 24

Date of Birth: 10/18/1992

Arresting Agency: Chattanooga



Last Date of Arrest: 05/01/2017

Charge(s):

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

RESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESS

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

RETALIATION AGAINST JUDGE, JUROR, OFFICER
Psychedelic drugs decrease suicidal thoughts, a new study claims.

A four-year study by researchers in Canada found female sex workers were far less likely to consider taking their own lives after taking drugs like ecstasy or ayahuasca.

The drugs, they found, were just as effective as therapy at easing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

It comes amid a swell of interest in the idea of using illicit drugs as medicine - with the world's leading institutions testing the substances as treatments for PTSD, anxiety, autism and depression.

A four-year study by researchers in Canada found female sex workers were far less likely to consider taking their own lives after taking drugs like ecstasy or ayahuasca

The latest study analyzes data on 800 female sex workers in Canada.

The women were tracked from 2010 to 2014, answering questions on their drug use and mental health, including suicidal tendencies.

Lead researcher Elena Argento, of the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, wanted to see how drugs caused or prevented new feelings of suicidal thoughts.

She first ruled out responses from any participants who had already experienced suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide, which left 290 women.

In the final group, 11 percent of them experienced suicidal thoughts at some point over the four-year period.

But for all of them - whether they contemplated suicide or not - psychedelic drugs lowered their likelihood of reaching that point. The study didn't specify which drugs.

Conversely, those who took crystal meth - a sedative - were more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

The findings, presented at last week's Psychedelic Science conference in California, builds on scores of studies pointing in the same direction.

In November, the FDA approved large-scale clinical trials of ecstasy to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The phase three trial, funded by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), involve 230 patients or more.

It is the sixth MAPS-funded study of the rave drug as it rapidly gains widespread support as a potential treatment for psychological disorders and autism.

A previous study cleared 66 percent of participants of PTSD, while another reduced symptoms in 56 percent of patients.

If the trial is successful, ecstasy - also known as MDMA, Molly, and (officially) methylenedioxymethamphetamine - could be publicly available for medical use in 2021.

The rave drug - also known as MDMA, Molly, and (officially) methylenedioxymethamphetamine - induces a chemical high that makes abusers feel extremely happy and empathetic.

It has been banned since 1986, ranked as dangerous as LSD and heroin.

But despite the dangers, there are growing calls in the neuroscience and psychiatry communities for clinical trials to test the medical benefits of MDMA.

In fact, researchers at Stanford University claim the substance could give autistic people a powerful psychological experience that could help them connect better with their therapist.

And now, the Stanford team has penned an open letter in the journal Cell, urging regulators to lift the tight restrictions to let them test humans.

Ultimately, their aim is to prescribe MDMA as a psychiatric aid.
Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar's 126 birth anniversary on April 14 gave me the opportunity to revisit his life and works.

Ambedkar was an outstanding maker of modern India, but one whom we still tend neither to read nor grapple with intellectually.

One reason for this, paradoxically, is just how deified he is. There are probably more statues of Babasaheb in the world than of any other public or political figure.

A member of the Indian Congress Party places flowers on a statue of Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar

Recently, there was a proposal to erect a gigantic 350 ft bronze figure of him, called the Statute of Equality, at his proposed memorial in Mumbai, which would be taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Deification

In addition to his deification, Babasaheb's appropriation by all shades of political opinion and all political parties has also come in the way of reading and engaging with him seriously.

All politicians vie with each other to extol him, pay their homage to him, garland or glorify him. But hardly anyone really reads what he wrote or wish to follow what he said.

Sadly, this is also true of many Dalit intellectuals, who have made Ambedkar-ism akin to a cult or a dogma that cannot be questioned.

BJP followers pay tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary

They have thus turned Babasaheb into a new kind of 'untouchable' - one who is off bounds or limits. You can only approach him from a distance, after taking your shoes off.

Worship is fine, but to be closely in touch with his work, texts, or life is not encouraged.

But would Babasaheb have approved of this? Not if we go by what he says.

In what was arguably his most hard-hitting and well-known book, The Annihilation of Caste, he ends by invoking his teacher at Columbia, the famous American pragmatic philosopher, John Dewey: 'Every society gets encumbered with what is trivial, with dead wood from the past, and with what is positively perverse... As a society becomes more enlightened, it realises that it is responsible not to conserve and transmit the whole of its existing achievements, but only such as make for a better future society.'

Warning Hindu society of the 'baneful effects of this worship of the past,' he again quotes Dewey, exhorting us to live not in the past, but in the present: 'The present is not just something which comes after the past; much less something produced by it. It is what life is in leaving the past behind it.'

Those who respect Babasaheb might take heed of these words: it is our duty to distinguish Ambedkar from Ambedkarism and Ambedkarites.

Unfortunately, the latter have turned him into the 'God of Reservations' from a constructive and careful thinker, an economist, constitutionist, and one of our greatest religious and social reformers of modern times.

Describing himself as 'a man who has been no tool of power, no flatterer of greatness almost the whole of whose public exertion has been one continuous struggle for liberty for the poor and for the oppressed', he exhorts Hindus 'to uproot caste, if not in my way, then in your way'.

Ambedkar was an outstanding maker of modern India, but one whom we still tend neither to read nor grapple with intellectually.

Caste

Having already decided to change his religion, he says, 'I am sorry, I will not be with you... But even when I am gone out of your fold, I will watch your movement with active sympathy, and you will have my assistance for what it may be worth.

Yours is a national cause.' If we were to take Babasaheb's remarks to heart we should ask directly whether caste-based reservations have contributed to the annihilation of caste or its reinforcement.

Have such reservations diminished the hold of caste or strengthened caste-consciousness?

Members of the Shri Guru Ravidass Welfare Society place flowers around a photograph of Indian social reformer, B R Ambedkar

Have they destroyed varna- vyavastha or reinvented a distorted and virulent new version of it?

If the answer to such questions isn't a simple yes or no, shouldn't there be a nationwide debate on caste-based reservations, especially in the 70th year of India's Independence?

Furthermore, how can we move forward from this caste-quagmire into which we are stuck?

Criteria

It seems to me that the first and most obvious move would be to add other criteria to caste when we determine who should benefit from reservations.

Economic criteria, for instance, would be the obvious additional determinant of backwardness.

A rally on the 125th anniversary of the birth of Babasaheb Ambedkar, social reformer and principal architect of the Constitution of India

This also means that the wealthy among the backward jatis might be excluded from benefits so that the latter more properly go to those who are truly needy and deprived.

Also, as among the OBCs, there could be multiple criteria for determining who would constitute the creamy layer.

Thousands of followers of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar gather at Dalit Prerna Sthal to pay homage and to celebrate his 125th birth anniversary

Logically speaking, never-ending reservations would only perpetuate, not end, the caste system; they would impose reverse discrimination onto society, morphing into a pernicious version of the very caste system they seek to redress, thus defeating their very purpose.

As a nation, shouldn't we move from a culture of entitlement to a culture of competence?

Shouldn't we recognise, as did Babasaheb, that real respect is only accorded to real capability?

A people to be great require many different kinds proficiency. Shouldn't we invest in actual capacity building, not merely in cynical politicking?

Above all, is it not time we stop this blame-game? Remember how Babasaheb in a 1917 essay said, 'The theory that the Brahmins created the caste... is incorrect in thought and malicious in intent.

The Brahmins may have been guilty of many things, and I dare say they were, but the imposing of the caste system on the non-Brahmin population was beyond their mettle.'

Is it time to liberate Babasaheb from the strait-jacket of Ambedkarites?

Is it time to question the dominance of Ambedkarism and to look beyond treating Babasaheb as the messiah of reservations?

Isn't it time to revisit the reservation policy itself, instead of treating it as sacred dogma?
It is feared that Pakistan has scattered terrorists in small groups along the Line of Control to carry out multiple attacks on Indian forces.

The Indian Army has redeployed and reshuffled its troops to tackle the new threat in the Valley as governments of the two countries trade words over the alleged beheading of two Indian soldiers on Monday.

Top sources confirmed that India's forces are looking to avenge the Krishna Ghati beheadings in a move that would further worsen relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat (left) arrives on a two-day visit to Kashmir. The Army Chief's visit to Kashmir comes after the beheading of two Indian soldiers allegedly by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Poonch Sector

Commanders at the LoC have also been instructed to take multiple measures to avoid any casualties while facing up to Pakistan Army's Border Action Team, which is believed to have carried out the attack 250m inside Indian territory.

A senior source told Mail Today that according to latest intelligence inputs, terrorists have been deployed along the LoC in small groups of 10 to 12 and are waiting to be pushed to our side from Pakistan occupied Kashmir as a new strategy of their Army.

'We have taken steps to re-deploy the troops from the south of Pir Panjal ranges to the north side to cut down on the infiltration expected to be attempted in next few days,' the source added.

Giving more details of the Monday's attack by Pakistani forces, the sources said the Pakistani Army gun positions on their posts Roza and Battal were active in the area of incident even as they fired around 50 rockets followed by a heavy barrage of mortars which created a thick smoke screen.

A senior army official laying wreath of brave martyrs Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF on Tuesday in Jammu

'Even before the troops could recover and retaliate, the terrorists and Pakistan Army regulars sneaked in about 90-100 metres inside our area and mutilated the body and ran away,' they said.

The Army said that the 25 Division had successfully thwarted four earlier attack attempts by the BAT team, but failed to stop the attack on Monday.

'Allowing such an action was an avoidable lapse on our side and we could have been more careful.

'We will avenge the attack in which both terrorists and Pakistan Army troops were seen inside our area,' the sources said.

The Army has also reshuffled and changed deployment in its three-tier counter infiltration grid deployed in the Kashmir valley and along the LoC to make it more robust.

The intelligence received by the Army from the state has also suggested that the Pakistan-backed terror groups would also escalate the attacks on the troops' positions.

The Army has its regular units along with a number of Rashtriya rifles units in the Kashmir valley to tackle both infiltration and carry out anti-terrorist operations there.

The government on Tuesday also warned Pakistan of an unequivocal response to the beheading of its two soldiers on the Indian side of the LoC, a charge rejected by Islamabad which sought actionable evidence from New Delhi to back its claim.

India's Director General of Military Operations, Lt Gen Anil Kumar Bhatt, spoke to his Pakistani counterpart this morning to express his grave concern over the killing and beheading of the two soldiers.

He said that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response and also told his Pakistani counterpart that full fire support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located close to where the incident took place.

The army said the DGMO also conveyed India's concern about the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps in close vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir during the interaction over hotline.
Kumar Vishwas Politician and National Executive of Aam Aadmi Party is upset over allegations made against him

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scurried to paper over the cracks that have appeared after a humiliating loss in the Delhi civic elections last month, as speculation about an impending split grows.

AAP convener and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal accompanied by his deputy, Manish Sisodia, met party founding member Kumar Vishwas who had lashed out at the top leadership after being accused by an MLA of 'plotting a coup'.

'Kumar Vishwas is upset, but I'm confident we will convince him,' the CM said after visiting the poet-turned-politician's house in Ghaziabad late on Tuesday night.

'He is an integral part of our movement.' The remarks came hours after Vishwas accused party leaders of conspiring against him and said he will soon take a call on future action.

Sources say he is being supported by several sitting MLAs and a large number of volunteers but certain senior leaders want him out.

Vishwas said he harbours no ambitions to become chief minister, deputy chief minister or AAP national convener, in a bid to put to rest rumours that he wants to head the party.

Difficult times: Arvind Kejriwal and Kumar Vishwas leaving court earlier this year

According to party insiders, not just sitting MLAs, even the party volunteers are divided in two camps.

If Vishwas is either expelled or leaves the party, it will further damage the image of AAP, they say.

The crisis in AAP snowballed after poll defeats this year in Punjab, Goa and Delhi MCD.

In April 2015, Kejriwal had expelled rebel leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan for indiscipline and anti-party activities.

They formed Swaraj India, which caused a little dent in AAP's vote bank and volunteers.

But a second split may cause heavy damage, say sources. The MCD loss came less than halfway into the tenure of the Kejriwal government, leaving senior party members to have a long, hard think.

'I know I will be targeted,' Vishwas said. 'The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell the conspirators that I will not allow you to do so.'

His outburst came a day after AAP's Okhla legislator Amanatullah Khan resigned from the party's political affairs committee (PAC) after accusing Vishwas of attempting a rebellion.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has been to see Vishwas several times

Vishwas broke down while speaking to reporters, saying, 'I don't know why you are here but I had not joined the movement for this.'

He also said that he will not join any political party, including Swaraj India. Sources say he is likely to decide his future by Wednesday.

Stating that Arvind Kejriwal will remain the chief minister, Vishwas said he will not apologise for a 13-minute video where he had launched an indirect attack on the Delhi government.

'AAP MLAs have complained that Kumar Vishwas has claimed to a few of them that within this week there will be a new CM in Delhi,' a senior AAP source said.

Khan, while emerging out of the PAC meeting, had alleged that Vishwas was 'planted by the BJP and the RSS' to destabilise the party.

Vishwas said Khan was merely a 'mask' behind those hatching conspiracies against him.

'Had Amanatullah Khan said anything like this against Arvind or Manish, he would have been shown the door in 10 minutes,' he said.

Sisodia told reporters that Vishwas's comments were only hurting the party and affecting its morale.

'We have gone to meet him several times. Arvind himself met him and spoke to him for three hours at his house. Still, he is not coming to attend the PAC, and is only talking to TV. We appeal to him to come and speak in the PAC. Speaking on TV won't help find a solution and de-motivate the workers,' Sisodia said before the late-night meeting with Kejriwal and Vishwas.

AAP's Okhla legislator Amanatullah Khan resigned from the party's political affairs committee (PAC) after accusing Vishwas of attempting a rebellion

According to party sources, Kejriwal saving Vishwas is a compulsion for the party. Booting out a popular face of AAP is likely to backfire as he brought a large chunk of voters and funds for the party.

Politically, the poet-turned-politician is not a threat to the top leadership and he can come in handy in declaring AAP's nationalistic credentials through his poetry, an issue that seems to be another chink in the party's armour, they said.
As the government's ban on red beacons kicked in on Monday, politicians around the country scurried around to find a way to signify their importance on Indian roads.

In Maharashtra, politicians like minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar urged the state director general of police to 'explore options' that don't flout the rules.

Kesarkar argued that there was a need to distinguish a VIP's car from other vehicles, 'for security purposes.'

Modi said that getting rid of red beacon was an administrative decision but efforts have to be made to remove the VIP culture from the mindset also

Meanwhile, in Karnataka, state food minister UT Khader refused to remove his red beacon saying, 'I cant do anything until the department comes forward and removes the red beacon.'

Khader went on to say that he wouldn't get rid of the red beacon until the chief minister asked him to do so.

Interestingly, the love for lal battis has been most prominent in Karnataka, where even state chief minister Siddaramaiah refused to remove his red beacon when the ban was first announced.

Later, Karnataka higher education minister Basavaraj Rayareddy also refused to remove his red beacon, saying, he will remove it only if the prime minister got rid of his security cover.

Karnataka higher education minister Basavaraj Rayareddy has refused to remove his red beacon

When he was reminded that the country's Prime Minister faced a threat to his life, Rayareddy replied, 'let him die.'

Meanwhile in Bihar, bureaucrats and netas remained reluctant to part with their VIP status and several vehicles with beacons atop them were found parked all across the old and new secretariats in Patna.

However, the politicians in BJP ruled states seem to have stood by the centre's decision.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP claimed that the rule has been enforced strictly. 'The red and blue beacon should only be allowed on the vehicles of public servants and emergency services.

We have shunned the beacons as soon as Modiji announced the rule,' Manish Shukla, UP BJP spokesperson told Mail Today.

Similarly, the BJP government in Haryana is all set to implement the order effectively.

'The Prime Minister has urged to give up red beacons and its implementation will be done from May 1.

Chief minister, cabinet ministers and MLAs of Haryana had stopped using red beacons since April 20 to respect the call of the PM,' said Rao Narbir Singh, PWD minister of Haryana.

However, media reports suggested that ministers and babus in Madhya Pradesh have replaced their beacons with sirens and hooters and continued to practice their 'VIP privilege'.

Similar reports also came from Telangana where beacons have been replaced by sirens. In Hyderabad, politicians were blaring sirens and hooters to get past traffic and road junctions.

Early last month, the Centre had announced a blanket ban on the use of red beacons by all politicians, MPs, VIPs and other VVIPs.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute, joining other world leaders who have waded into the issue.

Ahead of his visit to Delhi this week, the leader suggested in an interview that there should be a 'multilateral dialogue' to find a solution to the dispute and offered to help.

As quoted in the Indian Express, he said: 'Relations between India and Pakistan, if we dig closer, dig deeper, I can confidently say that the relations between the two nations are improving on a daily basis, which makes me very happy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to help the two countries find a solution to the dispute

'But this Kashmir question, this question saddens us deeply. It upsets both the countries involved. And surmounting the Kashmiri challenge will contribute tremendously to global peace.'

He said both India and Pakistan were Turkey's 'friends' in the region and said his 'dear friend' and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to settle the issue 'once and for all' and called for dialogue to remain open.

But while Pakistan welcomed Erdogan's offer for multilateral talks, India rejected the suggestion and insisted the issue needed to be resolved bilaterally with Pakistan in line with the Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration.

Erdogan, who is on his first foreign visit to India as president, meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday

The Hindustan Times reported that external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that the Kashmir issue had a 'prominent dimension of cross-border terrorism' that needs to be stopped by those who are perpetuating it,' without naming Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that India and Turkey should strengthen their already warm business and political ties, as he welcomed Erdogan to New Delhi.

Erdogan arrived late Sunday evening. He was accompanied by several Cabinet ministers and a 150-member business delegation, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs.

Donald Trump had earlier promised to to ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours and offered to mediate in the dispute

Modi said trade between the two countries has more than doubled since Erdogan last visited India in 2008, and there is a 'huge potential' for more growth.

Trade between the two countries currently stands at $6.4 billion.

Modi said both countries have shown remarkable economic stability in a volatile global scenario, as he spoke at an India-Turkey Business Summit organised by India's main industry organisations.

The two countries are expected to sign agreements to expand trade in infrastructure development, renewable energy and tourism.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (left) with PM Modi and the then Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron, in London during Modi's visit in 2015

Earlier in the day Erdogan inspected a military guard of honor with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.

During his visit to Islamabad in November, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also called for an end to violence in Kashmir, warning that tensions between India and Pakistan are holding the region back from becoming an 'incredible boom-zone'.

And during his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to to ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours and offered to mediate in the dispute.
Some of the world's most famous and most successful entrepreneurs are also people who have failed, succeeded, failed again and built everything back up.

Indeed, Virgin boss Richard Branson recently wrote on his blog: 'Making mistakes and experiencing setbacks is part of the DNA of every successful entrepreneur, and I am no exception.'

He goes on to cite Virgin's failed escapades into weddings and cola that sit alongside the group's enormously successful airline, bank and media group.

Branson recently wrote on his blog: 'Making mistakes and experiencing setbacks is part of the DNA of every successful entrepreneur, and I am no exception.'

Yet, in Britain perhaps particularly, failure is often still regarded as something to be ashamed of.

If you're self-employed, a business owner or a would-be entrepreneur, understanding that failure is part of success is not only important, it's also helpful.

And from a practical point of view, there are plenty of ways to pick yourself up and dust yourself off before you start all over again.

Here to share his firm's experiences of some business owners who have suffered setbacks, is Tim Sawyer, chief executive of the Start Up Loans Company, who has pulled together his top tips for a starting a business when times are tough.

Top tips when starting again

Tim Sawyer is chief executive of the Start Up Loans Company

Starting your own business isnt always a smooth ride, and for some, the first attempt doesnt always go to plan.

Many business owners also have to overcome significant challenges in their journey to start a business.

Whether it be personal setbacks, a change in circumstances or finance issues, there are many reasons as to why a business might not succeed.

But failures dont need to be the end of the journey  many successful business owners take the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, dust themselves off and try again.

1. Be tenacious and persevere  no matter what

Most start-up business owners dont come from a background youd expect. They are invariably run by the people who are brave enough and resilient enough to pursue their dreams and take the plunge, and not necessarily confined to those who have an MBA from a top business school. Many of our loan recipients come from challenging backgrounds, but have used their experiences to drive them forward to success.

I overcame homelessness, illness and fire to achieve success Valencia Simpson owns The Kupcake Kitchen which launched in May 2016 Valencia Simpson owns The Kupcake Kitchen which launched in May 2016. She sells cakes and sweet treats, as well as hosting childrens cupcake-making masterclasses and taking on vulnerable people through the Job Centre and other similar organisations to try and get them back into work. 'Id spent some of my younger years homeless due to unforeseen circumstances, and I had my first son at a young age,' she says. 'Things were not plain-sailing for me growing up. My second son was born with respiratory health issues and I used to sit awake with him throughout the night on many occasions. In the early hours of the morning Id watch baking videos on YouTube to pass the time, which is where my love for all-things-cake started. 'Ive also unfortunately had health troubles myself and at one stage I spent several days on a life support machine in hospital after contracting sepsis which affected many of my organs. As I was recovering, I had a lot time to reflect on things, and I knew I wanted to make sure the rest of my life was spent doing something I love for a living. Its why I sourced funding to help me pursue my dream of starting my own cake cafe. 'Most people had written me off years ago, but it made me even more determined. I used the money from the Start Up Loans Company to fund the deposit for the cafe. Sadly things werent smooth from there on in. A few days after Christmas, I came home to find my house up in flames. All my possessions were ruined and I spent six months living out of a hotel room with two young children whilst trying to kick-start my business. 'To say it was a massive struggle would be an understatement. But, we have gone from strength to strength since the launch and I now plan on opening a new shop and publishing a cookbook. My advice to any potential business owner would be to keep the end goal in mind, and continue to work towards it as best you can, no matter what life throws your way.'

Valencias story is extraordinary. It shows that no matter what your background is, being determined and striving for success can lead to achieving great things. It also shows what having an end goal in mind can do.

For anyone looking to start a business, write out your goals for the 12 months. Bullet point exactly how youre going to achieve this, and constantly review it. Keeping it saved on your phone or written on your fridge will help, for example.

And constantly remind yourself why you started this journey. If youve been inspired by another business owner, keep them at the forefront of your mind too.

Not only will it help give you direction, but when times are tough it will act as a reminder of what you started out to achieve.

Share your goals openly with your loved ones too, they will be some of your best business advisers when youre at your lowest point. They can help remind you of what you set out to achieve.

2. When one door closes, another one opens

Its important to remember that a setback in your career doesnt have to signal an ending. It can give you the opportunity to change direction and try your hand at something youve always wanted to pursue.

Redundancy was the kick start I needed to set up on my own Chis Evans launched Waterfall Ways, an events and catering company based in South Wales After being made redundant, Chis Evans launched Waterfall Ways, an events and catering company based in South Wales. His business offers bespoke outdoor activities and adventure days on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, as well as providing a catering service for both corporate and private clients. 'Id had a successful career for many years, but took voluntary redundancy and decided it was now or never to take the plunge and start my own businesses,' he explains. 'Id always had a bit of an adventurous streak, and with the help of an 18,500 loan, set up Waterfall Ways. 'Since then, its been a rollercoaster but our business has really started to gather momentum. As word spreads, bookings have sky-rocketed. We now employ a full-time member of staff, and eight part-time, just one year after we opened our doors. 'Taking redundancy wasnt something Id ever envisaged having to do, but it makes you re-evaluate your circumstances. Instead of seeing it as a stumbling block, I used it as a springboard to motivate me to do something Id always dreamed of.'

Its common for people who take redundancy to look for another job in a similar field, but we would encourage anyone in this position to use it as an opportunity for a career 180.

Think back to when you were at school and imagined a dream job. Would it be viable to give it a go now? Our main piece of advice is: when your career doesnt go as planned, take it as an opportunity to make a change for the better.

Take some time to challenge yourself in to writing a brief business plan over a weekend.

If you find yourself excited and inspired afterwards, then rather than dusting off your old CV and applying for similar roles, devote yourself to building a solid business plan.

There are loads of free tools available online to help do this, like the British Business Banks Business Finance Guide.

3. If things arent working, rethink your strategy but dont give up

Many start-ups think that from the outset their business will take an upward trajectory. Unfortunately, its not always plain-sailing, and for many, rethinking your initial strategy is the only option to keep your business alive.

My pop-up rent was spiralling out of control so I moved work to my home and now have cash to spare Keisha Henry, owner of Gold Lazer, is a prime example of someone who has had to scale back her business after first starting up. In April 2015, she launched her own laser cutting service, which she launched using a 9,600 start up loan to help her fund machinery and set up a premises from which to kick-start trade. 'Originally, I opened a pop-up shop, but it didnt quite take off how Id imagined,' she says. 'Rent costs were high, and maintaining the machinery was expensive. All my earnings went towards renting the premises and I new I had to downsize the business fast before it spiralled out of control. 'I made the decision to work from home to help save money. Now I have cash in the bank, and with the help of a second round of funding, I am looking to move into a studio space. 'Ive learned that you have to be malleable when it comes to running a business. If Id stayed as a pop-up, all my income would have gone towards affording rent. 'It was just a case of rethinking my strategy and looking at where I could cut costs, which would enable me to grow the business.'

Often, start-ups think that they must follow their original business plan word-for-word. But this can lead to failure as they are far too static in their approach.

Wed encourage people looking to start their own business to write a detailed business plan, but to revisit and evolve it constantly as the business grows.

Its useful to have a mentor on hand to help you make vital decisions

You cant predict exactly how your business will expand, or what might happen during your journey, so be prepared to rethink your original plan.

This is why its useful to have a mentor on hand to help you make vital decisions like this.

They will have had first-hand experience of decisions like this during their career, and having somebody else to learn from can be invaluable, which is why we pair our loan recipients with a dedicated mentor from the outset.

Wed advise you to meet them regularly, speak to them over the phone, or email them to seek their advice. Explore which funding and mentoring provider is right for you by searching online, asking friends or family for business contacts, or by attending networking events.
Rosie ODonnells daughter is haunted by an episode with her drunk mother during which the actress locked the teen in her bedroom, tried to pull off her clothes to see her tattoo, threatened to hit her with an empty wine bottle and told her she could kill her.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Chelsea ODonnell says the May 2015 attack was the beginning of two years of ups and downs with her mother which has culminated in an estrangement she now feels is irreparable.

Chelsea also revealed that she and boyfriend Nick Alliegro, 31, secretly got married last July after she found out she was pregnant.

But the newlyweds suffered a devastating blow weeks later when Chelsea had a miscarriage.

Scroll down for video and Rosie O'Donnell's response

Chelsea O'Donnell, 19, said her relationship with her adoptive mother took a bad turn shortly before her 18th birthday in 2015

Nick Alliegro, 31, met Chelsea in November 2015 at Dunkin Donuts in Long Island. They began dating and moved into together a few months later. They are now married

The teen (pictured with her mom and siblings in 2015) says O'Donnell chased her with a wine bottle and threatened to hit her after the actress learned she had a tattoo

I told Rosie about the miscarriage but she never seemed to care or even asked any questions, like it didnt matter to her, Nick told DailyMail.com.

Chelsea, who was adopted by ODonnell when she was a baby, says problems with her mother began shortly before her 18th birthday in August 2015. Three months earlier, she had the word Breathe tattooed on her side. ODonnell was incensed.

It was pretty late at night, Chelsea said. A couple of weeks prior, I had gotten a tattoo. She [ODonnell] had spyware on my phone so she could see pretty much everything I did.

She called me into her room and asked me about the tattoo. I denied it.

She asked me to take off my clothes - she didnt know where it was - to show her and I refused.

She picked up a wine bottle and started chasing me, trying to take off my clothes.

'She told me if I didnt show her, if I tried to leave, that she would hit me with the wine bottle, call the police and tell them that I had attacked her.

She was holding it above her head and coming after me in her room. She kept trying to run after me and saying that if she really wanted to she could kill me, shes that strong.

Inked: Chelsea now shows off her various tattoos on both arms, but said her mother chased her said 'if she really wanted to she could kill me' if Chelsea didn't show her

Chelsea, 19, said her relationship with her adoptive mother took a bad turn shortly before her 18th birthday in 2015

She ended up pulling my shirt up and seeing it. Then I left. I didnt see her for the rest of the night.

Chelsea said that the wine bottle was in ODonnells room because she was drinking as she did frequently.

The TV star, 55, didnt hit her but she came really close, Chelsea said. The teen didnt go to the hospital with injuries nor did she contact the police.

I felt it was her word against mine and why wouldnt they believe her over me? Chelsea said.

I didnt go to the police because of who she is. She would have tried to say I was crazy and they just wouldnt believe me.

Chelseas younger brother and sister, Blake and Vivienne, were next door while it was going on. They were in their rooms but they heard it, she said.

Chelsea didnt tell family or friends what had happened but told her therapist. She is unclear if ODonnell told her other mother, Kelli Carpenter, who separated from the star in 2007, or Carpenters new wife Anne Steele.

Chelsea claims that her mother never apologized or talked to her about the threatening incident.

Chelsea's rocky past with Rosie has cost Chelsea her relationship with her siblings Blake, Vivienne and Parker (left to right) and says she would love to reconnect with them but fears her mother would try to contact her

The 19-year-old said Blake and Vivienne (pictured) had been in the room next door when she and her mother had an altercation

The teen admitted that ODonnell had been violent with her in the past  once hitting her while she was at boarding school.

When I was 13, 14 and I was at boarding school in Utah, I had gotten into trouble and I was in a locked room.

'She had come to see me and they let her in. We started arguing because I didnt want her there, Chelsea recalled.

She got really close to me. I tried to push her away from me and she hit me. We started fighting more until she was asked to leave.

A few years later, she apologized and said she regretted doing that.

Chelsea added: Since I was 12, Rosie has been verbally abusive and that was something I didnt like, making me feel that there was something wrong with me.

ODonnell had told Nick that she had hit Chelsea. She mentioned to me that she hit Chelsea and regretted it, he said.

Me and Chelsea had a fight during the summer and she said: Nick, I understand that people fight, but never get physical because Ive gotten physical with Chelsea and I regret it. Her exact words.

Nick and Chelsea secretly married last year after she learned she was pregnant. The teen later suffered a miscarriage and claims her mother never visited her in the hospital and took away her car after her ordeal

Nick told Dailymail.com the TV star once revealed to him she 'regretted hitting Chelsea'

Chelsea said that ODonnell hit her older brother, Parker, with a dictionary when he was a teenager.

Everybody [in the family] talked about it and now they joke about it, Chelsea said.

The 19-year-old has decided to speak for the first time about the actresss violent outbursts because she is frustrated that the star presents a different image to her fans than exists behind closed doors.

ROSIE O'DONNELL'S RESPONSE Rosie O'Donnell asked DailyMail.com to print this response in it entirety louise chelsea is mentally ill has been in and out of hospitals most of her life born addicted to heroin - she has had a tough road as for her comments - i assume u r paying her - which is why she is selling these tales to you unfounded - untrue - and desperate do what you like louise - as this is the job u have but know she is very sick she is not capable of truth or reason she has not been in touch with anyone since her husband tried to extort 9000 dollars from this family the day after the lesion in her frontal lobe was detected she then did an inside edition interview for money and disappeared and now has a story for u as a mother - my request is that u not pay her and leave her alone as her self hatred grows after each sold lie it is comforting to know she is still alive so thank you for that part if u use any of this e mail in ur story i request it is in its entirety rosie truth inside truth March 4, 2017 my 19 year old daughter adopted by me at two months old was once again paid by inside edition to talk about her life and me chelsea left my home in august 2015 at 17 and has not spent a night under my roof since she has been to rehab two times since going both times she left early AMA each time with the assistance of nick alliegro who married her in 2016 in secret she was 18  he was 30 he has kicked her out many times since then chelsea attempted suicide on labor day she refused rehab treatment went to wisconsin alone to live with her birth family nick allegro picked chelsea up there in wisconsin shortly before christmas in late december nick was arrested for domestic violence chelsea agreed to attend SILVERHILL hospital the doctors there found a hole in her frontal lobe most like from a stroke in utero this severely compromises her cognitive abilities and always has and in some ways i hope  frees her from the debilitating shame she struggles to life thru daily she left SILVERHILL in feb against medical advice and until last nights inside edition we had no idea if she were alive or dead no one from inside edition called me no one tried to tweet me i had the EPs phone number in 14 minutes =============================================== Rosie ODonnell: charles lachman  this is rosie odonnell my daughter has an IQ of 86 she has a hole in her frontal lobe she left SILVERHILL hospital AMA last month no one has seen or heard from her had u the BASIC HUMAN DECENCY  to reach out and ask b4 u ONCE AGAIN PAID HER MONEY  money she will use for drugs Charles Lachman I can call you at 10:15 to discuss. Im on a crowded Amtrak train right now. Rosie ODonnell: what is wrong with u charles  have u no heart  no children  no basic humanity shame  truly  on u my daughter is probably shooting up  from ur easy money  enjoy ur train ride CHARLES LACHMAN the plumber husband did u even look  he was arrested for domestic violence in jan theres ur f***ing story thanks charles thank u from a 55 yr old mother of 5 w/drug compromised children and charles  it took me 20 mins to get to u  someone could have easily reached me had u tried ============================================ we spoke shocked to find him an adult of 63 i expected a 40 something metrosexual i yelled his defense my publicist threatened them  over the phone the first time they interviewed chelsea YES THATS HER JOB  i screamed to keep predatory press from my mental compromised adolescent daughter she was not at boarding school as u reported the first time she was in residential treatment nearly her whole life i googled u chuck after we hung up impressive work as an author with children of ur own may they always be healthy and should they not lets hope the toxic tabloids dont feed on them nancy glass is famous i am sure there would be a way to sell that story and some p***k would give your sick child money ur heart would break chuck and u would wonder what you could do to save her from men like u Advertisement

CHELSEA AND NICHOLAS RESPOND TO ROSIE Chelsea says: 'I am not mentally ill and i have no self hatred and am not doing this for the money. Rosie doesnt know me and ahe never will again. She is a cruel narsasistic vengful woman who doesnt care for anyone but herself and her writing that on her website just shows how shallow hateful she really is.' Nicholas says: 'That is an all time low even for her that just shows what kind of person she is and for the record the only difference between her comments and ours is that ours is true and that's why she is reaction because the truth hurts.' Advertisement

She does things that are going to make her look good. She lied about kicking me out by saying that Im missing and making everyone all worried, Chelsea said.

She tries to make people think Im just crazy and shes this great mother thats trying to save her daughter when none of thats really true.

I feel like shes been very dishonest and done things that have really hurt me and my life. I want to clear things up and get the truth out.

Chelsea referred to the August 2015 incident which became a national news story and put her at the center of a police rescue operation.

She has long maintained that - contrary to reports she ran away from home and was in danger  ODonnell kicked her out of the family home in Nyack, New York and knew where she was the entire time.

The incident happened several weeks after her mother threatened her with a wine bottle.

I didnt want to fight and I just didnt want to talk, Chelsea recalled. I guess she didnt like that and thought that I would end up leaving on my own eventually, so she told me to leave.

I was gone for a week and she knew where I was. The week after I left, she told everyone that I was missing and went to the police.

On August 18, ODonnell posted a message to her website about her concern for her daughter who she said had run away from home.

Nyack, New York police authorities have been looking for her in the Rockland County area since Sunday, August 16. She was last seen Tuesday, August 11. She was wearing a black sweatshirt hoodie, dark ripped blue jeans, women's grey converse sneakers and a black backpack.

'Chelsea has a large tattoo on her right side of a dream catcher with the word 'Breathe.' She left home with her 6 month old therapy dog named Bear. The dog is a 9 lbs brown and black terrier. Chelsea stopped taking her medicine and is in need of medical attention, she wrote online.

Chelsea said: She knew. She was talking to me when I was down [in New Jersey].

She had called the person I was with too. The day after she had kicked me out, she had gotten in contact with that person.

A few days after, she had called me and told me she had known where I was because she had looked at my phone messages.

On August 18, the police found Chelsea, then 17, unharmed, at the New Jersey home of 25-year-old Steven Sheerer, whom she met online.

Rosie O'Donnell reported her daughter missing in 2015 - but Chelsea told Dailymail.com her mother had kicked her out of the house and allegedly knew where she was the entire time

Chelsea said: 'She does things that are going to make her look good. She lied about kicking me out by saying that Im missing and making everyone all worried,'

Sheerer had previously been convicted of possessing controlled dangerous substances and child endangerment after a 2013 incident in which he was arrested with heroin and marijuana while in a car with a woman and her two children. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years' probation.

The police involvement led to Sheerer being charged with third-degree endangering a child and third-degree distribution of obscenity to a minor. The latter was the result of a nude photo Sheerer sent Chelsea on dating app, Tinder.

Sheerer's attorney, Robert Tarver, told the Associated Press at the time that the relationship between the pair was consensual and began on Tinder, where Chelsea had identified herself as being aged 19.

At Chelseas request, the charges were dropped several weeks later.

An Ocean County Police spokesman said at the time that ODonnell had reached out to thank them personally for her daughters safe return.

The reality was much different, Chelsea says.

I returned home for an hour. She had my bags there and told me to leave. As if shes the concerned mother when really she kicked me out. My friend was there to pick me up and I stayed with her and her mother for a week.

Chelsea said she has spent some time reconnecting with her biological mother in Wisconsin and has reached out to her father as well

Chelsea decided to visit her biological mother, Deanna Micolley, who she had been getting to know for several months on the phone. She spent a week with her and her four step-siblings in Wisconsin.

She last saw them in November. I havent spoken to her recently but the last time I saw her, things were good, Chelsea said.

The teen has also been building a relationship with her biological father, Lance Schilling, but is taking it slowly. Ive tried talking to him a few times and its going okay.

Chelsea met Nick Alliegro in November 2015 at a Dunkin Donuts in Long Island. The couple began dating and moved in together a few months later.

At the start of their relationship, ODonnell made Nick a strange offer without her daughters knowledge.

Nick said: When we started dating and I went to Rosies house for the first time in November, she was very nice to me. She even told Chelsea she liked me.

But she mentioned that it would be good if I ended things with Chelsea and convinced her to move back home.

She even threw out the idea of paying for my apartment for the year and helping me out financially which I turned down.

I told her that wasnt an option and we wanted to stay together.

He added: She said that if I wanted to take on that responsibility [of Chelsea] then my life would be chaos. It just felt negative.

She told me Chelsea was incapable of loving someone else and the best doctors in the country said she would be unable to love. So do yourself a favor and walk away, - Things a mother should never say about their daughter.

I knew something was off from the beginning. I tried to look the other way because I knew how badly Chelsea wanted her siblings in her life.

I wanted to help patch things up with her even though there was friction the whole time because Chelsea never wanted to patch things up with Rosie.

If it wasnt for me, they would never have talked again.

Chelsea found out she was pregnant last June and the couple decided to get married.

We both decided, which we dont regret at all, that we wanted to rush things and get married before the baby, Nick said.

Chelsea chose not to tell her family.

Nick said: I wanted to. She wouldnt let me but I felt horrible for not.

Nick told Dailymail.com that O'Donnell told him to end things with Chelsea because her daughter was 'incapable of loving someone else'

We kept it tight. Not a lot of people knew  my mother, my brother and sister. I wanted to tell her side of the family but she didnt want to.

At the time, Chelsea had reconciled with her mother and was spending time, along with Nick, at ODonnells Nyack compound.

It was then that Chelsea learned her mom had a new girlfriend, Dana Schiff, a Broadway actress and long-time friend who had separated from her investment banker husband, Scott.

Chelsea told DailyMail.com: Ive been there with them, had dinner with them and talked to them about it. They sleep together and spend weekends together.

Chelsea and Nick married by themselves on July 1 at Islip Town Hall in Long Island and celebrated with a quiet dinner.

Their happiness was short-lived: Chelsea miscarried several weeks later. She remains unable to speak about losing her baby.

Early August, Chelsea had a miscarriage which was hard for both of us, Nick said.

After Chelsea had the miscarriage, she was just having a hard time coping with everything.

At the end of August, she went to the hospital. In the media it was said that Chelsea had an overdose which wasnt true.

When ODonnell called the hospital for an update on Chelseas condition, a staff member inadvertently broke the news that her daughter had married.

Rosie called the hospital and was trying to get her status but they told her only her husband could get information, Nick said.

She had called me and asked me if it was true. I told her the truth.

ODonnell appeared more upset about the marriage than Chelsea losing the baby, Nick said. The TV star never came to see her daughter in hospital  instead, she organized for Chelseas brother to come and collect a car she had provided for her daughter earlier in the summer.

Instead of asking how Chelsea was when she was in hospital, Rosie had her brother come to our apartment and take the car back. She also turned her phone off instead of coming to the hospital to check she was okay, Nick said.

I dont know if it was because of me or having control over Chelsea because I think thats what it all stems to.

She needs to have control over Chelsea and if she doesnt it drives her crazy.

The tension between the couple and ODonnell was heightened by the fact that Chelsea had an undiagnosed brain lesion.

Chelsea said: In September, I had MRIs and nothing came up in those tests. My headaches kept getting worse and I didnt know what was wrong.

'Rosie had me get a different brain scan at a hospital in Connecticut in January. Thats when they found a lesion on my brain which they are now trying to fix.

I take medication that they think might fix it but [the doctors] arent sure.

Nick said that ODonnell blamed him for missing Chelseas illness.

She was cursing me out, saying that I was a piece of s*** because I didnt see what was going on with Chelsea.

The couple said they were grateful that ODonnell stepped in to help with medical expenses - but even these came with a caveat.

The teen told Dailymail.com she plans to move out of New York with her husband to somewhere 'nobody is ever going to find us'

I wanted Chelsea to get the best medical care and Rosie refused to pay for it if we didnt agree to get a divorce, Nick said.

As much as it killed me, we had to lie to her and convince her we would get a divorce so Rosie would continue to pay for Chelseas medical expenses so we could figure out what is wrong with her.

We told her that we were getting a divorce just so she would help with her medical.

The relationship with ODonnell broke down in January.

It was because of how she was treating Nick, being really cruel and blaming him for things that were not his fault, Chelsea said.

Nick added: We always had a mutual respect for one another. I felt we got along fine, we always communicated.

All I wanted was for Chelsea to have her siblings so I tried my best to help her patch things up.

I looked the other way for as long as I could and it got to the point that enough is enough.

She just has a way with words. Its hard to explain the way she could try put down you verbally. Shes great with words, lets put it that way.

I seen a side of her that Id never seen before.

The last time I spoke to her on the phone the things she said were unbelievable. I could see what Chelsea was going through this whole time. It opened my eyes to what shes been going through her whole life.

The couple does not think a reconciliation with the TV star is possible.

I dont think that theres a chance of that with Rosie anymore, Chelsea said.

Nick added: I just feel that theres so much damage done.

The couple dont believe that ODonnell has tried to reach out to them  although both have changed their phone numbers and deleted social media.

However, she does know where the couple lives on Long Island.

Chelsea said that she would love to be in contact with her four siblings but has her reservations.

No matter how bad I want to talk to someone else in my family, the second they have my number they give it to her, Chelsea said.

I dont know if its because theyre scared but all their loyalty is there. I have Nicks family.

The couple is focusing on their future and is planning to move out of New York  but to where exactly, they wouldnt say.

Nick said: Lifes been good. Im happy. Our lease is up so were looking forward to leaving New York. We are going to just disappear.

Where nobody is ever going to find us, Chelsea added.

She plans to finish her education online and hopes for a future career in law enforcement or special education. Down the line, the couple also still hope to have a family.

She said that her experiences had not put her off being a mother.

Thats something we both want and Im looking forward to experiencing that, Chelsea said. Just because Rosies a bad mother doesnt mean that I will be.
Terrill Thomas, 38, died of dehydration while in Milwaukee County jail. A jury recommended charges against seven jail staffers involved with the decision to deny him water for seven days, leading to his death

A jury on Monday recommended criminal charges against seven Milwaukee County jail staffers in the dehydration death of an inmate who went without water for seven days.

The jury's recommendation came after a six-day inquest that included testimony from jail staff and evidence from county prosecutors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The jury found probable cause for 'abuse of a resident of a penal facility' in the death of 38-year-old Terrill Thomas on April 24, 2016.

The jurors recommended charges against jail supervisors, Nancy Evans and Kashka Meadors, and for officers James Ramsey-Guy, JorDon Johnson, Thomas Laine, Dominique Smith and John Weber.

It's up to prosecutors whether to file charges.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said he had no timeline to decide, and that he could charge more people  or fewer.

The six-person jury returned its recommendation just a few hours after hearing morning testimony that the sheriff's office continued using water deprivation as a form of punishment even after Thomas' death.

Prosecutors presented jurors with jail logs documenting two cases in which disobeying inmates had water to their cells turned off  both within a month of Thomas dying. One of the cases happened a week after Thomas' death.

In both subsequent instances it wasn't clear when the water was turned back on.

'This isn't the first time this happened. This is a pattern,' Assistant District Attorney Kurt Bentley said.

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Thomas had his water turned off because he used a mattress to flood his cell at the Wisconsin County Jail he was being held in. The inside of the county jail is seen in the above stock image

Decorie Smith (far right), a corrections officer at Milwaukee County Jail, testifies in the inquest in Milwaukee on April 24. A jury recommended charging the jail staff in Thomas' death on May 1

Thomas died after being denied water for seven days. The jury heard evidence that two other inmates had their water turned off, both within the same month that Thomas died.

The jail is overseen by conservative firebrand Sheriff David Clarke, although the inquest did not target him.

Clarke, who has been frequently mentioned as a possible Trump administration appointee, has declined to comment on Thomas' death, though he did issue a statement in March noting Thomas' criminal background.

Thomas' death was one of four at the jail last year, but the only one where charges are being considered.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker last week rejected an immigrant rights group's request to remove Clarke from office, saying he found reports of Thomas' death concerning, but that the sheriff's fate is up to voters.

Chisholm said he thought jurors were swayed by evidence that showed jail policies weren't followed and that Thomas had been left in poor conditions.

'I think it's just the clear lack of oversight over this entire process that really troubled them more than anything else,' he said.

Chisholm said he conducted an inquest because what happened was a 'major system failure' and he wanted the public to have some input in his decision.

Thomas was arrested April 14, 2016, for allegedly shooting a man in front of his parents' house and later firing a gun inside a casino. His family, which is suing the county over his death, has said he was having a mental breakdown at the time he was arrested.

The evidence and testimony prosecutors presented showed several missteps from guards and their supervisors, including the failure to log that Thomas' water had been turned off.

A Milwaukee, Wisconsin jury recommended criminal charges against seven jail staffers in the dehydration death of an inmate denied water for seven days. The jail is overseen by David Clarke (pictured), Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, but the inquest did not target him

That action was taken because Thomas had stuffed a mattress in a toilet to flood the cell he was previously in.

Meadors is accused of giving the order to shut off water, and Ramsey-Guy of carrying it out. Prosecutors suggested Evans had not cooperated fully with law enforcement investigating Thomas' death. The other officers had the most contact with Thomas, Chisholm said.

Kimberly Perry, the mother of one of Thomas' three children, said it was difficult to be in court watching the proceedings at times.

'It was very hard and challenging because how could you do this to an individual? I mean, he wasn't perfect, but he still was an individual who had rights,' said Perry, 39.

During closing arguments, Chisholm told jurors Thomas' family had one question they wanted to ask the jail staffers who interacted with Thomas.

'Had Mr. Thomas been your son, had he been your brother, had he been a close friend, would this have happened?' Chisholm said. 'I think we all know the answer to that.'
The troubled daughter of actor Laurence Fishburne gave passing motorists on the busy I-95 an eyeful when she was arrested for DUI March 11, according to videos of the incident obtained by DailyMail.com.

Wearing her ultra-short, clingy dress above her waist, former porn star Montana Fishburne made a show out of urinating on the side of the road, and at one point stuck her butt in the air in front of a patient Florida Highway Patrol trooper who was trying hard not to look.

'Im not tripping, Im a f****** ratchet,' Montana tells trooper Juan Pinzon as she steps over the interstates guard rail, her dress hitched up way above her V-string panties.

Florida Highway Patrol trooper Juan Pinzon watches a Montana Fishburne removes her heels and plops them on a police car after rear-ending a Range Rover. 'Those are my high heels': An intoxicated Fishburne declares to the officer in the car that she is holding her shoes minutes before she pees on the side of the highway

Fishburne asked Pinzon to show her the DUI test 'as a Latino American to another Latino American' because she did not like the political situation in America with Trump

After Fishburne relieved herself, she asked Pinzon to wipe the roadside debris off of her foot. The trooper then asks to pull her dress down before taking her away in the patrol car

The scene took place about 2.00am March 11 on the side of the interstate in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after Fishburne rear-ended a Range Rover that slowed down to avoid a previous crash.

According to authorities, troopers who responded to both crashes found an open bottle of wine inside Fishburnes Toyota Corolla and wrote in their report her breath reeked of booze.

Fishburne, 25, eventually blew a .18 and .17 in breathalyzer tests that night, according to the troopers report. That's more than twice Floridas legal limit of .08.

Montana, 25, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol troopers after an accident on I-95 near Fort Lauderdale; a booking photo shows that her eyes were blood-shot from crying

In mid-April, Fishburne pleaded not guilty to four counts of DUI-related charges in a hearing in a Fort Lauderdale court and is preparing for trial later this year. Shes out on $2,500-bond.

Meanwhile, the 22-minute video of her arrest released to DailyMail.com by authorities shows Fishburne failing her field sobriety tests as well as her gentle but persistent arguments with Pinzon.

To her credit, Fishburne never played the celebrity card and at no time does she tell troopers she is Laurence Fishburnes daughter.

She did, however, use the excuse of the Donald Trump presidency as a reason why the trooper should be patient with her.

The video starts with Fishburne removing her high heels as Trooper Pinzon tells her she has to perform tests to show whether she is sober enough to drive.

'Hi Mr. Officer,' Fishburne tells the camera in Pinzons car, 'those are my high heels.'

Chatty, at times flirtatious, Fishburne tells Pinzon she might not be able to perform some of the tests because she suffered a broken ankle last year. She identified herself as a 'dance professional.'

Florida Highway Patrol trooper Pinzon awkwardly looks away from Montana Fishburne as she crosses over the guard rail to relieve herself after rear-ending a Range Rover

'Youre my bae': Fishburne seems to flirt with the trooper in the back of the patrol car as they drive her to the police station

After being scolded for endangering the lives of others by drunk driving, Fishburne said she was mostly disappointed she wouldn't be sleeping in her own bed that night

Fishburne reportedly took up stripping and exotic dancing when she moved to Fort Lauderdale two years ago in the wake of a porn career that embarrassed her famous dad, who is best known for playing the self-possessed leader of the rebels in The Matrix.

She said in interviews at the time she thought the graphic sex videos would help her become the next Kim Kardashian and parlay the sleaze into mainstream acting gigs.

Instead of receiving propositions for acting roles, Fishburne managed to alienate her famous dad. Her mother is little-known actress Hajna O. Moss.

The video of the DUI arrest, meanwhile, shows the trooper getting somewhat impatient with Fishburne when she appears to not understand his explanations of the relatively simple 'walk and turn' sobriety exercise.

For nearly five minutes, Fishburne demonstrates exercises she thinks she should perform instead of following Pinzons instructions.

Montana Fishburne did not name drop her father Laurence Fishburne who is famous for playing the self-possessed leader of the rebels in The Matrix

Fishburne moved to the beach-side city of Fort Lauderdale in 2014, shortly after a career as porn star that started when she was 19

'Maam, youre not complying with my instructions,' Pinzon tells her, then threatens to write on his report she refused to take the tests.

Thats when Fishburne uses the Trump excuse.

'In the situation were going through with Donald Trump,' Fishburne says, 'as a Latino American to another Latino American, I would appreciate if you could show me the exercise correctly so I can do it correctly.

'That would make me feel better because I really dont like the political situation in America.'

Theres no evidence Fishburne is Hispanic but Pinzon is.

The video shows Fishburne still cant manage the exercise after Pinzon demonstrates it, and the trooper handcuffs her, which apparently makes Fishburne want to pee.

'I really need to pee,' says the famous daughter, lifting up the back of her dress as traffic whizzes by, 'and I will pee right here on your car. Thats not a problem. I just need to sit down.'

She then walks toward the guard rail with the trooper asking her what she is doing, climbs over it as she pulls down her panties and squats.

'What are you doing,' Pinzon asks again.

'Is that OK, can I pee,' Fishburne responds.

'Well, youre already doing it,' Pinzon responds.

When she returns to the emergency lane of the interstate, Fishburne lifts her bare feet so that the trooper can wipe them clean of roadside debris.

Again, passing motorists had a clear look at her thong-clad behind.

Pinzton averts his gaze from Fishburne who is barely covered by her V-string panty on the side of the busy Florida highway

Pinzon pulls down the former porn star's dress before she gets in the patrol car to go to jail. She was arrested in 2009 for prostitution and for battery plus false imprisonment in 2010

'Go ahead, put your dress down,' Pinzon tells her before he helps her sit in his marked Dodge Charger.

Other video tapes inside the troopers car on the way to the Fort Lauderdale breath testing center and then jail show Fishburne engaging Pinzon into small talk.

'So, youre my bae,' Fishburne tells Pinzon when she finds out hell stay with her until she goes to jail. 'Yeah, youre my bae.'

'If you say so,' Pinzon replies.

Several times on her ride to the alcohol testing facility, Fishburne can be heard begging Pinzon to take her home.

'Honestly, Im more upset about not being able to spend the night in my bed,' Fishburne says to the trooper when he tells her she couldve killed herself or someone else. 'Cant you just escort me home?'

'No maam, thats not how we do it,' Pinzon says.

'In Los Angeles, thats exactly what they do,' Fishburne says. 'Come on, Im not that drunk. Were right by my house.'

This was not Fishburnes first arrest.

Fishburne was nabbed for prostitution in 2009 and battery plus false imprisonment in 2010, when she reportedly entered into the house of her boyfriends ex, dragged her into the bathroom and beat her.

Montana Fishburne couldnt be reached for comment.
Hip-Hop CHA is partnering with the Alcatraz Dance Crew to offer a free hip-hop dance class for those ages 12-17. The workshop will take place at the Edney Innovation Building on Floor Five this Saturday from 1-4 p.m.Students will learn the art of popping and locking as well as various other types of hip-hop dance. Although the class is free, participants are encouraged to pre-register due to limited space. Children must have parent's permission to attend. A parent or guardian must also sign a waiver/release form.Those interested in attending the beginner-level workshop are encouraged to register here
Hamas has announced it is taking a softer stance on Israel, having for years called for the state's destruction, in a dramatic shift in policy - but says it still views it as an occupier.

A new policy document said the group - which has previously been branded a 'murderous terrorist organisation' by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu - it is not seeking war with Jewish people, but will still fight for Palestinian liberation.

In a dramatic twist, however, the group said it is willing to accept 1967 borders - before Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

But it has not gone as far as recognising Israel. In response, a spokesman for Netanyahu accused Hamas of trying to 'fool the world'.

Exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said Hamas is ready to support Palestinian liberation based on 1967 borders, without recognising Israel

Hamas said it is still intent on liberating Palestine and will continue to oppose Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

The move comes ahead of a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party is deeply divided from Hamas.

Hamas' exiled leader Khaled Meshaal said at a press conference: 'Hamas advocates the liberation of all of Palestine but is ready to support the state on 1967 borders without recognising Israel or ceding any rights.'

'We in Hamas believe that renewal and reinvention is a necessity,' Meshaal said at the event in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by stating: 'Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed'

A Palestinian boy, pictured in 2012, removes possessions from the rubble in the Gaza strip following an Israeli airstrike

While the new document does not amount to recognition of Israel as demanded by the international community, Hamas officials say, it formally softens its stance in a few key areas.

Hamas leaders have long spoken of the more limited aim of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without explicitly setting this out in their charter.

But after years of internal debate, the new document formally accepts the idea of a state in the territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967.

It also says its struggle is not against Jews because of their religion but against Israel as an occupier.

'We are not fighting against the Jews because they are Jewish,' said Meshaal.

'We are waging this struggle against the aggression of Zionists.'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House this week. His Fatah party is deeply divided from Hamas

The Hamas leader has called on Trump's administration to 'act with more seriousness on the Palestinian cause and change its misconceptions about the Palestinian people'

However, the organisation's original 1988 charter - which calls for Israel to be obliterated - will not be dropped, just supplemented, in a move some analysts see as a way of maintaining the backing of hardliners.

Asked if Hamas would negotiate directly with Israelis, Meshaal replied: 'Our policy is we will not engage in direct negotiations with the Israelis because nothing in the conditions and circumstances convinces us that any conclusions can be reached.'

Speaking to AFP, Meshaal said he hoped the new US administration would 'act with more seriousness on the Palestinian cause and change its misconceptions about the Palestinian people'.

The press conference was also broadcast live in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas, and the document was posted on the movement's website.

Khaled Meshaal (right) speaks with Hamas officials ahead of their conference in the Qatari capital, Doha, yesterday

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008. The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for 10 years

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and the new document is aimed in part at easing its international isolation.

One Hamas leader, Ahmed Yusef, earlier told AFP the updated charter was 'more moderate, more measured and would help protect us against accusations of racism, anti-Semitism and breaches of international law'.

It also does not refer to the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Hamas was closely linked when formed.

Israel was not convinced, however, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying: 'Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed.'

'They dig terror tunnels and have launched thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians,' David Keyes said in a statement, referring to rockets fired from Gaza and tunnels used to carry out attacks.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008. The strip has been under an Israeli blockade for 10 years.

UN officials have called for this to be lifted, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions, but Israel says it is needed to stop Hamas from obtaining weapons or materials it could use to make them.

Hamas remains deeply divided from Abbas's Fatah, and speculation has mounted over who will succeed the 82-year-old as Palestinian president.

Abbas's first meeting with Trump in Washington takes place on Wednesday.

The bitter split between Fatah and Hamas has taken a new turn in recent days.

Some analysts say it seems Abbas is seeking to increase pressure on Hamas in the impoverished Gaza Strip, but he risks being blamed for worsening conditions in the enclave of two million people.

In one example, Israeli officials say the Palestinian Authority dominated by Abbas's Fatah has begun refusing to pay Israel for electricity it supplies to Gaza.

Rights activists say exacerbating an already severe power shortage in the strip could be catastrophic.
A music festival has cancelled its petting zoo event after they faced massive backlash from animal lovers.

It's the first time the annual Groovin the Moo has been held at the South Australian city of Wayville, and boasted market stalls, bars and of course music.

But one activity, a petting zoo, has come under fire with protestors calling the festival an inappropriate 'environment for a petting zoo'.

'Animals should not be forcibly subjected to loud music, drunk people and large crowds.'

Groovin the Moo has cancelled its petting zoo event after the faced massive backlash from animal lovers

Two festival goers enjoy the electronic, dance, and indie rock music festival

The petting zoo at the Wayville event came under fire with protestors calling the festival an inappropriate 'environment for a petting zoo'

Angry at the thought of animals in these conditions, Jaymie Hammond began an online petition to cancel the activity, which quickly gained traction and amassed 2500 signatures in just 24 hours.

It's 'completely unethical and unnecessary to include this kind of animal abuse in a day that's supposed to be about music,' she wrote.

And many outraged animal lovers agreed with her.

'I am total [sic] disgusted that a music festival would have a patting zoo, clearly there has been no consideration what so ever for the wellbeing of the poor animals expected to attend this event,' one woman wrote on the petition.

Another added: 'Such a horrible environment for animals to be enclosed in and thrust directly into thousand drunk people with loud music too. I have no idea how this awful concept was approved in the first place.'

Angry at the thought of animals in these conditions, Jaymie Hammond began an online petition to ban the petting zoo, which amassed 2500 signatures in just six days

'I am total [sic] disgusted that a music festival would have a patting zoo, clearly there has been no consideration what so ever for the wellbeing of the poor animals,' one outraged festival goer said

'As an ethical vegan, I'm against animal exploitation of any kind, at any time, musical festival or not,' one woman wrote.

'Please rethink this totally unnecessary addition to your amazing event.'

While trying to recruit other groups to sign the petition another added: 'Groovin the Moo is planning a petting zoo at the gig and the Adelaide vegan community is up in arms about it.

'We are vehemently opposed to it as it exploits the animals and could potentially be very distressing for them.'

Groovin the Moo organisers said they 'love animals just as much as you and would never do anything to put them in harm's way' but then cancelled the zoo hours later

Wayville's Groovin the Moo took place on Friday without a hitch and featured acts The Wombats, dance music duo PNAU and old school rockers The Darkness

In response Groovin the Moo organisers told guests that they 'love animals just as much as you and would never do anything to put them in harm's way'.

'The petting zoo will be set up outside of the festival to greet you on your way into GTM,' they wrote.

'It will operate between 9am-3pm and will be run by a registered petting zoo organisation. Stop by to say hello to our furry friends and then head inside to enjoy your day!'

But this wasn't' enough to placate the protestors and they announced they were cancelling the petting zoo just hours later.

'We appreciate everyone's feedback regarding the Petting Zoo.

'While we had the best of intentions, we understand your concerns and so we have decided not to go ahead with it.'

Wayville's Groovin the Moo took place on Friday without a hitch and featured acts The Wombats, dance music duo PNAU and old school rockers The Darkness.
The shocking moment two alleged puppy thieves walk into a Melbourne pet shop and hide a chihuahua inside their jacket has been captured by CCTV.

The 12-week old male chihuahua has been missing since two women left a shopping centre pet store on Latrobe Street about 6.30pm on April 15.

Police said the pair walked around the store for 30 minutes before one of the women hid the light-brown puppy inside her jacket.

The moment two alleged puppy thieves walk into a Melbourne pet shop and hide a chihuahua inside their jacket has been captured by CCTV

Police said the pair walked around the store for 30 minutes before one of the women hid the light brown puppy inside her jacket and left the store

Both women have been described as Caucasian in appearance, aged 18 to 21, about 165cm tall with dark-brown hair

CCTV footage released shows one woman approaching the pen, as the other follows while appearing to laugh.

The two stand next to the pen for a moment before kneeling down beside the chihuahua.

A few moments pass before the pen door can be seen opening slightly.

Police have released images of two women they are looking for following the theft.

Both women have been described as Caucasian in appearance, aged 18 to 21, about 165cm tall with dark-brown hair.

The first woman was wearing a black puffer vest, black jeans with a rip in the left knee and white runners.

The second was wearing a blue zip-up hoodie, black tights and Adidas sneakers.
This is the moment a man pleaded with his neighbour to kick his door down to help him escape his smoke-filled house after an arson attack.

Taz Murtaza, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, coughed violently as he searched his room for his house keys before collapsing to the floor and shouting for help.

The 47-year-old had decided to film himself after a series of arson attacks in his neighbourhood, which he says have not been taken seriously enough.

Mr Murtaza was given oxygen by paramedics after neighbours managed to drag him from his home following the 4am fire.

Taz Murtaza says there have been five deliberate fires next to his home in Greater Manchester in as many weeks

He said: 'I'm a really heavy sleeper, so I didn't hear the smoke alarm going off and I didn't hear everyone outside shouting.

'By the time I woke up my bedroom was clogged with white smoke.

'I decided to pick up my phone and film what was happening because it had happened so many times already and I wanted to show people how bad it was.

'But then in the panic I couldn't find my keys, so I went to the window and started shouting to my neighbours to kick the door down because I couldn't get out.

'I nearly choked to death. It was absolutely awful.'

Residents were forced to flee when a blaze first broke out at the terraced house in Midhurst Street, Rochdale, on March 11.

The audio in Mr Murtaza's film is nothing short of heart-stopping. The 47-year-old from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, struggled to breathe as he fumbled around his smoke-filled house for his front door keys

A number of people were advised to go to hospital after showing signs of carbon monoxide poisoning following the fire and carbon monoxide tests were done at the property and six neighbouring houses.

But for more than a month afterwards Mr Murtaza says the home was left empty and unsecured and charred debris from the fire was piled up outside.

Mr Murtaza, who was rescued by firefighters during the initial blaze, says the rubbish was set alight four times by vandals.

The last fire, which he filmed, took place on April 18.

Mr Murtaza says he has now been forced to move out of his home and estimates the cost of replacing the smoke-damaged furniture and other repairs will come to around 10,000.

Mr Murtaza added: 'I decided to pick up my phone and film what was happening because it had happened so many times already and I wanted to show people how bad it was. Then in the panic I couldn't find my keys, so I shouting to my neighbours to kick the door down'

Mr Murtaza says he has now been forced to move out of his home and estimates the cost of replacing the smoke-damaged furniture and other repairs will come to around 10,000

Over the weekend the rubbish was finally cleared away.

But Taz hit out about the amount of time it took to secure the empty home and remove the debris.

He said: 'Thankfully the rubbish was cleared away this weekend, so I feel a bit safer now, but it took five weeks and four more fires before that happened.'

He added: 'Someone could have died in that time.'
They may not have the glitz and glamour of exotic destinations abroad, but staycations are experiencing a multi-billion-pound boom.

The UKs 100 largest caravan, camping and holiday parks raked in 2.7billion last year and are in line for a further boost due to the weaker pound.

Holiday parks saw turnover climb 9 per cent to 2.67billion in 2016, up from 2.46billion five years ago, according to research by Ortus Secured Finance.

The UKs 100 largest caravan, camping and holiday parks raked in 2.7billion last year and are in line for a further boost due to the weaker pound

Staycations have taken on a broader appeal since the recession as a cheaper alternative to an overseas holiday.

Sterlings slump against the US dollar and the euro since the EU referendum has also made holidaying at home more attractive, as the pounds weakness bumps up the cost of foreign travel.

John Salisbury, Ortus managing director, said: Caravan, camping and holiday parks are going from strength to strength, combining value for money with high standard facilities to maximise the guest experience.

The recession and the ensuing trend for staycations gave holiday parks, camping and caravan sites access to an even broader customer base, and they have been building on this ever since.

Holiday parks saw turnover climb 9 per cent to 2.67billion in 2016, up from 2.46billion five years ago, according to research by Ortus Secured Finance

Britains holiday park firms have also been the subject of a flurry of private equity deals as a result of strong performance.

Parkdean Resorts, the UKs largest caravan operator, sold for 1.35billion to Canadian private equity firm Onex Corporation in December.
Theresa May turns her guns on the Liberal Democrats today, accusing them of trying to scupper Brexit and being prepared to prop up Jeremy Corbyn.

The PM claimed Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who backs holding a second EU referendum, wants to disrupt Brexit negotiations and reopen the battles of the past.

If the Lib Dems end up putting Mr Corbyn in Number 10 it would be a recipe for years of drift and division, she said.

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The PM, pictured campaigning, turns her guns on the Liberal Democrats today, accusing them of trying to scupper Brexit and being prepared to prop up Jeremy Corbyn

In an article for the Western Morning News, Mrs May says the election is a chance to put old divisions behind us and to bring the country together.

Warning how high the stakes are in the upcoming Brexit talks, she says our future prosperity, our place in the world and our standard of living all depend on getting the next five years right.

She says every vote for the Conservatives will show a unity of purpose and strengthen her negotiating position.

Mrs May will today tour the South West, traditionally a Lib Dem heartland, as she attempts to shore up Tory support against a Lib Dem comeback.

At the same time, former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will claim the average UK household could be 500 worse off this year than last, and accuse Mrs May of inflicting economic harm on the country.

The PM writes: I am determined not to allow parties like the Liberal Democrats to prosper, because it is in their interests to prop up a Corbyn coalition of chaos so that the Brexit process stalls and they can reopen the battles of the past.

Wherever it says Labour or Liberal Democrat on the ballot, its a weak, nonsensical Jeremy Corbyn that gets the vote.

At the last election, voters here in the South-West were the difference between a strong, majority government and a weak, unstable coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

Mrs May claims Lib Dem leader Tim Farron wants to 'prop up' Jeremy Corbyn

The opposition parties are lining up to prop up Jeremy Corbyn and disrupt our Brexit negotiations  a recipe for years of drift and division at this crucial time.

The South West is seen as a key target area by Lib Dem strategists, who hope to win back some of the 14 seats in the region that the party lost to the Tories at the 2015 election.

At the weekend, Mr Farron described himself as a bit of a Eurosceptic, which was seen as an attempt to appeal to Leave voters in the West Country.

But yesterday on a visit to South West London  a Remain stronghold where the party also hopes to win back seats from the Tories - the Lib Dem leader brandished his pro-EU credentials, leading to accusations he was flip-flopping.

On Sunday he said: I dont want to go off on a little bit of a rabbit hole here, but you will remember that I resigned from the Liberal Democrat front bench about ten years ago because I am a bit of a Eurosceptic.

Yesterday, at a campaign event in Surbiton, South-West London, he told the Mail: Im massively pro-Europe but I am also somebody... who is sceptical about people who hold power.

We are utterly clear about the fact that Britains best future is inside the European Union and our job is to make sure we get the best outcome possible from any potential deal.

Theresa May claimed Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who backs holding a second EU referendum, wants to disrupt Brexit negotiations and reopen battles of the past

The South West has traditionally been a Lib Dem heartland  but at the last election the party was wiped out by the Tories there.

There are 10 seats in the region with Tory majorities of less than 10,000, meaning they can be considered marginal.

The most marginal is Thornbury and Yate in Gloucestershire, which the Tories hold with a majority of 1,495 after snatching it from Lib Dem former pensions minister Steve Webb in 2015.

St Ives, Torbay and Bath all have Conservative majorities of less than 4,000

Paddy Ashdowns former seat of Yeovil  lost to the Tories in 2015  comes next on the target list, followed by Cheltenham, Devon North, Wells and Cornwall North.

St Austell and Newquay is the only other seat in the South West where the Tories have a majority of less than 10,000.
This is the dramatic moment a 22-year-old surfer was rescued by the coastguard after spending more than 30 hours in the water.

Matthew Bryce, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, was on his way to the popular surfing spot Westport Beach near Machrihanish Bay on Argyll and Bute on Sunday morning.

He was eventually found 13 miles out at sea and his relieved mother said her son is 'very tired, but fine'.

Isabella Bryce was visibly emotional as she and her husband John arrived back to their home after speaking with Matthew.

This is the dramatic moment Matthew Bryce was rescued by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency

Mr Bryce was found 13 miles out at sea and was dramatically saved by the coastguard after spending 32 hours in the water

Speaking through tears of joy, she said: 'He's doing OK. He's very tired but he's fine apart from that.

'We're very tired as well but mainly just relieved that he's OK.'

His father John, 53, hailed his rescue as 'better than a lottery win'.

He said: 'The past 48 hours have been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions for our family and we are so grateful that Matthew has been found safe and well.

'To get that call from the police last night to say that he was alive was unbelievable - it was better than a lottery win - you just can't describe it.

'Matthew means the world to us, he is such a strong character both mentally and physically, and we are looking forward to being reunited with him.

'We've managed to speak to him briefly on the phone and he is obviously exhausted after his ordeal, but he is in good spirits and happy to be alive.'

He added: 'Our family cannot thank the Coastguard, RNLI volunteers and police officers involved in finding Matthew enough.

'I would also like to thank our friends and family as well as the hundreds of people who offered their support on social media.

'We have been overwhelmed by your support and good wishes and we will be forever grateful to every single one of you.'

His disappearance sparked huge panic and when he was not found, rescuers feared the worst.

However, the Belfast Coastguard miraculously picked him up alive and conscious at 7.30pm Monday after spending 32 hours clinging to his board.

When the Northern Irish branch of the emergency services joined the search, spokeswoman Dawn Petrie told RTE News hope had faded of finding the missing man alive.

She said: 'After such a long period in the water and with nightfall approaching we were gravely concerned.'

Mr Bryce (pictured) was on his way to the popular surfing spot Westport Beach (right) near Machrihanish Bay when he went missing

The man from Glasgow was last seen in Cambeltown (pictured) at 9am on Sunday morning and he spent 32 hours out at sea clutching his board before he was rescued at 7.30pm yesterday

The surfer was seen in Campbeltown at 9am on his way to Westport Beach to surf where he is understood to have gone missing, sparking a huge search and rescue operation

But hours later, when it appeared certain he had fallen victim to the waves, they dragged him from the water.

Ms Petrie told RTE News: 'The crew on the Coastguard rescue helicopter were delighted when they located the man still with his surf board and 13 miles off the coast.

'He was kitted out with all the right clothing including a thick neoprene suit and this must have helped him to survive for so long at sea.

'He is hypothermic but conscious and has been flown to hospital in Belfast.'

'He did the right thing by staying with his surfboard and that certainly aided his survival.'

Mr Bryce was taken to Belfast Hospital to be checked over.

Chief Inspector Paul Robertson said: 'The response to our appeal to find Matthew has been outstanding.

'It has been a real team effort and I would like to thank everyone who offered their assistance.'
An 11-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather has returned to primary school after giving birth to a baby boy.

Last year, an ultrasound revealed the Papua New Guinean schoolgirl had passed the 20-week mark of the pregnancy, meaning she was ineligible for a termination under PNG law.

Becky (not her real name) went on to give birth to a healthy baby boy and returned to school after he was adopted by another family.

The 11-year-old's stepfather has since died in prison, meaning the young girl will not have to go through the gruelling process of giving evidence at a trial.

An 11-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather has returned to primary school after giving birth to a baby boy (stock image)

Australian Federal Police sergeant Mandy Arnold said it was one of the most confronting cases she had experienced when she was first posted to Law, PNG's second largest city.

After confirming Becky was pregnant, Femili PNG stepped in to help - ensuring she had prenatal scans, health care, counselling and safe accommodation with her mother.

The organisation, which receives funding from the Australian aid program and private sector, works with police to help family and sexual violence survivors access services such as safe houses and legal assistance.

Sergeant Arnold said Femili PNG was the glue between the police force, courts, health system and women's shelters.

'Although we couldn't take back the crime, as a group everyone made it work,' she said.

Becky went on to give birth to a healthy baby boy who was later adopted. She's since returned to primary school.

'To see her in her school uniform on the first day back at school, to me that was so special,' Sgt Arnold said.

Last year, an ultrasound revealed the Papua New Guinean schoolgirl had passed the 20-week mark of the pregnancy, meaning she was ineligible for a termination under PNG law (stock image)

Becky (not her real name) went on to give birth to a healthy baby boy and returned to school after he was adopted by another family (stock image)

There are four AFP officers based in Lae providing training and mentoring to PNG police.

One of Sgt Arnold's offsiders is PNG inspector Hove Genderiso, a 35-year veteran of the force and father of four.

Insp Genderiso believes domestic violence is worse today than when he first started as a cop.

One of the worst cases he investigated was a father's sexual penetration of his four-year-old daughter.

'It's worse than animals,' he said.

'A four-year-old cannot give evidence in court. It's pretty difficult for a case like that to proceed in the courts.'

It can take two or three years for a case to go to trial.

The 11-year-old's stepfather has since died in prison, meaning the young girl will not have to go through the gruelling process of giving evidence at a trial (stock image)

On average per week, Inspector Genderiso and his colleagues arrest five to 10 men accused of domestic violence in Lae.

A lack of resources is a big factor hindering police officers' ability to respond to call outs, for example in some instances there might not be any petrol in the police car.

Femili PNG is helping to fill such voids and has provided printers and computers to police stations and the public prosecutor's office.

Sometimes requests for resources from Lae police to the headquarters in the capital Port Moresby are ignored for six months to a year.

Another problem is that some PNG police officers, especially some females, don't have driver's licences, but AFP officers assist with transport on occasions.

There are 70 female police officers in Lae out of about 400 and their presence is important for taking statements from vulnerable women and children.
Allegations of forced marriages have increased more than 600 per cent since it was criminalised in 2013.

Australian Federal Police figures show there were 69 claims of forced marriage in Australia in 2015/16 - compared to 33 in 2014/15 and 11 in the previous period.

A forced marriage is when someone is married without freely and fully consenting and includes ceremonies involving children too young to legally wed.

Allegations of forced marriage have increased more than 600 per cent since it was criminalised in 2013

The Australian Federal Police investigated 69 alleged cases of child marriage in 2015 and 2016

It comes as a record number of Victorian schoolgirls are forced into arranged marriages with older men, with daughters from that state making up one-third of investigations.

Young girls are often sent overseas to be married while some are forced into matrimony in illegal ceremonies.

The state government said it was looking at ways to better protect women and girls from forced marriages in response to a recommendation from Victoria's family violence royal commission.

'Children should never be put in the position where their parents or community leaders pressure or force them to get married,' a government spokesperson said on Monday.

He said changes would be initiated under the Family Violent Protection Act.

Victorian opposition children's spokeswoman Georgie Crozier called forced marriage 'abhorrent' and said more should be done to prevent it.

'There is no place for this in our society,' she said.

'We need more police resources to investigate any other incidents of this practice and need to look at legislation to prosecute parents who allow this abuse to occur.'

A record number of Victorian schoolgirls are forced into arranged marriages

A forced marriage is when someone is married without freely and fully consenting (stock image)

It comes as a Melbourne man is set to become the first person convicted of breaking federal child marriage laws.

The Melbourne man is likely to become the first person to be convicted under federal forced-marriage laws which came into effect in 2013, the Herald Sun reported.

The man from the city's northern suburbs pleaded guilty to a forced marriage charge in March, relating to an incident in 2015.

He remains on bail and is due to appear in the Victorian County Court later this year, the Herald Sun reported.

In a separate case in Melbourne last month, Mohammad Shakir, 34, pleaded guilty to entering a marriage with a 14-year-old bride.

As part of the plea, two charges were withdrawn by prosecutors in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, including allegations Shakir had sex with the girl between September 30 and October 1, 2016, after their wedding.

The ceremony was conducted in Noble Park by former imam Ibrahim Omerdic, 61, who also faces charges relating to the illegal marriage.

He will front court in May for a contested hearing and was stood down from the Bosnian Islamic Society and Noble Park Mosque, after his November arrest, and later sacked.
An Australian traveler has been detained by American immigration authorities after he overstayed on his visa by just one hour.

Canberra man Baxter Reid, 26, and his American girlfriend, Heather Kancso, were travelling to the Canadian border when they were met with border patrol agents, who gave the couple 'a hard time' according to Ms Kancso.

'They spent hours asking us remedial questions and giving us the run around, with hours of dead time in between.'

Australian man Baxter Reid, 26, is currently being detained in a US detention centre after he overstayed on his visa by just one hour

Canberra man Baxter Reid, 26, and his American girlfriend, Heather Kancso (pictured together at a NY rangers game), were travelling to the Canadian border

Mr Reid had been on his way to Canada as part of his five-year visa requirements, which means he must leave the U.S. every six months while it's renewed.

But Ms Kancso claims after the couple waited more than four hours with border patrol, Mr Reid was arrested by US border police, because he violated his visa agreement by a single hour.

The 26-year-old was taken to Buffalo Federal Detention Centre, where he could be waiting up to six months while waiting for a judge to hear his case.

'This is a man who has no prior incidents with the law, not in the US or his native Australia,' his girlfriend wrote on the GoFundMe page raising money for his legal fees.

'Now, because of bureaucracy and an unwillingness to listen to him he is being charged as felon under random immigration laws.

'Imagine going out of your way to comply with the law, and having the people who are meant to uphold it sabotage you and turn you into the criminal.'

After the couple waited more than four hours with border patrol, Mr Reid was arrested by US border police, because he violated his visa agreement by a single hour

The 26-year-old was taken to Buffalo Federal Detention Centre, where he could be waiting up to six months while waiting for a judge to hear his case

Mr Reid's father, Tom Reid, told the Canberra Times that the couple arrived at the Canadian border at 10:00pm on Saturday.

The 26-year-old's visa was due to expire at midnight.

'For some reason the Canadians kept them until 1.30am and then they refused them entry,' he said.

'They returned them to the United States and by then they were an hour and a half over the visa, and [he] got locked up.'

Ms Kansco says she and her partner managed to stay calm during the ordeal, but since then she hasn't been able to stop crying.

Now they must wait two to three before Mr Reid gets a date to appear.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed to the Canberra Times that they were providing assistance to an Australian man detained in the US, but couldn't provide further details citing privacy reasons.
Stephanie Rimer Young of Chattanooga was chosen the 2017 Outstanding Junior Member of the Tennessee Society Daughters of the American Revolution at the organizations state conference in Franklin, Tn. Ms. Young is a member and current historian of the Chief John Ross Chapter.



The Outstanding Junior designation recognizes the TSDAR member between the ages of 18-36 who has contributed the most to the organizations goals of patriotism, education, and historic preservation during the year.



Ms. Young, an employee of Arcadis, has actively served DAR at the local, regional, and state levels. As a member of the Chief John Ross Chapter, she has served as recording secretary, junior membership and volunteer information services chair, and as the adult advisor for the Col. Return Jonathan Meigs Chapter of the Children of the American Revolution.

Ms. Young has also served as the Tennessee junior vice-chair, organizing junior events for the state membership, helping to coordinate the junior retreat, serving as a page at the state conferences, and participating in the educational workshops for juniors. She also served as a TSDAR vice-chair for the 125th Anniversary Commemoration of DAR and has paged at NSDAR Continental Congress in Washington, DC.

Her activities include participation in special commemorative ceremonies for Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and other programs at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, and as a volunteer coordinator with the area schools.



Stephanie Rimer Young is the wife of Ethan Young and the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Tom Rimer of Chattanooga.
Film-maker Michael Moore is headed to Broadway with a new one-man satirical show that he hopes will bring down Donald Trump.

The Terms of My Surrender will be Moore's theatrical debut, opening on August 10th for a 12 week-run at the Belasco Theater, and will be an anti-Trump show poking fun at the country who elected him as president.

The show, which the provocateur will perform eight times a week is supposedly scripted but will have connections to the current news cycle.

Last year, Moore accurately predicted that Trump would beat out Hillary Clinton in the swing states to win the election.

Michael Moore is set to make his theatrical debut on Broadway in a one-man show called The Terms of Surrender which will open on August 10th for a 12 week-run at the Belasco Theater

In an interview with the New York Times , Moore said: 'It's a humorous play about a country that's just elected a madman  I mean, there's really no other way to put it,'

He said: 'We're 10 blocks from Trump Tower, we're in the corporate capital of America, we're in the financial capital of America, we're in the media capital of America.

'If one was going to stand on a stage and do the things that I'm going to do, there's only one place to do it, and it's here in this city and it's right here at the epicenter of creative expression and free speech.'

The Terms of My Surrender has already been picked up by The Shubert Organization even with this being Moore's first production

The 63-year-old has been wanting to try his hand at theater for some time but told the Times that the election of Donald provided the perfect catalyst for his work.

'Can something like this unravel an unhinged man?' he asked. 'I think that discombobulation might be our most effective path to undoing his presidency.'

According to the New York Times, The Terms of My Surrender has already been picked up by The Shubert Organization even with this being Moore's first production.

Spring Awakening Tony award winner Michael Mayer has already signed on to be the director while She Loves Me Tony Winner David Rockwell will design the set. Carol Shorenstein Hays will produce alongside IMG Original Content, making this the latter's first time doing a stage production.

'I don't know if I would call it a play; but it is a theater piece,' Mr. Mayer said.

'There is going to be a certain amount of rabble-rousing. There's a good chance we'll have some surprise guests throughout the run, and some surprise post show excursions that will vary night to night.'

Spring Awakening Tony award winner Michael Mayer (left) has already signed on to be the director while She Loves Me Tony Winner David Rockwell will design the set. 'I don't know if I would call it a play; but it is a theater piece,' Mr. Mayer said. 'There is going to be a certain amount of rabble-rousing. There's a good chance we'll have some surprise guests throughout the run, and some surprise post show excursions that will vary night to night'

The Flint, Michigan native documentary and filmmaker gained fame when he made the movie Roger and Me in 1989 and won an Oscar in 2003 for his film Bowling for Columbine.

While he has limited experience in theater, Moore did see an occasional Broadway show when he would visit family on Staten Island, New York.

'It was either this or the Ice Capades,' he told the New York Times.

'I've made my movies. I've had two prime-time TV series. I've had eight books on your best-seller lists. I've done a lot of things with the internet. But I haven't done this.'
A teenage student has allegedly been caught with party drug ketamine at a southeast Melbourne girls' school formal on Friday night.

Mentone Girls' Secondary College has suspended two students after one of them was allegedly found in possession of the drug.

She was caught while attending the school's formal event at the International of Brighton function centre, the Herald Sun reported.

Mentone Girls' Secondary College (pictured) has suspended two students after one of them was allegedly found in possession of ketamine

The girl was allegedly caught while attending the school's formal event at the International of Brighton function centre (pictured)

Principal Linda Brown said in a statement that the school has a zero tolerance policy and 'continue to be vigilant' about keeping the school drugs-free.

'Like all schools, we work hard to educate our students on the dangers of drugs and we are now working with the families of those involved,' she said.

'If anyone has any information relating to drugs at our school I would strongly urge them to contact us or the police.'

Department of Education spokeswoman Lito Vilisoni told the Herald Sun that the incident was 'incredibly rare'.

'Our schools are a reflection of our communities and unfortunately the problems that we see in our community sometimes raise their heads in our schools,' she said.

Ketamine is a horse tranquiliser that has been adopted as a recreational drug under street names such as Special K and Vitamin K.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Victoria Police for comment.
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More than 40 people have been arrested across the country after May Day rallies erupted into violence in parts of the country.

Police were forced to shut down a march in Oregon and New York when people started rioting and protesters turned on each other.

Marchers began throwing projectiles and smoke bombs at police in Portland late on Monday, where 25 arrests were made, including a 14-year-old who was charged with rioting, while others started setting fires and smashing the windows of businesses.

Police said they were forced to shut it down when anarchists destroyed a squad car, damaged numerous windows and property, started fires in the streets and attacked officers.

May Day marchers began throwing projectiles and smoke bombs at police in Portland, Oregon late on Monday, while others started setting fires and smashing the windows of businesses

Police arrested several people , including these two women, on 14th Street in New York City when protests turned violent

Protests in New York City also erupted when May Day demonstrators physically clashed with people opposing their rally in Union Square

A man, wearing black clothing and goggles, was seen being hand cuffed on the floor in Seattle, Washington, during the protests

Police said they were forced to cancel the permit in Portland due to numerous incidents of thrown projectiles, incendiary devices, and other unsafe conditions

A police officer was seen threatening to use pepper spray during May Day protests in Seattle while heavily clad in protective gear

Seattle Police were seen brandishing batons as they ran over to protesters before making an arrest yesterday afternoon

About 200 people, including families with children, were protesting peacefully in Portland before things escalated.

It wasn't immediately clear if anyone had been injured but police said they had arrested three people.

Protests in New York City also erupted when demonstrators clashed with people opposing their rally in Union Square.

Pictures from the scene showed marchers physically clashing with those wearing Donald Trump hats and carrying flags in support of the president.

It came as thousands across the country joined pro-labor, pro-immigration and anti-President Donald Trump rallies on May Day.

Police in California arrested four activists who chained themselves together to block the entrance to the county administration building in downtown Oakland on Monday afternoon.

A man was seen being detained in Los Angeles during the protests while a rainbow flag is seen flying in the background

Protesters in Portland set fire to what appears to be some placards in the middle of a busy street and authorities rushed to contain it

Some protesters were caught on camera breaking the windows of a Target store in Portland before lighting a flare and throwing it in the direction of police

A number of businesses were left with broken windows on Monday afternoon when protests turned violent in Portland

Demonstrators were seen clashing with each other in New York's Union Square on Monday during the protests

Things turned violent when May Day marches and Trump supporters turned on each other in New York's Union Square

Trump supporters wearing Make America Great Again hats clashed with demonstrators in New York late on Monday

A protestor hits a paper mache head of US President Donald Trump, complete with devil horns, during May Day demonstrations in Chicago

Marchers were seen walking on an overpass crossing Interstate 5 during the Workers and Immigrant Rights March

Police threatened more arrests at the Alameda County Administration Building as more than 100 protesters demanded an end to what they call collaboration between county law enforcement and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Dozens of pro-Trump protesters stood across from a large crowd of May Day marchers in Los Angeles, waving American flags and blasting patriotic songs. The group left before any clashes or trouble emerged between the two sides.

In Providence, Rhode Island, about 200 people gathered at Burnside Park before a two-hour protest that touched on deportation, profiling and wage theft. The group followed a flatbed truck that stopped for speeches and booing in front of the sites such as the Federal Courthouse and City Hall.

The march in Chicago took up several city blocks, with organizers estimating an attendance of 20,000 people.Activists from labor groups, anti-police brutality organizations and groups seeking a higher minimum wage rallied before a march downtown.

Activists and protestors take to the streets to advocate for numerous causes ranging from better healthcare to immigration issues to workers rights and others in Chicago

A pregnant Olivia Tincani of California painted a supportive message to immigrant farmworkers as she joined a large group protesters outside the White House

The march in downtown Chicago involved a variety of organizations dedicated to workers rights and against 'bigotry, sexism, racism and war'

Protesters in Florida carried buckets of fresh produce such as apples and green beans while holding a sign which said 'dignity' in Spanish

People were pictured carrying signs supporting work rights in Washington DC on Monday, one said: 'Workers of the world unite! Smash capitalism!'

William Magallom, a business owner and South Bend resident, held up signs which said: 'I have a dream...we make America great again' in South Bend, Indiana

One man was seen holding a sign which said 'Impeach the groper in chief' in San Francisco while dozens of other protesters gathered with him

One women held a sign which said 'Ban no wall resist' while holding up her fist on a flyover in Los Angeles

People paraded through the streets of Los Angeles carrying a large-scale US flag while thousands of others paraded behind
Jessica Sheehan should be looking forward to entering the prime of her life.

But, at just 18 years old, the bubbly blonde teenager is facing a battle to survive.

Diagnosed with the incredibly rare 'childhood Alzheimer's', Jessica is desperate to find a cure as she reaches the end of the ten years that doctors said she had left to live, Seven News reports.

The Perth teen is pinning her hopes on a new drug to bring a miracle.

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Jessica Sheehan (left) was diagnosed with 'Childhood Alzheimer's' at the age of just 18 and was given only 10 years to live

Now the 18-year-old from Perth, Western Australia, is hoping a trial of an experimental drug will not only slow down her symptoms but poten

Officially called Niemann-Pick type C (NPC), Jessica's condition is caused by a build up in the brain of cholesterol - similar to alzheimers and dementia.

Like the diseases which most commonly affect people in their later years, NPC causes memory loss, issues with movement and also ultimately proves fatal.

'Once youre diagnosed usually 10 years is your lifespan,' Jessica's mother Trina said.

But after a decade-long battle against 'Childhood Alzheimer's', the teenager now has a chance at a cure with a trial of experimental drug VTS-270.

Officially called Niemann-Pick type C (NPC), Jessica's condition is caused by a build up in the brain of cholesterol and is similar to alzheimers, and dementia

Forced to travel to Melbourne every fortnight, the trial treatment hasn't been easy, with painful injections into her spine a regular occurrence.

But, with the possibility that it may slow her symptoms or even cure her completely, it's something she's more than willing to take on.

'Oh it has been a rollercoaster - just going from doctor to doctor,' she said.

But her father Rex told Seven News the trial is giving their family one thing: 'Hope'.
A grieving family in Oklahoma has found the hero truck driver who helped their dying daughter during her final moments as others stood by and took pictures after her fiery car accident.

Dorothy Marko, 25, crashed her truck into a tree on Highway 70 in Choctaw County late last month and the truck burst into flames while she was still inside, KXII reported.

Her family says the mother-of-two was able to crawl out of the back of the truck and that most of her clothes had burned off of her.

A truck driver passing by stopped to help Marko and stayed with her until emergency crews arrived.

Marko was flown to a nearby hospital, but sadly succumbed to her injuries. After her tragic death, her family sought out to find the hero truck driver.

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Tragic: Dorothy Marko (pictured), 25, crashed her truck into a tree on Highway 70 in Choctaw County late last month and the truck burst into flames while she was still inside

The young mother-of-two crashed into this tree pictured above on April 23. She sadly passed away from her injuries after being airlifted to a nearby hospital

'At least he comforted her,' her mother Brenda Marko told KXII. 'When we couldn't.'

The girl's sister, Linda Marko, added, 'He was really upset when Dodi was laying here unconscious he was up by the gravel kicking the dirt saying what's taking them so long, what's taking them so long to get here.'

'And screaming she's just a baby,' Brenda said. 'She's just a baby. With all my heart I want to thank him.'

The family reached out to news stations in an effort to find someone who could possibly identify the mystery truck driver.

And it worked; he's been identified as Darrell Cloyd from Ohio.

Courtesy of KXII

Darrell Cloyd (left), is the truck driver who stopped to help Marko (right) and stayed with her until emergency crews arrived. The young mother-of-two later died of her injuries

Her mother and sister (pictured above) heard about what Cloyd did but never knew his identity until now. They hope that the next time he's driving through Oklahoma they can meet and thank him for staying with her

Cloyd was not scheduled to even be driving on Highway 70 that day. He said he took a wrong turn and ended up on the highway by accident.

But when he saw the truck on fire, he knew he had to help.

'I'm hoping he made her feel comfortable for those last couple moments. I'm hoping that he eased her mind a little bit so she didn't have to go alone,' Linda said.

Family members are hoping to one day meet Cloyd the next time he is driving through and want to thank him in person.

The 25-year-old woman leaves behind two young children - a five-year-old and an eight-year-old.

Her funeral service was held at First Assembly of God Church in Hugo on April 26.

Her mom says nothing can bring her daughter back, but 'that the family is comforted by the angel who didn't just keep driving.'
Therese Gai McCormack, 50, has been awarded more than $330,000

A care worker has been awarded more than $330,000 after a 'grossly obese man' fell on her, injuring her shoulder.

Therese Gai McCormack, 50, sued her former employer Ethnic Community Care Links Inc for negligence after claiming a workplace injury in 2011 has prevented her from working full-time.

The former support worker last week told the court she suffered a shoulder injury after trying to help a 190kg man attend his dental appointment at Ayr Hospital, according to the judgement.

Townsville District Court Judge Stuart Durward sided with Ms McCormack and awarded WorkCover pay her $332,189.99 for general damages, past economic loss and future economic loss.

Ms McCormack told the court she was surprised when she arrived at the hospital and saw her client lying face down in a maxi taxi with his legs dangling halfway out.

The former care worker claimed a 'grossly obese' male client fell on her at Ayr Hospital (pictured) in 2011, injuring her shoulder

The 50-year-old said the man was distressed and she called her boss and told her to contact emergency services for help.

'The plaintiff said she got into the maxi-taxi through the wheelchair access entry in order to comfort [the man] and knelt on the floor in front of his head. She talked to him and tried to keep him calm by telling him "everything is going to be alright and we'll get you out of here as soon as we can",' the judgement read.

Two male orderlies came out to help lift the man.

'The two male orderlies were outside the maxi-taxi with one standing on each side of [the man's] legs. One had [his] left forearm, and the other his right forearm and they pulled each arm backwards in an attempt to lift him.'

Ms McCormack (pictured) told the court last week she suffered a shoulder injury after trying to help move her 'distressed' 190kg client, who was found lying face down in a maxi taxi

'The plaintiff said that whilst the orderlies were pulling [the man] backwards out of the maxi-taxi she was kneeling about half a metre away from his head. In the process of being pulled, [the man] either slipped or the orderlies dropped him. [The man] 'leant on me and just all of a sudden I just had the biggest pain in my shoulder'.

As he fell on Ms McCormack, he pushed her shoulder into a metal leg of a seat, the judgement read.

Defence attorneys argued that Ms McCormack had 'acted beyond the scope of her duty by deciding to place herself closer to the man's body and help lift him.'
A man allegedly got into a dispute with a neighbor before shooting him and opening fire on emergency responders as they tried to treat the gunshot victim.

The gunman critically injured a paramedic when he started shooting in a Dallas street on Monday, forcing authorities to place the area on lockdown until the suspect - and another person - were found dead in a nearby home.

Police believe the shooting started as a dispute between the suspect and the gunshot victim. A police officer who responded to the late-morning shooting in a largely residential area east of downtown was injured and treated at the scene.

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The body of a gunman who opened wounded a paramedic and civilian in Dallas on Monday was found inside this home after a citywide manhunt. His body was found along with that of another man

Police officers console each other at the scene of a shooting in East Dallas on Monday morning where a paramedic and a civilian were shot by a gunman

The gunman fled before holing up in a house where investigators believe he fatally shot another person before killing himself.

A police robot found the two bodies after authorities barricaded entrances to the community for several hours to allow officers to scour the neighborhood, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said during a news conference.

The gunman was described as black, bald and 5ft 8in. He was believed to have a noticeable limp and was wearing a dark green shirt and jeans, Fox 4 reports.

Interim Police Chief David Pughes said police were still interviewing neighbors and witnesses late Monday, but he said officers on the scene were told 'it was just a simple dispute between two neighbors that escalated into a shooting.'

Pughes said responding officers found the paramedic and the civilian injured, and 'took fire from the suspect as they approached.'

A sergeant arrived as officers were still maintaining cover - because the shooter was still at large - and rushed in to pull the injured paramedic to safety.

'He went in alone and he pulled the paramedic out, placed him in his squad car and drove him to Baylor hospital,' Pughes said. 'We believe... that as a result of those actions, that paramedic's life was saved.'

Dallas Marshals rushed to the scene alongside other available units as the situation unfolded on Monday

Police were called to the scene amid reports of a suicidal man late on Monday morning. After the shooting, other units flocked to the scene

A Dallas Police officer patrols the scene with a rifle on Monday after joining other law enforcement agents at the scene

The paramedic underwent surgery Monday and was in critical but stable condition at Baylor University Medical Center. Rawlings didn't give details of the paramedic's injuries, but said 'he is going to have to undergo extensive medical treatment to get him back up to par.'

The neighbor who was shot also was in intensive care.

No information was released about the second person found dead in the home, including whether the person knew the gunman or if either of them lived in the house.

Dozens of police vehicles swarmed the mostly residential area after the shooting was reported near a local Fire Training Academy. Several people from a nearby neighborhood and some relatives of people who live in the barricaded area gathered at a nearby gas station to await updates from police.

Police flocked to the residential area surrounding where the first shooting took place immediately on Monday morning

A police officer stands guard at a house near Reynolds Street in East Dallas where the paramedic was shot on Monday

Dallas Police Department asked well-wishers to pray for the injured paramedic and his family

A 33-year-old woman waiting in the shade of a gas station across the street from a police barricade told The Associated Press that her mother lives in the neighborhood and saw SWAT teams arrive Monday.

Brenda Salazar said she was headed to the area to visit her mother when she heard about the shooting on the radio. She called her mother, who told her she didn't hear any shooting but 'saw the SWAT guys and police setting up and going into the neighborhood.'

Salazar said her mother was okay and was watching the news 'but this stuff happens here all the time.'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement saying his prayers were going out to all of those affected.

FBI agents and officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also were in unmarked vehicles waiting at intersections in the neighborhood. Officials from the local fire department and parks department passed out water and Gatorade to officers blocking the roads.

When the first responders arrived in the neighborhood, they spotted a man holding a rifle who was walking down the street and he is then said to have opened fire on them
Dozens of supporters of the three men accused of aiding 15-year-old Farhad Jabar in his shooting of a police worker have attended court.

Talal Alameddine, 24, Mustafa Dirani, 23, and Milad Atai, 21, are due to face Sydney's Downing Centre for the second day of a committal hearing accused of acting in concert with Jabar in the plot to kill Curtis Cheng.

Jabar shot Mr Cheng outside Parramatta police headquarters in October 2015 with a pistol allegedly supplied by Alameddine.

Supporters of the three men accused of aiding 15-year-old Farhad Jabar in his shooting of a police worker were seen arriving at court on Tuesday

Talal Alameddine, 24, Mustafa Dirani, 23, and Milad Atai, 21, are due to face Sydney's Downing Centre for the second day of a committal hearing and were joined by supporters whose identities were unclear

Jabar (pictured) shot Mr Cheng outside Parramatta police headquarters in October 2015 with a pistol allegedly supplied by Alameddine

During Monday's proceedings, security footage was played of Jabar praying at a Parramatta mosque shortly before he shot Mr Cheng.

The teenager, who was shot dead by police, could be seen looking to a security camera at the mosque and raising his index finger in an Islamic State salute.

A copy of a bloodstained note addressed to 'disbelievers' found on Jabar's body was also shown to the court.

In it, the teenager proclaimed he had 'come today to put terror into your hearts'.

Dozens of people arrived to support the three men at Sydney Downing Centre Court House

This man bowed his head as he exited the Sydney courthouse on Tuesday

The hearing is due to continue in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday

A number of people arrived to support the three men at Sydney Downing Centre Court House

Police footage was played showing Alameddine, Dirani and another man, 19-year-old Raban Alou, allegedly meeting in a western Sydney park on the day of Mr Cheng's shooting.

Prosecutors allege Alameddine supplied the pistol to Alou and Dirani and Alou took it to the mosque to give to Jabar.

The hearing is due to continue in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.

15-year-old Jabar caught on CCTV footage believed to be raising his finger as an Islamic State salute at the mosque

Mr Cheng (far left) was shot dead by Farhad Jabar, 15, outside the police HQ in Parramatta in February 2015, where he worked as an accountant

A bloodstained suicide note found on Jabar's body was revealed in court on Monday
Kelly Landry suspected 'something was going on' between her husband Anthony Bell and TV personality Erin Molan after last year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

'I know about Erin', she texted Mr Bell on December 28 when they were both in Hobart, along with Molan.

'Just saw her run to you.'

Mr Bell replied: 'Not wearing that. I'm calling her now to tell her (of) your accusation because it's not fair to her or me for that matter.'

Ms Landry told Downing Centre Local Court that conversation referred to Molan.

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Former Getaway presenter Kelly Landry (pictured) has told a Sydney court she suspected 'something was going on' between her husband Anthony Bell and TV personality Erin Molan

'I suspected that something was going on between them but not necessarily infidelity,' Ms Landry said of Mr Bell's relationship with Erin Molan (the pair are pictured together)

Ms Landry, 37, and Mr Bell (pictured), 45, returned to court on Tuesday for the second day of an AVO hearing between the pair

'I suspected that something was going on between them but not necessarily infidelity. I thought their relationship was odd.'

Later that night after their conversation about Molan, Ms Landry, 37, kicked Mr Bell, 45, out of their Hobart motel room.

'Please evacuate the room - surely you're a decent enough person for that. I want nothing more to do with you. This abuse stops here.'

A keen sailor, Mr Bell skippered Perpetual LOYAL in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, with Molan a special guest crew member in both 2015 and 2016.

Fronting cameras together pre and post race last December, Mr Bell and Molan led the celebrations following the yacht's surprise Line Honours victory.

In Mr Bell's acceptance speech following Perpetual Loyal's win, he reportedly only thanked the families of the boat's crew, failing to acknowledge his own wife.

When asked on Tuesday if she felt she had not been 'sufficiently acknowledged' by Mr Bell in his winners speech, Ms Landry replied 'No'.

'I was disappointed, but I didn't share that with anybody,' she said

Police took out an AVO on behalf of Ms Landry in January, 2017, following an incident at their home in Watson's Bay, Sydney, on November 18 last year.

Asking about the couple's relationship following the alleged assault, Mr Temby asked Ms Landry if Mr Bell had usually stayed in their mansion between the November 18 incident and him moving out on December 28.

She said her husband had sometimes been travelling and she had barely seen him during November and December.

'Possibly there are other places that he has stayed in Sydney,' she said.

Mr Temby: 'Is there something you are trying to insinuate in that?'

Ms Landry: 'No.'

Shortly after Ms Landry's explosive text messages were revealed in court, Channel Nine issued a statement defending Erin Molan, the star of their NRL Footy Show.

Mr Bell and Erin Molan (pictured together, middle) were part of the victorious Perptual LOYAL yacht which won the Sydney to Hobart race last December

Just weeks before the AVO was taken out by Ms Landry, the couple were pictured celebrating Mr Bell's win in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race aboard Perpetual LOYAL

Shortly after Ms Landry's explosive text messages were revealed in court, Channel Nine issued a statement defending Erin Molan, the star of their hit program The NRL Footy Show

Molan and Ogilvy (pictured) posed together on the victorious Sydney-to-Hobart yacht after the race

Erin Molan (pictured), co-host of the NRL Footy Show, recently announced her engagement to her policeman boyfriend Sean Ogilvy

'What is happening between Anthony Bell and Kelly Landry in court is incredibly sad, both for them and their young children,' the statement began.

'However we are very disappointed that Erin's name has been unfairly dragged into the family dispute. It has absolutely nothing to do with her.

'Erin's relationship with Anthony Bell has only ever been strictly professional, both as a client and a crew member on Perpetual Loyal.

'Erin has never had any intimate relationship with Anthony Bell. Allegations to the contrary are false, offensive and defamatory.

In early April, Molan announced her engagement to policeman Sean Ogilvy, flaunting a $100,000 ring on the NRL Footy Show.

Ironically, just days after the alleged fight between Ms Landry and Mr Bell last year which led to an AVO being taken out, the couple and their children holidayed with Molan.

The two Channel Nine personalities posed together with Ms Landry's daughter for a photo, which Molan posted to her Instagram page captioned: 'Nawwwwww more love than you can poke a stick at'.

Ms Landry also told the court on Tuesday her husband was 'financially mean' to her, despite him funding their luxurious lifestyle including international first class travel.

Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining her husband's spending on her.

'Anthony and I enjoyed a very high quality lifestyle during our marriage,' she wrote.

That lifestyle included international travel at least twice a year, flying business or first class and staying in five-star accommodation.

He had also bought her designer handbags and shoes as well as expensive jewellery, employed a cleaner and paid a nanny $23 an hour to work a 50 hour week.

Four days after police took out an AVO against Mr Bell, Ms Landry told a pyschologist her husband was worth $100 million but she was paid less than the nanny.

Ms Landry said she got the estimate of her husband's worth from newspaper reports.

'According to everything that's printed in the papers,' Ms Landry said.

'He's always labelled the $100 million accountant to the stars.

Ms Landry, 37, also told the court on Tuesday her 45-year-old husband was 'financially mean' to her, despite him funding their luxurious lifestyle including international first class travel

Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining her husband's spending on her

Mr Bell (middle) arrived at Downing Centre court in Sydney flanked by legal staff on Tuesday

'I thought their relationship was odd,' Ms Landry told the Downing Centre Local Court about Mr Bell and Molan on Tuesday

'So that reference was in reference to what his media people labelled him as.'

Ms Landry maintained she had access to less money each week than the couple's nanny was paid.

Mr Bell gave Ms Landry $1000 a week, including $300 for groceries.

Outside groceries and school costs, Ms Landry said she had to provide invoices for all expenses such as specialist medical treatment, the hiring of tradesmen and the repair of appliances.

Under cross-examination by Ian Temby, QC, Ms Landry maintained her husband was 'financially mean'.

'Just because this says this on paper doesn't mean I have access to any of that,' she said.

'This was all at his discretion.'

Mr Temby tendered a photograph Ms Landry posted in the days after the alleged assault on November 18 last year, when she was staying at the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay.

The court heard she initially posted the pic and thanked her husband for the 'early Christmas present', but then later edited it after he AVO had been taken out, to remove the mention of Mr Bell.

'It is all about public profile, it is all something you would want the public to believe,' Landry told the court.

Ms Landry agreed with Mr Temby she had sent a text message to her husband a day after police took out the AVO against him.

A photograph Ms Landry posted in the days after the alleged assault on November 18 last year, when she was staying at the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay was tendered in court

The court heard she initially posted the pic and thanked her husband for the 'early Christmas present', but then later edited it after the AVO had been taken out, to remove the mention of Mr Bell (un-edited version pictured)

Ironically, just days after the alleged fight between Ms Landry and Mr Bell which led to an AVO being taken out, the couple and their children holidayed with Molan (Pictured on holiday)

The legal battle over an AVO taken out by the former TV star against her celebrity accountant husband began on Monday and will be heard in a Sydney court over five days

Despite her claims, Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining Mr Bell's spending on her and their 'high-quality lifestyle'

Ms Landry agreed Mr Bell had paid a tax bill in her name of $89,000 in the middle of last year but said her husband had been 'funnelling' his tax through her

Mr Bell stands outside the Downing Centre court with his legal representatives on Tuesday

'Can you please call,' she wrote on January 6. 'Think I have a way we can get it withdrawn.'

Another message said: 'Please consider the approach I suggested. It's the only way I see the police retracting the document.'

And in a third she said: 'I have engaged a lawyer... start getting papers drawn up if you want?'

Ms Landry agreed she was referring to police withdrawing the AVO but denied the 'papers' she suggested be drawn up involved a divorce settlement and custody of their two children.

While Ms Landry said she initially did not want the AVO against her husband, she did now.

She had changed her mind after 'gaining some space and time away from the relationship... reflecting on how abusive the relationship was'.

Ms Landry said after the granting of the interim AVO her husband had attended the Watsons Bay property against the order and made threats to her through lawyers.

'Those kind of behaviours,' she said. 'The intimidation.'

The court also heard Ms Landry agreed Mr Bell had paid a tax bill in her name of $89,000 in the middle of last year, but said her husband had been 'funnelling' his tax through her.

'Yes, but I would suggest only a small amount of that was actually my tax,' she said.

'I haven't been employed since 2011 so how could I accumulate that tax?'

Mr Bell had paid Ms Landry's $7700 credit card bill shortly after the couple met but she contested a claim he had paid $8000 to Victoria's State Debt Recovery Office on her behalf.

A police officer who interviewed Ms Landry in January told the court the mother-of-two was very concerned about arguments in front of their children, and lack of finances.

Senior Constable Alison Coleman said she interviewed Ms Landry days before the AVO was taken out.

'Initially she was too upset to talkI was basically just trying to jot things down as she said them,' Senior Constable Coleman said.

She told the court she wrote in her police notebook: 'It should be noted that the victim did not express any concerns about continual violence, rather the continual arguments in front of the kids and lack of finances.'
A midwife who had a lengthy affair with the husband of the pregnant woman she was treating has been found guilty of professional misconduct.

The New Zealand woman admitted to 'a number of sexual encounters' during the 'intimate' affair, which lasted at least five months.

The affair began when the pair secretly caught up without the mother's knowledge, and went shopping and had a beer together, followed by 'kissing and mutual fondling'.

The Health and Disability Commission ruled on Tuesday that the midwife's actions were a 'severe breach of trust'.

A midwife had a lengthy affair with the husband of the pregnant woman she was treating (stock image)

She was fined $11,400, censured and made to undergo further counselling with a limitation on the number of clients she worked with each year.

The ages and names of the midwife and her own partner, along with the pregnant woman and her husband, have all been suppressed.

It was revealed that the two couples became good friends and regularly socialised together after the midwife helped the woman deliver her second child.

The midwife's teenage daughter would even act as a babysitter for the pregnant woman while the four enjoyed social events together.

After developing an intimate relationship, the midwife and her client's husband had unprotected sex in her own home.

The midwife admitted to 'a number of sexual encounters' during the 'intimate' affair, which lasted at least five months (stock image)

The Commission's Agreed Summary of Facts revealed that the pregnant woman became suspicious and confronted her husband twice, but both times he denied there was anything going on with the midwife.

Things got so bad that the mother said 'she felt as if she was going crazy to be thinking that her midwife  was sleeping with the father of (her) children.'

After learning of the affair following the birth of her third child, the mother and her newborn baby underwent STD testing.

The midwife attempted to apologise and wrote her a letter expressing her guilt, admitting: 'My actions means that the special memories and intense emotions associated with the births of (the clients) babies have been forever spoiled.'

She described her actions as a 'very bad lapse in judgement'.

'(The midwife's) conduct was a severe breach of the trust inherent in her professional relationship with her client and a breach of her duty to the client, her baby and her family," the commission's Director of Proceedings said.
First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN), has been awarded gold-level status as a Fit-Friendly Worksite by the American Heart Association for committing to the health and wellness of its employees.



The annual designation is awarded by the AHAs My Heart, My Life initiative that promotes positive change in American workplaces. First Horizon was honored for championing the health of its employees by promoting physical activity and emphasizing wellness.

Our employees health and wellness are important priorities at First Horizon, said John Daniel, the companys chief human resources officer.

Were committed to providing not only a healthy workplace and environment but also the tools and resources for our employees to live happy, healthy lives through our corporate wellness program.

First Horizons corporate wellness program provides health and fitness challenges for employees and offers incentives such as gift cards for participation. Each year the company hosts health fairs, immunizations and health screenings and sponsors a variety of wellness events for employees and their families.
A combat photographer's pictures that captured her last moments before she died have been released by the Army.

In July 2013, Spc. Hilda Clayton, a visual information specialist attached to 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, in Afghanistan, was taking photos of a live-fire training exercise in Qaraghahi, reported the Army Times.

The training was meant to certify Afghan soldiers on mortar operations.

Clayton, 22, was doing what she did best - documenting the scene with her camera.

Combat photographer Spc. Hilda Clayton was taking photos with an Afghan trainee (bottom left) when a mortar tube exploded

An Afghan soldier flew mid-air in the last photo captured by Clayton before she died

Clayton, 22, died while taking photos in the Armored Brigade Combat Team

She was also training an Afghan combat photographer, who was also taking pictures.

It was while they were snapping photos that a mortar tube accidentally exploded. Clayton and her trainee caught the moments before their own deaths on camera.

The three Afghan soldiers participating in the exercise were also killed.

The accident marked the first death of an Army combat documentation in Afghanistan.

Clayton's family approved the release of the disturbing photos, says Stars and Stripes.
A young woman on crutches has been scalded with hot soup after she told two people to stop smoking on a Melbourne tram.

Meg Rayner, who has a broken leg, was travelling on a Yarra Tram on Tuesday morning when a couple boarded and started lighting up, ignoring the no smoking signs in the cabin.

'I got on the Route 12 tram at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and was heading to East Melbourne. I am currently on crutches and wearing a leg brace as I broke my leg two months ago and am in recovery,' Ms Rayner said.

Meg Rayner, (pictured) who has a broken leg, was travelling on a Yarra Tram on Tuesday morning when a couple boarded and started smoking

Meg Rayner, who is on crutches, was scalded with hot soup on a Melbourne tram (pictured before crutches)

Ms Rayner was scalded with hot soup after she told two people to stop smoking on a Melbourne tram (tweet pictured)

A young woman on crutches has been scalded with hot soup after she told two people to stop smoking on a Melbourne tram (stock image)

'A couple got on the tram at Swanston Street and the woman was smoking a cigarette, she ashed over another passenger and we were all choking on the smoke so I tweeted Yarra Trams and asked them to kick them off.

'About two stops later the tram driver came down and asked who was smoking.'

The pair then became aggressive and started swearing at passengers and the driver.

'The man said "let's just get off the tram" but the woman didn't want to get off. She said to the man "if you make me get off I'm throwing my soup at this b****, I don't care if she's on crutches."'

'So as she's walking off the tram she hurled a cup of hot soup at me.'

To add insult to injury, as the couple were getting off they threw a frozen coke through the window hitting Ms Rayner and a group of girls.

The pair then became aggressive and started swearing at passengers and the driver, before throwing soup on Ms Rayner (tweet pictured)

Ms Rayner (pictured) praised the work of Yarra Trams staff and said the driver handled the situation calmly

When Ms Rayner told the pair to stop smoking they became aggressive towards passengers

'So a tram full of people covered in hot soup and coke this morning on Yarra trams,' Ms Rayner told 3AW.

Ms Rayner praised the work of Yarra Trams staff and said the driver handled the situation calmly.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Yarra Trams for comment.
Donald Trump has doubled down on early suggestions that President Andrew Jackson could have prevented the Civil War - despite him dying 16 years before it began.

President Trump said in a new interview on Monday that Jackson was 'really angry' about what was happening with the Civil War.

'I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War,' Trump told the Washington Examiner's Salena Zito, for an interview broadcast on her SiriusXM POTUS channel show 'Main Street Meets the Beltway.'

Jackson, a populist who Trump often gets compared to, was elected in 1828 and died in 1845, 16 years before the war began. He was also a slave owner.

Following an almost immediate outcry on Twitter in relation to his comments about the Civil War, Trump doubled down and reiterated his views.

'President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the Civil War started, saw it coming and was angry. Would never have let it happen!' he tweeted late on Monday.

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Donald Trump has doubled down on early suggestions that President Andrew Jackson could have prevented the Civil War - despite him dying 16 years before it began

President Trump mused about the Civil War in a recent interview, suggesting President Andrew Jackson could have prevented the bloodbath, even though he had already died

Trump had earlier said that Jackson 'was a very tough person, but he had a big heart.' And Jackson was 'really angry' with 'what was happening with regard to the Civil War,' the president continued.

'He said there's no reason for this,' Trump continued.

'People, don't realize, you know, the Civil War, you think about it why? People don't ask that question,' the president said.

'But why was there the Civil War?' Trump told Zito. 'Why could that one not been worked out?'

'People don't ask that question. But why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not been worked out?' Trump asked.

Trump had been talking to Zito about his trip to Tennessee in March, in which he visited Jackson's home the Hermitage and laid a wreath at the dead president's tomb.

A portrait of Jackson now hangs in Trump's Oval Office.

President Andrew Jackson was elected in 1828 and was dead by 1845 - 16 years before the Civil War began

Dead soldiers were photographed on July 5, 1863 in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg. Casualties on both sides were extremely high with about 51,000 dead

During the interview, Trump called Jackson a 'swashbuckler.'

'They said my campaign is most like, my campaign and win was most like Andrew Jackson with his campaign and I said "When was Andrew Jackson?" Trump said, responding his own question by saying 1828.

'That's a long time ago. That's Andrew Jackson,' Trump said. 'And he had a very, very mean and nasty campaign. Because they said this was the meanest and the nastiest. And unfortunately it continued.'

Zito pointed out that Jackson's wife died.

Rachel Jackson died of a heart attack after surviving the brutal campaign.

'They destroyed his wife and she died,' Trump said. 'You know he visited her grave every day.'

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton challenged Trump's comments noting that 'slavery' is the primary reason for the Civil War

The Atlantic's David Frum referenced comments the president previously made, suggesting Frederick Douglass is alive. He is not

The New York Times' TV critic James Poniewozik suggested the right-leaning Fox & Friends would defend President Trump's statement and CNN's Jake Tapper chimed in

There was an almost immediate outcry on Twitter to Trump's comments about the Civil War.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton challenged Trump's statement with a tweet.

'1 word answer: Slavery,' she wrote.

'Longer: When Andrew Jackson died in 1845 (16 yrs before the Civil War began), he owned 150 men, women and children,' the young Clinton added.

Alluding to Trump's previous statement that suggested Frederick Douglass is alive and kicking, the Atlantic's senior editor David Frum tweeted, 'On a positive note, at least Trump does seem aware that Andrew Jackson is dead.'

The New York Times' TV critic James Poniewozik pointed out, 'The great thing about this is that now Fox & Friends will have to make a case for it.'

CNN's Jake Tapper chimed in and said, 'Andrew Jackson's ghost was a very strong haunter in the 1860s. Everyone knows that.'
Colombian police claim a tip-off led to the arrest of an Australian woman who was found with 18 bags of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.7 million.

Cassandra Sainsbury, 22, was arrested at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on April 12 after police seized 5.8kg of cocaine allegedly packed in her luggage.

Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airport director for Colombia's anti-narcotic police, said a tip-off from international drug agencies led police to making the arrest.

'In this case, and with information we previously received, we received (information) about a citizen of this nationality (Australian), with an identification ... (she) could possibly be a drug mule,' he told ABC radio through an interpreter on Tuesday.

'In going through security we found she had 18 packets inside her luggage which even before opening it we found covered in plastic.'

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Australian woman Cassandra Sainsbury, 22, faces 25 years in jail after she was arrested with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine at an airport in Colombia

Colombian police believe Ms Sainsbury (pictured) could have been working as a drug mule for cartels, and said they received a tip-off from international drug agencies before making the arrest

Sainsbury was arrested after police allegedly found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in small packages wrapped in black plastic inside her luggage (pictured)

The Adelaide woman's family insist she is innocent and was set up by a local man she met after arriving in the country on April 3 during a working holiday.

They say she bought 18 headphones from him to give as gifts to family and friends at her upcoming wedding.

Colombia's National Police released the first photos of Ms Sainsbury since her arrest as she attempted to board a flight back home to Australia via London.

Handcuffed and standing behind 5.8 kilograms of cocaine wrapped in black plastic, the personal trainer could face 25 years in a South American jail if found guilty.

Cassandra's (R) mother Lisa Evans (L) said her daughter was innocent and had been set up by a man who told her he could sell her 18 headphones at a discounted price

The first photos have emerged of a downcast Cassandra standing in handcuffs next to her luggage

Lt Colonel Jorge Triana, head of anti-narcotics police at the airport, told Daily Mail Australia said drug mules often feigned ignorance when they were caught.

'It's a commonplace strategy that narco traffickers use to take drugs out of the country,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Her explanation is not credible. Everyone we catch says they didn't know it was in their luggage, but they know what they were doing.'

Daily Mail Australia also understands there were never any headphones in the package and it only contained concealed cocaine.

Lt Colonel Triana said even if Cassandra didn't know about the drugs she likely faced jail time either way.

'She recognised the luggage as hers so whether she knew there were drugs in it or not, it doesn't excuse her actions,' he said.

Top drug cops in Colombia say her explanation is not credible. It's understood there were never any headphones in the packages (pictured) and they only contained concealed cocaine

Senior lawyers claim that drug cartels may decide to murder Cassandra in retaliation for her family insisting she was unwittingly turned into a drug mule

Pictured are the headphones that Cassandra believed she was buying from a man she had just met. Her family claims the man offered to be her translator and find gifts for her family

He said foreigners were increasingly being lured into becoming drug mules by the promise of big payoffs when they made it to their destination - with 19 caught leaving Colombia this year alone.

Cassandra's family insisted she was an innocent victim being 'set up' by a man she had just met.

Her distraught mother said her daughter told her she had trusted a Colombian man who offered to be her translator and find gifts for her family.

'She mentioned these headphones she wanted to get and this man said 'I know a guy and if you buy 16 or 18 of them he can give you a really good price',' she told KIIS 1065.

'The day of her departure he gave her the package wrapped in black plastic and she put it in her luggage'.

The woman (pictured with her fiance) was detained on April 11 at Bogota Airport just as she was about to fly back to Australia after a working holiday

Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airports director for Colombia's anti-narcotic police, told AAP that Cassandra could have been working as a drug mule.



'She could possibly be a drug mule,' he told ABC radio through an interpreter on Tuesday.

'In going through security we found she had 18 packets inside her luggage which even before opening it we found covered in plastic.'

In Australia, six kilograms of cocaine has an estimated street value of almost $2 million.

It comes as senior lawyers claim that drug cartels may decide to murder Cassandra in retaliation for her family insisting she was unwittingly turned into a drug mule.

Legal sources told The Australian the young woman could be at risk in the notorious El Buen Pastor women's prison as a result.

Cassandra's fiance Scott Broadbridge was also understood to be concerned about the impact public attention, and rumours on social media, might have on her case.

The couple were planning a wedding for next February, and he was believed to talk to the young woman by phone every night from prison.

Mr Broadbridge, 23, a bodybuilder-turned personal trainer who has dated her for just over 18 months, proposed in October on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Australian author Rusty Young, whose book Marching Powder was based on the three months he spent with an English drug smuggler in prison in Bolivia, has lived in Colombia for eight years and says he doesn't believe authorities there will make an example of Ms Sainsbury.

'Basically, the bigger traffickers are the ones they are after,' he told the Seven Network.

'Small traffickers are just an annoyance for the country.

'Colombia loves foreigners coming in. One of their major industries now is tourism. They do not want the name. They don't want the media attention for drug trafficking.'

Mr Young said conditions inside the El Buen Pastor prison where Ms Sainsbury is being held were 'pretty horrific'.

'There is massive levels of overcrowding inside the prison,' he said.

'The conditions are not very hygienic. She will need money to survive, to get legal representation, to buy medicine - and she potentially could be facing a long stay in prison.'

Cassandra was arrested in Colombia after an airport X-Ray search allegedly revealed something suspicious in her luggage (pictured)

Khala said her sister (pictured) found a Colombian lawyer but he suggested pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid an up to 25-year jail sentence

Cassandra's family started a fundraising page asking for donations to help her fight the charges, claiming she was a personal trainer in the country on a working holiday.

However, Australia and Colombia do not have a working holiday agreement, and Ms Sainsbury's fiance Scott Broadbridge, revealed she hasn't worked as a personal trainer this year.

'Although Cassie is a PT, she is not currently personal training and hasn't been for 6 months. I don't know why that was mentioned at all,' Mr Broadbridge wrote online.

'She helped manage a commercial cleaning business that had both national and international clients.'

The family closed the fundraising account after receiving just $4232 in donations from 105 people - well short of the $15,000 they hoped to collect to help cover legal bills.

The account was viciously trolled with most of the more than 500 posts overwhelmingly negative.

'I wouldn't give you $1 of my money! Those who are supporting this atrocious attempt to scam money to help exonerate a drug mule, really should give their money to a worthy cause! The story is so badly flawed it hurts,' one wrote.

Many people also questioned the difference in weight between the earphones and the drug parcel.

'Everyone knows that a extra 6kgs in headphones wouldn't feel right,' one person said.

The family's fundraising page also claimed the Colombian government 'is corrupt' which has seen them receive angry comments from those who live there.

'Don't call my country corrupt when she was caught with the good in her bag. You have lied twice in your fundraising intro,' Ern Perez said.

'Why are you lying, and it seems your family is trying to put sympathy to the Australian public in making false statements.'

A message on the fundraising site from her fiance Scott Broadbridge. The fundraiser was cancelled after it received hundreds of negative comments

Her mother, Lisa Evans, has maintained her daughter is innocent, saying she had been 'naive' in trusting a Colombian man to help her get a good deal on headphones

Khala wrote in the fundraising page that her sister was a volunteer firefighter with Country Fire Service in Adelaide, but the organisation has said she hasn't worked with them for three years.

'Hi Khala, although SA Country Fire Service appreciate you helping your sister through this, we are concerned you are stating that she is a member of SA Country Fire Service,' Alison Martin a senior publicity officer wrote on the fundraiser page.

'She has not been a volunteer for the past three years and we would appreciate you taking all material relating to CFS from this profile.'

The young woman's family told Daily Mail Australia she thought the parcel contained headphones for her bridal party and friends back home.

However Bogota residents, where she was caught with the drugs, say technology is expensive in Colombia  and headphones would be hard to find in the city.

'Colombia is not a country like Thailand where they have headphones in the market places like Dr. Dre Beats,' an Australian in Colombia said.

'Technology is considered expensive to buy here.'

The woman who claimed to have spent 'a lot of time in Bogota' said she had never seen headphones for sale there.

Her family says she is innocent and being 'set up' - but Colombian anti-narcotic police believe she may have been a drug mule

Khala said her sister was tricked into being a drug mule by a man she just met who handed her a package containing the concealed drugs

Khala said her sister found a Colombian lawyer but he suggested pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid an up to 25-year jail sentence.

'She is just so scared that she is caught up on the other side of the world for something she didn't do with no support over there, no nothing,' Ms Evans told the Today Show.

The Adelaide woman was denied bail and is being held at the El Buen Pastor prison, which houses over 50,000 women.

Colombian anti-narcotic officer Mr Mendoza said Ms Sainsbury could face a lengthy jail term if found guilty.

'Depending on the qualities (of the cocaine) we believe the maximum could be 20 years,' he said.

'The punishment for the quantity could be between eight to 12 years.'

Mr Mendoza noted that per capita, Australians are among the biggest users of cocaine in the world. A UN report in 2013 found Australians were the world's eighth highest per capital users of the drug.

Mr Broadbridge at a music festival, the woman's fiance claims she was a manager of a cleaning business

Ms Evans said Ms Sainsbury's Colombian lawyer, who used to be the Mayor of Bogota, has advised the young woman plead guilty to avoid 25 years behind bars at her hearing in two months.

She said the 'best case scenario' is a minimum six-year sentence with a guilty plea.

'If Cassie gives information about the person that gave her the package it may come down a bit to four,' Ms Evans told KIIS 1065's Kyle & Jackie O on Monday.

Ms Sainsbury's older sister Khala was to pick her up from the airport on Easter Saturday and didn't realise Cassandra's predicament until the morning of Good Friday.

'The trip was at least in part to promote her personal training business,' her sister told Daily Mail Australia.

The mother-of-four insisted her CFS volunteer sister was innocent and being 'set up'.

'Anyone that knows her, would say she is a kind, loving, happy kind of girl. She would help anyone out in need,' she said.

'Our hearts break, because we know she is innocent, but stands little chance of proving it in such a corrupt country.'

Cassandra was planning a wedding to her fiance and 'love of her life' Scott Broadbridge (L) after they got engaged in October on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia

The former personal trainer from Adelaide was denied bail and is being held at the overcrowded El Buen Pastor women's prison (pictured) until her hearing in two months

Ms Sainsbury was an aspiring model before leaving for the South American country and had built her own starnow profile which invited potential client to view her Instagram account.

Working holiday visas to Colombia are only issued to citizen of France who are aged 18 to 30.

Australian author Rusty Young, whose book Marching Powder was based on the three months he spent with an English drug smuggler in prison in Bolivia, has lived in Colombia for eight years and says he doesn't believe authorities there will make an example of Ms Sainsbury.

'Basically, the bigger traffickers are the ones they are after,' he told the Seven Network.

'Small traffickers are just an annoyance for the country.

'Colombia loves foreigners coming in. One of their major industries now is tourism. They do not want the name. They don't want the media attention for drug trafficking.'

Mr Young said conditions inside the El Buen Pastor prison where Ms Sainsbury is being held were 'pretty horrific'.

'There is massive levels of overcrowding inside the prison,' he said.

'The conditions are not very hygienic. She will need money to survive, to get legal representation, to buy medicine - and she potentially could be facing a long stay in prison.'

The cocaine was concealed in the packaging of more than 15 headphones Ms Sainsbury said she was given the morning of her flight home.

'It came to her already packaged and concealed and she put it straight in her suitcase. She's very naive,' Khala told 9 News.

Cassandra grew up on the Yorke Peninsula before moving to Adelaide and has three huskies Buster, Bella and Rex living with her and Mr Broadbridge.

'She has her full life ahead of her, and now its all put on the line because of this. We miss her so much, and since we have very little contact with her its very hard,' her sister said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing assistance to an Australian woman arrested in Colombia in accordance with the Consular Services Charter.

'Due to our privacy obligations, we are unable to release further information,' it said.

Prison inmates are searched in the El Buen Pastor women's prison at Bogota
The Turnbull government will build Western Sydney Airport, with the details to be outlined in next week's federal budget.

This follows Tuesday's announcement by Sydney Airport, the owner of Kingsford Smith airport, that it will not take up the opportunity under its right of first refusal to build and operate the new airport at Badgerys Creek.

'It is a vitally important project for Western Sydney, for Sydney, and the nation, which is why the Coalition government ended decades of indecision by committing to the project in 2014,' Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement.

Sydney Airport's refusal had been widely expected after the federal government in December ruled out any direct financial support towards the cost of building and operating the proposed $5 billion project at Badgerys Creek.

The NSW government will support the federal government to ensure a second Sydney airport is built in the city's west, despite Sydney Airport turning down the opportunity to develop the project

Sydney Airport turned down the opportunity to develop the $5 billion project

The government has undertaken a significant amount of contingency planning ahead of the refusal decision.

It is committed to a 2026 operation date for the airport, which would have a 3700 metre runway and terminal capable of servicing 10 million passengers a year.

On-site works are expected to start in 2018.

Road upgrades are already under way and a scoping study is being undertaken into the rail needs of the region and the airport.

Federal, state and local governments are also working on the details of a Western Sydney 'city deal' promised at last year's federal election.

The Government is committed to a 2026 operation date for the airport, which would have a 3700 metre runway and terminal capable of servicing 10 million passengers a year

Malcolm Turnbull said details of the Government's plan for the new airport would be released next week

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says Sydney Airport's decision leaves the federal government with 'some really exciting options' and the state government will continue to invest in the project.

'We are a stakeholder, it's in our state, we have a huge interest in making sure it happens and we will support in whichever way we can the federal government to make it happen as quickly as possible,' she said in Sydney on Tuesday.

'I think the community wants to see the project come to life as opposed to necessarily worrying about who builds or who operates it.'

It's estimated the new airport could create 9000 direct jobs by the early 2030s and 60,000 in the long term

As well, a Forum on Western Sydney Airport chaired by Western Sydney University chancellor Peter Shergold is leading community consultation on the project, which remains controversial among local councils and the public.

A study has shown the existing Sydney airport will have no scope for growth of passenger services beyond 2035 and all slots for airlines will be filled by 2027.

It's estimated the new airport could create 9000 direct jobs by the early 2030s and 60,000 in the long term.
Kim Jong-un has accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region.

The supersonic B-1B Lancers were deployed in a joint training exercise with the Japanese air forces amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

North Korea said the bombers conducted 'a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects' in its territory at a time when US President Donald Trump and 'other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike'.

'The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war,' the North's official KCNA news agency said this morning.

Two supersonic B-1B Lancers (file picture) were deployed in a joint training exercise with the Japanese air forces over the Korean Peninsula amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington

Kim Jong-un has accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region

The agency also reportedly warned that military provocation against the North 'will precisely mean a total war which will lead to the final doom of the US.'

The US deployment comes amid rising tensions over North Korea's dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from America.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The U.S. air force said in a statement the bombers had flown from Guam to conduct training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the United States and Pyongyang's sole major ally, China.

China's Global Times, a state-backed tabloid that does not necessarily reflect national policy, said in an editorial late on Monday the United States should not rely on China alone to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear ambitions.

Donald Trump (pictured) said on Monday he would be 'honoured' to meet the North's young leader.

April could prove a 'turning point', the paper said, but 'Washington ... must also continue to exert its own efforts on the issue'.

It was widely feared North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test on or around April 15 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the North's founding leader, Kim Il Sung, or on April 25 to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People's Army.

The North has conducted such tests or missile launches to mark significant events in the past.

Instead, North Korea conducted an annual military parade, featuring a display of missiles, on April 15 and then a large, live-fire artillery drill 10 days later.

South Korea's acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn called for stronger vigilance because of continuing provocation by Seoul's poor and isolated neighbour.

'I am asking foreign and security ministries to further strengthen military readiness in order for North Korea not to miscalculate ... and drive the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation from neighbouring countries such as China to put pressure on the North,' Hwang told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

It was widely feared North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test on or around April 15 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the North's founding leader, Kim Il Sung. One of the secretive state's rockets are pictured above

Trump said on Monday he would be 'honoured' to meet the North's young leader.

'If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it,' Trump told Bloomberg News in comments that drew criticism in Washington.

Trump did not say what conditions would be needed for such a meeting to occur or when it could happen. The White House said later North Korea would need to meet many conditions before it could be contemplated.

'Clearly conditions are not there right now,' White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

'I don't see this happening anytime soon.'

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a 'major, major conflict' with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

The U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile defence system has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, U.S. officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months.

North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March. It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.

The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.
TV presenter Erin Molan posted a picture at a retreat with Kelly Landry in the days after her husband allegedly assaulted her, saying she loved her 'more than she can poke a stick at'.

The day after the alleged assault on November 18, 2016, Ms Landry went on a horse-riding trip to Fitzroy Falls in NSW with her spouse Anthony Bell, her children and Ms Molan.

On Tuesday, Ms Landry told the court she suspected 'something was going on' between Mr Bell and Ms Molan after the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, saying their relationship was 'odd'.

TV presenter Erin Molan posted a picture at a retreat with Kelly Landry in the days after her husband allegedly assaulted her

Ms Molan, who joined the family on the trip, uploaded a photo to her Instagram page In November to share her love for Ms Landry

Former Getaway presenter Kelly Landry (pictured) has told a Sydney court she suspected 'something was going on' between her husband Anthony Bell and TV personality Erin Molan

Ms Molan has denied she had anything to do with the couple's split, with Nine issuing a statement saying she had been 'unfairly dragged into the dispute'.

'Erin's relationship with Anthony Bell has only ever been strictly professional, both as a client and a crew member on Perpetual Loyal,' the statement read.

'Erin has never had any intimate relationship with Anthony Bell'.

On Tuesday, Mr Bell's barrister, Ian Temby QC, asked Ms Landry if her injured arm as a result of the alleged assault had caused her difficulties riding horses on the trip.

'My right arm was bruised, not broken,' she told the court.

The family had planned one night away but stayed for two.

Ms Molan, who joined the family on the trip, uploaded a photo to her Instagram page In November to share her love for Ms Landry.

'Nawwwww more love than you can poke a stick at,' she wrote alongside a number of heart emojis.

In court on Tuesday, Ms Landry said believed 'something was going on' between her husband and Ms Molan and texted Mr Bell to ask on December 28.

'I know about Erin. Just saw her run to you,' Ms Landry wrote.

'I suspected that something was going on between them but not necessarily infidelity,' Ms Landry said of Mr Bell's relationship with Erin Molan (the pair are pictured together)

Ms Landry, 37, and Mr Bell (pictured), 45, returned to court on Tuesday for the second day of an AVO hearing between the pair

Mr Bell and Erin Molan (pictured together, middle) were part of the victorious Perptual LOYAL yacht which won the Sydney to Hobart race last Decemberq

Mr Bell replied: 'Not wearing that. I'm calling her now to tell her (of) your accusation because it's not fair to her or me for that matter'.

Ms Landry told the court she had continued to post positive pictures to Instagram following the November 18 incident.

On November 22 she posted from a resort near Byron Bay, thanking her husband for an 'early Christmas present'.

That post featured a love heart emoji and one of hands held together in gratitude.

She had tagged former Wallaby Phil Waugh and former rugby league star Anthony Minichiello in the post.

Ms Landry edited the caption after the interim AVO commenced, removing her husband's name.

A photograph Ms Landry posted in the days after the alleged assault on November 18 last year, when she was staying at the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay was tendered in court

Ms Landry, 37, also told the court on Tuesday her 45-year-old husband was 'financially mean' to her, despite him funding their luxurious lifestyle including international first class travel

Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining her husband's spending on her

Erin Molan (pictured), co-host of the NRL Footy Show, recently announced her engagement to her policeman boyfriend Sean Ogilvy

Asked why she continued to post happy pictures when her marriage was apparently falling apart, Ms Landry said she had a public profile to consider.

'It's all about public profile,' she said. 'It's what you would want the public to believe.'

Ms Landry also posted from her husband's yacht as the couple enjoyed a Crowded House concert while on Sydney Harbour with friends on November 25.

Asked again why she continued to post such positive images on Instagram, Ms Landry said she wanted to keep her troubles private.

'Nobody wants everyone to know about what someone is going through privately,' she said.

'It's not something that you would air publicly by choice.

'I was trying to counteract what was going on. I didn't want people to know what was happening.

Molan and Ogilvy (pictured) posed together on the victorious Sydney-to-Hobart yacht after the race

Just weeks before the AVO was taken out by Ms Landry, the couple were pictured celebrating Mr Bell's win in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race aboard Perpetual LOYAL

'I wanted to deal with it in as private a way as I could.

'Airing of dirty laundry is not something I ever wanted to happen.'

Police took out an AVO on behalf of Ms Landry in January, 2017, following an incident at their home in Watson's Bay, Sydney, on November 18 last year.

Asking about the couple's relationship following the alleged assault, Mr Temby asked Ms Landry if Mr Bell had usually stayed in their mansion between the November 18 incident and him moving out on December 28.

She said her husband had sometimes been travelling and she had barely seen him during November and December.
Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit Chicago for a community meeting to roll out a 3-D model and hear from their old neighborhood about a planned $500 million Obama library and museum.

Tickets for the community meeting are by invitation only. But unlike an a speech Obama is giving to Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald in September, the former president isn't billing $400,000.

The former president also spoke to top execs at an event last week organized by A&E Networks, where according to the New York Post he got the same $400,000 fee. Attending that event were Hollywood exec Harvey Weinstein and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

First lady Michelle Obama will be there. Her own speaking fee was recently revealed by Axios to be $200,000.

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama visit Chicago Wednesday for a community meeting to discuss a planned $500 million Obama presidential center

The price tag for the Obama library could hit $500 million, the Chicago Tribune reported.

New York architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien are scheduled to be at the event, to discuss a building set to open in 2021.

The community meeting will be held Wednesday at the cultural center where the Obamas' wedding reception was held in 1992.

'More than a building or a museum, the Obama Presidential Center will be a working center for civic engagement and a place to inspire people and communities to create change,' according to the Obama Foundation.

President Barack Obama waves as he walks on stage with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha at his election night party in Chicago

President Obama reportedly inked a deal to give a speech to a health care conference held by a Wall Street bank for $400,000 in September

Former first Lady Michelle Obama, pictured getting a high five from actress Charlize Theron during the 'Let Girls Learn' Global Conversation at The Apollo Theater on September 29, 2015 in New York City, reportedly gets $200,000 per speech, more than former presidents have received

Former United States first lady Michelle Obama smiles during the AIA Conference on Architecture 2017 on April 27, 2017 in Orlando, Florida

The Obama Foundation announced Monday the Obamas will host a round table discussion to 'update the community' on the progress of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side.

The Obamas are also expected to hear from community members on their ideas for the library.

New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates will head a team of several firms and individuals with expertise in media, lighting and acoustics in designing exhibits.

The foundation has said almost half of the exhibition design work for the museum will be performed by minority- and women-owned businesses.

The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Tribune reported citing a source that later Wednesday, Obama is scheduled to appear at The Chicago Club, although no additional details were available.

Former President Barack Obama gestures at a discussion with six Chicago-area students on Monday, April 24, 2017 at the Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus. The event was billed as a 'Conversation with President Obama and Young Leaders'

A man plays golf at Jackson Park August 3, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. President Barack Obama's Presidential Center will be built at Jackson Park on Chicago's south side and designed by Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien

Obama got back on the public stage at another event in Chicago in late April.

That event, also a freebie, was held at the University of Chicago, where Obama once taught constitutional law. He moderated a panel with young civic leaders.

Obama's paid speeches have drawn criticism from some members of his own party. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said she was 'troubled' by it.

Michelle Obama's speaking fee is reportedly $200,000 a pop.

Obama spokesman Eric Schultz responded to criticism of the former president's speaking fees.

'He recently accepted an invitation to speak at a health care conference in September, because, as a President who successfully passed health insurance reform, it's an issue of great important to him,' said Schultz.

'With regard to this or any speech involving Wall Street sponsors, I'd just point out that in 2008, Barack Obama raised more money from Wall Street than any candidate in history  and still went on to successfully pass and implement the toughest reforms on Wall Street since Roosevelt.
All but 24 of Australia's wealthiest schools will get a funding boost under a new plan described by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as 'Gonski 2.0'.

Mr Turnbull has also commissioned the original author of the landmark 2011 report, businessman David Gonski, to write a new report on how to ensure the extra money delivers better quality education.

'This reform will finally deliver on David Gonski's vision,' Mr Turnbull said in Sydney on Tuesday, at a media conference with Mr Gonski.

All but 24 of the wealthiest schools across the country will get a boost in funding under a new plan described by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as 'Gonski 2.0'

Mr Turnbull has also commissioned the author of landmark 2011 report, businessman David Gonski (pictured), to write a report on how to ensure the extra money delivers better education

The Gonski name has become synonymous with needs-based funding for schools, which has been accepted as the best model by Labor and key education advocates.

Total federal funding for private and public schools will rise from $17.5 billion this year to $22.1 billion by 2021 and $30.6 billion by 2027.

On those figures  and based on the ABS total of 3,798,226 students enrolled in schools across the country in 2016  the funding boost represents an increase of $1,211 per student per year by 2021.

This means each of the 9,393 schools the ABS recorded in 2013 in Australia will receive a boost of around $489,000 a year by 2021, if the new money is divided among them equally.

'I'm very pleased to hear that the Turnbull government has accepted the fundamental recommendations of our 2011 report,' Mr Gonski said.

Total federal funding for private and public schools will rise from $17.5 billion this year to $22.1 billion by 2021 and $30.6 billion by 2027 (stock image)

Education Minister Simon Birmingham (pictured) said it would be a 'true, needs-based, sector-blind funding model'

'I'm very pleased there is substantial, additional money even over indexation and in the foreseeable future.'

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said it would be a 'true, needs-based, sector-blind funding model'.

The new Gonski report would ensure the money is used effectively and efficiently after Australian schools had witnessed a stagnation in terms of international performance, the minister said.

Legislation will be needed to lock in the 10 year funding path.
David Oldfield has defended his reality TV star wife Lisa over her 'b***h' rant against ABC broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied in spectacular fashion on Twitter.

The former politician took offense to a tweet directed at Ms Oldfield labeling her a 'rich, white, clueless b***h' with no reason to be on national television.

'Lisa went through months of extensive casting 4 (sic) Real Housewives of Sydney and beat dozens of hopefuls - unlikely Yassmin did anything like that,' he retorted.

The fiery comeback was in response to criticism about her remarks on Sky News last week, when she described the outspoken Muslim activist as offensive and a 'b****'.

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David Oldfield has defended his reality TV star wife Lisa over her 'b***h' rant against ABC broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied

The former politician hit out at a number of Twitter users who claimed his wife had no reason to be on national television and was a 'rich, white, clueless b***h'

Ms Oldfield (right, with David) split opinion last week when she described Ms Abdel-Magied as offensive and a 'b****'

Ms Abdel-Magied, who is also a mechanical engineer, took to Facebook on Anzac Day to post: 'Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)'.

She retracted the comments and offered an apology, but was quickly met with widespread condemnation - with online petitions calling for her to be sacked.

In a trivial back-and-forth exchange with numerous Twitter users, Mr Oldfield's conversation flared up again when another woman took Ms Abdel-Magied's side.

'I mean, Yassmin has an engineering degree which is years of hard work that plenty of people don't get through. But yah, RHOS casting...' the woman wrote.

'Then send Yasminn out to build a bridge - Lisa got 98.65 in the HSC and went on to a Business degree, but none of that is really relevant,' Mr Oldfield shot back.

Paul Barry, the host of ABC's Media Watch (above), said on Monday night's show Abdel-Magie partly owed her positions on the network to her ethnicity, gender and religion

'She partly owes those roles (guest on Q&A and presenter on ABC news) to being Muslim, black and a woman,' said Paul Barry

He went on to clarify that the initial comparison he made between his wife and Ms Abdel-Magied had been 'only in relation to TV casting' - not life accomplishments.

It comes as Paul Barry, the star host of ABC's Media Watch, said on Monday night that Abdel-Magie partly owed her appearances on ABC shows such as Q&A and 'The Drum' to her ethnicity, gender and religion.

'Abdel-Magied presents a round-up of ABC news on Saturday morning. She's also appeared as a guest on Q and A and The Drum,' he said in a critique of the media's treatment of Ms Abdel-Magied on Monday night.

'And she partly owes those roles to being Muslim, black and a woman.'
U.S. Preventative Services Task Force has issued a draft recommendation statement on screening for prostate cancer, proposing a change to its previous recommendation for discontinuation of prostate-specific antigen testing. The task forces revised guidelines do not completely reverse its 2012 recommendation against board-based prostate-specific antigen screening, but move from a D rating (discouraging testing because of relative certainty that it offers no net benefit or that benefits do not outweigh potential harm) to a C rating (recommending physicians should offer testing for specific patients depending on individual circumstances, noting a moderate certainty of a small net benefit).



I believe primary care physicians have struggled with the conflicting evidence that PSA is the only way to reliably detect prostate cancer and at the same time a government agency is recommending against screening, says Jeffrey Mullins, M.D., robotic endourologist with CHI Memorial Chattanooga Urology Associates. This change in prostate screening recommendations means the task force has recognized that PSA screening does have real benefits, it saves lives, and it now can be part of the discussion all men have with their doctors about their overall health.



According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 161,360 new cases of prostate cancer will be found this year, with 26,730 men dying from the disease. A mans overall lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer is about 1 in 7.



The updated recommendation, which is still under review, says men ages 55 to 69 should consult individually with their physicians about whether PSA testing is appropriate and what timetable they should follow. The task force maintains its recommendation against PSA testing for men age 70 or better, citing potential harm outweighs the benefits of testing for this age group.



The recommendation against the routine use of this common blood test was a surprise to many men and their doctors. After the guidelines were released 2012, screening rates went down and so did diagnoses of prostate cancer, according to a report in JAMA. The European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer also found PSA testing reduces the chances of developing advanced prostate cancer by about 30 percent and the risk of dying from the disease by about 20 percent. The task force decided to adjust its screening recommendations in part based on these new findings, but stopped short of recommending the test for everyone citing caution about over diagnosis and over-treatment that can lead to impotence or incontinence.



The initial de-recommendation came from the task forces view that over-treatment of men with low grade, non-lethal cancer, including having their prostate removed and undergoing radiation, was leading to side unnecessary side effects. Now with active surveillance, urologists are treating far fewer men with cancer and the harms of detecting prostate cancer are also decreasing. MRI is now predominantly used for detection and fewer biopsies are conducted, further decreasing the harms and costs associated with screening.



Prostate cancer is a highly variable cancer, and not all prostate cancers are associated with the same level of risk of progression. By estimating the risk of progression in the context of a mans current health status and life expectancy, we can then make recommendations for managing that risk with one goal in mind: that no man dies from prostate cancer, says Lee Jackson, M.D., robotic prostate cancer surgeon with CHI Memorial Robotics for Prostate Cancer. Men are assigned to a category of risk based on their Gleason score and PSA, and each category is managed differently. If theres a low risk, treatment isnt necessary. If theres an intermediate risk, recommended treatment is surgery or some form of radiation. Men with highest risk likely require a combination of surgery, radiation and hormone therapy. PSA screening helps give men the information they need to make the most informed decisions about their health.



This is a draft recommendation statement, with opportunity for public comment until May 8 at 8 p.m. The USPSTF reviews all comments and incorporates relevant information into the final recommendation statement. Comments may be submitted through this link: https://screeningforprostatecancer.org/.

For more information or to discuss these recommendations, call CHI Memorial Chattanooga Urology Associates at 423-697-0072 or CHI Memorial Robotics for Prostate Cancer at 423-495-3068.
U.S. President Donald Trump will speak by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the White House said on Monday night.

A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders are set for a call at 12:30pm EDT in which they would likely discuss the civil war in Syria, where Moscow backs the government of Bashar al-Assad and the United States supports rebels trying to overthrow him.

The call between the two will be the first time they will speak since the Kremlin condemned his air strike on a Syrian base last month.

Trump ordered the air strike in retaliation for a deadly poison gas attack on civilians he blamed on Assad's government, a Putin ally.

Russia denied the Syrian government was responsible for the sarin attack, which killed 90 people.

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) will speak by telephone with Russian President Vladimir (left) Putin on Tuesday, the White House said on Monday night.

The call is the first time they will speak since the Kremlin condemned Trump's air strike on a Syrian base last month that ordered in retaliation for a deadly poison gas attack on civilians he blamed on Assad's government. Above Abdel Alyousef holds his twins who died in attack

Putin characterized the air strike as 'aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law.'

Trump said after the cruise missile attack that the United States' relationship with Moscow 'may be at an all-time low.'

The two leaders have spoken on the phone several times since Trump took office in January.

Their last conversation was last month following an attack in St. Petersburg, which 70-year-old Trump condemned.

That attack happened just days before the chemical weapons attack in Syria.

Last month the president said that U.S.-Russian relations 'may be at an all-time low.'

That statement was a complete reversal from his rhetoric during the campaign, where he stated that he hoped to work together with Putin in the fight against terrorism.

'I would treat Vladimir Putin firmly, but there's nothing I can think of that I'd rather do than have Russia friendly, as opposed to the way they are right now, so that we can go and knock out ISIS with other people,' he said in July 2016.

In January, the president said that he believed that Russia was behind hacking the Democratic National Committee in 2016:

'I think it was Russia,' Trump said, adding that Putin 'should not be doing it.'

'He won't be doing it. Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I am leading it than when other people have led it,' Trump stated at the time.

Trump told reporters in February that he would 'love to be able to get along with Russia:

Trump (pictured above on Monday) said after the cruise missile attack that the United States' relationship with Moscow 'may be at an all-time low.'

'Now, you've had a lot of presidents that haven't taken that tack. Look where we are now. Look where we are now,' he stated.

'So, if I can -- now, I love to negotiate things, I do it really well, and all that stuff. But -- but it's possible I won't be able to get along with Putin.'

In addition, the FBI and Congress are continuing to investigate Trump's campaign's contacts with Russia and the meddling in the election.

The president is scheduled to begin his day with the daily intelligence briefing at 10:30am.

He will then participate in a departure ceremony for Air Force Lt. Col. Wesley Spurlock at 11am.

Following that he will also participate in the Air Force Academy's commander-in-chief celebration roughly 30 minutes later.

After his call with Putin, Trump will meet with national security adviser H.R. McMaster at 5:30pm after the call.
A doctor has told how he made the 'compassionate' decision to put off telling a patient she had terminal cancer because she was holidaying on a cruise ship.

Sydney woman Jenny Scott went on a cruise in September 2016 after she claimed she was told by her doctor, Professor David Barnes, that despite her persistent cough, it was '99.9 per cent not cancer'.

But while she was on the cruise, results came back showing Ms Scott was dying of cancer, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Professor Barnes - who had no action taken against him - decided to wait until Ms Scott arrived home from her holiday to inform her of the diagnosis because intervention would have made 'no significant decision to the final outcome'.

Jenny Scott (pictured) died on October 20 last year, just hours after arriving back in Sydney after coming down with influenza while onboard a cruise ship

Ms Scott then fell seriously ill with influenza while still on the ship and it was up to doctors in Fremantle, Western Australia, to advise her of the lung cancer.

Her family attempted to have her taken back to Sydney but could not secure a bed at a Sydney hospital, daughter Tania said.

She eventually died on October 20, just hours after arriving back in Sydney.

Her daughter, Tania, has now spoken of the moments before her mother's death after the matter was referred to the Health Care Complaints Commission.

'In tandem with being refused a... hospital ICU bed, the impact of this decision on the last nine days of Mum's life was devastating and heartbreaking, and all on top of the suffering she had to endure from an evil disease,' Tania said.

Ms Scott's doctor said he made the decision to not tell her she was dying of cancer because she was holidaying on a cruise ship at the time (stock image)

No action was taken against Professor Barnes by the HCCC.

'My decision to refrain from contacting Mrs Scott whilst on holidays was a compassionate decision, to allow her to complete the cruise in circumstances where intervention would have made no significant difference to her ultimate outcome,' Professor Barnes had told the HCCC, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Professor Barnes for comment.
A Queensland theme park is celebrating after a polar bear gave birth to two adorable cubs.

The cubs were delivered from 16-year-old polar bear Liya at Sea World on the Gold Coast in the early hours of last Wednesday.

A Sea World spokesperson said both cubs 'are doing really well so far' in a video posted to Facebook.

A Queensland theme park is celebrating after a polar bear gave birth to two adorable cubs

The cubs were delivered from 16-year-old polar bear Liya at Sea World on the Gold Coast last Wednesday

'They are making all the right noises and suckling on mum's milk,' the spokesperson said.

The twins are the third and fourth cubs to be born at the park's Polar Bear Shores exhibit since it opened in 2000.

Henry and another cub - which didn't survive - were born in 2013 to Liya.

Marine scientist Trevor Long said their delivery is 'critical' to the long-term survival of polar bears.

'There's not a lot of zoological facilities breeding polar bears in the world,' he said.

'There's about 22,000 to 30,000 polar bears - they are listed as threatened, and that's very critical.

'That's due to climate change, we're seeing a much shorter winter and these bears are not being able to reach their full potential.'

The new cubs are being cared for by their mother in a specially crafted den, with Sea World staff monitoring the trio remotely.

The twins are the third and fourth cubs to be born at the park's Polar Bear Shores exhibit since it opened in 2000. Henry (left) and another cub - which didn't survive - were born in 2013 to Liya (right)

Marine scientist Trevor Long said their delivery is 'critical' to the long-term survival of polar bears. Pictured: Polar Bear Shores exhibit at Sea World

Mr Long said the first couple of weeks are crucial to the bears' survival and staff are 'cautiously optimistic' at this stage.

Both bears were born blind and weighing approximately just over half-a-kilogram.

Like their older half-brother Henry, the cubs are expected to weigh around 250kg by the time they are two-and-a-half.

Mr Long said both cubs will be moved to a public display sometime in September if all goes well.
A man who allegedly conspired in the plot to kill NSW police employee Curtis Cheng allegedly posted images online of police officers being executed just days before Mr Cheng was shot.

Mustafa Dirani allegedly posted the images that appear to show guns being held to the heads of police in a private WhatsApp chat group, in posts dated September 30, 2015, the Downing Centre Local Court heard on Tuesday.

Mr Cheng was shot dead by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar outside the Parramatta headquarters of NSW Police on October 2, 2015.

Mustafa Dirani (pictured) allegedly conspired in the plot to kill Curtis Cheng in 2015

Dirani allegedly posted images online of police officers being executed just days before the 58-year-old (pictured left with his family) was shot

Mr Cheng was shot dead by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar (pictured) outside the Parramatta headquarters of NSW Police in October 2015

Dirani, 23, Milad Atai, 21, and Raban Alou, 19, are accused of conspiring in the terror plot, while Talal Alameddine, 24, is alleged to have acquired and supplied the pistol used by Jabar.

Crown prosecutor Paul McGuire SC told a committal hearing on Tuesday that Dirani, Atai and Alou were members of a private WhatsApp chat forum named 'the Bricks' where pro-Islamic State images and discussions were posted.

In June 2015, Alou allegedly wrote on the forum: 'Beheading in France, 25 dead in a suicide bomb by Islamic State in shia Kuwait mosque and 37 dead at Tunisia beach', followed by 'it's going off' and 'lol'.

The court was shown a video that Dirani allegedly posted of himself addressing 'all the pigs out there' and threatening 'we're coming for you'.

Dirani allegedly posted the images that appear to show guns being held to the heads of police in a private WhatsApp chat group, the Downing Centre Local Court heard on Tuesday (pictured is the NSW Police headquarters after the attack)

Supporters of the men accused of helping Farhad Jarbar were seen at Downing Centre Court House on Tuesday

Talal Alameddine, 24, Mustafa Dirani, 23, and Milad Atai, 21, are due to face Sydney's Downing Centre for the second day of a committal hearing and were joined by supporters whose identities were unclear

It was revealed this week a blood-soaked note had been found on the body of Jabar (pictured)

Mr McGuire also showed the court photos allegedly posted by Atai in June 2015 of what appeared to be military personnel and a response allegedly by Alou saying: 'May Allah curse them all and destroy them to pieces.'

Mr McGuire said the Bricks forum fell silent the day before Mr Cheng was shot and chat only resumed three days after the killing.

He said there was 'some relevance to the silence between the conspirators'.

He also said there was evidence that after Mr Cheng was shot, Atai admitted to undercover police officers that he'd sworn an oath of allegiance to Islamic State.

The hearing continues.
A four-month-old baby was caught in the line of fire as police officers used mace to break up a five-year-old's birthday party and arrest four adults, including the mother of the birthday girl.

The moment after police used the mace was caught on video and uploaded to YouTube, titled 'Police Terrorism in Birmingham'. In the video, partygoers can be heard shouting and others appear to have been knocked to the ground, including a boy on a bicycle.

Officers can be seen kneeling over several of the people who were knocked down and later they are seen wearing handcuffs.

The Birmingham Police Department has said the YouTube video does not show the moments leading up to the use of pepper spray, which they claim the officers' body cameras show that residents 'were not compliant' and 'instigated' the incident.

A YoutTube video, pictured, captured the effects of mace that Birmingham Police used at a five-year-old's birthday party on Saturday after an incident broke out between officers and several parents. A four-month-old was allegedly in the crossfire of the spray and four adults, including the birthday girl's mother, were arrested

Patrice Bozeman, 24, pictured center, was holding a celebration for her five-year-old daughter Zauriona, and by the end of it, Patrice, her sisters Brittany and Denise, pictured, and their father Menderryl Wright, were all arrested on charges including disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and public intoxication

Patrice Bozeman, 24, was holding a celebration for her daughter Zauriona in front of her apartment in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday night before officers showed up and told them the music was too loud, according to AL.com.

The Birmingham Police Department said it was their second response to the party to ask for the volume on the music to be turned down, which they said also contained profanity.

As the officers approached the second time, the situation escalated and led to the officers using mace.

According to a police statement, one of the officers used the spray one one member of the family who was 'instigating', 'but other family members attempted to intervene and prevent her arrest', which put the four-month-old in the line of the mace.

Bozeman, who was holding her four-month-old, was arrested along with her two sisters Brittany Bozeman, 28, and Denise Bozeman, 23, and their father Menderryl Wright, 48.

They were arrested on charges including disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and public intoxication.

The Bozemans, pictured, held a press conference on Monday calling for the Birmingham Police officers who initiated the incident to be fired, an apology to be made to the family and for their charges to be dropped

The video, pictured, that was posted to YouTube was titled 'Police Terrorism in Birmingham' and showed the aftermath of the mace spray on the party-goers. People can be heard screaming and some have fallen over, possibly from the pepper spray

The sisters and their father, joined by Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other community groups, are calling for the two officers that initiated the incident to be fired.

Patrice said the episode has already had an impact on her daughter.

'She was very upset,' the mother told AL.com. 'She keeps saying "Mama, they ruined my party."'

The Bozemans held a press conference Monday after the video was posted to social media. They insist they did nothing to escalate the situation and they are calling for the police department to apologize and for their charges to be dropped.

Patrice, pictured, said the incident has already had an impact on her daughter. She told AL.com: 'She was very upset. She keeps saying "Mama, they ruined my party"'

The Bozemans' bail was posted by Black Lives Matter and DSA and the two groups, alongside other community groups, are calling for an apology from the Birmingham Police Department for what they claim are wrongful arrests. Denise Bozeman, 23, is pictured left and her father Menderryl Wright, 48, is pictured right

The Birmingham Police Department said the incident is still under investigation and was filmed on the officers' body cameras. The footage from those body cameras has not been released because an investigation is still ongoing.

'Officers approached the group which was outside and asked them again to turn the music down,' the statement said. 'During the course of that exchange, the citizens were not compliant so the officers made a decision to arrest the instigator.

'At that time the citizen resisted and even shoved the officer which led to the escalation. The primary officer used his spray on the one subject but other family members attempted to intervene and prevent her arrest. Eventually four citizens were arrested for various charges including Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest, and Public Intoxication.

'During the course of the struggle, a kid was knocked off his bicycle. Paramedics were dispatched to treat any injured parties and the four citizens were transported to the Birmingham City Jail.'

At the end of the eight-and-a-half-minute long video, gunshots can be heard, which the Birmingham Police Department said other officers investigated.

The Bozemans' bail was posted by Black Lives Matter and DSA.
The 22-year-old Australian woman facing drug charges in Colombia was at the tail end of an international trip that saw her visit China and the United States before arriving in South America, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.

Cassandra Sainsbury, from Adelaide, South Australia was caught with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine in her bag as she prepared to fly home from Bogota, via London, on April 11.

The woman had been in China and Los Angeles in the days before her arrest in Colombia.

The young woman's family claim she was on a working holiday to the South American country to promote her personal training business.

But her fiance, Scott Broadbridge said she had not been a personal trainer for six months prior to the trip, and was working for a cleaning company at the time.

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The young woman was on a work trip to Canada in late January when she posted this picture with he hash tag work

The young woman posted to Instagram a week before she was stopped in a Colombian airport to tell her followers about her trip which also took her to Las Angeles and China

Australian woman Cassandra Sainsbury, 22, faces 25 years in jail after she was arrested with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine at an airport in Colombia

Colombian police claim a tip-off led to the arrest of an Australian woman who was found with 18 bags of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.7 million.

On April 3 she posted a photo of LAX - Los Angeles International Airport - with the caption 'going from China's lovely 27 degree weather to LA's 7 degree weather is killing me'.

The young woman used a variety of hashtags including the words work, holiday and fitness in her social media posts.

On April 8, she posted a photograph of some buildings indicating she was in America.

'Can't complain about an all expenses paid work trip which is mainly holiday and very little work,' she wrote.

The woman went on a cruise in October, 2016, followed by a work trip to Canada in January. Her trip to Colombia recently started with time spent in China and America

The young blonde went on a trip to Vanuatu in October 2016

Venice Beach, Los Angeles, Ms Sainsbury was in LA before she went to Colombia

The young woman had also visited China before heading to LA and Bogota

In January, posts by the young woman indicate she was a separate 'work trip', this time to Canada, where she complained of being tired and used the hashtag #hometimesoon.

The young blonde also posted highlights of a cruise to Vanuatu and the pacific islands in October 2016.

She was also snapped holidaying on the Gold Coast.

Ms Sainsbury's sister Khala, told the media her sister had been tricked by a 'nice Colombian man' and thought the packages contained headphones for her wedding party.

She was arrested with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in small packages wrapped in black plastic (pictured)

Top drug cops in Colombia say her explanation is not credible. It's understood there were never any headphones in the packages (pictured) and they only contained concealed cocaine

The young woman went to Vanuatu on a 10-day cruise last year

The young woman was caught trying to leave Colombia with 18 packages of cocaine

On Tuesday Colombian police released photographs of the young woman standing behind 18 black packages of cocaine.

Ms Sainsbury was handcuffed in the images - she could face 25 years in a South American jail if found guilty of drug smuggling.

The 22-year-old told her family she thought the packages were 15 headphones a local man posing as a translator had arranged to buy for her at a discount.

But she was arrested at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota on April 11 on her way back to Australia after an X-ray search allegedly revealed something suspicious in her luggage.

The woman (pictured with her fiance) was detained on April 11 at Bogota Airport just as she was about to fly back to Australia after a working holiday

A message on the fundraising site from her fiance Scott Broadbridge. The fundraiser was cancelled after it received hundreds of negative comments

In Australia, six kilograms of cocaine has a street value of almost $2 million

Lt Colonel Jorge Triana, head of anti-narcotics police at the airport, told Daily Mail Australia he didn't believe Cassandra's headphone story.

Lt Colonel Triana said drug mules often feigned ignorance when they were caught.

'It's a commonplace strategy that narco traffickers use to take drugs out of the country,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Her explanation is not credible. Everyone we catch says they didn't know it was in their luggage, but they know what they were doing.'

Khala said her sister (pictured) found a Colombian lawyer but he suggested pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid an up to 25-year jail sentence

Pictured are the headphones that Cassandra believed she was buying from a man she had just met. Her family claims the man offered to be her translator and find gifts for her family

Daily Mail Australia also understands there were never any headphones in the package and it only contained concealed cocaine.

Lt Colonel Triana said even if Cassandra didn't know about the drugs she likely faced jail time either way.

'She recognised the luggage as hers so whether she knew there were drugs in it or not, it doesn't excuse her actions,' he said.

He said foreigners were increasingly being lured into becoming drug mules by the promise of big payoffs when they made it to their destination - with 19 caught leaving Colombia this year alone.

Cassandra's family insisted she was an innocent victim being 'set up' by a man she had just met.

A snap showing the woman on holiday in the Gold Coast last year

Her family says she is innocent and being 'set up' - but Colombian anti-narcotic police believe she may have been a drug mule

Her distraught mother said her daughter told her she had trusted a Colombian man who offered to be her translator and find gifts for her family.

'She mentioned these headphones she wanted to get and this man said 'I know a guy and if you buy 16 or 18 of them he can give you a really good price',' she told KIIS 1065.

'The day of her departure he gave her the package wrapped in black plastic and she put it in her luggage'.

Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airports director for Colombia's anti-narcotic police, told AAP that Cassandra could have been working as a drug mule.



'She could possibly be a drug mule,' he told ABC radio through an interpreter on Tuesday.

'In going through security we found she had 18 packets inside her luggage which even before opening it we found covered in plastic.'

In Australia, six kilograms of cocaine has an estimated street value of almost $2 million.

Cassandra was arrested in Colombia after an airport X-Ray search allegedly revealed something suspicious in her luggage (pictured)

It comes as senior lawyers claim that drug cartels may decide to murder Cassandra in retaliation for her family insisting she was unwittingly turned into a drug mule.

Legal sources told The Australian the young woman could be at risk in the notorious El Buen Pastor women's prison as a result.

Cassandra's fiance Scott Broadbridge was also understood to be concerned about the impact public attention, and rumours on social media, might have on her case.

The couple were planning a wedding for next February, and he was believed to talk to the young woman by phone every night from prison.

Mr Broadbridge, 23, a bodybuilder-turned personal trainer who has dated her for just over 18 months, proposed in October on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Australian author Rusty Young, whose book Marching Powder was based on the three months he spent with an English drug smuggler in prison in Bolivia, has lived in Colombia for eight years and says he doesn't believe authorities there will make an example of Ms Sainsbury.

'Basically, the bigger traffickers are the ones they are after,' he told the Seven Network.

'Small traffickers are just an annoyance for the country.

'Colombia loves foreigners coming in. One of their major industries now is tourism. They do not want the name. They don't want the media attention for drug trafficking.'

Her mother, Lisa Evans, has maintained her daughter is innocent, saying she had been 'naive' in trusting a Colombian man to help her get a good deal on headphones

The first photos have emerged of Cassandra standing in handcuffs next to her luggage

Mr Young said conditions inside the El Buen Pastor prison where Ms Sainsbury is being held were 'pretty horrific'.

'There is massive levels of overcrowding inside the prison,' he said.

'The conditions are not very hygienic. She will need money to survive, to get legal representation, to buy medicine - and she potentially could be facing a long stay in prison.'

Cassandra's family started a fundraising page asking for donations to help her fight the charges, claiming she was a personal trainer in the country on a working holiday.

However, Australia and Colombia do not have a working holiday agreement, and Ms Sainsbury's fiance Scott Broadbridge, revealed she hasn't worked as a personal trainer this year.

'Although Cassie is a PT, she is not currently personal training and hasn't been for 6 months. I don't know why that was mentioned at all,' Mr Broadbridge wrote online.

'She helped manage a commercial cleaning business that had both national and international clients.'

Khala said her sister was tricked into being a drug mule by a man she just met who handed her a package containing the concealed drugs

The family closed the fundraising account after receiving just $4232 in donations from 105 people - well short of the $15,000 they hoped to collect to help cover legal bills.

The account was viciously trolled with most of the more than 500 posts overwhelmingly negative.

'I wouldn't give you $1 of my money! Those who are supporting this really should give their money to a worthy cause!' one wrote.

Many people also questioned the difference in weight between the earphones and the drug parcel.

'Everyone knows that a extra 6kgs in headphones wouldn't feel right,' one person said.

The family's fundraising page also claimed the Colombian government 'is corrupt' which has seen them receive angry comments from those who live there.

Mr Broadbridge at a music festival, the woman's fiance claims she was a manager of a cleaning business

'Don't call my country corrupt when she was caught with the good in her bag,' Ern Perez said.

Khala wrote in the fundraising page that her sister was a volunteer firefighter with Country Fire Service in Adelaide, but the organisation has said she hasn't worked with them for three years.

'Hi Khala, although SA Country Fire Service appreciate you helping your sister through this, we are concerned you are stating that she is a member of SA Country Fire Service,' Alison Martin a senior publicity officer wrote on the fundraiser page.

'She has not been a volunteer for the past three years and we would appreciate you taking all material relating to CFS from this profile.'

The young woman's family told Daily Mail Australia she thought the parcel contained headphones for her bridal party and friends back home.

Cassandra was planning a wedding to her fiance and 'love of her life' Scott Broadbridge (L) after they got engaged in October on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia

However Bogota residents, where she was caught with the drugs, say technology is expensive in Colombia  and headphones would be hard to find in the city.

'Colombia is not a country like Thailand where they have headphones in the market places like Dr. Dre Beats,' an Australian in Colombia said.

'Technology is considered expensive to buy here.'

The woman who claimed to have spent 'a lot of time in Bogota' said she had never seen headphones for sale there.

Khala said her sister found a Colombian lawyer but he suggested pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid an up to 25-year jail sentence.

'She is just so scared that she is caught up on the other side of the world for something she didn't do with no support over there, no nothing,' Ms Evans told the Today Show.

The Adelaide woman was denied bail and is being held at the El Buen Pastor prison, which houses over 50,000 women.

Colombian anti-narcotic officer Mr Mendoza said Ms Sainsbury could face a lengthy jail term if found guilty.

'Depending on the qualities (of the cocaine) we believe the maximum could be 20 years,' he said.

'The punishment for the quantity could be between eight to 12 years.'

Mr Mendoza noted that per capita, Australians are among the biggest users of cocaine in the world. A UN report in 2013 found Australians were the world's eighth highest per capital users of the drug.

Ms Evans said Ms Sainsbury's Colombian lawyer, who used to be the Mayor of Bogota, has advised the young woman plead guilty to avoid 25 years behind bars at her hearing in two months.

She said the 'best case scenario' is a minimum six-year sentence with a guilty plea.

'If Cassie gives information about the person that gave her the package it may come down a bit to four,' Ms Evans told KIIS 1065's Kyle & Jackie O on Monday.

Ms Sainsbury's older sister Khala was to pick her up from the airport on Easter Saturday and didn't realise Cassandra's predicament until the morning of Good Friday.

'The trip was at least in part to promote her personal training business,' her sister told Daily Mail Australia.

The mother-of-four insisted her CFS volunteer sister was innocent and being 'set up'.

'Anyone that knows her, would say she is a kind, loving, happy kind of girl. She would help anyone out in need,' she said.

'Our hearts break, because we know she is innocent, but stands little chance of proving it in such a corrupt country.'

The former personal trainer from Adelaide was denied bail and is being held at the overcrowded El Buen Pastor women's prison (pictured) until her hearing in two months

Ms Sainsbury was an aspiring model before leaving for the South American country and had built her own starnow profile which invited potential client to view her Instagram account.

Working holiday visas to Colombia are only issued to citizen of France who are aged 18 to 30.

Australian author Rusty Young, whose book Marching Powder was based on the three months he spent with an English drug smuggler in prison in Bolivia, has lived in Colombia for eight years and says he doesn't believe authorities there will make an example of Ms Sainsbury.

'Basically, the bigger traffickers are the ones they are after,' he told the Seven Network.

'Small traffickers are just an annoyance for the country.

'Colombia loves foreigners coming in. One of their major industries now is tourism. They do not want the name. They don't want the media attention for drug trafficking.'

Mr Young said conditions inside the El Buen Pastor prison where Ms Sainsbury is being held were 'pretty horrific'.

'There is massive levels of overcrowding inside the prison,' he said.

'The conditions are not very hygienic. She will need money to survive, to get legal representation, to buy medicine - and she potentially could be facing a long stay in prison.'

'I'm devastated that my little girl is in this place. I'm scared to death for her. Our family just wants her home safe,' her mother Lisa Evans (L) said

The cocaine was concealed in the packaging of more than 15 headphones Ms Sainsbury said she was given the morning of her flight home.

'It came to her already packaged and concealed and she put it straight in her suitcase. She's very naive,' Khala told 9 News.

Cassandra grew up on the Yorke Peninsula before moving to Adelaide and has three huskies Buster, Bella and Rex living with her and Mr Broadbridge.

'She has her full life ahead of her, and now its all put on the line because of this. We miss her so much, and since we have very little contact with her its very hard,' her sister said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing assistance to an Australian woman arrested in Colombia in accordance with the Consular Services Charter.

'Due to our privacy obligations, we are unable to release further information,' it said.

Prison inmates are searched in the El Buen Pastor women's prison at Bogota
Theresa May lashed back at Jean-Claude Juncker tonight after poisonous briefings claiming she is clueless about Brexit negotiation.

The PM insisted the EU chief is finding out she is a 'bloody difficult woman' amid signs that relations with Brussels are plunging to new lows.

A bitter row has erupted after a detailed account of a dinner between Mrs May and Mr Juncker was leaked to a German newspaper.

Dismissing the briefing as 'Brussels gossip' tonight, Mrs May - who has spent the day campaigning in the West Country - highlighted Tory grandee Ken Clarke's grudging praise of her as a 'bloody difficult woman'.

'I think what we've seen recently is that at times these negotiations are going to be tough,' she told the BBC.

'Now during the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described by one of my colleagues as a bloody difficult woman. And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker.'

Row: Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker discussed Brexit at a working dinner in No 10 last week (pictured) - but EU sources have repeatedly leaked details from inside talks

Theresa May, pictured at an election event in Cornwall today, has brushed off the leaks about her meeting with Mr Juncker last week as 'Brussels gossip'

Asked if he had found that out in their meeting, Mrs May said: 'What I have done is set out a very clear picture of what I want to see from a Brexit deal for the United Kingdom.'

The pair clashed over how the talks will be conducted, including whether the UK must immediately agree to pay a divorce bill and when rights for expats will be settled.

Guy Verhofstadt, the EU parliament's chief negotiator has waded into the row today

Mr Verhofstadt accused the Prime Minister of not 'understanding' the scale of the fight she faces in the looming negotiations

The EU parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, has ramped up tensions by demanding Mrs May 'get real' and saying she did not yet 'understand' the scale of the fight she faces.

Tory Eurosceptics have accused the EU of trying to 'bluff' its way out of a weak negotiating position and claim that Mr Juncker is bent on trying to 'punish' Britain for voting Leave last year.

Mrs May and Mr Juncker are said to have clashed repeatedly during the working dinner in Downing Street last Wednesday night.

Theresa May made a stop at a chip shop in Mevagissey, Cornwall, today as she rallied the Tory troops in the West Country.

The PM seemed to be uncertain about how she should eat her snack with the cameras trained on her

Mr Verhofstatdt posted on Twitter today: 'Any deal requires a strong & stable understanding of the complex issues involved.

'The clock is ticking - it's time to get real.'

An EU source claimed Mr Juncker was 'vexed' that the Prime Minister refused to sign off the EU's mid-term review of its annual budget until after the June general election.

It means that without unanimous from all EU nations approval the spending plans, including a proposal to send more money to Africa to stem the flow of migrants, is 'frozen'.

The source told the BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler that Britain has a 'completely different reading' of the Brexit situation compared to Brussels.

'They gave Juncker no warning at all and told him the night before he came to dinner. They have no idea how Brussels works', he said.

Another source close to the EU negotiation team said: 'The word 'echec' [French for failure] came up several times.

The report in a German newspaper suggested the President of the European Commission emerged from the dinner describing Mrs May as 'delusional' and saying he was 'ten times more sceptical' about the prospect of securing a deal.

The detailed account  thought to have come from Mr Juncker's chief of staff Martin Selmayr, who is nicknamed 'the monster' by his boss  was seen as an attempt to undermine Mrs May.

He was said to have concluded that the chances of the talks failing were now 'over 50 per cent'.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats seized on the report to claim the PM was 'complacent' about a 'disastrous' Brexit.

While the row with the EU raged on, Mrs May was out campaigning in Cornwall today

Mrs May and Mr Juncker embraced in Downing Street last Wednesday ahead of the dinner to discuss the Brexit talks - she says that the leaks are merely gossip by pro-Brexit MPs say that the leaks are malicious

The working dinner, which included Mr Juncker (second left) and chief negotiator Michel Barnier (second right) at Downing Street broke up after around 90 minutes (pictured) and has been described by Brussels sources as a disaster

Mrs May dismissed the reports, pointing out that they were at odds with the Commission's public description of the meeting as 'constructive'.

Mrs Merkel (pictured at the EU summit in Brussels on Saturday) voted with the other EU leaders to take a hard line position on the Brexit talks

But she also said the incident proved the negotiations 'are at times going to be tough' and showed the need for her 'strong and stable leadership'.

'There will be 27 countries on one side and of course there is the UK negotiating for the UK,' Mrs May said.

'I believe that we can get a deal that's good for the UK and good for the rest of the European Union.

'But how much more important is .. to actually ensure that we have the strong and stable leadership here in the United Kingdom to stand up for the UK, to fight for the UK and to get the best possible deal.

'There's only a choice of one of two be able to do that.

'It's either going to be me or Jeremy Corbyn.'

Government officials also said they 'did not recognise the account' of the meeting with Mr Juncker.

The report claimed Mrs May and Mr Juncker clashed repeatedly during the working dinner in Downing Street last Wednesday night. The PM said that the UK was not obliged to pay an estimated 52billion divorce bill, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

She also reiterated her desire to 'make Brexit a success', only for Mr Juncker to reply: 'Brexit cannot be a success'. After the Prime Minister raised the prospect of settling a deal on the rights of EU and British citizens living abroad in June, Mr Juncker reportedly said: 'I think you are underestimating this, Theresa.'

He is also said to have produced copies of Croatia's EU entry agreement and the Canadian free trade deal in frustration to emphasise the complexity of such deals.

According to the report, Mr Juncker phoned Angela Merkel following the dinner to complain about the Prime Minister's approach, telling her 'Theresa May is living on another galaxy, she is deluding herself.'

In a seemingly orchestrated move, the intervention is said to have prompted the German Chancellor to warn the UK about the 'illusions' of securing a good deal.

The dinner was held to discuss plans for Brexit talks before EU leaders met to finalise negotiating demands on Saturday.

In a show of unity, the bloc's leaders took just minutes to sign off the blueprint before firing a volley of warnings at Mrs May ahead of talks.
Isis militants trained children to behead their victims using sinister home-made mannequins constructed from a girl's head taped to a plastic torso, according to Iraqi forces.

A macabre plastic body, which had a rubber child's head from another mannequin taped to its neck, was discovered face-down in the grounds of ruins of the heritage city of Hatra, which dates back more than 2,000 years and was seized from Isis hands last week.

'This figure was for teaching children how to slaughter people. They showed them how to use a knife to sever the head on this figure, so they would know how to do it on a real person,' Iraqi special forces soldier Ahmed told MailOnline with disgust.

'Then they taped the head back onto the mannequin to give the children further practice.'

Disgusting: Iraqi special forces said the figure pictured above was for 'teaching children how to slaughter people'. Ahmed told Mailonline: 'They showed them how to use a knife to sever the head on this figure, so they would know how to do it on a real person. Then they taped the head back onto the mannequin to give the children further practice'

Despoilment: As well as the 'beheading' mannequin, a similar figurine with a removable head taped to a torso was found inside a temple, lodged on top of an ancient statue that ISIS militants had beheaded. Riddled with bullet-holes, the statue was one of many priceless artefacts that militants and their young recruits used as target practice

'Preteen' terrorists: A tiny ISIS uniform, emblazoned with a velcro patch showing the ISIS black flag was also found near the site, designed to fit a child as young as six or seven years old. The Caliphate Cubs is the name given to 'preteen' children who have been brainwashed with ISIS ideologies and trained to fight and kill for the terror group

Ammunition discovery: Soldiers from Iraq's Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), made the gruesome discoveries in the ruins of the historic city when they liberated it on Thursday after launching a surprise attack on an area controlled by ISIS militants for almost three years

Soldiers from Iraq's Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), made the gruesome discovery in the ruins of the historic city when they liberated it on Thursday after launching a surprise attack on an area controlled by ISIS militants for almost three years.

A similar mannequin with a removable head taped to a torso was found inside a temple, lodged on top of an ancient statue that ISIS militants had beheaded. Riddled with bullet-holes, the statue was one of many priceless artefacts that militants and their young recruits used as target practice.

'They chopped off all the heads of the statues here and they shot out the sculpted faces of ancient gods and goddesses high up on the walls that they couldn't reach,' Ahmed explained.

In a bizarre twist, militants used the sickening mannequins as gruesome classroom aides while also banning the use of any mannequins in clothes shops across its Iraqi territory, telling shopkeepers that such figures were idolatrous.

Terror aid: In the ancient Pagan temple of the Sun Goddess, children as young as six were trained to become miniature ISIS fighters and cold-blooded killers, according to soldiers now guarding the ancient site. Ahmed told MailOnline the figurine pictured above was used as a 'beheading' teaching aid for children

Gruesome find: The sinister plastic torso, which had a rubber child's head from another mannequin taped to its neck, lay face-down in the grounds of ruins of the city of Hatra, which dates back more than 2,000 years.

Historic site: ISIS's sick training of children is the second time the ancient city of Hatra has gained notoriety in the last few years. It was the setting for the opening scenes of the fictitious horror film the Exorcist, and the possession of the female character was induced by contact with an artefact taken from the site

Horror: The phenomenon of 'cubs of the Caliphate' has been among the most sickening stories to emerge from Isis' reign of terror. Videos have emerged of children as young as five or six being trained to kill

Brainwashing: Interviews with children who escaped have revealed that they are forced to join by evil tactics such as executing parents if they refuse to accept it. ISIS has also released several videos, including one earlier this year, showing young children carrying out brutal executions of adults, training with weapons, and pledging allegiance to ISIS

'They think that depictions of faces are haram (forbidden) by Islam.' He pointed out ancient relief sculptures, the faces of which had been obliterated by gunfire.

In the ancient Pagan temple of the Sun Goddess, children as young as six were trained to become miniature ISIS fighters and cold-blooded killers, according to soldiers now guarding the ancient site.

A tiny ISIS uniform, emblazoned with a velcro patch showing the ISIS black flag was found nearby, designed to fit a child as young as six or seven years old.

Caliphate Cubs is the name given to 'preteen' children who have been brainwashed with ISIS ideologies and trained to fight and kill for the terror group.

ISIS has released several videos, including one earlier this year, showing young children carrying out brutal executions of adults, training with weapons, and pledging allegiance to ISIS.

'They trained children here as well as adults because they know the Iraqi forces won't kill children so they make the perfect fighters,' said Special Forces soldier Ammar.

'They used this temple because the corridors are long and the ceilings high, making it ideal for military training exercises. And, because the building is so historically important, they felt safe in there because they knew the Iraqi Air Force wouldn't bomb it.'

Victory: Iraqi troops make the V for victory sign after capturing the desert city but they were disgusted to discover what it had been used for. 'They trained children here as well as adults because they know the Iraqi forces won't kill children so they make the perfect fighters,' said Special Forces soldier Ammar

Desert stronghold: ISIS commandeered the 2,000 year-old ruins of Hatra for their headquarters, from where they ran their top-secret children's training camp for almost three years. They sparked international outrage when they used explosives and bulldozers to level parts of the site shortly after seizing control

Firefight: According to local residents, the temple at Hatra was fiercely guarded at all times by IS fighters, but only senior ISIS leaders were allowed to enter the premises. In last week's battle, ISIS militants fiercely defended their headquarters in the ancient city, hiding anti-aircraft guns under historic arches which they used to target Iraqi helicopters

ISIS's sick training of children is the second time the ancient city of Hatra has gained notoriety in the last few years.

It was the setting for the opening scenes of the fictitious horror film the Exorcist, and the possession of the female character was induced by contact with an artefact taken from the site.

In corners of the temple, beneath ISIS graffiti scrawled across the ancient walls, abandoned training equipment for the Caliphate Cubs, including weight-lifting benches and exercise bikes, stood in corners piled with junk.

Another part of the temple had been turned into a workshop for making car bombs, armoured with metal plating and bodywork ripped from hundreds of Iraqi military vehicles abandoned when ISIS stormed into the area in June 2014. Piles of mortar shells and artillery equipment were found lying around in other areas of the historic site.

ISIS commandeered the 2,000 year-old ruins for their headquarters, from where they ran their top-secret children's training camp for almost three years.

They sparked international outrage amongst historians when they used explosives and bulldozers to level parts of the site shortly after seizing control.

According to local residents, it was fiercely guarded at all times by IS fighters, but only senior ISIS leaders were allowed to enter the premises.

In last week's battle, ISIS militants fiercely defended their headquarters in the ancient city, hiding anti-aircraft guns under historic arches which they used to target Iraqi helicopters.

Destruction: ISIS militants left little evidence of the sinister activities they carried out in the ancient ruins during their reign of terror in the region

Scorch and run: Militants even attempted to peel stickers bearing their logo from the walls of makeshift offices in their Hatra headquarters

Trashed: Piles of mortar shells and artillery equipment were found lying around in other areas of the historic site

PMU commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis had instructed his forces to avoid inflicting further damage to the ancient city, and ISIS positions were successfully obliterated by Iraqi Air Force precision air strikes with only minimal impact on the historic ruins.

Desperate residents in the adjacent modern town of Hatra, who fled on Tuesday as the Iraqi Army carried out airstrikes on the town, said they had effectively been held prisoners in the town for almost three years, forbidden from leaving except to visit relatives in nearby ISIS-controlled towns.

ISIS militants commandeered televisions, satellite dishes and mobile telephones - a pile of which stood in one corner of the ancient city - and terrified people into submission by public executions, multiple abductions and meting out harsh public punishments which townspeople were forced to attend for misdemeanours such as having a short beard or wearing long trousers.

Ammar said ISIS militants left little evidence of the sinister activities they carried out in the ancient ruins during their reign of terror in the region.

'As soon as we launched this offensive, the militants prepared to flee into the desert by evacuating fighters and destroying evidence of their organisation,' he explained.

Ruined: In corners of the temple, beneath ISIS graffiti scrawled across the ancient walls, abandoned training equipment for the Caliphate Cubs, including weight-lifting benches and exercise bikes, stood in corners piled with junk

More than 750 of residents fled the town as the PMU marched across the desert with heavy weapons and some said that tens of militants had already left, fleeing towards Iraq's Anbar Province - a desert region formerly occupied by Al-Qaeda before ISIS took over in 2014 - and the Syria borders

Militants even attempted to peel stickers bearing their logo from the walls of makeshift offices in their Hatra headquarters.

More than 750 of residents fled the town as the PMU marched across the desert with heavy weapons and some said that tens of militants had already left, fleeing towards Iraq's Anbar Province - a desert region formerly occupied by Al-Qaeda before ISIS took over in 2014 - and the Syria borders.

They left the area heavily mined and rigged with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

PMU military engineering units deactivated tens of IEDs from the site and some of the sprawling grounds inside the ancient fortified walls have still not been fully cleared. PMU forces said 20 ISIS fighters were killed in the ruins of the ancient city of Hatra alone.

PMU military engineering units deactivated tens of IEDs from the site and some of the sprawling grounds inside the ancient fortified walls have still not been fully cleared. PMU forces said 20 ISIS fighters were killed in the ruins of the ancient city of Hatra alone.

UNESCO said it welcomed the liberation of the ancient site - the remains of the first capital of the Arab Kingdom - saying Hatra had been 'one of the symbols of the cultural cleansing plaguing the Middle East.'

Iraq's PMU comprises mostly Shia Muslim fighters who have gained a reputation as fearless soldiers - who say they are reclaiming the idea of 'jihad' as a righteous holy war against ISIS.

This belief has made them one of few military forces battling the global threat of ISIS who exhibit a lack of fear of the infamous militants, and fighters say their military victories over the last two and a half years have struck terror into ISIS in Iraq.

UNESCO said it welcomed the liberation of the ancient site - the remains of the first capital of the Arab Kingdom - saying Hatra had been 'one of the symbols of the cultural cleansing plaguing the Middle East.'

It said it was working with the Iraqi government to send an emergency assessment mission to the site as soon as security conditions allowed.

Another part of the temple had been turned into a workshop for making car bombs, armoured with metal plating and bodywork ripped from hundreds of Iraqi military vehicles abandoned when ISIS stormed into the area in June 2014. Piles of mortar shells and artillery equipment were found lying around in other areas of the historic site
Passengers on an Aeroflot flight from hell have told how severe turbulence was like being 'spun around in a washing machine' with 'blood everywhere'.

Witnesses have recounted seeing blood on the ceiling of the plane, which was flying between Russia and Thailand.

Some were convinced they were going to die, fearing the Boeing 777 was crashing to the ground as oxygen masks were released.

More images were revealed today of the aftermath of the turbulence which led to some 27 passengers suffering broken bones, concussion, cuts and bruises some 40 minutes before the tourist flight was due to land at Bangkok.

Three babies were among the injured. At least four people require surgery for serious injuries, and several are expected to be in hospital for several weeks.

Blood everywhere: Footage taken inside the plane shows passengers lying injured in the walkway

A man with a face covered in blood sits injured on the plane, where 27 passengers suffering broken bones, concussion, cuts and bruises

A heroine emerged from the shocking incident, a young medical student named only as Ekaterina, who treated the victims after the 15 seconds of carnage onboard the Russian plane.

Russian criminal investigators have opened a preliminary probe into the horror, interviewing all those on board to ascertain if correct procedures were followed.

Passenger Liliya Kovernikova said: 'Nothing suggested we were in a dangerous situation, but suddenly the plane was thrown around three times.

'Everybody and everything on board got spun around like being inside a washing machine.'

Passenger Liliya Kovernikova recalled the turbulence was 'like being inside a washing machine'

The footage reveals the chaos as more than two dozen passengers were hurt in the turbulence

These were the chaotic scenes on board an Aeroflot plane as major turbulence threw passengers all over the cabin on a flight between Russia and Thailand

She suffered a minor injury to her neck, but said: 'Almost nobody was wearing belts.

'We were not warned to fasten seat belts. The majority of passengers were peacefully filling in their immigration cards at that moment, thinking about landing.'

Medical student Ekaterina said: 'Blood was everywhere, on armrests, on the ceiling because many hit it. I have a medical training so of course I could not sit quietly.'

Dramatic video shows passengers lying injured in the aisle after they were hurled up to the ceiling

The crew gave her a first aid kit and she helped injured passengers amid fears that some had broken their spines.

'I told some of them not to move and to lie where they were on the floor.

'It was dangerous to lift them because obviously their spines might have been broken.

'When I finished with the first aid and nothing more could be done, we just had to wait.'

Passengers claimed that when the aircraft landed in the Thai capital, there were no ambulances waiting to help the 27 wounded.

It was claimed they had to wait an hour for medical assistance.

In the event, there were broken bones - but not spines.

Margarita Dovgaya and her one year old daughter Viktoria were taken to hospital following the terrifying ordeal

At least 27 people - including three babies - suffered major injuries including suspected broken bones in the carnage which happened en route from Moscow to Bangkok

Hairdresser Margarita Dovgaya and her one year old daughter Viktoria are among the victims.

She said: 'We were sitting near the tail. Everyone around us was in blood.

'We were so lucky to have got only severe bruises, people next to us had open bone fractures.

'We are in hospital now. All is okay, but I can't forget this horror that I saw with my own eyes, this feeling of flying from floor to ceiling when you've lost control.

'Other people are flying next to you.'

At first she feared her daughter was seriously injured after being thrown against the cabin ceiling, but Xrays showed she had no broken bones.

The plane's captain Alexander Ruzov claimed the turbulence lasted 15 seconds, and that in 30 seconds he had the aircraft back on its correct path.

'The G-force period lasted for just for 15 seconds, and within the next 30 seconds the crew has made the correct decisions and brought the plane back to its usual route,' he said.

'The problem was over. But unfortunately those passengers who were not wearing seat belts got traumatised.'

Babies were thrown out of their mothers' arms by the force of the severe turbulence one hour before landing in Bangkok, said a source

People walking in the aisle and without seat belts on were injured. Luggage as well as food and drink from the trolleys was strewn all over the cabin

Another passenger called Katya said: 'The sky was clear, no single cloud.... And all of a sudden - one blow. Then another. People were simply hurled out of their seats. Many were thrown into the aisle.'

Some on board spoke of three massive jolts to the aircraft. Some managed to grab the back of a seat, others fell on their fellow passengers.

Others came round on the aisle floor.

'Oxygen masks were thrown out and people tried to grab them,' reported newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets after speaking to victims. 'It was like a hell all around - blood and shouting.

'In the first moments, people did not even tried to help each other because all thought it was the end, the plane was about to crash.'

A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Thailand said: 'All the injured people - 27 of them, 24 Russians, 3 from Thailand - were taken to a local hospital.

'Mainly they have broken limbs, mostly arms. They got bumps, twists, concussion. Nine Russians left hospital very soon, and by Monday night, 15 Russians remained in the hospital.

'The eldest victim is 69, the youngest is just one year old. Four passengers are facing serious surgeries. They won't have to pay for medical costs.

'Employees of the embassy are with the passengers.'

A diplomat added: 'Four people were operated on yesterday, but doctors say a few more patients will need surgery.'

Some will remain in hospital for several weeks because of the seriousness of their injuries.

Babies were thrown out of their mothers' arms by the force of the severe turbulence one hour before landing in Bangkok, said a source.

People walking in the aisle and without seat belts on were injured.

Luggage as well as food and drink from the trolleys was strewn all over the cabin.

Evgenia Zibrova posted a shocking video with the comment: 'Numerous air pockets one hour before landing led to broken bones, internal and external bleeding.

'Babies are covered in bruises, people lost consciousness. Thanks that we are still alive. Aeroflot, please help these people.'

The plane - a Boeing 777 and packed with tourists - hit several successive areas of turbulence en route to Bangkok.

The flight crew kept control of the aircraft and the injured passengers were rushed to hospital on arrival in the Thai capital.

The plane - a Boeing 777 (file picture) and packed with tourists - hit several successive areas of turbulence en route to Bangkok

A source said 19 people were hospitalised in Bangkok, with two undergoing urgent surgery.

Others were treated with first aid after the incident on board flight SU 270.

A source told Interfax: 'A Boeing 777 plane suddenly got into the zone of strong turbulence before starting to descend.

'There had been no order to fasten seat belts at that moment.

'As a result, the plane was jolted by hundreds of metres, and some passengers were thrown into the space between the chairs suffering traumas.'

The Russian embassy is providing assistance to the injured passengers.

Aeroflot later said that none of the passengers suffered serious spinal injuries, despite earlier reports.

However, 17 remained in hospital with 'contusions' and 'fractured or broken bones'.

The airline agreed to pay all medical costs of the injured.

The airline said: 'An experienced crew piloted the flight.

'The pilot has more than 23 thousand flight hours, and the co-pilot has over 10,500 flight hours.

'However, the turbulence that hit the Boeing 777 was impossible to foresee.

'The incident was caused by what is known in aviation as 'clear-air turbulence'.

'Such turbulence occurs without any clouds, in clear skies with good visibility, and weather radar is unable to alert of its approach. In such situations, the crew is unable to warn passengers of the need to return to their seats.'
Marine Le Pen's election aides have laughed off allegations that she plagiarised a former opponent's speech during her May Day address to supporters.

Florian Philippot, deputy leader of the National Front party, said he 'completely owns up' to the fact that Le Pen's speech resembled one by Francois Fillon a month ago.

But he told Radio Classique that the reference was a deliberate 'nod-and-a-wink' to Fillon in order to 'launch a real debate' concerning French identity.

Marine Le Pen has been accused of copying parts of her May Day speech to supporters (pictured) from another address given by former conservative rival Francois Fillon

Speaking on April 15, Fillion talked about France's 'three maritime borders', ties with 'Italy, our sister', and quoted former Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau - all references that appeared word-for-word in Le Pen's speech

French newspapers and media all highlighted the similarities between Le Pen's speech at her rally on May 1 and one by Fillon given on April 15 before he was knocked out of the presidential contest.

In a speech to her supporters at a rally north of Paris on Monday, Le Pen - who faces centrist frontrunner Emmanuel Macron in a final vote on May 7 - spoke of France's long and proud history and the country's roots in western Europe.

Le Pen mentioned France's 'three maritime borders' with the English Channel, North Sea and the Atlantic. That same phrase used by Fillon on April 15.

The presidential outsider also described France's borders and ties with 'Italy, our sister' - again a phrase used in Fillon's April 15 speech.

Former French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was also evoked in Le Pen's speech, as she quoted him saying: 'Once a soldier of God, and now a soldier of Liberty, France will always be the soldier of the ideal.'

Florian Philippot (left), National Front deputy leader, and David Rachline (right), Le Pen's campaign manager, said the move was a deliberate attempt to woo Fillon's voters

The same Clemenceau quotation was also used, word-for-word, by Fillon.

Le Pen's campaign manager David Rachline said Le Pen's speech was a form of tribute to her conservative rival and perhaps and attempt to woo his supporters.

The reference "was appreciated, including by all of Mr Fillon's supporters," Rachline told France 2 television.

Current opinion polls predict that Macron will beat Le Pen on May 7, with Macron seen getting about 60 per cent of the votes.

Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon also failed to get through to the final, second round vote.
More than 300 community, academic, and government leaders from the five-state region will gather at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, May 31-June 2, for the 22nd annual Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) Summit.

The summits theme is: Huntsville and the TVC: Smart. Innovative. Collaborative and will be hosted by Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and USSRC CEO Dr. Deborah Barnhart. Registration is available at www.TennValleyCorridor.org.



The summit will include four main sessions focused on Huntsvilles and NASAs role in the region, the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit throughout the TVC and the federal missions in the region.



Speakers for the event include:



 Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-4)

 Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (TN-3)

 Barry E. Wilmore (Captain, U.S. Navy), NASA Astronaut

 Mayor Tommy Battle, City of Huntsville

 Todd May, director, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

 Dr. Deborah Barnhart, president/CEO, U.S. Space & Rocket Center

 Dr. Phil Oldham, President, Tennessee Tech University

 Dr. Angeline Godwin, president, Patrick Henry Community College

 Jay Stowe, senior vice president of Distributed Energy Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority

 Liz Porter, senior vice president, Federal Energy and Environment, Leidos

 Steve Cope, TVC Board Chair and director of marketing and public relations, Avion Solutions, Inc.

There will be more than 40 speakers, panelists and presenters, ranging from university and community college presidents to entrepreneurs to top leaders of the regions federal contractors at the 22nd annual TVC Summit, said TVC Board Chairman Steve Cope.



A full agenda can be found here.



The TVC is supported by its Leadership Council, which includes member organizations CNS Y-12 in Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Tennessee, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Tennessee Tech, Teledyne Brown Engineering, UCOR in Oak Ridge, Morris Creative Group and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.



Sponsors of the TVC Summit include:



Presenting SponsorsAerojet Rocketdyne, Cummings Research Park, Dynetics, Jacobs, Teledyne Brown Engineering and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center;

Contributing SponsorsAerospace Park: Tri Cities Airport; Boeing; Energy, Technology, and Environmental Business Association; Iris Networks; Leidos; Middle Tennessee State University and Roane State Community College;



Supporting SponsorsAuburn Research; Energy Huntsville; Materials and Chemistry Laboratory, Inc.; Information International Associates; Mesa Associates; Radiance Technologies; SunTrust; Torch Technologies; Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama; ULA and Victory Solutions;



And Friends of the TVCAdvanced Turbine Engine Company; Avion Solutions; Center for Rural Development; Chambliss Law Firm; Container Technologies Industries, LLC; DESE Research, Inc.; Intuitive; Nuclear Fuel Services; StrataG and Tennessee Strategies.



Registration is open and sponsorship opportunities are available for the TVC Summit. For more information and to register, please visit www.TennValleyCorridor.org.


George Osborne took a front page swipe at Theresa May today on his first day as editor of the London Evening Standard as it branded Brexit 'an historic mistake'.

The newspaper warned General Election victory will not provide the mandate the Prime Minister wants for withdrawal negotiations unless she spells out her intentions.

The editorial said: 'There's nothing wrong with repeating election campaign slogans; the problem comes when the election campaign amounts to no more than a slogan. If you ask for a blank cheque, don't be surprised if later it bounces.'

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The Evening Standard issued a call for Theresa May to spell out her plans in greater detail

Former chancellor George Osborne arrives at the London Evening Standard offices today

About 100 taxi drivers arrived outside the London Evening Standard offices in Kensington, West London, today to protest at the new editor George Osborne's links to Uber

The taxi drivers held placards, including some referencing a Daily Mail story that revealed Mr Osborne allegedly told aides to lobby Boris Johnson against curbs on the online taxi firm Uber

Hours after arriving for his first day, Mr Osborne's debut front page carried the splash headline 'Brussels twists knife on Brexit'.

This was over a story detailing European Parliament negotiator Guy Verhofstadt's use of Twitter to lampoon the Prime Minister's 'strong and stable' slogan.

In an editorial, the Standard branded Brexit 'an historic mistake' and said accounts of Mrs May's dinner with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker show 'how unrealistic were the claims made about the strength of Britain's hand'.

While a majority voted for EU withdrawal on June 23, the electorate was not asked whether it wanted to leave the single market, cease co-operation on science and security or to provide subsidies to farmers to replace those from Brussels, said the editorial.

A poll carried in the paper showed that British voters do not want 'clumsy' immigration controls which would fuel inflation resulting from Brexit, it said.

'No-one should assume that the referendum gave a mandate to the Government to answer any of these questions about Britain's future. It did not,' said the editorial.

Mr Osborne approached the Standard offices at Northcliffe House in Kensington, West London, where he will begin his new role as editor of the newspaper

Mr Osborne declared he would lead an informative and entertaining Evening Standard as he arrived for his first day as the newspaper's editor today

'A General Election victory for the Conservatives could provide more of a mandate, but only if the Prime Minister and her colleagues spell out in much more detail what their intentions are.

'It's early days, but that is not happening, thanks in part to the failure of the desperately weak Labour leadership to offer a proper opposition.

Osborne lobbying ban Separately today it emerged that Mr Osborne has been handed a two-year ban on lobbying former ministerial colleagues on behalf of his new employers, and told he must not discuss the issue of press regulation with the Government. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments also said Mr Osborne's contract at the Standard must be amended to make clear that he cannot draw on information obtained as a minister for his journalistic work. And the watchdog said he broke its rules by signing the contract before receiving its advice, admonishing him: 'It was not appropriate for you to do so.' Acoba said in a letter that it had found 'no evidence' that decisions taken by him at the Treasury - including financial support for Standard-backed campaigns - were made with his new appointment in mind. In order to mitigate the risk that the paper might gain 'unfair advantage' from his appointment, Mr Osborne was told he must not be personally involved in lobbying Government on behalf of the Standard and must not 'make use directly or indirectly of your contacts in Government to influence policy or secure business' for a period of two years after he left the Cabinet in July. He should not 'draw on, disclose or use for the benefit of yourself or the organisation ... any privileged information available to you from your time in ministerial office', Mr Osborne was warned. Advertisement

'There's nothing wrong with repeating election campaign slogans; the problem comes when the election campaign amounts to no more than a slogan.

'If you ask for a blank cheque, don't be surprised if later it bounces.'

The editorial vowed that the Standard will 'go on holding those in power to account without fear or favour' and will 'argue for a Britain that doesn't retreat within itself but remains engaged in Europe and the world'.

Earlier, Mr Osborne faced a protest by about 100 taxi drivers outside his new workplace shortly after he arrived for his first day as editor.

The former chancellor declared he would lead an informative and entertaining Standard as he walked into its London offices with newspapers under his arm.

He arrived in Kensington at 7.01am, despite previously insisting he would be in the office at about 6.30am to 7am every morning  like his predecessor, Sarah Sands.

And by 10am the taxi drivers arrived to protest at his links to Uber, referring to how he allegedly told aides to lobby Boris Johnson against curbs on the online taxi firm.

However the drivers had left by noon. Mr Osborne's arrival at the newspaper's offices - where MailOnline is also based - came two hours after the first reporter got in.

The former chancellor left Parliament to take up the coveted media position despite having no professional experience in journalism - but, as he arrived, he said: 'It's very exciting to be starting in the new job.'

He added: 'It's a really important time in our country when people are going to want the straight facts, the informed analysis so they can make the really big decisions about this country's future.

'The Evening Standard is going to provide that and it is going to entertain along the way. Now I've got to get in there - we've got a paper to get off stone so I better get started.'

The former chancellor left Parliament to take up the coveted media position despite having no professional experience in journalism

As he walked into the title's offices in Kensington with newspapers tucked under his arm, Mr Osborne said: 'It's very exciting to be starting in the new job'

His appointment to the Evening Standard editorship in March provoked accusations he was juggling too many responsibilities, as he was still a sitting MP

Mr Osborne declined to answer whether he planned to forfeit an additional string of lucrative roles, which include a 650,000-a-year position as an adviser to US investment giant Blackrock.

His appointment to the Evening Standard editorship in March provoked accusations he was juggling too many responsibilities, as he was still a sitting MP for Tatton, Cheshire.

He announced his departure from the seat when Theresa May announced the snap General Election for June 8.

Mr Osborne, who represented the constituency since since 2001, said he was leaving Parliament 'for now', leaving open the possibility of a future political comeback.

As he swept through the glass doors leading to the Standard newsroom in Kensington his progress was tracked by his own eyes - from a poster parked opposite.

A picture of Mr Osborne on a mock Evening Standard front page read: 'George Osborne: Lowering London's Standards.'

Mr Osborne announced his departure from the Tatton seat when Theresa May announced the snap General Election for June 8

As he swept through the glass doors leading to the Standard newsroom in Kensington his progress was tracked by his own eyes - from a poster parked opposite

Excited about first day in new job @EveningStandard. Without fear or favour we'll provide the facts & analysis - and entertain along the way  George Osborne (@George_Osborne) May 2, 2017

The Standard warned election victory will not provide the mandate Theresa May (pictured today in Cornwall) wants for withdrawal negotiations unless she spells out her intentions

The billboard had been placed there by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which accuses him of favouring internet-based cab-hailing service Uber.

LTDA general secretary Steve McNamara said: 'George Osborne behaved like a paid-up lobbyist for Uber, abusing his position to stop the introduction of much-needed regulations on public safety.

Osborne's SIX jobs 1. Member of Parliament - Osborne earns 75,000-a-year to represent the 65,000 people living in Tatton in Cheshire. He has now announced his departure from the seat 2. Consultant - He also pockets 650,000 for four days-a-month at the American financial giant, BlackRock 3. Editor - It was sensationally announced in March he will become editor of the Evening Standard. His salary has not been revealed 4. Academic - He also took an estimated 120,000-a-year academic position as the first ever Kissinger Fellow at the Arizona-based McCain Institute for International Leadership 5. Chairman - He was given the unpaid role in charge of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a body aimed at creating jobs in northern England 6. Speaker - The 45-year-old has made 786,450 from 14 speeches given mostly to banks and other City institutions since leaving Number 11 Advertisement

'He's now working for BlackRock, a firm that has invested millions of pounds in Uber - a 50 billion company that paid just 400,000 in tax in the UK last year.

'This lack of transparency means taxi drivers fear for the Evening Standard's future as the impartial voice of London with George Osborne as editor.'

Just before Mr Osborne entered his new workplace, he said on Twitter: 'Excited about first day in new job @EveningStandard. Without fear or favour we'll provide the facts & analysis - and entertain along the way.'

His use of 'without fear or favour' prompted a good-natured response from Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, who replied: 'Excuse me, Mr Editor: you just nicked @FT motto, without fear or favour ... but good luck anyway.'

Since he was removed from his role as Chancellor by Mrs May last year, Mr Osborne has declared almost 1million in speaking fees in the Parliamentary Register of Members' Interests.

In addition to his one-day-a-week Blackrock role, he is receiving 120,000 as a fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington DC. His salary at the Standard has not been disclosed.

Former minister Esther McVey, who represented the Conservatives in Wirral West from 2010 until 2015, is due to run for Mr Osborne's seat in the forthcoming election after being selected as the Tory candidate.
A new mother is giving her father her breast milk for his morning coffee, in the hope it will help him beat cancer.

Jill Turner, 30, from Rugby, Warwickshire, hopes the unusual tip will help her father Fred Whitelaw, 64, beat bowel cancer, after reading that human breast milk can help kill off cancerous cells.

Jill had baby Llewyn in October, so has been able to express enough milk to supply Fred with a daily dosage.

Jill and her father Fred, who is using her breast milk in his morning coffee in the hope of killing off his cancer

Fred said he was hesitant at first, but with nothing to lose, he has been adding it to his morning coffee.

The new mum is now encouraging others to see the benefits of breast milk.

Jill, an admin assistant for the NHS, said: 'I was devastated when I found out about my dad's diagnosis, I wanted to help him in any way I could and that's when I started to give him my breast milk.

'I was researching online when I came across an article for alternative uses for breast milk.

'Since then my husband, Kyle, 30, has used it on his eczema and we have also used it on Llewyn's conjunctivitis.

New mother Jill had baby Llewyn in October, and once she's expressed enough milk for him, she makes sure her dad has some too. Left, Jill, Llewyn and Fred, and right, Fred and Llewyn

Jill had started using breast milk for things like her partner's eczema and her son's conjunctivitis but her family were surprised when she found the link with cancer

'But when I mentioned to my family that it has links with cancer they thought I was joking and never did I think that my dad would agree to drink it.

'But he too realised he had nothing to lose and thought why not try it.

'I got myself a double pump and started expressing enough for dad, but I am always conscious that I need to make sure there is enough for Llewyn first.

'So far he's only been drinking it for a month, so we don't know if it has helped in any way just yet, but he is having more tests done in a few weeks so it will be interesting to see what the results are.

'Everyone has been really supportive, my mum even bought us a table top fridge that we keep in the kitchen and anything in there is for my dad.

'Breast milk lasts for eight days so I mark each container with a sell by date to ensure dad knows what he can drink.

'He doesn't drink it on its own though, for now he has it in coffee but I'm hoping he will also have it in his porridge if I can express enough.

Jill's father Fred, pictured with her left, was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015, and went into remission, but the cancer returned. Baby Llewyn's arrival last autumn meant they could try an alternative therapy for Fred

'I just want to do anything that I can to help and I don't see the problem in giving my dad something that is natural.'

Fred was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015 but despite given the all clear, it returned last April.

Jill added: 'In September last year my dad was given an operation to try and kill and the cancerous cells, it was really successful however not all of the cells were destroyed.

'Doctors thought he would be in hospital for weeks recovering, but he was home within eight days.

'No matter what he has thrown at him he never gives up, nothing seems to stop him.

Fred is due for a check with his oncologist in four weeks which will show any changes to his blood levels

'Since his operation he has been on two lots of chemo as the first type didn't seem to be working.'

Jill is a strong supporter of breast feeding and is keen to promote the added benefits.

Jill said: 'A scientist has found a protein in the milk that can help kill off cancer cells without harming other cells.

'At the moment it's just trial and error, there isn't much research available which is a shame.

'I know there is a professor in Europe who has been researching into the effects but no one has taken her seriously, hopefully she will get the funding she needs to carry it further.

'I'm not clued up on the portions but I just hope it makes some sort of difference.

'We will be seeing an oncologist in four weeks' time who regularly takes my dad's bloods so it will be interesting to see if there is any change in his levels.'

Research carried out by the University of Gothenburg and Lund University in 2010 appeared to show a compound found in breast milk could kill off cancer cells without harming other cells.

According to Science Daily, the substance, dubbed HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumour cells) had been found in breast milk before but it was not possible to test on humans.

The study took patients with bladder cancer and found they urinated dead cancer cells after treatment with breast milk.

But, Caroline Geraghty, Cancer Research UK's senior cancer information nurse, said: 'There is no evidence that drinking breast milk can treat bowel cancer.

'If a cancer patient wants to know whether a treatment that has not been prescribed is safe and could be helpful, they should discuss this with their doctor before taking it.'
A woman has filmed the moment police arrested an intruder she found hiding underneath her house in Queensland.

Casie Scott, the Liberal National Party's candidate for Townsville, posted a video to her Facebook page showing police escorting the man from her home.

In the footage Ms Scott says: 'Absolutely appalled and still shaking a bit, to just get home and find a grub under my house being arrested by two of our fantastic local police officers.'

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Casie Scott (pictured), the Liberal National Party's candidate for Townsville, has filmed the moment police escorted a man off her property after she came home to find him underneath her house

'This is the second time in 12 months that I have had some vile grub in my house where I live with my daughter.

'It's completely unacceptable and I just can't for the life of me understand that this is what's become of Townsville.

'Townsville deserves so much better than this, the leadership that is lacking from the current Labor members in this town is absolutely appalling, it's time to stand up and see action so that we can be safe again in our own homes.'

The footage shows a man in a singlet being escorted out the gate of Ms Scott's property by two officers, who are holding each of his arms.

In the caption on her Facebook post she described the man as a 'vile grub'.

She added: 'Thank god police were swift in their actions and my daughter was not home. The Townsville crime crisis is out of control.'

Ms Scott said: 'This is the second time in 12 months that I have had some vile grub in my house where I live with my daughter'. Pictured is the man being escorted from her property by police
The EU is facing a furious backlash for making British expats a bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations after Jean-Claude Juncker dismissed the prospect of a quick deal on the issue.

Eurocrats are said to have been plotting for weeks to frustrate an early agreement - despite both sides repeatedly stating their determination to provide certainty for citizens living on the continent and EU nationals in this country.

Senior Tories said people would be asking why Brussels was causing 'unnecessary suffering' by dragging its feet on a settlement.

The row erupted after a detailed account of a dinner between Theresa May and Mr Juncker last week was leaked to a German newspaper.

Mrs May and Mr Juncker embraced in Downing Street last Wednesday ahead of the dinner to discuss the Brexit talks - she says that the leaks are merely gossip by pro-Brexit MPs say that the leaks are malicious

Speaking at a campaign rally in West Lancashire yesterday, Mrs May said the claims about the meeting proved the Brexit negotiations would be 'tough'

The briefing - thought to have come from Mr Junckers chief of staff Martin Selmayr - branded the PM delusional and warned the prospects of no Brexit deal being struck were now '50-50'.

After Mrs May raised the prospect of a deal on reciprocal rights of EU and British citizens living abroad in June, Mr Juncker apparently said: I think you are underestimating this, Theresa.

The EU chief was said to have been astonished Mrs May thought the highly-complex issue could be resolved in June, just weeks after the General Election.

But despite his supposed shock, documents show the EU had known for weeks about the Prime Ministers hoped timetable.

In a briefing to the EUs 27 other member states, Mr Tusks chief of staff Piotr Serafin noted that the demand was not feasible, the Daily Telegraph reported.

But he also warned that the EU should not be seen to block an early deal.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd today insisted she did not accept the way Britain's negotiation had been represented, and demanded that.

But leading Tory Eurosceptics accused the EU of trying to bluff its way out of a weak negotiating position.

Speaking on the campaign trail last night in Ormskirk, Lancashire, Mrs May dismissed the reports, pointing out that they were at odds with the Commissions public description of the meeting as constructive.

But she also said the incident proved the negotiations are at times going to be tough and showed the need for her strong and stable leadership.

From what I have seen of this account, I think it is Brussels gossip, the Prime Minister said.

Look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place which was that the talks had been constructive.

Mrs Merkel (pictured at the EU summit in Brussels on Saturday) voted with the other EU leaders to take a hard line position on the Brexit talks

Tory MP Nigel Evans told MailOnline: 'Sadly no detailed deal looks likely until after June 8.

'To avoid unnecessary suffering and trauma to those affected on both sides an in principle agreement could be signalled today.

'Theresa May has already given a positive signal to this and so it is only the EU that are holding this up and people will ask why.'

Leading Eurosceptic Tory MP Bill Cash said of the leaks: Using this sort of language is to totally underestimate the British people, the Conservative Party and indeed Mrs May. She has shown she has a will of iron and nerves of steel.

Mrs May and Mr Juncker are also said to have clashed repeatedly on other topics during the working dinner in Downing Street last Wednesday night.

The Prime Minister said the UK was not obliged to pay an estimated 52billion divorce bill, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

She also reiterated her desire to make Brexit a success, only for Mr Juncker to reply: Brexit cannot be a success.

At the dinner, Mr Juncker is also said to have produced copies of Croatias EU entry agreement and the Canadian free trade deal to emphasise the complexity of such deals.

According to the report, Mr Juncker phoned Angela Merkel following the dinner to complain about the Prime Ministers approach, telling her: Theresa May is living on another galaxy, she is deluding herself.

In a seemingly orchestrated move, the intervention is said to have prompted the German Chancellor to warn the UK about the illusions of securing a good deal.

The working dinner, which included Mr Juncker (second left) and chief negotiator Michel Barnier (second right) at Downing Street broke up after around 90 minutes (pictured) and has been described by Brussels sources as a disaster

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A toddler was rescued on Saturday at a Chinese shopping centre after getting his hand stuck in an escalator while playing without supervision.

The two-year-old boy fell down on the escalator and soon got his hand trapped in a gap. Standing near the top of the escalator, he was dragged to the bottom of the machine by its rolling belt.

Firefighters freed the boy's hand before sending him to a nearby hospital. The extent of his injuries remains unknown.

A two-year-old boy was caught on camera getting his hand trapped in an escalator in China

He fell down to the staircase and got his hand trapped. The rolling belt dragged him down to the bottom of the escalator

The incident took place in a shopping mall at Tongren city of Guizhou on the afternoon of April 30.

CCTV footage shows a group of seven children playing on the escalator as they go up and down the stairs.

One two-year-old boy in a green vest, can be seen taking the escalator down alone and soon losing his balance and falling down on the stairs.

His left hand was trapped in the gap between the rolling belt and the stairs.

Soon, he was dragged all the way down to the bottom of the escalator.

His mother noticed and rushed down the escalator and hit the emergency stop at the bottom of the escalator.

His mother stayed beside until the firefighters came to rescue and free his hand from the gap

Rescuers used a hydraulic spreader to open up more space between the gap to free his hand

According to Guizhou Metropolis Daily, Firefighters and medics arrived the scene shortly to free the boy's hand.

Tongren firefighters first inserted an iron pry bar to widen the gap before using the hydraulic spreader to carry out the rescue.

About 15 minutes later, the boy's hand was free. He was taken to the hospital.

Although the boy survived, the seriousness of his injuries was not known.

An iron pry bar was first used to widen the gap between the rolling belt and the staircase

He was sent to a nearby hospital immediately after the rescue. The seriousness of his injuries were not reported

Incidents on escalators in China are a common occurrence.

In March this year, a six-year-old boy in Chongqing, south-west China, had a very similar accident. He got his hand stuck in the escalator while playing.

In January, an elderly man in China tumbled down a moving escalator for as long as one minute until he was eventually rescued.
A 14-year-old girl was fatally shot on the front lawn of a church next door to her middle school in Alabama.

The girl was shot on her left side at St James Baptist Church in Montgomery at about 3pm on Monday after students were released from Bellingrath Middle School, the city's police chief Ernest Finley said.

Her parents were at her bedside at the hospital when she was pronounced dead an hour later.

The 14-year-old girl was shot on her left side at St James Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, at about 3pm on Monday after students were released from Bellingrath Middle School

Many students were walking home from school, or still in the building (pictured above), when the shooting took place

Finely initially said that police were searching for two persons of interest - who could also be students - following the shooting

One person of interest has been taken into custody in connection to the shooting, but charges are still pending. The investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.

Finely initially said that police were searching for two persons of interest - who could also be students - following the shooting.

Many students were walking home from school, or still in the building, when the shooting took place. Classes had ended at 2.45pm.

Video courtesy of WSFA

'It is always, when you talk about young ones, the young babies,' Finley said on Monday. 'We are very serious about raising adults and we want them to get to that particular age and be successful citizens.

'I just hope and pray every day for safety, and in Montgomery we just don't need this to happen.'

State Superintendent Michael Sentance said in statement after the shooting Monday that the school would offer counselling to students, according to WFSA.

One person of interest has been taken into custody in connection to the shooting, but charges are still pending. The investigation into the shooting is still ongoing

State Superintendent Michael Sentance said in statement after the shooting Monday that the school would offer counselling to students

'The loss of a child through violence is a moment that diminishes us all,' Sentance said. 'Education is, by its nature, about the promise of the possibilities of life, hope, and the future. All of that was cruelly taken away this afternoon.

'We cannot fully express our sorrow for the student's family, her friends, and others touched by her life.

'Tomorrow, the Montgomery Public Schools will offer assistance to those who grieve the loss of this young student. And we pray for all.'

Tom Salter, Montgomery Public Schools spokesperson, said in a statement to parents that the girl's loss is a tragedy for the community, according to AL.com.

'We offer sympathy and support to the family, and we pray that God will guide our community out of the troubling social ills that are hurting our children,' he said.

Police have asked anyone with information to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 334-215-STOP. A reward is being offered.
Swiss intelligence has said the nation's first jihadist terror attack is a certainty as extremism spreads across Europe.

The country's defence minister warned it was not a matter of whether there would be an atrocity in Switzerland but, rather, when it will occur.

At the same time, the Swiss spy agency said the greatest threat on home soil came from so-called lone-wolf fanatics or small groups.

Swiss intelligence has said the nation's first jihadist terror attack is a certainty as extremism spreads across Europe (file picture)

Swiss Defence Minister Guy Parmelin was speaking today at a conference in Bern where the spy agency released its 2017 situation report.

It comes as Europe tries to come to terms with recent attacks in London and Paris linked to Islamist extremism.

'In Switzerland, the terrorist threat remains at a heightened level,' the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) said in its annual assessment of risks faced by Switzerland.

'The most likely terrorist threat in Europe and thus also in Switzerland will continue to come from jihad-motivated terrorism,' it said. 'Further attacks must be expected.'

The FIS said the greatest danger was that individuals or small groups inspired by ISIS would carry out attacks in Switzerland or use it as a base to plot other attacks.

A man who killed at least 12 people when he drove a lorry into a crowded Berlin Christmas market (pictured) had also visited Switzerland and may also have obtained a gun there

FIS said it had identified more than 500 internet users with Swiss connections who were using social media to spread jihadist ideas.

Concerns about extremism and potential attacks led to Swiss voters last year backing a law extending the national spy service's authority to monitor internet traffic, deploy drones and hack foreign computer systems.

Switzerland has so far not been targeted directly in an Islamist attack, but it has had several links to attacks that elsewhere in Europe last year.

Two men who took hostages and killed a priest in northern France last July had travelled via airports in Geneva and Zurich.

Another man who killed at least 12 people when he drove a lorry into a crowded Berlin Christmas market had also visited Switzerland and may also have obtained a gun there.

'It is not yet clear whether these links to Switzerland played any role in the attack,' the FIS report said.

It comes as Europe tries to come to terms with recent attacks in London (pictured) and Paris linked to Islamist extremism

With no indication the fight against ISIS was coming to a close, there 'remains the considerable risk that the aggressive battle for the survival of the caliphate, fought using every means at their disposal, will increasingly be carried to Europe', the FIS report said.

Radicalised individuals returning from war zones were the most likely perpetrators, although the number of people leaving Switzerland to fight in Syria and Iraq had declined.

FIS director Markus Seiler said: 'With all the attacks we have seen, like in Sweden and France, we see from time to time there are links to Switzerland.

'Switzerland is not an island,' he added. 'Without being too alarmist, we cannot rule out that our country, being part of the West which jihadists consider as hostile to Islam, may one day be the target of a terror attack.'
Tony Little (pictured) was the head master at Eton College for 13 years

Parents who send their children to private schools should get a number of incentives such as free air travel as a reward, according to the former head of Eton.

Tony Little, who was the headteacher at the prestigious Berkshire school for 13 years, said the UK could follow what a number of overseas institutions do.

He added that independent schools in the Middle East have started rewarding parents for choosing them in a bid to create a brand loyalty.

Mr Little said a 'number of benefits' have been offered to parents and in some cases they have been given reduced fares for flights.

He said although it is a 'tacky' way of persuading parents to choose a school, he admitted it has worked 'extraordinarily well', reports The Times.

Speaking at the Headmasters' and Headmistresses Conference in London, Mr Little said: 'Parents, as a consequence of having chosen a school, or part of a group of schools, there are a number of benefits that come their way.

'There are school systems now aiming at achieving on paper at least, neutral fees.

'That is to say, the amount of benefits they can derive - for example reduced (fares for) flights on a particular airline - match or exceed the fee that they are paying in the first place.

'I'm sufficiently old-fashioned to think this appalling, tacky and why should we go there, but it kind of works, people like it.'

Tony Little was the head master at Eton College (pictured) for 13 years and said British schools could follow other overseas institutions

Although Mr Little has not seen the initiative being used in the UK he added that British independent schools could adopt the idea.

He is now the chief academic officer for the Gems network of schools, which is aiming to introduce a reward programme for parents in the United Arab Emirates.

The scheme is to be put in place to 'enrich and enhance the lives of parents, students and teachers'.

He added that a 'group of schools' might be able to launch the rewards initiative in the UK and suggested it would be hard for an individual institution to do so.

Mr Little said a 'number of benefits' have been offered to parents who decided to send their child to a certain school and in some cases they have been given reduced fares for flights

Neil Roskilly, Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Schools Association, today said the rewards system would not work for the vast majority of British independent schools.

He said: 'Most parents who send their children to some of the 2,000 independent schools in the UK just want the best for their children.

'Offering them a reward might not be appropriate and it would only work with some of the elite schools, such as Eton or Harrow.

'Eton and Harrow can attract interest from overseas and therefore offering rewards like this could be an incentive for some parents looking to send their children there.'

Rosemary Taylor, who is a former head teacher and editor of The Good Schools Guide, said it is a very 'un-British thing to do'.

Speaking to The Times, she said: 'Any suggestion of marketing or buying when it comes to our children leaves us slightly uncomfortable.

'It is different in the overseas market which tends to be much more commercial.'
Adriano Zumbo has come under fire for allegedly ripping off his staff and treating them poorly.

The world-famous patissier has been accused of withholding superannuation from his staff, not paying them their proper rates and failing to pay them for overtime.

The explosive allegations were made by a group of five employees in an interview with A Current Affair on Tuesday.

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Adriano Zumbo pictured together with his new girlfriend My Kitchen Rules star Nelly Riggio

Mr Zumbo, an Australian chef, was confronted at the airport by A Current Affair about the alleged discrepancies

Mr Zumbo admitted to discrepancies in his payroll system, according to A Current Affair.

He reportedly told the program his staff 'will be paid what is owed to them'.

Mr Zumbo, an Australian chef, was also accused of treating his staff 'like nothing'.

Furious employees spoke out against the famed chef and business owner during Tuesday night's program.

'We might be pastry chefs, we love what we do. But we're not going to be treated like we're nothing,' one employee told A Current Affair.

Furious staff members have spoken out against the famed chef and business owner

The claims were made by his employees (pictured) in an interview which aired A Current Affair

'It's not fair. It's really not fair. How can you expect these amazing cakes to be produced? How can you expect the staff to love what they're doing if you're destroying everything they have? 'You're destroying their passion?' a second employee said.

'It's not OK to treat people like this,' one woman said.

One Zumbo employee, Samantha, claimed she was not paid superannuation for six or seven months.

She said she discovered her superannuation policy number was allegedly 'fake' and the super company had no record of her on their system.

Mr Zumbo built his business empire off the back of appearances on Masterchef and his own cooking show on Channel Seven Zumbo's Just Desserts

The boss: 35-year-old Zumbo hired girlfriend Nelly Riggio to work in the research and development team for his patisserie in September

Fellow employee Kate claimed her superannuation payments were also withheld.

Kate also claimed she discovered a fake policy number on her payslips.

Alexandra told A Current Affair Zumbo told staff members they would no longer be paid overtime.

She said the news was delivered to them in a meeting in January.

'If you write overtime, it's crossed out,' she told A Current Affair.

Zumbo also made headlines in January when he went public with his girlfriend, Nelly Riggio, who was a contestant on My Kitchen Rules in 2016

Zumbo also made headlines in January when he went public with his girlfriend, Nelly Riggio, who was a contestant on My Kitchen Rules in 2016

A representative from the Australian Council of Trade Unions claimed Zumbo's operations were illegal, according to the documents she was shown.

She said the business was 'actually falsifying documents' by providing fake policy account numbers for employees' superannuation accounts.

When Zumbo was confronted by A Current Affair, he said it all seemed 'very strange' and 'of course I'm going to try and make it better'.

His employees said it was 'absolute bullsh**' Zumbo was ignorant to what was going on.

Mr Zumbo owns and runs 10 patisseries across Australia, six in Sydney and four in Melbourne

Mr Zumbo built his business empire off the back of appearances on Masterchef and his own cooking show on Channel Seven, Zumbo's Just Desserts.

He owns and runs 10 patisseries across Australia, six in Sydney and four in Melbourne.

Zumbo also made headlines in January when he went public with his girlfriend, Nelly Riggio, who was a contestant on My Kitchen Rules.

Mr Zumbo owns and runs 10 patisseries across Australia, six in Sydney and four in Melbourne
Extremist Samata Ullah has been jailed for putting his hacking skills to the use of ISIS by trying to help them encrypt their messages

A jihadi computer hacker from south Wales who stored military information on James Bond-style USB cufflinks has been jailed for eight years.

Samata Ullah, 34, created a 'one-stop online shop' of information for terrorists from his Cardiff bedroom, in a bid to help ISIS fighters around the world.

It can be revealed today that the unemployed IT expert - a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin - was traced to his bedroom following the arrest of a contact in Kenya who was allegedly planning an anthrax attack.

British counter-terrorism police tracked him down after being passed intelligence by the FBI, who had been handed the information from authorities in Kenya.

Ullah's home was raided last October and the former insurance worker was found with 30 metal cufflinks used to store extremist material.

Judge Gerald Gordon today sentenced Ullah to eight years imprisonment, of which he will serve two thirds behind bars, and a five-year extended licence period.

The judge said: 'He spent effectively all of his time on his own in his bedroom.

'He had taught himself substantial IT skills, the use of which lie at the heart of the prosecution case.'

Ullah stored missile information on USBs hidden inside these cufflinks found at his home

The cufflinks also contained a computer programme to help jihadis hide their communications

Ullah became a key member of a group calling itself the 'Cyber Caliphate Army' - a disparate gang of computer experts who specialise in 'hacking and writing death writs'.

One of the USB cufflinks, which Ullah had bought on a Chinese website, had a PDF version book titled 'Guided Missile Fundamentals' and another called 'Advances in Missile Guidance, Control, and Estimation.'

The first was a manual used by the US to train rocket engineers until the 1970s and the second explained the science behind missile guidance systems.

In messages, Ullah said he hoped his 'brothers' in ISIS could use the information to 'learn the basics of rocket design' as part of a plan 'to destroy or jam drones and planes'.

Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said: 'This defendant represents a new and dangerous breed of terrorist.

'He is a cyber-terrorist who deployed his, not inconsiderable, self-taught information technology skills, to further the cause of terrorism and in particular the cause of ISIS.

'All this he did from the relative safety, or so he thought, of his bedroom in Cardiff.'

Divorced Ullah, who previously held down a job in the pensions department of Legal and General, ran the scheme from the house he used to share with his mother before she moved out.

In a video Ullah posted online he told jihadis how to hide their communications. He used voice-changing technology to hide his Welsh accent in a bid to evade detection

Ullah's terraced home in Cardiff was raided after US and British spies tried to track him down

Another cufflink was loaded with an open-source computer operating system known as Linux, which is popular with computer programmers.

He hoped the programme would allow ISIS fighters to communicate anonymously online to avoid detection.

Cyber jihadi's scheme in numbers Ullah used 50 email addresses and nine phone numbers.

email addresses and phone numbers. He hijacked 30 Twitter handles to advertise his websites online.

Twitter handles to advertise his websites online. Police seized 150 digital devices - including mobile phones, laptops and computers.

digital devices - including mobile phones, laptops and computers. The devices contained eight terabytes of data - the equivalent of 2.2million copies of War and Peace.

terabytes of data - the equivalent of copies of War and Peace. Officers also recovered 30 pairs of metal cufflinks containing tiny USB drives Ullah had bought from eBay. Advertisement

Ullah also worked on a website which was mainly in English and published 'everything about the Islamic State, fatwa [religious rulings] and articles.'

Ullah was arrested in the street in Cardiff on September 22 last year in order to stop him from deleting material on his computer.

Security services managed to track him down after Kenyan authorities, backed by US law enforcement, arrested a man called Ali Mohammad Abdi.

Abdi's mobile phone revealed an encrypted Telegram chat group which included Ullah among its members.

On a shelf at his home, officers discovered a computer disk with messages from the Cyber Caliphate Army, which helped prove his links to ISIS.

David Cawthorne, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing: 'The primary criminality involves the use of the internet and communication with others, including those involved with Daesh (ISIS).'

Ullah's computer was seized after an arrest of Mohamed Abdi Ali (right), an extremist who was plotting an anthrax attack in Kenya, led security services to his Cardiff home

A psychiatric report on behalf of the defence claimed that Ullah suffers from autism and was not a danger to the public but Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said the prosecution did not accept that view.

Ullah pleaded guilty to being a member of ISIS, preparing acts of terrorism and providing training in encryption programmes.

However, he denied a charge that he had ' directed the activities of an organisation, namely ISIS,' by directing others to conduct computer hacking of military information and opponents of the group and the charge was ordered to lie on file.

Ullah had been expected to fight the charges but pleaded guilty at a hearing on March 6.




With a mission to honor men and women who have made significant and lasting contributions to the health and health care industries, the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame announced the six health care professionals selected as the Hall of Fames 2017 class at a luncheon on Belmont Universitys campus Tuesday. Created by Belmont University, the McWhorter Society, and founding partner the Nashville Health Care Council, the Hall of Fame will induct these individuals at a ceremony in October.President of the Nashville Health Care Council Hayley Hovious said, This impressive group of inductees represents some of our states greatest talent.With individuals from all across Tennessee who have made a significant impact on their communities through their work as leaders, politicians, practitioners, scientists, philanthropists and innovators, the Hall of Fame is honored to induct such a deserving group of health care heroes.The nomination process began in January and was open to practitioners, executives, entrepreneurs, mentors, teachers, scientists, researchers, innovators, or any person with a connection to the health or health care field. Nominees must have: Been born, lived, or have worked in Tennessee; Made a significant impact and lasting contribution to health care at the local, state, national, or international level; Exhibit the highest ethical and professional character; and Serve as an outstanding role model in their community."Among the more than 30 highly qualified nominees, inductees were chosen by a selection committee made up of health and health care leaders from across the state. Selected inductees represent some of Tennessees greatest health and health care pioneers, leaders, and innovators," officials said.The 2017 inductees include: Dr. Dorothy Lavinia Brown: first African American female surgeon in the south, TN House of Representative and General Assembly member, longtime educator and chief of surgery at Riverside Hospital and clinical professor of surgery at Meharry, Advocate for womens health, rights, and education; Dr. William Bill Frist: former U.S. senator and majority leader, Vanderbilt Transplant Center founder, first heart and lung transplant surgeon at Vanderbilt, founder of Hope Through Healing Hands and NashvilleHealth, senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center; Joel Gordon: 47-year health care veteran who introduced physician ownership/joint ventures as a business structure, founder of GeneralCare and Surgical Care Associates, co-founder of HealthWise of America, owner of Gordon Group Investment Management; Dr. Harry Jacobson: physician, entrepreneur, and investor who founded/co-founded eight companies, past chair of the Nashville Health Care Council board of directors, executive-in-residence at Belmont Universitys Jack C. Massey College of Business, past vice chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt University and former CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Dr. Stanford Moore: received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1972 for his work with proteins and their composition which led to the first understanding of the complete chemical structure of protein and ultimately informed decades of scientific work surrounding disease and drug discovery; graduate of the University School of Nashville and Vanderbilt University Dr. Donald Pinkel: first director and CEO of St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital; and received the Lasker Award for Medical Research, Kettering Prize for Cancer Research and Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research; led the development of the first treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, increasing the cure rate from four to 50 percent.In addition to recognizing Tennessees most influential health and health care leaders, The Hall of Fame will serve as an on-going educational resource to document the rich history that has contributed to Tennessees position as a leader for national health care initiatives.Belmonts President Dr. Bob Fisher said, One of the things I am incredibly grateful for is Belmonts placement in Tennessee  a state that is widely recognized as a central hub for health care in the United States, with Nashville at the helm. Our community continues to see the efforts of so many as individuals and organizations take significant strides towards shaping and advancing the health and health care industries. Meanwhile, Belmont continues to play an increasingly significant role in undergraduate, graduate and executive health care education. The induction of these six health care legends, and those that will come after them, will help Belmont inspire the next generation of health care greats, while further promoting our states booming success as the nations premiere health care hub.Created in 2015, the Hall of Fame has previously inducted 14 members including Jack Bovender, Dr. Stanley Cohen, Dr. Colleen Conway-Welch, Dr. Thomas Frist, Jr., Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr., Dr. Henry Foster, Dr. Ernest Goodpasture, Dr. Frank Groner, Jack C. Massey, R. Clayton McWhorter, Dr. David Satcher, Dr. Mildred Stahlman, Dr. Paul Stanton and Danny Thomas.
Satellite images have revealed how North Korea is preparing to trial its arsenal of submarine rockets amid fears of an impending nuclear test.

Pictures of the Nampo Naval shipyard on the country's west coast show dictator Kim Jong-un has 'imported' a new barge so his navy can carry out underwater test missile launches.

The 68ft barge is identical to another seen at the Sinpo South shipyard on the east coast which has been involved in up to six test launches since 2014.

Satellite images have revealed how North Korea is preparing to trial its arsenal of submarine rockets amid fears of an impending nuclear test. Pictures of the Nampo Naval shipyard (pictured) on the country's west coast show dictator Kim Jong-un has 'imported' a new barge so his navy can carry out underwater test missile launches

The 68ft barge is identical to another seen at the Sinpo South shipyard (pictured) on the east coast which has been involved in up to six test launches since 2014

According to 38North, which monitors North Korea, there has been no sign that the barge was constructed on the west coast, suggesting it may have been acquired from abroad.

The design is similar to a Russian submersible test stand barge, but it is not clear which country it was imported from.

They are often used to test missile tubes and launch systems before they are installed in submarines.

38North said: 'The discovery of a second missile test barge may have a number of implications for the future of North Koreas SLBM program that appears to be an important priority for Kim Jong Un.

'A key consideration is the timing of the acquisition of the barges. If both were acquired at the same time, it would imply that Pyongyang had planned a more extensive test program than it has so far conducted.

'However, since the second barge seems to have been acquired three years after the first, this could mean that North Korea is planning to accelerate its SLBM test program to include a west coast component or develop new SLBM designs, or that it may deploy a ballistic missile submarine with the West Sea Fleet. None of these possibilities are mutually exclusive.'

Kim Jong-un (pictured) has accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region

The satellite images come amid fears North Korea is plotting to carry out a sixth nuclear test and amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and the US

The satellite images, both taken on April 19, come amid fears North Korea is plotting to carry out a sixth nuclear test and amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and the US.

This morning Kim Jong-un accused the US of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of American bombers carried out training drills in the region.

The supersonic B-1B Lancers were deployed in a joint training exercise with the Japanese air forces.

North Korea said the bombers conducted 'a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects' in its territory at a time when US President Donald Trump and 'other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike'.

'The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war,' the North's official KCNA news agency said this morning.

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.
Two men started a fight on a plane as other horrified passengers looked on and a desperate stewardess tried to pull them apart before allegedly being 'choked' by one of the brawlers.

The video, filmed on a stationary Japanese ANA flight to Los Angeles, was posted online after the fight at Narita International Airport on Monday night.

It shows the men, one wearing a bright red and white Hawaiian shirt, throwing punches at each other from their seats.

The video, believed to have been filmed on a Japanese ANA flight, was posted online yesterday

It shows the men, one wearing a bright red and white Hawaiian shirt, throwing punches at each other from their seats

One shouted, 'Someone help! This guy is crazy,' as airline staff tried to break them up.

Other passengers can be heard begging the pair to 'please stop' as a baby cried in the background.

When the man in the Hawaiian shirt walks away, the other shouts 'Get this guy off this plane.'

Just when the brawl appeared to have stopped, the man in the bright shirt charged back down the aisle and continued throwing punches.

Japan Today reported that a 44-year-old American was charged with assault after he allegedly choked an ANA employee on a plane on Monday night.

An ANA spokesman told the paper that the brawl broke out just before the plane was due to depart.

Fuji TV quoted police as saying an American passenger was allegedly drunk and started acting in an unruly manner.

One shouted, 'Someone help! This guy is crazy,' as a desperate stewardess tried to break up the fight

The fight follows a string of plane dramas, which started earlier this month when 69-year-old Dr David Dao was left bloodied after he was dragged from a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville when the airline overbooked.

The troubled airline was hit another blow when three-foot Simon the rabbit was killed during a flight from Heathrow.

It is believed he froze to death after accidently being placed in temperatures of 0 to 2 degrees.
Luke Reeves (pictured) had been a handsome and popular teenager but his parents Robert and Becky said his character changed after he took Roaccutane

A devastated family has claimed their 21-year-old son killed himself after the acne drug he took changed his personality.

Luke Reeves had been a handsome and popular teenager but his parents Robert and Becky said his character altered after he took Roaccutane.

They said he became irrational, lethargic and finally suicidal. They believe the change in his personality was down to the enduring side effects of the drug and are speaking out to raise awareness.

Mrs Reeves, from Copford, Essex, said: 'Luke loved life, he was up for anything. He was popular.'

His father added: 'He was clever and got good grades at GCSE and he was ambitious. He got himself an apprenticeship to be an accountant.'

Luke underwent a four month course of Roaccutane when he was 16 to clear his acne. The drug carries warnings of side effects including depression and mood changes.

But his parents said his character change was permanent and Mrs Reeves, 45, who is also an accountant, said: 'There were lots of little things which were side effects of the drugs.

'He could not concentrate and he became obsessive and compulsive. He was irrational. He became sensitive to high temperatures and I took him to be tested for diabetes because he was so thirsty.'

Mr Reeves, 50, added: 'He was still loving but he could not be affectionate. He had no motivation and lost his ability to reason.'

Luke first attempted suicide last summer and again in October. He was in the intensive care unit for nine days before being transferred temporarily to the Lakes Mental Health unit in Colchester.

He took his life last month and his inquest was opened and adjourned today.

Mr Reeves, a building services consultant, said: 'The emergency services were fantastic but what Luke needed was to talk to a psychiatrist.

'He saw four different people but he needed just to talk to the same person. The service is so under-resourced.'

Robert and Becky Reeves, from Copford, Essex, want to raise awareness of the possible link between Roaccutane and long term depression

Mr and Mrs Reeves, who also have a daughter, Megan, 19, and son, Justin, 16, want to raise awareness of the possible link between Roaccutane and long term depression.

Mr Reeves said: 'In the medical profession there is no proven link. Luke took the drug at 16 and died when he was 21. They don't connect it. It is only when you learn how prevalent these stories are, it becomes apparent.

'He needed more support. We want parents to realise how dangerous these drug can be. We want this to be investigated.'

The couple are devout Mormons and said their faith had helped to cope with their grief. Mrs Reeves added: 'We are devastated but we believe we will see him again.'

The Government agency, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulation Authority, has reviewed the safety of the drug but said the results were inconclusive.

However, it advised patients to contact their doctor straight away if they experienced any psychiatric disorders.

Drug manufacturer Roche released a statement following the tragic suicide of Mr Reeves which his parents link to its product Roaccutane.

Commenting on the situation Dr. Rav Seeruthun, Medical Director at Roche, said: 'We are deeply saddened to hear about Luke and offer our sympathies to his family during what must be an incredibly difficult time.'

Expanding on the impact of Roaccutane, known in the industry as isotretinoin, he added: 'We recognise that severe acne can lead to changes in mood, self-esteem and in some sufferers lead to depression.

'This is why the information provided with isotretinoin carries a warning that some patients may experience mood changes, including an increase in depression.

Luke underwent a four month course of Roaccutane (pictured) when he was 16 to clear his acne

'And whilst authors recognised several limitations in their research, a retrospective study published in the BMJ in 2010 didn't establish a link between isotretinoin and an observed increased risk of suicide.

'Additionally, the MHRA concluded in December 2014, that whilst a causal link cannot be ruled out, it was not possible to identify a clear increase in risk of psychiatric disorders in people who take isotretinoin compared to those who do not.'

The statement continued to address that information that comes with the tablets explains the risks and informs patients to speak to their doctors if they do feel depressed.

It said: 'The patient information leaflet, which is inside every pack of isotretinoin tablets, also tells patients that - before they start taking the medicine - they must tell their doctor if they are depressed, or if they have felt this way in the past.

'If anyone believes they have suffered a side effect to any Roche medicine they should report it to us directly or to the MHRA via its yellow card system.

'Particular care needs to be taken in patients with a history of depression and all patients should be monitored for signs of depression and referred for appropriate treatment if necessary.

'However, discontinuation of isotretinoin may be insufficient to alleviate symptoms and therefore further psychiatric or psychological evaluation may be necessary.

'Isotretinoin is a prescription only medicine and therefore can only be safely used under the care and supervision of suitably qualified healthcare professionals. This way, specialists with the most experience can advise patients about the important safety issues associated with isotretinoin.'

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, or see samaritans.org for details.
Kent Stork died aged 66 after suffering a heart attack

A retired florist and expert in African violet flowers died after collapsing on stage while performing in a play called The Art of Murder.

Kent Stork, 66, suffered a heart attack 10 minutes into his lead-role performance at the Theater in the Valley in Henderson, Nevada, USA.

He died in hospital. Nine hours later, his second grandchild, Lydia, was born in the same hospital where he died.

Speaking to the Las Vegas Review Journal, his wife of 46 years, Joyce, revealed that Mr Stork was supposed to celebrate his 67th birthday today.

She said: This was a big weekend on our calendar. Life just changes very quickly.

During his life, Mr Stork was a high school teacher for speech, English and drama for a year before moving into the floral industry in their then-hometown of Fremont, Nebraska.

The couple specialized in selling African violet flowers after they were given it as a gift but killed it accidentally.

Mr Stork, a proud florist who could 'grow anything' according to Mrs Stork, began studying the flower and soon became known as an expert of the flower.

He was 10 minutes into his lead-role performance at the Theater in the Valley in Henderson, Nevada, USA, when he collapsed

Speaking in an interview to the Fremont Tribune in 2005, Mr Stork said: Once we knew what to do, we had success almost immediately.

"I have a lot of the 4-H'er (a program set up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture) in me who pays attention to details and does what needs to be done."

Over the years, the couple won many awards for their blooms, including first place at the Cincinnati African Violet show and the Bronze Medal Award for Achievement in Horticulture, one of the highest awards given by the African Violet Society of America, in 1989.

This led to Mrs Stork serving the AVSA as convention chair and becoming a president of the Lincoln African Violet Society.

They later traveled all over the world to speak to people about the flowers and Mr Stork became a leader in the field of hybridizing the flowers.

Mr Stork was an expert in African violent flowers after he and his wife started researching how to keep the plants alive for longer

Mrs Stork also developed school programs for children about the flowers and the pair wrote an advice column about how to get the best blooms for the African Violent Magazine.

Mr Stork got involved in the theater circuit after being called on stage one evening as a participant. Mrs Stork revealed that acting boosted his confidence and he planned to fully indulge in it as a hobby when the pair retired.

Mr Stork is survived by his wife, his sons, Zach and Nathaniel, his sisters, Janine Carlson and Kris Hallstrom, and his grandchildren, William and Lydia.
Michael Roth, Germany's Europe minister, has accused the UK of believing in the 'fairy tale' that 'things will be better after Brexit'

Germany's Europe minister has accused the UK of believing in a Brexit 'fairy tale' in the latest attack on Theresa May's plans for leaving the EU.

Michael Roth criticised the Prime Minister on Monday when he tweeted: 'The British government must abandon myth that all British will be better off post-Brexit.'

His remarks came after details of a meeting between Mrs May and European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker leaked, which appeared to show a huge divide between London and Brussels on the terms of an exit deal.

An unnamed source told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that Mr Juncker left the dinner with Mrs May last week 'ten times more sceptical' that a deal could be reached within the two-year time limit.

Mr Juncker reportedly told his staff that Mrs May was 'in another galaxy' after she laid out her stall ahead of official negotiations.

On Tuesday another 'high level' source spoke to the BBC and said the word 'echec' - French for 'failure' - came up repeatedly in the aftermath of the meeting.

Mr Roth waded into the row over Brexit with this tweet, which marks a major departure from his previous assertion that Britain could get 'special status'

Mr Roth's comments came after details of Theresa May's meeting with Jean Claude Juncker leaked, which appeared to show a gulf between London and Europe over leaving the EU

'Before that the word wasn't used very often in connection with Brexit but now we're told we have to prepare for the possibility of a failure scenario', the insider claimed.

The source told the BBC's Europe editor Katya Adler that Britain has a 'completely different reading' of the Brexit situation compared to Brussels and 'has no idea how Brussels works.'

Among the more contentious points raised at the dinner was Mrs May's assertion that EU treaties do not require Britain to pay any kind of bill for leaving the EU, it was reported.

Mr Juncker countered that refusal to pay up would result in Britain failing to secure a trade deal, according to insiders.

A call from Mr Juncker to Chancellor Angela Merkel the following day allegedly resulted in her altering a speech to include the line that some in London had 'delusions' about the Brexit process.

Mr Roth's tweet comes in stark contrast to his previous assertion that Britain could be granted 'special status' in Europe if talks move ahead swiftly.

Mr Juncker reportedly finished the meeting 'ten times more sceptical' that a deal could be achieved, before Angela Merkel accused Britain of holding on to 'delusions' about Brexit

Speaking in August 2016, Mr Roth said: 'Given Britain's size, significance and its long membership of the European Union, there will probably be a special status which only bears limited comparison to that of countries that have never belonged to the European Union.

'I want relations between the European Union and Britain to be as close as possible,' he said, but added: 'There cannot be any cherry picking.'

The British government has tried to downplay reports of a rift with Europe, saying it 'does not recognise' the characterisation of Mrs May's meeting with Mr Juncker.

A government spokesman pointed to a statement issued by both sides after the discussion calling it 'productive'.

Brexit supporters told MailOnline the claims were 'preliminary scene setting' as both sides attempt to set the tone and played down the risk to the talks as a whole.
An angry father got his own back on council bosses, who fined him 60 for taking his son on holiday during the school term, by paying in coppers.

Paddy Forbes, 49, from Swansea, took his six-year-old boy Tommy-Lee on a week-long trip to Egypt in February, without permission from the headteacher at Gwyrosydd Primary School.

After being hit with the fine a week after landing back in the country Mr Forbes came up with a novel way of settling his debt.

He brought a bucketful of coppers to Swansea Civic Centre on Friday and boldly tipped the lot onto the counter in front of an unsuspecting council worker - before making a swift exit.

Mr Forbes brought a bucketful of coppers to Swansea Civic Centre on Friday and boldly tipped the lot onto the counter in front of an unsuspecting council worker - before making a swift exit

Paddy Forbes, 49, from Swansea, took his six-year-old boy Tommy-Lee on a week-long trip to Egypt in February, without permission from the headteacher at Gwyrosydd Primary School

Mr Forbes, who runs his own transport firm, said: 'As far as I'm concerned that's it paid. They asked for 60 and they got 60.

'It's a ridiculous rule designed to punish working-class families anyway. I can't afford to take everyone away during half-term.

'I came into a bit of money at the time and we may not have got another chance to go to somewhere like Egypt.

'I told the school in advance that I would be taking Tommy-Lee but of course I knew they would fine me anyway. I just took it on the chin.

'They say the rule is designed with the kids in mind but it's nothing to do with the kids - it's just another way of taxing you.

'I was aware I wouldn't get away with it but I made the decision I thought was best for Tommy-Lee. It was a spur-of-the-moment booking while I could afford it.

Mr Forbes got his own back on council bosses, who fined him 60 for taking his son on holiday during the school term, by paying in coppers

'Where is he going to learn more about the world? Sitting in a classroom in Swansea or at an Egyptian temple?

'He was so excited to be in Egypt and I wouldn't have wanted to deny him that opportunity.'

COPPERS CAN ONLY BE USED FOR PAYMENTS UP TO 20p According to the Royal Mint, the 2p coin is legal tender only for amounts up to 20p, while the 1p coin is legal tender for amounts up to 20p. Coins are legal tender throughout the United Kingdom for the following amounts: 100 - for any amount

20 - for any amount

5 (Crown) - for any amount

2 - for any amount

1 - for any amount

50p - for any amount not exceeding 10

25p (Crown) - for any amount not exceeding 10

20p - for any amount not exceeding 10

10p - for any amount not exceeding 5

5p - for any amount not exceeding 5

2p - for any amount not exceeding 20p

1p - for any amount not exceeding 20p Advertisement

Mr said Tommy-Lee benefited 'enormously' from the trip, taking in cultural sights such as the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

He was joined on the holiday by his mother, Kelly, 31, and an auntie and uncle.

Although he now considers the fine paid, Mr Forbes said he would 'not be surprised' if he heard from the council again regarding the way he chose to pay.

He said: 'It's nothing against any of the staff at the Civic Centre. I know it's not their fault.

'But there was no mention of how I had to pay so in my opinion it's settled.

'I was polite to the woman there and like I said, all the money was there.

'I actually ordered all the coppers from the post office and had to wait about a week to get them.

'I went in to the Civic Centre and waited my turn. My friend filmed me and that was that.

'One of the staff and a security guard did have a word with me but I told them the 60 was there in full.

'I expect I'll probably get another letter through the door. A few people have told me it's not legal tender if you pay that much in one pence and two pence pieces.'

According to the Royal Mint, the 2p coin is legal tender for amounts up to 20p, while the 1p coin is legal tender for amounts up to 20p.

Swansea City Council has been contacted for comment.

He was joined on the holiday by his mother, Kelly (right), 31, and an auntie and uncle

Mr Forbes, pictured on holiday, said: 'Where is he going to learn more about the world? Sitting in a classroom in Swansea or at an Egyptian temple?'
Shocking footage has emerged of gangs of yob bikers performing dangerous stunts on busy public roads.

The footage shows the riders pulling wheelies behind moving cars, standing up on the pillion and even waving their hands while riding trial bikes.

The video was posted on Youtube by a group called 'Bikelife Birmingham' last month and has since been viewed more than 1,600 times.

Footage has emerged of gangs of motorbikers pulling illegal stunts on public roads

One biker is shown taking his hands off the handlebars of his bike during a wheelie

Authorities in the city have vowed to crack down on the hoodlum bikers, after a series of incidents were filmed and put online.

The latest video shows the gang of motorcyclists driving through traffic lights and yards behind cars on city streets.

Members of the groups are also filmed swerving as they wheelie along a footpath, while cyclists and pedestrians stand to the side.

Last month, a video emerged showing police cornering a group of illegal bikers as they raced through a Birmingham park.

The gang of riders are shown performing the stunts on public roads, just behind moving cars

Another clip shows the group revving engines and pulling wheelies in a residential area

Half a dozen motorcyclists were captured on film speeding up a road and cutting across a field to escape a police officer in Chelmsley Wood, in the east of the city.

That group were later caught, when police trapped them on a bridge.

A police spokesman has said: 'West Midlands Police have an on-going operation to tackle illegal, anti-social biking.

'We would ask members of the public to help us in our battle to target this kind of behaviour. If you suspect anyone is using a bike illegally, or has a stolen bike, then please report it to us.'
A kangaroo took on the horses in the last race of the day at Cessnook on Tuesday

A kangaroo joined in on the fun in a race at Cessnook by taking on the horses in the final race of the day on Tuesday.

The uninvited roo came hopping up along the fence-line as a strong competitor against the horses and the jockeys.

Suddenly, the kangaroo turned sharply dashing in front of its galloping competitors and making a run for it.

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A kangaroo took on the horses in the last race of the day at Cessnook on Tuesday

The uninvited competitor made his way up the fence line before dashing away

Remarkably, the horses racing in the Hunter Jaguar Land Rover Benchmark 55 Handicap took little notice and the bouncing last minute challenger managed to escape without paying an entry fee.

The race was won by Cunning As A Tiger who is trained by Robert Davies.

Champion Jockey Robert Thompson, who rode the winning horse to success, commented afterwards the brief encounter had been part of the 'game plan' to deter other competition.

'Fortunately, we got away with it with no one injured,' Thompson told Sky Thoroughbred Central.

'Of course, it could have been serious.'

It was the first win for Cunning As A Tiger out of 13 races.
Relief is at hand for any guitarist who has found themselves high and dry before a gig.

Australia's first 24-hour guitar vending machine opened in Melbourne, dishing out all manner of shredding equipment at the push of a button.

The announcement is music to the ears of strung out guitarists who have missed out on performances because of lost equipment.

Guitar hero: Australia's first 24/7 guitar vending machine opened in Melbourne

Te-riff-ic: The announcement is music to the ears of strung out guitarists who have missed out on performances because of missing gear

The Toneshop machine offers electric guitar strings for $8, acoustic strings for $8, five-packs of pics for for $5, capos for $10, straps for $7, as well as leads and drumsticks.

The machine is found outside Clingan Guitar Tone Collingwood, one of the Melbourne's top creative hubs.

Social media has lit up with a chorus of praise for the new machine, which is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia

'That is the coolest thing I've ever seen!,' wrote one Facebook commenter.

'Best vending machine ever,' wrote another.

It's not a world first, however: in the US, a similar 24/7 guitar vending machine is in operation in Memphis.

Hit the right note: Social media has lit up with a chorus of praise for the new machine
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Stunning photos have emerged of an erupting volcano appearing to spew clouds of ash into the Milky Way above.

Dutch photographer Albert Dros camped out under the stars to get the perfect shot of Fuego Volcano in Guatemala as lava was spurting out of its crater.

The 31-year-old said he was 'paralysed with awe' as he watched ash clouds drift up into the night sky - almost appearing to merge into the stars.

Fuego stands 12,346 ft overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua, and erupts multiple times a day.

'Erupting lava is best visible in evening and night, so I was obviously going for that,' Dros said.

'But when I finally saw Fuego erupt up close, combined with the power of its sound, I was paralysed with awe. It was amazing and was one of the most impressive things I had ever seen in nature.

'The real show started as it got darker, Fuego kept erupting and the glowing lava finally became visible. The sight of an erupting volcano is something I was only used to seeing in movies, it was surreal.'

Starry night: Stunning photos have emerged of an erupting volcano in Guatemala appearing to spew clouds of ash into the Milky Way above

Blast off: Dramatic images show lava spurting out of the top of the Fuego Volcano in Guatemala against the back drop of the Milky Way

Albert Dros camped out under the stars to get the perfect shot of Fuego Volcano in Guatemala as lava was shooting out of its crater

The photographer said he was 'paralysed with awe' as he watched ash clouds drift up into the night sky - almost appearing to merge into the stars

Another stunning image shows lava cascading from the top of the volcano, just 11 miles west of Antigua Guatemala, one of Guatemalas most famous cities

The photographer chose a night with clear skies and camped out under the stars to capture the dramatic volcano eruption

He also captured a series of images of the Fuego Volcano in Guatemala erupting at twilight. Clouds of smoke appear to glow orange, like the sunset, in one of his photos

As night fell, Dros climbed a nearby mountain to capture huge clouds of smoke cascading down the side of Fuego Volcano

Fuego stands at 12,346 ft overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua, and erupts multiple times every hour making it of huge interest to researchers and photographers alike

The sky glows orange as the sun sets over Fuego Volcano in another stunning pictured captured by photogreapher Albert Dros

The photographer also captured the volcano in its dormant state before waiting for nightfall to show it erupting

Waiting game: A plume of smoke can be seen emerging from the top of the Fuego volcano ahead of an overnight eruption
On April 8-9, thousands gathered at Camp Jordan for the Bug-a-Paluza two-day festival featuring a Volkswagen car show, swap meet, vendors, contests, and prizes. In total, the event raised $24,495 for families at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga.We are so grateful for the Scenic City Volks Folks for teaming up and donating funds to RMHC of Greater Chattanooga not only this year, but for all the previous years, said Jane Kaylor, president and CEO of RMHC of Greater Chattanooga."In total, $24,495 will help 371 families stay at the Ronald McDonald House for one night.It costs RMHC of Greater Chattanooga $66 to house one family for one night. As a 26-bedroom facility and increased operational costs, funds raised from Bug-a-Paluza are greatly appreciated. Summer is approaching and is the charitys busiest time due to scheduled surgeries and children out of school," officials said.
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A 'lucky' Lancaster bomber which survived an impressive 109 missions during the Second World War was deliberately set on fire in a training exercise, a new book reveals.

Such was the precarious nature of bombing runs that the average lifespan of a Lancaster before it was shot down was just 25 raids.

Yet 42 different captains took Lancaster EE136 - which was part of No. 9 Squadron and then No. 189 Squadron - on 109 missions.

As part of its illustrious time in the air, it went on 14 raids to Berlin where German aircraft defences were at their strongest.

Sergeant C Payne and his crew (pictured) took EE136 to Hamburg on July 29, on the third of the four Gomorrah raids

The Lancaster EE136 was used in a firefighting exercise and set on fire during a routine firefighting drill at Sutton on Hull station in Yorkshire in 1954

The photograph was taken in July 1944, when this crew flew in EE136 WS/R, which later went on to take part in 109 missions

Lancaster ED499 WS/X was the No. 9 Squadron record holder for a while and is pictured here after a trip to Cologne, Germany

The organised chaos of assembly for a big raid is shown here, as No. 9 Squadron crews wait for their lifts out to their aircraft before setting off for Hamburg as part of Operation Gomorrah

A total of 315 men flew in operations in the EE136 and all came home safely. Shockingly 101 of them - more than a third - were later killed in other aircraft.

The last raid carried out by the EE136 before it was pensioned off was Karlsruhe, Germany, on February 2, 1945, the worst night of the war for No. 189 Squadron which lost four Lancasters and crews.

However, instead of taking pride of place in a museum, EE136 was deemed surplus to requirements by the RAF and set on fire during a routine firefighting drill at Sutton on Hull station in Yorkshire in 1954.

From the first flight of the EE136 on June 11, 1943, to her last with No. 9 Squadron on October 19, 1944, 86 Lancaster bombers were assigned to the squadron.

Of these, 50 were lost to enemy action, another five crashed at home, three crashed in Russia on the first Tirpitz raid and four were transferred to other squadrons only to be lost by them.

As more aircraft came in to replace the heavy casualty toll, the EE136 moved to No. 189 squadron where between November 1, 1944, and February 3, 1945, nine out of 34 Lancaster bombers were lost.

Overall, of the 6,000 Lancasters which were made available for duty in the war, 3,400 were lost.

Tragically, about 55,000 out of the 125,000 aircrew who served in Bomber Command were killed, while 10,000 became prisoners of war.

One of the most memorable raids the EE136 was involved in was to Berlin on the night of January 28, 1944.

Hitler's newly built Chancellery was among the wreckage - 'mountains of it', according to the official German report.

Luck of a Lancaster (left) by Gordon Throburn is published by Pen & Sword on July 30 and costs 19.99. Meanwhile, a Tallboy bomb (right), with armaments officer Mick Maguire, was the biggest thing that could possibly fit inside a Lancaster

ED501 flew 17 ops in February to April 1943, 11 of them with Sergeant Doolan (third from right) and new gunner Harry Irons (third from left), until the squadron commander failed to bring her home

Four captains of EE136 WS/R were standing together for a photograph. In the front are (left) Ron Adams and Doug Tweddle

A Tallboy bomb bomb attack on Bremen, this bomb was the biggest thing that could possibly fit inside a Lancaster

The American pilot Ed Stowell (left) had only one op in EE136, but he was lucky enough to complete the rest of his tour. Wing Commander Pat Burnett, DSO, DFC (right) was CO of No. 9 Squadron from April to November 1943, with a reputation as a disciplinarian

The most 'capped' captain of the EE136 was Flight Officer Roy Lake who flew in it 22 times.

Following the war, the EE136 was used as a training tool at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire but it fell out of favour and in 1954 was set on fire during a routine RAF fire fighting drill at Sutton on Hull station which closed in 1961.

Author Gordon Thorburn, 71, of Laxfield, Suffolk, said: 'It is said that the only job more dangerous (than flying a bomber) was in a U-boat crew.

'From the time when the really big raids began, mid-1942, through to the end of 1944, headquarters regarded losses of less than five bombers in a hundred, on any given op, as being a kind of par for the course.

'Any more than five per cent and special reasons had to be looked for and explained.

'At squadron level, aircrew had no figures to go on but they could see what was happening around them.

'Front-line squadrons in 1943 were losing a Lancaster a week, and it was only slightly better in 1944.

'So, sitting in the mess looking at this week's newly empty chairs, you had to tell yourself that it was going to be the other fellow who got the chop, not you.

'With this being the case it is remarkable that the EE136 survived 109 flights including 14 Berlin raids which was the most heavily defended city in Germany with excellent radar defences.

'You can not put it down to the skippers because pilots who flew the EE136 were killed in other aircraft. The only thing you can put it down to is luck.

'Considering the number of operations this aircraft had very little happened to it in terms of damage.

'It was pensioned off but ironically after the war the RAF firefighting team set fire to it in a training exercise.

'What the Germans could not do in 109 attempts the RAF school of fire fighting could do!'

Luck of a Lancaster by Gordon Thorburn is published by Pen & Sword on July 30 and costs 19.99.
Raymond Lach and An Ken Vi, both 24, were sentenced to 13 years in prison after they were caught attempting to move $60 million worth of meth in noodle containers.

The pair were going to move up to 262kg of methamphetamine in 275 packets, after it arrived in Australia, with a street value of just under $60 million in June last year, according to The Herald Sun.

However, the Australian Border Force intercepted the packets of 'noodles' before they arrived and swapped out the meth for salt where it was delivered to Bayswater.

The stash of drugs intercepted by the Australian Border Force

The Udon Noodles packets being used to hide the 262kg of meth

Prosecutors allege the potential profit on the drugs was $21 million.

The duo were arrested and have since pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempting to traffic a commercial quantity of the drug.

The drug bust was part of an enormous investigation after police became aware of $4 million being transferred from an Australian bank account to China.

The pair were sentenced to nine years without parole but County Court judge Richard Maidment said both had a good chance to be rehabilitated, according to the publication.
A six-year-old girl who has been mute since birth has uttered her first words - saying 'I love you' to a donkey.

Amber Austwick stunned her parents when she told a rescue donkey called Shocks that she loved him, having never spoken a word before.

The family, from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, visited The Donkey Sanctuary near their home, so Amber could pet the animals as therapy.

Amber Austwick, six, has formed a bond with Shocks, a rescue donkey, who was found close to death on a farm in Ireland seven years ago

Amber had been left mute after having a tracheotomy when she was just a baby, but has found her voice through animal therapy with Shocks

Amber developed a special bond with Shocks, who had been rescued from abuse, so Tracy, 39, took her daughter there as often as possible.

After weeks of bonding, Amber said her first words.

Tracy said: 'It was such an emotional moment. I couldn't believe my daughter had finally found her voice.

'Once she met Shocks he brought her out of her shell, she's a lot more confident with him and with friends at school who she loves to talk to about him and the donkey sanctuary.

'Some friends of ours we met in hospital who also had a premature baby with complications suggested we tried out the sanctuary.

Pictured, mother Tracy, father Julian and Amber with her twin Hope and Shocks. The Austwicks count the furry four-legged friend as the fifth member of their family

The twins are shown left, and right, Amber leads Shocks around the ring. Amber and Hope both had bleeds to the lungs when they were born, suffering separate complications, but while Hope recovered, Amber needed more surgery

'They said to us about the donkeys and so in 2012 we went there and found Shocks who had arrived at the sanctuary two years earlier.

'It was quite scary really, Shocks was in the arena and the riding instructor took little Amber to him and I found it scary for me because Shocks was so much bigger than her.

'But Amber wasn't scared and Shocks was really excited to meet her and they've kept that bond ever since.'

Parents Julian and Tracy could not have anticipated just how effective the therapy would be and after several visits their mute daughter started to talk.

Twins Amber and Hope were born 20 minutes apart in June 2010 and were hurried to intensive care where their breathing was assisted while covered in bubble wrap.

Amber leads Shocks through an obstacle course at the sanctuary in Birmingham. The idea of animal therapy was recommended to them by friends they met in hospital, whose premature baby had suffered complications

Mother Tracy enjoyed being at the sanctuary, above, so much, she got a job there, meaning daughter Amber can visit her donkey friend much more often

Hope weighing 1lb 12oz and Amber 1lb 9oz both suffered bleeds to their lungs and had their own separate complications but when Hope got stronger Amber needed a tracheotomy.

The emergency operation saved her life but restricted air to her vocal cords causing her to be mute and completely unable to express herself through laughter or words.

Shocks was found lying almost strangled with a rope around his neck on an Irish farm.

His owner thought pouring bleach over his horrific wounds and sores would help him recover but having been given a new lease of life, Amber has been as much therapy to him as he has to her.

Tracy loved the sanctuary so much that she now works there meaning the family have grown only closer to the rescued donkey.

She said: 'When we have a study club at the sanctuary Amber will always visit Shocks and she still sees him whenever she can.

'He's part of the family now he's really lovely and so patient with Amber.

Left and right, Amber with Shocks. Her mother said the donkey has been patient with Amber, while her father said the bond between the pair was evident almost straight away

'I think donkeys are a lot calmer and they're more patient with children with special needs than ponies.

'She was cleaning his eyes as recently as last week which she really enjoyed.

'Her speech is getting better and she has a speaking valve which forces air out of her mouth which really helps.

'When she does struggle for breath such as in PE at school she needs to turn it for an extra breath.'

Father Julian Austwick said: 'We could see how strong a bond they had almost straight away by the way they were both so gentle with each other.

'Shocks would lower his head to her and would allow her to hold him around his neck and they really seemed smitten.'
The parents of a 22-year-old student, jailed for 15 years after he was caught stealing a propaganda sign from a North Korean hotel, have called on Donald Trump to negotiate his release.

Otto Warmbier was on a trip to North Korea last year when he peeled a propaganda sign from the hotel in Pyongyang where he was staying and tried to take it with him.

North Korean security services spotted Warmbier on CCTV and arrested him on suspicion of spying and 'crimes against the state'.

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Otto Warmbier, pictured at the North Korean Supreme Court , was arrested in January 2016

Warmbier, right, was accused of 'crimes against the state' for stealing a propaganda sign

Warmbier, pictured, was sentenced to 15-years' hard labor by the Pyongyang court

He was jailed following a one-hour trial and sentenced to 15 years' hard labor.

Cindy and Fred Warmbier have not been able to speak to their son in more than a year and they fear the growing instability in the region could endanger their son.

Mrs Warmbier told CNN: 'With tensions as high as they are, we felt that we needed to talk about Otto and put a face on the person.

'Our hope is that he's coming home. There seems to be a tension now placed on things that were ignored before, so I can't imagine this isn't good for our country, but more importantly, good for Otto.

Warmbier's parents have called on Donald Trump to intervene on their son's behalf

Trump has said he would be willing to meet with North Korean despot Kim Jong-un, pictured

'He's a 22-year-old college student who has never been in trouble. This seems to be bigger than anything he was accused of doing.'

The University of Virginia student was arrested in January 2016 on the final day of his trip to the hermit state.

The North has arrested and jailed several US citizens in the past decade, often releasing them only after high-profile visits by current or former US officials.

President Donald Trump has announced his willingness to talk to Kim Jong-un about the growing crisis on the Korean peninsula.
A passenger who ordered a gluten-free meal on a nine-hour flight was left stunned when he was given one banana for breakfast.

Martin Pavelka, of east London, has coeliac disease which means he cannot eat products containing gluten without becoming violently ill.

The 32-year-old said he 'could not believe his eyes' when he received the fruit  which had a 'gluten-free' sticker on it - on his All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Sydney while other passengers were eating a full English breakfast.

Mr Pavelka, an auditor, was midway through a 1,200 flight to Australia and said he always orders gluten-free meals on flights and had never had a problem before.

Martin Pavelka said he was given this banana, pictured with a napkin, salt and cutlery, when he asked for a gluten-free meal on an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Sydney

He told the Evening Standard: 'When the stewardess came to me, she said 'We've got a special meal for you' and I got the banana.

'I asked 'Is this a joke?' She just said 'I'm really sorry, that's the gluten-free meal'.'

He said the fruit 'did not keep him full' on the long-haul flight and added he had complained to the airline but had not received a response yet.

Mr Pavelka told the Standard: 'The other passengers were laughing a little bit at it. I think the stewardess realised something wasn't right too. The fault must be somewhere in management.'

But All Nippon Airways said the banana was actually the 'gluten free snack' provided on the flight, and not the meal.

An ANA spokesman said: 'ANA takes great pride in providing an exemplary customer experience for all passengers, and for this one passenger we did not meet his expectations.

'We have apologized to him personally and as a result of his experience we are reviewing our policy on gluten free options and how they are served.

Mr Pavelka said he complained to the airline but has yet to receive a response (file picture)

'During an international flight on the Tokyo-Sydney route, there are two food services. The first service is a full meal an hour after departure and the second is a snack service two hours before arrival.

'To accommodate the various food and dietary needs of our passengers, there are several food options including gluten free that are selected when a passenger purchases their ticket.

'On this specific instance, the passenger ordered a gluten free meal and then a gluten free snack. The banana he ordered was the gluten free snack option.

'We make every effort to meet our passengers needs and in this situation felt we accommodated our guest's additional food requests inflight by providing an additional regular meal as well as an entree from the regular menu for his snack.

'To imply that ANA only serves a banana for a flight of this length is incorrect.'
A polo-loving viscount allegedly offered 5,000 for someone to run over anti-Brexit figurehead Gina Miller in a racist Facebook post, a court heard today.

Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, also known as the 4th Viscount St Davids, called the millionaire campaigner a 'bloody troublesome first generation immigrant', Westminster Magistrates' Court was told.

The tweed-clad aristocrat, who corrected the magistrate when addressed by the wrong title, faces three counts of racially aggravated malicious communications over social media posts between September 11 and November 7 2016.

Philipps is accused of making a Facebook post of a menacing nature about Ms Miller, 51, on November 7 2016 - four days after the High Court ruled that Parliament must vote before the government could trigger article 50.

The post allegedly read: 5,000 For the first person to "accidentally" run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant.

In the dock: Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, pictured today, also known as the 4th Viscount St Davids, is also accused of offering 5,000 for someone to run over anti-Brexit figurehead Gina Miller

It continues: If this is what we should expect from immigrants send them back to their stinking jungles.

Ms Miller is said to have hired security after she reported the post to the police.

Case: The Viscount, 50, faces two further charges following two Facebook posts about French migrant Arnold Sube, originally from Cameroon, on 11 September 2016.

Prosecutor Kate Mulholland said: Its because of this threat to her life that caused her to hire security.

When the legal advisor addressed him as Mr St Davids and asked him to stand, he refused and said: Im not Mr St Davids.

Andrew Rinker, defending, said: His correct title is Lord St Davids.

Philipps, 50, faces two further charges following two Facebook posts about French migrant Arnold Sube, originally from Cameroon, on 11 September 2016.

The posts cite a Daily Mail article about Mr Sube, who also featured in the Daily Mirror, The Sun and on the BBC, turning down a five-bedroom council house for him and his eight children.

The first post reads: Please will someone smoke this ghastly insult to our country? Why should I pay tax to feed these monkeys?

The second post about Mr Sube reads: I will open the bidding. 2,000 in cash for the first person to carve Arnold Sube into pieces, piece of s**t.

The viscount, who holds the titles Lord Hungerford, Lord de Moleyns, and Lord Strange of Knockin, has indicated not guilty pleas to all charges.

Philipps, 50, from Knightsbridge, arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court today wearing a green tweed gilet over his tailored blue suit and red tie.

He is to face trial at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 10.
The nine-year-old boy who was injured when his brother died in an alleged drowning by their mother remains in hospital two months after the tragedy.

In March the boy and his five-year-old brother were driven to the Murray River in Moama, NSW, where their 26-year-old mother allegedly attempted to murder them. None of the family can be named for legal reasons.

A dog which lived at a nearby property mauled the boy while intervening to pull him from the water. The boys five-year-old brother was found dead two days later.

The nine-year-old boy remains in hospital and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, reports Sydney Morning Herald.

The mother is pictured with her two boys, aged nine and five, who were involved in the horror tragedy

The boy needed reconstructive surgery on his limbs after being mauled by a pitbull, called Buddy, that then attacked the mother.

The mother did not apply for bail in Deniliquin Local Court on Tuesday and it was formally refused.

Her lawyer told the court she faced additional charges of possessing two grams of cannabis.

The 27-year-old mother has been charged with murder and attempted murder.

The case is due back in court on July 4 when the mother is due to appear via videolink.

The lawyer of the family, Dale Brooks, said previously that the boy was struggling with the events.

The boys grandparents had been raising him and his five-year-old brother before the tragedy and had taken an AVO out against the mother last year.

Police will allege the mother stayed in a caravan near where the children were staying and took them to the river for the attempted drowning.

The children's mother (pictured) was remanded in jail until July after she failed to appear on videolink at her hearing

The tragedy unfolded at the Murray River in Moama, NSW (pictured: emergency services aat the scene)

Moama is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, close to the Victorian

The owner of the dog involved in the incident said her four-year-old pit bull (pictured) was likely reacting to the drama happening at the banks of the river




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These are the crumbling remains on the grammar school once attended by Stan Lauren, one half of comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.

Haunting photos show the cracking remains of the now derelict King James I Grammar School in Bishop Auckland, where Stan Laurel went to school for three years from 1902.

Images show missing ceilings, wrecked walls, peeling paint and wallpaper and crumbling fireplaces of the school which opened in 1864 and was severely damaged in an arson attack a decade ago.

King James I Grammar School is now a crumbling and cracking ruin, held in place by scaffolding in the north east town of Bishop Auckland

Inside the arson-struck building where walls are crumbling and paint and wallpaper is peeling from the wall, with the damage from the fire evident

From 1902 to 1905, Stan Laurel would have been here everyday, and the knowledge that his feet tread the boards was enough for the urban explorers to take the risk

Stan Laurel, left and right with Oliver Hardy, his American comedy double. The pair worked together for more than 30 years, appearing in 107 films together

How the school would have looked in Laurel's day, as depicted on an Edwardian postcard from Bishop Auckland, near Durham

The photographs have been taken by an urban exploration group called WildBoyz, who said they wanted to walk the same corridors as the legendary Laurel.

Writing on their blog, they said: 'We walked, tentatively, across the first room, after realising that most of the floorboards were so decayed they crumbled beneath our feet.

Writing on their blog, the WildBoyz said the floorboards felt so weak and rotten they feared they might fall through them as they carefully walked through the old school

Decades ago, this spiral staircase might not have seemed strange, but after years after it was abandoned, images taken by the group seem haunting and eerie

Walls and windows have been left wrecked and ruined by the fires and years without anyone to manage the building's upkeep

Fences have been put up in the building to mark out where huge holes have been left in the floor and ceiling, signs of the extensive damage suffered in a 2007 arson attack

Once a grand foyer welcoming the pupils to school, this is no longer an imposing front entrance. Windows have been boarded up and moss grows on the floor inside

The school has the remains of what appears to be a janitor's cupboard, or the electrical units, but everything has since been disconnected

Up on the top floor, large metal structures have been put in place to make sure the roof doesn't continue crumbling and potentially cause injury

LAUREL AND HARDY The comedy duo worked together from 1927-1955. Both had successful careers before they teamed up. They worked together separately on The Lucky Dog in 1921, but together in 1927 in Putting Pants on Philip. Their style was mostly slapstick, with Laurel playing the fool to Hardy's pomp. They also exaggerated the size difference between themselves. They completed the last tour of Britain in 1953. Laurel died in 1965. Advertisement

'Further into the school, it was obvious that the entire structure was in a sorry looking state and, other than peeling wallpaper, crumbling fireplaces and stained toilets, there was very little by way of visual stimuli.

'None of this mattered though. After all, it is likely Arthur Stanley Jefferson had walked through these very rooms.'

The group continued to walk through the school, ascending to the top floor, though they claim the ground felt so unsturdy they were worried they would plummet through it at any moment.

They continue: 'A large metal support structure filled the entire room, and above we could see a large white tarp, clearly covering a gaping hole where a slate titled roof should have been.

'Fearing this floor more than the others wed encountered, we decided to stick to the sides of the room as we made our way across.

'There was no real reason why we needed to wander around up here, but since Laurel had been here it seemed worth it.'

The old toilet blocks in the north eastern school. The urban explorers said they were worried about making their way further up the building, as it is in decline

Daylight streams through to the top floor, where there should be a roof. Tarp and boards cover the floor and the explorers said they tried to stick to the edges to make sure they didn't fall through

Doors have fallen off their hinges, and wooden panels have been bolted on in an attempt to save the school's structure - on the right, a warning sign appearing to mention something 'unsafe' can be glimpsed

Although it is a far cry from the way the building would have looked to Stan Laurel when he was there more than 100 years ago, just walking where he walked once was enough for the Urban Explorers

Comedian Stan Laurel attended the school from the age of 12 until he was 15, when his theatrical family moved to Glasgow, to be closer to the Metropole Theatre. He made his debut just a month before his 16th birthday

Laurel was part of a comedy double act alongside Oliver Hardy from 1927 to 1950.

Although the pair had well-established film careers before they decided to team up, as Laurel had been in 50 films and Hardy in 250.

Laurel and Hardy's slapstick brand of comedy featured in 107 films including short silent films, short sound films and full-length feature films.

They were voted the seventh greatest comedy act of all time in 2005 by a UK poll of fellow comedians.
The EU has reportedly spent weeks planning to derail Theresa Mays attempt to secure an early deal for EU nationals living in Britain and expats on the continent.

The Prime Minister told Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, she hoped a deal could be struck by the end of June.

Mr Juncker was said to have been astonished at her belief a settlement could be agreed so early.

Theresa May, pictured today on the campaign trail in Cornwall. The EU reportedly spent weeks planing to derail her plans to get an early agreement on EU migrants and Brits living in Europe

But documents seen by the Daily Telegraph show that she had already outlined her plan to Donald Tusk, the European Council president, at a meeting three weeks earlier.

Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, said the EU is trying to bully Britain  but said the attempt is doomed to fail.

He told the Mail Online: The EU are running a campaign to try to undermine these talks.

Its quite clear that this is typical of their tactics, they have been bullying other countries for years and they are now trying it on us.

This is typical EU bullying tactics. But it doesnt work with the United Kingdom at all.

Theresa May pictured greeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker last week. He was said to be 'astonished' at her EU migrants plan

Sir Bill also hit out at the Labour Partys election pledge to guarantee the rights of the three million EU nationals living in the UK without getting the same guarantee for Brits living abroad.

He said the move would be absolutely absurd and cutting adrift the rights of one million British citizens in Europe.

He said: They are living in a parallel universe.

The Government is completely right about this, the Labour Party is completely off its rocker on it.

Tory MP Sir Bill Cash accused the EU of trying to bully the UK - but said they are doomed to fail

He added: Its just ludicrous. Its not common sense, its not political sense and Is not legal sense.

It is up to the EU to make it clear that the UK citizens are as important as EU citizens living here.

The EUs negotiating has emerged after damaging leaks were published about Mrs Mays working dinner with Mr Juncker and chief negotiator Michel Barnier, held in Downing Street last Wednesday night.

Mr Juncker said he was 'ten times more sceptical' about the prospects of a deal within two years, according to a highly partisan leak in the German press.

But the leak is expected to backfire and instead fuel support for Mrs Mays pitch that only she can provide the 'strong and stable' leadership to take Brussel son.
A former US marine and his Canadian girlfriend have been found dead in a sugar cane field in Belize a week after going missing from a bar.

Drew De Voursney, 36, and Francesca Matus, 52, were last seen a week ago leaving Scottys Bar and Grill in Corozal, Belize, near the mother-of-two's home.

She was due to fly home to Ontario on April 26, but there was no sign of her when a friend came to collect her and bring her to the airport.

Francesca Matus, pictured, was due to return to Canada from Belize on April 26

She was last seen leaving a bar near her home with her boyfriend Drew De Voursney, 36

Her car was found in a sugar cane field abandoned near the village of Paraiso on Sunday and the couple's bodies were recovered the following day.

An autopsy is due to be carried out on the couple today.

Friend Joe Milholen told CBC News: 'When I arrived there to pick her up, the gate was closed and the car was gone.'

The couple met in Belize in late 2016.

De Voursney was due to return to Atlanta, Georgia according to his family.

He enlisted after the 9/11 terror attacks and served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His friend Brendan Barfield said: 'Drew is no longer with us. Someone had killed a United States Marine, my brother in arms, who survived Fallujah, Iraq and Afghanistan.'

MailOnline has contacted Belize police for an update on the investigation.
The Tri-State Chapter of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge honored two students at their spring luncheon who attended the annual "Spirit of American Youth Leadership Conference".

Danielle Tatrow, home-schooled, and Duncan Joyner, a student at Chattanooga Christian School, were both selected to attend the conference based on essays they submitted.

The Freedoms Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization founded by President Eisenhower in 1949. Their goal is to promote good citizenship and patriotism.

For more information about this chapter of the Freedoms Foundation , please contact Esther Taj at etaj@comcast.net.




Jamie Margas has been found dead days after she left a note for her parents saying she would be home soon

A teenage girl who was reported missing on Friday has been found dead.

Jamie Lee Allison Margas, 18, left a note for her parents on Friday morning saying she was 'heading out' of their home in York County, South Carolina, USA, and would be back in five hours, according to the New York Post.

But on Monday morning, Deputy Trent Faris, a spokesperson from the York County Sheriff's Department, confirmed her body was found near a creek near Mount Gallant Road in Rock Hill just before 11am.

Speaking to the press yesterday, he said: 'Earlier this morning, the sheriff's office was working off some tips generated from the public, [which] brought them out to this area. [This] was one of the areas the missing person was seen at one time.

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Police officers said no foul play is suspected in Jamie Margas' death but the cause of her death is unknown. She is pictured above

Above the area where the teen's body was found just before 11am yesterday morning

Video courtesy of WSOC-TV

'Unfortunately at approximately at 10.58am, they found what appears to be the body of Jamie Lee Allison Margas.

'It's not the outcome that anybody wanted from this. Sheriff Kevin Tolson would like to extend his deepest sympathies to the family of Jamie Margas, and we would also like to thank the public for all the tips and the information that was generated from searching for her.

A missing persons alert is shown above. She disappeared on Friday, April 28

'From Saturday night until this morning we were still receiving tips, and one of those tips is why we came back to this area and searched [it].'

Officers added no foul play is suspected but the cause of her death is unknown.

The teenager was a senior student at Northwestern High School, where grief counselors will be on standby for any students.
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Surrounded by nature, these women all strike thoughtful poses.

Some of them look straight out from the image, while others gaze into the distance as they stand amid woodland, snow and in front of a picturesque-looking lake and hills.

But the photos all carry an intriguing secret.

One of the images by New York-based Yigal Ozeri shows a woman gazing upwards as she sits in foliage in front of a tree in an autumnal scene

The viewer's eye is drawn towards the woman in the foreground, while the background is more of a blur as she looks thoughtfully into the distance

A woman shivers as snow falls on her in a stunning-looking chilly scene, but all is not as it seems

A model looks pensive against a shallow background in a stunning image by Yigal Ozeri

They are not photos at all. They are all paintings by photorealist artist Yigal Ozeri.

He specialises in producing incredible lifelike portraits, with no brushstrokes to be seen. Explaining his technique, Oddity Central reports, each shoot begins by photographing beautiful women, before altering the images in Photoshop.

Ozeri, an Israeli artist based in New York, then uses these prints as a reference point when he creates images with oil on canvas.

He told Young Masters: 'I work on it in a free painting technique, whereas most photorealistic artists work on the far and the close with similar level of accuracy and assessment.

'As a result in my paintings the space that is the background in my work is an abstract with a lot of movement and dynamics, in sharp contrast with the figure that is an exact representation of the reality.

'My works celebrate nature in its glory, figures of young women in search of their life path, returning to nature and freedom both literally and figuratively.'

An exhibition of Ozeri's work is being held at the Opera Gallery in New Bond Street, London between May 12 to May 25.

Ozeri pays meticulous attention to detail, carefully constructing tiny details in his paintings, for which he uses printed images as a reference point

While the artist's images are intricately crafted and contain huge amounts of detail, the background in his paintings are far more abstract
North Korea deliberately detonated a missile during its failed weekend test because the rocket was heading for Russia, it has been claimed.

Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic weapon on Saturday despite warnings from the US that failure to curb its nuclear and rocket trials could lead to 'catastrophic consequences'.

The missile travelled 30 miles before crashing down on an inland part of North Korea.

But it has since been claimed that Kim Jong-un's spooked officials deliberately exploded the KN-17 device shortly after launch fearing it had been fired towards Russia by accident.

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North Korea deliberately detonated a missile during its failed weekend test because the rocket was heading for Russia, it has been claimed. A North Korean live-fire drill is pictured above

Kim Jong-un test-fired a ballistic weapon on Saturday despite warnings from the US that failure to curb its nuclear and rocket trials could lead to 'catastrophic consequences'

According to South Korea's SE Daily, the ballistic missile would have struck 'a harbour point or a Russian territory' if it had not failed.

'It is for this reason that North Korea intentionally destroyed the missile,' the website reportedly said.

A source is quoted as saying the launch target was 'different from the previous direction' and that 'in the past, we fired 89-90 degrees to the east, and the projectile fell off the East Sea. But the angle of this shot was 49 degrees.'

In the wake of the launch Russia's chairman of defence and security, Victor Ozerov, reportedly said its air defences in its eastern territories had been put on high alert.

He said: 'The air defence of the Russian Federation in the Far East has been put on high alert. We control the airspace in the zone of responsibility of the Russian air forces.'

On Saturday, Japan said the missile is believed to have traveled about 30 miles and fallen on an inland part of North Korea.

Analysts say the KN-17 is a new Scud-type missile developed by North Korea. The North fired the same type of missile April 16, just a day after a massive military parade where it showed off its expanding missile arsenal, but U.S. officials called that launch a failure.

The missile travelled 30 miles before crashing down on an inland part of North Korea. A rocket is pictured at a military display in Pyongyang in April

It has since been claimed that Kim Jong-un's spooked officials deliberately exploded the KN-17 device shortly after launch fearing it had been fired towards Russia by accident (file picture)

Some analysts say a missile the North test fired April 5, which U.S. officials identified as a Scud variant, also might have been a KN-17. American officials said that missile spun out of control and crashed into the sea.

It comes days after Vladimir Putin sent troops and equipment to Russia's border with North Korea.

The Russian President reportedly fears a huge exodus of North Korean refugees if his American counterpart, Donald Trump, launches military action against Pyongyang.

Footage emerged showing Putin reinforcing his 11-mile border with North Korea by relocating troops and equipment.

The deployment came days after it emerged that China is also sending 150,000 soldiers to its southern frontier to cope with the tidal wave of North Koreans Beijing fears would flee across the border if war breaks out.

Tensions remain high in the area amid fears North Korea is plotting a sixth nuclear weapon.

This morning North Korea accused the US of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic American bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength.

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of U.N. sanctions and pressure from the United States.

he U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile defence system (pictured) has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, U.S. officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months

China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the system, whose powerful radar it fears could reach inside Chinese territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang again denounced THAAD on Tuesday

The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be 'honoured' to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the right circumstances, and as his CIA director landed in South Korea for talks.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North.

North Korea said the bombers conducted 'a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects' in its territory at a time when Trump and 'other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike' on the North.

'The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war,' the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile defence system has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, U.S. officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months.

China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the system, whose powerful radar it fears could reach inside Chinese territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang again denounced THAAD on Tuesday.

'We will resolutely take necessary measures to defend our interests,' Geng said, without elaborating.

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a 'major, major conflict' with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.
A military antiques collector who paid 500 for a shoe box full of flag fragments was stunned to find it was used in the Battle of Waterloo more than 200 years ago.

Gary Lawrence, 58, bought the item on an online auction and had 'no idea' the flag was so rare - and could be worth 300,000.

He is now restoring the flag, which dates back to 1815 and belonged to the Coldstream Guards 15th Light Company, with a team from the V&A museum.

Mr Lawrence, from Collier Row, east London, runs Waterloo Militaria with his son Luke, 28, and says he has never found anything this historically significant.

One of the last remaining flags from the Battle of Waterloo has been discovered in a shoe box

Gary Lawrence (right) runs Waterloo Militaria with his son Luke (left), and says he has never found anything this historically significant

Mr Lawrence paid 500 for the box of old flags and had no idea that it was from the Battle of Waterloo

He thinks the 1815 flag is even more desirable than the only surviving flag from the Battle of Trafalgar, which sold for more than 300,000 in 2015.

Mr Lawrence, who works as a window fitter, said: 'I bought it through an online auction in America in June. We deal a lot in Napoleonic items and had no idea what this would be.

'It was really fragile, it's a very early flag and was described as fragments so we had no idea how much of the flag there'd be.

'We laid it out on a board - it took three days to put together - and found it was a flag from Waterloo, of which there are virtually none in existence.

'It's more important because it's from the battle of Hougoumont, and barely any flags from that battle survived.

'The Coldstream Guards 15th Light Company were one of the most important regiments at Waterloo.

'Nothing else we've found could ever compare to how important this flag is - everyone's saying this is such an important find.

'It's almost a national treasure, this is such an important battle.'

He added: 'The regimental colours were taken to Waterloo and were in the thick of the battle all day long.

'We have no idea where it's been since then, there's been lots of research done but we just don't know.

'I'm not saying it's rarer than the flag from Trafalgar but it's every bit as important and probably more desirable.

'That flag was on a rear ship and was just a Union Jack, whereas this is their regimental colours with their battle honours on it, and was at the most important part of the battle.

'It was advertised as flag fragments so it could have been anything - we were expecting flag bits and pieces but knew it was an early flag.

The Battle of Waterloo (pictured) was fought in June 1815, near Waterloo, in present-day Belgium

He is now restoring the flag (pictured), which dates back to 1815 and belonged to the Coldstream Guards 15th Light Company

THE BATTLE WHICH CHANGED THE COURSE OF EUROPE'S DESTINY The armies amassed near the town of Waterloo in modern-day Belgium, not far from the border with France The Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, stopped the advance of Napoleon across Europe and sent the great French emperor into exile for the second and final time. France's troops were defeated by a multi-national coalition, led by the British army under the command of the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon's 70,000-strong army was led by his brother General Jerome Bonaparte and was faced by Wellington's 67,000-strong force with a further Prussian army of approximately 48,000 men. The armies amassed near the town of Waterloo in modern-day Belgium, not far from the border with France, and it was the French who made the first move around 11am. The two sides clashed for 10 hours, with the British fending off repeated attacks from the French, until Marshal Blucher arrived at the head of a Prussian army. This was the decisive intervention which finished Napoleon off, allowing Wellington to counter-attack and forcing the Frenchman to surrender. The battle forced Napoleon from the throne of France, leading to his exile on St Helena - but Wellington later admitted it was 'the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life'. Despite the popular image of Waterloo as a heroic endeavour, it was also the scene of brutal slaughter as thousands of troops were killed, with the French bearing the brunt of the losses. Advertisement

'No one had unsealed the box but it had a cellophane seal over the top, and we picked out early bits of lettering from the tiny picture in the catalogue.

'We didn't expect this to be what it was, we bought it because the material sometimes comes in handy for other things - period cloth is well sought after, which is part of the reason we got it.'

May Berkouwer has been tasked with restoring the flag to its former glory.

She has been conserving and restoring textiles for over 30 years, and works with clients including the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Trust and National Museums of Scotland.

Ms Berkouwer said: 'We restore anything from tapestries to upholstery, costume, and flags, and quite often we get interesting things like this.

'We work with quite a lot of individuals but don't advertise that very much.

'The flag is typically very deteriorated flag because of the way it was folded in the box, it was completely shattered.

'We now have to put all the pieces back together as a puzzle before we mount it on semi-transparent fabric to secure it.

'Then it will be framed, and hopefully a good home found for it.'
President Donald Trump taunted Democrats today with a claim that they were giving him a 'down payment' on his border wall in an appropriations bill they seized on as a victory for their party.

A $1.5 billion increase in funding for border security that Trump has been promised cannot go toward the construction of a new wall. But it can be used for maintenance on existing structures - some of which Trump says he plans to keep.

'Make no mistake we are beginning to build the wall,' Trump said Tuesday at a trophy presentation ceremony.

Like the sports team that he was honoring, the Air Force Academy's Falcon football squad, Trump said Republicans had their 'own victory under the radar' this week with the spending bill.

President Donald Trump taunted Democrats today with a claim that they were giving him a 'down payment' on his border wall in an appropriations bill they seized on as a victory for their party

The legislation includes $21 billion in new funding for the military, in addition to a school choice option for the District of Columbia and a miner's health provision Trump wanted.

'To top that, we achieved the single largest increase in border security funding in 10 years,' Trump said. 'The Democrats didn't tell you that. They forgot. In their notes, they forgot to tell you that.'

Trump said the appropriation was 'enough money to make a down payment on the border wall.'

'I think they'll go back and check their papers,' he said of the agreement.

Democrats believed they'd found a way to frustrate Trump's agenda and keep him from completing his most notable campaign promise.

A split in the GOP over Trump's proposed border structure allowed the minority party to walk away from spending negotiations this week with a goody bag of their priorities and an assurance that no money would be spent on a new wall this fiscal year.

'I believe this experience bodes well for the 2018 budget and future negotiations between our two parties on appropriations,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said of the compromise legislation in a Monday speech.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, his counterpart in the House, characterized the agreement as a 'defeat for President Trump' - setting off the president and his administration.

Ripping into congressional Democrats at a White House briefing Tuesday morning, Trump's budget directory said, 'I'm sure some of them are scared to death of you actually knowing what's in this bill and what it allows the president and the administration to do.'

Later that morning Trump said he would use the money to replace failing fencing and walls along the border 'with an unbreakable barrier.'

'We're putting up a lot of new walls in certain areas. We're putting up a tremendous amount of money to fix the existing structures that we have, some of which we can keep into the future,' he stated.

A split in the GOP over Trump's proposed border structure allowed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer's party to walk away from spending negotiations this week with a goody bag of their priorities and assurance that no money would be spent on a wall this fiscal year

The bill does not contain money for the border wall itself. It does not defund sanctuary cities like Trump intended, either.

A plan to defund Planned Parenthood was also scrapped along with a threat to withhold money for Obamacare subsidies.

Trump's White House claimed Tuesday morning in a panic briefing that the president had outsmarted Democrats by giving them a small pot of money for their domestic spending priorities while he took home the biggest prize - a $21 billion increase in defense spending.

It 'almost defies logic that Democrats would allow us to have such a huge win,' Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said. Much of the $5 billion that was added for domestic spending 'is stuff that we wanted anyway,' he argued.

Mulvaney had cast the agreement to keep the government open until the end of September as a win-win on Monday evening as he spoke to reporters at the White House during a short-notice briefing.

'I think its great that the Democrats like the bill. Thats fantastic. We thought it was a really good deal for this administration as well,' he stated.

Democrats seized the moment and declared victory in the spending battle. The move put the White House in a defensive position in the messaging war.

On Tuesday morning, Mulvaney came back out to say Republicans were the 'true' winners in the negotiations and Democrats were hurriedly claiming they came out on top to distract from their colossal loss.

'They didn't get what many of them, including many in their base wanted. They wanted a shutdown,' he said. 'They wanted to try and make this president look like he could not govern.

'They wanted to make this president look like he did not know what he was doing, and he beat them on that at the very, very highest level. They were desperate to show that we were not reasonable and we completely destroyed that narrative by negotiating this deal,' Trump's OMB director argued.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi characterized the agreement as a 'defeat for President Trump'

The former Republican congressman was insistent on Monday that the border wall compromise that kept funding out of the current spending would benefit the administration long term.

'Once we looked our hands over, we realized it was almost impossible, if not impossible, to actually get bricks and mortar on the ground in five months, so why start fighting about it now,' he said on Monday. 'Lets focus on thing we can do in this fiscal year, in the next five months, to secure the border. So we thought that was a nice pickup for us.'

Pushing back on Democratic claims that they won, and the administration lost, and that is why the wall funding was kept out, Mulvaney claimed Tuesday that the minority party was running scared.

'The truth of the matter here is that what happened is the American people won and the president negotiated that victory for them,' he said. 'They are trying to claim victory, mostly because they have to.'

The White House official had claimed a day before that 'everything that we got in this deal yesterday, last night, lines up perfectly with the Presidents priorities.'

He beat them on that at the very, very highest level. They were desperate to show that we were not reasonable and we completely destroyed that narrative - OMB Director Mick Mulvaney

That was after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the president's priorities would be reflected to a greater extent in fiscal year 2018 appropriations.

Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Senate, but they're eight seats short of a supermajority. To get to a filibuster-proof 60 votes, they must pull in some Democrats.

'We couldnt have our entire way on this,' Spicer lamented.

Assuming no changes are made to the bill, Trump said Monday afternoon in a Bloomberg interview that he would sign the legislation when it comes to his desk.

'Were very happy with it. And I think its important that we keep moving along. I think both sides are happy,' he said.

Pelosi said Monday in a letter to her Democratic colleagues 'the omnibus reflects significant progress defeating dangerous Republican riders and securing key victories for Democratic priorities.'

'In a defeat for President Trump, the omnibus does not fund the immoral and unwise border wall or create a cruel new deportation force,' she said declared.

Schumer and Pelosi believe they've identified a weak point within the Republican administration that they'll be able to exploit in future spending talks..

'A lot of Congressmen and Senators on the Republican side of the wall doesnt make sense. In fact, you couldnt find one Republican on the border in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas who supported that wall,' Schumer said Monday.

TALK TO THE HAND: The bill does not contain money for the border wall and it does not defund sanctuary cities like President Trump (seen today walking into the Oval Office) intended

In highlighting the Republicans who were against wall funding, Democrats were able to extract concessions from the Trump administration on Puerto Rico's Medicaid program, NIH funding, year-round Pell Grants, the Community Development Block Grant, Obamacare subsidies, sanctuary cities and Planned Parenthood.

All told, Democrats secured $5 billion in new funding for their domestic priorities. It's unlikely that the money will be cut out of next year's budget.

'I think we had a strategy and it worked,' Schumer told The Washington Post. 'Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate were closer to one another than Republicans were to Donald Trump.'

Republican senators like Marco Rubio of Florida and John McCain of Arizona have shared skepticism about the cost and effectiveness of the wall that Trump says will keep out illegal immigrants and terrorists.

The president has also promised that the wall will be paid for by Mexico. Schumer repeatedly poured cold water on those claims during the spending battle as he tried to lure fiscal conservatives away from it.

'Unlike the Presidents promise, Mexicos not paying for it. Theres no plan for the wall. We dont even know where we would build it,' he said Monday.

The White House is hoping to use the five month stretch between this spending debate and the next one to convince Republican holdouts that it can carry the load.

'Maybe if we do a really good job deploying the technology...or making the maintenance and stuff that this bill provides for, maybe it will help convince people that this is not just demagoguery,' Mulvaney said Monday. 'We are serious about securing the border. And maybe that will help folks come to our side of things.'
A naked man in Florida was arrested for destroying several mailboxes with a machete before his cousin was also taken into custody for charging at a responding police officer.

Yudier Duenas Sosa, 35, was found wielding a machete on Saturday when Cape Coral police responded to reports of a naked man in the streets, police said.

His cousin Irene Orozco, 42, was also arrested after charged at responding police officers.

Yudier Duenas-Sosa, 35, (left) was arrested for destroying several mailboxes with a machete. His cousin Irene Orozco, 42 (right) was also taken into custody for charging at the police

Police received reports of a naked man destroying several mailboxes on the 4300 block of SW First Avenue with a machete.

They arrived to find Sosa matching the description, and he was charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief, while Orozco was arrested for resisting a law enforcement officer.

Sosa and Orozco may face additional charges, police said.

They were both were 'extremely intoxicated' after attending a party in the area, police said.
Yomna Fouad, 21, was arrested Saturday for seducing a Florida man in March and making off with his prized possessions. She faces larceny, grand theft and false identification charges

A Florida woman who told a judge in court on Monday that she was a prostitute allegedly seduced men after meeting them in Miami clubs and then made off with their prized possessions.

Yomna Fouad, 21, was taken into custody after she was spotted outside of Miami Beach's Rockwell nightclub by one of her accusers, according to ABC 10.

The two began to argue and when police came to the scene, they arrested her. She is now facing larceny, grand theft and false identification charges.

Fouad has been accused by Alain Rene Galette, 31, of taking off with his clothing, cash, jewerly and a Rolex watch totaling $32,000 in value after the two met at the valet outside of a nightclub before going back to his place to have sex in March.

Surveillance footage shows what Galette said was him and Fouad entering his building, and then Fouad leaving by herself with his belongings.

'I wake up drugged, not knowing what's going on, and all my stuff missing,' he said.

'She was an innocent face,' Galette added. 'I was not expecting that from her.'

Galette, a music industry professional, said he did not know at the time that Fouad was a prostitute.

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Surveillance footage shows what Galette said was him and Fouad entering his building a few months ago, and then Fouad leaving by herself with his belongings

After Fouad allegedly stole his belongings, Galette was on the lookout for her and recognized her from the tattoos on her hands, even though she had changed her hair cut and color since their encounter.

'It's like a henna-type tattoo,' he said. 'I told the security [at the nightclub] and they held her until police arrived.'

After Fouad's arrest, it was discovered she is suspected of being linked to a similar case from May 2016.

In this instance, she allegedly acted with a friend to victimize a man they met at LIV nightclub inside the Fontainebleau hotel, according to an arrest report.

Fouad told the man her name was Rebecca 'Becca' Arias, police said.

At the end of the evening the man offered to get a hotel room for himself, Fouad and the friend. The women followed the man to the hotel room, where he placed a $46,000 Rolex watch and $8,000 in cash inside the hotel room safe, the report said.

After Fouad allegedly stole his belongings, Galette was on the lookout for her and recognized her from the tattoos on her hands, shown here

After Fouad's arrest, it was discovered she is suspected of being linked to a similar case from May 2016; At least 10 other police departments are investigating Fouad at this time

The man reportedly left the room and when he came back, the women and his belongings were gone.

Fouad is suspected of being connected to several other similar instances of seduction and theft throughout the east coast, stretching up to New York.

At least 10 other police departments are investigating Fouad at this time.

She was ordered to be held in lieu of a $50,000 in court on Monday.

As of Monday, Fouad remained in custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami. A phone call Tuesday to the facility was not immediately returned.
Ivanka Trump is developing into a serious power-player inside the White House, parlaying her first-daughter role into genuine influence over domestic and international policy.

She has emerged as President Donald Trump's 'all-around West Wing confidante,' according to The New York Times, an adviser with few limits on her clout.

No one else in government  not even Vice President Mike Pence or White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus  has her direct line of communication with the president's brain.

Ivanka has a standing weekly meeting with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. She has the power to pick up the phone and call cabinet secretaries  recently plying United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for humanitarian aid dollars for Syrians. She even has plans to personally review some future executive orders before her father signs them.

First daughter Ivanka Trump is emerging as a major policy adviser in the West Wing

Ivanka has her dad's ear, gets meetings at will, and doesn't have to call him 'Mr. President'

The fashion entrepreneur, 35, was seen Tuesday morning leaving her Washington, D.C. home to take her kids to school before the work day started

When her husband, presidential adviser Jared Kushner, was beginning to function in the West Wing as a moderating influence  softening or even canceling out the rah-rah nationalist sentiments of his antipode Steve Bannon  Ivanka was already ten steps ahead of him.

The Washington novice told the Times: 'I'm still at the early stages of learning how everything works, but I know enough now to be a much more proactive voice inside the White House.'

Ivanka has well-known policy preferences that range from moderate to liberal, including strong feelings about education and climate change  she wants the U.S. to remain bound by the Paris Agreement  as well as immigrant deportation and refugees.

She has already put her stamp on policy proposals that make childcare more affordable, and would create a paid family leave program in the federal government of the sort that Democrats have long sought to impose on Republicans.

Ivanka is raising her children in D.C. with husband Jared Kushner, also a key White House adviser

Ms. Trump has some center-left issue positions and understands that she won't always get her way, but doesn't mind nudging policy a few inches at a time

She was the U.S. emissary to the W20 women's conference last month, appearing alongside Germany's chancellor, the Dutch queen and the chair of the International Monetary Fund

The 35-year-old fashion entrepreneur also has free-rein to argue with the president, meeting him head-on with criticism and trying to change his mind while other aides are pondering the wisdom of speaking up.

She has, too, the advantage of eye-contact familiarity, calling him 'Dad' instead of 'Mr. President.'

'I'm his daughter. I've known him my entire life. He trusts me,' Ivanka told the Times.

'I don't have a hidden agenda. I'm not looking to hit him to help myself.'

But in a seemingly endless series of 10-minute Oval Office meetings, brokered through strategic communications director Hope Hicks and others, Ivanka leverages her father-daughter ties to nudge America's slow-moving policy battleship a few degrees this way or that.

'I'll go to the mat on certain issues and I may still lose those,' she said. 'But maybe along the way I've modified a position just slightly. And that's just great.'

Ivanka says: 'I'm his daughter. I've known him my entire life. He trusts me. I don't have a hidden agenda. I'm not looking to hit him to help myself'

Kushner said in a phone interview that 'a lot of their real interactions happen when it's just the two of them.'

And Ivanka seems humble about her uphill climb on an unfamiliar mountain.

'There's a lot I don't know about how government works and how things get done,' she admits, but 'I do believe that in time I'll get to the right place.'

'I'm really, really trying to learn,' she added.
A New Zealand jihadist in Syria has turned to an Islamic dating app to find a wife.

Islamic State fighter Mark Taylor, who changed his name to Abu Abdul-Rahman, has highlighted his 'good sense of humour' on his islamicmarriage.com profile.

The divorced 43-year-old former New Zealand Defence Force soldier wants his special woman to migrate to the besieged city of Raqqa, the New Zealand Herald reports.

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Muslim convert Mark Taylor, who changed his name to Abu Abdul-Rahman, tried online dating

'I need a righteous practising Muslim lady who wants to do hijrah here inshallah,' he said under the alias Abujohndaniel, ending with the Arabic phrase for 'God willling'.

The 43-year-old divorcee describes himself as someone with a 'good sense of humour' and an 'understanding about marriage life', the newspaper report said.

He also wants his future bride to join him in Islamic State's self-declared capital of Raqqa.

His profile, which was since been deleted, said he arrived in the caliphate of Raqqa 10 months ago, adding he converted to Islam 13 years ago.

The New Zealand jihadist in Syria has turned to islamicmarriage.com to find a wife

The divorced ISIS fighter, who tweeted his location in 2014, turned to a dating site hoping to find a woman

Taylor must be hoping he has better luck finding a woman than he does hiding his location.

In 2014, he accidentally tweeted his location from within Syria, after forgetting to switch off the geo-location.

The series of tweets was saved by the Canadian based social media jihad monitor Ibrabo.

Taylor deleted 45 posts from Twitter in late 2014 after they apparently showed that he was with ISIS in Kafar Roma, an area targeted by President Bashar al-Assad's Syrian Army.

The former New Zealand soldier is regarded as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. State Department.

Unlike Tinder, the Islamic Marriage dating site does not have a same-sex option, as Islam forbids homosexuality.
Charlie Gard's parents have instructed new solicitors as they start their new court battle to save him.

Connie Yates and Chris Gard will today plead with London s Appeal Court to overturn last months High Court ruling that he should be allowed to die.

The couple have refused to give up hope for their nine-month-old son who is desperately ill with a rare genetic condition and want him to be flown to the US for treatment.

But last month Mr Justice Francis sided with Great Ormond Street Hospital, which is treating Charlie but believes it would be kinder to let him die.

With the deadline for lodging an appeal is due to expire in the next few hours the couple brought in new solicitors who will take on Charlie's case.

Connie Yates and Chris Gard will plead with Londons Appeal Court to overturn last months High Courts ruling that their son, Charlie,(pictured) should be allowed to die

HarrisdaSilva said they could not discuss the case because information regarding clients was confidential.

The couple have refused to give up hope for their nine-month-old son who is desperately ill with a rare genetic condition.

Last night Miss Yates, 31, of Bedfont, south-west London, said: We were devastated by the result of the last hearing.

'But somehow Chris and I have pulled together and picked ourselves up as a family. We had to for Charlies sake.

'Charlie is still strong and stable. He is growing more beautiful by the day and we knew we couldnt just give up on him.

The couple have dispensed with the services of their former solicitors, Bindmans, and have hired a new legal team, led by eminent QC Richard Gordon.

They have refused to give up hope for their nine-month-old son (pictured) who is desperately ill with a rare genetic condition

He is instructed by a new firm of lawyers, Harris Da Silva Solicitors.

The new lawyers did not want to comment ahead of todays application. But it is understood they are exploring whether human rights laws could be used to give Charlie another chance.

Last month, the baby boys parents were dealt a crushing blow when the High Court decided he should be allowed to die.

Mr Gard, 32, sobbed No as Mr Justice Francis concluded with the heaviest of hearts to reject the distraught parents wishes.

Charlies type of mitochondrial syndrome is so rare, he is only the 16th sufferer worldwide.

The condition saps energy from organs and muscles, and he is being kept alive on a ventilator.

But Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital, where he is in intensive care, wants to withdraw the ventilator and allow Charlie to die with dignity.

His British doctors believe there is no hope, but his parents have found a US specialist willing to try an experimental therapy.

The couple have dispensed with the services of their former solicitors, Bindmans, and have hired a new legal team, led by eminent QC Richard Gordon

He is instructed by a new firm of lawyers, Harris Da Silva Solicitors. The new lawyers did not want to comment ahead of Tuesday's application

Before he was hired, the couples new lawyer Charles da Silva wrote on his firms Facebook page the High Court ruling highlights that not only doctors but judges can get it wrong too

Their battle prompted 83,000 well-wishers to donate more than 1.3million to a GoFundMe online fundraising page funding the US treatment.

Before he was hired, the couples new lawyer Charles da Silva wrote on his firms Facebook page that the High Court ruling highlights that not only doctors but judges can get it wrong too.

A Bindmans spokesman was unavailable for comment.
This is the dramatic moment a former primary school teacher was confronted by a paedophile vigilante group for allegedly trying to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex.

James Hope, of Faversham, Kent, was confronted on video in a set up by The Hunted One when he apparently thought he was waiting to meet the teenager.

The 38-year-old council worker, who helped vulnerable children in care, was spoken to at the town's railway station in footage posted online by the organisation.

James Hope, of Faversham, Kent, was confronted on video in a set up by The Hunted One when he apparently thought he was waiting to meet the teenager

The 38-year-old council worker, who helped vulnerable children in care, was spoken to at the town's railway station in footage posted online by the organisation

The video contains obscene language and a group of men asking him what he was doing  including whether he thought it was acceptable.

He was asked: 'What are you doing here? Is that a photograph of you? You work with children anyway don't you? Do you think it's OK to come and meet a child?'

Hope replies: 'He's 16 isn't he?' In another video he is seen being led away by police.

He has now admitted attempting to meet a boy aged under 16 for penetrative sexual activity and been released on bail, according to KentOnline.

He used to be an assistant headteacher at Kent County Council's Virtual School, which helps educate children in care and those who had left school early.

Hope - who had also worked as a teacher at St Mary's Primary School in Faversham - will be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court at a later date.

The video contains obscene language and a group of men asking him what he was doing  including whether he thought it was acceptable

Hope has now admitted attempting to meet a boy aged under 16 for penetrative sexual activity and been released on bail

A council spokesman said Hope joined the Virtual School last January but was immediately suspended following his arrest eight months later.

Last week two self-styled paedophile hunters were arrested for impersonating a police officer as concerns grow over vigilante groups.

Officers arrested the men aged 34 and 43 just a week after senior police in Kent issued a stark warning over the activities of paedophile hunters.

On Easter Sunday an undercover sting of an alleged offender was broadcast live on Facebook - but a group of men then appeared to attack the suspect.

The Hunted One, which targets suspected offenders, vowed not to livestream its confrontations again after the incident at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.
Schools were told to keep children indoors as fire crews raced to a gas leak at a Scottish oil refinery today.

Locals reported seeing flames and hearing loud warning sirens during the incident at the petrochemical plant in Grangemouth this lunchtime.

Dee McCloy wrote on Facebook: 'Lots of steam and there was big flames from burners. One had huge black smoke cloud coming from flames. As soon as one flame went off the alarms stopped.'

Police closed off a road near the Grangemouth oil refinery today following a gas leak

Staff were evacuated from one part of the site and other workers were not let in to start their shift this evening

Emergency services were called to the scene and the south side of the site has been evacuated and roads have been closed.

Workers arriving at the plant for their shift were greeted by road closure signs. No-one was permitted to go any further inside the plant and police, who had blocked the road, turned away those who tried.

Ineos, who run the site, said in a statement: 'INEOS can confirm that at there was an incident at our Kinneil Gas plant today.

'Staff were evacuated from the immediate area and, our well-practised emergency procedures were implemented, with the incident management team being mobilised.

'As a precautionary measure we asked police Scotland to close the Wholeflats road. Our on-site emergency response team and the emergency services are attending the incident.

'The incident was caused by a leak on a pipe carrying ethylene gas which has been identified and is being isolated.

'Measures were put in place to contain the leak in the immediate vicinity of the affected plant and as an ongoing precaution road closures remain in place. All of the people working in the area have been accounted for and there were no injuries.

'A full investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. The regulators have been kept fully informed throughout.'

Locals told of their fears online after hearing sirens shortly after lunchtime today

A text alert was sent to nearby schools. It read: 'Major incident at INEOS, Police Scotland advise as precaution to keep all pupils in school over lunchtime. Will update asap.'

Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: 'The leak reported at Ineos Grangemouth is a very concerning development.

'Unite has written to the company requesting an urgent meeting in order to ascertain the cause of the leak.'

He added: 'I urge the managers now to accept that co-operation is the best policy when it comes to ensuring that Grangemouth stays safe, and drop this damaging and needless effort to break the union.

'The public need to have confidence that this site is being run on co-operation, not confrontation.'

Sirens were sounded in Falkirk after a gas leak at the Grangemouth oil refinery (file photo)

Children were allowed to leave local schools to go home at the normal time.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent eight vehicles and more than 40 firefighters to the scene to support the energy giant's on-site fire engines shortly after midday today.

Around 1,300 staff work at the Grangemouth petrochemical site, which is on the banks of the Firth of Forth.

Police closed a number of roads around the site and have asked motorists to find alternative routes.

A spokesman for the fire service said: 'At 12.12pm on Tuesday May 2, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to reports of a gas leak at the Grangemouth petrochemical site. Eight appliances are currently in attendance.'
Theresa May became the latest politician to suffer a food fail today as she struggled with some chips while out campaigning in Cornwall.

The Prime Minister looked decidedly awkward as she tried to work out how to eat the snack with cameras trained on her.

The tricky moment was reminiscent of Ed Miliband's 'bacon sandwich' moment from 2014, when photographers capture him gurning horribly as he tucked into breakfast in the run-up to local elections.

David Cameron was also mocked in 2015 when he used a knife and fork to eat a hot dog during a campaign event - in an apparent effort to avoid falling into the same trap as Mr Miliband. He was forced to deny his style of eating showed he was posh.

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Theresa May made a stop at a chip shop in Mevagissey, Cornwall, today as she rallied the Tory troops in the West Country.

The PM seemed to be uncertain about how she should eat her snack with the cameras trained on her

Mrs May was visiting Cornwall as the Conservatives put up a 'Blue wall' to fend off Liberal Democrat hopes of a resurgence in their former stronghold.

Mrs May has turned her guns on Tim Farron's party, accusing them of trying to scupperBrexit and being prepared to 'prop up Jeremy Corbyn'.

If the Lib Dems end up putting Mr Corbyn in Number 10 it would be 'a recipe for years of drift and division', she warned.

But the PM has again come under fire for tightly staged managed events - with local journalists complaining that they were not allowed to witness her trip.

Mrs May toured a the AP Diving factory in Helston this morning, before making a stop at a chip shop in Mevagissey.

In an article for the Western Morning News, the PM said the election is a 'chance to put old divisions behind us and to bring the country together'.

Warning how high the stakes are in the upcoming Brexit talks, she says 'our future prosperity, our place in the world and our standard of living all depend on getting the next five years right'.

She says every vote for the Conservatives will show a 'unity of purpose' and strengthen her negotiating position.

Mrs May will today tour the South West, traditionally a Lib Dem heartland, as she attempts to shore up Tory support against a Lib Dem comeback.

The tricky moment was reminiscent of Ed Miliband's 'bacon sandwich' moment from 2014, when photographers capture him gurning horribly as he tucked into breakfast at an event in London before local elections

David Cameron was also mocked in 2015 when he used a knife and fork to eat a hot dog during a campaign event - in an apparent effort to avoid falling into the same trap as Mr Miliband

At the same time, former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will claim the average UK household could be 500 worse off this year than last, and accuse Mrs May of inflicting 'economic harm' on the country.

The PM writes: 'I am determined not to allow parties like the Liberal Democrats to prosper, because it is in their interests to prop up a Corbyn coalition of chaos so that the Brexit process stalls and they can reopen the battles of the past.

'Wherever it says Labour or Liberal Democrat on the ballot, it's a weak, nonsensical Jeremy Corbyn that gets the vote.

'At the last election, voters here in the South-West were the difference between a strong, majority government and a weak, unstable coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

The PM, pictured on a visit to the AP Diving factory in Helston today, is turning her guns on the Liberal Democrats, accusing them of trying to scupper Brexit

Mrs May claims Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, pictured launching the Lib Dem battlebus in Lewes today, wants to 'prop up' Jeremy Corbyn

'The opposition parties are lining up to prop up Jeremy Corbyn and disrupt our Brexit negotiations  a recipe for years of drift and division at this crucial time.'

The South West is seen as a key target area by Lib Dem strategists, who hope to win back some of the 14 seats in the region that the party lost to the Tories at the 2015 election.

Mr Farron looked to broaden his appeal in the West Country over the weekend by describing himself as 'a bit of a Eurosceptic'.

The Lib Dems have taken a hard line against Brexit in a bid to scoop up Remain voters in cities like London and Bristol.

But the tactic is thought to be backfiring in areas such as Cornwall, which voted strongly for Brexit.

Despite holding many of the seats in the area before the 2015 election, academics Matthew Goodwin David Cutts said today they expected the party to struggle again this time.

The pair wrote in an article for The Times: 'While there are clear clusters of support for Remain in places like Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham, Exeter and Stroud, the southwest as a whole voted strongly for Brexit.

'Moreover, in previous Liberal Democrat strongholds like North Cornwall, St Austell and Newquay & Torbay, the estimated vote for Brexit surpassed 60 per cent.'

The apparent collapse of the Ukip vote could also deal a devastating blow to Lib Dem hopes as support flows to the Tories, they added.

'This realignment on the right will impose a higher 'blue wall' for the Lib Dems to overcome in many southwest seats and will make a recovery harder than many people currently realise.'

While the row with the EU raged on, Mrs May was out and about campaigning in the West Country today

Theresa May claimed Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who backs holding a second EU referendum, wants to disrupt Brexit negotiations and 'reopen battles of the past'

The South West has traditionally been a Lib Dem heartland  but at the last election the party was wiped out by the Tories there.

There are 10 seats in the region with Tory majorities of less than 10,000, meaning they can be considered marginal.

The most marginal is Thornbury and Yate in Gloucestershire, which the Tories hold with a majority of 1,495 after snatching it from Lib Dem former pensions minister Steve Webb in 2015.

St Ives, Torbay and Bath all have Conservative majorities of less than 4,000

Paddy Ashdown's former seat of Yeovil  lost to the Tories in 2015  comes next on the target list, followed by Cheltenham, Devon North, Wells and Cornwall North.

St Austell and Newquay is the only other seat in the South West where the Tories have a majority of less than 10,000.
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Shocking pictures have been released of the house of horrors where a missing 16-month-old girl was found dead.

Semaj Crosby's body was discovered under a couch in the filthy, now condemned house, around 30 hours after she vanished following a visit from Family Services.

Police, who are conducting a 'suspicious death' investigation, described the suburban Chicago home as 'unfit for human occupancy'.

Now newly released photos reveal the dangerous, and dirty living conditions the little girl was living in before her death.

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Semaj Crosby (left and right) was discovered under a couch in the filthy, now condemned house, around 30 hours after she vanished following a visit from Family Services

Shocking pictures have been released of the house of horrors where the missing 16-month-old girl was found dead

Bare beds and propped up mattresses appear to show that the girl was sleeping on the floor

Trash bags were left strewn all over the floor in the house which was deemed 'deplorable'

Cans of bug killer were left out in easy reach on the kitchen counter-tops in the newly released photos

Cans of bug killer were left out in easy reach on the kitchen counter-tops, trash bags were strewn all over the floor, and the bare beds and propped up mattresses appear to show that the girl was sleeping on the floor.

'The entire structure appeared unsanitary because of the heavily soiled carpets, walls, garbage and [it] contains a serious degree of filth,' an inspector noted in her report. 'The kitchen area of the home had several piles; on the stove was stacked food in foil pans and there [were] pizza boxes stacked on the table. The cabinet's doors in the kitchen [were] broken and/or missing.'

She went on to describe the back door and electrical panel blocked by 'strollers, black garbage bags, toys, clothing and containers.'

Semaj's mother Sheri Gordon declined to comment on the state of her family home.

But her attorney said that she was, 'extremely distraught over the death of her only daughter.'

'She will continue to support the investigation in this matter to the best of her abilities,' the said in a statement.

Sheri Gordon said her daughter was in the yard playing with cousins when she wandered away, just three hours after they were visited by the Department of Child and Family Services

The body of 16-month-old Semaj Crosby was found by investigators 30 hours after her mother, Sheri Gordon, reported her missing from their Joliet Township, Illinois yard

Semaj had been reported as missing by her mother, Sheri Gordon, at about 6.30pm on Tuesday  only a few hours after being visited by the Department of Child and Family Services over a previous neglect accusation.

However the department investigators saw 'no obvious hazards or safety concerns' for Semaj or her two brothers before they left, officials have said.

The girl's godmother claimed that 'squatters' had brought the bags of dirty clothes into the home.

At the time, Gordon told authorities that her daughter had wandered away from the yard where she had been playing with her cousins, prompting an extensive search of the area that involved more than 100 cops, multiple bloodhounds, divers and volunteer searchers, NBC 5 reported.

Thirty hours after her disappearance, Crosby's body was found by police in her house.

The Will County Sheriff's Office stated that Gordon's attorney  who she'd hired during the day  helped authorities obtain consent to search the house at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, an hour before Crosby's body was found inside.

According to WGNTV, Crosby was found in the same home that she lived in with Gordon.

On the day she was reported missing, NBC 5 said that Gordon and family members were seen going in and out of the house.

Investigators found Crosby's body in the house that she reportedly lived in, after gaining permission to search it from the attorney who Gordon had hired that day

The Department of Child and Family Services said Wednesday that Gordon was being investigated on an allegation of neglect.

'We have had prior contact with this family including four unfounded investigations for neglect and two prior pending investigation[s] for neglect opened in March 2017,' DCFS spokesperson Veronica Resa said in a statement, according to CBS Chicago.

'DCFS had been at the home on April 25 at approximately 3.20pm and had seen all three of the mother's children including Semaj. There were no obvious hazards or safety concerns at that time.'

Resa also stated that the DCFS had been working with Gordon and her children since September 2016.

Crosby's autopsy did not provide a clear cause of death and his awaiting lab and toxicology test results, but police say there were no obvious signs of trauma.

No arrests have been made.

JJB Rentals LLC, which owns the property, was contacted over the violations which also include a stove which was not functioning.

Funeral services for Semaj are scheduled for this Friday.
The mother-of-three who was killed by a gunman at a San Diego pool party on Sunday was a childhood friend of Nick Cannon.

The star paid tribute to Monique Clark on Instagram on Tuesday, sharing a photograph of them as children as he described her as a 'beautiful spirit'.

Clark, 35, died in hospital after being shot by Peter Selis at University City apartment complex in San Diego.

He opened fire on the group which was predominantly black and Latino in a misguided act of retaliation following a recent break-up.

Nick Cannon revealed on Tuesday that Monique Clark, the mother-of-three killed at a San Diego pool party on Sunday, was his childhood friend

Cannon shared this photograph of himself with Monique when they were youngsters

Though he was white, police said the shooting was not racially charged. Selis was eventually shot dead by police who were called to the scene.

Paying tribute to Clark, the only person killed in the tragedy, Cannon, 36, said she was more like family than a friend.

In his post, he wrote: 'My heart hurts with great sadness tonight.

'I just learned that the one life lost in the senseless and tragic mass shooting in San Diego was my childhood friend, who was more like family, Miss Monique Clark.

'Such a beautiful spirit with an infectious smile. I have nothing but wonderful memories of this Angel.

'Tears can't express the pain and shock. A mother of 3, a sister, a daughter, a cousin, a friend and a Queen... Rest in Paradise.'

Clark was celebrating a 50th birthday by the pool at University City apartment complex on Sunday when the gunman opened fire

Peter Selis, 49, had just broken up with a girlfriend and was acting in despondence when he opened fire on the group. Six others were also shot but Clark was the only victim who died

Police eventually shot the father-of-two dead after being called to the scene on Sunday

Selis opened fire on Clark and other guests as they celebrated a man's 50th birthday party by the pool.

The 49-year-old gunman was dressed in black and witnesses said he fired most of the shots while sitting in a deck chair.

They told how he fired several rounds with the gun in one hand and a beer in another.

Seven people were shot but Clark, described by relatives as 'one of the nicest people you could meet', was the only person who died of her injuries.

Clark was among guests at a 50th birthday party when the tragedy unfolded. Others who were at the party but were not hurt are seen above afterwards

The other victims are now recuperating in hospital. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help them meet medical bills.

Selis was shot dead by police who had been called to the scene.

He was mechanic and father-of-two who was acting out of despondence after a recent break-up when he opened fire, police said.

'What started as a celebration of a friend's birthday party turned into a tragedy of epic proportions,' San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said afterwards.
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A massive superyacht, one of the biggest in the world with masts taller than Big Ben, has set sail from Gibraltar.

The huge 360million vessel, named Sailing Yacht A, is said to be 'the world's greatest yacht' by project leaders close to owner Andrey Melnichenko, a Russian billionaire.

It boasts three 300ft masts, eight floors, a helicopter pad and an underwater observation room.

Pictures taken today show the superyacht in Gibraltan waters, setting sail a day after workers were seen on the decks carrying out tests and inspections.

The huge yacht, which has 300ft masts, as tall as Big Ben, was seen sailing off into the sunset from Gibraltar, where workers were seen carrying out tests and inspections on it

The yacht, pictured in Gibraltan waters, is one of the biggest ever built, and cost an estimated 260m to create

The impressive superyacht was designed by Frenchman Philippe Starck and built by German Naval Yards, Nobiskrug

The luxurious vessel has 300ft masts, eight floors, a helicopter pad and an underwater observation room and is designed to accommodate up to 20 guests and more than 50 crew

It is owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, who is set to be handed the superyacht this spring

The yacht, named Sailing Yacht A, has been branded 'the world's greatest yacht' by project chiefs

The massive boat has been named Sailing Yacht A by its owner, reportedly because its owner wants his vessels listed first in shipping registers

Mr Melnichenkos Project Director, Dirk Kloosterman said: 'This has been the most challenging assignment of my career'

The boat's owner has an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion (10.8 billion) and he spent 360million on the luxury vessel

The impressive vessel was photographed yesterday in Gibraltar, where workers have been carrying out tests and inspections

The huge 360million vessel, named Sailing Yacht A, is said to be 'the world's greatest yacht' by project leaders close to owner Andrey Melnichenko, a Russian billionaire

The yacht's 300ft masts are taller than Big Ben, and it also boasts eight floors, a helicopter pad and an underwater observation room

The massive yacht, which has eight floors, was yesterday undergoing testing in Gibraltar before it is handed over to its owner

Workers can be seen checking and carrying out tests on the superyacht, which is believed to cost around 360 million

'Her beauty is breathtaking' said Mr Melnichenkos Project Director, Dirk Kloosterman in February

The colossal yacht has three 300ft masts, eight floors, a helicopter pad and an underwater observation room

Mr Melnichenko hit the headlines back in September when he moored his other 240 million masterpiece, 'Motor Yacht A', on the Thames.

The new luxury boat is due to be handed over to Mr Melnichenko in late Spring.

As the boat made its way to Spain, Mr Melnichenkos Project Director, Dirk Kloosterman said: 'This has been the most challenging assignment of my career. I am confident Sailing Yacht A will be the worlds greatest yacht in terms of design and technology for the years ahead.

The huge scale of the massive boat makes a worker above one of the vessel's decks appear minuscule in Gibraltar yesterday

The massive boat has been named Sailing Yacht A by its owner, reportedly because its owner wants his vessels listed first in shipping registers

The luxury superyacht has been undergoing tests and inspections by workers in Gibraltar this week

The massive yacht is expected to be handed over to the Russian billionaire in the late spring, according to reports

The boat is designed to accommodate up to 20 guests, and will require a crew of 54, it is believed

The boat is powered by a 'hybrid diesel-electric package with controllable pitch propellers', according to experts

Two workers look out over one of the decks on the sprawling superyacht, which cost a huge 360 million to build

'Her beauty is breathtaking, and Philippe Starck's astonishing design and ultimate vision will be the subject of many conversations wherever she travels around the globe. We look forward to the final delivery to the owner.'

After the boat left the German shipyard, Nobiskrugs Managing Director, Holger Kahl told superyachts.com: Born from the desire of the owner to push the boundaries of engineering and challenge the status quo of the industry, Sailing Yacht A is undoubtedly one of the most visionary projects Nobiskrug has ever been involved in.

Melnichenko, who has an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion (10.8 billion), is said to favour using the letter 'A' so that his vessels are listed first in shipping registers.

Mr Melnichenko (pictured with wife Aleksandra), who has an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion (10.8 billion), founded the fertilizer producer EuroChem, the coal producer Suek, and the power generator SGK

Groups of workers were pictured onboard the luxury superyacht in Gibraltar this morning

The boat's owner has an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion (10.8 billion) and he spent 360million on the luxury vessel

The impressive superyacht was designed by Frenchman Philippe Starck and built by German Naval Yards, Nobiskrug

Superyachtfan.com reports that the boat is powered by a 'hybrid diesel-electric package with controllable pitch propellers,' and is designed to accommodate 20 guests and a crew of 54.

The unconventional yacht was designed by Frenchman Philippe Starck, who challenges the expectations of conventional aesthetics, and built by German Naval Yards, Nobiskrug.

Mr Melnichenko is expected to recover some of the costs by licensing the technology developed for the vessel for commercial applications.

The massive vessel, which has space for 20 guests and more than 50 crew, was being tested and undergoing inspections in Gibraltar today

Mr Melnichenko is expected to recover some of the costs of building the yacht by licensing the technology developed for the vessel for commercial applications
A California woman with a long history of alcohol-and-drug related arrests and multiple drunk-driving convictions has been charged with murder and DUI after striking and killing a toddler as he was crossing the street with his family.

The crash killed three-year-old Michael Flores and resulted in the arrest of Crystal Fuentes, 34. It happened in the 1000 block of West Baseline Street in San Bernardino just before 6pm on April 27.

The boy was walking alongside his parents and an older sibling in a marked crosswalk at Davidson Avenue when police say Fuentes' Chevrolet pickup truck went around other vehicles that stopped to allow the family to cross and smashed into the toddler.

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Repeat offender: Crystal Fuentes (left), 34, a California woman with a history of DUIs, has been charged with murder after striking and killing 3-year-old Michael Flores (right) in San Bernardino

This is the green Chevy pickup truck Fuentes was driving when witnesses say she went around other vehicles that had stopped at the crossing at slammed into the toddler

Crime scene: Police set up a barrier to shield from view the boy's lifeless body

Witness Tommy Bernside told ABC 7 the vehicle's bumper struck the boy in the head, sending his body flying 10-15 feet in the air.

Fuentes' pickup truck then barreled through the intersection and struck a car head on before coming to a stop two blocks away. She was arrested at the scene on preliminary charges of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.

Michael Flores was pronounced dead at the scene by responding paramedics. His mother, Fatima, and nine-year-old brother witnessed the fatal crash, reported San Bernardino Sun.

'He was a wonderful boy,' Saint Cristin Flores, the childs father, told KTLA5. 'He was the best son out there that a mother and father could ever ask for.'

Michael and his family were homeless, but on the evening of his death they had found a place to stay at a Salvation Army center.

This is every parents worst nightmare, to lose a child, District Attorney Mike Ramos said. When I heard about the deadly crash that took the life of three-year-old Michael Flores, my heart broke for him and his family.

On Monday, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office charged Fuentes with murder, driving with a .08 per cent blood alcohol content and driving when privilege suspended for prior DUI conviction.

On the morning of the accident, Fuentes, whose criminal record stretches back to at least 2001, had been released from police custody after an earlier arrest on a charge of public intoxication.

San Bernardino County court records indicate that the Redlands woman has been charged with DUI twice within the past year and has racked up nine counts of public intoxication and six charges of possession or use of a controlled substance over the past 16 years.

The toddler, pictured here as an infant swimming in a pool, died from massive trauma in front of his parent and 9-year-old sibling

Michael and his family were homeless, but on the evening of his death, they had found a place to stay

Saint Cristin Flores, the childs father (pictured), called Michael the best son a parent could hope for

Heartbroken: The boy's family are pictured sobbing and embracing each other at the scene of the deadly crash

Her most recent brush with the law prior to the fatal crash took place on March 10 when she was charged with misdemeanor drunk in public, but that count was later dismissed.

In early January, she was arrested on two DUI charges and a count of unlawful combined influence.

That case concluded on April 17, just 10 days before the San Bernardino crash, when Fuentes pleaded no contest to one DUI count and was sentenced to 20 days in jail and a fine of $1,888, but she was released a day later after receiving credit for time served.

At the time of the April 27 incident, the 34-year-old woman was on probation stemming from a previous DUI conviction related to a September 2016 arrest.

Fuentes is being held on $250,000 bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Meanwhile, Michael Flores' mother has launched a GoFundMe campaign asking for donations to help lay her little 'angel' to rest. As of Tuesday morning, more than $4,650 has been raised.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has pledged to eradicate the deficit 'as early as possible in the next Parliament'

Britons face another 15billion of tax rises and spending curbs to wipe out the deficit, a respected think-tank said today.

The fresh austerity measures would be required if the new government wanted to balance the books by 2022, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

The findings come after Theresa May - who is on track for a big majority on June 8 - signalled that the Tories could drop the 'tax lock' pledged by David Cameron in 2015.

The manifesto promise guaranteed there would be no increases in income tax or national insurance.

Although Mrs May did commit to no rises in VAT, the refusal to repeat the tax lock has fuelled speculation about boosting the burden.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has torn up George Osborne's pledge to eradicate the deficit by 2020 - instead saying he would achieve the goal 'as early as possible in the next Parliament'.

At the time the vow was made, the next Parliament was expected to end in 2025 - but the snap election means the date is now 2022.

The IFS found that the coalition Government increased taxes by 10 billion a year overall as a result of decisions taken between 2010-15.

Measures announced since 2015 will impose an additional 15 billion tax burden, pushing state revenues towards their highest share of national income since 1986.

The report - entitled Two Parliaments Of Pain - warned that the era of austerity is not over, with more tax rises and spending cuts to come if the books are to be balanced.

'Eliminating the deficit before a May 2022 general election would require a combination of further net tax rises and spending cuts worth 15billion on top of what is already planned,' the think-tank said.

Despite Conservative manifesto pledges to cut public spending by 1 per cent in real terms in 2016/17 and 2017/18 - the equivalent of 15billion over the two-year period - the report found that state expenditure is instead due to rise by 1.3 per cent a year.

Theresa May, pictured campaigning in Cornwall today, has signalled that the Tories could drop the 'tax lock' pledged by David Cameron in 2015

IFS deputy director Carl Emmerson said: 'The deficit is now roughly back to the level it was prior to the financial crisis, although it is still above its long-run average.

'On the tax side the impact on the public finances of substantial tax cuts has been more than outweighed by tax raising measures.

'The net tax rise in the current year from measures announced in the last Parliament is an estimated 10 billion, with an eventual 15 billion a year from measures announced in the current Parliament.

'These are helping push government revenues towards their largest share of the economy since 1986-87.'
A Coptic Christian church in Sydney's inner-west has gone up in flames, with extra fire crews needed to control the inferno.

The historic old stone building, which served Egypt's Coptic Orthodox community for almost 30 years, was destroyed on Tuesday night.

Fire crews spent two hours containing the severe blaze at the disused place of worship, previously known as St Mary and St Mina's Coptic Orthodox Church.

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The Egyptian Christian community in Sydney has tweeted their devastation about the fire

The Egyptian community has posted heartbreaking images of fire engulfing the church on Railway Road in Sydenham.

'This is devastating,' the Australian Coptic Movement tweeted.

Fire crews were called about 8.30pm, with 10 firetrucks sent to the scene.

A spokesman for Fire and Rescue New South Wales said it was still too early to determine the cause of the fire.

Fire crews spent two hours trying to contain the blaze at the old Coptic church in Sydenham

A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said the fire was 'quite severe' with the cause still unknown

'It was quite a severe fire,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday night.

'It will take quite a while to say what caused the fire.'

The fire caused major damage to the back of the building.

No one was injured and there were no evacuations as firefighters from Marrickville spent two hours bringing the blaze under control.

Police from the Newtown Local Area Command established a crime scene, which will be forensically examined.

Witnesses are urged to contact police via Crime Stoppers.

Police were called to the scene of the fire and are now investigating the cause of the blaze

Coptic Orthodox priest Father Mikhail Mikhail visited the scene of the blaze on Tuesday night

The building started life as a Methodist church in 1902.

It was reconsecrated as a Coptic Orthodox in 1968 but the parishioners moved to Bexley during the mid-1990s to escape noise from a new airport runway.

Coptic priest Mikhail Mikhail, who now leads mass at Bexley, visited his former church on Tuesday night as fire crews battled the blaze.

Father Mikhail said couples who exchanged wedding vows in the former church came to the scene to pay their respects.

'All the members, we have good memories in the church,' he said.

'People who get married, they are here. This is an indication of the value of the church on the hearts of the Cops.'
Reginald ('Reggie') Kimbro, 23, is charged in the strangulation death of Molly Matheson

Fresh details have emerged in the murder investigation of a young woman found strangled near Texas Christian University, as police reveal that the victim was raped, and the suspect charged had dated her.

Suspect Reginald Gerard Kimbro, 23, had dated 22-year-old victim Molly Matheson three years ago, and was accused in two separate rape cases that never went to trial in 2012 and 2014, according to police in Fort Worth, Texas.

Matheson's mother Tracy found her strangled to death in the bathroom of her apartment on April 10. Kimbro was arrested and charged with the murder on Friday.

Now police reveal that Kimbro texted Matheson on the night of the murder.

Molly Matheson attended the University of Arkansas, where Kimbro told police that the two dated in 2014. Kimbro has claimed he was a student too but the school has no record of him

Kimbro admitted to police that he'd visited Matheson on April 9, the night of the murder, claiming that the two began to kiss, but that she declined to have sex and he left

A message at 10.26pm on April 9 indicated that Kimbro had arrived at the apartment, police said. A surveillance video also showed a vehicle similar to Kimbro's arriving around 10.25pm.

The suspect told police he had dated Matheson in 2014, when she was a student at the University of Arkansas. Kimbro has claimed he attended that university, but the school says it has no record of his enrollment.

Matheson's parents had previously released a statement saying that Kimbro was someone their daughter 'sort of' knew from the University of Arkansas.

Kimbro admitted to police that he'd visited Matheson on April 9, claiming that the two began to kiss, but that she declined to have sex and he left the apartment around 1.30am, according to an arrest warrant affidavit reported by the Star-Telegram.

The surveillance video showed his suspected vehicle leaving the apartment closer to 2am, police said.

A text message from Kimbro to Matheson followed about an hour later.

'Hey. Thanks again for the advice. Its nice seeing how far youve come. Im proud of you brej. Hmu when you get up,' the text message at 2.59am read, using the slang term for a close friend.

Police say Matheson never read that final text message.

Kimbro texted Matheson at 2.59am on April 10, when police believe she was already dead. 'Hey. Thanks again for the advice. Its nice seeing how far youve come. Im proud of you brej. Hmu when you get up,' the text message read

Matheson, who was not a student at TCU but lived near the campus, was found dead by her mother around 7.20pm on April 10.

Investigators say the killer likely dragged her body into the shower and turned the water on to try to wash away evidence.

Police also found a fresh load of damp laundry in Matheson's washing machine, which they suspect the murderer put in to try to cover up the crime.

The laundry included two pairs of womens underwear, a pair of running shorts, a pillowcase, a pair of mens underwear, a green fitted sheet, two wash cloths and a bath towel.

Despite having gone through the wash, the clothes contained evidence of a sexual assault, police said. A rape kit has yet to be tested.

The arrest affidavit also revealed that Kimbro was investigated but never charged for rape in Plano, Texas in 2012, and arrested for raping a woman in South Padre Island in 2014, before the charges were dropped.

Kimbro was twice accused of rape in unrelated cases, but the charges were dropped in one, and police never arrested him in the other although his DNA was on the alleged victim

In the South Padre Island case, Kimbro met a woman at the Isla Grand Beach Resort.

They began to kiss and he took her into the women's bathroom, according to a South Padre Island Police Department report cited in the affidavit.

The woman told cops that Kimbro tried to have sex with her in the resort bathroom, and when she refused, he began choking her and violently raped her.

She immediately called police, who arrested Kimbro at the scene, and a rape kit found his semen inside of her.

But Kimbro claimed the sex had been consensual, and prosecutors dropped the charges against him.

Kimbro was arrested at Isla Grand Beach Resort (pictured) in 2014 after a woman accused him of raping her in the resort's bathroom. Kimbro claimed the sex was consensual and the charges were dropped

In Plano, Texas, a woman told police that Kimbro had offered her $200 for oral sex, and when she refused and left his house, he followed her out to her car and apologized.

The woman agreed to drive Kimbro to a nearby school, where she said he choked her as he forcefully stripped off her clothes.

'The victim felt that she was going to die because Kimbro was choking her and covering her mouth and nose so she couldnt breathe,' police wrote in the arrest warrant, according to NBC Dallas.

The woman tried to call 911, but Kimbro slammed her head into the ground and raped her, she later told police. Kimbro then drove her to another school, made her strip down again, and released her.

Although Kimbro's DNA was found on the woman after she called police, he was never arrested, and no charges were ever filed.

It's unclear why Kimbro was never charged, but Plano police spokesman officer David Tilley told the Star-Telegram that the case is still 'an open and active investigation'.

Molly Matheson's mother Tracy found her dead in the bathroom of her apartment on April 10

Kimbro was arrested on Thursday at his father's home in Dallas in connection with Molly Matheson's murder.

According to Kimbro's Facebook page, he lives in Plano and studied marketing at the University of Arkansas, however the university has said it has no record of him being a student there.

Matheson went to the University of Arkansas until she withdrew in 2015.

'This has been an overwhelmingly trying time for our family and we are confident that justice will be served for Molly,' they said.

'It's good to know there's some clarity, some closure,' said a student.

Tributes have begun to pour in for the former sorority member of Alpha Delta Phi, who has been described as 'funny, kind, and wise beyond her years.'

She graduated from Keller Timber Creek High School in Winter Park, Florida.

Kaylie Kovach wrote on Facebook: 'I'm so sick over finding out that I lost another friend from high school! What is our world coming to!?'

She added: 'You were such a beautiful soul Molly Matheson. Hope you are having fun in Heaven. Prayers for the entire family and friends.'

Crime Scene: Molly was not a student at TCU but was renting an apartment in a home nearby

The murder has shaken the community in Fort Worth.

Elise Vidaurri, who lives nearby, said Molly's death sparks concerns for her own safety as well.

She said: 'Last night, I was just praying that it was a mistake or an accident,' Vidaurri said. 'And then to find out it was a crime, a violent crime, is unsettling.'

'There's a lot of young females and families who live over here.'
Check Out The Trailer For 'Hot Doug's: The Movie,' Coming In June

By Stephen Gossett in Food on May 2, 2017 4:42PM



Hot Doug's: The Movie

The closing of the late, lamented Encased Meat Emporium known properly as Hot Doug's has left devotees with a sausage-shaped hole in their hearts for more than two years now. But the rabid following of former owner (and counter staple) Doug Sohnand they are legionwill soon to be able to relive some of that local, meaty glory in an upcoming documentary, appropriately titled Hot Doug's: The Movie.

The film is "totally in the can and ready to go," and the first public screening will likely arrive sometime in the second half of June, in Chicago, producer Nicholas Markos told Chicagoist. (The filmmakers hope to stage a few screenings and events before hopefully pressing on to other cities.) Markos and his brother Christoper, the film's director, just this week rolled out the trailer for their roughly 60-minute doc, which you can check out below. The late Homaro Cantu narrates in suitably hushed tones; we see one of those infamously long lines stretch north up California; Doug holds court at the register; and you can practically smell the duck fat fries.

Rather than a deep-dive "Ken Burns history" of Hot Doug's, as Nicholas puts it, the doc chronicles the closing stretch while "opening a window into how the restaurant worked." Along with Sohn, subjects also include Cantu, famed engineer and Electrical Audio head Steve Albini and former Punk Planet founder (and ranger badge creator) Dan Sinkerjust a small handful of the late shop's countless evangelists.

"For a lot of people, there was a real connection, so I'm not surprised that [the devotion] is still there," said Markos. "It's like a song you loved in high school. There was something fundamental about the way people connected with the place."

[H/T Eater Chicago]
Nasar Ahmed, 14, died from an asthma attack after he was put in detention at Bow School

A school nurse has admitted mistakenly downgrading a health care plan for a teenage boy with severe allergies and asthma just months before he died.

Goddard Edwards assessed Nasar Ahmed's allergy plan as mild to moderate rather than severe, despite the youngster being allergic to a wide range of foods.

He also failed to follow up on gaps in details about the boy's medication when it was discussed with his parents during a meeting at Bow School in east London.

Nasar was in detention with other pupils when he became unwell and collapsed on November 10.

He was rushed to hospital and given oxygen but a brain scan showed the 14-year-old was unresponsive and he died on November 14.

An inquest into his death at Poplar Coroner's Court also heard there were no requirements for staff on duty to know of his medical requirements.

Teacher Arlette Matumona, responsible for pupils' medical needs, was unable to say whether staff supervising the detention had looked at the school's information system to check on Nasar's medical needs.

The inquest heard the Year Nine pupil had asthma, severe eczema and a host of allergies, including to fish, nuts, wheat, apples and oranges.

He used inhalers, his mother carried two epipens and the school had two more epipens if he showed symptoms of an anaphylactic allergic reaction.

Nasar became unwell and collapsed on November 10. He was rushed to hospital and given oxygen but a brain scan showed he was unresponsive and he died on November 14

But at a meeting on May 3 2016 with Nasar and his mother, Mr Edwards used an incorrect form when assessing his allergies, downgrading his case from severe to mild to moderate.

He also failed to follow up on incomplete records of Nasar's medication that needed to be kept at the school, the inquest heard.

Use of an epipen was also not mentioned, and Mr Edwards conceded he made a mistake.

Nasar's father, pictured with the boy's mother, claims he arrived at school to see paramedics trying to revive his son

He said: 'The epipen doesn't figure on this particular plan. I accept that this was an oversight on my part.'

Mr Edwards also said the error with the care plan was a 'complete oversight on my part', and admitted failing to follow up and review Nasar's medication needs after asking a receptionist to tell his mother she needed to bring up a new epipen and inhaler for him.

But when asked how he would characterise his care for Nasar, he said: 'I fulfilled my duties. I am happy with the care I gave Nasar.'

Coroner Mary Hassell told him she was 'surprised to hear that' following the catalogue of errors, to which he answered: 'There are some omissions with the care plan, so to go back to your question, no, there are some problems with this.'

The inquest also heard Ms Matumona explain staff were told to check pupils' medical records at the start of the school year.

But she said support staff, who would not have come into daily contact with Nasar, had been on duty that day, and conceded they may have failed to check.

She said: 'Perhaps they wouldn't necessarily think to check in the school system.

Mr Edwards also failed to follow up on gaps in details about the boy's medication when it was discussed with his parents during a meeting at Bow School in east London (shown)

Ms Matumona added: 'Some staff will and some staff won't check SIMS (the school's information system) as a matter of course.'

Pressed by the family's lawyer, Sam Jacobs, on whether they should, she replied: 'I am not sure. If you are a support member of staff who does not teach that child...

'Most of our staff would not have thought that Nasar would have to be discussed so publicly.'

Asked if it was realistic for staff to remember a child's medical needs after checking at the start of the year, Ms Matumona said: 'Perhaps we could have it so that it's displayed somewhere or have a list for those children in exclusion.'

The inquest continues.
The white cop who shot Walter Scott dead has pleaded guilty in a civil rights case over the 2015 shooting.

Michael Slager, 35, killed Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old motorist in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 4, 2015, by shooting him in the back five times as he tried to run away from a traffic stop.

The killing was caught on cell phone footage and sparked widespread outcry after circulating. It also inflamed the national debate on how white police officers treat black suspects.

Slager was charged with murder but a jury could not reach a verdict at a trial last year and a mistrial was declared in December. In May 2016, he was indicted on federal civil rights abuses.

At a hearing in North Charleston on Tuesday afternoon, Slager pleaded guilty to felony deprivation of rights under color of law which is punishable by any term of imprisonment including life imprisonment or death.

It is a conviction he cannot appeal, having waived his appellate rights as part of the deal. Slager will be sentenced once a pre-sentencing report is presented to the judge.

As part of the deal, Slager's murder charge, two other federal charges and the state charges against him which included for lying to investigators and using a firearm in a violent crime were dropped.

According to local media, the police officer hugged his lawyer before being taken out of the court in handcuffs by US Marshals.

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Officer Michael Slager, 35, (pictured left, leaving court after a judge declared a mistrial in his murder trial in December last year) pleaded guilty to violating Walter Scott's civil rights on Tuesday. He shot the unarmed 50-year-old (right) in 2015

There was no sign of Slager outside the courthouse on Tuesday before the hearing and cameras were not allowed inside.

His relatives were present as were the victim's. A lone Blue Lives Matters protester paced outside the courtroom with a sign.

Afterwards, Walter Scott's family emerged from court holding hands and smiling.

They welcomed the conviction at a press conference, telling gathered reporters 'justice has been served'.

Judy Scott, the victim's mother, said: 'Today is a day of victory for Walter. We got justice and I thank God for all of those that worked with us, for us that believed in us and I thank God because god never fails.

'I love my son I miss him, I miss him dearly and I thank God for justice. Today is a good day for justice.'

In a remarkable show of grace, she said she had forgiven Slager.

'Yes I do [forgive him] because the forgiver lives in me. I have to forgive him because I must be forgiven. He is in me. I can't help myself.'

Scott's brother Anthony said the plea meant his family could finally begin to heal.

Scott's mother Judy, pictured above at a press conference after the hearing in Charleston on Tuesday, said the plea was a 'victory for Walter'

Rodney Scott, brother of Walter Scott, who was killed by former Police Officer Michael Slager in 2015, leads his mother Judy Scott from the courtyard next to the U.S. District Courthouse

His mother said: 'Today is a day of victory for Walter. We got justice and I thank God for all of those that worked with us, for us that believed in us and I thank God because god never fails'

'From the beginning we were only seeking justice for my brother. From the first day, I said something was not right with what I was listening to.

'Then the video came out. I knew from my brother being the person that he is that the story that was being said by the police officer was bit a valid story.

'I knew from day one there was something wrong with the picture. We asked for justice, we received justice. We asked for peace and there was peace. We believed that we would get justice and we did that, that has happened.

'We see that unjust cops will not be tolerated anymore. We need police officers but we need good police officers. We need for them to respect us as people and what we saw on that video was not being respected.'

Mr Scott said his family hoped Slager will be sentenced to death.

'We will never be able to see Walter again as a brother. His laughter, his jokes. We will never be able to hear him sing a song. Never again. That's gone. But I hope he's looking down on us saying: "Job well done. Y'all stuck through and I got the justice."'

Chris Stewart, the lawyer representing the Scott family, said the plea was a 'step towards justice'.

'For once, justice came out. Justice doesn't look like a big settlement cheque. It looks like today. Today was a step towards justice,' he said.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson was joined by Walter Scott's mother Judy at a press conference after the hearing. They welcomed Slager's plea

A lone Blue Lives Matters protester turned out to support the policeman on Tuesday

State prosecutor Scarlett Wilson issued this statement after the hearing: 'Today, in working with the Department, we found justice in a resolution that vindicates the States interests by holding former police officer Michael Slager accountable for shooting Mr. Scott.

'Now that Slager has pleaded guilty to a willful violation, admitted the facts we set out to prove and waived the right to appeal his conviction, a successive prosecution by the State is not necessary.'

Later, at a press conference where she was joined by the Scott family, she welcomed the development again but said it was a 'sad' day.

'It's not a happy day. It's a sad day. It's sad to see such an event like this happen and to watch it before your very eyes and to know how many good men and women in law enforcement are paying for what Michael Slager did and it's not fair.

Slager shot Scott, 50, as he tried to run away from him during a traffic stop on April 4, 2015. The shooting was caught on video by a passer-by

Slager fired eight shots at the man, shooting five times in the back as a by-stander filmed them

After shooting him dead, Slager checked Scott's pulse as he lay dead on the ground

'The fact of the matter is having Michael Slager accept responsibility and be held accountable and remember, for the sentencing phase of the hearing, murder is still on the table.'

Exactly how long Slager will spend in jail will be determined by a federal judge at a later date.

The exact offence he was convicted of is deprivation of rights under the color of law.

The crime still carries any prison term including life if it results in a person's death. It is also punishable by death. Slager's attorneys had been fighting to have the civil rights charges against him dismissed.

Slager stopped Scott for a broken break light on April 4, 2015. Cellphone footage captured by a passer-by saw him running from the scene as the cop followed him with his gun raised.

He fired eight rounds, shooting Scott five times in the back.

Slager was charged with murder but a jury could not reach a verdict last year after a five-week trial

Once he was on the ground, Slager approached Scott's lifeless body to check for a pulse.

Later, Slager claimed that he grabbed for his Taser gun during the scuffle. After watching him fall to the ground, he was filmed going over to check Scott's pulse.

Charleston prosecutors charged him with murder but after a five-week trial in 2016, a jury failed to reach a verdict.

The jurors were predominantly white and told later how they'd spoken about the police officer's 'good character' during deliberations.

The judge declared a mistrial, sparking uproar among Scott's sympathizers. Charleston prosecutors immediately vowed to try Slager again.

During the trial, Scott's mother told how he called her after being pulled over by the police officer.

She heard him run out of the vehicle as Slager walked back to his cruiser to check Scott's license details, and listened as her son complained that he was tasered.

'I heard him groaning like he was in excruciating pain a couple of times.'

'I say, "Lamar, just, just do whatever he say,"' Scott said. 'I told him, "You know North Charleston policemen, so just do whatever they say."' Her grandson took the phone out of her hands before Slager opened fire.

Scott's family sued the city for wrongful death and was awarded a $6.5million settlement.

Slager's wife spoke out last year to protest her husband's innocence.

'There's parts of the video showing Walter Scott on my husband. Mike did not feel safe. My husband did not think he was going to come home to me.

'That's why he did what he did,' she told DailyMail.com exclusively. She said the shooting was not racially motivated but had been publicly framed that way by prosecutors and city officials.
Angie Whitley thought she had her dream home - until she found the first snake.

The single mother from Minnesota spent years renting so she could save up the cash required to purchase a place.

And after a series of inspections and walk-throughs, Whitley finally settled on a home to call her own. She bought the three-bedroom property, according to Caldwell Banker Burnet realtors, for $238,000.

Then, just 45 minutes after she took the keys and started unpacking, the long-time nurse saw the first slithering invader in her bedroom.

Angie Whitley was shocked to move into her new home - only to find it was full of snakes (pictured)

In the months since, things have only gotten worse.

'One quickly turned into three, four, five. Today, its six months later. Now Im about 95 snakes that Ive found inside my house,' she told WCCO.

'I brought my first sort of box here to my bedroom and I found a snake.'

As a result of the repeated reptilian rendezvous, Whitley was forced to call in an animal control expert to fix the problem.

'I hate that shes going through this,' Mark Anderson said.

After Anderson and his team arrived on the scene, they went on to find hundreds more outside - in addition to the 95 or so inside.

Almost 100 snakes were found inside the house, while animal control experts found hundreds more outside the house

The single-mother (pictured) from Minnesota had spent years renting so she could save up the cash required to purchase a place of her own

Whitley bought the house after spending years saving up the cash. Animal control workers are pictured searching for snakes around the outside of it

'In the snake world, this is up there,' he said, before providing a potential explanation for the infestation.

'Water creates a big boyd thats where the foundation of her house is.'

Whitley's home is located near a marsh, and its likely her home is sitting atop a snake den.

The combination of water and heat from her property creates an irresistible draw for the cold-blooded animals.

The shocked nurse and new home owner told WCCO she spoke to the previous owners, but they told her they were unaware of the problem.

But Whitley isn't buying it.

'One quickly turned into three, four, five. Today, its six months later. Now Im about 95 snakes that Ive found inside my house,' Whitley said

Whitley has since had to spend $13,000 ripping up her basement and having snake traps (pictured) installed

'From what Ive heard from the experts who have come out, they tell me that theres no way this just started,' she said.

Regardless of whether they knew or not, it doesn't change the fact Whitley has been forced to spend almost $13,000 to try to rid her home of the snakes.

She had her basement ripped up, and more than 40 gallons of water was pumped out of large hole she found in her home's foundation. She also had snake traps installed throughout the basement.

Whitley thought that solved the problem, however springtime has brought the snakes slithering back into her home.

She told WCCO she is planning to enter arbitration with the previous owners, who will then determine whether any fraud occurred.

In addition to ripping up the basement (pictured), Whitley had more than 40 gallons of water pumped out of large hole she found in her home's foundation
A family who were hacked to death with an axe were attacked with such ferocity that their blood ended up spattered on a neighbour's house, court documents show.

Henri van Breda, 21, is accused of landing 15 savage blows on his parents and siblings during a frenzied bedroom attack at the family's luxury home in South Africa two years ago.

In court on Tuesday, Van Breda looked unemotional as he flicked through a bundle of police photos taken at his former Cape Town home that a judge ruled were too graphic to be made public.

Henri van Breda, 21, appeared stoic as he was shown photos of his family after they had been attacked with an axe that a judge ruled were too graphic to make public (file images)

Van Breda is accused of slaughtering his family at their home in Cape Town (pictured outside) in a massacre so brutal their blood ended up spattered on a neighbour's house

Prosecutors say Henri (left) murdered father Martin (right), mother Teresa (front right), brother Rudi (center) and tried to kill sister Marli (front left)

He was equally stoic as he read post-mortem reports for his father Martin, mother Theresa, and older brother Rudi that revealed the brutality of their deaths.

The papers told how mother-of-three Theresa, 55, who died face down in her underwear, had her head split open by three axe blows.

Her 44-year-old husband Martin, wearing just a pair of light shorts, sustained at least five strikes to his head and another to the back of his neck.

He was photographed dead on a bed in his sons' room, close to the body of Rudi.

The masters student, whom Van Breda witnessed 'gurgling' and 'thrashing about' as his life ebbed away, suffered four blows from the axe, which proved fatal, the post mortem report revealed.

He also died face-down, his bloodied head coming to rest on his crossed wrists.

Schoolgirl Marli, who is listed to give evidence against her brother, miraculously survived the assault and was found on the first floor landing, near her dead mother.

Van Breda (pictured with his legal team at his old family home) says he watched through a crack in a bathroom door as his family were cut down two years ago

A court heard that Van Breda's family were all hit multiple times in the head with a 9lb axe, leaving the house covered in blood (pictured, Van Breda during a tour of the home)

At one point during the tour, Van Breda's solicitor, Lorinda Van Niekerk, scaled the home's side gate and a 7ft high wall (right) to demonstrate how intruders could have arrived and fled on the night of the grisly killing

Stark images revealed the then-16-year-old suffered four axe blows to her head and another across her jugular just below her left ear which was almost split in half.

Personal items, including novels, sunglasses and phones, are pictured untouched on tables in the bedrooms whose floors were left drenched with blood.

Gouges made by the 9lb axe were also found in the walls upstairs.

In a dramatic account of events read at the start of his trial last week, Van Breda claims he watched the scene of almost unimaginable carnage unfold through a crack in the bathroom door.

He described how - after leaving his siblings and parents either dead and dying - the murderer then set about him with an axe and a knife, but only managed to inflict minor cuts to his chest and a wound to his side.

Pictures of Van Breda were also shared with the Western Cape High Court showing him looking dazed at the crime scene while on a paramedics' stretcher, dressed in light blue boxer shorts.

Stripes of thin, congealed blood from knife wounds across his bare chest and forearm were captured on camera, as well as a clean wound dressing on his left side.

If Van Breda is found guilty, he will be denied access to his family's 13million fortune as people are barred from profiting from crime in South Africa

Van Breda claims he was also wounded on the chest, arms, and torso during the attack as he fought the intruder off

Then aged 19, Van Breda claimed he single-handedly fought off the triple murderer, chasing him and unseen accomplice off the property, before lighting a cigarette to calm down and then passing out for several hours.

He claims he was unable to remember the correct number to dial for help, having just moved back from Australia.

However, one photo from the crime scene showed a list of emergency numbers that was stuck on the fridge in the Van Bredas' kitchen.

These included contacts for the estate's security guards, emergency medical assistance and the mobile numbers of neighbours.

Marli is the sole survivor of the attack and has been listed as the prosecution's main witness, but lawyers are reportedly argonising over whether to call her

It has been reported that Mali can remember nothing of the night she was found with a severed jugular and left in a coma

Other pictures showed a neat and tidy family home on the ground floor - filled with board games and electronics.

Sergeant Adrian Kleynhans, who was first to respond, told Van Breda's lawyer Pieter Botha the scene he found was 'shocking'.

He denied there had been signs of a break-in, adding: 'If there had been a burglary things would have been missing. Nothing was missing.'

But Mr Botha did admit that there have been 24 break-ins at the housing complex where the Van Bredas lived over the last 15 years.

That is despite the fact that the estate boasts round-the-clock security and an electrified perimeter fence.

Van Breda, who is on bail, denies three counts of murder, one of attempted murder and perverting the course of justice.

If convicted, he will be unable to inherit his share of his parents' estate, reported to be worth 13million.

Van Breda said it took him four hours to phone for help because he did not know the right number to call, but photographs show a list of emergency numbers on the fridge

The family home, worth 400,000, and a mansion in Queensland, valued at 1.9million, are both currently on the market. If Van Breda is not guilty, he stands to inherit from both

Martin Van Breda amassed a fortune from property and other investments while living in Perth, Australia, for seven years.

Shortly before the murders, he moved back to South Africa with his family to cash in on a lucrative business deal.

Mr Botha, who is representing Van Breda, was on the team that secured an acquittal for Shrien Dewani, a British millionaire who was accused of ordering the assassination of his new bride during their 2010 honeymoon to Cape Town.

A property acquire by the family on Australia's Sunshine Coast was also recently put up for sale for 1.9million.

Whether Van Breda will inherit his parents wealth remains to be seen - as under South African law, no one convicted of killing can profit financially from their crimes.

The trial continues.
A constitution document which renounces Japan's right to wage war should be changed because of Kim Jong-un's aggression, the country's prime minister has said.

Shinzo Abe argues that the American-written peace constitution, penned after Japanese surrender at the end of World War Two, now needs to be amended.

It is widely viewed as a pacifist symbol, but conservatives have described it as an alien charter and a national humiliation.

The constitution has survived unchanged for 70 years, but nationalists are calling for changes in the face of North Korean aggression

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has said the time is right for the document to be amended

Tomorrow will be 70 years since it came into force.

A BAN ON WAGING WAR: THE PARAGRAPH IN THE DOCUMENT Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of forces as a means of settling international disputes. In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized. Advertisement

A paragraph in the constitution says the Japanese people must 'renounce war' and says land, sea and air forces 'will never be maintained'.

In a speech to supporters yesterday, Mr Abe said: 'The time is ripe. We will take a historic step towards the major goal of revising the constitution in this milestone year.'

Those against amending the document believe it serves as a bulwark against a repeat of Japan's World War Two aggression, and say changing it will amount to whitewashing the country's history.

In 2014 Mr Abe introduced a change allowing Japan's 250,000-strong military to defend friends and allies if attacked.

At the time he said: 'We shall never repeat the horror of war.

Tourists look at the original version of the constitution at the National Archives of Japan in Tokyo

Japanese politicians have become increasingly concerned about the aggression of Kim Jong-un's North Korea

'With this reflection in mind, Japan has gone on for 70 years after the war.

'It will never happen that Japan again becomes a country which goes to war.'

But Kim Jong-un's armaments campaign has made Japanese politicians nervous, and prompted calls for the document to be amended.

Conservatives see those who defend its emphasis on peace as dangerously out of tune with geopolitical realities, such as North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

'The fault lines of Japanese politics very much run through the constitution,' said Kenneth Ruoff, professor of modern Japanese history at Portland State University in the United States.

Mr Abe has long vowed to bring it more in line with what conservatives see as Japanese values, such as greater emphasis on obligations rather than rights, and on the family not the individual.

While unlikely to seek the complete removal of the popular and war-renouncing Article 9, they advocate changes to its wording, such as recognising the country's self-defence forces as a military and clarifying Japan's right to defend itself.

Pro-amendment parties can now muster the two-thirds majorities necessary in both houses of parliament to pass changes, though they would be subject to a national referendum for final approval and that is seen as the biggest hurdle.

The constitution has never been amended, but governments such as Mr Abe's have interpreted it in ways that have effectively loosened some of its constraints.

On Monday, Japan dispatched its biggest warship since World War II to escort and protect a US supply vessel in the first such action under the new security laws

In 2015, for example, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its allies rammed legislation through parliament enabling Japan to engage in 'collective security' - the defence of troops from its US ally and other friendly nations - if it was seriously threatened.

That triggered a backlash from legal scholars and lawyers, who argued the changes violated the constitution, and sparked demonstrations outside parliament.

On Monday, Japan dispatched its biggest warship since World War II to escort and protect a US supply vessel in the first such action under the new security laws as tensions mount in the region over North Korea.

While pro-revisionists now have their 'greatest chance' to make changes, it may still be hard for them to amend the document, which would require a consensus, Ruoff said. 'Everybody has to agree and that's not so easy,' he said.

Public opinion polling shows broad acceptance of the peace constitution - as it is widely known - as a whole, although views are divided on the hot-button issue of Article 9.

While polls show the overwhelming majority of Japanese are concerned by North Korea's missile tests, surveys have turned up wide variations in the level of support for amending Article 9.

Public broadcaster NHK found only 25 percent of respondents in favour of changing it, with 57 percent opposed. Another survey by Kyodo News found 49 percent for and 47 percent against.
A carpenter cut his wife's throat from behind in a 'coup de grace' after discovering she was having an affair with a work colleague, a court heard today.

Robert Rhodes, 43, of Earlswood, Surrey, allegedly murdered Dawn Rhodes, 38, during a row at their family home after she told him she wanted a divorce - and he had told her lover: 'Thank you for screwing my wife and my life.'

He is then said to have left her lying face down in a large pool of blood on the dining room floor before dialling 999 to say: 'My wife has attacked me.'

Robert Rhodes (left), 43, of Earlswood, Surrey, allegedly murdered Dawn Rhodes (right), 38, during a row at their family home after she told him she wanted a divorce

Mr Rhodes told police he was acting in self-defence after she 'turned into the Hulk' and growled in anger as she came at him with a kitchen knife, jurors heard.

He claimed he was standing in front of her when he slashed her throat with one powerful swing - but an expert concluded that this is 'highly unlikely'.

Simon Russell-Flint, prosecuting, said: 'He stood behind her and cut across the front of her throat, killing her deliberately and intentionally. His description does not tally with the medical evidence.'

Jurors at the Old Bailey in London heard Mr Rhodes had found out his wife was having an affair with a married work colleague on Christmas Eve 2015.

At first Mrs Rhodes asked him to move into the spare bedroom but in early 2016 she moved into her mother's home and announced she wanted a divorce.

Mr Rhodes is said to have left his wife lying face down in a large pool of blood on the dining room floor of their family home (pictured) in Earlswood, Surrey

Mr Rhodes later admitted he contacted Mrs Rhodes's lover to tell him: 'Thank you for screwing my wife and my life.'

He also set up a fake Facebook account to contact the man's wife with the message: 'Hi my name is Rob Rhodes, husband of Dawn Rhodes who your husband works with and has been f***ing since Christmas.

'Dawn is leaving me for him. I thought you should know. Sorry they have screwed us both. I have tried to fix this but they won't do it.'

Mr Rhodes set up a meeting with the woman and told her he had threatened his wife that he would kill himself by driving into a tree.

Mr Russell-Flint told jurors: 'He said he had researched on the internet how to cut your own chest open and there was a special way. He seemed very unstable.

Mr Rhodes claimed he was standing in front of his wife when he slashed her throat at the home with one powerful swing - but an expert concluded that this is 'highly unlikely'

'She confronted her husband and he admitted his affair with Dawn.'

Mr Rhodes also told police that his wife had found out he was seeing a woman he met on an internet dating site.

On 2 June last year Mrs Rhodes and her mother Elizabeth went to Brighton for the day, the court heard.

When they returned Mr Rhodes was agitated and 'like a cat on a hot tin roof', the court heard. At 7.35pm he dialled 999 to say his wife had attacked him with a knife.

Police arrived minutes later at the house on Wimborne Avenue to find Mrs Rhodes lying in a pool of blood and Mr Rhodes in an upstairs bedroom.

Police arrived at the house on Wimborne Avenue in Earlswood in June last year to find Mrs Rhodes lying in a pool of blood and Mr Rhodes in an upstairs bedroom

The cut to Mrs Rhodes's throat had severed her carotid artery and jugular veins and also passed through her windpipe.

Mr Rhodes told officers his wife had a 'short fuse' and hit him twice on the back of the head with a knife during the row.

Mr Russell-Flint told jurors: 'In his words he said Dawn flipped and she turned into the "Hulk". She was making a growling noise with anger.

'He described the motion as he swung at her as hard as he could with the knife in his right hand. She kept coming at him and he pushed her away and ran upstairs.'

Mr Russell-Flint said expert pathologists had concluded the fatal cut could have been caused by a forceful, high velocity slashing motion from the front or a 'coup de grace' type blow from behind.

Mr Rhodes told police his wife had a 'short fuse' and hit him twice on the back of the head with a knife during the row. Pictured: An officer standing outside the home in Earlswood

Mr Rhodes later changed his account to say that he stabbed his wife all the way through the neck and then rapidly pulled the blade forward, cutting through the skin and neck tissue.

But the prosecutor said: 'The considered opinion is the injuries do not reflect the mechanism now stated by the defendant.

'The pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl considered this injury was highly unlikely to have occurred with but a single swipe.

'The wound characteristics were more in keeping with the wound being caused by the defendant being behind his victim.'

Rhodes denies murder. The trial continues.
A Cleveland police dispatcher heard snoring on a recorded 911 call has been suspended for six days after sleeping on the job.

Jasmin Thomas pleaded no contest to internal charges from the police department's investigation.

And one recorded dispatch tape of Thomas answering calls from people in the community is perhaps the most inflammatory.

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Jasmin Thomas, a Cleveland police dispatcher, was suspended after being found sleeping on the job

'Cleveland 911, what is your emergency? Do you need police, fire or EMS?' Thomas is heard saying to a caller in a video released by Fox 8 Cleveland.

But mere seconds later, loud snores can be heard coming from her end of the line.

Audio recordings also show that Thomas took ten seconds to answer one call and then 40 seconds to transfer the caller to firefighters about a burning stove.

Photos of Thomas, which appear to have been taken on several different occasions, show her asleep behind her desk.

Thomas pleaded no contest to internal charges from the department's investigation, which included tapes of her snoring during 911 calls

'Not excuses, but the reality is that she's a single mom,' Cleveland Police Union President Steve Loomis told Fox 8.

'She's going to college full-time and she's working 40, 50, sometimes 60 hours a week up there.'

The station has reported previously that the number of calls to Cleveland 911 have increased significantly, especially after all cell phone calls that were typically handled by county dispatchers have been directed to the main headquarters.

The Cleveland police chief declined an interview to discuss Thomas's conduct.
A dirt bike rider has captured the moment his friend's leg was punctured by a tree branch as he rode through the middle of bushland.

The footage, which was uploaded to the Motopia Facebook page, shows a group of dirt bikers riding through the bush in Victoria.

The bike at the back is filming, while two riders are speeding along in front of him.

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A dirt bike rider has captured the moment his friend's leg was punctured by a tree branch as he rode through the middle of bushland (pictured)

As they ride through the bush, the bike in front drives over the top of a fallen tree and as he runs over the top of it, a branch breaks off and punctures his right leg.

The bike behind him has to come to a stop quickly, almost colliding with him in the process.

When the rider sees the stick poking straight out of his friend's leg he exclaims 'F**king hell!'

He then gets off his bike to assess the damage, asking the man if it's stabbed him to which he replies 'I think it might have'.

His friend then replies with: 'Well there's nothing else to do but pull it out mate.'

He then says to his friend: 'Are you ready?' before grabbing hold of his boot with one hand, the branch with the other, and pulling it straight out.

After stopping to assess the damage to his friend's leg, the man filming the group decided to pull the branch out, grabbing hold of the boot with one had and the branch with another

The groups exclaims when they see the branch, which is covered in blood.

The man filming is heard saying: 'That almost came out the other side, that's hospital for you.'

He is heard asking the group if anyone has any Panadol, before they decide to keep riding.

The group then ride off, with the man filming holding the bloodied branch in one hand while he is riding along.

After he pulls it out the branch is covered with blood. The group (pictured) then decide to ride back to the campsite to get first aid, before taking the injured man to the hospital

They later pull up to a campsite and the man filming jumps off his bike, runs to his car and gets a first aid kit, then yelling for a car to take him to hospital.

The injured man spent 11 days in hospital where they removed two splinters about 50mm long from his calf.

He also required an artery repair, two skin grafts and numerous stitches.
Megyn Kelly is one step closer to landing the interview of a lifetime.

The journalist is flying to Russia next month to moderate an interview with Vladimir Putin at an annual conference, her new network NBC announced on Tuesday.

'Megyn Kelly of NBC News will moderate the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on stage with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin,' an NBC News spokesman told DailyMail.com.

Megyn Kelly (pictured Monday night at the Met Galal, left) will fly to Russia next month to moderate an interview with Vladimir Putin, NBC announced on Tuesday

'The conversation will cover a wide range of global political and economic topics, including international trade agreements, cyber-security and the impact of rising military tensions,' the statement reads.

The annual conference will take place from June 1-3, and the exact time and date of Kelly's session with Putin will be announced in the coming weeks.

In March, rumors started circulating that Kelly was in talks to interview Putin for her new Sunday night news magazine, when NBC News Chief Andy Lack flew to Russia to speak with Putin's spokesman.

Kelly officially started work at NBC on Monday, and posted this picture of her outside her new offices at 30 Rock

Still, there has been no confirmation that a sit-down interview has been negotiated.

A source told New York Post's Page Six that the event will be 'a great way for Megyn to get an inside track and land the big one-on-one interview with President Putin'.

Kelly officially started work on Monday, and has already interviewed the Kardashians for her new Sunday night show.

Major networks have been competing to get an interview with the Russian leader, since tensions have been rising between the U.S. and Russia.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos was reportedly angling for the talk, while Showtime announced on Monday that they would be airing a four-hour special on Putin, set to air over four consecutive nights in June.

The Showtime special will draw on several interviews Putin has had with filmmaker Oliver Stone over the past two years - most recently in February.

Putin has previously agreed to interview with the American press - including with Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes in 2015 and with Fox News' Chris Wallace in 2005.
A Melbourne woman who gave birth when she was 61-years-old has fiercely defended her decision to have a baby in her sixties.

Shammi Pal gave birth to her daughter Angel in September 2016 and has faced intense criticism since.

'I've been condemned and looked at as the biggest mistake I have ever done. What have I done to deserve this treatment? I've only become a mum like everybody else does,' she told the ABC.

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Shammi Pal pictured the day she gave birth to her daughter Angel in Melbourne's Mercy Hospital

Ms Pal said she was treated like a criminal for her decision to fall pregnant at her age.

'They thought you could be sick in the head to be having a baby at this age, or really silly, or this could be the biggest crime you have ever done to have a baby at this age,' she said.

When Ms Pal gave birth to Angel at Melbourne's Mercy Hospital on September 12, she said medical staff told her she was too old.

Immediately after she gave birth, Ms Pal said she feared her baby would be taken away from her.

The Melbourne woman said medical staff and social workers were in and out of her room before she was handed her baby.

The authorities were ensuring Ms Pal and her husband were capable of caring for their child.

Ms Pal said her daughter Angel (pictured together) was her 'miracle baby' and fought to silence her critics

Mercy Hospital told the 7.30 Report, it was unable to comment on Ms Pal's case due to privacy laws.

The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services said the age of the mother was not a factor, but child protection practitioners were obliged to respond to all reports of welfare concerns.

Ms Pal and her husband Lucas Arora tried to conceive with the help of IVF programs in Australia, but when Ms Pal turned 52-years-old, she was too old to be a candidate.

The couple then turned to a fertility specialist in India.

With the help of Dr Mehul Damani, a donor egg and sperm, Ms Pal fell pregnant.

When Ms Pal gave birth to Angel at Melbourne's Mercy Hospital (pictured) on September 12, she said medical staff told her she was too old

The couple returned to Australia where they prepared for the child's birth.

And despite her critics, Ms Pal said the couple was as prepared as any other.

She said she was physically fit, healthy, educated, and financially and mentally stable.

Ms Pal said she was still taken aback by the backlash she received since falling pregnant.

She said in many other countries, including India, she would have been given a bravery award.
Photos: Chicago's May Day Marches Honor History, Mock Political Leaders

By aaroncynic in News on May 2, 2017 4:10PM

Thousands converged on Union Park and later marched to Daley Plaza in the Loop Monday to celebrate International Workers Day, also known as May Day.

Rallies began early in the morning at multiple locations across the city. In Logan Square, neighborhood residents and students convened for a dedication ceremony designating the stretch of Kedzie Avenue from Emmett Street to Addison Street to labor organizer, firebrand, and anarchist Lucy Parsons, who marched in the first May Day demonstration in 1886.



May Day, which sees millions of workers and others march worldwide, has deep roots in Chicago. Workers in the late 19th centurymany of them immigrantsbuilt a movement demanding an eight-hour workday, and calls that sound all too familiar today for better working conditions, and changes in the larger political and economic structure of the country at the time, rampant with racism, the brutal repression of workers and income inequality. May Day marks a large general strike in Chicago which led to the Haymarket bombing, which resulted in the execution of anarchists and labor organizers tried in a kangaroo court.

"The conditions Lucy and other workers were facing that day are not too different from the conditions we're facing now," Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa told a crowd in Logan Square.

The rallies citywidewhich converged on Union Park in the early afternoonhighlighted the intersections of issues facing marginalized communities across America.

Donald Trump and the billionaire class have once again forced us out of our schools, homes, and workplaces and onto the streets to fight for our communities and loved ones, said Juan Carlos of the Socialist Alternative at a rally in Pilsen. Today in Pilsen, capitalism is showing its true colors through the gentrification and displacement of our community. How can we call ourselves a sanctuary city if those that need the sanctuary the most cant afford to live here because rents are rising and our wages are not increasing with them?

Hundreds also gathered outside the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center on Ogden and Roosevelt to call for an end to mass incarceration, alternatives to traditional policing and reimagining of conflict resolution in communities.

The so called temporary juvenile detention center is not a temporary factor in these young peoples lives, it is a permanent factor, said Charlene Carruthers of BYP100. It can become a nonexistent factor if we resist, reimagine and rebuild....we can reimagine how we relate to one another. Reimagine how we deal with conflict and harm outside of institutions like that one across the street.



The thousands of activists that converged in the park and later marched to Daley Plaza, undeterred by spats of rain and high winds, were joined by labor leaders and elected officials, among them Senator Dick Durbin, State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss, gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy, Alderman Rosa, and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.

Given President Donald Trump, his policies, and his supporters attitudes towards marginalized people has been a flashpoint across America its no surprise he was frequently called out by speakers.

"The election of Donald Trump is a challenge to all of us, whether we will stand up and speak up for our values, said Durbin. Weve seen people coming together. The question is whether we will take this energy and emotion and translate it into political action to elect men and women who will stand up for the values of America.

"We're all in this hot mess together," Lewis told the crowd in Daley Plaza. "We have to stand with one another, we have to stand shoulder to shoulder, back to back. I got yours and you got mine. No two ways around it."


Drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman has won a court battle ordering federal prison officials to supply him with a high chair so he can properly consult with his legal team.

The head of the feared Sinaloa cartel is currently being held at the Metropolitan Penitentiary in Manhattan in solitary confinement.

He complained he was unable to see a computer screen in the legal consultation room because of his diminutive stature.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman received the nickname 'shorty' because of his diminutive stature

His legal team complained he is too short to comfortably review a computer screen in a special booth where his consultations with lawyers are held according to federal court records

Guzman, pictured, has made several complaints about his accommodation since his arrest

According to the New York Daily News, Guzman's legal team complained their client 'must stand through the entire visit to see each other because the booth's window is too high'.

As a result, they wanted an 'elevated chair' to deal with the height problem.

'El Chapo's' nickname in English translates as 'The Shorty'.

The feared cartel boss is 5'6.

In an earlier legal spat, Guzman's legal team requested that the federal judge dealing with the case should allow Amnesty International to inspect the prison facilities and comment on the conditions.

Guzman is due to return to a federal court in Manhattan on May 5.

He is expected to meet with lawyers today who will advise him his current legal team has a conflict of interest because some of the firm had previously represented two of the government's confidential witnesses.

Guzman has also complained he is unable to see a television while exercising on a stationary bike and the screen only offers a single nature documentary featuring rhinos.

He is due to return to federal court on Friday amid incredibly tight security.
This is the shocking moment a women was filmed picking a stranger's toddler up out of a shopping trolley and trying to walk off with him.

Police have launched an appeal to find the woman after the attempted abduction in an Asda in Bexleyheath, south east London.

The mother was at the checkout when the female suspect lifted the child out of the shopping trolley.

A women was filmed picking a stranger's toddler up out of a shopping trolley and tried to walk off with him in an Asda in Bexleyheath, pictured

The mother then grabbed the child back, pictured, before the suspect left the scene

The suspect, pictured on CCTV, was described as Asian and aged around 65

She then started to walk away with the 18-month-old boy before the mother intervened and grabbed her child back.

The suspect is described as being Asian and about 65 years old.

She had black hair in a ponytail and was wearing glasses during the incident, on Sunday April 23.

A police spokesperson said: 'The mother of the child was at the checkout when a female lifted the child out of the shopping trolley and started to walk away with him.

'The mother obviously intervened and grabbed her child back.'

She was later caught on CCTV leaving the shop in south east London. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she was wearing black glasses
Police in New York City have arrested a 15-year-old boy suspected of sexually assaulting a four-year-old Queens girl after climbing inside her second-floor bedroom.

The juvenile suspect, whose name has not been released by the NYPD, was taken into custody at 2.30am on Tuesday and charged with attempted rape, burglary and aggravated sexual abuse.

The incident the led to the teens arrest took place early Sunday morning on Francis Lewis Boulevard in the Rosedale section of Queens.

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Police in New York City have arrested a 15-year-old boy suspected of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old Queens girl after climbing inside her second-floor bedroom

Investigators believe the suspect may have used a ladder to break into the young victim's second-floor bedroom insde the home on Francis Lewis Boulevard

Investigators believe the 15-year-old suspect may have used a ladder found at the scene to break into the young victim's second-floor bedroom in order to molest her, according to ABC 7 NY.

The New York Daily News reported that the girl's parents work nights and were not home at the time of the attack, but she was left in the care of several adult relatives, including older siblings.

When the parents returned home from work in the morning, the toddler complained of pain and told them what had happened.

Police were then contacted and the child was taken to a hospital, where doctors found evidence of a sexual assault.

According to the NYPD, the suspect and victim did not know each other.

Detectives used fingerprints left on the ladder and inside the second-floor apartment, as well as surveillance video to track down the suspect, who was described as a 'known' resident of the neighborhood, reported PIX11.
Rusty Young said Cassie Sainsbury's version of events that led to her arrest in a Colombian airport is at odds with how South American drug rings operate

Cassie Sainsbury's version of events that led to her arrest in a Colombian airport is at odds with how South American drug rings operate, according to an expert.

Rusty Young, who wrote the book Marching Powder, cast doubt on her family's claims she was set up as a mule - because the drugs couldn't then be retrieved in Australia.

The 22-year-old Adelaide woman was nabbed on April 11 as she prepared to fly home from Bogota with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine stored in what she claims were headphones bought from a local man.

'If they did plant the drugs on her, then how would they retrieve them once she gets home?' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I would like to give the benefit of the doubt, but it would be very rare to operate that way.'

Rusty, whose upcoming book Colombiano explores the nation's child soldiers, said in the past, young, attractive women have been used as drug mules to fly below the radar. However, they were usually complicit.

Mr Young, who has been living in Colombia for eight years, also disputed claims she is at risk of being targeted by cartels in retaliation for her family insisting she was set up.

'Cartels don't run mules through airports, they have nothing to do with that. They push tonnes of cocaine. This is a relatively small level amount, it's not a professional operation.'

He also raised concerns for her wellbeing in El Buen Pastor women's prison, where squalid conditions, sickness and overcrowding are a harsh reality.

'It would be pretty horrific. It's extremely overcrowded, extremely dirty, there's a shortage of beds and medical services, and it gets very cold.'

Cassandra Sainsbury, 22, was arrested with 5.8kilos of cocaine in her luggage

Her family says she had no idea the cocaine was in what she claims were headphones bought from a local man

Colombian police claim a tip-off led to the arrest of and seizure of the 18 bags of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.7 million.

Nonetheless he said she was lucky to have escaped the male counterpart, where guns, grenades and gangland feuds are commonplace.

'She would at least be physically safe in there. She would be in the foreign section with foreign inmates,' he said.

He said she faces a long and laborious road ahead in her trial, which could take almost a decade just to reach a verdict.

'Even if she pleads guilty, it would take six to nine months. If she maintains her innocence, it could be three to nine nears.

'That's not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs.'

Mr Young raised concerns for her wellbeing in El Buen Pastor women's prison (pictured)

The young woman's family claim she was on a working holiday to promote her personal training business

She was detained on April 11 at Bogota Airport just as she was about to fly back to Australia after a working holiday

'My thoughts go out to her and her family. It's a long road ahead.'

It comes as Daily Mail Australia revealed the 22-year-old was at the tail end of an international trip that saw her visit China and the United States before arriving in South America.

She had been in China and Los Angeles in the days before her arrest in Colombia.

The young woman's family claim she was on a working holiday to the South American country to promote her personal training business.

But her fiance, Scott Broadbridge said she had not been a personal trainer for six months prior to the trip, and was working for a cleaning company at the time.

Colombian police claim a tip-off led to the arrest of and seizure of the 18 bags of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.7 million.
Vladimir Putin said Russia has 'never' meddled in a foreign election during a joint press conference with Angela Merkel on Tuesday.

The Russian President bristled at suggestions his secret services spread 'fake news' during the US election and were planning the same for Germany's upcoming race.

He told reporters: 'We never interfere in the political life and the political processes of other countries and we don't want anybody interfering in our political life and foreign policy processes.'

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Vladimir Putin said Russia has 'never' meddled in a foreign election on Tuesday as he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel insOCHI

Mrs Merkel was asked whether she feared Russia spreading 'fake news' during Germany's elections in September, a question that rankled Mr Putin

Putin spoke up after Chancellor Merkel was asked whether she was afraid of the spread of misinformation during the German parliamentary ballot, which is due to take place in September.

She said: 'I am not an anxious person, I will fight the election on the basis of my convictions.

'We know cyber criminality is an international challenge .. but we expect that the German election will go ahead unharmed.'

Mrs Merkel added that any spread of misinformation will be dealt with 'decisively' and that she will counter it with facts.

The German leader spoke alongside Putin on a rare visit to Sochi ahead of a G20 summit in July. She currently holds the group's rotating presidency, and has been visiting each member state in turn.

Mrs Merkel said she was 'not an anxious person' and will counter any misinformation with facts during her campaign later this year

Mrs Merkel said she also discussed Syria, Ukraine, and Russian respect for civil rights with Mr Putin.

She stressed the need for the two countries to keep talking, saying there are 'serious differences' in their positions.

She said: 'I am always of the view that even if there are serious differences of opinion in some areas, talks must continue.

'You must carry on, because otherwise you fall into silence and there is less and less understanding.'

On the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists are fighting Kiev's rule, Putin and Merkel said they agreed on the need for implementation of the Minsk agreement, an internationally-brokered peace deal that has stalled.

Putin argued that the pro-Western administration in Kiev was forcing the separatist region away from Ukraine by imposing a blockade, not Russia or its allies.

'The events in eastern Ukraine are the result of a coup d'etat, an unconstitutional change of power in Kiev,' Putin said, referring to street protests that forced out Ukraine's previous, Moscow-leaning leader.

Speaking about a gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Putin again said allegations that the Syrian government was responsible were 'unproven'.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Putin also discussed the gas attack in Syria, which the Russian leader again denied was carried out by Assad's regime, and the alleged abuse of gays in Chechnya

Merkel said she had raised concerns with Putin about police breaking up anti-Kremlin protests, as well as other issues that human rights organisations say are a cause for alarm.

Those include reports, denied by the local authorities, that homosexuals are being detained and tortured in the Russian region of Chechnya, and a Supreme Court ruling last month banning the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group as extremist.

'I have in my talks with the Russian president indicated how important the right to demonstrate is in a civil society and how important the role of NGOs is,' Merkel said.

'We have heard some very negative reports about the treatment of homosexuals in Chechnya and I asked President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to guarantee minority rights here as well as with Jehovah's witnesses.'

Putin denied that Russian police had violated protesters' rights by arresting them, and fired a barb back at his European counterparts.

'Russia's law-enforcement bodies behave in a far more restrained manner than their colleagues in other European countries,' Putin said, without specifying which countries he had in mind.
One man has been shot and two others rushed to hospital after a shooting in a home in Melbourne's south-east.

A number of shots were fired at the property in Keysborough on Church Road just before 10pm, one of which hit a man in his 20s in the chest, killing him.

Two other men, also aged in their 20s, were injured during the incident.

A man is dead and two others are in hospital after a shooting at in Melbourne on Church Road

They were rushed to hospital with non-life threatening wounds.

One of the men received a gunshot wound to his leg while the third man was shot in the arm.

Police are on the scene and looking into the circumstances around the incident.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Mexican police have captured the right-hand man of drugs kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.

Damaso Lopez, known as 'EL Licenciado' was arrested following a raid on an apartment complex in Mexico City.

Lopez is understood to have been involved in a power struggle to take over the Sinaloa cartel since 'El Chapo's' latest arrest.

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Heavily armed Mexican police led Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's right-hand man Damaso Lopez, center, away from an apartment complex in Mexico city following his dramatic arrest

Lopez, known as 'The Graduate' has involved in a power struggle since El Chapo's arrest

Mexican officials released photographs of the arrest involving heavily-armed soldiers

The Mexican Attorney General's office confirmed the arrest assoldiers in full battle gear guarding the entrance of an upscale apartment building on a major boulevard in Mexico City, not far from downtown.

Lopez would not be the first high-level drug suspect from outlying provinces captured in the capital.

While Mexico City officials say drug cartels do not control territory in Mexico City, they acknowledge that drug lords have sometimes lived in the city and moved drug shipments through the capital.

Lopez is believed to be locked in a dispute with Guzman's sons for control of the cartel's territories.

Guzman was extradited to the United States earlier this year to face multiple charges.

With Guzman in jail, the Sinaloa Cartel has been controlled by Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada Garcia and Rafael Caro Quintero, two of the most traditional, old-school capos, plus Lopez, and Guzman's son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman.

Guzman faces U.S. drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Erin Molan has resolutely denied having a relationship with accountant to the stars Anthony Bell following TV presenter Kelly Landry's claims in court.

Kelly Landry told court she suspected 'something was going on' between her husband Anthony Bell and TV personality Erin Molan after last year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

However, Molan, who recently got engaged to her partner, broke down in tears when questioned outside her home claiming it was 'so unfair'.

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Shortly after Ms Landry's explosive text messages were revealed in court, Channel Nine issued a statement defending Erin Molan, the star of their hit program The NRL Footy Show

Former Getaway presenter Kelly Landry (pictured) has told a Sydney court she suspected 'something was going on' between her husband Anthony Bell and TV personality Erin Molan

'I suspected that something was going on between them but not necessarily infidelity,' Ms Landry said of Mr Bell's relationship with Erin Molan (the pair are pictured together)

'It's so unfair, I haven't done anything,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

A Nine spokesperson also fervently denied the claims and was disappointed Molan had been dragged into the conversation.

'We are very disappointed Erin's name has been unfairly dragged into the family dispute. It has absolutely nothing to do with her,' the spokesperson claimed to the publication.

'Erin has never had any intimate relationship with Anthony Bell.'

The text exchanges, which were revealed in court on Tuesday, took place last year.

'I know about Erin', she texted Mr Bell on December 28 when they were both in Hobart, along with Molan.

'Just saw her run to you.'

Mr Bell replied: 'Not wearing that. I'm calling her now to tell her (of) your accusation because it's not fair to her or me for that matter.'

Ms Landry told Downing Centre Local Court that conversation referred to Molan.

Ms Landry, 37, and Mr Bell (pictured), 45, returned to court on Tuesday for the second day of an AVO hearing between the pair

'I suspected that something was going on between them but not necessarily infidelity. I thought their relationship was odd.'

Later that night after their conversation about Molan, Ms Landry, 37, kicked Mr Bell, 45, out of their Hobart motel room.

'Please evacuate the room - surely you're a decent enough person for that. I want nothing more to do with you. This abuse stops here.'

A keen sailor, Mr Bell skippered Perpetual LOYAL in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, with Molan a special guest crew member in both 2015 and 2016.

Fronting cameras together pre and post race last December, Mr Bell and Molan led the celebrations following the yacht's surprise Line Honours victory.

In Mr Bell's acceptance speech following Perpetual Loyal's win, he reportedly only thanked the families of the boat's crew, failing to acknowledge his own wife.

When asked on Tuesday if she felt she had not been 'sufficiently acknowledged' by Mr Bell in his winners speech, Ms Landry replied 'No'.

'I was disappointed, but I didn't share that with anybody,' she said

Police took out an AVO on behalf of Ms Landry in January, 2017, following an incident at their home in Watson's Bay, Sydney, on November 18 last year.

Asking about the couple's relationship following the alleged assault, Mr Temby asked Ms Landry if Mr Bell had usually stayed in their mansion between the November 18 incident and him moving out on December 28.

She said her husband had sometimes been travelling and she had barely seen him during November and December.

'Possibly there are other places that he has stayed in Sydney,' she said.

Mr Temby: 'Is there something you are trying to insinuate in that?'

Ms Landry: 'No.'

Shortly after Ms Landry's explosive text messages were revealed in court, Channel Nine issued a statement defending Erin Molan, the star of their NRL Footy Show.

Mr Bell and Erin Molan (pictured together, middle) were part of the victorious Perptual LOYAL yacht which won the Sydney to Hobart race last December

Just weeks before the AVO was taken out by Ms Landry, the couple were pictured celebrating Mr Bell's win in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race aboard Perpetual LOYAL

Molan and Ogilvy (pictured) posed together on the victorious Sydney-to-Hobart yacht after the race

Erin Molan (pictured), co-host of the NRL Footy Show, recently announced her engagement to her policeman boyfriend Sean Ogilvy

'What is happening between Anthony Bell and Kelly Landry in court is incredibly sad, both for them and their young children,' the statement began.

'However we are very disappointed that Erin's name has been unfairly dragged into the family dispute. It has absolutely nothing to do with her.

'Erin's relationship with Anthony Bell has only ever been strictly professional, both as a client and a crew member on Perpetual Loyal.

'Erin has never had any intimate relationship with Anthony Bell. Allegations to the contrary are false, offensive and defamatory.

In early April, Molan announced her engagement to policeman Sean Ogilvy, flaunting a $100,000 ring on the NRL Footy Show.

Ironically, just days after the alleged fight between Ms Landry and Mr Bell last year which led to an AVO being taken out, the couple and their children holidayed with Molan.

The two Channel Nine personalities posed together with Ms Landry's daughter for a photo, which Molan posted to her Instagram page captioned: 'Nawwwwww more love than you can poke a stick at'.

Ms Landry also told the court on Tuesday her husband was 'financially mean' to her, despite him funding their luxurious lifestyle including international first class travel.

Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining her husband's spending on her.

'Anthony and I enjoyed a very high quality lifestyle during our marriage,' she wrote.

That lifestyle included international travel at least twice a year, flying business or first class and staying in five-star accommodation.

He had also bought her designer handbags and shoes as well as expensive jewellery, employed a cleaner and paid a nanny $23 an hour to work a 50 hour week.

Four days after police took out an AVO against Mr Bell, Ms Landry told a pyschologist her husband was worth $100 million but she was paid less than the nanny.

Ms Landry said she got the estimate of her husband's worth from newspaper reports.

'According to everything that's printed in the papers,' Ms Landry said.

'He's always labelled the $100 million accountant to the stars.

Ms Landry, 37, also told the court on Tuesday her 45-year-old husband was 'financially mean' to her, despite him funding their luxurious lifestyle including international first class travel

Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining her husband's spending on her

Mr Bell (middle) arrived at Downing Centre court in Sydney flanked by legal staff on Tuesday

'I thought their relationship was odd,' Ms Landry told the Downing Centre Local Court about Mr Bell and Molan on Tuesday

'So that reference was in reference to what his media people labelled him as.'

Ms Landry maintained she had access to less money each week than the couple's nanny was paid.

Mr Bell gave Ms Landry $1000 a week, including $300 for groceries.

Outside groceries and school costs, Ms Landry said she had to provide invoices for all expenses such as specialist medical treatment, the hiring of tradesmen and the repair of appliances.

Under cross-examination by Ian Temby, QC, Ms Landry maintained her husband was 'financially mean'.

'Just because this says this on paper doesn't mean I have access to any of that,' she said.

'This was all at his discretion.'

Mr Temby tendered a photograph Ms Landry posted in the days after the alleged assault on November 18 last year, when she was staying at the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay.

The court heard she initially posted the pic and thanked her husband for the 'early Christmas present', but then later edited it after he AVO had been taken out, to remove the mention of Mr Bell.

'It is all about public profile, it is all something you would want the public to believe,' Landry told the court.

Ms Landry agreed with Mr Temby she had sent a text message to her husband a day after police took out the AVO against him.

A photograph Ms Landry posted in the days after the alleged assault on November 18 last year, when she was staying at the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay was tendered in court

The court heard she initially posted the pic and thanked her husband for the 'early Christmas present', but then later edited it after the AVO had been taken out, to remove the mention of Mr Bell (un-edited version pictured)

Ironically, just days after the alleged fight between Ms Landry and Mr Bell which led to an AVO being taken out, the couple and their children holidayed with Molan (Pictured on holiday)

The legal battle over an AVO taken out by the former TV star against her celebrity accountant husband began on Monday and will be heard in a Sydney court over five days

Despite her claims, Ms Landry agreed she had sworn an affadavit in Family Court proceedings this year outlining Mr Bell's spending on her and their 'high-quality lifestyle'

Ms Landry agreed Mr Bell had paid a tax bill in her name of $89,000 in the middle of last year but said her husband had been 'funnelling' his tax through her

Mr Bell stands outside the Downing Centre court with his legal representatives on Tuesday

'Can you please call,' she wrote on January 6. 'Think I have a way we can get it withdrawn.'

Another message said: 'Please consider the approach I suggested. It's the only way I see the police retracting the document.'

And in a third she said: 'I have engaged a lawyer... start getting papers drawn up if you want?'

Ms Landry agreed she was referring to police withdrawing the AVO but denied the 'papers' she suggested be drawn up involved a divorce settlement and custody of their two children.

While Ms Landry said she initially did not want the AVO against her husband, she did now.

She had changed her mind after 'gaining some space and time away from the relationship... reflecting on how abusive the relationship was'.

Ms Landry said after the granting of the interim AVO her husband had attended the Watsons Bay property against the order and made threats to her through lawyers.

'Those kind of behaviours,' she said. 'The intimidation.'

The court also heard Ms Landry agreed Mr Bell had paid a tax bill in her name of $89,000 in the middle of last year, but said her husband had been 'funnelling' his tax through her.

'Yes, but I would suggest only a small amount of that was actually my tax,' she said.

'I haven't been employed since 2011 so how could I accumulate that tax?'

Mr Bell had paid Ms Landry's $7700 credit card bill shortly after the couple met but she contested a claim he had paid $8000 to Victoria's State Debt Recovery Office on her behalf.

A police officer who interviewed Ms Landry in January told the court the mother-of-two was very concerned about arguments in front of their children, and lack of finances.

Senior Constable Alison Coleman said she interviewed Ms Landry days before the AVO was taken out.

'Initially she was too upset to talkI was basically just trying to jot things down as she said them,' Senior Constable Coleman said.

She told the court she wrote in her police notebook: 'It should be noted that the victim did not express any concerns about continual violence, rather the continual arguments in front of the kids and lack of finances.'
A cat dubbed Slick is on the mend after he was found doused in motor oil and left for dead.

Vets at the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter raced to save the seven-year-old orange tabby after animal control officers were called to pick up the maltreated animal over the weekend.

'Slick was cruelly doused in motor oil before he ended up in our care,' the shelter wrote in a Facebook post.

'He was taken to the vet and had to be immediately sedated so that he could be shaved and bathed.'

'Slick was cruelly doused in motor oil before he ended up in our care,' the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter wrote in a Facebook post

Vets raced to sedate the seven-year-old orange tabby and shave him to remove the oil

Shelter workers dubbed the cat Slick in tribute to his survival of the cruel oily ordeal

Vets at the Northgate Veterinary Clinic raced to save the mistreated tabby's life.

The cat had tried desperately to clean himself by licking his fur, and had 'ingested a large amount of motor oil' in the process, the shelter said.

Slick was hooked up to an IV for fluids in an attempt to clear out the oil, which could damage his kidneys.

Fortunately, more than enough donations have poured in to cover the cost of Slick's care, the animal shelter said.

The cat is expected to recover and will be up for adoption soon, shelter workers said.

Meanwhile, authorities are searching for the person responsible for Slick's cruel treatment.

Slick was still sleepy after being sedated, but is expected to recover and should be up for adoption soon

'We have a few ideas of who might have done this to the cat,' Idaho Falls Animal Services Manager Irene Brown told EastIdahoNews.com.

'We want to charge whoever was responsible for this cruel act, but need witnesses to come forward.'

Brown said that instead of abusing an unwanted animal, people should call animal control to deal with the pet humanely.

'There is no reason anyone should have done this,' Brown says. 'I don't care what the situation is  we are here to help and could have picked up the animal. It's too bad somebody decided to take their anger out on Slick.'

Anyone with information about the mistreatment of Slick is urged to call (208) 612-8671.
Jess Phillips, pictured in her constituency office, was accused of wasting taxpayers' money for using prepaid Commons envelopes and headed notepaper to bombard constituents with election propaganda

A prominent Labour MP has been accused of wasting taxpayers' money after she used prepaid Commons envelopes and headed notepaper to bombard constituents with election propaganda.

Jess Phillips boasted of the service she had given to local people and announced she would be standing again as MP for Birmingham Yardley in a mailing blitz just days after the Theresa May called the snap poll.

One constituent received two letters from Mrs Phillips in two days setting out her positions on both the NHS and social care, despite never contacting the MP.

Mrs Phillips, who is defending a majority of 6,595, was last night reported to parliamentary authorities over concerns she may have broken Commons rules that forbid the use of stationery for political purposes.

In one letter dated 24 April, with the House of Commons portcullis at the top and on the envelope, Mrs Phillips heralded how she had written to the Health Secretary almost 1,000 times since she was elected in 2015.

Many thanks for taking the time over the last two years to contact me about our local NHS, she wrote.

Like you I care deeply about our NHS and Im concerned about the pressures the system is under, which is why I have written to Jeremy Hunt almost 1,000 times raising local peoples concerns.

The financial pressures facing healthcare are particularly concerning and I agree that there needs to be more investment.

She went on to accuse the Government of wrongly claiming it has put an extra 10billion into the health service, adding: It is vital that the NHS receives the funding it desperately needs, which is why I back plans to do just this.

A similar letter, also on Commons stationery, thanked constituents for contacting her about social care.

Like you I am deeply concerned about the crisis the social care sector is in, and I believe that we have a completely unfair funding system currently in place, she wrote.

This is the headed letter a constituent received from Mr Phillips in which the MP boasted of the support she has given to her constituents

Mrs Phillips then included a raft of statistics about the cost of care, before adding: To Birmingham residents and care homes that look after them, this simply looks as though [they] matter less to the Government. This is a postcode lottery and it is not fair.

In both letters, she announced that she will stand again as a candidate and gave a contact email address that includes the words: JessPhillipsForYardley.

Jess Phillips, pictured during a TV appearance last October, has been reported to parliamentary authorities over concerns she may have broken Commons rules that forbid the use of the stationary for political purposes

She continued: As youre probably aware, an election has been called, which means that Parliament dissolves on the 3 May, with the General Election being held on 8 June.

I will still be holding my local surgeries and answering your needs and concerns because, for me, the job goes on. If I am re-elected on the 8 June we will continue this important work together.

One of Mrs Phillips constituents, Joanne Neilly, said she had received two letters despite never contacting her.

All of a sudden as there is a general election called I have had two letters in two days  two parliamentary stamped letters, both addressed to me and written to me as if Id contacted her, which I havent, she said.

I have never contacted Jess Phillips, never at all.

One letter starts thank you for contacting me regarding the NHS and the second is about social care. I thought: I have not contacted you.

It is a waste of public money. People work hard for their money, I think there are a lot of better things to be spending money on than sending out silly letter a few weeks before an election.

'I think its really cheeky.

Im annoyed that I have not heard from her and then all of a sudden Why should members of the public be paying for her campaign?

Theyre making cuts, and yet she is spending money willy nilly.

Theresa May, pictured today out on a factory visit in Cornwall, called a snap election for June 8

Former Lib Dem MP John Hemming, who is hoping to win back the seat after being defeated by Mrs Phillips at the last election, has reported her to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

However, the issue is unlikely to be resolved before the election as once Parliament dissolves on Wednesday the Commissioner will be unable to begin any fresh inquiries or to resolve any that are in hand.

Mr Hemming said: This use of Commons stationery is clearly unethical and against the spirit of the rules, if not the letter of the rules.

I will be taking this issue forward. It is a bad use of taxpayers money. If it isnt criminal, it should be.

MPs have a 9,000 annual allowance to spend on Commons envelopes, notepaper and postage.

Records show that Mrs Phillips was one of only 85 MPs to get within 500 of the limit last year, spending a total of 8,620.67 on envelopers, paper and postage.

Parliamentary rules state: Houseprovided stationery and prepaid envelopes are provided only for the performance of a Members parliamentary functions.

In particular, this excludes using stationery or postage in connection with work for or at the behest of a political party (including fund-raising for a political party, advocating membership of a political party or supporting the return of any person to public office).

House stationery, House emblems and prepaid envelopes should also not be used during the period of dissolution, which begins on Wednesday (3 December).

Last night Mrs Phillips said: 'I keep in touch with my constituents every week, last week was no exception.

The letters will have been sent because the constituent wrote to us on that specific subject. In this case the NHS and/or social care.

They may not think they have written to us because they don't realise that when they click an online petition it sends us an automatic email in their name.

'We are simply responding to them.
ICE Arrest Of Man In CPD Gang Database Shows Disturbing Loophole For 'Sanctuary City'

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 2, 2017 8:12PM



Getty Images / Photo: John Moore

In the semi-recurrent face-off between Chicago and the White House, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has affirmed and reaffirmed Chicago as a sanctuary city. Despite threats by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to strip millions in law-enforcement funds from Chicago if the city limits cooperation of local police with federal immigration, Emanuel publicly stands athwart the administration. It's good PR for the mayor, but at the same time, activists maintain that those "sanctuary" protections only extend so far. The recent case of Wilmer Catalan-Ramirez is perhaps most illustrative of those built-in limits.

Catalan-Ramirez is suing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Chicago Police Department after he was detained by ICE when, according to his lawsuit, the feds accessed his information via CPD's gang databasewhich has long been criticized by civil-liberties advocates as overly broad in its sweep. The city explicitly makes room for that gang database carve-out, which effectively creates at least one pathway by which locals and feds can cooperate on immigration detention.

Catalan-Ramirez, a father of a three-year-old citizen, says he is not a gang member and has never been one. But in March, he was targeted in his Back of the Yards home by six ICE agents, who he says shoved him to floor, inflaming injuries that he suffered in a January drive-by shooting, of which he was an innocent bystander, according to family. He suffered skull fractures and serious brain trauma in the January shooting.



Celene Adame addresses demonstrators at a May Day rally (Photo: OCAD)

Of course, the entire raid seemingly hinged on Catalan-Ramirez's (unwarranted, he insists) inclusion in the police department's gang database. Alan Mills, Executive Director at Uptown Peoples Law Center, agrees with the contention that the database is too far-reaching. The civil-rights attorney argues that not only should people in the database not have their information made available to ICE, but the "largely fawed" index should be "eliminated altogether," at least as is.

"You can get listed on [the database] without any sort of due process, without any kind of notice," Mills said. "You probably won't even know you're listed on it unless you're picked up."

Mills cited the problematic pattern of parolees being arrested for essentially just coming into contact with someone who is believed to be a member of a gang. (See the recent Sun-Times watchdog report "Even being seen with gang member sends 1,000s to jail.")

"Now we're going one step further and doing the same thing with ICEletting ICE come in and snatch people up with no due process, with no understanding of why they're there," said Mills.

Mark Fleming, of National Immigrant Justice Center, compared the database to the TSA's oft-criticized no-fly list when speaking with the Reader earlier this year. Mills agrees with the parallel. "People are added based on God only knows what information, and have no way to challenge it," he said.

How CPD identifies and designates someone a gang member is not always ideal, either, with determinations sometimes made on the basis of an outside individual's word or based on, in part, a person's dress, tattoos or other markings.

Sophie Vodvarka, communications coordinator of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant & Refugee Rights, agreed that such carve-outs are "problematic." The ICIRR and other member organizations are working with the City Council "to create better ordinances, 'Welcoming City ordinances' to create secure communities," she added via email.

A new measure that would strengthen that ordinance to shore up carve-outs, including the gang database, does appear to have significant political will behind it. The measure, which was introduced a few months ago, is co-sponsors by 28 aldermenwhich means it could all hinge on how Emanuel moves. Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward) told Chicagoist that he's had "good" conversations with the mayor's office and "hopes to see traction within the next month or so."

His constituents consistently voice the "need to completely reform our broken criminal justice," he said, including doing away with the gang database. Even though Chicago officially did away with stop and frisk, the database "remains in many ways derivative" of the controversial method, Rosa said. "When police filled out contact cards, there was often no real information as to why [a person was labeled a gang member]," Ramirez-Rosa said.

We'll have to wait and see if Catalan-Ramirez's challenge moves the dial and how much. Meanwhile, activists, including those at Monday's massive May Day demonstrations, are geared for the challenge

Xanat Sobrevilla, an organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportation, said in a statement: "If the City of Chicago truly wants to be a sanctuary city where immigrants can seek safe refuge, it should stop sharing its Gang Database with ICE and inform ICE the database is rife with inaccuracies and is not a legitimate law enforcement tool."

This post has been updated.
Billy Bliss Travis, 37, has been charged with four counts of murder

The heavily tattooed boyfriend of a woman who was found dead in an Arkansas creek last week has been charged with four counts of capital murder for her death and the deaths of her two young children and uncle.

Billy Bliss Travis, 37, appeared stoney-faced and shirtless in his mugshot for Polk County Sheriff's Office.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

He is accused of murdering Bethany Jo Webster, 43, and her two children Acelynn, two, and Reilly, nine, as well as her 66-year-old uncle, Steven Payne, and scattering their bodies in separate locations around the state.

Bethanny was found first by a member of the public who stumbled upon her body last Tuesday.

Her uncle was found dead in his home on Thursday. Two-year-old Acelynn's body was found in woods on Friday and her brother's corpse was finally discovered in another wooded area on Saturday.

Travis was arrested after his girlfriend's body was found last Tuesday. Police had not yet identified the corpse but received a call from her boss to say she had not in work for a week.

Bethany Jo Webster, 43, was found first. Her body was discovered in a creek in Cove, Arkansas, last Tuesday. Her two-year-old daughter Acelynn was found in woods on Friday and her nine-year-old son Reilly was found in another wooded area on Saturday

Police have not yet disclosed how the 43-year-old mother and her two children were killed

They arrested Travis on an outstanding arrest warrant for drugs. Once in custody, officers say he confessed to the murders.

On Saturday, he led them to nine-year-old Reilly's body in a wooded area on Saturday.

He was arraigned on Monday.

Police have not yet disclosed how each of the victims died or when they were killed in relation to one another.

Bethany's body could not be immediately identified after she was found last Tuesday.

Police did not know it was her when her boss called them to report that she hadn't shown up to work or a week.

They visited her home in Hatfield after receiving the call and found Travis inside. She was later identified and a search ensued for her two children.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton relived last year's election loss, as she previewed her forthcoming book alongside CNN's Christiane Amanpour at an event in New York City.

'If the election had been on October 27 I'd be your president,' Clinton said, pointing to James Comey's letter to Congress on October 28, Wikileaked emails from Russia and misogyny as the trio of reasons for her loss.

Clinton, who was speaking at a Women for Women International event, said she definitely deserved some of the blame too.

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Hillary Clinton appeared Tuesday in New York and talked about how she lost last year's presidential election

While Hillary Clinton took some personal blame for her loss, she pointed a finger at a trio of causes including FBI Director James Comey's letter, the Russian hacks and misogyny

Clinton claimed that 'had the election been on October 27 I'd be your president,' citing statistics from Nate Silver's website and pointing to the James Comey letter that she believed help derail her campaign

Hillary Clinton (right) sat opposite of CNN's Christiane Amanpour (left) who asked her how she lost to President Donald Trump

'Did I make mistakes? Oh my gosh, yes. You'll read my confession and my request for absolution,' she said, making several plugs for her next book throughout her appearance.

'But the reason I believe we lost were the intervening events in the last 10 days,' the former secretary of state said.

While the new best-selling book 'Shattered,' portrays Clinton's campaign as a mess, the candidate didn't throw her aides under the bus.

'I'm very proud of the staff and the volunteers and the people who were out there day after day. And it wasn't a perfect campaign. There is no such thing,' she said.

'But I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28 and Russian Wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me, but got scared off,' Clinton said.

Comey sent a letter to members of Congress informing them that more of Clinton's emails had been discovered as part of a separate case.

It ignited a media firestorm.

Three days before the election, Comey wrote to Congress again, saying that the emails found had been looked through and didn't change the FBI's previous assessment that Clinton could not be charged with a crime for mishandling classified information due to her using a private email serve to conduct government business.

She pointed to numbers guru Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight and said it was his assessment that had the election been held on October 27, she would have won.

'Oh, I think it would have been a really big deal,' Clinton replied of what could have been.

Clinton would have been the first woman elected U.S. president.

'I'm writing a book and it's a painful process reliving the campaign,' she said. 'As you might guess,' she added.

'But I think that partly here at home there were important messages that that could have sent our own daughters, granddaughters, grandsons and sons,' Clinton said of her winning the election.

Internationally, too, she believed it would have shown progress for women's rights.

'Part of what I really believe is that women's rights is the unfinished business of the 20th century,' she said. 'There is no more important, larger issue, that has to be addressed.'

When Amanpour asked Clinton if misogyny still existed in the United States, the former secretary of state laughed.

'The book is coming out in the fall,' she said.

'Just to give you a tiny little preview, yes, I do think it played a role. I think other things did as well,' she added. 'Every day that goes by we learn more about some of the unprecedented interference, including from a foreign power whose leader is not a member of my fan club.'

Through the course of the interview, Clinton explained the genesis of the beef Russian President Vladimir Putin had with her too.

During her tenure as secretary of state, Putin, who had been term limited as president and was serving a prime minister, decided to run for the presidency once again in 2012, in an election that Clinton described as 'rigged.'

'We do speak about rigged elections, that kind of goes with the territory,' she said of her job as secretary of state. 'At least, we did prior to this administration,' she said, digging at team Trump.

'So I did say it was an illegitimate election and it had been rigged,' Clinton explained. 'I wasn't telling hundreds of thousands, even millions of Russian something they didn't know.'

But Putin, she said, blamed her for the demonstrations.

'So it kind of went downhill from there,' she said.

Messing up the name of the television show, Clinton pointed out how within hours of the 'Hollywood Access' tape leaking, which showed Trump bragging that as a celebrity 'you can do anything' to women, including 'grab them by the p***y,' her campaign chairman John Podesta's hacked emails were published on Wikileaks, likely the work of the Russians.

'What a coincidence,' she muttered. 'So you just can't make this stuff up.'

Clinton also pointed out that it's a 'historical fact' that it's difficult to succeed a two-term president from your own party, noting how the Democrats haven't done it since 'Lord knows, the 1830s, a long time ago.'

The ex-first lady was likely referring to Martin Van Buren's successful run to replace two-term Democratic President Andrew Jackson in 1837.

She omitted the fact that Democrat Harry S. Truman pulled out a squeaker of a win in 1948, after ascending to the presidency after the death of nearly four-term President Franklin D. Roosevelt  thus preventing the White House from switching political parties' hands.

She rightly pointed out that the last time Republicans were able to hold onto the White House after a two-term president was in 1988, with President George H.W. Bush's win after eight years of Ronald Reagan.

'Others may not have realized it, but I always knew it was going to be a hard election,' Clinton said.

In the audience, activist and actress Meryl Streep, who was in attendance of the Women for Women International Luncheon in New York City

In shielding her staff from criticism, Clinton also pointed to her popular vote win.

'And remember I did win more than 3 million votes than my opponent,' Clinton said.

Amanpour joked that Clinton should anticipate a tweet in response from the president.

'Well, better than interfering in foreign affairs,' the ex-secretary of state said. 'If he wants to tweet about me, I'm happy to be the diversion because we have lots of other things to worry about.'

'And he should worry less about the election and my winning the popular vote,' she said defiantly.

Trump has made it a habit to bring up his election night win.

He's also continued to tweet, which Clinton discouraged especially in light of the rising tensions with North Korea.

'Now, the North Koreans are always interested, not just Kim Jong-un, but his father before him, were always interested in trying to get Americans to negotiate, to elevate their status and their position, and we should be very careful to give that away,' Clinton pointed out.

She was asked to give her take on Trump saying he'd be 'honored' to sit down with the North Korean leader, at the right time and place.

'So negotiations are critical, they have to be part of a broader strategy,' Clinton advised. 'Not just thrown up on a tweet some morning, "Hey, let's get together and see if we can't get along, maybe we can come up with some sort of deal,"' she said, imitating Trump.

Throughout the discussion, Clinton whacked Trump quite a bit on not having strategies to deal with both domestic and global problems, reminding Amanpour that during the debates he once made fun of her for being too well prepared.

She, on the other hand, said she was waiting through those three presidential debates for a moderator or a questioner to ask Trump how, exactly, he planned to create more jobs.

'I thought that at some moment that would happen,' she said. 'And I was ready for that moment,' Clinton said with a grin.

Clinton said she had been planning to implement policies that would help people in areas, even those who had voted for Trump, that would be impacted by robotics, artificial intelligence 'and things that are really going to be upending the economy for the vast majority of Americans.'

But with her loss, went her policies and plans.

'I'm now back to being an activist citizen and part of the resistance,' she said.
Sam Clancy, 24, from Rochdale, disappeared just hours after arriving in the Hungarian capital on Friday, after he became separated from his friends on a night out

A young father who vanished on a stag do in Budapest died in a road accident, local media reported.

Sam Clancy, 24, from Rochdale, disappeared just hours after arriving in the Hungarian capital on Friday when he became separated from his friends on a night out.

Hungarian media reported that he was knocked down by a car.

Friends and family launched a desperate search for him and a social media appeal for information was shared hundreds of times.

But on Tuesday a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed Mr Clancy had died.

A spokesman said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Budapest. We are in contact with the Hungarian police and hospital services.'

The former St Cuthbert's High School pupil, from Littleborough, has a two-year-old daughter.

Mr Clancy, a factory worker, was one of a 22-strong group who flew out for the celebrations.

Hungarian media reported that the 24-year-old was knocked down by a car and killed on Friday

Witnesses said he was last seen getting into a taxi near a bar and nightclub complex called Morrisons 2 on Szent Istvan Boulevard in District 6 of the city, shortly before 10.20pm local time on Friday.

He is believed to have been hit by a car while crossing Vaci Road, in the Ujpest district on the left bank of the Danube River.

The remaining members of the group began a desperate search for him and alerted his family when they still hadn't heard from him on Saturday night.

Mr Clancy's father, Carl, and fiancee, Rebecca, both flew out to Budapest to join the search.

Friends have been paying tribute to Mr Clancy on Facebook.

Astra Jade Littlehales wrote: 'Sam Clancy you were and always will be loved by so many. A beautiful soul snatched from a promising future. My heart is well and truly breaking for your loved ones. Fly high & know you won't be forgotten.'

Joey Mcloughlin wrote: 'Words can't describe the sad news I've heard this morning. My thoughts go out to Sam's family. A life taken at a such a young age. RIP Sam, you'll be missed.'
Virginia Roberts, the woman who claims she was an underage sex slave for perverted financier Jeffrey Epstein has won another round in her fight against the woman she claims recruited her.

Roberts' lawyers persuaded a judge to throw out a motion that would have prevented her from suing Epstein's one-time girlfriend and alleged 'pimp' Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation.

Dailymail.com has learned the decision clears the way for the civil case to go ahead in New York in two weeks' time.

The defamation suit alleges Maxwell instructed her spokesman to attack Roberts' honesty and truthfulness and to accuse her of lying.

Maxwell, the daughter of former British press baron Robert Maxwell who died when he fell off his yacht in 1991, had argued that a press release in which she attacked Roberts was protected speech.

But Judge Robert Sweet refused to accept that argument in a 76-page decision, saying that Roberts was arguing that Maxwell released the damaging statement out of 'malice.'

Virginia Roberts, 33, (who now goes by married name Virginia Giuffre) is suing Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation after the British socialite released a damaging statement denying Roberts's claims that she recruited her as a sex slave from 1999 to 2001

The 33-year-old alleges financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her for years as Maxwell (who was his girlfriend at the time) passed her around among Epstein's friends for sex

It is the second time the judge has sided with Roberts. In February last year he denied Maxwell's request to throw out the lawsuit when she said she was just defending herself against allegations that she helped set up sexual encounters between Roberts and powerful men.

Roberts, now a 33-year-old mother-of-three, says she was recruited by Maxwell when she was just 15. She claims she was then passed around among Epstein's friends for underage sex.

She also claims Britain's Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son, and lawyer Alan Dershowitz were among those she slept with. Both have vigorously denied her claims.

Maxwell, 55, was Epstein's girlfriend at the time.

In her lawsuit filed in 2015, Roberts  who now goes by her married name Virginia Giuffre  described how she became a victim of sex trafficking after Maxwell recruited her from a hotel where she worked.

Roberts claims Prince Andrew (pictured together with Maxwell in 2001) was among one of the many friends of Epstein she was forced to sleep with and said she once took part in an 11-person orgy with the prince

In an affidavit filed last year, Roberts said that she had had sex with Prince Andrew (pictured with Jeffrey Epstein on a stroll in New York) on Epstein's properties. Prince Andrew emphatically denied her allegations

'With the assistance of Maxwell, Epstein was able to sexually abuse Giuffre for years until Giuffre eventually escaped,' the lawsuit says.

'As part of their sex trafficking efforts, Epstein and Maxwell intimidated Giuffre into remaining silent about what had happened to her.'

After Roberts went public with her allegations, she describes how Maxwell undertook a 'concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Giuffre' so that her claims would not be believed.

The defamation suit alleges Maxwell instructed her spokesman to 'attack Giuffre's honesty and truthfulness and to accuse Giuffre of lying.'

It says Maxwell made a deliberate effort to 'maliciously discredit Giuffre and silence her efforts to expose sex crimes committed around the world by Maxwell, Epstein and other powerful persons. Maxwell made her statements knowing full well they were false.'

Maxwell has always refused to talk about her involvement with Epstein and has denied any involvement in sex trafficking.

Billionaire Epstein, now 64, served just 13 months after he was convicted of a single charge of soliciting prostitution from underage girls in 2006 - Maxwell has always refused to talk about her involvement with Epstein and has denied any involvement in sex trafficking

Court documents filed in 2014 in Palm Beach, Florida, revealed that after Maxwell was asked to attend a deposition by Roberts's lawyers she claimed her mother was on her death bed and had to leave the US with no plans to return.

Within weeks she was spotted at Chelsea Clinton's wedding in New York.

Billionaire Epstein, now 64, was sentenced to just 18 months in county jail and 12 months house arrest after he was convicted of a single charge of soliciting prostitution from underage girls in 2006. He served just 13 months.

The federal government decided against prosecuting him in a heavily criticized deal negotiated by then-US Attorney Alexander Acosta, who is now President Donald Trump's Secretary of Labor. If found guilty in federal court, Epstein could have received life in prison.

The agreement between Acosta and Epstein specifically said it 'will not be made part of any public record.' However, a federal judge later ordered it unsealed.

During his confirmation hearing Acosta said that 'based on the evidence' prosecutors decided to accept the deal as Epstein would serve some time and have to register as a sex offender for life. He had earlier said that evidence against Epstein grew stronger after the original court case.

Former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter, whose department conducted the initial investigation into the allegations, said Epstein got off easy.

'That wasn't an appropriate resolution of this matter,' Reiter said in a deposition for another civil lawsuit. He wrote to the parents of Epstein's victims saying justice had not been served, the Washington Post reported.

In a separate lawsuit, Roberts claimed that she was Epstein's sex slave between 1999 and 2002 and she once took part in an 11-person orgy with Prince Andrew.

However, a judge later threw out Roberts' allegations against Prince Andrew and ordered them to be struck from the court record calling them 'lurid', 'immaterial' and 'impertinent'

Roberts said that Epstein and Maxwell 'trained me to do what they wanted, including sexual activities and the use of sexual toys. The training was in New York and Florida, at Epstein's mansions.

'It was basically every day and was like going to school,' she added. 'I also had to have sex with Epstein many times. I was trained to be 'everything a man wanted.'

In February last year a judge denied Maxwell's request to throw out the lawsuit when she said she was just defending herself against allegations that she helped set up sexual encounters between Roberts and powerful men

'Maxwell was about sex all the time,' Roberts added. 'She had sex with underage girls virtually every day when I was around her, and she was very forceful.

'I first had sexual activities with her when I was approximately 15 at the Palm Beach mansion. I had many sexual activities with her over the next several years in Epstein's various residences plus other exotic locations.

'I also observed Maxwell have sex with dozens of underage girls. Many times she made me sleep with other girls, some of whom were very young, for purposes of taking sexual pictures.'

Roberts has now founded an organization, Victims Refuse Silence, to help victims of sex trafficking.

On its website, she wrote: 'At 15 years old, very wealthy and powerful people promised me a higher education and a better life. I was a vulnerable teenager and the offer was appealing.

'But before I knew it, I was thrown into a world of sexual servitude and guilted into believing that I was indebted to those who used me as a sexual servant.

'While traveling the world with some of the most powerful and connected world leaders in politics, science, and business made me believe that I was important, I was really only there to service these individuals sexually,' she added.

Bill Clinton was among those Roberts says she saw on Epstein's private Caribbean Island, but she says she never had sex with the former president, nor did she see him have sex with anyone else.

'In order to protect myself, I quickly appreciated that I had no choice but to comply with my master's directives,' Roberts wrote on her website. 'I was still only a child, and because of the extraordinary power that my abusers had, I believed that I could not report them. I did not think that anyone would listen to me.'

She said she escaped after she was sent to Thailand and 'met a man who gave me the courage that I needed to escape.' That man was Robert Giuffre, who she married 10 days after first meeting him.
Does Jeremy Corbyn have a wife?

I had to double check. And do you know what? He does. Wife number three is two decades his junior, looks hugely fun and could easily pass as the mature crush of one of his exceedingly tall sons.

But you hardly ever see her on parade.

Refreshing isn't it? Corbyn doesn't feel the need to demonstrate that he can be loved?

Jeremy Corbyn's wife Laura Alvarez (left) was pictured at the weekend in a rare appearance. The Labour leader, unlike many others, does not flaunt her to prove his credentials

For a politician not to feel the need to reassure us of his attractive credentials with a heterosexually awkward kiss after a big speech. Or to pimp her out like some political hooker swapping big hair, smiles and kisses for votes.

Just-call-me-Dave, endlessly chillaxing in his man-shed was a professional when it came to exploiting the fact he had a woman in his life. Sam Cam was worked harder than a hooker in a cheap Hilton. Her wardrobe, her family stay-cations, her kitchens and even her mothering, all relentlessly over-shared to help us believe we needed Dave in our lives too.

I believe Sam Cam is the most important thing in his life. And I rather love him for it. But I am not certain we need to see quite so many kisses to get the point.

Nick Clegg wow'd up with his wife. At election time, Miriam would be thrust, blow dried and beautiful, into the spotlight to say something brilliant. And she never failed. She was Nick's siren call. Devastatingly intelligent, Miriam added glamour to the campaign trail but always on her own terms.

Just-call-me-Dave was a professional when it came to exploiting the fact he had a woman in his life, Samantha Cameron (pictured together)

She made women like me think there must be more to Nick than the flaccid people-pleaser in yellow I had him pegged as.

Ed Miliband tried the same stunt without success. He wheeled out his cardigan-cladded wife Justine on multiple occasions to make him look less awkward. But somehow she only accessorised his weirdness, making him more so.

With Justine holding his hand in the manner one holds a damp nappy, they made walking side-by-side look about as natural as sleeping with your own sister.

But what strikes me is that women don't pull this stunt. Women (and Corbyn) don't pimp their ride.

Theresa May barely allows us a peek at Mr May unless there are a pair of walking boots attached to his legs on rocky outcrop in Snowdonia or when they toddle off to church every Sunday. Much like Thatcher's Dear Dennis, you know he is there for her, resolutely, unequivocally. You can be absolutely certain he is the person who knows her best on the planet.

Nick Clegg wow'd up with his wife. At election time, Miriam would be thrust, blow dried and beautiful, into the spotlight to say something brilliant

But she doesn't need his voice to amplify her own. She does not look to a man to elevate her own standing. Or to reassure voters of her credentials as a woman.

Unlike Just-call-me-Dave and flaccid Nick, who needed a woman to make them look more of a man, Theresa May does not need a man to make her look more of a woman.

Macron's bonkers relationship with his mother-figure wife Brigitte (pictured) would make Oedipus feel affirmed

It's curious but consistent in strong female leaders. We barely get a glimpse of their partners. And far from being paraded about as part of their campaign, they seem purposely protected. I believe women prefer to separate their public and private selves far more than a man would do. Or are less-prepared to risk the thing they treasure the most in pursuit of power.

I think it is part self-preservation. When you preserve your private self, the self your family see, then the public can only attack what is in front of them; your views, your speech, your looks, your dress.

Protecting the people you love from all means you don't afford your detractors the opportunity to get at the thing closest to your heart. More over, you don't have to suffer the guilt if they are caught in the cross-fire.

I understand this. People ask why my lovely Mark rarely comes to events with me, and it is absolutely self-preservation. He could handle it easily. I can not.

I think it is part strength too. Women are stronger when they appear to stand alone. Men are accepted as strong and need nod to softer side.

It's why Cuddly-Corbyn doesn't need to parade his wife about. Because he is already perceived as fluffy inside and out.

The French elections are a perfect example of this. Marine is supremely strong, defiant almost. She is perhaps one of the bravest women in Europe, having fought for 'her France' for so long.

Theresa May, pictured campaigning today, barely allows us a peek at Mr May unless there are a pair of walking boots attached to his legs on rocky outcrop in Snowdonia

She surrounds herself with her political team. But never once has she searched for a kiss on stage. Never turned from the crowds waving and cheering to flaunt her adoring partner, sealing the deal, showing her human side.

Macron is the polar opposite. His bonkers relationship with his mother-figure wife would make Oedipus feel affirmed. But she is everywhere. They are Velcro'd together at the head. Where he walks, she walks right behind. When he speaks, he speaks only to her. When he stops speaking, he kisses only her. And he is French.

I can't help thinking she would smell of Yardley Violets. With a hint of onion. And it's not helping me warm to his campaign.

Nicola Sturgeon could not be more of her own woman if she tried

Meanwhile, I may not have much time for the Ginger Dwarf from the North but I have to admit Nicola Sturgeon could not be more of her own woman if she tried, stomping about in her wicked red heels, competing for calf-length with Theresa. She allowed us a glimpse of him indoors one time when they were discussing the reason they do not have children, but apart from championing his mastery of the kitchen, he is a closed book.

When asked about their roles at home; 'Historically I'm the one with the drill,' is how Nicola tactfully put it when asked in an interview

I don't see the leader of the Greens delivering a less awkward lesbian kiss too regularly on stage either. Despite being reassuringly gay for the vegan voter, she prefers not to parade her private life for the cameras, or use her partner as a pleasing extension to her campaign.

Ditto, Ruth Davidson, Sturgeon's jolly lesbian nemesis leading the Scottish Tories. I seem to recall seeing a picture of her partner once. And that's it.

Merkel is the grand master at standing alone. She is the Elsa of the Ice Princesses - the Queen of Perceived Mean. I have little doubt she could stab both her parents through the heart in the middle of the night and still turn up in a pant suit at the EU ready to discuss territorial fishing rights with Junker by 6am.

Things have changed. Men may win by revealing their soft underbelly, but women will fight to protect it.

And in a sneaky sort of way, whatever their politics, I admire all of these women for standing on their own. And standing strong.
Police dog Diesel was found dead on Friday

Authorities are investigating the death of a police dog found dead inside a patrol car parked outside a courthouse in Florida.

Diesel, a German Shepherd, was found dead about 7.30pm Friday in a police cruiser outside the Brevard County Courthouse in Melbourne, Florida.

Officials haven't said how long the dog was in the car, and the officer in charge of handling the dog has not been named.

The National Weather Service reported the high in central Florida on Friday afternoon was 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

The patrol car belonged to an officer from the nearby Sebastian Police Department.

The German Shepherd's body was discovered about 7.30pm Friday in outside the Brevard County Courthouse (pictured) in Melbourne, Florida

John Blackledge, the Sebastian Police Department's commander of operations, called the Diesel's death a tragedy, adding that his agency will conduct an independent investigation.

'Our entire department is saddened by Diesels tragic death; please keep us in your thoughts and prayers,' Blackledge said in a statement.

'The situation is being investigated by the Melbourne Police Department and when their investigation is over, an administrative investigation will occur here with the Sebastian Police Department,' the statement added
David Vaughan Jones, 78, conned his 12 victims into handing over thousands of pounds over a 20-year period

A church elder has been jailed after fleecing his congregation out of 1.5 million in an investment scam.

David Vaughan Jones, 78, conned his 12 victims into handing over thousands of pounds each after recommending the bogus offshore scheme.

Jones, the founder of the Evangelical Church in Newtown, Powys, posed as a respected tax consultant to lure fellow members of his congregation into the scam.

But in reality he had no financial qualifications, and was in fact a disgraced former solicitor who was struck off from The Law Society in the early 1990s.

Mold Crown Court heard 'prominent' Jones used his influence in the church to persuade members to part with large amounts of cash over a 20-year period.

In all he took 1,495,000 from his victims, paying some money back to his 'investors' to make it look as though the fictional scheme was profitable.

Nicola Rees, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'David Jones is an educated man who applied his intelligence to running a financial scam.

'He systematically deceived people into paying considerable sums of money to him.

'He knew from the outset that they were not paying into legitimate investments and he lied to them, using his influence within the community and on occasions as a family friend to maintain the pretence.'

Jones, the founder of the Evangelical Church in Newtown (pictured), Powys, posed as a respected tax consultant to lure fellow members of his congregation into the scam.

His scam was eventually uncovered and he pleaded guilty to 24 counts of fraud, but had his sentencing adjourned to allow him to pay the money back.

Jones promised to repay the stolen money, but the court heard he hadn't done so.

Judge Niclas Parry jailed Jones from Welshpool, Mid Wales, for six years.

The judge said: 'The reality is that over a period in excess of 20 years you were responsible for thefts and frauds from 12 victims amounting to nearly 1.5million.

'Decent people felt utterly betrayed and astonished and the level of your deception.'

A proceeds of crime investigation was ordered to try and recover the stolen cash.
Britain has taken steps to ensure that Vladimir Putin and other foreign powers cannot interfere with the General Election, Theresa May has said.

The Prime Minister said the countrys new cyber security centre has been giving advice to Britains political parties to protect themselves from hackers.

It comes after the Russian president was today forced to deny allegations he has attempted to influence foreign elections amid speculation he would try to intervene in votes in France and Germany.

Theresa May told a campaign rally that steps have been taken to protect the June 8 vote from foreign interference

Asked directly at a campaign rally in Bristol if she fears Mr Putin could try to influence the vote on June 8, Mrs May said Britain has taken tough precautions to ensure this could not happen.

She said: First of all I think we should all be very clear that free and fair elections are such an important part of our democracy.

And we want to see those free and fair elections continuing in the future.

And I think it is not a question of looking to see what we would do after something has happened.

It is actually about ensuring that people cannot interfere in our electoral process.

And relatively recently the Government opened the new cyber security centre which is a very important step forward.

'That centre has already been working with the political parties, offering them advice on how they can protect themselves against the possibility of cyber intrusion.

But as far as I am concerned, we do everything we can to ensure that the elections here in this United Kingdom are free and fair.

The PM said a new cyber security centre has been advising political parties on how to protect themselves

Russias authoritarian regime is widely believed to be behind leaks and fake news material designed to damage political opponents of Mr Putin.

American intelligence officials earlier this year concluded that Mr Putin personally ordered a campaign to influence the 2016 US presidential race and sought to denigrate Hilary Clinton.

And there are fears that he will seek to strike again this summer with elections in France and Germany as well as the UK.

Angela Merkel today said Germany would take decisive measures against any attempt to influence elections in the country via fake news or cyber attacks.

Speaking today at a press conference in Sochi, Russia alongside the German Chancellor, Mr Putin insisted it has never occurred to him to interfere in foreign elections.
A massive brawl broke out during a meeting at a Georgia baptist church during a vote on whether its controversial pastor should be fired.

Punches were thrown, church goers were shoved to the ground, and chairs were launched across the room after a fight erupted at Greater Bellevue Baptist Church in Macon on Monday.

Local county deputies were forced to call for back up after the two cops were overwhelmed by the brawl.

Scroll down for video

A massive brawl broke out during a meeting at a Georgia baptist church after a disagreement over whether the controversial pastor should stay

So far, no injuries or arrests have been reported. But police are continuing to investigate the incident.

Violence broke out at the Georgia chapel during a heated discussion of the leadership of Pastor David Stephens.

The congregation has been deeply divided over Pastor Stephens with many calling for him to be fired.

As voices of the angry crowd rose, a man filming the action on his cellphone said: 'I can't handle this. This is church, though. They overdoing it, though,' one man said on a video he took with his phone that night.

Violence broke out at the Georgia chapel during a heated discussion of the leadership of Pastor David Stephens (pictured)

The fight erupted at Greater Bellevue Baptist Church (pictured) in Macon on Monday

At one point a woman came on the microphone and asked the crowds 'Us not having a pastor at all, is that going to make this a better church or worse?'

'Worse!' the man filming responded. 'We want Pastor Stephens. He a big help to the community, though. They trippin.'

Churchgoers prepared to vote on the issue and were lining up when there was some disruption at the front.

'If you keep talking you won't be able to vote,' a man at the podium told the crowd. 'If y'all don't vote, y'all just don't vote.'

Punches were thrown, church goers were shoved to the ground, and chairs were launched across the room

The brawl lasted for several minutes until police blew a whistle, ordering 'everyone out', and the mob dissipated

Another church goer called for peace, saying: 'We're all family here, we're a church family right, so can't we all get along?'

But the words had no effect as frustrations boiled over and violence broke out.

The brawl lasted for several minutes until police blew a whistle, ordering 'everyone out', and the mob dissipated.

Stephens, a married father-of-two who has been preaching for years, posted Psalm 16:8 after the riot on his Facebook page which read: 'I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.'

'Gracious and kind father, it's great to know you,' he added. 'Challenges come and challenges go and I don't know what is in my path for today. There is one thing I do know - and that is you are my rock and my fortress. You are my shield and my strong tower.'

Several of his flock have reached out to him in the wake of the brawl to offer their support.

Jarvis Ellis wrote: 'Love and praying for you Bro/Pastor David Stephens. An attack on 1 is an attack on all.'

His sentiments were echoed by many on the pastor's Facebook page including Johnny Roquemore who wrote: 'Praying for you Pastor and the family. As well as Our church family as a whole.. The Devil is busy.'
Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu, 60, is accused of sexually abusing eight foster children at his Long Island home. A witness, 29, told a court how the foster father threatened to kill him if he did not agree to have sex with him

A foster father accused of sexually abusing six of the more than 100 boys he cared for over two decades was acquitted Tuesday of all charges against him.

Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu, 60, was cleared of 17 counts involving abuse of the children in his Ridge, New York home. Many of the boys had mental, intellectual, emotional and behavioral issues.

The verdict came on the seventh day of jury deliberations in a case that put a national focus on the foster care system.

Though the jury heard graphic accounts of abuse from Gonzales-Mugaburu's former foster children, jury foreman Tim Carney, a 48-year-old firefighter, said there were too many holes in the prosecution's case.

'I could not put a man away for the rest of his life on what they gave us  the evidence they produced,' Carney told Newsday.

Carney said he believed the testimony of some of the accusers, but wanted more evidence to corroborate their sworn statements.

'There was nothing ever to back them up,' he said.

Gonzales-Mugaburu's Suffolk County house was described by the prosecutor as a 'horrible place to live', but the jury didn't think the prosecution fully proved their case

The jury of six women and six men had previously told the judge that they were deadlocked, before reaching the not guilty verdict on the seventh day of deliberations.

During the trial, one former foster child, now 29, testified that Gonzales-Mugaburu told him he would kill him if he did not agree to have sex with him.

Another mentally challenged man testified that Gonzales-Mugaburu molested him for about three years beginning when he was 10. The man, now 21, said it left him confused.

Gonzales-Mugaburu's attorney, Donald Mates, had argued that the accusers had concocted stories of abuse.

'It's the quality of the evidence, not the quantity of the evidence, you should be focusing on,' Mates told jurors.

Gonzales-Mugaburu did not testify in his own defense.

Prosecutors had painted the Ridge man as a monster and blamed the foster care system for lax oversight at his suburban Long Island home.

An 83-page report released by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota this year contended systemic failures allowed Gonzales-Mugaburu to take in more than 100 children over 20 years.

It noted that he had been the subject of 18 child abuse investigations. None of those investigations led to criminal charges until his arrest in January 2016. He had been held without bail since, until walking free on Tuesday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota holds a special grand jury report that documents findings about the foster care system in New York state

Mates said he disagreed with the findings in the report. There never was any reason for the agencies to fail to uncover abuse because, he said, it never happened.

Mates also said that at least some of the accusers had a financial reason to see Gonzales-Mugaburu convicted because they have filed lawsuits against an agency that placed them in his home.

Prosecutors did not immediately comment on the verdict.

In opening arguments, Suffolk County prosecutor Laurie Moroff described Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu's suburban Long Island home as a beautiful house with a pool, but claimed inside the children lived in a prison.

The foster system was like a candy store filled with boys for him, Moroff said.

Prosecutors also said the man sexually abused a dog in front of a child.

During the trial, a witness, 29, told the jury how Gonzales-Mugaburu repeatedly assaulted him.

He said: 'I was afraid of him. [He said] 'I will shoot you. I will run you over with my car. I will kill you.'''

The man told the court Gonzales-Mugaburu told him: 'You're disabled. You're mentally retarded. You're not going to get nowhere in life.'

The witness moved in with the alleged pedophile when he was around 10 years old and said his foster father took him into his bedroom and made him watch gay porn.

He told the court Gonzales-Mugaburu would make him perform oral sex while other children were in the same room.

Defense attorney Donald Mates said there was no truth to the charges, calling it a 'witch hunt.'

Gonzales-Mugaburu earned more than $1.5 million over two decades as a foster parent, according to prosecutors.
United CEO Oscar Munoz Got Grilled By D.C. Lawmakers

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 2, 2017 9:20PM



United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz testifies before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about oversight of U.S. airline customer service in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The mea-culpa tour and we-will-improve parade for United Airlines climbed all the way to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as CEO Oscar Munoz this time apologized to House committee in Washington D.C.although he was the far from the only airline exec to feel the heat from the panel; and the dragging fiasco was just one in a litany of air travel-related grievances expressed by lawmakers.

"The reason I'm sitting here today is because on April 9, we had a serious breach of public trust," Munoz told the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, according to ABC News.

"I'm personally sorry for the fact that my immediate response and the response of our airline was inadequate to that moment," he added, seemingly in reference to his notorious, outrage-inducing "re-accommodate" comment and initial characterization of Dr. David Daothe passenger who was violently dragged down the plane's aisleas "disruptive and belligerent."

But representatives extended their righteous anger beyond Munoz and involuntary bumping, as executives from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines were taken to task over everything from industry consolidation to added fees and general passenger rights. When they did zero in on Munoz, reps were sometimes almost comically pointed.

"Why do you hate the American people?" asked Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-CA, according to CNBC. "I was going to ask how much do you hate the American people, but I'm not going to ask that."

Whether or not Congress actually takes steps to regulate airline customer service will depend on whether companies can prove they've made amends and changed their ways, the Tribune reports.

Dao, a 69-year-old Kentucky doctor, was dragged off a United airline in April after he refused to give up his seat on the fully booked plane in order to make room space for airline staff. He suffered a broken nose and concussion and lost two front teeth, according to his lawyer. Dao settled with United Airlines for an undisclosed amount on Friday.
Jeffrey Thacker told police that he murdered his wife and let her body rot in their home for months after they found the 65-year-old covered in blood last week

A 65-year-old Florida man admitted to stabbing his wife to death with a pair of scissors and leaving her body to rot in their house for months when police found him covered in blood last week.

Police conducted a welfare check on the home of Jeffrey Thacker and his wife Jaden Kincade, 51, on Thursday in Fort Lauderdale.

At first, there was no answer at the home, so the officers went around to the back of the house where they smelled a decaying body.

They encountered Thacker when they returned to the front of the house and found him wandering around covered in blood.

'I killed her. I stabbed her with a pair of scissors,' Thacker reportedly told the officers.

Cops found Kincade's body in an advanced stage of decomposition on the floor of the couple's bedroom.

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Thacker's wife's body was found in advanced stages of decomposition at the couple's home in Fort Lauderdale. The couple's dog was also found dead of starvation, locked in another room

A car parked in the driveway of the couple's home had a bumper sticker reading: 'pets are not disposable'

They also found the body of the couple's dog in another closed bedroom, starved to death.

Thacker reportedly admitted to officers that he killed his wife sometime before Valentine's Day, claiming that she stabbed him first.

Thacker had fresh wounds on his left arm and chest near his right nipple when officers found him, so he was taken to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.

While at the hospital, he reportedly told officers that he acted in self defense when his wife came at him saying 'live or die' and then hit him 'really hard in the lower back'. He made a slashing motion from left to right to describe how he killed her, then he asked for a lawyer.

An autopsy showed that Kincade died of 25 stab wounds to her chest and head. Investigators also found 10 stab wounds on Thacker's hands and arms consistent with defensive wounds from Kincade.

Thacker sat in a wheelchair as he appeared in court via a livestream on Tuesday. He faces charges of murder without premeditation and causing cruel death and pain and suffering to an animal

A veterinarian said the couple's dog died of starvation, after being locked in the bedroom without food or water from between two weeks to a month.

A car parked in the driveway of the couple's home has a bumper sticker which reads 'Pets are not disposable'.

When he was discharged from the hospital, Thacker was arrested and he made his first court appearance on Tuesday.

Thacker appeared in court via a livestream video, and was seated in a wheelchair during the conference.

His attorney asked the judge that his client undergo a mental evaluation, but the judge denied that request for now.

Thacker faces charges for murder without premeditation and causing cruel death and pain and suffering to an animal.

Records show that Thacker's wife had accused him of domestic violence before. His criminal record also includes several arrests for burglary, cocaine possession, and trafficking a stolen property. He was released from prison in February 2000, after serving more than six years for burglary.

The couple got a marriage license in 2009, but didn't get married until 2015.

Neighbors say Thacker rarely left the house but that his wife was often seen walking the dog.

'It was a rescue dog - a Dalmatian. Quiet, never barked - very gentle dog,' one neighbor told Local 10. 'She used to walk him by here and we would talk. She was the only one to walk the dog. He never came out of the house except to wander around and drink.'

A neighbor named Patty said that Thacker changed after he suffered a stroke about a year ago. After that, she tells CBS Miami, he became 'more of a recluse'.

Police say they had been called to the house four times since February 28 to conduct welfare checks, but never had reason to enter the private residence until last Thursday.
A jealous mother paid her lover to murder her teenage daughter because she feared the youngster was trying to steal her boyfriend, police in Brazil have claimed.

Schoolgirl Francine Matias da Silva Sins, 13, was allegedly raped and killed by Ronaldo Santos, 30, her stepfather, after he lured her to her death with the promise of Easter eggs.

Santos was in a relationship with Francine's mother Geni Sins, 54, who had previously tried to get him to kill her, the prosecution has said.

The school girl was found strangled and tied to a tree having been raped in a remote wooded area in Santa Cruz do Sul, south Brazil, on Good Friday.

Ronaldo Santos, being manhandled by police in Brazil, went on the run for a week before being caught by police and charged with murdering Francine

Santos (right) is said to have been paid his 54-year-old lover Geni Sins (left) to kill Francine

Francine Matias da Silva Sins was murdered on the orders of her jealous mother, police claim

The remains of the young girl were found in a remote wooded area a mile and a half from her home. Police are pictured here carrying them from the woods in which they were found

In sordid new revelations unearthed today, it emerged that Santos is actually his lover's nephew and Francine's cousin.

They had been together for several years and Sins was said to be 'passionately in love' with her toyboy.

Francine's brother, Diones Sins Muller, 18, revealed his mother was 'obsessed with Santos and always said he was the love of her life.'

Police released details about the crime on Friday, revealing the teen had marks around her neck and had suffered head wounds.

Autopsy reports indicated she had been raped.

According to detectives, Sins suspected her lover was showing an interest in his underage cousin last year and she began plotting to get rid of her child.

Detective Lisandra Carvalho said Sins did not appear to see her partner as a predator and a danger to her vulnerable daughter.

'Her motives were not those of a protective mother but those of a self-obsessed woman who saw her child as a love rival who posed a threat,' Carvalho said.

'Sins was driven by jealousy to stop what she believed was competition from a younger rival.'

A police officer inspects an orange piece of clothing found at the scene where Francine's body was found

Officers stand outside three police vehicles parked up in the woods in Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil

A civil police officer stands underneath an umbrella near a cordoned off area in the woods

Detectives inspect an area in the woods where Santos is accused of raping and killing the girl

Francine Matias da Silva Sins was lured to her death with the promise of Easter eggs, it's claimed

Police say Sins promised Santos a couple of thousand pounds to pay off a loan on his motorbike for killing her daughter.

On the fateful day, the victim was lured out of the house to her death by Santos on the promise of buying Easter eggs at a local market.

A couple hours after the pair left on motorbike, the ruthless mum reported her daughter missing.

Detective Anderson Ferreira Faturi said: 'Geni called us about 3pm to say Francine had disappeared.

'We were surprised by her behaviour because we found it strange the child had gone out around midday and only a few hours later her mum was calling us to say she was missing.

'What also concerned us was that Geni appeared to think Francine might be dead.

'We became even more suspicious when we discovered the victim had not been seen at the market where she was supposed to have gone to buy the Easter eggs with her stepfather.'

Detective Lisandra Carvalho of Santa Cruz do Sul Police inspects a wooded area with a colleague

Detective Lisandra Carvalho of Santa Cruz do Sul Police said Sins did not appear to see her partner as a predator and a danger to her vulnerable daughter

Investigators launched a search after being tipped off that Santos had been seen near the secluded wooded area without Francine.

The body of the young girl was found 24 hours later, a mile and a half from where she lived with her mum and stepdad.

Santos was immediately named as the prime suspect, but he went on the run before he could be arrested and was caught a week later.

Investigators said during questioning, the accused admitted he 'had started a relationship with Francine about a year ago. Geni had become suspicious and envious and ordered the killing.'

Tragic teen Francine Matias da Silva Sins

Officers revealed Santos claimed his aunt offered him around R$1,000 reais (240) over a year ago to kill his cousin after suspecting he was getting close to the child.

But he had refused to accept the money to carry out the deadly deed.

A year later, he changed his mind when she promised to pay off the outstanding loan on his motorbike.

Carvalho said: 'We were able to prove that the only people who had knowledge of the case were the perpetrators.

'It became clear Geni knew about the isolated location where Francine's body was found and had been involved in choosing where her daughter died.'

Both suspects are behind bars facing murder charges.

Santos is also accused of grooming and raping a vulnerable minor.

Sins, who denies the charges, collapsed and had to be hospitalised temporarily when officers arrived to arrest her, warning that Santos had confessed and implicated her in the crime.

Both are expected to stand trial later this year.




Bachelor star Chris Soules (pictured) stopped to buy alcohol just moments before he was involved in a fatal accident that left a farmer dead, new court documents claim

Bachelor star Chris Soules stopped to buy alcohol just moments before he was involved in a fatal accident that left a farmer dead, new court documents claim.

In the papers, which were filed on Monday night, prosecutors claim the former reality television personality was spotted at a convenience store buying booze.

Bottles, some empty and some only partially drank, were found in Soules' car after he rear-ended 66-year-old Kenneth Mosher's tractor, killing him, on April 24.

'Defendant did attempt to obfuscate the immediate facts and circumstances surrounding the accident, including a determination of his level of intoxication and an explanation of the empty and partially consumed open alcoholic beverages located in and around his vehicle that he was seen purchasing at a convenience store shortly before the accident,' an item in the filing reads.

The papers go on to state the 35-year-old did not 'return to the scene of the accident or inform the law enforcement authorities where he could be located' after the crash.

It had previously been reported he fled the scene.

The filing was submitted by prosecutors after Soules' legal team tried to have felony changes against their client dismissed.

Soules was behind the wheel when he crashed his truck into 66-year-old Kenneth Mosher's (right) tractor, killing him, on April 24

New court documents filed on Monday night detail how prosecutors believe Soules bought alcohol just before the crash

His lawyers have argued him calling 911 to report the crash meant he had carried out his obligations after the accident.

Soules is heard in the 911 calls telling an operator through labored breathing: 'I just ran in to a guy in a tractor.'

After admitting he did not know how to perform CPR, he asked others there: 'Does anyone know CPR?'

While waiting for police and an ambulance, 35-year-old Soules checked Mosher's pulse. He remarked that it did not look as though Mosher was breathing.

A man who looked similar to Chris Soules' father was seen outside the Bachelor contestant's home on Tuesday

Soules' property features a guest houst, which had a sign up out front stating it is available for renting

'I can't tell, he doesn't appear to be,' he said when asked. Later, he said: 'I feel like he's got a pulse.'

Soules ended the call abruptly, telling the operator: 'Can I call you back real quick?'

It is not clear exactly how much time passed before police arrived.

The latest round of legal sparring comes after the victim of the crash was buried in Iowa on Monday.

Mourners are seen carrying the coffin containing Kenneth Mosher after his service in Iowa

Mosher was a Vietnam War veteran and a farmer and is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandchildren. Other veterans are pictured holding American flags at the interment on Monday

Kenneth Mosher, a 66-year-old Vietnam War veteran who was acquainted with Soules, 35, was farewelled during a service at the Geilenfeld Funeral Home in Oelwein, Iowa. It was followed by interment at the Madison Township Cemetery.

More than 100 loved ones attended the wake and were infuriated that Soules allegedly left the scene, according to RadarOnline.

One mourner, a co-worker of Mosher, told the website: 'He should have stayed at the scene  that's just the moral thing to do for anyone that has an accident.

'It's all gonna come out in court. It's going to be a long trial.'

Mosher is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandchildren. He also left behind his mother, three siblings and several nieces and nephews.

Though Soules and his family was acquainted with Mosher, they did not attend the funeral or wake. Soules was not seen on Monday, but a trailer was seen outside his home

There was no sign of Soules at his house Monday, but photographs showed a trailer parked outside the reality TV star's home.

Soules and his family were not seen at the funeral or a three-hour wake on Sunday.

Soules was charged with a felony on Friday as police searched for the vehicle he allegedly used to leave the scene of the crash.

He is facing counts of leaving the scene of a crime by police, who arrested him at his home in Arlington five hours after the incident.

The 35-year-old could face up to five years in prison, probation and fines if convicted, according to the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office.

His preliminary hearing is set for May 2.

The Buchanan County Sheriffs Office declined to comment on the case.
Brussels has told EU countries that closed their borders because of the migrant crisis to reopen them by November.

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and non-EU Norway introduced the ID checks in 2015 and have been allowed to repeatedly prolong them at set intervals.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said it would now only recommend one final half-year extension from mid-May.

Brussels has told EU countries that closed their borders because of the migrant crisis to reopen them by November (pictured, refugees at the Hungarian border with Serbia in 2015)

Sweden said earlier on Tuesday that it was scrapping the checks.

'The time has come to take the last concrete steps to gradually return to a normal functioning of the Schengen area,' EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said.

'This will be the last prolongation.'

The five countries first introduced the checks as a record wave of refugees and migrants from Syria and other Middle East countries and from Africa streamed across Europe.

Brussels initially set the goal of getting rid of the checks by the end of 2016 but that proved impossible.

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and non-EU Norway introduced the ID checks in 2015 and have been allowed to repeatedly prolong them at set intervals

'The time has come to take the last concrete steps to gradually return to a normal functioning of the Schengen area,' EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said

The Schengen area comprises 22 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Explaining the decision for one final extension, Avramopoulos said the ID controls were 'exceptional, proportionate, and as a last resort, for a strict and limited period - in this case, for a last time, of maximum six months.'

EU states would instead strengthen 'proportionate police checks across the territory' of the bloc, especially near internal borders, he said.

It comes as Sweden announced it will lift identity checks on people entering the country from Denmark imposed at the height of the migration crisis.

Sweden introduced border controls after more than 160,000 people sought asylum in 2015. That required an exemption from the EU's free-movement rules which is due to expire on May 11.

Sweden said earlier on Tuesday that it was scrapping the checks (pictured, migrants escorted by police from a Swedish bridge)

Lifting the ID checks will end delays suffered by thousands of cross-border commuters, but the government says it will not lead to a return to the huge influx of asylum seekers whose number dropped to less than 30,000 in 2016.

"We will not return to the levels we had then (2015)," Home Affairs Minister Anders Ygeman told reporters.

"We want to have the maximum possible control over those who come to Sweden."

While ID checks on trains, buses and some ferries from Denmark will end, there will be tougher checks on arrival at the Swedish border, including increased camera surveillance, vehicle x-rays and number plate checks, the government said.

People arriving in Sweden will have to show they have the right to enter the country, not just present ID.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a public thumbs up to President Trump's missile strike in Syria at an event Tuesday in New York City.

'Yes, I did support it,' Clinton told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. 'I didn't publicly support it because that wasn't my role, but I did support it.'

Clinton, however, said she believed it was still too early to assess the strike's full impact, adding she wasn't 'convinced' that the one time show of force made much of a difference.

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Hillary Clinton (pictured) gave her blessing to President Trump's missile strike in Syria, though wasn't sure if there would be much long term impact

Hillary Clinton said she was supportive of President Trump's missile strike in Syria last month, but kept her assessment to herself 'because that wasn't my role'

Hillary Clinton (right) was interviewed by CNN's Christiane Amanpour (left) Tuesday in New York and talked about the 'wicked problem' that is Syria

'I think it's too early to tell,' Clinton said first, answering Amanpour's broad question of whether she believed the strike worked.

On April 6, President Trump ordered 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian government airbase, used in a deadly chemical weapons attack.

'I am not convinced that it really made much of a difference and I don't know what kind of potentially backroom deals were made with the Russians,' Clinton said.

'We later learned that the Russians and the Syrians moved jets off the runway,' Clinton said. 'That the Russians were given a heads up even before our own congress was.'

'So, I think there's a lot that we don't really yet fully know about what was part of that strike,' she added.

Publicly the Russians condemned Trump's missile strike with Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it a 'significant blow to Russian-American relations.'

'Which were already in a sorry state,' Peskov added.

Russia's spokesman for the country's defense ministry also vowed to help Syria strengthen its air defenses, as the Russians are an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Clinton spoke publicly at the Women for Women International luncheon and labeled Syria, like she had North Korea, one of the world's 'wicked problems.'

'That everybody is desperately trying to figure out,' she went on. 'How to stop the civil war, how to prevent Iran from increasing its influence, how to prevent Russia from having a real foothold in the Middle East, which is something they are desperately seeking. Now Turkey and what it's going to do is a big question mark as well.'

And so, while Clinton initially supported Trump's military move, she was unsure about its impact.

'And if all it was was a one-off effort, it's not going to have much of a lasting effect,' Clinton said.
A suspected serial killer serving a life sentence for a murder in Michigan has now admitted to stabbing to death his one-time neighbor in Virginia eight years ago.

Convicted killer Elias Abuelazam made the confession on Tuesday, revealing that he was the one who killed Jammie Lane in Leesburg in 2009.

A year later, Abuelazam was charged with a series of stabbings in Michigan that left five people dead and at least nine others injured.

Justice for Jammie: Convicted killer Elias Abuelazam (pictured left) in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2010) on Tuesday confessed to stabbing to death his former neighbor, Jammie Lane (right) in Virginia in 2009

Closure for family: Katherine Thompson, left, daughter of Jammie Lane, and Youdella Allen, Lane's wife in 2009, on Tuesday learned the name of the man who killed Lane

But Lane's widow, Youdella Allen, said that at the time she didn't see alarming or hostile behavior from Abuelazam, and had no reason to believe he would have killed her husband.

Having learned of Abuelazam's admission on Tuesday, Allen said she felt a sense of relief and closure.

'Just not knowing for eight years what happened,' Allen said. 'The family was afraid to come to the house. We had no idea at all' who was responsible.

Abuelazam decided to come clear about the unsolved slaying in exchange for immunity.

More unsolved crimes: Abuelazam, who was in the US on a green card, is a suspect in a stabbing in Ohio and in his native Israel

As a result, Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman said he will not bring charges in Lane's death.

Details of the confession match the facts of the case, he said, but the case is not a strong one without the confession, which can't be used in court. In addition, he said the case would not be eligible for the death penalty in Virginia, so no further punishment could be meted out beyond the life sentence without parole he's already serving in Michigan.

'At this point it was not about prosecution, but it was primarily focused on the victims ... and providing answers and closure for them,' Plowman said at a news conference Tuesday.

Plowman said detectives had tried over the years to interview Abuelazam without success, but maintained lines of communication, and that it was Abuelazam who reinitiated contact and expressed a willingness to talk if he received immunity.

He said Abuelazam expressed remorse for his neighbor's killing in the confession.

Allen said she supports the decision to forgo prosecution now that she has answers.

'I was OK with it,' Allen said. 'God will take care of him.'

Plowman said Abuelazam is also a suspect in three nonfatal stabbings in Leesburg in 2010.

At the time, Leesburg police indicated that they believed the victims, who were black, may have been targeted because of their race.

Murderer: Abuelazam (left) was convicted in 2012 of first-degree murder for the August 2010 killing of 49-year-old Arnold Ray Minor (right) in Michigan

Allen said she was 'OK' with the deal offering her husband's killer immunity, saying that ''God will take care of him'

Jammie Lane was also black, as were most of Abuelazam's stabbing victims in the Flint, Michigan, area.

But Plowman said nothing in Abuelazam's confession supports the notion that Lane's killing was a race-motivated hate crime. Instead, Plowman said Abuelazam's motives were a jumble of 'conspiracy theories, delusions, paranoia.'

Lane's death in March 2009 was the first in a series of stabbings that police attribute to Abuelazam, an Israel national living in the US on a green card.

Prosecutors said a victim was stabbed in Indiana, and that more than a dozen were victimized in Michigan in 2010 in the few short months Abuelazam lived there.

He is also a suspect in a stabbing in Ohio, and in his native Israel. He was arrested in Atlanta in August 2010 trying to return home.

Abuelazam was eventually charged with three murders and six attempted murders. He was convicted of first-degree murder for the August 2010 killing of 49-year-old Arnold Ray Minor.

Lane's case was unique, in that the other victims were strangers to Abuelazam, while Lane just a couple of doors down from his killer along Adams Drive.

Abuelazam, pictured in court in 2010, was initially charged with a series of stabbings in Michigan that left five people dead and nine others injured

At his murder trial in Michigan, Abuelazam claimed insanity, telling mental-health experts he was under the spell of demons when the attacks occurred. But a jury rejected the insanity defense.

Lane's 2009 killing rattled his neighborhood. His daughter, Katherine Thompson, said her father 'was like the mayor of Leesburg.' He worked as a landscaper and lawn mower, and was familiar to neighbors driving his red truck around town, she said.

'Eight years ago our community was shut down, devastated,' she said. 'He helped all the neighbors. He helped all the kids.'
A veteran teacher and mother-of-two from Texas may face even more charges after admitting to having sex with four high school students - as she continues to sit in jail.

Heather Lee Robertson, 38, of Lufkin, was taken into custody in late April and charged with four counts of improper relationship between educator and student. It is also alleged that she had a threesome with two of the boys.

Now Angelina County District Attorney, Joe Martin, has said on Monday that Lufkin Police is conducting an investigation into the teacher's conduct that could bring about more charges, according to KTRE-TV.

While details about what those charges might entail are hazy, Martin said that a charge of sexual assault could be included.

Heather Lee Robertson (pictured in her mugshot, left), 38, could face even more charges for having sex with four high school students after sexting with them on Snapchat (pictured right)

Robertson is already facing up to 20 years for the underage relationships, but sexual assault could add 20 more years to her prison sentence.

'It's proceeding with LPD, and I will have that presented to me when they finish,' Martin said about the potential number of charges against Robertson. 'I am not sure on the time frame. It's a bit more involved. It is a very careful investigation.'

Robertson also had a court hearing on Monday for an unrelated DWI charge from March; she pleaded not guilty.

According to an arrest warrant, the investigation into the Hudson Independent School District teacher got under way on April 20 when police got a tip about Robertsons alleged involvement with several of her students.

One teenage boy told detectives that he and Robertson, formerly a kindergarten teacher in the district, started talking and exchanging sexually explicit messages on Snapchat, and sometime after spring break, she invited him over for sex.

The 38-year-old veteran educator has two daughters of her own, the eldest pictured in the photo above, with her face obscured to protect her privacy

The teen asked whether he could bring along a friend, and Roberson agreed, according to the document cited by the Lufkin Daily News.

When the two juveniles arrived at the woman's apartment, they found her lying on the couch and smoking an e-Cigarette.

After a few minutes of conversation, Robertson invited her underage guests into the bedroom, where she proceeded to strip naked before having a threesome with the high schoolers, according to the arrest document.

Two other high school students later admitted to meeting Robertson for sex on multiple occasions, bringing the total number of victims to four.

One of the boys recounted for the police how he would sneak out of his home and Robertson would pick him up and take him to her apartment to have sex.

Robertson (pictured with her eldest daughter) admitted to the allegations last month, confessing that she had sex with one of the students four times between late 2016 and April 14

When investigators confronted the 38-year-old educator, who has two daughters of her own, Robertson admitted to the allegations, confessing that she had sex with one of the students four times between late 2016 and April 14.

Robertson said she recently became a heavy drinker and would sometimes forget the details of the sexual trysts. She also revealed that she did not force the teens to wear condoms because she can no longer get pregnant.

The 38-year-old said she instructed her underage lovers to keep quiet about their sex sessions, lest she get in trouble.

Hudson ISD Superintendent Mary Ann Whiteker said in a statement that Robertson resigned just after the allegations against her came to light. She had been with the district since 2000, spending the first 13 years of her teaching career at Burley Primary in Lufkin.

Robertson was pulled over by police while driving in Lufkin at around noon on Saturday and was arrested on the improper relationship charges. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.

The teacher's past criminal record includes the single arrest of driving while intoxicated count last month.

Robertson is currently in Angelina County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed working together to end the violence in Syria on Tuesday in their first phone call since U.S. air strikes in Syria strained U.S.-Russian relations.

The White House said the two leaders agreed that 'all parties must do all they can to end the violence' in Syria and that Trump and Putin also discussed working together against Islamic militants throughout the Middle East.

'The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons,' a White House statement said.

First talks: Trump, who had earlier been in the Rose Garden presenting the Commander-in-Chief trophy, held talks with Putin on the phone about Syria and may meet him face-to-face

Meeting: Vladimir Putin, who met Germany's Angela Merkel for talk is his Black Sea residence in Sochi, may meet the new U.S. president in July, the Kremlin suggested

Trump's decision to launch 59 cruise missiles against a Syrian airfield on April 4 in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack angered the Russians and led to some bitter exchanges between the two governments.

The White House statement said Washington will send a representative to Syrian cease-fire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday and Thursday.

'They also discussed at length working together to eradicate terrorism throughout the Middle East. Finally, they spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea,' the statement said.

A separate statement from the Kremlin suggested a face-to-face meeting is on the cards.

The two agreed in a phone call on Tuesday to try to meet in July and work together to try to strengthen a shaky ceasefire in Syria, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin, which called the talks between Putin and Trump business-like and constructive, said the two leaders had emphasized coordinating their actions to fight international terrorism.

On North Korea, the Kremlin said Putin called for restraint and that the two leaders had agreed to work together to make diplomatic progress there too.

Both men also spoke in favor of organizing a face-to-face meeting around the time of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, according to the Kremlin statement.

He's on the agenda: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was discussed by Trump and Putin. The secretive state released this picture of him inspecting what appear to be rocket launchers late last month

It added: 'The aim is to create the conditions for the launch for a real resolution process in Syria. This means that the Russian foreign minister and U.S. secretary of state will effectively inform the leaders about progress in this direction.'

The White House statement said Trump and Putin also 'spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea.'

With North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs posing a major global challenge, the two leaders also discussed how to go about resolving a crisis that has raised tensions throughout the Asia-Pacific.

Trump told Reuters in an interview last week that a 'major, major conflict' was possible with North Korea, amping up pressure on Pyongyang to stand down and for China to rein in the north.

'The dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula was discussed in detail. Vladimir Putin called for restraint and for the level of tension to be reduced,' the Kremlin said.
A married policeman accused of bombarding teenage girls with lewd WhatsApp messages and molested one in her family home while her parents were watching television next door, a court heard.

PC Keith Burgess, 42, allegedly begged young girls to send him naked pictures while serving as a neighbourhood police officer in Southampton for Hampshire Police.

The officer is accused of sending hounding the three victims, aged between 15 and 17, with sexually explicit WhatsApp messages in 2014 and 2015.

PC Keith Burgess, 42, allegedly begged young girls to send him naked pictures while serving as a neighbourhood police officer in Southampton for Hampshire Police. Pictured, Southampton Central Police Station

He is on trial at Guildford Crown Court charged with three counts of sexual assault, three of misconduct in public office, a child grooming offence and two child porn offences.

Burgess befriended families in the Newton area through his community work and allegedly used their trust to get access to their daughters.

He is accused of sexually assaulting one girl, aged 16 at the time, on two occassions at her family home in May 2015.

In one incident he put his hands under her top and shorts in the kitchen while her parents were watching television in the lounge, the court was told.

He told her in a message: 'I just like touching your bum and having your legs wrapped around me.'

He also sent her a naked selfie of himself while on holiday and asked her to send one back in return, the jury heard.

'Just take one of your a*** if you don't want to show your face,' he said in another message.

Accused: Burgess is on trial at Guildford Crown Court (pictured), facing charges of sexual assault, misconduct, child grooming and child porn

He paid another, then aged 15, a total of 220 as an allowance and asked her to send naked photos of herself in return.

In an extremely explicit message, he is accused of asking the teenager what underwear she was wearing and about her private parts.

He added: 'Can you just take a pic of your a***, no face shots.'

Burgess also sent explicit messages to a 17-year-old sixth form student and her mother, asking them both to model for him, the court was told.

He begged the teenager to send him selfies as 'payment' for him helping her family, the jury heard.

Burgess, who joined the police in 2003, was arrested in May 2015 after one of the victims told her parents what had happened.

When police checked his mobile they found explicit messages he had sent to the two other girls.

Officers also discovered child pornography on his laptop and search terms including '15-year-old girl naked', the court heard.

The trial continues.
The first pictures of how Donald Trump's Mexican border wall will look were unveiled by the White House Tuesday - showing a stretch of barrier which had previously been called a fence.

Budget director Mick Mulvaney said that a steel barrier which had previously been designated a fence was in fact 'the wall'.

'This is the wall by the way that DHS said they wanted,' he said as he pointed to a picture of an existing barrier being installed in January in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

'We talked about bricks and mortar  We talked about concrete walls. You can see through this one. Its actually safer.'

He added: 'This wall is being installed on the southern border today.'

In fact the picture was taken on January 25, just days after the new president's inauguration. At the time the barrier was known as a fence.

President Donald Trump plans to build parts of his border wall out of steel, the White House said Tuesday. 'This wall is being installed on the southern border today,' Trump's budget director Mick Mulvaney said

It's a fence - no it's a see-through wall: This is the actual picture used by Mick Mulvaney to show what the border 'wall' will look like. When it was taken it was described as a fence

The shift away from his campaign claim that the wall stretching along the entire southern border would be made out of solid concrete will allow the administration to start on its construction without delay.

Trump's Homeland Security Department has already begun replacing the cyclone fencing along some parts of the border with steel barriers that leave see through areas in between, Mulvaney said.

Tuesday was the first time they had been referred to as a wall. Previously they were a fence.

Mulvaney took over the White House daily press briefing on Tuesday to combat Democratic claims that the spending bill that they're voting on this week in Congress is a blow to the agenda.

The bill delivers $1.5 billion more for homeland security and allows for maintenance and upgrades to existing border structures. The administration is barred from putting the money toward putting up a wall in areas where there's not already fencing, though.

On Monday Mulvaney had conceded that the administration would not be able to lay down 'brick and mortar' along the border this fiscal year.

Trump said this morning that his administration was 'beginning to build the wall,' nonetheless.

Democrats are providing DHS with a 'down payment' on his wall, and they don't even realize it, he said. 'I think they'll go back and check their papers.'

'We're putting up a lot of new walls in certain areas. We're putting up a tremendous amount of money to fix the existing structures that we have, some of which we can keep into the future,' he stated.

At the White House press briefing shortly after, Mulvaney suggested that Democrats - and Republicans - didn't realize that they were giving the administration the authority to begin building the massive structure that he showed off on television screens behind him.

'Until right now, I don't think anybody knew about this, because what you heard us say is no bricks and mortar, no bricks and mortar, it's all about technology,' Mulvaney said. 'My guess is they have not. My guess is they've been watching television and heard the Democrats side of the story.'

Trump had said at a December 2015 rally that wall would be made of 'hardened concrete...rebar and steel.'

'We're gonna set them in nice, heavy foundations,' he said.

His administration has since admitted that it could be made out of steel, concrete, a combination of concrete and steel, and supplemented with technology.

Speaking to Fox News' Eric Bolling in an interview that aired Tuesday afternoon, Trump recommitted to the wall.

'The wall's happening, OK?' Trump said, pointing to 'a billion-and-a-half dollars for security' in the budget.

'The wall is going to get built, but we have had great success. General Kelly has been unbelievable and now we've stopped 73 percent, the highest in the history since they've been recording this stuff,' Trump continued. 'And now it's even better because people aren't even trying to come up.'

The president noted that this has caused Democrats to say that there's not need, then, to build a wall 'because look at the good job Trump is doing.'

But Trump again argued for the wall, a major campaign promise to 'stop drugs' and 'to stop human trafficking'

An executive order Trump signed since taking office says only that the 'wall' will be defined as 'a contiguous, physical wall or other similarly secure, contiguous, and impassable physical barrier.

Trump has said in the past that geological features would naturally protect some areas.

Trump said this morning that his administration was 'beginning to build the wall' - even though the spending bill he's getting the money from explicitly prohibits it

In February Reuters reported that DHS was proposing 1,250 miles of wall, an additional 654 miles beyond what the government already considers to be already fortified.

Mulvaney could not say Tuesday how much of the existing fencing would be replaced with steel - and where the construction would take place.

'I don't know where it's being built...we haven't done the mile, the per mile, I think the total spending is $347 million dollars on that, but we haven't done the math yet,' he said.

The legislation that's on Capitol Hill allows for 40 miles of replacement fencing.

Mulvaney said the wall would cost more to build in certain areas, so he could not be sure how far the money Congress plans to give DHS will stretch.

'We haven't done the math yet on how many miles we can build and where it will be. What we do is that we have several hundreds of millions of dollars to do this,' he asserted.
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The award certificate of "Special Encounter" honored by the Panorama China 2017 section at 50th WorldFest - Houston International Film Festival. [Photo/ China.org.cn]



Chinese film "Special Encounter" won a special jury award at the 50th WorldFest - Houston International Film Festival.

The producers released photos of the award certificate on Tuesday which shows the film, directed by Mina Kwang, getting the honor of WorldFest - Special Jury Remi Award for the WorldFest - Panorama China 2017 section on April 29.

"Special Encounter," a romantic film, based on a South Korean comic book "Botox" by Mina Kwang, was produced by China's film studios, including Wanda Pictures, and starring Chinese mainland actress Yan Ni and Taiwan actor Calvin Tu.

WorldFest was founded over 50 years ago as an International Film Society in August, 1961. WorldFest became the third competitive international film festival in North America, following San Francisco and New York. WorldFest is the oldest Independent Film & Video Festival in the World. It evolved into a competitive International Film Festival in April, 1968. It was founded by award-winning producer/director Hunter Todd to present a quality film festival for independent filmmakers.

"Special Encounter" will hit Chinese theaters on May 19.
A kindhearted Ohio couple, who have five children of their own, have adopted six foster kids at once because they didn't want to split up the siblings.

Christopher and Christina Sanders made a pact when they agreed to become foster parents; that they would never willingly break up a family.

And last week, they kept to their word when they officially welcomed Coby, 16, Christian, 14, Caleb, 13, Caylee, 12, Carson, 10, and Chloe, 9, into their home in a Cincinnati suburb.

Christopher and Christina Sanders, who have five children of their own, have adopted six foster kids at once because they didn't want to split up the siblings

Newly adopted Chloe (fourth from right) even wore a matching outfit to the Sanders' biological daughter Caitlin (second from right) on the special day (pictured at the court house)

The siblings, who were taken into care because of their biological parent's addiction problems, were the Sanders first placements as foster parents in 2014.

'We just made the agreement  whoever we get, we will keep 'em,' Christina, 41, a nurse for TriHealth, told Cincinnati.com. 'It was rough but we did it. And we are happy we did.'

'We were having a rough life (before),' 13-year-old Caleb told Judge Ralph Winkler in the Hamilton County Adoption Court on Thursday, according to WCPO.

Christian also thanked the Sanders 'for changing my life,' bringing many in courtroom to tears - including his new dad Christopher.

Christopher Sanders shed a tear in court as the couple officially adopted the six siblings

The Sanders have officially welcomed Coby, 16, Christian, 14, Caleb, 13, Caylee, 12, Carson, 10, and Chloe, 9, into their home in a Cincinnati suburb

'We were having a rough life (before),' 13-year-old Caleb (right, with sister Caylee) told Judge Ralph Winkler

'We are happy that we are going to be here with our new family forever,' his sister Caylee added. 'I feel wonderful.'

'This is a big day for me and family man, we are so blessed,' said the father-of-11. 'They have had a definite impact on me. I love those children as if they were my bios.'

He added that he had been inspired by his wife Christina who had always hoped to be able to adopt.

'Her heart is huge,' he added. 'and it's starting to rub off on me.'

Their newly adopted daughter Chloe even wore a matching outfit to biological daughter Caitlin for the special day.

'The best thing about being Caitlin's sister, is that I have two sisters now,' said Chloe.

The case judge praised the family as an inspiration adding it was very rare for anyone to adopt so many kids at once

One big happy family: The couple are pictured at home with their 11 children - five biological and six adopted

'She's the sweetest sister ever and I love her so much,' said Caitlin Sanders of the newly adopted Chloe.

'I really appreciate the Sanders and all these kids love us and help us out a lot,' Coby added.

And while the Sanders', who are black, have adopted the white siblings, Christopher says that race had never played any factor in their decision.

'We're all the same in God's eyes,' he said.

Judge Winkler said it was very rare for a family to adopt so many kids at once.

'They serve as an example. How people can change the community one child at a time,' he said, pausing briefly. 'Or, six children at a time.'

The generous family has now set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise the $35,000 needed to buy a new van to help them transport their eleven children.
Critics are branding Stephen Colbert a homophobe over a joke he made about President Trump on Monday night's Late Show.

The episode, filmed at the end of President Trump's first 100 days in office, ended in a long-winded attack against the commander-in-chief - who he called a 'pricktator' who attracts 'more skinheads than free Rogaine'.

What critics took issue with was Colbert's comments about President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Critics have called Stephen Colbert a homophobe after he made a racy joke about President Trump on the Late Show Monday night (above)

Colbert said the only thing Trump's 'mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c**k holster'

'You talk like a sign language gorilla who got hit in the head. In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c**k holster,' Colbert said.

At the mention of the term 'c**k holster', the entire audience - which had been laughing through the more than 12-minute monologue - erupted into gasps.

The reaction was so loud that Colbert had to wait for them to settle back down to finish the rest of his speech.

The reaction online was just as pointed. Immediately, Trump supporters started branding Colbert a homophobe and called for CBS to fire him.

Others supported Colbert, expressing their feeling that the late night host did not intend to offend the gay community.

Trump supporters and members of the LGBTQ community alike condemned Colbert's comment

MSNBC journalist Lawrence O'Donnell was impressed by Colbert's monologue on Monday

Ever since Trump took office, Colbert's once flailing show has taken the lead in the late night ratings thanks to his pointed criticism of the president, which the previous ratings leader, Jimmy Fallon, has failed to muster.

After taping the show Monday afternoon, Colbert put on a tux and took his wife to the Met Gala

While Colbert has remained the leader for total viewers since the second week of Trump's administration, he still lags behind Fallon in the key 18-49 age bracket.

It's unclear how Colbert's latest comments will impact his ratings. Ratings are usually released the Tuesday as the previous week.

Colbert also has one of the stronger bookings this week with scheduled appearances by Amy Schumer, Jim Parsons, Charles Barkley and Richard Gere. Chris Rock, Chris Pine, Paul Giamatti and Gisele Bundchen are stopping by Fallon's show.

Colbert's other competitor in the 11:35pm time bracket is Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel will be taking the rest of the week off for paternity leave, since his newborn son recently had open heart surgery.

Kimmel detailed his family's heartbreak in a tearful monologue Monday, while Colbert was taking down Trump.

Will Arnett, Anthony Anderson, Kirsten Bell and David Spade will be filling in for Kimmel while he is out.
This is the British man arrested over the death of a newlywed while on a Benidorm hen party who has insisted he is innocent.

Kirsty Maxwell, 27, was killed instantly when she fell ten floors from a balcony at the holiday resort on the southern coast of Spain.

Joseph Graham, 32, had been quizzed by Spanish police on suspicion of homicide and spent two nights in a police cell.

He returned home last night to the UK after being given permission by Spanish authorities to fly home.

In a statement released today, Mr Graham, from Nottingham, said: 'I have been advised by my Spanish lawyer that despite me not being charged with any wrongdoing, the investigation into this tragic accident is still ongoing, and therefore sub judice that I am unable to say anything at this time other than that I am innocent of any wrongdoing.'

Joseph Graham, 32, pictured, had been questioned by Spanish police on suspicion of homicide and spent two nights in a police cell

Joseph Graham, 32, who was quizzed by Spanish police, has insisted he is innocent

Revealed: Sliding metal doors at the hotel open out to a beige coloured Juliette style balcony that is about four foot in height (pictured, the balcony below the one Kirsty Maxwell fell from)

Marriage: Mrs Maxwell, 27, who died after falling from a tenth-floor balcony in Benidorm had got married less than a year before her tragic death, it has been revealed

He added: 'I would therefore ask you to respect my privacy until such time as the authorities have completed their investigations.'

Spanish investigators do not yet know whether Mrs Maxwell was pushed, jumped or fell accidentally, and have not yet dropped their investigation into the recruitment manager.

Mrs Maxwell, from West Lothian, Scotland, who married husband Adam last September, had been out partying with a group of 21 female friends but went to bed about 4am on Saturday.

It is understood that she woke up shortly before she fell to her death, left her flat dressed but barefoot, and was let into the men's apartment on the floor above after knocking on the door.

They had reportedly just snorted lines of cocaine and had been drinking heavily.

Mr Graham, whose LinkedIn profile says he is an account manager for Transline Group in Notthingham, is understood to have told police she was acting as if she was 'mad, drunk or drugged' and headed for the bathroom before trying to get through an indoor window and then going out onto the balcony of the budget complex.

Harrowing view: The terrifying view from a balcony looking down at where Mrs Maxwell fell to her death

The judge is expected to consider the possibility Mrs Maxwell had tried to jump into the swimming pool out of fear she was in danger while in the men's apartment

Hen party: Mrs Maxwell was staying in the Apartamentos Payma block (pictured) with a group of around 35 female friends before plunging to her death from the tenth floor

Holiday: Mrs Maxwell (bottom right wearing green jacket) was pictured with a hen party before before leaving the airport for Benidorm in Spain

He is also believed to have insisted he did nothing wrong and only asked her to leave the apartment when he saw what she was doing.

The other men in the flat all gave statements to police and have since returned to the UK.

The 20 other women who were with Mrs Maxwell on the hen-do have also made statements.

Mrs Maxwell died instantly around 8am on Saturday morning after plunging from the two-star holiday block Apartamentos Payma in the Little England area of the resort.

Detectives are understood to be considering the theory Mrs Maxwell had been sleepwalking before she fell from the apartment directly above the one she had been sharing with hen do friends.

They are also looking into whether she became disorientated after waking up and leaving her apartment to go and see a friend, possibly to ask for medicine because she felt unwell after her night out drinking.

Hotel room: A view from the balcony of room 9E in the apartment block, one floor below where Mrs Maxwell plunged to her death

She is understood to have been filmed by a friend asleep in bed around 7.50am, but disappeared minutes later, leaving her keys and mobile phone in her apartment.

MailOnline visited the apartments where rooms cost 60 a night and is in the heart of an area of Benidorm known as Little England where bars with names like The Red Lion and The Crown cater to thousands of British holidaymakers.

Photos taken from the hotel reveal how the reveller fell over a low balcony barrier and plunged 100 feet to her death.

The picture was taken in a hotel room directly below the one Mrs Maxwell fell from - however they are exactly the same layout.

It shows a four foot beige-coloured Juliette style balcony behind sliding doors.

Investigators said there was no evidence at this stage pointing to any criminal wrongdoing.

But the judge is expected to consider the possibility Mrs Maxwell had tried to jump into the swimming pool out of fear she was in danger while in the men's apartment.

Her family have also hired a lawyer to fight for a prosecution in the case.

Mr Graham spent two nights in a police cell after being arrested on suspicion of homicide before being hauled before a judge on Monday.

He was 'too drunk' to make a statement to police when he was arrested at his holiday room.

Police sources told the Diario Informacion newspaper he was also held to stop him from leaving the country while a preliminary investigation into the death was carried out.

A woman, understood to be his girlfriend, told the Daily Mail from his home in Nottingham: 'He is innocent.'

A friend of Mr Graham said the fact he had been allowed to come home 'speaks for itself'.

Prosecution: Mrs Maxwell's family are thought to have hired a private lawyer to represent their interests, as in Spain, lawyers hired by relatives of the alleged victim of a crime can conduct a parallel prosecution to the one mounted by a state lawyer

Mrs Maxwell  who married husband Adam last year - had been out partying with a group of female friends but went to bed about 4am on Saturday in her ninth-floor apartment

Mrs Maxwell died instantly around 8am on Saturday morning after plunging from the two-star holiday block Apartamentos Payma in the Little England area of the resort

Police are considering she may have mistaken the apartment for a friend's flat - and became disorientated

Caring: Mrs Maxwell feeding a baby in a photograph that was uploaded by a friend to Facebook

Judge Ana Garcia Isabel Galbis rejected Mrs Maxwell's family's plea to have him remanded in custody after quizzing him during the hearing behind closed doors.

But she warned him he may have to return to Spain at any time.

Death plunge: Apartment block from which Mrs Maxwell fell

Roberto Sanchez, Mr Graham's defence lawyer, confirmed his client remained under investigation but also insisted: 'I firmly believe in his innocence.'

According to the Spanish newspaper senior investigating officers in the Costa Blanca resort believe Mrs Maxwell's death was an accident with no signs of any criminality.

One theory being investigated is that Mrs Maxwell leaned over too far, lost her balance and plunged to her death.

Police were also said to be looking into suggestions she might have jumped after being intimidated by the men.

But with the release of the only person arrested, this now seems unlikely.

Staff at the apartment block believe Mrs Maxwell fell, possibly by leaning over the balcony too far.

'We do not think it was a criminal act but just an accident,' said a member of staff at the front desk. 'Accidents do happen. This is one of them.'

Potential crime scene: The door to the apartment where Mrs Maxwell was staying (left) and a bathroom window identical to the one in her room (right)

Friends: Mrs Maxwell (right) and a friend in a photo uploaded to Facebook with the caption always in my heart

MailOnline was invited into room 9E  Mrs Maxwell's former room - by four women who were now staying at apartment block.

The women, all in there 50s and 60s and on a hen-do for three days, asked not to be identified.

They said other guests had been talking about the tragedy and they were told Mrs Maxwell most likely fell after becoming disorientated.

'Everyone is talking about it. We only arrived on Sunday for our own hen party and it is just tragic what happened to that poor girl,' said a blonde woman in her 50s.

'We have the balcony doors open as it means a nice breeze comes into the flat. You can see how easy it is for someone to lean over too far.'

The devastated husband of Mrs Maxwell and her parents flew to the resort after being told about her death.

They are being looked after by British consular officials in the resort and are making plans to return to Scotland with her body.

An appeal to pay for Mrs Maxwell's body to be flown back to the UK had last night raised nearly 30,000.

Her friend Carolynn Simpson, who was on the hen do, said: 'We are aiming to raise as much money as we can to bring our beautiful friend Kirsty home to where she belongs after this terrible tragedy.'
Fertility clinics are giving desperate women false hope by exaggerating their success rates with frozen eggs.

Our undercover reporter was told the chance of the delayed motherhood technique working was as high as 65 per cent.

However official figures show only around 15 per cent of IVF cycles using frozen eggs are successful.

One doctor said freezing 15 to 20 eggs was an insurance policy. Yet the fertility watchdog says just one in 50 frozen eggs leads to a baby.

The watchdog  the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority  last night launched an urgent investigation into the findings. IVF pioneer Lord Winston said giving women false information was an outrage.

This newspapers Investigations Unit yesterday revealed that fertility clinics were convincing women on low incomes to donate their eggs in return for cash or free fertility treatment. In further developments yesterday:

Distraught women told the Mail they were exploited by egg-sharing schemes;

They said they were haunted by the idea of others bringing up their children;

MPs demanded an overhaul of fertility legislation.

Numbers choosing egg freezing, which can cost as much as 30,000, have soared as women choose to delay motherhood. They tend to be single or with a partner who does not want to be a parent.

The Mail found IVF clinics promising inflated chances of becoming a mother. An undercover reporter was encouraged to freeze her eggs at the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health in London.

Bold boast: Dr Vidya Atluri claims a 65-per-cent success rate. However official figures show only around 15 per cent of IVF cycles using frozen eggs are successful

She was told she would have a 65 per cent chance of having a baby with them.

When the reporter said she was 30 and did not want a baby for ten years, Vidya Atluri, a consultant, said: Then its a good idea to freeze the eggs. James Nicopoullos, consultant gynaecologist at the Lister Fertility Clinic in London, told patients at an open evening: 15 or 20 eggs to have as an egg-freezing bank is the sort of number that would make me think youve got a reasonable insurance policy.

Lord Winston said: These women are not being given a true account of how the process works. Giving them false information is an outrage.

Susan Seenan, of the charity Fertility Network UK, said: Anyone considering egg freezing should be given accurate information on the potential success rate for their own individual circumstances.

The Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health said the conversation with Dr Atluri was a complimentary mini consultation. It said a patient would have a full assessment and counselling and detailed data on success rates. A spokesman added: We would never try to sell a procedure and we would only offer a treatment when we deemed it suitable. We are not promoting delaying motherhood.

The clinic said the 65 per cent figure was based on its own data, which showed that in 2014 just over 64 per cent of embryo transfers from 28 patients at the clinic resulted in pregnancies.

However, this is not an accurate reflection because many frozen eggs are lost before they become embryos. And not all women who become pregnant will go full term and have a healthy baby.

The Lister Fertility Clinic denied misleading patients, saying Dr Nicopoulloss suggestion of 15 to 20 eggs as insurance was only an indicator of success because every woman is different and age is a factor. It said it used a fast-freezing technique, which shows better results.

A spokesman added: We are committed to ensuring the people who visit our clinic are given transparent information and responsible medical advice to help them to make informed decisions.

A HFEA spokesman said: We require clinics to give an accurate prediction of the chance of success from any fertility treatment and we check patient information on inspection.

Fertility clinic staff caught on camera making wildly optimistic claims of success

By Katherine Faulkner and Paul Bentley

In a smart, bright office in the heart of central London, the glamorous fertility doctor makes her pitch.

Sitting in front of her is a 30-year-old woman, who says she definitely wants children, but not for another decade.

Then its a good idea to freeze the eggs, says a smiling Dr Vidya Atluri enthusiastically. It is a very good idea to freeze the eggs.

This private clinic  the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH), which charges 3,000 for egg freezing  claims to offer the best success rate for the process in the country.

Women who visit its website are bombarded with beautiful images of babies and children.

Claims: Dr James Nicopoullos rubbished official watchdog data. His captivated audience were half a dozen women, all single and some recently heartbroken

One shows a slim, ponytailed young mother holding an adorable infant in her arms as the sun sets behind her. In another, a smiling woman reaches out to embrace a gorgeous, fair-haired toddler.

Emblazoned over a third  a close-up of a sleeping baby, his fist tucked under his chin  is the boast: Highest number of live births using frozen eggs in the UK.

There has been a remarkable rise in the number of British women freezing their eggs, with 315 women having the treatment in 2010, compared with 816 in 2014.

Most of these are said to be doing so for social reasons  they know they want a baby and are anxious to ensure it will be possible in the future, but they havent yet found the right partner, or are worried about abandoning their career.

Some firms even offer the treatment as a perk. Apple and Facebook subsidise egg freezing for female employees, up to a cost of around 16,000. But the technique can also be used by cancer patients, offering a chance of saving healthy eggs before chemotherapy or radiotherapy leaves patients infertile.

For all these women, the clinics promise of an unbeaten success rate for egg freezing combined with pictures of happy mothers and beautiful babies inevitably pack a powerful emotional punch.

The clinic even offers free consultations for those considering egg freezing. They last around 15 minutes  perfect for a busy career woman on her lunch break.

But can women really be confident that paying thousands of pounds to freeze their eggs will give them a decent chance of having a child when they reach their forties  or even beyond?

In Dr Alturis office, this is precisely what the 30-year-old woman who has come for a free consultation wants to know. If she freezes her eggs now, what exactly are the chances of her being able to use them to have a baby at 40?

Its very good, Dr Alturi says. CRGH is highest in the country  65 per cent is our success rate. The woman presses her, and Dr Alturi is emphatic. 65 per cent, she says. It is good. Because the eggs are frozen when you are 30.

HOW COST CAN HIT 30,000 Some clinics advertise egg freezing for around 3,000  but extra costs mean women can spend up to ten times as much. The initial cost usually includes one egg-freezing cycle and drugs to stimulate production, as well as egg collection, in which the patient is sedated and the doctor inserts a needle into the ovary to extract them. The fee also covers freezing the eggs  by cooling them slowly, or vitrification in which they are flash-frozen, to store in liquid nitrogen  and the process to thaw them for use. But some women respond slowly to fertility drugs and end up paying for extra drugs and scans. One said these additional costs meant she was billed an extra 3,500 to complete one cycle of egg freezing. Just three eggs were collected and frozen. Patients may also fail to produce many eggs in a cycle and must pay repeatedly until they have enough. Clinics aim to get 15 to 20 eggs and charge about 300 annually to keep them frozen for up to ten years. Advertisement

On this occasion, the patient will not be going ahead. She is, in fact, an undercover Mail reporter investigating concerns that this clinic and others are making misleading claims about the success rate of egg freezing and exploiting young, single women desperate to ensure they can have a baby one day.

In reality, the claim that our reporter would have a 65 per cent chance of success with a frozen egg is wildly exaggerated.

The most recent official figures from the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority watchdog show that each frozen egg thawed for use has about a 2 per cent chance of resulting in a live baby.

Of course, treatment cycles include several eggs  usually eight or nine  which are defrosted in the hope they will survive, be fertilised and then implanted successfully.

But statistics show that for every cycle of treatment using frozen eggs, there is only about a 15 per cent chance of having a baby.

After the Mails undercover reporter left CRGHs offices  past couples waiting anxiously for treatment  the Mail asked the clinic for proof of its remarkable 65 per cent success rate.

A spokesman said that in one year  2014  it had a pregnancy rate of 64.3 per cent. Crucially, however, this was the rate of pregnancy per embryo transfer.

This emphatically does not mean that women aged 30 will have a 65 per cent chance of ending up with a baby from a frozen egg.

Thats because before this transfer stage, frozen eggs must first be successfully thawed, fertilised, and grown into healthy embryos.

During this complex process, about five in six frozen eggs are lost, HFEA figures show.

Even if a woman is lucky enough to become pregnant with a frozen egg that is successfully thawed, fertilised, grown into an embryo and transferred, a significant proportion of those pregnancies will end in miscarriage.

Therefore, the success rate of 65 per cent quoted to our reporter and featured on the website  refers to just one specific part of a complex and risky process in one year.

In other words, its highly selective  and downright misleading.

Another major egg-freezing centre is the Lister Fertility Clinic in London, where three rounds of egg freezing cost more than 10,000.

Holding court at a recent open evening was gynaecologist Dr James Nicopoullos, a handsome man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing blue medical overalls.

His captivated audience were half a dozen women, all single and some recently heartbroken.

One  an attractive brunette in her early forties  tells the group that the man she thought she would have children with had left her for a younger woman. Clearly vulnerable, she said she wanted to freeze her eggs as soon as possible. The emotion in her voice was palpable. During a projector presentation, the charming consultant offers a balanced perspective, accurately quoting HFEA figures.

But he then claims the watchdogs data is flawed. It does not differentiate, he says, between womens ages or old-fashioned slow-freezing techniques and the faster, more successful technique used by his centre. He claims this means his success rate is much better, with frozen eggs at his clinic behaving like fresh eggs.

As a result, he suggests patients have a 40 per cent chance of having a baby by freezing their eggs if they do so in their mid-thirties, and 38-year-olds have a 30-per-cent chance. The women should aim to get 15 or 20 eggs to have a reasonable insurance policy, he says.

He says that although egg freezing doesnt guarantee pregnancy, its an option that I think is a successful one.

As the women scribble notes furiously, he adds: The key is, is freezing your eggs going to give you an alternative that could be better to where you are in the future? Thats what you guys, thats what you need to decide.

When we later asked the clinic to justify these claims, it said the figures given to the women were not for frozen eggs, but for fresh egg cycles. A spokesman said that Dr Nicopoullos explained to the audience that the figures related to fresh eggs. They were included, however, on the premise that frozen eggs at the Lister act like fresh eggs. So what is its real success rate with frozen eggs?

The spokesman said that out of 31 women who have returned to use their [frozen] eggs, ten achieved a pregnancy, of which nine have either delivered or are well into pregnancies  adding: These are very positive results.

This shows the Lister Fertility Clinic  based on a very small set of data  has a live birth rate of about 29 per cent from frozen eggs. Impressive compared with national statistics, but nothing like the figures quoted by Dr Nicopoullos.

The clinic said his claim that women had a 40 per cent chance of having a baby was based on internal statistics showing a 40 per cent live birth rate per embryo transfer.

A spokesman said one in 27 eggs thawed by the clinic led to a baby, adding: We are committed to ensuring people are given transparent information and responsible medical advice to help them make informed decisions.

A spokesman for CRGH said Dr Atluri quoted the most relevant statistics relating to in-house success rates. It said that because a live birth rate of 5-7 per cent per frozen egg has been documented, and around ten eggs are used, a success rate of 50-70 per cent could potentially be achieved.

It said free consultations only offered summaries of treatment options. Genuine patients would have further tests and consultations in which statistics would be explained fully. A spokesman said it did not promote delaying motherhood, adding: We would never try and sell a procedure. We would only offer a treatment when we deemed it suitable for the patient.

Egg freezing is offered as an option to give a patient a chance of preserving her fertility if that patient deems it is not possible for her to have a child at that time. We cannot guarantee a child.

I SPENT 3,000 BUT ADVICE WAS SO MISLEADING By Sarah Smyth, Mail Investigations Reporter Sarah Brocklehurst had her eggs frozen when she was 41. At the time IVF doctors said her chances of falling pregnant would be between 15 and 20 per cent. But this was misleading, reflecting the prospects for women of all ages  not those in their 40s, who have a much smaller chance of success. Miss Brocklehurst, a personal trainer, spent her 30s focused on her career. She hoped egg freezing would give her the option of having children in the future but was realistic about her chances after doing her own research. Sarah Brocklehurst had her eggs frozen when she was 41. At the time IVF doctors said her chances of falling pregnant would be between 15 and 20 per cent However, when discussing success rates with clinic staff, they gave confusing information, she said. In my first consultation I was advised differently by two different doctors at the same clinic on the same day. They had different ideas about how many rounds I would need. That could be confusing for a lot of women. Then the nurses told me my eggs were better quality than those of many 20-year-olds they saw. A total of 11 eggs were collected for Miss Brocklehursts egg freezing cycle, which cost more than 3,000. Miss Brocklehurst, now 46 and single, urged women to do extensive research before approaching a clinic, so they are aware if figures are being exaggerated. She added: Often there are ways to improve your own fertility, but I fear women are encouraged to go to private clinics where the aim is to get you to buy treatments. I hope to meet a partner and not have to use them. But if by then the health of my eggs has worsened, I may have to thaw those eggs and hope for the best. Advertisement

Victims' fury over egg-share scheme after Mail expose

By Sara Smyth and Emily Kent-Smith

Women who have been convinced to donate eggs for free IVF last night told of their guilt and distress.

They contacted the Mail after we exposed clinics egg sharing schemes, which offer treatment at no cost in return for egg donations.

One said: I lie awake at night thinking of the children who share my DNA but have been raised by other women.

Staff convinced her to share her eggs three times by saying donation was like giving blood  the same words used by IVF nurses who tried to sell treatment to undercover reporters.

A consultant convinced the 26-year-old  who could not afford IVF  that she would be wasting her eggs if she didnt donate them.

Women who have been convinced to donate eggs for free IVF last night told of their guilt and distress (Stock image)

Ten years on, she is yet to forgive the consultants who led her to believe there were no long-term consequences.

Yesterday, the Mail revealed how women on low incomes are offered free or discounted IVF if they donate half the eggs they produce.

The egg-sharing schemes allow clinics to charge other infertile couples up to 7,500 a time for treatment with the donor eggs.

In the UK it is illegal for IVF clinics to pay women outright to donate their eggs.

Donors who give away eggs altruistically can be paid a maximum of 750 in compensation to make sure they are not left out of pocket.

Clinics can offer donors free or discounted treatment  a big incentive as IVF usually costs around 3,000 per cycle.

One woman contacted the Mail after our investigation to tell how she agreed to share her eggs three times because she and her husband could not fund treatment.

The woman, who asked not to be named to protect her family, said lengthy NHS waiting lists forced her and her husband to seek treatment at a private clinic in 2007.

Leaflets advertising egg sharing as Free IVF were on show there. She said: All I could think about was how incomplete my life was without a baby. I reached for the leaflet offering egg sharing and the doctor said I would be a great candidate.

I now know that it was in his interests to say that because theyd be making a healthy profit from another couple who were essentially buying my eggs. She went on to egg share three times and fell pregnant with her daughter, now 8, during her second IVF cycle. The recipients on her first and third cycles both had babies with her eggs.

A doctor said she should share eggs as they die inside the body if not used.

I wish someone had presented all the scenarios to us, the woman told the Mail.

Ive explained to my daughter in very basic terms that I had a broken belly and another lady had a broken belly and I gave them eggs so they could have babies.

She has asked me a few times Whats your other daughters name? Thats heartbreaking to me.

Sally Cheshire, chairman of the HFEA, said regulatory action would be taken against any clinics where there has been poor practice, adding: If any patients at these clinics have worries about their care, they should contact us while we investigate further.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: I urge anyone with concerns to contact the HFEA without delay.
Michael Lamothe (above) faces manslaughter charges in the death of Debra Jost

A man fatally punched a woman who tried to prevent him from re-entering a bar after he sexually assaulted her, according to a charging affidavit.

Michael Lamothe was told to leave the Oyster Bay pub in Daytona Beach, Florida, after he grabbed 54-year-old Debra Jost's breasts around 12.20am on Saturday, according to a charging affidavit cited by the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

When Lamothe returned with another man, Jost tried keep him from entering - only to be punched in the face and hospitalized for trauma before she died the next day.

The 35-year-old suspect walked into the bar, hugged Jost from behind, and grabbed her breasts, according to the charging affidavit.

Lamothe then punched a man who told him to leave and walked out of the bar, according to authorities.

Lamothe fatally punched Jost (pictured left and right, with her son and granddaughter) when she tried to prevent him from re-entering a bar after he sexually assaulted her, according to a charging affidavit

But he returned a few minutes later with another man, and Jost tried to close the door to keep him from entering the bar, police said.

Lamothe punched her in the face, causing her to fall backwards, according to authorities.

She was taken to the Halifax Hospital with a bloody nose and mouth, along with a cut at the back of her head, before she died the next day.

Lamothe left the scene but was arrested shortly after he threw the punch. He later told investigators she was threatening him, according to the affidavit.

The man who was accompanying Lamothe told police the 35-year-old claimed he had been jumped, according to the affidavit. He fled the scene after Jost was injured.

Lamothe initially faced aggravated battery charges, but those have been upgraded to manslaughter after Jost died.

Lamothe remains in jail without bond. Jail records don't list an attorney.
The pitch deck Fyre Festival organizers presented to investors for $25million in funding before the disastrous island event was leaked on Tuesday.

It boldly bills the event as the 'cultural experience of the decade' and whimsically promises to 'go beyond the beauty of a beach' to provide a 'life changing' moment for attendees.

The 14-page pitch was peddled to investors earlier in the year in the hope of raising $25million to pay for the ill-fated music event.

It's not clear exactly how much capital founder Billy McFarland and Ja Rule were able to raise with it.

The deck was leaked to Vanity Fair in light of the horror-show that was last week's festival launch.

The 14-page pitch deck Fyre Festival organizers presented to investors was leaked on Tuesday. In included bold statements including that the event would be the 'cultural experience of the decade'

Organizers used vague descriptions of their concept to try to attract $25million investment

They laid quotes from the Persian poet Rumi over photographs of bikini-clad models and It girls

Hundreds of pampered ticket-holders who'd paid at least $1,200 to attend arrived on Fyre Caye, the baron Exuma island where the event was being held, to find an unfinished campsite, dangerously low supply of water and scarce staffing.

They were stranded without money or shelter and the entire event was canceled. Organizers are now being sued for $100million in a class action lawsuit launched by one particularly disgruntled Californian guest.

In their pitch deck, McFarland and Rule boasted about the It girls they'd paid to promote the event.

They labeled them 'Fyre Starters' and posted photographs from their Instagram pages to demonstrate their far-reaching social media status.

Staff, who festival-goers said were nowhere to be found when the going got tough in the Bahamas last weekend, were labeled members of the 'Fyre Squad'.

Glossy photographs of bikini-clad models and crystal-clear waters were included in the document along with vaguely placed quotes from the Persian poet Rumi.

'Seek those who light your flames,' is one. Another reads: 'Come seek for searching is the foundation of fortune.'

According to the leaked document, they wanted to 'reimagine' music festivals by taking the events to unoccupied land

Their goal was to bring cash-flush party-goers to 'uncharted' territories to help boost tourism

Each year, the organizers wanted to use one of the elements of the earth as inspiration for the event. The Bahamas outpost was inspired by water

The plan was to boost tourism in The Bahamas by bringing all the party-goers to an unoccupied island

Gloss photographs of models posing in the waters at Fyre Cay also pepper the pitch deck

Celebrities and Instagram influencers they paid to endorse the event were labeled 'Fyre Starters'

Kendall Jenner was singled out as the most influential of the stars. They included an Instagram post she shared to promote the event which has now been deleted from her account

One description of the festival, presented by the organizers themselves, wasn't even a description.

'The actual experience exceeds all expectations and is something that's hard to put to words. It will ignite that type of ENERGY, that type of POWER in our guests,' it said.

It revealed that organizers had planned to hold five of the events over several years and that each one would be inspired by one of the elements of the earth.

This year's was to be inspired by water. In the pitch, organizers told how local government officials in The Bahamas 'gave' them Fyre Caye in exchange for bringing tourism to the area.

Members of staff were referred to instead as members of the 'Fyre Squad'

The pitch deck concludes vaguely with another quote from the poet

Founders Ja Rule and Billy McFarland (above in Manhattan on Monday) are now being sued for $100million in a class action lawsuit

The Bahamanian Tourism Board has apologized since last week's disastrous launch.

Since the disastrous festival last Thursday, McFarland and Rule have promised to refund every festival-goer's ticket.

McFarland, a 25-year-old tech entrepreneur who previously came under fire for the problematic launch of his Magnises credit card, said it was the worst day of his life.

The It girls they roped in to promote the event boycotted it quietly. Bella Hadid sunned herself in Miami, later telling Instagram fans she felt 'so badly' that they'd been left stranded.

Kendall Jenner, who has deleted the Instagram post she shared in December to plug the event, has not commented on the debacle.

Reality: Guests arrived on Fyre Cay to find the luxury accommodation they'd been promised were unfinished tents surrounded by mattresses still wrapped in plastic
A heartbroken brother was spared jail today for sending abusive messages to four schoolgirls he blamed for bullying his 14-year-old sister to suicide.

Jordan Clements, 20, told one girl she would be 'strung up with the dead cows in the butchers' after accusing her of being involved in the supposed teasing his family believe led to the death of the teenager.

Clements sent the messages on Facebook and Snapchat in the days after the death of his 14-year-old sister Nyah James at home in Swansea.

Jordan Clements (left), 20, sent abusive messages to four schoolgirls he claimed had bullied his sister Nyah James (right), 14, to death

District Judge Neale Thomas said he was sparing Clements a jail sentence because he was 'irrational with grief'.

Nyah was found at home in Blaenymaes, Swansea in February this year after allegedly being bullied in a death that is being investigated by the coroner.

Swansea Magistrates Court heard Clements' messages left his victims - who cannot be named for legal reasons - feeling frightened and anxious.

He told police he sent the messages 'when angry and upset' because he wanted to make the girls feel the way his sister had felt when she was being bullied.

Clements even used the same social media platforms he thought were being used to target Nyah.

District Judge Neale Thomas said he could have sent Clements to prison because of the targeted and frightening online messages he sent to his four victims, which the court heard were abusive and threatening.

Jordan Clements, 20, who was spared jail

Prosecutor Sharon Anderson said the girls told police they had done nothing wrong - and felt scared and fearful following Clements' messages.

However, Judge Thomas said the defendant had become 'irrational with grief' following Nyah's death.

He said: 'His younger sister took her own life on February 6.

'It is difficult if not impossible to imagine the horror and devastation of such an event.

'He was under the impression that the girls had bullied her.'

Judge Thomas said the sentence he passed came with a great deal of care and consideration.

While he said he did not 'minimise' the effect on the teenage girls, he said that Mr Clements' mother had lost her daughter and losing her son to custody would be unthinkable.

He added he was certain the offences would not have happened were it not for the tragic death of his sister.

The court also heard that the issue of whether bullying had played a part in Nyah's decision to take her own life would be 'down to the coroner'.

Clements, of Blaenymaes, Swansea, admitted two counts of harassment and two counts of sending communications of an indecent or offensive nature.

He was ordered to complete a 125-hour community order as well as 15 days of rehabilitation and will have to pay 85 in costs and an 85 court surcharge following the case.

Nyah was found dead at her home in Blaenymaes in Swansea in February amid claims that she had been bullied

Sharon Anderson, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing Clements sent a series of messages to four girls in the days after the death of his sister.

He told his first victim she was 'ugly', her parents would be 'sliced up', and she would be 'strung up with the dead cows in the butchers'.

To his second victim he posted a social media message saying: 'I know what you did' and 'You are going to regret this for the rest of your life'.

To his third victim Clements made reference to her looks and about taking a life and 'throwing it on the fire'.

He told the fourth girl to 'go and play with glass in your mouth'.

Speaking after her daughter's death, Nyah's mum Dominique Williams, 46, said: 'I only found out she was being bullied after her death.

'I'm aware messages were being sent on Snapchat and Facebook.

'Since then a few people have come forward to say she had been targeted at school.

'Her phone has been seized by police who are investigating. Whoever is at the end of it need to realise what they've done - we need justice.'

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
Colombian police were tipped off about accused cocaine smuggler Cassandra Sainsbury by the US Drug Enforcement Agency and pounced on her just minutes before she boarded her flight back home.

The 22-year-old from Adelaide was at the tail end of an international trip that saw her visit China and the United States before arriving in South America's cocaine capital.

But she drew the attention of the DEA when her plane ticket home to Australia via London was reportedly purchased last minute by an 'unknown party' in Hong Kong.

'We found her because of an alert from the DEA,' Bogota airport's head of narcotics, Commander Rodrigo Soler, told News Corp Australia.

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Colombian police were reportedly tipped off by the US Drug Enforcement Agency about Cassandra Sainsbury (pictured)

The 22-year-old drew the attention of the DEA when her plane ticket home to Australia via London was reportedly purchased last minute by an 'unknown party' in Hong Kong

Channel Seven reports that Colombian authorities had been forwarded her passport details as early as April 5 - six days before she was arrested at El Dorado International Airport.

The young woman had cleared security and checked her bag in when an X-ray search allegedly revealed something suspicious in her luggage.

A deeper search allegedly found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine wrapped in black plastic and concealed in the packaging of 15 headphone boxes - which she claims were innocently bought in bulk from a local man as gifts for her bridal party.

The haul of cocaine, with a street value of $1.7 million in Australia, was hidden inside her blue suitcase next to perfume and moisturising creams 'that diminished the strong smell of the alkaloid', according to HSB News.

Ms Sainsbury had been in China and Los Angeles in the days before her arrest in Colombia.

The young woman's family claim she was on a working holiday to the South American country to promote her personal training business.

But her fiance, Scott Broadbridge said she had not been a personal trainer for six months prior to the trip, and was working for a cleaning company at the time.

An X-ray search allegedly revealed 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the packaging of 15 headphone boxes (pictured)

But Ms Sainsbury claims the headphones were innocently bought in bulk from a local man as gifts for her bridal party. Her family insist she is 'naive' and was unaware of their real contents

She now faces up to 25 years in jail for allegedly attempting to smuggle the huge haul of cocaine - which has an estimated street value of $1.7 million in Australia

On April 3 she posted a photo of LAX - Los Angeles International Airport - with the caption 'going from China's lovely 27 degree weather to LA's 7 degree weather is killing me'.

The young woman used a variety of hashtags including the words work, holiday and fitness in her social media posts.

On April 8, she posted a photograph of some buildings indicating she was in America.

'Can't complain about an all expenses paid work trip which is mainly holiday and very little work,' she wrote.

The young woman posted to Instagram a week before she was stopped in a Colombian airport to tell her followers about a round-the-world trip which took her to Los Angeles and China

The woman went on a cruise in October, 2016, followed by a work trip to Canada in January. Her trip to Colombia recently started with time spent in China and America

The young blonde went on a trip to Vanuatu in October 2016

In January, posts by the young woman indicated she was on a separate 'work trip', this time to Canada, where she complained of being tired and used the hashtag #hometimesoon.

The young blonde also posted highlights of a cruise to Vanuatu and the pacific islands in October 2016.

She was also snapped holidaying on the Gold Coast.

Ms Sainsbury's sister Khala, told the media her sister had been tricked by a 'nice Colombian man' and thought the packages contained headphones for her wedding party.

''It came to her already packaged and concealed and she put it straight in her suitcase. She's very naive,' she told 9 News.

Top drug cops in Colombia say her explanation is not credible. It's understood there were never any headphones in the packages (pictured) and they only contained concealed cocaine

The woman (pictured with her fiance) was detained on April 11 at Bogota Airport just as she was about to fly back to Australia after a working holiday

On Tuesday Colombian police released photographs of the young woman standing behind 18 black packages of cocaine.

Lt Colonel Jorge Triana, head of anti-narcotics police at the airport, told Daily Mail Australia he didn't believe Cassandra's headphone story.

He said drug mules often feigned ignorance when they were caught.

'It's a commonplace strategy that narco traffickers use to take drugs out of the country,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Her explanation is not credible. Everyone we catch says they didn't know it was in their luggage, but they know what they were doing.'

A message on the fundraising site from her fiance Scott Broadbridge. The fundraiser was cancelled after it received hundreds of negative comments

In Australia, six kilograms of cocaine has a street value of almost $2 million

Lt Colonel Triana said even if Cassandra didn't know about the drugs she likely faced jail time either way.

'She recognised the luggage as hers so whether she knew there were drugs in it or not, it doesn't excuse her actions,' he said.

He said foreigners were increasingly being lured into becoming drug mules by the promise of big payoffs when they made it to their destination - with 19 caught leaving Colombia this year alone.

Cassandra's family insisted she was an innocent victim being 'set up' by a man she had just met.

Khala said her sister (pictured) found a Colombian lawyer but he suggested pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid an up to 25-year jail sentence

Pictured are the headphones that Cassandra believed she was buying from a man she had just met. Her family claims the man offered to be her translator and find gifts for her family

Her distraught mother said her daughter told her she had trusted a Colombian man who offered to be her translator and find gifts for her family.

'She mentioned these headphones she wanted to get and this man said 'I know a guy and if you buy 16 or 18 of them he can give you a really good price',' she told KIIS 1065.

'The day of her departure he gave her the package wrapped in black plastic and she put it in her luggage'.

Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airports director for Colombia's anti-narcotic police, told AAP that Cassandra could have been working as a drug mule.



'She could possibly be a drug mule,' he told ABC radio through an interpreter on Tuesday.

'In going through security we found she had 18 packets inside her luggage which even before opening it we found covered in plastic.'

In Australia, six kilograms of cocaine has an estimated street value of almost $2 million.

Her family says she is innocent and being 'set up' - but Colombian anti-narcotic police believe she may have been a drug mule

Cassandra was arrested in Colombia after an airport X-Ray search allegedly revealed something suspicious in her luggage (pictured)

It comes as senior lawyers claim that drug cartels may decide to murder Cassandra in retaliation for her family insisting she was unwittingly turned into a drug mule.

Legal sources told The Australian the young woman could be at risk in the notorious El Buen Pastor women's prison as a result.

Cassandra's fiance Scott Broadbridge was also understood to be concerned about the impact public attention, and rumours on social media, might have on her case.

The couple were planning a wedding for next February, and he was believed to talk to the young woman by phone every night from prison.

Mr Broadbridge, 23, a bodybuilder-turned personal trainer who has dated her for just over 18 months, proposed in October on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Australian author Rusty Young, whose book Marching Powder was based on the three months he spent with an English drug smuggler in prison in Bolivia, has lived in Colombia for eight years and says he doesn't believe authorities there will make an example of Ms Sainsbury.

'Basically, the bigger traffickers are the ones they are after,' he told the Seven Network.

'Small traffickers are just an annoyance for the country.

'Colombia loves foreigners coming in. One of their major industries now is tourism. They do not want the name. They don't want the media attention for drug trafficking.'

Her mother, Lisa Evans, has maintained her daughter is innocent, saying she had been 'naive' in trusting a Colombian man to help her get a good deal on headphones

Mr Young said conditions inside the El Buen Pastor prison where Ms Sainsbury is being held were 'pretty horrific'.

'There is massive levels of overcrowding inside the prison,' he said.

'The conditions are not very hygienic. She will need money to survive, to get legal representation, to buy medicine - and she potentially could be facing a long stay in prison.'

Cassandra's family started a fundraising page asking for donations to help her fight the charges, claiming she was a personal trainer in the country on a working holiday.

However, Australia and Colombia do not have a working holiday agreement, and Ms Sainsbury's fiance Scott Broadbridge, revealed she hasn't worked as a personal trainer this year.

'Although Cassie is a PT, she is not currently personal training and hasn't been for 6 months. I don't know why that was mentioned at all,' Mr Broadbridge wrote online.

'She helped manage a commercial cleaning business that had both national and international clients.'

Khala said her sister was tricked into being a drug mule by a man she just met who handed her a package containing the concealed drugs

The family closed the fundraising account after receiving just $4232 in donations from 105 people - well short of the $15,000 they hoped to collect to help cover legal bills.

The account was viciously trolled with most of the more than 500 posts overwhelmingly negative.

'I wouldn't give you $1 of my money! Those who are supporting this really should give their money to a worthy cause!' one wrote.

Many people also questioned the difference in weight between the earphones and the drug parcel.

'Everyone knows that a extra 6kgs in headphones wouldn't feel right,' one person said.

The family's fundraising page also claimed the Colombian government 'is corrupt' which has seen them receive angry comments from those who live there.

Mr Broadbridge at a music festival, the woman's fiance claims she was a manager of a cleaning business

'Don't call my country corrupt when she was caught with the good in her bag,' Ern Perez said.

Khala wrote in the fundraising page that her sister was a volunteer firefighter with Country Fire Service in Adelaide, but the organisation has said she hasn't worked with them for three years.

'Hi Khala, although SA Country Fire Service appreciate you helping your sister through this, we are concerned you are stating that she is a member of SA Country Fire Service,' Alison Martin a senior publicity officer wrote on the fundraiser page.

'She has not been a volunteer for the past three years and we would appreciate you taking all material relating to CFS from this profile.'

The young woman's family told Daily Mail Australia she thought the parcel contained headphones for her bridal party and friends back home.

Cassandra was planning a wedding to her fiance and 'love of her life' Scott Broadbridge (L) after they got engaged in October on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia

However Bogota residents, where she was caught with the drugs, say technology is expensive in Colombia  and headphones would be hard to find in the city.

'Colombia is not a country like Thailand where they have headphones in the market places like Dr. Dre Beats,' an Australian in Colombia said.

'Technology is considered expensive to buy here.'

The woman who claimed to have spent 'a lot of time in Bogota' said she had never seen headphones for sale there.

Khala said her sister found a Colombian lawyer but he suggested pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid an up to 25-year jail sentence.

'She is just so scared that she is caught up on the other side of the world for something she didn't do with no support over there, no nothing,' Ms Evans told the Today Show.

The Adelaide woman was denied bail and is being held at the El Buen Pastor prison, which houses over 50,000 women.

Colombian anti-narcotic officer Mr Mendoza said Ms Sainsbury could face a lengthy jail term if found guilty.

'Depending on the qualities (of the cocaine) we believe the maximum could be 20 years,' he said.

'The punishment for the quantity could be between eight to 12 years.'

Mr Mendoza noted that per capita, Australians are among the biggest users of cocaine in the world. A UN report in 2013 found Australians were the world's eighth highest per capital users of the drug.

Ms Evans said Ms Sainsbury's Colombian lawyer, who used to be the Mayor of Bogota, has advised the young woman plead guilty to avoid 25 years behind bars at her hearing in two months.

She said the 'best case scenario' is a minimum six-year sentence with a guilty plea.

'If Cassie gives information about the person that gave her the package it may come down a bit to four,' Ms Evans told KIIS 1065's Kyle & Jackie O on Monday.

Ms Sainsbury's older sister Khala was to pick her up from the airport on Easter Saturday and didn't realise Cassandra's predicament until the morning of Good Friday.

'The trip was at least in part to promote her personal training business,' her sister told Daily Mail Australia.

The mother-of-four insisted her CFS volunteer sister was innocent and being 'set up'.

'Anyone that knows her, would say she is a kind, loving, happy kind of girl. She would help anyone out in need,' she said.

'Our hearts break, because we know she is innocent, but stands little chance of proving it in such a corrupt country.'

The former personal trainer from Adelaide was denied bail and is being held at the overcrowded El Buen Pastor women's prison (pictured) until her hearing in two months

Ms Sainsbury was an aspiring model before leaving for the South American country and had built her own starnow profile which invited potential clients to view her Instagram account.

Australian author Rusty Young, whose book Marching Powder was based on the three months he spent with an English drug smuggler in prison in Bolivia, has lived in Colombia for eight years and says he doesn't believe authorities there will make an example of Ms Sainsbury.

'Basically, the bigger traffickers are the ones they are after,' he told the Seven Network.

'Small traffickers are just an annoyance for the country.

'Colombia loves foreigners coming in. One of their major industries now is tourism. They do not want the name. They don't want the media attention for drug trafficking.'

Mr Young said conditions inside the El Buen Pastor prison where Ms Sainsbury is being held were 'pretty horrific'.

'There is massive levels of overcrowding inside the prison,' he said.

'The conditions are not very hygienic. She will need money to survive, to get legal representation, to buy medicine - and she potentially could be facing a long stay in prison.'

'I'm devastated that my little girl is in this place. I'm scared to death for her. Our family just wants her home safe,' her mother Lisa Evans (L) said

Cassandra grew up on the Yorke Peninsula before moving to Adelaide and has three huskies Buster, Bella and Rex living with her and Mr Broadbridge.

'She has her full life ahead of her, and now its all put on the line because of this. We miss her so much, and since we have very little contact with her its very hard,' her sister said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing assistance to an Australian woman arrested in Colombia in accordance with the Consular Services Charter.

'Due to our privacy obligations, we are unable to release further information,' it said.

Prison inmates are searched in the El Buen Pastor women's prison at Bogota
A former US marine and his Canadian girlfriend, who were found dead yesterday, were strangled and had their wrists duct-taped.

Police in Belize discovered Francesca Matus, 52, and Drew DeVoursney, 36, dead in a sugar cane field a week after going missing from a bar.

The couple was last seen leaving Scottys Bar and Grill in Corozal, Belize, near Matus's home.

Authorities say the deaths are now being investigated as homicides.

Francesca Matus (pictured) and her boyfriend Drew DeVoursney were found murdered in a sugar cane field in Belize last Monday. An autopsy report today revealed their wrists were duct-taped and they had been strangled

The couple was last seen leaving Scottys Bar and Grill in Corozal, near Matus's home. Her car was found abandoned in a sugar cane field but the bodies were found 'nowhere near the truck', police say (Drew Voursney pictured)

Matus, a mother-of-two, had been spending the winter in Belize and was due to fly home to Ontario on April 26, but there was no sign of her when a friend came to collect her and bring her to the airport.

Her car was found abandoned in a sugar cane field near the village of Paraiso on Sunday and the couple's bodies were recovered the following day.

Detective Zamir Noh said the bodies were found 'nowhere near close to the truck' and an autopsy report released today found that they were in 'an advanced state of decomposition'.

Friend Joe Milholen told CBC News: 'When I arrived there to pick her up, the gate was closed and the car was gone.'

The couple met in Belize in late 2016 and had been dating for several months.

DeVoursney was due to return to Atlanta, Georgia, according to his family.

He enlisted after the 9/11 terror attacks and served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His mother, Char, told The Toronto Star he was overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder from his time abroad,

Brendan Barfield, a friend of DeVoursney, said: 'Drew is no longer with us. Someone had killed a United States Marine, my brother in arms, who survived Fallujah, Iraq and Afghanistan.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Belize police for an update on the investigation.
So palpable is her pain, she could be talking about a lost child, a departed parent, or even a former lover.

The truth is I try not to think about it too much, Min-Jin Kym admits, becoming upset even at the memory. You can drive yourself mad. Its like if the love of your life is with someone else. You cant bear to think about it.

But the 38-year-old isnt referring to a person. Shes talking about a musical instrument  her 1.2 million Stradivarius violin, stolen while she picked up a coffee and a sandwich in a Pret A Manger seven years ago.

The extent of Min Kyms distress may be hard to comprehend for non-musicians, but for the former child prodigy who was born in South Korea but moved to London as a young child, the loss was catastrophic.

Min-Jin Kym's life fell apart when her 315-year-old Stradivarius was stolen from a Pret A Manger in Manchester in 2010

The anorexia she suffered as a teenager reared its head again, her relationship with a fellow musician crumbled and  overnight  her glittering career, one that had seen her play at the Royal Albert Hall and secure a prestigious recording contract, was over. The loss of her violin caused her to question every aspect of her life. At one point she even consulted a medium in an attempt to locate it. She became, as she puts it, unstrung.

The shock and grief just stopped me in my tracks, Min recalls. I couldnt get out of bed, let alone think of playing. I couldnt even listen to music.

The story of Mins relationship with her Stradivarius and what happened after it was stolen is utterly compelling. While she and the violin were eventually reunited, there was no happy ending.

Her memoir, Gone, is part thriller (the details of how police launched an international investigation is worthy of a crime novel) and part love story. It also offers a dark glimpse into the relentless world of the child prodigy.

Mins musical journey started at the age of six when she moved to London with her parents. They werent a musical family (her fathers job, working as an engineer for Daewoo, had brought them to the UK), but she tagged along to her big sisters piano lessons and decided she would rather play the violin.

By the end of the first lesson, the teacher told her mother that they were dealing with a child prodigy. Within three months she had passed her Grade 4 exam (with the highest marks in the country) and at seven became the youngest pupil to be admitted to the prestigious Purcell School (the normal entrance age is nine) in Hertfordshire.

By 11 she had won an international music competition, and started playing professionally  all over the world  the following year. At 15, she became the youngest person to be awarded a foundation scholarship at the Royal College of Music.

She has only recently questioned how healthy this life was. She recalls being on tour in Spain, aged 12. I was skipping along, as kids do, but my manager shouted Min, look, you are on that poster up there. There are people coming to pay to see you. They will recognise your face. You cannot be acting like a child. That became the voice in my head. People expected me to act in a certain way.

This expectation began taking its toll. Min thinks her anorexia started when an older girl, seeing her eat a bowl of pasta, asked: Arent you worried about getting fat? Nobody wants to see a fat performer.

By 14 she would eat only every other day, revelling in how thin her arms looked as she held up her violin. Shockingly, in her book she claims the school knew and did nothing. Dont let people know you are ill, a piano tutor told her. It will kill your career.

By 11, Min had won an international music competition, and started playing professionally the following year

Her mother was asked by the school to keep an eye on her, but Min says: She was scared and out of her depth. Anorexia didnt exist in her world.

She believes now that it suited everyone to brush the situation under the carpet. My parents, my tutors, my managers, my agents, they all wanted me to remain a child  it was easier that way.

They didnt want puberty or teenage angst. They wanted the little girl with the winning smile. I didnt have the energy to fight back.

The one constant in Mins life was music. Many child prodigies burn out, but while she did scale back her recording work when she went to music college, she came back. By her twenties she seemed more robust, healthier, more focused.

Finding her Stradivarius when she was 21 was the icing on the cake. She had known for some time that to reach the very top, she would need a top-class instrument, and had asked a dealer to keep an eye out.

One day, he called with news of a Stradivarius. Made in 1696 it was one of only 449 in the world. The first time she played it, she says she felt like Cinderella. Thus began possibly the most important relationship in her life. It was like an addiction, she agrees. A good addiction.

The fact that she could afford to buy the instrument  at a cost, then, of 450,000  seems incredible, but she points out that she had been working since 12, and her parents had invested the money wisely. She had also remortgaged her London flat, and was living in a shoebox.

The violin was my priority. It WAS my home, in a sense. It was my life.

Wherever I was in the world, it was with me. The relationship you have with an instrument like that is difficult to explain but every time you play it, it absorbs a part of you.

All your emotion seeps in there. It was as much a part of me as my leg or my arm.

Then came the fateful day in 2010, as she prepared to tour to promote a recording of a Brahms Violin Concerto. By now the instrument was valued at 1.2 million  though it was still only insured for 750,000.

She and her boyfriend Matt, a cellist she had been seeing for only a few months, were travelling to Manchester for an event. She remembers they argued while trying to find space in the tiny Euston station cafe to accommodate two cases, a cello and her Strad  complete with 65,000 worth of bows in the case.

She gets agitated at how the theft was reported in the media, furious that the world imagined this precious instrument had been discarded on the floor, carelessly. I always guarded it with my life. I used to wrap the strap around my foot. It was NEVER away from me.

At 21, Min found the Stradivarius, made in 1696. It was one of only 449 in the world. She bought it for 450,000 and said the first time she played it, she felt like Cinderella

Except that on this day it was. Matt, seeing that she was struggling to find any comfort in the crowded cafe, asked her to pass the violin to him. I said no way! she recalls.

This passage in the book is frantic. He is insistent. We argue back and forth, where he wants it, where it should go. Finally, I relent, following the pattern of acceptance that is our default position  the pattern of acceptance I have always fallen into, Min giving way, Min obeying.

She insists that she followed up the handover of the violin by telling Matt to take care of it.

Both were unaware that three men were looking around Pret, hunting for prey. CCTV footage would later show the men training their focus on another unsuspecting womans handbag. But then they changed their minds. Neither Min nor Matt saw the hand snaking out to take the violin case. Although it was right beside Matt, the pair  tired and clearly distracted  simply did not see that it was gone.

She says she still has nightmares about what followed. I remembering shouting its gone, gone, GONE and the guy serving trying to calm me down, thinking Id had a handbag snatched. Then I went to pieces. I still cant bear to think about it.

For the next three years Min struggled to cope with the loss. Her relationship with Matt disintegrated. Did she blame him? I think blame is too loaded a word, she says.

At the time, yes, I did shout how could you?. He was in charge of my violin. It was stolen under his care, but it was stolen so thats not a passive act. But she admits their relationship wasnt strong enough to withstand the test.

Her management team arranged for other top-class violins to be made available to her. But she just couldnt play them. Someone, meaning to be kind, did say yours is not the only violin in the world, Min, But it was to me. If it had been my child, would people have expected me to accept ANOTHER one? Just as good!. She shakes her head. I think only another musician can understand.

Unable to perform, her record deal ended. She couldnt sleep or eat. The dark spectre of her anorexia returned. Whenever Im stressed, I stop eating, she has said since. Its not a control thing, its the anxiety, but because Im an adult now I can force myself to have something light. But as a child I was so overwhelmed.

No aspect of her life was unaffected. The loss of my violin forced me to look at my life, she tells me. Suddenly the prop to my whole life was gone and I realised Id built almost my whole life on sand. Did I have a voice outside music? Did I exist?

A year after the theft, justice was officially served. Police realised they were dealing with an opportunistic attack rather than a targeted theft, and CCTV footage eventually led them to the gang.

John Maughan (pictured), 30, who stole the violin, was a serial offender with 123 previous offences to his name

John Maughan, 30, was a serial offender with 123 previous offences to his name. In April 2011 he was jailed for four and a half years for stealing the violin, later reduced on appeal to three and a half. His two accomplices, aged 16 and 15, also admitted theft. The older youth was given ten months detention, while the younger was referred to a youth court for sentencing.

Where was the instrument though? That was still a mystery.

Three years after her Stradivarius had been stolen, and after she had even consulted a medium to locate it, Min had  in her words  moved into the acceptance part of the bereavement process.

The insurance company had paid out, but she had to pay capital gains tax on the 750,000, leaving her with only a fraction of what the violin was worth. Once debts were consolidated (remember her record deal was now gone, and she had not been earning) and another violin was purchased, she had very little left.

Then, in July 2013, just after she started to play again, the police investigation had produced a breakthrough. She still doesnt know the details, but the violin was found, in storage, in a warehouse in the Midlands.

If this extraordinary story were a Hollywood film thats where the curtain would come down, with Min having been reunited with her precious violin. In reality the ending was bittersweet.

She did get to play it again, and almost breaks down today at the description of what that felt like.

It was exactly the same. It even still had the strings I put on it, she remembers. I was home.

But it wasnt hers any more. The minute she accepted the insurers cheque, it belonged to them.

Her desperate battle to raise the money to buy it back came to nothing. The violin was sold at auction for 1.3m, and she had to let it go. For ever.

Clearly nothing will ever compare. She is withering about her Strads new owner (part of a consortium), who does play but not to the level she thinks the violin demands (I dont think he has the means for that, the hand, the eye, the ability) and her book contains a passionate rant on how violins like my Strad are not bought to play as they once were.

They sit in safes. They do not earn their keep in concert halls. They earn their keep in the dark.

What of Min? She is relaunching her career, determined that writing down her story has helped her come to terms with what happened. She holds her new violin in a careful embrace and admits she is working on the relationship she has with it.

The casual listener will still say she plays like an angel. She shakes her head. It will never be the same.
Border guards in the Xinjiang Uygur antonomous region direct a drone to patrol border areas in the region recently. [Photo/China Daily]

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region plans to deploy drones to patrol its borders as it further tightens security this year, a senior official said.

"Xinjiang will deploy drones, set up barbed wire and install surveillance cameras along the border to prevent people crossing the border illegally," Jerla Isamudin, deputy chairman of the region, said in an interview. Xinjiang needs to further enhance cooperation in exchanging terrorism-related intelligence with neighboring countries, he said.

The region has been working on connecting People's Liberation Army border control units to the power grids since 2014 to provide an efficient electrical supply to high-tech equipment. In 2017, 29 more frontier defense companies in Xinjiang will have electricity and will not have to rely on unstable solar energy and diesel generators, PLA Daily reported in March.

Northwest China's Xinjiang neighbors eight countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it has a border of more than 5,600 kilometers. It has been China's main battleground in the fight against terrorism.

Many terrorists who carried out attacks in the region in recent years received training abroad and then entered illegally, and some also fled across the border, according to the regional police authority. Chinese authorities believe the penetration of religious extremism from abroad has prompted people to carry out violent attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country in recent years.

Shohrat Zakir, the region's chairman, said in January that Xinjiang would impose tighter entry-exit measures in 2017.

In 2016, the regional legislature passed a regulation on border control, which took effect in December. The regulation requires people living along border areas to report strangers to public security authorities within 24 hours. Also, those who damage surveillance equipment along the borders will be punished in accordance with the regulation.

Nayim Yassen, director of the Xinjiang People's Congress Standing Committee, the regional legislature, said the committee will examine the works on border control and give suggestions for improvements later this year. Xinjiang sees keeping the region stable as a priority.

Chen Quanguo, the region's Party chief, has said the local security situation is an important index in evaluating officials.
President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner scored a huge legal victory when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing him of deceptive practices and screwing over a New York magazine publisher.

Gregg Moramarco, the plaintiff and publisher, filed a federal lawsuit against Jared Kushner along with New York Observer and the company it runs NY Luxury Publishing. Kushner stepped down as publisher of New York Observer and the company claims he no longer has an ownership stake when he started his west wing job.

In court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the plaintiff stated he has published a magazine entitled 'Scene New York' since May 2006.

Senior adviser Jared Kushner faced a lawsuit that alleged a magazine run by the New York Observer intentionally interfered with the magazine 'Scene New York' and created unfair competition. The suit was dismissed after the plaintiff didn't appear in court

Moramarco explained the defendants and former associates and contractors of his began to publish a competing magazine named 'Scene in New York' in 2013 and claimed the Observer ripped off the company he spent seven years to build.

He accused Kushner and his partners of intentionally interfering with his business relationship and prevented the rightful registration of his trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by filing a baseless opposition.

The publisher claimed Jared has use his mark to cause confusion, mistake or deceive the public into believing that their magazine is related or originated from 'Scene New York.'

Further, he believed they are diluting his valuable trademark and accuses Ivanka Trumps husband of causing him irreparable injury and thus is entitled to damages

Moramarco said Jared engaged in deceptive acts or practices. He alleged that the defendants intentionally and with malice sought out and contacted third-party advertisers he worked with in an attempt to place the same advertisements in their publication. He claims 'Scene New York' incurred losses amounting $500,000 for that claim alone.

Kushner had yet to respond to the allegations in court.

The lawsuit alleged Kushner and the New York Observer ripped off 'Scene New York' with the publication 'Scene in New York' (pictured)

Kushner (pictured with wife Ivanka Trump and mother-in-law Melania Trump) stepped down as publisher of the New York Observer when he accepted his west wing job

On May 1, the judge signed an order throwing out the entire lawsuit and awarding Moramarco nothing from his complaint.

The order states Moramarco failed to appear for a court conference in March. Following the hearing, the court gave him until March 17 to explain why the judge shouldnt toss the case.

The docs state, 'Although Defendant has not yet appeared in this action or answered Plaintiffs Complaint, Moramarcos failure to appear at the initial conference and adhere to the Courts Order to Show Cause weighs in favor of dismissal.'

Kushner bought the New York Observer back in 2006 when he was 25.
A lawsuit accuses a south Mississippi funeral home of going back on an agreement to cremate an 86-year-old man after he died and owners learned he was gay.

John Zawadski, 82, filed the suit against the Picayune Funeral Home, claiming the owners had said they didn't 'deal with their kind' after learning his deceased husband, Robert Huskey, was gay.

Huskey died in May of 2016, just three days after his 86th birthday, according to the suit filed on March 7.

John Zawadski (pictured) filed the suit against the Picayune Funeral Home, claiming the owners had said they didn't 'deal with their kind' after learning his deceased husband was gay

Huskey (left) and Zawadski (right) met in 1965 in Anaheim, California, and were together for more than 52 years before Huskey died, the suit said. The pair settled in Mississippi in 1997

Zawadski and Huskey met in 1965 in Anaheim, California, and were together for more than 52 years before Huskey died, the suit said. The pair settled in Picayune, Mississippi in 1997.

The suit alleges that after agreeing to handle all the aspects of Huskey's cremation, the funeral home balked at fulfilling its obligation after receiving paperwork indicating that the octogenarian was married to a man.

Zawadski says it was devastating.

The funeral home's court papers deny the allegations. A person who answered the phone at the funeral home declined to comment to DailyMail.com.

Lambda Legal, an LGBT nonprofit, joined it more recently and held a news conference Tuesday in a New Orleans suburb with Zawadski.
David Davis flatly dismissed Brussels demands for a 92billion (100billion) divorce bill today after it emerged Germany, France and Poland had ganged up to inflate the sum.

EU negotiators have doubled the charge the UK was thought to be facing in order to cover farm subsidies and plug the giant hole in its budget up until 2020.

The numbers have rocketed in part because they are trying to deny the UK a share of billions of pounds of assets across the continent - such as buildings.

Chief negotiator Michel Barnier ratcheted up the pressure again today by warning there would be 'explosive' consequences if Britain does not agree to pay up. He said talks on a trade deal will not start until the principles of the divorce are settled.

But the Brexit Secretary gave the new figure short shrift this morning, warning that the British people have not been 'impressed' with Brussels' manoeuvring over recent weeks.

'We will not be paying 100billion,' he told ITV. 'What we've got to do is discuss in detail what the rights and obligations are.'

He insisted the UK was under no legal obligation to pay anything - saying the bullying tactics from the EU underlined Theresa May's view that 'no deal is better than a bad deal'. Cabinet ministers have indicated they would not accept anything more than a few billion pounds.

The Brexit Secretary gave the new figure short shrift as he appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain this morning, insisting: 'We will not be paying 100billion

Row: Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker discussed Brexit at a working dinner in No 10 last week (pictured) - but EU sources have repeatedly leaked details from inside talks

In a clear jibe at Theresa May, Mr Barnier told a press conference in Brussels today that 'some have created the illusion' that the process could be quick and painless

'It (the bill) has gone from 50billion to 60billion to 100billion,' Mr Davis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'It rather proves her point.'

But Mr Davis stressed he still believed there would be a trade agreement. 'I don't think that is where we will end up - in fact I know that is not how we will end up,' he added.

The standoff comes as the Mr Barnier unveiled his formal negotiating stance - giving more clues to the looming flashpoints.

In a clear jibe at Mrs May, Mr Barnier cautioned that 'some have created the illusion' that the process could be quick and painless.

He bluntly stated that was 'simply not telling the truth' and there would be 'consequences' - warning that Britain will be forced to 'settle' the principle of an exit bill before trade talks start.

At a press conference in the Belgian capital, Mr Barnier said: 'Some have created the illusion that Brexit will have no material impact on our lives or that negotiations can be concluded quickly and easily.

'That is not the case.'

He said there had to be a 'legal' process that covered all the technical points of the separation. And that had to be achieved before a future trade deal could be considered.

'That will take time,' he said. 'Commitments have been made and those commitments have to be honoured... The union and the UK have material commitments.'

He stressed: 'This is not a punishment. Nor is it an exit tax of some kind.'

The 92billion (100bn) has been calculated by the FT by analysing the EU's own demands - but in December EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the bill would be around 42billion (50bn).

HOW THE EU WANTS TO INFLATE THE BREXIT DIVORCE BILL EU states have been piling on demands as they realise the scale of the hole about to be left in the bloc's finances by the departure of its second biggest contributor. The key elements of the divorce demand from Brussels include: The UK should keep paying into EU coffers until 2020 - after we formally leave - because that is when budgets have been set until.

Farm subsidy payments and EU administration fees for 2019 and 2020.

Britain should fund agreed loans that have already been agreed to poorer EU states.

UK to be denied a share of the bloc's assets, such as buildings, which could have brought the sum down.

Other costs include generous pensions for thousands of Eurocrats.

Although the estimated 100billion total would be payable up front, some of the money would be expected to come back over the decades. Advertisement

The increase is said to be down to the inclusion of farming subsidies, while Brussels is likely to say the UK is not entitled to a share of the EU's assets, such as buildings.

Amid rising tensions, Theresa May vowed last night that she will be a 'bloody difficult woman' if Mr Juncker tries to thwart a good Brexit deal.

But it also emerged that the EU is trying to ban Mrs May from sitting in on Brexit talks.

Officials are insisting she can only discuss terms with the Mr Barnier, not other heads of state, according to The Times.

But Mr Davis said today: 'We are going into this as negotiators not supplicants. 'She will be leading our negotiations and I will be supporting them.'

The Cabinet minister also appeared to accept that the issue of reciprocal rights for EU nationals in this country and UK nationals on the continent could be more complicated than initially hoped. He said a separate treaty may be required to settle the issue.

The Prime Minister issued the defiant threat yesterday after a distorted account of a private dinner she hosted for the European Commission president was leaked by EU officials in an apparent bid to scupper talks.

As fury over the plot mounted, Mrs May pushed aside claims that she had repeatedly clashed with the EU chief, and denied he told her: 'Brexit cannot be a success.'

Her rebuke came as Brussels officials openly mocked the Prime Minister and prepared to issue a fresh wave of hard-line negotiating demands today.

While Mrs May ducked direct questions about exactly what was said at the No 10 meeting with Mr Juncker last Wednesday, she dismissed widely publicised reports about the supposedly tempestuous encounter.

But she made it clear she is prepared to take a hard line with EU officials in Brexit talks.

Speaking on the campaign trail, she said: 'During the Conservative Party leadership campaign, I was described by one of my colleagues as a bloody difficult woman. And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker.'

The reference was made by the former Tory Chancellor Kenneth Clarke while he was being filmed without his knowledge.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier, pictured at Downing Street for the dinner with Mrs May last week, is due to unveil his detailed negotiating stance today

Guy Verhofstadt, the EU parliament's chief negotiator has waded into the row mocking the PM's 'strong and stable' slogan

Mr Verhofstadt tweeted yesterday accusing the Prime Minister of not 'understanding' the scale of the fight she faces in the looming negotiations

BRUSSELS BREXIT RULES DEMAND RIGHTS FOR LIFE FOR ANY EU NATIONALS WHO MOVE HERE UNTIL MARCH 2019 EU citizens who are in Britain on the date of Brexit in 2019 must keep all of the same rights for life, Brussels bureaucrats have claimed today. An EU factsheet said these rights should still be enforceable in the EU's court, even after Brexit is finished. There are currently 3.2million EU nationals in Britain. The EU Commission has agreed a 'directive' that sets out the rules for the two years of Brexit talks. The document follows the unanimous agreement by EU leaders of negotiating guidelines that represent a hard-line opening gambit on Brexit. It means the EU will demand all EU citizens in Britain get lifetime guarantees on rights to in-work benefits, unemployment benefits, pensions and other benefits. It also seeks guarantees they would be able to marry a citizen of a third country and stay here with them. An EU citizen who has worked in the UK for ten years will also be able to claim unemployment benefit to find another job elsewhere in Europe. They currently get these rights by virtue of Britain's EU membership. Britons on the continent have similar access in their host countries. British politicians had hoped to effectively backdate the accrual of lifetime right to either the referendum in June 2016 or the triggering of Article 50 in March 2017. Striking an agreement on citizens rights - and on the Brexit Bill and the Irish border - is a requirement of beginning talks on the future trade deal. The directive also makes clear that the EU will try to force the UK to accept that the European Court of Justice will decide on disputed between the sides - a prospect that Mrs May has rejected. The divorce bill is described as an 'essential element of the negotiations on the orderly separation', with a promise that it will be based on 'objective and verifiable data'. However, it indicates that the sum will not factor in billions of pounds of assets held by the EU, such as buildings. Advertisement

Brussels continued to belittle the UK's negotiating stance yesterday when Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, mocked Mrs May's 'strong and stable' election slogan.

'Any Brexit deal requires a strong and stable understanding of the complex issues involved,' he said. 'The clock is ticking  it's time to get real.'

The extraordinary row over the Downing Street dinner erupted after a German newspaper claimed that Mr Juncker was left furious when Mrs May rebuked several EU demands.

Despite publicly declaring the meeting as 'excellent', he allegedly told her that 'Brexit cannot be a success' and later branded the Prime Minister 'delusional'.

On the morning following the dinner, Mr Juncker allegedly phoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel, telling her that Mrs May was 'living in a different galaxy'.

But senior Tories said the detailed account of the meeting  thought to have been leaked by Mr Juncker's notorious chief of staff Martin Selmayr  was an EU ploy.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd dismissed the report as 'tittle-tattle'. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson questioned the reliability of 'tales that Jean Claude Juncker tells after a good dinner'.

Theresa May made a stop at a chip shop in Mevagissey, Cornwall, yesterday as she rallied the Tory troops in the West Country.

The PM seemed to be uncertain about how she should eat her snack with the cameras trained on her

Mrs May and Mr Juncker embraced in Downing Street last Wednesday ahead of the dinner to discuss the Brexit talks - she says that the leaks are merely gossip by pro-Brexit MPs say that the leaks are malicious

Both Labour and the Lib Dems sought to capitalise on the reports, but Christopher Meyer, former British ambassador to the US, criticised those who readily accepted the EU's depiction of the dinner.

He said: 'I am revolted by the Remoaners' assumption that Juncker's leak was a true and unbiased account of his dinner with the PM.'

The row comes as the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, today produces a draft of its blueprint for negotiations.

It is likely to spell out key demands, including calls for the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK to be given wide-ranging benefits, and the terms of the estimated 52 billion divorce payment that Brussels will demand.
Neighbours have been left terrified after a man was killed when several gunshots were fired at an upmarket home in Melbourne's south-east.

The shots were fired at a property in Keysborough at 10pm on Tuesday, killing a man aged in his 20s after striking him in the chest and injuring two other men.

Arun Navani and Andrea Hayman said they were watching television when they heard four 'bang noises' and quickly turned the lights off and went outside.

'We saw two cars drive off and there were people crying and screaming outside,' Ms Hayman told Nine News.

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Neighbours have been left terrified after a man was killed when several gunshots were fired at an upmarket home in Melbourne (pictured)

Arun Navani (left) and Andrea Hayman (right) said they were watching television when they heard four 'bang noises' and quickly turned the lights off and went outside

On Wednesday morning, police were desperately searching for the gunman, who fled the scene after the incident.

The two men, both aged in their 20s, were rushed to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

One of the men received a gunshot wound to his leg while the third man was shot in the arm.

The third man died at the scene with horrific chest injuries after going into cardiac arrest.

The shots were fired at a property (pictured) in Keysborough at 10pm on Tuesday, killing a man aged in his 20s after striking him in the chest

On Wednesday morning, police were desperately searching for the gunman, who fled the scene after the incident

Ms Hayman said about 20 police cars arrived just after 10pm and said she saw a man and a woman crying in the home

Ms Hayman said about 20 police cars arrived just after 10pm and said she saw a man and a woman crying in the home.

'They (police) were trying to get everyone in their houses, they were not letting anyone outside,' she told the Herald Sun.

Detectives have cordoned off the home and surrounding area to establish a crime scene.
The devastated family of Alton Sterling were reduced to tears after news broke on Tuesday that the two white Baton Rouge officers involved in his shooting death would not be charged.

Dozens of people gathered outside the Louisiana convenience store late on Tuesday where Sterling, 37, was killed in July last year.

It was revealed earlier that the Justice Department has decided not to pursue charges against officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake.

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The devastated family of Alton Sterling were reduced to tears on Tuesday when news broke the two Baton Rouge cops involved in his shooting death wouldn't be charged

Sources told the Washington Post that the Justice Department plans to close the investigation into Sterling's fatal shooting and were expected to make the official announcement within 24 hours.

The choice not to prosecute the two officers who were investigated for possible wrongdoing is the first of its kind under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Justice Department has decided not to charge Baton Rouge officers involved in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling last year

Sterling's death inflamed racial tensions in Louisiana's capital, cast a national spotlight on the history of strained relations between police and black residents of Baton Rouge and sparked widespread protests. Officials are said to be planning for further protests this week following the news.

It came as a crowd gathered for a vigil late Tuesday and Sterling's aunt, Veda Sterling, led chants saying 'No justice, no peace!'.

The slain man's family say those responsible for his death need to be charged and convicted.

His aunt told the crowd of people that it's been 'almost a year and we're still suffering like it happened yesterday.'

Sterling was selling CDs outside the Triple S Food Mart when he died as he lay on the ground pinned down by the two officers.

His dying moments were caught on cell phone video by witnesses which led to the two officers being suspended.

Sterling, 37, was shot last July in his hometown of Baton Rouge as he lay on the ground pinned down by two police officers - Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake

The choice not to prosecute the two cops investigated for possible wrongdoing is the first of its kind under Attorney General Jeff Sessions (above)

The victim's family said they had not been informed of the Justice Department's decision as of Tuesday afternoon.

'We have not heard nor received an update and are unaware of any charges that may or may not be filed,' a spokesman for the Sterling family's attorneys said.

'We have not received word, nor has the family been given any notice of upcoming updates regarding this case.'

The decision doesn't prevent state authorities from investigating Sterling's death themselves and pursuing their own criminal charges.

It was not immediately clear when the department would announce its findings.

Graphic footage of Sterling's death showed him being thrown to the ground by the two cops after they received a complaint about a man making threats with a gun while selling CDs outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge.

The cops were captured seen yelling at Sterling to 'get on the ground' - but was tackled when he didn't follow their commands. As Sterling continued to move on the ground, the officer believed to be Lake reached for his gun and pointed it at the father-of-five's chest.

One of the officers could be heard yelling: 'He's got a gun! Gun! You f****** move and I swear to God.' Less than two seconds later, multiple shots rang out and Sterling was filmed lying on the ground with blood seeping from his chest.

The cops involved in the shooting, Blane Salamoni (left) and Howie Lake II (right), were suspended as the Justice Department investigated possible wrongdoing

Community members grieve during a vigil for Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge on Tuesday

Alton Sterling's aunt Veda Sterling is consoled by community members during a vigil at the Triple S Food Mart on Tuesday

Sterling's aunt, Veda Sterling, addressed a crowd of people gathered outside the convenience store on Tuesday. She said those responsible for his death need to be charged and convicted

Dozens of people held a vigil for Sterling after news broke the two officers involved in his shooting death would not be charged

Sterling was survived by five children. One of them, Cameron, occasionally spoke publicly about the shooting along with his mother Quinyetta McMillon. In the days after the shooting, Cameron called for protests to remain peaceful. His mother has called for the officers to be prosecuted and questioned whether Sterling had a gun.

The high profile police shooting sparked city-wide protests that quickly spread across the country. Five Dallas police officers were murdered two days later during a demonstration over Sterling's death.

Two weeks later, three police officers were shot dead in Baton Rouge and both the Baton Rouge and Dallas police murderers were also killed.

Hundreds of demonstrates were arrested in Baton Rouge at the time. Gov. John Bel Edwards praised the police reaction to the protests, but others criticized the police, saying the response was heavy-handed.

The Department of Justice had been carrying out a criminal investigation into Sterling's death.

Neither of the two cops placed on administrative leave after Sterling's death have spoken of the shooting publicly. Salamoni has been a Baton Rouge police officer for four years; Lake had been on the force for three years.

A spokesman for Baton Rouge police told DailyMail.com in February: 'The two officers remain on leave and the investigation is with the Department of Justice.'

The high profile police shooting sparked city-wide protests with hundreds rallying outside the convenience store (above) where Sterling was shot dead
Jimmy Kimmel has shared a sweet photo of his two-year-old daughter checking on her baby brother after revealing the newborn had to undergo emergency open heart surgery.

The late night TV host broke down on Monday as he told of how his son William 'Billy' Kimmel had to have surgery shortly after he was born on April 21 in Los Angeles.

Following an outpouring of support from fans, Kimmel, 49, tweeted the photo of Billy at home with his wife Molly McNearney, 39, and their daughter Jane.

'Sincere thanks for the outpouring of love & support - Dr. Jane is keeping a close ear on Billy, who is very well - XO,' he wrote.

Billy was allowed to go home with his family six days after his surgery.

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Jimmy Kimmel shared this photo of his wife Molly and their two-year-old daughter Jane checking on her baby brother after revealing the newborn had to undergo open heart surgery

Kimmel, 49, tweeted the photo of Billy to thank those for their outpouring of love and support

He had tearfully opened his show on Monday night with the details of his son's health troubles and that he had successfully undergone the risky heart surgery.

Kimmel, his wife, their daughter Jane and Billy were in the recovery room three hours later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center when a nurse noticed a murmur in the newborn's heart.

'He appeared a normal healthy baby,' he said.

'My wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common.

'(The doctors) determined he wasn't getting enough oxygen in his blood, either in his heart or lungs. They did an x-ray and his lungs were fine, which meant his heart wasn't. It's a terrifying thing.'

'They found that Billy was born with a heart disease.'

Kimmel said the congenital heart disease meant his son had a 'hole in the wall of the left and right side of his heart'.

Jimmy Kimmel opened his show on Monday with the news that his wife Molly had given birth to their second child, William 'Billy' Kimmel, on April 21 in Los Angeles

Kimmel's wife posted this touching photo of her husband and son on Tuesday

Kimmel shared this photo of his son William 'Billy' Kimmel shortly after he was born and rushed into emergency surgery for a hole in his heart

Kimmel said Billy had successfully undergone the risky heart surgery and was able to go home with Molly and their two-year-old daughter Jane

Billy was rushed to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for emergency heart surgery.

Kimmel said the surgery was a success but Billy will have to have another surgery in three to six months and a third non-evasive surgery when he's older.

He broke down as he shared a photo of Billy in intensive care with tubes coming out of his little body.

Kimmel then showed a picture of the newborn following his successful surgery.

Kimmel revealed they were allowed to take their son home six days after the surgery.

He emotionally thanked a number of people, including the doctors and nurses who helped Billy.

Kimmel said the surgery was a success but Billy will have to have another surgery in 3-6 months and a third non-evasive surgery when he's older

'Every one of my friends was there 100 per cent. We had atheists praying for us, okay? We had people who do not believe in God praying to him. And I hate to even say, but even that son-of-a-b***h Matt Damon sent flowers,' he said.

CONGENITAL HEART DEFECT IN NUMBERS Congenital - meaning present at birth - heart defects are the most common types of birth defects. Nearly 1 in 100 babies (about 40,000 babies) is born with a heart defect in the United States each year. About 4,800 babies are born each year with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). Many heart defects don't need treatment or can be easily fixed, but CCHD can cause serious health problems or death. Advertisement

'Most of all, I want to thank my wife Molly. First of all, for allowing me to have sex with her in the first place,' he joked. 'But also for being so strong and level-headed and positive and loving during the worst nightmare a new mother could experience.

'I couldn't as for a better partner and I'm so happy we had this baby together. I'm definitely getting a vasectomy after this.'

He also urged his audience to donate to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and pleaded with politicians to make sure all Americans, regardless of wealth, have access to healthcare.

'If your baby is going to die it should't matter how much money you make,' he said.

'I hope you never have to go there but if you do you'll see so many kids from so many financial backgrounds being cared for so well with so much compassion.'

Kimmel said he will be on paternity leave for the rest of the week and a number of famous faces will be stepping in to cover for him.

Billy is Kimmel's fourth child. He has two older children from his first marriage to Gina Maddy, 25-year-old Katherine and 23-year-old Kevin. He also has a two-year-old daughter, Jane, with his current wife.

Kimmel revealed they were allowed to take their son home six days after the surgery
The doctor repeatedly stabbed and doused in petrol by her ex-boyfriend at her NSW home has recounted harrowing details of the ordeal.

'He wanted to destroy me,' Angela Jay has revealed to Sunday Night in an episode to air on Channel Seven later this week.

Dr Jay, 28, broke up with her soon-to-be stalker Paul Lambert, 36, just six weeks after matching on dating app Tinder.

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Angela Jay, 28, met Paul Lambert, 36, on dating app Tinder and they had a six week relationship

In November last year, he broke into her home in Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid-North Coast and waited for her to come home from work at the local hospital

'He looked just like a normal guy,' Dr Jay told Sunday night.

But Lambert had a history of shocking history of stalking.

In November last year, he broke into her home in Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid-North Coast and waited for her to come home from work at the local hospital.

Lambert then repeatedly stabbed her and doused her in petrol.

'I had to try to get away, so I made a run for it,' Dr Jay said as she teared up in the emotional interview.

Dr Jay managed to escape and fled to next door, where she directed a neighbour to perform first aid

She managed to make an escape to next door, where she directed her neighbour to perform first aid in their garage.

Lambert fled the scene in his hire car and led police on a wild car chase 150 kilometres up the Pacific Highway before he was forced off the road near Coffs Harbour and shot dead when he charged at police with a knife.

Dr Jay's story airs Sunday 8.30pm on Channel Seven

Dr Jay has recounted details of the harrowing ordeal as she teared up in an emotional interview

Dr Jay is pictured with her friends and Sunday Night journalist Melissa Doyle

Dr Jay said Lambert (pictured) seemed like a normal guy, but he has a shocking history of stalking

He fled Dr Jay's Port Macquarie home in his white hire car (pictured) and led police on a wild chase

Lambert was forced off the road near Coffs Harbour and was shot dead when he lunged at police with a knife (scene pictured)
A Colorado middle school teacher has been placed on leave after reportedly taping a eighth student's mouth shut.

Officials say the incident took place during a science class last week either by the teacher or a fellow student who was allowed to do so.

The episode occurred at Campus Middle School in Greenwood Village on Wednesday, April 26, but Cherry Creek School District officials say they only learned about it on Monday, May 1.

A teacher at Campus Middle School (pictured) in Greenwood Village, Colorado, has been put on administrative leave after allegedly taping shut the mouth of an eighth grade student

District Spokeswoman Tustin Amole told KDVR-TV that the involved teacher was placed on administrative leave, per policy, until an investigation is completed.

She added that the district only learned about the incident on Monday and that there were conflicting reports about what occurred.

There are also possible video recordings, but this has yet to be confirmed.

'Either way, the teacher should never have tolerated it,' Amole said.

'That teacher has been placed on administrative leave. The police have been notified.'

Amole emphasized that the teacher has not been disciplined or suspended until the outcome of the district's investigation is finalized.

The teacher was not in school on Monday and her name has not been released.

In a statement, the district said: 'On Monday, May 1, the Cherry Creek School District learned of allegations that a teacher at Campus Middle School taped the mouth of a student, or allowed others to do so, during class on Wednesday, April 26th.

'As soon as we learned of the allegations, we notified the Greenwood Village Police Department and the students parents who were unaware of the incident.

'We are continuing to investigate, as we have received conflicting reports of what happened. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

'The incident is deeply troubling and does not reflect the values of the Cherry Creek School District. We are committed to ensuring that our schools provide a safe and caring environment for all students.'

This is not the first time that schools have reported of teachers taking corporal punishment too far.

In February, at a charter school in Twin Falls, Idaho, reports surfaced of a teacher taping a student's mouth shut in one of the second grade classrooms.

The school announced in March that the teacher had resigned.
A Chinese bride was devastated after discovering most of the guests attending her wedding were total strangers hired by her fiancee.

The bridegroom, surnamed Wang, said he hired over 200 fake relatives and friends to watch him tie the knot because his real family didn't agree to the marriage, according to People's Daily.

The devastated bride called the police to arrest Mr Wang during the ceremony in Shaanxi province.

The groom (left), surnamed Wang, has been detained after paying over 200 fake guests to watch him tie the knot in Shaanxi province. Above is a pre-wedding photo of the couple

The bizarre incident occurred at a three-star hotel in Xi'an during the three-day Labour Day holidays, Apple Daily reported. The exact date of the incident was not known.

The bride, surnamed Liu, was anxious as her future in-laws were nowhere to be found.

As the wedding ceremony was about to start, her husband-to-be insisted that his parents were on the way and would arrive at the venue very soon.

The groom's guests were actors, university students and cab drivers. They said they were paid 9 to 11 each to pose as the wedding guests

The bizarre incident occurred at a hotel in Xi'an during the three-day Labour Day holidays

Frustrated by the endless wait, Ms Liu's sister talked to the groom's 'relatives' and 'friends' at the banquet to see if they had any idea where his parents were, according to a video posted to ifeng.

The groom's guests, who were in fact actors, university students and cab drivers, said they were paid 9 to 11 each to pose as wedding guests. They said that 'the groom didn't have enough relatives and friends'.

Ms Liu was shocked and she called police to arrest her husband-to-be for staging the drama.

The furious bride, surnamed Liu, called police to arrest her groom for staging the drama

Wang confessed to the police that he had to hire fake relatives and friends because his real family didn't approve his future wife

Wang (left) and Liu(right) had been dating for about three years but they did not have mutual friends

Mr Wang confessed to the police that he hired the fake relatives and friends because his real family didn't approve his future wife.

Ms His father disliked Ms Liu as she doesn't come from the same town as them.

The couple had been dating for roughly three years before deciding to wed, but according to reports, they had completely different groups of friends.

Local police said the investigation is underway.
The girl was pulled out from the shaft after the hour-long rescue effort

A two-year-old Chinese girl who fell into a tiny pipe was saved after firefighters carried out a dramatic rescue operation.

Rescuers had to dig a 20-foot-deep trench in order to free the toddler who got trapped inside the shaft in China's Henan Province on April 29.

In order to keep the child alive, firefighters kept pumping oxygen into the pipe.

Rescuers in central China dug into the ground in order to saw off the pipe section by section

After using multiple diggers to dig for an hour, firefighters managed to pull out the little girl

According to a video on People's Daily Online, what the girl fell into was a seepage pit. She reportedly plummeted into the shaft while playing on a construction site.

The opening of the pit is just 1.1 foot wide (35 centimetres). The child is said to be stuck at about 20 feet (six metres) under the ground. She could be heard crying inside the well.

Firefighters were called to rescue the child, who remains unidentified. Multiple diggers were also sent to the scene to help with the rescue operation.

Rescuers freed the two-year-old who had been trapped 20 feet under the ground in the pipe

The girl fell into the shaft when she was playing on a construction site, according to reports

According to Henan TV station, because the well was built with cement and the earth around it was loose, rescue operation was difficult and slow.

The report also said that rescuers heard the girl's cry becoming weaker and weaker, so they decided to send oxygen down the pit to ensure the girl stay alive.

The rescue operation went on for about an hour. Firefighters dug into the ground and sawed off the wall of the pipe gradually.

At 7:42pm, the child was pulled out by officers. Paramedics carried out resuscitation immediately.

The girl is said to be in a non-life-threatening condition.
Fan Yusu, 44, from a village in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, now works as a nanny in Beijing. [Photo/Beijing Youth Daily]

Fan Yusu, a 44-year-old nanny from the outskirts of Xiangyang, Hubei Province, recently complained that she has been depressed and intolerant to the successive disturbances in her life since her essay entitled "I'm Fan Yusu" went viral online.

As a middle school graduate and a migrant laborer in Beijing, Fan never expected her article in colloquial language would receive such extensive influence with a readership hitting 100,000 plus.

"My life is a book of unbearable humbleness, it shapes me as cheap and as inept as an ugly binding," Fan wrote in her widely acclaimed essay.

But her overnight fame and a life in the spotlight did not bring happiness to her.

"I'm hiding inside a mountain because my social phobia is deteriorating into depression," Fan sent a message responding to an interview request.

According to her, she has grown increasingly uneasy and inadaptable when receiving flocks of strangers including, reporters, publishers and fans.

In order to embrace a bigger world, Fan headed to Beijing when she was 20. She married two years later and gave births to two girls.

In the fall of 2014, Fan happened to find a literary class organized among migrant workers in Picun, a suburban village, a 15-minute drive away from the Beijing Capital International Airport.

She spent an entire year attending the night class at 7:00 p.m. every Sunday and has attributed much of her success to the philanthropic curriculum which brought her to the world of literature.

Her writing was highly recommended by Fu Qiuyun, a volunteer in the program, who said, Fan reads a lot and has a very good memory. With Fu's help, Fan's manuscripts were typed and posted online.

"Her writing is true literature, with every character reflecting the strong and heavy footprint which can be traced in real life," an online user commented.

Fan started to read when she was six to seven years old. She dived into a sea of literature which was recommended by her elder brother such as "the Yan River", "the Deer Howling", "the Oasis" and "the Harvest".

She became obsessed and engrossed in the charm of words. Overwhelmed by the interest of reading, she passes down her habit to her daughters as the books she bought her elder daughter weigh over 500 kilograms.

She is now about to publish a new fiction -a long mythological story developed from real life in her hometown.
Malicious links and attachments may be in your inbox right now.

A worrying new report has has revealed one in 131 emails sent last year contained viruses or dangerous links - which is the highest rate for five years.

Email scams snared more than three billion dollars (2.3 million) from businesses over the past three years globally.

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More than 400 businesses are targeted daily by hackers looking to get into their email systems according to the report by a cyber security company based in Mountain View (stock image)

HOW TO SPOT SCAM EMAILS 1. Look at the sender's email address and check it is the company's official one. For example with Amazon, genuine e-mails come from an e-mail address ending in '@amazon.com', '@amazon.lu' or '@amazon.co.uk'. 2. Fraud emails often say there is an urgent need for action (for example to stop your account closing). This tricks you into providing personal information quickly. If they are asking you for personal details including a National Insurance Number, bank account, credit card PIN or passwords be extremely wary. 3. Fraud emails are often sent to thousands of people at once so have a generic greeting such as 'Dear Member'. A common giveaway is also poor grammar or spelling in the scam email. 4. Malicious emails often link to a fake website - cyber criminals can recreate websites that look genuine. Always check the URL of the website. Advertisement

Cyber criminals are increasingly using emails because there so difficult to trace, according to Symantec Security Response, a Mountain View-based company which provides insights into cyber threats.

More than 400 businesses are targeted every day by hackers looking to get into their email systems, the company's 2016 Internet Security Threat Report revealed.

A growing reliance on cloud services has also left organisations and individuals open to attack.

Tens of thousands of cloud databases from a single provider were hijacked and held for ransom in 2016 after users left outdated databases open on the internet without authentication turned on.

According to the data, company bosses have lost track of how many cloud apps are used inside their organisations.

Most assumed that they were using 40 cloud apps when the number was normally nearer 1,000.

The report suggested that there was a lack of policies and procedures for how employees access the cloud service which makes it even riskier.

The average demand for 2016 was was $1,077 (836) which was up from $294 (228) the previous year.

Sixty nine per cent of ransom attacks were against consumers while 31 per cent were against companies.

According to the report there is a trend towards criminals employing highly-publicised, overt campaigns designed to destabilise and disrupt targeted organisations and countries.

Email scams snared more than three billion dollars (2.3 million) from businesses over the past three years globally and it is now at its highest rate for five years (stock image)

'Cyber criminals caused unprecedented levels of disruption by focusing their exploits on relatively simple IT tools and cloud services', said Kevin Haley, director, Symantec Security Response, which provides insights into cyber threats.

'The world saw specific nation states double down on political manipulation and straight sabotage', he said.

According to the report, 64 per cent of US victims were willing to pay the ransom while globally 34 per cent of people were prepared to pay a ransom.

Cyber attacks are increasingly attempting to influence politics and sow discord in other countries.

Symantec uncovered evidence linking North Korea to attacks on banks in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Ecuador and Poland.

'This was an incredibly audacious hack as well as the first time we observed strong indications of nation state involvement in financial cyber crime,' said Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response.

'While their sights were set even higher, the attackers stole at least US$94 million (73 million)', he said.
Microsoft has unveiled a new laptop at its event in New York today, aimed at students.

The Surface Laptop, which will retail at $999 (773), has a 13.5-inch PixelSense display, with a 3.4 million pixel high contrast screen.

With 14.5 hours of battery life, Microsoft wants to 'change the game' for students, so they don't need to rely on chargers.

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The Surface Laptop, which will retail at $999 (773), has a 13.5-inch PixelSense display, with a 3.4 million pixel high contrast screen

SURFACE LAPTOP - Weighs 2.76lb - 14.5mm thick - 13.5 inch PixelSense display - 3:2 ratio screen - 3.4 million pixel screen - Thinnest LCD touch module ever created on a laptop - Four colours - burgandy, blue, grey, gold. - USB Type-A, mini-DP ports - Metal body, plastic keys, fabric lining - 14.5 hours of battery life - Near-zero battery usage across long-term standby - No speaker grills or holes - speakers are under the keyboard - Fabric is laser etched, so there's no light leakage around the keys - Costs $999 (773) Advertisement

Microsoft said it has also tied up with companies such as Acer, Asus, Dell, Futijsu, Toshiba, HP, and Samsung to offer a range of Windows 10 computers for students priced from $189.

The Surface Laptop was unveiled at the New York event by Panos Panay, VP of Microsoft Surface.

Mr Panay said: 'We know that many students use Surface Pro, and a lot use Book, but they're asking for more.

'They want a product that's going to empower them and remove limits.

'This product is so meticulously crafted. You won't find a screw, just a perfect flow of energy.

'It's meant to be silent to the eyes. It really is a product that draws you in.'

A short video was played at the event - strangely set to a slowed-down version of Grease classic, 'You're The One That I Want' - showing various parts of the manufacturing process.

The laptop weighs 2.76 pounds, and features a 14.47mm back, and 9.9mm front.

The display is 1080p, and has a 3:2 ratio between the height and width of the display.

And with 3.4 million pixels, the device features a high contrast screen.

It comes in four colours - platinum, burgundy, cobalt blue and graphite gold.

The laptop also has an Alcantara keyboard which is 60 per cent polyester and feels like suede.

The Surface Laptop comes in four different colours - platinum, burgundy, cobalt blue and graphite gold

The laptop weighs 2.76 pounds, and features a 14.47mm back, and 9.9mm front. The display is 1080p, and has a 3:2 ratio between the height and width of the display

In terms of battery life, the laptop will run for up to 14.5 hours, and has near-zero battery usage across long-term standby.

Mr Panay said: 'The fabric is laser etched, so there's no light leakage around the keys.'

It was also the material used on the Surface Pro 4 keyboard.

The laptop will retail at $999, although Microsoft has not yet announced how much it will cost in the UK

In terms of battery life, the laptop will run for up to 14.5 hours, and has near-zero battery usage across long-term standby. This is longer than all MacBook laptops on the market

To fit in with the sleek design, the laptop features no speaker grills or holes - speakers are subtly hidden under the keyboard.

The laptop will retail at $999, although Microsoft has not yet announced how much it will cost in the UK.

It is available now to pre-order, with delivery beginning on June 15th.

The display is 1080p, and has a 3:2 ratio between the height and width of the display. Mr Panos Panay, VP of Microsoft Surface, is pictured unveiling the device

The laptop also has an Alcantara keyboard which is 60 per cent polyester and feels like suede. Pictured is the burgundy version of the laptop

Mr Panos Panay, VP of Microsoft Surface, said during the launch event: 'This product is so meticulously crafted. You won't find a screw, just a perfect flow of energy'

WINDOWS 10S - Inspired by students and teachers - New default desktop image - Everything is downloaded from Windows store, which means programmes are verified for security and performance - Quicker login time than Windows 10 Pro - Free for all schools using existing Windows Pro PCs Advertisement

As well as new hardware, Microsoft has also announced the launch of a new operating system - Windows 10S.

The system is inspired by students and teachers.

Terry Myerson, executive vice president at Microsoft, said: 'We've taken everything that teachers need and created a new Windows experience that's ideal for all our creative endeavours inside and outside the classroom.'

Windows 10S features a much quicker login time than Windows 10 Pro, allowing students to quickly access their devices.

All programmes in the system must be downloaded through the Windows store, which means programmes are verified for security and performance.

As well as new hardware, Microsoft has also announced the launch of a new operating system - Windows 10S. The system is inspired by students and teachers

If a student tries to download a programme that isn't verified on the store, they will be met by a pop-up message explaining that they can't download it.

Windows 10 will then suggest a similar programme they can download.

The system will be free for all schools using existing Windows Pro PCs.

VIEW MIXED REALITY During the presentation, Microsoft also looked at the future of education, and suggests that students could soon be using mixed reality. The firm unveiled 'View Mixed Reality' - a way for any Windows 10 device to overlay digital images over the real world. While most augmented reality systems require users to wear headsets, Microsoft's View Mixed Reality allows users to simply use their laptop's camera and display. During the presentation, Microsoft showed how this could be used to compare the size of the Mars Rover with a person in real life. The feature will automatically be included into any PC running Windows 10 S. Advertisement

Terry Myerson, executive vice president at Microsoft, said: 'We've taken everything that teachers need and created a new Windows experience that's ideal for all our creative endeavours inside and outside the classroom'

The firm also unveiled 'View Mixed Reality' - a way for any Windows 10 device to overlay digital images over the real world

Microsoft also looked at the future of education, and suggests that students could soon be using mixed reality.

The firm unveiled 'View Mixed Reality' - a way for any Windows 10 device to overlay digital images over the real world.

MINECRAFT GETS AI ASSISTANT Microsoft also today announced Code Builder for Minecraft: Education Edition. This new extension will teach kids how to code with the help of an assistant within the building block video game. Code Builder introduces the Agent, a tiny sidekick, who executes coding instructions given via programs like Tynker, MakeCode, or ScratchX. Students learn how to use code to get the Agent to build things, solve problems, or even dance. Students use the Agent typing /code into the command line. Advertisement

While most augmented reality systems require users to wear headsets, Microsoft's View Mixed Reality allows users to simply use their laptop's camera and display.

The feature will automatically be included into any PC running Windows 10 S.

Most augmented reality systems require users to wear headsets, but Microsoft's View Mixed Reality allows users to simply use their laptop or tablet's camera and display
Britain's plans for futuristic spaceports could be scarpered by poor legislation, MPs have warned.

The government recently announced ambitious plans to build a series of space launch pads across the UK by 2020.

But plans have been endangered by poor legislation that could leave space travel companies liable to crippling insurance costs, MPs have claimed.

Spaceports, like this artist's rendition, are set to built across the UK by 2020. But plans have been endangered by poor legislation, MPs have claimed

SPACEFLIGHT BILL New laws unveiled in February mean private companies will be able to launch their own rockets into space from UK spaceports. Currently satellites can only be launched into orbit from space stations in countries such as the US and India. Under a new SpaceFlight bill, space ports will be established in regions across the UK. But a draft of the SpaceFlight bill, which was first released in February, appears to suggest that space operators will face unlimited costs caused by falling satellites and hardware. This condition goes against a recent amendment to the Outer Space Act, which outlines a cap of 60m (51m, $65m) for damages payable to the government. Advertisement

A draft of the SpaceFlight bill, which was first released in February, appears to suggest that space operators will face unlimited costs caused by failing satellites and hardware.

This condition goes against a recent amendment to the Outer Space Act, which outlines a cap of 60 million (51 million, $65 million) for damages payable to the government.

The committee are now calling for a revised bill to help bolster Britain's space tourism plans.

'Lax wording in the bill leaves it open that an operator would have to indemnify the government against all losses and that makes it completely impractical,' Stephen Metcalfe, chair of the cross-party science and technology committee, told the Guardian.

Ministers are also asking for clarification on whether the damages cap will apply to every launch or just individual satellites in orbit.

'For multiple satellite constellations where you might launch 20 small satellites at once, you couldn't possibly expect someone to indemnify 60 million for each of them,' Metcalfe said.

But Stuart McIntyre, chief executive at Orbital Access, a UK satellite launch company, said amendments should only be made after the bill is passed.

'To delay the passage of the bill would be entirely counterproductive,' he told the Guardian.

'The UK faces a fantastic opportunity right now. Momentum and decisive progress is the key here if we want to capture that opportunity.

'It is one that does not come round often, and we have to take it.'

In April, Snowdonia was revealed as the most likely location for Britain's first spaceport.

In 2015, six sites were shortlisted for possible selection for a spaceport in the UK from eight (pictured). However, since then the government has said they would support rules that would allow a spaceport to be built at any suitable location

But the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre - set among the mountains of North Wales - needs planning permission from Gwynedd Council and Snowdonia National Park Authority.

If given the go-ahead it then needs financial backing to put down a launch pad for small satellites and sub-orbital flights.

If approved then the Snowdonia Spaceport will be built on the existing airfield near the tiny village of Llanbedr.

The government is set to decide next year on where Britain's first spaceport will be, with six sites including North Wales in the running.

Up until now UK companies have been reliant on space ports in other countries, such as this one in French Guiana

POSSIBLE SPACEPORT LOCATIONS Snowdonia (Wales) Campbeltown Airport (Scotland) Glasgow Prestwick Airport (Scotland) Newquay Cornwall Airport (England) RAF Leuchars (Scotland) Stornorway Airport (Scotland) Advertisement

In 2015, six sites were shortlisted for possible selection for a spaceport in the UK.

However, since then the government has said they would support rules that would allow a spaceport to be built at any suitable location.

The power allow the launch of satellites, vertical rockets and horizontal flights from the UK for the first time.

New laws unveiled in February mean private companies will be able to launch their own rockets into space from UK spaceports.

Currently satellites can only be launched into orbit from space stations in countries such as the US and India.

But under a new SpaceFlight bill, space ports will be established in regions across the UK.

Announcing the bill earlier this year, ministers said the UK space sector is the 'future of the British economy' and the Government wants the UK to 'remain at the forefront of a new commercial space age for the next forty years'.

The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre - set among the mountains of North Wales - needs planning permission from Gwynedd Council and Snowdonia National Park Authority

This means British scientists will be able to conduct vital experiments in zero gravity which could help develop vaccines and medicines.

Antibiotics grow differently where there is no gravity and so the move has the potential to help scientists conduct revolutionary research.

The flights could also carry out hundreds of vital scientific experiments on medical issues such as ageing and the human body.

Once launched, the space satellites could also help provide broadband to rural communities and monitor weather systems as they move around the earth.

They could even help rural health workers who use satellite communications to diagnose and assist patients situated far from specialist health services.

The space sector already employs thousands in the UK and supports industries worth 250 billion to the economy

Aviation Minister Lord Ahmad said: 'The UK's space sector is the future of the British economy.'

He said it already employs thousands of people and supports industries worth more than 250million to the economy, and he wants it to grow it further.

He added: 'Forty years ago, meteorologists couldn't have imagined the importance of satellites for predicting the weather.

'Today over 90 per cent of data used in every forecast comes from a satellite, with hundreds of other applications used in GPS, telecommunications and broadband.

'We have never launched a spaceflight before from this country.

'Our ambition is to allow for safe and competitive access to space from the UK, so we remain at the forefront of a new commercial space age, for the next forty years.'




Synthetic human DNA will be grown in the lab in as little as five years, according to a new announcement.

Last year, more than 100 scientists attended a secretive meeting to discuss an ambitious project to recreate the six billion 'letters' that make up our unique genetic code.

Next week the researchers will meet again and announce a $100 million (77 million) plan to artificially create life's building blocks, it was revealed today.

But the news is likely to refuel concerns over the creation of 'designer babies'.

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Synthetic human DNA will be grown in the lab in as little as five years, according to a new announcement (stock image depicting DNA double helix)

WHAT ARE THEY PROPOSING? Researchers are suggesting the launch of a project to produce man-made human genomes in the lab. Human Genome Project-write (HGP-write) would enable researchers to expand on techniques already being used in the lab to create synthetic yeast, and synthesis DNA in the lab. The group of 25 scientists has highlighted the need for technology and ethical frameworks, but say the approach could lead to: Growing organs for transplant patients

Engineering immunity to lethal viruses, such as Ebola or Zika

Making synthetic genes to study their role in cells

Synthesising whole chromosomes, such as chromosome 21  an extra copy of which is responsible for Downs syndrome

Developing cancer-resistant cells in the lab Advertisement

Jef Boeke, director of the Institute for Systems Genetics at New York University, today told of the plans to create artificial human DNA in four to five years.

They plan to start by recreating the DNA of plants and microbes and then move on to humans.

'We have a four- to five-year period where there can be plenty of time for debate about the wisdom of that, whether resources should be put in that direction [creating artifcal human DNA] or in another,' he told CNBC.

'Whenever it's human, everyone has an opinion and wants their voice to be heard.

'We want to hear what people have to say.'

His project follows on from the Human Genome Project (HGP), the research that let scientists sequence and 'read' all of the letters that make up a human's genetic code.

This complete set of genetic information is known as the genome.

The new project is known as the Human Genome Project-write (HGP-write).

A group of scientists is pushing for man-made human genomes in the lab, calling for a huge international effort to launch this year

QUEST TO CREATE ARTIFICIAL LIFE Building an entire lifeform from scratch is a daunting task, although many scientists believe it may be possible within the next ten years. They believe that synthetic living systems could be made to order to solve a range of problems, from producing new drugs to creating biofuels. Dr Craig Venter is among those who have been leading the way and in 2010 placed a basic DNA set synthesised in the laboratory into a bacterial cell. However, while these cells could replicate they were not able to survive without crucial nutrients provided by the scientists. This, they insist, is an important safety measure to stop synthetic cells from escaping and replicating in the environment. His latest breakthrough provides a basic life form that can then be adapted and molded by adding new genes, allowing scientists to customise it. Yet synthetic life will not necessarily have to be based on the same biochemical molecules as our own. Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge used an entirely synthetic form of DNA, called XNA, to store genetic information and catalyse simple biochemical reactions. These could eventually be used to evolve entirely new forms of life, the scientists believe. Scientists at the University of Glasgow have also found it is possible to mimic evolution by creating successive generations of oil droplets. Advertisement

'HGP allowed us to read the genome, but we still don't completely understand it,' Nancy Kelley, the coordinator of the new project, told CNBC.

The human genome consists of roughly three billion DNA base pairs.

There are four nucleotides bases found in DNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T).

The order that these bases are found in our genome acts as a genetic 'blueprint' that dictates each person's unique physical and mental characteristics.

The goal of GP-write is understand how these bases work alongside each other.

They hope creating artificial human DNA could help us decipher to origins of the genetic code.

'If you do that, you gain a much deeper understanding of how a complicated apparatus goes,' Professor Boeke said.

The plan builds on the success of the Human Genome Project, which successfully deciphered the entire human genetic code in 2004. Stock image depicts a human chromosome

He said, like a machine, the genome can only fully be understood if it is taken apart and then put back together again.

'Really, a synthetic genome is an engine for learning new information.'

This new information could one day have a host of practical applications, including organs for transplant and developing immunity to viruses.

But it may also heighten public concerns over a fast-track to 'designer babies'.

Some groups fear that the creation of artificial DNA will one day lead to direct alterations being made to the human genome.

It's theorised that these 'alterations' could be used to create babies with specially selected traits including sex, outward appearance and intelligence.

Ethics experts have been quick to point out that the physical and mental health effects of this type of gene editing is still unknown.

And any changes made to the genome will be passed on to future generations through the germ line  in sperm and egg cells.

ARE DESIGNER BABIES ON THE HORIZON? Improvements in genetics are causing designer babies to near '100 per cent efficiency' in trials using mice, a leading scientist has warned. Dr Tony Perry, a geneticist at the University of Bath, said that society needed to be prepared for the day parents can choose certain traits in their children. The warning follows a breakthrough last April in which scientists were able to cure a genetic liver disease in living, adult mice using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique. The CRISPR technology precisely changes target parts of genetic code and could be used to create designer babies. 'We used a pair of molecular scissors and a molecular sat nav that tells the scissors where to cut,' Dr Perry told James Gallagher at the BBC. 'It's a case of 'you shoot you score'...On the human side, one has to be very cautious.' Unlike other gene-silencing tools, the CRISPR system targets the genome's source material and permanently turns off genes at the DNA level. Advertisement

At the end of 2015, this led scientists to call for a moratorium on the tinkering with the DNA of any cell which can be inherited by the next generation.

But the group has outlined security measures for ultra-safe cells with edited genomes, making it impossible for them to pass on changes down the germ line.

Professor Boeke added that these practical developments may still be years or even decades away.

A large challenge facing the team is to cut the cost of synthesising human DNA.

At this current time, scientists estimate it costs 23 cents to synthesise a single base pair.

The human genome is made up of three billion base pairs.

'If we can get that [cost] down to one cent per base pair, it would really make a difference,' Dr Kelley said.
Rating:

Portable speakers promise to give you an instant party almost anywhere.

But for too long, instant has never truly been the case.

You either have to struggle to pair your phone, or are forced to contend with weak, tinny sound and poor battery life.

Sony wants to change that with its SRS-XB40 portable speakers that claim to let you create your own club night.

But does it really live up to its promise?

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At first glance, the XB40s big attraction is a built-in multi-coloured line light, speaker lights and a flashing strobe. The lights create a range of patterns and synchronise with the rhythm of the music, allowing you to both hear and see the beat

SRS-XB40: KEY STATS Battery life: 24 hours Apps: Songpal, Fiestable Input and output: Stereo Mini Jack and USB A Terminal Dimensions: 279 mm x 100 mm x 105 mm Weight: 1,500g Colour options: Blue, black and red Other features: Connect up to 10 SRS-XB40s in a chain Multi-coloured line light, speaker lights and flashing strobe Water-resistant Cost: 200/$250 Advertisement

The SRS-XB40 comes under Sonys Extra range brand, which also includes the SRS-XB10, SRS-XB-30 and SRS-XB20.

At first glance, the XB40s big attraction is a built-in multi-coloured line light, speaker lights and a flashing strobe.

The lights create a range of patterns and synchronise with the rhythm of the music, allowing you to both hear and see the beat.

Unlike some rival speakers, pairing with your phone isn't too much of a headache.

The speakers feature LDAC audio technology which transmits three times more data than conventional Bluetooth.

For budding DJs, a Fiestable app lets you control lighting and colours. You also have the option  at the press of a button  to more base.

Sony's SongPal app also lets you adjust the speaker lighting as well as add more speakers to a chain, by linking up to 10 speakers.

One issue is with syncing the music when linking up a large number of speakers.

With fast-paced music with a heavy beat, linking up several speakers can be a challenge.

Sony's SongPal app also lets you adjust the speaker lighting as well as add more speakers to a chain, by linking up to 10 speakers

If you want to dial down the rave, you can connect two wireless speakers for wider stereo sound, and syncing becomes less of problem.

Despite this, however, it truly is a portable disco.

The device features 24 hours of battery life. You can check the status of the battery using a voice feedback function that tells you how much battery is left at the press of a button.

And if your smartphone is running low on power, connect it via USB to the speakers to charge.

Matt Coupe, Head of Sony, Sony UK and Ireland said: 'We see continued high demand for powerful bassy sound with matching colourful flashy lights as one of the new ways of enjoying music.

'Another rising trend we have seen is voice controlled products in the home.

'By pairing a Sony wireless speaker with Google Home you can control it simply with your voice.'

At 200 ($299), its at the premium end of the small Bluetooth speaker range.

But if youre willing to pay the price, SRS-XB40 offers a solid range of features if you want a mini-disco on the move.
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NASA has discovered a wave of hot gas rolling through a faraway galaxy - and say it is gigantic.

Spanning some 200,000 light-years, the wave is about twice the size of our own Milky Way galaxy, and was spotted in the nearby Perseus galaxy cluster.

The researchers say the wave formed billions of years ago, after a small galaxy cluster grazed Perseus and caused its vast supply of gas to slosh around an enormous volume of space.

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This animation dissolves between two different views of hot gas in the Perseus galaxy cluster. The first is Chandra's best view of hot gas in the central region of the Perseus cluster, where red, green and blue indicate lower-energy to higher-energy X-rays, respectively. The larger image incorporates additional data over a wider field of view. It has been specially processed to enhance the contrast of edges, revealing subtle structures in the gas. The wave is marked by the upward-arcing curve near the bottom, centered at about 7 o'clock.

GALAXY CLUSTERS Galaxy clusters are the largest structures bound by gravity in the universe today. Some 11 million light-years across and located about 240 million light-years away, the Perseus galaxy cluster is named for its host constellation. Like all galaxy clusters, most of its observable matter takes the form of a pervasive gas averaging tens of millions of degrees, so hot it only glows in X-rays. Advertisement

The find was made using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory researchers combined with radio observations and computer simulations.

'Perseus is one of the most massive nearby clusters and the brightest one in X-rays, so Chandra data provide us with unparalleled detail,' said lead scientist Stephen Walker at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

'The wave we've identified is associated with the flyby of a smaller cluster, which shows that the merger activity that produced these giant structures is still ongoing.'

Galaxy clusters are the largest structures bound by gravity in the universe today.

Some 11 million light-years across and located about 240 million light-years away, the Perseus galaxy cluster is named for its host constellation.

Like all galaxy clusters, most of its observable matter takes the form of a pervasive gas averaging tens of millions of degrees, so hot it only glows in X-rays.

Chandra observations have revealed a variety of structures in this gas, from vast bubbles blown by the supermassive black hole in the cluster's central galaxy, NGC 1275, to an strange concave feature known as the 'bay.'

The bay's concave shape couldn't have formed through bubbles launched by the black hole., astronomers say.

Radio observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in central New Mexico show that the bay structure produces no emission, the opposite of what scientists would expect for features associated with black hole activity.

In addition, standard models of sloshing gas typically produced structures that arc in the wrong direction.

One simulation seemed to explain the formation of the bay.

In it, gas in a large cluster similar to Perseus has settled into two components, a 'cold' central region with temperatures around 54 million degrees Fahrenheit (30 million Celsius) and a surrounding zone where the gas is three times hotter.

Then a small galaxy cluster containing about a thousand times the mass of the Milky Way skirts the larger cluster, missing its center by around 650,000 light-years.

The flyby creates a gravitational disturbance that churns up the gas like cream stirred into coffee, creating an expanding spiral of cold gas.

After about 2.5 billion years, when the gas has risen nearly 500,000 light-years from the center, vast waves form and roll at its periphery for hundreds of millions of years before dissipating.

These waves are giant versions of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, which show up wherever there's a velocity difference across the interface of two fluids, such as wind blowing over water.

HOW THEY SOLVED THE MYSTERY To solve the mystery, Walker and his colleagues turned to existing Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster to further investigate the bay. They combined a total of 10.4 days of high-resolution data with 5.8 days of wide-field observations at energies between 700 and 7,000 electron volts. For comparison, visible light has energies between about two and three electron volts. The researchers say the wave formed billions of years ago, after a small galaxy cluster grazed Perseus and caused its vast supply of gas to slosh around an enormous volume of space. This X-ray image of the hot gas in the Perseus galaxy cluster was made from 16 days of Chandra observations. Researchers then filtered the data in a way that brightened the contrast of edges in order to make subtle details more obvious. An oval highlights the location of an enormous wave found to be rolling through the gas. The scientists then filtered the Chandra data to highlight the edges of structures and reveal subtle details. Next, they compared the edge-enhanced Perseus image to computer simulations of merging galaxy clusters developed by John ZuHone, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The simulations were run on the Pleiades supercomputer operated by the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. Although he was not involved in this study, ZuHone collected his simulations into an online catalog to aid astronomers studying galaxy clusters. Advertisement

They can be found in the ocean, in cloud formations on Earth and other planets, in plasma near Earth, and even on the sun.

'We think the bay feature we see in Perseus is part of a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave, perhaps the largest one yet identified, that formed in much the same way as the simulation shows,' Walker said. 'We have also identified similar features in two other galaxy clusters, Centaurus and Abell 1795.'

The researchers also found that the size of the waves corresponds to the strength of the cluster's magnetic field.

If it's too weak, the waves reach much larger sizes than those observed. If too strong, they don't form at all.

This study allowed astronomers to probe the average magnetic field throughout the entire volume of these clusters, a measurement that is impossible to make by any other means.
Researchers investigating a newly recovered treasure map created decades ago by a NASA astronaut have discovered an ancient anchor thought to have been left behind by Christopher Columbus.

Archaeologists have confirmed that the anchor, found in the Caribbean, is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the Columbus era, from 1492 to the early 1500s.

The anchor weighs more than 1,200lbs, and the experts suspect it broke free from a moderately sized ship after it was damaged by a storm during a voyage in the year 1500.

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Researchers investigating a newly recovered treasure map created decades ago by a NASA astronaut have discovered an ancient anchor thought to have been left behind by Christopher Columbus

Astronaut Gordon Cooper, who orbited Earth 22 times aboard the Mercury-Atlas Faith 7 spacecraft in 1963, created the map after spotting hundreds of anomalies from miles above the surface.

He later gave it to treasure-hunter Darrell Miklos, who is now investigating five coordinates along a path thought to be a route for Columbus fleet.

In a remarkable find set to be revealed on the next episode of Discovery Channels Coopers Treasure, researchers discovered an anchor off Turks and Caicos estimated to weigh between 1,200 and 1,500 lbs.

In a remarkable find set to be revealed on the next episode of Discovery Channels Coopers Treasure, researchers discovered an anchor off Turks and Caicos estimated to weigh between 1,200 and 1,500 lbs

The anchor weighs more than 1,200lbs, and the experts suspect it broke free from a moderately sized ship after it was damaged by a storm during a voyage in the year 1500

This, they say, would likely have been a bower anchor from a ship weighing no more than 300 tons, fitting the description of those in the Columbus era.

And, the double bend of the anchors shank also dates it in this period.

The Discovery team called upon two archaeologists to confirm the find, a spokesperson told Dailymail.com, and both determined that it was a Spanish-made anchor from the late 1400s-early 1500s.

The anchor ring is broken, and its crown is bent, indicating that it was under a significant amount of stress, and was possibly damaged in a storm.

THE TREASURE MAPS FROM SPACE Gordon Cooper successfully piloted the Mercury-Atlas 9 Faith 7 Spacecraft around the Earth 22 times in 1963. Gordon Cooper successfully piloted the Mercury-Atlas 9 Faith 7 Spacecraft around the Earth 22 times in 1963 But as well as researching the limits of human endurance in space, a Discovery Channel documentary claims Cooper also had a secret spy mission in orbit. Shipwreck-hunter Darrell Miklos says Cooper had a 'special DoD mission' while he was orbiting the Earth and was using special 'long range detection equipment' to look for 'nuclear threats' - which likely means Russian submarines or nuclear missile sites. And Miklos says Cooper also noted the positions of Caribbean shipwrecks while he conducted this spy mission, and created a map on his return to Earth. The shipwreck hunter claims his long-time friend Cooper gave him the maps after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's and then died in 2004. Miklos is now creating a Discovery Channel series, Coopers Treasure, which sees seasoned explorer Darrell Miklos try to follow charts created by his long-time friend and pioneer. During Cooper's almost two dozen circumnavigations, the astronaut and avid treasure hunter, began marking down the coordinates for what he believed to be shipwrecks he saw dotted across the Caribbean and Bahamas. And Miklos even claims one of the wreck sites could be the 'lost fleet of Christopher Columbus'. The maps were kept a secret for almost 40 years before Gordon decided to share them with Miklos Advertisement

According to the Discovery team, the anchor may have come from a ship during the joint voyage of Christopher Columbus and Spanish explorer Vincente Pinzon in 1500.

Along with the anchor, the researchers also found pottery sherds and ceramic plateware thought to have come from an olive jar adorned with indigo paint, and a Majorcan pot, all indicative of the wrecks Spanish ties.

Three grappling anchors were also found, which the researchers say were used during this era to salvage treasure form sunken ships.

The discovery lines up with a story that claimed Pinzon returned to Turks two years after his ships sank to recover the lost vessels.

The crew also found iron and bronze spikes, ranging between 3.5 and 4 inches long, which are identical to others found from 1492-early 1500s.
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Sicily, a Mediterranean place of pilgrimage for artists and birthplace of the Mafia just a few miles from a mainland famous as the home of the world's most glamorous fashion houses and motorcars bearing a certain prancing horse badge.

But the Ferrari is a footnote in the nations motoring history compared to the Fiat 500. It's a real Italian classic, an affordable small car that allowed ordinary people to explore their own nation.

'It represents freedom for Italy', said Alberto, a poet and tour guide who combines two of the nation's proudest cultural exports, motoring and cinema, with a tour of scenes from The Godfather trilogy in the vintage vehiucle.

Savoca's church (left) is where Coppola filmed the wedding of character Michael Corleone and his first wife (right)

The very place where Michael Corleone meets his wife in the first film, Bar Vitelli, is now covered with foliage and inside it is a shrine to the movie, its walls covered in mementos and pictures of scenes

Though the outside has changed, it is still instantly recognisable from the bar seen in the movie, where Al Pacino sits outside with his gang of Sicilian friends

Here, the guides from 500 Vintage Tours sit outside eating sweet biscuits and drinking Granitas (a Sicilian iced lemon drink), where they explain how important both The Godfather and the Fiat 500 have been to the region

It's a scene not too dissimilar to the one seen here in The Godfather (minus the gun), where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino, pictured), sits with a coffee while hiding out in his father's native country following a shooting in New York

The real home of the Mafia is Palermo but even in the 1970s when the first movie was released, it was too built up for the scenes Coppola had planned for Al Pacino.

Instead, he chose to shoot in the classically stunning Sicilian towns of Savoca and Forza d'Agro, which have remained much the same partly because of the success of the movie.

First was an exciting but somewhat terrifying drive through the narrow, cliffside roads - a chance to take in the breathtaking scenery, then a stop at a crypt filled with 18th century mummies.

The tour guides explained how Fiat 500s were one of the first affordable small cars in Italy and were cheap and economical enough for working class people, freeing a generation to explore the country. The 500 Vintage Tour firm (cars it hires out pictured) also offers tours to Mount Etna, the island's famous volcano, and vineyards in the region. Plus, the friendly guides offer various pick-up and drop-off points

A true classic: The Fiat 500 may not be as glamorous as a Ferrari or a Lamborghini but it has even more cultural significance as one of Italy's first affordable cars. However, it is a tight fit for anyone above six foot, as MailOnline Travel's James Dunn demonstrates

It's on the way to the main square in Savoca, which is packed with sights immediately recognisable from the movie.

Outside the very place where Michael Corleone meets his wife in the first film, Bar Vitelli, Alberto sits in the shade drinking a Granita (a Sicilian iced lemon drink) and tells us about the legacy of the movie.

Inside the bar, it looks like a shrine to the movie, with pictures of scenes in which the bar is depicted hanging on the walls of the dark interior.

Outside Bar Vitelli is another homage to Coppola, a steel silhouette of the director - gifted to the village by the man himself - mounted on a fence overlooking stunning views across the valley

A view of Savoca's old town, with terrain beyond that's largely unchanged from the time when the trilogy was shot

At the very beginning of The Godfather locals - from the village where it was shot - are seen carrying a coffin containing Vito Corleone's father, killed in 1901 for 'insulting a local mafia boss'. His actions forced a young Vito to flee to New York

Outside is another homage to Coppola, a steel silhouette of the director - gifted to the village by the man himself - mounted on the fence overlooking views stretching all the way to the sea.

Just up the hill is the Church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli, where Michael Corleone marries his first wife - played by Italian actress Simonetta Stefanelli - in the humble chapel.

The hillside path leading to it is unchanged since actors marched along the cobbled road in the wedding procession.

The area is the setting of the very first scene in the trilogy, when locals - from the village where it was shot - carry the coffin of Vito Corelone's father, killed in 1901 for 'insulting a local Mafia boss'.

'Coppola kept insisting that the scene didn't look right and did take after take. In the end, he filled the coffin with bricks so it looked like there could be a body in there,' recounted Alberto.

There are numerous tours of the spots available from 500 Vintage Tours. Some take in the vineyards around Mount Etna. Others visit other famous scenes form the movie in the medieval village of Forza DAgro, which appears in Godfather Part II.

The guides offer flexible options and let James end his tour in Taormina, an eye-catching Roman town with a stunning amphitheatre carved into the side of a mountain (pictured)

Another famous scene that can be visited is the family home where Vito was born, which appears in Godfather Part III.

Explaining how Savoca is so well preserved, Alberto adds: 'Huge hotels popped up in other places but people wanted to maintain the character of this area, which is exactly what attracted Coppola here in the first place.

'People come here and they can quote entire scenes. It opened the world's eyes to Sicily at a time when people knew very little about our island.'

After the tour, there is the option of being dropped off in Taormina, a stunning Roman town with an amphitheater carved into the side of a mountain that offers panoramic views across the bay.

It's the location of an annual international film festival that draws in Hollywood celebrities. DH Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Truman Capote, all of them visited in the historic town.

Relaxing in total comfort: The stunning Capinera villa was a peaceful and stylish place to stay

As well as a chic interior, outside there was an open dining area on which to enjoy some wine in the hot afternoons - and a well-fitted kitchen for those wanting to cook and truly enjoy some of the fresh Italian ingredients available locally

The piazza outside looks out onto the sea and has a direct private path to the beach. What's more, the villa occupies a nicely secluded spot

There are beautiful flowers, plants, and even lemon trees at the villa, and guests can pick fresh lemons from the branches during the summer season

TRAVEL FACTS SoloSicily offers Villa Capinera from 1,540 to 2,520 per week (at the current exchange rate), depending on the season. Vintage Fiat 500 tours start from 320 per car, with a maximum of two people per vehicle. Villa and tour reservations can be made by visiting soloSicily or calling them on 020 7097 1413. Flights are available from 45.99 one-way from easyjet (London Gatwick or Luton). Advertisement

It is also packed with restaurants, trendy cocktail bars and we visited an authentic wine bar on a street slightly off the main drag where locals played live music.

After a long day, it was back to our authentic villa, called Capinera, in the small village of Mazzaro, which rests at the bottom of the hill on which Taormina is perched.

To reach it we took a cable car to the main square.

Mazzaro is charming, with its own restaurants, gelato shops and places to buy pasta and delicious spicy salami.

It's also a pick-up point for tours of Mount Etna and other Vintage Fiat 500 trips, which can all be booked through soloSicily.

Capinera is superb.

The huge apartment, cut into the side of the cliff, offers shade from the unforgiving sun and is surrounded by lemon trees.

The furniture is tasteful and authentically Italian and there's a terrace with a view over the sea - a perfect place for an evening Peroni or some local vino.

Mazzaro's stony beaches, accessed down narrow stone staircases, are stunning.

Also to be recommended is a walk to the beautiful Isola Bella, a tiny green island reachable only by a path that materialises at low tide.

Sicily really is a treasure trove of culture, scenery and incredible food and wine and a few days here simply isn't enough.

An offer I couldn't refuse? That would be a return trip.
People who feed seagulls could be fined under new council efforts to stop the birds from attacking people for food.

Tourists and residents who feed the animals could be hit with an 80 fine as part of Public Space Protection Orders issued by East Devon District Council.

The eyebrow-raising ban comes after much debate about how to tackle the so-called 'scourge' on Britain's seaside areas.

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Don't do it! Well-meaning locals are open to stiff penalties for encouraging seagulls (file image)

In 2015, then Prime Minister David Cameron said a 'big conversation' was needed about the threat from seagulls, and he recalled ham once being stolen from a sandwich by the birds.

While gulls are an important part of the coastal environment, their behaviour can be problematic, said East Devon District councillor Iain Chubb.

He said: 'You like to see the birds, it's a nice part of the landscape, but you just don't want them to be aggressive.'

Food for thought: The pesky birds are known for their determined fight for good grub

The fines will be aimed at addressing habitual feeders and cafes and restaurants which do not dispose of waste food properly, he said.

'It's more a fine for where there is, say a catering establishment with bad practice of disposing of food, or there are little old ladies who like to go down and feed the seagulls,' said the councillor, who holds the environment portfolio.

'It's one of those things where, if you've got somebody who is habitually feeding seagulls, it's something to say you shouldn't be doing this, there is a fine at the end of the day.'

Mr Chubb described the new measure as a 'final backstop' which tackles the issue where anti-litter legislation could not, and added: 'There aren't going to be the police out looking for people throwing chips at birds, that's for sure.'

In February MPs debated the issue ahead of breeding season, warning that pensioners had been among those attacked by the birds.
It's a country known, at least in part, for its iconic ninja warriors.

But now it seems that Japan is suffering from a sudden shortage of martial arts experts who can continue the cultural tradition.

It comes after a boom in inbound tourism caused demand for ninja warrior live shows to soar, out-stripping supply.

Ninjas: The martial-arts masters and stealth assassins of feudal times have been immortalised in history books and period dramas - but numbers are dropping...

An expert in the field, who manages a Nagoya-based martial arts squad in his company, claims there is an official drought of talent.

'With the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan on the increase, the value of ninja as tourism content has increased,' Takatsugu Aoki told Asahi newspaper.

'There are more employment choices, while ninja shows across the country have become popular. I feel there is a ninja shortage.'

Instead, he says there's a wealth of wannabes who aspire to learn on the job, but lack the basic skills to deliver the goods. Especially when it comes to paying audiences.

Typically, a ninja's required skill set includes being trained in unarmed combat, acrobatics, concealment and first aid, while also being able to throw star-shaped blades and deadly swords.

Ninjas, also known as shinobi, have been feared and revered throughout history for their talents as assassins, scouts and spies.

They are mainly noted for their use of stealth and deception but also for their amazing powers of endurance.

The real thing: A menacing Japanese ninja clutches a razor-sharp samurai sword

Talent: Typically, a ninja's required skill set includes being trained in unarmed combat, acrobatics, concealment and first aid, while also being able to throw star-shaped blades

Ninjutsu can be translated as art of stealth' but it also means art of enduring' and the ninjas themselves were noted for being able to walk long distances without stopping, jumping over seven feet and dislocating their joints to escape from small spaces.

But they are not only ruthless killers as depicted in so many Hollywood movies.

In fact, ninjas considered the art of espionage a far greater skill than that of fighting, which was always a last resort. Ninjas were skilled in spying and defeating foes using intelligence, while swinging a sword was deemed a lower art.

But if necessary, they had to be experts with weapons such as shuriken, a sharpened star-shaped projectile, and the fukiya blowpipe, usually filled with a poison dart.

And they were also skilled at making both poisons and medicines.

Offer: Ninja-seeking tourism officials in Japan recently undertook a recruitment-drive to try and secure more genuine warriors
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Tourists visit the Huangshan Mountain, east China's Anhui Province, May. 1, 2017. [China.org.cn]



About one-tenth of China's population is expected to travel over the holiday long weekend, official data showed Friday.

About 130 million trips are expected to be made during the International Labor Day holiday from April 29 to May 1, up 11 percent year on year, according to data from the China National Tourism Administration.

Domestic tourism could take in 78 billion yuan (11.3 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue over the weekend, up 13 percent year on year.

Previous surveys showed that over half of Chinese people planned to travel during the upcoming holiday and in May, most of them preferring suburban areas and nearby provinces.

When it comes to traveling overseas, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were the top destinations, the survey showed.
The winners and runners up of an international photography competition have been revealed - and they don't fail to impress.

British snapper John Hunt flew away with the top prize in this year's Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers Animals in Action context for his image of two white-tailed eagles fighting over a kill on the Danube delta in Romania.

Mr Hunt, from the Weald in Kent, fought off more than 430 other photographers from around the world, with winged creatures dominating the top three winners.

In second place was Elizabeth Howell from New South Wales in Australia with her shot of a fruit bat skimming low over the water.

Third place went to 72-year-old Brit Peter Jones from Nottinghamshire with another picture of two white-tailed sea eagles clashing, this time over a fish on an ice pack off Japan.

Mr Jones said it was taken from the back of a boat in at Rausu.

American Cindy Kassab was highly commended for her stunning shot of a hummingbird and an insect she took in Costa Rica.

'It was in the cloud forest there,' she said. 'I was practising taking hummingbird photos using flash.

'You don't always know what you get and I didn't realise the insect was in the photo at first.'
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A train that's a contender for being the most luxurious in the world set off on its maiden journey on Monday.

The Train Suite Shiki-Shima left Ueno station in Tokyo with 33 passengers on board for a four-day tour of north-east Japan and the stunning island of Hokkaido. It's due back at Ueno on Thursday.

The exclusive train features two-storey suites, panoramic observation cars and was designed by an automobile expert behind various Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati models. The top suite sells for $10,000 (7,700) per person for a four-day trip.

The luxurious Train Suite Shiki-Shima set was designed by an automobile expert behind various Porsche, Ferrari and Maseratis

The train's 10 carriages include two futuristic looking observatory cars (above), a fine dining restaurant, a shared lounge and three uniquely designed private suites

In the split-level dining car there are enough tables and chairs for sociable dining with all guests able to enjoy the scenic backdrop

The exclusive train will welcome just 34 passengers on each trip. Each suite features a bed, storage space, a shower and a WC

Guests staying in the shiki-shima suite benefit from two-storeys. Here, they have an area to unwind in, as well as a bedroom and bathroom. The suite is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows ensuring travellers have a comfortable vantage point in which to take in the ever-changing panorama (left). Another style of sleeper suite (right)

The train's ten carriages include two observatory cars, a fine dining restaurant, a shared lounge and three designs of private suites. The 17 guest suites each accommodate two passengers.

A blend of modernist curves, wood panelling and artistic detail, the sleeper train's aesthetic is the brainchild of Ken Kiyoyuki Okuyama.

Previously chief designer for General Motors, he was a senior designer for Porsche AG and responsible for the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati Quattroporte and many other popular car designs.

Ultimate luxury: The exclusive shiki-shima suite even features a traditional rectangular Japanese bath tub

In the shared lounge car there is a bar and a cluster of tables for guest to enjoy an intimate evening unwinding while the wilderness whirls past

The walls in the lounge car feature a patterned designed to evoke an image of a quiet forest

While each spacious suite features a bed, storage space, a shower and a WC, guests staying in the shiki-shima suite benefit from two-storeys.

Here, holidaymakers have an area to unwind in, as well as a bedroom and bathroom with a tub. The suite is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows ensuring travellers have a comfortable vantage point in which to take in the ever-changing panorama.

In the communal lounge car, the walls feature a pattern designed to evoke the image of a quiet forest. There is also a bar and a cluster of tables for guests to enjoy an intimate evening unwinding while the wilderness whirls past.

Spacious: One suite has been made accessible for guests with disabilities

A team of top chefs will curate cuisine based on eastern Japans seasonal ingredients. During their journey guests can expect to be served cuisine unique to each stop such as Hakodates famous squid and salmon roe rice bowl for breakfast, regional lunches and dinners, as well as French cuisines and pastries

A blend of modernist curves, wood panelling and artistic detail, the sleeper train is the brainchild of Ken Kiyoyuki Okuyama

In the extravagant split-level restaurant car there are enough tables and chairs for sociable dining with all guests able to enjoy the scenic backdrop.

A team of top chefs will curate a menu based on eastern Japans seasonal ingredients. During their journey guests can expect to be served cuisine unique to each stop such as Hakodates famous squid and salmon roe rice bowl for breakfast, regional lunches and dinners, as well as French cuisines and pastries.

Guests are expected to flock to the two futuristic-looking observatory cars which offer floor-to-ceiling windows and even overlook the tracks.

Previously chief designer for General Motors, Okuyama was a senior designer for Porsche AG and partly responsible for the look of the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati Quattroporte and many other eye-catching car designs. Above, the entrance at JR Ueno Station in Tokyo for the new train

Setting off in style: The premium lounge for the luxury sleeper train at Tokyo Station

Golden exterior: The ten-car train has 17 guest compartments each accommodating two passengers

Each season the sleeper train will explore a different route.

Tickets for two-day trips start at 320,000 yen (2,229) per person and for four-day trips will cost from 750,000 (5,373).

The train is fully booked until March 2018. Click here for more information.
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She's famous for grabbing the limelight with her skin-baring outfits.

But at the Met Gala on Monday in New York, Kim Kardashian opted to keep covered up in an off-the-shoulder white Vivienne Westwood dress.

The full-length number had a drawstring at the bust and long sleeves and the reality star, 36, completed the peasant girl look with some simple sandals.

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Covered up: Kim Kardashian arrived at the Met Gala on Monday in an off-the-shoulder white Vivienne Westwood dress and simple sandals

She emphasized the simplicity of her fashion choice by eschewing any jewelry or accessories.

Her shoulder-length straight hair was sleekly styled and she also kept her make-up light.

She emphasized her eyes with smoky shadow and lashings of black liner and lashes, while adding just a dusting of blush and nude lip color.

Turning her back on things: Kim's virginal look was worlds away from her blingy turnouts of years gone by

No bling: The full-length number had a drawstring at the bust and long sleeves and the reality star emphasized the simplicity of her fashion choice by eschewing any jewelry or accessories

Taking things by storm: Kim was glowing as she attended the hottest date in the showbiz calendar

Just a few days ago, Kim had told Ellen DeGeneres that her robbery in Paris last October had made her a less materialistic person.

'I dont care to show off the way that I used to,' she said during an appearance on the comedienne's daytime chat show.

'I was definitely materialistic before, and not that there's anything bad with having things and working hard to get those things, and I'm really proud of everyone around me that's successful, but I'm so happy that my kids get this me,' she added.

Changed woman: She told Ellen DeGeneres last week that she doesn't care 'to show off the way that I used to' after her robbery at gun point in Paris last October

The fashion-loving Keeping Up With The Kardashians star had made no secret of her excitement to attend the splashy annual party held at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art.

For the first time since 2013, when she and husband Kanye West made their Met Gala debut, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is without the rapper to lean on on her big night.

Kanye, who was hospitalized for mental health reasons late last year, decided to skip the proceedings this time around.

'It had nothing to do with the Met Gala. It was more about the stress and pressure of a big red carpet. He just wasnt quite there yet,' a source close to the Yeezy designer said.

Played down her assets: Kim's famous derriere was covered by the simple dress that had a plain zipper down the back

Solo: For the first time since she made her Met Gala debut in 2013, Kim was without husband Kanye West, who chose to stay home in LA rather than deal with the pressure of the event

Hot stuff! The stunning star looked white hot in her stunning gown

Once inside the event, Kim found herself seated at the same table as Rihanna.

And being the social media maven that she is, she couldn't help but Snapchat images to her millions of followers.

She also posted snaps of herself with half-sister Kylie, Donatella Versace and model Bella Hadid.

Look who I am sitting with: She may have been without a date for the night but Kim did have some good company at her table

Our table: She shared Snapchats from inside the gala, posing here with Rihanna and guest

Wanna be in our gang? Kim also posed for Snaps with Donatella Versace, Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid

Following in Kim's footsteps: Kim also praised her half-sister Kendall Jenner's fashion choice sharing a close-up look at the 22-year-old's barely there outfit

Behind the scenes: She also took a snap of Kylie taking a picture of Kendall and ASAP Rocky on one of the museum's galleries

On Friday Kim had shared three behind-the-scenes shots on kimkardashianwest.com from her appearance at the 2015 Met Gala.

'For the 2015 Met Gala, I wore a custom Roberto Cavalli gown by Peter Dundas,' the siren began. 'It was the first dress Peter designed for Roberto Cavalli!'

The Selfish author added: 'I was two months pregnant with Saint at the time, so I was trying to hide it.'

The cover girl also said: 'My inspiration for the dress came from Chers look at the first-ever Met Gala. I was surreal to meet her later that night.'

Say cheese: Kim also shared her own version of Kylie's bathroom selfie

Vintage Met Gala: Kim and Kanye on the steps of the New York Museum in 2015

A new look at an old look: Kim shared never-seen-before behind-the-scenes photos from getting ready for Met Gala 2015 on her website on Friday

Contrast: This time around, Kim left the revealing ensembles to her younger half-siblings Kylie, 19, and Kendall, 21, Jenner

Cher wore the look in 1974. The dress was created by Bob Mackie, best known for his work with Joan Collins on TV's Dynasty.

'For my glam, Mario Dedivanovic did my makeup and Peter Savic did my hair. At first, we did a Samurai bun and then switched it up to a sleek ponytail.'

This year's theme is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between, an exhibit that examines the work of the famed 74-year-old Japanese fashion designer over the span of 40-some years.

Remember this? Kim and Kanye are seen at the Punk: Chaos To Couture Met in 2013

Katy Perry is one of the hosts.

'People always think that shes a postmodernist because she uses what appears to be deconstruction,' said Andrew Bolton, the head curator at the Costume Institute, told The Cut. 'But her constant search for originality or newness is the defining feature of her work.'

The clothing on show at the accompanying exhibit is from Kawakubos archive, and according to the Met, 'objects will be organized into eight aesthetic expressions of interstitiality in Kawakubos work: Fashion/Anti-Fashion, Design/Not Design, Model/Multiple, Then/Now, High/Low, Self/Other, and Clothes/Not Clothes.'

The Ks! The Wests sparkle in matching silver at the Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology gala in 2016




She's the veteran chef who's carved out a triumphant career spanning five decades, with her eighth Masterchef appearance soon to air.

But Maggie Beer, 72, has warned any contestants 'in it for fame' not to bother.

The self-taught chef defended her regular appearances on shows known to attract fame-hunters, insisting that such shows merely provide budding chefs the 'food equivalent of a sea change.'

Don't bother! Maggie Beer told reality cooking show contestants in it for fame not to bother insisting a love of food is the only way forward

From her humble beginnings, to quick success in the Barossa Valley, and eventual booming gourmet food range, Maggie found fame doing what she loves - not the other way around.

The doyenne heartily embraces the increased exposure for the art and appreciation of cooking that show's like Masterchef provide, but with a very big asterisk.

'There can be a romantic dream about a future in food. They can have rose-coloured glasses about how hard it is in the industry,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

'So long as they are not wanting to do this for fame but for the love of food and learning and creativity (they will excel). The fame thing can get in the way.'

Rose-coloured: 'There can be a romantic dream about a future in food. They can have rose-coloured glasses about how hard it is in the industry,' the 72-year-old said

The celebrity chef implied that while the Masterchef experience may not be what many contestants signed-up to achieve, it provides a valuable educational experience.

'What MasterChef Australia does is give them the food equivalent of a sea change  to see if it (a career in food) is just a hobby or if they want to take it further,' she told the publication.

In terms of her own career in food, the veteran told The Daily Telegraph that she doesn't see the point in retiring when she enjoys her job so much.

For the love of food: 'So long as they are not wanting to do this for fame but for the love of food and learning and creativity (they will excel). The fame thing can get in the way,' she added

Wind-down: Maggie said this week that she'll begin to wind-down a massive TV schedule, but because she's too busy with other ventures, not because she's planning a retirement

Maggie will however begin to wind-down a massive TV schedule that sees her host The Great Australian bake-off, in addition to her annual Masterchef appearances.

But at 72, the beaming, positive chef isn't cutting-back on-screen appearances because she's looking to have more time for herself.

Instead, she revealed she's too busy with her multi-million dollar gourmet food range and other passion-based ventures to worry about letting it 'take over' her life.

Masterchef Australia Season 9 premiered on Monday, welcoming Maggie Beer as its first guest chef.

No plans to retire: In terms of her own career in food, the veteran told The Daily Telegraph that she doesn't see the point in retiring when she enjoys her job so much
Her beau Kyle Sandilands recently suffered a leg infection caused by a spider bite.

And after his radio co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson joked on-air that he could become an amputee, Imogen Anthony took to Instagram on Tuesday to give her fans an update.

'I had to leave Kyle behind in LA with his amputation-worthy leg,' the 26-year-old penned, as she returned to Australia to prepare for Fashion Week.

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'I left him behind in LA': Imogen Anthony, 26, shared to Instagram on Tuesday, that beau Kyle Sandilands, 45, 'is fine' after a spider bite, as she returned to Australia for Fashion Week

'Hello my little devils, likey my pigtails (sic),' Imogen began her lengthy post, making reference to her glamorous Instagram get-up.

'I'm back in beautiful Australia. Just need to cross a few things off my list in the lead up to Fashion Week.

'So if you didn't catch radio this morning or missed any of my live feeds, I had to leave Kyle behind in LA with his 'amputation-worthy' leg as it just had to go through its final stages of healing.

Health woes: Friday's KIIS FM Kyle and Jackie O Show revealed that Kyle had been taken to a medical centre in Los Angeles, after a serious infection was caused by a spider bite

'I miss daddy': Imogen later shared a graphic to Instagram on Tuesday that showed a blonde tearing up, in reference to her beau Kyle residing back in Los Angeles

'But for those that don't know or haven't heard, he's fine, and it was never even close to amputation (thanks Jackie lol).

'Don't worry - if Kyle loses his leg, I promise to let you all know. It was a wolf spider and I've already been bitten by one, so I knew he'd be fine,' the aspiring fashion designer continued.

The snap saw Imogen highlighting her slender figure in a skimpy leopard-print top, while sporting a playful look of pigtails and heavy winged eyeliner.

Clearly missing her beau, the starlet later took to Instagram sharing a graphic of a blonde beauty tearing up, alongside the text: 'I miss daddy'.

Friday's KIIS FM Kyle and Jackie O Show revealed that Kyle, 45, had been taken to a medical centre in Los Angeles, after a serious infection was caused by a spider bite.

Recovering: An ARN spokesperson later told The Daily Telegraph that the spider bite was not a lame prank by the shock jock

'It's black and blue, it may need to be amputated,' co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson, 42, shared on the program.

'It's gotten drained and everything,' Jackie 'O' added, before joking that she had already looked at prosthetic options.

'I've looked at the prosthetic leg options in case it needs to be amputated,' she continued.

Later Kyle added when he spoke to Jackie on-air: 'My leg has swelled up, it's gone dark purple, I've spent over five grand on medical bills.'

Visual proof: Kyle opened up further on his condition on Monday's Kyle and Jackie O Show: 'It was hideous, my leg swelled up like a big fat lady down at Jenny Craig. One ankle was fat and one ankle was beautiful and slender,' he shared

An ARN spokesperson later told The Daily Telegraph that the spider bite was not a lame prank and stated that he was 'at home resting.'

Kyle opened up further on his condition on Monday's Kyle and Jackie O Show: 'It was hideous, my leg swelled up like a big fat lady down at Jenny Craig. One ankle was fat and one ankle was beautiful and slender,' he shared.

The larger-than-life personality then confirmed that things have since returned to normal, but that the swelling and pain wasn't the only symptom he suffered.

'My lymph nodes did swell up in my groin and I thought "oh s**t whats going on here",' Kyle exclaimed.

'(And) because it went so swollen and blew up and now it's back to normal size, all the skin's flaking off like a lizard,' he continued.

She's not shy: Kyle's girlfriend Imogen is certainly not shy, regularly taking to Instagram to share topless snaps
Sofia Richie has solidified her position as one of the most promising models in the fashion industry with her appearance at the Met Gala wearing TopShop.

She arrived alongside fellow catwalkers Candice Swanepoel, Presley Gerber, Gabriel Kane, Jordan Kale Barrett, Joan Smalls and Behati Prinsloo at the event, but was sure to stand out in a metallic gown that showed plenty of her generous cleavage.

The 18-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie paired the silver and gold gown with a leather jacket that she wore off of her shoulders.

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Sultry: Sofia Richie, 18, sparkled in a metallic dress and tons of diamonds at the Met Gala in New York on Monday night

She's got front! All eyes were on the rising star as she took the plunge in a daring ensemble for the annual style spectacle

Her newly-bleached hair was slicked back, putting all of the attention on her genetically-blessed face and mis-matched Messika diamond earrings.

She was dripping in even more Messika jewellery diamonds around her neck, which dipped down into her chest.

Prior to the event, Sofia shared on Snapchat that she took a SoulCycle class as a pre-Met workout.

Taking the plunge: The model was sure to stand out in a metallic gown that showed plenty of her generous assets

Flashy: Sofia displayed her cleavage in the low-cut number, which soared all the way down to her navel

Just before she left for the Met Gala, she shared a video while getting a cross tattooed on her right middle finger.

This was not Sofia's first time attending the invite-only fashion bash.

In 2015, Sofia was the guest of designer Stella McCartney for the gala's China: Through The Looking Glass theme.

Fashionista: The daughter of Lionel Richie paired the silver and gold gown with a leather jacket that she wore off of her shoulders

Company: She cosied up with hunky Australian model Jordan Kale Barrett, who looked dapper in a slick white blazer

Stunning: Her newly-bleached hair was slicked back, putting all of the attention on her genetically-blessed face and mis-matched Messika diamond earrings

Show off: While getting her makeup done on Monday, Sofia got a cross tattooed on her finger

Heavy metal: Her long show-stopping gown was by retail brand TopShop

The Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar.

And with ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle.

The Tokyo-based designer has been deemed worthy of the solo focus of this year's gala - which inaugurates the museum's eagerly-awaited accompanying exhibit of her label.

The next generation of fashion: Candice Swanepoel, Presley Gerber, Gabriel Kane, Sofia Richie, Jordan Kale Barrett, Joan Smalls and Behati Prinsloo pose together at the Met Gala

Ready for her closeup: Sofia snapped a selfie in the bathroom of her hotel before hitting the red carpet

It is the first time the gala and exhibit has focused on one living designer since 1983, when it highlighted the work of Yves Saint Laurent.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour co-chairs the gala, joined by Katy Perry, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Pharrell Williams.

Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, told AP that Kawakubo is considered the world's 'most important and influential designer' of the moment and 'has consistently defined and re-defined the aesthetics of our time.'

Carpool: She rode to the event with Presley Gerber, Jordan Kale Barrett and Chloe Bennet

Model behaviour: Sofia poses with Chloe Bennet, Behati Prinsloo and Joan Smalls

A girl's best friend! Sofia and her fellow models were dripping in diamonds

Known for bold, experimental clothing, Kawakubo's designs have an austere aesthetic and a cult following.

The 74-year-old officially founded her cerebral design house in 1973 to critical acclaim - and was dubbed 'anti-fashion' for challenging the notions of beauty with her innovative aesthetic.

Comme des Garcons has been showing collections in Paris each season since 1981.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York - where the annual gala is held - is displaying 120 Comme des Garcons womenswear designs by Kawakubo, spanning the past 35 years, since her first Paris show.
They are an unbreakable duo, often seen at glamorous events side-by-side.

So Jaden Smith was naturally saddened by his sister Willow's absence at Monday night's Met Gala, although he replaced his sibling with a shock date - the dreadlocks he sheared off over a month ago.

Former Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley quizzed him on his unusual accessory on the red carpet, to which he explained to the fashion legend: 'Since I couldn't bring my sister as a date, I brought my old hair.'

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So cool: Jaden Smith brandished his recently cut dreadlocks on the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York on Monday

Jaden was looking as trendy as ever in an all-black ensemble of jacket, pullover, trousers and shiny leather shoes - although it was not his outfit which caught the eye of revellers and the world's press on the red carpet.

Atop his hairy situation, he was once again sporting his bizarre metallic grill in his mouth, which covering both rows of teeth.

Thankfully for fans of the privileged 18-year-old, he is not having yet another meltdown in the wake of his 'I am a failure' rant following a trip to the Department Of Motor Vehicles centre, the location where one goes to sit a driving test, in January.

For Jaden lost his luscious locks after his famous father Will cut them off on the Toronto set of their 2018 film Life in a Year earlier this month.

So handsome: The grinning Karate Kid star made his look even cooler by once again sporting his bizarre metallic grill

Here comes the man in black: His father Will would have been proud of this look

The gloating Fresh Prince Of Bel legend wrote on Facebook: 'Getting Jaden Smith ready for the first day of filming #LifeInAYear...maybe I shouldve used scissors?!'

It will be the third time the father and son team have starred together, as they previously acted opposite one another The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006 and the woeful After Earth in 2013.

And in a genius piece of casting, Jaden will play the boyfriend of the equally lovable Cara Delevingne.

His character will endevour to give her 'an entire life' experience after she is diagnosed terminal cancer in the romance.

Poseur in chief: Jaden looked to the red carpet born as he struck his pose

Hey hey! As ever, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith cut an extremely edgy figure

Dread full look: Jaden took great delight in his extremely well grown locks

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit. The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.
She's the acclaimed actress who is renowned for her captivating red-carpet style.

But on Monday, Naomi Watts ditched the glamour as she stepped out in Manhattan in a baggy polka-dot print dress.

The 48-year-old cut a relaxed figure as she strolled along the sidewalk, in the lead-up to the prestigious Met Gala.

White alright: Naomi Watts ditched the glamour as she stepped out in Manhattan in a baggy polka-dot print dress

Naomi's loose-fitting frock featured long cuffed sleeves and a tea-length cut, with black, blue and yellow dots across it.

She paired the billowing ensemble with mismatched accessories, including electric blue heels and a black hand-bag with yellow ribbon and jewel statement piece.

The actress hid her face behind a pair of rose-coloured sunglasses, forgoing jewellery to let the outfit do the talking.

Mismatched: The 48-year-old cut a relaxed figure in the loose-fitting frock, which featured long cuffed sleeves and a tea-length cut, and was teamed with electric blue heels and a black and yellow hand-bag

The mother-of-two's make-up appeared fresh and luminous, with hints of blush and a rosy lip colour visible.

Showcasing her new shorter and styled hair on the outing, the actress' luscious golden locks hung in loose waves around her face.

The changed tresses made their debut last Friday, when Naomi took to Instagram to share a photo with fans while on the promotional trail for the Twin Peaks revival.

Bare-faced beauty: The mother-of-two's make-up appeared fresh and luminous, with hints of blush and a rosy lip colour visible

New do: The actress' luscious golden locks hung in loose waves around her face, having shared the first snap of the new style on Instagram last Friday

'Behind the scenes today got me a fresh #haircut with #bangs,' Naomi captioned the image, alongside the additional hash-tags #twinpeaks, #gypsy and #idontknowwhoiam.

Standing in front of the door to her suite and sporting a strapless black frock, the mother-of-two positioned her hands on her delicate decolletage and gazed to the side, allowing the camera a close-up of her new locks.

Last May the Australian actress wowed while attending the Met Gala in a futuristic Burberry gown, complete with jewel-encrusted drop earrings and matching bracelets.

Attending again this year, the blonde bombshell appears to have opted for a black number with a sheer, jewelled section across her chest.
Nightly commitments on his hugely popular talk show were brushed to one side as James Corden made an appearance at the 2017 Met Gala on Monday evening.

The Late, Late Show host was joined by glamorous wife Julia Carey at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a host of stars were gathering ahead of the lavish annual event.

Sporting a smart black tuxedo suit and crisp white shirt, James, 38, looked dapper as he posed for pictures alongside Julia outside the cavernous venue.

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Dapper: Nightly commitments on his hugely popular talk show were brushed to one side as a smart looking James Corden made an appearance at the 2017 Met Gala with glamorous wife Julia Carey on Monday evening

A white bow tie and matching waistcoat added to the look, while highly polished black dress shoes rounded things off.

Standing alongside her husband, Julia looked suitably glamorous in a plunging gold dress adorned with sequinned floral embellishments.

The floor length design drew attention to her slender physique, while the vibrant red clutch she held in her left hand offered an added splash of colour to an already distinctive ensemble.

Other British stars to attend the annual event on Monday evening included Daisy Ridley, Sophie Turner and Alexa Chung.

Pulling out all the stops: Sporting a smart black tuxedo suit and crisp white shirt, James, 38, looked dapper as he posed for pictures alongside Julia outside the cavernous venue

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit.

The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

All that glitters: Standing alongside her husband, Julia looked suitably glamorous in a plunging gold dress adorned with sequinned floral embellishments

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute.

This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.

Good times: The couple beamed as they rubbed shoulders with fellow guests at the annual event
She gave birth to her first child nearly six months ago.

And on Monday, Candice Swanepoel took a night off from mommy-duty to attend the fashion world's most prestigious event, the annual Met Gala.

The benefit event, held annually at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, aides in raising funds for the museum's Costume Institute.

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Freedom! On Monday, Candice Swanepoel, 28, took a night off from mommy-duty to attend the fashion world's most prestigious event, the annual Met Gala in New York

The blonde stunner oozed elegance in a classic, strapless ball gown.

Candice, 28, made a bold statement with her make-up, choosing to highlight her blue eyes with dramatic coats of dark liner.

The new mother styled her waist length hair in a tight half-updo. She accessorized with Lorraine Schwartz diamond bangles and diamond bands.

Oh happy day: The South African beauty gave off an infectious smile

Fit: The cover model showed off lean arms

What a vision! The blonde stunner oozed elegance in a classic, strapless ball gown

Chic style: The new mother styled her waist length hair in a tight half-updo. She accessorized with Lorraine Schwartz diamond bangles and diamond bands

She's got it! The over-the-shoulder pose is one of the most flattering when done right

Making them pop! Candice made a bold statement with her make-up, choosing to highlight her blue eyes with dramatic coats of dark liner

The evening, which featured the biggest names in fashion, was also attended by some of Candice's pals and top supermodels.

The South African star took to Instagram stories to give her followers a behind-the-scenes look at her evening.

While at the event, she caught pals Behati Prinsloo, 27, and Joan Smalls, 28.

'Gossip, gossip,' she joked, as she took a selfie video with the ladies.

Timeless: The mother-of-one's dress was a classic choice and will be remembered for years

Bold: The supermodel stayed on-trend with her thick eyebrows

Generous amounts of fabric: The star's dress featured a full bottom, wedding-style bottom

'Gossip, gossip': The South African star took to Instagram stories to give her followers a behind-the-scenes look at her evening. While at the event, she caught pals Behati Prinsloo, 27, and Joan Smalls, 28

Earlier in the evening, Candice and Behati appeared on Vogue's official Snapchat.

'The mamas are out,' yelled the girls, with the clip's caption echoing their words.

Both ladies appeared date and child free, with their baby's father presumably on babysitting duty for the evening.

Candice shares son Anaca with fiance Hermann Nicoli, and Behait, daughter Dusty Rose with husband Adam Levine.

'The mamas are out!': Earlier in the evening, Candice and Behati appeared on Vogue's official Snapchat as they enjoyed a child-free evening

All eyes on them: Candice, Presley Gerber, Gabriel Kane, Sofia Richie, Jordan Kale Barrett, Riley Keough and Joan and Behati were the center of attention for their group shot

Gorgeous! The group was surely some of the most attractive people that night
She creates her own headlines with a series of raunchy Instagram snaps.

And Monday was no different for Imogen Anthony, as she flaunted her slender frame in scantily-clad attire.

The 26-year-old flashed her nipples in a mesh bra and showed off a glimpse of her black g-string, just days after going topless.

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Bra-vo! Imogen Anthony, 26, bared her nipples in a mesh crop and flashed her g-string in snaps shared to Instagram on Monday, after going TOPLESS

'Guns don't kill people - bad people and Daddy's with pretty daughters kill people,' Imogen captioned the snap, before detailing her outfit.

'This look I put together in literally five mins with a pair of jeans I f**ked up myself, some gold vintage earrings, chainmail bra from Melrose, a vintage faux fur coat and a vintage hat I found in America a couple of trips back.

'Exposed thong is optional,' the aspiring fashion designer cheekily added.

And pose! A later snap shared to Instagram saw the glamour model flaunting her taut torso and offering her stunning side profile for the camera

The photo shared with Imogen's 130,000 Instagram fans saw the bombshell flashing her nipples in a gold mesh bra, while offering a glimpse of her g-string with ripped jeans left undone.

Positioning a studded cap over one eye, the glamour model allowed her locks to fall around her face and shoulders, drawing attention to her very plump pout.

A later snap from the same impromptu shoot saw Imogen striking a sultry pose, draping a faux fur jacket around her petite frame.

Raunchy: Just days prior, Imogen shared a topless snap to Instagram as she posed in what appeared to be a spacious bedroom

Holding onto a pair of Miu Miu sunglasses, the starlet offered her stunning side profile for the camera, ensuring her taut torso was also on display.

The glamorous snaps come just days after Imogen shared a series of topless snaps to Instagram.

Saturday saw the personality posing in what appeared to be a spacious bedroom, resting her manicured hands across her delicate decolletage.

Offering a generous amount of cleavage, Imogen smouldered for the camera.

Sweeping the majority of her locks over one side of her face, the starlet sported heavy winged eyeliner, defined cheekbones and a coating of lipstick over her very plump pout.

Living little to the imagination! The aspiring fashion designer shared another revealing nude photo to Instagram last Thursday

This isn't the first topless photo for Imogen, with the bombshell sharing another to the social media site on Thursday.

In the image, the bubbly blonde appeared naked, using one arm to cover her ample chest.

The Instagram fanatic wore her hair out in messy waves, sporting smoky eye makeup and lip gloss.

'So happy you could make it,' Imogen captioned the photo, a possible shout out to her boyfriend Kyle.

Making her mark: Imogen has returned to Australia from Los Angeles, as she prepares for Fashion Week

Baring nearly all: Imogen shared a makeup tutorial to her Instagram Story on Thursday, appearing topless with one arm protecting her modesty
It is known as the Oscars of the fashion world with stars descending on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an array of dazzling and sometimes shocking frocks.

And braless Alexa Chung certainly lived up to expectations when she swept into the Met Gala on Monday in a plunging polka dot halterneck gown.

The beauty, 33, showed off her willowy frame in the elegant dress which revealed her flawless decolletage and sculpted shoulders.

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Flawless: Alexa Chung showed off her willowy frame and in a plunging delicate poker dot gown as she arrived at the Met Gala held at the MOMA New York on Monday night

The beautiful gown cinched Alexa's tiny waist and she appeared statuesque as she arrived at the event organised by Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue.

Alexa, who is a contributing editor for the fashion bible, accessorised her delicate dress with a black silk clutch.

She ensured that all eyes were on the ethereal gown by rocking a natural look with minimal make up and styling her brunette tresses into a fuss-free wavy shoulder-length bob with a fringe.

But she did add an element of glitz with a pair of Monique Pean dangling diamond earrings.

Elegant: She ensured all eyes were on her ethereal frock by rocking subtle make up and styling her brunette tresses into a fuss-free shoulder-length bob and fringe

Fashion's darling: Alexa - sporting Monique Pean earrings - cinched her tiny waist with the ball gown which boasted a voluminous skirt

It is not the first time that Alexa has turned heads at the iconic fashion event. She attended last year in a plunging, bejewelled cropped catsuit which again showed off her slender figure.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit. The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Bejewelled: Alexa turned heads at last year's Met Gala in a sequin encrusted, plunging, cropped catsuit

Guests must be personally approved by Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.

Earlier in the day Alexa proved she didn't need a red carpet to flaunt her style as she strolled through Manhattan in a chic ensemble of a striped jumper and cropped jeans.

The model and TV presenter donned the cosy-looking knit which was grey with elegant green and white stripes.

Down time chic: Earlier in the day, Alexa wore a chic striped jumper and cropped jeans ensemble as she strolled in NYC

She teamed her warm jumper with cropped baby blue jeans which showed off her long and lean legs.

She finished her outfit with a pair of Chanel-style monochrome heels - cream with a black toe - which added a hint of Parisian chic to her ensemble.

Alexa carried a canvas tote bag over her shoulder and shielded her eyes with a pair of vintage tortoise shell cat-eye sunglasses.

Parisian chic: The 33-year-old teamed her cosy knit with a pair of cropped blue jeans and added a hint of Parisian chic with monochrome heels, cream with a black toe

She styled her brunette locks into a casual shoulder-length bob as she pounded the pavements of the Big Apple.

The fashionista was self deprecating when she was asked about her status as a style icon by Stylist magazine.

She told the publication: 'I feel honoured to be given that term because clothes are something I love, and style is something I think about and enjoy.

'But equally, I'm not so deluded to think I'm one of a kind and it couldn't have been someone else if their stars had aligned.'
La La Anthony showed estranged husband Carmelo Anthony what he was missing in a sheer dress Monday at the Met Gala in New York City.

The 37-year-old reality star hit the event solo in a long-sleeved Thai Nguyen Atelier gown with high neck and short sheer train.

The see-through black dress featured an intriguing web design with electric silver embellishments.

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Sheer delight: La La Anthony wore a daring sheer dress Monday at the Met Gala in New York City following her recent split from husband Carmelo Anthony

La La accessorized with Lorraine Schwartz jewels including dangling earrings and several rings.

The mother of one had her dark hair up and kept in place with several wide hairpins.

La La accentuated her green eyes with smoky eye makeup and added a pop of color with shiny pink lip gloss.

She added to the alluring look with black nail polish.

Gorgeous gown: The mother of one donned a long-sleeved Thai Nguyen Atelier gown with high neck and small sheer train

La La split last month from Carmelo, 32, and moved out of their New York City home, according to a report by TMZ.

The split came amid reports that Carmelo impregnated a Chicago woman who is now six months pregnant.

Carmelo and La La have a 10-year-old son Kiyan together and were married in July 2010.

Leg up: La La put a leg up whileon the staircase at The Metropolitan Museum Of Art's annual benefit gala

Hand on hip: The reality star struck the hand on hip pose at the gala

Happier times: La La and Carmelo are shown at the 2016 Met Gala

Their nuptials were filmed by VH1 for their reality series La La's Full Court Wedding.

La La and Carmelo's relationship was further chronicled in the VH1 show La La's Full Court Life that ran from 2011 to 2014.

La La also is a best-selling author and former radio host.
She's received rave reviews for her role as DCI Roz Huntley in Line Of Duty.

But Thandie Newton worked a more off-duty look as she attended the Met Gala at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York on Monday night.

The British actress, 44, showed off her edgy style in a scarlet gown and flower embellished head piece.

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Lady in red! Thandie Newton worked a more off-duty look as she attended the Met Gala at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York on Monday night

Cutting an elegant figure, Thandie displayed her slender physique in one-armed sequin encrusted red dress.

The frock reached the floor, and featured a daring split slashed to the thigh.

In keeping with the vibrant colour theme, the mother-of-three teamed it with a pair of strappy killer heels and a flower-adorned headpiece.

Working a smoky eye to perfection, she showed off her stunning bone structure and completed her ensemble with an array of creole earrings.

Leggy: The British actress, 44, showed off her edgy style in a scarlet gown and flower embellished head piece

She posed alongside talented actress Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and model Lisa Bonet.

With her bleach blonde hair in a pixie cut, 28-year-old Zoe showed off her flawless complexion and gorgeous natural features.

Wearing a silk pink gown adorned with black roses, she made a colourful appearance alongside vegan mother-of-three Thandie.

On Monday stars swept the famous steps outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue for the annual style-studded bash.

Chic: Cutting an elegant figure, Thandie displayed her slender physique in one-armed sequin encrusted red dress

Flower girl: The frock reached the floor, and featured a daring split slashed to the thigh

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit. The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.

Vibrant duo: She posed alongside talented actress Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and model Lisa Bonet
She made a strong argument for being the crown jewel of the Kardashian/Jenner clan on Monday night.

Kendall Jenner arrived to the Met Gala in New York in a gown made entirely of hand-painted crystals.

The 21-year-old wore nothing but a thong in the sheer dress, which featured a slashed design across the chest and a split skirt.

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She is a rare gem: Kendall Jenner arrived to the Met Gala in New York in a gown made entirely of hand-painted crystals on Monday night

Risque: The gown was part of La Perla Haute Couture Collection designed by Creative Director Julia Haart

The gown was part of La Perla Haute Couture Collection designed by Creative Director Julia Haart.

The frock was a crystal draped gown in degrade shades, complete with a barely-there painted macrame bodysuit.

The material was created from 85,000 hand painted and placed crystals and took 160 hours of labor to make.

Expensive: The frock was a crystal draped gown in degrade shades, complete with a barely-there painted macrame bodysuit

Designer Julia Haart said of the gown: 'I was inspired by Rei Kawakubo's concept of 'un-fabric' and her ability to create movement out of seemingly immobile materials. So, I created my own 'un-fabric' by affixing stones to a single thread, creating a beautiful and liquid suspension that mirrored the qualities of a fine silk.'

The outing comes after Kendall has been under fire for promoting the grand failure that was the Fyre festival, which ended up costing festival-goers thousands of dollars for a weekend that ended in disaster.

The criticism directly followed the model being slammed for starring in Pepsi's tone deaf ad, which trivialized the black lives matter movement.

Her outing at the Met Gala is surely is a welcome relief for the star as she showed off her elegant sense of style.

Took an army to make it: The material was created from 85,000 hand painted and placed crystals and took 160 hours of labor to make.

Smoldering: The star certainly proved she is a pro as she managed to walk in the revealing attire with ease

The Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar.

And with ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle.

The Tokyo-based designer has been deemed worthy of the solo focus of this year's gala - which inaugurates the museum's eagerly-awaited accompanying exhibit of her label.

It is the first time the gala and exhibit has focused on one living designer since 1983, when it highlighted the work of Yves Saint Laurent.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour co-chairs the gala, joined by Katy Perry, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Pharrell Williams.

Just booty-ful! The model gave her most flattering angles to the cameras

What troubles? The outing comes after Kendall has been under fire for promoting the grand failure that was the Fyre Festival and being slammed for starring in Pepsi's tone deaf ad

Kendall's sister Kylie, 19, snapped a bathroom selfie inside the museum with Kendall, big half-sister Kim Kardashian and a bunch of their pals.

The social media snap revealed that ASAP Rocky - Kendall's rumored beau - was also at the event with the two cozying up for Kylie's photo.

Kendall and the rapper, 28, were photographed together on Sunday doing some shopping in the Big Apple.

Who's that guy? Kendall cozied up to rumored boyfriend ASAP Rocky in a bathroom selfie shared by Kylie Jenner from inside the venue

Behind the scenes: Kim Kardashian also took a snap of Kylie taking a picture of Kendall and ASAP Rocky on one of the museum's galleries

Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, told AP that Kawakubo is considered the world's 'most important and influential designer' of the moment and 'has consistently defined and re-defined the aesthetics of our time.'

Known for bold, experimental clothing, Kawakubo's designs have an austere aesthetic and a cult following.

The 74-year-old officially founded her cerebral design house in 1973 to critical acclaim - and was dubbed 'anti-fashion' for challenging the notions of beauty with her innovative aesthetic.

Comme des Garcons has been showing collections in Paris each season since 1981.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York - where the annual gala is held - is displaying 120 Comme des Garcons womenswear designs by Kawakubo, spanning the past 35 years, since her first Paris show.
Nick Viall and Nancy Kerrigan waved goodbye to the ballroom Monday after being voted off Dancing With The Stars.

The 36-year-old star of The Bachelor and the 47-year-old Olympics figure skater were forced to bid farewell to their fellow competitors in a double elimination at the end of the two-hour show.

Nancy paid tribute to partner Artem Chigvintsev and said she had loved spending time with everyone on the show.

Sent home: Nick Viall was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars on Monday along with Nancy Kerrigan

'The whole experience has been amazing,' she said.

Nick, whose fiancee Vanessa Grimaldi looked crestfallen in the audience, said the experience had been 'one of the best of my life'.

He added: 'It's been incredible.'

The movie-themed episode saw the remaining seven couples fighting for immunity from the double elimination.

Olympics star: Nancy also was sent home during the double elimination episode

The judges: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, guest judge Mandy Moore and Bruno Tonioli evaluated the routines

While an opening Hollywood-style number set the scene for the night, former Dancing With The Stars champion Bindi Irwin was among the audience members alongside her mother Terri and brother Robert.

Kristina Rihanoff from the UK version of the show, who is rumored to be in talks to join the US version, was also spotted in the crowd.

Fifth Harmony star Normani Kordei and Val Chmerkovskiy received a perfect score for their Argentine Tango, inspired by foreign films, and were immune from elimination as a result.

Argentine tango: Fifth Harmony star Normani Kordei and Valentin Chmerkovskiy performed an Argentine tango together

Nailed it: Norman and Val nailed their routine during the Night At The Movies themed show

After being disappointed with Len Goodman's low score and comments about lack of content last week, Val had a point to prove and their routine did not disappoint.

Bruno Tonioli, mocking this year's Oscars blunder, said: 'I have the envelopes in the right order and I can safely say that the Academy Awards for Best Dance on movie night goes to Normani and Val. Outstanding. That was really one of the classic dances that makes this show so special.'

Len, teasing Val, said: 'You may be sitting here one day. What sort of mark do you think that deserves?'

Perfect scores: Val and Normani reacted as they received perfect scores and immunity from elimination

Val told the judge: 'All I have to say is, there's a Len in Valentin, so we're connected whether you like it or not.'

Normani, who had been suffering a back injury, appeared delighted as the judges awarded them a perfect 40 score.

While Normani rushed over to give Len a kiss on the cheek, Val hugged Bruno.

Tough competitor: Normani was suffering from a back injury but fought through it

Hugged it out: Val and Bruno hugged it out after the perfect score

Bonner Bolton and Sharna Burgess opened the show with a Western-themed Paso Doble that played out in a saloon bar.

The rodeo star admitted he felt like the 'weak link' in the competition, but said Westerns were his area of expertise.

Len told them: 'The bull rider becomes a bull fighter. The trouble was, you got so wrapped up in the cowboy, you forgot a little bit to be the matador. However, you came out as always all guns blazing, firing from the hip.'

Western theme: Bonner Bolton helped out with a Western-themed Paso Doble dance

Saloon dance: Sharna Burgess and Bonner danced in a saloon setting

Guest judge, choreographer Mandy Moore, added: 'I'm so proud of where you have come from at the start. I didn't lose you in that performance. I thought you completely held your own. You don't always have some of the content in there that the other celebrities have, but with what Sharna gives you I think you do well.'

The judges awarded them a total of 29 points.

Mandy described Nancy and Artem's romance-themed tango as 'impeccable' while Carrie Ann Inaba noted that the figure skater seemed more relaxed than normal.

Guest judge: Mandy Moore who choreographed La La Land was guest judge on the show

Bruno raved: 'We had the five star deluxe version of a tango, VIP treatment all the way. Glossy, elegant, sophisticated. I loved the little bit of cheekiness you put into it as well.'

The duo received 36 points.

Simone Biles and Sasha Farber were awarded 37 points for their silent movie Charleston, which was full of tricks and turns.

Tango time: Olympics star Nancy loosened up for her tango with Artem Chigvintsev

High praise: Bruno raved to Nancy about her tango

Mandy criticised Simone for being on 'automatic pilot', but Carrie said: 'I bet nobody even knows how difficult that routine was, but that was a really challenging routine. You make everything look so effortless and easy and it's just a joy to watch you.'

Nick Viall was disappointed with his performance, which saw him and Peta Murgatroyd transform into spies and drafted Peta's partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy to help them during rehearsals.

Nick joked: 'I haven't really been practicing my moves. I've just been practicing how to be like Maks. I've got a bit of a crush on Maks. A little man love right there.'

Getting better: Nick showed much improvement while dancing with Peta

Dancing for survival: The Bachelor star Nick and Peta only scored 34 points

The judges awarded Nick and Peta 34 points and Carrie noted that they had moments of 'extreme brilliance' but commented that there were a lot of mistakes and fumbles.

Bruno, however, said: 'I think you've earned the license to thrill. Tonight you've turned something that could have been mission impossible to mission accomplished. It was your most mature, focused performance to date.'

Nick backstage afterward said: 'My calves were cramping and I was a little dehydrated so that threw me off a little.'

Calves cramping: Nick revealed later that his calves were cramping

While Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater were awarded 37 points for their horror-themed Paso Doble, David Ross and Lindsay Arnold received 32 for their sci-fi salsa.

Len told Rashad: 'The music was epic and so was the dancing. Full of passion, full of aggression. A little bit scruffy around the edges but overall it's another solid performance.'

David, who dropped Lindsay in rehearsals, received his punishment when she accidentally broke wind in his face during a cartwheel moments later.

Salsa practice: Lindsay Arnold broke wind in the face of partner David Ross after he dropped

Cracking up: The pro dancer cracked up on the floor after her revenge

Lindsay, falling about laughing, said: 'I just farted in his face. David dropped me on my butt and then my butt was mad at him. It was just payback. The sci-fi salsa got to me.'

While host Tom Bergeron joked that Lindsay was the second wind machine they had used on the show, Mandy laughed: 'Nothing solidifies a great partnership like a toot to the face. Now you guys are connected for life.'

While Normani and Val were granted immunity, the remaining couples fought it out in a dance off to gain an extra two points on top of their score.

Sci-fi salsa: David and Lindsay performed a sci-fi salsa

Robot moves: The dancing duo showed off some robotic dance moves

Simone and Sasha were victorious in their cha-cha against Nancy and Artem, Rashad and Emma beat David and Lindsay in the jive and Bonner and Sharna were victorious in their Rhumba-off with Nick and Peta.

While Nick and Nancy were voted off at the end of the show, Bonner and David both looked stunned to have been saved.

The remaining couples will be back on the dance floor next week.

Big surprise: David and Lindsay were shocked to learn they were advancing
She was 'fat shamed' on-air by her father during The Kyle & Jackie O Show last year.

And KIIS FM host Jackie 'O' Henderson referenced her outspoken dad Tony again on Tuesday morning, calling him a 'casual racist' from an 'older generation'.

The 42-year-old discussed her father's behaviour with co-host Kyle Sandilands, who chastised veteran presenter John Michael Howson, 80, for a recent racist on-air rant.

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Generation gap? Jackie O discussed her father's behaviour with co-host Kyle Sandilands, who chastised veteran presenter John Michael Howson, 80, for a recent racist on-air rant

Kyle dubbed John Michael 'an old lunatic' and proceeded to ask Jackie, 'How come people aren't picking up on this hate?'

'They're selective with who they target, aren't they?' she replied.

'Maybe because he's old and geriatric he's allowed to say whatever he wants,' Kyle offered.

Family ties: The 42-year-old referenced her outspoken dad Tony again on Tuesday morning, calling him a 'casual racist' from an 'older generation'

'I don't think directing hate towards any particular group is a good idea, do you?' he questioned his co-host.

'No, I don't. But there is something about the older generation and their racism,' Jackie answered. 'It's almost like, "they're just old" and you almost accept it.'

Kyle then quizzed his co-host on whether her parents were racist.

'My dad definitely throws out things that are racist,' she replied.

'There is something about the older generation and their racism,' Jackie answered. 'It's almost like, "they're just old" and you almost accept it'

'He doesn't think he's being racist in any way, but he is being racist. For today's standard, he is. Back then, no,' she continued.

'I know what he's doing,' Kyle offered. 'He talks about particular sort of drivers, that kind of thing.'

'He talks about drivers,' she confirmed. 'When he was here I took him out to a few restaurants. I stupidly took him out to a Mexican restaurant and a Greek restaurant.'

'He doesn't think he's being racist in any way, but he is being racist. For today's standard, he is. Back then, no,' she continued

'He had things to say about every race,' she added.

'What did he say?' Kyle prodded.

'He couldn't understand why the Greeks had to wear all that gold,' she described, then imitated her father: 'He said, "Why do they have to wear all that gold!"'

'I said, "Shut up dad, we know the people here, they're really nice,' she recalled.

Daddy's girl: She was 'fat shamed' on-air by her father during The Kyle & Jackie O Show last year. Pictured with husband Lee Henderson

'My dad's a loud talker, very loud. It's casual racism,' she stated.

Kyle mentioned how his co-host must get embarrassed during her father's public outbursts due to her 'being known'.

'It's not just that,' she despaired. 'I don't want to offend somebody who's being really lovely and welcoming us into their restaurant and within earshot.'
It's the fashion event of the year, where the rich and famous step out looking preened to perfection.

But Courtney Love and the late Kurt Cobain's daughter Frances Bean Cobain did her mother no favours on Monday night, as she placed an unfortunately-positioned kiss onto her face.

Aiming for the chin, Frances landed her dark rouge pout onto Courtney's porcelain jaw, taking her mum by surprise as she did so.

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Kissing up: Frances Bean Cobain plants a smacker onto her mother Courtney Love's chin as they arrive at the Met Gala on Monday night... leaving a giant red smudge

What was left was an unfortunately placed smudge, drawing attention to the 52-year-old for all the wrong reasons.

This mishap aside, Courtney's look was actually rather understated for the occasion - bizarre considering the daring nature of the fashion event.

She wore a floor-length black sequinned gown, with a semi-sheer bottom third and a tear-dropped cut out at the chest.

Courtney added some height to her appearance courtesy of a pair of black Neil J. Rodgers Sofia heels, which, although mostly hidden under the lengthy dress, helped to give her height a boost.

She carried a matching Tyler Ellis clutch and wore her hair in classic waves, loose, around her shoulders.

You missed: Aiming for the chin, Frances landed her dark rouge pout onto Courtney's porcelain jaw, taking her mum by surprise as she did so

Pucker up: What was left was an unfortunately placed smudge, drawing attention to the 52-year-old for all the wrong reasons

Courtney wore a pair of silver dangling earrings, and painted her eyelids with a heavy shade of blue eye shadow.

She matched her daughters red pout with an equally plush sweeping on rouge on her lips.

Frances, 24, wore a floor-length Marc Jacobs dress (Frances is his current muse) in a dark gold tone decorated with a design resembling peacock feathers.

The striking gown gathered at the neck and was sleeveless, and was complimented by the drop earrings Frances had on.

She wore her hair gathered up, a few wayward strands loosely falling around her face.

Oh dear: This mishap aside, Courtney's look was actually rather understated for the occasion - bizarre considering the daring nature of the fashion event

Quartet: [L-R] Char Defrancesco, Frances Bean Cobain, Courtney Love and Marc Jacobs

Linking up: The models and designer have been working closely together for the 2017 collection

Michael Ashton, who is a Marc Jacobs global artistry ambassador for 2017, was responsible for her delicate make-up.

When she was 17-years-old, Frances got a restraining order against her mother, and went to live with other family members.

It was later revealed in legal documents that the order was granted due to domestic violence claims against Courtney by her daughter.

However, Courtney proved to be a source of support for the 24-year-old following her split from estranged husband Isaiah Silva, 31, last year, and their feud seems to be way behind them.

Lights, camera...: Frances, 24, wore a floor-length Marc Jacobs dress (Frances is his current muse) in a dark gold tone decorated with a design resembling peacock feathers

Frances and Courtney were joined by Marc, as well as Char Defrancesco.

The stars swept the famous steps outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue for the annual style-studded bash.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit. The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

Pouty: Courtney matched her daughters red pout with an equally plush sweeping on rouge on her lips

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of the event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.
At the age of seventeen, she catapulted to international fame by being crowned Miss.World.

And Priyanka Chopra's sizzling allure proved hard to resist by Nick Jonas, 24, as the twosome cosied up at the star-studded Met Gala in New York City on Monday night.

The actress, 34, left little to the imagination in an extravagant detective inspired outfit by Ralph Lauren, while the singer looked sharp in a funky black and white blazer.

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Hotties! Priyanka Chopra's sizzling allure proved hard to resist by Nick Jonas, 24, as the twosome cosied up at the star-studded Met Gala in New York City on Monday night

Priyanka dropped jaws in a sexy beige trench coat that was strategically styled to flash plenty of leg and cleavage.

With her coat's over-the-top train, the Indian beauty was dressed to part crowds as she attended the star-studded fashion extravaganza in New York City.

The elaborate train even required the help of several assistants, who were on hand to help keep it in place just before Priyanka ascended up the Met Gala's iconic staircase - with Nick even impressively managing to avoid stepping on.

The bold outfit was belted into Priyanka's toned torso and teamed with a pair of black boots and little else.

She's so mysterious! The actress dropped jaws in a sexy beige trench coat dress by Ralph Lauren that was strategically styled to flash plenty of leg and cleavage

Hitting a fashion high note! Priyanka left little to the imagination in an extravagant detective inspired outfit, while the singer looked sharp in a funky black and white blazer

Perfect accessory: Nick impressively managed to avoid stepping on her elaborate train, which required the help of several assistants

Pair of lookers! Despite the sea of celebrities, the former Miss.World opted to cosy up to Nick during the event

The Bollywood turned Hollywood sensation had her brunette locks scraped up into a slightly messy top knot and glammed the look up with a pair of silver hoop earrings.

The Quantico star highlighted her stunning complexion with a smoky eye shadow and glossy lip color.

Priyanka was indeed a sight to behold as she headed upstairs, putting in a leggy display in the process.

It's no wonder Priyanka was dressed to turn every head that evening - after all, the Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar.

And with ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle.

All hands on deck! Her team were on hand to help keep it in place just before Priyanka ascended up the Met Gala's iconic staircase

Taking it a step at a time! With her coat's over-the-top train, Priyanka was dressed to part crowds as she attended the star-studded fashion extravaganza in New York City

Flashing the flesh! Priyanka was indeed a sight to behold as she headed upstairs, putting in a leggy display in the process

Head-to-toe glam: The Quantico star highlighted her stunning complexion with a smoky eye shadow and glossy lip color

Train: The star posed at the midway point on the stars, as her train stretched far behind her

The Tokyo-based designer has been deemed worthy of the solo focus of this year's gala - which inaugurates the museum's eagerly-awaited accompanying exhibit of her label.

It is the first time the gala and exhibit has focused on one living designer since 1983, when it highlighted the work of Yves Saint Laurent.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour co-chairs the gala, joined by Katy Perry, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Pharrell Williams.

Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, told AP that Kawakubo is considered the world's 'most important and influential designer' of the moment and 'has consistently defined and re-defined the aesthetics of our time.'

Strike a pose: Chopra showed off a little leg as she posed up a storm on the red carpet

Going big: It's no wonder Priyanka was dressed to turn every head that evening - after all, the Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar

Working it! She had her brunette locks scraped up into a slightly messy top knot and glammed the look up with a large pair of silver hoop earrings

In demand: Photographers yelled for her attention from all angles as she posed on the carpet

Meanwhile: And with ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle

Known for bold, experimental clothing, Kawakubo's designs have an austere aesthetic and a cult following.

The 74-year-old officially founded her cerebral design house in 1973 to critical acclaim - and was dubbed 'anti-fashion' for challenging the notions of beauty with her innovative aesthetic.

Comme des Garcons has been showing collections in Paris each season since 1981.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York - where the annual gala is held - is displaying 120 Comme des Garcons womenswear designs by Kawakubo, spanning the past 35 years, since her first Paris show.

Loving each other's company! The good-looking pals proved hard to separate as they continued to pose for photographs during the night

Removed: Later in the night, she removed the long train, putting her shapely legs on display

Party: She was still in Nick Jonas' company as they made their way to Marc Jacobs' afterparty

Relaxed: Nick's bow tie was loosened as he prepared to continue partying the night away
They hold the Hollywood power couples' crown for some of the cutest red carpet moments.

And as Blake Lively glittered at the Met Gala on Monday night, actor Ryan Reynolds simply couldn't hide his adoration.

The 29-year-old looked fierce in a plunging gold gown, setting the blue carpet alight with an electric, feathered flame design at the train.

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Her other half: Blake Lively and her ever-dapper husband Ryan Reynolds shone as they coupled up for Met Gala in NYC on Monday night

The eclectic ensemble by Atelier Versace made the starlet look like a tropical goddess.

Blake's gown had her body draped in golden chains rather than fabric, still expertly hugging the Age Of Adaline actress's svelte figure.

On top her gown dipped low to reveal her tanned chest while the long-sleevedfrock transitioned into a wild feather train.

Making a bold contrast with its gilded top, Blake's train consisted of gold and blue feathers, trailing behind her elegantly.

Glittering goddess: Blake Lively dazzled in opulent Atelier Versace at The Met Gala on Monday

Look of love: Blake and Ryan still looked smitten, barely able to take their eyes off one another at the gala

Look at that! The cute couple had fun on the red carpet, pointing out the sights

Awesome accessories: Blake complimented her luxe dress with a sleek ponytail and triangular earrings

Chain of love: The glamorous evening gown was made up of golden chains and blue feathers, clearly a bold look for the event

She kept things polished by styling her hair into a glamorously long ponytail paired with Lorraine Schwartz and Ofira Jewels 82 carat Burma sapphire earrings in 18 karat gold, that matched her green-blue eyes.

Hubby Ryan was typically dapper, wearing a smart suit with a blue and gold bowtie that matched the blonde beauty.

On the red carpet, the couple took a second to share a selfie with Nicki Minaj who wore a bold thigh-baring one-piece at the gala.

Amazing accesories: Blake tied her golden locks into a lock, elegant ponytail which she complimented with Lorraine Schwartz and Ofira Jewels 82 carat Burma sapphire earrings in 18 karat gold,

Va-va-voom: The California girl turned to show off her toned backside in the formfitting Versace gown

The Superbass rapper captioned her red carpet photo 'I can't. Omg,' making it clear that she's a big fan of the Hollywood duo.

During the daring evening of fashion, Nicki's look definitley turned heads.

The red and black onesie came complete with a chic train adorned with gemstones that followed the Regret In Your Tears artist.

Her ensemble was courtesy of fast fashion favorite H&M, who she tagged in one of her many Instagram posts from the evening.



Train in vain: The OC alum's Versace dress trailed behind her elegantly

The night's Met Gala honours ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo, meaning the famed fund-raiser was bound to provide plenty of spectacle.

Known for bold, experimental clothing, the 74-year-old japanese designer's pieces have an austere aesthetic which earned a cult following.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour co-chairs the gala, joined by Katy Perry, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Pharrell Williams.
 Flash

SpaceX launched a spy satellite for the U.S. Department of Defense early Monday morning and then landed the first stage of its rocket back on solid ground.

The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the classified NROL-76 satellite, lifted off at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT) from historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the same pad that supported numerous Apollo and space shuttle launches, the company's live webcast showed.

About 10 minutes later, the rocket's first stage landed at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1, just south of the launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

SpaceX previously landed a first stage booster at Landing Zone 1 three times. It also successfully recovered Falcon 9 first stages from six missions at sea using the company's drone ships.

Few details have been released about NROL-76, a satellite designed, built and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office, a member of the U.S. intelligence community of an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.

This launch has great symbolic significance for SpaceX, since it's the 15-year-old company's first mission for the Pentagon.

For years, the market for launching U.S. military payloads was dominated by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

But SpaceX broke the monopoly in 2015, when the U.S. Air Force certified its Falcon 9 rocket to launch national security space missions.

Since then, the California-based company has also won two contracts to launch Global Positioning System satellites for the U.S. Air Force.
She's always glammed to the nines up on the red carpet, and recently put on a stunning display at the TV Week Logies last month while being inducted into the Hall Of Fame at the award.

And Kerri-Anne Kennerley took a well-deserved day off over the weekend, enjoying a leisurely walk recently with her beloved pup Digger.

The 63-year-old went makeup free in a casual ensemble during a low-key stroll in Sydney with her golden retriever.

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Low-key: Kerri-Anne Kennerley took a well-deserved day off over the weekend, enjoying a leisurely walk recently with her beloved pup Digger

The popular TV presenter held onto a bright red leash as she guided Digger towards an open grass area.

She wore designer sunglasses atop her head and her blonde hair back in a ponytail under a white visor.

In preparation for Sydney's chillier weather, she donned a black puffer jacket, black top and pants with flat brown boots.

Bare: The 63-year-old went makeup free in a casual ensemble when she was spotted during a low-key stroll in Sydney with the golden retriever

The beloved television host dedicated her Logie win to her husband John, tellingTV WEEK prior to the ceremony he is her 'rock'.

'It's without question that I would not be receiving the Hall Of Fame Logie if it wasn't for him. We're a team and always have been,' she described.

'It would be so hard to have accepted it without him,' she continued.

Team work: The beloved television host dedicated her Logie win to her husband John, telling TV WEEK prior to the ceremony he is her 'rock'

Her emotional acceptance speech had numerous celebrities in the audience in tears.

'I would give away 50 years of my career just to have you standing here,' she gushed as she looked towards her husband in the crowd.

The Brisbane-born beauty was only the third woman to be inducted into the event's Hall Of Fame category.
She's pregnant with her second child to AFL star Shaun Hampson.

But while pregnancy lasts nine months, Megan Gale revealed on Tuesday that she'll be immortalised forever.

Taking to Instagram, the 41-year-old announced that her stunning, statuesque frame has been recreated by the team in Madame Tussaud's Sydney, as she is set to join the likes of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in being honoured with a lifelike wax statue.

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Immortal: Megan Gale revealed Tuesday that she'll be immortalised in wax by Madame Tussaud's, sharing a behind the scenes preview on Instagram

Flaunting her 5 foot 9 frame in the video, the international model looked elegant, dressed in a loose white shirt and ripped denim jeans.

Megan looked in her element in the clip, playing around with a set of matching eyeballs and poking her tongue out for the camera.

Later, her face was covered in motion tracking dots so the Madame Tussauds team could generate an accurate picture of her flawless bone structure.

No bump! Shot several months ago, the raven-haired beauty wasn't yet showing any signs of the baby bump she's been flaunting since announcing she is expecting her second child

Element! Appearing bubbly and in her element in the clip, the 41-year-old played around with a set of matching eyeballs before posing for a photo shoot

She was back in her element soon after, posing in a pair of stiletto heels atop a podium, before finishing up with a wax signature of sorts, placing her hand in teal casting clay.

Megan then smiled as she held the in-progress mould of her hand.

'Six months in the making! Very excited to finally reveal details of a very secret project weve been working on,' she wrote in the caption.

'#madametussauds have immortalised me in wax! Such an incredible honour and so flattered to have been chosen.'

Signing off! The model signed off with a wax signature of sorts, smiling as she held the in-progress mould of her hand

Coming soon! The beauty announced that the official unveiling would be next week in Sydney

The beauty announced that the official unveiling would be next week in Sydney, adding that she had permission to share the behind the scenes sneak peak.

Over on Madame Tussaud's website, the company are teasing an 'all-new fashion experience coming soon.'

Megan is awaiting her second child with hunky hubby Shaun, 29.

In May 2014 they welcomed their adorable son River.

Parents! Megan is awaiting her second child with hunky hubby Shaun, 29
Miranda Kerr was the belle of the ball at the Met Gala on Monday evening.

The brunette beauty was a standout in a floral metallic Oscar de la Renta gown as she hit the red carpet at the Costume Institute Benefit, celebrating the opening of Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between, in New York City.

The frock was cinched in at the waist, accentuating the 34-year-old slender midsection.

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Belle of the ball: Miranda Kerr was the belle of the ball at the Met Gala in New York City on Monday evening

The strapless design was tight fitting at the top to show off a hint of cleavage, before flowing out into a large circle skirt.

The 34-year-old teamed the ensemble with a pair of silver strappy Christian Louboutin stilettos and a pair of giant diamond earrings from Cartier.

More bling came in the form of several diamond encrusted bangles from the famed jewelers and, of course, her treasured engagement ring from Snapchat founder, Evan Speigel.

Perfect fit: The strapless design was tight fitting at the top to show off a hint of cleavage, before flowing out into a large circle skirt

Glittering: The 34-year-old teamed the ensemble with a pair of silver Christian Louboutin stilettos and a pair of giant diamond earrings

Wearing her hair swept up in a chic chignon, Miranda also painted her pout with lashings of her signature red lipstick.

As she emerged from The Carlyle hotel, all eyes were on the successful Aussie model and entrepreneur, who smiled and posed for the cameras.

Earlier in the day, Miranda stuck to a more casual ensemble, slipping into a glinting floral red and green miniskirt and black stiletto boots.

The model's flowing white top clashed against her massive black leather purse, and she'd flung an olive green coat over her shoulders.

More bling: More bling came in the form of several diamond encrusted bangles, a tennis bracelet and, of course, her treasured engagement ring from Snapchat founder, Evan Speigel

A watch gleamed on her left wrist, and the Sydney-born star had completed her ensemble with a black pair of butterfly sunglasses.

As the day wore on, she posted an Instagram photo that saw her grinning for the camera and arcing her leg as she lay on a white towel spread across tan carpeting.

White cream covered her face, and she's captioned the snapshot: 'Pre-Met multitasking with @balletbeautiful & my @koraorganics Hydrating Mask'.

Flawless: Wearing her hair swept up in a chic chignon, Miranda also painted her pout with lashings of her signature red lipstick

Her Snapchat Story's recently served up a post showing a bottle of Moet & Chandon with her first name in glittering silver text scrawled across the top of the label.

A note attached read: 'Wishing you a great time at the 2017 Met Ball from @MoetUSA and @TheCarlyleHotel,' chucking in the hashtag: '#MoetMoment' to top it off.

Naturally, the bottle was on ice, and a pair of animated bears frolicked on the Snapchat image above tiny block letters trumpeting that it was 'TIME TO PARTY.'

'Hydrating Mask': Earlier in the day, Miranda posted an Instagram photo that saw her grinning for the camera and arcing her leg as she lay on a white towel spread across tan carpeting

The Metropolitan Museum Of Art plays host to an annual celebrity-strewn fete -spearheaded by Anna Wintour - to drum up funds for the Costume Institute there.

As before, the Met Gala also launches the spring exhibition, which this year celebrates designer and Comme Des Garcons founder Rei Kawakubo, perVogue.

Anna, Vogue's editor-in-chief, co-chairs the fete alongside Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams, and the exhibition will open in full this coming Thursday, May 4.
She had just shared an intimate photo of herself topless in bed.

And Chrissy Teigen continued to show off a bit of skin as she attended the Met Gala in New York City on Monday with her husband John Legend, 38, by her side.

The 31-year-old took the fashion extravaganza by storm in a sheer white Marchesa mini dress- before hitting back at a troll who slammed her ensemble.

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Heaven on earth! Chrissy Teigen continued to show off a bit of skin as she attended the Met Gala in New York City on Monday with her husband John Legend, 38, by her side

Responding to a troll who mocked her stunning ensemble, resembling it to a 'kid's cr***y art project', Chrissy hit back with: 'Your beard has right angles Waldo'.

And earlier in the night the queen of clap-backs stunned onlookers in a sumptuously embellished piece.

Chrissy's outfit was heavy on white lace and featured long sleeves and floral inspired accents along the neckline and wrists.

Her dress' train was made out of black lace, and it too was heavily embellished with white floral accents.

The star had her hair scraped back into a sleek and chic hair 'do which highlighted her stunning and flawlessly made up facial features.

Her husband, meanwhile, rocked a sophisticated white blazer, black trousers, and a matching bow tie by Burberry.

Chrissy and her husband married in Italy in 2013 and have daughter Luna, who recently celebrated her first birthday.

Lacy lady! Chrissy's Marchesa outfit was heavy on white lace and featured long sleeves and floral inspired accents along the neckline and wrists

Fashionable: Her dress' train was made out of black lace, and it too was heavily embellished with white floral accents

It seems the couple have been relaxing and enjoying themselves in the hours before the iconic Met Gala.

Chrissy gave fans an intimate look into her life with John as she shared a snap of them without clothing on before heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the annual fundraiser.

The married couple was swimming in white sheets for the shot, which gave little insight to what they'd be wearing later in the night.

Beautiful: The star had her hair scraped back into a sleek and chic hair 'do which highlighted her stunning and flawlessly made up facial features

Style icon: Her train proved to be the prime focus as she made her way up the stairs

Handsome: Her husband, meanwhile, rocked a sophisticated white blazer, black trousers, and a matching bow tie by Burberry

Though they missed the 2016 Met Gala, Chrissy confirmed their attendance this year by captioning the photo 'Ready' with the Met Gala hashtag.

Chrissy's hair was slicked back tightly with what appeared to be stars adorning her head.

In another picture shared to Snapchat, John wears a shirt but Chrissy still appears to be covered only by sheets.

Family life: Chrissy and her husband married in Italy in 2013 and have daughter Luna, who recently celebrated her first birthday

Smitten display: John placed a kiss on her head -proving that they are still very much in love

Details: The stunning star held onto a black clutch with her perfectly manicured hands

Glam pals: Chrissy parted for a while from her husband as she posed for photgraphs alongside Georgina Chapman and Rita Ora

Ready: Chrissy Teigen posted this photo of herself topless in bed with husband John Legend on Monday

Chrissy even got their daughter Luna in on the fashion action, putting a pair of large aviator shades on the one-year-old just minutes after posing the photo from bed.

'Oh my toons' Teigen captioned the pic of her smiling toddler.

The Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar.

Still in bed: The 31-year-old model was swimming in white sheets before they made their way to the Met Gala

And with ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle.

The Tokyo-based designer has been deemed worthy of the solo focus of this year's gala - which inaugurates the museum's eagerly-awaited accompanying exhibit of her label.

It is the first time the gala and exhibit has focused on one living designer since 1983, when it highlighted the work of Yves Saint Laurent.
She's the Home and Away actress who has won over the country in her role as bubbly blonde Marilyn Palmer.

But on Saturday, Emily Symons put work aside to focus on family as she enjoyed a day at the beach with son Henry.

The 47-year-old couldn't contain her happiness during the outing, flashing a big grin as she helped the one-year-old dry-off and build sandcastles.

Break from the bay: Home and Away's Emily Symons put work aside to focus on family Saturday, as she enjoyed a day at the beach with son Henry

Emily cut a casual yet chic figure, hitting the sand in a little black dress and matching flip flops.

Ensuring she stayed sun smart, she accessorised with over-sized dark glasses and a wide-brim hat.

The doting mum snuggled close to her boy after he splashed in the water, wrapping a turquoise towel around him as he rested his head on her shoulder.

Making waves: The 47-year-old couldn't contain her happiness during the outing, flashing a big grin as she helped the one-year-old dry-off and build sandcastles

Tender moment: The doting mum snuggled close to her boy after he splashed in the water, wrapping a turquoise towel around him as he rested his head on her shoulder

Covering up: Ensuring she stayed sun smart, Emily accessorised with over-sized dark glasses and a wide-brim hat

Tuckered out after his splash, Henry's ginger curls clung to his head as he tenderly reached his hand out for mum.

Opting to go make-up free, Emily appeared radiant with her golden locks tucked away behind her hat in a ponytail.

The proud mother even stopped to assemble a take-away lunch for the pair, pulling a box of food from a brown paper bag.

Someone's tired! Tuckered out after his splash, Henry's ginger curls clung to his head as he tenderly lay against his mum

Picnic time! The proud mother even stopped to assemble a take-away lunch for the pair, pulling a box of food from a brown paper bag

Dressed in a striped navy t-shirt and pale blue shorts, he looked to his mum to comfort him as she leaned in to kiss his hand and soothe him.

Returned to his happy ways, Henry then laughed and played in the pram as he stared out from under the cover.

The past year has been full of ups and downs for the actress, after her split from husband of four years Paul Jackson.

Back to normal! Returned to his happy ways, Henry then laughed and played in the pram as he stared out from under the cover

The couple struggled to conceive a child using IVF, with Emily calling the process 'soul destroying' in an interview with New Idea.

Persevering, the pair eventually welcomed their first child Henry in 2015, but split soon after.

Paul's representative confirmed the break-up, stating: 'They remain proud parents of Henry'.
She's a seasoned regular on the red carpet, often attending events on the arm of her actor husband Hugh Jackman.

And on Monday, Deborra-Lee Furness stepped out in a quirky ensemble at New York's Met Gala.

The 61-year-old star chose to dress up her favourite footwear choice of platform heels with an unusual combination of what appeared to be socks and tights.

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That's different! Deborra-Lee Furness dressed up her signature platform heels with unusual tights and socks as she attended the Met Gala with husband Hugh Jackman on Monday in New York City

The Australian icon, who just retired from his role as Wolverine, matched wife Deborah's head to toe black ensemble with a sharp black suit and a bow-tie.

Hugh happily posed beside Deborah, opting for an unshaven face as he spiked his brown hair back in a quiff.

Deborah wore patterned socks and spider web-style stockings under her black platforms and voluminous frock.

The black dress fell below her knees and was adorned with feather embellishments.

Dapper! Hugh, who just retired from his role as Wolverine, matched wife Deborah's statement look with a sharp black suit and a bow-tie

Style statement! The actress added to her look with a tulle shawl, and accessorised with a black clutch, silver drop earrings and multiple silver bracelets

When it works! Deborah has been spotted wearing the same shoes on multiple occasions in the past, without the addition of socks and tights (Pictured: 2015)

She added to her look with a tulle shawl and accessorised with a black clutch, silver drop earrings and multiple statement bracelets.

While she pulled her strawberry blonde locks back into a rough up-do, she showcased her natural beauty through a nude-base makeup.

Deborah regularly opts for platform heels to elongate her frame while out with her husband.

She's a FAN! Deborah regularly opts for platform heels while out-and-about

Hugh and Deborra-Lee, who share a 13 year age difference, married in 1996 after meeting on-set of TV series Correlli in 1995.

While also holding a successful marriage, the pair have also adopted two children; Oscan Maximillian, 16, and Ava Eliot, 11.

In February, the couple were forced to deny a 'fabricated' magazine report they were 'living separate lives'.

Woman's Day alleged Hugh and Deborra-Lee 'were spending a lot of time apart over the past four or five months'.

But a representative told Daily Mail Australia the story was '100 per cent fabricated'.
Paris Jackson got a demure makeover for her first ever Met Gala on Monday night.

The 19-year-old, who is known for her signature hippie look, was quite the New York darling in an all-black ensemble.

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Old Hollywood: On Monday, Paris Jackson, 19, went for the classic look while at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Met Gala

Paris wore a cut-out Calvin Klein, tea-length dress.

The sleeveless gown featured a belted middle and high neckline.

The blonde accessorized with delicate earrings and red bracelets.

Simplicity: The teen was quite the New York darling in an all-black ensemble

Elegant: Paris wore a cut-out, tea-length dress

Simple elements: The pretty blonde accessorized with delicate earrings and red bracelets

Paris's skin absolutely glowed.

The WME/IMG model kept her make-up to a natural look, choosing to highlight her piercing blue eyes with just false lashes.

She completed her face with a pale pink lip and soft bronze cheek.

Minimalist: Paris's skin absolutely glowed. The WME/IMG model kept her make-up to a natural glow, choosing to highlight her piercing blue eyes with just false lashes

Nuetral: The pretty blonde completed her face with a pale pink lip and soft bronze cheek

This is the first time the model has attended the Met Gala.

Paris' classic Raf Simons-designed choice is sure way for her to have longevity in the fashion world.

In an interview with People, stylist Karla Welch, described the gown 'a very different and modern look for Paris. This is a Raf look all the way.'
He was ousted as a judge from Australian Idol in 2007 during the show's heyday.

And 10 years later, Mark Holden has revealed the behind the scenes turmoil between him and Ian 'Dicko' Dickson in a new memoir titled My Idol Years.

The 63-year-old opened up to WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda on Tuesday about how he was fired from the talent series due to being estranged from his former friend Dicko.

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Behind the scenes: Mark Holden opened up to WSFM's Jonesy & Amanda on Tuesday about how he was fired from Australian Idol due to his estrangement from former friend Dicko

'When I was fired it was a such a shock, I didn't see it coming,' he told the radio duo.

'I was so publicly humiliated. It was an enormous kick in the guts and I realised I'd been outplayed by Dicko,' he continued.

He said his British-born nemesis had 'completely put me in his pocket and then moved me around like a chess piece'.

Tension: Mark Holden has revealed the behind the scenes turmoil between him and Ian 'Dicko' Dickson in a new memoir titled My Idol Years

He related how David Mott, who was Channel 10's Head of Programming at the time, told him he had the veto over whether Dicko came back to the show or not.

'I thought we could be Hamish & Andy senior, so I said let's get him back on,' he recalled. 'But he played me like a violin.'

The Adelaide-born entertainer said he believed Dicko 'already knew I was going to be fired and there was no future for me at Channel 10'.

He spent the following year, 2008, away from his on-screen persona to 'lick my wounds and re-think'.

'I thought we could be Hamish & Andy senior, so I said let's get him back on,' he recalled. 'But he played me like a violin'

'I just really wanted to prove myself again. If I had stayed on those extra years with Idol, I probably would have just drifted off into the sunset,' he explained.

'I went back [to law] and said I'm just going to get my practicing certificate and I've become a barrister and it's a great privilege,' he described.

Dicko denied his former co-star's claims in a recent interview with The Herald Sun.

'I can honestly tell you it did not come as a shock to me a judge was going to leave the show,' he offered.

'But I did not know it was going to be him and I was surprised when I found out and it certainly had nothing to do with me,' he added.
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Reese Witherspoon was classically stylish as she arrived for Monday night's Met Gala in a one-sleeve gown with a thigh-high side split.

The blonde actress and producer looked lovely in the Thierry Mugler design that contrasted an asymmetrical navy bodice with black full-length skirt.

The sleek number flattered the 41-year-old's gym-honed figure to perfection.

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Classically stylish: Reese Witherspoon was classically stylish as she arrived for Monday night's Met Gala in a Thierry Mugler one-sleeve gown with a thigh-high side split

The Hollywood star dangled Tiffany diamonds from her ears and also was bejeweled on her wrists and hands.

She also added inches with a pair of Louboutins.

Her signature blonde tresses were tied back into a jaunty ponytail that matched the mood of the excited beauty.

Fun time: The actress, 41, was dripping in Tiffany diamonds and wore her signature blonde tresses tied back into a jaunty ponytail that matched her excited mood

Looking fab: The Hollywood star looked lovely in the design that contrasted an asymmetrical navy bodice with black full-length skirt and flattered her gym-honed figure to perfection

Reese, who's married to Hollywood agent Jim Toth, skipped the Met Gala last year, although she attended in 2014 and 2015.

Once inside the event held Monday at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art in Manhattan, she couldn't help but share a snap of the personalized bottle of champagne awaiting her at her table.

'Met Ball begins...' she wrote on the Snapchat image of the bottle of Moet awaiting her in an ice bucket.

Striking a pose: Reese, who is married to Hollywood agent Jim Toth, added inches with a pair of Louboutins
Believe it or not, Halle Berry had not been to the Met Gala before Monday night.

The ageless actress, 50, made her first appearance at the annual fashion fundraiser and was sure to make it a night to remember.

Halle stunned in a sheer Versace catsuit, seeming to call back to her role as Catwoman back in 2004.

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Catsuit Queen: Halle Berry wore a sheer black catsuit that featured a train attachment with gold ruffles by Versace

The Atelier Versace number featured a long dramatic train with shiny gold detailing that trailed behind her.

The 50-year-old Oscar-winner glowed as she made her way down the heavily populated red carpet with a mostly natural makeup look and a smoky eye.

At one point, Halle was seen taking a photo with Nicki Minaj, which Minaj posted with the caption, 'Did anyone call for a legend? Omg.'

Golden girl: The Oscar-winner made use of the stairs to show off her heavy metal train

Pump it up: Her gold-plated platform footwear was the perfect addition to her ensemble

Halle's wore black and gold platform pumps to add height to her 5ft5in frame.

The black-and-gold theme continued with a gold headband in her hair.

'Simple hair by Castillo. Tonight, it's all about the fashion,' she said to her 1.4 million Instagram followers.

Did anyone call for a legend?: Nicki Minaj fangirled over Halle in this Instagram snap

Front and center: Berry struck a confident pose on the red carpet

The Met Gala is the highlight of the fashion calendar.

And with ground-breaking Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakuboas named as this year's theme, the famed fund-raiser is sure to provide plenty of spectacle.

The Tokyo-based designer has been deemed worthy of the solo focus of this year's gala - which inaugurates the museum's eagerly-awaited accompanying exhibit of her label.

Claws are out: Her nails were sharp for the event, adding to her already feline-like costume

Beauty Queen: It's no surprise Halle competed in beauty pageants early on in her career

It is the first time the gala and exhibit has focused on one living designer since 1983, when it highlighted the work of Yves Saint Laurent.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour co-chairs the gala, joined by Katy Perry, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Pharrell Williams.

Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, told AP that Kawakubo is considered the world's 'most important and influential designer' of the moment and 'has consistently defined and re-defined the aesthetics of our time.'

Clearly amazing: Halle protected her modesty in the sheer outfit with darkened in sections of her catsuit

Known for bold, experimental clothing, Kawakubo's designs have an austere aesthetic and a cult following.

The 74-year-old officially founded her cerebral design house in 1973 to critical acclaim - and was dubbed 'anti-fashion' for challenging the notions of beauty with her innovative aesthetic.

Comme des Garcons has been showing collections in Paris each season since 1981.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York - where the annual gala is held - is displaying 120 Comme des Garcons womenswear designs by Kawakubo, spanning the past 35 years, since her first Paris show.
 Flash

The Rashtriya Prajatantra Party of Nepal (RPPN), a major coalition partner of the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in Nepal, has quit the government on Monday.

Mohan Shrestha, leader of the party, told Xinhua that the RPPN Chairman Kamal Thapa submitted resignation to the prime minister later in the evening.

A crucial meeting of the party decided to pull out of the government expressing the discontent over the impeachment motion filed against the serving chief justice of the apex court at the parliament by the ruling parties, party leaders said here at a press conference.

"The impeachment motion against the chief justice was immature and irresponsible, and was moved with an ill intention. Thus we decided to pull out of the government in protest," RPPN Chairman Kamal Thapa told reporters in the capital.

Thapa was of the view that the ruling parties' move to file the impeachment motion against the chief justice was aimed at weakening the independent judiciary.

"The motion is rightly against the principle of separation of powers which is not acceptable for us," he added.

Sushila Karki, the first female chief justice at the Nepal's Supreme Court, was suspended on Sunday after 249 parliamentarians of ruling parties filed the impeachment motion.

The parliamentarians have accused Karki of interfering the government's decisions through court verdicts.

The RPPN was involved in the government with the four cabinet ministers including Kamal Thapa, who was the deputy prime minister overseeing the federal affairs ministry.

The RPPN is the fourth largest party in the parliament with 37 seats.

This is a major setback for the current coalition government as the country is planning to hold local body elections on May 14 and June 14, observers said.

Earlier on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Bimalendra Nidhi had stepped down from the post expressing unhappiness over the ruling party's motion against the chief justice.

The country's two ruling parties, Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Center), lodged the impeachment motion against the chief justice, in the first such move in Nepal's history. Karki, 64, started her stint as the chief justice in April 2016.
He's the Australian model who is regularly seen spending time with a long line of stunning female catwalk queens.

Now Jordan Barrett has cosied up to Sofia Richie, 18 - the daughter of music legend Lionel - at the Met Gala on Monday night.

The pair walked most of the red carpet together, happily posing for the cameras.

A couple of stunners: Jordan Barrett cosied up to Sofia Richie, 18 - the daughter of music legend Lionel - on the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday night

While wild outfits were the flavour of the day at the event, the 20-year-old male model's choice of attire was slightly less shocking.

The Byron Bay born hunk looked dapper in a crisp white suit.

Casually slicking his trademark blonde locks into a messy quiff, Jordan's immaculately tailored shock-white blazer stood out, even in the Met Gala's typically raucous sea of fashion risks.

Following a rapidly rising trend, Jordan went for a mismatched suit combination, opting for a pair of perfectly-fitted slimline black pants.

He smiled cheekily and looked calm in the face of the innumerable camera flashes, flaunting his ripped torso with a tie-less ensemble with a few buttons undone for good measure.

Nuzzling her arm into his chest, Sofia flaunted her cleavage in a VERY low-cut silver and gold gown, paired with a leather jacket that she wore off of her shoulders.

Not so wild: While wild outfits were the flavour of the day at the event, the 20-year-old male model's choice of attire was slightly less shocking

Eyes front! Nuzzling her arm into his chest, Sofia flaunted her cleavage in a VERY low-cut silver and gold gown, paired with a leather jacket that she wore off of her shoulders

Her newly-bleached hair was slicked back, putting all of the attention on her genetically-blessed face and mis-matched diamond earrings.

She was dripping in even more diamonds around her neck, which dipped down into her chest.

Remaining attached at the hip for the majority of the red carpet arrivals, the pair were snapped looking into each other's eyes and having a laugh at one point.

Sticking together: The pair posed in a group shot featuring the likes of Candice Swanepoel, Presley Walker Gerber, Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis, Joan Smalls and Behati Prinsloo

Even in a group shot featuring the likes of Candice Swanepoel, Presley Walker Gerber, Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis, Joan Smalls and Behati Prinsloo, the pair stuck together.

Later they spent rare moments apart so Jordan could get a snap in with Cindy Crawford's genetically blessed sun Presley.

They looked almost if they were competing for first prize in a most brooding contest, Presley holding his own in a likewise mismatched cobalt velvet blazer and black trousers.

Brooding: The pair spent some rare moments apart so Jordan could get a snap in with Cindy Crawford's genetically blessed sun Presley

The Broody Bunch: Later, the pair welcomed a third member to the broody bunch in Daniel Day Lewis' son Gabriel, 22, who contrasted his companions crisp looks with an edgy all-black dip into the Gothic

Later, the pair welcomed a third member to the broody bunch in Daniel Day Lewis' son Gabriel, 22, who contrasted his companions crisp looks with an edgy all-black dip into the Gothic.

Jordan is no stranger to being linked to stunning blonde women, with The Courier Mail even recently describing him as a 'Casanova' when he made Lara Stone the 'latest in long line' of 'female friends.'

Spotted leaving the Vogue 100 Gala in London with the former wife of Little Britain's David Walliams last year, the model looked in his element in the Dutch beauty's company.

No stranger: Jordan is no stranger to being linked to stunning blonde women, with The Courier Mail even recently describing him as a 'Casanova'

'Long list': That came when he made Lara Stone the 'latest in long line' of 'female friends' last year

Sparks flew? After a string of snaps were uploaded in 2015, Jordan sparked rumours he was dating megastar heiress Paris Hilton

He likes blondes! He's also been snapped looking hands-on with Stephen Baldwin's stunning blonde daughter Hailey, who has dated Justin Bieber

After a string of snaps were uploaded in 2015, Jordan sparked rumours he was dating megastar heiress Paris Hilton, who has been linked to Australian's (Rob 'Millsy' Mills).

He's also been snapped looking hands-on with Stephen Baldwin's stunning blonde daughter Hailey, who has dated Justin Bieber.

Closer to home, he's also been pictured and later linked to fellow Australian beauties, Tahnee Atkinson and Megan Blake Irwin

While not linked romantically to Bambi Northwood-Blyth and Gigi Hadid, he's counted them among his list of very close friends.

Never forget your roots: Closer to home, he's also been pictured and later linked to fellow Australian beauty, Megan Blake Irwin

Still call Australia home: He's also cosied up on the red carpet with Tahnee Atkinson
He directed the acclaimed 2013 film The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo Di Caprio.

And Baz Luhrmann looked every inch the Hollywood star, as he arrived at the Met Gala in New York on Monday.

Accompanied by his glamorous wife Catherine Martin, the 54-year-old cut a suave figure in a tailored black overcoat and cropped trousers.

Nice to see you, old sport! Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann, 54, cut a suave figure alongside wife Catherine Martin, 52, at the Met Gala in New York on Monday

Baz looked polish as he posed for photos at the prestigious event.

A tailored black overcoat with white stitching was teamed with a crisp white button-up shirt and black cropped trousers.

A pair of patent dress shoes tied in with the smart look.

Polished: The Sydney-born star donned a tailored black overcoat with white stitching, a crisp white shirt and black cropped trousers

Sporting stubble, the Sydney-born star appeared to have worked a small amount of product in his short locks.

Baz was joined on the red carpet by his wife Catherine Martin, 52, who cut a glamorous figure.

A red sequined floor-length frock skimmed over her curves, while gold embellishment at the bust added an extra wow factor.

All that shimmers: Wife Catherine Martin looked glamorous in a red sequined frock that featured gold embellishment at the bust

Jovial: Baz was seen pulling a playful gesture as the husband and wife duo made their way into the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Complementing the bold ensemble was a beauty look consisting of a red lip and matching manicure.

In a jovial mood, Baz was seen pulling a playful gesture as the husband and wife duo made their way into the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It's no surprise to see the high-profile couple in attendance at the annual Met Gala.

Not only is Baz an accomplished director and producer, wife Catherine has won two Academy Awards for costume design.
Julianne Moore was fabulous in feathers at this year's Met Gala.

The 56-year-old star was all smiles at the annual event on Monday, where she donned a modern twist on flapper chic.

On the NYC red carpet, the Academy Award winner wore a celebratory Calvin Klein By Appointment frock which featured wild feathers in pink, yellow and red hues.

Finely feathered friend: Julianne Moore made a chic appearance in red, pink and yellow Calvin Klein By Appointment at Monday's met Gala

Her spaghetti strapped frock cut above the knees to reveal the star's thin stems, while presenting a festive silhouette with its feather details.

The dress's blush color was given extra oomph with a scatter of bright red and yellow plumes throughout.

On her feet, the Still Alice star kept simple in elegant white stilettos while carrying a silver snap clutch.

All that jazz: The 56-year-old beauty's feathered frock was complimented by white heels, a silver clutch, and glamorous jewels by Chopard

Red hot: The North Carolina native parted her signature red locks in the center while also sporting a bold red pout at the event

Julianne adorned the feathery frock with beautiful red and yellow tear drop earrings by Chopard, along with several diamond rings from the luxury jeweler.

For beauty, the North Carolina native parted her signature fire-red locks sleekly down the center, while combing her tresses behind her ears to reveal glowing skin and a bold red pout.

The Hours actress was joined by Moonlight's Ashton Sanders, 21, on the red carpet, who handsomely contrasted the starlet in black leather paired with a sunshine yellow turtleneck.

Darling date: Julianne was brought Moonlight's Ashton Sanders as her date, who was her chic contrast in black leather with a sunshine yellow turtleneck, also from CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC

The up-and-coming star was chic donning leather pants and a jacket with a pop of yellow bursting from beneath.

Online he tagged designers Raf Simons and Calvin Klein (whom Belgian designed Raf heads as creative director) in reference to his subtle but bold look.

This year's exclusive Met Gala will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear, with tickets on market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with this year's attendees including Madonna, Kylie Jenner, Rihanna and Gisele Bundchen.
Dakota Johnson brought the wow factor when she attended the Met Gala in New York City on Monday night.

The 27-year-old looked stunning in an intricate black Gucci gown.

The dress featured a deep V-neck, which showed off her cleavage.

All ruffled up: Dakota Johnson brought the wow factor when she attended the Met Gala in New York City on Monday night

It also featured ruffle detailing on the skirt, lapel and shoulders.

The impressive skirt also included a train, which trailed behind her as she made her way down the cream and blue carpet.

Two thick black ribbons ran across her chest and shoulders, while another two acted as a belt, emphasizing the Fifty Shades Darker actress' tiny waist.

Dakota wore her long brown hair swept back into a low chignon.

Skirting the issue: The impressive skirt also included a train, which trailed behind her as she made her way down the cream and blue carpet

Plus one: The beautiful actress attended the gala on the arm of Gucci's creative director, Alessandro Michele

Breast dressed: The 27-year-old looked stunning in an intricate black Gucci gown. The dress featured a deep V-neck, which showed off her cleavage

She carried a small black clutch and wore emerald green and diamond earrings.

The beautiful actress attended the gala on the arm of Gucci's creative director, Alessandro Michele.

The two were seen holding hands as they left the Bowery Hotel and made their way over to the event.

On their way... The two were seen holding hands as they left the Bowery Hotel and made their way over to the event

Helping hand: It appeared to take a village to get the Fifty Shades Darker actress into the car as she headed to the event

The 45-year-old fashion designer stood out in an eclectic outfit of his own.

Dressed in black pants, Alessandro layered a pleated black skirt over the top.

He also wore a high neck blue shirt with ruffles, and added a Chinese inspired pink and black patterned blazer, printed with AC/DC on the back.

Kiss the girl: Dakota has become something of a muse for the quirky designer, who was also spotted planting a kiss on her cheek at the event

On his feet were a pair of studded black shoes with buckles, and he also wore white socks.

Dakota has become something of a muse for the quirky designer, who was also spotted planting a kiss on her cheek at the event.

On Monday, it was also revealed she will be the face of the new Gucci Bloom perfume.
The Today host wed Peter Stefanovic in a very lavish ceremony at the exclusive Ooralba Estate in the Kangaroo Valley in April.

And Sylvia Jeffreys has now revealed the bespoke wedding invites she had made especially for their big day.

The presenter, 30, took to Instagram with a flatlay of the printed cards sprawled out, writing: 'One of the joys of planning a wedding.'

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'One of the joys of planning a wedding': Newlywed Sylvia Jeffreys reveals her bespoke wedding invites on Instagram one month after marrying Peter Stefanovic

Fine print: The invites asked guests 'to celebrate the marriage of Sylvia Joy Jeffreys and Peter George Stefanovic together with their families' at Kangaroo Valley in 'lounge suit' attire

The invites used berry red ink and gold foil lettering, while the white card had a leaf-print indent.

Sylvia shared the lovely picture, gushing: 'One of the joys of planning a wedding is (no, not spread sheets) the new bunch of friends you make in the process. Shout out to the beautiful Melbourne mamas @paperjamstudio who created our gorgeous stationery.'

Sylvia claimed the post wasn't paid and wasn't sponsored, but instead a king gesture to say thanks you.

'Soooo glad you loved!' The stationery provider created the invites using berry red ink and gold foil lettering, with Sylvia gushing over the cards in the 'not paid' post, claiming it was her way of saying thank you

The stationery provider also shared a photo of the invites, writing in response to Sylvia: 'Soooo glad you loved! We loved creating them for you xxxx.'

The invites invited guests 'to celebrate the marriage of Sylvia Joy Jeffreys and Peter George Stefanovic together with their families' at Kangaroo Valley.

It advised people to RSVP by February 22, giving Sylvia and Pete just under six weeks to sort arrangements for the correct number of guests.

The outdoor wedding's dress code was 'lounge suit'.

Paper Jam Studio told Daily Mail Australia: 'We absolutely loved creating Sylvia's wedding invitations. She was a very laid back and an easy bride to work with... Best of all, she gave us lots of creative freedom - a designers dream!'

NEVER before seen! Bridal designer Rebecca Vallance has released a never-before-seen picture of the intricate dress worn by Sylvia Jeffreys on her wedding day last weekend

Meanwhile, Sylvia stunned in a custom Rebecca Vallance wedding gown during her lavish outdoor wedding to Peter Stefanovic last month.

And the designer of her glitzy gown released a never-before-seen picture of the intricate dress complete with princess-style layered tulle and a cathedral veil following the ceremony.

Sylvia could be seen getting her final touches in the image before heading for the aisle at the exclusive Ooralba Estate in the Kangaroo Valley.

Sylvia wowed in a classic princess-style wedding gown, which featured a plunging neckline, layered tulle and intricate beading.

Fairytale bride: Sylvia wowed in a classic princess-style wedding gown, which featured a plunging neckline, layered tulle and intricate beading

In the designer's behind-the-scenes photo, Sylvia can be seen being zipped and clipped into the elegant gown.

Clearly in high spirits, the media personality gleams with a smile in the photo as her svelte back is exposed in the shot.

While her gown was sleeveless, the bottom of her dress fanned out on the floor in layers of material, tulle and beading.

Sylvia also appears to have a stylist on hand using hairspray to keep her chic up 'do in place for her big day.

The image, which Sylvia was tagged in on social media, was quickly commented on by the star.

Wow: Sylvia Jeffreys wore a custom Rebecca Vallance gown during her lavish wedding to Peter Stefanovic on Saturday

She's believed to be on her honeymoon with Peter in Fiji, but she still managed to write: 'I wish we could do it all over again. Lots of love xxx.'

Showing off a golden tan on the day, Sylvia stunned with her hair slicked back off her face and into an elegant bun.

Her makeup was kept natural looking and she finished the look with simple and small drop earrings.

Simply stunning: The bottom of her dress featured layers of material which went out into an a-line skirt, while her gown was sleeveless

Their big day: The Today show presenter opted for a classic princess-style wedding gown, which featured a plunging neckline and intricate beading

Rebecca shared a shot of Sylvia and Peter to Instagram, confirming she had created the jaw-dropping gown, after much speculation.

Rebecca captioned the image: 'WEDDING BELLE: In custom Rebecca Vallance, Australian journalist Sylvia Jeffreys married Peter Stefanovic this weekend.'

Sources told Daily Mail Australia earlier this month, that Sylvia would be wearing Rebecca Vallance on her big day.

Wedding party: Sylvia's bridal party included her sister Claire Going, her sister-in-law Jenna Stefanovic and friends Meggie Palmer and Alison Ariotti. Peter's groomsmen included brothers Karl, Tom and mates Nick Atkins and Michael Tramonte

Wedding bells: Rebecca shared a shot of Sylvia and Peter to Instagram, confirming she had created the jaw-dropping gown, after much speculation

Beaming beauty! The couple looked smitten as they posed for snaps

The 33-year-old journalist is a longtime fan of the dressmaker, whose flagship boutique is situated in the upscale suburb of Mosman.

The blonde TV personality was first seen wearing a gorgeous piece by the brand over two years ago for Melbourne Cup celebrations.

She also commented on Instagram previously that Rebecca Vallance was her 'fave' designer.

Wedded bliss! Sylvia and Peter smiled for the camera as his mother Jenny chatted to the bridal party in the background

Having a ball! The wedding party took a series of snaps in the Kangaroo Valley countryside

Blushing bride: Sources told Daily Mail Australia earlier this month, that Sylvia would be wearing Rebecca Vallance on her big day

Over the moon! The couple were all smiles as they made their way to the reception

Sylvia and Peter tied the knot at Ooralba Estate in the Kangaroo Valley on Saturday, with Sylvia describing the day on her Instagram as the 'best day of our lives.'

They tied the knot in front of 160 guests, with guests including Peter's brother Karl Stefanovic and the Today show stars, Lisa Wilkinson and Richard Wilkins.

Peter popped the question in July last year while the couple were enjoying a romantic getaway in France.

The happy couple first started dating in 2014.
She's one of the world's most iconic supermodels - having soaring to fame in the late eighties.

So it was no wonder that Naomi Campbell arrived on the arms of Edward Enninful, the new editor-in-chief of British Vogue, for the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York's 5th Avenue for the star-studded Met Gala.

The 46-year-old catwalk queen stunned in a striking black Azzedine Alaia gown which bared her enviably toned legs, while the OBE honouree flaunted his fashion credentials in a slick suit.

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Style duo: Naomi Campbell arrived on the arms of Edward Enninful, the new editor-in-chief of British Vogue, for the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York's 5th Avenue for the star-studded Met Gala on Monday night

In a sea full of celebrities, Naomi was sure to flaunt her style status in the sexy number which featured a matte black bodice before cinching in her waist with striking silver detailing.

A soaring thigh-high split down one side allowed the photogenic star to exhibit her toned legs, which were boosted in towering black heels.

Ensuring that the structured hemline of the eye-catching dress was a prime focus, Naomi opted to wear her glossy raven locks in a sleek centre-parted bob - complementing her immaculate make-up look.

Edward, 44, also proved to be the perfect accessory, as he looked incredibly dapper in his fitted suit, which he teamed with a crisp white shirt.

Feeling leggy: The supermodel, 46, stunned in a striking black Azzedine Alaia gown which bared her enviably toned pins

Wow: In a sea full of celebrities, Naomi was sure to flaunt her style status in the sexy number which featured a matte black bodice before cinching in her waist with striking silver detailing

Last month, Enninful, who hails from Ghana and is the son of a seamstress, was announced as the new editor of British Vogue, making him the first ever black male editor at the helm of the fashion bible.

He will assume his role on August 1 and Conde Nast International chairman and chief executive, Jonathan Newhouse, says he is 'supremely prepared'.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit.

The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

Pins on parade: A soaring thigh-high split down one side allowed the photogenic star to exhibit her toned legs, which were boosted in towering black heels

Handsome: Edward, 44, also proved to be the perfect accessory, as he looked incredibly dapper in his fitted suit, which he teamed with a crisp white shirt

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.
They're the next iconic Aussie musicians to have their own TV mini-series.

Now Australian rock band The Easybeats will premiere their mini-series on ABC later this year.

The band who made the hit track Friday On My Mind shoot to international recognition will be one of many Australian artists to have a two-part series which documents their rise to fame.

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Iconic: Australian rock band The Easybeats will premiere their mini-series on ABC later this year

The show will feature up and coming actors with Christian Byers as Stevie Wright, Will Rush as George Young, Mackenzie Fearnley as Harry Vanda, Du Toit Bredenkamp as Dick Diamonde and Arthur McBain as Snowy Fleet.

Actress Zukerman who starred in The Code and Rush will feature as Ted Albert who signed the band and founded Albert Records, who were later known for famously launching AC/DC.

The upcoming two-part series has been described as: 'The story of five young newly-arrived immigrants who met in a Sydney migrant hostel in the swinging 1960s and went on to take Australian rocknroll to the world'.

Up and comers: The show will feature actors Christian Byers, Will Rush, Mackenzie Fearnley, Du Toit Bredenkamp and Arthur McBain

Humble beginnings: The band formed in 1964 when they met in the Sydney's Villawood Migrant Hostel after coming from England, Scotland and the Netherlands

The band formed in 1964 when they met in the Sydney's Villawood Migrant Hostel after coming from England, Scotland and the Netherlands.

Members Stevie Wright, George Young, Harry Vanda, Dick Diamonde and Snowy Fleet met in their early 20s and spent the first years of their career living in the hostel, which was later transformed into the Villawood Detention Centre.

Their first hit single came in 1965 with She's So Fine, which reached No. 3 in Australia and was closely followed by Friday On My Mind in 1966 which reached No. 1 in Australia, as well as No. 6 in the UK and No. 16 in the US.

Short-lived: After the band's international success with Friday On My Mind, they split up in 1969

After the band's short-lived success, they split up in 1969.

The mini-series has been written by Christopher Lee who wrote other TV specials such as Howzat, Paper Giants and Gallipoli, and directed by Matthew Saville who worked on Please Like Me and The Slap.

The Easybeats will join the lineup of artists such as INXS, Peter Allen and Molly Meldrum who have previously had successful mini-series created on the story of their fame.

The series is expected to air on ABC later this year.
She is well known for her impeccable style and English rose beauty.

And Felicity Jones proved just this at Monday night's Met Gala as she stormed the red carpet among the great and good of the showbiz world in a dramatic lilac gown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue.

The 33-year-old Star Wars beauty looked exquisite in a vintage-inspired lilac gown complete with a high neck, although she gave a sexy touch with the sheer detail flashing a hint of her bustier top underneath.

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Stunner: Felicity Jones made no exception at Monday night's Met Gala as she stormed the red carpet among the great and good of the showbiz world in a dramatic lilac gown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue

Felicity was among a bevy of British beauties placing their sartorial stamp on the annual gala - with her input being unique and chic.

The lilac gown stood out among her contemporaries as the Victoriana-style gown was delicate in details with a combination of 3D flowers, stunning frills and dainty buttons combining for a chic getup.

Highlighting her slender shape, the base of the gown featured a corset which was boned and structured to help perfect her slender form.

Atop the bustier was the delicate chiffon which rose into a high-neck frill while the front was fastened with extremely delicate buttons worked down the neck.

Lilac lovely: The 33-year-old Star Wars beauty looked exquisite in a vintage-inspired lilac gown complete with a high neck, although she gave a sexy touch with the sheer detail flashing a hint of her bustier top underneath

Wow! Felicity was among a bevy of British beauties placing their sartorial stamp on the annual gala - with her input being unique and chic

3D fancy: Felicity's skirt was yet another splash of detail, as the frills worked all over the A-line base moved this way and that while also overlaid with flower adornments

Felicity's skirt was yet another splash of detail, as the frills worked all over the A-line base moved this way and that while also overlaid with flower adornments.

Allowing her dress to do the talking, the Birmingham-born beauty kept her beauty regimen simple to best highlight her classic and natural good looks.

Her brunette locks were gently backcombed at the back with the front split into a flattering frame of her stunning features.

Felicity's make-up was dewy and flawless with her eyes outlined in a smudged shadow while her plump pout was boosted with pink lipstick.

A vision: Allowing her dress to do the talking, the Birmingham-born beauty kept her beauty regimen simple to best highlight her classic and natural good looks

Keeping the theme: The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit

All the stars: In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit. The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.
As the hot name on everyone's lips, she is no doubt set to make statement appearances at the Met Gala in the future.

And on Monday night, Stella Maxwell ensured to flaunt her style credentials for the star-studded fashion spectacle at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York's 5th Avenue.

The 26-year-old model of the moment flaunted her sensational frame in a heavily beaded plunging gown, which perilously plunged down the middle to showcase her perky cleavage.

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Va Va Voom! Stella Maxwell, 26, ensured to flaunt her style credentials for the annual star-studded Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York's 5th Avenue on Monday night

The incredibly eye-catching garment hugged onto her physique to perfection and proved to be the perfect show-stopper while in motion.

The nude underlay was saucily flashed as she worked her angles - allowing the fringed white beaded detailing to catch the wind.

The Belgium born beauty, who is currently dating Kristen Stewart, couldn't resist flaunting her long legs with the semi-sheer detailing.

Upon turning, Stella showcased the garment's draped beaded detailing - complementing her sculpted back.

Stylish: The model of the moment flaunted her sensational frame in a heavily beaded plunging gown, which perilously plunged down the middle to showcase her perky cleavage

Incredible: The incredibly eye-catching garment hugged onto her physique to perfection and proved to be the perfect show-stopper while in motion

Work it! The nude underlay was saucily flashed as she worked her angles - allowing the fringed white beaded detailing to catch the wind

Every inch the blonde bombshell, the Victoria's Secret model, who was once pictured kissing Miley Cyrus, pulled her luscious locks into an old school Hollywood inspired chignon.

Posing up a storm in a pair of nude heels, Stella looked sensational as she posed for photographs with pals - including photographer Mario Testino and model Ashley Graham.

Stella's girlfriend Kristen, also 26, came out as gay during an explosive episode of Saturday Night Live in February.

The Personal Shopper star - who has dated men and women - admits that she doesn't understand why bisexuals are labelled 'confused' as she thinks it is, in fact, 'quite the opposite'.

Pins on parade: The Belgium born beauty, who is currently dating Kristen Stewart, couldn't resist flaunting her long legs with the semi-sheer detailing

Mane attraction: Every inch the blonde bombshell, the Victoria's Secret model, who was once pictured kissing Miley Cyrus, pulled her locks into an old school Hollywood inspired chignon

Baby got back: Upon turning, Stella showcased the garment's draped beaded detailing - complementing her sculpted back

She said: 'Oh, I think things are changing. I mean, I don't think I would have approached my life differently if that hadn't been the case. But who knows?

'Individually we are all part of that change and so I can take some credit for it, I guess - there's no reason why I should shy away from that. But all the prejudice; it's going for sure.

'I mean, yeah, it's definitely still there. People still have some horrendous f***ing experiences. But it's cool that you don't have to nail everything down any more. That whole certainty about whether you're straight or gay or whatever.'

Meanwhile, the theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit.

Glam: Posing up a storm in a pair of nude heels, Stella looked sensational as she posed for photographs with pals - including model Ashley Graham

Wow: Ashley's attire aimed to accentuate her curves in a figure-hugging ruffled red and white dress

The man and his muse! Photographer Mario Testino looked handsome in a fitted black suit

Seizing any opportunity: He held on to a camera to capture all the beauties at the event

Fashion spectacle: The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit

The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.
She is one of the world's most esteemed supermodels.

So Lara Stone is naturally an accomplished poser, as illustrated when she stormed the red carpet at Monday night's Met Gala in which she wore a tiny vintage Christopher Kane minidress to best show off her endless legs and fantastic figure.

The 33-year-old beauty was among the creme da la creme of the fashion world as she swept the famous steps outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue for the annual style-studded bash.

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Oh my! Lara Stone is naturally an accomplished poser, as illustrated when she stormed the red carpet at Monday night's Met Gala in which she wore a tiny vintage Christopher Kane minidress to best show off her endless legs and fantastic figure

Lara was undoubtedly keen to stand out among her peers, so opted for the sexiest look she could think of as she rocked the textured mini complete with an array of fussy details throughout the entire body.

The many layers of the black and nude body comprised of a lace bodice at the centre which was framed with a thick lace frill.

While still covered, the sheer material on the sleeves helped show off her toned arms which were also scattered with a lace design with appliques.

D-rings were staggered along the hips of the dress which coordinated with the trim on her staggering ankle boots - showing the amount of thought put in the ensemble.

Put a ring on it: The 33-year-old beauty was among the creme da la creme of the fashion world as she swept the famous steps outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue for the annual style-studded bash

Chic: Lara was undoubtedly keen to stand out among her peers, so opted for the sexiest look she could think of as she rocked the textured mini complete with an array of fussy details throughout the entire body

With such a dramatic look, Lara appeared keen to keep the rest simple as she scraped her blonde tresses into a slick ponytail while her make-up was pale and dramatic.

Clearly having all her fingers in fashion pies, her date for the evening was top designer Christopher Kane who looked sharp in a plain black suit.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit.

Blonde beauty: With such a dramatic look, Lara appeared keen to keep the rest of her look simple as she scraped her blonde tresses into a slick ponytail while her make-up was pale and dramatic

I'm with the designer! Clearly having all her fingers in fashion pies, her date for the evening was top designer Christopher Kane who looked sharp in a plain black suit

The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour.
 Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump (Front) delivers a speech during a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the United States, April 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Yan Liang)



U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Monday that his claims that his predecessor Barack Obama had ordered Trump Tower wiretapped prior to the Election Day "have been proven very strongly".

"I don't stand by anything. Just you can take it the way you want. I think our side has been proven very strongly," Trump said when asked about the question in a prerecorded interview in the Oval Office with John Dickerson, the host of "Face the Nation" on CBS.

"I think that is a very big surveillance of our citizens. I think it's a very big topic. And it's a topic that should be number one, and we should find out what the hell is going on." he went on.

On March 4, Trump claimed in a tweet storm that Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped before his election victory, offering no evidence.

"Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump tweeted. Hours later, Obama's spokesman said Trump's accusations were "simply false".

Later in March, under growing pressures from bi-partisan lawmakers for no evidence occurring, Trump defended his accusation by broadening the definition of the word wiretap.

"Wiretap covers a lot of different things," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

At the time, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump's tweets weren't meant to be taken literally since the president could have been referring to a broad range of surveillance activity.

"The president used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities," said Spicer. "He doesn't really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally."
She had dazzled earlier in the evening when she arrived on the Met Gala red carpet in a glittering blue gown.

But Emily Ratajkowski was keen to show off the edgier and sexier side to her style later on Monday, as she arrived at the after-party in a thigh-skimming black ensemble.

The model, 25, flashed plenty of skin in her trademark style in a bardot side-split gown and risque buckled boots, as she posed fiercely outside the Boom Boom Room in New York City.

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Sexy: Emily Ratajkowski was keen to show off the edgier and sexier side to her style later on Monday, as she arrived at the after-party in a thigh-skimming black ensemble

The London-born beauty showed off her famously slender figure in the black dress, which hugged her model frame from head to toe.

The dress saw its satin top folded over her chest, creating an off-the-shoulder neckline to flash plenty of her smooth skin and her delicate decolletage to all.

Falling into elegant long sleeves, the frock then cinched in at her petite waist, the and proceeded to skim her leggy frame to its ankle hem.

Stunning: The dress saw its satin top folded over, creating an off-the-shoulder neckline to flash plenty of her smooth skin, before the skirt daringly split all the way to her thigh

Slinky: Falling into elegant long sleeves, the frock then cinched in at her petite waist, the and proceeded to skim her leggy frame to its ankle hem

Raunchy: In a further raunchy touch to the classic black dress, Emily accessorised with a pair of leather knee-high stiletto boots, fastening with a statement buckled strap

Upping the sex appeal of the look however, the skirt featured a daring split at one side which rose all the way to her thigh, to saucily flash almost all of her toned and tanned leg beneath.

In a further raunchy touch to the classic black dress, Emily accessorised with a pair of leather knee-high stiletto boots, fastening with a statement buckled strap.

Having elegantly slicked her hair back for the red carpet, the brunette beauty now styled it into tousled waves and added striking winged liner, to amp up the glamour of her after-party look.

What a beauty! Emily posed seductively for cameras in her dramatic look, having stunned on the red carpet in a much brighter glittering blue gown earlier on (above)

Stunning: The model had exuded elegance in a Marc Jacobs gown, which fit the gala's Comme des Garcons themed by evoking Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting Starry Night

Emily posed seductively for cameras in her dramatic look, having stunned on the red carpet in a much brighter glittering blue gown earlier on.

The model had exuded elegance in a Marc Jacobs gown, which fit the gala's Comme des Garcons themed by evoking Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting Starry Night.

The slinky gown was formed of glittering blue and yellow sequins all over, and clung to her incredibly slender frame from head to toe.

Pulling into simple thin straps, the dress then scooped into a soft rounded neckline to tease at her ample cleavage, before cinching in under her bust with a thin black band, to highlight her tiny waist.

Style star: Pulling into simple thin straps, the dress then scooped into a soft rounded neckline to tease at her ample cleavage, before cinching in under her bust with a thin black band

Tying her look together, she had accessorised with a smattering of coloured rings and silver hoop earrings as she smouldered for cameras at the star-studded bash.

The glitzy event, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - the location for the annual NYC event.

The gala, launched in 1946, raises money for the Met's Costume Institute - with this year's 600 plus attendees paying up to $30,000 for a ticket, or $275,000 for a table.

All eyes on me: Tying her look together, she had accessorised with a smattering of coloured rings and silver hoop earrings as she smouldered for cameras at the star-studded bash

Following a theme each year as a celebration of art, the 2017 edition paid homage to Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons - with the focus being on the avant-garde artist's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit.

While many other stars arrived with their significant others, Emily appeared to fly solo at both the bash and after-party - leaving music producer boyfriend Jeff Magid at home for the festivities.

Jeff, who is surely the envy of men everywhere thanks to his relationship with bombshell Emily, has been dating the show-stopping model since 2014.

The pair reportedly started dating when Jeff offered Emily support, after she became a victim of the iCloud hacking scandal in September of the same year.
While a host of screen stars and musicians attracted attention for their daring ensembles at the Met Gala, a trusty contingent of models kept things glamorous.

Doutzen Kroes, Behati Prinsloo and Natasha Poly led a host of runway beauties who descended on the hallowed steps of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night, for what has long been hailed as fashion's biggest night.

The models made show-stopping arrivals in dramatic, sweeping gowns as she they prepared for a night of mingling with the fashion world's well-heeled elite.

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Model behaviour: (L-R) Doutzen Kroes, Behati Prinsloo and Natasha Poly led the charge of models at this year's Met Gala, held at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday

Dutch beauty Doetzen got the proverbial ball rolling in an '80s-inspired scarlet prom-style off-shoulder dress, which was cinched at the waist and fell into a layered skirt.

The eye-catching number featured a rauched bodice and sleeves, as well as pockets, which she sunk her golden bracelet-adorned arms into as she posed for snaps.

Keeping her makeup palette light and natural, the mother-of-two, married to DJ Sunnery James, wore her golden tresses in glossy shoulder-length waves with a centre-parting.

Breathtaking beauty: Dutch beauty Doetzen got the proverbial ball rolling in an '80s-inspired scarlet prom-style off-shoulder dress

Lip service: She blew kisses at photographers as she made her way down the expansive carpet

Waist not, want not: The stunner's dress was cinched at the waist and fell into a layered skirt

Rauched: The eye-catching number featured a rauched bodice and sleeves, as well as pockets, which she sunk her golden bracelet-adorned arms into as she posed for snaps

Tress-ed to impress: Keeping her makeup palette light and natural, the mother-of-two wore her golden tresses in glossy shoulder-length waves with a centre-parting

Adding to the wow factor on the night was Namibian beauty Behati, who showcased her enviably svelte frame in a figure-hugging lavender-tinged strappy gown, which featured a short train and a plunging neckline.

And while her dress proved to be a head-turner, she amped up the glamour further by wearing a glittering array of diamond-encrusted jewels that included sparkling rings, bold bracelets and shimmering chandelier earrings.

The wife of Maroon 5 rocker Adam Levine added to her breathtaking look with bouncy golden waves, which fell beyond her shoulders.

Wow factor: Adding to the models' wow factor on the starry night was Namibian beauty Behati

Svelte: She showcased her svelte frame in a figure-hugging lavender-tinged strappy gown

Never quitting the day job! The star playfully hammed it up for photographers as she posed

Shine bright like a diamond: And while her dress proved to be a head-turner, she amped up the glamour further by wearing a glittering array of diamond-encrusted jewels

Oh so precious! Her jewellery selection included sparkling rings, bold bracelets and shimmering chandelier earrings

She's so cool: Her strappy gown also allowed her to show off her 'you're so cool' back tattoo

Not to be outdone, Russian stunner Natasha Poly gave fellow attendees an eyeful as she arrived in a shimmering red dress, in which she flashed much of her flesh via cleavage and torso cut-outs, as well as a daring thigh-high side slit.

Standing tall in a pair of black strappy heels - in which she showed off her perfect pedicure - she showed off something of a ballroom look in her gown, which featured one full sleeve and a high neckline.

With a smoky cat eye adding an edge to her look, Natasha rounded out her stylish get-up with a sleek bun.

Eyeful: Not to be outdone, Russian stunner Natasha gave attendees an eyeful as she arrived

Cut it out! She wore a shimmering red dress, in which she flashed much of her flesh via cleavage and torso cut-outs, as well as a daring thigh-high side slit

At the event, the stars mingled with a host of fellow models, including Karlie Kloss, Candice Swanepoel, Sofia Richie, Chloe Bennet, and Joan Smalls - all of whom effortlessly held their own on the expansive arrivals carpet.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit.

The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

Top tux: Karlie Kloss attended the glamorous annual event in a Carolina Herrera tuxedo dress

Golden: Her golden tresses were worn in a sleek bob, while diamond studs adorned her ears

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour, with former attendees including Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway, Kanye West and Rihanna.

Pedicab: She opted for an unusual mode of transport, making her way to the event in a pedicab

Shots: She smiled as she rode over to the event - while gathered onlookers took snapshots
They split nine years ago over his apparent reluctance to get married and have children.

But Simon Cowell proved he was very much on friendly terms with his ex girlfriend Terri Seymour as they cosied up on the set of EXTRA in Los Angeles on Monday, where the music mogul was promoting the new season of America's Got Talent.

The British TV star, 57 - who's in a relationship with Lauren Silverman - looked in high spirits as he was reunited with his former flame, 43 - who works as a correspondent for the USA based show.

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Still friends! Simon Cowell proved he was very much on friendly terms with his ex girlfriend Terri Seymour as they cosied up on the set of EXTRA in Los Angeles on Monday, where the musical mogul was promoting the new season of America's Got Talent

Although they pair split in 2008, the pair have always remained on good terms - with their most recent sighting being solid proof.

Simon donned his signature attire of a fitted pale blue top, which he teamed with baggy blue denim jeans.

Wearing a pair of dark-tinted aviator shades, the Syco owner was in good spirits as he leaned in to give Terri a hug.

The Buckinghamshire born beauty absolutely stunned in a lace red dress, while her brunette locks were curled to perfection, as she had a little chat with her former lover.

Having a good day: The British TV star, 57 - who's in a relationship with Lauren Silverman - looked in high spirits for the work commitment

Simple style: Simon donned his signature attire of a fitted pale blue top, which he teamed with baggy blue denim jeans

Catching up: Terri, 43 - who works as a correspondent for EXTRA - had a little chat with her former flame - proving they are on very much friendly terms

Stunning: The Buckinghamshire born beauty absolutely stunned in a lace red dress, while her brunette locks were curled to perfection

Simon, who is currently on UK television as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, took a seat on-stage in the sunshine, as he began talking about the American version of the competition show.

He was joined by fellow AGT judges - Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, as well as brand new host Tyra Banks.

Meanwhile, Terri was joined by hunky Mario Lopez, who helped her grill the line-up on the new series.

While Terri and Simon reportedly split over his desire to not have a brood - his situation is very different now, with him admitting that their children often share playdates.

Head poncho: Simon, who is currently on UK television as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, took a seat on-stage in the sunshine, as he began talking about the American version of the competition show

Line-up: He was joined by fellow AGT judges - Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, as well as brand new host Tyra Banks

Squad: Terri was joined by hunky Mario Lopez, who helped her grill the line-up on the new series

Chilling: Wearing a pair of dark-tinted aviator shades, the Syco owner was in a good spirits

Wowza! Supermodel Heidi put on a very leggy display in a short green dress alongside Simon

Fun dynamic: The pair proved to be very chatty as they discussed the new series of AGT

Simon is father to three-year-old Eric with girlfriend Lauren, while Terri has one-year-old daughter Coco with model boyfriend Clark Mallon.

In an interview with DailyMail.com last year, former model Terri claimed Coco and Eric are 'boyfriend and girlfriend'.

She revealed: 'Coco and Eric are like this. They are really good friends we go on lots of playdates.

'Eric calls Coco his girlfriend, so it's scary.'

Show-stopping: The German beauty looked every inch the blonde bombshell

Parent duties: While Terri and Simon reportedly split over his desire to not have a brood - his situation is very different now, with him admitting that their children often share playdates

Former flame: Terri and Simon were an item for eight years before their split, with the music mogul rumoured to have given her a 6million 'parting gift'

Terri and Simon were an item for eight years before their split, with the music mogul rumoured to have given her a 6million 'parting gift'.

He then went on to become engaged to Afghan-born make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy in 2010, but they split in February 2012.

Simon shocked fans in summer 2013 when it was revealed he was expecting his first child with American socialite Lauren - who was then married to real estate mogul Andrew Silverman.
She is set to be immortalised in Madame Tussauds Sydney's hall of fame with the unveiling of her debut wax figure later this month.

And Megan Gale, 41, has appeared in candid behind-the-scenes snaps from sitting a and measurement-taking session last year.

In the images, which were taken in November, the pregnant starlet was seen posing animatedly with a series of props including a wax eyeball and a pair of forceps.

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Eye on the prize! Megan Gale, 41, has appeared in candid behind-the-scenes snaps from sitting a and measurement-taking session last year

In one photo, a wax artist is seen sizing up Megan's brunette mane against a series of different-coloured strands of hair in preparation for her wig's creation.

Megan endured an arduous three-hour sitting process, involving over 250 measurements being taken.

'I am immensely honoured to be joining the Madame Tussauds Sydney family and to be following in the footsteps of so many great Australian icons,' said Megan in an official statement.

Wax on, wax off! In the images, which were taken in November, the pregnant starlet was seen posing animatedly with a series of props including a wax eyeball and a pair of forceps

'I can't wait to see the end result and come face-to-face with my wax figure in May'.

The supermodel's wax figure will stand among that of other Australian A-listers, including Hugh Jackman and Elle Macpherson.

Miranda Kerr joined Madame Tussauds Sydney's ranks in 2012, with her wax figure donning a frock designed by Australian couturier Alex Perry.

It's not know whether Megan will follow in Miranda's footsteps when it comes to her doppelganger's sartorial selections.

'I can't wait to see the end result and come face-to-face with my wax figure in May': The supermodel's wax figure will stand among that of other Australian A-listers, including Hugh Jackman and Elle Macpherson

Wigging out: In one photo, a wax artist is seen sizing up Megan's brunette mane against a series of different-coloured strands of hair in preparation for her wig's creation

Megan's wax figure will be unveiled on Thursday 11th May as part of an interactive Fashion Week experience at the Darling Harbour venue.

Celebrating all things Australian fashion, visitors will be also be able to channel their inner Megan by strutting a purpose-built runway at the event.

Guests will also enjoy a digital make-over and magazine cover photo-shoot as part of the exciting event.
He is starring in and directing the A Star Is Born remake - which will also feature pop princess Lady Gaga.

And Bradley Cooper looked very much in character as he was spotted in two different ensembles while filming scenes for the movie at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles on Monday.

The actor, 42 - who recently welcomed daughter Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper with girlfriend Irina Shayk - was hunky as he flaunted his musical skills on an electric guitar.

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Lights, camera, action! Bradley Cooper looked very much in character as he was spotted in two different ensembles while filming scenes for the movie A Star Is Born at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles on Monday

Bradley was first spotted wearing a beige colour button-down shirt and black denims as he took to the stage to perform.

The Hangover star was every inch the musician as he rocked it out on a cool red and white guitar.

He looked like a hunk with his slightly longer locks slicked back as he took on the super cool role of Jackson Maine.

It wasn't long before the star was fussed over by a hair and make-up team as he made another outfit change.

Rocking out: The actor, 42, looked hunky as he flaunted his musical skills on an electric guitar

Like a pro! The Hangover star was every inch the musician as he rocked it out on a cool red and white guitar

Mane attraction: He looked like a hunk with his slightly longer locks slicked back as he took on the super cool role of Jackson Maine

Different look: Bradley changed into a more casual top as he put on a more energetic display with the instrument

Bradley changed into a more casual top as he put on a more energetic display with the instrument.

The Hollywood heartthrob is directing and starring alongside Lady Gaga - who is making her feature film debut in the the Warner Bros. remake of the musical drama.

The 31-year-old Golden Globe winner - who will be billed by her birth name Stefani Germanotta for the tragic romance - was also spotted on set a few days ago.

Keeping him hunky: In true celebrity style, Bradley was fussed over by a hair and make-up team

The pressure is on! He is starring in and directing the A Star Is Born remake

Line-up: The Hollywood heartthrob is starring alongside Lady Gaga - who is making her feature film debut in the the Warner Bros. remake of the musical drama

Perfectionist: Bradley seemed intent on getting the best possible shots for the flick

Seeing double: It looked like the actor was joining by a body double

Filming: A camera man called action on the scene

Movie spectacle: It proved to be a large scale production

Another days work: Despite all eyes on him, Bradley kept his cool as he continued to rock out on the guitar

Happy family: Bradley recently welcomed daughter Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper with girlfriend Irina Shayk

She plays a talented unknown called Ally who's shepherded by alcoholic country star Jackson Maine (Cooper).

It will be the fourth Hollywood re-telling of the story. The first version was released in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.

In 1954, Judy Garlsan took the title role opposite James Mason, and in 1976 Brabra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson remade the dramatic musical again.

Remake: It will be the fourth Hollywood re-telling of the story. The first version was released in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March

Hitting the big screen! The 31-year-old Golden Globe winner - who will be billed by her birth name Stefani Germanotta for the tragic romance - was also spotted on set a few days ago

Babs: Mother Monster and the Tony-nominated thespian are said to be modeling their reboot off of the 1976 version starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand

The current project's sound mixer Steve Morrow recently revealed that Gaga will be singing all the songs in the film - including a few she's penned - live on the set.

'You sit there and you think, "Lady Gaga wants all the vocals live. She wants to perform live every single time you see her sing. She's going to be live,"' the Oscar nominee told the Next Best Picture Podcast in February.

The movie is slated for release in September 2018.
While she's recently been known for her bikini flaunting displays, she's revealed she's hard back at work filming a new movie.

Currently shooting in South Africa, Elizabeth Hurley took a much-deserved break from filming as she shared a candid snap with her hoards of social media followers of her straddling an elephant.

In the picture, the 51-year-old actress - clad in a boho inspired red peasant blouse - holds her hand in the air with joy as she rests on top an elephant that was due to be emotionally culled before it was rescued by an animal reserve.

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Never forget! Elizabeth Hurley took a much-deserved break from filming as she shared a candid snap with her hoards of social media followers of her straddling an elephant

Yet, it wasn't her fashionable display that caught her followers attention but rather the animal's eye-catching extremity, leaving them in fits of laughter.

Filming on the African continent, her new flick Phoenix Wilder: The Great Elephant Adventure which follows the heart-warming story about a 12-year-old who out smarts a gang of poachers and saves the elephants in harms way.

Making the picture more poignant, The Royals star was all smiles as she captioned the snap: 'Hello Africa!. Check out their website to see how this amazing reserve is saving elephants. This one was due to be culled until they rescued it.'

But despite her heartfelt message, a number of her online fans couldn't help but comment on the wild animal's appendage.

Hilarious: But despite her heartfelt message, a number of her online fans couldn't help but comment on the wild animal's appendage

While others condemned her actions, an eagle-eyed follower shared: 'Look at the c**k on that elephant! I don't mean you, Liz.'

'Smart elephant also enjoying. See the photo carefully,' another wrote.

While another hilariously added: 'Hung like a........elephant, that elephant!'.

Aside from the massive gaffe, the mother-of-one was clearly taken by the gentle giants as she shared another clip online of the animals.

Taken: Elsewhere, the mother-of-one was clearly taken by the gentle giants as she shared another clip online of the animals

Revealing she was on set, the stunner introduced her social media followers to her 'best' ever co-stars Chishuru, Mussina and baby Bela.

The Hollywood A-lister pulled a number of excited faces as she showcased the elephants behind her, whispering to the camera: 'Shooting in Africa'.

Writing alongside the clip, she wrote: 'On the set of my new movie which I'm shooting in South Africa with the best co stars ever-Chishuru, Mussina and baby Bela.

'Shooting in Africa': The Hollywood A-lister pulled a number of excited faces as she showcased the elephants behind her, whispering to the camera: 'Shooting in Africa'

'It's an enchanting story about a 12 year old boy who beats a gang of poachers and saves these beautiful elephants'.

Elizabeth previously joined a global billboard campaign to protect African elephants alongside Ricky Gervais and Joanna Lumley in March.

The March Of Giants attracted thousands of people to watch a digital herd of elephants to trek across the worlds electronic billboards to raise awareness of the crisis facing the animals in Africa.

The virtual elephants set off in Hong Kong before heading for a giant screen in New Yorks Times Square.
She beholds the coveted title as a Bond girl on her extensive CV.

And Monica Belluci proved she has all the credentials for the job as she hit the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York on Monday evening, where she was on the arm of fashion magnate Valentino Garavan.

The 52-year-old beauty showed off her age-defying good looks in a sizzling sheer gown which flaunted her underwear beneath - truly cementing her veteran vamp status.

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Stunner: Monica Belluci proved she has all the credentials for the job as she hit the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York on Monday evening, where she hit the red carpet on the arm of fashion magnate Valentino Garavan

Monica joined the creme de la creme of the fashion world at the bash where she stormed the red carpet in the sheer gown which left very little to the imagination.

The billowing gown was both gothic and vixen-esque as the sheer top and delicate lace appliques made for a unique and flawlessly detailed finish.

She showed off her heaving bust through the see-through top while her cleavage was given a boost by the structured corset underneath.

Sweeping the floor in length, her stunning skirt not only added the required drama of the evening but also upped the sex appeal to full with its sheer body.

Oh my! The 52-year-old beauty showed off her age-defying good looks in a sizzling sheer gown which flaunted her underwear beneath the black ensemble which truly cemented her veteran vamp status

A fine pair! Monica joined the creme de la creme of the fashion world at the bash where she stormed the red carpet in the sheer gown which left very little to the imagination

Monica's raven tresses were worn in sexy curls with her fringe tickling her lashes in length and adding a coquettish, sex kitten vibe.

Her eyes were outlined in a smudged kohl as part of the perfectly complementary smokey eye addition to the already smouldering look.

As she strutted her stuff she was joined by fashion legend Valentino, who looked dashing in a sharp tuxedo undoubtedly self-designed.

Showing off her incredible figure, it is easy to wonder how they stay in such great shape. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper, she said that she doesn't favour the gym in a quest to stay slim, instead preferring to enjoy life and eat pasta and cake.

Italian stallions! Monica's raven tresses were worn in sexy curls with her fringe tickling her lashes in length and adding a coquettish, sex kitten vibe

Keeping trim: Monica explained: 'Im not someone who wakes up at 6am to go to the gym. The truth is that I like cakes and pasta, the odd glass of wine and a very occasional cigarette. My advice is: eat well, drink well, have good sex  and laugh a lot. The rest comes all on its own'

Monica explained: 'Im not someone who wakes up at 6am to go to the gym. The truth is that I like cakes and pasta, the odd glass of wine and a very occasional cigarette. My advice is: eat well, drink well, have good sex  and laugh a lot. The rest comes all on its own.'

On Monday stars swept the famous steps outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue for the annual style-studded bash.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons, with the focus being on the avant-garde designer's technique with silhouettes, draping and fit. The 74-year-old Japanese fashion legend is the second ever living designer to be the sole subject of the Met's fashion exhibit since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

All the greats: On Monday stars swept the famous steps outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the heart on New York's 5th Avenue for the annual style-studded bash

The glitzy bash, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala, borrows its name from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the location for the annual NYC event.

In 1946, the gala was launched, in a bid to raise money for the Mets Costume Institute. This year's lucrative fundraiser will see less that 600 glamorous attendees appear. Tickets market for up to $30,000, while tables cost $275,000.

Guests must be personally approved by American Vogue editor and chairwoman of event, Anna Wintour.
She has been working hard to get back into shape since giving birth to her daughter Dream in November.

And mother-of-two Blac Chyna looked better than ever as she headed for a night out in Miami on Monday.

The 28-year-old kept things casual for her trip to Sunny Isle Beach, but her tight sporty dress still managed to flaunt her toned curves.

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Looking great! Blac Chyna looked better than ever as she headed for a night out in Miami on Monday

All eyes were on Chyna's ample derriere as she stepped out of her car in her Adidas number.

The midi dress in a pale green highlighted her pert posterior to perfection.

The star accessoried with nude strappy heels and a touch of bling on her wrists, while her long glossy locks were left loose.

Sports chic: The 28-year-old kept things casual for her trip to Sunny Isle Beach, but her tight sporty dress still managed to flaunt her toned curves

She shot to notoriety as a music video dancer.

And Chyna showed off her skills via a Snapchat video on Sunday evening.

The 28-year-old busted out her twerking moves while wearing a skintight outfit in her kitchen.

Booty shake: Chyna showed off her twerking skills via Snapchat on Sunday

The gorgeous mother of two popped her hips back and forth with impressive mobility in the video clip.

However, despite the playful display, she has faced her fair share of trials and tribulations with Rob Kardashian, having split up numerous times and called their wedding plans off.

But in the latest twist, they are reportedly working on their relationship and are back together - although that likely could change at any moment.

Easy does it! The 28-year-old busted out her twerking moves while wearing a skintight outfit in her kitchen

All the right moves: The gorgeous mother of two popped her hips back and forth with impressive mobility in the video clip

In an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians earlier this month, Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as half-sister Kylie Jenner are seen Facetiming Rob after a huge fight.

At the time, Khloe revealed to him that Chyna has threatened to break things off with him.

In the episode, Rob's 32-year-old sister revealed: 'She texted all your sisters and said that she's ready to leave you.'

Hiding the pain? However, despite the playful display, she has faced her fair share of trials and tribulations with Rob Kardashian, having split up numerous times and called their wedding plans off

Cute! Her on again beau shared a snap of their child's cute new Yeezy shoes

Rob responded: 'I definitely do love her and want to be with her.'

'Am I crazy?!' Khloe asks. 'What does that mean?'

Despite the furor, Chyna recently posted pictures of them kissing, where they seem to be in her home in Calabasas which she also shares with son Cairo, aged four, who she shares with rapper Tyga.
Given the array of different subjects covered during each episode of their popular magazine show, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby often expect the unexpected.

But the This Morning co-hosts were left in fits on laughter on Tuesday, as celebrity guest Miriam Margolyes enthusiastically chomped her way through an ice cream cone throughout the entire course of her interview on the show.

As the veteran actress, 75, answered questions with her mouth full, rejected the Flake bar at the top of her soft scoop treat - handing it to Holly - and clumsily plunged her tongue inside the cone, Phillip quipped: 'This is all going to pot!'

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Special guest: Miriam Margolyes made an appearance on ITV's This Morning on Tuesday

The interview started with the co-hosts eating ice cream as they prepared to introduce their guest, before revealing that she also insisted on having one as well - and demanded Holly's as it was larger than hers.

As they began their chat with the Harry Potter star, they got rid of their cones, with Phillip telling his guest: 'I have no intentions of taking that off you, because you might rip my fingers off,' prompting Miriam to shoot back: 'I should bl**dy hope not!'

They then proceeded to talk about the bubbly screen star's array of upcoming projects, including Madam Rubinstein, a London stage play about celebrated makeup gurus Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden.

Chow down: The 74-year-old actress chomped on an ice cream cone throughout her interview

Fits of giggles: She left hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby in fits of laughter as she enthusiastically consumed the frozen sweet treat

Losing her composure: Holly fell back into her chair as Miriam merrily chewed and licked away

Elegant: She admitted that her relatives often accuse her of not being particularly elegant

As Phillip posed a question, Miriam could be heard crunching on her wafer cone, prompting Phillip to tell his very comfortable guest: 'I'm making it a really long question so you can swallow that!'

'Oh no it's alright,' replied the Oxford native. 'I'll talk with my mouth full.'

A laughing Holly later said: 'I've never conducted an interview with somebody eating an ice cream before. We should do it all the time.'

However, the downside of having guests chow down on the frozen delight quickly came to light, when Miriam got some of the ice cream smeared on her lips.

In demand: During her time on the show, she spoke about a variety of upcoming projects

A real mouthful: At the start of her interview, bubbly screen star Miriam said that she would talk with her mouth full of ice cream - and continued to do so, even dropping some on herself

A darker shade: She also revealed that she'd dyed her for her new play Madam Rubinstein

'You've got a tiny bit on your lip there,' advised Phillip, who was quickly told by Miriam: 'I'm surprised it's not everywhere... This is live television, what can I tell you.'

Ironically, she was discussing how elegant Helena Rubinstein was, prompting her to add: 'I wish I were an elegant person. I'd love to be, I just can't be. My relatives say to me, "Miriam, why what happened to you? Why can't you be more elegant?"'

As she continued to get stuck in, an astounded Phillip remarked: 'You are really trying to get your tongue into that, aren't you?'

Without missing a beat, a clearly delighted Miriam shot back, through the chews: 'Well, that's what tongues are for!'

Distracted: Her insistence on eating throughout the chat constantly distracted the co-hosts

Role: The actress spoke about her dream of landing a role on popular TV show Call The Midwife

Knee: Miriam spoke about how a recent knee surgery has allowed her to take up walking again

She also spoke about her so far unfulfilled desire to land a role on Call The Midwife, saying: 'I don't know if they wanted me [on the show], but they haven't wanted me yet. But after this [ice cream eating], they probably won't.'

By the time her interview drew to a close, the screen star - who listed learning Italian fluently and losing weights as her top bucket list goals - was left with just a nub of her cone, but continued to munch away.

'You nearly got through the ice cream over the course of the interview, so well done you,' remarked a seemingly impressed Phillip, as the interview ended.

Just one Cornetto: Among Miriam's bucket list goals is a desire to learn Italian fluently

Entertaining: The actress proved to be an entertaining addition to the show's roster on the day
He's been rumoured to be dating Network Ten research executive Hannah Scott.

But now Kris Smith has stepped out solo to attend the Sunglass Hut Mens Eyewear Showcase Dinner in Sydney.

The 38-year-old model looked stylish and chic as he led the male celebrity parade on Tuesday night.

Kris Smith attended the Sunglass Hut event on Tuesday wearing a pair of beige dress pants with the ankles rolled up into a cuff and secured with a black Louis Vuitton belt

Kris wore a pair of beige dress pants with the ankles rolled up into a cuff and secured with a black Louis Vuitton belt.

He teamed this with a black polo T-shirt with the three buttons done up and the collar turned over.

He matched this with a black leather bomber jacket that had navy blue suede-look sleeves.

To match the jacket, Kris wore a pair of slip-on navy blue suede loafers with no socks underneath, exposing his bare ankles.

Classic: He teamed this with a black polo T-shirt with the three buttons done up and the collar turned over

In the details: He accessorised with a titanium watch on his left wrist while he had multiple colourful bands on his right wrist

He accessorised with a titanium watch on his left wrist while he had multiple colourful bands on his right wrist.

He swept his hair to the right side and kept his signature facial hair in tact.

He posed with his hands in his pants pockets and flashed his pearly whites for the camera.

Strike a pose! He posed with his hands in his pants pockets and flashed his pearly whites for the camera

Kris also took to Instagram to show off his model status with a cheeky James Bond-esque pose for his 114k followers.

He posed with a pair of the sunglasses from the new line as he slide them down his nose and looked over them with a smirk.

He captioned the pic: 'Sorry @sunglasshut you may be a few pairs light in your amazing new collection thanks to this Manc... #ShadeOfYou #emporioarmani'

Smooth criminal! Kris captioned his Instagram snap: 'Sorry @sunglasshut you may be a few pairs light in your amazing new collection thanks to this Manc'

After leaving the South African jungle in March, Kris appears to have found himself a new 'girlfriend', Network Ten research executive Hannah Scott.

It comes after the father-of-one said he was 'trying to work things out' with his ex-girlfriend, model Maddy King, before his stint in the jungle.

Three weeks ago, Kris shared a loved-up snap of the 'couple' on Instagram, with several friends congratulating them on going public.

Hannah has been working at Network Ten for two years as a research executive, and it is possible they met due to Kris' appearance on I'm A Celebrity earlier this year.

The brunette beauty appears to be in her mid twenties, having graduated with a media degree from the University Of Wollongong in 2011.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Kris' representatives and Network Ten for comment.
She was seen queuing at a job centre last week, just weeks after a sun-soaked holiday in Ibiza.

But Michaella McCollum, one half of the infamous 'Peru Two', showed no signs of slowing down her jet-set lifestyle as she headed on a glamorous night out in Marbella, Spain.

The 24-year-old pulled on her best party dress and headed out in Puerto Banus on Monday, despite recently signing up for the dole - amid claims she is set to appear on Celebrity Big Brother, to discuss her time behind bars in Peru.

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No cares: Michaella McCollum, one half of the infamous 'Peru Two', showed no signs of slowing down her jet-set lifestyle as she headed on a glamorous night out in Marbella, Spain

Michaella showed no signs of concern over her financial situation as she slipped into a tight black dress, to enjoy a night out in the notoriously expensive holiday hotspot.

Stepping out in towering heels, the blonde made her way through the party town to a tapas restaurant with a friend, where they enjoyed a meal and a few glasses of wine.

The girls later left the establishment and headed on for further drinks at another bar - clearly making the most of their time in Marbella, after landing earlier this week.

Relaxed: The 24-year-old pulled on her best party dress and headed out in Puerto Banus on Monday, despite recently signing up for the dole

Set for stardom? The appearance comes amid rumours she is set to appear on Celebrity Big Brother, to discuss her time behind bars in Peru

Upbeat: Michaella showed no signs of concern over her financial situation as she slipped into a tight black dress, to enjoy a night out in the notoriously expensive holiday hotspot

Michaella was seen arriving at Malaga airport on Friday for her third Spanish getaway of the year, just days after signing on at a job centre in Dungannon.

A fellow job seeker at the centre in Northern Ireland revealed last week: 'Michaella didn't look happy to be joining the dole queue.

'I was surprised to see her there after all the photos of her enjoying herself on holidays abroad.'

Jet-setter: Michaella was seen arriving at Malaga airport on Friday, for her third Spanish getaway of the year - just days after signing on at a job centre in Dungannon

Better life: A fellow job seeker at the centre in Northern Ireland revealed last week: 'Michaella didn't look happy to be joining the dole queue'

While she appears to be looking for a job, following her stint in jail for smuggling cocaine, reports have since surfaced that she is set to appear on the new series of Celebrity Big Brother.

A source told The Sun last month: 'Michaella has made no secret of her dream to become a reality TV star.

'Big Brother producers have been chatting to her about getting her on the next series of the show, which is a pairs theme.

'Channel 5 would have loved to sign up Melissa as well, but she isnt interested in courting fame and just wants to get on with her life.'

TV star: Reports also recently surfaced that she is set to appear on the new series of Celebrity Big Brother - which Channel 5 have since denied

Holiday mood: Stepping out in towering heels, the blonde made her way through the party town to a tapas restaurant with a friend

Treat: The girls were seen enjoying a meal and a few glasses of wine

Painting the town red: The girls later left the establishment and headed on for further drinks at another bar - clearly making the most of their time in Marbella, after landing earlier this week

Spilling all: Michaella has also reportedly been offered 250,000 to reveal her prison ordeal in a tell-all book

Channel 5 have since denied the claims - but Michaella has also reportedly been offered 250,000 to reveal her prison ordeal in a tell-all book.

The one-time drugs mule from County Tyrone was jailed in 2013 for attempting to smuggle 1.5 million of cocaine out of Peru with her friend Melissa Reid.

The pair were found in possession of 11kg of the drug hidden inside food packets in their luggage, as they tried to board their flight from Lima to Madrid.

First claiming they were forced into the job by an armed gang, the girls were later sentenced to six years and eight months in jail in August that year, after confessing to the crime.

McCollum was released on parole in March 2016 after serving less than half of her sentence, while Reid was released in June, and flew back to Scotland shortly afterwards.

Past: The one-time drugs mule hit headlines in 2013 when she was jailed in Peru for attempting to smuggle 1.5 million of cocaine out of the country to Spain, with friend Melissa Reid

Evidence: The pair were found in possession of 11kg of the drug hidden inside food packets in their luggage as they prepared to board a flight from Lima to Madrid
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They are said to have fallen in love on the Mission Impossible 6 set.

And Tom Cruise and Vanessa Kirby looked very comfortable in each other's company as they filmed passionate scenes for the upcoming action flick in Paris on Tuesday.

Sharing a kiss, the Hollywood legend, 53, and The Crown star, 26, snuggled up close, sharing jokes between takes as they collapsed in fits of giggles.

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Is it acting? They are said to have fallen in love on the Mission Impossible 6 set. And Tom Cruise and Vanessa Kirby looked very comfortable in each other's company as they filmed passionate scenes for the upcoming action flick in Paris on Tuesday

Top Gun star Tom - who is reprising his role of special agent Ethan Hunt - proved his character hadn't lost any of his famed charm or style as he sported a fitted blue suit for the scenes.

Vanessa, who is set to play the female lead in the upcoming thriller - also looked stylish, sporting a cream trench coat that cinched in at her tiny waist.

The actor cast the British beauty in the latest installment of the action films after seeing her play Princess Margaret in the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown, according to InTouch Weekly.

Pucker up! Sharing a kiss, the Hollywood legend, 53, and The Crown star, 26, snuggled up close, sharing jokes between takes as they collapsed in fits of giggles

The pair are believed to have immediately hit it off on set, and Cruise is now said to be looking to the future.

Sources also say Cruise is ready again to settle down, just weeks after his beloved mother Mary Lee Pfeiffer died at the age of 80.

An insider told the US magazine that he loved how Vanessa played Margaret in The Crown, with the source saying that 'Tom flipped for her work'.

'He told the other MI producers that he had to have Vanessa for a crucial role in the franchise's sixth installment,' they added. 'He's blown away by her endless charm and energy.'

Loving life: The co-stars seemed in great spirits as they chatted away between filming the passionate scenes

Intense: The pair gazed into each other's eyes as the cameras rolled capturing their on-screen chemistry

Suited and booted: Top Gun star Tom - who is reprising his role of special agent Ethan Hunt - proved his character hadn't lost any of his famed charm or style as he sported a fitted blue suit for the scenes

Once Tom got her on set, they had 'instant chemistry,' it was later alleged, and it was that spark between the two that led to her getting the role right away.

And, according to the unnamed insider, Tom is already said to be considering a long future with the British beauty, with one source even suggesting that 'he wants to make her the next Mrs Tom Cruise'.

The beauty, who was born in Wimbledon, West London, is the same height 5'7" Tom; his former wife Nicole Kidman, who was four inches taller than the actor, famously quipped that she could 'now wear heels' after the pair divorced, while his third wife Katie Holmes was two inches taller than the Mission Impossible star.

Handsome pair: The genetically-blessed co-stars seemed in good spirits despite the chill in Paris as they got to work filming the sixth installment in the beloved Mission Impossible series

Getting cosy: The pair spent the majority of the time in the scene sharing a smooch as the cameras rolled

Top Gun star Tom will reprise his role of special agent Ethan Hunt, which he first portrayed 21 years ago, in the newest Mission Impossible flick, due for release in July 2018.

However it was only announced last month that Henry Cavill had joined the cast in the latest installment of the famous action franchise.

While it isn't fully known what Henry's role in the spy movie will be, Variety claimed that he will play some sort of a right hand to the head of Cruise's unit.

Comfortable: The pair seemed happy and content in each other's company throughout the long period of filming

Getting cosy: The duo were leaning in close for a kiss and spent time lingering closely to one another

Something funny? Vanessa appeared to collapse in fits of giggles as she chatted to Tom after filming their passionate scenes

Alec Baldwin played the role of Cruises boss in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, but it is still unknown if he will return.

While most of the details of the plot of the latest film have been kept tightly under wraps, Skydance Media CEO David Ellison revealed that Tom will be performing the biggest stunt sequence of his career in the film.

Ellison told Collider: 'What Tom is doing in this movie I believe will top anything thats come before. It is absolutely unbelievablehes been training for a year.

'It is going to be, I believe, the most impressive and unbelievable thing that Tom Cruise has done in a movie, and he has been working on it since right after Rogue Nation came out [in 2015]. Its gonna be mind-blowing.'

Tom and Vanessa star in the film alongside a whole host of other big names, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Jeremy Renner.

That's a wrap: Vanessa layered up with a padded blue coat as she waited around on set in chilly Paris between her scenes

Cruise control! Tom arrived on set in a golf cart as he zoomed around the streets of Paris with the cast and crew

Finishing touches: Vanessa had her make-up expertly touched-up before she headed to her kissing scene with Tom
She's the former Bachelor known for flaunting her curves in a series of revealing outfits.

And Tuesday night was no exception for Noni Janur, who wowed the crowd in a fitted jumpsuit at the Neuw Denim launch.

The 26-year-old beauty went solo at the event as her fellow reality TV beau, former Bachelorette contestant Samuel Johnson, nowhere in sight.

Delightful in denim! The Bachelor's Noni Janur shows off her curves in revealing jumpsuit at Neuw launch

Noni put her best foot forward at the fashion line launch, wearing a pair of camouflage print ankle boots.

Showing off her tanned legs, the former reality TV star flaunted her curves in a fitted denim jumpsuit.

The swimsuit designer wore her sunkissed locks back from her face in a high ponytail, going with a bold shade of lipstick.

On trend: Noni put her best foot forward at the fashion line launch, wearing a pair of camouflage print ankle boots

You beauty! The swimsuit designer wore her sunkissed locks back from her face in a high ponytail, going with a bold shade of lipstick

Photos from the night show Noni mingling with other guests at the denim line launch.

The beach babe unsuccessfully competing for Richie Strahan's affection on last year's season of The Bachelor.

But since her time on TV, Noni has garnered a strong social media following thanks to her revealing bikini photos.

Hanging out: Photos from the night show Noni mingling with other guests at the fashion denim line launch

Last month she hit back at body shamers on Instagram, saying she was sick of people who were critical of being a certain size.

'I am so sick of body shaming. "You're too fat" "You're too thin" Well you're too much of a d**khead so STFU,' she captioned a swimsuit clad photo of herself.

Meanwhile Noni and Samuel confirmed they were dating after they were photographed kissing on Bondi Beach in February.
She made headlines after being spotted kissing her ex boyfriend, Nabil Gazal, as she waits for her husband, Oliver Curtis, to be released from Jail.

And The Daily Telegraph has reported that PR guru Roxy Jacenko 'conveniently postponed' one of the events her company was promoting after all the furore, which was to be held on Tuesday evening.

The publication reports a Sweaty Betty employee blamed the cancellation on a lack of produce.

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Speculation: Roxy Jacenko reportedly cancelled an event her company was pushing scheduled for Tuesday evening, after she was spotted kissing her ex-boyfriend

The unnamed employee told the publication on Monday: 'Due to the stocks not clearing customs in time for tomorrow's tasting, we have just been advised that we will need to postpone the event scheduled for tomorrow,' with the event to be held at Barangaroo's French Vine.

Instead, Roxy enjoyed a low-key dinner with her children, Pixie and Hunter, her mother Doreen, and some friends on Tuesday evening.

Doreen took to Instagram to share a snap of the dinner table, with Roxy clad in her exercise gear which she was pictured wearing in Sydney's Paddington earlier that day.

Relaxed: Instead, Roxy enjoyed a low-key dinner with her children, Pixie and Hunter, her mother Doreen, and some friends on Tuesday evening

Saturday night saw the Sydney-based star kissing Nabil, a property developer, at a post-dinner party held at his luxury apartment.

The sensational snaps obtained exclusively by Daily Mail Australia, saw Roxy in an intimate embrace with Nabil, having enjoyed dinner with friends earlier in the evening.

Not concerned at hiding any affection, fellow revelers inside the apartment could be seen looking on as Roxy and Nabil leaned in to kiss.

And by embracing in front of large glass windows located near a balcony, the pair appeared unfazed about hiding their intimate embrace from outside eyes.

Making headlines: Saturday night saw the Sydney-based star kissing Nabil, a property developer, at a post-dinner party held at his luxury apartment

'This was no one off friendly kiss,' the snapper, who took the pictures, told Daily Mail Australia. 'It was a passionate long lingering snog.'

'Whatever the history, these two are obviously still into each other.

'If you're suggesting it was merely a little kiss between friends then I wish I had friend like that.'

According to the photographer, Roxy was there until the early hours of the morning and he did not see her leave the premises.

Family: Roxy is married to jailed husband Oliver Curtis (pictured)

Roxy declined to comment on the pictures when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

Earlier in the evening, Roxy and Nabil were seen with a group of friends dining at Bar Machiaveli, an upmarket restaurant in Sydney's exclusive Rushcutters Bay.

Noticeably absent on Roxy's left hand wedding finger was her wedding and engagement rings from husband Oliver.

She did however wear a diamond band on her right hand, which is widely rumoured to be from Nabil. Roxy has denied the bling is from her former beau.

The dinner date was the latest in a series of catch-ups Roxy and her former flame have had since husband Oliver Curtis was jailed last June, for conspiracy to commit insider trading.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Roxy in relation to this article.
She's the former Miss World Australia beauty known for her impeccable style and statuesque frame.

And Erin Holland stole the spotlight once again as she attended the launch of Neuw Denim's new collection in Sydney this Tuesday night.

The blonde bombshell let her legs do the talking as she stepped out in a thigh-baring frock emblazoned with a polka-dot print.

Going dotty for denim! Erin Holland stole the spotlight once again as she attended the launch of Neuw Denim's new collection in Sydney this Tuesday night

Her look was complete with a pair of black velvet ankle boots and a weighty diamond ring.

She highlighted her blue eyes with a swipe of copper-hued eye-shadow while accentuating her pout with a touch of pink lipstick.

Joining Erin at the event was Big Brother contestant Tim Dormer and his boyfriend Ash Toweel.

Thigh's the limit! The blonde bombshell let her legs do the talking as she stepped out in a thigh-baring frock emblazoned with a polka-dot print

Glam: She highlighted her blue eyes with a swipe of copper-hued eye-shadow while accentuating her pout with a touch of pink lipstick

Fancy seeing you here! Joining Erin at the event was Big Brother contestant Tim Dormer and his boyfriend Ash Toweel

The enamoured duo were hard to miss, with Tim donning an ecclectic leather jacket and Ash rocking a denim vest.

At one stage the pair were seen modelling a set of Viking-inspired headpieces, presumably in celebration of the Nordic inspiration behind the brand.

Meanwhile, The Bachelor's Noni Janur showcased her take on the denim theme by donning a pair of dungarees.

She completed her look with a pair of unusual camo-print heeled booties and a tan-coloured leather pouch bag.

Won't lost them in a crowd! The enamoured duo were hard to miss, with Tim donning an ecclectic leather jacket and Ash rocking a denim vest

Hat's an unusual accessory! At one stage the pair were seen modelling a set of Viking-inspired headpieces, presumably in celebration of the Nordic inspiration behind the brand

Who wears short shorts? Meanwhile, The Bachelor's Noni Janur showcased her take on the denim theme by donning a pair of dungarees
Sylvester Stallone's daughter Sistine hung out with the Topshop squad - Sofia Richie, Behati Prinsloo, and Joan Smalls - at her very first Met Gala in Manhattan on Monday.

The 18-year-old IMG Model took the plunge in a silver-beaded backless gown by the British brand with Nicholas Kirkwood stilettos, and a metallic Lee Savage clutch.

The high school senior finished off her red carpet ensemble for the Comme des Garcons-themed Costume Institute Ball with a cascading silver necklace.

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Debut: Sylvester Stallone's daughter Sistine (2-L) hung out with the Topshop squad - Sofia Richie, Behati Prinsloo, and Joan Smalls - at her very first Met Gala in Manhattan on Monday

Glittery: The 18-year-old IMG Model took the plunge in a silver-beaded backless gown by the British brand with Nicholas Kirkwood stilettos, and a metallic Lee Savage clutch

Smoky eyes: The high school senior finished off her red carpet ensemble for the Comme des Garcons-themed Costume Institute Ball with a cascading silver necklace

It's not surprising Sistine was selected for the squad since she made her catwalk debut on the Topshop runway during London Fashion Week back on February 19.

But don't expect Stallone or her fellow Miss Golden Globe sisters Scarlet and Sophia to follow in their father's famous footsteps as none of them 'have the acting gene.'

'I think we're a mystery, because we're only starting up now, ever since the Golden Globes we've got a lot of buzz, and a lot of attention,' Sistine - whose mother is Jennifer Flavin - explained in Harper by Harper's BAZAAR.

'So I think that it's a snowball effect, and we're still gaining momentum in this industry, so I think we're still not really known yet. I think that's cool, that we can't start from scratch here, and build up who we are. It's cool, it's the start of something new.'

Topshop model: It's not surprising Sistine was selected for the squad since she made her catwalk debut on the Topshop runway during London Fashion Week back on February 19

Nepotism: But don't expect Stallone or her fellow Miss Golden Globe sisters Scarlet and Sophia to follow in their father's famous footsteps as none of them 'have the acting gene' (pictured last Wednesday)

Sistine - whose mother is Jennifer Flavin - explained in Harper by Harper's BAZAAR: 'Ever since the Golden Globes we've got a lot of buzz, and a lot of attention. So I think that it's a snowball effect, and we're still gaining momentum in this industry'

The nepotistically-privileged socialite excitedly Snapchatted the roses she received from the designer as well as Met Gala host Katy Perry performing her new single Bon Appetit with Migos.

Stallone also shared an Insta-story from inside the car where Sofia playfully grabbed her breasts in a Topshop silver & gold lame gown.

The 5ft9in stunner appeared to have a blast glamming up with the 18-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie and the two Victoria's Secret stunners.

The fabulous foursome later posed alongside Candice Swanepoel, Presley Gerber, Gabriel Kane, and Jordan Kale Barrett.

Memories: The nepotistically-privileged socialite Snapchatted the roses she received from the designer as well as Met Gala host Katy Perry performing her new single Bon Appetit with Migos

Goofing around: Stallone also shared an Insta-story from inside the car where Sofia playfully grabbed her breasts in a Topshop silver & gold lame gown

All grown up! The 5ft9in stunner appeared to have a blast glamming up with the 18-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie and the two Victoria's Secret stunners
They have been married for seven years and share two children, but their love got off to such an explosive start it almost didn't happen.

Javier Bardem says he thought twice about dating Penelope Cruz because she's so fiery.

The 48-year-old actor told GQ, his wife's on set passion both drew him to her and also made him worried for their future.

Fire cracker: Javier Bardem says he thought twice about dating Penelope Cruz (pictured 2011) because she's so fiery

The couple fell for each other while starring in the Woody Allen-directed 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' in 2008.

Civer star: The 48-year-old actor told GQ, his wife's on set passion both drew him to her and also made him worried for their future

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star-told the magazine Penelope boasts the same firey personality as her on-screen character Maria Elena and that led Javier to question whether the actress was right for him.

Javier shared: 'Oh, boy. She has that feistiness. There are those scenes where we are arguing, she's throwing plates and so on.

'I had to wonder, ''Do I really want this?'' She has what I call the loving blood. Passion for everything.'

But Javier in the end fell for her after deciding that Penelope's passionate personality is what makes her both beautiful and sexy.

He told GQ magazine: 'That's what I find attractive. There is beauty and there is being sexy. Penelope has both.'

Penelope, 43, won an Academy Award for playing Javier's emotionally unstable love interest in the movie, which also starred Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall.

The couple - who have a son and a daughter together - tied the knot two years later.

The film that started it all: The couple fell for each other while starring in the Woody Allen-directed 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' in 2008

Javier also told the magazine that he cannot watch on-screen violence - even though he often plays the bad guy.

The Skyfall star - whose signature nose was created after being broken in a bar fight - said that after being involved in a horrible fight during his youth he struggles to watch violence play out on screen.

He explained: 'From that moment on, I couldn't stand violence. I still can't even watch it. I can't bear it.'

'So if I hate violence so much why did I do No Country For Old Men, right? I know, I know.

Love bloomed: The actor said of his partner (pictured last year) 'She has what I call the loving blood. Passion for everything'

'But you should have seen me off camera, playing Anton on that movie ... when the camera stopped rolling I would beg the Coen brothers ''please take that gun out of my face guys, please...''.

'Man, they would be laughing their asses off. I love them, they're geniuses. But it was tough.'

The award-winning actor will next be seen in the latest installment of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales, set for release on May 26.
Cindy Crawford and her 15-year-old daughter Kaia Gerber enjoyed an outing in Santa Monica on Monday.

The legendary 51-year-old supermodel cut a stylish figure in a white top and a pair of brown-rimmed sunglasses as she crossed the parking lot and headed into her car.

Her 17-year-old son Presley Gerber - Kaia's elder brother - was across the country that day, making his Met Gala debut at the star-studded bash in New York City.

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A place in the sun: Cindy Crawford and her 15-year-old daughter Kaia Gerber enjoyed an outing in Santa Monica on Monday

Fashionista in training: Kaia had teamed a flannel shirt with a grey top and black trouseres

Meanwhile...: Her son Presley partied with (from left) Candice Swanepoel, Gabriel Kane Day-Lewis, Sofia Richie, Jordan Kale Barrett, Joans Smalls and Behati Prinsloo

Presley had turned up to the event in a blue and black tuxedo that clashed elegantly against a pocket square swirled with yellow, black and white patterning.

He posed there with a claque of models including Candice Swanepoel, Gabriel Kane Day-Lewis, Sofia Richie, Jordan Kale Barrett, Joan Smalls and Behati Prinsloo.

All those names, as well as Sylvester Stallone's 18-year-old daughter Sistine, had been dressed by Topshop or Topman, according to the Topshop website itself.

Effortlessly chic: The legendary 51-year-old supermodel cut a stylish figure in a white top and a pair of brown-rimmed sunglasses as she crossed the parking lot and headed into her car

The Metropolitan Museum Of Art plays host to an annual celebrity-strewn fete -spearheaded by Anna Wintour - to drum up funds for the Costume Institute there.

The Met Gala also launches the spring exhibition, which this year celebrates designer and Comme Des Garcons founder Rei Kawakubo, per Vogue.

The last time the Met Gala celebrated an exhibition that revolved about on a single living designer's work was in 1983, the designer being Yves Saint Laurent.

Background: Kaia is Cindy's daughter by the latter's second husband Rande Gerber, to whom she's been married since 1998

Legacy: Kaia is following in her mother's footsteps and entering the modeling world

Anna, Vogue's editor-in-chief, co-chaired the fete alongside Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams, and the exhibition will open in full this Thursday, May 4.

Presley's told Teen Vogue of his 2017 Met Gala ensemble: 'I chose this look because I wanted it to stand out but not in a way that people would get annoyed.'

Revealing that 'I saw the theme as an invitation to wear bold clothes and get away with it,' he gushed of the brand he'd worn that 'I love Topman because the clothes are versatile and you can easily wear things for day or night.'

Big day: Cindy's 17-year-old son Presley made his Met Gala debut at the star-studded bash in New York City

Though Cindy didn't spend the first Monday of this May at the Met Gala, she did reminisce on social media about having attended the selfsame party last year.

She'd shown off her bombshell figure in a shimmering silver gown, standing for photos with Olivier Rousteing, who since 2011 has been creative director of Balmain.

Mrs. Rande Gerber posted an Instagram video this Monday of herself and Olivier - who'd donned a form-fitting black ensemble - hugging outside the event.

Throwback: Though not at this year's Met Gala, Cindy had attended last year's in a shimmering gown, standing for photos with Olivier Rousteing, who's creative director of Balmain

'Oh, my God, you're gonna have to help me get up the stairs': Mrs. Rande Gerber posted an Instagram video this Monday of herself and Olivier hugging outside the event

'How are you?' said Cindy as they embraced, adding: 'Oh, my God, you're gonna have to help me get up the stairs,' as Olivier pulled off his sunglasses.

She'd posted a social media photo Friday of herself standing for photos at the 2016 Met Gala alongside Kendall Jenner, who'd slid into a revealing Balmain dress.

The photo saw them from behind, lit up by the glare of camera flashes, and Cindy captioned: '#FBF to last year's Met Ball, glittering in @Balmain. #BalmainArmy'.
Mariah Carey showcased her substantial cleavage in a Tom Ford LBD while getting dinner in Beverly Hills with friends Monday night.

The 48-year-old R&B belter paired her mini-dress with a diamond necklace, fishnets, a big belt, matching jacket, and strappy platforms.

That same day, the five-time Grammy winner posted a throwback birthday tribute to her fraternal twins Moroccan and Monroe, who turned 6 on Saturday.

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On the prowl: Mariah Carey showcased her substantial cleavage in a Tom Ford LBD while getting dinner in Beverly Hills with friends Monday night

Ladies' night: The 48-year-old R&B belter paired her mini-dress with a diamond necklace, fishnets, a big belt, matching jacket, and strappy platforms

'I can't believe it's been six years since you two came into this world to the live version of Fantasy!' Mariah - who boasts 44M social media followers - gushed.

'"The applause!!!" I love you both more each day. You are the light of my life #Supernatural #HappyBirthday #RocnRoe.'

And Carey's ex-husband #2 Nick Cannon wrote two separate cherubic-faced posts for '#DemKids.'

'My Queen Monroe Cannon turned 6 today!' the 36-year-old presenter wrote on Instagram.

'I love you both!' That same day, the five-time Grammy winner posted a throwback birthday tribute to her fraternal twins Moroccan and Monroe, who turned 6 on Saturday

'Happy 6th Birthday!' And Mariah's ex-husband #2 Nick Cannon wrote two separate cherubic-faced posts for '#DemKids'

Happiest place: The amicable exes - who officially separated in 2014 - reportedly 'dropped five figures' on the private party they threw their children at Disneyland in Anaheim on Saturday

Roc and Roe's half-brother: The 36-year-old presenter welcomed his third child, son Golden 'Sagon,' with Miss Guam 2014, Brittany Bell on February 21

'And this dude is a Force to be reckoned with! A real rock star! Mr. Moroccan Scott Cannon Happy 6th Birthday!'

The amicable exes - who officially separated in 2014 - 'dropped five figures' on the private party they threw their children at Disneyland in Anaheim on Saturday, according to TMZ.

The former America's Got Talent host welcomed his third child, son Golden 'Sagon,' with Miss Guam 2014, Brittany Bell on February 21.

Meanwhile, Mariah ended her five-month fling with back-up dancer Bryan Tanaka, 34, in late March over his supposed jealousy of Nick - according to TMZ.

'I love it!' The I Don't songstress released the first season of her E! reality series, Mariah's World, on DVD last month

'Pon de studio!' Mariah is currently recording her 15th studio album on her newly-launched record label, Butterfly MC Records

This summer! Carey will next use her five-octave pipes to open for the Lionel Richie: All the Hits Tour beginning July 21 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland (pictured Feb. 23)

The I Don't songstress released the first season of her E! reality series, Mariah's World, on DVD last month.

Carey is currently recording her 15th studio album on her newly-launched record label, Butterfly MC Records.

The LEGO Batman Movie actress will next use her five-octave pipes to open for the Lionel Richie: All the Hits Tour beginning July 21 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
She is more often seen in slinky and show-stopping dresses as she parades the streets of her native Essex.

But Megan McKenna cut a far more sophisticated figure on Tuesday afternoon as she arrived at the AOL building in London ahead of her interview for their BUILD Series.

The reality star, 24, was the picture of class in a chic lace blouse and a frilly trouser suit as she flashed a beaming smile on her way in to the live stream.

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She means business: Megan McKenna cut a far more sophisticated figure on Tuesday afternoon as she arrived at AOL in London ahead of her interview for their BUILD Series

The TOWIE star was incredibly elegant in her stylish version of a suit as she arrived at the establishment ahead of her exciting online interview.

The brunette beauty opted for a chic lace blouse for her big day, which featured a traditional stiff collar but was left unbuttoned to tease at her black lace slip beneath.

Maintaining the formal but fashionable feel throughout, she paired the top with a pair of high-rise trousers, which flared into a statement frill at their cropped hem.

Smartening up: The reality star, 24, opted for a chic lace blouse for her big day, which featured a traditional stiff collar but was left unbuttoned to tease at her black lace slip beneath

Frilled to be here: Maintaining the formal but fashionable feel throughout, she paired the top with a pair of high-rise trousers, which flared into a statement frill at their cropped hem

She matched the bottoms with a traditional fitted blazer, which was made more feminine by trendy bell sleeves, and a sleek leather handbag as she headed inside.

Megan added height to her frame with a pair of black T-bar court shoes, adorned with silver studs all over, and styled her hair into big, bouncy waves to tie the look together in an effortless fashion.

Emerging from her taxi, the star looked very excited for the day ahead as she greeted staff inside, clasping a folder of notes in one hand.

Formal: She matched the bottoms with a traditional fitted blazer, which was made more feminine by trendy bell sleeves, and a sleek leather handbag as she headed inside

Megan was taking part in the BUILD LDN series - which is a collection of live interviews hosted by AOL.

In recent weeks the chats, which are streamed live on the internet to enable fans to get to know their favourite stars, has featured the likes of Pixie Lott, Lauren Pope and Vogue Williams so far.

Award-winning actress Gemma Arterton even made an appearance last month, which saw her discuss the issue of sexism in Hollywood.

Finishing touches: Megan added height to her frame with black T-bar court shoes, adorned with silver studs all over, and styled her hair into bouncy waves to tie the look together

Star of the show: Emerging from her taxi, the star looked very excited for the day ahead as she prepared for her BUILD LDN interview, which is streamed online

Covering a whole range of issues from personal life to career goals, Megan will perhaps discuss her dramatic breakup from Pete Wicks in the interview.

Earlier this week, the brunette had taken to her Twitter page to slam reports that the on/off pair had reconciled once again.

After seeing a source claim that the pair were reconnecting now TOWIE filming had finished, she responded in her trademark raging style by writing: 'False info. Once again.

Over: Covering a whole range of issues from personal life to career goals, Megan will perhaps discuss her dramatic breakup from Pete Wicks (above) in the interview

Not true: Earlier this week, the brunette had taken to her Twitter page to slam reports that the on/off pair had reconciled once again (above)

'Whoever tryna earn a few quid go back to your day job. We are NOT back together or working on s**t. SICK OF PEOPLE! [sic]'

Her spokesperson also told MailOnline: 'These reports are false, they are just friends, nothing more.'

The pair split in February, after Megan admitted she was unable to get over his explicit messages sent to his ex back in September.

The duo have since been seen clashing over co-star Chloe Sims on TOWIE - who branded Megan an 'attention seeker' during the breakup.
She could not attend Jacob Staudenmaier's special night in person but she made sure she was there in spirit.

Emma Stone sent a corsage and boutonniere to the teen that asked her prom via an elaborate La La Land-inspired video.

The 28-year-old turned down the plucky high schooler's invitation last month but the Hollywood star sent a floral gift in lieu of her attendance.

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Nice gesture: Emma Stone sent a corsage and boutonniere to the teen that asked her prom via an elaborate La La Land-inspired video. Jacob Staudenmaier took Caitlin Teefy instead on Saturday night

Couldn't make it: Emma (seen here in January) had to turn Jacob's invite down because of her filming schedule

The La La Land star sent Jacob a boutonniere to wear to his prom and a matching corsage for his date.

Since he did not have Emma on his arm, he asked fellow high schooler, Caitlin Teefy.

Emma sent the floral arraignments with a handwritten note which read: 'Jacob, A little something for you and your lucky date tomorrow. Have a great time! Much love, Emma Stone.'

Emma had to turn Jacob down because of her filming schedule.

A little something: The La La Land star sent Jacob a boutonniere to wear to his prom and a matching corsage for his date.

Close: The 17-year-old jokingly took a cardboard cutout of the actress to Olive Garden

Jacob's video invitation to the movie star became a worldwide hit, after he and his friends did their best to recreate the opening scene from La La Land.

Instead of a Los Angeles freeway, he set his musical proposal in the parking lot of his high school in Scottsdale, which is incidentally also Stone's home town.

'I decided to ask Emma Stone to prom by re-creating the opening scene from La La Land. I rewrote the lyrics to the song myself and directed the video and did the choreography too, but thank you so much to all the friends and adults who came out to help make it happen,' Jacob wrote on his video.

Ambitious: Jacob's video invitation to the movie star became a worldwide hit, after he and his friends did their best to recreate the opening scene from La La Land

After weeks of planning, the entire sequence was filmed on Sunday, with the help of his classmates and friends, in just a couple of hours.

The video sees Jacob dressed in a black tuxedo as he jumps out of his car to re-create the famous highway scene in the parking lot of his high school.

Jacob sings: 'Maybe I could buy you dinner it'll make my night and maybe make yours too.

Sing it out: In his short film, Jacob dances around cars in a tux and croons. 'People say I look like Ryan Gosling, and maybe that's a bit far-fetched,' he sings

Big future: Jacob is an aspiring film-maker and used every bit of his skills on to remake Another Day of Sun

Spot on: He replicated the one-take nature of the original and also come up with his own lyrics

'Emma Stone if you came I think I'd go insane. Emma Stone, please be the one!' he implores before tossing a bouquet of flowers over his head.

In a bid to win her over, he compares himself to her co-star Ryan Gosling, singing: 'People say I look like Ryan Gosling and maybe that's a bit far-fetched.

'Please don't let me know. It'd be in your hometown,' he jokes, later adding: 'I know my voice ain't great, but please be my prom date.'

Take that Ryan: Jacob filmed the entire scene on Sunday and said that it didn't require too much rehearsal
Tori Spelling flaunted her slim, post-baby body while exercising in Los Angeles on Monday.

The reality star - who turns 44 this month - showcased her shrinking waistline in a hot pink 'Mama Bear' tank top with black sweatpants and grey sneakers.

It's hard to believe it's only been two months since the ediTORIal blogger welcomed her fifth child, son Beau, with her second husband Dean McDermott.

Back at it! Tori Spelling flaunted her slim, post-baby body while exercising in Los Angeles on Monday

Squats: The reality star - who turns 44 this month - showcased her shrinking waistline in a hot pink 'Mama Bear' tank top with black sweatpants and grey sneakers

The financially-troubled couple of a decade are also parents to son Liam, 10; daughter Stella, 8; son Finn, 4; and daughter Hattie, 5.

Last month, Page Six reported that the IRS had 'emptied' Tori and Dean's bank accounts due to $707K in unpaid federal taxes from 2014.

This, after American Express reportedly sued the fame-hungry duo over an unpaid credit card balance of $87K in November.

And on March 9, MailOnline reported how McDermott nearly landed in jail over the $100K in child support payments he owes his ex-wife Mary Josephine Eustace for their 18-year-old son Jack.

Squeee! It's hard to believe it's only been two months since the ediTORIal blogger welcomed her fifth child, son Beau, with her second husband Dean McDermott

IRS 'drained' their accounts: The financially-troubled couple of a decade are also parents to (from L-R) son Liam, 10; daughter Stella, 8; son Finn, 4; and daughter Hattie, 5

Deadbeat dad? On March 9, MailOnline reported how McDermott nearly landed in jail over the $100K in child support payments he owes his ex-wife Mary Josephine Eustace for their 18-year-old son Jack

55-year-old Mary agreed to take the Canadian 50-year-old's $2,500 payment so he could avoid incarceration and community service for his 'eight counts of contempt.'

Tori and Dean are working to pay off their various debts thanks to a few upcoming gigs.

Spelling reunited with her Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate Jennie Garth to guest judge this Friday's episode of RuPaul's Drag Race.

'9021-HO': Spelling reunited with her Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate Jennie Garth to guest judge this Friday's episode of RuPaul's Drag Race

Stage combat lesson: Tori and 45-year-old Jennie demonstrate a stage slap for the nine remaining drag queens on the captivating VH1 competition

The Mother, May I Sleep with Danger actress and 45-year-old Jennie demonstrate a stage slap for the nine remaining drag queens on the captivating VH1 competition.

Meanwhile, McDermott recently wrapped his role as Agent Bean in the Mafia comedy Garlic & Gunpowder alongside Judy Tenuta, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, and Lainie Kazan.

The Slasher actor will next play Dr. Goldsworthy in the action-horror western Dead Again in Tombstone - due out September 1 on VOD - alongside Danny Trejo and Jake Busey.

'Having a blast!' Meanwhile, McDermott recently wrapped his role as Agent Bean in the Mafia comedy Garlic & Gunpowder alongside Judy Tenuta (R), Vivica A. Fox, and Michael Madsen
His ex Kourtney Kardashian flaunted her assets on a wild girls' trip to Mexico last week for her birthday.

And Scott Disick did not looked too pleased on his latest outing.

The 33-year-old reality star looked sad while he was on daddy duty as he was joined by kids Mason and Penelope during an outing in Calabasas on Monday.

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Downcast: Scott Disick looked sad while he was on daddy duty as he was joined by kids Mason and Penelope during an outing in Calabasas on Monday.

Scott did not have a pleased look on his face as he treated his seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter to lunch at King's Fish House.

He was definitely a cool dad as he later brought them to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. Not seen on the outing was youngest son Reign.

The father-of-three dressed for comfort in a plain white T-Shirt, grey jeans, and all-white Adidas Ultra Boost trainers.

Daddy duty: The 33-year-old did not have a pleased look on his face as he treated his seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter to lunch at King's Fish House.

Bonding: He was definitely a cool dad as he later brought them to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. Not seen on the outing was youngest son Reign

His brown locks were combed over as he had a considerable amount of scruff on his face.

Mason looked on-trend in a bleached Harley Davidson Motorcycles shirt with white shorts and white sneakers.

Penelope wore a white top with ripped jean shorts and fur-lined sandals.

Hot stuff: This comes after ex Kourtney Kardashian shared several photos from her girls' trip to Mexico

Just the girls: The 38-year-old stunner had a blast while going wild with her female friends

Magic hour: The reality beauty shared a shot of her enjoying a beautiful sunset, which she captioned 'cielo magico,' meaning 'magic sky'

The bonding outing comes just days after his ex Kourtney's rowdy trip to Tulum, Mexico with sister Kim and their gal pals.

The 38-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was there to celebrate her latest birthday and did it with a bang as she showed off her fantastic figure in teeny, tiny swimwear.

St the time Kim, 36, was keeping fans up-to-date on their ridiculous antics on Twitter, revealing Kourtney 'threw up in her bed' and even 'slept in it.'

Wow: Kourtney shared several bikini snaps while on her trip. The most dating was shared on Wednesday when she wore a sexy black two piece

Tender is the night: Kourtney captioned this evening shot of her and pal Nicole Reda 'en la noche'

Girl time: The ladies held hands as they stood side-by-side in this image shared by a friend

The reality star tweeted: 'So I'm gonna give u guys a play by play of the trip so far.

'@kourtneykardash threw up in her bed 4 times and slept in it.'

She later added: 'Oh and @kourtneykardash won't stop doing naked cart wheels.'

Kourtney has since returned home and was seen out filming their reality show with mother Kris Jenner and her two eldest children in Calabasas earlier in the day on Monday.

Making a run for it! The mom shared a snap video of herself dashing towards the water while clad in an especially cheeky black bikini

Making waves: The mother-of-three looked incredible in her tiny black two piece
She's a successful comedienne with a flourishing screen career on both sides of the camera.

But Amy Schumer is ready to make some space in her life for a child.

The 35-year-old joked about her status in an interview with her Snatched co-star Goldie Hawn on The Moms, a website hosted by Denise Albert and Melissa Musen Gerstein on Monday.

He's the one: On Monday Amy Schumer dished that she's ready for kids in an interview on The Moms. Since she's dating Ben Hanisch, seen at the Golden Globes, he must be the baby daddy

Amy admitted that although her 'uterus remains empty' for now, shed like to have kids of her own someday.

'Ive worked very hard to not be a mom,' Amy joked.

'But I'm 35, Im sick of thinking of myself, you know? Its just like, "Enough Amy, who cares? '

Sneak peek: The 35-year-old flashed her cleavage and her midriff in her black pantsuit

And she was direct when Melissa asked if she wanted to be a parent, replying, 'Yeah.'

No news on what Amy's beau Ben Hanisch thinks about this.

The Trainwreck actress and the furniture designer have been dating for 18 months.

In stitches: Amy had her Snatched co-star Goldie Hawn roaring with laughter. The couple were on The Moms to talk about their new movie, due out May 12

When InStyle recently asked what she liked most about him she joked 'his penis,' before adding:. 'I could see he was kind in a real way.

'Some guys, they can put up a kind front, and then you find out that they're sexual deviants, but...he's not, God bless him. He's cute. He's kind,' she explained.

Snatched is due in US theaters on May 12.
She's been the victim of claims that her relationship with her jailbird beau, Joey Morrison, 30, has been called off, after deleting his pictures from social media.

But former TOWIE star Lauren Goodger, 30, has quenched the swirling rumours - by taking to Twitter to reveal her innermost distress.

Replying to a Tweet sent out by @celebsnow, the reality star hit back at claims that she had split from Joey and pleaded for the public to leave her relationship alone on Tuesday.

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Hitting back: Lauren Goodger, 30, took to Twitter to quench rumours that she had split from her jailbird beau, Joey Morrison, 30, after removing pictures of him from social media

Nothing to worry about: She assured her fans that all was well and said the couple have just celebrated their one year anniversary, despite Joey being behind bars

The beauty entrepreneur had caused her fans confusion when it was speculated that she had split from Joey after deleting any photographic evidence of the pair together from her social media accounts.

However, she has firmly put the claims behind her.

Lauren expressed her woes: 'no We have not spilt it was our year anniversary last month nAnd I'm keeping my relationship private for now nThanks x (sic)'

Pleading: Replying to a Tweet sent out by @celebsnow, the reality star hit back at claims that she had split from Joey and pleaded for the public to leave her relationship alone

Lauren was alleged to have even likened her relationship to that of her ex fiance Mark Wright, 30, and his current wife Michelle Keegan, 29, by claiming that they lead 'parallel lives'.

As Lauren awaits for Joey's release from prison later this year, and Michelle films BBC's Our Girl over summer in South Africa leaving Mark back in the UK, Lauren cannot help but draw eerie similarities between she and her ex's relationships.

Speaking to Now magazine, the source said: 'Lauren thinks its strange, but almost fate, how Marks life seems to imitate hers.'

Long distance relationships: Lauren was alleged to have likened her relationship her ex fiance Mark Wright, 30, and his current wife Michelle Keegan, 29, by claiming that they lead 'parallel lives'

Lauren's 10-year relationship with Mark Wright culminated in an engagement in 2011, but was shortly diffused after cheating rumours plagued the pair - pictured in 2011

'Shes telling friends how theyre both in long-distant relationships.'

However, Mark seemed unimpressed by these claims, with one of his sources refuting the claims:

'Mark couldnt believe his ears. He thinks Lauren lives in her own little world sometimes and pointed out theres a big difference between her man being banged up and his wife working in a different country.'

Unimpressed: 'Mark couldnt believe his ears. He thinks Lauren lives in her own little world sometimes and pointed out theres a big difference between her man being banged up and his wife working in a different country'

Similarities: As Lauren awaits for Joey's release from prison later this year, and Michelle films BBC's Our Girl over summer in South Africa, Lauren is said to have drawn similarities between she and her ex's relationships

Lauren's 10-year relationship with Mark Wright culminated in an engagement in 2011, but was shortly diffused after cheating rumours plagued the pair.

Mark met his current wife Michelle at the end of a holiday to Dubai in 2012, and it was said to be love at first sight for the duo, who were engaged just nine months after they met.

At the time, Lauren did not appear to take kindly to the news, posting a cryptic message on her Instagram that read:

Jailbird lover: Lauren has now been with Joey Morrison for a year, but during their time together, he has been in the midst of serving a 16 year violent drugs-related prison sentence

'I'm not going to be the girl you marry, but I'll be the girl you'll be thinking of 20 years from now while you engage in polite sex with your boring wife who fakes her orgasm to make you feel better about your receding hairline.'

She then went on to annoy the couple by speaking about her relationship with Mark in every magazine interview she had, prompting Mark to beg her to stop talking about the past.

Lauren has now been with Joey Morrison for a year, but during their time together, he has been in the midst of serving a 16 year violent drugs-related prison sentence.

He was convicted of a string of offences, including possession of a firearm, kidnapping, blackmail and actual bodily harm, and is due for a 2018 release.
Sam Heughan celebrated his 37th birthday in South Africa on Sunday alongside his girlfriend MacKenzie Mauzy and his Outlander love interest Caitriona Balfe.

The Irish 37-year-old - who plays his character Jamie Fraser's 'wifey' Claire Beauchamp Randall/Fraser - tweeted the group kitchen snap on Monday wishing Sam 'an amazing year!'

Contrary to on-set gossip, the 6ft3in Scottish heartthrob is dating the North Carolina-born 28-year-old, who shared two snaps of herself sightseeing at the Cape of Good Hope.

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'Have an amazing year!' Sam Heughan celebrated his 37th birthday in South Africa on Sunday with his girlfriend MacKenzie Mauzy (2-R) and his Outlander love interest Caitriona Balfe (L)

Sam and the Girls' Night Out starlet even made their 'red carpet' debut as a couple at a Los Angeles awards season bash hosted by Piaget and The Weinstein Company on February 24.

But the attractive acting pair appear to have been romancing each other as far back as MacKenzie's birthday bash in October 2015.

Heughan and Mauzy - best known for her role as Rapunzel in Into the Woods - also donned matching 'Equality' shirts for the United Voices Rally at the UTA headquarters in February.

Tourist: Contrary to on-set gossip, the 6ft3in Scottish heartthrob is dating the North Carolina-born 28-year-old, who shared two snaps of herself sightseeing at the Cape of Good Hope

Official: Sam and the Girls' Night Out starlet made their 'red carpet' debut as a couple at a LA awards season bash hosted by Piaget and The Weinstein Company on February 24

'Love and wishes and birthday dishes!' But the attractive acting pair appear to have been romancing each other as far back as MacKenzie's birthday bash in October 2015

Protesting pair: Heughan and Mauzy - best known for her role as Rapunzel in Into the Woods - also donned matching 'Equality' shirts for the United Voices Rally in February

The blonde beauty divorced her husband, troubled American Idol contestant John Arthur Greene, three years ago following two years of marriage.

On Saturday, the When the Starlight Ends stud thanked his 1.2M social media followers, tweeting: 'Thank you for all the birthday wishes, feeling very thankful. Looking forward to the year ahead!'

Sam addressed the repeated reports about hooking up with his two-time Golden Globe-nominated castmate a year ago.

Accidentally shot his brother to death: The blonde beauty divorced her husband, troubled American Idol contestant John Arthur Greene, three years ago (pictured in 2016)

On Saturday, the When the Starlight Ends stud thanked his 1.2M followers, tweeting: 'Thank you for all the birthday wishes, feeling very thankful. Looking forward to the year ahead!'

'I guess we're aware of it, and we're aware that some fans were upset, they felt they'd been duped or something, which is really strange because we're just doing our job,' the Royal Scottish Academy grad told Radio Times.

'I think if me and Caitriona were together we wouldn't say. Why would you? In this industry we give away so much of ourselves anyway. We talk about ourselves and we tell people stuff. I guess it's nice that we've done our job well enough to convince them.'

Fans can catch more heated sexual tension between the rebel Highlander and the WWII nurse in the 13-episode third season of Outlander, which premieres in September on Starz.

'We're just doing our job': Sam addressed the repeated reports about hooking up with his two-time Golden Globe-nominated castmate a year ago
Adriano Zumbo's girlfriend Nelly Riggio has stood by her boyfriend after the famed chef was viciously slammed on social media on Wednesday, following claims he ripped off his staff and treated them poorly.

The 35-year-old patissier posted an unusual video a few days ago, in which he is seen doing a high kick in the kitchen, captioning it, 'Aim High. Kick goals , Dream Big'.

The post attracted negative comments following explosive allegations made by a group of five employees in an interview with A Current Affair on Tuesday night.

Back on: Adriano Zumbo was back on social media on Wednesday after coming under fire for allegedly ripping off his staff and treating them poorly

Support: Girlfriend Nelly Riggio was quick to jump in and stand up for her man

Social media commentators were not so impressed with the clip, with one writing, 'PAY UR STAFF!!!! How rude and pay their super. PATHETIC!!!!'

Another wrote, 'Enjoy the success mate but do the right thing by your staff.'

Yet another comment stated, 'insert staff member (slave) in front of this GIF' while others felt the chef should feel 'shame' for his alleged actions.

Girlfriend Nelly, 26, was quick to jump in on Wednesday morning and stand by her man, commenting below the video, 'You're incredible' and adding a love heart emoji.

The world-famous patissier has been accused of withholding superannuation from his staff, not paying them their proper rates and failing to pay them for overtime.

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Angry comments: Fans were not impressed with the chef after the scandal

Under fire? The world-famous patissier has been accused of withholding superannuation from his staff, not paying them their proper rates and failing to pay them for overtime

Nopt happy:Other commentators were not so impressed with one writing, 'PAY UR STAFF!!!! How rude and pay their super. PATHETIC!!!!'

Adriano admitted to discrepancies in his payroll system, according to A Current Affair, and reportedly told the program his staff 'will be paid what is owed to them'.

The pastry chef was also accused of treating his staff 'like nothing' and failing to pay some staff overtime or superannuation.

Confronted: The explosive allegations were made by a group of five employees in an interview with A Current Affair on Tuesday

Angry: Furious staff members have spoken out against the famed chef and business owner

Furious employees spoke out against the famed chef and business owner during Tuesday night's program.

'We might be pastry chefs, we love what we do. But we're not going to be treated like we're nothing,' one employee told A Current Affair.

Adriano went public with his girlfriend Nelly, who was a contestant on My Kitchen Rules in 2016, in January.
She's the 2DayFM radio host that had a mysterious breakdown on-air on Tuesday's program.

Appearing distracted while co-hosting with Harley Breen, Em Rusciano was heard whispering 'I can't do this'.

But just a day later, the 38-year-old was back to her chirpy self, showing her affection for The Last Kingdom star Alexander Dreymon as she gushed: 'I am frothing out of every orifice.'

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'I am frothing out of every orifice': 2DayFM radio host Em Rusciano (left), 38, drooled over The Last Kingdom star Alexander Dreymon (right), 34, on Wednesday's program, a day after her mysterious breakdown on-air

Em could not hide her affection for Alexander, as she and co-host Harley Breen interviewed the hunky star for their breakfast program.

German-born Alexander is known for his role as a viking in the BBC series, The Last Kingdom.

'I am frothing out of every orifice,' Em declared on-air, before asking the actor what it's like to 'film dirty' as a viking.

Notoriety: German-born Alexander is known for his role as a viking in the BBC series, The Last Viking

Alexander joked: 'You just stop washing. It makes things faster in the morning.'

Perhaps hoping she could get a job alongside the muscular star, Em did not hold back, as she asked: 'Is that someone's job, to dirty you?'

'We have a dirtier, it's like a fluffer,' Alexander explained, to which Em gushed even further: 'If anyone is quitting their job to rub dirt on his body, it's me!'

All okay? Just a day prior, Em had a mysterious breakdown on-air on Tuesday's program. Pictured with co-host Harley Breen

Em's gushing behaviour was a far cry to the previous day.

Sounding upset and distracted after the 7am news bulletin on her radio program, Em ignored pleasantries and said with a sigh: 'Right what are we doing now?'

Em and co-host Harley's confused producer said: 'We're doing the letter from Harley's teacher,' in an attempt to reboot the segment.

Sounding defeated: Em whispered during a segment on Tuesday's program: 'I can't do this'

Awkward! Producers stepped in and told listeners: 'We might take a little short break and come back shortly,' before throwing to ads

Em, still sounding defeated, said: 'Yes it is,' before whispering away from the microphone: 'I can't do this.'

Harley asked his co-anchor: 'You alright buddy?'

Before hearing any reply from Em, producers stepped in and told listeners: 'We might take a little short break and come back shortly,' before throwing to ads.

A Southern Cross Austereo spokesperson told Radio Today that Em was merely 'caught off guard' and said her breakdown was because of 'a personal issue'.

The breakdown comes just days after Em opened up to news.com.au about her struggles with post-natal depression and how it affected every aspect of her life.

She said: 'It was a very tough few months, pretending you're OK when your insides are caving in from a heartbreak is tricky work.'
She made her first appearance as an actress on the Fox series Star in March.

And now Paris Jackson has lander her first movie role, according to Deadline.com Tuesday.

The teen daughter of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson has been cast as 'an edgy 20-year-old' in a dark comedy, the website reported.

Acting gig: Paris Jackson, 18, has landed her first movie role in a dark comedy for Amazon Studios that stars Charlize Theron, Thandie Newton, Amanda Seyfried and David Oyelowo

The movie is to be directed by Nash Edgerton, an Australian actor, stuntman and filmmaker who is also the brother of Loving star Joel Edgerton who will also star in the project.

Others attached to the movie include Charlize Theron, Thandie Newton, Amanda Seyfried and David Oyelowo.

Oyelowo, Deadline reports, will play an American businessman who crosses the line into criminality with resulting entanglements with' duplicitous business partners, Mexican drug lords, international mercenaries and the FBI.'

Family affair: The as-yet untitled movie will be directed by Australian stuntman and filmmaker Nash Edgerton, left, and will also star his actor brother Joel Edgerton, right

On her way: Paris, pictured at a Met Gala after-party Monday night, has spoken previously about her desire to pursue acting in addition to her fledgling career as a model

Paris, 18, has spoken previously about her desire to pursue acting in addition to her fledgling career as a model.

Earlier this year, she gushed about the experience of filming a part in the Lee Daniels musical drama Star that airs on Fox television.

She played a social media guru who oversaw a photo shoot for the girl group that's the focus of the show.

'This role is really opposite to me and, for it being my first real on-camera acting, I think it's a good way for me to show my acting capabilities,'she said at the time.
Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed in an insurgency since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013

Unidentified gunmen attacked an Egyptian police convoy near the main ring road around Cairo, killing three officers and wounding five others, the interior ministry said early on Tuesday.

"Armed elements riding in two vehicles approached a moving security convoy" around 11:45 pm Monday, the ministry said in a statement.

The convoy was crossing a roundabout that intersects with the main ring road that surrounds the capital, separating New Cairo and newer real estate projects from the city.

Police returned fire at the attackers' vehicles, which police were pursuing "in an effort to apprehend the perpetrators," the ministry said.

While no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Egypt has been fighting an insurgency by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province.

Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed in the insurgency since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Following deadly church bombings last month, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency on April 10.

IS said it was behind the church bombings in Tanta and Alexandria on April 9 that killed 45 people.

The military has killed several of the group's top leaders, but the extremists have increasingly expanded their attacks from Sinai to other parts of Egypt, including Cairo.
New York's initially peaceful May Day demonstration of some 4,000 participants grew tense as protesters clashed with Trump supporters

Police declared a riot in the northwest US city of Portland after "anarchists" threw rocks, smoke bombs and soda cans at officers during a May Day rally, while thousands more marched in other major cities.

At least three people were arrested. Several businesses in Portland's downtown area were also vandalized by groups of people wearing black masks who were seen breaking storefront windows, throwing incendiary devices and attacking a police vehicle.

The violence prompted authorities to cancel the permit for the march and warn that anyone remaining on the streets risked being arrested. People were advised to stay away from the area.

"Due to actions of anarchists in #MayDayPDX march, permit was cancelled. Law-abiding participants asked to use sidewalks and leave the area," the Portland police said in a tweet.

"If you do not need to come to Downtown Portland, please stay away. #MayDayPDX is now considered a riot."

A protestor hits a paper mache head of US President Donald Trump during May Day demonstrations in Chicago, May 1, 2017

The rally had kicked off with speakers denouncing the recent crackdown by President Donald Trump's administration on undocumented immigrants and discussing workers' rights.

But as the crowd marched in the downtown area, police said "anarchists" disrupted the march.

In a nod to a failed ad campaign by Pepsi featuring supermodel Kendall Jenner walking through a street protest and handing a can of Pepsi to a police officer, some Portland marchers threw cans of soda at police.

- Thousands march in cities -

In major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, thousands took to the streets downtown to protest against Trump's policies.

New York's initially peaceful demonstration of some 4,000 participants grew tense in the evening as protesters clashed with Trump supporters, some of them brandishing placards featuring the president's slogan "Make America great Again."

Protestors march through the streets during May Day demonstrations in Chicago, May 1, 2017

Black-clad anti-Trump supporters, their faces uncovered but carrying anarchist black flags, also entered the scene.

Several dozen police officers quickly arrived to separate the two groups and prevent violence. The protest began to disperse after sunset.

More than 100 groups joined the march in Los Angeles.

Police said at least one person was arrested after masked protesters threw rocks at supporters of Trump holding a rally in the downtown area. The protesters also burned an American flag.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed the crowd at one point, vowing that the city would push back against Trump's policies and protect its large immigrant community.

"As long as I am mayor, the LAPD will never be a deportation force," he added. "They will be your police officers."

Marchers in Chicago, the de facto capital of the US Midwest, represented a wide variety of causes, including activists for immigrant rights and the environment, labor unions demanding a higher minimum wage, and supporters of reproductive rights.

There were colorful rallies before and after the two-mile march, with attendees carrying American and Mexican flags, the rainbow flag representing gay rights, and signs such as "Stop the Trump Agenda."

In Los Angeles thousands took to the streets on May Day to protest against President Donald Trump's policies

"The election of Donald Trump is a challenge to all of us, whether we will stand up and speak up for our values," said Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat.

Labor groups representing laborers, hospital and home nursing care workers, food workers, teachers and others, called for a higher minimum wage.

Abortion rights supporters held up signs in support of Planned Parenthood, a non-profit health provider that Republicans and the Trump administration are seeking to defund.

Police reform and racial justice groups criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including unsuccessful attempts to ban refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries.

"We have to come together and we have to stop this guy. He is not the king of the United States," said Oscar Cruz, 58, describing himself as a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for 28 years.

President Trump has ordered more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws, speeded-up deportations, and ultimately wants to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border.

"It's criminalization of our communities -- black, Latino, Asian, Arab -- that is the problem. That is what we're organizing against," said Barbara Ransby, a professor at the University of Illinois.
Two cranes collided at the Geoje shipyard in South Korea, causing a 60-metre, 32-tonne crane section to break and crash onto a workers' rest area below killing six

At least six Samsung workers building a $500 million ocean platform for French energy giant Total were killed in a shipyard crane accident, South Korean authorities said Tuesday.

Two cranes collided at the shipyard in the southeastern port of Geoje, causing a 60-metre, 32-tonne crane section to break and crash onto a workers' rest area below.

Six people were killed and 25 injured in what police described as "chaotic" scenes on Monday.

All those involved were working on the Total project, which was ordered in December 2012 and is destined for its Martin Linge field off Norway.

The shipyard is operated by Samsung Heavy Industries, part of the sprawling Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate.

Park Dae-Young, president of Samsung Heavy Industries, said he "sincerely apologised" to the victims and their families and promised to provide full support to those affected.

The crane accident at a shipyard in South Korea that killed six may have been caused by miscommunication between workers relying on walkie-talkies

"We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and take responsibility," Park said in a statement read out by Kim Hyo-Seop, head of the Geoje shipyard, who bowed deeply in front of television cameras.

The company said it believed the accident was a result of a miscommunication between crane drivers and signal people, although the exact cause was still under investigation.

Crane drivers at the yard rely on walkie-talkies to receive instructions.

Yonhap news agency quoted a company official as saying it had not had such a big accident for "several years".

It is the latest blow to the corporate empire, the heir to which is currently on trial for bribery in connection with the scandal that brought down president Park Geun-Hye.

A Samsung Heavy Industries spokesman told AFP the Total project, which was due for delivery by mid-June, "may be delayed a little bit".

Police said 12 crane drivers were under investigation as they look into potential operational mistakes or violation of safety regulations.
Janet Jackson abruptly suspended a tour in 2015 amid the surprise news she was pregnant

Pop superstar and new mother Janet Jackson said on Monday she will resume a tour after a nearly two-year break as she confirmed separating from her husband.

Jackson, who had abruptly suspended a tour in 2015 amid the surprise news she was pregnant, announced 56 concerts across North America later this year.

In an online message to fans, Jackson voiced gratitude for her four-month-old son Eissa and acknowledged splitting with her third husband, Qatari tycoon Wissam Al Mana.

"Yes, I separated from my husband, we are in court, and the rest is in God's hands," said the 50-year-old younger sister of late king of pop Michael Jackson as she lay on a pillow.

Jackson has been discreet since marrying Al Mana, whose company sells luxury fashion brands across Gulf Arab kingdoms and who is estimated to be worth $1 billion.

US singer Janet Jackson and husband Wissam Al Mana attend Hermes 2016 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris, in October 2015

She initially kept their 2012 wedding private and repeatedly postponed her tour before announcing her pregnancy, which came at an unusually late age.

Jackson in her video said she was changing the name of her tour which was initially called "Unbreakable" after her 2015 album, her first since her brother's death.

The tour -- to begin on September 7 in Lafayette, Louisiana and close on December 17 in Atlanta -- will now be called "State of the World."

"It's not about politics. It's about people, the world, relationships and, just, love," Jackson said.

"I want to thank you guys for your patience, for all your support throughout the years," she said to fans.

The tour includes "Unbreakable" dates that she had tentatively scrapped. However, she has not immediately rescheduled dates in Europe that she canceled last year.

The reasons behind Jackson's separation remain murky, with one tabloid saying Al Mana had been too controlling but other reports saying the split was amicable.

Al Mana has publicly declared his love for Jackson, recently voicing hope that "we will be together in the Great Forever."

"To the most beautiful person in the world, thank you for your divine love, your eternal support and for being my best friend," he wrote on his website.

Jackson won a major fan base in the late 1980s with her albums "Control" and "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" as she incorporated the emerging genre of hip-hop into her funk-influenced pop music.

Jackson was one of the pioneers of elaborately choreographed live shows as she brought in socially conscious messages including calls for women's empowerment.
IMF regional chief Jihad Azour says Gulf economies are heading in the right direction as they reduce deficits

Oil-exporting Arab states of the Gulf are heading "in the right direction" to plug budgetary gaps thanks to fiscal reforms, but more change is still necessary, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

"If they continue on this path in the next three to five years, the level of deficit will be less than 2 percent" of gross domestic product, IMF regional chief Jihad Azour told AFP in an interview.

"This is going in the right direction," said Azour, who was in Dubai on Tuesday to launch the IMF update for its regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and central Asia.

Revenues in the oil-dependent economies of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states have nosedived since the price of crude plummeted from its mid-2014 peak, forcing the monarchies to cut expenditure.

Such cuts have included energy subsidies in nations that have traditionally subsidised main services both for their own citizens and also for large populations of expatriate workers.

"Fiscal adjustment is still needed. Additional reforms are still needed, especially on the structural side," Azour said.

This would be "in order to diversify the economy and to allow the economy to grow outside the oil sector, to create additional jobs as well as to be less dependent on the volatility in the oil market", he added.

The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia unexpectedly announced last week it would reinstate some allowances for civil servants that were cut last year as part of a reduction in expenditure.

Although this could be interpreted as a step backwards in the kingdom's programme to cut spending, the IMF regional chief called the measure "minor compared to the overall trend".

- Stronger non-oil growth -

"Whenever you have a large programme of adjustment, you still need to adjust or tweak some measures here and there," Azour said, referring to the kingdom's "Vision 2030" strategy to diversify its economy and reduce public spending.

"The Saudi government made strong fiscal adjustments over the past two years and were able to reduce expenditure," he said, adding that Riyadh has renewed its commitment to achieving a fiscal balance in 2020.

"Given the level of buffers that Saudi has, they can phase in a more progressive way their fiscal adjustment and they can space it over time," Azour added.

GCC states have agreed to introduce value-added tax in 2018.

Azour said imposing VAT is an "important move" that will help diversify revenues outside oil and help strengthen tax institutions.

The GCC countries have established a reputation for being tax havens.

In an attempt to prop up prices, members of the OPEC oil-exporting cartel and non-member exporters -- notably Russia -- agreed last year to cut production for six months, a decision that could be renewed in late May.

The IMF has lowered its forecast for economic growth in Arab oil-exporting countries in the wake of the output cuts.

But Azour pointed out that the non-oil sector has been gathering pace.

"In the GCC, the oil sector was affected by the cut in production. However the non-oil sector grew," he said, adding that the "2017 outcome is showing in fact that the non-oil sector is gaining more growth potential and recovering faster than the oil sector".

The regional report shows that non-oil growth in the GCC is projected to strengthen from almost two percent in 2016 to three percent this year.
A school in Nangarhar province once used by Islamic State fighters but retaken by Afghan forces last year

After dropping a monster bomb on its fighters, then targeting its leader, the US military is looking to destroy the Islamic State group's Afghan branch before battle-hardened reinforcements arrive from Syria and Iraq.

While US and Kabul government forces have mainly been combatting Taliban fighters since 2001, IS's local offshoot -- also known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K -- has a stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.

First emerging in 2015, ISIS-K overran large parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, near the Pakistan border, but their part in the Afghan conflict had been largely overshadowed by the operations against the Taliban.

Many Americans first heard of ISIS-K last month when the US dropped the "Mother Of All Bombs" on its Nangarhar bastion -- an aerial munition that the Pentagon said was the biggest non-nuclear weapon it had ever used in combat.

Afghanistan insurgency map

US and Afghan forces then raided a compound last week close to the site of the bombing, with the Pentagon saying it believed it had killed ISIS-K's leader Abdul Hasib during the operation.

Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan, said the local IS presence peaked at between 2,500 to 3,000 but that defections and recent battlefield losses had reduced their number to a maximum of 800.

"We have a very good chance of destroying them in 2017, making it very clear that when the ISIS fighters are destroyed elsewhere around the globe that this is not the place for you to come to plot your attacks," Salvin told AFP.

US-backed fighters also appear to have IS on the ropes in Syria and Iraq, where an operation to wrest back control of the major northern city of Mosul has been ongoing since October.

- Jihadists on the move -

But both the military and analysts acknowledge there is a danger of IS fighters heading to Afghanistan if they are forced out of Iraq and Syria.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, said that while IS should ultimately be defeated in Afghanistan, the Pentagon's timeline may be overly optimistic.

The US army on patrol after the dropping of the "Mother Of All Bomns" on Islamic State group positions in Nangarhar, Afghanistan

A definitive victory could take "a long time due, partly (due) to the proximity of Pakistan as well as the possible flow of fighters" from the Middle East as the "group loses sanctuaries there," O'Hanlon told AFP.

The Taliban, which first emerged in the mid-1990s in southern Afghanistan, managed to conquer most of the country before its 2001 ouster with the help of a range of foreign jihadists, including Pakistanis, Saudis and Chechens.

Analysts say that as well as Afghans, ISIS-K includes disaffected Pakistani and Uzbek Islamists among its ranks who used to fight for the Taliban.

It first emerged as a significant player in Afghanistan in early 2015 when its fighters overran the Taliban in parts of the east and has subsequently claimed responsibility for a string of bomb attacks.

ISIS-K's defeat would be an important victory for the US, which has struggled to boast of clear wins after forcing the Taliban out of Kabul in 2001 in the initial aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, said ISIS-K had "withstood multiple US-backed offensives over the past two years."

But while their defeat would be a boost to the US, Roggio said the Taliban and their long-time Al-Qaeda allies were still a much bigger challenge.

"It's not that they don't pose a threat, but I would argue that the Taliban pose a far greater threat to the stability of Afghanistan," Roggio told AFP.

"It would be basically winning a battle, but we are still losing the war, which is basically the story of Afghanistan since we've been involved there."

America has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Most belong to a NATO mission to train and advise Afghan partner forces fighting the Taliban.
Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, the main gateway into Australia, is reaching capacity

The operator of Sydney's main airport Tuesday ruled out involvement in building a second major airport for the city, citing financial risks, leaving the Australian government to develop the project.

Canberra last December announced plans for another airport in Sydney, ending decades of indecision over a facility that will initially handle 10 million passengers a year.

Badgerys Creek in the western suburbs had already been selected as the site.

It is scheduled to open in 2026, easing pressure on Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport -- the main gateway into Australia -- which is reaching capacity.

The listed Sydney Airport Group, owner of Kingsford Smith, had the right of first refusal to build and operate the new multi-billion dollar Western Sydney Airport (WSA) but declined.

"Despite the opportunities that WSA will present, the risks associated with the development and operation of WSA are considerable and endure for many decades without commensurate returns for our investors," the company said in a statement to the stock market.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government would instead take on the project, with details set to be revealed in next week's federal budget.

"The airport will be a major catalyst for jobs and economic growth in Western Sydney, injecting more than Aus$1.9 billion ($1.43 billion) into the economy during the construction phase alone," he said.

"It is expected to deliver 9,000 new jobs to Western Sydney by the early 2030s, and 60,000 in the long-term."

The first stage will see one runway constructed, able to handle Airbus A380s and 10 million people each year, with a second expected to be needed by 2050.

Kingsford Smith Airport, which is eight kilometres (around five miles) from the city centre, handled 39.7 million travellers in 2015 and is reaching its limit. Passenger numbers through Sydney are forecast to more than double in the next 20 years.

It is also subject to flight restrictions between 11 pm-6am. Badgerys Creek, 45 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district, is expected to be curfew-free given that fewer people live nearby.

Badgerys has been a potential site since 1986, with the government buying about 1,800 hectares (4,446 acres) in the area and the surroundings kept largely free of development since then.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with the death of all 298 on board

Malaysia Airlines announced Tuesday it has reached a settlement with an Australian family who lost four family members on Flight MH17.

Perth couple Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris lost their children Evie, 10, Mo, 12, and Otis, 8, along with their grandfather on the Boeing 777 which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014.

The airline said in a statement it has reached "an amicable and confidential settlement with the Maslin family and therefore the suit has been withdrawn".

It said it would not "disclose any further details on this suit or about the details of the settlement in respect to the privacy of the family".

Malaysia Airlines also said that to date, a "substantial number" of next-of-kin have reached settlements with the airline while others were "still seeking compensation and are pursuing their claims in their respective jurisdictions".

A lawyer representing families of six Malaysia Airlines crew members on MH17 told AFP the airline had offered to settle for an undisclosed amount in June last year, but the families had rejected the proposed sum.

"There was another offer in January and were still considering," lawyer Saw Wei Siang said Tuesday.

The Malaysian lawsuit in June last year came two weeks after a suit by 33 next-of-kin from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia was filed against Russia and against President Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights.

MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with the death of all 298 on board, most of them Dutch citizens.

A Dutch-led criminal investigation into the attack concluded in September last year that a BUK missile, transported from Russia, was fired from a field in a part of war-torn Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russian rebels, and hit the plane.

But it stopped short of saying who pulled the trigger.

The Dutch-led investigation did not directly accuse Moscow of supplying the BUK missile and its transporter system -- and the Russian government has repeatedly denied any involvement.

Malaysia Airlines said it was flying over unrestricted airspace and had complied with all regulatory requirements.

In its statement the airline said "it has always been its priority that all next-of-kin are fully compensated fairly and equitably... and this is not in any way tantamount to an admission of liability of guilt".
Japan's American-written "peace constitution" has survived unchanged for 70 years, but nationalists seeking an overhaul are gearing up for a major new push as concerns grow over North Korean belligerence

Japan's American-written "peace constitution" has survived unchanged for 70 years, but nationalists seeking an overhaul are gearing up for a major new push as concerns grow over North Korean belligerence.

Conservatives have long called for the document they see as a national humiliation to be amended, but current political alignments and growing security concerns suggest they now have their best chance of success.

"The time is ripe," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday in a speech to supporters of change. "We will take a historic step towards the major goal of revising the constitution in this milestone year."

The constitution, which took effect 70 years ago on Wednesday, renounced Japan's sovereign right to wage war. It has been championed by progressives as a pacifist symbol born out of the country's World War II defeat.

Supporters argue the document is a bulwark against any repeat of Japan's World War II aggression, and warn attempts to revise it risk whitewashing the country's modern history.

But nationalists deride it as an alien charter forced on the country by an occupying power -- the United States -- bent on imposing its own Western values.

And they see those who defend its emphasis on peace as dangerously out of tune with geopolitical realities, such as North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

"The fault lines of Japanese politics very much run through the constitution," said Kenneth Ruoff, professor of modern Japanese history at Portland State University in the United States.

Abe has long vowed to bring it more in line with what conservatives see as Japanese values, such as greater emphasis on obligations rather than rights, and on the family not the individual.

Japan on May 1 dispatched its biggest warship since World War II to protect a US supply ship, one of the country's military roles expanded under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as tensions mount in the region over North Korea

While unlikely to seek the complete removal of the popular and war-renouncing Article 9, they advocate changes to its wording, such as recognising the country's self-defence forces as a military and clarifying Japan's right to defend itself.

Pro-amendment parties can now muster the two-thirds majorities necessary in both houses of parliament to pass changes, though they would be subject to a national referendum for final approval and that is seen as the biggest hurdle.

-- Public support? --

The constitution has never been amended, but governments such as Abe's have interpreted it in ways that have effectively loosened some of its constraints.

In 2015, for example, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its allies rammed legislation through parliament enabling Japan to engage in "collective security" -- the defence of troops from its US ally and other friendly nations -- if it was seriously threatened.

That triggered a backlash from legal scholars and lawyers -- who argued the changes violated the constitution -- and sparked demonstrations outside parliament.

On Monday, Japan dispatched its biggest warship since World War II to escort and protect a US supply vessel in the first such action under the new security laws as tensions mount in the region over North Korea.

While pro-revisionists now have their "greatest chance" to make changes, it may still be hard for them to amend the document, which would require a consensus, Ruoff said.

"Everybody has to agree and that's not so easy," he said.

Public opinion polling shows broad acceptance of the "peace constitution" -- as it is widely known -- as a whole, although views are divided on the hot-button issue of Article 9.

Taeko Higa, a Tokyo office worker, staunchly opposes any changes and fears for the future.

"I'm interested in the constitution and politics but many people around me aren't," she said, worrying they are vulnerable to aggressive arguments in favour of revision.

Public opinion polling shows broad acceptance of the document, widely known as the "peace constitution," as a whole, although views are divided on the hot-button issue of Article 9 -- which renonces Japan's right to wage war

While polls show the overwhelming majority of Japanese are concerned by North Korea's missile tests, surveys have turned up wide variations in the level of support for amending Article 9.

Public broadcaster NHK found only 25 percent of respondents in favour of changing it, with 57 percent opposed. Another survey by Kyodo News found 49 percent for and 47 percent against.

Attitudes would likely harden if there was a real attack -- intentional or accidental -- by Pyongyang.

"If a missile came flying over and actually fell on us things might dramatically change," said company employee Keizo Kubota.
Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn pays respects at the statue of King Rama I after signing the military-backed constitution in Bangkok on April 6, 2017

Thailand's new king was granted control over five state agencies that oversee royal affairs and security on Tuesday, the latest move by an increasingly assertive monarch to consolidate power.

The law detailing the transfers was not made public until it was published late Monday in the Royal Gazette, meaning junta-appointed lawmakers had voted on the bill in private.

That secrecy is in line with the trademark opacity of Thailand's monarchy, a powerful institution shielded by harsh defamation laws that have landed critics behind bars.

The five agencies transferred to King Maha Vajiralongkorn's control include two major administrative departments -- the Royal Household Bureau and the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary -- plus three palace security bodies.

All were previously under government or military control.

"(Their) work is different than other departments so it is suitable to set up new agencies under His Majesty's custody," the Royal Gazette said.

The latest move to claw back control of the palace bureaucracy caps a long-running effort to "reinvigorate" the monarchy, said Thailand-based academic David Streckfuss.

"This quite clearly demarcates a separation between the government and the institution in a way that Thailand has not seen since the end of absolute monarchy," he told AFP.

"On a symbolic level the institution of the monarchy is becoming more autonomous and virtually impossible for the public to scrutinise."

Vajiralongkorn, 64, ascended the throne after the death of his revered father Bhumibol Adulyadej in October.

It was the country's first royal succession in 70 years, stirring anxiety among powerbrokers about how a new monarch might restructure complex relations between the palace and figures in the military and government.

Thailand-based reporters are forced to self-censor when reporting on the monarchy to avoid falling foul of the royal defamation law.

While the king's formal powers were limited after absolute monarchy was abolished in 1932, the throne reclaimed much of its prestige and influence under Bhumibol's charismatic reign.

Vajiralongkorn has yet to attain his father's level of popularity.

Yet the new king has taken a number of assertive moves in recent months to expand his influence.

Earlier this year he ordered surprise changes to a junta-drafted constitution that had already been approved in a referendum.

The changes gave him control over the naming of a regent and kept open the possibility of a palace intervention in case of political deadlock.

Vajiralongkorn was also granted power last year to appoint the kingdom's top monk.

He has also sacked a number of powerful palace officials from his father's era, some of whom have been publicly accused of "evil deeds" and paraded in front of the press with their heads shaved.
President Mohammadu Buhari was briefed by members of his cabinet after returning from nearly two months in London, where he received treatment for an undisclosed ailment

Nigerian civil society activists called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take long-term medical leave Tuesday, adding to mounting pressure on the 74-year-old over his health.

The ailing head of state spent two months in London earlier this year, officially on vacation and to have routine medical tests for an undisclosed illness.

But he has missed two out of the last three cabinet meetings, was absent from Friday prayers last week and failed to attend his grandson's wedding on Saturday.

Buhari himself has disclosed he had blood transfusions and other tests in London and disclosed he "couldn't recall being so sick".

Aides, who during his absence maintained he was "hale and hearty", now say he had a "long period of treatment" in the British capital and needs rest.

His spokesman Garba Shehu said Buhari had spent most of his time at his private residence since returning from London in early March and was working from home.

Despite assurances that Buhari's health is nothing to worry about, the presidency is increasingly being urged to be more open about his condition.

"Why is the president hiding his state of health?" Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka said last week. "He's supposed to understand he's public property."

On Tuesday, a group of leading civil society activists urged Buhari take medical leave, as his absence "has fuelled further speculations and rumours" about the true state of his health.

"We are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay," they wrote in an open letter.

A former chairman of Buhari's All Progressive Congress party, Bisi Akande, also expressed worries, saying "the health of the leader is intricately intertwined with the health of the nation".

"To avoid the ugly consequences of letting President Buhari's ailments throw Nigeria into confusion, I am urging all Nigerians to begin to pray for his divine healing and perfect recovery."

The health of Nigeria's president has been a sensitive issue since the death in office in 2010 of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, which saw months of political turmoil.

Buhari dismissed claims during the 2015 presidential election that he was seriously ill with prostate cancer, saying it was an opposition smear designed to show him unfit to be head of state.
A clergyman looks towards top Iranian military commanders including (L) Mohammad Pakpour, head of ground forces of the Revolutionary Guards, during the Army Day parade in Tehran on April 18, 2010

Iran will maintain its support for the Syrian government despite the deaths of hundreds of its advisers and volunteers in the six-year civil war, a commander said in comments published Tuesday.

Shiite Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are the Syrian regime's most important military supporters after Russia in its battle against mainly Sunni rebels.

"We will send advisers in all fields and offer all help at our disposal so the resistance front doesn't break," the ground forces commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, told the Fars news agency.

"They are present there now and we will deploy more as long as there is a need for advisory support."

Pakpour said that advisers from the Guards' ground forces, including the Saberin Special Forces Unit, were working alongside those from the Guards' Quds Force foreign operations arm.

Syrian chief of staff General Ali Abdullah Ayoub was in Tehran for talks on Tuesday.

In his meeting with Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan, Ayoub said Syria was "indebted to Iran's support," the Guards' SepahNews website reported.

Dehghan said: "The nations of Iran and Syria are fighting on the same front to remove the lethal threat of terrorism and restore peace and security to the region."

As well as advisers, Iran has sent thousands of "volunteer" fighters recruited among its own nationals as well as the Shiite communities in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It also has military advisers and trainers deployed in Iraq.

As of early March, at least 2,100 fighters sent from Iran had been killed in Iraq and Syria, according to Iranian officials.
Somalia faces the threat of its third famine in 25 years of civil war and anarchy

Somalia, hit by drought and on the verge of famine, will count 1.4 million acutely malnourished children by the end of the year, up 50 percent from late 2016, the UN said Tuesday.

The United Nations children's agency warned that 275,000 of those children were expected to be so severely malnourished that they could easily die.

Severe acute malnutrition is the most extreme and visible form of undernutrition, with victims often appearing skeletal and frail, and in urgent need of treatment to survive.

Such children "are nine times more likely to die of cholera, or diarrhoea or measles," UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado told reporters in Geneva.

"The combination of malnutrition and disease, plus displacement is deadly for children," she said, pointing out that a severely malnourished and dehydrated child can die in a matter of hours from diarrhoea or cholera.

The World Health Organization warned last month that the drought was fuelling an outbreak of cholera and acute diarrhoea in Somalia that has already killed hundreds of people.

The warning comes as Somalia faces the threat of its third famine in 25 years of civil war and anarchy.

At least 260,000 people died in the 2011 famine in Somalia -- half of them children under the age of five, according to the UN World Food Programme.

Mercado pointed out that during that famine, "the major killer of children were diarrhoea and measles."

The dire drought and food situation has forced more than 615,000 people to flee their homes since last November, in a country where 1.1 million people are already internally displaced.

Unicef's representative in Somalia, Steven Lauwerier, cautioned in a statement that women and children on the move especially "are extremely vulnerable".

Women and children who move about in search of assistance "are often robbed or worse, both on the way to and in camps," the statement said.

The UN has appealed for $720 million to provide aid to Somalia this year, of which it so far has received $415 million, or about 58 percent, UN humanitarian agency spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters.
An injured child lies on a bed at a hospital in Syria's northeastern city of Hassakeh

A jihadist assault led by suicide bombers killed dozens at a camp for the displaced near Syria's border with Iraq, as pressure grows on the Islamic State group in both countries.

The violence left at least 46 people dead and came as another surprise IS attack on Tuesday killed 10 soldiers in Iraq, to the south along the border.

As the tolls mounted, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed steps to ease the Syrian civil war, which has pitched Moscow and Washington into rival camps.

Trump aides said their telephone conversation included "discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones" in Syria "to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons."

Syria

No details were given about the possible safe zones, which have long been discussed but faltered as the conflict drags on.

IS appears to be lashing out as it faces escalating offensives on its last two major bastions: second city Mosul in Iraq and Raqa in neighbouring Syria.

Its dawn attack in Syria's northeast hit a makeshift camp near the border with Iraq where some 300 families were waiting to cross into territory held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the US-backed alliance leading the assault on Raqa.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least five suicide bombers blew themselves up inside and outside the camp in Hasakeh province.

Heavy clashes ensued between the jihadists and the SDF, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The monitoring group said at least 46 people were killed, including 31 civilians.

IS claimed the attack via its propaganda outlet Amaq, saying a group of jihadists attacked an SDF position near the camp as part of a multi-pronged assault on the group.

- 'Appalled, saddened' -

Kamal Derbas, a press officer for the Kurdish Red Crescent, said the attack began at 4:00 am (0100 GMT).

A nurse adjusts an intraveinous (IV) drip for an injured patient as he lies on a bed at a hospital in Syria's northeastern city of Hassakeh, on May 2, 2017

Thousands of people -- from the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor further south and from the Iraqi city of Mosul across the border -- have used the crossing to reach safety, according to the International Rescue Committee.

"We are appalled and saddened to hear of the attacks today in Hasakeh province," said IRC regional advocacy adviser Thomas Garofalo.

Conditions in the area are harsh, with little shelter, the authorities overstretched and the risk of renewed violence.

The charity Save the Children condemned the attack, saying it "regards the targeting of civilians, particularly children, as abhorrent".

It said about 400 displaced people and refugees were being relocated to another camp as a result of the attack and ensuing gun battle.

The IS attack in Iraq saw jihadists fire on an army base near the remote outpost of Rutba, near the country's western borders with Syria and Jordan.

IS appeared to be trying to breach the defence of Rutba, which is the last sizeable town on the road from Baghdad to the Jordanian border, as well as to create diversions to ease pressure on its fighters in Mosul, military officials said.

A massive offensive was launched in mid-October to retake Mosul, where IS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of IS's so-called "caliphate" nearly three years ago.

- 'Violent' Tabqa clashes -

IS once controlled swathes of land on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border, but US-backed offensives have seen much of that territory retaken.

A US-led coalition began bombing IS positions in Iraq in August 2014 and launched raids against the jihadists in neighbouring Syria the following month.

In northern Syria, the coalition is backing the major assault by the SDF -- an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters -- on Raqa.

A key waypost in that offensive is the city of Tabqa, which lies along the Euphrates River and on an IS supply route about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa.

On Tuesday, the SDF battled to clear IS from a final pocket in northern Tabqa after seizing 90 percent of the city, the force and a monitor said.

"Once the last pocket is done, the city will be liberated -- but taking the dam will be the hardest part of the Tabqa campaign," Ahmad Mohammad, an SDF press officer, told AFP.

The Observatory said the SDF was now in control of 90 percent of Tabqa and that there were still between 300 and 400 jihadists holed up in the north of the city.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
Bangladesh is using "draconian" internet laws to crack down on dissent, curb public debate and criticism and harass and prosecute journalists, Amnesty International said

Bangladesh is using "draconian" internet laws to crack down on dissent, curb public debate and criticism and harass and prosecute journalists, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

"The Bangladeshi government treats journalism as if it were a crime," said Olof Blomqvist, the group's researcher, in a report entitled "Caught between fear and repression: Attacks on freedom of expression in Bangladesh".

"Through imprisonment, threats, intimidation and constant interference in their work, Bangladesh's government has done all it can to silence critical voices in the media," he said.

The Information and Communications Technology Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years' imprisonment, is "the principal instrument to muzzle critical voices in the country", the report said.

The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has used the controversial law, enacted in 2006 and made tougher in 2013, to arrest several top editors who were considered pro-opposition, over charges widely believed to be politically motivated.

Since January 2014 the authorities have used this law to arrest at least 95 people including nine journalists and two writers, according to local rights group Odhikar.

Several journalists refer to the current repression as the worst they have endured since Bangladesh returned to civilian rule in 1991, the report said.

"There are now 'red lines' that journalists are careful not to cross. Few dare publish reports that may be deemed critical of Hasina or her family, knowing that they could be shut down without explanation or have pressure brought to bear on their advertisers," the report said.

"The crackdown on dissent and secular thought in Bangladesh must end," said Blomqvist, urging the government to "repeal or reform the draconian laws".

The Amnesty report comes as police used the law Sunday night to arrest the editor of an online news portal after he published a report questioning the standards of the products of a local leading electronics maker.

Local journalist groups have mainly raised concerns over Article 57 of the internet law, which allows prosecution of people if they are deemed to "prejudice the image of the State" or "hurt religious belief".

"This is a notorious law. It criminalises journalism and freedom of expression. It must be nullified," Pulack Ghatack, a joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, told AFP.
Deere & Company is dropping a plan to purchase Precision Planting LLC, a company owned by Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto

US farm equipment giant John Deere has dropped plans to acquire a unit of Monsanto amid concerns the merger would be challenged by regulators.

Deere & Company had announced in November 2015 its plan to purchase Precision Planting LLC, a company owned by Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto.

But competition authorities filed a complaint against the acquisition last August, fearing it would reduce competition in the sector.

The proposed acquisition would have combined the only two significant US providers of high-speed precision planting systems, the Justice Department said in a statement late Monday.

High-speed planting can allow farmers take the greatest advantage of the limited window for planting each year and achieve the highest crop yields.

"The companies' decision to abandon this transaction is a victory for American farmers and consumers," acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, said in a statement.

"Had this acquisition gone forward, significant head-to-head competition between Deere and Monsanto's Precision Planting -- competition that has led to lower prices and more innovative products -- would have been lost."

A federal court in Chicago was due to hear the case on the merger in June.
The forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar control much of eastern Libya

The head of Libya's UN-backed unity government on Tuesday held a rare meeting with a military strongman who supports a rival authority in the violence-wracked country, official media said.

Fayez al-Sarraj and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar met face-to-face in Abu Dhabi, the LANA news agency said, for only the second time since Sarraj was named prime minister-designate in late 2015.

Sarraj and Haftar met "thanks to international and Arab mediation", according to LANA, which is loyal to the parliament based in eastern Libya, after a first meeting in January last year.

Libyan television broadcaster 218 reported that the two held talks "in private" after posing for a photograph together.

Political rivalry and fighting between militias has hampered Libya's efforts to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Haftar, who backs an administration based in the far east of the country, has refused to recognise the authority of the UN-backed Government of National Accord since it started working in Tripoli in March last year.

In February, Sarraj said Haftar had refused to meet him in person in Cairo for Egypt-backed talks to discuss possible amendments to a UN-backed agreement signed in late 2015 that gave birth to the fragile unity government.

The Libya Political Agreement (LPA) gave no role in Libya's future to Haftar, whose forces control much of the country's east.

But Haftar, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army, has since established himself as a key player, especially after seizing the country's key oil terminals in September.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Tuesday's meeting came after a change of tack from Haftar, who seeks nationwide presidential polls next year.

Haftar is "now pursuing a different strategy... exchanging his support for an amended LPA for a guarantee to have presidential elections early in 2018 in which it would be thinkable for him to run", Toaldo said.

The meeting also comes as Sarraj seeks "badly needed legitimisation" from the eastern authorities, even as he struggles with internal support in western Libya where factions are hostile to Haftar, he said.

"I doubt that anything negotiated by Sarraj would be accepted peacefully by factions in western Libya if it is seen as giving Haftar a too prominent position within the security sector or the political system," Toaldo said.
Only about 1,000 of Africa's Eastern black rhinos remain in the wild

Around 20 of Africa's endangered Eastern black rhinos are returning in an "extraordinary homecoming" to Rwanda after the species disappeared there 10 years ago, the African Parks organisation said Tuesday.

The rhinos are being moved from South Africa to the Akagera national park in eastern Rwanda, according to the non-profit group that manages protected areas for African governments.

"This extraordinary homecoming will take place over the first two weeks of May," it said in a statement.

The Eastern black rhino, one of the sub-species of the rhinoceros, is in critical danger of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Back in the 1970s, more than 50 black rhinos thrived in the savannah habitat of the Akagera park, but their numbers declined due to wide-scale poaching and the last confirmed sighting was in 2007.

- 'Great symbol of Africa' -

The illegal and lucrative trade in rhino horns, especially prized in Asia, has led to poaching and the decline of the species in Africa

"Rhinos are one of the great symbols of Africa yet they are severely threatened and are on the decline in many places across the continent due to the extremely lucrative and illegal rhino horn trade," said African Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead.

According to the conservationists, there are fewer than 5,000 black rhino in the wild worldwide, with only about 1,000 of the Eastern sub-species.

Since 2010 African Parks has boosted security at Akagera and has prepared to accept the rhinos with financial help from the Howard Buffett Foundation, headed by the son of US billionaire Warren Buffett.

The measures taken include deploying a helicopter for air surveillance and an expert rhino tracking and protection team as well as a canine anti-poaching unit.

"We are fully prepared to welcome them (rhinos) and ensure their safety for the benefit of our tourism industry and the community at large," said Clare Akamanzi, chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board.

In July 2015, Rwanda had reintroduced lions in the Akagera park, 15 years after they had disappeared. The lions were decimated in the years after Rwanda's genocide in 1994 as Rwandans who had fled the slaughter returned and occupied the park killing the lions to protect their livestock.

The park, which takes its name from the nearby Kagera river, is located near the border with Tanzania.

With the reintroduction of the rhinos, Akagera, which welcomed more than 36,000 visitors last year, will now boast being home to Africa's "big five" -- rhino, lion, elephant, leopard and buffalo.
Chief opposition negotiator Mohammad Alloush (C) of the Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel group attends the first session of Syria peace talks at Astana's Rixos President Hotel on January 23, 2017

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for shoring up Syria's frail truce as Russian-led peace talks involving Syrian rebels and regime officials are set to begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

"We consider that this situation -- the ceasefire -- needs to be strengthened, and this is precisely what our representatives will work on tomorrow and the day after in Astana together with the sides in the Syrian conflict," Putin said at a news conference in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Our task is to create conditions for unification, the cessation of hostilities, the cessation of mutual destruction and the creation of conditions for the political cooperation of all opposing sides."

The two days of talks -- sponsored by Syrian regime supporters Russia and Iran along with rebel-backer Turkey -- are the first since US President Donald Trump infuriated the Kremlin by launching a missile strike against Assad's forces over an alleged chemical weapons attack last month.

A rebel delegation led by Mohammad Alloush, leader of the Jaish al-Islam faction, has arrived in Astana for the talks, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

An advisor to the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Yehya Aridi, told AFP that the group would participate in the talks with "approximately" the same delegation as in previous rounds of negotiations.

The rebels did not separately confirm Alloush's participation. Regime negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari will lead the Damascus delegation.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura will also take part in the talks which could pave the way for a new round of UN-brokered peace negotiations in Geneva this month, the United Nations said Monday.

The Astana negotiations are viewed as complementary to the broader Geneva talks on a political settlement, but neither have yielded real progress so far.

The last round of talks in March saw a delegation from Damascus meet representatives from the talks' sponsors Russia, Iran and Turkey, but leaders of armed rebel groups stayed away for the first time over alleged violations of a fragile ceasefire deal.

Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said a US delegation led by Stuart Jones -- acting assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Affairs Bureau -- would observe this week's talks.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have confirmed plans for a telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in which Syria is expected to raised.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz testifies before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 2, 2017

Senior lawmakers urged US airlines Tuesday to fix their customer service issues after recent high-profile problems, or face a crackdown from Congress.

"Seize this opportunity because if you don't, we're going to come and you're not going to like it," said Representative Bill Shuster, chairman of the House transportation committee.

The hearing was Capitol Hill's first chance to grill airline executives since the violent removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight last month sparked global outrage.

United Continental chief executive Oscar Munoz apologized again and reviewed changes the airline has implemented in the wake of the incident, including reducing the amount of customer overbooking and offering passengers up to $10,000 in compensation to be bumped off overbooked flights.

"We will do better," Munoz promised.

American Airlines said it also would reduce overbooking and planned to reach out to customers before they arrive at the airport if flights are oversold.

Southwest Airlines announced last week it would stop overbooking entirely, and Alaska Airlines said it is working to reduce overbooking.

The airline executives also pledged to simplify their disclosures to customers when tickets are purchased. Lawmakers criticized documents of nearly 50 pages long as confusing and inscrutable to the lay person.

"All of the language in the contracts favor the airlines," said William McGee, an aviation consultant with the Consumers Union.

Lawmakers griped about crammed flights, confusing pricing policies for food and bags and excessive fees for customers who change flights.

Some lawmakers also complained about lack of competition following a series of mega mergers that has restricted choice in many regions around the United States.

"Across the board, we all know it's a terrible experience," said Representative Michael Caputo, a Massachusetts Democratic .

But several lawmakers in the Republican-led Congress signaled they were loath to step in with new regulations.

New actions from Congress risks a "one size fits all" approach bad for consumers, Shuster said.

But he warned, "This issue is not going away. We're not going away. We will hold you accountable."
British troops are joining the 13,000-member UNMISS force in South Sudan

About 400 British soldiers will join the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan in the next weeks in one of Britain's largest operational deployments worldwide, the force said Tuesday.

A statement said the first of the British troops, "proudly wearing their distinctive blue UN berets, arrives in Juba today to join the United Nations Mission in South Sudan."

The British contingent, the first to join the 13,000-member UNMISS force since it was set up in 2011, is made up of medics and military engineers.

The engineers will be deployed at UN camps housing displaced civilians in Bentiu and Malakal in the north, where they will help improve routes, security and drainage.

Almost 80 medics will staff a hospital in Bentiu that provides care for civilians as well as for the 1,800 UN peacekeepers based there.

The deployment of the troops comes three weeks after Britain's International Development Minister Priti Patel said the targeted killings of specific ethnic groups in South Sudan amounted to "genocide".

But the decision to join UNMISS dates back to the former government headed by David Cameron.

After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, the country descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than 3.5 million people displaced.

More than 1.9 million people are internally displaced and more than 1.7 million have fled to safety across the country's borders.

In February, South Sudan and the United Nations formally declared a famine in parts of northern Unity State affecting 100,000 people, a disaster UN officials said was "man-made" and could have been averted.
China can execute their military exercises in Philippines.

This was according to the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after he told the media that he welcomes joint military exercise with President Xi Jinping.

"Yes, I said I agree. We can have joint exercises here in Mindanao, maybe in the Sulu Sea," Duterte said. "To show that we are friends. That's why I welcome them here."

"Part of really the confidence building and goodwill...To show that we're friends," the Philippine president further added.

It can be recalled that the Philippine President's hometown, Davao City welcomed three Chinese navy ships.

According to the Navy chief Vice Admiral of the Philippines, Ronald Joseph Mercado, the visit of the Chinese ships from Shanghai is one of the proofs of the warming and developing ties between China and Philippines.

Meanwhile, the president of the Philippines were reported to be impressed with the Chinese vessels and said positive things about the ships.

"It's very impressive. It's all carpeted. It's so beautiful. Inside, it's like a luxury hotel," he told reporters, "It's clean!"

It can be noted that China and Philippines have started to warm ties since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte went to office last year. He take the side of China and event went to talk with President Xi Jinping for the last few months.

He was also quoted by Xinhua that he thinks Philippines has the "best level of friendship" with China.

"We are at our best level of friendship with China after I went there," the President of the Philippines said, referring to his previous visit to Beijing in October 2016.

Meanwhile, Russia, which has also slowly becoming a nation with close tie with Philippines, has also expressed interest in holding joint military exercise in Philippines. This was after the country offered it first in China.
Kelli Bland, a spokeswoman for US Army Recruitment Command, said incoming soldiers are subject to a range of screening procedures including whether they have a criminal past or a history of gang or extremist activity

The US Army is investigating whether any recruitment procedures were violated when an American-French dual citizen enlisted despite having fought with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Washington Post reported Monday that 29-year-old Guillaume Cuvelier started basic training in January, even though he had espoused extreme right-wing French nationalist views and had fought for the Kremlin-backed Donetsk People's Republic in 2014.

"US Army Recruiting Command has initiated an inquiry to determine whether or not proper enlistment procedures were followed," Army spokesman Colonel Pat Seiber told AFP.

A March 2014 executive order bars US citizens from assisting the Donetsk People's Republic by way of "funds, goods or services."

According to his large digital footprint, Cuvelier also spent time fighting with the Kurdish peshmerga in northern Iraq before heading to America.

Now a private first class in the Army, Cuvelier grew up in Rouen, France, and graduated from university there in 2009, the Post said, citing his now-deleted Facebook profile.

Records show that in 2010 regional French elections, Cuvelier was a candidate for the Parti de la France, a nationalist party that is even more right-wing than the Front National from which it had splintered.

Kelli Bland, a spokeswoman for US Army Recruitment Command, said incoming soldiers are subject to a range of screening procedures including whether they have a criminal past or a history of gang or extremist activity.

"Being a member of a gang or other group that is associated with criminal activity or extremist views or actions is inconsistent with Army values, and applicants who are members are denied entry based on questionable moral character," Bland told AFP in a statement.

Cuvelier told the Post in a text-message exchange that he has changed.

"The Army is my only chance of moving on and cutting with my past," Cuvelier told the Post.

"I realized I like this country, its way of life and its Constitution enough to defend it."

"By publishing a story on me, you are jeopardizing my career and rendering a great service to anyone trying to embarrass the Army. My former Russian comrades would love it. ... so, I please ask you to reconsider using my name and/or photo," he added.

Bland said that dual citizens are subject to the same background checks as all US citizens.

But if a dual-national needs a security clearance, they require extra screening and could ultimately be asked to renounce their foreign citizenship.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses UNESCO of denying the Jewish people's historical connection with Jerusalem by presenting Israel as an occupying power there in new resolution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday slammed an "absurd" UNESCO resolution he said denies the Jews' historical connection with Jerusalem by presenting Israel as an occupying power there.

The resolution, passed Tuesday at the UN organisation's Paris headquarters, denounced actions taken by "Israel, the occupying power... to alter the character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem."

It particularly criticised Israel's annexation of Jerusalem following its occupation of the city's east in 1967, a move never recognised by the international community.

It said such moves were "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith".

Netanyahu dismissed the resolution, which passed by 22 votes to 10, with 23 abstentions.

"There is no other people for whom Jerusalem is as holy and important as it is for the Jewish people," he said in a statement, accusing UNESCO of "denying that simple truth."

The Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed the declaration, calling it "a victory for international law".

It said the decision reaffirmed "the centrality of Jerusalem to world heritage as well as the need to confront the dangers posed by the illegal practices of Israel, the occupying power... which threaten the cultural and historical integrity of these invaluable sites."

But Netanyahu claimed the vote was a victory for Israel.

"The number of countries that supported this absurd proposal continues to decline," he said.

"A year ago 32 states supported it. Six months ago this figure had dropped to 26 and this time there are only 22."

Israel claims Jerusalem as its united capital, while the Palestinians claim the city's east as the capital of their future state.

Israeli officials criticised UNESCO for holding the vote on Tuesday, Israel's Independence Day.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the vote "amounts to denying Israeli sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem and presents our country as an occupying state on the day when we celebrate our independence".

Israel and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization had a similar showdown in October after the body passed an Arab-sponsored resolution that criticised the Jewish state for restricting access to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem.

The UNESCO resolution referred to the holy site in Jerusalem's Old City only by its Muslim name, Al-Aqsa or Al-Haram al-Sharif.

Jews refer to the site as the Temple Mount and it is considered the holiest site in Judaism.

Israel recalled its ambassador to UNESCO over the issue.
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017

An FBI translator who was hired to spy on a German member of the Islamic State group instead apparently grew attracted to him and snuck off to Syria to get married.

According to court documents seen Tuesday, Daniela Greene, who had a "top secret" security clearance, told her colleagues at the Detroit office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that she was heading to Germany to see her parents for a few weeks in June 2014.

Instead she flew to Turkey and snuck across the border to meet up and marry an IS fighter. He was not identified in the documents, but according to CNN, he was Denis Cuspert, a notorious former German rapper who went by the name of Deso Dogg.

Cuspert was officially designated a terrorist in early 2015 by the US State Department, which described him as an IS recruiter focusing on German speakers, and noted that he had appeared in numerous IS videos, including on in which he was holding the severed head of an Islamic State opponent.

It was not clear how Cuspert, also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, wooed her. Court testimony suggested they may have communicated privately via a Skype account he used that Greene did not report to her FBI colleagues.

- Quick marriage, then regret -

Greene, who was born in Czechoslovakia and married a US soldier, began work at the FBI in 2011, with no problems until her mysterious disappearance in June 2014.

Immediately after her arrival in Syria she married Cuspert, on June 27, 2014, according to court documents recently unsealed. But within days Greene, now 38, began to seek a way out,

"I really made a mess of things this time," she told a friend in a July 2014 email from IS territory.

"I don't know how long I will last here, but it doesn't matter, it's all a little too late," she said in a subsequent email. In another, she said she recognized she could be imprisoned for years if she returned.

Court documents did not explain how she escaped from IS territory, but by early August, less than two months after travelling to Syria, she returned to the United States and was arrested.

She immediately confessed and began cooperating with US prosecutors. Her cooperation "was significant, long-running and substantial," said an investigator, supporting a lenient sentence.

Ultimately she pleaded guilty to one charge of "making false statements involving international terrorism," based on what she originally told the FBI about her travel plans. She received a relatively light 24 month prison sentence, and was released last year.
Hamas' armed wing on Tuesday gave Israel 24 hours to respond to the demands of hunger-striking prisoners, warning the Jewish state it would face consequences for failure to act.

"We warn the enemy not to ignore the just and legitimate demands of the prisoners, and we say we are giving the enemy leadership 24 hours to respond," a spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a recorded speech.

Otherwise, he warned, Israel would "pay the price every day they delay responding to the demands".

The statement did not list all potential responses but said the number of prisoners demanded in any future prisoner exchange would be increased.

Palestinian women walk past a wall bearing posters including a portrait of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, during a rally in Ramallah in support of him and other prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails on April 24, 2017

The hunger strike over prison conditions began on April 17, with those taking part ingesting only water and salt.

They have issued demands ranging from better medical care to phone access.

The Palestinians say around 1,500 prisoners are refusing food, though an Israeli minister said Sunday around 300 had recently abandoned their claim, putting the number of remaining strikers at 980.

The protest is being led by Marwan Barghouti, a senior figure in the Hamas' rival Fatah who is in jail over the deaths of five Israelis during the second intifada, or uprising.

Barghouti accused Israel of "inhumane" treatment of prisoners and "judicial apartheid" in a New York Times opinion piece published last month outlining the reasoning for the strike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the newspaper for referring to Barghouti as a "Palestinian leader and parliamentarian" while failing to note his five convictions for murder and history as a commander of Palestinian terrorist organisations.

In 2011 Israel released more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped five years earlier.

Hamas claims to have two current Israeli soldiers, though the Jewish state says they are dead but still wants their bodies.

The Islamist movement is also believed to have detained two Israelis who entered Gaza separately, both of whom allegedly have serious mental health issues.

Earlier Tuesday thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in several cities over Israel's decade-long blockade of Gaza.

During one of the marches senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said in a statement carried on Hamas media that a prisoner exchange was "always on the table" but it depended on Israel's willingness to compromise.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008, the most recent in 2014.
Twenty-five associations, including the Tunisian Press Syndicate, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International, said they were "deeply concerned" about the creation of a regulatory body for audiovisual communication

Tunisian and international non-governmental organisations warned Tuesday of deteriorating freedom of the press in a country considered to be a rare success story of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

"The Tunisian government these past weeks has not stopped tightening its grip on the press," they said in a joint statement published on World Press Freedom Day.

Twenty-five associations, including the Tunisian Press Syndicate, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International, said they were "deeply concerned" about the creation of a regulatory body for audiovisual communication.

Six years after a popular uprising toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the rights groups expressed concern about the recent banning of a small daily publication.

"It's the first time since the end of the dictatorship... that a newspaper is banned in this way," they said.

The Tunisian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Tunisian media was largely silenced under Ben Ali.

But the 2011 uprising gave rise to unprecedented freedom of expression in Tunisia. The country ranked first in North Africa in RSF's latest World Press Freedom Index.

Amnesty also published a separate statement on Tuesday in which it urged Tunisia to "demonstrate its commitment to human rights", especially in stemming torture and gender-based discrimination.

"While Tunisia has made some progress on opening up political and civil space and some legislative reforms have been introduced, the security sector has remained largely unchanged and in recent years there has been a resurgence of violations committed with impunity," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty's North Africa research director.

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday reviewed the human rights situation in Tunisia for the first time since 2012.

"This review comes at a critical moment for Tunisia," said Morayef.

"It provides a crucial opportunity to take stock of where Tunisia's transition stands in terms of human rights reforms six years on from the uprising and in the face of ongoing security challenges."
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Defence Minister and Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs Mohammed bin Salman accuses Iran of wanting to dominate the muslim world

A powerful Saudi royal said Tuesday that there could be no rapprochement between his country and Iran, which he said wants to dominate the Muslim world.

In a television interview, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said that his kingdom could withstand a long war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia fights in support of pro-government forces against Iran-backed rebels.

"How can we get along with a regime which has an extremist ideology... and a profound wish to dominate the Muslim world and spread the Shiite faith?" Prince Mohammed said.

Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia's longstanding accusations of regional interference by Iran have found a more favourable ear in Washington since President Donald Trump took office in January.

The region's leading Shiite and Sunni powers have no diplomatic ties and are at odds over a range of issues, including the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Prince Mohammed said "there are no points of convergence" with Tehran, whose principle aim is to harm his kingdom.

Saudi leaders regularly accuse Iran of stirring regional conflicts by supporting Shiite movements in Syria, Irak and Bahrain as well as in Yemen.

Tehran denies the charges and in turn says Riyadh supports radical Islamist groups.

Prince Mohammed, interviewed on MBC television, said that Iran never acted with sincerity towards Saudi Arabia and that all its attempts at rapprochement were "comedies".

The prince, 31, has risen to become one of the kingdom's most powerful and prominent figures since he was named deputy crown prince two years ago.

-- 'A long war' in Yemen --

He holds the posts of defence minister, heads the main economic policy coordinating body, and is the main proponent of a wide-ranging plan unveiled in April last year to reform the oil-dependent economy.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen more than two years ago after Huthi rebels allied with members of the security forces loyal to Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized the capital Sanaa and overran other parts of the country.

Both Washington and Riyadh accuse Tehran of arming the Huthis, though analysts say they have seen no evidence of large-scale shipments.

Some analysts say Prince Mohammed must be seen to win in Yemen to protect his leadership future.

The fighting has killed more than 7,700 people over the past two years, according to the United Nations, and the country faces the threat of famine.

Rebels still hold Yemen's capital.

"The Huthis and their allies could be rooted out in several days but the cost would be thousands of dead among our soldiers and losses too high among the Yemeni civilians," the prince said.

He added that "a long war is in our interest", as the coalition has the advantage in arms supply and financing.

The television appearance coincided roughly with the one-year anniversary of the Vision 2030 economic reform plan, which was the focus of the interview.

The Vision plan aims to develop Saudi Arabia's industrial and investment base as well as small and midsize businesses to employ more locals and reduce the reliance on oil revenue.

At the heart of the plan is the sale of less than five percent of state oil company Saudi Aramco on the stock market.

Prince Mohammed confirmed the share sale would take place next year.
South Carolina officer Michael Slager's killing of unarmed Walter Scott sparked widespread protests over police violence against blacks

A South Carolina policeman who was filmed shooting an unarmed black man in the back after a traffic stop pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful killing while performing official duties, which could bring up to life in prison.

The Justice Department said that former North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer Michael Slager, 35, agreed to the single federal charge five months after a jury failed to convict him of murder in the case.

Slager's plea will resolve both the federal and state cases against him over the shooting two years ago, which came amid a spate of police shootings of unarmed black men that sparked widespread anger and protests.

In December, a lone jury member in the state case prevented a murder conviction, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial and plan for a new trial.

"The Department of Justice will hold accountable any law enforcement officer who violates the civil rights of our citizens by using excessive force," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"Such failures of duty not only harm the individual victims of these crimes; they harm our country, by eroding trust in law enforcement and undermining the good work of the vast majority of honorable and honest police officers."

Slager, who is white, pulled Walter Scott over for a broken brake light in North Charleston on April 4, 2015.

The 51-year-old Scott got out of his car and tried to flee. Slager chased him and shot him with a Taser, knocking him down. When Scott got up and ran again, Slager shot him five times in the back, killing him.

Slager had claimed that Scott tried to attack him with the Taser. A cellphone video of the incident made by a bystander showed that Slager was in no danger and had no apparent reason for shooting Scott as he ran.

"The defendant used deadly force even though it was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances," the plea agreement said.

Sentencing in the case is to come at a later date. The charge of depriving a person's civil rights carries a sentence of up to life in prison, and a potential fine of up to $250,000.

"We hope that Michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss," Slager's lawyer Andy Savage said in a statement.

- 'Dystopic vision' -

Meanwhile, police in Dallas, Texas, fired an officer who shot 15-year-old black teenager Jordan Edwards in the head outside a party last weekend, according to The New York Times.

And US media reported the US Justice Department has decided not to charge Louisiana officers over the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge last year. The 37-year-old black man was killed by police while selling CDs outside a convenience store.

Racial justice group Color of Change denounced the move, saying it meant the Justice Department believes that "black lives do not matter."

"This dystopic vision should have been part of America's past, but -- thanks to the white supremacist administration of Donald Trump and his racist cronies like Jeff Sessions and Steve Bannon -- it's become our present," Color of Change executive director Rashad Robinson wrote in a statement.

Amnesty International USA said the case reflects the "dire need for a nationwide review of laws governing when and how police should use deadly force."
WASHINGTON (AP) - The bipartisan $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill finances agency operations through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The bill has been endorsed by the White House, top congressional Democrats, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. It provides President Donald Trump with an increase in the Pentagon budget but denies his request for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The measure also ignores numerous Trump recommendations to significantly cut or eliminate domestic programs.

Highlights of the 1,665-page measure include:

___

DEFENSE and FOREIGN POLICY

-$593 billion for the military, including $15 billion of Trump's $30 billion emergency request from earlier this year. All told, the Pentagon would receive a $26 billion increase over last year, a 4 percent increase. Troops would receive a 2.1 percent pay hike instead of the 1.6 percent recommended by former President Barack Obama. There is $21 billion to procure 13 Navy ships and $8.2 billion for 74 F-35 aircraft, as well as $85 million in emergency money for Tomahawk missiles to replace those fired in the U.S. strike on Syria last month.

-$53.1 billion for foreign aid and State Department diplomacy, a $400 million increase that runs counter the administration's vow to slash foreign assistance. Increases include nearly $1 billion in famine relief to combat starvation in Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Almost $7 billion is for humanitarian programs that assist refugees and others displaced by conflict. Another $100 million would counter Russian influence in Europe and South and Central Asia. The plan does follow through on the administration's pledge to cancel climate change funding and contains no money for the Green Climate Fund, which assists developing nations in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Funding for U.N. agencies is cut by $640 million from current levels.

___

DOMESTIC SPENDING

-$2 billion to extend health benefits to more than 22,000 retired coal miners and their families, a top priority for coal country lawmakers such as Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The miners were threatened with the loss of benefits after industry bankruptcies.

-$296 million to help the government of Puerto Rico with Medicaid financing to ease its budget emergency, a key demand of top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

-$8.8 billion for the FBI, a 3 percent increase over current levels.

-$19.7 billion for NASA, a 2 percent increase.

-$11.2 billion for the IRS, equal to current funding.

-$341 million for replacement fencing along the Mexico border, $170 million for communications and surveillance along the border, and $100 million for access roads. But Trump's $1 billion request for new border wall construction was denied.

-$8.1 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, a 1 percent budget cut.

-$34.1 billion for medical research at the National Institutes of Health, $3.2 billion more than Trump recommended for the current year and $7.8 billion more than his 2018 budget request.

-$22.5 billion for Pell Grants, equal to last year.

-$15.5 billion for Title I school grants and $12 billion for special education, both modest increases over 2016

-$286 million for Title X family planning, some of which is provided to Planned Parenthood.

-$1.5 billion for Amtrak, a $105 million increase.

-$3 billion for community development block grants. Trump wants to eliminate the program.

-$3.4 billion for heating subsidies for the poor, equal to last year.

-$6 billion for Army Corps of Engineers water and navigation projects, a 1 percent increase.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - Russian police have detained several gay rights activists in St. Petersburg during a protest against the reported abuse of homosexuals in Chechnya.

An Associated Press photographer saw three women being detained during Monday's protest. The Fontanka.ru news portal reported about 10 detentions in all on Nevsky Prospekt, the city's central avenue. No official information was available.

Gay activists and others have been alarmed by reports accusing police in Chechnya of detaining and torturing about 100 men suspected of being gay. The predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia is led by Ramzan Kadyrov, whose security forces have long been accused of torture and extrajudicial killings.

A gay rights activist holding a rainbow umbrella is detained by police during a rally marking May Day in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, May 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Fontanka.ru reported that the activists detained Monday had shouted "Kadyrov to The Hague!" a reference to the International Criminal Court located in the Dutch city.

A gay rights activist holding a rainbow umbrella is detained by police during a rally marking May Day in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, May 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) - A body found last week has been identified as that of a 14-year-old hiker who went missing nearly two weeks ago while hiking a remote part of the Grand Canyon during a family trip, authorities said Monday.

Jackson Standefer, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was crossing a creek on April 15 when he and his step-grandmother, LouAnn Merrell, lost their footing and were swept away.

The cause and manner of death for Jackson Standefer is pending, said Trish Lees, a spokeswoman for the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office.

Merrell, the wife of Merrell Boot Co. co-founder Randy Merrell, is still missing.

Park rangers spent days searching with a helicopter, ground crews, drones and a motorized inflatable boat before the search was scaled back.

A body believed to be Standefer's was found last Friday by a commercial river trip and transported by helicopter to the medical examiner's office.

Standefer was an eighth-grade student at The McCallie School, an all-boys boarding institution in Chattanooga. The teen was active in outdoors programs, crew team and a youth Christian group, school officials have said.

Mark McOmie, Standefer's uncle who is a dentist in Chattanooga, said he was asked by the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office to send Standefer's dental records to them Monday morning, and he heard the identification was made within hours.

"It's over. We're no longer looking for Jackson. We have the body," McOmie said, adding that he didn't immediately know of funeral plans.

"We had a celebration of life for him last week in Chattanooga. An hour and 15 minutes. And it was awesome," added McOmie, who described his nephew as a well-loved boy who was always smiling.

Standefer and his step-grandmother, who is from Utah, went missing during a hike from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to an area known as Tapeats Creek.

They were on a trip with Standefer's mother and Randy Merrell.

Tapeats Creek is in a remote area of the Grand Canyon.

Experienced hikers say the trail that the group took involves an arduous hike down the canyon that ends in stunning, unique views.
The Rassbach Heritage Museum in Menomonies Wakanda Park is hosting a traveling exhibit that tells the story of the Hmong people traveling to America. It gives a unique look into the lives and community of the Hmong in Wisconsin.

Hmong in America is a sweeping history, a story of immigrants, and an interpretation of the Vietnam War most Americans have never gotten. On both sides of the political spectrum, the Vietnam War continues to spark divisive, impassioned arguments among scholars and lay people. What are the lessons of Vietnam?

Americas involvement in Laos, and as a consequence its alliance with the Hmong, has received far less attention, yet is written about and debated with no less conviction. Hmong soldiers served as the primary anti-communist force in Laos. The multi-million-dollar operation, unreported in the American press until 1969, wreaked havoc on the land and its people.

As Eau Claire Hmong elder Chia Koua Xiong said, In Laos, we helped you fight the war. The Americans came to live with our leaders in our country  We provided food  If the Americans came to our house, whatever we ate we treated the Americans equally  If we found an injured soldier  we  carried the American to the base In some dangerous situations we were willing to let ten Hmong soldiers die so that one of your leaders could live

For a good reason, the title of Hmong in America: Journey from a Secret War puzzles many of the Hmong, wrote Regina Hackett in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The war in Laos was never a secret from them.

The American people were the ones in the dark, unaware that since the early 1960s U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had directed a war against communists in Laos and Cambodia in direct violation of the Geneva Accords.

When American forces withdrew from Southeast Asia in 1975, thousands fled to Thailand as refugees and subsequently resettled in the United States. The experience of the Hmong cuts to the core of American politics, touching upon issues which have been widely debated throughout U.S. history.

Hmong in America is the dramatic story of one of our regions largest group of immigrants, the Hmong, told through the voices of the people who lived this contemporary history. Their journey begins in the scenic, rugged highlands of Laos, travels through the Vietnam War, pauses in the over-crowded refugee camps of Thailand, and ends with the challenges of resettlement and a new life in America.

The exhibit at the Rassbach was part of a national project to build six exhibits that would travel regionally, and it produced a lot of firsts: Americas first traveling museum content about the Hmong, the first book (a companion to the exhibit) about the Hmong voyage to America. And one of the first exhibits bringing scholars together with the subjects of a history exhibit. Susan McLeod, who was then director of the Chippewa Valley Museum, recently explained the latter to the Wisconsin Humanities Council:

We invited a national group of scholars, Hmong elders, and other Hmong community members. It was a bilingual process and necessarily slow. Collectively we arrived at the main concepts for the exhibit and what we would need to do to develop the content and interpretation. One historian remarked that he had been part of many such meetings, but this was the first where people whose history was under discussion actually took part. His comment confirmed for me the importance of what we were doing.

Frank Smoot of the Dunn County Historical Society noted that even though weve had Hmong friends and neighbors for forty years now, this is still a story that not everyone knows. Its an amazing part of our areas recent history. At some point, for almost all of us, our ancestors traveled to get here, and then adapted once we did arrive. Whether youre talking about 1875 or 1975, the treks we all made to get to Wisconsin are really astonishing.

Hmong in America will be at the Rassbach Heritage Museum at least through June. Admission to the museum on Menomonies north side is $5 for adults, $2 for children from 5-17, and free for museum members and active-duty service personnel. You can discover more about the museum at www.dunnhistory.org.
NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S. president had a historical question: Why did America's Civil War happen? "Why could that one not have been worked out?"

Remarks by Donald Trump, aired Monday, showed presidential uncertainty about the origin and necessity of the Civil War, a defining event in U.S. history with slavery at its core. Trump also declared that President Andrew Jackson was angry about "what was happening" with regard to the war, which started 16 years after his death, and could have stopped it if still in office.

Trump, who has at times shown a shaky grasp of U.S. history, questioned why issues couldn't have been settled to prevent the war that followed the secession of 11 Southern states from the Union and brought death to more than 600,000 Americans, North and South.

FILE - In this March 31, 2017 file photo, a portrait of former President Andrew Jackson hangs on the wall behind President Donald Trump, accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. President Donald Trump made puzzling claims about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War in an interview, suggesting that he was uncertain about the origin of the conflict while claiming that Jackson was upset about the war that started more than a decade after his death. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

"People don't realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why?" Trump said in an interview with The Washington Examiner that also aired on Sirius XM radio. "People don't ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?"

In fact, the causes of the Civil War are frequently discussed, from middle school classrooms to university lecture halls and in countless books. Immigrants seeking to become naturalized are sometimes asked to name a cause of the war in their citizenship tests .

Fierce disagreement over the future of slavery was a driving force behind the war, but economic issues and disputes over state rights were also factors.

"Slavery was the root cause of the Civil War. It was not the only cause, but it was the underlying cause," said Eric Foner, a Columbia University history professor and a leading expert on the war. "As a historian, I would prefer the president had a better handle on American history."

Trump's comments about the war came after he lauded Jackson, the populist president whom he and his staff have cited as a role model. He suggested that if Jackson had been president "a little later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War."

"He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, 'There's no reason for this,'" Trump continued.

Jackson died in 1845. The Civil War began in 1861.

Late Monday, after a day of incredulous news coverage, Trump took to Twitter to amplify his message and seemingly stress that he did in fact know when Jackson died, writing: "President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the Civil War started, saw it coming and was angry. Would never have let it happen!"

Jackson was a slave-holding plantation owner. Some historians do credit him with preserving the full Union when South Carolina threatened to secede in the 1830s over an individual state's ability to void federal tariffs. But that controversy, known as the "Nullification Crisis," was not about slavery, and the eventual compromise that preserved states' rights did little to alter the nation's path to the War Between the States.

"Even Andrew Jackson, were he alive, could not have solved the problem," Foner said. "The situation in 1861 was far more dire than in the 1830s during the Nullification Crisis."

The Civil War was decades in the making, stemming from disputes between the North and South about slavery and whether the union or the individual states had more power. The question over the expansion of slavery into new Western territories simmered for decades and Southern leaders threatened secession if anti-slavery candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860.

After Lincoln won without carrying a single Southern state, Southern leaders believed their rights were imperiled and seceded, forming the Confederate States of America. War erupted soon afterward as the North fought to keep the nation together. The conflict lasted four years.

The White House did not respond to requests for an explanation of Trump's reasoning. His comments on the Civil War drew swift criticism from some civil rights groups and Democrats, including Rep. Barbara Lee of California who tweeted "President Trump doesn't understand the Civil War. It's because my ancestors and millions of others were enslaved."

This is far from the first time that Trump expressed a muddled view on American history.

Trump, during an African-American history month event, seemed to imply that the 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass was still alive. Trump said in February that Douglass "is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice."

While justifying his argument for a border wall with Mexico, Trump said last week that human trafficking is "a problem that's probably worse than any time in the history of this world," a claim that seemed to omit the African slave trade.

Trump, prompted by his chief strategist Steve Bannon, embraced the legacy of Jackson soon after his election.

The White House has eagerly drawn parallels between the two men, particularly between Trump's success with working-class voters and how Jackson fashioned himself as a champion of the common man against a political system that favored the rich and powerful. Trump paid tribute to Jackson, known as "Old Hickory," by visiting Jackson's grave in Tennessee in March.

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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire
A look at what's happening all around the majors Tuesday:

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MIGGY MENDED

FILE - In this April 18, 2017, file photo, Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera bats against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning of a baseball game in St. Petersburg, Fla. Detroit manager Brad Ausmus says he expects Cabrera to come off the disabled list on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, to play Cleveland. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Miguel Cabrera is expected to come off the disabled list and play for the Tigers against Cleveland. The star slugger has been out since April 21 because of a groin injury, but looked good in batting practice Monday. He is hitting .268 with three homers and nine RBIs in 16 games. "My own personal opinion, I think they should be careful with him," Indians manager Terry Francona joked. Detroit ace Justin Verlander faces Cleveland righty Corey Kluber in a matchup of Cy Young Award winners.

TEXAS TUSSLE

Tempers flared in the series opener between AL West rivals Texas and Houston on Monday night. Texas starter Andrew Cashner had already plunked Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel when Houston pitcher Lance McCullers threw behind Mike Napoli in the sixth inning. Napoli took a couple of steps toward McCullers while yelling at him. Astros catcher Brian McCann quickly got in Napoli's face, and players from both benches began spilling onto the field. There was pushing and shoving from both sides, but nobody was ejected. Order was restored after a couple of minutes and both teams received warnings before play resumed and McCullers struck out Napoli.

ACES UP

Boston newcomer Chris Sale, Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka and Texas lefty Cole Hamels are among the No. 1 starters on the mound - along with several pitchers who have been surprising stars this season. Ervin Santana (4-0, 0.77 ERA) gets the ball for Minnesota against Oakland; James Paxton (3-0, 1.39) pitches for Seattle vs. the Angels; and Jeremy Hellickson (4-0, 1.80) of the Phillies faces Jon Lester (0-1) and the World Series champion Cubs at Wrigley Field.

GETTING CLOSE

Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment as he works his way back from a biceps injury that put him on the disabled list. If all goes well, New York hopes Sanchez can rejoin the team this weekend at Wrigley Field to face the Cubs. The 24-year-old slugger was batting .150 with one home run in five games this season before getting hurt on a swing in Baltimore. Sanchez hit 20 homers in 53 games as a rookie last season.

WELCOME BACK

Oakland right-hander Sonny Gray comes off the disabled list to make his season debut in the opener of a three-game series at Minnesota. He has been sidelined all year with a lat strain. Gray was an All-Star in 2015 and has a pair of 14-win seasons. He was 5-11 with a 5.69 ERA last year.

Texas Rangers' Mike Napoli, left, talks to Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann (16) after a close pitch thrown by starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 1, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Home plate umpire Gerry Davis, right, steps in front of Texas Rangers' Mike Napoli (5) as Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann (16) walks toward them after a close pitch thrown by starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 1, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. yells after striking out Texas Rangers' Mike Napoli to end the top of the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 1, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The man suspected of stabbing four students at the University of Texas, one fatally, suffered from mental health troubles and had been involuntarily committed for treatment in another city, authorities said Tuesday.

University Police Chief David Carter said Kendrex J. White was "obviously" suffering from some kind of mental difficulties, but he did not elaborate on the suspect's condition or treatment.

"This was not a conspiracy. This was not a person that had a vendetta against any particular group," Carter said.

Student Katherine Hareclerode, with the Undergraduate Business Council of the University of Texas places bouquets of flowers on picnic tables Tuesday, May 2, 2017, on the Gregory Gym Plaza, the scene of a random act of violence by Kendrex J. White, who stabbed to death student Harrison Brown and injured three others on the UT campus. (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

White, 21, who was also enrolled at the Austin campus, was armed with a large hunting knife. He was described by former classmates as intelligent and easygoing and was active in a student group for black professionals.

Two of the people wounded in Monday's attack were treated and released from hospitals and a third remained hospitalized, university President Greg Fenves said.

The student who was fatally stabbed was identified as freshman Harrison Brown. Fenves described him as a talented musician who had not yet decided on a major. The president met with Brown's family Tuesday morning.

"His family and our community will never be able to hear Harrison play and sing again," Fenves said.

Brown was the first person to be stabbed as White struck a path across a plaza in the heart of campus. The area is near a gym and recreation center and one of the school's largest dorm and classroom complexes.

Before the attacks, White was seen in the student activity center "appearing normal." As he left there, he kicked a woman as if to get her out of his way, the police chief said.

Wielding a large "Bowie-style" knife, White attacked Brown, then stabbed another man sitting at a picnic table in the back of the head. A third man was stabbed while waiting in line at a food truck before White assaulted a fourth victim, Carter said.

White walked into a dormitory still holding the knife but did not attack anyone else before he was apprehended. Officers were on the scene about 90 seconds after the first call, a response that officials believe possibly saved others, Carter said.

White was charged with murder, and more charges are expected, acting Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said.

The site of the attack was along a tree-covered avenue that is a major thoroughfare for students walking to and from class. It's also short walk from the administration building and the landmark clock tower that was the scene of a mass shooting in 1966, and not far from where freshman Haruka Weiser was killed while walking home from class in April 2016.

The plaza was re-opened to foot traffic by Tuesday morning. Senior Montana Moore brought flowers to place on the tables. Someone else left candles.

"I don't want people to walk by this today and be scared or feel a sense of horror," Moore said. "Maybe when people walk by, maybe it will bring a little hope to them ... There's been a lot of tragedy on campus in my time here."

Sophomore Brooke Petersen sat alone at one of the tables. She said there was a general sense of unease among her friends.

"I was even concerned to go to class today. That happened in broad daylight. You don't expect that to happen," Petersen said.

Fenves said he understood the fears given the violence on campus over the last year.

"We recognize there is tremendous pain among the student body," Fenves said. "They are asking: How can this happen again and will it happen again? And I'm feeling the same way."

Some students complained that school officials were slow to use the school's emergency alert system. Many of them first learned of the attacks through news reports and social media.

The system's first emergency texts were not sent until almost 30 minutes after the attack, and the campus sirens were not sounded.

"If there is an ongoing threat, we would have a process where we put the campus on lockdown," Carter said. "There was not an ongoing threat. It had been resolved.

"We also recognize if there is a vacuum and police are not providing information, somebody is going to fill that, especially in the social media world. That's a challenge for all police departments," Carter said.

White was an active member of the Black Health Professionals Organization student organization on campus. Group President Melody Adindu said White was passionate about his work and was "very interactive and easygoing."

Some of White's former classmates at Killeen High School, near the gates of the Fort Hood Army post in central Texas, had similar recollections.

"He was a really smart guy in high school. He was always nice, had plenty of friends and was in the international baccalaureate program. I'm definitely surprised he would do this," Kay'Lynn Wilkerson told the Killeen Daily Herald.

White had a recent arrest for driving while intoxicated and told officers he had been prescribed "happy pills," which the arrest report noted as the antidepressant Zoloft, according to Austin television station KXAN.

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Associated Press Writer Paul J. Weber contributed to this report.

A man is arrested after a fatal stabbing attack on the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 1, 2017. (Ray Arredondo via AP)

University of Texas Police have stepped up patrols Tuesday, May 2, 2017, on campus in the wake of a violent attack yesterday killing one student and injuring three others. The officers patrol the promenade on the Gregory Gym Plaza, the scene of the attack by biology student Kendrex J. White. (Ralph Barrera /Austin American-Statesman via AP)

University of Texas Police Chief David Carter gives an update Tuesday, May 2, 2017, about the death of student Harrison Brown during a press conference update from the AT&T Executive Conference Center in Austin, Texas. Police have stepped up patrols on campus in the wake of a violent attack yesterday by biology student Kendrex J. White resulting in one death and injuring three others. (Ralph Barrera /Austin American-Statesman via AP)
CAIRO (AP) - After an American airstrike killed more than 100 Iraqi civilians in a house in the western part of Mosul in March, U.S. officials suggested the Islamic State group was to blame for the horrific toll, saying militants may have crammed the building with people, booby-trapped it with explosives, then lured in an airstrike by firing from the roof.

None of that happened, survivors and witnesses told The Associated Press, recounting the deadliest single incident in the months-long battle for the Iraqi city.

"Armed men in the house I was in? Never," said Ali Zanoun, one of only two people in the building to survive the March 17 strike. He spent five days buried under the rubble of the building, drinking from a bottle of nose drops, with the bodies of more than 20 members of his family in the wreckage around him.

FILE - Hawra Alaa Hassan, 4-years-old, who was badly burned in a U.S. airstrike in Mosul, sits on her bed at a hospital in Irbil, Iraq, in this file photo from Saturday, April 8, 2017. Accounts from survivors and witnesses cast doubt on U.S. suggestions that the Islamic State group was to blame for the high civilian death toll in the March 17 strike, which leveled a house where more than 100 people were taking refuge, killing almost all, in the deadliest single incident in the months-long campaign to retake Mosul. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Instead, Zanoun and others interviewed by the AP described a horrifying battlefield where airstrikes and artillery pounded neighborhoods of western Mosul relentlessly trying to root out IS militants, leveling hundreds of buildings, many with civilians inside, despite the constant flight of surveillance drones overhead. Displaced families scurried from house to house, most driven out of their homes by IS militants, who herded residents at gunpoint out of neighborhoods about to fall to Iraqi forces and pushed them into IS-held areas.

U.S. Central Command refused to comment on the March 17 strike until its investigation is finished and released.

The AP spoke to seven witnesses, including neighbors and people who had been in the house, all of whom said no one was forced into the building, where dozens had taken refuge, thinking it would be safe amid the fighting raging around them. It was not on a main road and it was only two stories tall, making it unlikely IS militants would use it as a sniper's position that might be targeted by an airstrike.

And, they said, the militants did not rig the building with explosives.

The building's owner, Tayseer Abu Tawfiq, was a businessman well known for his generosity around his neighborhood, known as New Mosul. Whoever showed up, he squeezed into his house, alongside his own 14-member family - well over 100 people. A pregnant woman taking refuge there gave birth on March 15.

The next evening, Abu Tawfiq's neighbor spoke to him and told him it wasn't safe having so many inside.

"I can't turn people away," Abu Tawfiq replied, according to the neighbor, Abdullah Khalil Ibrahim.

Hours later, the house became a death trap.

UNDER THE RUBBLE

Zanoun ended up at the house after IS militants drove him, his three brothers and their families out of their homes in the nearby Ammel district. For a week, they bounced from house to house, at one point ending up together in one house. But IS fighters were using some of the rooms and they didn't feel safe. So Ali and one brother, along with his 10-member family, went to Abu Tawfiq's house, while the other two brothers went to one a few streets away.

He "was a humane person," the 50-year-old Zanoun said of Abu Tawfiq. "Everyone there got along."

It was a small house, about 200 square meters (2,200 square feet), including the basement. The women crowded in there, while the men stayed in the two floors above.

Zanoun said he saw IS fighters in the streets around the house in the days before the airstrike and once saw a sniper on a roof about 300 meters (yards) away. But they never used Abu Tawfiq's house to fire from, he said.

There have been unconfirmed reports of a sniper. Mahmoud Ismail, whose sister and 13 other relatives were killed in the house, said he heard later from a neighbor that a single IS fighter shot a few rounds from the roof and ran. But even if that were true, Ismail said, Iraqi forces should have known the danger to civilians.

"Because of one person, you kill 105 people?" he said.

During his days under the rubble, Zanoun said he heard people and fighters outside, along with the sound of gunbattles and more airstrikes. He would call for help, and sometimes someone would shout that they would bring water, but no one ever did.

Finally, his brothers dug him out. He was rushed to a hospital in the northern city of Irbil, where he underwent multiple surgeries. It was only later that he learned that his family, including his two wives, Luma and Nadia, three sons, four daughters and a grand child born in the house just two days earlier were all dead.

"My entire family is gone," he said. "They melted. Not even a fingernail or a little bone found."

A BRUTAL BATTLEFIELD

Increased use of bombardment has made the fight for Mosul's western sector, which began in mid-February, dramatically more destructive than fighting for its eastern half.

More than 1,590 residential buildings have been destroyed in western Mosul, based on analysis of satellite imagery and information from local researchers, the U.N. said last week.

Airstrikes killed 1,254 people in western Mosul in March and April alone, according to Iraq Body Count, an independent group documenting casualties in the war, cross-checking media reports with information from hospitals, officials and other sources.

In comparison, an estimated 1,600 civilians were killed or wounded from all causes during the 100-day campaign to recapture Mosul's less densely populated eastern half, which ended in mid-January.

Official figures from the Pentagon, which is slower in confirming deaths, are far lower: it said over the weekend that it has confirmed coalition airstrikes killed at least 352 civilians in Iraq and Syria combined since the campaign against IS started in 2014.

Human rights groups have pointed to looser rules introduced by the U.S. military in December that allow commanders on the ground to call in airstrikes, eliminating a layer of vetting of the targets by officers in Baghdad intended to limit civilian deaths. The U.S. military says the rule change has not played a role in greater civilian casualties and that the forces adhere to the same standards for carrying out a strike.

Another key difference is who is doing the fighting. The battle in eastern Mosul was led mainly by U.S.-trained elite counter-terrorism units. In the west, they have been joined by federal police units that have little experience in urban combat and rely more heavily on artillery and airstrikes.

The militants routinely use civilians as human shields and fire from residential buildings, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials, residents and human rights groups. They punch holes in the walls of buildings to create passages for fighters to move without being seen. They plant cars packed with explosives, which coalition forces have to bomb so troops can advance.

Days before the March 17 strike, a missile hit an IS car bomb a few blocks away, destroying a nearby building and killing 27 people taking refuge inside.

The western sector's neighborhoods are older, more densely populated and more tightly packed with houses. Its history also plays a role: former dictator Saddam Hussein distributed property to members of his military and intelligence agencies in the area, and after his fall in 2003 many of them joined the Sunni insurgency, al-Qaida and later the Islamic State group. The neighborhood where the Abu Tawfiq home was located was home to many of these Saddamists-turned-IS fighters.

The top commander of the U.S.-led coalition, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, called western Mosul "the toughest and most brutal close-quarters combat I have experienced in my 34 years of service."

In the case of the March 17 strike, an Iraqi security official said it was called in when IS fighters were seen moving house to house along rooftops, firing at Iraqi forces. Militants were also seen in the streets nearby, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.

The military did not know civilians were crowded inside, he said.

Mosul's governor, Nofal al-Akoub, refused to comment, pending the outcome of the investigation.

"In battle, military mistakes are made. But all mistakes are ultimately because of the presence of Daesh" among the population, he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

THE DEATH TRAP

Among those who took refuge in the house was a man named Khaled, who went there after IS militants forced him out of his own home at gunpoint. "They order you to leave and if you don't obey they shoot," said Khaled, who gave only his first name to protect relatives who still live in IS-held areas.

The militants often drove residents out of homes in areas that were about to fall to Iraqi forces and forced them into districts still under IS control. They would shoot anyone trying to escape to government-held areas, telling residents they must stay in the "land of the caliphate." But they didn't force the displaced into specific buildings, Khaled and the other witnesses said.

Khaled stayed at Abu Tawfiq's house for two days but left on the afternoon of March 16 because it was too crowded - around a dozen families "and more coming," he said. His brother stayed with his 12-member family.

Khaled angrily dismissed the idea that IS booby-trapped the house. "Liars! Is it logical that I would stay in a house with explosives?" he asked. "Daesh didn't enter the house."

Days later, Khaled helped pull bodies from the rubble. Only three of his relatives could be identified. The rest were "pieces of burnt flesh."

"A leg from here, an arm from there, a head, and call it a body," he said.

On the morning of March 17, Ibrahim, Abu Tawfiq's next-door neighbor, woke up for dawn prayers. Around 8 a.m., as his wife was dishing out bowls of lentils for breakfast, he heard a jet flying low then everything exploded.

The walls and ceiling collapsed. Under the wreckage, he hugged his 2-year-old son. "The fire ate up everything around us," he said.

He survived, along with his wife and son, though Ibrahim's leg was badly burned and had to be amputated. A five-member family staying at their home was killed.

Ibrahim recalled visiting his neighbor the evening before and said there were no militants in the house. "Everyone in the neighborhood knew him," he said of Abu Tawfiq. "He would share his bread, his rice, everything. ... Why did they hit the house? We were waiting for the military to come liberate us."

Laud Salem Ali, another neighbor who had more than 100 people in his house at the time of the bombing, fled the neighborhood after the strike. On the way out, they passed one destroyed house after another - 50 to 60 of them, he said.

"People were surprised to see us coming out alive," he said.

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Associated Press writers Balint Szlanko in Irbil, Iraq, and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

FILE - Civil protection rescue teams search through the debris of a house destroyed in a March 17 U.S. airstrike in the western sector of Mosul in this file photo from Friday, March 24, 2017. The strike killed more than 100 civilians who were taking refuge from fighting. Residents of western Mosul describe a brutal battlefield where terrified families scurry from house to house, trying to find safe refuge as increasingly heavy airstrikes and artillery level buildings and IS militants prevent people from fleeing the city. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Ali Zanoun, one of the only survivors of a U.S. strike on a building in Mosul, lies on his bed as he waits for another surgery at a hospital in Irbil, Iraq, in this photo from Saturday, April 8, 2017. Zanoun was trapped for five days under the rubble of the building after the March 17 strike, which killed more than 100 people and was the deadliest single incident in the months-long Iraqi campaign to retake the northern Iraqi city. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistani soldiers and the Taliban exchanged intense fire in a restive tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, with each side claiming to have inflicted severe damages on the other.

The army said it repelled an attack by militants who sneaked across the border from Afghanistan and targeted two Pakistani checkpoints in the South Waziristan tribal region, where the military has been conducting operations since mid-2014 to rout militants from the area. It also said it killed three of the attackers and that several militants were wounded as they fled back across the porous boundary.

The Taliban claimed the responsibility in an emailed statement, describing it as revenge for a recent suspected U.S. drone strike that targeted the insurgents in neighboring North Waziristan tribal region.

The statement said about 120 Taliban fighters took part in the raid, which triggered an hour-long shoot-out that allegedly caused much damage.

The Taliban frequently exaggerate battlefield successes. The reports were impossible to independently verify because the tribal region is inaccessible to reporters.

Pakistan has launched several operations against local and foreign al-Qaida fighters, the Taliban and other Islamic militants in the tribal regions along the Afghan border where they have long found safe havens.

Islamabad alleges that Pakistani militants hide across the border in Afghanistan, from where they plot attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies Pakistani allegations that it condones the militant sanctuaries.

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Associated Press Writer Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Islamil Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
PARIS (AP) - The Latest on France's presidential election (all times local):

9:30 p.m.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen says the verbatim parts of a former rival's speech that she used in one of her own campaign addresses was a "wink" and that she "totally owns" it.

French independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron speaks to his supporters during a campaign rally in Paris, France, Monday, May 1st, 2017. With just six days until a French presidential vote that could define Europe's future, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron are holding high-stakes rallies Monday. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Le Pen said in an interview on TV channel TF1 news Tuesday night that the deliberate quotation was also intended to create a media "buzz" because "that's the only thing you are interested in."

Le Pen borrowed from a speech delivered last month by Francois Fillon, the former conservative candidate, about France's important role in Europe and the world.

The far-right hopeful added that her party and Fillon's voters share "the same vision of France, of its greatness, of the role it should have in the world."

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11 a.m.

Poland's Foreign Ministry is denouncing French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron's comparison of Poland's government to the "regimes" of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban.

Macron made his remarks at a Paris rally on Monday ahead of the Sunday runoff between himself and populist Marine Le Pen.

At a Paris rally, he said: "You know the friends and allies of Mrs. Le Pen. These are the regimes of Orban, Kaczynski and Putin. They are not open and free democracies."

Jaroslaw Kaczynski is the chairman of Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice party and the country's most powerful politician.

The ministry said Macron used "unacceptable comparisons and mental shortcuts that lead to errors in public opinion" and denied that Poland is an ally of Le Pen.

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10 a.m.

Marine Le Pen's spokesmen have acknowledged that the French far-right candidate offered up a speech that, in many parts, copied around 90 seconds of one by a former presidential candidate, and called it a "wink" toward him and his supporters.

Francois Fillon, the former Republicans candidate, first delivered the speech extolling France and its virtues on April 15, just two weeks before Le Pen's discourse on Monday.

Three separate spokesmen for Le Pen used the word "wink" to describe the extracts copied word for word from Fillon. "I think with part of the right, we have exactly the same vision on the national identity and independence," Louis Aliot, Front National vice president, told LCI television Tuesday.

Fillon has called for his supporters to back her centrist rival, Emmanuel Macron.

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9:30 a.m.

French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron is promising an ethics bill that will block office-holders from conflicts of interest, nepotism and other ethical issues that have infuriated voters.

Macron, who started his own political movement just a year ago, also promised he could get a legislative majority to pass the measure and others he says France needs to pull itself from the economic doldrums.

Legislative elections are in June, and whoever is president will depend on lawmakers to implement an agenda.

Candidates of the two main parties, the Socialists and the Republicans, failed to make it to the presidential runoff for the first time in modern French history. Macron, who has pulled support from both wings, said Tuesday candidates will have to quit their parties to run in his movement.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - U.S. presidents looking to halt North Korea's push for nuclear weapons over the years normally haven't had very kind words to describe its dictators. George W. Bush, for instance, called the late Kim Jong Il a "pygmy."

So it's little wonder that South Koreans are bewildered by President Donald Trump's use of the term "smart cookie" to refer to current leader Kim Jong Un, and by Trump's assertion that he'd be "honored" by a possible meeting. Some South Korean media described Trump as a "rugby ball," an expression that suggests unpredictability.

Trump's swing from hints of military action to praise for Kim highlights an odd reality: South Koreans, not easily rattled by their nuclear bomb testing neighbor to the north, find themselves increasingly baffled by the new leader of their strongest ally and military protector, the United States.

A TV screen shows images of the U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. South Koreans are bewildered by President Donald Trump's recent use of the term "smart cookie" to refer to current leader Kim Jong Un, and by Trump's assertion that he'd be "honored" by a possible meeting. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The worry is that Trump, a neophyte when dealing with North Korea, perhaps the most successful geopolitical manipulator of big powers in Asia, maybe the world, might fall prey to something the North has long coveted: A bilateral peace deal with the United States that would formally end the Korean War, which stopped in 1953 only after a cease-fire, and remove the nearly 30,000 U.S. troops helping guard the South from North Korean adventurism.

By cutting Seoul out of those negotiations, many here fear, Washington could leave South Korea open to North Korea's vision of a unified Korean Peninsula with the autocratic Kim family running things from Pyongyang.

There is little chance this would be accomplished peacefully.

This explains the disorientation in Seoul as the Trump administration has bounced from warnings of a potential military confrontation if the North doesn't change course to talk of restarting negotiations with Pyongyang.

And now, in a CBS interview that aired Sunday, comes a note of admiration.

Trump said that Kim, who assumed office in his 20s, has held power despite efforts by "a lot of people" to take it away.

"So, obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," Trump said.

In comments to Bloomberg News about Kim, Trump said: "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it."

Many in South Korea did a double take.

The Monday headline of a Segye Times article read: "Rugby ball Trump abruptly praises Kim Jong Un as a 'pretty smart cookie.'"

South Korea's Yonhap news agency produced a story Tuesday that tried, in part, to explain the phrase "smart cookie."

It's becoming almost a cottage industry here: Translating Trump's Tweets and pronouncements about the North Korean nuclear standoff.

There isn't universal condemnation of the effect.

Some in Seoul, even at high levels of government, have privately expressed optimism that, after decades of failing to stop North Korea's march to a nuclear arsenal, an unorthodox approach from the United States could be just what's needed.

Yonhap, in another story, questioned whether Trump's comments on Kim might be a strategy to justify future U.S. moves to strengthen pressure against North Korea.

But the concern in Seoul is less about the approach than about being cut out of the negotiations.

It will be South Koreans, after all, who must live most directly with any settlement with North Korea; it is they who would suffer again, and die in their millions, in another war.

North Korea hasn't responded to the "smart cookie" comments, but in a commentary in the state-run Minju Joson newspaper, it called Trump's previous language "bellicose hysteria."

"The Trump administration would be well advised to learn how humbly the preceding administrations were put in the awkward position of lowering the fist of pressure they had raised before" North Korea, the commentary said.

Some analysts believe that North Korea already has shorter-range nuclear-armed missiles that can target South Korea, Japan and spots in the Pacific. But the North is probably years away from mastering the technology needed to build a missile that can reach the U.S. mainland and mount a miniaturized warhead on it.

The bigger point, as Bradley Martin, an author, journalist and longtime Asia commentator, wrote in an Asia Times piece on Monday that urged Americans not to panic over North Korea, is that it has its sights on Seoul, not Washington.

"They believe they can beat the South Koreans - perhaps even without using their nuclear weapons - if only they can maneuver the U.S. to stay out of that fight," Martin wrote.

It's hard to think of something that would give more truth to Trump's "smart cookie" description than if Kim Jong Un is able, after all these years, to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.

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Foster Klug, AP's bureau chief in Seoul, has covered the Koreas since 2005. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/apklug
BEIJING (AP) - A former vice governor of a province has been dismissed from public office for superstitious activities and trading power for sex and money, China's anti-corruption watchdog announced Tuesday.

Chen Shulong had long abused his power to seek "huge profits," the ruling Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement. It didn't give a sum or explain what "superstitious activities" he had allegedly been involved in. It said his illegal gains will be confiscated and his case transferred to the judiciary.

Chen was also expelled from the Communist Party, which nominally espouses atheism. He had been the vice governor of eastern China's Anhui province and had been under investigation since November, the statement said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has made fighting corruption a hallmark of his administration since being appointed head of the party in late 2012. More than 1 million party members have been punished in the campaign, which has brought down two former top generals and a past member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of political power.
BEIJING (AP) - China urged the United States and North Korea on Tuesday to make contact "as soon as possible" and ease tensions amid rising belligerence from the two sides over the North's nuclear weapons program.

The call for negotiations from China's Foreign Ministry came after President Donald Trump opened the door to a possible future meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Trump told Bloomberg News during an interview that he would be honored to meet with Kim at an unspecified future date "if it would be appropriate."

A man walks past a board displaying United States and North Korea national flags in Beijing, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. President Donald Trump opened the door Monday to a future meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, offering unusual praise for the globally ostracized leader at a time of surging nuclear tensions. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Washington and Pyongyang need to take concrete steps toward peace and avoid further escalating a crisis that has quickly spiraled into a top global security concern.

China has been pushing for the two sides to back down following a string of missile tests by North Korea and a massive live-fire artillery drill last week that was described as its largest ever.

Across the border, South Korea on Tuesday said a U.S.-sponsored missile defense system is now operational - over China's strong objections. U.S. and South Korean troops conducted joint exercises last month along the North's border.

Against that backdrop, Geng said China has taken note of the more diplomatic messages sent by the Trump administration and considers them constructive.

"Both sides should reach a political resolution as soon as possible," Geng said. "The most effective way of attaining an improvement is to seek ways to re-establish dialogue and contact."
BRUSSELS (AP) - Official figures show that unemployment across the 19-country eurozone held steady at 8-year lows in March.

Statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday that the proportion of people out of work was unchanged at 9.5 percent following a modest 5,000 monthly decline in the number of unemployed to 15.52 million.

The unemployment rate remains at its lowest rate since April 2009.

Though unemployment has been on a downward trend for years, it's still high relative to other economies such as the United States, where it's around half the eurozone's rate.

Big divergences remain. While Germany has an unemployment rate of just 3.9 percent, Greece still has 23.5 percent of its potential workforce jobless.

Hopes are high that unemployment across the region will fall further as the economy gains momentum.
MOSCOW (AP) - Anzor was lying on a dirty floor as a man in army boots jumped on his back. His agony worsened when his captors started torturing him with electric shocks.

"It's a feeling like they are breaking every bone of every joint in your body at the same time," he said.

Anzor is a gay man from Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where dozens of men suspected of being gay were reportedly detained and tortured, and at least three of them were allegedly killed.

In this photo taken on Friday, April 28, 2017, Anzor, a gay man who spoke to the Associated Press on condition that he not be further identified out of fear for his safety and that of his family. He is from Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where some 100 men suspected of being gay were detained and tortured, and at least three of them were killed. (AP Photo/Nataliya Vasilyeva)

After his ordeal, Anzor fled Chechnya and is now in hiding in Moscow, fearing not only for his own life but for the safety of his relatives. He spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of using only his first name.

Antipathy to homosexuality in Russia is widespread. Gay rights activists' requests to hold rallies are routinely rejected by officials and any rallies that do take place are often attacked by anti-gay thugs. But "this anti-gay purge, sanctioned by top local authorities, is unprecedented," said Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program coordinator for Human Rights Watch.

Another gay man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the AP that he was also arrested in Chechnya and held with dozens of others.

"We were tortured every day. Beside beatings, we were beaten several times a day with polypropylene tubes. We were tortured with electricity," he said.

"For 20-30 seconds they spin the handle, you feel the electricity, then you fall down, they stop it, and then immediately you come back to consciousness and you are ready again for a new discharge," he said. "And it goes on five, six, seven times."

The abuse was first reported in April by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which said that about 100 men suspected of being gay were rounded up and tortured, and that at least three were killed.

Western governments and rights groups have urged Russian authorities to investigate.

Chechen officials vehemently deny not only the reported torture of gays, but sometimes their very existence.

"There are no homosexuals in Chechnya. You cannot detain and persecute those who do not exist," Alvi Karimov, a spokesman for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, told the Interfax news agency.

Homosexuality is a taboo in conservative Chechnya, and the gay community there was used to leading a double life - marrying, having children and hiding their sexuality from even their closest family members. The only time a gay man in Chechnya could be himself is when he met with another gay person, typically through social media, Anzor said.

"The rest of the time we are pretending," he said.

Anzor, who talked to the AP at a safe house provided by LGBT activists, fears for the lives of his family members who will become pariahs in the patriarchal Chechen society if his identity is revealed.

"Sometimes families turn away from such people, some families get rid of such people," he said of gays, a word he is visibly uncomfortable using. "I'm scared for my family, my sisters and brothers. I don't want them to suffer for me."

Anzor, in his 40s, said the ordeal began when police stopped the car in which he was riding with friends in the town of Argun. They were taken to a police station after officers found a sedative pill on one friend. Small details that Anzor didn't want to make public led the police to believe that he and one of his friends were gay, he said.

They were brutally beaten in front of the police station chief and taken to a shed. Anzor spent 10 days there.

He said the shed had dozens of men who were beaten and abused by camouflaged men. In the first few days, the beatings were so frequent that he stopped feeling any pain, Anzor said, overcome at the memory. Inmates were made to attach the clamps of electric wires to their toes and fingers - and the captors would then turn on the power.

Then the torture stopped. Several days later Anzor was taken outside and told that he was free to go - without any explanation.

He thought about going to a neighboring region and reporting his bruises and injuries at the hospital there, but got scared.

"I thought if I would go there, they would be people like that there, too," he said, laughing nervously.

The other gay man who spoke to the AP said that his ordeal began when police arrested him in a crowded place, because his number was found in the phone of another gay man arrested earlier.

He said that he believed his captors, dressed in camouflage, were abusing them one by one in a bid to find more gays.

"They were beating information out of us," he said.

The man, in his 30s, said that when the abusers lost interest in one person, the torture would stop. He was eventually freed, and like Anzor, fled Chechnya and sought shelter through LGBT activists in Moscow.

Human rights groups have previously documented torture and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by Kadyrov's security forces against opponents and Salafi Muslims. Lokshina said the methods used against gay men echo these abuses - it's "their standard toolbox," she said.

Putin last month met with Kadyrov in the Kremlin and the Chechen leader dismissed the reports.

"The so-called good people write that in our republic - I'm even ashamed to say it - people get arrested and killed," he said. Putin apparently didn't press him further.

"I'm in absolute shock. We have never seen anything like this," said Tatyana Vinnichenko, head of the Russian LGBT Network, which is aiding about 40 gay men who have fled Chechnya in recent weeks.

Vinnichenko's phones ring every few minutes as she coordinates efforts with other activists on hospital treatment, plane tickets and housing arrangements. Two of the men have already left Russia for another country which is visa-free for Russians, and two more have just received visas and should be leaving for Europe soon.

LGBT activists have been meeting with foreign diplomats, pleading that granting a visa to gay survivors of torture could be a matter of saving their lives.

Vinnichenko said, with dismay, that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been "unwilling to engage in a dialogue on visas for the torture victims."

In Washington, the U.S. State Department told the AP that it was "unable to discuss individual cases" since visa records are confidential but added that it "categorically condemns the persecution of individuals based on their sexual orientation."

After he was released, Anzor stayed in Chechnya to tend to his ailing mother, but eventually felt compelled to leave.

"My friends, people I have socialized with were all rounded up. If they caught me again, I know for sure I would not have made it out of there alive," he said.

He told his family he was going away on business when he left for Moscow in early March and he hasn't been back since. He clings to the hope that he will be able to go home to see his mother once again - and scoffs at the Kremlin meeting between Kadyrov and Putin.

"I think Putin knows about it, he knows it even better than me - he is the president of Russia after all," he says. "I don't know why he allows all of this to happen."

___

Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Friday, March 25, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The leader of Chechnya says gay men do not exist in his republic and dismisses reports that 100 gay men have been rounded up, tortured and sometimes killed. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

In this photo taken on Friday, April 28, 2017, Anzor, a gay man who spoke to the Associated Press on condition that he not be further identified out of fear for his safety and that of his family. He is from Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where some 100 men suspected of being gay were detained and tortured, and at least three of them were killed. (AP Photo/Nataliya Vasilyeva)
MOSCOW (AP) - During a tense appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Tuesday that Moscow ever interferes in elections in other countries.

Speaking during a joint news conference following talks at his Black Sea residence, Putin said accusations of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election were "simply rumors" that were being used as part of the political fight in Washington. He also denied interfering in European elections.

U.S. intelligence agencies say they have definitive evidence that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic email accounts, with the aim of benefiting Donald Trump's campaign and harming his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, gestures as he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel speak to the media after their talks at Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin expected to focus on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Merkel said she was confident that Germany can weather any disinformation campaign targeting Germany's upcoming election. Asked about the threat during the news conference, she cited two recent incidents of what she described as "gross misinformation."

In one instance, Russian state media and the foreign minister claimed that a 13-year-old girl of Russian origin had been kidnapped and raped by asylum-seekers in Berlin, and that German authorities were covering up the case. Police later determined the girl had made up the kidnapping, though a man in his 20s was charged with sexual abuse of a minor because she was below the age of consent.

Merkel said Germany would take "decisive measures" if it believed there was foreign meddling in the election, adding it was well-known that "hybrid warfare plays a role in Russia's military doctrine."

Merkel's visit to Sochi was her first trip to Russia in two years, as relations between the two countries remain strained in large part over the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine. Merkel has been a staunch supporter of the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and support for the rebels fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine.

Merkel and Putin last met in Germany in October for talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process. The peace deal brokered by Germany and France in 2015 has helped reduce the scale of the fighting, but violence has continued and attempts to reach a political settlement have failed.

Merkel and Putin heatedly disagreed Tuesday on the cause of the conflict. Both, however, confirmed their support for the peace agreement negotiated in Minsk, Belarus.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the two leaders devoted much of their time to Ukraine.

Merkel also said she raised the issue of gays in Chechnya, following reports that gay men have been detained and tortured in the predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia.

"I asked President Putin to use his influence to protect these minority rights," Merkel said.

Russian political figures welcomed Merkel's decision to visit.

"In Sochi, neither Putin nor Merkel stepped back - and they couldn't step back - from their positions," prominent lawmaker Alexei Pushkov wrote on Twitter. "The very fact of their talks is progress after such a long break."

___

Rising reported from Berlin. Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks to the media after his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin expected to focus on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talk during their meeting at Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin expected to focus on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shake hands prior to their talks at Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin expected to focus on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. (Yuri Kochetkov/ Pool photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepare for talks at Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin expected to focus on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron made an "unacceptable" comparison when he likened Poland's government to the "regimes" of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban.

Macron made his remarks at a Paris rally on Monday while campaigning for the Sunday runoff election between himself and far-right nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen.

"You know the friends and allies of Mrs. Le Pen. These are the regimes of Orban, Kaczynski and Putin. They are not open and free democracies. Every day, freedoms and rules are violated there along with our principles," he said.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski is the chairman of Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice party and the country's most powerful politician.

The ministry said it noted Macron's words with "regret" and that the centrist candidate used "unacceptable comparisons and mental shortcuts that lead to errors in public opinion." It also denied that Poland is an ally of Le Pen's.

"Let us stress that anyone who knows Poland's history and its internal political scene does not have the right to accuse the Polish people of warm feelings toward imperial Russia," the ministry said.

Both Poland and Hungary have been strongly criticized by the European Union and international human rights organizations for consolidating power in a way that has eroded the independence of the courts, the media, and other institutions. Hungary's Orban has stated openly that he is building an "illiberal democracy."

Macron said last week that if he becomes France's president, he would press the European Union to impose sanctions on Poland, alleging the Central European nation disregards fundamental EU values and uses fiscal differences to its favor. He made the remarks after visiting a French home appliances factory that is scheduled to move to Poland, where labor costs are cheaper.

Polish government officials also criticized those comments.
CAIRO (AP) - A powerful local tribe in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula says it killed eight suspected Islamic State fighters in battle and captured three more.

The Tarabeen tribe has clashed repeatedly with a local IS affiliate in recent weeks, opening a new front against the insurgency raging in the northern Sinai, which borders Gaza and Israel.

Moussa al-Delh, a senior member of the tribe, said the clashes broke out Tuesday in the town of Rafah along the Gaza border, and that no tribesmen were killed.

Egyptian security forces have been battling the extremists in the northern Sinai for years. The insurgency grew far more deadly following the military overthrow of an elected Islamist president in 2013. IS has claimed three recent church bombings on the mainland that killed dozens of worshippers.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A tentative deal was reached between screenwriters and producers Tuesday, averting a strike that could have crippled TV and film production.

The three-year agreement, which requires ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America, was confirmed by the guild and producers' spokesman Jarryd Gonzales shortly after the current contract expired early Tuesday. The deal came after a flurry of last-minute bargaining, conducted during a media blackout that offered no tangible details about whether picket lines would go up until after midnight Tuesday.

In a memo to its members, the guild said gains were made across the board, including contributions to the union's health plan that should "ensure its solvency for years to come" - an issue that writers considered key.

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2007, file photo, striking writers walk the picket line outside Paramount Studiosin Los Angeles. The clock is ticking on negotiations between television and film writers and producers before their contract expires. A strike could begin Tuesday, May 2, 2017, forcing writers to begin picketing. The previous writers' strike lasted 100 days in 2007-08 and was costly to the businesses that serve Hollywood and to consumers expecting to be entertained. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

The union said it also made strides in pay for series with fewer episodes per season, and in residuals. Members overall will net $130 million more over the contract's life than they were expected to accept, according to the memo.

There were no details released by the producers early Tuesday.

The agreement spares the late-night shows that would immediately have gone dark without writers, and allows the networks to pursue their schedules for the upcoming TV season without interruption. Movie production would have felt a strike's sting more gradually.

Guild members voted overwhelmingly last month to authorize a strike, and the WGA could have called for an immediate walkout Tuesday absent a deal. The previous writers' strike extracted an estimated $2 billion toll on the state of California. The producers group said the 2007-08 strike cost writers $287 million in lost compensation.

Russ DeVol, the chief research officer at the Milken Institute, estimated a strike of similar duration would have cost California $2.5 billion today.

After the 2007-08 strike, the two sides reached agreements in 2010 and 2013, but TV writers in particular have seen their earnings slide since then and wanted to claw back some of those losses.

Driving the dispute were changes in how television is distributed, with streaming platforms including Netflix and Amazon joining broadcast and cable TV and rising in importance.

More outlets have led to more shows, but the TV season model is greatly changed. Despite the fact that there are more series than ever - 455 this season, more than double the number six years ago - shows run for fewer episodes than the traditional 22-24 episode broadcast series.

Short seasons of eight, 10 or 12 episodes means less pay for writers whose payment is structured on a per-episode basis.

To address that, the guild said it won additional compensation for writers who spend more than 2.4 weeks working on a script.

The guild also touted first-time job protection for writers on parental leave.

The agreement avoided a repeat of the 2007-08 strike, which played out in true Hollywood style. Writers took to social media to make their case, entertainingly. Stars including Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tina Fey joined picket lines, and then-"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno brought doughnuts for strikers.

Before Tuesday's deal was announced, writer-actress Lena Dunham said she would back a strike this time.

"I would never have had the health coverage I had without the union, and that's one of the main points in this," Dunham said at the Met Gala in New York City on Monday night.

Actress Debra Winger said she would support any reasonable job action by the writers, but was mindful of the damage it would cause.

"I'm thinking of all the businesses that I work with at Warner Bros. for several months out of the year and (the) restaurants, shoe repair, dry cleaners," Winger said during an interview promoting her new film, "The Lovers." ''The last writers' strike affected the city of Los Angeles in a devastating way."

At the Met Gala, CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves said he was guardedly optimistic that a deal would be reached without a strike.

___

Associated Press writers Marcela Isaza in Los Angeles and Brooke Lefferts in New York contributed to this report.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The prime minister of Libya's U.N.-backed government and a powerful rival general met Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates in the latest effort to resolve the country's long-running conflict.

Libya's armed forces posted an image on Facebook showing Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter standing next to Prime Minister Fayez Serraj after taking part in surprise talks in Abu Dhabi, the UAE's oil-rich capital.

The two men met "a short while ago in Abu Dhabi after Arab and international mediation," a short caption for the photo said, without elaborating.

Libya TV said the two men agreed on holding presidential and parliamentary elections next year, but it's unclear how such a vote would be held in the fractured country.

Emirati officials did not immediately comment on the meeting. The UAE's military is suspected of carrying out airstrikes inside of Libya supporting Hifter and operating out of a base in the country's east near the border with Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a close ally of Hifter, is scheduled to visit the UAE on a two-day trip beginning Wednesday. It's unclear if he'll be part of any talks. Russia also has sought to cultivate Hifter, who lived for years in the U.S.

Libya sank into chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The oil-producing nation now is split between rival governments and warring militias.

The chaos has transformed the North African country into a major conduit for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, and the Islamic State group and other extremists have established a presence there.

Abdel-Salam Nassiya, a lawmaker based in the western town of Zintan, said one of the main issues dividing Libya's rival factions is how the country's military will be structured and commanded in the future.

"We hope this meeting leads to a breakthrough that ends the current political stalemate," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine's Republican governor and Democratic attorney general are trading barbs a day after the governor filed a lawsuit accusing her of refusing to represent his administration's positions.

Both Gov. Paul LePage and Attorney General Janet Mills commented Tuesday during a radio call-in show.

LePage says her office is a place to put "aging ideologues" and alleges her ideology clouds her ability to be a good lawyer.

FILE- In this March 8, 2017, file photo, Maine Gov. Paul LePage speaks at a town hall meeting in Yarmouth, Maine. LePage is suing Democratic Attorney General Janet Mills for "abuse of power" for refusing to represent his administration's position during a series of political disagreements reached the boiling point over the president's immigration orders, the governor's office announced Monday, May 1. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

She called his lawsuit a waste of state resources and says her constitutionally independent office isn't required to represent LePage or pay for his desired amicus briefs for Republican President Donald Trump's immigration orders.

The governor says the attorney general, currently elected by the Legislature, should require statewide election or gubernatorial appointment. Lawmakers rejected his 2015 bill for a constitutional amendment allowing the latter.
Alabama residents pay a visit to President Jefferson Davis' home every year, but the tour focuses on old traditions long-abandoned by historians

Schoolchildren who visit the First White House of the Confederacy learn that its famous former resident, President Jefferson Davis, was leader of a 'heroic resistance' who was 'held by his Negroes in genuine affection as well as highest esteem.'

Such ideas, once mainstream Southern thought, have largely been abandoned by historians. But they are still part of the message at this state-supported museum in Alabama's capital city that hosts thousands of grade-school students from different ethnic backgrounds on field trips every year.

Selma Democratic state Sen. Hank Sanders said the house where Davis lived in the early months of the Civil War presents a history that ignores African Americans.

In recent years cost Alabama taxpayers more than $100,000 a year to operate and critics say it helps perpetuate a skewed version of the past and shouldn't be supported by Alabama tax dollars.

'What I would like to see is the whole story be told from all sides,' he said. 'Black history has been whitewashed.'

Scroll down for video

When schoolchildren arrive on the property, they are taken up this 200-year-old staircase to begin the tour

Students spend time learning about the making of cotton, but little is said about the slaves who drove the textile industry

Heidi Beirich, director of the hate-watching Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said: 'You're essentially giving money to push historical narratives that we haven't heard since the Klan era in the 1920s.'

In response to such criticism, representatives of the museum ask why they should have to tell students about the evils of slavery.

Senator Hank Sanders, pictured, believes the Confederate museum has 'whitewashed' African American history

'They just know it,' said Gibbs Davis, a member of the nonprofit group that solicits donations for the house and maintains it.

The Confederate White House is only one stop on the trip to Montgomery that Alabama fourth-graders traditionally take as part of their history education.

Some groups choose to spend more time at civil rights sites such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church or the Rosa Parks Museum.

The two-story home that served as executive residence for the Southern states in spring 1861 still has its defenders.

Mary Dix is associate editor of 'The Papers of Jefferson Davis,' a collection of about 100,000 Davis-related documents.

She pushed back on criticism, saying Davis was a good person who wanted to end slavery on moral grounds but considered it necessary for the Southern economy.

Dix also said there's documented evidence that Davis befriended a 'man-servant' over cigars during a journey into the uncharted Midwest.

A history pamphlet at the First White House of the Confederacy echoes Dix's sentiment.

The museum perseveres in a newer era, when many Confederate memorials across the South are being re-evaluated.

South Carolina lowered the Confederate flag at the state Capitol after a 2015 mass murder at a black church in Charleston by shooter Dylann Roof.

And last month, New Orleans officials took down a 35-foot granite obelisk that honored whites who tried to topple a biracial Reconstruction government installed in New Orleans after the Civil War.

Many states began re-evaluating their Confederate memorials in the south after Dylann Roof went on a shooting spree at a black church in Charleston in 2015

A New Orleans memorial was disassembled last month, pictured, which honored whites who tried to topple a biracial Reconstruction government after the Civil War

On a recent trip to the Montgomery museum, fourth-graders from rural Wilcox County in southern Alabama trudged up a nearly 200-year-old staircase and into the Relic Room, where a painting of Gen. Robert E. Lee hangs amid the four flags of the Confederacy.

Tour guide Robert Wieland tells the children the room was formerly called a 'shrine.'

The pupils heard about the importance of the South's cotton economy and learned how to spin raw clumps of the stuff onto wooden spools but were told little about the slaves whose forced labor drove the textile industry.

Tours and literature there make little mention of African Americans, except for a copy of 'Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House,' an illustrated children's book about a boy adopted by the Davis family.

The book is displayed across from a framed image of some of the South's most prominent leaders titled 'Our Heroes and Our Flags.'

Critics insist that the tour gives the slavery era too much of a 'positive reflection.' Pictured, the First White House of the Confederacy in the 1930s

'Jefferson Davis believed "the peculiar institution' a temporary necessity in developing the cotton economy of the South on which New England textile industry depended," their history pamphlet reads.

It says Davis believed whites were preparing Africans for freedom by 'submitting' them to Anglo-Saxon culture and Christianity.

Activists say presenting a rosy picture of the Confederacy obscures what life was really like for slaves.

'It's certainly a part of history that doesn't deserve a positive reflection,' said Benard Simelton, president of Alabama's chapter of the NAACP. 'It is akin to recognizing and celebrating the Holocaust.'

And the prevalence of Confederate markers such as the Montgomery museum helps normalize notions of benevolence among slaveholders and distort the realities of the era, said University of Alabama history professor Joshua D. Rothman.

'There are a lot of people who still want to hold onto those myths,' he said. 'If slavery was evil, then what slaveholders were doing was perpetuating evil. You can't have it both ways.'
MENA, Ark. (AP) - A 37-year-old man has been charged with four counts of capital murder in the deaths of two adults and two children in western Arkansas.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2qtUgRy ) reports that Brian Bliss Travis told police in an interview Saturday that he killed his girlfriend, Bethany Jo Wester; her two children, 2-year-old Acelynn Wester and 9-year-old Reilly Scarbrough; and her uncle, Steven Payne.

Their bodies were found last week in different locations in and around Hatfield, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Little Rock.

Travis was arraigned Monday. He's being held without bail.

The sheriff's office has released no details about how or why the four were killed. Polk County Circuit Judge Jerry Ryan has issued a gag order that prevents attorneys on either side from commenting.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on a Senate hearing on religious hate crimes (all times local):

1:05 p.m.

A police chief says a lack of solid data on hate crimes is one of the greatest barriers to fighting the problem.

Eric Treene, Special Counsel For Religious Discrimination, Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on responses to the increase in religious hate crimes. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Will Johnson, the police chief in Arlington, Texas, told lawmakers that both law enforcement agencies and victims need better training and education on the importance of collecting and reporting hate crime figures.

Johnson spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on religious hate crimes. He says more agencies need to provide their crime data to the FBI, which keeps figures that are undercount because reporting is voluntary.

Johnson also says law enforcement officials struggle with when to classify an offense as a hate crime because motive can be tricky to prove. And building relationships among officers and communities can help improve information-sharing.

_____

11:45 a.m.

A Justice Department official says better data on religious hate crimes is needed to fully address the problem.

Eric Treene, the department's Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination, told lawmakers Tuesday that discrepancies exist in data collected by different agencies. He says FBI numbers are an undercount because reporting is voluntary and not all law enforcement agencies submit figures to the bureau.

Still, Treene says numbers are not needed to fight the obvious problem. Treene was speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the department's response to a recent rise in religious hate crimes.

Treene says an internal committee is discussing all aspects of the problem, including ways to better track it. He says a June "summit" on the issue will involve local law enforcement and religious leaders.

___

11:15 a.m.

Civil rights and law enforcement leaders are planning to tell lawmakers about a spike in religious hate crimes in the U.S.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday will also hear from a Justice Department official on ways to address the problem. One of the groups set to testify is the Anti-Defamation League, which released a report last week that found an increase in cases of anti-Semitic intimidation and vandalism last year.

The hearing comes after this year's wave of more than 150 bomb threats against Jewish community centers and day schools. Authorities arrested an Israeli Jewish hacker who they said was behind the harassment.

Eric Treene of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division says data also shows a recent rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, left, talks with Eric Treene, Special Counsel For Religious Discrimination, Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, before Treene testified before the committee's hearing on responses to the increase in religious hate crimes. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's prime minister on Tuesday accused UNESCO of diminishing Jewish ties to Jerusalem after the U.N. cultural agency passed a resolution criticizing Israeli excavations in the city's Israeli-annexed eastern sector as a violation of international law.

Israel considers the entire city to be its capital, including east Jerusalem, which it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Most of the international community considers east Jerusalem to be occupied territory, a view reaffirmed in December by the U.N. Security Council.

In Tuesday's resolution, the U.N. agency calls on Israel to cease "persistent excavations, tunneling, works and projects" in east Jerusalem, particularly the walled Old City, which is home to sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Such activities by an occupying power are illegal under international law, said the resolution, which had been tabled by several Arab countries.

The resolution affirmed the importance of the Old City and its walls to the three monotheistic religions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Jews have a special bond to the city.

"There is no other people in the world for whom Jerusalem is as holy and important as for the Jewish people," Netanyahu said in a speech at the International Bible Quiz in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Israel's Independence Day. He said UNESCO is "trying to deny this simple truth."

The Old City is home to the Temple Mount - the location of the biblical Jewish temples and Judaism's holiest site. Muslims refer to the area, which now hosts two mosques, as the Noble Sanctuary, their third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The Old City also houses major Christian shrines.

Israeli archaeological excavations and other infrastructure projects in the Old City have long stoked tensions.

The UNESCO resolution said Israel had taken actions that have "altered, or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City."

The resolution, submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, was approved by 22 member states, with 10 voting against and 23 abstaining.

The agency has frequently been used as a theater for political disputes between Israel and Arab nations. Israel has long complained of bias at U.N. forums, feeling outnumbered by Arab nations and their supporters.

Last year, UNESCO's executive board approved a resolution that Israel said denies the deep historic Jewish connection to holy sites in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said Tuesday's resolution marked an "improvement in the march of absurdity" as it mentions the Jewish connection to Jerusalem. "Well we're making progress, but there is still a way to go," he added.

Elias Wadih Sanbar, the Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, said Tuesday's resolution was part of efforts to "stop giving a kind of blank check to an occupier that is acting with total illegality and impunity."

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said he had instructed the country's representative at UNESCO to vote against what he called "the latest politicized resolution on Jerusalem."

"Our opinion is very clear: UNESCO can't become the headquarters of a permanent ideological clash in which questions are faced for which the solutions are supposed to be handled in other headquarters," Alfano was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.

The fate of Jerusalem has been one of the thorniest issues in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which last broke down in 2014. The Palestinians hope to establish a future capital in east Jerusalem.
MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) - Authorities are investigating the death of a police dog found dead inside a patrol car parked outside a courthouse in Florida.

News outlets are reporting the German Shepherd's body was discovered about 7:30 p.m. Friday outside the Brevard County Courthouse in Melbourne on Florida's Atlantic coast.

The patrol car belonged to an officer from the nearby Sebastian Police Department. John Blackledge, the agency's commander of operations, called the dog's death a tragedy, adding that his agency will conduct an independent investigation.

Officials haven't said how long the dog was in the car. The National Weather Service reported the high in central Florida on Friday afternoon was 88 degrees.

Melbourne police and the Brevard County animal control unit also are investigating the death.
PARIS (AP) - Five men were detained and weapons seized in anti-terrorist operations across France on Tuesday as the country prepares for a tense presidential runoff, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

The suspects are between 18 and 24 years old. The prosecutor's office said they were picked up in three locations: near the Normandy city of Rouen, in Villeneuve d'Ascq near Lille in northern France, and in Roanne in central France.

The Paris prosecutor oversees anti-terrorism investigations.

It is not clear whether the arrests were linked in any way to the presidential campaign or Sunday's runoff election.

With France still under a state of emergency after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks, security has been one of the leading themes in the campaign, along with the economy and unemployment.

An attack on Paris' iconic Champs-Elysees avenue less than two weeks ago heightened pre-election tensions. A gunman opened fire on police, killing one officer and wounding two others and a foreign tourist before police fatally shot him.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the April 20 attack, which happened just three days before the first round of voting in the presidential election.

Two days earlier, police arrested two suspected extremists in the southern French port city of Marseille. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the two suspects were getting ready to carry out an "imminent, violent action on national territory."
India-based information technology company Infosys announced on Tuesday that it will create 10,000 jobs in the US after creating a central Indiana tech center.

CEO Vishal Sikka joined Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to announce the plan, which includes an $8.7 million investment to lease and equip office space in the Indianapolis area to accommodate 2,000 new workers by the end of 2021.

'You can't spell Indiana without starting with India,' Holcomb said after the event at the Statehouse. 'I've always said that we need to take Indiana to the world and bring the world back to Indiana, and today underscores that fact.'

Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb (right) greets Dr. Vishal Sikka, CEO of Infosys, following an announcement at the Statehouse in Indianapolis

The announcement comes as President Donald Trump has targeted the American H-1B visa program that tech firms such as Infosys have heavily relied upon to bring in skilled workers from Indian and other countries.

Many in India will be disappointed to see much-needed jobs leaving the country but Sikka said Trump's focus on the visa program did not have an impact on the company's decision to move towards the US.

Sikka said the the plans had been in the works for several years and a move to the home state of Vice President Mike Pence, who was Indiana's governor until January, couldn't hurt.

'Over the last few decades (the industry) became very reliant on the visas and all of that, but we need to change that,' said Sikka.

Dr. Vishal Sikka, CEO of Infosys plans to increase its operations in the U.S, establishing four new state-of-the-art technology and innovation hubs in the US

'This is about a longer term journey, about having employees locally, complemented by a global talent pool. Having employees from the community working in close proximity to the clients.'

The announcement caps a whirlwind courtship by state officials that started in February, shortly after Holcomb - and Trump - took office.

Infosys officials said Indiana's business-friendly climate and a network of college campuses in Indianapolis that could provide a pipeline of workers made it an attractive place.

President Donald Trump has targeted the American H-1B visa program that tech firms such as Infosys have heavily relied upon to bring in skilled Indians

The state is also offering up to $31 million in economic incentives, including a tax credits worth as much as $15,000 for every worker hired.

The Indiana center will be the first of four facilities the company plans to open in the US and will be focus on developing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Infosys has not yet signed a lease, but is considering a number of locations in the Indianapolis metro area and hopes to be up and running by August.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The first of tens of thousands of lawsuits against Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta for introducing a genetically engineered corn variety before China approved it for imports has been pushed back to July.

The test case had been due in Minnesota state court starting last week.

Attorney Lew Remele (REM'-uh-lee) says the court had already picked a jury April 26, when the judge restarted the process because some jurors claimed financial hardships. He says juror notification requirements and scheduling conflicts forced a delay until July 10.

The delay means the first case up will be in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, June 5.

About 60,000 cases have been filed in Minnesota alone.

The lawsuits allege Syngenta wrecked China as an export market for U.S. corn. Syngenta denies it caused farmers any losses.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on fired police officer Michael Slager's plea agreement in the death of Walter Scott. (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

An attorney for the family of a black motorist shot to death by a white South Carolina police officer says justice has been done with the officer's guilty plea.

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, file photo, Defense attorneys Andy Savage, left, Don McCune, and Miller Shealy, right, sit around former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager at theCharleston County court in Charleston, S.C. Slager is pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist he shot and killed during a 2015 traffic stop. A copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press Tuesday, May 2, 2017, also shows state prosecutors are dropping a pending murder charge in the death of Walter Scott. (Grace Beahm/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)

Chris Stewart told reporters on Tuesday that the family of Walter Scott is thankful for the help and support shown to them by local and state officials after the 50-year-old motorist's April 2015 death.

But Stewart pointed out that verdicts against officers like Michael Slager are rare. Stewart says it's the job of citizens to hold their public officials accountable, and to object whenever the justice system treats officers differently from civilians.

Stewart spoke after Slager pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Scott's civil rights. Prosecutors dropped state murder charges as part of the deal.

Scott's brother Anthony also spoke, saying this represents a victory for his family which can now begin to heal.

___

4 p.m.

The state prosecutor who pursued murder charges against a South Carolina officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist says she's satisfied with the case's resolution.

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson says Michael Slager's guilty plea to a federal civil rights charge represents justice for the family of 50-year-old Walter Scott.

Wilson's statement said she had spent hours with Scott's family since his 2015 death following a traffic stop in North Charleston.

Jurors failed to reach a verdict last year in the murder case, which Wilson agreed to drop as part of Slager's plea on Tuesday.

Wilson said the murder case was important, but didn't address the violation of Scott's civil rights. She says this deal "vindicates the State's interests" by holding Slager accountable.

___

3:30 p.m.

A defense lawyer says he won't comment about the guilty plea of his client, a fired North Charleston police officer who admits violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist by fatally shooting him during a traffic stop.

Attorney Andy Savage, representing Michael Slager, said outside the courthouse that he thinks "it's best just to leave it as it is today."

Slager's plea deal Tuesday with federal and South Carolina prosecutors closes both cases against him in the fatal shooting of Walter Scott. He still faces a potential life sentence, but prosecutors are recommending about 20 years.

Savage says "this is a day for the Scott family and the government."

He says Slager's team "will have more to say as we get down the road."

___

3 p.m.

Fired North Charleston Police officer Michael Slager has pled guilty to violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist he shot in back. The death of Walter Scott was seen worldwide after a bystander recorded it on his cellphone.

Slager likely faces prison under the terms of his plea deal with prosecutors.

He spoke little on Tuesday, except to quietly answer the judge's questions.

Several of Scott's relatives sat on the front row in the courtroom gallery as the prosecutor read a bare-bones description of the shooting. One of them closed his eyes tightly while another hung his head.

Slager has been out on bond for much of the time since the shooting, but now that he's guilty, he was handcuffed by a federal marshal and led from the courtroom as Scott's family looked on.

___

12:20 p.m.

Attorneys for fired police officer Michael Slager confirm he will plead guilty to a federal civil rights charge in the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott.

The law office of Andy Savage said in a statement Tuesday that Slager would be entering the plea during a hearing later in the day in Charleston.

Savage's statement confirms information in a copy of the plea agreement obtained earlier in the day by The Associated Press.

Slager faces a possible life sentence for violating Scott's civil rights during the April 2015 traffic stop, but prosecutors have agreed to seek a lesser sentence.

A bystander captured Scott's death on a cellphone video viewed millions of times.

Savage said he hopes the guilty plea might help Scott's family heal.

___

10 a.m.

Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager is pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist he shot and killed as he ran from a 2015 traffic stop.

A copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday also shows state prosecutors are dropping a pending murder charge against Slager. The AP obtained the agreement from a lawyer familiar with the case who didn't want to talk publicly before it was finalized.

Slager was scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday for motions ahead of his federal trial planned for later this month in the death of Walter Scott.

A bystander captured Scott's shooting on cellphone video, viewed millions of times.

Slager's first trial on state murder charges ended in a hung jury.
NEW DELHI (AP) - Delhi Daredevils broke their five-match losing streak in style on Tuesday with a six-wicket win against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

Daredevils' third victory in the tournament lifted them from the bottom of the eight-team table to the No. 6 spot with six points after nine matches.

Sunrisers, with 13 points from 11 matches, still occupy third spot behind leader Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's cricketer Yuvraj Singh ties the shoelaces of Delhi Daredevils' batsman Rishabh Pant during their Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Corey Anderson top-scored with an unbeaten 41 off 24 balls as Daredevils comfortably reached 189-4 in 19.1 overs with all the top-six home team batsmen among the runs.

Sunrisers owed their 185-3 total to Yuvraj Singh's risky 70 not out off 41 balls with 11 fours and a six after Daredevils won the toss and opted to field.

Sunrisers captain David Warner (30) and Shikhar Dhawan (28) provided a rapid start of 53 off 32 balls before seamer Mohammed Shami (2-36) claimed the wickets of Warner and Kane Williamson (24).

Yuvraj should have been dismissed on 29 but Sanju Samson missed a sitter at midwicket boundary in the 17th over, much to the disappointment of seamer Chris Morris with Sunrisers' total at 129-3.

Left-hander Yuvraj cut loose from then on as Sunrisers struck 52 runs in the last three overs with South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada (0-59) smashed for 39 runs in his last two overs.

"I think if we had caught that catch (of Yuvraj) they wouldn't have got that far," said Daredevils' stand-in captain Karun Nair, who led the side in the absence of injured regular captain Zaheer Khan.

"We told ourselves, we are a young team, and we should play like a young team. Go out there, play without fear."

Nair (39), Rishabh Pant (34) and Shreyas Iyer (33) all made useful contributions in the run chase before Anderson hit two fours and three sixes and carried the team home.

"The wicket sort of held up a little bit, early on, and we thought 186 was a tough target," Warner said. "They played really well to win it. Unreal."

Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowler Mohammed Siraj, left, celebrates the wicket of Delhi Daredevils' batsman Rishabh Pant during their Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Delhi Daredevils' batsman Corey Anderson plays a shot during their Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowler Mohammed Siraj, right, leaps in air as he celebrates the wicket of Delhi Daredevils' batsman Rishabh Pant during their Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A conservative state lawmaker has successfully tacked an anti-abortion message onto an otherwise innocuous resolution in the Alaska House aimed at raising awareness about sexual assault and child abuse.

The amendment from Republican Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla refers to abortion as "the ultimate form of child abuse."

He said it would be wrong to discuss child abuse without mentioning abortion.

In this Jan. 17, 2017, photo Alaska state Rep. David Eastman applauds in the House chamber in Juneau, Alaska. Eastman, a conservative lawmaker, has successfully tacked an anti-abortion message onto an otherwise innocuous resolution in the Alaska House aimed at raising awareness about sexual assault and child abuse, calling abortion "the ultimate form of child abuse." The measure's fate is unclear; bills typically only go to the full body if they have enough votes to pass. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

The amendment was approved by a divided House Rules Committee. The vote on Monday followed an about-face by Anchorage Republican Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, the committee chairwoman who last week refused to hear amendments.

LeDoux, who is part of a House majority coalition composed largely of Democrats, voted for Eastman's proposal.

"I'm not interested in talking about that, thank you," LeDoux told a reporter Tuesday.

Critics said the resolution is not the appropriate place to launch a fight over abortion. Alaska struggles with high rates of sexual assault.

Katie Rogers, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, said Tuesday that the Eastman amendment "seeks to shame women who choose abortion," and its addition to the resolution is an "insult to sexual assault survivors."

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Les Gara said he is not interested in playing "abortion politics" when the measure is supposed to honor women and protect children.

"He's made this an abortion fight now," Gara said of Eastman.

The fate of the resolution is unclear. Typically, measures only go the floor if they have enough votes to pass.

Eastman said it is possible the resolution will go to the House floor and an effort will be made to strip his language.

"Abortion is a very serious issue, and it needs to be talked about," Eastman said in an interview.

He takes issue with the coverage of abortion through Medicaid, a government health insurance program for lower-income people.

"We have folks who try to get pregnant in this state so that they can get a free trip to the city, and we have folks who want to carry their baby past the point of being able to have an abortion in this state so that they can have a free trip to Seattle," he said.

The Alaska Supreme Court has held that the state must fund medically necessary abortions if it funds medically necessary services for others with financial needs.

A superior court judge in 2015 ruled that an Alaska law further defining what constitutes a medically necessary abortion for purposes of Medicaid funding was unconstitutional. An appeal by the state in that case is pending.

Eastman, who was elected last fall, has taken other provocative positions.

His was the lone no vote in the House on bills honoring Hmong and Lao veterans of the Vietnam War and the contribution of 4,000 black U.S. soldiers who endured harsh conditions while building the Alaska Highway during World War II. Eastman has said that one group should not be singled out because of race or heritage.

The dustup over the resolution comes late in an extended legislative session where the major issue facing lawmakers is how to address Alaska's multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

Legislative leaders have said their focus is on a fiscal solution, though the House also has continued to work on unrelated bills.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Rhode Island Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would let a picturesque summer resort island set its own rules for regulating ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.

Taxi proprietors who live on Block Island, which is 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) and a ferry ride from the New England mainland, are supporting the proposal that could effectively prevent the San Francisco-based companies from taking root.

The legislation would exempt the town of New Shoreham, which encompasses the island, from a new state law that formally legalized ride-hailing app companies and put them under the oversight of the state's public utilities commission.

The state Senate voted unanimously to pass the legislation Tuesday.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Susan Sosnowski, a South Kingstown Democrat whose district includes the island, said it would simply continue an 88-year-old tradition of letting Block Island set its own taxi rules. The town's strict code allows only 32 taxis; only two taxis operate during the off-season. The wait to get a taxi license is about 15 years.

The measure now moves to the House of Representatives, where Block Island Republican Rep. Blake Filippi has introduced companion legislation.

Uber and Lyft have objected to carving out the island from the statewide regulations passed last year.

"This legislation seems to be searching for a problem that doesn't exist," said Lyft spokesman Scott Coriell. "Given the difficulty of getting a vehicle on and off the island, it's highly unlikely that anyone would find it convenient or financially advantageous to come from off the island to drive temporarily."

Coriell said the bill would prevent islanders from working for Lyft and "deny visitors access to the transportation options they expect and rely upon."

An Uber representative previously objected to the bill.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The federal government says private recreational anglers went way over last year's quota for red snapper so they will have only three days to fish federal waters this year.

Red snapper is one of the Gulf of Mexico's most popular sport and table fish. Charter boat captains will have a 49-day season.

Red snapper have been a contentious issue for years in both state and federal waters. Federal seasons have decreased while states have extended their seasons. Authorities say 80 percent of the recreational catch is now in state waters.

Federal regulators say last year, recreational anglers were 129,906 pounds (58,925 kilograms) above quota - and the excess was among private anglers.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Regulators on Wednesday rejected a proposed merger between New Zealand's two main newspaper publishers, saying the benefits of saving money and extending the life of some newspapers did not outweigh the harm it would cause to democracy.

The Commerce Commission announced its final decision a year after Fairfax Media and NZME proposed the move. The companies sent a flurry of late submissions arguing that they needed to pool resources to compete with online giants like Google and Facebook, but the commission stuck with a preliminary decision it made in November.

The commission said the combined company would have controlled nearly 90 percent of the daily newspaper market and a majority of traffic to online New Zealand news.

A shop owner stacks editions of the "The Press" newspaper, owned by Fairfax Media, for sale in Christchurch, New Zealand, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The New Zealand Commerce Commission announced Wednesday that they have rejected a proposed merger between New Zealand's two main newspaper publishers, saying the benefits of saving money and extending the life of some newspapers don't outweigh the harm it would cause to democracy. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

"This merger would concentrate media ownership and influence to an unprecedented extent for a well-established modern liberal democracy," Commission Chairman Mark Berry said in a statement. He said the merger would have reduced the quality of news and the diversity of voices. He said competition between news outlets resulted in better content.

Both Fairfax and NZME said they were disappointed by the decision. Fairfax said it would need to cut costs and consolidate some of its publications, while NZME said it was considering its options.

NZME shares were down 6 percent after the announcement.

E tu, the union representing journalists, said it welcomed the decision. Senior Industrial Officer Paul Tolich said the union agrees with the commission that media monopolies are unacceptable. He said the union favors imposing a special tax on companies like Google and Facebook, which take a majority of the online advertising revenue without producing any news content.

New Zealand Commerce Commission chairman Dr Mark Berry addresses a press conference where he announced in Wellington, New Zealand, the proposed merger of New Zealand media companies NZME and Fairfax was declined, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. Regulators have rejected a proposed merger between New Zealand's two main newspaper publishers, saying the benefits of saving money and extending the life of some newspapers don't outweigh the harm it would cause to democracy.(Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, and the few cases in which killers go to jail have not made a dent in such violence, a journalism advocacy group said Tuesday.

A report from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said that "endemic impunity allows criminal gangs, corrupt officials, and cartels to silence their critics" in Mexico, where it said over 50 journalists and media workers have been killed since 2010.

A case in point was the Jan. 21, 2016, killing of Marcos Hernandez Bautista, who was a reporter for the newspaper Noticias, Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca.

In March, a court in the southern state of Oaxaca convicted a former municipal police commander in the killing and sentenced him to 30 years. But the former mayor who the commander said ordered the slaying was not tried.

Journalists came under fire across the country in the ensuing weeks, resulting in March becoming the deadliest month for the press in Mexico in recent memory.

On March 2, Cecilio Pineda Birto, a freelancer, was slain in southern Guerrero state.

Newspaper columnist Ricardo Monlui was killed March 19 in Veracruz state. Armando Arrieta Granados, news editor for the newspaper La Opinion de Poza Rica, was seriously wounded by a gunman in late March in the same state.

A reporter for the newspaper La Jornada, Miroslava Breach, was shot to death March 23 outside her home in the northern city of Chihuahua.

A bodyguard protecting threatened journalist Julio Omar Gomez was fatally shot in the Baja California Sur resort of San Jose del Cabo. In April, in that state's capital, La Paz, a bullet killed Maximino Rodriguez, who worked for a local internet portal called Colectivo Pericu.

"Convictions in journalists' murders are infrequent and when they do occur .... they are often limited to the perpetrator and authorities fail to establish a motive," the report said.

"By not establishing a clear link to journalism or providing any motives for the killings most investigations remain opaque," the report added. "This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity that leaves journalists open to attack."

___

This story has been corrected to show that Armando Arrieta Granados was killed in Veracruz state, not Baja California Sur.
Police believe a botched burglary in which a businessman was shot dead may have been preplanned.

Guy Hedger was fatally wounded at his 1 million house in Castlewood in the Dorset village of St Ives in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The 61-year-old insurance executive was rushed to hospital, although he died of his injuries shortly after arrival.

#LatestNews - Further appeal in murder investigation in East Dorset https://t.co/NXAkNC2Xmz  Dorset Police (@dorsetpolice) May 1, 2017

Dorset Police said two suspects are being hunted in connection with the raid.

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Derbyshire said: We are still trying to establish a motive for the intruders and why this particular address in Castlewood was targeted.

We believe there was an element of preplanning involved. Therefore we would urgently like to hear from anyone who may have seen people or vehicles acting suspiciously in the area directly before or during the days leading up to the incident.

Close up of a Polica car

This may have involved people in the area in general or paying particular attention to the specific house. Any small detail may help us with our investigation.

Currently, we do not believe the offenders were known to the victim. However, we continue to investigate all lines of inquiry.

Mr Hedger was listed as living at the property with Simon-Pierre Hedger-Cooper, 48, a voluntary sector worker who was reportedly his husband of 12 years.

Police said a second person in the property at the time of the killing was deeply affected by the incident and they were being supported by specially trained officers.

Meanwhile, the businessmans next-of-kin have asked for privacy at this deeply traumatic time, police said.

A spokesman for insurance company Liverpool Victoria (LV=) paid tribute to Mr Hedger and expressed sympathy for his family.

He said: We were all shocked to hear that our friend and colleague Guy Hedger, LV=s marketing and brand director, died over the weekend in such tragic circumstances.

Our heartfelt condolences and sympathy are with his family and loved ones at this incredibly sad time.
George Osborne declared he would lead an informative and entertaining Evening Standard as he arrived for his first day as the newspapers editor.

The former chancellor left Parliament to take up the coveted media position despite having no professional experience in journalism.

But as he walked into the London titles offices with newspapers tucked under his arm, Mr Osborne said: Its very exciting to be starting in the new job.

Its a really important time in our country when people are going to want the straight facts, the informed analysis so they can make the really big decisions about this countrys future.

Excited about first day in new job @EveningStandard. Without fear or favour we'll provide the facts & analysis - and entertain along the way  George Osborne (@George_Osborne) May 2, 2017

The Evening Standard is going to provide that and it is going to entertain along the way.

Now Ive got to get in there  weve got a paper to get off stone so I better get started.

George Osborne arrives at the London Evening Standard offices at Northcliffe House in Kensington, London (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Osborne declined to answer whether he planned to forfeit an additional string of lucrative roles, which include a 650,000-a-year position as an adviser to US investment giant Blackrock.

His appointment to the Evening Standard editorship in March provoked accusations that he was juggling too many responsibilities, as he was still the sitting MP for Tatton, Cheshire.

He announced his departure from the seat when Theresa May announced the snap General Election for June 8.

Excuse me, Mr Editor: you just nicked @FT motto, without fear or favour.....but good lucky anyway https://t.co/IeyHYAgc2F  Lionel Barber (@lionelbarber) May 2, 2017

Mr Osborne, who represented the constituency since since 2001, said he was leaving Parliament for now, leaving open the possibility of a future political comeback.

Just before Mr Osborne entered his new workplace at around 7am, he said on Twitter: Excited about first day in new job @EveningStandard. Without fear or favour well provide the facts & analysis  and entertain along the way.

His use of without fear or favour prompted a good-natured response from Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, who replied: Excuse me, Mr Editor: you just nicked @FT motto, without fear or favour  but good luck anyway.

As he swept through the glass doors leading to the Evening Standard newsroom in Kensington, west London, Mr Osbornes progress was tracked by his own eyes  from a poster parked opposite.

Not quite the welcome outside the Evening Standard offices George Osborne will be hoping for as he arrives for his first day as editor pic.twitter.com/NLRf5fJjFG  Jack Hardy (@JackHardy9) May 2, 2017

A picture of him on a mock Evening Standard front page read: George Osborne: Lowering Londons Standards.

Since he was removed from his role as chancellor by the Prime Minister last year, Mr Osborne has declared almost 1 million in speaking fees in the Parliamentary Register of Members Interests.

In addition to his one-day-a-week Blackrock role, he is receiving 120,000 as a fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington DC.
A surfer who survived more than 30 hours stranded at sea on his board has been described as extremely lucky.

Matthew Bryce, 22, was reported missing by family when he failed to return from a surfing trip off the Argyll coast of Scotland on Sunday afternoon.

He had last been seen at around 9am on Sunday in the St Catherines area, believed to be heading to Westport Beach near Campbeltown.

Police Scotland and the coastguard launched a large-scale search, with rescue teams from Campbeltown, Southend, Gigha, Tarbert and Port Ellen involved.

The 22-year-old was eventually found by a search and rescue helicopter at around 7.30pm on Monday, drifting 13 miles from the Argyll coast.

Mr Bryce, from Glasgow, was taken to Belfast Hospital for treatment for hypothermia. The coastguard believe his knowledge and wetsuit saved his life. Conditions in the Irish Sea were also fairly benign throughout Monday.

Dawn Petrie, from the Belfast coastguard operations centre, said: Hed been in the water for some 30 hours when the helicopter was delighted to spot him.

He was extremely lucky. He was wearing the right equipment, had a very thick neoprene wetsuit on and did the right thing by staying with his surfboard.

That must have helped him to survive for so long.

She said Mr Bryce was conscious when he was taken to hospital. Police thanked everyone who had been involved in the search.

Matthew Bryce (Police Scotland/PA)

Chief Inspector Paul Robertson said: The response to our appeal to find Matthew has been outstanding. It has been a real team effort and I would like to thank everyone who offered their assistance.

Alex Smith, from the coastguard, told BBC Radio Scotland: His core body temperature was certainly very low but he is a very fit young man. It wouldve been quicker for us to find him if he had a personal locator beacon, a flare pack or a radio.

I understand you dont want to be encumbered by too much equipment on a surfboard but even just having a shore contact who will raise the alarm if you fail to turn up. This gentleman was already 24 hours late when the alarm was raised.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has dismissed a leak of difficult Brexit talks as tittle-tattle amid further reports of concerns in Brussels.

Ms Rudd also said it was a mistake that details of a dinner at Downing Street last week had appeared in the press, with the Government saying it would not enter into a briefing war with the European Union.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker claimed that some in the UK underestimate the difficulties of Brexit, with Brussels indicating that the sequence of the talks and the complexity of the issues around citizens rights are among the stumbling blocks.

Prime Minister Theresa May greets European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ahead of a working dinner at 10 Downing Street, London ( John Stillwell/PA)

If we take the Juncker leak at face value, it is he, not the PM, who wants the hardest Brexit. Odd, then, to see Farron etc taking his side.  Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) May 2, 2017

Senior EU sources told the BBC that the UK failed to understand how the bloc works, prompting fresh fears Britain would fail to secure a trade deal after Brexit.

Prime Minister Theresa May has come under fire following reports Mr Juncker walked out of talks last week in Downing Street saying he was 10 times more sceptical than before.

Ms Rudd told ITVs Good Morning Britain: We are not going to comment on leaks like this  they may or may not be true, elements of it  but the fact is there is going to be nearly two years of this type of negotiation going on and I think it would be a mistake for the Government to leap on and back on any sort of tittle-tattle that comes out.

The Government position is that we can be relied on to keep gossip out of the press so it can get a good deal for the UK, she added.

The Home Secretary, who was not at the dinner last week, told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: Im not surprised that there is briefing coming out from different sides of a negotiation.

But what we will always do is make sure that we conduct our negotiations more discreetly, shall we say, so that really we can have a freer negotiating hand.

I think its a mistake to allow those sort of details, if they are true, to come out from a dinner.

Mrs May has dismissed claims she is at loggerheads with Mr Juncker over her Brexit negotiating strategy as just Brussels gossip.

Tonight the Prime Minister met European Commission President @JunckerEU. Read more about their meeting: https://t.co/wVOiL3y0ky pic.twitter.com/EoaqJX12ax  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 26, 2017

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said he would not comment on leaks, but pointed out that Mr Juncker had publicly described the dinner as constructive.

Asked if the dinner had been a disaster, Mr Schinas said Mr Juncker had described it on Saturday as a very constructive meeting in a friendly atmosphere but I have the impression sometimes that our British friends  not all of them  do underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face.

Mr Schinas added: You can use this assessment and make your judgment on how you can characterise our understanding of the dinner.

Asked what technical difficulties Mr Juncker meant, the spokesman said there were many things, including the sequencing of the negotiation, the degree of difficulty involved in various stages.

On citizens rights there were 25 different sub-topics that altogether form something that is just a part of the negotiation, Mr Schinas said.

There are issues that clearly are not understood the same way, from a technical point of view. But we will work it out  it is in the commission DNA to work for solutions.

Speaking during a campaign visit to Lewes in East Sussex, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: Whether you see these as leaks or Brussels gossip, the whirlwind of news following the May-Juncker meeting is a taste of whats to come.

The reports show a Prime Minister who is complacent and seems to have no idea how difficult these negotiations will be.
Jimmy Kimmel struggled to fight back tears as he revealed his newborn son was forced to undergo emergency open-heart surgery shortly after his birth.

The US chat show host shared his news in an emotional opening monologue on his programme Jimmy Kimmel Live and also put out a plea that all families in America get the life-saving medical care that they need.

He spoke of the longest three hours of my life as he told the studio audience of the ordeal he and his wife Molly went through during the surgery just days ago.

My wife and I welcome a new baby and it is quite a story... https://t.co/VTT0oBsRFK  Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 2, 2017

Kimmel started by telling the audience he had a scary story but promised it has a happy ending.

Several hours after Molly gave birth on April 21 to William John, a very attentive nurse at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles alerted the couple and doctors to the babys slight purple colour and apparent heart murmur, Kimmel said.

He said there were concerns the babys lack of oxygen was either due to a lung problem or heart disease, and there were fears it was the latter.

on behalf of my family, thank you for the lovely and loving tweets about our son Billy and for your donations to https://t.co/HOIUvNt8WE XO  Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 2, 2017

The Oscars host said of the moment he learned his son was ill: Its a very terrifying thing.

He was surrounded at the hospital by very worried-looking people, kind of like right now, he told the audience in a rare light-hearted moment during his emotional speech, throughout which he often had to pause as he regained his composure.

A sonogram showed his son was born with holes in the wall separating the right and left sides of the heart and a blocked pulmonary valve, Kimmel said.

Jimmy Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearney (PA Images)

The baby, nicknamed Billy, was taken by ambulance to the Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles to undergo surgery to open the valve.

The longest three hours of my life, Kimmel said, adding that the operation was a success.

Billy will have more open-heart surgery within six months to repair the openings and then a third procedure when he is a young teenager, but he came home six days after the surgery and is doing great, Kimmel said.

The TV star shared photos of him with his wife, their two-year-old daughter Jane and a smiling Billy after the surgery.
Sir Ben Ainslie admits he feels more like a Formula One driver than a sailor as he leads Land Rover BARs revolutionary bid to win the Americas Cup.

The four-time Olympic champion set up his own team in 2012 and has since joined forces with the car manufacturer in an attempt to finally bring the Auld Mug back to Britain.

The Americas Cup was first staged in 1851 off the Isle of Wight and has never been won by a British boat, but a state-of-the-art approach could help end that drought in Bermuda this summer.

Land Rover BAR's skipper and helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Land Rover BAR boasts Martin Whitmarsh, the former McLaren team principal, as its chief executive and his influence has clearly had an impact on Ainslie and the rest of the crew.

Virtual reality simulators have helped hone their senses, while technological developments, including the 23.5 metres-high wingsail, have combined to create a boat capable of beating defending champions Team Oracle USA.

The latest innovation is a bespoke steering wheel  designed by Land Rover engineers and shaped to fit helmsman Ainslies hands  which will allow the R1 race boat to fly above the water at speeds of up to 60mph on hydrofoils.

Its like Formula One on water, its very high speed, said Ainslie, speaking in Bermudas Royal Naval Dockyard, where the five other teams are also based.

When these boats turn the corners the g-force is serious. If someone has made a mistake in crossing the boat when youre making a turn theyll just get wiped off the side of the boat. They wont have a chance of staying on.

At those speeds, with those forces, with the technology, you feel like a racing car driver or a pilot - its that sort of intensity. You have to be focused and on your game.

Its amazing. To think back 25 years and imagine a boat like this, its unthinkable really. Its amazing and totally revolutionised the sport - for the better.

Land Rover BAR are the first British team to challenge for the Americas Cup in 16 years, but there is still a qualifying section to navigate.

The Louis Vuitton Cup qualifiers  contested by the five challengers and the defender, Oracle Team USA - takes place in Bermuda between May 26 and June 3.

The top four challengers will then advance to the semi-finals before a best-of-nine final - the winner of which will contest the 35th Americas Cup on the mid-Atlantic island between June 17 and 27.

The other contenders  including Emirates Team New Zealand, Groupama Team France, Softbank Team Japan and Swedens Artemis Racing  are developing their own technology and Ainslie insists much of the race now takes place in the factory.

We put a lot of thought into (the steering wheel) with the technicians and were really happy with the philosophy around it, he said. Weve got to go out and fine-tune it over the next couple of weeks.
WASHINGTON  Nikki Haley didnt wait to take office as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to break with the Trump administrations foreign policy stances.

At her Senate confirmation hearing, Haley bluntly accused Russia of being complicit of war crimes in Syria  going against the president-elects talk of warmer relations with Moscow.

Three months later, she remains boldly off-message. Much to the chagrin of Washington diplomats, her remarks often go well beyond the carefully worded scripts crafted by the White House and State Department.

Shes warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that the days of your arrogance and disregard of humanity are over, even as other top aides to President Donald Trump insisted that his fate was a decision for the Syrian people.

Shes pushed human rights as a driver of foreign policy just as the Trump administration showed its willingness to work with leaders who have suppressed civil liberties, such as Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egypts Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.

U.S. diplomats fear Haleys words could result in an inconsistent, incoherent international message. State Department diplomats drafted an email urging Haleys office to ensure that her public statements on high-profile issues are cleared by Washington. The email was first reported by The New York Times.

In some ways, Haley has been ahead of the curve. Her hints at a change in the Syrian government are now seeping into Trump policies, and the administration has toughened its stance on Russia.

She seems to be in Trumps good graces. At a White House luncheon for U.N. diplomats last week, he said Haley was doing a fantastic job  but only after awkwardly joking that if the diplomats didnt like her, she could easily be replaced.

Haley, a rookie to international politics, was an unusual pick for to be U.N. envoy.

As South Carolina governor, she was outspoken in her criticism of Trump during the 2016 campaign  a stance that effectively disqualified other candidates for top administration positions. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley alluded to Trump in denouncing the siren call of the angriest voices who disrespected Americas immigrants. Trump tweeted that The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley.

She has star power in an administration where the president prefers to keep attention on himself. In some ways, the 45-year-old Haley is seizing the spotlight left vacant by media-averse Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Her high-profile persona and relative youth have prompted speculation that she may run for president someday.

The White House and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations declined to comment for this story.

Haleys office falls under the State Departments authority, but administration officials say Haleys staff frequently bypasses the department for policy matters. They said Haleys deputy, Jon Lerner, a Republican pollster and strategist who helped coordinate the Never Trump movement during the campaign, is in closer contact with senior members of the National Security Council, the White Houses national security apparatus. Still, at times, Haley ad-libs her remarks, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to publicly discuss the policymaking process.

They said the State Department was not involved in the planning of Trumps meeting last Monday with the U.N. ambassadors, nor was it consulted. The event was coordinated exclusively between the U.S. Mission to the U.N. and the NSC.

Public remarks by the U.N. ambassador are generally approved by the State Department and, at times, other departments. Zalmay Khalilzad, a U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush, said that messaging from the various departments has to be consistent with each other, but he joked that this is not an administration that is known for protocol.

Indeed, Haleys off-message remarks highlight a broader trend in the administration, with poor communications and tight inner-circle White House politics creating disunity on various issues.

But Khalilzad praised Haley, saying her experience as a politician helps her in recognizing the importance of the message and the quality of the message.

Phil Cox, a political consultant who has known Haley since 2010 from his work with the Republican Governors Association, said Haleys plain-spokenness comes as no surprise to anyone who tracked her work in South Carolina, starting with service in the state Legislature.

The Nikki Haley operating on a world stage today is the exact same person the people of South Carolina came to know and respect as governor, he said in a recent interview. Since she was first elected governor, people have been talking about her taking the next step.
Prince Harry is to visit Singapore to stage a polo match in aid of his charity Sentebale and will also travel to Australia, Kensington Palace has said.

Harry will host the Singapore polo match in June in aid of his organisation based in Lesotho which provides support to African children living with HIV and Aids.

Prince Harry will make visits to Singapore and Sydney in early June, on behalf of @Sentebale and @InvictusSydney pic.twitter.com/PT62XGOS2H  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 2, 2017

That month he will also visit Sydney, which in 2018 will stage the Princes Invictus Games, a competition for injured servicemen and women and veterans from across the globe.

Prince Harry takes part in a polo match at Coworth Park, Ascot (Steve Parsons/PA)

Kensington Palace said in a statement: His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales will make visits to Singapore and Sydney in early June.

Prince Harry will travel to Singapore to play in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup. Sentebale is a charity that Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho established in 2006 and is working to become the leading organisation in the provision of psycho-social support for children living with HIV in Southern Africa.

In Sydney, Prince Harry will attend events to celebrate the citys hosting of the 2018 Invictus Games, the international sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women founded by the Prince in 2014.

HRH will firstly visit Singapore to play in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, raising funds & awareness for his charity @Sentebale pic.twitter.com/FiCmybsnKu  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 2, 2017

Speaking at a fundraising concert for his charity staged last summer and headlined by Coldplay, Harry told the crowds: Sentebale has helped tens of thousands of children in just over a decade.

This is a topic that has drifted from the headlines but remains an urgent challenge.

A 2004 gap year trip to the landlocked African nation of Lesotho inspired the prince to set up his charity two years later with the countrys Prince Seeiso, younger brother of King Letsie III.

Their aim was to help youngsters in need and other children who had lost one or both parents to Aids or contracted the disease themselves.

In Sydney, Prince Harry will attend events to celebrate the city's hosting of the 2018 #InvictusGames pic.twitter.com/qqHdnVyfvu  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 2, 2017

Both princes established Sentebale in memory of their mothers, with the name of the charity meaning forget-me-not, which Harry later found out was his mother Diana, Princess of Waless favourite flower growing up.

In November 2015, Sentebale opened its 2 million Mamohato Childrens Centre in Lesotho to scale up its Mamohato camps  a residential project providing psychological, social and practical support to children struggling to cope with being HIV positive.

That year the charity announced plans to expand into several southern African countries by 2020 and by December 2016, Sentebale launched the first few weeks of its camp in Botswana to 150 children.

The Sentebale polo cup has become an important annual fundraising event for the organisation and has been staged in exclusive venues around the world from Barbados and New York to Florida and Brazil.

Cathy Ferrier, Sentebales chief executive, said: It is our ambition to see a reduction in the number of new HIV infections and Aids-related deaths amongst adolescents in southern Africa, by putting youth first and equipping them with skills and relevant wraparound support that they need to lead healthy, productive lives.
Marine Le Pen deliberately plagiarised parts of a speech from a former presidential candidate, as a wink to him and the voters she hopes to peel away in a run-off, her spokesmen have said.

Francois Fillon, the former Republican candidate, delivered the address on Frances role in Europe and the world on April 15 - two weeks before Ms Le Pens speech on Monday.

The subject is at the heart of her campaign. She promises to pull France out of the European Union and return to the franc currency, and has denounced globalisations effects on the French economy and culture.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, flanked with her body guard Thierry Legier, blows kisses to supporters (Francois Mori/AP)

Three separate spokesmen for Ms Le Pen used the word wink to describe the extracts copied word for word from Mr Fillon. At no point in the speech did she cite him or acknowledge the source of the extracts.

I think with part of the right, we have exactly the same vision on the national identity and independence, said Louis Aliot, National Front vice president.

Immediately after being eliminated in the first-round vote, Mr Fillon called for his supporters to back her centrist rival, Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen are going after the voters of the nine other candidates knocked out in that vote, in which Frances two main parties failed to make it to the second round for the first time in the countrys modern history.

French independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron waves to his supporters during a campaign rally in Paris (Christophe Ena/AP)

He is promising an ethics bill that would block office holders from conflicts of interest, nepotism and other ethical issues that have infuriated voters.

Mr Macron, who started his own political movement just a year ago, also promised he could get a legislative majority to pass the measure and others he says France needs to pull itself from the economic doldrums.

Legislative elections are in June, and whoever is president will depend on lawmakers to implement an agenda.

Mr Macron, who has pulled support from the right and the left, said candidates will have to quit their parties to run in his movement.
President Donald Trump has opened the door to a future meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong Un, offering unusual praise for the globally ostracised leader at a time of surging nuclear tensions.

Although the White House played down near-term prospects for such a meeting, Mr Trumps conciliatory comments marked a departure from his more unforgiving tone towards the North in recent days.

It marked the latest fluctuation as Mr Trumps administration struggles to articulate its policy for addressing the growing threat from North Koreas nuclear programme.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it, Mr Trump told Bloomberg News.

Clearly aware of the power of his declaration, he added: We have breaking news.

As a presidential candidate, Mr Trump suggested he was open to meeting Kim, but had not repeated the line since taking office.

Fresh missile tests by the North and its progress towards developing a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States have made the isolated communist dictatorship one of Americas top national security concerns.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Wong Maye-E/AP)

Deeming president Barack Obamas strategic patience with North Korea a total failure, Mr Trump and his aides say they are taking a more aggressive approach, at times warning of potential military confrontation if the North does not change course.

The US has even raised the possibility of a pre-emptive strike if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test.

Yet on other occasions, Mr Trumps administration has dangled carrots.

It has spoken of restarting negotiations with the North and even suggested resuming food aid to North Korea once it starts dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes.

Today at @UN Security Council meeting, Secretary Tillerson outlined actions to counteract North Korean aggression.#DPRK pic.twitter.com/5u3S9YEIK4  Department of State (@StateDept) April 28, 2017

On one point, at least, Mr Trump and his team have been consistently clear: A solution requires China, the Norths biggest economic partner.

Mr Trumps suggestion of admiration for Kim, however, is something entirely new.

He noted that Kim assumed office in his 20s and has held power despite efforts by a lot of people to take it away.

So obviously, hes a pretty smart cookie, Mr Trump told CBSs Face The Nation in an interview that aired on Sunday.

Tasked with explaining Mr Trumps flattery, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said there would be no meeting with the secretive North Korean leader until circumstances were right and numerous conditions met.

He said Kim should have to alter his governments behaviour and show signs of good faith.

Clearly, conditions are not there right now, Mr Spicer said.

But echoing Mr Trumps gentler tone, Mr Spicer said Kim had managed to lead a country forward from a young age.
A viscount has denied threatening Brexit campaigner Gina Miller and branding her a "troublesome first generation immigrant" in a "menacing" Facebook post.

Rhodri Philipps, 50, the 4th Viscount St Davids, is accused of writing the message just four days after Ms Miller won a landmark High Court challenge against the Government last year.

The tweed-clad aristocrat, who corrected deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram when addressed by the wrong title, is alleged to have posted on November 7: "5,000 for the first person to `accidentally run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant."

Brexit campaigner Gina Miller (Sefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA Images)

It went on: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles."

During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, Philipps, of Knightsbridge, central London, who was wearing an olive tweed gilet, pleaded not guilty to three charges of making malicious communications that were "of a menacing character".

In another post, said to be in response to a newspaper story about an immigrant called Arnold Sube, he allegedly wrote: "Please will someone smoke this ghastly insult to this country, why should I pay tax to feed these monkeys?"

But Andrew Rinker, defending, responded: "I think a lot of these comments are taken completely out of context, he calls his own daughter a little monkey."

It was one of two posts of a menacing nature the defendant is accused of writing on September 11 2016 about Mr Sube.

When called "Mr St Davids" as he was asked to stand, Philipps responded: "Im not Mr St Davids, Im afraid, its Lord St Davids."

He could be seen shaking his head and muttering under his breath as a series of conditions for his bail ahead of his trial this summer were read to the court, which included not contacting Ms Miller.

He will face trial at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 10, at which the Brexit campaigner is expected to give evidence.

The 52-year-old claimed she received abuse after spearheading the legal challenge which eventually forced Theresa May to consult Parliament before beginning the formal process of leaving the EU.

The Guyana-born mother of three said in a radio interview that becoming the face of the court battle had resulted in her being apparently the most hated woman in Britain.
Paul Nuttall has hit back at suggestions his party is haemorrhaging voters to the Tories ahead of the June snap election, saying where Ukip is strong it will stay strong.

On a visit to the Black Country he also denied his partys policies to ban the burka and force girls to have female genital mutilation (FGM) medical checks were anti-Muslim, describing them as pro-integration.

In an apparent criticism of the partys previous general election campaign strategies, Mr Nuttall added that Ukip would do away with the scatter-gun approach and target sensibly the seats it wants to win.

Mr Nuttall was in Dudley, where a clear majority of voters backed Brexit in the EU referendum, meeting voters alongside one of Ukips West Midlands MEPs Bill Etheridge.

Asked about the partys chances of winning any constituency, he said: I think were in with a good chance.

Were going to target sensibly in terms of resources and manpower.

Were not going to have a scatter-gun approach like weve had in the past and I think if we do drill down in local constituencies, I think we can get someone over the line.

UKIP Leader @paulnuttallukip, Deputy Leader @prwhittle in Dudley with @Billukip and our West Mids candidate Pete Durnell #BritainTogether pic.twitter.com/3X77PHd5Hf  UK Independence Party (@UKIP) May 2, 2017

The party has faced criticism  including from some of its own members  after Mr Nuttall announced mandatory medical checks for FGM last week.

But he denied claims it was anti-Muslim as he shook hands with people in the towns market square.

Mr Nuttall said: I think that is grossly unfair  I dont think theyre anti-Muslim at all.

I think they are pro-integration, we want to bring people together, we dont want to divide society. This is all about having a cohesive society, where everyone signs up to the rule of law, everyone signs up to British values.

However, Mr Etheridge said there was room for some nuancing of the partys controversial FGM policy.

How the poll of polls has changed graphic

He said: Im not a huge fan of any enforced checks by the state for any circumstance. I think the original idea and the original policy has been nuanced and I think well see a better approach.

Mr Etheridge, who is the partys pick to contest the key Labour marginal of Dudley North, said he wholeheartedly supported Mr Nuttall and the pair have had a good, friendly exchange of views.

He added: I look forward to seeing the rest of the manifesto, I think its going to be a good and exciting one.

The leader of Ukip, who has announced he will contest the Boston and Skegness General Election seat, also knocked back suggestions the Conservatives were attracting voters away from the partys core support.

He said: I think theres been a slight move towards the Conservatives, particularly in the first week of the campaign, but I think what youll see over the next five weeks is it come back to us.

Mr Nuttall, who bought a bunch of grapes and a neck-tie on his walkabout, also described a widely-reported leak of Brexit talks last week between the Prime Minister and a top EU official as spin.

But he called on Theresa May to hold firm, play hardball, and refuse to pay any divorce bill to the European Union.
Wladimir Klitschko vowed Ill be back as he returned to Germany following his 11th-round stoppage by Anthony Joshua.

Klitschko was defeated in a thrilling heavyweight showdown before 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night that saw both fighters climb off the canvas.

The Ukrainian has a rematch clause in his contract and on Tuesday he hinted that he will be looking to renew his rivarly with Joshua in London.

Wladimir Klitschko (Nick Potts/PA)

Leaving LND with a feeling everyone's win Sat night the sport, the fans and even I on respect. Cheers & I'll be back! pic.twitter.com/BgO04Csrrw  Klitschko (@Klitschko) May 2, 2017

Joshua added the WBA title to his IBF crown and focus has now switched to the identity of his next opponent.

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are options, but a rematch with 41-year-old veteran Klitschko appears the most likely choice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that Moscow ever interferes in elections in other countries.

During a tense appearance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Putin said accusations of meddling in last years US presidential election were simply rumours being used as part of the political fight in Washington.

Speaking during a joint news conference following talks with Mrs Merkel at his Black Sea residence in Sochi, he also denied interfering in European elections.

Merkel and Putin

US intelligence agencies say they have definitive evidence that Moscow was behind the hacking of Democratic email accounts, with the aim of benefiting Donald Trumps campaign and harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Merkel said she was confident that Germany could weather any disinformation campaign targeting its upcoming election.

Asked about the threat during the news conference, she cited two recent incidents of what she described as gross misinformation.

Vladimir Putin

In one instance, Russian media and the foreign minister claimed that a 13-year-old girl of Russian origin had been kidnapped and raped by asylum-seekers in Berlin, and that German authorities were covering up the case.

Police later determined the girl had made up the kidnapping, although a man in his 20s was charged with sexual abuse of a minor because she was below the age of consent.

Mrs Merkel said Germany would take decisive measures if it believed there was foreign meddling in the election, adding it was well-known that hybrid warfare plays a role in Russias military doctrine.

Her visit to Sochi was her first trip to Russia in two years, as relations between the two countries remain strained in large part over the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine.
May 1 (Reuters) - Maine Republican Governor Paul LePage on Monday sued the state's Democratic attorney general, contending she had abused her power by joining legal opposition to early moves by President Donald Trump that LePage's office supported.

LePage, a fiery conservative now in his second term in office, challenged Attorney General Janet Mills for joining a legal brief opposing Trump's executive order banning immigration from a half-dozen majority Muslim countries.

The second-term governor said he supported Trump's order, which has been blocked by courts and which the White House says is necessary to protect national security.

"It is no secret that Attorney General Mills and I have differing political views, but that is not the issue," LePage said in a statement. "The problem is she has publicly denounced court cases which the executive branch has requested to join and subsequently refuses to provide legal representation for the state."

He said Mills had refused to represent the state in other cases where she disagreed with LePage's political position.

A spokesman for Mills did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Maine is the only one of the 50 U.S. states where the attorney general is elected by the state legislature, rather than elected by voters or appointed by the governor.

The nation's 22 Democratic attorneys general emerged in the first months of the Trump administration as a major opposition force to his policies, successfully suing to block his executive orders on travel and also challenging environmental policy moves.

Maine is one of eight U.S. states that have a Republican governor and Democratic attorney general, setting the stage for the conflict that resulted in Monday's lawsuit, filed in Kennebec County Superior Court.

LePage was first elected to office in 2010 on a wave of Tea Party support and was re-elected in 2014. Both victories came in three-way races. He was an early supporter of Trump and came under intense public pressure last year after calling a Democratic lawmaker a "little son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker" in a voicemail message that was widely circulated. (Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
BUCHAREST, May 2 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Tuesday.

DATA

Romania's national statistics board to release March producer prices and unemployment data at 0600 GMT.

The central bank will release FX reserves data for April.

CEE MARKETS

Croatia's kuna pulled back from three-month lows on Friday, as a seasonal lift in tourism revenues and a rise in risk appetite outweighed fears over the future of the coalition government.

RUSSIA

A U.S. deployment of ballistic missile defence systems in Romania and plans to place more defence systems in Poland violate an existing arms treaty, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

For the long-term Romanian diary, click on

For emerging markets economic events, click on

For an index of all diaries, click on

For other related news, double click on: --------------------------------------------------------------- Romanian equities RO-E E.Europe equities .CEE Romanian money RO-M Romanian debt RO-D Eastern Europe EEU All emerging markets EMRG Hot stocks HOT Stock markets STX Market debt news DBT Forex news FRX For real-time index quotes, double click on: Bucharest BETI Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX --------------------------------------------------------
By Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - BP's profit nearly tripled in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier, buoyed by rising oil prices and production that hit a five-year high, while debt piled up in order to pay for acquisitions and costs for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill.

The British oil and gas company joined oil major rivals including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total in posting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, mostly thanks to higher oil and gas prices.

Oil prices rose by 50 percent in the past year to around $54 a barrel in the first quarter.

BP expects prices to average between $50 and $55 a barrel in 2017, heading to the higher end of the range if OPEC and major producing countries extend production cuts into the second half of the year, Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary told Reuters.

The results could assuage some concerns among investors, who were jolted when BP in February raised the oil price at which it could balance its books this year to $60 a barrel after a string of investments that pushed up borrowing.

Three years since the oil prices slumped from above $100 a barrel and after BP slashed costs with lay-offs and project delays, investors want to see cash generation to cover spending and dividend payouts, while reducing ballooning debt.

BP's shares were trading 2.4 percent higher at 0721 GMT, the biggest winner on London's bluechip FTSE 100 index.

"The results are positive," Cenkos Securities analysts wrote, but adding that "gearing is creeping up towards the max of the 20-30 percent target range, although divestments, including the recent $1.7 billion SECCO sale in China, should help."

Net debt rose 9 percent in the quarter to $38.6 billion, lifting BP's gearing of net debt to shareholders' equity from 26 percent to 28 percent, closer to its ceiling of 30 percent.

"The debt was always going to rise in the first half of the year and the 28 percent gearing, frankly, that doesn't cause any problems at all," Gilvary said.

To keep oil prices buoyant, oil companies want the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers to extend their global pact to reduce production for another six months from June 30.

"If they don't get rolled into the second half of the year we will continue to see more (price) volatility," Gilvary said.

London-based BP is set to start up seven projects this year, including in Oman and Azerbaijan, the largest number in a single year in BP's history. It hopes to add 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) of new production by the end of the decade.

The renewal of BP's ADCO onshore oil concession in Abu Dhabi in December was a main contributor to BP's first quarter rise in output. Total upstream production, excluding BP's share of Rosneft output, reached a five-year high of 2.39 million bpd.

Projects under construction are ahead of schedule and on average 15 percent below budget, BP said.

BP's operating cash flow in the quarter rose to $2.1 billion from $1.9 billion a year earlier, hit by payments made towards settling fines related to the 2010 deadly Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP took a pre-tax $161 million charge in the first quarter related to the spill. Total payments are expected to reach $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion this year.

BP reported first-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net income, of $1.51 billion, exceeding analysts' average forecast of $1.26 billion. (Editing by MarkPotter and Edmund Blair)
Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Tuesday.

ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

GREY FUEL MARKET

Legislation that has tightened control over Poland's grey fuel market has led to an increase in legal diesel consumption by 15 percent and fuel by 8 percent, Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the daily Nasz Dziennik.

SUNDAY TRADING HOURS

A proposal by Poland's Solidarity Trade Union to restrict Sunday trading hours would lead to a closure of 52 percent of fuel stations along highways and 37 percent in other areas, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported, citing a letter written by Poland's state-run refiner PKN Orlen.

ELECTRIC CARS

The Polish Development Fund (PFR) will invest 40 million zlotys ($10.34 million) in Cegielski's manufacturing plant in Poznan, which will enable the company to develop new products, including driving mechanisms needed for electric cars, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported.

MOVIE TICKETS

The number of movie tickets sold in Poland in the first three months of the year rose 12 percent in annual terms to 17.7 million, the daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****

For other related news, double click on: Polish equities E.Europe equities Polish money Polish debt Eastern Europe All emerging markets Hot stocks Stock markets Market debt news Forex news For real-time index quotes, double click on: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX ($1 = 3.8697 zlotys) (Reporting by Warsaw Bureau; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Teis Jensen and Alastair Macdonald

COPENHAGEN/BRUSSELS, April 28 (Reuters) - For its neighbours and closest friends in Europe, Britain's impending departure from the EU has prompted a flurry of networking in the hope of defending free trade and lean budgets in Brussels.

Britain has been the hub of an informal club known as the Northern Lights, that includes the EU's Nordic members, Irish and Dutch; it offered collective muscle in wrangling against more protectionist and dirigiste traditions in France and Germany or eastern and southern states hungry for EU subsidies.

Now, the constellation of smaller, wealthy states is working to prevent a post-Brexit EU from tilting against their interests. It is looking further afield for allies, such as the free-trading Baltic states and Czechs, or Austria, which is mounting hawkish opposition to paying more to Brussels to make up for the big hole Britain will leave in the EU subsidy budget.

"The British voice in the debate will be missed, especially in areas such as trade," Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told Reuters. "Therefore, Denmark is looking to tighten our relations with our normal like-minded group of countries but at the same time reach out to other member states that we traditionally haven't coordinated with."

Samuelson has been on what he calls an "alliance" tour that has taken in Austria, the Czech Republic and Portugal, looking to bolster ties on various parts of Denmark's agenda.

His boss, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, took part in a summit with Irish premier Enda Kenny hosted by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague last week at which all three spoke of common interests. Those are both on Brexit, which will hit trade especially for Britain's near neighbours as well as raise issues like fishing rights, but also on wider EU affairs.

KEEPING IT INFORMAL

Kenny was keen to stress that the idea was not to formalise a union within the Union, in the way that the Benelux trio coordinates EU policy or the Visegrad four of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary: "We are not talking about the birth of a new subsidiary of the European Council," he said.

The core group includes countries both in and outside the euro zone and current governments that are variously somewhat right or left of centre, though broadly committed by national tradition to free trade and keeping Brussels on a tight leash.

Free trade, already under pressure since the election of the more protectionist-minded U.S. President Donald Trump and the rise of anti-globalisation forces in Europe, is a cause on which the likes of the Baltics and Czechs are very supportive.

"It's very much based on the old British club, the Northern Lights, but without the UK," a senior Nordic government official told Reuters. "So we need to seek new partners."

"The North and East feel now is not the moment to have protectionist tendencies. It is time to fight for free trade."

Opposition to EU efforts to sign more free trade pacts has stumbled. Nationalist and leftist movements in Germany, France and elsewhere oppose long-running talks with Washington. They nearly derailed a deal with Canada that was finally signed last year after 11th-hour drama in Belgium's French-speaking south.

With 21 percent of the EU population and 26 percent of GDP, a British-led northern six was a major force. The Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden will account for less than 10 percent of people and 15 percent of the shrunken EU economy.

Denmark's Samuelsen, however, has been encouraged by the responses he's had from potential new allies he has visited.

"So far," he said, "Ive been received very positively." (Additional reporting by Stephanie van den Berg in The Hague; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Ralph Boulton)
SOFIA, May 2 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- The centre-right GERB party is expected to announce on Wednesday the government lineup agreed with their junior coalition partners United Patriots. United Patriots are expected to take over the ministries of environment, economy and defence, sources familiar with the process said. (Trud, Standart, Sega, 24 Chasa)

SEGA - Bulgaria plans to install video surveillance equipment along its border with Serbia to limit illegal migrant inflows, a public procurement order from interior ministry showed.

MONITOR - Bulgaria ranks second in Europe after Slovakia by number of Bulgarians aged between 25 and 35 who live in their parents' homes, Eurostat data showed.

CAPITAL DAILY - Bulgarian power distributors have asked the energy regulator to approve 2-8 percent increases in electricity prices as of July this year.

24 CHASA - Maria Gabriel, a Bulgarian deputy in the European Parliament from the centre-right GERB party, is likely to be nominated as Bulgarian EU commissioner, sources familiar with the matter said.
By James Regan Benjamin Weir

SYDNEY, May 2 (Reuters) - An autonomous area of Papua New Guinea scarred by a violent history of exploiting its vast mineral resources has lifted a 40-year-old ban on new mining, looking to start churning out iron ore and copper to ship to key metals markets like China.

Bougainville Island was roiled by a bloody secessionist conflict that lasted over a decade from the late 1980s, fired by a campaign of sabotage by landowners angry about the distribution of benefits from the giant Panguna copper mine.

That mine has remained closed since then, with Rio Tinto relinquishing ownership last year, while mining elsewhere on the island has been banned since the 1970s due to concerns over revenue-sharing and potential environmental damage.

"We have learnt our lessons from the Panguna experience and now we have the opportunity to do a better job," Bougainville president John Momis said in a statement on Sunday.

"I invite and welcome applications from prospective applicants to invest in our mining sector," he said, without specifying why the ban had been lifted now.

Scrapping the ban allows for applications to mine in the iron ore rich areas of Tore, Isina and Jaba, but does not include Panguna, one of the world's largest copper mines.

It comes as the island creeps towards an independence referendum by mid-2020 that could cut the last ties with the national government.

Developing new mines would offer a chunky injection of foreign revenue into one of the poorest communities in the Southern Hemisphere, but could meet with stiff opposition from islanders reluctant to shed an agrarian lifestyle.

"We have seen a recognition among landowners that the revenue from mining can often be less than expected and employment opportunities limited," said Luke Fletcher, director of the Jubilee Australia Research Centre, which advises Bougainville landowners.

The Bougainville uprising was the longest running conflict in the Pacific, with the central government at one point deploying mercenaries to try to end the fighting.

Bougainville Copper Company, which now controls Panguna and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, has been working separately with landowners to put together a plan to eventually rework the mine.

The company could not be reached for comment on the switch in government mining policy.

SERIOUS BUSINESS

Momis said that only serious investors should apply for mining rights - but that could take time.

Bougainville legislation is unique in that it recognises the ownership of mineral resources by the customary owners of the land. That puts 95 percent of property in Bougainville in the hands of small tribal clans, which must be consulted and compensated before tractors are brought in.

"This could delay the process, so it is a bit unclear if the serious majors will come in under such a regime or are we going to have fringe players of the mining world?" said Anthony Regan, who advises the Bougainville government on constitutional issues.

Several mining companies, including Australia-based Fortescue Metals Group and BHP Billiton , did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters to gauge interest in investing in Bougainville. (Reporting by James Regan and Benjamin Weir in Sydney; Editing by Joseph Radford)
By Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI, May 2 (Reuters) - India plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude oil than it bought last year, people familiar with the matter said, as state refiners cut term purchase deals over a row between New Delhi and Tehran on development of a natural gas field. The drop in volumes follows India's threat to order state refiners - Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum , Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, and Indian Oil Corp - to reduce purchases from Iran if an Indian consortium is not awarded the rights to develop Iran's huge Farzad B natural gas field. The volume cuts would put India's imports of Iranian crude for this fiscal year at 370,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to the sources with knowledge of the planned deals. India is Iran's top oil client after China, and last year imported about 510,000 bpd of crude from the country, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon. The reduced 2017/2018 imports include 199,000 bpd by state refiners, a decline of about a third from last year, the sources said. Private refiners Essar and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) have renewed last year's term contracts to buy 120,000 bpd and 20,000 bpd, respectively, they said. Most of the state refiners did not respond to queries on the matter, while Essar Oil, MRPL and HMEL declined comment. India's oil ministry also said it had no immediate comment. Analysts said apart from the gas-field row, India is also taking advantage of a narrow price spread between European oil benchmark Brent and Middle East price-setter Dubai crude, which makes it attractive to bring more oil from Europe into Asia. "Brent-related crudes are cheaper and sweeter than medium to heavy grades from Middle East," said Ehsan ul Haq of KBC Energy Economics. Also, Russia's Rosneft may start bringing more non-Iranian crude, likely from Venezuela, to India after buying Essar Oil's Vadinar refinery. Not all of India's refiners plan to scale back orders from Iran, though. Private refiner Reliance Industries signed its first Iranian deal in seven years to buy 30,000 bpd of heavy Forozan crude oil, one of the sources said. India's overall crude demand is around 4.6 million bpd, third highest in the world behind the United States and China. It was one of the few countries that continued to deal with Iran despite international sanctions that were in place until 2016. Following are the details of India's planned imports from Iran in 2017/18. Volumes are in '000 bpd and do not include condensate. Company Import Plan Actual Term Deal 2017/18 2016/17 2016/17 Essar 120 165 120 Reliance 30 32 -- (from Jan. 1, 2017) HMEL 20 17 20 BPCL 10 19 20 IOC 80 119 120 MRPL 99 129 120 HPCL 10 29 20 TOTAL 369 511 420 Note: The total does not include about 30,000 bpd of condensate imported from Iran by Reliance and Essar. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Tom Hogue)
GABORONE, May 2 (Reuters) - Botswana hopes to end a lawsuit with Russia's Norilsk Nickel by helping Emirates Investment House (EIH) buy a disputed 50 percent stake in the Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Botswana's state-run BCL Mine pulled out of a 3 billion pula ($281 million) deal to buy a 50 percent stake in Nkomati Nickel Mine from Norilsk Nickel Africa last year after falling into severe financial difficulties.

Norilsk Nickel filed a lawsuit against the government of Botswana last week in an effort to recoup $271 million in damages it says it is owed from the aborted sale.

EIH is expected to conclude due diligence on the Nkomati mine by the end of the week, Minerals Minister Sadique Kebonang said. EIH has been conducting a similar process on BCLs other assets for the past month.

"We are not worried about the lawsuit against government. Our intention is the find a buyer for the BCL," Kebonang told Reuters. "If a deal can be agreed and the funds are enough, we will pay off Norilsk and the lawsuits can then be withdrawn." (Writing by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Joe Brock)
PARIS, May 2 (Reuters) - Total has signed two agreements with Senegal to explore deep and ultra-deep offshore production in the country, the French oil company said on Tuesday.

Total struck a deal with Senegal's state-owned hydrocarbon firm Petrosen to explore the Rufisque offshore profond block, where the French oil company would the operator with a 90 percent stake.

It also signed a deal with Petrosen and Senegal's Energy Ministry, under which Total would assess the exploration potential of Senegal's ultra-deep offshore and become an operator of an exploration block. "These agreements are part of the group's strategy to carry out exploration activities in new deepwater basins in Africa," Total's chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.

(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva. Editing by Jane Merriman)
By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA, May 2 (Reuters) - A deal between Italy and Libya to hold migrants in camps in the north African country ignores "catastrophic conditions" in Libya and would not curb migration, Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday, contradicting Berlin's previous support for the plan.

"The camps existing on the ground already show horrible and catastrophic conditions. The idea to set up camps ... would be an utter disregard of circumstances for the people," Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany's Vice Chancellor, told reporters.

Italy signed a deal with the U.N.-backed Libyan government in Tripoli in February that also promised training, equipment and money to fight human traffickers - an agreement initially endorsed by both the European Union and Germany.

But the move has been criticised by humanitarian groups and the United Nations, which says migrants suffer arbitrary detention, forced labour, rape and torture. Last month, Pope Francis said the holding centres had become "concentration camps".

Libya is controlled by a patchwork of armed groups. They have built local fiefdoms that have vied for power since Libya's 2011 uprising, and a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli is struggling to assert its control, especially over rival factions in the east.

Gabriel, who was speaking in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa after a meeting with African Union officials, said parallels should not be drawn with a deal between the EU and Turkey last year, because Ankara had granted access to its camps to U.N. human rights experts.

"All of that does not apply to Libya. Fortunately I am able to say that this is not a political approach by Germany nor the European Union," he said.

Last year, the EU and Turkey reached a deal to send back irregular migrants from the Greek Aegean islands to Turkey in exchange for political and financial rewards for Ankara.

The agreement largely shut down the migrants' sea route to Greece, turning the boat crossing from Libya to Italy into the most viable option for those seeking to get to Europe.

Gabriel said Germany and the EU now favoured helping weaker states overcome instability when tackling migration from Africa, but added such efforts would take time.

"What we are trying instead is to help stabilise the countries on the continent. But that is difficult," he said.

"We will have to show that staying power, stamina and patience. This is in the interest of the Africans but also in the interest of Europeans."

According to the International Organization for Migration, 44,229 migrants have reached Europe so far this year, of whom more than four-fifths landed in Italy, and 1,089 have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
PARIS/DAKAR, May 2 (Reuters) - Total has signed an agreement to explore for oil and gas off Senegal's Atlantic coast, boosting the prospect of major oil developments in the West African country.

Under the deal Total will explore in the deepwater Rufisque Offshore Profond Block where it will be the operator with a 90 percent stake and Senegal's state-run oil company Petrosen will hold the remaining 10 percent.

The two parties also agreed to cooperate on exploration in "ultra-deep" offshore waters, with the potential for Total to become an operator there too.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Senegal is on the verge of an oil and gas boom, as newly discovered oil and gas fields are expected to begin production within the next decade. Companies including British-based Cairn Energy and Dallas-based Kosmos Energy have reported a string of successful finds that could transform Senegal's agricultural economy.

"These agreements are part of the group's strategy to carry out exploration activities in new deepwater basins in Africa," Total's chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.

Total's investment marks a new direction in Senegal where it currently owns 174 service stations but has no actual production, and fits with its goal of making cheaper investments with the hope of greater returns.

(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris and Edward McAllister in Dakar. Editing by Jane Merriman and David Evans)
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (Reuters) - The United States is negotiating with China on a possible stronger U.N. Security Council response - such as sanctions - to North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches, which the 15-member body normally condemns in a statement, diplomats said.

It was not immediately clear how open Beijing might be to new sanctions. The council has traditionally boosted sanctions in response to North Korea's five nuclear tests and two long-range rocket launches.

Sanctions were first imposed on Pyongyang in 2006.

North Korea has in the past year stepped up its missile tests, firing dozens of various types of rockets, according to South Korea. The most recent test, which failed, came on Friday following a U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"The cumulative actions of the DPRK (North Korea) since their last nuclear test compel us to look at a range of measures that would apply pressure," said a spokesman for the U.S. Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday.

"As Secretary Tillerson said on Friday, business as usual is not an option. We are exploring options for a response to this series of provocations with our Security Council colleagues," the spokesman said.

Tillerson on Friday urged the Security Council to act before North Korea does.

The Trump administration has been aggressively pressing Beijing to rein in its ally and neighbor North Korea, warning that all options were on the table if Pyongyang persists with its nuclear and missile development.

But China has said military threats would not help the situation and has accused the United States of fueling tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to the deployment of the U.S.' THAAD anti-missile defense system in South Korea and urged it to be halted immediately.

The last round of complex sanctions imposed by the Security Council took three months to negotiate following Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test in September. Those measures aimed to cut North Korea's annual export revenue by a quarter.

Traditionally, the United States and China have negotiated new sanctions before involving remaining council members. U.N. diplomats said the current talks were still just between the pair.

At a minimum, the United States could push China to agree to condemn North Korea's missile launches in a resolution, instead of a statement, which may also blacklist more people and entities tied to the country's ballistic missile program.

This is what the council did in 2013 in response to North Korea's first launch of a long-range rocket, using ballistic missile technology, in 2012. Pyongyang said the rocket put a weather satellite into orbit. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by G Crosse)
Michael Johnson Returns to Slavic Gospel Association as New President Former vice president takes over from long-time leader Dr. Robert Provost as pioneering ministry continues vital work in former Soviet Union



Contact: Ty Mays, 770-256-8710



LOVES PARK, Ill., May 2, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) (www.sga.org) is welcoming back a former member of its team to take on the leadership of the organization's pioneering work in the former Soviet Union from long-time president Dr. Robert W. Provost.



Michael Johnson, who served as vice president of advancement at the interdenominational ministry from 1996 to 2004, assumed his new role May 1, heading SGA's support of evangelism and church planting efforts across Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and surrounding countries, along with the Russian-speaking population in Israel. Dr. Provost has been named president emeritus in honor of his service and will become an advisor to his successor.



Founded in 1934 by the late Rev. Peter Deyneka, who came to the United States from Belarus, SGA helped covertly distribute millions of Bibles and Christian books under the Iron Curtain before the collapse of communism and beamed the Gospel via shortwave radio. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, its ministry has broadened to include pastor training and financial aid, compassion projects and support of children and youth ministries.



Michael Johnson said that despite the greater openness to the Gospel since 1989, there remains great need across the former Soviet countries, populated by roughly 300 million, with many parts still with little or no Christian presence and challenges for those working there.



"I am utterly humbled that God has called me to this role," he said, paying tribute to the near-23 years Dr. Provost led SGA. "And I feel privileged to even carry the bags of those we support and serve, based on what they have gone through and their incredible faithfulness to God's Word through a very difficult time."



Dr. Provost recruited Michael to SGA in 1996 after the pair met when Dr. Provost visited a supporting church in New York City, where he was an advertising executive. During his eight years with the ministry, he helped develop its orphan and childrens Christmas outreach programs, among other initiatives.



Michael returned to the business world for family reasons, most recently as senior vice president of Naperville, Ill.-based nonprofit fundraising specialists, Douglas Shaw and Associates. With their children grown and graduated, Michael and his wife, Erin, began last year to feel God's leading back into ministry service.



"It is a great joy to be part of such an important ministry again," Michael said. "Bob has done a remarkable job in establishing a very sound ministry strategy on which I hope we can continue to build. Much has been achieved for God's glory in the former Soviet Union, but great needs remain with many people yet to hear the good news of Christ."



SGA board chairman Warner Tillman also expressed thankfulness for Gods direction in the transition. "For Michael and SGA, this is truly coming full circle for the glory of Christ," he said. "Through his ministry and business experiences, our Lord has been equipping and preparing Michael to return to SGA for such a time and place as this. We know Michael desires to build on the solid biblical and ministry foundation laid by our founder, Peter Deyneka, and strengthened even further by Bob Provost."



Welcoming his successor, Dr. Provost said: "It has been my joyful privilege to serve Christ in the Russian-speaking world these past 23 years. Now I am rejoicing in the SGA board decision for Michael Johnson to lead the ministry forward. He has spent much time in Russia and loves the Russian brotherhood of humble, proven pastors. He is committed to SGA's historical biblical convictions, loves to serve faithful American pastors and their churches, and wants to see the Gospel penetrate the vast unreached regions of Russia, her neighboring states and Israel."



SGA's multi-faceted ministry entered a new phase late last year with the launch of the Reach Russia Now project, supporting evangelism and church planting efforts in the far eastern part of the countrya remote area the size of the United States whose population of around 3-4 million is largely unreached.



Slavic Gospel Association (www.sga.org) is a multi-faceted, interdenominational mission to the roughly 300 million people of the former Soviet Union. Supporting national pastors and church-planting efforts, SGA provides theological training, financial assistance, and evangelistic and discipleship resources. Compassionate care programs include help for widows and orphans. Founded in 1934 by the late Rev. Peter Deyneka, SGA is one of the longest-established ministries for the region.



To schedule an interview, contact Ty Mays at 770-256-8710 or tmays@inchristcommunications.com.

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REUTERS, 01st May, 2017-At least 27 people were injured on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bangkok on Monday when their Boeing 777 hit an air pocket, the Russian embassy in Thailand said in a statement.



It said 24 of the injured were Russian nationals and 15 of them were taken to a Bangkok hospital for treatment. The other three injured were from Thailand.



Three Russians have undergone operations lasting several hours, Russian RIA news agency reported, citing a Russian diplomat in Bangkok. The diplomat cited doctors who say their lives were not in danger. Aeroflot also dismissed some media reports about spine injuries.



The Russian airline said in an earlier statement that several passengers had been injured during severe turbulence 40 minutes before landing in the Thai capital. It said the crew could not warn passengers of the danger because the turbulence occurred in a clear sky. All the injured were sent to a local hospital with injuries of a different kind of severity, mainly fractures and bruises, the embassy said

The reasons behind the injures was that some of the passengers had not had their seatbelts fastened.



Airports of Thailand Pcl, Thailands main airport operator, told Reuters the Boeing 777 had landed in Bangkok, but said any other comment should come from the airline. Aeroflot operates two flights a day from Moscow to Bangkok. Thailand is a top destination for Russian tourists, with many visiting the countrys beach resorts.
Washington (dpa) May 01, 2017-

Powerful storms that generated flooding and tornadoes across the south-central United States killed at least 12 people at the weekend.



The National Weather Service said multiple tornadoes ripped through central Texas on Saturday.

The town of Canton, located about 80 kilometres east of Dallas, was especially hard hit. Mayor Lou Ann Everett said Sunday at least four people died and almost 50 others injured, according to local media. The fire department said the death toll could rise as people continue to comb through the debris. Dozens of cars were reportedly tossed in the air on the interstate that runs through town.

In Arkansas, a 10-year-old was found dead after being swept away in floodwaters.



A woman in Arkansas was killed when a tree toppled onto her house during a storm, while a 24-year-old died while floating in a stream on an inner tube, the Democrat-Gazette newspaper reported.
It has been more than two weeks since a section of the Meethotamulla garbage dump had collapsed, snuffing out the lives of many while casting a spell of gloom and despair on a day meant for festivities and happiness. Killing as many as 32 people in its wake while leaving many others orphaned and destitute, the massive garbage slide was one of the most devastating man-made disasters in the history of Sri Lanka. While compensation and relief measures for those left destitute and orphaned are currently underway, the extent to which such relief schemes have been effective in addressing victims grievances are yet to be unravelled. In an attempt to shed more light into the matter including how the Government provides relief measures when encountered with a disaster, Daily Mirror spoke to several individuals to get their expert opinion on the subject.

Action taken under direct instruction of the President - S. S. Miyanawala

Secretary - Ministry of Disaster Management

Speaking to Daily Mirror, Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management S. S. Miyanawala said that the Govt does not allocate money for future disasters through its annual budget due to the unpredictable nature of natural disasters. However he said that since last April, the Govt has introduced a new insurance scheme through which compensation is delivered for victims of natural disasters. It should be noted that this insurance scheme provides compensation only for those affected from natural disasters. For an instance, disasters such as the Salawa incident are compensated through the national treasury funds and not through this insurance scheme. It is difficult to allocate a said amount in particular for natural disasters through the annual Govt budget because the scales of natural disasters are very unpredictable by nature.

Usually when a disaster occurs, the President summons an immediate meeting with the Disaster Management Task Force, which is responsible for compiling all information concerning the disaster including details of the relevant institutions directly involved with the subject. The relevant institutions will execute their actions under the direct instructions of the President, Miyanawala added.

Adding that there is also an allocated budget for disaster reduction, the state official said that the main aim of this plan is to reduce the effects of a disaster. The Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (DRRP) was effective in the country since 2014. In addition to the Ministry of Disaster Management, there are many other institutions involved with this programme. This also includes foreign agencies such as the World Bank who are involved with providing funds to continue the work of the DRRP. Currently, there are 43 projects that are carried out in the country under the plan he said.

Upon inquiring about the progress of the ongoing relief efforts, he said that all compensation packages are being delivered to the victims of the Meethotamulla tragedy. He said that all measures have been taken to cater to the needs of victims by means of providing compensation. These compensation will take the form of either providing the victims with a house or proving a financial compensation for those who are not willing to shift to a new house.

People would be happy if promises are fulfilled on time - Nuwan Bopage

Commenting on the extent to which compensation had been paid to victims, Movement Against Meethotamulla Garbage Mound organiser, Attorney-at-law Nuwan Bopage said that most of the victims who were interested in moving to new houses have been already provided with new abodes. However he said that still there remain nearly 90 people who are left destitute. These victims were given Rs.50,000 each by the Govt in order to rent a house. Initially, we had a discussion with the Premier and it was understood that the rent for three months would be paid as a lump sum since people are bound to make a payment in advance prior to renting a new house. However, when the victims went to claim their compensation last Monday, respective authorities have informed them that only the monthly rent amounting to Rs.50,000 could be paid to them as an initial step since the Treasury lacks sufficient funds to pay the three month rental at once he said.

According to Bopage, the victims were therefore able to claim only the first rental of Rs. 50,000. However, he stated that as the Government has promised them, most victims did receive the promised Rs. 250, 000 provided for purchasing furniture.

Instead of buying furniture, most victims utilized this money to pay the advance for renting a new house. The Govt has also promised the victims of the Meethotamulla tragedy that the damage to their houses would be estimated and evaluated by the Valuation Department; thereby making necessary arrangements to pay a financial compensation to victims for the loss they have incurred. Currently, officials representing the Valuation Department are carrying out their duties concerning this issue.

We have also requested the Govt that a financial compensation worth Rs. 5,000,000 should be paid for each life that was lost as a result of the collapse of a section of the garbage dump. So far, the Govt has made no comment concerning the compensation that would be paid for the loss of lives after the tragedy.

Although people in the slide-prone zone have been asked to evacuate their residences, these people have nowhere to go and to date they have not been paid any kind of financial compensation to move out of their houses either. Instead we request the Govt that the garbage dump be completely cleared in order to avoid the impending threat to peoples lives and properties. Although some of the promises given to the people have been fulfilled by the Govt, the people would be more happy if all given promises are fulfilled on time, he added.

98 houses given under fast track relief scheme - Pradeep Kodippili, Deputy Director - DMC

68 houses were provided during last week for those affected by the disaster. So far, the number of houses that have been provided including the houses that were provided on Tuesday amount to ninety eight in total says Deputy Director of the DMC, Pradeep Kodippili. He said that other victims would also be provided with houses with immediate effect including a financial relief amounting to Rs. 250,000 for furniture and Rs.10,000 for transporting purposes. In the event someone is willing to rent out a house, they would be granted Rs. 50,000 as house rent for three months.

The minor population still residing in relief camps would be provided with all relief measures and would be soon transferred to the temporary houses that have been built in the surroundings of the paddy cultivation stores. However, it is confirmed these individuals would also be given permanent houses in the near future. All victims, whose houses had been damaged or partially damaged, and the individuals whose houses are located in the vulnerable zone in Meethotamulla would be provided with new houses Kodippili added.The Meethotamulla disaster took place on April 14. Up to now we have provided 98 houses and this is the fastest relief scheme which has ever been conducted in disaster management sector in Sri Lanka. Therefore, I am positive that all victims of the tragedy would definitely get new houses as compensation without delay he said.

3R system to the rescue - Japanese Assessment Report

Presenting the Japanese Assessment Report on Meethotamulla to the President on Monday last week, the Head of the Experts Group Mitsutake Numahata elucidated the short-term and long-term measures, the Govt could employ to address the garbage issue in Meethotamulla effectively. Accordingly, it was reported that short term measures should ensure the stability of the garbage dump in order to prevent a possible collapse again.

It was also noted that the shape of the garbage dump should be streamlined with the base covered in polythene before the monsoon rain commences. Secondary measures also included recommendation to shape the dump symmetrically with a broad base. This would help in maintaining a proper distribution of the gravity. Long-term measures also included in the removal of the dump by employing the practice of 3-R system that stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Also the Japanese Assessment Report outlined the need for waste segregation in Meethotamulla garbage dump, including the need for a gas control and water drainage system in the area. It was also reported that public awareness should be raised on such issues in order to prevent further disasters.
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) warned today it would launch the countrys biggest ever trade union action on Friday with the backing of 160 state sector trade unions including those of teachers, nurses and the SLTB.

It said the TU action would be a protest against the governments double standards on the SAITM issue and the attempt to destroy free education in the country.

"Six health unions including the GMOA, ten teachers' and principals' unions including the Medical Faculty Lecturers Association and five students unions including the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) and Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) unions will join the proposed TU action, GMOA Secretary Naveen De Zoysa said.

He said more than 160 other trade unions had pledged their support to the fight against the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM).

Dr. De Zoysa said two subject ministers are working hard to destroy the health sector and free education which is the life blood of a nation.

For the first time all state sectors work will be paralyzed by the GMOA-led fight against SAITM, he said and criticized Health Minister Rajitha Senaratnes May Day Speech. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)

Video by Buddhi
President Donald Trump said Monday he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances" to defuse tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News in an interview Monday. "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."

No sitting US president has ever before met with the leader of North Korea while in power, and the idea is extremely controversial.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, however, said later on Monday that the US would first need to see changes in North Korean behavior before a potential sit-down.

"We've got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down immediately," Spicer said. "Clearly, the conditions are not there right now."

Spicer also offered an explanation for Trump's view, expressed to CBS, that Kim is a "smart cookie."

"He assumed power at a young age when his father passed," Spicer said. "There was a lot of potential threats that could have come his way. He's managed to lead a country forward, despite the concerns that we and so many people have. He is a young person to be leading a country with nuclear weapons."

Trump's comment about meeting Kim comes as tensions have risen in recent months between the US and North Korea as Pyongyang has sought to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and Washington has made a show of force in the region to deter their use.

The US directed an aircraft carrier-led strike group to the region as well as deployed a new anti-ballistic missile system to South Korea.

CIA director Mike Pompeo arrived in Seoul over the weekend plans to attend internal meetings with US Forces Korea and embassy staff, according to Daniel Turnbull, a spokesperson for the US Embassy.

Despite pivotal elections in South Korea next week, Pompeo has no plans to meet with any of the presidential candidates. Leading candidates have promised a new era of relations with Pyongyang.

Trump said during the presidential campaign that he would be willing to meet with Kim Jong Un, explaining in June that "there's a 10% or 20% chance that I can talk him out of those damn nukes 'cause who the hell wants him to have nukes."

"I'll speak to anybody," Trump said then.

His comments received criticism from both sides of the aisle at the time, and since Trump has become president, top officials in his administration have taken a more equivocal position on the issue.

In the Bloomberg interview, Trump gave a nod to his willingness to take an unconventional approach.

"Most political people would never say that," he noted. "But I'm telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him."

The North Korean nuclear issue has quickly become one of the top national security concerns for the Trump administration and administration officials have repeatedly stressed the increasing urgency of the situation. Trump has focused on finding a diplomatic solution to the North Korean issue -- working increasingly closely with China -- but has also refused to rule out a military solution to the problem.

Mixed messages from the Trump administration regarding its policy on North Korea have also further obscured what the next phase of the standoff on the Korean Peninsula could be.

On Monday, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told "CBS This Morning" that he could not see a scenario in which Trump and Kim sat down face-to-face unless Pyongyang was willing to "disarm and give up what he's put in mountainsides across his country and give up his drive for nuclear capability and ICBMs."

Speaking to NPR last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson indicated the US is willing to engage in talks with Pyongyang, a possibility dismissed in April by Vice President Mike Pence until North Korea denuclearizes. (CNN)
The joint opposition (JO) said today the massive crowd at its May Day rally was a strong message to the embassies of Western countries and the elite class in Colombo about its strength.

JO national organiser and MP, Dullas Alahapperuma said he hoped the government would read the message and realize as to which party was the real opposition in the country.

The number of people who were present at our May Day rally was three times as big as the number of people who attended the rallies organized by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The people joined us as a protest against the governments oppression of the people, he told a news conference.

The MP said the rally held at the Galle Face Green was a turning point and probably the largest ever May Day rally in the country's history.

Meanwhile, he said the government should hold local government elections without delay.

If the government continues to delay elections, the people who thronged Galle Face Green will surround the key institutions in the capital, the MP said.

Referring to a challenge thrown by Minister P. Harrison that he would shave his head if the JO filled the Galle Face Green with its supporters on May Day, the MP said the challenge had been met but requested the minister not to cut his hair. (Lahiru Pothmulla)
French far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen rallied her supporters at a meeting north of Paris on Monday, denouncing her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron as the candidate of the system and high finance.



Before thousands of followers waving the French tricolour, Le Pen recited a litany of names of prominent politicians and business figures supporting Macron, saying he was the candidate of a morbid continuity.



Saying new four times in a row is not enough to make you the embodiment of novelty, she declared.



Le Pen, who on Saturday announced that she would appoint defeated first-round nationalist candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan as prime minister if elected, challenged Macron to name his prospective premier.



Le Pen was introduced by Dupont-Aignan, who told the crowd that electing Macron would mean to say goodbye to our values, to our identity.



He slammed as traitors the leaders of the centre-right Les Republicains party, including defeated conservative candidate Francois Fillon, who had called for a vote for Macron to keep the National Front from power.



In one of several nods to the voters of Jean-Luc Melenchon, who took almost 20 per cent of the first round vote, Le Pen noted that the radical leftist had been condemned in the media for not calling for a Macron vote.



It is forbidden under pain of excommunication to call for a second round candidate who isnt the systems candidate, she declared.



Macron was due to hold a rally later on Monday in Paris.

Paris (dpa) 01st May, 2017 -
The 2016 media freedom report card makes for uncomfortable reading.

Impunity for those who kill journalists continues to undermine attempts by legal systems worldwide to deliver justice and ensure the rule of law. Read alongsiderising numbers of physical attacks and an increasingly hostile online space, we remain far from guaranteeing a safe environment for media professionals,across any domain.

The persistent application of national security laws to punish media or further tighten limitations on freedom of expression has sent a chill through global newsrooms. The red lines are thickening, in many cases multiplying around so many stories; for journalists to navigate them all requires more than a cursory understanding of the law and how it is applied. According to CPJs annual prison census, the worlds jails were home to some 259 journalists in 2016, the highest number on record.

Just how many stories never make it into the public record as a result we shall never know. The evidence we do have suggests silence is spreading, the imperative to think twice before publishing more commonplace than ever. With the intertwining complexity of commercial interests and the precarious financial situations of media houses, those red lines are becoming more like red boxes into which so much is dumped, labelledoff limits to journalism. When the consequences of running a story can be so drastic, potentially deadly, it is far from surprising that so many choose, however unwillingly, to kill a story to be sure of surviving another day.



2016 is consistent in that it fits the pattern of decline seen in recent years, an erosion of basic freedoms reflected in evermore-pessimistic 3 May op-eds year in, year out. As we mark another World Press Freedom Day and make the habitual  yet highly necessary - condemnations of all of the above, we must also acknowledge the efforts to counteract the slide. It is perhaps the one positive in an otherwise bleak 12 months for media freedom.

Pressures on journalists and media organisations are designed to reduce transparency and accountability in society. Usually it means powerful interests have something to hide from public view. Ultimately, media need to do more to convince public opinion that such targeting is an attack on common values and will not be tolerated.

In the meantime, media are obliged to advocate on their own behalf. The organisations, institutions, NGOs and support agencies designed to help in this are vital, but they are not enough. They are not effective unless media themselves are actively participating in defining the issues, steering the agenda, implementing the goals, and mobilising together to tackle the issues that directly affect them. This is as much of a job within the news- or boardroom as it is out in the public sphere, meaning that many challenges come from within the media itself.



Paradoxical as this may sound, we must own our faults  act to change the disproportionate lack of women in senior positions and address the way many news rooms treat young people of both sexes; arrest the decline in desirability of taking a job in media; create the conditions and flexibility that attract  and retain  the brightest and best talent; make our editorial standards the most rigorous and our business operations worthy of the deepest trust. There are versions of these  and many more - arguments playing out in newsrooms across the globe; it is simply common sense to suggest a strong profession has more chance of fighting off the epidemic it faces if first its own house is in order.

But we cannot wait; simultaneous efforts to address those internal and external challenges go hand in hand. Providing meaningful skills training that educates the individual and raises the overall standard within the organisation is a start; as a profession, we should aim to say we have done everything that it is within our power to do when it comes to addressing internal challenges. We need to be irreproachable in every respect, and that begins at our desks, in our own workplace, with our own values and practices exposed.



This self-critique will breed self-confidence. Because of the competition to attract and maintain audiences, we demand of ourselves the highest standards in business and editorial: so why not in terms of our rights, our safety, and the conditions necessary to effectively carry out our roles? Simply knowing your rights and knowing the legal limitations that have been placed on your freedom as a journalist is a vital starting point; educating ourselves, so that we may educate others to be stronger professionals, better informed of the options we have, of the support that is out there, is crucial.

But most importantly, it is about being aware of the power of collective action, of mobilising as professionals, for professionals, on whatever issue is put in our path. WAN-IFRA works directly with media organisations in over 20 countries to support these dual efforts. Beyond sensitisation of the importance of a free press, media in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East are taking concrete steps to ensure they are at the forefront when it comes to advocating their own freedoms  in their newsrooms, among peers, and in the communities in which they operate.



Our Media Freedom Committees are empowering media to lead advocacy on each continent. Coordinated and run by media professionals, they set their agenda and define what they as a collective body can achieve  in partnership with existing initiatives, or as a body unique unto themselves. A year into the experiment, were already seeing how the strategy can provide a way forward.

In Uganda, a network of over 250 journalists are connected country-wide to discuss safety, good practice, offer advice, and identify where colleagues need support and training to raise the standard of the profession in the public eye. In Egypt, our Committee is conducting public research into just why society is turning away from media, offering suggestions as to how the profession can reverse this trend. In Indonesia, collaboration among nine leading news organisations brought the Jakarta-centric news industry to the outlying province of Papua to expose issues the local media felt received little or no coverage in the national agenda.



In Ecuador, the media is leading calls for reform with the new government after initiating public consultations on redrawing the notorious media laws. In South Africa, our partner newsrooms have designed and undergone their own advanced digital safety training curriculum, recognising that they all needed access to the latest skills to survive in an increasingly controlled online environment.

In Palestine, Botswana, Malaysia, Colombia, Zambia, Cambodia, Kenya and a dozen other countries, WAN-IFRA is ensuring media are in control of similar advocacy efforts that will impact the overall state of freedom of expression, so that maybe next year, or in five years, or beyond, the opinion pieces published on May 3 wont make for such grim reading.

We are better equipped, more empowered and more likely to succeed  and keep on succeeding  if we know we have the support of colleagues and peers. That is the strength of our profession. That is the approach WAN-IFRA is advocating on this World Press Freedom Day.



Andrew Heslop

Director, Media Freedom

WAN-IFRA

WAN-IFRA is the global organisation for the worlds newspapers and news publishers, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organisation groups 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites, and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.
Which is the true nightmare, the horrific dream that you have in your sleep or the dissatisfied reality that awaits you when you awake?

- Justin Alcala



The pile of garbage was as tall as a 14-storey building. Its collapse was crushing, no pun intended. Two weeks ago the death toll stood at 32 and 30 odd still missing. The Meethotamulla garbage dump is likely to crash again if heavy rains occur within the next few weeks or days, according to R. M. S. Bandara, Director of Landslides Research and Disaster Management Division of the National Building Research Organization (NBRO). The waste dumped by human beings in Colombo and the surrounding suburbs had come to extract its pound of waste

with vengeance.

The sheer magnitude of this human tragedy caused by human folly was further emphasized by Bandara, the harbinger of this New Years ominous omen: This is the first time we have seen a disaster of this magnitude. Under the sheer weight of the massive garbage pile, a lower layer of earth gave way causing the slide. The authorities have stopped dumping garbage at the site. But, more crashes are likely to happen if the area receives heavy rains within the next few days. So, we have already called for the evacuation of people living near the garbage dump.We have identified about 130 houses which are vulnerable. Authorities are closing the barn gate after the horses have bolted with the kitchen sink. Shame on you, Mr. Ministershame on you Mr. Mayor or Mr. Municipal Commissioner. Have you no shame to pass the blame-ball from one institution to another without caring for the misery heaped upon the most helpless segment in our country?



All in all, 981 individuals belonging to 228 families had been displaced. A tragedy unleashing itself on a day when everyone was waiting to welcome the dawn of a new beginning, would have rushed many a devotee of many a God to their Temples and Kovils to invoke his blessings. Apparently Gods have gone to deep slumber, in better comforts. They are as helpless as the humans who have chosen to throw their garbage to a dumping yard. As helpless as those lifeless bodies still being searched for. Meethotamullascrash of the trash was a tragedy waiting to happen. This obscene occurrence could have been averted. But the authorities did not see it coming, and that is a shameful indictment on their competency. But if they knew that this could happen, then they were guilty of an unprecedented crime; a crime as dastardly as the massacres of some villagers during the so-called second revolution of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the 1987-89 era.

In the absence of a scientific and strategic approach to the issue of large-scale waste disposal, the country is definitely heading for a dumping of a different kind, a kind that might lead to a sudden and unexpected rehashing of the very composition of the incumbent coalition government. Wherever one looks, the smell is not sweet. When our politicians realize that the stench invading their insensitive nostrils is uncomfortable to bear, it might be too late. Therefore, the President and the Prime Minister, act now, not tomorrow or next week, right now. Show some guts and spine to hold your culprits accountable, whoever it is. Dont ask the journalists to find a solution or to keep them quiet either. Tug-of-war among govt departments would eventually result in the stretching of the fragile cord that connects them. It would burst asunder.



The garbage that they are trying to heap on state-owned lands would bury the politicians for good, and they deserve it if they keep haggling about a recurring issue whether it is garbage, corruption, nepotism or any other. The most astonishing aspect of this garbage-crisis is, that a govt, that came into being on a platform free of such foul practices of passing the buck etc., cannot find a martyr who would come forward and own the responsibility for the trash that crashed in Meethotamulla. Or is it too much to ask for, from amongst a heap of politicians who pretend to be do-gooders? People at large, always, almost without exception, expect such honesty and fairness from their leaders. At the same time they seem to accommodate any mistakes, honest oversights and erroneous judgments etc., provided such oversights and judgements are devoid of evil intention and made in good faith. When the electors are so patient and understanding, politicians take that patience and understanding for granted. That is shameful and its even more than shameful, its criminal. For, its the electors who place these politicians on an altar and choose to worship them. It is true in the case of an uneducated rural peasant or an urban labourer; and its true in the case of the educated and sophisticated English-speaking, whiskey-drinking pukka sahibs in Colombo. In the case of the peasant and the labourer one can, if not forgive, empathize with them, but never the pukka sahibs.

In a crash like the one that befell the helpless denizens of Meethotamulla, its always the most destitute that suffer the most; its always the poorest of the poor who stand to lose - not only their homes and property - but their underwear too! Against such an ominous and bizarre backdrop, how can a nation attempt to make a move forward? No country progresses if it wishes to rot away in a comfort zone. Comfort zones are created for those who fear change; comfort zones are created for those dare not step out to the open and challenge, come what may; comfort zones are created for and by those who are inherently lethargic and dependent. That comfort zone is killing our society today; its exhausting the very spirit of our existence and leaving us at the mercy of our own politicians and bureaucrats. Who came first? Whether the comfort zone or the politician; is a million-dollar question, but trying to find an answer to that is of no consequence today. The Meethotamulla crash of trash has accounted for the growing uneasiness pervading our society today. The JVP and other Opposition parties may thunder from their political platforms; they may ask for the blood of those who are responsible. They themselves are as responsible for this cruel tragedy that has gripped our collective mind as the current and the previous governments that ruled the trash of our

growing neighbourhoods.

"When the electors are so patient and understanding, politicians take that patience and understanding for granted. That is shameful and its even more than shameful, its criminal"



The Meethotamulla tragedy is, but a minor tissue in the body that has been overpowered by a malignant disease. That malignancy has many facets and faces. It has many mothers but no father. Whether its the UDA or the MC, whether its this Ministry or that department, pointing the finger at a non-accounting entity is of no use. When everyone disowns a mistake or a wilful act of negligence, the consequential tragedy is unimaginable. Unless and until we find those who are accountable and punish them with no mercy, with no deferment and with no prejudice; we will continue to be crushed by the trash of our politicians and bureaucrats.

When the majority of a people choose to be apathetic about their own destitution, when they find excuses for their leaders instead of holding them accountable, when their priorities get mixed up with those of greedy politicians who would not hesitate to trample them when it suits them, then the majority is beyond help. It is not astonishing to find an elder generation succumbing to such cruel pathos of everyday life. But they cannot and should not be allowed to lead our younger generation along the same miserable path. In each of the families that suffered the ignoble fortune of residing adjacent to the Meethotamulla trash-mountain, are little children who went to school with the dawn of each day, smelling the nauseating stench of the pile at the mountain top. Each day, while their more fortunate brethren in other neighbourhoods were clad in whiter cleaner clothes, these children wore the same clothes day in and day out for their parents could not afford anything different. These are the hapless children of a lost and lonely generation. When they hit the hay at days end, they too dream the same dreams of other children; they too envision a grandiose future for them and their life companions. Human misery might manifest itself in another form somewhere else, but politicians cannot end such miseries unless they own them first. In search of a dream, each Meethotamulla denizen wakes up in the morning and gets about his/her own daily life. What that life holds for them is as uncertain as the physical state of the pile of garbage that buried their dreams and meagre aspirations, a few weeks ago. Have we no shame to put up with this kind of despair?



The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com
The Mallakam Magistrates Court, Jaffna today ordered to hand over the thirty Myanmar and two Indian nationals, who were taken into custody by the SL Navy, to the Mirihana Detention Camp.

Magistrate A. Judson ordered to produce a 15-day old infant, who was among the arrested, before the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO).

Thirty Myanmar nationals and two Indian nationals were taken into custody on April 30 while they had illegally entered the SL waters using an Indian trawler. (Romesh Madushanka)
home US West Virginia school district files motion to dismiss 'Bible in the Schools' lawsuit

A West Virginia school district has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to end its "Bible in the Schools" program, which has been in place in county schools since 1939.

The lawsuit was filed in January by the Wisconsin-based group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FRFF) against the Mercer County Board of Education, Mercer County Schools and Superintendent Dr. Deborah Akers, Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported.

The FRFF alleged in the lawsuit that the program "endorses one religion, improperly entangles public schools in religious affairs, and violates the personal consciences of nonreligious and non-Christian parents and students."

The group filed the suit on behalf of an unnamed parent, who was referred to in the lawsuit as "Jane Doe," who wants to raise her child without religion.

A first amended complaint (FAC) was filed on March 28 to add another plaintiff, Elizabeth Deal, whose daughter attended Mercer County schools from 2012 to 2016 before transferring to Virginia schools.

Both parents were concerned that their children risked facing ostracism if they do not attend the optional Bible classes.

The FFRF contended in its lawsuit that the Bible lessons were taught like a "Sunday school" class rather than a secular class.

The FAC points to lesson I as an example, which "prepares students for the type of moral teachings they will be receiving throughout the rest of their Bible lessons ... instructs students to listen to the directions and warnings that are given in the Bible and to follow them in their own lives."

The program is administered by the Mercer County School Board, but it is funded by private donations. Parents and community members donate nearly $500,000 each year to pay for the program.

The board's motion contended that the FFRF added Deal as a plaintiff because Doe's child was not eligible to attend the classes when the lawsuit was filed.

David Dorey, an attorney for O'Melveny & Myers, which represents the school board, said that one of the key legal points is that the suit seeks to put an end to the program altogether.

The motion filed by the school board stated that the lawsuit is an attack on the constitutional right to offer optional Bible classes in public schools.

"The Constitution does not prohibit schools from teaching about religion or from using materials that have a religious basis," the motion stated.

"The Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like," it added.
Oman Air, the national carrier for the Sultanate of Oman, is proud to have been the co-lead partner of the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference 2017. The prestigious event was held from 5-6 April at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat, demonstrating Omans position as a global leader in the luxury market.

Now in its third year, the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference is the most significant conference for the luxury and fashion industries and draws on the collective influence of Conde Nast Internationals publications, and the vision ofInternational Vogue Editor Suzy Menkes. Attracting 500 top-level attendees from more than 30 countries, the event brings together decision-makers, influencers and innovators for a comprehensive two-day programme of talks, speeches, interviews and social events.

Attendees at this years event included international fashion designer Elie Saab, Jimmy Choo CEO, Pierre Denis, Founder and CEO of Not Just A Label,Stefan Siegel, and Omans very own fashion design success, Amal Al Raisi.

As one of two co-lead partners, along with Place Vendome, Oman Air not only provided financial support for the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference but played an active role in the exciting programme of events. Members of Oman Airs crew, dressed in their stylish and distinct uniforms, attended the event and presented a model of the airlines Business Class seats Suzy Menkes was one of many high-profile figures who enjoyed experiencing the seats luxurious comfort.

Oman Air was also honoured to host an exclusive gala dinner at the National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman, which was attended by guests from the worlds of fashion, business and government.

The theme for this years conference was Mindful Luxury and His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave an insightful presentation highlighting how this concept is realisedin Oman. The conference also focused on how new wealth and untapped markets are the next great source of growth for the luxury industry in the 21st Century and considered how brands can explore new commercial opportunities in this sphere.

Paul Gregorowitsch, CEO Oman Air, said: As a company we are committed to actively promoting the Sultanate of Oman as an attractive destination where modernity is combined with authenticity. We were delighted to be a key sponsor of the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference 2017.

The first Conde Nast International Luxury Conference was held in Florence, Italy, and last years was in Seoul, South Koreaso we are excellent company.

Events of this calibreare unique and attract a prestigious audience, enablingboth the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Air to collaborate with world-leading brands and showcase the numerous attractions that thebeautiful country of Oman has to offer. We were very pleased to see how well received the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference 2017 was and we look forward to collaborating on other similarly impressive events in the future.

For more information about Oman Air, visit www.omanair.com

For more information about the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference 2017, visit www.cniluxury.com.
Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking stronger ties with the worlds largest democracy, India, at a time when he is at odds with most of the western democratic countries. Most notably, during his two-day visit to India, he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended a special convocation at one of Delhis prestigious universities, Jamia Millia Islamia, where he was conferred with an honorary doctorate.

Before Erdogans arrival in New Delhi, some of his surrogates were already in the town speaking at different events about how India and Turkey as two great democracies can and should forge a mutually beneficial relationship. The idea is good at its face value. But there are serious differences and problems that cast a shadow at any potential alliance between India and Turkey.

First and foremost, no matter how hard Erdogan and his team try to convince Modi that their relationship with India is independent of their relationship with Pakistan, it is not really a fact.

Not only the families of Turkeys president Erdogan and Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif share personal bonds, the state ideology in both these countries is more or less the same.

The once staunchly secular state, Turkey, has now been turned into a system where all political moves of the regime are endorsed by a cohort of financially and morally corrupt religious leaders - which is typically what happens in theocratic countries.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has always been a theocracy. Furthermore, both these states current politics is deeply rooted in political Islam.

In terms of people-to-people connect between India and Turkey, and Pakistan and Turkey, Pakistan outnumbers India with a huge margin. Not to suggest that the friendship between Turkish and Pakistani people is a threat to India, but the fact that not many Indian and Turkish people know each other leads to a situation where stereotyping and having prejudice about one another is rampant.

In Turkey, where all Pakistanis would be treated as brothers, most Indians would usually be mocked as cow-worshippers.

Despite Erdogans preposterous claim that under his leadership Turkeys democracy has strengthened over the years, it can hardly be denied that it is under unprecedented crisis. Photo: Reuters

This doesnt mean that the Turkish people are detestable - on the contrary, they are very hospitable and kind. But due to little people-to-people connect, they are hardly aware of Indias diversity and plurality.

Given the strong personal bonds between the leaders, deep-rooted ideological similarity between the states and the people-to-people connect, Pakistans leverage over Turkey is far more than that of Indias.

In such a situation, Turkeys relationship with India cannot be independent of its ties to Pakistan - and therefore expecting Turkey not to side with Pakistan on issues where there is a dispute between India and Pakistan would be naive.

The Kashmir issue and Indias desired membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) are the two most obvious issues where Turkey stands firmly behind Pakistan.

Not long ago, Turkeys foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his government fully supports Pakistans position on Jammu and Kashmir, and he also backed Islamabads demand to send an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) delegation to the Kashmir Valley to investigate the alleged human rights violations there.

On Indias bid to become a member of the NSG, Turkey opposed India last year because Pakistans application was not being considered.

Secondly, despite Erdogans preposterous claim that under his leadership Turkeys democracy has strengthened over the years, it can hardly be denied that it is under unprecedented crisis. With the recently concluded constitutional referendum - which Erdogan won controversially - the country is closer to one-man rule.

In the aftermath of the attempted coup of July 15, 2016, at least 1,34,194 officials, teachers, bureaucrats and academics have been sacked from state institutions; 1,00,155 people have been detained; 2,099 educational institutions have been shut down; 7,317 academics have lost their jobs; and 4,317 judges and prosecutors have been dismissed. By all standards, it is a crackdown of an alarming proportion.

Indian democracy, with all its flaws, fares much better than the Turkish democracy. India is slowly asserting itself on the global stage as a country which takes pride in its democracy, demography and demand.

If India really wants to become a significant global player in the democratic world, it must not ignore the gross human rights violations going on in countries like Turkey - particularly because the scale at which rights violations have taken place there, many Indians have also been badly affected.

A number of Indian students who were studying in some of the 15 universities that have been shut down in the wake of the coup attempt had to return home without completing their education. Some Indian academics who were employed at these universities became jobless and their bank accounts were blocked by the Turkish authorities for months.
Whenever there are even remote attempts of stabilisation, improvement of relations, important visits, Pakistan escalates. Looking back into history, when Vajpayee visited Lahore, Kargil was in the pipeline; when Agra was expected to thaw relations, Mumbai followed and recently, post the visit to Lahore by Modi, Pathankot occurred.

Further, whenever Pakistan notices that the Indian government, especially the present one, is on a high, an incident would be planned to bring it down. What better than mutilation of its soldiers. Nationalism would rise to a peak, pushing all possible progress into the background.

A lot has been happening in the sub-continent in recent days, indicating that an incident was in the offing.

Take Pakistan first. The death sentence to proclaimed spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, attempts by India to seek consular access, including an approach by his mother, placed Pakistan in a quandary. In all probability, he is already dead or severely tortured, preventing his appearance before any Indian representative.

Alongside this has been the case of the missing Pakistani officer who, in the neighbouring country's belief, is under the custody of India's RAW. India has neither denied, nor admitted, nor passed any judgement on his disappearance. However, Pakistan has suddenly gone quiet on his whereabouts.

It has possibly got the message through clandestine means of his whereabouts. It knows India could seek an exchange, but Jadhav may be in no position to be exchanged. Hence, delay Indian action by worsening the border situation.

Their civilian government is being held to ransom by the army as was evident in the tweets made by Major General Asif Ghafoor of the ISPR, on the notification issued post the Dawn leak case. It compelled the government to publicly announce the release of relevant paragraphs of the report, to assuage the armys anger.

This put the government on the backfoot. Pakistan has been facing losses on its Afghan border in regular strikes by the Pakistan Taliban. While India has denied any involvement or support to them, Pakistan claims the reverse.

To divert its losses, it had to resort to some action. It knew India would accuse it, while it would deny, thus convincing its population of having maintained the upper hand.

Simultaneously going on was the recent meeting between Indian steel magnate Sajjan Jindal and Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif. While no details were released, in either the Pakistani or Indian media, the army was suspicious.

The meeting could have conveyed news about their missing ISI officer, asked for inputs on Jadhav or even been a precursor to a likely meeting of the two PMs on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in June.

This had to be forestalled. An action to hurt Indians at the heart was what was needed. Mutilating a body is against our culture and hence would hurt Indian sentiments to the extreme.

To divert its losses, Pakistan had to resort to some action.

The incident came immediately post the visit of the Pakistan army chief to the LOC. While the visit may have been planned previously, since there was no pressing incident requiring his immediate attention, however, an earlier series of events would have triggered his likely directions to the local formation.

Under normal conditions, incidents occur on posts dominated by fire and observation; further regular observations indicate likely locations suitable for a strike. Pakistan has done what has hurt the Indian heart. It knows India would retaliate.

On the Indian side, the government has been gaining ground politically, winning in almost all states. It is yet to face flak on its Kashmir policy. The criticism by Farooq Abdullah meant nothing and was ignored. In fact, Farooq is among the most hated politicians in India, unwelcome anywhere else in the country, other than Kashmir.

The Turkish president was to visit. He is a strong supporter, not of Pakistan but of Nawaz Sharif, whom he continuously called a close friend and a "good man". He would have a personal message from him. After all, elections in Pakistan are due next year and Nawaz won the last on the promise of improving India-Pakistan relations.

Any Indian comments on the issue had to be stalled. Hence, the date and timing of the strike were crucial and it was planned to perfection, just when the Turkish president was in Delhi.

India has not resorted to a hard approach in the Valley, and is still seeking to try the softer line, despite Pakistan pushing for increased protests, militant action and stone-throwing. The Indian military has been keeping itself under check, avoiding firing as much as it can.

The attack on the cash van in Kashmir, on the same day, with no loss of money, was aimed at instigating security forces to respond with force, possibly burning the Valley more. That has not happened. The Army chief is in Kashmir, to possibly discuss the future course of action against rising militancy and protests. There may be a change in the days ahead.

For India, south of the Pir Panjal, civilians live close to the border and earn their livelihood from their fields there. Hence, India seeks to avoid escalation, unless Pakistan provokes. Invariably, it is Pakistan which starts and the Indian response is always greater.

India has never shied back, but avoids targeting civilians, which Pakistan never hesitates to do. Tensions are now on the rise and locals would be moved to shelters away from the firing.

There is a difference between the two nations on handling its martyrs. India announces their details as also the manner of their death. Pakistan in many cases refuses to accept or even announce, as it would break the myth of their army, internally.

This happened in Kargil, where they refused to accept the remains of their soldiers, during surgical strike and many occasions when India responded with force. It would after a few days announce their soldiers as civilian casualties to Indian firing.

India would respond, it already has. It would damage posts, cause immense casualties and degrade Pakistani fighting capabilities. Reports talk of over seven Pakistani soldiers killed in retaliatory firing. However, Pakistan has achieved its aim. It has pushed back any chances rapprochement between the two nations.
The violence in Kashmir has refused to abate since the killing of Burhan Wani by Indian security forces in July 2016. After a few months of winter-forced lull, the conflict is back and has become more intense than before.

Militants are regularly waging brazen attacks against Indias security personnel in this highly-militarised region on earth. India is not only losing significant number of its forces, it has also started to be seen as an aggressive occupying force in the eyes of the international community.

In spite of serious provocations, the Manmohan Singh government had pursued a policy of dialogue and accommodation with the separatist forces in Kashmir and with the political leadership of Pakistan.

This approach of restraint and statesmanship had helped India project itself internationally not as an occupying force but as a victim of global Islamic terror in Kashmir.

However, when Narendra Modi came to power in Delhi in May 2014, he took three cardinal missteps on the Kashmir issue.

Firstly, he made the whimsical decision to suspend dialogue with Pakistan on the pretext of Pakistans ambassador meeting with Hurriyat leaders. That sent a clear message to all stakeholders and the rest of the world that Modi is reluctant about solving the Kashmir problem with Pakistan.

The second blunder was that after fighting the election on a divisive agenda for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly poll, the BJP made an opportunistic post-poll alliance with PDP to capture power in Srinagar.

That ended whatever legitimacy PDP had in the eyes of the majority of Kashmir and their hope of finding a peaceful resolution through democratic processes.

The third but most likely not the last blooper by the Modi government was to politically manipulate a minor "Kashmir" event by some students and activists on JNU campus in February 2016, to almost make it an international issue.

The projection of any moderate Indian voice on Kashmir as anti-national and unleashing of Hindutva thugs to harass Kashmiri students on academic campuses all over India widened the gulf between the Valley and Delhi.

Indias image has been seriously tarnished, as it has lost its hard-earned perception battle on Kashmir internationally. Photo: Reuters

These three major mistakes by the Modi regime have transformed the Kashmir conflict to such an extent that Indias image has been seriously tarnished, as it has lost its hard-earned perception battle internationally and Kashmir has become its most delicate spot. In the past, India had carefully managed to blame foreign (read Pakistan) fighters for the violence in Kashmir.

However, in 2015, the Jammu & Kashmir Police force had informed that for the first time in decades, homegrown militants have outnumbered foreign militants in the Valley. The local recruit has increased exponentially in the last two years as Kashmir youth have lost hope in the democratic process in the state.

Hindu majoritarian politics of the Modi government has also added to the despondency among Kashmiris. As per a recent report by the Indian Army, out of 400 active militants in Kashmir, 250 are from the Indian side, while the rest come from Pakistan. This takes away Indias opportunity to make a strong case anymore in front of the outside world in solely blaming Pakistan for the Kashmir violence.

As most of the militants are local now, any encounter by security forces is being openly opposed by local civilians. That not only creates further challenges for the securitymen, but also exposes lack of popular support for India in the Valley.

The growing number of Kashmiris challenging anti-militancy operations has forced Indian forces to use unorthodox tactics, which have further eroded Indias image as a democratic and responsible state. Last year, security forces resorted to firing metal pellets at protesting civilians which resulted in mass blindings and invited international condemnation.

This year, summer has just arrived in the Valley, but the tenor of civilian protest has already become so intense that security forces even tied a Kashmiri youth to the front of an Army jeep as a shield against stone-pelting. The video of this inhuman and unprofessional act not only brought shock and anger in the Valley, but also eroded the standing of the Indian military as a professional force internationally.

Besides the images of teenager Insha Mushtaq (blinded by pellets) and Farooq Ahmad Dar, who was tied to the jeep, the other image which is fast-defining the Kashmir conflict in front of the outside word is of girls pelting stones at the security forces.

This is probably for the first time the world is witnessing young girls in school uniforms throwing stones at an Army and it is no way helping Indias position on Kashmir. It is rather promoting Pakistans case immensely.

Modi governments diplomatic hara-kiri and political opportunism has pushed Kashmir to the brink. The lowest ever recorded voter turnout of only 7 per cent in the Srinagar bypoll clearly exposes the graveness of the situation. While the Modi government has failed at the home front to bring a semblance of peace and stability in the Valley, its foreign policy, particularly on the Kashmir issue, has also lost its mooring.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley suggesting that the Trump administration might possibly get involved in resolving the Kashmir dispute goes against Indias long-standing policy of treating it as a strictly bilateral issue.

Even Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly advocating a "multi-lateral dialogue" - just before his India visit - to settle the Kashmir dispute exposes Indias increasingly vulnerability on this matter.

It is unfortunate that the majority of Indias security experts are either scared of or secured by the regime that they do not pose hard questions and help expose Indias growing vulnerability internationally on the issue of Kashmir.
BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants, light stabilizers, oilfield chemicals, mineral processing, and hydrometallurgical chemicals. The Surface Technologies segment offers chemical solutions and automotive OEM, which include refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical industries. The Nutrition & Care segment provides nutrition and care ingredients for food and feed producers, as well as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent, and cleaner industries. The Agricultural Solutions segment offers crop protection products and seeds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop production products, as well as seed treatment products. The company has strategic partnerships with Contemporary Amperex TechnologyCo., Limited on battery materials solutions, including cathode active materials and battery recycling. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes products serving the oil, natural gas, industrial, and renewable energy industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling & Downhole, Completions, and Production. The Drilling & Downhole segment designs, manufactures, and supplies products, and provides related services to the drilling, well construction, artificial lift, and subsea energy construction markets, including applications in oil and natural gas, renewable energy, defense, and communications. This segment offers drilling technologies consisting of capital equipment and a line of products consumed in the drilling process; well construction casing and cementing equipment, and protection products for artificial lift equipment and cables; and subsea remotely operated vehicles and trenchers, submarine rescue vehicles, specialty components and tools, and complementary subsea technical services. The Completions segment offers hydraulic fracturing pumps, cooling systems, high-pressure flexible hoses, and flow iron for pressure pumping, hydraulic fracturing and flowback services markets; wireline cable and pressure control equipment for well completion and intervention service markets; and coiled tubing strings and coiled line pipe. The Production segment designs, manufactures, and supplies products, and provides related equipment and services for production and infrastructure markets. This segment offers engineered process systems, production equipment, specialty separation equipment, and various industrial valves for oil and natural gas customers, power generation, renewable energy, and other general industrial applications. The company was formerly known as Forum Oilfield Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. in August 2010. Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
The following companies are subsidiares of NOV: APL France SAS, APL Norway AS, APL do Brasil Ltda., ASEP Otomotiv Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Acker Holdings LLC, Ackerman Holdings C.V., Ackerman Holdings GP LLC, Advanced Production and Loading, Advanced Wirecloth S. de R.L. de C.V., American Pipe and Construction International, Ameron B.V., Ameron International, Ameron International Corporation, Ameron Pole Products LLC, Ameron Polyplaster Industria E Comercio de Tubos Ltda., Ameron Singapore Holding LLC, Andergauge Limited, Andergauge Redback LLC, Arabian Rig Manufacturing Company, Big Red Tubulars Limited, Bondstrand Ltd., Brandt Oilfield Services (M) Sdn. Bhd., C.M.A. Canavera S.R.L., CJSC Fidmash, CJSC Novmash, Chemineer Inc., Coil Services Middle East LLC, Cooperatie Intelliserv Holding U.A., Cooperatie NOV NL U.A., Danco AS, Elmar Far East Pty Ltd, Enerflow Industries, Environmental Procedures LLC, Fiber Glass Systems (Qingdao) Composite Piping Co. Ltd., Fiber Glass Systems L.P., Fiber Glass Systems Oman L.L.C., Fiberspar, Fiberspar Australia Pty. Ltd., Fibra Ingenieria y Construccion S.A., FidService LLC, Fjords Processing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fjords Processing AS, Fjords Processing Australia Pty Ltd, Fjords Processing France SAS, Fjords Processing Korea Co. Ltd., Fjords Processing Limited, Fjords Processing Middle East DMCC, Fjords Processing UK Ltd., Fryma S.a.r.l., GPEX L.P., Grant Prideco (Jiangsu) Drilling Products Co. Ltd, Grant Prideco (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Grant Prideco III C. V., Grant Prideco Inc., Grant Prideco Jersey Limited, Grant Prideco Mauritius Limited, Grant Prideco Netherlands B.V., Grant Prideco PC Composites Holdings LLC, Grant Prideco S. de R.L. de C.V., Grant Prideco de Venezuela S.A., GustoMSC B.V., Hebei Huayouyiji Tuboscope Coating Co. Ltd., Hydralift AmClyde Inc., Hydralift France SAS, Inspecciones y Pruebas No Destructivas S. de R.L. de C.V., IntelliServ Norway AS, Intelliserv GP Holdings LLC, Intelliserv Inc., Intelliserv International Holding Ltd, Intelliserv LLC, JiangYin Tuboscope Tubular Development Co. Ltd, Keystone Tower Systems Inc., MSI Pipe Protection Technologies UK Limited, Merpro Group Limited, Midsund Bruk AS, Mono Group Pension Trustees Limited, Mono Pumps New Zealand Company, Monoflo NOV S.A.I.C., Moyno Inc., NKT Flexibles I/S, NOV (Asia) Inc., NOV (Barbados) Holding SRL, NOV (Barbados) SRL, NOV (Caymans) Ltd., NOV (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., NOV - Oil Services Angola LDA., NOV APL Limited, NOV Africa Pty Ltd, NOV Australia Pty Ltd, NOV Azerbaijan LLC, NOV Brandt Europe France, NOV Brandt Oilfield Services Middle East LLC, NOV CAPS Pte. Ltd., NOV CV1 GP LLC, NOV CV2 GP LLC, NOV Canada ULC, NOV Completion Tools LLC, NOV Completion and Production Solutions Korea Ltd., NOV Denmark Cooperatief U.A., NOV Downhole Argentina LLC, NOV Downhole Bolivia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Colombia LLC, NOV Downhole Comercializacao de Equipamentos para Petroleo Ltda., NOV Downhole Congo LLC, NOV Downhole Eurasia Limited, NOV Downhole Italia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Kazakhstan LLC, NOV Downhole Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Downhole Pty Ltd, NOV Downhole Thailand LLC, NOV EU Acquisition SNC, NOV Elmar (Middle East) Limited, NOV Eurasia Holding LLC, NOV Expatriate Services Inc., NOV FGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, NOV FGS Singapore (Pte.) Ltd, NOV Flexibles Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Flexibles Holding ApS, NOV Fluid Control B.V., NOV GEO GP LLC, NOV GEO LP1 C.V., NOV GEO LP1 LLC, NOV GEO LP2 C.V., NOV GEO LP2 LLC, NOV Gabon SARL, NOV Germany GmbH, NOV Germany Holding GmbH, NOV Ghana Limited, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Equipment Manufacturing LLC, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Products Middle East FZE, NOV Grant Prideco L.L.C., NOV Holding Danmark ApS, NOV Holding Sub UK 1 Limited, NOV Holding UK 1 Limited, NOV Holding UK 2 Limited, NOV Holdings B.V., NOV India Private Limited, NOV Intelliserv UK Limited, NOV International Holdings C.V., NOV International Holdings GP LLC, NOV International Holdings LLC, NOV Intervention & Stimulation Equipment US LLC, NOV Intervention and Stimulation Equipment  Aftermarket Comercio de Equipamentos e Servicos Ltda., NOV Kenya Limited, NOV Kostroma LLC, NOV Kuwait Light & Heavy Equipment Repairing & Maintenance Co., NOV LP (Trading) LLC, NOV MFG India Private Limited, NOV Mexico Holding LLC, NOV Middle East FZCO, NOV Mozambique Limitada, NOV NL Mexico Holding B.V., NOV Oil & Gas Services Egypt (S.A.E), NOV Oil & Gas Services Senegal S.A.R.L., NOV Oil & Gas Services Uganda Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Ghana Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Nigeria Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Tanzania Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Vostok LLC, NOV Oilfield Solutions Ltd., NOV Park II B.V., NOV Process & Flow Technologies AS, NOV Process & Flow Technologies Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies Pte. Ltd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies UK Limited, NOV QFZ LLC, NOV Rig Solutions Pte. Ltd., NOV Romania LLC, NOV Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd., NOV Saudi Arabia Trading Co., NOV Services Ltd., NOV Servicios de Personal Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., NOV Tanajib Kuwait for Services and Maintenance of Oil Rigs Refineries and Petrochemicals W.L.L., NOV Tuboscope Italia S.R.L., NOV Tuboscope Middle East LLC, NOV Tuboscope NL B.V., NOV Tubulars and Connectors Ltd., NOV UK (Angola Acquisitions) Limited, NOV UK Finance Limited, NOV UK Holdings LLC, NOV UK Holdings Limited, NOV UK Korea LP, NOV Wellbore Technologies Norway LLC, NOV Wellbore Technologies do Brasil Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Wellsite Services Germany GmbH, NOV Worldwide B.V., NOV-BLM SAS, NOVM Holding LLC, NOW International LLC, NOW Nova Scotia Holdings LLC, NOW Oilfield Services LLC, NQL Holland B.V., National Oilwell (U.K.) Limited, National Oilwell Algerie, National Oilwell Varco (Beijing) Investment Management Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco (Thailand) Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Algeria, National Oilwell Varco Almansoori Services, National Oilwell Varco Bahrain WLL, National Oilwell Varco Belgium SA, National Oilwell Varco Denmark I/S, National Oilwell Varco Egypt LLC, National Oilwell Varco Eurasia LLC, National Oilwell Varco Guatemala Limitada, National Oilwell Varco Guyana Inc., National Oilwell Varco Hungary Limited Liability Company, National Oilwell Varco Korea Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco L.P., National Oilwell Varco MSW S.A., National Oilwell Varco Mexico S.A. de C.V., National Oilwell Varco Muscat L.L.C., National Oilwell Varco Norway AS, National Oilwell Varco Peru S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Petroleum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Poland Sp.z.o.o., National Oilwell Varco Pte. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Rig Equipment Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Romania S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Solutions S.A. de C.V., National Oilwell Varco UK Limited, National Oilwell Varco Ukraine LLC, National Oilwell Varco de Bolivia S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco de Chile - Servicios Limitada, National Oilwell Varco do Brasil Ltda., National Oilwell de Venezuela C.A., National-Oilwell Pte. Ltd., National-Oilwell Pty. Ltd., PT Fjords Processing Indonesia, PT H-Tech Oilfield Equipment, PT NOV Oilfield Services, PT National Oilwell Varco, PT PROFAB INDONESIA, Pesaka Inspection Services SDN.BHD., Pipex Limited, Pipex PX Limited, Pridecomex Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., R&M Energy Systems Australia Pty Ltd, R&M Energy Systems de Argentina S.A., R&M Energy Systems de Venezuela C.A., R&M Singapore Holding LLC, RE.MAC.UT. S.r.l., RHI Holding LLC, ReedHycalog International Holding LLC, ReedHycalog L.P., ReedHycalog LLC, ReedHycalog UK Limited, Robannic Overseas Finance A.V.V., Robbins & Myers B.V., Robbins & Myers Foundation, Robbins & Myers GP LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings UK Limited, Robbins & Myers Inc, Robbins & Myers Inc., Robbins & Myers Italia S.R.L., Robbins & Myers N.V., Rodic S.A. de C.V., Romaco S.a.r.l., STAR Sudamtex Tubulares S.A., STSA, Screen Manufacturing Company Unlimited, Slip Clutch Systems Limited, South Seas Inspection, Subseaflex Holding ApS, T-3 Energy Preferred Industries Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Holdings Ltd., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Ltd., T-3 Energy Services LLC, T-3 Energy Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Investment Corporation IV, T-3 Mexican Holdings Inc., Telluride Insurance Limited, Tianjin Grant TPCO Drilling Tools Company Limited, Tuboscope & Co. LLC, Tuboscope (Holding U.S.) LLC, Tuboscope Brandt de Venezuela S.A., Tuboscope Norge AS, Tuboscope Vetco (France) SAS, Tuboscope Vetco (Osterreich) GmbH, Tuboscope Vetco Capital Limited, Tuboscope Vetco Moscow CJSC, Tuboscope Vetco de Argentina S.A., Tubular Coatings Solutions Ltd., Tucom Composites Polyester Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Urban WLY LP, Varco BJ B.V., Varco CIS LLC, Varco International de Venezuela C.A., Varco L.P., Varco US Holdings LLC, Vetco Enterprise GmbH, Vetco Saudi Arabia Ltd., Visible Assets Inc., Wilson International, Woolley Inc., XL Systems Antilles N.V., XL Systems Europe B.V., XL Systems International Inc., voestalpine Tubulars Corporation, voestalpine Tubulars GmbH, and voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum: AMI Metals Aero Services Ankara Havaclk Anonim Sirketi, AMI Metals Europe SPRL, AMI Metals Inc. , AMI Metals UK Limited, Acero Prime S. de R.L. de C.V., Admiral Metals Servicenter Company, Admiral Metals Servicenter Company Inc., Airport Metals, Alaska Steel Company, Alaska Steel Company, Aleaciones Especiales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., All Metal Services (Malaysia) Sdn., All Metal Services India Private Limited, All Metal Services Limited, All Metal Services Ltd. (Xian), All Metals Holding, All Metals Processing & Logistics Inc., Allegheny Steel Distributors Inc., American Metals Corporation, Best Manufacturing Inc., CCC Steel Inc., Chapel Steel Canada Ltd., Chapel Steel Corp., Chatham Steel Corporation, Clayton Metals Inc., Continental Alloys & Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Continental Alloys & Services Limited, Continental Alloys & Services Pte. Ltd., Continental Alloys Middle East FZE, Crest Steel Corporation, Delta Steel Inc., Diamond Manufacturing Company, DuBose National Energy Fasteners & Machined Parts, DuBose National Energy Fasteners & Machined Parts Inc., DuBose National Energy Services, DuBose National Energy Services Inc., Durrett Sheppard Steel Co. Inc., Earle M. Jorgensen Company, FastMetals Inc., Feralloy Corporation, Ferguson Perforating Company, Ferguson Perforating Company, Fox Metals And Alloys, Fox Metals and Alloys Inc., Fry Steel, Fry Steel Company, GH Metal Solutions, GH Metal Solutions Inc., Haskins Steel, Infra-Metals Co., KMS FAB LLC, KMS Fab, KMS South, KMS South Inc., Liebovich Bros. Inc., McKey Perforating, Merfish United, Merfish United Inc., Metals USA, Metals USA Inc., Metalweb Limited, National Specialty Alloys, National Specialty Alloys Inc., Northern Illinois Steel Supply Co, Northern Illinois Steel Supply Co., Nu-Tech Precision Metals Inc., Nu-Tech Precision Metals Inc., PDM Steel Service Centers Inc., Pacific Metal Company, Phoenix Corporation, Precision Flamecutting and Steel Inc., Precision Strip Inc., Reliance Metalcenter Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Reliance Metals Canada Limited, Rotax Metals Inc, Rotax Metals Inc., Service Steel Aerospace Corp., Siskin Steel & Supply Company Inc., Sugar Steel Corporation, Sunbelt Steel Texas, Tubular Steel, Tubular Steel Inc., Valex Corp., Valex Korea Co. Ltd., Valex Semiconductor Materials (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., Viking Materials Inc., and Yarde Metals Inc..

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RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. provides reinsurance and insurance products around the world. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Bermuda with offices in Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, and the US.

The company operates through two segments that include multiple underlying businesses and investment vehicles. The two main segments are Property and Casualty & Specialty. The company operates through intermediaries that include DaVinci Resinsurance Inc, Top Layer Reinsurance LTD, and RennaisanceRe Syndicate 1458 among others.

Top Layer Re is the first major venture and was started in 1999. It is a joint venture with State Farm targeting high layers of the US reinsurance business. DaVinci Re was formed in the wake of 9/11 to assist with capacity and it was given added capacity in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Medici was formed in 2009 and is an open-ended fund intended to spur investment in the catastrophe bond market.

The Property segment writes catastrophic insurance policies to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes. These include but are not limited to hurricanes, floods, freezes, and terrorism.

The Casualty & Specialty segment provides a wide range of consumer products including business insurance, malpractice insurance, liability insurance, workers' compensation, mortgage insurance, and health insurance among others.

Among RenaissanceRes Specialty businesses is capital management. The firm offers 6 investment vehicles and has more than $11 billion under management making it the #1 ILS or insurance-linked asset manager in the US. In regards to its credit ratings, the firm and all of its vehicles carry an A or better rating from every credit rating agency.
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. It also offers ProxyEdge, an electronic proxy delivery and voting solution; data-driven solutions and an end-to-end platform for content management, composition, and omni-channel distribution of regulatory, marketing, and transactional information, as well as mutual fund trade processing services; data and analytics solutions; solutions for public corporations and mutual funds; SEC filing and capital markets transaction services; registrar, stock transfer, and record-keeping services; and omni-channel customer communications solutions, as well as operates Broadridge Communications Cloud platform that creates, delivers, and manages communications and customer engagement activities. The company's Global Technology and Operations segment provides solutions that automate the front-to-back transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, foreign exchange and exchange-traded derivatives, order capture and execution, trade confirmation, margin, cash management, clearance and settlement, reference data management, reconciliations, securities financing and collateral management, asset servicing, compliance and regulatory reporting, portfolio accounting, and custody-related services. This segment also offers business process outsourcing services; technology solutions, such portfolio management, compliance, fee billing, and operational support solutions; and capital market and wealth management solutions. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lake Success, New York.
A man accused of shooting his neighbor and starting a standoff with law enforcement over the weekend appeared in Fluvanna County General District Court on Monday.

Little Joe Kain Roach Jr., 45, faces several charges, including assaulting a police officer and shooting into an occupied dwelling. More charges are pending, authorities said.

Just before 8 p.m. Saturday, Fluvanna deputies received a call about a man shooting at his neighbors and into a home in the 200 block of Hardware Hills Circle, near Scottsville. When deputies arrived on the scene, they heard gunfire.

Fluvanna sheriffs Capt. David Wells said an adult woman was injured, but would not go into detail about the severity of her injuries.

When deputies approached the suspect  later identified as Roach  he reportedly brandished a rifle at them before retreating into the house. Assisted by officers from Scottsville, Albemarle County and the Virginia State Police, deputies secured the home and established a command post.

Authorities also learned a minor family member was inside the home with Roach. The Albemarle County Police Negotiations Unit and the Virginia State Police Tactical Unit were called to help.

After several hours, Albemarle police negotiators talked Roach out of the home without incident and he was arrested. The minor also was removed from the home and was not injured.

Fluvanna investigators then executed a search warrant on Roachs home and seized firearms and other unspecified evidence.

In court Monday, Roach was appointed an attorney, according to Fluvanna Commonwealths Attorney Jeff Haislip. At this time, Haislip said he does not think bond is appropriate, but said Roachs attorney has the ability to request a bond hearing.

Roach will appear in court on June 6 for a preliminary hearing.
Little Joe Kain Roach Jr., the man accused of shooting a neighbor and triggering an hours-long standoff with police over the weekend in Fluvanna County, was charged Tuesday with three additional offenses.

Roach now faces charges of aggravated assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and assaulting a police officer. Those are on top of separate charges of assaulting an officer, shooting into an occupied dwelling and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Just before 8 p.m. Saturday, Fluvanna deputies received a call about a man shooting at his neighbors and into a home in the 200 block of Hardware Hills Circle, near Scottsville.

Fluvanna sheriffs Capt. David Wells said a woman was injured, but he would not go into detail about the severity of her injuries.

When deputies approached Roach, police said, he brandished a rifle before retreating into the house.

With assistance from Scottsville, Albemarle and state police, deputies arrested Roach after the standoff.

Police also removed a minor from the home, who was not injured during the incident.

Roach is set to appear in court June 6 for a preliminary hearing.
One of two Army Rangers killed April 27 in Afghanistan has family ties to Culpeper.

Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, of Kettering, Ohio, is the son of Andre and Heather Thomas, who reside, as of recently, at the longtime home in Rixeyville of his late grandparentsNed and Anne Leggat.

Sgt. Thomas last visited with his parents and siblings at the family home in Culpeper during Christmas. He was among 50 Army Rangers and 40 Afghan commandos inserted by helicopter into the Mohmand Valley around 10:30 p.m. April 26, according to the Department of Defense. The location is near the border with Pakistan where U.S. forces dropped a large bomb in early April.

Thomas and another Ranger, Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, of Illinois were mortally wounded at the start of an intense, three-hour firefight, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters last week, according to DoD News. The operation targeted the leader of ISIS-K, Abdul Hasib, who is believed to have been killed in the raid.

U.S. Special Operations forces killed several senior ISIS-K leaders along with about 35 ISIS operatives, which should significantly degrade ISIS-K affiliate thats there, Davis said, according to DoD News.

Those at the scene reported close-quarters fighting and enemy fire coming at them from 360 degrees, the captain said. The possibility that the Rangers were struck by friendly fire is also being investigated.

Andre Thomas told the Star-Exponent Monday he and his wife were told by the two officers who were with their son in his final moments that it was not friendly fire that killed him.

They both reassured us that he was a fighter to the end, that he died ferociously, said Andre Thomas, an Air Force veteran. He was fighting until his last breath.

Cameron grew up in a military family and decided he wanted to join the service as a sophomore at Kettering Fairmont High School in Ohio, his father said. He enlisted at the age of 18.

Thats what he wanted to do and from that point forward he started lifting weights to bulk up, joined the swim team to master his swimming skills, worked out with recruiters once or twice a week doing physical training, said Andre Thomas. Thats all he lived and breathed.

Cameron tried skydiving as a senior in high school.

He told me this past Christmas the one thing he was still nervous about was jumping out of that airplane at night, said Andre Thomas.

His son was one of the youngest members of the elite troupe, at age 19, to be pinned with the Rangers tab, signifying the completion of an intensive training course.

At the start of training, he weighed 220 pounds, said his father, and by the time we saw him he was 160-something. The training is that grueling. Everything he has tried to do, he did it.

Thomas had recently graduated from sniper school and had been selected by his commander for the mission in Afghanistan, said Andre Thomas.

It was a very important mission for the DoD, he said. We were told our son was involved in a mission that will save many lives.

Sgt. Thomas died trying to help Sgt. Rodgers after he got shot in the leg, Andre Thomas said.

This is what he wanted. He wanted to be a Ranger. We talked about the risks of giving his life and he was well aware of that, he said.

Andre Thomas said the care and reception the military has afforded their large family since Camerons death has been overwhelming and humbling.

After this experience, we know that those young men and their leaders, many of whom are under the age of 30, are brothers and family, he said from the family home in Rixeyville. They have told us, You are our family, and we are here for you forever. 

The family was there for the dignified transfer of Sgt. Thomas flag-draped casket at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

It was like walking into a temple. It was so beautiful and the spirit was so strong, Andre Thomas said of the level of respect. The people were so wonderful and kind. It was so dramatic seeing your son come from overseas the way he did. They just made it so special.

Sgt. Thomas had 11 siblings, including seven who were adopted and four biological brothers and sisters.

Andre Thomas remembered visiting with his son for the last time at the home in Rixeyville, recalling his positive energy.

He has such bright, bright blue eyes, a contagious smile and a quick wit, he said. His heart and his love were as big as the man.

Whenever Sgt. Thomas would leave his friends in Ohio for another mission, they were always worried he wouldnt come back, his father said.

Cameron would say, Nah, dont worry about it. Im mean and tougher then they are,  said Andre Thomas. So he would leave and they always knew he was coming back.

His grandfather, Edward Ned Leggat, served 21 years in the U.S. Navy and fought in both World War II and Korea before retiring to a wooded spot in Rixeyville.

Sgt. Cameron Thomas, and his fallen comrade, Sgt. Rodgers, were both assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based in Fort Benning, Georgia.

Funeral services for Thomas will be private.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expressed his gratitude last week in a statement.

They carried out their operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan in Afghanistan before making the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation and our freedoms, he said. Our nation owes them an irredeemable debt, and we give our deepest condolences to their families.

The performance of the Afghan force and Army Rangers was exemplary, officials said, noting they operated in the most difficult terrain and under complex circumstances while accomplishing the mission and protecting women and children in the compound.

A Gofundme account, In Memory of Sgt. Cameron Thomas, has been set up by his friends to help with funeral expenses.
Technical education training is returning this fall to the George Washington Carver School campus in Culpeper County, and its gaining attention from global industry leaders.

Former Culpeper County Administrator Frank Bossio, now with New Pathways, Inc., gave an update Tuesday morning to the board of supervisors about the ongoing project that will establish a machinist training program in a newly renovated building behind the Carver school that educated the regions black students during segregation and in the 90s housed a vocational program.

Bossio said New Pathways would serve as the umbrella organization for other trade and technical training including welding, metalworking, auto mechanics and HVAC. He last spoke to the board a year ago about the proposal that has since gained much momentum.

The resurgence of career and technical education is in response to a changing reality in which technology is displacing many jobs and going to college is more and more expensive, Bossio said.

Employers, in addition, are unable to fill machinist positions due to lack of training.

By 2025, 2 million manufacturing positions in the U.S. will go unfilled, Bossio said, citing a recent study by Deloitte Management Consulting. He said its due to a mismatch between employee skills and changing workplace needs.

Were trying to provide an outlet for people who dont want college degrees or have been displaced by technology, Bossio said. I think apprenticeships are going to come back in a strong way.

New Pathways, a nonprofit organization led by an all-volunteer board, including Bossio, is prepared to launch its training program in the fall. An experienced full-time machinist instructor has committed to the position, and will leave his current job at a community college in southwest Virginia to do so, Bossio said.

The local plan to invest again in technical education recently caught the attention of DMG MORI USA, a global tool manufacturer with an international headquarters in Germany. About a month ago, executives with the company came to Culpeper to meet with New Pathways board members, Bossio said. While here, they visited the machine shop of board member Leon Fincher and the Carver campus where a large metal building behind the main school will house the machinist training program.

When they walked in and saw that building and the fact that the county really had our back, it made an impact, Bossio said.

The county has committed more than half-million dollars to renovate the building and to get the program started.

As a result of the recent visit, DMG MORI executives invited members of the New Pathways board to its Innovation Days event May 15-18 in Chicago showcasing the latest machines from all over. Bossio said they have even been asked to give a seminar about what has been done to launch the Culpeper technical education school.

We think this relationship is promising, he said.

Fincher said DMG MORI is one of the largest tool manufacturers in the world.

They are very anxious to help us out, he said.

Fincher commended the board of supervisors for its investment in technical education saying it was the best thing the county had done in the past 45 years.

New Pathways board member Ed Dalrymple said the point of the up-and-coming training program was to allow people to get trained and then get meaningful jobs.

County employee Bill Estes said hes living proof that such training works. Forty years ago, he completed an electrical apprenticeship at the old Piedmont Vocational School at Carver. Tuesday, he received an award for saving the county nearly $100,000 for his work rewiring a sewer treatment plant that was relocated to the airport.

This is only one example of several electrical projects Bill has completed for the county resulting in significant savings, read the resolution presented to him for the QUILL  quality, innovation, leadership and savings  award. In addition, Uncle Bill, as he is affectionately known by his peers, is mentoring and training two other staff members as they take classes to become licensed electricians.

Estes was surprised with the award presentation at Tuesdays board of supervisors meeting.

This is fabulous. Its outstanding, he said. I love what I do with my hands.

Estes said he worked almost 30 years as a contractor before coming to work for Culpeper County about five years ago. He said his fellow workers had become like family.

I strive every day to do my best, but am not too proud to ask for assistance, he said.

In other news from Tuesdays meeting, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors: 1) approved a $164.6 million budget for Fiscal Year 2017-2018, a $5.7 million increase over last year due largely to increase in state and federal funding, according to Egertson; 2) approved a real estate rate of .61 cents per every $100 of assessed value, a 5-cent decrease and a fire & rescue levy of .6 cents while all other tax rates stayed the same; 3) approved a $379,775 contract with SW Funk Industrial Contractors of Chester to expand the residential convenience center at the Culpeper Transfer Station and to add scales and 4) approved a $104,619 contract with Dewberry Architects to conduct a space needs study for the courthouse.
LONDON - England - As the EU27 agreed negotiating guidelines that promise pain before gain, an account of a Juncker and May vomitous meal exposes the chasm between them.

It seems the first and perhaps trickiest agreement (if any agreement is possible after that dinner  see below) in the upcoming Brexit talks is going to have to be on what food will be available during the subsequent meetings.

Hours after a Brussels summit in which EU leaders  some calling the UKs stance unreal  again insisted it will have to settle up the ransom money they have concocted out of thin air before the UK will be allowed to leave the totalitarian EU state.

Meanwhile, members of the European Commission, a group of unelected technocrats, had other priorities on their mind.

We must have agreeable French cuisine available at all meetings. Jean Claude-Juncker likes to not only have the best French haute cuisine and personal chef available at all hours of the day, maybe to rustle up a poularde roasted with caraway, tamarind jus, green lentils, turnips et cabbage, or a Challans duck, foie gras poached in Rivesaltes, avec some crispy pear. Hmmm delicieux..One must also not forget the obligatory jug of cognac and a cigar or two at every meeting, only the best for Monsieur Juncker, Allen Batentout, Senior unelected EU Analyst told the BBC.

The view from Europe

The chances of talks failing are over 50%, EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and his team have concluded after a reportedly disastrous pre-summit dinner with PM Theresa May.

Im leaving Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before, a disgusted Juncker told the prime minister, apparently appalled by the UKs simplistic take on key issues such as Britains divorce bill and the future rights of EU citizens as well as the despicable food presented at the meeting.

The main topic, of course, was the quality of food that was presented to the visiting EU dignitaries.

According to the account, in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Juncker  who now believes Britain is seriously underestimating the complexity of what is to come  later told Angela Merkel, May was on a different galaxy not only in gastronomical taste but EU politics.

On leaving Number 10, Juncker  not shy in showing his disapproval, projectile vomited over two policemen, a reporter and the resident cat. His gut wrenching vomit was so powerful that one policeman had to receive counselling after being doused in bits of carrot, some sweetcorn and lashings of mashed potato.

One of the protection officers had his mouth open and swallowed a considerable amount of Juncker vomit. It stunk of fresh cognac, Baron Otard to be precise. That was not the worst of it though, even Larry the Number 10 cat was doused in the puke, but he did not look perturbed by it at all, he just simply bent his head down to eat up as much as he could. Yuk! another reporter revealed.

In perhaps the most telling exchange, May implored Juncker, Let us make Brexit a success. The commission president responded that while he didnt want chaos, Brexit cannot be a success.
COLUMBUS  Columbus Police Chief William Gumm was drawn to law enforcement by the same things most men in their 20s and 30s find appealing.

You get to ride around in a cool car and chase people  red lights and sirens, he said while discussing the start of a police career that lasted more than 40 years.

That excitement may have drawn him to the profession, but the feeling that came from assisting the public and truly making a difference in a community kept him in it.

Youre helping people, and I got a thrill out of helping people. Its been a level of self-satisfaction for me, said Gumm, who announced Monday hes retiring as the citys police chief.

Gumm got his start as a dispatcher with the Bellevue Police Department before spending two years in the U.S. Army Military Police during the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star for his service.

He rejoined the Bellevue department in 1975, working his way up to patrol sergeant then lieutenant over the next 18 years before accepting the police chief position in Columbus in 1994.

During Monday nights city council meeting, the 68-year-old said its time to bring some new blood to the department.

Ive always thought this was a young persons job, so this will give somebody with a different perspective a chance to help guide this department, said Gumm, who informed members of the department about his decision earlier in the day.

Weve got a lot of projects and we need somebody on board who has the exuberance to follow through with those, Gumm told the council, which recognized the police chief for receiving the Nebraska FBI National Academy Associations Centurion Award before giving him a standing ovation.

Mayor Jim Bulkley said the association couldnt have picked a better recipient for the award, which recognizes graduates of the FBI National Academy for professionalism and integrity in both their professional and personal lives.

The mayor called Gumm a trusted leader who promoted community policing in Columbus.

Gumm played an instrumental role in establishing the Junior City Council that lasted about eight years and Citizens Police Academy, a program created more than a decade ago to give residents an inside look at what the department does to protect the community. Hes also promoted active shooter training and oversaw the transition to improved police equipment, including semiautomatic handguns and better ballistic vests.

Bulkley said hes accepting Gumms resignation with a heavy heart.

He will be sorely missed by this community, the mayor said.

The outgoing chief expressed his gratitude for the support hes received from the community and city officials.

Its been a pleasure and an honor to have served as the police chief of Columbus Police Department, he said.

Gumm also made sure to acknowledge the work done by the roughly 55 other people within his department.

This is one of the best police departments in the state and Ill put them up against anybody at any level, he said.

Gumm set a June 10 retirement date, but said hes willing to be flexible to assist with the transition to a new chief.

Beyond that, there are plans to travel more and ride his Harley-Davidson trike with his wife Deborah, who retired from her job as a secretary at Columbus High School in May 2016. The couple has two grown children and two grandchildren in Omaha.

They plan to stick around Columbus for now, but the possibility of moving closer to the grandkids cant be ruled out.

Im sure that question is going to come up, Gumm said.
Customers will now be able to book any Hyundai car by registering and paying a token booking amount online.

New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) today commenced online booking for its range of cars across the country.

Through the new portal, www.hyundai.co.in, customers will now be able to book any Hyundai car by registering and paying a token booking amount online to their preferred dealership without visiting the outlet.

"The online car booking will empower our customers and redefine online car purchase in India by making customers' purchase journey simpler, faster, convenient yet experiential," HMIL MD and CEO Y K Koo said in a statement.

The aim of online booking is to provide an easy virtual experience of brand Hyundai to customers, the company said.

The online bookings will commence from today and will be available on Hyundai corporate and mobile websites, it added. Hyundai, with 10 models, is the second-largest carmaker in India.
New Delhi: Indian IT major Infosys will hire about 10,000 locals in the US over the next two years and set up four technology and innovation hubs there, as part of its efforts to tide over visa-related issues.

Through these new hires and centres, Infosys will also focus on enhancing its play in new technology areas like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, user experience, cloud and big data. Speaking to PTI, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said the first hub, which will open in Indiana in August this year, will create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers.

The location of the other three centres will be decided over the next few months. These hubs will not only train people on technology and innovation but also help in working closely with clients in key industries like financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and energy.

The North American market accounted for over 60 per cent of Infosys' USD 10.2 billion revenue in the 2016-17 fiscal. Sikka, however, said these steps were not being taken just to mitigate the impact of stricter visa norms in the US. He said over the last three years, there has been an increase in the use of new technologies like AI and virtual reality and even the traditional projects are becoming highly automated.

"As work becomes more next-gen, you need a more healthier mix of global and local talent and so, you need to re-think the traditional, what has historically been called 'global delivery model' and bring in a lot more talent locally," he added.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a growing sentiment of protectionism across various markets, including the US, that are seeking to safeguard jobs for locals and raising the bar for foreign workers. The US had also accused Infosys and its larger rival, Tata Consultancy Services, of "unfairly" cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system.

Every year, the US grants 65,000 H-1B visas while another 20,000 are set aside for those with US advanced degrees. In IT firms' defence, industry body Nasscom had said these two companies accounted for only 7,504 -- 8.8 per cent -- of the approved H-1B visas in 2014-15. At the end of March 2017, Infosys had over 2 lakh people on its payroll.

Tech companies use work permits like H-1B visa (in the US) to send engineers to work on client sites. The tightening of visa norms not only pushes up operational costs for these tech firms but also makes movement of skilled workforce difficult.

These companies are now adjusting their business models to reduce their dependence on visas and hiring more locals overseas instead. Sikka, however, declined to comment on the investment and current mix of locals and global hires in the US.

Infosys -- which has over two lakh people on its payroll -- has already hired over 2,000 people in the US in the last few years under Sikka. The 10,000 people that will be hired will include experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges.

Infosys will also train them on key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.

Since 2015, Infosys has trained more than 134,000 students, over 2,500 teachers and almost 2,500 schools across America and provided classroom equipment, through Infosys Foundation USA.
Union Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley with M D & CEO, ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar during the launch of the '100 ICICI Digital Villages' (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: ICICI Bank has created 100'digital villages' across the country within 100 days and now plans to add 500 more to the list by year-end, its chief Chanda Kochhar said today.

The 100-village project, which also included imparting skill training and providing credit linkages to people living there, was taken up by the bank after noticing that minimum inconvenience was caused to people living in a model 'digital village' in Gujarat during the demonetisation period.

During the 100-day period, the bank provided vocational training to 11,300 villagers, including 70 per cent women, and opened more than 2 lakh bank accounts, Kochhar said, adding that a credit linkage facility was also given to many in these 100 villages to help them earn their livelihood.

The bank has also provided loans to the tune of Rs 14 crore to customers of these 100 digital villages and with more addition, the credit flow is going up, she said. On the programme, Kochhar said it encompassed digitisation of transactions and other commercial activities besides providing vocational training, credit facility and market linkage to help villagers earn a sustainable livelihood.

"We will transform another 500 villages into 'ICICI Digital Villages' by December 2017 and train another 50,000 individuals," she said. The ambitious project, which began in November 2016, was inspired by the success of India's first digital village created by ICICI Bank at Akodara in Gujarat in 2015.

"We were very happy with the work we did in Akodara 2 years ago. We noticed that during the demonetization period, this village saw very less inconvenience compared to others, because of the digital banking and other infrastructure we had created there.

"This made us think that we can do more on this front and we decided to convert 100 villages into digital villages," she said, adding these efforts were also in line with the government's 'Digital India' programme and the initiatives aimed at promoting 'less cash' economy in the country.

"What we also thought that we will add skill training and credit linkages to our work in those villages. This way we have been able to promote a 'less cash' ecosystem and also promote locally required skill sets on those areas," she said.

Kochhar said the initiative has already covered 17 states, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat. "Also, we have opened more than 2 lakh accounts so far, which covers most of the adult population in these villages.

We have installed POS machines, micro ATMs and also opened accounts for Village Level Centres or VLCs. "We have also introduced very simple features for mobile banking so that people in those villages can do banking just on the basis of SMS and without requiring smartphones," she said.

Kochhar said ICICI Bank is now picking more and more states and villages for the next phase in which it would create 500 digital villages by December 2017. Asked whether the next 500 villages would lead to over 10 lakh accounts, she said, "It should be so. Basically, it would depend on the population of the villages, but broadly that kind of numbers should be achieved."

About skill training, she said the focus was on skills that are very local in nature and are relevant to the local needs and the area. "We had a special focus on women, who have been trained in tailoring, dress designing and many other skills.

As a result, people in those villages have begun to earn Rs 20,000 -30,000 a month and many have become entrepreneurs," she added. On credit linkages, Kochhar said credit facilities have been extended to those wanting to start their own small business and also for the self-help groups (SHGs).

"Credit linkage has been provided to about 1,000 people directly and for over 2,000 through SHGs. "In terms of training, 70 per cent were women. Besides, 84 per cent of those having been given training are now earning their livelihood on their own," she said.

Free vocational training was provided in association with ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth, the CSR arm of the group.

The 100 villages covered so far include 16 in Gujarat, 14 each in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, 12 in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and 11 in Rajasthan, among others. ICICI Bank said it is using Aadhar-based e-KYC to help villagers open accounts in a paperless manner, without submitting physical documents.

There is a dedicated ICICI Bank branch in each village to service these accounts. The bank has provided an SMS-based mobile service which facilitates the villagers to transfer funds, receive SMS alerts and mini-statements and know their account balance. It is available in 10 regional languages and functions on basic feature phones as well, without the requirement of smartphones.

The training programmes included agriculture, dairy and vermicomposting, agriculture equipment service and repair, dress designing and sandstone cutting, mobile phone servicing and electrical home appliances.
New Delhi: Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today reported a 6 per cent decline in total sales at 39,357 units in April. The company had sold 41,863 units in the same month last year, the company said in a statement.

In the domestic market, sales were down 4 per cent at 37,829 units last month compared to 39,357 units in April 2016. Exports were down 39 per cent at 1,528 units in April against 2,506 units in the same month last year.

Sales of passenger vehicles, including Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito, were down 15 per cent at 19,325 units compared to 22,655 units in the same month last year. Commercial vehicle sales were up 16 per cent at 15,066 units in April against 12,947 units in the year-ago period, M&M said.

M&M President Automotive Sector Rajan Wadhera said the company expects that the new financial year will bring in positive sentiments for the automotive industry with the key demand drivers in place.

"Factors such as the ongoing infrastructure development initiatives, outlook for a normal monsoon and the expectation of a stable policy environment will fuel growth in the coming days," he added.
New Delhi: SBI Card and London-based financial technology firm RedGirraffe have joined hands to facilitate online rental payments and aim to tap at least one

lakh tenants by next March.

The partnership aims to tap into the digital payments market which has gained traction in the country post demonetisation and real estate regulatory law.

RedGirraffe.com has launched a platform RentPay that allows such transactions to be made via credit cards and provides consumers an opportunity to strengthen their credit score and avail of cheaper home loans by up to 1 per cent annually.

With this tie-up, SBI Card, which has about 4 million customers, said it is "redefining" the way rents are paid as this platform provides a "trustworthy payment interface" between landlords and tenants.

The company, a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Capital, is also offering up to 45 days interest free credit. RedGirraffe's Founder and CEO Manoj Nair said SBI Card customers can now pay their rentals through their credit card and strengthen their score.

"With a strong credit score they could then avail cheaper loans (as being offered by many banks), by up to 1 per cent per annum," Nair told PTI.

Nair expects 1,00,000 customers of SBI Cards using RentPay by March 2018.

He said the platform will revolutionise real estate transactions in India by infusing much needed transparency following demonetisation and the two new laws -- Benami Transaction Amendment Act and Real Estate Regulation and

Development Act.

"After all, there could be no other offer as tempting as automatically qualifying to avail cheaper home loans while getting to pay your monthly rent via credit cards; all the while enjoying a 40-45 days credit period," he said.

SBI Card CEO Vijay Jasuja said that through this collaboration, the company aims to assist users of the portal in hassle free rent transactions using the auto pay facility of SBI Card.

"We look forward to supporting RedGirraffe.com's endeavour to provide differentiated real estate services that complement the evolving needs and lifestyles of today`s digitally savvy consumer, by extending our technologically advanced, user friendly payment platform," he said.
New Delhi: Tata Steel UK today announced that it has completed sale of its speciality steel business to Liberty House Group for 100 million pound. The struggling steelmaker said the sale includes several South Yorkshire-based assets, including electric arc steelworks and bar mill at Rotherham, steel-purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth.

Besides, it covers service centres in Bolton and Wednesbury, UK, and Suzhou and Xi'an, China, the company said in a statement. The speciality steel business directly employs nearly 1,700 people making steel for aerospace, automotive and oil and gas industries.

Tata Steel UK CEO Bimlendra Jha said that in the last couple of years, Tata Steel has been undertaking a transformation plan at the speciality steel division. It included investment in the state-of-the-art vacuum induction melting furnace to ensure the business has a sustainable future, he added.

The company said it had recently completed consultation with its employees on proposals to structurally reduce risks in its wider UK business. Discussions are also on with the British steel pension scheme trustees and pension regulator to develop a structural solution for its UK pension scheme in coming months, the company added.

For the UK strip product business, the company said it continues the process of transformation that is essential to create a viable future. Tata Steel's strip product business will continue to employ almost 8,500 people in the UK, manufacturing products for sectors like automotive and construction industries.

Tata Steel has invested 1.5 billion pound in its UK business since acquiring Corus in 2007. These include improvement of manufacturing capability for production of premium steels in Shotton, Llanwern, Trostre, and Orb in Newport as well as environmental schemes for Port Talbot's power plant.
Mumbai: In a massive data leak incident, information related to over 135 million Aadhaar card holders was put online on select government websites exposing these documents to possible identity thefts.

A report prepared by Centre for Internet & Society claims data of million of Indians was compromised by four government portals that have given public access to these critical sets of information.

NDTV said that four government portals include the National Social Assistance Program, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) by the Ministry of Rural Development, the Daily Online Payment Reports under NREGA, and the Chandranna Bima Scheme by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

National Social Assistance Program website is home to sensitive information of pensioners. Details like job card number, bank account number, Aadhaar number, and account frozen status can be accessed by anyone with login credentials, the NDTV report said.
Mumbai: The Right to Information or RTI activist Ajay Bose knew Indian Railways was running into losses worth thousands of crore rupees and firmly believed something fishy underlined these monetary deficits.

Bose approached the Central Railway or CR authorities headquartered at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Station with a written plea under RTI Act that mandates a public establishment to reveal certain information sought in an application.

I filed the application in July 2016, but didnt get a reply from CR. It appeared they wanted to cover something up," The Hindu quoted Bose as saying. He then contacted appellate authority with a plea that then asked CR officials to explain things with a show-cause missive.

The report cited reply to RTI query that said select food items were bought at astronomical prices. CR catering department purchased 1 kg of curd at Rs 9,720. Bose said that he filed RTI plea after he learned that the catering department was running into huge losses.

Food items purchased by railways' catering department are stored at central railway's stock room at CST station and then are distributed to Jan Ahar canteens run by Indian Railways' Catering and Tourism Corporation and railway base kitchens and trains like Deccan Queen, Kurla-Hazrat Nizamuddin Express.

An official at CR said that huge purchase price shown in the reply to the RTI application might have been due to typing error which he said would investigate.
Vinod Khanna is seen here frolicking with his sons Akshaye and Rahul.

Mumbai: Rahul Khanna today posted a nostalgic black-and-white photo from his childhood to pay tribute to father Vinod Khanna.

Khanna, 70, best known for his roles in films such as Amar Akbar Anthony, Qurbaani and Insaaf -- passed away on April 27 after a long battle with cancer. The veteran actor was suffering from advanced bladder carcinoma and breathed his last in Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre.

The picture shows young Rahul and his brother Akshaye enjoying a beach outing with Khanna.

"Feels like yesterday," the 44-year-old actor captioned the photo.
Mumbai: Katrina Kaif made a grand debut on Instagram, already logging 1.4 million followers already before even completing a week on it.

A good percentage of those followers could be probably attributed to Bollywood actors urging their fans to follow the actress Instagram profile.

While Salman Khan calling Katrina his tigeress or Shah Rukh writing that Instagram will be so much prettier with her entry and Ranveer Singh Dubsmash video were interesting enough, Arjun Kapoor's way of welcoming Katrina was by far the best one.

The actor shared a throwback picture of his 'heavier' self posing with Katrina.

While the actress looks much more beautiful than in the picture, what is truly surprising is the transformation that Arjun has gone through to accomplish his dream of becoming an actor.

His caption was also interesting, calling himself a stud and calling Katrina someone who is just apparently quite popular these days', before asking his fans to check her account.

All these posts definitely prove that Katrina is quite popular with the actors.
Paris: An art dealer in Paris has filed a complaint for theft after forgetting a picture worth 1.5 million euros ($1.64 million) in a taxi, police said Tuesday.

The dealer, who was not identified by police, was supposed to meet an art collector in the French capital's 11th district last Thursday. He hailed a taxi and put the painting in the boot -- but then apparently "forgot" about it, police said in a statement. He tried to locate the cab again but by Saturday he filed a complaint of theft with police.

The artwork is by Argentina-born Italian sculptor and painter Lucio Fontana (1899 - 1968), entitled "Concetto spaziale" (Spatial concept), estimated to be worth 1.5 million euros, police said.

The work is one of a series of abstracts he made featuring the piercing of the canvas to create an actual dimension of space and using light. He became known for founding the spacialist movement, according to the Tate museum website.
Visakhapatnam: Its a known fact that the traffic cops manning the important intersections of the city for hours on end are prone to pulmonary function alterations. Now, a study carried out by researchers at Andhra University and Andhra Medical College have found decreased lung function in traffic police in Visakhapatnam based on pulmonary function test parameters.

The long-term exposure of traffic police personnel to noxious exhaust fumes of the motor vehicles was linked to their impaired lung function in the study. The masks provided to them hardly shield them from the emissions as the filters are not changed regularly. According to experts, the rapid growth of the city and consequent increase in vehicular traffic had contributed to the citys high pollution levels. Long-term direct exposure to the vehicular emissions are said to produce deleterious effects on the respiratory systems. The researchers involved in the study include women scientist (WOS B) A. Anuradha and assistant professor Dr V. Lakshmi Kalpana, both from the department of human genetics of Andhra University, and assistant professor at Andhra Medical College Dr S. Narsinga Rao.

According to Dr Anuradha and Dr Kalpana, they had handpicked traffic policemen, who were exposed to vehicular exhausts for more than two years, for the study. A crosssectional study was conducted to measure the computerised spirometric parameters among 52 traffic police and they were compared with 47 general duty police. The study revealed that forced vital capacity had been significantly reduced in the traffic personnel under study, suggesting a restrictive pattern of lung disease.

The FEV1  forced expiratory volume in one second  and PEFR  peak expiratory flow rate  tests were also significantly reduced in the traffic police, suggesting obstructive lung disease. Dr. Narsinga Rao said there was enough epidemiological evidence to show that vehicular pollution could cause increased morbidity and mortality. Traffic police has been the natural choice for studying adverse health effects from vehicular pollution due to their occupation requiring them to be in the middle of heavy traffic.

Although a number of different health effects have been reported, the majority of the studies based on the traffic police have largely focused on three specific outcomes, namely respiratory morbidity, cytogenetic effect and carcinogenic effect. The researchers opined that the public must be sensitised to the harmful effects of air pollution and one of the ways of doing this is by having them switching off their engines at the traffic signals. They also suggested in their study that the government make a provision of compulsory use of protective equi-pment (nose/ air filter masks and others) by tra-ffic policemen working at heavy traffic junctions.
BENGALURU: In yet another case of molestation, a TV actor was allegedly harassed by two cab drivers in Hegganahalli in Rajagopalnagar police limits on Sunday.

The victim, a resident of Vijayanagar, has lodged a complaint with the police, stating that two cab drivers, Satish and Praveen, misbehaved with her on Sunday evening.

The actor told them that she had gone to meet her friend in Hegganahalli on Sunday. The accused, who are her friends friends, allegedly pulled her and misbehaved with her outside her friend's house.

The police registered a case under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and investigations are underway.
New Delhi: A delay in police action should not affect a case, a sessions court has said, refusing to set aside a jail term given to a man convicted of molesting and threatening a woman.

The sessions court made the recent observation while upholding the order of a magisterial court which had sent the convict to jail for 15 months for forcibly entering the woman's house in south Delhi and sexually molesting her.

"The victim has stated that she had gone to the police station immediately but no action was taken by them. In such circumstances, a delay of four days in formally lodging the complaint is not fatal to the case of the complainant," Additional Sessions Judge Vrinda Kumari said.

The judge also rejected the appeal which contended there was no independent witness to prove the allegations against convict Nabil Ahmed."The court has no hesitation in holding that the convict has no defence in his favour. Where the testimony of the complainant/victim herself could not be shaken and is strong, the absence of independent witnesses is not fatal to the case of the complainant," the judge said.

According to the prosecution, Ahmed entered the woman's house on June 15, 2007, and molested her. He also warned the complainant that if she took any action against him, her family would be in trouble, it was alleged.

A magisterial court had held him guilty of offences under sections 354 (assault/force to outrage the modesty of a woman), 448(house-trespass) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and sentenced him to 15 months in jail, besides imposing a fine of Rs 10,000 on him.
Jaipur: A 23-year-old priest was found dead on Monday alongside a 20-year-old critically injured woman in the premises of a temple in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan, with the police suspecting "influence of spirits" being the reason behind the incident.

Both of them are residents of Kulthana village where the temple is situated. They had bullet injuries on their heads and allegedly took the extreme step "under the influence of spirits", police said.

The priest has also recorded a video of the entire episode before shooting himself, they said.

Two suicide notes have been from the spot and a case has been under section 174 (unnatural death) the CrPc.

The woman is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Udaipur and her statements will be recorded by a magistrate, whereas the priest's body was handed over to family members after post mortem examination, police said.

"It doesn't seem to be a case of love affair. It is nowhere mentioned in the suicide note that they wanted to get married or had a love affair. It seems to be a matter of eccentricity. The priest was revered by villagers for his connect with the spiritual world," Hathuniya SHO Rajendra Singh said.

"He might have taken the girl under influence, which resulted into the incident,? SHO Hathuniya Rajendra Singh said.

He said that the priest saved the video recording of the incident in a mobile phone, pen drive and also uploaded it on the internet before shooting himself.

"We are getting the statements of the woman to know what conspired before the incident. We are also getting the mobile phone and pen drive examined from technical experts," the SHO said.

According to the police, the woman often visited the temple to offer prayers and came in the priest's contact nearly a year ago.
The women's wing of All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Saturday claimed the rate of divorce among Muslims was low compared to other communities and that the issue of triple talaq was being projected in wrong light.

Hyderabad: The women's wing of All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Saturday claimed the rate of divorce among Muslims was low compared to other communities and that the issue of triple talaq was being projected in wrong light.

Dr Asma Zohra, chief organiser of the AIMPLB women's wing and a resident of Hyderabad, was sharing data collected from family courts in Muslim-concentrated districts across the country in the backdrop of a debate on triple talaq.

The collection of data started in May 2016 through RTI for five years from 2011-2015. Dr Zohra said that women are well protected under Islam, a fact that is reflected by the low percentage of Muslim women seeking divorce.

She said that so far, 16 family courts furnished detailed consolidated reports and that they had compiled the report, which shows that the divorce rate was minimal in the Muslim community.

Similarly, we collected details from various Darul Qaza (office of the qazi), which also indicate that only 2-3 per cent cases are related to divorce  and most were initiated by women only, the AIMPLB womens wing president said.

Dr Zohra said as per the report prepared by Muslim Mahila Research Kendra in coordination with Sharia Committee for Women, the number of cases of divorce for Muslims stood at 1,307 against those of Hindus at 16,505.

The cases of divorce for Christians in these districts stood at 4,827 and eight for Sikhs, she pointed out. the AIMPLB womens wing president said these figures were from the districts of Kannur (Kerala), Nashik (Maharashtra), Karimnagar (Telangana state), Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Secunderabad (Telangana state), Malappuram and Ernakulum (Kerala) and Palakkad (Kerala).

The issue of triple talaq cropped up in recent years and was politicised. The issue needs to be understood in the right manner and perspective. Islam gives certain liberties to women and they are well protected in the community, Dr Zohra said.

She said there were other burning issues affecting women across communities like dowry, domestic violence, child marriage and female foeticide. These issues need to be addressed, instead of only pointing towards the Muslim community, the AIMPLB womens wing presidentsaid.
Hyderabad: In a repeat of the ugly incidents of February 2015, TS and AP irrigation staff of various circles at the Nagarjunasagar project reached the dam and resorted to arguments after TS staff stopped release of water to the Nagarjunasagar right main canal that serves Seemandhra region.

Nagarjunasagar dam chief engineer S. Suneel who controls the operations for the entire dam, like the AP chief engineer controls Srisailam dam, ordered stoppage of water to the right main canal stating that AP has overdrawn its quota stipulated by Krishna River Management Board. Soon after, the assistant and deputy executive engineers of AP complained to their chief engineer V. Veer Raju.

Mr Veer Raju in turn lodged a complaint against the TS government with KRMB member-secretary Sameer Chatterjee.

The commotion on the dam lasted over two hours with staff and police reaching the head sluice of the main canal.

While one group pressed for release of water and tried to break the locks of the sluice gates, the other group tried to stop them.

The Special Task Force, in charge of the security of the dam reached the spot and pacified the warring groups and managed to clear the area.

Later, defending closure of the sluice gates, Mr Suneel told DC that in its orders pertaining to water release between February and April, the KRMB had allotted 47 tmc ft to AP and 31 tmc ft to TS. He said that according to their calculations, AP had over drawn 2 tmc ft and hence he had ordered stoppage of further release from Monday morning.

Mr Suneel also said that the Nagarjunasagar dam level had reached 504.9 ft on Monday, and if any further releases were made from the dam, it will be difficult for them to meet the drinking water requirements of Hyderabad as well as Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts. I followed allocations stipulated by the KRMB, he said.

However, Mr Veer Raju said there were different allocations made to different projects under the NS dam. Of the 5.6 tmc ft allotted to main canal, so far we got only 3.6 tmc ft, he said.

Even taking into account evaporation and transmission losses, we still need to get another 1.2 tmc ft but TS officials, acting in a dictatorial manner, ordered closure of gates in the morning. I lodged an official complaint with the KRMB member secretary and we are awaiting response, Mr Veer Raju said.

Meanwhile, Mr Chatterjee has convened a meeting of the three-member committee on Friday.

He told this newspaper, I am in process of ascertaining the details on what actually happened today at the dam site. I have received complaints from both the sides and I am talking to officials of both the governments. I think Andhra Pradesh still has a share as per our earlier water release orders. However, officials of both the states sometimes dont implement the Boards orders; this has happened many times at Nagarjunasagar. I am looking into it.

Panel to take stock of levels

A three-member committee will meet on Friday to take stock of the water storage levels at the Srisailam reservoir for the drinking water needs of both TS and AP.

The committee comprises Krishna River Management Board member-secretary Sameer Chatterjee, Telangana state engineer-in-chief C. Muralidhar and Andhra Pradesh state engineer-in-chief M. Venkateswara Rao,

Infographic

The water level at the Srisailam dam touched 785 ft on Monday, the same level on the corresponding day last year.

With just 22.35 tmc ft of water available between the 785 ft mark and the and riverbed-level, the committee will have to look into the drinking water needs of both the states up to the first week of July, when the southwest monsoon will start making its impact.

I have already asked both the states to come forward with their indents for fresh releases only for the purpose of meeting drinking water requirements and nothing else, Mr Chatterjee disclosed.

With the storage at 785 ft level, there cannot be hydel power generation as the present level is much below the required levels of 800 ft (Right Bank powerhouse on the AP side) and 805 ft (Left bank powerhouse on the Telangana side) and any further release from Srisailam to Nagarjunasagar dam will only be possibly by opening the sluice gates that were operated up to 750 ft last year.

Considered as the worst year in the in Krishna Basin, especially for projects in Karnataka, the situation as of now is precarious.

Heavy to heavy rains in Mahabaleswar, where the Krishna originates, is the only hope to ensure good flows into all the reservoirs
New Delhi: Beheading of two securitymen by Pakistan's special forces along the Line of Control is the third such incident in the past six months.

Army sources here said that two similar incidents had taken place last October and November.

Both the incidents had taken place in Machil area on the Line of Control, leaving two soldiers dead.

The sources said, 65 ceasefire violations have taken place this year, including five in Krishna Ghati sector and 40 in Nowshera.

So far, the security forces killed 42 terrorists, including eight in counter-infiltration operations and 34 in city areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2016, 225 ceasefire violations were reported, which stood at 150 in 2015 and 153 in 2014. While 150 terrorists were killed in 2016, 101 were eliminated in 2015 and 104 in 2014, the sources said.
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dhinakaran and others in connection with the Election Commission bribery case.

Officials said the central probe agency has registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a Delhi police FIR in the matter.

They said the agency will probe the possible "proceeds of crime" as part of its charter under the anti-money laundering law and soon will issue summonses to the accused.

A meeting of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi police officials had taken place recently and a few more such meetings are expected be held to take the probe forward, after the central probe agency registered a separate case.

Dhinakaran and his aide Mallikarjuna were sent to the Tihar Jail till May 15 by a court here on Monday after the police said that the accused were not needed for custodial interrogation.

Dhinakaran was arrested on April 25 after four days of questioning by the Delhi police for allegedly attempting to bribe an unidentified EC official to get the undivided AIADMK's 'Two Leaves' election symbol for his faction for a by-election to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu which was later cancelled by the Election Commission.

Middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was the first to be arrested in the case, had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore to help the faction keep the 'two leaves' symbol.

The EC had frozen AIADMK's 'Two Leaves' symbol after two factions led by Sasikala and former chief minister O Panneerselvam staked claim to it.

The AIADMK (Amma) faction leader has been accused of allegedly arranging the amount from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.

The court had on April 26 remanded the duo to five-day custody of Delhi Police which said it needed to unearth the money trail and the entire conspiracy in the case.

Mallikarjuna, who had been accompanying Dhinakaran everywhere ever since the arrest of alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar on April 16, was arrested for facilitating the alleged Rs 50-crore deal between Dhinakaran and Chandrasekar. Chandrasekar is in judicial custody till May 12.
New Delhi: Lashing out at the Centre over the lack of a full-time Defence Minister, after the mutilation of two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being silent on the issue.

"After the surgical strike that took place months ago, we thought that India will not face any such attacks but our hopes are all shattered. Only a full-time defence minister can create a full-time strategy towards growth and security," said Sibal in a press conference.

Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the promises it made during elections, Sibal further asked why the Prime Minister is silent on such a grave and serious situation.

"I am shocked as well as ashamed of the Indian Government. I wish to remind our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who during elections promised many things, but now seem to be quiet. He has also many times tried joining hands for friendship with Pakistan but nothing worked out, so India should not wait anymore and rather take action quickly," said Sibal.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met Prime Minister Modi here on Tuesday and had a discussion on the mutilation.

Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

"Pakistan army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector.

Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded (sic)," read the Indian Army's statement.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

Indian Army killed terrorist Anwar Khan in August 2015 in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir. He was part of a 15 member team of Lashkar and Jaish terrorists in the BAT team that killed Hemraj and Sudhakar.

In fact, the BAT is a brutal and barbaric arm of Pakistan Army. Its actions along the Line of Control ( LOC) may be not in public domain, but the Indian Army has been bearing its brunt for long. The raiding members of BAT are specially instructed not be caught on the Indian side.

Defence experts say that the Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the BAT which employs highly trained terrorists for Trans-LoC action up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres.

In February 2000, seven months after the Kargil War, a Pakistani BAT killed seven Indian soldiers in Nowshera in Rajouri district. The army was shocked to discover the headless body of a soldier, Sepoy Bhausaheb Talekar.

Defence experts say that the Pakistani BAT beheads and mutilate the bodies of Indian soldiers to terrorise troops and wage psychological warfare.
New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday and had a discussion on the recent mutilation of two Indian Army soldiers by the Pakistan Army at Krishna Ghati sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital and discussed the security and law and order situation in the state.

The Governor is likely to call on the Prime Minister to apprise him about the situation in the wake of killing of seven persons in Kulgam and mutilation of bodies of the two Indian soldiers.

Meanwhile, Congress has lashed out at the Centre over the lack of a full time Defence Minister.

"The irony of this situation is that, India does not have a full time Defence Minister and he does not seem serious after all that has happened in the country," Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI.

Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector.

Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.
Srinagar: A day after militants shot dead five policemen and two bank employees as they attacked a cash van, gunmen on Tuesday looted Rs 65,000 from a bank in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmirs southern Kulgam district.

Police said that two masked men barged into the local branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank (EDB) in Kader, Yaripora village of Kulgam and looted the cash at gunpoint.

The EDB is a joint venture of Government of India, the J&K government and the State Bank of India, set up in 1976 for the development of agriculture sector and rural economy in the state.

Reports said that the robbers brandishing pistols took the bank staff and customers hostage and then searched cash cabins and lockers but could find only Rs 65,850. They fled with the cash before the police and members of its counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) could reach the spot.

On Monday, five J&K policemen and two security guards of J&K Bank were killed when militants attacked a cash van in Kulgams Pombai village, not very far from where the EDB was looted on Tuesday.

Hizb-ul-Mujahedin outfit had owned responsibility but said that the CRPF and not its cadres killed the bank employees. The cash van was heading towards Anantnag town after unloading cash at the bank's Nehama branch when the militants intercepted it and then opened indiscriminate fire, resulting into the death of seven persons on board.

The assailants, who had suddenly appeared from a roadside apple orchard took the service weapons of the policeman including four INSAS rifles and one AK 47 Rifle with them after committing the crime, the police officials had said.

Though the suspected militants have looted cash from different branches of mainly Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the Valley on several occasions in the past, it was for the first time that the bank employees or the policemen escorting them in a cash van were targeted. The officials said that the incidence of looting banks at gunpoint increased after Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced the demonetisation in November last year which suggests the militants are facing cash shortage. However, the Hizb's Operational spokesman Burhan-ud-Din had claimed "we have enough cash" and that the cash van was attacked only to inflict casualties on police and loot weapons.

The killing of policemen and bank employees is cold blood has been widely condemned across Jammu and Kashmir and beyond. Many people in the Valley also took to the social networking sites to voice their anger and disapproval of the gory act and to sympathise with the victims' families.
New Delhi: A team of officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have reached London for discussions on the extradition of former liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

A four-member team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana will apprise British authorities about the finer points of the loan default cases against Mallya, CBI sources said.

Two senior ED officials are also part of the team, they said.

Mallya's extradition is now before the British court where neither the CBI nor the ED are direct parties. Indian agencies primarily aid and assist British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of absconders before the courts, an official explained.

The agencies' move to send a team to London is aimed at presenting a strong case for the extradition of the flamboyant business tycoon before the court.

The 61-year-old was arrested by British authorities last month on India's extradition request in connection with a Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank being probed by the CBI.

He was released on bail within hours by a London court which has fixed May 17 as the next date of hearing.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore (including interest) to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

The CBI has two cases against him -- one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.

The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge on whether or not to issue a warrant of arrest.

In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The 'wanted' person has the right to appeal to higher courts against any decision all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Under the law, the British secretary of state may only consider four issues when deciding whether to order a person's extradition  whether the person is at risk of the death penalty, whether special arrangements are in place, whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is required and whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.
New Delhi/Kolkata: Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan on Tuesday ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants against seven judges of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India, for not being represented before him, even as the Attorney General said he was not sure whether the "gentleman" would undergo medical tests as ordered by the apex court.

Justice Karnan, who ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) stating that top seven judges of the apex court have not been represented before him, directed the high court's registrar general to issue the NBWs to these judges to be executed through the director general of police or commissioner of police, New Delhi.

Justice Karnan passed a "suo motu judicial order in the interest of the nation to protect the general public from corruption and unrest", invoking Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code.

"Today the accused judges are called absent no representation issue non-bailable warrant against the accused call on 08.05.2017 (sic)," the order signed by Justice Karnan said.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was on Tuesday arguing in an Aadhaar matter before a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, said he was not sure whether Justice Karnan would follow the direction given by a seven-judge bench yesterday to undergo medical check-up regarding his mental health in the contempt case.

"I do not know whether the gentleman, who was asked yesterday, would submit to the order of the seven-judge bench of this court," he said.

"I have read that he (Justice Karnan) has asked the seven judges of this court (who have passed the order yesterday) to undergo medical tests," he said while arguing in the Aadhaar matter about whether a person can be forced to give his finger prints.

The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, had taken note of the "tenor" of Justice Karnan's orders and press briefings and directed his medical check-up by doctors with police support, as the Calcutta High Court Judge did not appear before it.

Reacting to the order, a belligerent Justice Karnan had yesterday said in Kolkata that he will not appear before such a medical board as directed by the Supreme Court.

Taking note of the fact that Justice Karnan has been passing orders despite being restrained and holding press briefings, the apex court had said that "the tenor of press briefings as also purported orders passed by him indicate that he may not be in a position to defend himself.

"Therefore, we consider it in the fitness of the matter to require him to be medically examined. We hereby direct the Calcutta Hospital to constitute a board of doctors to examine Shri Justice C S Karnan and submit a report," the bench had said.

Talking to mediapersons in Kolkata yesterday, Justice Karnan had said he will not appear before a medical board for examining his health as directed by the apex court.

He had also threatened to "pass suo motu suspension order against the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal, if the DGP functions against my wish."

Justice Karnan had on March 31 appeared before the apex court which granted him four weeks' time to respond to the contempt notice while rejecting the submission that his administrative and judicial powers be restored.

Refusing to appear before the apex court again, Justice Karnan had on April 13 issued an order asking the seven judges to appear before him on April 28 and then extended the date of appearance to May 1.
Deoria: Shattered and traumatised with the news of her father's horrific death at the hands of the Pakistani Army in Krishna Ghatti, Jammu and Kashmir, the daughter of Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar on Tuesday demanded '50 heads in return' of her father's life.

"His sacrifice should not be forgotten, we want 50 heads in return for his life," said Saroj while consoling her mother, who was still coming to terms with her husband's gruesome death.

The relatives of the late solider also rebuked the Centre's 'lax attitude' against Pakistan, and asserted that due to the government's inaction, such brutalities were happening again.

"The government is not acting properly on such issues. We should retaliate to this inhuman act of Pakistan; the Centre should not just sit idle and let Pakistan carry on its atrocities," said the constable's relative.

"I am proud of my brother that he sacrificed his life for the nation, but is it very heart-wrenching the way he has been beheaded by the Pakistan military," said Dayashanker.

Similar emotions echoed in the family of the other mutilated soldier, Junior Commission Officer Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, saying that if was is the solution the country should go ahead with it.

"The Centre should take strict action. If war is the solution, then we should just go to war with Islamabad and finish the issue once and for all. By any chance if the issue can be sorted out with dialogue then even that should be tried," said the brother of the slain jawan.

"He built this house and was supposed to shift here on May 10. Instead of him, now his body will enter into the house. We are very proud of him and would never forget his sacrifice," his brother added pointing towards the newly build house, in which Singh was supposed to shift.

"I am proud of my father for being declared a martyr. My father sacrificed his life for the country, and I'm proud of him," said Simrandeep, Singh's elder daughter.

Meanwhile, the body of the slain hero has been brought to his hometown here and will be cremated with full honours.

Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

Indian Army killed terrorist Anwar Khan in August 2015 in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir. He was part of a 15 member team of Lashkar and Jaish terrorists in the BAT team that killed Hemraj and Sudhakar.

In fact, the BAT is a brutal and barbaric arm of Pakistan Army. Its actions along the Line of Control (LOC) may be not in public domain, but the Indian Army has been bearing its brunt for long. The raiding members of BAT are specially instructed not be caught on the Indian side.

Defence experts say that the Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the BAT which employs highly trained terrorists for Trans-LoC action up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres.

In February 2000, seven months after the Kargil War, a Pakistani BAT killed seven Indian soldiers in Nowshera in Rajouri district. The army was shocked to discover the headless body of a soldier, Sepoy Bhausaheb Talekar.

Defence experts say that the Pakistani BAT beheads and mutilate the bodies of Indian soldiers to terrorise troops and wage psychological warfare.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday urged the Centre to convene an all-party meeting in the national capital to discuss the course of action against Pakistan in wake of the barbaric mutilation of Indian soldiers.

"Our farmers and soldiers are the ones whose situations are the worst in the country. If we will not make efforts to improve their condition, then there is no use of a government in the county.

The condition of our country is getting worse and it is very unfortunate. It is needed to call all party meeting in Delhi to discuss the situation, "Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.

Raut further asserted that such incidents are being repeated time and again, adding that India should take strong measure against Pakistan now.

"From the time our government has come into power, since then Pakistan has increased its barbaric acts. Even during the Congress regime we use to say that we will kill two people in return of one, but nothing happened," he said.

Meanwhile, the last rites of Poonch hero, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh was performed in his home town Tarn Taran, Punjab and wreath laying ceremony of Head Constable Prem Sagar was concluded in capital.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team (BAT) again mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers on Monday in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

The Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.
The Army and BSF will be brainstorming together and come up with a revised Standard Operating Procedure. (Photo: Representational/File)

Srinagar: The Border Security Force (BSF) has said that the killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilating their bodies on the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday was a well coordinated act of the Pakistan army and the neighbouring countrys Border Action Team (BAT).

It was a well coordinated act between Pakistan army and the BAT as the Indian patrol party came under simultaneous fire from four sides," a senior BSF officer said on Tuesday.

He also said that the BAT which mutilated the corpses of Armys Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head-Constable Prem Sagar comprises terrorists in the garb of mujahideen (holy warriors).

The officer said the fact that the attack took place a day after Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC in PoKs in the Haji Pir sector which is not far from Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch cannot be overlooked either. Gen.

Bajwa had during his visit reiterated support to the Kashmirs freedom cause. He had, however, said that even though the people of Pakistan could not remain indifferent to the barbaric treatment meted out to defenceless Kashmiris in Jammu and Kashmir, the countrys army would keep its response purely in the military domain in accordance with its values.

BSFs Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command, KN Choubey, told reporters in Jammu that the Pakistani troops carried out unprovoked rocket and forward mortar firing on two forward posts on the LoC and that the the BAT team took advantage of it and mutilated the bodies of the jawans.

He said the joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector to defend the LoC.

When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (Forward Defence Locations) from Pakistan's side and two ambushes which they had set up started firing simultaneously. Our jawans were engaged in this. In between this, the BAT action, which consists of regular army and mujahideens and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two jawans," he said.

Replying questions, he said that though he would not like to offer a formal comment on it but no one can deny the fact that the attack and the gory act of mutilating the slain soldiers bodies came a day after the Pakistan army chief had visited the LoC in neighbouring Hari Pir sector.

I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, everybody knows that this has taken place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army Chief to the frontal area, he said.

The BSF ADG said the Army and the BSF are together going to have threadbare review of the situation as this was not the first incident of its kind but only the latest in a series of such brutal acts taking place along the LoC and come up with a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in order to minimise such occurrences in future.

He denied that already laid down SOP was ignored as the victims are reported to have been taken unawares when targeted and said, The SOPs are always followed. We learn from every such incident that takes place.

The BSF in Kashmir works under the operational control of the Army. We will brainstorming together and come out with a more revised SOP so that such incidents are minimised.

Meanwhile, Jammu witnessed a number of protests against Pakistan on Tuesday. At one such protest the ex-servicemen from various parts of Jammu region including Poonch chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and demanded that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, should take stern action against the neighbouring country. They also pledged their support to the Army and other security forces in the event of their deciding to teach Pakistan a lesson.
New Delhi: AIADMK (Amma) faction leader TTV Dhinakaran and his close aid were today sent to judicial custody for a fortnight by a special court here in the Election Commission bribery case.

Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry sent Dhinakaran and his aid Mallikarjuna to Tihar Jail till May 15 after the police said that the accused were not needed for custodial interrogation.

The police told the court that a number of witnesses were yet to be examined in the case and the investigation was still going on in the matter. Both were produced before the court after expiry of their police custody. The court also extended the judicial custody of alleged hawala operator Nathu Singh till May 15 after he was produced before it on the expiry of his one-day judicial custody.
Phagwara: Noting that a large number of students still visit abroad for higher studies, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said efforts should be made to ensure migration of students on the "reverse direction".

Delivering a convocation address at a private university in Phagwara, he said many students go to countries such as Australia and New Zealand for higher studies.

"I suggest let there be a reverse direction," he said. Mukherjee said India had provided leadership in higher education for centuries as he pitched for efforts to reclaim that status.

Addressing the 8th Convocation of Lovely Professional University, he said India's diversity is the product of "our civilisation and history".

He appealed to the students to work toward progress and peace.

At the event, Punjab Governor V P Singh Bandore exhorted the students to lead a life of purpose and do good work.

The president was awarded honorary doctorate by LPU Chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal. Thirty-eight students were awarded gold medals by the president.
New Delhi: India's Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) on Tuesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart over mutilation of bodies of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

Mutilating bodies of soldiers is a dastardly and inhuman act beyond any norm of civility. The act invites unequivocal condemnation and response, Indian DGMO told Pakistani counterpart.

The Indian DGMO contacted his Pakistani counterpart over the hotline between the two sides to take up the issue, sources said.

The Indian Army has already vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act". The Pakistan army has denied that it was involved in the attack.

The hotline contact between the DGMOs of Pakistan and India was established at 11.30 am, Geo News reported.

"Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the report said.

The DGMO-level contact came after the local commanders of the two armies spoke last night at Rawlakot-Poonch sector along the LoC.

The local commander of the Pakistan Army told his Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violation was committed by Pakistan, the military's Inter-Services Public Relations wing said in a statement.

"Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations," the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

Pakistan Army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC.

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan's border action team (BAT) crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.
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Culture is both a driver and an enabler of sustainable development of cities and regions. The seminar aims at providing a forum where diverse achievements and viewpoints could be presented and debated.

The one-day seminar will in two parts:  day panel sessions,  day on-site visits to provide first-hand acquaintance to the members of the SEDEC commission of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and other participants with Sofia cultural and social innovation practices.








Hyderabad: Congress leader Digvijay Singh stirred controversy on Monday when he alleged that the state police was luring Muslim youth to join the Islamic State, the terror outfit.

In his series of tweets, Digvijay wrote, It was on their (Telangana police) information that MP (Madhya Pradesh) police arrested accused who were responsible for the bomb blast in train in Shajapur district of MP. It also resulted in Saifullah encounter in Kanpur the same day. The issue is whether Telangana police should be trapping Muslim Youths in becoming ISIS modules by posting inflammatory messages. (sic)

Mr Singh, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, who was relieved as the Congress in-charge of Goa and Karnataka states recently, was referring to a suspected IS operator Saifullah, who was killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow in early March allegedly on a tip off from the TS police.

Mr Singh questioned Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao: Is it ethical? Is it moral? Has KCR authorised Telangana Police to trap Muslim youths and encourage them to join ISIS? If he has then shouldn't he own the responsibility and resign. (sic) 

He added, If he hasnt shouldnt he enquire and punish those who are responsible for committing such a heinous crime.(sic)

It may be recalled that after Maoists had killed 25 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Sukma in Chhattisgarh on April 24, Mr Singh had accused Chief Minister Raman Singh of helping Maoists.
Chennai: With Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami hardening his position and accusing former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvams group of emphasising their conditions for talks, the negotiations for the merger of the two factions appear to be a non-starter.

In a closed door meeting of party workers at his home district of Salem, the Chief Minister had rejected both the demands as impossible since both issues are up before the Madras High Court and the Election Commission. A confident and defiant Palanisami said The government and party are with us. We have 123 MLAs, 48 district secretaries and 37 MPs. We dont need their support for the government or party.

Two wheels are necessary for running a cart. As far as we are concerned, both wheels, the government and party are with us. Panneerselvam group is travelling in a cart without wheels. About 90 per cent of the office-bearers are with us. We need not fear anything, he is reported to have said at the meeting.

He also asserted that the objective of the AIADMK is to defeat the DMK. "The splinter group was called for talks to unite the party. They initially said the talks will be unconditional. However, they changed their stand and put forth conditions, obstructing the talks. We have enough strength", he concluded.

The Chief Minister's defiant speech comes as a shock to the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) group, which discussed its own strategy on Monday.

Panneerselvam conducted a meeting of his supporters who said the negotiations would not be favourable after the hard hitting speech of the Chief Minister.

The Panneerselvam group had taken a decision to go the people's court through a campaign tour throughout the state. The group would hold district-wise meeting of the party and the first of them would be held in Kanchipuram on May 5. Such meetings would be held in all the districts throughout May. After eliciting the opinion of workers, the group would celebrate the centenary of party founder and former Chief Minister MGR.

Realising the futility of continuing the negotiations, the ruling AIADMK (Amma) had decided to carry on with the other government and party works. The ruling group had obtained signatures in affidavits from party functionaries with the names of general secretary VK Sasikala, deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran and Palanisami.

The Cabinet would meet at 11 am on May 2 where a decision to convene the Assembly session for discussing the demands for grants to the ministries is likely to be taken. After presenting the budget, the subsequent discussion on demands was not held and the allocation for various departments should be made so that the schemes could be implemented.

A seven-member team was formed by both the factions on April 21, but the team members did not meet even once. The leaders in each faction had come out with contradicting views which had spoiled the negotiations. With both the factions deciding to go for their routine schedule, the negotiations for merger does not appear to be in the horizon at the moment.
Lucknow: BJP chief Amit Shah took a jibe at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday saying that he had undertaken more foreign trips than Prime Minister Narendra Modi but nobody ever noticed.

As he said this, Shah referred to Singh as "Mauni baba", another jibe at the former PM's reticent nature.

"It is said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes frequent foreign trips. Earlier when 'Shrimaan Mauni Baba' used to go to foreign tours, nobody knew about it," he said.

Shah was addressing the BJP executive meeting in Lucknow on its concluding day.

He said, "PM Modi has undertaken less foreign tours as compared to Manmohan Singh. But now we know that the Prime Minister is on a foreign tour."

The two-day executive meet was held for the first time after BJP swept the 2017 UP Assembly elections.
Cremation pyre of soldier Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, from 22 Sikh unit, at Vein Poin village, 42 km (26 miles) south Amritsar on Tuesday.

Jammu/Tarn Taran (Punjab): The family of slain solider Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, whose body was brutally mutilated by the Pakistani Army in Krishna Ghati, Jammu and Kashmir opened the coffin to see his body before cremating.

The martyr's cremation was held up for a while after his kin created a scene, demanding to see his body first.

"Whose body is this? It is all behind this box! We are not being shown the body? Why are they not showing us the body? They just said that it is Paramjit's body. It is just written on the box," said the kin of the solider.

However, after seeing his body, the satisfied family of the soldier proceeded to cremate his body with full honours.

On the other hand, the Army and the BSF also on Tuesday bid farewell to Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar who were beheaded by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

A wreath-laying ceremony was organised in Poonch in their honour which was attended by top-ranking security officials.

The mortal remains of Singh, who belonged to the 22 Sikh Infantry, have been flown to his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. The body of Prem Sagar, of the 200th Battalion of BSF, has been flown to New Delhi for further journey to his native place in Uttar Pradesh.

42-year-old Singh is survived by his wife Paramjeet Kaur. Sagar (45) hailed from Takenpur in UP's Deoria district. He is survived by his wife Shanti.

Under the cover of heavy rocket and mortar fire, Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) had sneaked 250 meters across the Line of Control into the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir and beheaded the two soldiers yesterday. The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act".

Anti-Pakistan protests meanwhile rocked Poonch and Jammu district over the killing.

In Poonch, locals and ex-servicemen shouted anti-Pakistan slogans as the mortal remains of two soldiers were being taken to Jammu.

There have been several BAT attacks in the past in which jawans have been beheaded or their bodies mutilated.

On October 28, 2016, militants attacked a post and killed an Indian army soldier and mutilated his body close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Machil sector.

In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by BAT. It also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack.

In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.

During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Captain Saurabh Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors who later handed over his mutilated body to India.

In February, 2000, terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri had led a raid on the Indian army's 'Ashok Listening Post' in the Nowshera sector and killed seven Indian soldiers.

Even then, Kashmiri had taken back to Pakistan the head of a 24-year-old Indian jawan Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry.
Bengaluru: Union minister for housing and urban poverty alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu, on Tuesday said that Bengaluru stands a chance of making it to the Smart City project list in the next phase.

He told the media here that six cities of Karnataka, Tumakuru, Davangere, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru and Udupi have been included in the project.

In the second phase, Rs 428 crore was released for development of these cities. Similarly, Rs 191 crore under Amrut scheme, Rs 37 crore under Swachch Bharath scheme and Rs 58.3 crore under Pradhan Mantri Awaaz Yojane respectively were released to the state.

The minister said work on the first phase of Namma Metro was completed except for finishing touches in Chickpet Metro station. The safety test of new line would be carried out on May 12, and date of formal inauguration announced soon, he added.

Mr Naidu said the state government had agreed to implement the much-awaited Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 in 15 days. The new Act, which came into force on May 1, was people-friendly and would check private builders who cheat people through advertisements in the media. None of them need to worry as the new Act would be binding on real estate firms to provide facilities promised to customers at the time of booking of apartments. Cases would be booked against those who violate the rules, he added.

He also assured the real estate industry that the new Act would not be detrimental to them since it would affect only those companies which cheat people. Good companies would not be troubled by the department. Instead, they would be given certificates for providing good services to people. This had already come into force in 14 states since Monday, he added.
Hyderabad: AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh has defended his comments against the Telangana police regarding the trapping of Muslim youths through a fake ISIS website and asserted that he was ready to face any action.

Home minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy dismissed Mr Singhs allegation and demanded an unconditional apology or face legal action.

I made the comments after a great deal of thought. What I feel is that the way in which Muslim youths are being trapped by the Telangana police is not correct. I stand by my comments, Mr Digvijay Singh said in New Delhi.

He added, Its clear that in the Madhya Pradesh Shajapur train blast case and the subsequent encounter of Saifullah, Telangana police had information and had tipped off the MP police. Telangana police admitted it. How did they get his photographs?

Mr Singh continued, I can only say that the Telangana polices strategy of trapping radical Muslims is wrong. It will lead to radicalisation of Muslims. I am not the only one who is opposing this but ATS officials too. There was a meeting on counter terrorism in New Delhi. Everyone there opposed it. Asked about the Telangana governments threat to file a criminal case against him if he refuses to tender apology he quipped, Let them file any case.

Mr Digvijay Singh and municipal administration minister K.T. Rama Rao were involved in a Twitter war on Monday on this issue, with KTR slamming Mr Singh.

Meanwhile, TRS activists burnt the effigies of Digvijay Singh across Telangana demanding withdrawal of his statement. A case was also filed at the Jubilee Hills police station in Hyderabad.

Mr Nayani Narasimha Reddy said the TRS wanted an alliance with the Congress in 2014 but Jairam Ramesh and Digvijay Singh raised hurdles and it did not materialise. They are responsible for breaking ties with TRS. Sometimes Digvijay Singh loses his mental balance, he said.
Mumbai: As Maharashtra was celebrating the 57th year of its formation on Monday, the village of Udatare in Satara districts Wai tehsil demanded, during a gram sabha meeting, that it be considered a part of Uttar Pradesh whose government has shown sensitivity by waiving off farmers loans.

If the Maharashtra government is unable to help farmers, it should allow us to come under the UPs jurisdiction, reads the gram sabha resolution, which was proposed by Udatare resident Kunal Babar (23), who has a degree in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.

According to the panchayats resolution, farmers should be granted a complete loan waiver. Secondly, it asks that farmers get the minimum support price for their crops, which includes the return on investment cost plus 50 per cent.

The villagers also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan Commissions report on agriculture in India.

The resolution said that if state government is unable to accept these demands, it should allow the village to be included in Uttar Pradesh.
Hyderabad: In a good news to thousands of educated unemployed youths, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday issued orders to recruit 13,357 personnel in the power transmission, generation and distribution companies.

These posts at Transco, Genco and the discoms, range from junior lineman to executive director. Among them, recruitments will be made to about 1,500 non-technical posts.

Besides, Mr Rao has directed officials to promote more than 10,000 employees in the energy department.

The CM asked the officials to recruit staff in a big way, keeping in view the future requirements.

Dr Rao said the state would be turning power surplus, and he had allowed largescale recruitment to strengthen the staffing in the sector.

He said 24x7 power was being supplied to industry, commercial and domestic sector. The government is planning to supply 24x7 power to the agriculture from next year he said.

His orders came following a request during a meeting with Transco and Genco chairman and managing director D. Prabha-kar Rao, joint managing director Srinivasa Rao, discoms MDs G, Raghuma Reddy (south) and Gopal Rao (north).
Bengaluru: The BJP central leadership is expected to announce its action on the rebellion in the state unit, before the commencement of the two-day state executive committee meeting to be held in Mysuru from May 6. A section of BJP leaders led by opposition leader in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa have openly challenged the leadership of party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa and had even organised a Save organisation meeting a couple of days ago.

Party sources told Deccan Chronicle that BJP national general secretary Muralidhar Rao, who is in charge of Karnataka affairs and BJP national president Amit Shah have held two rounds of talks regarding the current crisis. Rao submitted his report on recent developments after meeting senior leaders in Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday.

The national general secretary is learnt to have requested Shah to take immediate steps to settle problems before they go out of hand. Shah was told how Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa is still involved in activities of the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade and has cited the permission given by Shah in Delhi on January 27, after a meeting in which Yeddyurappa too participated.

The sources said that Shah was very annoyed with Eshwarappa for claiming that he had given the nod for the brigades activities and is learnt to have instructed Rao on the course of action to be taken which will be announced shortly.

There are no plans now to summon Yeddyurappa or Eshwarappa to Delhi. Rao is also learnt to have informed Shah about Eshwarappa not meeting him in Bengaluru though he was available in the party office for almost two days.

Senior leaders in Karnataka are very upset and want Shah to instruct Eshwarappa to stay away from the brigades activities and instead strengthen the party. Already, dissent had cropped up in many districts with supporters of the two leaders trading charges in public.

Defiant KS Eshwarappa to attend brigade meetings

Senior BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa, who is leading a battle against the party's state unit chief B.S. Yeddyurappa's style of functioning, has decided to take part in the activities of the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade, ignoring the central leaderships diktat. Sangolli Rayanna Brigade and Sangolli Rayanna Yuva Brigade office-bearers' meets will take place on May 8 in Raichur.

Some leaders are meeting at Raichur.... Im attending the preparatory meeting," Eshwarappa told reporters on Tuesday after paying obeisance at the Raghavendra Swami Math near Karnataka-Andhra border. Later, Eshwarappa told reporters at Raichur that BJP chief Amit Shah had not opposed the activities of the Brigade and that he was only following his instructions. ...I will not defy the (BJP) national president's directions. I have been following his instructions. He had asked us to continue (with the brigade activities). The brigade is emerging as a forum of Dalits and backward classes, he said.

Claiming that the Congress party would not have come to power in the state had Yeddyurappa not floated the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), Eshwarappa said that a united BJP could once again form the government in Karnataka.
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Central government for failing to have a comprehensive national security policy. Launching the attack was senior leader Kapil Sibal who accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having no policy on how to deal with Pakistan. He said The Prime Minister is busy in attending birthday parties of Pakistan leaders and inviting Joint Investigation Team into our air bases instead of giving a befitting response.

Sibal also said that when the UPA was in power one woman MP of the BJP who now is a Minister wanted to send bangles to the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Now will she also be sending bangles to the current Prime Minister over this failure, he said.

Referring to the statements by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj when she was in opposition Sibal asked the government as to how many heads of Pakistanis will the government bring back in lieu of two heads.

The Congress termed the decision of the BJP to hold Vijay Diwas for the MCD election victory at a time when security personnel are being martyred as shameful. National president of the BJP Amit Shah was addressing the BJP workers in Delhi on Tuesday on the victory in the MCD elections.

Responding to the increase in casualties of both civilians and security personnel, the Congress questioned as to who is responsible for casualties, as direct remark on the Pm. Sibal also said that since there is a part time defence minister there is a part time defence policy of the government.

Responding to the comments, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said there is will, there is kill without elaborating.
Chennai: In mounting trouble for TTV Dhinakaran, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday registered a money laundering case against him in connection with the case filed against him for allegedly attempting to bribe an Election Commission official to get a favourable order for his faction in the Two Leaves symbol case.

The ED filed the case after it took cognisance of an FIR filed by the Delhi Police in the case since it is suspected that money might have been transferred to the alleged conman, Sukesh Chandrashekhar, through the hawala route. Filing of the case by the ED has further tightened the noose around Mr Dhinakaran, who has been sidelined by the AIADMK ever since he was asked by the Delhi Police to join investigations.

Mr Dhinakaran, who was arrested by the Delhi Police after four days of intense grilling on April 25 midnight, is currently in Tihar Jail after a local court sent him to judicial custody till May 15.

The Delhi Police had brought Mr Dhinakaran to Chennai last week to question him along with his aides here. ED officials said the case has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and that they will probe the possible proceeds of crime as part of its charter under the anti-money laundering law. The officials also said they would soon issue summons to Mr Dhinakaran for joining the probe.

The registration of the case comes close on the heels of a meeting between Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi Police officials. Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was the first to be arrested in the case, had allegedly struck a deal for Rs 50 crore to help the Sasikala faction of the AIADMK keep the Two Leaves symbol, which has been frozen by the EC after former chief minister O.Panneerselvams faction also staked a claim to it.
Sahildeep Singh salutes the coffin of his father, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, after it was brought to their village Vain Poin, 40 km from Amritsar. Naib Subedar Singh was killed on Monday by the Pakistan Army and his body mutilated. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers and the Army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choosing, Vice-Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand said on Tuesday.

I do not want to say what we will do. Instead of speaking, we will focus on our action at a time and place of our choosing, he told reporters.

They (Pakistani army) have said it was not done by their forces. Then who did it? Their people came to our area and did it. They will have to take responsibility and face the consequences for it, Gen. Chand said.

Earlier in the day, India termed it a dastardly and inhuman act and warned Pakistan of an "unequivocal response" to the beheading of its two soldiers, a charge rejected by Islamabad which sought "actionable evidence" from New Delhi to back its claim.

As the families of slain Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Singh bid a tearful farewell to them, anguish and indignation prevailed across the country, plunging the relations between the two nations to a new low and reviving calls for a "befitting reply".

India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen A K Bhatt spoke to his Pakistani counterpart to express his "grave concern" over the killing and beheading of the two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the Indian Army said in a statement.

The DGMO conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire" support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located close to where the incident took place.

The army said the DGMO also conveyed India's concern about the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps in close vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Discussing the issue during the hotline contact between the two DGMOs, the Pakistan Army asked India to produce "actionable evidence" on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team had sneaked across the LoC and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

"Pakistan rejected India's allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the army statement said.

"The Pakistan army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Kashmir valley," Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza claimed.

The denials had little impact at Vainpoin village in Punjab, where 42-year-old Paramjeet Singh was laid to rest with full military honours.

As buglers sounded the "last post" and his body, wrapped in the tricolour, was brought for cremation, his relatives insisted that they be shown the body. Finally, the ceremony went ahead after civil and army officials intervened.

His wife Paramjit Kaur demanded that the Centre give a "free hand" to the army so that Pakistan is taught a lesson. "Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now? If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," she said.

While "shaheed Paramjeet amar rahe" cries echoed in the air so did slogans "Pakistan murdabad".

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the beheading issue is understood to have figured. However, there was no official word on it.
Hyderabad: A mothers trauma of delivering a stillborn baby was compounded when staff at the Niloufer Hospital handed over the body of the infant to the parents in a cardboard box that was used to supply IV fluids to the hospital. The body was wrapped in a bit of brown paper.

Ms Y. Sunitha from Hyderabad was admitted to the hospital on Monday evening in labour.

The baby she delivered on Tuesday was stillborn. This was a blow to Sunita and her husband Mahesh but worse was the callous manner in which the staff treated the baby and parents by bundling the body up in a cardboard box.

Angry and hurt, Ms Sunitha walked into the chamber which was being inspected by health minister Dr Laxma Reddy and showed him the manner in which the dead child had been handed over to them.

Dr Reddy was surprised but the superintendent of the hospital Dr Ramesh Reddy said it was not possible.

We do not give any dead child wrapped in a cardboard box or in paper. We had properly wrapped the child in a cloth and given it to the mother. The hospital does not know from where they have got the cardboard box and kept the child, he said.

The hospital authorities spoke in different voices. Some claimed that as the couple was to go back in a bus, the body of the child would not have been allowed and hence they had packed it in the cardboard box.

Others said that in order to give a bad name to the hospital, the box was being highlighted in front of the minister.

The moot point is how did a clean box used for IV fluid come into the hands of the couple if it was not given to them by the hospital authorities? Was it lying in the corridors?

There is no answer to this. The mother stated very emotionally and angrily that the child had been wrapped in the cardboard box.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to spell out the schemes for help farmers so that their suicides can be prevented.

A bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul told Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimha that farmers continued to face problems as important issues remained unresolved. The CJI said farmers were not getting loans and minimum support price, and crop insurance was being delayed.

The CJI, hearing a PIL, said The government should make efforts to address the reasons behind the problems of farmers and come out with long-term schemes. The bench wanted the RBI to indicate its policy on loan waivers.

Mr Narasimha said the farmer deaths were an unfortunate issue, but the Centre could only formulate a line of action. The actual implementation was the responsibility of the states.
Saidapet market is one of the filthiest in the city crying for attention.

Chennai: Markets in Chennai are slowly turning into an eyesore, as there are no waste management system and water treatment facilities in place.

With the concept of supermarkets coming in, these traditional markets are crying for attention and are facing slow death. While Broadway, Chintadripet, Pattalam, Mylapore and Saidapet markets still record thousands of footfalls on a daily basis trading tonnes of perishable food, the hygiene in market places across the city is an issue to public health.

The interesting fact is that some these markets which date back to colonial era do not have a development plan or functional norms prescribed by local bodies.

There are also private markets dating back to early 19th century like the Zam bazzar market, Chintadripet and the Kothaval Chavadi market lacking basic amenities.

These markets are living heritage, but are denied due maintenance. In Australia, there are well maintained old markets, but in Chennai its the other way, rues historian S. Muthiah, who has written about the old markets in erstwhile Madras.

A closer look at the reason for such poor maintenance and the stench that hits you on your face is due to two major factors, first the local power struggle within the vendors and owners, who administer these private markets. The second reason is the failure of the city corporation health department to inspect and maintain hygiene in these markets.

A senior city corporation official attached to Central Chennai when asked about the last inspection or raid conducted in these markets, the official maintained silence and then pointed out that no inspection takes place.

When asked what if substandard or contaminated consumables are sold to public, the official shot back if there are public complaints we will respond as per the provisions under TN public health act 1939.

Case study of Chintadripet Market

Tension is brewing up between vendors and Congress politician J M Haroon Rasheed, who has recently purchased the Chindatripet fish market. Vendors at the fish market on Sunday staged a protest and put up banners urging Mr Haroon to stay away from acquiring the market possession.

Posters screaming our livelihood will be robbed and we will be shunted out from market were seen hanging in and around the Chintadripet market.

While the Chintadripet Fish Market Association president R Apparaj want the status quo to continue, Haroon wants his market to be developed and sanitation be in place.

I am running markets in Puzhal and Perambur, where sanitation and maintenance is must, these traders were not paying rents, so the owner unable to manage the property sold it to me, said Haroon.

What is legally wrong in me purchasing a private market and trying to run it with surveillance cameras, security persons, waste management and sanitation in place, asked Haroon. He said he wanted to apply for the Chennai Corporation trade licence and regularise the market that now runs without any licence. A trader said the market was free for all without any restrictions in timings, but Haroon is trying to increase the rent and bring in new norms, which traders are not used to.
Chennai: DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Monday said the health condition of party president M. Karunanidhi is stable under the supervision of doctors and he will meet people on his 94th birthday on June 3, if doctors permits him.

Speaking to the media after offering salute at the May Day memorial in Chindhathripet, Stalin also said the denial of BJP that is not trying to merge or split the AIADMK could be accepted if the Centre initiated follow up action on the I-T raids on former Chief Secretary Rama Mohana Rao and health minister C.Vijayabaskar.

Reacting to a question, Stalin asked "What happened to the raids on Rama Mohana Rao? What happened after several hours of raid in minister Vijayabaskar's house?". He also asked what happened after the raids on AIADMK functionary "Karur' Anbunathan and former Mayor 'Saidai' Duraisamy.

Denying the BJP allegation that the DMK is supporting one faction of the AIADMK, he said the accusations are being made after reading a portion of his statement. The DMK is not opposing action after the raids, he said and added that there should be transparency in the action after the Income tax raids and they should not be an eye-wash. .

Earlier, speaking the May Day rally, Stalin said the May Day was declared a state holiday after the DMK under its founder C.N. Annadurai captured power in 1967. Recalling the April 25 bandh for farmers, he said the protest was announced since the farmers are affected by drought and committing suicides.

The idea for announcing the bandh was obtained from trade unions, he said no bandh announced by a opposition party had succeeded to the level of the April 25 bandh, he said.
Bengaluru: Will it be some action against rebel leader K.S. Eshwarappa and a warning for party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa, who have set the political stage in the state on fire with their verbal attacks on each other in the past few months?

This seems to be the strategy likely to be adopted by the BJP even as the RSS top brass stepped in to resolve the crisis after its senior pracharak B.L. Santhosh was dragged in by Yeddyurappa for instigating the revolt. A final decision will be taken after general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Muralidhar Rao submits his report on the dissent by Monday evening with Yeddyurappa asserting that the confusion will end in 3-4 days. Since Santhosh is an important pracharak who is on the BJPs payroll, the RSS top brass is expected to work out a solution within a week.

This will also set a precedent for organising secretaries working in other states. The RSS has lent pracharaks as organisers to the BJP and does not want a repeat of the sorry story in Karnataka elsewhere. The solution they work out will focus more on Santhosh, sources explained, adding that steps would also be prescribed on how to handle Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa. One reason why the central leadership may step in is that Muralidhar Rao is much junior to both Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa, who are party seniors and political heavyweights. This could be why Rao could not handle the crisis on his own when he visited the state capital the weekend with Eshwarappa even refusing to meet him. Rao was only conveying what the high command had on its mind when he told the rebels that they would not be forgiven for participating in the activities of Sangolli Rayanna brigade, said sources. Sources added while taking action against Eshwarappa, the party leadership is likely to advise Yeddyurappa to mend his ways and take decisions in consultation with other leaders. The cardinal point: Any important decision must be discussed in core committee or executive committee meetings by inviting all important leaders.

BSY: crisis will be resolved soon

Yeddyurappa, who is on a tour of Uttara Kannada district, told reporters that the party high command was seized of the crisis and was optimistic of resolving it soon.

In Shivamogga, sacked BJP MLC Bhanuprakash sarcastically thanked Yeddyurappa for giving him a medal for serving the party selflessly for four decades. I have been sacked from the post of party vice-president, post midnight. I am happy that they have not sent me to jail. Such harsh decisions were unwarranted when there is confusion in the party. I have no objection if Yeddyurappa wants to come back to power by sacrificing me, he said. Meanwhile, sources close to Yeddyurappa said he would be in Shivamogga till Wednesday and would go to Delhi only if summoned by party bosses.

Santhosh used to interfere in govt affairs

RSS pracharak and Bharatiya Janata Party joint organising secretary for south India B.L. Santhosh does not seem to be as innocent as many party workers have tried to portray him by claiming he was incapable of playing political games.

Santhosh, who was accused of instigating senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader K.S. Eshwarappa to raise the banner of revolt against Yeddyurappa, seems to have received a shock when BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa dropped his name before the media.

Many mid level officials in the revenue department told this newspaper that Santhosh would interfere in government affairs from a safe distance when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power in the state from 2008-13.

When D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar were chief ministers, he used to prepare the list of officials to be transferred in the revenue and transport departments. He virtually ruled the state and went to the extent of transferring brake inspectors in some cases, an officer confided.

Santhosh operated in the same manner a professional politician did but made sure he did not leave a shred of evidence which could have nailed him, the officer added.
Kalaburagi: State BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa on Tuesday set at rest the uncertainty over the holding of the partys state executive committee meeting in Mysuru on May 6 and 7 in view of the current unrest in its ranks, saying it would be held as scheduled.

A resolution will be passed on the ongoing political developments and various issues concerning farmers, such as drought and waiver of loans will be discussed, he told reporters. Senior leader K S Eshwarappa, who has upped the ante of rebellion against him, declared on Monday that he was unlikely to attend the meeting. Mr Yeddyurappa at first refused to speak to the media when he arrived in Kalaburagi from Hubballi to take part in a couple of functions. I have decided not to speak for the time being, he said curtly when approached at the government guest house, Eiwan-e-Shahi.

While some reporters left, others hung around and an hour later, the BJP chief changed his mind and turned up to speak. Asked if the party leadership had gagged him, he said it was his own decision to keep away from the media. The party leadership is observing the statements issued by leaders and will initiate action. For the time being I have decided not to comment on such developments, he said. And sticking to his stance, he refused to comment when his attention was drawn to the statement of Mr Eshwarappa that he would continue to associate with the controversial Sangolli Rayanna Brigade. Asked whether he would meet BJP chief Amit Shah to seek action against him, he said general secretary Muralidhar Rao had informed Mr Shah about the developments.
Hyderabad: Terming the beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday as a barbaric act, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said that it was high time that took strong steps to prevent such incidents.

Interacting with media personnel at the MIM headquarters here, Mr Owaisi said I condemn outright the barbaric act of the Pakistani Army. Even in wars, such things should not happen. The barbaric act of the Pakistani Army clearly shows the mindset of these people who do not have even an iota of humanism left in them.

Maintaining that the Centre has no direction or vision in handling the situation at LoC and in Jammu and Kashmir, the MP asked, How long are they going to hide behind their so-called aggressive nationalism?

Citing the postponement of Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll as an example, Mr Owaisi said it shows the misrule of the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ten days back the French voted in the first round of the presidential elections. Emmanuel Macron, the candidate of the liberal centre, came first with approximately 24 per cent of the vote. Marine Le Pen, the candidate of the nationalist hard-right Front National, was pushed into second place with just under 22 per cent of the vote. Within hours of the result, Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate, urged supporters to vote for Mr Macron. Benoit Hamon, candidate of the moderate-left Socialists, did likewise. The next Monday euro and stock prices surged. Clearly, the financial markets believe Mr Macrons victory in the second round is assured. The opinion polls appear to agree. They give Mr Macron around 60 per cent in the run-off due next Sunday. Its a done deal: France  and Europe  has been saved from the social division, economic destruction and international dislocation of a possible Le Pen presidency. That may well be true; but only up to a point. The headline results  and the projections for next Sunday  hide a more complex and troubling story. It has several themes. On the right, voting for the Front National has been normalised. Ms Le Pen won the highest-ever vote for the extreme right in a presidential election.

An opinion poll of Mr Fillons supporters, taken shortly before the vote, showed around seven in 10 of them consider the Front National a normal political party, just like the others. This despite Ms Le Pens wish to pull France out of the European Union and institute economic protectionism: a complete upending of Frances domestic and foreign policy stance of the past 60 years. The Left has now apparently disintegrated. Since 1981 the French Socialist Party has successfully managed to marginalise the hard-left and monopolise the centre-left. Not any more: the centre-left voted for the liberal Mr Macron; the hard-left voted for the Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon; and Mr Hamon, the official Socialist candidate, was left with just six per cent of the vote. So deep is the animosity of the hard-left towards Mr Macron that Mr Melenchon has refused to endorse him. In Mr Melenchons eyes, Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen are as bad as each other. Its likely many of Mr Melenchons supporters  and those of other hard-left candidates  will abstain in the second round. So-called Republican Discipline, which saw left-inclined electors vote for the conservative right to defeat Ms Le Pens father in the second round of the 2002 presidential elections, is breaking down.

The candidates of the extremes, whether of left or right, won 45 per cent of the vote. Or to put it another way, nearly half those who voted in the first round backed candidates who dont accept the democratic, social and economic norms of the Fifth Republic. A very large segment of the French population is clearly completely alienated from modern France. That alienation is borne of fear of the future and resentment of the elite; and Ms Le Pen knows exactly how to play to this. She characterises the contest as one between her, a woman of the people, and banker Macron. While its true Mr Macron worked for the investment bank Rothschild & Cie for four years before he became a government minister, this characterisation is a grotesque distortion. Ms Le Pen is hardly a woman of the people. Her family inherited a fortune. She was brought up in the wealthy Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Before taking over the Front National leadership from her father, she practised as an advocate  by no stretch of the imagination a proletarian occupation.

Mr Macron on the other hand was brought up in Amiens, a depressed town in northeastern France. His parents were doctors. Although comfortable, his family  unlike Ms Le Pens  did not inherit a fortune. Also unlike Ms Le Pen, Mr Macron was not effectively handed the leadership of a political party on a plate. Mr Macron is where he is thanks to his own diligence, intelligence and motivation. But none of this really matters, as was vividly shown last week. Mr Macron went to visit a factory in his hometown. The workers are on strike against the threatened relocation of production to Poland where labour costs are lower. Whilst Mr Macron was meeting the union representatives and telling them that globalisation could only be countered by retraining and re-education, Ms Le Pen was meeting the strikers. She told them to an ecstatic response that the answer was closed borders and withdrawal from the European Union. When Mr Macron later met the workers, he was booed and jeered. The fact Ms Le Pens solutions would lead to chaos in Europe and the pauperisation of France is irrelevant. She knew what the workers wanted to hear and she told it to them.

France has been here before of course. During the 1940s and 1950s the combined forces of the Communists and the Gaullists hovered around 45 per cent. Neither accepted the legitimacy of the Fourth Republic. It ultimately collapsed under the stresses of withdrawal from Algeria and Gen. Charles de Gaulle took over. But there are crucial differences. The 40s and 50s were a period of sustained economic modernisation and improving living standards. Living standards over the last 10 years in France have stagnated. Although the Gaullists denied the legitimacy of the Fourth Republic, they were anti-racist. The Front National is not. Gen. De Gaulle knew France had to adapt to the modern world; Ms Le Pen denies it. Gen. De Gaulle ultimately showed himself to be a democrat; it is doubtful that Ms Le Pen is. So then, if Mr Macron is to be elected next Sunday  and despite abstention by some of the hard left it seems likely that he will be  he must show that he understands the anguish which appears to motivate 45 per cent of the electorate. He must learn to give them hope and reconcile them to the world as it is, rather than the world they wish it were. If Mr Macron fails, the outcome of the next presidential elections may be rather different and the consequences for France and Europe will be dire.
Christians have recently celebrated the feast of feasts: Easter. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is so central to his good news or gospel that Apostle Paul writes: If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty and we are people to be pitied. But, if Jesus is, indeed, risen, then his life, death and resurrection become a roadmap for disciples to follow. Before the word Christians came to be used for Christs followers, the first group of his disciples was called The Way. On May 3, we celebrate the feasts of two (among the 12) of Jesus first apostles, Philip and James, who were martyred in Greece and Jerusalem, respectively, since their relics were brought to Rome together, early-May.

When Jesus called Philip with a simple, Follow me! Philip left everything to become his disciple. Later, when doubts about Jesus were expressed by his friend, Nathanael, with a flippant, What good can come out of Nazareth? Philip replied, Come, and see! Thereafter, Nathanael also became Jesus follower from his first-hand experience. Later, Philip was crucified upside down in Greece during the reign of Emperor Domitian. James, fondly called the little  to distinguish him from another of Jesus disciples named James whose mortal remains are in Compostela, Spain  was martyred in Jerusalem during the persecutions of Emperor Nero. He was ordered to stand atop a high wall and denounce Jesus. He refused. Instead, he began preaching about Jesus life, death and resurrection. He was then stoned to death. Today, the relics of Philip and James are enshrined in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles in Rome.

Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, the Life, desiring that his disciples follow his footsteps, proclaim the truth he was teaching, and live like him. Although Jesus disciples deserted him during his passion and death, each of them had a personal experience of his resurrection and all of them (except John) were put to death in different parts of the world. Each of them can be considered a GPS (gospel proclaiming saint) who maps Christs footprints by their own words, works and witness of their lives. In the Last Discourse before his death Jesus instructed his disciples to love one another as I have loved you. Additionally, he also showed a way by which his disciples will be recognised: By this will all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. The way of Jesus is an inclusive path of love, truth, peace, service and self-sacrifice. These can be practised by all people; for God  called by any and every name  also walks with us and carries us onward.
Xiaomis crowd-funded platform MIJIA has launched a new smart-watch called Hey S3 by WeLoop.

The smart-watch looks a lot like Apples Watch Nike+ edition model and is priced at $78 (approximately Rs 5,100) and has been launched in China.

As for the specifications, the Xiaomi Hey S3 smartwatch features a 1.28-inch touchscreen display with 176 x 176 resolution and Gorilla Glass 3 coating. Furthermore, the device includes a feature that tracks the distance covered by the wearer and comes with the Bluetooth v4.2 connectivity option.

Other features include an accelerometer, e-compass, gyroscope and a heart-rate sensor.

The smart-watch is available in three colour variants: Green Youth, Dynamic Black and Bright Red.

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The service was originally planned to incorporate on Gears S3 smartwatch in September 2016 (photo: Yonhap)

Samsung today announced incorporation of its mobile transaction system Samsung Pay on its Gear S3 smartwatch.

The move will allow Gear S3 users to directly make payments using Samsung Pay installed on smartphones through the wearable itself without taking out their mobile devices.

The service was originally planned to incorporate on Gears S3 in September 2016, however it was delayed due to slow pace talks with credit card firms.

Last month, Samsung in an update to the service added support for the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) within the Samsung Pay service.

The support would allow Samsung customers to access multiple bank accounts through a single payment platform.

The mobile payment service now works with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards, Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank in India.

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After Huawei marketed the P10 and P10 Plus, the company had stated that the new smartphones come with UFS 2.1 storage and LPDDR4 RAM.

Huawei has come under fire recently regarding its latest flagship smartphones, the P10 and P10 Plus. The issue comes after some users complained about the internal memory performance. Huawei responded to the whole matter in an arrogant way, according to its chief.

Huaweis Chief Executive Officer Richard Yu took to Chinas biggest social media platform, Weibo, to apologize for the companys initial arrogant response. He also stated measures that the company intended to implement in order to deal with the matter, according to a report.

After Huawei marketed the P10 and P10 Plus, the company had stated that the new smartphones come with UFS 2.1 storage and LPDDR4 RAM, but some customers noticed that their units featured LPRDDR3 RAM and UFS 2.0 or eMMC 5.1.

The latter are slower than their successor models. Huawei has also previously stated that it stands behind its suppliers, and user experience shouldnt be impaired, as necessary adjustments were made. Still, benchmark tests did show that performance depended on the type of memory chips inside the two phones.

Huaweis chief Richard Yu stated in a recent mail to their employees that the whole matter was a wake-up call, showing that the company needs to reassess the way it handles flagship smartphones.

Yu has also stated that Huawei intends to establish a Customer Listening Taskforce with the sole purpose of analyzing feedback and complaints from customers, as well as visiting physical stores, Huawei service centers and retail locations of various partners to interact with customers and attempt to solve any issues that they might have with Huawei smartphones.

Furthermore, Yu intends to take control of Huaweis Consumer Business Group and bring major improvements to the firms relationship with customers. However, the chief didnt reveal whether Huawei P10 and P10 Plus owners would be compensated in any way for memory-related issues, but most certainly more details will be made available soon, as Huawei is working on coming up with the best strategy to handle the whole controversy.

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Facebook is taking steps to crack the whip on malicious content generated through fake accounts, purposefully carried out to win a political discourse. On what is called information operations, Facebook has released a multi-page report by its information team, which explains how misinformation spread out during the 2016 US elections and the counter attack initiated from the side of Facebook.

We have had to expand our security focus from traditional abusive behaviour, such as account hacking, malware, spam and financial scams, to include more subtle and insidious forms of misuse, including attempts to manipulate civic discourse and deceive people. These are complicated issues and our responses will constantly evolve, but we wanted to be transparent about our approach, the report reads.

The information is spread in three ways: targeted data collection, content creation, and false amplification. The data is amplified through fake or inauthentic accounts.

The findings in the report say the content is mainly created by manually operated accounts, not to be mistaken as bots. It also indicates a plan to work in tandem with politicians and campaigns to ensure the social network is not misused for such purposes. The US election being a case study, with French election, Facebook was able to tighten its grip around malicious content generators.

Our systems may detect repeated posting of the same content, or aberrations in the volume of content creation. In France, for example, as of April 13, these improvements recently enabled us to take action against over 30,000 fake accounts.

The Verge points out the requirement of more steps to fortify the campaign and picks a major flaw in the Facebooks action against information operations  a measure to stop generating malicious content at the source.

It writes: As described in the report, almost all the important elements of disinformation campaigns are outside of Facebooks control.

When the campaigns venture onto Facebook, the associated posts tend to behave the same way any piece of news or content would. And while similar campaigns continue across Europe, todays report suggests theres no easy fix for the problem  or at least not from Facebook.

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Not half a month has passed since the release of Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone and series of customers complaints being raised on social media have already put the quality of device in suspicion.

A customer from S. Korea on Monday uploaded a post showing his Galaxy S8 to have a discoloration of screen, highlighting that it had been just over a week since he started using the phone, reported The Korea Herald. In the post, the discolouration of the screen appeared to be present at the bottom part of the screen where the pressure-sensitive home button is built-in, replacing the traditional physical home-button.

Discoloration of a screen is an issue caused commonly on AMOLED screen due to irregular pixel usage.

Since the soft home button features Samsungs Always On Display (AOD) technology, a doubt about possible of discoloration of screen was brought into Samsungs notice by a Dutch consumer.

However, Samsung dismissed the issue pointing it has already been taken care by adoption of burn-in proof technology in the models.

An algorithm to prevent burn-ins is already equipped, a Samsung spokesman based in Seoul, reported The Korea Herald. Whether the consumers claim turns out to be true or not remains to be seen. At the moment, we are not receiving reports of other cases, the spokesperson added.

Apart from this, the Galaxy S8 has faced complaints about the Wi-Fi connection problems and red-tinted display on some devices.

For the red-tint display defect, Samsung claimed it isnt result from a defect in the device and can be rectified by adjusting the colour range of the display in the devices colour optimisation setting for the display.

And in the case of Wi-Fi connection as well, Samsung claimed it wasnt due to hardware defect. Instead, it stated it was a fault in the wireless access point of a local carrier. Following user complaints Samsung announced to roll out two patches in software updates in order to resolve both the issues.

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Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has been making the headlines since the last six months for causing disruption in the telecom market by providing highly-affordable 4G tariff plans. The company even entered the smartphone market by taking the wraps off Android-enabled smartphones such as LYF. It appears like Reliance Jio is all prepared to continue its disruptive streak by introducing yet another low-cost 4G feature phone with useful specifications.

It was reported earlier this year that Reliance Jio is planning on launching a new 4G VoLTE-enabled feature phone that will apparently be priced around Rs 999. The device was widely expected to come equipped with support for the companys high-speed 4G internet, Reliance Jio digital store and Play music.

Another report published recently now suggests that the Chinese mobile-chip maker Spreadtrum Communications had already started work on reducing the prices of phone by at least half the rate. Currently, 4G feature phones are priced around Rs 3,000. If what the company said will actually work out, then the feature phones would actually start at a price of Rs 1,500.

For all of those who are unaware, Spreadtrum Communications and Reliance Industries Ltd have a two-year old partnership wherein the former is responsible for powering the latters Android-enabled smartphones including the LYF Flame 5.

Moreover, it is further reported that Reliance Jio is also in talks with other Chinese contract manufacturers such as Techchain FortuneShip and Uniscope as a part of their effort to explore additional manufacturing possibilities of their 4G VoLTE feature phones.

Currently, the market is flooded with 4G feature phones by Lava and Micromax, which start at Rs 3,000.

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Toronto: Canadas defence minister Harjit Sajjan has apologised in Parliament for claiming to have been the architect of the countrys largest battle in Afghanistan.

Harjit Sajjan on Monday repeatedly said sorry for what he called a mistake while being grilled by opposition lawmakers about his remark last month during a speech in India.

The battle involving Canadas Operation Medusa was planned and executed in 2006 by then-Maj Gen David Fraser, who was responsible for all NATO forces in southern Afghanistan.

At the time of the operation, Sajjan was a major in Afghanistan, a much lower rank.

Interim Conservative opposition leader Rona Ambrose criticised Sajjans initial comment as stolen valour and asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to dismiss him.

Trudeau said Sajjan acknowledged the mistake and continues to have his full confidence.
Washington: A Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) translator was awarded two years in jail by a court in the United States for travelling to Syria and marrying an Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist who she was assigned to investigate.

According to report in Daily Mail, Daniela Greene, 38, was assigned on the case of a German terrorist known as 'Individual A,' who was believed to be one of the deadliest terrorists and to have beheaded many innocents.

Individual A, was Denis Cuspert, a German-born rapper of middling fame who converted to Islam before joining ISIS. It is also believed that he was brainwashed into joining the terrorist organisation.

Greene started noting all online movements of Cuspert's communications. She gained access to several of his online accounts including his Skype ID.

FBI hired Greene as a contract linguist in 2011 and she was asked to follow Cuspert and his activities. However, she left for Syria on pretext of going on vacation to Germany to meet her parents.

Instead, Greene married Cuspert after tracking him down in Syria in 2014, despite still being married to her American soldier husband.

Months later in July after the realisation of what she had done, Greene emailed a friend saying she was having second thoughts. 'I was weak and didn't know how to handle anything anymore. I really made a mess of things this time,' she wrote.

In August, Greene was somehow able to get out of Syria and return back to the US, where she was arrested under offence of national threat and was grilled for hours to extract information about her second husband and their activities in Syria.

Greene, who was then convicted for national threat by an FBI court, however was awarded the minimum imprisonment of 2 years, said the report. However, according to critics a person convicted with such an offence is at least awarded 13 years in jail.

During trial in December, Greene pleaded guilty to making false statements about terrorism and agreed to help the FBI, a fact which was largely kept sealed and private.

According to FBI sources, Greene was shown leniency due to her co-operation during investigation and hence was merely awarded two years in jail.

Interestingly, top FBI authorities had proclaimed Cuspert dead in air strikes in 2015, however, he was found alive after nine months.
Washington: A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged the Trump Administration to steps to stop rising hate crimes against religious minorities and Indian-Americans in the US.

The letter urges the Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to act on the knowledge and use the resources of his department to combat both hate crimes and their root causes.

"From attacks on Indian-Americans to grave desecration at Jewish cemeteries, the recent rise in hate-motivated attacks is troubling to all Americans," a bipartisan group of 68 Congressmen said in the letter.

The letter was initiated by Rajakrishnamoorthi. Among signatories to the letter are Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera.

"These attacks seek to undermine not just public safety, but the very nature of American exceptionalism. For more than two hundred years, the United States has stood as a beacon of freedom from tyranny, oppression, and persecution," the letter said.

"A fundamental promise of our nation is that any American - regardless of where you come from, the colour of your skin, or how you pray - can trust the federal government to preserve, protect, and defend their rights," it said.

"We respectfully urge you to use the full powers of your office to stop further racially-motivated attacks and combat the roots of hatred and intolerance. We stand ready to work with you and all Americans to turn back this tide of hatred and protect the rights of every citizen," the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers thanked Kelly for his recent visit to the Congressional Asia Pacific American Caucus meeting. "At a time when so many Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, and other religious minorities fear for their safety, we were heartened by your commitment to protecting all Americans, but we urge you to now take action to follow through on this commitment," they wrote.

At the meeting Kelly said: "One of the first things I noticed from the last administration is that there was not enough focus, in my view, on white supremacy organisations or hate organisations."

"This intolerance is truly disgusting. Now is the time to take decisive action to combat hate groups and reassure Americans that their government will protect their most basic rights," the lawmakers insisted.

Two Indian-Americans were shot in Kansas with the attacker yelling at his victims "get out of my country," the letter said.

In Florida, an Indian-American family's store was almost burnt to the ground. Many more have been harassed and threatened.

In the midst of the shooting in Kansas, a bystander rushed in, seeking to help his fellow Americans," the lawmakers wrote.
Washington: Afghanistan's relationship with India is unacceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like Haqqani network and the Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

"Afghanistan's strongest regional ally is India, that is unacceptable to Pakistan. India is an enemy while the Afghan government is an ally in the Indian government," Seth Jones, Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center, Rand Corporation said during a Congressional hearing last week.

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against the Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban, so it's a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

"The Pakistani government is continuing with its policy, their strategy of strategic depth, that it views everything through the lens of fighting India," Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation.

"That unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India to establish strategic depth in Afghanistan, it's come back to bite them with groups like the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, and other groups which have attacked the Pakistani state," Roggio said.

"Unfortunately, Pakistan seems unwilling to recognise this that it still while it fights the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, it continues what other groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and a host of other groups because they are willing to serve

as Pakistan's strategic depth," he said.

"Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, until they come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist for decades," Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan said that in recent years the US has given over USD 33 billion in some form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We

should not accept sending money to a country that support a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Jones said it's a serious problem. "I would support as the US did last year when it has a strike against the Taliban leader, as it did with Mullah Mansour to take that strike. I mean, I think it's worth considering the cost and benefits, but I would applaud the administration for targeting the Taliban leader last year," he said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise that when a US drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in May 2016, he was in South-western Pakistan.

"The laundry list of evidence of Pakistan's support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al Qaida leader and America's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counterterrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not the Afghan Taliban,"

he said.

Speaking about ISIS, he said: "ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghan further complicates the country's tourist

landscape."

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as "ISIS Khorasan Province".
American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shah's lawsuit. (Photo: AP)

New York: A Pakistani-origin Muslim flight attendant in the US has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that his co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and part of Hezbollah and the Taliban.

Farkhan Mahmood Shah, of Edison, New Jersey, also claims in the lawsuit, filed recently in the Superior Court in Middlesex County, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents came to his house after he complained about the harassment to company officials.

Shah alleges that he was targeted for religious and ethnic harassment after the attacks of September 11, NJ.com reported.

American Airlines failed to stop the harassment after he reported it, Shah claims in the lawsuit. Shah, who started working at the airline in 1999 as a flight attendant, says in the suit that he was called a terrorist, part of Hezbollah and the Taliban, and other offensive names.

On one flight, he claims another flight attendant tried to convert him from Islam to Christianity. American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shah's lawsuit.

"American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Miller was quoted as saying. Shah said he reported the alleged harassment in 2008 when he began to notice erroneous marks on his record for being late and missing work.

The complaint escalated to the airline's New York human resources office in 2013 following numerous complaints where he also brought up the record errors, the suit said.

In 2014, Shah and his co-workers were having a conversation about 9/11 and one of the workers said, "it was the Muslims and that Muslims are evil," according to the suit.

Shah responded that some had said the terrorist attack was an inside job, and ISIS was created by the CIA, citing a Hillary Clinton clip he saw, the lawsuit said. Shah claims only his comments were reported to the supervisors.

Weeks later, Shah claims in his suit that he was placed on a "watch list" by American Airlines, and FBI agents showed up at his New Jersey home.

Shah claims the harassment continued over the next two years, as his case was moved around to a number of different human resources representatives without any resolution, according to the suit.

In 2016, he filed a complaint with US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the suit states. Less than two weeks later, Shah claims FBI agents showed up at his house again, asking him if he planned on hurting anyone.

Shah received his Right to Sue letter from the EEOC earlier this year and remains on airline's staff. The suit, which names American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, seeks damages, attorney fees and other relief.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday opened the door to meeting North Korea's Kim Jong Un, saying he would be honored to meet the young leader under the right circumstances, even as Pyongyang suggested it would continue its nuclear weapons tests.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News, comments that drew criticism in Washington. "Under the right circumstances I would meet with him," Trump said.

Trump did not say what conditions would need to be met for any such meeting to occur or when it could happen, but the White House later said North Korea would need to meet many conditions before a meeting could be contemplated. "Clearly conditions are not there right now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

"I dont see this happening anytime soon," Spicer added. Trump, who took office in January, had said during his presidential campaign he would be willing to meet with Kim.

His administration has since said North Korea must agree to abandon its nuclear and missile programs and has sought to pressure Pyongyang economically and diplomatically while insisting that military options remain "on the table."

On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the United Nations Security Council that Washington would not negotiate with North Korea. US Vice President Mike Pence, earlier on Monday, said Trump had made clear "that the era of strategic patience is over."

Later on Monday, a US State Department spokeswoman said in a statement: The United States remains open to credible talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula; however conditions must change before there is any scope for talks to resume, adding that North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Despite that, Trump's statement that he would be "honored" to meet Kim - as well as his description of the young North Korean leader over the weekend as "a pretty smart cookie" - sparked fresh concern over his approach to North Korea.

"I don't see much coherence in the Trump administration's statements," said Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "If there is to be any hope of getting Kim Jong Un back to the negotiating table to discuss denuclearization, the US has to articulate a clear position."

John Sifton, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Trump had established a troubling pattern of paying compliments to foreign leaders with shaky human rights or autocratic reputations. "You don't have to be a psychologist to see that he admires leaders who ignore the rule of law," he said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by fears the North might conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the April 15 anniversary of its state founder's birth.

Early on Monday, North Korea said it would bolster its nuclear force "to the maximum" in a "consecutive and successive way at any moment" in the face of what it calls US aggression and hysteria.

North Korea, technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea and has said it will pursue its nuclear and missile programs to counter perceived US aggression.

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to waters off the Korean peninsula to join drills with South Korea to counter a series of threats of destruction from North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"Now that the US is kicking up the overall racket for sanctions and pressure against the DPRK, pursuant to its new DPRK policy called 'maximum pressure and engagement', the DPRK will speed up at the maximum pace the measure for bolstering its nuclear deterrence," a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by its official KCNA news agency.

North Korea's "measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership," the spokesman said.

Reclusive North Korea has carried out five nuclear tests and a series of missile tests in defiance of UN Security Council and unilateral resolutions. It has been conducting tests at an unprecedented rate and is believed to have made progress in developing intermediate-range and submarine-launched missiles.

It test-launched a missile on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful but which nevertheless drew widespread international condemnation.

SOUTH KOREAN MISSILE DEFENSE

Separately, South Korea said the United States had reaffirmed it would shoulder the cost of deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to counter the North Korean threat, days after Trump said Seoul should pay for the $1 billion battery.

In a telephone call on Sunday, Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, reassured his South Korean counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, that the U.S. alliance with South Korea was its top priority in the Asia-Pacific region, the South's presidential office said.

The THAAD system in South Korea has reached an initial operating capability to defend against North Korean missiles, US officials said on Monday. It would not be fully operational for some months, however, one of them cautioned.

The THAAD deployment has drawn protests from China, which says the powerful radar that can penetrate its territory will undermine regional security, and from residents of the area in which it is being deployed, worried they will be a target for North Korean missiles.

Over the weekend, Trump stepped up his outreach to allies in Asia to discuss the North Korean threat.

As part of that effort, he invited Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to meet in Washington, a move human rights organizations condemned but which the White House defended as necessary for countering North Korea.

Washington is also seeking more help from China, the North's only major ally, to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development. Unlike the United States, Beijing has pushed for talks first and action later on North Korea.

"The United States has ... negotiated, had talks, waited patiently. All the while we've seen the regime in North Korea continue its headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons, and a ballistic missile program. And the president said that's over," Pence told CBS News in an interview.
Washington: US President Donald Trump will speak with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over telephone Tuesday, the White House said.

There was no indication about the topics of discussion for the two leaders. The call was scheduled for 2200 IST (1630 GMT).

Trump has already spoken by telephone twice with Putin, since taking office in January.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned conversation on Tuesday, in comments to the Ria Novosti news agency.

On January 28, the two men discussed how to defeat the Islamic State group in a congratulatory call from Putin, according to officials.

The last time, on April 3, Trump pledged support to Russia over a deadly bomb attack in the Saint Petersburg metro that killed 15 people.

US ties with Russia are under scrutiny after US intelligence agencies said hackers directed by the Kremlin accessed the Democratic National Committee networks ahead of the election that put Trump in the White House.

The FBI is probing any links between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government. The Pentagon is probing Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over payments received from Russian government-linked firms.
Stroud Area Regional police say doctors determined the injuries to the 6-week-old were massive and consistent with a punch, kick or slam.

East Stroudsburg: Police say a Pennsylvania woman fractured her infants skull and tried to blame the injuries on her 6-year-old son.

Stroud Area Regional police say doctors determined the injuries to the 6-week-old were massive and consistent with a punch, kick or slam. Doctors also found evidence of past head trauma and say the boy likely will be disabled because of brain injuries.

29-year-old Angelica Colon is jailed on attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. A public defender for the East Stroudsburg woman didnt immediately comment on the charges Tuesday.

Police interviewed Colon after the infant was first hospitalized April 13. They say she told them her 6-year-old son grabbed the boy out of his crib then accidentally dropped him, waking her up.
MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with the death of all 298 on board. (Photo: AP)

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airlines announced on Tuesday it has reached a settlement with an Australian family who lost four family members on Flight MH17.

Perth couple Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris lost their children Evie, 10, Mo, 12, and Otis, 8, along with their grandfather on the Boeing 777 which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014.

The airline said in a statement it has reached "an amicable and confidential settlement with the Maslin family and therefore the suit has been withdrawn".

It said it would not "disclose any further details on this suit or about the details of the settlement in respect to the privacy of the family".

Malaysia Airlines also said that to date, a "substantial number" of next-of-kin have reached settlements with the airline while others were "still seeking compensation and are pursuing their claims in their respective jurisdictions".

A lawyer representing families of six Malaysia Airlines crew members on MH17 said that the airline had offered to settle for an undisclosed amount in June last year, but the families had rejected the proposed sum.

"There was another offer in January and we're still considering," lawyer Saw Wei Siang said Tuesday. The Malaysian lawsuit in June last year came two weeks after a suit by 33 next-of-kin from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia was filed against Russia and against President Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights.

MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with the death of all 298 on board, most of them Dutch citizens. A Dutch-led criminal investigation into the attack concluded in September last year that a BUK missile, transported from Russia, was fired from a field in a part of war-torn Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russian rebels, and hit the plane.

But it stopped short of saying who pulled the trigger. The Dutch-led investigation did not directly accuse Moscow of supplying the BUK missile and its transporters system and the Russian government has repeatedly denied any involvement.

Malaysia Airlines said it was flying over unrestricted airspace and had complied with all regulatory requirements. In its statement the airline said "it has always been its priority that all next-of-kin are fully compensated fairly and equitably... and this is not in any way tantamount to an admission of liability of guilt".
The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscows ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine. (Photo: AP)

Sochi (Russia): German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Tuesday meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on her first visit to Russia since 2015, in a signal of renewed dialogue as deep strains remain over Ukraine.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscows ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine.

Berlin has said the meeting will above all focus on the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July and no major breakthroughs are expected on bridging the deep rifts between the two sides.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supporting the pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country. Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West, and a European-brokered peace plan to end the conflict has hit a dead end.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was not frozen but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

Merkels visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries relations to fully normalise, while meeting German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

The German leader has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europes backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Frances Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

Last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

There are two topics that weigh down relations... the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies. Seibert called this a difficult context that one cannot ignore, but added that our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements.

Both sides have also said the talks will cover the conflict in Syria, where Putins military backing for leader Bashar al-Assad has set him at odds with the West.

The Kremlin added that the visit would be an opportunity to discuss the current state and prospects of bilateral relations.
Pakistan army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC. (Photo: Representational/PTI)

Islamabad: The top army commanders of Pakistan and India on Tuesday talked over the hotline a day after a Pakistani Special Forces team sneaked across the Line of Control and beheaded two Indian security personnel.

The hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India was established at 11:30 am, Geo News reported. "Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the report said.

The DGMO-level contact came after the local commanders of the two armies spoke last night at Rawlakot-Poonch sector along the LoC. The local commander of the Pakistan Army told his Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violation was committed by Pakistan, the military's Inter-Services Public Relations wing said in a statement.

"Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side or mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations," the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

Pakistan army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC.

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan's border action team (BAT) crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.
Aziz said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue. (Photo: AFP)

Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday claimed that the international community has rejected India's contention that the turmoil in Kashmir is primarily a cross-border terrorism issue, as it blamed India for "scuttling" all opportunities for a "meaningful" dialogue to resolve the issue.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, in a hard-hitting statement, said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"India's contention that the Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today," Aziz said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

He also welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the issue.

The recent offer of the Turkish President Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the issue must be welcomed, Aziz said.

"In this context, the Indian counter proposal that it is ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan is no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions on Kashmir," Aziz said.

He alleged that the Indian government has broken its "own record of brutality" in Kashmir by "indiscriminately killing" unarmed Kashmiri protestors. Aziz said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Declaration' adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul, in April last, "out-rightly rejected India's attempts of equating the Kashmiris freedom struggle with terrorism."

"Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large scale uprising, which is going on in Kashmir, involving mostly young unarmed Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly shows that Kashmir is a burning issue requiring urgent international attention," Aziz said.
Islamabad: Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, "We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for

all."

"Pakistan welcomes the Turkish President's offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement last night.

Erdogan's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India.

The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India on Monday asserted that the Kashmir issue is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogan's remarks, saying, "Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues" in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the Foreign Office said.

It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community, including the US, have urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security.
The Election Commission has cancelled the May 25 Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll, citing poor law and order situation and lack of adequate central forces. Earlier, the EC had planned to hold the bypoll on April 12 but had postponed it to May 25, citing similar problems in the Kashmir Valley. In its 10-page order issued late last night, the poll panel said "in view of the prevailing ground situation and non-availability of sufficient security forces, the Commission is of the considered view that peaceful, free and fair poll is not feasible on May 25, as scheduled, though some political parties have asked for the same."



The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Mehbooba Mufti in July last when she became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The EC said it had also considered postponing the polls to another date but it was not a feasible option. It said the holy month of Ramzan, the Amarnath Yatra and the upcoming tourist season meant postponing the poll was not an option.



Reacting to the order, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, "It's depressing to see how far we have regressed in Kashmir from the highs of the Assembly polls of 2014 to the cancelled election of 2017." The state government was of the view that if bypoll is held in May, it would affect anti-terror operations which are necessary for return of normalcy.



It also said politicians and families of the police personnel were being targeted to create a sense of fear ahead of the election. School and panchayat buildings, used as polling stations, were being burnt to sabotage the electoral process. The Commission said while 687 companies (68,700 personnel) of central forces were sought, the Home Ministry sanctioned 250 companies (25,000 personnel) for Anantnag, which are insufficient.



Besides the 250 companies, 54 companies (5,400 personnel) are already in Anantnag as part of the pre-poll arrangement. During a video conference, local police officials told the EC top brass that the situation in Anantnag is "scary". The bypoll will now be held when the situation is conducive, it said.


"How can the prime minister allow him to remain as minister of defense when he continually misstates the facts?" she added. It was a "whopper" of a lie to raise his own profile, said Tom Mulcair, leader of the third-ranked New Democratic Party.



"That is not something you apologize for, it's something you have to step down for," he said. Sajjan apologised repeatedly in the House of Commons for the "stolen valor" incident -- falsely claiming war experiences or military honors not earned -- while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood by his minister.



"The minister made a mistake," said Trudeau. "He acknowledged it and apologized for it. That's what Canadians expect. "This minister has served his country in many capacities as a police officer, as a soldier, and now as a minister. And he has my full confidence," he added.



Sajjan has said he wishes to retract the inflated claims. "I in no way would like to diminish the great work that my former superiors and our soldiers have done on operations, and I'm truly sorry for it," he said yesterday.



Canada's opposition called for Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan to resign or be sacked for overstating his military record in Afghanistan during a speech in India. Sajjan, a decorated former military intelligence officer, erroneously claimed last month to have been the "architect" of Canada's largest military operation since the 1950s, known as Operation Medusa.The 2006 offensive delivered a blow to the Taliban, loosening its grip on Kandahar province, but at a cost -- a dozen Canadian and 14 British soldiers died. "It's come to light that the minister of defense has misled Canadians once again and it's a big one," said Rona Ambrose, leader of the opposition Tories, recalling that Sajjan made a similar claim while campaigning in 2015.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss various issues including to tackle the current drought situation and drinking water crisis in the State.



The cabinet meeting assumes significance as it was held amid merger talks attempts between the two AIADMK warring factions.



Secretariat sources told Deccan Herald that the meeting, which lasted for about an hour, also discussed about Centre's measures with regard to the constitution of Cauvery River Management Board.



The cabinet also discussed about the two bills that were sent for Presidential assent seeking to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET and the convening of the State Assembly to take up the demand for grants for various departments.



The last Assembly session was convened for few days in March to table the Budget and was adjourned in view of the by-elections to the R K Nagar assembly seat, which felt vacant after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.



The Opposion parties in Tamil Nadu including DMK and congress have been demanding to convene assembly session since R K Nagar by-polls was cancelled following complaints of bribing voters.


The Army and the BSF today bid farewell to Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar who were beheaded by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. A wreath-laying ceremony was organised in Poonch in their honour which was attended by top ranking security officials. The mortal remains of Singh, who belonged to the 22 Sikh Infantry, have been flown to his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. The body of Prem Sagar, of the 200th Battalion of BSF, has been flown to New Delhi for further journey to his native place in Uttar Pradesh.



42-year-old Singh is survived by his wife Paramjeet Kaur. Sagar (45) hailed from Takenpur in UP's Deoria district. He is survived by his wife Shanti. Under the cover of heavy rocket and mortar fire, Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) had sneaked 250 meters across the Line of Control into the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir and beheaded the two soldiers yesterday. The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act". Anti-Pakistan protests meanwhile rocked Poonch and Jammu district over the killing.



In Poonch, locals and ex-servicemen shouted anti-Pakistan slogans as the mortal remains of two soldiers were being taken to Jammu. There have been several BAT attacks in the past in which jawans have been beheaded or their bodies mutilated. On October 28, 2016, militants attacked a post and killed an Indian army soldier and mutilated his body close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Machil sector.



In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by BAT. It also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack. In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days. During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Captain Saurabh Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors who later handed over his mutilated body to India.



In February, 2000, terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri had led a raid on the Indian army's 'Ashok Listening Post' in the Nowshera sector and killed seven Indian soldiers. Even then, Kashmiri had taken back to Pakistan the head of a 24-year-old Indian jawan Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry.
A team of officials from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today met with Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) here to discuss former liquor baron Vijay Mallya's extradition case.



The CPS will be arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities when the flamboyant tycoon's extradition case comes up for hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court here on May 17. "I can confirm that our lawyers have met with officials from the CBI today to discuss the case," a CPS spokesperson said today.



A three-member joint CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana had arrived in London earlier today. A fourth member is expected to join the team tomorrow, with meetings with CPS scheduled throughout this week.



"Our aim is to build a strong, infallible case and these meetings will help resolve issues across the table. The CPS will be arguing based on documents provided by CBI and ED, therefore a joint team is here to address queries they may have," official sources said.



Mallya, the 61-year-old chief of the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines who owes over Rs 9,000 crore to various Indian banks, has been living in Britain since March last year. The CBI has two cases against him - one related to the Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.



Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard last month on fraud allegations, triggering an official extradition process in the British courts. He attended a central London police station for his arrest and was released a few hours later after providing a bail bond worth 650,000 pounds, assuring the court of abiding by all conditions associated with extradition proceedings, such as the surrender of his passport and a ban on him possessing any travel documents.



"When the case returns to court on May 17, the District Judge is likely to set down a timetable for the service of any evidence to be submitted by either side in the proceedings, and list a date for a final hearing.



"There might be a few more hearings in this case in the coming months to deal with case management or any issues that arise, before the final hearing takes place, at which the full arguments from both sides in this case will be heard by the District Judge, explained Jasvinder Nakhwal, partner at Peters and Peters Solicitors LLP and member of the UK's Extradition Lawyers Association.



If the District Judge rules in favour of extradition, the UK home secretary must order Mallya's extradition within two months of the appropriate day. However, the case can go through a series of appeals before arriving at a conclusion.



India and the UK have an Extradition Treaty, signed in 1992, but so far only one extradition has taken place under the arrangement  Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, who was sent back to India last October to face trial in connection with his involvement in the post-Godhra riots of 2002. However, unlike Mallya, he had submitted to the extradition order without legal challenge.
The DRI has roped in Income Tax department to look into the recovery of about Rs one crore cash from the house of a national-level shooter in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh during recent raids conducted by it.



The IT department will look into the source of the money recovered from the house, a DRI official said today.



A syndicate involved in gun-running and wildlife trade was busted on Sunday by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Three accused including Slovenian national Boris Sobotic Mikolic have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the racket.



The trio were intercepted after their arrival at the IGI Airport here by a Turkish Airlines flight from Slovenia's capital Ljubljana via Istanbul on Saturday. They were carrying 25 illegally imported lethal weapons and other items worth about Rs. 4.5 crore with them, according to a senior DRI official.



They had incorrectly declared the quantity and value of the arms and ammunition to the customs officials and tried to get these items cleared by misusing the scheme meant for renowned shooters, he said. The rules permit professional shooters to import a limited quantity of arms and ammunition for practice.



The accused -- Amit Goyal, Anil Kumar Langan and Mikolic -- have been arrested for allegedly violating customs rules to evade payment of import duty, the official said. They have been sent to 14 days in judicial custody by a local court.



Following the detention of the accused, the DRI had carried out searches at multiple places including the house of the national-level shooter, Prashant Bishnoi, son of a retired army colonel, and seized over hundred illegally imported firearms, 117 kg of nilgai meat, horns and skins of leopards and blackbucks. The DRI officials said nothing specific has come out against the retired army officer.



Unaccounted cash of about Rs. one crore and two lakh cartridges were also seized during the searches. The firearms of various make and models -- Glock (Austria), Italy-made Beretta, Arsenal, Benelle and Blaser (Germany) -- were seized along with expensive cameras, thermal imaging binoculars and cartridges during the raids.
The Common Entrance Test 2017 for admission to engineering, technology, science, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and other courses began today in the state.



The first paper on Day 1 was Biology for 60 marks. The exam was held between 10.30 am and 11.50 am. The exam is conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) was held in 404 examination centres in the state and 82 centres in Bengaluru.



Anxious parents waited outside the exam centres to know how their children fared. Sumitra Iyers daughter Vidyashree was writing her exam in the Government PU College, Malleswaram. We have come from Chennai for the exam. I am hoping that she gets a seat in the Horanadu Kannadiga quota, she said. Parents were satisfied with exam arrangements.



Ramesh Acharya, a student of Sheshadripuram college found the Biology exam easy. Most of the questions were from syllabus we had in the first year of Pre-University. It was quite easy and time was sufficient too, he said.



Another student, Richard Fernandes also said that the paper was easy. The questions were straightforward and from the syllabus. There were no errors but it was time-consuming, he said.



The Mathematics paper, also for 60 marks, will begin at 2.30 pm and continue till 3.50 pm. A total of 1,85,411 candidates have registered for CET this year.
The mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was killed in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village here today.



The 42-year-old soldier, who belonged to the army's 22 Sikh Infantry, was beheaded yesterday by Pakistani troops, who similarly mutilated the body of Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF's 200th Battalion. A large number of mourners from his village and surronding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to him.



Senior army officers and those from the civil administration were also present as buglers sounded the 'Last Post' and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute. His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a bedecked vehicle.



The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.



A Pakistani special forces team had yesterday sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded the two Indian security personnel. Singh is survived by his aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, who are aged between 11 and 14.



Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was to arrive at his village a week later on holiday, his family and friends has demanded a befitting reply be given to to Pakistan



Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre should give free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a stern lesson. "Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," Kaur said.



The anger was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the Indo-Pak international border, against Pakistan.



While "Shaheed Paramjeet Amar Rahe" slogans rent the air, "Pakistan Murdabad" slogans were also raised. Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab today, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.



The martyr's father Udham Singh said he was proud of his son, but wanted that Pakistan be given a befitting reply.

"Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson," he said. Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.



Struggling to hold back her tears, his daugthter Simardeep said she was proud of her father, who had laid down his life for the nation. Udham said Paramjeet had wanted to give the best possible education to his children and had talked about about renovating his house so his kids could get more space to study and play.



His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government should give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy. Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA "who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away".



"My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he has served in the Army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief," he told reporters.



A childhood friend of Paramjeet also asked, "Why can't our government give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Give our Army a free hand. The Sikh Regiment alone is enough to take on Pakistan."
Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty has directed the police to initiate criminal proceedings against persons who put up illegal advertisement hoardings in the city.



The lokayukta directed City Police Commissioner to issue circular to all the police stations to register FIR against culprits displaying illegal hoardings.



The lokayukta is hearing a case of poisoning of 17 trees by injecting acid on Marathahalli ring road and at least 15 trees near Mahadevapura police station.



Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials informed the Lokayukta that HAL police have registered an FIR in connection with the Marathahalli ring road incident while the BBMP's forest wing is investigating Mahadevapura incident. The trees were poisoned for a better visibility of the advertisement hoardings of a leading phone manufacturing company.



Directing the BBMP officials and the police to submit action taken report in the cases, Justice Shetty asked the police to bring such culprits to book. ``It is needless to point out that the forest wing of BBMP and also all the police who come within the jurisdiction of Commissioner of Police Bengaluru City are required to take prompt action to prevent commission of offence of destruction of tree growth. The police wing in the BBMP and BDA also required to take active role in preserving the tree growth and also to prevent unauthorised display of advertisement hoardings. It is highly desirable that the Commissioner of Police issue necessary instructions and circulate the copy of this order to all the jurisdictional police stations to take effective steps, (sic)'' Justice Shetty stated in the order.



The Lokayukta has stated that a team of officials may have to be created in the event if BBMP fails to take steps for removal of unauthorised advertisement hoardings in its limits. Lokayukta has directed the BBMP and the jurisdictional police (HAL station) to submit the action report within eight weeks.




In yet another dacoity, suspected militants looted Rs 65 thousand from a bank in south Kashmirs Kulgam district on Tuesday.



A Police official said unidentified gunmen with their faces covered, believed to be militants, broke into a branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank at Kedar Yaripora village of Kulgam, 70 kms from here, and took away the cash from the counter. Soon after the incident, security forces cordoned off the area.



The incident happened a day after five policemen and two security guards were killed after militants attacked a cash van of Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the same district. The militants took away the five service rifles of the slain cops. However, there was no cash in the van at the time of the incident, as it had already been deposited at Manzgam branch of the Bank. Militant outfit Hizbul Mujhadeen claimed responsibility for the attack.



Kashmir has witnessed a surge in bank looting cases ever since demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year. On December 15, militants had looted around Rs 11 lakh from a branch of J&K Bank in Pulwama district.



Earlier on December 8, militants had looted Rs ten lakh after forcing their entry into the same bank in Arihal, Pulwama. Prior to that on November 21, Lashker-e-Toiba militants robbed a bank in Chrar-e-Sharief area of central Kashmir's Budgam district, decamping with nearly Rs 13 lakh cash.
A high-level meeting of the Unified Command will be held this week in Chhattisgarh to chalk out a comprehensive strategy to hit Maoists, in the aftermath of recent ambushes that has killed over 35 CRPF troops in the worst-hit Sukma district.



Chief Minister Raman Singh has called the meeting on May 5 in Raipur, officials said.



The top brass of central paramilitary forces, the Chhattisgarh police, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and state government authorities responsible for the administration in Bastar and other Naxal violence hit districts of the state will take part in the meeting, they said.



The Unified Command was created in all the Maoist violence affected states in the aftermath of the 2010 Dantewada attack where 75 CRPF personnel and a state policeman, were killed in a deadly ambush carried out by Naxals.



The Command is chaired by the respective chief ministers.



Officials privy to the preparations for the meeting told PTI that the chief minister had asked security forces to prepare a list of all human and technical support and aid they need to conduct operations in these areas including the southern border of the state that touches Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.



They said the forces have been also asked to prepare a list of police stations and camps of the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) that require fortification and need other daily requirements for troops.



It is also being planned to increase the manpower in some of the Chhattisgarh police 'thanas' in these areas by filling up their vacancies.



For the time being, a senior officer said, CRPF and CoBRA teams will occupy these police locations to carry out stealth operations.



They said the meeting will have a special presentation by the CRPF officials and those from the technical surveillance wings including the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), that flies Unmanned Aerial Vehicles over dense forests and hills in the Bastar region to aid the troops on ground.



The joint security forces, they said, have already begun conducting special intelligence-based operations in these areas after the Naxals massacred 25 CRPF men on April 24 and killed 12 on March 11 in the Sukma district.



They said the 'tactical air and ground command centre' in Jagdalpur is being supervised by Senior Security Advisor in the home ministry, K Vijay Kumar and Special Director General (anti-Naxal operations) of Chhattisgarh police, D M Awasthi, who are camping in the area to strategies operations and boost the morale of their men.



The troops, as part of the latest offensive action, are being serviced by at least four dedicated choppers that have been tasked to airlift troops and logistics for the next few days while the operations are being conducted in these areas.



They said special teams of the CRPF's jungle warfare guerrilla force CoBRA have been asked to "disrupt" the Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) being undertaken by Naxal cadres to exert their influence in the area during summer.



Meanwhile, all security forces camps in Naxal affected areas of Chhattisgarh have been asked to be extra vigilant against possible Maoist attacks, the officer said.



"This is a routine word of caution issued to security forces," he said.


In what could perhaps be the first such case in Maharashtra and the second such instance in India, a family court in Pune has granted divorce to a couple after one of the petitioners appeared through video-conferencing over Skype.



The woman (26) hails from Amravati and the man (28) is from Nagpur and were working as software professionals at Hinjewadi in Pune, the IT capital of Maharashtra.



They fell in love and married on 9 May, 2015. However, because of their separate professional careers compatibility issues cropped up and they started living separately from 30 June, 2015 - nearly a month after marriage. The lady now works in London while the man is settled in Singapore - and in August 2016, after mutual consent they filed divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.



The case was heard before Pune Civil Judge, Senior Division, V. S. Malkapatte-Reddy, who is Presiding Officer, Matrimonial Cases.



"It was a unique case for Maharashtra," advocate Suchit Mundada, who represents the lady, told the Deccan Herald. While the man was present in the court on Saturday, the lady could not come down from London because of professional commitments. "We requested for video-conferening over Skype, which was allowed by the court," he said.



"At the appointed time, the wife called from London and the husband was present before the court in Pune...her version was taken and the divorce was granted," he said, adding that the Bombay High Court last year had allowed recording of evidence through video-conferencing.



In November 2015, a similar case was reported from Telangana when a Khammam court used Skype to dispose of a divorce case involving a US-based NRI woman and her husband Kiran, a resident of Khammam. The lady deposed through Skype.
Former Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday asked the Modi government to give the Army the freedom to retaliate Pakistan's barbaric act killing and mutilating Indian soldiers on patrolling duty along the Line of Control.



The unusually strong words from the senior Congress leader came against the public outrage over the third such incident in the past six months.



Antony also reminded the Modi government that during his eight year stint as Defence Minister only one incident of killing and mutilation of Indian soldiers had taken place.



In one sentence, my only request to the government is  give freedom to the Army to take appropriate action at the appropriate time, Antony told reporters here.



He said such continuous attacks put a question mark on the security structure of the country. It has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian army, Antony said.



Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the incident. He recalled BJP leader Sushma Swaraj's remarks on when a soldier was killed and decapitated during UPA rule in 2013. Sushmaji had said 10 heads for 1. We wish to ask the Prime Minister how many (heads) for the two, Sibal said.



Sibal also took a dig at the NDA saying it was time the Prime Minister had a full time Defence Minister. Only a full time defence minister can draft full time strategy towards growth and security, he said referring to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who also holds the Defence portfolio.



Sibal said the 35 months of NDA rule have seen 91 civilian deaths in terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir as against 50 deaths during the last 35 months of the UPA government.



The death of jawans in the period under reivew were 103 during UPA rule and 198 under the Modi government.



Sibal said ceasefire violations have also increased from 470 in the last 35 months of the UPA to 1343 in the nearly three years of Modi government.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to 12 people, belonging to 'Deendar-Anjuman' group, and awarded life term for carrying out a series of blasts at various places in Karnataka in year 2000.



A bench of Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman put the appeals filed by them against their conviction and sentence for consideration after summer vacation.



Advocate Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for the convicts, sought bail for them on the ground of parity with another convict Syed Abdul Khader Gilani. She said the other petitioners should also be enlarged till the time the apex court heard their appeal against their conviction and sentence.



Karnataka's Additional Advocate General Devadutt Kamat, on the other hand, opposed her plea. He said the convicts, being members of Deendar-Anjuman organisation, conspired and carried out the blasts at different churches in the city of Bengaluru, Hubbali and Gulbarga, among others, in order to disturb peace and tranquility of Karnataka's peace-loving society.



Kamat also urged the apex court to recall the order that granted bail to Gilani, one of the convicts, in February, this year. He said the convict may flee to Pakistan as he had earlier travelled several times to the neighbouring country. The state government also submitted that it would soon file a petition seeking restoration of death penalty to them.



Jaiswal, however, countered his arguments, saying Gilani did not hold any passport and he was very much present in Bengaluru. On this, Kamat contended the convict did not require valid passport for going to Pakistan.



The bench, then, asked the state government to file its proper application for recalling the order for bail to Gilani.



The petitioners-convicts challenged the 14 December, 2014 order of the Karnataka HC's order that upheld their conviction in the case. The HC had commuted the death penalty awarded to them by the trial court to life term.



On 8 June, 2000, two consecutive blasts took place at St Ann's Catholic Church, Wadi, Chittapur Taluk, Gulbarga district in three hours. The second blast took place on 8 July, 2000 at St Luthern Church in Hubbali between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. The third bomb blast was carried out on 9 July, 2000 at 10:15 p.m. at St Peter and Paul Church on J J Nagar Main Road, Bengaluru.
At least 20 more terror camps have come up across the Line of Control (LoC) after the September 2016 surgical strikes taking the total to around 55 such facilities, officials said on Tuesday.



There were around 35 terror camps across the LoC in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir when the Indian Army launched the surgical strike to target such facilities which were also used as launch pads for terrorists waiting to infiltrate into India.



Officials quoted intelligence reports to suggest that 20 new camps have come up on the otherside of LoC in the past four months. The earlier ones had also resumed functioning actively.



The remarks came a day after Pakistan Army mutilated two bodies of Indian soldiers by beheading them inside Indian territory. Intelligence agencies have also told top security officials that around 160 militants are active in Kashmi valley.



In March, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed Parliament that over 300 Kashmiri youths joined militancy in the past seven years with 2016 topping in such recruitment. However, the participation of youngsters in violence has "ceased" this year,



While the number of youth joining militancy was on the decrease from 2010 to 2013, it picked up from 2014. Eighty-eight youths joined the militants last year, mainly after the encounter killing of Hizbul Mujahideen operative Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016.



In 2010, the number of youth who were recruited was 54 and it decreased to 23 the next year. It further declined to 21 and 16 in 2012 and 2013 respectively. However, 2014 witnessed sharp increase to 53 while the next year saw 66 youths joining militancy.



It also said the infiltration attempts showed a decline from 2010 to 2015 but last year saw a rise though the figure did not surpass the 2010 number. In 2010, there were 489 attempts while last year saw 371. In between the numbers were declining year after year.
The families of the two Indian jawans beheaded by Pakistani forces are baying for revenge by the army with the daughter of one of them today saying she wants "50 heads" for the sacrifice of her father.



Amid a pall of gloom, the mortal remains of 42-year-old Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the army's 22 Sikh Infantry were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district.



The body of BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar, 45 , was brought to Delhi for its onward journey to Takenpur in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district for the last rites.



A day after the barbaric incident that was carried out by a Pakistani special forces team which sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector, the friends and family members of the two soldiers wanted the Army to teach Pakistan a lesson.



"My father is martyred. I demand 50 heads for one head," said Saroj, the daughter of Sagar, fighting back her tears while consoling her mother.



Earlier, a wreath-laying ceremony was organised in Poonch and was attended by top ranking security officials.



Anti-Pakistan protests rocked Poonch and Jammu district over the killing.



In Poonch, locals and ex-servicemen shouted anti-Pakistan slogans as the mortal remains of the two soldiers were being taken to Jammu.



The anger aganst Pakistan was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the international border with Pakistan.



While slogans like "Shaheed Paramjeet Amar Rahe" slogans rent the air, "Pakistan Murdabad" slogans were also raised.



Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab today, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that the army pay back Pakistan in the same coin.



A large number of mourners from Paramjeet's village in Punjab and surrounding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to him.



Senior army officers and those from the civil administration were also present as buglers sounded the 'Last Post' and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute.



His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a flower-bedecked vehicle.



The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.



Paramjeet is survived by his aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, who are aged between 11 and 14.



Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was to arrive at his village a week later on holiday, his family and friends has demanded a befitting reply be given to Pakistan.



Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre give a free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a lesson.



"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," Kaur said.



Paramjeet's father Udham Singh said he was proud of his son, but wanted that Pakistan be given a befitting reply.



"Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson," he said.



Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.



Struggling to hold back her tears, his daughter Simardeep said she was proud of her father, who had laid down his life for the nation.



Udham said Paramjeet had wanted to give the best possible education to his children and had talked about renovating his house so his kids could get more space to study and play.



His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy.

Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA "who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away".



"My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he has served in the Army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief," he told reporters.



A childhood friend of Paramjeet also asked, "Why can't our government give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Give our Army a free hand. The Sikh Regiment alone is enough to take on Pakistan."


Prime Minister Narendra Modi today conveyed to his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull India's concerns about the impact of the recent decision to abolish a popular work visa used by a majority of Indians.



Modi conveyed the concerns during a phone call initiated by Turnbull, a PMO statement said.



"Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of the recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals visa programme," the statement said. The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue, it added.



About three weeks back, Turnbull had announced his decision to abolish the 457 visa, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs. "We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa," he had said.



A majority of those using the visa programme are Indians.



During the telephonic conversation, Turnbull thanked Modi for the success of his recent visit to India. "The two Prime Ministers also discussed the follow-up action taken after the visit of Mr. Turnbull to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen the bilateral relationship," the PMO statement said.
In a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, one of its employees with a top-secret security clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, according to a media report.



Rogue employee Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter- terrorism authorities on two continents, CNN reported.



Cuspert had praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.



Before travelling to Syria, 38-year-old woman translator lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.



Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities.



She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.



"Greene's saga, which has never been publicised, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBIan agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathisers across the country," the channel said.



It also raises questions about whether Greene received favourable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offence, it added.



"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official.



Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011.



She was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A" identified as Cuspert.



As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.



It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.



On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad.



Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show.



"Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.



She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014 and flew on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. From there she travelled to Gaziantep city, close to the Syrian border.



She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him.



Shortly after, Greene sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law.



On August 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest.



After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on August 8, 2014.
A panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district, about 400 kilometres from here, has come out with a bizarre formula to control crime in its village.



The crime control formula of the panchayat in Madora village in the district essentially comprised imposition of monetary penalty on the offenders. What constituted an offense would off course be decided by the panchayat.



As per the formula a fine of Rs. 21 thousand would be imposed on the girl, if she was found to be speaking to someone on her cell phone while walking in the lanes of the village. ''It will help check crimes against women,'' said a panchayat member.



Those guilty of slaughtering cow would have to cough up a fine of rs. two lakh while any one, who was found selling liquor, would have to pay rs. 1.11 lakh as fine, reports said.



Fines would also be imposed on those roaming in the lanes of the village in inebriated condition or if they committed fraud with someone.



A fine of rs. 51 thousand would be imposed on those, who did not heed the advice of the senior members of the panchayat or a reputed person. The panchayat has, however, not defined a reputed person.



Village pradhan (chief) Usman said that five committees had been formed in the village to control crimes of different nature. There would be a high powered committee over and above the five committees and its decision would be final.



''If the committees and the super committee failed to rein in the offenders then police would be informed,'' Usman said.



The 'pradhan' said that the decisions had been taken unanimously in a meeting of the members a couple of days back and expressed confidence that the measures would help check crime in the village.



''We hope others will follow us if we succeed,'' he added.
Wipro, the third largest IT services company in the country, on Tuesday unveiled its new brand identity in the digital era where the company finds to address its business requirements and drive future opportunities.



The new brand identity includes unveiling new logo and rearticulation of the Spirit of Wipro with its four core values. Commenting on the development, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said the companys brand identity is a visual expression of what we do and mean, for our clients.



And this is directly energised by our values. The values are our core and our beacon, the bedrock of our culture. Our rearticulated values connect and resonate deeply with the new, vibrant, brand identity, said Premji.



The company said the new brand identity marks Wipros emergence as a trusted digital transformation partner to clients, delivering at global scale with increasingly localised capabilities, and leveraging hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics, cognitive and emerging technologies.



The new brand identity signifies a higher level of engagement and brand permission that helps clients leverage Wipros expertise to address their business requirements and drive future opportunities in this digital era, states the company.



This new brand identity also mirrors two key attributes cited by clients as unique to Wipros brand: the integrated perspective that Wipro brings across multiple industries, technologies and geographies; and its ability to deliver innovation in ways that are most relevant for clients, the company adds.



The new logo represents the way the company connects the dots for its clients. Besides integrating deep technology and domain expertise, applying insights from across industries, the logo also represents consistency in delivering world-class integrated, end-to-end capabilities and services.



The logo also highlights Wipros strong technology heritage and reflects its capabilities for the future. The individual elements in the logo represent ideas, insights, technologies, industries and geographies.



The expanding pattern symbolizes a boundless Wipro. The four circles represent the Wipro Values, Employees, Clients & partners, and Communities. The blue of the word mark creates a sense of reliability and authority.



Wipro Chief Executive Officer Abidali Z Neemuchwala said the new brand identity marks the companys journey of transformation in the digital world. Our brand refresh signals an even closer engagement with clients, greater innovation, and a deeper impact on their business. It is contemporary, reflecting the diversity and aspirations of our employees, he said.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has given a three-point agenda to AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and his team for Karnataka  spend more time in the state, forge unity among all leaders and retain power.



Venugopal and his team of four secretaries  Manickam Tagore, Madhu Yashki Goud, P C Vishnunadh and Sake Sailajanath had detailed discussions with Rahul on Tuesday morning before setting on 'Mission Karnataka'. They also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the evening.



During the 90-minute meeting with Rahul, the team was apprised about the new approach of the AICC in dealing with the states. Venugopal and his team has been asked to spend maximum time in Karnataka to gear up the state unit for the elections next year.



Congress sources said the new team was asked to be in a mission mode for the next year. You just cannot go for a few days and touch some districts, was the clear message from Rahul to the leaders.



We have been given the mission to retain power in Karnataka, Venugopal said in an informal interaction here.



He said he would visit Bengaluru along with his team of secretaries some time in the next week to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC chief G Parameshwara and other leaders.



Venugopal is also expected to allot districts to each of the four secretaries in a day or two.
After the surprise attack by Pakistani troops yesterday, the Indian Army and the BSF will be revising their Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) on the Line of Control (LoC) to avert such losses, a top security officer said here today.



The Indian security establishment sees a link between the attack, in which two soldiers were beheaded, and the visit by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa to the LoC a day before. "..I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, there is no doubt about it," BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command Kamal N Choubey said when asked whether there was a link between yesterday's incident and the Pakistan army chief's visit to the area on Sunday.



"Everybody knows it well that this incident (yesterday) took place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army chief," Choubey said while talking to reporters at the BSF Frontier Headquarters here.



An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.



Asked whether the SOPs were followed by the troops during the patrolling, the BSF officer said, "SOPs are there and they have followed them. The question is basically the element of surprise. Every such incident which takes place we learn from it".



The ADG said the army and the BSF will be brainstorming together and come up with a revised SOP. "The BSF works under the operational command of the army at the LOC. I assure you, together (the army and the BSF) there will be brainstorming and we will come out with yet more revised SoP so that such incidents can be minimized," ADG said.

The top officer said it was a "very very well coordinated and planned action" by the Pakistani army.



"The firing coming from two Pakistani FDLs (forward defence locations), and simultaneously firing coming from two ambushes and a BAT action in between, is a very well coordinated action," Choubey said.



Giving details of the attack, he said, "A joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector for boundary protection. "When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (forward defence locations) from Pakistan's side and two ambush, which they had set up, started firing simultaneously. They engaged our jawans in this."



In between this, he said, "the (Pakistani) BAT (Border Action Team), which consists of regular army and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two soldiers while the rest were engaged." He said the patrolling party, which was attacked, consisted of 9 men, out of which 6 belonged to the BSF and three to the army.



Asked whether the Indian patrol party had gone out to defuse land mines, he said, "that is a routine affair on the daily basis as a morning drill." About alertness of the troops along the LoC, he said it depends on the terrain and two many other things, as to how action takes place and the timing.



"At that time, when there is a burst fire coming from four sides, the first reaction is really to save one self. Because you already have two colleagues getting martyred, the response depends on the situation. The response is proportionate to that situation in such case," he said.



The BSF officer said that troops along the International Border (IB) are very very alert.



"The launching pads (for terrorists intending to infiltrate) are always active and across the IB, they are always active. But we also are very very alert," he said. The IB is under direct control of the BSF and "so far there has not been a single incident of a successful infiltration," he said.
The Government on Tuesday flagged off a nationwide campaign, Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan, to promote nationalism among youth, saying instilling of patriotism in the younger generation was much needed in the country.



This is an effort to send out a message that its not only soldiers but every citizen and every youth of this country is responsible for the safety of the country. Spirit of patriotism is much needed today, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said at an event organised to launch the campaign.



Addressing the function, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan was the brain child of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tarun Vijay. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also played a significant role in giving its shape to the campaign.



"He (Vijay) has proposed for construction of at least one 15-20 feet wall in higher educational institution campuses to display the portraits of 21 soldiers decorated with Param Vir Chakra, highest military recognition. This was actually required (in campuses), he said. The HRD Minister, however, made it clear that the Government had not allocated any grant for the implementation of the campaign.



Students and faculties can create Wall of Valour in their respective campuses by collecting donations. I expect from the vice chancellors of the universities that they would voluntarily come forward to push the campaign. This much, I think, we can definitely do, he said.



Such programmes also have potential to change the atmosphere of the campuses, he said in a veiled reference to the frequent protests by the leftist students at various universities including the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi over various issues. We do not wish to teach patriotism to any body. It is always there. But, its good if patriotism is re-awakened. But this should not happen by passing of any diktat, he maintained.



Both of the Union Ministers condemned ceasefire violation, killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilation of their bodies by the Pakistani army. What happened yesterday was barbaric. Such things do not happen even during the war. A befitting reply will be given to them (Pakistan Army). We have faith on soldiers. We are proud of them, Bhamre said.



Vijay appealed to the vice chancellors of the universities and heads of other higher educational institutions to carry forward the Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan so that the military services become the first career option for the students.



Rifleman Sanjay Kumar and Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav, who were decorated with Param Vir Chakra for their valiant action during Kargil war in 1999, shared their war memories and experiences with the audience at the event.



We had 46 bodies including Pakistani soldier and those of Mujahiddin with us. We buried them with full rituals as our commanding officer told us that they were also fighting for their country like us. We have never done what Pakistani army do with the bodies of our soldiers. This is the difference, the Rifleman said.
In a bid to create a conducive atmosphere among his Cabinet colleagues, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has started 'tiffin diplomacy'.



At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chouhan at the state secretariat here today, the ministers brought tiffins containing home-made food, as told to them earlier, and shared them with each other, said Public Relations Minister Narottam Mishra.



He said the chief minister and the ministers would hold tiffin meetings with the BJP workers at each district headquarter in the state after May 20.



"The ministers and chief minister would hold the dialogue with the BJP workers by holding such tiffin meetings at district headquarters. Such activities create conducive and amicable atmosphere," Mishra told reporters after the meeting.



He, however, said that bringing tiffins from home for meetings is not new for leaders of the BJP. "This (bringing tiffins from home for meetings) is not new for BJP leaders. It has been a tradition. We used to bring tiffins during the party meetings also. This is just the beginning. We would hold more tiffin meetings," Mishra said.



Before holding the tiffin meetings at the district headquarters, the ministers and chief minister would also hold discussions on late Deendayal Upadhyaya's 'Ekatm Manavtawad' with prominent citizens of each district, he added.
The Pakistan military today warned India against any "misadventure" after the Indian army cautioned Islamabad that it will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers.



The Pakistan army's remarks came during a hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension.



"Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing," according to a statement issued by the army.



The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.



The Pakistan army also asked India to provide "actionable evidence" to substantiate its charge claim that a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the LoC, beheaded two Indian security personnel and mutilated their bodies.



The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.



"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.



India's Vice Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand said that Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers and the army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choice.
If all goes well, coffee board is most likely to headed by a coffee planter from the district most known for its contribution to the sector.



Not only that, for the first time a coffee grower would be occupying the post hithertho held mostly by IAS officers or politicos without any exposure to coffee industry.



The development that is set to instal coffee planter M S Bhojegowda of Krishnagiri Coffee Estate as the head of the board, follows a demand from MPs from coffee-growing states including Karnataka and also various coffee growers organisations. They have been exerting pressure on the Centre to nominate people from the very industry to the board.



Bhojegowda, who has been a prominent BJP leader in the district, has twice served as the district unit president. The BJP MPs and MLAs from the state have recommended his name to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prime minister has been vetting into the demand, with only official stamp left to complete the process, sources told DH.



Adding credence to the development, the district administration and the superintendent of police of state intelligence are learnt to have done a background check on Gowda and submitted a report to the Union Commerce ministry.



The report includes both personal and professional details of Gowda, who has been the third-generation coffee planter. He is the fifth son of centenarian planter M R Sannasidde Gowda, owning Krishnagiri Coffee Estate near Chandradrona Hills. He has been exporting coffee to prestigious companies of European Union countries from the past several years.



He plunged into politics through JP movement and later served as youth wing president of Janata Party. He later joined BJP and also contested unsuccessfully against Gayatri Shanthegowda in the election to Legislative Council from local bodies held in 2011. He lost by a thin margin. He has also served as the director of state forest industries corporation. He is currently the member of state BJP executive committee.



A long-pending demand

Karnataka Growers Federation (KGF) president B S Jayaram, who welcomed the development, said it had been the demand of the federation from the last three decades to appoint a person who is well aware of the issues plaguing the industry. It is also timely, with the board going defunct in the last two years - with subsidy to the tune of around Rs 70 crore pending to be released to coffee planters in the country.



Local MP Shobha Karandlaje had also hinted at a coffee planter from the district likely to head the board, with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman convinced with the demand made by a delegation of BJP MPs from the state in this regard.



If Gowda is nominated to the board, he would also become second politician after G Y Krishnan from Kolar, who was the chairman during the tenure of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was also the first politician to head the board.



Vacant post

IAS officer Javeed Aktar demitted office as the chairman of the board upon completion of his tenure of three years on May 9, 2015. The post has remained vacant since then. In the later days, BJP-led national democratic alliance (NDA) government at the Centre sacked directors of the board appointed during the tenure of previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and appointed new directors.



However, the sacked directors moved High Court and also succeeded in getting a stay. Accordingly, they were allowed to complete their tenure of three years that ended on January 19. Following this the Centre nominated new directors on March 9, whose tenure will end on 14 December, 2018.

DH News Service


In what could perhaps be the first such case in Maharashtra and the second in India, a family court in Pune granted divorce to a couple after one of the petitioners appeared through video-conferencing over Skype.



The woman (26) hails from Amravati and the man (28) is from Nagpur. Both were working as software professionals at Hinjewadi in Pune when they got married.



They fell in love and got married on May 9, 2015. However, because of their separate professional careers, compatibility issues cropped up and they started living separately just a month after marriage.

The woman now works in London, while the man is settled in Singapore.



In August 2016, they filed for divorce with mutual consent.



The case was heard before Pune Civil Judge, Senior Division, V S Malkapatte Reddy, who is presiding officer, matrimonial cases. It was a unique case for Maharashtra,: advocate Suchit Mundada, who represents the woman, told DH. While the man was present in the court on Saturday, the woman could not come down from London because of professional commitments.



We requested for video-conferencing over Skype, which was allowed by the court, he said.



At the appointed time, the wife called from London and the husband was present before the court in Pune... her version was taken and the divorce was granted, he said, adding that the Bombay High Court last year had allowed recording of evidence through video-conferencing.

DH News Service
Xander Group has signed an agreement with Bengaluru-based Shriram Properties to acquire the latters Chennai IT SEZ for $350 million (around Rs 2,290 crore).



The acquisition marks one of the largest private equity deals witnessed in the real estate space in India. The deal involves 1.7 million sq feet of occupied and operational SEZ, and a partnership with Shriram Properties to deliver the under construction 1.9 million sq feet.



With this deal, Xander acquires 100% interest in Shrirams Gateway SEZ in Chennai for $190 million (around Rs 1,250 crore), with a further commitment of $160 million (around Rs 1,040 crore) towards expansion of the IT SEZ, a release said.


Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha launched a portal to track radiation levels of various cell phone towers and check whether they comply with the norms.



The portal comes amid fierce debate on the effects of cell phone towers on human health. The minister, while launching Tarang Sanchar, said it will help clear myths and misconceptions about radiation emission of towers.



The portal  developed by the Department of Telecom (DoT)  will allow consumers to check for themselves if towers in a locality comply with the electromagnetic field (EMF) emission norms prescribed by the government.



The debate on radiation from cell phone towers intensified after the Supreme Court order to deactivate a tower in Gwalior following the appeal by a 42-year-old cancer patient.



The government, however, assured that the EMF emission norms in India are 10 times more stringent than global norms. Global and national studies, including the one done by the WHO, have indicated that radiation from cell phone towers have no ill-effect on human health, Sinha had said earlier. Indian radiation norms are more stringent.



Telecom industry lobby group Cellular Operators Association of India had asked people not to panic since the Gwalior case is an isolated one and the apex courts order is only interim.
BJP national president Amit Shah on Tuesday asked the party workers not to rest following the saffron party's landslide win in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and asked them to focus on the booths, where the party lagged behind.



Speaking on the concluding day of the two-day state BJP executive committee meeting here, Shah also cautioned the workers against being arrogant and asked them to remain humble.



We must show the people of UP and the country that we are not like Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP....we are not in power for ourselves...we are in power to serve the people, he said.



Shah said that the massive win in UP had made it clear that the people did not want the politics of appeasement, family and caste. ''The people now want the politics of development,'' he added.



We should now focus on the seats where we are behind others...we must try to ensure that the dalits and backwards get associated with the party, the BJP chief said.



Shah not only listed the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in its three-year stint but also attacked former prime minister Manmohan Singh. No one knew when Manmohan Singh used to go on foreign visits.....people here waited for months to hear him...but now we have a prime minister, who regularly interacts with the people, he remarked.



He also heaped praise on UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said that the party was confident that his government would be able to take the state on the path of development and progress.



State BJP leaders said that Shah asked them to gear up to face the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and ensure that the party wrests the seats it could not win in 2014.
The Centre on Tuesday defended its move to make linking of PAN with Aadhaar mandatory before the Supreme Court. The Union government sought to reject a contention made in a batch of petitions that the recent amendment to the Income Tax Act was intrusion into rights of the individual assessees.



No one can claim absolute right over the body as laws have been made to ban prostitution, taking of drugs and committing suicide, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi submitted before a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan.



He said the amendment would just add the details of the biometrics and iris of the individual, apart from the photographs in the PAN cards to identify the assessee.



Rohatgi further said there were 24 crore PAN card holders in the country, but only five crore filed their returns. We have cancelled 10 lakh PAN cards earlier as those became suspect. They were liable to be misused as it was found that those were being used for tax dodging, laundering black money, and terror funding, he said. The idea behind Aadhaar is to make a secure and robust system by which the identity of a person cannot be faked, he said, adding that at the moment, 113.7 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued.



It is completely encrypted and stored in central database of the government and cant be shared with anybody except when ordered by the court in a criminal investigation, he said.



Defending the amendment to the Section 139 AA of the I-T Act, he pointed out that driving licence, passport and property registration, one is now asked to give his fingerprints, but if the same is kept in record as done in Aadhaar, it could not be termed intrusion into the body.



One cant say that he would not like to be identified or he would want to live in vacuum or he would like to remain as invisible. There are compulsions of an orderly state, he said. The arguments on the batch of petitions, including the one by former Kerala minister and CPI leader Binoy Viswam, remained inconclusive and would continue on Wednesday.


Tata Teleservices has fired between 500 and 600 employees to tide over difficult times in the hyper-competitive telecom market.



As many as 500-600 employees have been impacted by the lay offs in sales and other related functions, two people familiar with the matter said.



The lay-offs are across locations, they said, adding that the severance package being offered to the employees impacted by the decision is one months salary for every year of service.



An e-mail sent to Tata Teleservices did not elicit a response. Sources in the company said that these are challenging times for the telecom industry.



What most of the operators including Tata Teleservices are doing is workforce rationalisation, to stay competitive in line with the needs of the market, they added. The lay-offs comes at a time when the telecom industry has been witnessing an intense tariff war triggered by the entry of Reliance Jio, whose disruptive positioning in the market has left most of the telcos bleeding. The telecom operators are facing tremendous pressure on revenue and profitability even as the industrys debt has soared to nearly Rs 4.6 lakh crore.



Tata Teleservices spearheads Tata Groups presence in the Indian telecom market. The company, along with the listed arm Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) has presence in 19 telecom circles in the country. It offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers across wireline and wireless networks on platforms like GSM, CDMA and 3G.



As per the data of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Tatas mobile subscriber base stood at 51.2 million as on February 28, 2017. The company has nearly 4.4% market share in the countrys total mobile subscriber base of more than 1.16 billion.



Tata Power to buy 11.82 cr shares in TTSL



Meanwhile, Tata Power is set to acquire 11.82 crore shares in Tata Teleservices following the approval by the Delhi High Court to the consent terms between Tata Sons and NTT Docomo, with respect to the London Court of International Arbitration Award (LCIA) dated June 22, 2016, DHNS reports from Mumbai.



In terms of the inter-se agreement dated March 25, 2009, Tata Power is to acquire 11,82,22,767 equity shares of Tata Teleservices (TTSL). As on date of the arbitration award, which is June 22, 2016, $1.17 billion was payable by Tata Power for the same, Tata Power said.



Tata Power has remitted Rs 790 crore to Tata Sons on August 9, 2016, and this will be appropriately adjusted against the amount that will be governed by the terms and conditions similar to those stipulated by the Delhi High Court of April 28, 2017, the company said.



As per the order, Tata Sons shall take necessary permissions from the Competition Commission of India and tax authorities to remit the amount in lieu of shares to be transferred to Tata Sons as per the consent terms, the company added.



Japans NTT DOCOMO had acquired a 26.5% stake in Tata Teleservices for nearly Rs 12,700 crore (nearly $2.5 billion) in 2009. As per the agreement, DOCOMO was to be paid 50% of the acquisition price if it exits within five years. DOCOMO exercised on July 7, 2014, its right (option) to request that a suitable buyer be found to purchase its TTSL shares for 50% of the acquired price, amounting to Rs 7,250 crore, or a fair market price, whichever is higher. But the Tatas offered DOCOMO only Rs 23.34 per share according to Reserve Bank guidelines, following which the Japanese telecom major invoked arbitration.



The Japanese telecom major won the arbitration proceedings, following which the Tatas deposited $1.17 billion with the Delhi High Court. Tata Sons had agreed to pay $1.18 billion in damages to NTT DOCOMO on February 28, 2017, paving the way for the settlement between the two parties. The Delhi High Court, on April 28, 2017, allowed Tata Sons to pay NTT DOCOMO the amount paving the way for the battle between the two companies to end.






There is a lot of hue and cry in India about Australia scrapping its skilled visa programme  the employer-sponsored temporary work visas, popularly known as the 457 visa. While the Malcolm Turnbull government may have taken a short-sighted approach in its engagement with India by moving ahead with its new visa restrictions, New Delhi would be equally short-sighted if it just focuses on this issue at the expense of larger shifts in regional balance of power.



The current transition of power in the Asia-Pacific, underlined by Americas relative decline and Chinas growing power, has significant implications for most of the Asian states. Though the uncertainty around the future of international politics, norms and institutions does impinge upon all members of the international society, the Asian states find themselves at the forefront of this transition. For them the current transition of power is not only an ideological contest over the form and nature of the international political system but is inextricably linked to their own national security imperatives in a number of ways. India and Australia are at the centre of this strategic flux in the Indo-Pacific. The rise of China and its increasingly assertive behaviour is unnerving key Asian states. These states lack internal capacity to balance Chinas growing economic and military strength on their own. Even when all these states have benefited enormously from Chinas economic rise and continue to do so, cumulatively they have also contributed to Chinas relative growth and its military capabilities. If till recently Chinas peaceful rise was a collective good for the Asian states, it has now turned into a collective military and security hazard. Regional economic growth is dependent on the freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific  from the South China Sea to Straits of Malacca to the Indian Ocean. Some 25% of all traded goods pass through the Straits of Malacca. Asia has benefited from the post-Cold War security order underlined by the US primacy and now Americas relative decline is leading to growing concerns over the future of this liberal order and Washingtons capability and intention to defend the same.During the Cold War, India-Australia relations remained cold largely on account of Indias relationship with the Soviet Union and Australia being a partner of the US. After the Cold War, Australias non-proliferation diplomacy and its resistance to Indias nuclear option didnt allow the relationship to prosper fully. However, as the US reconciled India into the global nuclear regime, India-Australia relations also began to improve.



The rise of China too has had its influence on the dynamics; both India and Australia are wary of Chinas challenge to the US-led liberal security order in Asia, its challenge to regional institutions like the Asean and freedom of navigation in Asian waters. The US, on its part, has also been encouraging the two countries to actively cooperate in the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific. The two states can be easily identified as lynchpins of US strategic rebalancing both because of their geography and military capability, especially in the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Ocean has indeed seen major cooperation among Asias two biggest democracies. However, even though a strong India-Australia defence relationship was long viewed in the interests of both countries in general and the Asian stability in particular, it did not become possible until Australia accepted Indias nuclear exceptionalism. Canberras intent to sell uranium to India finally lifted the most important obstacle in the strategic relationship. In fact, India had held hostage the entire strategic partnership to this one disagreement. Just after the Labour Party agreed to lift sanctions on nuclear trade with India during the December 2011 National Conference, both nations agreed to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in the maritime domain. India and Australia also have a consultative dialogue dedicated to East Asia, where both have some major stakes.

Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillards visit to India in 2012 was an unprecedented event; not only because Australia formally conveyed its new policy on trade in nuclear technology and material but the two countries also indicated their willingness to engage in bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Chinas assault. Both states are wary of Chinas assault on maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. These common concerns have strengthened the need for greater maritime cooperation between the two nations and the two have started conducting joint naval combat exercises.



Their joint interest in building maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region was evident in the joint statements issued by the two sides when then Australian prime minister Tony Abbot visited New Delhi in September 2014. He was the first state guest of the newly appointed Modi government. During this visit, the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement was appended, opening the gates for Australian uranium to be used in Indias civilian nuclear programme.

The growing depth of this strategic partnership can be ascertained from Modis reciprocal visit to Australia in November 2014; never in their history had the two heads of states paid reciprocal visits in the same year. During Modis visit to Australia, a security framework agreement was signed by the two countries, further underscoring the importance of defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. India and Australia are leading powers in the Indian Ocean region. The two countries are also at the helm of Indian Ocean Regional Association (IORA), a formal grouping consisting of the Indian Ocean Littoral States. Australia is also a permanent member of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium which brings together the local navies of Indian Ocean region. However, the extent of their regional cooperation in Indian Ocean can also be ascertained by their annual trilateral dialogues with countries like Japan and Indonesia. The need of the hour is to push for greater engagement with such like-minded nations. Australia has been long keen on joining the Malabar exercises along with the US and Japan. India should favourably consider this request as the idea of an Indo-Pacific democratic quad needs resurrection at the earliest.



(The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and Professor of International Relations, Kings College, London)
At least 20 more terror camps have come up across the Line of Control (LoC) after the September 2016 surgical strike, taking the total to around 55 such facilities, officials said on Tuesday.



There were around 35 terror camps across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir when the Indian Army launched a surgical strike to target such facilities which were also used as launch pads for terrorists waiting to infiltrate into India.



Officials quoted intelligence reports to suggest that 20 new camps have come up on the other side of LoC in the past four months. The earlier ones have also resumed functioning actively.



The remarks came a day after the Pakistan Army killed and beheaded two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district.



The intelligence agencies have also told top security officials that around 160 militants are active in Kashmir valley.



In March, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed Parliament that over 300 Kashmiri youths have joined militancy in the past seven years with 2016 topping in such recruitment. However, the participation of the youth in violence has ceased this year.



While the number of youth joining militancy was on the decrease from 2010 to 2013, the numbers have gone up since 2014.



Eighty-eight youths joined the militants last year, mainly after Hizbul Mujahideen operative Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8, 2016.



In 2010, the number of youths who were recruited was 54 and it decreased to 23 the next year. It further declined to 21 and 16 in 2012 and 2013 respectively. However, 2014 witnessed a sharp increase to 53 while the next year saw 66 youths joining militancy.



It also said the infiltration attempts showed a decline from 2010 to 2015 but last year saw a rise though the figure did not surpass the 2010 number.

DH News Service
Pakistan Army will have to take full responsibility of the dastardly act of mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers and face the consequences, a top Army commander said on Tuesday, without disclosing the military options on the table.



I would not like to spell out what we are going to do. We will take our own action at a time and place of our choice. Pakistan army will have to take the responsibility and face consequences, Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand said here on the sidelines of a function.



The stern message from Chand comes at a time when the Indian Army was readying its plans to respond to the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.



Cross border-firing by small arms from both sides continued in the Krishna Ghati areas under 10 Brigade, even as top commanders plan for a bigger offensive.



An increase in the fire assault by using medium artillery and mortars may be an option, but the army sources are tight-lipped. The response would be a well-thought-out one, says a senior officer. The military response from the Indian side is likely to take place in areas where Indian forces occupy the dominating positions.



In November last, the Indian Army pounded a Pakistan Army camp and some of the civilian areas in the Neelam valley of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with mortars to avenge the killing of three Indian Army soldiers in the Machhal sector, one of whom was beheaded. The trio was ambushed when they were on a patrol duty.



The fire assault triggered an immediate call from the Pakistans director general of military operations (DGCMO) from his Indian counterpart asking for truce.



The then Indian DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh conveyed to the Pakistan commander not to indulge in such activities in future.



The LoC between the two nations witnessed heightened action in 2016 as it recorded 228 ceasefire violations across the LoC in addition to 221 such incidents along the international border, manned by the Border Security Force.



The number of ceasefire violations in 2014 and 2015 was 153 and 150, respectively, suggesting how the tension in the border flared up in the last 12 months.



As many as 65 ceasefire violations took place in the first four months of the 2017. All of them happened in the area under Udhampur-based 16 Corps. Naushera and Krishna Ghati sectors are the places where maximum cross-border firings occurred since January.



The security forces killed 42 terrorists in 2017, out of which 8 were gunned down at the LoC.

DH News Service


A day after the Pakistan army killed two Indian soldiers, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visited forward posts along the LoC in Kashmir and asked the troops to thwart any misadventure from across the border.



Rawat, who arrived on a two-day visit to Kashmir on Monday, was briefed about the security situation by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D Anbu and General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt General J S Sandhu, sources said.



During his interaction, the army chief reassured the soldiers that the entire nation stands behind them in their brave endeavours to safeguard the countrys sovereignty and integrity and maintaining peace in the Valley.



The army chief advised the officers and soldiers to leave nothing to chance as militants might try to sneak into Kashmir and carry out more attacks in summer months, they said.



Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said the army chief was briefed by formation commanders on the security situation on the border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture besides overall operational and logistical preparedness.



On Monday, Rawat had visited Panzgam garrison in Kupwara, which was attacked by the militants on April 27, killing three soldiers, including an army captain.



The army chief was briefed about the attack for nearly half an hour when he asked officers and jawans how militants managed to get closer to the highly-fortified garrison. Most of the soldiers cited darkness and the timing of the attack as major reasons for casualties on army side, sources said.


Infosys on Tuesday announced that it will hire 10,000 Americans over the next two years, and open four Technology and Innovation Hubs (TIH) in the US.



The decision to hire local talent comes at a time when the Trump administration made visa curbs that made sending engineers to the US costly for Indian companies.



Commenting on the development, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said the plan will help Infosys invent and deliver the digital futures for clients in the US. Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys stands for and it makes us a leader in times of great change, he said.



Infosys stated that the TIH will focus on technology areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data.



The first hub will be opened in Indiana in August 2017, and is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021. These hubs will play a key role in industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and energy, among others.



The company said it would also take the model of hiring fresh engineers from colleges and training them on its core technologies to global markets of the US and the UK.



The decision to hire more people abroad, in addition to the existing about two lakh people, will create additional burden on the companys labour costs. The North American market accounted for over 60% of Infosys total revenue of $10.2 billion in the FY 2017.



Nasscom president R Chandrashekhar told DH that the industry body is supportive of local hiring by companies. This kind of approach of combining skilling and local hiring will help Indian companies; it is in consistent with the broader approach in the industry for a long time, he said.



Commenting on the development, Aston Business School UK doctoral research scholar Sanjoy Sen said Infosys appears to have adopted a smart strategy by announcing its extensive recruitment plans in the US market, which incidentally is no real surprise as this had been predicted as the most obvious course of action for Indian IT companies.



However, the smartness is reflected in being able to convert this risk into an opportunity by vocally demonstrating its commitment to the US cause. This reiterates that Infosys is truly a global player who is a member of the local community in the US marketplace and not an Indian player who does business overseas with Indian resources, said Sen.



R Chandrashekhar, Nasscom president: This approach of combining skilling and local hiring will help Indian companies; it is in consistent with the broader approach in the industry for a long time
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reviewed the governments initiatives against black money and directed revenue officials to speed up action against benami property holders.



At a three-hour meeting two days after the deadline for deposits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) ended, he discussed further steps against tax evaders. The authorities plan stringent action against tax evaders, given the dismal collection under the second round of PMGKY.



The government has collected just Rs 2,300 crore by way of tax, penalty and surcharge under the second tax compliance window launched after the November 2016 demonetisation. Official sources said Modi wanted quick implementation of e-assessment to minimise human interference. He told officials to find ways to widen the tax base by bringing more people under the tax net.



Post-demonetisation, the revenue department had warned those involved in benami transactions of rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years. Through advertisements in newspapers, it had cautioned that benami properties would be attached and confiscated. It had also attached assets around the country and registered about 250 cases. The properties included agricultural land, bank deposits, apartments and jewellery.



Action in Delhi



The I-T authorities have begun investigating ownership of businesses, plots, shops and houses, including in Lutyens Delhi. They have found many irregularities in purchase and ownership. The revenue department has now sought a list of government properties, and is checking if any land is occupied illegally by private individuals.
The Indian Army on Tuesday warned Pakistan of retaliation against the dastardly and inhuman killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilation of their bodies. Pakistan denied its involvement in the incident, and challenged India to produce actionable evidence.



Talking on a hotline, Lt Gen A K Bhatt, Indias Director General of Military Operations, told his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza the incident went beyond any norms of civility.



Bhatt said the killings merited unequivocal condemnation and response. The Pakistan commander, for his part, said any Indian misadventure shall be appropriately responded (to).



Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from the situation within the Valley. Indian Army should look inwards to probe the incident, Pakistan armys Inter-services Public Relations said in a statement issued after the phone conversation.



Within hours, Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand said Pakistan wouldnt be allowed to slip away so easily. Pakistan forces supported it (the killing and mutilation). They crossed the Line of Control and came to our territory. They have to take responsibility and face consequences, he said on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi. Asked to comment on the Pakistani denial, Chand said, They cant justify this. If their forces have not done it, who has?



The Indian DGMO told the Pakistani commander that a Pakistani army post had provided full fire support when the two soldiers were killed in an early morning ambush at Poonch, near the disputed boundary.



During his weekly conversation with the Pakistani commander, Lt Gen Bhatt conveyed Indias concern over Mondays incident in Krishna Ghati sector in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where Pakistani troops targeted an Indian patrol and mutilated the bodies of two soldiers.



He also said India was unhappy with the presence of Pakistani training camps close to the disputed boundary.



The two DGMOs spoke a day after mutilated bodies of two Indian soldiers Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh from 22 Sikh Infantry and head constable Prem Sagar from 200 battalion of the Border Security Force were found near the LoC.



A third soldier-constable, Rajinder Singh from the BSF, received bullet injuries in his left leg. The patrol was attacked when it was moving from one post to the next inside a wooded area. The Indian Army says the soldiers were ambushed by the Pakistan armys Border Action Team.



A day after THE BARBARIC ACT

*Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visits forward posts along the LoC in Kashmir and asks troops to thwart any misadventure from across the border.

*Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand says: I would not like to spell out what we are going to do. We will take our own action at a time and place of our choice. Pakistan Army will have to take the responsibility and face the consequences.

*An increase in fire assault by using medium artillery and mortars may be an option, but army sources are tight-lipped.

*The response will be a well-thought-out one, says a senior officer.
Three persons, including a man and his son, were killed in an explosion at a quarry near Kattaya in the taluk on Monday evening.



The deceased have been identified as Jagadish (55), his son Punith Kumar (22) of the taluk and Nagaraju (40), a resident of Bettadahalli in Arkalgud taluk. Contractor Yaduraju had taken them to work in the quarry for blasting rocks and the incident occurred when they were fixing the gelatin sticks.



Punith Kumar was studying final-year BCom at NDRK College and had accompanied his father Jagadish to watch the explosion. Gorur police have registered a case.


The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to 12 people belonging to the Deendar Anjuman group, who have been awarded life term for carrying out a series of blasts at various places in Karnataka in year 2000.



A bench of Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman put the appeals filed by them against their conviction and sentence for consideration after the summer vacation.



Advocate Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for the convicts, sought bail for them on the ground of parity with another convict Syed Abdul Khader Gilani. She said the other petitioners should also be enlarged till the time the apex court heard their appeal against their conviction and sentence.



Karnatakas additional advocate general Devadutt Kamat, on the other hand, opposed her plea. He said the convicts, being members of Deendar Anjuman organisation, conspired and carried out the blasts at different churches in Bengaluru, Hubballi and Kalaburagi in order to disturb peace.



Kamat also urged the apex court to recall the order granting bail to Gilani in February this year. He said the convict may flee to Pakistan as he had earlier travelled several times to the neighbouring country. The state government submitted it would soon file a petition seeking restoration of death penalty to them.



Jaiswal, however, countered his arguments, saying Gilani did not have a passport and he was very much present in Bengaluru. On this, Kamat contended the convict did not require valid passport for going to Pakistan. The bench then asked the government to file a proper application for recalling the bail order.

The petitioners challenged the December 14, 2014, order of the Karnataka High Court which upheld their conviction in the case. The high court had commuted the death penalty awarded to them by the trial court to life term.



On June 8, 2000, two consecutive blasts took place in three hours at St Anns catholic church, Wadi, Chittapur taluk, Kalaburagi district. Another blast took place on July 8 the same year at St Lutheran Church in Hubballi. The third bomb went off on July 9, 2000 at St Peter and Paul church on JJ Nagar Main Road,

Bengaluru.


Farmers, under the banner of Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, staged a protest in Hassan on Tuesday seeking initiation of works related to the elephant corridor and also demanding suitable compensation as they have suffered losses due to jumbo menace.



Farmers took out a protest march from Hemavathy statue to N R Circle and walked to the deputy commissioners office. Placing rotti and chutney on their heads, they walked to the DCs office and raised slogans against the centre and state for failing to address the farmers issues. They later submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner V Chaitra.



The protesters claimed that commercial crops of Malnad region, including coffee, pepper, banana and paddy are being destroyed by elephants which stray into the villages on the fringes of the forests in search of food and water. Yasalur, Hosuru, Changadihalli, Huchchangi, Igooru, Hethuru are a few villages in Sakleshpur taluk which have been worst affected, they said.



The farmers demanded a permanent solution for the elephant menace, compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased and suitable compensation for crop loss.



They also sought good quality seed potatoes at subsidised prices and total waiver of farm loans.

Compensation sought



The farmers complained that despite submitting necessary documents for crop loss, the authorities and elected representatives had not taken any measures in disbursing compensation. Even after the Supreme Courts directive of total waiver of farm loans, centre and the state governments have been neglecting farmers, they said.



They said that the fodder being distributed was of substandard quality. While the fodder banks at many places have been closed due to lack of maintenance, the banks at Channarayapatna, Arkalgud taluks have been collecting money for free fodder, they complained.
Thirty five doctors from Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) are on a cycle jatha to Bengaluru to attend the World Congress of Cosmetic Dermatology to be held on May 4.



As part of the jatha, they will create awareness among people about sexually transmitted diseases, leprosy and allergies.



The jatha began from the Palace premises in Mysuru with Deputy Commissioner D Randeep flagging off the rally. The team will distribute handbills and tell people not to neglect skin diseases.



The team of doctors who left Mandya reached Mysuru at 9 am and left the city after breakfast.



Dermatologist Dr Nagendra Patvardhan said the team will halt briefly at various points on the route and will explain about the diseases and the corresponding treatment.

DH News Service
The Karnataka government has defended before the Supreme Court its law granting protection to Gau Rakshaks for prevention of cow slaughter.



It, however, maintained that the act done only in good faith was protected under the law and not any violent or criminal activities bringing disharmony between communities.



The Congress government opposed before the court a PIL filed by Robert Vadra's kin and activist Tehseen Poonawalla, seeking immediate action against cow protection groups indulging in violence and resorting to killings at several places across the country.



The PIL filed by Poonawalla and others sought direction to hold Section 15 of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, unconstitutional.



The embargo of institution of suits, prosecution or other proceedings against the competent authority or any person (called as Gau Rakshak) exercising power under the said Act is for anything done or intended to be done honestly, the affidavit filed by Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services stated.



The said provision nowhere protects illegal and criminal act of any person, much less the competent authority or any person exercising power under the Act, it maintained.



The state government further said the law was enacted with a view to provide for prevention of slaughter of cows, calves of cows and buffaloes and for preservation of other cattle in the state.



Section 3 of the Act provided for appointment of competent authority which included a person or body of persons to perform the functions of the competent authority under the Act.



The language employed in Section 15 clearly shows that the action of competent authority or any person is only protected and the said provision is not available to any society, association or institution established by a body of persons for taking care of cows and other animals, it said.



If persons, who are members of such societies, association or institution or vigilante groups and indulges in violence creating disharmony among various communities and castes taking law into their own hands and committing atrocities on the innocent people, protection under Section 15 was not available for such people, the affidavit stated.



The state government also asserted that it has taken stringent action strictly in accordance with law against those culprits who indulged in criminal activities.



In fact, two such incidents have occurred in Karnataka in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and except that no other incident took place, it said.



There are 81 goshalas in the state for taking care of old, unproductive and destitute cattle. The state government allocated Rs 7 crore for protection of cows and taking their care in year 2015-16, it claimed.



Poonawalla and others sought direction to declare the provisions of Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jharkhand laws as unconstitutional which granted recognition to the vigilante groups for cow protection.






Thousands of fish in Doddakallasandra lake on Kanakapura Road, about 10 km south of Banashankari temple, were found dead on Tuesday morning.



The fishkill happened due to heavy inflow of sewage following the downpour on Saturday. People living in the area were in for a rude shock when they saw the dead fish floating in the water.



As people raised an alarm, BBMP personnel rushed to the spot to clean the lake. They removed some of the dead fish, but in the evening, a large number of them surfaced again.



This is the first time that fish have been found dead in our lake. Though the water body is polluted, never in the past had we witnessed such an incident in the lake, said Devaraj, a Doddakallasandra resident. He said sewage was killing the water body.



Till 10 years ago, the lake was in good shape. Layouts and residential complexes which came up in the upstream spoilt it. Untreated sewage is directly let into the lake, said Devaraj. He said sewage from Konanakunte is the biggest polluter.



Anand Yadwad, another resident, said he had seen this water body before and never imagined that it would deteriorate to such an extent.



The water is highly contaminated. After Saturdays rain, the pollution level increased in the lake, leading to the fishkill, said Yadwad.



G Vidyasagar, chief executive officer of Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority, said he had sent a team to inspect the lake and submit a report.



Following heavy rain with hailstorm on Saturday, a huge amount of sullage entered the lake, due to which the oxygen level in the water decreased drastically, leading to the death of fish, said Vidyasagar.

DH News Service


In a dramatic twist, police on Tuesday absolved an Ola cab driver who was initially suspected to have molested a woman passenger in a desolate place in southern Bengaluru around 2 am on April 28. They instead apprehended an unregistered driver after she identified him positively.



In a police complaint on Sunday, the woman had alleged that the Ola driver, Ravikumar M, had sexually harassed her in Begur. But when police picked him up, he vociferously denied committing the crime. He said he had logged out of the Ola platform in February 2017. Police werent convinced. They showed his photograph to the woman. To their surprise, she said it wasnt him.



The revelation made polices job tougher. It was only after they picked up the cab owner, Navin Rajput, that all the pieces fell into place. Rajput, a native of Uttar Pradesh, confirmed that Ravikumar was no longer driver his cab. He said the man driving the cab at that time was 25-year-old Imran Khan, from Madhya Pradesh, who was not registered with Ola and had used the log-in details of Ravikumar, a police officer said. Both Rajput and Khan are residents of BTM Layout.



Police then arrested both Khan and Rajput. With the arrests, the flaws in the driver verification of Ola cabs have come into focus, raising concerns about the credibility of the background checks of drivers and the safety of passengers. Police suspect that the fact that Khan was virtually off-records emboldened him to commit the crime. He had been driving since February without being registered.



Police are investigating if he could be involved in more such crimes.



Ravikumar told police he had asked Rajput to give back his documents, including the police verification certificate, but the latter kept dodging him. Rajput knowingly abetted the offence of impersonation committed by Khan in place of Ravikumar, said a senior police officer.



Shockingly, following the womans complaint, Rajput and Khan reportedly went to the Ola office and tried to erase Ravikumars log-in details by entering the name of another driver. A separate investigation is now under way with respect to the destruction of evidence. Police are also examining the involvement of Ola management. They have seized a mobile phone and the said cab.



Khan has been booked for molestation and impersonation while Rajput faces charges of abetment, impersonation and destruction of evidence.



Tweets create confusion

Narayana M @dcpwhitefield tweeted: Arrested and interrogating the Ola driver Ravikumar After investigation clear picture will emerge (sic)



Bommanhalli police arrested Ola Cab driver Ravikumar KA-O1-AE-8727 who allegedly misbehaved with a lady passenger on 28th night (sic).



The tweets still show up on his Twitter handle despite clarification about the suspect.

DH News Service
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Sudha Murty, chairman, Infosys Foundation laid the foundation stone for Infosys Dharamashala at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) here on Tuesday.



To be built at a cost of 60 crore, the dharamshala will be spread across 80,000 square feet and can accommodate 400 patients and their attendants.



Sudha had visited Kidwai some years ago and realised the dire need for accommodation for poor cancer patients coming from far off places. She had set up a 350-bed dharamshala at a cost of Rs 6 crore in 2001. With increase in the number of patients, an upgraded facility is now being created.



Apart from setting up the dharamshala, Infosys foundation will also construct major operation theatre facilities and provide medical equipment for the same, at a cost of Rs 10 crore.



My father was a government doctor. This is why I share a special connect with government hospitals. These hospitals cater to the lowest strata of society and this is why we want to support government hospitals by helping them to be on a par with private hospitals, said Sudha Murty.



Siddaramaiah said, There is a need to revive the trust of people in government hospitals by providing these facilities at a lesser cost. The state government is also working towards building super speciality hospitals and setting up medical colleges in rural areas to cater to the poor.



He appreciated the Infosys Foundation for its gesture to fund development of KMIO. Siddaramaiah also dedicated a new blood bank building donated by Kidwai Cancer Drug Foundation and Linear Accelerator.



Medical Education minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, KMIO director Dr K B Linge Gowda, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research director Dr C N Manjunath and Mayor G Padmavathy were present.



Felicitated

Rakesh Nayyar who serves tea free of cost to patients and their attendants was one of those who were felicitated by the chief minister.



Nayyar is the founder of Mission Chai, an initiative through which he along with his group of volunteers serves tea and biscuits to poor patients. For Nayyar, tea is just a medium to strike a conversation with patients to help them.



Mulberry Silks that will supply medical equipment worth 3.5 crore to KMIO; Sipani group that will construct a 800-bed ward at a cost of Rs 24 crore and Karnataka State and Beverage Corporation among others who were felecitated by Siddaramaiah.

DH News Service
Moving a step closer to reviving the dying Bellandur lake, the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) has prepared a blueprint of the wetland model for the 910-acre water body.



But before the final wetland report is placed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for approval, the KLCDA had invited Prof C R Babu from Delhi University and Prof T V Ramachandra from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to examine the blueprint at Bellandur lake on Tuesday.



Based on their suggestion, the blueprint will be placed before the NGT for final approval, said G Vidyasagar, chief executive officer, KLCDA.



Prof Babu is a noted botanist who has been working on Yamuna and Madiwala biodiversity parks. Ramachandra is a professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Energy and Wetland Research Group, IISc, and a member of the lake expert committee.



On April 19, the NGT had ordered the Karnataka government to submit a report of short-, medium- and long-term measures to revive the lake and show visible improvement in its condition within two weeks. This deadline ends on May 4. The government is likely to ask for more time.



Although the initial blueprint of wetlands is ready, I would request for two more days as the suggestions of the two experts need to be incorporated. We have prepared a mechanical and biological remediation plan which would cost around Rs 35 crore. The plan includes introduction of plants to clear nutrients and improve the slopes around drains to channelise the flow of water, Vidyasagar explained.

The Urban Development Department is also planning to plead before the NGT for more time as work on the ground has been limited.



The floating machines to clear the weeds from the lake have not yet been put into action, the lake is still frothing and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) are unable to control it. The BDA and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are yet to plan how to dispose the weeds and silt removed from the lake. Time would also be needed as the construction of sewage treatment plants is also not yet finalised, the official said.

DH News Service
Madiwala lake now has an enclosure to hold treated sewage and flood water coming in from Sarakki and Hullimavu. Twelve-foot deep and 10 acres wide, the space has come up to the south of the lake, with the authorities referring to it as an additional catchment.



The space was created by the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) under the guidance of Prof C R Babu of Delhi University.



Babu is helping create a biodiversity park at Madiwala, on the lines of the one on the banks of the Yamuna in the national capital.



With this catchment, we can ensure excess water from Sarakki and Hulimavu will not flood areas near the Central Silk Board, G Vidyasagar, Chief Executive Officer, KLCDA, told DH.



Kodichikkanahalli, one of the worst affected areas last year, remains vulnerable, though. The drain has still not been fixed, and it is up to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board to attend to it, he said.



How it works

Just a week before the onset of monsoon (towards the end of May), the check dam separating the catchment and the lake will be opened.



Some lake water will enter the desilted catchment and the water level in the lake will go down. This is also expected to help in desilting the bund area.



Desilting will be completed within three days of the onset of monsoon, and treated sewage water will enter the catchment area and mix with the lake water. The catchment will be able to hold about 5 cm of rainfall, Babu added.



At present, no water, including sewage water, enters Madiwala lake, he explained. It goes to Bellandur and Agara through drains which caused flooding last year, Babu said.

DH News Service

First time

This is the first time such an unusual engineering approach is being used to increase the water-holding capacity of the Madiwala lake. Creating the catchment was not a part of the biodiversity park coming up at the Madiwala lake.

Considering last years flooding, we decided to extend the catchment, Prof Babu of Delhi University, working on the project, told DH.
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a petition filed by Bengalurus St Johns National Academy of Health Sciences against a ruling given by the High Court of Karnataka that called its postgraduate medical admission process violative of common counselling regulations.



A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra issued notices to the Union government and the Medical Council of India on Tuesday.



The court sought their responses by Thursday on the special leave petition filed by the college, which is an unaided minority educational institution.



In an urgent mentioning, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the college, said the high court had cancelled the entire admission process on the petition of a student who was otherwise not qualified.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Mohan M Shantanagoundar, asked Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha to take notice on behalf of the Union government and respond to the colleges petition.



Section 10D of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and Regulations 9 & 9A of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, provide for a mechanism for merit-based selection to all postgraduate courses in all medical institutions in the country on the basis of the merit list of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).



Dr Rachana Kishore Ubrangala, a candidate, had filed a writ petition before the high court for quashing the admission process adopted by the college. On 13 April, the court held that admission to any postgraduate course for the academic year 2017-2018, if contrary to Regulation 9A, was void.



Common counselling

The high court, however, allowed the college to participate in the common counselling provided in Regulation 9A and admit students for the academic year 2017-2018 on allotment of seats by the common counselling authority.



As regards the colleges petition that it is an unaided minority institution, the high court had said that such institutions were entitled to indicate their choice of preferences to the common counselling authority in admitting students, to the extent of their entire sanctioned intake, in conformity with their rights under Article 30(1) (right of minorities to establish institution) of the Constitution.



It had further said the common counselling authority should make allotment by following the principle of inter se merit within the categories of students the institution is at liberty to choose from.

DH News Service
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is likely to miss yet another deadline for Phase 1 as it has failed to offer the North-South corridor (Green Line) for safety inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS).



As per a statement issued to the media last month, BMRCL should have offered the Sampige Road-Yelachenahalli section for CRS inspection in the last week of April, after completing 18 different tests that are part of trial run.



BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola on Tuesday said trial runs will continue till May 12, after which they will invite the CRS. The tests on this section are still going on. We will invite the CRS after the completion of the trials, he said.



His statement was echoed by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who held a review meeting in the city. The date of operation will be announced only after the CRS gives clearance, Naidu said.



Against all odds, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George has assured that metro Phase 1 will be operational by the end of May, which seems to be unlikely considering that the CRS will need at least a month before giving clearance.



After failing to meet the November 2016 deadline, Metro officials had promised to complete all works of Phase 1 by April and begin commercial operations in May. If the delay in CRS inspection is an indication, the project may be delayed till June. A BMRCL official said a minimum of 15 days are required for inspection of the stretch since it also includes an underground section. It will take at least another month before we can begin commercial operations on the stretch, he said.

DH News Service



CMs invitation to President

Even as doubts linger over the completion of works and inspection, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, inviting him for the inauguration of Phase 1.



I am happy to inform your kind self that the entire network of Phase 1 would become fully operational.



This would usher in a new era in the public transport of the city. It would be a matter of great honour for us to have your esteemed presence as chief guest on this historic event, the letter says. The letter, however, does not mention any date for the inauguration.
Carmel Valley resident Sid Shapira and his book Danny Dog reached a milestone last week at Sage Canyon School, recording his 60th school visit for his childrens book that shares the message about pet rescue, adoption and second chances.

At the April 25 assembly, Myrna Zambrano, district director for State Senator Toni Atkins, honored Shapira for his accomplishment. Each of his 60 school visits has featured a reading of his book and a visit from Danny, who happily receives a gentle pet from each student in attendance.

Shapira was inspired to write Danny Dog after he and his wife Sheryl adopted fluffy gray Shih-Tzu Danny four years ago.

Sage Canyon first graders with Danny. (Karen Billing)

In talking to the Emerald City Pet Rescue organization that saved Danny and cared for him while he was homeless, Shapira learned more about what the dog went through and felt his story should be told.

Hes been such a wonderful addition to our family and brought us so much joy, Shapira said.

The book tells how Danny was found wandering lost in a parking lot by a grandmother and her two granddaughters. They contacted the rescue group and Danny, then called Jing Jing, spent many days in a cage. He was taken in by one family who had to return him due to their dog not getting along with Danny. The Shapiras fell in love with Danny the second they saw him and gave him his happy ending, his forever home.

Shapira has now shared Danny Dog to schools all over San Diego, from Chula Vista to Carlsbad, Point Loma to Santee. He has also traveled with Danny to Seattle and did a Skype reading with a school in South Carolina.

A slideshow showed the audience how Danny enjoys playing with balls, chasing his two car sisters and receiving attention from neighborhood dogs and kids. When the slideshow flashed on several Sage Canyon students in Dannys neighborhood, the kids cheered.

Shapira hopes Danny Dog encourages people to support rescue organizations and to adopt homeless pets but he also hopes it reminds readers of the power of believing in second chances.

Everyone deserves a second chance, Shapira said.

Learn more at dannyrescuedog.com
A diabetes foot care team in Exeter has been presented with a top NHS award for lowering amputation rates below the national average.

The Integrated Diabetic Footcare Faculty (IDFF) was given the NHS Health Education England Innovation Champion Star Award, which recognises the very best in education and training across the health and care sector in the south west.

The ceremony celebrates both individuals and teams which have provided excellent healthcare or public health services for NHS patients and services.

The IDFF initiative, which was set up in 2012, beings together healthcare professionals in podiatry services who focus on development and structured education.

Before the network was introduced, only 26 per cent of practice and community nurses in the area said they had been educated about diabetic foot assessments. A link between minor amputations and late referrals was also found.

Sarah Clauso, who is a complex care and rheumatology podiatrist at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust, explained: We are a voluntary organisation which is thought to have contributed to lowering the amputation rate in East Devon from 1.4 in 2012 to 0.6 in 2017, which is lower than the national average of 0.8.

The way they did this was by developing a series of education tools for healthcare professionals, which have now been extended for people with diabetes.

The eLearning package allows people to follow different stages throughout the diabetic foot assessment, ensuring they have completed knowledge check points and followed the local pathway route for diabetic foot care.

People with diabetes in the area have also been given access cards so in an emergency, healthcare professionals know how to treat them and have their contact details to hand.

Miss Clauson outlined the future plans of the faculty. She said: We are looking for opportunities to work in conjunction with pan peninsula medical school and college of nursing to train first year students via the eLearning. We would like to see a national standard set for education and we aim to contact the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists to help develop this.
WhatsApp may soon allow users to pin three favourite conversations to the top. The feature has been spotted in beta version for Android

WhatsApp may soon let users pin their favourite chats at the top of their conversation list. Android Police notes the feature has been spotted in the beta version of its app and it allows to pin three conversations to the top.

WhatsApp users can tap and hold on any chat in the conversation list and the option to pin shows up at the top. Once pinned, the chat stays on the top of the list regardless of the last communication time. The feature has been spotted in the beta version 2.17.163 of the app, and will probably take a bit of time before being rolled out to general users.

The option to pin favourite or useful conversation to the top has been a trademark feature among most email services. With WhatsApp adopting the feature, it is primarily eliminating the need to scroll through a huge list of conversations.

In the past few months, WhatsApp has been steadily adding new features that aim to add more to the user experience. After rolling out support for video calling, it added two-step verification to tighten the security aspect of its app. The social messaging app recently got its own Snapchat-clone and is also testing live location sharing feature.

WhatsApp is currently used by over 1.2 billion users globally and has 200 million monthly active users in India. Further, the service is reportedly testing P2P payment model to support government's Digital India initiative.
The modified Hyundai Ioniq electric car is a one-off, and Hyundai has clarified that it does not plan to introduce contactless technology as a mainstream feature.

Hyundai has unveiled the worlds first contactless car - a modified Hyundai Ioniq that will be used to contribute to the Stand up for Cancer charity. The car has five contactless payment points on its body, on which anyone interested can donate to the charity cause initiated by Cancer Research UK. Donations can be made in the range of 5 and 10, and once a payment is made, there will be an audio-visual thank you message relayed to the donor.

Other elements in the modified Hyundai Ioniq will include a digital plate to the front of the car that replaces the number plate and show the total amount of donations received. There will also be a photo booth inside the car that will instantly print photographs of donors, which can then be stuck on the exterior of the car. The special edition Hyundai Ioniq will be unveiled at Kings Cross station, London in May, and will go on a road show across the United Kingdom till November.

Contactless car technology has not really hit mainstream application, and the Hyundai Ioniq will be among the very first cars with some sort of contactless payment technology implementation. Jaguar implements a different version of contactless payments in its newer car models like the F-Pace SUV and the XE sedan, where users can make payments at Shell-operated garages for refuelling and other tasks, from the infotainment console. The new InControl Pro infotainment setup is the latest upgrade to the array of technology employed by Jaguar in its cars, and although it has selected implementations for now, it has the framework to support more payments in future.

The new contactless zero-emission Hyundai Ioniq was conceptualised after public response was seen in favour of contactless donations following a trial run of the service in 2016. Despite that, Hyundai has stated that contactless payments will remain a one-off inclusion for now, and will not be included as a mainstream feature in its upcoming cars, for now.
Netflix subscribers would have received a letter from the White House in their mailboxes announcing the return of President and Mrs Underwood.

House of Cards Season 5 is probably the most anticipated show on Netflix this May. Sadly, we still have 28 days to go before the May 30 premiere of this thoroughly entertaining political drama. Good news is that Netflix has finally revealed the trailer for the show and its all about Kevin Spacey A.K.A President Frank Underwood.

Netflix subscribers would have received a letter from the White House in their mailboxes announcing the return of Mr and Mrs Underwood. If you are a pirate, this is what you missed out on -

We thought this was a very cool way of waking up to the new HoC trailer, in which Frank is heard speaking to Claire and declaring his plans to retain the presidency for what sounds like forever! The American people dont know whats best for them, I do. I know exactly what they need, says Frank. Taking inspiration from the current American administration, are we?

From what we saw in the trailer, looks like a lot of old secrets are about to surface as the Underwoods try and douse multiple fires. Claire cries at a funeral, Frank faces protests, and theres a possible terror attack on the cards as well. We cant wait to watch this one. Until then, enjoy this thrilling trailer.
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Cumberland Valley School District officials are taking a wait-and-see approach to adding gender identity and expression to its nondiscrimination policy, district solicitor Michael Cassidy said at Monday nights school board meeting.

Cassidy said he recommends that approach after hearing a presentation at a district policy committee meeting last month by Stuart Knade, chief counsel to the Pennsylvania School Board Association. At the meeting, Knade reportedly advised the district to wait until ongoing public school lawsuits related to transgender identify issues are resolved before making a final decision on revising the policy.

Were focusing on the ever-changing landscape of transgender litigation throughout the country. In Pennsylvania, theres a number of pending cases, Cassidy said.

In western Pennsylvania, a group of transsexual students is suing their school district after the school board passed a resolution stating that students would be recognized by their biological sex, Cassidy said. Meanwhile, a student and his parents have filed a federal lawsuit against the Boyerstown School District, claiming the students right to privacy was stolen from him because the district allowed a transgender student to use the high schools male locker rooms and bathrooms.

There will be a resolution to these cases, Cassidy said. Meanwhile, (Cumberland Valley) should continue to work with families of transgender students on a case-by-case basis.

Revisions to Cumberland Valleys District Policy 103, Non-Discrimination in Classroom Practices, initiated in 1997 and revised in 2008, was finalized by the school board on March 21 after two previous board readings that drew no public comment. The portion of the revised policy that drew heated public response on March 21 reads:

Review current and proposed programs, activities and practices to ensure that all students have equal access thereto and are not segregated on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, or disability any duty, work, play, classroom or school practice except as may be permitted under state regulations.

The school board added a clause to the districts nondiscrimination policy to provide protections for sexual orientation on March 21. Some in that nights crowd, however, didnt appear satisfied about the policy change, urging the board to add gender identity and expression to the policy. Parents and youths have continued to urge the board to pursue the change at subsequent board meetings, with an additional speaker doing so on Monday night.

Cassidy said that the district already works collaboratively with transgender students and their families to address the needs of each child. Additionally, the district already has a number of policies in place to protect these students, such as anti-bullying doctrines.

We will make sure that were protecting these children. Its an approach thats been working and we will continue to do it, Cassidy said.

School board member Barbara Gleim, who is chair of the districts policy committee, said that committee concurs with Cassidys recommendation. She said Knades very thorough presentation was very well received last month by the policy committee.

Contract renewals

In other news, the school board also approved contract renewals for two assistant superintendents. A five-year contract with starting base annual salary of $135,000 was approved for Patricia Hillery, assistant superintendent for elementary education, beginning July 1. The board also approved a five-year contract with a starting base annual salary of $138,000 for Steven Kirkpatrick, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and professional development, starting July 1.
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By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

Associated Press

WASHINGTON  Obamacare is showing surprising staying power, thanks in large part to doctors, hospitals and other health industry players opposing the alternatives that Republicans have proposed.

The stories and perspectives they bring to the debate are grounded in the local community, and the impact on finances and well-being. But also their professional associations are deep-pocketed campaign donors and major lobbying powers on Capitol Hill.





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SEATTLE  Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality said it bought Coastal Hotels, a privately held hospitality management company also based in Seattle.

The terms were not released.





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Over the past five years, oyster production has doubled on the East Coast, driven by new farming methods, cleaner water and growing demand.



By BEN FINLEY

Associated Press

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.  Oystermen, pirates and police clashed violently more than a century ago over who could collect the Chesapeake Bay's tasty and lucrative oysters. As the shellfish makes a comeback, a modern-day oyster war is brewing, this time between wealthy waterfront property owners and working-class fishermen.

Over the past five years, oyster production has doubled on the East Coast, driven by new farming methods, cleaner water and Americans' growing taste for orders on the half shell. The resurgence has led to unprecedented resistance from coastal Virginians who want to maintain picturesque views from their waterfront homes and has fueled a debate over access to public waterways.





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Image by Hunters Capital [enlarge] The Ford Building has almost 36,000 square feet and sits on a 15,360-square-foot site. The bookstore has at least three years left on its lease.

An LLC related to Michael Malone and his firm Hunters Capital has sold the Ford Building at 1521 10th Ave. on Capitol Hill for $14 million, according to King County records.





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SEATTLE  The Glen Eden Apartments at 921 First Ave. W. sold for $11.5 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Jan W. Wagner, whose family owned the property for decades.





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ANCHORAGE (AP)  Alaska lawmakers have approved $3.5 million in renovations to be spent on renovations for their new office building in Anchorage.

KTUU-TV reports the Legislative Council approved the funding proposal on Thursday.





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India and Turkey on Monday resolved to work together to strengthen cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally and to effectively counter terrorism despite lurking differences over Turkey's backing of Pakistan on Kashmir. President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan being received by the President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 1 May 2017 Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used optimistic words filled with promises to portray ties, although stark differences continued to complicate efforts to smoothen a traditionally difficult relationship. The two leaders tried to steer clear off historic differences between the countries over Kashmir, where Turkey has long backed Pakistan's allegations of human rights abuses by Indian security forces. During the two hours of talks the two leaders also avoided remarks over India's purported refusal to act against followers of a popular cult led by cleric Fethullah Gulen, described by Turkey as a terrorist. Turkey calls Gulen's cult, which has a presence in several countries, including India, the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation (FETO). But, at the first strictly bilateral meeting between the two leaders, neither Modi nor Erdogan made any progress in bridging differences between the countries on these issues, officials pointed out. Yet, the two leaders emphasised on the need for nations of the world to work together to disrupt the terrorist networks, their financing and cross border movement of terrorists. PM Modi also emphasised India's stand the issue of dispute over Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and there is no role for a third country or countries in solving it. Erdogan, in an interview with WION news channel prior to his departure to India, had said that more casualties should not occur in Kashmir. He also said that Turkey could be part of the multilateral talks on Kashmir. ''We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all,'' he said. ''All around the world, there is no better option than keeping the channel of dialogue open. If we contribute towards global peace, we can get a very positive result,'' Erdogan added. The differences, however, spilled over when Erdogan referred only to April strike by Maoists against Indian paramilitary forces in Sukma, Chattisgarh, that left 25 soldiers dead. He did not refer to terrorist attacks in Kashmir. Instead, he focused on the FETO and its presence in India, even as he appeared to suggest confidence that India would act against followers of Gulen - which Erdogan blamed for the failed coup attempt against him in 2015. "I know India will take necessary measures to expel FETO from her territory, once and for all," Erdogan said. Indian officials said they had given Erdogan no assurance of action against the FETO, unless New Delhi independently concludes that Gulen's followers have terror links. "Any organisation in India, whether Indian or foreign, obviously has to adhere to the laws of our country," foreign ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said late evening, when asked about the Turkish demand. However, bilateral trade dominated the talks, during which Erdogan said trade between India and Turkey should be balanced and called for steps to achieve that. Speaking at a business event, Erdogan said the two countries should move to achieve actual business potential of their ties. "This meeting marks a new era of business relations," he said. Erdogan said the two nations can complement each other in several areas, including research, and added that his country can assist in India's need for rapid development of infrastructure. "Joint trade volume should be balanced. Steps should be taken to achieve that," Erdogan said. Erdogan's visit comes a week after India hosted the President of Cyprus, and sent vice president Hamid Ansari to Armenia- the two countries with which Turkey has territorial and diplomatic disputes.








With musical artists like Aaron Shust, Colton Dixon and The Afters performing, those attending this weekends Wiregrass Area Will Graham Celebration will have the chance to hear some award-winning Christian acts.

The Wiregrass Area Will Graham Celebration will be held May 5-7 at the Dothan Civic Center. The free event will feature live music and inspirational messages from Will Graham, the grandson of Billy Graham. Concerts are also free. For more information, visit www.WiregrassCelebration.org.

Friday, May 5:

Aaron Shust will perform every evening during the Wiregrass celebration, according to a press release from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Shust received the 2007 Dove Awards for New Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Song of the Year for My Savior, My God.

Two-time Dove Award winner Colton Dixon will also perform on Friday, May 5. Dixon, who appeared on the 11th season of American Idol, won Rock/Contemporary Album of Year for Anchor in 2015 and A Messenger in 2013. His latest single All that Matters is currently No. 20 on Billboards Hot Christian Songs chart and has been on the chart for 15 weeks. The single is also No. 17 on Billboards Christian Airplay chart.

Fridays activities begin at 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 6:

The Afters and hip-hop artist Aaron Cole take the stage on Saturday, May 6.

But, before all the evening activities on Saturday, there will be a FunFest on Troy Street beside the Dothan Civic Center from 9-10 a.m. The FunFest will feature inflatables, a petting zoo and games. A KidzFest for pre-school and elementary-age children and their families will begin at 10:30 a.m. inside the Civic Center. Along with a three-act stage presentation, a KidzChoir made up of local children will also perform. The KidzFest is slated to end at noon.

Things start up again at 7 p.m.

The Afters won the Dove Award for New Artist of the Year in 2006 and Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year for Never Going Back to OK in 2009. The group had top five hits on the Billboard Praise & Worship charts with Light up the Sky, Every Good Thing, Lift Me Up, and You. Their current release, Shadows, at No. 26 on the Top Christian Hits combined chart. Their songs have been featured on several primetime television shows, including Greys Anatomy and The Biggest Loser.

Aaron Cole has been performing Christian hip hop since he was just 3 years old. The native of Bristol, Virginia, recently released his latest EP, titled If I Can Be Honest, and hes been named by Essence magazine as an artist to watch.

Sunday, May 7:

The celebrations Sunday events will be 4-7 p.m. and will feature performances by Shust and Justin Unger.

Unger is a praise and worship leader from Phoenix, Arizona, who recently released his debut worship album, Always Good. Unger was previously a member of the Dove Award-nominated Christian band, Across the Sky.
Testimony began Monday in the trial of a former Beverlye Magnet School band director charged with engaging in sexual contact with a student under 19.

Robert Leslie Lee was arrested in February of last year and indicted by a grand jury in June. Engaging in sexual contact with a student is a felony under Alabama law.

Assistant District Attorney Russ Goodman told the jury during opening arguments Monday that consent is not a factor under Alabama law.

The victim will tell you here today her part in this was consensual, Goodman said. She will also tell you she had a crush on Lee, and she was in love with him. I believe the evidence we have and the information the victim provides will prove to you Mr. Lee is guilty of engaging in sexual contact with a student.

The alleged victim testified Monday she and Lee engaged in inappropriate sexual activity on several occasions. She said the two sent messages to each other on a social media app, but said Lee directed her to delete all messages between the two. Goodman did, however, present a love letter the girl said was written by Lee.

The Dothan Eagle is not publishing the name of the girl because she was a minor at the time of the alleged incidents. Also, the Eagle does not publish the names of sexual assault victims.

Lees attorney, Billy Joe Sheffield II, sought to find inconsistencies in the alleged victims story.

I know you said Lee wrote the love letter, but it sounds like it is written by Shakespeare, Sheffield said. Also, I have noticed in your original reports to the Southeast Alabama Child Advocacy Center and the Dothan Police Department, several facts were left out.

Sheffield also questioned the date of the letter. He said Lee was in jail when the letter appeared to have been written.

The girl said facts were left out because she was embarrassed to be having the relationship with Lee. She also stated she was embarrassed about how this would affect her grandmother if she found out. She also said the letter was copied and pasted into a different file and the police took a photo of the letter and that is where the date inconsistency occurred.

Are you sure you did not edit the letter or write the letter yourself? Sheffield said. You deleted all the (app) messages, but saved a love letter and photos of you two riding around together. I find that hard to believe.

Goodman, however, continued to focus on numerous occasions the girl said she and Lee had inappropriate sexual contact. According to the girls testimony, the two had sexual contact in Lees garage, Lees grandmothers driveway, hotels in Ozark and Montgomery and the parking garage at the Southeast Alabama Medical Center. The girl also stated Lee picked her up at her grandmothers home on a red Honda car and took her to Beverlye Magnet School during one incident. The school was closed, but Lee and the victim did go into the school, where inappropriate activities took place.

Sheffield also showed the victim the bill of sale for the red Honda that Lee purchased. The victim stated Lee picked her up in the red Honda in October 2015. However, the bill of sale states the red Honda was purchased November 30, 2015. The defense asked for the bill of sale to be submitted as evidence.

The trial is expected to continue Tuesday morning.

- This story was changed May 3, 2017 to clarify that Lee is charged with sexual contact with a student under 19
Public sector pensions and pension reform remain a hot topic in the state Legislature and among local governments and school boards.

We owe 60 some billion dollars right now in that pension obligation, Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair County, said Tuesday in Carlisle during an event hosted by the Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce. Thats how far we are on that. We owe that no matter what we do.

Eichelberger, who represents a portion of Cumberland County, said changes to public sector pensions, like proposals to move new hires to a 401(k) style retirement plan, will aid in reducing costs in the future but will not change the amount owed to state employees and retirees.

During a question-and-answer session, Eichelberger responded to a group of local school district representatives who said pension obligations were driving their districts budgets and asked what the state could do to help.

Every day it stays, that just adds to that unfunded liability in a way that we cant control under laws in which we must limit our increases, said Paula Bussard, president of the Carlisle school board.

Eichelberger interjected.

I will say this, I appreciate what you guys do, but I feel like its an unfunded mandate on the state, he said. We dont have any control over the hiring and how much you pay, and schools pay a lot, and they hire a lot of people.

I think schools need to cut way back on what theyre doing and get their salaries in check and that would help them with their pension obligation, he said. We cant control that. Thats an issue you need to work through, and we need to change what the pension system is.

Revenue

Pennsylvanias fiscal year ends on June 30 and budget negotiations for the state have begun in Harrisburg.

Eichelberger said the state has taken in less revenue than was projected for this fiscal year. He said that may be because revenue projections were inflated last year in an effort to avoid a monthslong budget stalemate as happened in Gov. Tom Wolfs first year in office.

What we did last year, and we are now paying the price for that ... everybody wanted to get the budget done, Eichelberger said. So, we put in a lot of unrealistic expectations, like we did for revenue projections. We were going to make all this money off of gambling. We were going to make money off of liquor. We were going to do all these wonderful things and close all these holes in the budget.

Well, everybody was ready to sign off on that, because we needed to get this budget settled, he said. Those numbers didnt add up.

Pennsylvania is facing a roughly $600 million budget deficit heading into the next fiscal year, Eichelberger said.

I hope we dont rush to getting the holes plugged and people coming up with a number that kind of will maybe work if everything works and say OK, lets do that and we go home, Eichelberger said. People are happy the budget is passed relatively on time and then the whole thing falls apart six months down the road.

Eichelberger spent several minutes during his presentation addressing concerns he had with proposals from Wolf, including a lease-back program for the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and increased fees to residents of municipalities, like South Middleton and West Pennsboro townships, without local police departments, but provided few details as to how he would like to address the deficit.

He did say that a Senate budget proposal will likely feature fewer cuts than the current House version.

We are going to try to work something out to get something done, so we can restore some of that money, he said. But, there are going to be cuts. I mean theres going to have to be substantial cuts into a lot of things that people are not going to be happy about.

When approached for comment on the state budget after the event, Eichelberger declined to entertain questions presented by The Sentinel. The Sentinel previously reported on comments made by Eichelberger during a West Pennsboro Township town hall meeting in February, as well as comments during a Senate hearing last week regarding his bill de-funding Planned Parenthood.
The first two segment that Kia will target is the compact sedan and a compact SUV. While the compact SUV is expected to be an all-new product from the company, the compact sedan will be based on the Rio sedan.

Kia's product portfolio across the globe includes the smallest Rio to some of the popular Kia Optima. The company also has some larger sedan such as the Cadenza and the K900.

But we are interested in the Kia Rio sedan as it fits the bill in the Indian market. The compact sedan is powered by a 1.4-litre petrol unit which powers the Hyundai Verna in India as well.

The powertrain churns out a maximum of 106bhp and 135Nm of maximum torque. The company could offer the 1.6-litre petrol unit, which does its duty in the Verna, as well.

As for the diesel option, the same choice of either the 1.4-litre or the 1.6-litre oil burner could power the Kia Rio. Both the powertrains are expected to be mated either to a 5-speed manual or automatic gearbox.

Feature wise; the Kia Rio will come with LED headlamps and taillamps, touchscreen infotainment system with navigation and integrated with Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto.

In the U.S., Kia retails the Rio with a price tag of about Rs 10 lakh. We expect the Kia Rio to be offered with a competitive price tag to take on the likes of Maruti Ciaz, Honda City as well as the Hyundai Verna.
In organisations where flexible working is permitted but its parameters are ill-defined, the full benefits wont be reaped, according to Tony Simonsen, Managing Director of Polycom Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

A global study by the video collaboration company found that Australia is one of the most flexible countries to work in, with nine in ten companies (90%) offering flexible working benefits.

The Polycom Anywhere Working study, which involved a survey of 25,000 workers including 2000 Australians, also found three in four Australian respondents (75%) take advantage of flexible working practices, compared with 62% of the global population.

Further, four in five Australian workers (79%) said they used video collaboration multiple times per day to overcome the tyranny of distance in organisations with geographically dispersed workforces. Globally, a majority of respondents agreed that a) the ability to work anywhere has a positive impact on productivity (98%) and b) video collaboration improves workplace relationships and teamwork (91%).

Despite the perceived benefits of working anywhere, one in three respondents (34%) globally were concerned they would be overlooked for a promotion if they worked remotely. This concern increased amongst millennials (18 to 30 year olds), with three in five (62%) beleiving they would not be perceived as hard-working if they were not in the office.

Simonsen spoke to Dynamic Business about what benefits that can be derived from flexible work arrangements when employers adopt the right mindset and implement the right tools and administrative measures.

DB: Why are so many Australian employers offering flexible work?

Simonsen: Right now, Australians are experiencing massive changes within their workplace. Not so long ago, it was important to be in the office to have face time with colleagues and senior leaders. There has been a shift away from this way of thinking. This is being driven by the rapid acceleration of technology, with advancements that give people the freedom to work the way they want, regardless of where they are, plus the ability to strike a greater work-life balance.

To many, especially those working in the tech industry or for start-ups and other small businesses operating on lean budgets, remote or flexible working is already a way of life. For others, the mention of remote work can be quite a daunting prospect for management and employees alike.

Offering flexible work arrangements, however, provides employers with a competitive advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent, with part of the reason being that employees increasingly expect it. Flexible work arrangements can also be a great way to bridge the geographical divide between urban and rural Australia and, in doing so, helping to transform the economy.

DB: What is needed to ensure the success of a flexible work regime?

Simonsen: Employers need to set policies and guidelines, and ensure these are communicated effectively to their people. In work environments where flexible working is permitted but its parameters are ill-defined, there will inevitably be issues. Whats clear is that businesses with successful mobile workforces have clear, defined policies that are applied to everyone in the business, regardless of seniority or situation. Its about transparency and fairness for all.

There also needs to be a behavioural shift amongst employers; namely, outputs need to be measured rather than attendance and hours spent sitting at a desk. Setting clear goals and objectives, benchmarking, reporting, and employee evaluations should all form a prominent part of managing a remote worker or a geographically dispersed workforce. Success in adopting a flexible, working anywhere culture requires a blending of technologies and workspaces that shift the emphasis from how do we wire this building? to how do we wire our employees? Its about ensuring ensuring remote workers and office-based employees have same ability to meet and collaborate, regardless of location, and get the job done.

DB: Which technologies are facilitating flexible work arrangements?



Simonsen: The best technologies are those that are easy to use with intuitive user interfaces like Microsoft Skype for Business which integrates with familiar tools like Outlook, making it very easy to get up and running. Tools like instant messaging, video conferencing software and hardware, and phones with HD quality audio are also useful when collaborating remotely to maintain productivity among geographically dispersed teams. Many of these services are now also available on cloud-based subscription models like Microsoft Office 365, making it more affordable for SMEs to scale up or down depending on what they need. Not needing your entire team to be office-bound at all times also means you can better manage real estate costs.

One of our customers, MYOB, which has a geographically dispersed workforce in Australia and New Zealand, told me the use of video technology has improved the quality of collaboration within their teams. It provides better cues around body language, engagement and presence in a meeting. It also ensures that team members based in locations outside the base or hub of a team still feel included and can actively participate.

See also: The workplace of the Future: What does it look like? How does your business stand to benefit? and Technology-enabled collaboration no longer a nice to have in the modern business world.
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that the country needs a "good 'shutdown,'" as well advocated for changing Senate rules, in a pair of tweets where he complained about the congressional negotiating process.

"The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We ... either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!" Trump said Tuesday in two consecutive tweets.

Democrats quickly hopped on Trump's call for a shutdown, including Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, who tweeted, "The President just called for a government shutdown this fall. No President has ever done anything like this."

Congressional leaders announced Sunday that they'd reached a deal to avert a government shutdown until September. The deal did not include several Trump campaign promises -- including money for a border wall -- in part because GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to pass the deal in the Senate.

Senate rules require 60 votes to break a filibuster -- a tool Democrats have shown in the past they're willing to employ (most notably during the Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court fight), and which they would likely use again to prevent passage of Trump's budget proposal when it comes up again in September.

The President's suggestion that we "change the rules now to 51%" is a variation of the so-called "nuclear option" that Republicans deployed during the Gorsuch Supreme Court fight -- when they lowered the number of votes needed to break a filibuster of a judicial nominee. In this case, Trump is proposing a rule change that would also lower the number of votes needed to break a legislative filibuster, something Republicans left untouched when they changed Senate rules for Gorsuch.

The shorter-term spending deal brokered by Congress last week is a continuing resolution that, unlike standard budget legislation, is passed through reconciliation and is therefore not subject to a filibuster.

While Republicans do have majorities in both the House and Senate, their 52-seat Senate majority is too thin to break a filibuster unless eight Democrats side with the GOP.

That current deal, which has yet to be voted on and funds the government through September, simply set Republicans and Democrats on a collision course further down the road -- a confrontation that Trump seems eager to embrace.
Dear Editor:

Many Pennsylvanians trust their beloved pets to the care of their local veterinarian because they know veterinarians provide compassionate care for companion animals. However, fewer Pennsylvanians are aware of the important role veterinarians play in protecting the food supply and supporting public health.

Whether caring for a family pet or eradicating disease that would adversely impact the food supply, your Pennsylvania veterinarian was likely educated at the only veterinary school in the state  The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet).

Since its inception, Penn Vet has received funding from Pennsylvania, that is until the most recent state budget proposal. That funding has supported the education of students like me, who face significant financial barriers.

We must restore funding to Penn Vet immediately. Heres why: The protection of our food supply is critical. Penn Vets swine disease surveillance programs cover 1.29 million hogs on 547 farms, reducing the spread of disease. Nearly 300 dairy herds in Pennsylvania utilize Penns Dairy Analyzer computer program, increasing the amount of milk produced to between 23,000 to 32,000 pounds of milk (significantly higher than the 20,000-pound average), which is critical in a world with more mouths to feed and fewer animals to produce that food. Finally, the $10,000 annual subsidy provided to Pennsylvania students like me helps to reduce the average of $193,570 in debt faced by veterinarians upon graduation.

These are just a few examples. Lets take the proper steps to ensure we have a safe and healthy food supply for all Pennsylvanians and that we continue to have the veterinarians needed to protect that food supply. Our legislators must restore Penn Vets 2017-18 funding in the state budget.

Emily Griswold

Millerstown
Anyone who listened to our podcast interview with Flint activist Melissa Mays knows that having their drinking water poisoned with the powerful neurotoxin lead is only part of the ongoing catastrophe they continue to deal with three years after the switch to the Flint River. In addition to elevated lead levels, residents are still experiencing skin rashes, bacteria-related respiratory infections like Legionnaires Disease, and a host of other impure water-related problems.

Despite this, Bryce Feighner, the outgoing director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance Division, says he is convinced that they hype around what has come to be known as the Flint Water Crisis hurt Flint residents more than the poisoning of their water due to decisions made by Gov. Rick Snyders appointed Emergency Managers:

[I]t was heartbreaking to see the people of Flint, he said. Certainly, there was hurt there  dont get me wrong  but there was a tremendous amount of hype that hurt them even more than the actual event. Im convinced of that.

Feighner made the remarks in a keynote address to attendess of the West Michigan Air & Waste Management Association conference in Grand Rapids last week. He also made a number of other unsubstantiated claims the fly in the face of investigations, studies, and, in some cases, actual facts. For example Feighner, who is retiring next month to become a pastor, says that the lead poisoning in Flint wasnt due to the highly corrosive nature of Flint River Water. He says its because of what he calls an excessive number of water breaks:

An excessive number of main breaks was one of several confounding factors that you never hear anybody talk about, argued Feighner, who said Flint had 312 main breaks in 2014 and 277 in 2015, but only 153 in 2013 and 138 in 2016. [] You can have the most perfect, non-corrosive water in world  however you choose to define that  and if you have water main breaks, extreme velocities, changes in flow directions; its going to strip every coating youve created off those pipes over the last several decades, he said. This was a major cause of the event.

This statement contradicts the findings of a task force appointed by Gov. Snyder to investigate the Flint Water Crisis as well as the findings of Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards who was one of the first scientists to raise awareness of the Flint Water Crisis at the national level. Feighner claims these groups found it easier to say you didnt add one part-per-million of phosphate and therefore this caused all this grief' than to tell what he contends is the actual truth. Why? Because its complicated. In essence, hes accusing scientists and policy makers of being lazy, many of whom have spent countless hours educating anyone who will listen  from Congress to journalists and beyond  about the water chemistry and other factors involved in both creating and resolving the Flint Water Crisis.

Feighner also erroneously puts the blame for the switch to the Flint River on the Flint City Council, a zombie lie repeatedly trotted out by Gov. Snyders most ardent defenders that has been thoroughly debunked by multiple sources (video evidence HERE):

On the decision to switch to the river in the first place, Feighner said, you probably hear lots of things about the state made the decision, the DEQ made the decision. I dont pretend to know all the behind the scene things, but on the surface, the city council voted and approved that decision.

Given Feighners attitude and loose grasp of the facts, its a blessing hes moving into the clergy. Perhaps there hell regain his senses. But this raises other important issues. If the person in charge of our states public water supply is focused on blaming local officials rather than those in our state government responsible for this terrible public health calamity, this suggests that there is a major problem with the culture inside the DEQ that needs to be addressed and addressed quickly. State Rep. Jim Ananich agrees and released this statement regarding Feighners shocking comments:

The people of Flint are outraged that the state has someone involved in the Flint recovery who believes that the harm to our city is hype. People with such beliefs have no place being involved in our city and I will be addressing this matter directly with the governor.

Lets hope that Feighners attitude goes with him out the door. In any event, Gov. Snyder needs to do a complete review of his leadership team at the DEQ to ensure that this sort of pernicious thinking is eliminated for good.
Tuesday is National Death to TrumpCare Day. Call 866-426-2631 and be a lifesaver.

Despite little evidence of that its swaying anyone, Trumps White House wants a vote on the new, even more deadly version of TrumpCare this week and it could come down to just a few votes.

We explained why on this weeks The Sit and Spin Room but heres one tweet that reveals exactly how this nightmare becomes a law:

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) says hes leaning toward yes on AHCA mainly to get it to the Senate. I would hope it gets changed over there.  Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 1, 2017

King alleges he cares about Medicaid expansion and hopes that Republicans from expansion states will help preserve it, which is madness.

The bill King may vote yay on doesnt just end up gutting Medicaid expansion. It also shrinks Medicaid to levels below where it would be at without the Affordable Care Act, to help fund extra tax breaks for the rich. In the Senate, Republicans only need 50 votes to pass TrumpCare  and we know Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz would almost certainly vote together to block any bill that keeps any vestige of Medicaid expansion. That would be enough to kill the bill.

A Senate that confirmed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education has 50 votes for anything that pleases billionaire donors.

So this is what King and every other Republican is voting for and more or less what they should expect to become law:

This is what President Trump is supporting as our new health care system. pic.twitter.com/EIjhZRyZSP  Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) May 1, 2017

Which is why its on:

NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY TOMORROW TO DESTROY TRUMPCARE. Call 866-426-2631. Use https://t.co/3XvofXuTE9 Pls RT Heres the remaining undecideds: pic.twitter.com/uW4UKsBCtm  Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 1, 2017

Call and let anyone you know who is in a Republican district or might know someone in a Republican district to call. As Rep. Dan Kildee told us, its callers from red areas who killed TrumpCare the first time.

The pressure is on Republicans in swing districts who have been hung out to rot with this fetid bill by Trump and Speaker Ryan who have all the power of the executive and legislative branches to force them to give in and let the Senate rush it cram it into law in just a few days.

Trump is all over the media lying, refusing to admit that his bill destroys protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

You know who doesnt believe him?

Tea Partying Trump-supporter Rep. Billy Long, who came out against the bill today because it allows states to end community rating, which would effectively restore discrimination against sick Americans. Both Trump and Ryan have tried to sway the Missouri Congressman who is still firm.

Why?

Maybe because he understands what this bill would do to American families because his grown daughter was diagnosed in 2015 with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

There isnt one patients advocacy group in America supporting this sewage formed into legislation, which will make our health care system far worse than it was even before the ACA. The latest changes could even savage the employer-based coverage that most Americans rely on removing essential benefits and protections against catastrophic costs.

I repeat: This nightmare could easily become law.

The good news is that if the White House fails in this latest effort, it may actually be forced to move on, whether it likes it or not.

This is it, said an administration official told Politico. We get it done now, or we dont get it done ever.

We need to be the voice of tens of millions of Americans who will be battered by this bill. Weve got to make sure it that it doesnt get done  ever.

[Image by Mike Licht | Flickr]
Imagination on Monday announced that Apple would no longer use its intellectual property, and the companys stock sank faster than a bottomless boat on the news.

Apple planned to discontinue its use of the companys IP in new products in 15 months to two years, ending the license and royalty agreement between the companies, Imagination said.

Those royalties currently account for about half the revenue of Imagination, in which Apple has an 8 percent stake.

Imaginations technology and intellectual property is used in the graphics processor units in Apples phones, tablets, iPods, TV products and watches.

Following Imaginations announcement, Reuters reported the UK companys stock price fell 70 percent, to 76 pence, the lowest since 2009.

I cannot see how Imagination would survive this, given Apple is such a large customer, said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

Difficult to Cut Cord

Imagination cast doubt on Apples assertion that it could build a GPU with only its own intellectual property, however, contending that such an effort would e extremely challenging and might violate Imaginations intellectual property rights.

Imagination wants its investors to believe that Apple wont be able to totally cut it out of the picture, suggested Ben Bajarin, a principal at Creative Strategies.

It is certainly true that building a GPU from the ground up will likely require someones IP in some way for Apple, unless of course they acquired the IP they need via some other acquisition they have made, he noted in an analysis of the announcement.

Another possible scenario is that Apple will customize the Mali graphics solution offered by ARM, which Apple already is licensed to use, Bajarin said.

Heavy Customization

What many people dont realize is that Apple has been doing a great deal of customization of the Imagination GPU IP to fit its own needs, Bajarin explained.

Imagination provided the GPU core, but Apple began adding more and more of its technology and displacing Imaginations technology, observed Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst with Tirias Research.

It may have gotten to the point where Apple wasnt using enough of Imaginations technology to make it worthwhile to continue paying for it, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Imagination should have been prepared for Apples move, Krewell added.

The rumors have been floating around for a lot of years that Apple was developing its own GPU to replace Imagination, he pointed out. Apple has been hiring top GPU architects. There could only be one product they could be working on.

Important Step for Apple

Gaining control of the GPUs in its products is an important step for Apple.

Apple is putting themselves in a position to own their GPU solution and, as a result, not be beholden to the design direction of a third party whom they may not have total influence over, Bajarin wrote in his analysis.

This puts Apple in an incredibly strong position strategically to control their own destiny in hardware, software, and services  even more than they do today, he added.

Apple has been building out its silicon capabilities aggressively, explained Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research.

It allows Apple to optimize chipset designs for its own purposes, he told the E-Commerce Times. It gives it more control, better integration and more potential optimization.

It is not certain that Apples decision will prove to be a wise strategy, though.

Time will tell how good of a move this was for Apple, Moor Insights Moorhead told the E-Commerce Times.

Apple has a good track record in silicon, but graphics are harder than CPUs, and Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD holds most of the IP today, he pointed out.

Under Tim Cooks leadership, Apple has become a far more risk-averse company than it was during Steve Jobs tenure, noted Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

I cant imagination Apple stating such a decision unless they were fully prepared to move forward and execute it successfully, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Few Pacts Last Forever

Apple has had some stormy breakups with providers in the past. GT Advanced Technologies, which made sapphire screens, in 2014 blamed Apple for forcing it into bankruptcy, for example.

In business, few if any partnerships last forever, King observed.

Apple has a long history of leaving behind strategic relationships when they no longer suit its purpose, he said. If any Apple partners were unaware of that issue or unwilling to consider it seriously, todays announcement should inspire some serious soul-searching.

Imagination made a point of noting that it has reserved all its rights to its confidential information and would be protective of its intellectual property rights.

That could signal a court date with Apple.

Still, Apple is not the kind of company you want to go after unless youve got really big bucks, warned Jack E. Gold, principal analyst atJ.Gold Associates.

Based on past history, its hard to win lawsuits against Apple, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Even if you can, its a five-year or more effort. It takes forever because theyll appeal the heck out of it, Gold pointed out. If thats what youre relying on to stay in business, youre in big trouble.
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BAT Repeats Brutality by Beheading Two Indian Soldiers

Published: May 2, 2017

Pakistans border action team (BAT) has beheaded two Indian soldiers by sneaking 200 metres into Indian Territory in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. During the raid, bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh (22 Sikh Regiment) and head constable Prem Sagar (200 BSF Battalion) were left mutilated. This is the third such barbaric episode since the conduct of surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29. In the same Krishna Ghati sector, BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles in 2013.

India has strongly condemned this inhuman act and the Army has promised appropriate revenge at a place and time of its choice. Since january, 65 ceasefire violations have already been recorded along the LoC.

BAT

Pakistani BATs is a brutal and barbaric arm of Pakistan Army. The BAT typically consists of five to six Pakistan Army soldiers as well as some terrorists. Pakistan armys elite Special Services Group (SSG) commandos may also be present in the BAT actions. BATs are specialised to conduct cross-border raids targeting Indian troops along the LoC. They carry out actions up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres. Pakistans Special Services Group (SSG) or the black storks were among the first batches of intruders that crossed the LoC into Kargil in 1999 that finally resulted in an armed conflict between the two countries.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017

Category: Defence Current Affairs

Topics: Defence  Indian Army  National

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Where else in the U.S. but the Pacific Northwest can you visit one of most charming cities in the world, explore beautiful snowcapped mountains and spend an afternoon relaxing on the beachall in the same day?

Known for its extraordinary natural beauty and fiercely independent characters, the region is now making headlines for a different reason altogether. Namely, the many ways a warming climate is transforming the environment.

With our next Climate Reality Leadership Corps activist training taking place in Washington State this June, were highlighting some of the biggest changes hitting the Pacific Northwest because of the climate crisis and what regular citizens can do to make a difference, wherever they call home.

Threatened Water Sources

If theres one thing the Northwest is known foreven more than coffee and Twin Peaksits water. Specifically, rain and in higher elevations, snow. But with the climate changing and temperatures rising, the snow on those white-capped mountains is melting quicker and sooner than ever before, with the potential to alter the water cycle throughout the region.

With warmer days, snowpack in the Cascade Mountains, which range from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California, has decreased by about 20 percent since around 1950. In some areas, snow-melts are now beginning up to 30 days earlier than normal, which affects the timing of when and how streams flowand can increase competition for water downstream.

The effects spill throughout the region. With less water running down mountain streams in summers, scientists expect less water will become available to power the regions hydroelectric dams. And because the Northwest generates 40 percent of the nations hydropower, there could be real economic consequences in the region and beyond.

The image above shows the projected changes in water runoff and streamflow for 2040, as compared to 19152006.

Increased Sea Level Rise

One of the most severe threats to the Pacific Northwest is the danger of seas rising up the Oregon and Washington coasts. Scientists predict global sea levels may rise between 1.6 and 3 feet by the end of the century, putting Seattle, and many other cities, at risk of developing new and unwanted beachfront properties.

Its not just the places right on the beach at risk either. About 140,000 acres of the coastal region are within 3.3 feet of high tide. Low-lying areas, including Puget Sound, are at especially great risk to rising sea levels and storm surge. Flooding and erosion from sea-level rise are likely to damage homes, highways, public transportation systems and threaten marine life and coastal ecosystems.

The image above shows areas in Seattle that are projected to fall below sea level during high tide by 2100. The map shows three different levels based on medium and high projections, as well as a higher projection that includes storm surge.

Record-Breaking Wildfires

Forests, which make up nearly 50 percent of the Northwest landscape, have experienced a surge in wildfires in recent years partly due to the climate crisis. Oregon and Washington had their most severe wildfire season in 2015 when more than 3,800 fires burned more than 1,600,000 acres.

Why the jump in wildfires that year? The first six months of 2015 were the warmest Oregon and Washington witnessed since record keeping began. There was also less precipitation, which led to poor snowpack and reduced streamflow throughout the winter and spring seasons. These dry changes made it more likely for forests to catch fire when lightning struckwhich it did, 51,019 times between June 1 and September 15, 2015.

This map displays the projected increase in forests area burned from a 2.2-degree Fahrenheit warming in average temperature.

What You Can Do

If the Pacific Northwest is going to meet the challenge of the climate crisis, citizens, business leaders, communities and local and federal governments will need to work together to cut emissions and accelerate the shift to clean energy.

Are you ready to do your part? This June, well be holding our next Climate Reality Leadership Corps activist training in Bellevue, Washington and theres a place for you.

Whether you live in the Pacific Northwest or anywhere else, apply and you could work with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and renowned climate scientists and communicators to learn about whats happening to our planet and how you can use digital tools, powerful storytelling and personal outreach to build real momentum for solutions and inspire communities to act.

We dont have time to waste. With the crisis transforming our planet more and more every day, weve got to fight like our world depends on it. Apply now to join us in Washington and make a difference when it matters.
Iowa is already a wind energy superstar, and now, the states largest utility is looking to completely transition to renewable energy sources.

Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy, owned by Berkshire Hathaways Warren Buffett, recently invested $3.6 billion for its 2,000 megawatt Wind XI project, thats hailed as the largest economic development project in Iowas history as well as the nations largest wind energy project.

The Des Moines Register reports that MidAmerican will install 1,000 wind turbines over the next few years on top of the 2,020 turbines the company has already built around the state.

The feat would bring the utilitys share of energy from renewable sources from 55 percent to 89 percent.

We will be able to virtually serve 89 percent of our customers needs with an energy resource that requires no fuel, MidAmerican CEO Bill Fehrman told the publication.

The initiative would involve no rate increases for customersMidAmerican has agreed to freeze rates until at least 2029, and a lot of that is because of the wind investment, Fehrman said.

The beauty of wind is theres no fuel costs, he said.

MidAmericans rates have increased only once since 1998 and are the ninth-lowest nationally, Fehrman said. Theres not another utility in the countrygas, water, cable, electricthats held rates steady for 12, 13 years.

According to Fehrman, the companys goal is to eventually reach 100 percent renewables, which would require at least another $2 billion and 550 turbines.

It would set a new precedent for the U.S., Daniel Shurey, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told the Register. It will require a company that really knows what its doing.

It will be challenging for them to provide security of supply, and thats not something MidAmerican will take lightly, Shurey said.

The Wind XI project, which the Iowa Utilities Board approved in August, is expected to power 800,000 homes once completed by the end of 2019.

Iowa, one of the top U.S. states in wind power generation, already runs on more than one-third wind energy.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin emphatically recommended Monday denial of Trump administration and fossil fuel industry defendants motions seeking to derail the youthvgov climate case from trial with a rare early appeal. Such early appeals are hens-teeth rare, noted Judge Coffin.

Further, Judge Coffin denied the Trump administrations motion, supported by the fossil fuel industry, to put the trial on hold pending the outcome of the early appeal attempt. Youths attorneys argued that any delay in getting to trial would irreversibly prejudice the youth in securing and protecting their fundamental constitutional rights.

From Judge Coffins findings and recommendation:

The court may make findings that define the contours of plaintiffs constitutional rights to life and a habitable atmosphere and climate, declare the levels of atmospheric CO2 which will violate their rights, determine whether certain government actions in the past and now have and are contributing to or causing the constitutional harm to plaintiffs, and direct the federal defendants to prepare and implement a national plan which would stabilize the climate system and remedy the violation of plaintiffs rights.

 [U.S. government] defendants and Intervenors  underestimate the nature of the danger allegedly created by their actions. The taking of evidence will flesh out those critical issues. The current posture of the case is such that any appeal would be premature.

In his conclusion, Judge Coffin wrote that the hypothetical questions the Trump administration and fossil fuel industry defendants wish to present to the appellate court would put the cart before the horse, and thus fail to satisfy the standards for interlocutory appeal.

Its time for the defendants to accept they are going to trial and not try to continue bending the rule of law to delay a judgment in this case, Julia Olson, plaintiffs counsel and Our Childrens Trusts executive director, said. President Trump must accept that the courts do not do his bidding, and in a court of law, alternative facts are considered perjury.

In March, the Trump administration and fossil fuel defendants requested that the federal district court in Oregon allow the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals the opportunity to review Judge Ann Aikens Nov. 10, 2016 order before the trial even takes place. The defendants had also requested that appeal be expedited, and that the trial be put on hold if the appeal was granted. Judge Coffin recommended that all of those requests be denied.

Procedurally, the Trump administration and fossil fuel industry defendants have until May 15 to file specific written objections with the court to Judge Coffins recommendations. Thereafter, youths attorneys will have 14 days from when those objections are filed to respond to them. Per federal rules of procedure, Judge Aiken, informed by Magistrate Judge Coffins recommendation, holds the power to decide whether the Ninth Circuit has an opportunity to grant the defendants requests for an interlocutory appeal of her November decision.

Scholars agree that defendants have little chance to obtain their rare appeal especially in light of the Magistrate Judges opinion.

This is a well-reasoned opinion and it will now go to Judge Aiken for approval, Prof. Mary Wood, from the University of Oregon School of Law, said. Theres really nothing more for the Trump administration and fossil fuel defendants to argue at this point. They should just get ready for trial.

In spite of defendants desperate attempts to delay a historic climate trial, youth plaintiffs and their lawyers continue to prepare for it.

Juliana v. United States was brought by 21 young plaintiffs who argue that their constitutional and public trust rights are being violated by the governments creation of climate danger. The case is one of many related legal actions brought by youth in several states and countries, all supported by Our Childrens Trust, seeking science-based action by governments to stabilize the climate system.
For five years, Food & Water Watch has worked to ban fracking because weve determined that it presents unacceptable risks to our water supply. Weve worked alongside grassroots activists across the countryincluding in the states of New York and Marylandto pass bans and other ordinances against fracking.

Now, were taking on dirty energy for another reason: climate chaos.

While Trump unleashes a chaotic maelstrom of tweets, alternative facts and reactionary policies upon the American public, climate change is unleashing its own chaos on planet Earth as we know it. Whats worse, the White House has brazenly appointed several climate change deniers with extensive fossil fuel industry ties to key positions in the cabinet. Their agenda appears to be burn more coal, oil and gas, not less.

Since the election, its become crystal clear that its up to us to step up and demand better from our leaders for people and the planet. Thats why Food & Water Action Fund has launched a bold new effort to get America Off Fossil Fuels by building political power, beginning at the local level. Together, well cultivate climate champions in government, ban fracking, keep fossil fuels in the ground, stop dangerous pipelines and infrastructure projects and transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2035.

How Will Climate Affect Our SurvivalSpecifically, Our Food and Water?

We know that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change, and a warming climate will have many impacts on society, but lets drill down specifically to expected impacts on our access to safe food and clean water suppliestwo things that are essential to our survival.

Chaos for Our Food Supply

The impacts on our food supply could be immense. Lloyds of London, an insurance industry giant, wrote in its report, Food System Shock that the global food supply is very vulnerable to uncertain climate impacts. With a global population expected to exceed 9 billion in 2050, extreme weather linked to climate change and the accompanying spread of agricultural pests and diseases could destabilize the global food supply.

Another study by the U.S. Global Change Research Program shows a warming planet would have other widespread impacts. Climate change will continue to reduce the nutritional value of our food, as rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels decrease the concentration of protein and essential minerals in crops like wheat and rice. Increasing risks of food-borne illness are also expected, as are increases in chemical contaminationfor example, as the ocean temperature rises, we could see higher levels of mercury accumulating in fish. Adverse weather events, that will likely increase in frequency and intensity with climate change, could also harm the infrastructure that brings us our food.

Rising levels of carbon dioxide emissions in the Earths atmosphere are causing a phenomenon called ocean acidification. As the oceans absorb more and more CO2, this results in seawater becoming more acidic and creates increasingly unfavorable conditions for calcifying sea life such as shellfish and corals. Ocean acidification is already setting off a chain reaction throughout entire ocean ecosystems, bringing with it serious implications for marine habitats and food security. Ocean acidification is pervasive and its legitimacy is unquestionable and backed by scientific evidence: Carbon dioxide emissions are the direct cause of ocean acidification.

Chaos for Our Water Supplies

Climate change will have a range of impacts on our ability to have safe drinking water. Aging drinking water and wastewater systems could fail under the stress of adverse weather events. Runoff from storms will also directly impact the water supply, introducing pathogens and increasing the prevalence of algal blooms. Warming waters themselves could expose us to more waterborne pathogens. And of course, climate change is increasing droughts, as well as heatwaves and floods. Globally, water supplies are already stressedand climate change will only exacerbate those stresses.

Vulnerable Communities are Getting Hit Hardest

Low income communities, communities of color, indigenous communities and immigrants are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and will be hit disproportionally by health and other impactsas will people with disabilities, pregnant women and children and the elderly. The poorest communities are also the ones that are saddled with polluting fossil fuel infrastructure that not only contribute to climate change, but public health impacts locally. Climate change isnt just an environmental issue: Its a social justice issue.

Off Fossil Fuels: On to the Clean Energy Revolution

The scale of whats needed is immense. Since world leaders met in Paris in 2015 to agree to limit warming to 2C, the roadmap to getting there shows we need to act quickly. Whats more, Food & Water Watch believes we must limit warming to 1.5C, which means our call to action must be even more urgent. To achieve this limit in temperature rise, we must achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Thats less than 18 years away.

In other words, we have less than two decades to transition to renewable energy, and we cant afford to wait for our elected leaders in Washington to do the right thing. We must build power locally, from our city councils, to our state legislatures and beyond. While there has been good progress, with many cities making resolutions to go meet certain targets for renewables, the scale at which it must happen must ramp up.

During the Obama administration, we fought hard to protect the resources we need to sustain life. With our grassroots allies, we pushed hard to pressure the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to recognize that fracking contaminates drinking waterand won. But now, theres a new administration in town that is truly emboldening the fossil fuel lobby, and has a startling lack of accountability on environmental issues. Its clear that any environmental progress well make has to start at the local leveland it starts with each one of us.

Weve learned one powerful lesson from our experience organizing alongside grassroots partners to ban fracking in states and communities across the nation: When large numbers of people come together, we can win even in the face of powerful opposition.
By Leo Hickman

On the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 8, 1981, the UKs only commercial TV channel, ITV, broadcast an hour-long documentary, Warming Warning.

It was among the earliest occasionspossibly the earliestanywhere in the world where a major broadcaster aired a documentary dedicated solely to the topic of human-caused climate change.

The documentary, which was made by the now-defunct Thames Television, has sat in the archives largely unseen ever since. Until now.

Carbon Brief has tracked down the copyright holder, FremantleMedia Ltd, and persuaded it to release into the public domain a selection of key clips from the documentary.

The clips provide a poignant, historical insight into what scientists knew about climate change almost four decades agoand how the world was beginning to react in terms of the resulting geopolitical, technological and societal ramifications. Many of themes still resonate strongly today.

To put it in context, the documentary was broadcast seven years before Dr. James Hansens famous it is already happening now Senate testimony in 1988, nine years before the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report was published, and 25 years before Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth was released. After it first aired in 1981, Warming Warning went on to be broadcast in the U.S. (in 1990 on PBS), Greece, Japan and Israel, according to FremantleMedia.

Time-Capsule

In its TV listings on the day the program aired, the Times described it as a documentary about the serious effects our polluting of the atmosphere with carbon dioxide will have on the climate. It added: Scientists are worried that at the present rate the Earth will be 2C warmer by the middle of the next century with disastrous consequences for the polar regions.

On 8 Dec 1981, ITV broadcast this hour-long documentary about climate change called "Warming Warning". Can anyone remember watching it? pic.twitter.com/DqT845SCtC  Leo Hickman (@LeoHickman) March 22, 2017

New Scientist said at the time it was excellently written and directed by Richard Broad, a current affairs documentary-maker, then better known for films focused on the Middle East conflict. (The credits at the end thank, among others, the science writer Dr. John Gribbin.)

The film, narrated by the presenter Tom Vernon, opens with an introduction to the problem of burning fossil fuels. The narration begins:

Since the time of the Industrial Revolution, man has consumed huge and increasing amounts of fossil fuel to sustain the growth of industrial societies  Meteorologists now believe that increased quantities of CO2 in the atmosphere will lead to significant warming of the planet within decades.

The film then introduces several U.S.-based experts, starting with Gus Speth, who is captioned as an environmental adviser to President Carter, but who went on to found the World Resources Institute thinktank and advised Bill Clinton, among many other roles. He begins:

Its hard for me to imagine a more serious environmental issue.

In quick succession, the film also introduces two more talking heads. First, David Burns, who was director of the climate project at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Then comes Dr. Walter Orr Roberts, a well-known U.S. atmospheric scientist.

Running time of this clip in original documentary: 05:25-08.07. (This, and all clips below, are courtesy of FremantleMedia Ltd/Thames Television.)

Scientists

Once the film returns from the first commercial break, it introduces two more U.S. experts. Dr. William Kellogg is captioned as a climatologist, but he played a key role researching climate change in the 1970s, in particular, based at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. Earlier in the same year that Warming Warning aired, Kellogg also co-authored one of the earliest books on the topic, titled Climate Change and Society: Consequences of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.

Next comes (a very young looking) Stephen Schneider, a seminal figure for alerting the world to the potential dangers of human-caused climate change. At the time, Schneider was also based at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, but he would go on to be among the worlds most prominent scientists warning about climate change (and, in the process, was the target of a campaign of abuse, intimidation and even death threats).

The documentary intersperses the interviews with lots of stock footage showing human dependence on fossil fuelsaircraft taking off, coal mining, modern agriculture, etc.

This second clip also contains the views of another seminal climate scientist, Dr. George Woodwell. He was the director of the Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Four years later, he would go on to found the Woods Hole Research Center.

Running time: 11.09-17.44

Rising CO2

The film is notable for being careful to explain the nuances of the latest scientific knowledge about climate change. For example, in the third clip below it says that the uptake of CO2 by the oceans is a slow and poorly understood process.

Dr. Lester Machta, director of the Air Resources Lab at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), explains that up until the 1960s the prevailing scientific view was that the oceans could soak up all of the CO2 that might come from the combustion of fossil fuels. He then explains that, from the late 1950s onwards, observatories were set up most famously at Mauna Loa in Hawaiito measure the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.

The film shows a chart plotting the steady rise in CO2 since 1958. The narrator pauses to remark that in 1981 the concentration stood at 338 parts per million (ppm) a rise of seven percent in 23 years. Today, in 2017, the concentration now stands at 407ppm.

He adds: We believe now that there is some suggestive evidence now that the atmosphere is indeed warming due to the greenhouse effect.

Running time: 18:58-21:32

Consensus

The viewer is then shown a scientific paper published that year in the journal Science, titled Climate Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, which attributed the warming to rising CO2 concentrations. The lead author was Dr. James Hansen, who has since become one of the worlds most prominent and outspoken climate scientists.

Dr. Woodall remarks: There is a reasonable consensus among meteorologists that the warming will continue and will be significant and easily measurable roughly by the end of this century.

The narrator adds that most scientists agree that the temperature will rise by some two degrees in the next century  but the warming will be much more dramatic in some areas than in others.

Dr. William Kellogg then returns to explain that by the middle of next century, when we might have twice as much carbon dioxide than in 1900, it may rise by an average of 2-3C, but in the polar regions 5 or 10C, which becomes a very large change and would change the whole character of the polar regions.

The metric used to estimate the warming caused by a doubling in concentration of atmospheric CO2 is known as equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS). The most recent IPCC report, published in 2013, gave an ECS range of 1.5-4.5C, with the majority of climate scientists still believing that 2-3C of warming is most likely from a doubling of CO2 concentration.

Running time: 23:16-25:25

Melting Ice

The narrator explains that there is already some tentative evidence that the poles have already begun to warm. But the film concentrates on the risk of the inherently unstable Antarcticas Ross Ice Shelf melting.

Schneider provides a succinct summary of what might happen if one of these kilometer thick floating blocks of ice, which are pinned on islands, were to disintegrate due to global warming. Because they act like buttresses of a medieval building, they are holding back the ice on the land, he says: If the climate warms up by a few degrees, there are a number of glaciologists who believe these shelves could break up.

This could then lead to a surge of land ice entering the ocean which could cause sea-level rise of up to 5-8 meters (16-26 feet). The narrator stresses that glaciologists disagree whether this is likely to occur within decades or centuries, adding:

However, a rise of up to 20 feet would make the new Thames barrier, designed to meet surge tides of 11 feet, redundant.

It imagines a scenarioillustrated with aerial shots of 1981 central Londonwhere Buckingham Palace would be under seven feet of water.

Running time: 25:26-27:47

Modelling

How do scientists know how CO2 will likely impact the climate in the future? The film moves on to discuss the use of computer models by climate scientists.

Schneider explained:

The simplest way to figure out how a CO2 increase will change the climate is no theory at all. Just go ahead and find some Twin Earth and pollute it and see what happens. But we dont have a Twin Earth, so we have to build one  The only thing you can do is build a mathematical model to try to simulate the way the earths climate behaves.

The narrator says that the latest generation of computers, which make 80 million calculations a second, are being used at research centers around the world, such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The narrator adds:

The computer is fed with equations that relate to the behavior of clouds  to that of sea  to the role of sunlight  and to the effect of the poles. The models subtlety can be tested and refined by observing how well it imitates the real climate, responds to seasonal differences and regional change. Though crude compared to the real thing, it is a useful tool.

Dr. Kellogg remarks that they look as if they match our real system rather well.

Then you take the model, Schneider said, and you literally pollute it by going to the computer and typing in a couple of cards. Thats where the climate predictions come from, he said.

Running time: 33:23-37:15

, and while China and Russia have vast reserves of coal, that seems unlikely.

Alternatives to fossil fuels, such as nuclear power, have their own dangers. Or, in the case of solar energy, present technical problems. Yet a serious policy of fuel conservation, which makes good sense for many other reasons, becomes imperative as a result of the CO2 problem.

Gus Speth then reappears for a final comment: Long before we could ever use all the coal on this planet, we will have greatly exceeded tolerable levels of CO2 concentration. We ought to face the fact that we cant use all that coal  The CO2 issue is not being seriously considered. And it is high time that it should be.

He adds: Is the world ours to experiment with? I think not. I think we owe future generations, other life on the planet, a profound duty of restraint and, right now, we dont seem to be exercising it.

The narrator then ends the film with a concluding monologue:

But to stop the easy flow of energy is difficult. We all enjoy it far too much  It is our wealth that has manufactured CO2. But, having created the problem, can we reasonably ask countries that have never enjoyed all this to exercise restraint?

When economists argue that our industrial difficulties can only be relieved by promoting industry and creating growth, CO2 seems a remote problem. Yet more jobs mean more power and increased CO2  Government today is not designed to deal with a problem of this dimension at such a timescale, a problem challenging the belief that more means better 

The prospect of a warmer world may seem superficially attractive. Electorates are unlikely to be seduced by policies of restraint, constraint and self-denial  To apply the brake now, to introduce policies and avert the possibility of a crisis ahead, demands a vision across decades among politicians who rarely hold office for more than a few years. Economic imperatives, political realities and the very way our society is organized dictate that the power continue to flow. But now we know what this implies 

Yet were mortgaging the world against the future to be paid by our descendants, our children. The carbon dioxide problem is a warning 

Man has demonstrated he has the capacity to change one of the great natural systems of the world. The sheer weight of our presence is altering the planet. Our industry has now become part of the climate, a new intruder disturbing an old system. Most of the small group of scientists who really understand the interactions of the climate have now warned us in measured language of the prospects that we face.

Running time: 46:20-53:43

Finally, for further context, Carbon Brief has produced this chart showing global CO2 emissions since 1959. It allows you to quickly see the continued increase in emissions since the documentary was broadcast in 1981. Or, to put it another way, just over a trillion tons of CO2 have entered the atmosphere since the film was first shown.

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Emissions data from the Global Carbon Project. Chart by Carbon Brief using Highcarts.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Carbon Brief.
HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar launches Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan

Published: May 2, 2017

The Minister for Human Resource and Development, Prakash Javadekar has launched Students for soldiers- a nationwide Vidya  Veerta Abhiyan to encourage Universities and educational institutions across the country to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers.

The portraits of Param Veer Chakra decorated soldiers were handed over to the Vice Chancellors of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jammu and IIT Delhi, among others, to put it in their educational institutions. The wall of heroes depicting portraits of brave soldiers who showed exemplary bravery in defending the nation is expected to instil a sense of patriotism and nationalism among students.

Background

This initiative has been launched in the wake of the demand made by the ex-servicemen that portraits of martyrs and tanks used in wars be showcased in the universities and educational institutions to instil a sense of nationalism and patriotism among the students. Last year, the HRD Ministry had also unveiled Veergatha books on the 21 Param Veer Chakra awardees for educating school children about the sacrifices made by the Param Veer Chakra awardees.

Param Veer Chakra

The Param Veer Chakra (PVC) is Indias highest military decoration awarded to officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian military for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. It is given for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. The Param Veer Chakra (PVC) is equivalent to the Medal of Honor in the United States and the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom.

The award was established on 26 January 1950 and since then has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous awards and 16 has been awarded for acts of bravery committed during the Indo-Pakistani conflicts. Of the 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army, and 1 has been from the Indian Air Force. The design of the medal was designed by Savitri Khanolkar, the wife of an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar of the Sikh Regiment.



Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017

Topics: Government Schemes  MHRD  National

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(Photo:  UNHCR / I. Prickett)Refugees and migrants arrive in Greece on flimsy boats after crossing treacherous seas to Greece mostly fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan in September 2015.

The UK government is discriminating against Christian refugees from Syria, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has said.

Carey claims in a newspaper letter that "politically correct" officials are "institutionally biased" against Christian refugees, who are underrepresented in the numbers being moved to the UK.

The 81-year-old former spiritual leader of the Church of England said a failure to address this amounts to potentially unlawful discrimination by the UK government, which would be legally obligated to act if it admitted Christians in the Middle East were facing genocide.

In a letter published by The Telegraph, Lord Carey said: "It is distressing beyond belief to know that the steady 'crucifixion' of Middle East Christians continues.

"In the run-up to Easter British taxpayers will be appalled by this institutional bias against Christians by politically-correct officials."

Carey suggested government workers have a "politically-correct phobia of avoiding any risk of being perceived as anti-Muslim".

He noted, "The Muslim victims of the conflict in the Middle East deserve the same compassion as the minority victims. But at the moment they are receiving greater support than the minorities which are targeted by Muslim extremists."

Carey's comments came as Russian and American diplomats worked to restore dialogue over the crisis in Syria following a week of escalating tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Figures show that less than 1 per cent of the Syrian refugees resettled under a UK Government scheme in the third quarter of last year were Christians, The Telegraph reported.

'BIAS AGAINST CHRISTIANS'

Carey said, "In the run-up to Easter British taxpayers will be appalled by this institutional bias against Christians by politically correct officials.

"In this the British government is not just breaking its manifesto pledge to look after Christian refugees, it also appears to be breaking the law."

Carey served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, and said that Christians are "disproportionately persecuted" in the Middle East and therefore should get priority for UK government help.

The Telegraph said his view is supported by a legal opinion from a human rights barrister which suggests that Syrian Christians are subject to "indirect discrimination" under European human rights laws.

A mere 51 of the 2,592 refugees accepted under the UK scheme between 7 Sept. 7 2015 and June 30, 2016 were Christian - less than 2 per cent.

The proportion slid to less than 1 per cent for the most recent data obtained by the charity under Freedom of Information laws, which showed that just 13 of the 1,583 refugees accepted between July and September last year were Christian.

This is despite Christians making up around 10 per cent of the Syrian population before the civil war began in 2011.

Lord Carey said minority groups find it more difficult to access the UNHCR camps funded by the UK government, which means they are less likely to be included in resettlement schemes which would bring them to Britain.

Christians have been targeted by the grouping calling itself ISIL or Islamic State in Syria alongside other minority groups including Yazidis and Shia Muslims who have been killed, tortured and driven from their homes.

"Ministers' efforts to correct the imbalance are being blocked by often well-meaning but hopeless politically correct officials who claim that to support Christians is to discriminate against others," he said.

A government spokesman said: "UK aid is provided in line with humanitarian principles, so whoever needs our help the most gets it first, regardless of race, gender or religion," Premier reported.
(Photo: REUTERS / David Mdzinarishvili)A baby is baptized during a mass baptism ceremony on Epiphany day in Tbilisi, January 19, 2014. About 600 children were baptized by the Georgian Orthodox church during the 32nd mass baptism ceremony at the country's main cathedral Holy Trinity

Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt have taken a significant ecumenical step by signing a common declaration that Roman Catholics and Copts may recognize each other's baptisms.

The agreement is, in the eyes of the World Council of Churches, a "sign of hope".

"Today we, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II, in order to please the heart of the Lord Jesus, as well as that of our sons and daughters in the faith, mutually declare that we, with one mind and heart, will seek sincerely not to repeat the baptism that has been administered in either of our churches," they said on 28 April in Cairo.

The agreement also commits the churches to work towards a shared formulation of the Lord's Prayer and a common date for the celebration of Easter.

POPE FRANCIS' VISIT TO EGYPT

The joint declaration was signed during Pope Francis's visit to the Orthodox Saint Mark's Coptic Cathedral in Cairo as part of a two-day visit he was making to Egypt.

The visit was to show solidarity with the people of Egypt, particularly to the Christian community; to strengthen ties with Coptic Christians; and to address a Muslim-Christian International Peace Conference hosted by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

The signing was followed by a common ecumenical prayer in St Peter's and St Paul's church, site of a tragic bombing on 11 December 2016.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is a member of the WCC. The Catholic Church is not a WCC member, but it serves on its important Faith and Order Commission and cooperates with the churches' council on many other issues.

WCC general secretary Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, who was in Cairo with a delegation to meet with member churches and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, also participated in the ecumenical prayer.

Tveit said, "The agreement is a sign of hope. We are as churches called to be one so that the world may believe. The text shows the strong intention to give a common witness to the shared Christian faith."

The general secretary commented, "This is a sign of what it means to be together on a pilgrimage of justice and peace. The contextual and historical dimension of the agreement is significant:

"The challenging times require that we are committed to pray together, to pray for and with one another, to witness together, and to show this in word and action. Our call to be one is also a call to work for peace and the unity of humankind."

Rev. Odair Pedroso Mateus, director of the WCC Faith and Order Commission, said, "In a time of growing cultural and religious fragmentation and sectarianism, Catholics and Copts are affirming what we believe to be universally human and universally Christian.

'UNIVERSALLY CHRISTIAN'

"They help us come closer to full catholicity, which is precisely the antidote to contemporary fragmentation and sectarianism."

Tveit noted, "This agreement between the Coptic Church and the Roman Catholic Church has significant historical dimensions, pointing back to the unity of the church that existed in the first centuries, but was broken later.

"The agreement says: 'Our deep bond of friendship and fraternity has its origin in the full communion that existed between our churches in the first centuries.'

"It was expressed in many different ways through the early ecumenical councils, dating back to the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the contribution of the courageous Church Father Saint Athanasius, who earned the title 'Protector of the Faith'."

In recent times the mutual recognition of baptism between different churches has become more prevalent and it has been explicitly encouraged by the WCC Commission on Faith and Order.

Tveit added: "Still, obstacles remain for the full unity between Roman Catholics and the Coptic Church."

The agreement concludes: "We are aware that we still have far to go on this pilgrimage ... as we journey towards the blessed day when we will at last gather at the same Eucharistic table."

Tveit observed: "As they agree that obstacles for full communion and unity remain, what is common in faith and life has been affirmed as shared positions and commitments; something has to be further explored through the ongoing theological dialogue."
Personalized learning is a buzzword in education, but teachers own learning often comes in a one-size-fits-all package via a crowded room or a years-old PowerPoint.

Enter microcredentials, a form of professional development in which teachers work to prove mastery of single competencies. Theyre designed to be tailored to what a teacher needs or wants to know, from classroom management to analyzing student data.

The process of earning one is also relevant to their daily work: Teachers show their skill through samples of student work, videos, and other artifacts. And they can be splashysome authorizers give teachers a digital badge for every microcredential earned, which teachers can display on their LinkedIn, blog, or any online portfolio of their work.

At least three statesDelaware, Florida, and Tennesseeare piloting microcredentialing programs, and other states are in talks with providers, the largest of which is the nonprofit group Digital Promise . Individual districts, from New York City to Wales, Wis. , have also experimented with initiatives that tie microcredentials to salary bumps or career progression.

As these states and districts begin to see some initial results from their implementation, theyre learning that despite the challenges and road bumps, teachers generally like microcredentials and see their value. And while there is no empirical research on the impact for students, advocates say the benefits for students are, as the name implies, on a micro level.

The educator has to demonstrate the skill in practice with students and be able to describe the impact of the application of that skill or competency on students, said Stephanie Hirsh, the executive director of Learning Forward, a teacher-learning membership organization. At the classroom level, it is immediately designed to impact change and practice and results for students.

Still, as this form of professional development becomes more popular, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Not all microcredentials are created equal, and states and districts have yet to come to a consensus on the level of rigor they must meet and what value different stakeholders should put on an earned microcredential. Questions also surround who or what body should assess the teachers work, and what incentives should be tied to the attainment of the badges.

And as more organizations enter the space, its pioneers worry about preserving the value of the microcredentials.

Are we in a race to the bottom? Whos the easiest, whos the cheapest? said Mary Strain, the director of national partnerships for Teaching Matters, which has established microcredentials for some districts in New York. I think my big concerns remain that with the explosion of microcredentials, people need to be thinking of things like quality, currency, and the quality of the assessment as well.

Ultimately, we dont want to be in the situation where people are collecting them like coins in video games, she said.

Careful Expansion

But right now, states are moving slowly with the adoption of microcredentials.

There is no research around it; its relatively new, said Kathleen Airhart, Tennessees deputy education commissioner. We went into it looking to discover whether this would be valuable for teachers.

The states pilot started in October with about 60 veteran and novice teachers working to complete at least three microcredentials, chosen from a list of 15. In the second year of the pilot, the state education department hopes to reach up to 5,000 teachers and draft a policy to allow microcredentials to be a valid tool for maintaining a teaching license.

By year three, Tennessee hopes to reach all educators in the state and devise microcredentials around state content standards.

We had a good first year, [but] we want to be very thoughtful in how we expand, Airhart said. This should be a support for teachers and not a hindrance.

So far, teachers have reported that they feel like their practice has been positively affected by the process of earning microcredentials, said Machel Mills, the director of professional learning for the state education department.

They also appreciate the opportunity to personalize their own learning, the flexibility of earning the badges, and the relevance of the PD to their daily work.

Still, some challenges have cropped up in this first year. Some teachers have had technological issues when submitting the video evidence. And some first-year teachers have struggled with managing the microcredential process while still finding their footing in the classroom.

Those are issues that have also arisen in Floridas pilot program, said Janice Poda, a senior consultant to Learning Forward, which has worked to implement microcredentials in the three states in the pilot.

The Sunshine States education department expected that a couple hundred teachers would be interested in participating in the pilot, which focuses on earning a growth-mindset microcredential but 2,500 teachers applied, Poda said. The department put 500 teachers in the first cohort last fall, another 500 in the second cohort this spring, and the rest on a waiting list.

The state now has a study underway to determine the lessons learned from the first year, before the program expands, Poda said.

Moving forward in Tennessee, Mills said, the department wants to take a closer look at the supports offered to new teachers. They should have a strong mentor who is familiar with the microcredentialing process, as well as a school schedule that offers time for first-year teachers to collaborate with their mentors, she said.

Jennifer Vandiver, a veteran chemistry teacher in Collinwood, Tenn., earned three microcredentials through the states pilot program: on brainstorming, design-thinking, and wait time when asking students questions. Tennessee asked teachers to complete three in a year, although how long the actual process takes depends on the teacher. Vandiver is considering earning a fourth.

Its much better than going and sitting in a big auditorium full of other teachers in all different subject areas and grade levels and getting some generic professional development from some speaker who doesnt know us or our school, she said, adding that she liked being able to tailor her learning.

I like getting to work at my own pace, Vandiver added. I also like working with my own kids, and I like for them to be able to see me trying something new and doing something different.

Most of the time, she said, students arent aware that teachers do any sort of professional development. But because earning a microcredential can require teachers to videotape or photograph their lessons, the students are given a rare peek into their teachers as learners.

They were watching me adjust as we went, and I think its good for them to see that, instead of everything being planned out all the time, Vandiver said.

Knowledge, Not Hours

Groups like Learning Forward hope to see microcredentials as part of the relicensure process, which requires teachers to fulfill continuing education requirements or take college classes. Only a handful of states allow microcredentials to count toward the process, including Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, and North Carolina.

Instead of ticking off hours in a classroom to become recertified, teachers should demonstrate their knowledge, no matter what that looks like, said Hirsh of Learning Forward.

As Teaching Matters Strain put it: The ethos of a microcredential or a digital badge is that it doesnt matter how you got there, as long as you get there.

Of course, not all teachers will embrace microcredentials. Theyre a lot of work and time-consuming. An October report by Teaching Matters on the groups work with the Mineola Union schools in Long Island, N.Y., and the New York City district found that teachers want a pay or leadership incentive to make the process worthwhile.

But even that is not always enough. The Mineola Union districts microcredentials are tied to teacher leadership. The pilots premise was that if teachers earned 18 microcredentials in a year, they would receive a permanent $500-per-year pay increase and become a teacher leader. While all 10 teachers earned at least a handful of microcredentials in that year, only two completed the full 18.

The badges are intense, said Michael Nagler, the districts superintendent. He ended up extending the deadline to earn all 18 to two years.

It was more important for me that they were practicing what they learned in a real setting, he said, pointing to improvements in student outcomes. He attributed those to teachers spending more time reflecting on their practice and paying close attention to student data.

I think its a great way to recognize the work that teachers do and to treat them as professionals ... to provide them opportunities to advance in their fields purposefully, Nagler said.

The Boy Scouts had it right, he added. Theres something to be said about earning a badge and demonstrating your knowledge.
Student-on-student sexual assault is not just a problem on college campuses. It threatens thousands of kids a year in elementary, middle and high schools across America. Rich or poor, urban or rural, no school is immune. AP journalists spent a year investigating sexual assaults in elementary and secondary schools. It found they occurred anywhere students were left unsupervised: buses and bathrooms, hallways and locker rooms. Sometimes, victims and offenders were as young as 5 or 6 . This story is part of that reporting project.

The true extent of student-on-student sexual assault in elementary and secondary schools is unclear. There are no national requirements for schools to track and disclose such incidents, as there are for colleges and universities, and sexual violence in general is widely under-reported.

Even academic and government research on K-12 student sex assault has limitations. Some surveys focused on certain age groups, were limited by a schools demographics or were dependent on what students were willing to report. Others did not distinguish between incidents on and off school property, or whether offenders included non-students.

Here are the results of some studies:

 A study published in 2014 by the University of New Hampshires Crimes Against Children Research Center found that one in 250 children said they had experienced forced or unwanted sexual contact at school in the past year. The study was based on surveys taken in 2011 of 3,391 children, ages 5 to 17. Most of the 14 respondents who reported being sexual assaulted said a peer was the attacker, and just over half reported it to school officials. Researchers said the number of at-school assaults was likely an undercount and too small to calculate a reliable national estimate.

 University of Illinois researchers reported in a 2014 study that about one in five students from Midwestern middle schools said they had faced sexual violence on school property the previous year. Students asked to describe the most upsetting sexually violent act discussed actions ranging from forced intimate touching to unwanted kissing. Roughly 1,400 boys and girls were surveyed in grades 5 through 8, but only about 60 percent answered all the questions.

 The National Center for Education Statistics tried to estimate the number of rapes and sexual batteries in U.S. public schools in the 2013-14 school year. Principals were asked about violent incidents at their schools as of February 2014, regardless of whether a student or an adult committed them. More than 80 percent of the 1,600 public elementary, middle and high school principals surveyed participated. In the end, nearly 2 percent of the administrators reported a sexual battery and less than one-half of 1 percent reported a rape or attempted rape. Researchers cautioned the response rate for some categories, including rape, was too small for a reliable national estimate. The center estimated that roughly 1,800 sexual batteries other than rape were reported.

 Researchers with the American Association of University Women asked nearly 2,000 students in grades 7-12 nationwide about sexual harassment at their public or private schools during the 2010-11 academic year. Two percent reported being forced to do something sexual, and 8 percent said they were touched in an unwelcome sexual way"with girls experiencing much higher rates than boys. The results did not specifically identify the perpetrator, but the study said nearly all the behavior it documented was peer-on-peer. Half said they did nothing after being sexually harassed, and a quarter said they told a relative. Just 9 percent said they told a teacher, counselor or other adult at school, and only 1 percent contacted police.

 University of Michigan researchers surveyed nearly 1,100 junior and high school students in the state about peer sexual assault, both in and out of school. The study, published in 2008, said about half of all girls and a fourth of all boys reported peer victimization of some kind, including rape, forced oral sex or unwanted kissing and touching. The acts overwhelmingly took place on school grounds. The study did not specify a time frame for the incidents, and middle schoolersabout one-third of the respondentswere not asked questions about rape or oral sex.
India-Turkey inks Three Agreements

Published: May 2, 2017

India and Turkey have signed three agreements following delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans first foreign visit after winning the April 16 referendum that will transform Turkey into a presidential form of democracy.

The previous visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to India was made in 2008.

In total three agreements were signed by both the sides in the fields of ICT, training and culture:

An agreement for a cultural exchange programme for the years 2017-2020 was signed.

A MoU was signed between the Foreign Services Institute (FSI) of India and the Diplomacy Academy of Turkey.

A MoU was signed for cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also assured India of Turkeys full support in the fight against terrorism and for Indias bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

During his visit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the Jamia Millia Islamia university for his contribution to strengthen international cooperation, peace and diplomacy as well as for his extraordinary humanitarian aid to millions of refugees.

India-Turkey

India and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1948. Bilateral trade between both the countries stands at $6.5 billion. As of 2016, Turkeys exports to India stood at $652 million, while its imports were $5.75 billion. Both the countries have set a target of increasing the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2020. Intelligence cooperation between Turkey and India over ISIS has increased in last few years, especially after it was found that many Indian nationals who attempted to travel to Syria travelled through Turkey.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017

Topics: India Bilateral  India-International Relations  India-Turkey  International

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To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
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A winning raffle ticket gave one local couple the opportunity to take part in the trip of a lifetime.

Bob and Pat Bone of Farmington spent St. Patricks Day watching the parade in New York City.

But, the couple didnt have any ordinary vantage point around the parade route.

Instead, the two were able to view the parade from a special area at the steps of St. Patricks Cathedral with Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

The trip was awarded in a raffle held by the Little Flower Catholic School in Richmond Heights, Missouri. Their son, Rodney, attends Little Flower Church and his children were both students at the school  which Rodney said he continues to support through fundraisers.

According to Rodney, this is the second year for the raffle  which is hosted by Pat Dolan  the cardinals brother  and his wife, Mary.

Tickets sell for $100 each, with the winning ticket awarded a trip for two to New York City. Included in the prize is airfare and a three-night hotel stay, along with breakfast and lunch with Cardinal Dolan. The trip also includes front row seats on the steps of St. Patricks Cathedral to watch the St. Patricks Day Parade.

A trip to New York City is nothing out the ordinary for Rodney. He has been to the city hundreds of times  traveling there at least two to three times a month for his job.

When he found out hed won the raffle  a ticket he bought just to continue his support of the parish and school  Rodney knew the perfect pair for the trip.

When I won the trip, I knew I had to send my parents, he said. It was a trip of a lifetime for them.

The couple arrived in New York City on March 16. While on the trip, the two stayed at the The Palace  located directly across the street from the cathedral.

We told the doorman we were visitors of Cardinal Dolan for the weekend, Bob said. We got the Cardinal Dolan treatment.

We think we did, Pat added, with a chuckle.

They would attend an invitation-only mass at St. Patrick Cathedral the next morning followed by breakfast with the cardinal.

(Dolan) honored policemen and EMTs at the mass, Bob said. We sat in the 30th pew in church with his brother, sister-in-law and niece  there were cameras, TV stations and all the photographers.

Following mass, the couple went to the balcony with Dolan.

He is the kind of person  hes a people-person, Bob said.

He said there were barricades located all around the area of the balcony, guarded by police.

The parade starts in front of the cathedral, he said, adding all the parade participants made their way to the barricades to greet Dolan. They flock to him  hell wave them on over to him and (the security) is trying to keep them away. Thats the kind of guy he is.

A breakfast of 30 turned into a breakfast with more than 90 in attendance.

(Dolan) pulled a Bob Bone, is what Pat said, Bob said, of the two extending an invitation to all they meet.

Also in attendance were New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Police Commissioner William Bratton and the governor of Ireland.

Pat said the couple watched about an hour and a half of what would be a six-hour parade  the largest St. Patricks Day parade held. They would take in a few sites around the city before heading back to watch the conclusion.

The couple found themselves invited back for breakfast with Dolan on Saturday with just a handful of people in attendance. On Sunday, the two sat in a pew located at the altar of the cathedral for their final mass in the city.

Among the places the couple visited in their quick trip were the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center and the 9-11 Memorial. They also got an opportunity to see School of Rock on Broadway.

For the time we were there, we hit a lot of the high points, Pat said. We did see a lot. We told everyone we didnt stop. We even got the street corner hot dog.

Bob said Dolan asked if the couple had anything for him to sign as a memento from their trip.

He said hed be more than happy to do it, Bob said. I told him I had one favor and thats all I got  Id like for him to sign a card to send to my mom. Shes 96 years old and lives at Ashbrook and he put on (the card) Love from New York, Margaret. Your friend, Cardinal Dolan and she got it in the mail.

I dont think thered be anybody, anyplace, anywhere that he wouldnt turn down to talk to and you would think you knew him all your life. Hes that kind of person.
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While rain amounts received in the flooding event that hit southeast Missouri in recent days do not measure up in sheer magnitude to the Great Flood of 1993, the National Weather Service in St. Louis says this one resulted in at least three river crests that topped or came in at a close second to those measured during the historic weather event that took place 24 years ago.

The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993  or "Great Flood of 1993"  occurred along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries from April to October 1993.

The flood, which covered an area of about 30,000 square miles, was among the most costly and devastating to ever occur in the United States, resulting in a total of $15 billion in damages.

"There has been major flooding all over the place," said Mark Fuchs, a hydrologist with the NWS in St. Louis. "We've had all-time floods of record on the Big River near Richwoods (Washington County) and on the Meramec River at Steelville (Crawford County) and Sullivan (Franklin/Crawford County) both. We're very close to a flood of record at Byrnesville (Jefferson County) on the Big River. Mill Creek only came in with a 24.53 crest. While that's a pretty good flood, it's not a flood record, which was set at 33.1 feet back in 1993.

"The St. Francis River near Saco came in at 33.09 feet, which is short of the flood of record which was also set back in 1993 at 35.10 feet. The Little St. Francis River at Fredericktown topped out at 24.03 feet. Their all-time flood record is only about two-and-a-half feet more than that at 26.5 feet, so that was a pretty good flood there. The Big River at Irondale only got up to 22.5 feet. Their flood record is five-and-a-half feet higher than that  28.93 feet in 1993. The peak at the Black River near Annapolis was 23.19 feet. The flood record was a little more than 4 feet over that  set, again, back in November 1993."

Rainfall totals were nothing to sneeze at either, according to Fuchs, who provided the following data for a number locations in the region: Farmington: 10.68 inches; Potosi: 8.14; Ste. Genevieve: 11.48; Fredericktown: 11.7; Roselle: 12.8; Libertyville: 12.03; Saco: 10.46; Glover: 11.70; Hillsboro: 8.41; De Soto: 7.75; Sullivan: 8.48; Festus: 7.49; Pilot Knob: 10.12; Council Bluff: 9.70; Irondale 8.64; Ellington: 11.03 and Weingarten: 9.25.

Note that St. Francois and its surrounding counties remain under a Flood Warning issued by the NWS until 4:45 p.m. today. Also, while there is no severe weather expected for the remainder of this week, the area is forecast to receive an additional two inches or so of rain Wednesday through Thursday that will drop on already over-saturated ground. For the latest weather updates, watches and warnings, check out the Daily Journal website at www.dailyjournalonline.com.

According to the Associated Press, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency counted 143 water rescues statewide but acknowledged that countless others probably weren't reported. Hundreds of people were evacuated, a levee was topped in a rural area northwest of St. Louis, and a 57-mile stretch of Interstate 44 was closed. Flash floods in Missouri were blamed in the deaths of a 77-year-old man, an 18-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman, whose husband desperately tried to save her before their car was swept away.

The Mississippi River was well above flood stage at several points, including Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where it is expected to crest later this week within a half-foot of the all-time record of 48.9 feet.

Near Cape Girardeau, residents of tiny Allenville were urged to evacuate, but many did not, even as the town was surrounded by water. The only way in or out was by boat.

"The old-timers, they know how the river reacts," Cape Girardeau County emergency management director Richard Knaup said. "They're old swampers, let me tell you. They're good country folks. They'd sooner take care of themselves than depend on the government."

Hundreds of people spent Monday sandbagging Missouri towns along the Meramec River, just 16 months after record flooding along the suburban St. Louis waterway. Eureka police Sgt. David Sindel said 30 to 50 homes in his town are endangered, along with about a dozen businesses as the river is expected to reach within half-a-foot of the 2015 record.

The American Red Cross in Missouri has opened shelters in Branson, Poplar Bluff, Caruthersville, Ellington, Anderson, West Plains, Ballwin, Marquand, St. Robert and Pacific to help those affected by storms and flooding. Shelters are being supported by Red Cross volunteers in Reeds Springs, Neosho and Annapolis. An additional shelter is on standby in Perryville.

On Sunday night, the Red Cross provided 132 shelter night stays at 13 shelters across the state in response to the flood. Red Cross disaster assessment teams will be checking the extent of damage once the flood waters have receded enough to allow safe passage into the affected areas. As the rivers crest, and families plan their return home, the Red Cross reminds everyone to be careful. Danger still exists.
When I set out to write about my friend Kate O'Beirne, it's hard to avoid hyperbole. In my phone's address book, she's listed KATE THE GREAT. So, let me tell you about KATE. Because in the way she died, she put one final spotlight on what's most important in life.

Kate O'Beirne, first of all, died on April 23, which happened to be Divine Mercy Sunday this year -- a relatively new feast day in the Catholic Church treasured by Pope Francis, Pope Benedict and John Paul II. Three years ago, on the same feast day, Kate and I were in Rome with mutual friends. As always, there was a peace and grace and wisdom and wit about Kate that I prayed I might catch through osmosis.

Kate was someone who tried to make the world better for others, starting with the person right in front of her or the person standing on the corner or the one sitting quiet at the meeting table. She reached out to people who needed a lot of help and those who just needed a smile. She gave whenever the opportunity presented itself, and looked for ways to create such an opportunity wherever she went.

Kate was perhaps best known for being the Washington editor of National Review and a panelist on CNN's "Capital Gang." But to so many of us blessed to know her off the page or screen, she was a source of advice, support and ideas galore.

There was something different about the way Kate chose to express her conservative, often controversial, views. She'd articulate and defend them with substance, grace, wit and wisdom. She treated people as human beings, not opposing talking points. So, she established and maintained long-term relationships that grew into friendships, that made her views more compelling, but even more importantly, inspired and helped people see the beauty of the Catholic faith, which was the treasure of her life, along with her family.

This despite -- or because of -- being the author of a book called "Women Who Make the World Worse and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports." I say "despite" because the book certainly puts feminism as we conventionally know it on the defensive. But I put "because of" because, in many ways, it is of the same spirit. If feminists truly believe in empowering women, they'd rejoice in the example of Kate O'Beirne -- pro-life, supportive of the traditional family, and determined to make people see that woman are complex, brilliant and able to think for themselves.

Kate's book exposed the "modern women's movement" as "totalitarian in its methods, radical in its aims and dishonest in its advocacy." As she lays out her case -- which was published in 2006 and stands the test of time -- she shines an authoritative and motherly light, to stop the bloodletting in a culture that tends to pour salt onto open wounds and add misery upon miseries.

Her book is also resplendent with gratitude. "(L)ong before (the National Organization of Women) held its first organizational meeting, there were female role models who exemplified initiative, intelligence and independence. America's first large network of professional women was Catholic nuns. In the 1900s, they built and ran the country's largest private school and hospital systems. These women were nurses, teachers -- and CEOs." She would have loved that the Washington Post took the hint and mentioned these trailblazers in the first paragraph of their obituary of Kate.

In recent years, she spent more of her time with her beloved family and treasured her time with her grandchildren particularly. She was awed by their beautiful personalities and sensitive souls. Once described in a newspaper column as the "creme de la creme of Washington insiderdom," she was every bit the same. You may have encountered her sharp political analysis, but what was life-changing was her confident, radiant faith. That was her greatest of many great gifts. And as she lay in her hospital bed in her last hours, although she could not speak, the message was clear: All is gift, all is grace. Make the world better and fall into the arms of the creator who made all that is good in love. And so she did and has.
President Trump's "Great Wall" along the Mexican border is a truly terrible idea.

It would be hugely expensive, costing an estimated $21.6 billion. It would not work. And it would symbolize to the whole world the darkest instinct that surfaces periodically in the American character: xenophobic resentment of foreigners.

The Statue of Liberty promises, "I lift my lamp beside the golden door." The Great Wall threatens to slam that door and smother that lamp. A barrier of despair would replace a beacon of hope.

Trump loves to build monuments to himself, and the Washington Post calls the Great Wall "a pharaonic exercise," a pyramidlike folly with only one purpose: to fulfill an ill-advised campaign pledge that Trump made repeatedly -- and cynically -- to whip his crowds into a fearful frenzy.

"My base definitely wants the border wall," the president told the Associated Press. "You've been to many of the rallies, OK, the thing they want more than anything is the wall."

That's true, and Trump's base remains fiercely loyal. In the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, only 2 percent of Trump voters expressed any regrets at their decision. Ninety-four percent viewed him favorably.

Budget director Mick Mulvaney told the Wall Street Journal that since Trump won the election, he is "entitled to have some of his priorities funded" and that "the wall is one of his top, if not his top, priority."

But the president's pandering to his base shows how badly he's misreading the political climate today. Winning does entitle a president to certain privileges: signing executive orders and making appointments and proposals. It does not entitle him to the "wins" Trump so desperately craves.

To pass legislation, any president has to develop a consensus -- to convince a majority, in Congress and around the country, that his proposals are worthy. And Trump has utterly failed to do that.

After 100 days, Trump is still a minority president. He received 46 percent in the general election. In national polls, his average rating is 42 percent favorable, 53 percent unfavorable -- by far the worst performance by any new president since modern polling began during the Eisenhower years.

While the president's base remains solid, he has failed to expand his appeal beyond his core constituency. In the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 54 percent of independents disapprove of his performance and only 30 percent view him positively. "He risks losing the nation's political middle ground," asserts the Journal.

Trump's problems are even deeper when it comes to the Great Wall. Last November, a Quinnipiac University survey found that 55 percent of voters were opposed to his project. Today, the negatives have shot up to 64 percent, with only one-third supporting the idea.

The Journal reported recently that "not a single member of the House or Senate representing the (border) region," whether Republican or Democrat, supports Trump's request for funding the wall. Even those who favor greater border security don't think the wall will stop anybody, especially the criminal organizations that Trump alleges are polluting the country with narcotics and violence.

"They will go over, through or under physical barriers, sometimes pretty quickly," said Rep. Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican. Rep. Will Hurd, a Texas Republican, described the wall as "the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border."

The opposition doesn't end there. A Washington Post report from Hurd's district says "there are also fears that a physical wall would violate the property rights that Texans hold dear, and be a kick in the gut to a regional economy heavily dependent on cross-border trade."

"It could seriously turn the border into another Rust Belt if we do not take the economic issue more seriously," says Al Arreola Jr., president of the South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

This is why Democrats felt so free to stand up to Trump and forced him to back off demands to include $1.4 billion for the wall in this year's budget. We both covered Congress during the early days of Ronald Reagan's presidency, and Democratic leaders told us frequently: We can't oppose him; we have to work with him. He's too popular.

None of that feeling is present in Washington today. Democrats don't fear or respect President Trump. He still vows to build the wall eventually, but he will not gain the veneration or the victories he hungers for by supporting a project that is not just pharaonic, but moronic -- a tawdry testament to his own ego and his worst impulses.

Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com
Single woman here who came to Merida last February on a fact finding mission and is currently housesitting in Chelem (a suburb north of Merida) while I house hunt.



"what's the best way to get into the center of town from the airport?"



The airport is actually in the city limits! You can take a taxi. They are of a fixed price based on your destination. It is cheaper to walk outside the airport and hail a taxi from the road there, but unless you're travelling super light, I'd say just pay the flat fee.



"- what is safety like e.g. as a single woman, is it OK walking around the center of the city?"



I stayed right in Centro for 10 nights and walked at all time of day and night and felt safe. I saw lots of women walking alone after dark.



I can't answer your other two questions.



Rae
WASHINGTON  Congressional Republicans and Democrats forged a hard-won agreement Sunday night on a huge $1 trillion-plus spending bill that would fund the day-to-day operations of virtually every federal agency through September, denying President Donald Trump funding for a border wall and rejecting his cuts to popular domestic programs.

Aides to lawmakers involved in the talks announced the agreement after weeks of negotiations.

The catchall spending bill would be the first major piece of bipartisan legislation to advance during Trumps short tenure in the White House. While losing on the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump won a $15 billion down payment on his request to strengthen the military.

The bill funds the remainder of the 2017 budget year, rejecting cuts to popular domestic programs targeted by Trump, such as medical research and infrastructure grants. Trump obtained $1.5 billion for border security measures such as additional detention beds.

The bill is assured of winning bipartisan support in votes this week; the House and Senate have until midnight Friday to pass the bill to avert a government shutdown. Its unclear how much support the bill will receive from GOP conservatives and how warmly it will be received by the White House.

Among the final issues resolved was a Democratic request to help the cash-strapped government of Puerto Rico with its Medicaid burden, a top priority of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Pelosi and other Democrats came up short of the

$500 million or so they had sought but won

$295 million for the island, more than Republicans had initially offered.

Democrats were successful in repelling many conservative policy riders, though House Republicans succeeded in funding another round of private school vouchers for students in Washington, D.C.s troubled school system.

Democrats praised a

$2 billion funding increase for the National Institutes of Health  a rejection of steep cuts proposed by Trump  as well as additional funding to combat opioid abuse and to fund Pell Grants for summer school. They also praised additional transit funding. Senate forces, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and several Appalachia region Democrats, won a provision to extend health care for 22,000 retired Appalachian coal miners and their families.

Democratic votes will be needed to pass the measure even though Republicans control both the White House and Congress. The minority party has been actively involved in the talks, which appear headed to produce a lowest common denominator measure that wont look too much different than the deal that could have been struck on President Barack Obamas watch last year.

The bill also taps

$68 million to reimburse New York City and other local governments for costs involved in protecting Trump Tower and other properties, a priority of lawmakers such as Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
Manuel Medina, chairman of the local Democratic Party and San Antonio mayoral candidate, has said hes lent his campaign some $350,000 of his own money, but bank statements dont show such deposits.

In December, Medina stood on the steps of City Hall with a raucous group of supporters cheering him on and declared that he would likely run for mayor. To show his seriousness about running against Mayor Ivy Taylor, he said he would make a loan of $250,000 to himself to start the campaign. Months later, in a news release, Medina said he was adding $100,000 more of his own money to his campaign coffers.

Campaign finance reports, which are sworn under the penalty of perjury, reflect the loans, but corresponding bank statements from the Medina campaign that were filed with the city clerk do not show that $350,000 has been deposited.

Medina said in an email that his filings are accurate.

Our campaign bank statements and finance reports are 100% accurate. As of April 26th, I have loaned my campaign and received donations that total $422,976.94 (includes in-kind donations), he said. We have spent $305,496.20, and, our cash on hand is $105,426.09. We are in a strong financial position.

Filing erroneous reports is a violation of state law, enforceable by the Texas Ethics Commission. Prosecuting attorneys, such as the Bexar County district attorneys office, have purview over criminal violations, including instances of perjury, according to the TEC.

Christian Anderson, Taylors campaign manager, said he would not be surprised to learn there are discrepancies in Medinas reports.

If Manuel Medina lied about putting $250,000 into his campaign, is there anyone left in San Antonio who would be surprised? he said rhetorically. Hes tried to twist the mayors record beyond recognition. Hes tried to obscure the real source of his wealth  a series of sweetheart contracts from a crooked Panamanian president. Hes laughably masquerading as a tea party conservative. If Manuel Medina says, Good morning, youd better check your watch.

In a Jan. 15 campaign finance report, Medina reported that he had lent himself $250,000 on Dec. 19. On that same report, the candidate indicated that he hadnt spent any campaign funds through the end of the year.

The next campaign report showed that he spent roughly $13,000 from Jan. 1 through Jan 12, but a bank statement that captured deposits and expenditures between Jan. 13 and Feb. 9, showed a beginning balance of $100,305  far short of the $250,000 Medina said hed lent to his campaign.

A campaign finance report also shows that Medina lent himself another $100,000 on March 25  but the bank statement that captures March 16 through April 12 show total deposits of about $65,739. During that same time, Medina reported collecting $17,695 in campaign contributions.

Colin Strother, a political consultant not working in the local mayoral election, said Medina has played fast and loose and is unnecessarily drawing questions about his finances, putting himself in a precarious political position instead of answering questions about policy and campaign promises.

Kelton Morgan, whos managing Councilman Ron Nirenbergs mayoral bid, echoed Andersons sentiment.

I think hes got a history of financial shenanigans. Weve seen reports about it, about his tenure at the Bexar County Democratic Party, and were seeing it again here, he said. Why would we expect him to suddenly be straight with us?

Meanwhile, the latest round of campaign finance reports show that Taylor significantly outspent her two chief challengers and collected more contributions than both of them combined.

Heading into Saturdays election, Taylor also has more cash on hand than Nirenberg and Medina.

All three candidates have spent on television advertising, though Taylors TV presence is more robust than the others. Public disclosures filed with the Federal Communications Commission show Taylor has been buying substantial air time across several local channels while Medina has focused on Spanish-language networks.

While fundraising is ongoing, our top priority in the last days of the election is execution of our campaign plan and reaching out to voters, Medina said in a written statement provided to the San Antonio Express-News. We have an energetic campaign that includes mail, television, social media, and the largest ground game of the major candidates. We can confirm television ad buys on Univision and Telemundo, and are determining what other buys we might make prior to Election Day.

Between March 28 and April 26, Medina reported $18,258 in campaign contributions, $150,883 in expenditures and $105,426 left on hand.

Nirenberg reported $60,473 in contributions, $162,846 in expenditures and about $102,661 left on hand.

Fundraising continues to be strong. As you know, (Nirenberg) outraised the mayor on recent reports, Morgan said, referencing the report that was due 30 days before the Saturday election. The campaign has solid resources going into the final few days. Weve funded our voter contact efforts, weve fully funded the things we need to do to be successful.

Taylors numbers were significantly higher.

She pulled in $90,762 in contributions while spending $272,953. Taylor heads into the final days of the general election with $158,665 left on hand.

Thanks to Mayor Taylors broad community support, we have the resources we need to finish this race strong, Anderson said. The mayor has been able to deliver her message of opportunity for all San Antonians to every corner of our city.

jbaugh@express-news.net
WASHINGTON  With funding for President Donald Trumps border wall languishing in Congress, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has gained widespread media attention with a brash proposal to let El Chapo pay for it.

Cruz, Trumps former rival in the Republican presidential primaries, has said there would be justice in using the Mexican drug lords illicit profits  estimated by prosecutors at $14 billion  to underwrite a physical barrier aimed at halting drug and human trafficking.

Best of all, it would fulfill Trumps promise to make Mexico pay for it.

The plan, however, faces formidable legal and political obstacles that could tie up the money for years, even if the Mexican government and courts cooperated with the Trump administration, which is far from certain.

Theres also the question of tracing cash and tangible assets linked to Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo, whose fortunes are believed to have plunged significantly since 2011, when Forbes magazine last estimated his net worth at roughly $1 billion.

Gone underground after multiple international manhunts, near misses and escapes, he also dropped off Forbes billionaire rankings as his true net worth and assets became too hazy to count.

That was until last May, five months after his recapture following a shootout with Mexican marines, when the Justice Department filed criminal forfeiture papers announcing its intent to seek some $14 billion in assets upon his conviction.

At the time, Guzman was still in Mexican custody, waiting to be extradited to the U.S., where he pleaded not guilty to charges of running a multibillion-dollar drug empire. He is awaiting trial in New York.

The $14 billion figure, the largest ever connected to Guzman, includes no public inventory of his assets. A Justice Department statement in January indicates that it is the sum of his Sinaloa Cartels narcotics sales in the U.S. and Canada between 1989 and 2014. Moreover, the government suggests, the bulk of the cash proceeds was smuggled back to Mexico.

The $14 billion is a back-of-the-envelope calculation of how much drugs were traveling to the U.S. over the past 30 years, and assigning a portion of that to El Chapo, said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico City. To put it gently, its more of an art than a science.

Hope said major international drug forfeiture cases in the past have reached into the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, not billions. The government estimates also appear to be based on gross sales, without taking into account the cartels expenses for transport, security, bribes, storage and the like.

The whole thing is absolutely ludicrous, Hope said. Theres no way El Chapo has $14 billion. This is political grandstanding.

The governments asset forfeiture program has averaged less than $2.5 billion a year for the past decade, which includes recoveries from the massive Bernie Madoff investment fraud case. Seizures of the size needed to pay for a border wall, variously estimated between $14 billion and $20 billion, would be unprecedented.

I do not know how, in El Chapos case, these issues will be sorted out, but Im confident that there will be nothing close to $14 billion to be found or recovered, said the University of Miamis Bruce Bagley, an expert on Mexicos drug cartels. It has all been spent or hidden.

For their part, Guzmans lawyers say any estimate of his wealth is unproven. The government is seeking forfeiture of $14 billion but has yet to demonstrate that Mr. Guzman has any assets at all, his federal defender, Michelle Gelernt, said in a statement.

For the time being, Guzman is being held in isolation and represented by court-ordered federal defenders at public expense.

A spokesman for Cruz said Monday that he is relying on the figures provided by prosecutors.

Cruz, responding to the border wall stalemate, filed his border wall funding bill in the Senate last week, touting it on numerous television appearances and in election fundraising pitches to show that we keep the promises made to the voters last November.

Inventively named the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (El CHAPO) Act, it would reserve any forfeited money from Guzmans case for security measures along the border, including a wall.

Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, called it an amazing idea. Even skeptics of wall funding such as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas have offered Cruz praise. Its creative, youve got to give him that, Cornyn said.

But a number of security analysts say that whatever El Chapos fate in court, the bulk of his unknown assets, whatever they are, are likely to remain where they are: south of the border.

In practice, the arresting country usually gets to keep 80-90 percent of the confiscated funds, said Bagley, the cartels expert.

Mexico, which played a major role in Guzmans capture, is already at the front of the line. In general, the United States has in place an asset-sharing agreement with Mexico that allows each country to share forfeited assets with the other if the other country gives assistance relevant to the forfeiture, said Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman.

Given the politics of the border wall, which Mexico opposes, negotiations over any split of forfeited assets could get tricky, with Mexico in the drivers seat.

In asset-forfeiture sharing, possession is nine-tenths of the law, said security consultant David Gaddis, a former chief of enforcement operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration. If the government of Mexico is holding assets of Joaquin Guzman Loeras organization, they can do with it what they want.

The DEA and the Treasury Department have identified hundreds of businesses in Mexico that are suspected of laundering money or otherwise working with Guzmans organization. They include gas stations, restaurants and even day care centers. Though the U.S. Kingpin Act bars American companies from doing business with them, actually tracing their suspected drug connections and confiscating their assets would mean going through a tortuous legal process in Mexican courts that could take years, or even decades, to unwind.

The U.S. government also would have to get in line with legitimate private creditors, some with valid business claims.

Were talking about property thats outside the United States, said Steven Kessler, a leading asset forfeiture attorney in New York. It requires the assistance of the country where the assets are located.

You add to that the lovely relations the government has with Mexico, with the statements that all this money is going to be used, in effect, to punish you and my guess is well get the same treatment as we give, Kessler said.
Carts with wheels large and small are now a thing of museums and Western movies, but in the 1800s they were the only way to move goods and people from one point to the next.

The history of how they built the West in the 1800s is complicated, and one example is the Cart Wars, a time described by Hugh Hemphill as a fight that was both cultural and technological. It pitted the established, two-wheeled and wooden carts mostly owned by Mexican traders and the incoming Anglo settlers, who came in four-wheeled carts made with a combination of seasoned wood and metal.

When Texas became part of the Union, they began importing Northern-made Conestoga wagon-types, what they called wagon schooners, said Hemphill, who is the museum manager at the Texas Transportation Museum on the North Side. They were lighter by themselves, bigger, and they could move farther. The problem up until then was seasoned wood  there was no seasoned wood in Texas  so you couldnt make carts with Texas wood because they would just fall apart.

The mid-1800 influx of settlers from American territory created bidding wars, with the Mexican traders forced to undercut the Anglos rates to compete with their slower wagons that carried less. Hemphill said the tension boiled over to brief bouts of violence; the hanging tree in Goliad recounts some of the hangings were carried out on the oak during the 1857 Cart War.

But while technological differences defined one sliver of the 1800s, the region would be defined during the century by its lack of infrastructure and water. Until the railroads reached San Antonio in 1877, San Antonio was literally the end of the line moving West.

San Antonio was in severe decline at one point and it was to do with the fact that there was nothing west of San Antonio, Hemphill said. At one point the most westerly occupied community in the entire state of Texas was Castroville and there was communication between San Antonio and Eagle Pass.

Hemphill said much of the trade moved through San Antonio to Eagle Pass and into Mexico. A lack of security made the life of a trader moving though the already inhospitable terrain even that more dangerous. Roving bands of Native Americans and outlaws could attack wagon trains; Hemphill said the term riding shotgun was born out of the Texas Rangers who would sit on the front of the wagon as a passenger, their shotgun nearby.

The military had to establish a series of forts and there was a fort south of Uvalde called Fort Inge that was actually staffed with black soldiers, Hemphill said. In terms of roads, they had two duties  one was to provide security but the other was to do road maintenance.

The maintenance was important because traveling along the routes was a hazardous endeavor in itself. On a good day, a wagon train could travel 8 to 10 miles  and that was if the train didnt encounter bad weather along the way. When it rained, entire communities were cut off from each other; Hemphill said that the Salado Creek, now within San Antonios borders, would flood every time it rained and cut off New Braunfels from the city.

There were no bridges and there were no paved roads, Hemphill said. Every wagon that went through left ruts.

He said the area in front of the Alamo where the cenotaph is was a mudhole called Sweeneys Bog. Every time it rained, the area  in front of Sweeneys pub  became impassable.

While outside the city, Texas didnt have mountains to contend with like other parts of the country. The extreme conditions  one day wet and flooded, the next, hot and humid  meant that no return trip would give a trader the same conditions.

Getting across rivers was extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming and they also had the tendency to dry up, which meant you had no water for yourselves or your animals, Hemphill said. If your mode of power is a mule or an ox and it doesnt have any water, its going to die. It was extremely difficult to move around.

The arrival of the military and the post office in the 1840s helped with road maintenance, but photos from the time still show carts pulled by horses galloping through flooded streets.

The railroads entry in 1877 meant large amounts of goods and people could be moved into the city, and that the nature of hauling changed dramatically. August Santleben, a prominent German immigrant who had run large wagon trains down into Mexico, switched to hauling between the railroad and the surrounding area, where he grew wealthy and entered local politics.

In 1899 the first horseless carriage came to San Antonio, Hemphill said. But they werent without their pitfalls. On a trip to Kerrville along roads with sharp rocks, Hemphill said, cars thin rubber tires may have to be changed three to four tires  then drivers would have to try to patch them when they arrived at their destination. Improvements in tire technology around 1910 revolutionized the practicality of owning cars and trucks to haul goods, leading to the slow decline of horse-drawn transportation.

In 1910, the first road rules were drawn up in San Antonio. Hemphill said that by 1920 there was almost no mention of horse-drawn transport.

In the history of this planet, there has been no invention more anticipated than a horseless carriage, Hemphill said of the transformation away from animal-driven transport.

rdruzin@express-news.net

@druz_journo

COMING THURSDAY: How the Buffalo Soldiers served.
District Attorney Nico LaHood released a statement Monday accusing the San Antonio Express-News of a vendetta against him and of publishing fake news.

Here is LaHood's statement:

During the past several years of serving our community, I have come to understand that there are those who do not care to acknowledge a person's true intentions. Unfortunately, it has become painfully obvious that the Express News falls into this category. There is clearly an agenda to attack me and the District Attorney's office. They continuously ignore the truth and fail to report the facts. I have always been transparent, available and willing to discuss all issues with any member of the community or media. I will never apologize for fighting for our community, specifically those who cannot fight for themselves and families who have been victimized by violence.

While everyone is welcomed to have their own opinion of any public servant or public office, nobody should be allowed to create their own facts, and then serve it up as truth for the public to absorb. I fully expect the Express News will continue this slanted journalism. Many of us see the unsettling reality that journalism is turning from objective reporting to profit-driven opinion creation.

Journalism is an instrument, that if used properly, can teach, illuminate, inspire and serve as a much-needed check-and-balance. But it can only do so if those behind it are determined to use it towards those ends - and not abuse the privilege entrusted to them. Our community is blessed to have many responsible and ethical television, radio and other print media outlets. Our office and I are humbled to enjoy a professional relationship with those groups and are thankful that our community has them to keep alive ethical standards in reporting.

I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support continuously shown to our office. We are humbled by the trust placed in us.

Let me assure you that the Express News will not deter me, nor should they deter you, from serving our community and standing up to those who promote a misleading agenda.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and I wish everyone a blessed week.

Here is the Express-News Editorial Board's response:

The District Attorney's statement, apparently triggered by a recent editorial, tries to make the case that there is some vendetta against him by this newspaper. There isn't. There is simply a case of this Editorial Board  and the newsroom as a whole, though the board is separate  reporting what our elected officials say and do. It is what we do. The charge that DA LaHood, in comments in a judge's chambers to defense attorneys, pledged to destroy their law practices was accurately reported. This board produced an editorial that made the case that this was inappropriate behavior that warrants Texas Bar action. We continue to believe this, even if his comments ultimately don't reach the level of official oppression. We included his denial that he made the statement. But the editorial also reported that the judge in whose chamber the heated exchange occurred testified that LaHood had indeed made the statement. Those are the facts and that's how they were reported and editorialized upon.

We are quite familiar, particularly these days, with elected officials who are uncomfortable with media scrutiny. We are quite familiar also with those who, when they are held to account, then try to vilify the messenger. The Board is pleased that DA LaHood pledges to continue to look out for what he views as the public's interest. This editorial board will as well.

And here is the editorial that apparently angered LaHood:

It remains to be determined whether recent threats made by District Attorney Nico LaHood against two local defense attorneys constitute official oppression. Still, the conduct in question remains troubling enough to warrant investigation by the State Bar of Texas.

This was unprofessional behavior that deserves challenge. We expect those elected to the highest positions in our criminal justice system to maintain a certain level of civility, temperament and decorum. There is no room in the criminal justice system for a district attorney who throws temper tantrums and bullies defense lawyers.

In court recently, 437th District Judge Lori Valenzuela testified about the exchange she witnessed in her chambers between LaHood and defense lawyers Joe Gonzales and Christian Henricksen. Valenzuela told the court she heard the district attorney threaten to destroy the lawyers' legal practices and said she considered it official oppression, which is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

But in public statements and while testifying in court, LaHood has emphatically denied making the threat. After Valenzuela's testimony, his denial doesn't seem plausible.

Opinion

Justice in the 2015 murder of Laura Carter, a 33-year-old UTSA graduate student shot five times in the head while sitting in her vehicle, was placed on hold while the controversy over the district attorney's comments take center stage.

LaHood was trying the murder case in Valenzuela's court when it abruptly ended in a mistrial in February. The judge later recused herself from the case after defense lawyers raised issues of prosecutorial misconduct.

The lawyers claim they were not informed in a timely manner about a sexual relationship years ago between a prosecutor who had been marginally involved in the case and a key prosecution witness. They claim also that they were goaded into agreeing to a mistrial.

Senior District Judge W.C. Kirkendall of Seguin earlier this week ruled that the defense attorneys couldn't prove that a new trial would constitute double jeopardy for their client, Miguel Martinez, 29.

In announcing his decision in the murder case, Kirkendall said LaHood engaged in an unprofessional and uncalled for rant and said it might be subject to sanction in another tribunal.

The State Bar should step up after a complaint is filed. One should be.
Stetson Roane, who took a buyout as Seguins school superintendent Feb. 28 after being accused of sexual harassment, has sued the school district to keep it from publicly releasing details of the allegation, which he denies.

The petition filed Friday in Travis County against the Seguin Independent School District and Attorney General Ken Paxton follows an April 24 ruling by Paxtons office calling for the district to release more particulars in response to public information requests.

Plaintiff asserts that the AGs ruling is incorrect, Tony Conners, Roanes lawyer, argued in the suit that described the subject material as highly intimate and embarrassing... (and) of no legitimate public concern.

Conners asked the court to declare the requested information exempt from disclosure and to issue a temporary restraining order against the district to prevent publicizing the allegation, which he asserts would cause irreparable harm, injury and damages to Roane.

If this court determines, after a trial on the merits, that the requested information is exempt from disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act, then plaintiff requests that this court permanently enjoin the disclosure of the requested information, the suit says.

Roanes 19-month tenure as Seguin school superintendent included the controversial decision to spend $1.3 million on a video scoreboard and signage for Matador Stadium, and saw his wife, Denise Roane, hired to a district administrative post.

A failed bid by the district to buy a local media company also played a role in the election last November of four board members backed by a political action committee aligned against him.

Neither the district nor trustees revealed the nature of the complaint against Roane when he was placed on paid leave Jan. 30. Details also were scarce when, by a 5-2 vote Feb. 27, Roane agreed to resign in exchange for $99,500.

The district also agreed to pay about $40,000 to his wife, Denise Roane. Shes on leave from her administrative post with the district through the end of the school year.

In response to an AG ruling last week, the district had been prepared to release all public information related to a sexual harassment complaint, and any other complaints against Roane, said its spokesman, Sean Hoffmann.

In light of the suit, he said Monday, The district will comply with any directive of the court.

The districts lawyer, Chris Schulz, had sought guidance from the AGs office on what to disclose in response to two open records requests from local media outlets for the complaint and the districts investigative report.

Schulzs request revealed the nature of the complaint  sexual harassment  and that it came from a co-worker over events at a conference that she and Roane attended.

Assistant Attorney General D. Michelle Case said April 24 that while the Local Government Code permits withholding records over issues of common-law privacy under certain circumstances, Schulz had provided an inadequate summary of the investigation.

So, with the exception of the victims name and other material Schulz had already cited as private, Case said, The district must generally release any information pertaining to the sexual harassment investigation.

Objecting in an April 27 letter, Conners noted the district struck a separation agreement that included a sizable monetary payment after Mr. Roane effectively rebutted these allegations through a polygraph examination and other evidence.

He also noted the requested information contains disputed, highly sensitive allegations that would result in harmful publicity to both the accused and the accuser.

Therefore, my client asks that your office hold that the entire investigation file is confidential under the doctrine of common-law privacy, Conners wrote.

The womans lawyer, Tiger Hanner, last month joined Conners in calling for details to remain confidential.

We didnt want this in the media to begin with, Hanner said.We were hoping the district and everybody could move on with minimal publicity.

zeke@express-news.net
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A student at the University of Texas at Austin, wielding a large Bowie-like hunting knife, is suspected of stabbing four other students on campus Monday afternoon, killing one of them, police said.

Kendrex J. White, a 21-year-old junior from Killeen, offered no resistance when officers tackled him within minutes of the stabbings.

The four victims  three white males and one Asian male ages 20 and 21  were attacked separately and without apparent provocation, police said.

Harrison Brown, the student who died, was a 2016 graduate of Graham High School, northwest of Dallas, according to a Facebook post by the Graham school district. The names of the three surviving students, who were treated at University Medical Center Brackenridge, were not immediately released.

Police were trying to determine if the assailant had a motive or randomly picked victims along the bustling walkway outside Gregory Gymnasium in East Campus during the final week of spring classes.

Rachel Prichett, a freshman, had just left her last class of the day when she walked by the gym.

I heard a couple people scream, she recalled about an hour later. I thought they were joking with each other, until I turned around and saw a guy ... holding a small machete-type thing.

Prichett saw the attacker walk up behind another man, grab his shoulder and stab him in the back. She said that attack happened so close to her that she could have reached out and touched the victim.

Then I turned around and started running, she said. While I was running, I saw this guy sitting at a table that was slumped over and bloody. Apparently, no one had seen him get hurt.

Prichett said the attacker had escaped attention by blending in.

He was just walking around very calmly with the knife down by his side, Prichett said after she reunited with her boyfriend near the scene of the attack. You wouldnt have seen it unless you were paying attention.

A photo showed bike patrol police officers handcuffing a young man with a long leather knife sheath hanging from his belt.

The attacks, reported to police about 1:50 p.m., set off a panic as students scrambled for safety while word spread on social media sites.

Dude I saw three people bleeding one by your dorm and 2 by Greg, one student tweeted.

Some students complained that UT was slow to alert people about an attacker on campus. Later, an alert sent at 2:14 p.m. said a suspect was in custody and that there was no immediate threat to the campus.

White attended Killeen High School and graduated in 2014, according to a Facebook page that appears to belong to him. On what appears to be his Twitter account, he said he was a future doctor studying biology.

White is an active member of the Black Health Professionals Organization, a student group on campus, said Melody Adindu, the groups new president. She said White was passionate about his work and was very interactive and easygoing.

Some of Whites former classmates at Killeen High School, near the gates of the Armys Fort Hood, had similar recollections of him.

He was a really smart guy in high school, he was always nice, had plenty of friends, and was in the international baccalaureate program. Im definitely surprised he would do this, KayLynn Wilkerson told the Killeen Daily Herald.

Ex-classmate Angela Bonilla called White the sweetest guy, laughing and having a good time with people.

UT-Austin Police Chief David Carter did not know if the stabbings were related to recent threats made against a few campus fraternities. Police were interviewing more than 25 witnesses.

University President Greg Fenves issued a statement that said in part: Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. This breaks my heart that any of our students are touched by tragedy.

Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the stabbings and a separate shooting in Dallas in which a paramedic was critically injured.

Our prayers go out to all those affected by todays tragic events, he said in an emailed statement. I have been briefed by the Department of Public Safety on both incidents, and have also talked to University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves. As the investigations into these heinous crimes continue, I have offered all available state resources to both Dallas and the University of Texas to assist in any effort.

After White was apprehended, there were reports of a separate stabbing in West Campus and possible bomb threats at the Moody College of Communications and Belo Center for New Media. Later, those were determined to be unfounded.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5

The Associated Press and Austin Bureau reporter Nicole Cobler contributed to this report.
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AUSTIN  State troopers arrested about 20 protesters denouncing Senate Bill 4, the so-called sanctuary cities bill, who refused to leave a state office building after it closed at 5 p.m. Monday

Split into two groups, protesters, including immigrants, faith leaders and elected officials, locked arms and blocked both entrances of the State Insurance Building for several hours. They called on Gov. Greg Abbott to veto SB4, authored by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock which would require local governments to cooperate with federal immigration officers and hold jail inmates, otherwise eligible for release, for possible federal detention and deportation.

The measure, authored by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, would require police to enforce federal immigration law by asking for the immigration status of people they detain. Opponents have called it the show-me-your-papers bill.

The protesters conducted teach-ins and chanted, eventually joined by about 200 people who had planned to mark International Workers Day at the Capitol but came to the insurance building instead. The new arrivals, organized by the Worker's Defense, stayed outside, holding signs and playing music.

After 5 p.m. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers began citing protesters who remained inside, warning they would be arrested if they didnt leave.The majority left, but about two dozen protesters still linked arms while sitting down. Those who did not leave after being ticketed were handcuffed, charged with criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor, then released.

Troopers called Travis County Justice of the Peace Nicholas Chu to arraign them at the scene to avoid having to book them into jail.

What they said was that because of the volume of cases at the jail, and in order to make this process of so many people being arrested efficient, they brought in (the justice of the peace) here to this building to process us here, said Greg Casar, an Austin City Council member who was among those charged.

Organized by advocacy groups ICE Out of Austin, Austin Sanctuary Network, Grassroots Leadership and RAICES, the protesters attempted to keep people from entering the building by sitting just inside the doorways for about eight hours before it closed at 5 p.m.

At one teach-in, Barbara Hines, an immigration rights attorney, questioned the constitutionality of SB 4. It could allow a person to be placed in custody for 48 hours just because of being asked about their immigration status at a traffic stop, Hines said.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus is among those who have spoken out against the bill.

Police chiefs of Austin, Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio and the Texas Police Chiefs Association released a letter Friday predicting the bill will lead to distrust of police, less cooperation from members of the community and will foster the belief that they cannot seek assistance from police for fear of being subjected to an immigration status investigation.

Members of the National Lawyers Guild monitored the protest. About 15 minutes before the building closed, they started writing the names of those who planned on staying in case they got arrested.

We're here as neutral legal observers being able to provide eyewitness account and documenting what happens during the protest or during civilian encounters with law enforcement, Eva Sikes, a member of the lawyers group, said. We never know what will happen so we want to be able to provide good testimony.

Before being arrested, Casar said the protesters would continue to oppose a dangerous and unconstitutional bill.

Regardless of the governor's threat to tear families apart, we will continue this fight, Casar said. We are not scared of being criminalized or marginalized because we stand with our immigrant communities. The day (Gov. Abbott) signs this bill is only the very beginning of the real fire against SB 4.

elutz@express-news.net
Videos and photos posted to Facebook on Saturday showed officers on motorcycles escorting a caravan of Manuel Medina campaign workers to an early voting site, apparently with voters in tow.

On Monday, the San Antonio Police Department was looking into whether any of the officers escorting the campaign workers  apparently while off-duty  are employed by the city and whether the escort, replete with sirens and flashing red and blue lights, violated any policies or laws.

At the very least, the episode was bizarre, said Mike Helle, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association. (SAPOA has not yet endorsed a candidate in the mayoral race.)

It certainly is unorthodox, Helle said. Ive never in my career heard of anybody doing that.  Why in the world would you need a police escort for that?

The most obvious answer: to increase visibility during early voting.

One video showed a string of vehicles with Medina campaign signs and American flags held aloft from windows, horns blaring, while the uniformed officers block traffic to keep the caravan flowing.

Were live right here, a Medina campaign worker says in the Facebook video. Weve got a police escort, caravan. Right here. North Side. Look at the support, the visibility for Manuel.

He adds, Were about to pull into the UTSA polling site. If you didnt know, UTSA is an early voting site. And were here. Weve got two people that are going to vote with us.

Once parked on campus, the campaign worker exits the vehicle.

How was that visibility? he asks a fellow campaign worker before approaching the officers. All right officers, thank you so much. It was good.

By midday, someone had removed the videos from Medinas mayoral campaign page on Facebook. A photo of the officers posing with the campaign workers, however, remained online.

Great #northside caravan for Manuel! the caption read. Ended at the #UTSA poll and gained two new voters! Shoutout to Officers Reyes and OConnor for the support.

The officers bikes are definitely personally owned motorcycles with light kits, Helle said after reviewing the photo.

I think its a violation of civil service, he added. You cannot be in uniform and be involved in some kind of municipal election.  If they did this without the proper work permits, then theyd be looking at an administrative issue.

Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code states that a police officer, while in uniform  may not take an active part in another persons political campaign for an elective position of the municipality.

The law defines an active part in a political campaign as making a political speech, distributing political literature, writing a letter, signing a petition, actively and openly soliciting votes or making public derogatory remarks about a candidate.

Medina did not return a call on Monday requesting comment on the police escort.

Earlier that morning, driving downtown before someone sent me a tip about the caravan, I crossed paths with Medina, who was campaigning in front of the Bexar County Courthouse at the corner of South Flores and West Nueva streets. Surrounded by supporters, Medina was handing out campaign literature and greeting passers-by in their vehicles.

Youre everywhere, he told me, leaning into my window. A lot of people are voting. God bless you, brother.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
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A fifth of employees in the UK said they were aware of conduct they thought violated the law or their organizations ethical standards, but only about half of them reported it to a manager, according to the Institute of Business Ethicss 2015 Ethics at Work Survey.

In Continental Europe, 33 percent were aware of misconduct, but 54 percent did not report it.

The challenge to companies is to embed ethical principles in order to encourage an anti-corruption mindset throughout the organization. Establishing an ethics ambassadors network distributed across the organization  geographically, departmentally and hierarchically  can help ensure anti-corruption is part of the way business is done around here.

Ethics ambassadors are employees selected to assist senior management in promoting and embedding ethical values and related policies. The post of ethics ambassador may be full-time or may be taken on in addition to an employees day-to-day job. They are usually not part of the ethics function, but they are positioned throughout the company; across business units, geographical locations and/or the hierarchy of an organisation, and form an informal network of diverse employees with similar responsibilities.

Ethics ambassadors can help ensure that anti-corruption policies have both a relevancy and consistency throughout a multinational organisation. They may deliver training at a local level, record and report issues, and occasionally help conduct investigations into unethical behavior. They can also assist in embedding and promoting ethical values, and by extension, anti-corruption policies in companies.

Because they are based throughout the company, they can provide local knowledge of challenges to anti-corruption  for example, hot spots, notorious officials and cultural norms. They can encourage buy-in from employees by provide the appropriate language and case studies to help make the anti-corruption initiatives within the ethics programme relevant to the needs of the local operating environment. Context can be important and taking this into consideration is best done by someone familiar with the local culture and history.

Ethics ambassadors can also act as an informal place to seek advice on ethical issues. If employees find themselves in the situation where they are being offered a bribe, or a bribe is being requested, they can talk to a local ethics ambassador rather than a telephone helpline or a more formal contact within head office, which may deter some employees from seeking advice.

IBEs 2016 UK and Europe survey indicates that companies with ethics ambassador networks operate a more comprehensive ethics program than those without.

Heres what we found:

Companies WITH ethics ambassadors Companies WITHOUT ethics ambassadors A global code of ethics (or equivalent document) 100% 100% A speak up (whistleblowing) line 96% 94% Internal reporting on ethics performance 96% 67% External reporting on ethics performance 87% 72% Employee training on ethics 96% 89% An ethics monitoring program 87% 72% A board level ethics committee 83% 44% A management level ethics committee 65% 44% External stakeholder engagement 78% 61%

In both groups, the code of ethics has become an essential element of a companys ethics programme and all respondents report that their organization provides this sort of guidance to their staff. However, companies with a network of ethics ambassadors appear to adopt a more advanced approach to embedding an ethical culture.

In particular, companies with ethics ambassadors seem to place more importance on reporting on their ethical performance  especially internally. Ethics training is also more common in this group.

Although ethics ambassadors can be found in very diverse organizations, the IBE survey highlights some features that such companies have in common.

Ethics ambassadors tend to be more common:

among organizations with a large number of staff, as they bring local knowledge to the design and functioning of the programme as well as achieve greater consistency in its implementation

in companies with a more mature ethics program, where strengthening the ethical culture of the organization is a priority

where senior leaders seem to be more engaged with ethical standards and the board more involved in conversations on sustaining the organisations values and ethical culture, and

in companies that aim at engaging with all employees more closely and raise awareness on each of the main building blocks of the ethics program.

Creating a culture of openness, where ethical dilemmas are disclosed and discussed will go some way to combat bribery and corruption. By ensuring that ethics is championed by local, accessible staff members, an ethics ambassador network can help create that culture.

____

Guendalina Donde, pictured above, is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Business Ethics in London.

Further data can be found in the IBEs latest Business Ethics Briefing. The IBE Good Practice Guide Ethics Ambassadors provides a detailed description of what ethics ambassadors are and how they can be used effectively in promoting an ethical culture, giving guidance on creating and motivating a network of ethics ambassadors. It also includes a set of practical tools for training and evaluating their efficacy.
In the past 14 days, six companies have disclosed new FCPA-related investigations.

And 25 companies have updated their disclosures about FCPA-related investigations.

The industries mentioned by companies now being tracked by FCPA Tracker include:

Advertising

Airline

Asset Management

Auto Parts

Aviation

Banking

Building Materials

Business Information

Chemicals

Climate Control

Conglomerate

Education

Engineering and Construction

Equipment and Vehicle Rental

Food Production

Food Supplements

Gaming

Healthcare

Industrial Cleaning

Insurance Services

Logistics

Medical Devices

Mining

Oil and Gas

Oil and Gas Services

Pharmaceutical

Power Generation

Printing

Rail Transport

Real Estate

Retail

Services

Spirits

Steel Production

Supply Chain Management

Technology

Telecommunications

Test Systems

Transaction Processing

Wind Energy

The agencies mentioned by companies now being tracked by FCPA Tracker include:

Brazilian Federal Police

Brazilian Federal Prosecutors Office

Brazilian Federal Public Ministry

Brazilian Securities Commission

Colombia Attorney General

Controladoria-Geral da Uniao

Council for Economic Defense

Economic and Financial Crime Commission

Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau

Public Prosecutor of Milan

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

South African Police Service

Sao Paulo State Prosecutors Office

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

UK Financial Services Authority

UK Serious Fraud Office

Find out more here.
The World Bank Group announced the appointment of Pascale Helene Dubois as Vice President for Integrity.

Dubois most recently served as as the World Banks Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer.

The Integrity Vice Presidency is an independent unit within the World Bank Group.

Known as the INT, it investigates allegations of fraud and corruption in World Bank Group-financed projects. Based on the findings, it pursues suspension and debarment sanctions against companies and individuals.

Dubois, a Belgium national, is a lawyer and Certified Fraud Examiner. She worked in the private sector in the United States and Belgium before joining the World Bank in 1997 as Counsel for the Africa region.

She became the Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer in 2007. Before that, she managed the Voluntary Disclosure Program for the Integrity Vice Presidency.

Dubois co-chaired the Anti-corruption Committee of the American Bar Associations Section of International Law and currently serves in the same role for the International Bar Association.

Since 2009, she has been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she teaches a course on international anti-corruption.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said: Pascale has a proven track record of fighting fraud and corruption, and Im very pleased to have her at the helm of our integrity unit.

Her appointment as head of the INT is effective July 1.

______

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
The recent findings from the All Parliamentary Group on Women's Health revealed women with endometriosis are not getting diagnosed quickly enough[1]. As someone who suffered for over twelve years, precisely because doctors fobbed me off each time I went to see them complaining of severe to unbearable pelvic pain and irregular periods / non-stop continual menstruation, this revelation is heartening.

Smita Joshi

Endometriosis can creep up on you silently, often developing for years without any obvious symptoms. For this reason, if your periods are unusually heavy or give you severe pelvic pain, insist that your doctor recommends you for an ultrasound scan. Once this silent disease advances, the complications that can arise could be lifelong so ignoring the symptoms or hoping and praying they will go away is not a good strategy.

Body

Endometriosis is said to be an incurable disease but there is now evidence that after appropriate surgery, its effects can be dramatically reduced, if not eliminated.

No matter how advanced the endometriosis, there are specialist doctors that can operate on the affected areas purely using laparoscopic or keyhole surgery, without resorting to open surgery. This has many advantages, including faster healing times and less scarring.

From personal experience, its important to get your kidneys checked during any ultrasound scans for endometriosis. If your ovaries have developed cysts, one or both of the ovaries may have become enlarged as a result, creating the danger of obstructing the ureter tube that takes the fluids from your kidneys to the bladder. Should this happen over a long period of time, the obstruction could permanently impair the proper functioning of the affected kidney, so be sure to ask your doctor for a kidney examination.

Choose your surgeon with utmost care because this will determine how well you come through surgery. Make their technical skill, operative experience and choice of techniques the top criteria when selecting your surgeon.

Once you have received the right medical assistance, your more profound healing will come from a positive application of your mind and connecting to your deeper being  the part of you that can make everything possible.

Mind

As with triumphing over any disease, the power of the mind rules supreme. The biggest tool in your thrive-in-life kit is your mind. The golden key to how well you bounce back from a bad bout of endometriosis is your no-nonsense, unshakable commitment to having fantastic health and vitality going forward. Calm your nerves from the trauma of pain by meditating daily, maybe twice a day, and visualise your healing, feel each cell in your pelvis regenerating in optimal health.

Soul

Whilst healing, be sure to free your playful spirit once again. Let this become a constant companion along your journey of healing.

Totally relax into your healing after a long phase of treatment or invasive surgery. Take at least three full weeks off work and use this time to totally nurture yourself. Enjoy long walks surrounded by nature. Fall in love with reading books that leave you feeling nourished. If at all possible, take some time off and disappear into sunnier climes. As shared in Book 3, Diamond Revealed of my Karma & Diamonds trilogy, during my journey to full health, learning to float freely in the ocean and swimming with wild dolphins a few miles off the coast of Hawaii proved to be exquisite healers. I also discovered, purely guided by my intuition, a little-known woods a few miles from my home. My very own Enchanted Forest, since whenever I visited it, only birds and a couple of curious roving deer to accompany me as I strolled around, mesmerised by the rays of the sun streaming through the leaves of the tall forest trees.

Above all, listen to your inner voice and let it guide your to your own enchantment and empower your complete healing. Connect to your higher Self as within that holds the key to your wholeness.

For more information about Smitas endometriosis battle, her mental and physical healing process and how she is now able to live a fulfilling life, check out her new book Diamond Revealed, the final instalment in the Karma & Diamonds trilogy.
'King Charles III' show has been slammed as "distasteful" for featuring the Queen's death.

Princess Diana

The upcoming BBC programme has caused a stir among audiences as the plot line is set to depict the Queen dying, as well as the ghost of the late Princess Diana - who tragically died in a car accident in France in 1997 aged 36 years old - haunting her children Prince William, 34, and Prince Harry, 32.

And Oliver Chris, who portrays Diana's son the Duke of Cambridge in the production has also admitted the sketch shows "pretty shocking stuff".

The 39-year-old actor said: "It is pretty shocking stuff. Some will bridle at it, but I hope it's done with enough intelligence and sensitivity not to be gratuitous."

The show will follow the Prince of Wales, played by Tim Pigott-Smith, and his rise to take over the throne following the passing of his parent.

'King Charles III' also depicts the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plotting with politicians to take over the new heir, much to the upset of Conservative MP, Andrew Bigden.

He said: "It's unfortunate the BBC would seek to promote this flight of fantasy, which many licence-fee payers will find distasteful and I believe denigrates and undermines our Royal Family.

"I hope that the BBC will make clear that the production is pure fiction."

However, the production's creator, Rupert Goold, who adapted the West End production into a one-off television show has admitted the production team took the "greatest sensitivity" when making the project to avoid upsetting anyone.

The 45-year-old told the Radio Times: "The issue of greatest sensitivity was always how the funeral of the Queen would be presented and what that would mean for a BBC that covers such events for real.

"With the stage version, certain actors refused to be involved because of how it might affect their future relationship with the honours system."
About 2.6 million young people in Bangladesh will receive employment offers from the country's government to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target. Steps will also be taken to establish rights of over 56.7 million workers. This initiative aims to tackle the unemployment problem of Bangladesh and promote sustainable economic growth.

The Government of Bangladesh is taking various initiatives to create employment opportunities on a large scale, said a Bangladeshi news agency quoting Mujibul Haque Chunnu, state minister for labour and employment.

Talking about the garment sector, Chunnu said that it employs over 4.2 million workers. Considering that readymade garment sector is the biggest foreign currency earner in Bangladesh, the wages of garment workers have been increased.

About 2.6 million young people in Bangladesh will receive employment offers from the country's government to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target. Steps will also be taken to establish rights of over 56.7 million workers. This initiative aims to tackle the unemployment problem of Bangladesh and promote sustainable economic growth.#

A garment worker's wage has increased from Taka 1,600 in 2009 to Taka 5,300 in 2013, resulting in a 223 per cent increase, according to Chunnu. They are also getting salary increment facilities of 5 per cent and a special welfare fund.

Bangladesh has close to 39.5 million male labourers and a female labour force of about 17.2 million, according to International Labour Organisation and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic. About 87 per cent of the total labour force is involved in informal work and the remaining people work in the formal sector. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Retail giant Walmart India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Telangana to set up close to 10 wholesale stores in the state in a span of five to seven years. Walmart is likely to make an investment of $120 million for these stores. Four of these stores will come up in Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana.

Each store will require an investment of about $10 to $12 million and will create over 2,000 diret and indirect jobs, said Krish Iyer, president and CEO of Walmart India while addressing the media after signing the agreement.

The US based retail chain aims to open 50 cash and carry stores across India in the next five to seven years including the 10 stores that will come up in Telangana, added Iyer. It already has 21 wholesale stores in India.

Retail giant Walmart India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Telangana to set up close to 10 wholesale stores in the state in a span of five to seven years. Walmart is likely to make an investment of $120 million for these stores. Four of these stores will come up in Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana.#

Close to 95 per cent of the goods for its wholesale stores are sourced by Walmart from India, said Iyer.

The government of Telangana is also in the process of introducing a retail policy soon, said KT Rama Rao, industries minister of the state. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Swedish apparel retailer H&M has bagged the third position out of 100 companies in the fashion transparency index published by Fashion Revolution based in the United Kingdom. Fashion Revolution is a global coalition of designers, academics, writers, business leaders and parliamentarians calling for systemic reform of the fashion supply chain.

The Fashion Revolution Week gathers people in 70 countries around the world, whose ending date (24 April) marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, and whose main objective is to support a message, a commitment from the whole fashion supply chain towards transparency across the length of the value chain. Fashion Revolution Week creates awareness on some of the most important issues in the textile industry, issues that are important parts of our sustainability work to create greater transparency and good working conditions across the fashion industry.

For this years Conscious Exclusive collection that was launched on April 20 H&M introduced a transparency pilot and presented a transparency layer on hm.com for all products in the women's collection. Information that is communicated on hm.com includes: the factory's name and address, number of workers, worker interviews, information about the materials, information about the design team and how to take care of the garment. To be able to publish this detailed information is an important step forward in our work toward a more transparent fashion industry. H&M's goal is to develop a consumer labelling system that allows customers to compare products sustainability performance, also between different brands

The Fashion Transparency Index 2017 reviews and ranks 100 of the biggest global fashion and apparel brands and retailers according to how much information they disclose about their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Close to 65 exhibitors from 16 countries are showcasing their products at the ongoing Leatherworld Middle East leather trade show in Dubai. Exotic Indonesian reptile skins, luxury fashion accessories, UAE-produced camel leather goods, and the 24 karat gilded stilettos from Italy among other things are being showcased at the three-day fair.

Global and local players are displaying their latest wares, from exotic hides such as alligator, snake, stingray skins, or Amazonian fish hides, to finished leather goods including footwear, handbags, and belts.

"Manufacturers and suppliers are coming from almost every corner of the globe, from Australia, Germany and Italy, to Thailand, Iran, India, and of course, the UAE. The international stature this week is also underlined by national pavilions from France, South Africa, Indonesia, and for the first time, Egypt," said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, the organiser of Leatherworld Middle East.

Close to 65 exhibitors from 16 countries are showcasing their products at the ongoing Leatherworld Middle East leather trade show in Dubai. Exotic Indonesian reptile skins, luxury fashion accessories, UAE-produced camel leather goods, and the 24 karat gilded stilettos from Italy among other things are being showcased at the three-day fair.#

Spearheading the UAE presence is founding sponsor Al Khaznah Tannery, the Middle East's only tanner of biodegradable, metal-free camel hide, and producer of goods such as handbags, sandals, and accessories; and Afriwest, a supplier of high-end leather and leather care products for the automotive and interior industries.

Many high-end European tanneries are looking to further their presence in the Middle East market, with French players Remy Carriat, Sovos Grosjean, and Tanneries Du Puy leading the way. Italhide from Italy is also returning for the second straight year, and is launching its 2018 exotic skin collection used for shoes, bags, garments, or interior design.

"We are looking to meet designers, architects, or manufacturers who are after the finest quality of exotic leathers that have the best touches from an Italian tannery recognised as among the world's best. Our soft crocodile and unique wool python skins, as well as our diamond dusted skins will surprise everyone this week," said Silvio Rognoni, export manager for Italhide.

Taking centre stage at Leatherworld Middle East 2017 is the Trend Forum, an exclusive showcase of exquisitely finished leather innovations and designs seen for the first time in the region, and in some cases, the world. It was the focal point of the global launch of a gold embossed, diamond encrusted women's shoe collection from Italian shoe designer Antonio Vietri.

Genesis Gulf International is another exhibitor presenting the international launch of its leather brand GEN Leather Arrays, offering fashion accessories, leather garments, shoes, wallets, belts and bags.

Leatherworld Middle East 2017 features other key highlights, such as the Fashion Avenue, where the UAE's most talented designers at ESMOD Dubai are presenting their creative flair with an inspiring array of leather garments, bags, and accessories.

Other features include leather production for tanneries and dealers of semi-finished and finished animal hides; and the Shoe Box, a dedicated section for mid to high-end leather footwear.

Leatherworld Middle East 2017 is supported by the French Hides Association, the French Federation of Tanners, South African Footwear and Leather Export Council, the Indonesian Footwear Association, and the Egypt Expo and Convention Authority.

The UAE was a key regional player, importing leather goods worth $1.2 billion in 2016, while exports added up to $263 million. Saudi Arabia's imports were worth $400 million, while exports amounted to $69 million. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Sri Lanka is likely to regain the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade concession in the European Parliament after defeating a resolution objecting its resumption was tabled. The GSP+ can be used as a platform to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), said Harsha De Silva, deputy foreign affairs minister of Sri Lanka.

The resumption of GSP+ concession should be used as an opportunity to create an FTA with the EU as the trade concession is not likely to last for more than four years. Thus, Sri Lanka should start discussions for an FTA, De Silva told reporters during a media briefing.

De Silva added that he has already instructed the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Brussels to initiate discussions for entering into an FTA with EU. The minister will also discuss it with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is likely to regain the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade concession in the European Parliament after defeating a resolution objecting its resumption was tabled. The GSP+ can be used as a platform to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), said Harsha De Silva, deputy foreign affairs minister of Sri Lanka.#

The minister also helped laying the groundwork required to defeat the resolution tabled in the European Parliament. Defeating this resolution is considered a great victory for the country on an international platform. Close to 436 Members of the European Parliament were against the anti-Sri Lanka resolution, while 119 MEPs voted in its favour.

An announcement declaring the final decision of the European Parliament about revoking the anti- Sri Lanka resolution will be made on or about May 15, said De Silva. He added that Sri Lanka should diversify its exports and products to reap the benefits of the GSP+. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

The study of cellulose production has been presented in a doctoral thesis at the university. The aim of the project was to contribute to the understanding of what happens in the sulfite pulping process of softwood where the end product is dissolving pulp, that is, nearly pure cellulose, and also to investigate if the sulfite process can be further improved to achieve better economic efficiency.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

"Our research project comprises two types of sulfite pulping of fir and pine wood," says Raghu Deshpande, PhD candidate in chemical engineering at Karlstad University.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

The research has been conducted in the industrial graduate school VIPP, funded by Domsjo Fabriker, MoRe Research, Kempestiftelsen and the KK Foundation. VIPP stands for values created in fibre-based processes and products and is an academia-industry collaboration with the aim to strengthen Karlstad University's research environments as well as professional development in industries.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

This study has a focus on generating new knowledge of sulfite technology. The study addresses crucial aspects of pulp production based on cheaper raw material for cellulose production. The research results are useful in the manufacturing of even better sulfite pulp and in the long term new sulfite mills may be established.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

"Our study shows that different raw materials can be mixed and still result in cellulose of the highest quality. The possibility to produce profitable by-products such as ethanol also makes the manufacturing process more sustainable for the benefit of society as well as the environment," says Deshpande.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

The population of the world is increasing and so is the average income, which means that the demand for clothes and other textiles is rising too. The global textile consumption in 2050 is estimated to be three times as high as in 2015. The cotton production, which used be the dominant fibre raw material, will decrease because more land is needed for food production. Presently, around 60 per cent of textiles are produced from petroleum, but as oil is not a renewable raw material it will no longer be available in a not too distant future. Therefore, new environment-friendly and renewable textile raw materials are needed to meet future needs, the scientists say.

Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden.#

It is often pointed out that the forest industry has a problem with decreasing sales as the result of less paper consumption. The demand for newspapers and sheets of paper is falling while the demand for environment-friendly forest-based textile fibres is on the rise. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Los Angeles-based women's clothing retailer, JohnPaulRichard, has entered into a partnership with SCI for Canadian product distribution and retail value added services. JohnPaulRichard will rely on SCI's retail logistics, wholesale intelligence, and general supply chain expertise for a seamless introduction of its products to the Canadian market.

Los Angeles-based women's clothing retailer, JohnPaulRichard, has entered into a partnership with SCI for Canadian product distribution and retail value added services. JohnPaulRichard will rely on SCI's retail logistics, wholesale intelligence, and general supply chain expertise for a seamless introduction of its products to the Canadian market.#

SCI is Canada's leading provider of retail, technology and healthcare supply chain solutions that go beyond traditional logistics services.

Los Angeles-based women's clothing retailer, JohnPaulRichard, has entered into a partnership with SCI for Canadian product distribution and retail value added services. JohnPaulRichard will rely on SCI's retail logistics, wholesale intelligence, and general supply chain expertise for a seamless introduction of its products to the Canadian market.#

"SCI had reacted fast to our value added services and distribution needs. Seeing how quickly and effectively the team comes up with solutions, we can confidently say that, if anything happens, SCI has the capabilities and a plethora of unique services to ensure that our business continues to run smoothly in Canada," said Robert Hirsh, chief operating officer at JohnPaulRichard.

Los Angeles-based women's clothing retailer, JohnPaulRichard, has entered into a partnership with SCI for Canadian product distribution and retail value added services. JohnPaulRichard will rely on SCI's retail logistics, wholesale intelligence, and general supply chain expertise for a seamless introduction of its products to the Canadian market.#

SCI is now handling the Canada wide distribution of JohnPaulRichard's product as soon as it arrives in Vancouver from Asia. By conducting quality assurance testing, SCI will ensure that JohnPaulRichard's products comply with the expectations of their Canadian retailers.

Los Angeles-based women's clothing retailer, JohnPaulRichard, has entered into a partnership with SCI for Canadian product distribution and retail value added services. JohnPaulRichard will rely on SCI's retail logistics, wholesale intelligence, and general supply chain expertise for a seamless introduction of its products to the Canadian market.#

"The ability to customise solutions and go the extra-mile is what makes us a strong partner. We have put in place the value-added services that complement the fundamental distribution processes for JohnPaulRichard's products," said Dave Mack, vice president of Omni-Channel Retail at SCI. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The area under cotton globally is likely to expand by 5 per cent in 2017-18 season to 30.8 million hectares, as high cotton prices that prevailed in 2016-17 would encourage farmers to sow more cotton. However, world cotton mill use is expected to surpass world production, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has said in its latest report.

In India, cotton area is forecast to increase by 7 per cent to 11.3 million hectares in 2017-18 as farmers are encouraged by better returns due to high cotton prices and improved yields in 2016-17. Assuming yield is similar to the five-year average, production could increase by 3 per cent to just under six million tons, predicts ICAC in its report.

In China, after contracting in the last five seasons, cotton area may expand by 3 per cent to 2.9 million hectares due to the stable cotton policy and high cotton prices. Production in China is expected to rise by 1 per cent to 4.8 million tons, the first increase in five seasons.

The area under cotton globally is likely to expand by 5 per cent in 2017-18 season to 30.8 million hectares, as high cotton prices that prevailed in 2016-17 would encourage farmers to sow more cotton. However, world cotton mill use is expected to surpass world production, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has said in its latest report.#

Similarly, farmers in the United States are forecast to expand harvested cotton area by 12 per cent to 4.3 million hectares, and assuming a yield of 938 kg-ha, production could grow by 8 per cent to 4 million tons.

Unlike the other top cotton producers, area in Uzbekistan is expected to contract by 4 per cent to 1.2 million hectares in accordance with government plans to reduce areas where yields are low, and use them for other agricultural products. However, plentiful soil moisture may improve the average yield by 1 per cent to 638 kg-ha, which will limit the loss in output. Uzbekistans cotton production is projected to decline by 2 per cent to 770,000 tons.

However, cotton area expansion may be more limited for producing countries in the Southern Hemisphere because of anticipating falling cotton prices in early 2017-18. Cotton area in Brazil and Australia is forecast to increase by 2 per cent to 950,000 hectares and 3 per cent to 574,000 hectares, respectively. Production in Brazil is projected to reach 1.4 million tons while Australias production is forecast to rise by 4 per cent to 1 million tons.

Meanwhile, world cotton mill use is expected to surpass world production for the third consecutive season in 2017-18. World consumption is projected to increase by 2 per cent to 24.6 million tons as world economic growth recovers in 2017 and 2018. Mill use in China is forecast to increase by 1 per cent to 7.7 million tons, accounting for 30 per cent of world cotton consumption. After decreasing by 3 per cent to 5.1 million tons in 2016-17, Indias consumption is forecast to recover by 2 per cent to 5.2 million tons due to competitive prices for its cotton yarn products, expanding capacity and the resolution of the consequences of demonetisation. Mill use in Pakistan may grow by 1 per cent to 2.3 million tons due to new incentives for textile exports offered by the government. Bangladeshs cotton consumption is projected to expand by 5 per cent to 1.5 million tons, making it the fourth largest in 2017-18.

World cotton trade is projected up by 5 per cent to 7.9 million tons in 2016-17, after declines during the previous three seasons. Imports by Bangladesh are forecast to rise by 3 per cent to 1.4 million tons in 2016-17, while imports by Vietnam should increase by 16 per cent to 1.2 million tons. Imports by China, now the worlds third largest cotton importer, are expected to increase by 3 per cent to 987,000 tons. Exports from the United States are projected to increase by 53 per cent to 3 million tons and are likely to account for 38 per cent of world exports in 2016-17. However, Indias exports are projected to decrease by 30 per cent to 886,000 tons.

In April 2017, sales from Chinas reserve reached 404,000 tons, which is slightly lower than the total volume sold in March 2017 of 466,000 tons. At the end of 2016-17, Chinas total stocks are projected to have fallen by 17 per cent to 9.3 million tons. World ending stocks in 2016-17, are expected to decline by 7 per cent to 17.4 million tons, and in 2017-18, by 5 per cent to 16.4 million tons, the report said. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
After Morocco and Vienna, the team of Tiger Zinda Hai will shoot in Abu Dhabi over a 65-day schedule from May 4 at multiple locations in the city. A set is being designed by some of those workers who helped to build the Star Wars set in 2013.

The Yash Raj Films (YRF) project is a sequel to the blockbuster film Ek Tha Tiger. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, it features superstar Salman Khan and actress Katrina Kaif, who are both happy to be shooting there.

Salman said in a statement, "'Tiger Zinda Hai' is a film of sizeable scale and context. Abu Dhabi, with a variety of locations, and gracious hosts, is ideal to shoot for a film like this one. I hope that the entire unit will enjoy our time here."

Katrina feels the city fits in perfectly with the movie's story.

"I look forward to shooting in eye-catching locations and on the impressive set here," she added.

Work has begun on the construction of a 20,000 sq metres backlot for the movie's shoot.

The set is being designed by Rajnish Hedao from Acropolis DMG, and over 150 workers will be on site to create the film's main set, many of whom helped to build the "Star Wars" set in Abu Dhabi in 2013. The production unit will also film at several other locations around Abu Dhabi before moving onto the set.

twofour54's Film and TV Services division will provide production services for the movie, with a crew of 300 expected to work on the movie. Government support will come from the UAE military, which will provide military equipment, including choppers during the shoot.

Zafar said, "A film like 'Tiger Zinda Hai' requires a certain scale, which we found in Abu Dhabi. Keeping all the practical measures in mind, the kind of support we got on the infrastructure was phenomenal. That along with some stunning real locations, makes shooting in Abu Dhabi special."

Officials in Abu Dhabi note Bollywood's increasing attraction towards the city as a shooting destination.

Maryam Al Mheiri, CEO of Media Zone Authority - Abu Dhabi, said, "Abu Dhabi is gaining traction in India as the emerging new home of Bollywood, as a result of what we can offer this dynamic industry: a generous 30 per cent rebate, a huge variety of locations, and crew with Bollywood experience."
Achayans, the upcoming multi-starrer in Malayalam,directed by Kannan Thamarakkulam, is gearing up to be one of the big releases of the summer season.

The film, featuring Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Unni Mukundan, Sanju Sivaram, Adil Ibrahim, Amala Paul, Anu Sithara, Sshivada in the lead roles is expected to be an out-and-out entertainer.

Recently, the makers of Achayans, did come up with the first official trailer of the film. There are some surprise packages in the trailer, as it promises the movie to be a ride filled with both fun and thrill elements.

It seems like the audiences can expect a full-on entertainer from the team, with a dosage of action, as well. The film has been scripted by Sethu.

Nothing much has been revealed about the storyline of Achayans, and the recently released trailer has kept the viewers guessing on the probable plot of the movie. Well, the trailer has definitely gone down well with the audiences with the trailer fetching 1.8 Lakh views in 24 hours of time.

Apart from the above mentioned actors, Achayans also features Ramesh Pisharody, Janardhanan, Siddique, Dharmajan Bolghatty, Kalabahavan Navas etc., in important roles. Achayans has been produced by CK Padmakumar under the banner DNVP Creations.
GENEVA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Men need more frequent lung cancer screening than women, according to research presented today at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC).

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening for lung cancer in adults who have a smoking history.

"Less frequent screening would reduce radiation exposure but previous studies of longer screening intervals produced varied results," said lead author Dr Mi-Young Kim, a radiologist at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. "This may have been caused by differences in the clinical and radiological presentation of lung cancer in women and men."

This study investigated sex differences in newly developed lung cancer and calculated the optimal computed tomography (CT) screening intervals for women and men. The study retrospectively included 46,766 patients. Researchers analysed the CT screening intervals and the stage and pathology of lung cancer when it was diagnosed, to see if there were any sex differences.

The average time between lung cancer being diagnosed on CT and the previous CT scan was significantly longer in women (5.6 years) than in men (3.6 years). However, the lung cancer stage at diagnosis was higher in men: 82% of lung cancers diagnosed in women were stage I compared to just 49% in men.

The author concluded: "Our study suggests that the annual follow-up interval for CT is too frequent for women, and scans every 2-3 years might be suitable. By reducing the number of unnecessary CT scans, we can decrease radiation exposure and increase cost effectiveness."

Full story: http://esmo.org/Conferences/ELCC-2017-Lung-Cancer/News-Press-Releases/Men-Need-More-Frequent-Lung-Cancer-Screening-Than-Women

ESMO Press Office

media@esmo.org

+41-(0)-91-973-19-07





ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology, with over 15,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 130 countries worldwide.
Liberty Mutual Insurance announced today it has completed its acquisition of 100 percent ownership interest in Ironshore Inc., a premier global specialty company, from Fosun International Limited following receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Liberty's purchase price equates to $2.935 billion and is subject to post-closing adjustments. Liberty Mutual announced a definitive agreement to acquire Ironshore on December 5, 2016.

Barclays Capital Inc. acted as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom LLP provided legal advice to Liberty Mutual Insurance in the transaction.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Mutual Insurance helps people preserve and protect what they earn, build, own and cherish. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today we are a leading global insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. We are the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium data as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. We also rank 73rd on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2015 revenue. As of December 31, 2016, we had $38.3 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

We employ more than 50,000 people in over 800 offices throughout the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, accident health, commercial automobile, general liability, property, surety, workers compensation, group disability, group life, specialty lines, reinsurance, individual life and annuity products. You can learn more about us by visiting www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170501006410/en/

Contacts:

Liberty Mutual Insurance

John Cusolito, 617-877-6991

john.cusolito@libertymutual.com
(2) Reflects the number of positions in issuers in which the Company has previously publicly disclosed an investment, which occurs after the Company has completed its accumulation. Cash, cash equivalents, direct or indirect currency or other hedges and income/expense items are excluded. Multiple financial instruments (for example, common stock and derivatives on common stock) associated with one (1) issuer count as one (1) position. A position that is included in the number of positions will be removed from the table only if the investment becomes 0.0% of the portfolio.

(3) For the purpose of determining the equity and debt exposures, investments are valued as follows: (a) equity or debt is valued at market value, (b) options referencing equity or debt are valued at market value, (c) long call options and short put options (or vice-versa, short call options and long put options) held on the same underlying issuer and with the same strike and same expiry are grouped together and treated as synthetic equity positions, and are valued at the market value of the equivalent long equity position (or vice-versa, the equivalent short equity position), and (d) swaps or forwards referencing equity or debt are valued at the market value of the notional equity or debt underlying the swaps or forwards. Whether a position is deemed to be long or short is determined by whether an investment has positive or negative exposure to price increases or decreases. For example, long puts are deemed to be short exposure.

(4) Includes all issuer equity, debt, and derivatives related to issuer equity and debt, and associated currency hedges. Cash, cash equivalents, direct or indirect currency or other hedges and income/expense items are excluded. The market values of associated currency hedges are included as part of the associated investment. In the event that there is a change in market cap category with respect to any non-publicly disclosed position, this information is not updated until such position is publicly disclosed.

(5) Portfolio composition is reflective of the publicly disclosed portfolio positions as of the date of this report. A position in an issuer is only assigned to a sector once it has been publicly disclosed.

(6) "Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. AUM" equals the assets under management of Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.. Any performance fees crystallized as of the end of the year will be reflected in the following period's AUM.

(7) "Total Strategy AUM" equals the aggregate assets under management of Pershing Square, L.P., Pershing Square International, Ltd., Pershing Square II, L.P. and Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.. Redemptions effective as of the end of any period (including redemptions attributable to crystallized performance fees/allocations, if any) will be reflected in the following period's AUM
Marilyn Ho Experia Events Pte Ltd Director, Communications Tel: +65 6595 6130 Email: marilynho@experiaevents.com Kevin Foo Hill+Knowlton Strategies Tel: +65 6390 3320 Mobile: +65 9099 9119 Email: kevin.foo@hkstrategies.com

SINGAPORE, May 2, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - The 11th edition of the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX Asia), Asia-Pacific's premier international maritime defence show, will be held from 16 to 18 May 2017 in Singapore at the Changi Exhibition Centre. IMDEX Asia 2017 looks set to be the biggest ever, and the stellar line-up of events and activities underscores the phenomenal participation and support for this year's show.Strong global support and increasing exhibitor participationAsia-Pacific is expected to drive global demand for innovative maritime and naval technologies and products amid a global spike in defence spending. By the year 2020, 19 Asia-Pacific countries will account for nearly one-third of global defence budgets and more than one-third of all active duty military personnel. Asia-Pacific economies are also projected to drive 60 percent of the global increase in defence acquisition, R&D, and 30 percent of the total global defence acquisition budget by that year.Attesting to the importance of the Asia-Pacific region, and the show's role as the premier regional maritime defence platform, 2017 will witness the biggest maritime security and defence presence ever with 27 Chiefs of Navy, 4 Directors-General of Coast Guards and Heads of Maritime Agencies in attendance. Representatives from another 12 Navies and the China Coast Guard will also be participating in IMDEX Asia 2017.With the China Pavilion making its debut this year, and the India Pavilion having doubled in size from 2015, and increased participation by exhibitors from countries including France, Germany and Italy, 2017 is the biggest ever IMDEX Asia with total exhibition space expanding by 23% over the 2015 edition.IMDEX Asia 2017 will welcome returning exhibitors including DCNS, Damen, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Rheinmetall, Austal, Saab, L3 Technologies, Wartsila, ST Engineering, Leonardo and Privinvest Shipbuilding Group. Visitors can also look forward to meeting exciting new exhibitors including Baglietto Navy, Controp, Ferretti Security & Defence Intermarine, IMI Systems, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Nova Systems, Orbit Communication Systems and Tractors Singapore Limited among others.Organised in conjunction with the Republic of Singapore Navy's 50th anniversaryIMDEX Asia provides a global platform for navies, maritime agencies and industry players to come together and address challenges, and will be held in conjunction this year with the Republic of Singapore Navy's 50th Anniversary (RSN50) celebrations. Considering the transnational nature of maritime challenges, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) needs to continue to work in close partnership with other agencies both at the national and international levels. The RSN50 events and IMDEX Asia 2017 will bring international government officials, military and industry representatives together in Singapore to interact and exchange ideas on how nations can cooperate to ensure safe and secure seas for all.Platform for Singapore's first-ever International Maritime ReviewLeading up to IMDEX Asia, expect to see the largest gathering of naval and coast guard ships from around the globe that Singapore has ever hosted. The ships will be representing their home navies in Singapore's first-ever International Maritime Review (IMR). The newly-commissioned Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) RSS Independence will make its debut during the IMR as the inspecting ship for the reviewing officer, Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam, and high ranking officers of the navies participating in the IMR.Largest number of warships to participate in IMDEX AsiaWith 30 warships from 20 navies confirmed, the largest number of foreign warships to ever participate in IMDEX Asia will be showcased during the ever-popular Warships Display. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to get first-hand experience of the on-board operations and rub shoulders with senior naval officers from various countries. Visitors will also be able to view the impressive array of amphibious crafts as well as unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters on display.Another key attraction of the show is the technology seminars and demonstrations where attendees will get in-depth understanding of the design and technological considerations behind the products and solutions on showcase and be able to exchange ideas with presenters face-to-face. Strategic conferences to push discussions on key global agendas to the next level IMDEX Asia 2017 will host two strategic high-level conferences, namely the International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC 2017) and International Naval Engineering Conference @ IMDEX Asia (INEC@IMDEX Asia 2017), where leading experts and academia from around the world will discuss issues related to maritime security and present the latest technologies on naval platform design and developments.International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC 2017)The IMSC is a platform for Chiefs of Navy and Directors-General of Coast Guards around the world to discuss threats to maritime security and safety, as well as develop frameworks and solutions to deal with the security challenges that threaten and disrupt sea lines of communication. The fifth edition of the conference is themed "Safe and Secure Seas: A Vision for a Maritime Region", focusing on a cooperative security approach to create critical capabilities that will enhance the safety of our complex maritime landscape. The conference will feature two interesting panels viz. Pursuing Common Maritime Objectives and Responding to Maritime Terrorism.International Naval Engineering Conference @ IMDEX Asia 2017 (INEC@IMDEX Asia 2017)IMDEX Asia will once again play host to the Asian edition of the prestigious International Naval Engineering Conference. With its attendant naval delegations, industry participation and trade visitors, INEC@IMDEX Asia 2017 will generate high level exchanges and discussions on a wide range of naval technical topics relevant to the Asia Pacific region. The theme at this third edition is "Robust Designs, Flexible Capabilities", and the conference will address the multiplying effect, flexible platforms, underwater technology and effective support solutions. Besides keynote addresses, plenary and concurrent discussions, there will also be an exclusive tour to the LMV for the conference delegates this year."The continued strong support from the global industry has been truly heartening," said Mr Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director of Experia Events. "As the Asia-Pacific region continues to be the growth engine of the world economy with maritime commerce remaining a key driver, IMDEX Asia is increasingly serving the maritime security and defence community by providing the ultimate avenue for high-profile stakeholders, key industry players and naval engineering professionals to network, exchange ideas, forge partnerships and do business."Organised by Experia Events, IMDEX Asia is supported by the RSN, the Defence Science and Technology Agency, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).About IMDEX AsiaEstablished in 1997, the biennial IMDEX Asia is the premier international maritime defence show in Asia Pacific and beyond. IMDEX Asia comprises an exhibition, strategic conferences and a warships display. It has gained recognition as the global platform to address pressing issues within the naval and maritime security industry, showcase the latest naval technologies and connect key players from navies, governments and industry. A must-attend show in the international maritime defence calendar, IMDEX Asia 2017 will be the eleventh in the series and will be held from 16 - 18 May at Singapore's Changi Exhibition Centre. For more information on IMDEX Asia 2017, please visit http://www.imdexasia.com.Source: IMDEX AsiaContact:Copyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/01/17 -- Gold Resource Corporation (NYSE MKT: GORO) (the "Company") today announced the timing of its 2017 first quarter earnings conference call scheduled for May 3, 2017. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $109 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010, and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery.

Conference Call

Gold Resource Corporation's CEO Mr. Jason Reid will host the conference call Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Topics of discussion will include first quarter results and an update on current operations. The conference call will be recorded and posted to the Company's website in three to five business days from recording.

Q&A

Following Mr. Reid's opening remarks, the Company will answer questions during a live Q&A period.

Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Time: 11:00 AM Eastern (9:00 AM Mountain)

Attendee Access Information:

-- Title: Gold Resource Corporation First Quarter Conference Call

-- Host Name: Jason Reid

-- Company Name: Gold Resource Corporation

US/CAN Toll Free: 888-632-3381

International Toll: 785-424-1678

Passcode: 624759

Please dial-in to the conference call at least 5 minutes prior to the start time using the attendee phone number and passcode.

About GRC:

Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, U.S.A. focused on gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. The Company has 56,839,823 shares outstanding, zero warrants, zero debt and has returned over $109 million back to its shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010. Gold Resource Corporation offers its shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.

Cautionary Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corporation's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corporation on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's 10-K filed with the SEC.

Contacts:

Corporate Development

Greg Patterson

303-320-7708

www.Goldresourcecorp.com




WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/01/17 -- Winston Gold Mining Corp. (OTCQB: WGMCF)(CSE: WGC)(CSE: WGC.CN) ("Winston Gold" or the "Company") wishes to announce that its annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016, including the related management discussion and analysis, and CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the "Annual Financial Filings") will not be filed by the required filing deadline of May 1, 2017.

Effective October 4, 2016 the Company completed the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of Goldridge Holdings Corp. ("Goldridge") a private BC company owning the past-producing Goldridge Project in Arizona. As the annual financial statements ended December 31, 2016 will be the first consolidated audited financial statements of the Company, the Company requires additional time to complete certain audit and fair market valuation procedures in order to include the financial results of Goldridge in its consolidated 2016 annual audited financial statements.

The Company is working on the audit procedures required to complete the Annual Financial Filings and expects to be able to file the Annual Financial Filings within the next three weeks. The Company will provide updates as further information relating to the Annual Financial Filings becomes available.

The Company has applied to the applicable securities regulatory authorities and received a management cease trade order related to the Company's securities to be imposed against the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company to trade securities of the Company. The management cease trade order will be in effect until the Annual Financial Filings are filed, and requires that the Annual Financial Filings be filed on or before June 30, 2017.

Until the Annual Financial Filings are filed, the Company intends to provide information in accordance with National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Winston Gold Mining Corp. (the "Company") expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Contacts:

Winston Gold Mining Corp.

Murray Nye

Chief Executive Officer and a director

(204) 989-2434

murray@winstongold.com




CHICAGO, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IONX LLC, an Amsted Rail Company, and Germany-based rail freight operator Havellandische Eisenbahn (HVLE) initiated field trials in 2016, testing its standards-based wireless intra-train communication system in freight rail revenue service. This platform marks IONX's first European deployment of such a system and a major milestone in the company's efforts to deliver its ultra-low power wireless technology to a European freight rail system.

Deployed on the HVLE freight trains, IONX provides a low power wireless network running the entire length of the train, connecting sensors on each wagon to the locomotive. The network is built for IP compatibility based on the 6LoWPAN and 802.15.4e standards. It employs a highly scalable self-forming multi-hop mesh topology. The network features strong security features to ensure that the data being transported in the network can only be read by authorized devices, has not been modified in transit and has been sent from the device it claims to have been from.

"Our company has always been at the forefront of technology-driven rail freight innovations. We have identified the need for a standards-based wireless network that will work in the challenging environment of rail operations, as well as on wagons with no onboard power sources. The IONX intra-train system will help us overcome these challenges and provide us continual connectivity with our wagons, whether they are in the yard or in a train consist. This enhanced visibility provides us numerous efficiencies in train operations and freight wagon management," said Frank Sadowski, HVLE Fleet Manager Freight Wagons.

William LeFebvre, IONX managing director and chief technology officer said, "Working with HVLE gives us the opportunity to partner with a forward thinking European rail company to substantiate our system in revenue service." LeFebvre continues, "The challenge of reliable, low-latency communication along a train with more than 100 wagons, while meeting strict energy constraints, should not be underestimated. We have achieved this with the added constraints of working within the license-free radio spectrum and using existing wireless standards so that our platform will allow data exchange with third party suppliers."

Amsted Rail Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Brad Myers noted, "The opportunity to work with HVLE on deploying the IONX intra-train communication system complements our recently announced partnership with GE Transportation to build out the next generation of intelligent freight trains and develop digital tools to take railway productivity and efficiency to new levels. We believe the technologies we are testing with HVLE will be commonplace in the very near future."

About Amsted Rail: Amsted Rail is the global leader in fully integrated bogie systems for the heavy haul freight market, with facilities spanning 40 locations across 10 countries and 6 continents. Through their state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, Amsted Rail is redefining industry standards for innovation and technology, providing customers worldwide with unmatched performance and reliability for the long haul.

About IONX: IONX is a developer of ultra-low power wireless telematics solutions for railcars. The system uses a combination of the latest GPS technology, proven robust wireless sensor systems, and reliable cellular communication networks that seamlessly integrate with IONX software. IONX allows users to monitor the location and status of a railcar or other assets, as well as the condition of critical components in near real-time by providing timely, accurate and actionable information.

About HVLE: HVLE is a successful private German railway company that has been on the move for our customers throughout Germany and its neighboring countries since 1892. We create custom-made solutions for our customers: a high-level of efficiency and quality is our standard because customer satisfaction comes first at HVLE. The HVLE business portfolio includes transportation services; just in time supply; bulk freight for grain and hazardous goods transport; railway construction logistics; operating of third-party connection railroads; development of customized logistics concepts; and transport services, with a special focus on Germany and Poland.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/506564/Amsted_Rail_IONX_Smart_Train.jpg
HOUSTON, TEXAS -- (Marketwired) -- 05/31/17 -- Greenfields Petroleum Corporation (the "Company" or "Greenfields") (TSX VENTURE: GNF), an independent exploration and production company with producing assets in Azerbaijan, announces the appointment of Mr. Jose Perez-Bello as the Company's new Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer effective as of June 1, 2017. Mr. Perez-Bello has served as the Company's Vice President and Controller since August of 2012.

Mr. A. Wayne Curzadd, who has served as the Company's Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer since August of 2012, has stepped down from those positions to assume an advisory role with the Company. Mr. Curzadd has been instrumental in directing the financial aspects of the Company and in coordinating key commercial activities.

Mr. Harkins, President and CEO of Greenfield stated: "Although Mr. Curzadd is stepping aside from his current positions, Greenfields will continue to benefit from his wisdom and experience as he continues in an advisory capacity with the Company. Greenfields is most grateful to Mr. Curzadd for his service to date, and looks forward to his guidance in the future. We welcome Mr. Perez-Bello into his new role, and look forward to benefitting from his years of valuable experience in the petroleum industry."

About Greenfields Petroleum Corporation

Greenfields is a junior oil and natural gas company focused on the development and production of proven oil and gas reserves principally in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Company plans to expand its oil and gas assets through further farm-ins, and acquisitions of Production Sharing Agreements from foreign governments containing previously discovered but under-developed international oil and gas fields, also known as "greenfields". More information about the Company may be obtained on the Greenfields website at www.greenfields-petroleum.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:

Greenfields Petroleum Corporation

John W. Harkins

Chief Executive Officer

(832) 234-0836



Greenfields Petroleum Corporation

Jose Perez-Bello

Chief Financial Officer

(832) 234-0831

info@greenfieldspetroleum.com

www.greenfields-petroleum.com




NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed several banks as part of a criminal investigation into possible manipulation of the U.S. Treasuries market, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. UBS Group AG (UBS), BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY.PK, BNP.L) and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS, RBS.L) received subpoenas last month seeking information on the $14 trillion market. New York-based Morgan Stanley (MS) has also received a subpoena, the report said. The Justice Department has been examining the U.S. Treasuries market for roughly two years. In November 2015, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. disclosed that U.S. authorities had sought information related to its trading of when-issued securities, which are among the least transparent instruments in the world's largest debt market. When-issued securities act as placeholders for bills, notes or bonds before they're auctioned. The instruments change hands over the counter, with lifespans of just days. There's scant public information on trading volumes or the market's biggest players. 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.
NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Infortrend Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495) today announced the launch of Infortrend all-flash storage available in a new 2U 25-bay form factor in its EonStor GS family. The high density storage delivers lightning all-flash performance at more than 740K IOPS for random reads and less than 0.5 millisecond response time, in addition to providing extreme efficiency and cloud integration.

Infortrend all-flash storage is built to meet the demand for high-speed data transfer with not only SSDs but also firmware designed to optimize performance for random I/O access and therefore are suitable for virtualization and database applications. SSD optimization techniques, such as the prevention of repetitive program/erase, are employed to further enhance performance.

Storage efficiency is boosted by reducing the number of SSD erase cycles and evenly distributing writes to each block to lower latency, minimize SSD wear and extend SSD lifespan.

Accommodating 25 SSDs in a 2U enclosure, the new high density all-flash storage "EonStor GS 3025A" saves data center footprint and energy consumption.

In addition to blazing performance of on-premise storage, Infortrend all-flash storage also allows users to leverage cloud for cost-effective expansion, backup, and archiving. Enterprises running local SAN/NAS applications can easily integrate and expand their storage architecture with cloud services including AWS S3, Azure, Google Cloud, and Aliyun.

"Businesses today are embracing all-flash storage to deliver high speed performance as their mission-critical applications demand quick response. Infortrend all-flash storage combining performance and efficiency presents an ideal choice for organizations to benefit from all-flash storage with cloud integration at tremendous cost advantages," said Thomas Kao, Senior Director of Product Planning at Infortrend.

Click here for more details about EonStor GS All Flash Arrays.

About Infortrend

Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more Information, please visit www.infortrend.com

Infortrend and EonStor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc., other trademarks property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

Infortrend Europe Ltd.

Agnieszka Wesolowska

Tel:+44-1256-305-220

E-mail: marketing.eu@infortrend.com
MARKHAM, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/01/17 -- MBMI Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "MBMI") (TSX VENTURE: MBR.H) is pleased to announce the completion of its previously announced consolidation of common shares in the capital of the Company on a 3 for 1 basis ("Consolidation") and a non-brokered private placement of 4,444,443 post-Consolidation common share units ("Units") at a price of $0.135 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $600,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles its holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.18 per share for a period of 1 year from the date of issuance. The closing of the Private Placement remains subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Consolidation and the Private Placement were conducted pursuant to the partial revocation orders (the "Partial Revocation Orders") issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") and the Alberta Securities Commission (the "ASC", together with the BCSC, the "Commissions") on February 3, 2017. The Partial Revocation Orders were issued in respect of the cease trade orders (the "CTOs") issued by the BCSC and the ASC on June 7, 2013 and September 6, 2013 respectively, as a result of the failure of the Company, under its previous management, to file audited financial statements and related management discussion and analysis for the year ended January 31, 2013.

No insiders of the Company participated in the Private Placement and no finder's fees were payable pursuant to the Private Placement. The proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to bring the Company's continuous disclosure record up to date, complete an application to the Commissions for a full revocation of the CTOs, settle the Company's outstanding accounts payable, finance the Company's continuous efforts to reinstate the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement with the Government of Philippines with respect to the Company's Palawan nickel properties, and for general working capital.

All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period pursuant to the applicable securities laws with an expiry date of September 2, 2017.

About MBMI Resources Inc.

MBMI Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based mining company which operates 7 nickel mineral properties in the Philippines, which include the Alpha Property, Bethlehem Property and Northern Rio Tuba Property located in Palawan Philippines covering an area of 12,560 hectares (collectively, the "Palawan Properties"), and the Borongan-Maydolong Property, Gen. Mcarthur-Llorente Property, Balangiga-Giporlos Property and Homohon Island Property in Samar, Philippines covering an area of 10,150 hectares (collectively, the "Samar Properties").

The Company's principal properties, the Palawan Properties, have been subject to a dispute (the "FTAA Dispute") which led to a decision by the Office of the President of the Philippines on April 19, 2011 (the "OP Decision") that cancelled a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (the "FTAA") granted in April 2010 for the Palawan Properties. The FTAA, if reinstated, would allow large-scale exploration, development and utilization of minerals on the Palawan Properties.

Through a series of transactions from September 2012 to March 2014 involving the sale of the company's ownership in the operating companies (the "Operating Company") that own and control the Palawan Properties and their respective holding companies, the Company's ownership in the Palawan Properties have been sold to DMCI Mining Corporation, a Philippines based mining company (the "Purchaser") for an aggregate purchase price of US$25.2 million (the "Sale Transactions"). The closing of Sale Transactions is subject to a number of closing conditions which include, among other things, the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA.

As a result of the Sale Transactions and the FTAA Dispute, the Company has suspended its exploration and development operations in all of its properties to focus its efforts and resources on the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA in order to conclude the Sale Transactions.

On December 9, 2015, the First Division of the Philippine Supreme Court issued a favourable decision (the "SC Decision") declaring null and void the decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals which affirmed the OP Decision without prejudice to any other appropriate remedy the parties may take against each other. It is important to note, however, that while the SC Decision is the final court decision with respect the FTAA Dispute, it is not a direct ruling with respect to the re-instatement of FTAA that would allow the Company to meet the closing conditions of the Sale Transactions. Therefore, following the SC Decision, the Operating Companies have commenced work on the documentation required to re-engage the Office of the President regarding the reversal of the OP Decision and reinstatement of the FTAA pursuant to the SC Decision. Since there is no assurance that the Office of the President of Philippines will reinstate the FTAA, the Company, the Operating Companies and the Purchaser are concurrently evaluating other recourses including, but not limited to, binding arbitration proceedings in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanism set out in the FTAA as sanctioned by the SC Decision.

Disclosure regarding forward-looking statements

This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Press release.

Contacts:

MBMI Resources Inc.

Joseph Chan

Interim CEO

(416) 299-9203

mbmi@mail.com




LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/01/17 -- Bingo Nation Inc. (OTC: BLTO) (the "Company") announces the departure of Richard G. Hill and David Matheson from the Board of Directors, including David Matheson from executive offices of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, who each disavow and repudiate their previously announced appointments for the following circumstances.

David Matheson commented: "We were simply not informed whatsoever by Mr. Coleridge at the time he acted as sole director and officer of the Company of certain apparent dealings involving the principals of Lexington Ridge Holdings Ltd. a British Columbia corporation (Inc. No.: BC0870105), including Curtis Lehner and Daniel Baxter ("Lexington"). It appears that from or about April 1, 2014 beginning with a purported convertible debt obligation incurred by the Company with Lexington, when it was conducting its business as 'Indie Growers Association', that a series of unexplained debt assignments have lead from Lexington to an unannounced debt conversion of the debt in the amount of $469,370 originating with Lexington into 23,468,500 shares of the Company's common stock on or about February 18 to 21, 2017. It further appears that on March 8th, 2017 an 8K disclosure was filed without notice to the Board. The debt conversion appears to have been effected by or on the behalf of five effectively anonymous off-shore companies, and appears to have facilitated those in control of such companies with opportunity to carry out potentially manipulative transactions in Bingo Nation's common stock as stated in the previously announced April 12, 2017 temporary suspension Order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission."

As previously announced on March 31, 2017 Mr. Coleridge's resignation will take effect upon the final approval date of the Company's forthcoming March 31, 2017 yearend financial statements.

Contacts:

Bingo Nation Inc.

(888) 475 4098

info@bingonationusa.com




COLORADO SPRINGS, CO--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - X-IO Technologies today announced general availability of its Axellio edge-computing platform, delivering unprecedented real-time performance of 480 Gbps for complex analytics on high-volume, high-velocity, streaming data.

The unique combination of performance, density and cost enables the next generation of capabilities for cybersecurity, financial market data, defense and intelligence, operations and Internet of Things (IoT). X-IO also announced joint efforts with leading software makers to deliver Axellio with several big data analytics and cybersecurity solutions.

Axellio is designed for the emerging edge-computing market, which is defined by high-bandwidth, low-latency and high density. Axellio is a high-density, converged server/storage platform that leverages a unique NVMe FabricXpress' architecture to provide unequaled, sustained throughput and end-to-end, low-latency response necessary to meet the most demanding edge requirements.

The Axellio edge-computing platform enables real-time insight and response from complex processing of high volumes of data at high velocities. This level of performance will enable next-generation applications where large amounts of sensor-based data inputs must be processed to provide real-time insight and response.

Axellio systems include dual Intel dual-CPU server modules and dual-ported NVMe SSDs integrated with FabricXpress NVMe on PCIe fabric. Current versions feature up to 88 cores, 2TB of RAM and 1PB of flash storage in a 2U form factor to deliver unprecedented levels of performance, density and economics.

"Axellio brings to the table a throughput performance of more than 480 Gbps and more than 12 million input/output operations per second, making it an ideal platform for edge computing," said X-IO CEO Bill Miller. "With Axellio's power, customers can quickly detect cybersecurity threats, ensure the functioning of financial markets and guarantee stable operations of critical IoT infrastructures despite phenomenal growth. It is the ideal platform for advanced streaming data analytics."

X-IO is teaming with industry leading companies that specialize in cybersecurity and data analytics to deploy Axellio's capabilities in full solution stacks, including:

Ascolta - a ViON company, and a leading systems integrator. Ascolta provides cyber and advanced analytic solutions and services. Axellio gives Ascolta the ability to deliver solutions for real-time operational awareness and actionable intelligence from fusion of high-volume, high-velocity data streams.

ISSAC - An innovator in advanced complex predictive and descriptive data analytics for several U.S. federal agencies, advanced genomics research, global healthcare initiatives, transportation and energy. Axellio gives ISSAC the ability to move from batch mode to real-time as complex analytics move from a research activity to an operational imperative.

Solarflare - The leading provider of application-intelligent networking I/O software and hardware platforms that accelerate, monitor and secure network data. Axellio powers the SolarCapture Server, supporting lossless packet capture from the high bandwidth networks to enable real-time packet analytics. The SolarCapture Server is used in a range of applications where data monitoring is needed to fuel business operations, including banks and financial institutions, government and defense, internet service providers, telecoms operators, manufacturing and retail organizations.

Axellio has been in the design and engineering phase for more than two years. During the last year, X-IO has restructured the company to focus heavily on engineering and product development to evolve beyond storage into edge computing, while raising new capital to accelerate these efforts.

"Data that does not enable insights is meaningless, yet our interconnected world also demands that such insights be delivered at very high speed to avoid them becoming equally worthless," said Mark Peters, practice director and senior analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. "It's a combination that is driving storage vendors, such as X-IO, to redefine their offerings by either converging storage and servers and/or via creative partnerships with solution providers, in order to retain contemporary IT relevance and to remain competitive."

Additional Resources:

Axellio Product Page

Axellio Solutions Page

Data Sheet

About X-IO

X-IO Technologies, an established innovator in advanced data storage systems, is the emerging leader in Edge Computing systems enabling real-time insight and response using big data analytics on high-volume, high-velocity streaming data. X-IO Axellio edge processing performance enables the leading applications, solution providers and OEMs in cybersecurity, financial markets, defense and intelligence, healthcare, telecom and industrial IoT. To learn more, visit x-io.com.

Axellio Industry Quotes

"The myriad of cyber threats facing our nation today, from criminals to nation-states, demand that we are able to respond and mitigate at network speed with high performance, reliability and affordability. Axellio is unique in providing those capabilities!"

Jim Keffer, Major General (Ret), US Air Force

Former US Cyber Command Chief of Staff and Ranking U.S. Air Force Career Intelligence Officer

"Ascolta's enterprise clients require high performance edge computing and with Axellio, we meet the requirements of the most demanding environments. Our customers across federal, state and local and commercial need to access information in real time and respond to high volumes of data rapidly. Through this offering, we give customers this level of access, thereby enabling them to more confidently make critical decisions."

John Mansfield

Senior Vice President of Strategy

Ascolta

"Thanks to Axellio, we are able to accelerate the analytics cycle of critical business decision making by nearly 400 percent. Because we can accelerate the decision making cycle, we enable our customers to answer more questions, make more decisions, and positively effect critical business outcomes. With Axellio, we are able to discover and exploit unknown relationships, identify key business drivers, generate predictions and postulate hypotheses that help drive effective, efficient decision-making. Axellio helps us provide our customers deeper, richer insight, in a shorter amount of time, than we could using traditional infrastructure solutions."

Ray Deiotte

Chief Scientist

ISSAC Corp

Media Contact

TouchdownPR

x-io@touchdownpr.com
SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - CloudCommerce, Inc. (OTCQB: CLWD), a global provider of advanced e-Commerce services to leading brands, today announced that its subsidiary the Indaba Group has partnered with Magento and Retail Dive to create an industry best practices guidebook for online merchants.

Launched In 2012, Retail Dive is a prominent retail industry publication designed to meet the needs of busy industry executives by providing insights and analysis to help them do their jobs. The online publication has grown over the years, as traditional business media was slow to adapt.

Riding a wave of recent organic growth, Indaba has garnered significant attention from various industry influencers. Among interested parties were the likes of industry media giant Retail Dive, who invited Indaba CEO Ryan Shields to contribute as an expert commentator to a special edition industry playbook. Titled "The Flexibility Imperative: How to Measure Your e-Commerce Adaptability in Today's Digital Age," the exclusive publication contains expert advice and industry best practices aimed at guiding online merchants to success in the marketplace.

The new Retail Dive playbook will be published in May 2017, and also features commentary from Peter Sheldon, Vice President of Strategy for Magento Commerce, a worldwide leader in cloud digital commerce innovation. This collaboration with Magento further demonstrates both parties' continued commitment and enthusiasm in their productive partnership.

"Online retailers and B2B merchants need to be armed with the best intelligence and advice," said Indaba CEO Ryan Shields. "As with the human body -- it's important to keep nimble and limber to stay flexible. It's the same with e-Commerce infrastructure. You need to keep it fueled and exercised to keep it flexible. We are honored to have contributed to this paper and we're confident that our process and adherence to best practices will aid brands in this digital arms race, and this playbook will help them achieve a durable competitive advantage."

About Indaba:

Indaba Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CloudCommerce, Inc., is a strategic e-Commerce agency, specializing in enterprise software development, e-Commerce platform development, creative services and customer experience management based in Denver, Colorado. With robust in-house expertise, and technology partnerships from across the globe, Indaba is in a great position to meet any client project requirements. To learn more about Indaba, please visit www.indabagroup.com.

About CloudCommerce

CloudCommerce, Inc. (CLWD) provides advanced e-Commerce services to leading brands. Our customers depend on us to help them compete effectively in the $1.6 trillion worldwide e-Commerce market. Our comprehensive services include: (1) development of highly customized and sophisticated online stores, (2) real-time integration to other business systems, (3) digital marketing and data analytics, (4) complete and secure site management, and (5) integration to physical stores. Our goal is to become the industry leader by rapidly increasing the number of customers who regularly depend on us and by acquiring other rapidly growing e-Commerce service providers. To learn more about CloudCommerce, please visit www.cloudcommerce.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this shareholder letter contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, products, and prospects for sales, failure to commercialize our technology, failure of technology to perform as expected, failure to earn profit or revenue, higher costs than expected, persistent operating losses, ownership dilution, inability to repay debt, failure of acquired businesses to perform as expected, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.

Contact:



CloudCommerce, Inc.

Tel: 805-964-3313

Email contact





Lou Fabian

Channel Sales Manager

720-532-1272

Email contact


Bringing Dynamic Distribution to the Hotel Industry

LONDON and NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Fornova today announced the closing of a $17M series B financing round to further accelerate the growth of its disruptive market intelligence and market visibility solutions for hotels worldwide. The Series B round was led by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP), with participation from WaypointCapital and existing investor JAL Ventures.

In a worldwide hotel market encompassing hundreds of thousands of hotels and millions of rooms, Fornova's early-stage growth trajectory has been impressive. More than 13,000 hotels have already adopted its solutions, including brands such as Marriott, Hilton, NH Hotels, and Premier Inn. Revenues have grown more than 100% in the past twelve months. Fornova now employs more than 115 professionals in five offices around the world.

Fornova's CEO, Dori Stein, said, "The hotel industry is at an inflection point in its struggle to optimize online revenue and drive sales. In spite of the proliferation of new technologies and revenue solutions, hoteliers continue to overlook the fundamentally dynamic nature of the online marketplace. As a result, they are missing important insights on how their products are priced online, how to distribute them effectively, and how to optimize the booking path to their advantage." He concluded, "Fornova's patented technologies provide an unprecedented toolset to help hoteliers turn the tide in their favor, succeeding in this dynamic and fast-changing marketplace. Our products are pioneering new ways to meet the needs of today's hoteliers - and we look forward to the exciting journey ahead, with our new investors and hotel partners."

Fornova's technologies for scanning, extracting and analysing massive amounts of information from the online marketplace provide a two-tiered solution :

Its market intelligence product allows hotels to collect and analyse all the available information from the market, to better understand how their hotels are priced, ranked and presented on the different online marketing channels.

product allows hotels to collect and analyse all the available information from the market, to better understand how their hotels are priced, ranked and presented on the different online marketing channels. Its channelling and market visibility product translates the data analysis into actions, which have direct effect on the bottom line - reflected in occupancy and direct brand.com sales.

"Fornova's cutting edge technology equips travel providers with the precision tools needed to stay ahead of competition," stated Thomas Preuss, Partner at DTCP. "We are happy to support Fornova's growth and development as a pioneer and technology leader in this space. We see a strong demand for a transparent and powerful business intelligence tool from all actors in the market. Proprietary data and comprehensive coverage of all sales channels are crucial determination factors in the increasingly competitive hospitality market."

"We welcome both DTCP and Waypoint on board," said Joshua Levinberg, JAL Ventures Co-Founder. "As an early investor, we are excited about their contributions and look forward to a bright future as Fornova accelerates its growth."

"Waypoint is happy to partner with Fornova at this highly significant moment in the company's development," said Frederic Wohlwend, Head of Group Strategic Development and Chief Digital Officer at Waypoint Capital. "We are focused on high growth innovative investments and have immense enthusiasm for Fornova's future."

Fornova will use the new investment to grow sales, marketing and productization worldwide, and make its data even more actionable - helping hotels optimize brand visibility online, efficiently drive traffic to brand.com websites, improve occupancy and close more bookings. Fornova's technology has its roots in the company's Goldenfeeds product, which helps drive conversion for dozens of the world's top retail, fashion and mobile companies - including Nike, Nordstrom, IKEA and Gucci.

For more information on Fornova, visit www.fornova.com.

About Fornova

Fornova's intelligence-based technology drives dynamic online distribution for the hotel industry. Based in Israel with offices in London, Amsterdam, New York and Ukraine, Fornova's solutions are gaining rapid adoption, serving more than 13,000 hotels worldwide, and have won recognition as the most cutting edge market intelligence and market visibility tools available.

About Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP)

DTCP provides venture capital, private equity, and advisory services to the technology, media and telecommunication sectors. Operating as a bridge between Europe, Silicon Valley and Israel, the company connects people, capital, and ideas to accelerate innovation and provide value to its portfolio companies, its limited partners, and the connected world.

To learn more about DTCP, visit www.telekom-capital.com or @TelekomCapital on Twitter.

About JAL Ventures

JAL VenturesFund provides expansion capital to fast growing, revenue generating technology companies in Israel. The fund's management team brings decades of experience and strong track record as entrepreneurs, executives and investors. JAL investment sectors include Enterprise tech, SaaS, Cyber Security & Defense. For more information visit www.jalventures.com.

About Waypoint Capital

Waypoint Capital and the businesses created by it advise and also manage directly a broad portfolio of companies and investments in healthcare, medical technologies and asset management, including real estate. Headquartered inGeneva, it has offices in London, Jersey, Boston and Luxembourg. For more information, visit www.waypointcapital.net.

Contact: Michael Frenkel, MFC PR

for Fornova

(201) 317-7035/ Michael@mfcpr.com


IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - An affiliate of The EMMES Group of Companies announced that it has acquired Main Plaza in Irvine. The Class A office development includes two premier office buildings, plus two retail pads with El Torito Grill and McCormick & Schmick's as tenants, totaling approximately 625,000 square feet. The buildings are located in the Irvine Concourse, a large master-planned business park at the center of Orange County's premier Airport Area submarket.

As part of its repositioning strategy, EMMES has renamed the buildings Centerview -- Centerview East and Centerview West -- as they are located at the heart of the concourse with spectacular views of the plaza. EMMES plans to make extensive improvements to the property, including modernizing building systems, renovating common areas and adding additional on-site amenities to re-establish Centerview as a premier office location in Orange County.

Centerview has a dedicated six-level parking structure where improvements are already underway to enhance the customer experience by providing better wayfinding, automating the parking garage, painting the interior and exterior, and upgrading lighting.

"EMMES is thrilled to return to the Orange County market with the acquisition of Centerview," said Senior Vice President of EMMES Realty Advisors Mike McCann. "Irvine, more specifically the Airport Area, is considered one of the most desirable office locations due to proximity to the airport, freeway access, walkability and extensive amenity base. We will be making significant improvements to the property that we believe will elevate the experience not only at Centerview, but the Irvine Concourse as a whole."

Additional amenities surrounding Centerview include Specialty's, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Equinox Fitness, Wyndham Hotel, and an Embassy Suites Hotel. For more information on Centerview, visit http://www.centerviewirvine.com.

Centerview is the third building EMMES has purchased in the Orange County market. In 2009, EMMES acquired The Michelson in Irvine, and then sold the building in 2012 after successfully increasing the occupancy from 44% to 94%. The sale was one of the highest value transactions per square foot by an institutional investor for a multi-tenant office building in Orange County. In 2011, EMMES purchased 4000 MacArthur in Newport Beach, and after repositioning, was able to sell the building in 2015 with 91% occupancy, up from 29%.

About EMMES

Founded in 1992, with offices in New York and California, The EMMES Group of Companies and its affiliates are engaged in principal real estate investments, funds management and real estate services. For more information about EMMES, visit www.emmesco.com.

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Neal Leavitt

(760) 212-9112

Neal@leavcom.com
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen drifted lower against its major counterparts in pre-European deals on Tuesday. The yen fell to 112.11 against the yen, its weakest since March 31. The yen dropped to 1-1/2-month lows of 112.68 against the franc and 122.45 against the euro, compared to yesterday's closing values of 112.24 and 121.90,respectively. The yen that closed yesterday's trading at 84.14 against the aussie and 81.73 against the loonie weakened to more than a 4-week low of 84.54 and a 5-day low of 81.98, respectively. Reversing from an early high of 144.04 against the pound, the yen edged down to 144.61. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 114.00 versus the greenback, 124.00 against the euro, 146.00 against the pound, 114.00 against the franc, 86.00 against the aussie and 84.00 against the loonie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - I-Minerals lnc. (TSX VENTURE: IMA) (OTCQB: IMAHF) (FRANKFURT: 61M) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to its press release of April 5, 2017 wherein the company reported it had re-filed its Operation and Reclamation Plan ("ORP") with the Idaho Department of Lands (the "IDL"), the amended ORP has been accepted by the IDL. The approval of the ORP, together with the recently received water permit from the Idaho Department of Water Resources ("IDWR") positions the Company to be able to begin construction, subject to financing and certain bonding requirements.

"This is an exceptional achievement for I-Minerals and the result of many months of hard work, by our staff and our environmental engineering consultant HDR Engineering, Inc.," stated Thomas Conway, President and CEO of I-Minerals Inc. "Few exploration companies ever get their projects to the full feasibility stage and those that do often face long permitting challenges, particularly in US jurisdictions. I-Minerals completed the Feasibility and Permitting tasks in just over two years, which speaks volumes to the quality of our project, our team and the abilities of the permitting agencies to recognize that the Bovill Kaolin Project, which will be a non-metal mine, has less impacts than most mines. Plus, we have gone above and beyond what otherwise might be required through good environmental stewardship methodologies such as dry stacking of the tailings and a zero water discharge operation."

The ORP was approved subject to standard terms including:

1. All refuse, chemical and petroleum products to be stored in designated location at least 100 feet from any surface water;

2. State water quality standards to be maintained at all times during the life of the operation

3. Erosions and non-point source pollution shall be minimized by careful design and implementing Best Management practices

4. A reclamation bond of approximately $3,000,000 being submitted to, approved by and maintained by the IDL prior to conducting any mining activities.

5. Obtaining all other necessary permits and approvals from state and federal authorities (e.g. Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan; air quality, consultation with fisheries and US Army Corp of Engineers 404 Permit and Stream Channel Alteration Permits) as required for each production process.

"With this very important milestone having been successfully achieved we are anxious to finish the last few stages of our ongoing strategic market studies and continue to advance the project as expeditiously as possible," continued Thomas Conway. "This is a relatively easy mine to build with a short construction time frame and we are reviewing opportunities to shorten the time to production by starting work on the FEED study and detailed engineering advance of securing all funds necessary for the CAPEX."

The Company would like to thank the Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Land Board for their diligence in reviewing our permitting documentation and the attention to detail with timely responses.

Based upon the March 2016 Feasibility Study by GBM Engineers, the Bovill Kaolin Project is expected to create 100 jobs in the construction phase and 90 full time jobs over the 25+ year mine life. The project is expected to make an appreciable contribution to Latah County and generate additional revenue for the State of Idaho.

"With respect to mineral marketing, we are very pleased with the way markets for our products are firming up," noted Thomas Conway. "As we have seen in recent press releases, high value applications for our halloysite developing in Europe in life science and gas absorption technologies. Our pilot plant work indicates K-spar is poised to be the highest K 2 O- feldspar available, and there is a pronounced shortage of fly ash as a pozzolan in the western cement markets that bodes well for our metakaolin. We have never felt better about our Bovill Kaolin Project."

A. Lamar Long, CPG, is a qualified person ("QP") for I-Minerals Inc. and has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.

About I-Minerals Inc.

I-Minerals is developing multiple deposits of high purity, high value halloysite, quartz, potassium feldspar and kaolin at its strategically located Helmer-Bovill property in north Idaho. A 2016 Feasibility Study on the Bovill Kaolin Deposit led by GBM Engineers LLC, who were responsible for overall project management and the process plant and infrastructure design, including OPEX and CAPEX calculated an After Tax NPV of US$249.8 million with a 25.8% After Tax IRR. Initial CAPEX was estimated at $108.3 million with a 3.7 year After Tax payback. Other engineering services were provided by HDR Engineering, Inc. (all environmental components; hydrology / hydrogeology; road design); Tetra Tech, Inc. (tailings storage facility design); Mine Development Associates (mine modelling; ore scheduling; mineral reserve estimation); and SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. (mineral resource estimation). Permitting work with the State of Idaho is well underway.

I-Minerals Inc.

Per: "Thomas M. Conway"

Thomas M. Conway, President & CEO

This News Release includes certain "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward looking statements that involve various risks. Actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of the following factors, among others: changes in the world wide price of mineral market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risk associated with development, construction and mining operations, the uncertainty of future profitability and uncertainty of access to additional capital.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE

Contact:



Barry Girling

877-303-6573 or 604-303-6573 ext. 102

Email: info@imineralsinc.com

Or visit our website at www.imineralsinc.com



Paul J. Searle

Investor Relations

877-303-6573 or 604-303-6573 ext. 113

Email: psearle@imineralsinc.com
SHANGHAI, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International announced today the launch of its upgraded campaign at 100 airports worldwide, providing discounts and services at various types of merchants. From now to February 28, 2018, UnionPay cardholders can enjoy exclusive privileges and value-added services at more than 100 international airports across about 30 countries and regions.

UnionPay International have been devoted to improving its global privilege system to meet cardholders' diverse demands, launching global campaigns featuring "Global Airports", "Famous Business Districts" and "Selected Tourism Destinations" each year. Besides these themed campaigns, UnionPay International also launched a cross-border marketing platform, U Plan, which realized a higher level of precision in cross-border marketing via mobile Internet.

The "Global Airport" campaign this year is featured with three highlights:

Firstly, it is more extensive. The participating airports are not only in traditionally popular tourist destinations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and Middle East, but also include Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, Plaisance International Airport in Mauritius and Nadi International Airport in Fiji. Cardholders may enjoy discount up to 10% at merchants in more than 100 international airports.

Secondly, it covers more types of merchants and provides value-added services. UnionPay International now offers exclusive discounts at airport restaurants, bookstores, gift shops as well as privileges such as VIP lounge access, airport shuttle bus, car rental and tax refund.

Thirdly, exclusive privileges of mobile QuickPass and U Plan are available. Special offers for UnionPay mobile QuickPass are launched in the Chinese Corner at Melbourne Airport, Relay Book Store at New Zealand Airport and food streets at 5 airports in Taiwan. King Power at 4 airports in Thailand, JR Duty Free at 8 airports in Australia and New Zealand, and Travel Pharm at 3 airports in New Zealand offer the highest discounts available for U Plan users. Cardholders may get U Plan coupons via the mobile app of UnionPay international and its cooperative banks and travel agencies.

Latest data show that UnionPay has expanded to more than 160 countries and regions outside mainland China, covering almost all the popular tourist destinations. More than 20 million merchants and 1.3 million ATMs outside the Chinese Mainland accept UnionPay cards. Cardholders may also enjoy various value-added services such as UnionPay Emergency Assistance and Overseas Tax Refund.
BROOMFIELD, Colorado, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading private equity software provider Altvia Solutions, LLC (Altvia) announced today that it is a sponsor of the upcoming Private Equity Real Estate Europe Summit hosted by Private Equity International (PEI). This event, which takes place in London, UK, on May 10-11, 2017, is a leading forum for private equity real estate industry leaders to engage about market trends, strategies, and deals. For more information about Altvia, click here.

"We're thrilled about this opportunity to deepen our focus on private equity real estate and expand activity in the London and broader European market," shares Kevin Kelly, CEO and Founder of Altvia. "With a growing customer base and industry expertise in this market, we're well positioned to help private equity real estate (PERE) firms better manage their data and relationships to improve fundraising, deal flow, and investor transparency."

At the summit, Altvia will share key insights about technology-based solutions that enable PERE firms to better differentiate themselves and compete in a crowded market. "The PERE industry is rapidly evolving in several areas. An increasing proportion of fund managers are expanding investment vehicles and opportunities to attract new investors and secure fundraising. With the market drive to more aggressively attract capital and build relationships, there's demand for new skills and tools to make this happen," comments Jeff Williams, Vice President of Products at Altvia. "In particular, we're seeing strong demand for tools that can turn data into insights for deliberate decisions with powerful reporting that avails more tracking and analytics of a fund manager's best deal sources, types of property investments and network of investors."

Additionally, the Company took this opportunity to announce that the Denver Business Journal has named Altvia to its 2017 list of Top Software Companies for a second consecutive year. Altvia is also greatly honored to have been named a Finalist in the 2017 Colorado Companies to Watch by CCTW.

About Altvia:

Altvia translates data into intelligence for Alternative Asset Fund Managers, Institutional Investors, and Impact Investors. As the premier provider of flexible, web-based software solutions in private equity, Altvia combines technology with proven processes to fundamentally improve the communication and relationship between GPs, LPs, and Portfolio Companies. Founded in 2006, Altvia has grown to serve customers on six continents, and continues to expand its operations across the globe. To learn more, visit altvia.com.



To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/altvia-sponsors-peis-private-equity-real-estate-europe-summit-300449078.html
Pendragon PLC: Transaction in Own Shares

Pendragon PLC (the "Company") announces that it has purchased for cancellation (through Jefferies International Limited) the following number of its ordinary shares of 5p each on the London Stock Exchange.

Date of purchase: 28 April 2017 Number of ordinary shares purchased (aggregated volume): 189,864 Highest price paid per share (pence): 35.25p Lowest price paid per share (pence): 34.75p Volume weighted average price paid per share (pence): 35.0183p

Following the purchase of these shares, the Company has 1,429,442,171 ordinary shares in issue. All of the shares have equal voting rights and there are no shares held in treasury. This figure 1,429,442,171 represents the total voting rights in the Company and may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

The schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by Jefferies on behalf of the Company as part of the buyback programme.

RICHARD MALONEY

COMPANY SECRETARY

28 APRIL 2017

Schedule of Purchases - Individual Transactions

Number of shares purchased Transaction price

(pence per share) Time of transaction Trading venue 494 35 08:05:34 London Stock Exchange 1864 35 08:05:34 London Stock Exchange 2774 35 08:16:29 London Stock Exchange 2293 35 08:18:26 London Stock Exchange 2543 35 08:23:56 London Stock Exchange 2628 35 08:32:24 London Stock Exchange 3028 35 08:38:01 London Stock Exchange 2873 35.25 08:49:29 London Stock Exchange 127 35.25 08:54:41 London Stock Exchange 2440 35.25 08:54:41 London Stock Exchange 80 35.25 08:55:09 London Stock Exchange 2882 35.25 09:02:00 London Stock Exchange 118 35.25 09:07:38 London Stock Exchange 2171 35.25 09:07:38 London Stock Exchange 829 35.25 09:12:23 London Stock Exchange 1538 35.25 09:12:23 London Stock Exchange 156 35.25 09:12:23 London Stock Exchange 75 35.25 09:39:32 London Stock Exchange 2556 35.25 09:39:32 London Stock Exchange 2438 35.25 10:40:12 London Stock Exchange 2662 35 11:52:16 London Stock Exchange 2784 35 12:02:21 London Stock Exchange 2555 35 14:07:07 London Stock Exchange 2329 35 14:07:07 London Stock Exchange 6768 35 14:07:07 London Stock Exchange 3000 35 14:07:07 London Stock Exchange 1337 35 14:07:07 London Stock Exchange 2264 35 14:14:18 London Stock Exchange 1430 35 14:23:40 London Stock Exchange 1318 35 14:23:40 London Stock Exchange 2561 34.75 14:38:08 London Stock Exchange 5000 35 14:42:42 London Stock Exchange 15000 35 14:42:42 London Stock Exchange 7613 35 14:42:42 London Stock Exchange 18233 35 14:42:42 London Stock Exchange 18330 35 14:42:42 London Stock Exchange 5000 35 14:42:46 London Stock Exchange 8842 35 14:42:46 London Stock Exchange 838 35 14:56:01 London Stock Exchange 1769 35 14:56:01 London Stock Exchange 2155 35 15:00:20 London Stock Exchange 371 35 15:00:20 London Stock Exchange 1144 35 15:04:32 London Stock Exchange 1126 35 15:04:32 London Stock Exchange 2484 35 15:08:39 London Stock Exchange 2754 35 15:10:40 London Stock Exchange 1617 35 15:10:40 London Stock Exchange 620 35 15:10:40 London Stock Exchange 2340 35 15:10:53 London Stock Exchange 1187 35 15:14:43 London Stock Exchange 1254 35 15:14:43 London Stock Exchange 907 35 15:17:36 London Stock Exchange 1825 35 15:17:36 London Stock Exchange 36 35 15:17:36 London Stock Exchange 2119 35 15:21:36 London Stock Exchange 441 35 15:21:36 London Stock Exchange 2327 35 15:25:43 London Stock Exchange 2562 35 15:34:16 London Stock Exchange 2604 35 15:34:21 London Stock Exchange 2391 35 15:34:38 London Stock Exchange 2517 35 15:38:41 London Stock Exchange 1720 35 15:42:38 London Stock Exchange 973 35 15:42:38 London Stock Exchange 451 35 15:46:35 London Stock Exchange 2100 35 15:46:35 London Stock Exchange 1960 35 16:00:46 London Stock Exchange 298 35 16:00:46 London Stock Exchange 455 34.75 16:19:36 London Stock Exchange 335 35 16:27:00 London Stock Exchange 1874 35 16:27:00 London Stock Exchange 1377 34.75 16:28:00 London Stock Exchange

-ENDS-
SolarWinds invites government organisations to join the company's annual National Government user groups, and the discussion at the AFCEA London Chapter Event



CORK, Ireland, 2017-05-02 10:32 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, today announced that it will host two separate National Government user groups in Manchester, U.K. on May 9, 2017 and in London, U.K. on May 11. The company will also present at the AFCEA London Chapter event on May 4.



"The cloud and hybrid IT are a reality for a majority of government IT departments today. According to the SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2017: Portrait of a Hybrid IT Organization, 95% of U.K. public sector respondents said their organisations have migrated critical applications and IT infrastructure to the cloud over the past year," said David Kimball, senior vice president, federal and national government, SolarWinds. "While the cloud might be critical to business success, there are still challenges of hybrid IT environments, including the lack of visibility and increased management complexity. Our user groups will provide an opportunity to address how government agencies are solving hybrid IT management and monitoring challenges, giving users the opportunity to share best practice and experiences."



The free interactive events will include presentations led by Ross Fujii, vice president of product strategy and management, SolarWinds, and Mav Turner, senior director of product management, SolarWinds. National, central, federal, NATO and European Union users, and systems integrators will also have the opportunity to meet technical experts and systems engineers. Presentation topics include:



-- End-to-end hybrid IT management and SolarWinds  Orion  platform -- Enterprise scalability and integration -- SolarWinds product updates for management of networks, security, systems and applications, databases, and more



Join the National Government User Groups:



Manchester



-- Tuesday, May 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. BST at the Radisson Blu  Edwardian, Manchester; register here.



London



-- Thursday, May 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. BST at the Conrad  London St. James; register here.



Join the discussion at AFCEA London: AFCEA London Chapter events are held on the first Thursday of each month. Turner will lead the evening's discussion on open source intelligence (OSINT) as a source of actionable cyber intelligence for the public and private sector.



When: Thursday, May 4 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. BST Where: MoD Main Building in Whitehall



SolarWinds Solutions for National Government



-- SolarWinds software is available through numerous channel partners and systems integrators worldwide, as well as the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM), Crown Commercial Service (CCS), United Nations Atlas, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule, and Department of Defense ESI. -- Government certifications and approvals include: Army CoN, Air Force APL, Navy DADMS, and technical requirements include Common Criteria EAL 2 Certification, FIPS compatibility, DISA compliance, Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) compliance, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) compliance, Section 508 VPATs, in addition to the Good Practice Guide 13 (U.K.). -- SolarWinds offers hundreds of built-in automated compliance reports, which meet requirements of most major auditing authorities, including DISA, NIST, and more. -- SolarWinds' THWACK  online user community provides a number of out-of-the-box compliance report templates, available to download for free, that are designed to help users prepare for an inspection. THWACK also provides information on Smart Card and Common Access Card (CAC) product support.



For more product and pricing information visit the SolarWinds Government Solutions page. For more information on becoming a SolarWinds National Government Partner, contact us at: nationalgovtsales@solarwinds.com.



Additional Resources:



-- Video: SolarWinds IT Management and Monitoring for Government -- White Paper: IT Consolidation: What's Next for Government Modernisation Initiatives -- IT Trends Report 2017: Portrait of a Hybrid Organisation (UK public sector)



About SolarWinds



SolarWinds provides powerful and affordable IT management software to customers worldwide, from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses, managed service providers (MSPs), government agencies, and educational institutions. We are committed to focusing exclusively on IT, MSP, and DevOps professionals, and strive to eliminate the complexity that our customers have been forced to accept from traditional enterprise software vendors. Regardless of where the IT asset or user sits, SolarWinds delivers products that are easy to find, buy, use, maintain, and scale while providing the power to address key areas of the infrastructure from on-premises to the cloud. This focus and commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT performance management has established SolarWinds as the worldwide leader in both network management software and MSP solutions, and is driving similar growth across the full spectrum of IT management software. Our solutions are rooted in our deep connection to our user base, which interacts in our THWACK online community to solve problems, share technology and best practices, and directly participate in our product development process. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com.



The SolarWinds, SolarWinds & Design, Orion, and THWACK trademarks are the exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC or its affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common law marks or are registered or pending registration. All other trademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and are trademarks of (and may be registered trademarks) of their respective companies.



 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.



MEDIA CONTACTS: Danielle Killick Text100 Phone: +44 20 8846 0777 Danielle.killick@text100.co.uk Katherine O'Keeffe SolarWinds Phone: +353 21 500 2954 pr@solarwinds.com

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 4.30 am ET Tuesday, IHS Markit releases UK factory PMI data. Economists forecast the index to fall to 54.0 in April from 54.2 in March. Ahead of the data, the pound traded mixed against the other major counterparts. While the pound held steady against the yen, it dropped against the rest of major counterparts. The pound was worth 1.2879 against the greenback, 144.44 against the yen, 1.2811 against the franc and 0.8471 against the euro at 4:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Acacia Mining plc

Registration number 7123187

("the Company")

TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS

In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, the Company advises that its issued share capital comprises 410,085,499 ordinary shares of 10 pence each. The voting rights of all these shares are identical with each share carrying the right to one vote. The Company holds no ordinary shares in Treasury.

The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interests in, or a change to their interest in Acacia Mining plc under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

2 May 2017
EAGLE POINT, OR -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 --Grow Condos, Inc. (OTCQB: GRWC), a fully reporting publicly traded company specialized in cannabis industry related "Condo" style real estate and turn-key grow facilities, today seeks to update investors on the recent acquisition closing of Lake Selmac Resort & RV Park, and the development of its evolving strategy in Lake Selma, Oregon.

After completing the acquisition, the company believes that the Smoke on the Water business presents a unique separate business model and being entirely ripe for a "roll-up" acquisition play within the RV and Campground industry. Currently, the industry is entirely dominated by a 'Mom and Pop' type business with no tangible exit strategy. The company feels that these establishments can be purchased for 4 to 7 times EBITA, then converted into culturally themed Cannabis Friendly destinations, creating a greater industry presence with a growing multiple of franchise themed locations.

Plans currently underway at the Lake Selma Resort include the development of a territorial conversion to the Native American theme, enhanced with TeePee style accommodations, Yoga and other spiritually enhancing activities throughout the day, and astrology and celestial centered nightly events. Other exclusive features include "Theater Night on the Water," an event by which visitors will be able to experience movie viewing on a floating screen while enjoying a peaceful night on the lake.

Created to capitalize on the country's continually growing level of recreational marijuana acceptance, "Smoke on the Water" has launched its own roll up development strategy, and started on a trajectory to duplicate its success. Chief Executive Officer, Wayne Zallen stated: "We believe that we have reached a pinnacle, since the acquisition of Southern Oregon's Lake Selmac Resort & RV Park, where this sector has established sufficient momentum to yield considerable value on its own.

"Management has concluded that this strategy will support the targeted growth of this division, advancing each sector with a singular focus on the development of a strong foothold in each niche market. Smoke on the Water is now relatively established, and prepared to capitalize on the fragmented RV industry in marijuana friendly territories."

According to popular consensus, it has been revealed that relaxed marijuana laws are a powerful motivator for tourists, since technically it's not yet permissible to recreationally smoke in National and State Parks. This has opened a very lucrative niche opportunity for smaller, privately owned properties that can offer the freedom of experiencing Oregon's strikingly beautiful landscape while also enabling its visitors to enjoy Oregon's 420 Friendly privileges.

Grow Condos, Inc. recently announced the successful acquisition of one of the territory's privately owned nature rich vacation spots, Lake Selmac Resort & RV Park, situated in the picturesque heart of Southern Oregon. Located just 20 miles south of Grants Pass, Oregon and 2.5 miles east of the Redwood Highway (Hwy. 199) in Selma, Oregon, Lake Selmac Resort. The peaceful exclusive property currently facilitates fishing, swimming, boating, and in addition to RV parking, has tent camping & cabin locations established for accommodation. To view more regarding the property, visit: http://www.lakeselmac.com. Shareholders will be kept updated as events continue to unfold.

About Smoke on the Water Inc: Smoke on the Water, Inc. is Grow Condo's wholly owned subsidiary, designed to capitalize on the country's growing level of recreational marijuana acceptance. The company plans to engage in a roll up strategy for this highly-fragmented industry and provide turn-key solutions for Marijuana-friendly campgrounds and resorts. The company has strategized to initially develop the property through acquisition, subsequently rebranding the existing RV business to represent the Smoke on The Water brand. Upon project launch, the Company plans to provide fully functional vacationing solutions to campground operators and owners seeking to fill the growing demand for stress free and acceptable vacationing for the pro-personal choice and marijuana smoking community. For more information, visit: www.smokeonthewater.club

About: Grow Condos, Inc.: Grow Condos is a fully reporting publicly traded company listed under the symbol GRWC: OTCQB. It is a real estate purchaser, developer & manager of specific use industrial properties providing "condo" style turn-key grow facilities to support the cannabis industry. We own, lease, sell and manage multi-tenant properties.

Like during the Gold Rush days in California, Grow Condos is focused on a pick-and-shovel approach to participating in the exploding marijuana industry. We finance the purchase and/or development of properties by offering to investors private placement sponsorships, debt instruments, or limited partnerships. We believe there is a significant investor demand for such opportunities. Currently we own and manage a 15,000-square foot warehouse in Eagle Point, Oregon, own and developing a property in Eugene, Oregon and are currently looking into other acquisitions in Oregon, Colorado, Washington, California and Nevada with like-minded investors who want to share in the growth of this dynamic new industry.

Safe Harbor: This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Grow Condos, Inc, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Grow Condos, Inc. ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. More information about the potential factors that could affect the business and financial results is and will be included in Grow Condos, Inc. filings with the OTC Markets, Securities and Exchange Commission and/or the company's website.

CONTACT:

Grow Condos, Inc.

Corporate: www.growcondos.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrowCondosInc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrowCondosInc

Investor Relations: ir@growcondos.com




BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 5.00 am ET Tuesday, Eurostat is scheduled to release euro area unemployment figures for March. The jobless rate is expected to fall to 9.4 percent in March from 9.5 percent in February. Ahead of the data, the euro traded mixed against the other major currencies. While the euro dropped against the pound and the franc, it held steady against the yen and the greenback. The euro was worth 1.0914 against the greenback, 122.46 against the yen, 1.0859 against the franc and 0.8467 against the pound as of 4:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French shares held steady on Tuesday, with overnight gains on Wall Street and easing worries over North Korea supporting sentiment as markets resumed trading after a long holiday weekend. Gains, however, remained muted ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting starting later today, the all-important U.S. jobs report due on Friday and the final May 7 presidential runoff vote. In economic releases, Eurozone manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in six years in April, final data from IHS Markit showed. The PMI rose to 56.7 in April from 56.2 in March. However, the score was slightly below the expected level of 56.8. France's final factory PMI climbed to 55.1 in April from 53.3 in the prior month. The flash reading was 55.1. The benchmark CAC 40 was up 17 points or 0.32 percent at 5,284, with banks rising after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House is making steady progress on its tax reform plan. Also, U.S. President Trump told Bloomberg News that he's considering breaking up big Wall Street banks. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale were up between half a percent and 1 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 --Beagle Freedom Project (BFP), the national non-profit, animal rescue and advocacy organization, is hosting its 3rd annual Red, White & Beagle fundraiser on Wednesday, May 3, at the Hotel Monaco in Washington D.C. The grand charity event begins at 6:00pm with a VIP reception and silent auction, followed by the main program at 8:00pm.

Headlining speakers will include President Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump (wife to Eric Trump, avid animal lover, owner of two beagles, welfare advocate), and Jeremy Bernard (former White House Social Secretary and Special Assistant to President Obama), among others. Also expected to attend are various BFP supporters, adopters, Congressional members, and rescued laboratory beagles.

BFP has been working diligently to pass their Beagle Freedom Bill -- a bill that aims to secure the release of dogs and other animals (after they've been subjected to countless hours of laboratory testing), offering them a second chance at a normal life. Already the law in 5 states, BFP's goal is to pivot this bill to national matters by taking it to a federal level and applying it to all 50 states. Today, the standard operating procedure for laboratories is to summarily kill the animals once they are no longer needed for experimental purposes.

"After everything these animals endure in tax-payer financed research, BFP believes they deserve the right to be released," explains BFP's Founder & President, Shannon Keith. "Our charity is beyond thrilled to have the bi-partisan support of such strong supporters like Lara Trump, Jeremy Bernard, and a growing number of Congressional members. Red, White, & Beagle is our kick-off event for a concerted federal effort to offer basic protection for the survivors of experiments, and it demonstrates that this issue has the power to unify everyone, regardless of party, politics, or even last name."

This year's Red, White & Beagle has received immense support from brands like Trader Joe's, AMC Theatres, Urban Outfitters, ORLY, Lush Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, BarkBox, Bark!, and many more.

For additional information on Beagle Freedom Project, or to speak with a BFP representative, contact Eileen Koch of EKC PR, a full service Branding, Marketing, and Public Relations firm at 310.441.1000 or email Eileen@ekcpr.com. Visit www.EKCPR.com.

EKC PR

310.441.1000

Eileen@EKCPR.com

www.EKCPR.com




SAN FRANCISCO, CA and TORONTO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 --

WHO:

Vanessa Brangwyn, vice president, Customer Success for Achievers, an industry leading provider of employee recognition and engagement solutions, with Janine White, senior specialist, HR Talent Management, ArcelorMittal Dofasco

WHAT:

Will present "Offline in an Online World: The Secret to Engaging Offline Employees" during the WorldatWork 2017 Total Rewards Conference and Exhibition.

WHEN:

The conference will take place Sunday, May 7 - Wednesday, May 10, 2017.

Brangwyn and White are scheduled to speak on Tuesday, May 9 at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

WHERE:

Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C.

901 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.

Washington, D.C.

Achievers will exhibit in Booth No. 616.

DETAILS:

Recognizing and engaging employees should not be considered a "one and done" event. To boost morale and encourage engagement on an ongoing basis, recognition needs to be integrated into the day-to-day workflow, even for offline employees.

During the WorldatWork 2017 Total Rewards Conference, Vanessa Brangwyn, vice president, Customer Success for Achievers, will join Janine White, senior specialist, HR Talent Management, ArcelorMittal Dofasco to discuss how the Canadian steelmaker transformed its approach to employee rewards and engagement by focusing on the frequency of recognition. The presentation will trace the transformation, from the initial employee engagement survey that revealed a lack of recognition through the implementation of a transparent and universal program where high-performing employees are formally recognized by peers and leadership. In addition, Brangwyn and White will identify and examine trends in recognition and describe ways to build a business case to secure executive buy-in. Session attendees will learn how to develop and cultivate successful programs that contribute to employee engagement and the attainment of business objectives.

Representatives from Achievers will also be on-site and available to discuss the company's solutions for employee rewards and recognition in Booth No. 616. For event information and registration, visit: https://www.worldatwork.org/totalrewards2017.

About Achievers

The Achievers Employee Recognition and Rewards solution provides companies with a robust foundation for their employee engagement initiatives by enabling both social and rewards-based recognition. Designed for today's workplace, Achievers' innovative cloud-based platform can increase employee engagement and drive business success. It empowers employees to recognize and reward each other in real time and aligns employees with company values and goals. Delivering millions of recognitions annually, the Achievers platform inspires employee loyalty, engagement and performance. Visit us at www.achievers.com. Achievers is a subsidiary of Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., and is headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - Solar Alliance Energy Inc. ('Solar Alliance') or (the 'Company') (TSX VENTURE: SAN) (OTCQB: SAENF) is pleased to announce it has installed the Company's first solar system as part of the recently completed acquisition of a Los Angeles solar sales team and project pipeline. Additionally, the integration of the sales team and the project pipeline are moving forward according to plan and will result in a positive revenue increase. Concurrently, the Company is assessing other acquisition opportunities in several different markets. Solar Alliance is confident its marketing and outsourced installation models are ideally built to facilitate rapid expansion through organic growth and the acquisition of distressed assets.

"The acquisition of the Los Angeles-based sales team is a transformative transaction for our company as we have tripled the size of our team in a short period of time," said Chairman and CEO Jason Bak. "The Los Angeles team is now fully trained on Solar Alliance systems and processes and has begun selling residential systems. Our next step will be expanding both San Diego and Los Angeles sales teams to ensure we take full advantage of these attractive markets."

The Company acquired 156 residential solar projects, or approximately 780 kilowatts, as part of the acquisition which are all in the installation process. The Company estimates it will generate approximately US $2,800,000 in gross revenue and up to US $1,585,000 in accretive gross profit from the acquired pipeline when the projects are installed in the next 60-90 days. This revenue is in addition to the Company's ongoing sales operations in Southern California.

"We are working diligently to move these solar projects through the installation phase in order to generate cash flow as soon as possible," said CFO Eric Knutzen. "Our model of utilizing installation partners instead of carrying excess costs and overhead will result in faster installation times and high gross margins for these projects. We believe this acquisition will pay for itself in the short term while generating significant sales revenue in the long term."

The next stage in the Company's expansion strategy involves aggressively recruiting additional sales staff for our San Diego and Los Angeles operations and assessing other acquisition opportunities in several different markets. Our objective is to facilitate rapid expansion through organic growth and the acquisition of distressed assets while generating a positive net income in 2017.

Jason Bak, Chairman and CEO

About Solar Alliance Energy Inc. (www.solaralliance.com)

Solar Alliance is a sales, marketing and development company focused on residential, commercial and industrial solar installations. Since we were founded in 2003, we have developed wind and solar projects that provide enough electricity to power 150,000 homes. Solar Alliance is committed to an exceptional customer experience, effective marketing campaigns and superior lead generation in order to drive sales and generate value for shareholders. Our passion is improving life through ingenuity, simplicity and freedom of choice. We make solar simple and our goal is to install solar on every available rooftop in America.

Statements in this news release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, constitute Forward-looking statements. The words "would", "will", "expected" and "estimated" or other similar words and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different than those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related to the ability to raise sufficient capital, changes in economic conditions or financial markets, litigation, legislative or other judicial, regulatory and political competitive developments and technological or operational difficulties. Consequently, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

"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."

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/5/2/11G137598/Images/Los_Angeles_1-293fbc815af1bc69889c1ef47d2d063e.JPG

For more information:



Solar Alliance Investor Relations

Spyros Karellas

Pinnacle Capital Markets

(416) 433-5696

spyros@pinnaclecapitalmarkets.ca
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Stingray Digital Group Inc. (TSX: RAY.A)(TSX: RAY.B), a leading business-to-business multi-platform music and in-store media solutions provider, is proud to announce the appointment of Valery Zamuner as Senior Vice-President, Mergers, Acquisitions & Strategic Initiatives, effective May 23, 2017. In her position, Mrs. Zamuner will oversee Stingray's global mergers and acquisitions efforts.

"The appointment of Valery Zamuner brings tremendous expertise to Stingray's executive team," said Eric Boyko, President, Co-founder, and CEO of Stingray. "We have a track record of acquiring established, dynamic, and creative companies, and partnering with industry leaders to achieve our aggressive global expansion plan. With her impressive background that combines corporate and commercial law, corporate governance, corporate finance, and private investment funds, Valery will be instrumental in creating value for our shareholders."

"I am thrilled to join Stingray - a market leader with a highly successful mergers and acquisition strategy - to lead its M&A team to even greater success on a global scale," said Valery Zamuner. "I look forward to playing a key role in Stingray's future and help propel the company's growth through strategic acquisition and initiatives."

Mrs. Zamuner has more than 18 years of experience in international and domestic mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies. Prior to joining Stingray, Mrs. Zamuner held the positions of Executive Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions and Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of WSP Global Inc.

Mrs. Zamuner holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Laval University and an MBA from the John Molson School of Business (Concordia University). She is a member of the Quebec Bar.

About Stingray

Stingray (TSX: RAY.A)(TSX: RAY.B) is a leading business-to-business multi-platform music and in-store media solutions provider operating on a global scale, reaching an estimated 400 million pay TV subscribers (or households) in 156 countries. Geared towards individuals and businesses alike, Stingray's products include the following leading digital music and video services: Stingray Music, Stingray Concerts, Stingray iConcerts, Stingray Brava, Stingray DJAZZ, Stingray Music Videos, Stingray Lite TV, Stingray Ambiance, Stingray Karaoke, Festival 4K, and Classica. Stingray also offers various business solutions, including music and digital display-based solutions, through its Stingray Business division. Stingray is headquartered in Montreal and currently has over 350 employees worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea. Stingray was recognized in 2013 and 2014 as a finalist in the Top 50 of Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 list, and figures amongst PROFIT magazine's fastest-growing Canadian companies. In 2016, Stingray was awarded best IR for an IPO at the IR Magazine Awards - Canada. For more information, please visit www.stingray.com

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information includes information with respect to Stingray's goals, beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. Forward-looking information is identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "may", "would", "should", "could", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "foresee", "believe", and "continue", or the negative of these terms and similar terminology, including references to assumptions. Please note, however, that not all forward-looking information contains these terms and phrases. Forward-looking information is based upon a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Stingray's control. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors identified in Stingray's Annual Information Form (AIF) dated June 16, 2016, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Consequently, all of the forward-looking information contained herein is qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements, and there can be no guarantee that the results or developments that Stingray anticipates will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences or effects on Stingray's business, financial condition or results of operation. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the date hereof, and Stingray does not undertake to update or amend such forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Contacts:

Mathieu Peloquin

Stingray

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications

514-664-1244, ext. 2362

mpeloquin@stingray.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this release.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, has completed its first full calendar quarter with a realigned Canadian organization under the leadership of Deidre Deacon, General Manager. Following Deacon's appointment last fall to the expanded new role, the organizational structure of the Canadian team was realigned to support the implementation of a new growth strategy that expands the company's focus in Canada to new niche markets, deepens its channel partnerships, and includes plans to launch new solution and category products in the coming year. With Deacon at the helm, ViewSonic Canada is currently outpacing industry growth by doubling the large format display (LFD) business in both units and revenue year over year. Last quarter, ViewSonic Canada realized a 15% year-over-year increase in units shipped across all categories and double digit growth over the previous (Q4 2016) quarter.

"Last quarter's results for Canada surpassed the company's expectations and projected market growth in large format and interactive display products," said Jeff Volpe, President for ViewSonic Americas. "Our brand promise has always been about great performance, fantastic value, and world class support. Under Deidre's leadership, and with the support of our talented team and channel partners, we are delivering on this promise. With this year's planned introduction of innovative new products and solutions that deliver a new level of display performance, our Canadian team is optimally positioned to support market demands and will continue to work with our partners to drive significant growth for all parties over the next five years."

As General Manager of ViewSonic Canada, Deacon is the senior executive for the region and oversees all aspects of the business - from charting the future growth of sales, to maintaining and developing the dealer distribution network, to leading overall strategic business planning. She was appointed to this role following a successful 18-year tenure with ViewSonic that included progressive sales and management positions in both Canada and the U.S. Under Deacon's leadership, the realigned Canadian team has delivered its best ever result in the large format display (LFD) category, outpacing overall industry growth.

Double-digit growth forecasted in large format and interactive displays

The demand for ViewSonic's large format and interactive displays has been driven by new trends in resolution, colour performance, and productivity. At the forefront of this product line is the ViewSonic ViewBoard, a line of interactive flat panel display solutions designed to increase engagement and collaboration by allowing users to write, highlight, edit, and transform documents and images on the screen in real time. The products are optimized for collaborative multi-user productivity for both the classroom and the corporate board room. According to PMA Research, the industry analyst firm that specializes in market data for the Display industry, the market for Interactive Flat Panel Displays (FPDs) grew at a rate of 60% in 2016 with expectations for unit growth of up to 50% in 2017. PMA reports that market growth in large format displays was 23% in 2016, with double-digit growth rates forecasted for 2017. PMA Research follows the Projector and Professional Large Flat Panel display markets exclusively, and has long been considered the authoritative source for market information about the display industry.

Calgary, Alberta-based Storm Division - a ViewSonic reseller focused on rapidly evolving website design, marketing, and software solutions - is one example of a channel partner that is successfully integrating a range of ViewSonic's large format and interactive display products into solutions to meet the growing demand of its customers across a range of industries.

According to Nathan MacKenzie, Chief Marketing Officer at Storm Division, "The applications are now so diverse and the screen technology so much more robust and integrated. Demand is rapidly growing for large format display solutions, from small businesses and automotive operations to casinos and commercial properties. Everyone wants that wow factor. As interest broadens, we have a growing number of really creative and unique projects in the pipeline, and it's just the beginning. The applications are endless."

For further news and information about ViewSonic, visit ViewSonic.com and follow on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

About ViewSonic

Founded in California in 1987, ViewSonic is a leading global provider of visual solution products. An innovator and visionary, ViewSonic connects people and business with a portfolio of professional level visual solutions that enhance the way the world computes, collaborates, communicates and connects. Its award-winning line of display solutions include LED monitors, interactive commercial displays, touch displays, projectors, thin clients, zero clients and smart displays, used in business, commercial, home and classroom applications. A trusted business partner, ViewSonic solutions are available through a distribution and dealer channel, online retail, integrated solution providers and its website. ViewSonic is a privately held company with operations in global markets. ViewSonic Canada has dedicated regional and bilingual sales teams across Canada. For more information, visit viewsonic.com or call 1-800-688-6688.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's expectations with regard to future events. Actual events could differ significantly from those anticipated in this document. Trademark footnote: ViewSonic and the ViewSonic trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of ViewSonic Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other corporate names and trademarks stated herein are the property of their respective companies.

Photo Caption: ViewSonic TD2230 22" (21.5" viewable) full HD multi-touch display and EP5520T 10-point interactive 55" all-in-one free-standing digital ePoster kiosks integrated into Storm Kiosks solutions from Storm Division of Calgary, on display at the 2017 Calgary Auto Show. Photo credit: Storm Division

To view the photo associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/StormDivisionKiosks.jpg

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Caroline McGrath

Boulevard Public Relations (for ViewSonic Canada)

416-972-1642

caroline@boulevardpr.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Precipitate Gold Corp. (the "Company" or "Precipitate") (TSX VENTURE: PRG) is pleased to announce additional soil sampling results increasing the concentration of elevated samples within the recently identified gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly at the Ginger Ridge East zone, within the Company's 100% owned Juan de Herrera Project in the Dominican Republic.

Laboratory results from additional samples collected to increase sample density over the full extent of the Company's Ginger Ridge East soil anomaly have refined the scale and strengthened the quality of the anomaly. Following a comprehensive and concentrated recent soil sampling effort (density of 25m by 25m), the most robust portion of the soil anomaly measures 1,000 metres ("m") long by an estimated average width of 100 metres (up to 200m wide locally). The northwest-southeast trending soil anomaly is both consistent and strong, with notably elevated gold, lead and zinc values throughout the surface anomaly; along with intermittent copper values.

This recently identified multi-element soil anomaly is located approximately one kilometre east of the main drill test area at Ginger Ridge and has developed into a high priority drill target for the next phase of drilling. See the accompanying maps or the Company's website for the Ginger Ridge East soil gold + zinc + lead + copper anomaly illustration map.

Current highlight results on the priority "East anomaly" within the Ginger Ridge Zone are as follows:

-- A pronounced multi-element soil anomaly measuring 1,000m by 100m (up to 200m locally) with gold values up to 842 ppb, zinc up to 2,461 ppm, and lead up to 305 ppm; -- The soil anomaly is coincident with important geophysical anomalies frequently associated with gold mineralization in the Tireo Gold Camp region; including a strong magnetic low signature and combined induced polarization ("IP") gradient signatures of resistivity high and moderate chargeability; -- The zone includes a large barite subcrop exposure hosted in Tireo volcanics. Barite is commonly associated with many notable Tireo Gold Camp mineral systems, particularly with volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") systems. -- Early stage geological mapping shows the soil anomaly to be underlain by northwest trending intermediate volcanic rocks with an estimated dip of -45 degrees northeast, which are overlain by andesite-basalt volcanics to the east.

Jeffrey Wilson, Precipitate's President & CEO stated, "Results of the recent and ongoing work at the Ginger Ridge East soil anomaly have elevated the zone to a priority target for the upcoming drill program. The zone's coincidental geochemical and geophysical signatures are in-line with the type of target our exploration efforts seek to delineate. These additional soil sample results confirm the East anomaly as the most significant surface soil geochemical anomaly identified to date at the Project, even stronger than the original Ginger Ridge zone, based on the anomaly's length and consistently high sample values and geophysical signatures. The area is currently undergoing additional detailed sampling, hand trenching, geological mapping and drill access construction, to complete target delineation in advance of drilling."

Soil samples were collected on 25m by 25m grid intervals along northeast oriented grid lines. The multi-element soil anomaly is characterized by a correlation of gold with various pathfinder elements which include arsenic, antimony, silver, lead, and zinc. The gold-zinc-lead-copper in-soil anomalies are defined by values exceeding the 70th percentile (5.1 ppb in the case of gold). To date, gold-in-soil values within the new anomaly area range from nil to 870 ppb. Early geological mapping at the anomalous zone indicates the zone is underlain by intermediate volcanic rocks with a northwest strike and an estimated dip of -45 degrees northeast which are overlain by andesite-basalt volcanics to the east.

The new soil anomaly is on general trend with the recent "Cachimbo" discovery by neighbouring GoldQuest Mining Corp. The Ginger Ridge zone is part of a series of hydrothermal centers that stretch some seven kilometres through to Precipitate's "Southeast" and "Jengibre South" targets, among others along trend. Precipitate crews are working on targets in the southern portion of PRG's Juan de Herrera project and work from these areas will be reported separately as results are received and interpreted.

This news release has been reviewed by Michael Moore P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of Precipitate Gold Corporation, the Qualified Person for the technical information in this news release under NI 43-101 standards.

Rock and soil samples were bagged, sealed and delivered directly to Bureau Veritas ("BV") preparation facility in Maimon Dominican Republic where they were dried, crushed (or sieved in the case of soils) and pulped. Sample pulps were then delivered to BV facilities in Vancouver BC (an ISO 9001 accredited facility) for analyses. Samples were crushed (or sieved) to with up to 80% passing 2mm and split using a riffle splitter (code PRP70-250). An approximate 250 gram sub-sample split was pulverized to minus 200 mesh (74micron). A 15 gram sub-split from the resulting pulp was then subjected to aqua regia digestion and multi-element ICP-MS analysis (code AQ201). Rock sample results with gold greater than 1,000 ppb were subjected to fire assay (ICP-ES finish) analysis (30 g pulp; code FA330-Au).

About Precipitate Gold:

Precipitate Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring and advancing its mineral property interests in the Tireo Gold Trend of the Dominican Republic. The Company also maintains assets in northern British Columbia and southeast Yukon Territory and is actively evaluating additional high-impact property acquisitions with the potential to expand the Company's portfolio and increase shareholder value.

Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.precipitategold.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Precipitate Gold Corp.,

Jeffrey Wilson, President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Precipitate Gold Corp.'s ("Precipitate" or the "Company") current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Company and on assumptions it believes are reasonable. 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 Precipitate to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the exploration concessions may not be granted on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the concessions acquired by the Company may not have attributes similar to those of surrounding properties; delay or failure to receive governmental or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation affecting mining; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. Although Precipitate 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. Precipitate does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Precipitate Gold Corp.

604-558-0335 or Toll Free: 855-558-0335

investor@precipitategold.com

www.precipitategold.com




CAMBRIDGE, England, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- Google Play carrier billing now live through Bango across Smartfren, Indosat and XL

- Bango Platform powering 15 app store activations across top five Indonesian operators

Bango (AIM: BGO), the mobile payments company, is pleased to announce that Smartfren, the leading Indonesian Mobile Network Operator, has used the Bango Payment Platform to launch one-click carrier billing payment for Google Play customers.

Significantly, this launch is the fifteenth app store carrier billing activation through the Bango Platform in Indonesia. Bango has launched multiple Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) routes across each of the 'top five' operators in Indonesia, enabling hundreds of millions of users to fully engage with the leading app stores from Google, Microsoft, BlackBerry and Samsung.

"The relationships Bango has in Indonesia have created a country-wide standard for app store billing," said Ray Anderson, Bango CEO. "Bango's technical and operational experience in the market makes it easy for stores and merchants to launch mobile payments in this large and vibrant economy."

From today, pre- and post-paid customers on the Smartfren network can use carrier billing to pay for the wide variety of Google Play content. Enjoying a frictionless one-click payment powered by Bango, subscribers can pay on their phone bill, without the need to register personal details.

"Smartfren is pleased to launch carrier billing in Google Play, allowing our customers to purchase content by placing the charge on their mobile phone bill. We chose to activate another app store through the Bango Platform as it enabled us to launch Google Play fast and risk free. We believe Bango's solution will provide the best experience for Smartfren as the widest 4G operator in the country," said Revie Sylviana, Senior Vice President of Digital Services at Smartfren.

After China and India, Indonesia is the third largest smartphone market in Asia with over 55 million users, according toeMarketer, 2016. However, only 4 million people in the country have a credit card. Alternative payment methods, such as carrier billing are rapidly becoming the digital content payment method of choice, facilitating unprecedented growth in financial inclusion.

Ray Anderson commented: "Indonesian operators recognize that carrier billing is a mainstream payment method for digital content. Bango has emerged as the app store carrier billing provider of choice in this highly mobile market, taking mobile payments beyond the restricted reach of credits cards and bank accounts. Launching our fifteenth app store carrier billing route in Indonesia is a proud milestone for Bango, further extending our footprint across Asia."

The names of companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

About Bango

Bango is the standard platform chosen by leading global stores to deliver mobile payments to everyone. As the next billion consumers adopt their first smartphone and look for universal payment methods, Bango will be there to unlock the world of apps, video, music, games and other content that brings those smartphones to life. Global stores plugging into the Bango Platform include Amazon, Google, Samsung and Microsoft. Bango also partners with leading payment providers around the world to drive new users and revenues through its industry-leading mobile payment solutions. For more information, visit www.bango.com.
WUZHEN, China, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China's historic water town Wuzhen is hosting the showdown of the year as Google's DeepMind unit AlphaGo challenges the world's No.1 Go player, 19-year-old Chinese player Ke Jie, in a three-game match during the Future of Go Summit from May 23 to 27.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/506745/wuzhen_alphago.jpg

The match is a sequel to AlphaGo's stunning win beating Go legend Lee Se-dol last year. Its showdown with Ke,is being hotly anticipated by Go experts and fans.

"The final showdown between Ke and AlphaGo symbolizes the meeting of tradition and innovation," said Luo Chaoyi, director of China Qi-Yuan of State General Administration of Sports.

While preserving historic relics and innovative modern living environment, Wuzhen has buried underground pipelines while renovate appropriate accommodation facilities in ancient architectures, which combining heritage protection and modern lifestyle perfectly. Hosting the man vs. machine match in Wuzhen is also a dialogue between past and present, classic and modern traditions.

The Future of Go Summit is not the Wuzhen's first encounter with high-tech and innovation. Wuzhen has become the permanent host place of the World Internet Conference since 2014.

Yao Jie, CEO assistant of Wuzhen Tourism Co. Ltd, explained that the entire Wuzhen scenic area has full Wi-Fi coverage, smart technologies have been applied to eco parking lots, mobile payment, credit rental and facial recognition for ticket check-in etc.

"The internet has made Wuzhen a more welcoming destination, it's also bringing transboundary changes to the small water town."

In addition to hosting cyber conventions, Wuzhen is also hosting cultural events including Wuzhen Theatre Festival. More than 100 meetings rooms of all scale and functionand seven theatres throughout the town are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. Guests can also enjoy the acclaimed home-like experience in Wuzhen and customer-centric services.

With 10-year solid experience in MICE, Wuzhen has a diverse cultural makeup and welcoming spirit that connects traditional culture with innovational technology.

About Wuzhen

Just a 1.5-hour drive from Shanghai and one of the top vacation spots in China, Wuzhen is a water town that is praised for its profound cultural heritage and a top meeting and summit destination. In addition to the well-preserved traditional art and landscapes that date back 1,300 years, Wuzhen has hosted more than 10,000 cultural and art exhibitions and events since 2007.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The US Government has made a major change in school meal programs to give schools 'greater flexibility' to avoid students wasting the less appetizing food mandated under the scheme.



The new order replaces an Obama era scheme meant to ensure healthier meals in schools through lower salt, fats and sugar.



U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue Monday signed a proclamation which begins the process of restoring local control of guidelines on whole grains, sodium, and milk.



Signing the proclamation during a visit to Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia to mark School Nutrition Employee Week, Purdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs in order to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students. Perdue was joined by Sen. Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Patricia Montague, CEO of the School Nutrition Association.



Perdue said 'If kids aren't eating the food, and it's ending up in the trash, they aren't getting any nutrition - thus undermining the intent of the program.'



The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said schools are facing increasing fiscal burdens as they attempt to adhere to stringent nutrition requirements. According to USDA figures, school food requirements cost school districts and states an additional $1.22 billion in Fiscal Year 2015. At the same time costs are going up. Most states are reporting that they've seen a decrease in student participation in school lunches, as nation-wide about one million students choose not to have a school lunch each day.



For School Years 2017-2018 through 2020, schools will not be required to meet Sodium Target 2. Instead, schools that meet Sodium Target 1 will be considered compliant.



USDA pledged to provide technical assistance to schools for developing menus that are low in sodium and appealing to students.



Perdue will direct USDA to begin the regulatory process for schools to serve 1 percent flavored milk through the school meals programs. USDA will publish an interim rule to effect the change in milk policy.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- zvelo, the leading provider of categorization and malicious detection data for web pages, devices and traffic, today announced the immediate availability of the Comprehensive Page-Level Traffic (CPT) dataset.

CPT allows advertisers, ad-tech platforms, and suppliers to get thorough visibility into the quality (or lack thereof) of ad impressions, down to a specific web page. This level of detail exceeds higher-level domain-based insight, enabling companies to be much smarter and more accurate with how they budget and execute their digital campaigns. While domain data might provide a cursory overview of a website's traffic trends, the deep-dive granularity of zvelo's page-level dataset offers specificity not yet seen in the industry.

zvelo customers using CPT will place a lightweight JavaScript tag (called the zTag) across all or a subset of targeted web pages or ad creatives. Customers then gain comprehensive classification data and insight into the validity of that specific page's web traffic. With this knowledge, they are armed with data that gives them many options: they can work with suppliers to clean up specific traffic generation efforts, choose to move ad spend away from undesirable pages or domains, or enforce traffic cleanliness standards. The CPT dataset is also designed to easily integrate into the reporting tool of the customer's choosing.

"Digital ad fraud continues to eat away too much of digital advertising budgets," said Cordell BaanHofman, Vice President of Business Development, zvelo. "As problems with non-human and low-quality traffic continue to rise, it is increasingly critical that businesses have accurate, up-to-date data guiding their decisions about where and how to reach desired audiences. zvelo's Comprehensive Page-Level Traffic dataset now provides the deepest level of web traffic quality information available in the market."

CPT is being released following the successful launch of zvelo's free bot detection service, also an industry first. Digital marketing businesses continue to deploy this service to quickly determine which website impressions are invalid, low quality, or non-human. CPT's page-level knowledge can work as a more-actionable complement to businesses already using zvelo's free bot detection capabilities.

"As an early user of zvelo's CPT dataset, we've seen firsthand what this service is capable of," said Clint Ethington, CEO, Genius Monkey. "CPT has provided our programmatic advertising platform with a critical layer of insight at the page level. It has enabled us to stop 130% more ad fraud than the industry-best averages, based on our recently completed 10-month study. zvelo has been extremely responsive to our needs every step of the way, and we look forward to continuing to address brand safety and fraud in the ad tech industry using zvelo's solutions."

Some advertisers will choose to pair CPT with zvelo's Invalid Traffic (IVT) dataset. IVT delivers a continuously updated stream of IPs detected as bot and non-human traffic. This allows customers the ability to block inventory originating at the bidder level.

zvelo's CPT dataset is priced through a monthly flat fee and variable CPM, based on usage.

About zvelo, Inc.

As a leading provider of content categorization and malicious detection data for webpages, devices and traffic, zvelo is the trusted partner for the market's preeminent ad tech, network security, and mobile service provider/subscriber analytics vendors. zvelo solves a diverse range of client business needs including providing the foundational datasets for web filtering, parental controls, brand safety, contextual targeting, subscriber analytics, and ad fraud prevention.

zvelo, headquartered just outside of Denver, is committed to providing the market's highest quality data products and best responsiveness. The company has additional offices in the Philippines and Florida.

To receive more information about this topic, or schedule an interview, email: pr@zvelo.com.
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- ProBility Media Corp. (OTCQB: PBYA), an education technology (EdTech) company building the first full-service training and career advancement brand for the skilled trades, today announces that its publishing arm, Brown Technical Publications, has achieved an industry first with the release of its 2017 electrician training materials series for both journeyman and master's electrician exam preparation programs.

"We are the first publisher to release both a journeyman and master's related course individualized to over 38 states," stated Noah Davis, President and COO at ProBility. "Brown Technical Publications now publishes and distributes over 180 titles in seven different trade categories including electrical, pipe fitting, sheet metal, instrumentation, crane, rigging and HVAC. Distribution and sales of our published materials have grown by over 50 percent each quarter since inception of our publishing arm, and we will be releasing additional materials for a larger selection of industries."

Available at www.BrownPublications.com, the new releases include:

2017 Master Electricians Exam Questions and Study Guide

2017 Journeyman Electricians Exam Questions and Study Guide

2017 Practical Calculations for Electricians

About ProBility Media Corp.

ProBility Media Corp. is an EdTech company building the first full-service training and career advancement brand for the skilled trades. Through its divisions Brown Technical Media Corp., Brown Technical Publications Inc., Brown Book Shop, Inc., National Electrical Wholesale Providers, One Exam Prep, LLC, and its partnership with Globalsim Inc., ProBility is executing a disruptive strategy of defragmenting the skilled trades training market place by offering high quality training courses and materials and preparing the workforce for excellence. ProBility services customers from the tradesman to the small business to the enterprise level corporation.

For more information, visit http://www.ProBilityMedia.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information included in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements.

Company Contact:

Evan Levine

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Noah Davis

President and Chief Operating Officer

713.652.3937



Communications Contact:

NetworkNewsWire (NNW)

New York, New York

www.NetworkNewsWire.com

212.418.1217 Office

Email Contact




SANTA MONICA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- MomentFeed, the leader in mobile customer experience management for multi-location brands, announced today that the company has added a new native ad platform to its Paid Media Manager software solution, and made it generally available to all ad agencies and multi-locations brands. MomentFeed's Paid Media Manager (PMM) software, part of the company's flagship Mobile Customer Experience Management (MCX) Platform, enables brands with dozens to thousands of stores, restaurants, showrooms or branches to manage native ad campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat in a local and authentic way directly to the community that surrounds each one of their locations.

MomentFeed, which was recently named a Snapchat Partner to help multi-location brands -- including retailers, restaurant chains, banks, and franchised businesses -- execute targeted, local Snap Ads and Geofilters, has now earned certified advertising partner designations from both Snapchat and Facebook.

The Paid Media Manager product uniquely enables distributed native digital ad management for franchised companies. The platform delivers more ROI and higher engagement rates because of its location-focused targeting and personalization capabilities. Additionally, ad budgets can be allocated to every franchise operator, and community-focused ad campaigns can be initiated from every location, while the corporate marketing team retains creative control of ad creatives and has a complete view of results across every store -- and ad network -- from headquarters. Larger brands can enable one or more regional ad agencies to launch coordinated campaigns that are specifically targeted to drive in-store conversions, and measure the results.

With controls and workflow for budgeting and approvals, and shared content libraries for campaign consistency and brand compliance, MomentFeed empowers distributed organizations to monitor and manage marketing and ad efforts across the organization, across networks, and across agencies.

"With Paid Media Manager, we're hitting a sweet spot when it comes to mobile advertising technology. We know advertising agencies are looking for every advantage for their clients, and we can now provide them with integrated mobile and social campaigns for the multi-location brands they work with," said Robert Blatt, CEO of MomentFeed. "MomentFeed now brings together the networks with the biggest audiences for mobile advertising, and we're now the only solution out there for these brands to help increase engagement, click through rates and ad effectiveness. We're helping these companies create targeted and localized ads for clients that are 50-100% more effective when leveraging Facebook, Instagram and now Snapchat."

Mobile ad campaigns can be created on the MomentFeed MCX platform through a self-service SaaS application or delivered as fully-managed turnkey campaigns. The company sells Paid Media Manager as both an annual subscription or as individual short-term campaigns, depending on agency or client preference. When sold as part of an ongoing program, brands and their agencies can run ads on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram as needed for any store or group of stores.

MomentFeed will continue to help clients ensure their physical business locations are accurately represented wherever they live across the internet. That location data management solution is the foundation of creating effective Snapchat Geofilter campaigns, ensuring filters only appear where they should -- and tying the digital world to real world stores, malls and buildings.

About MomentFeed

MomentFeed's mobile customer experience management software enables multi-location brands to make their nearest location the best choice for every mobile customer. The modular platform helps distributed organizations engage with consumers across social media networks at the store or neighborhood level, creating a mobile customer experience that is more and relevant for local consumers and directly drives in-store sales.

With a consistent customer experience across mobile search, social media, mobile advertising and customer care, the platform helps continuously and predictably capture more sales for retailers, restaurant chains, banks, auto dealers, insurance companies and other franchised and corporate-owned multi-location businesses. MomentFeed was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. For more information visit https://momentfeed.com.

Contact:

Chad Torbin

Speakeasy Strategies on behalf of MomentFeed

415.548.6536

Email Contact




ANNAPOLIS, MD -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 --Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc. (OTC PINK: SWET) (the "Company"), the innovator and creator behind the Solar Wind Downdraft Tower structures capable of producing abundant, inexpensive electricity to meet the world's increasing demand, announced today the following business update.

The Company has received an equity infusion of $220,000 from eleven existing shareholders. Engineering and Tower/ Tunnel modeling by our expert consultants continues on a daily basis as we decide on the final height of the Tower and the number and length of the tunnels. Any reduction in the height/number of tunnels/length of tunnels can significantly lower the total cost of the project.

The Company owns proprietary software programs it developed to compute the output data of the Tower but it takes time to evaluate any changes. For example: data points in the 2,250' tall Tower that ranges up to 1,500' in diameter are located every 2 meters apart vertically and 4 meters apart horizontally. A full tower analysis runs over 150,000 iterations. That translates into nearly 100 hours of non-stop computing on the dedicated computer. As we near the final design it is imperative that the conclusions reached will be verifiable to support the due diligence that will be required to close financing for the project.

The potential licensee for our Tower solution in Kenya, Africa is aggressively pursuing his project. The Company is now in contact with them several times a week. In order for the Kenya Tower Project to move forward with Company support it will be necessary for the developer to execute a definitive agreement for a Kenya license and pay the Company a license fee. Our business model includes a one-time license fee for a territory (in this case Kenya), development fees for support during construction, and an annual royalty fee for 20-25 years based on the number of kilowatt hours produced.

On March 27 we announced that SWET had established a new company, Solar RePurposing Systems LLC, to pursue using our downdraft Tower energy solution to retrofit existing abandoned smoke stacks and that an industry consultant had been engaged to direct us into the market. At this time we can report that initial discussions have been received very positively and we are pursuing meetings regarding a targeted site for a potential first project.

The Company prepared the three 10Q's due for 2016 and submitted them to our auditors two weeks ago for review. The company plans to file each 10Q as soon as the auditor completes its review.

About Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc.

Founded in 2010, Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc., and its wholly owned commercializing subsidiary, Solar Wind Energy, Inc., is the inventor of the patented Solar Wind Downdraft Tower, which uses state of the art technologies and construction systems to produce abundant, inexpensive electricity, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Company's core objective and focus is to become a leading enabler of clean, efficient renewable energy to world communities, at a reasonable cost, without the destructive residuals of fossil fuels, while continuing to generate innovative technological solutions to meet tomorrow's electrical power needs.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.solarwindenergytower.com, and https://www.facebook.com/solarwindenergytower and https://twitter.com/SWETower and https://www.arizonagreenpower.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development, market demand and the Company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate revenues, if any, due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues in the sponsoring client. Further information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results, can be found in the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Contact:

Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc.

Phone: 410-972-4713

E-mail: info@SWETower.com




Kerrville, TX (78028)

Today

A shower or two possible this morning with partly cloudy skies for the afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 63F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- In conjunction with its plans to scale corporate operations, ORHub, Inc. (OTC: ORHB), a cloud-based health care SaaS company focused on transforming the business of surgery, today announces the appointment of Dr. Cyrus Olsen, Ph.D. as the Company's new chief operating officer.

As previously announced, ORHub has successfully monitored and collected valuable data from more than 500 surgery cases, an achievement that positions the Company to scale its operations. In light of this anticipated growth, ORHub has hired Dr. Olsen. Dr. Olsen has been in an advisory role since the inception of ORHub, and he has worked extensively with Microsoft and other health care organizations. As an expert in linking strategy to execution, Dr. Olsen brings over 25 years of experience in IT, operations, organizational infrastructure, marketing and finance to ORHub as it prepares to scale out its platform. A 1991 graduate of Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management's Ph.D. program under Stephen Shortell [former A.C. Buehler Distinguished Professor of Health Services Management], Dr. Olsen has helped Fortune 500 and smaller companies link strategic thinking and planning to execution at both a conceptual and implementation level, utilizing IT infrastructure and cloud computing as strategic tools.

A veteran of building business IT solutions, SaaS, PaaS and IaaS cloud infrastructures, Dr. Olsen's background includes six years as an OR and ER tech, designing value-based ER strategies for HMA health care group, and restructuring the support and network infrastructure of an SaaS patient referral and scheduling company. He worked with Microsoft in its Amalga team as an external consultant and has deep experience in building analytic BI platforms for companies like Microsoft and Juniper Networks, supporting internal business operations. Dr. Olsen brings experience in health care, process engineering, time-driven activity-based cost [TDABC] modeling, analytics, and organizational infrastructure implementation to drive scaling out ORHub's organization in support of deployment roadmaps.

"Dr. Olsen will be responsible for creating the execution roadmap and scaling the organization. His expertise in building software platforms and organizational services will add significant depth to the company and position us for execution excellence as we scale out. His past work with CTO Wesley Mitchell, and his early participation in ORHub, make the timing right for us to have him join us full time. The integration of technical vision with execution, and organizational vision, analytics, and execution is a real force multiplier for us," says ORHub CEO Colt Melby.

Dr. Olsen has worked across a diverse line of industries that includes health care, software, aerospace, telecommunications and manufacturing. He began his business career in industrial engineering and completed a doctorate in organizational behavior. During his doctoral work, he was actively working with neural networks and AI design in support of decision making. He also taught strategy and information systems at the university level for both graduate and undergraduate programs before starting his own IT infrastructure company. That entity was acquired and resold in the late 1990s after building early personalization and predictive choice prototypes for web services. Since that time, Dr. Olsen has led global business and IT projects, consulted on cloud service infrastructures, built analytics platforms, and linked strategy to execution as a technical business focus for decision making.

"ORHub has done a tremendous job of identifying the data flows as a service chain across departments for perioperative suites and hospital value creation. This concept of data chaining provides analytics that are currently unavailable to hospitals. With the increasing numbers of surgeries we are now seeing, we can create the data sets to condition our analytics. The business value for decision making and implementation is that ORHub is a lightweight data control plane that fits seamlessly into existing hospital environments, is easy to deploy, is HIPAA compliant, and provides a very fast ROI for our customers. I am excited to be a part of an effort to address the business and service needs of the health care industry," says Dr. Olsen.

About ORHub, Inc.

ORHub is a cloud-based software platform focused on delivering value-based medicine in surgical care. The company enables all parties involved in surgical care to work together to organize, deliver, measure and reimburse in a single uniform process. This allows for significant decreases in cost and improvement in outcomes by eliminating non value-added activities, duplication of effort, and errors and omissions that result from siloed processes and poor handoffs from one part of the care process to another.

The need for ORHub is clear. Health care comprises more than 17% of US GDP at over $3 trillion per year. With costs rising every year due to an aging population and more expensive treatments, providers are under severe pressure to become more efficient and reduce costs from payers who are aggressively reducing reimbursements and finally moving away from fee-for-service and toward performance-based reimbursement. ORHub enables providers to thrive in this new environment by addressing the single largest segment of health care, which is surgical care. ORHub overlays numerous legacy systems with a 360 degree system that is a lightweight data network focused on tracking cost from diagnosis to discharge centered on treating a patient for a specific condition. ORHub has offices in Phoenix, Arizona; Newport Beach, California; and Bellevue, Washington.

For more information, visit www.orhub.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurances that its expectations will be attained. Such statements are inherently uncertain, and actual results and activities may differ materially from those estimated or projected. Certain factors that can affect the Company's ability to achieve its anticipated results include, among others, uncertainties inherent in the development of a new software product business.

Communications Contact:

NetworkNewsWire (NNW)

New York, New York

www.NetworkNewsWire.com

212.418.1217 Office

Email Contact




FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- VPR Brands, LP's (OTC PINK: VPRB) HONEYSTICK brand is available through www.VaporNation.com, one of the leading Vapor distributors for Vapor products in the industry. Since 2008 they have been your online vaporizer superstore and are among the industry pioneers who make the largest names in vapes affordable. Vapor Nation has a large presence in both the wholesale and retail arena and attends most major vaporizer trade events.

"The team at Vapor Nation has to be one of my favorites to work within the vape industry because they are so passionate about vaporizers. They have a large depth of knowledge across dry herb and concentrates vape categories and the brands for which they have exclusives to just speaks volumes about their company. It is great that they have adopted HONEYSTICK in their elite portfolio of products and I look forward to growing with them," says Dan Hoff, COO of VPR Brands.

"Vapor Nation is a great distribution partner and working with their team is always a pleasure. We are glad they love our Honey Stick line as much as we love it, or more...if that's possible," said Kevin Frija, CEO of VPR Brands. "We will continue aligning ourselves with the best resellers in the industry to grow our distribution while maintaining brand integrity."

ITEMS AVAILABLE

Honey Stick Highbrid Tank: One of the most innovative and powerful concentrates atomizers on the market. With toothpick sized dual quartz coils and deep dish ceramic bowl this unit heats up powerfully, quickly and without sacrifice to taste.

Honey Stick Stinger Kit: Sleek, Stealth, Smooth, and flavorful the Stinger Kit is the setup to allow the flavor chasing concentrates connoisseur to enjoy their Vaping experience on the go. Fully ceramic with 3 different temperature settings this unit is one of our most popular vape kits sold.

Honey Stick Bee Keeper Kit: There is no better place to keep a prefilled tank than in the Honey Stick Bee-Keeper. This unit allows a standard prefilled tank to come alive with its smart battery and magnetic adapter. With 20 Watts of power, full tank concealment and magnetic adapter, this unit is not only powerful but easy to use.

Honey Stick Rip & Ditch Dab Disposable: Dab it, Rip it, Ditch it is the motto of this unit making it the only push button dab disposable with a ceramic bowl and quartz rod. It is perfect for dispensaries in tourist areas as it is a throwaway unit and non-rechargeable. But this little honey bee has major stinging power and provides hits like units 5 times its size.

Honey Stick Oz Ohm Dry Herb Vape Tank: This ceramic deep dish bowl is perfect for Dry Herb as well as Crystals, this unit heats up quickly and attaches to any 510 thread mod battery and can run up to 27 Watts. Maximize taste and efficiency with this beast.

Honey Stick Sub ohm oil Kit: The original kit that brought sub ohm power to oils and concentrates. Created as the unit that brought more to a standardized industry, it started the trend for higher demand in vaping of oils. Fully functioning 36W kit allows one to enjoy the finer things through this trendsetting kit. This unit just finished 2nd place in the High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal.

Honey Stick Sub Ohm (ceramic) Oil Tank Set: The tank that powers the sub-ohm kit is compatible with most mod batteries that are 510 threads, allows you to adapt the ultimate vaping experience to your oils.

About Honey Stick:

Honey Stick is a lifestyle brand that combines the features of high tech, high performance, dependability, and affordability when it comes to upper tier vaporizers. From being the first to market in creating a Sub Ohm Vaporizer to the latest Rippo, the honey stick team works with a vast network of growers, extractors, and industry figures to bring the needs of patients and recreational users to life. Honey Stick sells online and through a diverse network of distributors, e-tailers, dispensaries and smoke shops. For more information about VPR Brands, please visit the company on the web at http://www.vapehoneystick.com.

About VaporNation:

Located in Southern California, VaporNation was formed in 2008 with the simple goal of providing customers with the very best vaporizers at a reasonable cost. We are the master or exclusive distributor for most brand name vaporizers, which enables us to take advantage of significant discounts on large quantity purchases. We then pass these savings onto our customers by providing the lowest prices -- guaranteed! We provide the very best customer service by offering 24/7 Live Chat assistance and helpful telephone support. This ensures that our customers have immediate access to our "Vapor Experts" who can answer questions and provide guidance for each vaporizer purchase. We offer Free Shipping on ANY order within the United States. International destinations normally do not qualify for our free shipping offer (but it doesn't hurt to ask!) VaporNation is an authorized retailer for every product we sell. That means you'll receive the full warranty when you purchase products from our website. Since we buy our units directly from the manufacturer, you can also be assured that you'll also receive the actual product that is being advertised (OEM) -- no knock-offs.

About VPR Brands LP:

VPR Brands is a technology company; whose assets include issued U.S. and Chinese patents for atomization related products including technology for medical marijuana vaporizers and electronic cigarette products and components. The company is also engaged in product development for the vapor or vaping market, including e-liquids, vaporizers and electronic cigarettes (also known as e-cigarettes) which are devices which deliver nicotine and or cannabis through atomization or vaping, and without smoke and other chemical constituents typically found in traditional products. For more information about VPR Brands, please visit the company on the web at www.vprbrands.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions, and other factors discussed from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to 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.

Contact Information:

VPR Brands, LP

Kevin Frija

CEO

(954) 715-7001

info@vprbrands.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- DAREarts today announced that it will honour Canadian artist Gord Downie with a Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award at the DAREarts Leadership Awards gala on Thursday, May 4, 2017 at The Carlu. In Gord's absence, the award will be received by his brother, Mike Downie, Producer, Director, Writer and Co-Founder of The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund.

The gala will also feature a Downie Wenjack Legacy Room for all guests to visit, which will display artwork, music videos, photography and videography by Indigenous youths from Ogoki Post (Marten Falls) FN, Webequie FN, Attawapiskat FN, Tuktoyaktuk, Vancouver and Sipeknekatik FN who have participated in DAREarts programs.

The Downie Wenjack Legacy Room is a space where people have the opportunity to learn the story of Chanie Wenjack, the history he represents, and be inspired to act in the name of reconciliation. Chanie Wenjack was 12 years old when he died, fleeing a residential school. By inviting others to set up their own Downie Wenjack Legacy Room, the goal is to continue the conversation that Chanie's story begins about residential schools, and help the healing process through a combination of awareness, education and action.

"DAREarts is pleased to honour Gord Downie for his work in raising awareness for reconciliation for our Indigenous people," said DAREarts Founder & President Marilyn Field. "The Downie Wenjack Fund and DAREarts share similar values and goals of working towards reconciliation in Canada and bridging the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous cultures. This is an opportunity for all Canadians to answer Gord's call to action: to engage in Indigenous and cross-cultural education that will heal our country and inspire change. Let's all 'do something.'"

In addition to this presentation, Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, will receive the 2017 DAREarts Cultural Award and six youths will receive DAREarts Leadership Awards.

The gala will be cohosted by Piya Chattopadhyay, host of CBC Radio's Out in the Open and Jeanne Beker CM, Canadian TV personality, author and newspaper columnist. There will be a sit-down dinner, live and silent auctions, art, drama, dance and music that reflect Canada's identity in our 150th year. Guests will enjoy a display of Stratford Festival costumes and props, and a sneak peek of DAREarts "Spirit Bear" project, celebrating Mr. Cimolino's Cultural Award and the Stratford Festival's expanded collaboration with DAREarts. Creating with children in four remote First Nations of Marten Falls (Ogoki Post), Webequie, Attawapiskat and Neskantaga, that program will culminate at the Stratford Festival's Indigenous production of The Breathing Hole, where the youths' artwork will be displayed.

Since 2007, DAREarts has been empowering Indigenous children to create long-term solutions to overcome isolation, suicide and substance abuse and to improve engagement, education and employment skills. In their DAREarts workshops, the children create using all the arts and their traditional culture. This has resulted in increased school attendance and decreased substance abuse and suicide.

DAREarts is grateful to its National Presenting Supporter, Northbridge Insurance and its Lead Supporters: Scotiabank, TD, Anne Livingston and The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Gold supporters are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Guy Carpenter and Noront Resources.

We appreciate In-kind donations from Air Creebec, The Carlu, Freeman Audio Visual, daCunha Voyages, Seneca College, Stock Transportation as well as Auction donors. Media supporters are Classical 96.3 FM, Globe and Mail and JazzFM91.1.

For more information visit: www.darearts.com

ABOUT DAREARTS

DAREarts is a Canadian charity that empowers at-risk children with the confidence and courage to be leaders, using the arts. When children apply the DAREarts values of Discipline, Action, Responsibility and Excellence, they take charge of their lives and become leaders who ignite positive change in our marginalized communities. For 21 years, DAREarts has delivered out-of-school, arts leadership programs to over 210,000 children from grades 4 to 12. In Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Nova Scotia, DAREarts delegates participate in real-world workshops in art, architecture, dance, drama, fashion, literature, music and leadership. They then peer-teach their classmates. As well, DAREarts answers invitations from Indigenous communities to deliver arts programming that aligns with their culture, providing the Indigenous children with creative learning opportunities and hope for their future. Since its inception in 1996, DAREarts has helped to break the vicious cycle of poverty, bullying, depression, isolation and marginalization for Canadian children that too often cripples their success.

For more information on DAREarts programs go to: www.darearts.com

ABOUT THE DOWNIE WENJACK FUND

The Downie Wenjack Fund is Gord Downie's legacy towards reconciliation in Canada. The goal of the fund is to continue the conversation that begins with residential schools, and to help the healing process through a combination of awareness and education.

For more information about The Downie Wenjack Fund email: legacyrooms@downiewenjack.ca

To view the image accompanying this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170502-DAREartsCulturalAward.jpg

Contacts:

Vince J. Ciarlo

Ciarlo Communications

416-763-3783

Cell: 416-458-5090

vciarlo@ciarlo.ca



Matthew Hague

416-456-4396

matthew.hague@gmail.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Midland Exploration Inc. ("Midland") (TSX VENTURE: MD) is pleased to announce the execution of an option agreement with IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD") for its Heva gold property. This property is currently wholly owned by Midland and is located near the prolific Cadillac Break, about 5 kilometres northwest of the Canadian Malartic gold mine, jointly held by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Yamana Gold Inc., where as of December 31, 2016 proven reserves are estimated at 51.12 million tonnes grading 0.95 g/t Au (1.57 Moz Au) and probable reserves at 152.55 million tonnes grading 1.13 g/t Au (5.53 Moz Au), for a total of 7.1 Moz Au. The Heva project consists of two claim blocks, Heva West and Heva East, totalling 33 claims and covering a surface area of more than 1,400 hectares.

IAMGOLD may earn 50% interest in the Heva property over a period of four and a half years in consideration of the following:

-- Cash payments totalling $500,000, including $50,000 upon signing; and -- Exploration expenditures totalling $4,000,000, including $500,000 during the first year.

Upon exercising this first option to earn 50% interest, IAMGOLD may increase its interest to 60% (Second Option) over a period of two years, in consideration of the following:

-- Exploration expenditures totalling $500,000 for each additional 1% interest, to a maximum interest of 60%.

Upon exercising this second option to earn 60% interest, IAMGOLD may further increase its interest to 65% (Third Option) over a period of two years, in consideration of the following:

-- Exploration expenditures totalling $1,000,000 for each additional 1% interest, to a maximum interest of 65%.

Soil geochemistry surveys, trenching and prospecting were conducted in 2016 and led to the discovery of new auriferous quartz veining systems grading up to 19.9 g/t Au, 6.5 g/t Au, 5.4 g/t Au, 3.5 g/t Au and 2.7 g/t Au (see press release by Midland dated July 5, 2016). Following a channel sampling program carried out on these new gold-bearing veins in August, best results were obtained from a channel sample showing visible gold in vein #100W40, which graded 24.1 g/t Au over 0.50 metre (see press release by Midland dated September 14, 2016) (Note that true thicknesses are unknown and cannot be determined at this time with the information available). In addition, a grab sample collected about 5 metres west of the channel sample returned a gold value of 38.5 g/t Au. Further trenching and prospecting work carried out in the fall led to the discovery of several new high-grade gold showings, with grab samples yielding gold values of 41.0 g/t Au and 9.2 g/t Au (East area) and 13.9 g/t Au and 8.0 g/t Au (Central area) (see press release by Midland dated December 20, 2016) (Note that gold values from grab samples may not be representative of the mineralized zones).

Midland is proud to join forces once more with a solid mining company such as IAMGOLD. The project manager, IAMGOLD, will launch a major exploration program in the coming weeks.

About Midland

Midland targets the excellent mineral potential of Quebec to make the discovery of new world-class deposits of gold, platinum group elements, base metals and rare earth elements. Midland is proud to count on reputable partners such as IAMGOLD Corporation, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Teck Resources Limited, SOQUEM INC., Osisko Mining Inc., Altius Minerals Corp., Japan Oil and Gas and Metals National Corporation and Abcourt Mines Inc. Midland prefers to work in partnership and intends to quickly conclude additional agreements in regard to newly acquired properties. Management is currently reviewing other opportunities and projects to build up the Company portfolio and generate shareholder value.

This press release was prepared by Mario Masson, VP Exploration for Midland, certified geologist and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. For further information, please consult Midland's website: www.explorationmidland.com.

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.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in Midland's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Midland from time to time with securities regulatory authorities.

Contacts:

Midland Exploration Inc.

Gino Roger

President and Chief Executive Officer

450 420-5977

450 420-5978 (FAX)

info@midlandexploration.com

www.explorationmidland.com




SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Certive Solutions Inc. (OTCQB: CTVEF)(CSE: CBP) - ("Certive" or the "Company"), announces that effective April 28, 2017, it intends to divest itself of the assets purchased from Titan Health Management Solutions, Inc., that have been operated in the Titan Division. The founding principals of Titan Health Management Solutions, Inc. have agreed to reacquire the Titan Division's assets from the Company. It is the intention of the parties to enter into a binding divestiture and reacquisition settlement agreement on or before May 31, 2017. The Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement executed on July 3, 2014 provides for the necessary process to accomplish the transaction. Certain pre-qualifying conditions must be achieved before the transaction can become effective. Those conditions include creditor and regulatory approval and an independent valuation of the assets being sold.

On December 1, 2016, the Company issued a press release updating corporate affairs and referred to the growth in the Titan division. During the month of February, several significant and material events occurred which have caused management and the Board of Directors of Certive to reflect on the appropriateness of making additional investment in the Titan division, notwithstanding its growth and recently improved financial results. The factors considered include Titan's reliance on a few customers, lower margins on expected new business, duplication of services that can be provided by either Omega Technology Solutions LLC (the "Omega division") or other service provider partners, and additional significant cash investment that will be needed to on-board expected new customers.

While January operating results for both the Titan and Omega divisions, as reported, were very encouraging, it has been decided that the Company's deployment of capital resources needs to be focused on its most accretive division, the Omega division. The Omega division is now onboarding the previously announced large contract with a midwestern hospital system estimated at $21 million in revenue to the Omega division over five years. Regional market development has also continued aggressively with the Omega division. Focusing on the most accretive sources of revenue has become Certive management's primary objective and therefore any additional investment into Titan was deemed to be a financial expense that the Company could not afford to take at this time.

Recognizing Certive's need to expend capital on its most accretive offerings possible and thus attain positive cash flow in the near term, it was mutually determined by both the Company and the Titan principals that they would be better served by Titan reacquiring the assets originally transferred to Certive in July 2014.

It is Certive management's opinion that there has been no appreciable increase in the asset value of the Titan customer relationships since the date of the original acquistion. This opinion will is expected to be confirmed by way of independent valuation. The terms of the transaction will be disclosed when the final settlement agreement is resolved.

Subsequent to closing the divestiture and reacquisition agreement, it is contemplated that the Company may enter into a sales and marketing agreement with Titan, thus continuing to offer the Titan brand of zero balance service offerings to Certive customers. This relationship is not expected to be exclusive; the Company will also offer these services using the resources of its Omega division and other outsourced third party providers. Management believes that the use of the Omega division and other revenue cycle partners can enhance the profitability of zero balance business in certain selected situations. This is particularly anticipated in audit and collection activities.

Van Potter, CEO of Certive, noted that "Often times in business, the best possible outcome is to fully understand and respect the goals and objectives of any relationship. Our goals are to seek continuous improvement, focusing on those activities which will increase shareholder value rapidly. We have an Advisory Council and an experienced Board of Directors, each of which have offered a great deal of support and advice with respect to this decision. Although Certive would clearly embrace a continuation of the relationship with the Titan principals, it became obvious that splitting our capital resources between the Titan division and the Omega division was incongruent with our need to focus on the highly accretive Charge Accuracy Audit services (Lost Charge Recovery). We look forward to working together with Titan on projects in the future."

About Certive Solutions Inc.

Certive Solutions Inc. (Scottsdale, Arizona) provides revenue cycle management solutions to the U.S. healthcare market. Certive's claim audit and recovery services, billing services, and software solutions help providers work with payers to efficiently manage the reimbursement process and improve financial performance. Certive's highly skilled and experienced management team, combined with proprietary workflow and analytics, audit and identify, and bill and collect, underpayments in accordance with contractual obligations between the public or commercial insurance carrier and the designated provider. The healthcare market is changing. Certive works with clients to provide efficient and effective solutions aligned with reform initiatives to improve healthcare and reduce costs.

FORWARD-LOOKING AND OTHER STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect our expectations and assumptions regarding our growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect our current beliefs and are based on information currently available to us. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results, including those in respect of the foregoing items, to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward looking statements.

Factors that could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

the ability of the Company and Titan to enter into a settlement agreement on mutually satisfactory terms and to complete the reacquisition of Titan assets;

-- the effect of continuing operating losses on our ability to obtain, on satisfactory terms, or at all, the capital required to remain a going concern; -- the ability to obtain sufficient and suitable financing to support operations, development and commercialization of our services; -- the risks associated with the development of our technology; -- the risks associated with the increase in operating costs from additional development costs and increased staff; -- the timing and nature of feedback from customers; and -- our ability to successfully compete in our targeted markets.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on what we consider to be reasonable assumptions based on information currently available to us, there can be no assurance that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and our assumptions may prove to be incorrect. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements made in this press release are made as of the date of the original document and have not been updated by us except as expressly provided for in this press release. As required by securities legislation applicable to reporting issuers, it is our policy to update, from time to time, forward-looking information in our periodic management discussions and analyses and provide updates on our activities to the public through the filing and dissemination of news releases and material change reports.

Contacts:

Certive Solutions Inc.

Brian Cameron

Chief Financial Officer

480-922-5327

bcameron@certive.com

www.certive.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- OK2 Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: OK) (the "Company" or "OK2") is pleased to announce it has signed contracts with two drilling contractors for the upcoming 2017 field season at its 100% owned Pyramid copper-gold project, located north of Dease Lake, at the northern tip of B. C's "Golden Triangle".

Pyramid is an early-stage exploration project, with excellent porphyry copper-gold potential, located in the renowned and productive Quesnellia Terrane in Northwest B.C. Nearby projects include the Red Chris Cu-Au Mine and Galore Creek Cu-Au deposit. The project was staked in 2013 and the Company has undertaken a number of exploration programs over the past four years including detailed geological mapping, soil and rock sampling, ground geophysics, airborne geophysics, and most recently, initial reconnaissance reverse circulation ("RC") drilling. Additional claims were added in 2016 to encompass new discoveries and the land package at the project is now quite large and totals 186 km2.

During the upcoming field season, OK2 intends to complete the reconnaissance RC drilling program started last fall. Contractor Northspan Exploration out of Kelowna will complete approximately 3,500 meters of drilling in a number of holes in the West, Central and East Zones to compliment the 665 meters drilled last fall in the West Zone prior to the program being halted due to inclement weather. Crews will mobilize to the site in mid-May to commence this program.

Results from the RC program will be used to target deeper diamond core holes which will be drilled later this summer. Contractor Omineca Drilling of Burns Lake has been retained to do an initial diamond core program of up to 2,000 meters commencing in early-August.

Highlights from previous News Releases dated October 21, 2014, September 1, 2015 and January 12, 2017 are presented below:

About the Pyramid West Zone

-- Includes a 3.7 km2 gold (22.5 ppb) and copper (250 ppm) soil anomaly which, covers much of the zone with individual soil values as high as 4.2 g/t Au and 0.3% Cu; -- Rock sampling has returned values up to 4.4 g/t Au and 0.44% Cu; -- 2014 IP survey outlined a large, buried chargeability anomaly flanked by resistivity lows; the classical geophysical signature for a buried porphyry system; -- In 2016, all 5 RC drill holes intersected mineralized intrusives and all intervals returned anomalous copper values with associated elevated gold values.

About the Pyramid East Zone

-- A 3.7 km2 area within which disseminated mineralization occurs with values of up to 0.90% Cu and 1.1 g/t Au; -- Fieldwork returned values as high as 4.6 g/t Au and 11.5 g/t Ag and 0.31% Cu, and 3.52 g/t Au, 7.87 g/t Ag, and 1.73% Cu, both in altered intrusives; -- Considered a high-priority Cu/Au target, that has never seen any drilling exploration.

About the Pyramid Central Zone

-- 2014 IP survey outlined a large, buried IP high chargeability anomaly flanked by a resistivity lows and copper soil anomalies, the classic geophysical/geochemical signature for a buried porphyry.

Mike Devji, CEO states: "We are all very excited to have secured our contractors, enabling us to begin our drilling program later this month. We have spent four years and more than $3 million on the ground, as we conduct systematic exploration programs on this project that had never been explored until the Company acquired it in 2013. Each program has continued to increase our confidence in the Pyramid which shows many classic early-exploration signatures consistent with some of the largest producing copper mines in British Columbia. Given the results thus far and the fact that the Pyramid is in a very exciting mining district, we are looking forward to the upcoming field season."

ABOUT OK2 Minerals Ltd.

OK2 Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based junior exploration company comprised of highly qualified mining professionals with two very prospective copper-gold exploration projects, the Pyramid Project and the Kinskuch Project, both located in northwestern British Columbia on or within the "Golden Triangle".

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF OK2 MINERALS LTD.

Minaz Devji, CEO and Director

This news release was prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for its content. George Cavey P.Geo, Director, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this release.

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:

OK2 Minerals

Mike Devji

(604) 258-8666

mike.devji@ok2minerals.com



Investor Relations

Kin Communications

1-866-684-6730 (toll-free)

ok@kincommunications.com




The U.S. utility sites the falling cost of utility-scale solar for the expanded role, and the large majority of solar plants will be located in North Carolina. As a large power company in the South of the United States with major investments in natural gas and nuclear generation, Dominion is not a name that has been associated much with solar. However, utility subsidiary Dominion Virginia Power took a major step into solar technology with the release of its latest long-term plan yesterday. According to the utility's 2017 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), Dominion Virginia Power plans to sign contracts with at least 990 MW of utility-scale solar projects owned by third parties over the next five years, if given approval by state regulators. This is all the more remarkable given the limited amount of solar in Dominion's service area. The utility claims only 8 MW of solar under construction, and GTM Research put Virginia 20th among states by installed capacity at the end of 2016. However, this may already be changing. In 2015 the company made a commitment to develop 400 MW of solar in Virginia by 2020, and the 990 MW will add to this, as the utility plans for 950 MW of this solar to be located in North Carolina. The reason ...

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.
HENDERSON, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- mCig, Inc. (OTCQB: MCIG), a leading distributor of innovative products, technologies and services for the global medical cannabis industry, is pleased to announce the signing of Alex Mardikian as the company's new Chief Marketing Officer.

Mardikian has in excess of twenty years of brand marketing, manufacturing and data management, experienced in small to medium scale startups in both private and public sectors internationally.

The experience of Mr. Mardikian goes from owning and operating various successful companies, based in design, digital innovation and trends with operations and offices based in multiple continents. He offers an intrinsic role and proven strength in what is known as guerrilla marketing.

"Whether B2B or B2C, I believe passionately that great marketing essentials are the same. We all are emotional beings looking for relevance, context and connection. I am extremely excited to be part of and to be able to contribute from my value of strengths, commitment, diversity and relations to better further the success of mCig Inc. and its shareholders," says Alex Mardikian.

Mardikian's expertise extends into customer loyalty and retention, data mining, aggregation, rewards/deals/incentives platforms, geo-temporal systems, credit card processing theory, merchant services, and program information design. His education is in Mechanical Engineering specific to Hydraulics and Fluid Power Technology.

Mardikian's background is in global brands and licensing based on exclusivity, as demonstrated with various ventures include:

Von Dutch Original, as CEO and Designer of Von Dutch Kustom & Von Dutch Garage

Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier, as a partner and owner or 12 licenses of the brands and their sub-categories

The rock legend group The WHO, with exclusive licensing of Quadrophenia personally assigned by Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey

A branding partner to CARO Marketing in the interest of the GRAMMY Label, an appointment by the Recording Academy

A founding principal of publicly traded company Sonic Jet Performance and Force Protection, publicly traded on the OTC and then successfully listed on the Nasdaq

Schlumberger Industries, Western Regional Manager, Product Design and Certification

With MegaUpload and Kim Dotcom, Mardikian played an important role leveraging consumer and media data, tying together marketing and branding relations with his A-level celebrities for MegaUpload, MegaMovie, MegaClick, MegaBox, Baboom and N1.

"As a second generation designer and marketer, having an open mind is key ... but nevertheless I grew to understand people do not plan to fail, but rather, they fail to plan. So I find it imperative to create a roadmap and execute based on an agreed framework, engaging the most knowledgeable and best in trade, in order to fortify a quality outcome, measured by consistency and the mindset to perpetually always improve." ~ Alex Mardikian

Currently he is an advisor and project-based partner with F1 Design which serves mainstream luxury markets of automotive and super yacht branding, specific to licensing, supply chain and celebrity relations and endorsements. He is also the Western Hemisphere branding ambassador for the 2018 World Nomad Games and guest relations in Central Asia.

He is also appointed director and strategist for the Veterans for Autism non-profit group working with veterans and children suffering with autism and PTSD.

mCig Inc. is excited to welcome Alex Mardikian on board.

mCig Inc. also invites shareholders, prospective investors and interested parties to visit our newly redesigned website at http://www.mcig.org.

About mCIG Group (OTCQB: MCIG)

Headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, mCig, Inc. (OTCQB: MCIG) is a diversified company servicing the legal cannabis, hemp and CBD markets via its lifestyle brands. mCig, Inc. is committed to being the leading distributor of technology, products, and services to fit the needs of a rapidly expanding industry. mCig, Inc. has transitioned from a vaporizer manufacturer to industry leading large scale, full service cannabis cultivation construction company with its Grow Contractors division currently operating in the rapidly expanding Nevada market.

mCig, Inc. also employs a world renowned tech team and has recently entered the tech space to satisfy its evolving role in technology and in keeping its growing following up to speed.

The company looks forward to growing its core competencies to service the ancillary legal Cannabis, Hemp and CBD markets, with broader expansion to take place once federal laws change. With over seventy five years of experience combined between the key players that make up the Cannabis Grow Contractors Division, mCig, Inc. is proud to work with Cannabis Industry leaders and provide broad and rounded solutions for legal growers nationwide.

About the 420 Cloud App

The 420 Cloud app features a useful and unified cross-channel platform comprised of numerous layers of subscriber functions and behaviors, an immersive experience extremely useful for networking and learning, a technically robust 420 cannabis jobs search system (420jobsearch.com), marijuana news media platform (weedistry.com) and integrates a commerce networking platform, strengthening reach and exposure throughout its various channels. The platforms feature a full scale, cross-channel, ad network, spread throughout an enterprise of intuitive systems, scalable for high traffic and utilize big data conversion for monetization and analytics. The app plans to create revenue through gamification, advanced functions, features and micro-transactions, along with ads and partnerships with dispensaries.

The successful app market has grown from $45 billion in 2015 to $76 billion in 2017, and the marijuana market totaled $6.7 billion in 2016 and growing according to Forbes. In addition to current endeavors with large scale marijuana grow construction (growcontractors.org), mCig, Inc.'s alignment with these growing industries can greatly benefit the company's growth and revenues.

About the Development Team

Having acquired part of the former Megaupload development team, a tech team with an impressive and proven track record, mCig is able to build an enterprise platform to accommodate scalability, performance and growth. The team is led by Chief Technologist, Andrus Nomm, recognized as the senior operative and programming lead in the popular online file sharing, streaming and ad serving websites of MEGAupload, MEGAclick and MEGAvideo. The sites served approximately 50 million users per day over 6500+ servers, monetizing over a quarter billion USD in advertising and subscription revenue.

For more information visit our websites:

mcig.org

growcontractors.org

420cloud.com / www.420.cloud

420jobsearch.com

weedistry.com

Forward looking disclaimer

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to develop, market and sell products based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products and technology; the availability of substantial additional funding for the Company to continue its operations and to conduct research and development, and future product commercialization; and the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies.

Paul Rosenberg

CEO

mCig, Inc.

paul@mcig.org




IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC PINK: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabis-based medicines, is pleased to announce its President, CEO, and Co-Founder, Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, and his team have successfully participated in the Global Health Catalyst (GHC) Summit hosted by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC). The DF/HCC is a collaborative organization that integrates five Boston-area academic medical institutions and two Harvard schools -- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard Medical School. The summit is designed to catalyze high impact international collaborations in health care, education and research.

Mr. Dabney was the keynote speaker for the Cannabis Science versus Cancer and Other Malignancies Session, which was one of the highlights of the three-day Summit. CBIS' Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Herman, Chaired the Cannabis Science Session, and also delivered a presentation on the epidemiology of cancer and the utilization of opioids in Africa and across the world during the Palliative Care and Mental Health Session. The Company is cleaning up the recorded video feed of the CBIS Session for enhanced clarity; distribution will be made available for viewing over the internet available shortly.

"We were pleased to share our vision with an impressive array of senior health care professionals from the USA and across the world including Africa and the broad African Diaspora. We were particularly pleased with our successful meetings with the Ministers of Health of Namibia, Rwanda, and Kisumu County in Kenya. These African health leaders will help CBIS to define our strategy on the African continent. We are launching an aggressive research program with Dana Farber, and we expect a number of major developments in 2017," said Dr. Herman.

Mr. Dabney stated, "Our participation in the GHC Summit and this speaking opportunity gave us an opportunity to discuss cutting-edge cannabinoid research with some of the greatest minds in modern medicine globally, as well as to network and explore potential partnerships." In addition, CBIS' participation in this Summit provided the company with an opportunity to update stakeholders regarding the progress of the implementation of CBIS' research agreement with Dana-Farber. "I believe the CBIS/Dana Farber relationship is off to a very good start, and I am excited about the potential of our collaboration. I am even more excited about the groundbreaking initiative with Dana-Farber that we plan to jointly announce in the next few days. This upcoming announcement will change the narrative of how we approach the research, development, and clinical trials of cannabinoid-based medicines globally."

About Cannabis Science, Inc.

Cannabis Science, Inc. takes advantage of its unique understanding of metabolic processes to provide novel treatment approaches to a number of illnesses for which current treatments and understanding remain unsatisfactory. Cannabinoids have an extensive history dating back thousands of years, and currently, there are a growing number of peer-reviewed scientific publications that document the underlying biochemical pathways that cannabinoids modulate. The Company works with leading experts in drug development, medicinal characterization, and clinical research to develop, produce, and commercialize novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment for illnesses caused by infections as well as for age-related illness. Our initial focus is on skin cancers, HIV/AIDS, and neurological conditions. The Company is proceeding with the research and development of its proprietary drugs as a part of this initial focus: CS-S/BCC-1, CS-TATI-1, and CS-NEURO-1, respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing words such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc., does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements. Safe Harbor Statement. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a 'safe harbor' for forward looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts are forward looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence of which involved risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3134954



CONTACT INFORMATION



Cannabis Science, Inc.

Dr. Allen Herman

Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

allen.herman@cannabisscience.com

Tel: 1-888-263-0832



Cannabis Science, Inc.

Mr. Raymond C. Dabney

President & CEO, Co-Founder

raymond.dabney@cannabisscience.com

Tel: 1-888-263-0832



Cannabis Science, Inc.

Investor Relations

Teresa Misenheimer

teresa@cannabisscience.com

Tel: 1-888-263-0832




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 11/28/17 -- Editors Note: There are two photos associated with this press release.

Manitou Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: MTU) (the "Company" or "Manitou") today announced that it has encountered several remarkable visible gold containing specimens from blasted rock samples collected at its Kenwest property, located approximately 50 km south of Dryden Ontario.

The samples were pulled from a recently completed surface bulk sampling program at the Kenwest property. While the permitting process for a larger underground bulk sample is ongoing, the Company elected to proceed with the collection of an initial 10 tonne bulk sample taken from surface in the vicinity of the very high-grade gold intersections that the Company drilled in 2011. At that time, the Company drilled a section of core that returned an assay of 53,700 g/t Au over 0.55m (see Company press release dated Feb 28, 2011). This intersection occurred at a depth of approximately 25m below surface.

Gold mineralization at the Kenwest property is orogenic in nature and is largely confined to distinct northeast to southwest trending shear zones that have been filled with quartz veining and related alteration. Historic mining dating back to the early 1900s on the property has focused on the #1 and #2 shear zones. All of the Company's recent activity has targeted the #2 shear zone. The recent blasting was done along strike of the vein over a length of approximately 30 meters, beginning directly above the intersection in KW-11-26 and extending towards the northeast at depths of between 8-12 feet and 1.5 meters in width creating a small trench.

A total of approximately 235 tons were blasted. During excavation of the blasted rock, the Company's contractors filled 40 steel drums (having capacity of 45 gallons each) with material from the vein and shear zone, resulting in the collection of approximately 10 tonnes of material sent for laboratory analysis.

The Company's contractors observed conspicuous amounts of visible gold from near surface in a part of the vein located approximately 20 meters northeast of the section where drill hole KW 11-26 had encountered the above-mentioned high-grade intersection. Geological mapping, sampling and structural measurements undertaken during the sampling process will be incorporated into the existing geologic model for the zone in order to add to the Company's understanding on the controls of the high-grade gold zones, and to understand the relationship amongst the multiple areas of concentrated visible gold and cohosted minerals. Photographs of the bulk sample work and some of the visible gold specimens can be found on the Company's website at Kenwest bulk sample photos.

The blasted rock was not washed or sorted and was simply directly deposited into barrels as excavation progressed. The total representative sample of approximately 10 tonnes has been transported to SGS Laboratories in Sudbury and will be processed both there and at SGS Lakefield location, in order to provide a more definitive estimate of the vein system grade, as well as facilitate initial assessment of best procedures for mineral extraction. The remaining material has been stockpiled on site to allow for expedient access and further metallurgical testing.

"This initial surface bulk sample is a big step towards establishing expected grade of the future underground bulk sample," stated Richard Murphy, CEO of Manitou Gold. "I am very optimistic about the pending results. The original high-grade discovery in hole KW-11-26 confirms that this area can host some spectacular grade gold material and I am anxious to see if this first bulk sample supports this potential on a larger scale. The results of this test work, once available, will provide inputs into how we proceed with work on site in advance of the planned underground bulk sample. Possibilities for the next stages of exploration at Kenwest include expanding on the surface drilling and blasting in order to produce a larger tonnage sample to test at a commercial mill, as well as diamond drilling to test our new understanding about the controls of the higher grade gold zones." The Company anticipates being able to release the assay results of this initial surface bulk sample in January.

The Kenwest Property is comprised of patented property owned 100% by Manitou. The Property covers 5 km of strike length of the deformation zone that controls the gold mineralization. There are no royalties payable on the property, with the exception of a onetime payment of $2,000,000 in favour of Goldcorp Inc. upon commencement of commercial production. Manitou's 100% owned Canamerica property covers an additional 2.5 km of the deformation zone adjacent to the Kenwest patented property. Manitou filed a draft closure plan with the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines on October 2nd, 2017 as part of the bulk sampling permitting process.

Richard Murphy, P.Geo., CEO of the Company is the Qualified Person who prepared the scientific and technical disclosure herein. 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.

Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, statements with respect to the prospective nature of any of Manitou's property interests. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the timing and amount of future exploration, the availability of necessary financing, the progress of exploration activities, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Manitou, including, but not limited to the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, risks inherent in exploration and development activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, mineral prices, competition, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, capitalization and financing risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interest, and environmental risks. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. 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. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20171128-GK_MANITOUGOLD_WEB_sRGB_0024_lrg.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20171128-GK_MANITOUGOLD_WEB_sRGB_0006_lrg.jpg

Contacts:

Manitou Gold Inc.

Richard Murphy

CEO

1 (705) 698-1962



Manitou Gold Inc.

Pat Dubreuil

President

1 (705) 626-0666

info@manitougold.com




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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- BTL GROUP LTD. (TSX VENTURE: BTL) ("BTL") is pleased to provide a progress update and strategic outline for the rollout of Interbit, its proprietary private blockchain technology platform, in a Beta version during the upcoming third quarter of this fiscal year.

"We are very proud of what we've achieved at BTL to date, which includes getting our Interbit platform to the Alpha state, along with funding in place to support development of the next phase. Having successfully completed pilot projects in the energy sector, and the finance space with Visa, we are more confident in our blockchain technology than we've ever been and have a more transparent roadmap for Interbit's route to market," said Guy Halford-Thompson, BTL's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "We have built the Interbit platform specifically with enterprise in mind to help companies overcome many of the challenges they face today such as the high cost of maintaining legacy IT frameworks, speed of data transfer, data loss, reconciliation and cybersecurity," he continued.

Following on from the success of pilot projects in 2016, BTL has been able to set a clear strategy for the 2017 financial and calendar year. In Q3 2017, which starts in July, BTL plans to accelerate Interbit's go to market strategy by launching a Beta version of the platform, and shifting the focus onto enabling key clients to build their own applications on Interbit directly.

"We believe that enabling key clients to build on Interbit will create a growing pipeline of new business for BTL. Having successfully raised CAD$3,105,000 during our latest fundraise completed in April 2017, we have the ability to ramp up our technical resources and expand our teams in both Canada and the UK. By adding the right people to our highly experienced blockchain technology team, our aim is that BTL and our Interbit platform will become a leading technology solutions provider," added Guy Halford-Thompson.

During 2016, BTL's highlights have been the successful completion of pilot projects with major global enterprises in both the finance and energy spaces. In these pilot projects, BTL has used its Interbit platform to demonstrate how it can use innovative processes to vastly reduce the complexity of transactional IT infrastructure, thus reducing risk and costs for enterprises.

In January 2017, BTL successfully launched the Alpha version of Interbit to undertake a European energy pilot. With this pilot past the halfway mark, the focus is to develop the framework for a commercial product and operating model for the conclusion of the pilot.

Annual Financials

BTL also announces that it has filed its audited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year 31st December 2016, which can be found under BTL's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), and which sets forth detailed operating and financial results for BTL.

ABOUT BTL GROUP LTD AND INTERBIT

Operating from both Canada and the UK, BTL is an enterprise technology platform provider that has built Interbit, a proprietary private blockchain. Via its Interbit platform, BTL can help companies greatly reduce risks and costs by securely streamlining existing IT infrastructures. To date, BTL has successfully demonstrated how Interbit can innovate system processes for leading companies in the finance, energy and gaming sectors.

Interbit is a fast, encrypted, scalable, private, but open, multi-chain technology platform. Via its suite of APIs and smart contracts Interbit allows businesses from across the world to improve efficiency by securely trading and auditing assets in compliance with relevant regulations.

With offices in Vancouver and Canary Wharf in London, BTL is positioning itself as a front-runner in the blockchain ecosystem, partnering with and enabling enterprises on Interbit in order to improve their existing IT systems.

Website: www.btl.co

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blockchainltd

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include further development of BTL's business relationships and business and the development and success of BTL's technologies and products, including the development and timing of the launch of the Beta version of Interbit, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, the development of competitive technologies, the marketplace acceptance of BTL's technologies and products, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BTL. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BTL 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. Additionally, BTL undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service 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:

Angus Campbell, Inquiries

+44 (0) 20 7100 0850

Angus.Campbell@staturepr.com



Guy Halford-Thompson, CEO

+1 855 256 5246

guy@btl.co




CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Aprimo, a leading global provider of marketing operations, today announced significant enhancements to its through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) platform, Distributed Marketing. The latest innovations equip enterprise brands with unsurpassed levels of control, automation and enhanced visibility into return on investment (ROI) for channel marketing activities.

These new Distributed Marketing innovations build on the track record of the company previously operating under the name Revenew. Aprimo formally brought the Distributed Marketing capabilities into the company's portfolio with the acquisition and merger in 2016.

"Aprimo represents the market's most sophisticated marketing operations platform, proven with the added capabilities brought into the fold through Revenew and Digital Asset Management vendor ADAM Software," said Mark Schlief, Customer Success Director at Aprimo. "These latest enhancements to Aprimo Distributed Marketing clearly illustrate our focus on meeting specific customer needs within the dynamic technology environment."

Self-service administration of through-channel integrated campaigns

Aprimo Distributed Marketing announced new capabilities that allow corporate marketing teams to self-provision and administer campaigns and content within the platform. The new functionality empowers brands to setup and schedule multi-channel integrated campaigns--from co-branded collateral to digital advertising on microsites. As the only TCMA solution offering this level of self-provisioning and administration, Aprimo provides the added control, speed, governance and agility needed so that channel partners are equipped with the latest marketing content at the right time.

These new abilities offer brands a competitive advantage to bring campaigns to market faster. With Aprimo, brand marketers can respond to creative changes in real time, align content to the customer's journey, and gain greater control over resources -- both internally and leveraged through external agencies. The platform also scales globally so marketers can create content that is most appropriate to each regional market in terms of language, discounts and promotions, and many other aspects.

Lead nurturing and scoring capabilities accelerate lead conversion

Aprimo also announced its new Lead Nurture feature, which aligns the customer's journey through the lead stages with various content types and engagement channels (i.e. email or ad campaigns). This facilitates meaningful dialogue between the partner community and their prospects and customers at scale. It also allows brands to align content that matches each stage of the sales cycle, regardless of length or complexity.

Also available with Distributed Marketing is Lead Scoring, which increases partner engagement by offering an automated way to qualify prospects and help determine which leads partners should engage with and how to best prioritize those leads.

Built-in Business Intelligence (BI) strengthens visualization into ROI

With new levels of built-in business intelligence (BI), Aprimo users can build custom dashboards and automatically generate reports on partner community's campaign performance, exact levels of engagement, and ROI on marketing spend. Elegant visual displays also help decision making -- enabling marketing teams to adapt quickly to campaign changes to optimize ROI.

Aprimo will be exhibiting at Channel Focus North America in San Diego, May 2-4. To see Aprimo Distributed Marketing in action, stop by the booth or attend the session "Content is King, but Only if it Aligns with Your Customers' Journey!" on May 3 at 10:40 a.m. PDT.

To learn more about Aprimo Distributed Marketing solutions, visit www.aprimo.com/platform/DistributedMarketing

About Aprimo

Aprimo is a category-leading marketing operations platform that frees marketers and their teams to focus on smart marketing by managing the five essentials: planning, spending, creation, distribution, and performance. Aprimo's comprehensive suite improves time-to-market and maximizes a company's marketing investment to drive revenue. The Aprimo platform includes ADAM software -- the leader in empowering enterprises to manage digital assets and product information. ADAM's SmartContentHub is used by global brands to create, manage, and distribute content for world-class, omnichannel customer experiences. Aprimo is headquartered in Chicago, with global R&D and customer support in Indianapolis, and international operations based in London. For more information, visit www.aprimo.com.

Copyright 2017 Aprimo LLC. All rights reserved.

Media Contact

Shelby Pritchett

shelby.pritchett@finnpartners.com

313-486-0664




SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- CFN Media Group ("CannabisFN"), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article and interview with CEO John Poss, discussing GB Sciences Inc.'s (OTCQB: GBLX) recent developments and its strategy moving forward.

Innovative New Products & Partners

GB Sciences recently signed an agreement with Kush Cups to produce Keurig-compatible K-Cups in the State of Nevada. These K-Cups can be used by medical marijuana -- and soon recreational marijuana -- consumers to brew hot and cold coffees and teas. Consumers may find these kinds of products easier for consuming cannabinoids compared to other common forms of consumption, such as smoking, cannabis oils, or edible products.

The company will leverage its advanced propagation technology, tissue culture, and medical-grade clean rooms to grow cannabis in their state-of-the-art cultivation facility in Las Vegas and distribute the Kush Cups throughout the state. Consistency is especially important for medical marijuana consumers that rely on specific combinations of cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and other beneficial cannabinoids.

K-Cups also provide a compelling revenue model for the two partners. The daily use disposable products provide a great source for recurring revenue, while the ubiquity of Keurig machines means a large potential target market. Kush Cups has become a leading provider of cannabis products in the State of Nevada with the potential to expand into other states throughout the country over the long-term.

Growing Op & Research Opportunities

GB Sciences will complete its first marijuana harvest over the coming weeks at its Las Vegas cultivation facility. In addition to this production, the company recently acquired two other Nevada licenses that will be folded into the production facility and expand the scope of its business to include oil extraction, production, and other services. Management also aims to acquire a license in California within the next 12 months to add to its capacity.

In early April, the company submitted an offer to Louisiana State University to act as a licensed operator of its medical cannabis production facility under the Alison Neustrom Act. The deal would enable the company to be the sole vendor of cannabis and extracts on behalf of LSU for the patients of Louisiana. LSU and Southern University have the only two licenses granted by the state to cultivate, distribute, and sell medical cannabis.

The Act also authorized LSU AgCenter to conduct research on medical cannabis, which could tie in nicely with GB Sciences' research-driven efforts. The research division would work alongside the facility to produce therapeutic medical cannabis products for qualified patients. If GB Sciences wins the contract, it will have the first right to commercialize any inventions or discovery of research from the institution.

Please follow the link to read the full article and see the CEO interview: http://www.cannabisfn.com/gb-sciences-surpasses-key-corporate-milestones/

Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/become-featured-company/

Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from the palm of your hand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8

Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com

About CFN Media

CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis. We help marijuana businesses attract investors, customers (B2B, B2C), capital, and media visibility. Private and public marijuana companies and brands in the US and Canada rely on CFN Media to grow and succeed.

Disclaimer:

Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CFN Media and CannabisFN.com, 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. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.

CFN Media

Frank Lane

206-369-7050

flane@cannabisfn.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Golden Arrow Resources Corporation (TSX VENTURE: GRG)(FRANKFURT: GAC)(OTCQB: GARWF) ("Golden Arrow" or the "Company") is pleased to report on the positive progress of the exploration program at the Antofalla silver-gold-base metal project in Catamarca Province, Argentina ("Antofalla" or "the Project").

The 8,760 hectare Antofalla project has strong geologic similarities to the Company's flagship Chinchillas silver project, which has a positive pre-feasibility study for development (see news release dated March 31, 2017). Antofalla's 4 kilometre by 5 kilometre volcanic dome complex and alteration zone hosts several areas of known mineralization, but was underexplored by previous operators. Since initiating the program at Antofalla the geological team has undertaken systematic grassroots exploration throughout the property, including mapping, chip and channel sampling, and soil sampling on a 100 metre grid spacing over an area of 6.5 by 3 kilometres. Results to date have identified several new high-potential targets and promising test results, including:

-- 281 g/t silver & 0.5% lead over 3.35 metres, and 168 g/t silver over 8 metres in channel samples. -- These samples were from several new mineralized breccia "vents" located 380 metres southwest of the Colorada Breccia target, where previous operators reported drill intercepts of 18 metres averaging 128 g/t silver, 0.23 g/t gold and 0.88 % lead. -- 3.87 g/t gold, 146 g/t silver & 1% lead, and 0.14 g/t gold, 4,404 g/t silver & greater than 30% lead in rock chip samples from other similar breccia "vents" in the area. -- 134 g/t silver over 0.80 metres in chip channel samples -- These results are from the newly discovered Domos Norte target, defined by a strong silver anomaly in soil samples of 300 by 150 metres. Domos Norte is located 900 metres NW of the Colorada Breccia target, and hosts sheeted quartz veinlets with intense coverage of recent sediments. -- Preliminary high resistivity + high chargeability targets from the 6.3 line-kilometres of IP/Resistivity completed to date. The remainder of the 15.2 line-kilometre survey is on-going.

"Not since our first months at the Chinchillas project has the team been so excited about the potential for a significant discovery. The last three months have proven extremely successful in advancing our knowledge of the extensive system at Antofalla and the priority target areas. Our preliminary findings confirm that not only there are good opportunities to expand the known mineralization but also to define new mineralization outside the known zones," commented Brian McEwen, Golden Arrow's Vice President of Exploration and Development.

The Company is continuing exploration, and the remainder of the program will include a continuation of the district and detailed mapping and sampling of targets; detailed stream sediment sampling; completion of the IP/Resistivity geophysical study by contractor Geofisica Argentina S.A. to define zones of high sulphides, structures and contacts; and further reconnaissance to identify new targets.

The US$2 million budget also includes 3000 metres of drilling, which is planned for the second half of the year.

Program Details:

Geology

The Antofalla Projects includes a Miocene Dome complex hosted in Permian conglomerates and sandstones, with signatures of both high and low sulphidation epithermal mineralization. The main focus of exploration is the "Dome Zone" which includes a series of dacitic and rhyolitic volcanic domes and flows, dacitic breccias and a wide range of pyroclastics units in an area of 4.0 by 4.0 kilometres. Mineralization was identified in several areas of the Dome Zone by prior operators, most notably in the southeast at the Colorada Breccia which consists of low temperature silica veins, stockworks and breccia bodies controlled by structures with azimuths of 45 to 75 degrees and additional structures with azimuths of 120 degrees.

Sampling Methods

Based on the first mapping of geology, mineralization, alteration and brecciation, the Golden Arrow team identified preliminary targets. Sampling techniques used in the program include chip sampling, channel sampling using an electric saw, soil sampling, and stream sediment sampling. In addition, a handheld XRF Analyzer is used extensively in the field to identify and confirm silver, lead, zinc and arsenic mineralization in rock and soil samples in order to identify anomalous areas and guide exploration. While results are not considered quantitative, Golden Arrow has considerable experience and success with these analyzers at Chinchillas in identifying anomalous mineralization with reasonable correlation to geochemical results. Soil sample results reported in this release are geochemical test results from an accredited laboratory, as described below.

Soil Survey

A soil survey was completed in the project covering an area of 12.5 km2. A total of 889 soil samples were collected on a 100 metre grid pattern. Most outstanding silver anomalies are located in the Domos Norte, Filo del Volcan and Colorada Breccia targets, as described below. A comprehensive statistic evaluation is in progress that will consider both precious metals and trace elements to identify additional targets. Additionally, a spectrometry analysis will be performed on 200 soil samples to define alteration clay minerals.

Colorada Breccia Target

This zone, previously identified by another operator, hosts several breccia "vents" that are intruded on one another in a prominent outcrop of 100 by 60 metres. Some of these breccias are mineralized with sulphides filling the open spaces. Four historic reverse circulation ("RC") holes were drilled in this zone with a best average of 18 metres with 0.23g/t Au, 128g/t Ag and 0.9% Pb. Golden Arrow chip sampling of the main structure confirmed 13.2 metres with 298g/t Ag and 1.12% Pb. Golden Arrow's geologists interpret this breccia as only part of a bigger under-explored epithermal system that may host significant ore bodies.

New Targets

Detailed geological reconnaissance and mapping, together with the use of the handheld XRF Analyzers led to the discovery of a previously unsampled target "Filo del Volcan". This target is located 380 metres northwest of the Colorada Breccia target. In an area of 120 by 20 metres there are more than nine rounded and apparently vertical dacitic breccias "vents" of 1 to 14 metres in diameter. All of these were channel sampled with samples in the order of 1 metre long. Best averages are:

-- C-1 with 8.4 m @ 168 Ag g/t -- C-2 with 3.35 m @ 281 Ag g/t and 0.5 % Pb -- C-3 with 3.7 m @ 209 Ag g/t and 1.2 % Pb -- C-5 with 13.55 m @ 53 Ag g/t -- C-9 with 0.95 m @ 397 Ag g/t

In the same target area, other breccia "vents" were recognized and chip sampled with values of up to 3.87 g/t gold, 146 g/t Ag and 1% lead, and 0.14 g/t gold, 4,404 g/t silver and greater than 30% lead. Detailed sampling will be complete in these structures and detail reconnaissance will continue.

A second previously unsampled target was identified 900 metres northwest of the Colorada Breccia target. It is the "Domos Norte" target, where the systematic soil sampling carried out by Golden Arrow defined an area of 300 by 150 metres with highest soil values of 91g/t, 29g/t and 26g/t silver. Detailed reconnaissance found sheeted quartz veins in argillic altered tuffs with values of up to 134g/t Ag in a 0.8 metre chip-channel sample. Detail work is in process in this new target.

Methodology and QA/QC

Sample preparation and analysis was done at Alex Stewart-Mendoza, an internationally recognized assay service provider. Soil samples a sieved to -80 mesh and assayed for gold by Fire Assays/Atomic Absorption finish and analyzed for a multi-element package by ICP-OES following an aqua regia digestion. Rock samples were assayed by Fire Assays/Atomic Absorption finish and analyzed for a multi-element package by ICP-OES following a four acid digestion. Silver results greater than 200 Ag g/t were re-analyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on 50-gram samples. Lead and zinc results greater than 10,000 ppm were re-analyzed by a three acid digestion and ICP-OES detection. The Company follows industry standard procedures for the work carried out on the Antofalla Project, with a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program. Blank, duplicate and standard samples were inserted in each batch of samples sent to the laboratory for analysis. Golden Arrow detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data.

Qualified Persons

The results of the Company's drilling program have been reviewed, verified (including sampling, analytical and test data) and compiled by the Company's geological staff under the supervision of Brian McEwen, P.Geol., VP Exploration and Development to the Company. Mr. McEwen is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents of the news release.

About Golden Arrow:

Golden Arrow Resources Corporation is an exploration company with a track record of creating value by making precious and base metal discoveries and advancing them into exceptional deposits. Upon closing of the transaction in May 2017, Golden Arrow will earn production income from its 25% share of the Chinchillas-Pirquitas silver mining project, a joint venture with Silver Standard, with more than 8 years of planned production and upside potential. Golden Arrow is actively exploring its portfolio of 200,000 hectares of properties in Argentina, including the new Antofalla silver-gold-base metal project with similarities to Chinchillas.

About Grosso Group:

Grosso Group Management Ltd. is a private management company founded in 1993, recognized as a leading pioneer of mineral exploration in South America. The group operates with the objective of creating investor value through the growth of the publicly listed member companies, which include: Golden Arrow Resources Corp., Blue Sky Uranium Corp., and Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Mr. Joseph Grosso,

Executive Chairman, President and CEO

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.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's public disclosure documents for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. federal and state registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States.

Contacts:

Corporate Communications

1-604-687-1828

Toll-Free: 1-800-901-0058

info@goldenarrowresources.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- BACANORA MINERALS LTD. ("Bacanora" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: BCN)(AIM: BCN), the Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and development company focused on building an international lithium group, is pleased to announce the issue of 12,333,261 new common shares of no par value ("New Common Shares") to Hanwa Co., LTD ("Hanwa"), a leading Japan-based global trading company and one of the larger traders of battery chemicals in the Asian region. The New Common Shares represent 10.0% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company and are being issued at a price of 82.5 pence (approximately C$1.37)(1) per share to raise approximately GBP 10,175,000 (approximately C$16,896,000) for Bacanora pursuant to the Company's offtake agreement with Hanwa for battery grade lithium carbonate at its Sonora lithium project in Mexico (for details regarding the offtake agreement, please refer to the Company's news release dated 10 April 2017).

The equity placing to Hanwa was completed in reliance upon exemptions from applicable prospectus and registration requirements. Accordingly, any trades of securities issued under the placing that occur in Alberta or to a purchaser in Alberta would be subject to a hold period equal to four months and one day from the date of issuance (being September 3, 2017). Trades of securities occurring through the CREST system among non-Alberta residents will not be subject to this restriction. All of the shares acquired by Hanwa under the placing will be deposited under the CREST system.

ABOUT BACANORA:

Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and development company (TSX VENTURE: BCN)(AIM: BCN). The Company is exploring for, and developing a pipeline of international lithium projects, with a primary focus on the Sonora Lithium Project. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The Company is led by a team with lithium expertise and proven mine development, construction and operations experience.

The Sonora Lithium Project, which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established an Indicated Mineral Resource (in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")) of 4.5 million tonnes (LCE(2)) and 2.7 million tonnes Inferred.(3) A Pre-Feasibility Study completed in Q1 2016(4) established Probable Mineral Reserve (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 2.1 million tonnes LCE and demonstrated the economics associated with becoming a 35,000 tpa lithium carbonate and 50,000 tpa SOP producer in Mexico.

In addition to the Sonora Lithium Project, the Company also has a 50% interest in the Zinnwald Lithium Project in southern Saxony, Germany. The Zinnwald Lithium Project is located in a granite hosted Sn/W/Li belt that has been mined historically for tin, tungsten and lithium at different times over the past 300 years. The strategic location of the Zinnwald Lithium Project allows immediate access to the German automotive and downstream lithium chemical industries.

Reader Advisory

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", "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. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: commodity price volatility; general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, Mexico and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

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.

(1) Based upon a foreign exchange rate of GBP 1.00 = CAD$1.66 (being the rate on the date of execution of the Company's offtake agreement with Hanwa).

(2) LCE = lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) equivalent; determined by multiplying Li value in percent by 5.324 to get an equivalent Li2CO3 value in per cent. Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry reports and assumes complete conversion of lithium in clays with no recovery or process losses.

(3) See Amended Mineral Resource Estimate for the Sonora Lithium Project, Mexico, April 2016. The lead author of the amended report is Mr. Martin Pittuck (MSc., C.Eng., FGS, MIMMM) of SRK Consulting (UK) Limited ('SRK'). A copy of this report is available under Bacanora's corporate profile at www.sedar.com.

(4) See Technical Report on the Pre-Feasibility Study for the Sonora Lithium Project, Mexico, 15 April 2016. The authors of the PFS are Ausenco Limited, SRK and Independent Mining Consultants Inc. A copy of this report is available under Bacanora's corporate profile at www.sedar.com.

Contacts:

Bacanora Minerals Ltd.

Peter Secker

CEO

info@bacanoraminerals.com



Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Nomad

Sandy Jamieson/Liam Murray

+44 (0) 20 7213 0880



Numis Securities Ltd, Broker

John Prior/James Black/Paul Gillam

+44 (0) 20 7260 1000



St Brides Partners, Financial PR Adviser

Elisabeth Cowell/ Frank Buhagiar

+44 (0) 20 7236 1177




Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - May 2, 2017) - Luminor Medical Technologies Inc. (TSXV: LMT) (the "Company" or "Luminor Medical") (formerly Miraculins Inc.), announces today that it has appointed Dr. Edward Hillhouse as Chairman of the Luminor Medical Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Hillhouse will form an Advisory Board of International Key Opinion Leaders who value Scout DS and share our aspiration. The role of the Advisory Board will be to provide Luminor Medical with objective, external perspective and quality authentication on Luminor Medical's products, acquisition pipeline, and commercial strategy.

Luminor Medical's President and CEO, Christian Sauvageau, commented, "We are pleased to have attracted Dr. Edward Hillhouse to lead and form a team of scientific advisors and look forward to their contributions. We strongly believe that enlisting and consulting with highly competent scientific advisors, especially as we enter a critical period, is key to our future success. Clearly his deep scientific expertise, his international contacts and overall knowledge base will be extremely helpful."

Dr. Edward Hillhouse states, "I am pleased to be joining Luminor Medical Scientific Advisory Board and look forward to contributing to its initiatives."

Prior to this, he was Professor of Medicine at the University of Leeds, where he held senior academic posts as Dean of the School of Medicine, Faculty Dean of Medicine and Health and Dean for International Development. He was also the foundation Professor of Medicine at Warwick University where he helped to establish the School of Medicine. He also helped to create the 1st National Academic Health System in the State of Qatar, where he was also Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. In addition, he has served as Non-Executive Director on the board of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, one of the largest hospitals in the UK with 3,000 beds.

He is a consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist with special expertise in metabolic bone disease and pituitary disorders. He is an internationally recognized clinical scientist and is ranked in the top 5 percent of cited authors in biology and biochemistry (Thompson Reuters). He is a founder member and Consulting Director of the International Association of Academic Health Center (AAHC International).

Prof. Hillhouse graduated in Medicine from St. Thomas's Hospital in London (King's College), where he also studied for his PhD. He undertook general professional training in Oxford, London and Southampton before completing specialist training in the New England Medical Centre (Boston, USA) and King's College Hospital, London. He has extensive international experience in the USA, Australia, the Middle East, India, Central and South America, Africa, Europe, China and the Far East.

Luminor Medical is also pleased to announce that it has retained Trapeze Capital Corp. to provide market-making services in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX.V") policies. Under the terms of the agreement dated Mai 1, 2017 (the "Agreement"), Trapeze will receive compensation of $5,500 per month and will not receive any Common Shares or options of Luminor Medical as compensation. However, Trapeze and its clients may have or may acquire a direct interest in the securities of Luminor Medical. Luminor Medical and Trapeze are unrelated and unaffiliated entities; Trapeze is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, a participating organization of TSX and a member of TSX.V. The capital and securities required for any trade undertaken by Trapeze as principal will be provided by Trapeze. The Agreement is for a term of 6 months and will automatically renew for additional 6 month periods unless terminated by Luminor Medical.

About Luminor Medical Technologies

Luminor Medical Technologies is a medical diagnostic company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing medical technologies for unmet clinical needs. The Company's Scout DS device has been regulatory cleared in certain markets both as a clinical tool to assist in the identification of both prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and is the first non-invasive testing system designed to provide a highly sensitive and convenient method for measuring prediabetes/type 2 diabetes related biomarkers in the skin, the accumulation of which are accelerated by abnormal blood sugar levels and oxidative stress. Unlike current testing methods, a Scout DS test requires no blood draw, no fasting, and no waiting for a lab result. The product has been used and validated in thousands of patients around the world.

For more information, please contact:

Christian Sauvageau

President & CEO

Luminor Medical Technologies Inc.

Ph: (438) 889-3585

or:

Mark Komonoski

Communication Director

mark@komonoski.com

877-255-8483

403-470-8384

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.

Scout DS is a registered trademark of Luminor Medical Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2016.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Canadian dollar declined its major counterparts in early New York deals on Tuesday. The loonie slipped to a 6-month low of 1.4958 against the euro and more than a 1-year low of 1.3710 against the greenback, from its early highs of 1.4896 and 1.3650, respectively. Pulling away from an early 6-day high of 82.25 against the yen, the loonie weakened to 81.87. The loonie fell back to 1.0301 against the aussie, off its early high of 1.0269. The currency had earlier set a 1-1/2-month low of 1.0318 in the Asian session. The loonie is likely to find support around 79.00 against the yen, 1.51 against the euro, 1.40 against the greenback and 1.05 against the aussie. 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.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- (Marketwired) -- 08/22/17 -- WSI Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSCI) is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Director of Business Development, Rob Simkovic. Rob has been leading the overall sales team focusing on the diversification and overall growth of sales.

WSI's president and CEO, Michael Pudil, commented that: "We are very excited to have brought Rob on board to lead the WSI sales effort and diversification strategy. Rob's experience in market development will allow WSI to further succeed in its long-term plans. Rob also brings many years of engineering experience which will benefit WSI in understanding customers' requirements and matching them to WSI capabilities."

Pudil also added: "WSI has been awarded orders with new customers from the Energy industry that could grow to over $2 million of annualized sales in fiscal 2018. In addition, WSI has recently been awarded new business in the aerospace and military markets with a potential of over $1 million of business also in fiscal 2018. These orders are very high value-added content and will contribute greatly to diversification efforts." Pudil concluded: "We are pleased with the efforts everyone has put in to turn WSI around and look forward to continued success."

WSI Industries, Inc. is a leading contract manufacturer that specializes in the machining of complex, high-precision parts for a wide range of industries, including automotive, avionics and aerospace, energy, recreational vehicles, small engines, marine, bioscience and the defense market.

The statements included herein which are not historical or current facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. There are certain important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the statements made herein, including the Company's ability to retain current programs and obtain additional manufacturing programs, and other factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For additional information:

Michael Pudil

(President & CEO)

or

Paul D. Sheely

(CFO)

763-295-9202




TORONTO, ONTARIO and MUNICH, GERMANY -- (Marketwired) -- 09/20/17 -- TANTALEX Resources Corporation (CSE: TTX)(CSE: TTX.CN)(CNSX: TTX)(FRANKFURT: 1T0) ("TANTALEX" or the "Corporation"), is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, United Materials Congo SARL ("UNITED MATERIALS" or "UMC") has acquired an important mining claim namely PR 13634, KASEKA Cobalt Property ("KASEKA"), known to be highly prospective for copper and cobalt, which was previously owned by Gecamines SA.

The property is located within the mining friendly region of Kolwezi in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is home to several large deposits. It is situated within the prolific Katangan Copperbelt and is defined as a syncline geological formation for which its southern part intersects the Kansuki Fault, and its northern portion intersecting the Kalunkudji Fault. As the northern fault continues a north-eastern direction it widens into the Tenke-Fungurume geological formation. The property has access to available infrastructure such as airports, railways, electricity as well as access to the nearby Kando River, providing ample water supply.

Tantalex's new copper/cobalt property is strategically located, as it is surrounded by several large deposits, the most known being Glencore's world-class copper/cobalt open-pit, the Mutanda Mine (also known as Mumi). In 2016, Mumi produced 51,000 tonnes of copper and 6,300 tonnes of cobalt. Its current estimated mine life is 15 years, with 5.5 million tons of copper and 2 million tons of cobalt mineral resources. (Source: www.fleurettegroup.com) Seven kilometers from MUMI is the Kalumbwe Myunga deposit owned by MKM, which hosts reserves estimated at 1.4545Mt at 3.74% Cu and 1.7736Mt at 0.54% Co (November 2011). There is also the Kisanfu copper/cobalt deposit with estimated reserve of 87Mt @ 2.87% Cu and 0.17% Co (2011). Lastly, the Kisanfu-Freeport deposit, located at a similar distance to the Property, has estimated reserves of 108Mt @ 2.62% Cu and 1.08% Co (December 2012). (Source: http://www.portergeo.com.au/database/)

A map is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/170920_TTX_Map.pdf

Dave GAGNON comments on the importance of this acquisition, "This acquisition is a very important and a natural fit for us, as we continue to grow our portfolio of high-tech mineral properties in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The addition of cobalt to our current lithium and tantalum properties will allow us to penetrate the high-tech market, and more specifically, the battery market. This is a highly prospective property located within a stone's throw from many deposit. The synergies we have created with local entities have given way to these important developments, especially since over 60% of current global cobalt supply comes from the DRC."

The Cobalt Market

According to UBS (May 2017), "electric vehicles are going to result in a boom for battery materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earths and in a world where electric vehicles reach 100% of the market, which is decades away, demand for lithium will increase by 2,898%, cobalt by 1,928% and rare earths by 655%".

Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, grey metal with a very high melting point. It is used mainly in the production of chemicals (58%), super alloys for gas turbine blades and jet aircraft engines, special steel, carbides, diamond tools and magnets. The Democratic Republic of Congo holds more than half of the world's cobalt reserves, according to the US Geological Survey. In August 2017, cobalt reached a new price high of $61,250/tonne, seeing a year over year increase of 131.13%. (Source: LME & Trading Economic).

Corporate Development Update

The Company would like to update shareholders regarding ongoing corporate developments. Following the granting of the iTSCi export certification to its subsidiary United Minerals Congo SARL (press release dated June 20, 2017), the Company continues its negotiations with a number of interested potential off-take partners for its eventual diversified mineral supply. At its Buckell Lithium project, delays in awarding drilling contracts have been addressed and the Company will soon plan its fall program. Lastly, the Company continues to seek partnerships or acquisitions of high-tech mineral properties to grow its high-tech portfolio and increase shareholder value.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, prepared and approved by Mr. Gary Pearse MSc, P. Eng, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About TANTALEX Resources Corporation

TANTALEX is a mining company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and distribution of Lithium, Cobalt, Tantalum and other high-tech mineral properties in Africa. The Company is listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (symbol: TTX) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbol: 1T0).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward-looking statements. Although TANTALEX believes that the expectations reflected in forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, TANTALEX disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed this news release and does not accept responsibility for its adequacy or accuracy.

For further information, please contacts Investor relations: ir@tantalex.ca

Or visit us at: WWW.TANTALEX.CA

Contacts:

TANTALEX Resources Corporation

Dave Gagnon

Chief Executive Officer

+16479637476

dg@tantalex.ca



TANTALEX Resources Corporation

Kyle Appleby

Chief Financial Officer

+14164179176

ka@tantalex.ca



TANTALEX Resources Corporation

Christina Lalli

Manager, Investor Relations

+14379924114

cl@tantalex.ca




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.
GREENSBORO, NC--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - Gilbarco Veeder-Root, in cooperation with ExxonMobil, today announced that it has launched a program to encourage Exxon and Mobil branded wholesalers to convert or update their forecourt equipment and systems for EMV' (EMV' is a trademark owned by EMVCo LLC).

"We have implemented this program for a number of reasons," said John Rhodes, Americas Retail Director for ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company. "In addition to updating existing dispensers to new state-of-the-art equipment that will provide for a better consumer experience and overall brand image enhancement in the forecourt, our branded wholesalers will also have the necessary EMV-compliant equipment in place when the liability shift takes place in 2020. It is important to us that our branded wholesalers continue to move toward EMV compliance."

The limited-time program offered by Gilbarco and ExxonMobil features dispensers with cutting-edge technology, including the FlexPay' IV CRIND  for EMV payment acceptance. Available features include contactless payment acceptance and Gilbarco's Insite360' remote monitoring and management service. Additionally, Gilbarco's HD meter' improves profitability via reduced meter drift and fewer calibrations. The dispensers will also come completely outfitted with ExxonMobil's new Fuel Technology Synergy' graphics to refresh the site's brand image and drive more forecourt traffic.

The program also defrays the cost of conversion for participating wholesalers. As part of the upgrade, branded wholesalers have the option to leverage additional solutions that can come with the upgrades to drive sales and customer loyalty, including media and merchandising-capable screens that promote in-store products and services to consumers at the pumps.

"Leading retailers are leveraging the upgrade to EMV dispensers to take advantage of new technologies to drive sales, customer loyalty and operational efficiency," said Mark Williams, Vice President of Marketing, North America for Gilbarco. "We are pleased to work with ExxonMobil on this program to help ensure that their retailers have the equipment necessary to protect their customers and their brand, while also improving their businesses."

About Gilbarco Veeder-Root

Gilbarco Veeder-Root is the worldwide technology leader for retail and commercial fueling operations offering the broadest range of integrated solutions from the forecourt to the convenience store and head office. For over 150 years, Gilbarco has earned the trust of its customers by providing long-term partnership, uncompromising support and proven reliability. Major product lines include: fuel dispensers, pump media, point-of-sale systems, payment systems, tank gauges, software development and integration, fleet management systems, and nozzles. Visit www.gilbarco.com for more information.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world's growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is the largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/exxonmobil.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/5/1/11G137466/Images/Exxon_Synergy-b6619b98416fa3a880eac424c46702eb.jpg

For further information, contact:

Patricia Stancati

Marketing Communications Program Manager

Gilbarco Veeder-Root

Tel: (336) 547-5121

e-mail: Email contact


NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- In Ovations Holdings (OTC PINK: INOH) Closes on two Multi Million dollar marketing distribution agreements.

In Ovations Holdings is happy to announce that it has closed on the marketing distribution agreement with Seychelle Water Environmental, which is currently doing multi million dollars in sales per year after a strategic revamping of management and plans to roll out our water filtration bottle through a major box store in the United States to be announced. Our executed agreement includes but is not limited to the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Africa as well as Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil. Our subsidiary Electro Verde is also doing the necessary valuation and valuable consideration of the potential customers through its management in the Dominican Republic to achieve and execute these initiatives.

Aquarius Brands is now selling the Aquaboy Pro II in Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, Amazon, Super Green Stores, Unbelievable Sale and others. They are also on target to do more than a million dollars in sales this year. We are also in the process of selling our products in other countries through our Latin American Distribution sources.

Mark Goldberg, CEO of In Ovations Holdings, Inc. stated, "I am very pleased with the new direction of the company's future. We are working tirelessly on bringing new and enhanced value to the company and our shareholders. We will have the breakdown of all of the numbers in our June financials."

We will continue to update our shareholders as our business plans unfold.

ABOUT

AWS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aquarius Brands a group of companies specializing in water generation, conservation and education for homes, businesses, hotels, restaurants, schools, utility companies and more. Aquarius Brands products include AWS AquaBoy air to water generators, Boomerang high-capacity compact bottling machines, Retrax solar solutions and DroughtBuster water saving devices.

In Ovations Holdings, Inc. through its subsidiary, Electro Verde Inc., entered into a marketing distribution agreement with Seychelle Water Environmental Technologies, Inc. which manufactures and supplies revolutionary water filtration systems featuring breakthrough technology, most notably, Ionic Adsorption Micro Filtration. Seychelle is a prominent company in the fast-growing water filtration industry, who markets a complete line of top-quality portable water filtration products and brands in North America and worldwide. The company is a minority owner of Atmospheric Water Solutions, (Aquarius Brands) a company involved in water purification. The Company is also engaged in identifying and engaging in other business opportunities for purposes of diversification and revenue generation.

Safe Harbor Statement:

Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release may contain certain statements that are not descriptions of historical information, but are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements refer to matters that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain assumptions. Actual results could differ materially from the assumptions currently anticipated.

In Ovations Holdings

Public/Investor Relations:

inovationsholdingsinc@gmail.com

Company Email: inovationsholdingsinc@gmail.com

Website: www.inovationsholdings.com

Facebook: InOvationHoldings



Aquarius Brands

12260 SW 53rd Street, Suite 603

Cooper City, Florida, 33330, USA

www.AquariusBrands.org

The Conservation Company



Seychelle Water Filtrations Systems

http://www.seychelle.com




Munchen (ots) -- Querverweis: Bildmaterial ist abrufbar unter http://www.presseportal.de/bilder -Sprunge von hohen Felswanden und Brucken oder Abseilen von den hochsten Wolkenkratzern - bei "Bungee" hat man sofort halsbrecherische Aktionen im Kopf. Aus den USA kommt jetzt ein neues Workout nach Deutschland, das ultra-effektiv und komplett ungefahrlich ist: "Bungee-Fitness" macht sich die vielseitigen Benefits des fur den Extremsport typischen Spezial-Seiles zunutze. Optisch unterscheidet sich der "4D PRO Schlingentrainer" kaum von gewohnlichen Trainingsgeraten wie dem TRX. Der Unterschied liegt im Detail: Der "4D PRO" hat federnde Gummibander - genau wie ein Bungee-Seil. Die neue SHAPE (EVT 17.05.) erklart, was das Training am Seil so effektiv macht.Schwerelos fitIn den Staaten sind die Bungee-Workouts langst der Hit - was bei den Werten auch nicht verwundert: In einer Stunde Training am Seil verbrennt man je nach Korpergewicht bis zu 600 Kalorien - so anstrengend ist es. Bis zu 300 unterschiedliche Ubungen stehen zur Wahl. Beispiel: Sprints auf der Stelle, Liegestutze oder Squats. Je nach Bewegungsablauf werden entweder Arme, Beine oder der Bauch in die Schlingen des "Bungee-Seils" gesteckt. Durch den Widerstand der Federkrafte sind die Ubungen zwar wesentlich anspruchsvoller - gleichzeitig aber gelenkschonender. Bei jedem Move wird nahezu die komplette Muskulatur im Korper aktiviert, sogar tief liegende Partien in Bauch, Rucken und Po konnen gezielt trainiert werden. Klingt zwar nach fiesem Muskelkater, aber durch die Federung werden die Muskeln immer nur kurz beansprucht - so schmerzt es am nachsten Tag fast gar nicht.Ab ins SeilGeeignet ist das Workout prinzipiell fur jeden. Nur bei Verletzungen sollte man vorher mit dem Arzt abklaren, ob das Training empfehlenswert ist. Der Trend-Sport wird hierzulande bereits in vielen Studios angeboten. Eine Stunde Personal Training kostet etwa 30 Euro.Hinweis fur Redaktionen:Der vollstandige Artikel erscheint in der neuen SHAPE (ab 17. Mai im Handel). Auszuge sind bei Nennung der Quelle "SHAPE" zur Veroffentlichung frei.Uber ShapeSHAPE ist das einzigartige Fitness- und Lifestylemagazin fur korperbewusste, aktive und anspruchsvolle Frauen mit dem Ziel, seine Leserinnen mit Freude und Kompetenz in Bestform zu bringen. Als Personal Trainer fur Korper, Geist und Seele motiviert SHAPE, transportiert Lebenslust und erganzt Fitness & Food um die Lifestylethemen Beauty & Fashion sowie Reise & Psychologie. Das inspirierende Konzept deckt alle Facetten im Leben einer aktiven Frau ab. SHAPE ist ein Lebensgefuhl und das Must-Have fur alle Frauen, die stylish, sexy und fit sein wollen. Das Magazin erscheint international mit 15 Ausgaben in uber 30 Landern und ist somit das grote Fitnessmagazin fur Frauen weltweit.Uber Bauer PremiumUnter der Dachmarke BAUER PREMIUM bundelt die Bauer Media Group insgesamt acht Premiummarken: COSMOPOLITAN, Happinez, JOY, Maxi, MYWAY, SHAPE, InTouch Style und ab 29. Marz zusatzlich "einfach.sein". Inhaltlich unterschiedlich positioniert, sprechen sie die unterschiedlichen Premium-Frauen-Zielgruppen in ihrer ganzen Breite an. Fur jede Marke gilt derselbe Premiumanspruch bei Produktqualitat, Preispositionierung und Zielgruppe. BAUER PREMIUM kennt Premiummarkte, -marken und -zielgruppen wie kein anderes Medienhaus: Auch bei den hochwertigen monatlichen Frauenzeitschriften ist die Bauer Media Group die Nr. 1: Kein Verlag verkauft mehr Exemplare im monatlichen Premiumsegment (1,1 Mio. durchschnittlicher Gesamtverkauf IVW 1-4 2016). Mit diesem Portfolio ist der Verlag die marktfuhrende Groe bei anspruchsvollen Premium-Frauen-Zielgruppen. BAUER PREMIUM ist Teil der Bauer Media Group, einem der erfolgreichsten Medienhauser weltweit. Mehr als 600 Zeitschriften, uber 400 digitale Produkte und uber 100 Radio- und TV-Stationen erreichen Millionen Menschen rund um den Globus. Mit ihrer globalen Positionierung unterstreicht die Bauer Media Group ihre Leidenschaft fur Menschen und Marken.OTS: Bauer Media Group, Shape newsroom: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/53324 newsroom via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_53324.rss2Pressekontakt: Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG Anna Hezel Unternehmenskommunikation T +49 40 30 19 10 74 anna.hezel@bauermedia.com www.bauermedia.com https://twitter.com/bauermediagroup


MIDLAND (dpa-AFX) - DuPont (DD) and The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) said that Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) has granted conditional regulatory approval of their proposed merger of equals.



CADE's approval of the merger is subject to the implementation of remedies that maintain the strategic logic and value creation potential of the transaction for all stakeholders. The remedies include the divestment of a select portion of Dow AgroSciences' corn seed business in Brazil, including some seed processing plants and seed research centers, a copy of Dow AgroSciences' Brazilian corn germplasm bank, the Morgan brand and a license for the use of the Dow Seeds brand for a certain period of time.



Dow and DuPont continue to work constructively with regulators in the remaining relevant jurisdictions to obtain clearance for the merger, which they are confident will be achieved. The companies continue to anticipate closing the merger between August 1, 2017 and September 1, 2017, with the intended spins to occur within 18 months of closing. The companies expect that the first step of the intended separation process will be the spin-off of the Materials Science Company.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Bringing modern technology to the birthplace of bespoke

NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Knot Standard, the fastest growing menswear company in the Unites States opens a Concept Store in London's Soho Square neighborhood from May 2nd through May 8th.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/506847/Knot_Standard_London.jpg

The Concept Store represents a significant milestone for Knot Standard, marking the brand's first physical store expansion into Europe. Knot Standard provides a unique value proposition, combining modern technology with old world craftsmanship through custom suits, shirts, blazers, and luxury casual items.

Inside the Concept Store, customers can create custom garments with the assistance of Knot Standard stylists. Knot Standard carries the finest fabrics from mills including, Loro Piana, Ariston, and Dormeuil. Customers choose the fabric options both physically and digitally, facilitated by the Knot Standard virtual studio imagery, which also operates within the Knot Standard Concept Store in Bloomingdale's flagship in New York.

This spring, Knot Standard introduced Casual Luxury to the company's product offering, expanding the opportunity for men to purchase custom garments for all occasions.

CONCEPT STORE LOCATION

2 SOHO SQUARE, SOHO, LONDON W1D 3PX

About Knot Standard

Founded in 2010 by John Ballay and Matt Mueller, Knot Standard combines a unique high tech approach to old world tailoring. Knot Standard creates a luxury menswear experience like no other; using trusted stylists, fit technology, and classic tailoring.

Knot Standards mission is to consistently offer premium product with the highest service, using technology to facilitate purchases in showroom and online.

Visit one of our 8 showrooms across the United States, in Bloomingdale's, or our Online Studio at www.knotstandard.com

"We founded Knot Standard to meet the needs of the modern customer. As the retail world changes, more customers want to purchase custom in a new way: in store, online, and with the flexibility to influence and create their own style." explains CEO, John Ballay.

Media Inquiries

Megan Glynn, Megan@knotstandard.com

Social Media Coordinates
Regulatory News:

Vicat group (Paris:VCT):

Sales of 551 million, representing an increase of +1.4% at constant scope and exchange rates

Firmer business levels in France, the United States, Africa and Middle East

Small business contraction in Europe excl. France, and Asia

The Vicat Group (Euronext Paris: FR0000031775 VCT) has today reported its sales for the period ended March 31, 2017 of 551 million, stable on a reported basis and up +1.4% at constant scope and exchange rates.

Consolidated sales by business segment

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant

scope and

exchange

rates Cement 283 291 -3.0% +4.5% Concrete Aggregates 204 198 +3.0% -2.5% Other Products Services 65 65 0.0% -0.9% Total 551 554 -0.5% +1.4%

Commenting on these figures, the Group's Chairman and CEO said: "During the first quarter, Vicat's activity levels increased again at constant scope and exchange rates despite broadly worse weather conditions than in 2016.

France continued its progressive recovery, while the United States posted further growth in its business. In Asia, a firm performance in India partly helped to make up for the business downturn in Kazakhstan and Turkey, where very difficult weather conditions took their toll. In the Africa and Middle East region, Egypt posted a strong top-line increase at constant scope and exchange rates, which made up for the decline in West Africa.

Against this backdrop, Vicat remains focused on its objectives of maximising cash flow generation and reducing its debt."

In this press release, and unless indicated otherwise, all changes are stated on a year-on-year basis (2017/2016), and at constant scope and exchange rates.

Consolidated sales during the first quarter of 2017 came to 551 million, stable on a reported basis (-0.5%) and up +1.4% at constant scope and exchange rates compared with 2016.

Over the same period, Cement operational sales rose +3.1% (consolidated sales rose +4.5%) at constant scope and exchange rates, while Concrete Aggregates operational sales declined -2.7% (consolidated sales down -2.5%). Sales recorded by the Other Products Services business were stable (operational sales up +0.4%, consolidated sales down -0.9%).

A breakdown of first-quarter operational sales between the Group's various business lines shows a slight dip in the contribution from the Cement business, which now accounts for 53.3% of operational sales compared with 54.6% in the first quarter of 2016. The Concrete Aggregates business accounted for 33.3% of operational sales versus 32.1% in the first three months of 2016. Lastly, the contribution from Other Products Services remained stable at 13.4% of operational sales versus 13.3% in the first quarter of 2016.

1. Geographical breakdown of first-quarter 2017 consolidated sales

1.1. France

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant

scope Consolidated sales 196 183 +7.3% +1.1%

Consolidated sales in France for the period ended March 31, 2017 grew by +7.3% and by +1.1% at constant scope to 196 million. Sector conditions continued to improve during the quarter, even though weather conditions were significantly worse than in 2016.

By business:

In the Cement business , operational sales slipped -1.1%, but rose +1.9% on a consolidated basis. Against a backdrop of very gradual improvement in the sector, volumes edged very slightly lower (-1%) owing to worse weather conditions than in 2016 and weaker export sales. As a result, selling prices were stable, with a very small improvement in the domestic market offsetting the dip in export prices.

, operational sales slipped -1.1%, but rose +1.9% on a consolidated basis. Against a backdrop of very gradual improvement in the sector, volumes edged very slightly lower (-1%) owing to worse weather conditions than in 2016 and weaker export sales. As a result, selling prices were stable, with a very small improvement in the domestic market offsetting the dip in export prices. In the Concrete Aggregates business operational sales rose by +14.0% and by +0.7% at constant scope (consolidated sales up +14.9% on a reported basis and up +1.3% at constant scope). On a reported basis, the quarterly performance of the business reflected the asset swap between Vicat and Cemex completed at the beginning of the year and the first-time consolidation of the recently acquired concrete plants. At constant scope, Vicat's performance in this segment was marked by a decline in concrete volumes of around -3% owing to weather conditions, offset by a healthy gain of over +5% in aggregates. Selling prices rose in Concrete, but dropped slightly in Aggregates.

operational sales rose by +14.0% and by +0.7% at constant scope (consolidated sales up +14.9% on a reported basis and up +1.3% at constant scope). On a reported basis, the quarterly performance of the business reflected the asset swap between Vicat and Cemex completed at the beginning of the year and the first-time consolidation of the recently acquired concrete plants. At constant scope, Vicat's performance in this segment was marked by a decline in concrete volumes of around -3% owing to weather conditions, offset by a healthy gain of over +5% in aggregates. Selling prices rose in Concrete, but dropped slightly in Aggregates. In the Other Products Services business, operational sales posted a very small increase of +1.1%.

1.2. Europe (excluding France)

( million) 31 March 2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope

and exchange rates Consolidated sales 80 81 -0.4% -2.8%

In Switzerland, the Group's consolidated sales declined -3.2% at constant scope and exchange rates (-0.8% on a reported basis).

In the Cement business , operational sales grew +5.2% (+10.1% on a consolidated basis) at constant scope and exchange rates. This performance is essentially the result of a favourable base for comparison given the soft business levels recorded in the first quarter of 2016 following the end of some major infrastructure projects. As a result, volumes rose by over +11%. Selling prices declined compared to the first quarter of 2016 as a result of the downturn recorded throughout 2016. On a sequential basis, selling prices were essentially stable compared with the fourth quarter of 2016.

, operational sales grew +5.2% (+10.1% on a consolidated basis) at constant scope and exchange rates. This performance is essentially the result of a favourable base for comparison given the soft business levels recorded in the first quarter of 2016 following the end of some major infrastructure projects. As a result, volumes rose by over +11%. Selling prices declined compared to the first quarter of 2016 as a result of the downturn recorded throughout 2016. On a sequential basis, selling prices were essentially stable compared with the fourth quarter of 2016. In the Concrete Aggregates business , operational and consolidated sales declined

-11.4% at constant scope and exchange rates. This performance was driven by a decline in concrete volumes of close to -3%. and close to -6% in aggregates owing to the completion of road and civil engineering projects. As a result, selling prices dropped lower in concrete, but moved higher in aggregates.

, operational and consolidated sales declined -11.4% at constant scope and exchange rates. This performance was driven by a decline in concrete volumes of close to -3%. and close to -6% in aggregates owing to the completion of road and civil engineering projects. As a result, selling prices dropped lower in concrete, but moved higher in aggregates. The Precast business recorded a -3.1% decline in operational sales. This contraction was caused by the temporary dip in volumes in the railway segment and the reorganization of part of the precast products business to adapt to a fiercer competitive environment, which triggered strong pricing pressures.

In Italy, consolidated sales grew +9.4%. This performance amid challenging industry conditions was driven by a significant volume improvement of +10% and a small pick-up in selling prices.

1.3. United States

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope

nd exchange rates Consolidated sales 84 80 +5.4% +1.8%

Business levels in the United States rose +1.8% relative to the first quarter of 2016, with favourable macroeconomic and sector conditions continuing to provide support.

In the Cement business , operational sales rose by +9.7% (+13.7% on a consolidated basis) at constant scope and exchange rates. Volumes rose by almost +3%, but performance varied from one region to another. The very high rainfall recorded again in California in the first quarter led to stable volumes in this area, while volumes grew further in the South-East. Selling prices recorded another increase in both regions relative to the first quarter of 2016.

, operational sales rose by +9.7% (+13.7% on a consolidated basis) at constant scope and exchange rates. Volumes rose by almost +3%, but performance varied from one region to another. The very high rainfall recorded again in California in the first quarter led to stable volumes in this area, while volumes grew further in the South-East. Selling prices recorded another increase in both regions relative to the first quarter of 2016. In the Concrete business, sales declined -4.8% at constant scope and exchange rates. Volumes fell by close to -7% across the region as a whole, with a sharp fall in California owing to bad weather conditions, and a more moderate drop in the South-East. As a result of the hikes introduced in 2016, selling prices edged higher in California and firmed up slightly more in the South-East.

1.4. Asia (Turkey, India and Kazakhstan)

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope

and exchange rates Consolidated sales 110 115 -4.4% -1.7%

In Turkey, consolidated sales came to 31.7 million, down -9.2% at constant scope and exchange rates (down -25.1% on a reported basis). Business trends were marked by the very poor weather conditions during the quarter, especially in the Anatolian plateau, and by a small dip in industry activity due to the political environment.

In the Cement business , the Group recorded a decrease of -6.7% in its operational sales (consolidated sales down -6.9%). Amid an uncertain political and geopolitical environment, volumes posted a fall of close to -5% given the far worse weather conditions than in 2016. Volume trends were very mixed over the period. Volumes sold in Ankara from the Bastas plant did not make up for the steep decline in volumes sold in the Konya region. Accordingly, the average selling price moved slightly lower over the period, with prices increasing slightly in the Bastas markets, but declining in the Konya region.

, the Group recorded a decrease of -6.7% in its operational sales (consolidated sales down -6.9%). Amid an uncertain political and geopolitical environment, volumes posted a fall of close to -5% given the far worse weather conditions than in 2016. Volume trends were very mixed over the period. Volumes sold in Ankara from the Bastas plant did not make up for the steep decline in volumes sold in the Konya region. Accordingly, the average selling price moved slightly lower over the period, with prices increasing slightly in the Bastas markets, but declining in the Konya region. The operational sales recorded by the Concrete Aggregates business declined -9.2% (consolidated sales down -11.9%). Weather conditions had a severe impact on business levels, with volumes dropping over -13% in concrete and close to -10% in aggregates. Average selling prices remained stable in concrete and rose in aggregates.

In India, the Group recorded consolidated sales of 75 million in the first quarter of 2017, up +4.6% at constant scope and exchange rates. With 1.3 million tonnes sold in the quarter, volumes rose by over +8% reflecting the Group's aim of capitalizing on the start-up of new infrastructure projects by the Indian government. Amid further intense competitive pressure, cement selling prices rose very slightly compared with the first quarter of 2016, with a gradually improving geographical mix.

In Kazakhstan, consolidated sales came to 4.1 million over the period, down -13.6%. At constant exchange rates, sales declined -24.4%. Given the very strong seasonal variations in sales in this country owing to weather conditions, the first quarter is not representative of performance anticipated over the full year. Volumes delivered during the quarter fell by close to -33% owing in particular tough winter conditions and the Group's priority of maintaining its selling prices. As a result, they recorded a solid increase in the first quarter.

1.5. Africa and Middle East

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope

and exchange rates Consolidated sales 81 96 -15.6% +8.8%

In Egypt, consolidated sales totalled 20.3 million, up +31.8% at constant scope and exchange rates. On a reported basis, sales declined by -38.4% owing to the November 2016 devaluation in the Egyptian pound. This trend reflected an increase in delivery volumes of close to +18%. Ex-works selling prices were significantly higher than in the previous year, but remained highly volatile given the macroeconomic environment.

In West Africa, sales were down -3.4% at constant scope and exchange rates. Cement volumes fell by over -11% during the period. Selling prices remained stable in the Cement business in Senegal, but moved higher in Mali, and weakened further in Mauritania. They edged slightly higher in Aggregates in Senegal.

2. Breakdown of first-quarter 2017 sales by business

2.1.Cement

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope and

exchange rates Volumes

(thousands of tonnes) 4,888 4,829 +1.2% Operational sales 335 346 -3.3% +3.1% Eliminations (52) (55) Consolidated sales 283 291 -3.0% +4.5%

2.2.Concrete Aggregates

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope and

exchange rates Concrete volumes

(thousands of m3 1,846 1,885 -2.0% Aggregates volumes (thousands of tonnes) 5,007 4,826 +3.7% Operational sales 209 204 +2.6% -2.7% Eliminations (5) (6) Consolidated sales 204 198 +3.0% -2.5%

2.3.Other Products Services

( million) 31 March

2017 31 March

2016 Change (%) Reported At constant scope and

exchange rates Operational sales 84 84 -0.1% +0.4% Eliminations (19) (19) Consolidated sales 65 65 0.0% -0.9%

3. Changes in consolidated financial position at March 31, 2017

It is worth noting that historically the first quarter has not been representative of the Group's full-year financial performance.

Net debt came to 40% of consolidated shareholders' equity at March 31, 2017 versus 46% at March 31, 2016.

Given the Group's debt level, bank covenants do not pose a threat to either the Group's financial position or its balance sheet liquidity. At March 31, 2017, Vicat complied with all financial ratios required by covenants in financing agreements.

4. Outlook

In 2017, the Group expects further improvements in its performance, capitalizing on ongoing growth in the United States, France and India, and a return to growth in Europe (excluding France) and Kazakhstan. These factors should offset the expected increase in energy costs and lower profitability in Egypt taking into account the sharp devaluation of the Egyptian pound in late 2016.

Against this background, the Group will continue in 2017 to pursue its policy of optimizing cash flows and reducing its level of debt.

For 2017, the Group provides the following guidance concerning its markets:

In France , the Group is expecting the gradual improvement in the macroeconomic and industry situation to continue. It should be noted that first-half performance is likely to be affected by a high base for comparison resulting from weather conditions. As a result, volumes are likely to rise very slightly over the full year, while the pricing environment should also improve a little.

, the Group is expecting the gradual improvement in the macroeconomic and industry situation to continue. It should be noted that first-half performance is likely to be affected by a high base for comparison resulting from weather conditions. As a result, volumes are likely to rise very slightly over the full year, while the pricing environment should also improve a little. In Switzerland , sales should benefit from a more favourable base for comparison and an upturn in infrastructure work. Volumes are likely to remain stable and the price environment should be better than in 2016.

, sales should benefit from a more favourable base for comparison and an upturn in infrastructure work. Volumes are likely to remain stable and the price environment should be better than in 2016. In Italy, volumes are likely to stabilize during the year at a historically low level of consumption amid a persistently challenging macroeconomic situation. Meanwhile, in light of the recent consolidation in this market and the Group's selective sales and marketing policy, the trend in selling prices could be slightly more favourable.

volumes are likely to stabilize during the year at a historically low level of consumption amid a persistently challenging macroeconomic situation. Meanwhile, in light of the recent consolidation in this market and the Group's selective sales and marketing policy, the trend in selling prices could be slightly more favourable. In the United States , volumes are expected to rise further, in line with the rate of sector recovery in the country. Selling prices should also increase in the two regions in which the Group operates.

, volumes are expected to rise further, in line with the rate of sector recovery in the country. Selling prices should also increase in the two regions in which the Group operates. In Turkey , due to the current geopolitical situation the market offers little visibility even if market trends are expected to remain firm in the Ankara region and more tense in the Konya region. The Group should capitalize on its strong positions in the Anatolian plateau and its efficient production facilities. Selling prices should be firm over the period.

, due to the current geopolitical situation the market offers little visibility even if market trends are expected to remain firm in the Ankara region and more tense in the Konya region. The Group should capitalize on its strong positions in the Anatolian plateau and its efficient production facilities. Selling prices should be firm over the period. In India , the Group remains very confident about its ability to capitalize fully on the quality of its production facilities, staff and positions in a market that should benefit this year from the continuing upturn in the macroeconomic environment and, more specifically, from infrastructure investments. In a context that should remain favourable for growth in cement consumption, prices although likely to remain very volatile should broadly be firm over the full year.

, the Group remains very confident about its ability to capitalize fully on the quality of its production facilities, staff and positions in a market that should benefit this year from the continuing upturn in the macroeconomic environment and, more specifically, from infrastructure investments. In a context that should remain favourable for growth in cement consumption, prices although likely to remain very volatile should broadly be firm over the full year. In Kazakhstan , the Group will be able to leverage the quality of its manufacturing base and teams against a background that is expected to improve.

, the Group will be able to leverage the quality of its manufacturing base and teams against a background that is expected to improve. In West Africa , the market is likely to remain buoyant in 2017, which should drive an increase in volumes. Prices are expected to remain volatile given the competitive environment.

, the market is likely to remain buoyant in 2017, which should drive an increase in volumes. Prices are expected to remain volatile given the competitive environment. In Egypt, following the very sharp currency devaluation in November 2016, the Group expects its financial performance to deteriorate significantly.

4. Conference call

To accompany the publication of its first-quarter 2017 sales, the Vicat group is organising a conference call in English that will take place on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 3pm Paris time (2pm London time and 9am New York time).

To take part in the conference call live, dial one of the following numbers:

France: +33(0)1 76 77 22 74

United Kingdom: +44 (0)330 336 9105

United States: +1 719 457 2086

To listen to a playback of the conference call, which will be available until May 8, 2017, dial one of the following numbers:

France: +33 (0)1 70 48 00 94

United Kingdom: +44 (0)207 984 7568

United States: +1 719 457 0820

Access code: 3075311#

Next publication: First-half 2017 results on August 3, 2017 after market close.

ABOUT VICAT

The Vicat Group has over 8,000 employees working in three core divisions, Cement, Concrete Aggregates and Other Products Services, which generated consolidated sales of 2,454 million in 2016. The Group operates in eleven countries: France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Kazakhstan and India. Almost 68% of its sales are generated outside France.

The Vicat Group is the heir to an industrial tradition dating back to 1817, when Louis Vicat invented artificial cement. Founded in 1853, the Vicat Group now operates three core lines of business: Cement, Ready-Mixed Concrete and Aggregates, as well as related activities.

Disclaimer:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets. These statements are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties as described in the Company's annual report available on its website (www.vicat.fr). These statements do not reflect the future performance of the Company, which may differ significantly. The Company does not undertake to provide updates of these statements.

Further information about Vicat is available from its website (www.vicat.fr).

Vicat Group Financial data Appendices

Breakdown of first-quarter 2017 sales by business geographical region

Cement Concrete &

Aggregates Other

Products &

Services Inter-sector

eliminations Consolidated

sales France 83 97 56 (41) 196 Europe (excluding France) 36 34 21 (11) 80 United States 47 50 (13) 84 Asia 99 17 7 (12) 110 Africa and Middle East 70 11 (0) 81 Operational sales 335 209 84 (77) 551 Inter-sector eliminations (52) (5) (19) 77 Consolidated sales 283 204 65 551

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502006087/en/

Contacts:

Vicat group

Relations Investisseurs :

Stephane Bisseuil, T. 33 1 58 86 86 14

stephane.bisseuil@vicat.fr

or

Contacts Presse :

Marion Guerin, T. 33 1 58 86 86 26

marion.guerin@tbwa.com
WOOBURN GREEN, England, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Ethypharm announced today the appointment of Andy Farrant as UK Managing Director.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/506947/Ethypharm_Logo.jpg )



Following Ethypharm's acquisition of Martindale Pharma on 28 February 2017, Andy Farrant has been appointed UK Managing Director. Andy brings over 25 years of commercial experience of the Pharmaceutical industry in the UK and internationally with a track record of building successful pharmaceutical brands and commercial teams.

Most recently, Andy served as Managing Director of DB Ashbourne Ltd and led the restructuring of the business when Ethypharm acquired DB Ashbourne in October 2015. Prior to joining DB Ashbourne, Andy was Managing Director of Archimedes Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for UK and Irish operations and previously at Basilea Pharmaceuticals having established their first commercial affiliate in the UK. Andy spent his formative years at Novartis in various roles of increasing responsibility in the UK & Switzerland.

Andy gained a BSc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Exeter, UK.

"We are confident that Andy will play a key role as Managing Director to unite both companies and continue growing our business in Europe. His expertise of the pharmaceutical industry will help us to achieve our goals to provide patients with high quality, effective drugs", commented Hugues Lecat, CEO of Group Ethypharm.

"I am immensely proud to be appointed UK Managing Director. It is an exciting time for our business, as Martindale and Ethypharm come together to focus on best in class product development, manufacturing and commercialising a range of essential and affordable medicines," explains Andy. "I look forward to bringing the teams together and making our head office in Wooburn Green, a truly great place to work."

About Ethypharm

Ethypharm is a specialty European pharmaceutical company with global reach and a committed player in the treatment of pain and addiction.

Ethypharm also develops and markets complex generics and essential medicines that help reduce healthcare costs, particularly in the field of emergency care and oncology.

The Company employs 1400 people mainly in Europe, and its drugs are marketed in more than 50 countries.

Our ambition is to become the European leader for the treatment of pain and addiction, and to help patients around the world gain access to high quality, essential and affordable medicines.

Press contact - Greta Guzman / presse@ethypharm.com / +33-(0)-1-41-12-17-20
SAINT-CLOUD, France, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Ethypharm, a European specialty pharmaceutical company, announces the appointment of Michael Harris as Chief Operating Officer of the Ethypharm Group.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/506947/Ethypharm_Logo.jpg )



Previously Michael was CEO of Martindale Pharma, a leading UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company providing essential medicines to over 50 countries around the world and specializing in the field of opioid addiction, emergency care and sterile injectable products. Following the acquisition of Martindale by Ethypharm in February 2017, he has been appointed to COO of the combined group. In his role, Michael will be responsible for the sales, quality, manufacturing and industrial teams at Ethypharm.

The acquisition of Martindale Pharma is a key element in Ethypharm's strategy to build a leading European specialty pharma company focused upon pain, addiction and critical care.

"I am delighted to become part of the Ethypharm team and am excited to help our patients that need innovative pain, addiction and critical care products," said Michael Harris. "Ethypharm is poised to grow in both its traditional markets and after the acquisition of Martindale, has the further capability of accelerating growth in the UK, Middle East and Australia."

Hugues Lecat, CEO of Ethypharm, commented: "I warmly welcome Michael to Ethypharm. His experience and knowledge in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry will lead us to shape Ethypharm into a European leading specialty pharmaceuticals company that is providing patients with access to differentiated and affordable medicines."

With over 20 years in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry Michael has held senior managerial positions at major international life science and healthcare companies. He has significant experience working across supply chain, manufacturing, sales, marketing as well as corporate M&A and has worked in both the UK and Switzerland.

Prior to joining Martindale Pharma, he worked at GE Healthcare as the General Manager, Commercial for the Research business in EMEA and USCAN. Before that he spent 10 years at Sigma Aldrich, now part of Merck KGaA, where he was Managing Director of EMEA and member of the Corporate Executive team. At Sigma Aldrich, he was directly responsible for the sales, operations, supply chain and support functions across the European market.

About Ethypharm

Ethypharm is a specialty European pharmaceutical company with global reach and a committed player in the treatment of pain and addiction.

Ethypharm also develops and markets complex generics and essential medicines that help reduce healthcare costs, particularly in the field of emergency care and oncology.

The Company employs 1400 people mainly in Europe, and its drugs are marketed in more than 50 countries.

Our ambition is to become the European leader for the treatment of pain and addiction, and to help patients around the world gain access to high quality, essential and affordable medicines.

Press contact - Greta Guzman / presse@ethypharm.com / +33(0)1-41-12-17-20
WEST JORDAN, UT--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - Mountain America Credit Union has again earned honors among the top ten "Best Places to Work in Idaho." This year, Mountain America ranked 5th in the Large Employer category. The ranking is determined by the results of an employee satisfaction survey conducted by POPULUS  , a marketing and research firm.

"We are honored that our Idaho employees consistently rate Mountain America as a top workplace in the annual Best Places to Work in Idaho surveys," said Sterling Nielsen, President/CEO of Mountain America. "Mountain America prides itself on being a workplace that encourages and rewards employee success, and we believe that is reflected back in employees' dedication to our core values. We strive to incorporate that philosophy into everything we do."

Mountain America currently has 13 Idaho branches, with more than 100 employees across Southern Idaho.

The Best Places to Work in Idaho is a community of organizations working together to identify, recognize and inform Idaho employers about Idaho's best employment practices, using a data-driven process. This community is composed of Idaho universities, chambers of commerce, Idaho chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and is organized by POPULUS.

Mountain America Credit Union has more than $6.4 billion in assets and serves more than 650,000 members, wherever they are, through online and mobile banking, in 87 branches across five states and with access to more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs and 5,000 shared-branching locations nationwide. With roots dating back to the 1930s, Mountain America offers a variety of financial products and services for consumers and businesses, including savings accounts, auto loans, checking accounts, mortgage loans, business checking, student loans, SBA loans and retirement options. Visit www.macu.com for more information.

Media Contact:

Angie Nelson

208-493-0131

Email contact




Regulatory News:

Pixium Vision (Paris:PIX) (FR0011950641 PIX), a company developing innovative bionic vision systems to allow patients who have lost their sight to lead more independent lives, announces the evolution of its share capital. The number of voting rights and shares composing its share capital as at April 30, 2017 is as follow:

Total voting rights Total number of shares composing capital Total real voting rights*: 13,205,532 13,233,081 Total theoretical voting rights **: 13,233,081

* The actual (or net) voting rights correspond to the total number of voting rights exercisable at General Meetings. They are calculated based on the total number of voting rights attached to the total number of shares, less any shares without voting rights (treasury shares, etc.)

**Theoretical (or gross) voting rights include all voting rights attached to the shares (including those without voting rights).

ABOUT PIXIUM VISION

Pixium Vision's Mission is to create a world of bionic vision for those who have lost their sight, enabling them to regain partial visual perception and greater autonomy. Pixium Vision's bionic vision systems are associated with a surgical intervention as well as a rehabilitation period.

The company is developing two bionic retinal implant systems. IRISII, the company first bionic system, obtained CE mark in July 2016. In parallel, Pixium Vision has recently completed the pre-clinical study phases for PRIMA, a sub-retinal miniaturized wireless photovoltaic implant platform, and is planning to initiate first-in-human trials.

Pixium Vision collaborates closely with academic and research partners spanning across the prestigious Vision research institutions including the Institut de la Vision in Paris, the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory at Stanford University, and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. The company is EN ISO 13485 certified.

For more information, please visit: www.pixium-vision.com;

And follow us on: Twitter @PixiumVision; Facebook www.facebook.com/pixiumvision

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/pixium-vision

Pixium Vision is listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment C). Pixium Vision shares are eligible for the French tax incentivized PEA-PME and FCPI investment vehicles.

Pixium Vision is included in the Euronext CAC All Shares index

Euronext ticker: PIX ISIN: FR0011950641 Reuters: PIX.PA Bloomberg: PIX:FP

Disclaimer:

This press release may expressly or implicitly contain forward-looking statements relating to Pixium Vision and its activity. Such statements are related to known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could lead actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements to differ materially from Vision Pixium results, financial conditions, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.

Pixium Vision provides this press release as of the aforementioned date and does not commit to update forward looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For a description of risks and uncertainties which could lead to discrepancies between actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements and those contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to Chapter 4 "Risk Factors" of the company's Registration Document filed with the AMF under number R16-033 on April 28, 2016 which can be found on the websites of the AMF AMF (www.amf-france.org) and of Pixium Vision (www.pixium-vision.com

IRIS is trademark of Pixium-Vision SA

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502006327/en/

Contacts:

Pixium Vision

Didier Laurens, CFO, +33 1 76 21 47 68

investors@pixium-vision.com

or

Media Relations: Newcap Media

Annie-Florence Loyer, +33 1 44 71 00 12 +33 6 88 20 35 59

afloyer@newcap.fr
Regulatory News:

Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) and the Republic of Senegal have signed two agreements enabling Total to contribute to the exploration activities in Senegal's deep and ultra-deep offshore.

"An established player in refining and marketing in Senegal, Total is delighted to expand its presence in the country in the exploration production segment. These agreements are part of the Group's strategy to carry out exploration activities in new deepwater basins in Africa and leverage our world renowned expertise. Total is pleased to be bringing our know-how to the promising exploration zones in Senegal," said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total, following his meeting with the President of the Republic of Senegal.

The first agreement involves an exploration and production sharing contract for the Rufisque Offshore Profond block, which covers an area of 10,357 square kilometers. Total will be the operator with a 90% interest alongside Societe Nationale des Petroles du Senegal (Petrosen), holding the remaining 10%.

The Group also signed a cooperation agreement with Petrosen and Senegal's Ministry of Energy and Renewable Energy Development under which Total will perform studies to assess the exploration potential of Senegal's ultra-deep offshore and become operator of an exploration block.

Total in Senegal

Total has been present in Senegal since 1947 in the refining and marketing of petroleum products. With a network of 174 service stations located throughout the country, Total is a major economic player in Senegal.

About Total

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, and a major player in solar energy with SunPower and Total Solar. Our 98,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits. total.com

Cautionary note

This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms "Total" and "Total Group" are sometimes used for convenience where general references are made to TOTAL S.A. and/or its subsidiaries. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.

This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502006338/en/

Contacts:

Total

Mike SANGSTER

Nicolas FUMEX

Kim HOUSEGO

Romain RICHEMONT

Tel.: 44 (0)207 719 7962

Fax: 44 (0)207 719 7959

or

Robert HAMMOND (U.S.)

Tel.: +1 713-483-5070

Fax : +1 713-483-5629
FIRM ORGANIC GROWTH OF 5.7%

RAPID GROWTH OF 19% IN INTERNATIONAL REVENUE

2017 REVENUE TARGET OF 3,125 MILLION REITERATED

(GROWTH OF 10% VS. 2016)

Regulatory News:

The ORPEA group (Paris:ORP), one of the leading European providers of long- and medium-term care (nursing homes, post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and homecare services), has today announced its revenues for the first quarter to 31st March 2017.

In m Q1 2017 Q1 2016 Change France 434.0 413.6 +4.9% % of total revenue 58% 61% International 317.7 266.9 +19.0% % of total revenue 42% 39% Germany 127.2 121.8 Austria 51.2 38.7 Belgium 41.0 40.9 China 0.3 Spain 34.5 17.1 Italy 12.2 11.6 Poland 3.0 2.6 Switzerland 47.5 34.0 Czechy 0.9 0.2 Total revenue 751.7 680.5 +10.5% Including organic growth1 +5.7%

Sanyres in Spain has been consolidated since 1st July 2016, and Spitex in Switzerland since 1st January 2017.

Yves Le Masne, ORPEA's Chief Executive Officer, said:

"ORPEA had a strong start to the year, recording revenue growth of 10.5% to 751.7 million. This excellent performance was underpinned by a brisk pace of organic growth (+5.7%) and the contribution made by our acquisitions, chiefly Sanyres in Spain and Spitex (homecare network) in Switzerland.

Once again, we have managed to deliver a very sound organic growth across all the countries where we operate as a result of:

consistently high occupancy rates across our network

the attractiveness of the Group's facilities in Europe, which comes from the quality of care they provide, their reputation and their location

the ramp-up in facilities that we have opened over the past two years, mostly in large towns and cities or in areas with strong purchasing power

the opening of over 500 additional beds in the first quarter of 2017 in France, Germany, Italy and Belgium.

Our international business, which accounts for 42% of the Group's consolidated revenue, continues to expand very rapidly, recording growth of +19% in the first quarter. This trend is set to continue over the upcoming quarters.

As demonstrated by our recent acquisitions in Austria and the Czech Republic, we are actively pursuing growth through selective acquisitions. We are also going ahead with our plans to open new facilities in countries where we already operate, while continuing to consider opportunities in new territories.

Given our first-quarter performance, we are confidently restating our revenue target of 3,125 million, which represents a +10% increase on 2016."

Next press release: Half-year 2017 revenues

18 July 2017 after the market close

About ORPEA (www.orpea-corp.com

Founded in 1989, ORPEA is a European leader in integrated Long-Term Care and Post-Acute Care, with a network of 775 healthcare facilities, with 79,838 beds (9,371 of them under refurbishment or construction), including:

33,122 beds in France at 357 facilities (2,409 beds under refurbishment or construction);

46,716 beds outside France (Germany, Austria, Belgium, China, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland) at 418 facilities (6,962 beds under refurbishment or construction).

ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0000184798) and member of SBF 120, STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices.

1 Organic growth is calculated based on an equivalent number of days to 2016 and reflects the following factors: 1. The year-on-year change in the revenues of existing facilities as a result of changes in their occupancy rates and daily rates; 2. The year-on-year change in the revenues of redeveloped facilities or those where capacity has been increased in the current or year-earlier period; 3. Revenues generated in the current period by facilities created in the current or year-earlier period, and the change in revenues at recently acquired facilities by comparison with the previous equivalent period.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502006368/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations:

ORPEA

Yves Le Masne

CEO

Steve Grobet

Investor Relations Officer

Tel: +33 (0)1 47 75 74 66

s.grobet@orpea.net

or

Investor and Media Relations:

NewCap

Dusan Oresansky Nicolas Merigeau

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

orpea@newcap.eu
Yesterday, Liberty Mutual Insurance announced it completed its acquisition of Ironshore Inc., creating a global specialty business with approximately $6.5 billion in net written premium. Today, Liberty Mutual is announcing it is combining its existing Liberty International Underwriters ("LIU") U.S. business and Ironshore's U.S. specialty lines business under the Ironshore brand, which will create the 6th largest writer of excess surplus lines in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium.

"The combination of our two operations will create a top tier U.S. specialty insurer with a broad and deep set of solutions for clients and brokers," said David H. Long, Liberty Mutual Insurance Chairman and CEO. "For Liberty's worldwide operations, Ironshore becomes an ideal complement to our $5 billion global specialty business by providing additional scale, expertise, innovation and market relationships."

Current Ironshore CEO Kevin H. Kelley will continue to lead all Ironshore operations and report directly to Mr. Long.

Ironshore's existing international businesses, including its Lloyd's syndicate operation (Pembroke) and Bermuda platform, will continue to operate with its existing management team, business strategy and Ironshore brand. Mitch Blaser, Ironshore COO, CEO Ironshore Bermuda and CEO IronServe, and Mark Wheeler, CEO Ironshore International, will continue to report directly to Mr. Kelley.

The combined U.S. specialty organization will be led by Shaun Kelly, Ironshore President and CEO Ironshore U.S., who will report directly to Mr. Kelley. The combined U.S. specialty operation comprises the following product leadership teams:

John O'Brien, Head of Environmental

Matthew Dolan, Head of IronHealth

Michael Finnegan, Head of U.S. Casualty

Greg Flood, Head of IronPro

Edward Mazman, Head of U.S. Property

Daniel Sussman, Head of U.S. Political Risk

Joseph Boren will be the Head of U.S. Distribution, reporting directly to Shaun Kelly.

Jessica Rogin will be Ironshore's U.S. Chief Claims Officer, reporting directly to Mike Mitrovic, Ironshore's Global Chief Claims Officer.

Randall Kneeland, will be Ironshore's Chief Financial Officer, reporting directly to Kevin Kelley.

Kevin H. Kelley, Chief Executive Officer of Ironshore stated, "Ironshore's profitable specialty lines business will further bolster Liberty Mutual's specialty markets platform, while Liberty Mutual's strong balance sheet presents Ironshore opportunities to innovate additional product lines and to access greater insurance underwriting capacity. Ironshore looks forward to working with the Liberty Mutual family as we expand upon our specialty classes of business and heighten our established corporate brand in markets worldwide. Liberty Mutual's global reach and admirable reputation offer Ironshore deeper resources to drive strategic growth."

Ironshore, which was founded in 2006, had gross premiums written of $2.2 billion in 2016 and prior to this combination was the 9th largest Excess Surplus lines insurer in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium. The company, which has approximately 800 employees located in 15 countries worldwide, is organized into three major operating hubs based in the United States, Bermuda and London.

There will be no changes to the existing Liberty Mutual Global Specialty business outside of LIU U.S. Liberty Specialty Markets (including Liberty's Lloyd's syndicate), LIU Canada, LIU Asia Pacific, LIU Latin America and the Global Surety operation will all continue to be run by Christopher Peirce, President of Global Specialty, with no changes to the existing management team, brand or business strategy. Mr. Peirce will continue to report directly to Liberty CEO, David Long.

Clients and brokers should continue to communicate with their existing contacts at Liberty Mutual and Ironshore.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Mutual Insurance helps people preserve and protect what they earn, build, own and cherish. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today we are a leading global insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. We are the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium data as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. We also rank 73rd on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2015 revenue. As of December 31, 2016, we had $38.3 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

We employ more than 50,000 people in over 800 offices throughout the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, accident health, commercial automobile, general liability, property, surety, workers compensation, group disability, group life, specialty lines, reinsurance, individual life and annuity products. You can learn more about us by visiting www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502006390/en/

Contacts:

Liberty Mutual Insurance

John Cusolito, 617-877-6991

john.cusolito@libertymutual.com
MANAMA, Baharain and BEIRUT, September 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

In partnership with Bahrain EDB & Investcorp

Forum to explore emerging technologies and promoting a culture of innovation in the Arab region



The MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab announced the launch of its first Innovation Forum in partnership with Bahrai n Economic Development Board (EDB) and Investcorp ,a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products. The forum will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bahrain on the 27th and 28th of September with the expected participation of over 400 people including innovative startups, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors, along with CEOs, CTOs and CIOs from the world's leading tech companies as well as policy makers and the media.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/552486/MITEF_Pan_Arab.jpg )



This event is the first of its kind in the Arab world, falling within the vision and objectives of the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) for the Pan Arab Region, which aims to develop and promote a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation and technological proliferation in this part of the world. This goes hand in hand with the Kingdom of Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030, a goal towards a prosperous economic climate that is based on sustainability, fairness and competitiveness. The forum will also welcome a large number of regional and international speakers, focusing on the latest technologies and the latest scientific research in the field. Speakers will discuss several issues, including Fintech, an emerging financial services sector that will shape the future of the industry and other topics including autonomous vehicles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and cloud computing, while also dissecting the latest findings and trends.

Hala Fadel, Chairperson of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab stressed the importance of this forum, which will constitute a unique occurrence especially in terms of the discussed topics as well as the rich crowd of tech experts, innovators and entrepreneurs this event brings together from all over the world. She said, "The forum aspires to gather the brightest minds in the academic, corporates, and startup communities in an effort to glean insight into the innovations that shape the world economy, which are the product of both global and regional businesses. The forum will also discuss and analyze this fast-paced world we live in and its impact on our lives. It will play a significant role in raising awareness about what's happening around the world today and how to go about attaining a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Arab world."

Also, commenting on this partnership and the Innovation Forum, H.E. Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) said, "Innovation and digital disruption are important drivers of economic growth globally. In Bahrain, both the government and private sector have worked hard to create an ecosystem that will allow innovation to thrive. The high standards of hard infrastructure, such as excellent transport connections to regional markets and world-class ICT services, as well as soft infrastructure, such as supportive regulation, mean that Bahrain is an ideal testing ground for entrepreneurs looking to launch products and services before expanding to the wider region.

"Forums such as these are essential if we are to encourage innovation in our economies - allowing us to learn and collaborate with each other. We at the EDB are proud to have supported MIT in getting its first Innovation Forum off the ground. I hope that it will set the standard for events to come and that the entrepreneurs passing through our doors this year will be engineering solutions to the world's problems in the future."

Investcorp's Co-CEO Mohammed Al-Shroogi said: "Investcorp has always been a strong supporter of innovation and entrepreneurship, in the Arab world. Guided by the importance of these two pillars to Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030, we are pleased to be part of this remarkable initiative, which fits perfectly with our long-term commitment to building an innovation-led economy, that accommodates to the growing importance of new trends like fintech and cybersecurity in Bahrain and the wider region. We look forward to welcoming some of the world's best innovation and entrepreneurship leaders at this Forum to discuss with them the best ways to optimize talent and innovation in the Arab world."

To register for the Innovation Forum, taking place in Bahrain, potential participants must register online on the following link.

About MITEF Pan Arab:

Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region (http://www.mitefarab.org) is one of the28 worldwidechapters of the MIT Enterprise Forum Global, an avid promoter of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. The MIT Enterprise Forum- Pan Arab has a proven record in promoting MIT-style entrepreneurship by organizing each year the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition targeting 21 countries of the Arab region and attracting over12,000entrepreneurs a year.

About the Bahrain Economic Development Board

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is an investment promotion agency with overall responsibility for attracting investment into the Kingdom and supporting initiatives that enhance the investment climate.

The EDB works with the government and both current and prospective investors, in order to ensure that Bahrain's investment climate is attractive, to communicate the key strengths, and to identify where opportunities exist for further economic growth through investment.

The EDB focuses on several economic sectors that capitalise on Bahrain's competitive advantages and provide significant investment opportunities. These sectors include financial services, manufacturing, ICT, tourism, logistics and transport. The financial services sector is particularly strong in Bahrain and the EDB works to support the continued growth of the banking industry and key sub-sectors, including Islamic finance.

For more information on the Bahrain EDB visit http://www.bahrainedb.com; for information about Bahrain visit http://www.bahrain.com.

About Investcorp:

A leading provider and manager of alternative investment products and is publicly traded on the Bahrain Bourse (INVCORP). Investcorp focuses on generating investor and shareholder value through a disciplined investment approach in four lines of business: corporate investment, real estate, alternative investment solutions (formerly known as hedge funds), together with the recently added credit management business. Investcorp employs approximately 390n people across its offices in New York, London, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Singapore.
Enables Atlassian JIRA Software and Bamboo users to increase security and productivity with automated visibility, intelligence, and control for open source code

Black Duck, the global leader in automated solutions for securing and managing open source, today announced a collaboration with Atlassian Corporation Plc (NASDAQ:TEAM), a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software, to manage open source security, compliance, and quality risks, while ensuring DevOps teams maintain speed and agility.

The organizations' goal is to provide development teams with solution integrations that enhance their ability to maintain velocity and security as they build software using open source components.

"Modern applications are built with open source," said Jukka Alanen, Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy. "Black Duck is working with Atlassian to enable software teams to manage and secure their use of open source as part of their existing DevOps and agile processes."

Black Duck has released two Atlassian integrations to automate the management and security of open source and both are available through the Atlassian Marketplace.

Black Duck's Atlassian JIRA Software integration allows teams to trigger and manage developer workflows based on open source use and security policies defined in Black Duck Hub. The integration also alerts JIRA Software users when new open source vulnerabilities are identified by Hub. Black Duck's Atlassian Bamboo CI integration enables teams to automate discovery of open source in their code via Bamboo build processes, helping teams efficiently track and automate open source use as part of their continuous delivery pipeline. This will also help enforce policies to prevent release of applications with unsafe or non-compliant open source.

"Software teams nowadays rely heavily on open source components," said Bryant Lee, Head of Partnerships and Integration, Atlassian. "The Black Duck Hub add-ons for Bamboo and JIRA provide visibility and control for software teams to use open source with trust and confidence."

The Atlassian collaboration follows Black Duck's recent announcement that it is integrating Hub with Microsoft Visual Studio Team Services (TS) and Team Foundation Server (TFS). Both integrations are part of a broader Black Duck commitment to simplify and integrate open source management with the tools and platforms that development and DevOps teams use to automate software development and delivery.

About Black Duck Software

Organizations worldwide use Black Duck's industry-leading products to automate the process of securing and managing open source software, eliminating the pain related to security vulnerabilities, compliance and operational risk. Black Duck is headquartered in Burlington, MA, and has offices in San Jose, CA, Vancouver, London, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing. For more information, visit www.blackducksoftware.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170509005947/en/

Contacts:

Black Duck

Brian Carter, 508-277-7570

Director of Strategic Communications

bcarter@blackducksoftware.com

or

PAN Communications

Michael O'Connell and Lisa Sorrentino, 617-502-4300

blackduck@pancomm.com
Averages 12 oz/t Silver and 1.73% Tin Over 10 Meters

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 8, 2017 / BacTech Environmental Corporation ("BacTech" or the "Company"), (CSE: BAC, OTC PINK: BCCEF) today announced assays for an additional 10 holes drilled at the Telamayu, Bolivia tailings project. 60 holes were drilled in total. Additional results will be released as they become available.

Highlights of the latest analyses include continued strong silver and tin results, as presented in the following table:



*Lengths indicated are true widths

On Friday, May 5, silver closed at $16.31/oz, tin closed at $19,800 per tonne, and copper closed at $2.52/lb.

The holes were drilled vertically into the tailings with intervals of 1 meter to an average depth of 10 meters per hole. Holes were implanted on a grid 20 m X 20 m covering the entire Antiguo tailings. Samples consist of half NQ-size diamond core that are split on site, prepared at the Spectrolab laboratory, an ISO accredited laboratory at the Technical University of Oruro, Bolivia and assayed for gold, silver, tin and copper by fire assay for silver and by Atomic absorption or total fusion for the base metals.

The QA-QC program of the Company includes one blank, one duplicate and 2 certified standards in each hole (some minor exceptions). The remaining half core is retained onsite for verification and reference purposes.

The sampling results from this drill program will be the underpinning of a resource estimation following the guidelines established by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 reporting. Once the drilling program has been completed, the Company will immediately begin metallurgical test work to determine the appropriate method for metal recovery. A complete NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") will then be completed.

Telamayu is an historic mill town situated next to Atocha, Bolivia. Over the past 80 years, the mill has treated material from 2 local mines (Tasna and Animas). The tailings from the mill make up the Antiguo tailings, the subject of these assays, and the much larger Nuevo tailings. BacTech has an option with COMIBOL, the Bolivian state mining company, for reprocessing these tailings. Previously, COMIBOL engaged individuals to dig test holes on the tailings (five wells of 1.5mx1.5mx10m) with bulk samples taken every meter, as well as channel samples.

The Company also reports that it expects to close the 2nd tranche of the current debenture financing this week. The Company is offering a 2 year, 12% debenture that also includes a 20% common stock bonus payment. Originally slated to raise up to $250,000, the Company announced previously that it would increase the amount should demand be present. At this stage, BacTech has received commitments that exceed $250,000 and will close an amount higher than the original plan.

Pierre O'Dowd, a geologist and Qualified Person under NI 43-101, who has visited the property, has read and approved this release.

Company Profile

BacTech Environmental Corporation holds the perpetual, exclusive, royalty-free rights to use the patented BACOX bioleaching technology for the reclamation of tailings and mining waste materials. The Company's principal focus is a high-grade silver/copper/tin tailings project called Telamayu, located in Atocha, Bolivia, in association with COMIBOL, the state mining group. Investigation has begun to identify opportunities in Ecuador where mercury and arsenic issues caused by artisanal mining leads to environmental degradation. The Company continues to field enquiries globally with respect to additional opportunities for remediation, including licensing transactions for the technology.

For further information, contact:

Ross Orr, President & CEO

BacTech Environmental Corporation: 416-813-0303 ext 222

Email: borr@bactechgreen.com

Bill Mitoulas, Investor Relations

416-479-9547

Email: billm@venturenorthcapital.com

Follow us on:

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BacTechGreen

Twitter http://twitter.com/BacTechGreen

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/1613873

Vimeo http://vimeo.com/bactechgreen

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/bactechgreen

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to future tailings sites, sampling or other investigations of tailing sites, the Company's ability to make use of infrastructure around tailings sites or operating performance of the Company and its projects. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans," "expects," "is expected," "budget," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "anticipates," or believes," or variations (including negative 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. 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 the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Shares outstanding 60,762,930

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

SOURCE: BacTech Environmental Corporation
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- IGM Financial Inc. (IGM) (TSX: IGM) today reported preliminary total investment fund net new money in April of $168.8 million as shown in Table 1. Total assets under management were $149.7 billion at April 30, 2017, compared with $147.1 billion at March 31, 2017 and $132.8 billion at April 30, 2016. Investment fund assets under management were $144.3 billion at April 30, 2017, compared with $141.7 billion at March 31, 2017 and $127.0 billion at April 30, 2016. Assets under management are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 - Net New Money Month ended April 30, 2017 Investors IGM ($ millions) (unaudited) Group Mackenzie Counsel Financial -------------------------------------------- Mutual Funds Gross Sales $686.2 $609.1 $51.5 $1,346.8 Net New Money $71.9 $89.3 ($15.9) $145.3 ETFs Net New Money $206.5 $206.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated Net New Money $71.9 $112.8(1) ($15.9) $168.8 (1) Excludes $183.0 million in Exchange traded fund ("ETF") net new money related to Mackenzie Mutual funds. (i) Mutual Fund Net New Money is defined as Gross Sales less Gross Redemptions and is consistent with the terminology used by The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC). Total Net New Money includes ETF net creations. Table 2 - Assets under Management % Change April March April Last % Change ($ billions) (unaudited) 2017 2017 2016 Month YOY -------------------------------------------------- Total Assets under Management(2) $149.69 $147.06 $132.84 1.8 12.7 Investment Funds Assets under Management $144.29 $141.65 $127.03 1.9 13.6 Investors Group Mutual Funds $85.27 $83.90 $75.23 1.6 13.3 Sub-advisory, institutional and other $0.57 $0.54 $0.43 5.6 32.6 -------------------------------------------------- Total IG $85.84 $84.44 $75.66 1.7 13.5 Mackenzie Mutual Funds $54.07 $52.94 $47.55 2.1 13.7 ETFs $0.45 $0.23 $0.03 95.7 N/M -------------------------------------------------- Investment Funds(3) $54.26 $53.10 $47.58 2.2 14.0 Sub-advisory, institutional and other $13.35 $13.21 $12.66 1.1 5.5 -------------------------------------------------- Total Mackenzie $67.61 $66.31 $60.24 2.0 12.2 -------------------------------------------------- Counsel Mutual Funds $4.76 $4.65 $4.22 2.4 12.8 (2) Excludes assets managed by Mackenzie on behalf of Investors Group and Investment Planning Counsel. These assets had a value of $8.5 billion at April 30, 2017 ($8.3 billion at March 31, 2017 and $7.3 billion at April 30, 2016). (3) Mackenzie investment funds total assets under management exclude Mackenzie mutual fund investment in ETFs of $256.2 million as at April 30, 2017 and $69.2 million as at March 31, 2017.

Preliminary average investment fund assets under management and average total assets under management for the quarter to date are set out in Table 3.

Table 3 - Average Assets under Management(4) Quarter to ($ billions) (unaudited) Date ------------ Total Average Assets under Management(5) $148.01 Investment Funds Average Assets under Management $142.60 Investors Group Mutual Funds $84.48 Sub-advisory, institutional and other $0.56 ------------ Total Investors Group $85.04 ------------ Mackenzie Mutual Funds $53.26 ETFs $0.28 ------------ Investment Funds(6) $53.43 Sub-advisory, institutional and other $13.28 ------------ Total Mackenzie $66.71 ------------ Counsel Mutual Funds $4.69 (4) Based on daily average investment fund assets and month-end average institutional, sub-advisory and other assets. (5) Excludes average assets of $8.4 billion managed by Mackenzie on behalf of Investors Group and Investment Planning Counsel. (6 )Mackenzie investment funds total assets under management exclude Mackenzie mutual fund investment in ETFs of $103.6 million as at April 30, 2017.

IGM Financial Inc. is one of Canada's premier personal financial services companies, and one of the country's largest managers and distributors of mutual funds and other managed asset products, with approximately $150 billion in total assets under management. Its activities are carried out principally through Investors Group, Mackenzie Investments and Investment Planning Counsel.

A MEMBER OF THE POWER FINANCIAL CORPORATION GROUP OF COMPANIES.

Contacts:

Media Relations:

Ron Arnst

204-956-3364

ron.arnst@igmfinancial.com



Investor Relations:

Paul Hancock

204-956-8103

investor.relations@igmfinancial.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA and HONOLULU, HAWAII -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Eguana Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EGT)(OTCQB: EGTYF) announced today that it has received an additional C$2.5M purchase order for its residential AC battery for the Hawaiian Customer Self Supply program from its partner E-Gear LLC.

"E-Gear installations began within days of being granted the expedited permitting approval process for the AC Battery and we are now seeing predictability within the sales and ordering cycle for solar+storage in Hawaii," said Justin Holland, CEO of Eguana. "Creating consistent and growing baseline demand with our factory integrated and certified AC Battery was a crucial step for the Company and our expectation is to see quarter over quarter growth from the Hawaiian market as the state drives toward its 100% renewable energy target."

The Company also noted that E-Gear LLC has begun signing dealers in California and continues to expand its network in the State with installations planned for this summer. California installers are scrambling to adopt more sophisticated energy storage solutions to meet the advanced Rule 21 interconnection requirements which are set to become mandatory in September 2017. Many of the power control solutions that have been utilized for backup power focused systems in the past currently do not meet the new grid interactive requirements. The Company has confirmed development and testing has been completed for the AC Battery and BiDirex platforms to meet all Rule 21 interconnection changes. "The flexibility in our patented technology allows us to respond very quickly to constantly changing grid interconnection requirements, both platforms already meet or exceed the new rules" Holland added.

About E-Gear, LLC

E-Gear, LLC is a renewable energy innovation company offering proprietary patented and patent pending edge-of-grid energy management and storage solutions. These systems provide intelligent real-time adaptive control, flexibility, visibility, predictability and support to energy generating customers, renewable energy solution providers, energy service companies (ESCO's) and Utilities.

About The AC Battery:

The Eguana AC Battery is a certified, grid ready power control solution pre-integrated with LG Chem Li-ion batteries. Our solution can be seamlessly integrated with a local energy management system or a distributed fleet control network using open communication protocols to provide a fully functional energy storage installation. The AC Battery provides maximum flexibility for system aggregators which want to deploy it as a standalone product, as part of new solar storage installations, or as a retrofit to solar PV installations already in place.

About Eguana Technologies Inc.

Eguana Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EGT) designs and manufactures high performance power controls for residential and commercial energy storage systems. Eguana has more than 15 years' experience delivering grid edge power electronics for fuel cell, photovoltaic and battery applications and delivers proven, durable, high quality solutions from its high capacity manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America.

With thousands of its proprietary energy storage inverters deployed in the European and North American markets, Eguana is the leading supplier of power controls for solar self-consumption, grid services and demand charge applications at the grid edge.

To learn more, visit www.EguanaTech.com or follow us on Twitter @EguanaTech

Forward Looking Information

The reader is advised that some of the information herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning assigned by National Instruments 51-102 and other relevant securities legislation. In particular, we include: statements pertaining to the value of our power controls to the energy storage market and statements concerning the use of proceeds and the Company's ability to obtain necessary approvals from the TSX Venture Exchange.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and involves a number of risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or future events or developments, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date hereof. Readers are also directed to the Risk Factors section of the Company's most recent audited Financial Statements which may be found on its website or at sedar.com The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained herein to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

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:

Company Inquiries

Justin Holland

CEO, Eguana Technologies Inc.

+1.416.728.7635

Justin.Holland@EguanaTech.com



Product Inquiries

Vishwas Ganesan

Director of Business Development, USA

+1.408.685.2670

Vishwas.Ganesan@EguanaTech.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BSK)(OTCQB: BKUCF)(FRANKFURT: MAL2) ("Blue Sky" or the "Company") is pleased to report that following unforeseen field delays, the 3,000 metre reverse-circulation drilling program at the Amarillo Grande uranium project has recommenced. The program is now drilling the second target area, "Anit", where it will include 75 short holes, up to 20 metres in depth, for a total of approximately 1,000 metres. The purpose of the program in this area is to confirm and extend the previously identified mineralized zone along the 15 kilometre long radiometric anomaly that is related to superficial mineralization within outcropping ancient river channels.

"The Anit area has returned some of our best results in the past and we look forward to improving our prospects for resources with this drill program," commented Nikolaos Cacos, Blue Sky President & CEO. "The drill program has now re-started following an unusually heavy and prolonged rain event, and newly upgraded drill equipment should improve progress for the remainder of the program."

About the Anit Target

The Anit target comprises 12 mining properties covering 24,000 hectares. In 2007, a 2,385 square kilometre airborne geophysical surveying program detected a significant, +15 kilometre long, radiometric anomaly in this area. This anomaly was interpreted as related to uranium-vanadium mineralization within outcropping ancient river sediments. An intensive exploration program followed, including radon gas and ground radiometric surveys, 123 hang-dug pits, 310 excavator-dug pits, 1,403 metres of trenching and 5,044 metres of air-core drilling in 204 drill holes. This work delineated a main mineralization zone contained in two elongated bodies along a six kilometre corridor, from surface down to six metres depth and 40 to 480 metres wide, surrounded by a lower-grade uranium halo. Within the West and Central zones at Anit, 103 excavator pits with greater than 50 ppm uranium over one metre had a weighted average grade of 0.04% U3O8 and 0.10% V2O5 over an average thickness of 1.97 metres(1).

The uranium mineralization is related to carnotite, a uranium vanadate mineral. Preliminary metallurgical testwork done on samples from Anit indicates that the carnotite mineralization can be concentrated by wet screening, and it is amenable to leaching.

Program Details

The current RC drilling program at Anit has been designed to increase the confidence level and sample density in select portions of the mineralized zone with fences of holes and to test for extensions to depth in areas where previous sampling was carried out by depth-limited excavator pits. In addition, the program will explore adjacent stacked paleochannels interpreted from the recently completed electrical survey (see News Releases dated on November 23, 2016 & January 12, 2017). The drill program at the Anit target will include 75 holes of RC-drilling to be conducted by a FlexiRoc D65 rig from Atlas Copco, adapted for fine-mineralization control with a triple cyclone for better recovery of fines, and an automatic splitter. The depth range of the planned holes is estimated to be 10-20 metres. (A map of the proposed drill locations can be viewed here: https://www.blueskyuranium.com/assets/img/maps/2017-ENE-Anit-Proposed-RC-Program.jpg) Two to three kilogram samples are collected for each metre, one for laboratory analysis and the other to be retained as a control sample. Each sample is weighed and measured using a hand portable scintillometer. A rigorous Quality Assurance - Quality Control ("QAQC") program comprises duplicate samples, blanks and standards. Every hole will also be surveyed with a radiometric probe recently calibrated under the supervision of a Senior Geophysicists with experience in resource estimation at uranium deposits.

(1) See NI-43-101 Technical Report dated on May 18, 2012 on the Company's website.

About the Amarillo Grande Project

This new uranium district was first identified, staked and underwent preliminary exploration by Blue Sky from 2007 to 2012 as part of the Grosso Group's strategy of adding alternative energy focus to its successful portfolio of metals exploration companies. The close proximity of several major targets suggest that if resources are delineated a central processing facility would be envisioned. The area is flat-lying, semi-arid and accessible year round, with nearby rail, power and port access.

Mineralization identified to date represents a Surficial Uranium style of deposit, where carnotite mineralization coats loosely consolidated pebbles of sandstone and conglomerates. Carnotite is amenable to leaching, and early metallurgical work indicates that the mineralized material can be upgraded using a very simple wet screening method. The near-surface mineralization, ability to locally upgrade, amenability to leaching and central processing possibility suggest a potentially low-cost development scenario for a future deposit.

Rio Negro is host to several facilities related to the nuclear industry. Furthermore, the Provincial government is amenable to mining as a means of socio-economic development. In addition, the Federal government has expressed support for building domestic resources of uranium. In particular, the Argentina Atomic Energy National Commission (CNEA) published its Strategic Plan 2015-2025, which includes a strategic objective "To ensure the supply of domestic uranium for nuclear power plants in operation, under construction and planned."For additional details on the project and properties, please see the Company's website: www.blueskyuranium.com

Qualified Person

The contents of this news release have been reviewed and approved by David Terry, Ph.D., P.Geo. Dr. Terry is a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.

About Blue Sky Uranium Corp.

Blue Sky Uranium Corp. is a leader in uranium discovery in Argentina. The Company's objective is to deliver exceptional returns to shareholders by rapidly advancing a portfolio of surficial uranium deposits into low-cost producers. Blue Sky holds has the exclusive right to over 428,000 hectares of property in two provinces in Argentina. The Company's flagship Amarillo Grande Project was an in-house discovery of a new district that has the potential to be among the first domestic suppliers of uranium to the growing Argentine market. The Company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Nikolaos Cacos, President, CEO and Director

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.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's public disclosure documents for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties.

Contacts:

Blue Sky Uranium Corp.

Corporate Communications

1-604-687-1828

Toll-Free: 1-800-901-0058

info@blueskyuranium.com

www.blueskyuranium.com




EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- North American Energy Partners Inc. ("NAEP" or "the Company") (TSX: NOA)(NYSE: NOA) today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.

Martin Ferron, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company stated, "We are very pleased to have made another exceptional start to a year and to have clearly demonstrated the excellent performance we are capable of as market conditions continue to improve. Of particular note is that these results were achieved from around 10% and 20% lower prices than in Q1/2016 and from the start of the deep cyclical downturn in the oil industry, respectively."

Further Mr. Ferron commented, "Unfortunately, the recent loss of an overburden stripping contract, due to a production plant fire at the mine site, will likely result in a more normal, seasonally slow, second quarter. However, beyond that, we believe that the work opportunities exist, both within and outside the oil sands, for us to meet our growth targets for the full year."

The Company has prepared its consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (US GAAP). Unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts discussed are in Canadian dollars.

Highlights of the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2017

-- Revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 was $92.8 million, compared to $78.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, an increase of 18.2%. Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter was $30.3 million, compared to $25.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, an improvement of 17.0%. -- On March 15, 2017 the Company closed an offering of 5.50% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due March 31, 2024 for gross proceeds of $40.0 million.

Highlights of Events Post First Quarter

-- On April 1, 2017 the Company entered into a partnership agreement with Dene Sky Site Services ("Dene Sky"), a private First Nations business based in Janvier, Alberta. The partnership will operate under the name Dene North Site Services and will operate primarily in Northern Alberta. The Company believes the arrangement will expand its services to both the oil sands mining and in-situ markets. The partnership is expected to provide the Company access to additional work including earthworks, road construction and maintenance, specialized welding, site development, plant maintenance and labour services.

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

On May 1, 2017 the NAEP Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend (the "Dividend") of two Canadian cents ($0.02) per common share, payable to common shareholders of record at the close of business on May 31, 2017. The Dividend will be paid on July 7, 2017 and is an eligible dividend for Canadian income tax purposes.

Consolidated Financial Highlights

Three months ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) 2017 2016 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue $ 92,842 $ 78,513 $ 14,329 Project costs 29,207 24,950 4,257 Equipment costs 26,055 20,865 5,190 Depreciation 14,558 14,259 299 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross profit(1) $ 23,022 $ 18,439 $ 4,583 Gross profit margin(1) 24.8% 23.5% 1.3% Select financial information: General and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation) 6,017 6,324 (307) Stock-based compensation expense 2,058 997 1,061 Operating income 14,449 10,713 3,736 Interest expense 1,366 1,656 (290) Net income 9,599 6,414 3,185 Net income margin(1) 10.3% 8.2% 2.1% EBITDA(1) 29,362 25,349 4,013 Consolidated EBITDA(1) 30,282 25,911 4,371 Consolidated EBITDA margin(1) 32.6% 33.0% (0.4)% Per share information Net income - Basic $ 0.34 $ 0.20 $ 0.14 Net income - Diluted $ 0.31 $ 0.19 $ 0.12 Cash dividends per share $ 0.02 $ 0.02 $ 0.00 (1) See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures". A reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Consolidated EBITDA follows below under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures".

Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2017

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, revenue was $92.8 million, up from $78.5 million in the same period last year. Revenue was up in the current period, compared to last year as a result of an expanded winter works program driven by the award of reclamation work at the Mildred Lake mine site which more than offset lower overburden removal and tailings pond support activity at the Millennium mine site. Mine support activities at the Kearl mine site contributed to the Company's revenue for both periods.

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, gross profit was $23.0 million, or 24.8% gross profit margin, up from $18.4 million, or 23.5% gross profit margin, in the same period last year. The higher gross profit in the current period was driven by higher revenue. The improved gross profit margin was achieved through continued improved operating performance despite lower pricing negotiated by the Company's customers on its long-term service agreements.

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, depreciation was $14.6 million, up slightly from $14.3 million in the same period last year.

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company recorded operating income of $14.4 million, up from $10.7 million for the same period last year. General and administrative expense, excluding stock-based compensation, was $6.0 million for the quarter, down from $6.3 million for the same period last year, reflecting the benefits gained from cost-saving initiatives implemented over the past year.

Stock-based compensation expense increased $1.1 million compared to the prior year primarily as a result of the effect of the higher share price on the carrying value of the liability classified award plans.

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company recorded $9.6 million net income (basic income per share of $0.34 and diluted income per share of $0.31), compared to $6.4 million net income (basic income per share of $0.20 and diluted income per share of $0.19) recorded for the same period last year. The net income improvement in the current quarter was achieved despite the recording of $2.1 million in stock-based compensation expense in the current quarter, compared to $1.0 million in stock-based compensation expense recorded in the same period last year.

Interest expense was $1.4 million for the quarter, down from $1.7 million for the same period last year, primarily due to the redemptions of the Series 1 Debentures in prior quarters partially offset by the issuance of Convertible Debentures at the end of the current quarter. The Company recorded $3.5 million of deferred income tax expense in the current period compared to the $2.6 million of deferred income tax expense recorded in the prior year driven by higher income in the current period. The variance between the basic income per share in the current period and the basic income per share in the prior period is partially affected by the reduction in the weighted average number of issued and outstanding common shares, to 28,004,778 as at March 31, 2017 compared to 31,681,357 as at March 31, 2016. The variance between the diluted income per share in the current period and the diluted income per share in the prior period is also affected by the increase in treasury shares purchased and held in the Company's trust, stock options vested and exercisable and the weighted average effect of the Company's newly issued convertible debentures. As part of determining the dilutive effect of the Company's convertible debentures on diluted income per share, $0.1 million of interest was added back to its net income and 696,365 weighted average shares for the period from the Company's Convertible Debentures was added to its weighted average number of common shares for the period.

Outlook

Although the much watched weekly oil inventory levels in the US are drawing wide ranging conclusions, it is the Company's view that a re-balancing of oil supply and demand appears to be underway. Therefore, although the deep and unusually long cyclical downturn in the oil industry is into its third year, the worst seems to be in the past. The oil price appears to have stabilized at around US$50 per barrel and may head higher as 2017 unfolds.

In response to the downturn, most of the Company's oil sands mining customers elected to increase their production and all slashed their expenses in order to lower operating costs per barrel. While it is unlikely that new mines will be announced until oil prices are much higher, it is important to note that the new Fort Hills mine is due on-stream late this year and the drive for increased production on most existing mines should lead to greater volumes of recurring mine services for the Company to address.

Several of the Company's customers have achieved operating cost savings per barrel of around 30% in Canadian dollar terms, which equates to about 50% in US dollars, due to the depreciation of the Canadian dollar, in which most expenses are incurred. As the Canadian dollar is not expected to significantly appreciate in 2017, this situation provides the Company's customers with a meaningful cost advantage to exploit. This seems to be translating into more work opportunities for the Company, such as a reclamation project that bolstered first quarter results.

Another example of a high production driven work opportunity was the overburden stripping contract the Company was awarded in January and planned to commence in this second quarter. Unfortunately, due to a plant fire at the mine site, the job was recently cancelled, which will likely result in a more normal, seasonally slow, spring break-up period for the Company.

In the first quarter the Company also extended a near expiration Master Service Agreement ("MSA") on a sole sourced, negotiated basis with a key customer which means that the Company is not faced with another expiration situation until late 2020. Therefore, the Company has come through the downturn with all of its MSAs intact or expanded, which it believes underpins its revenue expectations for several years.

In other resource industries, such as coal, iron ore, base metals, and precious metals, the Company has seen much increased bidding activity and opportunities. The Company was successful in winning a summer 2016 tailings dam construction job at the Red Chris copper mine in British Columbia, which the Company anticipates will be extended into 2017. This project represents the first of what the Company believes will be a stream of future opportunities from its diversification activities in this sector, as commodity pricing and associated development activity improves. The Company hopes to be able to announce further such awards as the year progresses.

The Company's business development work in the infrastructure sector continues and it has received additional partnering requests and opportunities to participate in major infrastructure projects. The Company was very pleased to qualify to bid for the Fargo-Moorhead flood mitigation project, in the northern US, as part of a strong consortium. The bid will be completed in Q1/2018, with an award expected in Q3/2018 to the successful proponent.

The Company definitely views the infrastructure sector as a positive opportunity and is actively pursuing both major and minor projects. In major infrastructure projects, the Company seeks to find strong senior partners with mega-project experience looking for an earthworks contractor that has the assets and can put the "boots on the ground" to execute earthworks safely and efficiently. If the Company's partnership is successful in the tender, it looks to self-perform the earthworks while also contributing to the overall project management team. In situations where the Company's project team is not awarded the work, it will continue to pursue the opportunity as a potential earthworks subcontractor to the awarded team(s). The Company believes the project insight and knowledge gained by being a project partner increases its ability to accurately assess risk and price as a subcontractor.

The Company's recent debt restructuring initiatives, with a focus on lowering its cost of debt, combined with a stronger financial position and improved operating cost structure should provide a stable base to allow the Company to remain competitive in its pricing and provide it with the ability to take advantage of organic growth and acquisition opportunities.

In summary, the Company continues to pursue heavy civil construction contracts in the oil sands, along with a series of much broader and more robust major resource projects and infrastructure projects. The Company is excited about its organic growth potential and believes it can capitalize on it to grow both Consolidated EBITDA and free cash flow significantly over the next three years. Although the cancellation of the overburden stripping contract, mentioned earlier, is another adverse event for the Company to deal with, the Company believes that it has the work opportunities to still meet its financial growth targets for 2017.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the Company's financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 9:00am Eastern time.

The call can be accessed by dialing: Toll free: 1-866-521-4909 International: 1-647-427-2311 A replay will be available through June 3, 2017, by dialing: Toll Free: 1-800-585-8367 International: 1-416-621-4642 Conference ID: 4643011 The live and archived webcast can be accessed at: http://www.gowebcasting.com/8438

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains non-GAAP financial measures. A non-GAAP financial measure is generally defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and by the Canadian securities regulatory authorities as one that purports to measure historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows, but excludes or includes amounts that would not be adjusted in the most comparable GAAP measures. In this release, non-GAAP financial measures are used, such as "gross profit", "gross profit margin", "EBITDA", "Consolidated EBITDA", (as defined in the Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, the "Credit Facility"), and "free cash flow".

Gross Profit, Margin, Total Debt, free cash flow, and Consolidated EBITDA

"Gross profit" is defined as revenue less: project costs, equipment costs, and depreciation. "Gross profit margin" is defined as gross profit as a percentage of revenue.

The Company believes that gross profit is a meaningful measure of the business as it portrays operating profits before general and administrative ("G&A") overheads costs, amortization of intangible assets and the gain or loss on disposal of plant and equipment and assets held for sale. Management reviews gross profit and gross profit margin to determine the profitability of operating activities, including equipment ownership charges and to determine whether resources, plant and equipment are being allocated effectively.

The Company will often identify a relevant financial metric as a percentage of revenue and refer to this as a margin for that financial metric. "Margin" is defined as the financial number as a percent of total reported revenue. Examples where NAEP uses this reference and related calculation are in relation to "gross profit margin", "net income margin", or "Consolidated EBITDA margin".

NAEP believes that presenting relevant financial metrics as a percentage of revenue, or a financial margin is a meaningful measure of its business as it provides the performance of the financial metric in the context of the performance of revenue. Management reviews margins as part of its financial metrics to assess the relative performance of its results.

"Total Debt" is defined as the sum of the outstanding principal balance (current and long-term portions) of: (i) capital leases; (ii) borrowings under the Company's Credit Facility (excluding outstanding Letters of Credit) excluding deferred financing costs; (iii) convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due in 2024 excluding deferred financing costs and; and (iv) hedges or swap liabilities. Total Debt is used in the pricing grid of the Company's Credit Facility which uses a Total Debt and outstanding Letters of Credit to trailing 12-month Consolidated EBITDA ratio to determine the pricing level for borrowing and standby fees under the facility. The Company believes Total Debt is a meaningful measure in understanding its complete debt obligations.

"Free cash flow" is defined as cash from operations less cash used in investing activities (excluding cash used for growth capital expenditures and cash used for / provided by acquisitions). The Company feels free cash flow is a relevant measure of cash available to service its Total Debt repayment commitments, pay dividends, fund share purchases and fund both growth capital expenditures and potential strategic initiatives.

"EBITDA" is defined as net income before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization.

"Consolidated EBITDA" is defined as EBITDA, excluding the effects of unrealized foreign exchange gain or loss, realized and unrealized gain or loss on derivative financial instruments, non-cash stock-based compensation expense, gain or loss on disposal of plant and equipment, gain or loss on disposal of assets held for sale and certain other non-cash items included in the calculation of net income.

The Company believes that Consolidated EBITDA is a meaningful measure of business performance because it excludes interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization and the effect of certain gains and losses and certain non-cash items that are not directly related to the operating performance of its business. The Company's management reviews Consolidated EBITDA to determine whether plant and equipment are being allocated efficiently. In addition, its Credit Facility requires the Company to maintain both a fixed charge coverage ratio and a senior leverage ratio which are calculated using Consolidated EBITDA. Non-compliance with these financial covenants could result in a requirement to immediately repay all amounts outstanding under the Credit Facility.

As EBITDA and Consolidated EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures, the Company's computations of EBITDA and Consolidated EBITDA may vary from others in the industry. EBITDA and Consolidated EBITDA should not be considered as alternatives to operating income or net income as measures of operating performance or cash flows as measures of liquidity. EBITDA and Consolidated EBITDA have important limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of the Company's results as reported under US GAAP. A reconciliation of Net income to Consolidated EBITDA is as follows:

Three months ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (dollars in thousands) 2017 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income $ 9,599 $ 6,414 Adjustments: Interest expense 1,366 1,656 Income tax expense 3,487 2,605 Depreciation 14,558 14,259 Amortization of intangible assets 352 415 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- EBITDA 29,362 25,349 Adjustments: Loss on disposal of plant and equipment 214 113 Gain on disposal of assets held for sale (68) (123) Equity classified stock-based compensation expense 774 572 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated EBITDA $ 30,282 $ 25,911 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forward-Looking Information

The information provided in this release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "expect", "may", "could", "believe", "anticipate", "continue", "should", "estimate", "potential", "likely", "target" or similar expressions. Forward looking statements include the statement that the recent loss of an overburden stripping contract will likely result in a more normal, seasonally slow, second quarter; that work opportunities exist that will allow the Company to meet its growth targets for the full year; that the Company's partnership with Dene Sky should expand its services to both the oil sands mining and in situ markets, including providing the Company access to additional work including earthworks, road construction and maintenance, specialized welding, site development, plant maintenance and labour services; that a re-balancing of oil supply and demand appears to be well underway; that oil price appears to have stabilized in the low US$50's per barrel and that prices may head higher as 2017 unfolds; that it is unlikely that new mines will be announced until oil prices are much higher; that the drive for increased production on most existing mines should lead to greater volumes of recurring mine services for the Company to address; the Company's expectation that the Canadian dollar will not significantly appreciate in 2017 and that its customers will receive a meaningful cost advantage due to that and that such cost advantage will, in turn, translate into more work opportunities for the Company; They Company's belief that coming through the downturn with all of its MSAs intact or expanded will underpin its revenue expectations for several years; that the Company anticipates the Red Chris copper mine job to extend into 2017 and that this project represents the first of what the Company believes will be a stream of future opportunities from its diversification activities in the sector; the Company believes the project insight and knowledge gained by being a project partner increases its ability to accurately assess risk and price as a subcontractor; that the Company's recent debt restructuring initiatives, with a focus on lowering its cost of debt, combined with a stronger financial position and improved operating cost structure should provide a stable base to allow the Company to remain competitive in its pricing and provide it with the ability to take advantage of organic growth and acquisition opportunities; and that the Company believes it has the work opportunities to still meet its financial growth targets for 2017.

The material factors or assumptions used to develop the above forward-looking statements include, and the risks and uncertainties to which such forward-looking statements are subject, are highlighted in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of any number of factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NAEP's control. Undue reliance should not be placed upon forward-looking statements and NAEP undertakes no obligation, other than those required by applicable law, to update or revise those statements. For more complete information about NAEP, you should read the Company's disclosure documents filed with the SEC and the CSA. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedar.com.

About the Company

North American Energy Partners Inc. (www.nacg.ca) is the premier provider of heavy construction and mining services in Canada. For more than 50 years, NAEP has provided services to large oil, natural gas and resource companies, with a principal focus on the Canadian oil sands. The Company maintains one of the largest independently owned equipment fleets in the region.

Contacts:

David Brunetta, CPA, CMA

Director, Finance and Information Technology

North American Energy Partners Inc.

(780) 969-5574

dbrunetta@nacg.ca

www.nacg.ca




DELTA, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Note to editors: There are two photos associated with this press release.

With Metro Vancouver's industrial real estate market the strongest in North America, BC's Deputy Premier Rich Coleman and Delta Mayor Lois E. Jackson joined Beedie Development Group (Beedie) today to officially break ground on Delta Link Business Park, one of Western Canada's largest private industrial projects currently under development.

"Without question, the current industrial market is the strongest Beedie has experienced in its 63-year history," said Ryan Beedie, the company's president. "Delta Link Business Park is already 70 per cent sold or preleased, which is an unprecedented level of commitment. We are excited to be creating hundreds of job spaces on a site that has been largely vacant for 20 years."

Commercial real estate brokerage CBRE says Metro Vancouver's industrial vacancy is just 2.2 per cent, while space completing this year is already 55 per cent preleased or sold. In 2015/2016, demand for industrial space was three times greater than total new space added to the market.

"Surrey and Delta have attracted 64 per cent of the industrial demand in the region," said Jason Kiselbach, an associate vice president with CBRE. "The South Fraser Perimeter Road has been a game changer."

Completed in 2013 and approximately 40 kilometres long, the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) is a four-lane expressway along the south side of the Fraser River from Delta to Langley. It is part of Highway 17 and connects the Port of Vancouver's key container facilities with major highway systems, including the Trans-Canada, Highway 99, and Interstate 5 in the US.

"The BC government, in partnership with the Canadian government, invested in the construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road as part of BC's Gateway Program," said Deputy Premier Rich Coleman. "The SFPR demonstrates the importance of investment in roads and bridges, which improve the movement of people, goods and services across the region and draw tenants to key locations like Delta."

Beedie's Delta Link Business Park is located along the Fraser River in the Tilbury area of Delta, BC. It was home to a chemical facility from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Environmental remediation on portions of the site began more than 20 years ago, and by 2013, the brownfield site was fully remediated to Ministry of Environment standards for redevelopment.

In 2015, Beedie purchased the site and rezoned it from chemical-plant use to industrial use, allocating 84 acres for development, 15 acres for parkland, and 4.4 acres for new municipal roads and public space.

Beedie is currently building one million square feet distributed across seven buildings, all of which are in various stages of development. According to real estate consulting firm Site Economics, a 100,000-square-foot industrial building creates anywhere from 100 to 200 permanent job spaces.

"We welcome the economic boost," said Delta Mayor Lois E. Jackson. "Delta is the hub of transportation networks, making it perfectly situated for companies that need to be centrally located in Metro Vancouver. You can locate in Tilbury or Annacis Island - two of the largest industrial parks in Canada - and be minutes from Deltaport, Port Kells, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey Fraser Docks, and the US border."

In recognition of Beedie's ongoing contribution to the community, the Corporation of Delta will name a new road at Delta Link Business Park, Beedie Way.

"As a leader in industrial development, Beedie is proud to draw long-term investment to our province," said Ryan Beedie. "A strong economy created by the provincial government's competitive tax structure, balanced budgets and investment in transportation has allowed us to do that, and Delta Link Business Park will build on that foundation in the coming years."

Delta Link Business Park's first tenants are expected to move in this year. Leon's Furniture will move into a 434,000-square-foot facility, while Swiss Water Decaffeinated Co. will headquarter at Delta Link Business Park. North Delta Seafoods is expanding its processing facility from its current 9,000-square-foot facility to 51,900 square feet at Delta Link Business Park.

All seven buildings will be complete by early next year with more buildings planned.

Beedie Development Group

Founded in 1954 by Keith Beedie, Beedie Development Group is a developer, builder, and manager of industrial buildings in British Columbia and Alberta. The company is the largest landlord of industrial space in BC, with more than nine million square feet in its portfolio. Beedie is also active in developing significant, large-scale residential and mixed-use projects.

For two consecutive years, Beedie has been named Best Workplaces in Canada by Great Places to Work, a global authority on workplace culture. Beedie also has an enduring commitment to the community and has donated $35 million over the last 10 years to various charities.

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170502-Beedie_shovel.jpg

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/AerialPhoto.jpg

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Renu Bakshi

604 787 1873

renu@renubakshi.com




Agrium Inc. is a major global producer and distributor of agricultural products, services and solutions. Agrium produces nitrogen, potash and phosphate fertilizers, with a combined wholesale nutrient capacity of approximately eleven million tonnes and with significant competitive advantages across our product lines. We supply key products and services directly to growers, including crop nutrients, crop protection, seed, as well as agronomic and application services, thereby helping growers to meet the ever growing global demand for food and fibre. Agrium retail-distribution has an unmatched network of approximately 1,500 facilities and over 3,300 crop consultants who provide advice and products to our grower customers to help them increase their yields and returns on hundreds of different crops. With a focus on sustainability, the company strives to improve the communities in which it operates through safety, education, environmental improvement and new technologies such as the development of precision agriculture and controlled release nutrient products. Agrium is focused on driving operational excellence across our businesses, pursuing value-enhancing growth opportunities and returning capital to shareholders. For more information visit: www.agrium.com

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. (CSE: SNA)(CSE: SNA.CN)(CNSX: SNA)(OTCBB: SNAVF) ("Star" or the "Company) is pleased to announce that it has engaged Gold Feather Marketing Group ("GFM") to provide investor relations consulting and shareholder communications services.

In connection with the engagement, GFM has been awarded a consulting contract commencing April 20, 2017 at $12000 per month for a term of 12 months. In addition, GFM has been granted options to purchase 1,500,000 shares of Star at prices between five cents ($0.05) per share and twenty ($0.20) cents per share. The options will vest between August 20, 2017 and April 20, 2018, expire between April 19, 2018 and October 19, 2018 and will be governed by the provisions of Star's stock option plan, as amended. The contract may be terminated by either party upon thirty (30) days' notice.

MMI Division

Further update on STAR's Man Machine Interface Division ("STAR-MMI ") activities.

-- Additional displays, originally built by Star, have been received for maintenance and repair under a contract from Northrop Grumman Italy ("NGI"). These integrated smart displays were custom designed to respond to the specific requirements of one of NGI's overseas customers. -- Additional general display repairs have been conducted for another major military aerospace maintenance corporation. Star' s COO, Jean-Louis Larmor stated: " These ongoing orders are further evidence of STAR-MMI 's capabilities in fielding, supporting and upgrading man-machine interface solutions customized to the user's specific requirements".

About Star Navigation:

Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. owns the exclusive worldwide license to its proprietary, patented In-flight Safety Monitoring System, STAR-ISMS, the heart of the STAR-A.D.S.  System. It is the first system in the world to feature in-flight data-analysis, monitoring and diagnostics with a real-time connection between aircraft and ground. Its real-time capability of tracking performance trends and predicting incident-occurrence enhances aviation safety and improves fleet management while reducing costs for the operator.

Star's MMI Division designs and manufactures high performance, mission critical, flight deck flat panel displays for defence and commercial aviation industries worldwide.

Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "will" and similar expressions, as they relate to Star or its management are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Star's current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause Star's actual performance or achievements to vary from those described herein. Should one or more of these factors or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Star does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

Please visit www.star-navigation.com

Contacts:

Jean-Louis Larmor

(416) 252-2889 Ext. 221

viraf.kapadia@star-navigation.com



Gold Feather Marketing Group

Attn.: Anahadjeet Garewal

info@goldfeathermarketing.com

(647) 409-3434




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Dundee Energy Limited ("Dundee Energy" or the "Corporation") (TSX: DEN) today announced its financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2017. The Corporation's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements, along with its management's discussion and analysis have been filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") and may be viewed under the Corporation's profile at www.sedar.com or the Corporation's website at www.dundee-energy.com.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

-- Net loss attributable to owners of the parent for the three months ended March 31, 2017 was $33,000. This compares with a net loss attributable to owners of the parent of $2.9 million in the same period of the prior year. -- Revenues before royalty interests earned from oil and natural gas sales during the first quarter of 2017 were $7.0 million, compared with $5.0 million of revenues earned in the same quarter of 2016, reflecting improved commodity prices, partially offset by lower production volumes. -- Production volumes during the first quarter of 2017 averaged 10,238 Mcf/d (three months ended March 31, 2016 - 10,872 Mcf/d) of natural gas and 436 bbls/d (three months ended March 31, 2016 - 490 bbls/d) of oil and liquids. Reductions in production volume reflect the expected natural depletion of the Corporation's resources. Due primarily to financial constraints, the Corporation has limited its capital works and development initiatives, which has temporarily curtailed the potential for further exploitation of its producing properties. -- Field netbacks during the three months ended March 31, 2017, before realized amounts related to derivative financial instruments, were $2.47/Mcf (three months ended March 31, 2016 - $0.98/Mcf) from natural gas and $29.73/bbl (three months ended March 31, 2016 - $12.34/bbl) from oil and liquids.

LIQUIDITY

On January 31, 2017, Dundee Energy Limited Partnership ("DELP"), the Corporation's primary operating subsidiary, entered into a forbearance agreement (the "Forbearance Agreement") with its lender, in respect of its demand revolving loan credit facility. Under the terms of the Forbearance Agreement, provided that certain ongoing conditions are met, the lender to DELP agreed to forbear from exercising its enforcement rights and remedies arising from DELP's failure to reduce the amounts borrowed pursuant to such credit facility, to amounts that correspond to, or fall below the borrowing base available to DELP, as determined by its lender with reference to the Corporation's reserves and the current and projected market prices for oil and natural gas, as determined by the Corporation's lender, until the earlier of May 15, 2017; the occurrence of an event of default under the terms of the credit facility; or the occurrence of a default or breach of representation by DELP under the Forbearance Agreement.

The Forbearance Agreement provides a definitive timeline within which the Corporation will be required to complete its intended process to identify strategic alternatives which may include debt restructuring, a sale of all or a material portion of the assets of DELP, the outright sale of DELP, or a business combination or other transaction involving DELP and a third party. Under the terms of the Forbearance Agreement, DELP had committed to enter into a binding agreement under these arrangements, which binding agreement was to be satisfactory to its lender, by April 7, 2017. The lender has not yet provided its consent to any of the proposals made by the Corporation, and these proposals remain under consideration by DELP and DELP's lender. The lender has not provided a waiver of the April 7, 2017 deadline. In any case, the lender at all times retains its right to demand repayment in full, including during the forbearance period. The Corporation and DELP continue to assess their options in this regard.

There can be no assurance that the Corporation's lender will not exercise its right to demand under the terms of the credit facility, whether in whole or in part. This material uncertainty casts significant doubt upon the Corporation's ability to continue as a going concern and the ultimate appropriateness of using accounting principles applicable to a going concern. The Corporation's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements as at and for the three months ended March 31, 2017, do not include any adjustments to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities that might be necessary should the Corporation be unable to continue as a going concern. If the Corporation is not able to continue as a going concern, the Corporation may be required to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in other than the normal course of business and at amounts different from those reflected in these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements. These differences could be material.

SOUTHERN ONTARIO ASSETS (in thousands) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Sales Three months ended March 31, 2017 $ 3,764 $ 2,182 $ 5,946 Three months ended March 31, 2016 2,642 1,588 4,230 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net increase in net sales $ 1,122 $ 594 $ 1,716 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Effect of changes in production volumes $ (181) $ (189) $ (370) Effect of changes in commodity prices 1,303 783 2,086 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 1,122 $ 594 $ 1,716 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Net sales were $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of $1.7 million over net sales of $4.2 million generated in the same period of 2016. Higher realized prices for underlying commodities increased aggregate net sales by $2.1 million, partially offset by lower production volumes, the effect of which was to reduce net sales by $0.4 million.

Field Level Cash Flows and Field Netbacks (in thousands) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the three months ended March 31, 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total sales $ 4,408 $ 2,569 $ 6,977 Royalties (644) (387) (1,031) Production expenditures (1,485) (1,015) (2,500) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,279 1,167 3,446 Realized (loss) gain on derivative financial instruments (366) - (366) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field level cash flows $ 1,913 $ 1,167 $ 3,080 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the three months ended March 31, 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Total $/Mcf $/bbl $/boe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total sales $ 4.78 $ 65.47 $ 36.19 Royalties (0.70) (9.88) (5.35) Production expenditures (1.61) (25.86) (12.97) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.47 29.73 17.87 Realized (loss) gain on derivative financial instruments (0.40) - (1.90) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field netbacks $ 2.07 $ 29.73 $ 15.97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field Level Cash Flows and Field Netbacks (in thousands) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the three months ended March 31, 2016 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total sales $ 3,110 $ 1,865 $ 4,975 Royalties (468) (277) (745) Production expenditures (1,668) (1,039) (2,707) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 974 549 1,523 Realized (loss) gain on derivative financial instruments 199 - 199 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field level cash flows $ 1,173 $ 549 $ 1,722 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the three months ended March 31, 2016 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Total $/Mcf $/bbl $/boe --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total sales $ 3.14 $ 41.89 $ 23.76 Royalties (0.47) (6.21) (3.56) Production expenditures (1.69) (23.34) (12.93) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.98 12.34 7.27 Realized (loss) gain on derivative financial instruments 0.20 - 0.95 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field netbacks $ 1.18 $ 12.34 $ 8.22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CASTOR UNDERGROUND GAS STORAGE PROJECT

In March 2017, the Corporation announced that the arbitral tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce had rendered its decision related to the Castor Project, denying the Corporation's claim. The decision was rendered by a majority of the three-person tribunal, with the third member issuing a dissenting opinion. The Corporation and counsel are currently assessing what steps, if any, may be taken based on the decision rendered.

NON-IFRS MEASURES

The Corporation believes that important measures of operating performance include certain measures that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and as such, may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. While these measures are non-IFRS, they are common benchmarks in the oil and natural gas industry, and are used by the Corporation in assessing its operating results, including net earnings and cash flows.

-- "Field Level Cash Flows" are calculated as revenues from oil and gas sales, less royalties and production expenditures, adjusted for realized gains or losses on risk management contracts. -- "Field Netbacks" refer to field level cash flows expressed on a measurement unit or barrel of oil equivalent basis.

ABOUT THE CORPORATION

Dundee Energy Limited is a Canadian-based oil and natural gas company with a mandate to create long-term value for its shareholders through the exploration, development, production and marketing of oil and natural gas, and through other high impact energy projects. Dundee Energy holds interests, both directly and indirectly, in the largest accumulation of producing oil and gas assets in Ontario and, through a preferred share investment, in certain exploration and evaluation programs for oil and natural gas offshore Tunisia. The Corporation's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "DEN".

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain information set forth in these documents, including management's assessment of each of the Corporation's future plans and operations, contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions and may include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates" or similar expressions.

In particular, forward-looking statements contained in this document include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: expectations regarding the Corporation's ability to raise capital; volatility of commodity prices; effectiveness of hedging strategies; exploration, development and production; quantity of oil and natural gas reserve and recovery estimates; pending legal actions; treatment under government regulatory regimes and tax laws; financial and business prospects and financial outlook; performance characteristics of the Corporation's oil and natural gas properties; the Corporation's capital expenditure programs; supply and demand for oil and natural gas; drilling plans and strategy; availability of rigs, equipment and other goods and services; continually adding to reserves through acquisitions, exploration and development; anticipated work programs and land tenure; the granting of operating permits, licenses or authorities to prospect; the timing of acquisitions; the realization of the anticipated benefits of the Corporation's acquisitions and dispositions and other risk factors discussed or referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2016.

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. The Corporation's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance 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 the Corporation will derive from them. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:

Dundee Energy Limited

21st Floor,

1 Adelaide Street East

Toronto, ON M5C 2V9



Dundee Energy Limited

Bruce Sherley

President & CEO

(403) 651-4581

(416) 363-4536 (FAX)

BSherley@dundee-energy.com

www.dundee-energy.com




Technavio market research analysts forecast the global military gas mask market to grow at a CAGR of more than 4% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502006561/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global military gas mask market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The market study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global military gas mask marketfor 2017-2021. The report also lists full face gas masks and half face gas masks as the two major product segments, of which the full face gas mask segment accounted for close to 63% of the market share in 2016.

According to Moutushi Saha, a lead analyst at Technavio for defense research, "Manufacturers are focusing on the development of advanced and reliable filters for gas masks. Currently, research is being conducted to design filtering devices that can neutralize any specific toxic substance in the air."

Looking for more information on this market? Request a free sample report

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Technavio aerospace and defense analysts highlight the following three market drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global military gas mask market:

Growing emphasis on soldier safety

Increased use of improvised explosive devices

Demand due to rising investments in CBRND

Growing emphasis on soldier safety

Modern-day warfare poses considerable risks for soldiers, as weapons increasingly include chemical and biological agents, which can be highly destructive. This new era of war is expected to be one of the major factors that will drive the need for effective soldier protection equipment. Growing security threats due to the rise in the number of conflicts, domestic terrorism, and territorial tensions between countries are likely to magnify this form of warfare. The ongoing conflicts such as ISIS terrorism, the Indo-Pak war over Kashmir, the Lebanon conflict, the Syrian civil war, and the conflicts between the US and North Korea are just a few examples.

Such growing tensions drive defense agencies to enhance the combat capabilities of armed forces as well as focus on troop protection measures. Chemical weapons have been extensively used in most of the recently waged wars. This has also pushed countries to undertake soldier modernization initiatives that involve the procurement of safety systems and equipment for the troops.

Increased use of improvised explosive devices

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are unconventional explosive weapons that can be activated in a variety of ways and can take any form of destruction. They can lead to serious injuries and death on the battleground as they comprise biological toxins, toxic chemicals, and radiological materials. Numerous explosive ordnance disposal personnel of the US were exposed to IEDs while on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore, undertaking measures to counter IED exposure plays a significant role in military operations. For instance, in 2010, NATO developed a plan to train the military and defense forces to face IEDs.

"Technological advancements have led to the use of harmful chemical elements in these IEDs, and exposure to the blast sites afterward results in soldiers inhaling the toxic gases. In such scenarios, respiratory protection, with advanced gas masks that can also function as air-purifying respirators (APR), is highly essential for soldiers," says Moutushi.

Demand due to rising investments in CBRND

The growing investments in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRND) weapons are one of the major factors driving the market. Also, the possibility of nuclear and biological weapons falling into the hands of terrorists is additionally propelling government agencies to develop high-end soldier protective equipment, including respirators and gas masks to counter these threats. The growing use of modern biotechnology and new chemical agents and easy access to fissile materials and technology for making tactical nuclear weapons have led defense authorities to invest in CBRND.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Alternative Fuel Powered Military Vehicles Market 2017-2021

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Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like defense technologyaerospace, and aerospace components. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently.

About Technavio

Technaviois 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/20170502006561/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/02/17 -- Canadian Utilities Limited (TSX: CU, CU.X)

Canadian Utilities Limited announced today that it has notified the registered shareholder of its Cumulative Redeemable Second Preferred Shares Series Y ("Series Y Preferred Shares") of a conversion privilege and applicable dividend rates. As a result, subject to certain conditions, the holders of Series Y Preferred Shares will have the right to choose one of the following options with regard to their shares:

1. To retain any or all of their Series Y Preferred Shares and continue to receive a fixed rate quarterly dividend; or 2. To convert, on a one-for-one basis, any or all of their Series Y Preferred Shares into Cumulative Redeemable Second Preferred Shares Series Z ("Series Z Preferred Shares") of Canadian Utilities Limited and receive a floating rate quarterly dividend.

Effective June 1, 2017, the annual dividend rate for the Series Y Preferred Shares is set at 3.40% for the five-year period from and including June 1, 2017 to but excluding June 1, 2022 and the dividend rate for the Series Z Preferred Shares is set at an annual rate of 2.95% for the three-month period commencing June 1, 2017 to but excluding September 1, 2017. The dividend rate for the Series Z Preferred Shares will be reset each quarter. Both rates were calculated according to the terms described in the prospectus supplement of Canadian Utilities Limited dated September 15, 2011.

Beneficial owners of Series Y Preferred Shares who wish to exercise their right of conversion should communicate as soon as possible with their broker or other nominee and ensure that they follow their instructions in order to meet the deadline to exercise such right, which is 3 p.m. (Calgary time) / 5 p.m. (Toronto time) on May 17, 2017. Any notices received after this deadline will not be valid. As such, it is recommended that this be done well in advance of the deadline in order to provide the broker or other intermediary with time to complete the necessary steps.

The foregoing conversions are subject to the conditions that: (i) if Canadian Utilities Limited determines that there would be less than 2,000,000 Series Y Preferred Shares outstanding on June 1, 2017, then all remaining Series Y Preferred Shares will automatically be converted into Series Z Preferred Shares on June 1, 2017, and (ii) alternatively, if Canadian Utilities Limited determines that there would be less than 2,000,000 Series Z Preferred Shares outstanding on June 1, 2017 after giving effect to conversion notices received, no Series Y Preferred Shares will be converted into Series Z Preferred Shares. If either of these scenarios occurs, Canadian Utilities Limited will issue a news release to that effect on or before May 24, 2017.

Holders of the Series Y Preferred Shares and the Series Z Preferred Shares, as applicable, will have the opportunity to convert their shares again on June 1, 2022, and every five years thereafter as long as the shares remain outstanding.

For more information on the terms of, and risks associated with an investment in, the Series Y Preferred Shares and the Series Z Preferred Shares, please see Canadian Utilities Limited's prospectus supplement dated September 15, 2011, which can be found under Canadian Utilities Limited's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

With approximately 5,400 employees and assets of $19 billion, Canadian Utilities Limited is an ATCO company. ATCO is a diversified global corporation delivering service excellence and innovative business solutions in Structures & Logistics (workforce housing, innovative modular facilities, construction, site support services, and logistics and operations management); Electricity (electricity generation, transmission, and distribution); Pipelines & Liquids (natural gas transmission, distribution and infrastructure development, energy storage, and industrial water solutions); and Retail Energy (electricity and natural gas retail sales). More information can be found at www.canadianutilities.com.

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon.

Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof, and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Contacts:

Media & Investor Inquiries:

B.R. (Brian) Bale

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

403-292-7502




CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - May 02, 2017) - (TSX: ECA) (NYSE: ECA)

The following matter was voted upon at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Encana Corporation (the "Corporation") held on May 2, 2017 in Calgary, Alberta. Each of the matters is described in greater detail in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and 2017 Proxy Statement dated March 23, 2017.

1. Election of Directors

By resolution passed via ballot, the following 10 nominees were appointed as Directors of the Corporation to serve until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders of the Corporation, or until their successors are elected or appointed. The results of the ballot were as follows:

Name of Nominee Votes For Percent Votes Withheld Percent -------------------- ----------- ------- -------------- ------- Peter A. Dea 535,096,388 99.12% 4,761,912 0.88% Fred J. Fowler 526,182,537 97.47% 13,675,763 2.53% Howard J. Mayson 536,778,320 99.43% 3,079,980 0.57% Lee A. McIntire 524,559,330 97.17% 15,298,970 2.83% Margaret A. McKenzie 523,577,985 96.98% 16,280,435 3.02% Suzanne P. Nimocks 524,412,409 97.14% 15,445,679 2.86% Brian G. Shaw 536,984,231 99.47% 2,873,737 0.53% Douglas J. Suttles 537,166,485 99.50% 2,691,815 0.50% Bruce G. Waterman 524,983,845 97.24% 14,874,123 2.76% Clayton H. Woitas 526,447,416 97.52% 13,410,552 2.48%

Encana Corporation

Encana is a leading North American energy producer that is focused on developing its strong portfolio of resource plays, held directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, producing natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs). By partnering with employees, community organizations and other businesses, Encana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates. Encana common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ECA.

SOURCE: Encana Corporation

Further information on Encana Corporation is available on the company's website, www.encana.com, or by contacting:



Investor contact:

Brendan McCracken

Vice-President, Investor Relations

(403) 645-2978



Patti Posadowski

Sr. Advisor, Investor Relations

(403) 645-2252



Media contact:

Simon Scott

Vice-President, Communications

(403) 645-2526



Jay Averill

Director, Media Relations

(403) 645-4747
CARLSBAD, California and ZHUHAI, China, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The ninth annual ChinaBio Partnering Forum will be held in Zhuhai, China, May 31-June 1, 2017. The event is the largest and most productive life science partnering conference in China, and brings over 900 leaders from across the life science value chain. Attending companies from China and across the globe include pharma, biotech, innovative startups, and researchers from leading universities and institutes, as well as VCs and other investors.

Cross-border partnerships are the focus of new rules just proposed by the China FDA that will make international collaboration and investment easier, including foreign-approved IND exemptions that speed drug trials by two years or more, and expedited regulatory processes for new drugs and IND/CTA approvals for certain indications, among other highlights. China continues to be the world's fastest growing healthcare market and is expected to be the #1 market in the world by 2020.

"There is no better time to forge cross-border partnerships with China-based drug development companies," said Greg B. Scott, Founder and Chairman, ChinaBio Group. "Innovation is coming from within China, and new CFDA rules have relieved the concerns of many Western companies and investors. The landscape has transformed significantly from just a few years ago resulting in an increase in cross-border in-licensing deals with Western companies."

"China continues to be a major player in drug development on the world stage," said Anna Chrisman, Group Managing Director, EBD Group, "as evidenced by recent partnerships between global pharma companies and China startups in the development of new cancer treatments and new biologics. ChinaBio Partnering Forum is a conduit to connect pharma and investors with China innovation and manufacturing."

Pharmaceutical companies already committed to attending the event include AbbVie, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi as well as scouts from innovation-based domestic companies such as 3SBio, Betta, EbimAb, Innovent, Livzon, Luoxin, Mabpharm, Shenogen, Simcere and Zai Lab, among others.

The event is hosted by Zhuhai, a coastal resort city, centered in the life science industry in Southern China. The Jinwan district is home to over 150 life science companies, including two of China's USD 1+ billion healthcare companies, Livzon Pharmaceuticals, and United Laboratories. The new, 250,000 m2 Zhuhai Jinwan BioPharmaceutical Park is only 10 minutes from the Zhuhai airport, and provides full incubator facilities as well as pilot and clinical scale biologics manufacturing.

Registration and partnering information for ChinaBio Partnering Forum is available online.

Additional links and information:

Follow ChinaBio Partnering Forum on Twitter: @EBDGroup (hashtag: ChinaPartnering).

About EBD Group

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group's partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.

EBD Group's conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:

BIO-Europe and BIO-Europe Spring, Europe's largest life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

largest life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) BioPharm America', the fastest growing partnering event in North America

Biotech Showcase', a unique forum in San Francisco for presenting to investors and business development executives, co-produced with Demy-Colton

for presenting to investors and business development executives, co-produced with Demy-Colton BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co-organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO

ChinaBio Partnering Forum, the first dedicated biotech/pharma partnering conference in China , co-produced with ChinaBio Group

, co-produced with ChinaBio Group Cell & Gene Exchange, a partnering forum focused on the patient community in cell and gene therapy sectors, co-produced with Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM).

EBD Group's sophisticated web-based partnering service, partneringONE, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world. Tune into EBD Group's Insight for timely coverage of news that influences the business strategies of the life science industry.

EBD Group is an Informa company. Informa is the largest publicly-owned organizer of exhibitions, conferences and training in the world.

EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.

For more information please visit http://www.ebdgroup.com.

About ChinaBio Group

Since its founding in 2007, ChinaBio Group has successfully helped nearly 100 US, European and Asia-Pacific life science companies achieve success in China. Leveraging its consulting and advisory teams' significant experience in China's life science industry, ChinaBio has helped its clients identify over 1,000 in-/out-licensing and M&A opportunities and raise over $500M in funding in China. Clients have included many global pharma and life science companies as well as early stage and mid-size companies in Europe, US, Korea and Japan, as well as China. ChinaBio has also organized over 30 conferences in China focused on investment and partnering, and publishes ChinaBio Today, the most widely read source for China life science news. ChinaBio Group is headquartered in Shanghai with staff in San Diego, Silicon Valley, Canada and Switzerland.

Contact:

Erin Righetti

EBD Group

+1-760-930-0500

erighetti@ebdgroup.com



Jean Meng

ChinaBio Group

+1-858-859-1860

Jean.meng@chinabio.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) released a profit for its first quarter that rose compared to the same period last year. The company said its bottom line advanced to $143 million, or $0.29 per share. This was up from $103 million, or $0.21 per share, in last year's first quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.23 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company said revenue for the quarter rose 21.2% to $2.17 billion. This was up from $1.79 billion last year. Genworth Financial Inc. earnings at a glance: -Earnings (Q1): $143 Mln. vs. $103 Mln. last year. -Earnings Growth (Y-o-Y): 38.8% -EPS (Q1): $0.29 vs. $0.21 last year. -EPS Growth (Y-o-Y): 38.1% -Analysts Estimate: $0.23 -Revenue (Q1): $2.17 Bln vs. $1.79 Bln last year. -Revenue Change (Y-o-Y): 21.2% 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.
SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / November 17, 2017 / Camber Energy, Inc. (NYSE American: CEI) (" Camber " or the " Company ") today corrected its previous press release dated November 13, 2017 (as previously corrected on November 13, 2017), whereby it announced that it had scheduled its 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 11 A.M. local time at the Courtyard by Marriott at 8615 Broadway Street, San Antonio, Texas 78217. The correction filed today (included below) updated the record date of the Annual Meeting.

The record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, and any adjournment thereof, will be set on the close of business on November 24, 2017. More information regarding the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is disclosed in the Company's preliminary proxy statement which the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, November 9, 2017.

To be timely, pursuant to the company's Bylaws, as amended, and Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, any notice of business or nominations with respect to the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must be received by the Company at its principal executive offices at 4040 Broadway, Suite 425, San Antonio, Texas 78209, Attention: Corporate Secretary by no later than 5:00 p.m., Central Time, on November 22, 2017. Any such stockholder proposal must be submitted and must comply with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Company's Bylaws, as amended.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

As noted above, in connection with the Annual Meeting, the Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC ") a proxy statement and other relevant documents. It is anticipated that a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (" Notice ") relating to the Annual Meeting will be mailed to each stockholder registered in the share register of the Company as of the close of business on the Record Date (provided the Company may alternatively, in its discretion, mail each stockholder a form of the proxy and the Company's latest annual report). Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet or request a printed set of proxy materials will be provided in the Notice. The Notice (or proxy, if the proxy is mailed) also will provide instructions on how to submit a proxy over the Internet or via mail.

This press release does not constitute a solicitation of any vote or approval. Stockholders are urged to read the proxy statement when it becomes available and any other documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with the Annual Meeting because they will contain important information about the Annual Meeting. The directors, nominees for election as director, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees of the Company may be deemed " participants " in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Annual Meeting. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered participants in the solicitation of the Company's stockholders in connection with such matters will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC. In addition, you can find information about the Company's executive officers and directors in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2017.

Investors will be able to obtain a free copy of documents filed with the SEC at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors may obtain a free copy of the Company's filings with the SEC through the investor relations section of our website (http://www.camber.energy), under " Investors " - " SEC Filings " or by directing a request to: 4040 Broadway, Suite 425, San Antonio, Texas 78209, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

About Camber Energy, Inc.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, Camber Energy (NYSE American: CEI) is a growth-oriented, independent oil and gas company engaged in the development of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in the Hunton formation in Central Oklahoma in addition to anticipated project development in the San Andres formation in the Permian Basin. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.camber.energy.

SOURCE: Camber Energy, Inc.
It's been a little while. I haven't been spending any time writing about the political climate, only because, maybe like watching a wolf pull apart a crippled rabbit, there really wasn't much else to say.

Bu we've passed 100 days, a benchmark The Magician celebrated before his complete failure to affect any forward motion. No Muslim ban, no universal healthcare replacement, no border wall that Mexico would pay for, no tax reform, and a budget that still includes funding for NPR and the NEA, and an increase in spending for scientific research.

With these failures, The Magician now calls the 100-day mark a silly standard to set.

But let's not dwell on that reality. Let's spend a little time with Andrew Jackson, that stalwart champion of the oppressed, that friend to the Cherokee nation, and the slave owner who was 16 years ahead of his time in his opposition to the Civil War.

Old Sharp Knife would not have stood for any Civil War anymore than he would have agreed to our intervention in Vietnam. And let's not even get started on how Jackson would have felt about the Cold War. But not even that matters. So let's move on to The Magician's declaration that "We are sending an armada" to North Korea.

"Very powerful," he said of this armada. "We have submarines. Very powerful. Far more powerful than the aircraft carrier. That I can tell you."

Let's have a look at that statement. Not only does it read like some thug talking tough, it wasn't even true. We could focus on the fact this carrier group was nowhere near or even headed to North Korea, but we don't need that.

A carrier group is not an armada. There are about 15 ships in a carrier group. Some of them are boats (if you can put a boat on it, it's a ship.)

The last time we sent an armada anywhere was June 6, 1944. That excursion included nearly 12,000 ships and boats.

The Spanish Armada, which sailed to England in 1588, had 130 ships.

Both these actual armadas sailed in the English Channel. Both of them were sent, as armadas generally are, to throw down. One of those armadas was defeated. I'll leave it to you to figure out which one.

But never mind that either. The Magician used the word Armada, a Spanish word. I thought we spoke English in this country.

Beyond these glaring examples of dishonesty, ineptitude and bluster, those who continue to support the Magician get to enjoy rallies held in their honor. No other president has held rallies after being elected and this far from reelection time, but it's really all the substance he has.

And maybe the most surreal and the saddest thing about the rallies is that his followers are stuck in a time loop, where they get to salivate over the idea of a Trump presidency, without needing to examine its realities. And of course The Magician loves it.

"He feels comfortable with his people!"

That's what Dennis Hopper said about Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse now. Think of that.

His people, by the way, in The Magician's own words, are poorly educated.

"I love the poorly educated," he said.

Of course he does. Without critical thought, an understanding of History, and the ability to think beyond the show and the bravado - all things an education provides - people like The Magician rise to power.

We have become an uneducated nation, and large portions of our society seem proud of that fact. Even worse, when shown how very, very incorrect their man is, they shrug and say, "so what?"

We had a good run. 200 years and change.
3DR, a Berkeley, CA-based drone data platform for several industries, raised $53m in capital as part of a Series D funding round.

The round, which included both new equity and conversion of debt equity, was led by Atlantic Bridge, with participation from the Autodesk Forge Fund, True Ventures, Foundry Group, Mayfield, and other investors.

The company will use the funds to build its flagship product, Site Scan.

3DR provides Site Scan, a complete camera-to app-to cloud system for the construction, insurance, surveying & mapping, utilities & telecom industries giving the teams the opportunity to monitor and report on progress, identify issues, collect and process aerial data that integrates with Autodesk and GIS tools.

FinSMEs

01/05/2017
Fornova, a Yokneam Illit, Israel-based provider of its market intelligence and market visibility solutions for hotels, closed a $17M series B financing.

The round was led by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP), with participation from Waypoint Capital and existing investor JAL Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to to grow sales, marketing and productization worldwide.

Led by CEO Dori Stein, Fornova provides intelligence-based technology for hotels to optimize brand visibility online, drive traffic to websites, improve occupancy and close more bookings.

The companys technologies for scanning, extracting and analyzing massive amounts of information from the online marketplace provide a two-tiered solution:

 a market intelligence product that allows hotels to collect and analyze all the available information from the market, to better understand how their hotels are priced, ranked and presented on the different online marketing channels, and

 a channelling and market visibility product that translates the data analysis into actions, which have direct effect on occupancy and direct website sales.

Based in Israel with offices in London, Amsterdam, New York and Ukraine, Fornova currently serves more than 13,000 hotels including brands such as Marriott, Hilton, NH Hotels, and Premier Inn.

FinSMEs

02/05/2017
WuXi Nextcode, a Shanghai, China- Cambridge, Massachusetts- and Reykjavik, Iceland-based contract genomics organization (CGO) building a global standard platform for genomic data, closed a $75m Series B financing.

The round was co-led by Temasek and Yunfeng Capital with participation from Amgen Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund established by Amgen Inc., and 3W Partners.

The company will use the funds to advance the commercialization of its consumer solutions for the China market and to expand its capabilities in artificial intelligence and deep learning.

Led by Hannes Smarason, CEO, and Dr. Ge Li, chairman of WuXi Nextcode and founder and chairman of WuXi AppTec, WuXi Nextcode is building a global standard platform for genomic data serving population genomics, precision medicine, diagnostics and wellness initiatives and enterprises using the genome to improve health. Capabilities span study design, sequencing, secondary analysis, storage, and interpretation and scalable analytics  all backed by proven and used technology for organizing, mining and sharing genome sequence data. The company is also applying the same capabilities to advance a growing range of sequence-based tests and scans in China.

FinSMEs

02/05/2017
New Delhi: With the much-awaited Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) coming into effect from Monday, some buyers are hopeful it will end their woes but many are unaware about the benefits arising from the new regulatory regime.

Under the central law, each state has to notify rules and set up a regulatory authority to manage the real estate sector. Uttar Pradesh notified the rules last November, but is yet to set up a regulator. The law provides for strict penalties against promoters and builders for not fulfilling promises.

K.K. Kaushal, a flat buyer of Amrapali Dream Valley project in Noida Extension, is not sure what the fallout of the new law would be. "RERA will take its own time. I don't think we can expect RERA to come up with solutions very soon. We have hope from the new Uttar Pradesh government, though," Kaushal said.

He had booked his flat in 2010 and was told that possession would be available by 2015. "It has been seven years and the project is not yet ready. Work came to a halt at the project site. It's been almost two months, no work is going on at the site," Kaushal told IANS.

Like Kaushal there are many such buyers who booked flats in that project and 600 of them have started a campaign against the developers. Some went and met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi in Lucknow, while many recently joined a candlelight march as a protest.

Amit Kumar, who booked his flat during the same time in Jaypee Greens in Noida, is still waiting for his flat, promised to him for 2013. But he's hopeful that RERA might bring about a change.

"At least now, real estate developers won't be able to take buyers for a ride. Buyers don't have any rights in the country. There should be a panel comprising buyers, developers and bankers (who provide loans) to monitor the project," he told IANS on phone from Oman.

Dushyant Naagar, a farmer leader, has been fighting since 2012 to rein in developers. "Lot of farmers are home buyers. Real estate developers collect money from buyers, even when the land is not cleared by the authorities. Almost 90 per cent of builders have not deposited money with the Noida Authority after taking money from the buyers," Naagar told IANS.

He was promised possession of an Amrapali flat in Noida Extension in 2014. He says brokers should also face the same penalty as builders under RERA. He feels the new law will build pressure on builders who will now have to pay penalty for any delay. "This will be binding. Till now, once the buyer gave money, he was at the mercy of the builder. It is a new hope now," he added.

Ramkumar Choudhary, who has a small business in Noida, booked a flat in 2009 in Supertech, Noida extension. He was to get possession by 2013-14. He said the builder is ready to return the money, but without interest.

"They have refused to give the flat. There is a committee of Greater Noida aggrieved buyers. We have done dharna (sit-in protest) outside Supertech office at Noida Sector 58. Some people have filed court case, which is still on," Choudhary said.

RERA allows buyers to cancel their option for a project and receive full refund along with interest. It also allows a buyer to receive interest for any delay, if he or she does not want to cancel. But Choudhary is not sure if he can repose hope in RERA.

By Meghna Mittal & Aparajita Gupta for IANS
ICICI Group dedicated 100 ICICI Digital Villages at an event in New Delhi on Monday. The bank plans to expand the number of such villages by another 500 by December 2017 and train an additional 50,000 individuals and impact 12.5 lakh lives.

The inauguration of the digital villages follows the banks commitment given in November 2016 to transform 100 villages into ICICI Digital Villages.

The programme involves end-to-end digitisation of transactions and other commercial activities, providing vocational training to villagers, extending credit facility and helping the villagers to access markets and earn a sustainable livelihood.

According to ICICI, these villages are spread across 17 states in the country without any pattern or correlation.

The bank will allow the facility of e-KYC verification which can be done using the Aadhar card to open new bank accounts without the need for physical documents, simplifying the main difficulty for most users who dont have a bank account as of now.

The bank has provided an SMS-based mobile service which facilitates the villagers to transfer funds, receive SMS alerts and mini-statements and know their account balance. It is available in 10 regional languages and functions on basic feature phones as well.

Villagers can also deposit and withdraw cash at their doorstep. The digitisation at the village dairy co-operative units will enable the societies to pay the members digitally and directly into their bank accounts.

We have created a less cash ecosystem at these villages, provided vocational training to over 11,300 villagers, including more than 7,500 women and offered them credit linkages. We have done all of these in the past 100 days, said Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank. She said the bank wanted to show through this initiative that technology and skilling can be used to eliminate barriers that separate rural and urban India.
Be FATCA compliant or your account will be blocked is going to be water-cooler-talk around many offices today, tomorrow and the weeks to come. If you are wondering whats the noise around FACTA and why its important for you, read on.

What is FATCA?

Simply put, its Indias you scratch my back, I starch yours move towards the United States. FATCA or Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is part of an anti-tax-evasion agreement between the US and India. Its objective is to locate income and assets held by US persons in offshore accounts. The agreement amounts to automatic sharing of investor information between India and the US. The agreement is reciprocal in nature, which means it allows for India to receive tax information in respect of its own residents

What this means for you?

The government had asked mutual funds, banks and insurance companies to get their customers FATCA compliment by 30 April 2017. If you have a new account opened between 1 July 2014 and 31 August 2015 and if it is not FATCA compliant then all your MF, bank and insurance accounts would now be blocked.

Who needs to file?

FATCA compliance needs to be done by investors who are Indian residents, non-resident Indians (NRIs), solo account holders, joint account holders, guardian of minors, as well as power of attorney holders.

How to get this done?

Getting FATCA compliant isnt as painful as getting KYC compliant. All you have to do is provide a self-certification about 'tax residency' to your respective financial institutions so that you can get FATCA compliance done. The forms are available on your financial institutions website.

Documents you need to provide: You will need to submit your PAN card details, country of birth, country of residence, gross annual income, occupation. Details of any political connections, if any. You also need to provide your tax identification number if you have been paying taxes.

Now what: Today is just the 2nd of May. The full impact of FACTA block will be seen only in days to come. Why wait? Just get done with FACTA compliance to avoid blacking of your accounts.
IT major Infosys on Tuesday said it plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years in an apparent move to tide over H1-B visa-related issues in the US. The company said in a release that it will open four new technology and innovation hubs across the US focusing on areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data.

With the US mulling over various measures to make visa norms stricter under the Donald Trump administration, Indian IT firms have been contemplating tweaking their business models and accommodating more locals.

Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States, said Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer, Infosys, said in a statement.

Proud that 10k+ Americans will become Infoscions in the next 2 yrs! Thx @GovHolcomb for a warm Hoosier welcome... https://t.co/yYxB7VY33W  Vishal Sikka (@vsikka) May 2, 2017

Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers. New advances in technology  artificial intelligence, in particular  are radically transforming our world, and it is within our reach to learn these new technologies and to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who bring solutions based on these technologies to our clients in all industries, Sikka said in the statement.

The North American market accounted for over 60 percent of Infosys $10.2 billion revenue in the 2016-17 fiscal.

During his election campaign, US President Trump had promised stricter immigration laws and protection of local jobs.

Besides, a legislation (Lofgren Bill) in the US was introduced that proposed doubling of the minimum wages of H1-B visa holders to $130,000.

Most recently, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had come out with a policy memorandum that potentially makes it difficult for Indian technology professionals to work in the US at entry-level positions.

Any change in visa norms can affect the movement of labour as well as spike operational costs for the IT players.

Indian firms like TCS, Infosys and Wipro that are dependent on visas are now focusing on bringing on board more locals to comply with the norms.

According to Infosys, the four hubs will not only have technology and innovation focus areas, but will closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and energy.

The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indianas economy.

Reacting to Infosys announcement, Indiana Governor Eric J Holcomb said, It's so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs."

With the US administration's rising protectionism, there has been a view that Indian IT firms should start increasing the local hiring in that country.

Infosys co-founder N.R.Narayana Murthy, for one, has been of this view. He had said in an interview that Indian software companies need to stop sending people on H1-B visas and focus on local hiring in the US.

Stating that by and large Indian mindset is always to take the soft option, Murthy  one of the pioneers of Indias IT outsourcing industry  said becoming multi-cultural is not easy and is a very, very hard option.

They (Indian software companies) must recruit American residents in the US, Canadians in Canada, British people in Britain etc. Thats the only way, we can become a true multi-national company and in order to do that, we should stop using H1-B visas and sending a large number of Indians to those countries to deliver services, Murthy had told NDTV in an interview.

Infosys move has to be seen in this context.

Once considered an industry bellwether, Infosys has had its share of challenges over the past few years. Apart from competition from rivals like TCS and Cognizant, it is also facing a public spat between founders and the Board over allegations of corporate governance lapses.

Under CEO Vishal Sikka, the company has been trying to turn things around.

The former SAP executive has set up an ambitious target for Infosys reaching $20 billion revenue by 2020 with a strong focus on new technologies like automation and artificial intelligence.

While Sikka himself has admitted that the goal is "aspirational", the company has continued to invest in start-ups working on these new-generation technologies.

With PTI inputs
The day 16-year-old Ruth McCullough soloed in a plane for the first time, she couldnt legally drive herself home alone.

It was just a few days before Christmas when McCullough, a junior at Crescent Valley High School, flew the single-engine Cessna plane on her own and landed at the Corvallis Municipal Airport  becoming one of the youngest pilots in the state to fly solo.

When I landed I got this great sense of accomplishment, like everything else just kind of seemed small, McCullough said. Driving seemed a lot easier after that.

Dallas Enger, chief flight instructor for Corvallis Aero Service, recalled watching the landing from the ground.

There was no way you could tell this was a student, much less someone so young, Enger said. Shes very good, compared to all pilots, not just for her age.

A love of heights

As far back as she can remember, McCullough has always had a love for being up in the air. When she was just 5 years old, her parents took her to the CN Tower in Toronto, which features a 2.5-inch glass floor on its 1,122-foot tall observation deck. While most who came across it were shying away or nervously stepping on it, McCullough recalled running to it.

I jumped on it, she said with a laugh. I dont know why but Ive always loved heights.

Years later, she begged her parents to let her go skydiving. For her 16th birthday, they made a compromise: Instead of jumping out of a plane, McCullough could try flying one. So they arranged for her to take her first flying lesson with Enger.

McCullough said she didnt know what to expect, but the moment she took control of the flight stick for the first time, she knew she had found something special.

Youd think it would be stressful, but it was just this adrenaline rush, she said. But youre forced to think about what youre doing and nothing else, so it just overflows anything else you were thinking about. It blocks everything out.

Her father, Nason McCullough, said he knew right away that Ruth had found her calling.

She just had this big smile on her face the whole day, Nason said. Every time she goes up there in the sky, shes got this smile for days.

After her first lesson, Ruth said she tried to learn everything she could about flying. Soon it became her favorite subject, and she talked about flying with anyone she could find. But since she was the only student at her school learning to fly, conversations with friends were pretty limited.

When I talk to my friends about flying, they think its great, but they dont really understand, Ruth said.

In doing research about aviation, Ruth said she was excited to find out about the 99s, an international organization of female pilots. The group, named for its 99 charter members that included Amelia Earhart, today has more than 5,000 members in more than 30 countries. Ruth is by far the youngest member of the local branch, which is based in Bend.

Talking to these women has been great because they understand it, McCullough said. Its been really nice to find other women who share the same passion.

A future in aviation

The FAA requires all aspiring pilots to be at least 17 in order to obtain a private pilot license. With her 17th birthday several months away and 22 of the required 40 hours of flight time under her belt, Ruth is well in line to be one of the youngest licensed pilots in the state.

I never really had much thought about what I wanted to do, but I think Im going to pursue a career in aviation, she said.

Ruth is also looking at colleges that specialize in aviation and hopes to one day earn her commercial license. But shes also got some immediate plans for when she turns 17.

One of the best parts about flying is that amazing sense of freedom. So its pretty exciting thinking Im only a few months away from my license. Because once I get it, Ill be able to fly wherever I want, she said. Im thinking I want to go to a beach, or up over the Cascades. Maybe both.
New Delhi: India should be setting quality standards for products rather than following global norms, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, stressing on timely dissemination of regulations for better implementation.

Addressing the 4th National Standards Conclave here, she called on the industry to produce quality products at an affordable price so that import of cheaper products can be contained.

"India should be setting standards rather than following the standards which are being set," Sitharaman said, adding that the country should have active participation in any global debate on setting standards.

The minister said technology will play a very critical role in standard setting and conformity assessment and there is a need to factor this in.

Launching a portal of standards developed jointly by the commerce ministry and industry body CII, Sitharaman said this website will be providing all the information relating to standards and conformity assessment.

"But I am also a bit impatient (as to) how it will reach people who will have to follow, conform and implement these standards," she added.

A phone-based alert, adaptable to regional languages, has to be prepared so that conformity to these standards become effective, she suggested.

Technology should be used to disseminate standards to implement them without time lag, the minister added.

Sitharaman said there should be constant awareness among not just farmers, but trade negotiators so that standards, especially of agri products, are set in a manner that it covers all varieties of farm items and exports are not hit.

In this regard, she cited the example of global standards on length and weight of mangoes and wondered how India accepted those norms. She said: "India has exemplary varieties of mango, grapes and banana. Uniformity (in standards) can go against it."

Sitharaman contended that only man-made products can be homogeneous and therefore, any quality standards on agri produce should reflect different varieties and not homogeneity.

The minister asked the industry to manufacture quality products at an affordable price. "Quality need not always be expensive. Quality products can also be affordable," the minister said, calling for a change in mindset.

Various government departments, including textile, steel and pharma, have a focus on setting standards to enhance product quality.

Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia emphasised that product quality is key to achieving export-led growth. She acknowledged the role played by states in ensuring these standards are adhered to.

Teaotia stressed on putting in place "right standards" for services, where the country has a competitive advantage.

The secretary said the government is focusing on evolving a comprehensive national strategy for standardisation.

The objective is positioning standards as a key driver of all economic activities relating to goods and services.
(Editors note: This story has been corrected with details provided by the ministry of Railways)

The ministry of Railways has denied any scam in procurement of food items in the central Railways' catering department, tweeting out the correct prices of the items bought.

Correct info is Rs 970 for a carton hving 108 curd cups i.e. Rs 8.9/100gm & Rs1241 for 15 litre tin of refined oil i.e. Rs 82.7/litre https://t.co/IdqzL9Plpf  Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 2, 2017

According to Indian Railways, a carton having 108 curd cups was bought at Rs 970, which is Rs 8.9/100 gm. Also, the railways procured 15 litre tin of refined oil for Rs 1,241 i.e Rs 82.7 a litre.

The clarification from ministry of Railways comes after The Hindu report said that the Central Railways had procured 100 gm Amul curd for Rs 972 and refined oil for Rs 1,241 a litre. The information, according to the report, was based on a reply to RTI query by activist Ajay Bose.

I was provided with details after a long wait, and information for only a few months was shared though I had wanted it for a full year," RTI activist Bose has been quoted as saying in the report. Bose had to file two appeals to get the details he sought.

According to a reply to an RTI query by activist Ajay Bose, the catering department of the Central Railways bought food items several times higher than the MRP to stock up in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus warehouse and distribute to trains such as Deccan Queen, Jan Ahar canteens and railways base kitchens.

The catering department bought a kg of Amul curd for an eye-poping Rs 9,720, which means a 100 gm of the product was priced at Rs 972! Similarly, refined oil was bought for Rs 1,241 a kg and Tata Salt for Rs 49 per 1 kg packet. For Tata Salt the original price was just Rs 15 (in March 2016). Water bottles and soft drinks were bought for Rs 59 per bottle, the report in The Hindu said.

However, the ministry of railways did not clarify a distribution mismatch based on the RTI information. It said, the railways purchased just 250 kg of flour but distributed 450 kg. So was the case of maida. The purchase quantity was 20 kg, while the distribution made was 35 kg.

Ravindra Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), CR, told the newspaper that the data provided could just be be a typing error. "But I will look into the matter, he has said.

However, this is not the first time the catering service of the Indian Railways has been in the eye of a storm.

In February, a report in The Quint said that overcharging by pantry staff has been a major problem in many trains.

It pointed to a Facebook post by one Protapta Das, who alleged that pantry staff in the Yesvantpur-Howrah Express were selling food items at more than double the printed MRP.

The railways ministry, however, in a tweet denied the news and said: "Wrong and Misinformation moving round in Social Media and WhatsApp groups about overcharging in pantry car of train Yesvantpur to Hwh".
Although the Real Estate Law has been a hit among the buyer community, objections and clarifications are also doing the rounds. Much of this is also because the state-level regulators would come into play and in each state, byelaws might be slightly different.

Here PropGuide answers 10 frequently asked questions about Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA):

Who is the promoter as per the Real Estate Law?

The Act covers all private and public bodies that develop real estate projects for sale. Therefore, the development authorities and housing boards are also in its fold. It also mentions, where the person who constructs or converts a building into apartments or develops a plot for sale and the person who sells apartments or plots are different persons, both shall be deemed to be the promoters and shall be jointly liable as such for the functions and responsibilities specified, under this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder. Therefore, it stands true in cases where a joint development is in question.

If the promoter or allottee defaults, what is the rate of payment payable?

Rate of interest payable by either the promoter or allottee is the same. It has to be specified by the appropriate government in the rules.

What if the regulatory authority does not respond?

Section 5 of the Act provides that the authority has to decide on the application within 30 days of its receipt. It further provides that in case the authority fails to take a decision within the said period of 30 days, the project shall be deemed to be registered.

What is the escrow account and separate account?

Section 4(2)(l)(D) provides that the promoter shall maintain a separate account for every project undertaken by him wherein 70 percent of the money received from the allottees shall be deposited for the purposes of land purchase and construction. The account has to be self-maintained and is not an escrow account requiring the approval of the Authority for withdrawal. Section 4(2)(l)(D) clearly provides that the funds can only be used for construction and land cost.

When can the promoter withdraw the money from the separate account?

The promoter is required to withdraw the amounts from the separate account, to cover the cost of the project, in proportion to the percentage of completion of the project. In addition, the promoter is permitted to withdraw from the separate account after it is certified by an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant in practice that the withdrawal is in proportion to the percentage of completion of the project.

Who else is under the purview?

Section 2(zm) defines the term real estate agents, which is a very broad and inclusive definition and covers all from of agencies involved in sale and purchase of projects, registered under the Act. Consequently, web-portals etc. engaged in selling plots or apartments are also covered under the Act and are required to comply with the duties and responsibilities as provided therein including under the rules and regulations made thereunder.

What is the obligation of the promoter as regards insurance of real estate project?

The promoter is required to seek an insurance of the real estate project towards title of the land and towards construction of the project. This provision shall only come into effect after and in the manner as may be notified by the appropriate government.

Are the civil courts and consumer forums barred from entertaining disputes under the Act?

As per section 79 of the Act civil courts are barred from entertaining disputes (suits or proceedings) in respect of matters which the Authority or the adjudicating officer or the Appellate Tribunal is empowered under the Act to determine. However, the consumer forums (National, State or District) have not been barred from the ambit of the Act. Section 71 proviso permits the complainant to withdraw his complaint as regards matters under sections 12, 14, 18 and 19, from the consumer forum and file it with the adjudicating officer appointed under the Act.

What is the punishment prescribed for non-compliance of the orders of the Appellate Tribunal by the promoter?

As per section 64 if the promoter fails to comply with the orders of the Appellate Tribunal, he shall be liable to a penalty for every day of default, which may cumulative extend up to 10 percent of the estimated cost of the real estate project or with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years or with both.

What is the punishment prescribed for non-compliance of the orders of the Appellate Tribunal by the allottee?

As per section 68, if the allottee fails to comply with the orders of the Appellate Tribunal, he shall be liable to a penalty for every day of default, which may cumulative extend up to 10 percent of the cost of the plot/apartment or with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to one year or with both.
The Fight for RERA, a homebuyers group which campaigned for the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) 2016, which came into effect yesterday (1 May, 2017) says that the Maharashtra government has diluted the Act to favour builders thus defeating the central governments aim of making it a pro-buyers Act.

It is an open secret, say sources, that elections are bankrolled by builders and that the government will handle its cash cow with much reverence. There is no way, say industry observers, that builders will be sent to jail. In the governments seemingly protectionist policy with respect to RERA, the buyer/customer in Maharashtra is not really the king and still at the mercy of the builders.

The Indian real estate market is expected to touch $180 billion by 2020. The housing sector alone contributes 5-6 percent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

RERA in force

The RERA came into force in only 13 states and Union Territories on 1 May. The Ministry of Housing and Urban and Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) had last year notified the rules for five Union Territories--Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep, while the Urban Development Ministry came out with such rules for the National Capital Region of Delhi.

The other states and UTs will have to come out with their own rules. Except for Orissa and Bihar, no other states have come out with rules in line with the Union Territories. The centres rule with the Union Territories was the best, say citizen forums, as they addressed citizens concerns.

Hailing RERA as a great Act by the government, Ajay Mehta, convenor, Maharashtra Chapter  Fight for RERA concedes that not everyone can be happy with the Act.

Advocate Uday Wavikar, Vice President, consumer VP, Consumer Court Bar Association, finds the RERA good as it gives home-buyers the much-needed security as well as transparency.

Abhay Upadhyay, National Convenor, Fight for RERA, spells out the troublesome dilutions of the provisions in the Act by the Maharashtra government which gives a huge leeway to builders.

HUPA rules

According to RERA, projects that have not received completion certificate as on date of notification i.e. 1 May 2017, will be covered as ongoing projects. As per the Real Estate rules notified by the Ministry of HUPA for Union Territories without legislatures, the builder will have to submit all the original sanctioned plan given at the time of booking along with all the subsequent changes at the time of taking registration.

The original timeline for completion as promised to the buyers, extension of this timeline along with the future timeline he intends to complete the project will be required to be submitted at the time of registration.

The builder also needs to give a declaration that 70 percent of the amount already realised from home buyers after reduction expenses incurred on cost of construction and land will be deposited in separate accounts. The promoter should also declare size of the apartment based on carpet area even if it was earlier sold on any other basis.

According to RERA, any changes to sanctioned plan needs the consent of two-third of buyers. The builders of ongoing projects by submitting only the last sanctioned plan for registrations as mentioned in the Maharashtra Real Estate rules are in an advantageous position. This is because all the changes made in the sanctioned plan subsequent to the launch of the project will now get a legal color even without getting two-third consent thus depriving home-buyers of compensation, says Upadhyay.

What the Maharashtra government has done is change the sanctioned plan to last sanctioned plan. With this provision, what the state government has done is make all earlier changes legal. This is a major flaw, he points out. Maharashtra is the only state that has added this kind of a clause in the Maharashtra real estate rules, says Upadhyay.

RERA states that the builder has to give a timeline within which a housing project would be completed. For ongoing projects, the Ministry of HUPA in their rules for Union Territories without legislature, states that the time line has to be commensurate with the pending work of the project. For instance, if a project is 20 percent incomplete and an experts opinion  architect or engineer  states that it will take a year to complete the project, the builder then cannot tell the regulator it will take four years. However, if the rules do not ask what was the original timeline given at the time of booking, the builder can now get away during the time of registration by mentioning a futuristic timeline ignoring the several years of delay, thus depriving home-buyers of their compensation, says Upadhyay.

The Maharashtra real estate rules only mandate builders to deposit 70 percent of the future receivables from home buyers in a separate bank account in sharp contrast to section 4 (2) of RERA since it does not distinguish between ongoing and new projects. This effectively means that builders should ideally deposit 70 percent of the money already realised from their customers after deducting cost of construction and cost of land which would be in line with what the Ministry of HUPA has recommended.

According to Maharashtra rules, Completion Certificate (CC) and occupation certificate (OC) are interchangeable, says Wavikar. RERA refers to completion certificate or by whatever name it is called ( because in different states different terminologies are used) with the intent being that the project has to be completed, signed and delivered with everything that was mentioned while registering the project. When CC is interchanged with OC, what the Maharashtra government has done is give the builder an upper hand in the way the project is to be completed, he says. For instance, if the builder gets part OC for a seven tower project, he will complete one tower and then that tower is out of the RERA ambit. What about the remaining towers he has promised, he asks. RERA has to be clear that OC/CC is not interchangeable, says Wavikar.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development), 2016 Act popularly known as RERA came into effect from 1 May 2017, as was originally stipulated a year ago.

It is not as if the states have been caught unawares  they knew this was coming well beforehand. However, as it stands, only 13 States, including the seven Union Territories (Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep Islands and Puducherry) have notified rules appurtenant to the law.

In addition to this, there are a few concerns related to the Act. The formal authority (Real Estate Regulatory Authority), which will implement the rules and regulations of the Act has not been constituted in most cases. So a developer who has to get his project approved still does not know who to go to. If a developer faces a loss of revenue on account of such authority not having been constituted in time, it will be interesting to see who would be held legally liable.

Public authorities such as development authorities and housing boards etc. are well within the ambit of this law since the term promoter includes such authorities as well. However, so far there is no indication that these public authorities, which also develop real estate, have come up with a new compliance framework under this law.

Uttar Pradesh has set forth certain exemptions to the applicability of the law to on-going projects, some of which are legally questionable, such as the use of a partial completion certificate issued under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Ownership Act 2013. Technically, this is what could be called a dilution of the spirit of the law, something that other states may also be trying to do to protect the interests of developers  which may explain why only a handful of states have actually notified rules and regulations in the first place.

Again, with respect to Uttar Pradesh, while the law permits setting up of two or more authorities within the state for better geographical coverage and speedy disposal of cases, it would appear that the state has elected to constitute only one such authority at Lucknow.

The largest number of new real estate projects within the Uttar Pradesh would arguably be within the district(s) of Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar as part of the National Capital Region, yet the developer of a project launched here would have to seek approval all the way from Lucknow (even though other approvals are generally local).

Once the law comes into effect, developers can no longer solicit investors or purchasers without approval of the authority. This may explain why the last quarter saw a rush of new launches. It is possible that third party, below-the-radar soliciting for projects may continue such as marketing project through closed groups.

As regards looking at the enforcement of this law proactively, it is possible to have existing local building control authorities  such as municipal bodies, development authorities, town planning departments, gram, zilla panchayats or block development offices  compile a list of such on-going projects in their jurisdictions for onward transmission to the proposed Real Estate Regulatory Authority.

In fact, such offices of local authorities can become collection points for the application itself and make the Real Estate Regulatory Authoritys job much simpler by collating the necessary information during the course of according approval to building plans, reducing both redundancy and time taken to process such an application. Building plan approval, incidentally is covered within the RTPSG (Right to Public Services Guarantee) Act of most states. This means that an applicant for building permission must be responded to within a period stipulated under the law (30 days to 60 days).

What can the state(s), which have notified the necessary regulations, do now?

a) Appoint a competent official as the real estate regulator  preferably someone who has more than an arms length distance from any promoter. Other person(s) sitting on the regulatory authority to judge a case must also comply to standards of independence and propriety. The rules and regulations are silent about what to do if the regulator (or any member on the authoritys adjudicatory panel) has any vested interest in any proposal placed before it. In judicial parlance, such a member (a judge in the case of judiciary) would recuse himself or herself from the hearing or adjudication proceedings; but since the authority is more of an executive as opposed to a judicial person, such a norm should be laid out, else it could result in issues with the perceived objectivity and neutrality of the regulator and put far too many cases into the tribunals domain.

b) Issue executive orders for empowering the local authorities  such as those according approval to building plans  to act as a repository and conduit for new applications and to pass on the information pertaining to all existing real estate projects within their jurisdiction (which have not been issued a completion or occupancy certificate) to the regulators office. Pre-checks such as ascertaining the title of land, compliance to building rules, adherence to revenue code where applicable and clearances from other public agencies such as power distribution companies, water supply entities etc. can be ascertained at this stage itself, i.e. with the local authority itself  and is already part of the building plan approval process. So, for all practical purposes  these need not be repeated at the time the proposal goes to the real estate regulator.

c) Develop a standard operating process for appraisal and disposal of cases that can be used by the regulator. This is something of a step-by-step manual of how the regulator should proceed. This could cover for on-site inspection/ first hand inspection of projects.

d) Educate developers  both in the public sector and the private sector  on achieving compliance with the law. One way of doing this could be to set up a help desk for developers, which may comprise of a clinic to evaluate proposals under development and to advise developers on what could go wrong, apart from walking applicants through the process  something like a what to expect when your project is being evaluated.

The author is global managing director, emerging business, RICS
New Delhi: Japanese firm SoftBank Tuesday could not manage a crucial nod from co-investor Nexus Venture Partners (NVP) for the sale of Snapdeal, possibly to Flipkart.

The board meeting of Snapdeal, where SoftBank and Nexus have representatives, did not reach an agreement on the sale, sources privy to the development said.

The meeting, they said, remained inconclusive as NVP -- an early-investor in Snapdeal -- has still not agreed to the valuation given by SoftBank.

The approval is crucial for the proposed sale of Snapdeal to larger rival, Flipkart, they added.

The seven-member board of Jasper Infotech, which operates Snapdeal, includes representation from investors SoftBank, Kalaari Capital and NVP, as well as co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

The sources said NVP continues to seek higher valuation for its over 10 per cent stake in Snapdeal.

Once NVP agrees, the deal with Flipkart could be announced in a matter of weeks, they added.

Emails sent to NVP and Snapdeal did not elicit any response.

SoftBank -- which holds over 30 percent stake in Snapdeal -- has been pushing for the sale of the company, which competes with Flipkart and Amazon.

The Japanese firm has also invested in other Internet businesses in India including Ola and Oyo. The group is also said to be in discussions with digital payments major, Paytm in India for a potential investment of $1.5 billion in the next few weeks.

Sources indicated investment in Paytm could be linked to the timeline of the Snapdeal transaction as SoftBank is said to be keen on Paytm acquiring FreeCharge, the payments business of Snapdeal.

While Snapdeal had expressed confidence in hitting profitability in the next two years, it has been forced to undertake a number of steps, including layoffs and moving away from non-core activities to rationalise costs.

Snapdeal, which was valued at $6.5 billion in its last funding round in February 2016, has seen the valuation shrink and industry watchers believe the potential deal could be struck at a heavily discounted rate.

The deal with Flipkart, if it happens, would mark the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce space and change the landscape of the sector that is witnessing an intense competition among players.

Indian e-commerce companies have seen funding dry up over the last few months as investors focus extensively on profitability and cutting down expenses.
New Delhi: The board of Snapdeal is expected to meet today to discuss the potential sale of India's third largest e-commerce firm to larger rival Flipkart. Also, on the agenda will be getting Nexus Venture Partners (NVP), an early investor in Snapdeal, to agree to the sale deal.

The approval of Nexus Venture Partners will be crucial for the proposed transaction to proceed, according to sources close to the development. The seven-member board of Jasper Infotech, which operates Snapdeal, includes representation from investors SoftBank, Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners (NVP), as well as co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

The valuation of Snapdeal is believed to be one of the hurdles to the deal, as Kalaari and NVP were not in agreement with the valuation given by SoftBank, which is the largest shareholder in Snapdeal.

SoftBank has now succeeded in getting Kalaari (another early-stage investor in Snapdeal) to agree but is yet to get NVP on board for the deal. The sources said once NVP agrees, the deal with Flipkart could be announced in a matter of weeks.

The deal with Flipkart, if it happens, would mark the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce space and change the landscape of the sector that is witnessing an intense competition among players.

Snapdeal was valued at US $6.5 billion in its last funding round in February 2016. The valuation, however, has shrunk since then and the potential deal could be struck at a discounted rate, say industry watchers.

According to reports, the deal may see Snapdeal's mobile wallet service, Freecharge being sold separately and players like Paytm, Flipkart and MobiKwik are said to be in the fray.

Indian e-commerce companies have seen funding dry up over the last few months as investors focus extensively on profitability and cutting down expenses. With intense competition from deep-pocketed global rivals like Amazon, homegrown companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal could face even more heat in the coming days.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has recently said the company will keep investing in the Indian market to strengthen technology and infrastructure. The US-based firm has committed investments worth US $5 billion in the Indian market.
Mumbai: Global ride-hailing platform Uber is now getting into the food delivery business in Mumbai, under UberEATS and has partnered over 200 restaurants.

"The introduction of UberEATS in India, with Mumbai as the first city to go live with its food delivery service is a major step in our global expansion strategy," Bhavik Rathod, head of UberEATS India told PTI.

"We are looking to scale to other big cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata among others going forward, but we don't have a timeline at present," he added.

He, however, did not reveal the investments the company has made in setting up the new business in the country.

Last week, UberEATS Asia Pacific Head Allen Penn said in a blog post, "I am incredibly excited about bringing UberEATS to India.

"This is a significant investment, it spans across multiple cities and regions, and it has the potential to change the food industry - with the push of a button - in one of the most vibrant food cultures in the world."

UberEATS follows the food delivery business model, charging restaurants a service fee to use its platform, and uses third-party delivery. It has already tied up with a 200-300 delivery partners, Rathod said.

Food prices are set by the restaurants according to their menus, while UberEATS plans to charge customers a nominal delivery fee of Rs 15 per order inclusive of taxes, Rathod added.

UberEATS started as a business in 2014 in Los Angeles, and has scaled to 78 cities around the world including Mumbai in the country. It is presently a stand-alone app.

This comes at a time when the food delivery space in the country is crowded with several players including Zomato and Swiggy who are looking to expand their business nationally.

Similarly, food applications and websites like Faasos, Box8, FreshMenu are looking to grow in Mumbai, Bengaluru and other cities.
New Delhi: A team of officials from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have reached London for discussions on the extradition of former liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

A four-member team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana will apprise British authorities about the finer points of the loan default cases against Mallya, CBI sources said. Two senior ED officials are also part of the team, they said.

Mallya's extradition is now before the British court where neither the CBI nor the ED are direct parties. Indian agencies primarily aid and assist British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of absconders before the courts, an official explained.

The agencies' move to send a team to London is aimed at presenting a strong case for the extradition of the flamboyant business tycoon before the court.

The 61-year-old was arrested by British authorities last month on India's extradition request in connection with a Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank being probed by the CBI.

He was released on bail within hours by a London court which has fixed 17 May as the next date of hearing. Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore (including interest) to various banks, had fled India on 2 March, 2016.

The CBI has two cases against him: One related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.

The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge on whether or not to issue a warrant of arrest. In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The 'wanted' person has the right to appeal to higher courts against any decision all the way up to the Supreme Court. Under the law, the British secretary of state

may only consider four issues when deciding whether to order a person's extradition: Whether the person is at risk of the death penalty, whether special arrangements are in place, whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is required and whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.
Kareena Kapoor Khan has shared screen space with her husband Saif Ali Khan in five films - Vishal Bhardwaj's 2006 dark drama Omkara, Vijay Krishna Acharya's 2008 action thriller Tashan, Rensil D'Silva's 2009 action thriller Kurbaan, Sriram Raghavan's 2012 spy thriller Agent Vinod and Raj & DK's 2014 romantic comedy Happy Ending.

The last one was predominantly Saif's film, since he was also the producer, in which Kareena did a memorable cameo. Now, history may repeat itself as Kareena has reportedly also shot for a cameo for Saif's next, Raja Krishna Menon's Chef.

DNA reports that Kareena flew to London, where Saif was shooting for the film, to shoot her small part. However, The Asian Age denies the news by quoting Menon as saying, "Kareena does not have a cameo in the movie."

But the report by DNA states that the makers are concealing Kareena's cameo as they plan to publicise it only during the promotions of the film. In a similar instance, Kareena's cameo in Happy Ending was also kept under wraps.

While there is no official confirmation from either Saif or Kareena on the same, their fans would love to see the real life couple share the screen space after three years even if it lasts for seconds.

The Asian Age quotes Saif as saying, "It is a father-son story. It is about a husband and wife divorce-marriage story. It is about redemption and second chances. So it is quite a deep film. Raja Menon is one of the brightest and dedicated filmmakers I have worked with."

Chef is the official remake of the 2014 Hollywood flick of the same name starring Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr. It is slated to release on 14 July and will clash with Anurag Basu's long awaited action comedy adventure film Jagga Jasoos and Apurva Lakhia's gangster biopic Haseena.
Mike Ennis is challenging incumbent Eric Braa for Position 2 on the Scio School Board.

Scio voters also will choose between newcomers Nicole Buganski and Sam Gray for Position 3, candidates who were profiled in an earlier story. Doug Parazoo is running unopposed to return to his seat for Position 5.

The Democrat-Herald asked each candidate to talk about major issues they see facing the district and how they would respond.

Braa, 37, is an airline captain and senior instructor pilot for Horizon (Alaska Air Group). He is a 1998 graduate of Scio High School and received an Associate of Sciences from Lane Community College in flight technology and a Bachelor of Science in business and aviation from Mountain State University in West Virginia.

He and his wife have two children in the district, in fifth and first grades.

Braa has served on the Scio School Board for eight years. He said he decided to run again to help keep the institutional experience in place on the board as it moves forward.

"It takes several years of dedicated time and effort to be able to understand the inner workings of this district and some of the very complex issues at hand. These issues cannot be learned or furthermore comprehensively understood after a brief description from (Superintendent Gary) Tempel at a board meeting," he said.

In a later interview, he added: "I've always felt my position on the board was more of a check and balance of the district office. And the district office, if they don't have people who are aware of what's going on, who's familiar with ins and outs and complexity of the issue, it just gets approved. And that's sort of not the spirit of having a board. That's what happens when people don't understand."

Braa said he supports further development of vocational technical education, particularly business classes and other opportunities, in addition to continued agriculture and forestry programs.

"While ag and forestry are both fantastic current programs, ag and forestry are not what I mean when I say trades in the schools. I mean specific and prolific programs that concentrate and teach students various basic hands-on skills preparing them to meet the entry requirements of many different apprentice programs," Braa said. "Our district has to find a better balance between programs for college-bound kids and those who have no interest in college. We cannot rely on a one-size-fits all educational model for students who have vastly different ambitions and goals."

Braa said he'll also advocate for Oregon to abandon its Common Core State Standards, saying students need to master basics before moving on to more complicated concepts.

"To my knowledge math is still universal and hasnt changed. What seems to have changed is actually solving the problem has become a secondary goal, secondary to solving it with multiple overly complicated and ridiculous strategies," he said. "At the elementary level, theyve made math so abstract I dont even understand it. Im an airline pilot who uses math almost constantly. How can I have trouble with first grade math? I believe elementary students need to learn and master basic math skills like we all learned in grade school; how to borrow and carry and do long division. In my personal experience were now teaching them to be a jack of many methods but a master of none."

Ennis, 42, is reliability leader at Georgia Pacific's Halsey mill, where it is his responsibility to manage budgets, prioritize projects and coordinate outages.

A 1992 Scio graduate, he received a Bachelor of Science from Oregon State University. He and his wife have two sons in the district in fourth and first grades.

Ennis has been a volunteer for 10 years on the Scio Planning Commission, three of which he served as chairman. He also served a few years on the Scio Cares board, which he said is on temporary hiatus.

Not serving on either agency at the moment provides time to serve on the school board, Ennis said. Having grown up in Scio and now rearing his family here, he said, "I want to use some of what I've learned to give back."

Ennis said his first priority is maintenance and upkeep of facilities. He said his engineering background will help him make sure buildings are kept up to date.

He said he's also concerned about funding. When Oregon Connections Academy decided to change school districts, that left Scio with a much smaller budget. With limited dollars, he said, "We want to make sure we're spending them the best way we can."

Ennis said he supports early college learning programs, but agrees with Braa that vocational education is critical.

"The workforce is aging in the skilled trades, and we want to make sure that we're able to produce students, if they're interested, that are ready to enter those fields."

Voters have turned down bond measure requests for the district in years past. Braa said he doesn't plan to bring a new request to the table.

"So far as I'm concerned the public spoke pretty loudly and clearly on the last one. I'm not here to advocate for things they don't want," he said.

Ennis said he didn't have details on how and why previous bonds had failed but he'd be open to new discussions if they come up. "You can't come in saying that wouldn't be on the table," he said.
Frankly, the staggering amount of noise that has erupted from all quarters ever since Baahubali 2: The Conclusion released is amusing, ridiculous and completely overblown, given that its only a film.

The same sort of noise emanated from the selfsame quarters even when the first part was released. And the blame for this rather unfortunate state of affairs must squarely rest at the doorstep of the Communists who were the original progenitors of politicising art forms: primarily, literature, theatre, and cinema.

More than six decades ago, Kannada literary stalwarts like DV Gundappa and Masti Venkatesha Iyengar remarked that the Communists/Progressives, armed with prosaic skill and media and political clout distorted these art forms by sacrificing them at the altar of ideology. DV Gundappas classic January 26 1950 essay Moses to Marx: Two Worldviews published in Deccan Herald is a highly recommended read on the subject. Equally, Mastis numerous essays on contemporary literary criticism are worth an independent study in their own right.

In our own time, Padmashri Dr SL Bhyrappa has remarked on numerous occasions that creative works must be critiqued using only the yardstick of Rasa or aesthetics, and not by superimposing ideological or other standards upon them.

Therefore, on the one hand when one reads infantile reviews which try to only detect misogyny and closeted conservatism in the movie, and on the other, absurd parallels being drawn to Kalidasas Abhijnana Shakuntalam, its clear that Baahubali 2 as a cinematic art form is lost somewhere in the bargain.

While the former camp-followers try to forcibly retrofit modern notions of feminism and patriarchy onto a movie set in an imaginary historical context, the latter camp-followers mirror-image this by stretching comparisons between the post-industrialised Wests conceptions of constitutionalism and nationalism with the Mahabharata, concepts such Dharma, Vidhi and so on.

To put it bluntly, Baahubali 2 the movie has merely become a tool and a weapon in the hands of aesthetic philistines of both camps, who have little or no notion of the conception of Rasa. Or if they do have it, have subsumed it under various garbs to achieve some random extraneous aims unrelated to art.

Purely from the perspective of Rasa, Baahubali 2 as a whole cinematic experience offers the viewer/connoisseur two primary Rasas: Adbhuta (wonder, marvel) and Veera (heroic).

The wondrous experience has more to do with the canvas, scale, scope and sweep of the narrative as it unfolds scene by scene in spectacular visual grandeur. This experience is also the translation of SS Rajamoulis audacious cinematic vision to reintroduce epic and fantasy narratives based purely on native Indian themes, which gave Telugu cinema enduring classics like Maya Bazar, Sri Krishna Pandaveeyam, Narthanashala, Danaveerashoora Karna and so on.

While the heroic element is quite obvious from both the movies promos and assorted marketing arsenal, it is the elevation of said heroism that delivers the actual Rasa experience. In other words, the audience already knows that its in for sledgehammer-like climaxes, but is still hooked to the seat for the sheer thrill of watching how this action is convincingly accomplished.

This isnt the place to explore all the other Rasas or aesthetic elements in Baahubali 2, but a few words need to be said about shringara (love, erotics), the other important Rasa. The scenes related to the amorous dalliances that both Bahubali Senior and Junior have with their respective leading ladies embody this Rasa. Both father and son engage at some length in the persistent wooing of the women whove stolen their heart. The scenes have been designed and executed lushly and artistically, consistent with the overall grandeur of the film.

To detect rape and patriarchy and such other gender-based political theorising in imaginative depictions of man-woos-woman calls for a stretched leap of logic.

The same leap of logic applies to those who view Baahubali 2 as some sort of cinematic resurrection of Hinduism simply because it liberally uses Hindu rituals and other symbolism. A significant majority of such reviewers dont have enough exposure to or understanding of the Telugu cinema tradition, where even social dramas routinely use several aspects of Hindu culture and traditions throughout the history of Telugu cinema. One can list Rajamoulis Yama Donga and Magadheera as earlier examples of the mythological-historical drama genre.

But to pinpoint the specifics, Baahubali 2 is an unabashed cinematic celebration of the spirit of Kshatra (the warrior spirit, celebrated across all ancient civilizations like Greece and Rome), which is what preserved Hinduism in India against prolonged and repeated alien invasions.

As history testifies, this Kshatra tradition dates all the way back to the Vedic and the epic eras, and the centuries-old royal tradition where every kingdom had a flag, a presiding deity, every great warrior had his own signature arrow, and so on.

Baahubali 2 tries to capture this ancient tradition quite magnificently in the sequences where Prabhas climbs the royal elephant, as well as the elaborate coronation ceremonies.

Yet, Baahubali 2 is not without flaws.

First, it is not a historical movie in the sense that the time-space element in the movie isnt clearly delineated.

From the movie, it appears that the kingdom of Mahishmati can exist anywhere in India, except that there was actually a historical city named Mahishmati located on the banks of the Narmada to the south of Ujjaini and north of Pratishthana (todays Paithan) in Madhya Pradesh. It was a major city of the Avanti kingdom and finds mention in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Raghuvamsha, Digha Nikaya, Sutta Nipata and a 13th century inscription of king Devapala of the Paramara dynasty.

In the movie, the princess Devasena hails from the Kuntala country shown to be a lush, mountainous region, the kind seen in say Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh. However, various inscriptions and copperplates show that the historical Kuntala region lay in the Deccan and was ruled variously by the Nagas, Yadavas, Vakatakas, Chalukyas, and Rashtrakutas.

The action in the film also takes place in an unspecified period. In the first part, actor Sudeep dons the role of Aslam Khan, a Persian Muslim arms dealer. This means the period can be set in any era after the Arab invasion of Sindh, but when one observes the architecture of Mahishmati and the costumes worn by the royalty and the laity, its hard to determine the historical context of the movie. This same element of period-confusion occurs in Rajamoulis Magadheera as well.

Then theres the question of names, which heightens the aforementioned confusion. Sivagami is a typically Tamil name, Bijjaladeva is a Kannada name (after the southern Kalachuri king of the name same whose reign witnessed the flourishing of the saint Basavanna), Ballaladeva is a Kannada name (after the Hoysala kings Vira Ballala I, II and III), Kattappa can be Kannada, Tamil, or Telugu names, while Sanskritised names like Avantika and Devasena can hail from any region in India. Indeed, the name of the title character, Baahubali, can hark back to the celebrated Jain monk, Bahubali in honour of whose renunciation stands the imposingly tranquil Gomateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.

Then there are the Kalakeyas, derived from the Puranic and Buddhist lore, in which they are termed Kalakanjakas, the terrible-faced asuras. The Puranic story has it that sage Agastya drained the ocean of water in one sip so that the Kalakeyas would be exposed and annihilated by the Gods.

Then there are the Pindaris in the second part. Pindaris are of relatively recent origin. They were the 18th Century irregular Muslim marauders based out of the Malwa region, whose primary business was plundering regions occupied by the British.

And so its a tad confusing when expectations are set with such nomenclature of both place and characters, but result in a panoramic and confusing mix of time, place, and characters.

It can be argued that director Rajamouli has full creative freedom to name the characters as such, but in a country like India which still retains strong historical, legendary and native cultural roots, this confusion couldve been avoided without marring the narrative.

The other drawback of Baahubali 2 is the near-total absence of the rich classicism that was an integral part of vintage Telugu mythologicals (mentioned earlier). This is clearly evident in two aspects: body language and dialogue.

While both Prabhas and Rana Daggubatti have sweated hard to develop formidable physiques, they fail to utilise it in sequences involving heightened drama. Equally, their voices lack the royal gravitas, which can be accomplished only by an effective use of tonality, diction and modulation. Part of this lack also has to do with the actual dialogue, which sounds rather tepid.

The following clips best illustrate this contrast:

N T Rama Rao in Sri Krishna Pandaveeyam

N T Rama Rao in Mahamantri Timmarasu

This sort of classicism was accomplished by stalwarts like Samudrala Raghavacharya, K Kameshwara Rao, KV Reddy and others with nonchalant ease. As an illustrative example, one can cite the sheer artistry of capturing Lord Krishnas entire childhood in just one song of seven minutes, the classic 'Jaya Krishna Mukunda Murare' or the Kannada song 'Ramana Avatara' narrating the full Ramayana.

Or to state the obvious, this classicism is inseparable from Hinduism, whose mythology, epics, art, sculpture, temple tradition, music and dance offer an inexhaustible mine for creative artists of all fields. So is it with cinema.

Indeed, to portray Hinduism artistically on screen, the writer, director and other creative crew must live its languages, customs, traditions, dresses, lifestyle and so on. Mere research and an intellectual appreciation  even when it is compassionate and sympathetic  will take a filmmaker only so far. In other words, the filmmaker must reflect the universal spirit of Hinduism set in the backdrop of his/her script and characters.

Its for this reason that Baahubali 2 cannot be fully regarded as a film that reflects this classicism, mythology, or other elements of Hinduism.

To put it bluntly, the filmmaker seems to have been handicapped by this lack of lived and experiential understanding of the classical Hindu social milieu. While its not a mistake on his part, it is a reflection of a largely deracinated urban Hindu society and the artists and filmmakers who emerge from it.

SS Rajamoulis craft, creativity, imagination, and narration are certainly superlative, but his lack of the aforementioned lived experience of native culture and traditions shows in Baahubali 2. For instance, the sequence showing jallikattu and kambala are clearly added as an afterthought in the wake of the recent protests. Its absence wouldnt have made a difference to the story.

On the other hand, such ancient social and cultural traditions are beautifully enmeshed in the films of Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winner K Viswanath. One can cite the creative and nuanced depictions of the Gangireddu, Haridasa, and Rama Katha traditions in his movies like Sutrdharulu and Swati Muthyam. All of these are integral to the story itself and are not introduced as showcase elements.

And so, unless we have filmmakers of such caliber, the ongoing noise over the politics and ideology of Baahubali 2 and similar movies will continue.

If this critique of Baahubali 2 sounds harsh, it isnt meant to be.

S S Rajamouli has clearly made a winner with an extraordinary narration of a very simple and familiar tale of a youth destined for greatness and glory and how he triumphs over the various obstacles of intrigue, murder, and evil. But despite its sweep, the movie falters and at points, fails to flesh out subtleties in character and detail. Its this that makes it stop short from becoming a classic, and merely remains at grand.

Indeed, Baahubali 2 is perhaps the first Indian film in the millennial decade to defy the dogma of the craft of modern filmmaking derived for example, from the Syd Field school and still create an extraordinary visual feast based entirely on a native Indian theme and succeed with aplomb.

Rajamouli must also be credited for his guts to rewrite the grammar of Indian cinema in an attempt to resurrect the mythological-fantasy genre that gave Telugu cinema its enduring masterpieces. This in an age of so-called realistic cinema with largely contemporary themes or the inane fare dished out from the factories of Karan Johar and Yashraj Films.

And with Baahubali 2s stupendous success, one can perhaps hope for more refined films in this genre from Rajamoulis stable. Or to inspire other filmmakers to attempt this genre.

But its unarguable that Baahubali 2 has certainly earned its place in Indian cinematic history.
The Karnataka government passed an order on Tuesday setting a capping of Rs 200 on movie tickets in all cinemas of the state.

Karnataka govt passed an order to put a cap of Rs 200 on movie ticket prices at all movie halls; to be applicable from today.  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Last week, high pre-booking ticket prices of 'Baahubali-2' had brought to the fore the demand for implementing a pending government proposal to cap the rates at Rs 200. Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce (KFCC) President Sa Ra Govindu had said the ticket price of the Prabhas-starrer, being released on 28 April, was anywhere between Rs 120 and Rs 600 and expected to reach close to Rs 900.

The chamber had been in talks with the government officials to implement the proposal, made in this year's budget, after it received complaints about exorbitant rates charged by cinema theatres in the city, he had said.

At a meeting with officials, he pushed for refunding the excess amount charged for Baahubali-2 and other films if the government implemented the proposal, Govindu said. The chamber chief said he was expecting a government order in this regard soon.

An official of the Department of Information and Public Relations, who is familiar with the development, had said the concerned department will be clearing the hurdles related to the issue and implement the proposal in a couple of days. The film exhibition industry has been sceptical about the government's move to cap movie ticket prices at Rs 200. In March, Mukta Arts Managing Director Rahul Puri had said the industry would in all likelihood oppose the move, stating that price capping as a concept was against free market.

The proposal in the 2017-18 budget followed recommendations by a 14-member committee, headed by filmmaker and Chairman of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy S V Rajendra Singh Babu, constituted to draft a policy for promotion of Kannada cinema.

There were demands from various stakeholders of the film industry to the government, urging it to cap multiplex entry fee at Rs 120 on the lines of neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Hyderabad: Superstar Mahesh Babu's upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual action-thriller SPYder, being directed by AR Murugadoss, will now hit the screens on 11 August instead of 23 June, a source in the know has said.

"Originally, the film was slated for release on 23 June. Since the shoot will go on till May end, it's very unlikely for the film to come out in June. Hence, the makers are planning to release it on 11 August," the source from the unit of the film told IANS.

In the film, Mahesh plays an intelligence bureau officer and is paired with Rakul Preet Singh. The project marks the first-time collaboration of Mahesh and Murugadoss. Actor-filmmaker SJ Suryah is being introduced in the role of an antagonist.

Being produced by Tagore Madhu, the film has music by Harris Jayaraj.
By Patricia Zengerle

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON An extra 2,500 visas for Afghans who assisted American forces during the war in their country will be granted under the $1 trillion U.S. government funding deal reached on Sunday, preserving a program that had been at risk of shutting down.The spending deal agreed by congressional negotiators continued the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which allows Afghans who worked for the U.S. government, often risking their lives, to move to the United States after a rigorous vetting process.A recent bi-partisan push by U.S. lawmakers for more SIV visas came against the backdrop of efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to clamp down on immigration from majority Muslim countries, an effort that has been blocked by the courts.In March, the U.S. embassy in Kabul said it had stopped scheduling interviews for SIV applicants because it had nearly run out of visas, even though 1,500 more were included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed in late 2016.

That helped prompt a group of senators, including Republican Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain to seek more. As of April 20, only 780 SIV visas remained available, while more than 14,000 Afghans had already begun the application progress, according to the U.S. State Department.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a long-time advocate for the SIV program, said letting it lapse would have sent a message that the United States was willing to abandon its supporters."It's both a moral and practical imperative that Congress approve additional visas. Thousands of Afghans have put themselves, and their families, at risk to help our soldiers and diplomats accomplish the U.S. mission and return home safely," Shaheen said in an emailed statement.

Afghanistan is not one of the six countries whose citizens would have been barred under Trump's executive order, but some of the president's fellow Republicans in Congress have resisted expanding the SIV program out of concern that militants could use it to enter the United States.Supporters of the program say such concerns are overblown, noting the intensity of the screening to which applicants are subjected. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Richard Cowan and Ginger Gibson

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON The U.S. Congress, bitterly divided for years along party lines, may be mapping a bipartisan path forward that skirts around President Donald Trump when he refuses to engage constructively with lawmakers, Democrats and some lobbyists said on Monday.The path was discernible in a nearly $1.2 trillion federal spending deal carved out over the weekend to avert a government shutdown. It had Democratic fingerprints all over it, even though Republicans control Congress and the White House. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Trump will sign the 2017 budget bill when he receives it from Congress on Thursday or Friday. Trump, in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, said he was "very happy" with the deal announced late on Sunday.Democrats claimed victory on issue after issue in the agreement, which will keep the lights on in Washington through the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, provided it holds up and wins final approval as expected.Trump scored a partial win, getting a commitment for up to $15 billion in additional funding for a military buildup. That was about half of what he originally asked for.No money was included for Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall. Democratic opposition to it was solid and support from Trump's fellow Republicans was soft. Mulvaney said Trump will seek wall funding in a budget proposal coming in late May.At a White House briefing, Mulvaney defended the concessions Trump made to reach an agreement, saying Democrats gave up on some items they had wanted as well in order to find a compromise."Everything we got in this deal ... lines up perfectly with the president's priorities," he said.Democrats took an opposite view.

Describing the work on Capitol Hill that went into the temporary spending pact, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters: "Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate were closer to one another than we were to the president on so many of the different issues."Schumer and Senator Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said they were bolstered in negotiations by the fact that several Republican senators opposed funding for Trump's wall and his call for deep domestic spending cuts.Schumer and Leahy said the White House never tried to work with Democrats in the process.Trump treats engaging with lawmakers on legislation as an afterthought, said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist who worked in Congress as an aide to former House Republican leader Eric Cantor.The power of the Oval Office can provide a lot of leverage when trying to move something on Capitol Hill," Heye said. We just havent see that level of engagement from Trump, whether its healthcare, or building a wall, or tax reform.

But John Feehery, a Republican strategist in Washington, said the spending bill may not be indicative of Trumps ability to negotiate with Congress because the legislative body should have dealt with this years funding months ago and never have been allowed to go into the current year. He knows that this bill was probably not going to reflect his priorities because it was old business, Feehery said. When it comes to new business, he has a lot more leverage in getting his priorities accomplished.PLANNED PARENTHOOD, OBAMACARE FUNDED

The spending deal preserved funding for healthcare provider Planned Parenthood, which has drawn Republican ire because it performs abortions; for the Obamacare healthcare law; and for an array of environmental and other domestic programs Trump wanted to slash.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said because the legislation needs to win a supermajority of 60 votes in the 100-member Senate that cannot be achieved without Democratic support, "we couldn't have our entire way" on the deal.Spicer said the "president's priorities will be reflected much more" in spending yet to be worked out for the 2018 fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. He said Trump was pleased to see the increase in military spending, a "down payment" on border security and money for scholarships to help low-income children in Washington attend private schools. The fiscal 2017 funds, which should have been locked into place seven months ago, would pay for federal programs from airport and border security operations to soldiers' pay, medical research, foreign aid, space exploration and education.The Pentagon would win a $12.5 billion increase in defense spending for the fiscal year, with the possibility of an additional $2.5 billion contingent on Trump delivering a plan to Congress for defeating the Islamic State militant group.Congressional negotiators settled on $1.5 billion more for border security, including money for new technology and repairing existing infrastructure. Under the deal, Puerto Rico would get an emergency injection of $295 million for its Medicaid health insurance program for the poor. The impoverished U.S. territory faces a severe Medicaid funding shortfall.The U.S. government and coal companies would be required to pay out healthcare to retired coal miners, guaranteeing benefits to workers even as coal companies face bankruptcy, under the spending agreement.The deal also would reimburse New York City for money spent securing Trump and his family at Trump Tower in Manhattan. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Tim Ahmann and Steve Holland; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Chizu Nomiyama, Meredith Mazzilli and Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Kolkata: To make Indian soldiers conversant with the Chinese language, the Visva-Bharati University has started a certificate-level course recently. The university's 'Cheena Bhavan' has been entrusted with the task of teaching the language to the soldiers, officiating vice-chancellor of the university Swapan Kumar Dutta said.

Dutta told PTI, "This is a certificate course in Chinese (Mandarin) which started recently and 25 Army personnel have been admitted for the course this year. Aimed at mental enrichment of the Army personnel, the course imparted by teachers of Cheena Bhavan will introduce them with the rich Chinese culture and the centuries-old tie between the two nations," he said.

The eligibility criteria remained the same as general students enrolled for the course, he said. The course is being taught at an Army establishment since it was not feasible for the Army personnel to attend Cheena Bhavan classes in the Visva-Bharati campus, he said.

Since its inception in 1937, the 'Cheena Bhavan' had been working towards creating awareness about Chinese culture in the country, Dutta said. Hence, "the certificate course should not be seen in isolation, but rather part of a cultural exchange process continuing for eight decades," he said.

An MoU was inked between the Visva-Bharati University and the Armys Eastern Command in February - for educational cooperation and facilitating academic exchange programmes -signed by the Registrar on behalf of Visva-Bharati and Brigadier General Staff(Training) on behalf of HQ Eastern Command.

The signing ceremony was attended by Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi and the Officiating vice-chancellor, besides ohers.

Dutta said that the MoU facilitated the setting up of a library at Fort William (Eastern Command headquarters) where Bengali and English works of Tagore along with Hindi translations were being kept, he said.

Referring to Cheena Bhavan's other initiatives, Dutta said, "While our students are being recognised internationally for their command over the language, in China students of the institute who are part of the exchange programme with Cheena Bhavan organise Bengali cultural events at their campus and sing 'Rabindra Sangeet'," he said.

"We are working on Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's vision in broadening the mind through linguistic and cultural exchanges," he said. He said the Chinese Consulate had extended all help to set up a 'Modern Chinese Laboratory' with modern equipment at Cheena Bhavan.
New Delhi: As many as 55 camps of Pakistan-backed militant groups have come up across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the last four months where terrorists are being trained to be pushed into Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday.

Quoting intelligence reports, government officials said at least 20 new terrorist camps have come up this year taking the total number to 55 from earlier 35.

When the surgical strike was carried out by the Indian Army on terror launch pads across the LoC in September last year, there were around 35 training camps of the militant groups and many of them were dismantled and shifted deep inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. However, the officials said, all these camps have resurfaced since January and at least 20 new camps too have come into existence.

All these 55 camps are "actively operating", an official said. In the first four months of 2017, there were 60 infiltration attempts along the LoC in which 15 terrorists managed to enter into Jammu and Kashmir.

Quoting the intelligence reports, officials said as of now about 160 terrorists are active in the Kashmir Valley and their Pakistani handlers have instructed them to intensify attacks on security forces to keep the "pot boiling and the LoC active". They said since the state government will start functioning in summer capital Srinagar from 8 May after the 'Darbar move', militant groups were trying to boost morale of their cadre by intensifying attacks.

Monday's attack by a Border Action Team of the Pakistan Army along the LoC, in which two Indian soldiers were beheaded, is part of this strategy, the officials said.
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday night cancelled the Lok Sabha bypoll for Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir. The by-election was scheduled to be held on 25 May. According to an EC official, the poll panel in an order issued around midnight rescinded a notification issued earlier on holding the bypoll on 25 May.

Sources said the Election Commission had sought deployment of around 740 companies of paramilitary personnel for the bypoll. The home ministry, however, said it could only provide around 300. A company usually has around 100 troopers.

The state government officials had informed the EC that the situation in South Kashmir "is not good, the overall situation is scary and not very conducive (to the holding of polls)," the EC said in a 10-page order issued late last night. The 10-page order said a fresh date would be announced later.

The three-member commission cited various rules of the Representation of the People Act and the Constitution while rescinding its earlier order for holding polls to the Lok Sabha seat which fell vacant last July after Mehbooba Mufti took over as the chief minister of the state.

The by-election to the Anantnag seat will be held when the situation becomes conducive to a free, fair and peaceful election, it said.

The J-K government had informed the commission that the election needed to be postponed since security agencies wanted to resume operations to counter militancy related activities, it said.

The government had also said these operations would be necessary in the coming months to restore public order and enable elections to be held in a free and fair atmosphere after October this year, the EC said.

The bypoll was earlier scheduled for 12 April but was deferred because of large-scale violence on April 9 when polling was held for the Srinagar parliamentary seat. Eight people were killed and the voter turnout was a record low of a little over seven percent.

The commission also cited various reports from the state government about terrorists "harassing" policemen and their families and generating an environment of "insecurity, fear and chaos".

The state government believes that the overall law and order situation in the valley, particularly in South Kashmir, is not conducive to the holding of the bypoll, the EC order said.

The commission examined all aspects of the bye-election and found that there had been no "marked improvement" in the law and order situation after April 10, when the EC deferred the by-election.

"On the contrary, these reports reveal a further and continuous deterioration in the situation and the incidents of stone pelting, violence and rioting have rather been on the increase," the order, which also referred to loss of life, said.

"The apprehension expressed by the Chief Electoral Officer that there may be reluctance on the part of polling personnel to go to polling locations in view of the fear in their minds with regard to their safety and security is also a matter of concern," the EC said.

Reacting to the order, former J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, "It's depressing to see how far we have regressed in Kashmir from the highs of the assembly polls of 2014 to the cancelled election of 2017.
"Plant a sapling and study for free"  this is a new scheme launched by the education department of Assam government. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the education minister of the BJP-led dispensation announced the scheme in a review meeting with college principals at Cotton College in Guwahati on Monday, The North East Today said.

The announcement that came just before the commencement of higher secondary and degree admission process is likely to benefit more than nine lakh students who will plant an equal number of saplings to avail the benefit of the scheme.

While explaining the details of the plan, the education Minister said, "They will have to click pictures to show the growth of the tree during the year. Only then, their admission fee in the second year will be waived."

He also said in the meeting that the students can choose the location to plant the tree according to their wish.

"They can plant the tree in their neighbourhood, premises of their homes, colleges or along the road," the Minister told Firstpost.

He further added that this scheme is applicable to students who take admission in first year higher secondary after passing Class 10 exam and those taking admission in a three-year degree course after passing out Class 12 exams.

However, only those students whose parents earn less than Rs 1 lakh a year will be considered in this scheme, Sharma said.

He also added that to avail the benefit of the scheme the student has to submit a photographic evidence of planting a tree to the college authorities at the time of admission.

"This year nearly 4.5 lakh students are going to take admission in first year higher secondary and in first year degree courses. Nearly that number of students are going to avail this benefit by planting the same number of saplings," he claimed.

He also maintained that the same number of students are going to take admission in second year higher secondary and second year degree courses, and the scheme will be extended to them as well, thus covering a total of 9 lakh students, all of whom could plant an equal number of saplings.

The photograph of the planted sapling submitted at the time of admission will be stored by the college authority. To avail free education in the subsequent years, the student will have to provide evidence that the sapling has grown, he says.

Narrating the objective behind the scheme, Sharma said, The BJP vision document for Assam speaks of providing free education. But providing free education without any conditions attached looks like distributing dole. So, I felt that it should be linked to something new."

He also said that planting and taking care of a sapling not only generates a kind of positive emotion but also creates an awareness to conserve the environment.

Last year, the BJP-led government in Assam announced free higher education to students from poor families.

With this scheme, the Government of Assam provides free education for students studying higher secondary, three-year degree, polytechnic and diploma courses free, thus making Assam the first state to provide free higher education to students.
Raipur: Three Naxals, two of them from Odisha, were arrested during a search operation in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma, police said on Tuesday.

The cadres were apprehended on Monday by a joint squad of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and district force from the forests under Pushpal police station area, a district police official told PTI.

Those arrested were identified as Kawasi Hadma (32) from Darbha area of Bastar district, and Ramnath Nag (21) and Buchha Dhurwa (24), both natives of Malkangiri in Odisha, he said.

According to him, the trio were active as jan-militia members  lower rung Maiosts, and were allegedly involved in the attack on a police party between Daldali and Tulsi villages of the region on 28 March this year.

They were produced before a court in Sukma on Monday which remanded them in judicial custody, the official said.
Three people are competing to represent Zone 5 on the Lebanon School Board this May.

Incumbent Jerry Williams, who was elected to the board in 2013, is facing challenges from Nick Brooks and Jeannie Davis.

The Democrat-Herald asked each candidate to talk about major issues they see facing the district and how they would respond.

The paper also asked what, if anything, the candidates would do to address recent controversy over perceived lack of transparency from board members regarding a personal relationship between the superintendent and another principal.

More complete information on their backgrounds and responses can be found at the Democrat-Herald's online version of this story.

All three candidates said adequate funding is a concern and that they want to help the district use funds efficiently.

They differ on what they see as the board's responsibility toward residents concerned about a personal relationship between Superintendent Rob Hess and a district principal. Some board members knew of the relationship when it became official two years ago, while others did not and have questioned how the information was handled.

Davis said she didn't feel she had enough information to be able to comment.

Williams, who has been on the board since the relationship began, said he does not see any issues with it. "To me, it's been checked on," he said." "There's no issue there, as far as I'm concerned, that's a problem."

He also disagrees with people who contend the board is not transparent enough about its decisions and the data behind them. All board meetings are public, as is the information presented at them, and people are welcome to call with questions, he said.

Brooks said that's not his take. "I think our data is not solid," he said, adding that he thinks the academic improvement statistics given at board meetings are not well defined nor presented completely.

As for Hess' relationship, he said he doesn't know enough about the rules and procedures and would like to know more about the situation. If people's frustrations aren't resolved by the time of the election, he said, he'd work as a board member on a plan to get them resolved as soon as possible.

A look at the three candidates and their other desires for the district:

Brooks, 46, is maintenance manager at Weyerhaeuser's sawmill and has lived in Lebanon since 2007. He has two sons at Lebanon High School and volunteers on the Booster Club's board.

He sees divisiveness in the district and hears some people feel the current board isn't working in residents' best interest, so he's running to make a change.

"Some people feel that there's a voting block on the school board," he said. "The perception is they tend to look toward each other and vote together, or even react together."

Brooks said he would do the research, be inclusive and keep student needs at the forefront of each decision. Among his main priorities are retaining teachers, maintaining facilities and improving vocational skills while adding extracurricular opportunities.

"Independent thinking needs to be a part of our board," he said. "In some cases, they're not seeking that out."

Davis, 48, is associate director of Clinical Education for Western University of Health Sciences-COMP Northwest in Lebanon. She has also worked at the Oregon Judicial Department's budget office. She has three grown children and a grandchild.

"Growing up in Lebanon, working in Lebanon, and raising my family here, has all contributed to my sincere desire to serve the community and its children," she said, adding that she has served and advocated for children's educational needs through the Mayors Youth Council and Lebanon Health Career Ladder program as well as working as an academic adviser for WesternU COMP-Northwest medical students."

Davis said she would like to see smaller class sizes and help with student behavior issues.

"Some of the biggest issues facing the school district are how to provide quality education while staying within the financial means of the district," she said. "I see my role on the board as an advocate to sustain the quality of education that we need for our youth."

Williams, 69, is retired from a career as a division manager and route salesman with the Weber-Millbrook bakery division of Interstate Brands Corp. Hes also a former manager of a Montgomery Ward building material and plumbing department in Klamath Falls and a general manager of an energy conservation company in Clackamas.

He has two grandchildren in the district and his daughter is principal of Green Acres Elementary School.

Williams said he wants to continue as a board member "because our children need the positive stuff in their lives to get the best education they can. I believe we're heading in that direction and I want to see that continue."

Among his priorities are keeping strong vocational-technical classes in the district, continuing to expand both college support opportunities such as AVID and Advanced Placement classes, and helping students struggling to achieve.

"With the experience I have now, and the knowledge that I have, I believe I can do the best job," he said.
Raigarh: A chopper with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on board landed in a field in a different village on Tuesday whereas it was to arrive at another village with the same name in Raigarh district, police said.

The pilot probably mistook the venue where the chief minister was to visit under his government's 'Lok Suraaj Abhiyaan' and landed in Linjir village of Pusaur development block, a local police official said.

As per schedule, the chopper was to land at Linjir village in Baramkela development block of the same district, he said, adding that prima face, the goof up happened because of the two villages having the same name. Singh remained seated in the chopper after it landed, the official said.

The pilot was immediately informed about the mistake and the chopper took off for the destined village, located nearby, around 20 minutes after landing at 12:36 pm, he said.

Officials and security personnel of the chief minister were also on board the chopper.

On receiving information, the Station House Officer (SHO) Deepak Paswan and Janpad Panchayat CEO NL Patel reached the spot, he said.
In the Valley, there is hardly any euphoria over the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks suggesting a multilateral dialogue to settle the question of Jammu and Kashmir. Barring a few Hurriyat leaders no one seems to have much expectation from the Turkish president's offer of mediation, as most of the people say apart from appeasing his Islamist constituency at home, there no nothing the Turkish president can do to change political status of the state.

"It was surprise. Leaders who come to Delhi these days either loathe the idea of political violence or are simply not interested in the Kashmir politics," said Javid bin Nabi, a student of International Relations at the Islamic University of Science and Technology.

"But we all know, it means nothing for the larger question of addressing Kashmir," he added, "I dont why the blood pressure of TV anchors has gone so high."

Kashmiris have been seeking the intervention of major western capitals, particularly Washington and London, to solve the Kashmir conundrum. Ever since an armed insurgency erupted in the early 1990s, the separatist leadership and indigenous militant outfits have always looked for any possible intervention from western powers to solve the issue. "But Turkey and its president are not in a position to play that role. Erdogan himself is hardly in any position to bring all the three parties to the table despite having influence with both India and Pakistan," Noor Mohammad Baba, a professor of politics and governance at the Centre University of Kashmir, said.

Erdogan has been at the centre of a dramatic string of events over the past year. After a failed military coup, he has succeeded in tightening his grip over the country, jailing Opposition leaders and suppressing dissent in the Kurdish region. "What will he talk about dialogue and reconciliation? He has jailed almost the entire democratically-elected Kurdish leadership and killed 2,500 people in Turkey and since last year, jailed government servants and Opposition leaders," Imad Nazir, a student of Central University of Kashmir, said.

But the separatist leadership in the Valley has welcomed the offer and expressed hope that Turkey, being an important Islamic country and having cordial relations both with India and Pakistan, will play an effective role in solving the Kashmir problem.

"Being an active member of the Kashmir Contact Group at OIC, Turkey which has always advocated the solution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. And so, Turkey can play a vital role in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute to end the tension in this region, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat chairman said. "At a time when Turkey and India seem to come closer, Turkey can act in an imaginative way in bringing both India and Pakistan closer to find an honorable and just solution to the Kashmir issue," he added.

Meanwhile, terming the Turkish president's statment as 'a positive development', chairman of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Shabir Ahmad Shah, said "The statement by Erdogan is encouraging and gives us satisfaction that the world leadership is keenly observing the developments in Kashmir. We welcome his suggestion. Kashmir is a longstanding dispute and a bone of contention between two nuclear neighbours."

He added, "The people of Jammu, Kashmir and Pakistan have always been favouring the resolution of this dispute through tripartite talks or by implementing UN Resolutions, but India not only finds excuses to run away from talks but also uses worst kind of suppressive measures against Kashmiris, particularly the youth of the state."
Islamabad: Pakistani and Indian military officials have spoken over a hotline to reduce tensions after New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of mutilating the bodies of two of its soldiers, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.

"A local commanders' level hotline contact was established at Rawlakot-Poonch sector on LoC (Line of Control) on the night of 1 May between the Pakistan and Indian Army authorities," Xinhua news agency quoted the Pakistani army officials.

"The Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies," a statement from the Army's Inter-Services public relations office said.

The statement said the Indian authorities were told there was "unnecessary media hype" following the allegations against the Pakistani military.

"Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects the same from other side and hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to vitiating the environment and affect peace along the LoC," the statement said.

A routine Director General Military Operations level hotline was likely later on Tuesday, the Pakistan Army said.

Indian officials said on Monday that an Army soldier and a BSF trooper were killed and "mutilated" on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani forces at Krishna Ghati sector.
Mumbai: Jet Airways has sacked the foreign pilot who allegedly assaulted a trainer during a simulator training session last month, an incident that triggered a call for a boycott of all expat pilots in the private airline.

The pilot, an American, was a commander on Jet Airways wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft.

"The pilot in question has been removed from the job after a thorough internal investigation into the incident," a Jet source said.

The action against the pilot was taken after a trainer alleged he was physically assaulted by the expat commander during a simulator training session at the airline's Bengaluru facility in early April.

"The airline carried out a thorough investigation into the incident after it received a complaint from the trainer. After the probe, it was decided to terminate his service contract," the source said.

A senior Jet official confirmed the development.

Significantly, after the incident, Jet's pilot body National Aviators Guild (NAG) directed its members not to fly with the expats in the cockpit from 1 May. It also demanded the ouster of all expat pilots from the airline immediately.

However, the NAG later kept its directive in "abeyance", saying it wants to give some more time to the Jet management to address their concerns.

The guild claims representation of around 1,000 of the total 1,500 pilots in the leading Indian carrier.
A day after bodies of two Indian soldiers were found mutilated by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control (LoC) and amid the continuing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, Governor N N Vohra on Tuesday met with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the issues concerning the state with him.

During the 40-minute meeting, Singh and Vohra reviewed the ground situation in the Valley and the steps taken to control it. Issues like infiltration from across the border, activities of separatists and street protests by students were discussed at the meeting, official sources said.

HM & J&K Guv discussed yesterday's terrorist attack,HM asked to control situation at the earliest,take strict action against those behind it pic.twitter.com/UK9pli97HL  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

J&K Guv assured HM that situation will be controlled soon, and home ministry will be informed of the same.  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

The situation along the border, where two soldiers were beheaded by the Pakistan Army on Monday, also figured in the meeting. Vohra is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well. According to a report on India Today, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two neighbours are expected to discuss the volatile LoC situation on Tuesday.

Punjab: Mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh brought to Tarn Taran by helicopter pic.twitter.com/tjxwTwEDJG  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Reports also said that Arun Jaitley, who shares the responsibility of the defence ministry along with the finance ministry, is expected to meet Modi and brief him on the situation. Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed violence during the 9 April bypoll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in which eight people lost their lives in more than 200 incidents.

The Election Commission has also cancelled the 25 May Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll, saying the situation there is not feasible for holding the election. On Monday, seven people, five of them policemen, were killed by Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists after being dragged out of a bank's cash van in Kulgam district.

Last month, the Valley saw protests by students against alleged police excesses where even girls, for the first time in recent memory, were seen pelting stones at security personnel.

Massive protests erupted in Kashmir after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter in July last year which continued for nearly four months. More than 90 people lost their lives, while scores of security personnel and civilians were injured.

With inputs from agencies
"How many soldiers are we going to lose and with what frequency?" were the words of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh's kin before the last rites of the soldier was conducted in Tarn Taran. His words not only conveyed his personal loss, but also his frustration with the country's security situation.

Officially, India is not at war. But the number of soldiers of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces getting killed while fighting terrorists or in cross-border fire or in Maoist ambush gives a feel that India is waging a war  internally and externally. Proxy war unleashed by Pakistan is taking a whole new dimension.

The sentiments of the kin of these dead soldiers, demanding retribution and avenging the death of every single Indians or even demanding destruction of an entire country (Pakistan) manifest the feelings of most Indian towards its irresponsible, errant and rouge neighbour.

The daughters of BSF head constable Prem Sagar, who lost his life in line of duty at the Line of Control (LoC), uncle of Lance Naik Hemraj, whose body was also mutilated by the Pakistani army, or relatives of any other soldier, who were killed by the Pakistani army at the LoC or by Maoists, their fingers point at one direction  a befitting response from the government and armed forces.

This comes at a time when the mood of the nation is fiercely nationalistic. But the chorus of "aar ya paar (now or never)" action against Pakistan presents a huge challenge to the Narendra Modi government. The challenge is two-fold  first, improve internal security, bust terrorists and terror modules, Maoists and the worsening law and order and the anti-India protests in the Kashmir Valley; second, contain external security situations emanating from the LoC and borders with Pakistan falling in the Jammu and Kashmir region.

Though the government's response should be left to the armed forces and the political leadership of the ruling dispensation, what is important is that a befitting action is taken at the earliest. Since any effective retaliatory action will have to contain a surprise element in terms of timing, strategy or mode, one can't know whether there would be yet another surgical strike or something else. Sources in the government, however, suggest that India would take appropriate action at a time and place of its choosing.

What has angered India is the fact that after killing Paramjit Singh and Prem Sagar in an ambush, backed by heavy fire from the Pakistani side, Pakistanis entered the Indian territory and mutilated the bodies of the soldiers. The seriousness of these incidents are worrisome for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues in the government.

They would remember that in 2013, when Pakistanis had beheaded jawan Hemraj and killed five other jawans on LoC, the BJP had made shrill noises and its then Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and some other party leaders had asked for 10 heads from the Pakistani side. The BJP had blasted a weak Manmohan Singh government and raised a fiercely nationalist pitch.

Modi, in contrast to Singh, was seen as a strong and decisive leader who will pursue robust and uncompromising internal and external security policy. His government and the Indian Army's decision to carry out the September 2016 surgical strike at terror camps in PoK was in sync with that belief.

Fresh incidents of firing, terror attacks, mutilation of jawans, death sentence for Kulbushan Jadhav after a farcical trial suggest Pakistan is refusing to learn any lessons from the surgical strike and is back to doing what it is known for doing as a rogue state. Yet again, Modi has to give clearance to the armed forces to speak in a language which Pakistan understands.

All eyes are now on the prime minister and his response. On Tuesday, Amit Shah said at the party's state executive committee meeting in Lucknow, the BJP is a conglomeration of desh bhakts (nationalists) and is ruling at the Centre with a clear majority with 282 seats, has 1,387 legislators across the country, rules 14 states and is part of the ruling alliance in three other states and is one of the biggest political party with 11 crore members. By listing these credentials for his party, Shah has raised popular expectations that India must respond most effectively against its neighbour.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, on Monday, said, "This (mutilation of two soldiers) is a reprehensible and an inhuman act by our neighbour. Such acts don't take place even during war, let alone peace. Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbarism. The Indian government strongly condemns this act and the whole country has full confidence and faith in our armed forces, which will react appropriately to this inhuman act. The sacrifice of these soldiers will not go in vain."

Indian Army too has said that the despicable act of the Pakistani army will be appropriately responded. Indians are waiting to hail that moment.
Another day. Another outrage. There is a strong sense of deja vu now in every India-Pakistan conflict. The contours of action and counter-reaction are well known. This is not the first time that Pakistan has committed atrocities on Indian soldiers. It won't be the last.

The rogues who don Pakistan army fatigues have no respect for any norms. The Indian Army has obviously not taken kindly to two of our jawans being beheaded. There is no reason to doubt their resolve. Rest assured, appropriate response will follow.

However, due to a unique set of circumstances, Indian retaliation cannot remain limited to just military retribution. It must simultaneously be a public and political message.

This is because of two reasons. First, the BJP, while in opposition, had frequently indulged in invective rhetoric against Pakistan. Recall Sushma Swaraj's demand to bring 10 Pakistani heads if Lance Naik Hemraj's mutilated body part was not returned. It must therefore be held by the same standard while in power.

Second, Narendra Modi's self-projected image as a strong leader restricts considerably his options of carrying out a secretive cross-LoC military operation. With Modi at helm, the stakes are high. It is not enough now for Pakistani heads to roll, it must be a public spectacle.

This is an important reason why some details of the 29 September surgical strike were released to media. In any armed conflict between two nuclear nations, the trickiest thing is to achieve the objective while staying within the nuclear threshold.

In this piece, I will focus on the options available before Modi and the areas that need his immediate attention.

What happened at Krishna Ghati sector?

First the details. By now, it is clear that a Border Action Team (BAT) from Pakistan army crossed into the Indian side of LoC and ambushed an Army JCO and a BSF head constable in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch on Monday morning. Another Indian jawan sustained splinter injuries.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, KN Choubey, BSF ADG Western Command said: "Taking advantage of the firing from the Pakistan side, BAT forces attacked our jawans and mutilated their bodies". He added that Constable Rajinder Singh, who was injured, is stable.

The jawans who were killed and suffered mutilation at the hands of Pakistan army have been identified as Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF 200 Battalion.

In a media statement released through Twitter on Monday, the Indian Army Northern Command called it "an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated" and vowed that "such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded."

Another Northern Command tweet on Tuesday indicated that a DGMO-level contact with the Pakistan army has been established and an unequivocal message has been conveyed that the "dastardly and inhuman act beyond any norms of civility" will receive proper "response."

Who carried out the beheading?

Following the DGMO interaction, Pakistan army's Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement that it "did not commit any ceasefire violation on the line of control or a BAT action in Buttal sector (Indian Krishna Ghatti Sector). Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies is also false". It added that "Pakistan army is a highly professional force and shall never disrespect a soldier, even Indian."

It also asked for "actionable intelligence" and warned India against taking any action. If we ignore the amusing assertion that Pindi khakis are a 'highly professional force', it seems quite apparent that Pakistan is apprehensive of India's retaliation. The denial, too, is interesting. Beheading is not only a violation of Geneva Convention, it is considered an extremely provocative act.

Pakistan's blatant rebuttal of it despite overwhelming evidence points to some sort of plausible deniability. It might be trying to suggest (as in the past) that the action was carried out by its terrorist proxies.

It is possible that Lashkar operatives were involved because BATs are typically a unit of around 15, consisting of terrorist proxies and Pakistan army's 'Special Forces'. Even if there were terrorist proxies involved in beheading, the final responsibility lies with Pakistan army: A fact of which it is only too aware. The more important point is the timing.

The timing of Pakistan army's provocative act

The move comes at a time when there are two simultaneous churnings under way in Pakistan. One, a familiar power tussle between Pakistan's civilian government and its security establishment. On Saturday, under severe pressure from the Rawalpindi khakis, Nawaz Sharif was forced to sack two of his top officials  Syed Tariq Fatemi and Rao Tehseen Ali Khan  as part of a power battle over leaks to Pakistan media of a meeting "at which civilian leaders confronted the military over its alleged reluctance to halt Islamist groups in the country," according to a report in the New York Times.

Most damagingly for Pakistan, which has been ruled by the army for 33 years of its 70-year-old existence, the Pindi khakis rejected Sharif's move and in a tweet exposed once again who is the real boss.

Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.  Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) April 29, 2017

Two, Nawaz Sharif's hosting of Indian businessman Sajjan Jindal, who is rumoured to be close to both Sharif and Modi. The visit has been widely interpreted in Pakistan as some sort of a back-channel communication mechanism to break the deadlock over Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Both these incidents provide the background in which the beheading of Indian soldier took place. It implies that Pakistan army is desperate to raise the temperature to undermine Sharif's authority and preempt any communication between the two nations over any issue. Why so?

Because it feels that a decades-old effort in instigating home-grown insurgency in Kashmir is paying handsome dividends. A close economic-strategic partnership with China centered around China-Pakistan Economic Corridor may have also convinced it that India's tradition military advantage over Pakistan now stands neutralised.

How might India respond?

India's traditional response to Pakistan's provocation has been 'strategic patience', which some say is less of a strategy and more of a forced patience because in reality, India has few options. Nuclear weapons have neutralised traditional military advantage.

Whatever was left of 'cold start' doctrine has been put paid by Chinese proximity arising out of its strategic investments in Pakistan. India is well aware that it might have to open two fronts instead of one should it seek to initiate a full-fledged military operation against Pakistan.

Does this mean we must try to reopen the talks process?

The short is answer is: No.

A section of Indian commentariat and strategic circles advocate "talks" as an effective method of de-escalation of tension. This is self-defeating. To begin with, talks can be only be held with an elected, civilian government which unfortunately is not the real custodian of power. Nawaz Sharif has no agency.

Pakistan Army, a bunch of rent-seeking savages who impoverish the State to further its influence and dream of engaging India in a 1000-year war, understands only the language of force.

The first thing is to comprehend is this: India needs a multi-layered Pakistan policy, provided it is interested in investing in such a policy beyond short-term measures to control the narrative. All options, including military and diplomatic, must be on table along with a clear understanding that none of these come without a cost.

India's aim should be to escalate Pakistan's cost-benefit ratio while controlling collateral damage. No one wants a nuclear war but Pakistan's hot-headed generals must be made aware that if such an eventuality takes place, India will emerge with a deep wound but Pakistan will cease to exist.

The surgical strikes  and owning of it  has proved the lie of Pakistan's low nuclear threshold. It may indulge in a bluff but it wants war much less than it is ready to admit. Therefore, a limited military strike must definitely be an option.

The second must be using of all diplomatic tools at India's command, including but not limited to, abrogation of Indus Waters Treaty. This is not an easy game to play, what with India's record of upholding the sanctity of international treaties and obligations but water will be ultimately the final frontier of India-Pakistan conflict.

The way Islamabad reacted to a mere mention of reworking the water-sharing pact points to its deep insecurity over this issue.

Tragically, India's interest in providing diplomatic and moral support to Balochistan insurgency struggle has been wavering and intermittent.

The Modi government is yet to approve Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti's asylum request and is going deliberately slow with it. A lack of coherent policy on Balochistan in visible beyond rhetorical posturing.

All these point to the conclusion that the Modi government lacks long-term vision and is lax in focusing on India's external and internal security apparatus.

Needed: A full-time defence minister

Nothing exemplifies this more than the fact that the PM still hasn't thought it fit to appoint a full-time defence minister. This is not to suggest that the Poonch beheadings could have been avoided were it not so. It is also not a question of whether Arun Jaitley can manage two important portfolios.

Delays on matters of such importance contributes to the impression that India is a soft nation. It may not be reality but perception shapes much of world politics. Modi is too seasoned a politician to not understand that.
A suspected Pakistani army team was given covering fire as it penetrated into the Indian side of the Line of Control, attacked a patrol of the Indian forces that was looking for mines, killed two soldiers and mutilated their faces on Monday morning.

This latest atrocity took place during the visit of Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and him met in New Delhi on Monday. It is also at a time when youths and students in the Kashmir Valley are venting their ire at the security forces.

The two soldiers  JCO Paramjeet Sikh of the 22 Sikh and head constable Prem Sagar of the BSF's 200 battalion  were killed in Krishna Ghati, a particularly volatile sector of the Line of Control, in Poonch district. In 2013, not far from the spot in the same sector, two Indian soldiers were beheaded. It provoked the then leader of the Opposition, now external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, to urge the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that 10 Pakistani soldiers were beheaded as revenge for the mutilation of each Indian soldier.

Sources in the Indian Army told Firstpost that a Pakistan Army "Border Action Team" (BAT) crossed the Line of Control, but did not breach the fence that runs along the boundary. The fence is inside Indian territory. But Indian forces also man posts beyond it. Zones of this stretch are often densely mined.

The joint patrol of the Indian Army and Border Security Force was heading towards a Forward Defensive Location (FDL) of the BSF. This is the area of responsibility of the Army and the BSF is under its operational command. Light artillery fire  rocket propelled grenades and mortars  had opened up around eight this morning. The soldiers were ambushed by the Pakistani BAT around 8.40 am on Monday.

The Indian Army's Northern Command, in a statement, has said that it will give Pakistan an appropriate response. In 2013, then Indian army chief, General Bikram Singh (now retired) had said "we will respond at a place and time of our own choosing".

But the rhetoric of the Modi administration and the "surgical strikes" in September, following the attack on an Indian army garrison in Uri, may see India upping the ante. So far, Indian forces have been known to employ light artillery. But "punitive action" may lead to the deployment of heavier weapons and tactics. While Krishna Ghati on the LoC is usually seen as a place by the militaries of India and Pakistan where a manageable level of armed conflict may be maintained, the official announcement that the bodies of the soldiers were mutilated escalates the tension.

In the context of the Turkish President's visit  Erdogan, who recently equipped himself with greater powers  this again serves as a reminder to one theory: Is Kurdistan Turkey's Kashmir? In both Kashmir and Kurdistan, there are armed insurgencies demanding secession; in both Kashmir and Kurdistan, state militaries are heavily deployed to control those insurgencies.

Erdogan once again brought the issue to the forefront shortly after landing in New Delhi on Monday evening. Though he said that Kurdistan and Kashmir are beyond comparison, he called for a multilateral dialogue resolve Kashmir, a position that runs contrary to India's stated policy.

By killing and mutilating the bodies of the Indian soldiers, Rawalpindi may have asserted loudly to Erdogan that Kashmir continues to remain the high-profile conflict it has been over the decades. Pakistan considers Turkey an ally and a supporter of its claim over Kashmir.

In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where the army and the civilian government publicly disagreed over legislation, there is also a convergence of views on Kashmir. General Bajwa and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may now close ranks after demonstrating to the seething Valley that Pakistan continues to be with the stone-pelters.

For New Delhi's government and its military, still licking wounds after last week's attack and killings of an officer and a jawan at an artillery garrison in Punzgam near the LoC, the compulsion to respond with force is mounting by the minute.
The civilian uprising in the Kashmir Valley is increasingly coming to the aide of militants who, in a growing trend, loot cash from banks to finance and thereby execute their attacks on security forces. The number of such robbery attempts by cash-strapped militant outfits have only increased in the past few weeks. But it is also the trend of gun-snatching that drives militants to such encounters.

No less than five dozen such attempts have been made since 8 July last year, after the security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, and during the unrest that followed. Most of these attempts of robbery and gun-snatching were carried out in south Kashmir, said the police. Mondays tragic killing of five policemen and two bank guards in Pumbai village of Kulgam district, allegedly by militants, was another desperate attempt to loot weapons from the security personnel accompanying the van of J&K Bank.

Suspected militants opened fire at the Jammu and Kashmir Bank cash van in south Kashmirs Kulgam district. The militants allegedly fired at the van when it was coming back towards the main town of Kulgam, after depositing cash in an ATM.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the killing by unknown assailants and said their killing reflects the dangerous turn that the society in Kashmir is taking.

There was no cash in the van. They (militants) fired at the van, killing seven of them. The policemen and staff were travelling back to Kulgam town after depositing cash in another place, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kulgam, Shridhar Patil, told Firstpost on the phone.

The desperation of militant organisations to loot weapons and banks is a new trend in the Kashmir Valley. There has been a dangerous increase in the number of robberies since last year after the Narendra Modi-led government took measure to scrap old high-value banknotes and introducing new ones in November. The police in Kashmir say there have been more than two dozen incidents of bank robbery or attempts made by the militants to loot ATMs  most of them in south Kashmir  since last June. At least 60 weapons have been snatched from security forces since June last year.

Militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack and said its men decamped with four rifles after the attack. However, the spokesperson of the outfit said militants didnt kill the two bank employees, adding that they were shot dead by CRPF personnel who were accompanying them.

"We didnt attack the vehicle with an intent to loot the cash. We have enough cash. We condemn the killing of two bank employees and want to clarify that they were shot dead by CRPF personnel and not by militants," Burhanuddin, the Hizbul Mujahideen's operational spokesperson, told a news agency.

On Friday last week, security forces foiled a bank robbery in the Mehandi Kadal area of Anantnag district, when they apprehended suspected militant Muneeb Ahmad Malla from Shopian district, who had entered a Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch with his accomplice and opened fired inside the premises. When the security personnel deployed in the bank tried to apprehend the militants, they opened fire, leaving the CRPF head constable injured. One of the militants, who was carrying a weapon, managed to escape.

On 19 April, gunmen barged into a Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch in Shopian district and looted Rs five lakh in cash. The gunmen later fled from the spot in a car.

Two days later, unidentified gunmen stole a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM in Anantnag district containing Rs 12.18 lakh. This was the second incident of a bank being targeted in south Kashmir within three days.

Director-General of Police SP Vaid recently said that it was because of the demonetisation that militants were carrying bank robberies and the security agencies have put a lid on the hawala operators, who used to supply money to the militant outfits. "Militants are short of money and are finding way and means to collect it and looting banks and ATMs is part of that desperation," Vaid said.

Throughout the six months of unrest, amid chaos on the streets, militants carried out many robberies in south Kashmir. But as soon as the situation started getting better and presence of forces increased, the number of incidents came down.

But over the past few weeks, the intensity has only increased with the fresh attack on Monday, although most of the attempts by militants at looting cash failed after forces scuttled their moves. It is a desperate attempt to loot public money for terror activity, Patil, the SPP, said, "But most of the attempts have been either foiled or forces have arrived at the right time."
June 29, 1928  April 30, 2017

Norm was born in Silverton, Colorado to Loren Earl and Dolly Violet (Shirk) Bishop on June 29, 1928. He lived there until he was seven-years-old.

His father was a railroad man and the family moved frequently during the next few years, living in Utah, California, Nevada and Washington. His family moved to Salt Lake City in 1942 where he attended South High School, meeting his high school sweetheart, Patricia Jean Sutherland, in Latin class. They married in 1948.

He attended the University of Utah earning Bachelors, Masters and PhD (Physiology) degrees, graduating in 1955.

During this time three children were born; Bryan, Craig and Julie.

He was offered a post-doctoral post at the University of Chicago and worked in a research laboratory supported by the Fels Foundation headed by James Frank, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, and Hans Gaffron. This was the beginning of a long and very productive relationship with German scientists.

A son, James, was born during the years in Chicago.

In January 1960 the entire lab moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where he stayed until the summer of 1963 when Oregon State University offered him a position in the Botany and Plant Physiology Department.

With this move to Oregon they welcomed their fifth child, daughter Diane.

He remained at OSU for 30 years teaching and doing research. He was first and foremost a scientist and loved every minute that he was in the lab. During these years, he mentored several graduate students as well as hosting foreign colleagues to his lab. He also published well over 100 scientific papers.

He and Pat, with their children enjoyed three sabbatical leaves  two to Germany and one to Sweden and Denmark in addition to attending many international meetings and traveling extensively. He maintained a close relationship to friends in Germany throughout the years.

He received several awards for his research including ones from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

He also loved the outdoors especially as a fly fisherman and crabbing in Yaquina Bay as well as grooming his yard.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years Pat; son Bryan (Sherie), daughters Julie Janssen (Dean) and Diane Martin (Steve); seven grandchildren: Preston Bishop (Macy), Nicole Connaghan (Sean), Aaron Janssen, Danielle Summers (Brian), Tera Martin, Allie Martin and Marshall Carrier Bishop; and six great grandchildren, Max and Vivienne Bishop, Collin and Chase Connaghan, Kharma and Walker Summers.

Two sons Craig (1953) and James (2003); two grandsons Marc (2001) and Jimmy (1997); and brother Loren (2017) preceded him in death.

A private family service will be held at a later time.

Any donations may be made to the Benton County 4-H, NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) or a charity of your choice.

Please send your condolences to www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.
New Delhi: The JNU Students Union (JNUSU) on Monday filed a complaint with the police, alleging that some Twitter handles were defaming the female students of the varsity.

"We have filed a complaint against twitter handles  @Swamy39, @swamy_sena and @merabharat2011  for defaming JNU and publishing baseless posts," JNUSU President Mohit Kumar Pandey said.

Meanwhile, the police said they were looking into the complaint.

According to the complaint lodged at cyber crime cell - the handle @swamy_sena had shared a year-old news report and tweeted that "JNU is a den of organised sex racket says report prepared by university teachers".

The news report that was published a year ago is based on a dossier prepared by JNU teachers who have described the university as a "den of organised sex racket."

The students also said that the news report shared by the handles are not factually correct.

The JNUSU demanded an action against those spreading misleading reports besides seeking action against the authors who created the dossier.
The free-for-all obtained in late 1989, and on through 1990, has returned to the Kashmir Valley. The killing of five police personnel and two bank guards in Kulgam on Monday is only the latest indicator of this trend.

The mass stone-pelting at polling booths during the by-election for the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on 9 April had returned the Valley to the situation that had prevailed for almost four months from 8 July last year. Violence has escalated since then; the situation has rapidly entered a new phase.

Terror and extortion

The assassinations of the Pulwama district chief of the ruling PDP, and of a prominent lawyer (former public prosecutor) at his home near Shopian, and of popular former panches and sarpanches (also in Pulwama district) before that, have unleashed a reign of terror in south Kashmir.

Hizbul Mujahideen, which attacked the cash disbursal vehicle of the J&K Bank on Monday, has claimed that they were not after the money. It so happens that the cash had already been disbursed, but loot was most likely the motive.

Sotto voce, there has been talk in south Kashmir of extortion and ransom being back in play. Many Kashmiri militants indulged in it in 1990, and army-backed 'Ikhwan mercenaries (and others operating on behalf of the state) did so too when they entered the fray from 1994 to 1999.

Surreal situation

The current reign of terror manifests subtly, but in every little facet of life. For example, after a wedding feast in Pulwama on Sunday, the groom asked one to stay overnight. A man had been shot in another part of Pulwama that evening, he mentioned in a matter-of-fact tone.

The information had reached him while he was at his wedding, preparing to take his bride home in the dark  to a village that is counted as a major hotbed of militancy.

One felt a touch of the surreal during the 'mehandiraat singing amid the beat of 'tumbaknaari earthen drums at that village the previous night. It struck one that, far more than in 1990, a dark and threatening cloud hangs over this entire culture  not to speak of the current political establishment.

Multi-pronged challenge

It is good that the by-election for the south Kashmir seat has been postponed again. There would have been a bloodbath if it had been held  either on 12 April, as originally scheduled, or on 25 May, to which it had been postponed. (Ramzan, the annual month of fasting, is to begin just around then.)

Most of the assassinations, and the killing of bank guards and policemen, have taken place in south Kashmir. It is where last years uprising was centred, and where alienation against the established regime has grown by leaps and bounds, particularly since the floods of 2014. Most of south Kashmir was inundated by those floods.

North Kashmir too has been affected. A prominent 'Ikhwani' mercenary who had wrought terror in the area in the late 1990s was assassinated in Hajin, an area in the north of the Valley that had been notorious for the 'Ikhwan' gangs from 1994 till the turn of the century.

According to the grapevine, about 60 foreign militants are lurking in the Hajin area. Another 300 are said to be ready to cross the Line of Control when the snow melts, and the passes open. The winter has been uncommonly long this year; although May has begun, most people across the Kashmir Valley still use sweaters, if not phirans, on most days.

The state government has not been able to get its act together. Meanwhile, the Centre apparently views the situation as a law and order challenge. Even while the state government, under severe pressure from the Centre, gears up to try and improve the situation, the situation keeps slipping farther.
Kerala Left Democratic Front (LDF) governments move to file a review petition against last weeks Supreme Court's verdict in reinstating senior IPS officer T P Senkumar as the State Director General of Police (DGP) has disappointed legal circles.

In its landmark judgment on 24 April 2017, the apex court had termed the government order removing Senkumar from the top position on the ground of poor performance as DGP arbitrary and unfair and directed the government to reinstate him.

Legal experts feel that the dithering on the part of the government in implementing the judgment even after a week was a wilful act to deny the fruits of the decree to Senkumar. Senior lawyer Kaleeswaram Raj had said that the government may have to pay a big price if it goes back to the Supreme Court with a plea to review the order.

State Law Secretary B G Harindranath, whose opinion was sought on the maintainability of a review petition, had opined that it may portend serious legal consequences for the government. State Advocate General C P Sudhkhar Prasad had also reportedly warned the government against such a course of action.

But the government ignored this advice and went on to seek the opinion of senior SC lawyer Harish Salve, who had unsuccessfully represented the government in the appeal filed by Senkumar against the now impugned orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and the Kerala High Court. Most of his arguments in favour of the government action were turned down by the apex court.

Before the government could move with the legal process, Senkumar, who is due to retire from the service on 30 June 2017, has filed a contempt of court petition against the state government for disobeying the apex court order. He has named Chief Secretary Nalini Netto personally as the major condemner.

In his petition filed on Saturday, Senkumar said the chief secretary, who is the authority to issue the order of reinstatement, was trying to delay it till the court closes for nearly the two-months-long summer vacation on 9 May with the ulterior motive of denying him the relief granted by the court.

The petitioner has sought to make a strong case of circumventing the apex court order against the chief secretary. Legal experts feel that if the court accepts his argument, it could land the chief secretary even in jail.

The Supreme Court has viewed the contempt of court seriously in several similar cases in the past. In 1996, the apex court had sentenced a senior Karnataka IAS officer J Vasudevan to one months imprisonment for not implementing its order in the matter of appointment of an engineer of Bangalore City Corporation.

Senkumar has personally targeted Nalini as the government order removing him from the police chiefs post on the second day of the LDF government was based on the report she submitted in her capacity as Additional Chief Secretary (Home).

Political observers consider this as a deliberate move since there were allegations that she had forged some documents to strengthen the case against Senkumar. A petition seeking a vigilance probe into this was accepted in the file by a vigilance special court in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram on 27 January.

The petition filed by Satheesh Vasanth had accused her of maliciously fabricating records in the government file, amounting to forgery and falsification of public documents. The petition was withdrawn after CAT and the high court upheld the government order removing Senkumar.

Senkumar feels that the petition had become relevant after the apex court found the charges levelled against him in the report with regards to the Puttingal temple fire mishap and Jisha murder case was wrong and unsubstantiated. He told Firstpost that the petitioner could revive the petition in the light of the latest Supreme Court verdict.

Senkumar said that the decisions of incumbent DGP Loknath Behra could also be challenged in the court as he had ceased to become the police chief after the Supreme Court judgment reinstated him.

Kaleeswaram Raj, who practices both in high court and the Supreme Court, agrees with him. In an article in a Malayalam daily, he said that the 1 June 2016 order appointing Behra as the DGP had become invalid with the Supreme Court judgment.

Technically, Senkumar is the police chief from the day Supreme Court has passed the judgment. Anybody else occupying the post is an open defiance of the apex court. This will bring serious trouble to the government, the senior lawyer said.

He said governance was not merely building roads and maintaining services. It is also a process involving the protection of legal rights of citizens. If the government had abided by the Supreme Court order and reinstated Senkumar, it would have added to its credentials.

Why is the government reluctant to bring back Senkumar? Political observers feel that its because Senkumar was an upright officer, who does not dance according to the tunes of politicians.

Senkumar himself had pointed out in his petition that the government was unhappy with him because he had carried out an impartial investigation in many political violence cases, in which several leaders of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) were involved.

He said that the CPI (M) was annoyed with him particularly after several senior leaders of the party were booked in connection with a series of cases related to political murders like that of T P Chandrashekharan, Shukoor and Kadirur Manoj.

In Manoj and Shukoor murder cases, police made CPI (M) Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan an accused. Both the cases are now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Senkumar had also pursued the conspiracy angle in the Chandrashekharan murder case, in which the slain leaders widow had pointed the needle of suspicion towards some top leaders of the party, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself.

The investigation into the conspiracy angle came to a standstill after Senkumars exit. Chandrashekharans widow Rema has been demanding a CBI probe into the conspiracy angle.

Interestingly, several actions of the police after Behra took over as the DGP came under severe criticism from many quarters, including the high court. The chief minister himself had admitted lapses on the part of the police in more than a dozen cases.

The latest in a series of police excesses is the forced removal of two members of a womans collective-Penpilai Oruma- who staged an indefinite fast at Munnar in protest against the abusive comments made against women by Power Minister M M Mani, on Saturday.

The police action came a day after CPI (M) workers tried to remove them by force. A strong posse of police posted at the venue had remained a mute spectator when the ruling party men tried to demolish the tents in which the protestors sat on hunger strike.

The high court had on Friday came down heavily on the police for not registering a case against the minister for allegedly abusing women and threatening civil servants. Viewing Manis speech seriously, a division bench asked, Has the police chief not seen this.

Whats happening in the state? the court asked while considering a petition for a directive to the state police chief to probe Manis alleged use of abusive language against women and his threatening of civil servants.

The police had also refused to come to the rescue of revenue officials when they were confronted by the CPI (M) while trying to remove an encroachment at Munnar recently. They acted only after Sub-Collector Sriram Venkataraman had asked them to give their refusal in writing.

Senkumar had also cited an increase in political violence cases after his removal. As many as eight political murders were reported from Kannur district alone after his exit.

The police force in the state is now in a mess. Senkumar can clear it and give it a new direction. The CPI (M) and its government do not want this. They do not realise that the people are suffering for this lawlessness. They will not tolerate this for long, says Congress leader M Liju.
New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju here on Tuesday paid his last respects to BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar, who was killed by Pakistan Army near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

Sagar's body was brought to Palam airport where he was paid last respects and was prepared for the journey onward to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria.

"We will take the body in a helicopter. Travelling time to Deoria is about three-and-half hours. The entire arrangement will be made by the BSF and the Uttar Pradesh government," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told media persons.

Speaking to a news channel on the Kashmir issue, another BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was "firm and the forces are doing their job in containing those who are inspired and instigated from across the border".

According to the Indian Army, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Border Security Force trooper Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan Army in an "unprovoked" attack in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Monday.
Mumbai: A delegation of opposition leaders in Maharashtra on Tuesday met Governor C Vidyasagar Rao in Mumbai and urged him to direct the state government to convene a special session of the legislature on the farm loan waiver issue.

The delegation comprising leaders of Congress, NCP, PWP, Peoples Republican Party and JD(U) leaders met the governor at the Raj Bhavan this morning and apprised him of the "difficulties" being faced by the farmers.

The leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told reporters after the meeting that the delegation urged Rao to direct the government to convene a special session since the farmers' suicides have reached an "alarming" situation in the state.

"The need of the hour is to control the (farmers') suicides and farm loan waiver is a necessity. Hence, it is necessary to convene a special session of the state legislature," he said.

The governor was also apprised of the "poor management" of tur procurement.

"The government is not keen on farm loan and also not interested in giving a price to the farm produce. Procurement of tur has not been done because of the government's apathetic attitude," he alleged.

Vikhe Patil said tur producers have to sell their produce to private traders at low prices.

Leader of opposition in the state legislative council Dhananjay Munde, PRP leader Jogendra Kawade and Congress leader Bhai Jagtap also highlighted various problems of farmers, which they encountered during the opposition's recent Sangharsh Yatra.

Vikhe Patil said the governor heard the opposition members and assured them that he would look into the matter.
Jammu: Condemning the beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army along LoC on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said Pakistan was a terrorist state and known for such cowardly acts.

Hitting out at the neighbouring country for "creating havoc in Kashmir by engineering terror attacks", he said his government was very serious about such attacks by Pakistan, wherein "militants are being sent to Kashmir to attack and kill people."

"We condemn the killing and mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers in the Border Action Team (BAT) attack by Pakistani army on a patrol party along LOC in Poonch district. Pakistan is a terrorist nation and is known for such cowardly acts," he told reporters in Jammu.

"They [Pakistan] are doing everything in their power to create havoc in Kashmir by engineering terror attacks. They are trying to engineer BAT attacks and ceasefire violations along the border.

"The government is very serious over Pakistan's attack and directly sending militants into Kashmir to attack and kill people. This is a very big conspiracy against India wherein terrorists and separatists are active, he said.

Singh said the army will give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

All Party Migrant coordination Committee (APMCC) Chairman Vinood Pandita also condemned the attack and mutilation of the bodies of Indian jawans and demanded a befitting reply to the neighbouring nation.

Under the cover of heavy mortar fire, the Pakistani special forces team sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded two Indian security personnel today, officials said.
Islamabad: Pakistan Army on Tuesday asked India to produce "actionable evidence" on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the LoC, beheaded two Indian security personnel and mutilated their bodies. The issue was discussed during a hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension. "Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," according to a statement issued by the army.

Pakistan DGMO Major General Sahir Shamshad Mirza told his Indian counterpart Lt Gen AK Bhatt that neither ceasefire violations occurred in the Sector (pointed out by India in the mutilation allegation), nor crossing of the LoC by Pakistanis troops have taken place. "Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Valley," Mirza claimed.

A junior commissioned officer and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the LoC in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan's border action team crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The Pakistan DGMO asked his Indian counterpart to provide "actionable evidence" related to the incident and urged the Indian army to look inwards to probe the incident, the army statement said. He said that Pakistan was fully committed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LoC. He accused Indian troops of continuously targeting innocent civilians on LoC and apprised the Indian General that continuity of such action would invite appropriate response.

"Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing," the Pakistan DGMO warned. The DGMOs contact followed after the local commanders level hotline contact was established last night at Rawlakot-Poonch sector on LOC between the army authorities of the two countries, the army statement said. Local commanders of Pakistan also told Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violations was committed by their side.

"Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violations from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations, the army said. The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects the same from the other side. Pakistan Army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC. The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley had said.
Islamabad: A top Pakistani official on Tuesday described the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as "a burning issue requiring urgent international attention".

Sartaj Aziz, the Advisor on Foreign Affairs to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, also said India's bid "to portray the indigenous uprising in Kashmir as terrorism has been rejected" globally.

The Foreign Office issued Aziz's statement, which welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call for a multilateral approach to settle the Kashmir dispute.

The Indian stand that it was ready for a dialogue with Pakistan was no longer credible because India had scuttled all such opportunities in the past two decades "to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council's relevant Resolutions".

"India's contention that Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today," he added.

Aziz's statement came amid worsening ties between India and Pakistan following New Delhi's charge that the Pakistani military killed and "mutilated" the bodies of two of its soldiers on Monday.

Aziz accused India of committing "brutality" in Jammu and Kashmir "by indiscriminately killing over 100 young unarmed Kashmiri protestors" and blinding hundreds of Kashmiris last year.

"Nobody believes that thousands of young boys and girls, who have been agitating ceaselessly since July 2016, are terrorists."
As India expressed its outrage over the beheading of the two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control by Pakistan Border Action Team (BAT), Western Command BSF ADG KN Choubey said that the Pakistan Army took advantage of the ceasefire violation (from Pakistan's side) and mutilated the bodies of the Indian Army JCO and BSF head constable on Monday.

#WATCH: Western Command BSF ADG KN Choubey briefs media on mutilation of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army yest https://t.co/P6oYwAKFxv  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Choubey added that the army and the BSF, together, "will be brainstorming and we will come out with more revised SoP, so that such incidents can be minimised." Meanwhile, the slain soldiers were laid to rest on Tuesday. However, the family of Paramjeet Singh, the JCO, cried foul over his death and demanded to "see his body".

Whose body is this? It is all behind this box! We are not being shown the body? Why?: Relatives of Paramjit Singh demand to see his body pic.twitter.com/oKJppbRNW0  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

J&K: Wreath-laying ceremony of BSF head constable Prem Sagar whose body was mutilated by Pakistan Army in KG Sector (J&K), y'day pic.twitter.com/pWZ0OdgKcr  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the tense situation prevailing in the Valley and instructed Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra to work together with the state government in order to restore normalcy. Chairing the meet with Vohra, Rajnath also discussed the grievous attack by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector, where the bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated.

Rajnath stressed on the importance of taking stern action against the ones disturbing the environment. While assuring the home minister of bringing things back to normal, the Jammu and Kashmir governor said he would keep updating the former about the developments taking place in the Valley.
TANGENT  Two candidates are running for Position 5 of the Tangent Rural Fire District Board of Directors.

Candidates are Kira Hughes, 43, manager of Student Services for the OSU College of Forestry, and current board chair John Dunn, 70.

The position has a four-year term.

Running unopposed are John Richards, Position 3; and Chris Meyer, Position 4.

Hughes has a degree in biology from Humboldt State University and has lived in Oregon for 16 years, the last 10 in Linn and Benton counties.

I purchased a home in Tangent last summer, and now I want to get to know my neighbors and offer a service to our growing town, Hughes said. I also want to engender a growing voice from women in the community discourse and decision-making.

Hughes said her goals are to serve as a responsive fiscal and administrative aide to the people of the district.

She hopes to provide feedback on policies, evaluate programs, approval of financial expenditures and organize planning endeavors for the future of the fire district.

I aim to influence the management of funding to ensure that the district can remain competitive with staff salaries of those in the surrounding communities and provide for staff to have the proper gear and training they need to be successful and safe on the job, Hughes said.

Hughes said she also wants to provide a supportive environment for the firefighters, promote fire education and prevention in the district and encourage active community input and involvement.

I look forward to learning about other issues that face the fire district and working within the Board of Directors to solve problems and create opportunities, Hughes said. I hope to bring my skills, perspective and insight to the Tangent Rural Fire Protection District and the community that is my home.

Dunn has been involved with the Fire District for 11 years.

He said that in recent years, the district has remodeled the main fire station, built a new storage building, a training center and upgraded equipment.

The district has also upgraded its water storage capacity by installing water storage tanks on area farms.

This enables our volunteers to have closer access to sufficient water supplies for coverage at places near the district boundaries, Dunn said.

Dunn is trained in computer science and civil engineering and spent 39 years in the military, retiring from the Army Reserve as a first sergeant.

In 2003 he retired from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad as a conductor.

Dunn also serves as second vice-present of the Oregon Firefighters District Directors Association, a statewide organization that provides training for district directors and fire chiefs.

I also serve on the Oregon Life Safety Team, which is a program through the State Fire Marshals Office which is composed of representatives statewide, Dunn said. It provides fire safety education for schools and the general public. This includes smoke alarm programs for people who cant afford them.

Dunn said his goals for the fire district include continuing with service improvements, supporting volunteers and improving services to the community.

The Tangent Rural Fire District was formed in 1958 and has 3.5 paid staff members, 35 volunteers and three student residents.

The district serves a 45-square-mile area that includes Interstate 5, Highway 99E, Oregon Highway 34 and a portion of the Union Pacific rail route.

The annual call volume is about 350, of which nearly 80 percent are medical calls.
The Indian Army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, one of the two soldiers killed in in the Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan Army on Monday, was laid to rest on Tuesday at his hometown in Tarn Taran, Punjab with full honours.

Reports said that the entire village had turned up to pay last respects to the deceased soldier.

Paramjeet's family members had initially demanded to see his body before the cremation. "Bharat mata ki jai" and anti-Pakistan slogans were heard at the funeral.

CNN-News18 also reported that even though some MLAs present at the funeral, no minister from the state government, including Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, was present during Paramjeet's funeral. The news channel also reported that members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said that the chief minister should have been present.

On the other hand, a wreath-laying ceremony for Prem Sagar  head constable with the of 200th Battalion of the BSF  took place at Palam Airport in New Delhi.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju paid last respects to Sagar but refused to talk about how the government plans to respond to this act of violence by the Pakistan Army.

"At such a time, the country is with the family of the deceased...This is not the time to speak about that," Rijiju said, when asked about what the government planned to do. "The whole country is united at this moment. First, let the last rites of the soldiers be completed," he added.

Meanwhile, the top army commanders of Pakistan and India talked over the hotline, a day after a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the Line of Control and beheaded two Indian security personnel.

The hotline contact between the Director-Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India was established at 11.30 am, Geo News reported.

"Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the report said.

The DGMO-level contact came after the local commanders of the two armies spoke on Monday night at Rawlakot-Poonch sector along the LoC.

The local commander of the Pakistan Army told his Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violation was committed by Pakistan, the military's Inter-Services Public Relations wing said in a statement.

"The Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations," the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

With inputs from PTI
Phagwara (Punjab): Noting that a large number of students still visit abroad for higher studies, President Pranab Mukherjee said efforts should be made to ensure migration of students on the "reverse direction".

Delivering a convocation address at a private university on Tuesday, he said many students go to countries such as Australia and New Zealand for higher studies. "I suggest let there be a reverse direction," he said.

Mukherjee said India had provided leadership in higher education for centuries as he pitched for efforts to reclaim that status.

Addressing the 8th Convocation of Lovely Professional University, he said India's diversity is the product of "our civilisation and history".

He appealed to the students to work toward progress and peace. At the event, Punjab Governor VP Singh Bandore exhorted the students to lead a life of purpose and do good work.

The president was awarded honorary doctorate by LPU Chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal. Thirty-eight students were awarded gold medals by the president.
New Delhi: Terrorism is a major threat to societies and collective action by the international community against it can no longer be postponed, President Pranab Mukherjee has said.

He said there can be no justification for terrorism and its use as an instrument of state policy is perilous and reprehensible.

Welcoming Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, the president said terrorism is a major threat to all societies and India unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

"We believe that the international community should cooperate closely to address this menace. Collective, coordinated action by the international community against terrorism can no longer be postponed," Mukherjee was quoted as having said in a press release issued today by Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The president also hosted a banquet for his Turkish counterpart. In his banquet speech, Mukherjee said the scourge of terrorism has afflicted India and Turkey for decades.

"India believes that there can be no justification, whatsoever for terrorism. Its use as an instrument of state policy is perilous and reprehensible. We believe that closer co-ordination and concerted efforts by the international community are necessary to tackle this menace effectively," he said.

Mukherjee said another global challenge of unprecedented scale is the impact of climate change. "There is an urgent need for the world to use science, technology and best practises to achieve the agreed targets so that we can honestly claim to have made the world a better

place to live in," he said.

The visiting president was accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan at the event.

Welcoming the President of Turkey on his first state visit to India, the president recalled his visit to Turkey in October 2013. Mukherjee's expressed confidence that President Erdogan's state visit will impart new impetus to bilateral co-operation between India and Turkey.

The president said he was happy to note that the bilateral trade turnover between India and Turkey has grown manifold during the last ten years. Presently it is at the level of about USD 5 billion.

"However, the potential is much more. Our business community and investors on both sides should actively work together to avail the current opportunities," Mukherjee said.

The president said the relationship between India and Turkey pre-dates the establishment of the diplomatic ties of these two modern and independent nations. The president said, as two emerging economies in a globalised world, we both seek to enhance our economic co-

operation to avail the current opportunities and build on our complementaries for our mutual benefit.

"India's recent economic reforms and flagship initiatives have made us an attractive business destination. India welcomes Turkish companies to invest in India, especially in the infrastructure sector where they have exceptional expertise. Equally, we encourage Indian companies to explore prospects in Turkey," Mukherjee said.
Bengalis tend to take their kalchaaar very seriously and there are few personalities that we hold in higher regard than Satyajit Ray.

A writer, filmmaker, illustrator and even music composer par excellence, there are a few hats that he did not wear, and wear them with elan.

Born into an illustrious and artistically inclined family on May 2 1921, Satyajit Ray was preceded by generations of authors, philosophers, artists and poets. Rays grandfather was Upendrakishore Roy Chaudhury, a well-known writer and leader with Brahmo Samaj and his father was Sukumar Roy, a beloved writer of Bengali limericks and nonsensical poems.

Satyajit Ray studied Economics at Presidency College and later enrolled himself in Vishwa Bharti University on his mothers insistence to study fine arts. His initial reluctance soon gave away and he trained under stalwarts like Nandalal Bose and Binod Behari Mukherjee. Perhaps fortuitously, as a part of his first job as a visual designer, Ray illustrated a childrens version of Pather Panchali. The famed Bengali bildungsroman would go on to form the basis of his feature film.

As an aftermath of World War II, Calcutta of the 1940s was filled with American soldiers. Ray befriended a number of them and was exposed to a lot of Hollywood and foreign films. He partnered with Chidananda Dasgupta, a famous filmmaker of that time, to set up the Calcutta film society in 1947. The exposure to the best of world cinema and his meeting with the iconic filmmakers such as Jean Renior, influenced Ray deeply.

Vittoria De Sica and his piece de resistance Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves) also had a deep impact on Ray, which is visible in how Rays cinema is often hued with the same neo-realism that De Sicca is so acclaimed for.

Ray started filming for Pather Panchali in late 1952. It is a wonder that the film got made at all, going by the enormous odds that were stacked against it.

Armed with an inexperienced crew, meagre personal savings, and unknown actors, Ray got off to a rocky start. Lack of funds meant that the shooting of the film was spread out over a period of five years. Ray was faced with some very real fears like the possibility of the child-actors shooting up and ageing actress Chunibala Devi suddenly dying.

Benefactors like the then chief minister of West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra Roy, stepped in, although not for reasons one would imagine. The West Bengal government misunderstood the subject and the loan was eventually granted for roads improvement, a misconstrued interpretation of the name of the film.

One of the best examples of Rays sheer genius is the memorable scene of Apu and Durga running through kash fields to catch a sight of a train, which was to them a magical, elusive wondrous creation. This scene finds mention among the most iconic moments of world cinema.

Pather Pancahli was the first Indian film made in independent India which was taken seriously internationally. After a less than enthusiastic initial reaction, the film went on to garner immense critical acclaim and still finds mention among the best films ever made.

Growing up as a Bengali, it was hard not to be influenced by Satyajit Rays work and art. The iconic sleuth of his creation was as much a part of my growing up years as were Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. The fact that he went by the moniker Feluda and smoked Charminar cigarettes rather than a pipe only made him that much more relatable.

Accompanied by personal Watson, his cousin Topshe, Feluda solved a number of crimes ranging from grisly murders and missing artefacts of national importance. The duo was often joined by the bumbling and affable writer of popular Bengali crime fiction, Lalmohan Jatayu Ganguly. Perhaps mindful of his audience, which comprised significantly of children and young adults, Ray steered away from explicit references to sex, violence and graphic details-some familiar tropes of the crime fiction genre.

Ray had an impressive run as a director. His films spanned across a number of genres and spoke to a number of audiences. Ray effortlessly adapted a number of literary greats for the big screen.

He handled a variety of themes, with rare sensitivity and subtlety. The variety of the genres he touched upon is astounding. While Charulata (The Lonely Wife) was about the love of a woman for her brother in law, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne and Hirak Rajar Deshe were rip-roaring movies for children. Where Asani Sanket addressed the disastrous effects of famine, Mahanagar examined modernization and its resultant changes.

While Teen Kanya was a masterpiece in poignancy, Parash Pathar showed his penchant for satire. No matter what subject, a beautiful sense of subtlety, sensitivity and his trademark attention to detail and aesthetic sense are unmissable in his works.

The only thing which was perhaps typically filmy about Satyajit Ray, tellingly was connected not with his films but with his personal life. Satyajit Ray married his long-time sweetheart Bijoya in a small secret ceremony in 1949. Fairly regular, one might say, except the fact that Bijoya was his first cousin and older than him. An exercise in persuading Rays mother followed, after which the two got married again in Bengali rituals.

Satyajit Ray would have been 96 today. A career which spanned close to five decades and a repertoire which includes novels, films, poems, horror stories, illustrations and documentaries earned him a number accolades, including several national and international film awards and a Bharat Ratna in 1992.

The influence of his work can perhaps be best summed up in the felicitation which accompanied the honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement, which he was awarded in 1992 (but was too unwell to receive in person): to Satyajit Ray, in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures, and of his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.

The writer is a Research fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in New Delhi.
New Delhi: India is embarking on space diplomacy like never before. For the first time, New Delhi is flexing its space technology prowess, by embarking on an unprecedented and un-chartered "stratospheric diplomacy", through a special Rs 450

crore gift for south Asians.

India is carving a very unique place in the universe, as New Delhi will "gift" a heavyweight bird in the sky to its neighbours through the 'South Asia Satellite' this week.

India is opening its heart out to its neighbours, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay explained, adding that "neighbourhood first is now being extended beyond the stratosphere".

It seems this "gift" of a communications satellite for use by neighbours at no cost has no parallels in the space-faring world, since all other current regional consortia are commercial for-profit enterprises.

It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a known visionary space buff, is placing the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in a new orbit by providing this space-based platform that would cost the participating nations almost $1,500 million over the 12-year life of the satellite.

Prashant Agarwal, an IIT Kanpur-trained engineer and the point-person in the Ministry of External Affairs piloting the project, says, "Prime Minister Modi has actually extended his slogan 'Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas' to India's neighbourhood essentially to service the needs of the poor in South Asia."

On 5 May, the skies above the island of Sriharikota on the coast of the Bay of Bengal will be lit up as the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), also called the "naughty boy of Isro" on its 11th mission will carry a message of peace like never before.

The nearly 50-metre-tall rocket weighs about 412 tons, and will carry what is now dubbed as the 'South Asia Satellite' or what the Isro still prefers to call GSAT-9. The 2230-kg satellite has been fabricated in three years and is purely a communications satellite costing Rs 235 crore. The uniqueness of this satellite is that it will have a footprint that extends all over South Asia and India is gifting this heavenly messenger to its neighbours who according to India's assessment could be helped in better utilising these space based technologies.

The South Asia Satellite has 12 Ku band transponders which India's neighbours can utilise to increase communications. Each country will get access to at least one transponder through which they could beam their own programming and there could be common 'south Asian programing' as well.

Each country has to develop its own ground infrastructure though India is willing to extend assistance and know-how. According to the government. the satellite will "enable a full range of applications and services to our neighbours in the areas of telecommunication and broadcasting applications viz. television, direct-to-home (DTH), very small aperture terminals (VSATs), tele-education, telemedicine and disaster management support".

The satellite also has the capability to provide secure hot lines among the participating nations in addition since the region is highly prone to earthquakes, cyclones, floods, tsunamis, it may help in providing critical communication links in times of disasters.

In this unusual message of peace, India's most hostile neighbour Pakistan has fully opted out. The other seven nations part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) are already on-board with Afghanistan still to ink the deal with some minor technical details still to be fixed in Kabul. Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have agreed to be part of this mission, Baglay confirmed.

When Prime Minister Modi was just four weeks into his new position, on 30 June, 2014, he surprised the world while speaking to the scientists at Isro in Sriharikota, as he asked "the space community to take up the challenge of developing a SAARC satellite that we can dedicate to our neighbourhood as a gift from India".

The proposal emerged directly from Modi and the leadership at Isro was stunned into silence not knowing what this space animal will look like. A highly-impassioned Modi, who had just witnessed a successful launch, said, "I believe that the fight against the poverty of the countries of SAARC is the fight against illiteracy, the fight against superstitions, the challenge of moving forward in the scientific field is the possibility of providing opportunities to young people of SAARC countries."

"Our dream of this Saarc satellite will work in the welfare of all our neighbouring countries. And that's why I have proposed in front of you today that we offer a valuable gift to our SAARC countries through a SAARC Satellite launch so that we also become partners in their welfare," he said.

Modi reinforced this idea five months later, when speaking in Kathmandu at the Saarc Summit on 26 November. He said, "India's gift of a satellite for the Saarc region will benefit us all in areas like education, telemedicine, disaster response, resource management, weather forecasting and communication. We will also host a conference in India for all South Asian partners next year, to strengthen our collective ability to apply space technology in economic development and governance. And we plan to launch our satellite by the SAARC Day in 2016."

Modi's sincere efforts got a jolt when even after participating in the planning meeting on 22 June, 2015, Pakistan decided to 'opt out' from the proposed Saarc satellite suggesting that "Pakistan has its own space programme". So the project was renamed to 'South Asia Satellite', but sources say Pakistan was not allowed to veto the development project.

Meanwhile, frequency coordination activities took longer than expected and the launch got postponed by almost six months.

Among India's neighbours, three nations already possess full-fledged communication satellites, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka having been helped by China; Afghanistan also has a communication satellite (whichw as an old India-made satellite acquired from Europe). Bangladesh is likely to have its first bird in the sky later this year, made with help from Thales.

Essentially, it is the tiny nations of Bhutan and Maldives that may benefit in the long run. Incidentally, Nepal has already floated a tender to acquire two communications satellites.

Experts say "Pakistan has missed an opportunity" since its own space programme is currently in a primitive stage as compared to India's. This is despite the fact that Pakistan actually launched its first rocket five years ahead of India and its space agency Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) is older than Isro.

Pakistan has had five satellites in space, but lacks heavy duty launchers and satellite fabrication facilities. But will India's strident regional space diplomacy yield results?

There is no doubt that through the South Asia Satellite, India is actively trying to counter China's growing influence on its neighbours. But in the 21st-century Asian space race, China already has the first mover advantage. Better late than never is prevailing mood and for this unique space diplomacy it is almost certain that India is likely to get applauded by the world's powers for this one of a kind friendly confidence building measure.

Hopefully friendly skies can result in reduced hostilities on Earth.
The over-three-month standoff between the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court Justice CS Karnan entered a fresh round on Monday, with the apex court ordering his medical examination as it expressed doubt if he was in a fit mental condition to defend himself.

But an unfazed Karnan refused to undergo a medical check-up and instead directed Delhi Police to produce the seven judges before a psychiatric board.

The Controversy

Karnan, then a judge in the Madras High Court had written a letter to the prime minister in January accusing 20 Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, of corruption. His list also named Attorney-General Mukul Rohtagi. However, the apex court had taken this as contempt of court, and they summoned Karnan. A notice was issued to him, asking why shouldn't the court view Karnan's actions as those of disgrace to the judiciary and why shouldn't a contempt case be taken up against him.

The story from verbal and legal backlash ensued from thereon, casting an unprecedented tale where a sitting high court judge stood in defiance of the apex judiciary body in India. If anything, Karnan's defiant attitude further worsened the matters.

A series of petty back and forths

On 8 February, the Supreme Court issued him a contempt notice, an unprecedented step against a sitting judge, and asked him to appear before the bench in person and not discharge any judicial and administrative functions while the matter was in court.

He was transferred from the Madras High Court to the Calcutta High Court for his conduct. However, a recalcitrant Karnan stayed his transfer order on 15 February.

As Karnan failed to appear, the apex court on 10 March, in another unprecedented move, issued a bailable warrant against him. But the judge escalated the row by ordering a Central Board of Investigation probe against the the seven judges.

Four days later, the West Bengal DGP served the bailable warrant on Karnan, who, however, dismissed it as "immaterial".

On 31 March, Karnan had appeared in the Supreme Court, a first in Indian judicial history, and had sought restoration of his powers as a condition for his re-appearance, but the plea was rejected. He had also said he would not appear before it again even if he was arrested and put in jail.

He renewed the confrontation on 13 April, passing a "judicial order" against the seven-judge bench for "violating" the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and directed them to "appear" before him on 28 April. Later in an order, Justice Karnan directed the Air Control Authority in New Delhi not to allow the CJI and other six judges to travel abroad.

Monday's backlash

Observing that Karnan was making "press statements with abject impunity", the bench had gone to the extent of suggesting Justice Karnan, who had defiantly refused to appear before the bench despite summons, may file some medical records pertaining to his mental condition.

The bench said, "the tenor of press briefings as also purported orders passed by him indicate that he may not be in a position to defend himself. "Therefore, we consider it in the fitness of the matter to require him to be medically examined. We hereby direct the Calcutta Hospital to constitute a board of doctors to examine Shri Justice CS Karnan and submit a report."

The bench reiterated its previous order of barring Karnan from duty, adding that no tribunal or authority should take cognisance of any "purported" orders passed by him.

The court also directed the state Director General of Police to set up a team of police to assist the medical board, due to conduct the checkup on 4 May.

The Board of Doctors is expected to submit a report before 8 May, a day before the next hearing, on "whether or not Karnan is in a fit condition to defend himself".

The bench noted that ever since contempt proceedings were initiated against him, Justice Karnan has been "expressing further disrespect" to the top court and also been making "press statements with abject impunity".

Rohatgi referred to the recent actions including the order passed by Justice Karnan summoning eight SC judges and said he is giving "two hoots" to the judiciary and "aggravating" his contempt before the highest court of the land.

Non-action will make the judiciary a "laughing stock" as the common persons' confidence in the system would be shaken, he said.

Referring to the orders passed by Karnan after 8 February, the CJI said, "I don't understand the nature of the orders. But he is in clear breach of our orders. The nature of the orders is clearly in teeth of our orders".

Rohatgi said that Karnan was "aggravating" his position every day and "he has done it again and again... this is completely unacceptable". The bench observed that these actions may also indicate that "he is not in position to defend himself". "This is a gross criminal contempt. This is not a civil contempt....this court has been very patient with him," the Attorney General said.

Rohatgi added that Karnan has ordered "Your Lordships to appear before him today". "Today? Oh, that's why he is not present here. He is expecting us there," the CJI said.

Justice Karnan's counteraction

Within hours of the Supreme Court order, an unfazed Kannan called a media conference at his Newtown residence in Kolkata's northeastern fringes and, termed as "ridiculous" the apex court's order.

"I do not need medical records. Without hearing me, how can this be done," Karnan had replied and had sought restoration of his powers which was rejected.

Karnan even threatened to "pass suo motu suspension order against the Director General of Police of West Bengal, if the DGP functions against my wish".

Instead, he ordered the Delhi Police to produce the seven apex court judges before a psychiatric medical board under the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi and submit a report on or before 7 May after conducting "appropriate medical tests".

"The seven accused judges have desperately adopted this ridiculous order, in order to escape the punishment leviable via the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (prevention of) atrocity act," Karnan said.

"With their phenomenal behaviour, it is the said seven judges who actually require medical examination," he said.

"Actually, I am not a contemnor. My work has been taken away for me without any notice to me or without giving me an opportunity to be heard. For the last two months, I have gone through so much, people ask me questions about it and I have no answer. You all have taken a suo motu contempt proceeding against me, you have issued notice to me but at the same time you fixed the punishment by taking away my work," he had said.

Karnan claimed the order was an "additional insult" to a Dalit judge like him, who is of "sound health and mind".

"I further direct the Director-General of Police, New Delhi to take all the seven accused judges and produce them to a psychiatric medical board attached to the Aiims Hospital in New Delhi to conduct appropriate medical tests and submit a copy of the report on or before 7 May," he said.
Prem Sagar, head constable with the of 200th Battalion of the BSF, had last been home in February on a 45-day-leave. On Monday morning, he even promised his family that he would be back soon. But the bereaved family will only receive the soldier's mutilated body in a casket wrapped in tricolour.

Prem was one of the two soldiers killed in in the Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan Army on Monday, their bodies mutilated. The two soldiers  Prem Sagar and Indian Army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh  were a part of a joint patrol team inspecting the border area to check the veracity of an intelligence report that landmines had been planted there by Pakistani troops.

However, reports suggest that this could have been a death trap meant to cause damage to the frontal posts of the army in the region.

Since they were looking for landmines, the patrol was taken by surprise by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT), which had laid an ambush over 250 metres deep inside the Indian territory.

While the Pakistani troops attacked two forward posts with rockets and mortar bombs, the BAT personnel lay in wait for their targets. The Indian Army patrol too came under fusillade of gunfire, resulting in the death of two soldiers.

The BAT personnel quickly moved in and beheaded two fallen soldiers, official sources in New Delhi said. It was still not known if landmines had indeed been planted in the area.

Meanwhile, as reports of two Indian security forces personnel being killed and beheaded started filtering in, Prem Sagar's family frantically tried to reach BSF officials on phone, said a report in Indian Express.

His brother, Daya Sagar, is also a serving jawan in the BSF, and waited long hours trying to confirm if the reports were true. Daya Sagar is currently on leave, and is visiting their family home in Uttar Pradesh's Tikampar village, near Deoria. He was alerted by a neighbour who spoke to a journalist much before official confirmation reached the family, but frantic calls to the BSF personnel in Kashmir could not be connected due to poor network. It wasn't until Monday evening that the officials managed to confirm these reports, according to the Indian Express report.

Later in the day, BSF officials called Prem's elder son Ishwar and confirmed his death, reported Hindustan.

The slain soldier's family called Prem a martyr, and said they are proud of this fact. However, according to NDTV, the mutilation of his body has left Prem Sagar's kin enraged and bitter.

Prem's daughter told Hindustan that her father's soul would only rest in peace when the Indian Army avenges his death and beheads 10 Pakistani soldiers in return.

Prem had last spoken to his daughter on Monday morning. He enquired about his wife's health and told his daughter that he would not be able to talk to them in the evening, as he would be on the border post, the Hindustan report added.

Prem joined the force in 1994 and is survived by his wife and four children, three of who are still studying in school, according to NDTV.

Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, the slain Indian Army soldier, was from the 22 Sikh Regiment and hailed from Punjab's Tarantaran. His two young daughters, devastated after receiving the news, told ANI that their father has laid his life for the nation and they are proud of him.

My father got martyred for the country, proud of him: Simrandeep, daughter of Naib Sub Paramjit Singh, whose body was mutilated by Pak Army pic.twitter.com/6oMMd7NBfP  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Paramjeet's brother speaks about the future plans of the late Indian Army jawan, with tears in his eyes. Apparently, Paramjeet had recently built a new home in his native place, and he was just about to shift in with his family. "Now only his dead body will reach enter into his new home," ANI quotes Paramjeet's brother as saying.

This was not the first case of mutilation of soldiers killed in counterinsurgency ops and cross-border firings. In fact this was the third such incident, within the past six months. Army sources have said that two similar incidents had taken place last October and November. Both the incidents had taken place in Machil area on the LoC, leaving two soldiers dead.

India has reacted strongly to the mutilation of the soldiers bodies saying their sacrifice will not go in vain. Political parties came together to condemn the "barbaric act", even as the government vowed an "appropriate" response.

"Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," the Indian Army said in a press statement. Describing the mutilation as an extreme form of barbaric act, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the country has full confidence and faith in its armed forces and that the sacrifice of the two soldiers will not go in vain.

"The government of India strongly condemns this act and the whole country has full confidence and faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to this inhuman act. The sacrifice of these two soldiers will not go in vain," Jaitley said. "This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks don't even take place during war, let alone during peace time."

However, the political big-talk and consolations are often lost on devastated families of the martyred soldiers, especially when incidents such as this happen. Almost four years since, mother of another soldier whose body was mutilated by Pakistan Army has spoken up asking the government, what happened to the 10 heads promised to avenge her son's death.

"They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now," an ANI report quotes her as saying. Lance Naik Hemraj, was killed by the BAT in the same region in 2013.

The Pakistan Army, has denied mutilating the bodies of the two Indian security personnel or crossing the LoC for any such operation. They, however, have not commented on the killing of two soldiers.

With inputs from agencies
Srinagar: A day after the Pakistani attack, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday visited the forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and asked the troops to remain alert and thwart "any misadventure" from across the border.

During his interaction with the troops, he reassured them that the entire nation stands behind its soldiers in their "brave endeavours to safeguard the country's sovereignty and integrity and maintaining peace" in the Valley.

The army chief, who was on a two-day visit to Kashmir since Monday, was accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D Anbu and Srinagar-based Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu.

"The army chief was briefed by formation commanders on the security situation on the border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture beside overall operational and logistical preparedness," an army official said.

He said Gen Rawat impressed upon the troops to remain vigilant and thwart "any misadventure from across especially now as the summer sets in" and snow will melt on the mountain passes.

An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated on Monday after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district which falls in Jammu province.

General Rawat visited Panzgam garrison on Monday and was briefed on the encounter with terrorists which took place on 27 April.

Three armymen, including a young officer, were killed and five other soldiers were injured while two militants were also eliminated in the incident.
Despite the national outrage over the mutilation of two Indian soldiers on the Line of Control and the urgency with which the government has promised retribution, the fact remains: There is very little one can do without upping the ante to the point of a fifth war.

While Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has indicated Indias huge anger over this incredibly unsoldierly conduct, Pakistan has swiftly denied the accusation.

With good reason. Not even its rank and file would be in agreement with such actions and the Pakistani soldier, per se, has to be reassured that it did not happen. So Islamabad goes into denial mode.

It does not matter which country he belongs to: The professional soldier believes in a code of conduct. To be compared to a terrorist would not sit well with him.

Odds are that even though we are bristling with indignation, at present, the military option is not viable. Within a month or so the rains will come and the western sector will be a soggy marsh, making armour and artillery movement nigh impossible.

Pakistan knows all this, which is why it engaged in the misconduct. But there is an Achilles heel: Pakistan being seen around the world as a failed state and the worlds leading host to terror groups. Its people are very sensitive about this image and the idea of their officers mutilating soldiers against all conventions sits badly with civil and military personnel.

What India should do and do now is engage in surgical strikes on the diplomatic front and go big on this conversion of the image of the Pakistani forces from proud soldiers to terrorists. This will strike right at the heart of their morale. Indias PR has always been weaker than Pakistans. This is the right occasion to right this failure.

Go to the UN. Let the world know of Pakistan's unbecoming conduct. Take this case to the International Criminal Court ICC which has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for war crimes.

The idea would be to turn up the heat and go for maximum global embarrassment. Let's use our diplomatic network to obtain condemnation from other world leaders so that the pressure is relentless. Use the media to our advantage.

Unfortunately, our military options are sharply limited by the risk of creating a warlike situation. At present, the weather is not conducive to combat and the oppressive heat would make sustaining a battle very difficult.

The possible scenario of intensifying the artillery barrage is on the cards, but for how long? And it will only end with an equal response from the other side. Once there is an escalation, where will it stop?

As for strikes across the LOC, based on our intelligence of the terror camps and strongholds following the 29 September, 2016 surgical strikes, these have now gone cold. This would have been effective if they had been ordered in the immediate aftermath of the killings, but not days later when the enemy is alert and expecting an attack. Without the element of surprise, this is a non-starter. The initial high of a surgical strike dissipates after the first 24 hours. What we can also do is follow the money.

If we really want to salute the two soldiers that were beheaded: Head Constable Prem Sagar (200 BSF Battalion) and Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh (22 Sikh Regiment) lets stop messing about and shut the door on Pakistan.

India does not need Pakistan. We need to hit Islamabad where it hurts: In their pocket. Freeze trade entirely. Stop the trains. No visas or visits. No businessmen friends dropping in for tea with or without messages. No more samjhauta of any sort.

Unless we are ready to do just this and do it without exception, this atrocity too shall pass. And before long, it will become water under the bridge.
Editor's note: Firstpost is covering various aspects of the near-calamitous drought situation in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This is the final article from a nine-part series of ground reports on the ongoing water crisis in south India. In this piece, the author writes about Rayachoty in Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh which is worst-hit by drought and heatwave.

In April, Rayachoty municipality in the desert-like Kadapa district, worked out a unique drill on how to ration drinking and utility water to its less than one lakh residents. There is no additional supply line for the searing summer. The municipality issues water cards, providing 5 to 10 litres of potable water per family in the summer months  from April to June.

Rayachoty is one of the 23 acutely drought-hit locations in the arid Rayalaseema district where groundwater levels are very deep  about 2,000 feet. I have been living here for the last 35 years and water cards have been a routine exercise during summer months. Conditions are worse this year as Krishna water was released early for Krishna Pushkaram and now there is no water in the basin, said M Nagendra of Rayachoty, a kirana merchant who has made a small fortune by transporting water bottles and sachets from distant Kadapa and selling them for a premium.

As the mercury soared to unprecedented heights in the summer of 2017, the majority of Rayalaseemas towns and villages have borne the brunt. The drought is despite the mighty Telugu Ganga canal flowing across Rayalaseema, and the rivers of Penna, Tungabhadra, Galru, Nagari, Handri Neeva watering the region. Water is a scarce commodity in Rayalaseema, costlier than gold, especially in Anantapur, Kadapa and parts of Kurnool.

Next to Rayachoty in Kadapa, Badwel, Jammalamadugu, Prodattur, Kalyanadurg, Uravakonda, Nagari, Vepanjeri, Punganur, Atmakur, Nandyal, Alair and Adoni also face acute drinking water crisis. But most of them had rivulets and reservoirs around them. It is only Rayachoty which did not have any water sources within 30 kilometres and mobile water supply is the only way out. Though during YSR's (YS Rajashekhar Reddy, former Congress chief minister) time, water works were sped up under the Jalayagnam programme, subsequent governments de-prioritised them and acute water shortage is still a nightmarish condition of Rayachoty and other towns of Kadapa district, said G Srikant Reddy, local MLA.

Satellite-based weather forecasting agencies have predicted temperatures up to 42 or 43 degrees Celsius in many parts of Rayalaseema. The soaring temperatures have prompted animal lovers to urge residents to keep water tubs for stray dogs and other animals and birdwatchers have also joined the campaign with colony residents to keep bowls of water in their balconies for the avian friends.

Religious organisations have set up water stations (chali vendram) in many places to offer cold water to the destitute and auto drivers and bus operators. Tender coconut and soft drink vendors are doing roaring business and the poor mans cool alternative  buttermilk  is in great demand this season.

The Met Department recently issued an advisory of 2-4 percent increase in average day temperature of 43 degrees until the end of April in Telangana and Rayalaseema districts. Mercury has already touched 46 degrees at Vijayawada  a jump of 3 degrees Celsius in Krishna district in nearly 135 of the 670 mandals of Andhra Pradesh. Last year, the temperatures recorded were one degree above normal. But this year, it is 2-4 degrees above normal in Rayalaseema, in view of the huge sand and mineral extractions done by unscrupulous mafia operators, said veteran environmentalist and social worker of Kurnool, Vijayabharati.

Director of Cyclone Warning Centre at Visakhapatnam, K Ramachandra Rao, said the temperature was slightly above normal in Rayalaseema and that heatwave conditions will continue into May and June this year, with Rayalaseema set to record a maximum of 48 degrees Celsius.

Environmentalists say that heavy denudation of greenery due to irrigation works  Handi-Neeva, Galeru-Nagari, HLC works on Tungabhadra and KC canal, Pothireddipadu and Velugodu works and cement carpeting of vast areas in Kurnool, Kadapa and Anantapur (for market areas, roads and reservoirs) had led to low groundwater levels. Since augmenting groundwater sources is a Herculean task, the government has resorted to supply of water by mobile tankers to even semi-urban and rural areas.

Abdul Khader, engineer of Rural Water Supply (RWS) department at Rayachoty in YSR Kadapa district, says that the department has launched a programme of supplying drinking water via tankers in the entire Rayachoty mandal comprising 187 villages. We are also rationing water village-wise and advised them to keep livestock together in one compound to save water and also avoid wastage, he said.

Heatwave conditions apart, the governments of both Telugu states  Telangana and Andhra Pradesh  are playing down drought and drinking water scarcity in view of their development and investment attraction agenda. Both the governments spending huge amounts on irrigation, water works and welfare budget, would be embarrassed to record heatwave deaths and farmer suicides, and are hence downplaying drought conditions, charged K Lakshman, BJP floor leader in the Telangana Assembly.

Religion vs Basic Needs

In the summer of 2016, Krishna water was not released to Pothireddipadu, the water junction for Rayalaseema for the sake of Krishna Pushkaralu, a religious festival held in June-July. This government action has denied drinking water to thousands of villages and led to heatwave deaths of people and livestock. The Chandrababu Naidu government is accused of denying water to Rayalaseema for personal glorification during the Krishna Pushkaralu for the people of coastal Andhra, said Kurnool-based political analyst Radhakrishna Rao.

Rayalaseemas water crisis was supposed to have been resolved through the Telugu Ganga, Galeru-Nagari and Handri-Neeva projects which were executed by successive Telugu Desam Party and Congress governments without sanction from the Central Water Commission. A whopping Rs 12,000 crores has been spent on the projects which have no allocation of assured Krishna water. They are all built on surplus water sources of the river Krishna.

The Centre has, therefore, postponed the issue of allocation of surplus Krishna water in view of the vicious battle between Telangana and AP after bifurcation of the state. Despite this, Andhra Pradesh has gone ahead with these projects and as of now none of these projects can hope to get any funding from the Centre or international funding agencies. Thus both political parties and their governments have been bluffing to the poor people of Rayalaseema. Without gravity flow and lack of a canal system with lift irrigation pumps, the future of irrigation and drinking water sources in Rayalaseema districts, standing on a rocky plateau of minerals  barytes, laterite, uranium, and lignite  is very bleak, said R Jagadiswara Rao, former chief engineer and environmentalist.

In 2017, though 80 tmc-feet of Godavari water was diverted to the Krishna river basin through the Pattiseema project, Rayalaseema has hardly got any share. Much of the Godavari water of Pattiseema has been retained at Prakasam Barrage for use in the construction works of Amaravati and also a second crop for the Krishna delta region of Krishna and Guntur district, said Ramakrishna Reddy, YSR Congress legislator of Mangalagiri who campaigned against TDP on the issue of Pattiseema waters.

So what will Rayalaseema and Rayachoty do now for water? It is going to be a long haul ahead as the sun blazes down on this forgotten region.

Part 1: Five states face severe water crisis made worse by the onset of summer

Part 2: Chennai slum dwellers forced to beg for water, authorities remain helpless

Part 3: Parched lands in Nagapattinam lead to distress migration

Part 4: Water crisis in Tamil Nadu is a manifestation of climate change, say experts

Part 5: As Karnataka reels under severe water crisis, residents brace unofficial rationing

Part 6: Parched rural Karnataka sees mass migration but officials stay in denial

Part 7: Kerala's efforts to revive water bodies bear fruit at grassroot level

Part 8: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh reel under heatwave, but petty politics takes centrestage
New Delhi: "You are making fun of this court," an anguished Supreme Court told the Bihar government on Tuesday, pulling it up for seeking two years time to appoint 174 stenographers in the police and rejecting its roadmap to fill up the vacancies in the force.

The apex court, which is monitoring the filling up of police vacancies in all states, asked the Nitish Kumar government to revise its roadmap and submit a fresh one.

"This proposal is completely unacceptable. You want time till 2019 to fill up the posts of 174 stenographers. This is not done. You are making fun of this court. You can hold one single test for stenographers and recruit them," a bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar said.

The bench, also comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and SK Kaul, said it was angry with the way the roadmap was presented to it and asked the Bihar government to file a fresh proposal for filling up of vacancies in police by Friday.

"You should now file a fresh affidavit explaining a reasonable roadmap. If you do not revise it, then you will be in serious trouble. Revise and come on Friday or we are going to send someone who prepared this roadmap to jail," the bench said.

With regard to West Bengal, the bench accepted the roadmap given by the state and asked it to fill up the 25,487 vacancies of constable by 2020. The West Bengal government informed the court that the process for filling up police vacancies was on and by July 31, a total of 4357 posts would be filled up.

The apex court directed the state government to fill up 8000 posts of constables every year from 2018 till 2020 and "meticulously adhere" to the time-line.

In case any vacancies remains, then it should be filled up by 2021, it said, adding that for any breach of the time schedule, the concerned DGP (Recruitment) and Additional Secretary (Home) would be personally responsible.

The state government said that out of 1173 vacancies of junior constables, 465 have been filled up as on date and by 2020, all the remaining vacancies will also be filled up.

It told the bench that till date, it has 253 vacancies for the post of Sub Inspectors and this number would rise to 3175 by 2018.

The apex court directed that the state government should fill up 700 posts this year and from 2018 till 2020, it should fill up 800 annually. The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue tomorrow.

The apex court had on 24 April directed Uttar Pradesh government to fill over 1.5 lakh police vacancies in the state in fours years, saying filling up of the posts will help in

dealing with the law and order problem. It had also directed the governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to fill up about 45,000 such vacancies in a time-bound manner, while expressing dissatisfaction with the responses of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand in the matter.

The apex court had directed the UP government to start filling up the currently 1,01,619 vacant posts in the police and asked the state government to start recruiting 30,000 constables every year from 17 August till August 2020, apart from filling up of 11,376 posts of Sub-Inspector.

It had directed that 3,200 posts of Sub-Inspector should be filled annually from January 2018 till January 2021, apart from filling up the promotional posts every year.

The apex court had also accepted the roadmaps of filling up of police vacancies in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and asked them to complete the process of recruitment in a time-bound manner.

The bench has accepted the roadmap given by the three states to fill up the vacancies and sought similar fresh road maps from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

It also asked the Home Secretaries of Gujarat, Telangana and Rajasthan to be personally present on 1 May and suggest the roadmap to fill up over 50,000 police vacancies.

The bench was not satisified with the responses of West Bengal, Bihar governments whose Home Secretaries were summoned by the apex court on 17 April and had asked them to furnish detailed roadmaps for filling up of the long pending vacancies by 1 May.

It had said that Uttar Pradesh has 1.51 lakh vacancies, West Bengal has 37,325, Karnataka has 24,899, Jharkhand 26,303, Bihar 34,500 and Tamil Nadu has 19,803 posts vacant. Earlier, the court had directed the Home Secretaries of all the states to file affidavits giving details of vacancies in police services at all levels.

The apex court was hearing the 2013 petition which claimed that law and order situation in the country was deteriorating due to a large number of vacancies in police

services at all levels across all states.

The petitioner had claimed before the bench that there were around 5.42 lakh vacancies in the police services across the country.
The mother of an Indian soldier allegedly beheaded by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) in 2013 has questioned the Indian government about the delay in responding to the incident. The BAT had mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in January 2013. Among them was Lance Naik Hemraj, whose mother has asked the government to take decisive action.

Mother of Lance Naik Hemraj reminds Centre of 'ten heads in return' promise #KrishnaGhati Read @ANI_news story -> https://t.co/cUOzQ6QYXg pic.twitter.com/8AbrEfHDe2  ANI Digital (@ani_digital) May 2, 2017

According to a report in DNA, Hemraj's mother said, "They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead 10 people if they beheaded one of ours. Till now, nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now."

She then added, "They have not fulfilled any of the promises made to the martyr's family till now."

Zee News reported that Hemraj's brother also stated that India must respond to Islamabad's atrocities. "It is a very sad situation, the way our soldiers are losing their lives and the government is not taking any action in this regard. The Centre should take stern action against Pakistan so that such incidents are not repeated in future," he said.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, then in the Opposition, had visited Hemraj's family, and criticised Manmohan Singh's government in New Delhi. According to a report in CNN News-18, she had said that that if Pakistan did not return Hemraj's head, India should get at least ten heads from the other side.

"The question is: Will we sit without any reaction and engage in a dialogue? This should not happen. At least the government should react in some way. That is why we have said that the government should take some tough measures," Swaraj said, adding that the government showed a lack of respect to the soldier and demanded an apology.

"The government should apologise for the apathy. They should apologise to the family of the soldier and the country. But they should at the same time take revenge for the incident which took place," she had said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act", which took place after Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris. The Pakistan Army denied that it was involved in any attack.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in Delhi that the "sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain", and the Indian armed forces will react "appropriately" to the "inhuman act" of the Pakistani troops. "This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks do not take place during war," he said.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. The government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley said.

With inputs from agencies
Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his day-long visit to India extended "full solidarity" with India in battling terrorism. After extensive talks with Erdogan, in which the fight against terrorism formed a major part, prime minister Narendra Modi said both the countries have agreed that "no intent or goal, no reason or rationale can validate terrorism".

Modi said that he and Erdogan "agreed to work together to strengthen our cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to effectively counter this menace." During the talks, which extended by nearly two hours beyond the scheduled 60 minutes, India and Turkey agreed to boost bilateral trade from the current level of just over $6 billion and expressed the resolve to fight the global menace of terrorism together.

"(The) president and I are clear that the strength of our economies presents an enormous opportunity to expand and deepen commercial linkages between our countries," Modi said while addressing the media. The prime minister said that at the level of the two governments, "we need to approach the entire landscape of business opportunities in a strategic and long-term manner". "India and Turkey are two large economies," he stated. "Our bilateral trade turnover of around $6 billion does not do full justice to convergences in our economies. Clearly, the business and industry on both sides can do much more."

Diplomatic pleasantries, signing of agreements aside, Erdogan remarked that India should ideally be taking a 'multilateral' approach to hot button issue of Kashmir, however, India politely, but firmly said that Kashmir was a bilateral issue to be sorted out by India and Pakistan only. Neither of the press representatives mentioned any of this in the official press briefings. However press in Pakistan reported favourably about Erdogan's comments. The News International reported that "Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in IoK (the so-called India-occupied Kashmir) and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the statement concluded."

In view of all this, it is important to remember that Turkey's relations with the West are not optimal  according to this earlier Firstpost article, "Turkeys relation with Russia, China and India is qualitatively improving Turkeys earlier 'West-centric' foreign policy towards a 'multidimensional foreign policy'."

The meeting between Modi and Erdogan was widely reported in Turkish daily Daily Sabah and commentary and opinion touched upon the future of India-Turkey relations, the kind of stability it would bring to West Asia. The paper also carried an interesting taking on the recent bilateral meeting  it brought out the Israel angle which most media in India failed to touch upon. Daily Sabah in an op-ed titled, 'Turkish-Indian relations and the Israeli angle' noted in one particular article that Israel is a key aspect for the India-Turkey relations as Turkey's move towards India has come after Turkey signing a reconciliation deal on 27 June, 2016 with Israel.

The piece also noted that there is a visible move towards "openness and comfort" between India and Israel in discussing all facets of bilateral relations and said that India should take advantage of the warming relations between Turkey and Israel and enhance cooperation among its West Asian partners.

However, at the time of writing neither American, British nor Russian newspapers like Sputnik News, Russia Today, The Moscow Times had lent much coverage to the event. In West Asia, The Khaleej Times, Gulf News also had minimal coverage and did not generate any commentary as such.

With inputs from IANS
Islamabad: Pakistan claimed that the international community has rejected India's contention that the turmoil in Kashmir is primarily a cross-border terrorism issue, as it blamed India for "scuttling" all opportunities for a "meaningful" dialogue to resolve the issue.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, in a hard-hitting statement, said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue. "India's contention that the Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today," Aziz said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

He also welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the issue.

The recent offer of the Turkish President Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the issue must be welcomed, Aziz said.

"In this context, the Indian counter proposal that it is ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan is no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions on Kashmir," Aziz said.

He alleged that the Indian government has broken its "own record of brutality" in Kashmir by "indiscriminately killing" unarmed Kashmiri protestors.

Aziz said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Declaration' adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul, in April last, "out-rightly rejected India's attempts of equating the Kashmiris freedom struggle with terrorism." "Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large scale uprising, which is going on in Kashmir, involving mostly young unarmed Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly shows that Kashmir is a burning issue requiring urgent international attention," Aziz said.
Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath goverment decided to celebrate 'UP Diwas' on 24 January, the day the erstwhile United Provinces was rechristened as Uttar Pradesh, by showcasing the state's rich cultural heritage.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister on Tuesday. "BJP and the Yogi Adityanath government believe that the identity of the state and the country lies in its birth. The Cabinet has decided to celebrate 24 January as UP Diwas," said Cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh.

The United Provinces unit was renamed as Uttar Pradesh on 24 January, 1950. A committee of ministers and officials would be formed to plan for UP Diwas and supervise preparations for celebrating the day with fervour across the state on 24 January, next year, an official said.

He said a range of programmes would be organised to mark the day and people would be made aware of the state's history, culture and contribution to freedom struggle.

An event would be organised in Lucknow where the chief minister and governor would be present, he said.

Governor Ram Naik had in 2014 asked the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to observe UP Diwas on 24 January in 2015.
New Delhi: The Delhi police on Tuesday took a woman into custody for questioning, after she had allegedly honey-trapped Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader KC Patel and accused him of rape, an official said.

"We have taken the woman, who honey-trapped the BJP MP, into custody for questioning," a senior police official told IANS.

The woman was picked from her Indirapuram residence in Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, the woman had demanded Rs five crore from Patel after having trapped him.

Patel, the MP from Gujarat's Valsad constituency, filed a complaint with the police last week following which the woman approached a city court, claiming the police did not act on her rape complaint against the lawmaker.

While the woman had alleged that the MP raped her on several occasions, Patel claimed he was drugged and obscene videos and photos were shot by her.

Patel had alleged the woman invited him to a place in Ghaziabad for some work where she offered him a soft drink which was laced with sedatives, police said. The woman was arrested from her home in Ghaziabad, the police said.

The police had also claimed that it has emerged that the woman was involved in similar instances earlier. The MP claimed she threatened to file a rape case against him if he did not pay her Rs five crore.

Further details are awaited.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: As many as 54 attacks on journalists were reported in 16 months, mainly by "lawmakers and law enforcers", a report compiled by media watchdog Hoot said on Tuesday, a day ahead of the World Press Freedom Day.

The report said the actual figure could be much higher as a minister told Parliament that "142 attacks on journalists took place between 2014-15".

"The stories behind each of these attacks reveal a clear and persistent pattern. Investigative reporting is becoming increasingly dangerous.

"Journalists who venture out into the field to investigate any story, be it sand mining, stone quarrying, illegal construction, police brutality, medical negligence, eviction drive, election campaigns, or civic administration corruption are under attack," it said.

The attacks were committed by political parties and their leaders (8), police (9), and mobs resisting media coverage (9).

Apart from attacks, the report took into account invocation of sedition law, suspension of Internet services in a region, self-censorship on part of media companies, censoring of films and other arts, among other instances which may frustrate free functioning of the media.

The shutdown of the printing presses of two Kashmir newspapers after the killing of militant Burhan Wani, and the ban on Kashmir Reader for three months during the same period were cited in the report as instances of media censorship.

Other such instances included a one-day ban on NDTV news channel for its coverage of the Pathankot attack last January, which "... supposed to have revealed strategic information about the operation".

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry, however, put the ban on hold after the channel approached the Supreme Court.

The sedition law was also used unsparingly and "went viral", as the report said.

"A large number of cases were filed -- 18 between January and June last year. By the end of the year, the figure was 40," it said.

The media watchdog cited examples of killings of Right to Information (RTI) activists, and appointment of 'bureaucrats' as Chief Information Commissioners instead of "persons of eminence in public life", as the concerned Act says.

"Currently, 91.6 percent of Chief Information Commissioners in states are retired bureaucrats, as are 93 percent of Central Information Commissioners," the report said.

Jammu and Kashmir suffered the longest and bans on Internet services the most -- 13 times in 16 months, with Haryana coming second with Internet suspension nine times in as many months.
New Delhi: The Congress on Monday asked the government to "wake up from its slumber" after two soldiers were killed on the LoC and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan, and urged the prime minister to take the opposition into confidence while framing a policy to tackle such incidents.

Holding the government responsible for the "absence of policy or direction to tackle Pakistan or terrorism", the Congress took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking when he will display "his 56-inch chest" to Pakistan.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also strongly condemned the killings and described them as a "barbaric and disgraceful act".

"The government must move beyond platitudes and hold Pakistan to account," he tweeted.

Congress' senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said such cowardly acts are unacceptable in a civilised society and are not conducive to Pakistan's own interests and security.

Expressing concern over rise in terrorist incidents in the country post-September 2016 surgical strike, he attacked the BJP-led NDA government over its Kashmir policy saying "it has been a disaster marked by political opportunism".

AICC in-charge of communications Randeep Surjewala said 200 soldiers have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir since May, 2014 and asked what this government was doing and added that the incident displays "lack of a credible political leadership in the country and absence of a policy or direction" in this regard.

"It really shows a serious lapse in national security on part of the present BJP Government. When will BJP government wake up from its slumber. We have seen enough rhetoric and we have seen a lot of words. It is high time for a decisive policy and a decisive line to tackle terrorism, as also to tackle Pakistan," Surjewala said.

He also asked when we can India have a credible and decisive policy to tackle Pakistan and to deal with terrorism and for how long will the nation have a "complete vacuum in our diplomacy as also the strategic policy of dealing with Pakistan in terrorism".

"Was 56-inch chest an empty 'jumla'? Pakistan has been attacking India with impunity. When is Prime Minister Modi planning to show off his '56-inch chest' to them and send them cowering?" he asked.

Citing figures, Surjewala claimed in Jammu and Kashmir alone in the last three years, 200 jawans made the supreme sacrifice and 91 civilians were killed, and Pakistan committed 1,343 ceasefire violations, besides 12 major terror attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Sharma called on Modi to break his silence and spell out a policy on Kashmir after taking the opposition into confidence on the issue and on internal security to stop rising terrorist incidents sponsored from across the border.

"It is the prime minister's duty that he takes the opposition leadership into confidence. The prime minister should hold a meeting with opposition leaders and discuss the policy he has in mind to control what is happening in Kashmir and along the border.

"The situation is serious and we cannot overlook it and the prime minister should focus on governance and stop propaganda and claims," Sharma told reporters.

He said the government lacks comprehension of the situation as it has allowed things "to deteriorate and go completely out of control because of its sheer lust for power, political opportunism and formation of a government (in J&K)" which ignored the realities of internal security challenges in that region.

"We condemn what Pakistan did. It must stop terrorism and realise that these actions are unacceptable in a civilised world. It deserves to be condemned firmly and Pakistan must realise that these actions are unacceptable in a civilised society and they are not conducive to Pakistan's own interest, its own security and the welfare of its people," he said.

He said there have been six major attacks on army camps and 41 army officers and soldiers have been martyred in these attacks.

"Therefore, what is happening today, the situation has to be reversed. This situation cannot be allowed to drift any further," he said.
Chennai: In a setback to merger talks between the AIADMK rival factions, Chief Minister E Palaniswamy and rebel leader O Panneerselvam blamed each other on Monday for the merger talks continuing to be a non-starter.

Rebel leader O Panneerselvam asked how his camp could trust the Palaniswamy-led Amma group since it had furnished affidavits to the Election Commission affirming VK Sasikala and TTV Dinakaran as party general secretary and deputy general secretary respectively.

Palaniswamy, without naming Panneerselvam's group, said "some" were "posing obstacles," though his camp was ready for "unconditional talks." He said conditions were being imposed by the rival camp wantonly.

Citing the symbol row in the EC and a court case, he asked how could parleys be conducted with strings attached under such circumstances.

The chief minister, at a public meeting in Chennai, asserted that only through dialogue a solution could be found to the issue. He said Amma group felt that both the government and party should function well.

Former chief minister O Panneerselvam had said that the Palaniswamy camp had already given affidavits to the EC stating Sasikala and Dinakaran as party general and deputy general secretaries, affirming their roles as the party chief and deputy chief.

Now, a new addition was the inclusion of the name of Palaniswamy as well in the papers submitted to the EC, he noted.

Referring to the names of Sasikala and Dinakaran figuring in the papers submitted to the EC, he asked "how we can believe them."

Panneerselvam group had been opposing Sasikala and Dinakaran from the beginning and had demanded their formal ouster from the party as a pre-condition for talks.

Palaniswamy group had announced days ago that both Sasikala and Dinakaran will be "kept out" of both the party and the government.

Last week, Amma camp functionaries including district secretaries held deliberations in the party headquarters here during which papers that were to be submitted to the EC also came up.

Senior leader R Vaithialingam had said that Palaniswamy who also happens to be the party headquarters secretary was included in the party papers to be given to EC and no "corrections" were made.

The papers were part of the documents that were submitted in connection with the two-leaves symbol row.

At that time, Panneerselvam camp had claimed that signatures were being taken from functionaries in papers that still had the names of Sasikala and Dinakaran even after announcing that they were being eased out.

Meanwhile, sources said Panneerselvam will embark on a state-wide tour on 5 May from Kanchipuram to meet party workers and the public.
New Delhi: The army should be given a free hand to take appropriate action against Pakistan for the beheading of two Indian soldiers, former defence minister AK Antony said on Tuesday.

The Congress leader also raised questions over the security along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, saying the incident has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army.

Asserting that he was not seeking to politicise the issue, Antony said while only one incident of mutilation happened during his eight-year stint as defence minister, the last three years have witnessed three such incidents.

Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF head constable Prem Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated by a Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

"I have no words to say about the cruelty of the Pakistan Army. So the government must give a free hand to the army to handle it in its own way," Antony told reporters.

"Continued attack in Kashmir has put a question mark about security in the border. I think, it has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army.

"My only request to the government is give freedom to the army to take appropriate action at an appropriate time. My message is give freedom to the army to take appropriate action as a reaction towards the inhuman, barbaric acts of Pakistan," he said.
New Delhi: The BJP's victory in the civic polls was the "foundation" for the next assembly polls in Delhi and it marks the end of "anarchy", party chief Amit Shah said on Tuesday.

Shah said the credit for the win goes to the BJP's booth-level workers.

He rubbished Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's contention that it may have something to do with alleged manipulation of the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

"The mandate of the national capital is the nation's mandate. It establishes once again that the people of India are firmly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is their stamp of approval on the Modi government's works," he said.

Shah was addressing a convention of the BJP workers in New Delhi to celebrate the party's success in the recent municipal polls where it retained control of all the three civic bodies, decimating the AAP and the Congress.

Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Shah said no matter what the Delhi chief minister believes, the victory has got nothing to do with EVMs.

"This is the victory of the BJP's booth-level workers," he said.

Grappling with a series of defeats, Kejriwal has been alleging that the EVMs could have been tampered with to favour the BJP.

The allegation, which has been echoed by few other parties as well, has been rubbished by the Election Commission.

Shah did not elaborate on the "anarchy" jibe. However, relentless feuds and acrimony with the BJP-led Centre have marked the tenure of the AAP government, which stormed to power in 2015, and he may well have been referring to the tussle.
New Delhi: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked Congress leader Digvijaya Singh to provide evidence over his allegation that the Telangana Police was encouraging Muslim youths to join the terror outfit of Islamic State.

He said the Telangana Police "pro-actively share" information on anti-terror operations with other states and such "baseless charges demoralise" the forces.

"Shocked by allegations of Sh Digvijay Singh on #Telangana police encouraging Muslims to join ISIS. He should present evidence or apologise," Naidu said in a tweet.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister was responding to Singh's accusation that Telangana Police was radicalising Muslim youths and encouraging them to join the Islamic State (IS) by setting up a "bogus" website of the terror group.

Singh earlier claimed that the state police had set up the website to trap Muslims youths and that it was "radicalising and encouraging them to become ISIS modules".

The senior Congress leader had also asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao whether he had authorised the state police "to trap Muslim youths and encourage them to join the IS".

"If he has then shouldn't he own the responsibility and resign? If he hasn't then shouldn't he enquire and punish those who are responsible for committing such a heinous crime (sic)," Singh said in a tweet.
New Delhi: The ED has registered a money laundering case against AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dinakaran and others in connection with the Election Commission bribery case.

Officials said the central probe agency has registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a Delhi police FIR in the matter.

They said the agency will probe the possible "proceeds of crime" as part of its charter under the anti-money laundering law and soon will issue summonses to the accused.

A meeting of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi police officials has taken place recently and it is expected that after the central probe agency registered a separate case, a few more such meetings could be held to take the probe forward.

Dinakaran and his aide Mallikarjuna were sent to the Tihar Jail till 15 May by a Delhi court on Monday after the police said that the accused were not needed for custodial interrogation.

Dinakaran was arrested on 25 April after four days of questioning by the Delhi police for allegedly attempting to bribe an unidentified EC official to get the undivided AIADMK's 'two leaves' election symbol for his faction for a by-election to the RK Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu which was later cancelled by the Election Commission.

Middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was the first to be arrested in the case, had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore to help the faction keep the 'two leaves' symbol.

The EC had frozen AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol after two factions led by Sasikala and former chief minister O Panneerselvam staked claim to it.

The AIADMK (Amma) faction leader has been accused of allegedly arranging the amount from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.

The court had on 26 April remanded the duo to five-day custody of Delhi Police which said it needed to unearth the money trail and the entire conspiracy in the case.

Mallikarjuna, who had been accompanying Dinakaran everywhere ever since the arrest of alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar on 16 April, was arrested for facilitating the alleged Rs 50-crore deal between Dinakaran and Chandrasekar.

Chandrasekar is in judicial custody till 12 May.
Panaji: Goa BJP leaders will meet in the next two days to decide the Assembly constituency to be vacated for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who will have to get elected to the Legislative Assembly within six months of taking charge as CM, a senior party leader said.

Parrikar, who took oath as chief minister in March after resigning as defence minister, is heading the BJP-led coalition government in his home state.

"The officials of the Goa BJP will be meeting in the next two days to decide the constituency to be vacated for Parrikar for an Assembly byelection," state unit BJP president Vinay Tendulkar told PTI.

He said party workers from Panaji and Curchorem seats, currently represented by BJP, have urged Parrikar to contest from their respective constituencies.

Parrikar traditionally contests from Panaji seat, which he was representing as chief minister at the time of his elevation as defence minister in November 2014.

Tendulkar said BJP MLAs Siddharth Kuncolienkar (Panaji) and Nilesh Cabral (Curchorem) have already volunteered to vacate their seats for Parrikar.

When contacted, Kuncolienkar said, "I am willing to resign any time. I have told the party that I am ready to step down".
New Delhi: Hitting back at the Congress over the beheading of two soldiers by Pakistani troops, the BJP on Tuesday said the previous UPA government had tied the hands of the armed forces behind their backs while the saffron party has given India its strongest prime minister in Narendra Modi.

The BJP said the government will respond appropriately to the mutilation of the soldiers by the Pakistan Army while attacking the Congress after it blamed the Modi government for not having a national security policy.

"A party (Congress) that had not given a free hand to its prime minister and reduced him to a rubber stamp is giving gratuitous advice to a party (BJP) which has given the country its strongest prime minister.

"The Congress government had tied hands of armed forces behind their backs while the Modi government has given Pakistan the jitters by mounting surgical strikes against it and isolating it regionally and internationally," BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao told reporters.

Earlier, Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal had attacked the BJP, saying it was "shameful" that the ruling party was organising 'Vijay Parv' to celebrate its victory in the Delhi municipal polls at a time when Pakistan killed two of "our soldiers in our territory".

He also took a jibe at the government, saying it should "take off bangles and do something".

Sibal was referring to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's offer to send bangles to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistan during the UPA rule.

He also claimed there had been an increase in civilian and security personnel casualties during the 35 months of the BJP-led NDA rule so far as compared to the corresponding period during the Congress-led UPA government.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Tuesday asserted that it was committed to implementing the Supreme Court order to reinstate senior IPS Officer TP Senkumar as DGP (Law and Order) of the state.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated this in the assembly while replying to a notice for an adjournment motion on the Senkumar case moved by Congress-led UDF Opposition.

"The state government received legal opinion of the Advocate General in the matter yesterday and would take appropriate decision after examining all issues," Vijayan said.

Attacking the ruling CPM-led LDF on the issue, the UDF alleged that the government was deliberately delaying the implementation of the Apex Court order due to its "false pride".

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala charged that LDF was setting a "wrong precedence in the administration" by delaying the reinstatement of Senkumar. The situation in the state was that "nobody knows who is the DGP of the state," he said.

Technically, Senkumar has become the DGP in the place of Loknath Bhera following the court order, he pointed out. Denying the Opposition charge, Vijayan said it has started the process of implementing the order on the day of the verdict itself.

He said the matter was before the court and it was not proper to go into details of the case. Seeking notice for the motion, M Ummer (IUML) alleged that Senkumar was shifted from the post of the DGP due to political pressure from the ruling CPM.

Later, the Opposition members including the lone BJP MLA O Rajagopal staged a walkout in protest against Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan's refusal to allow a debate on the matter.

The Supreme Court had on 24 April ordered reinstatement of Senkumar, saying he was transferred by the ruling LDF government "unfairly" and "arbitrarily".
New Delhi: Opposition leaders on Monday made a strong pitch for unity among "secular" forces, contending that it was the "need of the country" in order to take on the ruling BJP juggernaut.

The leaders termed the upcoming presidential polls as the first "acid test" of such an alliance as they advocated coming together of the parties at a national level.

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh cautioned the parties to ensure that the grand alliance does not become "Modi versus all" fight, taking cue from a similar situation during 1971 general polls, wherein a united opposition had targeted then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

"Unity of the progressive forces is need of the country. But at the same time, I would like to convey word of caution. If you do not define the grand alliance properly, the fight will become Modi versus others. Hence, we will have to be alert. This is not a fight of personalities, but of ideologies," Singh said.

He made the remarks during an event organised here to mark 95th birth anniversary of late socialist leader Madhu Limaye.

Stating that the country did not need "anti-Congressism", the senior Congress leader asked the parties to "offer a positive narrative to save democracy from the communal BJP."

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury called for forming such an alliance during the presidential polls to ensure "secular supervision" of the Constitution.

"Do we want communal supervision or secular supervision? The result will have a bearing on the situation in the country. So, it is going to be an acid test. We appeal that secular parties come together," he said.

Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav too expressed similar views, saying the leaders will join hands to "save the country".

CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjaan asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to field a consensual candidate for the presidential polls.

"Or else, the opposition parties will field common candidates for the presidential and vice presidential polls," he said.

The event was also attended by JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi, his NCP counterpart DP Tripathi, CPI national secretary D Raja, BSP's Sudhindra Bhadoria and others.

President Pranab Mukherjee's term expires on 24 July.
Editor's note: After a high pitch battle in five states and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections where BJP scored an amazing victory outwitting the entire opposition, the electoral battle shifts to presidential polls in July. The Opposition, in dire straits, is working on putting up a united candidate. The BJP is still deliberating on names. Still, a consensus candidate cannot be ruled out. In a three-part series, Firstpost will be analysing how the President of India is elected, how various parties are stacked up in terms of seats/votes and whether a united Opposition can defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. This is part 1 of the series.

In the Parliamentary form of democracy, the president is the head of the state and the supreme commander of its defence forces. He is elected by the representatives elected by the people, which is the MPs and the MLAs. The president is indirectly elected and hence has lesser powers than the prime minister who is elected directly by the people.

Electoral college and a complex formula

The President of India is elected by an electoral college comprising of:

Elected members of Lok Sabha (543) Elected members of Rajya Sabha (233) Elected members of State Legislative Assemblies including Delhi and Puducherry (4120)

The calculation of votes for the presidential elections are done using an important formula and steps as follows:

Value of vote of an MLA = Total Population of the state as per 1971 Census Total number of elected members of the Legislative Assembly  1000

Total Value of votes of all MLAs of a State Assembly = Value of vote of an MLA  No. of elective seats in the Assembly

Total Value of votes of all MLAs across 31 States = Sum of Total Value of votes of all MLAs of the 31 State Assemblies= 549474

Value of vote of MP = Total Value of votes of all MLAs (549474) Total number of elected members of Parliament (776) =708

Total Value of votes of all MPs = Value of a vote of an MP  Total No. of MPs = 549408 Total Value of Votes of Electoral College = Total Value of votes of all MLAs + Total Value of votes of all MPs =549474 + 549408 = 1098882

What's the voting process like

Nominated members of the Lok Sabha, as well as the Rajya Sabha, are not allowed to vote in the presidential election. Voting is done through a secret ballot and members are not bound by any party whip. The value of the votes of MLAs differs from state to state while the value of the votes of MPs is fixed. An equal weightage is given to votes of MPs and MLAs (50 percent each) in the overall electoral college.

The election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. Each elector/voter has to mark preferences for the candidates contesting the election, by placing the figures 1, 2, 3 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of his/her preference.

There can be as many preferences as the number of candidates contesting the election. It is compulsory to mark the first preference for the vote to be considered as valid. Marking other preferences is optional. A candidate requires "50 percent of valid votes polled +1" (quota) of the first preference votes cast to win an election.

In case no candidate gets the quota, then the candidate getting the lowest number of first preference votes is excluded. This candidates second preference votes are then distributed among the remaining candidates. This process of exclusion and elimination is repeated till a candidate gets the required quota.

In case, even after the exclusion of candidates receiving the lowest number of votes, no candidate secures the requisite quota and ultimately one candidate remains as the lone continuing candidate, he is declared elected.

What's rationale behind adopting this process

The Constitution provides two reasons for adopting the above formulae:

To ensure uniformity in the scales of representation among the States  Article 55(1) To ensure parity between the States as a whole and the Union  Article 55(2).

Hence, the objective of this complex calculation method is to ensure that the President of India is an equal representative of the states as well as the Union of India. This is in line with the spirit of the Constitution of India which is "neither purely federal nor purely unitary in character" and built on the principles of co-operative federalism.

One man one vote vs current formula

One wonders why the architects of our Constitution chose this compounded procedure for the valuation of votes of electors. They could have simply used "one man one vote" principle. After all, the size of a Legislative Assembly is related to the size of the population of the state. This would have also ensured that the underlying principle of proportional representation, which is to prevent exclusion of minorities from the benefits of the state, is adhered to.

The "one man one vote" principle suffers from shortcomings especially with respect to the spirit behind the elections for the head of a state. The number of members in state legislative assemblies is far higher in comparison to the members of Parliament and hence parity between states and the Union cannot be established.

The Constitution provides that there cannot be more than one MLA for every 75,000 of the population. It doesnt actually lay down that "x" number of people must necessarily be represented by one MLA. It also limits the maximum size of a Legislative Assembly to 500. Both these provisions mean that uniformity between states cannot be established by "one man one vote" method. An MLA represents different sizes of the population in different states, for example, 1.47 lakh in Odisha, 1.49 lakh in undivided Andhra, 2.08 lakhs in Uttar Pradesh, etc, based on the 1971 census.

Heavily populated states play a key role

The top five Indian states on the basis of population (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu) account for 48 percent of the total Electoral College votes of MLAs and 45 percent of total votes of MPs. The BJP is in power in two of these states, while anti-BJP parties rule the other two. The AIADMK which is the ruling party in Tamil Nadu is currently facing a leadership crisis.

While the Constitution has taken utmost care to ensure that the voice of the minority is heard, it is the principle of natural justice that those states which have high population play a bigger role in the election of the president. The fact that there could be different parties in the majority in the Lok Sabha and in the Legislative Assembly from the state, plays a balancing act. To sum it up, the complexity of the method and the diversity of the Indian political system makes the presidential elections an exciting contest.

Here's a list of all Indian states and the number of Legislative Assembly seats and the value of an MLA's vote from that particular:

S. No. Name of the State No. of Legislative Assembly seats Value of the vote of each MLA Total value of votes for the States 1 Andhra Pradesh 175 148 25,900 2 Arunachal Pradesh 60 8 480 3 Assam 126 116 14,616 4 Bihar 243 173 42,039 5 Chhattisgarh 90 129 11,610 6 Delhi 70 58 4,060 7 Goa 40 20 800 8 Gujarat 182 147 26,754 9 Haryana 90 112 10,080 10 Himachal Pradesh 68 51 3468 11 Jammu and Kashmir 87 72 6,264 12 Jharkhand 81 176 14,256 13 Karnataka 224 131 29,344 14 Kerala 140 152 21,280 15 Madhya Pradesh 230 131 30,130 16 Maharashtra 288 175 50,400 17 Manipur 60 18 1,080 18 Meghalaya 60 17 1,020 19 Mizoram 40 8 320 20 Nagaland 60 9 540 21 Odisha 147 149 21,903 22 Puducherry 30 16 480 23 Punjab 117 116 13,572 24 Rajasthan 200 129 25,800 25 Sikkim 32 7 224 26 Tamil Nadu 234 176 41,184 27 Telangana 119 148 17612 28 Tripura 60 26 1,560 29 Uttar Pradesh 403 208 83,824 30 Uttarakhand 70 64 4,480 31 West Bengal 294 151 44,394 Total 4,120 549,474

In Part II of the series, we will see how different parties and blocks are stacked up in various bodies for these elections.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena said that even after nearly six decades of its formation, Maharashtra remains "undeveloped", and claimed the ruling dispensation at the Centre is trying to "split" the state.

"The movement for a united Maharashtra made even a powerful ruler like Pandit (Jawaharlal) Nehru bend. The present rulers entertain the thoughts of dividing the state. This is unfortunate for the 105 martyrs," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

Maharashtra came into existence on 1 May, 1960, after its division from Bombay state. Every year on this day, the homage is paid to 105 martyrs who had laid down their lives for 'Samyukta (United) Maharashtra'.

The Sena mouthpiece wondered if the objectives for which the Marathi-speaking state was formed, have been achieved. "Have the aspirations of the people of Maharashtra been fulfilled? Over the last years, the rulers have changed but the farmers suicide haven't stopped and their bereaved families have got no solace," the daily rued.

There is a "national conspiracy" to snatch Mumbai from the hands of the Marathi-speaking people, the Sena publication claimed.

"Elections are won with money power and money is made with power. This circle continues unabated. The corruption in Maharashtra continues even after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move. The chief minister of the state should analyse this," it added.

"Maharashtra still remains undeveloped. Farmers are unhappy. This is because the people are so caught up with power that they have no time to think about the people," the editorial said.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop his "Mann ki Baat" and instead start "Gun ki Baat" to teach Pakistan a lesson.

In a sharp reaction to the recent killing and the mutilation of two Indian soldiers on the Line of Control, Thackeray said Kashmir is "burning" and the government must take action.

"It's time to stop 'Mann ki Baat' and start 'Gun ki Baat' against Pakistan," he demanded in a reference referring to the PM's monthly radio broadcastSoldiers beheaded on LoC: Uddhav Thackeray tells Narendra Modi to stop 'Mann ki baat', start 'Gun ki baat' with Pakistan

Earlier, Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam, of the Sena, took potshots at Modi, saying he should concentrate more on national security than elections.

"What's stopping the centre from taking direct action against Pakistan? How many more soldiers should be lost and how many more widows we should see before India does something?" he said, demanding direct action against the neighbouring the country for its aggressive acts.

Shiv Sena - a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance - also urged the central government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss, what, it said, was the "worsening situation" in Jammu and Kashmir.

"What is happening is serious. It is very sad," said Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut.

"We are such a big country and yet these things are happening. It does not portend well for us. As a nation, we have to take some decisions. There should be an all-party meeting to discuss the happenings in Jammu and Kashmir and on the Line of Control," Raut told the media.

The demand by the Sena, also a part of the BJP-led coalition ruling Maharashtra, comes after a spurt in violence in the state and killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers by a Border Action Team of Pakistan on Monday.

On several occasions earlier, the Sena and Thackeray have demanded tough action by India against Pakistan for its continued aggression from across the border.
Lucknow: Around 100 'bahubalis' or gangsters have been shifted to prisons far away from their home districts in Uttar Pradesh in an attempt by the Yogi Adityanath government to smash their local crime network.

Prominent among them are Mukhtar Ansari, Munna Bajrangi, Atiq Ahmed, Shekhar Tiwari, Maulana Anwarul Haq, Mukim alias Kala, Udaibhan Singh alias doctor, Titu alias Kiranpal, Rocky alias Kaki and Alam Singh.

"Though the dons are behind bars, their gangs let loose a reign of terror  committing murders, kidnapping, dacoity and extortion  with ease," Additional Director General of Police (Prison) GL Meena told PTI in Lucknow.

While aroud 100 jail inmates have been shifted from one jail to another across the state, those admitted to various mental hospitals in Agra, Varanasi and Bareilly are being verified, and if they are mentally fit to serve the jail term, they will be shifted back to jails, he said.

The jail administration on Saturday sent letters to mental asylums in Varanasi, Agra and Bareilly, directing them to send a report about the health status of the undertrials.

Till now, 18 such jail inmates, who were admitted to various mental hospitals, have been identified. "The process of issuing arrest warrants to these inamtes has started," he said.

Meena said the jail administration had prepared the list of the undertrials who are admitted in hospitals across the state.

"I have sought a report from the medical officers of the hospitals in which the undertrials, majority of them notorious criminals, are admitted," he said.

"Fearing that they will be caught, the doctors have started discharging the undertrials," Meena said.

The jail administration often received information that the gang members used to meet in jail and plan incidents of crime from there.

During surprise raids, mobile phones and SIM cards were recovered from the cells of criminals.

A bahubali's call from jail is enough to terrorise businessmen, contractors and even government officers and those refusing to abide their diktats are threatened, attacked or killed.

The idea behind shifting inmates from one jail to another is to break their network they develop while staying in a particular jail over a long period. "In order to break the nexus, the inmates are shifted one from one jail to another," the ADG said.

In his first law-and-order review meeting held here on 30 March, Adityanath had galvanised police and prison officers into action.

Mukhtar Ansari was shifted from Lucknow jail to Banda, Atiq Ahmed from Naini central jail to Deoria, Munna Bajrangi from Jhansi jail to Pilibhit and Shekhar Tiwari from Barabanki to Maharajganj jail.

The Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) monitored the activities of the jailed gangsters and alerted the jail administration about their nefarious activities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at an election rally in Mau, the home turf of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari on 27 February, that jails in UP were virtually converted into palaces for criminals where they enjoyed all facilities and luxury.

"The gangsters can be seen going to jail with a smile and have photo sessions. Being in jail, they also get legal protection from the consequences of the crime committed by their gang," Modi had said.

Gulshan Yadav, an accused in the killing of deputy superintendent of police Zia-ul- Haq in Pratapagarh district, was admitted to SRN Hospital, Allahabad. The medical report said he was suffering from backache.

Babu Singh Kushwaha, accused in a multi-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, was admitted at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Lucknow.

During probe, the jail administration found that several undertrials used their influence to get medical certificates stating that they were suffering from some mental disorder, Meena said.

The state home department too has directed district magistrates and the superintendents of police to check use of mobiles by the undertrials in jails.
Washington: Afghan-Americans have urged the US and international community to put multifaceted pressure on Pakistan to stop its support to terror groups in Afghanistan.

The Afghan-Americans held a peaceful demonstration against Pakistan in Washington over the weekend and expressed their deepest condolences to the families of Afghan security forces who lost their lives in a recent terrorist attack in the Balkh province.

More than 100 Afghan soldiers were killed and wounded in a coordinated Taliban attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan.

Afghans around the world are expressing their disgust toward continued terrorism and bloodshed in their homeland, a group of Afghan-Americans said in a statement.

"We call on the US and the rest of the international community to put multifaceted pressure on Pakistan to stop its support for terrorist groups and organisations in Afghanistan and in the region, including the elimination of terrorist sanctuaries in the country," the statement said.

"We call on United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate and document the incidents of war crimes in Afghanistan, including attacks on houses of worship, hospitals, and public structures, and identify and prosecute the perpetrators involved in the incidents," they said.

The protestors said that they believe a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is crucial for a stable region and a stable world.

"Thus we consider it a regional and international responsibility to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven for international terrorism again," said the group of Afghan Americans.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are at an all time low after a series of terror attacks in the two countries for which both sides blame each other.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Tuesday meet President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on her first visit to Russia since 2015, in a signal of renewed dialogue as deep strains remain over Ukraine.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow's ties with the EU plunged to a post-Cold War low over the crisis in Ukraine.

Berlin has said the meeting will "above all" focus on the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July and no major breakthroughs are expected on bridging the deep rifts between the two sides.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supporting the pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West, and a European-brokered peace plan to end the conflict has hit a dead end.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was "not frozen" but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel's visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries' relations "to fully normalise", while meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

The German leader has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europe's backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

Last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

"There are two topics that weigh down relations... the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies.

Seibert called this "a difficult context that one cannot ignore," but added that "our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements".

Both sides have also said the talks will cover the conflict in Syria, where Putin's military backing for leader Bashar al-Assad has set him at odds with the West.

The Kremlin added that the visit would be an opportunity "to discuss the current state and prospects of bilateral relations".

The G20 is now the only format for Russia to meet the other major international powers after its exclusion from the G8, now the G7.

At the G20 summit, Putin is expected to meet US President Donald Trump. Immediately after meeting Merkel the Kremlin strongman is set to hold his third phone call with Trump.

Merkel visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks focusing on preparations for the G20.

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle suggested ahead of Merkel's visit that "the diplomatic ice age... might be nearing an end" as it sends "a strong diplomatic signal" of both sides' willingness to engage.

The leaders are set to hold a press conference at 1230 GMT between two rounds of talks, Seibert said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also due to meet Putin in Sochi on Wednesday. The two leaders have inched closer together on Syria as Erdogan's ties with Europe have plummeted.
Paris: The tall man in the elaborate three-piece suit adjusted his top hat, chewed his cigar and lifted his hands with the banner: Immunitie Bancaire (Bank Immunity). As the crowds thronged the marching route between Paris Place de la Republique and Place de la Nation on Monday afternoon, Francois Feer, the suited man, ironic slogan in hand, mulled over a hard choice: whom to vote for on Sunday as the countrys next president?

I dont like this choice, said Feer, 65, shrugging. Maybe I dont vote. Let us see what is the risk of the extreme right winning. It depends.

The French left has been left with two seemingly unpalatable options: the xenophobic, incendiary Marine Le Pen of the National Front, or the centrist, business-friendly Emmanuel Macron of En Marche, a new, year-old party. Both are seen as outsiders to the political establishment, and polls show that Macron is heavily favoured to win.

Feers little satirical performance piece was part of Mondays May Day march, a massive annual event featuring demonstrators, unions, leftist groups; that takes place across France. This year, the marches acquired an even more political flavor: France votes for its president on Sunday. And union leaders had urged for a strong showing against the far rights National Front. But the mood at the Paris march, dominated by many on the far left, was energetic but also unusually grim.

There was plenty of Le Pen bashing, but Macron wasnt in danger of getting much love either. Le 7 Mai, Dans les Salles: Alien versus Predator (On May 7, in the Theatres: Alien Versus Predator), said one placard, En Marche: Merde (En Marche: S**t) said another. Flyers on the sidewalk fluttered in the wind; with pictures of both candidates and a headline that said Peste ou cholera (Plague/cholera).

In the first round of voting last week 19.6 percent voted for the candidate of the far left, Jean-Luc Melenchon, who eventually finished a strong fourth. Eleven candidates squared off against each other, from which the race was whittled down to Macron with 23.7 percent of the vote and Le Pen with 21.5 percent. The countrys major political leaders have now endorsed the centrist Macron in an effort to stop Le Pen. However, Melenchon has been circumspect; first he said he would consult his supporters, later his spokesperson said not a single vote should go to the FN [Front National], a half-endorsement that did not explicitly favour Macron.

This has meant that many are considering registering their protest through the blank vote  or voting for no one on the ballot.

On Monday, the curly-hair woman from Morocco, with the bright smile, seemed to be taking that message seriously. Holding up a poster than said Je Suis Difference (I am difference), a plea for diversity, Sadia Eecharoo, 42, had decided she would vote blanc or submit an empty, unmarked ballot. Though she was born abroad and represents just the kind of outsider Le Pen rails against, she was clear she could not stomach Macron either. I am scared of Le Pen, if she is elected there will be conflict, she said. But Macron represents the capitalist system.

Alongside her marched Ginger Force, 28, just as determined to withhold her approval for both, and said as much in an emphatic banner. Both are garbage candidates, she said, brimming with righteous anger, They are both thieves. I dont want to vote. And voting is not the only way to change things, it is more important to protest.

An entire collective, Le PenNon, built explicitly against Le Pen came out on Monday, and it was easy to see the strength of feeling against her; but there was less affirmative support of Macron, and much of the same distaste. These marchers had made a pragmatic choice.

The main danger is Le Pen, first we must kick her out, said Henri Chazelle, 70, a retired consultant and member of Appel des 100, a broad civil society coalition. Then kick out Macron.

Its easy to compare this to what played out in the US: the eventual reluctant voting by the more leftist Bernie Sanders supporters for the more centrist Hillary Clinton, in an attempt to keep Donald Trump out. Many Melenchon supporters will be holding their noses when they go to the polls on Sunday. And some are so dejected, they wont even go all the way to vote in person.

Since I dont want to mark his name and put my vote in the box, I will be asking a friend to do it for me, said Geraldine, 39, a graphic designer. France allows citizens to have others cast their ballot for them if they cannot do so themselves.

Though Macron is expected to win, both the unexpected Brexit and Trump victories means nothing is ever certain, and Melenchons less than full-throated support for Macron threatens to divide his supporters on voting day. Florian Philippot, vice president of the National Front, said it was entirely possible some would vote for Le Pen, in an interview last week. Both Melenchon and Le Pen have shown similarities through the campaign: they are Euro-sceptic and have denounced globalisation; both have tried to win over working class voters with their slamming of the establishment elite.

Pierre Vidalet, a member of Confederation Generale du Travail, a major national trade union, had already resigned himself to voting for Le Pen. It is better that Le Pen wins now, after five years of Macron people will be even more tired and more disappointed, he said. Both parties are against workers.
CAIRO Militants killed three policemen and injured five others in a shooting in Cairo late on Monday, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Attacks on security forces are common in Egypt's northern Sinai, where the country is battling an Islamist insurgency, but targeted assaults in Cairo are rare and the shooting comes amid a campaign by militants to spread violence to the country's mainland.

The militants drove by and shot down police stationed at an intersection of the ring road, a busy Cairo expressway, in the city's eastern neighbourhood of Nasr City, the statement said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes just weeks after two Islamic State suicide bombers killed at least 45 in deadly church bombings in Alexandria and Tanta, one of the bloodiest attacks the country has experienced in years. (Reporting by Mohamed El Sherif; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Peter Cooney)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
London: In public, Britain and the European Union say they want an amicable divorce. Behind the scenes, things are getting nasty.

Prime Minister Theresa May acknowledged Tuesday that Brexit "will not be easy," after EU officials accused the UK of failing to grasp the complexity of the task ahead.

In a comment aimed squarely at Britain, European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt tweeted: "Any Brexit deal requires a strong & stable understanding of the complex issues involved. The clock is ticking  it's time to get real."

Any #Brexit deal requires a strong & stable understanding of the complex issues involved.The clock is ticking - it's time to get real.  Guy Verhofstadt (@GuyVerhofstadt) May 1, 2017

Verhofstadt chose his words carefully: "Strong and stable" is May's campaign slogan as she seeks to win a bigger parliamentary majority in Britain's 8 June election.

Formal Brexit negotiations won't start until after the UK election next month. But already warm words from London and Brussels about partnership and friendship have given way to a steady drip of leaks, spin and barbed comments  evidence that the two sides' expectations are poles apart.

Last week, May met European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a working dinner, greeting him with a kiss at the door of 10 Downing Street.

May's office said afterward that the meeting had been constructive. Juncker called it "excellent," though he noted: "I have the impression sometimes that our British friends ... underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face."

A far less diplomatic account was published by Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. Its report on the meeting, credited to anonymous Commission sources, quoted Juncker as saying he left the dinner "10 times more skeptical than I was before" that negotiations will succeed.

Downing St. said it "does not recognise" the paper's description of the meeting, and May dismissed the report as "Brussels gossip."

But it drew a furious flurry of reaction from both sides of Britain's EU divide. "May's outrage at EU's dirty tricks," said the Euroskeptic tabloid Daily Express. "Brussels twists knife on Brexit," was the front-page headline on London's more pro-EU Evening Standard.

Whether the leak is accurate or exaggerated, it's a sign the EU wants to let Britain know who is in the Brexit driving seat.

"What makes the leak so powerful is that it confirms what a lot of people have been thinking," said Fredrik Erixon, director of Brussels-based think tank the European Centre for Political Economy.

He said that many in Brussels believe Britain has an unrealistic expectation that it can retain much of its current access to the EU's single market once it leaves the bloc.

"The type of agreement many people in London think is possible is simply not going to be possible," Erixon said.

He said British politicians "are telling a story about what they want to happen which may politically go down well in the UK but does not fit with the alternatives that are there."

In a pointed show of unity, on Saturday, the 27 EU leaders adopted common negotiating principles for Brexit. They stressed that there will be no discussion of a future trade deal with Britain until major progress has been made on key issues, including the rights of EU citizens living in Britain (and Britons living elsewhere in the bloc), and the bill that Britain must pay to settle its commitments to the EU.

Britain has long insisted that talks on the divorce agreement and the future relationship can run side by side.

There's an even more profound difference between Britain and the bloc about what a good Brexit deal will look like. May says she wants "make a success" of Brexit, and is asking British voters to back her Conservative Party at the ballot box on June 8 and strengthen Britain's hand.

"Across the table from us sit 27 European member states who are united in their determination to do a deal that works for them," May wrote in Tuesday's Western Morning News. "We need that same unity of purpose here at home to ensure we can get a deal that works in Britain's national interest too."

But it is in the EU's interest for the deal to leave Britain worse off than it was before, to emphasise the strength of the EU and deter other countries from following the UK out the door.

"There is always a price, a cost, a consequence from quitting the Union," French President Francois Hollande said after the EU leaders' summit. He said Britain "must not be in a more favorable situation on the outside than they were on the inside."
London: Britain and the European Union say they want an amicable divorce. But negotiations have not even started yet, and the sniping has already begun.

Prime Minister Theresa May vowed Tuesday to be a "bloody difficult woman" in talks with the bloc, after EU officials accused the UK of failing to grasp the complexity of the task ahead.

European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt, a master of the pointed political tweet, posted: "Any Brexit deal requires a strong & stable understanding of the complex issues involved. The clock is ticking  it's time to get real."

Verhofstadt chose his words carefully: "Strong and stable" is May's campaign slogan as she seeks to win a bigger parliamentary majority in Britain's June 8 election.

Formal Brexit negotiations won't start until after the UK election next month. But already warm words from London and Brussels about partnership and friendship have given way to a steady drip of leaks, spin and barbed comments  evidence that the two sides' expectations are poles apart.

Last week, May met European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for a working dinner, greeting him with a kiss at the door of 10 Downing St.

May's office said afterward that the meeting had been constructive. Juncker called it "excellent," though he noted: "I have the impression sometimes that our British friends ... underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face."

A far less diplomatic account was published by Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. Its report on the meeting, credited to anonymous Commission sources, quoted Juncker as saying he left the dinner "10 times more skeptical than I was before" that negotiations will succeed.

Downing St. said it "does not recognise" the paper's description of the meeting, and May dismissed the report as "Brussels gossip."

May told the BBC on Tuesday that she was well prepared to stand up to hard bargaining from Brussels.

"During the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described by one of my colleagues as a 'bloody difficult woman,'" she said. "And I said at the time, the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker."

Asked whether Juncker had found it out yet, May changed the subject.

The German report drew a furious flurry of reaction from both sides of Britain's EU divide. "May's outrage at EU's dirty tricks," said the Euroskeptic tabloid Daily Express. "Brussels twists knife on Brexit," was the front-page headline on London's more pro-EU Evening Standard.

Whether the leak is accurate or exaggerated, it's a sign the EU wants to let Britain know who is in the Brexit driving seat.

"What makes the leak so powerful is that it confirms what a lot of people have been thinking," said Fredrik Erixon, director of Brussels-based think tank the European Centre for Political Economy.

He said that many in Brussels believe Britain has an unrealistic expectation that it can retain much of its current access to the EU's single market once it leaves the bloc.

"The type of agreement many people in London think is possible is simply not going to be possible," Erixon said.

In a pointed show of unity, on Saturday, the 27 EU leaders adopted common negotiating principles for Brexit. They stressed that there will be no discussion of a future trade deal with Britain until major progress has been made on key issues, including the rights of EU citizens living in Britain (and Britons living elsewhere in the bloc), and the bill that Britain must pay to settle its commitments to the EU.

Britain has long insisted that talks on the divorce agreement and the future relationship can run side by side.

There's an even more profound difference between Britain and the bloc about what a good Brexit deal will look like. May says she wants "make a success" of Brexit, and is asking British voters to back her Conservative Party at the ballot box on 8 June and strengthen Britain's hand.

In Tuesday's Western Morning News, May wrote that Britain needs unity of purpose to "get a deal that works in Britain's national interest."

But it is in the EU's interest for the deal to leave Britain worse off than it was before, to emphasize the strength of the EU and deter other countries from following the U.K. out the door.

"There is always a price, a cost, a consequence from quitting the Union," French President Francois Hollande said after the EU leaders' summit.
Beijing: In a rare disclosure, China's ruling Communist Party has said some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to him, undermining the fight against "separatist" forces.

A senior discipline inspection official has "lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the party's fight against separatism," state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday.

Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.

The Global Times, a tabloid publication attached the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibet's discipline watchdog linking "15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities".

It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials. This is the first time official media here has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials' links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.

Wang, in an article published on Monday in a magazine run by the CPC, the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision, wrote that "some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations".

A few party officials are failing to "uphold their political integrity" and are "completely ignoring political discipline", Wang said, adding that such behaviour has affected the CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.

In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the 81-year-old leader. His recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh which China calls 'South Tibet' soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese "standardised" named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.
Washington: President Donald Trump opened the door to a future meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-Un, offering unusual praise for the globally ostracised leader at a time of surging nuclear tensions.

Although the White House played down near-term prospects for such a meeting, Trump's conciliatory comments on Monday marked a departure from his more unforgiving tone toward the North in recent weeks.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News.

Clearly aware of the power of his declaration, he added: "We have breaking news."

Trump's latest statements on Pyongyang, including that Kim was a "smart cookie," have bewildered South Korea and stunned lawmakers who say the new administration is legitimising a brutal dictator.

"This is a dramatic departure from the kind of approach to foreign policy and human rights that I admired Ronald Reagan so much for," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Tuesday.

As a presidential candidate, Trump suggested he was open to meeting Kim, but hadn't repeated the line since taking office. Fresh missile tests by the North and its progress toward developing a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States have made the isolated communist dictatorship one of America's top national security concerns.

Deeming President Barack Obama's "strategic patience" with North Korea a total failure, Trump and his aides say they're taking a more aggressive approach, at times warning of potential military confrontation if the North doesn't change course. The US has even raised the possibility of a pre-emptive strike if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test.

Yet on other occasions, Trump's administration has dangled carrots. It has spoken of restarting negotiations with the North and even suggested resuming food aid to North Korea once it starts dismantling its nuclear and missile programs.

On one point, at least, Trump and his team have been consistently clear: A solution requires involvement by China, the North's biggest economic partner. Trump is hoping China can pressure the North into a peaceful denuclearisation. The Obama administration unsuccessfully sought the same objective for years.

Trump's suggestion of admiration for Kim, however, is something entirely new.

He noted that Kim assumed office in his 20s and has held power despite efforts by "a lot of people" to take it away.

"So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," Trump told CBS' Face the Nation in an interview that aired Sunday.

Tasked with explaining Trump's flattery, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said there would be no meeting with the secretive North Korean leader until circumstances were right and numerous conditions met. He said Kim should have to alter his government's behaviour and "show signs of good faith."

"Clearly, conditions are not there right now," Spicer said.

But echoing Trump's gentler tone, Spicer said Kim had "managed to lead a country forward" from a young age. Spicer didn't mention that under Kim, North Korea's government remains strictly authoritarian and dissent isn't tolerated. Much of the country is impoverished and malnourished.

Trump's musings about a potential meeting with Kim were reminiscent of Obama's declaration during his 2008 campaign that he'd be willing to meet without pre-condition with the leaders of North Korea, Iran, Cuba and other nations long at odds with the US Republicans and Obama's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, criticised Obama for that statement. As president, Obama ultimately spoke by phone with Iran's leader and traveled to Cuba amid an historic detente with the island nation.

The US maintains no diplomatic relations with North Korea and the two countries are technically at war, as the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended without a peace treaty. The North makes no secret of its intention to develop a nuclear weapons system capable of striking the US mainland.
Once or twice a year I get a craving for matzoh brei and I go down to Canter's on Fairfax and get one. And when I visit some off-the-beaten-path foreign place-- like Yangon or Cochin or even St. Petersburg , for example, I go visit a synagogue. That's about as Jewish as I've been since the 1960s. That said, anti-semitism infuriates me, the same way any kind of racism does. And that brings us to Ross Douthat's clueless OpEd in yesterday's Is There A Case For Le Pen? Being a right-wing provocateur, Douthat appears to think so.

But her neo-Nazi, proto-fascist party, the National Front, openly promises to ban kosher butchers as well as yarmulkes being worn publicly. I don't eat kosher food or wear a yarmulke but that promise is anti-Semitic and Douthat should know better. And he does. He admits that "Parties matter, their histories and undercurrents matter, and the Fronts Vichy taint is a good reason to prefer a world where a Le Pen never occupies the Elysee Palace."

The two polls released Friday-- one from BVA and one from Ifop-Fiducial both show Macron crushing Le Pen-- 59-41% in the first and 60-40% in the second. Pretty steady since the first round. The only region where it's even close is Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, where there's a kind of see-sawing tie. But Douthat still wants to make a case for Le Pen. "[I]ndividual personalities and their policies also matter," he wrote, "and there the case for #NeverLePen seems weaker in important ways than the case for #NeverTrump." His excuses for her are almost entirely right-wing bullshit.

To begin with, nobody seriously doubts Le Pens competence, her command of policy, her ability to serve as president without turning the office into a reality-TV thunderdome. Trumps inability to master his own turbulent emotions is not an issue with his Gallic counterpart.





Nor is there much evidence that Le Pen herself draws any personal inspiration from the Vichy right. However incomplete the project, she is the reason that her party has ejected Vichyites and disavowed anti-Semitism and moved toward the French mainstream on many issues.





This has been done, of course, in the hopes of gaining power. But that is how the purging of poisons always happens, and being disowned by ones father is a quite costly and dramatic act of political purgation.





Some argue that Le Pen has simply replaced anti-Semitism with Islamophobia. But her attacks on Islamic fundamentalism and her defense of a strict public secularism have been echoed by many mainstream French politicians. An argument for quarantining her perspective would apply to Nicolas Sarkozy or Francois Fillon, not just her.





Over all, the politician that Le Pen has obviously strained to imitate is not her father or Marshal Petain, but Charles de Gaulle-- the de Gaulle who fiercely opposed European political integration, who granted Algeria its independence in part because he doubted France could absorb millions of Muslim immigrants, whose France First worldview consistently gave other Western leaders fits.





Even the most controversial utterance of Le Pens campaign, a denial of widespread French complicity in the deportation of French Jews, was deeply Gaullist: An insistence that the true France existed with de Gaulles government-in-exile, not Petains regime.





This is comforting myth, of course, and perhaps de Gaulles style of nationalism is too chauvinist and mystical for our era.





But on the other hand, our eras enlightened governance has produced an out-of-touch eurozone elite lashed to a destructive common currency, and an experiment in mass immigration that has changed French society faster than integration can do its necessary work.





These are the same sort of issues that helped Trump win the presidency, but in the European context the challenges are more severe and the populist critique more compelling.





There is no American equivalent to the epic disaster of the euro, a form of German imperialism with the struggling parts of Europe as its subjects. There is no American equivalent to the challenge of immigrant-assimilation now facing France-- no equivalent of the domestic terror threat, the rise of Islamist anti-Semitism, the immigrant enclaves as worlds unto themselves.





Which means that while much of Trumps notional agenda was an overreaction to the countrys problems, some of Le Pens controversial positions are straightforwardly correct.





She is right that France as a whole, recent immigrants as well as natives, would benefit from a sustained mass-immigration halt.





She is right that the European Union has given too much unaccountable power to Brussels and Berlin and favored financial interests over ordinary citizens.





And while many of her economic prescriptions are half-baked, her overarching critique of the euro is correct: Her country and her continent would be better off without it.
Washington: President Donald Trump has released a campaign advertisement declaring his first 100 days in the White House a success, and branding news that media have reported otherwise as 'Fake News'.

The 30-second television advertisement released on Monday was the latest example of Trump's extraordinarily early return to politicking at a time when most Presidents would be spending their time pushing through their highest legislative priorities, The New York Times reported.

Trump, after rejecting the 100-day mark as an indicator of the success or failure of his presidency, sat for several interviews and dispatched his top advisers for virtually non-stop briefings.

Trump's aides made the case that he had accomplished significant things since taking office, despite his lack of major legislative achievements.

"America has rarely seen such success," the narrator said in the ad, listing the confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, companies investing in the US, the elimination of "regulations that kill American jobs" and the approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"The biggest tax cut plan in history," the voice intoned, without mentioning that Trump has yet to offer any legislation or even a set of policy prescriptions for reordering the tax code to achieve the enormous cuts for businesses and individuals that he has endorsed.

"You wouldn't know it from watching the news," it said, showing the faces of anchors for mainstream news broadcasters as the words "FAKE NEWS" flash across the screen in large red letters.

The New York Times said the spot did not mention Trump's failed attempt to push through a health care overhaul, after having vowed that the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act would be his earliest priority.

Nor is there any reference to his attempts to crack down on illegal immigration, which have been largely stalled.

Congress has refused to provide any money for the border wall that was a powerful symbol during the Trump campaign, and courts have blocked two of his efforts to bar travellers from on six predominantly Muslim countries.

The advertisement is paid for by Trump's re-election campaign, for which he filed papers in January, on the day he was sworn in.

His campaign said it would spend $1.5 million to air the advertisement throughout the country, a relatively small sum that does not indicate a major national public relations campaign.
Washington: The White House has said that the US will continue talks with Israel about its settlement activity on occupied Palestinian territory.

"I'm sure that we'll continue to have conversations with the prime minister (on Israeli settlement activity)," Xinhua news agency quoted White House spokesperson Sean Spicer as saying on Monday. "That'll be something the president will continue to discuss."

Israeli authorities announced on Friday that the country intended to build 15,000 new settlement houses in East Jerusalem despite President Donald Trump's earlier call for holding back new settlement activities for a possible new effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the media that the new Israeli settlement plan was a "deliberate sabotage" of efforts to resume negotiations.

The new settlement activity came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to visit the White House later this week.

The White House said last month that Trump and Abbas would "reaffirm the commitment of both the US and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and ultimately concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel".

In another statement in March, the White House said Trump, in his first phone call, told Abbas that he believed peace between Palestine and Israel was possible.

In a major departure from the longtime policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump in February said he was open to either a one-state or two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I'm looking at two-state, one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one," Trump said at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, Trump also asked Netanyahu to "hold back" on building new settlement "for a little bit".

The former US administration under Barack Obama often criticised Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which Washington considered as a major obstacle to peace.
Washington: US President Donald Trump is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un "under the right circumstances", the White House has said asserting that Pyongyang needs to meet a lot of conditions for such a meeting between the two leaders to take place.

"There's a lot of things that go along with that, and that's the key thing. 'Under the right circumstances' was, I believe, the phrase he used. I think that is something in keeping with our consistent with the policy expressed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as well," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday.

"We've got to see their provocative behaviour ratcheted down immediately. There's a lot of conditions that I thinkwould have to happen with respect to its behaviour and to show signs of good faith," Spicer said when asked about Trump's statement in an interview that he is willing to meet the North Korean leader.

"Clearly, conditions are not there right now, but I think the President has made it clear, as Secretary Tillerson had the other day, that if the conditions, if the circumstances present themselves we'll be prepared to, but they're clearly not at this time," Spicer said.

Spicer stressed the right circumstances for a meeting between the two leaders does not exist right now.

"If North Korea continues down a degree of provocative behaviour, then those circumstances will never be there," he said.

"We want to hold out the possibility that if North Korea were ever serious about completely dismantling its nuclear capability and taking away the threat that they pose both to the region and to us that there is always going to be a possibility of that occurring. That possibility is not there at this time," Spicer said.

Trump, he said, understands the threat North Korea poses.

"Having someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country and potentially our country as some point in the future is something the President takes very seriously," he said.

"So the idea that he is doing everything diplomatically, economically, and militarily to consider every way to prevent that threat from taking on the US is something" he added.

The White House spokesman also defended the decision of the US President to meet his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.

"I think there's an economic piece to this, as well. That's part of the reason that I think the President wants to meet with him," he said.

"I'm not going to get ahead of their discussions. I would suggest that there are multifaceted ways and areas in which not just the Philippines but other countries in the region can help play a role both economically, diplomatically, and otherwise to help deter the threat that they pose," Spicer said.

The meeting with the Philippines President is also an opportunity to work with countries in that region that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea.

"And, frankly, the national interest of the United States, the safety of our people and the safety of people in the region are the number-one priorities of the President," he said.

Spicer refuted allegations that by meeting his counterpart from Philippines, Trump is ignoring human rights concerns.

"The number-one concern of this President is to make sure that we do everything we can to protect our people, and specifically, to economically and diplomatically isolate North Korea," he said.

"I think when you look at what he is doing in terms of building that coalition of countries in that region to do it, I think this is hopefully going to tell you every single thing that's in his brief, but he's well aware of -- when he speaks with a leader, he gets briefed on a lot about their -- what they're doing, what they've done," Spicer said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited India and has now returned to his own country. There was turbulence over his suggestion that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through multilateral dialogue, in which Turkey can get involved. He also said that Turkey would support Indias NSG bid as long as Pakistan also is hyphenated with the same honour. These are no surprises at all and should have been expected since Erdogan is leading Turkey into radicalisation down the same path as Pakistan. He hardly could be expected to know the background of the legal accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India, and that the UN Resolution on Kashmir had the categorical requirement for Pakistani security forces to vacate Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

But it is laughable for him to recommend dialogue saying, "We have no problem with Kurdish people. We have a problem with a terrorist organisation." But it so happens that while Erdogan may declare we have no problem with Kurdish people, Turkey has been using chemical weapons against the Kurds, as a report in The Jerusalem Post suggests. That explains Erdogans closeness to Pakistan and reference to Nawaz Sharif as "dear friend" because Pakistan too may say we have no problem with Balochis but has been using chemical weapons in Balochistan as part of the ongoing genocide.

It was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a Turkish army officer and revolutionary, who founded the Republic of Turkey serving as its first president from 1923 until his death. Turkey was a modern and secular state even though in subsequent years it yearned to be part of the European Union, while it was generally referred to as the "Sick Man of Europe". As late as the late 1990s and middle 2000s, the secular credentials of Turkey were impeccable.

Turkish officers in India and elsewhere abroad used to boast that Turkey was perhaps the only country in the world where the army was officially tasked to maintain the secular credentials of the nation. They narrated that whenever there was a report of radical congregations, the army would immediately appear on the scene, often even accompanied by tanks, to round up the radical clerics-preachers and disperse the crowd. But, all that appears to have been consigned to the past.

Turkey, with the connivance of its politicians, got caught up in machinations of the Great Game being played in the West Asia, even as it witnessed the installation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, an organisation now banned in the same country. General Michael Flynn, former head of US Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Adviser in the Donald Trump administration for a brief period, had gone public two years back to say that the rise of Islamic State and Jabhat al Nusra was "willful decision" of the US. The CIA later admitted the IS were trained in Turkey by British mercenary officers, which may be the half truth since such training could not be without the active involvement of MI-6. But then former US president Barack Obama himself admitted that the US had trained the IS. This besides other indications made it amply clear that that US-Nato were fuelling the war in Syria by channeling thousand of radicals through Turkey. But more significantly, Baghdadi and his boys were being trained and armed in Turkey that resulted in the swift capture of Mosul in 2014 routing two Iraqi divisions.

With Turkey a longtime US ally, a member of Nato since 1952 and a country where important US military assets are located, Erdogan capitalised on Turkeys significance to US-Nato for consolidating his own political gains. Not only were the IS trained and armed in Turkey, Turkey became the conduit for export of some $3 million worth of oil of the IS on daily basis. It is only after Russia bombed hundreds of tankers travelling between Turkey and IS-held territory and Putin released the photo footage to the world that things started becoming clearer. As part of Nato, Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet was expected. However, after Putin put a few cruise missiles into the rebel-held Syria, Erdogan went about making amends with Russia. However, in a bid consolidate power, Erdogan is actively radicalising the Turkish society. Even the 'Hizmet', a modern Islamic movement that believes in good relations with the minority Christians and Jews is being systematically purged. The failed military coup of 15 July, 2016, against Erdogan has been ruthlessly crushed, the coup itself being a weak attempt to re-establish the secular credentials of Turkey. The coup facilitated Erdogan mass military and civilian arrests, declaring a state of emergency, and assuming total authoritarian power. Turkeys pluralistic credentials are being flattened; still widely described as a model of modernisation and economic success before Erdogan became president.

Should the West be worried  not likely with just 0.2 percent population of Christians and Jews, and the West knows when and how to extract its price, as being done in Iraq and Syria. Erdogan appears to be the exact opposite of Abdel Fattah Sisi, President of Egypt, who has clamped down on Islamic radicalisation. There is plenty of discussion on social media whether Erdogan should have been invited to India or his visit should have been permitted. Diplomatically, there is no reason why his visit should not have gone through. His statements before and after the visit to India actually expose his line of thinking. There is no reason that we should not have business ties with Turkey either because we need to enhance the pace of our economy capitalising on all global avenues. Besides, we have not withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status from Pakistan despite all the terrorism and barbarianisms. At the same time, we should be clear that our ties with Turkey, radicalised under Erdogan, are not allowed to affect our societal fabric by quietly promoting radicalization and terrorism. To this end, continuous monitoring and putting requisite measures in place are warranted.

The author is a retired lieutenant-general of the Indian Army
A former student of US President Donald Trump's now-defunct Trump University formally said on Monday she would appeal a federal judge's approval of the $25 million settlement of three fraud lawsuits over the real estate seminars.

Sherri Simpson, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who paid $19,000 to learn Trump's investing secrets in 2010, filed a notice of appeal seeking to take Trump to court individually and recoup more money than the settlement would provide.

Simpson objects to the settlement provision blocking students from opting out of the deal.

She had raised her objections before US District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego. On March 31, Curiel overruled her objection and approved the deal, which he said represented an "extraordinary" 80 percent recovery for the plaintiffs.

Last year, Trump accused Curiel of bias based on the Indiana-born judge's Mexican ancestry.

Simpson is appealing that ruling to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump has been highly critical of that court, which earlier this year upheld a ruling overturning his first executive order banning citizens from certain Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.

New York lawyer Gary Friedman, who represents Simpson, said in a statement that Trump tweeted that students might have gotten more. On 19 November, the then-president-elect said he settled for a "a small fraction of the potential award" and the "ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!"

California lawyer Jason Forge, who represents the students in two of the three lawsuits, said the objection had little chance of success but could delay payments.

Attorneys with experience in the 9th Circuit said appeals typically take longer than 18 months, although the students' lawyers could seek an outright dismissal that could be decided upon in months.

"We have many senior citizen students waiting for money that will change the last years of their lives and this patently frivolous appeal could mean they die without it," Forge said in an interview.

Simpson and other students claimed they were lured into the seminars by false promises that they would learn Trump's investment strategies from his "hand-picked" instructors. Trump admitted he did not pick the instructors but said the claim was sales "puffery."
By Alastair Macdonald and Noah Barkin

| BRUSSELS/PARIS

BRUSSELS/PARIS If Emmanuel Macron wins Sunday's French presidential run-off, Europe's pro-EU liberals will finally have their champion.For centrists who have been licking their wounds since Britain voted to quit the EU a year ago, the 39-year-old will be the gallant young hero who slew the most dangerous populist dragon of them all, the National Front's Marine Le Pen.From a Paris dinner party with the young leaders of Belgium and Luxembourg, to a conspicuous Twitter bromance with Italy's ex-premier Matteo Renzi, Macron has already built a circle of likeminded peers, unafraid to promote closer EU integration at a time when voters are being tempted by the hard right and left.The young leaders present themselves as fresh faces, free of 20th-century baggage of left-right class war.But to fulfil their dream of a reinvigorated Europe, they still need to win over leaders from the old school, above all Germany's Angela Merkel.One senior German official said Macron's youthful stardust could give France some "Kennedy-esque" optimism. But the official also injected a sceptical note: Berlin was "willing to talk about Europe", he said, "but the discussion has to be about responsibility as well as solidarity."ERASMUS GENERATION

Macron discussed his plans for Europe at a private dinner party in March at the home of a French TV celebrity, attended by Belgium's 41-year-old Prime Minister Charles Michel and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, 44."It was a moment for sharing our commitments on Europe," Michel told Reuters of the dinner, which was kept secret until word leaked out in April. "In the coming months, we're going to have to relaunch the European project ... and for that we will need partners."

The three men are part of the first generation of European leaders to come of age with the benefits of EU citizenship. "We are the Erasmus generation," Michel told Reuters, referring to an EU exchange programme that lets students attend universities in other countries across the bloc.As France's youngest-ever president, Macron would step into the shoes vacated by Italy's youngest-ever prime minister, Renzi, who also took office at 39 and who stepped down last year after losing a referendum on constitutional reform."Bravo to @matteorenzi," Macron tweeted this week. "Together we will change Europe with all the progressives."Renzi tweeted back: "Thank you dear Emmanuel. We are with you."

The Paris dinner party, held at Macron's invitation at the home of a TV personality Stephane Bern, a friend of Bettel, showed how the new generation of leaders is comfortable dispensing with the formality of traditional diplomacy."Everything's got more informal," one person familiar with the dinner said. "They've all got each other's mobile numbers. They text all the time."Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal former Belgian prime minister, Brexit negotiator and champion of more federal EU powers, sees in Macron not just an ally who wants to end old habits of state-to-state wrangling in the EU, but an example of how social media and networking is changing policymaking -- and maybe policy too."Political action will completely change," Verhofstadt said.

Still, however they may be buoyed by a Macron victory, the young liberals will have a steep hill to climb to achieve a broad consensus for closer EU integration.The historically unpopular outgoing president, Francois Hollande, failed to achieve similar aims in Europe and stands as a conspicuous example of how difficult it could be for Macron to persuade the French to back him.All roads to EU change still run through Berlin, where proposals will be met with caution even if Merkel loses re-election this year to her centre-left, EU enthusiast challenger Martin Schulz. Germans widely see French deficit spending as a threat to the euro.Michel, Bettel and liberal Dutch premier Mark Rutte, 50, have jointly proposed an outline for EU reform to be debated after Brexit. It calls for faster integration of some states in a "multispeed Europe", an idea that Germany was long cool to but which Merkel has lately signalled she might consider. Some senior Benelux officials hope for revival of Franco-German harmony. They see a possible "grand bargain" where former banker Macron can eventually persuade Berlin that France can be trusted not to let deficits balloon if Germany is willing to drop its resistance to backing a share of other states' debt.A person close to Macron described the dinner on March 5 as a private meeting between like-minded young European reformers: "It was part of his European outreach efforts.""There is common ground," he said, while stressing Macron would not limit himself to such alliances. "They support Macrons plans to inject new momentum into the European project and he supports the message sent out by the Benelux countries." (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Peter Graff)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Infosys A team hogged the headlines both in the sleepy US midwest and leading dailies across the country after CEO Vishal Sikka spoke at length in Indianapolis Tuesday on the companys decision to hire 10,000 US workers starting with 500 in the first tranche.

Watch: Full video clip of Vishal Sikka's announcement in Indiana, Tuesday

The Washington Post led with Infosys being under fire from President Trump for stealing American jobs while The Wall Street Journal chose Infosys, Feeling Pressure on Global Outsourcers, Plans to Hire 10,000 in U.S to headline the company's sudden decision to hire local soon after being called out by the world's most powerful office for its deluge of applications in the H1B lottery system.

While the timing of the announcement so swiftly after Trumps EO on heightened scrutiny and review of the H1B visa continues to raise eyebrows among the tech worker community, the Infosys deal is being called the the largest jobs announcements in Indiana history, rivaled by Honda's decision to hire 2,064 workers over a decade ago.

What's the wonk circuit saying? Professor Ron Hira, whose research powered the White House assault on the H1B system, says that if this (Infosys decision to hire in the US) is indeed a response to President Trumps statements then it "demonstrates the power, but also the limitations, of the bully pulpit".

"A few individual cases of self-reform, no matter how large they may be, are no substitute for real reform  by both the administration and Congress. The abuse of the H-1B program is widespread and endemic to the program. A major overhaul of the H-1B programs design is needed. There are hundreds of employers that have built an H-1B business model, of which Infosys is merely one.

But these H-1B business model firms are not the only ones abusing the system.

No employer should be allowed to hire an H-1B worker instead of a US worker because they are cheaper. The H-1B workers should be filling genuine labor market shortages and bring truly specialized skills.

Real reform for the H-1B program must include:

1) a bona fide demonstration of a shortage by the employer (i.e., active recruitment of US workers prior to filing for an H-1B worker);

2) raising the wages for H-1B workers so they are not used for cheaper labor (at the 75th percentile); and,

3) a compliance system that enforces those rules (a random audit process to ensure compliances and steep penalties meted out when abuses are identified). But most importantly these rules must apply to all of the employers, whether they have built an H-1B business model or not," says Hira.

"Consider this thought - 10000 hires is like an indirect tax to the American economy,"says Arun Mohan Sukumar, head of cybersecurity and internet governance at Observer Research Foundation, a think tank.

"Announcing 10,000 hires to get around the H1b visa problem is not going to create new technologies. What is the current role of an Infosys or a TCS in the IT ecosystem? You can have companies that do cutting edge AI work like Google or even Uber or be a company that does AI-plus as in AI driven research but a company like Infosys or a TCS is not going to tranform its ethos or vision by hiring 10,000 locals in America. The 10,000 will add to your workforce but Infosys or TCS will remain the same. I don't see how companies that have traditionally provided back-end enterprise driven solutions to America can turn their game around by hiring American. They are not going to come out with IOT driven applications because thats not bread and butter for them," says Sukumar.

"Well partner with bright talent from local varsities & colleges to make Indiana the leading technology innovator of Midwest" @imravikumars pic.twitter.com/4Y6Qi2iNu8  Infosys (@Infosys) May 2, 2017

Local newspapers are reporting that the deal is also a whopper incentive package with up to $31 million in conditional tax credits and training grants.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka detailed his what, when and how of the Indiana decision standing alongside Governnor Eric Holcomb in Indianapolis - the capital city of Indiana where the cost of living is significantly less than either the east or west coasts of America.

Go to the CNN money site and check out the arbitrage advantage of how far, say a New York salary would go in Indiana. A $ 95,000 in Brooklyn, NY would work out to just around half - say $ 52,000 in Indianapolis.

This is not the first time a company has chosen the US midwest or for that matter even Mexico - nearshoring allows all the benefits of the US time zone minus the cost of a NY or SFO.

Indiana is bordered by Michigan in the north, Kentucky on the south, Illinois on the west and Ohio on the east.

Infosys is the first off the blocks among Indian IT heavyweights to commit on hiring numbers in the US - Infosys has a total workforce of 200,000 and the Indiana maneovre will make this Infosys max hiring ever in the US market.

Indiana also happens to be US Veep Mike Pences home state.

Infosys has not disclosed how much this hiring spree will end up costing or whether its U.S. jobs plan would account for a large percentage of its overall hiring in the coming two years.

Reuters reports that based on Infosys' recent trends, the U.S. plan could account for a large portion of net hiring additions in the period. Infosys added nearly 18,000 jobs in 2015, but just 6,000 in 2016, amid uncertainty about the impact of Brexit and calls from some U.S. politicians and the public for tougher U.S. immigration rules that led some U.S. clients to hold-off on new projects. "Hiring locally is a compulsion and it's not just because of what's happening in the U.S.," said Harit Shah, research analyst at Reliance Securities, adding that bringing in workers on temporary visas was "not sustainable" as a model.The company said last month that it would struggle to reach its ambitious $20 billion revenue target by 2020, as the Indian software service sector has been hit by cautious client spending due to a rising protectionist wave globally.The United States is the largest market for Indian software service companies. Other countries, such as Australia, have also started to target Indian IT service companies that use temporary visa programs.
Tehran: Iran will maintain its support for the Syrian government despite the deaths of hundreds of its advisers and volunteers in the six-year civil war, a commander said in comments published today.

Shiite Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are the Syrian regime's most important military supporters after Russia in its battle against mainly Sunni rebels. "We will send advisers in all fields and offer all help at our disposal so the resistance front doesn't break," the ground forces commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Pakpour, told the Fars news agency.



"They are present there now and we will deploy more as long as there is a need for advisory support." Pakpour said that advisers from the Guards' ground forces, including the Saberin Special Forces Unit, were working alongside those from the Guards' Quds Force foreign operations arm.

As well as advisers, Iran has sent thousands of "volunteer" fighters recruited among its own nationals as well as the Shiite communities in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also has military advisers and trainers deployed in Iraq.

As of early March, at least 2,100 fighters sent from Iran had been killed in Iraq and Syria, according to Iranian officials.
Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban", media reports said. Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice - once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.
By Ingrid Melander, Simon Carraud and Johnny Cotton

| PARIS

PARIS Far-right presidential challenger Marine Le Pen said capital controls could be used if she won the election and there was a run on banks as she negotiated France's exit from the European Union, but stressed they were unlikely to be needed.In an interview with Reuters ahead of Sunday's decisive second round, Le Pen reaffirmed she wanted to take France out of the euro EUR= and said she hoped the French people would have a national currency in their pockets within two years.Le Pen said she wanted to replace the EU single currency with another, looser type of cooperation in the form of the ECU basket of currencies that preceded the euro. That would exist alongside a national currency. "The objective is to transform the euro 'single currency' into a euro 'common currency', going back to the ancestor of the euro, the ECU, which was an accounting unit that did not stop each country from having each its own currency," Le Pen said.Calling the euro a deadweight on the French economy, the National Front candidate said a new national currency would better protect French people's savings. She accused the "establishment" of wanting to "frighten" voters into thinking otherwise. "I am convinced there won't be any banking crisis," Le Pen said when asked if French negotiations to quit the EU could trigger a run on French banks.

Asked if she would impose capital controls if savers nevertheless did rush to take their money out of banks, she said: "If there's a run on banks, we could very well imagine such a solution for a few days, but I'm telling you it won't happen."EU REFERENDUM

Le Pen said she would launch negotiations over reforms of the EU immediately after winning, saying this would allow France to regain national sovereignty. The talks would include ditching the euro as well as regaining control of France's borders and being able to decide French legislation alone, she said.

Those negotiations could last six to eight months, she said, after which France would hold a referendum on its EU membership.If she were happy with the outcome of the negotiations she would recommend staying inside the bloc, she said. If not, she would urge voters to support France's exit, following Britain's example after its referendum last summer.Le Pen said her first trip abroad would be to Brussels, headquarters of the EU, where she would inform leaders of EU member states of France's intentions.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, would not be welcome at that meeting, she added.Asked what she would say to German Chancellor Angela Merkel at their first meeting, Le Pen said: "France will now stand up for the interests of France." For a graphic on the French Presidential election, click - hereFor a graphic on the first round election, click - here (Editing by Richard Lough)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Sorry, sorry, sorry because my thievery has now reached epic proportions! Of course, I am always happy to nick bits and pieces from other writers but this time I am lifting the entire article from Brendan O'Neill which appears at The Coffee House. I do so for the simple reason that he says it all so much better than me:

Who does Jean-Claude Juncker think he is?

by

Brendan O'Neill

Jean-Claude Juncker: what a nasty piece of work. There arent many politicians Id say that about. Even most of those I disagree with strike me as being pretty decent people. Theresa May might be a petty authoritarian, but she isnt sinister. Jeremy Corbyn is wrong about everything, and stuck politically and sartorially in 1983, but he seems a nice enough guy. But Juncker  it is still rare that such a noxious character, such a scheming operator, such an arrogant arse, such a jumped-up, poundshop Machiavelli, darkens the corridors of politics. Hes the worst.



All of Junckers awful traits were on display at the weekend, in the spat over his dinner with May last week. Details about the dinner were leaked to the German newspaper FAZ by Junckers minions in the European Commission. Proof, if any were needed, that only the most tragic, blinkered EU-loving naif would trust the EC, that distant oligarchy, that byzantine bureaucratic machine, making laws we Euro-plebs must live by even though none of us voted for these people. In leaking about the dinner in order to make Juncker look like a god-king and May like a bumbling fool, the EC has signalled its untrustworthiness, and its intention to make the Brexit negotiations as difficult as possible.

If the lesson you have taken from the leaks is that May is misguided, you werent paying attention. Even these leaks designed to make Juncker look good actually reveal what an infinite vacuum of principle and decency he is. Whether he was whipping out a massive pile of paper to show how complex the EU entry deal with Croatia is  like a latter-day Cecil Rhodes saying, This is what nations must do to please me  or telling May that Brexit cannot be a success, Juncker comes off as immovable and autocratic, far more interested in maintaining his grey grip on the levers of EU power than respecting the will of 17.4m pesky Britons.

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Worst of all was the revelation that right after dinner he phoned Angela Merkel to fill her in. He told her May is deluding herself and living in another galaxy. Its not surprising May seems so alien, so otherworldly to Juncker: after all, she was at the dinner effectively to say, The people voted for Brexit and we will give it to them, and to the likes of Juncker, such an attachment to democracy seems quaint and perverted. Like a telltale school pupil, the playground grass everyone loathes, Juncker was filling in his headmistress Merkel about Mays naughtiness even before hed got back to his hotel. (Or is he the headmaster and Merkel the swottish pupil? Its hard to tell.)

That Juncker prefers duplicity to diplomacy, that he can arrogantly insist the British peoples democratic choice cannot be a success, should not come as a surprise. This is a man with an acute allergy to the whole idea of democracy. Im ready to be insulted as being insufficiently democratic I am for [having] secret, dark debates, he once said. He is contemptible of the idea that ordinary people should have a major say in politics. On the 2005 French referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, he said: If its a Yes, we will say on we go. If its a No, we will say we continue. It was a No. More than 15m people, 55 percent of the French electorate, rejected Lisbon. And, as promised, Juncker said we continue  he enforced the treaty anyway under the guise of the EU Constitution.

Juncker is a fan of lying, too. Yes, the EU Constitution would lead to transfers of sovereignty from individual nations to the EU, but would I be intelligent to draw the attention of public opinion to this fact?, he once asked. Sometimes EU deal-making must be protected from public scrutiny, he said. When it becomes serious, you have to lie. This is who, or rather what, were dealing with: a man and commission that think nothing of swatting aside mass democratic votes, who prefer the shadows of committee rooms to the light of democratic debate, and who will lie to get their way. As I say, if its Mays naivety youre worried about, you need to have a word with yourself: the other side is immeasurably worse.

Junckers nastiness is only a physical manifestation of Brussels itself. Power-hungry, deceitful, dismissive of democracy: the nature of the EU is horribly personified in Juncker. Whats truly alarming is not that Juncker behaves like this  he always has  but that so many in the British commentariat are lapping up his leaks and laughing along with him at the stupidity of May and by extension of those who chose Brexit. It is a testament to the decadence of the media class, to their distance from everyday opinion, that they prefer the underhand antics of Brexit-loathing Juncker over Mays effort to represent the will of the majority. They hope Juncker will punish British voters for daring to hold a different opinion to theirs.

And now some in the media are saying: See how hard these negotiations are going to be for Britain? Are you still glad you voted Brexit? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Never gladder. The meanness and ruthlessness and cynicism of Juncker and his team right now remind us precisely why we voted to leave the EU: because it is an opaque enemy of democracy that has no place in a decent, progressive 21st-century Europe.

................................................................................

Thank you Mr. O'Neill, I couldn't have put it better myself - in a month of Sundays!
Aides of French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Tuesday brushed off criticism of her use of phrases lifted straight from a speech by conservative rival Francois Fillon in her May Day address to supporters.

Florian Philippot, deputy leader of Le Pen's anti-European Union, National Front (FN) party, said the party "completely owned up" to the fact that the speech resembled one by Fillon a month ago - similarities that were mocked by her opponents on social media overnight.

Philippot told Radio Classique that Le Pen's speech was a "nod-and-a-wink" to Fillon's earlier discourse in order to "launch a real debate" concerning French identity.

French newspapers and media all highlighted the similarities between Le Pen's speech at her rally on 1 May and one by Fillon given on 15 April before he was knocked out of the presidential contest.

In a speech to her supporters at a rally north of Paris on Monday, Le Pen - who faces centrist frontrunner Emmanuel Macron in a final, run-off vote on 7 May - spoke of France's long and proud history and the country's roots in western Europe.

Le Pen mentioned France's "three maritime borders" with the English Channel, North Sea and the Atlantic. That same phrase of France's "three maritime borders" with the English Channel, North Sea and the Atlantic was also used by Fillon on 15 April.

Le Pen also described France's borders and ties with "Italy, our sister" - again a phrase used in Fillon's 15 April speech.

Le Pen also evoked a quote from early 20th century French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau which had Clemenceau stating: "Once a soldier of God, and now a soldier of Liberty, France will always be the soldier of the ideal."

That Clemenceau quotation was also used, word-for-word, by Fillon at his 15 April rally.

Le Pen's campaign manager David Rachline also played down plagiarism accusations, painting her speech as a form of tribute to Fillon.

The reference "was appreciated, including by all of Mr Fillon's supporters," Rachline told France 2 television.

Current opinion polls predict that Macron will beat Le Pen on 7 May, with Macron seen getting about 60 percent of the votes.

Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon also failed to get through to the final, second round vote.
An earlier Firstpost article theorised that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to India has provided fresh fillip to India-Turkey relations. Buttressing this point, the author produced two major reasons in his argument: first, the regional contexts in which the two countries  India and Turkey  are working to support each others role. Second, Turkeys "normalised" ties with Israel has a stabilising role in the region, which is key to the India-Turkey relations.

While the second factor was clearly at play when Erdogan visited India since Turkey has signed a reconciliation deal with Israel, the first premise does not stand to scrutiny given the Turkey-Pakistan close relationship. Most surprisingly, many analysts, including the above author, have conveniently skipped the ideological angel of Erdogan's visit to India. It is important to unravel as to what political and economic agendas the Turkish President has pursued during his visit to India. But it is equally important to delve deeper into the ideological motives of the current Turkish President in view of his affinity to political Islamism. From an Indian Muslim's point of view, a far more important question is: how will India tackle the theoretical persuasion of Erdogan or Erdoganism for the Muslims?

Erdogan's global political agenda is referred today as Erdoganism. The deeper ideological roots of Erdoganism emanate from the Turkish conservatism (muhafazakarlik). Though he calls himself a "conservative democrat", any form of democracy is not acceptable to him unless it comes under the purview of his Islamist ideologues. Candidly exposing the outcomes of Erdoganism in the post-secular Turkey, the veteran Turkish journalist, Mustafa Akyol writes in Foreign Policy:

It is no secret that President Recep Tayyip Erdogans 'New Turkey', which was hailed five years ago as the shining model of a Muslim democracy, now looks rather bleak. Turkey makes the news today not because of its domestic reforms and regional 'soft power', but because of its increasingly authoritarian regime and frequent terror attacks."

Given this ideological ambition of Erdogan, the question is: how does Erdogans diplomatic visit to India augur well for the secular and democratic credentials of the country? An earlier article in Firstpost has succinctly answered this: "It is staggering to think that Erdogan  who wields power as a repressive, paranoid autocrat and has cemented his position through a dubious referendum  has the temerity to lecture a democratic India on 'human rights'."

In his "lecture" at Jamia Millia Islamia, Erdogan said that he was delighted to receive the Doctors of Letters from a university which has played a pivotal role not only in Indias freedom movement but also in the Khilafat movement in the 1920s. In fact, Khilafat or Caliphate is the only ideal system of governance for the political Islamists even in this day and age of flourishing democracy. It is not difficult to see why this particular visit is a glad tiding for the Erdoganists in Turkey and their sympathisers and supporters in India who consider him the future Islamic caliph or amir-ul-muminin (chief of the believers).

Interestingly, both Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Narendra Modi hailed the cultural synthesis between the Indian and Turkish communities. While Erdogan, during his address in Jamia, stressed on "cultural and educational cooperation" as potential areas to advance the Indo-Turkish relations, Modi in his meet with the Turkish President, reiterated his cliche that Sufism is a common ground between Indian and Turkish cultures. In his speech, Modi also referred to Rumis notion of tolerance and pluralism celebrating the spiritual synergy between the two countries. But ironically, much against Modi's expectation, Erdogan is shifting from the age-old Sufi tradition of Turkey to the modern and attractive fashion of political Islam.

Professor Anwar Alam, who has previously taught international relations at Zirve University in Turkey writes: "With his aspiration of becoming a political leader of the Muslim world and in view of his Islamically lashed anti-West polarising discourses, Erdogan is fast becoming a source of Islamic radicalism across the Muslim world." This is a point that the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon has also noted in his latest work, Choices: Inside Making of Indias Foreign Policy (2016).

In his visit to India, the Turkish president mainly focused on "trade and terror" and said that terrorism has to be fought collectively. "It is unfair to associate terrorism with any specific religion," he said in his address at Jamia, particularly castigating the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. Erdogan, who himself advances the theory of Khilafat or "Islamic caliphate", lambasts the Islamic State (ISIS)!

On the other hand, Erdogan endorses the religious extremism growing in his country in the grab of political Islam. As a political Islamist leader, he wants his own Islamic state in Turkey. Since the time his party, Justice and Development Party (abbreviated as AKP in Turkish) came to power, Islamism has been employed in Turkey in a brutal way to further the political ends. The Islamist leaders of this Turkish political party profess and practise Islam as an ideology, rather than a spiritual path. Thus, it is self-evident that they will end up with the creation of an Islamic caliphate, sooner or later, which will ultimately eliminate the country's deep-rooted liberalism and secular democracy. Given this ideological perspective, caution is warranted on the Indian government's bid to enhance ties with the political Islamist regime of the present-day Turkey.
Kathmandu: The Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in Nepal received a major blow on Monday, after one of the ruling coalition partners, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, decided to withdraw from the government over the impeachment motion against the chief justice.

A meeting of the party's central committee decided to pull out support following the impeachment motion registered in Parliament against Chief Justice Sushila Karki by two other ruling coalition parties, Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre), on Sunday.

There was no immediate reaction from the Prime Minister's Office over the fate of the coalition of seven parties. "The decision to impeach Karki by the ruling Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre is an attack on the judiciary, and our party does not support such a move," the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said, announcing its decision to leave the government.

Nepal has seen hectic political developments following the decision to impeach the first woman chief justice, with Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi quitting his post on Sunday following his reservation over the impeachment decision.

The Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre have accused Karki of interfering in the jurisdiction of the executive and failing to issue verdicts without being prejudiced.

The government's decision to appoint a new police chief and a subsequent ruling by the Supreme Court led to a serious feud between the executive and judiciary, leading to the ruling party deciding to impeach the chief justice, causing an uproar in Nepal.

With just two weeks to go for the first phase of local level elections on 14 May, the series of political incidents has put the fate of the polls in a limbo, with the resignation of the home minister adding to the quandary ahead of the polls. The home minister is in charge of overall security of the country.

Kamal Thapa, chairman of the RPP that decided to withdraw support on Monday, heads the Local Development Ministry that is in charge of coordinating various 477 local units.

Amid the crisis, a meeting of the top Nepal Army brass on Sunday night further fueled political uncertainties in Nepal. The emergency meeting called by army chief general Rajendra Chettri on Sunday assessed the latest political situation and decided to maintain extra vigil across the country.

Nepal is holding local level polls on 14 May and 14 June. Major Madhes-based party, Rastriya Janata Party, has already declared it would not participate in the 14 May polls.

Another party, Madhesi Janadhikar Foum, that has 18 votes and is extending support to the government, has threatened to pull out its support on Tuesday, which would put the government in a minority.

MJF is all set to hold the party central committee meeting on Tuesday to take a final call, and is likely to withdraw support to the government, said a leader.

In the midst of this unprecedented political turmoil, Prime Minister Prachanda said that elections on 14 May will take place at any cost. The Election Commission has set Tuesday as a deadline to file nominations for the first round of elections but the fast changing political situation has put a question mark on the fate of the local polls.
Albany: New York Democrats have hatched a plan to get a look at Donald Trump's tax records by crafting a piece of legislation designed to get at his state returns that does everything but mention the Republican president by name.

The bill introduced this month in New York's Senate and Assembly would require the state to release five years of state tax information for any president or vice president who files a New York state return.

While Trump's state return wouldn't include all the details from his federal return, it would offer the public much more information about the president's potential conflicts of interest or how his finances would be impacted by his own tax cut proposal, according to supporters.

Democrats in New York and more than two dozen states have crafted bills that would require presidential candidates to release their federal returns in order to appear on that state's ballot. None of those, however, would require Trump to release old returns. New York state "is in a unique position to change the national conversation," according to Democratic Sen. Brad Hoylman, of Manhattan, because the president is a native New Yorker.

"This is drawing a line in the sand: Are you for transparency or not?" Hoylman said. "This is an issue of national security."

The Democrat-led state Assembly is likely to support the measure but not the Senate, where Republicans are in charge.

"This sounds like a PR stunt," said Scott Reif, a spokesman for the Senate GOP.

The requirement would also apply to the state's two U.S. senators and top state positions like Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Schneiderman and Cuomo, both Democrats, have voluntarily released their tax returns for years.

Tax returns  state and federal  are almost always considered personal information and aren't subject to public scrutiny. Every president since Jimmy Carter has released his tax returns.

Trump has so far refused, however, saying he would release them when the Internal Revenue Service completes an ongoing audit.

On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the president has no intention to release the documents and that Americans already have "plenty of information" about his finances.

Trump, a billionaire, owns a global real estate, marketing and property management company, which at the start of his presidency, he placed in a trust that he can revoke at any time. His daughter and son-in-law, both White House advisers, are also holding onto significant business assets. And Trump's adult sons run his Trump Organization.

Lawmakers in New York likely have the legal authority to require the state to release tax returns, according to George Yin, a professor of law and taxation at the University of Virginia. Yin is a past chief of staff to Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation.

"The larger question is whether getting the state returns will provide the kind of information that people have been seeking, such as information about conflicts of interest and the effects of tax proposals on the president personally," Yin said.

Yin also noted that details about Trump's finances may not be included in his personal returns but instead in the returns for his various business entities.

The New York legislation would face better odds if not for the state Senate's odd partisan dynamics. The 63-seat chamber is now evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, with one vacant seat that's expected to go Democratic in an upcoming special election. But Republicans are in control thanks to the support of several Democrats, known as the Independent Democrats, who broke ranks with their party to empower the GOP.

The IDC supports the bill, according to spokeswoman Candice Giove, though Republicans can still block any effort to bring the bill to a vote.

"Our country deserves to know about the business dealings of our president," she said.
LAGOS Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's health is not as poor as assumed, his wife said on Tuesday, trying to assuage growing concerns in the oil producer over her husband's ability to work.Buhari, 74, did not attend a cabinet meeting last Wednesday, choosing to rest and work from home, his second consecutive absence from the weekly meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo."I wish to inform everyone that his health is not as bad as it's being perceived," his wife Aisha Buhari tweeted. "Meanwhile he carries out his responsibilities during this period."

She did not discuss what Buhari was suffering from, which officials have declined to reveal.She said her husband was meeting the head of the state oil company NNPC and the justice minister on Tuesday night.

"I thank all Nigerians for their concern, love and prayers over my husband's health status," she wrote.

Buhari returned home in March after nearly two months' medical leave in Britain and said he would need more rest and health tests. Details of his medical condition were not disclosed.His spokesman said on Thursday there was no need to worry about him, adding Buhari had gone through the worst period of his recovery in London.Osinbajo, a lawyer who is seen as more business-friendly than Buhari, has played an active role in driving policy changes, chairing cabinet meetings during the president's medical leave. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing, Alexis Akwagyiram and Felix Onuah; Editing by James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: Afghanistan's relationship with India is unacceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like Haqqani network and the Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

"Afghanistan's strongest regional ally is India, that is unacceptable to Pakistan. India is an enemywhile the Afghan government is an ally in the Indian government," Seth Jones, Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center, Rand Corporation said during a Congressional hearing last week.

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against the Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban, so it's a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

"The Pakistani government is continuing with its policy, their strategy of strategic depth, that it views everything through the lens of fighting India," Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation.

"That unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India to establish strategic depth in Afghanistan, it's come back to bite them with groups like the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, and other groups which have attacked the Pakistani state," Roggio said.

"Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, until they come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist for decades," Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan said that in recent years the US has given over USD 33 billion in some form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that support a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Jones said it's a serious problem.

"I would support as the US did last year when it has a strike against the Taliban leader, as it did with Mullah Mansour to take that strike. I mean, I think it's worth considering the cost and benefits, but I would applaud the administration for targeting the Taliban leader last year," he said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise that when a US drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in May 2016, he was in South-western Pakistan.

"The laundry list of evidence of Pakistan's support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al Qaida leader and America's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch, what they called counter-terrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targetting the Pakistani Taliban and not the Afghan Taliban," he said.

Speaking about Islamic State, he said: "Islamic State announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. Islamic State presence in Afghan further complicates the country's tourist landscape." He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the Islamic State-affiliate in Afghanistan known as "ISIS Khorasan Province.
Islamabad: Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India's visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, "We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all."

The Pakistan Foreign Office reacted positively to this. "Pakistan welcomes the Turkish president's offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue," it said, in a statement on Monday night.

Erdogan's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India. The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India asserted that the Kashmir issue is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism. However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogan's remarks, saying, "Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues" in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the Foreign Office said.

It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community, including the US, have urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security.
New York: A Pakistani-origin Muslim flight attendant in the US has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that his co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and part of Hezbollah and the Taliban.

Farkhan Mahmood Shah, of Edison, New Jersey, also claims in the lawsuit, filed recently in the Superior Court in Middlesex County, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents came to his house after he complained about the harassment to company officials.

Shah alleges that he was targeted for religious and ethnic harassment after the attacks of 11 September, NJ.com reported.

American Airlines failed to stop the harassment after he reported it, Shah claims in the lawsuit.

Shah, who started working at the airline in 1999 as a flight attendant, says in the suit that he was called a terrorist, part of Hezbollah and the Taliban, and other offensive names.

On one flight, he claims another flight attendant tried to convert him from Islam to Christianity.

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shah's lawsuit.

"American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Miller was quoted as saying.

Shah said he reported the alleged harassment in 2008 when he began to notice erroneous marks on his record for being late and missing work.

The complaint escalated to the airline's New York human resources office in 2013 following numerous complaints where he also brought up the record errors, the suit said.

In 2014, Shah and his co-workers were having a conversation about 9/11 and one of the workers said, "it was the Muslims and that Muslims are evil," according to the suit.

Shah responded that some had said the terrorist attack was an inside job, and Islamic State was created by the CIA, citing a Hillary Clinton clip he saw, the lawsuit said. Shah claims only his comments were reported to the supervisors.

Weeks later, Shah claims in his suit that he was placed on a "watch list" by American Airlines, and FBI agents showed up at his New Jersey home.

Shah claims the harassment continued over the next two years, as his case was moved around to a number of different human resources representatives without any resolution, according to the suit.

In 2016, he filed a complaint with US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the suit states. Less than two weeks later, Shah claims FBI agents showed up at his house again, asking him if he planned on hurting anyone.

Shah received his Right to Sue letter from the EEOC earlier this year and remains on airline's staff.

The suit, which names American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, seeks damages, attorney fees and other relief.
Davao: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he may turn down an invitation by Donald Trump to visit the United States, as he welcomed three Chinese warships to his home town.

Duterte, who has loosened the Philippines' long alliance with the United States while strengthening ties with China and Russia, said he could not commit to the American president because of a busy schedule that included a trip to Moscow.

"I am tied up. I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia, I am supposed to go to Israel," he told reporters when asked about Trump's invitation made in a telephone call on Saturday.

Duterte expressed concerns about not being able to fit in a visit to Trump even though no firm date has yet been proposed for it. Nevertheless, Duterte said relations with the United States were improving now that Trump had taken over from Barack Obama, who criticised the Philippine president for his anti-drug war that has claimed thousands of lives.

Rights groups have warned Duterte may be orchestrating a crime against humanity, with police and vigilantes committing mass murder. But Duterte insists his security forces are not breaking any laws.

Duterte last year branded Obama a "son of a whore" in response to the criticism. He also declared while in Beijing last year that the Philippines had "separated" from the United States.

The United States is the Philippines' former colonial ruler and the nations are bound by a mutual defence treaty. Duterte said his efforts to loosen the

alliance were only a response to the drug war criticism. "It was not a distancing (of relations) but it was rather a rift between me and the (US) State Department and Mr Obama, who spoke openly against me," he said.

"Things have changed, there is a new leadership. He wants to make friends, he says we are friends so why should we pick a fight?" Duterte's comments came shortly after he visited three Chinese warships visiting his home town, the southern city of Davao on Mindanao island.

"This is part of confidence-building and goodwill and to show we are friends and that is why I welcome them," he said. Duterte has pursued closer relations with the Chinese government even though Beijing has taken control of a fishing shoal and built artificial islands in parts of the South China Sea that are within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

China claims nearly all of the strategically vital waterway, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbours. Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have claims in

the sea. China's expansionism in the waters have triggered concern regionally and in the West, with its new artificial islands capable of serving as military bases.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set Tuesday to rejoin the ruling party after an absence of almost three years, the first major change to come into effect following the referendum victory on boosting his powers.

Erdogan last month narrowly won a referendum on a new constitution creating a presidential system with just over 51 percent of the vote.

Under the old system, the head of state had to sever ties with their political party. Erdogan had to leave the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) when he became president in August 2014 after more than a decade as premier.

But a key change is that the president can be a member of a political party, allowing Erdogan to return to the AKP which he co-founded in 2001 as a new Islamic-rooted force in Turkish politics and which has dominated the scene ever since.

Erdogan will be welcomed as a new member at a ceremony at party headquarters in Ankara and he is then expected to give a speech, according to AKP spokesman Yasin Aktay.

Aktay said Erdogan will also likely be reinstalled as party chairman on 21 May at an extraordinary AKP congress.

"During this congress, there will be an election and we envisage that the president will be elected as party chairman," Aktay told reporters.

As AKP head, Erdogan will replace Prime Minister Binali Yildirim who is set to stay on as premier.

The new constitution envisages sweeping changes including the abolition of the premier's post and giving the head of state power to appoint ministers.

But these changes will only come into force after November 2019 elections and the party membership shift is one of the few measures to take effect before then.

Erdogan co-founded the AKP along with other conservative heavyweights, including his predecessor Abdullah Gul who has yet to return to the party following his 2007-2014 presidency.

There was speculation in the Turkish media about whether Gul would attend the ceremony but Aktay said special invitations had not been made.

Supporters of the new system say it will bring Turkey efficient governance but opponents fear it will set the country on the path to authoritarian rule.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Tuesday that Turkey would bring the curtain down on its over half-century bid to join the European Union if new accession chapters were not opened.

Erdogan's threat to say "goodbye" to the EU came just minutes after he rejoined Turkey's ruling party in the first major change to take effect following a controversial vote to boost his powers.

Relations between Ankara and Brussels have tumbled to unprecedented lows following a failed military coup against Erdogan in July.

The EU is troubled by the state of human rights in Turkey, particularly after widespread purges, while Ankara has lashed out at what it sees as a lack of solidarity from the bloc.

Erdogan last month narrowly won a referendum on sweeping constitutional changes to create a presidential system. But the victory was contested by the opposition and received only the most tepid of welcomes in Brussels.

"There is no option other than opening chapters that you have not opened until now," Erdogan said, referring to the individual policy areas that need to be concluded before Turkey joins the EU.

"If you open, then great. If you don't open, then goodbye," Erdogan said. "Turkey is not their (the EU's) doorman."

Sixteen chapters have been opened out of a total of 35 since accession talks began in October 2005, although Turkey's bid to be a part of the bloc dates back to the 1960s.

"First you have to handle these chapters and fulfil your promises. Then we will sit at the able and talk. Otherwise, we have nothing left to discuss with you," Erdogan said.

Some EU states -- led by Austria -- have suggested that membership talks should be frozen.

But EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said on Friday that negotiations had not been halted and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel also said that Berlin was "strictly against breaking off the accession talks."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in an interview with A Haber TV, indicated that Erdogan would finally meet top EU officials when he travels to Brussels for the May 24-25 NATO summit.

"Later, there will be a big summit, a Turkey-EU summit. The timing will be clear after the talks on the NATO margins," Cavusoglu added.

Erdogan, who Monday returned from a visit to India, will however first be visiting Russia, China and the United States in an indication of Turkey's priorities.

Erdogan made the warning to the EU in a key policy speech that followed his formal return to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Under Turkey's former constitution, the head of state had to sever ties with their political party and Erdogan had to leave the AKP when he became president in August 2014 after more than a decade as premier.

The reforms permit the president to be a member of a political party, allowing Erdogan to return to the AKP which he co-founded in 2001 as a new Islamic-rooted force in Turkish politics and which has dominated the scene ever since.

Supporters of the changes say they will bring Turkey efficient governance but opponents fear they will set the country on the path to authoritarian rule.

Erdogan was welcomed as a new member at a special ceremony at party headquarters in Ankara attended by hundreds of AKP officials led by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Erdogan, who has four children, has described the AKP as his "fifth child" and has never made a secret of his desire to return to the fold.

"I was forced to leave the party I co-founded, my home, my love. This longing is thankfully coming to an end," he told the officials, some of whom were in tears.

"I am a member of my party again. This was just an official separation. Our hearts are together, always together."

He is keen to sharpen the party's performance ahead of polls scheduled for 2019, after the 'No' vote came out on top in key battlegrounds in the 16 April referendum including Ankara and Istanbul.

Yildirim confirmed that Erdogan will also be reinstalled as party chairman on 21 May at an extraordinary AKP congress.

The new constitution envisages major changes including the abolition of the premier's post and giving the head of state power to appoint ministers.

But these changes will only come into force after elections scheduled for November 2019 and the party membership shift is one of the few measures to take effect before then.
WASHINGTON The U.S. military received a record number of sexual assault reports in 2016, the Pentagon said on Monday, calling it a sign of service members' trust in the system.Sexual assault and harassment in the U.S. military has come under scrutiny after a scandal involving some Marines sharing nude photos of women online came to light. The U.S. military has opened an inquiry and senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill have denounced the violations.Service members reported 6,172 cases of sexual assault in 2016 compared to 6,082 last year, an annual military report showed. This was a sharp jump from 2012 when 3,604 cases were reported."We see the increase in rates of reporting as an indicator of a continued trust in our response and support systems," said Elizabeth Van Winkle, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defence for readiness, at a press conference.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, in a statement, questioned if there was actual progress."The truth is that the scourge of sexual assault in the military remains status quo," she said.

"Today's report disappointedly shows a flat overall reporting rate and a retaliation rate against survivors that remains at an unacceptable six out of 10 for a third year in a row."Within the report was an anonymous survey, conducted every two years, which found that 14,900 service members experienced some kind of sexual assault in 2016, from rape to groping, down from 20,300 in 2014.

But 58 percent of victims experienced reprisals or retaliation for reporting sexual assault, the report showed."The fight to end sexual assault, sexual harassment and related misconduct in the military is far from over," said Van Winkle. "We do not confuse progress with success."The Marine Corps has been rattled by a scandal involving a private Facebook group called "Marines United" and its surreptitious distribution of explicit images of women in the armed forces, often with obscene, misogynist commentary. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Richard Chang)

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US-backed militias said on Monday that they had pushed Islamic State fighters out of the old quarters of Tabqa, a strategically vital town controlling Syria's largest dam, hemming the militants into the remaining modern district along the shore, reported Reuters.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces is the most effective ground force battling Islamic State in Syria and will most likely lead the offensive to capture Raqqa in the near future.

Tabqa is both the name of the town and the dam and capturing both would allow the US-backed SDF to advance on Islamic State's main Syrian stronghold Raqqa. The town is a major part of the Kurdish-Arab assault to cut off the Islamic State group from it's informal capital in Syria.

It sits on a strategic supply route about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqqa and served as a key Islamic State command base.

The battle taking place in this town is an operation that is part of the Raqqa offensive, dubbed Operation Wrath of Euphrates, of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State. The goal of the operation is for the SDF to capture the Tabqa Dam, al-Thawrah city, Tabqa Airbase, and the surrounding countryside from Islamic State.

The assault on Tabqa began in late March when SDF forces and their US-led coalition allies were airlifted behind Islamic State lines. A US airlift of artillery and special forces advisers that placed them behind Islamic State lines was a turning point in the Tabqa offensive and underscored the closeness between Washington and the SDF.

The SDF surrounded Tabqa in early April before pushing into the city on 24 April, as part of their flagship offensive for Raqqa further east.

That assault was launched in November and has seen SDF fighters capture swathes of countryside around the city.

In recent weeks the SDF has also squeezed Islamic State's pocket of territory around Raqqa, which the jihadist group has used as a base to plot attacks and manage much of its self-declared caliphate since seizing the city in 2014.

The population of the town has dwindled from 250,000 before Syrias conflict erupted in 2011 to 75,000, according to reports. Apart from this, it also houses jihadists and their families which have come from Arab countries, Europe, Australia and the United States. The Islamic State has important command base in the city and also their main prison.

In 2014, the town witnessed a series of clashes between the Islamic State and the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian Civil War. Al-Tabqa was the last bastion for Syrian military forces in Raqqa province, which at the end of the battle came fully under the control of the Islamic State.

While the dam has strategic importance for the forces trying to capture Raqqa, the dam is also essential to the economy of the surrounding area. It has specific geographical features which makes it an important asset in the area.

Islamic State still controls the dam.

Geographical features of the dam

Located in Raqqa province, the dam is built on the 2,800-kilometre-long (more than 1,700-mile-long) Euphrates River, which flows from Turkey through northern Syria and east into Iraq.

The dam is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) long, 60 metres (about 200 feet) high and 512 metres (1,680 feet) wide at its base.

Its reservoir, Lake Assad, stretches along 50 kilometres (30 miles) and covers a surface of 630 square kilometres (240 square miles). Its total capacity is 12 billion cubic metres (around 420 billion cubic feet) of water, making it Syria's main reserve.

Soviet help

The Tabqa Dam, also known as the Euphrates Dam, and al-Thawra Dam (Dam of the Revolution), is as important for Syria as the massive Aswan Dam is for Egypt.

Like the latter, it was built with help from the former Soviet Union, a long-time ally of the Syrian regime.

Building began in 1968, and it was inaugurated in July 1973 during the reign of president Hafez al-Assad, father of the current leader Bashar al-Assad.

Vital for the economy

The Euphrates is the main source of water for agriculture and livestock in the region, and the dam has given Raqqa an important role in the Syrian economy.

It was designed to generate 880 megawatts of electricity and provide irrigation for more than 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of land.

But high salt levels in the surrounding land have reduced the amount actually irrigated to less than a third.

Disaster feared

On account of earlier bombings, facilities near the dam have gone out of service. The bombing also causes risk of rising water levels, according to an AFP report.

The UN's humanitarian coordination agency OCHA has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor", a province downstream.

Syrian farmers near the Euphrates say they are terrified Islamic State will blow up the dam to defend Raqqa, drowning their tiny villages in the process.

"If this happens, it means most of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor will drown, while other towns die of thirst and crops and livestock die," one told AFP.

With inputs from agencies
By Patricia Zengerle

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to China promised on Tuesday to take a firm line with Beijing on issues from North Korea to trade disputes and human rights, and seemed poised for an easy confirmation by the U.S. Senate.Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said he would use his decades of experience with China to press Beijing to do more to encourage North Korea to curb its nuclear ambitions."There's other things they can do diplomatically and economically to send a clear signal that they, as well as the United States and other countries in the world, do not tolerate this expansion of nuclear technology and missiles," Branstad said at his confirmation hearing.Pressed, Branstad said "there may well be" a role for measures such as imposing secondary sanctions on Chinese banks or other entities that violated U.N. Security Council resolutions by doing business with Pyongyang.He offered few specifics.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called Branstad, 70, an "old friend" after decades of dealings on agricultural trade. But the Republican governor insisted he would take on difficult issues complicating Washington's relationship with its largest trading partner and major creditor.That would contrast with Trump's recent warm words for Xi, which have caused some U.S. allies to wonder if Trump's focus on working with China on North Korea means Washington may not still have their backs."The fact that the leader of China calls us an old friend, doesn't mean that I'm going to be at all reluctant or bashful of bringing up issues ... be it human rights or intellectual property rights," Branstad told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Committee members expressed few concerns about Branstad, signaling he likely will be confirmed easily.They had tough words for China.

Senator Bob Corker, the panel's Republican chairman, blasted China's actions in the South China Sea, and "cyber theft of intellectual property." He warned against focusing on short-term goals at the expense of long-term U.S. interests."There's no country in the world that we have so many issues with," Corker said.Branstad took a hard line on the South China Sea, saying, "China cannot be allowed to use its artificial islands to coerce its neighbors or limit freedom of navigation or overflight."Trump has taken an "America First" approach to trade. Branstad also stressed the importance of opening markets to agricultural goods, protecting intellectual property and addressing China's "unfair and illegal" sales of low-priced steel. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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By Michelle Nichols

| UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS The United States is negotiating with China on a possible stronger U.N. Security Council response - such as sanctions - to North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches, which the 15-member body normally condemns in a statement, diplomats said.It was not immediately clear how open Beijing might be to new sanctions. The council has traditionally boosted sanctions in response to North Korea's five nuclear tests and two long-range rocket launches. Sanctions were first imposed on Pyongyang in 2006.North Korea has in the past year stepped up its missile tests, firing dozens of various types of rockets, according to South Korea. The most recent test, which failed, came on Friday following a U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson."The cumulative actions of the DPRK (North Korea) since their last nuclear test compel us to look at a range of measures that would apply pressure," said a spokesman for the U.S. Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday.

"As Secretary Tillerson said on Friday, business as usual is not an option. We are exploring options for a response to this series of provocations with our Security Council colleagues," the spokesman said.Tillerson on Friday urged the Security Council to act before North Korea does.

The Trump administration has been aggressively pressing Beijing to rein in its ally and neighbour North Korea, warning that all options were on the table if Pyongyang persists with its nuclear and missile development.But China has said military threats would not help the situation and has accused the United States of fuelling tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to the deployment of the U.S.' THAAD anti-missile defence system in South Korea and urged it to be halted immediately.The last round of complex sanctions imposed by the Security Council took three months to negotiate following Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test in September. Those measures aimed to cut North Korea's annual export revenue by a quarter.

Traditionally, the United States and China have negotiated new sanctions before involving remaining council members. U.N. diplomats said the current talks were still just between the pair.At a minimum, the United States could push China to agree to condemn North Korea's missile launches in a resolution, instead of a statement, which may also blacklist more people and entities tied to the country's ballistic missile program.This is what the council did in 2013 in response to North Korea's first launch of a long-range rocket, using ballistic missile technology, in 2012. Pyongyang said the rocket put a weather satellite into orbit. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by G Crosse)

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By Andrew Cawthorne and Alexandra Ulmer

| CARACAS

CARACAS Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced on Monday a vote for a new popular assembly with capacity to re-write the constitution, but foes said it was an attempt to cling to power amid major protests."I don't want a civil war," Maduro told a May Day rally of supporters in downtown Caracas while elsewhere across the city security forces fired tear gas at youths hurling stones and petrol bombs after opposition marches were blocked. Maduro has triggered an article of the constitution that allows for the reformation of all public powers, as his predecessor Hugo Chavez did in 1999 soon after winning office in the South American OPEC nation."I convoke the original constituent power to achieve the peace needed by the Republic, defeat the fascist coup, and let the sovereign people impose peace, harmony and true national dialogue," Maduro told red-shirted supporters. Opponents feared a vote on whether to create the assembly could give extra weight to pro-government workers' groups and be manipulated in Maduro's favour. They said it was another attempt to sideline the current opposition-led National Assembly and keep the unpopular Maduro in office amid a bruising recession and unrest that has led to 29 deaths in the last month."Faced with the dictator's announcement of the constitutional fraud of the constituent assembly, people should go to the street and disobey such craziness," opposition leader Henrique Capriles said.More than 400 people have been injured and hundreds more arrested since the unrest began in early April.While Maduro alleges a U.S.-backed coup plot, foes say he has wrecked the economy and become a tyrant.

Earlier on Monday National Guard troops shot teargas in a district of west Caracas towards hundreds of opposition protesters standing around waiting to march."For no reason, they are starting to repress us," lawmaker Jose Olivares said via a messaging app, as demonstrators took cover behind trees and walls and opposition lawmakers streamed video of the protest from their phones. Olivares was injured in the head by a gas canister, the opposition said.Elsewhere, the National Guard blocked marchers pouring towards a major highway in front of the Avila mountain on Caracas' northern edge. Opposition supporters cheered as youths ran to the front, carrying makeshift shields made from trash bin lids, wood and even a satellite dish. "NOONE TURN BACK!"

Some, wearing motorbike helmets, swimming goggles or bandanas over their mouths, threw stones and petrol bombs at the security line, with a protester yelling "No one turn back!"Others blocked roads in Caracas' wealthier Chacao area with branches and fences. One woman loaded Molotov cocktails from a beer crate onto a motorbike where two men took them to the front line.Government opponents are demanding general elections, autonomy for the legislature where they have a majority, freedom for more than 100 jailed activists and a humanitarian aid channel from abroad to offset Venezuela's brutal economic crisis. In central Caracas, where the socialists have traditionally held their rallies, government supporters cheered a huge inflatable doll of Chavez and railed against opposition "terrorists."

"The workers are in the street to defend our president against the violent coup-mongers," said Aaron Pulido, 29, a union worker with migration department Saime, in downtown Caracas among a sea of red banners. "They destroyed five Saime offices around Venezuela in the last month ... There's never violence in our marches," he added. The government laid on hundreds of buses for its backers but closed subway stations in the capital and set up roadblocks, impeding opposition mobilization.Some government workers acknowledged they had been coerced into attending Monday's pro-Maduro rally. "We're here because they tell us to. If not, there are problems," a 34 year-old employee with a state aluminium company, just off a bus after an all-night journey from southern Ciudad Bolivar, told a journalist until a supervisor cut off the conversation. Millions of Venezuelans are struggling to eat three square meals a day or afford basic medicines."Who can stand this? So much hunger, misery, crime ... The prices are going up far more than the salary rises," said social security worker Sonia Lopez, 34, at the opposition demonstration in west Caracas, as she waved a Venezuelan flag signed by now jailed opposition politician Antonio Ledezma. (Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Alexandra Ulmer, additonal reporting by Marco Bello, Diego Ore, Andreina Aponte and Carlos Rawlins; Editing by W Simon and Andrew Hay)

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Written by the Editorial Board of The Guardian Newspaper





Although it seemed like an ordinary congratulatory message from one head of state to another of a friendly nation, President Muhammadu Buharis public felicitation with the government and people of Turkey on the successful conclusion of the countrys referendum was an unfortunate utterance and a dubious eulogy. The generous but needless accolades on the regime of controversial President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose leadership has been lampooned by damning criticisms, questions the rationale behind President Buharis statement.



Moreover, the praises showered on the referendum as a reflection of democratic culture were also self-indicting since they stand in contrast to certain actions taken by this administration. Viewed against the stark reality on ground in Nigeria, Buharis utterance might either be seen as made tongue-in-cheek or outrightly misguided. It was therefore expected that given the evident inconsistencies, Buharis congratulatory message was bound to draw criticism and even fierce condemnation.

According to news reports, The President commended Erdogan for his maturity in leading his people to the polls to decide on the future of leadership for the country that would further deepen peace and stability. It went on to interpret the president as stating that ithe referendum showcases the democratic credentials of the country and reflects a willingness of the Turkish people to live together and jointly pursue a better future.

In the contention of some, Buharis seeming innocuous statement might well have been a tacit endorsement of President Erdogan, a man, who has cracked down on opposition, emasculated rights groups, contemplated autarchy, and is degrading Turkeys dicey secularism to a complicated religious state.

But beyond the perceived endorsement of President Erdogans alleged despotic tendencies, Buharis eulogy not only questions the motive of such salutary comments, but also provides opportunity for Nigeria to reflect on its foreign policy. Since that 1960 Independence speech passionately delivered by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigerias first prime minister, Nigeria has left no one in doubt that its foreign policy would be centred on Africa. This would be fostered through the exemplary leadership of a greater Nigeria built on the infinite potential of its rich diversity.

So far, throughout its political history, Nigeria has nurtured and maintained that status with steady progress. Nigerias paternalistic but forceful role in the fight against the apartheid regime of South Africa, and in the liberation of the frontline states in that sub-region are reference cases in regional cooperation and comradeship. Its leading position over more developed western nations in peace-keeping missions both in Africa and the world at large has remained unsurpassed even to this day. Its status as a cultural birthplace of the black world is a fact which contemporary politics of difference has demonstrated.

The tenacity and industry of its people, the peoples determination, positive aggression and inclination towards accentuating life and good cheer as well as their capacity to economically transform whatever geographical space they occupy outside their homeland, are unique qualities of the Nigerian. Little wonder then, the great Madiba, Nelson Mandela, in his sagely reflection about the resurgence of the black people would assert: iThe world will not respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The black people of the world need Nigeria to be great as a source of pride and confidence.

If the wise and experienced know this about Nigeria, it is pertinent to raise certain disturbing queries, as for instance: Where did Nigeria miss it all? How did such big dreams begin to pale into wishful fantasy as hope beckoned? Where did Nigeria miss it in such a manner that our president would begin to misconstrue the routine act of despots as heroic democratic culture worthy of emulation?

Nigerians should be wary, if not, averse, to any form of ego-tripping and sectionalist tendencies that obviate the aspirations of the collective. It would not be far from the truth to hold that selfishness, false unitarism reminiscent of Erdogans despotic machinations, brash dictatorship of subsequent administrations, especially the military junta and their civilian cohorts, have been the bane of a progressive Nigeria. Ever since the unitary government started taking over the progressive development landmarks of the different regions such as the universities, the media organisations and other regional enterprises, the appreciation and promotion of Nigerias diversity was destroyed.

As this newspaper has always expressed, Nigeria needs to engage in conscious and deliberate extrication of its people from the morass of poor leadership and visionlessness. For too long, Nigeria has steered off course; little or nothing reflects the erstwhile potential captured in the glowing eulogy of her founding fathers. For Nigeria to return to its focused journey towards greatness, it must be self aware of the existential destinies of its many peoples, understand their aspirations and needs, respect the right of peoples to their natural endowment, and reflect these rich diverse endowment, potentials, resources as power through constructive social engineering and proper management effected by the best of its human capital.

This, by all means, would demand national rebirth nurtured by effective historical and cultural education and facilitated by a radical educational curriculum review. It would also require a return to the traditional moral values that instilled discipline, sacrifice, fellow-feeling, honesty and respect for the community.

True, Turkey might have successfully leveraged upon its medieval heritage to transform itself into a regional power and influential cultural hub, Nigeria too has all it takes to return to its glorious past.

The point being highlighted here is that nations that have been known to assert themselves internationally are nations that have identified their vision and are working assiduously to attain measurable goals by solving their own local problems through home-grown solutions. They have also been known to nurture a collective national agenda with which they carve a niche for themselves in the global space and convert their endowment into power.

Nigeria, with all its endowment, be they natural resources, favourable environmental advantage, strategic position in the global space, and its unrivalled diversity and plentiful human resources, has no excuse not to convert such richness into power and global respect.
The United States is shocked and deeply saddened by the death of a U.S. citizen serving as a paramedic with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, Special Monitoring Mission. The paramedic was killed when his vehicle struck an explosive in separatist controlled territory in eastern Ukraine.

Acting State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner said the death "underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which these courageous monitors work, including access restrictions, threats, and harassment. The United States urges Russia to use its influence with the separatists to allow the OSCE to conduct a full, transparent, and timely investigation."

Since its establishment in 2014, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has played a vital role in overseeing the Minsk agreements designed to bring peace to eastern Ukraine. This incident makes clear the need for all sides - and particularly the Russian-led separatist forces - to fully implement their commitments under the Minsk Agreements immediately.

This includes a real and durable ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons, and disengagement from the line of contact. The brave monitors of the OSCE have the full support of the United States. Mr. Toner said, "We condemn in the strongest terms all acts of hostility and intimidation toward [the OSCE] monitors. They must also have safe, full, and unfettered access throughout the conflict zone."

The United States again calls upon Russia to use its influence with the separatists to take the first step toward peace in eastern Ukraine and ensure a visible, verifiable, and irreversible improvement in the security situation. Russias actions in eastern Ukraine remain an obstacle to improved relations with the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by phone recently and reiterated the United States firm commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. Secretary Tillerson confirmed that sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control of the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine and fully implements its commitments in the Minsk Agreements.
Microsoft will host an event in New York City this week on May 2nd that focuses on education. Even though we cant expect Surface Book 2 or Surface Pro 5, the company is expected to introduce a Surface Laptop running Windows 10 S at the event. Thanks to @h0x0d and @evleaks, we now know how the Surface Laptop will look like and some specifications of it.

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According to rumors, the laptop will feature a 13.5-in PixelSense display with 3.4 million pixels and come in 4 colors  Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue and Graphite Gold. It also comes in Alcantara-covered keyboard and runs Windows 10 S, which is Windows 10 Cloud that is similar to Chrome OS running on Googles Chromebooks.

Microsofts usual hardware partners are also expected to release new devices running Windows 10 S at different price points to compete with Chromebooks.

The keyboard looks like Surface Pros Type cover and the looks similar that of the Surface Book. It doesnt look like the keyboard is removable. On the left side there is a USB-A port, DisplayPort and audio combo jack. On the right side there is a SD card slot. The laptop is said to weigh just 1.25 kgs and will be 14.47mm thin at the back and 9.9mm thin at the front.

We still dont know how much it would cost, but it could be similar to some Chromebook Pixel. The Microsoft education event starts at 9:30AM ET / 6:30AM PT (7:00 PM IST) on Tuesday, May 2nd. We should know all the details about the Microsoft Surface Laptop in a few hours.

Source 1, 2, 3
Finnish handset maker Nokia made its entry into the smartphone market with Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 powered by Android OS at the MWC earlier this year. Nokia also unveiled its ever famous feature phone  Nokia 3310 with refreshed design. In addition to Warm Red, Dark Blue, Yellow and Grey color, the handset manufacturer HMD global is now offering their Instagram followers a chance to design limited edition of Nokia 3310 for them.

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Talking about the criteria, anyone with good creativity and passionate about designing can apply for this. The lucky winner (one entrant) will be picked based on their creative work selected by the top officials. On top of receiving the exclusive Nokia 3310, the lucky winner will be the artist behind limited edition packaging for the phone.

So if you are interested, the entrants need to upload their Nokia 3310 design to Instagram with the hashtag #3310art and follow @Nokiamobile, where full competition details are available in the bio. Submitted designs will be judged by HMD Global and I Love Dust, a UK-based design studio, on originality, creativity, and positivity  giving creatives the freedom to create completely unique and original designs.

The competition will open globally and run until Wednesday 10th May, 2017. For more information regarding this contest, you can check here.

Commenting on the new competition, Pekka Rantala, Chief Marketing Officer of HMD Global, said:
Samsungs flagship Galaxy S8 series of phones come with dedicated Bixby hardware button that lets you access Bixby Voice by pressing and holding it. At the announcement Samsung said that Bixby will only understand US English and Korean. It also confirmed that Bixby Voice will only be available in Korean initially and the English version will be available later.

Now it has launched Bixby Voice assistant in Korea, few weeks after the phone went on sale in the country. You can use Bixby voice commands in 10 of Samsung apps such as Samsung Health, Samsung Internet, Gallery, Calculator, Weather, Reminder, Camera, Phone, Contacts and Clock. It is testing using Bixby Labs with Samsung Pay and some third-party applications like KakaoTalk messenger, Facebook and YouTube.

You can give verbal orders to change settings, sort photos and bookmark webpages. Samsung said that with Bixby Voice, users can perform over 3,000 tasks and it can learn how to recognize the way millions of users speak.

Bixby voice will be available in English by the first half of 2017 that ends in June, with more languages such as Chinese and Spanish later this year.

Source
Every month the U.N. Security Council holds a discussion on Middle East issues that has become an opportunity for Council members to routinely bash Israel. That is, until now.

At this months open debate on the Middle East, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley criticized this absurdly biased and painfully narrow formula. These meetings do nothing to bring the parties closer together, she said. Peace [between Israel and the Palestinians] will only come from direct negotiations, not from one-sided Security Council meetings and one-sided resolutions.

Ambassador Haley urged her colleagues in the Security Council to speak honestly about the various conflicts in the Middle East. To do so, she said, We need to start with the chief culprit: Iran and its partner militia, Hezbollah.

Ambassador Haley stated that in Lebanon, Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, uses towns to shield its arsenals of tens of thousands of illegal rockets. In Syria, Irans militias stand side by side with Syrian troops as they slaughter the Syrian people. At times Hezbollah is commanding Bashar al-Assads fighters. Reportedly it is even recruiting Syrian children to indoctrinate a new generation with its toxic ideology.

Hezbollah is a terrorist group spreading its influence across the Middle East with the backing of a state sponsor[Iran and Hezbollah] are working together to expand extremist ideologies in the Middle East, Ambassador Haley said. That is the threat that should be dominating our discussion at this Security Council.

In response to the threat, the United States imposed targeted sanctions on Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard  Qods Force and Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security for their support of the Assad regime. The U.S. has designated members of Iranian-backed terrorist organizations in Bahrain. In addition, the U.S. continues to vigorously enforce sanctions against Iran, including those related to Irans support for terrorism and destabilizing regional activities.

Irans ballistic missile tests defy Security Council resolutions and further undermine the stability in the region, Ambassador Haley said. We call on all states to fully implement Resolution 2231, which strictly circumscribes the transfer of weapons to and from Iran, as well as the arms embargoes against the Houthis in Resolution 2216 and for Lebanon in Resolution 1701.

The incredibly destructive nature of Iranian and Hezbollah activities throughout the Middle East demands much more of our attention, Ambassador Haley said. It should become this Councils priority in the region.
As their investors know, North America drives Detroit automakers' profits, especially Ford Motor Company's (NYSE: F). The region generated $1.99 billion of the Blue Oval's total automotive (not including Ford Credit) first-quarter pre-tax profit of $1.97 billion -- yes, the other regions combined to drag the total down. But Ford's European region, with a gradual recovery and abrupt Brexit impact, and China, with slower growth but explosive long-term potential, continue to be critical for the company. Both were important elements of Ford's first quarter. Here's what investors need to know.

World's largest auto market

It's not difficult to understand why investors and automakers have long eyed China for growth: China is targeting a staggering 35 million annual vehicle sales by 2025. That's roughly 25% more than current sales there, and double the current size of the U.S. market, which is projected to plateau in the years ahead.

Ford's Mustang in China. Image source: Ford Motor Company.

Unfortunately, Ford faces a choppy 2017 in the world's largest automotive market. As you've probably heard, China raised its new-vehicle purchase tax for small cars with engines up to 1.6 liters, from 5% to 7.5%, on the way to returning to the normal historical rate of 10% in 2018. This impacted roughly 70% of Ford's lineup in China, and definitely hurt demand during the first quarter, sending the Blue Oval's sales down a staggering 19% compared to last year. For context, China's overall market increased sales by 4.6% during the first quarter. That decline put pressure on Ford's Asia-Pacific region, as you can see below.

Image source: Ford's first-quarter presentation,April 27, 2017.

And while China typically drives Ford's Asia-Pacific results, this quarter the contrast between China and the rest of the region was starker than usual. All markets within the region aside from India were profitable, and every market, including India, improved compared to the prior year. Even more interesting was management's belief that despite the slow first quarter, Ford will post a full-year improvement in the region compared to 2016. Ford needs China, and its overall Asia-Pacific region, to turn into a second pillar of revenue growth and bottom-line profits, so savvy investors would be wise to keep a sharp eye on the automaker's results in this region.

Volatility in Europe

The other intriguing story came from Ford's long-maligned European region. Investors knew going into the quarter that Ford would post strong first-quarter sales results, and indeed, the automaker's wholesale figure was up 13% during the period. The rise in wholesale volume helped push revenue 10% higher and increase Ford's market share by 20 basis points. Investors also knew that Ford's hedge against the U.K.'s deteriorating currency was due to run out in the first half of 2017, but it wasn't clear how much this would impact first-quarter results.

Image source: Ford'sfirst-quarterpresentation,April 27,2017.

While currency headwinds played a significant role in the pre-tax profit decline, there's certainly more to the story. Exchange-rate disadvantages cost Ford roughly $125 million during the first quarter in Europe, and its total pre-tax result declined $258 million. One factor was surprising: Net pricing was negative to the tune of $137 million. Higher pricing, worth $207 million, wasn't enough to fully offset the $344 million cost of incentives and "other" items. Also, Ford's structural cost in Europe hit the bottom line for $141 million, due to costs of a major recall, higher volumes of manufacturing, and the launch of the all-new Fiesta.

Throughout 2017, investors should expect Europe to remain profitable -- undoubtedly a positive sign. However, profit will likely be below 2016 levels, as the weaker sterling and costs associated with the Fiesta and EcoSport weigh on the region's profits.

Ford's results in North America will continue to drive the automaker's performance, but those earnings are stable. Therefore, Europe and China, two volatile and critically important markets, will continue to make or break Ford's quarters during 2017. If Ford's volumes in China rebound after the impact of the purchase-tax increase fades, and if the impact of Brexit doesn't weigh on the company more than expected, 2017 will be another strong year -- whether it will be up to Wall Street's expectations is another story.

10 stocks we like better than FordWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Ford wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 3, 2017

Daniel Miller owns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) dominates the fast-food industry with one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. In fact, Mickey D's handled an incredible 15% of the 89 billion visits that people made to all quick-service restaurants last year.

Despite that ubiquity, there are some big changes going on at the fast-food giant that investors might not know about. These shifts could significantly alter both McDonald's finances and the way its brand is seen by customers over the coming years.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. The chain is selling itself.

McDonald's is aiming to sell 4,000 of its company-owned restaurants to franchisees this year as part of a move to dramatically lower its operating base. In 2014, the year before the company launched this initiative, 80% of the chain's locations were franchised. That number hit 85% in 2016, and the company is aiming to push it to 95% over time.

By shifting toward franchising, McDonald's benefits from more predictable revenue, lower operating risk, and higher overall profitability. In the most recent quarter, for example, operating income jumped 13% even as revenue fell 4% -- thanks mainly to refranchising.

In exchange for stronger earnings, McDonald's gives up control over many aspects of the customer experience, and that can make big strategic moves harder to achieve. Chipotle (NYSE: CMG), for example, is likely happy that it doesn't franchise any of its locations. Sure, that setup meant the burrito specialist took the entire hit from lower customer traffic over the past year in the wake of its food safety scare. However, corporate ownership of its restaurants allowed management to make sweeping changes to its food preparations and branding so that it has now returned to posting revenue gains following a year of brutal declines.

2. McDonald's wants to be the world's biggest delivery business.

When you think of delivery specialists, you might picture a company like Amazon, whose network of huge fulfillment centers allows it to get products to most of its customers just days after the minute they click "buy." Soon, though, McDonald's might be the name that comes to mind when you think of delivery.

Image source: McDonald's.

Consider that in its biggest markets, including the U.S, almost 75% of the population lives within three miles of a McDonald's restaurant. As the company explained in its recent global growth plan, that footprint means the chain is "uniquely positioned to become the global leader in delivery."

The fast-food giant has already seen booming results from its delivery offerings in places like China and Singapore, and it's actively testing out models, including partnering with third parties, that would work well in the U.S. Ironically, the company that pioneered the drive-thru could be the one that does the most to remove driving from the fast-food experience.

3. The company knows it messed up

After two years of painful market share losses, the message has gotten through to management that the company lost its way recently. "As customers' expectations increased," executives told investors in March, "McDonald's simply didn't keep pace with them."

The best evidence of that stumble comes from customer traffic, which dropped 2% last year to mark just a minor improvement from the 3% plunge in 2015.

Regaining diners lost to quick-service rivals like Chipotle and Shake Shackis a core pillar in its recovery strategy. McDonald's aims to do that with help from menu improvements like its recent switch to never-frozen beef in its Quarter Pounder. Added value options should help, too, as should its huge push toward adding and promoting digital ordering and payment options.

Customer traffic growth will be the best metric to judge whether the rebound plan is working, or whether McDonald's is doomed to lose market share over the longer term. Its latest results were encouraging on this score in that they showed a slight uptick in traffic that powered a surprisingly robust 4% jump in global sales.

10 stocks we like better than McDonald'sWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now...and McDonald's wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 3, 2017.

Demitrios Kalogeropoulos owns shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald's. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool is short Shake Shack. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A federal agency targeted by President Donald Trump for budget cuts next year has only about half the money needed to build a new Yellowstone River dam and a bypass channel meant to save an endangered fish, but it plans to begin construction anyway.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inked a $36 million contract in 2015 with Ames Construction of Burnsville, Minnesota, to build the concrete dam and a channel in Montana for about 125 wild pallid sturgeon to swim to their spawning grounds that are now blocked by an existing rock dam.

The dinosaur-like pallid sturgeon can grow up to 6 feet (1.83 meters) long.

The Corps has secured only $19 million for the project under what's known as a continuing contract clause, according to project manager Tiffany Vanosdall. The Corps uses the clauses for large civil engineering projects like the dam, with the expectation that Congress will fund the balance in subsequent years to complete the work.

Trump has targeted the Corps for a $1 billion spending reduction in his 2018 budget plan, though the plan does not specify which projects would be cut. No money for the Yellowstone River project was allocated in a spending bill released by Congress on Monday.

Despite uncertainty of future funding, Vanosdall said the funding request has been made to Congress and "we expect seamless appropriations."

Defenders of Wildlife, an advocacy organization, opposes the dam. It said Tuesday that the pallid sturgeon's chances for survival could be even worse if the dam is built and then the money runs out before the fish passage is constructed.

"Then we're stuck without a fish passage for pallid sturgeon to swim and spawn," said the group's Rockies and Plains representative Aaron Hall.

The entire project, including planning, will cost an estimated $59 million and last two to three years. Construction is expected to begin after July 1.

The pallid sturgeon is in jeopardy because they can't reach their spawning ground to reproduce. An existing rock weir that diverts river water to an irrigation system for about 400 eastern Montana farms blocks their passage.

Defenders of Wildlife and Natural Resources Defense Council sued the federal agencies in 2015 to remove the weir, leading the agencies to propose building a new dam and a bypass channel for the fish. A federal judge initially blocked the project then last month allowed it to proceed after the Corps completed a new environmental analysis.

The advocacy groups say the environmental analysis is insufficient and asked the judge Tuesday to block the project again. They are skeptical that the fish would use the new bypass channel, and they are seeking the removal of the original rock weir so the pallid sturgeon can swim unhindered through the Yellowstone River.

Another Corps project manager, Christopher Fassero, said the bypass should work because it will be designed to mimic a natural river channel.
Arkansas lawmakers voted Tuesday to move 60,000 people off the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion plan and require some remaining participants to work, despite Democrats' complaints that the restrictions are too burdensome and at least one conservative Republican's complaint that they aren't tough enough.

The House approved the changes on a 71-23 vote and the Senate backed them on a 23-9 vote. Final votes are expected on the measures Wednesday before lawmakers wrap up a special session focused on the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for low-income residents. More than 300,000 people are enrolled in the program, which was created four years ago as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchins earlier this year proposed the new restrictions, which must also be approved by the federal government. Supporters acknowledged the changes come despite uncertainty in Washington about Republican efforts to repeal former President Barack Obama's health care law.

"At some future point, there's no doubt in my mind that Congress will make changes and we'll have to deal with the situation at that time," Senate President Jonathan Dismang, a Republican, told lawmakers before the vote. "For the moment we have right now, it makes budgetary sense for us in the state of Arkansas to make these changes."

The proposed changes would lower the eligibility cap for those on the hybrid expansion from 138 percent of the federal poverty level to 100 percent. The 60,000 people who would no longer qualify for the program would be eligible for subsidies to purchase coverage through the insurance marketplace.

Arkansas and other Republican states had been rebuffed by the Obama administration on work requirements, but they are hoping for more flexibility from President Donald Trump, whose administration is considering a similar proposal that Kentucky submitted last year.

Democrats opposed the proposed new restrictions, calling the work requirement too punitive and questioning whether it would increase the cost of hospitals caring for patients without insurance.

"We have some real concerns about moving people off of the program and finding them insurance, and a workforce requirement when there might not be work available," said Rep. Michael John Gray, who is also the chairman of the state Democratic Party.

A Republican lawmaker who has been an outspoken opponent of the expansion program urged lawmakers to delay a vote on the measure, saying more analysis was needed and time to see if other restrictions could be pursued.

"The process needs to be stopped so we can have a more detailed discussion," Sen. Bryan King said before the vote. King ultimately did not vote on the legislation.

The Senate also approved a plan to divert more than $102 million in unused tobacco settlement money to a long-term reserve that can be tapped for budget shortfalls. Hutchinson and other supporters say the fund is needed to improve the state's bond rain. Opponents said the move circumvents a 2000 voter-approved law that directed the tobacco settlement funds toward health programs.

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Associated Press writer Tafi Mukunyadzi contributed to this report.

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Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ ademillo
Up more than 12% in 2017, the rise in the price of gold could be attributed to a number of factors, such as the political uncertainty that permeated Washington this past year. And though some of those issues -- like the revised tax legislation -- have been settled, the fog of uncertainty still lingers suggesting gold may continue climbing higher in 2018. Now, consequently, seems like an ideal time to turn our attention to two popular gold miners: Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) and Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO).

Although the market writ large had an increased appetite for the yellow stuff in 2017, both Yamana and Eldorado lost some luster in the eyes of Wall Street; analysts downgraded the former three times and the latter seven times throughout the year. But that doesn't mean Main Street's investors should also forsake the companies, so let's weigh the two against each other to see which presents the better buying opportunity.

A brief meet and greet

Maintaining a portfolio of assets solely located in the Americas, Yamana relies primarily on the production of gold -- from one mine in South America and five in Canada -- though silver and copper also contribute to the company's top line. According to the company's most recent annual report, gold accounted for 82.4% of revenue in fiscal 2016, while silver and copper accounted for 6.3% and 11.3%, respectively. Conversely, Eldorado operates only two gold-producing mines, both of which are located in Turkey. In addition, the company operates an iron ore mine in Brazil and a silver-lead-zinc mine in Greece.

The companies' footprints, though noteworthy, pale in comparison to their financials; therefore, let's compare the companies on some important metrics to gain better insight.

Company Market Cap Revenue Earnings per Share Operating Margin Return on Equity Eldorado Gold $1.0 billion $405 million ($0.04) (0.7%) (0.60%) Yamana Gold $3.2 billion $1.81 billion ($0.39) (26.2%) (7.74%)

From this brief look, it seems that neither company glitters too brightly, so let's grab our pickaxes and dig even deeper.

The case for Yamana Gold

The initial look at Yamana may suggest that it's less than attractive. This conclusion, however, is misguided, for the company offers some compelling reasons for investment. For one, Yamana is nearing the commencement of gold production at its Cerro Moro mine in Argentina. The project, which remains on schedule and on budget, is expected to begin operations in the coming months; moreover, management forecasts fiscal 2018 gold and silver production of 80,000 ounces and 4.5 million ounces, respectively. As operations ramp up, management foresees gold production rising to 130,000 ounces and silver to 9.9 million ounces in fiscal 2019.

Besides promising growth prospects, management's commitment to securing the financial health of the company strengthens the argument in support of Yamana. The company (which hasn't reported fiscal 2017 earnings yet) reduced its total debt more than 22% from fiscal 2014 to 2016. During an investor presentation from last October, however, management estimated it would end fiscal 2017 with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.8; in addition, it identified a short-term ratio of less than 2.0 and a longer-term ratio of less than 1.5.

Lastly, the stock's price tag represents a compelling opportunity for bargain hunters.

Both in terms of sales and cash flow, Yamana's shares are much more attractively priced than those of Eldorado.

The case for Eldorado Gold

It's not easy to substantiate the claim that Eldorado offers a better opportunity than Yamana. There's a cloud of uncertainly lingering around Eldorado at the moment: The company is in arbitration proceedings with the Greek government regarding the company's Skouries project. Successful execution of the project, which is located in northern Greece, is important to the company's future growth. Management estimates Skouries could have a mine life of 25 years, during which time it could produce 3.1 million ounces of gold and 1.47 billion pounds of copper. Eldorado expects the proceedings to conclude in early April.

Another troubling factor is the company's gold production. According to preliminary results, Eldorado will report gold production of 286,000 ounces for fiscal 2017, but looking ahead, there's cause for concern as management forecast fiscal 2018 gold production to be between 160,000 ounces and 190,000 ounces.

The trouble in Greece and lackluster gold production, in addition to the stock's steep price tag, suggest there's plenty of reason to watch this company's story unfold from the sidelines.

The gold medal goes to. . .

Between these two companies, Yamana Gold represents the clear winner. That's not to say that intrigued investors should rush out and grab some shares. Instead, they should rush out and grab a shovel, preparing to dig deeper into the company's financials.

Investors should still monitor the progress at Cerro Moro. Failure to execute the project could compromise the company's near-term growth, since the company has eschewed acquisitions and opted for growth through organic means.

10 stocks we like better than Yamana GoldWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of January 2, 2018

Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Devon Energy Corp. plans to sell off $1 billion worth of assets to focus more on drilling in Oklahoma, west Texas and New Mexico.

The company said on Tuesday that the sales are expected to be completed during the next 18 months and will include part of its holdings in the Barnett Shale in north Texas.

Central and southern Oklahoma's Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher counties fields and west Texas and New Mexico's Delaware Basin now will be Devon's focus, the company said.

CEO Dave Hager said in a statement the sales will help Devon concentrate on the highest-returning growth inventory in its portfolio.

Devon on Tuesday also reported first-quarter net income of $565 million after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.
Brent crude oil prices fell on Tuesday to its lowest level in over five months, erasing all of the gains since OPEC agreed to cut production at the end of November, after breaking through a key technical support level.

The market was already trading lower prior to the technical selloff on reports of rising output in the United States, Canada and Libya and declining compliance by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with the deal to cut output during the first half of this year.

Brent futures fell $1.06, or 2.1 percent, to settle at $50.46 a barrel, the lowest close since Nov. 29 - the day before OPEC agreed to cut supply.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.18, or 2.4 percent, to $47.66 a barrel, its lowest close since March 21.

The sharp technical decline came after U.S. futures fell below last week's low of $48.20 a barrel, which was their lowest since late March.

In the five minutes after prices fell below that key technical level, over 50,000 U.S. contracts traded, representing about 10 percent of total trade at that time on Tuesday.

"The market was already down on concerns about rising Libyan and U.S. production and a Reuters report showing lower compliance to the OPEC production cut agreement," said Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Oil prices pared losses briefly in aftermarket trading after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude stocks fell 4.2 million barrels last week, with Cushing, Oklahoma, inventories drawing by 215,000 barrels. The U.S. government will release its inventory data on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. (1430 GMT).

OPEC's compliance with the output cuts fell to 90 percent in April from a revised 92 percent in March, according to a Reuters survey. Earlier, the survey showed compliance in March was 95 percent.

OPEC and other producers, including Russia, plan to meet on May 25 and are widely expected to keep output limits for the rest of the year.

OPEC oil output fell for a fourth straight month in April, a Reuters survey showed, dropping to 31.97 million bpd as Nigeria and Libya pumped less crude.

Libya's National Oil Co, however, said on Monday that production had risen above 760,000 bpd to its highest since December 2014, and it plans to keep boosting production.

BP Plc Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary told Reuters that oil inventories would keep falling this year.

"If the OPEC cuts get rolled into the second half of the year, that will underpin oil prices," Gilvary said. "We are managing things around $50-$55 a barrel. That's probably the range we would expect for the rest of the year."

(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; editing by Chris Reese and Marguerita Choy)
Production in the Permian is a bit too high for current pipeline infrastructure to support, and it's only going to increase by the end of this year.

In this week's episode of Industry Focus: Energy, Motley Fool analysts Sean O'Reilly and Taylor Muckerman look at why more producers probably should have seen this coming, and how pipeline companies are responding to the overproduction. Also, the hosts dive into one Canadian pipeline company that energy investors might want to take a look at, why so many oil company CEOs are lining their pockets while their companies are failing, what it means for the industry that Libya's Sharara field is back online, and more.

A full transcript follows the video.

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This video was recorded on April 27, 2017.

Sean O'Reilly: Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast that dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. Today isThursday, April 27, 2017, so we'retalking about energy, materials, and industrials.I'm your host, Sean O'Reilly, andto my left is Motley Fool Premium analystand the Butch Cassidy to my Sundance Kid, Taylor Muckerman. What's up, Taylor?Taylor Muckerman: I hope we don't get tracked down by some Indians. I want to make it out alive on this show.O'Reilly: What's the line that he says when they're about to run out?Muckerman: I have no idea.O'Reilly: I need to watch it now.Muckerman: Old-school movie.O'Reilly: Ishouldn't make references like that if I don't know the climactic line. It'sprobably been 10 years since I've seen that.Muckerman: I'llYouTubeit while you talk,how about that?O'Reilly: Thatactually would be a great solution. Would you mind? Today, we'regoing to rap about energy executivesessentially thriving while theircompanies slog through Chapter 11 bankruptcy court. Lack ofpipeline capacity, we had a listener tweet in,we have to talk about that. And I found a great article about how they werenot going to have this problem, butapparently they'rerunning out of pipelines in the Permian Basin to get oil out of there. I don't know. Do you like it?I wonder how the Delaware Basin within the Permian is doing.Muckerman: They'recertainly producing a lot of oil there. That's the hottest place to be right now, apparently.O'Reilly: That's where the party is.Muckerman: Itseems like they might have caught some people off guard. Notgood for anybody, really, though. It'sgood for the pipelines because they're maxed out,but it's not good because they didn't plan properly. Then,for the oil producers, it's not goodbecause they can't get their oil and natural gas taken to the market.O'Reilly: It'sgreat for the pipelines, andI have the list of the companies.Muckerman: Oh, you do?O'Reilly: Yeah,I have a list. But first,before we do that, we have to talk about Libya really quick,because it's crashing oil right now. It's very sad. Oil is down 2% at the time of this reporting. The field that was shut down,Libya's Sharara oil field, is back in business -- 330,000 barrels per day of daily oil production. This happens all the time, Taylor.Muckerman: Yeah. Apparently the oil markets thoughtLibya was never going to produce oil again.O'Reilly: I remember, was it 2010 or 2011, when oil was going up a ton, that's when itcompletely shut down for a while. But, yeah, they're back. I don't know, it's just, ho-hum.Muckerman: Ho-hum.O'Reilly: Has it been a month since it shut down?Muckerman: I don'tremember when it did. Maybe a month. But, yeah, at the same time, this is good. It shows that the markets are responding to things like this, rather than when you had shutdowns and uprisings in 2014 and oil markets stayed on the same trajectory. At least you now have some immediate reaction to supply and-demand disruption. Maybe we'retightening the balance a little bit here.O'Reilly: Markets arebecoming more efficient.Muckerman: How about that?O'Reilly: Moving on here -- we had a listener tweet into our @TMFEnergyTwitterhandle. Peter F Smith, @PSUPete, tweets at us and says, "When areyou guys going to do a deep dive into Pembina?"Nailed it. You told me to say it like a Canadian.Muckerman: Yeah. Well, it's even quicker in the YouTube videos, Pembina.O'Reilly: Why do they drop the "B"?Muckerman: I don't know; it's just the way it sounds. I don't know if they're dropping it or not.O'Reilly: Toall of our wonderful Canadian listeners, ourneighbors to the north, please tell us why the "B" is dropped.Muckerman: It sounds like you can kind of hear a "B," but you can't really hear the "B." Pembina.O'Reilly: You can't really hear the "B." Stop.Muckerman: Pembina Pipelines (NYSE: PBA).O'Reilly: Nailed it. This guy says, "I would love Taylor's insights." Taylor, what do you think about Pembina?Muckerman: There's a lot of pressure. It's aCanadian company, so shout out to the folks I work with on Motley Fool Canada services. Pipelines, sonot necessarily having the same constraints as the Permian, because they're dealing with the oil sands, crude oil, oil sands, and natural gas liquids, out of theWestern Canadian sedimentary basin, and ethane fromNorth Dakota and Saskatchewan.O'Reilly: Is this oil sands?Muckerman: Notall of it. It still does regular crude oil and natural gas liquids. But then you have ethane singled out asone of the natural gas liquids. So pretty well diversified in terms of the natural resources that they're funneling through their pipelines. Seems to be growing pretty rapidly, about $1.2 billion in projectscompleted last year,trying to complete $4.3 billion in projects this year. Most of it should be done by the middle of 2017, witha few stragglers coming in toward the end. Definitely upping their capacity, trying to be Canada's largest gas processor. And if you think about the need for thefractionation of natural gas liquids into all their base, like ethane and butane and everything,and also just natural gas processing in general, the use of it for energy and input, itseems to be a smart idea.O'Reilly: If youhaven't heard of the company,these guys are not small.Muckerman: No,they're not small at all.O'Reilly: They're a $12.9 billion market cap,dividend yield of 4.8%. Is this common? They'reone of those guys that pay a monthly dividend.Muckerman: It is fairly common in Canada.O'Reilly: I like my monthly, check, eh?[laughs]Muckerman: Yeah. It's not like50% of the market does it, but yeah, there'scertainly significantly more companies doing it up there than in the United States. Speaking of their dividend, very consistent dividend growth. They just raised their annual dividend by 6.25%. Not yield-wise, but payment-wise.O'Reilly: That's$0.16 to $0.17 a month,something like that?Muckerman: I don't remember exactly what theexact centswork out to on a monthly basis,but the overall paymentfor an annual basis raised by 6.25%, April 3. Andit's not just a one-time thing. They've been raising theirdividends pretty consistently over the last decade or so, and improving margins, improving their cash flow. Certainly seems to beoperating at a very high level. Eighty percent of their contracts and EBITDA come from fees for services, so pretty stable, consistent, you have good foresight into what kind ofrevenue they're going to be making on a year-in, year-out basis. And a very secure customer base, around 80% of their customers having investment-gradecredit ratings orsecured counterparties.O'Reilly: Sounds like aninteresting company.Muckerman: Yeah. If the oil markets go bump again, they're at fairly low risk to have bankruptcustomers that can't foot the bill. So yeah,seems like a good company.I hadn't really ever taken too deep of a dive in it. But I do love the midstream, the pipeline companies in the oil space, if you'regoing to get exposure to energy. And growingcapacity, growing dividend, and sound balance sheets. Certainly worth looking at for anybody that wantsaccess to the Canadian oil markets.O'Reilly: There you have it. Two nights ago,you sent me a fun article here: "Permian growth overwhelms pipeline capacity." It's from WorldOil.com.Muckerman: You sent me this. I sent you the CEO one. This is your bag right here, man.O'Reilly: I'm sorry. All right. In fact, you know what? We'lltalk about the executive,since you're so hot to talk about it, fine.Muckerman: Whatever order you want to go in.O'Reilly: I just can't believe this, because I found --I'll get to it in a minute. More than a few oil and gas companies, producers, have gone belly up in the last couple years.Muckerman: Theywent through some restructuring. They emerged.O'Reilly: It'snot quite belly up, because there's a difference between Chapter 7bankruptcy, which is liquidation, and Chapter 11, which is restructuring,getting rid of some debt,converting it to equity, that kind of thing.Muckerman: Selling some assets, yeah.O'Reilly: Which,of course begs the question, what happens to the executives? Itsounds like some good stuff.Muckerman: Good stuff for whom?O'Reilly: Them.Muckerman: For them, there's a lot of good news. TheHouston Chroniclerecently put out an article showing that 10 companies with promises to management of between 5% and 10% of new equity rewards go ahead and reserve --O'Reilly: Of the company.Muckerman: Yeah,of the new restructuredequity structure; 5% to 10% of those outstanding shares are just reserved for management.O'Reilly: Why are the debtholders, the bondholders, OK with this?I mean, I know they don't want to run an oil company, but still.Muckerman: Alot of people were saying, "Hey, these guys wereable to build this company to begin with; we don't want them to be offeredmore money from somewhere else and jump ship, and then have to emerge ... "O'Reilly: Buttheir company went under, Taylor.Muckerman: I know! I know. And theyhave to emerge from restructuring with a CEO thatmight not know as much about the company. Ipersonally as a shareholder would not be too pleased.I mean, I'm fine with the same CEO being there.O'Reilly: Well,if you're an original shareholder, you're gone, sorry.Muckerman: I'm fine with the CEO remaining, but not with increased share structure. And it's just a bad incentive structure, whenthey can make even more money than they're being given.Floyd Wilson -- $24.1 million in annual comp coming out of Halcon [Resources'] bankruptcy restructuring. Up from anaverage of the previous few years of $3.4 million. So almost 8x.O'Reilly: It'sgood to be the king.Muckerman: Now, within that $24.1 million, it could be higher or lower in value, because some of it is options-based, some of it is restricted shares-based, so they divest over time. But the simple fact that thepredominant amount of this compensation is share-based, you might have a situation where some of these CEOs just try to roll out as quickly as possible andget themselves into the same situation that led them to bankruptcy when the oil markets sold off.Linn Energy,one of your favorite oil companies of yesteryear, their CEO, Mark Ellis,received $16 million inrestricted shares post-bankruptcy. That company actually set aside 7% of shares to reward management, which, at the time of the reservation, were worth $173 million. This is a company that was one ofthe biggest bankruptcies in the entire energy world overthe last couple years,setting aside 7% of their shares formanagement rewards.O'Reilly: No words.Muckerman: Yeah,no words. AndGoodrich Petroleum,Basic Energy, among the other two that were part of that 10 that theyidentified. To me, hooray for them, but the incentivization is all wrong,coming out of bankruptcy, giving them vested shares, options.O'Reilly: I wonder what happened in the last big downdraft in the '90s in the oil sector,if something like this had happened.Muckerman: Yeah,I don't know if there was a paper out there about that.O'Reilly: Oh, well. Bottom line --don't worry, the executives are just fine.Muckerman: Yeah,they're doing all right. But ifmaybe you wanted to investin a company that has just restructuredthinking there might be an opportunity for some significant upside, bear in mind that --O'Reilly:Seven percent of it is going to ...[laughs]Muckerman: They could beincentivized for rapid growth and long-term potentialdestruction,depending on thecyclicality of the industry.O'Reilly: Beautiful. So. The big show, Permian over capacity. This is funny. As I mentioned, "Permian growth overwhelms pipeline capacity": "By the end of 2017, four new pipelineprojects are expected to add over 800,000 barrels per day of capacity, and it is sorely needed. EIA [the Energy Information Administration] estimatesproduction from the Permian Basin this year will grow 420,000 barrels per day." Apparently, WTI [West Texas intermediate] Midland prices relative to WTI Houston are all out of whack because of this. This is particularly funny because I found this article back from the Midland, the Midland Times, their newspaper. This is from March 2016, just a year ago. "Study finds Permian has four years of extra pipeline capacity ahead." What's going on here, guys? Did it really catch everybody that off guard?Muckerman: I think, when you were talking about oil production and natural gas production several years ago, the United States was more diversified. Now, the Permian is the lowest cost, in some areas --O'Reilly: It's kind of a bottleneck situation?Muckerman: Yeah, so everyone has been rushing to the Permian, versus folks focusing a little bit more on the Williston, a little bit more on the Eagle Ford, a little bit more on the Niobrara. All the news has been about everyone rushing to the Permian, and really ramping up that region's production.O'Reilly: I found a fun map with a list of all the pipelines in the Permian put together byCredit Suisse. Crudetakeaway capacity in the Permian Basin --and these are all the operating companies --Plains All American Pipeline(NYSE: PAA) is a company.Muckerman: I've heard of that one.O'Reilly: OXY [Occidental Petroleum],Sunoco [Logistics Partners](NYSE: SXL),Kinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI), and of course, Magellan[Midstream Partners].Muckerman: Some pretty big names in there.O'Reilly: For sure. Thebiggest on the list is Plains, 450,000barrels of capacity per day. Sunoco is 400,000,and then it tapers off from there to Magellan at 225,000. Kinder Morgan 120,000. OXY 75,000. This is 1.27 millionbarrels of daily production capacity we're talking about, to move it. There's morecoming online mostly from Magellan, Plains, and Sunoco.Muckerman: Yeah. Hopefully it's coming online because they'realready been building it. If I were an investor,I wouldn't want to see companiesrunning out to build crazy capacityjust because there's a shortage,because it'll probably diffuse itself over time.O'Reilly: Right. Apparently, the management of these companieshave been pretty far-sighted. There's no waythey rushed in there; they just built these.Muckerman: Yeah, these take years. Maybe not years and years, but a year or more to throw these things together on the bigger scale of takeaway capacity.O'Reilly: I'm surprise Kinderwasn't bigger in the Permian.Muckerman: Yeah. You look at them, a lot oftheir business is natural gas.O'Reilly: There's oil in them Permian hills.Muckerman: Yeah,there's oil; there's some natural gas there, too. But a lot of Kinder's business is natural gas.O'Reilly: Which of those pipelines do you like the most?Muckerman: Read them off again?O'Reilly: Plains, OXY,Sunoco, Kinder, and Magellan.Muckerman: Hmm. That's a tough question. How aboutI give my answer on next week's show?O'Reilly: You're killing me, man.Muckerman: I mean,I don't have a favorite right off the top of my head. I own Sunoco.O'Reilly: That's your favorite, then!Muckerman: Yeah,but I don't know at the moment. I mean, I like it, so I'm holding it. But if Ihad to buy shares of one of those today, would it be Sunoco? I don't know.O'Reilly: Deep.Muckerman: I need to look at the other ones to make sure.O'Reilly: Writing a check is important.Muckerman: I'm being honest to our listeners. IfI don't know enough about all of them,I'm not going to choose one over the other,because one of them that I don't know enough about might be better.O'Reilly: Touche.Muckerman: So, next week, I'll look at that list and I'll give you my No. 1 Permian-based pipeline company.O'Reilly: Oh, boy. We'll make a whole show about it.Muckerman: No, we won't.O'Reilly: We'll do DCF [discounted cash flow] analysis,;we'll do --Muckerman: No.O'Reilly: I'mkidding.

Muckerman: It'll just be, my favorite is, and then we'll talk about something less meaningful.O'Reilly: Fine. What could be ... just kidding. Touche. I actually just wrote an article about Kinder. I like their turnaround.Muckerman: You do. Yeah, out of that group,I know they definitely have some solid free cash flowgeneration, which isn't necessarily the norm.O'Reilly: It'sjust the ratios, and they're on the line withpaying out their dividend again.Muckerman: I do appreciate free cash flow with a pipeline company,because not all of them have it. Generally, your capex is way above your operating cash flow.O'Reilly: Yeah, Kinder Morgan has been just under $2 billion in free cash flow, even throughout all these. They're a little bit more leveraged than the average company. But just under $2 billion in free cash flow. I think I looked back three or five years, and it was like, yeah this is ...Muckerman: Yeah. Even Pembina. They're free cash flow-negative. And [Enbridge Energy Partners], free cash flow-negative.O'Reilly: Are they just blowing money on new projects? What's going on?Muckerman: A lot of capex. If you're building $4 billion in projects in one year and your operating cash flow is in the $2 billion range, up to $3 billion range.O'Reilly: Have to go to the debt markets.Muckerman: Little bit. But that's why you've seen -- not the only reason -- a lot of growth in this industry, because debt has been pretty cheap.O'Reilly: For sure. OK. Thanks for your thoughts, Taylor, as always.Muckerman: Yeah, brother.O'Reilly: That is it for us, folks. Besure to tune in tomorrow for the Tech show with Dylan Lewis. Special thanks once again to our producer, Austin Morgan. If you're a loyal listenerand have questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at industryfocus@fool.com. As always,people on this program may have interestsin the stocks that they talk about,and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against those stocks, so don't buy or sell anything basedsolely on what you hear on this program. For Taylor Muckerman,I am Sean O'Reilly. Thanks for listening, and Fool on!

Sean O'Reilly has no position in any stocks mentioned. Taylor Muckerman owns shares of Enbridge and Twitter. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Enbridge, Kinder Morgan, and Twitter. The Motley Fool recommends Magellan Midstream Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The United States and Pakistan are closely aligned on the key goal of Pakistans economic development, and that innovation is key to achieving this goal, said U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale.

At the recent Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit, Ambassador Hale said, We work together fostering economic growth, increasing bilateral trade, improving the investment climate, protecting intellectual property and promoting entrepreneurship.

Highlighting the untapped potential for growth in the U.S.-Pakistan economic relationship, Ambassador Hale observed that American companies are increasing their presence in Pakistan. Ambassador Hale said, From some of our largest manufacturers and infrastructure companies, to small and medium services companies, the American private sector is finding Pakistan to be an increasingly attractive market. American business leaders praise the quality of people that they work with, and the interest that Pakistans business community has shown in American products.

He added, The biggest challenge  for Pakistan as well as for America and all other economies  is for governments to be flexible enough to facilitate and support the new business models and innovation that entrepreneurs are developing in such a fast-changing global economy.

Ambassador Hale said the summit participants share a fundamental desire for stability and prosperity, and there are opportunities in business and beyond to innovate for the future to help both countries achieve their fullest potential.

He also noted that the United States relationship with Pakistan is founded in people-to-people ties. These ties are built in many ways, including through business, trade and exchange programs. We are very proud of the large community of alumni of our exchange programs, Ambassador Hale said.

The United State is proud to work with its partner Pakistan for the economic improvement of both nations, the South Asia region, and the world.
The chief executive of United Airlines apologized Tuesday on Capitol Hill for an incident in which a passenger was dragged off a flight, calling it "a mistake of epic proportions" as frustrated lawmakers warned airline executives to improve customer service or face congressional intervention.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., said carriers should use the notoriety of the violent event  and a separate incident in which a mother with a stroller was bullied by a flight attendant  to make long-needed improvements. If the airlines don't make changes, Congress is likely to step in, Shuster and other lawmakers said.

"Seize this opportunity," Shuster told United CEO Oscar Munoz and other airline executives at a hearing.

Otherwise, "we're going to act and you're not going to like it," he said, predicting a "one-size-fits-all" solution that may serve some airlines but not others.

Shuster provided no specifics on what steps Congress would take to fix airline service. But several members of Congress have introduced legislation to ban the bumping of passengers if flights are overbooked.

Munoz repeatedly apologized for the April 9 incident in which passenger David Dao was smashed in the face  suffering a broken nose, concussion and other injuries  as he was removed from a flight where he was already seated. Munoz vowed to do better as he and other airline executives faced tough questions from lawmakers.

"It was a mistake of epic proportions, clearly, in hindsight," Munoz told the transportation panel at the 4 1/2-hour hearing. Dao, a 69-year-old Kentucky physician, was treated in a way that no customer  or individual  should be treated, Munoz said, calling it a "terrible experience" that should never be repeated.

But lawmakers said problems with air travel are commonplace.

Some airline don't charge baggage fees, while some do, said Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass. Lines are long, planes are delayed yet prices keep going up, he said.

"We've got to fly. You got us," Capuano said. "If you want to keep treating us this way, fine ... but there will come a day when Congress won't accept it anymore on behalf of the American people."

Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., said he's 6-foot-3 (191 centimeters) and has a hard time on planes. He can't sit up straight, and his legs stick out.

United has taken a series of steps to reduce overbooking of flights since the incident and will raise to $10,000 the limit on payments to customers who give up seats on oversold flights, Munoz said. The airline also said it will improve employee training.

"This is a turning point for United, and our 87,000 professionals," a contrite Munoz said. "It is my mission to ensure we make the changes needed to provide our customers with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of respect."

The congressional hearing comes amid worldwide outrage sparked when Dao was dragged off the flight after refusing to give up his seat to a crew member. The incident ignited a debate about poor service and a lack of customer friendly policies on U.S. airlines.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said United put its own needs ahead of customers as it forced Dao off the flight to accommodate a crew member who wanted to take the trip to work another flight the next day.

"You made your problem the customer's problem," Larsen told the executive.

Munoz said he agreed and United has changed its policies so passengers will never be removed from a flight once they are seated unless there is a security or safety issue.

United moved to head off criticism last week by reaching a settlement with Dao and issuing new policies designed to prevent customer-service failures. United and lawyers for Dao have declined to disclose financial terms of the settlement.

An American Airlines executive also apologized at the hearing for an incident in which a male flight attendant upset a female passenger to the point of tears, then got into a heated confrontation with a male passenger who tried to come to the woman's defense.

Kerry Philipovitch, a senior vice president of American, said the April 21 incident on a flight from San Francisco to Dallas was handled improperly. Video of the incident, like the one involving Dao, has circulated widely on social media.

"Clearly what happened was wrong," Philipovitch said, adding that airline employees "should have helped" the passenger handle the extra-wide stroller and put it away safely. American takes responsibility for incident and is making progress to improve customer service, she said.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., called changes announced by United and American a good start, but said, "It's got to be more than press releases. It's got to be changes in policies and practices."

Most lawmakers agreed, although Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., said Dao bears some responsibility for ignoring orders from law enforcement officers before being dragged off the plane.

___

Follow Matthew Daly: http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC
The Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank that has gained influence in Republican-controlled Washington, fired its leader Jim DeMint on Tuesday, and sources close to the situation said the organization's leadership determined he had veered too far from its conservative principals and too close to U.S. President Donald Trump's White House.

A scathing statement from Thomas A. Saunders III, chairman of The HeritageFoundations Board of Trustees, did not go into specifics of any disagreement but did cite problems with internal communications and other "management issues."

"After a comprehensive and independent review of the entire Heritage organization, the Board determined there were significant and worsening management issues that led to a breakdown of internal communications and cooperation," Saunders said in a statement.

"While the organization has seen many successes, Jim DeMint and a handful of his closest advisers failed to resolve these problems."

Two political operatives who work with the organization said DeMint's opponents argued that he had grown too close to Trump and too far from the conservative principles on which the organization was founded.

Ed Feulner, who previously served as the Heritage president, will return to the role in an interim capacity until a replacement is found, according to a statement from theHeritage board.

DeMint, a former senator from South Carolina, took over the organization in 2013 after he retired from public office. Since then, he has transformed the organization once known for research and white papers into a political behemoth. For instance, he created an arm of the organization devoted entirely to influencing elections and pushing lawmakers to side with the group's policy positions.

But as DeMint transformed the organization, unease grew within its ranks, according to the sources.

After Trump was elected, more than a dozen staffers from the Heritage Foundation and its political arm Heritage Action were deployed as volunteers to help with the transition process. Heritage staffers worked on teams deployed to set up a Trump government at the EPA, the Office of Management and Budget and the departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, State and Treasury. An additional seven volunteers on the transition team had ties to Heritage, either having worked there before or working as a non-staff expert with the think tank. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by David Gregorio)
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday moved to ease the tension from U.S. air strikes in April against Russian ally Syria, expressing a desire for a Syrian ceasefire and safe zones for the civil war's refugees.

The two leaders spoke by phone for the first time since U.S. relations with Russian were strained by the U.S. attack on a Syrian airfield. They two leaders set the foundation for what could be their first face-to-face meeting in July.

Statements from both the White House and the Kremlin suggested the two leaders had a productive conversation that included North Korea and fighting Islamist militants throughout the Middle East.

A senior Trump administration official said Putin had requested the call and described it as an effort to present his ideas for Syria.

Trump ordered 59 cruise missiles launched in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that the United States blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The attacked prompted protests from Assad ally Russia, which blamed Syrian rebels for the use of outlawed nerve gas and said Assad was not at fault.

The White House said the two leaders agreed that "all parties must do all they can to end the violence" in Syria.

"The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons," a White House statement said.

Trump during his presidential campaign last year frequently said he wanted safe zones established for Syrian refugees, paid for by Gulf states, to alleviate any need for the refugees to move elsewhere, including to the United States.

Candidate Trump had also expressed a desire for a U.S. alliance with Russia to fight Islamist militants, a goal that has been elusive since he took office on Jan. 20.

With a ceasefire ever elusive in Syria, the White House said Washington would send a representative to ceasefire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday and Thursday.

The State Department said acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Stuart Jones will attend as an observer.

The decision to send Jones to the talks, even as an observer, is an indication that the United States is taking the Astana talks more seriously. Previously, the U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol had attended the talks as an observer.

The Kremlin said Putin and Trump agreed to step up dialogue on finding ways to strengthen a ceasefire and give it stability.

"The aim is to create the conditions for the launch for a real resolution process in Syria. This means that the Russian foreign minister and U.S. secretary of state will effectively inform the leaders about progress in this direction."

The White House statement said Trump and Putin also "spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea."

With North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs posing a major global challenge, the two leaders also discussed how to go about resolving a crisis that has raised tensions throughout the Asia-Pacific.

Trump told Reuters in an interview last week that a "major, major conflict" was possible with North Korea, amping up pressure on Pyongyang to stand down and for China to rein in the north.

"The dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula was discussed in detail. Vladimir Putin called for restraint and for the level of tension to be reduced," the Kremlin said.

The two leaders also discussed having a their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg July 7-8, the Kremlin said.

(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
Its possible youve never heard of Tasca Ford, but the performance-oriented dealership certainly left a lasting impression on Fordand the Mustang. In 1967, Bob Tasca Sr. combined race-proven engineering with factory Ford parts to create a high-performance Mustang supercar dubbed the KR-8. The Tasca-tuned combination worked so well that Ford pushed the engine into production Mustangs as the 428 Cobra Jet.

Although the original Ford Mustang was a hit with younger crowds from its inception, by 67 there was competition in the pony car field. Chevrolet had shifted its performance focus away from the Corvair and onto the new Camaro. The Mustang underwent a restyle that brought a size and weight increase, and the engine bay was now able to accept larger V-8 engines between the shock towers. Ford offered its 390-cid FE-series 320-hp Thunderbird Special V-8 for 1967, but there was a problem. Performance.

MORE CLASSIC CAR STORIES FROM HAGERTY

The 390 might have been acceptable in a personal luxury Thunderbird or full-size station wagon, but under the Mustangs hood it was no match for a Camaro packing a high-winding, deep-breathing 327-cid small block V-8. And it certainly wasnt enough against the big block Plymouth GTX or Pontiac GTO. Word of its shortcoming quickly spread and sales lagged, prompting Rhode Island-based Tasca to come up with a performance fix for the heavy, low-revving 390 Mustang.

After tuning the 390 engine as far as it could go, Tasca turned to mechanic and drag racer Bill Gilbert for a solution that offered customers improved performance without costing too much. In theory, the high-performance Ford 427 V-8 could be had as a $622 option, but few young Mustang buyers were willing or able to fork over that kind of cashthe equivalent of $5,000 todayfor a high-strung engine. Those who could usually opted for the Shelby Mustang. Gilbert came up with a formula that combined high-flow 427-sourced cylinder heads with a police-fleet tough 428-cid rotating assembly.

FORD TESTED AN ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE MUSTANG IN 1965

Noting that the 427-powered Galaxie got a considerable bump in performance from 1963 to 64, Gilbert reached out to an engineering contact at Ford and determined that the performance increase was all due to changes in the cylinder heads. The bad news was that 427 cylinder heads would not fit the 390 block. In a stroke of genius, Tasca ordered a factory stock 428 Police Interceptor short block assembly from Ford and discovered through creative fitting that the 427 heads would work on the 428 short block with little more than piston notching for larger valves. I flycut the pistons right in the block, Gilbert said.

He sorted out camshaft specs and placed call to another insider at FordPoppa Sully Sullivan, who set up the machines and purpose ground a camshaft for the KR-8 combination that Tasca dubbed the C-Stock cam. The engine was equipped with a 427 oil pump and recurved 427 distributor, then topped with an aluminum dual-plane intake manifold and single Holley 735 CFM carburetor, fed by a dual snorkel air cleaner. With a modified C-6 automatic transmission and suspension modifications, the formerly sleepy Mustang became the 7,000-rpm King of the Road.

Tasca used measured drag strip and real-world street testing over dynamometer-based tuning. We didn't have a dyno back then, but we had our own test called the 10-Second Test, Gilbert said. It didnt make any difference whether it was this car or that car or whatever caryou made the comparison test on that vehicle. Every time you did something to it, youd run the 10-Second Test again. Was it faster or slower? That was our barometer.

Tasca Jr. said the test began with a rolling start. Id go 20 miles per hour, he said. Bob Andreozzi would have the stopwatch, and as soon as I hit it, Id count 8-9-10 and look at the speedometer. The KR-8 tested faster than baseline across the board.

Tasca Sr. drove the KR-8 from Rhode Island to Dearborn as proof of concept and for testing against some 427-powered factory specials. With a closed exhaust and street tires, the Tasca KR-8 ran a low 13-second quarter mile at 105 miles per hour. Ford officials were so impressed they wouldnt let the car head back to Rhode Island with the KR-8 powertrain. Tasca drove it home with a 427 from the Ford GT40 Le Mans program, backed by a Gilbert-modified C-6 transmission. After Ford dissected the KR-8 combination, Tasca answered any criticism of engine tolerances and piston-to-wall clearances by reminding the corporate guys that the 428 short block was a Ford factory part.

Additionally persuaded by thousands of impromptu inquiries about the 428 setup (Mustang fans simply tore out an article in Hot Rod magazine and mailed it), Ford Motor Company put the KR-8 engine into production. It was installed in the 68 Mustang as the 428 Cobra Jet. In a full-circle experience, Ford shipped Tasca Ford an early production selection of 10 Cobra Jet Mustangs in white. Bob Tasca asked Gilbert to weigh all 10 and chose the two lightest and best-running examples. One was converted by Holman-Moody into the 11-second Tasca Ford Cobra Jet Super Stock drag car; the other became the unbeatable Street Bertha.

Editors note: Bob Tasca Sr. died in 2010, but the Ford performance heritage that he set in motion endures today at Tasca Ford and the Tasca Mod Shop in Cranston, R.I. Special thanks to Bob Tasca Jr., who showed us around and introduced us to Bill Gilbert; Carl Tasca, who races a Ford Cobra Jet Mustang; and Bob Tasca III, who campaigns an NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car. The complete history of Tasca Ford can be found in The Tasca Ford Legacy: Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday, by Bob McClurg.
In 2012, photos were published by a French gossip magazine of Kate Middleton sunbathing topless, outraging the royal family. The invasion of privacy case that stemmed from those pictures has finally made it to court and three photographers appeared in a French court today to begin a trial pertaining to the controversial snapshots.

The photos were published a year after Kate Middleton married Prince William. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge didn't attend the trial outside Paris on Tuesday.



The pictures of Kate were taken during their summer vacation in France's southern Provence region in a remote home.

At the time, the royals called the images a "grotesque and totally unjustifiable" invasion of Kate's privacy.

"It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them," a St. James's Palace official stated at the time. "... We feel a line has been crossed with their publication."

The owner and executive editor of celebrity magazine Closer also are being tried along with the former publisher of a French regional newspaper that also ran the photos. None of the executives attended.



Neither the photographers nor lawyers for the defendants and the royal plaintiffs commented when they arrived for the trial.

A verdict is expected at a later date.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WWE legend X-Pac was arrested at LAX for possession of a controlled substance and an outstanding warrant, a Los Angeles Airport Police spokesperson told Fox News.

According to officials, X-Pac, whose real name is Sean Waltman was arrested Sunday morning after attempting to carry methamphetamines and marijuana through customs on a flight back from the United Kingdom.

Bachelor Star Chris Soules Did Not Attend Funeral of Kenneth Mosher, Man Killed in Car Crash



A police official told us Waltman was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for a DUI.

Waltman has been open about his previous struggles with substance abuse.

He seemingly tweeted about the arrest late Monday night on Twitter.
A 69-year-old woman in the Philippines was treated to an extra crispy treat for her birthday.

Nanay Cora has lived in Artex, Malabon for her entire life. Known as the Venice of the Philippines, the area has been flooded for decades making it difficult for many residents, especially the elderly, to leave.

For her birthday, KFC decided to bring Cora and some fellow villagers buckets of fried chicken to celebrate.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

But you cant just drive-- or even bike-- to Artex. So whats a delivery person to do?

Use an amphibious vehicle, of course.

"I never would have thought that food could be delivered here," Cora says in a video documenting the unique delivery. "This place is inaccessible to most."

The heartwarming birthday celebrations were thoroughly enjoyed by many of the residents, some of whom had never tasted fast food before.

Many on Facebook are also saluting the chicken chain's efforts to bring its extra crispy goodness to such a remote area.
Sometimes turkey hunting is like magic, and responsive gobblers come in on a string. These tactics are for all the other times.

The classic spring-morning turkey setup is classic for a reason: It works, at least some of the time. The birds are gathered in one spottheir roost treeand they are usually vocal and callable. But every veteran turkey hunter knows that even a sure-thing flydown strut-buster can sputter and fail. Here are four ways to salvage what remains of your day.

Tactic #1

Kill a Canyon Gobbler

The toughest toms to tag can be those that hang out in vertical landscapesthe steep slopes of Western canyons or the corduroy country of Appalachia and the Northeast. Sometimes the terrain is so vertical, you can call a gobbler to 15 yards and still not see it. When you finally do, just his red head pops up, and the rest of the bird remains hidden by the hill. Canyon crossers are another challenge. A tom might roost on one side, fly down to the other, and climb the opposite rim to strut. In those cases, you may need to ford a creek and climb 500 feet to reach him.

The best way to circumvent turkey troubles in vertical country is to look for terrain features that can help you get the drop on incoming gobblers.

1. Glass a Rim Strutter

Gobblers will strut and preen in the woods and glades of canyon slopes, but often they hike up to the canyon rim and strut there, especially if it borders a pasture or crop field. You can watch for this from an elevated lookout. Use a good binocular and back it up with a spotting scope. In the West, we sometimes glass rim-edge turkeys from 2 or 3 miles away, usually from the opposite side of the canyon. Move in when youve identified a popular edge, either using the steep ridge to hide your approach from below or finding little creases and rivulets that can hide you if you need to drop in from above.

2. Locate Roosts

Like turkeys everywhere, canyon toms have preferred roost sitesfor a few nights in a row at least. Listen for gobbles in the evening or before dawn to pinpoint these places, then set up on the rim nearest the bird, uphill of the roost, and try calling him to you.

3. Deke the Bench

Toms will walk and strut on steep ground, but theyre easier to see and shoot when theyre on flat ground. Most canyon walls will have a few meadows on benches or gentler south-facing slopes. Some are cut with old logging roads, which offer flat but narrow strutting zones. Set up a decoy on a sunny bench and call to the gobblers.

Tactic #2

Treat'em Like Whitetails

It happens sooner or later everywhere, every spring: Gobblers go haywire, altogether ignoring or even outright running from your callseven if youre a maestro. Hunting pressure, stage of breeding season, and an abundance of hens can all contribute to the problem.

So quit calling. Cold turkey. Period. Then stand strong. Thats the first part of your solution. Raiding your whitetail-hunting playbook is the rest of it.

1. Scout with Purpose

You wouldnt hunt deer without trying to figure out their movement patterns. Use the same scouting skills and tools to unlock turkey habits in the area you hunt. Google Maps, on-the-ground reconnaissance, and discreet glasswork from a good vantage point will all help tell you what the birds are doing.

2. Hunt Travel Routes

Staking out a random spot doesnt work in deer hunting. Success comes from watching trails, travel corridors, funnels, and pinch points. Same with turkey hunting. Now that you know where the birds are going, be there yourself. A killer spot: the route birds follow between their roost and morning food.

3. Hit the Feed

Does feed hard, and bucks follow. Hens feed hard, and gobblers follow. Just as you would hunt fields and food plots for whitetails, hunt where the turkeys are chowing down.

4. Bust a Strut Zone

You hunt bucks around scrapes and zones where they like to rut. Silent toms still breed. Wait for gobblers where they like to hang out and show off for henstheir strut zone. Look for wing drag marks through leaves, in trails, and on field or meadow edges to reveal these hotspots.

5. Play the Weather

Use bad weather to your advantage. Wind? Head to lee hillsides, calm coulees, quiet valleys, and secluded draws where wind-hating turkeys congregate. Rain? Get out of the woods and watch a field or meadow where birds will be preening in the hours following a shower. Cold? Hit a sunny field edge where henswith toms followingcome to absorb rays and warm up.

Tactic #3

Hunt The Evening

This spring, 36 of the 49 states that have spring turkey seasons will allow hunters to shoot until sunset. A decade ago, that count was 21. Clearly, were getting over old-fashioned hang-ups about evening hunting harming turkey populations.

But morning gobblers and evening gobblers require two very different approaches. And the wrong kind of evening hunting pressure can push turkeys away from preferred roost sites and out of your hunting territory. Put the following considerations to work and shoot a gobbler as the sun heads toward the horizon.

1. Start Early

You wouldnt get to your morning spot late. Give your afternoon hunt a similar effort and be sure you are in place well before the birds show up. A spring day is long. Hungry birds come out to feed early. Spring gobblers get hungry, and they feed hard in the afternoon and evening. Set up three to four hours before sunset.

2. Give them Room

Dont hunt directly under roost trees. Instead, hang back along travel routes or at feeding areas, where birds are going to be while shooting light remains. Turkeys returning to the roost will often just reverse the same route they took out in the morning. Set up in a spot slightly above travel routes, where you have good visibility and a wide shooting lane.

3. Build a Hide

Get set for a long wait. Build a blind from natural materials, use camouflage fabric, or erect a pop-up tent. Evening birds are jittery, suspicious, and ultra-alert. A good hide provides some forgiveness if you stretch or make an errant movement.

4. Pipe Down

Hens and gobblers alike often arent much interested in breedingor talking about itlate in the day. No calling at all may be best. If you do call, use only the softest clucks and whispery yelps. Sound carries far in the evening.

5. Run an Interception

Okay, so this one isnt low-impact. But in the prairie states and open areas of the West, use the late afternoon and evening to glass from vantage points. Once youve spotted a moving flock, drop into a parallel drainage to sneak ahead, come over the top, and intercept them.

Tactic #4

Charge a Flock

Remember that scene from Top Gun when Maverick tells Goose hes going to let the enemy fighter jet get closer? To Goose, the tactic seemed counterintuitive, if not crazy. Thats exactly how I felt when my turkey guide, Jimmy Warner, told me he was going to run off the jakes in front of us.

Youre gonna do what? I mouthed through my face mask. Wed taken an hour to slip into position undetected. Generally speaking, a group of turkeys has a calming effect on other turkeys, so I couldnt believe that Warner was about to blow it all by running them off. But thats exactly what he did when he leapt to his feet, waved his hat, and sent the mob flying. Thirty minutes later, a gobbler crept in, now uninhibited by the band of randy jakes, and I nailed him. As it turned out, Maverickand Jimmyknew what they were doing.

Here are a few other times when it makes sensehowever wrong-headed it might seemto charge ahead instead of melting into the background.

1. Bust the Flock

In areas that produce large annual hatches, jakes can band together like a high-school clique and harass solitary gobblers into conceding some turf rather than fighting it out. Jakes can be especially aggressive with decoys. If you are hounded by groups of jakes and not seeing mature gobblers, then employ the same tactic that Warner used. Get up and run off the adolescents, then sit back and call softly. Often wary gobblers will sneak in without a sound.

2. Run with the Bulls

Thanks to some scouting, Warner and I knew turkeys liked to loaf in a large feedlot on a working ranch in Oklahoma. But the lot was almost completely open, with no way to approach the birds undetected. So Warner did what any turkey guide in ranch country would do: He opened a gate and quietly shooed cattle toward the feedlot, then we slid in behind the yearlings until we found cover in a corner of the lot. The cows dispersed, and we called in the turkeys.

3. Try a High-Speed Fan Charge

Using a turkey tail fan to approach gobblers is nothing new, especially for Westerners, who are long on vistas but short on cover. Most hunters use this fanning tacticwhich has recently been given the grim name of reapingto pique the dominance instinct of a tom and lure him into range, or to shield a hunters movements in order to get into better position. But in the right circumstancesa last-gasp effort to kill an open-field tom in an area where you have exclusive hunting accessyou can modify the technique and actually charge the turkey. Hold a large tail fan to shield as much of you as possible, then run toward the gobbler until you get within gun range. This high-stakes tactic works only occasionallymaybe once every five or six timesand when it doesnt work, it will spook the bird into the next township and stymie any follow-up approach. But when its your final opportunity, and you are sure no other hunters are working the area, then it can save a hunt where more conventional tactics failed.
In a move to roll back former first lady Michelle Obamas healthy lunch initiative, the Trump administration unveiled a rule on Monday to eliminate some of the nutritional standards currently set in place. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said schools will no longer have to try so hard to cut the salt in students meals or work in whole grains and non-fat milk.

If kids arent eating the food, and its ending up in the trash, they arent getting any nutrition  thus undermining the intent of the program, Perdue said while visiting a school in Leesburg, Virginia.

DOCTOR'S BOTCHED DELIVERY COSTS TAXPAYERS $33M

The announcement is the first major move from Perdue, and complies with pleas from school nutrition directors who decried many of the standards under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act signed into law by President Obama in 2010. In particular, they argued for changes to the acts whole grain and sodium requirements, saying it was hard to find foods that kids would eat under those standards.

Weve been hearing from a lot of parents, students and food service professionals about how we can do better in this role, said Perdue, according to U.S. News & World Report. These changes are not undertaken lightly.

The act, which was part of the former first ladys broader Lets Move Campaign, targeted federally subsidized school meals, and had increased requirements for serving sizes and nutrition standards. Schools were required to offer only fat-free or low-fat milk, limit calories based on students ages, and cut down on saturated fat, trans fats and sodium among other things.

A 'TONGUE PATCH' HELPED ONE WOMAN LOSE 50 POUNDS

The Trump administration had signaled that changes were coming in January, when a document released by the office of Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., called for repealing aspects of the act. The details were part of a broader plan released by Meadows tilted, First 100 Days: Rules, Regulations, and Executive Orders to Examine, Revoke and Issue, which called for the administration to reverse nearly 200 rules and regulations.

The regulations have proven to be burdensome and unworkable for schools to implement, a related report from the House Freedom Caucus read. Schools are throwing food away that students are not eating.

Not all were opposed to Obamas initiative, as a Christian Science Monitor report published in January 2017 in JAMA Pediatrics found an increase in six nutrients among students who had been served the federally regulated lunches.

Its discouraging that just days into his tenure, one of the first things that Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will do is to roll back progress on the quality of the meals served to Americas children, Margo Woota, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement, according to U.S. News & World Report.

FASTING DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS ISN'T ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE

Ninety percent of American kids eat too much sodium every day, Woota said. Schools have been moving in the right direction, so it makes no sense to freeze that progress in its tracks  and allow dangerous high levels of salt in school lunch.

However, a report published in August 2015 by researchers at the University of Vermont found that even though students added more fruits and vegetables to their plates, children consumed fewer [fruits and vegetables], and wasted more during the school year immediately following implementation of the USDA rule. The report noted that average waste increased from a quarter cup to more than one-third of a cup per tray.

In addition to Perdues announcement, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would postpone its rule for calorie labels on restaurant menus and grocery store displays that were set to go into effect this week. The law was part of the 2010 health care overhaul, and required restaurants and other establishments that sell prepared foods and have 20 or more locations to post the calorie content of food.

Supermarkets and other businesses opposed to the rules said they are burdensome. The FDA said the delay will allow for further consideration of ways to reduce costs or make the rules more flexible.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Late last week, the inspector general of the State Department completed a yearlong investigation into the use by Hillary Clinton of a private email server for all of her official government email as secretary of state. The investigation was launched when information technology officials at the State Department under Secretary of State John Kerry learned that Clinton paid an aide to migrate her public and secret State Department email streams away from their secured government venues and onto her own, non-secure server, which was stored in her home.

The migration of the secret email stream most likely constituted the crime of espionage -- the failure to secure and preserve the secrecy of confidential, secret or top-secret materials.

The inspector general interviewed Clintons three immediate predecessors -- Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice -- and their former aides about their email practices. He learned that none of them used emails as extensively as Clinton, none used a private server and, though Powell and Rice occasionally replied to government emails using private accounts, none used a private account when dealing with state secrets.

Clinton and her former aides declined to cooperate with the inspector general, notwithstanding her oft-stated claim that she cant wait to meet with officials and clear the air about her emails.

The inspector generals report is damning to Clinton. It refutes every defense she has offered to the allegation that she mishandled state secrets. It revealed an email that hadn't been publicly made known showing Clintons state of mind. And it paints a picture of a self-isolated secretary of state stubbornly refusing to comply with federal law for venal reasons; she simply did not want to be held accountable for her official behavior.

The report also makes clear that had she sought permission to use her own server as the instrument through which all of her email traffic passed, such a request would have been flatly denied.

In addition, the report rejects her argument -- already debunked by the director of the FBI -- that the FBI is merely conducting a security review of the State Departments email storage and usage policies rather than a criminal investigation of her. The FBI does not conduct security reviews. The inspector general does. This report is the result of that review, and Clinton flunked it, as it reveals that she refused to comply with the same State Department storage and transparency regulations she was enforcing against others.

Here is what is new publicly: When her private server was down and her BlackBerry immobilized for days at a time, she refused to use a government-issued BlackBerry because of her fear of the Freedom of Information Act. She preferred to go dark, or back to the 19th-century technology of having documents read aloud to her.

This report continues the cascade of legal misery that has befallen her in the past eight months. The State Department she once headed has rejected all of her arguments. Two federal judges have ordered her aides to testify about a conspiracy in her office to evade federal laws. She now awaits an interrogation by impatient FBI agents, which will take place soon after the New Jersey and California primaries next week. Her legal status can only be described as grave or worse than grave.

We know that Clintons own camp finally recognizes just how dangerous this email controversy has become for her. Over the Memorial Day weekend, John Podesta, the chairman of Clintons campaign, sent an email to her most important donors. In it, he recognizes the need to arm the donors with talking points to address Clintons rapidly deteriorating support with Democratic primary voters.

The Podesta email suggests attempting to minimize Clintons use of her private server by comparing it to Powells occasional use of his personal email account. This is a risky and faulty comparison. None of Powells emails from his private account -- only two or three dozen -- contained matters that were confidential, secret or top-secret.

Clinton diverted all of her email traffic to her private server -- some 66,000 emails, about 2,200 of which contained state secrets. Moreover, Powell never used his own server, nor is he presently seeking to become the chief federal law enforcement officer in the land.

The inspector general who wrote the report was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2013, after Clinton left office. He did a commendable job -- one so thorough and enlightening that it has highlighted the important role that inspectors general play in government today.

Today every department in the executive branch has, by law, an inspector general in place who has the authority to investigate the department -- keeping officials feet to the fire by exposing failure to comply with federal law.

If you are curious as to why the inspector general of the State Department during Clinton's years as secretary did not discover all of Clintons lawbreaking while she was doing it, the answer will alarm but probably not surprise you.

There was no inspector general at the State Department during Clintons tenure as secretary -- a state of affairs unique in modern history; and she knew that. How much more knowledge of her manipulations will the Justice Department tolerate before enforcing the law?
President Trump and I have something in common. We were both invited to last Saturdays White House Correspondents Dinner and we declined.

The president wasnt interested in hearing himself mocked by an industry that holds him to a different standard than his predecessor and I wasnt interested in hearing the predictable jokes denigrating all things Republican, conservative and Fox News.

Beyond the less than funny standup act by the comedian Hasan Minhaj (I never heard of him until Saturday night), was another example of the denial that has imperiled the once noble profession of journalism.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were there to bask in their long-past glory days as the Watergate reporters who helped bring down Richard Nixon. The UK Daily Mail, which often does a better job covering Washington than many of those at the dinner, wrote: Bernstein was applauded raucously for his repeated use of the word lies, a word which has become freighted with meaning as a series of mainstream media outlets have put aside years of convention to accuse Trump of lying directly  something most did not even do to Bill Clinton at the height of the Monica Lewinsky affair.

And its not just Bill Clinton. The media didnt call former President Barack Obama a liar either when he made promises about health care or referred to the red line in Syria. Major media never called Clinton and Obama liars because their philosophy often aligns with Democrats, as revealed in numerous polls.

When it was time for him to speak, Woodward uttered these immortal lines: Mr. President, the media is (sic) not fake news.

Leaving aside the grammatical error (the media are plural, though not politically pluralistic), Woodward and the audience may think that of themselves, but its not what large numbers of Americans think. What other business operates like that? By its insensitivity to what readers and viewers believe about reporters and anchors at the big newspapers and TV networks, too many in my profession are like the person with lung cancer who keeps smoking, believing his frequent coughing is due to a bad cold.

Days before the dinner, an opinion poll by Morning Consult, a media and technology company specializing in polling and market research analysis, found that roughly half (51 percent) of Americans said the national political media (are) out of touch with everyday Americans, compared with 28 percent who said (they) understand the issues everyday Americans are facing.

Do the deciders of what to cover and what not to cover (bias can also be observed in what is not reported) ever sit with people who dont trust them, refuse to subscribe to their newspapers and dont watch their news programs and address their concerns?

I have. These conservatives tell me the major media rarely present their views fairly and accurately, if at all. They see the media fixated on cultural issues like transgender rights and same-sex bathrooms. They read and see liberals treated as compassionate folks who care about people while observing conservatives portrayed as humorless, hate-filled and overly concerned with the accumulation of wealth. Who needs to read and watch that every day?

To their credit, The New York Times recently hired pro-Israel and sometimes conservative columnist Bret Stephens away from The Wall Street Journal. The Times also has Peter Wehner, a former aide to Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as a contributing columnist. Though a frequent critic of Trump, Wehner is a thoughtful man who also does a credible job of addressing religious and cultural issues.

Thats a start and the Times has acknowledged it has a perception problem.

If others recognize the problem they have with news consumers who have gone elsewhere (and not always to the best places) for their information, they might see their approval numbers improve and readers and viewers return.
Israel and the Trump administration have a German problem, ironically manifesting itself on Israels 69th birthday. Just as President Trumps emissaries and his UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are rightly insisting that Israel-bashing at the UN cease, Germany is moving in the opposite direction.

On May 2, 2017, in Paris, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is scheduled to adopt one more resolution singling out the Jewish state for criticism and attempting to deny Israeli sovereignty over its capital, Jerusalem. The Palestinians want Germanys vote and are playing the old UN game of floating a terrible resolution and modifying it to just plain awful to win European support. That Germany is playing this game is a repudiation of everything the United States is trying to accomplish  not to mention the allegedly special relationship between Germany and Israel.

This is not the first time that Germany has turned its back on Israel and America at the UN. In March, Germany joined the jackals at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and voted for a resolution that promotes the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. It was a stunning move, particularly since on the BDS resolution Germany split from both the United States (that voted against) and the United Kingdom, which at least abstained.

The Human Rights Council is composed of such UN human rights luminaries as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China. The intent of these UN resolutions is to put a UN fist on the scale absent negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and the consequence is to push the prospect of any negotiated settlement into the distant future.

Germany, therefore, is playing with fire.

Just last week, Germany's foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel opted to meet with two hard-left NGOs that denigrate Israel's army and Israels right to defend itself. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Gabriel to cancel the meetings. Gabriel refused, and Netanyahu pulled the plug on a planned meeting between himself and Gabriel.

"My basic principle is simple, Netanyahu explained, I dont welcome diplomats from other countries who visit Israel and at the same time meet with organizations that call our soldiers war criminals. The Israeli Army is the one force that keeps our people safe today. Breaking the Silence is not a human rights organization. They deal only with criminalizing Israeli soldiers, Netanyahu added.

Making matters worse, Gabriel met with the anti-Israel NGO Breaking the Silence on April 25, 2017, a day after Israels day of Holocaust remembrance. Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, to the astonishment of many veteran observers of her policy toward Israel, stood by Gabriel's treatment of Israels prime minister.

The German foreign minister then poured gasoline on the fire, suggesting Israels elected representatives were illegitimate. He told the Hamburger Abendblatt paper on April 29, 2017: The current government is not Israel." Gabriel is a repeat offender. In 2012, he wrote on his Facebook page that Israel is an "apartheid regime."

Gabriel and his social democratic party have also been stoking the flames of anti-Americanism. In August 2016, the current president of the Social Democratic party, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, called Trump a "hate preacher." After Ivanka Trump attended a women's forum in Berlin on April 25, 2017, Gabriel belittled her as a product of "nepotism" in an interview published four days later. Steinmeier and Gabriel, however, have not had any qualms about going to great lengths to mainstream the radical Islamic regime in Tehran and to encourage cozy business ties with its leaders.

Germanys UNESCO move presents the Trump administration with a challenge and an opportunity. Italy announced in advance that it would oppose the UNESCO resolution making it even more obvious that Germany has run out of excuses. A German anti-Israel vote at one more UN body should not be cost free.

Here is at least one cost that ought to be extracted. In the history of the UN, Israel has never been a member of the Security Council because of a long-standing discriminatory practice of excluding the Jewish state from all regional groups within the UN system. When Israel was finally admitted to the Western group, Israel declared that it would run in 2018-2019 for one of two spots reserved on the Council for Western group members. Belgium had also made such a declaration.

Only after Israel and Belgium had declared their candidacies, Germany scandalously announced it also would run, knowing full well that German candidacy would almost certainly deny Israel the seat in a contested election. There is a solution: Germany should be pressured either to withdraw or to split the two-year term with Israel. There is precedent for sharing: Italy and the Netherlands have split the 2016-2017 cycle.

Germanys drift away from Israel and America, and its embrace of grossly discriminatory UN abuse of the Jewish state, is a dangerous development. It needs to be encouraged to do the right thing.
Our intelligence community and law enforcement professionals have worked tirelessly to keep us safe since the horrific events of September 11, 2001. Thanks to these efforts weve come a long way when it comes to securing the homeland. Yet today, as threats continue to grow abroad, terrorists remain dead set on infiltrating our country and striking us here at home. The threat is persistent, adaptive, and undeniable.

For example, by one estimate, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has planned, conducted, or inspired more than 180 plots against the West, and America has been the number one target. Military action against Al Qaeda and its affiliates has hampered their operations, but the group remains dedicated to our destruction and continues to plot against us and our allies from their safe havens in the Iraq-Syria warzone, Yemen, North Africa, and the Afghanistan-Pakistan border zone. Federal law enforcement authorities have even recently arrested members of the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollahwhose presence in Syria grows stronger by the day, threatening our ally, Israel, and destabilizing the regionfor raising money in the United States.

To face these challenges head-on, I am leading a bipartisan Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States. The Task Forces responsibility is to identify common-sense security improvements we can make to ensure that terror suspects do not slip into the United States undetected. Among other things, this Task Force will investigate the key pathways by which extremists might enter our nation: manipulating our lawful visa system, exploiting the visa waiver program, posing as refugees or asylum seekers, and entering the country illegally.

Most people forget that every single one of the terrorists who attacked the United States on 9/11 entered the United States legally using non-immigrant visas as tourists, businessmen, or students. Some of them even overstayed their visas, breaking our laws before killing thousands. And more recently, one of the San Bernardino terrorists entered the United States using a fiancee visa.

Of course, the United States is a nation of immigrants, and allowing people to come here lawfully facilitates important cultural and economic exchanges. We cannot, however, tolerate our enemies taking advantage of these programs to strike us at home. As a result, strong oversight of these programs is key to ensuring terrorists do not abuse them.

Its also worth remembering that we arent completely isolated from the terrorist threat to our allies in Europe. The recent attacks in London, Paris, Brussels, Nice, and Berlin highlight the very real threat in Europe and raise concerns about the ease of travel between our nation and others.

Today, many European countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows Americans to travel easily to those countries and vice versa. The VWP is great for American businesses and it can actually help strengthen national security in some cases by improving information sharing between the United States and our allies. At the same time, we have to work very hard to ensure this program does not help violent extremists enter our country.

And when it comes to refugees, that threat is very real. Indeed, we know that ISIS exploited refugee flows to send operatives to Europe prior to the Paris attacks in 2015. That same year, the National Counterterrorism Center said that it had identified individuals with ties to terrorist groups in Syria attempting to gain entry to the United States through our refugee program.

Although America has long welcomed oppressed and endangered people from all over the world and it is morally right that we continue to do so, we must also be vigilant and guard fervently against efforts by extremists to take advantage of our hospitality and kindness.

Finally, although we are not aware of terrorist infiltration through an illegal crossing of our land or maritime borders, the unfortunate truth is that these borders are troublingly porous. And the terrorists know it: a couple of years ago, ISIS supporters talked openly on social media about infiltrating our southern border, an issue that now-DHS Secretary Gen. John Kelly indicated he was deeply concerned about.

As we close legal pathways by which terrorists enter the homeland, these groups will adapt and pursue alternative methods of targeting our nation, our people, and our economy. In fact, the truth is the easiest way for terrorists to reach across our borders today is by exploiting our increasing reliance on technology.

Given all this, it is clear to me that preventing terrorists from entering the United States must be a top priority for Congress, and it is one we can pursue aggressively without hampering businesses or the individual rights of Americans. We also have to ensure that the private sector and government are able to collaborate to deny terrorists the ability to exploit our digital borders.

In doing so, my sincere plan is to keep the work of this Task Force above partisan politics. This is not about a particular Executive Order or government policy, its about a long-standing threat to our nation that we can and must approach in a thoughtful, bipartisan manner. After all, providing for the common defense is our first and foremost Constitutional duty, one we cannot outsource to the executive branch. The time has come for Congress to tackle terror.



Mike Gallagher represents Wisconsins 8th District, serving on the Homeland Security and Armed Services Committees in the House of Representatives. Before his time in Congress, he spent seven years on active duty as a Marine Corps counterintelligence-human intelligence officer, deploying twice to Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
While members of the mainstream media gathered in Washington for the White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Trump went to the people.

There were no hors doeuvres or cocktails at Trumps rally in Harrisburg, Pa., where the president rallied his supporters and mocked the media  even as they patted themselves on the back and made lame jokes about him.

He held a big rally in Pennsylvania where he actually mocked the event and slammed some of these biased journalists who attended the fancy event 120 miles south, patting themselves on the back.

A large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each other in a hotel ballroom in our nation's capital right now, Trump told the crowd. They are gathered together for the White House Correspondents' Dinner without the president. And I cannot possibly be more thrilled than to be more than 100 miles away from Washington's swamp spending my evening with all of you and with a much, much larger crowd and much better people.

Then, this zinger on the heels of the medias critical evaluations of his first 100 days in office:

If the media's job is to be honest and tell the truth, then I think we would all agree the media deserves a very, very big fat failing grade! he said.

President Trump skipped the Correspondents' Dinner for good reason. They don't like him, and they showed it once again by lashing out at the commander-in-chief.

We cannot ignore the rhetoric that has been employed by the president about who we are and what we do., said Jeff Mason, a Reuters White House correspondent and president of the organization. We are not fake news. We are not failing news organizations. And we are not the enemy of the American people.

Alleged comedian Hasan Minhaj gave a cringe-worthy performance that could only draw laughs from a press that hates Trump.

Weve got to address the elephant that's not in the room, he said. The leader of our country is not here, and that's because he lives in Moscow. It is a very long flight.

There also was another elephant in the room, but Donald Trump, Jr. shot it and cut off his tail.

Given the smears and so-called jokes, why exactly was Trump supposed to be at this dinner? The elitist, alt-left media was insulted that our president didnt come to endure their abuse.

Donald Trump couldn't take the heat, so he got out of the kitchen, said one commentator. He avoided getting roasted at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last night.

Trump instead met with the American people who elected him, and CNNs Paul Begala thinks he knows why.

He needs this affirmation from his base because he's a moral midget and he is a deeply insecure person, Begala said.

The mainstream media utterly despises President Trump. It's dripping from every word they say. They can't stand him or anybody else, like me, who dares agree with him and supports him.

But President Trump is not going to sit back and let these attacks go unchallenged. He's going to call out the media's extreme bias, including right to their faces. Thats just what he did to CBC News John Dickerson Sunday.

You know, it's very funny when the fake media goes out -- you know, which we call the mainstream media, which sometimes, I must say, is you, Trump said on Face the Nation. But when the --

You mean me, personally or  Dickerson protested.

Well, your show, Trump said. I love your show. I call it Deface the Nation."

Now thats the kind of humor the rest of America can laugh at.

Adapted from Sean Hannity's monologue on "Hannity," May 1, 2017
After the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the REAL ID Act to prevent foreign nationals from fraudulently obtaining a U.S. driver's license -- by requiring that any ID issued based on unverifiable foreign documents look different in "design or color" from an official driver's license.

That way, TSA and other law enforcement would know the ID holder might not be who they say they are.

But more than a decade later, several state and local governments are openly flouting the law, issuing ID cards that are barely distinguishable from a bona fide driver's license. That means those with mere ID cards, like illegal immigrants, might be able to pass off their cards as a driver's license at the airport and elsewhere -- creating a huge gap in security.

Examples include Washington, D.C., and Colorado.

For card-holders in the nation's capital, a small star in the corner is the only visual cue that distinguishes a D.C. license from a mere ID card.

In Colorado, the distinguishing characteristic for the ID cards is a small black band.

"If you could issue a letter grade to the way states are handling this, it would be an 'F'," said Andrew Meehan, of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License.

From the outset, states have chafed at the new federal rules. They called the policy an unfunded mandate and federal intrusion.

More recently, advocates for illegal immigrants have opposed the parts of the law that require "noncompliant" cards for undocumented workers to look different than licenses for U.S. citizens and legal residents.

"What we object to is states that gratuitously would try to do much more than necessary for the sole purpose of stigmatizing individuals," said American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Jon Blazer. "On the other hand, some states have taken a better approach in this regard, and have put the minimal requirements that they're obliged to put under federal law."

Meehan said 23 states currently meet Department of Homeland Security standards.

However, six of those states issue ID cards that look virtually identical to a standard driver's license, violating the act's language. Since January alone, one of those states -- California -- has issued licenses to 500,000 illegal immigrants.

"In California they are accepting hundreds of documents issued by foreign governments," Meehan said. "They are very difficult to verify."

Other than the words, "federal limits apply," the California license and ID are identical.

Compare those to Illinois, which uses different colors in the two sets of IDs, and Utah, which uses a different design entirely. North Carolina proposed using a bright pink banner to distinguish a license from one issued to illegal immigrant children given lawful status, but it backed down.

"North Carolina proposed to put a hot pink color on the licenses of young immigrants sometimes known as 'dreamers' and one could not really understand any legitimate reason for doing that other than to stigmatize and give them a scarlet letter," Blazer complained.

In passing Real ID, Congress said the law was about security, not about stigmas. Indeed, three 9/11 hijackers had obtained state IDs using fraudulent documents. One had four IDs from two states. Among them, the 33 hijackers had 33 state driver's licenses.

The law is meant to set the standards for states issuing licenses, and the types of acceptable source documents. If unverifiable documents are used, that's when the ID cards are supposed to look different from regular licenses.

Meehan says states do not have the resources to verify the accuracy of source documents from foreign countries. Blazer, though, says they do.

Typically, states accept one of three forms of ID from Mexico: A passport, a Mexican elections card or a Matricula Consular card, which reports show can be obtained without a verifiable source document.

Verification problems have fueled changes at the state level.

In 2011, Utah issued 'Marcelo Marquez' a state driver's privilege card. At the time, getting the card required multiple identifying documents, but no fingerprints or photo. It turned out the source documents were fakes.

Marquez was really Luis Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte, deported twice for violent crimes and drug dealing. Bracamonte used the Utah ID to get around the country until last year, when he killed two California deputies after a car chase.

Utah now requires fingerprints for non-residents and changed the look of its ID cards to distinguish them from a license.
Driver's licenses issued by New Mexico are about to become a lot less useful, and residents can blame the state's insistence on issuing the IDs to illegal immigrants.

The federal Department of Homeland Security informed state officials last week that a two-year effort to reconcile tough federal ID requirements with the granting of licenses to illegal immigrants based on dubious documents failed. Beginning on Jan. 10, state drivers licenses will no longer be accepted at federal facilities, and eventually, state IDs wont be enough to get bearers on board commercial flights.

"Although DHS recognizes the State of New Mexico's efforts to enhance the security of its driver's licenses and identification cards, New Mexico has not provided adequate justification for continued noncompliance with the REAL ID standards that would warrant granting your request for another extension," read the DHS letter sent to the state Department of Taxation. "As a result, federal agencies may not accept New Mexico driver's licenses and identification cards for official purposes in accordance with the phased enforcement schedule announced on December 20, 2013."

"With this letter, the feds are saying that they are fed up that the Legislature continues to allow the dangerous practice of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants."  Demesia Padilla, New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue

In addition to New Mexico, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Utah and Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C., issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Washington and New Mexico are the only states that do not require proof of legal presence in the U.S. to get a state license or ID, while the others give restricted licenses to people who can't prove they are in the U.S. legally.

But New Mexico is in worse shape than Washington, which offers enhanced driver's licenses and IDs that require proof of U.S. citizenship. Those are valid under the federal law, but the standard IDs issued for years don't pass federal muster. Since 2007, more than 500,000 Washington residents have gotten an enhanced driver's license or enhanced ID card. There are about 5.4 million people with standard licenses, and about 600,000 with regular ID cards.

The REAL ID Act requires proof of legal U.S. residency for holders of government-issued identification cards who want to use them to access certain areas of federal buildings. New Mexico state law allows immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to obtain drivers licenses, a policy current Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has tried to get repealed. But with the policy entrenched, and officials unable to guarantee to the satisfaction of federal authorities that IDs are secure, no New Mexico-issued licenses will be recognized.

"With this letter, the feds are saying that they are fed up that the Legislature continues to allow the dangerous practice of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants," said Demesia Padilla, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue. "An overwhelming majority of New Mexicans have been very clear on this issue, and the Legislature should start listening to them before it begins to affect the daily lives of New Mexicans."

The feds have granted New Mexico two years' worth of extensions to comply with the REAL ID Act, but has denied any further delay. The federal crackdown will extend to military bases and federal facilities such as courts, but the aspect likely to have the widest effect is air travel. Without a new solution in the coming months, New Mexico residents will likely be forced to show passports in order to board even domestic flights.

The REAL ID Act, was passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commissions recommendation that the Federal Government set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses.

At the core of DHS's decision is a 2003 policy implemented by then- Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants who were allowed to present the Matricular Consular card issued by Mexican consulates, as an official form of identification.

Richardson had hoped the policy would bring unlicensed drivers out of the shadows and at least have them go through the licensing process to bolster the number of insured drivers in the state.

In March, the state Senate approved a two-tiered bill that would have continued to allow licenses to be issued to illegal immigrants while taking steps to ensure security, but the measure died in the house.

Despite being the first Latina governor in U.S. history, Martinez, a former prosecutor, sees the policy as a catalyst for criminal fraud which occurred almost immediately after the policy went into place.

In 2014, Hai Gan, 57, a legal, permanent resident from China who resides in The Colony, Texas, was sentenced in federal court to 41 months in federal prison and will be deported after he completes his prison sentence for attempting to fraudulently obtain driver's licenses for 51 illegal immigrants.
Fox News' Tucker Carlson faced off with White House Correspondents Association head Jeff Mason Monday night for a heated debate that touched on the weekend's White House Correspondents Dinner and the lack of political diversity in the White House press corps.

The host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" described the tone of Saturday night's gala as "an extended middle finger to the president  an expression of dislike for the president. And the press shouldn't like or dislike politicians, should it?"

HOST BLASTS ABSENT TRUMP AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER

Mason, a White House correspondent for Reuters, responded by pointing out that the press had been given "good access" to Trump and his administration. However, Mason that some of the White House's recent rhetoric amounted to "a clear undermining" of First Amendment rights.

"I thought the whole evening was arranged around a response to a guy who wasnt there," said Carlson, who noted that he has attended the dinner for 25 years, but was unable to make it on Saturday.

PRIEBUS SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERED CHANGES TO LIBEL LAWS

"The whole evening was arranged around the First Amendment and talking about the importance of what we do," Mason answered, "and not about the president."

Turning to the ideology of the press, Carlson cited a study published by Politico, which revealed that no registered Republicans were part of the White House press corps.

"If you had a White House press corps that was 100 percent middle-aged white men," Carlson told Mason, "there would be a full-blown outcry about the lack of diversity and I bet you $100 you would weigh in and say, Youre right, this doesnt look like America.'

"Do you think its OK that there are zero registered Republicans in the White House press corps?" the host asked.

"I think whats important is that we have a press corps thats made up of journalists who report the truth and who robustly report on the president of the United States," Mason answered.

Carlson wrapped up the discussion by asking Mason, "Is political diversity important to you?"

"Is diversity important? Of course," Mason said. "Is it my job to talk about what journalists in the White House press corps do? Yes. What they do is report the news regardless of what political party controls the white House

"I wish I believed that," Carlson answered. "I dont."
Former Trump adviser Carter Page on Monday told Fox News that he is cooperating with the Senate Intelligence Committees probe into the Trump campaign and contacts with Russia.

The unverified dossier, from former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, identified Page as the campaign's point of contact with Russia. Page denied these allegations in an interview with Fox News last month, and said he was eager to cooperate with Congress.

Amid questions swirling in Washington that have forced the resignation of one top Trump official and the scrutiny of several others, most Americans say they're at least somewhat concerned about the possibility that the Republican businessman's campaign had inappropriate contacts with the Russian government, but, in an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, less than half say they're very concerned.

Questions about possible ties between Trump's associates and Russian officials have dogged the White House.

Since July, the FBI has been conducting a counterintelligence investigation into Russia's interference in the election and possible coordination with Trump associates. House and Senate intelligence committees, led by Republican lawmakers, are also investigating. Some Democratic leaders have called for an independent investigation, saying the congressional probes, particularly the House investigation, has been tainted by political interference from the White House.

Several Trump associates have been caught up in the controversy. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign after he misled the vice president about conversations with a Russian ambassador. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Justice Department investigation after he did not disclose a meeting with the same ambassador. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has volunteered to be questioned by congressional investigators. Former campaign manager Paul Manafort's connections to Russia are part of the congressional probes.

The president has steadfastly denied any inappropriate links to Russia.

Page, who described himself as an oil industry consultant and U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, was a relative unknown when the Trump campaign announced his hiring as a foreign policy adviser in March 2016. He would stay with the Trump team until September 2016.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday said she took absolute personal responsibility for her losing presidential campaign -- but went on to blame FBI Director James Comey and Russian interference for aiding Republican rival Donald Trumps ascension to the presidency.

Clinton specifically cited the letter from Comey late in the campaign saying agents were looking into possible new information related to Clintons secret, homebrewed computer server. She was ultimately never charged with a crime, and Comey cleared Clinton on the Sunday before the election.

She also mentioned WikiLeaks, the antisecrecy website which some analysts believe to be connected to Russia and which posted the hacked emails of Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta.

I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comeys letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but were scared off, Clinton said at the Women for Women International Conference.

She added: "If the election were on October 27, I'd be your president."

But those presidential aspirations seem to be a thing of the past for Clinton, who said, however, that she wasn't getting out of politics entirely.

"Im now back to being an activist citizen, and part of the resistance," she said.

Clinton said she was writing a book about her experience as the 2016 Democratic nominee.

It is a painful process reliving the campaign, she said.

Clinton, the first female presidential candidate of a major party, said her election would have been a really big deal.

There were important messages that could have sent, Clinton said.

Taking a hit at Trump, Clinton said the president should worry less about the election "and my winning the popular vote."

Moderator Christiane Amanpour at one point asked Clinton if she was a victim of misogyny, to which she replied, Yes I do think it played a role. And I think as we learn more and more about unprecedented foreign interference from a foreign leader who is not in my fan club.
Fox News' Sean Hannity opened Monday's edition of "Hannity" with a monologue attacking the mainstream media's criticism of President Donald Trump for skipping the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.

"Really?" Hannity asked. "Hes supposed to go hang out with all of you, the elitists?"

Instead of attending the gala, Trump held a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pa., where he joked that the media and celebrities were "consoling each other in a hotel ballroom."

"The mainstream media utterly despises President Trump, its dripping from every word they say," Hannity said. "They cant stand him, and in the end, they would rather throw him out of office."

The host also said that the mainstream media was out to "destroy anybody else, like me, [or] anybody in the media that dares agree with him and supports him."

However, Hannity promised that Trump was "going to sit back and let these attacks go unchallenged. Hes going to call out the medias extreme bias, including right to their faces."
Strong intelligence pointing to an "imminent threat" drove the decision in March to ban large electronics in carry-on baggage on flights into the U.S., according to a senior House Republican.

"Specific and credible intelligence that there was an imminent threat to our aviation sector" was behind the decision, House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News. "I think the administration took very responsible actions to safeguard the safety of Americans here in the homeland."

The ban on electronics larger than iPhones applied to 10 airports in eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

During congressional testimony on April 5, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly did not rule out expanding the restrictions. "It's real. I think it's getting realer, so to speak," Kelly told a Senate committee, referring to the intelligence and threat. "We may take measures in the not-too-distant future to expand the number of airports."

It is widely reported that terrorist groups seek to plant explosives in lap top computers, or similar devices.

According to congressional investigators, the data shows that six years after SEAL Team 6 killed Usama bin Laden in Pakistan, the threat remains high, with terrorist-inspired or directed attacks focused on civilians.

McCaul's committee reported there have been 198 ISIS-linked plots against the West, including 21 this year alone. And the terror group has taken suicide attacks into the mainstream with 63 plots against the West since 2013 -- with 42 in 2016 and 2017.

The data further shows the growing use of vehicles as weapons. An ISIS-inspired attack in Stockholm, Sweden, last month marked Europe's fourth attack in 12 months where the group used a truck or car against civilian targets to inflict mass casualties. In that attack, five were killed and even more injured when a beer truck was hijacked and rammed into a central downtown shopping mall.

"I think most importantly, that the war on terror did not end with the death of Usama bin Laden," McCaul said. "In fact, there have been more terror plots against the West since his killing than at any time since 9/11."

Counterterrorism analysts also report French and British authorities see a big jump in women getting involved with terrorism, moving beyond support roles to carrying out operations. On Monday, British police arrested three teenage girls, alleged members of a cell. The fourth member was shot dead.

Fox News asked a Homeland Security spokesperson for comment, or to provide additional context, and there was no immediate response.
Tensions over Texas's Senate Bill 4, the toughest anti-sanctuary bill in the country, bled into the Texas State Senate building that houses Governor Greg Abbott's office on Monday. About 100 protestors staged a sit-in demanding a veto of the controversy legislation.

About 20 people were arrested for staging the sit-in.

The bill would allow Texas law enforcement to question the immigration status of anyone, even during a simple traffic stop. It would also allow any police chief, sheriff or mayor who failed to follow federal immigration law to be fined and or jailed.

TEXAS, CALIFORNIA TAKE VERY DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO 'SANCTUARY CITY' DEBATE

"It can expose them to very high fines, about $25,000 per day," Gov. Abbott told Fox News's Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. "It exposes to jail time any sheriff or official who adopts a sanctuary city policy."

Those controversial provisions could make for reluctant enforcement. Police chiefs in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Arlington, Fort Worth and San Antonio oppose the bill, writing a joint opinion piece in the Dallas Morning News on Saturday that read: "This will lead to distrust of police and less cooperation from members of the community. And it will foster the belief that people cannot seek assistance from police for fear of being subjected to an immigration status investigation."

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News that argument is disingenuous, citing Department of Homeland Security crime statistics.

JUSTICE DEPT THREATENS SANCTUARY CITIES IN IMMIGRATION FIGHT

"Just for Texas, since 2011 through January of this year, we've arrested over 212,000 criminal aliens. We've charged them with over 566,000 crimes, including 1,143 murders, 6,000 sexual assaults and 67,000 drug offenses, 67,000 burglaries, over 500 kidnappings," he said. "So when you hear people say sanctuary cities makes cities safer, they're absolutely wrong."

Legislators debated the bill through the night last Wednesday. Emotions overflowed in and outside the chambers, with opponents accusing supporters of backing a racist, "show me your papers" bill. State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, told fellow representatives, "I saw mothers trembling. If you have succeeded in anything members you succeeded in terrifying an entire community."

Patrick maintains the bill enjoys wide support among Hispanics, many of whom also favor strict enforcement of immigration laws.

"When Greg Abbott and I ran for governor and lieutenant governor back in 2014, we ran on separate tickets, he said, We both received nearly 50 percent of the Hispanic vote and you don't hear that anywhere."

The final bill will likely be passed and signed into law by the governor by the end of this week. The law would then take effect in September, but will surely be challenged in court.
The director of the beleaguered Shreveport VA hospital in Louisiana has been fired following a three-year tenure filled with scandal -- including accusations of covering up a secret wait-list, creating severe staffing shortages and refusing to buy essentials like vital signs machines, linens or mattresses.

Toby Mathew, who became director of Overton Brooks VA Medical Center in June 2014, was fired on April 13 due to charges related to general misconduct, and failure to follow policy and provide effective oversight of the Center's credentialing and privileging program, said an internal VA memo obtained by Fox News.

This is one of the highest-profile employee removals since Secretary Eric Shinseki left in May 2014 following news of the massive wait-list scandal at the Phoenix VA hospital. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order creating an office within the VA to make it easier to fire bad employees  an issue that Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., had championed for several years. Trump also fired two employees in the Caribbean on his second day in office.

Mathew could not be reached for comment.

The VA confirmed his removal in a brief statement: Toby Mathew was removed from employment as director of the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center in Shreveport, La., effective April 13, and he is no longer at VA.

Asked for comment, White House spokesman Ninio Fetalvo referred only to the executive order to improve accountability, calling it another step in the president's plans to ensure our nation's bravest have the care they deserve.

Overton Brooks started taking hits following an October 2014 report that patients routinely went days without sheets, pajamas or proper toiletries while the hospital spent millions on new furniture, TVs and solar panels.

Next came the story of social worker Shea Wilkes, who discovered a secret wait-list in 2013 that had 2,700 names, including 37 people who had died awaiting care. He pushed the VA inspector general to investigate, but instead the agency made Wilkes the target of a criminal investigation that lasted a year. It ended only after the Office of Special Counsel became involved. Mathew, who was director during that time, denied that a wait-list existed.

Wilkes went on to become a high-profile advocate for whistle-blowers and has testified on Capitol Hill.

Spurred on by Wilkes' example, a high-ranking doctor wrote an exhaustive 16-page report dated Sept. 2, 2016 addressed to then-secretary Bob McDonald, the VA inspector general and two members of Congress. The report, reviewed by Fox News, said Mathew severely impacted the careers of 55 employees and specifically alleged that Mathew had a constant pattern of bullying, intimidation, discrimination, harassment and retaliation against staff, which violated policies and affecting patient health.

Nursing service has had critical positions vacant during the 2-year tenure of Toby Mathew with vacancy rates as high as 50 percent for nurse assistants and constant 30 percent for registered nurses, the report said. He refused to ... fill the vacancies as requested. Toby Mathew brought in consultants paying as much as $10,500/month (more than most of our physicians make) for projects that did not help us.

A lack of nurses had repercussions in the operating rooms, where unsterile items allegedly were found on a daily basis.

The surgical teams are outraged by the absolute failure of leadership to address and improve the conditions ... Surgeries are being delayed or canceled or surgeons are forced to use alternate instrument sets, the report said.

Elsewhere in the hospital, nurses lacked enough vital signs machines for every patient and mattresses allegedly were so worn out that patients were lying on bed frames. They allegedly were only replaced when bedsores erupted. Despite this, Mathew bought new flat-screen TVs for the director's conference room, the report said.

For a total of two weeks during October and November 2016, the VA's Office of Accountability Review (OAR) -- which was implemented in 2015 to oversee complaints of top-level employees -- sent several investigators to Overton Brooks who settled into an office a few doors down from Wilkes' office.

I saw all kinds of people coming and going from that office, Wilkes said. They were talking to everybody from all levels of the hospital.

The doctor who wrote the report had asked for Mathew's removal while the investigation was under way. This didn't happen and on Jan. 4, a letter was sent to McDonald demanding to know why Mathew was still at work.

"You will be held responsible, whether in the Legislature, the courts or the media, for all that has happened here," the letter said. "YOU are responsible for all the failures, the misconduct, the lack of leadership and the mismanagement -- WHICH HAS CONTINUED TO THIS DAY."

A month later, Mathew was reassigned to a VA division office to await the outcome of an investigation. He worked there until he was fired.

On April 14, select employees received the memo announcing the news and instructing them to preserve any electronic evidence pertaining to their cases because of a litigation hold.

Wilkes said theres no doubt that the media attention on the hospitals situation helped.

We were all hoping that Trump would make an example of him, Wilkes said of Mathew. They dont fire anybody here, but they just canned this guy.
A new tactile guide lets everyone learn more about the upcoming 2017 total solar eclipse  even people who won't be able see it.

The Braille book, called "Getting a Feel for Eclipses," features graphics that teach users about the interaction and alignment of the sun with the moon and Earth. Along with the guide, associated activities clarify the nature of solar eclipses.

"These tactile books bring the theory and context to life for me. As a student who is blind, I never quite understood the beauty and vastness of space," said Mariah Williams, a senior at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, who has been blind since birth. "Now I understand what will be happening during the total solar eclipse on August 21st!" [Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely)]

The 2017 total solar eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the sunlight reaching Earth is blocked by the moon. The type of eclipse being explored with this tactile guide is known as a total solar eclipse, which occurs somewhere on Earth about once every 18 months. The last time a total eclipse was visible from coast to coast in the United States was June 1918.

But that will change on Aug. 21, when a total solar eclipse begins in the northern Pacific and crosses America from west to east through parts of the following states: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina.

"Getting a Feel for Eclipses" will help sighted as well as visually impaired people better understand the historic event, said geology professor

Cassandra Runyon of the College of Charleston, one of the project's leaders.

"Having the chance to use an additional sense, such as touch, adds a whole new dimension to the learning process," Runyon told Space.com.

Thus far, 2,500 copies of the eclipse book have been sent to schools and libraries for the blind and state libraries, as well as NASA centers and other institutions, she added.

Some 3,000 copies are also in print for distribution at the National Federation of the Blind Conference this summer, Runyon said, as well as through museums, science centers and NASA headquarters' programs.

"And, as folks learn more about it, we are answering requests to share the book with more rural schools and/or communities who work with the blind and visually impaired," Runyon said.

Portfolio of products

Runyon said that, in addition to the eclipse book, work is underway on tactile books regarding small bodies in the solar system, ocean worlds beyond Earth and the science of spectroscopy.

"The 'Getting a Feel for Eclipses' book for the blind is just the latest in our portfolio after our 'Getting a Feel for Lunar Craters,' and a Mars exploration book for the blind we produced a few years ago," said Joseph Minafra, the lead for Innovation and Technical Partnerships within the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

Minafra said that project team members are also working with park rangers to take advantage of opportunities to engage the public using these books for the blind.

Leonard David is author of "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet," published by National Geographic. The book is a companion to the National Geographic Channel series "Mars." A longtime writer for Space.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook or Google+ . Originally published on Space.com .
EXCLUSIVE: Experts have used a space treasure map to make a remarkable discovery in the Caribbean -- a centuries-old anchor believed to be from one of Christopher Columbus ships.

Analysis of the anchor, which was found off the Turks and Caicos islands, reveals that it dates to between 1492 and 1550. The overall size of the anchor and its estimated weight of between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds indicates that it was a bower anchor from a 300-ton vessel, the typical size of a Columbus-era ship.

The discovery will be revealed in the next episode of the Discovery Channel docuseries "Cooper's Treasure," which airs at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday. That anchor is from Christopher Columbus, says historical shipwreck discovery specialist Darrell Miklos, who led the Caribbean expedition, in a clip from Tuesdays show. I am telling you, stick around, this is just the beginning of an amazing story.

NASA ASTRONAUT'S SPACE TREASURE MAP SPARKS HUNT FOR CARIBBEAN WRECKS

Miklos used a space treasure map created by his late friend, NASA Astronaut Gordon Cooper, to find a series of Caribbean shipwreck sites. Cooper, who died from Parkinsons disease in 2004, created the map following his Mercury 9 Faith 7 flight. At the time, he was possibly on a mission to identify Cold War nuclear threats.

Armed with Coopers detailed map and archival research, Miklos and a crew of experts identified five colonial period wreck sites. The team used a magnetometer to identify shipwreck areas and then dived down for a closer inspection using a metal detector.

The Turks and Caicos discovery is believed to be linked to Vicente Yanez Pinzon -- a Spanish sailor, who, along with his brother Martin Alonso Pinzon, was part of the Columbus expeditions.

VIKING DISCOVERY: EXPERTS USE TECH TO REVEAL SETTLEMENT BENEATH SAINT-KING'S CHURCH

Martin and Vicente were captains, respectively, of the Pinta and Nina on Columbus first voyage in 1492. Six years later, around the time of Columbus third voyage, Vicente Pinzon set off from Spain with four Caravels, or small sailing ships, including the Pinta, in what is known as one of the expeditions Minor Voyages.

In 1499 and 1500 Vicente Pinzon discovered Brazil and the Amazon River. In the spring of 1500 the captain met with Columbus in Haiti to discuss the Brazilian discovery before leading his four ships back to Spain. However, in July of that year Vicente Pinzons fleet was caught in a hurricane while anchored near the Turks and Caicos islands and two of his ships were wrecked. In 1502 Vicente Pinzon returned to the area in an attempt to salvage cargo from the two vessels.

In addition to the anchor, Miklos team found a trove of other artifacts at the shipwreck site, including three grappling hooks that date back to the Columbus era. The grappling hooks, or anchors, were used for salvaging treasure from sunken ships.

GLADIATOR GAMES: EXPERTS HARNESS TECH TO REVEAL ROMAN CITY'S SECRETS

Archaeologists also found broken pieces of pottery and an olive jar painted with indigo paint, which indicates Spanish origin. A pot from the Spanish island of Majorca was also found, which also dates the wreck to the period between 1492 and the early 1500s.

Additionally, several iron and bronze spikes, possibly the last remnants of the sunken ships, were found, as well as a broken section of anchor's ring was found. The broken anchor ring could indicate that the anchor came from a third ship in Pinzons fleet that was torn from its anchor during the hurricane.

The discoveries mark a major breakthrough for the expedition. It means that we now have one of the most valuable maps in history, explained a spokeswoman for the show, in an email sent to Fox News. The way that ships wreck is that they leave a trail so the anchor is pointing to more artifacts/treasure to be found.

Fox News Lindsay Carlton contributed to this article.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Airbnb took a significant step Monday, as the San Francisco-based company settled a lawsuit with its hometown, reports the New York Times.

The home-sharing platform has agreed to be more transparent about its hosts and will assist in enforcing registration laws.

The settlement comes nearly one year after San Francisco's Board of Supervisors agreed to fine Airbnb and fellow short-term rental services like HomeAway $1,000 per day for every unregistered host.

Moving forward, the companies will collect data from hosts who rent their properties out for less than a month. The city will then analyze that information to properly vet and register said hosts. If the city notifies Airbnb or another company of an invalid registration, they'll be required to cancel reservations and deactivate the listing.

Failing to remove the listing will result in the original $1,000 fine.

Airbnb's head of public policy Chris Lehane told the Times that the new system will most likely go into effect next year. The settlement remains subject to approval from San Francisco's Board of Supervisors.

"A key component of the agreement is the creation of a streamlined, online registration system through the Airbnb platform. Once implemented, this system will ensure every host in San Francisco is registered and compliant with the Citys rules," Airbnb said in an email to San Francisco hosts. "We expect the creation and rollout of the system will take approximately 8 months in total and will be rolled out in phases during that time period."

Airbnb is still in the midst of several legal battles in other key markets but has now cleared sizable hurdles in San Francisco and New York City. The company dropped a lawsuit against New York late last year after the city made it illegal for hosts to list entire apartments on Airbnb and other home-sharing services for fewer than 30 days.

The settlement represents important progress as the company looks to expand. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky believes the company will be ready to go public within a year.

Monday's agreement with the city also comes amid a heated battle between Airbnb and the hotel industry.

Friction between the competitors reached new heights in April when the American Hotel and Lodging Association's (AHLA) strategy to combat the short-term rental industry was leaked. Not long after, Airbnb released a report arguing that price-gouging is "rampant" in the hotel industry and claiming it saves travelers millions of dollars as an alternative accommodation option.

Airbnb said it wants to work with local governments to ensure it's complying with laws. Experts believe regulatory uncertainty is one of the few threats posed to the home-sharing platform in terms of potentially hampering future revenue.
It seems like everyone on an airplane has a hair trigger these days.

On April 21, a passenger aboard an American Airlines plane got into an altercation with a flight attendant he believed had hit a woman traveling with 15-month-old twins as he forcibly removed a stroller from her hands. The flight attendant was suspended.

Twelve days earlier, on April 9, a physician from Kentucky was pulled out of his seat and dragged off a United Airlines plane when he refused the airlines demand that he give up his seat on a full flight from Chicago to Louisville. Dr. David Dao suffered a concussion, a broken nose and lost two front teeth in the incident, his lawyer claimed. On Thursday, the lawyers announced that Dao and United had reached an undisclosed settlement.

PASSENGERS CAUGHT IN VIOLENT PRE-FLIGHT BRAWL ABOARD ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS

Both incidents were recorded by other passengers on their cell phones, posted to social media and viewed by millions who now are understandably asking: Whats going on?

"They're shaming us on the media, without knowing the whole story."  Patrice, flight attendant

A recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that incidents like these are rare, but when theyre recorded on video, the public is quick to defend the passengers-- and blame the flight crew.

But the problem, says a flight attendant with a major U.S. carrier, is that the incident has already escalated when the cameras start recording. What isnt seen is how it started.

"They're shaming us on the media, without knowing the whole story," said Patrice, who requested that her last name be withheld.

Almost all of the tens of thousands of flights that take off every day are uneventful, says Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. But she said the recent incidents are the result of a lot of unresolved issues.

Theres been a major change in the aviation industry. People are packed in closer together. Seats are closer together. Seats are physically smaller. Passengers are getting charged for their bags. They have to go through security, and they feel like their space is being intruded upon.

The airlines also cut flight crews as part of their efforts to save money, Nelson said. Flight attendants on average are working 25 to 100 percent more than they did just 15 years ago.

UNITED AIRLINES COMMERCIAL AXED FROM TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

But central to the misunderstandings is the publics perception that flight attendants are simply servers in the sky, Nelson said.

Flight attendants are certified safety professionals, and the number one reason theyre there  in fact, the reason theyre required to be there  is for the safety, health and security of the passengers on the plane.

Thats a federal regulation, and many of the procedures they're charged with are enforcing safety regulations. Since 9/11, were the nations last line of defense in border security."

The airline industry nosedived after the September 11 terrorist attacks, going through a wave of bankruptcies while imposing brutal cuts to flight attendants pensions. Several airlines also merged, and today four major carriers account for 80 percent of domestic seats sold, according to the New York Times.

The smaller flight crews now find themselves trying to please more passengers who are burdened with less room and more irritating fees.

Heather Healy, a clinical social worker who works with the flight attendants union employee assistance program, estimated that she would see one in 12 flight attendants before 9/11. Today, she said, she sees one in seven.

They need to be treated as the first responders as they are, she said. Those considerations arent given to them. If we truly treated them the way they deserved to be treated, thered be a lot less incidents.

Theyre performing all these duties required by federal regulations, all while working to be welcoming and accommodating.

Seth Kaplan, a managing partner with the industry publication Airline Weekly, said he isnt sure if the number of incidents has increased or there are just more cases of cellphones recording them.

A lot of incidents happen, he said, because you have increasing numbers of people flying, and many of them are new to the experience.

As a passenger who follows the rules, when I see somebody doing something thats just going to delay us getting out, I get a little impatient, and the flight attendants are trying to balance all of that.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

I can see the flight attendants are trying to strike the balance between someone who doesnt fly often with the needs of those who just want to get going."

Nonetheless, Kaplan believes good can come from cellphone cameras being everywhere. Its like police officers, he said. Some officers complain, but this is the reality now. Some people might be attention seekers, but most people dont want to be the person on the news.

One flight attendant said he wishes people knew how much the attendants care about their passengers, and how badly passengers can behave.

Ive noticed a shift in passenger attitudes, said Griffin, who requested that his last name, and the airline he works for, be withheld.

He recalled a female passenger who decided to stand up during a landing. She wanted to make a point. She wanted to be videotaped. She said she wanted to be knocked down and dragged off the plane.

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Ive had people say the most horrible and degrading things to me, Griffin said. I wish Id recorded it. Theyd be embarrassed if they heard themselves.

Nathan Henderson, a flight attendant, told the New York Post that passengers are more "disrespectful and blame us" for their bad experiences.

He said he has 600 to 900 passengers on workdays, and "people are attacking us simply for making sure they are safe and following regulations."

In the end, though, airlines will be vaporized if they continue down the path of treating customers disrespectfully, said Eric Schiffer, CEO of Reputation Management Consultants. They depend on people flying. Without them, the whole thing falls apart."
An investigation is underway after a woman was found shot to death in a ditch and her truck was reportedly stolen in Anderson County, according to Deputy Coroner Charlie Boseman.

Boseman said 39-year-old Crystal Marie Kuykendall of Pelzer was shot at the intersection of Level Land Road and Wright School Road sometime before 3 a.m. Thursday.

Deputies wearing tactical gear were later seen investigating along Scott Road in Anderson County. Deputies on scene said the investigation was connected to the suspect in the deadly shooting.

SLED confirmed that one of their dog teams was sent to assist Anderson County deputies in the investigation.

Boseman said the victim was reportedly driving a truck with another woman and a man inside, according to the female passenger, who was still at the scene when investigators arrived.

The female passenger told deputies the man shot the driver and then took off in the truck.

The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Zachary Earl Powell, who has been charged with murder in connection with Kuykendall's death. Sheriff Chad McBride said the suspect and victim appear to be acquaintances.

During a press conference held by McBride at 2 p.m., Powell was taken into custody.

Powell appeared in bond court on Monday where he was denied bond.

Kuykendall's younger sister, Elise Shepherd, spoke at the emotional hearing, saying the victim was a mother and an amazing person.

"She was so many things and you took her from us," Shepherd said. "She didn't deserve that, you know it. What gives you a right to take her away from us?"

Powell declined to address the family but told the bond court judge he would be praying for them and himself.

"Only God can help us," he said.
An Iowa sheriffs deputy died from his injuries Monday after being shot by an inmate who escaped from county jail, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

The inmate, Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 22, shot two Pottawattamie County sheriffs deputies before taking a police van and driving away. He later carjacked a female motorist and led police on a chase from the Iowa jail into Omaha, Neb., with speeds reaching 80 mph, according to the paper.

SAN DIEGO POOL SHOOTING: KILLER CALLED HIS EX DURING RAMPAGE, POLICE SAY

The car driven by Correa-Carmenaty, who was wearing a prison-issued yellow jumpsuit, later crashed at an intersection. Police were able to apprehend Correa-Carmenaty, who was uninjured.

Correa-Carmenaty received on Monday a 45-year prison sentence on charges of attempted murder, second-degree robbery and voluntary manslaughter. Shortly after his courtroom appearance, he was on his way back to jail when he shot the two sheriffs deputies and escaped.

The name of the slain deputy was expected to be released after the officers family was notified, Council Bluffs Police Chief Tim Carmody said.

About a dozen schools in Council Bluffs were put on lockdown while the incident was breaking, a school district official said.
For decades, New Mexico residents didnt give much thought to the name on their government-issued IDs. They sometimes changed it  though not legally  to a name they preferred or didnt care if their name was misspelled.

But then the state passed the REAL ID Act, a stricter identification requirement that forced residents to either keep their legal name on all government -issued IDs or petition the courts to change it. And that has forced hundreds of New Mexican to flood the courts to update and verify their official documents, from their drivers licenses to their passports to their social security cards.

Presiding Civil Division District Court Judge Shannon Bacon said in her seven years on the bench, she has never seen such an influx of people petitioning the courts to change their names.

MISSOURI-GOVERNOR SAYS TRUMP MIGHT INTERVENE ON REAL ID ACT

The REAL ID compliance has forced our caseload to go off the charts, said Bacon.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports about 1,400 state residents filed name-change requests between January 1 and April 11. That's compares to about 1,700 people for all of 2016. Many are heading to the courts with misspelled names on documents that were never corrected or the individual goes by a different name than what appears on official documents.

Bacon said many of the cases are people who started using nicknames on their government IDs that are different from their birth name  and they never bothered to petition the courts for the name change. But generational rules that have changed over time, particularly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, are forcing those people to formally and legally make the change.

Even people in their 90s, Bacon said, are coming in for a name change. Only when residents have a uniformed name on all their official government documents can they obtain a REAL ID, which are for federal purposes and allow holders to board commercial flights or enter federal facilities.

NM GOV. SUSANA MARTINEZ SIGNS BILL REVISING STATE'S DRIVER'S LICENSE LAW

Ben Cloutier, director of Communications for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, which oversees the states official documents, said many people illegally changed their names and cannot provide document to demonstrate name traceability in order to obtain REAL ID credentials.

We are working with the New Mexico Department of Health and the courts to better communicate with these individuals the processes they can use to legally change their names or formalize their name change  while causing the least inconvenience to customers, Cloutier said.

But, he said, that doesnt mean the agency will water down the rules. The REAL ID laws were put in place after 9/11 to prevent potential terrorists and illegal immigrants from buying fake IDs.

In the interest of national security, to prevent fraud, and to ensure that New Mexicans are able to have access to a secure ID that wont require them to use passports to enter our national labs and military bases or to get on an airplane  we will continue to strictly enforce the standards that are outlined by the Real ID Act, Cloutier said.

In 2016, New Mexicos Republican governor, Susana Martinez, signed into law HB 99, which reformed the states drivers license laws to ensure that dangerous criminals and illegal immigrants would no longer flock to New Mexico to obtain a drivers license. That law brought the state into compliance with the federal REAL ID Act.

While Martinez long opposed issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, HB 99 did not fully repeal a controversial bill signed into law by then-Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, in 2003 that allowed illegal immigrants to drive.

HB 99 also provides a permit to illegal immigrants, called a driving authorization card, that cannot be used for federal identification purposes, said Cloutier.

The law requires illegal immigrants seeking to obtain a driving authorization card to undergo fingerprint scans and background checks. The authorization will not be granted until aliases and criminal bench warrants are resolved and the person needs to prove identity and residency.

Since November, the state has issued 168,961 REAL ID approved licenses, as well as 9,485 driving authorization cards.

Illegal immigrants who currently have valid drivers licenses will not be required to submit fingerprints when they apply for a driving authorization card, unless they let their license expire.
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Four more Jamaicans charged in the U.S. in what authorities say is a multimillion-dollar lottery scam pleaded not guilty in federal court in North Dakota on Tuesday.

Jason Jahalal, Kazrae Gray, Dahlia Hunter and Xanu Morgan all waived detention hearings and will remain in custody pending further court proceedings, according to court documents. No immediate trial date was set for any of the suspects.

They were among eight suspects extradited from Jamaica to Bismarck last week to face charges in what authorities say is a scam that bilked at least 90 mostly elderly Americans out of more than $5.7 million. The four others pleaded not guilty last week.

A total of 15 people are facing charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. Each count carries a potential maximum sentence of either 20 or 30 years in prison, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Hochhalter, who is leading the prosecution.

The suspects are accused of calling victims, persuading them to send money, and wiring the money to bank accounts in Jamaica. Authorities have dubbed the case "Operation Hard Copy," a reference to lists of prospective victims' contact information used by scammers.

The alleged mastermind, Lavrick Willocks, pleaded not guilty in January. Among the remaining defendants, one is awaiting trial in Rhode Island, one is in custody in Jamaica awaiting extradition to the U.S., and four are still fugitives.

Sanjay Williams, who authorities say was a cohort of Willock's in Jamaica and ran a separate scam, was convicted by a U.S. jury in 2015 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The investigation has been ongoing for more than five years and involves the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs.

___

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The Justice Department will not charge the two Baton Rouge officers involved in the shooting death of Alton Sterling that was captured on cellphone video, according to a report Tuesday by The Associated Press.

A person not authorized to talk publicly about the decision spoke to the AP on Tuesday. Federal authorities opened a civil rights investigation immediately after the July 2016 police shooting that killed 37-year-old Sterling outside a convenience store where he was selling homemade CDs.

The Washington Post, which cited four people close to the case, said federal investigators are planning to reveal in the next 24 hours that the DOJ has closed the probe.

A police report said the two officers saw the butt of a gun in one of Sterling's pants pockets and saw him try to reach for it before he was shot. Two cellphone videos of Sterling's deadly struggle with officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II quickly spread on social media after the July 5 shooting.

Authorities in Baton Rouge have been preparing for any possible protests related to the decision, FOX 8 reported.

The decision by the DOJ doesn't prevent state authorities from investigating Sterling's death themselves and pursuing their own criminal charges.

A spokesman for Gov. John Bel Edwards' office told FOX 8 they have not been informed of a decision. Officials across the city, as well as representatives of Sterling family members, also told The Advocate they had not yet been informed of the decision.

"I am appalled that this news, whether true or false, has been disseminated without a formal decision being relayed to the Sterling family first," Baton Rouge Mayor- President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement. "Also, no one in my office or the governor's office has been notified by the U.S. Attorney's office of a decision or timeline. I am still in consistent contact with the governor's office. As I've said before, when I know something, the people of Baton Rouge will know - and we will get through it together."

Sterling was shot after authorities were called to a convenience store to look into a report that a man with a gun had just threatened another man outside the store.

The officers and Sterling struggled, and at one point, all three were on the ground when shots were fired by one of the officers. At least one of several pieces of footage that captured portions of the shooting appears to show an officer remove a gun from Sterlings pocket after he was shot.

In the days that followed, police arrested nearly 200 protesters in Baton Rouge before another black man was killed by police in Minnesota.

Racial tensions in Baton Rouge were simmering days later when a black military veteran from Missouri ambushed and killed three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers and wounded three others before being shot dead on July 17.

Police have said they have dashcam and bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting, though none of it has been released. A federal judge sealed a coroner's report on Sterling's autopsy.

Both officers were placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure. Salamoni has been a Baton Rouge police officer for four years; Lake had been on the force for three years. Each had two prior "use of force" complaints against them, and they were cleared in all four of those cases, internal affairs records indicate.

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore recused himself from any state criminal investigation into Sterling's death, citing his professional relationship with Salamoni's parents. Salamoni's father, Noel Salamoni, is a Baton Rouge police captain. His mother, Melissa Salamoni, retired as a Baton Rouge police captain last June after 32 years on the force.

Moore's recusal left Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to decide whether to have his own office review evidence for possible state charges or to appoint another district attorney to take over the case.

Landry has said he wouldn't have access to the federal investigation on Sterling's shooting until it was completed.

Landry said in a July 11 statement that his office trusts the federal government to investigate the case and looks forward to "fulfilling our responsibilities" after getting the results of the federal investigation.

Bamberg, the attorney for some of Sterling's relatives, urged Landry in July to "fight for justice" in the case and expressed hope that the attorney general's office "one day" will get involved.

The mass arrests of people protesting Sterling's death led to federal lawsuits accusing police of using excessive force and violating protesters' civil rights. Gov. Edwards, who comes from a family of sheriffs, has said he was pleased with the police response to the protests and defended their deployment of riot gear and weaponry.

Read more from FOX 8.

Read more from The Advocate.

Read more from The Washington Post.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
At an immigration checkpoint near Tombstone, Arizona, Border Patrol agents stopped a hearse and found more than 67 pounds of marijuana concealed in a casket.

A white hearse was traveling north of Tombstone when the agents conducted an immigration vehicle stop at the intersection of Highway 90 and Highway 82.

WILD COYOTE WANDERS INTO ZOO

After several inconsistent statements with the driver and the overall unusual circumstance of a hearse being driven at night in the location, the agents had a Border Patrol canine unit check the hearse.

The canines detected an odor that led them to unload the casket and reveal multiple bricks of marijuana.

The marijuana in the casket is worth over $33,000.

Along with the bricks were several bags of manure in attempt to cover up the smell of marijuana.

The driver is a 28-year-old male U.S. citizen who was arrested for narcotics smuggling and is being processed for contraband smuggling per Tucson Sector guidelines.

Click for more from Fox 10.
Today should mark the beginning of closure for baby Chance Walshs grandparents, but they say they walk away with even more heartache and a loss that will never be filled.

Joseph Walsh appeared in front of a judge in Sarasota County to make a plea. He was facing first-degree murder and child neglect charges in connection with the death of his son, 9-week-old Chance.

In October of 2015, Chance went missing. His parents Kristen Bury and Joseph Walsh spun a web of lies over what happened to their son; eventually his body was found in a wooded area of North Port. He had been beaten and left with only a diaper on.

In court Tuesday, Joseph was hidden most of the time by his attorney as he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 45 years.

When Chance's grandparents got the opportunity to speak, they did not hold back.

"Im a grandmother without grandchildren because of you, Sally Sussino told Joseph Walsh. I hope for the next 45 years your dreams are haunted by what you've done and you suffer the same pain you conflicted on my precious grandson Chance."

"While you sit and rot in prison, I hope you live every day what it feels like to know you stole all of that from us. He could have had such a great life. You stole everything from us, Joe. I hate you for it, Chances other grandmother, Kimberly Millwater, added. I hope you rot in hell."

Read more from FOX 13 Tampa.
A Baylor University fraternity has been temporarily suspended while authorities investigate allegations it hosted a Mexican-themed party that was racially insensitive.

According to published reports, several party-goers wore costumes of maids and construction workers, in addition to the traditional ponchos and sombreros, and at one point people started chanting "build the wall, build the wall!"

Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas.

I just wanted everyone to see how suddenly I've been subjected to being a house keeper because of my race pic.twitter.com/JV1kGkbID6  Halley (@halley_blakess) April 30, 2017

University officials called the events deeply concerning, while on Monday more than 200 protested on campus demanding the school foster diversity and inclusion.

The party became the talk of the town after a student posted a strong reaction to a tweet on Sunday saying the party was still going  Feel free to join the house cleaners," it read.

A Mexican-themed party in which guests were encouraged to dress wearing stereotypes of Mexican culture is not the way in which we should unite and celebrate our diversity on campus, she wrote.

The Hispanic Student Association said in a Facebook post it was developing a course of action plan to prevent this from happening again in the 172-year-old institution.

"The act of racial discrimination that occurred off campus [Saturday] evening is completely and blatantly disrespectful, as it is an appropriation and misrepresentation of Mexican heritage," the association posted, as reported by wffa.com.

so kappa sig threw a "mexican" party? yall are bold to yell build a wall but quick to have my culture as a theme for your wack ass party pic.twitter.com/vs9rfvP1iK  andrew (@terrifving) April 30, 2017

In a statement Sunday, Kevin Jackson, Baylor vice president for student life, called the party "deeply concerning" and said administrators were investigating.

CINCO DE MAYO BEER SALES OUTPACE ST. PATRICK'S DAY AND SUPER BOWL

"Baylor is committed to a Christian mission that actively supports a caring and diverse campus community, said on Sunday Baylor Vice President for Student Life Kevin Jackson, and we do not tolerate racism of any kind on our campus."

"When any incident that does not align with our faith and mission is brought to our attention, it is thoroughly investigated by the University, and appropriate action is taken."
The Dallas gunman who killed his roommate and wounded at least two other people including a paramedic Monday was under active investigation by the FBI at the time of the incident, officials said during a Tuesday news conference.

Derick Lamont Brown, 36, had been arrested by police for illegal gun possession, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated. The FBIs investigation was ongoing and a bureau spokesperson wouldnt comment further.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS STABBING SUSPECT HAD MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, POLICE SAY

Emergency responders investigating a report of a possible suicide came under fire Monday from Brown, who already had killed his roommate inside their home and shot a neighbor who had come outside to investigate the sound of gunshots. Brown wounded a paramedic, who on Tuesday was in stable and good condition at Baylor Hospital, officials said. The married father is a 10-year veteran of the fire-rescue department.

One officer sustained an injury to his calf, possibly from gunfire, Assistant Police Chief Randy Blankenbaker said. He praised the actions of other first responders who, while exposed, pulled the paramedic and wounded neighbor to safety.

All of these officers actions are more than commendable  they should be considered heroic, Blankenbaker said.

Browns motive for the shootings remained unclear on Tuesday; however, Blankenbaker said Brown had been acting erratically in his home Tuesday morning.

Brown was found inside his home by a police robot dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The deadly home explosion in Firestone was caused by gas that entered the home through a cut, abandoned flow line from a well, investigators announced Tuesday.

The explosion and fire happened about 4:45 p.m. on April 17 in the 6300 block of Twilight Avenue near Colorado and Firestone boulevards.

Investigators have reached the conclusion that the origin and cause of the explosion and subsequent fire that destroyed the Martinez home and damaged the neighboring home resulting in the deaths of Mark Martinez and Joey Irwin and the severe injury to Erin Martinez was unrefined, non-odorized gas that entered the home through a French Drain and Sump Pit due to a cut, abandoned gas flow line attached to an oil and gas well in the vicinity that, while abandoned, had not been disconnected from the wellhead and capped, firefighters said in a statement.

Officials have also determined that the flow line was controlled with the shut in, or ceasing of production of the well as a precaution taken on April 17 as part of initial response measures, and that no additional contamination or danger exists to neighboring homes, officials added.

The uncapped, abandoned line was about 5 feet from the foundation of the home, investigators said.

The investigation will now be turned over to the Firestone Police Department for the next phase of the investigation, which is an official death investigation.

Read more from FOX 31 Denver.
They rallied tonight in memory of Corporal Stephen Ballard, of the Delaware State Police, at the Wawa where he was gunned down last week. Cops, biker groups and every day citizens joined together to remember him.

Christiana Fire Company member Patty Schrack says she knew Cpl. Ballard from the many emergencies they were called to and felt compelled to stand up for his memory.

"Always a happy guy. Always willing to help everybody. He's going to be missed. He was just a great person inside that uniform," she said.

Many brought flags while others added their signatures to the massive memorial for Cpl. Ballard. And at one point the crowd formed the OK sign with their hand signaling their support for the Delaware State Police in their time of sorrow.

"Were going to stand up for members of law enforcement. We're going to stand up for what they do and the fact that they put their lives on the line for us every day to protect our freedoms," the organizer explained.

Eleanor Allione lost her daughter in the line of duty and says she spoke with Cpl. Ballard's mother for a few minutes.

"It was long enough for her to know we're here. We'll do whatever we can for her. To give her a hug and tell her she'll get through it."

Cpl. Ballard's colleagues have to find their own ways to get through it too but this display of support helps in that process.

Visitation for Cpl. Ballard will take place at the Chase Center on the River front in Wilmington, Friday, May 5, from 8:30am to 11am.

Click for more from Fox 29.
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The pool party was in full swing when a lone man reclining in a lounge chair with a blank expression pulled a gun from his waistband and began shooting.

As bodies fell on the pool deck and people ran for their lives, the gunman despondent over a recent breakup dialed his ex-girlfriend so she could listen as he continued firing at strangers.

Although Peter Selis was white and all but one of the victims were black and Latino, Chief Shelley Zimmerman said Monday there was "zero indication" race was a motive.

Instead, the attack that killed one woman and injured six other partygoers seemed to be driven by a recent split-up with the woman he called after he shot his first two victims.

"It is apparent that Selis wanted his ex-girlfriend to listen in as he carried out his rampage," Zimmerman said. "These victims were just in his vicinity when he committed this terrible tragedy."

Selis, 49, was gunned down in a shootout Sunday with police in the upscale apartment complex where people screamed in terror as gunshots echoed between the towers.

Less than an hour earlier, Selis had stood out from the crowd of about 35 as he sat alone in the pool area of the massive La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex, where he lived on Judicial Drive.

As children splashed, a family soaked in a hot tub and others ate chips and hot dogs, Selis sat by the pool gate wearing a heavy black jacket on a hot day, said Demetrius Griffin, a guest at the party.

The shooting began after the man celebrating his 50th birthday approached Selis. Griffin assumed his friend, who was always welcoming, invited the man to join the fun.

Instead, Selis pulled a gun from his waistband, shot the party host twice in the torso and then opened fire on the party, Griffin said.

"It was very eerie, to say the least," Griffin said. "He didn't stand up. He didn't say anything. He just opened fire."

Griffin briefly froze and then dropped to the ground as six rounds sent people scattering and dropped others on the pool deck.

Selis called his ex-girlfriend during the shooting and immediately told her that he had shot two people, the police were arriving and then "made some reference to 'shooting it out' or something along those lines," Assistant Police Chief Brian Ahearn said. The woman heard two more gunshots before the line went dead, Ahearn said.

One victim, 34-year-old Thomas Blea, said he was grateful to a security guard at the apartment complex who hustled him and two other victims quickly to safety.

"That guy saved us a lot of time. Getting us to the fire department in a safe zone," said Blea as he sat with his leg bandaged in a wheelchair outside the hospital. The guard's name has not been released.

Selis, a father who worked as a mechanic at a Ford dealership, had been distraught and depressed after a breakup just days before, though family and friends interviewed by police had no hint of any sinister plot.

He filed for federal bankruptcy protection in October 2015, listing $14,000 in assets and $108,000 in liabilities, according to court records.

Selis shot three black women, two black men, a Latino man and a white woman, police said.

Six of the shooting victims were expected to survive, Zimmerman said. Another man was taken to the hospital after he broke his arm running away.

None of the victims was identified. Efforts to reach his ex-girlfriend were unsuccessful.

Investigators have not found any writings or evidence from internet searches that Selis had planned the shootings, Ahearn said.

"There was nothing obvious or public that this was his intention," he said.

Griffin, who helped carry a woman shot in the legs to safety, woke up Monday in a panic thinking he was still at the pool.

"I was shaking. I started crying," he said. "My eyes got really, really big as if they were going to pop out of my head and I kind of rolled over off the couch, onto the floor as if the gunman were still active."

___

Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber, Michael Balsamo and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Kailua, a beach community on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, has everything that residents and visitors could want from a tropical paradise: exquisite beaches, crystal clear water and modern amenities. No wonder it now boasts nearly 55,000 residents and thousands of yearly tourists, including the Obamas.

But one thing this paradise doesnt have is an adequate number of fallout shelters  there are only three with enough room for 235 people -- in case North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile or nuclear attack.

The states emergency fallout shelter plan, not updated since the Cold War, includes a Salvation Army store, categorized as a safe zone. That plan is not exactly common knowledge. One of the store managers didnt even realize the building is on the 1985 fallout shelter list and said the so-called safe area in the basement is packed with donated items.

The fallout shelter at Territorial Savings Bank, in the middle of Kailua, holds just 35 people.

A third shelter is in a cave in a mountainside accessed only through a private driveway, the entrance to which has a sign that reads No Trespassing. This pattern of underwhelming shelter space for Hawaiis 1.4 million people characterizes all the state's islands.

There is a need for state leaders to take this threat seriously. A lot has changed since the 1980s, when the emergency management plan was put in place, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, told Fox News. With the threat today, it's likely we would have just minutes of warning of an imminent attack. Going to a shelter may or may not be feasible.

State lawmakers, civil defense and military leaders acknowledge there is a great deal of work to do to keep Hawaii residents and visitors safe.

During the Cold War days, there were multiple days to warn people to hunker down into fallout shelters, whereas today, you have minutes, Major Gen. Arthur Joe Logan, the states adjutant general, director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and director of the Office of Homeland Security. Your reaction has got to be taking care of yourself and those around you. You are now that first responder.

Experts have said North Korea possesses, or could soon have, the capability to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear warheads at Hawaii.

The fact that they may have the capability makes them a threat to Americans, Denny Roy, an Asian-Pacific security expert at the East-West Center, said. For decades weve known there is this very unsavory, seemingly hostile, character breathing out threats against Americans that were clearly bluffs. But once he has that capability, it is no longer a bluff.

North Korea has tested nuclear weapons on five separate occasions, and in the last 16 months alone has conducted approximately 30 ballistic missile tests, Jonathan Pollack, interim SK-Korea Foundation chair in Korea Studies at the John L. Thornton China Center, said.

A long-range missile launched from North Korea could reach Hawaii or Alaska, according to Dean Cheng, senior research fellow with the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation. Should North Korea initiate an attack, Hawaii would have just 12 to 20 minutes to prepare, Toby Clairmont, executive officer of the departments Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said.

Hawaii urgently needs a radar and missile defense system located in Hawaii for the protection of Hawaii, said Gabbard.

Right now, the missile defense interceptors to protect Hawaii would come from Alaska and California. They work with a number of different radars that exist outside of Hawaii, but whose coverage includes Hawaii, Gabbard said.

Vern Miyagi, administrator for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said his agency is undertaking a campaign to educate the public about what to do during and after an attack.

People need to know "where to go, what to do and when to do it," Miyagi said.

Get inside, stay inside and stay tuned, Miyagi said. Take care of yourself and know ahead of time what your plan is and what your plan is for your family.

People who are home or in a building that is not close to a designated shelter should go to a basement, the center of the structure or behind concrete or a dirt mound, anything with density. Anyone stuck on the freeway should pull over and get behind their car.

The worst thing people can do is to take the freeway. They should shelter in place nearby, said Panos Prevedouros, a world-renowned transit expert and professor of engineering at the University of Hawaii.

Everyone outside should head inside to survive the initial blast, and plan to remain in place for two weeks as toxic ash rains down, experts say.

At first it is all about 'What I am going to do to protect my life?' and later it is about 'Where can I go to protect myself from effects like fallout?' which could begin hours later because it can flow so high in the sky, said Clairmont.

State house lawmakers are asking emergency management planners to inspect existing shelters, identify new ones and stock them with supplies.

One of the reasons we need the fallout shelters is not just to have a place to go to survive, but a place to go to be found and rescued, said Rep. Matt LoPresti, a Democrat who is vice chair of the House Public Safety Committee and whose district in West Oahu is among the many in the state with no designated shelters.

People in Hawaii must prepare for tsunamis, hurricanes and even earthquakes that threaten the islands. The first thing that happens in lieu of a disaster is gas stations are depleted of gasoline and propane, and stores run out of bottled water, batteries, toilet paper, spam, rice, fresh produce and emergency generators.

Each family has to have a plan for their own safety until the cavalry arrives and should always have supplies at hand, LoPresti said.

There are other considerations, such as lack of hospital beds, an alternative harbor to offload food since there is just a four-day food supply and what to do with Hawaiis booming homeless population.

Emergency preparation is so much more important for an island state, LoPresti said.
Ex-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and a former U.S. attorney general seem "surprisingly disingenuous" and dismissive of the seriousness of criminal charges facing a wealthy Turkish businessman they've been hired to represent, a judge said on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman commented at a Manhattan court hearing designed to help him decide if Reza Zarrab understands conflicts of interest posed by hiring Giuliani and former U.S Attorney General Michael Mukasey as lawyers to help resolve the case against him diplomatically outside court.

In affidavits written last month, Giuliani and Mukasey used nearly identical language to say they were hired to try to resolve the case against Zarrab, a well-known personality in Turkey accused of violating sanctions against Iran, as part of a deal between the United States and Turkey to promote U.S. national security interests.

They said none of the transactions Zarrab was alleged to have participated in involved weapons, nuclear technology or contraband. Instead, they said, the transactions involved "consumer goods."

The judge said the affidavits "appear surprisingly disingenuous in failing to mention the central role of Iran in the indictment and indeed failing to mention Iran at all in their affidavits."

He said they were "presumably attempting to be dismissive of the transactions set forth in the indictment" by saying they pertained to "consumer goods."

The judge said Giuliani and Mukasey know "very well that if the allegations in the indictment are found or established by a jury, the defendants will be shown to have committed serious felonies."

A prosecutor last month complained about the affidavits, saying entities that benefited from the scheme included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian banks that have been sanctioned for their role in providing financing for Iran's nuclear programs.

Zarrab lives in Istanbul with his wife, Turkish pop star and TV personality Ebru Gundes. He has been accused of conspiring to process hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of financial transactions for Iranian businesses or Iran's governments and has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say those transactions are banned by U.S. and international sanctions.

The hearing, which will conclude next week, was scheduled after prosecutors informed the court in March that Giuliani and Mukasey had met with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and were seeking to meet other Turkish and U.S. officials in a bid to resolve the case.

The potential conflict of interest arises because both lawyers work for law firms that have represented banks that are treated as victims of the criminal conspiracy in the case. Also, Giuliani's firm has registered as a foreign agent for Turkey.

Zarrab, answering questions posed by the judge, said he had never spoken to Giuliani.

Attorney Benjamin Brafman, who represents Zarrab in court and submitted the Giuliani and Mukasey affidavits to the judge, declined to comment outside court.

Brafman previously said Giuliani and Mukasey wouldn't be in court because they're serving in an ancillary role related to the prosecution. He said Giuliani, the city's Republican mayor from 1994 to 2001, and Mukasey weren't involved in trial preparation or plea discussions.
The Latest on fired police officer Michael Slager's plea agreement in the death of Walter Scott. (all times local):

12:20 p.m.

Attorneys for fired police officer Michael Slager confirm he will plead guilty to a federal civil rights charge in the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Walter Scott.

The law office of Andy Savage said in a statement Tuesday that Slager would be entering the plea during a hearing later in the day in Charleston.

Savage's statement confirms information in a copy of the plea agreement obtained earlier in the day by The Associated Press.

Slager faces a possible life sentence for violating Scott's civil rights during the April 2015 traffic stop, but prosecutors have agreed to seek a lesser sentence.

A bystander captured Scott's death on a cellphone video viewed millions of times.

Savage said he hopes the guilty plea might help Scott's family heal.

___

10 a.m.

Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager is pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist he shot and killed as he ran from a 2015 traffic stop.

A copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday also shows state prosecutors are dropping a pending murder charge against Slager. The AP obtained the agreement from a lawyer familiar with the case who didn't want to talk publicly before it was finalized.

Slager was scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday for motions ahead of his federal trial planned for later this month in the death of Walter Scott.

A bystander captured Scott's shooting on cellphone video, viewed millions of times.

Slager's first trial on state murder charges ended in a hung jury.
The Latest on the victim of a mass shooting by a lone gunman at a pool party on Sunday in San Diego. (all times local):

10 a.m.

A 35-year-old mother of three was the lone person killed by a gunman who shot seven people at a pool birthday bash in San Diego over the weekend.

Childhood friend Vincent Howard says he will miss the infectious smile of Monique Clark. He says Clark was devoted to her daughters, ages 2 to 13. She also volunteered at food drives to help the homeless.

Entertainer Nick Cannon, also a childhood friend, tweeted Monday "my heart hurts with great sadness."

Clark's family could not be reached for comment. Her mother, Michelle Fuget, wrote on GoFundMe that her daughter was beautiful, funny and feisty.

Police say the victims were randomly targetd by 49-year-old Peter Selis who was angry over a recent breakup.

Officers killed Selis in a shootout Sunday.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a frequent critic of President Trump, said the president would be doing the United States "a favor" by resigning.

"Trump confessed to Reuters that being President is more challenging than he anticipated. He should do himself & the country a favor & resign," Waters tweeted Monday evening.

Waters, 78, has repeatedly accused Trump of working in collusion with the Russians and not being the legitimate president because Russian leader Vladimir Putin put his thumb on the electoral scales.

EX-TRUMP AIDE TALKING

Former Trump adviser Carter Page told Fox News Monday that he is cooperating with the Senate Intelligence Committees probe into the Trump campaign and contacts with Russia.

The unverified dossier from former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, identified Page as the campaign's point of contact with Russia. Page denied these allegations in an interview with Fox News last month, and said he was eager to cooperate with Congress.

HANNITY: TRUMP FIGHTING AGAINST THE PROPAGANDA MEDIA

NORTH KOREA THREATENS WAR

North Korea on Tuesday said the United States decision to fly two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers in the area in a training drill is a provocation and puts the two countries on the brink of a nuclear war.

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

TENTATIVE DEAL

A spokesman for film and television producers says a tentative deal has been reached with writers, averting a costly strike that would have blacked out popular television shows, The Associated Press reported early Tuesday.

Producers' spokesman Jarryd Gonzales confirmed the agreement early Tuesday, but no further details were immediately available.

MAY DAY ARRESTS

More than 40 arrests were made Monday as tens of thousands across the country chanted, picketed and protested against President Trumps immigration and labor policies on May Day.

Police in Portland, Ore., shut down a protest that they said had become a riot after marchers began throwing smoke bombs and other items at officers. Police made 25 arrests, including a 14-year-old who was charged with rioting.

'TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT': HOST INTERVIEWS ORGANIZER STEVE CHOI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK IMMIGRATION COALITION

COMING UP ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL

9:30 AM ET: House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure holds hearing on "Oversight of US Airline Customer Service." United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz among those set to testify

1:30 PM ET: White House Briefing with Press Secretary Sean Spicer

COMING UP ON FOX BUSINESS

7:30 AM ET: Elaine Chao, transportation secretary, on "Mornings With Maria"

3 PM ET: Grover Norquist, president of Americans for tax reform, on "Countdown to Closing Bell"
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward Tuesday for information to help authorities locate a 5-year-old boy who has been missing since April 22.

Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding Aramazd Andressian Jr., who was last seen leaving Disneyland with his father.

On Friday, Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives served a search warrant at the South Pasedena home of Aramazd Andressian Sr., and took a scent-detection dog to look for forensic evidence.

The search for the 5-year-old has spanned several Southern California counties, including Santa Barbara, where authorities searched last Tuesday in the Lake Cachuma Recreation Area where the boy may have been with his father on April 21, FOX 11 reported.

In a statement released Friday through his attorney about his son's disappearance, Andressian said, "I hope and pray for the safe return of my only child, my namesake, who has been missing since last Saturday morning, April 22nd."

Investigators have been looking for the 5-year-old boy since his father was found unconscious at South Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Park and could not account for his son's whereabouts.

Andressian has said his son wanted to go to the park the morning before they met with his mother for a custody exchange.

"In one moment, I was at the park with my son, and then I found myself waking up in Huntington Memorial Hospital hours later. I was told that a Good Samaritan found me unconscious on the ground near my car, with young Aramazd nowhere in sight. I can only speculate that I must have been attacked in the park, given my unresponsive state and subsequent physical condition," he said in a statement through his lawyer.

Andressian was later arrested on suspicion of child endangerment but released on April 25, with the sheriff's department saying it had decided "not to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for filing consideration at this time. The matter remains under investigation."

Sheriff's Capt. Chris Bergner has said Andressian's statements "have been convoluted and not consistent," according to FOX 11.

Read more from FOX 11 Los Angeles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The recent arrest of 23 Mexican cartel operatives in New Mexico and West Texas is prime example of newly empowered local and federal law enforcement officials whose attitude reflects that of the Trump administration, some lawmen say.

The 16-month investigation targeted members of the Sinaloa Cartel, once headed by Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, who is currently in jail awaiting trial in Brooklyn Federal Court. Guzman once ran a major heroin and methamphetamine operation throughout the southwest.

Five additional suspects were also charged and remain at large. Some are suspected to have returned to Mexico.

'EL CHAPO' GUZMAN'S FEARED SUCCESSOR CAPTURED OUTSIDE MEXICO CITY

The arrests underscore the tough stance law enforcement officials are now taking when dealing with Mexican drug cartels and street gangs.

At a press conference in Las Cruces, N.M. on Friday announcing the bust, Dona Ana County Sheriff Enrique Kiki Vigil essentially echoed Attorney General Jeff Sessions mantra on how to deal with criminal enterprises involving illegal immigrants. Sessions visited border towns and Long Island, New York, the past two weeks to announce that the administration will clamp down on MS-13, a violent street gang with Central American roots that is terrorizing many parts of the country.

Were going to make sure that youre always looking over your shoulder, Vigil said about dangerous Mexican drug cartels making their way into Texas. Were going to be knocking on your doors soon  its just a matter of time. Were going to clean up our communities.

The busts netted some 64 kilograms of methamphetamine, 30 kilograms of heroin, 20 kilograms of marijuana and 17 kilograms of cocaine. Police also seized 24 firearms, $102,000 in cash and three vehicles.

Vigil told Fox News that while on the surface this may not seem like a major drug bust, it does follow a pattern used by major drug traffickers.

Theyll bring amounts of this size across this border and store them in stash houses until it is large enough to move to other parts of the country, Vigil said.

DRUG CARTELS IN MEXICO BEING TAKEN OVER BY RUTHLESS, BUT CHARMING, WOMEN

As a former U.S. Marshal in El Paso, Vigil said he is aware of how drug cartels are impacting the region.

The cartels are very ingrained in New Mexico communities with cells and stash houses. We are a perfect spot since our county borders Mexico, he said.

Officials believe the drugs were brought into the U.S. from nearby Ciudad Juarez, which is across the border from El Paso. Several interstate highways connect Juarez to Albuquerque, the states largest city and a key distribution point for the heroin that pollutes much of the Land of Enchantment.

Violence has surged in Juarez the past few years as the New Generation Jalisco Cartel is challenging the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartels for the lucrative drug trafficking route into U.S., or plaza, especially in the Juarez Valley southeast of El Paso, Texas, a long-held Sinaloa Cartel stronghold.

According to the U.S. State Department in Ciudad Juarez, there were 545 murders in 2016, an increase from the two previous years. There were 438 killings in 2014 and 312 in 2015. April has been a relatively peaceful month so far in Juarez.

El Diario de Juarez reports that there have been 25 murders, including three people killed this past Wednesday and Thursday. This figure is less than half of the 71 homicides for all of the month of March. So far this year, there have been about 250 people murdered in the city.

DRUG CARTELS REUSING MEXICAN TUNNELS ALREADY DISCOVERED BUT LEFT UNFILLED

Vigil said he is encouraged by the tone of the Trump administration, which has vowed support and funding to further these operations. But, he add, he doesnt see the proposed border wall as a solution. He is looking forward to the 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents pledged by President Trump in one of his first executive orders.

We need more boots on the ground because a wall will not solve illegal immigration or drug trafficking, Vigil said. We come across skeletons and groups in the desert often.

He described one recent incident where deputies came across a group of 22 people in the desert, one of whom escaped from a prison in Ciudad Juarez and was wanted for a crime in the U.S.

Five suspects also listed in the indictment, including the suspected leader of the organization, Luis Angel Briseno-Lopez, a Mexican national who may be living in Cuidad Juarez, remain at large.
Two North Carolina teens are facing charges after they catfished their French teacher and then shared nude photos of him, officials said.

Brian Joshua Anderson and Brittney Rennee Luckenbaugh, both 16, were charged with misdemeanor disclosure of private images, according to the Onslow County Sheriffs Office.

MARIJUANA FOUND IN CASKET AT BORDER CHECKPOINT

Officers said the teens used a fake social media account to contact David Laughinghouse, a French teacher at Swansboro High School in North Carolina.

The teens obtained X-rated photos of the 51-year-old teacher, which they shared with other students at school, according to news station WNCN.

They were taken into custody last week and each released on $5,000 bail.

This investigation remains an active one and we are potentially looking for other incidents of catfishing, Sheriff Hans Miller told the Jacksonville Daily News.

Click for more from the New York Post.
A New York foster parent who took in more than 100 boys over two decades and was accused of sexually abusing some of them has been acquitted of all charges.

A Suffolk County jury returned the not-guilty verdicts Tuesday following seven days of deliberations.

Cesar-Gonzales-Mugaburu (gahn-ZAH'-leyz moo-gah-BOO'-roo) was acquitted on 17 counts of sex abuse and other charges. His attorney argued that the eight former foster children had lied about the abuse.

Prosecutors contended the crimes occurred between 1996 and 2016. The children had mental, intellectual, emotional and behavioral issues.

If he had been convicted of the most serious charges, Gonzales-Mugaburu could have faced 25 years to life in prison.
They're one big happy family: An Ohio couple with five biological kids added six foster siblings to their household last month.

Christopher and Christina Sanders, who live in a suburb of Cincinatti, adopted six siblings ranging from 9 to 16 years old because they wanted to stay together.

TEXAS TODDLER, BABY RESCUED FROM FLOODED CAR ON VIDEO

The couple now has 11 children.

Im happy that Im here because everything is wonderful. This is just what I wanted, Cayley, one of the adopted girls, told Cincinnati.com.

Hamilton County Probate Judge Ralph E. Winkler, who finalized the adoption, told the website he hopes the story will inspire others to adopt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man has been arrested in connection to a deadly stabbing onboard a bus in downtown Phoenix.

According to a statement released by Phoenix police Monday afternoon, the incident happened just after 10:00 a.m., when suspect, identified as 33-year-old Edgar Dominguez, ran onto a bus that had stopped on Van Buren, just east of Central Avenue. Dominguez had a brief interaction with the bus driver over fare payment, and then produced a large knife and stabbed 49-year-old Chris Kombol, who entered the bus in front of the suspect.

Kombol died at the scene. Detectives are reportedly working to identify whether the suspect and the victim had any prior relationship.

Dominguez, according to police, was located and arrested in the 700 block of Polk Street. The knife allegedly used in the incident was also recovered near where the suspect was arrested. He faces first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges.

In addition Kombol, police said another 33-year-old man was cut during the incident.

The incident resulted in the closing of Van Buren in both directions, between 2nd Street and Central Avenue.

Click for more from Fox 10.
President Trump last month ordered a review of national monuments, an examination that will cover more than 100,000 acres that were designated by presidential decree over the past 21 years, and will assess whether past presidents put a stranglehold on millions of acres of federal land to keep it from being used by ranchers, farmers or for outdoor recreation.

The Department of the Interior will look at dozens of monuments, starting with the Bear Ears National Monument located in southeast Utah. It covers 1.35 million acres and was proclaimed a National Monument by President Barack Obama on December 28, 2016, just as he was leaving office.

Trump referred to it as a massive federal land grab, noting: Its time to end these abuses and return control to the people.

WHAT ARE NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND WHY IS TRUMP REVIEWING THEM?

Presidents Clinton and Obama used a statute meant to protect archaeological finds to lock up tens of millions of acres of federal land to prevent mining, ranching, oil and gas development, logging and even recreational activity, William Perry Pendley, president of the Mountains States Legal Foundation, a non-profit public interest group, told Fox News. Now, in those areas, almost nothing can take place. You can go in and take pictures and nothing else.

He called what President Trump has done courageous and says this decision broke the mold.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, echoed President Trump, condemning the unilateral decision of President Obama, claiming it undermines the local economy and rendered this land useless.

Bear Ears and other national monuments were created under the Antiquities Act of 1906, a law designed to protect objects of historic and scientific interest. It confers upon the president authority to proclaim national monuments on federal land, thus limiting the use of a site and, hopefully, preserving ruins, artifacts and so on.

TRUMP'S NATIONAL MONUMENT ORDER DELIGHTS UTAH REPUBLICANS, BUT SETS STAGE FOR LEGAL BATTLE

I think there is enough land out there, and people are smart enough, that we can have multiple-use and still protect the land, Karen Budd-Falen, a rancher and private property rights attorney in Wyoming, told Fox News.

Budd-Falen has spent her career fighting for landowners, including ranchers, out West. She hopes the current administration will scale back the amount of land the last administrations have deemed protected.

The federal government controls a lot of land -- 28 percent of the entire country and close to half of the West. Some believe when presidents declare large tracts of this land to be, in essence, untouchable, they are going against the spirit of the law, which declares the parcels of land reserved for national monuments be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

But if presidents have gone beyond what might have been originally imagined, by and large, what theyve done has been popular. Polls show that most Americans are pleased that millions of acres of public land have been set aside.

TRUMP TO ORDER REVIEW OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke agrees with that sentiment. No one loves their public lands more than I, he said.

But he fears the federal government may have overreached, leading to lost wages, lost jobs and reduced public access.

"The view from the Potomac is a lot different than the view from the Yellowstone or the Colorado, Zinke said in a press release late last month. Too many times, you have people in D.C. who have never been to an area, never grazed the land, fished the river, driven the trails, or looked locals in the eye, who are making the decisions and they have zero accountability to the impacted communities. I'm interested in listening to those folks. That's what my team and I will be doing in the next few months."

WHAT ARE NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND WHY IS TRUMP REVIEWING THEM?

One person who hopes to be on that list of folks is Budd-Falen. She is preparing comments to deliver to the Trump administration. She thinks the current designations are bad for the local economy. And, she said, it causes problems beyond those impacting her fellow ranchers.

Any denial of legitimate access is a loss, she said. Hunters, outfitters, the guy who owns a little motel where hunters stay Where you have these areas people cannot access, it is a loss of jobs. It clearly affects those little communities and little towns that rely on those jobs.

But supporters of national monuments say its important to permanently protect all that fragile land from mining, ranching and oil-extraction. They also say public lands do create jobs related to their recreational use.

John Wallin, acting executive director of the Conservation Lands Foundation, told the Washington Post: Its pretty shocking that [President Trump] thinks its a good use of the federal governments time and resources. Im hoping Zinke can bring some Westerners common sense to the president, and let him know that places like Bears Ears and Gold Butte in Nevada have a well-documented history of being popular with Americans.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye, in an April press release, stated his displeasure with the review, saying President Obamas designations of Bear Ears National Monument affords us the right to protect and preserve the sanctity of the land from which we harvest traditional medicines, and that we hold in reverence as the birthplace of our ancestors.

Begaye said his work with Obama was a collective effort of tribal nations and he is asking President Trump and Secretary Zinke, in their review of the designations, to uphold tribal sovereignty as mandated through our treaties with the federal government.

If President Trump rolls back his predecessors designations, Pendley of the Mountain States Legal Foundation said he is certain it will result in a court battle.

The other side is going to fight him, he said.

But, ultimately, he feels the Supreme Court will rule that Trump has the authority to do so.
A serial-killing suspect who is serving a life sentence has confessed to an unsolved stabbing death in 2009 in Virginia.

Jammie (JAY'-mee) Lane of Leesburg was killed in his home eight years ago. In 2010, police acknowledged that they were investigating whether a former neighbor, Elias Abuelazam (EE'-lee-us ah-BOOL'-ah-zahm), was responsible.

Abuelazam became a suspect after he was charged with a series of stabbings in the Flint, Michigan, area that left five people dead. He is serving a life sentence for one Michigan slaying.

Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman said Tuesday that Abuelazam confessed to Leesburg police after receiving immunity.

Plowman says he won't bring charges because Abuelazam is already serving a life sentence.

Lane's family says they are OK with Plowman's decision and grateful to have closure.
A former South Carolina police officer accused of fatally shooting an unarmed black man pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating the civil rights of the man he killed in 2015, in a move that could still bring decades of jail time.

MISTRIAL DECLARED IN NORTH CHARLESTON POLICE SHOOTING CASE

Michael Slager made his plea in Charleston in the case of the traffic stop and deadly shooting of Walter Scott. Video showed Scott was running away as the officer opened fire.

"We hope that Michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss," attorney Andrew J. Savage said.

NEW MEXICO DRUG CARTEL BUST SHOWS LAW ENFORCEMENT FEELS MORE EMPOWERED

"God never fails," Scott's mother, Judy, said outside court.

Slager admitted to violating Scott's civil rights by shooting him without justification. He could get up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing, though prosecutors agreed to ask for more than 20 years behind bars. No sentencing date was set.

Slager was slated to appear in federal court for motions prior to his planned federal trial in the death of Scott. Jury selection had been scheduled for next week ahead of a May 15 trial date.

The former officer spoke little in court except to quietly answer the judge's questions. Several of Scott's relatives sat on the front row in the gallery as the prosecutor read a bare-bones description of the shooting. One of them closed his eyes tightly, while another hung his head.

Cellphone video of the shooting has been viewed millions of times. North Charleston Police fired Slager when the video became public.

Slager had pulled Scott over on April 4, 2015, because of a broken brake light on his 1990 Mercedes. Scott's family said he may have bolted because he was worried about going to jail because he was $18,000 behind on child support.

Slager testified at his murder trial that he feared for his life because Scott was trying to grab his stun gun. The video showed Slager picking the Taser up off the ground and dropping it near Scott's body in what prosecutors suggested was an attempt to plant evidence. Slager denied that, testifying he was following his training in accounting for his weapons.

Slager also testified last year that he regretted what happened. "My family has been destroyed by it. The Scott family has been destroyed by it. It's horrible," he said.

Slagers first trial on state murder charges ended in a hung jury.

Fox News' Chip Bell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Army this week released haunting images showing the moment a mortar tube accidentally exploded during live-fire training in Afghanistan, killing the photographer behind the lens.

Spc. Hilda Clayton, a 22-year-old visual information specialist, was documenting a training and teaching an Afghan army photographer when the mortar tube exploded. The blast killed her and four Afghan National Army soldiers on July 2, 2013.

STARBUCKS SERVING UP JOBS TO VETERANS

The Army released the photo taken by Clayton showing when the blast erupted, along with a photo taken by the Afghan Army photographer.

Claytons death symbolizes how female soldiers are increasingly exposed to hazardous situations in training and in combat with their male counterparts, Army officials said in a statement.

ARMY VET COMPLETES CROSS-COUNTRY TREK TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR PTSD AND SUICIDE

Clayton, of Augusta, Georgia, was the first Army combat documentation and production specialist to be killed in Afghanistan.

The photos have been published in the May-June edition of the Armys Military Review journal.

"Not only did Clayton help document activities aimed at shaping and strengthening the partnership but she also shared in the risk by participating in the effort, the journal said.

Since her death, Clayton's name has since been added to the Defense Information School Hall of Heroes at Fort Meade. The award for the winner of Combat Camera's annual competition was also named after her.

Claytons family and unit approved the release of the photos, Stars and Stripes reported.
Immigration officials arrested an Australian man last week after he reportedly overstayed his United States visa by 90 minutes.

Baxter Reid, 26, was arrested on April 24 after Canadian border patrol agents denied him and his girlfriend entry to their country, The Canberra Times reported.

Reid, of Canberra, Australia, has a U.S. visitors visa valid for five years  but he could only stay in the country for up to six months. Because he had to leave the country before the six months were up  or he would be violating the conditions of his visa  he reportedly decided to go on a trip to Canada with his girl, Heather Kancso.

ARIZONA BORDER AGENTS FIND 67 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA IN CASKET

There is one stipulation with the visa, he must exit and re-enter the country every six months to keep the visa valid. With a hunger to see the world, this was never going to be an issue for us, Kancso wrote on a GoFundMe page that was created to offset the legal costs. We acknowledged the rules and had set forth a plan that would bring us all over the western Hemisphere for the duration of his Visa. Stop one was meant to be Canada!

They arrived at the Canadian border in upstate New York about 10 p.m. on April 23  two hours before his visa was set to expire. Canadian officials, however, started giving them a "hard time," Kancso wrote on the GoFundMe page.

"They spent hours asking us remedial questions and giving us the run around, with hours of dead time in between," Kancso said.

CANADIAN SENT TO U.S. PRISON FOR SMUGGLING IMMIGRANTS IN 1999

She claimed that Canadian officials feared the U.S. would reject Reid's request for a visa renewal and he would then become Canada's "problem," Canberra Times reported.

Reid's father said the agents finally released the couple at 1:30 a.m.

"They returned them to the United States and by then they were an hour and a half over the visa, and [he] got locked up," his father told the website.

Reid is being held at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility and is awaiting a hearing date.

"He's got to wait two to three weeks before he gets a date to appear," Reid's father said, adding that his son could stay in jail for another six months in the meantime.

Reids girlfriend said she was upset by how things were handled.

"I don't know if there's really a word to describe what I'm feeling right now, I'm almost ashamed to say I'm American," Kancso told The Canberra Times.

Kancso's GoFundMe page raised more than $7,400 as of Tuesday morning.

A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New York said in a statement to Fox News that all visa holders are required to follow proper protocol when renewing documents -- but he did not specifically reference Reid's case.

"The proper procedure for requesting an extension of stay while in the U.S. is to file an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before the individuals authorized stay expires," Public Affairs Specialist David Long said. "Individuals encountered by CBP without valid travel or immigration documents are detained and held by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcements Enforcement and Removal Operations until they appear before an immigration judge."
A British jihadi who hid extremist instruction manuals in James Bond-style cufflinks has been jailed for eight years.

Samata Ullah has been described by police as a "very dangerous individual" after he created online instructions on how to build explosives and avoid detection by the authorities.

NETANYAHU BLASTS TERROR FUNDING AS HAMAS TRIES TO SOFTEN IMAGE

The 34-year-old from Cardiff, the capital of Wales, downloaded those instructions, along with extremist material, onto USB sticks disguised as cufflinks.

When police raided his home in October last year, they found 60 cufflink USB sticks around his bedroom.

Ullah admitted five terror offences, including membership of the Islamic State terror group, as well being involved in terrorist training and preparation for terrorist acts.

He was given an extended sentence of eight years in jail, plus another five years of probation.

Read more from SkyNews.
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The Czech Republic's prime minister unexpectedly announced on Tuesday that his government will resign over unexplained business dealings of the country's finance minister.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said that he would meet President Milos Zeman this week to formally submit the government's resignation.

Sobotka's move caught political observers by surprise, but reflects tensions in the ruling coalition about six months before the next scheduled parliamentary election.

Sobotka said there are suspicions that Finance Minister Andrej Babis, the country's second-richest businessman, avoided paying taxes in the past. Doubts have also surfaced about how Babis obtained his wealth.

Babis is a rival of Sobotka's and heads a centrist movement that is a favorite to win October's ballot, paving the way for him to become prime minister. He previously denied any wrongdoing and refused to resign.

The country's president fires Cabinet ministers at the prime minister's request, under the Constitution. Zeman indicated recently it made no sense to him to get rid of a government member so close to the election.

Sobotka said it would be an option to fire Babis but that would mean his rival would be given extra time to campaign ahead of the vote.

"That's the reason I'm opting for the only reasonable solution which is available, and that's the government's resignation," Sobotka said during a hastily organized news conference.

"A trust of the public in politics is at stake," Sobotka said.

He said having the entire government quit would give the coalition a chance to form a government again, but without Babis. Another option is for Parliament to call an early election.

It is not clear if that would be acceptable for the necessary three-fifths of deputies in Parliament, given the relatively short time until the vote scheduled for Oct 20-21.

Babis, the most popular government politician, called the move "incomprehensible."

"(Sobotka) destroys everything," Babis told Czech public radio. "The government was successful, we had results."

"I reject his nonsense," he said. Babis said he was doing business in line with law.

The president's office didn't immediately comment. Zeman was scheduled to meet Babis on Wednesday.

Analyst Tomas Lebeda said he considered that Sobotka had made a "huge political mistake" because he put Zeman, another rival, in full control.

Babis is sometimes dubbed the "Czech Berlusconi," a comparison to Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian media tycoon who until recent years dominated his nation's politics.

Babis has often quarreled with the left-wing Social Democrats in the government.

Most notably, the Social Democrats pushed through legislation that limits the business activities of government ministers. The law bans ministers from owning media organizations, and bars companies in which ministers have more than a 25 percent stake from receiving state subsidies and participating in public tenders.

Babis, who owned two major newspapers and the Agrofert conglomerate of some 250 companies which receives state subsidies, fiercely opposed the law, but has complied with it.

Sobotka's Social Democrats are running a distant second in polls ahead of the October election. The Christian Democrats are the third member of the coalition government that was created in 2014. Their chairman, Pavel Belobradek, said he respected the premier's decision.
At least 37 people, including several children, were killed by Islamic State militants on Tuesday at a crossing often used by Syrian and Iraqi civilians seeking safety in northeastern Syria, officials said.

Some militants apparently blew themselves up at a Kurdish checkpoint in the first part of the attack. That checkpoint was maintained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a force supported by the Kurds and the U.S. that fights ISIS.

Others attacked sleeping civilians in a temporary camp that was housing hundreds of people who had escaped ISIS-controlled areas. The militants committed a massacre against civilians as they tried to enter the SDF-controlled area, a spokesman for the Kurdish fighting force said.

U.S. ARMY PARATROOPER KILLED FIGHTING ISIS IN IRAQ IS IDENTIFIED

The attack took place in the village of Rajim Sleibi, along a front line that separates the Kurdish-controlled Hassakeh province from ISIS-held areas located south.

Thousands of people from the Iraqi city of Mosul have traveled west to the Sleibi crossing since October, according to the International Rescue Committee.

The violence comes a day before the opposition and the Syrian government were slated to continue cease-fire talks in Kazakhstan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The man widely regarded as Joaquin El Chapo Guzmans successor as head of the Sinaloa drug cartel was captured early Tuesday morning outside Mexico City, Mexico's attorney general's office said.

Damaso Lopez, also called Damaso N and nicknamed El Licenciado (The Licentiate), was locked in a dispute with Guzman's sons for control of the cartel's territories.

The man was key in Guzmans 2001 escape from the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco. According to Milenio newspaper, he used to be a guard there and rapidly rose the ranks of the organization.

Damaso Lopez, 50, was indicted by a Virginia court in 2011 and would likely face charges there once he is extradited, the attorney general's office said.

Lopez and Guzmans sons are blamed for the unprecedented violence in the state of Sinaloa, which has seen 541 drug-related homicides so far this year  200 more than that same period in 2016.
Official figures show that unemployment across the 19-country eurozone held steady at 8-year lows in March.

Statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday that the proportion of people out of work was unchanged at 9.5 percent following a modest 5,000 monthly decline in the number of unemployed to 15.52 million.

The unemployment rate remains at its lowest rate since April 2009.

Though unemployment has been on a downward trend for years, it's still high relative to other economies such as the United States, where it's around half the eurozone's rate.

Big divergences remain. While Germany has an unemployment rate of just 3.9 percent, Greece still has 23.5 percent of its potential workforce jobless.

Hopes are high that unemployment across the region will fall further as the economy gains momentum.
A former FBI translator with top-secret security clearance traveled to Syria in 2014 to marry an ISIS leader she was ordered to investigate, court documents obtained by Fox News on Tuesday revealed.

Daniela Greene served two years in prison for lying to FBI officials and sneaking into Syria to marry the top ISIS recruiter, identified as Denis Cuspert, in June 2014.

'MOAB' AFTERMATH: FOX NEWS TOURS SITE WHERE AFGHANISTAN BOMB WAS DROPPED

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Michael McCaul, R-Texas, confirmed to Fox News there was an ongoing investigation into Greene's case.

Details of Greene's bizarre escape from the U.S. and into an ISIS fighter's arms were revealed in redacted 2015 court documents filed in Washington, D.C., which Fox News obtained on Tuesday. CNN reported she now works as a hostess in a cocktail lounge and told the network: "If I talk to you my family will be in danger."

ARMY PARATROOPER KILLED FIGHTING ISIS IN IRAQ IS IDENTIFIED

Greene, who is fluent in German, began working for the FBI as a contract linguist and was granted top-secret security clearance in 2011. She was assigned to investigate Cuspert in January 2014 while working at FBI's Detroit division.

Court documents identified Cuspert as "Individual A," but he previously was a German rapper who went by the name Deso Dogg. He adopted the name Abu Talha al-Almani when he moved to Syria and used his show-biz persona to become one of ISIS' top recruiters.

"Cuspert was a foreign terrorist fighter and operative for ISIL who used social media to take advantage of disaffected youth and potential Western recruits," Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith previously said in a statement to Fox News.

Cuspert appeared in propaganda videos, urging Muslim fighters to come to Syria to support the terrorist organization. Greene knew this for months during her investigation into Cuspert, according to court documents.

In June 2014, Greene took the plunge and decided to travel to Syria to be with Cuspert. She told her FBI supervisor and chief security officer that she was flying to Germany to visit her family. She filed paperwork listing her time off as "vacation/personal."

Greene never made it to Germany, but instead took a one-way flight to Istanbul, Turkey, on June 23, 2014. She then allegedly traveled to Gaziantep, located about 20 miles away from the Syrian border.

The FBI agent got in contact with Cuspert, entered Syria and the two married on June 27, 2014, court documents showed, adding that she even warned Cuspert that the FBI was investigating him. The marriage lasted about a month before Greene realized she "had committed a criminal act," according to the documents. They revealed three emails she wrote to an unidentified individual in the U.S. detailing her regret.

"I was weak and didn't know how to handle anything anymore. I really made a mess of things this time," Greene wrote in one email.

"I am in Syria. Sometimes I wish I could just come back. I wouldn't even know how to make it through, if I tried to come back," she wrote in another email.

In her third exchange, she acknowledged she was going to "prison for a long time if [she] comes back," but accepted the consequence.

Greene returned to the United States on Aug. 6, 2014, where she was immediately arrested. She pleaded guilty and signed an agreement to cooperate with government officials.

Though Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Gillice said Greene engaged in "egregious" actions that "endangered our national security," he recommended a prison sentence of just two years. One of the reasons was because the risk of her committing the crime again was low, according to court documents. She also was willing to work with the Government and had no prior incidents.

Greene was released from prison in August 2016. Two months earlier, reports surfaced that Cuspert was still alive despite the Pentagon declaring him dead in the fall of 2015.

A FBI spokesperson released this statement to Fox News: "As a result of this case the FBI took several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities. The FBI continues to strengthen protective measures in carrying out its vital work."

Fox News' Matthew Dean and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.
Five men have been arrested and multiple weapons seized in anti-terrorist raids carried out in France, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

The suspects, who ranged in age from 18 to 24, were rounded up Tuesday near the Normandy city of Rouen, in Villeneuve d'Ascq near Lille in northern France, and in Roanne in central France.

EX-FBI TRANSLATOR MARRIES ISIS FIGHTER SHE WAS ORDERED TO INVESTIGATE, COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW

The arrests follow a previous round last week in which ten people were taken into custody for their connection to the 2015 terror attacks in Paris, according to UPI.

The news comes ahead of Sunday's presidential election between Marine Le Pen and Emanuel Macron.

France remains under a state of emergency following a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks, including one on April 20 at Paris' famed Champs-Elysees. A gunman killed one police officer and injured three others before authorities were able to shoot and kill him in the April 20 incident. ISIS later claimed responsibility.

Police on April 18 arrested two suspected extremists in Marseille, who were preparing to carry out an "imminent, violent action on national territory," Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Germany's defense minister has canceled a Wednesday trip to the United States amid a government probe of a possible far-right cell with ties to the German army.

Authorities last week arrested a 28-year-old lieutenant who managed to register as a Syrian asylum-seeker without being detected on suspicion of preparing an act of violence.

Investigators say the army officer may have planned to blame a possible future attack on foreigners.

The officer has been identified only as Franco A. due to German privacy rules

German news agency dpa reported Tuesday that Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants to focus on the investigation surrounding the case.

The RND media group reports defense officials believe A. was part of a small far-right group and planned to brief lawmakers late Tuesday.
Germany's Foreign Ministry says the Swiss ambassador has been called in for talks following the arrest last week of a Swiss national on spying charges.

The Foreign Ministry said the ambassador was asked Tuesday for more details about the spying suspect, a 54-year-old identified only as Daniel M., "in the interests of the German-Swiss friendship."

After his arrest in Frankfurt on Friday, prosecutors said M. was suspected of espionage activity in Germany since 2012.

The Welt newspaper reported Sunday M. was sent to Germany by Switzerland's intelligence agency to identify German tax investigators involved in the purchase of confidential Swiss bank client data.

Germany has in the past bought the names of Swiss banking clients to determine if they were cheating on their taxes.

Swiss officials have declined comment.
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The board of Italian carrier Alitalia says it's filing for extraordinary administration as a result of unions' rejection of a plan to relaunch the struggling company.

The board expressed "deep regret" Tuesday that workers overwhelmingly rejected a government-brokered relaunch plan, which had softened planned job and salary cuts. The board said the outcome made it impossible to unlock the planned 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in investments from both managing shareholder Etihad and a consortium of Italian companies that control a 51-percent stake. The company will therefore need to be reorganized, the board said.

Italy's economic development minister has said that the period of extraordinary administration, which is designed to help companies avoid failure, is expected to last about six months, during which a buyer would be sought.
A U.S. Marine veteran from Atlanta and his Canadian girlfriend were found dead in Belize Monday, a week after they disappeared following a night out with friends, reports said.

Drew DeVoursney, 36, and his girlfriend, Francesca Matus, 52, were last seen leaving Scotty's Bar and Grill in Corozal on the night of April 25, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

ARMY PARATROOPER KILLED FIGHTING ISIS IN IRAQ IS IDENTIFIED

A friend reported the couple missing on Friday after he went to Matus' home to drive her to the airport and couldn't find her. Matus' car was also gone.

The vehicle turned up Sunday in a sugar cane field, about 10 miles from the bar, The Journal-Constitution reported. A close friend told the newspaper a search party found the bodies of DeVoursney and Matus on Monday.

HUNDREDS OF CIVIL WAR-ERA CANNONBALLS FOUND AT PENNSYLVANIA CONSTRUCTION SITE

The bodies reportedly appeared on a road near the field, not far from the country's border with Mexico. Police did not say whether they suspected foul play.

Brandon Bar, who set up a GoFundMe page to cover expenses for the search, also wrote in an update that the couple was found dead.

"Someone had killed a United States marine, my brother in arms, who survived Fallujah, Iraq and Afghanistan," Bar wrote on the page.

"Today is Day 1 of Justice. I will not let anyone to allow his death be the end of it all," he wrote in another post on Tuesday.

DeVoursney had been living in Corozal with a friend since December. He served several tours in Iraq and was scheduled to fly back to Atlanta on Friday to start trade school, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Matus, who dated DeVoursney for the last two to three months, was also expected to fly back to her home in Toronto.

Read more from Fox 5 Atlanta.
Credit: TOLO News

Taken just ten days after the strategically targeted explosion to destroy both ISIS fighters and their underground tunnel system in Eastern Afghanistan's Achin District of Nanganhar province, the footage - obtained by Fox News COURTESY TOLO NEWS in Afghanistan - offers a glimpse into the destruction waged by the weapon.

With lush sprawling green meadows and grazing cattle surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the scene could be any idyllic spring countryside. But look a little closer and the scorched trees signal something far from idyllic, the results of detonating the largest non-nuclear bomb the U.S has ever used in combat.

"Scores of houses were destroyed, and even parts of the mountain were, too."  Karim Amini, local journalist

Photos obtained by Fox News in Afghanistan taken less than two weeks after the strategically targeted explosion of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb to destroy ISIS fighters and their underground tunnels in Eastern Afghanistan's Achin district of Nanganhar province show just how devastating the munition is.

"The war is still going on near the site," Karim Amini, a local TOLO News journalist who toured the site, told Fox News. "[The destruction] was wide, but how deep the MOAB went was not clear as it dived into the earth and blew out the tunnels which you can't see."

To make it to within half a mile from where the so-called Mother of All Bombs hit, as close as one can get without risking an ISIS attack, one must take a curling, rubble-covered road under the iron-clad escort of elite Afghan forces into a sleepy area once ruled by the Afghanistan chapter of Islamic State, which calls itself ISIS-K, in reference to Khorosan.

From there, what was left after the MOAB detonated is vivid -- skeletons of burned cars, houses holed and guttered. Inside one ISIS cave on the periphery of the bomb blast, a bed frame and prayer mat can be seen crumpled on the floor. An iron cage stands beside it, a cage believed to have been used to hold and torture prisoners captured by the brutal terrorist faction.

The interior of a concrete house largely crushed by the MOAB's impact still has graffiti written in Pashto on its walls, cautioning government soldiers to "surrender to us," declaring the Afghan government "the enemy" as well as its infamous global slogan "long live Islamic State."

Moving closer to the site, with a coalition C-130 military aircraft above, one can see large trees ripped by their roots and body parts of dead fighters strewn across the decimated landscape.

"There were tunnels that were entirely destroyed, decimated guns of ISIS, about 20 dead bodies and trees ripped from the earth," Amini recalled, after having gone into areas of Achin without escort. "Scores of houses were also destroyed, and even parts of the mountain were, too."

According to one Afghan special forces soldier, the MOAB is just the beginning -- the operation is ongoing, and they intend to "clean up right to the (Pakistan) border line."

Several Afghan people residing near the MOAB explosion voiced their appreciation for the drop, saying the black-clad militants tortured their community. But these Afghanis stressed the fear they felt when the bomb detonated -- from the earth moving to children temporarily losing their hearing.

"The people were happy, but only on one condition: that ISIS die and that they disappear from that site as well as their district. Otherwise it is not of benefit to them," Amini said. "Now they want the 'father of all bombs' to be dropped and ISIS annihilated."

Multiple Afghanistan military and government officials told Fox News that there simply was no other solution but to opt for the MOAB, as the vast array of planted landmines was making it next to impossible to effectively clear ISIS from the area without enduring severe soldier casualties.

"This bomb was a good thing. It destroyed everything. ISIS can't use that area anymore, so that is the success," said Maj. Abadullah Karimi, spokesperson for the 202nd Shamshad Police Corps, which is operating in those ISIS-infiltrated areas of Nangahar Province.

And while many have expressed enthusiasm, some are outraged.

"This was truly inappropriate. The U.S. was just using Afghanistan as grounds to send a message to North Korea, Russia, trying to threaten them," Mohamad Omer Safi, former provincial governor of Kunduz and head of the U.N. Security Office-Afghanistan, told Fox News. He insisted that less than 2.5 miles behind the bombed area are more strategic ISIS locations, including caves and leadership headquarters. "Right near there is the ISIS capital. Why wasn't that targeted?"
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is considering appointing a senior official to oversee counterterrorism efforts, a move aimed at meeting one of President Donald Trump's demands that the alliance focus more on terror threats.

The proposal is similar to NATO's recent decision to create a top intelligence post, a move that Mr. Trump has repeatedly praised and that he has cited as evidence the alliance has responded to his criticisms and is no longer obsolete.

While no NATO country has vocally opposed the idea of a senior counterterrorism coordinator, some diplomats are skeptical about the role's impact unless alliance members also agree to expand the organization's counterterror efforts, including funding additional training initiatives.

NATO diplomats have been discussing how they can expand counterterrorism training, including ways to use allied special operations forces to better train antiterror commandos in the Middle East and Africa. Those proposals could include expanding the work or mandate of the NATO Special Operations Headquarters, which develops NATO counterterrorism plans.

No NATO member, including the U.S., has advocated the alliance conducting counterterrorism strikes or taking a direct attack role in the military fight against Islamic State in Syria, Libya or Afghanistan.

But expanding the alliance's use of its scarce resources, such as special-operations forces, is difficult and could weigh on NATO's budget, which some countries oppose expanding.

Bruno Lete, a security expert at the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund, said the U.S. has indicated it wants NATO to do more to combat terrorism. "NATO allies are going to need to subscribe to Trump's desire for a new NATO that can engage in counterterrorism efforts," Mr. Lete said.

Allied ambassadors are set to formally discuss the counterterrorism post and other proposals at a May 5 meeting, officials said. Diplomats have been debating various proposals as they prepare for the meeting of allied leaders, including Mr. Trump, later this month. Turkish, British and French delegations have circulated papers.

The U.S. however hasn't submitted a paper or made any formal requests to the alliance. While Mr. Trump has said he wants the allies to do more on counterterrorism, neither he nor other U.S. officials have stated any specific desires, according to allied diplomats.

Some NATO allies have said privately that without a formal proposal from the U.S., reaching consensus on new counterterrorism plans is difficult.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
North Korea on Tuesday said the United States decision to fly two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers in the area in a training drill is a provocation and puts the two countries on the brink of a nuclear war.

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

North Korea conducted another missile test on Saturday, its third launch in April alone, which reportedly failed soon after launch, and its Foreign Ministry said Monday the country will speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program "at the maximum pace."

A statement circulated by North Korea's U.N. Mission says the government is ready to respond to any option taken by the United States.

President Trump said after North Korea's latest failed rocket launch that communist leader Kim Jong-Un will eventually develop better missiles, and "we can't allow it to happen."

In a taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," the president would not discuss the possibility of military action, saying: "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."

Trump also said that he would be willing to meet with Kim. The New York Times reported that no sitting president has met with a North Korean leader since his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

Kim Jong-un would be delighted to meet with President Trump on the basis of one nuclear leader to another, Christopher R. Hill, a diplomat under President George W. Bush, told the paper. If I were Trump I would pass on that.

Separately, Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said North Korea's most recent missile test represents "open defiance of the international community." He said North Korea poses "a grave threat," not just to the U.S. and its Asian allies, but also to China.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
About an hour after the sun rose on Friday, some 200 Afghan soldiers  two companies belonging to the 5th Battalion, 7th Brigade of the Afghan Border Police  holding court in Zibak District of Badakhshan Province in the far northeastern corner of Afghanistan were barraged from all four sides by an estimated 1,500 terrorists.

"They suddenly just surrounded us," commanding officer Colonel Mohammad Nader told Fox News on Tuesday, adding that his 5th Battalion generally operates out of Kunduz, but a few months ago deployed to Badakhshan to offer support as insurgency there swelled.

Such surprise assaults are hardly unusual, but this one seemingly small battle in a long war could prove to be a major strategic loss for U.S-backed Afghanistan.

Outnumbered and outgunned on Friday, the Afghan forces repelled the enemy fighters several times, seeking support from higher ups that Nader claims never came. Fearing a complete bloodbath and with morale fast falling, the colonel ordered his men to retreat. With that, he continued, they had no choice but to abandon their military vehicles and much of their ammunition and flee as the enemy moved in.

'MOAB' AFTERMATH: FOX NEWS TOURS SITE WHERE AFGHANISTAN BOMB WAS DROPPED

With little food or water, and that sunken feeling of having been forgotten by the leaders for whom you fight for, the down-trodden forces embarked on what would prove to be a tortuous three-day expedition. Already at 8,500-feet altitude, and then ascending to 10,000 feet and slogging 30 miles through uninhabitable frozen terrain, Nader said 20 soldiers "died or disappeared" along the trek.

On Monday, the remaining made it to the Ishkasham region of Badakhshan and instantly came under enemy assault  calling on locals to help defend their beleaguered group.

As of today, the Afghan soldiers have established a new front line of sorts running through a stretch of small villages. Nader emphasized that there are only a couple of hundred of them armed with light weapons and stretched thin along the porous, almost four-mile front line.

What's more, he lamented that they are without appropriate cold weather clothing and weapon supplies. But just how long they can keep the much better equipped enemy out, Nader does not know.

"We don't care about food, we just want what we need to survive," he contended. "And it will be a big problem if the terrorists capture this area."

AFGHANISTAN'S PEOPLE CELEBRATE NATION'S 25TH BIRTHDAY, VICTORY OVER RUSSIA

Commander Ahmad Muslem Hayat, a former Mujahideen army chief and later military attache for Afghanistan's British Embassy, stressed the strategic importance of this land parcel, which is nestled between Tajikstan and northern Pakistan, and edging the province's border with China.

"During the Soviet war, we built this road running from Chitral in Pakistan straight to Zibak, so we had an effective supply and logistics route," he explained. "If this road falls, it would be a terrible loss logistically and economically. The Taliban and ISIS would get everything they need from Pakistan and other neighbors."

Also, it would cut off the Badakhshan peninsula, and vital trade partner China, from the rest of Afghanistan.

Despite the oft-cited narrative of the Taliban and ISIS frequently turning their weapons on one another, Nader insisted that attacks against government troops in the region are often coordinated between these factions, and that the initial assault on Friday involved both parties as well as Al Qaeda and Uzbek elements. He also said that such co-operation continues at their new post.

"We are fighting all of them now," he said. "The Taliban are usually the ones on the mountain and ISIS and foreign fighters are below in the valleys."

Back in their origin of Zibak, a small group of Afghan Special Forces Commandos have since arrived in an attempt to recapture the region from the terrorists. Several airstrikes are said to have been conducted.

Three years ago, the northeastern region was relatively stable  thus resources were increasingly diverted to the terrorists teeming southeast and east. But in recent months especially, the security situation here has sharply deteriorated  symptomatic of much of the conflict-ridden country.

I hope Resolute Support (the NATO mission in Afghanistan) recognizes the strategic importance of this battle, information analyst and former Marine, Will Semmes, observed from Kabul this week. It is indicative of the current state of Afghan military command-and-control and a loss of this key area would further embolden the Taliban and their hosts in Pakistan. Theres a reason thousands of Afghan soldiers are being killed every year.

According to a new report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), at least 6,785 Afghan soldiers were killed last year, with an additional 807 casualties in the first six weeks of this year.

The Pentagon is subsequently mulling the deployment of 5,000 more US troops to assist with the grave scenario.

Former Afghanistan Vice President Ahmed Zia Massoud told Fox News that it's not unusual for national fighters to endure some 100 deaths a day.

"The U.S has given us a lot, but the Afghan leadership and corruption remains bad," he added. "And we are seeing that reflected in our worsening security situation."
A new report says pirate attacks off West Africa's coast almost doubled in 2016, with the majority occurring off Nigeria.

The Oceans Beyond Piracy maritime project said Tuesday that incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea off West Africa increased from 54 in 2015 to 95 in 2016.

The report says pirates in the region are increasingly using kidnapping for ransom. Lead author Maisie Pigeon says that model offers financial gain with less risk than hijacking for cargo theft.

There was only one incident of cargo theft hijacking in 2016.

The report says more than two-thirds of all reported incidents in the region took place off Nigeria.

The report also notes the recent return of piracy off Somalia and blames "decreased vigilance" by the international community.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Tuesday that accusations of Russia meddling in the 2016 United States presidential election were "simply rumors," despite U.S. intelligence officials saying they have definitive evidence that links Moscow to the Democratic Party email hacks.

Putin made the comment during a tense news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was visiting Russia for the first time in two years.

The Russian president added that the claim was being used as part of the political fight in Washington.

"We never interfere in the political life and the political processes of other countries and we don't want anybody interfering in our political life and foreign policy processes," Putin said.

CARTER PAGE, FORMER TRUMP ADVISER, SAYS HE'S COOPERATING WITH SENATE RUSSIAN PROBE

U.S. intelligence agencies claim Russia hacked email accountswith the aim of benefiting Donald Trump's campaign and harming his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

On Tuesday, the former Democratic presidential nominee also blamed part of her loss on Russia's role in hacking into her campaign's internal emails and subsequently coordinating their release on WikiLeaks.

"He [Putin] certainly interfered in our election," Clinton said during the Women for Women International's annual luncheon in New York.

"And it's clear he interfered to hurt me and help his opponent."

Merkel said Germany would take "decisive measures" if it believed there was foreign meddling in its upcoming election.

FRENCH ELECTION RALLIES ON MAY DAY BRING INSULTS, UNREST

Relations between Germany and Russia remain strained, mostly over the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Poland's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron made an "unacceptable" comparison when he likened Poland's government to the "regimes" of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban.

Macron made his remarks at a Paris rally on Monday while campaigning for the Sunday runoff election between himself and far-right nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen.

"You know the friends and allies of Mrs. Le Pen. These are the regimes of Orban, Kaczynski and Putin. They are not open and free democracies. Every day, freedoms and rules are violated there along with our principles," he said.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski is the chairman of Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice party and the country's most powerful politician.

The ministry said it noted Macron's words with "regret" and that the centrist candidate used "unacceptable comparisons and mental shortcuts that lead to errors in public opinion." It also denied that Poland is an ally of Le Pen's.

"Let us stress that anyone who knows Poland's history and its internal political scene does not have the right to accuse the Polish people of warm feelings toward imperial Russia," the ministry said.

Both Poland and Hungary have been strongly criticized by the European Union and international human rights organizations for consolidating power in a way that has eroded the independence of the courts, the media, and other institutions. Hungary's Orban has stated openly that he is building an "illiberal democracy."

Macron said last week that if he becomes France's president, he would press the European Union to impose sanctions on Poland, alleging the Central European nation disregards fundamental EU values and uses fiscal differences to its favor. He made the remarks after visiting a French home appliances factory that is scheduled to move to Poland, where labor costs are cheaper.

Polish government officials also criticized those comments.
Hungry Howies Pizza Inks Multi-unit Development Deals In Utah And North Carolina

Pizza Franchise Expands Footprint in Logan, UT and Gaston, Iredell and Mecklenburg, NC Counties

May 02, 2017 // Franchising.com // MADISON HEIGHTS, MI - Hungry Howies Pizza, the originator of the Flavored Crust pizza, is pleased to announce plans for expansion into North Carolina and Utah. Currently operating over 550 units across 21 states, the pizza franchise has signed a 5-store multi-unit agreement in North Carolina and a 3-store multi-unit agreement in Utah. The franchisees are currently researching potential store locations to bring the communities high-quality pizza available in eight deliciously flavored crusts.

A member of the Hungry Howies family since 2005, Eric Fairbanks has inked an area development deal for a 5-store multi-unit agreement in Gaston, Iredell and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina. Eric received his degree in education with a goal to become a teacher but decided to enter the pizza industry as more opportunity was available in the sector. He opened his first Hungry Howies location in Charlotte in 2005 and then took the pizza business by storm. With 11 other Hungry Howies locations now under his leadership, he plans to hit 17 stores by 2018 with three slated to open by the end of 2017.

New to the brand but not to the food industry, Richard Livermore has signed a 3-store multi-unit agreement with Hungry Howies in Utah with plans to launch locations in Logan. Richard has been involved in food manufacturing with brands like Kraft and Pillsbury for over 28 years. While this is his first venture into the restaurant business, he looks forward to opening his locations this summer.

Weve been looking to expand our footprint in Utah and continue growing our fan base in North Carolina for a while and we are confident in Eric and Richard, who are leading the charge, said Steve Jackson, CEO of Hungry Howies. We look forward to their success in these markets while fans continue to embrace the brand and our popular flavored crust pizzas.

For more information on Hungry Howies, franchising, or to find a location near you, please visit www.hungryhowies.com.

About Hungry Howies Pizza

Founded in 1973, Hungry Howies Pizza is a national pizza franchise that is loyal to its tradition of providing delicious, high-quality and original Flavored Crust pizzas including eight flavors: butter, butter cheese, Cajun, garlic herb, onion, ranch, sesame and Asiago cheese. Its menu features oven-baked calzone-style subs, Howie Breads, crisp & cool salads, and flavored wings that create a unique and irreplaceable position in the pizza market. Starting in Taylor, MI, Hungry Howies Pizza has grown to over 600 locations in 21 states across the U.S.

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The overarching theme emerging from Chinas ongoing Communist Party congress is one of continuity, not change. The weeklong meeting is expected to reappoint Xi Jinping as leader, reaffirm a commitment to his policies for the next five years and possibly elevate his status even further as one of the most powerful leaders in Chinas modern history. For many Chinese, weary of pandemic restrictions, the more immediate question is whether there will be any easing of zero-COVID after the party congress. The answer is probably not immediately, and when changes do come, they will most likely be gradual.
UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.: A Fredericksburg judge on Tuesday tossed out all charges against the three defendants in the beating death of Stuart Cole. The ruling came after the prosecution rested and the defense attorneys asked the judge to strike the charges.

Judge Sarah Deneke ruled that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence tying Cole's death to an assault or that an assault happened.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates later.

---

The state says Stuart Cole died as a delayed result of injuries he suffered at the hands of a mob attack in the badlands of a Fredericksburg parking lot.

The accused say Cole agreed to settle a dispute with one among a group of young men in a fight that ended with one punch, followed by a kick.

Defense attorneys for three of the six men originally charged in the case also characterized the 22-year-old Cole as a chronic cannabis user, while also pointing out that he owned handguns and had glass smoking pipes, other paraphernalia and baggies of suspected marijuana in his apartment, all found after his December 2015 death.

A jury of seven men and six women heard drastically different accounts in the case involving an altercation and the death of Cole nearly five years after his August 2011 run-in with a group of six young men at the Walmart in Central Park.

The defendants were eventually charged with assault by mob and involuntary manslaughter.

Before Tuesdays trial started, cases for three of the men were continued, with one defendant expected to testify as a prosecution witness. Also, the involuntary manslaughter charge was dropped against David Kerns, 24, one of the three men in the current trial.

The other men on trial are Sebastian Irvin, 24, the man who attorneys said punched Cole and knocked him out, and Demetrious Martin Walker, 23, who has admitted to kicking Cole.

The case stretches back to Aug. 22, 2011, when the altercation took place. Cole suffered serious injuries, including a fractured skull, which had him in a coma and on life support at one point shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The Fredericksburg Police Department handled the case, which went cold, so cold that Coles bloodied shirt and pants were destroyed. A detective testified that the evidence destruction happened prior to Coles death and was part of protocol.

Defense attorneys seized on that admission in court Monday.

Police re-opened the investigation after Cole died in his Fredericksburg apartment on Dec. 14, 2015, and the chief medical examiner in Richmond ruled that Coles death was a homicide related to the injuries suffered in the 2011. Police characterized the incident as an attack by a group of men and used surveillance video images and social media to help generate leads. They eventually tracked down the six men and arrested them.

Prosecutor Justin Witt, who endured a barrage of objections by the three defense attorneys on Monday, said in his opening statement that things started with an exchange of words in Walmart. He said the group of six later cornered Cole in a back part of the parking lot, which he said was known as the badlands. He said surveillance video didnt catch details but that Cole was punched once and then kicked, and left on the pavement with serious injuries.

Witt, along with Coles mother and brother, also described issues Cole dealt with following the altercation, including seizures, memory loss and car crashes. Doctors, including an assistant chief medical examiner who studied Coles brain, testified to the injuries he suffered.

The defense attorneys attacked the prosecutions case on numerous points, all disputing a link between Coles death and the altercation.

Kerns attorney, Andrew Cornick, said his client was completely innocent and that it was ridiculous that he was even on trial.

He said the 1920s-era charge of mob wounding was meant for things like lynching and tar and feathering, not a fight between teenagers and a stupid act by one person.

Eugene Frost, defending Irvin, said Cole agreed to settle whatever disagreement theyd had in the lot, and that Cole approached his client among the group.

Of Cole approaching his client, the attorney said he didnt think he was going there with love in his heart.

He said Irvin went only to watch but that when Cole approached him, his client punched Cole once and knocked him out. He said Irvin caught Cole to keep him from falling to the ground unconscious. Then, the attorney added, another person came along and kicked Cole.

Frost said those were independent actions.

Terry Patton, the attorney for Demetrious Walker, said his client did kick him and that he feels bad about that. But the attorney said that kick had nothing to do with Coles death five years later.

He, along with the other defense attorneys, pointed out other possible causes for seizures Cole suffered following the confrontation. They primarily focused on a pair of car crashes, with Cole suffering head injuries in at least one of them, and heavy marijuana use, which they said could account for memory loss Cole suffered in the years after the altercation.

The trial is set to continue Tuesday morning.
The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors voted 5-2 Tuesday to approve a pump-and-haul septic system application that will let the Islamic Center of Culpeper build a small prayer house along Rixeyville Road (State Route 229).

That approval came in accordance with an agreement the county reached last month with the U.S. Justice Department and the Islamic Center following discrimination suits filed by both groups. Under the agreement, the Islamic Center of Culpeper is not required to resubmit an application or any further information, according to County Administrator John Egertson.

Supervisors Bill Chase and Steve Walker voted against the motion. Initially, Chase, Walker and Supervisors Gary Deal and Jack Frazier had formed the majority that voted to deny the permit in April 2016.

Frazier had also voted against accepting the agreement on April 18. Deal changed his vote that night to end the discrimination suit.

The county will also pay the Islamic Center $10,000 as part of the agreement.

In other business, former County Administrator Frank Bossio gave the supervisors an update on the New Pathways vocational program.

Bossio said an instructor for the machine shop program has been hired and will begin work in July. He added that it is hoped that classes can begin in the refurbished building on the CarverPiedmont School campus by fall.

Bossio and fellow directors Leon Fincher and Ed Dalrymple told the supervisors that New Pathways is now working with DMG Mori, one of the worlds largest tool manufacturers, and that the company is so enthusiastic about the program that it has invited the Culpeper group to put on a seminar in Chicago later this month.

Plans also call for a welding program, an auto mechanic school and a heating and air-conditioning program to be added to the New Pathways umbrella soon.

I think future generations will look back and consider this the best thing youve done in the past 45 years, Fincher told the supervisors.

The county has provided the building for the program, but all the machining tools have been donated by large companies that are in need of the skilled workers that New Pathways will hopefully turn out.

In other action Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the countys $164 million fiscal 2018 budget, which includes about $10 million in capital improvement spending. The supervisors also voted to equalize the real estate tax rate to 67 cents per $100 of assessed valuedown from 73 centsand keep all other tax rates the same in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The budget increase [from $154 million in the current fiscal year] is due to increased state and federal revenues, said Egertson Were actually spending fewer local dollars under this new budget.

The supervisors also voted to spend $104,000 to fund an independent study on future courthouse needs.
Richard Thomas Allen didnt die on the battlefield, but the Naval officer is included in an event that honors every Virginia military service member who has died during the War on Terror. The gesture speaks volumes to his widow.

It just really blesses my heart, said Shannon Allen, who lives in Remington in southern Fauquier County. Im honored they give Rich a flag with his name on it. Im honored that they include him. A lot of organizations only allow them if theyre killed in action, but this organization honors all the heroes, and that gives me so much pride.

Allen is referring to the Virginia Run for the Fallen, which is holding its fifth annual event starting later this week. More than 30 active-duty military members from bases throughout the commonwealth will start the four-day journey Thursday in Fort Story and end up at Arlington National Cemetery for a ceremony that starts at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Along the wayand the 250-mile route includes Tappahannock, King George County, Fredericksburg, Stafford County and Quanticorunners will stop at hero markers which have been set up every mile to pay tribute to each individual. Organizers encourage family members and friends, fellow service members and representatives of the community to gather at markers to show their support.

Allen will go to Dumfries, where the marker for Lt. Cmdr. Thomas will be set up in front of the fire station. Shell be joined by her husbands parents, Jess and Sue Allen, and the three of them will hold an Honor and Remember flag adorned with a gold star and Richard Allens name, death date and branch of service.

We cry every year, said Shannon Allen, whos been to the marker the past two years. It just makes my heart swell.

Her husband served in the Navy for 21 years10 as an enlisted man and 11 as an officer. His tenure included stints in the Persian Gulf and during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

He and his wife each had two children, a daughter and three boys in all, from previous marriages, and their three sons also served in the military. The Allens had taken her son, Garrett Camacho, to Parris Island, S.C., to be sworn into the Marines on Aug. 9, 2010. After coming home to Stafford County, Richard Allen went for a jogand died of sudden cardiac arrest at age 39. He hadnt had any health problems to that point.

The Blue Star Mothers of Fredericksburg supports the annual run by being present at the hero markers of their chapter members.

It is humbling to witness the families hear their loved ones name called out and be saluted, said Teresa Sumners, a Blue Star mother.

Its important to families to know that their loved ones are not forgotten and have not died in vain, said Laura Sutton, public relations manager for the event.

Friends and family members can run with the core group for a mile before their loved ones marker. But they need to be able to keep pace with the team, which means running an 8-minute mile, according to the groups website.

The runners will cover up to 75 miles each day. Theyll start at 7 a.m. Thursday in Virginia Beach and finish that evening in Gloucester. Fridays run will take them through the Northern Neck and into Dahlgren, where American Legion Post 89 will serve them dinner.

On Saturday, runners will head west on Route 3 into Fredericksburg, then go north on U.S. 1 through Stafford and into Prince William County. Sundays run will be the shortest, as the group starts in Manassas and ends at Arlington National Cemetery. Theyll gather with participants at the gate of the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel at 1 p.m. and walk the final mile to the cemeterys Section 30, where many of those whove died in recent years are buried.

More information about the run, the route and where individual markers are located is available at varunforthefallen.org.
Priess and his team uncovered how cells find their developmental fate in the microscopic worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans, which is commonly used in many studies of basic biology. This animal is much simpler than us, but there are parallels that can be drawn between worm and human, Priess said. Many of the genes his team has discovered over the years that act in C. elegans development also exist in humans. Specifically, he and his colleagues found new proteins involved in how cells talk to each other in early development that are also implicated in some types of Alzheimers disease.

But there are key differences too, differences that make the worm interesting and exciting as a subject of study, Priess said. Unlike humans, the animal is adapted for very rapid development, growing from an egg to an adult in just three days. And unlike many of our cells, the worms early embryonic cells are limited to a particular fate  the same cell in a developing embryo will always give rise to the same precise set of neurons in the adult, for example.

Of his many discoveries, Priess said he is most proud of uncovering how this programming works, a phenomenon that seems to be unique to simple creatures like the worm. He and his laboratory team found a series of molecules and mechanisms that lead to what he terms a combinatorial code of cell fates in the simple creature, combining aspects intrinsic to the cells themselves as well as interactions between the developing cells that push them toward specific fates in the adult animal.

Although one of the proteins involved in that process that Priess discovered is related to a human protein, humans dont appear to use the same cell-intrinsic part of the process in our development, Priess said. Thats probably because our development is slower and our cells are not as constrained in their fates as those of the simple worm.

Jims a phenomenon in the worm world, said Dr. Jonathan Cooper, senior vice president and director of the Basic Sciences Division. He's wowed us over the years with his penetrating experiments and encyclopedic knowledge of how a worm develops from egg to adult.

Cooper described how his longtime colleague would draw on a blackboard from memory the timeline of how each cell divides and progresses in a developing worm embryo. The developmental biologists way of thinking about the growing 3-D structure of the microscopic worm in parallel with how the cells grow and change over time  the fourth dimension  was mind-boggling to him, Cooper said.

Jims a true four-dimensional scientist, Cooper said.

Several other Fred Hutch scientists have been elected to the NAS, most recently in 2015, when genetics and biology researcher Dr. Sue Biggins gained membership.

Priess, who was also an investigator of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1994 to 2011, said hes honored and humbled by the academys recognition.

Im honored for the recognition for me and several outstanding colleagues that have worked over the years in my lab, he said. Im also indebted to the Hutchs support.
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Jones said plan is to play Friday since also chance of rain Thursday

The Indians playoff motto is a familiar and simple one: Survive to play another game. The Indians did just that with a 60-23 win over Rock Hill this past Friday...
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley outside of Youngstown, Ohio typically features wagering on Saturdays Kentucky Derby race with live simulcasting. Be sure to check for better prices and bonuses on this year's Kentucky Derby at SportsBetting.ag (online since 1997 and offering a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1000).

Kentucky Derby Day September 4, 2020:

Tickets are $50 and includes a swag bag, racing program, tax and gratuity, a 4 course meal and access to place bets with our mutuel tellers! Ticket reserves a seat 11 am to 7 pm.

Covid-19 Hours and Protocol

#welcomeback Hours of Operation: Open Friday  Sunday 24 hours a day. We are open Monday  Thursday from 7 a.m.  4 a.m.

Gaming machines are configured to enforce social distancing requirements.

All guests and employees are required to wear masks.

Simulcast Racing is available seven days a week.

Take 2 Food Court is open.

Skybox Sports Bar is open.

H Lounge Bar is open for drink service at 10 a.m. daily.

In support of Governor DeWine and the Liquor Control Commission, starting July 31, alcoholic beverage sales will stop at 10 p.m. and all drinks must be consumed by 11 p.m.

Valet will remain closed.

Property restricted to guests 21 and over, this now includes racing and simulcast.

Online wagering from an established international racebook is available 24/7 however and you will never have to provide a social security number or have the track report your winnings to a government entity.

SportsBetting Racebook vs. TwinSpires

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Tapwrit had early odds of 18-1 to win the 2017 Kentucky Derby. It appeared as if he will be taking part in the big race as of Tuesday evening. Tons of inquiries were coming in on Tapwrit Tuesday night.

Tapwrit stumbled a bit in his last race, finishing 5th at the Blue Grass Stakes, having won the Tampa Bay Derby before that. He finished 1st in two previous races and 2nd in another before the Tampa Bay Derby.

Heading into the Blue Grass, Tapwrit was being billed as a true star.

Tapwrit finished 10th in his debut and those familiar with the high priced youngster chalked that one up to a case of nausea.

"I think the general consensus that day was a severe case of nausea to be honest," part owner Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds suggested ahead of the Blue Grass. "We had realistic expectations in terms of knowing that he probably wasn't the type of horse that was going to fire first time out. But to say that he would show as little as he did that day, I would be lying if I said we expected thatnor would we have ever run him had we expected that."

Trainer extraordinaire Todd Pletcher will be running Tapwrit in this years Derby. Amazingly, Pletcher only has a single Kentucky Derby win under his belt.

Hes also running Always Dreaming, which appears to be getting the top priority of his two likely entries.

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
You can bet this years Kentucky Derby online from Ohio via any number of international racebooks that wont ask for your social security number or report your betting activity to a government entity.

Ohio is home to three thoroughbred race tracks  Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course near Youngstown, ThistleDown Racino in the Cleveland suburbs and Belterra Park Gaming near Cincinnati.

Not all tracks are accessible to Ohio residents and therefore most folks will stay home to place their horse wagers on this years Kentucky Derby.

Belterra Park Gaming will feature events that include commemorative giveaways, gaming promotions and wagering opportunities for the Kentucky Oaks, May 5, and the Kentucky Derby, May 6. Live music, a fireworks show and Belterra Parks annual hat contest. Wagering windows open at 10 am. While there, place your bets at any number of international online betting sites as well to take advantage of free cash bonus and money back offers .

Hollywood Gaming will feature a live simulcast of the race with first post time 10:30 am Saturday. There will be a Derby hat contest, silent art auction, great music and more.

SportsBetting Racebook vs. TwinSpires

SportsBetting Racebook TWINSPIRES.COM 7 Percent Cash Back No Cash Back Free Play Signup Bonus Free Play Signup Bonus Does Not Require Social Security # Must Provide Social Security # Does Not Report Taxes Reports Tax Info to Government Offers Betting on Hundreds More Events Limited to Horse Betting Betting on Over 50 Race Tracks Betting on Over 50 Race Tracks Live Dealer Online Casino No Online Casino
Photofits released : Bonn police are looking for two men posing as policemen

Bonn Conmen have been in the region for several months posing as policemen and targeting senior citizens. Bonn police have now released photofits of the two suspects.

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The men robbed a married couple in Bonn on 7 March. The incident began with a phone call from an unknown person who said he was a policeman. He told the 80-year-old woman that two thieves had already been arrested and that a further perpetrator was possibly still in her apartment and that for security reasons two plainclothes detectives were being sent. At that moment the doorbell to her apartment rang.

The two supposed plainclothes detectives were standing at her door and entered the apartment. Under the pretext of looking for the third perpetrator they then searched through the apartments rooms and stole two gold rings. The couple first noticed this after the event. There have so far been no clues as to the suspects in the course of police investigations. However, specialists from the NRW State Office of Criminal Investigations have produced photofits of the two suspects based on information from witnesses. Anyone who knows the people on the photos is asked to contact the police inspectorate 34 on 0228/150.

In connection with this case, the police are again warning that they never call anyone using the number 110. The perpetrators use computer software which shows this phone number on the display of the recipient of the call. Bonn police advise not to give out financial details or information about the condition and security of your apartment or house or other personal information. Genuine policemen generally do not ask such questions over the phone. Also never let strangers into your apartment. The police also advise to always ask supposed officials for their identity cards. In suspicious cases, always call the police on 110.
Four displays can be shown simultaneously

This is an interesting feature of this monitor. It can display up to 4 screens with the size of 21.5 inches full HD at the same time. It also comes with Picture-in-Picture (PIP) support which allows you to simultaneously display a variety of images on the screen while displaying 4K video on the entire screen.

Seven port rich terminal

Video input comes with seven different ports. That is, you can see two HDMI 2.0 inputs, two HDMI 1.4 inputs, one DisplayPort terminal, one USC-C port, and an RS-232C terminal.

Also Read: LG Watch Style with Android Wear 2.0 is now available in Canada

These ports help the monitor to be used as a screen for up to four different devices at the same time. The two standard USB 3.0 ports can be used by the monitor to control two computers by using a single mouse and keyboard.

Automatic screen split

There is a new feature by name "OnScreen Control" which allows the user to set the basic OSD settings such as brightness, contrast, selection of picture mode, and game functions on the Operating System.

One can also set the picture mode in advance for each software by using Picture Preset option. So, when starting that corresponding software or any window, the selected picture mode automatically will be applied.

Powerful speaker

The monitor is equipped with a built-in 10 W + 10 W high output stereo speaker with "Rich Base" feature in it. It can reproduce the low-frequency range of 85 Hz or lower richly and richly, to produce a powerful stereoscopic sound.
Samsung QLED TVs launched: Price, features and more News oi -Samden Sherpa Seems like Samsungs QLED TVs are ushering in a new era for televisions.

Samsung today announced its new QLED TVs at an event in India. As such the company has launched five models in India. Dubbed as Q7, Q7F, Q8, Q8C, and Q9 these newly launched TVs are priced between Rs. 3,14,900 and Rs. 24,99,900. The five new QLED TVs is available to be purchased in India starting this month.

Samsung, on the other hand, is also offering a pre-booking offer for the new QLED TVs. Well, if consumers pre-book a QLED TV between Tuesday, May 2 and May 21, The South Korean giant will be giving gold color Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphone for free.

OPPO is once again set to revolutionize the 'Selfie' experience with OPPO F3

Samsung's new TVs Q7, Q8, OPPO is once again set to revolutionize the 'Selfie' experience with OPPO F3C, and Q9 will come in 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch panel sizes. However, the Q7F will come with 55-inch and 65-inch panel sizes.

Samsung's new QLED TVs feature Quantum Dot technology and the company boasts of great picture quality. Brightness levels are between 1,500 and 2,000 nits and the TVs are also capable of producing 100 percent color volume. Further, the new Samsung QLEDs feature an almost bezel-less display design and come with OneRemote with which users can connect with other peripherals without manually programming the remote controller. The TVs also come pre-installed with new Smart View app that allows for better mobile-to-TV experience.

Videocon Krypton 22 launched at Rs. 7,200 with Android Nougat

To accompany the display, Samsung is also providing a new no-gap wall mounting solution that holds the QLED TVs firmly against the wall. The company is also providing other mounting solutions like Gravity Stand and a Studio Stand.

Additionally, the new QLED TVs features a new optical cable which connects to the Samsung One Connect Box, a new smart TV interface, voice control, support for the Samsung Smart View app on Android and iOS, Samsung TV Plus services, and Shazam music service.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. HC Hong, President, and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, stated, "Samsung's QLED TVs are ushering in a new era for televisions, with innovations that are ahead of their time. These televisions reflect our global ambition. Samsung has been the world's biggest television brand for the last 11 consecutive years. We are also India's top television brand for the last decade and the most trusted brand in the consumer electronics category."

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Apple to directly sell locally assembled iPhone SE via its online store News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Apples online store coming soon in India.

After executing its plans to locally assemble the iPhone SE, Apple seems to be all set to introduce its online store in India by the end of 2017. The store is believed to directly sell the locally assembled iPhone SE, value added services like personalized laser engraving on devices and other accessories.

Going by a recent report by the Economic Times, a senior industry official has revealed that the Indian government lets companies sell their models made locally in the country directly to the buyers via online stores. The alleged online store plans of Apple do not need any FDI approval in retail.

Leaked molds of purported iPhone 8 show no fingerprint sensor on back

Apple is all set to assemble the affordable iPhone SE models in a contract manufacturer's unit located in Bengaluru in the near future. The Taiwan-based manufacturer Wistron Corp has partnered with Apple and is setting up a manufacturing plant in Bengaluru. This way, Apple will be able to solely focus on assembling iPhones as it seeks tax concessions from the government for local production in the fastest growing global mobile market.

Initially, Apple will start assembling 300,000 to 400,000 units of iPhone SE in India and these units will not be dependent on the tax concessions offered by the government. The report adds that Apple is all set to sell the iPhone SE units online and expand the portfolio of local production to the other iPhone models as well.

Apple is testing a new technology for future iPhones

With the local assembly of its products, Apple can price the devices aggressively in the Indian market. There are reports that the iPhone SE price tag might go down by up to 10% as a result of the local assembly. The report further adds that with its own online store, Apple is not aiming to compete with the retailers such as Amazon and Flipkart by offering the iPhone SE and other devices at a cheaper price.

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Gionee M6S Plus is now available for sale in China News oi -Chandrika We hope it will soon be available in India as well

Gionee unveiled the M6S Plus in China on April 24. This new smartphone from the Chinese company packs some powerful features, the mammoth 6020mAh battery being the most significant one. Considering this, the phone naturally comes with a price tag on the higher side.

One week after the launch, the Gionee M6S Plus is now available for sale in China. Currently, only the basic 64GB variant is up for purchase and it is priced at 3499 ($507). While the 256GB native storage variant is not available for sale yet, the price is listed at as 4299 ($623). Now the question is, whether people will be spending more than $100 just for the extra storage space.

OnePlus 5 is on the way: Hints OnePlus CEO

To recall, let's go through the features and specifications of the Gionee M6S Plus.

Under the hood The Gionee M6S Plus is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor clocked at 1.95GHz. As already mentioned, the phone comes with two default storage variants, one with 64GB and another with 256GB. The storage capacity of the smartphone is teamed with 6GB of RAM. To keep the lights on there is a huge 6020mAh battery inside, which is sufficient to easily last a day's heavy usage. Display and optics The Gionee M6S Plus flaunts a 6-inch FHD 1080p On-Cell AMOLED display. Coming to the camera department, the device features a 12MP primary shooter with LED flash as well as an 8MP camera on the front for selfies and video calls. Other details On the software front, the Gionee M6S Plus runs on Amigo 3.5 operating system that is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Connectivity suite of the device offers 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, USB OTG, GPS, and 3.5mm audio jack. Additionally, there is a fingerprint scanner housed below the rear camera module, which can also measure the heart rate and secured payment options.

The Gionee M6S Plus undoubtedly comes with some impressive features and specifications. Unfortunately, the company has not yet said when it plans to launch the phone in India.

Source Via

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MediaTek SoC confirmed

From the certification, it is known that the Moto C with feature Bluetooth 4.2 and equip a MediaTek processor under its hood, which is similar to the earlier rumors.

Also read: Moto C, Moto C Plus appears on EAC Certification site

Two variants of Moto C possible

It is said that the Moto C will arrive in a 3G and 4G variant with a 32-bit and a 64-bit processor respectively. The RAM will be 1GB and storage will be 8GB/16GB. The camera is likely to be a 5MP rear snapper with selfie flash and there is likely to be a 2MP front-facer too. The battery capacity will be 2,350mAh.

Also read: Moto C, Moto C Plus render show the budget phones from all angles

Moto C Plus to have HD display

Previously, it was tipped that both the Moto C and Moto C Plus will boot on Android 7.0 Nougat and boast a 5-inch display just like what we saw on the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus. The Moto C will have a FWVGA 854 x 480 pixel resolution while that on the Plus variant will be an HD 720p panel.

Also read: Moto E4 Plus hits the web, 5000mAh battery gets confirmed

Moto C Plus will have 4G support

Moto C Plus is believed to arrive in a 4G LTE variant with 1GB/2GB RAM and 16GB storage space. It is likely to feature an 8MP main snapper and a similar 2MP front-facer. The battery powering the Plus variant is believed to be a 4000mAh unit.
Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and Nokia 3310 India release likely pegged for June News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia 3310 and Android smartphones to be released in June.

There is a widespread speculation that the Nokia Android smartphones and the relaunched Nokia 3310 will be released in India sometime in the second quarter. However, there is no concrete evidence for the same.

Earlier reports speculated at late May or early June release but the recent one from India Today sheds more clarity says that these phones will reach the shores of the country only in June. Talking about the India release date of the Nokia phones, there have been a lot of contradictory information making the rounds all over the internet. Finally, we have across a June release date with the latest report.

Nokia 3310 (2017) passes global certification ahead of its release

One of the past rumors pointed at an April release for the Nokia 3310 and May release for the Android smartphones - Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6. Then came the alleged May release date for all the new Nokia devices. It remains unclear if all the four Nokia devices will be launched in India at the same time or if they will be released on different dates.

Nokia 6 now receiving Android 7.1.1 Nougat update

Notably, the Nokia 3310 (2017) is already listed for pre-booking on an online retailer in India at a price of Rs. 3,899. The listing says that the feature phone will be priced at Rs. 3,899, but there is no official confirmation regarding this as well. The listing also noted that the handset will go on pre-booking from May 5 and will start shipping from May 19.

Apart from India, these Nokia devices are believed to be launched across the global markets sometime in this quarter. The UK listing also points out at the same.

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Unleash your creativity and win a Nokia 3310 in your own design News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu You can win a Nokia 3310 for free.

1HMD Global is believed to release the Nokia 3310 feature phone and the Android smartphones - Nokia 3, 5 and 6 in India sometime in June. Of these, the Nokia 3310 is an attention grabber as it is aimed to cash in on the nostalgia factor taking fans back to the early 2000s.

Now, HMD Global has announced a contest on Instagram that is quite enticing. We say this as Nokia fans get a chance to design the limited edition Nokia 3310. There is a chance to win a personalized Nokia 3310 too with your own artwork. You need to first upload your design or artwork on Instagram followed by the hashtag #3310art as well as follow @NokiaMobile on Instagram. All the designs will be judged by HMD Global along with a UK-based design studio 'I Love Dust'.

This contest is open to all the Instagram users above 18 years of age across the world. The same will run until the midnight of 10 May 2017. The entire list of terms and conditions are listed on the official Nokia website.

Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and Nokia 3310 India release likely pegged for June

At the launch of this campaign, Pekka Rantala, CMO of HMD Global said, "We're grateful for the incredible support we receive every day from Nokia mobile fans and wanted to do something special to thank them. Design is extremely close to our hearts and something Nokia fans love. We're excited to see the design talent come through from the fans and hope the opportunity to be the sole designer and owner of a one of a kind Nokia 3310 will add to the excitement for Nokia mobile fans too,"

Already, the Nokia 3310 come in a range of eye-popping color options such as midnight blue, silver gray, sunshine yellow and orange-red.

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New Photo Leak

In fact, four photos and its EXIF information have been supposedly leaked online. Interestingly, one of the images also hints that OnePlus 5 could feature a dual rear camera setup. Previously, many reports have already claimed that the upcoming smartphone will feature dual camera setup.

However, coming back to the leaked images, the photos have been published by TrueTech along with the EXIF information which kind of hints that the images are clicked by the OnePlus 5. Moreover, the EXIF data contains details like shutter speed, aperture, model, focal length and more.

Details Revealed

Talking about it more, the smartphone comes with a model name ONEPLUS A5000. Further, the GPS data given as per the listing points the location Shenzhen in China. One Plus has its headquarters there.

SEE ALSO: OnePlus 3 HydrogenOS version 12 beta update released

Apart from that, the images which are said to be clicked from OnePlus 5, they are close up shots of plants or leaves and you can clearly see the depth of field or Bokeh effect. And while analyzing the pictures it seems that the rumors about the dual cameras on the OnePlus 5 seem to be true.

Dual cameras on the OnePlus 5 is a feature that we would like to see on the flagshipWe are expecting the company to make some major changes on its next "flagship killer".

Expectations

Considering the reports that have surfaced earlier, the OnePlus 5 is expected to feature a very sleek design with even more thinner bezels. The smartphone may come with a dual-edge curved display, a massive 8GB of RAM, be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 SoC and also pack 64GB or 128GB storage with the ability to expand up to 256GB.

SEE ALSO: Five OnePlus 5 features we think should be added in the upcoming flagship

Additionally, the smartphone is expected to sport a 16-megapixel front-facing camera, will be backed by a 4,000mAh battery along with the company's standard Dash Charge technology, USB Type-C port and Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box.
Customers can track mobile tower radiation by DOT's new portal News oi -Priyanka The new portal will enable anyone to view, understand and obtain information on the EMF emission level of all 14 lakh plus base transceiver station of any technology.

Now you can track radiation emitted from mobile towers, yes you heard it right, we say this as the Telecom Department ( DOT) today launched the much-waited web portal named ' Tarang Sanchar'.

The new portal will enable anyone to view, understand and obtain information on the Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) emission level of all 14 lakh plus base transceiver station of any technology ( 2G, 3G, and 4G) located at over 4.4 lakh mobile towers across India.

While launching the Tarang Sanchar Web portal, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said that the launch of Tarang Sanchar will definitely help in clearing myths and misconception of public on mobile towers and emissions from them.

Apple to directly sell locally assembled iPhone SE via its online store

He expressed that the portal empowers any common person to know, at the convenience of a mouse click, about towers working in a particular locality and whether they are compliant with the EMF emission norms defined by the Government.

It also enables a method of maintenance and retention of end-to-end records including submission of compliance by Telecom Service Providers and paperless processing by TERM cells.

The EMF-Portal is designed to provide a public interface where an easy map-based search feature has been provided for viewing the mobile towers in the vicinity of any locality. By a click of a button, information on EMF compliance status of mobile towers can be accessed. Detailed information about any tower site, if requested, will be sent on email to the users. Additionally, any person can request for EMF emission measurement at a location by paying a nominal fee of Rs 4000/- online.

In a recent past, the Supreme Court ordered to shut down a mobile phone tower on the ground after a 42-year-old man claimed that the electromagnetic radiation from the tower afflicted him with cancer.

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CIA chief in South Korea for 'internal visit'

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 10:13AM

CIA Director Mike Pompeo has traveled to South Korea for what the US embassy there described as an "internal meeting," as North Korea remains defiant in the face of US threats to drop its development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

"The CIA director and his wife are in Seoul for an internal meeting with the United States Forces Korea and embassy officials," an embassy official said Monday.

The confirmation of the unannounced visit came hours after the South's largest daily Chosun Ilbo first reported the weekend visit.

According to the newspaper, Pompeo held back-to-back closed-door meetings with the head of the South's spy agency and senior presidential officials.

The spymaster briefed Korean officials on US President Donald Trump's policy against Pyongyang, the report stated.

The future of South Korea's leadership and the May 9 presidential vote in the country were also on the agenda.

South Korea's former President Park Geun-hye was ousted in March over a corruption scandal, plunging the country into political turmoil.

The US embassy, however, dismissed reports that Pompeo had paid a visit to the executive office and official residence of the South Korean head of state to hold meetings with possible presidential contenders.

"He is not meeting with any Blue House officials, nor is he meeting with any political candidates," the official said, adding that the CIA chief's limited stay did not allow organizing such meetings.

The Trump administration has stepped up its threats against the North by deploying THAAD missile system in the South while sending a naval armada to conduct joint drills with Japanese and South Korean navy forces off Korean waters.

In a CBS interview that was aired Sunday, Trump warned Pyongyang against testing new missiles or nuclear bombs.

Unshaken by the threats, North Korean leaders have responded by increasing their missile tests and even hinted at a new nuclear test in the coming weeks. They have also warned the US and its regional allies of a strong military response in case of any invasion.

The North has so far conducted five confirmed nuclear tests and numerous missile test-launches, with the latest being on Saturday.

Ties between Washington and Seoul were challenged over the weekend, after American officials said that South Korea should foot the $1 billion bill for the THAAD system, arguing that it was meant to defend the South against the North.

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Hill F-16s train in NATO exercise

By Senior Airman Justin Fuchs, 419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs / Published May 01, 2017

ALBACETE AIR BASE, Spain (AFNS) -- Eight F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and more than 200 Airmen from the active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Air Force Reserve 419th FW from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, are currently at Albacete Air Base, Spain, to participate in the NATO Tactical Leadership Program through May 19, 2017.

TLP is an annual NATO mission commander's school training program and is designed to provide joint training to increase NATO air defense with participating allies.

"The Tactical Leadership Program is a good opportunity for all the participating nations to work together," said Master Sgt. Daniel LaBrake, the combined aerospace logistics coordinator and the only enlisted member from the U.S. Air Force stationed at the Albacete AB.

Hill's fighter wings are training with NATO allied air forces from 10 other countries.

"This is excellent training with some intense air operations and top of the line NATO jets from our coalition allies," said Lt. Col. Surya Frickel, the 466th Fighter Squadron commander.

During the large force exercise, the Hill AFB pilots will fly alongside 20-30 allied aircraft daily and against as many adversaries. Part of the learning that goes on is how to operate safely with the different aircraft and unfamiliar environments, as well as different languages and procedures.

"This exercise is a good example of the United States' cooperation and long-lasting commitment to the security of Europe and maintaining readiness with our NATO allies," Frickel said.

Though the wings have been on several training deployments together, this is the first time the 419th and 388th FWs are participating in TLP.

"Traditionally, squadrons stationed in Europe participate in TLP," LaBrake said. "So it has been a new challenge to coordinate all of the moving parts so these Airmen can come overseas and get this experience."

The deployment marks the last time the iconic multi-role fighter is scheduled to deploy from Hill AFB. F-16 aircraft from Hill's fighter wings have been flying over the skies of northern Utah for nearly 40 years.

"This is the last time the F-16 will deploy with the Hill designator HL painted on its tail," said Col. Michael Miles, 388th Maintenance Group commander. "We are extremely proud of the job we have done with the F-16 and we must do our best here at TLP to preserve the memory of the aircraft that is so dear to our hearts."

Hill's fleet of F-16s is being replaced by the Air Force's newest fighter jet, the F-35 Lightning II. The first operational F-35As arrived at Hill AFB in October 2015. Hill currently has 20 F-35As and will eventually be home to 78 aircraft and three operational squadrons by the end of 2019. The 388th and 419th FWs fly and maintain the aircraft in a total force partnership, which capitalizes on the strength of both components.

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Weather flight critical to coalition mission

By Master Sgt. Benjamin Wilson, 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs / Published May 01, 2017

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Dropping bombs on target in Syria and Iraq during combat missions supporting Operation Inherent Resolve requires a complex array of information, including intelligence gathered well in advance of the combat sortie.

Often times, this intelligence is gathered by coalition partners flying out of the 407th Air Expeditionary Group. But there is an unseen force providing those units information critical to their mission.

"When you are watching for vehicle traffic or personnel traffic, you are not looking for something that is very big," said Master Sgt. Tommy Tam, the 407th Expeditionary Operation Support Squadron superintendent and weather station flight chief. "You have to get into some very fine detailed imagery and if a cloud is blocking that, then it impacts the mission."

Tam said even seemingly benign weather conditions can have an impact on the effectiveness of operations.

"From an (intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance) standpoint the biggest issue they will come across is cloud cover," he said. "It seems pretty innocent; just because you have a cloud in the sky doesn't mean you have bad weather, but it is a direct impact to what they are able to do."

Both the Italian and Polish Air Forces rely on the weather forecasts generated by the U.S. Air Force to complete their missions.

"The air component performs reconnaissance missions for support of Inherent Resolve Operations," said Polish Air Force Capt. Grzegorz Jasianek, the Polish Military Contingent of Operation Inherent Resolve public affairs officer. "Imagery Intelligence is based on aerial photography. That is why the weather is so important. It has a huge impact on mission performance and image quality," he said.

However, providing this critical information to coalition partners does not come without its challenges.

Although Tam's flight has always been able to give pilots updates while in flight, it wasn't until recently they were able to update the coalition partners of changing weather conditions prior to entering the aircraft. This was due to differences in the communications networks used by the separate nations.

After identifying the problem, the weather flight here worked to ensure Italian and Polish air forces are able to receive the information required for execution of their operations whenever it is required.

The U.S. Air Force provides the coalition forces located here with a daily product called the mission execution forecast, which includes everything from temperature, pressure and wind speeds to lunar data for night operations.

In addition, the flight provides hourly weather observation and issues the watches, warnings and advisories for the installation.

According to Tam, the majority of the technical data used to compile their forecasts comes from the 28th Operational Weather Squadron, at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. However, the weather flight here also has an instrument cluster on the flightline to collect local weather data.

"The biggest piece that gives us our observing capabilities is our tactical weather equipment," he said. "It gives us all the information we need, such as winds, temperature, sky conditions and lightning."

And this is the information imperative to successful mission execution by our coalition partners.

"Help of U.S. Air Force weather Airman to perform our mission is priceless," said Jasianek. "Meteorological data that they send allows for proper planning of air missions in the station area as well as over the territory of the task. That is why it is so important to cooperate with Polish and American soldiers who are working together to fulfill the motto of our mission: one mission, many nations."

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F-35s forward deploy to Bulgaria

, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs / Published May 01, 2017

GRAF IGNATIEVO AIR BASE, Bulgaria (AFNS) -- Two F-35A Lightning IIs and about 20 supporting Airmen arrived at Graf Ignatievo Air Base April 28 from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England.

The F-35As are participating in the first training deployment to Europe. The aircraft and total force Airmen are from the 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, and the Air Force Reserve's 466th Fighter Squadron, 419th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

"The United States and Bulgaria have a strong and enduring relationship," said Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, the Third Air Force commander, during a press event after the arrival. "We routinely train through joint and combined initiatives like Operation Atlantic Resolve and in flying exercises like Thracian Eagle, Thracian Summer and Thracian Star. Our commitment to Bulgaria is but an example of our unwavering support to all allied nations."

Similar to the aircraft's visit to Estonia on April 25, this training deployment has been planned for some time and was conducted in close coordination with Bulgarian allies. It gives F-35A pilots the opportunity to engage in familiarization training within the European theater while reassuring allies and partners of U.S. dedication to the enduring peace and stability of the region.

"I have to say that for us, this makes us very proud," said Maj. Gen. Tsanko Stoykov, the Bulgarian Air Force commander. "Our efforts have been appreciated and we are trusted as a reliable ally and it immensely contributes to the development of the bilateral relations between our two counties and our two air forces."

This is the first overseas flying training deployment of the U.S. Air Force's F-35As. The deployment provides support to bolster the security of NATO allies and partners in Europe while demonstrating the U.S. commitment to regional and global security.

"We are grateful to our Bulgarian friends for their support in making today possible," Clark said. "Your cooperation helps prepare the F-35 for its invaluable contribution to our alliance. We look forward to many more years of our shared commitment and partnership."

This training deployment signifies an important milestone and natural progression of the Joint Strike Fighter Program, allowing the U.S. to further demonstrate the operational capabilities of the aircraft. It also assists in refining the beddown requirements for the F-35A at RAF Lakenheath in order to enhance Europe's ability to host the future capabilities of the Air Force and coalition team. Also, it helps to integrate with NATO's infrastructure and enhance fifth-generation aircraft interoperability.

The aircraft and Airmen began arriving in Europe on April 15, and are scheduled to remain in Bulgaria for a brief period of time before returning to RAF Lakenheath to continue their training deployment.

The KC-135 is from 459th Air Refueling Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and is providing refueling support for the deployment to Bulgaria.

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U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIS

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, May 1, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 73 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes consisting of 43 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed four ISIS wellheads.

-- Near Raqqa, two strikes destroyed four ISIS barges and an ISIS weapons facility.

-- Near Tabqah, 14 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; destroyed five ISIS oil stills, two vehicles and a fighting position; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 30 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and an ISIS sniper team.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and two sniper teams; destroyed six fighting positions, three artillery systems, three mortar systems, two rocket-propelled-grenade systems, a front-end loader, a vehicle-bomb factory and an ISIS staging area; damaged three ISIS supply routes; and suppressed two mortar teams and two rocket teams.

-- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed an anti-air artillery system.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed four ISIS fueling points.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a front-end loader.

Earlier Strikes

Additionally, officials reported details today of nine April 28-29 strikes for which the information became available after yesterday's report.

-- On April 29 near Raqqa, Syria, two strikes destroyed an ISIS-held building and an ISIS staging area.

-- On April 28-29 near Tabqah, Syria, six strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed four vehicles, two vehicle-borne bombs and three fighting positions; damaged three fighting positions; and suppressed two ISIS tactical units.

-- On April 29 near Mosul, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two fighting positions, two weapons caches, a mortar system and a front-end loader; and suppressed a heavy machine gun.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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Makin Island ARG/11th MEU's Contributions to US 7th Fleet

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170501-05

Release Date: 5/1/2017 1:18:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dennis Grube, USS Makin Island (LHD 8) Public Affairs

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), and the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45), with the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), provided a vital array of amphibious capabilities to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations during a month-long stay in theater.

The 4,500 Sailors and Marines of the ARG-MEU conducted maritime security operations and partnership building throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific to preserve the free flow of commerce in the region and promote international cooperation. The Navy-Marine Corps team also participated in bilateral engagements which strengthened military relations with partner nations and enhanced regional stability.

Capt. Mike Crary, commander, Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 5, said the team's deployment to the region brought a critical capability to a dynamic operating environment.

"The ARG-MEU team brings a range of capabilities to any region. During month six of our deployment, we entered 7th Fleet at the top of our game, trained and equipped to perform everything from combat operations and maritime security missions to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts," said Crary. "As a forward deployed contingency-response force, we provided operational flexibility for our 7th Fleet commanders."

The ARG-MEU team worked closely with foreign nations during their time in the Pacific to maintain strong relationships, proficiency and readiness.

During their final international port visit to Hong Kong, Makin Island and embarked Marines hosted a reception aboard the ship for foreign dignitaries and distinguished guests. The crew also gave back to the community by spending time with students from several local schools and giving ship tours to local students and Boy Scouts, while experiencing Hong Kong's rich culture firsthand.

"Our time is 7th Fleet was very relevant and much of what our team accomplished will have long-lasting, positive impacts on this region," said Capt. Mark Melson, Makin Island's commanding officer. "The importance of the partnerships our Sailors and Marines enhanced here can not be overstated, and their contributions to those relationships will remain long after our deployment is done."

The Sailors and Marines aboard Comstock also trained alongside members of the Sri Lankan Navy in an effort to exchange expertise in a range of topics which improved communication and coordination between U.S. and Sri Lankan forces, built mutual warfighting capability and supported long-term regional cooperation.

Comstock also visited Port Moresby to conduct activities and training that enhanced the Papua New Guinea Defense Force's support to civil authority operations, which include entry control and vehicle check points, escalation of force tactics, personnel searches, urban patrolling and VIP escorts.

"Training with partner militaries enables both forces to better understand how one another operate, and helps ensure we can fight effectively together toward a common objective," said Col. Clay C. Tipton, commanding officer, 11th MEU. "You can surge military personnel, equipment and vehicles, but you can't surge trust. That only comes from working side-by-side and shared experiences of tough, realistic training."

The Southern California-based Makin Island ARG/11th MEU is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations, returning from a seven-month deployment to the Asia-Pacific and Middle East.

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Pentagon weighs 5,000 additional troops for Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 3:9PM

The Donald Trump administration is considering plans to deploy as many as 5,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan, a move that could signal a strategy shift years after the US officially ended its combat mission in the country, officials say.

The options, under review by the Pentagon, include between 3,000 and 5,000 conventional military personnel to advise and assist Afghan military and police units in the fight against the Taliban, according to a report by the Military Times.

The Pentagon is also weighing a plan to deploy an unspecified number of Special Operations troops supposedly to escalate ground operations against al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIL) militants along the Pakistan border.

Two US Army Rangers were killed last week, possibly by friendly fire, during a raid on a purported Daesh position in the volatile border area. Another US soldier was killed there earlier this month.

US Army Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has submitted his recommendation for a troop boost of a "few thousand" in the war-torn country, US officials in Kabul said.

Nicholson's recommendation follows separate visits to Afghanistan by two key administration officials, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The White House is expected to reach a decision in coming weeks and announce any strategy shifts at the NATO security summit in Brussels later this month.

Last week, the Taliban announced the start of its "spring offensive", a heightened campaign of bombings, ambush attacks, and other raids that begin as weather conditions improve.

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. The 2001 military invasion removed the Taliban from power, but their militancy continues to this day.

US Marines returned to the southern province of Helmand, where NATO forces faced intense fighting until 2014, Gen. Nicholson announced Saturday.

About 300 Marines will form part of the so-called Operation Resolute Support, described by NATO as a "train, advise, and assist" mission consisting of over 13,000 troops.

The US currently has around 8,400 troops in Afghanistan with about another 5,000 from NATO allies.

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Filipino president talks of possible joint drills with China

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 2:19PM

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has raised the prospects of holding joint exercises with China as Manila seems to be distancing itself from its traditional ally, the United States.

Duterte, who was visiting a Chinese flotilla docked at a port south of the country on Monday, said the Philippines and China could stage drills in the future.

"Yes, I said I agree. There can be joint exercises," said Duterte when asked about possible joint drills between the two countries.

Duterte also hailed the presence of three Chinese warships at the Sasa Port in Davao City, his home town on Mindanao Island. The mission is China's first navy port call in the Philippines since 2010 and signals warming ties between the two countries despite sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

Since coming to power in September 2016, Duterte has been taking steps towards the improvement of ties with China and downgrading military cooperation with the US, a long-time ally.

Meanwhile, the Philippines on Sunday issued a statement on behalf of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which took a soft stance towards China's island-building in the disputed waterway.

Reports said the ASEAN chairman's statement was the result of efforts by the Chinese ambassador to Manila, who worked hard to influence the tenor and content of the document.

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, which are all members of ASEAN, have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

An international tribunal last year outlawed China's claims to the key waterway. China has said it would not accept the ruling, insisting it has sovereign rights over nearly all of the sea.

The fact that Duterte did not mention the ruling against China in the ASEAN statement and that Beijing dispatched the warships to Davao rather than Manila suggests that the two countries are improving relations faster than ever.

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UAE expands military presence in Africa, Mideast: Report

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 8:1AM

The United Arab Emirates is quietly expanding its military presence into Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East, a US report says.

According to the Associated Press, the UAE has new overseas bases on the African continent after deploying expeditionary forces to Yemen and Afghanistan.

The UAE is taking part in a Saudi war on Yemen to restore a former government to power, which has killed about 12,000 people so far.

Yemeni sources have revealed that the United Arab Emirates is trying to establish control over the strategic island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, which Yemen's resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi had rented out to the Persian Gulf kingdom for nearly a century.

According to IHS Jane's Defense Weekly, the UAE is building an airstrip on Perim or Mayun Island, a volcanic island in Yemen that sits in a waterway between Eritrea and Djibouti in the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

UAE military bases in Africa

The UAE has also been building up a military presence in the Eritrean port of Assab, the US-based private intelligence firm Stratfor has said.

Satellite images show new construction at a once-deserted airfield, which Stratfor links to the UAE. It also reported development at the port and the deployment of tanks and aircraft, including warplanes, helicopters and drones.

"The scale of the undertaking suggests that the UAE military is in Eritrea for more than just a short-term logistical mission supporting operations across the Red Sea," Stratfor said in December.

South of Eritrea, the UAE agreed with the authorities of Somalia's breakaway northern territory of Somaliland in February to open a naval base in the port town of Berbera.

Previously, the UAE international ports operator DP World reached an agreement to manage Somaliland's largest port nearby.

Moreover, the UAE is suspected of launching air raids in Libya and operating out of a small air base in the North African country's east, near the Egyptian border.

The seven-state federation also deployed special forces troops in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks to support the US-led alleged war against the Taliban.

The UAE, currently, hosts Western forces, including American and French forces, at its military bases.

The UAE has seen its military grow in recent years. Back in 2011, it confirmed working with private military contractors, including a firm reportedly tied to Erik Prince, the founder of the infamous US security firm, formerly known as Blackwater, to build up its military.

The Associated Press also cited Colombia's media reports as saying that Colombian mercenaries were serving in the UAE's military.

In 2014, the UAE introduced compulsory military service for all Emirati males aged between 18 and 30. The training is optional for Emirati women.

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Hamas to name new leader, renew 'resistance' charter

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 7:3AM

The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas says it is to name a new leader over the coming days.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday that the results of internal elections will be announced "in the coming days."

The French news agency AFP also cited a Hamas official as saying that the new leadership will be announced before May 15.

The official said Haniyeh was expected to be assigned to the movement's leadership. If appointed to the post, he will be replacing two-time Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

Haniyeh became the Palestinian prime minister in Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, which witnessed a landslide victory for Hamas.

Since then, the West has been refusing to deal with Hamas due to its refusal to recognize Israel.

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas forced Haniyeh out of office in 2007 amid differences between Hamas and rival Fatah movement, after which the movement established its rule in the Gaza Strip.

Amended charter

On Monday, Hamas was expected to announce supplementing its charter, which will reportedly reaffirm the movement's refusal to recognize Israel. Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Zahar said it would also restate Hamas' commitment to resistance.

The movement is a leading force in the fight against Israel, which has waged three wars against the territory since 2007, killing thousands of Palestinians.

The last war began in early July 2014 and ended on August 26 the same year. It killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and wounded over 11,100 others.

"The resistance remains and we will fight [Israel] with all our might," Zahar said.

Israel has also assassinated many Hamas figures, including the group's leaders, officials and activists.

'Crimes against humanity'

The Gaza Strip, with its population of some 1.8 million people, has been under a crippling Israeli blockade for years. The enclave has lately come under added pressure from the Palestinian Authority which is refusing to reimburse funds to Israel for imports of electricity to the territory.

Senior Hamas officials on Sunday accused Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas of "crimes against humanity" through pressuring the Gaza Strip into renouncing allegiance to Hamas.

"The criminals in the PA (Palestinian Authority), you cut off power to the innocent people of the Strip, so God will cut off power to your hearts," Zahar told a protest rally in Gaza City.

Abbas warned last month that he would take "unprecedented" measures aimed at forcing Hamas to give up Gaza to the Palestinian Authority.

Haniyeh called Abbas "delusional" and said "whoever thinks he can bring Gaza to its knees is delusional. Because Gaza, its resistance, sacrifices, symbols and martyrs are in the heart of the Palestinian people."

Last week, the Palestinian Authority informed Israel it would no longer pay for electricity provided by Tel Aviv to Gaza, despite the enclave already facing a crippling power shortage.

Earlier in April, the Authority cut salaries to its employees in the coastal enclave by 30 percent. It also slashed the salaries paid to Gaza families of Palestinian "martyrs" and prisoners.

The World Bank said on Thursday the power cuts have led to a "humanitarian crisis," hitting hospitals, clinics, water supply and other vital services, as well as household needs.

The renewed push by the Palestinian Authority to regain a foothold in Gaza comes ahead of Abbas's meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House later this week. Abbas is trying to show that he represents all Palestinians, including those in Gaza.

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French soldiers 'kill, capture 20 militants' in Mali

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 4:50AM

French forces in Western Africa say they have killed or captured about 20 militants in a restive region in Mali near Burkina Faso.

French troops, fighting militant groups in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, launched an operation in the forest of Foulsare on Saturday, a statement by the regional forces said on Sunday.

Troops from Operation Barkhane killed or captured the 20 militants and discovered large amounts of arms, ammunition, rocket launchers, and explosives in the forest, according to the statement.

French fighter jets also bombed several arms depots in the forest.

According to a local resident, many militants fled on foot when planes arrived to drop bombs in the area.

Early last month, a French soldier was killed in clashes with the militants in the area.

Around 4,000 French soldiers have been deployed across five countries in the region in an operation launched in 2014. France says the goal of the mission is to fight militants in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso.

Mali's north fell to militant groups in 2012. A French-led military intervention in January 2013 drove out the militants and Mali regained control of the region, but insurgents still remain active across large parts of the restive north.

The United Nations also set up a mission in Mali in 2013.

The region remains unstable, however.

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NATO Chief Says Alliance Could Increase Troops In Afghanistan In Face Of Intensifying Insurgency

RFE/RL May 01, 2017

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the Western military alliance is close to making a decision on whether to increase its troop numbers in Afghanistan to help with the battle against militants.

His remarks came as a U.S. watchdog group said Afghanistan "remains in the grip of a deadly war" and warned that Afghan security forces were suffering "shockingly high" casualties in the face of a resilient Taliban insurgency.

Stoltenberg told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag in an interview published on April 30 that in view of the "challenging" security situation, NATO could increase the number of personnel in Afghanistan from the current 13,000, although he did not give a specific figure.

Stoltenberg said the alliance would likely make a decision by June on a potential troop increase and on whether to lengthen to time of soldier deployments, which currently are for one year.

NATO troops are in Afghanistan as part of the alliance's Resolute Support mission to train, assist, and advise local forces.

John Nicholson, the U.S. general who commands NATO forces in Afghanistan, told the U.S. Congress in February that there was a "shortfall of a few thousand" troops needed to meet requirements in the country.

Nicholson also said the current battle, mainly against Taliban forces but also against the Islamic State extremist group, was at a "stalemate."

Since NATO's combat mission formally ended in 2014, Taliban attacks have intensified, often overwhelming the Afghan military.

In a new report, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) says 807 members of the Afghan national force were killed against the Taliban and other militants in the first six weeks of this year.

In the quarterly report sent to the U.S. Congress on May 1, SIGAR says at least 1,328 Afghan security personnel were injured during the period.

The figures for the report were collected before the April 21 attack by the Taliban on a military compound in Balkh Province that officials say left more than 140 army personnel dead.

"Casualties suffered by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in the fight against the Taliban and other insurgents continue to be shockingly high," the SIGAR report says.

The report cites U.S. figures showing a gain in territory under Afghan government control, now at 59.7 percent of the country's 407 districts, up from 57.2 percent in mid-November of last year.

That represents an 800,000-person increase in the population under Afghan government control, it says.

The report cites figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that said 11,418 civilian casualties were reported in 2016, up 3 percent from the previous year and the highest since such figures have been tallied beginning in 2009.

Of the civilian casualties, 3,498 were deaths, it says.

SIGAR, created by the U.S. Congress, provides oversight into how the more than $100 billion appropriated for reconstruction since 2002 in Afghanistan has been allocated.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/nato-stoltenberg-afghanistan- troop-levels-taliban/28461034.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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U.S. Watchdog Says Afghan Forces' Casualties 'Shockingly High'

RFE/RL May 01, 2017

A U.S. watchdog group says in a new report that Afghan security forces suffered "shockingly high" casualties in this winter fighting the Taliban and other insurgents.

In the quarterly report sent to the U.S. Congress on May 1, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) says 807 members of the Afghan national forces were killed against the Taliban and other militants in the first six weeks of this year.

It said at least 1,328 Afghan security personnel were injured during the period.

The figures for the report were collected before the April 21 attack by the Taliban on a military compound in Balkh Province that officials say left more than 130 army personnel dead.

"Afghanistan remains in the grip of a deadly war," the report says. "Casualties suffered by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in the fight against the Taliban and other insurgents continue to be shockingly high."

The report cited U.S. figures showing a gain in territory under Afghan government control, now at 59.7 percent of the country's 407 districts, up from 57.2 percent in mid-November of last year.

That represents an 800,000-person increase in the population under Afghan government control, it said.

The report cited figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that said 11,418 civilian casualties were reported in 2016, up 3 percent from the previous year and the highest since such figures have been tallied since 2009.

Of the civilian casualties, 3,498 were deaths, it said.

SIGAR, created by the U.S. Congress, provides oversight into how the more than $100 billion appropriated for reconstruction since 2002 in Afghanistan has been allocated.

With reporting by AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-us-report-national-forces -casualties-shockingly-high/28461474.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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FEATURE: Mission Accomplished  UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire

1 May 2017  After 13 years, the United Nations is completing the peacekeeping phase of its engagement with Cote d'Ivoire, after successfully assisting the country in restoring peace and stability following the post-2010 election crisis.

When the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) closes its doors on 30 June of this year, it will mark the most recent successful completion of a peacekeeping operation in West Africa since the UN mission in Sierra Leone in 2005.

This milestone was made possible thanks to a significantly improved security situation in Cote d'Ivoire, as well as the extension of State authority and the deployment of public services, the strengthening of democratic institutions, progress in security sector reform and steady economic development.

Headed most recently by the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Aichatou Mindaoudou, the civilian and military personnel of UNOCI played a critical role in the country, including with regard to protecting civilians, monitoring the ceasefire, assisting the Government with disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants, and countering hate messages on the airwaves with UNOCI FM.

UNOCI is in the process of delegating to the UN country team critical tasks necessary to ensure the sustainability of the gains achieved so far.

Boots on the ground

In 2004 the country was divided in half by a civil war. Due to the lack of State authority, the Security Council adopted resolution 1528, establishing UNOCI for an initial 12-month period. One of the mission's initial tasks was to monitor and support the peace agreement signed by the Ivorian parties the previous year.

Zone of Confidence

Another primary duty was to monitor the Zone of Confidence  a swathe of land that separated the Government-ruled south and opposition-controlled north  while restoring trust between the parties to reunite the country.

In 2007, under the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, UNOCI set up 17 observation posts called the "Green Line"  replacing the Zone of Confidence  that remained in place until July 2008, when the last post had been eliminated.

Locked in battle

Throughout the years, UNOCI was called on to respond to numerous challenges. In January 2006, pro-government youth protesters took to the streets after a UN-authorized team supported terminating the Parliament, whose mandate had expired.

After four days of violent protests in which UN humanitarian and peacekeeping facilities were targeted, hundreds of UN personnel were evacuated.

The Security Council then decided to boost UNOCI's strength with the temporary deployment of an additional battalion from the UN mission in Liberia.

Then in 2010, the country was thrust back into civil war when incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after losing the UN-certified election to Alassane Ouattara. Throughout a period of increased fighting, UNO CI continued to protect civilians, even as it was itself being targeted.

Mr. Gbagbo eventually surrendered and Mr. Ouattara was inaugurated as president in May of 2011, but not before some 3,000 people were killed in the post-election violence and another 300,000 became refugees.

UNOCI facilitated an inclusive political dialogue, which culminated in two presidential and legislative elections in 2011 and 2016, and a referendum. Among its other achievements, the mission strengthened the National Commission on Human Rights, which helped decrease human rights violations, and helped to disarm 70,000 combatants and re-integrate them into society.

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Middle East peace effort lacks progress on political front - UN reports

1 May 2017  The lack of progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is impeding Palestine's development, according to a new United Nations report, which also reiterates the international community's commitment to a two-state solution in the region.

The report, issued by the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), notes that "despite a number of international efforts over the past six months to advance the two-state solution, last year has been characterized by a continued lack of progress on the political front."

In contrast to recommendations outlined in the July 2016 report by the Middle East Quartet, there has been "a surge in Israeli settlement-related activity and a continued high rate of demolitions in Palestinian and Bedouin communities" as well as "continuing acts of violence against civilians, signs of a deepening political rift between Gaza and the West Bank, and continued military build-up and firing of rockets by extremist groups in Gaza."

This environment threatens the erosion of the achievements of the Palestinian state building effort, according to the report.

"The institutions of Palestinian governance remain vulnerable to political instability and require affirmative steps to protect and advance state-building efforts," the authors wrote.

The report also notes a "deepening political rift" between Gaza and the West Bank. Tensions between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are aggravating a "difficult situation in the Gaza Strip" with an intra-Palestinian disagreement over issues such as electricity access and payment of salaries.

Analysing the impact of the Hamas take-over ten years ago and the ensuing Israeli closures and conflicts, the report notes that "Gaza is facing a downward spiral of de-development, while the people in Gaza are caught in a cycle of humanitarian need and perpetual aid dependency."

The report covers the period from 15 September 2016 to 15 April 2017.

It will be presented to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) at its bi-annual meeting in Brussels on 4 May. The Committee, chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the European Union and the United States, serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

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UN calls for protection of civilians sheltering in South Sudan's Upper Nile area

1 May 2017  A senior United Nations humanitarian official in South Sudan today demanded that parties to the conflict uphold their responsibilities to protect thousands of Shilluk civilians sheltering in and around Aburoc, following the resumption of the government offensive and clashes along the West Bank of the Nile River last week.

"Civilians in Aburoc are living in fear, not knowing what each day will bring," said the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for the country, Serge Tissot, in a press release from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"I call on the Government to respect the civilian nature of these settlements and ensure they are not subject to attacks, and call on the opposition forces to ensure that areas highly populated by civilians are, and remain, demilitarized," he added.

According to OCHA, thousands of civilians have arrived into Aburoc in recent days. Many have walked for days on foot and are arriving exhausted and weak. Thousands are reportedly now moving toward Sudan out of fear of potential future attacks. Prices are exorbitant and transport is inadequate, so many people are having no choice but to walk.

On 23 and 24 April, humanitarian organizations relocated staff from Kodok and Aburoc amidst the spread of conflict on the Nile's West Bank. Several courageous local staff remain in the community and are doing all they can to assist people in need. However, key humanitarian assets were looted by opposition forces and other actors in recent days.

"I demand the immediate return of all looted humanitarian assets in Aburoc, which are absolutely vital to life-saving humanitarian action," said Mr. Tissot.

Humanitarians are exploring all feasible options to provide assistance to those fleeing the fighting but are facing major challenges, including lack of fuel in the area.

An interagency team visited Aburoc on 29 April to see the situation first-hand and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) recently released funds that will support the scale-up of emergency operations in locations where civilians are arriving.

"This operation is the true definition of life-saving," said Mr. Tissot. "I therefore call on both parties to ensure immediate, free and unhindered humanitarian access to civilians, wherever they may flee, including for trucks to safely access the river and carry water to locations where [internally displaced persons] are sheltering."

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Pakistan Spy Chief to Visit Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul May 01, 2017

Pakistan's spy chief is expected to visit Afghanistan later this week for talks with counterparts in Kabul on bilateral anti-terrorism and security cooperation, officials said Monday.

The director general of the Inter-Services intelligence, Lt. General Naveed Mukhtar, is likely to discuss the fate of the lists of militants wanted on both sides and to address mutual concerns, explained Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, or National Assembly.

Sadiq spoke in Islamabad shortly after his 15-member parliamentary delegation returned from a two-day official visit to Kabul.

"Only concerned [Pakistani security] departments are authorized to discuss matters related to the lists [with Afghan officials]. And, God willing, they will go and do so. I think tomorrow or the day after our D.G. ISI is traveling there [to Kabul] and the discussions [with regard to the lists] will take place at his level," Sadiq said.

He was responding to a question about whether his delegation discussed the list of fugitive militants Pakistan recently shared with Afghanistan.

Islamabad provided the list to Kabul in February after a string of terrorist attacks killed scores of people in Pakistan and authorities blamed anti-state militants sheltering in Afghan border areas plotted the violence. The Afghan government accepted the list, but gave Pakistan a list of militants it said were orchestrating attacks in Afghanistan.

In addition to meeting Afghan counterparts and prominent tribal elders, Sadiq said the Pakistani parliamentary delegation of representatives from all national political parties also met with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

He said that the Afghan Chief Executive has assured his delegation he will soon visit Pakistan.

"The Afghan leadership, the people of Afghanistan and Afghan lawmakers not only warmly welcomed our delegation but our discussions with them took place in an extremely cordial atmosphere," said the Pakistani house speaker.

All of them desired friendship and an improved situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan and both sides agreed to resume contacts from where they were broken off, Sadiq noted.

President Ghani reached out to Pakistan after assuming office in 2014 to encourage the neighboring country to stop Taliban insurgents from using Pakistani soil for insurgent activities in Afghanistan and to persuade the rebels to engage in peace talks with his government.

The Ghani initiative also led to an initial cooperation agreement between ISI and its Afghan counterpart, the National Directorate of Security to fight anti-state militants taking advantage of a 2,600-kilometer largely porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But increased insurgent attacks and the Taliban's refusal to hold peace talks with Kabul have deteriorated bilateral relations during the past two years.

President Ghani has repeatedly blamed Pakistan for the continuing deadly violence in his country, charges Islamabad denies.

The Afghan government says sanctuaries on Pakistani soil are helping the Taliban prolong its insurgent activities in their country.

Speaking to Cabinet ministers on Monday, Abdullah, without naming Pakistan, asserted the Taliban planned and announced its so-called "spring offensive "from a neighboring country."

He said that in his talks with Pakistani parliamentarians he stressed that Afghanistan has certain expectations when "the announcement of the launch of an [insurgent] operation is made from inside a neighboring country against its neighbor."

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Afghan Losses 'Shockingly High' as Taliban Gain Ground

By Ayaz Gul May 01, 2017

The Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan has continued to inflict "shockingly high" casualties on government forces and brought more territory under its control or influence, a U.S. government agency said Monday.

The quarterly assessment by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR follows the April 19 Taliban attack on a major military base in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The assault killed more than 140 Afghan soldiers, though multiple independent sources reported a much higher death toll.

SIGAR's report coincided with the beginning of the yearly Taliban "spring offensive." The insurgent group captured another northeastern district during over the weekend and is threatening to seize others elsewhere in the country.

"Afghanistan remains in the grip of a deadly war. Casualties suffered by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the fight against the Taliban and other insurgents continue to be shockingly high: 807 were killed in the first six weeks of this year," the U.S. agency noted.

About 6,785 Afghan soldiers and police personnel were killed while another 11,777 were wounded in the first 11 months of 2016, according to SIGAR, adding the Afghan government has not provided the U.S. military with data for the last seven weeks of that year.

Progress assessment

Approximately, 59.7 percent of the country's 407 districts were under Afghan government control or influence as of February 20, 2017, showing a slight 2.5 percentage point increase from the last quarter in mid-November, the U.S. agency reported Monday.

"The number of districts under insurgent control or influence also increased by four this quarter to 45 districts" in 15 Afghan provinces, according to SIGAR. It shows a slight increase in the number of the country's total districts under insurgent control or influence from about 10 percent to 11.1 percent.

SIGAR is tasked to review tens of billions of dollars the United States has spent or is allocating to help rebuild war-shattered Afghanistan. The quarterly reports it compiles provide details about whether or not progress is being made and to highlight security challenges as well as rampant corruption threatening the reconstruction efforts.

U.S. military officials have warned 2017 would be a tough year for Afghan security forces battling the Taliban and other insurgents. The fighting has also inflicted heavy losses among civilians. Conflict-related civilian casualties stood at more than 11,400, including around 3,500 deaths in 2016, according to the United Nations. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan has documented the deaths of more than 700 civilians in the first quarter of 2017.

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Duterte Invitation 'Part of a Strategy to Isolate North Korea,' White House Says

By Peter Heinlein May 01, 2017

In the face of international outrage, U.S. President Donald Trump's spokesman says the decision to invite authoritarian Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and other East Asian leaders to the White House is part of a strategy to isolate North Korea.

"It is an opportunity to work with countries in that region who can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday. "And, frankly, the national interests of the United States, the safety of our people and the safety of people in the region are the number one priorities of the president."

In telephone conversations over the weekend, Trump invited the leaders of Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines to visit. But it was the invitation to the firebrand Duterte that touched off shock waves on Capitol Hill and infuriated the global human rights community.

Invitation questioned

"President Trump weakens American values when he fails to stand up for human rights," said Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, in a written statement. "President Duterte has overseen the illegal killing of thousands of his own people in the Philippines. By welcoming Duterte to meet with him at the White House, Trump risks giving Duterte's actions and his brutal human rights violations an American stamp of approval."

"It sends a terrible message to the world," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch.

Duterte has been scorned internationally for his war on drugs, which has featured the extrajudicial killings of thousands of people. He is reported to have bragged to British media that he personally killed three suspects while he was mayor of the southern city of Davao.

Jonah Blank, Asia analyst at the Rand Corporation, noted that even some White House and State Department staff were caught off guard at news of the Duterte invitation. "It's a balancing of the values America has stood for under both Democratic and Republican administrations, versus a desire to have warmer relations with problematic leaders," Blank told VOA.

Trump isn't concerned

Trump brushed off concerns about Duterte's reputation in an interview Monday with Bloomberg News. "The Philippines is very important to me strategically and militarily," the president said. "I look forward to meeting him. If he comes to the White House, that's fine."

The invitation to Duterte raised questions Monday at the White House about whether Trump had been fully briefed on the Philippine president's human rights record. "The president gets fully briefed on the leaders he's speaking to," Spicer said. "But the number one concern of the president is to make sure we do everything we can to protect our people."

Trump even mused to Bloomberg that he might be willing to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the White House. Spicer, however, clarified that such an invitation could only come if circumstances change in North Korea.

"Under the right circumstances was, I believe, the phrase used," Spicer said. "We've got to see their provocative behavior ratchet down immediately. There's a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior and  to show signs of good faith. Clearly conditions are not there right now."

Not so fast

Duterte on Monday seemed in no hurry to accept the White House invitation. He told reporters in Manila, "I cannot make any definite promises," noting that he already is scheduled to visit Russia and Israel in the coming months.

Regional analysts Monday questioned the role the Philippines might be able to play in any effort to put military pressure on Pyongyang.

The Philippines could provide diplomatic support for the U.S. position on North Korea, but not much else, said Malcolm Cook, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. "U.S. forces in Japan and South Korea, and Japan's own self-defense forces, are key. The Philippines is far away and is not a node in the U.S. ballistic missile defense system."

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IS Says It Has Captured E. Afghan District From Taliban

By Ayaz Gul May 01, 2017

Islamic State is claiming to have attacked and captured a volatile district from the rival Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.

The Syrian-based terrorist group in a statement through its Amaq News Agency says overnight clashes for the control of Chaprhar in Nangarhar province killed at least 10 Taliban fighters.

It added that three enemy fighters were captured alive while the rest fled the area. IS said both sides used light and heavy weapons in the fighting.

The Taliban has not yet commented on the fighting.

Clash between rivals confirmed

A spokesman for the provincial government, Ataullah Khogyani, has confirmed the clashes between the rival militant groups.

He said 21 Taliban fighters and seven IS militants were killed in the fighting. He added that civilians were also caught in the cross-fire, leaving three people dead and five others wounded.

None of the claims could be verified independently.

Separately, the Taliban and IS have both taken credit for a suicide car bombing of an American military convoy they said took place Monday in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar.

Similar details released

Both the groups have released almost identical details about the damages through their official means of communication, claiming the blast left at least six U.S. soldiers dead.

The U.S. military confirmed the attack on a coalition convoy, but said there were no casualties and the incident occurred in the nearby Achin district, which is believed to be IS's main regional base in Afghanistan.

"We can confirm there was a vehicle borne attack on a coalition convoy in Achin district, Nangarhar province. One vehicle was disabled, but there were no coalition casualties or injuries," U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Salvin told VOA.

Islamic State leader killed

Achin is where the two American soldiers were killed during a joint raid with Afghan Special forces last week against a cave-and-tunnel complex.

Pentagon officials said they suspected IS chief Abdul Hasib was also killed along with 35 fighters in a brutal three-hour gunfight in the Mohmand Valley in the mountainous district.

But despite the apparent success of U.S. and Afghan forces in killing the leader of IS in Afghanistan, some questions remain.

The location of the IS headquarters complex is just a couple of kilometers away from an extensive IS tunnel-and-cave complex targeted two weeks ago with the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal. Officials said the ordnance killed 92 IS fighters, though as many as 800 may have been in the area.

'The right weapon'

"This weapon was the right weapon against this target," General John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said at the time.

"The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive minefields, and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so that we could continue our offensive."

Yet despite those assertions, other officials said it was unclear whether the bomb made any significant impact on IS operations in the area.

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.

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Hamas Voice Support for Palestinian State along 1967 Borders

By Lou Lorscheider May 01, 2017

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has issued a set of new policies that removes anti-semitic language in its existing charter, severs ties with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and accepts the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967.

However, the new document, which calls for closer ties with Egypt, continues to reject recognition of the Israeli state and repeats demands for the return of Palestinian refugees displaced decades ago by the establishment of the Jewish state.

" Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were displaced" the document reads.

No response from West

There was no immediate response to the document in Western capitals Monday, and it remained unclear what, if any, lasting impact it will have on Hamas' relations with Israel or moderate Arab states that view the grouping as a terrorist entity.

Nor is it clear whether the new document will improve relations with Egypt, which has been enforcing a crippling blockade against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since 2009, in an attempt to block the smuggling of weapons used by Hamas militants against Israeli targets.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, remains deeply split from its more moderate political rival, Fatah, and its leader Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas leader to meet with Trump

Fatah, which has engaged Israel in earlier peace talks, holds power in the occupied West Bank and is widely seen more favorably in Western capitals by diplomats and world leaders seeking to end nearly six decades of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities.

Monday's Hamas overture, announced in Doha, comes ahead of Abbas' first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday in Washington.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Trump said he may travel to Israel in the coming weeks, and said he sees no reason why a long-sought Israeli-Palestinian peace deal cannot be reached.

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Advance Team of UN Peacekeepers Arrives in South Sudan

By Nabeel Biajo May 01, 2017

An advance team of the regional protection force arrived in Juba over the weekend.

The U.N. Mission in South Sudan  or UNMISS  says a team of engineers is in the country to prepare for the deployment of the 4,000-strong force in the capital with a mandate to protect civilians. The government says it will accept regional troops from neighboring countries to be part of the U.N. peacekeeping force in South Sudan.

The regional protection force (RPF) was established in 2016 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2304.

UNMISS released a statement over the weekend saying "the RPF Headquarters has been established in Juba under the leadership of Brigadier General Jean Mupenzi from Rwanda."

The statement also said an advance party of a Construction Engineering Company from Bangladesh arrived on April 20, bringing essential equipment to begin preparing offices for the RPF in Juba. Regional troops from Rwanda are expected to follow in June and July.

UNMISS said the RPF will provide "coordinated protection to key facilities in Juba," and protection to the main routes into and out of the city. The force will also strengthen the security of U.N. protection of civilians' sites and other U.N. premises, according to the statement.

South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei said the Kiir administration objects to the presence of any non-African forces as part of the regional protection force and only gave permission for the Bangladeshi forces to enter the country because of their technical expertise.

"We raised concerns that these forces are not part of the region and we saw no reason they should come," Makuei said. But when the administration learned "these are technical people whose abilities are not available in the region," the government relented.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan operates under Chapter VII of the United Nations. Under it, the Security Council determines "the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken to restore international peace and security."

Makuei said his government will not accept combat troops who are not from the region.

"It's only the technical part that will be handled by non-regional forces. But the rest of the forces are supposed to come in as Africans, not only Africans but from the region," Makuei said.

UNMISS said the deployment of the regional protection forces will free up existing UNMISS peacekeepers to extend their presence to conflict-affected areas beyond Juba.

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Diplomatic solution to Korean peninsula crisis likely: official

ROC Central News Agency

2017/05/01 20:39:05

Taipei, May 1 (CNA) A senior official said Monday that in spite of the tension on the Korean peninsula, no abnormal military actions are being taken there and the crisis will likely be averted through diplomatic negotiations.

National Security Bureau Deputy Director-General Chou Mei-wu () made the remarks in reply to a lawmaker's questions during a legislative committee meeting.

Legislator Wu Kuen-yuh () asked Chou to give an assessment of the situation, given media reports that China has moved 150,000 troops to its border with North Korea.

"Based on our latest intelligence, there are no abnormal military actions and North Korea has not set up preparations for war," Chou said.

Although the United States has just finished a joint military exercise with South Korea and Japan, no further movements have been seen to assemble manpower and supplies, "neither are we seeing mass movement of North Korea's attack submarines," he added.

Another sign of the "normal" situation there is, according to the security official, that neither China nor the U.S. are sending officials to observe the Korean peninsula situation from military bases close to the area.

Wu challenged Chou if he would call the media reports about Chinese troops movement "fake news" and if not, what does that mean?

"We are not saying such reports are fake news. We are making our judgment based on available satellite photos and information supplied by our allies, which tell us things are normal as of this moment," he said.

Asked if the situation is tense, he said that tension certainly is there, as a nuclear-powered American submarine capable of firing missiles is still docked in a South Korean port and the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson's latest location is just 80-120 nautical miles northeast of Busan, South Korea.

He said the U.S. military deployment is aimed at increasing pressure on North Korea, hoping that it will get back to the negotiating table.

As to whether China is using the opportunity to improve its ties with the U.S., Chou said "exactly."

Wu Chih-chung (), deputy minister of foreign affairs, said he would not recommend raising the level of travel alerts for Korea since no other countries have done so.

Meanwhile, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Chen Chung-chi () urged the media not to "over-interpret" a "routine training mission" of deploying Patriot III missiles in Taiwan.

A local newspaper said Taiwan's military has moved the ground-to-air missiles from its Xindian, New Taipei base to launch pads in the face of the rising tension on the Korean peninsula.

Chen said the missile training exercise was not even related to the annual Han Kuang military exercises. "Military training goes on 365 days a year, to ensure national security and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he said.

(By Ku Chuan and S.C. Chang)

ENDITEM/J

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North Korea: US bringing nuclear war to region

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 8:31PM

North Korea says that the US is responsible for bringing the region to the edge of a nuclear conflict, while vowing to boost its nuclear arsenal "at the maximum pace."

While the conflict "between the DPRK and the US has lasted for more than half a century the US aggression hysteria has never reached such a height and the situation on the Korean peninsula has never inched close to the brink of nuclear war as in the period of the recent drills," said a spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry on Monday in reference to joint US and South Korean naval drills.

The spokesman added that in light of the US's increased pressure on Pyongyang, the North will start to bolster its nuclear deterrence at maximum speed.

He further noted that the North's "powerful nuclear force" is the only thing that stands before the US committing "the same brigandish aggression act in Korea as what it committed against other countries." The spokesman also noted that the US is "the chieftain of aggression and war, and harasser of peace."

Tensions with North Korea and the US have soared in recent weeks. Washington has repeatedly warned "all options are on the table" regarding Pyongyang.

The US has recently deployed aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to waters off the Korean Peninsula in a show of force. The USS Michigan nuclear submarine joined the strike group earlier this week.

On Saturday, North Korea test-launched a ballistic missile, which according to South Korean officials, exploded shortly after liftoff.

Pyongyang, already under a raft of sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs, says it is developing arms as deterrence against the US threat. North Korea has also said that it would not abandon its missile and nuclear programs unless the US ended its hostility toward Pyongyang.

The North, which has so far conducted five confirmed nuclear tests and numerous missile test-launches, is believed to be preparing for its sixth nuclear weapons test. While Pyongyang has not fired missiles against other countries, it has vowed strong action -- including missile attacks against South Korea -- if it was invaded by the South and the US.

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ELKO  Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital on Monday unveiled the boot that it sponsored as part of the City of Elkos Centennial Celebration.

The 6-foot-tall plaster boot features a collage of 265 baby photos that were submitted by community members. All of the infants appearing on the boot were born at a hospital in Elko over the years  either at NNRH, the old Elko General, or one of the pre-1920 clinics.

This has been such a fun project to work on because weve really seen the history of Elko come alive in these baby photos, said Steve Burrows, director of community relations at NNRH. We have photos going all the way back to the 1800s right up to pictures of babies born a few weeks ago.

Volunteers worked many hours to label, print and crop each baby photo and then apply the pictures to the boot using decoupage. They also included historical photos of the different hospitals that have served Elko County over the years.

Its humbling to think that we at NNRH are part of a long line of healthcare professionals who have worked to make Elko healthier, said Rick Palagi, CEO of NNRH. Although there have been incredible advances in medicine, our mission remains the same as that first doctor in that first clinic back in 1869. Were here to provide our friends, neighbors and fellow community members with the highest quality care possible. We hope this boot will serve as a testament to that commitment.

The NNRH Centennial Boot is on display in the hospital lobby adjacent to the gift shop. Community members are invited to visit the hospital and see it for themselves. Just for fun, folks are challenged to find the oldest picture on the boot.
Trump says would be 'honored' to meet North Korean leader

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 6:20PM

US President Donald Trump says he "would be honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, despite escalating tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him I would absolutely. I would be honored to do it," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday. "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."

A day earlier, Trump praised the North Korean leader as "a pretty smart cookie," saying he was not to be underestimated.

"'I can tell you this, and a lot of people don't like when I say it, but he was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father, when his father died. He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others," Trump told NBC News on Sunday.

"And at a very young age, he was able to assume power,' Trump continued. 'A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," he added.

Tensions with North Korea have soared in recent weeks. The Trump administration has repeatedly warned "all options are on the table" regarding North Korea.

It has repeatedly threatened Kim with a military response to new tests of missiles and nuclear warheads, and sent warships and a nuclear submarine to Korean waters.

Trump even ordered two major attacks in Syria and Afghanistan last month, both of them viewed as stern warnings to the North.

North Korea, in response, has increased its missile tests and even hinted at a new nuclear test in the coming weeks. It has also warned the US and its regional allies like South Korea and Japan of a strong military response in case of any invasion.

"Most political people would never say that," Trump told Bloomberg of his openness to meeting Kim. "But I'm telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news."

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Trump Would Be 'Honored' To Meet North Korea's Kim, If Conditions Right

May 01, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances."

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg in an interview published on May 1.

"If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that," Trump said in the interview.

"Most political people would never say that, but I'm telling you, under the right circumstances, I would meet with him. We have breaking news," Trump added.

But the White House said conditions weren't right for Trump to meet with Kim, despite Trump's openness to the idea in the future.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he didn't see a meeting between the two leaders happening anytime soon.

He said Kim would have to show signs of "good faith."

Tensions have heightened on the Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang's nuclear program and recent missile tests.

The Trump administration has said all options are on the table when it comes to dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

Based on reporting by Bloomberg, dpa, AFP, and AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/us-trump-says-would-meet-north-korea-kim/28462388.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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CIA Chief in South Korea for Talks on Nuclear Threat Posed by North

By Ken Bredemeier May 01, 2017

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief Mike Pompeo is in Seoul for talks with South Korean intelligence officials as top U.S. officials continue to express deep concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons development program.

Pompeo, traveling with his wife Susan, arrived in the South Korean capital over the weekend and met with the head of the National Intelligence Service and high-level presidential aides.

Their meetings occurred hours before Pyongyang declared Monday that in the face of new U.S. pressure for U.N. sanctions against North Korea it would "speed up" its nuclear deterrence "at the maximum pace."

Nuclear test

North Korea conducted another missile test Saturday, another in a string of launches that South Korea and U.S. officials say was a failure. Pyongyang is looking to develop a long-range missile, one that could carry a nuclear warhead 9,000 kilometers to the U.S. mainland.

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday that Washington would adhere to its agreement with South Korea to shoulder the cost of a new missile defense system that is being installed in the face of the North Korean threat. But McMaster said the U.S. is also looking for Seoul to share the cost in the future.

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group, headed by the USS Carl Vinson, is in nearby waters off the Korean peninsula, dispatched there by President Donald Trump as a warning signal against North Korea. A Japanese destroyer left port Monday to join the U.S. ships, as Tokyo takes a more active military role in the region.

In Australia, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull issued a new warning against North Korea, saying his government and the U.S. are "taking a strong message to North Korea that we will not tolerate reckless, dangerous threats to the peace and stability of our region.'' Turnbull and Trump are meeting for the first time Thursday in New York.

In an interview broadcast Sunday, Trump said he "would not be happy" if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, which would be its sixth.

"I can tell you also, I don't believe that the president of China, who is a very respected man, will be happy either," Trump said of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Asked if "not happy" with another Pyongyang nuclear test meant he would undertake "military action" against the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said, "I don't know. I mean, we'll see. It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."

Trump, in a Twitter comment, said the Pyongyang's latest missile test, even though it failed, "disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President.... Bad!" But in the interview on the CBS network, Trump said North Korea eventually "will have a better delivery system."

The U.S. leader described Kim Jong Un as "obviously ... a pretty smart cookie," but said the U.S. cannot allow North Korea to develop a nuclear weapon, and blamed prior American presidential administrations for not dealing with the Pyongyang's military ambitions.

Saturday's North Korean missile test came just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the United Nations Security Council of "catastrophic consequences" if the international community, and especially China, does not pressure North Korea into ending its nuclear weapons development program.

The United States and South Korea on Sunday completed their annual large-scale military drills, which involved 20,000 South Korean troops and 10,000 U.S. forces. But the two countries continued their joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan that Pyongyang has condemned as a provocation in preparation for an attack on North Korea.

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Trump Says He'd Be 'Honored' to Meet With North Korean Leader

By Steve Herman May 01, 2017

Just days after reiterating that military options for dealing with North Korea are under consideration, President Donald Trump said he is willing to meet its leader Kim Jong Un.

The potential dramatic shift in the U.S. posture toward the Asian adversary comes as Pyongyang continues to conduct ballistic missile launches and is believed poised to conduct its sixth underground nuclear test.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," the president said of Kim in an interview Monday with Bloomberg News.

"Most political people would never say that, but I'm telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news." The remark was made during a wide-ranging 30-minute interview in the Oval Office that occurred as a U.S. Navy carrier strike force is off the Korean peninsula.

In a television interview aired Sunday on the CBS News program Face the Nation, the president also expressed admiration for Kim being able to secure power over the totalitarian country he inherited from his father in his late 20s, calling him a "pretty smart cookie."

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer faced questions Monday about Trump's comments.

"The president understands the threat that North Korea poses and he will do whatever is necessary, under the right circumstances, to protect our country from the threat that they pose," said Spicer, who noted that as far as any meeting between Trump and Kim, "clearly conditions are not there right now."

Albright last to meet North Korean leader

The last high-ranking American official to meet a North Korean leader was then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. That encounter in Pyongyang in 2000 was with the current leader's father, Kim Jong Il.

The United States and North Korea have never had diplomatic relations.

Trump has stated repeatedly that all options are on the table regarding Pyongyang, and that conceivably would include diplomacy.

His comments Monday could now lead to exploratory discussions for direct leader talks between Washington and Pyongyang, former U.S. special envoy for negotiations, Joseph DeTrani, told VOA.

"We wouldn't want to see nuclear tests and missile launches during that period," added DeTrani, who called Trump's comments "encouraging."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking at the United Nations last week, said negotiations with Pyongyang are only possible if it makes credible steps toward abandoning its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Retired general finds a positive

A former commander of U.S. Forces Korea says that goal is no longer practical.

"We're not going to get the North Koreans ever to give up their nuclear weapons," General (Ret.) John Wickham, Jr. told VOA. "But that doesn't mean we cannot do things to constrain them like we did with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and Iran now."

A Trump-Kim meeting, however, could lead to resumption of the long-stalled 6-nation dialogue to renewed inspections of North Korea's weapons facilities, controls on exports of its nuclear and missile technology, and possibly the country joining the Non-Proliferation Treaty, said Wickham, who also served as U.S. Army chief of staff.

Several members of the U.S. Senate, who spoke with VOA, are more circumspect.

Giving a blessing to the leaders of countries such as North Korea or the Philippines, with their "dictatorial anti-human rights attitudes," is "bad policy and sends a wrong message to millions of people around the world who look to America for moral leadership," said Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

McCain 'very skeptical'

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican John McCain, said he is "very skeptical" about whether anything positive could emerge from a Trump-Kim meeting.

"I don't know. I doubt it," McCain said. "I think you'd have to have some parameters before such a meeting took place."

Independent Senator Angus King said, "I'd much rather have some direct communications, whether it's at the secretary of state level or even at the presidential level, rather than firing verbal fusillades."

Pompeo holds meeting in South Korea

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief Mike Pompeo has been in Seoul talking about the North Korean threat with South Korean intelligence officials and high-level presidential aides. He also met with U.S. Forces Korea and U.S. embassy officials.

The discussions come as Pyongyang declared that in the face of new U.S. pressure for U.N. sanctions against North Korea, it would "speed up" its nuclear deterrence "at the maximum pace."

Mark Bowman and Ken Bredemeier contributed to this report

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Commander: Only regional countries can restore security to Persian Gulf

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 1, IRNA -- Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Monday that only the regional countries can restore security to the Persian Gulf.

Regarding readiness of the Naval units in confronting threats of the arrogant powers, the commander said that not only Navy, but the the entire army are in total defensive readiness and military deterrence state.

He added that might of Navy and other armed forces of the country is growing and expanding, of course this power and military might and progress in arsenal production are not for invasion, but only for defensive and deterrence work to protect territorial integrity.

The rear admiral said that only countries of the region may provide security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman while presence of trans-regional states will always create tension and crisis in the region.

1391**2050

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JCPOA joint commission hails Iran's commitments: FM

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 1, IRNA -- The Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was unanimous in appreciating Iran's commitment to the nuclear deal and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Members of the Joint Commission were all of the view that Iran has fulfilled its commitments, Bahram Qasemi said during his weekly press conference on Monday.

'Iran also complained to the Joint Commission about defaults on the implementation of the nuclear deal, particularly those by the United States,' Qasemi told reporters.

Iran also complained to the commission about some comments made by the new US President and the stance adopted by him that has caused disruptions in the anti-sanctions mechanisms put in place in the financial and banking sectors, he said.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman then referred to final statement of the JCPOA Joint Commission read by Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs of European External Action Service Helga Schmid, calling it basic and serious.

"The statement constitutes a serious and basic issue that demands special attention," Qasemi said.

"It also includes the United States and the Americans should also fulfill their commitments,' he said.

"All members were unanimous that the JCPOA should remain in place and go on," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

According to Qasemi, other issues, including China's cooperation to redesign Iran's heavy water nuclear reactor in the city of Arak, was among the issues supported by the P5+1 group of nations.

2044**2050

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No talks with US out of nuclear deal: Spokesman

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 1, IRNA -- The Foreign Ministry has no instructions to engage in talks with the United States out of the framework of the nuclear deal, says the Ministry spokesman.

Bahram Qasemi made the remarks on Monday answering a question by reporters on the meeting between Iranian and American officials on the sidelines of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) held on April 25 in Vienna.

I have received no such news about the meeting between Iranian and US officials on the sidelines of the event, Qasemi said.

"Such meetings belong to the past, though they can take place even today," he said.

"Iranian delegation and delegations from other countries participating in such events engage in consultations on the sidelines of the event," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Such meetings between the Iranian delegation and other parties are conducted one by one and discussions revolve more around the nuclear deal or JCPOA, Qasemi said.

"From the past, Iran has followed not to engage in talks with the US on the issues out of the framework of the JCPOA," he said, adding that the Islamic Republic will continue this policy.

However, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said that for humanitarian reasons, officials from former US Administration started negotiations with Iran about some Iranian prisoners held in the United States and the talks bore positive results.

"This time again, the US side similarly tried to initiate talks concerning a couple of people held in Iranian prisons," Qasemi said.

"But generally, we do not have any instructions to talk to the US out of the JCPOA framework," he said.

Issues discussed are about the nuclear deal, he added.

2044**1771

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Iran: No talks with US outside nuclear accord

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 10:36AM

Iran says there is no negotiation between Tehran and Washington outside the nuclear issue, but US officials have requested talks over the case of one or two prisoners in the Islamic Republic.

"As in the past, we have no mandate for dialog with America outside the JCPOA issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in Tehran Monday, citing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The JCPOA refers to the nuclear accord which Iran reached with the US as well as France, Germany, Italy, Russia and China in 2015.

The accord saw Iran and the US hold high-level diplomatic parleys for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution but those exchanges did not go beyond the purview of the nuclear issue.

Qassemi said, "Thus far, we have maintained the principle of no negotiations with America in the spheres beyond the JCPOA and continue with that."

"However, some dialog was held with the previous American government on humanitarian grounds about Iranian prisoners in the US, which had positive results," the spokesman added.

"Under this administration, the American side has apparently brought up the issue of one or two individuals held in Iranian prisons," according to Qassemi.

"In principle, we do not engage in any other talks with the US, and subject matters have to do with the JCPOA," he noted.

Iran complaint about US

The spokesman said Iran had complained to the JCPOA Joint Commission, which monitors the deal's implementation, during the panel's latest gathering in Vienna on April 25 about the United States reneging on its commitments.

Since the conclusion of the accord, the US has refused to properly deploy the guarantees required to ensure European and other financial institutions against punitive American measures, should they seek to restore their transactions with Iran to the pre-sanctions level. Washington has just served the institutions with verbal "assurance."

Ever since his January inauguration, US President Donald Trump has adopted a harsh position against the deal, at times threatening to "tear up" the accord.

Qassemi said the Iranian delegation had also told the commission about Trump's remarks and positions, which had to some extent affected the monetary and financial aspects of post-sanctions transactions.

The commission, he said, had thanked Iran for staying true to its obligations under the deal.

Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid noted in the gathering's final statement that Washington had to honor its contractual commitments, Qassemi said. All agreed that the agreement has to remain in force, he stated.

'Terror, diplomacy no match'

Qassemi also highlighted the great power of diplomacy as a best vehicle recognized the world over.

"However, when it comes to blind terrorists and those terrorists, for whom the human life does not matter, it is the language of force and power that should be applied in response to their inhumane acts," he said, "So, it is not right to [employ] the subject of diplomacy in dealing with terrorists."

Saudi embassy attack

The official said some of the problems related to ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia have to do with the January 2016 "vigilante" attack on the kingdom's embassy in Tehran.

He noted that high-ranking Iranian officials and the Foreign Ministry have condemned the attack and that the country's judiciary has been tasked with serving justice to the perpetrators.

Qassemi further expressed hope that the matter would be eventually resolved and those behind it consigned to justice so the entire affair would serve as a salutary lesson for those contemplating such arbitrary acts which affect Iran's foreign and diplomatic policy.

Turkey death

On Saturday, Iranian national Saeed Karimian and a Kuwaiti business partner of his were driving through the Sariyer district of Istanbul, Turkey when unknown assailants stopped their car and opened fire on them, according to local sources.

The sources said Karimian, who owned satellite television network GEM TV, died on the spot, and his Kuwaiti companion later succumbed to his wounds in the hospital.

Qassemi said Iran had asked Turkey to provide it with the conclusion of its investigation into the alleged incident.

"The issue is on the agenda, and our embassy in Ankara and the Foreign Ministry are pursuing the matter," the spokesman said.

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Iran Says New Refinery Will Make Country Self-Sufficient In Gasoline Output

May 01, 2017

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has officially opened a refinery on the Persian Gulf that he says will make the country self-sufficient in gasoline production, a project he credits the 2015 nuclear deal for making possible.

Rohani on April 30 told reporters at the plant in Bandar Abbas that "self-reliance in petroleum production is a great honor for the Iranian people."

Bandar Abbas is 1,205 kilometers south of Tehran.

The plant was constructed by Khatam-al Anbia, the economic arm of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Iran produces about 64 million liters of petroleum daily and imports 12 million liters to meet domestic demand.

The new refinery will make up that difference by producing 12 million liters a day in its first phase.

The plant will be capable of producing 36 million liters a day after it is completed in 2018, officials said.

Rohani said the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, including the United States, helped allow the project to reach the operation stage by allowing necessary equipment to be imported into the country.

"This giant refining unit would never go online" if the deal had not been made, he said.

Rohani, who is campaigning for reelection in the May 19 presidential vote, has come under criticism from hard-liners for negotiating the deal they claim has brought little economic benefit to Iran.

Based on reporting by AFP, IRNA, and AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-rohani-refinery- gasoline-petroleum-bandar-abbas/28461031.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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317 civilians killed in violence, armed conflicts in Iraq in April: UN

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 1:15PM

The United Nations says terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts took the lives of more than 300 people and left hundreds of others wounded in Iraq last month.

According to the latest figures released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Monday, terrorist attacks claimed the lives of 317 Iraqis and left 403 others wounded last month.

The UN mission added that the death toll included 309 civilians, while the number of injured civilians stood at 309.

The worst-affected area was the northern province of Nineveh, where violence took the lives of 153 civilians and left 123 others wounded. Fifty-five people also lost their lives in the capital province of Baghdad, and 179 others sustained injuries there.

"Daesh terrorists have detonated car bombs in residential neighborhoods in Mosul and attacked civilians desperately fleeing the fighting as the security forces liberate more territory from the terrorists. But Daesh's atrocities were not confined to the combat zones and spared no one. They have struck in liberated areas, where people are trying to rebuild their lives, using bombers," said Jan Kubis, the UN envoy to Iraq and the UNAMI chief, citing an attack in the city of Tikrit in Salahuddin Province earlier in April and a bombing in the Karradah neighborhood of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad last weekend.

"But Daesh's savage campaign of terror has failed to weaken the will and the unity of the Iraqi people, who are increasingly seeing victory against the terrorists within reach," Kubis pointed out.

Daesh put 13 Iraqi civilians to death in western Mosul

Meanwhile, members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group have executed more than a dozen civilians who were fleeing the western part of Mosul.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Baghdadia news agency that the Daesh terrorists leveled charges of "attempts to cross to the land of infidels" against 15 residents of Mosheirfeh region and then executed them.

Three children and a woman were among the slain victims, the source added.

Iraqi army soldiers and pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi, have made sweeping gains against the Takfiri elements since launching the operation to retake Mosul.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

The United Nations says nearly half a million civilians have fled fighting since the offensive to retake Mosul started on October 17, 2016.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on April 17 that 493,000 people had been displaced from the city, located some 400 kilometers north of Baghdad.

As many as 500,000 civilians are still trapped in then Daesh-controlled neighborhoods of western Mosul.

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ELKO  Volunteers at the Elko Senior and Active Lifestyle Center were recognized for their contributions at a lunch and ceremony on Saturday.

About 70 volunteers were honored during the event, which was catered by Machi's Saloon and Grill and John Lemich, according to Executive Director Kerry Aguirre.

Dan Carter was one of those honored for volunteering more than 1,000 hours over the past year.

Carter volunteered in Arizona for 10 years at senior centers and hospitals as a snowbird before remaining in Elko, he said.

Among his duties, he does whatever they need including washes dishes, food prep, washing clothes, cleaning floors, said Carter.

Its an amazing group of people, said Aguirre of the volunteers. We rely on them, but not because we take them for granted, but because they honestly come to help and they like helping other people, whether its us or other people.

Anyone can come in and become a volunteer, Aguirre added.

On behalf of the board, President Dick Harris thanked the volunteers, Aguirre, Char Gustafson, the kitchen staff and center personnel.

They take care of business, everyone gets along. Its great, said Harris.

Aguirre also invited the public to an open house set for 4-6 p.m. June 29 to see recent improvements and renovations to the center, including painting, new curtains, sound barriers and a storage building.

A $125,000 grant from the William N. Pennington Foundation was recently awarded to the center, making the improvements and a planned computer lab possible, according to Harris.

We want to recognize all of our donors and especially the Pennington Foundation which made such a big renovation possible, said Aguirre.

The original article incorrectly named the wrong caterer. Machi's owner John Lemich donated the meal to the Elko Senior and Active Lifestyle Center.
Japan sends warship to join US strike force

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 7:18AM

Japan has dispatched its biggest warship for the first time in history to escort an American strike force near the Korean Peninsula.

Following an order from Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, the helicopter carrier Izumo departed from its base in Yokosuka, south of the capital, Tokyo, on Monday to join the US strike group, which includes the large USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.

The 249-meter-long Japanese carrier can carry up to nine helicopters. Its primary mission, however, is anti-submarine warfare.

Japan passed a set of controversial laws to expand the role of its military in 2015. The laws allow Tokyo to potentially engage in conflicts overseas.

Tokyo is also allowed to protect the weapons and equipment of its allied armed forces defending it and to provide logistical support to its allies involved in situations with "important influence" on Japanese security. One of the laws, known as "collective self-defense," also enables Japan to aid an ally under military attack.

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has come under fire because the new laws could, according to their opponents, drag the country into unnecessary wars abroad.

Tensions have been on the rise on the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks. Unsettled by North Korean missile and military nuclear programs, the United States has adopted a war-like posture, sending the strike force and conducting joint military drills with North Korea's regional adversaries Japan and South Korea.

Japanese fighter jets joined the USS Carl Vinson in waters off the Japanese city of Okinawa on Saturday.

Annual massive military drills between the US and South Korea also wrapped up earlier.

North Korea says the annual drills are rehearsals for invasion. Pyongyang is also concerned by the permanent presence of American forces in the region.

The dispatching of the strike group has now specifically worked to mount tensions, raising fears of a potential military confrontation with North Korea.

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US-backed Kurdish fighters take 80% of Syria's Tabqa

Iran Press TV

Mon May 1, 2017 9:42AM

US-backed Kurdish forces have gained control over 80 percent of Syria's Tabqa town after a week of fighting with the Daesh terrorist group, a UK-based monitoring group says.

The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered the town from the south on April 24 as part of an offensive to capture Raqqah, the Takfiri group's stronghold in the Arab country.

The US-backed forces have steadily advanced north, laying siege on three neighboring districts on the bank of the Euphrates River.

"The SDF now controls more than 80 percent of Tabqa," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

He added that Daesh "only holds those two neighborhoods, known locally as the first and second quarters," in the whole town.

Tabqa is situated on a strategic supply route some 55 kilometers west of Raqqah and serves as an important Daesh command base. The town also lies near Tabqa Dam, commonly known as the Euphrates dam that is held by Daesh.

The monitoring group noted that clashes were ongoing on Monday morning, with bombing raids by the US-led coalition striking the town.

Tabqa was surrounded by the SDF in early April after the assault on the town began in late March.

Recent advances by Kurdish fighters under the US aerial cover have escalated tensions between Washington and Ankara which is wary of separatist activities on its own turf.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been seeking to send a tough message to Donald Trump, ordering airstrikes against Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Turkey last week bombed targets of YPG Kurdish fighters in Syria, drawing Washington's wrath, and on Sunday Erdogan warned more action could be imminent.

"We can come unexpectedly in the night," said Erdogan. "We are not going to tip off the terror groups and the Turkish Armed Forces could come at any moment."

The US regards the YPG as its best ally on the ground in its military operations in Syria but Ankara says the group is the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK has waged an insurgency since 1984 inside Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead.

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U.S.-Backed Fighters Advance Against IS In Tabqa, Monitor Says

RFE/RL May 01, 2017

U.S-backed Kurdish-Arab forces have made gains against Islamic State (IS) militants in the town of Tabqa near the extremists' stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, a leading monitor group says.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on April 30 said the Kurdish-Arab alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now controlled more than 70 percent of Tabqa.

"The Old City has been entirely taken, and there is fierce fighting going on at the gates of the new town," observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The monitor group reported heavy clashes between IS fighters and SDF forces, which are being backed by U.S.-led air support.

The SDF displayed photos of guns, missiles, ammunition, and an IS flag that it said were recovered in Tabqa.

SDF troops backed by air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition have surrounded Tabqa, which is on the Euphrates River next to a dam and military airport about 55 kilometers from Raqqa, the self-declared IS capital in Syria.

The city has about 85,000 inhabitants.

IS fighters, who captured wide swathes of territory in 2014 in Syria and Iraq, are being pushed back on multiple fronts, including in northern Syria.

The Syrian civil war has killed more than 300,000 people since the conflict broke out in March 2011 with antigovernment demonstrations.

The United States and Turkey support rebels fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, while Russia and Iran back Assad.

The IS fighters, opposed by both sides, later entered the conflict.

With reporting by AFP and dpa

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/syria-sdf-forces-advance- tabqa-near-raqqa/28461282.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Syria: UN concerned over worsening security, humanitarian situation in Damascus suburbs

1 May 2017  The United Nations today said that it remains deeply concerned by the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the eastern part of Syria's Ghouta, where some 400,000 people are trapped.

"The UN has not reached any part of eastern Ghouta since October last year," said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, in the daily briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

He said that the UN stands ready to immediately deliver life-saving assistance to those in need of assistance in eastern Ghouta, located in the suburbs of Damascus, should the pause be established and abided by all parties to the conflict.

The spokesperson said the UN remains concerned about reports of intensified fighting among non-State armed groups in the enclave over the past few days.

With commercial and humanitarian supplies continue to be blocked, prices of basic staple goods have gone up significantly, he said, noting that civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities and schools, continue to be affected by the tight restrictions and reports of shelling, airstrikes, and ground fighting.

Mr. Dujarric also announced that UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley is visiting Lebanon and Syria through 3 May  his first visit since taking office last month. Mr. Beasley is expected to meet Syrians affected by the ongoing crisis to witness the profound humanitarian crisis first-hand.

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HRW: Syria Used Nerve Gas in 4 Recent Attacks

By VOA News May 01, 2017

Human Rights Watch has accused Syrian government forces of using deadly nerve gas on four occasions in recent months, including the April 4 chemical attack on Khan Sheikoun that killed nearly 100 people.

In a report issued Monday, the rights group said forces loyal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad also carried out gas attacks in December of 2016 and March of 2017.

"The government's recent use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation  and part of a clear pattern," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "In the last six months, the government has used warplanes, helicopters, and ground forces to deliver chlorine and sarin in Damascus, Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo. That's widespread and systematic use of chemical weapons."

The HRW report urges the U.N. Security Council to immediately adopt a resolution "calling on all parties to fully cooperate with investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and adopt sanctions against anyone U.N. investigators find to be responsible for these or past chemical attacks in Syria."

Russia has vowed to veto any draft U.N. resolution that blames the Syrian government for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Russia has used six vetoes in the past six years to protect Syria from Security Council action.

Syria has denied that is has chemical weapons.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the United States is "quite confident" that the deadly April 4 attack in Khan Sheikoun "was planned and it was directed and executed by Syrian regime forces."

Following that incident, President Donald Trump ordered a missile attack on the Syrian air base believed to be the source of the chemical weapons that killed scores of civilians.

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Computerized war games kick off Han Kuang military exercises

ROC Central News Agency

2017/05/01 22:14:06

Taipei, May 1 (CNA) A five-day stretch of computer-aided war games that will simulate a Chinese attack on Taiwan in 2025 opened the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Monday.

The computerized war games were staged at the Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) command center, with National Defense University playing the role of an attacker and the military following rules of engagement related to anti-air defenses, interception and defense of the country's territory.

The MND said the scenario simulates a Chinese deployment of three aircraft carriers with stealth fighters and new missiles.

The war games will focus on preserving combat capability, using information and surveillance data collected, and countering blockades and landings on Taiwan.

Military sources said the ministry has recently ordered all participants in the exercise to report at 6 a.m. and complete the mobilization at 7 a.m.

The ministry also asked all military personnel to keep the exercises they participate in confidential and follow regulations on information security.

Reports have said U.S. retired general Edward A. Rice, Jr. has led a group to Taiwan to observe the computerized war games.

The second stage of the Han Kuang military exercises, which is expected to involve live fire drills, will be held May 22-26.

The Tuo Jiang -- Taiwan's first locally built stealth missile corvette - will take part in the Han Kuang exercises for the first time. President Tsai Ing-wen () will also review the military at the exercise.

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Lilian Wu)

Enditem/ls



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Taiwan has 'Plan B' if not invited to WHA: foreign minister

ROC Central News Agency

2017/05/01 18:06:05

Taipei, May 1 (CNA) The government will implement its Plan B if Taiwan is not invited to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year, Foreign Minister David Lee () said on Monday.

The minister, however, did not offer any details on what such a plan might involve.

The WHA, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), is scheduled to hold its latest session in Geneva from May 22 to May 31.

Taiwan first attended the WHA as an observer in 2009, a year after the government of former President Ma Ying-jeou () came to power and pursued a more conciliatory policy toward Beijing. Since then, Taipei has sent a delegation to Geneva every year but has not yet received an invitation to the upcoming meeting.

There are concerns that Beijing might try to block Taiwan's invitation to the WHA this year, in light of increasingly strained cross-strait relations since President Tsai Ing-wen () took office in May 2016.

Asked about the matter during a legislative hearing, Lee said he believes the Taiwanese people will consider it an insult if Taiwan is not invited to the WHA this year.

According to Lee, the majority of people in Taiwan do not understand why Beijing will not allow Taiwan to take part even as an observer in such non-political organizations as WHA.

If Beijing understood the feelings of the Taiwanese people, it would discard its old way of thinking and approach the issue with a new attitude, he said.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Tsai said whether Taiwan is able to attend this year's WHA is a key indicator of the state of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and she urged the leaders of mainland China to avoid policies that would be counterproductive to the development of improved cross-strait ties.

(By Ku Chuan and Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/AW

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Communities secretary Sajid Javid MP said he is very confident about Gloucester's 135million Blackfriars development during a visit to the city as work to build hundreds of student flats is set to start.

Mr Javid said he wants to see the proposed revamp of the city's quayside and Blackfriars area - which includes hundreds of new homes for students, shops and restaurants - to soon turn into a reality after approving an order to make the project more attractive to investors.

The Communities and Local Government Secretary last week approved a local development order for the project - which means planning permission has effectively been approved for the mixed used major regeneration of the quarter which has stood unloved for more than two decades.

And Mr Javid today visited the Barbican Car Park in Ladybellegate Street, where work will begin on May 5 to build 295 student flats, to see the site and drum up support for the Conservatives in the upcoming county and general elections.

He said: "I wanted to come and see this Blackfiars development for myself as it's something (Gloucester MP) Richard Graham has pushed really hard for. We're pleased to back it and see this project turn unto a reality."

When asked how long it normally takes projects with LDOs to attract investors, Mr Javid said: "Each area is different. Developers won't come on board unless they know central government is working with local government to deliver this.

"Gloucester is attractive, this is a great location and I'm very confident about the future of Blackfriars."

Mr Javid approved the order days before the county council elections on May 4, which will be followed by a general election on June 8.

He denied that Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to call the snap election - after repeated promises not to do so - could create some of the 'chaos' the Conservatives say Labour would cause if they won power.

Mr Javid said: "The British people are faced with a very clear choice - either stick with Theresa May with a team which is strong and stable of a coalition of chaos led by Jeremy Corbyn.

"What Theresa May has done is quite openly said we're about to engage on some of the most important negotiations we have ever faced.

"It's an opportunity for the British people to back the team that they want to take into those negotiations."

The order covers the area around  but not including  Gloucester Prison and includes the Barbican car park off Ladybellegate Street, the now demolished Gloucester Magistrates Court and Quayside House.

This is after 4.13million of central government funding was granted to carry out archaeological investigations, ground contamination works and road improvements.

Along with the student accommodation, which will serve the University of Gloucestershire, a county council children and adult services centre on the site of the magistrates court has also been agreed.

The student flats would link into the university's revamp of its Oxstalls Campus, which would see its business school move there.

Stephen Marston, vice chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire who joined the visit today, said the LDO is an important step in the redevelopment of the site.

He said: "I'm positive - I do believe now that there is enough momentum that things are going to start happening."

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council (C, Quedgeley) which owns parts of the Blackfriars site, added: "This development will have a huge impact on the city of Gloucester. It's the linkage between the docks and the city centre.

"It's about making sure both Gloucester and Cheltenham and all parts of the county are growing and getting the investment they need."
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Children's favourites, Peppa Pig and George, are meeting their biggest fans in Cheltenham.

The Play Farm will play host to the one-off event, in which families will have the opportunity to get their oink on with Britain's most famous piglets.

Tickets cost 8 per child and includes entry, a lunchbox and the chance to meet both of the characters.

The iconic duo will make their appearance at the venue on Friday, May 26, from 4pm to 8pm.

All spaces need to be pre-booked, so get oinkers better get their trot on. Either pre-book with The Play Farm or call 01242 257955.

Peppa will also be visiting the Dean Forest Railway on Saturday 4, and Sunday 5 June.
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A Cheltenham pensioner who lost a court battle with his stepson pretended he could not pay the 64,000 bill and declared himself bankrupt - hiding the fact that he owned a property in Belgium, a court heard today.

But later documents showing his ownership of the house in Cuesmes were found under the floorboards of his former home, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

However, the legal costs involved in the bankruptcy receiver subsequently tracing and selling the property for 67,000 Euros were so high that only 18,000 was left over from the proceeds, said prosecutor Simon Goodman.

Favell, 78, of St Paul's Street, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to failing to disclose to the Official Receiver and his trustee in bankruptcy between July 2012 and December 2014 that he had an interest in the Belgian property.

He had been due to stand jury trial on that and four other related charges today but changed his plea to guilty at the last minute after asking the judge, Recorder Richard Smith QC, for an indication of what sentence he would receive if he admitted the offence.

When the Recorder said the maximum sentence would be an 18 months suspended jail term Favell pleaded guilty and the other four charges were order to lie on the court file.

Those charges alleged he had failed to disclose bank accounts at BNP Paribas, preference shares in Lloyds TSB and Premium Bonds.

Mr Goodman said: "There had been a property dispute between this defendant and his stepson. Judgement was obtained against the defendant which included costs and rent and it totalled 64,000.

"The defendant claimed that he could not pay that amount and on 20th July 2012 he petitioned for his own bankruptcy.

"In his statement of affairs he made no mention that he owned property in Belgium. But his stepson knew different.

"By May 2013 the official receiver had been put on notice of this property and the defendant was interviewed and admitted he had owned it but said he had last been there in 2007 when he found the locks had been changed.

"But that was not true either. Documents were found at the property which was the subject of the earlier proceedings which showed he and his wife had been at the belgian address in 2010. The property had been transferred into his sole name after his divorce from his first wife in 2006.

"The Belgian property was ultimately sold but it took a lot of effort and expense. It had been worth 67,000 Euros on the open market but it has realised less than 18,000 for the trustee in bankruptcy after deduction of costs.

"Had the defendant co-operated from the start it could have been sold much more cheaply. Basically, he wanted to have his cake and eat it . He wanted to keep his assets and avoid his debts."

Mr Goodman asked the court to consider granting prosecution costs of 6,000 against Favell.

Passing a sentence of 18 months jail suspended for two years the judge made no order for costs in view of Favell's continuing state of bankruptcy and the fact that he already as a 'queue' of creditors.
May 1

Daniel Camacho, 57, of Ely was arrested on U.S. Highway 93 for driving under the influence and failure to drive on the right half of the road. Bail: $1,255



Tyler L. Chamberlin, 18, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County Jail for use or possession of drug paraphernalia. No bail listed.



Jamie S. Chavez, 33, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County Jail for battery and coercion. No bail listed.



Alexander K. Dave-Decker, 27, of Elko was arrested at 2944 Mountain City Highway for violation of probation or condition of suspended sentence. No bail listed.



Elizabeth J. George, 36, of Elko was arrested at 1740 Mountain City Highway for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor. Bail: $500



Jason D. Hintze, 38, of Montrose, Colorado, was arrested at the Elko County Jail on a warrant charging four counts of sexual assault against a child under 14, two counts of lewdness with a child under 14, and incest. Bail: $2,520,000



Christopher A. Kranz, 49, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County Jail for disturbing the peace. No bail listed.



Michael M. Melendez, 19, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County jail for petit larceny. No bail listed.



Rosemary B. Sears, 48, of Spring Creek was arrested at 132 Flora Place on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor. Bail: $615



John B. Winch, 28, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County Jail for disturbing the peace. No bail listed.
RINGGOLD  1969.

A gallon of gas was 35 cents, the minimum wage was $1.60 and Richard Nixon took office as president.

It was also the year Danny Stevens  then 19  was drafted into the Vietnam War while working at Dan River Inc.

Stevens friend and former Dan River co-worker, Mike Owen, recently surprised him with a memento from that time nearly 50 years ago  Stevens final canceled paycheck from Dan River just before he left for Vietnam.

It was for $41.21 and dated March 23, 1969.

I made big bucks back in them days, Stevens joked during an interview at his Ringgold home Thursday morning.

That was a normal-sized paycheck back then for Stevens, who was working full-time and living with his parents. It paid for food, car insurance and maintenance and upkeep for his 1964 Chevrolet Malibu Super Sport.

I didnt have to pay any rent, though, said Stevens, a Kmart pharmacy manager who turns 68 in May.

Owen, a volunteer at Schoolfield Museum and Cultural Center, found the check while cleaning out Dan Rivers old Hylton Hall building, which was damaged in a fire in 2012.

There are a lot of checks from 1960 to 1972, said Owen, who also played softball with Stevens in Dan Rivers intramural league. Ive been going through them for quite a while now.

Owen regularly gives old canceled paychecks to former Dan River employees. Hes given away 573 so far, he said.

Its a nice souvenir, Owen said, adding that he has thousands. He keeps a bunch of them in the trunk of his car, he said.

I carry them around because you never know when youre going to run into somebody, Owen said.

He organizes them into different categories, including former schoolmates, and people who lives in Schoolfield or Stokesland  where Owen grew up, he said.

Owen and Stevens have known each other since 1968.

Stevens worked second shift at Dan River, oiling and greasing looms. He received his draft notice in February 1969 and served eight months and 10 days in Chu Lai, Vietnam.

He started work at Dan River in 1967 upon graduation from Halifax County High School.

Stevens returned to the mill after coming back from Vietnam and worked there until 1981. He and his wife moved to Richmond so she could attend pharmacy school. Stevens drove a bread truck for three years.

Stevens late went to pharmacy school and graduated in 1990. He has been a pharmacist for 27 years.

He said he was glad to see his old Dan River paycheck when Owen brought it to him.

I hadnt thought anything of it for years, Steven said, adding that he likes to collect historical items.

He has no plans to retire from his pharmacy manager position soon.

Im going to keep working as long as I can, he said. Im hoping Kmart will be around a while.

He likes to work because he hates doing nothing, he said.

Stevens had roots at Dan River  his father was a loom fixer and his mother was a weaver there.

Dan River, an icon and long-time employer in the city, closed in 2006.

When we went to work up there, you thought it would never go away, Stevens said.

Stevens said he plans to have the canceled check framed.
A severe thunderstorm left trees and power lines down across the city of Danville on Monday evening.

In the 200 block of Hughes Street, a tree fell on an apartment complex. There were no injuries reported.

Winds snapped power poles near the intersection of Overby and Wagner streets, according to a report from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.

Other areas impacted by the storm include Bowell and Hughest streets, Piedmont Place and Park Avenue, West Main Street and Riveroak Drive and Central and South Main Street, according to the Danville Police Department.

The Danville Fire Department warned residents to stay away from power lines until Danville Power & Light could investigate.

Danville Utilities is responding to reports of scattered power outages in the area.

The largest concentration of outages occurred along a feeder line that serves areas of the city from Piedmont Drive to West Main Street, according to a statement from Arnold Hendrix, public information officer with the city of Danville.

This line serves more than 500 customers. The outage was caused by a large tree downed off of Piedmont Drive that went through the line.

In addition to this outage, scattered outages throughout the service territory have left more than 300 customers without power, Hendrix said shortly before 11 p.m. Monday.

Danville Utility crews worked through the night to restore service.

As of 7 a.m., more than 200 customers remained without power, including Averett University and Forrest Hills Elementary School, according to Hendrix. This area is without power due to downed lines on Primrose Place.

Forest Hills Elementary School was closed Tuesday due to the outage.

The city was under a severe thunderstorm warning when a line of storms swept through at about 6:30 p.m. Monday. A tornado warning had been issued earlier for another storm.
I may be a newcomer to the Nevada Assembly, but Im not new to the issues that are important to Nevada women. I ran for office to stand against injustice and serve as a voice for the women who too often go unheard by their elected leaders. It is why one of my first legislative efforts has been to repeal the so-called pink tax on feminine hygiene products. And it is why I wore pink to Senator Dean Hellers address to the Nevada state legislature last week. Women are not going to let politicians stand in the way of their rights or their health care.

In wearing pink, I am proud to join the thousands of Nevadans who have turned out over the past several weeks to urge our leaders in the state house and Congress to stop attacking womens access to basic reproductive care. For example, for the past few months, Planned Parenthood patients and supporters have been marching, rallying, protesting, calling, and showing up to Senator Hellers office to ask him why hes voting to block access to care at Planned Parenthood.

It has become alarmingly clear that politicians in D.C. are mounting the biggest attack on womens health in a generation  and unfortunately, that has included Senator Heller. Just a few weeks ago, President Trump signed a resolution behind closed doors that threatens access to birth control for four million people across the country who depend on the Title X family planning program. And a few weeks before that, Congress was considering a bill that would not only repeal insurance coverage for millions of women, but would also block women from going to Planned Parenthood for care.

These folks have invested their precious time to speak out because like me, they believe that women should be able to access the care they need at the provider they trust. That includes Planned Parenthood, where nearly 18,000 Nevadans turn for care each year. Planned Parenthood offers basic health care like birth control and cancer screenings, and for many Nevadans, they are the only health provider they see all year. In 2014, more than 75 percent of Planned Parenthood patients made individual incomes of less than $17,505 a year.

Planned Parenthood also plays an outsized role in meeting the health care needs of women in need of publicly funded contraceptive services. Although Planned Parenthood health centers comprised 9 percent of Nevadas safety net centers that offered family planning care in 2010, they served 40 percent of patients served by such centers. Cutting women off from their trusted provider would have a devastating impact on womens access to health care and the historic progress weve made.

So lets be clear about who will be hurt by defunding Planned Parenthood: Nevadans.

Not only is defunding incredibly dangerous for the thousands of Nevadans who rely on Planned Parenthood for care, but its incredibly unpopular and its not what people want. 6 in 10 Nevadans dont want to see Planned Parenthood defunded. In December, polling released from the 2016 Senate race in Nevada showed that supporting Planned Parenthood was one of, if not the most, decisive issues in the Nevada Senate race. The polling found that Joe Hecks votes to defund Planned Parenthood were the most convincing reason to vote against him.

It appears that the demands of Nevada women are starting to get through to Senator Heller. Last week, Planned Parenthood patients and supporters flooded a joint town hall with Representative Amodei and Senator Heller, to voice their concern about Congressional efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and send a clear message: dont take away our health care. Senator Dean Heller finally pledged to protect Planned Parenthood, as did Representative Amodei.

But a day later, he put out a statement contradicting himself. Dean Heller must keep his pledge to his constituents and protect access to care at Planned Parenthood. Senator Heller cant be a champion for women if he doesnt keep his word about protecting Planned Parenthood.

We need to remain vigilant to ensure that when the chips are down, Dean Heller stands with Nevada women. Thats why I was proud to wear pink last week, and why Ill continue to hold him and the rest of our elected officials accountable to what is best for the women they serve.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO--(Marketwired - May 1, 2017) - Gold Resource Corp. (NYSE MKT: GORO) (the "Company") today announced the timing of its 2017 first quarter earnings conference call scheduled for May 3, 2017. Gold Resource Corp. is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $109 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010, and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery.

Conference Call

Gold Resource Corp.'s CEO Mr. Jason Reid will host the conference call Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Topics of discussion will include first quarter results and an update on current operations. The conference call will be recorded and posted to the Company's website in three to five business days from recording.

Q&A

Following Mr. Reid's opening remarks, the Company will answer questions during a live Q&A period.

Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Time: 11:00 AM Eastern (9:00 AM Mountain)

Attendee Access Information:

-- Title: Gold Resource Corp. First Quarter Conference Call

-- Host Name: Jason Reid

-- Company Name: Gold Resource Corp.

US/CAN Toll Free: 888-632-3381

International Toll: 785-424-1678

Passcode: 624759

Please dial-in to the conference call at least 5 minutes prior to the start time using the attendee phone number and passcode.

About GRC:

Gold Resource Corp. is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, U.S.A. focused on gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. The Company has 56,839,823 shares outstanding, zero warrants, zero debt and has returned over $109 million back to its shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010. Gold Resource Corp. offers its shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.

Cautionary Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corp.'s strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corp. on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's 10-K filed with the SEC.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:BMK) ("MacDonald Mines", or the "Company") announces that it has contracted Golder Associates Ltd. ("Golder") to recommend minimum sample spacing requirements to support the eventual completion of a NI43-101 Inferred Resource estimate of the Oxide Sands at the Wawa-Holdsworth Project.

Quentin Yarie, MacDonald's President and CEO commented: "We've identified the Oxide Sands at our Wawa-Holdsworth Project as a near-term exploitation target. As we prepare to initiate our sampling program, Golder's input will ensure that the results obtained are suitable for the preparation of a 43-101 Inferred Resource estimate."

Golder will use the MacDonald's data, the exploration level NI 43-101 Technical Report completed in December 20161, and sample spacing data from other similar mineral sand-hosted deposits to compile its recommendation. Golder's study is expected to be completed by mid-May.

Metals Investor Forum

MacDonald Mines will be presenting at the upcoming Metals Investor Forum hosted by newsletter editors Eric Coffin (HRA Advisories), Joe Mazumdar (Exploration Insights), Jay Taylor (J. Taylor's Gold, Energy & Tech Stocks), John Kaiser (KaiserResearch.com), Jordan Roy-Byrne (The Daily Gold) and Gwen Preston (Resource Maven). The Forum showcases a vetted and curated list of companies followed by one or more of the newsletter editors that host it. The event takes place in Vancouver May 5-6, 2017. To learn more about the Metals Investor Forum, visit www.metalsinvestorforum.com.

Wawa-Holdsworth Project Highlights

Approximately 285 hectares, 20 kilometres northeast of the town of Wawa

18 fee simple absolute patented claims, includes surface and mining rights

Neighbouring Argonaut's Magino Gold Project 2 & Richmont's Island Gold Mine 3

& Richmont's Island Gold Mine Numerous gold showings with diversified mineralization styles occurring in a 500 metres-wide deformation corridor

Year-long road access and easy access to rail, road, electrical power, labour force and suppliers

Overview of the Wawa-Holdsworth Project

Historic work by previous operators defined three gold targets on the Wawa-Holdsworth Project:

Greenstone-hosted quartz-carbonate vein deposit (Soocana Vein System);

BIF-hosted gold deposits (gold-bearing pyrite zones in an Algoma-type iron formation);

Gold-bearing Oxide Sands developed from the weathering of the auriferous Pyrite Zones.

MacDonald Mines has identified the Oxide Sands as a short-term target for gold production. The Oxide Sands are interpreted to be derived from the weathering of an auriferous and pyritized Algoma-type iron formation that, so far, has been traced on the property over a 2 km-long strike length. The mineralized sands appear to reach a depth of at least 8 metres.

In 2002, a detailed and systematic sampling of the Oxide Sands was conducted over a strike length of 332.5 metres. A composite of 23 panels over the 332.5 metres returned an average gold grade of 3.45 g/t and an average silver grade of 29.99 g/t4. Preliminary metallurgical testing conducted by previous operators on composite samples recovered, without crushing, between 69% and 98.7 % gold.

Earlier this year, MacDonald Mines launched a trenching program to map and confirm the Oxide Sands' strike length and thickness. The Company also initiated a bulk sampling program and commenced metallurgical testing of the Oxide Sands to achieve the highest possible gold and silver recovery.

The soft and relatively unconsolidated oxide sands material appears to be amenable to being extracted like an aggregate. The area's shallow overburden, the proximity to labour and equipment and the easy access to the site should result in very inexpensive mining costs should the Company delineate a large enough deposit.

Following spring breakup, the Company will ramp up its sampling program to better define the Oxide Sands and will continue to prepare for their potential extraction. The near-term exploitation of the Oxide Sands will provide the Company with good cash flow to further advance exploration of the other gold targets on the property.

Qualified Person

Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario focused on gold and silica exploration in Canada. The Company has built a portfolio of safe-jurisdiction, infrastructure-rich projects that demonstrate the greatest market potential for return. The Company is aggressively advancing its highly prospective Wawa-Holdsworth Project and recently signed a binding LOI to secure 100% interest in the Holdsworth property.

The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "BMK".

To learn more about MacDonald Mines, please visit www.macdonaldmines.com.

1 Technical Report on the Holdsworth Project, Holdsworth Property, Wawa, Ontario, Canada, Q. Yarie, Dec. 20, 2016.

2 Magino Gold Project - Indicated Gold Resources (inclusive of Reserves): 4.07M oz; Inferred Gold Resources: 1.06 Moz (http://www.argonautgold.com/gold_operations/magino/)

3 Island Gold Mine - Proven and Probable Gold Reserves: 752,200 oz; Measured and Indicated Gold Resources (exclusive of Reserves): 91,450 oz; Inferred Gold Resources : 995,700 oz (https://www.richmont-mines.com/English/operations/production/island-gold-mine/default.aspx)

4 Report on the Holdsworth Gold Prospect, Wawa Area, Ontario, Seymour M. Sears P.Geo., October 2002.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSX.V: HAN) announces a diamond drill rig has been mobilized to the Kilbricken Zn-Pb-Ag project in Ireland, to begin the Company's first drill program since acquiring the project.

Key points:

Permitting is complete and a diamond drill rig has been mobilized to site;

A drill program comprised of 4 diamond drill holes for 1,800m will focus on validation of historic drilling, extraction of a metallurgical sample and expanding the footprint of known mineralization;

Drilling will continue until July 2017.

Mr. Michael Hudson, CEO and Chairman, states: "Our team has worked hard to extract as much information as possible from the extensive project and regional databases that took previous explorers more than 16 million of investment to acquire. The high grade Kilbricken mineralization holds the potential to expand in all directions and with a $1.5 million financing recently closed, we are wasting no time in getting a drill rig turning at this highly prospective base metal property."

Better intersections at Kilbricken include DH 46: 20.5m @ 7.5% Zn, 9.9% Pb, 0.07% Cu, 74.6g/t Ag; and DH06: 21.3m @ 11% Zn, 4.8% Pb, 0.06% Cu, 94.4g/t Ag. Semi-continuous massive sulphide mineralization has been drilled over more than 1.5 kilometres of strike, providing numerous opportunities to expand the mineralized footprint. In addition to Kilbricken, the broader licence area presents district scale upside with a 40-kilometre trend of prospective host rock to test, including the Milltown prospect where DH19 discovered 13.3m at 5.8% Pb and 10.5% Zn. The true thickness of the mineralized intervals quoted is interpreted to be approximately 95% of the sampled thickness.

Since acquiring the project in September 2016, Hannan has focused on advancing the technical understanding of the Kilbricken project to develop a rigorous geological model to guide future exploration. The Company has engaged experts in rift tectonics, the structural geology of Irish Zn-Pb deposits and the local geology of the Kilbricken area to re-interpret controls on Zn-Pb-Ag mineralization, and the development of the Clare rift basin. In addition, 28-line kilometres of 2D seismic and four square kilometres of 3D seismic data have been re-processed by HiSeis Pty Ltd; three airborne magnetic data surveys have been "de-cultured" and had spectral depth filtering applied; gravity data has been reprocessed; and >30,000 soil samples have been re-levelled and combined with geophysical data to define drill targets.

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSX.V:HAN)

Hannan Metals Ltd. has 100% ownership of the County Clare Zn-Pb-Ag-Cu project in Ireland, which consists of 9 prospecting licences for 32,223 hectares. Zinc remains in tight supply amidst rising demand and stagnant supply. Ireland is a leading global jurisdiction for zinc mining and exploration. It has been stated that Irish base metal ore field is ranked first in the world in terms of zinc discovered per square kilometre, and second in the world with respect to lead. In 2015, Ireland was the world's 10th largest zinc producing nation with 230,000 tonnes produced.

Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of financing and discovering mineral projects in Europe. Additionally, the team holds extensive zinc experience, gained from the world's largest integrated zinc producer of the time, PasmInco Ltd.

Mr. Michael Hudson FAusIMM, Hannan's CEO and Chairman, is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

On behalf of the Board,

"Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, CEO & Chairman

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release contains "forward-looking statements", and "forward- looking information" under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements, which include the Company's expectations regarding future performance based on current results, expected cash costs based on the Company's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projects of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: liabilities inherent in mine development and production, geological risks, the financial markets generally, and the ability of the Company to raise additional capital to fund future operations. There can be no assurance that forward-looking 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 obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE Hannan Metals Ltd.
REDONDO BEACH, CA--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - SECFilings.com, a leading financial news and information portal offering free real-time public company filing alerts, announces the publication of an article discussing Blue Sky Uranium Inc.'s (TSX VENTURE: BSK) (OTCQB: BKUCF) current projects.

Argentina has the potential to become a leader in nuclear power following the Paris Accord where it committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 15% by 2030. Meeting these goals will require the country to more than double its nuclear power capabilities from 4% to 10% of its energy mix by 2025. There is one new power plant under construction, two additional ones in planning, and two more under proposal, but no domestic supply of uranium to supply them.

Blue Sky Uranium Corp. aims to help the country develop a domestic supply of low-cost uranium to power its nuclear ambitions.

Amarillo Grande Project

Blue Sky Uranium's initial focus is the 250,000-hectare Amarillo Grande Uranium project located in the Rio Negro Province of Argentina. With a 140-kilometer long mineralization trend, the project offers near-surface uranium mineralization with very good grades and the potential to be upgraded at a low cost. Management believes that the project could be developed into a 15+ million pound uranium resource with a low cost, short lead time, and natural end market.

The project consists of three nearby properties:

Anit Discovery - A 15-kilometer long and 1.5-kilometer wide new surficial uranium discovery identified by airborne radiometric surveys in 2007. A trenching program found an average of 0.019 to 0.066 percent uranium and 0.057 to 0.105 percent vanadium.





Santa Barbara Discovery - A discovery made by hand-auger sampling in the area that includes a horizon of bright yellow mineralization with concentrations of 0.01 to 0.06 percent uranium and 0.05 to 0.06 percent vanadium.





Ivana Discovery - A seven meter by four meter enclosed basin within a 40-kilometer by 10-kilometer basin. Pit sampling found strong near-surface mineralization including 0.75 meters at 1.8 percent uranium.

"We believe that a domestic source of uranium with a low-cost production model has the opportunity to supply Argentina's growing nuclear industry at highly competitive pricing compared to imported material," says Blue Sky President & CEO Nikolaos Cacos. "Our Amarillo Grande project, with its near surface mineralization, access to infrastructure, and supportive federal and provincial policies, is an excellent candidate to fulfill that model."

Currently, the company is delineating mineralization and moving towards a resource estimation with a 3,000 meter RC drill program underway and an additional 7,000 meters planned to prepare for the resource estimation. Intensive metallurgical studies will be conducted on each mineralized rock type to define an optimal leaching process and recovery grades. The company hopes to begin the NI 43-101 resource estimation process by June.

When it comes time to develop the project, Amarillo Grande has well-maintained gravel roads for year-round access with regional infrastructure for shallow groundwater, power, and rail access, as well as a deep sea port within 200 kilometers of the property. The three properties that comprise the project are also located close enough for an integrated mine and centralized processing plant that could pave the way for a low-cost in-situ mining operation.

Chubut Project

Blue Sky Uranium's 150,000-hectare Chubut project is a secondary focus with the potential for the discovery of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits located south of Rio Negro in Argentina. The project is located in close proximity to the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission's advanced Cerro Solo uranium deposit with similar geological features -- including easy-to-mine sandstone deposits and near-surface deposits.

The team took grub samples from outcrops and hand pits at the projects two properties -- Sierra Colonia and Tierras Coloradas -- and found six samples higher than 0.10 percent uranium or vanadium, including 0.65, 1.55, 0.61, 0.80, 0.53, and 1.32 percent samples. A total of 90 samples were higher than 0.01 percent uranium and 177 samples were lower than 0.01 percent uranium, which suggests strong potential at the site.

Management is currently focused on keeping the property in good standing in anticipation of legislative changes that will open the region for mining development.

Please follow the link to read the full article: http://analysis.secfilings.com/articles/166-an-in-depth-look-at-blue-sky-s-current-projects

About SECFilings.com

Founded in 2004, SECFilings.com provides free real-time filing alerts to over 600,000 registered members and offers services to help public companies grow their audience of interested investors.

Disclaimer

Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns SECFilings.com, 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. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: http://secfilings.com/Disclaimer.aspx.
Vancouver, B.C. (FSCwire) - ALX Uranium Corp. (ALX or the Company) (TSXV: AL; FSE: 6LLN; OTC: ALXEF) announced today the results of a diamond drilling program at the Gorilla Lake property (Gorilla Lake, or the Property) in the western Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. The drilling program consisted of four holes totaling 1,116 metres and was carried out in March 2017.

Three holes (GL17-001 to GL17-003) were drilled in the northern portion of the Property to follow up on basement-hosted uranium mineralization that was previously intersected in historical holes CLU-01 (0.46% U 3 O 8 over 1.5 metres) and CLU-07 (0.17% U 3 O 8 over 7.0 metres) drilled in 2006. The historical uranium mineralization was associated with numerous conductors, as defined by airborne and ground electromagnetic surveys and was coincident with a distinct northeast-trending gravity low highlighted from a ground gravity survey conducted in the winter of 2016. In addition, one hole (GL17-004) tested an airborne electromagnetic anomaly approximately 1,500 metres south of Gorilla Lake coincident within a distinct northeast-southwest striking gravity low. Three of the 2017 drill holes showed narrow intervals containing anomalous values of uranium and other pathfinder elements as well as elevated radioactivity. Geochemical results are shown in Table 1, below.

Table 1. Gorilla Lake 2017 Geochemical Results

Hole No. Total depth (m) From/To (m) Sample Interval (m) U (ppm) Ni (ppm) Cu (ppm) Co (ppm) Zn (ppm) Maximum Downhole R/A (cps) Host Rock GL17-001 261.0 183.35 to 183.55 0.20 133 41 1 12 65 1,457 Graphitic pelitic gneiss GL17-002 261.0 138.10 to 138.64 0.54 156 39 178 24 47 2,091 Graphitic pelitic gneiss GL17-003 291.0 No significant results GL17-004 291.0 71.78 to 72.00 0.22 117 24 17 10 83 2,043 Altered migmatite 72.00 to 72.24 0.24 127 25 13 8 78 2,043 Altered migmatite

To view a map of the 2017 Gorilla Lake drill target areas, please visit the ALX website at: https://www.alxuranium.com/projects/cluff-lake

About Gorilla Lake

The Gorilla Lake property consists of two contiguous mineral claims totaling 7,552 ha (18,661 acres) within the Carswell Impact Structure in the western portion of the Athabasca Basin, northern Saskatchewan. Geology of the Cluff Lake area can be reversed in comparison to other areas of the Athabasca Basin, i.e., basement rocks are found overlying sandstone, due to the effects of an interpreted meteor impact on the local geology.

The Property is held 80% by ALX with Logan Resources Ltd. (TSXV: LGR) having a 20% carried interest. ALX is the operator of the Property.

Gorilla Lake is one of ALXs Cluff Lake group of three contiguous properties adjoining the former Cluff Lake mine site, where over 62 million pounds of U 3 O 8 were extracted during a 22-year operating life through a combination of three open pit mines and four underground mines by predecessor companies of AREVA Resources Canada Inc.

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

All drill holes were surveyed with a Mount Sopris 2PGA radiometric gamma probe. Core samples for geochemistry were collected systematically through all drill holes. Samples were shipped in sealed containers and submitted to the laboratories of the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAAN-P-4E) certified laboratory, for geochemical analysis using the Uranium ICP Package. This analytical package is the preferred analytical technique for uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin. The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sierd Eriks, P.Geo., President and CEO of the Company, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101.

About ALX

ALX is a junior uranium exploration company formed in 2015 as the result of a business combination between Lakeland Resources Inc. and Alpha Exploration Inc. ALX is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada and its common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AL", on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 6LLN and in the United States OTC under the symbol ALXEF. ALX is actively exploring a portfolio of prospective properties in the Athabasca Basin, totaling over 140,000 hectares. Technical reports are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) for several of the Companys active properties.

For more information about the Company, please visit the ALX corporate website at www.alxuranium.com or contact Roger Leschuk, Vice President, Corporate Development at Ph: 604.629.0293 or Toll-Free: 1.866.629.8368, or by email: rleschuk@alxuranium.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of ALX Uranium Corp.



"Warren Stanyer"

Warren Stanyer

Director and Chairman

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release for example include and are not limited to the Companys 2017 exploration plans and results for the Gorilla Lake property, and that additional uranium mineralization may be present on the property based on historical exploration results. It is important to note that the Company's actual outcomes and exploration results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially may include misinterpretation of historical or current exploration data; that we may not be able to obtain equipment or labour as we need it; that we may not be able to raise sufficient funds to complete our intended acquisitions, exploration or development; that our exploration applications for drilling and other activities may be delayed or denied; that weather, logistical problems or hazards may prevent us from completing our planned exploration activities; that equipment may not work as well as expected; that accurate analysis of data may not be possible; that results which we or others have found in any particular location are not necessarily indicative of results on larger areas of our properties; that we may not complete exploration programs in a timely manner or at all; that market prices for uranium or other minerals may not justify commercial production costs; and that despite encouraging data there may be no commercially exploitable mineralization on our properties, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Year Ended December 31, 2016, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at 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.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/ALX05022017.pdfSource: ALX Uranium Corp. (TSX Venture:AL, OTCQX:ALXEF, FWB:6LLN)

To follow ALX Uranium Corp. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

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Trading Symbol: ELR (TSX); EPS (JSE)

VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Eastern Platinum Ltd. ("Eastplats" or the "Company") is providing this bi-weekly default status report in accordance with National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults ("NP 12-203"). On April 5, 2017, the Company announced that it was unable to file its audited annual financial statements by the prescribed deadline because the Company's Auditor had advised that it would not be able to deliver its audit report until the previously disclosed investigation into certain transactions entered into by former management of the Company was further advanced. The annual audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and the related management's discussion and analysis and Annual Information Form (collectively, the "2016 Annual Financial Statements") were not filed by the March 31, 2017 deadline.

On April 4, 2017, the British Columbia Securities Commission, as principal regulator, granted a temporary management cease trade order (the "MCTO") to the Company. The Company's Auditor is reviewing all additional information gathered from the expansion of the Company's previously disclosed investigation into certain transactions entered into by former management of the Company. The Company intends to file the 2016 Annual Financial Statements once the Company's Auditor has completed its 2016 audit.

Pursuant to NP 12-203, the Company must file bi-weekly default status reports in the form of further news releases during the period of the MCTO. The Company reports that since its news release of April 13, 2017, there have been no material changes regarding the information contained in that news release. The Company confirms there have been no failures by it in fulfilling its stated intentions with respect to satisfying the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203, and there has not been, nor is there anticipated to be, any specified default subsequent to the default announced in the Company's news release of April 5, 2017.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations and actions that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "will", "plan", "intends", "may", "could", "expects", "anticipates" and similar expressions.

In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to Eastplats' filing of the 2016 Annual Financial Statements and the completion of the 2016 audit work by the Auditor. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, unfavourable changes in regulatory structures, general risks associated with business, failure to complete the audit in a timely manner, economic conditions, currency fluctuations, competition and regulations, legal proceedings and risks related to operations in foreign countries.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date they are given and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

SOURCE Eastern Platinum Ltd.
BLMs horse program in

a death spiral

Editor:

As a journalist, I first interviewed BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program staffers in 1976, shortly after I moved to Nevada. Since then, Ive followed the programs death spiral.

Those who say wild horses and burros ruin the range claim there are too many of them, and yet theres little agreement about how many wild equines remain on Americas public lands.

BLMs wild horse math is statistically bizarre. Even the National Academy of Sciences, charged by BLM to analyze the program (2013) concluded: The Wild Horse and Burro Program has not used scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros ...

NAS warned continuation of business-as-usual practices will be expensive and unproductive for BLM and the public it serves. Worse, NAS pointed out that BLMs lack of science has actually backfired on its stated goal of protecting the range.

BLMs reaction? Keep paying independent contractors to chase, trap and corral the Wests remaining wild horses and offer $10 million to anyone who found a new means of mustang birth control.

BLM asked for a new method because PZP didnt work, ignoring recent science and BLM personnel who admitted that  counter to instructions  contraceptives are not always kept frozen or even cold in the field.

Can contraception change wild horse band dynamics, cause swelling or abscess at the injection site? Yes, but these impacts must, sadly, be compared to BLM round-ups.

Band dynamics: During round-ups, family bands are shattered, routinely divided into stallions, mares and contractor-determined weanlings. Horses are prey animals. They know safety is with the band and the resulting cacophony and blood of these separations is haunting. Fewer than 2 percent are ever reunited.

Injury: Compare injection site abscess to BLM documentation of a single round-up in which 113 mustangs died. Death from shattered pelvises, broken necks, skulls and spine were sometime attributed to natural causes or pre-existing conditions. Those diagnoses would strain my credulity even if I hadnt been there.

If you still oppose contraception, please consider this: Proponents of selling wild horses without limitation have made in-roads at BLM and those whod destroy mustang captives as they stand in government pens have visited the White House.

The extermination of a Western icon is near, and your choice can hasten or slow its approach.

PZP is reversible. Death is final.

Terri Farley

Verdi
Gov. Nathan Deal went to a social services office in Atlanta on Monday to sign next year's state budget, highlighting the 19 percent raises it includes for child welfare workers and increases in payments to families who care for foster children.The record $25 billion state budget, which takes effect July 1, includes 2 percent pay raises for 200,000 teachers and other state employees, along with more than $1 billion in borrowing for construction projects.Bobby Cagle, the director of the Division of Family and Children Services, said the pay raise for his workers is badly needed because the agency has a 32 percent to 39 percent annual turnover rate, depending on the area of the state.The starting salary will go up more than 19 percent, from $28,000 to $35,600 for those with bachelor's degrees in social work."We will be able to pay staff a competitive salary," Cagle said.The budget includes $31 million to increase the daily rate the state pays foster parents and relatives caring for children.While lawmakers have included extra money for teacher pay the past few years, they've allowed school districts the flexibility to decide how to spend the money.reported last fall that only 40 percent of districts gave out the money in this year's budget as salary increases.So Deal and lawmakers stipulated that the money in the upcoming budget year go for pay raises, the first statewide cost-of-living raises in several years.Some superintendents, however, are telling teachers they won't necessarily get the full 2 percent.Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said she will recommend a 1.5 percent pay raise. She said the system's pay scale is higher than most, so the state's contribution, along with local funding, would only pay for 1.5 percent. Some teachers and employees who already are paid above the maximum salary on their pay scale will receive one-time bonuses.State officials say they are hearing similar reports from other districts.State and University System of Georgia staffers would also be eligible for raises, although the amount will be determined by their department or school leaders.The budget, which will hit $49 billion when federal and other funding are added, includes money for several major construction projects. The state will borrow $100 million for bridge repair, replacement and renovation projects, and $55 million for improvements at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.It includes money for two expensive projects supported by Deal: $105 million for construction of a new building that will house the state's Supreme Court and Court of Appeals on the site of the former archives building in Atlanta, which was imploded in March, and $73 million more to complete a new technical college campus in the governor's home county of Hall.Deal had added $10 million to the budget in 2015 to buy the land for the technical college and $48.3 million last year to get the construction started. Including next year's budget, the state will have borrowed more than $130 million to move Lanier Technical College from one end of the county to the other and create a new campus.Under the spending plan, doctors and dentists will receive an increase in payments for treating Medicaid patients. Nursing homes will get more to care for the elderly.Deal said the upcoming year's state budget is based on a 3.5 percent growth in tax revenue. Most of the state's money comes from income and sales tax collections. State revenue collections are up 3.5 percent this fiscal year, which ends June 30."We are confident the economy of this state is going to continue to grow," Deal said. "This is a great budget. It encompasses many areas of need. It reflects a growing population of this state and reflects the growing economy of this state."
Has anyone noticed that science fiction books and movies are increasingly categorized as horror; in other words, science fiction now depicts a future no one would want to live in? For Zygmunt Bauman , one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, its an indication that we have started to seek Utopia in a romanticized past, given that the future is no longer synonymous with hope and progress , as English Renaissance humanist Thomas Moore, who wrote about the subject, saw it.

Zygmunt Bauman in San Sebastian. Javier Hernandez

Before his death in January, aged 91, the Polish sociologist and philosopher wrote Retrotopia, which has recently been translated into Spanish and published by Paidos and, on a similar theme, an essay called Symptoms included in The Great Regression, a collection of works pulling together the international debate on right-wing populism and the state of democracy with contributions from Slavoj Zizek, Nancy Fraser and Eva Illouz, now in Spanish and published by Seix Barral.

The future is, at least to begin with, malleable, but the past is solid, sturdy and appealingly steadfast. However, when it comes to the politics of memory, the past and the future have exchanged attributes, Bauman writes.

He doesnt try to dupe us with new and false promises of the future Marina Garces of Zaragoza University

Bauman, who fled the Nazi invasion of Poland during the Second World War, eventually settling in the northern English city of Leeds where he was Emeritus Professor of Sociology, writes about multiculturalism, the precarious world our children will inherit and the obsolete nature of our skills as robots replace us. In short, we are scared because everything that was solid is now liquid  a term used by Bauman in his theory of Liquid Modernity.

Theres a deepening gulf between the ability to get things done and the capability of deciding what things need to be done, between what is really important and what is important for those doing and undoing; between what happens and what is desirable, he wrote.

Bauman points out that we have regressed to a kind of tribal mentality, to the maternal breast, to the kind of pitiless world described by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes to justify the need for a strong state to prevent a continual situation of war. We have also returned to a time of inequality in which the other is a threat and solidarity is a whim adopted by societys most ingenuous members. We have returned to skepticism, foolishness and frivolity, which is a treacherous trap.

The aim is no longer to make society better  improving it is a pointless exercise to all intents and purposes. It is to improve the individuals position within this society, which is so essential and definitively incorrigible, he laments.

Bauman points out that we have regressed to a kind of tribal mentality

Marina Garces, a lecturer in Philosophy at Zaragoza University, applauds Baumans ability to take the Utopia discourse to its conclusion with all its consequences. He doesnt try to dupe us with new and false promises of the future, she says. Instead, he tries to understand what is happening in the post-revolution era.

Inspired by Marx, Bauman quotes the German thinker on a number of occasions in Retrotopia, blaming mass consumption for seducing society. He does not reject scientific analysis of the contradictions implicit in capitalism, but uses other arguments to offer a more complete vision of what is happening, says Manuel Cruz, professor of Philosophy at Barcelona University and a Socialist Party (PSOE) deputy. Throughout the 20th century, the idea that we have missed the opportunity for Utopia has is a constant theme, but Bauman makes an effort to recognize what the new reality brings, he says. The thinkers we now consider revolutionary were at the time met with an attitude of, we already knew that. Society needs time to understand what new ground is being broken by thinkers.

In both Retrotopia and Symptoms, Bauman outlines the challenge ahead and offers an abstract and skeletal response to it. The challenge is to design, for the first time in the history of man, integration, without resorting to any division.

The future is malleable, but the past is solid, sturdy and appealingly steadfast Zygmunt Bauman

Until now, he argues, society has resorted to the division between us and them and we keep looking for a them who is preferably the typical outsider, undeniably and incurably hostile, always useful when it comes to reinforcing identity, determining borders and building walls.

However, this historic dichotomy will not work in the multicultural scenario in which we now find ourselves. The only viable response to the new reality is, according to Bauman quoting Pope Francis: The capacity to dialogue.

Garces admits to being surprised by both Baumans call to dialogue  dialogue between who, he wonders  and his reference to the pope. I think it is a cry for help from Bauman as he tries to use universal language to describe our situation. He knows that there are no partial solutions anymore to any of the problems of our time, he says.

The final warning from the Polish thinker reads: We should get ready for a long period that will be characterized by more questions than answers and by more problems than solutions []. We find ourselves more than at any other time in history in a real quandary: we either join hands or we join the funeral procession of our own burial in a mass grave.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Protesters shattered business windows, set bonfires in the streets and vandalized a police car Monday afternoon in downtown Portland as a May Day protest devolved into a short-lived but chaotic riot.The demonstration began as a city-permitted march featuring impassioned but peaceful rhetoric, but it ultimately was defined by black-clad protesters, fires and property damage. Ninety minutes into the march, police declared the gathering a riot. Officers used flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd after they pronounced the march illegal, eventually arresting 25 people.May 1 is International Workers' Day, and protesters from the Philippines to Paris celebrated by demanding better working conditions. The holiday traditionally celebrates laborers' rights but in recent years has expanded its focus in the U.S. to support immigrants.The Oregonian/OregonLive generally doesn't identify juveniles accused of crimes unless they're tried as an adult or face Measure 11 charges.Police ask business personnel and other people who think they're victims of crimes to call a non-emergency number, 503-823-3333, or file a report online.A common theme in the widespread U.S. was disapproval of the President Donald Trump, who in his first 100 days has intensified immigration enforcement by pushing for a U.S.-Mexico border wall and a ban on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries.In Portland, the afternoon began with a rally in the South Park Blocks, where speakers addressed about 1,000 people in Shemanski Park while a group of self-described anarchists gathered at a distance from the microphones.One of the more than half-dozen speakers urged the crowd to support workers' rights and unions. A Somali, Muslim woman encouraged people to continue fighting against racism, Islamophobia and other social injustices and to not lose hope.Police at the periphery of the rally confiscated several sticks, poles and homemade shields -- which were in sharp contrast to the more plentiful balloons, banners, costumes and props that otherwise filled the park. Some of the black-clad demonstrators burned small American flags.Marchers set off after about 90 minutes, chanting as they marched south along the park blocks and turned toward the waterfront. Marchers remained mostly peaceful as they meandered past City Hall and the west side of the Justice Center.But things turned violent as some in the crowd began throwing rocks and full soda cans at police while the mass moved north on Southwest 2nd Avenue.Police later said items protesters threw or launched at officers also included fireworks, road flares and smoke bombs. Anarchists also threw at least one Molotov cocktail at officers but didn't hit them, a police spokesman said in an email.Police in riot gear rolled in after the first objects were lobbed. Shortly after, police declared the assembly "unlawful" and warned that any marchers in the streets faced arrest.The first of two main flashpoints came shortly after at Southwest 4th Avenue and Morrison Street, where demonstrators lit a large bonfire in the intersection using traffic cones, newspaper and brochure boxes, wood and a pallet. The blaze produced a plume of black smoke that rolled skyward next to a Starbucks and MAX tracks.Officers rushed the scene, firing flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd. The flames were quickly extinguished.Police shortly after declared the demonstration a riot, saying protesters had vandalized a police car, were "attacking" officers and were vandalizing property.Officers stymied the protest on the west side of City Hall about 10 minutes later, swooping in on protesters from the north and south and taking dozens into custody.Damage included windows shattered or broken at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, City Hall, J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Target, Gus J. Solomon U.S. Courthouse building and Michael Parsons Fine Arts gallery.A rock was thrown through a window at Goldmark Jewelers, and protesters left a wall and other windows marred by graffiti."Why'd they have to do this?" said Kurt Thomas, the building security guard. "The owner's a nice guy, not a corporate store at all."City Hall was also tagged with graffiti, as was the shuttered Macy's building and other downtown structures. Someone scrawled "Kill Cops" on a Biketown rack, its bicycles' tires slashed.Police said in a news release Monday night that officers deployed "limited" amounts of less-than-lethal munitions during the riot.Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman said he's "proud of the professionalism" shown by law enforcement officers and firefighters who "worked to keep the peace in Downtown Portland under very difficult circumstances.""Unfortunately the actions of the law breakers undermined and covered up the message of the law abiding individuals who worked to peacefully get their message heard on May Day," he said in a statement.The Portland May Day Coalition, which organized the rally and march, didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday evening. It did, however, address the day's events on Facebook, saying in part that police "chose to violently escalate a peaceful march."The coalition, made up of almost 50 organizations, had released its march route and obtained a city permit for the event.That route was followed only partway, never formally returning to the park where it began.A separate group, called the Anarchist Student Union, vowed beforehand to join the event and "do our own thing." It was unclear how many of the anarchists were among those arrested. But the vast majority of the hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of people assembled participated peacefully.The 25 arrested include two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old who each face riot charges, police said. They were released to parents, police said, and the other 22 people arrested were jailed.Each of the adults arrested face second-degree disorderly conduct charges and traffic citations for failing to obey a police officer, according to police. Police said two adults face interfering with a peace officer charges, one faces an assaulting a police officer charge and another faces a resisting arrest charge.Elsewhere in the U.S., peaceful protesters flocked to the streets in Chicago. At the White House gates, they demanded "Donald Trump has got to go!"Three people in Seattle were arrested, one for hurling a rock as pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators faced off. In Olympia, police ordered protesters to disperse, calling them "members of a mob" as some threw bottles, used pepper spray and fired rocks from slingshots at officers. Two officers were injured and 10 people were arrested.In Oakland, California, at least four were arrested after creating a human chain to block a county building where demonstrators demanded that county law enforcement refuse to collaborate with federal immigration agents.Despite the West Coast clashes, most nationwide protests were peaceful as immigrants, union members and their allies staged a series of strikes, boycotts and marches to highlight the contributions of immigrants in the United States.
A federal judge in Madison has declared Wisconsin's so-called cocaine mom statute -- meant to provide protection for developing fetuses -- unconstitutional in a civil rights lawsuit by a woman who was jailed 18 days while pregnant for refusing to live at a treatment center."This is a victory for the people of Wisconsin, public health, and for everyone who cares about the health of pregnant women and their babies," said Kathy Hartke, Wisconsin chair of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists."For the first time in 19 years, Wisconsin women who become pregnant and seek medical help can do so without fear that their confidentiality will be violated and their health and their baby's health undermined by forced treatment and punishment based on medical misinformation and stigma."A spokesman for Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said the office was still reviewing the decision and had no immediate comment.Tamara Loertscher, 32, sued shortly before she gave birth in January 2015. The prior summer she had gone to Taylor County social services when she thought she might be pregnant. A urine test at Eau Claire Mayo Clinic confirmed the pregnancy and revealed Loertscher's past use of methamphetamines. Social services staff then went to court and had a guardian appointed for the 14-week-old fetus.When Loertscher refused to voluntarily go to a residential addiction center, Taylor County officials and the guardian ad litem got a judge to have her found in contempt, and she was jailed until a public defender was appointed for her and won her release.Late Friday, U.S. District Judge James Peterson granted summary judgment in Loertscher's favor, finding the statute Taylor County officials were following unconstitutionally vague."At the heart of the act are two concepts: 'habitual lack of self-control' and 'substantial risk to the physical health of the unborn child,' " Peterson wrote. He found both concepts "essential components of the jurisdictional and substantive standards" of the law but that neither is "amenable to reasonably precise interpretation."The 1998 law lets adult pregnant women suspected of current or past drug or alcohol use that could affect their fetus be held in secure custody and subjected to involuntary medical treatment. Social workers can initiate confidential legal action in children's court; lawyers get appointed for a woman's fetus.Peterson's decision prevents the state from enforcing the law, but it also granted summary judgment to the Taylor County workers who had also been named as defendants in the lawsuit. Peterson found they were essentially following the law as written, were immune from liability and therefore Loertscher was not entitled to any monetary damages.Lynn Paltrow, president of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, which assisted Loertscher, said, "The decision makes clear that the constitutional protections afforded by the well-established principles of notice and fairness apply equally to pregnant people."The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society of Addiction Medicine and American Public Health Association filed a brief opposing the law.Peterson's decision should really come as no surprise. He noted the Legislature passed the law even though the Legislative Council warned of its "highly doubtful" constitutionality and the fact that the Department of Children and Families, the Division of Public Health's substance abuse bureau, the City of Milwaukee Health Department and leaders in the Wisconsin medical community all opposed it.The Legislature proposed the law after the state Supreme Court had specifically ruled that a juvenile court did not have jurisdiction over an adult pregnant woman under a child in need of protective services (CHIPS) petition.
Airbnb and HomeAway settled a lawsuit against San Francisco on Monday by agreeing to help the city ensure that all local hosts are registered. The agreement caps a multiyear struggle by Airbnb's hometown to rein in burgeoning vacation rentals, which critics say divert precious housing stock into the lucrative travel market."The two largest (vacation-rental services) will only include legal listings, and the city has the tools for quick, effective enforcement," City Attorney Dennis Herrera said at a crowded news conference in City Hall. He was flanked by lawmakers and representatives of groups that say short-term rentals hurt them, including landlords, hotel workers' unions and tenant advocates. "Enforcement with real teeth will begin in short order after a phase-in period."A San Francisco law requiring vacation-rental hosts to register with the city took effect in February 2015. Only about 2,100 out of 8,000 hosts on Airbnb have done so. San Francisco wants properties registered so it can ensure that they meet city rules that aim to prevent illegal hotels in homes, such as requiring vacation-rental hosts to be permanent residents and capping whole-home rentals at 90 days.Airbnb, later joined by rival HomeAway, sued San Francisco in federal court in June after supervisors unanimously passed legislation holding companies liable for steep fines and criminal penalties if they arrange guest stays at unregistered properties.Airbnb and HomeAway said the law violated their rights under the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that largely shields Internet service providers from legal responsibility for the content of postings on their sites, and the First Amendment. But U.S. District Judge James Donato appeared highly skeptical of those arguments at court hearings in the fall. In November, he ordered San Francisco and Airbnb to work together on a system for companies to comply with the law by registering their hosts.The agreement will allow hosts to comply with San Francisco laws "with simplicity, certainty, visibility," said Chris Lehane, Airbnb's head of global public policy, in a conference call with reporters. "We want to move on and talk about other things."Those other things probably include preparing for a public offering on Wall Street. Airbnb is among the world's most-valuable startups, but ongoing regulatory disputes could threaten the $31 billion value investors have placed on it in private fundraising. Lehane took pains in the Monday call to emphasize that Airbnb increasingly is forging agreements with cities worldwide.City officials, including Mayor Ed Lee, heaped praise on the agreement."This is a decisive victory for San Francisco," said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, describing Airbnb as being dragged "kicking and screaming" to the negotiating table."We demanded a system to prevent landlords taking entire units off the market," said London Breed, Board of Supervisors president. "I'm thrilled the companies have agreed to abide by sensible regulations."Likewise, Airbnb hosts said they welcomed "a new era of cooperation" that would allow them to continue earning extra income by renting to travelers."The issue of home sharing has been fraught and often used as a political hot potato, with the relationship between City Hall, prominent platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway, hosts and housing advocates often boiling over into unpleasant conflict," wrote Peter Kwan and Laura Thompson, co-chairs of the Home Sharers Democratic Club, in a Medium post.The U.S. District Court will oversee implementation of the new system. Airbnb and HomeAway will pay the costs to implement it on their respective websites, and will have eight months to phase it in. Its most basic requirement is that all short-term rentals listed on Airbnb and HomeAway must include a city registration number.Airbnb and hosts had complained that San Francisco's registration process, which required an in-person visit to a city office, was too cumbersome. Now, Airbnb and HomeAway will use a pass-through system to send hosts' registration applications directly to the city, which will verify that the application information is correct. The city can reject hosts who don't meet its requirements. Hosts must submit supporting documents, such as utility bills and voter registration cards, to prove that they comply with city rules. Hosts must separately apply for a business-registration certificate from the Treasurer's Office, but that can take place online.The companies will give the city a monthly list of all San Francisco listings so its Office of Short-Term Rentals can verify that they are actually registered. If the city finds any listings with invalid registrations, the companies will cancel future stays and remove those listings.Within six months, Airbnb and HomeAway will require all new hosts to be registered with San Francisco before they can post a rental listing on either site. Existing hosts will be registered in three batches; details and timing on that are still being worked out.Hosts could attempt to duck the law by listing on other sites, such as Craigslist or TripAdvisor's FlipKey. But those sites will be on the hook for fines of up to $1,000 a day per listing and criminal penalties if they help arrange bookings of unregistered listings, city officials said."This will be a powerful deterrent for those tempted to illegally convert the city's housing stock into mini hotels," Herrera said in a statement. "For those who have been turning badly needed rent-controlled units into vacation spots, that is coming to an end once and for all."
Description

GIS  02 May, 2017: The Sub-Treasurer of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, Mr Patrick Maddams, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, on 29 April at the Treasury Building in Port Louis.

Discussions focused on the growing importance of Commonwealth links in the post Brexit environment, as well as the intensive three-day advanced advocacy course supported by the Inner Temple for Mauritian members.

All four Inns of Court in London every year train a number of Mauritius law graduates to become Barristers. The three-day course aims at updating the training of Mauritian Judges and Barristers with focus on recent developments in Court advocacy. Trainers are Judges and Barristers from London.

In a statement following the courtesy call, Mr Maddams said that training Judges and Barristers together better ensures a more efficient administration of justice. The efficient administration of justice has many benefits as it obviously reduces the cost of Court time, makes sure the Judges understand the Barristers better, and vice versa, he pointed out.

Mr Maddams expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for extending his support and wishing to come and learn about the course as there is a very strong link between Commonwealth countries when it comes to our legal system. The Commonwealth is defined by the Common Law System we all know and practise, he stated.

For him, in the post-Brexit environment of the United Kingdom, now that we have taken this momentous decision towards the European Union, it means we would be leaving a legal system that is European but of course the Inns of Court never abandoned the Commonwealth. Even in the 40 years or so that we were members of the European Union we saw only a few Law students from Spain, or Italy or Germany. So even in the EU period we were training lots of people from Mauritius, Barbados, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Nigeria. And so the Commonwealth links are going to become even more important in Britain.

Patrick Maddams was appointed Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple in 2005. He joined from Beachcroft Wansbroughs, where he was Partnership Secretary. Previously he was Managing Director of the Royal Academy of Music and that of Dunlop Textiles Ltd. His early career was with Standard Chartered Bank and the Ocean Shipping group.
(TNS) -- City lawyers refused to release information about the Baltimore Fire Department's response times, dispatch errors and paramedic staffing rates.Benjamin A. Bor, a special assistant solicitor in the city's Law Department, told The Baltimore Sun this month that the city was denying two Public Information Act requests from the newspaper on grounds that the agency did not have the documents to provide.The only exception was an audio copy of a July call to 911 in which a dispatcher initially sent paramedics to the wrong address.Bor said in an email the Fire Department "is unable to produce a full, un-redacted copy of the record of the aforementioned 911 call to you because it consists almost entirely of medical information about an individual that the custodian is required to protect from disclosure."The Sun originally sought the call and other information from the Fire Department in March, but received little. The newspaper appealed to the Law Department to release that information and more.Councilman Brandon M. Scott , chairman of the Public Safety Committee, is convening a hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday to seek similar data from Fire Department officials."We're going to investigate as much as we can from top to bottom," Scott said, "everything from where the fires are to how many calls for service come from EMS and how many from fire."Damon Effingham, legal and policy director for Common Cause Maryland, said he was surprised city lawyers said the Fire Department did not have some of the records The Sun requested, such as a breakdown of the percentage of 911 calls made for fire suppression and medical service. Releasing such information helps essential city services function better, he said."It is unfortunate if they're not keeping it, and if they are, the point of the Public Information Act is for the public and legislators to review data and fine-tune polices and solutions," Effingham said. "There are very few places where that is more important than emergency services."This data has to be somewhere."The Sun also requested information for each of the last three years on how many hours of overtime did dispatchers and paramedics claim; how many dispatchers and paramedics work for the Fire Department; how many 911 calls did dispatchers answer; how many calls did medic units respond to in an average shift; what was the policy governing when dispatchers send an advanced or basic medic unit; and how much was the base pay for an EMT and paramedic.The Fire Department released data to The Sun in 2013 on response times to medical calls for its ambulances and fire trucks or engines with a firefighter trained in basic lifesaving services on board.Rick Hoffman, president of the Baltimore firefighters union, said the department has kept response time data for more than a decade and that it is easily accessible. He said he was "flabbergasted" to hear the department wasn't releasing it.
(TNS) -- CEDAR RAPIDS  A helicopter will be flying low above Cedar Rapids and Linn County this week towing a large cylindrical sensor to gather information about the citys water supply.Called an airborne geophysical survey, the testing method uses electromagnetic pulses to detect the consistency of subsurface material, such as rock, sand or soil. The information is to be paired with ground level data from borings to model how and where water flows most abundantly in the Cedar River aquifer, which supplies water for Cedar Rapids.This will establish a tool we can use for planning, Bruce Jacobs, the Cedar Rapids utilities engineering manager, said on Monday. This will tell us how does the aquifer work in a level of detail we havent had before, and give us prospects of where to locate future wells.A drought in 2012 stressed the recharge of the Cedar River aquifer in a way that wasnt anticipated and city officials created a drought crisis response plan as a result.The plan never was implemented as a wet spring followed, but the episode spurred a four-year effort to create a new model to better understand the aquifer, especially with looming growth of population and development, Jacobs said.The aquifer pools groundwater and Cedar River water filtered through the alluvial sand riverbank. Wells tap into the water, which is then treated and flows out of faucets around the city.The models should help with long-term management of the citys water supply, and will help identify ideal locations to drill wells that will tap a consistent, reliable water source, officials said.Cedar Rapids has been working on the modeling with the U.S. Geological Survey since 2015. CGG Canada Services, of Mississauga, Ontario, is conducting the airborne survey, which should have results in one year.Jacobs said the overall study costs $906,000, which includes $120,000 for the airborne testing. The city is absorbing 65 percent of the cost while U.S. Geological Survey is covering 35 percent, Jacobs said.Eddie Haj, a hydrologist and groundwater specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said Cedar Rapids is ahead of the curve in studying its water supply in such a detailed way. Increasing demand on other deeper aquifers, such as the Jordan, is prompting cities to look for other sources of water, Haj said.Cities could turn to Cedar Rapids in the future, so it is important information to prepare for city growth but other demands, he said. Because Cedar Rapids alluvial aquifer is shallower, increased nitrate levels in the river are leading to increased nitrate levels in the aquifer, which is another factor to contend with going forward, he said.Cedar Rapids is what Id call extremely progressive in applying state-of-science methods to understand the groundwater issue, Haj said. Water demand is only going up, and you cant pump more out of the wells. Its all about how to pull as much out of the aquifer without endangering the aquifer.The study aims to help answer three questions, he said. First, the nature of connectivity of the alluvial aquifer and the river itself; second, the preferred pathways of water that recharge the aquifer, and the connectivity between wetlands and the aquifer, he said.The helicopter will be out two to three times a day for 2.5 hours at a time over the next week, weather pending. The helicopter will be flying low at about 200 feet above ground going 70 mph with the 20 foot-long, 800-pound sensor suspended horizontally below.The probe has six coils each with a different frequency at the front with six corresponding coils at the back end, which send and receive the pulses, said Brett Robinson, project manager for CGG.
The City of Louisville, Kentuckys performance management system, LouieStat , sets the bar for city government performance improvement. Mayor Greg Fischer united lessons from his business background with existing government stat models and unveiled LouieStat in 2012 to focus on two areas: planning and operations. We needed to figure out how to plan, and we created consistent guidelines and language and a single coordinated strategic planning process that would help us measure the strategic areas of focus, said Daro Mott, Chief of Performance Improvement in Louisville. We also needed something that was more operational, which would have us measure the critical business processesthe processes that deliver the core of citizen services. We really needed to create a program that could answer the question of how Louisville could continuously improve on service delivery.Mott said that breaking the work into distinct strategic and operational categories was critical for the success of the system. Operations should flow from the strategy of the cityIf you start with data that you already have, you may not develop the right performance measures. You need to ask, What are we planning to do and what data will help us understand how well were doing the work? This way, a citys performance management efforts will center around its strategic priorities, rather than boosting performance on arbitrary metrics.As a part of the planning process, Mayor Fischer developed a six-year plan with 21 city goals and asked each agency to develop its own goals and plans to achieve them. The Mayors senior leadership meets with senior staff from 18 of 20 departments four times a year and with other staff members between these forums. In these meetings, attendees discuss progress, look at metrics for the department and identify areas of weakness, evaluate the impact of city programs, and make data-driven decisions about where and how to best allocate resources. The Mayor attends many of these forums himself, and also meets with Mott on a regular basis to analyze Louisvilles performance on a citywide level. Mayor Fischer said what he calls a weakness orientation is key to making these meetings productive instead of punitive: Bad stat programs are human- and people-focused and create more of a blaming culture. Ours is a celebration culture, focused on identifying broken processes or bad data and then fixing that and celebrating the people who do the work.In order to promote buy-in from so many departments, LouieStat from the beginning sought to demonstrate its utility to agencies. According to Mott, What really got us more buy-in was facilitating process discovery workshops with departments by which we documented the critical business processes of each department and talked about measures linked to these processes. In doing so, the Mayors Office introduced departments to performance managementand showed how performance management could help identify and track metrics to improve service delivery.The performance management culture has become increasingly embedded in Louisvilles agencies. Mayor Fischer points to this as a critical aspect of developing a culture of performance; he said, We provided training for people to understand how to solve problems, which has given them a sense of not just empowerment, but fulfillment and hopefully joy in their work, where now they feel they are in control of making things better. The Office of Performance Improvement has trained at least one staff member in each agency to lead the LouieStat process and analyze that departments data. Most data analysis now happens at the departmental level, and agencies have come to embrace a performance-based approach, learning to adapt LouieStat to their various needs.
(TNS) - Missouri state Rep. Bill Lant wanted to join Gov. Eric Greitens when he unveiled his plan to address flooding in the state.But the ditches carved into the road in front of his Pineville home almost prevented him from doing that. He had been stuck the whole weekend while more than 10 inches of rain fell around him.Lant said he planned to ask the governor for state assistance when it came to the devastation in his county.Im fine, but there are parts of Noel, Anderson that have just had terrible flooding, Lant said.Although the state has expended all available resources to provide relief, many of those affected are hoping that President Donald Trump will declare Missouri a disaster zone.By doing so, the state will be able to draw funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he was ready to advocate for any federal assistance. U.S. Rep. Billy Long, a Springfield Republican, echoed the same in a Facebook post.Just spoke with POTUS @realDonaldTrump about the historic flooding in MO. He said he's behind us, and here to help the people of Missouri, Greitens tweeted after his visit to Neosho.In January of last year, when flooding in eastern and southwestern Missouri reached record highs, President Barack Obama declared 33 counties in Missouri a disaster zone. By April of last year, those counties had received more than $91 million in disaster relief through FEMA grants, Small Business Administration low-interest loans and National Flood Insurance Program payments.The governor isnt waiting for the federal government to act. Like Oklahoma and Arkansas, he declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.After flooding last year, an extra $4 million was put in the states budget so that the governor could activate the National Guard at a moments notice, according to House budget staff. Another $4 million, with the passage of the next budget during the legislative session, will be available for the governor to use on July 1.State lawmakers are waiting to see how much damage there will be before talking about putting aside funds within the budget to address disaster relief.There is still water on the ground, said Rep. Justin Alferman, R-Hermann and House Budget Committee vice chairman.The State Emergency Management Agency received $138 million last year. With a Friday deadline, lawmakers will start finalizing the states budget Tuesday.Alferman speculated that if more funds would be necessary to address flooding, it would be done through a supplemental appropriation during next years legislative session.Those with businesses, farms or homes affected by the floods can apply to get low-interest loans within 24 hours through the state treasurers HELP Program, according to Garrett Poorman, office spokesperson.Flood damage can be a significant financial setback for small businesses and farms, which are the backbone of Missouris economy," State Treasurer Eric Schmitt said in a statement. "My team is working hard to ensure those impacted by this weekends flooding can affordably finance water removal, restoration, and reconstruction."Poorman said small businesses or farms with fewer than 100 employees can apply for loans through the Linked Deposit tab on the treasurers website. Through the program, the state treasurers office has partnered with 115 lenders across the state.Other state agencies are on the ground trying to provide relief.Law enforcement has helped with rescues, health and human services with medical assistance, and state-organized volunteers with food and shelter, said Capt. John Hotz, with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.As of Monday morning, 132 people were placed in shelters, according to the patrol. There were 143 water rescues and 111 evacuations as of the same time, the patrol said.Hotz added that the flooding over the weekend wasnt the states last. Several rivers, especially those in eastern Missouri, are projected to crest by Wednesday. The rest of the state is bracing itself for more permanent damage than flash floods, Hotz said.Some areas are seeing higher levels, more than they ever have before, Hotz said. You have to remember that the water is still going up.With the help of graders to flatten out the road, Lant was able to make it to the governor's news conference.People are pretty self-sufficient, Lant said. They meet their needs before reaching out to government assistance.Greitens talked to those affected in Van Buren and helped volunteers sandbag in Eureka after his Neosho visit.More resourcesThe University of Missouri Extension has put out a guide on how to clean up flood-damaged homes. It can be accessed at http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/miscpubs/mp0904.pdf.2017 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)Visit The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.) at www.joplinglobe.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
"Clunky. Difficult to use. Not worth the effort. These are the common complaints leveled over the years at prescription drug monitoring programs. PDMPs are state-maintained electronic databases that doctors, pharmacists and other health-care professionals use to keep tabs on their patients prescription drug habits. Theyre considered vital in efforts to curb the opioid epidemic that has ravaged so much of the country. A physician can see, for instance, if a patient has been doctor shopping to get unneeded prescriptions. This is probably the best tool we have to find out whether a patient is in crisis, and it also helps us identify doctors that are just prescribing too many pills, says James Gessner, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.Its a tool, though, that doctors love to hate. A common gripe is that it takes more than 20 mouse clicks to see a patients prescription information. Doctors also complain that databases take up to a week or longer to update. But a movement to make PDMPs more functional has picked up considerable steam. Several states have recently upgraded their systems while also adding features to give doctors a more comprehensive look at a patient.Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker campaigned, in part, on a promise to revamp his states PDMP. Easier-to-use technology was rolled out last August, along with a new law requiring doctors to check before prescribing the most addictive opioids. Around 70 percent of doctors signed up for the revamped database in its first six months, a marked increase from the number who had previously been using the system. In New York state, doctors are not only mandated to use electronic prescriptions but are also required to first look up a patients drug history.Missouri is the only state without a PDMP, largely the result of a campaign by state Sen. Rob Schaaf, a physician who objects to the databases on privacy grounds. Schaaf did introduce a PDMP bill this legislative session, but its quite limited: A patients prescription history would be made available to a doctor only if the state health department determined that the patient might be doctor shopping. The Missouri Medical Association has come out against it.The states inaction has led several Missouri counties, including its most populous ones, to take matters into their own hands. St. Louis, St. Charles and Jackson counties all authorized PDMPs in 2016, and the systems are set to go live later this year. Other counties will be able to access the data. This has really put a new wind in our sail, says state Rep. Holly Rehder, who introduced a competing PMDP bill in this legislative session, just as she and a Senate colleague have in previous years.With the action now unfolding at the county level, Rehder is more optimistic that her bill could pass this time. Its not perfect, says Rehder, who grew up among addicts in her family and whose daughter was once hooked on prescription opiates, but its leaps and bounds from where we were last year.No one in Missouri or elsewhere sees PDMPs as a silver bullet. While the number of prescriptions for opioids dipped nationally last year, overdose deaths ticked up to 50,000, driven in part by an increase in abuse of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The numbers that weve been seeing with fentanyl in particular are disappointing, says Massachusetts Gessner. This is an issue were going to be dealing with for a while.
Brenna Berman may have left her role as CIO of Chicago, but that doesn't mean she's finished helping the city through technology modernization and facilitating public-private partnerships (P3s).Berman is joining UI Labs , a consortium of industry, academic, community organizations and government actors to expedite P3s that can tackle problems too large for any one organization. She has been named executive director of City Digital, the organizations urban innovation program. Chicago Chief Technology Officer Danielle DuMerer is serving as interim CIO, according to the Chicago Tribune City Digital focuses on data-driven urban innovation within the built environment. The initiative, through its partnership with Chicago, conducts pilot projects that demonstrate the potential value of collaboration and coordination of partners and data. Berman said she will focus on how we go from pilot to scale, she told. The program hones in on four critical impact areas: energy management, physical infrastructure, transportation, and water and sanitation.Berman is no stranger to leading large-scale, data-driven programs in Chicago. After helping run smart city projects at IBM for more than a decade, Berman joined Chicago in 2011. She assisted the city in several Internet of Things (IoT) related projects including the Array of Things , a network of sensors attached to structures throughout Chicago that will measure air quality, traffic congestion and flood damage prediction. Berman also led the citys Department of Innovation and Technology when it began creating a subterranean 3-D map of the city.The experience developed from helping to initiate the Array of Things University of Chicago-City project, which will serve as a model for how Berman will direct the City Digital program.One facet of her position is bringing cities together with universities and corporate partners, big and small, to really solve challenging problems," she said. There has to be more than just partnerships coming together, there is a lot to be said for the process that shores up that partnership.Throughout her career, Berman has helped public, private and community organizations implement technology solutions to contribute to residents quality of life. Im excited to continue that work at City Digital as we build on and expand our portfolio of cutting-edge, data-driven technology pilots and ensure that they take into account the needs of communities across Chicago and other cities, she said in a release Berman sees her position as one that can help benefit cities beyond Chicago as well. Every dollar spent in Chicago is a dollar that should matter, not just to Chicago. Any time a project can serve as a model for another community, it multiplies the initial investment, Berman told. Cities are working to solve similar problems.One example Berman noted was how to deal with water, particularly as it relates to excess rainfall and possible flood inundation. While the issue for Chicago may be excess water, and learning how to recognize and identify areas that may need help, several other cities may have the opposite problems. The technology and methods, however, can often be translated to help solve both, she said.Theres a need for this new type of model that brings together the public and private sectors with community groups, and the city looks forward to its continued involvement as Brenna takes the helm of City Digital, said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the release.The City Digital program has successfully piloted 11 projects, ranging from stormwater management to using video analytics to boost energy efficiency, and Berman takes over as the program begins to enter its next stage  it has announced that it will launch an additional 10 projects this year.As for the immediate future, Berman specified that the pilots will focus on three key areas: human-centered mobility, supply-side logistics and transportation of goods, and sustainability/emergency management.Berman said she hopes that the pilots will not only lead to sustained partnerships, but also that the foundation created will help drive more partnerships in the future. The ability to create processes and convening spaces that help solve those challenges is really what were all about.
After a month of protests calling for his resignation that have left at least 29 people dead, Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro is attempting to consolidate his hold on power by convening a National Constituent Assembly to rewrite the South American countrys Constitution.

Protesters on the streets of Caracas, Monday. Carlos Garcia Rawlins (REUTERS)

The new Constitution would be written by some 500 delegates, half of whom would be from the so-called National Communal Parliament, set up by the Maduro administration after it lost control of the National Assembly to the opposition in late 2015. Since former president Hugo Chavezs United Socialist Party of Venezuela took power 18 years ago, it has set up a nationwide network of communal councils, ostensibly to give people greater say over local affairs, but that now forms the basis of a parallel legislature. Such councils are made up of the direct beneficiaries of the so-called Bolivarian Revolution.

It will be a citizen assembly and it will be Chavista, within which the old party political structures will not be involved, said Maduro on Monday. The other 250 assembly members will be chosen by voters at municipal elections.

The protests on Monday were met with tear gas and baton charges by military police

At the same time as Maduro was announcing this latest move to isolate the opposition, protesters led by the MUD coalition of parties were attempting a march on the Supreme Court and the National Election Commission in the center of Caracas, but came up against military police who fired tear gas and beat them back.

More information Maduro ordena redactar otra Constitucion para liquidar a la oposicion

Miguel Pizarro of the Primero Justicia (First Justice) party said shots were fired into the air and tear gas thrown at protesters from the La Carlota air base. At least 33 demonstrators were injured, while hundreds more were trapped in the narrow streets off the main Castellana boulevard in the northeast of the city where they were tear-gassed.

Maduros move was not entirely unexpected. On Sunday, Julio Borges, the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, said the regime intended to set up an unelected communal assembly.

This decision would accentuate the coup carried out by the Maduro government at the beginning of April, he said, referring to two Supreme Court sentences that arrogated the legislative functions of the National Assembly.

The opposition has called for the street protests to continue

The opposition, which lacks a nationwide structure like the communal assemblies, reacted quickly on Sunday to Maduros announcement. Henrique Capriles, the governor of the state of Miranda, and a former presidential candidate, called on Venezuelans to ignore this crazy idea and to continue the street protests of the last month.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Borges accused Maduro of dissolving democracy and the Republic. He described the proposed assembly as a fraud to trick the people with a mechanism that simply aims to deepen the crisis in Venezuela.

Borges also called on Venezuelas armed forces not to back this kind of lunacy, adding: What is happening today is the worst coup against the Constitution. You have to play a role so that the solution is convening elections. You cannot stay silent while the Constitution is trampled on.

The opposition said it would be calling opponents of the government out on to the streets early on Tuesday morning, telling them to stand on the streets near to their homes for two hours. The protests bring to mind the attempts to close main roads during the first quarter of 2014, which ended in violence, but the leadership has insisted the protest remain peaceful.

A symbolic session of the National Assembly will be held on Tuesday afternoon to remind the government that it remains active despite the blow the new National Constituent Assembly supposes.

English version by Nick Lyne.
For roughly the last five months, the Alabama Office of Information Technology (OIT) has been operating under a new structure that pulls it out from under its original footing within the Department of Finance. Now, legislation on Gov. Kay Iveys desk stands ready to make the structural shift a permanent part of state law.The effort to create a freestanding IT agency is not one that happened overnight. In fact, it took officials within the Department of Finance and what was once known as the Information Services Division roughly four years of collaboration to achieve.Through an executive order and interagency agreement, the OIT and Department of Finance have unofficially separated themselves, leaving the legislation, SB 219 , before the governor as the last step to cementing the IT agency's status.According to OIT Secretary Joanne Hale, both she and her finance counterparts were on board with what she calls a deliberate, two-phase lift and shift.The rationale was very simple," she said. "This allows OIT to focus on what is our core competency, and it allows the department of finance to focus on its core competency."In the early days of the states shared services model, Hale contends the arrangement worked well throughout the federation of agencies, but the prevalence of technology in most aspects of government requires structural maturation to keep up with the growing demand.Rather than wait for the legislative process to catch up with the need for the new office  which all parties knew could take considerable time  the governor signed the order and both agencies penned the interagency agreement allowing work to begin.As [technology] has grown and matured and become ever-present in every service and action that our employees and our agencies take, its important in how we serve the state has grown so much that it is necessary," Hale said. "Its a necessary part of our IT maturation to pull it out from Finance.Unlike most pushes to reorganize and streamline state government, Hale explained that this effort doesnt come with a host of new duties or authorities. Instead, it boils down to streamlining and maturing Alabama IT. Under the nearly codified plan, the Office of Information Technology would officially become an autonomous agency, tasked with the same mission as it had under the umbrella of the Department of Finance.One perk of the adjustment, Hale explained, will come in the form of expanded procurement capabilities. Hale said that once signed, the new law would allow the agency to approach service and equipment procurements in a way not previously possible.The only change in authority with this legislation is we can now as a state participate in multi-vendor procurement awards and cooperative agreements [for] IT equipment and services, she said. We still have to adhere to the states competitive procurement laws, but we can do so using cooperative agreements and multivendor awards, which were limited prior to this legislation. Thats the only authority change.Once the law is signed, both agencies would need to sort staff and equipment allocations under the new structure. The law would take effect Oct. 1, 2017.Im confident that we will be able to move forward with this, Hale said.
(TNS) -- Both Bloomington and Monroe County officials passed local legislation Friday to have some say in where future cell towers can be located in the public right-of-way ahead of todays state deadline that would limit their control.A bill that allows wireless communication companies to erect cell towers in public rights-of-way passed during this years session and has gone to the governors desk for signature.In response, both city and county officials took action to ensure some local power regarding the regulation of wireless structures before the bill becomes law.Monroe County Attorney David Schilling said the state bill gives wireless providers similar status as utility companies when it comes to locating structures in public rights-of way.But the bill also imposes a number of limitations on how counties and municipalities can regulate what wireless service providers can do, Schilling said Friday at the Monroe County commissioners meeting.For example, placement of wireless support structure in the public right-of-way is permitted and exempt from local zoning review if its height does not exceed those laid out in the statute.The law provides that counties and municipalities that designate areas for underground utilities before May 1 will still be able to regulate placement of structures in those areas. That is why Schilling appeared before the commissioners days before the deadline with an ordinance for the commissioners to approve.Schilling said along with requiring that utilities be underground in public rights-of-way, the ordinance will prohibit the placement of new wireless support structures and utility poles in those designated areas.He said for many years the county has had policies requiring utilities to be underground if they crossed county rights-of-way and were located in county subdivisions.Local entities with such restrictions on utility placement in public rights-of-way must allow wireless communication providers to petition for an exception, according to the new law.The countys ordinance, passed Friday, allows wireless communication providers to file a petition with the county. Then, within 30 days, the county commissioners must hold a public hearing and issue a decision within 60 days of the filing. The ordinance also provides exceptions for repairing or replacing existing utility poles and allowing co-location of wireless support structures on existing utility poles.The Bloomington Board of Public Works scheduled a special session on Friday to pass similar legislation ahead of the deadline. It will apply to all public rights-of-way within the corporate limits.Much like the countys ordinance, the city measure allows companies wanting to construct above-ground structures to seek a waiver from the city to do so. However, the resolution passed by the works board also provides that companies already in the process of constructing above-ground structures  such as Duke Energys plans for a new downtown transmission line  would be exempt from the waiver requirement.Preventing local government from imposing excessive limitations on small-cell technology will encourage future telecommunications investment in the state, according to a news release from the office of Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, who authored the bill.Mobile data usage has skyrocketed since 2010, increasing by 2,387 percent, Hershman said in the release. Industry experts say the future of meeting the increased demand lies within small-cell technology, and this bill paves the way for the installation of this infrastructure across the state.
(TNS) -- A report released by legislative auditors Friday says the State Board of Elections needlessly exposed the full Social Security numbers of almost 600,000 voters to potential hacking, risking theft of those voters' identities.The determination that election officials did not fully protect voters' personal information was one of several highly critical findings in the report. The audit also faulted state election officials' handling of issues including ballot security, disaster preparedness, contracting and balancing its books.State lawmakers called for a hearing in response to the Office of Legislative Audits report, which prompted strong reaction from critics of the board and its longtime administrator, Linda H. Lamone."This audit is an A-to-Z criticism of the way the board operates," said Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland School of Law. He said the "damning" findings call for the establishment of an independent, bipartisan commission of computer experts to examine the board's handling of information technology issues.Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan , said the report underscores some of the Republican governor's longtime concerns about a "lack of executive oversight" at the board, where the day-to-day management is outside the administration's control.The organization that received the data is the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit that helps state election officials around the country identify ineligible voters. While auditors did not question the board's cooperation with ERIC, they said state officials had not received sufficient assurances that ERIC and its outside contractor were adequately protecting data.Auditors warned that such information is frequently the target of criminals attempting identity theft.Aviel Rubin, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University who has frequently sounded alarms about election security, said the report "exposes a lack of best practices in the area of securing personal voter data and protecting the information in their databases.""This report tells me that the [elections board] is way behind the high-tech industry in maintaining the availability and security of their information," Rubin said. He said the board "needs to get its act together and catch up with best practices in the industry."Lamone said she's confident in the protections her agency has adopted to prevent hacking. She said officials do not ask for voters' full nine-digit Social Security numbers, but sometimes people voluntarily provide that information on registration forms.The information the state provides to ERIC doesn't include full Social Security numbers and is encrypted before it is sent, Lamone said. "You can't get into ERIC data. There's no way" she said.Lamone rejected Greenberger's call for an independent commission as unnecessary."I think we're doing everything we can here," she said.Lamone was appointed elections administrator under Democratic Gov. Parris N. Glendening in 1997. Under current law, the administrator is appointed by the five-member state board, which the governor is allowed to fill with three members of his own party. Hogan's board has a 3-2 Republican majority, but state law requires a 4-1 vote for the board to take action. Lamone has kept her job with the support of the the General Assembly's Democratic leaders.In addition to the finding on Social Security numbers, the audit identified several other lapses in the state elections process and in board operations. According to auditors:The board did not ensure the accuracy of its voter registration rolls and allowed too many people  its employees and those of local election boards, as well as contractors  to have access to that database when they did not need it for their job duties.Officials allowed voters to receive ballots solely by providing publicly available information such as name, address and date of birth. Auditors recommended they also require information such as the last four digits of the Social Security number to guard against voter fraud.The board could not document why it awarded two contracts worth $18.8 million without competition. Auditors also found other violations of state procurement rules.The agency ended its 2015 budget year with a deficit of $3.4 million that it could not explain.Greenberger said the report's findings are consistent with his dealings with the board over the years. He said Lamone has run the board as a "personal fiefdom" and has dismissed criticism by outside information technology experts as partisan attacks by Republicans.The board's problems have less to do with dishonesty than with defensiveness and incompetence, Greenberger said."It is one day going to play out during an election where the results will be called into question and there will be no adequate audit trail to determine who the winner of the election is," he said.Two senators, one from each party and both critics of Lamone, called for the legislature's Joint Audit Committee to meet this summer to delve more deeply into the findings."There are certainly things [in the report] I'd think would be troublesome to our voters," said Sen. Gail Bates, a Howard County Republican.Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat, said the agency has long been mismanaged."We've got a big election next year and voters have to have confidence that our State Board of Elections is performing in tip-top shape," she said. "This audit is clear evidence we're not there yet."
(TNS) -- RICHMOND  Virginia State Police's email system went offline last Wednesday night and likely will remain that way through the weekend as technicians fight a vicious malware attack, a police spokeswoman said Friday.Officials had initially hoped to be back online Thursday at noon, but the problem proved deeper than expected. There's no indication sensitive data has been stolen, and police service on Virginia highway's should be largely unaffected by the outage, which affects only the agency's email system, spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.It's unclear whether this was a coordinated attack on the agency, Geller said. The malware was first detected last Friday night, and it's believed to have infiltrated the system via an email to a department employee, she said. What intent was behind the attack is under investigation.The agency's website remains up, and it's able to access crime databases and process firearm purchase checks, Geller said.The agency took the email system down itself Wednesday evening to aid in the eradication process. Technicians from the Virginia Information Technologies Agency and Northrop Grumman, which provides most of the state's IT infrastructure, are working with state police on the problem."It's an aggressive and sophisticated malware," Geller said. "We are making progress."The state police are one of a few agencies that never embraced the rest of state government's shift to technical infrastructure provided by Northrop Grumman, which has a massive and decade-plus state IT contract. A state audit published in 2015 found that the police didn't have "the staff, hardware, or software to adequately secure the data that the agency is charged with protecting."The agency has had its own security concerns, though, over Northrop Grumman's arrangements with VITA, the state arm that sees to state government's computer needs. The state's relationship with Northrop Grumman has occasionally been a rocky one, and it has deteriorated further as VITA looks for other vendors to take over when the Northrop Grumman contract ends in 2019.Virginia State Police is unavailable by email due to malware, according to a news release from spokeswoman Corinne Geller.State police won't be answering emails starting 8 p.m. Wednesday until about 12 p.m. Thursday, she said. Headquarters and area offices are still open during business hours.Virginia State Police is unavailable by email due to malware, according to a news release from spokeswoman Corinne Geller.State police won't be answering emails starting 8 p.m. Wednesday until about 12 p.m. Thursday, she said. Headquarters and area offices are still open during business hours.Already VITA has tried to shift email providers, but has been unable to do so because of disagreements with Northrop Grumman that are likely costing state taxpayers millions. Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran, who reports to the governor and oversees state police, said Thursday it was too early to say whether this outage would have been prevented if state police were on Northrop Grumman's system."We will review what happened and what was our response," he said. "Far too early to start assessing any blame."State police offices remain open for normal business hours, and the phone lines are up. The main number for VSP headquarters is (804) 674-2000.
In a country with an unemployment rate that exceeds 18% of the active population , and that has been battered by years of ongoing economic crisis, its not uncommon for any job offer in Spain to receive hundreds of applications . But its also a regular occurrence for hundreds of positions to remain unfilled due to a lack of properly qualified candidates.

Foil manufacturer Iberfoil complains that it cant get the staff. L. RICO

A growing number of Spanish firms are reporting to their respective trade associations that they are not able to hire staff who meet their specific needs, and on the conditions they are offering. Iberfoil, for example, a specialized aluminum foil manufacturer, has had problems filling 100 technical positions. We have detected problems when it comes to finding qualified staff for the Iberfoil lamination plant in Sabinanigo [Aragon], explains the companys chairman, Clemente Gonzalez Soler.

In 2014, the business sector predicted that this imbalance would leave more than 80,000 jobs unfilled over the coming years

There is an imbalance between supply and demand, says Juan Carlos Tejera, the head of training at the CEOE, the association that represents the business community across Spain. Its an imbalance that the business sector in 2014 predicted would leave more than 80,000 jobs unfilled in Spain over the coming years given the disconnect between the education system and the job market, and that could drag down productivity and competitiveness in the process.

A worker in a plant belonging to the Mondragon group. Gorka Lejarcegi

Iberfoil is not the only company with such problems. In the Basque Country, a Spanish region famed for its industry, companies such as Mercedes and Tubacex (which makes tubes and pipes) joined forces with the trade association Confebask and the regional education department in 2011 to try to correct the imbalance. They believed that the problem was going to worsen as companies tried to seek out products offering greater added value. So they set up a scheme known as Dual Professional Training, which now benefits thousands of students and companies.

A 2016 study found that 44% of companies in the Basque Country have difficulties hiring

In 2017, nearly 1,300 Basque students are participating in the Dual Professional Training scheme, while 800 companies are also taking part, explains the head of training at Confebask, Asier Aloria. Major groups such as the huge Mondragon cooperative, Danobatgroup (which makes machine tools) and Petronor (an oil and gas company) have become involved. According to Aloria, the rate of hiring of these students is 80-100% in the industrial sector. But even so, a study carried out by Confebask in 2016 found that 44% of companies have difficulties hiring, given the lack of candidates out there with the technical profiles they need.

For Juan Carlos Tejera with the CEOE, the problem is likely to get worse in Spain, given the speed with which the job market is changing. Around 80% of the jobs of the future have not even been created yet, he explains.

English version by Simon Hunter.
California , the US state with the largest immigrant community and whose Democrat-run leadership has openly challenged President Donald Trumps immigration policies , saw a day of protest on Monday, with stores, restaurants and many other businesses closed in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as people took to the streets on May Day to highlight the role played by immigrants in the US economy.

More information La resistencia contra Trump toma las calles de California en el Primero de Mayo

In San Francisco, thousands of Latinos gathered on and around the citys main Market Street, blocking it to traffic. Immigrant associations had been preparing the event for months, determined to stage a powerful show of opposition to Trump. They were joined by left-wing groups, civic associations and members of the public keen to show their support.

Yadira Sanchez, aged 27, arrived in the United States when she was four. She now campaigns with others of her generation against Trumps order to detain and deport immigrants without residency papers.

A small group of Trump supporters, protected by the police, were jeered

We are sending a message to say stop the deportations. This country imposes policies on the whole world, beyond its borders, that are the cause of migratory movement, she explained.

At 11am, protesters gathered in Justin Herman Plaza, waving banners and flags. Municipal offices in nearby areas shut down for the day in solidarity.

The march began at 11.30am, accompanied by musicians and dancers, along with families with toddlers and wheeling baby buggies.

Aniela Valtierra, originally from the Texan border city of El Paso, is the spokeswoman for La Cocina, a well-known startup that trains immigrant women how to cook and run a restaurant. She was accompanied by around 20 female colleagues: The majority of us are latinas, but there are also colleagues from India. We are more united than ever, particularly those from Mexico and Venezuela, she said.

Marchers arrive at Los Angeles City Hall. REUTERS

Over the course of the three-hour march, which went by without incident, demonstrators passed the offices of Twitter. Mobile networks were unable to meet demand in much of the city, which prevented many in the march from sharing with the world that Latinos had been able to bring the global technology capital to a halt.

In Los Angeles, thousands of people joined two marches that set off from MacArthur park to City Hall. Protesters filled several kilometers of Wilshire Boulevard. When they reached City Hall, they were met with banners reading: Resist.

Mayor Eric Garcetti highlighted Californias commitment to defending its immigrant population from the polices coming out of the White House.

As long as I am mayor, the LAPD will never be a deportation force, he said. They will be your police officers, he told the majority Latino crowd.

The march was organized by a coalition of more than 100 organizations, ranging from labor unions and religious organizations, to African American groups.

Along the route, a small group of Trump supporters, many of them with their faces covered and wearing crash helmets, was protected by a police cordon. They were insulted by many of the marchers passing by.

The march in Los Angeles passes over Interstate 110. AP

Among the protesters were Nicholas Jenkins, a white 18-year-old from Santa Monica, who said he had skipped class to continue the enthusiasm and ideas of hopeful Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic Party presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton. Also taking part was Alejandra Serrano, aged 41, an undocumented Mexican mother of five who has been living in Los Angeles for 21 years. She said she had taken a day off work to attend.

Serrano is one of the millions of migrants whose lives have been changed by Donald Trump. We dont laugh like we used to, we dont sleep well. Were not happy or secure like we felt a year ago, she explained. After two decades in the city, she says she is now making contingency plans for her children in case she is arrested and deported. I tell my 18-year-old daughter that she will have to look after her brothers and sisters. The four-year-old will come with me. Then the others will cry. Im here to support all the Latinos and all the immigrants from every country, she said.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights

Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

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There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan
Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights

Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Google Ad

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

Google Ad

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan
The new B6.7N, L9N, and ISX12N engines feature Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (ARB) Optional Low NO x certification, On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), Closed Crankcase Ventilation (CCV) systems, and performance and reliability improvements. ( Earlier post .) The new ISX12N features a redesigned fuel system with fewer parts and improved performance.

Cummins Westport (CWI) announced its model year 2018 dedicated natural gas engines for regional haul truck / tractor, vocational and transit, school bus, and refuse applications at the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Long Beach, California. The new lineup comes with a change in names, following Cummins tradition of using B, L, and X series letters, followed by engine displacement. The letter N denotes engines that are fueled by natural gas.

Our 2018 product line demonstrates an important milestone in product development for Cummins Westport, creating a move to zero emissions strategy for our customers and industry. We are particularly pleased that the ISX12N will join the L9N in offering our on-highway customers the benefits of performance and reliability at an ultra-low emissions level described by Californias South Coast Air Quality Management District as equivalent to an electric vehicle. This move to zero emissions strategy means our customers can choose the most affordable path to zero-equivalent emissions with no commercial constraints on supply or technology readiness. Rob Neitzke, President of Cummins Westport

Like the L9N that replaces the ISL G Near Zero, the 2018 ISX12N heavy-duty natural gas engine for regional haul truck / tractor, vocational, and refuse applications will also be certified to EPA and California ARB optional low NO x Emissions standards of 0.02 g/bhp-hr.

The new ISX12N and L9N will be the lowest certified NO x emission engines available in North America. NO x exhaust emissions are 90% lower than the current EPA NOx limit of 0.2 g/bhp-hr, and the engines also meet or exceed the 2017 EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) emission requirements. CWI natural gas engines have met the 2010 EPA standard for particulate matter (0.01 g/bhp-hr) since 2001.

All CWI engines offer customers the choice of using compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) or renewable natural gas (RNG) as a fuel. Using low carbon intensity RNG fuel provides significant well-to-wheel GHG reductions and is an important aspect of a move to zero emissions strategy. According to California ARB Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) studies, RNG can reach subzero GHG carbon intensity levels.

Cummins Westport engines utilize proprietary spark-ignited, stoichiometric combustion with cooled exhaust gas recirculation technology, and three-way catalyst aftertreatment (TWC). The TWC is packaged as a muffler and is maintenance-free. No diesel particulate filter or selective catalytic reduction aftertreatment is required.

CWI 6.7 to 12 liter engines are designed for truck and bus applications up to 80,000 pounds. Available from leading truck and bus OEMs, vehicles can be tailored to perform to meet customer requirements with enough range to offer route flexibility without in-route refueling. For example, on highway natural gas trucks can have over 700 mile range capability.

The ISX12N will be manufactured in Cummins heavy-duty engine plant in Jamestown, New York. The L9N and the B6.7N are manufactured in Cummins midrange engine plant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Partial funding in support of the ISX12N engine development has been received from South Coast Air Quality Management District, the California Energy Commission, Southern California Gas and Clean Energy.
Country music legend Gene Watson will perform Oct. 28 at The Liberty Showcase in Liberty.

Tickets are on sale now.

Watson, 72, released his first single in 1962 and is still touring the U.S. and abroad to promote what he calls "real country."

Reflecting back on his early life, singing with his seven siblings and parents in Paris, Texas, Watson said, I can remember singing as far back as I can remember talking. Singing was something that was not out of the ordinary for me. It wasnt unique. My whole family sang.

As a young adult, Watson settled in Houston, Texas, and became an auto paint and body man. He performed at night in nightclubs and honky-tonks and continued to make local single records.

Then in 1974, one of his songs caught the ear of someone at Capitol Records.

Seems like my career just kind of happened accidentally, Watson said. It was purely unintentional. Music was just a sideline. I was going to be playing and singing no matter what line of work I was going to do. I never did really have any high expectations out of the music business.

"Even today, I never know what to expect from one day to the next. But there is one thing: As far as I know, I do have an honest reputation in the music business, and I wouldnt take nothing for that. If anything in the world means success to me, that right there does.

Watson was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002 and inducted into the inaugural class of the Houston Music Hall of Fame in August 2013.

Watson released his 33rd studio album titled "Real.Country.Music." The 13-track recording features traditional country music and a song called "Enough For You," which was written by Kris Kristofferson.
GREENSBORO  Downtowns independent bookstore and gathering place Scuppernong Books will receive the 2017 Arts in Business Award at Tuesdays Greensboro Chamber of Commerce small business awards luncheon at the Van Dyke Performance Space.

Presented by ArtsGreensboro, the award is made in partnership with the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the Greensboro Merchants Association and the North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center at UNC-Greensboro.

Each year, the award recognizes a Greensboro small business for its leadership and commitment to the arts and its impact on the arts over the past year, as measured by activities, projects or events in support of any aspect of the arts.

Scuppernong Books opened in December of 2013, and has played a part in the rebirth of downtown Greensboro ever since.

It is a general interest/literary bookstore featuring fiction and poetry along with a childrens section and a broad range of general interest titles. It has quickly become a hub of activity in downtown Greensboro, a space featuring a cafe serving organic coffee and espresso, wine and beer, and fresh sandwiches and sides all made in-house.

Scuppernong Books also hosts hundreds of events each year, including readings by nationally known writers like Jacqueline Woodson, Wiley Cash, Natalie Goldberg, Lee Smith, Michael Parker, Fred Chappell, Margot Lee Shetterly  and coming up June 27, author John Grisham.

The Small Business Awards Luncheon is an annual event hosted by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce that increases its member companies visibility and exposure, while supporting the local small business community by recognizing outstanding small business leaders and entrepreneurs in the greater Greensboro area. This years event is sponsored by Allegacy, Century, and Bank of America.

Past recipients of the Arts in Business Award include The View on Elm, Tate Street Coffee, Just Be, PhotoBiz and Quaintance-Weaver.

Here are the other award winners:

Brant Taylor Barrier Free Success Award presented by the Mayors Committee for Persons with Disabilities: Dr. Stuart J. Schleien, chair of the Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation at UNC-Greensboro

Outstanding Employer of the Year presented by the Mayors Committee for Persons with Disabilities: K&W Cafeteria at Signature Place at Friendly Center; Bobby Eaton, manager

Retailer of the Year presented by Guilford Merchants Association: Hudsons Hill

Associate of the Year presented by the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship: Havilah Hill-Rowe, owner and founder of Communication is Key

Minority Small Business Person of the Year presented by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce: Randy Wadsworth and Damion Moore, Dames Chicken and Waffles

Women in Business Award presented by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce: Lee Comer, fresh.local.good food group

Small Business Person of the Year presented by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce: Garret and Mike Bedrin, Salons by JC

Small Business Advocate of the Year presented by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce: Andy Zimmerman, AZ Development

Special Presentation: 2017 Region IV (Southeast) Subcontractor of the Year presented by the US Small Business Administration  NC District: Neeta Singh, Tiger Controls
ASHEBORO  The Randolph County commissioners worked out a land deal on Monday that is moving the regions megasite forward and adding a little insurance for the county should the megasite falter in the future.

The commissioners voted unanimously to swap 98.4 acres the county owns in the northeastern Randolph County megasite for 79.3 acres the North Carolina Railroad Co. owns or will own in another part of the 1,500-acre Greensboro/Randolph Megasite.

The megasites land is owned by the county, the railroad and the Greensboro Randolph Megasite Foundation, which has been marketing and coordinating the process of certifying the site as a potential location for an automobile maker or other major industry.

The three groups are operating under an agreement that they will market the site for a minimum of six years with an automatic three-year extension unless one of the three gives notice 120 days before the end of the term.

And should no car company or other industry locate at the site during that period, this weeks land swap would give Randolph County one contiguous piece of land on the megasites east side for an industrial park.

At that point, said Hal Johnson, Randolph County manager, we would have to go out on our own to market the property.

The county land swap also paves the way for the railroad to buy some of the megasite land that the foundation owns to build a fund to bring electric utilities to the site.

Jim Melvin, president of the foundation, said Tuesday that the railroad will buy its land for $1.4 million, money which will allow Duke Energy to acquire right-of-way for the massive power lines a major manufacturer would need.

Duke plans to buy easements through 55 acres that roughly parallel the path of bulk transmission lines the utility already owns. It will build a 7.9-mile transmission line into the site.

Weve been working on this for probably three to six months, Melvin said. What were doing is were trading and selling about half of the property we own for less than we paid for it for the purpose of giving everybody the opportunity to round off the property.

Melvin said that the three groups have spent a total of $32 million to assemble the land from private owners. When a company chooses the site, he said, the foundation will give the land to the company.
LEXINGTON  A Lexington man who is already facing breaking and entering and financial card fraud charges is now charged with stealing items from mailboxes in the Tyco area of Davidson County.

According to a sheriff's office news release, on Thursday, detectives began investigating several larcenies from mailboxes in that area. They also found that mailboxes on City Lake and Happy Hill roads had mail stolen from them.

Bradley Jacob Prince, 27, of 60 Park Circle, was charged with breaking, entering, and larceny after breaking entering, and six counts of larceny. His bail was set at $30,000.

Prince also faces multiple charges in connection to a vehicle break-in on April 7 at Alston Brook Nursing Home at 4748 Old Salisbury Road. Charges from that include breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny from a motor vehicle, four counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, 11 counts of financial-card theft, DWLR, possession of burglary tools and possession of drug paraphernalia.

His bail was set at $150,000.
GREENSBORO  As members of the Greensboro City Council watched video of a confrontation between a teen and a police officer, the teens mother said Monday at another location that the city manager already has decided the police did nothing wrong when they arrested her son.

Tamara Figueroa told a group gathered at the Beloved Community Center that she has heard it through the grapevine that City Manager Jim Westmoreland has ruled that police followed correct procedure when they arrested her son, Jose Charles, last July 4.

I have not received a letter, Figueroa told the group of about 40 people including members of the media. I heard it through the grapevine. Its just disrespectful that I had to hear it in a manner that wasnt professional. Of course he (Westmoreland) ruled to protect the police and not Jose.

Figueroa, sometimes in tears, made her comments during a news conference called by Lindy Perry-Garnette, who resigned last week as a member of the Police Community Review Board, which had appealed the police departments official opinion that officers followed correct procedure when they arrested Charles, who stood next to her on Monday night.

Charles was 15 when he was arrested during the citys Fun Fourth Festival at Center City Park. Charles was charged with malicious assault on an officer, disorderly conduct, simple affray and resisting arrest, according to Figueroa. He is accused of spitting blood on an officers face.

Figueroa, backed by members of several community organizations, contends that Charles was attacked by a group of kids, then grabbed by an officer in an alley near Friendly Avenue. He spit blood, she said, because he was coughing and couldnt breathe, according to multiple residents who addressed the council in April during a public comment period.

A judge in March said Charles could have a copy of the body-camera footage for his defense for any potential witness to view, but the footage could not be shown to anyone else and it could not be recorded or made public. Another judge later approved a review by the Greensboro City Council, after Westmoreland had finished his review. But they were prohibited from discussing the video in public.

An initial, internal review by the Greensboro Police Department ruled that officers did nothing wrong during the arrest, but the Police Community Review Board, composed of residents, disagreed with the police departments decision and asked that Chief Wayne Scott review the incident.

When the city sent a letter to Figueroa that Scott also backed the officers, she discussed the case publicly.

Although city law bars members of the board from discussing its decisions, after Figueroa had gone public, PCRB member Garnette also discussed her opinions with News & Record Columnist Susan Ladd.

On Friday city officials asked Garnette to resign.

She said Monday in the news conference that she believes city law governs direct actions by the board and not recommendations. The letter to Figueroa, for example, was not marked confidential.

In any case, Garnette said, her resignation is a sign of a bigger problem.

I had hoped to make a difference in our community through a legitimate, authentic process, she said. How can a police citizen review board be effective if the community has no access to their decisions? Although I will no longer serve on the PCRB, I will not stop in my quest to ensure that all citizens in this city are treated fairly and humanely, regardless of the color of their skin, the size of their bank accounts or their address.

Garnette said Monday that she has seen the body-camera video of Charles confrontation with police, and she said she is distressed by what she saw.

How does a 15-year-old boy with his family at a public park at a Fourth of July event heralded by the city as the place to be, go from being a victim to being a criminal in 90 seconds or less? she asked.

This young man had been beat up. He was bleeding. How does he end up being the one in police custody? I do not believe this situation would have progressed the way that it did had Jose Charles been a white child.

If my child was bleeding from his head in a public park at a major event, I would expect that he would be treated as a victim, that he would be provided medical care, not that he would end up in handcuffs and being charged with numerous offenses.

Council members met for about three hours Monday, until nearly 9 p.m., behind closed doors with City Attorney Tom Carruthers. Four council members left early, meaning a quorum continued to be present.

But the group adjourned without comment. They are scheduled to reconvene for a work session at 2:30 p.m. today, followed by a full council meeting at 5:30.

Figueroa, in earlier news conferences, had called on the council members to pay close attention to the case.

Its just sad that the city council, the city, they know that this kid did nothing wrong, and you want to send him to a juvenile prison to protect him, Figueroa said, choking back tears. Its everyones job. Its just heart wrenching that this even has to go this far. They (city council members) just need to hold them (police) accountable for what they did to my child and stop skating around what they should be doing. And do whats right.

Garnette said that she knows that another member of the nine-member review board resigned on Monday, and others may be thinking about resigning.

Realistically, who are they going to replace us with? Garnette said. Theyre only going to get people to sign up who want to do what you folks thought we were already doing. We worked long and hard to make sure this city knew we were authentic and serious about our work. And I think we have made progress. We just lost all that progress.
Winston-Salem police are investigating the shooting death of a 21-year-old man as a homicide.

At 2:32 p.m. Monday, officers were dispatched to a report of a shooting at 3050 Northwood Drive, Apt. 1516, police said.

Officers entered the apartment and found Shayne Anthony Corpening with an apparent gunshot wound, police said.

Despite the efforts of emergency medical technicians, Corpening died at the scene.

The investigation is in the preliminary stages; however, it appears that this incident was not a random act, police said.

No further information was immediately available Monday night.

Anyone with information can call Winston-Salem police at (336) 773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at (336) 727-2800.

This is the seventh homicide in Winston-Salem in 2017, as compared with seven homicides during the same time frame of 2016.

The first homicide this year happened on Feb. 6 when Taurus Ferguson, 36, was stabbed to death after he broke into a womans home on Bethabara Pointe Circle. The second happened on March 10 when Jahimi Ismailibn Almin, 25, died of gunshot shot wounds in the parking lot, also at Bethabara Pointe Circle.

The third homicide happened on March 24 when Henry Devon Williams, 35, died after being shot in his chest in the 3300 block of Old Lexington Road.

The fourth occurred three days later when Ladawn Deion Morgan died after suffering a gunshot wound to her abdomen.

The citys fifth homicide happened on April 6 when Deshaun Rashaud Fisher-McCullum, 22, died after he exchanged gunfire with the manager of the Coliseum Bids and Bingo Games off University Parkway in an attempted robbery.

The sixth homicide occurred sometime between April 7 and April 10 when John Douglas Agnew, 75, was stabbed to death and dismembered.
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If not for a lie and a little bit of luck, Meg Whitman said she may never have joined eBay as the young companys CEO in 1998  a position that helped catapult her to the top of the technology industry.

Whitman, whos now president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprises, spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the Titan Series Breakfast on Tuesday held by Greenwichs Family Centers at the Stamford Marriott about climbing the ranks in Silicon Valley and her perspective on the future of the technology industry.

The longtime corporate executive heard of eBay when it was just a burgeoning direct auction site through a recruiter, she told the crowd. Whitman glanced at eBays website for the first time late the night before she planned to meet with eBays then-31-year-old founder Pierre Omidyar and was taken aback by its appearance and content.

If I could have canceled (the meeting), I would have because I was afraid (Omidyar) was a nutcase, she said.

She ended up calling her husband the next day saying they needed to return to California so she could take the job. Whitmans husband, Griffith Harsh, is a neurosurgeon and held a high-ranking position at Massachusetts General Hospital at the time.

Whitman said meeting with Omidyar persuaded her to believe in eBays potential, but another factor she looked for and found her first day visiting its offices was a company receptionist. I was relieved when I saw one, because I thought maybe they do make enough money to, you know, pay a CEO, Whitman said, laughing.

Upon returning as its CEO soon after, she was surprised when the receptionist and accompanying desk were gone. Omidyar explained hed hired the receptionist shed seen just for the day Whitman visited because he predicted it would make an impression on her.

That ended up being a fantastic founder-CEO relationship, Whitman said. And as you know, those often dont go so well. ... He taught me everything I know about the internet.

Whitman joined eBay when it employed 30 people and revenues totaled a few million dollars, she said. During her tenure, she oversaw its initial public offering, which made Omidyar a billionaire and brought the company to roughly 15,000 employees with $8 billion in annual revenue by the time she resigned in 2008. That year she announced her bid for Californias gubernatorial race in 2010.

The resulting loss to Jerry Brown stung, Whitman said, adding we should be glad anyone wants to run for public office, because thats the hardest thing Ive ever done. In hindsight, lessons from the campaign trail refined her leadership skills, she said. Since running for governor, Im a much better communicator. ... I learned to tell stories and do things symbolically.

As an example, Whitman cited her decision to tear down the executive parking lot at Hewlett-Packard Co. when she first took over in 2011. I didnt have to do one other thing after that to signal to the world that things had changed, she said.

All proceeds from Tuesdays breakfast go toward Family Centers early care and education scholarship fund.

Contact the writer at mbennett@greenwichtime.com
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GREENWICH  It was by the silence that rabbi Yossi Deren knew his students were ready to to reach out to a victim of ISISs genocide against the Yazidi people.

It wasnt what they said. It was their silence and their intense concentration as they heard Don tell the story, Deren said. It shows that care and compassion is inherent to every human being but that it needs to be cultivated.

Students at the Sunday Hebrew School at Chabad of Greenwich have written cards and letters of support and kindness to Yasmin, a 16-year-old girl who is currently in a hospital in Germany.

Held captive along with more than 1,000 other women and children after a 2014 ISIS attack on the Yazidi community in northern Iraq and after multiple rapes, she doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire to be less attractive to her attackers.

The story was first brought to the attention of Chabad by Greenwich resident and journalist Don Snyder, who became aware of Yasmins plight through his own reporting about ISIS atrocities. He had interviewed Jan Kizilhan, a German trauma expert who has worked with girls like Yasmin.

As a Jew, I have always felt a special obligation to expose the suffering of minorities, Snyder said. ISIS has been waging a war of genocide against the Yazidi people.

Snyder said he approached Chabad because he felt it was a moral imperative to speak out and get local religious groups involved in keeping such atrocities front and center.

In Deren, Chabads spiritual leader and executive director, and Chani Feldman, Chabad of Greenwichs Hebrew school director, he found kindred spirits.

Shes all alone and shes not comfortable going back to school because of how she looks, Feldman said. Its very isolating for her in Germany because shes in a new place and doesnt know the language of the people.

It was suggested to us that we might write letters to make her feel better and it sounded like a wonderful idea, Feldman said. We wanted the kids to learn that there is so much bad out there but if we work together we can bring goodness in the world.

Feldman said she was floored by the response from her students.

So far, more than 60 cards have been made by students ranging from first- to seventh-graders sending well wishes and their love. Several of the kids included their email addresses with the hope of starting a pen pal relationship with Yasmin.

Don really wanted us to figure out how we, as an organization, can help refugees, Feldman said. Since he has the contact with the doctor in Germany who is treating refugees as they come in, he is able to get the letters to her. Don didnt want her to feel alone. He wanted her to feel like someone cares about her.

Deren, who also teaches students in fifth- through seventh-grade, said he was moved by the response of the students, repeating an adage from the Talmud, I learn much from my teachers and most from my students.

While the older students were told of Yasmins plight, younger students were encouraged to empathize with all refugees, especially in places like Iraq and Syria.

We spoke about how we have to be here for each other, Feldman, who taught the students in first- through fourth-grade, said. We learned a song about carrying on shoulder to shoulder and standing together and we went through the idea that these people dont have a home. I asked the kids to imagine what would happen if they had to leave their home and leave everything including their friends and families behind.

This is such an important message for Judaism, she said. Doing a mitzvah for another and being kind and having that warmth and love when you care for another human being is vital to learn.

Snyder said he wants more religious groups to reach out to Yasmin and do what they can to aid the Yazidis. Right now, only Chabad has accepted the challenge.

In the political climate were at now, its very important to see through the fog and remember there is so much good that can be done and we should do it as soon as we see the opportunity that has been given, Deren said.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
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GREENWICH  With a loud booming voice, Greenwich Police Officer Tom Huestis posed an invitation to the world on Tuesday morning: got a question for a cop?

Several dozen curious people took him up on his offer, and chatted with numerous police officers and supervisors who made themselves available for casual conversation. They also availed themselves of a free cup of coffee.

As part of its community outreach program, Greenwich police met with the public at the Starbucks Coffee shop at the Riverside Commons, its fifth such event. People asked about parking tickets, seat belts, marksmanship and learned what its like to be a police officer from the men and women in uniform themselves.

Anytime we have an honest and open dialogue with people, its a success, said Officer Justin Rivera.

Officer Alex Testani said it was good for the public to meet police officers in person, and it also helped police make a connection to the residents they serve.

A number of residents said it was a valuable experience.

Theres tension with law enforcement these days, and this puts a friendly face on the people who are just doing their jobs, said James J. Muskus.

Ann Murray, who is taking part in the Citizens Police Academy, a program that takes local residents behind the scenes of police work, said the effort to get outside patrol cars and into the public realm was a great idea.

Community outreach is important, and this is a great way to interact with the community, she said.

Inocencio Palacios of Stamford said he was appreciative of the work that police put in and welcomed the opportunity to talk with local cops. It can be dangerous, and they work hard, he said.

Palacios said there was some fear in the Hispanic community about law enforcement.

It doesnt have to be that way, he said. We need better communications.

Officers who are bilingual in Spanish and English were also on hand to talk to anyone who wanted to communicate in Spanish.

While the Greenwich police officers put in an unusually busy spell recently, with three armed robberies and other significant law-enforcement matters clustered in a one-week time-frame, officers said the coffee-shop crowd didnt ask much about the latest incidents. There was more discussion about regular police work.

Starbucks is partnering with the Coffee with a Cop meetings at future events. A Starbucks manager, Nikkie Coetzee, said 100 similar meet-ups are being planned around the country at Starbucks locations.

Coetzee said the recent event in Riverside looked like a good example of how the program can work.

Great turn-out, great participation with the police, she said.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
A Palladian-style home in New Canaan, designed by a renowned classical architect, is now for sale.

Huckleberry House, designed in 1982 by Allan Greenberg, is on the market for $8.5 million.
Turkey plans to have military base in Nakhichevan (video)

Turkey is trying to strengthen its military presence in the Caucasus with the help of Azerbaijan. In particular, Turkey is planning to establish a military base in the territory of Nakhichevan which it was banned to do under the Treaty of Kars signed in October 1921, says political analyst Levon Shirinyan. He states that Russia will have a key role in this matter and it is obliged to advance the interests of Armenia. Let our authorities ask their ally (Russia) what issues they are going to discuss and whether they will consider our state interests or not. This is a deadly issue for us. We want to open railway through Nakhichevan while they want to open a military base on our railway. Do we need an ally like Russia after this? the political analyst wonders. Mr Shirinyan says if Turkey deploys a military base in Nakhichevan that will be a direct threat to Armenia. Not only will Armenia come under direct fire by Turkey, but Azerbaijan will be given an opportunity to move its troops to Artsakh, thereby strengthening that section of the line of contact.
Time for Michelle to prepare for more pizza and fries. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Sonny Perdue has been USDA secretary for barely a week, and yesterday, he announced a plan from a Virginia elementary school to undo Michelle Obamas school-lunch standards that limit salt and require cafeterias to use breads and pasta that havent been heavily processed. We know meals cannot be nutritious if theyre not consumed, if theyre thrown out, he apparently told reporters after eating the schools chicken nuggets and a salad. We have to balance sodium and whole-grain content with palatability. The rules affect school breakfasts and lunches served to more than 31 million students every day.



@USDA is taking steps towards more local control of school meal menus, since we all want kids to have nutritious meals that also taste good. pic.twitter.com/nsOI3ykXzY  Sonny Perdue (@SonnyPerdue) May 1, 2017

A lifelong Georgian, Perdue is especially not fond of the National School Lunch Programs whole-grain requirements. A perfect example is in the South, where the schools want to serve grits, he said yesterday. Obama-era grits have little black flakes in it, he complained, and the kids wont eat it. The official line is that theyre wresting power back from the nanny state and restoring local control of school-lunch guidelines. (Theyre okay with that empowering people like Sid Miller, the self-described potbellied ag commissioner of Texas, who reinstalled deep fryers in the nations fifth-fattest schools and granted something he calls cupcake amnesty.) Republicans often claim that the healthier food doesnt taste as good, so students end up malnourished regardless because they just throw it out.

Its important to note that these changes still leave much of the Obama-era framework in place. Kids still have to take some form of vegetable or fruit on the lunch line, for example. The major difference involves the sodium content of meals, which was being reduced each year under Obama. Under the new rules, school cafeterias wont have to remove any more salt for the remainder of Trumps term.

Of course, the flip side to empowering local governments is that theyre free to keep using the Obama administrations guidelines. Thats apparently what L.A. public schools  Americas second-largest school district  are planning to do. Nourishing children to achieve excellence is our core mission, the district official in charge of food services said in a statement. We will continue to direct all efforts toward serving healthy meal options, providing nutrition education to families, and upholding nutrition standards that meet or exceed federal regulations.
Samsung has released an update for T-Mobile USA Galaxy S8 and S8+ units that will fix the red tint screen issue that some devices are suffering from.

The update amounts to 138MB and adds the color optimization settings that help bring the red hues down in the display settings menu. There are some stability and performance improvements sprinkled into the firmware too.

If you're not familiar with the problem, some Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices have a reddish tint to their Super AMOLED out of the box, which Samsung claims is due to "natural variation" in screens. Still Samsung promptly targeted user indignation via a software update that resolves the issue.

At the time of writing devices in Europe, South Korea and India have received the screen tint fixing firmware.

Source 1 | 2 | Via




Haiti - FLASH : TPS, pressures multiply on Government Trump





Rep. Yvette Clarke, Former USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez, Haiti experts discuss latest developments following recommendation of James McCamen, Acting Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians by next January. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20727-haiti-flash-us-immigration-service-recommends-the-end-of-tps.html



In recent weeks, news outlets reported that the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, is considering ending temporary protections for approximately 50,000 Haitians in the United States by January 2018, despite the fact that the country is still struggling to recover from the 2010 earthquake that devastated it, as well as from Hurricane Matthew, which set the nations recovery back just six months ago. In the aftermath of the earthquake, tens of thousands of Haitians were granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which permits them to live and work in the United States. Despite the recommendation, there is bipartisan support for extending, not terminating, these protections, as seen in the letter by members of the Florida congressional delegation and the letter by Senate Democrats.



Today, 416 faith leaders and organizations sent a letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly urging him to extend TPS for at least 18 months, and tomorrow, the Congressional Black Caucus is sending a letter to President Donald Trump that calls for the extension of TPS as well as the redesignation of TPS to permit more Haitians living in the United States to receive protections while the fragile nation struggles to recover fully.



"Extending Haitian TPS is in the national interest, as Haitian TPS holders are a self-sufficient and industrious segment of the U.S. economy and are providing invaluable economic support to family members still in Haiti, preventing further destabilization of the country. Allowing Haitian TPS holders to remain safely in the U.S. until Haiti is sufficiently stable honors our closely-held moral, religious, and American values to stand for the human rights and dignity of all people, here and abroad. TPS should be extended. To do otherwise would be inconsistent with our values of hospitality, generosity, and compassion," wrote the 416 faith leaders and organizations, adding "[...] Ending TPS while the country is so unsafe would cost American taxpayers, as it is likely the U.S. will be forced to resort to deporting many TPS holders to remove them from the country [...]"



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20779-haiti-flash-tps-16-us-senators-defend-haitians-in-the-usa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20727-haiti-flash-us-immigration-service-recommends-the-end-of-tps.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20679-haiti-flash-nearly-60-000-haitians-fear-that-trump-will-not-renew-the-tps.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politics : Launch of the Caravan of Change





Monday, President Jovenel Moise, accompanied by Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant, members of the Ministerial Cabinet, the Speaker of the National Assembly Senator Youri Latortue and Vice President Cholzer Chancy, members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), representatives of the diplomatic and consular corps, representatives of the major organs of the state, parliamentarians, has proceeded to the official launch of the Caravan of the change in the locality of Lagrange, 5th communal section Bocozelle (Saint-Marc).



The ceremony, that coincided with the celebration of Agriculture and Labor, brought together the inhabitants of Bocozelle and its surroundings, local authorities, members of the Civil Society and representatives of peasant and social organizations, who have not hid their satisfactions and their faith in the will of President Moise.



Various agricultural products will be encouraged within the framework of this caravan, alongside the production of rice. Several thousand planters will work in the Artibonite Valley. A giant step according to the Federation of Associations of Irrigators of Artibonite.



The President of the Republic believes that Haitians can not continue to live under these conditions. With the support of all, he promises to drain, irrigate and provide the farmers with all the supports necessary for their development. The Head of State believes that it is time to put an end to the hypocrisy and the mentality "Chak koukouy klere pou je l" He is convinced that the Haitian people are a working people who have always wanted to live of its workforce.



"[...] I announce to you that the Caravan will not leave the valley of the Artibonite until the irrigation canals are completed, as well as the roads and drainages https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20811-haiti-politics-caravan-of-change-d-day.html to put the 32,000 hectares of land in the Artibonite Valley into value. When I will have the guarantee of the development of these lands [...] I would come to see you again to celebrate together [...]" declared the Head of State.



Ceremony of the start of the caravan :







See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20811-haiti-politics-caravan-of-change-d-day.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20796-haiti-security-pnh-launches-operation-hurricane-against-crime.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20725-haiti-flash-100-million-gourdes-for-intelligence-and-security-activities.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20689-haiti-politics-d-13-at-cne-cuban-mechanics-working-tirelessly.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20627-haiti-politics-visit-of-jovenel-moise-to-the-national-center-of-equipments.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-20616-icihaiti-agriculture-works-tour-of-moise-in-the-artibonite.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20527-haiti-agriculture-tour-of-moise-of-projects-in-progress-of-the-artibonite-valley.html



HL/ S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Humanitarian : Food for the Poor to the rescue of the South





The heavy rains that fell on the South Department from 20 to 23 April caused considerable damage. A Preliminary assessment reported floods in several communal sections, landslides, livestock losses, substantial agricultural losses, of fishing equipment, destroyed bridges, blocked roads and thousands of homes damaged https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20778-haiti-security-heavy-rains-in-figures.html



The collapse of the Port-Salut Bridge in particular completely isolated Les Cayes area from the rest of the coast. Agricultural losses are particularly severe in the Plains of Les Cayes, Torbeck and Port-Salut.



The local Caritas was able to mobilize quickly to bring relief to the population and to bring food to it from the Regional Distribution Center of Les Cayes of the NGO Food For The Poor which was supplied.



In addition, in 48 hours Food For The Poor sent food, extra clothing and basic necessities to the Southern Department, divided into 2 trucks and 7 containers. These cargoes were handed over directly to the Civil Protection, which in collaboration with Max Serge Daniel the Delegate of the Department of the South, was sent to the affected populations for distribution of :



50 tonnes of rice;



15 tonnes of petit-mil;



10 tonnes of peas;



300 boxes of canned peas;



21 pallets of food in cans and bags;



2348 cases of miscellaneous articles including milk, sardines, vienna sausages and crackers;



115 boxes of water;



1,590 pairs of shoes;



32,693 clothing items;



210 blankets;



960 5-gallon buckets;



7 pallets of hygiene items.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20744-haiti-flash-heavy-rain-on-the-south-significant-damage-provisional-assessment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20778-haiti-security-heavy-rains-in-figures.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : Minister Limond Toussaint at the patronal feast of Jacmel





Monday, Limond Toussaint, the Minister of Culture, accompanied by his Director General, Michel Lapin, represented the Government at the Eucharistic celebration of the patron saints of the southeastern metropolis (St. Jacques and St. Philippe), which coincided with the Feast of Agriculture and Labor.



In the multipurpose room of Lamandou, Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop of Port-au-Prince, Monseigneur Joseph Lafontant, in the presence of local authorities, police and justice, referring in particular to the victims and damage of Hurricane Matthew and recent torrential rains which are falling on the country these last days called in his homily, the Haitians to manifest "a greater concern of the environment [...] the degradation of the environment puts us face to a mortal danger. We must all feel concerned," stressing that a new type of commitment is needed.



After the celebration, Minister Toussaint and a few officials, including the Delegate of the South-East, Pierre Michel Lafontant, went to the Tourist harbor of the commune where an agro-artisanal and gastronomic fair awaited them, before visiting some Art Workshops and Galleries of the Jacmel Historical Center.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Funeral of Herbert Widmaier

The funeral of Herbert (Herby) Widmaier will be sung Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 11:30 in the Church St. Pierre de Petion-Ville, the customary greetings will take place from 10:30. Instead of floral offerings, the Widmaier family would appreciate donations being made to the "Ecole de Musique Dessaix Baptiste" in Jacmel.



Monday afternoon, the family received condolences at the Karibe Convention Center.



Floods in Ouanaminthe

The Directorate of Civil Protection informs us that "The heavy rains recorded in Ouanaminthe caused the flooding of several neighborhoods. The rivers Canarie and Massacre are in flood."



Health: 10 billion Gourdes to solve the problems

Marie Greta Roy Clement, the Minister of Public Health, responding to questions from the Senate Health Commission said that the government had provided 10 billion gourdes in the amending budget to solve the problems faced by the Haitian health system for several years...



PNH, results of Operation Hurricane

12 arrests, 89 motorcycles and 6 vehicles seized are the firsts results of Operation "Hurricane 1" launched on April 24 by the National Police of Haiti (PNH) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20796-haiti-security-pnh-launches-operation-hurricane-against-crime.html



Haiti celebrates May 1st in DR

The Haitian Consulate in Higuey thanks the Haitian Government, in particular President Jovenel Moise and Foreign Minister Antonio Rodrigue for their encouragement to the realization of the first edition of the food and Cultural Fair on the occasion of the Agriculture and Labor Day, held on Monday, May 1, in the Eastern Region of the Dominican Republic.



Towards an agreement with "Both Ends Burnyng &Tyler technologies"

The Institute for Social Welfare and Research (IBESR) held a working session with a delegation of "Both Ends Burnyng & Tyler Technologies" on the rationalization of data with a view to concluding an agreement within the framework of the care of children deprived of parental care.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2017/05/02 | Source

Added episodes 7 and 8 captures for the Korean drama "Chicago Typewriter" (2017)

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Directed by Kim Cheol-gyoo

Written by Jin Soo-wan

Network : tvN

With Yoo Ah-in, Lim Soo-jung, Go Kyung-pyo, Kwak Si-yang, Jo Woo-jin, Yang Jin-sung,...

16 episodes - Fri, Sat 20:00

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Writers from the 1930s are reincarnated in the present as a best-selling writer in a slump, an anti-fan, and a ghostwriter.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/04/07

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Valery Permyakov cannot serve his sentence in Armenia

Valery Permyakov, a Russian soldier sentenced to life in prison for killing a seven-member family in Armenia, cannot serve his sentence in Armenia because he has not been handed over to Armenia. The judicial act must be recognized by the Russian Federation and the sides will discuss his transfer after that, lawyer Lusine Sahakyan told A1+. The Court of Appeal recently rejected the appeals of legal representatives of the Avetisyan family who demanded to overturn the verdict announced by a lower court and start new hearing. Moreover, the Court upheld the decision of the lower court. Lawyer Lusine Sahakyan says it was apparent that courts in Armenia were not strong enough to solve the problem. The lawyer says they are going to dispute the decision in the Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights. On January 12, 2015, six members of the Avetisian family were found dead in their house in Gyumri, including a 2-year-old girl. All the victims had been shot or stabbed to death. A 6-month-old boy who was seriously wounded in the violence died a week later. Immediately after killing the seven-member Avetisyan family, Permyakov fled the Russian military garrison without proper leave papers. He was detained near the Armenian-Turkish border before he could leave the territory of Armenia. In August 2015, a Russian military court found Permyakov guilty of desertion, theft of weapons, and illegally carrying weapons. The Russian judges sentenced him to 10 years. He was then transferred by Russian authorities to the custody of Armenia to face murder charges in a separate trial under Armenian law. In August 2016, a court in Armenias Gyumri city found Valery Permyakov guilty of murder charges and sentenced him to life in prison for the 2015 massacre.
by Andrew Walden (Orig published June 23, 2012. Republished to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the extermination of Osama bin-Laden -- May 2, 2011.)

Ed Case last month told the Democratic state convention that Hawaii Democrats have wiped out an entire generation of leadership. In House District 11, Democrat voters are getting a look at the wreckage left behind--and it isnt pretty.

Mark Ing is one of four Democrats seeking the nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Representative George Fontaine. Other Democrats in the race include child molester advocate ex-Rep Joe Bertram and Occupy activist Netra Halperin, last seen on video arguing that bankers should go to jail because they are arrogant and they dont care.

How does Ing fit with such illustrious competitors? As he blogged March 10, 2011:

Rejected from Law School? I just got my letter toorelatively low undergraduate GPA. At 22, I have experienced endless failures: job interviews, appointments, blown sales pitches, applications for state positions, deadlines, elections, etc.

Perhaps Ing feels there is a constituency for endless failures. Two weeks later he posted: Hawaii: The Dumbest StateAlmost.

On his blog, Ing asks: Are Generation Y'ers really the self righteous (sic) slackers, whiners and praise-junkies we're made out to be?

And as if in answer, in his BrazenCareerist.com profile, Ing burbles:

I am as adaptable as Darwins finches, yet grounded in my own values and self. I am as skeptical as a word processors grammar-check feature, yet rooted in a belief of innate altruism. I am as driven as an 80s lorry, yet remain faithful to my family and culture first.

The problem with plucking candidates out of the ranks of UH Manoa LSAT washouts is that they actually believe some of the ignorance liberal arts professors dish out. For ten years American youth have fought Islamist terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. But last May, Ing wrote that Americans celebrating the US Navy Seal raid which got bin Laden, were making me sick.

Ing whines:

All this coverage of these celebrations following Bin Ladens murder is making me sick: Rednecks in stars and stripe bandanas on their heads chanting U.S.A. U.S.A.

I think it remains essential for Americans to keep in mind that Bin Laden was an effective leader in many contexts across organizations and national borders.  many respectable Middle-easterners followed the man.

His attack on 9/11 was political, it was not solely meant to spark a holy war. Despite American medias tendency to pidgin-hole (sic) Bin Laden into the irrational Muslim extremist pool, he was fundamental in leading a movement against the American crusade of forced democracy in the middle-east: an issue extending far beyond clashing faiths.

THAT is part of the reason why he attackednot just because we were perceived as a Christian (or at least non-Muslim) nation, but because he was against the (now proving to be grossly ineffective) Americana societal ideal of a democratic republic rooted in capitalism being constantly shoved down his peoples throats throughout the past half-century. To raise our flags and chant in jubilant celebration of his death acts is a testament to our arrogance, pretension, and naivetyits a signal to the rest of the world that our societal values prevail and that our crusades will press on.

The bottom line is this was no true victory.

Is Ing right? Is Hawaii: The Dumbest StateAlmost? Find out August 11.

---30---

MORE: House Candidate Kaniela Ing: I dont Support Osama bin-Laden
Fatal Norway helicopter crash witnesses saw explosion in the sky

One year after the helicopter crash near Tury, Norway, on 29 April 2016, the Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) has published a preliminary report giving the latest evidence on the incident. The Airbus Helicopters EC 225 LP, en route from the Gullfaks B platform in the North Sea to Bergen Airport, came down after the main rotor head detached, killing all 13 people on board.

Stock image

AIBN, which is leading the investigation, always issues a preliminary report within 12 months of an incident, but stresses this is incomplete and that investigations are continuing.

Several witnesses to the crash saw an explosion in the sky and heard a loud bang shortly before the main rotor separated, according to the report. Several people reported seeing yellowish red flames coming from the engine on top of the helicopter after the rotor detached and flew off on its own, while a series of parts were ejected.

One person who recorded the crash on video heard a metallic sound as the rotor came off. He described it as an explosion in the sky, the AIBN report said.

The preliminary report describes the accident sequence, as well as the background and circumstances of the flight. It also includes information about the search for parts, a technical description of the helicopter, and details of the extensive investigation that is still ongoing.



The AIBN has issued no safety recommendations at this stage. The investigation continues and only the final report will represent the complete investigation and be the official document.



More information...
Second company shuts oil and gas wells after fatal Colorado blast

Following Anadarko Petroleums decision to shut more than 3,000 wells after a house explosion killed two and seriously injured a third in the town of Firestone, Colorado, Great Western Oil & Gas (GWOG) said it would shut 61 of its own wells in and around the town. The destroyed house was 60 metres from one of Anadarkos vertical wells and one line of inquiry is that gas from the well seeped into the house.

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The company said in a statement: We at GWOG are deeply saddened to hear about the terrible incident near Firestone, Colorado. Our hearts go out to those affected and their families.



While we are confident our operations do not present a danger to the public, we are proactively taking the necessary steps to ensure the public that our facilities continue to be safe. Even though an oil and gas well flowline has not been determined to be the cause of the Firestone incident, in an abundance of caution, GW has inventoried all well gas lines within approximately 250-feet of occupied buildings and identified 61 gas lines within that distance. All 61 of these wells are presently being shut-in. Testing with air pressure will be completed on all 61 lines, and wells will only be brought back into service after passing the pressure test.

On April 29, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association said the industry was taking extensive safety steps after an April 17 house explosion. State regulators said they had not found any evidence of leaks from the well but were still running tests, adding that they did not believe nearby homes were in immediate danger.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the industry, told local media air sampling after the explosion found no traces of escaped gas in the neighborhood, but examinations of soil samples were planned to determine whether the soil had any evidence of a gas leak.

The well closest to the destroyed house was drilled in 1993 and was last inspected in 2014 and received a "satisfactory" rating. The nearby houses, including the one that exploded, were built after the well was drilled.



All the other wells Anadarko is shutting down are about the same age as the one in Firestone. Like the Firestone well, they were drilled vertically instead of using later technology that allows wells to be drilled first vertically and then horizontally to reach distant oil and gas formations.



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All around the world, countries are adopting more flexible workplace policies to address work-life balance.



For instance, Sweden has a six-hour working day trial in the aged care sector, while the Netherlands has introduced a four-day working week.



Why are these policies being implemented?



Theres a wide range of reasons, including productivity benefits, retention strategies and health benefits.



In fact, a recent study from the Australian National University has found the time needed for health and wellbeing is being displaced by working time and time recovering from work.



The researchers interviewed 55 people across four employment sectors, and the majority of those did little to no exercise. Instead, the time was allocated for more work or to recover from work, either alone or with others.



"Unlike physical activity, eating and sleeping could not be ignored, so instead the time spent on them was shortened as much as possible," the report stated.



The report was produced by National Health and Medical Research Council Research School of Population Health senior fellow and associate professor Jane Dixon, and research fellow Lara Corr.



For Corr, the overarching aim of the research was simple: With people working longer hours and more non-standard hours, we wanted to know if they still have time to do these basic health activities that prevent a lot of chronic diseases, she said.



The researchers found that no one was immune from work-related health impacts.



While blue collar workers had in their favour set working hours so they could have more structure in their week, the flipside was not having the opportunity to negotiate with managers to have time off or to ask for flexible hours.



This situation was mirrored for lower level white collar workers. Middle managers got the worst of everything, Corr said.



They got the longer hours that were unpaid overtime, and they werent that flexible because they needed to be on the job and generally were unable to work from home. Senior management were lucky in that they had more autonomy over their working hours, so they could go home for dinner with the family and then go back to work on their laptop at home.



But that also meant they had this work-life bleed, and no one really stopped working; work seeped into the evenings and the weekends.



Of particular note was that evidence indicating productivity declines after 50 hours per week was largely being ignored by senior management.



People are working much more than 50 hours a week and we were surprised there was no discussion around maximum working hours for those senior managers and no protection for them  theyre not necessarily covered by unions necessarily, for example.



There has been significant research into the impact that shift work has on wellbeing  particularly night shift work, but Corr said that even unpredictable shifts can reap havoc on personal schedules.



How do you look after your health when you dont know what hours youll be working? Routines really matter for peoples health  youre much more likely to do exercise if youve got a routine.



As soon as your work hours become non-standard, it just adds a whole other layer of complexity, Corr said.



With the likelihood of Australia adopting a four-day working week or six-hour working days distant at best, what can employers do to improve the situation? Corr recommends that employers review their policies to ensure they are transparent and fair.



She cited the concept of organisational justice, which relates to how fair procedures and policies are  in other words, if one person has access to study leave and another person does not, thats a recipe for tension.



Everyone should know what their rights are and how flexible their workplace can be, when they can get leave, and how many hours their maximum load is, she said.



Employers should also be discussing maximum working hours and job intensity for all workers but especially senior executives.



Its around fairness: checking that people are working reasonable hours and that policies and procedures do everything to ensure that people have the best chance of leaving work without being completely stressed, Corr said.



Globally, Australia is heading to the top of the list in terms of hours work, but Corr said concepts like reduced working weeks or reduced working hours per day are really complex issues that must factor in the vast numbers of underemployed people, and questions around gender stereotypes.



More than anything, the concept of the ideal worker must change. The ideal worker has no care responsibilities, is totally devoted to work and will work all hours. Is that really an ideal worker? The evidence suggests its actually not, said Corr.



And thats very gendered as well. We need to have lots of conversations around status, class and gender and all those big pieces that are wrapped up in working time. When were talking about long-hour workers were still talking about in the majority about male workers. Guess what? Men dont want to be working those long hours either. So its really not good for anyone.
h 67 sites across the country and only 15% of their teams with access to work email, a key challenge for Fitness First was engaging their people through communications and providing access to meaningful L&D.Their solution is called Inspire, a technology initiative that was so impressive it was awarded Best use of Technology at the 2016 Australian HR Awards Inspire is a multi-purpose L&D and communication system which provides the experience of an app, while remaining compatible on different devices such as desktop and tablet.Regardless of whether employees are in an office, club or on-the-go, Inspire provides a single point of access to register complete and track L&D modules and central newsfeed which delivers announcements and real-time updates straight to the palm of their hand.We wanted to combine education and communication into an app to be delivered on mobile devices, said Peter Madden, L&D manager at Fitness First.We wanted people to embrace learning but also take a positive spin on communicating with each other  and make it easy to do so.Fitness Firsts app, Inspire,  which is available to every employee  is comprised of three core components that abide by the companys mantra: be inspired and inspire others.These are:This component includes a host of modules and reporting facilities to keep employees up to date with information relevant to their industry.This includes a video library and additional learning tools for upskilling, as well as specific techniques for training. Discover also comprises the employee intranet, which is accessible on mobile devices.This allows every employee to create a professional Fitness First network. For example, connect has allowed people in New South Wales to share best practice tips with employees in Queensland. This is done by posting through the network and communicating using the internal employee communications system to seek and share inspiration.
RESIDENTS are being asked for their views on Henleys policing priorities.

Thames Valley Police have launched an online survey in which people can rank a number of issues in order of importance, including burglary, antisocial behaviour and protecting vulnerable people.

They can also say whether they would be interested in joining a community focus group to discuss ideas for tackling problems in specific neighbourhoods with police officers.

To take part in the survey, visit http://bit.ly/2nZkE8x
The long-term mistress of Joe O'Reilly has gone back to visit the notorious wife killer in prison, despite ending their 13-year relationship, the Herald can reveal.

Nikki Pelley (47), the woman who has stood by the murderer for the last 10 years while he has been locked up, spent two hours in Dublin's Arbour Hill prison on Saturday.

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O'Reilly has not been coping well with the split.

It is believed the romance was brought to an end after O'Reilly (43) lost his chance of a final appeal against his conviction in November, and Nikki ended things after all hope of him getting out disappeared.

However, these exclusive images, obtained by the Herald, show Pelley continuing to support the depressed killer, who she began seeing before he brutally battered his wife Rachel to death in their Dublin home.

Pelley refused to confirm the status of her relationship with O'Reilly when approached by the Herald.

However, it is understood that she recently informed him that the relationship was over in a letter.

Silence

Sources said that the killer has been keeping himself to himself since the split came to light.

"Joe has been hit badly by it and is spending more time in his cell than out and about," a source said.

"He doesn't have a lot of friends in Arbour Hill to lean on as it is."

Pelley has been a loyal visitor to her former lover since he was jailed for life in 2007 for the murder of his wife in their home in Naul, Co Dublin, on October 4, 2004.

Pelley regularly travelled to Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, where O'Reilly was held until he was transferred to Arbour Hill in 2013.

Her most recent visit appeared to be no different as Pelley parked her black Hyundai car beside the entrance of Arbour Hill prison at around 1.30pm on Saturday.

Waiting there until exactly 2pm, Pelley quickly got out and made her way inside.

Dressed in a blue jacket and carrying a cream leather handbag, she stayed silent when asked about her relationship with O'Reilly.

At 4pm, when visiting hours ended, Pelley came out and briskly walked to her car before driving away.

Again she kept her silence as she made a swift exit.

Pelley and O'Reilly began a secret affair six months before the horrific murder took place.

During the 20-day trial Pelley admitted having a "sexual relationship" with O'Reilly while he was married to Rachel.

"We talked about things. We talked about our future, about being together," she said at the time.

O'Reilly also introduced her to his two children.

She was never a suspect for the crime, although she was twice arrested on suspicion she might have information that could be relevant.

Pelley was asked in court what names O'Reilly would call Rachel. She replied: "'Wasp' would be one of the words."

The court also heard that the wife-killer also referred to Pelley as "my beautiful bride-to-be".

O'Reilly has always denied any involvement in the murder.

However, details of crude emails sent by him revealed how he talked about his "lazy c***" of a wife and how his greatest fear was becoming "Mr Weekend Custody" when he left her for Pelley.

In July 2007, O'Reilly was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife.

The badly beaten body of Rachel O'Reilly was found in the bedroom of her home by her mother. Before he was charged with the murder, Joe had appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show to talk about her death.

Trauma

Rachel died due to blunt-force trauma to the head, inhalation of blood, skull fracture and brain contusion.

O'Reilly later lost an appeal against his conviction and, in May 2015, the Court of Appeal refused his application to have his conviction declared a miscarriage of justice.

Lawyers for O'Reilly then applied to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal that decision.

Among various arguments, it was contended the Court of Appeal paid insufficient regard to O'Reilly's argument he did not sufficiently appreciate, at the time of the trial, the significance of the book of evidence, or any portion of it, being found in the jury room.

However, last November, the Supreme Court refused to permit O'Reilly a further appeal.
The house in Annacotty, Co Limerick, where a woman died

A young woman has tragically lost her life after a fire ripped through the house where she was staying.

The woman, aged in her late 20s, was recovered by firefighters searching inside the property at The Oaks, Riverbank, Annacotty, Co Limerick, shortly before 4am yesterday. She was later pronounced dead.

Gardai are not treating the fire as suspicious and are working on the theory it was an accident.

The three-storey property is being rented to three UL Bohemians rugby players, who were in the house at the time of the blaze along with another woman. Those four all escaped uninjured.

A post-mortem examination was due to be carried out on the victim at University Hospital Limerick last night.

It has been confirmed the woman was American and gardai were attempting to contact her family back home.

The alarm was raised by one of the players who called emergency services at 3.12am.

Two units attached to Limerick City Fire and Rescue Service were at the blaze within minutes of the call-out.

The deceased had been staying over at the property but was not living in the area.

UL Bohemians spokesman Tony Quilty said the players who survived the fire are "devastated", while expressing his sympathies to the family of the deceased.

"My concern now is just for our lads, it was a tragic house fire," said Mr Quilty.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the lady that has tragically died."

Locals in the area yesterday expressed their shock. One man, who was returning from work at the time of the fire, said he saw firefighters battling the blaze.

"I asked if anyone was hurt and they said one woman was - it is very sad to hear," he said.

"I hope the other people in the house are okay, it is really shocking that this has happened."

Shock

Local Fine Gael councillor Marian Hurley visited the scene. She said the community had been rocked by the tragedy.

"We've had a tragedy up the road after a lovely lady in the prime of her life had a stroke a few days ago and her funeral was yesterday and she lived around the corner," she said. "We're a community in shock.

"I want to sympathise with the woman's family and friends. A lovely young person taken in their prime - it's just too much to take," she added.

"People wouldn't necessarily know their neighbours, especially [those] in their 20s. They'd be typically going to work every day, coming back, going to the local park and so on. As yet, we don't know the identity of this poor and unfortunate girl."
Wes Moore makes history as Maryland's next governor

Maryland's 2022 election is history-making with Wes Moore. Only two other Black politicians have ever been elected governor in the U.S.
In my last column, I wrote about chance encounters in odd places. One of them involved my aunt who happened to sit next to a man on a flight from LA to Washington. This was the same man Id just met on-line  a distant cousin  who happened to be researching the same family line.

Life has its random moments, which brings me to April 10 in Iceland, the island in the North Atlantic between Canada, Greenland and Europe. In recent years, Icelandair, WOW and other carriers have marketed Iceland as a stopover, and thousands of us have taken them up on the chance to see volcanoes, glaciers and such.

A prime attraction is the spectacular Blue Lagoon, a geyser-fed pool 30 miles outside Reykjavik. The water stays bathwater warm even when its snowing, which it does a lot in that part of the world. They dont call it Iceland for nothing.

Tym and I were on the first leg of a trip to Scandinavia. The Nordic countries had been on my bucket list since sixth grade. Something about Scandinavia in my geography text attracted me, and not just the pretty sweaters and quaint fishing villages.

Norway seemed like a homey place where I might belong if I were to choose a non-American home other than England and Ireland. At the time I couldnt know I was 12 percent Scandinavian, a fact a DNA test confirmed last year.

On Monday, April 10, jetlagged but determined, I was at the Blue Lagoon, ready to join the fools in bathing suits heading out into the wind and snow. In the crowded corridor I heard my name called. I turned around to see Phil and Barbara Barringer from Hickory.

I didnt think you were one of the Scandinavians, Phil said.

Technically I was, but I didnt point this out.

So here we were, 3,100 miles from home, as the Arctic tern flies.

They were on their way home. We were on my way to Norway and those other places. I said I couldnt get Tym to take a dip in the Blue Lagoon. He has more sense than to go swimming in such foul weather.

We three laughed, and after I turned to head on upstairs to the locker room, I pondered how odd it was to see familiar faces in a random meeting having just written about random meetings. There were hundreds if not thousands of people at the Blue Lagoon that day and that I happened to walk into the corridor at the very moment the Barringers walked out of it.

I wont even consider the odds that you could meet anyone from home in Iceland. The population of 330,000roughly twice the population of Catawba County-- is spread over a land mass larger than the state of Virginia.

Meeting someone  anyone  takes work, especially in a crowded place like the Blue Lagoon, but coincidence can be awfully coincidental.

We read your columns, Barbara said. Ill bet youre going to write about this.

Youre right; I will, I said.

And then it struck me. Last months other column was about me becoming a new parent. I first met Barbara in 1985, right before our son was born. She was our Lamaze instructor.

Tammy Wilson is a writer who lives near Newton. You may contact her at tamra@tamrawilson.com.
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About

Hinduism Today Magazine is a nonprofit educational activity of Himalayan Academy with the following purposes: 1. To foster Hindu solidarity as a unity in diversity among all sects and lineages; 2. To inform and inspire Hindus worldwide and people interested in Hinduism; 3. To dispel myths, illusions and misinformation about Hinduism; 4. To protect, preserve and promote the sacred Vedas and the Hindu religion; 5. To nurture and monitor the ongoing spiritual Hindu renaissance; 6. To publish a resource for Hindu leaders and educators who promote Sanatana Dharma.
When a soldier is beheaded or his body mutilated, the concomitant public outrage forecloses the option of dialogue. Not that talks were about to open between India and Pakistan. Its just that the signal from across the border is that Islamabad, nay Rawalpindi, is mighty pleased with the way things are flaring up on our side of Kashmir.

The anatomy of the latest conflagration on the Line of Control is no different from what has happened in the past: Pakistani troops fired on two Indian forward posts on the LoC while their Border Action Team (BAT) that was a mix of terrorists and army regulars assaulted our patrol between the posts. Bodies of two Indian soldiers killed in action were mutilated by attackers from across the border.

Our troops are capable of and will avenge the assault. But the dastardly adventure lends a peep into the mind of Pakistans army brass euphemistically called the Rawalpindi based General Headquarters. Theyre the one who control Islamabads India policy.

It was no coincidence, therefore, that a day before the May 1 mutilation episode, Pakistans chief of army staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa reaffirmed support for what he called the political struggle of the Kashmiris right to self-determination.

The Generals statement during a visit to the LoC was an unmistakable message to elements in the Valley that the Pakistan army was one with them in their fight against Indias security forces. The brutal, headline-seeking treatment of our soldiers seemed to deliver on that resolve besides triggering in mainland India a clamour for tougher military action against protesting Kashmiri youth with inbuilt risks of accidental, unintended or provoked excesses.

That indeed is the external dimension of the internal security crisis in the Valley. The ostensible Pakistani gameplan is to exacerbate the ongoing unrest in Kashmir towards realising its delusional Mukti Bahini moment in the Valley. Or at least push things to where they were in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

That was the time when Islamabad would lecture New Delhi on building the right climate for bilateral engagement. Propitious climate for talks was actually the phrase it hurled at then Indian foreign secretary J N Dixit at the failed FS-level discussions in the first week of 1994.

India needs to counter-strategise. For now, the Narendra Modi regime isnt inclined to open talks --- internally or bilaterallyuntil terror remains the instrument of state policy of Rawalpindi-Islamabad. The same was unequivocally conveyed to Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti and Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan who saw a role for himself in the multi-lateral approach he advocated on Kashmir.

Television clips of schoolchildren including girls taking to streets against troops had lately prompted saner civil society voices to advocate dialogue to cool things down. Among them was former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha who led a Track-2 initiative in the restive State.

Its that element of sanity the Pakistani atrocity on the LoC has sought to kill by mauling dead soldiers. The beheading of Indian soldiers is another shot in the arm for hawks and a fatal blow for peaceniks. Waging peace looks an impossible idea in our increasingly jingoistic milieu.

The appropriate response our army has promised to avenge Pakistans un-soldierly act might come sooner than later. Given that the talks between Directors General of Military Operation (DGMO) of the two sides havent yielded much, the retributive strike will be par for the course.

When bilateralism fails or is abandoned, retaliation is the answer, not third party arbitration or intervention that Islamabad or the likes of Erdogan are prone to propose. The leader from Turkey is unaware perhaps that India doesnt even recognise the United Nations Military Observers Group on India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) that could have played the referee.

The UMOGIP is allowed a holiday posting presence in India because the UNSC resolutions (39 and 47 of 1948) under which it was constituted havent since been amended.

From the Indian standpoint, the military observers mandate became infructuous post-1971 when the UN brokered ceasefire line became the bilaterally negotiated Line of Control (LoC). That position is strengthened by the letter and spirit of the 1972 Shimla Accord the sum of which is that all pending India-Pakistan disputes will be addressed bilaterally.

Be that as it may, Kashmir looks destined for a long summer of discontentand cross-border attrition. Rawalpindis aggressive posturing could be on the nudging of Beijing that has heightened its stakes in PoK with the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Its unhappy as much with the paradigm change in Indias Balochistan policy and the Modi dispensations refusal to keep the Dalai Lama from visiting Arunachal.

vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar today said that government should set up mobile toilets every five hundred metres or at least one km across Maharashtra.

Kolhapur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, State Revenue and PWD Minister Chandrakant Patil and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar after inauguration of Nation's second tallest flag on the occasion of Maharashtra Day in Kolhapur on Monday. (PTI)

Speaking at `Transform Maharashtra event, he said, Government should plan (putting up) mobile toilets every 500 meters or one km across the state. It will support cleanliness. It should be supported with an app to locate it (the nearest mobile toilet).

Women in rural areas face a lot of difficulties as there are hardly any public toilets in villages, the actor said.

Akshay Kumar and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis at Transform Maharashtra Innovative Exhibition in Mumbai on May 1. (IANS)

Akshay, whose upcoming film, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, deals with the issue of lack of toilets, cited a dialogue from the film: Agar biwi chahiye paas, toh ghar me chahiye Sandaas (if you want the wife to stay with you, ensure you have toilet at home).

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the event.

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Having ruled the silver screen for around two decades as the quintessential girl-next-door in a series of hits, veteran actress Asha Parekh today rues the fact that Hindi films have lost touch with Indian culture.

The 74-year-old yesteryear star of hits like Kati Patang, Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke and Caravan says even the songs and dance sequences lack the cultural influence unlike the films of the past. Technically, we have become superior and can compete with any Hollywood film. But the only sad part is that we have become too westernised. Hindi films have lost touch with the Indian culture. Even Bollywood dance sequences lack the impression of our Indian dances. It is dying, which is disheartening. The music and the lyrics today are so different. There are some songs which are nice, but the rest of the music is not something which will be memorable, said Parekh.

Asha Parekha says she does not like the concept of remixes but is fine with remakes, provided they are done tastefully. I dont like the whole culture of remixes. My song Kanta Laga was ruined. I dont like this at all. But I am fine with remakes if they are nicely made.

Parekh, who enjoyed stardom in the 60s and 70s is all praise for todays generation of actors, who are willing to take risks. I give full credit to actors today for choosing tough roles. They work really hard and it is commendable how they deal with the paparazzi. I cant imagine myself doing all this and dealing with the social media and tabloid culture, she says.

She may have been involved with organisations working for the industry insiders, but she has no plans to get back into films. I have always been involved with lot of things related to the film industry but I dont want to make films. I want an easy life. I am involved with a lot of social work. I have worked too hard and now is the time to enjoy, she says.

Parekh, recently launched her autobiography The Hit Girl, and the actor says it was not difficult for her to share her life story with the world. Opening up was not difficult. But certain memories were painful and I never talked about them. In this book, the good and the bad come together. I wanted people to know more about me as they thought I am just a good actress. There is much more to me than being an actress.

The book is penned by journalist-writer Khalid Mohamed and superstar Salman Khan has written the foreword while another superstar, Aamir Khan, launched the book in Delhi.
Its no secret that Varun Dhawan will soon be seen playing a double role in his father David Dhawans next, Judwaa 2, a sequel to his 1997 hit Judwaa, which starred Salman Khan.

The actor says that his father encouraged him to watch films that had actors playing double roles, and while doing that, he saw director-writer Gulzars classic, Angoor (1982). Apparently, Varun was so impressed with the movie that he wants to meet Gulzar soon.

Varun Dhawan wants to meet Gulzar and discuss his hit film, Angoor.

I have been watching films that have double roles, and so, I recently saw Angoor. In fact, I have seen it twice. Now, I want to meet Gulzar saab and ask him about the film and what it was like to direct Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Varma. I want to ask him about the whole set-up, and what they were thinking of when they were making it. Itd be interesting to know the thought behind every great scene in the film, says Varun.

The late actors, Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Varma starred in the cult hit, Angoor.

Varun also feels there are many small things in the film that make it extremely funny. He says, It would be very interesting to know how they gave birth to those ideas, and, more interestingly, how they got those ideas in the first place, says the actor.

@jacquelinef143 joins the team on a freezing day. My second film with jacky and now our team is complete. Miss you @taapsee cyu soon. Hopefully you will enjoy the mad jodi A post shared by Varun Dhawan (@varundvn) on May 1, 2017 at 3:30pm PDT

Varuns last film, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, made it to the Rs 100-crore club. Ask him if he is competitive by nature, and the actor says, There is nothing wrong with that. I am very interested to see what good films are coming up. This year, too, some really nice and entertaining films are up for release. So, I am looking forward to them.

Lemme serve you a cup of whoop ass A post shared by Varun Dhawan (@varundvn) on Apr 29, 2017 at 4:41am PDT

Varun, says that as the audience, he is looking forward to watch Sanjay Dutts biopic, Salman Khans Tubelight, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, as well as Hindi Medium, Meri Pyaari Bindu and Half Girlfriend. These films are looking really cool, he says.

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Even before she became an actor, Athiya Shetty was actively involved with a childrens welfare organisation that her mother, Mana Shetty, has been associated with as well. At the age of 10, she began visiting the organisation to help children with special needs. Now, HT Cafe has learnt that the young actor has planned a trip to an amusement park with the kids.

A source says, Athiya loves spending time with the children at the organisation and is often spotted helping them with their studies. The kids love her, too, as she always spoils them with small gifts and interesting stories. This time, however, she decided to take them out for a picnic to an amusement park. Though Athiya is currently shooting in Mumbai, she has taken the next weekend off to take the kids out. Mana will also be accompanying them.

Talking about it, Athiya says, My mom has been running the organisation for a really long time now. The most important things that children want from you are your time and love. Whenever I am off work, I try and spend as much time with them as possible. I also help my mum with various other aspects like taking care of their education and well-being.

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Satyajit Ray and Chetan Anandboth were Indian cinemas golden heroes who won accolades at the coveted Cannes Film Festival. Pather Panchali [directed by Satyajit Ray] won the Best Human Document in Cannes in 1955. Neechanagar [directed by Chetan Anand] won the Grand Prize jointly with David Leans Brief Encounters in 1946.

There was a rare creative connect between these filmmakers. Satyajit Ray was deeply impressed viewing Neechanagar. He, along with Kamal Kumar Majumdar and Chidananda Das Gupta, personally wrote to Chetan Anand [in 1948] to address an elite gathering of film enthusiasts regarding the creation of Neechanagar at a film club of Kolkata.

The shy, introvert Chetan Anand politely refused stating he was not at all the right choice to speak to the congregation at the film club of Kolkata. Ray was initially hurt. However, in exchange of letters, Anand was able to convince Ray about his mental standing.

Both truly admired each others creativity. Ray was influenced by Anands courage to introduce Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan as composers in Neechanagar and Aandhiyan [1952]. He was influenced and opted for the duo to score for his Apu Trilogy, Paraspathar and Devi. Anand wept in joy watching Devi.

In 1964, when Anand was at the Oberoi Grand, Kolkata to receive the Bengal Film Journalists Award for Hakeekat, he came across Ray. Charulata [1964] then was the most applauded Indian film. As the two stalwarts shook hands, Ray pointed out that Hakeekat had strong visuals, excellent music but no story. Anand replied Hakeekat was a mosaic, not a story. Both then burst into laughter.

After Ray received the Bharat Ratna, Anand sent him a congratulatory message. So touched was he that Ray wished Anand best of creativity, recalled his important films and said he was certainly better than so called art filmmakers.

Anands last message to Satyajit Ray after winning the Lifetimes Oscar was, Congratulations galore.

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Neerja was a career-defining role for Sonam Kapoor and the actress says being recognised by the National Film Awards jury for her work in the movie is sweet and encouraging.

The Ram Madhvani-directed biopic on Neerja Bhanot was adjudged as the best Hindi film while Sonam received a special mention. My mother (Sunita) told me that I had received a special mention and I found it sweet and encouraging. I was like is it a consolation award? She told me to speak to Anupam Kher uncle as he received it for Daddy. I spoke to Shabana (Azmi) aunty as well about it, said Sonam.

Sonam will be with her parents in the capital tomorrow to receive the special honour. I am very excited about it. It is such a matter of pride that my parents will be there with me. I dont know how to describe it in words but it is definitely the most special feeling. There is a lot of pressure from now on as an actor, she says.

The 31-year-old says she did not do the film for awards but is happy that the story on Neerjas life was recognised. I dont think I did Neerja for rewards. The whole film signifies the idea of human compassion, kindness and strength especially in this day and age when there is so much competition around and it is about survival of the fittest. It is so important that a film like Neerja gets an honour like this. It is really great.

Sonam, however, is not nervous as she already had a rehearsal of sorts in 2007 when she accepted the National Award on her fathers behalf. My father has won two national awards -- for Pukar and Gandhi My Father, which he produced. He was in South Africa and I was shooting for Aisha in Delhi. Nobody could get in touch with him so my uncle told them that I will receive the award on his behalf, she says.

Sonam will next be seen in R Balkis Padman and Rajkumar Hiranis biopic on Sanjay Dutt.
Actor Tiger Shroff, who has performed daredevil stunts in his films, and has even played a superhero in A Flying Jatt (2016), says that since childhood, he was fascinated with dancing, flying and other super human qualities possessed by fictional characters.

As a child, I was highly influenced by Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee. I wanted to be a super human, who would fly around to save people, and fight for them. That made me feel like Im someone big. When I do these action scenes now, the reaction gives me a high, says Tiger.

Tiger Shroff, known for his dancing skills and martial art prowess that he has demonstrated in his films such as Heropanti (2014) and Baaghi (2016), wants to open a dance and martial arts institute for children.

Ive been getting a lot of requests from fans and families asking from where Ive learnt martial arts. This made me think, why not open a school for them! Nowadays, kids are busy fiddling with mobiles. An institute can give them a different kind of motivation. Though on-screen I play the tough action hero, in real life, Im a child at heart, adds Tiger.

Meanwhile, the actor, who will be seen next in Sabbir Khans Munna Michael, a film where he pays tribute to his childhood hero, Michael Jackson, is on an endorsement spree. The 27-year-old has signed up with three brands in a span of 20 days. The Heropanti actor is the brand ambassador for a leading cosmetic brand, has signed a deal with a kids channel and soon will be associated with a clothing line.

However, Tiger says that its important that the brands he signs have a personal connect. For me, brand endorsements are not just a commercial activity. Im associated with them, as they are an extension of what I personally stand for. The apparel brand that I endorse talks about flexibility and a material, which makes you feel better and being into dance and martial arts, I can totally relate to it. Then theres a kids channel that I promote because children are my target audience, says Tiger, son of veteran actor Jackie Shroff.

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Kasem bin Abubakar was told nobody would buy his chaste romance novels about devout young Muslims finding love within the strict moral confines of Bangladeshi society.

And yet his tales of lovers whispering sweet nothings between calls to prayer sold millions in the 1980s and proved to be a huge hit among young girls from Bangladeshs rural, conservative heartland.

Now his work is undergoing something of a renaissance as Bangladesh slides from the moderate Islam worshipped for generations to a more conservative interpretation of the scriptures.

Girls write me love letters with ink dipped in their own blood. Some were desperate to marry me Abubakar told AFP, recounting his surprise at young women making a traditional gesture of intense devotion to a greying author.

His debut novel Futonto Golap (The Blossomed Rose), written more than three decades ago, has spawned an entire genre of fiction tinged with Islamic values.

Abubakar was inspired to take up the pen in the late 1970s, when as a bookseller he lamented that most novels were obsessed with the cosmopolitan lifestyles of modern, elite Bangladeshis. These secular tales were a world removed from the largely rural and pious village existence lived by the majority of Bangladeshs 160 million people, and Abubakar sensed a gap in the market ripe for his fiction.

Mullah novels dont sell

He tapped into a new readership that nobody thought existed before, said Bangladeshi journalist Qadaruddin Shishir.

In rural villages, Abubakars novels are the best gift a young lover can give to his fiancee.

Abubakar wrote The Blossomed Rose  a story about two mismatched young Muslims seeking consent for marriage from their families  in 1978, but it took almost a decade for a publisher to even look at it.

They told me mullah novels dont sell, he said.

Eventually, he sold the copyright to a publisher for a mere 1,000 Taka (USD$12.50), and became an overnight sensation.

Since his breakthrough, Abubakar has written dozens of works, most revolving around the mosque, veiled women and wayward youth abandoning so-called corrupt lifestyles after finding religion.

Secular activists fear creeping conservatism could unwind many of the gains made by the impoverished nation in improving school attendance and gender equality.

An ever-increasing number of students attend madrassas, or religious boarding schools, in Bangladesh, where Abubakars books have found become a favourite, said fellow author Syed Mazharul Parvez.

They can relate to these stories and are comfortable with the settings and language their protagonists speak, he said.

Inspiring new writers

Abubakar has inspired a new generation of Bangladeshi writers who are finding success with their own contemporary brand of Islamic fiction.

Popular writers like Abdus Salam Mitul, Kawser Ahmed and Abdul Alim ecohed Abubakar in their own tales of piety, conservative attitudes and decency, said Abubakars son Mohammad Saifullah, a Dhaka-based publisher.

Mitul in particular shot to fame in the 2000s with his own story about a burqa-clad girl reminiscent of Abubakars breakthrough The Blossomed Rose.

I think a lot of people still think it was written by my father. But it was Mituls work and it sold tens of thousands of copies, Saifullah said.

Aspiring author Abdul Alim said Abubakars works had motivated his own plotlines  moral tales that in the end showed Islam has answers for societys ills.

He is such a talented story teller. He showed us the way, Alim said of Abubakar.

For Abubakar, his fans keep him busy even two years into retirement. At a bookstore recently, the octogenarian signed autographs for his readers, many women in full-face veils clutching his titles.

The fan mail keeps the postman busy, too. Apart from the marriage proposals and overtures of love, Abubakar has received confessions from corrupt bureaucrats thanking him for steering them down the honest path, he said.

Everyday the postman would arrive with hundreds of letters. He became a permanent member of our family, Abubakar said.

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Patanjali Ayurveda, the Haridwar-based Ayurveda firm promoted by yoga guru Ramdev, has developed a new variety of wheat seed and chilly in a bid to shore up its image after a couple of its products, including amla juice, failed to clear a laboratory test.

Patanjali, which made Rs 5,000 crore in revenue in 2015-16, and is eying Rs 1 trillion in the next one decade, has come up with a sprawling 10-acre research centre in Haridwar. The Patanjali Research Institute that was opened with an initial investment of Rs 200 crore will focus on inventing result orientated Ayurveda medicines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the centre during his Uttarakhand visit on Wednesday.

The yoga guru has claimed researchers have developed a new variety of wheat seed that can fetch up to 28 quintals in one acre of land and also a home-grown chilly that can fetch up to 47 quintals in an acre.

Patanjali agro scientists have developed advanced variety of high yielding wheat grain (named Patanjali Chamatkar) without using chemicals (sic), Ramdev tweeted.

Patanjali agro scientists have proved time and again that, high yielding and high quality produce can be obtained without chemicals (sic) he added.

Patanjali Chamatkar or miracle got a much-needed fillip from Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh who said it was an excellent use of swadeshi.

Patanjali that started in 2006 to sell traditional Ayurvedic potions has expanded into personal care, home products, cosmetic creams, noodles, and more in last few years. It sells everything from detergent to cornflakes and hair oil under its own name.

A person privy to the developments in the firm said Ramdev intends to focus on two core areas  Ayurveda and agro business. Ramdev is focusing on strengthening the research wing of the company in a bid to revamp its brand image, which has taken a beating in the last one year.

Many of its products have been getting adverse feedback from consumers and retailers, prompting the company to form two internal committees earlier this year to address the problem. The company also faced the ire of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for misbranding.

Last month, Canteen Stores Department (CSD), the retailing entity selling consumer goods to the armed forces, suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjalis amla juice after it failed the test carried out at West Bengal Public Health Laboratory in Kolkata. Defence ministry sources said a show cause notice has been served on the company.

The Ayurveda firm, however, blamed a department of the Uttarakhand government for the fiasco.

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Greece and its foreign creditors reached a deal early on Tuesday on a package of bailout-mandated reforms, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said, paving the way for the disbursement of further rescue funds.

There was white smoke, Tsakalotos told reporters, using a term associated with papal elections.

The negotiations for a technical deal were concluded on all issues... the way has now been paved for debt relief talks.

Talks on the deal, which includes labour and energy reforms as well as pension cuts and tax rises, had dragged on for half a year mainly due to a rift between the European Union and the International Monetary Fund over fiscal targets.

Greece now needs to legislate the new measures before euro zone finance ministers approve the disbursement of loans, money Athens needs to repay 7.5 billion euros in debt maturing in July. The next scheduled Eurogroup meeting is on May 22, where reducing Greeces debt will also be discussed.

As part of the reforms, Athens has promised to cut pensions in 2019 and cut the tax-free threshold in 2020 to produce savings worth 2% of gross domestic product.

If it outperforms its targets it will be allowed to activate a set of measures offsetting the impact of the additional austerity, which includes mainly lowering taxes.

Following Tuesdays agreement, the lenders are likely to decide amongst themselves on Greeces medium-term primary surplus targets, a key element for granting further debt relief.

The IMF says Greece cannot maintain high primary surpluses unless it adopts more austerity and is granted further debt relief by the EU.

In a draft document seen by Reuters, the Fund says Greece can reach a primary surplus of 2.2% in 2018 and aim at 3.5% annually in 2019-2021, if it implements the new measures agreed with its lenders. It suggests the primary surplus target be reduced to 1.5% of GDP thereafter.

Its euro zone lenders believe Greece has sustain a 3.5% GDP primary surplus target over a longer period.
The administrator of a WhatsApp group in Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district was arrested for adding a person known to have posted a morphed photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the group, police said.

The administrator was later released on bail.

Krishna Naik (30), an autorickshaw driver who is the administrator of the group The Balse Boys from Doddabalse village in Bhatkal was arrested on April 30. However, it was another member of the group, Ganesh Naik, who posted the pictures on April 14.

On April 15, Anand Naik, yet another member of the group took objection to the post and lodged a complaint with the police and Ganesh Naik was subsequently arrested and charged under sections 66 and 67 of the Information Technology Act. He was released on bail by a court in Bhatkal a day later.

However, it came to our attention that Krishna Naik had added Ganesh back into the group after the latter left the group. We decided to make him a party to the case because he added a known offender back into the group, said Suresh Nayak, police inspector of Bhatkal circle.

Krishna Naik was arrested on Sunday. He was produced before a court in Karwar on Tuesday which granted him bail.

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Hence, the most common complaint against our current system  the Board exam is a poor measure of ability.

"In India, we essentially have a world-class filtration system in place of an education system," said Kartik Muralidharan, associate professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego. Muralidharan explained that as the screening functions of one test  like the Board exam  erodes, the system introduces fresh hurdles in the form of new tests  to get into an IIT, or AIIMS, or the civil services.

"Ultimately when you arrive at the top 0.1% of a billion-strong distribution, you are bound to find some very talented people," Muralidharan added.

This microscopic elite  such as the Indian engineers in Silicon Valley  are then held up as a vindication of the whole system.

Next year's board exams have already taken over Nikki Chandrashekhar's life. Listen in as she shares her fears and dreams.

In Nikki's school in Sangam Vihar, where an understaffed teacher corps struggles to educate 5700 girls packed 90-to-a-classroom, the 'student-filtration system' starts early, and then works overtime.

"We focus on those who may fail, and those who can come first. For everyone else, we urge the girls to seek us out whenever they can," Nasreen Bano, teacher.

Bano, who teaches political science, says she spotted Nikki in class 11, when she realised that the student was brilliant but was struggling to write clearly. "Fix your spellings I told her, and brush up your writing."

Nikki comes from a family of non-readers and juggles her studies with housework: her father is awaiting a kidney transplant while her mother and elder sister work twelve hours a day at a cloth-mill in Okhla, snipping stray threads from denim jeans meant for export.

For her, attention from a teacher like Bano was transformative. Nikki took to dropping by the staffroom to sit with Bano whenever she had a free period. By the end of the year, Nikki topped her class 11 exams.

Who would you help?

"If you want to make it out of a government school, make sure you get into class 11 A, B, or C," said Priyanka Rai, a former student and school topper, who graduated with 95.6% marks.

These three sections are comprised of students who scored very well in class 10 grades, which means class sizes are smaller, which means, "you get a bench to sit on."

Once you have a bench, Rai said, you can turn your attention to more important things like listening to the lesson and asking questions.

With an average of 90 girls in each classroom, most students sit cross-legged on the floor.

This year, 12A and B have 45 students between them, 12C has another 55; 12D has 93 girls crammed into the same space  while some sit on a single row of benches on either side of the class; most of the girls sit cross-legged on a dusty rug spread.

"The girls in A, B, and C will be able to speak to their teacher," Rai said, "Their teacher will have time to check their notebooks, to clear their doubts. Everyone else will have a disadvantage even before they give their exam."

The girls who do well garner a disproportionate amount of school resources, while the girls who struggle are left behind. Rai said the pattern was established as early as class 6. "Teachers decide, this child studies, this child doesn't study."

"Teachers are human too," said a Hindi teacher. "Maybe, we subconsciously focus on the children who we think are more interested in studies."

There are 1,500 girls in class 9, the teacher pointed out, the sections run from A to N.

Who do you help  the girl who might just become an IAS officer, or the one who definitely won't? - Hindi teacher, Sangam Vihar.

But can you foretell the future of a teenage girl?

Nikki epitomises this dilemma: she was struggling, but when she received special attention, she topped the school. Imagine if she had received more help earlier. Or on the flip-side, what if her school had given up on her too early?

Nikki at home with her neighbour and Chandrashekhar, her father.

This conundrum is pivotal to the success of a new policy enacted by the Delhi government. A programme called, Chunauti 2018, will group middle-school children at similar learning stages in the same section. But, will the schools ensure that struggling children receive more attention, as the government insists, or will they now have an excuse to label them as "poor learners" and write them off?

"Ultimately it depends on whether we have enough teachers," said a school official, pointing out that the school was functioning at 75 percent of its sanctioned teaching staff. "We are short by 50 teachers. If I push all my teachers one way, what happens to everyone else?"

Teaching to the test

If a teacher has 90 girls in her class and wants them all to pass, she needs to get creative. As a first step, she condenses her syllabus down into its smallest scoreable components using the "marking scheme" distributed by the CBSE.

This "marking scheme", the preface of which urges both students and teachers to read it carefully, lays out exactly how every answer to every question of every subject in a board exam must be marked.

"CBSE gives marks for steps. They give marks for format," an accounts teacher told her class one morning. "Even if you don't know the answer, at least do the steps and stick to the format." In some cases, the teacher reminded the students, the final answer is worth only half a mark.

The results aren't pretty, but for students like Nikki, the system offers a certain ruthless clarity. Like a batsman chasing a high score, the trick is to keep the scoreboard ticking on the tough questions, and hit the easy ones for the maximum. Do well, and you get a pass out of Sangam Vihar to the world that lies beyond.

In classes as large as these, students struggle to get the teacher's attention.

Muralidharan, the economist, agrees that the emphasis on examinations is twisting India's schooling system out of shape. "But if you completely take away exams, the elites will find different ways of signalling," he said.

For now, the view from Nikki's school is not unlike the engine room of a listing ship. The waves crash against its hull, sometimes the rudder doesn't work, the lifeboats are leaky, but the crew is determined, and somehow the vessel floats on.

"Don't panic, I will give you a mantra," said a history teacher to reassure a nervous humanities class, "There are three 8-mark questions where you simply have to read a passage, and give the answer. That's 28 marks where the answer is in the question paper itself."

Then, there is a map for five marks.

"So let's learn the map today and we'll have 33 percent." And the result pleases her.

"That's it. We've all passed; now we have the rest of year to do the course."
In what could be a suspected case of suicide, three members of a family hailing from Dehradun were found dead in a gas-filled car at Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh, approximately 50 kilometres from Dehradun, on Tuesday morning.

The deceased  identified as Raminder Kaur (65), Jasbir Singh Randhawa (35) and Inderjit Kaur (25)  were residents of Vasant Vihar colony in Dehradun. Jasbir and Inderjit were Raminders son and daughter.

Sirmaur superintendent of police (SP) Soumya Sambasivan said bodies of the deceased had been sent for postmortem.

The deceased have been identified. They were from Dehradun and arrived in Paonta Sahib early Tuesday morning, she said.

The actual cause of death will be ascertained only after postmortem reports come, she added.

The police have not found any suicide note from the vehicle. They were not carrying any luggage either, the police added.

However, forensic experts and doctors are of the view that the trio seemingly died during their sleep by inhaling some gas.

According to the parking staff, the vehicle entered the area around 4:00am and when asked to pay the car parking fee, Randhawa replied that he will pay it later.

The parking staff checked the vehicle in the morning and found the three asleep in the car. When an attendant knocked on the door, there was no response. The parking staff then called the police.

The police opened the car and found the three dead. It was also found that all sources of ventilation in the car were closed.

The police also found a gas cylinder. The cylinder has been sent to the forensic lab for investigation, one police officer said.

Dehradun SSP Sweety Agarwal said the scene of crime happened in Himachal Pradesh but they were keeping an eye.

Sources said the family, which originally hails from Punjab, was living in Dehradun since the last couple of years and was apparently under financial stress. They had sold a cottage at Lal Tappad near Dehradun and had shifted to Vasant Vihar, an upscale locality in Uttarakhands capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Uttarakhand Wednesday where he would inaugurate the research centre of yoga guru Ramdevs Patanjali Ayurveda, which claims to have developed a new variety of wheat seed and chilli with record high yield.

The Haridwar-based Ayurveda firm, which is looking to shore up its image after a couple of its products, including amla juice, failed to clear a laboratory test, has come up with a sprawling 10-acre research centre in Haridwar.

The yoga guru has claimed that researchers have developed a new variety of wheat seed that can fetch up to 28 quintals in one acre of land and also a home-grown chilly that can fetch up to 47 quintals in an acre.

Patanjali agro scientists have developed advanced variety of high yielding wheat grain (named Patanjali Chamatkar) without using chemicals (sic), Ramdev tweeted.

Patanjali agro scientists have proved time and again that, high yielding and high quality produce can be obtained without chemicals (sic) he added.

WH 1105, a variety developed by Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, several years ago also claims to yield 28 quintals per acre.

The Goa-based ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute puts yield of fresh green chilli at 10-15 tonnes per hectare. One hectare is approximately 2.5 acres.

Patanjali Chamatkar or miracle got a much-needed fillip from Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh who said it was an excellent use of swadeshi.

Patanjali that started in 2006 to sell traditional Ayurvedic potions has expanded into personal care, home products, cosmetic creams, noodles, and more in last few years. It sells everything from detergent to cornflakes and hair oil under its own name.

A person privy to the developments in the firm said Ramdev intends to focus on two core areas  Ayurveda and agro business. Ramdev is focusing on strengthening the research wing of the company in a bid to revamp its brand image, which has taken a beating in the last one year.

Many of its products have been getting adverse feedback from consumers and retailers, prompting the company to form two internal committees earlier this year to address the problem. The company also faced the ire of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for misbranding.

Last month, Canteen Stores Department (CSD), the retailing entity selling consumer goods to the armed forces, suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjalis amla juice after it failed the test carried out at West Bengal Public Health Laboratory in Kolkata. Defence ministry sources said a show cause notice has been served on the company.

The Ayurveda firm, however, blamed a department of the Uttarakhand government for the fiasco.

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From an average of 200 sorties per day in 2015 to 300 sorties per day the next year, the chopper services on Kedarnath route remained unregulated and unchecked, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) report has said.

The report by the Dehradun-based WII, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment Forest (MoEF), has recommended to the government to shift the Sersi helipad as the noise from the low flying choppers was disturbing the fauna of the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary.

Hearing a plea that cited the HT report on the WII recommendation, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on April 25 issued notices to MoEF, Uttarakhand government and the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). The plea, among others, sought directions to execute the NGTs December 10, 2015 order, wherein the green panel had asked the state government to frame an aviation policy with specific reference to the sanctuary in relation to the height and level of noise that the helicopters should be permitted to generate.

The helipad at the centre of it

The Sersi helipad is situated close to the Sanctuary and is nearly 12 kms from the Kedarnath shrine. To avoid a 16-km trek to the shrine, pilgrims opt for the chopper services. Eleven companies were given the license to operate choppers in Kedarnath and had together reported average of 200 sorties per day (6000 per month) in May 2015 -- when the portals to the shrine were opened. In 2016, two more companies got the license to operate on the route and sorties increased to 300 per day in the month of May.

An investigation by the Hindustan Times found out that only one firm --- Himalayan Heli Services --- was operating choppers from Sersi helipad, near Mandakini Valley. The company in 2015, as per the WII report, did 30 sorties per day in May, 20 in June, 7 in September, 20 in October and 19 in November.

The WII survey found choppers flying at an altitude of 150 mt, instead of the minimum 600mt set by the central government. Centre has allowed the states to fix the altitude for copters, but, sources said, the Uttarakhand government is yet to do it.

The low flying choppers also violate the noise level earmarked by the Uttarakhand high court in protected areas --- 50 decibels during day and 40 decibels during night. Supreme Court has sealed noise level at 65 decibels for human habitation. The sensitive terrains of Kedarnath valley, which bore the brunt of the 2013 flashfloods that killed over 5000 people, reported noise levels between 70 - 80 decibels, says the report.

How they cut corners to save cost

This particular helipad was doing more sorties as it is closest to the shrine. Other helipads were dependent on weather condition. The flight duration being very short, the choppers from this helipad flew at low altitude as it was fuel efficient, an expert told Hindustan Times.

Prahlad Singh, manager at Himalayan Heli Services, accepted as much. We did go for low altitude flights initially, which was fuel efficient. Now, we are taking pilgrims over the mountains, which is not cost effective. But we have started doing that, he said.

Earlier, the Doaba Paryavaran Samiti had in 2015 filed a petition before the NGT urging it to declare the area around the Kedarnath sanctuary as eco-sensitive zone. It also prayed for setting the minimum altitude for flying choppers. The Uttarakhand government failed to take steps in this regard, following which environment activist Kavita Ashok filed a petition this year. The WII submitted its interim measure report to the government this month.

The initial petition was filed so that an eco sensitive zone could be declared around the sanctuary and a flying limit could be set by the government. But, nothing was done in this regard. Now that the NGT has issued notice to the government, I am sure they will have to take substantial steps to check low-flying choppers, which has resulted in noise pollution, Gaurav Kumar Bansal, the counsel for Kavita Ashok, told HT.

GPS check on choppers

The Uttarakhand civil aviation department has taken up the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) recommendations and would now keep a close watch on the chopper service in the Kedarnath Valley. We have taken cognizance of WII report. The operator of Sersi helipad has been asked to take a longer route to avoid low flying. This would be checked through GPS. We have also sought audiometers from the WII that will be used at three places in Kedarnath Valley for regular monitoring of noise levels. We wil ensure that the noise levels are not more than 50 decibels, as suggested by interim report, said R Rajesh Kumar, additional secretary, civil aviation department.

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DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Bill, paving the way for a simplified taxation system in the interest of traders and government.

The Centre plans to launch the Goods and Services Tax in the country on July 1. Uttarakhand is the fifth state to pass the SGST Bill after Telangana, Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand state, finance minister Prakash Pant told HT on the sidelines of the assembly session.

The Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government had convened a special two-day session of the assembly for the purpose.

Pant moved the SGST Bill in the House for ratification. Initiating the debate, he said the Bill proposes unification of various taxes imposed by the Centre and the state. The proposed law will pave the way for setting up of a common national market, Pant said, adding that the proposed law would lessen the burden of indirect taxes on traders.

The SGST regime would benefit the state as it is a destination based taxation regime, Pant said. That means the state to which goods and services are supplied will be legally empowered to charge taxes. It is unlike the earlier taxation system under which all tax benefits would go to the state from where goods and services were supplied.

Pant said taxation system would be simplified as some 17 indirect taxes shall be subsumed in SGST. That means, for traders, paying their returns will be a hassle-free experience as theyll be able to file all types of indirect taxes through single window, he said, adding that both the Centre and the states would be empowered to impose their taxes.

It (GST regime) also encourages a uniform taxation system, which will boost trade, he said, asserting that GST is a kind of system that benefits both traders and the government. This regime will reduce the burden of taxes on traders whereas the government will benefit in terms of tax revenue.

The SGST regime allows the state to impose taxes on six goods, including alcohol and petroleum products, he said.

Leader of the Opposition Indira Hridayesh concurred that the SGST regime would benefit Uttarakhand as it was a consumer state. But she warned the benefit would accrue to the state only till 17% annual growth was maintained. We were included in the GST regime because we were able to register a 17% annual growth in the last fiscal, she added.

Congress legislator Qazi Nizamuddin said the government would have to ensure that taxes paid by industrial investors under the tax holiday scheme were reimbursed. That is necessary because the Centres track record of reimbursing industrial investors has been abysmal.

The Opposition members also expressed the fear about the implementation of the SGST regime as it was a sophisticated system requiring online operations.

Pant sought to allay the doubts saying all reimbursements would be paid to industrial investors online. Besides, we are developing a system where traders will be trained to pay their taxes online. He added that in case traders face any problem, they could take up their issues with the GST Council.

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A day after two brothers were arrested for allegedly breaking into the house of Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and assaulted his staff shortly after midnight on Sunday, the Delhi Police have charged them with rioting and attempt to commit culpable homicide.

In addition to this, five more people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the case that is now being probed from a conspiracy angle. With this the total number of people arrested so far in the case has reached seven. Senior police officers claimed that four to five suspects are still absconding.

After the initial probe, police had claimed that the assault on Tiwaris staff and attack on his house was in retaliation to a road rage dispute. However, they later shifted their probe to the possibility of a conspiracy against the parliamentarian after examining the CCTV footage.

A Delhi Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI), who was seen in the video footage accompanying the attackers into Tiwaris house, was suspended on Tuesday.

The five arrested on Tuesday were identified as Jagdish Kumar, who claimed to be a cook at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, his cousin Sunil Kumar, and three associates Parshu Ram, Pradeep, and Om Prakash. Jagdish is the brother of Jai Kumar and Jaswant, who were arrested from the crime scene.

Ironically, Jagdish was present at the North Avenue police station along with his associates throughout the day on Monday and even met the police officials but was not arrested.

Braja Kishore Singh, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi), said that the five were arrested after their investigating team scanned the video footage and identified the attackers. Those arrested on Monday were caught from the crime scene. We nabbed five more after we identified them through the CCTV footage in which they were seen carrying laathis and rods and breaking into the MPs house, said the DCP. The police have also seized a tempo, two motorcycles and a car in which the attackers arrived.

Around 1am on Monday, Tiwaris driver, while driving a Scorpio, allegedly hit the WagonR car being driven by Jai Kumar some 10 metres from the MPs residence. The WagonR car overturned and the driver was injured. Tiwari was not inside the car at the time.

An argument broke out between the occupants of the two cars. Tiwaris men left the scene and went inside the MPs house. Jai Kumar called his family members and associates. Together, they entered the house.

They assaulted Tiwaris personal assistant Abhinav and cook Ashok Pathak. The attackers allegedly ransacked Tiwaris office and bedroom, said police.

On Tuesday, a team of the special cell on Tuesday visited Tiwaris house to evaluate the risk the parliamentarian has after the Sundays attack. The vulnerability analysis on Tiwari was conducted after he wrote a letter to the Delhi Police commissioner and asked for security enhancement, said a police officer.

I have been seeking security upgrade for long. After the early Sunday morning incident, a letter has again been written to the Delhi Police asking for security enhancement at my residence after reviewing threat perception, said Tiwari, president, Delhi BJP. Sources say Tiwaris present X-category security may be upgraded to Z-category.
After a core committee of the Choice Based Credit System at Delhi Universitys English department proposed introduction of Chetan Bhagats Five Point Someone and Facebook post writing under the English Generic Elective course, a group of teachers have written to the head of the department to hold a meeting on the changes proposed in the syllabus.

The letter, signed by 124 English teachers, to Christel R Devadawson, states, wittingly or unwittingly, there is a serious participatory deficit in the process that finalised the proposed syllabus. The letter was written on April 27.

We are told that 29-32 people participated in the process, how it was chosen and constituted we are not aware. Our point is only that the constitution process should have been open. Teachers from 63 colleges want to contribute to this process, said Sachin Nirmala Narayanan, an English teacher who wrote the letter to the head.

Citing the route taken by other department like history, where a general body meeting with teachers was held and sub committees constituted for each paper, teachers want the department to adopt a more democratic process.

The letter states that out of the 800 teachers, only 30 of them were taken into loop and the changes proposed. We acknowledge and appreciate the hard work put in by the colleagues who were part of this exercise but there is a greater need to expand on their work, said the letter.

The letter also states that only after the changes were proposed, feedback was sought from the college teachers. The English department has sent the proposed changes to all colleges and the teachers are suppose to send in their feedback by May 1st.

The feedback letter from the head is also very restrictive. It categorically states that no changes can be proposed for the BCom and BA (Hons). The letter also states that only 10% revision was permissible whereas under the rule ratified by the university upto 30% changes can be introduced, said Narayanan.

The letter inviting feedback was sent on April 20 and teachers had to sent their replies by May 1.

I have been receiving letters from the colleagues with demand for a GBM and I am looking into it on deciding how it can be done about. I am hopeful of coming to a consensus , said Devdawson.

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Swift action by two personnel of a police patrol van led to the arrest of an alleged notorious burglar in Sarai Rohilla in north Delhi in the early hours of Monday. The entire police operation was captured in a CCTV camera installed at a shop in the locality, police said.

The arrested burglar, Vineet, 24, along with his five accomplices had barged into a Patanjali store around 3.30 am and were trying to break the cashbox when the patrol van personnel spotted some suspicious activities inside the shop and swung into action. After seeing the police van approaching towards them with its siren and blinkers on, the burglars ran inside their car and tried to flee.

In the 31 seconds video footage, tweeted by Monika Bhardwaj, deputy commissioner of police (police control room), the patrol van is seen intercepting the burglars car by blocking it from its front. Finding themselves in trouble, the car driver reversed his car in his attempt to flee. However, the cars rear portion hit a parked tempo while the patrol van driver continues blocking it from the front.

Burglers caught by central zone PCR, operation captured in CCTV.. ASI Mahender Singh and Ct Amit Kumar showed exemplary courage. Bravo!! pic.twitter.com/HhDYJm44X4  Monika Bhardwaj (@manabhardwaj) May 2, 2017

The video footage shows another policeman jumping out of the police van and running towards the burglars car that is already stuck between the tempo and the police vehicle. Soon, the police van driver joins his colleague. Seeing that, five occupants of the car hurriedly step out of the car and flee.

In the footage, the first policeman is seen chasing the five burglars while his colleague is seen focusing his attention on overpowering the car driver, the only burglar left in the car. The policeman first tries to enter the car through the front passengers door. But when the burglar tries to open the drivers side door, the policeman jumps onto the bonnet of the car and reaches the drivers side, where he eventually overpowers the burglar, the video footage shows.

Dependra Pathak, special commissioner of police (operations), identified the two policemen as assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Mahender Singh, in-charge of the patrol van, and Constable Amit Kumar, the driver. The arrested burglar was handed over to the Sarai Rohilla police for further legal action. Efforts were on to nab those who absconded from the crime scene, said Pathak.

Pathak said that the police van personnel were out to attend a PCR call. They were on their way when they saw some muffled men inside the Patanjali store and rushed toward them. Our police staff showed exemplary courage and presence of mind that not only led to the arrest of a burglar but also averted a shop burglary. Both the staff will be suitably rewarded for their quick operation, he added.
Police arrested on Tuesday morning a woman lawyer who allegedly honey-trapped BJP parliamentarian KC Patel and blackmailed him to cough up Rs 5 crore.

The woman was allegedly dodging a Delhi Police request to record her statement and a medical test after she filed last week a counter-complaint in a city court, accusing the MP for Valsad in Gujarat of rape.

The BJP leader has alleged in his police complaint that the woman befriended him and took him to her home in Ghaziabad to meet her family. He said she gave him a spiked drink, clicked objectionable pictures of him in an unconscious state, and threatened to make the photos public if he didnt pay up.

Sources said she was questioned for almost three hours at North Avenue police station after a notice was served to her on Tuesday morning to join the probe.

She was asked about their friendship that reportedly dates back to 2015. Also, she was asked why there were cameras installed in her bedroom, a police source said.

The investigators were not satisfied her testimony, which they said was incoherent. She was arrested for her alleged shifting statements and refusal to do a medical test to prove her accusation that she was raped multiple times by the MP.

We sought five days police custody which was agreed by the court, special commissioner of police MK Meena said.

Parliamentarian Patel had alleged that she was part of a racket that targeted politicians. A case of extortion was registered against her on the basis of the MPs complaint.

Police said the woman is suspected to have extorted money from more than 15 politicians and businessmen.

Investigators were going slow on her complaint of rape, despite the government bringing in tough laws to deal with the crime, because the lawyer made a similar accusation against a Haryana MP last September and retracted her statement later.

She couldnt answer why she withdrew the previous rape case filed at Tilak Marg police station. We are checking her credentials. She must furnish details to prove she is a practicing lawyer, a police officer said.

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The Delhi government has ordered the transfer of six officials at a state-run shelter home after 10 teenage inhabitants levelled allegations of torture and abuse against them.

In a press statement, Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal said deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has ordered the transfer of six officials but only two contractual employees have been transferred yet.

Delhi Police said they have registered an FIR and are probing the allegations. We conducted medical examination of the teenage girls and are questioning the alleged persons. No arrests have been made till now, said a senior officer.

Sisodia also ordered disciplinary proceedings against the superintendent and other officials of the shelter home.

The allegations

HT had on Monday reported about the alleged human rights violations and the police probe into it.

The teenage girls, in their complaint, had alleged that they were regularly beaten up. They also accused officials of stripping them when entering or exiting the home.

The DCW chief, in a press statement on Monday, said several girls alleged they were given injections, which were making them drowsy and resulting in body pain and irregular menstrual cycles.

One girl alleged that she was given a medicine due to which her period lasted for 15 days. Whenever they start menstruating, they were asked to approach the staff who first would ask them to remove their undergarments to check if they were actually menstruating, and only then the sanitary napkins were provided, Maliwals statement said.

Reports of girls attempting suicide inside house

According to Maliwal, the girls, in their complaints, alleged that two girls attempted suicide on March 21 by drinking phenyl.

The girls were allegedly not taken to the hospital but were beaten and brutally slapped by a house mother. The commission was also informed that another girl had attempted suicide by swallowing pieces of glass. These girls are no longer present in the home. Please provide complete case files of the three girls, said Maliwals report to director, Women and Child Development Department of Delhi government.

Maliwal also wrote to the director that the girls were allegedly forced to cook because there is only one cook for 140 girls.

It is shocking that despite the FIR, and deputy chief minister ordering immediate transfers, the concerned officers are still present at the shelter home. The DCW urges Delhi Police to conduct speedy investigation in the matter. These girls are victims of trafficking, abandonment, incest and other horrific crimes. They are the most vulnerable and it is the duty of the state to protect them, said Maliwal.

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After an impressive victory in the Delhi municipal elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is determined to replicate the astounding performance in the 2020 assembly elections.

Party president Amit Shah on Tuesday said the final destination was not civic bodies but the Delhi government. Urging party workers to unite and prepare for the next goal, he said this success will lay the foundation for assembly elections.

The next target is Delhi government. It is your responsibility to earn the trust of the people and ensure partys win. You (new councillors) should be more humble and work as a responsible leader. You should be answerable for your acts, he said.

In a strong message to newly elected corporators against indulging in unfair practices, Shah said they should work for the betterment of the people of Delhi. We should work as per the expectations of the people. Instead of improvement in your own life, there should be a change in the lives of residents of the city, he added.

Taking dig at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Shah said the people had rejected negativity, anarchy, and the politics of excuses.

This (election result) has initiated a new chapter in Indian politics. People have stopped those who indulge in negativity, anarchism and politics of excuses, he said.

Shah was addressing a gathering of newly elected councillors, former corporators and MLAs, party candidates who have lost recent municipal elections and 2015 assembly polls, state officer-bearers and workers. The programme Vijay Parv Diwas was organised to appreciate and acknowledge the contribution of party workers.

Present on the occasions were party vice-president Shyam Jaju, national general secretary Ram Lal, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, six Lok Sabha MPs from the city, union ministers Vijay Goel, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jitendra Singh and others.

Stressing upon why the win in municipal elections is important for the party, the BJP leader said the election results in the city sends a message across the country.

If we win an election in Delhi, it is a great responsibility. This victory is important. It is not only the Capital of the country but represents the entire country. You must work to ensure improvement in civic amenities and controversy free and transparent administration, he said.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Tiwari attributed partys performance in elections to the efforts of party workers and the strategy charted by Shah. This historic decision has come with a responsibility and it is our duty to perform, he said.

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The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which is yet to start its three-month car-free plan in Connaught Place, claims to be making arrangements for the project to be implemented at the earliest.

The plan, which was given a go-ahead by the Union urban development ministry after extensive talks with the NDMC and traffic police officials in early January, aimed at decongesting the central Delhi commercial hotspot by making it only for pedestrians.

The council is now trying to acquire more electric cars for its park-and-ride service, where these cars would be used to carry people from Shivaji Stadium parking lot to the inner circle of Connaught Place.

According to NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar, five electric cars have already been procured by the civic agency and it is now looking to get more cars to make it a 10-20 vehicle fleet.

It is sort of a precursor to car-free Connaught Place plan. We are in the process of getting more of these vehicles, Naresh Kumar told HT, adding that the plan will be implemented at the earliest.

The NDMC has also procured six electric scooters for its staff to keep a watch on illegally parked vehicles in the inner circle of Connaught Place.

Earlier, the traders had opposed the move, as they felt the plan would choke the outer circle even more and hit their business. They had met Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal over the issue, after the L-G convened a meeting with commissioner of police, NDMC chairperson, the joint secretary responsible for this project in the Union urban development ministry, and the Delhi chief secretary.

In order to decongest the heritage shopping arcade, nearly 2,000 parking spaces were supposed to be removed  including 1,500 from the inner circle and 400-500 from the middle Circle  as this site with a daily footfall of nearly 5 lakh was proposed to be turned into pedestrians-only.

The authorities had proposed two ways to implement the project. According to the first plan, cars will be allowed to enter from Janpath: people will alight at Palika Bazar or Palika Parking, and will exit through Baba Khadak Singh Marg. The second plan proposes that cars will be allowed in the middle circle but only to drop visitors and shoppers, making it a no-parking zone.

Had the car-free CP plan been implemented from February 1 as it was proposed, it would have been completed by April 30.

The civic body is now also considering incentives to encourage people to make use of the underutilised automated parking lot at Baba Kharak Singh Marg.

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The day assistant sub-inspector Vijay Kumar was assigned as the personal security officer (PSO) to Bhupender alias Monu, his family knew that he had become a sitting duck.

Kumar, they said, was put in a position where he had to take orders from a man with a criminal history.

Monu usually ventured out of his home late at night and returned by 3-4 am, despite knowing he was most vulnerable to attack in those hours. My husband had no option but to accompany him wherever he went, said Vijays wife, Sunil.

She said she often asked Vijay to seek another posting, but he refused. Vijay said that someone or the other had to do this job (of a PSO) and since he was tasked with it, he will do it, said Sunil.

Vijay, however, admitted that there were grave risks involved.

Given the risk PSOs are exposed to, the force should at least have provided them with bullet-proof jackets. They should be given a separate vehicle to prevent them from becoming the first targets of assailants, she said.

On Sunday, Vijay had left for duty at 8am. He had called me around 10pm to say he would return home early the next morning. Instead of him, I received a call about his death in the morning, said Sunil.

According to the police, Vijay had pulled out his service revolver as soon as he heard the gunshots. He did not hide. He opened the cars door to respond, but was shot dead before he could open fire, said MN Tiwari, DCP (outer).

The murder of two of their colleagues has left many in the police department crestfallen and angry. They alleged that men working as PSOs often forced to violate rules.

Most PSOs are bullied by people they are supposed to protect. It is worse for people guarding criminals. These men treat their PSOs as servants and as a show of strength, said a senior police officer.

Bullets whizzed past us everywhere

National Market, which is located adjacent to a posh colony in Paschim Vihar in Delhi and is situated barely 500 metres from Mianwali police station, is usually bustling with activity late into the night. Sunday nights shooting  that left three men dead  however, has left visitors and local businessmen shaken.

They said Sunday nights firing was straight out of an action film. Bullets were whizzing past us all around. We hid under roadside stalls and inside shops to save our lives, said Monty, a local resident.

Eyewitnesses said they first noticed the incident playing out after hearing gunfire. The first targets were the two friends of Bhupender alias Monu, a man with a criminal background. The motorcycle-borne men showered bullets at them, killing one at the spot. The other man (Yogesh) escaped, even though the assailants chased and shot at him, said Monty.

The killers then turned towards Monu and kept shooting at him till he was killed. Eight holes in the cars bonnet stood testimony to the brutal assault.

Their job done, the attackers then pointed their gun towards the owner of a restaurant and ordered him to down shutters. They then sped away while firing in the air, said Chirag Shokeen, a local who was in the market at the time of the incident.

Some locals claimed that a fifth man, a local shopkeeper, was shot in the leg, a claim that was denied by the police.

On Monday, when local shopkeepers came to open their shops, they found bullet marks on their shutters and stalls. Fortunately, most shops were already shut when the attack happened, said Kamlesh, a local vendor.
With a combined vote share of less than 15% and most of them not being able to open their accounts, smaller political parties such as Swaraj India, BSP, JDU, Samajwadi Party, and Shiv Sena may have been fringe players in the recently held municipal corporation elections. The parties, however, have their game plan ready to stay relevant in Delhi politics and have started working on it to make a comeback.

Parties such as the BSP and the JDU are working on strategic changes and strengthening the organisational structure, while Swaraj India and Shiv Sena have plans to fight on the all the seats in future elections in Delhi.

Swaraj India, which lost all the seats and managed a vote share of just 3.5%, will be opening Swaraj Kendra in all wards in the city over the next three months. Swaraj India spokesperson Anupam said the centre will help people who face difficulty in getting the benefits of government schemes or understanding the technicalities of schemes and initiatives such as gas connections, getting voter or Aadhaar cards.

Party insiders, however, said that the Swaraj Kendra would be like a party office and the prime purpose of initiating it is to stay relevant in the minds of voters. The party also has plans to fight the 2019 assembly election in Delhi.

A JDU leader, who did not want to be quoted, said that their promise of a liquor ban in Delhi during their campaign failed to attract voters. Party insiders said that the party will be more active in Delhi politics as it has a sizable purvanchali population.

The party volunteers will work actively in areas that have a significant purvanchali population to evoke Bihari Asmita and Purvanchali Pride sentiments among the people.

Shiv Sena, the party with its roots in Maharashtra, feels that it could not strike a chord with the voters due to its weak organisational base in national politics. Partys Delhi president Neerah Sethi said that the high command has expressed its interest in preparing for and fighting the 2020 assembly elections.

The party will also be launching a membership drive beginning June and ask senior party leaders to promote the drive in Delhi.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which won only three seats, will also start a membership drive in slum areas and pockets with a sizable population of Dalits  the partys vote bank, said partys Delhi spokesperson, CP Singh .

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Villages across southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have been declared drought affected by the government, following the failure of the 2016 monsoon rains. A recent three-part series in Hindustan Times on the drought focused on the plight of farmers and labourers and their economic asset: Livestock. In such a calamitous situation, one would expect the state governments to be sympathetic to the difficulties faced by the farming community. But not when it comes to Karnataka. In the hinterlands of Karnataka that is battling a third successive drought year and increasingly parched lands, farmers have a new worry: Aadhaar. The state government has declared that only farmers who have a fodder ration booklet will be given subsidised fodder, a lifeline for tens of thousands of people in a region battling a crippling shortage in cattle food. But to be issued the booklet, where details of rationed fodder are entered, one needs to have the 12-digit biometric identity number that has run into a storm of criticism across the nation.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the local veterinary doctor certifies the number of cattle each farmer owns and then farmers are given a booklet that contains these details. On producing the booklets, farmers are eligible to buy 5kg of fodder per animal per day at Rs 2 per kg at makeshift fodder banks set up across the district. But then in times such as these demand for fodder outstrips the supply. To check corruption in this supply-demand pipeline, the government has made Aadhaar authentication mandatory.

While their aim --- checking corruption --- is good, this is definitely not the right time to implement such rules. For farmers, livestock is an economic asset. By asking for Aadhaar for fodder, the government is only ruining their future. Other than being an inhuman demand, it is also illegal. The Supreme Court has repeatedly asked the government to not make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes and this order has been violated in Karnataka by making the 12-digit number necessary for subsidised fodder.
Over 4.6 lakh candidates will write the BEd Joint Entrance Examination (2017-19) conducted by Lucknow University on Wednesday, against last years 3.03 lakh students, officials said on Tuesday.

The test will be held at 905 centres in 16 cities across Uttar Pradesh, they said. These cities include Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad, Azamgarh, Ballia, Bareilly, Faizabad, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad and Varanasi.

As the number of candidates has increased, Lucknow has been divided into two zones.

The university has received 4,64,676 applications for around 1.90 lakh seats.

The number of applicants has jumped from 3 lakh to 4 lakh in a years time is an indicator that love for the noble profession of teaching is on the rise in the state. With seventh pay commission, the salary of government school teachers have increased manifold that drew a lot of interest among job seekers to take to the teaching profession, an LU official said.

Naveen Khare, the coordinator of the test, said there are a few candidates who could not upload their photograph and signature due to technical reasons but filled the rest of the application form in Step 3.

We are provisionally allowing these candidates to appear for the written test. We are calling such candidates in one of the centres in Lucknow where the provision of still photography is made, Khare added.

Candidates will have to bring two copies of their admit cards. They will have to submit one copy to the invigilator at the time of test with the same photograph that they uploaded in the application form. Those failing to produce the admit card at the centre would not be allowed to appear in the test, Khare said.

Those with a disability and blind and female candidates have been allotted the centres of their choice. Blind candidates will have to contact their centre superintendent a day before the exam with an application for a writer, who can answer the test on their behalf.

The results are expected to be announced by last week of May and counselling may begin from the first week of June.

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SRM (Sri Ramaswami Memorial), a deemed university in Tamil Nadu, India, is releasing its joint entrance exam results, SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination 2017 (SRMJEEE), today.

Students will be granted admission to the institutes B.Tech degree programmes the basis of their performance in the SRMJEEE (UG) 2017. Reports say more than 2 lakh students registered for the exams. The university will also release SRMJEEE 2017 rank card. Students must download it from the official website for the admission process.

The results will be released on the official website, srmuniv.ac.in and also intimated through SMS /email, an SRM University release says.

What candidates need to do to check the results:

Log in to the SRM University Website, srmuniv.ac.in

Click on SRM JEEE results

Give application number and password

Click on submit button and check results

Save and take a printout of the results.

SRM was founded in 1985 as SRM Engineering College in Kattankulathur, under University of Madras. It gained deemed status during the 2003-2004 academic year and was renamed SRM Institute of Science and Technology. It became SRM University in 2006, gaining the status of a full-fledged university.
The results of the Telangana Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations for the 2016-17 academic year will be declared on Wednesday evening.

According to an official statement, Telangana deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihari will release the results at 4pm in Hyderabad.

The SSC exams were conducted from March 14 to 30. As many as 5.35 lakh students had applied for the examinations, of which around five lakh appeared.

The results will be available on the official website of the Telangana Board of Secondary Education, besides other private websites.

Only the grading and grade point average of the students, not their marks, will be indicated.

The results of the SSC examination in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh are expected to be released at 12 noon on March 6.

However, this has been no official confirmation in this regard.

About seven lakh candidates appeared for the SSC examination, conducted by Andhra Pradeshs Board of Secondary Education from March 26 to April 16 this year. Last year, the results were declared on May 10.

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People for Animals, Indias largest animals rights organisation, on Tuesday filed a police complaint alleging that a missing pet dog had been first brutally beaten to death and then its meat consumed by some men.

The complaint stated that the dog had been kidnapped by a group of people from DLF Phase-II area around a month ago.

The dogs  called Brownie  owner Anupama Srivastav, noticed the disappearance of her pet on April 1. Srivastava first made enquiries in her neighbourhood before filing a missing complaint to the police on April 17.

Later, Srivastava also printed 2000 posters of Brownie and announced a reward of Rs 5,000 to anyone who could provide information to her regarding her pets whereabouts.

Srivastava was later contacted by two persons who informed her that her dog was taken to a house near Sikanderpur village community centre and its mouth and legs tied. The canine was beaten to death by a gang of men later, she was informed.

Srivastava then immediately complained to People for Animals regarding the incident and requested them to intervene. A video later surfaced showing the pet being beaten and killed for its meat. We have the evidence and we have handed it to the police, said Amit Chaudhery, president, People for Animals, Gurgaon. He said one of the videos also shows the men consuming cooked meat suspected to be of the dog.

A complaint has been filed with the DLF Phase-II police station regarding the incident. A FIR has been filed under section 379 (theft) and 429 (mischief by killing or maiming an animal) of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 11(1) (a) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, police said.

We have lodged a complaint and after initial investigations can say that the dog was indeed abducted. Further enquiry in this case is l on, said inspector Sudeep Singh, station house officer, DLF Phase-II police station.

He added that whether the dogs meat was later consumed or not was still being investigated.

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More than 75% doctors have faced physical or verbal violence at work at least once in their life, according to a report published in the medical journal The Lancet. Over 40% have faced it in the last one year, according to the report.

The problem is multifactoral. Overcrowding in public health facilities forcing doctors to spend less time with patients, corruption and over-charging for services (in which the referring doctor gets a cut) leading to the breakdown in the doctor-patient trust are some of the reasons recognised by the study.

Doctors are forced to spend less time listening to the patients or their care-givers. The concept of shared decision making is almost absent. The average conversation between a doctor and a patient might last just a few seconds, said Dr Vijay Nath Mishra, professor of neurology at Sir Sunderlal Hospital, Varanasi.

The violence registry

The IMA will launch a registry where doctors can report any incidence of violence along with evidence such as videos, photos, CCTV footage, and newspaper clippings. The doctors body will then conduct an investigation and do a root-cause ananlysis.

This will help us in understanding why violence is happening, predict when the violence might happen and look at measures to prevent such incidences, said Dr Dr KK Agarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

What do patients want?

Confrontations happen because of the anger caused by non-fulfilment of desire. Hence, we need to understand what the patients really want, said Dr Aggarwal.

A survey done by the IMA found that 90% of the patients wanted doctors acknowledge and address them, 92% wanted doctors to listen, 89% wanted the doctors to explain what the illness is, what the line of treatment is and keep them informed throughout. Around 75% of the people also wanted their doctors to review  ask them if they understood and, if not, help them understand.

40% of the respondents also wanted the doctors to thank them. The patients said that they always thank the doctors, but they wanted that the doctor thank them in return as they gave them an opportunity to treat their relative. We called the study ALERT  Aknowledge, Listen, Explain, Review and Thank, said Dr Aggarwal.

Interventions that can help

 Do not delay  Tell the patients beforehand if they need to wait. Dont call them at sharp 8 o clock and then make them wait for whatever reason, said Dr Aggarwal.

 Spend more time  Doctors would need at least 20 minutes with every patient if they need to discuss their ailment in detail. This is usually not possible in the public sector hospitals due to the sheer load.

 Cost estimates should be proper  The cost estimated for the treatment should vary only by a maximum of 10%. Most scuffles happen in the billing sections because the cost shoots up, said Dr Aggarwal.

 Remove junior from the designation of doctors  If resident doctors are called junior doctors, patients would not want to trust them, even if they are well qualified to handle the case. Hence, junior should be removed from the designations and they shouldnt be addressed as such too.

 Have a designated person who receives the brief  Very often we tell what the patient is going through to anyone from the family who approaches, the information may get miscommunicated as well. So, it is important to have a designated person whom the doctors would brief, said Dr Aggarwal.

 Have display boards outside OT  Knowing whether their loved one has gone into surgery, have they come out to the recovery room. Even little informations, when received immediately can help. So, display boards outside operation theatres and ICU may help, said Dr AK Agarwal, academic dean, Indian Institute Of Health Management Research.

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Indias lungs has been choking and now we can put a number on thatby adding up the number of those salvaged. The sales of anti-asthma medicines in India went up 43% over the past four years, shows market data, with 2016 marking a 15% growth in anti-asthma prescriptions across children and adults.

Thirteen of the worlds 20 most polluted cities are in India, shows World Health Organisations ambient air pollution database. The air in Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur has the highest amounts of tiny suspended particles (PM2.5) that penetrate deep into the airways and lungs to cause asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, stroke and a clutch of other diseases.

With routine monitoring of air quality almost exclusively confined to large cities its harder to come up with estimates on the effect of air pollution in rural areas. More than 700 million people, mostly women and children, inhale smoke from biomass and kerosene stoves that burn wood, dung, crop residues, coal and kerosene and spew out carbon particles, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, sulphur oxides (mainly from coal), formaldehyde and cancer-causing substances such as benzene.

Epidemic in the Making

People being diagnosed with asthma for the first time with no family history is definitely going up. As for asthma among children, they may not remain asthmatic if the triggers are taken away, explains Dr Neeraj Jain, chairman, department of chest medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.

Pollutants are also adding to wheezy bronchitis and flare-ups in people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), which is controlled with asthma treatment.

Between 15 and 20 million people have asthma in India, estimates the World Health Organisation, with some studies putting the numbers higher at 30 million.

Prevalence is high at 10% and 15% in 511-year-old children who have smaller airways that get constricted when exposed to allergens such as pollutants, dust, weather changes, pollen, mites and hazardous gases in indoor and outdoor air. This makes asthma the most common chronic disorder in children in India.

About half the children who have wheezing and asthmatic episodes outgrow it, Dr Jain says.

Asthma is a chronic condition that is triggered by allergens that inflame and constrict sensitive (hyperallergic) airways and make breathing difficult. What makes airways sensitive is your immune systems threat perception. An asthma attack occurs when an allergen or a stress factor causes an immune reaction that leads to inflammation (swelling) in the airways, narrowing the air passage and reducing air flow in the lungs. This causes wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing, which can last for a few minutes or up to days, depending on the severity and length of exposure. If not treated, asthma attacks lead to frequent hospitalisation and death.

Asthma Triggers

Experts are struggling to understand why asthma rates worldwide, on average, are rising by 50% every decade. Some blame it on hygiene hypothesis, which holds that children with lower exposure to bacteria and viruses in early childhood do not develop a robust immunity, says Dr Mehal Shah, consultant pulmonologist at Mumbais Saifee, Bhatia and Wockhardt hospital.

Other triggers include sudden overuse and misuse of antibiotics, indoor and outdoor air pollution, pollen, food colour and additives, obesity, smoking, second-hand smoke, poorly ventilated homes and workplaces (10% of adult asthma is work-related), cold weather, exercise and stressors such as domestic violence and even relationships breaking down.

The fact is that airway sensitivity is going up among people in urban and rural areas because of sustained exposure to a combination of these triggers, which are increasingly unmasking asthma cases that would otherwise have remained under control, says Dr Shah.

Asthma can be controlled with medicines, but without the appropriate treatment, it can lead to frequent asthma attacks. In 2016, there was a 15% rise in anti-asthma prescriptions over 2015, as per IMS Health estimates. Whats alarming is that in 2016, the prescription growth rate escalated from 9% in 2014, indicating a spike in cases. Among the different forms of treatment, inhalants accounted for a 56% share of the prescriptions in 2016.

Out of Control

Since asthma is a chronic disease, it requires continuous medical care. Patients with moderate to severe asthma have to take long-term medicines such as anti-inflammatory drugs every day to prevent symptoms and attacks. If symptoms occur, short-term medicines such as inhaled short-acting beta2-agonists are used to relieve them.

Though prescriptions have been steadily rising over the past four years, two in three people with asthma (67%) in India have frequent attacks because of the use of bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroids and preventive vaccination against infections such as influenza. The goal of asthma therapy is to control asthma so that patients can live active, full lives while minimising their risk of asthma exacerbations and other problems, says Dr Jain.

Medication is not the only way to control asthma, but its as important to avoid asthma triggersstimuli that irritate and inflame the airways such as fine dust, mouldy areas, second-hand smoke, sudden change in temperature and acid reflex. If you have asthma, avoid oily, spicy and fermented food, and do not lie down two hours after dinner, says Dr Jain.

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Johnny Depps psychological issues may have led to his compulsive spending disorder claim his ex-managers in an explosive lawsuit which also goes on to allege that the Pirates of the Caribbean star has a man on retainer to feed him lines on movie sets so that he doesnt have to memorise the script.

According to the BBC, Depps ex-managers, who are locked in a legal war with the star over mismanagement of money, said that he needs a mental examination to address his out of control spending and flagrant bragging about his money.

The new papers, filed by Joel and Robert Mandel of The Mandel Company, state that the pair did everything possible to protect Depp from his own irresponsible and profligate spending.

Actor Johnny Depp speaks at a rally opposing Arkansas' upcoming executions, which are set to begin again. (AP)

In retrospect, it appears that Depp may suffer from a compulsive spending disorder the Mandels amended cross-complaint, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, reads. On information and belief, Depps flagrant bragging about his senseless and extreme spending to The Wall Street Journal is further evidence of his psychological issues.

Among the alleged extravagances, according to the Mandels: Spending $30,000 (Rs 20 lakh) a month on expensive wine that (Depp) had flown to him around the world for his personal consumption, to which Depps representatives responded: Wine is not an investment if you drink it as soon as you buy it.

The report also alleges that Depp spent over $75 million (Rs 480 crore) in acquiring 14 residences around the world. They also say he bought 45 luxury vehicles, 70 collectible guitars and enough Hollywood memorabilia to fill 12 storage facilities.

Depp spent up to $1.2m (Rs 7 crore) a year for a personal on-call physician and millions more to employ an army of attorneys, they allege.

Mandel also said in the papers that Depp paid hundreds of thousands to employ a sound engineer for years to feed him lines during film production. Depp insisted that this sound engineer be kept on yearly retainer so that he no longer had to memorise his lines.

A lawyer for the star called these allegations psychobabble.

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Days before making her movie debut in Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra opens up about how the industry treats outsiders and the difficulties of being accepted in a new country.

In the latest issue of Glamour Magazine (she also features on the cover), Priyanka compares the movie industry to her experiences in high school.

Its a scary place, she says. You will be rejected. I was rejected many times. I cried. I was told that female actors are replaceable in films because they just stand behind a guy anyway.

Im still used to being paid  like most actresses around the world  a lot less than the boys, she continues. Were told were too provocative or that being sexy is our strength, which it can be, and it is, but thats not the only thing we have.

So there are so many things that you will be told, she adds. Itll be scary. There will be strife. But women have incredible endurance and incredible strength. Your ability to deal with it is within you.

Priyanka moved to the US when she was 12 and had to return after she was bullied in school.

There was this girl who was a major bully. I think she didnt like me because her boyfriend liked me, or some high school dynamic, she says. She made my life hell. She used to call me names and would push me against the locker.

That girl in school used to call me curry,  she adds. Youre scared of those things. Were afraid of letting people see the glory of who we are.

Thank you @glamourmag for a beautiful June cover! Great way to kick off the official Baywatch countdown...25 days to go! #GlamourCoverGirl pic.twitter.com/ZCwEhrL20B  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) May 1, 2017

Speaking about her upcoming movie Baywatch, which also stars industry heavyweights Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, Priyanka says, I take over the beach. I open up a club. Im this big shot billionaire chick who plays hardball in a mans world. And what I love about Victoria (Leeds, her character) is that shes not baselessly evil. She thinks shes just driven. She had the business acumen, but her family business went to her brother, because he was a boy. So she has a point to prove. Theres this amazing line in the (script): Zac says, Youre such a bitch! And Im like, If I were a man, youd call me driven. 

Baywatch opens June 2 in India.

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In the past 16 months, 54 attacks on journalists were reported in the media, says a compilation on press freedom by a media watchdog, The Hoot; indicating the dangers to investigative journalism.

Released on Tuesday, a day ahead of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the report says the actual number is probably much more, since the minister of state for home affairs Gangaram Ahir informed Parliament that there were 142 journalist deaths during 2014-15.

The report shows shrinking press freedom comes close on the heels of the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, which has put India at 136th place, three places down from previous year.

The report says though seven journalists were killed, reasonable evidence of their journalism being the motive for the murder is available only in one case.



Read: Reporting under duress: Journalists in India work amid increasing danger

What is more gripping is that most of the 54 attacks were carried out by the police and mob resisting or protesting media coverage (9 each) followed by politicians and their supporters (8).

The stories behind each of the attacks reveal a clear and persistent pattern. Investigative reporting is becoming increasingly dangerous. Journalists who venture out into the field to investigate any story... are under attack, the report says.

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The Congress asked the government on Tuesday to act decisively against Pakistan, including going to an extreme extent if necessary, to respond to Mondays attack in Kashmir where two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated by attackers from across the Line of Control (LoC).

The incident, seen as reprehensible and inhuman by the government, puts fresh pressure on the Narendra Modi government to deal with the neighbour strongly, possibly in manners similar to last years surgical strike. Indian forces had at the time gone into Pakistan-held territory and destroyed terror launch pads in response to an attack on an army base in Uri by Pakistani-origin militants.

Pakistan is violating all international understandings and conventions between two neighbours. If this is the attitude of Pakistan, then I think the future is going to be very serious. India will be forced, even though India does not want that to happen, to act decisively, Congress leader PC Chacko told ANI.

To retaliate this provocation, we may have to go to an extreme extent. I think Pakistan is inviting trouble for itself, he added.

The attack and the subsequent mutilation by Pakistans Border Action Team, which often has members of Pakistani army regulars and militants from terror groups, was the third incident of its kind in six months.

The dead included an army junior commissioned officer (JCO), who was leading the patrol team that was targeted, and a soldier of the Border Security Force.

Bodies of both were flown to Jammu by chopper on Tuesday morning, before being flown out to their hometowns for their last rites.

On Tuesday, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala too said that the PMs Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) needs to take a stand and take action as promised, reported ANI.

In Jammu and Kashmir alone, over 200 soldiers have made sacrifice, 91 civilians have been killed and 1,343 times Pakistan has committed border ceasefire violation. When will this government wake up? Does it not show a lack of policy or direction on part of this government and a lack of credible, political and responsible leadership on part of the BJP government? he asked.

Surjewala accused the government of not being serious, pointing to the lack of a regular defence minister. Finance minister Arun Jaitley currently has the additional charge for defence.

All these questions need to be answered for people of this country demand answer, he said.

Arun Jaitley had on Monday said such acts dont even take place during war let alone peace, and asserted that the the sacrifice of these soldiers will not go in vain.

His cabinet colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, Pakistan is inviting its own ruin.

Our security forces will give a befitting reply to Pakistan, he told media persons on Tuesday.

The Indian Army, while announcing the deaths of the soldiers, warned Pakistan of an appropriate response to the unsoldierly act on Monday too.
The army dismissed on Tuesday television news reports that India destroyed Pakistani bunkers and killed several enemy soldiers across the border in Jammu and Kashmir in a retaliatory attack after the beheading of a military officer and BSF head constable.

A senior officer with the armys northern command said the reports were not true.

There was no retaliation whatsoever by us in the KG sector on Monday night. They (TV channels) go ballistic without asking us anything. We will retaliate and when we do, we will come out with an official statement.

Naib subedar Paramjit Singh, a 42-year-old junior commissioned officer with 22 Sikh Regiment, and 45-year-old head constable Prem Sagar of the BSFs 200 Battalion were shot dead and their bodies mutilated in an ambush on a border patrol at the Krishna Ghati sector of Kashmirs Poonch district on Monday morning.

The killing of Singh from Tarn Taran district in Punjab and Sagar of Takenpur in Uttar Pradesh evoked strong reaction across the nation, with many people demanding a fitting reply to what the government called a barbaric and inhuman act by neighbouring nation.

Several news channels reported on Tuesday that India bombed and destroyed Pakistani frontier posts and bunkers along the Line of Control, the de facto border between the two countries, to avenge the killing and mutilation of its soldiers.

The military spokesperson said: A lot of planning goes into any army action. We will respond but at apt time and place.

Even intelligence officials on the ground could not substantiate the TV reports.

We have no such inputs of the armys retaliation causing destruction of Pakistani bunkers and killing of soldiers. We are here on the ground. We didnt even hear even a single gunshot on Monday night, one of the officials said.

Such misreporting has happened before too. After the pre-dawn attack on an army camp in Kashmirs border town Uri last September, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead, there were news reports of the army killing 10 Pakistan-based militants trying to enter the area.

The reports billed the killings as Indias strike-back.

But sources in the military headquarters in New Delhi denied the killing of 10 infiltrators along the LoC. They said the media reports were a flight of imagination.

We never said that army killed 10 terrorists. We simply said there was cross-border firing at two places along the LoC, including Uri, a source said.

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Concerned over the growing incidents of its cadres and fringe elements taking law into their hands, the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh has decided to engage its foot soldiers in popularising government schemes to make them more responsible.

A decision to this effect was taken at the two-day state working committee meeting underway in Lucknow.

BJP sources said the party leaders are chalking out programmes and strategies to change the confrontationist attitude of the workers of the party, which had spent 15 years in opposition before assuming power in March this year.

We have lined up a slew of activities for our workers. All of them will be tasked with something creative, BJP vice president and partys UP in-charge Om Mathur said.

BJP president Amit Shah will address the working committee on Tuesday.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath himself is very keen to utilise services of the cadres in swacchhta (cleanliness) campaigns and identifying beneficiaries of a scheme under which wedding expenses of poor girls are paid by the government, sources said.

Apart from that the chief minister also wanted cadres to highlight various welfare schemes launched by the BJP governments at the Centre and the state.

Remember your party is in power. So act responsibly. Dont take law into your own hands. Instead, bring to the notice of the government any case where you feel authorities have erred, the chief minister told party workers.

The BJP leaders have reason to be worried.

Party supporters led by BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal vandalised Saharanpur SSPs residence last month.

Earlier, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader slapped a deputy superintendent of police in Agra while organising a demonstration near Taj Mahal. There was also an incident of Bajrang Dal activists attacking a policeman at Fatehpur Sikri police station and setting ablaze his motorcycle.

Peeved by the recent attacks on cops, the UP IPS association sought an appointment with the chief minister to discuss the issue.

Party leaders feel that its the time for course correction for the workers who had been for long used to taking on the governments when the party was in opposition.

Partys UP unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is also the deputy chief minister, asked the cadres to leave behind opposition mindset.

We will not let anyone treat you with disrespect but at the same time please prove those wrong who feel that having spent 15 years in the opposition, you wont be able to change, he told the workers as the meeting commenced on Monday.

Yogi, a five-time Gorakhpur MP, even gave his own example of how as an opposition lawmaker from eastern UP he used to hold protest marches to make the authorities realise the need to provide justice to the people.

We used to march for five kilometers or more under scorching heat. But those were different times. Now, please understand that we are in power. So instead of taking on the authorities and taking law into your own hands, bring these issues to the knowledge of the government. We assure you that we will act on your complaints, the CM said.

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The Bihar government on Tuesday issued orders banning use of red and blue beacons atop vehicles of all ministers, politicians and bureaucrats in the state with immediate effect.

However, vehicles plying within airport premises, those being used for law and order or engaged in relief work during natural disasters, ambulances and fire tenders have been allowed to use blue flashing beacons to cut through traffic.

The decision to ban the use of beacons was taken after the Union cabinet on April 19 decided to discontinue the display the symbol of VIP culture atop cars of dignitaries and government officials, including the Prime Minister and the President. The ban came into effect from May 1, also extends to the vice-president, the Chief Justice of India, Union ministers, chief ministers, state cabinet ministers, bureaucrats and judges of the high court and Supreme Court.

Earlier, the state government was reluctant to enforce the Centres decision till the central government resolved certain objections raised by it.

When a draft proposal to amend section 108 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (through which it was proposed to abolish the power vested in the state government to determine the dignitaries entitled for beacon lights), was sent to us, we had lodged a protest over the move, an official of the transport department, preferring anonymity said.

The objections were overruled, said transport commissioner RK Mishra.

Earlier in December 2015, soon after coming to power, chief minister Nitish Kumar had banned the use of hooters in the light of rising noise pollution in Patna. The governor, Patna high court chief justice, fire tenders and ambulances were exempted from this ban.

The measure was also aimed to check misuse of hooters by criminals.

. .

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PATNA Coming drunk to the wedding mandap proved to be a costly mistake for a bridegroom in dry Bihar.

Bittu Pandey, a farmer, had to return single on Saturday after the young bride spurned the marriage on spotting him in an inebriated condition at the mandap.

After completing most of the marriage rituals, Rani Kumari refused to go ahead with sindoordaan, the final ritual of a Hindu marriage when the groom applies vermilion on brides forehead.

The 24-year-old bridegroom, allegedly under the influence of liquor, was reportedly incoherent while reciting marriage hymns and could not even stand up properly for the sindoordaan.

He is wedded to liquor, I will not marry him, the grooms family members quoted the bride as saying before she got up and left the mandap in a huff at Sujatpur village in Buxar district, 130 kms west of Patna.

The baraat (bridegrooms wedding procession) had travelled 70 kms by road from Rohtas district to the brides village in Buxar district on Friday.

Bittus cousin Jai Niwas Pandey told HT over phone: The girl is adamant, but we are still trying for a rapprochement.

Jai Niwas, however, refused to confirm that Bittu was in an inebriated condition at the mandap.

He (the groom) was absolutely fine when I last saw him at the janwasa (a place where the bridegroom and his family members assemble before embarking on the final stretch of the marriage procession). I dont know what happened thereafter. I only got to know at 4am the next day that the girl had called off the marriage, ostensibly because the boy was drunk, he said.

Bihar became a dry state on April 5, 2016. Under the states prohibition law, consuming, keeping or dealing in liquor is an offence, which attracts imprisonment up to 10 years.

This is, however, not the first instance of a bride calling off her marriage in Bihar.

On April 29, a girl from Dumaria village in Samastipur, 85 kms north-east of Patna, had walked out of her wedding mandap before sindoordaan after the bridegroom demanded a motorcycle in dowry.

Last Wednesday, a bride refused to marry a dark complexioned groom, saying he was unsuitable for her. The bizarre incident took place at Bakhri village of Begusarai district, 125 km east of Patna.

TAKING A STAND

BLURB

On April 29, a girl from Dumaria village in Samastipur had walked out of her wedding mandap before sindoordaan after the bridegroom demanded a motorcycle in dowry

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The family members of slain Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar, 50, on Tuesday demanded that India give Pakistan a befitting reply for killing him and Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh.

Pakistani troops had also mutilated the bodies of the two bravehearts along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

Anti-Pakistan slogans were heard around Deorias Tikampur, the village of the slain BSF man, a day after the incident.

Prem Sagar is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

The elder daughter Saroj said: I want the PM to direct our soldiers to bring 50 heads of Pakistani personnel in lieu of the sacrifice made by my father.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi should ask the army to cross the LoC and retaliate, said Daya Shankar, Prem Sagars younger brother who is an army jawan posted in Chhattisgarh (15th battalion).

I also demand that the PM bear the expanses of Prem Sagars children Monika, 16, student of class 11, Ishwar Chand, postgraduate student, and Ran Vijay, 12, he said. Saroj, the elder daughter, is married.

Daya Shankar rushed to the village soon after getting the news of his brothers death.

Prem Sagars wife Gyanti was inconsolable and collapsed thrice. She last spoke to her husband on the phone barely two hours before the incident, the villagers said.

She had last met him during Holi after which he left the village to rejoin duty on March 25.

Village head Lal Mohammad, a close friend of Prem Sagar, said: It is time to rethink Indias stand on Pakistan. The entire country as well as this village wants the government to teach Pakistan a lesson.

He said the villagers wanted chief minister Yogi Adityanath to visit the bravehearts village to console the bereaved family.

Barring a few administrative and police officials, no big leader or minister has visited the martyrs family. All we are hearing is that ministers Surya Pratap Shahi and Jai Prakash Nishad will arrive here, he added.

The body reached Deoria town in the evening.

Subdivisional magistrate RK Yadav said all arrangements had been made to conduct the cremation with full state honours.

A senior official said bad weather in Jammu and Kashmir had led to a delay in bringing the body to the martyr's village by a helicopter earlier.
The Centre on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 588 crore as relief to drought-affected Rajasthan.

The decision has been taken at a meeting of a high level committee chaired by home minister Rajnath Singh and attended by finance minister Arun Jaitley, besides others.

The committee approved the assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund in respect of Rajasthan to the tune of Rs 588.34 crore in the wake of drought of 2016-17, an official statement said.

It took the decision after examining a proposal based on the report of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team which visited the drought-affected state.

Besides Singh and Jaitley, minister of state for agriculture SS Ahluwalia, union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of the ministries of home, finance, agriculture and NITI Aayog also attended the meeting.
Three Maoists, two of them from Odisha, were arrested during a search operation in Chhattisgarhs insurgency-hit Sukma, police said on Tuesday.

The cadres were apprehended by a joint squad of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and district force from the forests under Pushpal police station area on Monday, a district police official told PTI.

Those arrested were identified as Kawasi Hadma (32) from Darbha area of Bastar district, and Ramnath Nag (21) and Buchha Dhurwa (24), both natives of Malkangiri in Odisha, he said.

According to him, the trio were active as jan-militia members - lower rung Maiosts, and were allegedly involved in the attack on a police party between Daldali and Tulsi villages of the region on March 28 this year.

They were produced before a court in Sukma on Monday which remanded them in judicial custody, the official said.
A day after the Pakistan border action team (BAT) killed and mutilated the bodies of two soldiers inside Indian territory in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Poonch district, the mortal remains of naib subedar Paramjit Singh and BSF head constable Prem Sagar were flown back to their native villages in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh for the last rites on Tuesday.

A Northern Command officer said that a brief wreath-laying ceremony was held at Poonch.

Naib subedar Paramjit Singhs body was flown from Poonch to Jammu in a helicopter and further to his native village of Vainpoin in Tarn Taran.

The body of head constable Prem Sagar was also flown by helicopter to Jammu and then to Delhi in an aircraft. From Delhi, the BSF shall take his body to his native village of Tikampur in Deoria district.

UNEASY CALM ALONG LoC

The officer denied TV reports of any retaliation by the Indian Army in the KG sector on Monday night.

Intelligence sources on the Line of Control in the KG sector also said there was no exchange of fire between the two sides on Monday night.

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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to compensate a serving Indian Air Force officer who was rendered unfit for flying after a MiG-21 crash in 2005, with Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh respectively saying that officers of the armed forces could not be put to more risk than they had bargained.

The Russian-origin fighter aircraft has been often referred to as the Flying Coffin and widowmaker due to its poor safety record.

A bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Deepa Sharma said putting the officers of the armed forces above what is expected to be normal risk is against the fundamental right to life especially the right to work in a safe environment guaranteed under the Constitution.

The bench said HAL is liable to compensate the officer for exposing him to more than reasonable risk.

Wing commander Sanjeet Singh Kaila had moved the high court in 2013 seeking direction to the government and HAL to issue a formal apology for the manufacturing defect and the faulty workmanship of the MiG-21 aircraft that allegedly led to the crash.

It was also the first time a crash survivor had sued the government seeking redressal against the violation of his fundamental right to life, especially the right to work in a safe environment, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.

Read more: IAFs MiG 21 aircraft crashes in Rajasthan, pilots eject safely

The officer, represented by advocate Bharat S Kumar, had alleged that a reply to his RTI on the finding of the Court of Inquiry (COI) revealed that the incident was caused due to poor workmanship and manufacturing defect of HAL.

He further submitted that the intent behind filing the petition was to ensure that HAL is made accountable and aware of the ramifications of their actions impacting the security of this country.

Wing commander Kaila has said despite giving representation to the government in 2012 seeking financial compensation he has received nothing.

The officer was posted at Air Force Station Nal in Rajasthan as a Squadron Leader in 2005. On January 4 that year, he embarked on a regular flight exercise along with three other pilots.

Immediately after take-off, the petitioner experienced a drift to the left side of the aircraft. Simultaneously, the petitioner was informed by the other pilot flying the second aircraft, of a fire at the rear end of his aircraft. Assessing the emergency, the petitioner promptly carried out all the essential directives and got the tyres of the aircraft down for a landing, his petition said.

The petitioner performed all the aforementioned actions despite the rear of the aircraft being engulfed in thick fire. Despite a near-complete engine/control failure and at grave risk to his own life, the petitioner continued to stay put in an almost uncontrollable aircraft so as to steer it away to safety from a nearby village... To save human life, the petitioner ejected only seconds before the crash of the aircraft, the plea added.

Wing Commander Kaila said following the incident, he was injured and was later forced to discontinue flying after a spinal injury deteriorated..

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A woman disowned her third child to save her election as a panchayat member. But a DNA test nailed her lie and she now stands disqualified.

A Supreme Court bench of Justice Kurien Joseph and Justice R Banumathi dismissed last week Anita Eknath Hatkars petition challenging disqualification proceedings against her, initiated on allegations that she has three children.

Hatkar was elected a panchayat member of Chichondi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

The complainant, Prahlad Ahvad, challenged her election, alleging that Hatkar flouted rules as she was a mother to three children, and the third one was born after the cut-off date fixed by the authorities.

According to rules, a mother of three before the affixed date loses her eligibility to contest the rural polls.

The additional collector of Ahmednagar dismissed the complaint. But the Bombay high court allowed an appeal and declared Hatkars election void.

Aggrieved with the proceedings, she moved the top court. During a hearing on December 5, her counsel discarded the complaint. But on instructions, he submitted the child was not born to her.

Ahvads lawyers  Sandeep S Deshmukh and Narhari Singh  insisted for a DNA test, which the woman agreed to and the court ordered to be conducted in eight weeks.

Until the test report came, the top court stayed her disqualification.

A report from Mumbais forensic laboratory placed before the court last week revealed that Hatkar was lying. The result affirmed the third child was that of Anita and her husband, prompting the top court to dismiss her appeal.

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In the hinterlands of Karnataka that is battling a third successive drought year and increasingly parched lands, farmers have a new worry: Aadhaar.

The state government has declared that only farmers who have a fodder ration booklet will be given subsidised fodder, a lifeline for tens of thousands of people in a region battling a crippling shortage in cattle food.

But to be issued the booklet, where details of rationed fodder is entered, one needs to have the 12-digit biometric identity number that has run into a storm of criticism across the nation.

The local veterinary doctor certifies the number of cattle each farmer owns and we are then given a booklet that contains these details, Narayanappa, an octogenarian farmer in the drought-ravaged Kolar district, said. On producing the booklets, farmers are eligible to buy 5kg of fodder per animal per day at Rs 2 per kg at makeshift fodder banks set up across the district.

But often thats not enough. Demand for fodder outstrips supply by more than 80 times and on most occasions Narayanappa gets half the daily dose of fodder that he needs, that too only thrice a week. All his five cows are starving.

Chennakeshavaiah, deputy director of animal husbandry in the district, said Aadhaar authentication was made mandatory to check malpractice. We had to authenticate the booklets and decided that Aadhaar was the best way.

The biometric identification project has run into controversy with mounting data breaches and complaints of malfunctioning. But the government has continued to expand its usage, even making it mandatory for filing income tax and PAN.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly asked the government to not make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes  this order, activists say, has been violated in Karnataka by making the 12-digit number necessary for subsidised fodder.

The Supreme Court has unambiguously stated that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for any scheme till the Constitution Bench disposes off the petitions challenging Aadhaar, said advocate Clifton Rosario.

A sweeping change in crop pattern and drying lakes and rivers has sent groundwater levels plunging, and cattle starving across the state  hurting the profitable dairy industry. Many farmers are hanging onto the subsidised fodder scheme for sustenance.

Other farmers say there was rampant corruption in the distribution of fodder, despite the Aadhaar authentication. Each taluk has only one fodder bank and those who stay in villages near these banks have been able to corner most of the fodder that is sold, Ram Reddy, who own 10 heads of cattle in Belamaranahalli village, said. As it is, fodder is only available about three days a week, he said.

The district has around 276,000 heads of cattle, of which around 165,000 are milch animals, Chennakeshavaiah said. Other attempts to help mitigate the situation, too, had fallen short, farmers said. The state government had built goshalas (shelters) across the state as a temporary measure to help dairy farmers. In Kolar, the goshala had to be closed because farmers did not want it.

The goshala was not popular with farmers because we dont want to leave our cattle there, Reddy said.

KA Eeranna, another farmer in Belamaranahalli said, farmers demanded that the goshala be closed and the district administration sell fodder directly to farmers instead. We wanted access to fodder and not a shelter for the cattle, he said.

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Two gunmen on Tuesday looted Rs 65,000 from a bank in Jammu and Kashmirs Kulgam district, police said.

The gunmen entered a branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank (Regional Rural Bank) in Kader village and looted the money at gunpoint, a police official said.

The robbery took place a day after militants killed five policemen and two bank employees in Kulgams Pombai village.
Defence minister Arun Jaitley said the sacrifice of the two soldiers mutilated by the Indias neighbour in Poonchs Krishna Ghati sector on Monday will not go in vain, with the army calling it a despicable act that will be appropriately responded to.

Army sources said one of the options for the force was to bring artillery to the fight along the Line of Control to cause maximum damage to Pakistani posts and inflict casualties on the neighbouring army. The army has chosen this option on numerous occasions.

The army had used the Bofors guns to destroy several Pakistani army posts last October following the mutilation of Sepoy Mandeep Singh in Macchil sector in Kashmirs Kupwara district.

In 2015 too, Pakistani provocations compelled India to shed its restraint and lift a self-imposed restriction on deploying artillery against Pakistan army.

Officers who have served in J&K said another option could be to carry out similar cross-border raids at the tactical level to exact revenge for the killing of the two security personnel. Such counter assaults are not uncommon. Battalions deployed along the LoC have their plans in place for such assaults, said an officer.

However, serving and retired officers said the scale of the BAT action did not merit surgical strikes like the ones carried out last September after 19 soldiers were killed in an attack on army camp in Uri.

Everyone would know which post the rogue team came from. The army should deploy heavy weapons to flatten that post, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a force director general of military operations. As a major general, Bhatia had commanded the Rajouri-based 25 Infantry Division in 2007-08. The sector in which the two soldiers were mutilated come under the same division.

Apart from military action, Bhatia suggested that the border trading points along the LoC should be shut to make Pakistan feel the pinch.

BAT action was responsible for Indian soldier Hemrajs gruesome beheading and the cold-blooded murder of five other soldiers in separate cross-border assaults in 2013. Battalion commanders along the LoC are issued directions from time to time to stay prepared for short and swift BAT raids.

However, former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd) called for action at a multi-layered level to turn the heat on Pakistan. He said, Tactical operations are not causing pain to PakistanIt has to be dealt with at military, political and diplomatic level. Send their diplomats back, abrogate international treaties
The Indian Army on Tuesday described the killing and mutilation of two of its soldiers as dastardly and inhuman and told the Pakistan Army that the incident merited an unequivocal response.

The Indian sides view was conveyed by director general of military operations Lt Gen AK Bhatt during a hotline conversation with his Pakistan counterpart. Bhatts message came a day after a Pakistani border action team sneaked 200 metres into Indian territory along the Line of Control and attacked a 10-member patrol party of Border Security Force troopers and army soldiers.

Such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response, Bhatt was quoted as saying in an Indian Army statement.

Bhatt expressed grave concern about Mondays incident in which Pak troops targeted (an) Indian patrol on Indian side of the LoC in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district and mutilated bodies of two soldiers.

The Indian Army conveyed its concern about the presence of BAT training camps in close vicinity of the LoC and said Pakistani post close to the spot provided covering fire to the raiders.

The Pakistani BAT beheaded head constable Prem Sagar of the BSFs 200th Battalion and naib subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment, causing widespread anger.

The Pakistani DGMO denied the mutilation of the bodies of Indian soldiers, and said there were no ceasefire violations and that Pakistanis troops had not crossed the LoC, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The Pakistani DGMO also said the Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. He claimed the allegations of mutilation were an Indian attempt to divert the attention of the world from the situation in the Kashmir Valley.

The Pakistani general also said any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing.

The DGMOs speak every Tuesday, a mechanism put in place to avoid escalation along the LoC.

The Indian Armys statement echoed the views of the BSF. The cross-LoC attack was well planned and carried out by the BAT that had army regulars and terrorists, said Kamal Nayan Choubey, additional director general BSFs Western Command.

Some reports claimed the patrol party walked into a trap and was ambushed.

If there is a need to revisit the SOPs (standard operating procedure), the army will do it in tandem with the BSF, Choubey said.

Pakistan troops targeted four posts in the sector on Monday morning and simultaneously launched a BAT attack on the Indian patrol, he said.

Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat, who arrived in Srinagar on Monday evening for a two-day visit, will meet top officials of his force and the defence ministry.

The attack came a day after Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited areas along the LoC opposite Krishna Ghati sector.

BATs are used by Pakistan for raids across the LoC. Pakistans elite Special Services Group forms the core of BATs but terrorists too are known to join them.
The Indian Army on Tuesday successfully test fired an advanced version of the Brahmos land-attack cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, revalidating the weapons strike capability.

The land-to-land configuration of Brahmos missile was launched from a mobile autonomous launcher (MAL).

The test firing of the block-III version of the missile demonstrated the weapons unmatched lethality of hitting the centre of a designated target with bulls eye precision, a senior army officer said here.

He said the supersonic cruise missile successfully hit the land-based target with desired precision in a top attack configuration, meeting all flight parameters in a copybook manner.

The test firing involved high level and complex manoeuvring by the missile, said the official.
Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra met Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the prevailing security situation in the state.

According to officials, the home minister and the governor also discussed Mondays attack in which the Pakistan Army killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.

Singh had chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the situation in the state, which was attended by home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, RAW chief Anil Dhasmana and Central Reserve Police Force chief Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar.

According to sources, the meeting discussed the fresh trouble in the valley, where a spike in stone-pelting incidents by students has caused law and order problems.

Mondays meeting took place hours before the Pakistan Army attack on the Indian soldiers, and the killing of five policeman in a bid to rob a bank cash van in Kulgam in the Valley.

Singh and Vohra discussed on how to control the situation at the earliest.
Several Jharkhand MNREGA workers have returned Rs 1, the amount the Centre has increased in their wages, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state chief minister Raghubar Das to protest the meagre hike.

The union government has recently increased the wages for the Jharkhand workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) from Rs 167 to Rs 168.

This is the lowest annual hike of MNREGA wages in the state in last 11 years. Last year, it was increased by Rs 5. Even then the workers had resorted to the unique protest.

Workers on the occasion of the International Labour Day took out a protest rally in Latehars Manika block and sent over 100 envelops enclosed with Rs. 1 note to the Prime Minister and Jharkhand chief minister, asserting that they could do without the governments generosity.

Government doesnt have money for its workers as it has many big projects to carry out for businessmen and industrialists, said Sukhmani Devi, 35, a MNREGA worker from Latehar.

Another worker Mahavir Parahiya said State government spent several crores to organise the global investors meet but it has no time to think about labourers, who are forced to migrate to other states for jobs.

The MNREGA workers in the state get less than the minimum wage fixed by the Jharkhand government for labour. The minimum wage for the non-MNREGA workers is Rs 224.

The national real wage of the country had risen 20% in ten years, while the increase for the MNREGA workers had been only 4.7% during the same period, a rural department official said.

Noted economist Jean Dreze said, Giving a hike of Re 1 is nothing but a conspiracy to discourage MNREGA workers. If workers continue to get poor wage, they will shift to other jobs, sounding a death knell to the scheme.

Terming it a violation of rights of labourers, Dreze demanded an appropriate hike in their wages.

Jharkhand government in March this year had also expressed disappointment over the poor wage hike.

The state chief secretary, on March 15, had shot off a letter to the union rural development ministry secretary Amarjeet Sinha and had requested him to revise the upgraded wage for the MNREGA workers to make it at least at par with the minimum wage rate for agricultural labour.

The letter also mentioned that the revised MNREGA wage rate for financial year 2017-18 was Rs 56 less than the states minimum agricultural wage.

It stated that the states minimum wage had increased by 212 percent between 2007 and 2017, whereas the corresponding increase in MGNREGA wage had been only 94 percent.
Calcutta High Court judge Justice C S Karnan today ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants against seven judges of the Supreme Court, including the CJI, for not being represented before him, even as the Attorney General said he was not sure whether the gentleman would undergo medical tests as ordered by the apex court.

Justice Karnan, who ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs) stating that top seven judges of the apex court have not been represented before him, directed the high courts registrar general to issue the NBWs to these judges to be executed through the director general of police or commissioner of police, New Delhi.

Justice Karnan passed a suo motu judicial order in the interest of the nation to protect the general public from corruption and unrest, invoking Article 226 of the Constitution read with Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code.

Today the accused judges are called absent no representation issue non-bailable warrant against the accused call on 08.05.2017 (sic), the order signed by Justice Karnan said.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was today arguing in an Aadhaar matter before a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, said he was not sure whether Justice Karnan would follow the direction given by a seven-judge bench yesterday to undergo medical check-up regarding his mental health in the contempt case.

I do not know whether the gentleman, who was asked yesterday, would submit to the order of the seven-judge bench of this court, he said.

I have read that he (Justice Karnan) has asked the seven judges of this court (who have passed the order yesterday) to undergo medical tests, he said while arguing in the Aadhaar matter about whether a person can be forced to give his finger prints.

The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, had taken note of the tenor of Justice Karnans orders and press briefings and directed his medical check-up by doctors with police support, as the Calcutta High Court Judge did not appear before it.

Reacting to the order, a belligerent Justice Karnan had on Tuesday said in Kolkata that he will not appear before such a medical board as directed by the Supreme Court.

Taking note of the fact that Justice Karnan has been passing orders despite being restrained and holding press briefings, the apex court had said that the tenor of press briefings as also purported orders passed by him indicate that he may not be in a position to defend himself.

Therefore, we consider it in the fitness of the matter to require him to be medically examined. We hereby direct the Calcutta Hospital to constitute a board of doctors to examine Shri Justice CS Karnan and submit a report, the bench had said.

Talking to mediapersons in Kolkata on Monday, Justice Karnan had said he will not appear before a medical board for examining his health as directed by the apex court.

He had also threatened to pass suo motu suspension order against the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal, if the DGP functions against my wish.

Justice Karnan had on March 31 appeared before the apex court which granted him four weeks time to respond to the contempt notice while rejecting the submission that his administrative and judicial powers be restored.

Refusing to appear before the apex court again, Justice Karnan had on April 13 issued an order asking the seven judges to appear before him on April 28 and then extended the date of appearance to May 1.
A Karnataka minister has refused to fall in line with the central governments ban on red beacons on VIP vehicles, saying he would remove it if chief minister Siddaramaiah instructs him to do so.

If the chief minister asks me to remove the red beacon light, I will obey his instruction and remove it, food and civil supplies minister UT Khader said.

Khader said it was the state government that had given him the car with a red beacon light, not central government, and he had no right to alter it.

I do not have power to alter my car. It is left to the cabinet to decide, he told reporters in Mangaluru on Monday.

Khader also said he would not object to the ban on red beacon light on VIP vehicles but the government should bring in schemes that will fill stomachs of people and provide education.

Let the central government bring into force such a notification, I am not saying no, but most importantly it should introduce schemes wherein it is possible to fill the stomachs of people and provide education, the Congress minister said.

The aim of the government should bring people to the level of VIP, he added.

He also said, I am not moving around with the red beacon light placed on my head. It is installed on my car.

The Union Cabinet had last month decided to end the flashing of red beacons with effect from May 1 to end the VIP culture.
Family members of a BSF jawan whose body was mutilated by Pakistani soldiers on Tuesday refused to perform his last rites, demanding the presence of either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or chief minister Yogi Adityanath and an assurance of avenging his killing.

Prem Sagar Prasad and army naib subedar Paramjeet Singh were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistani soldiers near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch sector on Monday, sparking anger across India and calls for a military retaliation.

BSF constable Rajinder Singh, who as injured in the ambush, is out of danger.

We will not allow you to cremate (the) body until Yogiji or Modiji comes here, Sagars wife Gyanti told police and administrative officials at his native village Takenpur, about 40 km from the district headquarters Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.

Officials struggled to pacify the agitating villagers who shouted slogans, Modiji badla lo Pakistan se, ek ke badle me pachas lo (Modi take revenge on Pakistan, bring 50 heads in response to one).

45-year-old Sagars daughter also demanded a tit-for-tat reply for her fathers death.

My father is martyred. I demand 50 heads for one head, Saroj had said fighting back tears while consoling her mother.

People shouted anti-Pakistan slogans as the IAF chopper, carrying the soldiers body, landed at the Police Lines ground in Deoria, from where it was taken to the village in an ambulance.

Angry protesters also stopped the Vaishali express demanding the two leaders to come to the village to meet the aggrieved family.

Agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi, who was among those who carried the coffin, handed over a cheque of Rs 20 lakh to the family members but locals demanded Rs 50 lakh along with promise of a government job to Sagars daughter.
Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi, who has been at loggerheads with the Congress government here on certain issues, on Tuesday met Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and apprised him of constraints she faced in serving the Union Territory.

Called on Hble UHM @rajnathsingh Apprised him of constraints

and challenges being encountered in serving Puducherry. pic.twitter.com/qZBGOU7lQt  Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) May 2, 2017

Official sources here said Bedi, who reached Delhi on Monday night, was scheduled to meet some more union ministers, including urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu, and would return to the union territory by Wednesday.

Read: Puducherry govt wants me to be mere figurehead, says L-G Kiran Bedi

Differences have cropped up between Bedi and the V Narayanasamy-led government and MLAs over her style of functioning.

The matter reached a flash point in March when a senior civic official was transferred on orders of assembly speaker V Vaithilingam over an alleged breach of privilege issue raised against the official by an opposition MLA.

However, Bedi ordered the re-instatement of commissioner of Puducherry municipality R Chandrasekaran, saying the lieutenant governor alone had powers in matters of appointment/transfer of officials of the Union Territory.

The Congress and opposition MLAs had even demanded that the Centre recall Bedi for disrespecting the government, MLAs and delaying development works, a charge denied by her.

Read: Kiran Bedi says she will quit as Puducherry L-G next year

Bedi, who assumed office in May last year, was earlier irked by lack of cooperation to her Clean Puducherry mission.

Last year, the former IPS officer had even threatened she would quit her post and leave the Union Territory if there was no improvement in the situation.
Supporters of alleged illicit liquor manufacturers pelted stones on a police team and freed seven persons arrested for their involvement in the illegal trade in Bhojpur district of dry Bihar.

Four policemen were injured in the stone pelting, following which, the villagers claimed, police fired in air. The police have, however, denied the firing.

The trouble started on Monday night when a police team from Jagdishpur subdivision in the district, 81km west of Patna, raided Chakai, Rupbandh and Mithhan villages following complaints of illegal liquor trade. The raiding team destroyed about 800 litres of hooch, seized another 150 litres of the banned beverage and arrested 13 persons involved the illegal activity at Mithan village.

READ: Bihar: Suspected hooch tragedy toll rises to 16, FIR lodged against 14

Supporters of hooch traders resorted to heavy retaliatory stone-pelting, resulting in injuries to four policemen, and freed seven of the 13 arrested persons.

The injured policemen  havildar Bhagwan Jha, constable Pramod Kumar, chowkidars Raju Kumar and Ramsundar  have been admitted to Jagdishpur refferal hospital.

READ: Bihar considering death penalty to curb hooch production

Confirming the raid, Jagdishpur deputy superintendent of police Dayashankar said the six arrested persons had been identified as Manoj Nut, Vinod Nut, Indrajit Ram, Surendra Ram, Sanjay Ram and Madan Bind. Raids were being conducted to arrest the seven persons who had escaped from police custody, he said, while denying police firing.

Bihar became a dry state on April 5, 2016. Under the states prohibition law, consuming, keeping or dealing in liquor is an offence, which attracts imprisonment up to 10 years.
A team of officials from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have reached London for discussions on the extradition of former liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

A four-member team led by CBI additional director Rakesh Asthana will apprise British authorities about the finer points of the loan default cases against Mallya, CBI sources said.

Two senior ED officials are also part of the team, they said.

Mallyas extradition is now before the British court where neither the CBI nor the ED are direct parties. Indian agencies primarily aid and assist British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of absconders before the courts, an official explained.

The agencies move to send a team to London is aimed at presenting a strong case for the extradition of the business tycoon before the court.

The 61-year-old was arrested by British authorities last month on Indias extradition request in connection with a Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank being probed by the CBI.

He was released on bail within hours by a London court which has fixed May 17 as the next date of hearing.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore (including interest) to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

The CBI has two cases against him -- one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India-led consortium.

The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge on whether or not to issue a warrant of arrest.

In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The wanted person has the right to appeal to higher courts against any decision all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Under the law, the British secretary of state may only consider four issues when deciding whether to order a persons extradition -- whether the person is at risk of the death penalty, whether special arrangements are in place, whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is required and whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.
Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday became the first Indian state to break away from the 150-year old British tradition of an April-March financial year by switching to a January-December period. The state cabinet approved this switch on Tuesday.

The change in the financial year will kick in from January 2018.

This move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed all states to share their views on the central government shifting to a new fiscal.

But economists such as former chief statistician, Pronab Sen said that just one state changing the fiscal year would lead to confusion. Before the central government changes its financial year, a state doing it would mean that the state budget would be pure fiction. The state will have no idea about the resource flow and transfers from the Centre, said Sen.

There is however, no Constitutional need for states to shift to a new period for a financial year before the central government does so.

A high-level committee led by Shankar Acharya had submitted its report to the finance ministry in December 2016, also reportedly pitched for aligning the financial year with the calendar year. The committee set up in July last year, was mandated with the task of studying the merits of NITI Aayogs suggestion to move to a January-December financial year. The committee has extended its support to this move saying that the change will align India to its monsoon and agricultural harvests.

Subsequently, a Parliamentary panel also endorsed the shift in the financial year followed by India. And in a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley had said that before endorsing the view of the Shankar Acharya committee consultation with states and local bodies was necessary.

Economists are divided on the committees recommendations.

Agriculture economist, Ashok Gulati supported the change in the accounting period and said: In case of a drought, which happens between June to September, a change in the accounting period from January to December will help in better budgeting. If the Budget is presented in November, then early allocations will help the agro economy and farmers. Given that agriculture contributes to over 15% of Indias GDP and over 58% rural households depend on it, many experts have supported this move.

Others like Pronab Sen remain sceptical about the change. I dont see the need to change the accounting period. What needs to be done is timely passage of Budget, so that the construction period is not hampered. In any case, for construction, the monsoon months are a lost period, he said.

But adoption of these recommendations by the government would mean yet another change in the Budget presentation date. In case of a January-to-December accounting period, the Budget will have to be presented in November. Parliament sessions will also have to be reworked, along with changes in data collection and working of state governments.

Chartered accountants point out that the change in the accounting period will not impact the common man. The taxation period will just change from April-March to the new 12-month period.

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A man in Bihar was shot dead on Monday for meeting his fiancee a month before they were to married, defying a tradition that angered the womans family.

Manish Patel was meeting the woman at her home in Kaimur districts Dumdum village on Monday, enraging her two uncles, villagers said.

An altercation ensued and one of the uncles whipped out a pistol and shot Manish in the chest. His fiancee and her father immediately took him to the government hospital at Bhabua, where he died during treatment, eyewitnesses said.

Patel, 22, had met the woman, 20, in the village and the two had fallen in love before their parents agreed to their marriage. They were engaged last month and the wedding was set for June 6.

Patels family and locals alleged that he died due to the hospitals negligence.

They took away the body and blocked traffic at Bhabuas Jaya Prakash chowk protesting against the killing and the treatment at the hospital.

Police used force to disperse the protesters and Rakesh Kumar Singh, the Station House Officer of Bhabua, said a case had been registered against the two uncles of the girl on the statement of the victims father.

The police were conducting raids to arrest the accused, Singh said.
A three-year-old girl was allegedly strangled to death by her father in the early hours of Monday at Kurkuri village under Nirsa police station in Jharkhand.

Shankar Ray (26) is a farmer from Maniyadih village under Tundi block. Ray strangled his daughter, Chandni Ray, at the residence of his father-in-law in Kurkuri.

The accused committed the crime while his daughter was sleeping. After killing her, Shankar dumped the body in kitchen and fled.

He was reportedly unhappy with his wife Jyotsna (20) for giving birth to a girl child and had deserted her three years back.

After receiving the complaint, Nirsa police station in-charge Parmeshwar Prasad reached the village and sent the body for post-mortem examination to Patliputra Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in Dhanbad.

A police team has been sent to Shankars native village Maniyadih to arrest him, he told mediapersons.

Family members of Jyotsna Ray said, Shankar came to meet her wife four days ago and had been staying here with us. During this period, he tried many times to take away the girl with him, but Jyotsna did not allow. On Monday night he was successful in killing his daughter.

Shankar and Jyotsnas marriage was solemnised in 2011. He was allegedly disappointed after the birth of Chandni and deserted his wife, but kept visiting her.

Meanwhile, the family members alleged that Shankar committed the crime after he came to know about his wifes second pregnancy, fearing that this might be a girl child again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged concerns about the possible impact of the recent changes in Australian visa regulations for skilled professionals during a telephonic conversation with his counterpart Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday. Turnbull called Modi to thank him for the success of his recent visit to India.

New Delhi is examining the consequences of Australias decision to abolish a popular work visa used by over 95,000 foreign workers, majority of them Indians.

The visa programme, known as 457 visa, allows businesses in Australia to employ foreign workers for a period up to four years in skilled jobs where there is a shortage of Australian workers.

A government release said the two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue.

We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa, the visa that brings temporary foreign workers into our country, Turnbull said in April.

Read more: The 457 visa ruling will impact India-Australia relations

The majority of the visa holders were from India. The nationals of the UK and China come after Indians in availing these visas.

The government is examining consequences of the new policy in consultation with all stakeholders. This is also a matter we will be looking at in the context of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations, external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in April.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has attacked Narendra Modi, alleging Muslims are being harassed in the country and warned that the Prime Minister s image will be affected if the community approached the United Nations to narrate their ordeal.

Modiji will not be able to show his face anywhere. Stop it otherwise be ready to face the consequences, Khan told reporters in Rampur on Monday.

The former Uttar Pradesh minister came into the spotlight in 2015 after he wrote to the UN demanding its intervention to protect the Muslim community. He wrote the letter after a Muslim man was beaten to death by a mob for allegedly consuming beef in Dadri.

Muslims follow the Holy Quran and will continue to obey it till their last breath, whereas the Prime Minister is neither aware of Islam nor Hinduism, Khan said.

Azams comments came after Modi called upon Indias Muslims to show the path of modernity to Muslims across the world on Saturday. He also urged Muslims to keep the debate over triple talaq away from politics, saying that he hoped efforts to reform the controversial Islamic practice will come from the community.

I am sure enlightened people will emerge from among Muslims and come forward to end this practice, liberating our Muslim daughters and mothers from the scourge, Modi said at a function to celebrate the life of 12th-century social reformer and Kannada philosopher Basaveswara.

The former minister also attacked Yogi Adityanath alleging that the chief minister has failed to keep his words.

There is a difference between what the CM says and what he really do. He said that he will stop illegal encroachment over land but has failed to stop his own minister who has done illegal construction, he said without taking any names.

Khan, who is spending most of his time at his constituency Rampur following the SPs defeat in the assembly elections, has been critical of the policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre as well as in the state.
A Muslim man who allegedly waved a flag resembling Pakistans national flag during a religious procession last December, in Bisauli area of Badaun about 50 km from here, was arrested on Monday.

The arrest came a couple of days after two Hindu boys of the same area were held for posting an objectionable message on Whatsapp.

We arrested one Salman Khan (26) from the house of his relatives. The accused was absconding following the incident (in December),and a police team was on the lookout for him, said senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Badaun, Chandra Prakash. Cops are now looking for the second accused in the case - a minor boy.

Salman and a 15-year-old boy were charged under sections 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) and 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riots) of the Indian Penal Code, for waving a flag that resembled Pakistans national flag during a religious procession of Muslims in December, 2016. Sixty other unidentified men were charged in the case.

The flag was made at Salmans residence and was handed over to the minor who waved it during the procession, said investigating officer (IO) Kuldeep Singh. We are still trying to identify others who were present during the procession and failed to stop the accused.

Meanwhile, some local Muslims have alleged that Salmans arrest was a fallout of the arrest of Hindu minors on Saturday. However, cops have denied any connection between the two.

Salman was held to compensate for the arrest of the Hindu boys last week. The arrest was made under pressure from local Hindu groups, said Salmans cousin Faheem. The case itself was registered following pressure from the BJP.

The BJP district president, Harish Shakya had reportedly organised a rally in the area following the flag-waving incident, and had also submitted a memorandum to then district magistrate to lodge a complaint in the matter.
The beheading of two Indian soldiers in a cross-LoC raid on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani forces has once again shone the spotlight on Pakistan armys border action team (BAT), notorious for such gruesome attacks across the de facto border.

Head constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the BSF and naib subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh of the army were killed when their 10-member patrol party was attacked by the rogue hit squad that sneaked 200 metres into Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district.

The Border Security Force said on Tuesday the strike was well-planned by Pakistan and the BAT had regular army men and militants.

Here are a few facts about the rogue team that has hit India hard on many occasions:

1. Pakistan specifically uses BAT for raids across the Line of Control.

2. The Pakistan armys elite special services group forms the core of BAT. Its primary task is to dominate the LoC by carrying out disruptive actions in the form of surreptitious raids.

3. The rogue teams mostly consist of regular soldiers but militants, too, accompany them on specific missions, Indian army officers have said.

4. Special services group commandos are among the best trained in Pakistan and are also called Black Storks due to the unique headgear they wear.

5. Short and swift raids by BAT are not a new phenomenon and have been carried at regular intervals along the LoC.

BAT action was responsible for Indian soldier Hemrajs beheading and the cold-blooded murder of five other soldiers in separate cross-border assaults in 2013.

6. Such teams can have anywhere between four to 10 people. Pakistan army encourages such action along the LoC. It has been going on for a while, lieutenant general Vinod Bhatia (retd), who was Indias director general of military operation during 2012-14.
Lessons based on the life and contributions of the 8th century philosopher and theologian Adi Shankracharya will be included in the educational curricula for schools in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made the announcement on Monday at a programme organised to mark the birth anniversary of Adi Shankracharya in Bhopal.

Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi of Kanchi peeth attended the function.

Apart from syllabus, research work will also be carried out to collect all the historical things related to Adi Shankracharya.

The CM also announced that a big statue of Shankracharya will be erected at Omkareshwar. A museum and interpretation centre will also be set up at Omkareshwar.

On the occasion, the department of culture of MP also released a book on Adi Shankracharya.

The book included a list of announcements related to Adi Shankracharya, made by Shivraj Singh Chouhan during Narmada Seva Yatra at Omkareshwar on February 9.

Read more: MP govt says schools and colleges must display Modi, Vivekananda portraits

According to Madhya Pradeshs culture department, the basic objective of including the preaching of Shankracharya in syllabus is to eradicate the social evil and caste discrimination from the society.

Department of culture, principal secretary Manoj Shrivastava said, With syllabus in school education, we want administrators to follow the teachings of Shankracharya while taking administrative decisions.

However, opposition party feels that BJP-led state government is making such announcement for a political mileage.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, spokesperson KK Mishra said, Congress respects the preaching of Adi Shankracharya but BJP led state government is trying to gather support through religion and faith for 2018 assembly election as the government failed in developing the state. Why was the decision of Narmad Seva Yatra and including life and teachings of Adi Shankracharya in the curriculum not taken in the past 13 years?

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The Congress and other opposition parties have almost given up on the faction-ridden AIADMK but will try to rope in the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) disgruntled allies Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal.

The support from Sena and Akalis will depend on the who our candidate is, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

Yechury pointed out that the Sena had supported Congress Pratibha Patil against the BJPs candidate in 2007 presidential polls.

The opposition camp is also desperate to open a channel of communication with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik, considered a key fence-sitter. A senior non-Congress leader has been entrusted to negotiate with him.

The party is banking on the BJD, which had announced PA Sangmas candidature in the 2012 presidential poll because it has recently turned aggressive towards the BJP.

As Patnaiks BJP is fighting Congress in its state, he is unlikely to respond to any direct calls from the Congress, said a Congress leader.

Top sources in the opposition camp told Hindustan Times that if the NDA government proposes the name of President Pranab Mukherjee, who may have a very slim chance for a second term, as the next President, Congress and partners will not oppose it.

Certainly, being an incumbent president he will not fight an election. But if there is a consensus around his name, it will be a different situation, said an opposition party leader.

The Congress, on its own, is unlikely to propose his name, said a senior party strategist involved in the negotiations for the upcoming presidential election in July.

His name is not on our first list. But if the government is keen to build a consensus, we will not object to his candidature, said the Congress strategist.

Rumours are rife that the BJP may propose Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmus name as the next president. Murmu, a tribal woman from Odisha, enjoys the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - the BJPs ideological mentor.

The presidential election has to be held before July 24, when President Mukherjees term ends. He had taken over the post in July 2012, defeating the NDA candidate late PA Sangma.

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Pakistan claimed on Tuesday that the international community has rejected Indias contention that the turmoil in Kashmir is primarily a cross-border terrorism issue, blaming New Delhi for scuttling all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the issue.

Pakistan Prime Ministers foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz, in a hard-hitting statement, said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Indias contention that the Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today, Aziz said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

He also welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the issue.

The recent offer of Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the issue must be welcomed, Aziz said.

In this context, the Indian counter proposal that it is ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan is no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Councils relevant resolutions on Kashmir, Aziz said.

He alleged that the Indian government has broken its own record of brutality in Kashmir by indiscriminately killing unarmed Kashmiri protesters.

Aziz said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperations (OIC) Declaration adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul, in April last, out-rightly rejected Indias attempts of equating the Kashmiris freedom struggle with terrorism.

Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large scale uprising, which is going on in Kashmir, involving mostly young unarmed Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly shows that Kashmir is a burning issue requiring urgent international attention, Aziz said.
Pakistan Army on Tuesday asked India to produce actionable evidence on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the LoC, beheaded two Indian security personnel and mutilated their bodies.

The issue was discussed during a hotline contact between the director generals of military operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension.

Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers, according to a statement issued by the army.

Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza told his Indian counterpart Lt Gen A K Bhatt that neither ceasefire violations occurred in the Sector (pointed out by India in the mutilation allegation), nor crossing of the LoC by Pakistanis troops have taken place.

Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Valley, Mirza claimed.

A junior commissioned officer and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the LoC in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistans border action team crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The Pakistan DGMO asked his Indian counterpart to provide actionable evidence related to the incident and urged the Indian army to look inwards to probe the incident, the army statement said.

He said that Pakistan was fully committed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LoC. He accused Indian troops of continuously targeting innocent civilians on LoC and apprised the Indian General that continuity of such action would invite appropriate response.

Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing, the Pakistan DGMO warned.

The DGMOs contact followed after the local commanders level hotline contact was established last night at Rawlakot- Poonch sector on LOC between the army authorities of the two countries, the army statement said.

Local commanders of Pakistan also told Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violations was committed by their side.

Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violations from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations, the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

Pakistan Army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act, Jaitley had said.
Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all.

Pakistan welcomes the Turkish Presidents offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue, the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement Monday night.

Erdogans meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India.

The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India on Monday asserted that the Kashmir issue is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogans remarks, saying, Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the foreign office said.

It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community, including the US, have urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security.
An angry mob on Monday set a Haryana Roadways bus on fire after it crushed to death a student at Achina Tal village of Charkhi Dadri district.

The deceased has been identified as Rajbir Sharma, a Class-12 student in Dadri.

Sources said the bus was to drop Sharma at his stop but the driver skipped the stop as a large number of people were waiting there to board the already packed bus. As the bus drove past the stop, Sharma allegedly jumped off from the front door of the moving bus and got crushed under the rear wheels after he fell down.

Angered over his death, the students waiting for the bus blocked the Dadri-Delhi road and called other villagers to join their protest. The group soon went on rampage and started vandalising public property, demanding the arrest of the accused bus driver. They also torched the roadways bus standing nearby.

Mediapersons, who were covering the protest, alleged that they were assaulted and robbed of their cameras by the villagers. The entire drama ended after over three hours when Dadri superintendent of police (SP) Sunil Dalal and Haryana Roadways workshop manager Raj Singh Ahlawat reached the spot and assured protesters of a case against bus driver.

The police said they have shifted the students body to the civil hospital for post-mortem.

SP Dalal said they have registered a case under Sections 147, 149, 323, 435 and 283 of Indian Penal Code against 50 persons, 15 of whom have been named.
Supreme Court Justice J Chelameswar has refused to participate in any of the three constitution bench hearings scheduled to be held during the summer vacation.

The judge had in August sparked controversy when he, in an unprecedented step, decided to boycott all future collegium meets, complaining that there was no transparency. Justice Chelameswar since then has not attended any collegium to appoint judges.

The one time he did attend a meeting was when collegium members assembled to finalise the new memorandum of procedure (MoP) - a system to appoint new judges to high courts and SC.

It is understood that Justice Chelameswar has politely told Chief Justice of India JS Khehar that he would not be a member of any of the three benches that would determine important issues - triple talaq, whether the new WhatsApp contract policy violated right to privacy and freedom and status of children born to illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

The cases are getting listed during the summer break at the instance of CJI Khehar who has appealed to his colleagues to work during vacation so that the arrears could be brought down.

It is learnt that the CJI tried to prevail upon Justice Chelameshwar to head any of the three constitution benches, but the latter has declined to do so. He has apparently informed the CJI that he would like to utilise his summer vacation for personal work. Justice Chelameswar is due to retire on on June 22, 2018.

In all, 15 judges including the CJI would be sitting through the first half of the vacation. The CJIs decision to hold the hearings was reluctantly accepted by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and senior advocates such as Kapil Sibal who told Justice Khehar the move was a departure from the age-old tradition of taking lawyers consent.

Rohatgis concern was that his presence was required in all three cases and for him to be able to attend all proceedings, that are likely to clash, would be impossible.

But, an unrelenting CJI reminded lawyers that during the summer vacation in 2015, the constitution bench had heard petitions challenging the controversial law - National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)  bringing a new system to appoint judges.

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Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was killed in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, was cremated with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village in Punjab on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old, who belonged to the armys 22 Sikh Infantry, was one of the two soldiers beheaded by Pakistani troops on Monday. Head constable Prem Sagar of the BSFs 200th battalion was the other soldier.

Mourners from his village and surrounding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to Singh.

Paramjeet Singh was killed, beheaded by Pakistani troops along the LoC. (AFP Photo)

Senior army officers and civil administration officials were also present as buglers sounded the Last Post and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute.

His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a bedecked vehicle.

The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.

A Pakistani special forces team had on Monday sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

Singh is survived by his parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, all aged between 11 and 14.

Paramjeet Kaur cries with her children at their residence. (AFP Photo)

Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was supposed to visit his village a week later on a holiday, his family and friends have demanded a befitting reply be given to Pakistan

Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre should give free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a stern lesson.

Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husbands killing, Kaur said.

The anger was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the Indo-Pak international border, against Pakistan.

While Shaheed Paramjeet Amar Rahe slogans rent the air, Pakistan Murdabad slogans were also raised.

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab on Tuesday, including in Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

The martyrs father, Udham Singh, said he was proud of his son but he wanted that Pakistan be taught a lesson.

Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson, he said.

Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.

Struggling to hold back her tears, his daughter Simardeep said she was proud of her father who had laid down his life for the nation.

Udham said Paramjeet had wanted to give the best possible education to his children and had talked about renovating his house so his kids could get more space to study and play.

Women console Paramjeet Singhs wife. (Sanjeev Sharma/HT Photo)

His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government should give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy.

Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away.

My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he (CM) has served in the army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief, he told reporters.

A childhood friend of Paramjeet also asked, Why cant our government give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Give our army a free hand. The Sikh Regiment alone is enough to take on Pakistan.
The Indian Army on Tuesday described the killing and mutilation of two of its soldiers as dastardly and inhuman and told its Pakistani counterpart that the incident merited an unequivocal response.

But Pakistan denied its troops were involved in Mondays attack on an Indian patrol in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between the two countries.

India reacted sharply and the director general of military operations, Lt Gen AK Bhatt, conveyed a strong message to his Pakistani counterpart during a hotline phone call.

Such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response, a statement quoted Bhatt.

The DGMOs speak every Tuesday, a mechanism put in place to avoid skirmishes along the LoC. The latest incident threatens to deepen hostilities as surcharged calls rang out across India to teach the Pakistanis a lesson.

The ambush, backed by mortar shelling and machine gun fire, on a 10-member patrol comprising BSF and army soldiers killed naib subedar Paramjit Singh, a 42-year-old junior commissioned officer with 22 Sikh Regiment, and 45-year-old head constable Prem Sagar of the BSFs 200 Battalion.

Their bodies were found beheaded at the Krishna Ghati sector.

Army vice chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand said the Pakistani army would have to accept responsibility and face consequences for its action, which reflected its frustration.

We dont want to talk about what we will do. We will do what we have to do at the time and place of our choosing, he said in New Delhi.

Defence minister Arun Jaitley promised that the soldiers sacrifice wont go in vain. The beheading is understood to have featured in his discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. But there was no official word on it.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Pakistan a rogue state and said the government would take appropriate action against the nation for the brutal killings. Also, he blamed Pakistan for funding terrorism and fomenting trouble in Kashmir.

A relative touches the coffin of naib subedar Paramjit Singh in the village of Vein Poin on the outskirts of Amritsar on Tuesday. (Reuters Photo)

India had furnished proof of Pakistan sponsoring a secessionist movement in the Kashmir Valley, a region that has been recording street protests almost every day of late. The unrest forced the Election Commission to countermand the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll for the second time, saying the situation was scary.

According to Indian military intelligence, Mondays attack was conducted by the neighbours Border Action Team (BAT), which is said to be a mix of army regulars and militant mercenaries who do the establishments bidding.

Members of the rogue squad sneaked more than 200 metres into the Indian side of the LoC and ambushed the patrol when Pakistani forces were engaging forward posts with artillery and heavy machine guns.

Kamal Nayan Choubey, the additional director general of the BSFs western command, said the cross-border attack was well-planned and carried out by the BAT.

If there is a need to revisit the SOPs (standard operating procedure), the army will do it in tandem with the BSF, he said, responding to reports that the patrol walked into a trap.

The army dismissed television news reports that India destroyed Pakistani bunkers and killed several enemy soldiers across the border in Jammu and Kashmir in a retaliatory attack.

A senior army officer said the reports were not true. A lot of planning goes into any army action. We will respond but at apt time and place.

The incident happened a day after Pakistani Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited areas along the LoC opposite the Krishna Ghati sector.

Pakistani DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza denied the killing and mutilation, and blamed India for what he called allegations that were made in an attempt to divert the attention of the world from the situation in Kashmir.

Pakistans denials had little impact at two villages in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh  that of fallen soldiers Singh and Sagar.

As bugles sounded the Last Post and Singhs headless body was brought for cremation with full military honour, wife Paramjit Kaur said: If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, they should allow me to take revenge for my husbands killing.

BSF trooper Sagars was flown in a military helicopter to his village in UPs Deoria, but the cremation was held back as his family demanded the presence of Prime Minister Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Sagars younger brother, who is also with the BSF, said the news of his death has shattered the family.

(With agency inputs)
The Congress on Tuesday slammed the Narendra Modi government over the killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district, saying it has no policy on national security.

Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal said it was shameful that the ruling BJP was organising Vijay Parv to celebrate its victory in the Delhi municipal polls at a time when Pakistan killed two of our soldiers in our territory.

He also took a jibe at the government and said it should take off bangles and do something.

Sibal was referring external affairs minister Sushma Swarajs offer to send bangles to Manmohan Singh when Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistan during the UPA rule.

He claimed there has been an increase in civilian and security personnel causalities during the 35 months of the NDA rule so far as compared to the corresponding period during the UPA government.

He said the government can finalise a policy to deal with cross-border terrorism only if there is a full-time defence minister.
After the surprise attack by Pakistani troops on Monday, the Indian Army and the BSF will be revising their Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) on the Line of Control (LoC) to avert such losses, a top security officer said in Jammu on Tuesday.

The Indian security establishment sees a link between the attack, in which two soldiers were beheaded, and the visit by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa to the LoC a day before.

..I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, there is no doubt about it, BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command Kamal N Choubey said when asked whether there was a link between Mondays incident and the Pakistan army chiefs visit to the area on Sunday.

Everybody knows it well that this incident (yesterday) took place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army chief, Choubey said while talking to reporters at the BSF Frontier Headquarters here.

An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked whether the SOPs were followed by the troops during the patrolling, the BSF officer said, SOPs are there and they have followed them. The question is basically the element of surprise. Every such incident which takes place we learn from it.

The ADG said the army and the BSF will be brainstorming together and come up with a revised SOP.

The BSF works under the operational command of the army at the LoC. I assure you, together (the army and the BSF) there will be brainstorming and we will come out with yet more revised SoP so that such incidents can be minimized, ADG said.

The top officer said it was a very very well coordinated and planned action by the Pakistani army.

The firing coming from two Pakistani FDLs (forward defence locations), and simultaneously firing coming from two ambushes and a BAT action in between, is a very well coordinated action, Choubey said.

Giving details of the attack, he said, A joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector for boundary protection.

When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (forward defence locations) from Pakistans side and two ambush, which they had set up, started firing simultaneously. They engaged our jawans in this.

In between this, he said, the (Pakistani) BAT (Border Action Team), which consists of regular army and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two soldiers while the rest were engaged.

He said the patrolling party, which was attacked, consisted of 9 men, out of which 6 belonged to the BSF and three to the army.

Asked whether the Indian patrol party had gone out to defuse land mines, he said, that is a routine affair on the daily basis as a morning drill.

About alertness of the troops along the LoC, he said it depends on the terrain and two many other things, as to how action takes place and the timing.

At that time, when there is a burst fire coming from four sides, the first reaction is really to save one self. Because you already have two colleagues getting martyred, the response depends on the situation. The response is proportionate to that situation in such case, he said. The BSF officer said that troops along the International Border (IB) are very very alert.

The launching pads (for terrorists intending to infiltrate) are always active and across the IB, they are always active. But we also are very very alert, he said.

The IB is under direct control of the BSF and so far there has not been a single incident of a successful infiltration, he said.
Merger talks between two warring factions of Tamil Nadus ruling party are on the verge of collapse over a demand to oust VK Sasikala and excise the influence her extended family holds over the government and party.

After hectic backchannel negotiations for weeks, the two sides  led by chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami on behalf of jailed Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam  appear to be going in different directions.

The Panneerselvam camp is firm in its demand that Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran, who is in a Delhi jail on charges of attempting to bribe election commission officials, must be ousted from the party formally if the merger talks are to commence.

OPS, as the former chief minister is known, has time and again reiterated this demand and said that this is non-negotiable. The other pre-condition is a CBI probe into the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa after her 75-day hospitalisation in Chennai last year.

But the ruling faction of the AIADMK appears to be in no mood to consider these two pre-conditions.

Chief minister Palaniswami blamed the former chief minister and his team for putting up conditions and changing them now and then as if to signal that they dont want a merger.

Addressing party office bearers and cadres in Salem on Sunday, the chief minister declared that he was running out of patience with the attitude of the OPS camp and his outburst indicated that merger was now relegated to the background.

Ours is a running government and we have full support of 123 MLAs. And ninety per cent of the partys office bearers were with our party, Palaniswami said.

Finance minister D Jayakumar had been claiming that we are always ready for talks, if and when OPS group wants. They are only delaying and we dont know why.

Another indication of growing distance between the two factions is the declaration of a mass campaign by OPS.

The former chief minister will be starting a mass contact programme across Tamil Nadu from May 5. This will also be used as a campaign for the forthcoming local body elections. OPS will tour all the 32 districts and could even appoint district office bearers for the party.

The crisis in Tamil Nadu began after OPS rebelled against Sasikala, a long-time confidante of Jayalalithaa who was tipped to take over as chief minister. The party split ahead of assembly bypolls in Chennais RK Nagar last month  which was scrapped following allegations of large-scale financial irregularities and bribing. Sasikala is in jail on corruption charges but her, along with her extended family  known derisively as the Mannargudi Mafia  are said to still wield considerable influence on the party.

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The killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control on Monday has triggered shock and anger in the country but the outrage is more intense in Sher Nagar, a village in Mathura.

The incident has revived the memories of January 8, 2013 when Lance Naik Hemraj, hailing from Sher Nagar village, was beheaded by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) along the Indo-Pak border.

The day Lance Naik Hemraj was cremated, leaders from all political parties visited the village to pay tribute to the soldier. All of them promised that a befitting reply would be given to Pakistan so that such incidents did not take place in future.

However, the Mondays incident in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district in J&K has come as a rude shock to the villagers who say it has added insult to their injury.

Enough is enough. It is high time we taught a lesson to Pakistan which continues to violate human rights with impunity, says Jai Singh, brother of Lance Naik Hemraj.

Jai Singh is employed in the state revenue department.

Pooran Singh, another brother of the soldier, feels timely action after Hemrajs killing in 2013 could have averted the repeat of the gruesome incident.

Rajnath Singh, who is the Union home minister now, had visited the village after Hemrajs killing in 2013. He had promised that 10 soldiers of Pakistan army would be beheaded to avenge the death of one Indian solidier, he recalls.

Meena Devi, mother of Hemraj who had gone on a hunger strike to seek the return of her sons head after his body was mutilated on the Indo-Pak border, now lives with the memories of her son.

Talks with Pakistan will not yield any result. It is time for action now, she says.

Dharam Veer Singh, who was the village pradhan when the body of Lance Naik Hemraj was brought to the village, advocates action instead of words as all warnings for action against Pakistan fall on deaf ears.

Our jawans are sacrificing their lives to serve their motherland and what are we doing for them? Time has come to settle the issue once and for all, says Dharam Veer.

Another former village pradhan Babulal Singh says that the party ruling at the Centre is also a part of the government in Jammu & Kashmir but it is unable to check the loss of the lives of army personnel.

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Uttar Pradesh labour minister Swami Prasad Maurya called the Islamic practice of triple talaq a curse for society on Monday, and said the government will ensure that victims of the tradition get justice.

Maurya had last week triggered criticism from the Muslim community on the triple talaq issue when he said that their men abused the tradition to satisfy their lust.

To fulfil their lust, they (Muslim men) frequently change their wives through triple talaq. When such men leave their wives and their children on the streets to beg, then no one will see it as good, Maurya had said.

The same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Muslims to keep the debate over triple talaq away from politics.

The Narendra Modi government has said it wants to replace the triple talaq divorce and other Islamic personal laws with a new uniform civil code applicable to all religious groups. That proposal has met stiff opposition from Muslim groups, who argue that it would discriminate against them.

But about two dozen Muslim womens groups have in recent years mounted legal challenges to triple talaq, which they say discriminates against them and violates their human rights.

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court will begin hearing daily from May 11 petitions challenging the validity of triple talaq.

On Monday, Maurya was in Varanasi where he inaugurated a medical van for cows. The minister also reiterated the governments commitment to the protection of cows.
The election commissions decision to put off the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll for the second time is not just a rescheduling exercise but a reflection of the deteriorating situation in the Valley.

The poll panel late on Monday cancelled the bypoll, saying situation was not conducive for a free and fair election.

 Incidents of stone pelting, violence and rioting have rather been on the increase including loss of life since April 10, the poll panel said in a report available on its website.

The by-election to the parliamentary constituency in Jammu and Kashmir was earlier postponed to May 25 from April 12 after poll day violence in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency left eight people dead and many more injured.

The ECs Monday decision was based on reports it received from the state government and poll panel. Kashmir has witnessed a spike in violent street protests and stone pelting since April 9, when polling was held for the Srinagar seat.

Fearing worsening of the situation and Srinagar poll-like violence, the EC chose to cancel the bypoll.

The turmoil in the Valley is being compared to the violence the state witnessed in 1990s when militancy was at its peak.

Though the PDP-BJP coalition government has set a three-month timeframe for restoring normalcy, the ECs 10-page order shows the administration has its job cut out.

EC report

The commission cited reports from the state administration, chief electoral officer and states divisional commissioner to say there was no change in the ground situation from the time the poll was first deferred on April 10.

There has been no noticeable improvement in the law and order situation in the four districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam, the poll panel wrote.

These south Kashmir districts are the hotbed of militant activities.

What would worry the Centre and the state government more is the ECs observation that there is further continuous deterioration in the situation.

Dialogue and governors rule

The anger on the streets has fuelled the demand for opening talks with the separatists despite the BJPs reluctance.

On April 24, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and pushed for dialogue. The PDPs demand has been met with a refusal by the Centre which is opposed to talking to those not loyal to India, a euphemism for the separatists.

We asked for governors rule because it would offer some respite to the people of Kashmir. Our demand to the Centre is to immediately start a process of dialogue and include the separatists, Ali Mohammed Sagar of the opposition National Conference told HT.

The NC sees ECs collusion with the PDP in deferring of the poll.

The poll was deferred only to please the PDP, which could foresee its loss. Situation was bad when the Srinagar poll was held, Sagar said.

Radha Kumar, a former interlocutor on Kashmir, backed the EC decision.

It is well known that holding elections during conflict is not good. There is a tendency for the more extremists to get elected in such situations. People also feel free to vote during peace time and the sight of thousands of security men guarding polling stations is not a good symbol to speak of, she said.

Kumar, too, favoured a dialogue process that would include separatists. It is a shocking statement that the government will not talk to those not loyal to India; we are a country with a history of peace-making even with armed groups, she said.

The BJP has dismissed the demand for governors rule, saying the situation would change for better.

Elections will be held in due course. Violence is a reason for rescheduling polls but not the only one. The EC has taken note that Ramzan and Amarnath Yatra are coming up in May and tourist season will also pick up, so it was a collective of many factors, a state BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.

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Parents of 1,054 students have threatened to pull their children out of a government girls senior secondary school in Barmer if a nearby wine shop is not removed by May 4.

Local residents also started an indefinite dharna in front of the liquor shop four days ago demanding its closure, forcing Barmer district collector Sudheer Sharma to order its temporary closure.

At a meeting of the school development management committee (SDMC) on Monday, parents said that if liquor shop is not removed by the deadline -- the day when results of the 2016-17 session are expected be declared --they would have their daughters removed from the school.

Earlier on Sunday, women protesters forcefully entered the liquor shop and asked the shop owner to close it. Some protesters also tried to vandalise the shop before police evicted them.

A delegation of women protestors had also met chief minister Vasundhara Raje in Jodhpur on Sunday to lay down their demands. Protestors claimed said that the CM assured them of directing authorities over liquor stores not being operated open near the school.

But district collector Sharma said that there was no such direction yet. He quoted excise department officials saying that all norms were followed for the opening of the wine shop. Sharma said considering the protest, they are planning to explore another location for the liquor shop.

Strong sentiments against liquor stores in the region, particularly in residential areas, have become a worry for the excise department. Only seven of a total 11 permitted shops in Barmer city have opened recently.
Heres a list of top 10 stories to bring you up to date.

1 - A pre-planned operation: How Pakistan army carried out an attack 250 metres inside Indian territory

An Indian Army patrol team was taken by surprise by a group of Pakistani special forces who had set up an ambush more than 250 metres deep inside Indian territory early on Monday morning and beheaded two security personnel. Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) set up the ambush and waited for a long time for the patrol team, while Pakistani troops attacked two forward posts with rockets and mortar bombs along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. It was a pre-planned operation by Pakistan army. They had pushed in the Border Action Team over 250 metres deep inside Indian territory and set up the ambush over a long period to carry out the attack, a senior officer said.

Read the story here.

2 - 5 cops, 2 guards killed in Kashmirs Kulgam as Hizbul militants target cash van

Militants killed five policemen and two bank guards in an attack on a cash van in Phambai area of Kulgam in South Kashmir on Monday while students protests raged across the valley and two soldiers lost their lives on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. The cash van was returning after dispensing cash to local bank branches when it was attacked. Bank officials denied reports that the militants looted Rs 50 lakh from the van. The five Jammu and Kashmir policemen and the two guards killed in the attack were locals.

Read the story here.

3 - Pakistan kills, mutilates two Indian soldiers, army calls incident despicable

Pakistani forces killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies after a targeted attack on frontier posts in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday morning  an act the army described as despicable and promised appropriate response. The slain soldiers were naib subedar Paramjit Singh, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) with the armys 22 Sikh Regiment, and head constable Prem Sagar of the BSFs 200 Battalion. The government strongly condemns this barbaric act and the country has full confidence and faith in the armed forces, which will react appropriately, defence minister Arun Jaitley said. This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks dont happen even during a war, let alone peace  The sacrifice of these soldiers will not go in vain.

Read the story here.

4 - Kashmir a bilateral issue with Pakistan, India tells Turkish President Erdogan

India informed visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday that a solution to the Kashmir issue can only be found through bilateral talks with Pakistan, tacitly rejecting his suggestion for multilateral dialogue on the matter. The Kashmir issue has a prominent dimension of cross-border terrorism that needs to be stopped by those who are perpetuating it, external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said without naming Pakistan. Erdogan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a detailed discussion on terrorism and the two leaders agreed there could be no justification for terrorism wherever it is committed. They also urged all countries to disrupt terrorism networks and financing and stop cross-border movements of terrorists, Baglay said.

Read the story here.

5 - Our government will be government of all and not one person, says Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched the partys election campaign in Gujarat on Monday with a promise to give a government that would listen to `Mann Ki Baat of people while he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for catering only to the rich. Addressing a rally in Narmada district, Gandhi raised several issues including the Patidar agitation, land acquisition bills and demonetisation. On November 8 Modiji told you that I am your PM and listen to my Mann ki Baat. And from today Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in your pockets are not valid, said Gandhi adding, The Congresss government in Gujarat will listen to your Mann Ki Baat. It will be the government of all and not one person. We will fight the next elections with all our might and defeat Modiji and the BJP in Gujarat.

Read the story here.

6 - Manish Sisodia says Kejriwal is hurt by the actions of Kumar Vishwas

A day after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal denied a rift within the Aam Aadmi Party and called Kumar Vishwas his younger brother, senior party leader Manish Sisodia said the party leadership, including its convener Kejriwal, is hurt by the actions of Vishwas. Sisodia also announced that AAPs Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan had resigned as a member of the partys political affairs committee (PAC). Objections were raised over Amanatullahs statement against Kumar Vishwas. He himself put down the papers and his resignation has been accepted, he said. Meanwhile, none of AAPs leaders from Punjab will attend the PAC meeting scheduled for Tuesday in New Delhi.

Read the stories here and here.

7 - Trump walks out of interview after being questioned about Obama wiretap claims

US President Donald Trump walked out of an interview at the Oval Office after he was asked about the wiretapping accusations he made against his predecessor Barack Obama. When CBS John Dickerson pressed for details about claims that Obama tapped his phones during the presidential campaign, Trump responded, You can figure that out yourself. When Dickerson repeatedly asked the question so that it isnt fake news, Trump merely said that everyone was entitled to their opinions. However, when Dickerson asked him about the accusation again, Trump walked off, saying Okay, thats enough. Thank you.

Read the story here.

8 - Trump would be honoured to meet North Koreas Kim Jong-Un, if conditions right

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would not rule out meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, under the right conditions, as Pyongyang threatens to carry out a sixth nuclear test. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been running high for weeks, with signs the North might be preparing a long-range missile launch or a new nuclear test -- prompting tough talk from Washington, which has refused to rule out a military strike in response. But the Trump administration is also spearheading a renewed diplomatic push to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. Trump has also said he is ready to act alone in the stand-off, however -- and signalled that this could involve face-to-face talks with Kim, who has yet to meet a foreign leader since taking power.

Read the story here.

9 - New Hamas document accepts Palestinian state in territories occupied by Israel with 1967 borders

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas unveiled Monday a new policy document easing its stance on Israel after having long called for its destruction, as it seeks to improve its international standing. The document notably accepts the idea of a Palestinian state in territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. It also says its struggle is not against Jews because of their religion but against Israel as an occupier. However, Hamas officials said the document in no way amounts to recognition of Israel as demanded by the international community.

Read the story here.

10 - Ben Stokes maiden IPL ton help Rising Pune Supergiant to first win over Gujarat Lions

Ben Stokes slammed a magnificent 103* off 63 balls to help Rising Pune Supergiant to a five-wicket win over Gujarat Lions. This was Steve Smiths first win over Suresh Rainas side and it knocked Royal Challengers Bangalore out of the play-off race.

Read the story here.
Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers and the army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choosing, vice-chief of army staff Sarath Chand said on Tuesday.

He said the killing of the two soldiers and beheading them showed frustration of the Pakistan military and asserted that it will never be able to justify the action.

I do not want to say what we will do. Instead of speaking, we will focus on our action at a time and place of our choosing, he told reporters.

He was replying to questions on possible retaliation by the Indian Army over the Pakistani action.

They (Pakistani army) have said it was not done by their forces. Then who did it. Their people came to our area and did it. They will have to take responsibility and face consequences for it, Chand said.

Army chief general Bipin Rawat on Tuesday visited frontier areas in north Kashmir and asked troops to remain vigilant. He interacted with commanders and troops deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) and assured them that the whole nation stood by them.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Army told the Pakistani military that mutilating bodies of the two soldiers was a dastardly and inhuman act which called for a response and unequivocal condemnation.

Indias Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) lieutenant general AK Bhatt spoke to his Pakistan counterpart and expressed grave concern about the killing and beheading of the two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

The DGMO of the Indian army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response, the army said in a statement.

The DGMO also conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that full fire support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located in the vicinity of the incident site.

The Indian Army has already vowed an appropriate response to the despicable act. The Pakistan army has denied that it was involved in the attack.

Defence minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday that the sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain and the Indian armed forces will react appropriately to the inhuman act of the Pakistani troops.

This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks dont even take place during war, let alone during peace time. Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act, the defence minister said.

The soldiers killed were Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF head constable Prem Sagar.
Delhi Daredevils youth power displayed its full vigour on Tuesday as it lifted the team from the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 points table with a six-wicket win over defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad here.

After Yuvraj Singh scored a vintage 41-ball 70 not out to take Sunrisers Hyderabad to 185/3 in 20 overs, four Daredevils batsmen contributed 30-plus scores to guide their team to the target as they reached 189/4 in 19.1 overs.

New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson hammered 41 not out to seal victory.

READ | Yuvraj Singh impresses with 35-ball fifty against Delhi Daredevils

DD teamwork

The scores may not look significant on paper but on the field contributions from Sanju Samson, stand-in skipper Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer combined to lift the spirits of a team that was on a five-match losing streak.

At the end a 24-ball 41 not out, Anderson ensured the youngsters fight was not wasted as DD finally found solace at home.

DD now are at the sixth spot with six points from nine matches, while SRH continue to remain in the third spot with 13 points from 11 games.

READ | IPL full score, Delhi Daredevils vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: DD beat SRH 6 by wickets

Yuvraj the rescuer

Earlier, with SRHs top batsmen, skipper David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson back in the pavilion, the onus was on Yuvraj to lead his team to safety. And he took full responsibility.

India pacer Mohammed Shami bowled a tight spell, claiming the dangerous Warner and Kiwi Kane Williamson, taking charge in the absence of injured skipper Zaheer Khan. He returned 2/36 and was named the Man-of-the-Match.

Yuvraj, Henriques revel

The stylish left-hander and Moises Henriques were involved in an unbeaten 93-run fourth-wicket stand, which helped SRH recover from 92/3 to a 180-plus total.

For Yuvraj, this was the second half-century in this IPL edition and came after a string of single digit scores. The innings not just stood out because of the raining boundaries in the later overs, but also the way Yuvraj anchored it till the finish.

READ | Why Delhi Daredevils keep breaking my heart, again and again

He stayed quiet in the early overs and took quick singles with Henriques. That did not, however, mean the left-hander was choked by DD. He went for at least one boundary every over. He upped the ante only after 15 overs.

Yuvraj took a liking for DD pacers Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada. He indulged in some power-hitting to take SRH to a challenging total.

DDs youth power

DDs innings was collective effort. All top-five batsmen got starts and never cracked under pressure.

Sanju Samson and Karun Nair gave the team a steady start, scoring 40 runs in the first four overs. After the former fell to a slower ball from Mohammed Siraj, Nair continued the onslaught with Rishabh Pant.

A double whammy from our outstanding Daredevils of the match.#DilDilliHai pic.twitter.com/4UcqxP6Mwy  Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) May 2, 2017

Nairs better effort

Just when it looked that the struggling Nair might get his maiden half-century this IPL season, he was caught at long-off by Bhuvneshwar Kumar off pacer Siddharth Kaul, with the scorecard reading 72/2.

After Nairs departure, it was Pants turn to take on the hitting. He hit four fours and a six to reach 34 in just 20 balls but fell to the brilliance of Siraj, who bowled him with a quicker delivery.

But it seemed to be a day when all the Delhi Daredevils youth were charged up to prove a point. After Pants fall, it was Iyers turn to raise the temperature. The second-highest run-scorer for DD this season maintained his form to score a 25-ball 33. When he was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar, DD were 148/4 in 16 overs.

With less than 40 runs needed in the last four overs, DDs foreign recruits Chris Morris and Corey Anderson kept their calm to take their team home.

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Determined to project itself as the most potent political force before the three-tier panchayat elections in Bengal next year, the state BJP has started acting on the blueprint party president Amit Shah prepared during his three-day trip last week. The CPI(M) and Congress may not be able to contest all the seats in the panchayats but we will do it. We will leave only the seats in the Darjeeling hills for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh announced on Tuesday at the end of three-day meeting of the state executive committee in Burdwan.

The meeting was followed by a public rally.

Read: Bengal on BJP radar: Amit Shah makes 3-day trip, takes on Mamata in her backyard

Going by the strategy the BJP plans to follow, the CPI(M) should have more reasons to worry than Trinamool Congress. For, taking on the proverbial organizational strategy of the Marxists, Shah has specifically asked state BJP leaders and workers to rise and spread from the states 77,000 odd polling booth areas.

Amit Shah visit a slum in chief minister Mamata Banerjees constituency Bhawanipore. The focus of his visit was to step up the connect with common people and kick off the booth chalo drive. (Samir Jana/HT PHOTO)

We will strengthen our presence at the booth level. To achieve this, party workers across Bengal will undergo training in May. The panchayat polls will be the quarter-final, the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 will be the semi-final and the Assembly polls (in 2021) will be the final, said Dilip Ghosh.

To keep the ruling party under pressure, the BJP will stage agitation outside the Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar on May 25 demanding arrest of accused in Narada and Saradha scams.

Read: Didi suffering from BJP-phobia, agli bar Bangla, says Amit Shah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the CBI not to spare the guilty in any investigation. Those named in the Narada FIR will surely land in jail, Kailash Vijayvargiya, national general secretary and observer for Bengal, said in Burdwan on Tuesday.

To strengthen the organisation and fortify it, Shah told party leaders at a closed-door meeting last Thursday that the process of purchasing land and property for setting up karyalayas or party offices in all districts should be completed by June this year, senior state BJP leaders told HT.

If the BJP can successfully replicate the Left model, it will be easier for the party to not only counter the Trinamool but win over disillusioned Left supporters as well, state BJP leaders feel. Interestingly, the Rashtriya Shyamshevak Sangh (RSS), too, has spread its organisation following the strategy of cadre-based parties. Even CPI(M) and Trinamool leaders acknowledge the fact that the BJP owes a significant portion of its recent electoral success in Bengal to the rise of the RSS.

We will not depend on state or central forces to counter violence and electoral malpractice during the elections. We will set up a 20-member committee for every booth. These committees will interact with local people, announced Ghosh on Tuesday. The CPI(M) and other Left parties have also depended for decades on booth committees to stay in touch with voters.

BJP leaders think that this is the most opportune moment to corner Mamata Banerjee who is under pressure as the CBI investigation in the Narada sting can haul up a dozen prominent leaders of her party. (HT Photo)

Amit Shah asked us to concentrate on each and every booth area and build up contact with individual voters. This, he said, should not be confined to mere instructions from the top of the hierarchy. People responsible for building up the organization in every mandal(zone) and district have to hit the streets and prepare comprehensive plans immediately, said a top BJP leader quoting Shah.

Read: Election results: Why BJPs sweep in UP could be ominous for Mamata Banerjee

Since chief minister Mamata Banerjee makes it a point to highlight the achievements of the Trinamool government at every government and party function, Shah has asked state BJP leaders to focus on Central projects and schemes, right from Beti Bachao Beti Padao to Nirmal Ganga.

He embarked on this tour to reach out to people at the grassroots, cutting across caste and creed. He interacted with people at the booth-level to read their mind and assure them that the BJP has the potential to rise in Bengal, said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha who accompanied Shah throughout the latters stay.

Read: HC order on Narada shot in the arm for BJP, Bengal opposition

We are happy that he took on the Trinamool head on, countering Mamata Banerjees claims on administrative success with hard statistics. This snubbed our detractors who keep saying that there is a secret understanding between the BJP and Trinamool. He told people to file questions under the Right to Information Act if they had doubts about any data furnished by Banerjee, said Sinha.

Shah, it is learnt, entrusted Dilip Ghosh to monitor the new plan of action. After going through reports on infighting in the Trinamool in several districts, he also Ghosh and other leaders to keep the door open for Trinamool workers and district leaders who were not happy with their party. However, this does not mean that Trinamool MPs and MLAs facing probe in the Narada or Saradha scams can switch over to the BJP to escape prosecution. Let there be no confusion, said Sinha.

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The bitter battle between the Centre and West Bengal government is casting its shadow on other areas too. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Association has sought intervention of Union government to ensure that more IAS officers from West Bengal cadre are released for central deputation.

Alleging that IAS officers from the West Bengal cadre are increasingly losing out career progression opportunities because of the reluctance of the Mamata Banerjee government in releasing officers for central deputation, the association pointed out that currently only 12 IAS officers from the state are on central deputation against the states central deputation reserve (CDR) poll of 78.

Read: Avoid functions hosted by politicians before polls: IAS body to members

We have pleaded to Union government so that it takes up the matter with the Bengal government so that the number of IAS officers from the state released for central deputation is at least doubled to 24 immediately, said an office bearer of the association.

According to many, the deteriorating relation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has also cast its shadow on the movement of bureaucrats between the state and the Centre. (HT Photo)

It has also asked its West Bengal unit to be more vocal. Unless the state unit keeps up the pressure and takes up the matter with the state government, the effort of only the national body will not be fruitful, he said.

Read: Senior IAS officer leads by example, cleans toilet pit in Telangana village

The West Bengal government, however, has its own logic for the reluctance to release officers. The total number of vacancies of IAS officers in West Bengal is quite high at 101, and therefore, it is difficult to release more officers on central deputation, pointed out an officer of West Bengal personnel & administrative reforms department. This department is under the charge of chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself.

IAS Association refuted the logic and claimed that states with even higher vacancies send more officers on central deputation. Bihar has the highest number of vacant posts of IAS officers at 128. But it has sent 41 officers on central deputation, the IAS Association office bearer pointed out.

Besides an exposure in central ministries and crucial ministries and departments, a higher pay-band is an additional incentive for IAS officers to go for central deputation.

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The Indo-China trade through Nathu La in Sikkim resumed on Monday as the much-hyped international trade entered its 11th year.

Located at an altitude of 14,440 ft, the trade route popularly known as the old silk route resumed on July 6 2006, 44 years after it was closed since the Indo-China war in 1962.

Read: Youve got mail, at 14,000 ft: Sikkim man delivers letters between lndia, China

The route remains closed from December 1 to be reopened next year in May. From December to April the region becomes extremely cold and receives heavy snowfall which makes it impossible to access. The trading days are from Monday to Thursday and the trade will continue till November 30.

File picture of the first batch of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims crossing into China through Nathu La in 2015.

The weather is so harsh here that vehicles can move only till 3 pm and the point is closed for the day as the clock strikes 3. On Monday the route was declared open braving inclement weather and heavy showers.

Read: As China rail link nears Nathu La, red tape holds up Sikkim line

The roads are motorable and trucks carry goods across the pass into Tibet.

The opening ceremony was attended by director S K Pradhan, joint secretary Pempo T Pulger of Sikkim governments commerce & industries department and officers of central and state agencies involved in the Nathu La Trade Border.

In 2016, India exported goods worth Rs 63.38 crore and imported goods valued at Rs 19.30 crore through Nathu La.

According to the agreement, India imports 20 items such as herbal medicine, garments, shoes, quilt, blankets, carpets, goat and sheep skin, yak tail, yak hair. India exports 36 items such as spices, tea, coffee, cycles, rice, flour, handicrafts and agriculture implements.

Read: New list of goods needed to increase trade at Nathu La pass

An agreement to reopen the old silk route was reached in June 2003 during the China visit of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Located 55 km from Gangtok, Nathu La has fast emerged as a must-visit spot for tourists who often risk inclement weather to reach it and get a glimpse of the Chinese army at the border. Tourists also do quick shopping at the shops operated by the army.

Read: Six kg gold bars seized from two in Nathula

A press release issued by the Government of Sikkim said The Indo-China border trade through Nathu La resumed on Monday for the year 2017.

Incidentally, roads on the Tiber side are wider and offer a smoother ride than on the Indian side.

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In yet another step towards making Lucknow smart, the centre has released the second instalment of Rs 119 crore for the smart city project.

The state capital has already received Rs 132 crore as first instalment of the project.

However, the work could not gather much pace because of the assembly elections.

Now, even when the local body elections are round the corner, the officials associated with the project insist the work will be initiated soon and undertaken on a war footing.

Officials said the released fund have been earmarked for retrofitting work in the Qaiserbagh area. Around seven wards will be benefited with the funds released by the centre, said an official.

A total of 813 acres area in Golaganj, Wazeerganj, JC Bose, Peer Zaleel, Laxmi Bai, Hazratganj, Yaadunath Sanyal and Nishatganj wards would be developed from these funds.

For retrofitting of the Qaiserbagh area, a whopping Rs 1400 crore have been earmarked. Out of which, Rs 251 crore have already been released in two instalments, said PK Srivastava, additional municipal commissioner.

Under retrofitting plan, while all the electricity lines would go underground, drains and sewer lines in 3.2 km area would also be laid again.

Similarly, while trenches would be dug up for shifting of communication lines, the Green Gas Limited will dig the road for PNG gas connection to every household.

The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has also decided to fix sensors to get the information about overflowing sewer lines so that they can be cleaned on time, said SK Jain, chief engineer, Smart City projects.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Jain said, The LMC will fix 315 sensors so that the maintenance of sewer lines could be taken on time. He said that the whole work would be done by using advanced technology which would require minimum of road cutting as is being done during the construction of metro project.

Several other works like smart city surveillance, expansion of CCTV network, underground parking at Globe Park and developing Avadh point at Begum Hazrat Mahal Park will also be undertaken as part of the project.

The LMC has also prepared a project for geometric improvement of roads and junctions of the area. Development of pelican crossings for safe pedestrian movement and removing traffic bottlenecks is also on priority, said an official.

Development of culture and heritage centre at Chattar Manzil and a cultural club at Roshan-ud-Daula Kothi will also be undertaken as part of the project.

Besides, facade lighting and restoration of Lal Baradari, Farhat Baksh Kothi, Kothi Gulishtan-E-Eram and Darshan Vilas Kothi would also be done.

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After carrying out a major reshuffle in the state administration and the police department, the Yogi Adityanath cabinet approved the new transfer policy for 2017-18 on Tuesday.

The cabinet also decided to celebrate January 24 every year as Uttar Pradesh Day.

The cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister Yogi Adityanath also decided to stop the existing manual tender and procurement process and adopt e-tendering and e-procurement policies to bring in transparency in the system.

January 24 to be celebrated as UP Day The state cabinet has decided to celebrate January 24 every year as Uttar Pradesh Day.

Briefing media persons about the cabinet decisions, UP health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said, The Yogi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party believe that the identity of its own is a must for the pride of a state or a country. For this, the day of birth of any state and its celebration is important. The state cabinet discussed the issue of celebrating Uttar Pradesh Day. UP was earlier known United Province. Uttar Pradesh was notified in the Union gazette on January 24, 1950. Therefore, the cabinet has decided to celebrate January 24 every year as UP Day, he said. Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik had taken up the matter with the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in 2014 but no decision could be taken on the issue.

Under the new transfer policy, 20 per cent officers and employees of group A and B who have completed three years in a district or seven years in a division will be transferred. The transfers will be completed by June 30, said UP urban development minister Suresh Khanna who, along with cabinet colleague Siddharth Nath Singh, briefed media persons about the cabinet decisions here.

Heads of departments will be authorised to carry out transfer of group B employees while the state government will approve the transfers of group A officers. Differently-abled officials have been kept out of the purview of the transfer policy. The group B employees who have two years to go for retirement will be allowed posting in their home district while those in group A will be given the district of their choice close to their home district, Khanna said.

The state cabinet also approved the GST Bill to be ratified in the forthcoming session of state legislature commencing on May 15.

The cabinet also decided to exempt stamp duty of about Rs 210 crore on the transfer of land for fertilizer factory in Gorakhpur. Singh said the Union government would make an investment of Rs 6,500 crore on the revival of the factory.

In another decision, the cabinet approved the District Mineral Foundation Trust Rules 2017 that was notified by the Union government on April 25, 2017.

Under its provisions, a part of the royalty received from mining of mineral and minor minerals will be invested on providing facilities, including drinking water, in the area where the mining is carried out.
The first swine flu death of the year was reported by the civic body, after an 18-month-old boy from Worli succumbed to the viral infection on April 28. Public health officials, however, said there is was no reason to panic.

A total of 21 swine flu cases have been reported by the civic body between January and April this year as compared to only one case in the same period last year.

The boy had started showing symptoms such as vomiting and fever since April 11. He was later admitted to Dawood Hospital in Byculla on April 18. Soon after, his condition worsened and he became breathless and was taken to Noor Hospital, Kurla for further treatment.

On April 25, he was shifted to the civic-run Kasturba Hospital where he was put on a ventilator and started on anti-H1N1 medication Tamiflu, but did not survive.

Dr Padmaja Keskar, citys executive health officer, said diagnosing swine flu in children is difficult. The child was admitted to two private hospitals before he was brought to Kasturba. Unlike adults, children cannot voice their problems, which makes it difficult to make the diagnosis, she said.

The civic body has already sent letters to both public and private hospitals to be vigilant of H1N1 cases. After the death was reported, around 765 houses in the patients vicinity were surveyed by the civic body.

Meanwhile, swine-flu related deaths in other parts of Maharashtra are on steady rise, compared to last year, according to data by the state epidemiology department. In the past four months, the virus has claimed 127 lives, with most cases reported in Pune, Nashik, Sholapur and Aurangabad.

Experts said fluctuations in temperatures and the wearing off of vaccines could be reasons for the spurt. As a precaution, we have intensified screening and surveillance for all viral infections and are vaccinating high-risk groups, such as diabetics and people with high blood pressure, Dr Pradeep Awate , head, state epidemiology department.

Read | 100 swine flu deaths in Maharashtra already this year
An18-year-old student from Kamothe in Mumbai, who was riding without a helmet, died as his bike rammed into a car on Sion-Panvel highway on Monday evening.

According to the police, Rahul Siddharth Gangurde, a resident of sector 34, who took his Class 12 test this year, was on his way to Juinagar from Kalamboli.

Around 9.15pm, he went to Kalamboli to fill the fuel tank and then took a U-turn to go to Juinagar along the Sion-Panvel highway. While he was alone on his bike, two of his friends were following him on another bike, said SN Charaskar, sub-inspector from Kamothe police station.

Read more: HT for Mumbai: Use your head, wear a helmet

As they were crossing Kamothe, a car, which was moving in the same direction just ahead of Gangurde, applied urgent brakes. Gangurde braked to avoid hitting that car. His bike skid and he came under the tyres of the car, he said.

Gangurde suffered severe injuries to his head, hands and legs. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The driver of the car, Vinod Dange, 32, has been arrested. He has been booked under sections 279, 337, 338, 304a of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

The deceased was the only son of his parents. We are awaiting the post-mortem results, said a police officer.

Read more: 17-year-old killed during joyride on his kins bike in Mumbai

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A 60-year-old powerloom labourer, who is already in jail on molestation charge, was booked in a similar case at Bhiwandi on Sunday.

Five minor girls, in the age of 7 to 9 years, have alleged that the accused, Aslam Momin, had been molesting them for many days.

Senior police inspector from Bhiwandi city police station D Katke said, On Saturday, one of the girls narrated her ordeal to some friends, who informed the parents. A case was lodged.

During investigation, the police found that Momin had molested the minor girls and threatened them of dire consequences if they told anyone about it. He had threatened to kill their parents and had showed them a sharp weapon.

Momin was booked under relevant sections of 354, 509 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention Of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO).

He was arrested on April 26 for molesting a girl. The second case was registered against him when he was in jail.

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After the Maharashtra governments proposal to rename Elphinstone Road Prabhadevi and naming of Oshiwara as Ram Mandir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants Marine Lines railway station to be renamed Mumbadevi.

BJP local MLA Raj Purohit met railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Sunday and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last week with the demand.Both of them have reportedly agreed to consider the proposal.

In a letter written to the authorities, Purohit said as a 500-year-old temple of the deity is in the vicinity, it would be appropriate to rename the station after the deity.

Read more: Elphinstone Road station to be renamed Prabhadevi, Maharaj to be added to Mumbai airport

As many Mumbai stations have been named after gods and goddesses whose temples are closer to the them, the worshipers and citizens of the area around Mumbadevi temple are raising the demand for renaming . When I brought this to the notice of the CM and railway minister, they promised appropriate action, Purohit said.

The state Assembly has sent a proposal to rename Elphinstone Road after Prabhadevi, the old deity in the vicinity, to the railway authorities.

The Assembly passed a resolution approving the change in the name in December last year.

Before that the newly set up station between Jogeshwari and Goregaon on the Western Railway was named Ram Mandir.

The Shiv Sena has been demanding the Dadar railway station be named Chaityabhoomi and Grant Road Gamdevi.

Read more: Grant Road to Gamdevi: Sena wants Marathi names for Mumbai train stations

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There will be a toilet for every 2km in all cities across the state soon, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday.

The announcement came after actor Akshay Kumar pointed out at the Transform Maharashtra conclave that the lack of toilets in the state was affecting several citizens, especially women. Earlier, phone booths were built at fixed distances across the state. We could similarly have toilet booths so people wont have to suffer anymore, the actor said, while also suggesting a mobile application to help people locate the nearest toilet.

The CM praised the idea and said the state will start work immediately. Countries around the world successfully implemented such a model and Maharashtra will not lag behind, Fadnavis said. He said each of these toilets will be geo-tagged with the help of the mobile application.

The conclave also saw dozens of fresh solutions for the states issues, such as drought and corruption, being suggested by college students. More than 10,000 students participated in the Transform Maharashtra initiative and suggested solutions for 11 of the states most critical issues.

One suggestion to tackle waste, for instance, was a reverse vending machine to collect plastic, glass and cans and dispense cash in return. The chief minister also said he would like to incorporate the spatial decision support system (SDSS) programme suggested by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in the states flagship water conservation programme Jalyukt Shivar, to make Maharashtra drought-free .

Though innovative and path-breaking, many of the solutions were not feasible in its existing state. For instance, for a corruption-free Maharashtra, students from VJTI College suggested 16 parameters to assess capabilities of the contractors participating in the tendering process. The CM pointed out that the scam was found in the execution of the work. We also want you to help the state to give a solution to deal with irregularities in execution of the project work, he said.

Similarly, another group of students from College of Engineering, Pune while presenting solution for improving mobility in cities suggested for integrated ticketing system through smart card that can also be used for parking of vehicles. However, CM asked them to come out with a model of revenue distribution which should be based on actual use of the transportation mode by the commuters.

To make the students solutions workable, Fadnavis said a committee of ministers, senior officers and students will be formed to come up with practical ideas in the next six months.
In high drama outside Mantralaya in Mumbai on Tuesday, farmers from across Maharashtra protested against the Maharashtra governments policies by throwing tur dal and bananas .

Their demand: the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government should buy their tur dal stock from them, as its prices are falling. They also demanded CID probe over alleged scam in procurement of tur from farmers.

Dhananjay Munde, leader of Opposition in the legislative council, too, joined the protest.

The 15-20 protesters were arrested by the police.

After the Central government refused to extend the deadline for procurement of the crop at the minimum support price to prevent loss to the farmers, the state government has decided to encourage farmers to opt for the agricultural produce mortgage scheme to avoid a distress sale to traders.

The government, till April 25, procured only around 3.99 lakh tonnes of the total production of 20.35 lakh tonnes in the state, which has left a large number of tur-producing farmers unhappy.

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After the Prime Minister announced last month it will be mandatory for doctors across the country to prescribe low-cost generic medicines according to Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines, chemists in the city said a few doctors at private hospitals followed this rule and that the bulk of prescriptions for generic drugs came from public hospitals.

Generic medicines are non-branded drugs and are cheaper than their branded equivalents.

Prescribing a generic medicine means doctors write the composition of the medicine (the salt) and not a brand name

A pharmacist at a chemist shop in Worli said he has seen a marginal rise in the number of generic-medicine prescriptions in the past two weeks, all of which are from doctors at public hospitals.

None of the prescriptions for generic medicines have come from private hospitals. If the prescription has the brand name, we do not go out of our way to tell the customer about the generic drug equivalents, which are available at cheaper prices. We just follow the prescription, he said.

Generic medicines cost anywhere between 5% and 60% less than their branded counterparts, he added.

Another pharmacist at Andheri (East) said two doctors in that area have now started prescribing generic medicines. Most doctors at private clinics and hospitals continue to prescribe branded medicines, he said.

Doctors have raised concerns about the quality and efficacy of generic medicines.

Dr Santosh Kondekar, a paediatrician in Dadar, said he writes the generic names, but along with the preferred brand-name product in brackets.

We have to follow the governments guidelines, so I write both, but leave it to the patient to make an informed decision. Also, I have observed that when we mention the generic names, medical shops that dont have qualified pharmacists turn away the customers as they do not understand the generic molecular names, he said.

Dr Abhay Shukla from the Jan Swasthiya Abhiyan said it is known that doctors who run private practices have some perverse incentive in prescribing certain brands  a reason why not many from the private sector turn to prescribing generic medicines.

In 2015, when we were researching for a book, a large number of doctors had substantiated the pharma-doctor nexus. Doctors accept huge favours from the pharmaceutical companies, in return of prescribing their branded medicines, he said.

Moreover, the governments move to ensure that doctors prescribe generic medicines is half baked as they still do not have a proper mechanisms to ensure quality checks of both generic and branded medicines, he added.

Last month, PM Narendra Modi said the government would make legal arrangements to ensure doctors prescribe generic medicines, a move that could hurt big drug companies but benefit millions of poor people

Read more

Add more drugs to the generic list, say AIIMS docs
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis recently complained to a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party about his party MP Supriya Sule. Sharad Pawars daughter is of an age with Fadnavis and she has been picking on him constantly for the past few months. Supriya leaves the older leaders alone and does not say much about the lesser beings in government. But her criticisms of Fadnavis have been getting very personal  the way he talks, walks, his style, his personal conduct, etc.

Last week she even called him, in teenage fashion, a copy cat  he has nothing original to write home about, so he apes many other people including Narendra Modi, she said. Fadnavis has started a television show called `Mee Mukhya Mantri Boltoy and Supriya said he was aping Modis radio show `Mann ki Baat. But the show is also akin to the column Congress chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh used to run in some newspapers during his first term in government in the early 2000s to keep in touch with the people. Supriya had not entered public life then but there are enough leaders in the NCP who would be able to recall that  I tend to believe Supriya would have been primed by these leaders to label Fadnavis a copy cat.

The NCP is building up Supriya Sule as the second line of leaders in the state and after a slow start she is beginning to impress. She needs must find relevant issues to woo the people to her side. Although the way he talks or dresses are strictly irrelevant issues and does no credit to Supriya, of late Fadnavis has been handing issues on a platter to the opposition parties. Farmers in the state are under tremendous pressure, not just from the vagaries of the weather but also from manmade  or rather government-made - issues. The number of suicides among farmers is rising, they are not getting minimum support prices, their crops and vegetables are being sold down the drain, demonetisaton continues to affect the balance of their payments and they are dying of starvation. Yet Fadnavis gave priority to a conference on obesity last month and assured the people that his government will do every thing possible to reduce obesity among the citizens.

It was but natural that his detractors should pounce on him for that official tweet from his CMO handle and wonder when he would prioritise the hunger of starving farmers. Then, again, there has been a bumper crop of tuar daal this year and the Maharashtra government procured huge quantities of it from farmers. Fadnavis again patted his own back to tell the people that never before had such a price (Rs 4,000 per quintal) been offered to farmers. There was instant rebuttal  past governments have procured tur daal for as much as Rs 6,000 per quintal, opposition parties pointed out, handing more ammunition to detractors like Supriya Sule.

Then there is the Samruddhi Expressway project meant to connect Nagpur, his home town, to Bombay. The route must necessarily pass through much fertile land in various talukas of Nashik and this is an issue that the NCP, and Supriya, have got their teeth firmly into. With NCP support, farmers in the region have become intransigent and with just a little over two years to go to the term of this government, it is unlikely that the expressway will be completed on schedule.

Hemmed in from all sides by the opposition, Fadnavis, though, is also facing severe criticism from within. A close acolyte recently told me, He must first find some time away from the beautiful people of the city. He is mostly rubbing shoulders with celebrities. Only when he stops giving them so much time and importance, will he be able to see what is going wrong with his government.

According to this acolyte, who counts himself as a close friend, the government of Maharashtra is on auto-pilot with no firm hand on the reins. ``Fadnavis is basically a happy-go-lucky kind of personality and he brings those traits to his style of governance. But such ease in governance does not deliver results. You have to keep the bureaucrats on a tight leash and you have to be on top of every situation which is not really happening in the government.

Perhaps he is right. But that is still no reason why Fadnavis personal style and idiosyncrasies should be targeted by political rivals. Supriya Sule, surely, can do better.

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To put pressure on the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government to waive farm loans, Opposition parties in Maharashtra have demanded a special session of the state legislature to discuss farmers problems in detail.

The leaders will meet Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao , who is also the constitutional head of the Maharashtra government, on Tuesday and request him for a special session.

The delegation will comprise leaders from six prominent opposition parties  the Congress, NCP, Samajwadi Party (SP), Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), Republican Party (Kawade) and United Janata Dal  who have joined hands to take on the Fadnavis government over loan waiver.

Farmers are facing drought for the past four years. The agrarian crisis and falling prices of agricultural produce have hit them. They are not in a position to repay the loans. In distress, they are committing suicide. We need to waive loans to bring them out of the situation, said Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.

The opposition leaders are also ready to kick off the fourth leg of the Sangharsh Yatra to intensify the demand. They intend to cover most districts in Konkan districts during the three-day protest march starting May 11.

The Oppositions interaction with farmers and families affected by suicides through Sangharsh Yatra seems to have alerted the ruling BJP, which has also decided to counter it by announcing Samvad Yatra to reach out to farmers and telll them about the governments efforts to solve their problems.

In the last three phases of the protest march, the Opposition covered most districts in Vidarbha, Marathwada, north and west Maharashtra.

After the Uttar Pradesh government waived farm loans, the Opposition mounted pressure on the state to grant Rs30,500-crore loan waiver for farmers in Maharashtra.

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The dispute over reservations in medical and dental colleges for students domiciled in Maharashtra is far from over. Two days after the Bombay high court (HC) called a special hearing on a Sunday and stayed the government resolution (GR) reserving 67.5% postgraduate (PG) seats to students domiciled in Maharashtra, the state filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the stay. Officials from Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) were in Delhi on Tuesday.

We have filed a petition against the HCs stay on the states GR. As of now, this will only affect postgraduate medical and dental admissions but we wish to implement similar rules for undergraduate admissions too, said Dr Pravin Shingare, director, DMER. He added that the SC would hearing the petition on May 5.

This [requirement of a domicile certificate] will be a great for students of Maharashtra. Since the introduction of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), our students are worried about losing out to those from the central boards, said the parent of a medical aspirant from Mumbai.

States such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have the highest number of medical and dental institutes as well as seats in the country and are sought after by aspirants from across India . While parents are happy about state government challenging HCs decision, they are worried this might close doors to admissions to institutes in other states.

We have to pick our fights well this time because we dont want another year of unwarranted court cases between the government and the institutes. Our children will be at the receiving end sufferers if admissions gets delayed like last year, said another parent.

While the current petition is only applicable for PG admissions, a source from the medical education department said they are currently working on releasing another GR to highlight the states decision to introduce similar domicile quota for undergraduate medical and dental admissions too.

Details of the government resolution

On April 27, the medical education department issued a GR stating the states decision to reserve 67.5% of the seats in private institutes and 50% seats in deemed institutes for candidates with state domicile. It also stated that for the first time, 25% of the seats in deemed medical and dental universities will now be reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Theres no quota for students with state domicile in NRI seats.

Other petitions regarding medical admissions filed in court this year:

*Deemed medical and private colleges in the state had filed a petition in the Bombay high court, seeking exemption from state government conducted common admission process (CAP). They had sought the right to conduct their separate process based on NEET scores. This petition was disposed by HC in April

*Deemed institutes filed another petition with the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court against a March circular of the Medical Council of India (MCI). According to this circular, all medical and dental institutes (government, private and deemed) will have to follow the CAP rounds to fill up their seats. Deemed as well as private institutes are against such control by the government

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The Bombay high court has issued notice to the State Bank of India (SBI) following a plea filed by the husband of a former employee who claimed that the bank denied to reimburse her medical bills.

Pune resident Nagesh Marathe, 62, approached the court after the bank refused to reimburse about Rs6lakh that he spent in buying a lifesaving drug for his wife, who was an SBI employee and was suffering from cancer.

Marathe claimed that as an employee of the bank, his wife Ranjana was entitled certain welfare benefits including full reimbursement of any medical expenses incurred. He said that when Ranjana was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, the bank paid for her treatment. But in 2015, when the cancer spread to her liver, the doctors asked Marathe to get a life-saving drug which had to be imported from Belgium. But Ranjana died before it could be administered to her.

Later, when Marathe submitted the medical bills of the drug and related treatment charges, the bank did not respond to his reimbursement application.

After filing several RTI applications enquiring about the reasons of delay, the bank said that they were pending scrutiny of the bills and awaited confirmation that the life-saving drug was not available in India. The bank also said that they might need to consider if they can reimburse bills for drugs that were not used by the former employee.

Marathe argued that the government entity was bound by statutes and previous court orders to take care of the medical expenses of their employees.

The high court is likely to take up the matter for further hearing on May 3 this year.

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The Thane sessions court on Tuesday pushed the date to declare former actor Mamta Kulkarni as an absconders in the Rs2000-crore Ephedrine drug haul case. The next hearing is on Thursday, when the court is likely to declare Kulkarni an offender. It has been a year and the prime accused is still on the run, said a police officer. While her partner Vicky Goswami was arrested by the US DEA in Kenya, Kulkarni is still on the run. She is suspected to have left Kenya now and we are trying to locate her, the officer said.

On April 13, 2016, the police arrested two people with ephedrine worth Rs12 lakh and later busted a racket that was worth Rs2,000 crore . So far, 14 people have been arrested.

Read more: Ephedrine haul in Thane: Non-bailable warrant issued against Mamta Kulkarni

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Egyptian woman Eman Ahmed, who was once the heaviest woman in the world, is likely to fly to Abu Dhabi from Mumbai tonight.

Sources at Mumbai airport said a cargo aircraft, turned into an air ambulance is likely to fly Eman at 2am on Wednesday. A specially-equipped air ambulance will transport Eman to the airport from Saifee Hospital. We are yet to receive the final confirmation, said Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) officials .

Eman arrived in Mumbai on February 11 and underwent a bariatric surgery in March.

She was in the news last week after her sister alleged the hospitals claims that Eman has lost over 300kg are false and called the doctors liars.

Sanet Meyer, director, Medevac, VPS Healthcare, said, I will head a team of nine specialists, including an intensivist, paramedics and nurses, who will handle Emans case. The team will accompany Eman on her way back to Abu Dhabi-based Burjeel Hospital.

We have specialised rooms at Burjeel medical facility, where Eman will be treated for neurological and physiological rehabilitation, said Meyer.

Medical experts from VPS Healthcare were in the process of selecting a chartered aircraft for the medical transfer of Eman and had mentioned they were committed to transport her on Sunday.

Meyer said a special hydraulic stretcher has been imported from Italy to transport Eman. Five folders containing 10,000 medical records will be given to experts from VPS Healthcare in Abu Dhabi, where Eman will be treated.
The Vile Parle police arrested a couple for allegedly assaulting and threatening a traffic police constable in Vile Parle (East) on Sunday. The constable had asked them to not park their car at a traffic signal.

According to the Vile Parle police, the incident took place around 7.30pm at Bhogle Chowk traffic signal on Nehru Road near Shiv Sagar hotel, where the couple parked their car. Constable Mahendra Shinde, 37, asked them to move their car as it was blocking traffic.

At this, the husband, Kashyap Patel, told Shinde that he would move the car in ten minutes. When Shinde started noting their vehicles registration number to book them for illegal parking and blocking traffic, an enraged Patel threatened and assaulted him. He also damaged Shindes e-challan device. Meanwhile, Kashyaps wife Nisha threatened to make a video of the incident and said that she would get him suspended. Shinde then called the police control room and they were taken to the Vile Parle police station.

There was traffic congestion due to ongoing construction work and their car was further aggravating the traffic snarl, said senior inspector Laxman Chavan of Vile Parle police station.

An FIR was registered against the couple under section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

They have been remanded to police custody by a magistrate court for a day, Chavan said.
A 25-year-old man from Mumbai, who allegedly killed his wife within four days of their marriage last month, was arrested from Lucknow on Monday.

According to the police, Asif Siddiqui, who works as an electrician in Mumbai, got married to Sabreen, 22, in Uttar Pradesh on April 6. Two days later, the couple came to Borivli in Mumbai.

A body of a woman in her twenties was found in Mumbai on April 10. The police formed various teams to check if a missing persons complaint had been filed across Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and Sindhudurg. Finally, they came across a complaint filed in Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh, which led them to Siddiqui.

The accused strangled his wife with a dupatta and dumped her at the spot. Based on crucial inputs collected during the course of investigation, we arrested the accused from Lucknow, said Vikram Deshmane, deputy commissioner of police, zone 11.

Asif fled from the city two days after killing her, police said. During his interrogation, he said he was unhappy as he was forced to marry Sabreen, said a police officer.

Asif was produced in a metropolitan court on Monday and has been sent in transit remand.

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A Mumbai woman will soon be reunited with her one-year-old son, a year after she tried selling him to a couple in Gujarat for Rs2.35 lakh.

The child is with the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Udaipur.

In May last year, the woman struck a deal with the couple but they refused to take the 12-day-old boy after they saw that he was dark skinned.

The police got a tip-off about the deal between the two families and arrested the boys mother and the couple. Rajendra Vijayvargiya, a pharma trader who was the middleman in the deal, was also arrested, said Mahipal Singh, station house officer of Pratap Nagar police station.

The boy was sent to a government shelter home. The police recovered some documents which confirmed the deal between the two families, Singh added.

The four are out on bail but the trial is on.

During the court hearings, the boys mother cried and said she had realised her mistake and that she wanted the custody of her son.

However, police conducted a DNA test to confirm that she was the biological mother of the boy.

The DNA report was out on Tuesday.

The Child Welfare Committee and police of Udaipur will reunite a boy in a city shelter home with his mother in Mumbai after the DNA test confirmed his maternity.

Head of Udaipurs CWC Preeti Jain said she has written to their Mumbai office to facilitate and the childs reunion with his mother.

We have also requested Udaipur superintendent of police to provide security for the safe transfer of the boy to Mumbai, she said.
A Shiv Sena corporator from Kalyan was booked for assaulting a 38-year-old man at Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) headquarters on Tuesday. However, the police only registered a non-cognisable case and not a first information report (FIR).

The Bazarpeth police booked Mohan Ugale for assaulting Ashok Shinde, who along with his mother Vithabai, 62, was protesting against Ugale for initiating action against a shed the Shindes had put up at their residence. Shinde was taken to a nearby hospital after the assault.

I did not initiate the fight. They first insulted and then abused me on the premises of the KDMC headquarters. I have lodged a complaint against them for abusing me in public. Moreover, all their allegations against me are baseless, said Ugale.

The police said the incident occurred after the mother and son entered the premises and started raising slogans against Ugale. A few of Ugales supportes got into a heated argument with the two. But things turned ugly and Shinde was assaulted by Ugale and his supporters.

There is an ongoing conflict between the two parties. We registered a non-cognisable offence against the corporator. Two days ago, he was booked for atrocity as well, said senior inspector Dilip Suryavanshi from Bazarpeth police station.

Shinde and Ugale have been at loggerheads ever since the latter ordered the demolition of the shed at Shindes house at Lal Chowki in Kalyan (west).

Shinde then demanded that a shed and a party office built by Ugale in the area, which he claimed was illegal, be demolished. Though the ward officer agreed to Shindes demand, no action was taken.

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Ride-hailing service Ola has terminated the services of Shadabh Mohammad Ibrahim Shaikh, a driver who was arrested and charged with kidnapping and molesting a woman last month after HT reported the incident on May 1.

Shaikh was arrested by the RAK Marg police for kidnapping and molesting the woman, a 32-year-old housewife from Sewri.

READ MORE: Ola driver lures woman, molests her in his car, then asks to be friends

According to the police, he smooth talked her into getting into his car. He then began to harass her, asking her to be his friend, insisted that she share her number with him and snatched her mobile phone.

The woman managed to get out of the car, upon which Shaikh fled the scene with her phone. His luck ran out, however, when his wife sold it for Rs 500 to a mobile shop owner in Ghatkopar.

A police officer said, We had put a trace on her phone and as soon as the shop owner inserted a SIM card, we located him and brought him to the police station. Questioning him led us to Shaikh, who was arrested.

READ MORE: Mumbai man held for raping, impregnating 15-year-old stepdaughter

An officer from RAK Marg police station said, We are checking whether the accused had committed any such crimes in the past and will charge him accordingly.

Ola issued a statement, which read, We terminated the driver partner from the Ola platform as soon as we received a complaint from the customer. Safety of users is of utmost importance to us and we have zero tolerance towards any such behaviour. We have assured the customer of full support in further investigation of the issue.

Shaikh was booked for using criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), kidnapping, robbery and criminal intimidation under the Indian penal Code. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody.

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Upping the pressure on the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government to waive farm loans in Maharashtra, state Opposition parties are now demanding a special session of the state legislature to discuss the farmers problems.

Leaders from six prominent political parties met Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who is also the constitutional head of the Maharashtra government, on Tuesday and requested him for the session. The delegation comprised leaders from Congress, NCP, Samajwadi Party, Peasants and Workers Party, Republican Party (Kawade) and United Janata Dal.

Sources said the Opposition will force the government to declare the loan waiver during this session. The government has wasted enough time in the name of studying the UP model of the loan waiver. Now we want results and will ask the Fadnavis government to waive loans immediately, said a senior leader, not wishing to be named. On April 5, CM Devendra Fadnavis said the state finance secretary has been tasked to study the UP model  after its CM Yogi Adityanath waived farm loans  and find out if its feasible to implement in Maharashtra.

Farmers have been facing drought for four years. The agrarian crisis and falling prices of produce have hit them. They are not able to repay loans.They are committing suicide. We need to waive loans to bring them out of this situation, said Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Opposition leader in the state Assembly. The opposition is also ready to kick off the fourth leg of Sangharsh Yatra.

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Parents groups, who were supposed to meet education minister Vinod Tawde and apprise him about the indiscriminate fee hikes rampant among Mumbai schools, were left fuming after the minister refused to meet them. A couple of associations had sought an audience with Tawde for which they had taken prior appointments.

We were shocked after the minister refused to meet us despite taking official appointments, said Arundhati Chavan, president, Parents Teachers Association United Forum.

She alleged that Tawde only asked them to submit a list of schools accused of charging exorbitant fee.

He sent us a message that he will call individual schools and their PTAs from next week to hear their concerns, said Chavan. But parents are not confident enough to stand up to the schools and the government alone. This will pressurise them into compromising.

Another group, Parent of Private School of Maharashtra (POPSOM), fighting against commercialisation and financial exploitation of schools, wanted to meet Tawde and request amendments to the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011.

We were agitated when Tawde refused to meet us even though we had taken an appointment, said Anubha Sahai, member of POPSOM, adding that later she met him individually and submitted a list of errant schools.

She added that the school fee regulation act needs to be amended immediately, as it is has loopholes. Parts of the act are unclear and flawed. Some of the penalties and actions suggested are incorrect, said Sahai.

Across Mumbai, parents are at loggerheads with schools over fee hike. Another group has planned a day-long protest on May 21 to highlight about government inaction against schools.

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The Shiv Sena alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shaina NCs NGO did not seek the permission of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) before inaugurating a sculpture near Mahalaxmi Racecourse on Monday.

Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Shaina NC, with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khans wife Gauri Khan, inaugurated a sculpture of a bull on the occasion of Maharashtra Day.

The sculpture was designed by artist Paresh Maity and conceptualised by Gauri Khan.

However, Sena leader Arun Dudhwadkar said the NGO I Love Mumbai did not seek the requisite permissions from BMC.

Their action is illegal because they did not seek any permission. The file is still lying unopened with the civic chief, Dudhwadkar said.

Shaina NC rubbished the allegations saying that the sculpture was a tribute from Mumbaiites to the city.

She said, Some people cannot see good work and just keep criticising.

A senior civic official, who was present at the inaugural event, said, Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta had already given a go-ahead to the sculpture. He also wanted to attend the event but could not as he was on leave in that period. The installation very much abides by the rules.
Inspired by Justin Biebers hit single, Baby (2010), rapper-composer Raftaar, too, will release a single by the same name. Incidentally, the song will release on May 10, the day the 23-year-old Canadian popstar performs at his first ever concert in India (Mumbai) as part of his ongoing Purpose World Tour.

A self-confessed Bieber-fan, Raftaar is impressed with his fame and style of music. Its amazing to see the kind of fame he has achieved at such a young age (23 years). His music is loved by everyone, and his songs are so relatable. Baby was his first hit, and I love the way he has arranged it. Its flawless. With each song, he keeps evolving in music production. Recently, he has adopted a new sonic style, which I love, he says.

However, Raftaars Baby will be unlike Biebers original. Instead of a love song, Raftaars new single will talk about empowerment of women. It will be a tribute to all the strong and independent women around the globe. As a socially active and informed artist, Raftaar focuses on songs that go beyond fast cars, women, vices and parties. For instance, his song Alla Ve, talks about humanity and world peace. His other single, Mother Nature, is a commentary on global warming while the song Aurat highlights sexism and objectification of women, says a source close to the Delhi-born rapper.

The songs video will feature actor Nora Fatehi, and will be choreographed by Remo Dsouza.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Nearly 50 students of a playschool were rescued on Tuesday after a fire started at their school complex in Vasundhara.

According to the fire department officials, the fire started in an electrical panel located on the ground floor of Sanport Playschool in Sector 5, Vasundhara. A worried set of parents rushed to the school on hearing the news.

The incident follows on the heels of another case of fire that caused a major scare among the specially-abled children at a rehabilitation centre in Indirapuram.

It was not a major incident; only the electricity meter had caught fire. We had fire extinguishers ready and the fire was doused. There were nearly 60-70 students on the premises, who were immediately evacuated by the school staff and handed over to their parents, a school staff said.

When asked whether the school had requisite permissions to operate in a residential locality, the staff told that he would get back with an answer and did not provide the contact details of the school principal. However, the school authorities failed to answer the question till late evening.

The fire started in an electrical panel and was caused due to a short circuit or overloading. They had taken a 50kw connection but it is a residential area. We asked the officials whether they had permissions from Avas Vikas (Housing Board) for running the school in a residential area but the officials did not reply. The total area of the plot is 288 square metre and we will write to the authorities about the issue, said Som Dutt Sonkar, fire safety officer, Vaishali.

The playschool had portable fire extinguishers that were used by the school staff to douse the fire.

The playschool is run on two storeys  ground and first floor. The second floor is a residential floor. The fire started in the driveway on the ground floor, Sonkar said.

In a similar incident on April 28, an electrical panel caught fire in a rehabilitation centre meant for specially-abled students in Gyan Khand of Indirapuram. The fire department officials had to toil hard to rescue nearly 80 children, who were evacuated from the main entrance and also from the upper floor to the roofs of the adjacent buildings. No casualty was reported in the incident.

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It was a scary experience for students of classes 1 to 8 of Fr Agnel School when the bus they were travelling in caught fire at Ahimsa Khand on Tuesday afternoon. The bus started around 1pm from the school and made several drops before reaching Indirapuram.

A number of parents, upon learning about the fire, rushed to the site where local shopkeepers, guards, school bus staff and fire officials helped in rescuing the students.

The entire bus was charred and the interiors damaged in the fire, which is suspected to have started due to a leak in the CNG cylinder. While exiting the bus, most of the children left behind their school bags, water bottles, books and other belongings.

I spoke to my son and he told that one girl who was sitting in front of him shouted that a fire started. The children got panicky but they were rescued by the staff and locals in the area soon. Within four-five minutes, the fire began to rage but all children had exited the bus. My wife had already reached the spot and called me; I rushed from my office in Delhi to Ghaziabad, Ajay Singh, a parent, said.

Parents also said that they will meet the school authorities to ensure the safety of their children.

The students were scared on seeing the raging fire. A majority of the school bags, books and belongings were burnt. It does not matter whether the bus belonged to the school or the contractor. We are sending our children to the school and the authorities have to take care of their safety. The school cannot escape the responsibility. A group of parents is also going to meet the school officials on Wednesday, said Saket Jain, a parent.

We have also tweeted to CM Yogi and education officials about the measures that should be ensured and enforced in school buses. The teacher had made a brave choice by immediately reacting to the situation and rescuing the children, he said.

The fire department officials also reached the spot within minutes, as they were in Vasundhara to handle a fire that broke out in a playschool.

We rushed within minutes and roped in two fire tenders to douse the fire. Many onlookers had brought fire extinguishers and other materials to douse the fire, but the fire was already blazing and the front portion of the bus got completely damaged, said Som Dutt, fire safety officer, Vaishali.

Bablu, a guard from a nearby highrise, also rushed to the spot and brought along a fire extinguisher to help douse the fire. I rushed to the spot with a fire extinguisher when I spotted flames emerging from the bus. There were other people who had also come with materials to douse the fire. We also helped the children exit the bus safely, he said.

The incident took place in the vicinity of a number of highrise buildings in Ahimsa Khand and next to a market, shopkeepers of which also helped douse the fire.

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Union minister MP Mahesh Sharma, of Gautam Budh Nagar, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh and Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar met the chief minister on Tuesday morning to discuss the issue of farmers accused of violence in the 2011 Bhatta-Parsaul agitation. The trio demanded that the charges against the farmers who were recently summoned by the Surajpur court be dropped.

We spoke to CM Yogi and demanded that farmers not be hassled in this case. Already, many of the accused have spent more than two years in custody and there is no point in playing vindictive politics with the farmers, said Singh.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is committed to the welfare of farmers. We apprised CM Yogi about the current situation and requested him to do alleviate the plight of our farmers who were framed, Sharma said.

In the first week of March, Surajpur court had summoned 20 farmers, who are accused of murder, attempt to murder, disrupting peace, rioting and obstructing government officials on duty. The farmers are to be present at the court on May 14, failing which their properties will be seized, according to the law.

Bhatta and Parsaul, the two hamlets of Gautam Budh Nagar, were engulfed in sporadic violence in 2011 as then Mayawati government had allegedly tried to seize farmers lands for setting up special economic zones in the area. At least two farmers and two police personnel were killed and then district magistrate suffered a bullet injury.

In 211, the police had booked 32 farmers for violence against state officials and police personnel under sections 147, 148, 149, 153, 302, 307, 336 and 332 of the IPC.

During the agitation, Singh was a Congress activist and had attracted media spotlight after he ferried Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on his motorcycle to the two villages. After his victory in the recent UP assembly polls, farmers are hoping for a favourable outcome.

Singh, after meeting CM Yogi, has assured farmers that they will not be made a victim of vindictive politics and the state government will ensure that all charges against them are dropped.

I have, time and again, assured farmers that I am standing with them in this battle. This was not a violent incident but a farmers revolution for their rights. Even during the assembly elections, we were committed to ensuring justice to the farmers of Bhatta and Parsaul, said Singh.

Yogi assured us that farmers woes will be over soon and the state government will do what it can to drop the case against them. He also asked the chief secretary to prepare a detailed report on the issue immediately, said Singh.

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A brain-dead patient admitted to a private hospital in Noida, ended up granting new life to six people on Tuesday morning after her kin donated her heart, liver, two kidneys and two corneas.

Jaypee Hospital in Sector 128 created two green corridors in the morning and transported heart and one kidney to two different hospitals in Delhi and Ghaziabad. While liver and one kidney were transplanted by Jaypee Hospital doctors, the two corneas were deposited at an eye bank in Noida.

Gita Devi (50), of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, was declared brain dead by the doctors of Jaypee Hospital on Monday night. She was admitted in the hospital on April 29 with a brain haemorrhage by her family members. After her demise, her family members agreed to donate her organs as per Gitas wishes.

We are proud of our sister for this noble act. All her life she lived for others and in her death too she has been a reason for spreading happiness to six families by giving a new life to their loved ones, said Mahinder Kumar Joshi, Gitas younger brother.

At 6.30am, a green corridor, covering 32km, was made to deliver the heart to Max Hospital in Saket, New Delhi. The distance was covered in 20 minutes. Similarly, another green corridor was made to transport the kidney to Max Hospital in Vaishali, Ghaziabad, covering a distance of 23.6km in 18 minutes.

As per the instructions of National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), a liver and a kidney were transplanted by Jaypee Hospital while the heart and another kidney were transported through the green corridors created in coordination with the Noida and Delhi Police, said Dr Amit Devra, senior consultant, Kidney Transplant Department.

Doctors expressed their gratitude towards the donor and her family and said more and more people should come forward for such noble acts.

We are thankful to the donor and her family who have taken this courageous step and have given a new life to six people. The patient has not died, instead she will live through six different persons and also in the hearts of all of us for her kind act. Organs of a deceased patient can save lives of at least six people, Dr Manoj Luthra, CEO, Jaypee Hospital, Noida.

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Seventeen schoolchildren from classes 1 to 8 of Fr Agnel School in Vaishali, Ghaziabad had a narrow escape when their bus caught fire in Indirapuram on Tuesday .

According to officials, all the 17 children were rescued by locals, shopkeepers, and security guards who were present in the area. The locals tried to douse the fire but their efforts failed. The driver, conductor and a teacher, who was in the bus at the time of the incident, also helped in the rescue efforts.

#Ghaziabad: Nearly 17 school students from Fr Agnel School were rescued as their school-bus caught fire in Indirapuram @httweets @htnoidagzb pic.twitter.com/rL0vTS1SxN  Peeyush Khandelwal (@journopk) May 2, 2017

The bus belongs to a contractor and was hired by the school .

The officials of the fire department roped in two fire tenders to douse the blaze as it raged after the children were rescued.

Prima facie, the cause of the fire is a leakage in a CNG cylinder. We have identified the bus contractor, said Som Dutt Sonkar, fire safety officer, Vaishali fire station.

During the rescue, the bags, books and other belongings of the students were left behind and burnt down inside the bus. The bus had left the school after 1pm and had arrived in Ahimsa Khand after dropping few other students.

After the rescue operation was over, the entire bus got engulfed in flames. Some of the parents rushed to the spot leaving their work and said that they will approach the school authorities on Wednesday.

The school authorities could not be contacted as the staff told that the officials had left for the day.

This is the second incident on Tuesday related to school students. In another fire at a playschool in Vasundhara, nearly 50 school children were rescued after a fire started on the ground floor as an electrical panel suffered a short-circuit.

On April 28, about 80 especially abled children were rescued after a rescue operation by the fire department personnel from a rehabilitation centre in Indirapuram. The electrical panel installed at the centre had caught fire on the ground floor.

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To see real heroes, look around you

- Mao Zedong

On April 24, 25 CRPF soldiers were killed by the Maoists in the Chintagufa-Burkapal area of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh. Their guns were looted, bodies were mutilated, and the Maoists tried to plant an IED inside one of the bodies. Bastar is an undeclared warzone with the term security forces is used for the state police, the district reserve group (a force made of local youth and surrendered Naxals) and the CAPF (BSF, ITBP, CRPF), fighting side by side. But in recent past, those killed in the conflict are almost always from the CRPF.

In Bastar, CRPF serves alongside the state police. They have little control over the location of their camps. Their deployment is irrational, making them easy targets of the Maoists. There is a failure of intelligence sharing between the forces. With severe shortage of equipment, they are facing the guerillas of the fourth most deadly terrorist organization in the world, according to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Still CRPF is giving them a tough fight, which they should be proud of.

The CRPF is often questioned on their ability to do their job. Many of us believe that the CRPF rapes and loots in the tribal villages, not knowing that most such cases are against the other forces. There is almost no case against the CRPF, which is a disciplined and professional force. Maoists blame and demoralise the CRPF to gain strategic advantage on the field.

Historically, CRPF has been the force that has held India together. They are deployed in almost every challenging situation that India has faced. They go into hostile areas when needed the most. From Kashmir to Bastar, it is the CRPF, which receives bullets, grenades, IEDs, stones and abuses. There are several incidents where the CRPF men were hit and did not retaliate out of the concern for civilians.

A CRPF battalion is made out of soldiers from the country. Those killed in Bastar are sons of poor farmers from Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Some people believe that these soldiers are paid to die, but are they paid enough to be mutilated post death? Even in martyrdom, they are made a mockery of.

The Maoists have realised this and have, in their latest press note, appealed to the soldiers to leave the forces and join them, claiming soldiers are not their class enemies. If that is so, why do they spread fake propaganda stories of exploitation (which are the same since last 50 years)? They have replaced the earlier enemy figure of landlords and moneylenders with that of a poor CRPF soldier. In the past four or five years, the Maoists have stopped killing everyone else, and are only targeting the CRPF.

The reason for this is because the CRPF are the first ones to enter many villages in Bastar with the message of democracy. Thanks to the protection they provide, even the most interior areas in Bastar now have roads and bridges. These developments give people the option of coming out of the Maoist indoctrination, and they detest it. The CRPF are the check against the inhuman atrocities of Maoists, who have now crossed all limits. A few days before the Burkapal incident, the Maoists cut the head of a former sarpanch of that village, threatening people not to go to the forces for support. Still people go to the force for support, much to the disappointment of the Maoists.

To support the forces, a comprehensive strategy for solving the Maoist issue is necessary. Formalisation of the unified command against the Maoists is required. Improving inter-agency coordination and access to integrated intelligence will help. They should also have better coordination with various development bodies in their area of operation. Changing the CRPFs status from unorganised service category, (against which they have gone to Supreme Court), will provide them with better opportunities of promotion. If the top boss of CRPF is also a CRPF officer instead of belonging to other services, things will change for good. The recent social media outbursts by the soldiers will slowly dwindle if handled earnestly.

The CRPF has the potential to free Bastar of Maoist violence. They are the real Gandhians with guns, and are the reason for India being a flourishing democracy.

Amit Kataria is Collector, Bastar. Syed Areeb Ahmad is PMRDF Fellow, Bastar

The views expressed are personal
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogans Delhi visit was keenly watched not just in India but also globally. This was his first foreign visit after the referendum victory, which gave him sweeping powers. While mentioning many similarities between Modi and Erdogan, the German News Agency Deutsche Welle described the visit through a headline - a Muslim nationalist meets a Hindu Nationalist.

It is well known that Ankara-Islamabad ties are very strong. The Turkish position on Kashmir has been closer to Pakistan. Still, just before his Delhi visit, Erdogan created a stir in the Indian media while calling for a multilateral dialogue on Kashmir with the possible involvement of Turkey. Knowing fully the Indian position on Kashmir, Erdogan was trying to show to the Muslim world that he cares about Kashmir. And he is not going to compromise even when Turkey was trying to further improve ties with India.

The visit could be seen in the context of changing geopolitical realities in Eurasia. On the one hand, Ankara is trying to become closer to China and Russia. On the other, increasingly closer India-US ties have resulted in suspicions from these very countries.

Both India and Turkey are keen to enhance their global positions. For long, Turkey had decided to be part of the Western military and economic alliance. Of late, however, there has been disillusionment, particularly with the European Union (EU). Turkey applied for the membership of the then European Economic Community in 1987 and signed a customs union with the EU in 1995. Although officially it is a candidate country since 1999, few in Europe believe in Turkish membership of the grouping in any foreseeable future. The refugee crisis in Europe and recent referendum in Turkey have created further tensions between some important EU member States and Ankara.

After New Delhi, the Turkish president is also visiting Russia, China and the US soon. These meetings are important for Erdogan to boost his standing amid growing allegations of increasing authoritarianism both within his own county and also in the in the West. Only last week, the Council of Europe voted to restart monitoring Turkey for crackdown on dissent, democracy, rule of law and human rights.

Because of the complicated nature of bilateral ties, the focus of his Delhi visit was on enhanced trade, investment, tourism, media, education etc. Official texts and speeches indicate some broad agreement on international terrorism, UN reforms, Indias membership to nuclear groups, target of $10 bn. trade by 2020, possible areas of bilateral investment and a possible free-trade agreement (FTA).

With 28 strategic partnerships and 23 FTAs, Turkey considers itself as an emerging energy terminal and transit country. Increased connectivity could bring India and Turkey together. New initiatives under the International North South Transport Corridor and energy projects could play an important role in the future. Both are active in Afghanistan and partner in the Heart of Asia: Istanbul Process. Through increased development assistance, both are also emerging as significant players in development cooperation.

Despite keeping their known political positions intact, the visit was used by both countries to enhance economic opportunities between two important emerging economies.

Gulshan Sachdeva is Jean Monnet chair and professor at the School of International Studies, JNU

The views expressed are personal
Top seven judges of the Supreme Court (SC) of India are in a fix.

They are struggling with a bizarre situation emerging out of a defiant attitude of Calcutta high court (HC) judge, Justice CS Karnan  who accuses not just the top court judges of discrimination and corruption but also makes similar wild allegations against Madras HC judges.

Add to this, freakish orders by Justice Karnan  directing psychological examination of CJI JS Khehar and other SC judges by a board of doctors and direction to Air Control Authority, to stop eight SC judges from travelling abroad.

All this despite the SC stripping Justice Karnan, of his judicial and administrative work and powers in the past. These developments have not just seriously dented the image of judiciary as a institution but has also lowered the image of judges.

Attorney General of India, Mukul Rohatgi, has gone to the extent of pleading that Justice Karnan has made judges a laughing stock.

While there is a pattern in the judicial indiscipline, shown by Justice Karnan  in 2011 he called a press conference accusing a Madras HC judge of discrimination, in 2015 charged his other Madras HC judges of corruption and misuse of judicial office  his actions are unparalleled.

There have been recent instances of Justice Dinakaran and Justice Soumitro Sen also that have troubled the judiciary.

Even though the Constitution of India recommends impeachment by Parliament to deal with situations like these  the SC has taken a different route - contemplating suo motu action against Justice Karnan for lowering the image of the judiciary.

But the question that needs to be answered is  what is the best way to discipline judges and deal with their indiscretions and is impeachment the exclusive method to deal with erring judges?

While Justice Karnans case offers an opportunity to look for solutions in this direction, the case is not a simple one, caste equations have been dragged into it. Justice Karnan not only refuses to withdraw his allegations but insists on dragging in his Dalit identity to play the victim.

Moreover, this problem could not have come at a worse time for the judiciary which is engaged in a tug-of-war with the executive who want a say in the appointment of judges. There are serious apprehensions that this case will be used by the executive to bargain for a say in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

While the judges contemplate making Justice Karnan an example for future indiscretions, there has to be a better way to out this problem, so that every time the case comes for hearing in the SC, the dignity of the court is not compromised by a defiant judge.

Besides a quiet burial to the case  which allows Justice Karnan to retire in June- and results in closure of the case, some serious out of box thinking is needed to deal with situations like this in future. Probably the judges can take a leaf out of the ways of the former Chief Justice of India- who used the moral authority of his office to deal with controversial judges like Arun Madan and Samit Mukherjee.
A minor girl was gang raped allegedly by her seven co-villagers in western Bihars Kaimur district.

The incident took place at Sirbit village in Chainpur police station area, 286 km west of Patna, on Friday night, but the matter came to light on Monday when the victim recorded her statement in a court.

In her statement, the victim said seven persons forcibly lifted her from the outskirts of the village where she and her mother had gone to answer natures call. When my mother offered resistance, they dragged her some distance and pushed her, following which she fell unconscious, the victim said, adding that she was then taken to a secluded place and gang raped.

READ:Minor charged with raping hearing and speech impaired tribal woman in Bihar

Her mother told police that after regaining consciousness, she reached home and raised an alarm after finding that her daughter had not returned. The villagers later found my daughter lying unconscious at an abandoned place outside the village, she added.

An FIR was registered at woman police station in the district headquarters town of Bhabua, on Saturday evening when the victims father and brother, who worked outside the village, returned to Sirbit.

READ: Pauri court sends Bihar rape accused to Patna

A FIR under Section 376 D (punishment for rape) of Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered against Fahim Khan, Shaukat alias Tabu Khan, Iliyas Dhobi, Firoz Khan, Guddu Khan, Amir Khan and Shayar Khan. Her medical examination was conducted at sadar hospital, Bhabua, on Sunday. The victims statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code was been recorded in a court on Monday. No arrest has been made and we are investigating the matter, woman police station SHO Anchala Kumari said.
The Supreme Courts order banning sale and serving of liquor 500 metres from highways has left bar owners and their employees in Punjab in low spirits.

Only about a third of the 150-odd bars in hotels and restaurants dotting the state have got their licences renewed. The others have been hit by the highway liquor ban that came into effect from April 1, leading to loss of jobs for employees. But there is no dip in liquor consumption in the state, with booze lovers clinking glasses. They have made a quick switch, sourcing their quota from other establishments.

Deputy excise and taxation commissioner Gurtej Singh said 1,500 of the 6,000-odd vends were affected by the limit prescribed by the apex court, but they have been relocated and auctioned as per the policy.

The number of bar licences has come down considerably with just 40-50 of the 150 owners of hotels and restaurants seeking such licences, he said. The department is studying the liquor sale pattern, but it would take some time.

The state governments decision to de-notify some stretches of eight state highway and six national highways passing through different cities and towns has brought cheer to some, but many are still struggling.

HIT HARD, LUDHIANA HOTELS, RESTAURANTS LAY OFF 30% STAFF

The liquor ban has hit 42 of the 117 registered hotels and restaurants  most of them located on Ferozepur Road  in the city. With a huge dip in monthly sales, some of them have laid off 30% of their staff, besides imposing a cut in salaries of the remaining employees. Another immediate measure is to cut back on operational expenses. The order has left such establishments, bulk of whose revenues came from liquor sales, staring at a gloomy future. Amarveer Singh, general secretary of Hotel and Restaurants Association of Ludhiana, said the relocation of such ventures is not feasible. Already, at least four restaurant owners who had recently ventured into the industry have shut their operations. Every hotelier or restaurant owner is curtailing his expenses and running the establishment has become difficult. If the ban persists, it is only a matter of few more months before several popular outlets down their shutters on permanent basis, he said.

HOTELIERS LOOK FOR HELP FROM STATE GOVT

About 90 marriage palaces and seven bars in prominent restaurants and hotels have got their liquor licences. These include Radisson hotel and a restaurant named Sarhad. The guidelines are being followed strictly. Their licences have not been renewed. Though a review is being done on marriage palace, we are not taking any chances, a senior excise official said. Rajan Gill, managing director of Radisson at Amritsar, termed the present situation as detrimental to the hospitality industry. The state government must intervene and help us, he said.

Restaurateur Aman Jaspal said: I feel it is unfair to equate restaurants and hotels with liquor vends. There is a huge difference between the two in terms of investment. The government must find a way-out.

BARS SHUT, BOOZE LOVERS CARRY BOTTLES TO AHATAS

Two popular clubs  Civil Lines Club and Dunes Club  and 15 restaurants are among the establishments hit by the highway liquor ban in Bathinda. There has been a dip in footfalls at many of these hangouts.

The scenario is not any different in Moga, which lies in the NRI region, where the licences of five hotels and restaurants including Taj and Kingdon, have not been renewed, besides the famous Gold Coast Club Resort. The bookings for marriage functions and parties have seen a drastic decline at such places.

But not everyone seems to have been affected. The ban has led the booze lovers to bring their own bottles at many ahatas or erstwhile bar venues in towns like Muktsar, Baghapurana, Kotkapura, Jaito, Fazilka and Abohar. All these towns in the south of Punjab lie on different state and national highways.

GOVT ORDER BRINGS RELIEF, BUT BARS STILL NOT OPEN

The decision of the state government to de-notify bypass stretches had brought relief for owners of hotels and bars situated on national and state highways. However, bars located on situated on NH-64 (Bathinda-Zirakpur) road have remained shut so far. We are waiting for formal notification regarding de-notification of bypass stretches to restart the bars, said Gurmukh Singh Dhillon, president of Hotel Association of Patiala.

He said the establishments hit by the order have trimmed their work force to cut costs.
Twelve-year-old Sahildeep Singh was a picture of grief and resolve as he stood saluting his fathers bravery with tears rolling down his cheeks. I am proud of my father. I will also join the Indian Army, Sahildeep said between sobs as he lit the pyre of his father, naib subedar Paramjit Singh, who was killed and beheaded by Pakistani intruders along the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch on Monday.

The funeral of the naib subedar was attended by at least one member from every household in this village of 45,000.

Grief gave way to anger when Paramjit Singhs wife, Paramjit Kaur, insisted that she be allowed to have one last look at her husband whose body was brought in coffin wrapped in the Tricolour. When she saw the headless body, she demanded that the Indian government give Pakistan a befitting reply for the barbaric act.

Relatives and friends try to comfort Paramjit Kaur. (AP)

I am proud that my husband sacrificed his life for the nation but it is very painful to see the way his body has been mutilated. There is no head, she said, breaking down.

Sahildeep and his twin sister, Khushdeep Kaur, were in tears as their elder sibling, Simerdeep Kaur, 15, said, My father has held our head high. He was to come on leave on May 10 I was eagerly waiting for him. I met him six months ago. I didnt know it was the last time I would be seeing him.

Anti-Pakistan slogans rent the air as thousands of villagers saw the cremation that was carried out with full military honours.

The body was brought to the village around noon in an Indian Army chopper. It was taken to the new house Paramjit was building. The family planned to shift there.

There was a commotion as Paramjit Kaur and her brother Ranjit Singh along with other villagers demanded that they be shown the body. Representatives of the army and civil administration convinced them to head for the cremation.

PUNJAB GOVT ANNOUNCES Rs 12 LAKH, JOB FOR WIFE

Tarn Taran deputy commisioner DPS Kharbanda said that the Punjab government will give Rs 12 lakh to the family of the martyr. Rs 6 lakh was handed over on Tuesday.

Khadoor Sahib Congress MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki, Tarn Taran Congress MLA Dharambir Agnihotri, Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka and former Akali MLA Ravinder Singh Brahmpura were also present.

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The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday asked two ministries of the Central government to pitch in to save Sukhna Lake.

The water level on April 30 dipped to 1,153.30 feet (from the sea level) on Sunday. It the level dips below 1150-feet mark on the scale, the lake bed will be visible in most of its parts. When the scale touches 1163-feet mark, the authorities open the gates to move the surplus water out. Ideally, the lakes depth should be 13 feet.

If the water level goes below 1,151 feet (from the sea level) on the scale, it will not be possible to allow boating in the lake. Water is evaporating fast, said an official.

During the resumed hearing of a suo motu petition initiated in 2009 on the revival of the lake, the high court bench of justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and justice Ramendra Jain directed the Centres ministry of water resources and ministry of environment and forests to depute one official each for the May 22 hearing to apprise the court on steps needed to revive the lake.

Why the decrease in Sukhna water level? As per the report of National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, a major reasons for loss of water in the lake is evaporation. Poor rainfall, too, leads to low water level. Sukhnas waterholding capacity has also reduced drastically due to sand deposits.

The water level in the lake has been falling drastically these days due to a rise in temperature and scanty rainfall in past few months. The lake was supplied 1.5 million gallons daily (MGD) water from tubewells between January and March but it did not help in increasing the level. The HC also asked the Chandigarh administration to associate departments of local bodies and public and irrigation of Punjab and Haryana with a panel constituted by administration on a 2011 court direction to take steps for conservation of the lake.

Three months, Rs 12 lakh later, no improvement Despite pumping water through seven tubewells into Sukhna Lake for over three months, the lakes water level continues to remain the same. While the level was 1,154 feet (against the required 1,163 feet) in January, now it has reduced to 1,153.30 feet on Sunday. On January 16, the UT administration started supply of water from seven tubewells to fill the Sukhna, claiming that it will help the water level rise by 6-7 inches. The water was supplied for three months, till March 20. The administration spent Rs 12 lakh on the project in three months to no avail.

Earlier, responding to directions of HC of April 19, senior standing counsel, UT, Suvir Sehgal had told the court that a panel was in place since 2011 as directed by the court. The panel, headed by conservator of forests, UT, had nine members, when formed in 2011. In April 2012, secretary, engineering was made the head of the panel and two more members were also increased, Sehgal told the court. The affidavit of the administration reveals that the committee has not met since April 2014.

Meanwhile, the court was also told that as regard to pathways at Sukhna Lake, the work to improve the lighting system was underway for which work has been allotted on April 20, which is to be completed within two months.
Robbed in a minute, a cash van carrying Rs 1.33 crore

A meticulous plan executed in hardly a minute: A gang of six robbers looted Rs 1.33 crore from an Axis Bank cash van on the highway about 40km from Patiala on Tuesday morning, in a blink-and-miss heist. Read full report here

As soldiers wife sees his headless body, grief gives way to anger

I am proud of my father. I will also join the Indian Army, Sahildeep said between sobs as he lit the pyre of his father, naib subedar Paramjit Singh, who was killed and beheaded by Pakistani intruders along the Line of Control in J&K. Read full report here

Akali leaders father, brother shot dead in family feud in Ferozepur

Father and brother of an Akali Dal leader were shot dead while he sustained injuries over a family feud in Rukanshah Wala village near Ferozepur on Tuesday early morning. Read full report here

Pranab Mukherjee for reverse migration of students

In his address at the 8th convocation ceremony at Lovely Professional University, the President said many students go to countries such as Australia and New Zealand for higher studies. I suggest let there be a reverse direction. Read full report here

48% rise in OPD patients at govt de-addiction centres: Punjab govt claims success in war on drugs

Punjab government on Tuesday lashed out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for playing dirty politics over a grave issue like the drug menace, accusing the erstwhile ruling party of misleading the people by spreading false information on the matter. Read full report here

70% HIV+ inmates in Kapurthala jail below age of 35

Majority of those found to be affected  88 or roughly 70% of the total  are between 20 to 35 years of age. These numbers were revealed after screenings by the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC). The jail at present has 2,900 inmates. Read full report here

Justin Trudeau attends Khalsa Day celebrations at Toronto: Click for pics
The district court has acquitted Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) terrorist Ramandeep Singh, alias Goldy, in the 2010 Patiala bomb blast case on Monday.

On April 20, 2010, a blast rocked the Arya Samaj area  the busy market place in interior Patiala city  near popular Satyanarayan Mandir, injuring nine persons, including two policemen.

Goldy was facing trial under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Section 4 and 5 of Explosives Substances Act.

Goldy has to remain behind bars as he was also an accused in the 2009 murder case of Rulda Singh  then head of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, a wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Punjab Police arrested Goldy, a main accused in the case, from Thailand in November 2014 in a two-month operation launched in coordination with the central agencies in Thailand and Malaysia. He was later deported to India.

Earlier also, four other accused  Harminder Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Manjinder Singh and Gurjant Singh  were acquitted by the court in the case in 2014 after the prosecution failed to prove charges against them.

Goldys lawyer Barjinder Singh Sodhi said his clients name was added on the statements of earlier acquitted accused during investigation, but the police theory fell flat in the court. Goldys name was not mentioned in the first information report. The forensic reported submitted by the police failed to build any concrete evidence against my client, Sodhi said.

The police claimed that following the Patiala bomb blast, Goldy went to Nepal and shifted his base to Thailand in 2011 using the assumed name of Sah Brahmdev and a forged Nepalese passport. He worked in a tours and travel agency and had recently set up an export-import firm named Euro 2014 Private Limited in Bangkok.
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 12 lakh for the next of kin of naib subedar Paramjit Singh, one of the victims of the assault by Pakistani troops in which two soldiers of the Indian Army were killed and their bodies mutilated in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

The CM, who is scheduled to visit the martyrs native village Vein Poin in Tarn Taran on May 7, also deputed his cabinet colleague, Rana Gurjit Singh, on Tuesday to meet the bereaved family.

According to a government spokesperson, while Rs 5 lakh in cash and a plot worth the same amount would be given to Paramjit Singhs wife and children, Rs 2 lakhs would be given to his parents. Besides, the chief minister also announced that a suitable government job would be given to the next of kin of the martyred soldier and his children would get free education for degree courses at one of the nine Sainik Institutes of Management and Technology in the state. The CM also sanctioned Rs 1 lakh through the Red Cross for renaming the local government rest house in Paramjeet Singhs name.
Om Puris 1983 classic Ardh Satya was screened at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, as the varsity paid tributes to the iconic actor who passed away in January after a body of work that academics say made him the most versatile transnational actor.

Academics, students and fans of global cinema came together at the event organised by the Institute of Global Cinema and Creative Cultures in the university. One of the last interviews Puri gave to the universitys researcher Shorna Pal was also screened at the event.

Dina Iordanova, professor of Global Cinema and Creative Cultures at the university, told Hindustan Times: There is no one else of the transnational versatility of Om Puri. Others may be better known but Om Puri is the true transnational face of Indian cinema.

Shashi Kapoor has had his roles in Western cinema, and today the face of Irrfan Khan may be most familiar. Huge Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have only had cameos and are largely unknown to Western audiences.

Academics and researchers working on Indian cinema debated various aspects of Puris work that included films made in Britain, such as East is East (1999) and West is West (2010). One of his last films was Gurinder Chadhas Viceroys House, which was released in March, after his death.

Om Puri in Ardh Satya.

According to researcher Aakshi Magazine, No one can say exactly what contributes to an actors ability to create empathetic characters, but the sensitivity that Puri brought to his roles, are perhaps products of both the triumphs as well as the disappointments that are were a part of his career and his life.

It is this that probably reflects the sensitivity he could bring in playing not easily likeable characters like the one in East is East, or the Hindu right-wing officer responsible for riots in Dev. Puri portrayed them as contradictions without asking us to take sides.

Iordanova, whose research interests include Indian cinema, said: I have not had the chance to see many Indian films where Om Puri is said to have delivered amazing performances. However, I have seen him in enough international films  over 40, of his lengthy filmography of 300+ roles  to know that his transnational versatility is unmatched.

Founded in early 15th century, the University of St Andrews is the third oldest university after Oxford and Cambridge. Its alumni include Prince William, Kate Middleton and senior leader of the Scottish National Party Alex Salmond.

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It is finally out in the open. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be Beijings road to Kashmir, state-run media has said, proving true Indias fear of China meddling in the dispute.

Beijing invested in the CPEC despite Indias concerns with the eventual aim of interfering in the Kashmir dispute under the guise of protecting its investments, state media said on Tuesday, putting on paper for the first time the countrys long-term strategy to play mediator.

Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, said an article in the nationalistic Global Times tabloid.

Chinese President Xi Jinpings One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is an ambitious plan to build a new Silk Road linking Asia, Africa and Europe by pumping in billions of dollars in infrastructure projects such as railways, ports and power grids.

The write-up indicates that China only appears not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries but its investments, for example in the CPEC, gives Beijing the perfect cover to launch its diplomatic game.

It probably explains the model of interference that China is beginning to follow: First invest, next interfere.

With its iron brother friendship with Pakistan, it is also fairly clear which way Beijing will swing when -- not if -- it decides to meddle in the complex Kashmir dispute.

India maintains that Kashmir is a bilateral problem to be resolved by New Delhi and Islamabad but Pakistan has never let go off an opportunity to seek mediation or raise the issue at global forums.

The state-run tabloid also gave a clear indication why China isnt exactly bothered about Indias sensitivities or concerns  to use one of Beijings favourite terms  over one of its core interests.

China was heavily invested in the One Belt, One Road and it was in Beijings interest to help resolve regional conflicts, it said.

Chinas recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya issue shows the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability, the tabloid argued.

The Kashgar-to-Gwadar CPEC, a cluster of infrastructure and energy projects, passes through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir and India has repeatedly made China aware of its sovereignty concerns about the trade and energy corridor.

In fact, it is concerns with the CPEC that has forced India to keep a distance from the bigger OBOR project.

Chinas decision to mediate between Myanmar and Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis was a prelude to Kashmir, the article said.

But, mediation in Kashmir wont be easy.

For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region, it said.

In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests.

China would gain experience from the Myanmar experiment, it said.

Myanmar is under international pressure over its crackdown on an estimated one-million strong Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. Rohingyas are regarded as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even when their families have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Canadas defence minister Harjit Sajjan has apologised in Parliament for claiming to have been the architect of the countrys largest battle in Afghanistan.

Harjit Sajjan on Monday repeatedly said sorry for what he called a mistake while being grilled by opposition lawmakers about his remark last month during a speech in India.

The battle involving Canadas Operation Medusa was planned and executed in 2006 by then-Maj Gen David Fraser, who was responsible for all NATO forces in southern Afghanistan.

At the time of the operation, Sajjan was a major in Afghanistan, a much lower rank.

Interim Conservative opposition leader Rona Ambrose criticised Sajjans initial comment as stolen valour and asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to dismiss him.

Trudeau said Sajjan acknowledged the mistake and continues to have his full confidence.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for defence minister Harjit Sajjan over his architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of stolen valour for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a cardinal sin in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister, Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

The Minister made a mistake, the Prime Minister said repeatedly. He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; thats what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake, The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, He has my full confidence.

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didnt do is explain his mistake, which Ambrose noted hed made twice - once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democrats calling on Trudeau to sack him.

Its not an error when you keep repeating the same lie, New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the architect of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters, Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.
The Communist Party of China has accused its own party officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region of donating funds to the India-based Dalai Lama, described by Beijing as a separatist conspiring to carve out an independent Tibetan state.

The unnamed officials were accused of donating funds to the Tibetan spiritual leader, joining underground pro-independence organisations and leaking secrets to overseas groups.

Their activity severely undermines the Partys fight against separatism, a Communist Party magazine quoted an official as having written.

The report did not say whether the Communist Party officials were of Tibetan ethnicity.

Such accusations are rare but not unprecedented. In January 2015, Chinese anti-corruption authorities had found 15 senior Communist Party officials in Tibet guilty of corruption and punished them.

On Tuesday, the magazine quoted a top anti-corruption official levelling similar charges.

Some Party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in the Tibet Autonomous Region was quoted as saying.

Some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations, Wang wrote in an article published on Monday in the magazine run by the Communist Partys Central Commission of Discipline Inspection.

Commenting that such behaviour affected the CPCs coherence and ability to fight separatism, Wang wrote that a few officials were failing to uphold their political integrity" and were completely ignoring political discipline.

China considers the Dalai Lama as a political exile in India who continues with attempts to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

A report by the China News Service two years ago had said the separatism situation is still complex and grim, a small number of party officials are not firm in their political stances, and the work of maintaining stability must be continuously strengthened.

It too did not share details about the suspects but only said they provided intelligence to Tibetan factions under the Dalai Lama and their activities endangered national security.

The Dalai Lamas visit last month to Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by Beijing, angered the Chinese government, which said India was playing the Dalai Lama card against its interests.
The standoff between the parallel power centres in Pakistan - the political government headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the military high command led by army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa - seems to have come to a head over the release of the report of the probe into Dawn Leaks.

Based on the report, Sharif issued a series of instructions, including the sacking of his special assistant on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatemi, and action against principal information officer Rao Tehsin. Within hours of the instructions being released, the army publicly rejected the measures.

More unusual was interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan criticising the army for using social media to give opinions on what was an internal matter that could have been addressed through proper channels.

It is clear that the army is unhappy with the action taken by the government over the probe into a report last year in the Dawn newspaper on differences between the military and the civilian set-up on tackling terror groups.

The army was represented on the inquiry committee by two representatives - the Inter-Services Intelligence agency nominee and one from Military Intelligence. Both had recommended strong action against journalist Cyril Almeida, who wrote the report in the Dawn, but the Sharif government did not consider this.

More important, the army is incensed over the fact that it considers the prime minister's secretary, Fawad Hasan Fawad, as part and parcel of the problem. Instead, Fawad was used to issue Sharif's instructions - which the army high command did not take to very kindly.

Most analysts say Dawn Leaks reflects a larger problem in Pakistan - the constant efforts by the army to undermine the political leadership.

"The army continues to challenge the government and keep it on the defensive. The whole idea is to keep the civilian government in a state of flux," said Abid Hussain, an Islamabad-based journalist. Hussain said this is a cycle that keeps repeating in Pakistan: "Whenever civilians are in power, the military wants to show that politicians are corrupt and ineffective."

As the general elections approach in 2018, there are expectations that Sharif will come back to power with a bigger mandate.

This is what the army high command is afraid of, say observers, who add that a Punjabi prime minister with a bigger mandate is the only political threat that the army high command faces. The last time Sharif had such a mandate, he was removed from power through a military coup. This time it would be more difficult.

What has become increasingly common is for the military to comment on issues outside its domain. Last month, the military spokesman commented that the army would welcome the Supreme Courts verdict on corruption allegations against Sharif and his family based on the Panama Papers leaks.

This was a clear signal to the public that the military would not be adverse to Sharif stepping down. But the judgment, which it is rumoured came after much back-door lobbying by the ruling PML-N party, gave the prime minister a breather, much to the dismay of many in the corridors of powers.

Soon after, an army-led media campaign was started to condemn the meeting of Indian businessman Sajjan Jindal with the prime minister last week. The military has continued to lead the media in campaigns against the elected government.

Over the past few years, the army has acquired a TV channel and used aggressive advertising through its various commercial enterprises to buy over the rest of the big houses, with a few notable exceptions.

Despite all this, analysts said the armys high command can see its role being reduced in the coming years. "Short of staging a coup, it is doing all it can to ensure that its military and economic empire continue to grow and its say in national affairs remains unchallenged," said one analyst.

"What we are seeing are the last desperate acts of an emperor that senses its status as an unquestioned power is coming to an end."
An exclusive drone video obtained by CNN shows the scale of devastation in Mosul as the Iraqi army with support from a US-led international coalition is trying to recapture the largest city in northern Iraq that fell to Islamic State in June 2014.

IS lost most of the city since the offensive began in October and is now surrounded in the northwestern districts, including the historic Old City centre.

In the video aired on Monday, a father can be seen with his daughter with their home half standing and the neighbouring buildings razed to the ground. Bodies of IS fighters amid debris and deserted streets with the black flag of the hardline Sunni fighters group is captured in the area.

CNN exclusive: new drone footage from Western Mosul shows scale of devastation in that city @HalaGorani reports

https://t.co/9MMbCqgKzA  Jason Morrell (@CNNJason) May 1, 2017

Dark smoke from burning tires and debris rises in the sky as IS fighters hide from air strikes. The camera also catches an explosion thought to be a mortar hitting a building and a makeshift roadblock from where IS fought can be seen amid damaged buildings in a neighbourhood.

According to the United Nations, up to half a million people remain in the area, 400,000 of whom are in the Old City with little food, water and medicine.

The militants have dug in among the civilians, often launching deadly counter-attacks to repel forces closing in on the Old Citys Grand al-Nuri Mosque, from where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate over parts of Iraq and Syria.

International aid agencies say thousands of people have been killed so far in the battle, both civilians and military. The total number of people displaced from Mosul since October is close to 400,000, about a fifth of the population before its capture by Islamic State.

(With agency inputs)
An Indian-origin man was robbed while saving a female co-worker from an oncoming train in the US. He was later rewarded by the police.

Anil Vannavalli, 34, was waiting for a train at the Edison platform in New Jersey on Friday morning when his co-worker Madhuri Recherla fainted and fell on the tracks, NJ.com reported on Monday.

According to police, Vannavalli dropped his backpack and jumped on the tracks with two other commuters to carry Recherla to safety.

While he was busy saving the womans life, someone snatched the backpack.

The backpack contained Vannavallis work laptop, three pairs of headphones valued at $700, about $200 in cash, his work identification card and train tickets, said police officials.

This theft, perpetrated in the midst of such a selfless good deed, seems so very disgusting and outrageous, said police chief Thomas Bryan.

The Edison Police Union awarded Vannavalli, a resident of Piscataway, with a $1,000 cheque for his selfess act.

Recherla, 26, regained consciousness shortly after police arrived. She was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Centre where she was treated for a broken knee and ankle.

The woman later said she lost consciousness and collapsed because she did not have time to eat or drink anything as she was trying to make it to the train station on time, reported News 12 New Jersey.

Vannavalli reportedly came to his colleagues rescue just before a train pulled into the station.

He later said he was glad she survived but was disappointed that someone decided to take advantage of the situation.

No arrests have been made in the case yet.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to show appreciation for Vannavalli for his valiant act.
At least 32 people were killed on Tuesday in an Islamic State group attack near a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, a monitor said.

At least five suicide attackers blew themselves up outside and inside a camp for Iraqi refugees and displaced Syrians in Hasakeh province, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Heavy clashes then erupted between the IS fighters and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, some of whose combatants were among the dead, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The camp lies in the Rajm al-Salibeh area just inside Syrian territory, and at least 21 of the dead were displaced Syrians or Iraqi refugees, the Observatory said.

At least 30 people were wounded, and the death toll may rise because some people are in critical condition and others are still unaccounted for, the Britain-based monitor said.

The US-backed SDF has captured swathes of northern Syria from IS, and in recent days overran most of the strategic Euphrates Valley town of Tabqa.

The battle for Tabqa is an important part of a broader offensive for ISs main Syrian stronghold, Raqa, downstream.
Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, the head of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, travelled to Afghanistan on Tuesday amid tensions between the two countries in an apparent bid to improve bilateral relations.

There was no official word from both countries on the objectives of visit. Pakistans parliamentary speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said the trip was aimed at improving ties and expanding political and military cooperation.

However, Tolo News channel reported that the international relations committee of the Afghan parliament said Mukhtars trip was an attempt by Islamabad to stop the blacklisting of Pakistan due to it being an alleged state sponsor of terrorism.

Pakistan is now in a situation where there is fear that the country will be declared as a state sponsor of terrorism. Therefore, Pakistan is trying to improve its relations with Afghanistan, said Daud Kalakani, head of the committee for the Wolesi Jirga or lower house of Parliament.

Mukhtar is the first senior Pakistani official to visit Afghanistan following fresh tensions between the two sides. The visit came against the backdrop of reports that the US is set to announce a new war strategy for Afghanistan.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad are coming closer following the integration of Mr Hekmatyar with the government of Afghanistan. Today Gen Naveed Mukhtar came to Kabul and met with (National Security Adviser) Massoum Stanekzai and returned to Pakistan after secret talks with (President Ashraf) Ghani, said political analyst Ahmad Saeedi.

A Pakistani parliamentary delegation recently met Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah and invited him to visit Islamabad. Abdullahs office said that visit was linked to Pakistans cooperation in the war against terrorism.

Trips, meetings and consultations would strengthen the ties, but the important thing is that the Pakistanis should abide by their commitments and stop backing enemies of Afghanistan, said Jawed Faisal, Abdullahs deputy spokesman.

In February, Pakistan announced fresh border restrictions with Afghanistan following a string of deadly attacks on Pakistani cities that Islamabad blamed on insurgents operating from Afghan soil. The border row soured relations between the two sides.
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen deliberately plagiarized verbatim parts of an address from a former presidential runner as a wink to him and the voters she hopes to peel away in a runoff, her spokesmen said on Tuesday.

Francois Fillon, the former Republicans candidate, first delivered the speech on Frances role in Europe and the world on April 15  just two weeks before Le Pens discourse on Monday. The subject is at the heart of Le Pens campaign  she promises to pull France out of the European Union and return to the franc currency, and has denounced globalizations effects on the French economy and culture.Immediately after being eliminated in the first-round vote, Fillon called for his supporters to back her centrist rival, Emmanuel Macron.

Three separate spokesmen for Le Pen used the word wink to describe the extracts copied word for word from Fillon. At no point in the speech did she cite Fillon or acknowledge the source of the extracts.

I think with part of the right, we have exactly the same vision on the national identity and independence, Louis Aliot, National Front vice president, told LCI television on Tuesday.

Both Macron and Le Pen are going after the voters of the nine other candidates knocked out in that vote, in which Frances two main parties both failed to make it to the second round for the first time in the countrys modern history.

Macron is promising an ethics bill that will block office-holders from conflicts of interest, nepotism and other ethical issues that have infuriated voters. Macron, who started his own political movement just a year ago, also promised he could get a legislative majority to pass the measure and others he says France needs to pull itself from the economic doldrums.

Legislative elections are in June, and whoever is president will depend on lawmakers to implement an agenda. Macron, who has pulled support from the right and the left, said on Tuesday candidates will have to quit their parties to run in his movement.
Police say a Pennsylvania woman fractured her infants skull and tried to blame the injuries on her 6-year-old son.

Stroud Area Regional police say doctors determined the injuries to the 6-week-old were massive and consistent with a punch, kick or slam. Doctors also found evidence of past head trauma and say the boy likely will be disabled because of brain injuries.

Twenty-nine-year-old Angelica Colon is jailed on attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. A public defender for the East Stroudsburg woman didnt immediately comment on the charges Tuesday.

Police interviewed Colon after the infant was first hospitalized April 13. They say she told them her 6-year-old son grabbed the boy out of his crib then accidentally dropped him, waking her up.
A Pakistani-origin Muslim flight attendant in the US has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that his co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and a member of militant groups Hezbollah and the Taliban.

Farkhan Mahmood Shah, of Edison, New Jersey, also claims in the lawsuit, filed recently in the Superior Court in Middlesex County, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents came to his house after he complained about the harassment to company officials.

Shah alleges that he was targeted for religious and ethnic harassment after the attacks of September 11, NJ.com reported.

American Airlines failed to stop the harassment after he reported it, Shah claims in the lawsuit.

Shah, who started working at the airline in 1999 as a flight attendant, says in the suit that he was called a terrorist, part of Hezbollah and the Taliban, and other offensive names.

On one flight, he claims another flight attendant tried to convert him from Islam to Christianity.

American Airlines spokesperson Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shahs lawsuit.

American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, Miller was quoted as saying.

Shah said he reported the alleged harassment in 2008 when he began to notice erroneous marks on his record for being late and missing work.

The complaint escalated to the airlines New York human resources office in 2013 following numerous complaints where he also brought up the record errors, the suit said.

In 2014, Shah and his co-workers were having a conversation about 9/11 and one of the workers said, it was the Muslims and that Muslims are evil, according to the suit.

Shah responded that some had said the terrorist attack was an inside job, and the ISIS (Islamic State) was created by the CIA, citing a Hillary Clinton clip he saw, the lawsuit said. Shah claims only his comments were reported to the supervisors.

Weeks later, Shah claims in his suit that he was placed on a watch list by American Airlines, and FBI agents showed up at his New Jersey home.

Shah claims the harassment continued over the next two years as his case was moved around to a number of different human resources representatives without any resolution, according to the suit.

In 2016, he filed a complaint with US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the suit states. Less than two weeks later, Shah claims FBI agents showed up at his house again, asking him if he planned on hurting anyone.

Shah received his Right to Sue letter from the EEOC earlier this year and remains on airlines staff.

The suit, which names American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, seeks damages, attorney fees and other relief.
Afghanistans relationship with India is unacceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like Haqqani network and the Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

Afghanistans strongest regional ally is India, that is unacceptable to Pakistan. India is an enemy, while the Afghan government is an ally in the Indian government, Seth Jones, director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center, Rand Corporation, said during a Congressional hearing last week.

Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against the Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban, so its a proxy war, Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

The Pakistani government is continuing with its policy, their strategy of strategic depth, that it views everything through the lens of fighting India, Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal, said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation.

That unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India to establish strategic depth in Afghanistan, its come back to bite them with groups like the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, and other groups which have attacked the Pakistani state, Roggio said.

Unfortunately, Pakistan seems unwilling to recognise this that it still while it fights the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, it continues what other groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and a host of other groups because they are willing to serve as Pakistans strategic depth, he said.

Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, until they come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist for decades, Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that in recent years the US has given over $33 billion in some form of aid to Pakistan.

Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that support a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that, Poe said.

Jones said its a serious problem.

I would support as the US did last year when it has a strike against the Taliban leader, as it did with Mullah Mansour to take that strike. I mean, I think its worth considering the cost and benefits, but I would applaud the administration for targeting the Taliban leader last year, he said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise that when a US drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in May 2016, he was in south-western Pakistan.

The laundry list of evidence of Pakistans support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al Qaida leader and Americas most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan, he said.

I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counterterrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not the Afghan Taliban, he said.

Speaking about ISIS, he said: ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghan further complicates the countrys tourist landscape.

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as ISIS Khorasan Province.
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that allegations that Russia had meddled in last years US presidential election were based on rumours and that Moscow did not want foreign powers to interfere in Russian politics.

Putin was speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and responding to a question about US allegations of Moscows meddling and allegations that Russia might meddle in German elections on September 24.

The meeting between the two leaders was a signal of renewed dialogue despite profound rifts, on Merkels first visit to Russia since 2015.

We never interfere in the political life and the political processes of other countries and we dont want anybody interfering in our political life and foreign policy processes, said Putin.

The Russian leader said foreign powers had tried to meddle in Russian politics many times in recent years however, including through non-governmental organisations.

Merkel said she was not fearful of Russian meddling in German polls.

I am not an anxious person, I will fight the election on the basis of my convictions, she said, adding Germans would deal decisively with any cases of wrong information.

We know cyber criminality is an international challenge .. but we expect that the German election will go ahead unharmed and that we have enough different positions to tackle a range of topics, she said.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Russia for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supporting the pro-Kremlin separatist insurgency in the east of the country.
An FBI translator with a top-secret security clearance married a key ISIS operative she was assigned to investigate in 2014, and served two years in prison before being released last year, CNN reported on Monday.

Daniela Greene, who joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2011 and worked at its Detroit bureau, married Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned ISIS terrorist, CNN said. The 38-year-old made a guilty plea to making false statements involving international terrorism and was released in August 2016.

Greene somehow fled back to the US within weeks of marrying Cuspert and was arrested on August 8, 2014, and agreed to cooperate with authorities, according to CNN. She sent emails from Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law.

The report said Cuspert was known by his rap name Deso Dogg in Germany and as Abu Talha al-Almani in Syria and that he converted to Islam in 2010 after a near-death experience in a car accident.

He posted on Facebook a fake video in 2011 purportedly showing US soldiers raping a Muslim woman. The video motivated a man to carry out a terrorist attack on the Frankfurt airport, killing two US airmen and wounding two others, according to The New York Times.

He has praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former President Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head, it reported.

In 2012, Cuspert fled Germany, reportedly spending time in Egypt and Libya. The following year, he arrived in Syria, where he would emerge as ISISs Celebrity Cheerleader, according to a report from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a group that monitors various topics in the region, including violent extremism, CNN said.

The FBI, in a statement to CNN, said as a result of Greenes case it took several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities. The FBI continues to strengthen protective measures in carrying out its vital work.

The agency did not identify what steps were taken and declined further comment.

Greene, who went by the nickname Dani, was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Germany for a while before she married a US soldier at a young age and moved to the United States, according to several friends and acquaintances CNN spoke with.

She attended college at Cameron University in Oklahoma where she was on the deans list. She then went to graduate school at Clemson University where she earned a masters degree in history.

Greene, who now works as a hostess in a hotel lounge, told CNN she was fearful of discussing the details of her case.

If I talk to you my family will be in danger, Greene said. She declined further comment.

CNN said it was withholding Greenes location in the US and has obscured her face in photos and videos due to concerns raised about her safety.

Prosecutors characterised Greenes conduct as egregious, deserving of severe punishment in court papers filed in US district court in Washington DC, CNN said.

Assistant US attorney Thomas Gillice said Greene had violated the public trust, the trust of the officials who granted her security clearance, and the trust of those with whom she worked and, in doing so, endangered our nations security.

Greenes 2-year sentence was less than punishments given others charged with terrorism-related crimes, the television news channel noted.

Even failed attempts to travel to Syria and join ISIS have earned stiffer prison sentences. Americans convicted in dozens of recent ISIS prosecutions received an average sentence of more than 13 years in prison, according to an analysis in April by the Center on National Security at Fordham University, it said.

A justice department official, however, said Greenes sentence was in line with similar cases, but declined to cite examples, CNN reported.

The state department declared Cuspert a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2015 in a bulletin on the agencys website. In October 2015, the Pentagon said Cuspert was killed in an air strike near the northern Syria city of Raqqah. On August 3, 2016, the Pentagon released a statement saying Cuspert survived the airstrike.

Greene was released from a federal prison 1 day later, CNN said citing records.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended Canadas defence minister Harjit Sajjan after he faced a barrage of attacks in Parliament and opposition leaders sought his resignation over a false remark he made during a speech in New Delhi last month regarding his role in an operation in Afghanistan.

As Canadas House of Commons (equivalent to the Lok Sabha) began a session on Monday after a two-week recess, Sajjan came under repeated fire for claiming to have been the architect of Operation Medusa, conducted by Nato forces in Afghanistan in 2006, while addressing an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation on April 18.

Sajjan told the House: I would like to apologise for my mistake in describing my role, and retract that statement, and Im truly sorry for it. He was forced to repeat that apology multiple times during the session.

Trudeau defended the Indo-Canadian minister, saying Sajjan had his full confidence. The Prime Minister added, He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; thats what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake.

However, that did not calm the opposition. Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said, People in the military have a name for what he did: Its called stolen valour when someone takes credit for the brave actions of another. She said the men and women in uniform had lost confidence in the minister and called for his resignation.

The call was echoed by Tom Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic Party. Accusing Sajjan of having told a whopper, he said, That is not something you apologise for, its something that you have to step down for.

Sajjan, speaking in New Delhi, had claimed that in his first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown into an unforeseen situation and I became the architect of an operation called Operation Medusa, where we removed over about 1,500 Taliban fighters off the battlefield.

His misstatement turned into a major political controversy in Canada, dominating newscasts and the front pages of dailies. The original report of the incident has been followed by reports noting that Sajjan made the same claim while he was running as a Liberal Party candidate in the federal elections in 2015.

Over the weekend, Sajjan took to social media to retract his remark. In a Facebook post, he wrote, The response to my remarks about Operation Medusa has been a good reminder of something important for me as a leader  always set a standard that honours those you serve. Another reminder is to own your mistakes. I made a mistake in describing my role. I wish to retract that description and apologise for it. I am truly sorry.

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US President Donald Trump has said he will be honoured to meet North Koreas Kim Jong-un and has invited controversial Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte to the White House and displayed a loose grasp of his countrys watershed and defining historical period, the 1861-1865 Civil War.

In media interviews in recent days celebrating his first 100 days in office and in general remarks and statements, Trump has set off a stream of controversies going against not only the commonly accepted punditry about these world leaders, but also his own administration and aides. And not for the first time.

The reaction to his surprising outreach to Kim and Duterte ranged from outrage  human rights groups and some media outlets said the president had invited a killer to the White House  to watchful wariness about Trumps apparent break from the establishment and go with his instincts.

But first, his take on the four-year-long Civil War that ripped apart America over abolition of slavery.

I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldnt have had the Civil War, Trump said about the countrys seventh president he idolises in an interview to SiriusXM radio.

He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said, Theres no reason for this.

The problem: Jackson, himself a slave-owner from Tennessee in the pro-slavery South, died in 1845, more than a decade for the civil war broke out in 1861. Historians have said Trump could have been referring to another crisis between the union and the south that Jackson handled in 1832.

The president also wondered in that interview if the war was necessary. People dont realise, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? People dont ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?

Trump, who believes in the power of deal-making and wrote a bestseller extolling it, may have been arguing there for the north and the south to have talked it out minus the devastations and the bloodshed, but, unfortunately for him, historians are not on his side.

Jon Meecham, who wrote a Pulitzer-winning book on Jackson, told The New York Times, The expansion of slavery caused the Civil War  And you cant get around that. So what does Trump mean? Would he have let slavery exist but not expand? Thats the counterfactual question you have to ask.

If his civil war remarks raised questions about his knowledge, of the lack of it, of the countrys past, those about Kim and Duterte were found troubling for the present and future.

If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely; I would be honored to do it, Trump told Bloomberg news in an interview on Monday, when asked if he would be willing to sit down with the North Korean leader.

Trump has been teasing the possibility of negotiations with the North Korean leader, who has been testing the new administration with missile tests, expressing empathy with someone forced to take on a job at an early age.

But honoured to meet him?

White House spokesperson Sean Spicer contextualised it at his daily briefing telling reporters Trumps offer was conditional. Weve got to see their provocative behaviour ratcheted down immediately. Theres a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior and to show signs of good faith.

He added, Clearly, conditions are not there right now, but I think the President has made it clear, as Secretary Tillerson had the other day, that if the conditions, if the circumstances present themselves well be prepared to, but theyre clearly not at this time.

About the invitation to the Philippine President, Trump pointed to Dutertes popularity ratings, which are accorded a high priority by him, overlooking the extra-judicial killings he has admitted to ordering as a law enforcement officer.

As president, Dutertes tenure has been marked by more killings allegedly of suspected drug traffickers and his tendency to insult counterparts around the world

He might have saved Trump the embarrassment by indicating he is likely to be too busy to accept the White House invitation.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled the prospect of increased cooperation in Syria on Tuesday, in what the White House called a very good phone discussion that included a focus on setting up safe zones in the war-torn nation.

The White House said the leaders also agreed to try to set up their first in-person meeting in July, on the sidelines of an international summit in Germany.

The two leaders said they wanted to continue such calls and were in favour of organising a meeting during the G20 summit on July 7-8 in Hamburg, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Tuesdays call marked the first time Trump and Putin have spoken since the US launched missiles against an air base in Syria, an attack that outraged Russia, one of the Syrian governments strongest backers.

The US military action sparked new tensions between Washington and Moscow, with top US officials sharply condemning Putins continued support for embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

But the leaders appeared to again be edging toward closer cooperation following Tuesdays call. The Kremlin said Trump and Putin agreed to bolster diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syrian civil war, which has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions more displaced. The White House announced it would send a top State Department official to Russian-led talks on Syria that begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan.

President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence, the White House said. The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons.

They also discussed at length working together to eradicate terrorism throughout the Middle East. Finally, they spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea, the statement added.

The Kremlin characterised the call as business-like and constructive. It made no mention of safe zones.

Despite having previously warned against US intervention in Syria, Trump ordered the strikes against Syrian government targets in early April after accusing the regime of using chemical weapons in a deadly attack on civilians. Russia said the US strikes violated international law.

Some of Trumps top advisers, including secretary of state Rex Tillerson and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, leveled blistering criticism on Russia and Putin following the chemical weapons attack.

Yet, Trump has continued to hold out the prospect of a stronger relationship with Russia, which was a cornerstone of his foreign policy platform as a presidential candidate. He took to Twitter days after the Syria strikes to say that things will work out fine between the US and Russia and everyone will come to their senses.

The shifts in the Trump administrations posture came amid a steady swirl of controversy surrounding possible ties between the presidents associates and Russia during last years election. The FBI and congressional committees are investigating whether Trumps campaign coordinated with Russia as it meddled in the election.

Hillary Clinton, Trumps vanquished Democratic opponent, said during a speaking appearance on Tuesday that she was on the way to winning the election until intervening events in the campaigns final days, including WikiLeaks release of hacked emails from one of her top advisers. US intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia was behind the hacking.

Putin, who met earlier on Tuesday with German chancellor Angela Merkel, denied that Moscow ever interferes in other countries elections. He said accusations of Russian meddling aimed at helping Trump in his race against Democrat Hillary Clinton were simply rumors being used as part of a political fight in Washington.

Trump has vigorously denied any nefarious ties to Moscow, calling the Russian investigations a hoax.

Tuesdays call marked the third time Trump and Putin are known to have talked since the US president took office in January.
David Armitage is a renowned Harvard historian. His latest book, Civil Wars  A History in Ideas, has been hailed in the western academic community and media as a breakthrough in the study of civil wars.

He spoke to the Hindustan Times about his book. Here are the excerpts:

Q. Could you tell us something about the book and how civil wars have evolved over the centuries?

It is an attempt to trace over 2000 years, going all the way back to Republican Roman, the genesis and genealogy of the ideas of the civil war till the present. I am trying to see why we seem, even now in the 21st century, so confused about what is or is not a civil war, why those categories are so politicised and ideological in relation to particular conflicts like those in Iraq or Syria in recent years. What I have tried to do is trace how ideas of civil war have changed as different communities and experts have intervened to depoliticize or redefine what is or is not a civil war.

For instance, the first legal attempts to define a civil war came in the 19th century in the context of the US civil war because of the pressure to define the illegitimacy of one side, the Confederacy. That maps very closely how modern conceptions of civil wars have involved the politics of legitimating or delegitimating different parties. To use the term civil war now can work in two directions. It can work in identifying two sides or even more than two sides in a conflict as legitimate belligerents, worthy of the protection of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law. Or it can work in another direction  of outside powers, for political purposes, thinking of a conflict as a civil war in order to deny the possibility of intervention, as the case in Syria. If a war is a civil war, it is an internal conflict, inside another country, it is often used to denote conflicts as being ethnic, atavistic, backward-looking, and something that great powers like the US should stay out of.

That division of the politics of naming of civil wars is an indication of how much power resides in the name, and how far the naming becomes the framing of the conflict leading to enormous implications for international interventions, humanitarian aid and thus ultimately for the lives of all those who are affected by these conflicts and who may be looking for support and legitimation for their part of those conflicts.

Q. Is there a pattern we can draw? When does an armed rebellion turn into a civil war?

There is not one single pattern. There is no natural category of rebellions or civil wars. These are both political categories and thus politicised categories which are deployed for tactical advantage by different parties. It is often the transformation of one form of conflict into another that marks the boundaries between legitimacy and illegitimacy.

To go back to a key point in my book, and the larger story of civil wars, the US civil war  one of the largest conflicts in the middle of the 19th century  was relatively rarely called a civil war while it was going on. It was called a rebellion in particular by Abraham Lincoln, who called it a rebellion six times more often than he called it a civil war. Why would that be - because he did not want to legitimise the confederacy as equivalent to the union. To talk about the civil war for him would mean acknowledgement that it had become an international war, precisely the claim that the secessionist Confederacy wished the world to recognise.

That battle between whether a conflict is a rebellion or a civil war is a battle over authority, legitimacy and very often about international recognition and support. It is often famously said that the first casualty of war is truth. The first casualty of civil war is political language and the battle takes place in the naming and framing.

Q. You point out that we have moved from interstate to intrastate wars in recent decades. Why this shift?

If we look at world history, from the middle of 17th century to the Second World War, we saw an era of wars between states. We are now in an era of war within states. We can think about this in terms of the larger process of pacification that have resulted from the Second World War, with antecedents before, to create an international architecture of peace and order through both regional blocs and the UN.

What that has done is create a bifurcated world, where we seem to be at peace in terms of relations between states but what we see now are very large numbers of deaths happening outside the framework of the international state system. One is in civil war themselves across the world from Afghanistan to Yemen. The other is in unconventional forms of warfare that is not captured in the political and legal architecture. Violence has been squeezed outside the state system, and absorbed within particular states and exploded in unconventional forms of terrorism, asymmetrical warfare, drone warfare.

Q. Could we then say that conflict resolution mechanisms between states have improved but within states have not evolved?

And the two may be connected. Conventional mechanisms for declaring war and concluding war bear little or no relation to the form of conflicts that have characterised much of the latter part of the 20th and early 21st century. Civil wars, non-international armed conflicts, are never declared formally and so it is difficult to ascertain where they began and they are very rarely concluded with any form of peace negotiations or treaties.

Q. Why do certain conflicts lend themselves to resolution, and certain conflict remain so prolonged? Did you discover any pattern?

Political scientists who have studied such things would see them as linked to multiple factors  how far have societies become democratised, so how possible is it to resolve conflicts within conventional peaceful mechanisms.

The Colombian example is important. It was put to a referendum which undermined the final resolution that had been brokered by internal and outside powers. It shows that other regional powers and international organisations need to have a strong buy-in to forms of conflict resolution. So there has to be strong motivation not just for the parties within but also for those outside, neighbours, or larger external powers, or UN to have a stake in bringing parties together, creating conditions where they can negotiate, and in creating conditions where negotiated settlements can be maintained. Often in some of those cases, demilitarisation or the absorption of the military into democratic politics becomes essential.

The major problem with civil war  and even Romans knew this, so it has been known for 2000 years  is that scars left by them are often much more intimate and painful. They cross not only the lines of party or political affiliation but can dig deep within communities and families.

Negotiations that take place between parties or the state level have to be reproduced at other levels of society as well. Thats one reason why civil wars often break out into further conflict because the difficulty of bringing high-level negotiation down to all levels of society when there is so much pain. The formal armed struggles may end but the battles over historical memory, responsibility and amnesty can continue for decades, generations.

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The Drum Barracks

Civil War Museum

1052 N. Banning Boulevard

Wilmington, CA 90744

310-548-7509

drumbarracks.org Tour Schedule (guided tours only)

TuesdayThursday: 10 a.m.11:30 a.m.

SaturdaySunday: 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Accessibility: There is no elevator.

Those unable to access the second floor are invited to watch a video tour of the upstairs exhibits.

You wont find Wilmington, Calif., high on most lists of must-see Civil War locales. A visit to Wilmingtons Drum Barracks Civil War museumabout 20 miles south of Los Angeles, on the Pacific coastmight change a lot of minds, however. The museum does a wonderful job of shining light on the underappreciated role California and the Southwest Borderlands played during the war.

Named for Lt. Col. Richard Coulter Drum, adjutant general of the Department of the Pacific, Drum Barracks was Union Army headquarters for Southern California and the Arizona Territory between 1862 and 1871 (Wilmington was known as San Pedro at the time). Troops there were mainly responsible for guarding San Pedro Harbor, which was used for Federal shipments of gold, supplies, and soldiers. They also helped protect locals from Southern sympathizers intent on taking control of the region. In 1859, Californians had voted to split the state in two via the Pico Act. Had Congress approved the legislation at the time, the budding Confederacy could have gained another state from which to acquire funding, supplies, and soldiers.

The museum today is located in what served as the junior officers quarters, the only remaining wooden building of 22 that were once part of a 60-acre post. Bricks from the sites original chimneys, dismantled for safety from earthquakes long ago, were repurposed for courtyard walkways.

Although remote geographically, California made meaningful contributions during the war. A timeline at the museum presents an overview of California history showing political, economic, military, demographic facts, and California firsts as themes. Gold from California, for example, is estimated to have financed 25 percent of the Union war effort.

The California Room tells the story of the California Column. Organized by Colonel James H. Carleton, commander of Drum Barracks, the column consisted of more than 2,300 troops, who mobilized at Fort Yuma, Calif., and marched to El Paso, Texas, to stop Confederate attempts to capture New Mexico Territory and beyond. By the end of the war, California had supplied more than 17,000 volunteers, 8,000 of whom were mustered through the Drum Barracks.

The museum also highlights the use of camels during the war. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had imported the ruminants in the mid-1850s, believing they would make better pack animals than horses in the dry Southwestern climate. In 1862, Drum Barracks received 36 camels, but the experiment ultimately failed because they proved incompatible with horses (the museums Armory Room displays a camels nose plug used for directional purposes) and for a lack of funding. By 1863, the animals had been sold off.

A Gatling gun is the centerpiece of the museums Technology Room, dedicated to advances in warfare. The story of the Drum Barracks Hospital, the main hospital for southern California and Arizona Territory servicemen, is also told. Among medical artifacts on display is a prosthetic leg that can be operated using pulleys and weights.

Enlisted mens cribsassembled using no nails and reproduced from the 1860 Army Barracks Regulationsare showcased as well. Reproduction and original leisure items used by soldiers are exhibited, including a cloth checkerboard with corncob playing pieces and Civil War stationery, as well as exhibits of firearms, uniforms, and McClellan saddles.

One of the more powerful exhibits is the story of Private William G. Stephens, who received the Medal of Honor for his contributions at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. Displayed are a 34-star flag that Stephens found on the battlefield, his medal, and a document signed by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton commending his service. Stephens family moved to California and presented his belongings to the museum.

A research library and a nice gift shop are also onsite.
China might be imposing its own sanctions if North Korea will still continue its nuclear testing. And with the latest report, the country is likely planning to stop the importation of crude oil to North Korea if the latter will not heed their suggestion.

It was reported before that U.S. pushed China to impose diplomatic sanctions on North Korea over its continuous nuclear testing. With this, China reportedly promised to employ steps in order for North Korea to stop their nuclear testing.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the White House issued a statement that China might stop supplying North Korea with crude oil. If this happens, this will really threaten North Korea's economy. But some experts were telling that China will be affected too.

Reports were telling that China will be dealing with an oil embargo which will surely affect the stability of North Korea. The reports also added that instead of two or three-month oil embargo, the United Nations is thinking of more than that which will really cause a major impact on the oil reserves of the said country.

If China will also employ the said action and sanction, this will really destabilize the government of Kim Jong-un. Express UK reported that this will also be a nightmare for the North Korea's leader who is really determined to continue with its nuclear testing unmindful of what the other countries are suggesting.

China still needs the mandate of the United Nations in order to fully take new actions against North Korea. But since United Nations is also considering the same step, there is a possibility that China will mull over oil sanctions for Pyongyang and the whole North Korea.

It can be recalled that before, China had given its support for North Korea's regime stability in order to prevent refugee crisis. But with the latest reports on nuclear testing, China might likely treat both regime stability and denuclearization of North Korea the same way.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A rchitectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described St Martins in Gospel Oak, NW5, as the craziest of Londons Victorian churches, due mainly to its incomplete-looking tower and William Morris stained-glass windows.

The Grade I-listed church sits in a pocket of London that was zapped in the Sixties by Camden council planners to build low-rise estates. Apart from the church, all that remains of Victorian Gospel Oak is the pleasant cache of streets north of Mansfield Road running up to Hampstead Heath. Its an under-the-radar location but plugged into the Overground.

Bacton, a council housing estate, is getting a facelift by award-winning Karakusevic Carson Architects who have also designed a new block of 21 private flats priced from 505,000.

Called St Martins Walk, it is an elegant architectural intervention with distinctive brickwork frontages, big windows and recessed balconies. Call Savills on 020 3320 8220.
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Jordan Brand has plans to launch a handful of unreleased, never before seen, Air Jordans this Holiday season including a Midnight Navy Air Jordan 11, a Bordeaux Air Jordan 12 and this Black/University Blue Air Jordan 6.

The UNC-flavored kicks will reportedly feature a black nubuck upper accompanied by hits of blue, which will reportedly be of the Tar Heels variety as a nod to MJs alma mater.

Images of the upcoming Black/University Blue Air Jordan 6 have not yet been unveiled but thanks to photoshop renderings, and custom designs, we have a solid idea of what to expect.

According to reports, the UNC inspired 6s will be arriving on December 30th ($190) as part of Jordan Brands annual Holiday Collection.

Black UNC 6s
The halls are not as crowded, the exhibits are not as elaborate and the swagger has left the attendees at the Offshore Technology Conference, but the industry insists that it's not dead yet.

The star speakers at OTC no longer talk about how high-technology will allow them to drill in ultra-deep water or conquer the most difficult oil reservoirs. On Monday, it was all about reducing costs and choosing contractors wisely to survive lower-for-long oil prices.

RELATED: Do more with less and hope for the best

Richard Morrison, BP's regional president for the Gulf of Mexico, said he rewrote the company's business plan after the price collapse of 2014 to make sure the company could break even at prices below $40 a barrel. Prices are currently hovering around $50, making those operations barely profitable.

"We refocused and paused our exploration drilling program, we terminated a long-term rig contract, we allowed two others to expire and we warm-stacked another," he said. "We halved our fleet of vessels and helicopter and we have nearly halved the Gulf of Mexico workforce since 2014."

That's what it takes to make Gulf of Mexico operations cash-flow positive this year. And Morrison said it will likely stay that way for the next two years until oil prices rise above $60 again.

More from Chris Tomlinson HACKED

HACKED

Looking through the OTC program this year, at least two-thirds of the panels are about reducing costs. And that's even after the offshore industry has laid off 40,000 jobs globally, sold off 100 aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico and virtually stopped exploratory drilling. The industry is still desperate to find savings.

RELATED: Want to survive the oil bust? Use conservative business principles

The problem, of course, is the rousing success of onshore oil, where horizontal drilling rigs are producing oil from hydraulically-fractured shale for less than $40 a barrel. Land-based wells can start up and shutdown quickly in response to short-term trends in crude price, making final investment decisions a lot easier to make.

Offshore rigs take years to plan, cost billions to launch and need 20 years of operation to recoup the capital expenditure. Approving a $5 billion rig is hard to do when a major oil company is barely making money off of rigs that were approved on the expectation of $85 oil.

The federal government was out in force at OTC on Monday, and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said he was there to help. He promised to do everything possible to help the industry.

"You should be excited. If you are in the oil and gas, or energy segment in this society, the stars have lined up and we're going to make jobs," Zinke declared. He then signed orders creating a new special post dedicated to helping the energy industry and starting a comprehensive review of the government's five-year energy plan.

RELATED: Q&A: New Interior official bets on American energy

President Donald Trump has promised to give domestic energy production a boost, and Zinke's repeated promise to make U.S. energy globally dominant had a frighteningly jingoistic tone. But oil, and coal for that matter, are global commodities traded around the world.

There is simply only so much the administration can do to boost the industry, and deregulation will not save the industry more than $1 a barrel in production costs.

The problem with conferences like OTC is that only those who believe in the industry's future get to speak. Every one taking the stage has an interest in the industry's survival, and in the case of corporations, no executive will dare say anything that might impact the stock price.

Yet there were ominous voices at OTC, if you paid close attention. Nizar Al-Adsani, CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp., laid out his strategic plan and suggested that OPEC members intend to make the cheapest crude in the world even cheaper to protect their market share.

"What shale has brought to the (Persian) Gulf is technology, and that technology can be used in the gulf to lower per unit cost," he said. "The low cost producer will, at the end of the day, prevail."

Adsani said Kuwait intends to increase production by 1 million barrels per day by 2020, at the same time that Permian basin wells also plan to add another million.

No one should expect a return to $100 oil for a very long time, Adsani added. They'll be lucky to see $85 a barrel. Once upon a time, that was considered the minimum price needed to sanction a deep water well.

So while offshore drillers fight to lower costs, they need to keep an eye on the competition. They are also working to lower costs. Offshore is not the only sector of the oil industry trying to stay a step ahead of the grim reaper.
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Prominent local business leaders said Tuesday it's nice to see the rest of the country take note of something they've felt for quite a while: Houston is the best place in the nation to be a minority entrepreneur.

The city recently ranked No. 1 among U.S. cities for cultivating minority-owned businesses, based on such factors as the number and percentage of businesses, the opportunity for finding customers here and the rate at which startups are launched. Researchers also cited a low cost of living that makes it easier for non-Anglo entrepreneurs to thrive.

"I'm excited to see that what we've always felt to be true is being documented," said Courtney Johnson-Rose, chairwoman of the Greater Houston Black Chamber.

Houston ranked at the top, with Dallas and Austin also represented in the top 10, according to the list generated by research group Expert Market. The study found that across the country, 40 percent of new entrepreneurs in 2016 were African-American, Latino, Asian or another non-white ethnicity.

The number of Hispanic entrepreneurs has doubled since 1996, Expert Market found.

Locally, minority entrepreneurs also have gotten more access to capital. The Small Business Administration's Houston district said the number of SBA-guaranteed loans granted to minority entrepreneurs has grown by more than 200 percent over the last five years.

Tim Jeffcoat, director of the Houston office, said the SBA works with local chambers and city economic programs to raise awareness of available funds for all small businesses. Given Houston's growing racial and ethnic diversity, it's natural that minority-owned businesses have seen their numbers and size grow as a result, he said.

Jeffcoat and others found the report's finding and ranking unsurprising, yet welcomed the spotlight from a third-party entity.

Houston's minority-run businesses are more than mom-and-pop stores, said Joset Wright-Lacy, president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. Many are successful supply companies servicing large corporations, she said, and Houston hosts many pilot programs that aim to connect minority suppliers and the corporations.

Laura Murillo, president and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said much of the overall minority business growth in Houston can be attributed to local partnerships across ethnic communities. For instance, she said, 40 percent of the Hispanic chamber's board are non-Hispanic.

"We have gone out of our way to attract and engage non-Hispanics," Murillo said. "We're not just a Hispanic chamber, we're a Houston chamber."

For Murillo, the city's distinction in Expert Market's report is yet another indicator of how successfully the city has embraced economic diversity.

"Slowly but surely," she said, "Houston is solidifying its place as the epicenter of entrepreneurship."

Efforts by the local Hispanic and Black chambers are ongoing. The Greater Houston Black Chamber in February launched the digital "Buy Black" directory promoting more than 500 vetted member businesses to better connect them with corporations looking for minority suppliers.

It's been viewed more than 45,000 times since it went live, Johnson-Rose said.

"The desire to support black-owned businesses has always been there, but people need the tools to access them," she added.

Later this month, the chamber will sponsor the weeklong Black Enterprise Summit to bring together thousands of African-American business owners for networking and cash-prize pitch competitions. There will be a "Shark Tank" casting call.
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The United States should dominate the global energy sector and produce more oil and gas on federal lands to help achieve that goal, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Monday.

Zinke, who also oversees agencies such as the National Park Service, which are responsible for protecting wildlife, marine life and natural resources, signed secretarial orders to review opening more offshore areas to oil and gas drilling during an appearance at the Offshore Technology Conference at NRG Park. Zinke said he values not just American energy independence, but "dominance" to create economic checks and balances on other oil-producing nations.

The nation's dependence on foreign oil for much of the past half-century has given those producers leverage over the U.S. - the 1973 Arab oil embargo and 1979 Iranian Revolution led to severe fuel shortages and price spikes - and shaped U.S. foreign policy.

"Dominance is what America needs," Zinke said. "If you're in the oil and gas and energy segment in this society, the stars have lined up" under the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has taken several steps to unshackle the energy industry from regulations adopted under former President Barack Obama. Trump last week signed an executive order seeking to expand offshore oil and gas production through a review of the existing five-year leasing program.

The effort is expected to lead to the openings of offshore tracts in the Atlantic and Arctic to potential oil and gas drilling, which was blocked by the Obama administration.

A separate order by Trump last week permits the review of some national monument designations on federal lands to possibly allow for oil and gas production.

In his former position as a Republican congressman from Montana, Zinke fought many environmental regulations and pushed for greater state control of federal lands. He has long supported opening up more federal territory to oil and gas production.

Zinke said he supports "reasonable regulation," but wants the Interior Department to generate more federal revenue from oil and gas. He also cited the potential to expand offshore wind production along the Eastern Seaboard.

Zinke said he wants to reorganize the Interior Department to allow for more state and local control. Houston and Seattle, for instance, have differing views of energy development and those differences should be recognized in policies, rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all model for his department. He said he plans to release a reorganization plan by the end of the summer.

He added that he's open to sharing more federal revenues from oil and gas drilling with states with oil and gas money. He specifically mentioned Louisiana as having a legitimate argument for more revenue sharing from oil and gas produced off of its coastline.

Zinke was also careful to credit his inspiration for balancing public and private use of the lands, or a "multi-use" policy, to President Theodore Roosevelt, who expanded the national parks and championed conservation.

But Zinke's views don't quite match Roosevelt's, said Martin Nie, a professor of natural resources policy at the University of Montana.

Roosevelt was a progressive, who favored a bigger government control that kept public lands out of the reach of corporate interests, Nie said.

"I have heard the secretary invoke Roosevelt since his confirmation hearing over and over again," said Nie. "I just think there are some huge inconsistencies and misunderstandings."

Ryan Maye Handy contributed to this story.
Over the last few months, the surge in U.S. shale drilling has kept Red Wing Shoes busy pumping out boots, hard hats and safety goggles for roustabouts heading back into the oil patch.

In North America, oil companies are finally conducting so-called manpower studies - reviews of how many workers they'll need for new oil and gas projects - and filling out orders for workers' protective gear, said Robert Warren, vice president of global sales and distribution for Red Wing Shoes, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of hard hats and boots.

That's a big change from early last year, when oil prices hit a dozen-year low of $26 a barrel and oil companies laid off tens of thousands of workers.

"There weren't any manpower studies last year. It was about how many people they needed to get rid of," Warren said on the expo floor of the Offshore Technology Conference. "Now they need to hire."

- Collin Eaton

Good news, bad news

Is it possible to be both optimistic and pessimistic for the future of the oil industry at once?

Italo Cedeno, adviser to the president of a subsidiary of China's state-owned oil company operating in Ecuador, found a way. On a panel themed around surviving in the oil downturn, Cedeno expressed confidence that renewable sources of energy would eventually supplant fossil fuels in electricity and transportation - but there will still be a need for it in the petrochemical industry.

"The oil has to go to a different use. The world deserves a better environment," Cedeno said. "The clean energy will make the oil and gas use close to nothing. So be prepared."

- Lydia DePillis

Captive audience

Renting booths, hanging banners across and stamping company names on lanyards, tote bags and coffee cup sleeves aren't the only ways companies can advertise products at the Offshore Technology Conference.

For $35,000, a company can command the undivided attention of OTC attendees by posting 565 signs in toilet stalls and over urinals in the bathrooms of NRG, the "restroom sponsorship package," according to NRG Park's advertising opportunities for OTC.

If that's too much money in this low oil price environment, vendors can buy a "hand sanitizer package." For $16,500, a company can sponsor 20 hand sanitizer stations complete with promotional signs, according to the OTC promotional contract.

- L.M. Sixel

Brighter skies

After experiencing a drop in international travel to energy-rich regions and suspending some flights, Delta Air Lines says travel to those places is starting to pick up again as oil prices are near $50 a barrel, said Chad Brossman, the head of district sales for Delta in Houston.

SkyTeam alliance members Delta, Air France and the Dutch airline KLM had a booth on the OTC trade show floor, where each ushered passers-by into new business class airline chairs that fully recline. The partnership between the airlines services 45 oil and gas destinations in North America, as well as dozens of cities and countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

United's Atlanta flight to Lagos - the only direct flight on a U.S. carrier - was one that was cut back in the wake of the downturn, after oil prices plunged to $26 early last year from more than $100 in 2014, said Bobby Bryan, Delta's director of sales for East and West Africa.

By the end of May, Delta will add a daily 12-hour flight nonstop to Lagos, Bryan said.

- Ryan Maye Handy
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There's no kit manual for making an eight-foot long scale model of an oil tanker. Exploration companies don't send instructions for how to re-create their ever-more-sophisticated inventions in miniature. That's up to John Richard.

With dexterity that belies his thick, muscular hands, Richard constructs a wire circuit that will illuminate tiny LED lights on a diorama of an offshore rig. It's a mix of art and engineering, and Richard is surrounded by the tools of both: Paint sprayers and power tools, 3D printers and laser cutters, and a room full of people working on computer models.

"It's a good feeling to know that you can reproduce anything," said Richard.

Every year, the stars of the show at the mammoth Offshore Technology Conference are the models: Intricate reproductions of ships, plants, rigs, compressors, engines and drill bits, all nested in dazzling displays, vying for the attention of passerby.

Dozens of those models are painstakingly constructed in a featureless warehouse off I-45 in Houston, by artisans like Richard, who over 30 years in the business, has learned the process from start to finish.

Richard is the lead model technician at USM Inc., which has has built models for OTC since the show started in 1969. Last week, the warehouse floor was filled with boxes that headed to the show on Saturday, marked with the names of industry giants: NOV, Hess, Halliburton. USM has built about 30 models, and handles the rest for companies that have brought them in from out of town, delicately trucking them to and staging them in booths at NRG Park.

An evolving craft

Model-making has been around for centuries, but the craft has changed almost as much as the buildings and new technologies that it mimics.

When a Hungarian immigrant engineer named Steve Johnson started United Scale Models back in 1956, they were mostly made of wood and wire, requiring years of training to machine and and glue together. In the beginning, Johnson taught model makers in the kitchen of his one-bedroom apartment, and construction took place in the living room.

Later, they leased a facility in Bellaire, and built a custom facility in 1998. Johnson's sons, Paul and Chris Johnson, took over the family business in 2012.

These days, model-making is still a highly skilled trade, practiced by a small number of craftsmen and women  just over 6,000 in the United States, according to the Census Bureau.

Before the advent of 3D digital imaging that allows engineers to virtually prototype their new products, most complicated construction projects required a miniature version before they could be built. Rather than prototyping, the primary purpose is now marketing, whether to show off the new product at trade shows or demonstrate the concept to potential financiers. And as the uses of models have changed, so have the skills required to construct them.

By way of demonstration, Richard holds a part of a full-scale model drill bit. It's quite a bit lighter than the real version, made out of plastic rather than steel  but otherwise a 100 percent accurate replica spit out of a 3-D printer. Decades ago, Richard would have carved it out of wood, after calculating the dimensions by hand.

"I'd have to break the drawings down and then scale it," he says. "You didn't push a button and the answer was there."

USM started using 3-D printers, which add layer and layer of plastic on top of each other to create an infinite array of shapes, back in 1999. Now the company has box-like laser cutters, which can precisely cut a vast array of materials.

A room-sized spraying operation has largely replaced brushes to coat parts with sleek layers of paint. All of that technology has sped up the process, allowing USM to produce upwards of 300 models per year in less time with fewer people.

As much as USM has kept up with evolving technology, model-making has been threatened by it as well.

Around a decade ago, says USM's president Paul Johnson, interactive videos that show 360-degree views of a product started showing up everywhere. Companies began to think they could skip the physical models, which are tricky to transport, often breaking en route.

But there's something about a model that still draws people in more than just a digital display.

"In the last five years, people have gotten desensitized to that," Johnson says. "So at trade shows, you'll have a giant flatscreen with beautiful animation, and people just walk right by, people don't even look at it."

A volatile industry

Catering to the oil and gas industry can be a lucrative business. USM's models range in price from a few hundred dollars for a simple component, all the way up to the $3 million, 2,100-square-foot miniature of what would become the world's largest petrochemical refinery plant in the Virgin Islands, requiring a detailed understanding of how the facility worked in order to render each component accurately.

But it can also be a cruel business, as it was last year, when the oil bust torpedoed demand for new products; last year only a handful of model orders came in for OTC. That's why, over the years, USM has diversified into full-scale training simulators for the aerospace industry.

Replicas of the fuselages of the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, for example, are used to teach mechanics how to repair the planes. USM also made several of the mockups at NASA's Building 9, where astronauts learn how to use the International Space Station and other shuttles.

The company had around 120 people on staff when the F-22 program was at its height in the 2000s, but it's now down to 25 core employees. As the number of universities with degree programs in model making has dwindled, USM hires design-savvy people wherever it can find them  often out of the military, Johnson says  and then trains them up over years of practice.

Most of them pass under the tutelage of John Richard, who is among the few experienced model makers to know every part of the process. Born in a small bayou town in Louisiana, he attended the Art Institute of Houston in the 1980s, paying for classes by selling portraits he'd painted. He then did architectural modeling in Philadelphia, building miniatures of the Philadelphia Orchestra Hall and Baltimore Aquarium, before joining USM to move closer to family.

Richard loves the variability of the job. Despite all the new technology, clings to the creativity and craftsmanship. And he still thinks painting is the most important part.

"Unpainted, it ain't worth anything. But painted? Look at it," Richard says, pointing to the glossy sheen on a drill bit model. "Painting sells. You're not going to buy a car if it doesn't have a good paint job."
Houston's Garcia Hamilton & Associates and Nomura Asset Management Co., launched their new mutual fund partnership, the Garcia Hamilton U.S. Quality Bond Fund, Monday marking Nomura's first partnership with a U.S. minority-owned firm.

"We are thrilled to work with Nomura, one of the world's premiere financial institutions," said Gilbert Garcia, managing partner at GHA in a news release.
The oil price slump and local unemployment levels that recently surpassed the national rate have not dampened Houstonians' career optimism. Sixty-four percent consider local job opportunities to be excellent or good, the 2017 Kinder Houston Area Survey indicates.

"Possibly, the general public senses that things are not as bad as they look in the official record of the moment," said Stephen Klineberg, founding director of Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

The positive job opportunity figure, up slightly from 62 percent reported last year, is the second-highest rating since 2000.

It's significantly higher than job market optimism when Houstonians were clawing their way out of the 1980s oil bust. Positive ratings deteriorated to 36 percent in 1983 and then 11.5 percent in 1987, from 71 percent in 1982, according to the first Houston Area Survey ever completed.

Klineberg said the more recent recovery has been aided by a more diverse economy.

"We did oil the way Detroit did cars, the way Seattle did airplanes," Klineberg said.

The most recent oil price slump cost the Houston region about 82,000 energy-related jobs. That's a substantial number but remains small compared with the region's total employment of about 3 million, said Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president of research for the Greater Houston Partnership.

"Most of the layoffs in the last two years were concentrated in the oil and gas industry," he said. "And if you work outside oil and gas, things do not look bad for you."

He added that many people moved to Houston for work, which provides a different perspective.

"Houston is a place about jobs," he said. "It hasn't lost that even with the downturn."

The downturn bottomed out in the third quarter of last year, and Jankowski noted that the unemployment rate generally increases during the beginning of a recovery period as more people are looking for work. The unemployment rate doesn't include people who aren't actively looking for jobs, so it didn't count Houstonians who tabled their searches until the market improved.

He said people shouldn't be surprised if the unemployment rate stays high for the next quarter or two. The local unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in March, compared with a national unemployment rate of 4.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted.

He said the Kinder survey's optimism is reinforced by home sales. During the 12-month period ending in March, Jankowski said 92,830 houses were sold in the Houston region. That's the highest 12-month total on record.

"People don't go out and buy a home if they're worried they're not going to have a job," he said.

Chris Tripoli, president of A'La Carte Foodservice Consulting Group, said the restaurant industry is showing slow signs of improvement, and restaurateurs are cautiously optimistic for a better second half of the year.

He said the oil slump has prompted people to eat out less. Private parties have been smaller, and corporate spending not as lavish.

"As diverse as Houston is, we are still an energy town first and foremost," he said.

"So when the main industry in town is stagnant, it does affect people's buying habits."

Even so, just 16 percent of the 2017 Kinder Houston Area Survey respondents named the economy as the biggest problem facing people in Houston.

Traffic took the top honors with 24 percent of respondents.

"Traffic, you encounter every day," Jankowski said. "Joblessness, hopefully you never encounter. Or you only encounter once or twice in your life."

The report also found that the percentage of Houston-area residents who believe education beyond high school is a prerequisite for success declined to 54 percent in 2017 from 73 percent in 2013.

"It's striking because the reality is the good high-paying, low-skill blue-collar jobs have disappeared, and they're not coming back," Klineberg said.

He said the divide reflects political affiliations with 55 percent of those who voted for President Donald Trump compared with 35 percent of those who voted for Hillary Clinton saying "there are many ways to succeed in today's economy with no more than a high school diploma."

Hispanics and African-Americans were more likely than Anglo residents to emphasize the importance of postsecondary education. Fifty-eight percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of African-Americans, compared with 48 percent of Anglos, thought that education beyond high school is needed to be successful.

Klineberg said that if African-Americans and Hispanics aren't furthering their education, it's not because they don't recognize its importance.

It's because of factors like concentrated poverty, and children attending overcrowded and under-funded inner city schools.

Participants in the 36th annual survey were interviewed between Jan. 24 and March 1, and it included 827 residents from Harris County, 400 from Fort Bend County and 402 from Montgomery County.
Mike McCleary/MBO

BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota's governor is asking President Donald Trump for federal reimbursement of $38 million in state law enforcement costs related to months of protests over construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Gov. Doug Burgum emailed Trump on Saturday seeking a presidential disaster declaration to pave the way for federal aid. Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki confirmed the request on Monday.
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LEESBURG, Va. - Schools won't have to cut more salt from meals just yet and some will be able to serve kids fewer whole grains, under changes to federal nutrition standards announced Monday.

The move by President Donald Trump's Agriculture Department partially rolls back rules championed by former first lady Michelle Obama as part of her healthy eating initiative. Separately, the Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it would delay - for one year - Obama administration rules that will require calorie labels on menus and prepared food displays. The rule was scheduled to go into effect later this week.

As his first major action in office, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the Agriculture Department will delay an upcoming requirement to lower the amount of sodium in meals while continuing to allow waivers for regulations that all grains on the lunch line must be 50 percent whole grain.

Schools could also serve 1 percent flavored milk instead of the nonfat now required.

"If kids aren't eating the food, and it's ending up in the trash, they aren't getting any nutrition - thus undermining the intent of the program," said Perdue, who traveled to a school in Leesburg, Va., to make the announcement.

Health advocates who worked closely with the Obama administration on nutrition issues criticized the two moves, saying that the Trump administration is messing with rules that are popular with the public.

The menu labeling law would have required chain restaurants and other establishments that sell prepared foods to post the calorie content of food. The FDA said the delay "allows for further consideration" of ways to reduce costs or make the rules more flexible as supermarkets and pizza delivery companies have lobbied against it.

"The Trump administration is showing in two important ways that it puts business interests before its populist rhetoric on the campaign trail and what mainstream Americans want," said Margo Wootan, a lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

School nutrition companies

The school meal changes reflect suggestions from the School Nutrition Association, which represents school nutrition directors and companies that sell food to schools. The group often battled with the Obama administration, which phased in the healthier school meal rules starting in 2012.

The Obama administration rules set fat, sugar and sodium limits on foods in the lunch line and beyond. Schools have long been required to follow government nutrition rules if they accept federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals for low-income students, but these standards were stricter. Michelle Obama pushed the changes as part of her "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity.

The Trump administration changes leave most of the Obama administration's school meal rules in place, including requirements that students must take fruits and vegetables on the lunch line. Some schools have asked for changes to that policy, saying students often throw them away.

But the health advocates who have championed the rules are concerned about the freeze in sodium levels, in particular. School lunches for elementary school students are now required to have less than 1,230 mg of sodium, a change put in place in 2014. The changes would keep the meals at that level, delaying until at least 2020 a requirement to lower sodium to 935 mg. That requirement was scheduled to begin in the 2017-2018 school year.

"By forgoing the next phase of sodium reduction, the Trump administration will be locking in dangerously high sodium levels in school lunch," Wootan said.

'Slowing down the process'

Before he signed the proclamation, Perdue ate chicken nuggets, fruit and salad with children at Catoctin Elementary. Perdue said he doesn't see the changes as a rollback, but "we're just slowing down the process." He praised Obama's nutrition efforts as first lady but said he wants the healthier meals to be more palatable.

He said the department will work on long-term solutions to further tweak the rules.

Becky Domokos-Bays, the nutrition director for Loudon County, Va., including Catoctin Elementary, said she has been experimenting with the lower sodium levels and she's had a hard time adjusting some of the more popular foods she serves. Kids like her chicken noodle soup, she says, but rejected it when she lowered the sodium content because it was thinner and had less taste.

Perdue, a former governor of Georgia, said some schools in the South have had problems with grits, because "the whole grain variety has little black flakes in it" and kids won't eat it.

"The school is compliant with the whole-grain requirements, but no one is eating the grits," Perdue said. "That doesn't make any sense."

Others don't want to see any changes to the healthier meals. Outside the school, Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk and about 20 others protested. One sign read: "Sonny - Our children do not want big business soda, chips and fries!"

"
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Note: This column will feature a "Drink pink!" rose selection regularly throughout the summer.

DRINK PINK!

2016 McPherson Les Copains

Overall score: 19.1 (9.1 for quality, 10 for value)

Our tasters: Gave it a unanimous recommendation with a high score of 9.6. "Ripe red berries - happiness in a glass!" My score: 8.9. "Bright minerality and acidity. Fresh and lively on the palate." Alcohol: 13 percent.

Varietal/blend: Cinsault (74 percent), vermentino (14) and carignan (12).

Winery/vineyards: Winemaker Kim McPherson's father, Doc, was one of Texas' first wine-grape growers. He co-founded Llano Estacado in the 1970s and launched McPherson in 2000. Today a former Coca-Cola bottling plant houses the winery in downtown Lubbock. The grapes for this rose, a Texas-meets-Provence gem, are sourced from vineyards near Brownfield in the Texas High Plains.

Winemaker notes: "Delicate berry and plummy, herbal nuances abound. The wine has aromas and flavors of ripe strawberry and Bing cherry, and a medium-bodied juicy palate with vibrant acidity."

More Information About our recommendations Eight to 12 tasters, a mix of industry professionals and knowledgeable consumers, convene once per month to sample 40 to 50 wines with Dale Robertson, the Chronicle's wine columnist. The grape varietals are identified, but the labels are covered. A 10-point scale is used, with a taster's score of 8.5 or higher considered a recommendation. The quality score is the average of the tasters' scores. The value score and, hence, the overall score are determined by Robertson once a wine has been selected to receive a recommendation. Value is based on the price listed. See More Collapse

Pairings: Burgers or light Mediterranean fare, preferably on a patio around sunset.

Price: $11.09 at Spec'sRED OF THE WEEK

2013 Shafer Relentless

Overall score: 18.2 (9.2 for quality, 9 for value)

Our tasters: Gave it a unanimous recommendation with five scores of 9 or higher. "Big, tannic and super-extracted, tasting of ripe cherries." My score: 9. "Explosively flavorful, over-the-top wine." Alcohol: 15.8 percent.

Varietal/blend: Syrah and with a little petite sirah (3 percent).

Winery/vineyards: The estate vineyard is in the foothills of the Vaca Mountains in Napa Valley's Stags Leap District. The 2013 growing season couldn't have been more perfect, with sunny days and chilly nights.

Winemaker notes: "An inky, liquid feast. Aromas and flavors of meat and game, briar fruit, morels, boysenberry, grilled blueberries and cinnamon. The acidity gives this otherwise deep, dark wine a liveliness that offer(s) engaging pleasure. The ripe, silky tannins offer tremendous promise for things to come after years in the cellar."

Critical Acclaim: 98/100 points from Robert Parker, off a barrel sample. "Maybe the finest Relentless ever, and should drink well for 40-plus years."

Pairings: Lamb with cloves and mint, served with a brined and grilled eggplant. Barbecued pork.

Price: $86.44 at Spec's

ALSO RECOMMENDED2015 Chateau Tour des Gendres Bergerac

Overall score: 18.8 (8.8 for quality, 10 for value). Our tasters gave it a unanimous recommendation with two scores of 9. "Aromatic wine. Cedar notes." My score: 8.8. "Blackberries and black plums. Rustic." It's a blend of 60 percent merlot and 40 malbec. Bergerac, on the Dordogne River east of Bordeaux, is in southwestern France. Alcohol: 13.5 percent.

Price: $15.29 at Spec's

2016 Domaine de la Ferme Blanche

Overall score: 18.4 (8.9 for quality, 9.5 for value). Our tasters gave it a unanimous recommendation with a high score of 9.2. "Ripe and fruity. Well-balanced." My score: 8.8. "Simple but enticing citrus notes." This Provencal white from the limestone soils of Cassis on the Mediterranean coast is a 50-50 marsanne-clairette blend. Alcohol: 13 percent.

Price: $19.94 at Spec's

AVAILABLE ONLINE

2014 Benovia Tilton Hill Pinot Noir

Overall score: 18 (9 for quality, 9 for value). Our tasters gave it a unanimous recommendation with a high score of 9.4. "Well-balanced with soft tannins." My score: 9.1. "Complex, layered wine. Elegant." The Tilton Hill vineyard is perched on a cool ridge line near the Pacific Ocean in the Sonoma Coast AVA. Alcohol: 14.2 percent.

Price: $60 at store.benovia.com

2016 Swanson Vineyards San Benito Pinot Grigio

Overall score: 18.4 (8.9 for quality, 9.5 for value). Our tasters gave it a unanimous recommendation with two scores of 9. "Floral, minerally wine with a flinty finish." My score: 9. "Tart, clean and fresh." The 30-year winery in Oakville hired Robin Akhurst as its winemaker in 2015. The fruit comes from the relatively cool-climate Piacine Hills of the San Benito AVA. Alcohol: 13.4 percent.

Price: $21 from swansonvineyards.com

2013 Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot

Overall Score: 18.1 (9.1 for quality, 9 for value). Our tasters gave it a unanimous recommendation with five scores of 9 or higher. "Yummy black cherries. Woody vanilla notes." My score: 9. "Round and fat with luscious fruit." Duckhorn's famed Calistoga vineyard provided the grapes, which includes an 8 percent cabernet component and tiny amounts of malbec and petit verdot. The wine spent 18 months in barrel, 75 percent new. Alcohol: 14.9 percent.

Price: $89.99 at wine.com
In the lead-up to the August announcement that Houston would be, like so many others across the country, a "welcoming city" to undocumented workers and immigrants, the city had already proven itself in many ways.

It earned frequent headlines as the region with the most resettled refugees annually, and it gained attention as a place with a diverse immigrant population that has reshaped the region, even as the state has pursued anti-sanctuary city policies meant to punish any jurisdictions that don't cooperate with the federal immigration agents.

"Houston has made up its mind," said Stephen Klineberg, founding director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. "This city is increasingly prepared to accept and even to celebrate its burgeoning diversity."

The continued growth in positive attitudes toward immigrants  which survived the recent election rhetoric and anti-immigrant efforts of the Trump administration  is thanks largely to a younger generation of Houstonians that is more diverse and more comfortable with diversity than older generations.

Interestingly, unlike other high profile social issues, like gay rights, where changing public opinion has occurred over time within generations, much of the positive feeling toward immigration in Houston seems to have come from folks who already had their minds made up, explained Klineberg, who tracked decades worth of responses to the Kinder Houston Area Survey.

"We can take advantage of these 36 years of systematic surveys," said Klineberg. "We can ask the question: have people actually changed their minds in light of new experiences? Or are the changing attitudes in the overall population due to younger generations replacing earlier ones and coming into the public arena with different views?"

Every year, the survey asks respondents a constellation of questions around the topic. Do immigrants contribute more to the economy than they take? Should the country keep accepting the same number of immigrants, or should it admit fewer? Does immigration strengthen or threaten American culture? Should undocumented immigrants without criminal records be granted a pathway to citizenship? Across the board, Houstonians' attitudes have grown more positive toward immigrants in recent years.

A deeper dive into the data reveals how, exactly, that's been happening. It turns out baby boomers aren't changing their minds and becoming more accepting of immigration. Klineberg explains that another social issue of our time  attitudes toward gay rights  saw baby boomers gradually become more accepting. But that didn't happen with their attitudes toward immigrants.

In particular, white members of the baby boom  who represent an aging and decreasing percentage of the Houston area's overall population  remained consistent in their opinions toward immigrants. In other words, said Klineberg, "We older Anglos grew up in a different world." To many of them, he said, the old status quo of a largely white Houston seemed "right and natural."

Instead, what's happening is that the younger generations are more supportive of immigrants, and they are replacing the older residents, who are declining in numbers. For example, 37 percent of the baby boom generation and 35 percent of Gen Xers felt immigration into the country mostly threatens American culture, but only 13 percent of millennials agreed.

"That's absolutely, completely what you would expect," said Jeronimo Cortina, a political science professor at the University of Houston. "Older folks grew up in an era where racial divisions were pretty obvious. Those who were raised in the 1950s to 1960s are people that are not used to a multicultural, diverse city or nation."

He's seen the transformation in his own lifetime, from being one of only two Mexican students in his San Antonio high school. "Nowadays, if you go to a high school," he said, "you're going to find the complete opposite." For those high school students, "it's something normal." But for older generations, "it is a change in their own world view."

The conversation around immigration is also racialized, so questions about immigration can also reflect attitudes around race and diversity in general.

"At the end of the day, if there is not an open mind and not a good perception about accepting or respecting the other, the foreigner, I think it will be very difficult for refugees and immigrants alike," said Ali Al Sudani, director of refugee services for Interfaith Ministries, a Houston nonprofit and refugee resettlement agency.

"I think the key is educating them," he said.

That's not to say some members of older generations aren't supportive of immigrants and refugees. Al Sudani praised his organization's volunteers, many of who are from older generations. And he's seen the number of interested volunteers of all ages increase since the election, affirming the Houston is, he said, a welcoming city.

As far as Houston's diversity  Klineberg says it's a done deal, there's no going back. And Houston seems to have made up its mind about it.

Leah Binkovitz (@leahbink), formerly of the Houston Chronicle, is now a staff writer for Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. This post is part of the Urban Edge blog's in-depth coverage of the 2017 Kinder Houston Area Survey. To see the rest of the posts about the 2017 survey, click here.





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Conroe police identified the man an officer shot and killed Monday as the ex-boyfriend of a woman involved in a deadly family disturbance earlier that afternoon.

Detectives believe Joseph William Alain, 25 of Bellaire, was possibly upset about a recent breakup with his 24-year-old ex-girlfriend, so he drove up to Conroe before 1:30 p.m. to confront the woman at a home in the 500 block of Hildred Avenue. The two got into an argument, which detectives believe likely became physical at some point, according to Sgt. James Waller.

Detectives gather that's when Denise Russell, 52, stepped in to protect her daughter and five-year-old grandson who was also in the house, Waller said. Police believe Alain then shot Russell, at which point the 24-year-old woman called 911.

Police arrived shortly after the call and heard the disturbance inside the door, according to Conroe Police Chief Philip Dupuis.

The officers approached the home, at which time the 24-year-old mother broke away from Alain and ran outside, Dupuis said. Officers shouted orders at Alain, who ran back into the house and reportedly pointed a gun at the officers.

Dupuis said investigators were unsure whether the man fired his gun at the officers.

After the officer shot the man, two officers entered the home and found not only the suspect dead, but also Russell's body, Waller said Monday. They also found the unharmed 5-year-old boy, who is Russell's grandson as well as the son of the 24-year-old woman who ran out of the home, according to Dupuis.

Alain is not the father of the young boy, Waller said Tuesday. Autopsies have been ordered on the deceased individuals.

As for the officer who shot Alain, he is a 13-year veteran with the Conroe Police Department and is on administrative leave as CPD and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office conduct their investigation.

The last officer-involved shooting in Conroe involved a robbery suspect at the Walmart at Walden Road and Texas 105 West in February 2016. Christopher Allen Fillmore, who was 36 at the time, robbed the Walmart and allegedly pointed what officers believed was a handgun toward a responding officer, who shot Fillmore in the shoulder.

Officers later determined the weapon to be a BB gun. The officer has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by a Montgomery County grand jury, Waller said.

Fillmore is serving a 15-year sentence for the robbery after pleading guilty in September.
The death of Alton Sterling, whose videotaped shooting by police in Baton Rouge last summer prompted unrest across the city, and is planning to reveal in the next 24 hours that it has closed the probe, according to four people familiar with the matter.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Sterling family had yet to be informed by the Justice Department of the decision, and it is unclear how and when the department will announce its findings.

"We have not heard nor received an update and are unaware of any charges that may or may not be filed," said Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the Sterling family's attorneys. "We have not received word, nor has the family been given any notice of upcoming updates regarding this case."

The case will be the first time under Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the department has publicly declined to prosecute officers investigated for possible wrongdoing in a high-profile case, and officials in Baton Rouge have been girding for a possible reaction there.

Sterling's death last summer sparked tense protests across the city. President Barack Obama weighed in on the matter then, declaring his confidence in the Justice Department probe and remarking, "We have seen tragedies like this too many times."

The shooting came the day before a police officer in Minnesota gunned down school cafeteria manager Philando Castile during a traffic stop that was broadcast on Facebook, and in the same week that a black man upset by police and out to kill white people gunned down five officers in Dallas. A little more than a week later, another gunman targeting police shot and killed three officers in Baton Rouge.

By the police account, officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake saw Sterling, 37, outside a convenience store in July after it was reported that a man had threatened someone there with a gun. Sterling, who was selling CDs outside the store, fit the description of that man, according to a search warrant affidavit in the case.

A video of the shooting shows Sterling lying on his back with two officers on top of him. One of the officers appears to yell, "He's got a gun!" and then shots ring out. A detective wrote in the search warrant affidavit that officers had observed the butt of a gun in Sterling's front pants pocket. At issue in the investigation was whether Sterling was reaching for the weapon, as officers claimed, when he was shot and killed.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Local police and city officials have said this week that they believed a decision was imminent, but they and representatives for Sterling's family said they had not been told when an announcement from the Justice Department was coming. Some local schools have sent notes to parents informing them of action plans in case of major protests, and several local lawmakers have publicly called on the Justice Department to end the suspense.

"The Department of Justice's failure to communicate with the community has created angst and nervousness, and I fear carries the potential for increased tension between the community and law enforcement," Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D), whose congressional district includes part of Baton Rouge, wrote in a letter to Sessions on Friday. "It is inappropriate and against the interests of public safety . . . to allow this level of uncertainty to continue."

Substantiating federal civil rights charges is extraordinarily difficult, requiring prosecutors to present evidence that might speak to an officer's intent at the time of the incident. Even in the Obama administration, federal prosecutors declined to bring such charges in high-profile incidents.

In the case of Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, the Justice Department found "no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilson's stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety."

Investigators reached a similar conclusion in the fatal 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, concluding that they could not prove that "the use of force was objectively unreasonable based on all of the surrounding circumstances."

Civil liberties advocates fear, though, that the Justice Department under Sessions and President Trump might be even more reluctant to prosecute alleged wrongdoing by police.

Trump has cast himself as a pro-law enforcement president, and Sessions has previously questioned broader police reforms. Last month, Sessions ordered the Justice Department to review the court-mandated reform agreements it has with troubled police departments across the country, and he has said he is worried that such agreements might bar aggressive police tactics.

Sessions also has - unlike the previous attorney general, Loretta E. Lynch - offered a tacit endorsement of what's known as the "Ferguson effect," which refers to the contested idea that police might be afraid to get out of their cars and enforce the law for fear of ending up on a viral video.

Sessions had, though, seemed to distinguish prosecuting individual officers from imposing sweeping reform agreements on departments. He said last month that while such cases were "usually easier to prosecute in state court," he did not feel that they chilled good policing, nor would he hesitate to involve the Justice Department when it was appropriate to do so.

The Justice Department on Wednesday reached an agreement with former North Charleston, S.C., police officer Michael Slager in which he pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge in the shooting death of Walter Scott, an unarmed black motorist who was shot in the back as he ran away from a traffic stop. His killing, like Sterling's was caught on video.

The Justice Department under Sessions still has a major investigation of possible police misconduct in the case of 43-year-old Eric Garner, who died after he was taken to the ground and put in an apparent chokehold by New York City police in 2014. That incident - like Sterling's death - was caught on video and prompted outrage across the country.

The case was the subject of a vigorous debate under Lynch, who decided only at the end of her tenure to allow prosecutors to move forward and again present evidence to a grand jury. The timing of her decision effectively left the matter to Sessions, who last month declined to comment on what he might do.

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VIDEOS:

The Justice Department is closing its investigation into the Baton Rouge police shooting death of Alton Sterling. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

-- http://wapo.st/2pVC1HJ

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Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Alton Sterling's eldest son, talks about the last moments she had with Sterling before he was fatally shot by Baton Rouge police. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

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A student at the University of Texas at Austin, wielding a large Bowie-like hunting knife, is suspected of stabbing four other students on campus Monday afternoon, killing one of them, police said.

Kendrex J. White, a 21-year-old junior from Killeen, offered no resistance when officers tackled him within minutes of the stabbings.

The four victims, three white males and one Asian male ages 20 and 21, were attacked separately and without apparent provocation, police said.

Harrison Brown, identified as the student who died, was a 2016 graduate of Graham High School, northwest of Dallas, according to a Facebook post by the school district. The names of the three surviving students, who were treated at University Medical Center Brackenridge, were not immediately released.

Police were trying to determine if the assailant had a motive or randomly picked victims along the bustling walkway outside of Gregory Gymnasium in East Campus during the final week of spring classes.

Rachel Prichett, a UT freshman, had just left her last class of the day when she walked by the gym.

"I heard a couple people scream," she recalled about an hour later. "I thought they were joking with each other, until I turned around and saw a guy  holding a small machete-type thing."

Prichett saw the attacker walk up behind another man, grab his shoulder and stab him in the back. She said that attack happened so close to her that she could have reached out and touched the victim.

"Then I turned around and started running," she said. "While I was running, I saw this guy sitting at a table that was slumped over and bloody. Apparently, no one had seen him get hurt."

Prichett said the attacker had escaped attention by blending in.

"He was just walking around very calmly with the knife down by his side," Prichett said after she reunited with her boyfriend near the scene of the attack. "You wouldn't have seen it unless you were paying attention."

A photo showed bike patrol police officers handcuffing a young man with a long, leather knife sheath hanging from his belt.

The attacks, reported to police about 1:50 p.m. set off a panic as students scrambled for safety while word spread on social media sites.

"Dude I saw three people bleeding one by your dorm and 2 by Greg," one student tweeted.

Some students complained UT was slow to alert people about an attacker on campus. Later, an alert sent at 2:14 p.m. said a suspect was in custody and there was no immediate threat to the campus.

White attended Killeen High School and graduated in 2014, according to a Facebook page that appears to belong to him. On what appears to be his Twitter account, he said he was a "future doctor" studying biology.

He is an active member of the Black Health Professionals Organization student group on campus, said Melody Adindu, the group's new president. She said White was passionate about his work and was "very interactive and easygoing."

Some of White's former classmates at Killeen High School, near the gates of the Fort Hood Army post, had similar recollections of him.

"He was a really smart guy in high school. He was always nice, had plenty of friends and was in the International Baccalaureate program. I'm definitely surprised he would do this," Kay'Lynn Wilkerson told the Killeen Daily Herald.

The police chief did not know if the stabbings were related to recent threats made against a few campus fraternities. Police were interviewing more than 25 witnesses.

University President Greg Fenves issued a statement that said in part: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. This breaks my heart that any of our students are touched by tragedy."

Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the stabbings and a separate shooting in Dallas in which a paramedic was critically injured.

"Our prayers go out to all those affected by today's tragic events," he said in an emailed statement. "As the investigations into these heinous crimes continue, I have offered all available state resources to both Dallas and the University of Texas to assist in any effort."

The Associated Press and Austin Bureau reporter Nicole Cobler contributed to this story.
For little Kelmor Teichman, the DePelchin Faith Home in Houston meant a new dress, a warm bed and regular food on the table.

Stranded in Houston during the Great Depression after her father left to find work in California and her mother was injured in an accident, the little girl and her two brothers were turned over to the private orphanage.

Today - known as Connie Wallace - she is celebrating her 90th birthday on the 125th anniversary of what is now the DePelchin Children's Center, which has grown over the decades into a nonprofit center that provides not only adoption services but foster care and other social services.

She is DePelchin's oldest known living alumnus, and more than 80 years after she learned the organization's bedtime prayer, she can still recite it with ease.

"During the Depression, even as other children were starving, we were in Faith Home where we were getting good food and good care," Wallace said recently. "We were getting baths and nightly medicine. It was a true blessing.

"I'm still thanking God every night."

Wallace is expected to make an appearance Tuesday evening at a special gala celebrating the center's anniversary.

Mr. Taub's peppermint candies

DePelchin Children's Center reaches 125-year milestone 1892: Kezia Payne DePelchin, an educator, nurse and social worker who is the matron and teacher at Bayland Home for orphaned children ages 6 to 12, refuses to turn away three babies in need of care. On May 2, she christens Faith Home at 2500 Washington Avenue as a safe haven for unwanted or abandoned children. 1893: DePelchin dies after a brief illness on Jan. 13 at age 64; the DePelchin Faith Home is chartered on March 24. 1899: DePelchin Faith Home moves to the corner of Chenevert and Pierce streets to a more spacious building to accommodate dozens of children. 1913: DePelchin Faith Home opens in an even larger building on Albany Street. 1922: DePelchin joins the Community Chest, now known as United Way, and cares for 250 children. 1928: The organization's charter is renewed as DePelchin Faith Home and Children's Bureau to include adoption, foster care and child protective services. 1938: New buildings open on Sandman Street at Memorial Drive, a site that has served as the main DePelchin campus for the last eight decades. 1939: DePelchin starts caring for black children in the era of legal segregation. 1947: DePelchin opens the Negro Child Center on Solo Street in Houston's Fifth Ward. 1950: DePelchin begins offering mental health services by hiring a part-time psychiatrist. 1960: A new DePelchin unit seeks adoptive homes for black and Hispanic children as well as youngsters with disabilities and special needs. 1970s: DePelchin opens its first off-site emergency shelter and a psychiatric hospital. 1983: The organization takes a new name - DePelchin Children's Center - to reflect its growth in offerings that include counseling, post-adoption services, maternity care, parent preparation and a Fort Bend County office. 2002: A new Kinder Program Services Building is completed to replace the original administrative buildings and former residential cottages on the Sandman campus. 2012: The organization merges with the Caring Family Network, a smaller adoption and foster care agency 2017: DePelchin is Houston's oldest family services nonprofit organization See More Collapse

Kezia Payne DePelchin was the matron and teacher at Bayland Home orphanage for school-age boys in the late 19th Century. But when three baby boys were dropped off at the home, she refused to turn them away.

Instead, she secured a room in a friend's home and initiated a new place for abandoned or unwanted children.

The home was officially christened on May 2, 1892. But though DePelchin succumbed to a brief illness less than a year later, her efforts didn't die - a group of friends decided to keep the care center alive and chartered the DePelchin Faith Home in 1893.

Over the years, the organization has touched generations of young people in need of care, counseling and confidence, expanding its facilities and its mission to become Houston's oldest nonprofit family services organization.

Little Kelmor and her family moved to Houston from a log cabin in Missouri during the economic downturn in 1929. Her father looked for work, but finally left to look in California. Kelmor, her mother and two brothers moved into a room in woman's house. Then her mother was hit by a car and hospitalized as she was out looking for work, Wallace said.

That left 4-year-old Kelmor and her two siblings - a physically challenged brother 18 months older and a baby brother - without parents. They were taken to the Faith Home.

She still remembers getting a shampoo and hair cut, and believes the new floral-print dress and matching bloomers she was given were her first new set of clothes.

Though her mother recovered from the accident, she was never financially able to support her children, so they stayed at the facility. Wallace vividly recalls the kindness of the caregivers, especially during her recovery from tonsil surgery before starting school.

And though she can't remember the names of the caregivers, she remembers philanthropist Ben Taub  the namesake of Houston's largest public hospital and DePelchin's board chairman during Wallace's childhood.

"Mr. Taub used to come and read the funny papers to us. He'd bring his little peppermint candies," she said.

Changing with the times

At the beginning of Wallace's time with DePelchin, hundreds of children lived in a large building on Albany Street near a street car line.

What she calls the "New Faith Home" was the beginning of a campus in the late 1930s on Sandman off Memorial where DePelchin continues to evolve today.

DePelchin initially housed children in smaller buildings, dubbed cottages, that allowed families to drop by with gifts or take an orphaned child home for the holidays.

A shift in services began in the late 1920s when research showed that children developed better in family environments, so DePelchin initiated a children's bureau to oversee adoption, foster care and child protection.

"DePelchin was one of the first organizations in the community to have foster homes," said Julie Crowe, vice president of prevention and early intervention. "We've made bold changes throughout time and sometimes we've had to put ourselves out there to do something different, but it was the right thing for children in our community."

In the 1930s, DePelchin began taking black children, running a "Negro Child Center" in Fifth Ward in the 1940s. Mental health became part of the mission in the 1950s. The organization started a unit to place black, Hispanic and special needs children in the 1960s.

By the 1980s, DePelchin had pivoted to provide counseling, maternity care and post-adoption services.

Crowe was hired in the 1990s as a maternity social worker who counseled pregnant girls when they were transferred from their home school and after they returned to classes as mothers.

That gave rise to DePelchin's prevention department, which aims to get ahead of issues that can lead to child abuse and neglect, CPS intervention and family fractures by providing counseling in the community and more than 50 Houston-area schools.

"One of the things that I think has made DePelchin able to still be here today is that DePelchin changes," Crowe said.

Today, the vast majority of Depelchin residents are in foster homes. The organization also has a residential treatment center in Richmond and transitional housing on the main campus for teens who are aging out of the foster care system.

The nonprofit employs 80 people for prevention, and similar staff for foster care and adoption, she said.

DePelchin achieves its "family ever after" slogan with a $30 million annual budget that comes from government grants and fees as well as contributions from United Way agencies, corporations, foundations, families and individuals.

Looking ahead

DePelchin's efforts to help teens transition to adulthood stretch back to Wallace's days.

After living in an Alvin foster home, she moved to a facility for teen girls in Bellaire. She eventually became a live-in babysitter for a family while she worked retouching pictures in a photo studio.

That's how she met an Air Force first lieutenant who showed up for a portrait. They married and had a son. Her second husband, former Phillips 66 President Robert Wallace, also was military man, civilian chemical engineer and energy company executive whose career took the family overseas, including a decade in Japan.

The couple was married for 61 years until his death in 2014.

In addition to raising her son, Connie Wallace has delighted in three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She ventured into temporary jobs as a receptionist and unpaid physician's assistant, and in her later years, revived her retouching skills to become an oil painter who sold her work.

Wallace's memories of DePelchin are etched into her heart and mind. On Tuesday, though, the Katy woman will have caregivers of a different sort - a glam squad to do her hair and makeup  before an expected appearance at the anniversary event.

After all these decades, little Kelmor will be the belle of the ball.

"Let me tell you," she said. "I just thank the Lord for DePelchin Faith Home. ... I'm just sure that's why I'm alive and healthy today."
A look at the mysterious FBI raids at Dannenbaum, the wage gap on the Houston medical scene, another installment in a series on the disappearance of Houstonian Mary Cerruti and brain surgery - all in this week's investigative and long-form reporting.

Houston-based Dannenbaum hit with FBI raids in four cities

By Keri Blakinger, Dylan Baddour and Margaret Kadifa

@keribla, @dylanbaddour, @margaretkadifa

A four-city FBI sweep targeted a Houston-based engineering company and a slew of local government offices in Laredo with daylong raids in an investigation still shrouded in mystery.Federal agents spent most of Wednesday combing through the Houston, Laredo, San Antonio and McAllen offices of Dannenbaum Engineering, the Bayou City-based company headed by prolific political donor and former University of Texas System Regent James Dannenbaum.

Harris County eyes putting water to better use after recent floods

By Mihir Zaveri

@MihirZaveri



In California's Central Valley, farmers channel water from heavy rains onto their land before letting it dissipate into aquifers. In the Pacific Northwest, water is siphoned from rain-swollen rivers and tributaries, then pumped underground for crops and industry. In Florida, water managers are considering whether to inject millions of gallons of water into its aquifers to save wildlife and wetlands in the beleaguered Everglades.



Now Harris County is considering how it can put its water to better use after two years of devastating floods.

Female doctors in Houston earn much less than men in the same job

By Jenny Deam

@jenny_deam



Houston doctors are among the highest paid in the United States, but women physicians doing the same jobs make an average of $106,000 less per year than men. That translates to just 71 cents to their white-coated male colleagues' dollar - one of the biggest medical pay gaps in the nation, a national study of physician compensation found.

Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle

Before she went missing, Mary Cerruti left a self-portrait at her home in the Houston Heights

By Emily Foxhall

@emfoxhall

Few on Allston Street knew much about Mary Cerruti when she quietly vanished two years ago.But she left behind her own self-portrait in dozens of annotated photographs, developed at Walgreens. The Chronicle's peek at her final mementos is the third part in a series examining the case of the bones in the wall.

What's Best For Brayden: A mother's quest leads to one of the hardest decisions of her life

By Mike Hixenbaugh

@mike_Hixenbaugh

A specialized neurosurgeon at Memorial Hermann was the only one in the country willing to remove a troubling cyst from an 11-year-old's head. Conventional wisdom from the medical establishment claims this particular cyst is common and harmless, but Brayden has been suffering from chronic nausea and headaches for years now.

Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle

Brain surgery could be the answer - but it's a dangerous procedure.
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A Waller County Sheriff's deputy, accused of improperly guarding Sandra Bland two years ago, has been fired in connection with a newly alleged incident.

Deputy Dormic Smith, 30, of Hempstead, was fired Monday afternoon "for policy violations in regards to professionalism," Sheriff R. Glenn Smith confirmed in emails sent Tuesday.

MORE SANDRA BLAND: Waller County and Texas come through on $1.9 million Sandra Bland settlement

The alleged incident occurred in March during a patrol arrest, the sheriff wrote. The complainant first reported it to an officer he or she knew at another agency. The chief there contacted the sheriff, and an internal investigation resulted in his dismissal.

No further details on the complaint were provided.

Dormic Smith received his temporary jailer's license to work in Waller County on April 12, 2015, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records. Sandra Bland died three months later, on July 13.

Bland was arrested after a traffic step escalated into a heated confrontation with a state trooper, and she was found hanged in her cell three days later. Authorities deemed her death a suicide, and the trooper was later fired and indicted on a perjury charge.

UPGRADE: Waller County may replace aging jail

In a federal wrongful-death lawsuit, which has since been settled, Bland's mother Geneva Reed-Veal accused Smith of "failing to provide adequate monitoring of Sandra Bland to keep her safe and secure," court records show. Smith denied this in a subsequent filing.

His attorney during that period, Larry Simmons, was not immediately available for comment.

Smith received his full jailer's license on Feb. 17, 2016, according to the commission records. He was cleared to work as a peace officer later that year, on June 9.

Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said he expected to receive the case for review Tuesday or Wednesday.

"We will review everything once we get it and make appropriate decisions," he said.
AUSTIN - Gov. Greg Abbott made a strong statement in support of Israel with his first public bill-signing ceremony Tuesday, putting his name to a measure to prevent state contracts with companies that boycott it.

You can always count on Texas, Abbott said at the Jewish Community Center here to sign the bill into law. Any anti-Israel policy is an anti-Texas policy. Texas is not going to do business with any company that boycotts Israel.
During his maiden visit to the Indycar series between Bahrain and Russia, Fernando Alonso visited the Andretti Autosport base for a formal introduction and time in the team's simulator.

Team boss Michael Andretti cautioned the Spanish driver over the relevancy of an oval-racing simulator, insisting that a full-scale test was a whole different ball game.

Alonso will get his first taste of what it's like to run in a speedway's environment when he laps the Brickyard for the very first time tomorrow at Indianapolis.

"Everything is different there," Alonso said of IndyCar.

"It was quite an intense weekend [at Barber], then from there I flew to Indianapolis for a seat fitting with the team to go through some of the stuff on preparation for the race.

"On the Tuesday I was into the simulator in the morning just for three or four hours, also to have the first touch on those cars, on the ovals.

"Of course the real car will be very different, because in the simulator it is easy to go 370km/h [230mph] and not lift in the corners because nothing will happen.

"I think the real car will be a little bit more difficult, but at least I had the possibility to see the car to see the efforts that you need to do in the corners."

Until he gets into the thick of things, getting up to speed and running laps in traffic, the McLaren driver will have more questions than answers.



"I remain very open until I test the car, I don't know exactly how tough will be the challenge to drive those cars," he concluded.

Gallery: All the action from Sunday in Sochi

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The 21-year-old accused of attacking four students with a Bowie-like hunting knife on the University of Texas at Austin campus Monday was suffering from mental illness at the time, police said in a news conference Tuesday.

UT Austin Police Chief David Carter said Kendrex White was not part of a conspiracy or acting on a vendetta when he walked through East Campus stabbing four people, one fatally, and kicking a female student.

"We have reason to believe the individual was suffering from mental health issues," Carter said.

RELATED: Here's what we know about UT-Austin stabbing suspect Kendrex White

White was recently committed to a mental health facility in a different city and was released, he said. "But he was obviously suffering from particular issues," he said.

White was booked into jail on a charge of murder, which will be filed later today. Officials are also reviewing additional charges, said interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.

Rumors circulated on social media that White targeted victims for wearing paraphernalia that associated them with Greek Life at the University, but officials once again stated that the connection was false.

READ MORE: With no UT-Austin warning, students panic on social media amid attack reports; Twitter alerts others

Carter said none of the victims were wearing anything connecting them to a fraternity at the time of the attack.

One victim remains hospitalized, said UT President Greg Fenves.

Witnesses told police White exited the Student Activity Center and headed to the Gregory Gymnasium, across the street. A female student came into contact with White, who said the suspect kicked her out of the way in a stairwell and then stabbed a white male. White then walked southbound on the west side of the gym, where he found an Asian student sitting at a picnic table and stabbed him in the back of the head, Carter said.

AS IT HAPPENED: 1 dead, multiple injured in stabbing attack on UT-Austin campus

Then White walked south toward a food truck and stabbed the third and fourth victims. He then walked into Jester West Dorm, where he was apprehended by police.

Carter said White may have attacked more people had police not arrived when they did.

He said video of the incident exists, but it cannot be released at this time as the investigation is ongoing.

DPS Commander Joe Ortiz said security at the university would be ramped up to include troops in patrol vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and horses for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the department is told otherwise. Carter said the additional patrols would be there as long as they were necessary.

An additional stabbing reported in West Campus Monday was not connected to the attacks involving White, Manley said.

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AUSTIN - An anonymous campaign-like piece of mail has begun appearing in Texas attacking the judge overseeing Attorney General Ken Paxton's criminal securities fraud trial, discrediting the Tarrant County jurist who has said he plans to stay with the case as it moves to Houston this fall.

The sepia tone flier that alleges state District Judge George Gallagher's court is "rigged against Texas" comes as Paxton fights to remove the judge from the bench overseeing his case.

"It's definitely done with the goal of affecting the Paxton case," said Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, citing Gallagher's next election is three years away. "It's probably an attempt to either get Gallagher to resign from the case or to begin to affect the jury pool."

Paxton's lawyers said they wanted a new judge hours after Gallagher decided last month to move the Republican attorney general's criminal trial to Harris County from Paxton's home base of Collin County. Before moving the trial, Gallagher was concerned about Collin County political influences in Paxton's favor.

Appears in two counties

Gallagher said he plans to stay on the case. Asked about the mailers, which began appearing late last week, he told the Chronicle, "I cannot comment at this time."

The Paxton campaign has denied any involvement in the flier.

First reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the mailer has been sighted in Tarrant County and elsewhere in the state.

Absent from the flier is a reference to who sent it, which is information required on political mailers that advocate people "vote for," "elect," "support," "defeat" or "reject" a candidate or proposition. The flier uses none of those words, nor does it encourage people take a specific action.

"The general guideline is that political advertising that includes an express advocacy has to include a disclosure statement," said Ian Steusloff, general counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission, which examines complaints about political mailers. He declined to comment on whether the anonymous mailer is legal and said he cannot comment on whether the agency has received a complaint on the flier.

The mailer alleges Gallagher is "trying to Fix" the attorney general's trial and cites a series of rulings by the 2nd and 7th Courts of Appeals dating to 2003 saying he "abused" his discretion.

Paxton indicted in 2015

Empower Texans, a conservative Republican group, embraced the message of the flier, but denied it had any involvement with it.

"The Paxton prosecution is a travesty and an embarrassment to the Texas criminal justice system. Whatever the source, Gallagher deserves the criticism he is receiving for his role in it," read an essay from Michael Quinn Sullivan, president of the conservative group and defender of Paxton.

The attorney general was indicted in 2015 and is facing two first-degree felony securities fraud charges related to convincing friends and colleagues to invest in a North Texas tech company without disclosing he would make a commission. He also faces a third-degree felony charge for failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. If found guilty, he could face up to 99 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. He maintains his innocence and contends he is the victim of a political witch hunt.

Paxton's lawyers said they would not sign off on paperwork to keep Gallagher on the case and last week requested the Harris County district clerk assign the case to another jurist. Officials with the court system say they cannot recall cases in which parties refused to keep the judge on a case moved to a new location, raising the possibility for a challenge to Paxton's move to remove the judge or in Gallagher's decision to stay on the case.
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WASHINGTON -With funding for President Donald Trump's border wall languishing in Congress, Texas Republican Ted Cruz has gained widespread media attention with a brash proposal to let "El Chapo" pay for it.

Cruz, Trump's former rival in the Republican presidential primaries, has said there would be "justice" in using the alleged Mexican drug lord's illicit profits - estimated by prosecutors at $14 billion - to underwrite a physical barrier aimed at halting drug and human trafficking.

Best of all, it would fulfill Trump's promise to make Mexico pay for it.

The plan, however, faces formidable legal and political obstacles that could tie up the money for years, even if the Mexican government and courts cooperated with the Trump administration - which is far from certain.

There's also the question of tracing cash and tangible assets linked to Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka "El Chapo," whose fortunes are believed to have plunged significantly since 2011, when Forbes magazine last estimated his net worth roughly at $1 billion.

Gone underground after multiple international manhunts, near misses and escapes, he also dropped off Forbes' billionaire rankings as his true net-worth and assets became too hazy to count.

That was until last May, five months after his recapture following a shootout with Mexican marines, when the Justice Department filed criminal forfeiture papers announcing their intent to seek some $14 billion in assets upon his conviction.

At the time, Guzman was still in Mexican custody, waiting to be extradited to the U.S., where he pleaded not guilty in to charges of running a multi-billion dollar drug empire. He is currently awaiting trial in New York.

'Absolutely ludicrous'

The government's $14 billion figure - the largest ever connected to El Chapo - includes no public inventory of his assets. A Justice Department statement in January indicates that it is the sum of his Sinaloa Cartel's narcotics sales in the U.S. and Canada between 1989 and 2014. Moreover, the government suggests, the "bulk" of the cash proceeds was smuggled back to Mexico.

"The $14 billion is a back-of-the-envelope calculation of how much drugs were travelling to the U.S. over the past 30 years, and assigning a portion of that to El Chapo," said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico City. "To put it gently, it's more of an art than a science."

Hope said that major international drug forfeiture cases in the past have reached into the tens or hundreds of millions, not the billions. The government estimates also appear to be based on gross sales, without taking into account the drug cartel's expenses for transport, security, bribes, storage and the like.

"The whole thing is absolutely ludicrous," Hope said. "There's no way El Chapo has $14 billion. This is political grandstanding."

The government's total asset forfeiture program has averaged less than $2.5 billion a year for the past decade, which includes recoveries from the massive Bernie Madoff investment fraud case. Seizures of the size needed to pay for a border wall, variously estimated at between $14 and $20 billion, would be unprecedented.

"I do not know how, in El Chapo's case, these issues will be sorted out, but I'm confident that there will be nothing close to $14 billion to be found or recovered," said Bruce Bagley, an expert on Mexico's drug cartels at the University of Miami. "It has all been spent or hidden."

For their part, El Chapo's lawyers say any estimate of his wealth remains totally unproven. "The government is seeking forfeiture of $14 billion but has yet to demonstrate that Mr. Guzman has any assets at all," his federal defender, Michelle Gelernt, said.

For the time being, Guzman is being held in isolation and represented by court-ordered federal defenders at public expense.

Cruz files funding bill

A spokesman for Cruz said Monday that he is relying on the figures provided by prosecutors.

Cruz, responding to the border wall stalemate, filed his border wall funding bill the Senate last week, touting it on numerous television appearances and in election fundraising pitches to show that "we keep the promises made to the voters last November."

Inventively named the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (El CHAPO) Act, it would reserve any forfeited money from Guzman and other drug lords for security measures along the border, including a wall.

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd called it an "amazing idea." Even wall funding skeptics like Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn have offered Cruz praise. "It's creative, you've got to give him that," Cornyn said.

But a number of security analysts say that whatever El Chapo's fate in court, the bulk of his unknown assets, whatever they are, are likely to remain where they are: south of the border.

"In practice, the arresting country usually gets to keep 80-90 percent of the confiscated funds," Bagley said.

Mexico, which played a major role in Guzman's capture, is already at the front of the line. "In general, the United States has in place an asset sharing agreement with Mexico that allows each country to share forfeited assets with the other if the other country gives assistance relevant to the forfeiture," said Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman.

Given the politics of the border wall, which Mexico opposes, negotiations over any split of forfeited assets could get tricky, with Mexico in the driver's seat.

"In asset forfeiture sharing, 'possession is nine-tenths of the law,'" said security consultant David Gaddis, a former chief of enforcement operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration. "If the government of Mexico is holding assets of Joaquin Guzman Loera's organization, they can do with it what they want."

Long line of creditors

The DEA and the U.S. Treasury Department have identified hundreds of businesses in Mexico that are suspected of laundering money or otherwise working with Guzman's organization. They include gas stations, restaurants and even day care centers. Though the U.S. "Kingpin Act" bars American companies from doing business with them, actually tracing their drug connections and confiscating their assets would mean going through a tortuous legal process in Mexican courts that could take years, or even decades, to unwind.

The U.S. government also would have to get in line with legitimate private creditors, some with valid business claims.

"We're taking about property that's outside the United States," said Steven Kessler, an asset forfeiture attorney in New York. "It requires the assistance of the country where the assets are located.

"You add to that the lovely relations the government has with Mexico, with the statements that 'all this money is going to be used, in effect, to punish you' and my guess is we'll get the same treatment as we give," Kessler said.
Bullit Marquez/STF

Journalists doing thumbnail sketches of a person occasionally ask: If you could pick three people throughout history to have dinner with, who would it be? Napoleon maybe? Abraham Lincoln? Cleopatra?

Ask Donald Trump that question and, given the president's unfamiliarity with history, the answer might be a trio of unsavory strongmen who seem to meet with his favor. Of course, Russia's Vladimir Putin would be at the table, along with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Ergogan, fresh off sacking 4,000 Turkish civil servants and cancelling the Turkish people's access to Wikipedia. Perhaps the most odious among several possible choices, including North Korean despot Kim Jong-Un ("a smart cookie") and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, would be Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte, who wangled an invitation to the White House on Saturday.
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Concern for kids

DePelchin Children's Center is celebrating its 125th anniversary today, and I want to recognize how the work of one brave woman 125 years ago remains relevant today. In 1892, Kezia DePelchin saw a need to open a home for orphaned children saying "these children must be cared for  we cannot desert them or fail them." Although she died within a year of founding her orphanage, the Houston community embraced her vision, adopted the home and helped it to grow.

Today, DePelchin is one of the leading foster care and adoption agencies in Texas. Though how we care for children has evolved over time, the need to provide a safe and loving home remains as does our commitment to help the most vulnerable. Right now, there are more than 16,000 children in foster care in Texas, and there are not enough foster homes to support them.

Furthermore, there are 7,000 children waiting to be adopted before they age-out at 18 years without a family of their own. Just as the community rallied around Kezia DePelchin's vision 125 years ago, the state of Texas must rally around children in foster care and the loving foster and adoptive families who take care of them. Texas must also continue to support new approaches such as evidence-based prevention programs that work to strengthen families and prevent children from entering the system altogether.

It is as true today as it was in 1892. These children must be cared for; we cannot desert them or fail them.

Jenifer Jarriel, president and CEO, DePelchin Children's Center, Houston

Texas legend

Regarding "Legendary trial lawyer was master of casting doubt" (Page A1, Saturday), I recently retired as a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge after 28 years presiding over criminal cases. I now live with my family in Montgomery County. I was saddened by the passing of Richard "Racehorse" Haynes.

Although he didn't appear before me, I was very aware of his courtroom skill and appreciated his reputation.

We have our fair share of talented attorneys in Los Angeles, and I have seen them all. Haynes was what we call old-school, and his passing is a loss to the legal profession everywhere.

Lloyd M. Nash, Montgomery

Bail system

Regarding "Judge blasts bail system" (Page A1, Saturday), kudos to Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal for her common-sense opinion about a bail bond system that keeps too many poor people in jail for minor offenses. This decision is great news for taxpayers.

First, it should save money by reducing the jail population. Second, it should save money by reducing the expense of treating medical conditions in jail and the harm caused when people do not receive critically needed medication. That's a win-win in my book.

Katherine L. Butler, Houston

Law and order

Regarding "'Sanctuary cities' ban advances" (Page A1, Friday), I commend the Texas House of Representatives for passing Senate Bill 4.

Police officers have a duty to enforce all laws - local, state and federal.

Max Foye, Houston
Newly minted Secretary of Energy Rick Perry just ordered his agency to study whether requiring coal plants to reduce their pollution while incentivizing cleaner energy sources is "responsible for forcing the premature retirement of baseload power plants." Translation: DOE is going to cook the books to suggest the federal government is hurting Perry's beloved coal industry.

This would certainly serve Trump's agenda to bring back King Coal, but the truth is, coal has been dying a slow death since the 1980s. The Obama administration didn't cause this decline, and the Trump administration can't reverse it. It is widely accepted that the nail in coal's coffin has been the historically low price of natural gas, which has made old coal plants too expensive to run and new plants too financially risky to build. Plus, the cost of solar and wind energy has dropped dramatically in the last decade and is now cost-competitive with older, dirtier energy sources in many markets.

But since we know that facts don't matter these days, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict Perry's report will blame public health protections and investments in cleaner energy for the collapse of the coal industry. That's bad news for Americans, who deserve clean air and overwhelmingly support common-sense protections that require power plants to spew less toxic pollution into our communities. But it's also bad news for our economy.

Cleaner energy is where the job growth is. There are now more than 3 million clean energy jobs in America, more than twice the number in fossil fuel extraction and electricity generation. Job growth in the solar and wind industry has boomed in the past year, outpacing the rest of the U.S. economy 10 times over.

But I can guarantee Perry's report won't focus on real economic growth. And I'm not surprised one bit.

Perry has a long, sordid history with coal. He can't get enough of it. While he was governor, he bragged about the incredible success of Texas' wind industry, though he had little to do with building it. During his Senate confirmation hearings, he pledged to promote clean energy as energy secretary, but provided little evidence that he would. I was skeptical he'd keep that promise, because I knew it was coal that stole his heart here in Texas.

It was Perry who attempted to fast-track TXU Corp.'s permits for dirty coal plants following campaign contributions from TXU associates. That plan crumbled under its own weight - a court blocked Perry's order - and the low price of natural gas and renewable energy resources have since made new coal plants unattractive to investors. But apparently, Perry's commitment to coal hasn't wavered.

In fact, one of Perry's first public appearances as Secretary of Energy was in early April in Thompsons in Fort Bend County to promote an experimental coal plant. The Petra Nova plant will separate and capture most of its own carbon dioxide emissions and pipe them 80 miles away, where they can help extract more oil from the ground.

Ironically, the plant was built with $190 million in funding from the Obama administration. If it were a large solar energy plant or a cutting-edge energy storage facility, Perry would surely call that $190 million a subsidy or a giveaway. But since it's a coal plant, he told the crowd, "We are investing in cleaner power" That's right. A $190-million coal plant approved by President Obama will be the Trump administration's crowning jewel of clean-energy investment.

I guess it all depends on where your priorities lie. For Perry, his priority has always been coal. Now that he has been appointed by a president who has pledged to save the dying coal industry at all costs, Perry has stopped pretending he ever loved anything else.

Marston is vice president of Clean Energy at the Environmental Defense Fund.
The weekends historic flooding in the region resulted in plenty of extra work for the Texas County Sheriffs Department.

Sheriff James Sigman said he and other officers were involved in several water rescue situations directly related to the event, all caused by people trying to drive across deep, swift-moving water. There were no fatalities.

This was a big one, Sigman said, and there were some people who werent using caution.

One was at about 10 a.m. Saturday on Panther Creek Road at Cabool, where Elk Creek joins the Big Piney River.

A second incident happened after 6 p.m. Saturday on Highway VV near Licking, where a driver tried to make it across a low spot in the road covered by deep water. After responders hooked the vehicle up to Sigmans truck, he pulled it out to drier ground. The Licking Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Another took place at about 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sand Shoals Bridge on the Big Piney River, where lots of water was raging over the top of the bridge surface.

We basically just fished a car out, Sigman said. We got a report that people had witnessed it driving out there, and we didnt know if anyone was in it when we got there. The car was out there bobbing around. We had a deputy swim out there and hook a rope to it, and I pulled it to the bank.

Fortunately nobody was in it. Basically, a guy tried to drive across when it wasnt going to work. Theres a story behind that, but at least we got the car out.

Sigman said Texas County motorists should be aware that numerous rural roads sustained major damage, mainly in the southern end of the county.

It seems like we have more closed roads than open roads, he said.

Sigman said the swollen Big Piney River caused heavy damage to the Slabtown Bridge on Highway AF in north-central Texas County.

That bridge will need close inspection before they reopen it, because they have to if water goes over the top and it was definitely over the top, he said. It took a pretty good jolt; something hit it so hard that the top guard rail has a big horseshoe in it.

Many other county bridges, Sigman said, will require attention before being usable again.

A lot of them didnt just have debris on them, but actual trees over them, he said. That will need to be cut up, pushed off and cleaned up, but then theres still running water. You cut a stump off and block the flow and youve created another problem.

TCSD deputies responded to several check well- being requests over the weekend.

Thats due to phone lines being down and people not being able to get to where their family members were, Sigman said. It turned out everyone was safe, it was just phones not working.

This week, TCSD personnel will continue assessing damage around the county and identifying where people need the most help.

Some of our concern is people being trapped in their houses, Sigman said. There are some places where getting in and out requires crossing a bridge no matter which direction youre going.

Sigman said with multiple flood-prone riverways to frequently deal with  like the Big Piney and Roubidoux Creek  Texas County is in dire need of its own rescue boat.

We cant rely on these two and three hour waits to get a boat, he said. Im hoping to have a boat by next year. Well get one, and well get the training we need.

The relatively low amount of damage to back roads in northern Texas County was a slight relief, Sigman said.

Its kind of surprising, he said, but of course, that part of the county sits higher. You could drive a car on a lot of those roads, but with a lot of the roads in the southern end, you could make it with a truck but I wouldnt take a car on them.

There are a lot of things that can be done to patch the roads, but its going to take a long time to get them back to where they need to be.

On one side of Sigmans office in the Texas County Justice Center sits a cot where he spent lots of time last weekend.

When you know youre only going to get a couple of hours of sleep, theres no need in going home, he said.

Sigman is hopeful that government funding will eventually allow for Army Corps of Engineers crews to bring in heavy equipment to fix the roads.

The townships really have their hands full, and I dont think any of them have the loaders and things theyre going to need, he said. Graders arent going to fix everything this time.

Its going to be a process.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday released guidance on recent flooding.

The DNR Disaster Resources webpage  dnr.mo.gov/disaster.htm  provides fact sheets to aid in both preparing for and recovering from recent floods, and reporting any potential hazardous substance containers or propane tanks that have been affected by the flooding.

Individuals using private wells that may have been flooded may contact their local health public agencies for a free water test and boil order procedures. The Texas County Health Departments number is 417-967-4131.

The southwest Missouri DNR office number is Southwest Regional Office  417-891-4300
Weekend flooding that ravaged Texas County caused at least $4 million in damage to public infrastructure, county officials said Monday.

Theres a lot of damage, said county emergency management director Keith Follin said. More than usual for flooding. This is one of those lots of money types of things.

Follin said many bridges are washed out and others sustained heavy damage.

There are many roads that are so bad that you could maybe drive a car on them, but I wouldnt recommend it, he said. You really need a truck.

Follin and the three Texas County commissioners met Monday morning with officials from 11 of Texas Countys 17 townships to begin assessing road and infrastructure damage and discuss options. Presiding Commissioner Fred Stenger said preliminary estimates are that flood damage in the county amounts to about $4 million, including about $1 million in Cass Township and about $500,000 in Piney Township.

One of the main purposes of the meeting was to begin exploring means of accomplishing major road repairs that would overextend some of the townships capabilities.

We need to try to find an outside source with equipment and personnel to help us at least get the roads passable so school buses can run and so forth, Stenger said.

FRED STENGER

About 40 county roads were closed on Monday. Even at $4 million, Stenger said assessments werent complete.

There are many places where people couldnt make an assessment because theyre still under water, he said.

Follin said he has also been in contact with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in hopes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will take action to provide flood relief funding.

Theyre working on that issue now, Follin said. But theres a lot more damage south of us in West Plains and other places, so its going to be a while before they get to us.

The wheels are turning, but its still kind of early. Theres no timeline at this point.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was in Van Buren on Monday, where unprecedented devastation occurred. Stenger said if and when Greitens made a disaster declaration, more steps would have to take place before money funneled down to Texas County.

It would then have to go to Washington, D.C., for a federal declaration, which would free up funds which could then get back to us, he said.

Stenger said he hoped that if funds become available, they would benefit both the public and private sector.

Were hopeful that they would make the declaration include personal property as well as public property, he said. If that were to happen, we want everybody to understand that this is not the goose that laid the golden egg.

The correct course of action, Stenger said, is for citizens to do everything possible before attempting to qualify for funding.

Go ahead and do your clean up, repairs and all that good stuff, he said, and take massive amounts of photos. If you think one is enough, take 10.

Also keep accurate records of your time and expenses, because those are allowable for funds that are dispersed.

If the declaration is made in that form, Stenger said, people can contact SEMA to request monetary assistance.

A crew would come to your location for a damage assessment appointment and let you know if you qualify for all of it, part of it, none of it or whatever, he said.

KEITH FOLLIN

Follin is also Roby Volunteer Fire Department chief and has many years of experience in various forms of first response. He said much of the damage in Texas County occurred in the southern end of the county.

I have not seen anything like this before, Follin said. But it could have been worse. A lot of things you might think would have washed out didnt.

Follin recommends that people refrain from gawking at damage during flooding events.

Its kind of a double-edge sword, he said, because if you post a picture theyll go out to look at it, but if you dont, they go out anyway.

A list of closed roadways is posted on the Texas County office of emergency managements Facebook page. Stenger said a phone call to a township official might be a good idea for people unsure of road conditions in their area.

Check with the township youre traveling in to get a clear and better picture, he said.

Follin asks all county residents who experienced flood damage to their homes or businesses to contact him by via email at emd@texascountymissouri.gov or private message via Texas County Office of Emergency Managements Facebook page. He can also be reached by phone at 417-967-6536.

The Texas County Commissions phone number is 417-967-3222.
Houston lost an old friend Friday after more than 100 years at Grand Avenue and Pine Street.

Walgreens, the giant retailer who purchased Houstons USA Drug in 2012, closed the soda fountain, which had been a gathering place for a visit and a sweet treat, since the early 1900s.

It was difficult decision because we know these services were appreciated in the Houston community, said James W. Graham, senior manager of media relations for Walgreen Co. in Deerfield, Ill. However, as a pharmacy that previously operated soda fountains across the country, we at Walgreens determined some years ago that they are no longer a viable feature for drugstores.

Word spread in the community during the last week that Walgreens was closing the fountain after a flier was posted at the store. Due to new FDA regulations Walgreens is closing all soda fountains effective April 29. We are so sorry! Please call 1-800-Walgreens with your concerns, the sign said.

Walgreens Graham said no single regulation forced the decision. In fact, there are many costs of doing business and no single regulation by itself was enough to force this decision, he said. We had stopped offering this service at our other locations decades ago, long before recent regulations were established. Walgreens operated soda fountains at its drugstores from the 1920s until the early 1960s, when they were phased out. It was an important part of the companys business through those decades.

Originally operated at Blankenships, the forerunner to Forbes Pharmacy, the fountain was a popular spot and was open late many nights in conjunction with shows at the Melba Theatre. Originally, booths were situated toward the front of the store. In later years, it operated from the northwest corner of the business.

A line ad in the Houston Herald for the Blankenship Drug Store.

Fridays closing created a stir in the community. Walgreens decision at Ava was highlighted on the front page of the Springfield News-Leader one day last week and featured on the NBC affiliate in Springfield. Social media turned fiery as users urged readers to call Walgreens telephone number. An aide to Rep. Jason Smith, this areas congressman, said online that office was looking at the situation.

By the time the Houston closing occurred, business was so brisk with persons wanted to enjoy their last hand-dipped ice cream cone, supplies were gone before the end of the week.

The pharmacy will continue to operate.
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They can call bullshit really quickly.

The profanity seemed perfectly on brand for rookie Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan when he sat down with HuffPost Canada in December 2015 to talk about adjusting to a new life in politics.

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Sajjan, a man who faced real bullets in real war zones, had already been loudly proclaimed a badass after that G.I. Joe-like image of him sporting a camouflage uniform and sunglasses made the rounds online. The photo was taken shortly after Operation Medusa, he said at the time.

The former lieutenant-colonel  a veteran of three tours in Afghanistan and one in Bosnia  conceded in that interview that he was having trouble getting used to political talk, even though the Vancouver South MP was, well, a politician.

Pitfalls could be avoided by being straight with Canadians, he suggested, and by staying genuine.

Youll never get caught in a lie if youre just always telling the truth, Sajjan offered.

Some 17 months later, opposition MPs are calling for him to resign for what they see as intentionally misleading remarks about his service. Thats political talk for a lie.

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In the House of Commons Monday, Sajjan tried to answer for his boasting during a speech in India last month that he was the architect of Operation Medusa, a major 2006 offensive in which 1,500 Taliban fighters were killed or captured. It was Canada's largest battle in the conflict. Twelve Canadian soldiers died.

A retired Canadian officer told the National Post, which broke the story last week, that Sajjans description of his role in the operation was a bald-faced lie. The minister apologized to Canadian, U.S., and Afghan troops last week and offered another mea culpa on Facebook.

Yet it was also revealed over the weekend that Sajjan told a British Columbia podcast in 2015, just before that years federal election, that Gen. Jonathan Vance had referred to him as the architect of the operation.

Vance declined to respond to questions about Sajjans remarks at a news conference Friday.

On his way to what was certain to be a difficult question period, Sajjan told Parliament Hill reporters that he wanted to again apologize for my mistake and said he never intended to diminish the work of his former superiors.

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A journalist wondered how the remark was a mistake if he said it twice. Isnt that a lie?

Im not here to make excuses, Sajjan said. Im here to acknowledge my mistake, apologize for it, learn from it and continue to serve.

Trudeau says he has full confidence

In the House, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had full confidence in Sajjan. He too stuck to a careful script, repeating that his minister made a mistake, for which he had taken responsibility.

Theres little question that Sajjans exemplary military service has been politically useful for Trudeau, who not so long ago was publicly accused by his predecessor of harbouring a deep distrust of the military.

Just last year, Sajjan forcefully shut down a Tory critic accusing the Liberal government of a visceral hatred toward the Canadian Armed Forces.

"Every member in this House supports our military, Sajjan shot back at at time. Let's not play this ridiculous game."

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When Conservatives blasted the government last month over a danger pay issue affecting troops in Kuwait, Sajjan sparked applause from the Liberal benches by reminding the House that he knows all about what it means to serve in combat.

Every time I make a decision, it is about thinking about when I had boots on the ground, Sajjan said. That is how I will take every future decision.

But the controversy has now opened the door for opposition MPs, most of whom have not served in uniform, to target Sajjan on something that was once unassailable.

Accused of stolen valour

The military have a name for what he did, interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose said in the House. It is called stolen valour, when someone takes credit for the brave actions of another. What he did was wrong. Now, he has lost the confidence of our men and women in uniform.

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Tory defence critic James Bezan claimed Sajjan is now seen as a laughing stock.

His reputation is damaged beyond repair. Canadians do not believe him. The military does not trust him. Our allies are not going to take him seriously.

Deputy defence critic Pierre Paul-Hus, himself a veteran, wondered how the prime minister could be satisfied with a defence minister willing to stretch the truth to raise his own profile.

'Nuff said'

MP John Brassard highlighted the #SajjanBattles Twitter hashtag that has mocked the minister for his personal involvement in everything from the War of 1812, right up to the destruction of the Death Star.

Liberal MP Marc Miller came to the ministers defence Saturday by sharing an image of Sajjans many hard-earned medals.

Nuff said, Miller responded to the Twitter pile-on.

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In a 2006 letter, then-Brig.-Gen David Fraser lauded how crucial Sajjans intelligence work had been in planning Operation Medusa.

I rate him as one of the best intelligence officers I have ever worked with  fearless, smart, and personable, Fraser wrote.

But Sajjan was unable to hit back Monday. Rising a dozen times from his seat in the House, he said he wanted to own his screw-up and move on. He apologized, again and again, for his mistake.

There can be no doubt that Sajjan, the soldier, showed profound bravery. But on Monday, he sounded like a politician hoping to ride out the storm.

With a file from The Canadian Press

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Current MPs With Military Experience (2016) See Gallery
Rihanna is one of very few celebs who can effortlessly pull off almost any look. And she's done it again at Monday night's Met Gala.

The entertainer entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art wearing a Comme des Garcons couture gown, paired with thigh-high red, strappy shoes. A perfect ode to Rei Kawakubo, whom the gala is honouring this year.

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Rih opted for a high bun with side-swept bangs, presumably to keep all the attention on her over-the-top dress.

For her makeup, the "Love On Brain" songstress kept it anything but simple, rocking bright pink blush and a vibrant berry lip.

Of course, the Rihanna Navy went berserk on Twitter, praising her for outfit choice.

me: *calls mom* mom: hello? me: Rihanna did it again mom: what'd she do? me: YOOO SHE DID THAT, LET ME TELL YOUUUUU pic.twitter.com/TtF885eh07  candice (@whatcandicesays) May 2, 2017

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"Aye Rihanna grab everyone's attention so i can slide thru real quick" - Frank Ocean#MetGalapic.twitter.com/jqCfxAQmFa  NiMu (@malistkiss) May 2, 2017

As always, the 29-year-old Barbados native kept her look true to theme, and looked stunning while doing it.

Jeez!

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The controversy around one couple's popular YouTube videos featuring them and their children has led to some real-life consequences.

Michael Martin, who lives in Maryland, has temporarily lost custody of his two children, Cody and Emma, the Frederick County Sheriffs Office told the Baltimore Sun.

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The children, which ABC News said last week are nine and 11 years old, have been placed with their biological mother, Rose Hall, who requested emergency custody.

Michael, his wife Heather and their blended family are the stars of two YouTube channels called DaddyOFive and MommyOFive.

On DaddyOFive, they play a number of so-called pranks on the kids, but especially on Cody, Rachel Dunphy wrote for Select All.

The channel has gained more than 750,000 subscribers since it started in August 2015.

Most of the videos have disappeared from the channel, but another YouTube vlogger critical of the parents, Philip DeFranco, gathered clips of some of the most extreme pranks.

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One involved Heather and Michael blaming Cody for spilling invisible ink on a carpet, the two screaming at him as he pleads that he had nothing to do with it.

In others, Cody is kicked between the legs, thrown off a chair or pushed into a bookshelf by his step-siblings or his dad.

"So you all made me go through all of this just for a stupid prank?" he says tearfully in one clip.

In response to the controversy, the Martins posted a video with their children standing in the background, claiming Child Protective Services had investigated them and found no evidence of abuse. They also shrugged off critics, with one of the boys saying "at least you're not beating us."

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But as the questions around their behaviour grew, the couple became remorseful. Late last month, they posted an apology video, in which Heather Martin said they were going to family counselling.

"This has been the absolute worst week of our life, she said, and we realize that we have made some terrible parenting decisions."

She said the kids would get excited about the channels popularity, eager to see how many views the videos could get, and that she and Michael focused on making them as shocking as possible.

In an interview with Good Morning America, she said Cody knew he was being pranked when they blamed him for spilling ink on the carpet.

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"I'm not saying that the things we were doing didn't bring on an emotional reaction, but the reaction was exaggerated, she said.

But in the YouTube apology, Heather said she understood that strangers viewing their videos could get upset.

"If I didnt know the people and I saw some of those things, I would be thinking the same thing, I would be like oh my god those poor children.'"

Baltimore County police told ABC News last week when the Good Morning America interview aired that they had opened an investigation into the family and their videos.

Hall appeared in a YouTube video posted Monday with her lawyer, Tim Conlon.

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"[It was] very heartbreaking and disturbing to see my kids being abused," Hall said.

She said that Cody had a hard time when he was first taken from the Martins' home and that she thinks it will take a lot of counselling for him to adjust.

He said some things that were disturbing, that he hated me and that Mike and Heather told him I threw him away like he was garbage and I didnt love him no more," she said.

She also thanked members of the YouTube community for bringing the videos to light.

But while the question of whether the children were abused is still up for debate, Rachel Dunphy pointed out in Select All that the videos raise issues beyond their potential victimization. She said that it's estimated the channel generates between US$200,000 and $350,000 a year, and that the children rely on their parents to get compensation for their apparent acting.

"...That financial coercion is important to consider when the Martin children making middling or even positive statements about their parents treatment, as they did in a since-privatized initial response."
OTTAWA  Former employees of Sen. Don Meredith hope that his possible expulsion from the Senate wont block a two-year inquiry into allegations of workplace bullying and sexual harassment.

The Senates ethics committee tabled a long-awaited report Tuesday, recommending Meredith be expelled from the upper chamber for his affair with a teen.

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A separate investigation by the Senate ethics officer into Merediths office conduct continues  for now.

While I applaud the thoroughness of the report and their recommendation to expel, I hope that it recommends to continue with the workplace harassment investigation because the staff need closure, one former aide told HuffPost Canada on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, HuffPost Canada reported alarming details of alleged workplace harassment that three of Merediths former staff said they experienced.

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A former female staff member who claimed to be groped regularly by the senator in his office, said its important for Canadians to have an opportunity to review the findings of a workplace investigation.

Listen to an excerpt from one of her interviews with HuffPost Canada. Her voice has been changed to protect her identity:

More than two dozen people reportedly testified in Senate Ethics Officer Lyse Ricards workplace investigation.

However, its unclear if that probe will see a conclusion. A section of the Senate code of ethics stipulates that if a senator is removed from their position, then any inquiry pertaining to them is permanently suspended.

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So its possible the workplace harassment inquiry, which was launched in 2015, could be shelved  unless the ethics committee explicitly recommends that it continue.

The ex-aide said if the report dies, victims are going to be kept in the dark. And she fears that could mean Conservative Senate officials who were informed about the allegations as far back as 2014 may "get away" with failing to intervene to protect employees.

A male former staffer agrees.

Ricards workplace inquiry should be completed and released if the Senate is serious about bringing that change, that sort of modernization, he told HuffPost Canada. They cant miss this opportunity.

"He has brought disrepute to himself and to the institution."

The committee didnt mince words in its 14-page recommendation report on Tuesday.

Senator Merediths misconduct has demonstrated that he is unfit to serve as a senator, it said.

The committee has been deliberating for weeks on disciplinary action after Ricard concluded that Meredith breached two sections of the ethics code in his pursuit of a two-year sexual relationship with an Ottawa teen.

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He has abused his privileged position of authority and trust by engaging in behaviour that is incompatible with his office. He has brought disrepute to himself and to the institution, said the committee.

Senator has chance to respond

Merediths lawyer, Bill Trudell, said the senator was with his family when the report came out and has yet to review it as of Tuesday afternoon.

He has the right to respond and of final reply in the Senate and I expect he will do so, Trudell wrote in an email to HuffPost Canada.

The Toronto senator has up to five sitting days to voluntarily respond to the committees recommendation in the chamber before it goes to a full Senate vote.

If he so chooses, Meredith will also have the option to fight the Senates decision in court.

Listen to more on the HuffPost Canada investigation on our Follow-Up politics podcast:
Google's mesh Wi-Fi system has launched in Canada.

Google announced Friday that it will be available for $179 for one router, or $439 for three from the Google Store, Best Buy, Staples and Walmart.

Mesh Wi-Fi is a modular system that's meant to put an end to those pesky dead spots that can crop up around a home. Instead of a traditional, single router, mesh systems like Google WiFi place a few connections around the home. The points work together to make sure all areas are covered, bypassing doors and thick walls, and to ensure multiple devices in different rooms all are connected to a strong signal.

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It can be a big boost from using a router with an extender, which can degrade speed. Plus, it's designed to be more attractive than most routers, meaning it can be left out rather than tucked away in a closet (which definitely doesn't help boost the signal).

Currently only two of Google's three major competitors for mesh Wi-Fi  NetGear's Orbi and Linksys' Velop are available in Canada, according to AndroidCentral. (Its biggest challenger, Eero, is only available in the U.S.). A single Velop unit is $249, and a two-pack Orbi is $499.

Google says one router will cover a small home or apartment up to 1,500 sq. ft., and three will cover as much as 4,500.

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The product runs on an app that lets you pause Wi-Fi on devices (for example, turning off kids' phones during dinner); prioritize a device to make sure it's running at the the highest speed; create a separate network for guests; and connect to smart-home devices.

It also uses machine learning, meaning it can realize when devices need to be switched to different wireless bands to make sure coverage is always strong.

Additionally, the app was built entirely by a Google team in Waterloo, Ont.

Weve been working here on it for about three years now, maybe longer. Waterloo was in from the ground floor, senior software engineer Melissa Dominguez told The Financial Post.

There is one downside to the product. Some users have taken to Google's forum to report connectivity issues, which seem to only be fixed for some customers with a hard reset or by disconnecting and reconnecting all devices. Google has been aware of the problem since March, but still has yet to release a fix, according to 9to5Google.

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A May Day protest turned violent in Portland, Ore. on Monday as demonstrators threw rocks, projectiles and even full cans of Pepsi at officers.

Twenty-five people, ranging in age from 14 to 44, were arrested for crimes including riot, arson, theft and assault, the Portland Police Bureau said in a press release on Monday evening.

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The situation devolved into a full-scale riot with random acts of vandalism to Downtown businesses, cars, and public and private property, the release said.

The protesters tossing Pepsi were likely referencing the brands recent ad that was mocked online and decried as tone-deaf. In the video, model and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" mega-star Kendall Jenner de-escalates a tense protest by handing a police officer a can of Pepsi.

Critics accused the brand of ripping off the Black Lives Matter movement to sell soda, and Pepsi pulled the ad after only a day.

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May Day protests, held annually on the first of May, recognize International Workers Day. Since 1884, workers around the world have used the day to demand better conditions, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Several Chicago workers were shot dead by police that year during riots. Employers had refused to recognize a law declaring that a full workday would be eight hours as of May 1, 1886.

In Montreal, protesters marched for the 10th consecutive year. Their slogan for 2017 was: "They are rich because we are poor and we are right to revolt.''

With files from the Canadian Press

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The House of Commons' first week back after a break seems to be going well.

Just a day after the the Liberals faced a raucous question period filled with calls for the defence minister's resignation, a Conservative MP is calling "bullshit" on the Grits for shutting down a committee meeting.

The Hill Times reports the Procedure and House Affairs Committee's meeting ended abruptly on Tuesday after its chair, Liberal Larry Bagnell, effectively shut down a filibuster the NDP and Conservatives started in March in protest over proposed changes to Parliamentary rules.

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This is the most grotesque abuse of a chairman's authority I've seen, in 16 years around this place.  Scott Reid (@ScottReidCPC) May 2, 2017

Tory MP Scott Reid raised a point of order to interrupt Bagnell, according to the outlet, but the Liberal chair ignored him and walked out.

I said point of order before you pulled that shit, Reid told Bagnell, the National Post reports.

We are not adjourned or suspended. Thats bullshit, Mr. Chair. That is bullshit.

Footage of Reid following Bagnell outside the room was taped on House cameras, complete with beautiful classical music.

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Watch a Conservative MP have a complete emotional meltdown in committee just now. #cdnpoli#PROCpic.twitter.com/Djh96VOdMd  Rob Anders (@sleepyrobanders) May 2, 2017

The NDP and Tories' tag-team filibuster was started as an attempt to to prevent the Liberals from passing a motion that would impose a deadline on their study of proposed changes to the way the House conducts its business.

Shortly after Tuesday's drama, Reid put on notice a motion inviting Government House Leader Bardish Chagger discuss her party's proposed changes to Parliament's rules before the committee.

In light of events, I put on notice this AM the following motion for @BardishKW to appear soon at #PROC: https://t.co/BzXxYSFKAa#cdnpoli  Scott Reid (@ScottReidCPC) May 2, 2017

On Monday, the Liberals said they were abandoning some of the more contentious changes they had suggested in a "discussion paper" released in March, but they are still going ahead with others  including having the prime minister deliver all the responses in one question period each week.

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"We will continue to move ahead with the specific commitments from our campaign platform, all of which will make the government more accountable, not less," Chagger said Monday.

The Tories say the government is seeking "licence" so that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has to show up for question period only "one hour, one day a week.

With files from The Canadian Press

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When U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership, it was thought to be the death knell for the long-negotiated and controversial trade deal between 12 Pacific Rim countries.

Chrystia Freeland, at the time Canadas trade minister, warned last fall that the deal couldnt go on without the U.S.

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But as it turns out, maybe it can. Canada is quietly  opponents are saying secretly  hosting talks this week meant to explore potential next steps for the TPP agreement.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Japan  the largest economy negotiating the deal, now that the U.S. has withdrawn  is working to ensure the rules proposed on trade and tariffs remain in place in a post-U.S. agreement.

Canada offered to host the talks, a Canadian consular spokeswoman told Inside U.S. Trade.

Canada is a strong supporter of progressive free trade and the Asia-Pacific remains an important region and a priority market for our government, the unnamed spokeswoman said in a statement.

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The talks among the so-called TPP 11 are taking place at an undisclosed location in Toronto  a fact that has trade activists worried any new deal will be shaped without the publics input. That was a key concern about the initial TPP deal as well.

The TPP is an unfair and undemocratic deal that was negotiated behind closed doors without any meaningful public participation, David Christopher, communications manager at activist group OpenMedia, said in a statement.

Such a flawed and unpopular deal cannot be the basis for Canadas future trade relationships. Instead of hosting secret talks to resurrect the TPP behind closed doors, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and ensure any future trade deal is shaped by citizens every step of the way.

A memo prepared for then-finance minister Joe Oliver in 2015 argued the principal reason for joining the trade deal was to "stay in the tent" with the U.S. and Mexico, Canada's NAFTA partners.

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Jerry Dias, the national president of Unifor, Canadas largest private sector union, questioned why Canada would pursue the deal given the U.S. has withdrawn.

We were told we had to be in the TPP because the U.S. was in it. Now, the U.S. is out, he said in a statement. Why would we revive a trade deal that was so bad for Canadian workers and communities?

But what any final deal without the U.S. will look like is still unknown. Trade officials from the 11 countries are also reportedly exploring the possibility of bilateral deals among one another.

Canadian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has said the country is pushing for trade talks with Japan, one of the TPP signatories. Canada has also held exploratory talks on a trade deal with China, which is not one of the TPP countries.

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The meetings in Toronto are meant to lay the groundwork for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministers meeting later this month in Vietnam.

Along with Canada, the 11 remaining countries still discussing the TPP are: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

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Many Canadians were surprised last week when they read an editorial highly critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's record on climate.

But I wasn't surprised in the least. In spite of the usual rhetoric from the writer, anti-Keystone XL campaigner Bill McKibben, readers can rest assured -- Canada's record on climate is strong. McKibben's analysis? Not so much.

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The piece, published by the left-of-centre U.K.-based Guardian newspaper, ridiculed the Canadian PM for his appearance and claimed he was capitalizing on U.S. President Donald Trump's attention-grabbing political controversies so that Trudeau could fly under the political radar.

"Donald Trump is so spectacularly horrible... that it's hard to look away," the Vermont-based activist wrote. In fact, claimed McKibben, Trump is so bad "that other world leaders are able to get away with almost anything. Don't believe me? Look one country north, at Justin Trudeau."

As logic goes, McKibben's opening statement is pretty much a write-off. If they really feel so negatively toward their own elected leader, McKibben and 350.org should spend more time working on domestic politics rather than blaming Canada for selling into the U.S. market and helping satisfy American energy demand.

More simply, instead of attacking our elected officials, he could work at reducing U.S. demand.

Enormous progress has been made already, to the point that Canada is a leader in the world for clean energy production.

McKibben charges the PM with "having your cake and eating it too" -- that is, working to reduce carbon emissions through pricing and through clean energy investment, while at the same time committing to get natural resources to market.

I prefer to call that "working responsibly on issues of importance to our federal government" or "working on a prudent transition plan."

On the other hand, when I think of "having your cake and eating it too," I think of anti-oil activist groups like 350.org and Greenpeace, groups that are short on solutions but who know how to mount a negative media campaign and then carry it out through hundreds of thousands of miles of fossil-fuelled personal air travel.

Showing he's willing to cloud his editorial with misleading data, McKibben cites the activist group "Oil Change International" as a reputable source on carbon reduction information. He castigates the PM for saying it was reasonable for a country like Canada, sitting on 173 billion barrels of oil, might like to place some of it on the international market. Which country wouldn't?

But what neither McKibben nor Oil Change International mentions is that it will take about 200 years at current production to "dig up and sell" that Canadian oil that he mentioned. What will the transition to clean energy technologies look like in 200 years? Nobody knows.

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What we do know is that enormous progress on clean tech has been made already, to the point that Canada is a leader in the world for clean energy production. (What? No praise from McKibben and 350.org? I'm shocked!) And while that Canadian leadership continues, the U.S. imports nearly 1.7 million barrels per day of heavy oil from countries other than Canada.

Where are the 350.org protesters standing up against those imports? Don't worry, it's a rhetorical question.

McKibben's rant doesn't simply attack the PM. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is equally hammered for working to transition away from fossil fuels at a rate consistent with human needs and technology.

Let's be clear; the idea of transitioning away from fossil fuel-generated energy isn't exactly straightforward. Many are skeptical about the time it will take to find sufficient non-fossil energy to power industry, health care, transportation, communication and the built environment.

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But McKibben is dismissive of Canadian support for research and development toward cleaner energy technologies while we continue to meet society's demands for affordable, reliable fossil energy. But ask yourself how his students at Middlebury College -- and their local families -- would survive a Vermont winter without any fossil fuel-generated energy?

They wouldn't.

After a few minutes of reading the same old fear-mongering from an activist that seems to refuse to take personal responsibility for what's happening within his own borders, I start thinking about the satirical South Park song, "Blame Canada."

There's plenty of work to be done on his side of the border.

Its final two lines, written in the voice of an American that's looking for a scapegoat, sum up 350.org's apparent strategy over the Canadian energy issue pretty well:

"We must blame them and cause a fuss

Before someone thinks of blaming us."

McKibben should know better. But until he does, I respectfully suggest he stick to Vermont. There's plenty of work to be done on his side of the border.

Cody Battershill is a Calgary realtor and founder / spokesperson for CanadaAction.ca, a volunteer organization that supports Canadian energy development and the environmental, social and economic benefits that come with it.

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Never bring a knife to a gunfight. And yet, the global tuberculosis (TB) community has been doing precisely that for decades -- fighting a protracted battle with antiquated, inefficient tools, including an insensitive diagnostic (i.e. sputum microscopy), a low-efficacy vaccine (i.e. BCG), and drug regimens that have hardly changed for decades.

Fighting a battle with outdated tools has cost us dearly. Last year, the WHO declared that the TB epidemic was worse than previously thought, with an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases in 2015. And, despite being a curable infection, 1.8 million people died from TB in 2015, making TB a bigger killer than HIV and malaria combined.

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At long last, new diagnostics and drugs have emerged. For diagnosis, we have innovative rapid technologies, including the Xpert MTB/RIF (GeneXpert) test that can rapidly detect TB as well as drug-resistance. For treatment, two new drugs, delamanid and bedaquiline, are now approved for drug-resistant TB), in situations in which there is resistance or intolerance to the other second-line agents or a high risk of treatment failure.

So, we, the TB community, asked for new tools, and new tools have been successfully introduced and policy endorsed. But we are now learning the hard way that availability does not necessarily result in widespread access. In an analysis published in eLife, we summarized the uptake of new tools such as GeneXpert, bedaquiline and delamanid, and identify the main barriers to scale-up and patient access.

Let us begin with access to good diagnosis. Although it is widely acknowledged that rapid, accurate diagnosis is critical for timely initiation of TB treatment, many people with TB struggle to access an adequate initial diagnosis. How else can we explain the fact that an estimated 41per cent of the 10.4 million new cases globally are either undiagnosed or not reported? Even if diagnosed with TB, most patients in high burden settings never receive drug-susceptibility testing to know which drugs they need to be cured. A shocking 75 per cent of the 480,000 cases of drug-resistant TB are either not detected or not reported.

Cumulatively, since the launch of GeneXpert for TB in 2010, over 6500 GeneXpert machines and 23 million test cartridges had been procured in the public sector in 130 of the 145 countries eligible for concessional pricing, as of 31 December 2016. While this trend is promising, on average less than 4 million cartridges were procured per year. This represents a small fraction of all TB tests conducted in high burden countries, with over 77 million of the older and far less accurate sputum smear tests performed annually in 22 of the highest TB burden countries, and much less than the estimated 10.4 million new patients each year.

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With the notable exception of South Africa, which has rolled-out GeneXpert MTB/RIF nationally and accounts for 50 per cent of global GeneXpert cartridge sales volumes, other low and middle income countries are still reliant on insensitive smears. India is an excellent case in point -- despite having the world's largest TB burden, the country is still heavily reliant on smears.

What about new drugs like bedaquiline and delamanid? Although there was initial excitement about the availability of these new drugs after more than a forty-year drought, global scale-up has not kept pace with the dire need for these drugs, and most patients with drug-resistant disease still endure prolonged, toxic therapies with poor outcomes.

As of March 1, 2017 there were 8,195 persons who have ever taken bedaquiline and 496 who have ever taken delamanid under program conditions. How does that compare to the need? The most conservative estimate would be that these medications are needed in approximately 42,000 patients per year, or one-third of the number of persons initiated on MDR-TB treatment annually. Even this generous yardstick of success reveals that more than 75 per cent of patients who need them do not have adequate access to new, potentially life-saving drugs.

But reporting that three out of four patients with drug-resistant TB cannot access the newer medicines they need is setting the bar low. When the number of estimated drug-resistant TB cases -- almost 600,000 per year -- is used, a more startling gap is revealed. This more ambitious benchmark puts the estimated need at 200,000 persons annually, meaning 191,000 people are denied access to these life-saving medications. Again, South Africa is one of the only countries striving to close this access gap: they account for more than 60 per cent of the global bedaquiline use. Other high burden countries are either not using the new drugs or are doing so only in small pilot projects.

So, why are we struggling to provide new tools to our TB patients? There are many barriers to adoption and scale-up of new tools: lack of adequate funding to national TB programs, regulatory hurdles, high cost of tools, restrictive policies, bureaucratic apathy, implementation failures, and, in the case of new drugs, a desire to protect the drug (as opposed to protecting patients) coupled with excessive concern about potential side effects -- a concern that is misplaced given the both the high death rate in people with poorly treated drug-resistant TB and the high rate of serious adverse events (e.g. deafness, psychosis) that occur using the older medications.

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What can we do about this disappointingly slow pace of new tool uptake? Some positive examples and potential solutions are emerging. Bold ambitions followed-up with concrete execution can surmount many of the barriers to optimal use of novel diagnostic and treatment strategies. South Africa has been a pathfinder in scaling-up both GeneXpert and bedaquiline, due in large part to a forward-thinking Department of Health that is backed by an ambitious Health Minister and supported by academic and NGO partners. Other countries -- including Georgia, Swaziland, Belarus, France and Kazakhstan -- too have had success introducing bedaquiline, especially when they prioritized patient needs, were flexible with their innovations, and partnered with other supporting groups.

Furthermore, the early success of tools like GeneXpert and bedaquiline have demonstrated the impact of industry engagement in R&D, pushed countries to develop systems for conducting field trials for policy changes, and revitalized front-line health workers and civil society. It is also wonderful to see countries develop more ambitious plans for TB elimination (with a big focus on new tools), with India and South Africa being prominent, recent examples. Achieving elimination, however, requires changing actual policies, practices, and mindsets. Current experience with the new diagnostics and drugs shows we have a long way to go.

The clock is ticking and urgent action is needed if we are committed to ending TB in a mere 13 years. This means embracing innovation, increasing financial investments in TB, addressing implementation gaps, and making sure that new technologies are available in the service of those who are trying to survive. More importantly, the global TB community needs to learn from the HIV/AIDS experience, and not settle for less.

Madhukar Pai is a Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health at McGill University, Montreal. He is the director of McGill Global Health Programs and associate director of the McGill International TB Centre. Twitter: @paimadhu

Jennifer Furin is a lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston. She is an infectious diseases specialist and medical anthropologist who has spent the last 20 years working on clinical and programmatic management of drug-resistant TB in resource-poor settings.

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Acknowledgement: The authors are grateful to Erica Lessem, Treatment Action Group, for helpful input.

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PeopleImages via Getty Images Shot of a young businesswoman with her eyes closed sitting in her office

By Joe Farago, Executive Director Healthcare Innovation at Innovative Medicines Canada

It's tough to talk about mental illness in the workplace. People worry about what their colleagues might think or whether they'll lose a promotion or even their jobs.

Mental Health Week, which began this week (May 1-7), provides an opportunity to have a candid discussion about creating healthier workplaces that will reduce the human and financial toll of mental illness and chronic diseases.

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Looking at mental illness alone, about half a million Canadians won't show up for work on any given day because of a mental health issue; costing our economy more than $50 billion a year. It's also estimated that one in three workplace disability claims in Canada are related to mental illness. People living with chronic physical health conditions experience depression and anxiety at twice the rate of the general population.

When the impact is expanded to include other chronic illnesses, the annual financial hit to the Canadian economy rises to $190 billion including treatment and lost productivity.

The 2016 Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey found that in any given workplace more than half of the employees (59 per cent) may be living with a chronic disease. This means that in addition to their daily work duties, employees must manage their diabetes, depression, heart disease, arthritis, or some other illness that is persistent and in need of ongoing treatment.

This puts pressure on employers due to lost productivity, absenteeism and another concept known as presenteeism which means that you may be at work physically but your mind is somewhere else.

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Unmanaged chronic illness is also one of the major cost drivers for health benefit plans.

Fortunately, there has been a growing realization that workplace health can be improved by taking steps to prevent chronic disease and manage it better when it does occur.

The health and wellness of workers is increasingly becoming a strategic goal for modern employers stressing a focus on education and behaviour at every level of the organization. More than 24 million Canadians depend on employer-sponsored private plans to supplement their healthcare.

When looked at in this context, group benefits plans become a valuable investment in the health and wellbeing of employees rather than being looked at simply as a cost.

The Sanofi survey shows that employees consider prescription drug coverage the most important part of their drug plan. But employees should also be aware of their entire health plan and what it can do to promote health and wellness.

For example, some plans offer health benefits which include follow up with qualified healthcare professionals as well as education and other initiatives aimed at the prevention of risk factors, proven to lower the risk of chronic disease.

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It's also important to use medication appropriately. The World Health Organization found that about 50 per cent of patients do not take their medications as directed. In Canada, this leads to increased hospital admissions and doctor visits as well as reduced productivity and increased disability.

There are tools available that can help improve medication adherence. For example, some innovative pharmaceutical companies offer patient assistance programs for some of their medications. There are other initiatives offered through health professionals that can educate employees about the value of appropriate use.

While improved adherence to medication might lead to some short term cost increases, over the longer term these will be more than offset by the significant benefits including fewer disability claims, reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.

Innovative Medicines Canada provides some tips to help employees and employers make better decisions about their health plans. Early recognition and appropriate response to chronic disease and mental illness can minimize the impact of illness. Factors include awareness programs, counselling, social support and physical activity which are key elements of an employee health and wellness program.

Options to ensure the sustainability of health plans without jeopardizing treatment access include:

Reducing the frequency of refills for chronic medications from 30 to 100 days

Reducing or capping mark-ups and fees

Exploring modest co-payments of 20 per cent or less

Taking a holistic view of total plan costs and paying for priority benefits preferentially

The good news is that employers are increasingly recognizing the value of prevention and taking a more comprehensive approach in offering incentives to promote workplace health.

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The Sanofi Healthcare Survey found that there was a willingness among both plan members and plan sponsors to learn more and do things differently. For example, it found that 32 per cent of plan sponsors have implemented programs specifically to support the psychological health of employees; another 23 per cent plan to do so.

As we mark Mental Health Week and #GETLOUD, let's be mindful of the role we can all play at home, at school and at work to help the one in five Canadians who will experience a mental health problem or illness this year.

Joe Farago is Executive Director Healthcare Innovation at Innovative Medicines Canada. He is leading the pharmaceutical sector's efforts in taking a more proactive approach to addressing today's issues to ensure tomorrow's workforces in Canada have strong private market coverage best suited to meeting their needs.

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At a time when right-wingers all around the world are claiming to speak for the needs of the working class, it is vital that the true voice of working people and our changing workplaces be heard.

It is for that reason that I am supporting Hassan Yussuff's bid to be re-elected to a second term as president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

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Yussuff's election three years ago was historic. He is the first worker of colour to hold the post leading Canada's labour movement, and he was the first presidential candidate to defeat an incumbent. His election marked a desire for real change, and was recognition that labour's leadership must better reflect the people in the workplace.

Like many people in today's workplaces, Yussuff came to Canada in search of a better life. Born in Guyana, he began work as a heavy truck mechanic with General Motors, before becoming the Human Rights Director of the Canadian Auto Workers. Through both his personal and work experience, he knows the struggles that racialized workers in workplace face, and that insight to what marginalization and oppression feels like is needed today.

Yussuff has found a balance to truly speak and act for working people.

Since his election in 2014, we have seen some great victories for workers under Yussuff, and he continues to work tirelessly to bring the labour movement together with one united, powerful voice. With this principled leadership style, labour worked together to not only get rid of regressive federal labour laws, but a government that set back Canada in every way possible. Throughout the election campaign I saw him roll up his sleeves and get to work in communities across Canada to talk to workers and labour unions about why political engagement matters and how every vote counts if we are going to build a progressive agenda.

The thing that is admirable about Yussuff's work is that he truly understands that an injury to one worker is an injury to all of labour, regardless if that worker is in a union or not. In the past three years, we've seen improvements for migrant workers, a ban on asbestos and putting issues such as a minimum living wage, rights for precarious work and a universal child-care program on the national agenda. All of this was done with a fine balance to listen, learn and find ways to continuously push for change.

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It's never easy being a union leader in your own workplace and making tough decisions, let alone being a strong leader with integrity at the head of Canada's labour movement, but Yussuff has found a balance to truly speak and act for working people.

At the same time, I am sickened by the rise of right-wingers around the world claiming to speak for working people, but with agendas that will only help their rich and powerful friends. Donald Trump won the White House by exploiting the fears of working class Americans, then filled his cabinet with the same neoliberal politicians and Wall Street bankers who had so devastated the lives of working people over the last few decades.

In France, Marine Le Pen is trying to pull off the same bait and switch. Even here in Canada, we have contenders for the Conservative Party leadership trying to out-right-wing each other, while claiming that they really care for the needs of workers -- despite a party history of hurting working people.

They are quick to demonize racialized people and the oppressed.

All these right-wingers have another thing in common: they are quick to demonize racialized people and the oppressed -- Muslims, Mexicans, immigrants, they aren't picky -- and blame them for society's woes. Don't look at the billions their friends have pocketed while your income stagnated or dropped, they tell us, blame the hard-working immigrant family down the street.

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In the face of all that, we need leadership at the CLC that can unite working people of all backgrounds to advance a workers' agenda -- not a right-winger's agenda dressed up as something else.

Over the next three years, we must find ways to bring labour unions in Canada together as a united force that can build a principled fight to push back against the right-wingers and the rising tide of hate in this country and around the world. The only way to truly build better lives for working people is by working together. Yussuff has a proven track record of making that happen.

Working together means strengthening the voice of labour and the CLC to speak on behalf of all workers. There remains much work to be done.

Now is the time for Canada's labour movement to get its act together. Kicking out Harper was only a beginning to rebuilding a progressive vision in this country. We must push back as a united voice against the politics of division, racism, Islamophobia, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia and sexism that right-wing populists stir up in their cynical quests for power and their neoliberal agendas. We must make sure the true voice of workers is heard on issues such as international trade and climate change.

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We workers cannot let others speak for us. With Yussuff returned as president of the CLC, the modern face of labour can and will be heard.

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Recently, Dr. Amina Wadud was in a social media controversy when people started commenting on her 2013 blog post accusing her of blasphemy against the Prophet Abraham. Such are often opportunities for zealous masses to prove their Muslim credentials. While some hurled abuses at her, others went so far as to excommunicate her from Islam.

Fortunately, Dr. Wadud was not in Pakistan, for such media frenzies can get people killed -- as in the case of young Mashal Khan who was mercilessly lynched by fellow university students.

This was a golden opportunity for popular Muslim academics, who themselves experience Islamophobia, to teach their followers how to react to statements they personally find distasteful.

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However, rather than ask their followers to curb their overreaction, they expected Dr. Wadud to not stir controversies over social media. Blaming Dr. Wadud is problematic, as it assumes that Muslims are somehow angry masses without tolerance for dissenting viewpoints.

She had commented on the patriarchal treatment of the story of Abraham and Hagar:

"Hajar was (literally) thrown out in the desert to fend for herself and her child without even a second's thought to the impossibility of her location as confirmation of patriarchy. ... How then do we reconcile with Abraham, the deadbeat dad, Sarah the selfish bitch, and even God, the benevolent?!"

The part that caused the frenzy was the depiction of Abraham as a "deadbeat dad." Naturally, as some noted, not much was made out of the depiction of Sarah as a "selfish bitch," which only confirms the point on patriarchy that Dr. Wadud had made.

Muslim writer Michael Muhammad Knight, who has been noted for his controversies in popular work came to Dr. Wadud's defence. Commenting on the privilege of straight white male academics, he wrote:

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"Amina Wadud's remarks about Ibrahim would not crack a top-25 list of offensive things that I've written. ... Just some unfinished thoughts while another white man convert gets love for dismissing Dr. Wadud."

In a similar spirit, Muslim academic Michael Mumisa remarked that why do we have to pretend that the readers of the Qur'an never struggled with difficult texts. He claimed that different readers address these texts differently.

He also quoted a Hadith text that shows how the Prophet did not give a sermon on "how to speak to messengers of God" to a mother who yelled at him. He did not want to make it about his own disrespect, but about the woman losing her child.

The case of Hamza Kashgari of Saudi Arabia who was imprisoned for nearly two years for irreverent tweets about the Prophet is also noteworthy. Kashgari's tweets included the lines:

"On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more. On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more."

People who attack Dr. Wadud asserting their freedom of expression are often conspicuously absent when others are heavily persecuted for expressing their opinions. This is how dissent is destroyed in Muslim societies.

It is also interesting to note the timing of such controversies. The reaction to Dr. Wadud's blog post is four years late. Earlier in April, she was the subject of another frenzy on leading prayers twelve years ago.

She is not alone in receiving such delayed reactions. Dr. Kugle, who had written the seminal essay on homosexuality in Islam, was bitterly criticized last year, thirteen years after it was published in 2003.

Are such delayed reactions arising because Muslims feel threatened in Trump's America and so are becoming increasingly conservative in the face of external threats? Or are they arising because conservative Muslims feel threatened as other Muslims are increasingly challenging the classical positions on issues including apostasy, homosexuality, slavery and Islamic punishments.

Regardless, this is the opportune time to unfetter Islam from the shackles of ossified medieval manuals instead of engaging in apologetics.

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Blasphemy is very much part of the Islamic heritage. Sufi dissenters openly depicted Prophets with irreverence. Iranian author Amir Taheri wrote in his article "Bonfire of the Pieties":

"Both Arabic and Persian literature, the two great literatures of Islam, are full of examples of "laughing at religion," at times to the point of irreverence. ... Islamic satire reaches its heights in Rumi, where a shepherd conspires with God to pull a stunt on Moses; all three end up having a good laugh."

He references Moses and the Shepherd where Rumi has God admonish Moses on the shepherd's blasphemous speech.

"You have separated Me from one of my own. Did you come as a prophet to unite, or to sever? I have given each being a separate and unique way of seeing and knowing and saying that knowledge. What seems wrong to you is right for him. ... The "wrong" way he talks is better than a hundred "right" ways of others."

The Urdu proverb "likhay Musa, parhay khuda" (Writes Moses, Reads God) was used to refer to the unintelligible handwriting of medical doctors. In the current politically charged up climate, people would be careful of using such proverbs.

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There is also a tradition in Sufi folkore in which God rebukes Abraham for refusing hospitality to a Zoroastrian unless he converted.

"God revealed to him [Abraham]: you would not give him food except with his religion changed, and I have fed him for seventy years notwithstanding his unbelief. If you had given him hospitality for a night, what responsibility would have fallen on you?"

One's relationship with Allah is often a product of dialogue, debate, quarrel and wrestling with the texts. In essence, how can one commit blasphemy when it is very much part of faith?
moodboard - Mike Watson Images via Getty Images

In April of this year, I attended the Toronto International Porn Festival . I spent a few hours watching films -- and clips of films -- curated from the last ten years of feminist pornography. I am not a consumer, but I figured any sex educator worth her salt should dip in every now and again. I'm glad I did: There was fun; there was joy; and consent was the order of the day.

My views of pornography had evolved over the years. Consumer prevalence remains high. An article in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, reports that, when asked about their recent online solitary arousal experiences, 91.7% of the men interviewed said they had watched sexually explicit videos involving men and women; and 47.4% of the women.

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The sample: 239 young adults at a Canadian university. Current mainstream heterosexual pornography, where the scenes are rough and misogynistic, appeals particularly to young adult males. While they work for self-pleasuring, they are not so good at helping men learn how to be good lovers.

There is quite a difference between what one considers to be great sex and popular depictions of sex aside from pornography. On TV doc-and-police shows, the scene goes straight from the mutual recognition that two people want to get it on, to ripping off each other's clothes at the nearest opportunity. No slow build and little context. And standard, gorgeous bodies.

In the new TV series, The Good Fight, so far, there is only one loving, ongoing intimate relationship - Maia and her wife - and sadly, their sexual intimacy gets splashed all over the Internet in retaliation for her father's Ponzi scheme. Maia's mother has a long-term adulterous relationship with her brother-in-law. Lucca the lawyer, (remember her from The Good Wife?) seems to be as cold blooded as The Good Wife's Kalinda. Diane Lockhart sleeps with her ex-husband, which she says the next morning, was nice, but then refuses to renew their relationship beyond friendship.

Perhaps the lack of relatable intimate relationships is a metaphor for the series' theme of whom to trust. After all, trust is the hallmark of a positive relationship. And from vanilla to kink, consent needs to be the order of the day.

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Enter Ricardo Scipio

Ricardo contacted me about his newest book, "The Sex Goddess Project". Huffington Post recently interviewed him about it and included some of his photos. I liked what I saw and willingly posted excerpts from his press release on my professional Facebook page.

Says Scipio,

"If sexual images were food, people would be inundated with cheap junk food. I wanted to create a body of work that offers something more nutritious and satisfying for the health conscious, more discerning palette."

He sent me a preview of photos from his latest book. Lucky me: I had the opportunity to peruse dozens of images of women having a lusty old time doing all kinds of sexual activities in a variety of positions with a variety of partners. These images reminded me of those I had seen at the porn festival - except they are not porn.

Scipio is not producing porn, which he doesn't watch and whose messages he abhors.

"I'm a lover of all things authentic, and porn isn't authentic."

"Women have for too long, and in too many cultures, had their sexuality suppressed - only to be pseudo-released within the stiflingly unkind world of porn. I'm extremely humbled and proud to provide a vehicle for women to unapologetically express themselves with love and authenticity; something porn cannot offer. Sex is way too important to leave in the hands of pornographers."

His photos portray real people of all body types, skin tones, genders and orientations. One of his models said,

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"This was important. It was a chance to be an activist in the sensual world. To reclaim sex for the othered bodies. The fatties, the people of color. To call bullshit on the ones who say 'we' don't do this simply because they had never seen it done."

Many of the women in his photos are looking straight at the camera with a huge smile on their face. It is not the come-on of porn: It's "Look at me; I am having such a good time". Most of the focus is on their pleasure.

To be honest, I did not get a buzz from the photos; my pleasure as a viewer was aesthetic and political.

His models understand this:

"Let's just say that the bloom is beginning to fade. I'm a 51-year old woman who is 150 lbs overweight... After Ricardo asked if I would be photographed for his Sex Goddess book, I realized that showing the inner me - the one who loves sex and feels that it is her special, healing gift - should be shown in full daylight. Yes, I'm fat. Yes, I'm older. However, I don't want to be shamed into feeling badly about my body because our culture deems it 'ugly' or 'gross' to be sexual if you're of a certain age and size..."
Danielle Donders via Getty Images The spire of the Parliamentary Library is in the foreground and the Interprovincial and McDonald-Cartier bridges are in the background, joining Ontario and Quebec across the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa and Gatineau.

Prior to colonization indigenous people assimilated, adopted and even kidnapped people and children. We did not define identity and belonging in terms of blood and DNA. Marrying-out -- or, better said, marrying members of other nations -- was a proven method of good medicine in that genetic diversity was valued to keep the blood clean.

Through processes of colonization, many indigenous people embraced what they needed to in order to retain their land and land-related rights, such as the right to fish, farm, harvest and hunt. Many indigenous people took on a settler identity and culture as their way to thrive and live on. Some opted to marry settler people.

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It is now clear that indigenous people were not entitled to the same free land grants that settler people were. It does not require rocket science to understand that intermarriage and moving who we were underground was a tool of survival, a tool to hang on to land. Sometimes this is what indigenous people do to survive: they hide. It is for these reasons that I do not like the Algonquin fraud arguments.

Through the Indian Act indigenous identity became first quantified and then defined patrilineally. What I mean by this is that Canada invented the one-quarter blood quantum requirement and then indigenous heritage was passed down the male line. Although much of this changed in 1985, indigenous women and their children became the targets of the need to get rid of the problem -- when indigenous women married settler people they were no longer deemed Indian. This was the case even though valuing the medicine of genetic diversity was traditional.

Canada worked hard (and continues to work hard) to eliminate indigenous people and status Indians.

Within the context of the land claims process, some people focus on identity politics in their need to discredit it. Some people suggest that after several generations of not marrying-in to an indigenous community, it makes a person not entitled to participate in the process. Other people say not having indigenous blood is enough to discredit people from their involvement. I understand these lines of thinking, as in some cases there may be truth here. But I think this is not the best way for us to raise the issues inherent in the process.

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The land claims industry remains a perpetuation of Canada's colonial policy that seeks to clear title to the land. The language in the policy has shifted over time from blanket extinguishment, to land and resource extinguishment, to defining rights completely. Regardless of this shift in language, Russell Diabo's work informs us the underlying goal remains the same: extinguishment of indigenous rights and the need to clear title to the land.

Within the goal of the need to extinguish indigenous land rights and the need to clear title to the land, Canada has to rely on a broader understanding of who is indigenous. And so while Canada worked hard (and continues to work hard) to eliminate indigenous people and status Indians, the contradiction now is Canada has to cast a wide net to capture us for the purpose of the cultural genocide inherent in the land claims process.

Canada does this not because Canada cares about and loves us; rather, Canada does this because Canada needs to make sure that a group of indigenous people do not come back at a later date arguing, "Hey, you forgot us and we want our land and our rights."

Some have no idea the land claims process is an industry, a job creation process, rooted in cultural genocide.

It is my understanding that Algonquin people are involved in the land claims process for many reasons. Some Algonquin are sitting at the table because they have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed and they need the paycheques. Other Algonquin are there because their humanity has been harmed or destroyed and they need to feel worthy. Some need the paycheques to support their addictions. Some are struggling with identity issues where today Algonquin enrollment law is their only ritual of identity affirmation. Some need to protect the little land mass called a reserve from further theft. Some have no idea the land claims process is an industry, a job creation process, rooted in cultural genocide.

I refuse to engage in identity politics as a way to discredit the land claims process. Clearly Canada owns this mess.

I love Anishinaabeg.

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Bryan Delodder via Getty Images

Last year, Health Canada commissioned a study into consumer perceptions of foods containing genetically modified (GM) organisms. The findings showed that 78 per cent want GM food labelled so they know what they are buying. Over the past 20 years, polls have consistently shown that over 75 per cent of Canadians support the labelling of GM food (see also this 2015 Ipsos Reid poll [88 per cent]).

Pro-democratic and pro-transparency - not anti-GM

It is all too easy to call those who express concerns about GM food "anti-GM." This is wrong. The real issue is whether we believe in transparency and democracy.

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On 15 December 2016, in response to a question about mandatory labelling for GM foods, according to MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Radio-Canada:

"This is about protecting consumers. I am hearing consumers say loud and clear that they want to know more about what they are putting in their bodies. This is a good thing. We are working with them."

One would assume that the PM might therefore have little difficulty in supporting Dusseault's private members' bill C-291 to amend the Food and Drugs Act, which will be voted on in early May. The aim of the bill is to secure mandatory labelling of GM foods. It would allow consumers to have access to more transparent information on food labels.

The bill is not part of an anti-GM campaign. It would not inhibit the production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Canada. If passed, the bill would support MPs in their collective duty to uphold the values of democracy and respect the wishes of the majority of Canadians. Transparency demands that consumers have a right to know what is in food so they can make informed choices.

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In 2001, the Royal Society of Canada released a scathing report showing that the Canadian regulatory system is deeply dysfunctional as GM approvals are based entirely on industry studies that are not peer-reviewed. The report made 53 recommendations to the federal government for improving the regulatory system to bring it in line with peer-reviewed science and the precautionary principle. To this day, only two out of those 53 recommendations have been implemented.

All the more reason Canadians need to know which foods contain GMOs, just as 64 countries around the world share that basic right.

10 March Parliamentary debate

The main arguments for and against mandatory labelling were discussed on 10 March in the House of Commons debate over Bill C-291. Those against labelling argued that many consumers are misinformed about GM foods, that labelling would be misinterpreted as an unnecessary warning and that it would place the industry at an unfair disadvantage. The industry argument is that as GM foods have been on the market for 20 years and no one has been harmed, they are therefore "safe."

Opponents of labelling went on to argue that the government should only label GM foods if or when there is a need to provide a health warning. It was stated that Canada already has a voluntary labelling standard and there are also many non-GM options available in grocery stores.

In response to these claims, parliament was told that mandatory labelling would inform consumers about which foods are genetically modified: not providing this information would place the commercial interests of the industry ahead of the public's concerns thereby denying consumers the legitimate right to know. As a large majority of Canadians have consistently said that they want GM foods labelled, the government should thus take their views seriously. After all, the government already mandates some labelling for non-health-related reasons, such as country-of-origin labelling and the mandatory labelling of all irradiated foods in Canada.

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It was also stated that, to date, voluntary labelling has failed to provide consumers with labels. Moreover, despite the claim about the availability of non-GM options and the implication of free choice (despite the absence of labelling!), these options are not available for all foods and products in all stores.

There are many reasons why consumers may want the choice not to buy GM foods. For instance, 30 per cent of Canadians who say they want mandatory labelling cite ethical concerns and 87 per cent say they just want to know what is in the food they are eating (Ipsos Reid). Labelling is about providing consumers with the information they need to make informed choices.

The safety issue is separate from the right to know and labelling. If GM foods are unsafe, they should not be allowed on the market in the first place. Debate over the safety of GM foods continues in the scientific literature: there is no scientific consensus (also see this and this) on the safety of GM foods. Those who claim otherwise resort to highly misleading articles, "Unhealthy Fixation" by William Saletan being a case in point, which is based on a fundamentally flawed study.

Furthermore, the claim that no one has been harmed by GM foods over the past 20 years is not science based. There is no post-market monitoring of GM foods and GM food consumption. Mandatory labelling would be one way to enable traceability and monitoring of GM foods to assess the impacts on human health.

Government's commitment to transparency

Given the government's stated commitment to greater openness and transparency by "making government work for Canadians", doesn't the current administration have an obligation to make good on this pledge?

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When the industry says that labelling would just confuse the public and send out the wrong message, it is an attempt to protect its financial bottom-line, given the research showing that many would not choose to buy GM food.

Parliamentarians should not submit to bogus arguments or be swayed by shoddy pro-industry articles. They should be protecting the public's right to know and choose. Don't buy into the notion that ordinary people have been swayed by "scaremongering" anti-GMO activists. It is simply not the case. People have valid concerns that in any functioning democracy should be addressed.
AntonioGuillem via Getty Images Woman breathing fresh air at sunset on the beach and raising arms

Wherever they are, mothers will do anything for their children. At UNICEF, we witness it every day while we work to help children and their families survive and thrive. For Mother's Day, be inspired by some of those mothers who do everything they can to keep their children safe, healthy and happy.

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 UNICEF/UN036960/Torgovnik / Verbatim Photo Agency

Livey Van Wyk was 17 when she discovered that she was pregnant and HIV-positive. But she didn't give up. Livey was among the first young people who announced their HIV status during a time of much stigma and rejection. She was then enrolled in a UNICEF-supported program helping prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Remi, who is now 13. After the birth, the young girl took control of her destiny and she became, at the age of 26, the youngest mayor in Namibia.

"Remi is 13 years old now. He is my strength and my courage," says Livey with pride.

With HIV test kits UNICEF helps prevent the passing along of this deadly virus from mother to child.

 UNICEF/UNI179600/El Baba

Neveen Barakat comforts her six-year-old daughter, Rosol, in the northern Gaza Strip. Neveen's husband passed away in a blast that hit a UN-run school in Gaza. The blast wounded three of her children, including Rosol, and left Neveen with a permanent disability.

"Rosol saw a lot of things: people injured with missing hands or legs, with wounded faces and eyes," said Neveen. "She also saw her father killed. This was shocking for her. It had serious psychological effects on her."

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Neveen brings three of her children to receive psychosocial support from a counsellor supported by UNICEF.

 UNICEF/UN055445/Modola

In South Sudan, Angelina Nyanin holds her niece who suffers from malnutrition, as a UNICEF nutrition worker feeds the baby Plumpy'Nut, a peanut-based paste for treatment of severe acute malnutrition. Angelina has five children of her own. In August 2016, her village was attacked by armed men. Her husband was killed and her sister-in-law was taken away. Angelina is now taking care of six children by herself.

"Food and insecurity are our biggest worries," she said. "Because of the fighting that is going on around us it is difficult to find food. We are forced to collect and eat water lilies from the swamp. But the children lose weight quickly."

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 UNICEF/UN032061/LeMoyne

Conzuelo Flores plays with four-year-old Allizon Stefany Escobar on her lap, at home in Belize. Mrs. Flores is Allizon's great-grandmother and primary caregiver and spends many hours interacting with the child every day. She is raising her great-granddaughter because Allizon's mother works full time. The three live with Allizon's aunt and cousin in a simple cinder-block house with electricity and running water but with minimal amenities.

"If anything happened to this girl, I would die," Conzuelo Flores says.

Love and play are two of the essential foundations of children's learning, development and well-being.

 UNICEF/UN011982/Sokhin

Giving birth to healthy twins is hard enough. Doing it in the middle of a Category Five cyclone requires a special kind of determination and bravery. Avalon went into labour just as Fiji was struck by one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. She survived ferocious winds, flying debris and downed power lines to make it to hospital and give birth to two healthy girls. In the aftermath of the cyclone, UNICEF gave mothers like Avalon the expert advice, supplies and support they needed to see their newborns through this tough time.

"I was due on March 16th and I kept joking with my family and telling them what if the babies will arrive during the cyclone. And it actually happened," she said.

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 UNICEF/UNI181413/Esiebo

Maryamu was home sick when members of the Boko Haram rebel group attacked the church in her hometown in Nigeria. When she heard gunshots, she grabbed her daughter and ran. Maryamu has not seen her husband since and fears the worst. In a camp for internally displaced people in Yola, Maryamu and her one-year-old daughter, Hyaladan Yaduku, are receiving medical and school supplies and access to clean water from UNICEF. Maryamu wants to return home when it's safe - even though she knows there is little left of her former life.

"There is nothing in our house. They took it all," she said. "We had a motorcycle and many cows. It's all gone."

 UNICEF/UN024070/Rich

Alinafe is a single mother of two daughters, Desire, two, and Janet, 10, and two sons, Kelvin, eight, and Innocent, six. They live in a shelter in Alinafe, made from the husks of maize in the Balaka District of Malawi. The mud brick house they once lived in was destroyed by bad weather. Due to drought, the field that once gave them a small regular harvest now lies dry, barren and useless, and Desire now suffers from severe acute malnutrition. Alinafe takes her regularly to the hospital where she is weighed, given a basic health check and gets therapeutic food.

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Inspired by these courageous mothers? You can honour your mother's dedication and compassion with a Mother's Day gift that gives back. Buy your mother a Survival Gift that reaches children and families around the world now.

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Dear Kevin:

At least Michael Ignatieff moved back here.

You know what I mean, Mr. Disembark Tank. You're Just Leaving. As expected. As planned.

As such, I was going to wish you the best in packing for the return to Boston -- but we both you know you never really unpacked, did you? Ignatieff may have been "just visiting" -- but you, Kev, were "just not here." Like, ever.

During your (really) short jog through the colonies, you proved one thing, however. You showed us that running a leadership campaign out of a mansion in Boston is indeed possible -- in the Conservative Party of Canada. Not sure we Liberals or the New Democrats would ever go for it, however. Pretty sure we wouldn't.

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And that, as you eyeball gate 11 -- that being the gate at Ottawa International Airport for most flights to Boston, your true home, God Bless America, etc. -- is the problem, isn't it? The problem wasn't you, per se. The problem is once-great Conservative Party of Canada.

The notion that any serious political party would ever seriously consider you as a leader -- well, it says it all, doesn't it? The fact that the Conservative party would ever rally behind a vulgarian and a creep -- one who grabs women, mocks women, dismisses women -- well, it's kind of crazy, Kev.

One who is -- as the National Post's Andrew Coyne called you -- "a clown," a cartoon who had never held political office, and who didn't have a single coherent policy. One who didn't speak a word of French. One who called some black women "colorful cockroaches." One who called an opponent "an Indian giver with a forked tongue." One who said "it's fantastic" that half the world's population lives in poverty. One who said that unions "should be destroyed with evil," whatever that means. One who said that anyone in a union should "be thrown in jail." And on and on.

You get the picture, Kev. The only priorities you ever had were the ones you saw in your bathroom mirror down in Boston every morning. You, like Donald Trump, like to say whatever mean, rotten, cruel thing that pops into your powdered head. And you equate headlines with support. But notoriety, Shark-boy, isn't the same thing as popularity.

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That said, the Conservative party fell for it, didn't they? Hook, line and blinkered. So desperate are they to recapture relevance -- so completely out-of-touch and out-of-ideas are they -- that they enveloped you in their warm, corporate embrace. They all stood there in their fifteen-piece pinstriped suits, and welcomed you into the cloistered confines of the Albany Club. It was like Stephen Harper had never even happened. Trump Lite!

In no time at all, they propelled you to the front of the leadership line. Most of the leadership aspirants were the Dwarves -- Creepy, Crawly, Needy, Beastly, Kooky, Crazy and (really) Dopey -- but you were their Snow White. Every Tory wanted to be rescued by you.

But we'll give you this much, Kev. You were uncharacteristically candid when you withdrew from the race at one of those cliched hastily-called press conferences. You were honest. You had reflected, you said, and you and your advisors had concluded you just couldn't beat Justin Trudeau. (Parenthetically, you should have reflected on the fact, too, that your top advisor was at a soulless, Satanic "consulting firm" that, inter alia, cooked up the fake incubator babies story to justify the Persian Gulf War. But we digress.)

And it was true: you weren't going to ever, ever beat Justin Trudeau. He was going to put you -- a bloviating blowhard, a misanthropic misogynist, a down-market Donald -- through the political Cuisinart. He was going to shred you to pieces, and make soup out of you, Sharky.

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So you packed up your toothbrush, waved over your shoulder in the direction of Mad Max, and started jogging back to Gate 11.

You always planned to. You won't be missed.

Sincerely,

Etc.

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Derby is the city of my birth. It's where I trained as a bricklayer, passing up my Dad's advice not to enter the trade. It's where I led Derby Council and persistently fought for the rights of the weak against the strong. It's also where, in 2010, I was elected as the MP for Derby North.

In 2015 I lost my seat by a margin of just 41 votes to a frankly mediocre Tory candidate, making Derby North the most marginal seat in England. Despite increasing our vote share, Labour lost this seat due to a combined UKIP and Green Party surge. Then as now, when I speak to some of my former constituents I'm often painted a picture of Westminster politicians as a cosy cabal of careerists, bankers and bureaucrats.

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Despite all the commentary on our so called "post-truth" era, the voters who tell me this are right. Politics changed fundamentally in the wake of the economic crisis, and despite all the pollsters and think tanks in the world, Labour was simply too slow to keep up. As I said shortly after the 2015 result, Labour's policies had failed to speak to this insurgent common sense.

As the candidate for Derby North for this election it comes as a great gift to be able to pin my colours to Corbyn's leadership. I might well be the most Corbyn friendly candidate in the country but I firmly believe that Corbyn is someone who has clawed back Labour's true values, reclaiming the Party's fighting spirit that for over a hundred years has pitted ordinary people against elites.

The job to be done in order to win in Derby North is threefold. First, my track record on environmental issues and animal rights will speak to those in Derby who voted Green in 2015. Second, Corbyn's platform will help put red water between UKIP voters and the Tories.

My message to those who voted UKIP two years ago is this: Labour is a democratic party and we accept the outcome of the referendum. Britain is certainly leaving the EU. But tell me, as we rebuild an independent society, how can the Tories' vision of Britain as a corporate tax haven amount to taking back control?

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Ordinary people had control in this country when we had strong trade unions tied to dignified jobs, public services that could shield us from the storm of the free market and cohesive and democratic communities. It was Labour who after the War founded a society with these securities at its core. Labour have always been the party of the people and I welcome UKIP voters back to us this June.

Third and finally, to win Derby North Labour has to increase voter turnout, especially among 18 to 25 year olds with whom our support is more than double that of the Conservatives. The campaign group Momentum may have become stuck in the mud of late but it still has the power to reignite the passions we saw in Jeremy's leadership campaign where thousands turned out to hear the Labour leader speak in cities and towns across the country. As with the Stoke-on-Trent by-election, I'll be counting on Momentum to bolster our ground troops in Derby on polling day.

This is a high stakes campaign, it is literally life or death. Not in terms of the careers of politicians but in terms of our country's public services, our most vulnerable citizens and in terms of Britain's foreign policy and our shameful legacy of vain and dubious wars.

Some pundits have claimed that Labour's policies today show little movement since 2015, yet this is far from true. Labour is today the only party that will significantly invest in our economy, rather than bleed it dry through austerity. It is the only party that will expand our tax base through the creation of new, highly skilled jobs setting the minimum wage at 10 per hour. Labour today will increase the criminally low rate of corporation tax and clamp down on the industrial scale of tax evasion by companies, shareholders and CEOs. Labour's plans today have the potential to renew our housing stock, bring our train network back in house and reverse deadly Tory cuts to our police force, our hospitals and social security. No party has had such a comprehensive programme since the days of Clement Attlee.
While in the first round of the French Presidential election, opinion polls got the results to within 1% correct, the industry as a whole has taken quite the beating of late. Calling the 2015 UK election, the Brexit referendum and the US Presidential election all wrong. While much has been written about the flaws in polling companies' models, or wrong assumptions that they have made which led to mistakes, there is a missing element from this debate. Why do we even need to do polls?

Traditionally polling and research companies will semi-randomly select people to create a representative sample based on certain assumptions about future behaviour and historical data. This has clear problems, not least as found in the UK 2015 general election the fact polls were conducted during the day meant that unemployed people were more likely to be in the sample, or the issue of 'shy' voters who will not admit in public to backing a party but will at the ballot box. However, this flawed approach is not necessary any more to find out people's voting or spending preferences. With the advent of social media now more than ever information about our beliefs, our values, our ideas and us is publicly available. Combine this with the ability for artificial intelligence platforms to analyse large amounts of data in record time, it is entirely possible to predict behaviour from the information we, and the people we know happily share with the world.

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The simple fact is questions are no longer necessary, to find out your preference for political party, coffee brand, film genre, anything. All that is online, freely given. This is not hacking into data to find secret preferences, just looking at what you share. Even if you are very tight with what you put on social media your friends aren't and you will share their preferences on most things. There is no escape.

Already some organisations are employing this kind of technology, often to great benefit. During the 2016 Brexit referendum and US Presidential election Cambridge Analytica combined data mining, analysis and strategic communications to target voters on behalf of the Leave campaign, Ted Cruz's campaign and finally Donald Trump's campaign.

Alexander Nix, CEO of Cambridge Analytica said in November last year "Today in the United States we have somewhere close to four or five thousand data points on every individual ... So we model the personality of every adult across the United States, some 230 million people." This data is collected from publicly available information, in many cases without people' knowledge. While there is a question mark over how impactful Cambridge Analytica are, the fact of the matter is, this technology will only grow and grow. Expect more political campaigns and B2C companies to employ these kinds of techniques.

While this may sound and look invasive or even down right creepy, it is happening because of our behaviour and that of our friends. While this kind of technology is in its early stages it is about to make a break through and could in very short order become part of our day-to-day.

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Scared? Don't be. For the first time ever political leaders will actually know your concerns, ever worried that the man or woman in Whitehall or on the Hill doesn't get your life? Well now they will. For the first time ever, consumer brands will be able to tailor products that directly service your needs. For the first time ever, what you feel, your preferences and what you want will be known and harnessed to deliver better products, better services and even better politics.
There are several reasons to feel nervous about LGBT rights at the moment. Ambiguity in the US and the on-going battle for marriage equality in Northern Ireland and Australia, for example, demonstrates that LGBT equality remains fragile on a global level.

In the UK, stats show that increasing numbers of young LGBT people (16-24 year olds) have sought help for anxiety or depression. Many others self harm and others contemplated suicide. In the trans community, suicide rates are particularly high.

I can't think of another minority with starker statistics. If that doesn't make it relevant from a business perspective, consider this: in 'progressive' organisations, which encourage cultures that support people to feel safe to be themselves and where difference is celebrated for it's positive impact on performance, 62% of LGBT graduates, cross industry, say they don't feel secure about being 'out' when they join the workforce and therefore go back in the closet. 67% if it's Financial Services. These figures are based on research from The Centre for Talent Innovation.

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At RBS (home to NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Coutts and Ulster Bank) we believe it's important to be authentic about inclusion and to create workplaces where our people and our customers feel welcomed for who they are. We're not perfect, but the fact that inclusion is hard wired within our values and taken seriously by our senior team is evidenced by the fact we're one of the first organisations to have introduced the title 'Mx' and removed the need to include gender in our online banking registration process. At a colleague level, we provide support for individuals and their line managers on coming out (or if a family member is) and we have overhauled how we support colleagues undergoing gender reassignment so that every person is treated individually, allowing full anonymity and a new employee record if our colleague wants to return under a completely different identity.

None of this is easy in a big, behemothic bank where legacy processes and technology systems means what sounds simple in theory turns out to be more complex in practice! But it's worth it. This year we saw the biggest improvements in LGBT colleague engagement we have seen in any year across the bank and our people are telling us it's beginning to feel like the culture is changing; that we're taking inclusion seriously... that makes me proud. I've always said internal sentiment needs to align to our ambitions if genuine change is taking place.
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Wet weather leaving you sluggish? A little flat? Show some trust in the sun and you'll be amazed by the energy and vibrancy that's beamed your way (bonus points if you can hold your faith when you've just been caught in a freak April hailstorm).

Paying respect to the star at the centre of our solar system is no novelty to yogis - most morning yoga sessions seem to start with a sun salutation (or ten). And for good reason - the practice has a profoundly invigorating effect, as though our primary source of light thanks us for our attention by beaming solar vitality directly into our bodies and souls.

But why does the sun invite such god-like worship when in reality it's little more than a sphere of hot gas? Yogi scholars warn against too literal an interpretation of the word 'sun'. It's not the glowing star we honour through yoga, they say, but the sparkle of divine light that resides within each of us. So the gesture of saluting the sun is tantamount to paying homage to the brightest part of ourselves - the part that's infinite in its wisdom and boundless in its potential. With every yogic salute, we're both acknowledging this part of ourselves and fuelling it. I, for one, can think of nothing more deserving of my attention first thing in the morning.

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There are almost as many sun salutation sequences in the world as there are stars in the sky, but you don't need to put yourself through the paces of a dynamic sequence to enjoy the benefits of a solar practice - there's a whole raft of standalone poses that can stoke your inner fire and give you a golden glow. Here are some yoga techniques to provide your day with that much needed shot of sunshine.

Fire breath

Sit comfortably and inhale halfway. With a sharp exhale, use a muscular action to draw back your navel, expelling the breath sharply from your body. Repeat for 25-100 rounds of breath. With each round, pump out the breath with a snapping contraction of the belly and then allow a natural rebound inhalation. Pick up speed as you gain confidence. You'll feel heat generating and a sense that your body is getting lighter and clearer. After your last explosive breath (known as Kapalabhati Pranayama), rest the hands on the abdomen and breathe deeply tuning inwards.

(image author's own)

Sun catcher

Sit cross-legged or kneeling. On an inhale, interlace your fingers and reach your arms above your head, palms pressing up. Gently hold your breath and lower your chin. This activates the chin lock, sealing energy and collecting it. With an exhale, release the lock, bend your elbows and lower your arms to the top of your head. Repeat for a cycle of three. After the final exhale, rest your hands on your lap and breathe deeply. Spend a moment noticing how you feel.

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(image author's own)

Alternate nostril breathing

This breathing practice energizes the Pingala nadi which is associated with the sun, the energizing force of nature. Close the eyes and imagine your whole being filled with radiant light from the sun's rays as you sit tall. A feeling of inner vibrancy through every part of you. Breathe deeply. Place your left hand on your left thigh and lift your right hand with the second and third fingers tucked in towards the palm. Breathe out through the mouth and in through the right side as you close the left nostril with the ring finger, now breathe out through the left nostril as you close the right nostril with the thumb. Repeating, breathing in through the right, closing the left and breathe out through the left, closing the right. Keep going with this pattern and if you want to you can establish a 1 to 2 ratio, so you breathe in for 4 and out for 8. Breathing in through the right and out through the left each time. Continue for a minute or so. Finish off exhaling through the left and lower the hand down.

(image author's own)

Absorption

Sit tall with the hands resting on the knees. Bathe in this feeling, sense warm, golden sunlight. Feel the qualities of the sun's energy soothing and uplifting you. Retain this feeling of lightness, radiant and shining as you move back into your day. Feeling calm and vibrant.

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(image author's own)

These exercises are from 'Solar Yoga, Energise and Inspire with Tara Lee'
Cities are the hotbeds of culture, ideas, commerce, science and social development. The UN has estimated that half of humanity-almost 3.5 million people live in cities today. This is projected to further go up, almost 60% of the population is expected to live in cities by 2030. Interestingly, about 95% of the urban expansion in the decades to come will take place in the developing world. This makes the sustainable growth of cities an agenda of increasing importance especially in the context of developing countries. This is one of the reasons why amongst the 17sustainable development goals set by the UN, goal eleven pertains to the sustainable development of cities, including investment in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in a way that is both participatory and inclusive. The targets of the goal also ensure strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard world's cultural and natural heritage.

Cities and Challenges

Cities in developing countries face explosive urbanisation pressures resulting from internal migration as well as a higher pace of population growth relative to cities in developed economies. Forbes reported in 2013 that seven of the largest megacities; defined as areas of continuous urban development of over 10 million people; are located in Asia. Amongst them, the largest is Tokyo-Yokohama area home to 37 million inhabitants followed by Jakarta, Seoul, Delhi, Shanghai and Manila. Karachi, Pakistan is also amongst the megacities of the world and has led the population growth rally amongst the mega urban centres, with a reported population growth of 80% from 2000 to 2010.

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Due to population pressures on scarce resources, cities often host concentrations of extreme poverty. In developing countries cities faced with an absence or lack of effective governance coupled with their cosmopolitan nature hosting a diversity of population, cities also often witness crime and violence. This makes it all the more imperative for effective urban planning which protects cultural centres of heritage, creates other high-quality public spaces, improves natural and built environment and enhances local economies. These steps ensure inclusive and participatory development of urban spaces.

Recent cases of Urban Interventions and Local Economies

Urban interventions that protect and strengthen cultural and heritage spaces either by the private sector or by government initiatives must be celebrated as they contribute towards achieving the sustainable development goals of 2030 set by the UN. Recently, an urban intervention in the city of Karachi, Pakistan has rehabilitated a landmark heritage site known as Pakistan Chowk. An open public space covering an area of 6633 square feet, the chowk is surrounded by pre-partition buildings and was once known as the educational heart of Karachi. In its glorious days, it also promoted tourist activities and housed the busiest taxi and Victoria stand in the city. Over the years, the chowk fell to complete decay and became a dark space for drug addicts.

Rehabilitation efforts led by architect and heritage consultant Marvi Mazhar were aimed at making the public space sustainable and attractive for local stakeholders. The rehabilitation efforts involved massive cleaning of the area, planting trees, installing 32 benches with plaques of notable residents of the city, placing a history board signifying its heritage value and artistic installation by German design team Zoohaus. Post-intervention the chowk hosts art classes by the Pakistan Watercolor Society every Sunday and is one of the destinations by the Super Savari Express - a local tourism company.

Another interesting study of urban intervention is of the Greek town of Kalavyrta which was recently appointed as the capital of a new large municipality. Interventions centred around three broad principles; urban planning, public utility networks and architecture. Modification of building restrictions, traffic arrangements, pedestrianizations and overall development of its historical centre were some of the steps taken to ensure an inclusive and safe space as well as to improve its built environment and contribute towards participatory development.

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Inclusive, safe and sustainable cities
Kansas governor's race remains too close to call

Results in the Kansas governor's race remained too close to call as Gov. Laura Kelly clung to a 21,000 vote lead over Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Ukrainian citizen Artur Panov, who is being held in a pre-trial detention facility in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, is alive, and any reports about his death are untrue, Ukraine's Consul in Rostov-on-Don Vitaliy Konarsky said in comments to Radio Liberty.

"The latest information on this fact is that Panov is alive and well. I cannot give you any details because it is necessary to find out where such information [about his death] has come from, but it has not been confirmed," Radio Liberty quoted Konarsky as saying.

Panov was detained in the Rostov region in early December 2015 after crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border posing as a refugee. He was suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in Russia. Panov was a minor at the time of his detention.

The North Caucasus Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don started Panov's trial on February 14, 2017.

Some Russian media reported on May 1 that Panov had died of cardiac failure in a pre-trial detention facility in Rostov-on-Don.
Suburbs of Maryinka were shelled by militants using 82 mm mortars late on Monday, May 1, the Ukrainian side of the Joint Centre on Control and Coordination (JCCC) of issues related to the ceasefire regime and the stabilization of the situation, with the participation of representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the OSCE has reported.

"Today in the evening, on May 1, when ATO [anti-terrorist operation] positions near the settlement of Maryinka were shelled, suburbs of the settlement came under enemy's fire. According to preliminary information, two civilians were wounded by fragments. They were taken to the Kurakhove town hospital," the press center of ATO headquarters reported, referring to JCCC, on Facebook late on Monday.

Six 82 mm mortars were fired, JCCC said.

Ukraine condemns shelling banned arms into settlements by armed groups in separate districts in Donetsk region (ORDO). This puts lives and health of civilians under a threat.
Finance Committee members Keith Bona and Chairwoman Lisa Blackmer discuss the budget with Mayor Richard Alcombright. Bona recused himself from talking about the police budget as his son may be applying to the department.

North Adams Struggling to Recruit, Retain Police Officers



Police Director Michael Cozzaglio, left, explains some of the difficulties in recruiting and retaining police officers.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Low pay and high call volume are making it harder to attract and retain police officers in the city.

"There are two things against us," Mayor Richard Alcombright told the Finance Committee last Thursday. "If the city of North Adams wants to attract and retain police officers, then they're going to have to pay more than $38,000 a year to start."

Plus, he said, "we have some of the, if not one of the, highest call volumes in the commonwealth." Even if North Adams doesn't some of the major crimes as in other urban areas, officers are still dealing with domestic incidents, stabbings, drugs and bar fights. "It's not like these guys are just running around writing parking tickets."

The city budgets for 23 officers but struggles to fill those spots because of injuries or retirements, he said.

The issue came up during last week's Finance Committee meeting, as the committee reviewed the public safety and services budgets for fiscal 2018. The total budget is up about 1 percent over this year, at $40 million.

The Police Department is budgeting $242,000 for overtime in fiscal 2018, although that's down from $305,000 last year.

Police Director Michael Cozzaglio said about 19 officers are working right now. Three officers are out on extended disability, with two expected to retire and the third to be out for six months on knee surgery. Two are at the academy.

But it's difficult to attract local Civil Service candidates, he said. Of six local people on the last Civil Service list, one signed on and is at the police academy; of the latest, of the five residents on the list, not one signed. That means the department had to ask for a longer list, hoping to recruit someone from outside the area.

"I had 38 names statewide, of the 38, I have one possibility that may come," Cozzaglio said. "One. And I'm looking for three."

The problem in recruiting non-Berkshire residents is that they often leave in a few years to be closer to their home towns, he said.

"We're going to train them up, get them all set to go, and he's probably going to leave on us," Cozzglio said. Plus, the desire for long-term police work isn't evident in today's young people. "It's not a career, it's a stepping stone but it costs us a lot of money to provide that stepping stone."

Alcombright said he'd like to be able hike salaries to retain an educated, high-quality police force, but it wasn't in the city's budget.

"I would love to able to say we'll bump everybody $3,000 up to whomever, but that's $3,000 times 23. That's $70,000. How do we manage to give that?" the mayor said. "I'm not willing to sacrifice in the budget the number of cops to be able to pay more. ... We need 23 cops. We probably need 25, 26."

He said the same issues are arising in the Fire Department because of the very specialized work required.

"We're just up against it," he said. "And we're trying to come to grips with how we fix this."

The overall budgets for public safety and service held few surprises. They do include two positions, one in Wire & Alarm and the other in inspections.

Wire & Alarm has been without an assistant for some years but the amount of work for the department calls for another person, Wire Inspector Michael Lescarbeau said. His department is in charge of all electrical needs, including repairing street lighting, electrical cabinets, lighting controls, lights in municipal parking lots and buildings, video surveillance, communications radios, and technology wiring.

Alcombright said some could be done through contracted services but an assistant would be a better use. The salary would start at $39,900 with an adjustment as needed.

Inspection services was consolidated several years ago and one position not filled. With a retirement in weights and measures, the position will be filled with a full-time person.

"We think it would be a good idea to bring back a position that would be weights and measures and backup staff," the mayor said. "Even putting that back, it's still down one."

City Councilor Robert Moulton Jr., who attended the meeting, asked about lowering fees or privatizing the transfer station.

Changes have been made at the transfer station to better reflect the cost to run it and continued the drop in volume as larger haulers are going to a larger facility in Vermont.

"I don't know if we want the big haulers back," Alcombright said. "A big part of our problem was where it was taking too much trash for too little space ... we've got a good solution ... residents seem to be happy, the price points are good."

Public Services Commissioner Timothy Lescarbeau also talked about the needs for the water treatment plant that were raised in capital budgeting discussions a couple weeks ago. Alcombright reiterated that he would be bringing a borrowing authorization forward of about $600,000 to address updates at the treatment plant and which would include about $75,000 in roofing repairs for the public safety building.

North Adams Budget Draft Fiscal 2018 by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Pipeline Demonstrators Arrested for Blocking Forest Access Roads

SANDISFIELD, Mass.  State police they have arrested 18 demonstrators for trespassing at two separate locations at the Sandisfield pipeline extension project on Tuesday morning.

The protesters apparently ran chains and caution tape with "resist" on it across two access roads in an attempt to stop Kinder Morgan from felling trees in Otis State Forest to make way for a natural gas pipeline. According to police, they "indicated that they wanted to be arrested. They notified State Police beforehand that they would not comply with requests to disperse from the roads."

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. was given permission by U.S. Federal Energy Regulator Commission in March to begin 13 miles of natural gas pipeline loops, including two in Massachusetts, for its Connecticut Expansion Project. The Massachusetts Loop will run a 36-inch diameter pipe nearly four miles near Sandisfield and through Otis State Forest; the Connecticut Loop will run more than 8 miles of 24-inch diameter pipe from Agawam to East Granby, Conn.

Residents and environmental activists have strongly opposed the pipeline running through Otis State Forest, some 3,800 acres of old-growth forest and lands protected under the state Constitution's Article 97 conservation law.

Earlier this year, Berkshire Superior Court upheld an agreement between the state and Kinder Morgan's subsidiary for a 2-mile easement through the forest.

Another proposal by Kinder Morgan to run a pipeline from New York through Massachusetts and New Hampshire to the coast was tabled after facing fierce opposition.

Access to the forest was limited beginning last week by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, including placing signs restricting the public's ability to use the area.

Troop B is maintaining a presence during project operations and is staging operations from near Otis Town Hall.

Those arrested were in two groups of nine, with each group blocking a different access road to obstruct members of the project team conducting tree cutting operations. The blocked locations were approximately one-half mile apart.

According to police, "The demonstrators were all peaceful and respectful. After refusing requests to move from the roads, they were arrested and charged with trespassing. They will be brought to the Berkshire County House of Correction for processing and eventually arraigned in the Great Barrington District Court."

The names of those arrested are:

JOHN K. COHEN, 79, of Northampton; RONALD R. COLER, 61, of Ashfield; JOAN L. LEVY, 64, of Pelham; REMA LOEB, 84, of Plainfield; MICKY McKINLEY, 72, of Montague; ASAPH MURFIN, 74, of Leverett; HARRIET NESTEL, 78, of Athol; JAMES PERKINS, 78, of Leverett; AMY PULLEY, 61, of Cummington; DIANE SIBLEY, 68, of Ashfield; VIVIENNE L. SIMON, 66, of Northampton; STEPHEN J. STOIA, 69, of Northfield; SUSAN L. TRIOLO, 67, of Sunderland; BENJAMIN JAMES VANARNAM, 30, of Easthampton; LYDIA VERNON-JONES, 68, of Amherst; RUSSELL VERNON-JONES, 70, of Amherst; MARTIN H. URBEL, 74, of Northampton; and KEVIN A. YOUNG, 32, of Northampton.




iciHaiti - Diaspora : Message from the Chicago Consul





Saturday, during the 22nd annual fundraising evening of the Haitian Catholic Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Lesly Conde, the Consul General of Haiti of Chicago invited for the occasion, delivered a message that we invite you to read.



Message from the Consul Lesly Conde :



"Dear Friends of the Community

Dear friends,

Dear compatriots,

My brothers and sisters,



I truly relish the opportunity to be here in your company, participating in the twenty-second Annual Fundraising Dinner of the Haitian Catholic Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Our Community is always quite willing to display its profound gratitude and undying solidarity. As for me, I am immensely pleased to bring you the brotherly greetings of the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago.



At this point, it is indeed a distinct privilege for me to acknowledge the prestigious presence of Monsignor Joseph Perry among us. Now, Monsignor Perry no longer needs an introduction since he is already known as a friend of the Chicago Haitian Community.



Every one of these annual fundraising events hosted by the Haitian Catholic Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago is like a precious breath of fresh air. It gives us a chance to reconnect with old acquaintances, and to meet interesting new folks. One feels very much at home in this healthy and sympathetic atmosphere. There is so much to enjoy and appreciate while supporting an institution that is, after all, ours.



From the standpoint of the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago, the Annual Fundraising Dinner of the Haitian Catholic Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago is a date not to be missed because this Catholic Mission never fails to accompany the Chicago Haitian Community in the commemoration of all the important dates in the history of Haiti.



In closing, on behalf of the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago, I thank the Haitian Catholic Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago for having invited me to be part of this meaningful event. I also thank each and everyone of you for your hospitality, and for the support you so willingly give to your Catholic Mission.



Thank you."



IH/ iciHaiti


















Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has congratulated state-owned Kyiv design bureau Luch on the successful test of the Olkha missile complex.

"I congratulate Luch design bureau on the successful test stage for the Olkha missile complex! It is especially pleasant that all elements for Olkha production are made in Ukraine," the head of state wrote on his Facebook page on April 29.

Poroshenko said that work to strengthen Ukraine's defense continues.
There is no need to replace OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] monitors in Ukraine with a UN mission, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

"There is no point in looking for other formats, which will not prove more useful," Merkel said at a press conference following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked whether the United Nations may send its mission to Ukraine.
Xiongan New Area: city of Chinese dreams

08:10, May 02, 2017 Xinhua

Photo taken on April 21, 2017 shows the scenery of the county seat of Rongcheng, north China's Hebei Province. China announced the plan for Xiongan New Area, an economic zone about 100 kilometers south of Beijing, on April 1, 2017. The new area will span Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province, eventually covering 2,000 square kilometers. Hebei announced recently it would call for international bids to plan and design Xiongan New Area. Global companies are welcomed to bid with their ideas for a 30-square-km area at initial stage. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

BEIJING, May 1 -- One month after the advent of Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, people have seen signs of a promising future for the area.

INTENSIVE ATTENTION

On April 1, China announced the plan to create the Xiongan New Area, which spans the counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin in Hebei Province, and home to Baiyangdian, a major wetland in northern China.

"The new zone is a golden-lettered signboard," said Guo Yonghong, general manager of a local clothing company, who told Xinhua he had received hundreds of phone calls seeking for cooperation during the last month both from home and abroad.

"The sudden intensive attention made me realize that I must prepare in advance for the upgrading and transformation of my enterprise."

A BLANK SHEET FOR A GORGEOUS DRAWING

Launching of the new area is expected to help phase out some non-capital functions from Beijing, explore a new model of optimized development in densely-populated areas, and restructure the urban layout in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,

The new area will cover around 100 square km initially and be expanded to 200 square km in the mid-term and about 2,000 square km in the long term.

As the national plan kicks in, massive demolition and relocation is inevitable, and local residents and entrepreneurs are concerned about where their old industries will go.

"Relocation of enterprises will be thoughtful and people-centered," said a circular from the preparatory committee of the Xiongan New Area issued on April 12, setting people's mind at rest.

The top priority for Xiongan's smooth start lies in sound environmental protection and early scientific planning and regulation.

Since April 1, people have crowded squares and streets in Xiongxian, Anxin and Rongcheng counties, taking photos, exchanging information and looking for business opportunities.

Against the backdrop of investor speculation and increasing housing prices, the preparatory committee has frozen transactions related to land and property, vowing to crack down on illegal construction and trading of second-hand houses.

The livelihood of local people after relocation is among the central authorities' top concerns.

During the past month, government officials were asked to listen to local residents' appeals and explain policies of the central government.

Ecosystem protection started much earlier.

Guo Hezi, resident of the Wangjiazhai Village, which is surrounded by the Baiyangdian wetland, told Xinhua that pollution treatment had been enhanced in recent years and the quality of water in the lake was gradually improving.

"In October 2015, a giant project diverting water from the Yellow river to the Baiyangdian was launched to improve the ecosystem in the new area," said Zhao Jianmin, a technician with Anxin County's water resources bureau."Upon its completion, 255 million cubic meters of fresh water will be poured into the Baiyangdian each year."

CITY OF THE FUTURE UNDER PLANNING

During his February visit, President Xi Jinping called for "world vision, international standards, Chinese characteristics and high goals" in planning and construction.

The planning of Xiongan is under way and will include one general plan and several specific plans such as Baiyangdian ecological environment protection, social and economic development and industry layout plans.

The planning began about one year ago, and now the China Academy of Urban Planning & Design and five other institutions are working on improving Xiongan's general plan and the regulatory plan of its starting area.

The detailed regulatory plan and urban design of the 30-square-kilometer starting area of Xiongan will be open for global bidding, according to local authorities.

If all goes according to plan, the area will have an excellent environment, optimal urban layout, great public services and innovative development.

China will take pioneering steps to turn the plan into reality. There will be a lean, efficient and uniform management body to ensure reforms in land use, environmental protection and public service and diverse ways of financing instead of just selling land.

The government will also introduce high-quality education and technological innovation resources into the new area and try to attract major projects such as national laboratories.

The Xiongan New Area's priority will be to serve as a new home for Beijing's "non-capital" functions, which will receive some of Beijing's administrative organs, large enterprises, financial institutions, colleges and research institutions.

Many players are echoing the call. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council announced it would encourage state firms to support development of the area.

Telecom giants China Mobile and China Telecom declared that they would make sure Xiongan was covered by a 5G network ahead of many other places in the country. China Development Bank, a state-owned policy bank, said it would soon provide loans of 130 billion yuan (18.9 billion U.S. dollars) to support Xiongan's development.

"With the support of the whole country, the Xiongan New Area will become an innovative development model featuring the government's new growth philosophy and we will see a more coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," said Zhao Kezhi, secretary of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
U.S. President Donald Trump (Front) delivers a speech during a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the United States, April 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Yan Liang) (File photo)

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Monday that his claims that his predecessor Barack Obamahad ordered Trump Tower wiretapped prior to the Election Day "have been proven very strongly".

"I don't stand by anything. Just you can take it the way you want. I think our side has been proven very strongly," Trump said when asked about the question in a prerecorded interview in the Oval Office with John Dickerson, the host of "Face the Nation" on CBS.

"I think that is a very big surveillance of our citizens. I think it's a very big topic. And it's a topic that should be number one, and we should find out what the hell is going on." he went one.

On March 4, Trump claimed in a tweet storm that Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped before his election victory, offering no evidence.

"Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump tweeted. Hours later, Obama's spokesman said Trump's accusations were "simply false".

Later in March, under growing pressures from bi-partisan lawmakers for no evidence occurring, Trump defended his accusation by broadening the definition of the word wiretap.

"Wiretap covers a lot of different things," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

At the time, White Housepress secretary Sean Spicer said Trump's tweets weren't meant to be taken literally since the president could have been referring to a broad range of surveillance activity.

"The president used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities," said Spicer. "He doesn't really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally."
Bibi on Absurd UNESCO Vote

The Fellowship | May 2, 2017 Bibi: The UN Is a House of Lies

After the United Nations cultural body passed its latest resolution denying any Jewish claim to Jerusalem, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the ongoing anti-Israel nonsense. The Times of Israels Stuart Winer and Raphael Ahren report that Netanyahu not only bashed UNESCOs vote, but also praised the growing international support for Israel that he has witnessed:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday derided as absurd a resolution passed by the UNs cultural body denying Israeli claims to Jerusalem, at the same time lauding what he described as increased global support for the Jewish state in international forums. Enough, he declared. The theater of the absurd when it comes to Israel has to stop.

Politicians from the opposition, meanwhile, branded the vote  which coincided with Israels Independence Day  as anti-Semitic.

Today there are more countries abstaining or supporting Israel than countries against Israel, the prime minister said. That is a change, for the first time.

Submitted to UNESCOs Executive Board by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, the resolution on Occupied Palestine referred to Israel as the occupying power when discussing Jerusalem, indicating that it has no legal or historical ties to any part of the city. The resolution passed with 22 votes in favor, 23 abstentions, 10 opposed, and representatives of three countries absent.

Speaking at a reception for foreign diplomats held at the Presidents House in Jerusalem to mark Israels Independence Day, Netanyahu  who also holds the position of foreign minister  highlighted the progress made in convincing countries to stop backing anti-Israel votes.

In the past two days I had talks with many of the leaders of your countries, heads of state, foreign ministers regarding the absurd vote that is being held now in the UN, Netanyahu said.

The result is that the number of countries supporting this absurd vote in UNESCO is getting smaller. A year ago, 32 [countries supporting similar votes], half a year ago it went down to 26, and now it has gone down to 22.
One of the pressing issues is the rising amount of inexperienced labor coming into the work force. Fresh college graduates will hit a historical high of 7.95 million in 2017, accounting for more than half the new labor force. (Xinhuanet file photo)

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Working in a small village in China's Hubei Province, Su Tao lives a life that is atypical when compared with his college classmates.

Upon graduation, Su passed a test allowing him to work at a water management station in a poor village plagued by water shortages. By helping local residents fix pipes and look for water sources, Su felt a sense of achievement like never before.

"Few of my classmates had the chance to work at the grassroots," Su said. "It is just great to feel needed here."

Su is one of the 25,000 college graduates that go to the country's poorest areas every year to support local development. The program, first launched in 2006, allows the educated work force to assist with rural development in fields such as agriculture and education, while also helping fresh graduates find jobs.

Such a program is just one example of how the Chinese authorities are working to keep employment stable during a time of structural change. While official unemployment data points to an optimistic outlook, China's job market faces many challenges.

One of the pressing issues is the rising amount of inexperienced labor coming into the work force. Fresh college graduates will hit a historical high of 7.95 million in 2017, accounting for more than half the new labor force.

More than 3 million rural laborers have moved into the cities, leading for calls for more jobs in urban areas to meet demand.

China's structural reforms also come with pain. China will have to relocate 500,000 laid-off workers from glutted industries such as steel and coal, an arduous task requiring determination and intelligence.

"There are certainly many structural problems in the job market," said Lu Aihong, spokesperson of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. "We will continue to make stable employment our top priority."

Authorities have rolled out an array of pro-employment policies. Fiscal funds totalling 100 billion yuan (about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) were set aside to assist the resettlement of workers laid off due to the overcapacity cut, while special programs were launched to give graduates more job opportunities.

The government helped 720,000 laid-off workers find new jobs last year.

While job fairs and special programs help satisfy demand in the job market, experts say a more sustainable pattern to ensure stable employment is the increase of supply.

Entrepreneurship is a buzzword of the government agenda, not only because for its role as a growth driver, but also as a job creator. A guideline on entrepreneurship and employment released recently by the State Council encouraged young migrant workers to start their own businesses, and offered favorable tax terms for innovative companies that create jobs.

"China's economy is in the middle of transition. As new growth engines replace the old, the changes in labor structure are inevitable," said Liu Yanbin, director of the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, a government think tank.

"Policies that promote employment should be consistent with the structural changes taking place in China, balancing supply and demand in the job market," Liu said.

As China's manufacturing sector gradually moves up the value chain, professional training should be given to increase the supply of highly skilled workers.

Su Tao will undoubtedly become a skilled plumber by the time he leaves the village. After one year at the water management station, Su plans to apply to be a civil servant. The government will offer people like Su favorable terms, giving them a competitive edge as a reward for their experience.

"As a civil servant, I can have a more stable job," he said.
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Epsons Jeremy Patlingrao (standing) leads the technical training and product orientation to Cebu City National Science High School faculty members to help them be equipped in using the Epson Technology package donated under the Gift of Brightness program.

Epson Philippines imparted important technical know-how in operating the Epson products donated to Calumboyan National High School and Cebu City National Science High School. The donations made through the Epson Gift of Brightness (GOB) program, in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd). Product orientation and technical trainings were put into place to enable the school faculty and students maximize the use of the Technology Package and help enrich the learning process for Filipino students.

The schools had earlier received an Epson Technology package that includes the L220 Multifunction Color Printers and L Series Inks; M100 Single Function Monochrome Printers and Inks; an LQ310 Dot Matrix Printer and SIDM Ribbons, LW400 Label Printers and LW Ribbons, Epson projectors and a document camera.

Since the launch of the Epson Gift of Brightness, Epson has partnered with key media and government institutions to select the most-deserving and in-need schools that can benefit from the technologically advanced Epson equipment including high-volume printers, high brightness projectors and user-friendly scanners.

Cebu City National Science High School, one of the pioneering science schools in Cebu, is located in Labangon, Cebu City. Calumboyan National High School, which was formerly known as Teodoro B. Dosado Memorial National High School is located in Sogod, Cebu.

These technical training sessions for all schools that received the Epson GoB Technology Package ensure that we also provide relevant assistance to the custodians and students on the proper usage and maintenance, so that they can have confidence in deploying the use of these products for teaching and learning, shared Mr. Ed Bonoan, Senior General Manager and Head of Marketing, Epson Philippines

The Gift of Brightness advocacy of Epson Philippines was launched in December 2013, and has now benefited a total of 30 schools nationwide. Epson Philippines is currently selecting another batch of beneficiary schools with the help of DepEd and other partners.

The Epson Gift of Brightness program is our advocacy for education and the Filipino youth. After our first partnership with the Department of Education last year, we are now embarking on another batch of beneficiaries for the Epson-DepEd Gift of Brightness, and some other schools that have directly asked Epson for help. We are focusing on selecting schools from areas that have yet to receive a similar donation. The new batch of GoB schools will be very soon, concludes Ms. Donna V. Ferro, Head of Marketing Communications and PR, Epson Philippines.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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My debut feature film, Spaceship, comes out in cinemas this month. Its about a cyber punk girl who disappears in an apparent alien abduction and her fathers journey through her strange group of teenage friends to find her. Its been described as magical, emotional andcompletely bonkers. Which pretty much describes my journey in making the film.

After graduating in archaeology, I was working on an excavation when I started hearing voices. I was in the bottom of a pit on a Bronze Age settlement dig down in Southampton, and while I was used to unearthing peoples stories from the past, these voices seemed to be alive and from somewhere inside me.

When I was 14, like many teenagers who fell between the cracks, I wanted to be beamed up to another world in which the usual rules of life didnt apply. I wanted everything to start again from scratch. Like those zombie movies where theres an apocalypse and the world has been devastated so you get to be whoever you want, because whos there to stop you? All the sporting show-offs and charisma-filled leader types are too busy having their brains eaten out.

'Taboo' actress Tallulah Haddon as Alice in 'Spaceship'

Making Spaceship was an attempt to go back and discover what those voices coming from my teenage years, still with me now, really meant.

I went to Guildford and Farnborough, trying to randomly befriend teenagers. I found them surprisingly open and accepting of this adult stalker. I should probably have chastised them for talking to strangers, but I was touched by their compassion for an outsider in their midst.

I met a goth called Max and his neon-coloured friends. One sunny afternoon I was filming them and after a few ciders he let someone smash a bottle and cut his skin with a shard of glass. A girl called Tyler then dabbed a finger in the blood and drew a smiley face on his torso, cyber punk Alexsana dabbed but this time drew a thick war paint marking on his face, and then Derek the punk rocker licked it off.

A smiley face drawn in blood is what it was like being a teenager.

Lara Peake as Tegan in 'Spaceship' who is also in the film 'How to Talk to Girls at Parties'

I put that scene in the film as well as casting some of the brightest new stars of acting, because this is every teenager's film  and anyone whos ever been a teenager. You cant escape them. Theyre a time traveller in your personality  theyll always be there, whispering in your ear: 'Im still here'.

Maybe you had an easy ride and lifes more difficult now or maybe you had a tough time  it made you stronger, and now youre smiling. Everyones different but we all went through those formative years and came out the other sideor not. I know, or knew, more than a couple of people who didnt make it.

Making the film was like going through those years again, reliving those feelings, so I had to gather a family around me who I could trust.

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Alexa Davies (Harlots, Raised by Wolves), Lara Peake (Born to Kill), Tallulah Haddon (The Living and the Dead and Taboo) and the River Pheonix-like Lucian Charles Collier  I put this film and my life in their hands and they never let me down.

My partner and I now have a seven-month old baby now and life moves on  but you cant escape those teenage years.

The director Taylor is having to let go of his film as it is released in cinemas

Dont ask me what the message of Spaceship is, because teenagers dont have a messageother than I wont do what you tell me. Which is kind of what the film is like. Its its own person and refuses to conform.

Since I started hearing those voices while digging under the ground, they havent given me a moments peace. Theyve bugged me every step of the way, and now, like suddenly realising its not a teenager anymore, the film is about to go out into the world and live its life. I have to let it go and hope youll be friends with it.

Spaceship, I want to tell you that youll be alright, nobody will judge you, you will be accepted for who you are. But thats not true. Youll be judged, loved, hated, cared for, owned or you might be discarded. Thats what happens when youre alive  just dont take it personally. Find the joy, find your people, everything else will fit into place.

Which is where I find myself now.

In the words of a cinema in Derby: Alien Abduction, Unicorns, Teenage BDSM role play and Nordic Metal. First time British director Alex Taylor unleashes his day-glow examination of teen ennui in the affluent Surrey commuter belt. Alexa Davies shines as the ethereal Lucidia, who spends her days with her misfit community of cyber goths. When she is seemingly abducted by aliens, her metal loving Finnish father must search for her among the strange world she inhabited. For fans of Harmony Korine (Gummo) and Gregg Araki (Nowhere), this is a bold debut feature.

If that isnt completely bonkers I dont know what is. But its also been magical and emotional, and I cant wait to see where the next stage of the journey takes me.

'Spaceship' is showing in Central and Ritzy Picturehouses, Rio cinema, Genesis, ICA and in towns and cities around the UK from 19 May. A full list of showings can be found here www.spaceshipfilm.co.uk
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Christopher Nolan has been hyping up new WWII film Dunkirk much in the same way that the filmmaker hypes up most of his films - without giving anything away. But now eagle-eyed fans seem to have had one detail confirmed, at least.

Only last month did Nolan open up about his first film since 2014's Interstellar. Telling the story of Operation Dynamo, a daring plan to rescue 300,000 Allied troops who were surrounded by Nazis soldiers in the French Republic commune during the Second World War, Nolan and editor Lee Smith revealed that the film will be told through three perspectives and will feature little dialogue.

Corroborating this is the Amazon page for the film's official screenplay which is due to be released on 1 September, an entire month after the film is released in cinemas.

Films to get excited about in 2017 Show all 13 1 /13 Films to get excited about in 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director: Rian Johnson Rian Johnson Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Lupita Nyong'o Plot: No details yet, but it will continue directly on from Rey coming face-to-face with Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. Release Date: 15 December 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Thor: Ragnarok Director: Taika Waititi Taika Waititi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo Plot: Story details are minimal as of now, but Thor's third return to screen has already been teased to feature a loose adaptation of the famous 'Planet Hulk' storyline. Release Date: 27 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 You Were Never Really Here Director: Lynne Ramsay Lynne Ramsay Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Alessandro Nivola Plot: A war veteran's attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Annihilation Director: Alex Garland Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A biologist's husband disappears. She thus puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not quite find what she's expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Wonderstruck (image from Far From Heaven) Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Amy Hargreaves Plot: The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Mother (image of Darren Aronofsky) Director: Darren Aronofsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Ed Harris Plot: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (image from The Lobster) Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Alicia Silverstone Plot: A surgeon forms a familial bond with a sinister teenage boy, with disastrous results. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Blade Runner 2049 Director: Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto Plot: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Release Date: 6 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Lady Bird (image of director Greta Gerwig) Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges Plot: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (image of director Steven Spielberg and star Mark Rylance) Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Mark Rylance, Oscar Isaac Plot: The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara recounts the story of a young Jewish boy in Bologna, Italy in 1858 who, having been secretly baptized, is forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents' struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle that pits the Papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 How to Talk to Girls at Parties Director: John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell Cast: Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman Plot: An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Dark Tower Director: Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj Arcel Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor Plot: Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Release Date: 28 July 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Suburbicon Director: George Clooney George Clooney Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A crime mystery set in the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, where the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal. Release Date: 24 November

While Dunkirk's running time is yet to be confirmed, the official screenplay clocks in at 112 pages which, going by the popular held belief that one page equates to a minute of screen-time, suggests that Dunkirk could be Nolan's shortest film since his debut Following which clocked in at 70 minutes (his next shortest, at 118 minutes, is 2002 psychological thriller Insomnia).

What's more likely is that Smith's statement that the film will feature a small amount of dialogue means that the script is shorter, indicating that Dunkirk could well have a run time more similar to his longer films such as teh Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Interstellar which all run between two to three hours.

Dunkirk, starring Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh and Harry Styles, will be released in the UK on 21 July, a few days after its IMAX premiere.
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Disney has been keeping relatively quiet about its upcoming Han Solo prequel - the film doesn't even have a name yet.

That's likely so it can keep the focus in 2017 squarely on this year's galactic outing, The Last Jedi, though that doesn't mean a few revelations haven't been teased out anyway.

With the film currently shooting in the UK, Making Star Wars - who have a knack for early scoops - claim to have uncovered the identities of two major characters.

The first is Mother Proxima, who is supposedly a puppet character operated by Dave Chapman, one of the puppeteers who helped make BB-8 so utterly charming in The Force Awakens.

However, unlike BB-8's bleeps and boops, the name Mother Proxima suggests the character will be voiced by one of the cast: likely Thandie Newton, or Phoebe Waller-Bridge if reports about her CGI-driven performance weren't wholly accurate.

 Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Teaser Trailer

Also revealed is a female character named Val, who reportedly was involved in one of the film's action sequences, though her identity is apparently a subject of great secrecy around Pinewood studios. Suggestions she has "top billing", however, seem to indicate this is the character played by Emilia Clarke.

That said, these reports are still very early and unconfirmed by Disney, and the studio may want to wait until later in the year to start revealing significant information about the film.

The untitled Han Solo film will be released May 2018.
(File photo)

The first freight train from the UK to China which filled with UK-made products will arrive in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province on Saturday, after finishing its 12,000-kilometer journey. Analysts said that the train has not only injected vitality into Chinas trade with the UK and Europe, but also revealed the glimmer of theBelt and Road initiative.

The train, filled with 32 containers of products, left theLondon Gateway terminal of Dubai Ports World (DP World) on April 10. The London-Yiwu line recreates the ancient Silk Road trade route that once connected Europe to China.

"People came all the way to the gateway to witness the historic moment. The cold weather and strong wind did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the public," Nelson, a security guard at the port, described the moment when the train set off from London.

He added that it was touching to see the crowds waving Chinese national flags and good luck banners.

In the two weeks since the trains departure, many more customers showed interest in the train and consulted about the details, said Oliver Treneman, manager of the gateways logistics park.

Treneman said that thetrain has a significant meaning for them as a new way of transportation for manufacturers and retailers based in London.

It is faster than sea transportation and cheaper than air freight, he explained, adding that the freight train has offered a new approach for the transnational transportation of British commodities.

"We believe it's just a start and there will be plenty such trains in the future. It trades British goods for firm hard currencies," said an employee of the London gateway who hailed China as the country on which the UKhas placed high expectations after its exit from the EU.

The UK, as an island country surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, heavily relies on exports because of its limited domestic market. The country is expected to have to find new business chances post-Brexit, as the European market currently accounts for over half of British exports.

Against this backdrop, the UK political circle reached a consensus to seek benefits from China's Belt and Road initiative.

China-Europe freight trains are the best opportunity for the UK to strengthen its trade with its global partners especially after its exit of the EU,the BBC said in a report.

"The UK's commodities will reach out to the world along the ancient Silk Road," said Greg Hands, UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment, adding that the freight train commuting between China and the UK will inspire and acceleratethe latters globalization process.

The Belt and Road initiative will bring Scotch whisky, a symbol of national pride, to the vast Chinese market, and as a result generate tangible benefits, said Shane, an employee with the Scotch Whisky Experience, a whisky visitor attraction based in the UK.

You can image how exciting that will be, he said, saying that many Chinese residentslike the liquor as well.

According to Shane, the Scotch Whisky Experience has made a plan to keep a 5 percent growth for whisky exports from now until 2020. He believes the plan will be realized under the assistance of the Belt and Road initiative.

When the outbound freight train that departed from Yiwu finally arrived at Barking Station in Londonin January, the BBC said that it was amazing for China to reopen the ancient Silk Road with modern technology.

Less than three months later, the fully loaded freight train departed London for Yiwu. It has been compared to an unusual Silk Road train by some British media outlets.

The Belt and Road initiative is a cure to the consequences of Brexit, and the country will enjoy development, an owner of a pharmacy located in Beak Street of downtown London, told the People's Daily.

"The arrival of the first China-Europe freight train in London marked the reach of the Belt and Road route to the westernmost tip of Europe, and now it has returned," remarked a British scholar in an interview with the People's Daily.

The expertadded that the train has injected new energy into China-UK and China-Europe trade, and also reflects the great attraction of the Belt and Road initiative.
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Johnny Depp should undergo a mental health evaluation because his spending shows a "lack of impulse control", his ex-business managers have claimed.

In an amended complaint filed this week as part of an ongoing legal battle between Depp and The Management Group, TMG has escalated its claims against the actor.

Legal proceedings began when Depp sued TMG for fraud. TMG then responded with a counter-suit that alleged his financial situation is entirely his own doing.

In the amended complaint, the Hollywood Reporter reports that TMG claims Depp's sense of entitlement is "clear and epic", citing his recent interview where he said: "It's my money. If I want to buy 15,000 cotton balls a day, it's my thing."

Attorney Michael Kump said: "Depp listened to no one, including TMG and his other advisors, and he demanded they fund a lifestyle that was extravagant and extreme."

Among the purchases cited are 14 residencies, 45 luxury vehicles, 70 rare guitars, and "enough Hollywood memorabilia to fill 12 storage facilities".

The managers at TMG also claim that Depp spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on a sound engineer who feeds him lines on set "so he no longer has to memorise [them]."

"Depp's extravagant spending has often been marked by a lack of impulse control," Kump said. "In retrospect, it appears that Depp may suffer from a compulsive spending disorder, which will be proven in this action through a mental examination of Depp... and expert testimony.

"On information and belief, Depp's flagrant bragging about his senseless and extreme spending to The Wall Street Journal is further evidence of his psychological issues."

One of the most notable spends mentioned in the counter-suit was Depp dropping a cool $3 million so he could fire his friend Hunter S Thompson's ashes out of a specially-made cannon.

He also reportedly spent $18 million on a 150-foot yacht, and $4 million on a record label.
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Long before he was an advisor to President Trump, Steve Bannon was an aspiring screenwriter penning scripts about the Rwandan genocide and retelling Shakespeare within the 1992 LA riots; it's 2017, so this should come as little surprise.

The latter, an adaptation of Coriolanus, made its way into the public domain and this week was given a formal table read by NowThis News.

Menenius Agrippa, a senator of Rome, is recast as Agrippa, Mack Daddy of South Central, an ORIGINAL GANGSTA (O.G.) upper-echelon Blood" in the script, which was mostly penned by his co-writer for 18 years, Julia Jones, before he "added stuff".

Dialogue highlights include:

They say! Fuck they! They hang out shooting pool and think they know whats going down  whos up, whos out, who bounds, and if theres crack enough. If I had my way, Id make a quarry of these slaves.

Whoever deserves greatness, wants their hate. Peep game, boy. To count on them for favors is to swim with fins of lead.

So fuck you! Trust you? Ha! With each passing minute, you change your common mind. You call him noble that was once your enemy, then dis your king. You cry against the other  crackers, Blood, Crip, popo, Pol, the rich  it dont matter, niggas; awe keeps you feeding each another.

I never knew the racist Steve thats being reported now, Jones told The Daily Beast last year. I never heard him make any racist jokes, and his best friend was an African-American who went to [college] with him I never saw even a hint of racism.

"But I did see this elitism He would always look down on poor people of any color. At one point, he told me that only people who own property should vote.
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Kasabians Serge Pizzorno has to have a good reason to make a record.

I get pretty obsessed, he says. The idea of just servicing the machine isnt very inspiring.

So while he didnt have any explicit plans to start writing a follow-up to the bands record 48:13, the guitarist and songwriter found himself setting a challenge of sorts  to pen the music for something new in just six weeks (material for its predecessor took one year to complete)  doing 9-5 shifts rather than writing late at night.

This resulted in material for the bands sixth record For Crying Out Loud, which sees them return to the sound that made so many fans fall in love with them: a disco-infused, joyous indie-rock roar that kicks off with album opener and absolute belter of a second single: Ill Ray.

There was a lot of experimentation on that record [48:13], and I wanted to take all that out of it, Pizzorno says. So I could only use the guitar and the piano. It was weird, because Ive got a nice collection of old gear  but I wasnt allowed to do any of that.

I wanted to try and write a great guitar album, he continues. I was interested in Berry Gordys approach, Motown and that Seventies period where guitar music the songs were really strong and the melodies were really strong but theres also this amazing disco-funk thing on it. I thought itd be nice for my brain to go its done in six weeks. In that period I wrote 10 songs  I wrote more than that but they didnt work  and I decided I wouldnt have anything on there that didnt fit.

Compared to artists who contradict themselves by saying they understand how audiences have shorter attention spans, only to wheel out 20-track monsters, Pizzorno says that he cut away all the fat from the record until the band were left with a 10-track album.

I wanted to go with that approach, that old-school way of going first eight bars, everything has to draw you in. I cut away all the fat, all the layers, he says.

Then I went on holiday for a while, and then I came back to it and wrote Ill Ray and Acid House. And I feel like going back now, Ive executed the plan. Sometimes you get these ideas and end up doing something completely different. And obviously thats great too. But this time I did what I said I wanted to do.

On Bless This Acid House theres a definite Ramones/Buzzcocks feel, that roots itself in a great melody then brings on that distortion that Pizzorno says adds another element.

We did really basic recording  some of it took place in a big studio but the whole thing was all done on instinct, really quickly, and it felt right to make this kind of album, he says. Because theres not been a lot of guitar albums made in a long while.

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In an interview with Q magazine, Pizzorno claimed that Kasabian were back to save guitar music from the abyss  a rather grand statement that seemed to have been made purely to serve as NME headline fodder.

That was very tongue-in-cheek, pure joking, he says with a sheepish grin. Its context. I assume people read it they probably dont actually but if you knew me youd know it was standard.

While he may have been poking fun at his own band, he is utterly sincere when it comes to the lack of new talent making it onto the radio.

I just feel that we have a platform, we headline festivals and our tunes get played, and at the moment it sounds so weird  one of them came on the radio on the way to this interview, sandwiched in between bleeps and clicks. And theres something beautiful about that  and if we can get that through, hopefully people will go we should have more of that.

The bands dont get a shot and thats really unfair, he adds. It [guitar music] needs a platform the reason why certain things get big is because people decide that its allowed to. So if we stop playing a certain kind of music its gonna disappear.

If Ed Sheeran had come out 10 years ago things probably would have been very different. Slaves, Cabbage, theres some cool stuff getting out. I just wish it got more of a push.

While his mop of dark hair, penchant for black clothing and the slight stoop of a man aware that hes taller than most  like a rock-and-roll raven  would fool you into thinking otherwise, Pizzorno is like the antithesis to Tom Meighans outlandish, swaggering frontman persona, and the pair seem so different to one another that you wouldnt actually think they belong to the same band.

We do occupy different universes  hes the sun, Im the moon, Pizzorno smiles fondly. A sense of humour is whats kept everything ticking over we make each other laugh a lot.

Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno in the studio (Alex Lake)

Making this record helped Meighan handle a difficult 2016, after a close friend passed away and he split from his long-term partner, with whom he has a child  in that same Q interview the frontman revealed: In every way, 2016 was great for Serge, great for Leicester City, s*** for me.

I wanted to make a really uplifting, feel-good album. And its family business, you know? Pizzorno says now. So making a record, getting into the studio, I think it helped Tom. It was nice for him to get lost in that  especially making the tunes that were super upbeat.

Somewhat unbelievably Pizzorno says he doesnt get recognised when hes out with one of his best friends, comedian Noel Fielding. Even more so now  they think Im his brother, probably, he says.

The guitarist reckons Fielding  who stars in the bands video for Youre In Love With A Psycho  will do a great job as one of the new hosts on The Great British Bake Off when it relaunches on Channel 4.

Hes so warm, hes such a warm soul. And hes really clever, he says. Whatever people are expecting, I dont think they have any idea hes gonna be so good at it. Him and Sandi [Toksvig] is a great combo as well, shes wonderful. I dont think its too dissimilar to what was going on before.

Pizzornos love of comedy is present in pretty much every Kasabian record, but most obviously so on this one  quirky surrealism crops up in first single Youre In Love With A Psycho on lyrics like The doctors say Im crazy, that Im eight miles thick/Im like the taste of macaroni on a seafood stick.

The story of that song is a man or a woman who has visions of being the prodigal son, thinking hes friends with Axel Foley having an argument outside an off-licence and reciting Bukowski to win back the person they love, he says.

We all have those moments in relationships or we know a friend who has, where you look at each other and go, That was a bit strong... I only forgot to put the bins out. Ive had a few texts off mates asking, Is that me?

How does he answer?

I say no! Pizzorno says laughing. Its nobody. Its all of us.

In August, Kasabian will headline the Reading and Leeds festivals for a second time, having started out as the first band to perform at 2004s event  We were literally the first band in the tent  after the release of their self-titled debut.

You can guarantee that theyll put on a good show, but alongside fellow headliners Muse and Eminem, but for some it made for a disappointingly predictable top three.

If I could reel off 10 bands that could headline and do a good job then I would, but I dont think I can, Pizzorno says.

Its far from easy. You have to stay relevant for that long, and thats what the trick is. Most bands can put out a nice couple of albums, then everyone disappears.

Ahead of For Crying Out Louds release, Kasabian have been touring around much smaller venues to what theyre used to, flexing their muscles a bit and testing the new songs for the first time.

Thats the optimum place to see any band, 2,000 seaters, he says. Thats the ultimate live music experience. No matter where you are in the room youre not that far away.

Its nice to do that. And its the hardcore fans thatve stayed with you, even if youve gone off-track. You know theyre there.

Kasabians sixth album For Crying Out Loud is out on 5 May via Columbia Records. They headline Reading and Leeds festival on 25 August.
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Katy Perry has attracted criticism for wearing a Maison Margiela dress by John Galliano to the Artisanal Met Gala.

As co-chair of the event it was expected that Perry would wear a striking design, but some fans have taken issue with the man behind it.

Galliano was sacked by Christian Dior in 2011 for "odious behaviour", after being arrested over a video which showed him making racist and anti-Semitic insults at a bar in Paris.

The video showed him insulting a group of Italian women nearby and declaring: "I love Hitler. People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be f***ing gassed."

In September 2011 he was sentenced to pay a fine after being found guilty of making anti-Semitic remarks. He attributed his behaviour to alcohol addiction and sought rehab treatment.

In 2013, for the first interview given since the incident, Galliano said: "I am able to create. I am ready to create... [and] I hope through my atonement I'll be given a second chance."

While he has been welcomed back to the industry by several insiders, his role in such a high profile event has caused controversy.

Anna Wintour, the Met Gala's chairwoman, is a longtime supporter of Galliano and helped him to re-establish his career following his stint in rehab.

She was, according to The Telegraph, the person who orchestrated the celebrity-designer partnership between Perry and Galliano at this year's event.

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Perry also came under fire this week after revealing her collaboration with rap trio Migos - who have been accused of homophobia - just weeks after receiving an LGBT award.

According to Rolling Stone, Perry, who has a huge LGBT fanbase, said it was time to "lead with empathy and grace and compassion" at the Human Rights Campaign gala held last month.

She added: "I'll never cease to be a champion, an ally, a spotlight, and a loving voice for all LGBTQ-identifying people."

In another recent controversy, Perry was criticised for making what some claimed was a "racially-charged" joke about Barack Obama.

During an Instagram Live session, the 32-year-old read a series of fan questions, including one which said a fan missed Perry's "old black hair".

"Oh really?" Perry responded. "Do you miss Barack Obama as well? Oh, OK. Times change. Bye! See you guys later."

She then began laughing and turned to look at her friends before saying: "I should leave now."

Perry has not yet commented on the video.
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A 36-year-old documentary which made clear climate change was becoming a serious problem  a quarter of a century before Al Gores landmark film An Inconvenient Truth  has been rediscovered.

Clips from the ITV programme, called Warming Warning, have now been made publicly available on YouTube by its current owner, Fremantle Media, following a request by the Carbon Brief website.

Broadcast on 8 December, 1981  after an episode of Brideshead Revisited and before a discussion of Lord Sopers favourite hymns  the documentary contained expert predictions that the average global temperature could rise by two to three degrees Celsius as a result of the doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Today climate scientists predict this could produce anything from 1.5C to 5C of warming, with 2C to 3C the most likely outcome.

The narrator also warned prophetically that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could face opposition because of the vested interests that many of the worlds great corporations have in fossil fuels and the power they could wield.

One overly optimistic forecast in the programme was the expectation that the global greening effect  in which plants grow faster because of the extra carbon dioxide  would help grow crops in areas prone to famine.

The developing world is now expected to suffer more adverse effects than the developed world as a result of climate change.

For example, Oxfam recently warned 11 million people in East Africa were dangerously hungry because of a drought made worse by the rising temperatures.

But, on the whole, the programmes summary of the situation was remarkably accurate and shows just how much was known nearly four decades ago.

Man has demonstrated he has the capacity to change one of the great natural systems of the world, said the narrator, Tom Vernon.

The sheer weight of our presence is altering the planet. Our industry has now become part of the climate; a new intruder disturbing an old system.

Most of the small group of scientists who really understand the interactions of the climate have now warned us in measured language of the prospects that we face.

One of those scientists was Dr William Kellogg, of the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research, who co-wrote the book Climate Change and Society: Consequences of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, published in 1981.

He told the programme: By the middle of next century, when we might have twice as much carbon dioxide than in 1900, it may rise by an average of 2 to 3C, but in the polar regions 5 or 10C, which becomes a very large change and would change the whole character of the polar regions.

This idea that the poles would warm more quickly has, again, been shown to be true with the Arctic seeing extraordinary rises.

For example, in Spitsbergen the average winter temperature is now up to 11C higher than the average between 1961 and 1990.

The potential warming effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has been known to scientists since the 1800s.

On the programme, another scientist, Dr Lester Machta, of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), explained why this had not been thought to be a problem.

Up until the 1960s, the prevailing scientific view was that the oceans could soak up all of the carbon dioxide that might come from the combustion of fossil fuels, he said.

But, after observatories at Mauna Loa in Hawaii and in the South Pole were set up to monitor the atmosphere in the late 1950s, it was discovered that this process was not keeping pace with the rate of emissions.

And Dr Machta said: We believe now that there is some suggestive evidence now that the atmosphere is indeed warming due to the greenhouse effect."

Another scientist pointed to a 0.3C rise in the global average temperature, saying this was "consistent" with the increase in carbon dioxide.

Last year, the third in a row to be the warmest on record, the average global temperature was 1.1C higher than in pre-industrial times.

Back in 1981, Dr George Woodwell, later credited with helping the world finally wake up to the problem, stressed that what the experts were telling the programme was already widely accepted.

There is a reasonable consensus among meteorologists that the warming will continue and will be significant and measurable, easily measurable, roughly by the end of this century," he said.
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Apple has declared the white plastic MacBook, perhaps the most loved of its laptops, dead.

The third and last version of the unibody polycarbonate computer has been declared "obsolete" by the company. That means that it won't be eligible for any hardware repairs and so is effectively dead to Apple.

It was added to the list along with every version of the iPhone 3G and MacBook Pros that were released in 2009.

(Apple (Apple)

The White MacBook emerged in 2010, the newest version of a laptop that was first introduced in 2006. At that time, it was in keeping with the glossy white look that was all over Apple's line, most prominently on the earlier versions of its iPods.

Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Show all 10 1 /10 Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Apple ipod 1st generation Getty Images Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Motorola StarTAC Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Sony Mini Disc Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Sega Mega Drive Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Nintendo NES Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Sony Walkman Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Nintendo Gameboy Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Nokia 3310 Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Commodore 64 Nostalgic gadgets we would love to see make a comeback Tamagotchi

But Apple would go on to introduce a cleaner, brushed aluminium look that lives on in some form to this day. That came to the fore with the iPhone but was introduced across Apple's products, including on the MacBook Air  which was introduced in 2008 and was blamed for the death of the cheaper, plastic computer.

The white  and sometimes black  plastic laptop was then discontinued in mid-2011. It's still possible to buy versions of them online, though they are unable to download the most recent versions of Apple's operating system.

The laptop is officially classified as "vintage" in the US and Turkey, where it is required to keep supporting it, and obsolete everywhere else in the world. That means that repairs will continue in California and Turkey but will come to an end in Apple's retail stores and across the rest of the world, which follows Apple's US product list.
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If youve ever lived or travelled abroad and felt uncomfortable at the frequent invasions of your personal space, you are, most probably, British.

But its not just in your head - different nationalities really do have different perceptions of what constitutes personal space and how close is acceptable to stand to various acquaintances.

According to a new study, Brits like to keep a metre from a stranger, 80cm from an acquaintance and just over 50cm from an intimate or close friend.

This is in contrast to Argentinians who keep a 76cm distance for a stranger, 59cm for an acquaintance and 40cm for a friend.

And in news that will come as no surprise to anyone whos ever entered a salsa club, Argentinians are the most touchy-feely nation.

The results of the study suggest that cultural differences could result in misconceived rudeness.

Carried out by scientists across the world, the research was intended to find out how culture, wealth and even weather affect our ideas of personal space.

By studying 8,943 people from 42 countries, it was hoped that the results would be more conclusive than previous studies where the sample sizes have been too small.

We attempted to relate the preferred social, personal, and intimate distances observed in each country to a set of individual characteristics of the participants, and some attributes of their cultures, the researchers wrote.

Our study indicates that individual characteristics (age and gender) influence interpersonal space preferences and that some variation in results can be explained by temperature in a given region.

Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Show all 5 1 /5 Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Pg-42-dining.jpg Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Pg-42-dining-2.jpg Alamy Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Pg-42-dining-3.jpg PA Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Pg-42-dining-4.jpg Getty Images Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter? Pg-42-dining-5.jpg PA

One theory was that people are more likely to stand in closer proximity in warmer climes because the hotter weather creates a friendly atmosphere. However other theories suggest that people should be more likely to stand further away to reduce the risk of spreading disease.

The participants were asked how close to someone theyd stand depending on the relationship.

Whilst Argentinians have the smallest personal space, Romanians have the largest, preferring to keep 1.3 metres from someone theyve just met.

However once Romanians become friends with someone, theyre comfortable standing just 40 centimetres apart.

The greatest variations did seem to be between hot and cold countries - people in warmer places stand nearer strangers. However, perhaps peculiarly, they stand closer to strangers than people they knew.

The researchers found that the concept of personal space is universal, and one of the main theories as to why is that its a defensive measure - we stand at a distance from people to protect ourselves from danger.

Its important to get the distance right though, because if you make someone feel like their personal space is being invaded theyll focus on that and not the interaction youre having.

According to etiquette guide Debretts: When someone steps over that invisible line, when you start to feel troubled, you want to step backwards away from the space-invader, and you focus less on what they are saying than on how close they are to you.

So how do you create more personal space without offending the person?

The trick here is not to back away but to somehow create a whole new space, Debretts advises. Turn to wave hello to someone passing, turn away to get something out of a bag, at the same time subtly putting some clear water between you and the invader.
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Is President Donald Trump the man who has saved Twitter?

His assumption of the presidency has coincided with something of a revival at the business he used to fuel his candidacy.

Its therefore hardly surprising that Twitters chief operating officer Anthony Noto told Bloomberg TV that wed love it if every world leader used Twitter as their primary mechanism to talk to their constituencies.

Im just not sure the world would feel the same way. Just imagine:

North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad! (That was an actual Trump Tweet).

Warm congratulations to scientists and technicians of the DPRK. They will rain nuclear fire on @realDonaldTrump and US warmongers.

You need to get missiles off the launchpad first @realKimJongUn. SAD! We will show you the great American military. #MAGA.

The second two were (obviously) made up. But you can see the problem.

Interestingly, however, analytics conducted on Mr Trumps Twitter feed to mark his first 100 days show that the Donald has started to struggle to keep up with his tweeting. While he has enjoyed a 40 per cent increase in followers, to 28.6m at the latest count, hes tweeting less and his account has experienced a marked decline in engagement with it.

Digital metrics firm Huge shows him getting fewer likes per tweet (down 72 per cent) which might be a function of his unpopularity since taking office. But it also reveals a steep decline in replies and retweets. Overall engagement (including all three) with his feed has fallen by 66 per cent in just three months.

That might be because (mercifully) the incendiary tone he adopted during his campaign is (according to the same study) now broadly confined to the weekends when hes at Mar-a-Lago.

During the week the tone is softer, more of his tweets look prepared and are rated by the study as calm. Huge speculates that hes had to hand-off tweeting responsibilities to his staff, only to take up the reins himself again when the working week is done. Weekends coincide with an increase in agitated tweets from his account.

Its agitated tweets that drive engagement. Twitter is the home of the angry meme, the furious riposte, the outraged 140 character rant.

One of those weekend snarls reads: Mainstream (FAKE) media refuses to state our long list of achievements, including 28 legislative signings, strong borders & great optimism!

The Presidents media strategy has proved to be very effective. He launches aggressive broadsides at the mainstream media at every opportunity, with the aim of damaging what trust there is amongst the American people.

Its so much easier to get away with lying, and manipulating people, if you erode confidence in the organisations whose job it is to call you out when you do, and have people engaging with you (via Twitter) without the aid of a critical lens through which to view what you are saying.

Take Mr Trumps suggestion that he might break up the banks, only a matter of weeks after he was promising to tear up the Dodd-Frank regulations that were drafted to curb their more risky activities in the wake of the financial crisis.

Bashing bankers plays well with Mr Trumps constituency but Wall Street only briefly wobbled in response, swiftly picking up on the fact that he said US tax reform (which could take forever) was his priority. In other words, Wall Street quickly realised that it ain't going to happen. What matters, however, is his supporters' feeling that he's cracking down on, and getting tough with, their hate figures.

For Americas sake, not to mention the worlds sake, lets just hope hes a one off and that Mr Notos hopes are dashed. It seems that the latters boss, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, is alive to the danger that he is, and of the fact that he needs more than a President with declining engagement stats to sustain his companys Wall Street revival.

He has been casting around for more stable, and sustainable, fuels.

That has seen him signing a deal with, for example, Bloomberg TV, which will see the financial news giant providing streaming video content to Twitter. There is the promise of more of this sort of thing to come from the company too.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Bloomberg, whose founder Michael Bloomberg is no fan of Mr Trump, is, of course, part of the mainstream (FAKE) media. But its the mainstream (FAKE) media that holds the key to sustaining Twitters renewed vim.

FAKE NEWS! FAKE NEWS! SAD!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Coca-Cola has announced plans to cut about 20 per cent of it corporate workforce, as the company battles a drop in sales due to falling demand for its sugary drinks.

The US firm said it will cut 1,200 jobs starting later this year as it increases its cost-cutting target by $800m and is now expecting to save $3.8bn by 2019.

This represents about a 22 per cent reduction of its 5,500 corporate staff or a 1 per cent reduction in its total workforce of 100,300 employees, according to figures by FactSet, cited by AP.

Global sales of Coca-Cola's fizzy drinks fell by one per cent for the first three months of 2017 as health-conscious consumers across the US and Europe are increasingly shying away from drinks with a high sugar content.

Coca-Cola said it expects full-year adjusted profits to drop by between 1 to 3 per cent, compared with a 1 to 4 per cent decline it had forecast in February.

The cost-cutting comes as drink and food manufacturers find themselves on a never-ending quest for more healthy ways to sweeten products, pressured by a consumer trend toward healthier products.

Nestle, the company behind KitKat and Aero, last year claimed it made a scientific breakthrough that has the potential to reduce sugar in its treats by up to 40 per cent, without affecting the taste.

It followed PepsiCos commitment to spend billions of dollars creating new snacks and beverages, and reformulating existing ones to cut salt, sugar and fat content.

Food and drink news Show all 35 1 /35 Food and drink news Food and drink news Healthy living makes us more inclined to binge, research suggests Gluten-free breads, dairy-free milks and other plant-based products have been some of the most favoured foods in British supermarkets this year. However, while were busy filling our shopping trolleys with gluten-free goodness, were also jamming it with junk food and alcohol, new research suggests Getty/iStock Food and drink news Growing list of Vegan celebs Making the switch to veganism is a major lifestyle choice, one that many claim can improve energy levels, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and clear up any skin issues. Beyonce, Natalie Portman and Jessica Chastain are among the growing list of Hollywood stars who have eschewed animal products from their diets in recent years. Theres also been an increasing number of professional athletes who have gone vegan, such as boxing champions Mike Tyson and David Haye, thus debunking the myth that following a plant-based diet will leave you feeling weak and malnourished. AFP/Getty/NARAS/iHeartMedia Food and drink news McDonald's has announced the launch of a new vegan burger on its menu in Germany This will mark the first time the German franchise of the fast food chain has offered a vegan burger to its customers. The Big Vegan TS burger consists of a patty made from soy and wheat. It is served in a classic sesame seed bun, and contains salad, tomato, pickles and red onion. McDonald's Germany Food and drink news Drinking too many protein shakes could lead to an increased risk of obesity and a reduced lifespan, a new study has claimed Researchers from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre carried out an investigation to determine the impact excessive consumption of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) has on the body. BCAA supplements are often consumed in the form of powder, which is then added to water to make a shake. Published in journal Nature Metabolism, the study found that while BCAAs help to build muscle, they can also negatively impact an individual's temperament, cause weight gain and lead to a shortened lifespan Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Britain consumes more chocolate than any other country Most people love chocolate but it turns out no one does more than the Brits  with the average Brit found to have consumed 8.4 kg of chocolate in 2017, according to new data. Chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise, according to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), which found that in the past year alone, Easter chocolate production has risen by 23 per cent Food and drink news 'Easter eggs should be banned for children under four' Dr Becky Spelman, chief psychologist at Harley Streets Private Therapy Clinic, is calling for Easter eggs to be banned for consumption for children under the age of four, claiming that giving them the opportunity to binge on chocolate so young will give them an unhealthy relationship with food later on. "This is a nightmare situation for parents of this generation as they have no idea how to teach their children to delay their response to cravings, she said, explaining that too many young kids binge on these chocolates because their parents dont know how to stop them. "Once a child starts overeating behaviour at a young age its very hard to turn things around for them in terms of food and their eating habits moving forward, leading to obesity from at very young age," she added PA Food and drink news Pineapple overtakes avocado as the UK's fastest-selling fruit According to Tesco, pineapple has overtaken avocado as the UKs fastest-selling fruit, with sales increasing by 15 per cent in 2017. In comparison, avocado sales rose by just under 10 per cent last year. The popular supermarket says the surge in popularity comes as shoppers buying the versatile fruit are beginning to use it as a main ingredient in everything from curries and barbecues, to juices and cocktails Getty Food and drink news Marks & Spencers launches stoneless avocados Rather than the result of genetic modification, the avocados are formed by an unpollinated avocado blossom. The fruit develops without a seed which in turns stops the growth, creating a small, seedless fruit. Whats more, the skin is actually edible, unlike a regular avocado. The flesh is much like that of a normal avocado - smooth and creamy, pale in colour and rich in flavour M&S Food and drink news Office teabags contain 17 times more germs than a toilet seat, reveals study The average bacterial reading of an office teabag was 3,785, in comparison to only 220 for a toilet seat. Other pieces of kitchen equipment also stacked up highly in their findings, with the bacterial readings averaging at 2,483 on kettle handles, 1,746 on the rim of a used mug and 1,592 on a fridge door handle Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news New study shows drinking more coffee leads to a longer life There is good news and a final hope for coffee addicts and lovers. You will now be able to drink coffee for longer as new study shows its can lead to a prolonged life. Scientists showed that those who drank between two and four cups of coffee a day had 18% lower risk of death compared to non-coffee drinkers. PA Food and drink news Coke Zero is replaced with Coke Zero Sugar Coca-Cola is pulling the plug on its Coke Zero. The much loved drink will be replaced with a new improved taste. The move, backed with a 10 million campaign, is said to come from Coca-Cola supporting people to reduce their sugar intake. Coca-Cola want people make this move while not sacrificing sugary taste of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola Food and drink news Starbucks introduce new avocado spread The avocado craze has grown from hipster brunch restaurants to Starbucks. Starbucks have introduced their new avocado spread earlier this year and it has the internet in debate. Some argue that it not a spread but guacamole while others question if there is any avocado in there at all. When buying the new spread you can also buy an optional toasted bagel. It is a must try for all avocado connoisseurs. Starbucks Food and drink news New Mars chocolate bar The iconic British chocolate bar is about to get its partner in crime. The new bar, named Goodness Knows, will replace the gooey caramel goodness of the mars bar with oats. It is said to be more like a Florentine biscuit with a thin dark chocolate bottom. While being moderately healthy Mars says that is has good intentions. One pack has 154 calories and will sell for about 90p. Mars Food and drink news Wine prices could increase because of Brexit Wine lovers across the UK might soon have to shell out close to a quarter more for their favourite tipple after Brexit, as a weaker pound and sluggish economy takes its toll, a new study shows Rex Food and drink news Chocolate may be good for the heart A new study, published in the British Medical Journal: Heart, found that moderate chocolate intake can be positively associated with lessening the risk of the heart arrhythmia condition Atrial Fibrillation Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Brits throw away 1.4 million bananas each year British families are throwing away 1.4 million bananas that are perfectly good to eat every day at cost of 80m a year, new figures have shown PA/Armin Weigel Food and drink news Rosemary sales spike over exam time There has been a surge a surge in sales of the herb rosemary after a recent study found it helps improve memory. According to high street health food chain Holland & Barrett, sales of the herb have increased by 187 per cent compared to the same time last year Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Gluten-free diets 'not recommended' for people without coeliac disease Avoiding wheat, barley and rye in the belief that a gluten-free diet brings health benefits may do more harm than good, according to a team of US nutrition and medicine experts Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Starbucks launches two new coffee-based drinks Starbucks is launching two new coffee-based drinks in the UK, as it strives to tap into consumers growing appetite for healthy beverages. The Cold Brew Vanilla sweet cream and the Cappuccino Freddo, will both be available in stores throughout the UK from the start of May Twitter/@SbuxCountyHall Food and drink news Cadburys Dairy Milk Tiffin is making a permanent comeback after 80 years The Cadbury Dairy Milk Tiffin, first produced in 1937, is making a permanent comeback to the UK. The raisin and biscuit-filled chocolate bar is being launched after a successful trial last summer saw 3 million chocolate treats  at the cost of 1.49 for each 95g bar- purchased by nostalgic customers Cadburys Food and drink news Pizza restaurant makes worlds cheesiest 'Scottie's Pizza Parlor' in Portland Oregon has created the worlds cheesiest pizza using a total of 101 different cheese varieties. Facebook/Scottie's Pizza Parlor Food and drink news A pizza joint in Portland Oregon has created the worlds cheesiest pizza using a total of 101 different cheese varieties. Why not eating before a workout could be better for your health A study published in the American Journal of Physiology by researchers at the University of Bath found you might be likely to burn more fat if you have not eaten first Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news New York restaurant named best in the world A New York restaurant where an average meal for two will cost $700 has been named the best in the world. Eleven Madison Park won the accolade for the first time after debuting on the list at number 50 in 2010. The restaurant was praised for a fun sense of fine-dining, blurring the line between the kitchen and the dining room Getty Images Food and drink news Why you crave bad food when youre tired Researchers at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago recently presented their results of a study looking into the effects of sleep deprivation upon high-calorific food consumption. Researchers found that those who were sleep-deprived had specifically enhanced brain activity to the food smells compared to when they had a good nights sleep Shutterstock Food and drink news Drinking wine engages more of your brain than solving maths problems Drinking wine is the ideal workout for your brain, engaging more parts of our grey matter than any other human behaviour, according to a leading neuroscientist. Dr Gordon Shepherd, from the Yale School of Medicine, said sniffing and analysing a wine before drinking it requires exquisite control of one of the biggest muscles in the body Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news British dessert eating surges after people ditch healthy eating in February : In heartening news for anyone feeling guilty about quitting their New Year diet, it seems lots of us have given in to our sweet tooths once again. New data from nationwide food-delivery service Deliveroo reveals there was a surge in Brits ordering desserts in February compared to the first month of 2017 Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news US congress debates definition of milk alternatives A new bill has been created that seeks to ban dairy alternatives from using the term milk. Titled the DAIRY PRIDE Act, the name is a tenuous acronym for defending against imitations and replacements of yogurt, milk, and cheese to promote regular intake of dairy every day. It argues that the dairy industry is struggling as a result of all the dairy-free alternatives on the market and the public are being duped too Getty Images Food and drink news Cadburys launches two new chocolate bars UK confectionary giant Cadbury has launched two new chocolate bars, hoping to lure those with a sweet tooth and perhaps help combat some of the challenges it faces from rising commodity prices and a post-Brexit slump in the value of the pound.The companys new products will be peanut butter and mint flavoured. They will be available in most major super markets as 120g bars, priced at 1.49, according to the company Cadburys Food and drink news You can now get a job as a professional chocolate eater The company responsible for some of your favourite chocolate brands  think Cadbury, Milks, Prince and Oreo  have officially announced an opening to join their team as a professional chocolate taster. The successful candidate will help them to test, perfect and launch new products all over the world. Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news MSG additive used in Chinese food is actually good for you, scientist claims For years, weve been told MSG (the sodium salt of glutamic acid) - often associated with cheap Chinese takeaways - is awful for our health and to be avoided at all costs. But one scientist argues it should be used as a supersalt and encourages adding it to food. Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Lettuce prices are rising Not only are lettuces becoming an increasingly rare commodity in supermarkets, but prices for the leafy vegetables seem to be rising too. According to the weekly report from the Governments Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a pair of Little Gem lettuces had an average market price of 0.86 in the week that ended on Friday, up from an average of 0.56 in the previous week  thats an almost 54 per cent increase. Getty Images Food and drink news Do-It-Yourself restaurant To encourage more people to cook and eat together, IKEA has launched The Dining Club in Shoreditch  a fully immersive Do-It-Yourself restaurant . Members of the public can book to host a brunch, lunch or dinner party for up to 20 friends and family. Supported by their very own sous chef and maitre de, the host and their guests will orchestrate an intimate dining experience where cooking together is celebrated and eating together is inspirational Mikael Buck / IKEA Food and drink news Ping Pong menu with a twist Gatwick Airport has teamed up with London dim sum restaurant Ping Pong to create a limited edition menu with a distinctly British twist; including a Full English Bao and Beef Wellington Puff, to celebrate the launch of the airports new route to Hong Kong Food and drink news Zizzi unveil the Maamgharita Unique pizza art has been created by Zizzi in celebration of the Queens 90th birthday. The pizza features the queen in an iconic pose illustrated with fresh and tasty Italian ingredients on a backdrop of the Union Jack Food and drink news Blue potatoes make a comeback Blue potatoes, once a staple part of British potato crops, are back on the menu thanks to a Cambridge scientist turned-organic farmer and Farmdrop, an online marketplace that lets people buy direct from local farms. Cambridge PhD graduate-turned farmer, Adrian Izzard has used traditional growing techniques at Wild Country Organics to produce the colourful spuds, packed with healthy cell-protecting anthocyanin, which had previously disappeared from UK plates when post-war farmers were pushed towards higher-yielding varieties

Coca-cola, last year, also changed its Coke Zero recipe and renamed it Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in the UK to make it taste more and look more like the original one, the company said.

The move to replace Coke Zero was supported by a 10m campaign.
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A knitted yellow John Lewis cardigan adorned with pictures of sheep has sold out after Princess Charlotte was photographed wearing the item, prompting a surge in demand from British parents wanting to dress their offspring like the young royal.

Royal fans were treated to a new portrait of the Princess on Monday, taken by her mother the Duchess of Cambridge, to mark Charlottes second birthday on 2 May.

In the snapshot, the young royal is wearing the cardigan and sporting a navy clip in her hair.

John Lewis confirmed that the clothing item sold out online shortly after the photograph was published, although a coordinating prink dress, selling for 10 on the John Lewis website, was still available on Tuesday morning.

At the time of writing, the coveted yellow cardigan was also available on eBay for 18.

It is not the first time Princess Charlotte has proved a trend-setter for childrens fashion.

Last year, a photograph of Charlotte on the occasion of her first birthday sparked fierce demand for a cream cashmere cardigan made by a brand called Olivier Baby & Kids.

Experts at Brand Finance, a company that specialise in brand valuation have previously predicted that Princess Charlotte will be worth more than 3bn to the UK economy across her lifetime.

Princess Charlotte's first birthday Show all 4 1 /4 Princess Charlotte's first birthday Princess Charlotte's first birthday Princess Charlotte in pictures taken by her mother HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2016 Princess Charlotte's first birthday Prince Charlotte at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in April HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2016 Princess Charlotte's first birthday Prince Charlotte at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in April HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2016 Princess Charlotte's first birthday Princess Charlotte in the garden in Anmer Hall in Norfolk in April HRH The Duchess of Cambridge 2016

Her older brother Prince George, is expected to bring in 2.4bn.
BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The total net profit of publicly traded Chinese firms rose 11.22 percent in 2007, boosted by an improving economy.

Every listed firm on the A-share markets but one had released their financial results for 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 by Sunday.

Total revenue of the 3,204 listed firms reached 32.51 trillion yuan (4.72 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2016, up 10.21 percent year on year, compared with just 1.13 percent year-on-year growth in 2015.

About 70 percent of the listed firms reported net profit growth for 2016, with 620 having more than doubling net profits.

Firms in upstream sectors such as coal and steel were big winners. The steel sector suffered losses in Q1 2016, but turned to profit in the following three quarters.

The government launched a campaign of supply-side reform last year to cut excess capacity in steel and coal, leading to rising prices that helped boost financial performance.

However, listed firms in machinery, fossil fuels and finance reported slower profit growth in 2016.

The Chinese economy expanded 6.7 percent in 2016, the slowest growth rate in over a quarter of a century. It grew 6.9 percent in Q1, well above the annual growth target of around 6.5 percent.

Financial statements showed that net profit of listed firms grew 19.8 percent in Q1, adding to signs that the world's second largest economy is firming up.

China's major industrial firms reported a 23.8-percent year-on-year profit growth last month, slowing from 31.5 percent in January and February but much faster than the 8.5-percent increase in 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

However, it is not known if the strong growth momentum can be sustained, as China's manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities both softened expansion in April.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 51.2 in April, lower than the 51.8 recorded in March, while the index for non-manufacturing stood at 54, down from 55.1 in March.

Commodity prices such as steel, coal, as well as midstream products such as chemical fiber all saw notable corrections in April, partially driven by financial deleveraging, said investment firm China International Capital Corporation (CICC) in a research note.

China has recently stepped up efforts to contain asset bubbles and financial risks, including real estate controls in some cities, as a stabilizing economy provides more room for tightened policies.

Improving efficiency of supply is a sustainable way for enterprises to make profit and it is imperative to stick to deleveraging and give up on government bail-outs, according to Jiang Chao, chief economist with Haitong Securities.

"China should deleverage its economy at a proper pace to ensure the financial sector is under pressure to keep reducing leverage while avoiding being pushed into any systemic financial risks," Xu Zhong, head of the research bureau of the People's Bank of China, wrote in the latest edition of Caijing Magazine.

Overly fast deleveraging might lead to shrinking credit and deflation, hurting the real economy, according to Xu.

Although the market has been concerned about the potential spill-over to real economic growth from ongoing regulatory tightening, April monetary data may indicate improved policy coordination and an overall moderate pace of monetary tapering relative to the strength of the economy, the CICC note said.
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One in 30 locum doctors earns 120 an hour, it has been revealed  said to be the highest rates since pay caps were introduced for agency staff working in the NHS.

New data shows average hourly pay for locums between October and December increased by 1.4 per cent to 64.17, while rates for specialists were more than double the agreed wage cap as the health service struggles to cope with staff shortages.

In 86 per cent of cases, staff vacancy was the reason for booking a locum doctor, compared to 1.6 per cent for sickness and 0.5 per cent for maternity and paternity leave, according to Liaison, an organisation that advises the NHS on workforce and finance.

NHS hospitals appeared to breach hourly pay caps for temporary doctors employed by agencies for 80 per cent of shifts they worked  up from 64 per cent in the three months previously.

In December, the head of the health services financial regulator NHS Improvement warned it was wrong from a quality, financial and fairness point of view to pay excessive rates for locums when they are working alongside hard working permanent staff on NHS terms.

And an investigation showed that hospital in England breached pay caps set in 2015 to address spiralling costs on 241,195 occasions over three months last year.

Liaison said the NHS spent 3.7bn on temporary staff supplied by agencies in 2015-16, and on an average day there are an estimated 3,500 locums working in England and Wales.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

Locums are meant to be paid no more than 55 more than permanent rates, but this can be breached by NHS bosses if they decide there is a significant risk to patient safety.

Taj Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told The Times A&E departments were being forced to paper over the cracks, which are very big in some systems.

NHS Improvement said last month that one hospital regularly paid a locum doctor 360 an hour, or 3,600 for a ten-hour shift.

But the NHS claims to have cut more than 600m through its crackdown on fees paid to staffing agencies.

Staff shortages among paediatricians have caused a third of children's wards to shut temporarily, "jeopardising" the health of vulnerable young patients, according to the Royal Colelge of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Neena Modi, the college's president, said severe rota shortfalls meant "the quality of care people want to deliver is being compromised.
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A cruel and ruthless killer may spend the rest of his life behind bars after murdering his friend, cutting up his body, stuffing it in a suitcase, and then adopting the richer mans identity to fund a life as a high-rolling gambler.

After putting the headless torso of Yang Liu inside a Samsonite suitcase and dumping it in a layby, Ming Jiang assumed the successful financial investors identity to such an extent he even texted his friends unsuspecting mother in China, pretending to be her son and saying all was well.

In fact by that stage Jiang had already used Mr Lius credit card to buy the petrol which he poured over the suitcase and set alight in the hope of burning the body so badly it would be unidentifiable.

Thinking he had made it look as if Mr Liu had simply disappeared, the obsessive gambler drew large sums from his victims bank account and also took steps to sell the 36-year-olds 185,000 flat in order to pay off massive casino debts and continue his life as a high-roller.

The Chinese national denied murder but a jury at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court took little more than four hours to unanimously find him guilty.

In an unusual development, Jiang, 43, then refused to come to court for sentencing, but Judge John Potter went ahead in his absence and condemned him to life with a minimum of 33 years in jail.

Addressing his remarks directly to the killer despite Jiangs absence, the judge told him: Your actions ended the life of a gentle and kind young man.

They demonstrate that you are a highly dangerous, cunning and ruthless killer prepared to stop at nothing to fulfil your own selfish desire to feed your gambling habit.

The judge told Jiang, who despite his VIP persona lived in a one-bedroom flat in the Beswick area of Manchester: Your high spending, high rolling behaviour was in fact a selfish and self-centred veneer behind which you hid a life of increasing dependency on debt which was rapidly spinning out of control.

The estimated losses you accumulated ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

To clear his gambling debts, the judge said, Jiang resolved to kill Mr Liu, a successful, popular Leeds University graduate who moved in the same casino-visiting circles.

Victim Yang Liu was a popular graduate who was targeted for his wealth (GMP/PA Wire)

The plan was chilling but straight forward, said Judge Potter. You would commit a murder for personal gain.

The clear motive was so that you could adopt his identity and gain access to his considerable financial assets.

In October 2016 Jiang invited Mr Liu to his flat and killed him there, by methods which remain unclear to police and prosecutors.

You then treated his body in the most disrespectful and appalling way, said the judge. In order to adopt his identity you decided to dispose of his body so that no trace of him could be found.

You decided to dismember him by removing from his body his head, hands and feet. You did this over a period of time, again in your flat, either in the living room using a set of ladders to lay him flat, or in your bathroom, in the bath.

You used sharp metal objects, probably knives, to conduct this grotesque activity.

It is believed Jiang dumped the severed body parts in the communal bins which served his block of flats. They were then incinerated before anyone realised Jiang was the killer, the judge said.

Discovery of what had happened, said Judge Potter, Started to occur after you disposed of the remaining torso from your victims body. You did this by placing the torso in a suitcase and taking it to a lay-by some distance from Manchester on the main road to Sheffield.

The court heard that after Jiang set the suitcase alight, the charred remains were discovered by walkers the next morning, October 10.

The judge said Jiang used his considerable experience of identity theft - which he had amassed despite having no previous convictions  to effectively become Mr Liu in the perception of many unsuspecting people, including the dead mans mother.

He gained access to his victims bank accounts and took significant sums from them, and also began the process of selling Mr Lius flat near the BBCs headquarters in Media City, Salford, the judge said.

You spent liberally on his credit and debit cards, even buying the petrol you were to use to burn his torso.

You took control of Mr Lius mobile phone, and more than once pretended to be him when speaking to lending institutions or estate agents either remotely or in person.

On one occasion, the judge added, You callously sent a text to Mr Lius mother in China pretending to be her son and re-assuring her as to her sons well-being.

To cover his tracks, Jiang cleaned up his own flat, repainting walls and ceilings and moving furniture to hide the bloodstains he couldnt remove. And he continued to gamble thousands of pounds, for even higher stakes than he had risked before he killed Mr Liu.

But police used number plate recognition to place his car in the lay-by on the night the suitcase containing the torso was set alight.

When the police tracked down Jiang, they found Mr Lius DNA in the boot of the killers car.

Jiang, however, lied to detectives and tried to convince them that he and Mr Liu  who was divorced with an ex-wife - were gay lovers about to enter into a civil partnership. As a smokescreen, the judge said, he claimed Mr Liu had been involved in a gambling dispute with a man who may in fact have been a figment of Jiangs imagination.

Aggravating features of Jiangs crime, the judge said, included his complete lack of remorse and his attempt, even at trial, to portray Mr Liu as a male escort without producing a shred of evidence.

Imposing a minimum of 33 years on his life sentence, the judge told Jiang he would not even be considered for parole until 2050  a date which ensured he would be at least 76 years old before he left prison.

The judge said: You, Ming Jiang, may spend the entirety of the rest of your life in prison.

Given the nature of this murder, I anticipate the [parole] authorities at the appropriate time, should it ever be reached, will have to consider with very great care the danger you present to the public.
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A cyber jihadi who hid his support for Isis on a James Bond-style cufflink as he created an online hub of information for terrorists all over the world has been jailed for eight years.

Samata Ullah, 34, created a one-stop shop for terrorists from his bedroom in Cardiff, offering a range of guidance on how to stay one step ahead of police and security services.

At the time of his arrest in the city on 22 September last year, he had USB cufflinks with a Linux operating system loaded on it and a hoard of extremist data including 15 copies of the Isis propaganda magazine Dabiq.

The court heard he had advised others not to store incriminating information on computers and recommended using USB sticks to keep it away from the prying eyes of authorities.

Ullah was jailed at the Old Bailey after he admitted five terror offences, including membership of Isis, training and preparation of terrorist acts.

He was handed an extended sentence of eight years in jail with a further five years on extended licence.

Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Polices counter-terrorism command SO15, said: It is the first time we have seen anything on this scale.

He had set up a self-help library for terrorists around the world and they were using his library.

There was guidance on encryption, ways to avoid detection from police and security services, expert tuition around missile systems and a vast amount of propaganda.

He was self-taught. He has accessed it online himself and compiled a lot of material and put it into his own library. He has created a one-stop shop for terrorists.

In my view he was a very dangerous individual although he was operating from his bedroom.

We know Daesh were using that material to both seek guidance and instruction.

Brian Altman QC told the court: The prosecution says this defendant represents a new and dangerous breed of terrorist, a cyber terrorist.

He deployed his not inconsiderable self-taught computer skills to further the cause of terrorism and in particular Islamic State, which we say he not merely professed to belong to but in fact belonged in terms of membership and ideological affiliation, all [of which] he did from the relative safety of his bedroom in Cardiff, where he lived alone.

From the bedroom of that address, he busied himself assisting others in Isis and others who shared their mindset in keeping their actions secret.

British counter-terrorism police had tracked him down after being passed intelligence by the FBI, who had been handed the information from authorities in Kenya, who had arrested another man.

Divorced loner Ullah, who has been diagnosed with autism, was in regular contact with the man via encrypted Telegram chats in which he vowed to use his special skills to help in the Isis campaign.

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of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take 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Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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He told him he would take whatever advice and knowledge I have and contribute it to the Caliphate, the court heard.

From December 2015, he had provided instructional videos on how to secure sensitive data and remain anonymous online with the use of the Tor programme and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption.

In the videos, his voice was modified to avoid detection and he wore woolly gloves to disguise his skin tone, Mr Altman said.

He developed a website on computer hacking and kept numerous extremist documents and videos on electronic devices at his Cardiff home.

In all, officers seized 150 devices and trawled through eight terabytes of data, the equivalent of 2.2 million copies of the ebook of War And Peace.

They also found Ullah had hijacked 30 dormant Twitter handles and had 50 email addresses and nine phone numbers.

Ullah admitted researching ZeroNet and developing a version of his blog website using the decentralised internet-like peer-to-peer network.

He also pleaded guilty to having a book entitled Air Force Manual AFM 52-31: Guided Missiles Fundamentals and an electronic PDF version of Advances In Missile Guidance, Control And Estimation for terrorist purposes.

The court heard how Ullah lived alone just around the corner from his mother and sister in Cardiff.

In August last year, he had got a job in the Legal and General pensions department in Cardiff but left before his training was complete on 12 September after being warned about his performance.

Mr Altman told the court that the Crown disputed the suggestion that his activities were part of a fantasy life.

Sue Hemming, of the CPS, said: Left unchecked, the actions of Samata Ullah could well have helped others carry out further terrorist attacks either in the UK or abroad.

Ullah wrongly assumed he could hide behind the perceived anonymity of the online world to help the planning of terrorist attacks.

However, prosecutors worked with police to build a strong case that left Ullah with little option but to admit to his offending.

PA
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Taxi drivers shouted "George Osborne, we're coming for you" in a raucous protest on the ex-Chancellor's first day as editor of the London Evening Standard.

Cabbies outside the paper's Northcliffe House offices in Kensington said they were "suffering" from the rise of Uber, the ride-hailing app that has undercut London's black taxi trade.

Protesters believe Mr Osborne lobbied on behalf of the app during his time in government, when in 2015 then-London mayor Boris Johnson was considering cracking down on it.

At the time Mr Johnson said Uber drivers had "systematically broken" taxi laws around how cabs are hailed.

One protester, who said he had been a black cab driver for nine years, told The Independent: "My family are suffering. Everybody's families here are suffering.

"All of us are calling for an inquiry. Nothing is happening at the moment. That's what it feels like."

The Standard is owned by the same parent company as The Independent.
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Police in Scotland have evacuated a major oil refinery near Edinburgh after a gas leak.

Emergency services, including a hazardous response unit, are at the Ineos petrochemical plant in Grangemouth, near Falkirk, 20 miles west of the Scottish capital.

The company confirmed a gas leak in one of the plant's pipelines. No injuries have been reported and police said the leak has been contained.

People living nearby described hearing air raid sirens coming from the site shortly after midday.

Recommended Grangemouth oil refinery plant closure threatens North Sea production

Members of the public were advised to stay inside, with the south side of the plant evacuated and local roads closed.

Eight fire engines and around 40 crew from Scotland's Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) attended.

A spokesman for SFRS said: At 12.12pm on Tuesday, May 2 the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to reports of a gas leak at the Grangemouth petrochemical site.

Eight appliances are currently in attendance to assist emergency service partners.

Ineos said in a statement: "At noon we detected a leak on a pipeline inside our KG (Kinneil Gas) manufacturing plant at Ineos Grangemouth.

"Emergency services are in attendance and we requested that Police Scotland close the Wholeflats Road as a precautionary measure.

"The incident management team have been mobilised to manage the situation.

"Purely as a precaution and to allow our response team to manage the situation, we have closed a number of access gates and are allowing only essential personnel to enter the south side of the site.

"All non-essential Ineos personnel who would normally be working in this area have been requested to report to their line manager."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters 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 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Falkirk Police said in a statement: "Emergency services are currently at the scene of an incident at Grangemouth which happened at around 12.15pm today, Tuesday 2nd May. All emergency services, local authority and partners are in attendance.

"A number of access roads in Grangemouth area are closed and drivers are asked to avoid the area and find alternative routes."

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We received a call at 12.32 hours today from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to attend an incident at an address in Grangemouth.

"We dispatched our special operations response team to the incident."

The refinery provides the bulk of fuels used in Scotland and also supplies parts of northern England.

The petrochemical plant at Grangemouth was threatened with closure in 2013 amid a dispute with the union Unite.

Up to 1,400 jobs were put at risk but a deal was eventually reached and the site was able to remain open.

In 2008, about 70 North Sea platforms were forced to shut down or reduce production when a strike at Grangemouth temporarily closed the terminal.

Grangemouth produces around nine million litres of fuels each day and one million tonnes of petrochemicals every year.

It provides aviation fuel for Scotland's major airports at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick, and also supplies fuel for the Rolls Royce engine testing facility in Derby.

Ineos says the site contributes four per cent of Scottish GDP and makes up approximately eight per cent of Scotland's manufacturing base.
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The National Union of Students has pledged to make sanitary products freely available to all female undergraduates following increasing reports that poorer women are struggling to afford the monthly cost.

Delegates at the NUSs annual conference voted in favour of using the unions funds to buy tampons, towels and environmentally friendly moon cups to be handed out to all who request them in a bid to end the "classist" and "sexist" burden to female students.

One student told the Brighton conference she struggled to afford sanitary protection..

My family was made homeless, she said. This was made worse when I came to have my period and couldnt afford tampons.

Birmingham University welfare officer Izzy Lenga told the meeting: The price of tampons is not just sexist, its classist...we have to break the cycle and say that while the Government may not care, we do.

The effects of this are immeasurable and its cramping our style, she added.

Students are left asking whether their period will affect their bank balance or their health.

Although the Government announced it will scrap the so-called tampon tax which allowed it to slap VAT on sanitary products by classing them as luxury, this has not satisfied campaigners.

Some claim the monthly cost is a burden for the poorest female students who they say suffer period poverty because student loans allow very little for living expenses once the soaring cost of student rent has been met.

The charity Freedom for Girls, which normally works with poor women in Africa, recently claimed schoolgirls in Leeds are skipping class during their period because they cannot afford to buy sanitary products.

One teenager told BBC Radio Leeds she had resorted to using tissue and rolled-up socks because she did not have the money to buy tampons or towels.

At one time, sanitary products were available to girls through the school nurse, but cuts to funding mean only a minority of educational establishments now have a full-time nurse.

Recommended Nearly half of girls unaware what is happening when they start period

Education Secretary Justine Greening promised to look carefully at whether girls eligible for free school meals should also be granted sanitary products after the issue was raised by Greg Mulholland, the Lib Dem MP for Leeds North West, in the Commons.

Some universities, including King's College in London as well as Kent, Leeds, Birmingham and the University of East Anglia (UEA), already make free tampons available for students, but the NHS has now pledged to increase availability to all unions across the country.

UEA welfare officer Jo Swo said: Sanitary products are not a luxury, they are a necessity that UEASU believes every student should have free access to without questioning their financial background or shame.

We began by selling pads and tampons for tax-free, but now weve gone one step further. We believe all students should be able to have the same access to sanitary products and we need to get rid of the stigma that periods are dirty and something you need to spend a fortune on pretending doesnt happen.
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An Italian teenager has been found dead in her London home after complaining of suffering from headaches and feeling unwell.

Benedetta Podesta, known as Bibi, reportedly moved to London to improve her English a few months ago.

The 18-year-old from Genoa is understood to have been working in a pub in Tottenham Court Road but asked for a few days off after complaining of a headache and feeling unwell.

Ms Podestas mother reportedly contacted her daughters friends after she had not heard from the teenager for four days, asking them to check on her. She was found dead in her home by a friend on Saturday morning, the Daily Mail reported.

Police in London are treating the death as unexplained at this early stage, while officers in Genoa have reportedly opened an investigation into the case.

An autopsy is due to be carried out on Tuesday in the capital.

The teenagers father, Claudio Podesta, told Italian media: To have your children die before you do is a horrendous thing that should never happen.

We are destroyed. And whatever comes out of the autopsy hardly matters. Bibi was a wonderful girl, full of life. We are destroyed, he said.

Her ex-boyfriend Lukas Hatarik, said: If we hadnt split up, perhaps she would still be alive, according to Il Secolo XIX.

Additional reporting by Julia Buckley
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The EUs version of its "disastrous dinner" with Theresa May, which has thrown the Brexit talks into turmoil, could be true, the Home Secretary has suggested.

Amber Rudd undermined No 10s dismissal of the account of the talks  after which the Prime Minister was accused of living in a parallel reality  as Brussels gossip.

None of this is really surprising, Ms Rudd said, of the horrified leaked reaction of Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission's President.

Instead, she criticised the leak itself, saying: I think its a mistake to allow those sorts of details  if they are true  to come out from a dinner. Asked if they were true, Ms Rudd replied: I dont know.

According to accounts of last week's dinner, Ms May hinted she would try to avoid paying any exit bill, telling Mr Juncker the EU had no legal power to force Britain to pay up.

She also insisted talks about a future trade deal should start early  despite the EU making clear the expected 50bn "divorce bill" must be agreed first.

The EU side was also astonished at Ms May's suggestion that the controversy over EU citizens future rights could be settled next month  believing she had no grasp of its complexity.

Mr Juncker is said to have made clear to the Prime Minister that, unless she accepted the EUs red lines, there was no point in even beginning the withdrawal talks.

His last words to the Prime Minister as he left were: I'm leaving Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before, according to the leak.

Asked about that devastating account of the dinner, Ms Rudd told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: None of this is really surprising. We always said its going to be difficult, these negotiations. Im not surprised that there is some briefing coming out from different sides of the negotiation

What we will always do is make sure that we conduct our negotiations more discreetly, shall we say, so that we can have a freer negotiating hand.

The comments were in stark contrast to those of Ms May, on the campaign trail in Lancashire yesterday, when she said: From what I have seen of this account, I think it is Brussels gossip.

Just look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place, which was that the talks had been constructive.

Keir Starmer, Labours Brexit spokesman, warned: Unless we change tack quickly and adopt a more constructive approach, the weaker our negotiating hand will become.

The morning after the dinner, Mr Juncker is believed to have telephoned Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, to tell her Ms May was living in another galaxy and a parallel reality.

A few hours later, Ms Merkel made an outspoken attack herself on Britain, saying: Some people in the UK are suffering under illusions.

During the interview, the Home Secretary also appeared to pour cold water on suggestions that the Conservatives post-Brexit immigration policy will be revealed next week.

We will set out in the manifesto some of our strategy towards immigration, she said, repeating that a consultation with businesses would be held over the summer.
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Local news reporters claim they were locked in a room by Theresa May's press officers as the Prime Minister toured a factory during an election campaign visit.

Cornwall Live claimed its reporter was shut away in a room while Ms May visited the Water-Ma-Trout industrial estate in Helston.

In a live blog, the site said: "We've been told by the PM's press team that we were not allowed to stand outside to see Theresa May arrive.

Recommended The lead Brexit negotiator is trolling Theresa May

"Theresa May is being introduced to company representatives on the shop floor, but journalists have been kept away. We'll be allowed to ask her questions later in a separate room.

"Having covered several high-profile politicians' and royal visits over the years, the level of media control here is far and above anything I've seen before. We're not even allowed to show you her visiting the building.

"Media were locked in a room. Conservative party press officers continue to refuse Cornwall Live access to film an interview with the PM."

Cornwall Live posted this image from inside the room (Cornwall Live)

The site's deputy head of content, Steve Smith, said on Twitter: "Never known a visit like this. Our reporters banned from watching PM walk around a factory by @Conservatives PR team."

His colleague, Jeff Raines, added: "We weren't allowed to film her and our reporters were even locked in a room. Democracy in action that is."

Cornwall Live's digital editor, Jacqui Merrington, said other media outlets were allowed to record video and interviews with Ms May on the shop floor.

She told The Independent: "I think we were invited to interview the Prime Minister at the factory and we were shut in the room until such time as she could give us three minutes. We wanted to film that three-minute interview.

"I certainly think times have changed. There's less of a distinction between broadcast media and print media. We're all digital. It does seem archaic that we're treated very differently still."

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

It came after Ms May was accused of "hiding" from voters in Aberdeenshire, where locals discovered her visit at Crathes village hall had been listed as a child's birthday party.

Kevin Newell, 34, said he was shocked to find the listing on the venues website hours after attempting to put "serious questions" to the Prime Minister.

"Its been so secretive, they are supposed to be holding these big rallies but all shes doing is hiding in little village halls, not saying they are going to be there."

Asked specifically about concerns that local people in Crathes were ignored even when the Prime Minister had visited the community on Saturday, a party spokesperson told The Independent: "The Prime Minister has visited cities, large and small towns and yesterday she visited a rural community.

"She has been in the three nations of Great Britain since the start of the campaign. In contrast, Corbyn yesterday ventured all of two miles from his own house to give a speech about himself."

A Conservative Party spokeswoman said: "One media organisations last minute request to add a camera to a pre-arranged pool of broadcast cameras was not possible this morning.

"The organisations journalists did interview the Prime Minister and their photographer accompanied the Prime Minister on a factory tour.

"Theresa May has so far taken four times as many questions from journalists as floundering Jeremy Corbyn while his cabinet cant even answer basic questions about how they would pay for his nonsensical policies."

No one was locked in a room, she added.
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Ex-Chancellor George Osbornes first day as editor of the London Evening Standard has seen the paper print a scathing analysis of Theresa Mays election campaign, suggesting it could become no more than a slogan.

The newspaper which Mr Osborne began editing on Tuesday, warned the Prime Minister she is failing to set out what she wants from Brexit, adding, if you ask for a blank cheque, dont be surprised if later it bounces.

The forthright editorial also hits out at rising prices from Brexit and says the public does not want to see clumsy immigration controls restricting the country.

 George Osborne arrives for first day as Evening Standard editor to taxi drivers' protests

Mr Osborne has said he will stand down as an MP following Ms Mays decision to call for an election and his move to become the editor of a major news publication.

The editorial in the paper, part of the same group as The Independent, argues that no one should assume last year's EU referendum gave a mandate to the Government to answer critical questions about Britains future, adding: It did not.

Copies of the first London Evening Standard to be edited by the former Chancellor (Getty) (Getty Images)

A general election victory for the Conservatives could provide more of a mandate, but only if the Prime Minister and her colleagues spell out in much more detail what their intentions are.

Its early days, but that is not happening, thanks in part to the failure of the desperately weak Labour leadership to offer a proper opposition. Theres nothing wrong with repeating election campaign slogans; the problem comes when the election campaign amounts to no more than a slogan. If you ask for a blank cheque, dont be surprised if later it bounces.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Mr Osborne and Ms May clashed while they served in the Cabinet together, with a particular battle taking place over Ms Mays immovable stance on recording overseas students as immigrants in official data.

There were also reports of a certain amount of satisfaction in Downing Street after Mr Osborne decided he would not stand again as an MP in the wake of Ms Mays push for a general election.

In a statement after the appointment was announced, Mr Osborne said: I am proud to be a Conservative MP, but as editor and leader of a team of dedicated and independent journalists, our only interest will be to give a voice to all Londoners.

We will be fearless as a paper fighting for their interests. We will judge what the Government, Londons politicians and the political parties do against this simple test: is it good for our readers and good for London? If it is, well support them. If it isnt, well be quick to say so.

Arriving at the title's offices at 7am with newspapers tucked under his arm, Mr Osborne  a prominent leader of the Remain campaign in last year's EU referendum  said it was very exciting to be starting in the new job.

It's a really important time in our country, when people are going to want the straight facts, the informed analysis, so they can make the really big decisions about this country's future, he said.

The Evening Standard is going to provide that and it is going to entertain along the way.

Mr Osborne was greeted outside the Standards west London offices by a billboard reading George Osborne: Lowering Londons Standards, placed by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, who accuse him of favouring internet-based cab-hailing service Uber.
HONG KONG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China signed two documents with Indonesia on Monday to further boost cultural and labor cooperation.

The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation as well as a joint statement on labor cooperation, which underlines both sides' commitment to protect Indonesian domestic helpers working in Hong Kong.

The MoU reflects the joint efforts of Hong Kong and Indonesia in strengthening cultural cooperation and provides a framework for promoting collaborative initiatives and exchanges in the fields of arts and culture, said the secretariat press office of Hong Kong's Home Affairs Department.

Such cooperation will contribute to the furtherance of closer cultural ties and better understanding between the two sides, the department said.

HKSAR Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who attended the signing ceremony with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, expressed hope at their meeting that the two sides would continue to maintain exchanges and build stronger ties on all fronts.

Highlighting that the Belt and Road Initiative would bring about enormous development potentials for Hong Kong and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) such as Indonesia, Leung said Hong Kong would further enhance economic and trade relations with Indonesia and other major trading partners along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Leung also thanked the Indonesian government for its support in assisting the establishment of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta.

President Widodo arrived here Sunday on a two-day visit.
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The idea that the Britain will benefit from Brexit is an illusion and the country will have to face the consequences of leaving the European Union (EU), a senior German politician has warned.

Stephan Mayer said that Brexit was no good for any member of the 27 nation bloc, including his homeland. But he said the consequences for will be worse for the UK.

"There is a comprehensive entrant position within the EU27 and one decisive pillar of this position is Brexit means Brexit and if you leave, you leave with all the consequences," the home affairs spokesman for Germany's ruling parliamentary group, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme

"If someone in Great Britain thinks that Great Britain will be the winner or takes advantage of this Brexit, I'm convinced this would be an illusion."

His comments came after Germany's Europe minister Michael Roths took to Twitter to claim that the British government should abandon the fairy tale that it will be better off after Brexit

A row over leaked details from a dinner between Theresa May and Europe Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Downing Street last week has also provoked a series of claims and counterclaims.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

A report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper said that EU officials and Mr Juncker were surprised at Ms May's unrealistic expectations about the length and process of negotiations.

"I leave Downing Street 10 times as sceptical as I was before," Mr Juncker was said to have told her as he left.

The following morning he rang German Chancellor Angela Merkel to warn her that Mrs May's approach was from a "different galaxy" and that she was deluding herself.

Ms Merkel responded by rewriting a speech she was giving that day to warn that some in Britain were still harbouring "illusions" about the Brexit process.

In an address to the Bundestag, she said Britain would become a third-party state after it leaves and cannot and will not have the same rights as other member states.

I have to say this clearly here because I get the feeling that some people in Britain continue to work under illusions, and that is a waste of time, she added.

No 10 has said it does not recognise this version of events at the dinner which it dismissed as "Brussels gossip".

Additional reporting by agencies
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Labour has sacked one of its parliamentary candidates following allegations that he suggested that Europeans should eradicate Islam from our continent.

The Independent understands that Labour's investigation centred around the @wellingblueboy Twitter account, which is alleged to have been that of Trevor Merralls, who was until today the Labour parliamentary candidate for the safe Tory seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup.

The Twitter account, which has now been deleted but is still viewable in web caches, posted and 'liked' a number of racist and Islamophobic messages over the course of the last few years.

Recommended Labour Party ban Simon Danczuk from standing in the general election

Mr Merralls is the general secretary of a taxi-drivers cooperative United Cabbies Group (UCG) and a black cab driver in London; he has held the leadership position since an announcement on 1 December 2016. @wellingblueboy identified itself as trev and said it was a taxi driver in London and campaigner with the UCG.

Mr Merralls denies that the Twitter account belongs to him. However, in a comment under a video of Mr Merralls posted on social media in November 2016, he is introduced by the person who posted the video as: His name is Trevor Merralls, deputy general secretary of @unitedcabbies  UKs only nationwide trade org for black cab drivers. Aka @wellingblueboy on Twitter.

Denying that the Twitter account belonged to him, Mr Merralls said in a post on social media: Already the smears and fake tweets have begun. I've been through this before. I'm standing in a safe Tory seat. What are they so afraid of?

The Twitter account has been linked to Mr Merralls (Twitter ) (Twitter)

Uber accessed highest level of government and used ministers like paid up lobbyists. Made up, cropped, and photoshopped tweets wont shut me up.

He added: "That's categorically not me".

During a discussion about Islam on Twitter on 3 March 2014 the @wellingblueboy Twitter accounted posted on a positive note that should eradicate Islam from our continent for years.

The account also liked a tweet from a Twitter account with the display name STOP #WHITEGENOCIDE which read Jew #Labour paid off the muslims with votes and illegal wars with 600,000 British White girls. #UKIP #BNP.

At one point the Twitter account also identified itself as a supporter of the BlueHand movement which describes itself as an online movement against political correctness.

Its website says: Free Speech is a fundamental right, one that is nature/God given. Sadly, it is also a right that our politicians are attempting to take from us, thanks to the appeasement of Islamism coupled with the constant wolf-cries of certain minority groups.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

When the news was revealed a spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn said the party National Executive Committee was "urgently investigating allegations of racism involving a prospective parliamentary candidate".

Later this afternoon a Labour spokesperson said: Trevor Merralls has been removed as Labours parliamentary candidate for Old Bexley and Sidcup. His replacement will be announced in due course.
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The European Parliaments chief Brexit co-ordinator has mocked Theresa Mays election campaign slogan, by suggesting she lacks a strong and stable understanding of the complex issues around Britains withdrawal from the EU.

Guy Verhofstadt, already a fierce critic of the Prime Minister, finished his attack by saying it is time to get real about how difficult a Brexit deal may be.

It comes after a German newspaper reported that in the wake of a meeting with the Prime Minister, Jean Claude Juncker phoned Angela Merkel and said Ms May lives in another galaxy and is deluding herself over Brexit.

Mr Verhofstadt, who is heading the Parliaments role in Brexit, said on Twitter: Any Brexit deal requires a strong & stable understanding of the complex issues involved. The clock is ticking  it's time to get real.

Ms May has built her entire election campaign on the slogan strong and stable, which is being repeated over and again by her and her ministers in interviews.

Leaks to the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper suggested EU Commission President Mr Juncker knocked back Ms Mays plan to reach a deal guaranteeing citizens rights as early as June, because he believed the issue too complex to agree so soon.

Downing Street said it did not recognise the version of the meeting reported by the publication.

While Ms Mays officials described the face-to-face as constructive just after it ended, Mr Juncker is reported to have said: I leave Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before.

On Tuesday morning No10 would not comment further on the leaks, apart from saying: We approach these talks in a constructive manner and with huge amounts of goodwill.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Ex-Belgian prime minister Mr Verhofstatd has previously attacked Theresa May over her decision to call an election, while apparently refusing to spell out more detail of her approach to Brexit.

He said: It appears this election is being driven by the opportunism of the party in government, rather than by the people they represent.
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It was all meant to be so straightforward. Head to Cornwall, lock the media in a large cupboard, walk round a factory, eat some chips, then stand in front of some TV cameras saying the words "strong and stable leadership" over and over and over and over again.

And it would have been straightforward, but for the minor setback that our Prime Minister cannot eat a chip without displaying utter contempt for everything a chip is and everything a chip stands for.

In Theresa Mays defence, not everyone is so aggressively photographed in the act of chip consumption. It may be that all of us, without even realising, eat our chips while simultaneously staring at them in complete disgust.

Perhaps we are all, at the moment of biting into a chip, so taken by its self-evidently fluffy, fat-embalmed, potatoey deliciousness, that we do not know that are faces become temporarily and involuntarily fixed into a mask of infinite revulsion.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May enjoys some chips during a campaign stop in Mevagissey, Cornwall (Reuters)

Perhaps its personal. Perhaps the chip was a Lib Dem. Perhaps it was a show of defiance from Theresa May. This was her saying: "See this gob. It doesnt just mouth the words strong and stable leadership over and over and over again. No it doesnt. Its going to bloody eat you. Thats whats happening here."

This was her saying: "Every chip I eat will strengthen my hand in the negotiations with Brussels. If you see anyone else eating a chip, they are undermining their countrys future. Only I get to eat chips. No one else. And dont forget, in Brussels, they put mayonnaise on these, the sick, disgusting perverts."

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is followed by journalists as she carries some chips during a campaign stop in Mevagissey, Cornwall (Reuters)

Still, lesson learned. There is no confirmed evidence that in her brief trip to a chippy in a Cornish fishing village, the Prime Minister either met or spoke to a normal, member of the public. But the trio of chip pictures will be enough.

Tomorrow morning, expect her to be re-hermetically sealed in some factory or other nowhere near you.
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Theresa May has warned Jean Claude Juncker that he is about to find out how much of a bloody difficult woman she is following reports that he claimed she is delusional over Brexit.

The Prime Minister made the threat in an interview amid the on-going row, sparked by leaks from a private meeting between the Prime Minister and the EU Commission President.

Ms May also used the interview with the BBC to confirm that she intends to serve a full term to 2022 if she wins the election on June 8.

It comes after a German newspaper reported that in the wake of a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Juncker phoned Angela Merkel and said Ms May lives in another galaxy and is deluding herself over Brexit.

Responding to questions over the reports, she said: I think what we've seen recently is that at times these negotiations are going to be tough.

Now during the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described by one of my colleagues as a bloody difficult woman.

And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

The description of Ms May was first made by ex-chancellor Ken Clarke during last years Tory leadership contest, but the soon-to-be successful candidate later took ownership of it.

Leaks to the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper suggested EU Commission President Mr Juncker knocked back Ms Mays plan to reach a deal guaranteeing citizens rights as early as June, because he believed the issue too complex to agree so soon.

Downing Street said it did not recognise the version of the meeting reported by the publication.

 Ken Clarke caught on camera ridiculing Tory leadership candidates

While Ms Mays officials described the face-to-face as constructive just after it ended, Mr Juncker is reported to have said: I leave Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before.

Speaking about the issue to the BBC, Ms May said: What is I think possible and what we want to do is to be able to give reassurance to EU citizens living here and to UK citizens living in Europe.

I've always said that there are complexities to this issue and lots of details that will need to be agreed. What people want to know is to have some reassurance about their future.

I believe we can give that at an early stage. I've got the will to do this.

Directly addressing the stories about the meeting she repeated her dismissal of them as Brussels gossip. She went on: But what is important is that there is a key question for people when they come to this election.

We've seen from all of this that these negotiations at times will be tough. Getting the right deal requires the right leadership. And there's only going to be one of two people sitting around that table. The twenty seven other EU countries on one side of the table and who is going to be there standing up for the UK? It's either going to be me or Jeremy Corbyn.

Confirming her intention to serve a full term, she said: I have no intention of doing anything other than serving the full term until 2022 because this is, as I say, an important time for our country and what we do over the next five years could change our country for the better for the future and truly make it a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. That's what I'm in it for.
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Boris Johnson is a fopdoodle and Theresa May is trying to dodge scrutiny by refusing to take part in TV debates or meet undecided voters, Labour's deputy leader has claimed.

Tom Watson hit back at the Foreign Secretary in colourful language after Mr Johnson's attack on Jeremy Corbyn last week, branding the Tory cack-handed and cheese-headed.

He also compared the Prime Minister to a robot over her slogan-heavy media appearances on the General Election campaign trail.

The Foreign Secretary branded the Labour leader a mutton-headed old mugwump who would be a threat to national security.

In response, Mr Watson said: Boris Johnson is a cack-handed, cheese-headed fopdoodle, with a talent for slummocking about, who would do less damage to Britain's reputation in the world if Theresa May sacked him as Foreign Secretary and replaced him with a souvenir paperweight.

When we require diplomacy, Boris Johnson sows discord. At a time when we need a serious-minded national representative to deal skilfully with some of the most complex problems our country faces, Boris Johnson falls back on bluster.

And how can any of us trust a man who claimed our NHS would get an extra 350 million a week if we left the EU?

The Labour deputy leader mocked Mrs May's carefully staged campaign appearances in front of Tory loyalists, rather than members of the public.

She isn't just trying to avoid scrutiny in the House of Commons, she's trying to dodge scrutiny on the campaign trail too, he told the Usdaw union's annual conference in Blackpool.

Refusing a TV debate against Jeremy Corbyn and the other party leaders. Visiting a workplace in Leeds - but only once all the actual workers have packed up and gone home for the night.

Filmed on the campaign trail in Wales - but only speaking to Conservative Party activists, not members of the public.

And on the few occasions she does let someone ask her a question, just repeating the same words over and over again.

A lot of people are worried about the risk of robots taking their jobs. I fear with this Prime Minister it's already happened.

Mr Watson, who has clashed with Labour leader Mr Corbyn in the past, acknowledged the internal difficulties his party has endured, telling the shopworkers' union: We should never see abuse or intimidation as just another part of the job.

I didn't need to spend two years as Labour's deputy leader to understand that... although it certainly helped.

He claimed that Mrs May's U-turn over calling an early election showed the Conservatives could not be trusted.

Theresa May was meant to be the Tory leader who tells it like it is.

A safe pair of hands. Someone to steady the ship. A Prime Minister who puts the country's interests above those of her own party.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Now she's been exposed for what she really is: a political opportunist who's called an election she said she wouldn't have because she thinks she can increase her narrow majority in Parliament.

We need to make her regret that decision.

Copyright Press Association
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The Justice Department will reveal soon that they will not bring charges against the white police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black man - Alton Sterling - in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to reports.

Police said they were were responding to a call that someone who fit the description of Mr Sterling was illegally selling CDs and threatening people with a gun outside of a convenience store in July 2016.

Bystanders' video from the scene appeared to show two white officers on top of Mr Sterling arresting him. One of the officers appears to yell, Hes got a gun!, and then shots ring out. A search warrant affidavit said that officers had observed the butt of a gun in Mr Sterlings front pants pocket. At issue in the investigation was whether Mr Sterling was reaching for the weapon, as officers claimed, when he was shot and killed.

His death led to mass protests in the city, and officials were preparing for potential further demonstrations once a decision was announced.

The Justice Department (DoJ) will apparently announce their decision sometime this week, according to the Washington Post.

Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the Sterling familys attorneys told the Post that the family "have not received word, nor has the family been given any notice of upcoming updates regarding this case."

Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Show all 10 1 /10 Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Gerald Herbert/AP Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Brittany Weiss/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Brittany Weiss/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Alton Sterling/Facebook Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Google Maps Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Family Handout

Earlier in the day, the Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards said he had not been informed when the judgement will come.

I don't have any information as to what the decision is going to be or when it's going to be announced," he told USA Today. "But I work under the assumption it's coming sooner than later.

 Alton Sterling 2nd video

If no charges are brought against the officers, the case will be the first time under Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the department has publicly declined to prosecute officers investigated for possible wrongdoing in a high-profile case.

Democrat representative Cedric Richmond, whose district includes part of Baton Rouge tweeted that the fact the Washington Post appeared to confirm no charges being sought, but state officials and the family had not yet been notified was an "indictment" on the Justice Department.

Mr Richmond said the report "completely undermines the credibility and transparency" of the DoJ.

At the time of the shooting, then-President Barack Obama declared his confidence in the DoJ probe, saying that we have seen tragedies like this too many times.
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Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Chicago for a community meeting to discuss their planned library and museum.

The Obama Foundation announced Monday the Obamas will host a round table discussion Wednesday to update the community on the progress of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side. The Obamas are also expected to hear from community members on their ideas for the library.

New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates will head a team of several firms and individuals with expertise in media, lighting and acoustics in designing exhibits.

The foundation has said almost half of the exhibition design work for the museum will be performed by minority- and women-owned businesses.

The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Copyright Associated Press
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Its no longer just Vladimir Putin.

As he settles into office, Donald Trumps affections for totalitarian leaders have grown beyond Russias President to include strongmen around the globe.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has had his opponents gunned down, but Trump praised him for doing a fantastic job. Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailands Prime Minister, is a junta chief whose military jailed dissidents after taking power in a coup, yet Trump offered to meet with him at the White House. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has eroded basic freedoms, but after a recent political victory, he got a congratulatory call from Trump.

Then theres the case of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. He is accused of the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of drug users, and he maligned President Barack Obama as a son of a whore at an international summit last year. Yet on Sunday, in what the White House characterised as a very friendly conversation, Trump invited Duterte to Washington for an official visit.

Recommended Trump invites controversial Philippines president to White House

In a undeniable shift in American foreign policy, Trump is cultivating authoritarian leaders, one after another, in an effort to reset relations following an era of ostracism and public shaming by Obama and his predecessors.

For instance, it has become an almost daily occurrence for Trump to gush about Chinese President Xi Jinping since their Mar-a-Lago summit last month. Trump has called Xi a very good man, highly respected and a gentleman, as he tries to persuade Xi to convince North Korea to scale back or give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Trumps praise is not limited to potential US allies. Even as North Korean leader Kim Jung-un ratchets up his provocations, Trump called Kim a smart cookie over the weekend. On Monday, Trump told Bloomberg he would be honoured to personally meet with Kim under the right circumstances.

Every American president since at least the 1970s has used his office at least occasionally to champion human rights and democratic values around the world. Yet, so far, Trump has willingly turned a blind eye to dictators records of brutality and oppression in hope that those leaders might become his partners in isolating North Korea or fighting terrorism.

Indeed, in his first 100 days in office, Trump neither delivered substantive remarks nor took action supporting democracy movements or condemned human rights abuses, other than the missile strike he authorised on Syria after President Bashar al-Assad allegedly used chemical weapons against his own citizens.

He doesnt even pretend to utter the words, says Michael McFaul, a US ambassador to Russia under Obama. Small-d democrats all over the world are incredibly despondent right now about Donald Trump  and thats true in China, in Iran, in Egypt, in Russia. They feel like the leader of the free world is absent.

A tipping point for many Trump critics was his invitation to Duterte to visit the White House. Benjamin Cardin, a Senator for Maryland, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he is deeply disturbed by Trumps cavalier invitation and has called on him to rescind it.

This is a man who has boasted publicly about killing his own citizens, Cardin says of Duterte. The United States is unique in the world because our values  respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law  are our interests. Ignoring human rights will not advance US interests in the Philippines or any place else. Just the opposite.

Yet Trumps advisers say the Presidents silence on human rights matters is purposeful, part of a grand strategy to rebuild alliances or create new ones. Trumps outreach is designed to isolate North Korea in the Asia-Pacific region and to build coalitions to defeat Isis in the Middle East and North Africa, senior administration officials say.

Inside the Trump White House, the thinking goes that if mending bridges with a country like the Philippines  historically a treaty ally whose relationship with the United States deteriorated as Duterte gravitated toward China  means covering up or even ignoring concerns like human rights, then so be it.

The United States has a limited ability to direct things, says Michael Anton, the National Security Councils director of strategic communications. We cant force these countries to behave certain ways. We can apply pressure, but if the alternative is not talking, how effective would it be if we had no relationships? If you walk away from relationships, you cant make any progress.

Anton explains that Trump is trying to balance interests. He says the decision to invite Duterte to the White House  a symbolic gesture that gives credibility to the autocrats rule  was agreed to by most of Trumps advisers.

Its not binary," he says. Its not that you care about human rights so you cant have a relationship with the Philippines, or if you have a relationship with the Philippines you dont care about human rights.

Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently described the Trump strategy as establishing commonality with offending nations before publicly chastising them for offences.

Their approach is to obviously continue to hold up the values that we have here in America, Corker said. But their approach is to build some commonality  never let go of that as an American cause, but to work on it in ways where they achieve a result, and to not go in on the front end.

White House officials cite the release last month of Aya Hijazi  an Egyptian-American charity worker who had been imprisoned in Cairo for three years amid Sissis brutal crackdown on civil society  as evidence that their strategy is paying dividends.

Trump and his aides worked for several weeks with Sissi and his government to secure Hijazis freedom. The Obama administration had pressed unsuccessfully for her release, but once Trump moved to reset US relations with Egypt by embracing Sissi at the White House, Egypts posture changed.

Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for human rights and democracy under Obama, says Trump appears to be living up to his campaign promise.

The whole idea of America First is that were not trying to make the world better, Malinowski says. Were trying to protect the homeland and the domestic economy, and the rest is all cutting deals with whoever is willing to cut deals with us. Theres not much room in that equation for standing up for the rights, freedoms and wellbeing of other people.

Human rights activists are concerned that Trump is condoning the actions of dictators when he is warm to them or extends invitations to visit.

Inviting these men to the White House in effect places the United States seal of approval on their heinous actions, says Rob Berschinski, senior vice president at Human Rights First. He adds: Nothing excuses President Trumps clear inclination to reward mass murderers and torturers with undeserved honors."

Asked at a recent White House press briefing whether Trump had a thing for totalitarian leaders, press secretary Sean Spicer suggested he was cultivating such leaders with the explicit aim of weakening North Korea.

The President clearly, as I said, understands the threat that North Korea poses, Spicer said. Having someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country  and potentially our country  at some point in the future is something that the President takes very seriously.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

But McFaul postulates that the Trump administration may be naive in calculating that personal outreach and warm praise will convince authoritarian leaders to support US interests.

The converse of that is that these leaders are taking him for a ride, McFaul says. He tends to over-personalise relationships between states. He says Chinas raping us, then he meets President Xi and suddenly hes this wise man with whom he has a good chemistry. I hope this will produce outcomes that are good for us, but right now its producing outcomes that are good for China.

 The Washington Post
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President Donald Trump has dismissed widespread reports that his administration is riven by discord, saying he is sticking by his polarising chief strategist, Steve Bannon, calling him a very decent guy who is getting a bad rap.

Trump even revealed his own term for Bannons ideology: alt-left, a play on Bannons ties to the nationalist conservative movement sometimes called the alt-right.

Why alt-left? Bannons more of a libertarian than anything else, if you want to know the truth, Trump said Monday during an interview with Bloomberg News in the Oval Office.

Trumps playful approach to the former chief of Breitbart News  perhaps the biggest target of liberal fury  and his other comments about his staff suggest that a widespread shakeup of his inner circle is unlikely in the near future.

He said Bannon and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus both would likely still be in their same roles several months from now, along with two other figures in his administration who have drawn withering fire: counsellor Kellyanne Conway and press secretary Sean Spicer.

Trump also said that Bannon and Trumps senior adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner, have managed to repair their relationship.

Bannon is a very decent guy who feels very strongly about the country. Likewise, Jared. And theyre getting along fine, Trump said, calling Kushner a very brilliant young guy.

But the president did acknowledge past tensions on the staff.

We have a lot of people that are getting along well, Trump said. Its coming out better now than it was, you know, for a while. And for a while it was a little testy, I guess for some of them, but I said, Youve got to get your acts together.

Since late March, Trump has been said to be considering a shuffle of his top advisers. The whisper campaign in Washington  sometimes targeting Priebus and other times Bannon  resulted from squabbling within the inner circle and a string of setbacks for Trumps nascent presidency.

Back in February, when reports of discord between Priebus and Bannon were crowding the headlines, the pair presented a united front in a series of news interviews and at a speaking appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. But the speculation about Priebuss future reached a high point after House Republicans failed to advance legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare on 23 March, the seven-year anniversary of its passage, as Trump had originally wanted.

The heat switched to Bannon after his 4 April removal from the principals committee of the National Security Council. Soon after, reports emerged of in-fighting with Kushner. On 7 April, Priebus, at Trumps request, oversaw a session of marriage counseling for Bannon and Kushner, as one aide described it. The pair agreed to resolve their differences, aides said.

Priebus, the former Republican National Committee chairman, has looked to merge the outsider world of the Trump campaign with the party establishment hes long led. Bannon, for his part, been among the most vocal advocates for a nationalist, anti-establishment approach to governance within the Trump White House.

The two men were in charge of running operations within a Trump White House that has experienced a string of blunders and missteps, including a travel ban barring visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries that was hastily written and quickly blocked by federal courts.

One White House official said last week that Trumps top aides believe they have learned better the governing process and are now striving to keep various agency leaders and decision-makers in the loop so that no one feels shut out.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

Trump said Monday that he didnt expect to see departures from the White House soon.

Now, I will tell you, probably people are going to get job offers. You know, things happen, he said. But Im very happy with our group. Were doing very well.

Copyright Bloomberg
By Bai Yunyi in Davao and Bai Tiantian in Beijing ( Global Times ) 09:28, May 02, 2017

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R, front) receives a hat from Hu Jie (L, front), captain of China's missile destroyer Changchun, in Davao City, the Philippines, May 1, 2017. Duterte visit the Chinese warship docked in Davao City wharf on Monday. A Chinese naval fleet has begun a three-day friendly visit after arriving Sunday at Davao City in the southeastern region of The Philippines. (Xinhua/Yu Wei)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday visited a Chinese naval ship on a friendly visit to the Philippines, and said he is open to joint military exercises with China in Philippine waters.

"I agree [to the idea]. You can have joint exercise here in Mindanao, maybe in the Sulu Sea," Duterte said after visiting one of three ships of the People's Liberation Army navy docked at Sasa Wharf in his hometown of Davao City, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Duterte boarded the guided missile destroyer Changchun, which arrived with the guided missile frigate Jingzhou and supply ship Chaohu.

Duterte said he was impressed by the Chinese warship. "It's very impressive. It's all carpeted. It's so beautiful. Inside, it's like a luxury hotel," he told reporters, according to Xinhua.

The Chinese ships arrived in the Philippines on Sunday for a three-day goodwill visit, the first Chinese naval fleet to make a port call to the Southeast Asian country in seven years, a sign of warming ties between the two countries.

Duterte's visit came just one day after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Philippines issued a joint statement refraining from criticizing China over "land reclamation and militarization" in the South China Sea.

While on board the Changchun, Duterte told the media that the Chinese fleet's visit is part of "confidence building" between the two countries.

The visit to Duterte's hometown rather than Manila is widely seen as a personal gesture to the Philippine leader.

The visit is a clear sign that Duterte is improving Sino-Philippine ties after his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, took the territorial disputes to an arbitration court in The Hague and sunk bilateral ties to an all-time low, Zhuang Guotu, head of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, said.

"Duterte made it clear that Manila does not wish to challenge Beijing or engage in any form of military conflict. His primary concern is economic cooperation, for which he knows China's help would be crucial," Zhuang told the Global Times.

Miao Hua, Political Commissar of the PLA navy, said at the welcoming ceremony that the visit would strengthen the relationship between the Chinese and Philippine navies, Xinhua reported.

Jetmark Marcos, public affairs office chief of the Philippines' Eastern Mindanao Naval Forces, said the visit seeks to foster "camaraderie and mutual understanding" between the two countries through "naval diplomacy," Rappler reported.

Balancing act

As Manila takes a friendlier attitude toward Beijing, the White House on Saturday announced that US President Donald Trump invited Duterte to Washington to "discuss the importance of the US-Philippines alliance."

"Right now, both China and the US are extending olive branches to the Philippines. Duterte has played it well by treading a balance between the two powers to maximize Manila's interests. He managed to procure actual benefits from China while maintaining ties with the US," Zhuang said. He cited Duterte's handling of the ties as a good example to other Asian nations.

Media reports in January said China had agreed to cooperate with the Philippines on 30 projects worth $3.7 billion on poverty reduction.

Duterte is also expected to attend a summit in Beijing in mid-May on the One Belt and One Road initiative to increase trade and improve infrastructure ties between China, Asia and beyond.

Filipinos interviewed by the Global Times said the territorial disputes in the South China Sea would not lead to a very serious problem.

Celso, a shop employee in Manila, told the Global Times that he felt that "the problems are being dealt with."

"We have a long history of friendship with China. Many Chinese traveled to the Philippines decades ago and established their businesses, creating jobs for the locals," Celso said.

James Walkers, a Manila taxi driver, said the Philippines had a strong cultural bond with the US.

"But President Duterte thinks the US is too far away, and why should we seek help from a faraway country instead of a close neighbor like China? Despite territorial disputes, no one wants to fight a war. Sharing can make us and our neighbors prosper," he told the Global Times.
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Kim Kardashian West drew attention with her outfit choice for her fifth Met Gala this weekend due to her new toned-down look.

In a marked departure from her stand-out look from last year  a silver metallic Balmain dress with a large split up one side  the reality TV star turned up to the event in a simple white dress by Vivienne Westwood. She wore sandals with the off-the-shoulder outfit and no jewellery. Her husband Kanye West was not in attendance.

The exclusive gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is termed the biggest night in the fashion industry with tickets selling for thousands of dollars. Outfits on the red carpet range from the glamorous to the daring and extravagant, with top fashion designers taking centre stage alongside the actors and models wearing their pieces. It marks the grand opening of the annual fashion exhibition at the Costume Institute, which this year honours Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo.

Recommended Met Gala photographer reveals what really happens during event

Ms Kardashian Wests sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner opted for more extravagant looks at the event, wearing a gold Versace gown and a revealing black dress by La Perla, respectively. The La Perla gown was encrusted with 85,000 hand painted crystals.

The reality TV stars toned down outfit comes just days after she appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show. She spoke about being robbed at gunpoint in Paris last year and how the incident has changed her, stating that she is such a different person today.

The celebrity was robbed by two masked men posing as police at a luxury residence in Paris in October last year. The men stole millions of dollars worth of jewellery.

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West wearing Balmain at the 2016 Met Gala (Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

Kim Kardashian West in Roberto Cavalli and Kanye West at the gala in 2015 (Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

Kim Kardashian West in Lanvin and Kanye West at the Met Gala in 2014 (Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

Kim Kardashian West wearing a Riccardo Tisci dress and Kanye West at their first Met Gala in 2013 (Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

Sixteen people have since been arrested in connection with the robbery.

Ms Kardashian West told Ms DeGeneres she believed the heist was meant to happen. She says she was definitely materialistic before being robbed, but now says she doesnt care about things like jewellery.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A Republican congressman has suggested that poorer Americans do not deserve affordable healthcare because they have not led good lives and so bring it on themselves when they get sick.

Alabama Representative Mo Brooks made the case for Obamacare to be repealed and replaced, as President Donald Trump hopes to do, in a CNN interview.

Speaking about the proposed Trumpcare replacement, Mr Brooks said: It will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher healthcare costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, theyre healthy, theyve done the things to keep their bodies healthy.

And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing.

Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown Show all 3 1 /3 Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown obama.jpg Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown obama2.jpg Faces of Obamacare: The health scheme at the centre of the shutdown obama3.jpg

Mr Brooks conceded that many people with pre-existing health conditions have them through no fault of their own and therefore deserved help.

The notion of the deserving and underserving sick is a controversial one in the ongoing row over Obamacare, which provides health insurance for millions of poorer Americans.

Mr Brooks comments provoked an immediate social media backlash, with some people demanding to know what they had done to deserve their cancer.

Barack Obamas flagship policy prohibited insurers from charging higher premiums or denying coverage to people with serious health conditions, but was criticised by many on the right for increasing the cost of health insurance to wealthier Americans.

The Republicans proposed replacement is expected to result in health insurance companies charging higher rates to people with known health conditions and less to those who are in good health.

Critics said it will transfer hundreds of billions of dollars from the poor, who will receive reduced Medicaid and tax credits to buy insurance, to the rich who will receive a significant tax cut.

The controversial idea that sick people ought to pay more than healthy individuals has been mooted by conservatives for some time in the US.

Recommended UN warned Trump that healthcare repeal could violate international law

But Democrats have argued it is unethical and unfair to segregate Americans on the basis of their health status, with some even comparing it to racial or gender discrimination.

Mr Trumps first version of the American Health Care Act failed to win enough support in the House in March, leading to revisions to try and win over those Republicans who oppose repealing Obamacare.

The President said in an interview with Bloomberg News that the repeal and replace bill is not yet in its final form.

I want it to be good for sick people It will be every bit as good on pre-existing conditions as Obamacare.
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The US Army has released images captured by a combat photographer of the explosion that killed her.

Specialist Hilda Clayton, 22, died when a mortar tube blew up in front of her during a training exercise in Afghanistan.

She was alongside a trainee photographer and Afghan soldiers when the accidental explosion took place in July 2013.

A total of five people died in the blast, which also marked the first death of an Army combat documentation and production specialist in Afghanistan, according to the Army Times.

The photographs taken through her lens were published in the Armys Military Review Journal after her family and unit both provided consent.

Afghan soldiers as a mortar tube accidentally explodes during an Afghan National Army live-fire training exercise in Laghman province, Afghanistan, 02 July 2013 (EPA)

Not only did Clayton help document activities aimed at shaping and strengthening the partnership, but she also shared in the risk by participating in the effort, the article accompanying the photos in the journal says.

Specialist Clayton was a member of the 55th Signal Company in Fort Meade, Maryland and the unit has honoured her by renaming its annual competition the Hilda I Clayton Best Combat Camera Competition.

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. 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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. 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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

Her name has also been engraved into the Hall of Heroes at the Defence Information School where she graduated.
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An Australian man has been detained by US border officials reportedly for overstaying his visa for just over an hour.

Baxter Reid, 26, was attempting to travel to Canada with his American girlfriend Heather Kansco to fulfil the requirement of leaving and re-entering the US every six months to keep his his five-year visa valid.

According to his family, he is being held at the Buffalo federal detention centre in New York.

His father, Tom Reid, told the Canberra Times the couple arrived at the Canadian border at 10pm on Sunday 23 April, two hours before Mr Baxter's visa was due to expire.

He said: "For some reason the Canadians kept them until 1:30am and then they refused them entry.

"They returned them to the United States and by then they were an hour and a half over the visa, and [he] got locked up."

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

Mr Reid has been warned he could face six months in jail before his case is heard by a judge.

Ms Kansco set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Mr Reid's legal cost, which has received $7,000 of its $8,000 goal in two days.

She told the paper: "I held it together until they put the handcuffs on him. I kind of haven't been able to stop crying.

"I don't know if there's really a word to describe what I'm feeling right now, I'm almost ashamed to say I'm American.

"It just makes no sense to me."

She said the couple had planned to get to the border earlier but their car kept breaking down, with the seven-hour journey from New York City to the border taking 15 hours.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to an Australian man detained in the US.
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Donald Trump said he could have done a deal to prevent the American Civil War, historian Jon Meacham has claimed.

Mr Meacham, the author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, described Mr Trump's apparent lack of knowledge about the Civil War as a projection of the President's "fundamental and enveloping narcissism."

Mr Trump was ridiculed for suggesting the country's 7th President, Andrew Jackson, could have stopped the civil war, despite the fact he died 16 years before the conflict began.

 Donald Trump asks why the Civil War 'could not have been worked out'

He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said There's no reason for this," Mr Trump said.

People dont realise, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why, he added. People dont ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

Asked about the comments in an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe show, Mr Meacham said: "It's a projection of the President's fundamental and enveloping narcissism.

"He believes...he told me a year ago that he thought he could have done a deal to have averted the [civil] war."

He went on to say he and Mr Trump talked about presidents the then-candidate admired and "Jackson never came up."

Mr Trump later tried to clarify his comments, tweeting to say Mr Jackson predicted the civil war and "was angry".

"Would never have let it happen!" he added.

Discussing Mr Trump's presidency, Mr Meacham said: "The presidency itself enhances your fundamental characteristics. It's very hard once you're there to change. Some people do, and that's why we talk about them as great presidents.

"But most people, once they're in the Oval Office, actually just become more like themselves. And I think in this case that's on a potentially tragic trajectory."
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Donald Trump tweeted that the country needs a "good shutdown" of the US government.

Congress is set to vote this week on a spending bill that would keep the government funded until September 2017.

They will vote again on the next financial year's proposed budget later this year.

Democrats managed to save several programmes for this financial year including arts funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) as well as funding for Amtrak rail service and kept cuts to environment protection programmes to a minimum.

These are all items that Mr Trump slashed in his "skinny budget" for the next financial year he introduced early in his term. He is set to announce his full proposed federal budget the week of 22 May.

National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Show all 24 1 /24 National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Joshua Trees in the Mojave Trails, California Encompassing 1.6million acres, this monument includes mountain ranges, sand dunes and ancient settled lava, meaning it is studded with gems and minerals. The Mojave Trails make up 105-miles of Route 66. Kiskamedia-iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, Maine This is the Atlantic Oceans first marine national monuments, and covers almost 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the coast of New England. It was named a national monument in September 2016, shutting off commercial fishermen. The act protects resources and species including whales, deep-sea corals, Kemp's Ridley sea turtles (left), and deep-sea fish. Getty Images National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Bears Ears National Monument, Utah Bear Ears is a 1.3million acre monument characterised by cliffs, plateaus, rock formations, rivers and canyons, and is the site of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings. It was created in December 2016, in what was hailed as a victory by Native American tribes and conservationists but a blow to Republicans who wanted to area open for energy developments. The land is considered sacred to a number of tribes, who visit the area to collect herbs and wood for medicinal and spiritual healing, as well as to perform rituals. Bear Ears is a 1.3million acre monument characterised by cliffs, plateaus, rock formations, rivers and canyons, and is the site of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings. It was created in December 2016, in what was hailed as a victory by Native American tribes and conservationists but a blow to Republicans who wanted to area open for energy developments. The land is considered sacred to a number of tribes, who visit the area to collect herbs and wood for medicinal and spiritual healing, as well as to perform rituals. Getty Images National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Sand to Snow, California Over 240 species of birds and 12 wildlife species that are endangered and threatened live on what the Bureau of Land Management describes as one of the most biodiverse areas of Southern California. Unfolding across 154,000 acres of land, the monument includes thirty miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, used for camping, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, and skiing. Flickr/Creative Commons/Bureau of Land Management National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Basin and Range, Nevada This area - which is about twice the size of the city of Los Angeles - gets its name from its typography, which abruptly alternates between mountain chains and flat valleys that are comparable to the moons surface. The monument covers 704,000 and encompasses desert mountains and valleys, as well as Native American rock at and sites. It was designated in 2015 Bureau of Land Management/Creative Commons National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Berryessa Snow Mountain, northern California The monument comprises of 330,780 acres of land, and includes the Cache Creek Wilderness. It was designated as a national monument in in 2015. It is the habitat of animals including bald and golden eagles, black bears, mountain lions, tule elk, black-tailed deer, norther spotted owls, as well as salmon and some of the worlds rarest plants. Native American tribes have lived in the area of 11,000 years. Bureau of Land Management National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Organ Mountains Desert Peaks New Mexicos Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks covers 496,000 acres of land, and includes canyons, mountains and the Chihuahua Desert. It was used to train WWII bomber pilots and crews for NASAs Apollo space program. Bureau of Land Management National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Rio Grande del Norte The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is made up of rugged plains that are 7,000 above sea level which spread across 242,500 acres of land. The topography includes volcanic cones - including the Ute Mountain which stands at 10,093ft - canyons, and rivers. People have been living in the area since prehistoric times. Bureau of Land Management National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam The monument established in 2009 protects 95,216 square miles water in the Mariana Archipelago, which consists of submerged islands and volcanic sites. Velvetfish /iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Pacific Remote Islands Soldierfish swim off Baker Island, which are part of the Pacific Remote Islands. This collection of islands became the most widespread collection of marine and terrestrial life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction when it was designated in 2009. Public Domain National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Papahanaumokuakea, Hawaii Papahanaumokuakea is the worlds largest marine protected area, and is almost double the size of Texas. The remote area stretches 583,000-sq miles, and is home to tuna and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal among others. Public Domain/NOAA National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Upper Missouri River Breaks Designated in 2001, the monument protects badland featuring rock outcroppings, steep bluffs and grassy plains. Bureau of Land Management National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Sonoran Desert The desert has an area of 100,000sq miles and covers parts of Mexico, Arizona, California, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja California, and is the habitat of unique plants and animals including the organ pipe cactus. Tonda-iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Carrizo Plain The grassy plain sitting to the northwest of Los Angeles is 50miles long and 15miles wide in some parts. It was designated in 2012 because of its archaeological value. Zeiss4Me/iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Vermilion Cliffs, northern Arizona and southern Utah This monument has an intense red colour thanks to the iron oxide in its deposited silt and dunes. It was designated a monument in 2000. fotoVoyager/iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona President Clinton declared the Ironwood Forest a monument in 2000. It covers 188,619 acres and is home to endangered animals, plants, as well as the ironwood trees which give it its name. Creative Commons National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Hare Handford Reach, Washington This area is named after the bend in the free-flowing area of the Columbia River. It was designated a monument in 2000. Public Domain National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Canyons of the Ancients Designated a monument in 2000, its 176,056 acres feature archaeologically significant landscapes including the settlement of the Ancient Pueblo people in the 10th century. iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Giant Sequoia In 2000, President Bill Clinton set aside an area around 328,000 of land in central California where giant sequoia trees grow. As he made the designation President Clinton said: "These giant sequoias clearly are the work of the ages. They grow taller than the Statue of Liberty, broader than a bus." pavliha/iStock National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Established as a monument in 2000, the area stretches across over 1million acres of land which has no paved roads or visitor services. It takes its name from the Paiut word meaning tanned elk hide, and features canyons, mountains and buttes. Bureau of Land Management National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Grand Staircase Escalante, Utah Encompassing almost 2million acres of land, the monument designated in 1996 features platueas, colourful cliffs, and canyons Creative Commons/John Fowler National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump San Gabriel Mountains This monument - established in 2014 - is not on the list of White House monuments under review, but meets Zinkes criteria. It encompasses 246,000 acres of land. Rennett Stowe/Creative Commons National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Rose Atoll marine National Monument The monument, established in 2009, covers 13,400 square miles in the South Pacific Ocean and encompasses a Samoan island. It is the habitat of creatures including rare giant clams and reef sharks. National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Gold Butte National Monument, Nevada Situated to the northeast of Las Vegas, this monument covers 300,000 of desert land which features rock art, sandstone towers and the habitat of the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise Bureau of Land Management

The last time the federal government shutdown was in October 2013 during former President Barack Obamas second term. Republicans orchestrated the 17-day shutdown in an effort to repeal Obamacare, which was ultimately unsuccessful in that goal.

That shutdown cost the government $24bn (18.6bn) in economic output according to the Washington Post. The ratings agencies Standard and Poor's and Moody's Analytics calculated their estimates using past economic behaviour as well as government employee and contractor salaries that were not paid.

The 2013 shutdown also resulted in lost revenue for the National Parks Service to the tune of $450,000 (348,000) a day and $152m (118m) a day loss for the travel industry due to lack of federal business travel and national parks visitors.

Mr Trump referred to the 2018 mid-term elections as a way to gain more Republicans in Congress, however the party has the majority in both houses of Congress already.

He suffered a blow when trying to repeal and replace Obamacare, facing opposition from a group of dissenting Republicans in the Freedom Caucus within the House.
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Democrats have saved arts funding under threat from Donald Trump, including money for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).

Both houses of congress are expected to vote on the spending bill to keep the government funded for the current fiscal year this week before it goes to Mr Trump for his signature.

Representative Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, which is made up of Republicans who dissented on Mr Trumps replacement to Obamacare, said he and other conservatives were disappointed.

We'll see how it plays out this week but I think you're going to see conservatives have some real concerns with this legislation, Mr Jordan told CNN.

This spending bill is really more of a temporary reprieve. It is different from the skinny budget for federal spending Mr Trump introduced earlier this year, which is meant to cover spending for the next financial year, beginning in October 2017.

Arts, climate change, and passenger rail service funding could be reversed once he introduces his full budget proposal for the next financial year. He is expected to introduce that later this month.

Arts-related agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) have been spared cuts until September 2017 as well.

The three organisations provide money for everything from public television programming to community theatres and scholarly research.

CPB's budget will remain the same, at $445m (345m). The NEA and NEH will each see a small budget increase to $150m (116m).

This windfall is not expected to happen again once Mr Trump introduces his full federal budget proposal the week of 22 May.

Mr Trump has made clear he wants to eliminate or drastically cut federal funding to all of these arts-related agencies.

Michael Montgomery, a Detroit-based consultant to cultural and nonprofit organisations, told The Independent that the skinny budget cuts are possibly a warning shot...to NEA, NEH, CBP and their grantees that they should be more sensitive to the political and cultural sensitivities of the broader Trump constituency or be prepared to suffer the budgetary consequences.

The spending bill also does not include Mr Trumps pledge to cut $100 million in his full budget to climate change programmes. The proposed cut would affect several government agencies like NASA and the US Coast Guard, both which may face up to 14 per cent cuts in the next financial year.

It does, however, make a small one per cent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, a far cry from the proposed 28 per cent for the next financial year.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

The spending bill also includes an increase in funding of $105m (81m) to Amtrak, the federally-funded passenger rail system.

However, Mr Trump has proposed a $2.4bn (1.9bn) which would cut passenger rail services to more than 200 communities in the rural US.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received $34bn (26.4bn) for cancer research in part due to former Vice President Joe Biden, a fierce advocate since his son died of brain cancer.

Mr Trump plans to cut NIH funding into rare diseases in the budget for the next financial year.

Congress is also set to approve approximately $600m (465.5m) for the border wall with Mexico, one of Mr Trumps loudest campaign promises.

He had originally asked for $1bn (776m) for new construction for this financial year, but Congress spending bill will only cover replacement fencing, access roads, communications, and surveillance.

Mr Trump estimated that the nearly 2,000-mile border wall could cost less than $10bn (7.8bn), but most estimates put it around double that amount to take into account new construction.

Democrats also held off a cut to funding Planned Parenthood, the nationwide network of womens health clinics.

Republicans want all federal funding cut to the organisation because it provides abortion services to women. However, only three per cent of the health services it provides are related to abortion.

The cut to funding will likely be included in Mr Trumps full budget.

Mr Trump is expected to sign the spending bill and release his full budget the week of 22 May.
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Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to work together to make diplomatic progress on the threat posed by North Korea, following weeks of escalating tensions between the state and the US.

The White House said in a short statement on the call the two leaders spoke about the best way to resolve the "very dangerous" situation in North Korea.

The Kremlin said that Mr Putin and Mr Trump have agreed during a phone call to try to schedule a face-to-face meeting in Germany in July - around the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Matthew Wallin, Senior Fellow at American Security Project said: "Russias influence will be helpful [on North Korea], but not nearly as much as Chinas cooperation."

He said North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un needs to see that having functioning nuclear weapons is a bigger threat to the country's existence "than the threat of an American or South Korean invasion without them."

"Like China, Russia sees North Korea as a useful check on American power in the region", but Mr Wallin said it was "unclear" if either Mr Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping are willing to put pressure on Mr Kim.

Moscow described the call as "business-like and constructive" with the two presidents also discussing the crisis in Syria.

The RIA news agency, citing the Kremlin, said that Mr Trump and Mr Putin would look to step up contact between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with the aim of intensifying diplomatic efforts over Syria.

Both statements are fairly "generic" on the hot-button issue according to Dr. Steve Sestanovich, who is a professor at Columbia University and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: US missile strike against Syria In pictures: US missile strike against Syria The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches a tomahawk land attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea AP In pictures: US missile strike against Syria The United States military launched at least 50 tomahawk cruise missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs, Syria, in response to the Syrian military's alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in a rebel held area in Idlib province EPA In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Shayrat airfield in Syria Getty Images In pictures: US missile strike against Syria US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea Reuters In pictures: US missile strike against Syria US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea Reuters In pictures: US missile strike against Syria President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., after the US fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria in retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians AP In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Syria's President Bashar al-Assad Reuters

Mr Sestanovich, also a former ambassador-at-large at the State Department, told The Independent that "the entire chemical weapons controversy is ignored [in the statements] - no UN Security Council resolution, no international investigation, no warnings against further use, no reference to any of the parties in the Syrian civil war."

The White House said that the conversation included an agreement that "all parties must do all they can to end the violence" in Syria, which is in the sixth year of a civil war that has also helped fuel the rise of terror group Isis.

However, Mr Wallin said it is "very unlikely well see significant action on ending the suffering in that country" as a result of this call.

The White House noted the Syria conversation was "very good," where the two leaders discussed the creation of safe zones in the country and agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long.

Mr Wallin explained that "the creation of safe zones without a plan to resolve the core issues of the conflict also risks perpetuating those safe zones." He said it would create "permanent refugee camps with no sustainable economy, and likely full of hunger, suffering, and recruiting opportunities for terrorists."

This is the first known discussion between the leaders since the US missile strikes against a Syrian government air base, however Mr Sestanovich said there was nothing in either side's statements that "suggests progress."
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will speak by phone on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Trump will speak with Putin on Tuesday at 4.30pm GMT, the White House said on Monday night.

A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders would likely discuss the civil war in Syria, where Moscow backs the government of Bashar al-Assad and the United States supports rebels trying to overthrow him.

Copyright Reuters
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Two US B-1B bombers were deployed over the Korean peninsula on Monday during a joint drill with South Korea's air force, South Korea's ministry said.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing that the deployment of US bombers was part of efforts to deter provocation by North Korea and respond to threats posed by the North's nuclear and missile programmes.

Moon did not give any further details.

Copyright Reuters
HANGZHOU, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, has rolled out a regulation to protect its section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the world's longest man-made canal.

The regulation has been approved by the standing committee of the provincial people's congress and took effect Monday.

In June, 2014, UNESCO included the Grand Canal, with a history of more than 2,400 years, in the World Heritage list. The 1,011-km-long waterway, running from Beijing to Hangzhou, is the largest civil engineering project to pre-date the Industrial Revolution.

As the south end of the canal, Hangzhou is home to five river channels and six key historical sites along the world heritage waterway.

"The current canal faces threats from both natural erosion and humans' overuse and development," said sources with the comprehensive protection committee of the Hangzhou-section of the Grand Canal.

The regulation bans construction that may threaten the safety of historical sites and the environment along the canal.

Facilities that already threaten the safety of the waterway or have polluted the canal should be removed or dismantled, according to the regulation.
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The first ever direct train from Britain to China arrived in the eastern city of Yiwu at the weekend after a 7,456-mile journey.

The East Wind locomotive travelled through seven countries before arriving at its destination with a cargo of 88 shipping containers filled with alcohol, pharmaceuticals and baby products.

It left London on 10 April and its journey took several days longer than expected. But officials said transporting goods by train is about a month faster than by ship.

 Prince Charles takes charge of steam train

In January, the train made the 17-day journey to Barking, east London from Yiwu, Zhejiang province.

"This freight train is a reflection of the achievements of trade," Timmy Feng, Chairman of Yiwu Timex, which operated the train, told Reuters.

After leaving London, the bright red train passed through seven countries -- France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan -- before entering China. In Yiwu, the train was greeted by Timex employees who waved Chinese and British flags.

For Britain, the train is part of an effort to strengthen trade links with the rest of the world as it prepares to leave the European Union in two years' time.

London is now the 15th European city to have a direct rail link with China after the 2013 unveiling of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

One Belt, One Road is aimed at reviving the ancient Silk Road trade route and developing trade with Europe and other Asian countries.

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 trains name derives from a saying by Chairman Mao: The East Wind shall prevail over the West.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A paedophiles wife has blamed his nine-year-old victim for his crimes.

The family of a child abuse victim has expressed their outrage after Heiki Andrews, wife of sex offender Peter Andrews, called his victim a slut who was sleeping around.

Andrews was convicted by a court in Gold Coast, Australia but avoided prison with a suspended sentence because he has terminal cancer.

In a confrontation reported by 9 News, Ms Andrews said to the victims family: Youre negligent parents, her parents didnt care. Thats why she used to come over and stay.

Shes a slut at 14 sleeping around, did she learn that off you?

It is unknown why Ms Andrews referred to the victim as being 14 years old.

The victims family said Ms Andrews aggression was absolutely unbelievable.

How can you blame a child ten years or younger of coercing a grown man into sexually abusing her? a relative asked the broadcaster.

When asked about the confrontation, Ms Andrews repeatedly told a local journalist to f*** off.

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

Andrew's used video games and a dog to lure his victim to his house.

He and his wife still live in their home, which is near a childrens centre.

His victims family are distributing leaflets to other homes in the area to warn them of Andrews' presence.
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Angela Merkel has publicly raised concerns over the reported persecution of gay men in Chechnya with Vladimir Putin, following wide-ranging talks.

The German Chancellor raised the alleged capture and torture of more than 100 people at a joint press conference with the Russian President in Sochi.

The Kremlin has backed the Chechen government's denials over the brutal campaign, saying it had "no information" to support research by journalists and human rights groups.

Ms Merkel called on the Russian government to properly investigate the allegations and ensure that LGBT people are fully protected in the territories and elsewhere.

She also called for freedom of assembly to be protected, after Russian riot police arrested protesters demonstrating against the persecution. Its important to have the right to demonstrate in a democracy, and the role of NGOs is very importance, Ms Merkel said.

I asked Mr Putin to use his influence to protect these minority rights, as well as in the case of Jehovahs Witnesses. Russias Supreme Court recently banned the Christian sect as an extremist organisation, placing it under the same laws as Isis and Nazis.

Ukraine and Syria dominated the pair's meeting, with the German Chancellor calling on Russia to guarantee repeatedly failed ceasefires in both wars.

 Hundreds protest at Russian embassy over 'gay concentration camps' in Chechnya

In Ukraine, Russia supports separatist rebels fighting the EU-backed Kiev government, while it is allied with President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Mr Putin claimed his government condemns the use of chemical weapons by any party in the conflict and called for an investigation. "Those guilty must be found and punished, but this can be only done after an impartial investigation," he said.

A solution in Syria can be only found by peaceful means and under the aegis of the United Nations."

In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: US missile strike against Syria In pictures: US missile strike against Syria The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches a tomahawk land attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea AP In pictures: US missile strike against Syria The United States military launched at least 50 tomahawk cruise missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs, Syria, in response to the Syrian military's alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in a rebel held area in Idlib province EPA In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Shayrat airfield in Syria Getty Images In pictures: US missile strike against Syria US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea Reuters In pictures: US missile strike against Syria US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea Reuters In pictures: US missile strike against Syria President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., after the US fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria in retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians AP In pictures: US missile strike against Syria Syria's President Bashar al-Assad Reuters

But the Kremlin has repeatedly refuted reports  including from French intelligence services  saying a sarin gas attack that killed dozens of civilians in Khan Sheikhoun was carried out by the regime.

In Ukraine, a peace agreement struck in Minsk has been repeatedly violated by both sides as fighting continues.

Mr Putin claimed the Ukrainian government was the illegitimate product of a "coup" against pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, and blamed Kiev for the separation of two rebel republics.

Ms Merkel said she disagreed with his interpretation of the conflict, where Russia was accused of violating international law by annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

The conflict is one of several issues driving worsening relations with the West, as well as accusations of interference in elections in the US, Germany and elsewhere.

Mr Putin dismissed a journalists question on the claims at Tuesdays press conference, saying accusations of aiding Donald Trumps campaign were unproven rumours used for internal politics.

We never interfere in other countries politics and we want no one to meddle in ours, the Russian President said. Unfortunately, we have seen the opposite happening for years. We have seen attempts to influence political processes in Russia through the so-called NGOs and directly.

Realising the futility of such efforts, it has never occurred to us to interfere. 
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Belgiums foreign ministry wanted Saudi Arabia to know it had voted to elect the kingdom to the UN Commission of Womens Rights, leaked internal emails have reportedly revealed.

The disclosure risks fuelling a further backlash against the European country, which has been accused of putting concerns about equality to one side in order to ingratiate itself with the oil-rich kingdom.

The election of a nation which bans women from driving and working without a male's permission to a body whose role it is to promote womens rights caused an outcry.

It emerged Belgium was one of a handful of EU member states to vote for the conservative nation in a secret ballot.

The leaked documents, seen by Belgian news site 7sur7, also appeared to undermine claims by Belgiums Prime Minister, Charles Michel, that the ballot came unexpectedly and that the diplomat who voted was forced into a hasty decision without proper consultations with Brussels.

Mr Michel last week claimed that electing the nation to the commission was a mistake, citing the countrys poor record on gender equality.

If we could do it again and if we would have the chance to discuss it at government level, I of course would have argued that we not approve this, Mr Michel said.

But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed of the vote at least nine hours before the ballot, according to the leaked documents reported by the news site.

The cabinet sent instructions to the delegation in New York instructing them on how to vote and requesting they inform the various candidates, including Saudi Arabia, of their support, according to the documents.

Deputy leader of the countrys Green party, Benoit Hellings, claimed Belgium's vote was a tactical move and said the foreign ministry was directly responsible.

The cabinet of (foreign minister) Didier Reynders gave the green light to a shameless vote, scorning womens rights, with the aim of getting in the good books of a notoriously no-go country in order to facilitate the election of Belgium to the UN Security Council," he said in a statement.

"Who is responsible for this decision? The minister of foreign affairs himself.

Mr Reynders has maintained he was not personally aware of the vote before it happened.

The countries with anti-women laws Show all 5 1 /5 The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws

Saudi Arabia was ranked third worst for gender equality in a list of 144 countries compiled for the World Economic Forums 2016 Global Gender Gap report.

Yet it gained the approval of 47 of 54 countries on the UN's economic and social council.

The British government has refused to deny that it voted in favour of Saudi Arabia's inclusion.
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Germanys government has launched a 10-point plan to define the countrys culture, starting with the statement: Wir sind nicht Burka (We are not burqa).

The interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, argued Islamic veils that cover the face run contrary to democratic coexistence, adding: We are an open society  we show our face.

The slogan has generated a mixed reception in Germany, with commentators calling it an unproductive addition to a charged debate and one newspaper asking: What does it mean?

It was revealed days after Germanys parliament supported a partial burqa ban for women in the civil service, judiciary and military.

The moves are part of an intensifying national debate on identity and immigration ahead of national elections, amid a right-wing surge following the arrival of more than a million refugees.

Mr de Maiziere claimed that consensus on core German cultural values  Leitkultur  would help integration and cohesion, saying that some standpoints were non-negotiable.

This includes mutual respect and the rule of law over religion, he added.

 'Don't trust' Germany to stay democratic if economy takes a downturn, warns Nazi governor's son

We remain part of the West, proud Europeans and enlightened patriots.

The interior minister defined the term as a person who loves his country and does not hate others, saying the national flag and anthem were core parts of German identity.

Nationalism has been problematic since the Second World War in Germany, where the legacy of Nazism is still keenly felt, but Mr de Maiziere said problems were are all over now, especially for the younger generation.

His 10-point plan included social habits like shaking hands that express national attitudes, education, sport and the arts, Bach and Goethe, as well as traditions including carnivals and folk festivals.

Mr de Maiziere described Germans as the heirs of our history, with all its ups and downs and emphasised the importance of tolerance, adding: We are disturbed by the fact that some things have slipped.

Refugees settle in Germany Show all 12 1 /12 Refugees settle in Germany Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed's wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany A refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants' shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents' laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Efrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Somali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin Getty Images

Politically-motivated crime is at an all-time high in Germany, with left and right wing demonstrators repeatedly clashing and hundreds of refugee homes attacked, while far-right movements including Pegida have gathered strength.

The refugee crisis and a string of Isis-linked terror attacks has driven rising fears over Islamist extremism but Mr de Maiziere emphasised that all religions were a glue for societyin the Christian church, in the synagogue and in the mosque.

Our country is shaped by Christianity, he added. We live in religious peace.

And the basis for this is the absolute supremacy of the law over all religious rules in the state and society.

Recent years have seen rising support for the anti-EU populist Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party but Mr de Maizieres plan claimed that Germans are also Europeans.

We are perhaps the most European country in Europe - no country has more neighbours than Germany, he added.

Police arrest activists during a demonstration against anti-immigration party the Alternative for Germany (AfD) before its convention in Cologne on 22 April (Reuters)

His manifesto was laid out as Angela Merkels centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) push for a fourth election victory in Septembers elections.

It generated controversy by critics who said the government was attempting to impose set rules on German culture and make it dominant over migrants.

Ralf Stegner, deputy leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), called it a cheap attempt to get conservatives going and run along behind right-wing populists.

The AfD, whose poll showings have been declining, also derided the theses as electioneering.

The party is predicted to enter the Bundestag for the first time after unprecedented success in local elections, while the centre-left SPD is also enjoying strong support.

A poll for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper found Ms Merkel's party remains ahead with 36 per cent of support, ahead of the SPD on 29 per cent, The Left party and AfD on 9 per cent each, and the Greens on 7 per cent.
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With just days to go before the decisive second round of the French presidential election, a large number of voters remain undecided between far-right Marine Le Pen and the youthful centrist Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Macron commands an impressive 20-point lead ahead of his rival in most polls  yet there are growing suggestions that in the secrecy of the polling booth, quiet sympathisers for Ms Le Pen could have a big impact on the result.

South of Paris in the wealthy commuter town of Fontainebleau, known for its royal chateau, traditional Catholic values and ageing population, voters in this conservative stronghold provide an insight into the country at large.

In the first round, people here backed right-wing Francois Fillon with nearly 28 per cent of the vote, ahead of Mr Macron on 20 per cent. But with Mr Fillon knocked out in the first round, many here have not yet decided who to cast their vote for in the final vote on Sunday.

Although Mr Macron has been welcomed ahead of Ms Le Pen by Brussels liberal elite, in France the choice has been described by some as one between the plague and the cholera.

In the narrow cobblestone streets of Fontainebleau, a multitude of independent cheese shops, patisseries and designer clothes boutiques do good business.

Sitting at the table of a cafe on the main square, Alain and Christiane Auger, 81 and 72 years old respectively, tell The Independent they voted for Mr Fillon in the first round. Now with no candidates from the traditional right, the couple are anxious about the outcome of 7 May.

Ms Auger said she feared an unofficial third round of the election could take place in the streets, warning of major protests if Ms Le Pen were to be elected president. Yet she still remained hesitant about the idea of voting for Mr Macron.

We are quite old, but we are voting for our children. I was thinking of spoiling my vote but I dont think thats going to help my children.

I have never spoilt my ballot before, I always made a choice, but this time I am so torn. This has never happened in my lifetime. I dont know what to do. If I decide to vote for Mr Macron I will make that decision on the day, she said.

French Presidential Election Show all 20 1 /20 French Presidential Election French Presidential Election Voters line up to cast their ballots REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Police patrol polling stations in France REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election SAA/ French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election Early ballots are read as results continue to come in Reuters French Presidential Election Macron supporters react as results come in early in the evening AP French Presidential Election Supporters of Front National leader Marine Le Pen cheer as early results come in Reuters French Presidential Election Alamy French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen takes to the stage to address her supporters as fans cheer Reuters French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters on Sunday night AP French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux celebrate the incoming results EPA

Mr Auger disagreed and said he could not bring himself to vote for Mr Macron, reluctant to support a candidate who has been so deeply entrenched in the financial sector and who he accused of encouraging sectarianism after he announced there was no French culture but one that is diverse.

My ballot will be blank, said Mr Auger. We know a lot of people here who hesitate too. They dont want to say it, but in the secrecy of the ballot, they might well vote for Ms Le Pen.

In the marketplace, a few shoppers are strolling among the stalls. Days ahead of the vote, politics is not a conversation people want to have. Many here say they are undecided and no one wants to guess what might happen.

On Monday, Ms Le Pen faced ridicule when it emerged she had largely copied a speech by Mr Fillon during her rally in Villepinte.

Her campaign manager, David Rachline, played down plagiarism accusations and painted her speech as a form of tribute to Mr Fillon.

Besides the mockery, the incident clearly shows Ms Le Pen is chasing right-wing voters. She faces a fight against the current in doing so, as Mr Fillon himself has called on his supporters to vote for her opponent.

But for those who put their trust in the conservative candidate in the first round, it isnt that simple.

Francoise, 79, a traditional right-wing voter who has lived in Fontainebleau for nearly 30 years, said: I think everyone is troubled. There are some people who want to spoil their ballot, but I dont see how thats useful. I am like everyone else, I am undecided.

What will happen next Sunday? If Ms Le Pen wins, I dont know where she is going to lead France. The other one [Mr Macron] is a bit young  but he might be a little more grounded. Im old and my life is done but its for the young people.

Another Fillon voter said: I am from the right but I dont know what Mr Macron stands for. Its him or I spoil my ballot, I will make that choice on Sunday.

The rejection of both traditional parties in the first round of the election has blurred political lines and the divide between Frances left and right. But some see it as a positive thing.

People wanted change, now either way they have it and they must accept the consequences, said one man.

In the area around Fontainebleau, the Seine et Marne department, fewer than 2,000 votes differentiated Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen in the first round.

The secretary of the Front National in the area is Aymeric Durox, 31, a history and geography teacher in the local lycee. Sitting down with The Independent, he said that gap could easily be closed.

A dynamic and ambitious activist, Mr Durox will be the partys candidate at the local election in June and is determined to grow the vote for Ms Le Pen in the region.

The teacher said the vote for the Front National attracted working- and middle-class people, which on the surface could be seen as unacceptable for the towns more bourgeois population.

 French Election: Macron and Le Pen to fight for presidency

The Front National is a popular revolution. It still has a bad reputation and many undecided people will not say they are considering to vote for Ms Le Pen. It is still perceived by some as a vote for the popular class and people here dont want to be associated with it.

But some right-wing representatives for the town have come to me to say they will vote for Ms Le Pen in the second round. They just do not want to say it publicly.

Mr Durox said in Fontainebleau, those with strong Christian and patriotic values could be convinced by Ms Le Pen. And if it doesnt happen 2017, Mr Durox said he believed Ms Le Pen would be the governments main opposition and be elected in 2022.

He said young voters, who have grown up with unemployment and an atmosphere of insecurity, were increasingly attracted by the ideas of the far-right party.

We are way beyond any form of racism in the party  there is no racism in the party. We should also leave the Second World War to historians. The Holocaust was a tragedy and we need to move forward. Those discussions do nothing to help the problems of the French people, he said.

Many still have not made a choice ahead on Sundays vote. Although the polls suggest victory for Mr Macron, voters making up their minds with their ballot papers in front of them could make the result swing one way or the other.
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French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has said her countrymen will be carrying francs instead of euros in their pockets within two years.

Reconfirming her promise to revert to France's former currency is she beats centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron in the final round of voting on Sunday,she said she wanted to see Europe's single currency replaced by another, looser type of cooperation.

This could take the form of the European Currency Union's basket of currencies that preceded the euro before it was introduced.

Ms Le Pen, a renowned Eurosceptic who has temporarily stepped down as the leader of far-right party the Front National said that could exist alongside a national currency.

"The objective is to transform the euro 'single currency' into a euro 'common currency', going back to the ancestor of the euro, the ECU, which was an accounting unit that did not stop each country from having each its own currency", she said.

She added that the euro was a deadweight on the French economy, which is the third largest in the EU behind Germany and the UK, and a new national currency would better protect French people's savings.

She claimed the "establishment" wants to "frighten" voters into thinking otherwise but denied that French negotiations to leave the single currency would lead to a banking crisis.

But she refused to rule out imposing capital controls, placing limits on how much people can withdraw from their bank accounts each day, if there was a run on the banks.

"If there's a run on banks, we could very well imagine such a solution for a few days, but I'm telling you it won't happen", she said.

French Presidential Election Show all 20 1 /20 French Presidential Election French Presidential Election Voters line up to cast their ballots REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Police patrol polling stations in France REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election SAA/ French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election Early ballots are read as results continue to come in Reuters French Presidential Election Macron supporters react as results come in early in the evening AP French Presidential Election Supporters of Front National leader Marine Le Pen cheer as early results come in Reuters French Presidential Election Alamy French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen takes to the stage to address her supporters as fans cheer Reuters French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters on Sunday night AP French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux celebrate the incoming results EPA

Many of the richer, northern countries in the eurozone have become increasingly resentful about having to bail out their poor southern neighbours such as Greece.

The Greek, Irish, Spanish and Portuguese governments were forced to accept huge loans in exchange for harsh austerity measures when they suffered from financial crises in 2010.

Although Spain, Portugal and Ireland have largely recovered, Greece is still struggling to pay its debts and has had to go back to the European Central Bank, Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund for debt relief and further loans on several different occasions.

Recommended This is how Marine Le Pen could win the French election

A poll conducted just before the UK's EU referendum last year found more than 60 per cent of French voters now had an unfavourable view of the union as a whole  more so than any of of the other EU countries bar Greece.

During the campaign, Ms Le Pen has played up a call for French sovereignty and the return of its national identity.

She has attacked Brussels for trying to force its laws on the French people, has called for an immediate suspension on all immigration and vowed to fight against the perceived rise of Islamist extremism within civil society.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A refugee has been electrocuted while attempting to climb on the roof of a Eurostar train heading for the UK.

The unidentified man was killed at Pariss Gare du Nord, the busiest railway station in Europe, after being hit by a bolt of electricity from overhead power lines.

Investigators said he was caught on CCTV climbing safety fences to reach international lines at around 5am local time (4am BST) on Tuesday, but was killed within seconds on the roof of a parked train bound for London.

A source told Le Parisien identification would be tough, as the victims burns made them unrecognisable.

Power to railway lines had to be cut while emergency services recovered the mans body, causing disruption to Eurostar and national services in France.

There was an incident this morning at the Gare du Nord that affected some of our services, a spokesperson for Eurostar said.

They are now getting back to normal.

It is the second time an asylum seeker has been electrocuted at the Gare du Nord, after an Egyptian teenager attempting to reach Britain died in July 2015.

Calais refugee camp evacuation Show all 15 1 /15 Calais refugee camp evacuation Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees run past a fire in the makeshift migrant camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French authorities say the closure of the slum-like camp in Calais will last approximately a week in what they describe as a "humanitarian" operation, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation A painted message saying 'Bye Jungle' on a tent in the camp in Calais, October 2016 Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees set rubbish bins alight as a protest in the makeshift camp 'the Jungle' in Calais, France, October 2016 EPA Calais refugee camp evacuation French riot police advance through tear gas and smoke from a fire to disperse refugees throwing stones and lighting fires at the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in France Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Journalists run away from smoke during clashes near a makeshift refugee camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in Franc Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Migrants queue for transportation by bus to reception centres across France, from the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees line-up to register at a processing centre in the 'jungle' near Calais, northern France, as the mass exodus from the migrant camp begins PA wire Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French far-right Front National (FN) party's member of parliament Marion Marechal-Le Pen (L) delivers a speech next to a banner reading "They arrive in Vaucluse, no migrants in our place" as she attends a rally against the hosting of refugees in La Tour d'Aigues Getty Images Calais refugee camp evacuation French police forces secure the area near the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees carry their belongings and transfer to reception centers in France

An unknown number of migrants have also been suffocated, run over, hit by trains and drowned in desperate attempts to swim to England.

Disruption and deaths in the summer of 2015 caused Eurostar to deploy drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras to monitor the Channel Tunnel, while the British Government funded a multi-million pound wall separating Calaiss main motorway from refugee camps.

The Jungle was cleared by police last year, with the French government vowing to resettle evicted asylum seekers, but many have returned to the northern coast.

Thousands more are spread throughout the country after crossing to Europe by sea, including many sleeping rough in Paris, where police have been accused of violent crackdowns on homeless migrants.

The British Government has largely refused to resettle refugees who have already reached Europe, and dropped a commitment to house vulnerable children before freeing up 130 places following an administrative error.

Despite efforts to slow the flow of boats arriving from Turkey to Greek islands, the number of migrants crossing the Central Mediterranean to Italy is increasing.

A record of almost 1,100 men, women and children have died attempting sea journeys to Europe so far this year, while 44,000 have arrived mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Iraq.
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A majority of Russians say they would back far-right candidate Marine Le Pen over her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron in the forthcoming French presidential election, according to a poll.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents said they would vote for the former Front National candidate, while just eight per cent expressed support for the former economy minister and frontrunner in this Sundays runoff.

A quarter (26 per cent) of Russians polled said they were not in favour of anyone in the presidential race.

The survey by Russian pollster VCIOM showed 57 per cent of people believed the forthcoming election would have significant consequences for Russia.

Recommended British politics needs an Emmanuel Macron of its own

A third (35 per cent) said the result of Sundays vote was not important.

Valery Fedorov, VCIOMs director, said: The most vital issue is what policy towards Russia will the next French president carry out.

In this context, the overwhelming majority of Russian respondents sympathies lie with Marine Le Pen, which is becoming clear given that she explicitly calls for overcoming the current conflict between Moscow and the West, and normalising ties with Russia.

The telephone survey of 1,200 Russians, carried out between 25-26 April, follows a poll by the same firm which found high levels of support for Donald Trump in the days before the US election.

In the November 2016 survey, 45 per cent of Russians asked about the presidential election said they would have voted for Mr Trump, while only four per cent said they would have backed Hillary Clinton. Forty-two per cent said they would not have voted at all.

French Presidential Election Show all 20 1 /20 French Presidential Election French Presidential Election Voters line up to cast their ballots REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Police patrol polling stations in France REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux REUTERS French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron casts his ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election SAA/ French Presidential Election REUTERS French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen casts her ballot REUTERS French Presidential Election Early ballots are read as results continue to come in Reuters French Presidential Election Macron supporters react as results come in early in the evening AP French Presidential Election Supporters of Front National leader Marine Le Pen cheer as early results come in Reuters French Presidential Election Alamy French Presidential Election Front National leader Marine Le Pen takes to the stage to address her supporters as fans cheer Reuters French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron greets supporters on Sunday night AP French Presidential Election Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux celebrate the incoming results EPA

Opinion polls conducted in France point show a commanding lead for Mr Macron, who stands on 59 per cent to Ms Le Pen 41 per cent in the latest survey published on Tuesday.

It comes as Mr Macron named Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of autocratic leaders allied to Ms Le Pen.

We all know who Le Pens allies are: [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban, Putin, he said.

These arent regimes with an open and free democracy.
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A Russian military expert has claimed Moscow has been "seeding" nuclear bombs off the US coastline.

The Kremlin has dismissed the claim as "strange", while an independent expert referred to it as an act of "political warfare".

Viktor Baranetz, a former colonel and defence ministry spokesman, told Komsomolskaya Pravda Russia was quietly 'seeding' the US shoreline with nuclear 'mole' missiles".

The measures - which have not been proven - were "asymmetrical responses" to massive US defence spending, Mr Baranetz said.

They "dig themselves in and 'sleep' until they are given the command," he told the newspaper.

 Donald Trump to reconsider US aim of world without nuclear weapons

He added: "Oh, it seems I've said too much. I should hold my tongue. In short, we have something to provide an 'asymmetrical' (and cheaper) response to the Americans."

The interview was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The Kremlin was quick to dismiss the remarks, calling them strange.

I would suggest that you not take newspaper reports like this seriously, government spokesman spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

But according to James Nixey, head of the Chatham House Russia and Eurasia programme, the outlandish claim was just another episode in the hybrid war which he said exists between Russia and the West.

We are at war, Mr Nixey told The Independent. Theres no tanks, no shooting, no ones dying right now. But Russia and the West arent just not getting on, there is a fundamental clash of interests, values and ambitions.

Moscow realises using the military is no longer the best way of achieving its aims, Mr Nixey said, and will use a number of methods in its place. He explained that while Russia will employ methods such as cyber-attacks, energy manipulation or bribery, the nuclear option remains the ace in the pack.

Russia ebbs and flows its nuclear rhetoric on a frequent basis  through its media, spokespersons and even President  there are constant reminders that they are a nuclear power, Mr Nixey said. He said the message could also be deployed through less official means, such as in journals or at conferences.

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. 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Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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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. 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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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While Russias status in economic or political terms may be declining, Mr Nixey said its nuclear weapons give it a sense of superpower parity", which can be played down when events are going well or escalated when Trump isnt playing ball.

This is another flag they are waving to try to ensure the US becomes more acquiescent, Mr Nixey said. Its political warfare.
Two police officers wounded in May Day rally in Paris

(File photo)

PARIS, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Two riot policemen were wounded after protestors participating at May Day rally in Paris hurled projectiles and Molotov cocktails, Paris prefecture said on Monday.

On its twitter account, the prefecture wrote "masked individuals threw projectiles and Molotov cocktails at police. Two riot policemen injured."

In a context of high terror risk, 9,000 policemen, gendarmes and soldiers were mobilized on Monday with 2,000 of them deployed to secure protests in the French capital, it added.

According to news channel BFMTV, three policemen were wounded with one of them in serious condition following a clash erupted on the rally sidelines.

One person was arrested after 150 masked people attacked riot police, who replied by using tear gas, according to local media reports.
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The fields around Grabova and Debaltsave came to international attention as the crash site of Flight MH17, the Malaysia Airlines aircraft Ukraines separatists were accused of shooting down. But along the roads, on the scarred landscape, is another reminder of the civil war, one which continues to pose a great problem for the government in Kiev.

These are coal mines which are now in the Russian sponsored Donetsk Peoples Republic, lost to Ukraine. To the south Crimea, annexed by Moscow, is another piece of territory lost, and with it has gone a maritime zone with underwater energy resources, which analysts say may rival the North Sea.

To the west the town of Slovyansk, scene of bitter fighting not long ago, sits part of the countrys shale gas reserves of 1.2 trillion, the third largest in Europe, yet reserves which have remained largely unexplored due to the strife.

All this has contributed to Ukraine facing an energy crisis which makes it dependant on gas from Russia with a source of friction over the terms of trade to add to the bitter political enmity between the two states.

It is not just Ukraine which is dependent on Moscow for energy, but a lot of Western Europe. One reason Boris Johnsons recent attempt to toughen sanctions against Vladimir Putins government so abjectly failed was because of the thirst of German industry for supplies from the east.

An international conference in Houston, Texas, starting on Wednesday will examine how Ukraine can become energy self-sufficient and, in the future, can even start exporting to the West.

Ukrainian companies and the government of Petro Poroshenko insist this is something highly achievable. Vadym Pozharskyi, advisor to the board of directors of The Burisma Group, the countrys largest private gas concern, said: A major part of our objective, our strategic goal in the coming years is energy independence.

The fact is that the energy sector is a key source of revenues for the Ukrainian budget, we are not only providing the country with domestic gas, but also investing billions in production and state of the art exploration and drilling technologies.

Of course Ukraine lost sources of energy in the east, but there are other sources with significant potential.

Mr Pozharskyi continued: We have always encouraged the government and market players to reform the gas market based on European best practices. It is absolutely crucial that market players, infrastructure investors and also Ukraines international partners see our country as a reliable partner if we are to reach that potential.

Ukraine: Nation on the brink of bankruptcy Show all 4 1 /4 Ukraine: Nation on the brink of bankruptcy Ukraine: Nation on the brink of bankruptcy 142065.bin REUTERS Ukraine: Nation on the brink of bankruptcy 142066.bin REUTERS Ukraine: Nation on the brink of bankruptcy 142067.bin REUTERS Ukraine: Nation on the brink of bankruptcy 142064.bin AP

Allegations of corruption and inefficiency continues to bedevil Ukraine four years after the Maidan protests overthrew the government of Putin ally Viktor Yanukovych. Burisma and other companies in Ukraines private energy sector complain that the gas regulator had imposed bureaucratic restrictions which is hindering the aim of self-sufficiency.

But Burisma has also been involved in court proceedings with its president, Nikolay Zlochevski, a former government minister, facing criminal charges over alleged misappropriation of assets. However, after two lengthy trials, in Britain, where the assets were held, and Ukraine, the charges were dismissed.

The company hired a former US District Attorney General, John Buretta, as counsel. He is among a number of Western figures with ties to the company including Hunter Biden, the son Joe Biden, the former US vice-president and Joseph Cofer Black, an ex- director of counterintelligence at the CIA.

Mr Buretta wanted to point out that the High Court in London and the court in Kiev had totally exonerated Mr Zlochevski of charges. He said: I have extensive experience with assessing allegations of corruption, both from the government side while serving in the Department of Justice, and from the private side.I have served as an expert witness in proceedings outside the US in such matters and have handled a broad range of matters for companies and individuals involving various countries.

Regardless of the country, it is important that prosecutors follow the law and the evidence the law and evidence dictates; then the rule of law flourishes.

Final report on downing of MH17 in Ukraine due

While Burisma and Ukrainian gas companies try to drive the country towards self-sufficiency and a future exporter, there is acrimony within the EU over Russian gas. Berlin has publicly acknowledged the need to be less reliant on Moscow, but, at the same time, it is engaged with the Nord Stream 2 project which will pipe Russian gas from the Baltic to Germany.

This has led to protests from member states in eastern Europe. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo maintained this project is not an economic one, its a geopolitical one. But Nord Stream 2 is going ahead.

Moscow remains convinced that its strategic advantage, asymmetric interdependency, will continue. As a member of the silovki, the officialdom of the security sector, declared recently: Russia can live at least one year without any European investment and technology. But Europe cannot survive for even 30 days without Russian gas.
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A pair of Russian opposition activists have been partially blinded by acid attacks in just two days.

The incidents have fuelled fears that a reported clampdown on political resistance in the country is escalating.

Unknown assailants threw green dye in lawyer-turned political activist Alexei Navalny's face on Thursday, resulting in chemical burns to his right eye, independent television network Dozhd reported.

Recommended Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for protest

Mr Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation investigates the wealth of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.

The next day, Natalia Fyodorova, a Moscow-based activist for the Russian opposition party Yabloko, suffered burns to her eyes after an assailant splashed her with a chemical as she was leaving her house.

The head of the Yabloko's Moscow branch told independent news agency Interfax that she had lost vision, but may regain her sight with time.

Mr Navalny, one of the foremost Russian critics of President Vladimir Putin who has announced his intention to run for president himself, blamed the Kremlin for the attack.

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. 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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. 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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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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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After a video of the attack surfaced on the REN TV website  a pro-government television channel  Mr Navalny wrote on Twitter: This is the best proof that the FSB and the [Presidential Administration] were also involved. [Its their] trademark style.

Authorities have denied having any connection to the attacks.
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Hamass founding charter was announced to the world from a Gaza refugee camp in 1988. The setting for its first ever policy update on Monday night  a glitzy hotel in Doha  shows how nearly 30 years on, the organisations aims have shifted.

While the new manifesto is widely viewed as a rebrand for the fundamentalist Islamist group that seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, many of the new declarations have been discussed by Hamas officials for years.

The decision to present a more pragmatic political programme now is the result of both the growing dissatisfaction of Gazans with nothing to show after 10 years of Hamas rule, and the pressure of strained relations with the rival Palestinian Authority (PA), Egypt, Israel and the new US administration.

Hamas seeks to mend relations with Egypt

The new document  four years in the making  is still a milestone in the groups history. While it does not explicitly recognise the state of Israel, it accepts the borders of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 boundaries for the first time, and drops the anti-Semitic language for which the original charter was heavily criticised.

It also erases all mentions of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the pan-Arab Islamist movement which has been banned by the authorities in neighbouring Egypt.

The document gives us a chance to connect with the outside world, spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum told reporters in Qatar on Monday.

Our message is: Hamas is not radical. We are a pragmatic and civilised movement. We do not hate the Jews. We only fight who occupies our lands and kills our people.

The enemy within: life under Hamas Show all 2 1 /2 The enemy within: life under Hamas The enemy within: life under Hamas 505150.bin AFP/Getty Images The enemy within: life under Hamas 505149.bin AFP/Getty Images

Hamass movement is a viable, renewable developing movement in their ideologically awareness and political performance as much as it is developing in its struggle and fighting aspects, Khaled Mashaal, the organisations outgoing exiled leader, added.

The perceived softening of Hamass stance has been dismissed by Israeli authorities. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said the group was just attempting to fool the world it had changed its terrorist stripes.

But the signalling of a new direction is as much about internal Palestinian politics as international relations, said Diana Buttu, a Ramallah-based political analyst and former advisor to Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chair and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

This turns up the pressure on Abbas, she told The Independent. The PA has been exerting enormous pressure on Gaza recently: financially, trade tariffs, aid.

But he can no longer say that Hamas is too extremist as an excuse not to restart the reconciliation process with the PA now.

Whether the official policy changes will be enough to improve relations with either the PA or Egypt, which has maintained a crippling border blockade against Hamas since 2007, remains to be seen.

And while the new declarations are a marked departure from Hamass founding charter, since the group still refuses to recognise previous PLO-brokered peace deals and to denounce the use of violence, the international community is unlikely to reconsider its near-universal status as a terrorist organisation.

Hamass announcement comes just two days before President Abbas is due to visit US President Donald Trump in Washington DC.

The pair are expected to discuss the 10,000 new Jewish settler homes in the West Bank announced since Mr Trump took office.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used nerve agents and chlorine gas on rebel targets at least four times in the last six months, a new report from Human Rights Watch says.

Pictures and video of children choking on what is believed to be deadly sarin gas - a toxin that attacks the nervous system - in the village of Khan Sheikhoun last month caused outrage around the world. More than 80 people were killed in the incident, which several international agencies believe was a deliberate attack carried out by the Syrian regime.

Damascus and its allies in Moscow maintain that the 4 April casualties were caused when a conventional air strike on an al-Qaeda weapons depot nearby caused an explosion, releasing the deadly gases. The claim has been debunked by war monitors.

 UK 'could bypass Commons vote' to join US military action in Syria

The [Syrian] government's recent use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation  and part of a clear pattern, Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watchs executive director, said in a news conference.

A 48-page-report from the rights watchdog released on Tuesday also blames the Assad government for deaths in several more incidents in rebel territory since October 2016.

The government has dropped nerve agents on another three occasions since 12 December, and chlorine bombs dropped by helicopters or launched by ground munitions are now widespread and systematic.

In at least some of the attacks, the intention appears to have been to inflict severe suffering on the civilian population, which would amount to crimes against humanity, the report reads.

The Syrian government surrendered its chemical arsenal to an international watchdog after the deaths of hundreds due to a sarin attack in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus in 2013, although the opposition has long accused the regime of holding back some of its supply and manufacturing new agents on a small scale.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has said it believes Mr Assad's government is responsible for at least two chemical weapons attacks that have occurred in Syria since then - claims the president also denies.

Last month Russia's representative to the United Nations vetoed a Security Council resolution which would have recommended an immediate international investigation into the Khan Sheikhoun attack.

In his only interview since the chemical incident, Mr Assad said any investigation would have to be impartial, adding: When we make sure that unbiased countries will participate in this delegation in order to make sure that they won't use it for politicised purposes.
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Meeting a tour guide at the church exit of the Saint Germain des Pres metro stop is like going on a specific kind of Tinder date, I decide, as I stand there waiting for the stranger Im due to meet. What a stupid observation! My tour guide, Heidi Evans, is a professional, so she arrives holding a tote bag emblazoned with the name of her women-focused tour company, Women of Paris. She is taking me, a woman, with a few other women on a women-focused tour of the neighbourhood. Men are, of course, welcome, but are conspicuous by their absence today.

Evans started running her essential tour last year. Its based in the Left Bank and takes in the Pantheon and the Jardins de Luxembourg, unravelling stories of incredible women at every turn. Its goal is to demonstrate how women have shaped the city.

Last month, she launched a second tour, Sugar & Spice, which mixes the stories of female writers with pastries and sweets. Womanly, writerly and hungry as I am, this one sounded like my jam.

And so here we are at our meeting place opposite Les Deux Magots, the famous cafe whose patrons  as far as I know  have included such men as Pablo Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway, and whose cappuccinos cost 7.30. Ours is a small group of solo strangers, but Heidi is purposeful and cheerful, and very quickly we are all raring to go.

Shes a Londoner in her twenties who came to Paris looking for an adventure. She started giving city tours with agencies  often those free tours on which tourists are asked to tip whatever they feel is right. She had to pay the agency to lead those, and that appalled her at the time, but now she says its how she got so good at what she does.

Heidi Evans new tour concentrates on the often ignored women who shaped Paris (Women of Paris)

But I was sick of talking about men. Id get to mention a few bad women, or women who were known as muses and mistresses, she says. I used to point out a statue of Joan of Arc at the Sacre Coeur and Id ask tourists to guess who it was. Once I gave them their clue (its a woman), theyd get it in one. As though she was the only woman in France! I wanted to talk about more badass Parisian women. With these tours, I want to be part of helping visitors and Parisians get a more gender-balanced view of this brilliant city.

We start at the Espace des Femmes, a bookstore and gallery accessed via a plant-filled passageway off your average cinematic Saint Germain cobbled street. Editions des Femmes is the publishing house founded in 1972 by psychoanalyst and figure of the French womens liberation movement Antoinette Fouque. As part of it, she created Frances first collection of audiobooks  the Bibliotheque des Voix, or Library of Voices. Her goal was to make literature accessible to housewives, who were busy doing everything for everyone, and not getting to read. The Bibliotheque des Voix is going strong, and includes the voices of Catherine Deneuve and Sonia Rykiel.

Londoner Heidi launched the tours because she was "sick of" talking about famous Parisian men (Women of Paris)

We also see the home of the writer Colette, in which she was locked by her husband Willy for up for 16 hours a day  to write books he would take credit for. And I am particularly taken with George Sand, a pseudonym for novelist and memoirist Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, whose name is so magnificent its extra devastating she couldnt just use it. Dupin dressed as a man so she could access venues that women were barred from. She wore top hats and cravats. How was she going to write if she couldnt live life?

Meanwhile, Ive eaten grapefruit chocolates from macaron maniac Pierre Herme, salted caramel kouignettes (little layered butter cakes) from Breton chocolatier Georges Larnicol and signature vanilla gaufres from Meert (waffles from Lille with Madagascan vanilla filling). Its so civilised, wandering these dreamy streets with beautiful paper bags in hand, nibbling on Pariss crumbliest, flakiest, butteriest and best.

We end back at Les Deux Magots, where Heidi bypasses Sartre to take us straight to a portrait of Simone de Beauvoir sitting in her usual seat there. She could be any one of my writerly pals at their Macbooks.

Heidis tours take in well known places like Les Deux Magots, but talk about the lesser known women associated with them (AFP/Getty)

Heidi wraps things up under a blue sky  she says she hopes we feel inspired, and not sick. I head off to find a cafe that serves cappuccinos for under 3 and settle into my own cute de Beauvoir-ish corner to hatch a plan. Tomorrow, after Ive shopped for a top hat, Ill start work on my memoirs. Or Ill buy six more of those waffles. Either is good.

Travel essentials

Getting there

Eurostar runs from St Pancras International to the Gare du Nord from 58 return.

Staying there

COQ Hotel has nothing to do with chickens; it stands for Community of Quality. But overlook that  its a smart, handsome looking hotel in the quiet 13th arrondissement in the south. Theres charcuterie and great wine in the lobby. Doubles from 113, B&B.

More information

Heidis tours cost from 35 per person, womenofparis.fr
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The US State Department has issued a new terror alert warning Americans about travelling to Europe.

The notice cited incidents linked to terrorism in France, Russia, Sweden and the UK as evidence Isis, al-Qaeda and affiliated groups could carry out terror attacks on the continent.

While local governments continue counter-terrorism operations, the department nevertheless remains concerned about the potential for future terrorist attacks, the alert said.

US citizens should always be alert to the possibility that terrorist sympathisers or self-radicalised extremists may conduct attacks with little or no warning.

The department warned that extremists targeted tourist and transport hubs, with clubs, hotels, restaurants and places of worship priority locations for attacks. It said US citizens should be particularly vigilant during the summer travel period, when "large crowds may be common".

The alert will expire on 1 September.

In February Max Hull, Britain's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation warned Britain was facing a level if threat from Isis not seen since the IRA attacks in the 1970s. The UK's terror threat level remained at "severe" in the wake of the attack in Westminster in March, meaning another incident is highly likely.

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

Last week it was reported that security services in the US were planning on extending a ban on passengers taking laptops into aeroplane cabins on flights from Europe.

The ban, which already affected travellers from Middle Eastern countries, was expected to be expanded within a matter of weeks. British security officials were reportedly waiting to hear if the rule would apply to the UK.

Under the rules, any devices larger than a mobile phone need to be checked in and stored in the hold, where they can be screened more extensively.

After the initial laptop ban was brought in in January, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly indicated the restrictions could be extended, saying US officials would tighten up their procedures to ensure more thorough vetting.
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A Merseyside man who inadvertently left behind cash and documents at a Turkish airport security checkpoint has made a 4,000-mile round trip to pick up the valuables after the airline refused to bring them back for him.

Adrian Buchanan, a 48-year-old IT technician from the Wirral, was returning from Antalya airport to Manchester on Thomas Cook Airlines on 17 April after a family holiday. The new UK rules on electronic devices from Turkey meant a second security check was conducted at the gate, which Mr Buchanan described as chaotic.

He told The Independent: Two officers searched my bag. They took out my camera from its packaging the wrong way up and all the accessories start dropping out. While I collected them, the search continued.

In the same bag was a black A4 folder containing the familys holiday documents, health cards and 3,000 Turkish lira (650). The folder was removed so the rest of the contents could be examined.

Once I was given the all-clear, everything was replaced except the black folder which was accidentally left at the side of the security desk. In the confusion, I didn't notice the folder was not in the bag as my mind was on my son following me through.

We boarded the plane none the wiser. It was only when back at Manchester airport we found the folder missing."

He immediately contacted Thomas Cook Airlines, but was told the firm could not transport the package "for insurance reasons".

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Mr Buchanan also asked his travel agent, Travel Republic, for help, but the firm also declined to assist him.

Eventually a lady named Gizem Ceylan from Celebi [the Turkish ground-handler] emailed me saying she had the folder and could I collect it?

"She thought I was still in Turkey, but I explained I was in the UK."

Mr Buchanan then approached a number of courier services to bring the documents home, but was told that money-laundering regulations precluded them transporting the cash.

With all avenues exhausted, I set about buying a return flight to Antalya. I found an overnight trip from East Midlands on Thomas Cook, costing only 52 return  though I had to book each flight as a one-way because there had to be a minimum two-hour turnaround time at the airport.

The plane was due to spend only an hour on the ground in Turkey. So I arranged with the ground handlers at the airport to have the parcel ready."

Mr Buchanan left work on Merseyside at 1.45pm on Friday 28 April to drive over 100 miles to East Midlands airport for the 6.45pm departure. Antalya airport is another 1,898 miles from East Midlands.

Once on the plane to Turkey, he explained the situation to cabin crew. They said they couldn't understand why I was having to do my trip and why they couldn't bring the folder back for me on a flight."

Flight MT452 traversed France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece en route to Turkey, where it touched down just after 1am local time.

"I was allowed to leave the plane first and the crew promised they would not leave without me.

A member of ground staff greeted Mr Buchanan from the plane and gave him the folder. Crucially, they had pre-checked me in on the flight home," he said. "They gave me the boarding pass and then escorted me through through security. I took extra care of the folder  I didnt want to make another trip.

The homeward routing took in the airspace of five additional countries: Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. After flying over a total of 17 nations during the course of the night, the aircraft landed on time back at East Midlands airport.

I couldn't have wished it to go any better and can't thank the Thomas Cook cabin crew and Turkish ground staff enough, he said. "If I hadn't made it, I would have had to wait three days in Turkey and buy a new ticket for a flight to Birmingham."

But Mr Buchanan was still a long way from home.

In all, I left work at 1.45pm on 28 April and returned after driving home from East Midlands airport at about 8.30am on 29 April after a non-stop 4,000-mile overnight adventure.

It's been ridiculous that I had to do what I've done, and other passengers need to be aware in case it happens to them.

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook Airlines said: Were extremely sorry weve not been in a position to help on this occasion, but local rules prevent us from collecting and carrying cash or documents for other people.

Mr Buchanan is now seeking to reclaim out-of-pocket expenses from his travel insurer.

A spokesperson for Travel Republic, the agent he had booked with, said: We are happy to hear Mr Buchanan has been reunited with his items, and we are sorry we were unable to help, but customers are responsible for their lost property.

"Should a Travel Republic customer lose any items whilst on holiday, they can contact our customer support team for advice on how to retrieve their items, but we cannot facilitate or make arrangements for delivery, as this is not a service we offer.
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As demand soars for the first non-stop flight from the UK to Australia, Qantas has confirmed its website is understating the duration of the longest flight from London by an hour.

On Sunday 25 March 2018, QF10 will take off from Heathrow, its destination Perth in Western Australia, at 1.30pm. When seats went on sale last Thursday morning, The Independent derived information on the flights length from the airlines website, which assures travellers the journey time is 15 hours 45 minutes.

Qantas now says the trip will take an hour longer, touching down in the Western Australian capital almost 17 hours after leaving London. But travellers booked on the inbound leg from Perth to Heathrow may be relieved to learn that a journey shown as taking 18 hours 20 minutes will be an hour shorter.

An airline spokesperson said: The website is currently being updated to reflect this.

Five days on from the problem being identified, qantas.com is still providing inaccurate flight duration information.

Qantas has launched the first-stop flights from London to Australia (Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Demand for the first departure on the 9,009-mile journey has been intense. The basic price for a Sunday lunchtime flight on the new service, based on a round-trip purchase, is 690. Tickets for the maiden flight sold strongly at 755 on Thursday morning. Within a few hours, the fare had risen to 835 because of strong demand. And within 24 hours, the cheapest seat was 915 one-way.

By way of contrast, Cathay Pacific is selling top-quality return trips via Hong Kong for late March and early April 2018 for 648 return.

A Qantas spokesperson said: We are seeing really strong bookings, particularly a lot of interest in our historic inaugural flights  there are no seats left in the Business and Premium Economy cabins for the first flight but there is still about half the seats left in Economy."

For a flight to Australia to fill almost a year ahead is unprecedented. The airline said: "Most people usually start to plan their trips about six months ahead.

Bookings for the first non-stop flight from Australia on 24 March 2018 are equally heavy. The Independent has revealed that the lowest fares for passengers starting their journeys in Perth are up to one-third higher than for travellers originating in London.
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First they introduced separate lines for locals and tourists at popular vaporetto stops. Next came rumblings about wheeled suitcases being banned. In between weve had protests about locals being priced out and viral videos of badly behaved tourists swimming in the Grand Canal.

And now Venice has taken a step closer towards Barcelonas deliberate discouragement of tourists by bringing in people-counters at the citys most popular sites, and planning to introduce a ticketing system for Piazza San Marco, the main square.

A city council meeting last Thursday approved plans  proposed by mayor Luigi Brugnaro and councillor for tourism Paola Mar  to effect the changes as quickly as possible.

Initially, the counters will merely register the number of people at popular sites, and share the figures in real time on social media and the citys website, in the hope of deterring visitors from over-subscribed places such as Piazza San Marco and the Doges Palace, rather than capping numbers.

Crowds near Piazza San Marco can be overwhelming during summer (Mararie/Flickr ) (Mararie/Flickr)

But ultimately, according to local newspapers, the council plans ticketed entry to the area marciana around the citys most famous square.

Paid-for tickets to book entrance into Piazza San Marco "is an eventuality that exists, though not immediately", Mar told local paper Il Gazzettino, adding that any ticketing would be introduced "as part of an agreed route".

Recommended How to enjoy Venice without destroying it

The council has also announced plans to bring in new maps highlighting lesser known routes around Venice, as well as a publicity campaign highlighting lesser known areas.

There is no indication so far as to when the counters will be introduced, but Brugnaro  who last year received an ultimatum from Unesco that unless swift action is taken, Venice will make its way onto its black list of at-risk sites  has announced that action will be taken sooner rather than later. The sites announced so far include the Riva degli Schiavoni (the waterside promenade which ends at Piazza San Marco), and bridges leading away from the railway station and Piazzale Roma, the terminus for the mainland.

Free WiFi will also be opened up to all, allowing the council to track and profile visitors in each location.

Not everyone is on board with the proposals, however. One Venetian shopowner, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Independent that they didn't like the idea "because I'd feel like the city was even more of an amusement park than it already is." Meanwhile, Italys minister of culture Dario Franceschini told reporters: Im against the idea of a ticket. You cannot make people pay a fee to access a historic centre or a square. Cities must stay open and free.

Locals have protested against the impact of tourism and cruise ships in particular (Getty Images)

However, he did acknowledge that places of art that already suffer from overcrowding today, and that are fragile themselves, cannot hold an unlimited number of tourists. Places like Piazza San Marco have a finite capacity. They must be protected.

Venice currently receives 30 million visitors per year, most of whom confine themselves to the most popular sights and routes around the city. A significant number are day trippers or cruise visitors, who contribute little or nothing to the local economy.

Charging visitors to enter city centres is a new idea for Italy, but not for the world. Visitors to Lijiang in Chinas Yunnan province must shell out 80RMB (9) to enter the historic old town.
Michelle Obama promoted healthy school lunch standards in 2014 (file photo)

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday rolled back the country's healthy school lunch standards promoted by former first lady Michelle Obama, citing the move will give schools more flexibility.

In an interim final rule, U.S. states are allowed to exempt schools in the 2017-2018 school year from having to replace all their grains with whole-grain rich products if they are having a hard time meeting the standard.

The U.S. Agriculture Department also postpones further sodium reductions for at least three years and allows schools to serve non-whole grain rich products occasionally as well as one percent flavored milk.

"This announcement is the result of years of feedback from students, schools, and food service experts about the challenges they are facing in meeting the final regulations for school meals," Perdue said in a statement. This is his first major action in office.

"If kids aren't eating the food, and it's ending up in the trash, they aren't getting any nutrition - thus undermining the intent of the program."

Sodium levels in U.S. school lunches now must average less than 1,230 milligrams in elementary schools; 1,360 mg in middle schools; and 1,420 mg in high school.

Before Perdue's rule, schools were expected to reduce sodium even further to average less than 935 milligrams in elementary schools, 1035 milligrams in middle school lunches and 1,080 in high school lunches by July 1, 2017. Further reductions were set to take effect by July 1, 2022, according to a TheHill daily news report.

The former standards also required all grains, including croutons and the breading on chicken patties, to be whole grain rich in U.S. schools.

"Improving children's health should be a top priority for the USDA, and serving more nutritious foods in schools is a clear-cut way to accomplish this goal," American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said in a statement before Purdue's announcement.

The Obama administration started introducing healthier school meal rules in 2012 as part of the then first lady's "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity.

The Obama administration rules set fat, sugar and sodium limits on foods in the lunch line and beyond. U.S. schools have long been required to follow government nutrition rules if they accept federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals for low-income students, but these standards were stricter.
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From a European perspective, it seems as though there are more in Britain who support Brexit than the 52 per cent who turned out to vote in the EU referendum. The prevalence of arch-Remainers seems to dwindle as the days go on.

It is quite surprising to see how little support the idea of a second referendum has garnered in the UK, as a way of making the plebiscite more structured. Never more so than well before June last year, as David Cameron tiptoed around the murky waters in which he finally drowned.

A straightforward yes or no on such an important membership was always going to be specious. But the feelings many harboured were genuine. Were they in the real majority? Yes, and quite possibly by far more than a few per cent.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Perhaps some of you are also under the impression that more people than the 52 per cent are in favour of Brexit. The 48 per cent who turned up with their Brussels-made swords knew deep down their country was anti-Europe, but they were still up for the fight. In real terms, they had no chance of winning the referendum.

Before you couldn't say this for certain  now you probably can. According to the latest polls, the Lib Dems are gathering meagre support  and that's the only party offering voters a tangible chance of staying in the EU via a second referendum (it is worth noting that the Green Party are pushing for a ratification referendum). It should be getting plenty more endorsement, and it tellingly isn't.

Polls are showing a three point drop for the Lib Dems, the vocal anti-Brexit party.

Whatever the case, newspaper pundits and mainstream politicians alike are not supposed to indulge  and they don't  in narratives dissing the sacred 23 June referendum outcome, as this would sound neither reasonable nor fair. It would be sacrilege to do so.

Yet, voters are free to express their own views and push media and political hypocrisy to one side, if they feel they're being taken for a ride. But look at the polls now: the British public clearly don't feel this. Brexit is, seemingly, alright with the majority.

 Home Secretary Amber Rudd says she doesn't know if reports of Brexit negotiations are true

At this point, my understanding is that a clear (not a narrow) majority of Britons want right out of Europe  perfectly in line with a palpable sentiment I've witnessed first-hand as a foreigner and continental EU citizen. Either that, or people are at this stage simply not bothered. The country will survive, and a keep calm kind of attitude has descended upon the country.

Besides, how many of those who didn't vote on 23 June could be persuaded then the EU is a good thing for the UK? We can debate this until the cows come home, but one thing is certain: they didnt think bothering to vote in the referendum was all that relevant to them. Jeremy Corbyn has known this all along, and that's why he can afford to be very critical of the EU and unabashedly wave through Theresa May's plans: only very few will turn him down purely because of his views on Brussels. (It's worth noting that Corbyn has been harshly criticised in various centre-left European newspapers like El Pais and Suddeutsche Zeitung.)

YouGov has reported that 51 per cent of voters would like the UK to remain a member of the European Single Market: a case of having your cake and eating it. Who wouldn't want that? Labour has narrowed their distance with the Tories in the polls, mainly because they have been capitalising on this dream that the UK can extract itself from the EU while keeping the benefits of membership.

The referendum result has been upheld  a manifestation of a supposedly sacred direct democracy  but this level of fairness finds no equivalent when faced with an agreed set of EU rules: as everyone knows, membership and free movement can't be separated. Don't get me wrong: it is wholly legitimate to want to leave  providing you do it properly. Labour is promising a pipe dream for prospective voters.

Europe has never ever captured the imagination of a critical mass beyond the Channel, and the post-referendum rhetoric has shown that a clear majority of the British are just being true to themselves and have finally let their inner voice be heard  and good for them, if thats what they want. The EU shouldn't take them to the cleaners for expressing this  acrimony isn't in the European post-war spirit.
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We have to congratulate Donald Trump on one thing; he continues to stir political passions like I have never seen in my 25 years in America. Dinner party hosts know to ban all mention of him until coffee is served lest their best china gets smashed. Arguments break out spontaneously between strangers at the laundromat. Children and parents tacitly agree just not to go there.

To someone from Europe with its traditions of union struggle, strikes and marches, America in the Nineties and Noughties seemed strangely lethargic about its politics. It is as if all the energy that might have gone into protesting the loss of jobs overseas or the raping of the middle class by Wall Street never found a way out. Trump pricked that volcano and boom. Some of the boiling lava bore him to the White House. But now new flows threaten to incinerate him.

The bawling match that different sides of America are now engaged in seems invigorating, by comparison, though its hardly clear where it will eventually take the country or its political parties.

Recommended Trump is talking sense when it comes to breaking up the banks

Milling through the throngs at City Hall in Los Angeles for a May Day rally  itself a surprise event, since for most Americans those two words combined mean plane crash not workers struggle  was to see the ongoing battle in the raw. First there were the speakers on the stage, taking the microphone one after another all afternoon long to rail against the Trump agenda under a giant banner declaring, RESIST. Even Mayor Eric Garcetti had his two minutes.

Listing all the grass roots groups represented would take us to the weekend. But here are a few of them: All Saints Church, Pasadena, ANGELENOS FOR TOMORROW, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Democratic Socialists of America, CLEAN car wash campaign (I have no idea either), Communist Party USA, Church Without Walls. You get the idea, and I'm only at letter C. The last one: Writers Guild of America (who just voted against a strike).

At the afternoons end a few remain to hear speeches from the main stage (David Usborne)

Los Angeles will stand up against any attempt to scapegoat immigrants, break up families, and create a climate of fear that unsettles our communities and disrupts our economy, Garcetti intoned. Americans are taking to the streets of LA and cities across the country on May Day because we are uniting around a principle that speaks to who we are: working people who have built their lives in this country deserve protection, compassion, and equal justice.

Turning away from the stage, I found even more stripes of anti-Trump anger. Healthcare workers against Trump. Undocuqueer against Trump (though the bearer of that banner declined to talk to me.) Gray Wolf introduced himself as the director the American Indian Movement of Southern California. Bearing a long staff festooned with eagle feathers and buffalo hair, he had come with the message that Trump is the illegal who should be deported. Mr Trump is the immigrant and Mr Trumps people should go home, he told me. We need to get that straightened out.

But the area around City Hall, helicopters buzzing about in the clear blue sky, was not reserved for the Trump resistance only. Half a block from the stage, a nub of pro-Trump folk had gathered to voice their loud disdain. Commie scum go home, a small woman chanted. All that was separating her and her Make-America-Great-Again friends from an instant pummeling was an unbroken chain of LA police in full riot garb.

An anti-Trump protestor strolls away from the main stage (David Usborne)

They label themselves as anti-fascists but in reality but they are just fascist all the same, a young man behind a menacing skull mask and goggles explained. Uniting this group was their embrace of Trumps tough anti-immigration stance. That border is very porous and its not just Latin Americans coming over, its not just Mexicans coming over, we are not trying to demonise South America or anything of that nature, offered Nikki, who supports building the wall. That border is so porous people of all nations are coming over, Chinese coming over, Middle Eastern.

It was too much for Raoul Salinas, 63, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who had taken a day off form his moving company job to join the anti-Trump crowds. He pointed angrily at Nikki and her crew. They think only they are USA. We are USA too, he wailed. They hate Mexicans because for these people we are only criminals. I love Los Angeles.

He was lucky not to come face to face with Kaila Truth, also on the other side of the street and argument. They have no right to be in our country demanding things, we are black Americans, we were born of the United States, she spat. I did not see any immigrant from any country sitting on the bus with Rosa Parkes these people have no right to come to our country and try to take over our homeland. This is our homeland for the American people, not immigrants.

There was also something nearly joyous about the scene. Street vendors pushed through with sliced mango treats and hot sausages in carts topped by colourful shade umbrellas. A drag queen, who was not actually in drag, had requisitioned part of an intersection to dance and twirl to Donna Summer songs, a crucifix in one hand and a sign in the other that just said, LOVE.

Yet anything approaching a carnival atmosphere was limited to those who had come to rally against the President. The mood behind the pro-Trump lines  the victors of last years election  was uniformly dark and angry. True, they were greatly outnumbered  this is Los Angeles, after all  and may have felt physically threatened. But if humour and good grace help to win arguments, then Id say the impeach-him-now crowd will end up prevailing in this American family feud. They may just have to wait a bit.
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The Home Affairs Select Committee has not held back in its criticisms of social media firms over their failure to remove abusive and extremist content from the internet. The big beasts of the social media world  Twitter, Facebook and YouTube  were said by MPs to be doing nowhere near enough to combat inappropriate and illegal content. Committee chairwoman, Yvette Cooper, described the situation as a disgrace. It can only be hoped that an executive summary of the report is available in suitably tweet-sized chunks.

It is not enormously surprising that the Commons panel should have been so decisively disapproving. When executives from Google, Facebook and Twitter appeared in front of the Committee in March they were told that their answers were not particularly convincing. And it is plain that MPs are increasingly troubled by the prevalence of illegal material online. In part that reflects concern among security agencies regarding the internets potential to encourage physical acts of terrorism and other serious crimes, notably those of a sexual nature. Additionally, the murder of Jo Cox last summer shone a light on the extent to which MPs are themselves victims of abuse online. It is no wonder that Cooper and her Committee felt compelled to demand action.

Up to a point it is hard to disagree with the MPs. Indeed, even Facebook et al appear to accept that more needs to be done (although they always seem to say that). Precisely what politicians would like the social media giants to do is less clear, aside from find a magic algorithm which recognises improper content the moment it appears  and then deletes it. Bearing in mind that YouTube alone has a billion users and that 400 hours worth of video content is uploaded to the platform every minute, that may be easier said than done. Still, the Home Affairs Committee merrily assumes that its targets are big enough, rich enough and clever enough to find a solution.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters 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

When it comes to rich enough the MPs may be onto something; YouTubes operating profit in 2016 was $30.4bn. In Germany, proposals have been made to fine companies vast sums if they do not remove illegal content within a certain timeframe. It seems inevitable that similar measures will be considered by lawmakers in the UK  assuming they get time off from the endless Brexit debate.

There is, however, a broader narrative at play here, one which pits the giants of the new media world against those of the old. In their fight against Google and the rest, MPs can rely on staunch support from traditional news media companies, which see the modern digital monoliths threatening longstanding business models. The battle for eyeballs and advertising has never been more fierce. From where the old media sit, the companies which dominate the internet appear to have all the advantages of being publishers without many of the responsibilities.

But perhaps even this isnt quite enough to explain why the likes of Google and Facebook are increasingly under the cosh. Rather, the current face-off can be seen as part of the much more wide-ranging, even existential clash between globalisation and modernity on the one hand, and the forces of conservativism and parochialism on the other.

 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addresses Cleveland shooting

In the week that marks two decades since Labours landslide election win in 1997 it is instructive to look back at that high watermark for optimistic British engagement with liberal, global ideals. Then, just seven per cent of the UK population were internet users  yet it seemed as if the web was an integral part of that sunnier outlook which saw a shrinking world as a good thing, not a negative; the digital revolution would, we thought, help unlock the educational and commercial potential of all nations, democratising as it went. Twenty years later and the world has become a shadier, less hopeful place. The webs darker recesses  not envisaged perhaps by sunny Californians back in the early 90s  are more disturbingly tangled than ever.

Of course, there is a final irony here, which is that the resurgent forces of nationalism and other tribal interests which seem so to threaten the ideals on which the net was built, have themselves been enabled and energised by the nets ever wider reach. Like pop before it, the internet may be on the verge of eating itself  will it sacrifice its bite to survive?
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Tony Blair is back.

Its been a long time coming for the former Prime Ministers gradual re-emergence into public life; a PR game played softly, softly  a rehabilitation programme for one of Britains most divisive figures, to put it delicately.

First there were the small interventions on the subject of Jeremy Corbyns catastrophic leadership. Then came the larger contributions on the EU referendum and the vital importance of staying part of the worlds largest international partnership.

The reshuffling of Blair Inc followed, with the foundation of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the gradual chuntering down of the more lucrative  and occasionally morally dubious  parts of his post-premiership work.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Perhaps the trickiest part followed: the restoration of the likeability factor. Blairs greatest strength was always the fact that he just seemed like an okay kind of guy. To the heartlands, he seemed like a bit of a shiny slicker, but fundamentally a fairly decent bloke. To the Labour target voters of the late 90s in the South East and the Midlands, he was relatable  a managerial sort of professional; well put together, eloquent, with a healthy touch of people like us.

But after ten long years in power, one obsessively over-commentated foreign policy decision, and worrying rumblings of authoritarianism, Blair learnt the truth of the Batman maxim: You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. So he was wheeled out on Dave comedy chat shows as the cool older uncle figure; a kind of Bill Nighy of British politics.

And now hes back. In an interview with the Mirror, Blair says hes ready to get his hands dirty again in the rough and tumble of frontline political life.

No former Prime Ministers currently sit in the House of Commons, nor will do so after the election. The only former chancellor likely to return to the House is Ken Clarke, whose time at the helm of the economy is slipping ever further into the ether.

In such a complicated political environment, we need those voices of experience and wisdom  voices like Blairs  in the House of Commons, not just in newspaper interviews and comedy show panels.

Lets be clear  we need Tony Blair at the heart of our politics.

 Tony Blair: Theresa May will be Prime Minister on June 9th

When the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer holds rallies standing under the insignia of a regime that killed more people than Adolf Hitler, to a crowd holding vast banners of the face of the murderous tyrant principally responsible, how can it not be a good thing to have the voice of the statesman responsible for a decade of vast increases in living standards heard loud and clear in our politics?

Because make no mistake, Her Majestys Official Opposition has been colonised by political extremists, whose drive to pervert our politics irreparably can only end in total disaster.

All this, of course, comes as a cowardly, hapless, ill-prepared Prime Minister embarks on jolting the country on the most treacherous and hazardous course in the past half century  a move she probably knows in her heart to be deeply and fundamentally unwise. Why else would she be holding an election before the calamity of her captaincy through the waters of Brexit becomes fully apparent after we crash out of the EU in 2019?

In such a climate, should we welcome the return of the only man to bring Labour an election victory in the past 50 years?

Should we cheer the renewed prominence of a politician who brought us the minimum wage, leaps in the quality of state education, Sure Start centres, record low hospital waiting times, and vast expansions of the rights and protections of women, ethnic minorities, and LGBT people?

Im afraid I wont apologise for saying yes.

Tony Blair is a titan figure in our national history, and while his past is by no means uncomplicated  the four-letter word that Corbynites use instead of rational argument  his is a legacy that should be celebrated, remembered, and welcomed into the contemporary political conversation about our national future.

Lovers of reason and the sensible middle way, rejoice! Twenty years after that landslide election kicked the Fellowship of New Labour into action, and ten years after he stood down as Prime Minister after The Two Towers and the ensuing mess of the Iraq war, we come to the third instalment of the Tony Blair saga: The Return of the King.

Im in.
Gardai said the man and woman were arrested in north county Dublin

A man and a woman have been arrested over a suspected gangland killing.

Noel Kirwan, 62, was shot dead in the driveway of a house at St Ronan's Drive in Clondalkin, west Dublin three days before last Christmas.

Gardai said the man and woman, both in their 20s, were arrested in north county Dublin and were being held under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Lucan and Blanchardstown Garda stations.

Mr Kirwan was a friend of Gerry "The Monk" Hutch, and it is believed he was targeted in the long-running feud between the Kinahan and Hutch families and their associates.
A software firm is to create 100 jobs.

Globoforce, which is based in Ireland and the US, is to take on new staff over the next three years as it expands operations in Park West, Dublin.

The company develops technology, which it describes as social recognition solutions, to improve the work environment.

About three million people use Globoforce software worldwide, with InterContinental Hotel Group, LinkedIn and Symantec among the firm's clients.
The Government is "ready for the task" of Brexit, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has said as the strategy for negotiations was published today.

The document emphasises that the Common Travel Area must be kept, the risks to Ireland's trade and economy must be minimised and there should be no return to a hard border.

It also emphasises how Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland must continue to enjoy their rights as EU citizens.

The document also shows the Government's five-point approach. It reads;

sustainable fiscal policies to ensure capacity to absorb and respond to economic shocks, not least from Brexit;

policies to make Irish enterprise more diverse and resilient, to diversify trade and investment patterns, and to strengthen competitiveness;

prioritising policy measures and dedicating resources to protect jobs and businesses in the sectors and regions most affected by Brexit;

realising economic opportunities arising from Brexit, and helping businesses adjust to any new logistical or trade barriers arising;

making a strong case at EU level that Ireland will require support that recognises where Brexit represents a serious disturbance to the Irish economy.

The strategy reports that Brexit will present risks for sectors that operate on an all-Ireland basis which include food, retail, tourism, fishing and energy.

Speaking on RTE's Six One, Minister Flanagan said Ireland's existing arrangements with the UK should be "factored into the final position".

"What we need to ensure is that the existing arrangements that we have with the UK are factored into the final position. It's too early to say about new regulation and about new relationships," he said.

"What I can say is that our unique circumstances on the island of Ireland have been factored in at this stage.

"What we need to ensure now is that continues right throughout what is going to be a very difficult and challenging process."
Harolds Cross Greyhound Stadium is to be sold to the Department of Education in a deal agreed by the Department and the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB), independent.ie understands.

It is understood the site will be available for new schools in the area. The Irish Independent understands that parents looking to establish an Educate Together school have already sought support from local politicians to support construction on the site.

The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) closed Harolds Cross Stadium in February as it struggled with large debts related to the construction of Limerick Greyhound Stadium.

That in turn kicked off a protest in Dublin from some greyhound owners.

For the past three months, a protest by the Dublin Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association at Shelbourne Park Stadium has meant no racing in the capital city.

The Irish Greyhound Board has said the dispute was costing the company 30,000 a week while greyhound owners have lost 200,000 in lost prize money.

The windfall from the Harolds Cross sale will help cut debt at the semi-state and is expected to signal the end of the dispute.

Offer

The Department said the Irish Greyhound Board, which took the controversial decision to close the stadium, had accepted an offer for the site today.

Our initial review of demographic growth in relevant school planning areas adjacent to this site indicate significant increases at both primary and post-primary levels which will require provision for additional school places. The exact configuration of schools to be provided on the Harolds Cross site will be informed by the outcome of this demographic review.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the Department.
Fishing boats dock at a port in Yantai, East China's Shandong Province on Monday. (Photo/IC)

The strictest-ever annual fishing ban in China started to take effect from Monday nationwide, a move to preserve marine environment as the country's coast depletes. Experts said the moratorium will also contribute to environmental sustainability.

The ban covers the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the waters with latitude 12 degrees north of the South China Sea, and requires halt in all types of fishing work including fishing aids starting 12 am on Monday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, which adjusted the fishing order in January.

For some areas, the ban will be lifted on September 1, and for others on September 16, the ministry noted.

Some coastal provinces have ordered local fishing boats to stop working, and this year's extended summer fishing moratorium is the strictest ever in some places, media reported on Monday.

For example, the number of boats affected by the ban in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian Province, has reached 1,048 this year, local news site taihainet.com reported on Monday. The current ban has extended the moratorium by half a month, with authorities tightening patrols to prevent illegal fishing, according to the report.

In Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province, 5,000 boats have been grounded and 730 kilometers of coastline is brought under surveillance, domestic news site ql1d.com reported on Thursday.

The South China Sea fishing moratorium will affect a total of 66,000 fishermen with 18,125 boats, domestic news site chinanews.com reported on Monday.

"As far as we know, the fishery authorities have started working today, though it's a national holiday," Chang Yaqing, director of the College of Fisheries and Life Science of Dalian Ocean University, told the Global Times on Monday. The move is aimed at improving the marine environment sustainability and helping ecological restoration, Chang noted.

The new regulation came after the authorities noticed a decline in the fishery output in recent years due to deteriorating environment, an industry insider surnamed Zhang told the Global Times on Monday.

Though the industry output reached 1.13 trillion yuan ($163.83 billion) at the end of China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), the industry is faced with challenges such as unbalanced and unsustainable development, according to a post published on the website of the China Fisheries Association in January. By 2020, the industry needs to be further upgraded and diversified, for instance, by introducing more sectors including fish breeding and processing while controlling the total output target for the coming years within 66 million tons.

"Overall, we're facing overcapacity in the fishery sector, and the new ban will definitely help ease this problem," Zhang said.

Fishery reform

An extended summer fishing moratorium will benefit fish breeding, which is likely to produce a better stock in September than the previous years, said Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant.

Ma told the Global Times on Monday that the longer fishing ban would not push the prices of seafood up as the consumption largely relies on seasonal factors.

But Ma expressed concerns that the fishing ban extension could increase domestic unemployment.

Some other fishing-related industries are expected to be developed including seafood processing, aquaculture and marine tourism, aiming to create more jobs for Chinese fishermen to prevent them from overfishing in domestic waters and sailing into distant waters, according to Ma.

"Such steps will be of great help in alleviating the problem of fishing in distant waters," he said.

Fishing in distant waters, which has raised concerns in foreign countries as far away as Africa, has been attracting more attention of Chinese authorities, Zhang noted.

"The government, along with industry representatives, has been in constant touch with their counterparts overseas on this matter," he said, adding that both sides have to follow rules and regulations.
Cattle exports to Libya will resume this month with stock for shipping already being purchased in the marts and off farms.

The contract is being handled by Supreme Livestock, which is owned by well-known Charolais breeders Patsy McCabe and his son Patrick Jnr.

The move is a further boost to an already strong cattle trade, with marts again reporting very strong demand over the last few days.

The McCabes, who are based in Ardee, Co Louth, plan to ship 1,850 bulls and are looking for Friesians, Herefords, Aberdeen Angus, Simmentals, Charolais and Limousins.

The cattle must be under 24 months of age.

"This is good news for farmers because we're taking all types of bulls. We want Friesians of 300-400kgs, Hereford and Angus of 400-500kg and Continentals of 450-550kg," Patsy McCabe told the Farming Independent.

"We have 800 bought so far and hope to have the rest purchased by the end of this week," he added.

The cattle will be shipped from Greenore to North Africa later this month. Mr McCabe said further exports to Libya were possible "if cattle didn't get too dear".

Heavy stock

The Libyan deal is the latest positive development in the export trade this year. Last week it was reported that Quinn International Livestock had secured a contract to supply heavy stock to Algeria for the Ramadan festival which starts later this month.

Meanwhile, Purcell Brothers' first boatload of 3,000 cattle for Turkey sailed last week. The company are contracted to supply a further 20,000 head by the end of the year.

The continued expansion in live exports has been welcomed by the farm organisations.

The IFA's Angus Woods said additional live exports were very positive for the trade.

He pointed out that almost 100,000 head had been exported so far this year and he predicted that further contracts would come on stream as the year progressed.

Michael Guinan of ICMSA said it was good to see export markets opening up for both older and plainer-type cattle.

"This will help put a floor on the market," he said.

ICSA president Patrick Kent said the "latest success in live exports" counteracted what he described as "the dismal projections" in the beef trade as a result of Brexit and strong cattle supplies.

The cattle trade in the marts has remained very strong, with tighter numbers of quality stock and competition between farmers, finishers, factory buyers and exporters ensuring strong prices.

In Carnew Mart on Saturday Friesian bulls suitable for shipping made 1.60- 1.70/kg, with Hereford and Angus bulls making 2.00- 2.25/kg, and quality Continentals up to 3.00/kg. David Quinn said there was particularly strong demand for beef heifers, with good quality lots making up to 900 with their weight. The lift in cattle prices has also been reflected in the cow rings, with 600kg

Friesian cows generally making between 950 and 1,100 a head in New Ross. However, cows with flesh were making close to 2.00/ kg.

Numbers were tighter in Roscommon this week, but Hereford bullocks made up to 700-800 along with the 1/kg, while Continentals made up to 900 with the weight. And in the border region, both confidence and money is currently strong judging by last weeks sale in Castleblayney.

The handy Charolais bullock made from 370- 409kgs made from 2.69- 2.80/kg while among the more forward 550-586kg continentals prices ranged from 2.24-2.33/kg. In the weanling bull section prices went from 2.28-2.81/kg at weights from 213-349kgs.
Dairy farmers will have greater access to "direct income streams" if farmer shareholders support the creation of Glanbia Ireland, chairman Henry Corbally has said.

Last week, Glanbia co-op announced that it has signed a binding legal agreement with Glanbia plc to establish a new joint venture to be known as 'Glanbia Ireland'.

The new entity, which is still subject to shareholder approval, will combine Glanbia Ingredients Ireland, Glanbia Consumer Products and Glanbia Agribusiness, as a joint venture - 60pc owned by the co-op and 40pc owned by the plc.

The co-op proposes to pay 112m to acquire the 60pc shareholding in the plc.

Co-op shareholders will be asked to vote on the proposal at a special general meeting (sgm) in Punchestown on May 18. The proposed deal, which is understood to have the strong backing of the food group's board and representative structures, will also be subject to approval by Glanbia plc's shareholders via an extraordinary general meeting (egm) on May 22.

Speaking ahead of company's agm with up to 200 shareholders in Kilkenny, Mr Corbally, chairman of Glanbia Co-op, described the new joint venture as "a positive move" for farmers.

"It is a very exciting and a very positive move back into more control by farmers. It is part of the progression that Glanbia co-op have been on over the last number of years.

"The flow of profits from these businesses can be channelled to farmers much quicker than through the plc. It will offer a much more direct income stream for farmers," he said. The co-op also confirmed plans to "spin out" a further 5.9 million shares in Glanbia plc to members and add 40m to its members' support fund. The value of the share "spin-out" is an estimated 100 million.

"We feel that is a reward for farmers who have invested in this co-op for a long number of years and who have shared in the successes that the plc has brought them," he said.

Mr Corbally is encouraging all members to familiarise themselves with the proposals which he says will be available "first hand" at upcoming shareholder meetings nationwide, ahead of the vote.

Meanwhile, last week Glanbia plc also said it delivered good revenue growth in the three months up to April 1, with total group revenue up 9.6pc on a reported basis and almost 8pc on a constant currency basis compared to the same period last year.
EU laws protecting rare species of cold-water fish, snails and vegetation are blocking water treatment works in Sligo, it has been claimed.

Sligo County Council has been extracting water from Lough Talt, located between the villages of Tubbercurry, Aclare and Bunnyconnellan, to serve over 10,000 people in west Sligo for the past 40 years.

However, recent attempts by Irish Water to carry out improvements to the domestic water scheme have been prevented as the lake is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to sensitive lake species that reside on the foreshore - including the Arctic Charr, rare snail vertigo geyeri and the Oak Fern.

"EU and Government red tape on SACs and the Habitats Directive is preventing Irish Water from carrying out essential remedial works on the water supply currently being extracted from Lough Talt.

"The water supply is currently receiving minimal treatment and the supply in general is in danger of failing altogether which has serious implications for the health of those served by the scheme," said TD Michael Fitzmaurice.

Irish Water recently applied to Sligo County Council for a new treatment plant for this scheme but their application was rejected by An Bord Pleanala. "Irish Water can only continue to supply poorly treated water, the safety of which they cannot guarantee," said the Roscommon-Galway TD. A spokesperson for Irish Water confirmed that planning permission for the new plant was refused on April 18 due to the SAC.

"Irish Water is reviewing the decision by An Bord Pleanala in relation to the proposed drinking water treatment plant at Lough Talt in light of the overall need to provide a safe secure long term drinking water supply for 10,000 customers in that area," said the spokesperson. Midlands North West MEP Luke Flanagan and MEP Marian Harkin have also raised the issue with the EU Environment Commission in Brussels.
It was such a simple accident, according to Stephen Cluskey, talking about the accident that left him paralysed from the neck down at just 18.

Cluskey who grew up on a farm in north County Dublin said he was like most other 18 year olds and thought he was invincible'.

I thought this was something that happens to other people.

Its something that Id give anything to go back and change that split second.

Little did I know that that night, August 4 due to a hay bale Id be in the back of an ambulance on the way to the Mater Hospital after suffering a life-changing injury, he said.

Cluskey was just going into sixth year in Belvedere College and got a call from some friends to see if he wanted to go camping that night.

We set the tents up in a field which was full of hay bales.

One thing led to another - I was messing about on top of a hay bale and someone was pushing it. I fell from the hay bale.

But it wasn't the fall that did the damage. I went to get up out of the way and the hay bale was still rolling caught the back of my head and pushed it forward and broke my neck.

I knew straight away that something was wrong. It was like an electric shock went trough my body and everything just went dead, he said.

I asked one of my friends to lift my hand.

So he lifted my arm and I saw this arm in front of my face and I didnt realise it was my hand and when he let go it just dropped and I knew something was serious.

Cluskey spent the next three weeks in the Mater Hospital and was told he had broken his neck and damaged my spinal cord.

I lost all movement from my shoulders down.

Its amazing how a split second can change a life.

Farm safety is something which needs to be taking more seriously

It was one hay bale I had fallen off and the damage and consequences on my life has been incomprehensible.

There are so many hidden dangers on a farm that people dont realise and have the potential to change there lives, he said.

Cluskey made the comments in an educational film, made by Roscommon CBS transition year students and their ag science teacher.

The film, which launched recently and took over a year to complete, also tells the story of 15-year-old James Mooney, a student at Roscommon CBS, whose knee was broken after a ewe charged at him last summer.

Roscommon CBS teacher, Louise Gallagher, urges all schools, particularly in rural areas, to show the video to science students.

"If it encourages just one person to change a habit that's what matters to us. The response has gone way beyond the classroom and we're incredibly grateful to everyone involved," she said.

Check out ' CBS Roscommon Farm Safely' on YouTube today.
Young farmers in New Zealand have found a truly unique way to do speed dating.

The enterprising young farmers from South Wairarapa used a rotary milk parlour for the unsuspecting couples at the event.
In excess of 1,000 of the 3,300 farmers waiting on GLAS I and GLAS II entitlements have failed to meet the scheme's eligibility requirements and will not be paid for 2016, the Department of Agriculture has stated.

While 2,000 farmers waiting on GLAS entitlements are likely to receive payments, the Department says there are three main reasons why the remainder are deemed ineligible for payment:

"Over 38,000 applicants were approved into GLAS I and II but the number of active applications at this point in time is 37,000 as a number of applicants have withdrawn or been rejected from the scheme," stated the Department.

Last week a further 268 farmers received GLAS payments totalling 958,000. The Department insisted that payments would continue to be made as applications are approved.

However, the slow pace of payments has provoked considerable anger. The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has called on Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to clarify the position

"The minister stated how all farmers would be paid by the end of April. With this not happening a clear plan now needs to be put in place that ensures farmers get paid immediately," said INHFA's Vincent Roddy.

BPS blockages

Meanwhile, the IFA has insisted that GLAS-related applications blockages for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will be resolved this week.

The association's deputy president Richard Kennedy said he had received assurances from the Department that all GLAS-related problems which had delayed BPS online applications would be ironed out this week.

Some farmers and consultants could not make BPS applications online because the applicant's GLAS payments were delayed or they had not yet been approved for GLAS III.

Mr Kennedy said IFA had received assurances that this situation will be resolved early this week.

However, the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) maintained that it had been told by the Department that the problem would be sorted out by Friday last, but members were still experiencing difficulties over the weekend.

"I was going to work on these BPS applications over the weekend but there's no point because we're still being locked out," said Carlow-based consultant, Pat Minnock.

"This is going to cause serious problems because we have less than two weeks to get these applications in," he added.

Farmers have until Monday, May 15 to apply for BPS, the National Reserve and Young Farmer Scheme.
The president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants Ireland (CPA), has called on the Government to make good on five year old promises to promote and foster the social enterprise sector in Ireland.

Social enterprise has the potential to create 40,000 new jobs and generate an additional 2bn for the economy, but its growth and development has been hindered by a lack of action on the part of Government, Deirdre Kiely, the newly elected president of the CPA said.

Ms. Kiely also said that Irish social entrepreneurs were losing out on EU funding because of a lack of coherent Government policy in this area.

The EU has flagged plans to increase the total amount for social enterprises and microfinance for employment and social innovation from 193m to about 1bn under the Employment and Social Innovation programme. But without a coherent Government strategy and structured Government supports in place, the ability of any social enterprise to secure funds from the EU is severely hampered, Kiely said.

She has called on the Government to take urgent action on this issue.

Social enterprise, which is already responsible for at least 25,000 jobs and 1.4bn in economic activity, not only has the potential to create huge numbers of jobs but also to address the numerous social deficits which have emerged in Ireland as a result of public finance constraints, according to Kiely.

Ireland faces massive problems in healthcare, education, social care, the environment and many other areas, these problems are partly the result of enforced cutbacks in public expenditure following the economic collapse of 2008 to 2010. It will take many, many years for spending to be restored but social enterprise could address the issues very quickly if given the opportunity, she said.
Just over two years after pulling the route, UK regional carrier Flybe is planning to relaunch its Dublin-to-Southend service in October, the Irish Independent has learned.

The service will be operated by Stobart Air, which also operates the Aer Lingus Regional franchise.

Stobart Air pulled out of a plan to sell itself to Dublin-based CityJet last December, bringing a 10-month long process to a bitter end.

Under the planned deal, CityJet would also have operated 18 routes from London Southend Airport, which is owned by the Stobart Group, using four jets based there.

When the merger collapsed, Stobart Air announced a deal with Flybe to operate 12 routes from Southend under a Flybe franchise arrangement.

Flybe is now headed by Christine Ourmieres-Widener, a former Air France executive and an ex-CEO of CityJet.

Stobart Air is basing two Embraer E195 jets at Southend to provide the new Flybe services.

It's thought that the planned Southend-Dublin route will also use a jet.

The previous Southend-Dublin service operated by Flybe used slower, turboprop aircraft.

Apart from being slower, they are also unable to fly in certain adverse weather conditions when jets can.

When Flybe cancelled the Dublin-Southend service in 2015, it said that passenger numbers on the route hadn't matched expectations.

Figures from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority show that 61,599 people flew between Southend and Dublin in 2014, before dropping to just 4,450 in 2015. Southend is about an hour's train journey from central London.

Dublin-based Stobart Air, which was previously known as Aer Arann, had also previously operated an Aer Lingus regional service between Dublin and Southend.

It began the service in 2012 and it was cancelled in 2014. It also used ATR turboprop aircraft.

It's understood that plans for the new Flybe Dublin-Southend service are at an advanced planning stage and that it could start operating at the end of October.

Stobart Group is headed by CEO Andrew Tinkler, who is also chairman of Stobart Air.

Earlier this year, Stobart Air entered into a sale and leaseback agreement for eight turboprop aircraft with German Operating Aircraft Leasing.

Those aircraft were previously part of a firm called Propius, in which Aer Lingus previously had a stake.
Beautiful landscape at the border of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand (file photo)

A new tourist route that crosses four countries has been officially introduced to Xishuangbanna in southwestern Chinas Yunnan province on the first day of May, opening a new chapter of tourism for the province.

More than 200 tourists from all over the country became the first to experience the new route. It starts from the Lancang Rivers Guanlei Port in Xishuangbanna and to Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos by both river and road.

The Lancang-Mekong River originates from the Tanggula mountain range in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before finally entering the South China Sea in Vietnam.

Because of the Belt and Road initiative and an economic cooperation mechanism in the Lancang-Mekong sub-region, transnational tourism in the region has become Yunnans hottest travel product.

Zhu Chuanchu, who heads the tour agency which organized the new route, said that it not only lets people experience the natural beauty and cultural features of the river, but gives them a chance to understand the Belt and Road initiative in participating countries.

It is an 8-day trip in which tourists will travel 262 kilometers down the river, Zhu said. Compared with traditional road trips, the river trip is cheaper and safer and it offers tourists more flexibility. The trips river-road combination will become a new way to experience cross-border tourism in Yunnan. It is also an extension of visitors trips to Yunnan, further promoting the international tourism of Lancang-Mekong River.

Qin Zongmo, Director of the Maritime Safety Administration of Xishuangbanna, said that the navigation on Lancang-Mekong River will be greatly improved after future renovation projects, bringing international shipping to a new level.
The EU's plan for the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) should be suspended until a country-by-country analysis of its likely impact is undertaken by the European Commission - according to Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes.

Mr Hayes said he has written to the EU commissioner for economic and financial affairs, Pierre Moscovici, to urge him to undertake the individual country assessments.

The CCCTB has already been criticised by Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

The EU wants it introduced by the end of 2018, with some derogations.

My Hayes said that it is "very unfortunate" that the Commission has not done a country-by-country assessment of the CCCTB on the likely impact on member states' corporate tax revenues.

"The key issue that member states will be asking about CCCTB is how much they stand to win or lose in terms of tax collection," said Mr Hayes. "Yet in the impact assessment of CCCTB carried out by the Commission, there is no mention of how member states will be affected individually.

"This type of policymaking on the hoof is not acceptable."

The MEP pointed out that Mr Moscovici appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance in January and was unable to say then how the CCCTB would impact Ireland's tax base.

Mr Hayes said that the European Commission has never divulged "clear and comprehensive statistics" on the potential impact of the consolidated tax proposal.

He added that while Mr Moscovici has claimed the CCCTB would result in a likely loss of about 0.2pc of Irish tax revenue, business lobby group Ibec has estimated the potential loss at about 7.7pc of tax revenue, or almost 4bn.

Mr Hayes said he has asked the Commissioner to clarify the calculations used to arrive at the 0.2pc estimate.

Seven national parliaments have objected to the Commission's tax proposal, including the Dail. "If the Commission wants CCCTB to succeed, they need to convince member states like Ireland, Sweden and the Netherlands that this policy is in their interest," said Mr Hayes.

Last February, Mr Noonan said that the Government is concerned that the CCCTB could mean profits currently taxed in Ireland could in future be apportioned to other EU countries and taxed there.

"That's a breach of the OECD principles," he said.

The Commission believes that member states' budgets have suffered from unfair tax competition practices.
He has also come joint first place in the poll with the most songs overall.

George Michaels Careless Whisper has been voted as the number one song of all time in a new radio poll, knocking John Lennons Imagine off the top spot for the first time in three years.

More than 28,000 votes were cast by Smooth Radio listeners to choose the nations All Time Top 500 songs, and Georges saxophone-heavy ballad  released in 1984  has taken the prime position just four months after his death.

Michael died on Christmas Day at the age of 53 of natural causes.

George has also achieved the second place with his 1986 hit A Different Corner.

He has 19 songs in the list, the highest number for him in the charts four-year history.

The Wham! stars duet with Sir Elton John, Dont Let The Sun Go Down On Me, is in ninth place, and his other songs on the list include Father Figure and Jesus To A Child.

Along with George, Sir Elton is in joint first place overall with 19 songs in the poll, Michael Jackson is third with 17 tracks and Abba and Elvis Presley are in joint fourth with 15 hits each.

Richard Park, group executive director and director of broadcasting at Global, said: George Michael was one of the biggest talents the world has ever seen and the results of Smooths All Time Top 500 confirm that he remains in the nations heart now more than ever.

Together with Smooths 5.4 million listeners across the UK, our countdown over the Bank Holiday weekend has been the perfect way to celebrate the life and music of this great man.

Johns Imagine previously reigned supreme at the top of the chart, but the track has now slipped down to 16th place.

Adele has been successful on this years poll with four tracks  including Someone Like You and Hello  in the top 10, and her single When We Were Young is the highest new entry, debuting at number 28.

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Tina Turners Whats Love Got To Do With It has been crowned the charts highest-climber, moving up 384 places to number 40.

:: Smooths All Time Top 500  top 10:

1. Careless Whisper  George Michael

2. A Different Corner  George Michael

3. Someone Like You  Adele

4. Hello  Adele

5. Dancing Queen  Abba

6. I Will Always Love You  Whitney Houston

7. Make You Feel My Love  Adele

8. Youre the First, the Last, My Everything  Barry White

9. Dont Let the Sun Go Down On Me  George Michael and Elton John

10. Rolling in the Deep  Adele
Brendan Murray with backing vocalists Graham Kelly, Margot Daly, Julian Edwards, Alison Vard-Miller and Shane McDaid before setting off for Kiev. Photo: Andres Poveda

Eurovision hopeful Brendan Murray and the Irish delegation have touched down safely in Kiev, but several pieces of their luggage have failed to make it to the Ukrainian capital.

RTE's head of delegation Michael Kealy and lead backing vocalist Graham Kelly have lost their suitcases.

Hopefully the bags weren't carrying the Eurovision essentials - such as body glitter and 'I heart Johnny Logan' banners. "They lost their luggage on the way over, which is a real shame," Eurovision hopeful Murray said.

Still, not as bad as the Icelandic delegation, which misplaced 42 pieces of luggage en route to the Ukraine.

The last time Ireland won the Eurovision was in 1996, with Eimear Quinn's 'The Voice'.

Murray (20) was born the same year and hopes this is a good omen as he tries his luck with 'Dying to Try'.

He faces stiff competition from the frontrunners - Sweden's Robin Bengtsson and Italy's Francesco Gabbani.

Today, Murray will attend rehearsals and explore the city.

Murray's mentor Louis Walsh says he is "confident" he will make it out of the semi-finals next week.
Fair City star Clelia Murphy is about to have another actor in the family, with her daughter Clarabelle set to star in an RTE comedy series later this year.

The Castleknock woman has been familiar to audiences for years in her role as Niamh Cassidy in the long-running soap, and now her 18-year-old daughter is ready to make her debut on the small screen.

Clarabelle is just finishing the new Alison Spittle comedy. She plays her younger sister in Nowhere Fast and that will be out in autumn, she said.

I think its a six-part comedy. Its her biggest role to date. Its fantastic.

It has been a busy few months for Clarabelle, who filmed the series while also being a full-time student at UCD, where she studies English and drama.

Clarabelle is going to be a very different type of actress than I am, Clelia told the Herald.

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She will do it on her own terms. Shes a very clever actress and a very clever girl. Shes very creative.

She will read the whole play; Ill only read my own bits. Shes a credit to herself.

Clarabelle is signed with The Agency in Dublin and, although Nowhere Fast will be her first major TV role, she has performed on stage many times with Dublin Youth Theatre and as Margaret in The Messenger at The Abbey Theatre.

Clelia gave birth to Clarabelle while in her early 20s and previously credited her parents with helping her out while she was a young single mother.

I had Clarabelle so young and, because I had her on my own, not only did my life change, but she was very much the structure for how my life then carried on, she said.

I was very lucky. I had my mum and grandparents, so they were a great support.

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Clelia has had viewers hooked on Fair City in recent weeks after Niamhs devious plan to bankrupt Paul came to light.

The Carrigstown lothario found out his wife has known for months about his affair with Hayley and, after a violent fight, a fire was started after Niamh crashed her car into the shutters of a closed garage.
Netflix has responded to criticism over it's controversial new series 13 Reasons Why by adding stronger warnings to the series.

The series has come under fire from mental health and suicide prevention groups all over the world for 'glamourising' suicide and failing to portray viable alternatives.

In Ireland the National Suicide Research Foundation issued a briefing on Friday stating that there is international evidence that detailed and graphic portrayals of suicide can have a negative impact on vulnerable young people in terms of an increased risk of copycat suicides.

The Irish body also stated that there is "violation of media guidelines for suicide reporting" across the series.

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13 Reasons Why, which debuted on the streaming site last month, tells the fictional story of a teenage girl who leaves behind 13 audio recordings on tapes after taking her own life.

The recordings are each addressed to a person who the girl says played a role in her tragic decision and the scenes in which she takes her own life are depicted in graphic detail.

Now Netflix has issued a statement via The Hollywood Reporter saying it is adding stronger warnings to the series.

There are already warnings preceding the three episodes which feature graphic scenes of rape and suicide but now an additional warning card will be added to the beginning of the entire series.

"There has been a tremendous amount of discussion about our series 13 Reasons Why," the statement reads.

"While many of our members find the show to be a valuable driver for starting important conversation with their families, we have also heard concern from those who feel the series should carry additional advisories.

"Currently the episodes that carry graphic content are identified as such and the series overall carries a TV-MA rating."

"Moving forward, we will add an additional viewer warning card before the first episode as an extra precaution for those about to start the series and have also strengthened the messaging and resource language in the existing cards for episodes that contain graphic subject matter, including the URL 13ReasonsWhy.info  a global resource center that provides information about professional organizations that support help around the serious matters addressed in the show."

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Despite the controversy, Deadline reports that a second series will be announced soon.

Relevant helplines that can be accessed by people in distress include: Childline: 1800 66 66 66; Aware: 1800 80 48 48; Samaritans: 116 123 and relevant websites: www.reachout.com, www.aware.ie, www.yourmentalhealth.ie, www.jigsaw.ie
You dont so much watch American Gods as become immersed in it. You let it consume you, absorb you  much like the poor sap early in the first episode, which went up on Amazon Prime yesterday, whos consumed and absorbed by a woman he meets through an online dating site.

The woman is Bilquis (Yetide Badaki), the ancient goddess of love in mortal form, who brings her conquest back to her apartment and literally swallows him whole during increasingly frenzied sex. And I dont mean through her mouth, either.

Its an extraordinary sequence, surreal and weird and disconcerting, and a triumph of special effects that never look like special effects. Its not the only standout scene in American Gods.

Hannibal creator Bryan Fullers mesmerising adaptation of Neil Gaimans magnificent 2001 fantasy novel is chock-a-block with eye-popping moments and striking characters even before we get to Bilquis.

I read the book a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it. Anyone coming to American Gods cold, however, could have a WTF? reaction, so a quick primer might be in order. Its giving nothing away to say that Gaimans novel, which is steeped in mythology, is about the conflict between the old gods and the new.

It posits that when the first immigrants arrived in America, they brought with them the ancient gods they worshipped. But over time, new gods  media, technology, money  rose to tempt the masses, and people gradually lost faith in the old ones. And without faith, without worship (in Bilquiss case, the physical worship of her body), the old gods wane. So a war is brewing.

Drawn into it is our unwitting hero Shadow Moon (English actor Ricky Whittle), the African-American son of a hippy single mother. On the very day hes released from prison, having served three years for assault and battery (he worked for some shady types in the gambling racket), Shadow learns his wife has died in a car accident.

As he makes the long journey home for the funeral, he ends up in a plane seat next to the mysterious Mr Wednesday (students of Norse mythology will spot a clue to his real identity in the name), played by the wonderful Ian McShane. Wednesday  a one-eyed trickster first seen blagging his way into first class by pretending to be a helpless, confused old man  seems suspiciously well informed about Shadows life and offers him a job as his assistant/bodyguard. Shadow declines, as a buddy already has a job waiting for him back home.

But theres another nasty surprise in store for Shadow. It turns out the buddy offering him the job died in the same accident as his wife. Worse, the two were having sex when the car crashed.

Mysteriously, Shadow keeps bumping into Mr Wednesday. With no wife, no job and no prospects, he agrees to take Wednesdays offer and the two are soon off on a road trip.

Wednesday introduces Shadow to Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber), a lanky, red-headed Irishman who claims to be a leprechaun and has a nifty trick of pulling gold coins out of thin air.

Hes a bit tall for a leprechaun, notes Shadow. Thats a stereotype, Sweeney snaps, before taunting Shadow into a massive barroom brawl. If this all sounds a bit daft when squashed into a few paragraphs, it works superbly on screen  provided youre willing to go with the flow.

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Fuller and Gaiman are in no particular hurry to get American Gods to its destination. Everything about it, not least its incredible visual quality, is designed to be savoured.

This first eight-episode series, which features a very gory prologue about the Vikings and their gods gaining a foothold in the new world, covers just a third of an admittedly long book. Gaiman has created new characters for the series and expanded the roles of existing ones. Bilquis, for instance, appears in just two chapters of the novel, but is a more significant entity here.

The world has changed a lot since American Gods was first published, so some characters have been given an upgrade. Internet god Technical Boy (Bruce Langley), who sucks Shadow into a terrifying virtual world, has been changed from the fat Coke-guzzling geek of the book to a slick, smarmy millennial.

American Gods requires an investment of patience. The reward is something pulsatingly original.
The Irish Parole Board is calling for prisoners who serve life-sentences to be given priority housing after they are released.

John Costello, Chairman of the Parole Board, said long-serving prisoners need stability and housing to stop them from re-offending.

Life-sentence prisoners serve an average of 22 years. When released, they can be called back to prison at any time if they dont fulfil the conditions of their parole. These conditions could range from not committing further offences to finding stable housing.

Mr Costello told RTE Morning Ireland that temporary housing should be provided to prisoners who are paroled until they get more permanent housing.

"It works very well in practice. My concern is that occasionally life sentence prisoners may not be able to get the housing they need and it may then lead to homelessness and as a result that may lead onto criminal activity.

"Because we're talking about such small numbers that's why I'm suggesting housing priority."

Mr Costello said that the probation service would be working with the housing authorities in each area.

"My concern is that a lot of life-serving prisoners have serious mental health issues and last year we were reviewing three prisoners with life sentences and they had serious mental health issues and we felt that prison was not the right place for them yet we couldn't recommend them for parole because the support they needed wasn't available. I believe the solution is a half-way house.

"These houses have full time nurses and mental health experts running these centres."

The Chairman said that it costs 65,000 a year to keep someone in prison and that this money could be used to create a half-way house.

"Every person who is paroled, can be returned to custody. It can be a minor issue or major issue but there are 80 life-sentence prisoners out in the community who haven't re-offended and are living normal lifes. Only a few are brought back into prison.

"We don't have exact numbers of how big a problem mental illness is in prisons. It is a big problem. We've only 300/400 life sentence prisoners so it's still a small number."

Anthony Flynn from Inner City Helping Homeless said that no group should be given priority over another.

"Giving one category priority over another isn't very fair. A prisoner shouldn't get priority over a family who have been living in a hotel for months or even years.

"Something does need to be done to help prisoners once they are released but they shouldn't be given priority. There needs to be some system in place as the lack of accommodation is continuing to cause problems."
Chinese tourists in Antarctica (file photo)

More Chinese vacationers are heading to Antarctica, as the countrys wealthy population continues to grow.

Data predicts that over 5,000 Chinese tourists will travel to Antarctica this year. A decade ago, only 99 Chinese tourists visited Antarctica during the travel season, but the number climbed to 4,100 during the 2014/2015 travel season, according to Singapore-based Zaobao.com.

In the 2014/2015 travel season, over 38,000 people around the globe visited Antarctica, according to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO).

Based on tourist numbers to Antarctica, China is expected to rank second after the United States.

It costs from 70,000 to 160,000 RMB ($10,151- 23,203) to visit Antarctica, an acceptable price for more and more Chinese as the countrys average disposable income has reached 50,000 RMB ($7,251) in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, according to Liu Hongli, a professor with the College of Resource Environment and Tourism at Capital Normal University in Beijing. Liu said the number of Chinese tourists to Antarctica is set to soar.
A GARDA investigation into the alleged funding of an overseas terrorist organisation involved the FBI, Interpol and London's Metropolitan Police.

The revelation came as Hassan Bal (25), who is charged with acting to support a foreign terrorist organisation, was remanded in ongoing custody by Waterford District Court after his bail application was rejected.

Mr Bal appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton on two charges of attempting to provide and providing funds for a foreign terrorist organisation.

The charges are brought contrary to the Criminal Justice - Terrorist Offences Act, 2005.

Judge Staunton was told that Mr Bal was arrested at an address off O'Connell Street in Waterford shortly before 10am last Thursday.

He was questioned overnight at Waterford Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

On the instructions of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), he was charged at Waterford Garda Station with two counts under the Criminal Justice - Terrorist Offences Act, 2005.

Det Inspector Anthony Pettit and Det Sergeant Donal Donohue said that, after being arrested, cautioned and charged, Mr Bal made no reply when the two charges were formally put to him.

Mr Bal was remanded in custody after his first court appearance last Friday but solicitor Ken Cunningham made a bail application on his client's behalf.

Inspector Tony Lonergan confirmed the State was opposing the application under Section 2 of the Bail Act, 1997.

Det Sgt Donohue said the State was objecting to bail given the serious charges involved, the nature of the alleged evidence, the fact the charges carry a maximum sentence on conviction of up to 20 years, that Gardai believed Mr Bal was a flight risk and the fact he no longer has a permanent address in Ireland.

Mr Cunningham told the court that Mr Bal's mother, Dr Caroline Ward-Fahy, a psychologist, was willing to provide independent surety for him.

He said his client was entitled to the presumption of innocence and would comply with all bail terms required.

Dr Ward-Fahy assured the court that all bail conditions required by the Gardai would be complied with by her son.

"It is very shocking," she said about the events of recent days.

"He will do that (obey all bail conditions) as a duty to God because his mother is a very important part of his faith.

"Since my son was born, if I tell him to do anything, he will do it.

"I am aware that he is innocent.

"My son is obedient to me because of his faith - children who are really good Muslims (obey parental guidance.)"

Dr Ward-Fahy, who specialises in the treatment of children with autism, insisted that she would take full responsibility for her son if he was granted bail and confirmed that he would live with her at her Waterford home.

Mr Bal is an Irish citizen but was born in the UK.

The young man has been resident in Ireland for 14 years and has lived in Waterford for 10 years.

He holds an Irish passport and his UK-born wife is currently pregnant.

Mr Bal is training to be an electrician in Waterford but currently has no major source of income.

Judge Staunton said he accepted Dr Ward-Fahy was "very genuine" in her submissions to the court but he had to take note of the evidence offered by Det Sgt Donohue.

He refused bail and remanded Mr Bal in ongoing custody to appear again before the district court on May 9.

The two charges relate to dates of October 2 and October 23 2015.

It is understood the sums allegedly involved are in the hundreds of Euro.

Mr Bal has already been granted free legal aid.

It remains unclear whether the charges will be dealt with before the Circuit Criminal Court or the Special Criminal Court.

The charges followed a major search in Waterford on Thursday by Gardai following a lengthy intelligence-led operation.

The Waterford-based operation was ongoing for a period of almost 17 months.

The Garda operation was focused on the collection and distribution of funds which, they feared, could have been intended for radical Islamic groups operating overseas.

Mr Bal had been living at a rented flat off O'Connell Street in Waterford city centre.

A woman in her early 20s arrested last Thursday as part of the same Garda operation was released without charge.
Samantha Walsh (inset) was discovered in apartment last Friday

A man has been charged with the murder of mother-of-four Samantha Walsh (31) in a Waterford city apartment.

Danny Whelan (28), of no fixed abode but who is originally from Thurles, Co Tipperary, appeared before Waterford District Court charged with the murder of Ms Walsh.

The young woman, who was from Lisduggan in Waterford city, was discovered unresponsive in a bedroom of a flat in Ballybricken at 3pm last Friday.

She was pronounced dead at the scene despite desperate efforts to revive her by emergency service members who were attending an alert raised by an individual at the flat.

Mr Whelan is charged with her murder at Thomas Street, Waterford at a time unknown between April 27 and 28.

Det Garda Pat Kelly told Judge Kevin Staunton he arrested, cautioned and charged Mr Whelan at Waterford Garda Station.

He told the court that Mr Whelan made no reply when the charge was formally put to him.

As it is a murder charge, bail cannot be dealt with by the District Court and must be handled by the High Court.

Inspector Tony Lonergan applied for Mr Whelan to be remanded in custody.

Judge Staunton remanded Mr Whelan in custody to appear again before Waterford District Court on Monday next.

Defence solicitor, Colin Morrissey, applied for free legal aid, stressing that his client is currently in receipt of social welfare.

Mr Morrissey also asked Judge Staunton to direct that Mr Whelan receive all medical and psychiatric treatment required while in custody, pointing out that his client was only released from University Hospital Waterford (UHW) on Saturday.

Mr Morrissey also pointed out that his client maintains he replied "not guilty" when the charge was formally put to him rather than making no reply.

Det Garda Kelly was adamant Mr Whelan made no reply and Judge Staunton said he was so noting in his record.

Mr Whelan appeared in court wearing a black and grey Puma tracksuit.

He did not speak during the brief hearing.

The court hearing took place as Ms Walsh's Requiem Mass was held at St Paul's Church in Lisduggan.

Ms Walsh hailed from Central Avenue in Lisduggan but had lived over recent years in both Mayo and Sligo.

Tragically, she had only moved into the flat at Thomas Street - just 100 metres from Ballybricken Garda Station - a short time ago.

Following her requiem mass, Ms Walsh will be buried in Kilbarry Cemetery.

Waterford gardai treated Ms Walsh's death as suspicious for 24 hours before launching a murder investigation last Saturday after receiving details of the post-mortem examination conducted at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis.

That examination indicated that the young mother had met a violent death.
A father-of-two who made a miraculous recovery after being shot five times near his home last year has appeared in court accused of assault and criminal damage in a separate incident.

Christopher Maguire (38), of Dun Emer Place in Lusk, Dublin, was charged in relation to an alleged incident at the house he shared with his partner. He was arrested by gardai investigating a disturbance at the house on Saturday.

Dublin District Court yesterday heard that when he was arrested and charged he made no reply to Garda John Hanley.

Gda Hanley objected to bail on the basis that the allegedly injured party was in fear of the accused, but outlined conditions to Judge John Cheatle which he would request if bail were to be granted. These included staying out of Lusk and not to contact the alleged injured party.

He also asked that Mr Maguire reside at an address that was supplied to the court but not read into the public record.

Mr Maguire's solicitor said he had suffered "significant injuries" in the recent past that require ongoing attention.

Bail was granted and an application for legal aid was accepted when Mr Maguire's solicitor said that he was on disability allowance.

Mr Maguire sat quietly in the court during the short hearing wearing a navy-blue puffy anorak and blue denim jeans.

He was bailed to appear at the court again on May 29.

Mr Maguire then left the court wearing a hat and dark glasses and walking with a crutch. Last July, Mr Maguire was shot multiple times in the head and body as he sat in a car in the Dun Emer Place estate.

He was left in a coma and at one point it was feared he would not survive.

The Garda investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
The retrial of a child-minder charged with causing serious harm to a ten-month-old baby has collapsed because of a juror researching the case on the internet.

Minutes after the jury had retired to consider their verdict following the conclusion of closing speeches, a juror requested to speak to Judge Martin Nolan about a matter of concern.

The juror said that earlier today, during initial discussions about evidence in the case, the jury foreman disclosed to her that she had googled background information regarding one of the witnesses in the case.

I now feel that I am personally tainted, and that I can't go in there and deliberate, she said.

After confirmation with the jury foreman that she had googled the witness Judge Nolan told the jury he was discharging it.

Sandra Higgins (36) of The Beeches, Drumgola Wood, Cavan town, Co Cavan had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the baby at her home on March 28 2012.

It is the State's case that on that day the baby was subjected to an assault sometime between 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm, when the defendant presented the child for treatment at Cavan General Hospital suffering from seizures, a detached retina, hemorrhaging in the eye and a traumatic brain injury.

This was a retrial after a jury in the first trial failed to reach a verdict. The court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions will now consider whether to go for a third trial.

Judge Nolan said he'd like the Director to consider the matter carefully given what occurred.

It's automatic that in modern society people conduct internet searches. Everyone has a laptop, he said.

Before discharging the jury Judge Nolan told the jury foreman that he indicated that jurors should not look up the case on the internet.

You disobeyed my instruction, Judge Nolan said. The judge thanked the jury for it's time during the six day trial and added that it is with great reluctance that he discharge them.

He also praised the juror who brought the matter to his attention, saying that it took courage. The judge said the defendant is entitled to a fair trial and the people of Ireland are entitled to have trials conducted fairly.

Judge Nolan remanded Sandra Higgins on continuing bail, and said the case will be dealt with on May 11th.

It is a matter of great importance that the matter be dealt with expeditiously, he said.
A youth has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a young girl after she fell asleep.

The 18-year-old man faced his second hearing when he appeared before Judge John OConnor at the Dublin Childrens Court on Tuesday.

He is charged with sexual assault of the girl, then aged 14, at an apartment in north Dublin on date last July. The youth who was aged 17, a juvenile at the time of the alleged incident entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday.

Judge OConnor ordered that the trial would take place in July.

The teenager, who was accompanied to court by his solicitor, had been arrested in a midlands town and charged.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed that the case could be dealt with at Childrens Court level and not in the Circuit Court, which can impose lengthier sentences.

Earlier, Detective Garda Michael Harkin gave an outline of the prosecution evidence.

He said the girls sister was in a relationship with a member of the youths family. It was alleged the girl fell asleep on a couch in the apartment and the youth attempted to penetrate her digitally but she woke up and pushed him away.

It was reported immediately to gardai and the girl was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit for an examination. The court heard she has been left very traumatised.

Judge O'Connor has accepted jurisdiction for the case to remain in the juvenile court.
Business owner Alison McArdle at her cafe Cupan Tae on Quay Lane, which has been flooded many times. Photo: Andrew Downes

One-in-five flood relief schemes may never go ahead because they don't stack up financially.

Almost 1,900 homes in large towns and cities could be at risk of being swamped by flood waters because the cost of protection cannot be justified on economic grounds alone.

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An analysis of flood defence plans from the Office of Public Works (OPW) reveals that the cost of completing schemes in areas including Galway, Navan, Cavan, Portlaoise, Cobh and Celbridge in Kildare is more than the cost of the damages that might arise in a severe flood.

The schemes will have to be revised, or local protection measures completed by local authorities under the minor works programme implemented to protect communities.

Yesterday, the Irish Independent revealed that the State faces a 3.2bn clean-up bill unless it dramatically ramps up investment in flood defences.

Works to protect roads, water treatment plants and other essential infrastructure, along with almost 26,000 properties in major towns and cities, are needed. The cost of completing the works is put at 835m - almost double the current budget.

The OPW says around 170 relief schemes are needed across the country, but 28 have a cost-benefit ratio of less than one.

Read more: Shannon Airport at risk of being 'swept away' as State could face 3.2bn flood clean-up bill

This means that the cost of completing works is more than the economic cost of replacing properties that would be destroyed in a worst-case scenario.

In Galway City, the cost of completing works is put at 9.5m. But if a severe flood struck, the costs of repairing the damage would be substantially less at 8.2m.

Flood Defence Works Interactive Map This tool sets out the cost of installing flood defences, the damages which might arise and number of properties under threat, in the most at-risk areas across the State. It is based on data from the draft Flood Risk Management Plans, produced by the Office of Public Works (OPW), following extensive surveys of 90 coastal communities, and more than 6,500kms of river channel. The country is divided into 29 Units of Management (UoMs), which are areas covered by a single river basin or covered by a group of smaller rivers. Given its size, works required along the Shannon are set out in three UoM. Clicking on the icons show the works required in each area. The urban area is highlighted at the top, and the UoM beneath. The cost of proposed works is set out in m. The damage uncapped figure relates to the total cost of damages to properties and infrastructure which would arise if nothing was done. The damage figure is based on the value of the properties at risk. This figure is used to determine if a scheme should go ahead  if the cost of the damage is less than the cost of providing defences, the scheme may not go ahead. This is the cost-benefit ratio. If its less than one, the scheme doesnt make financial sense. The final figure is the number of properties protected. Some icons contain less information. For example, Tullig in Kerry is part of the Castleisland flood defence scheme so no information is contained. The OPW has also identified other areas as being at low risk, or says the existing flood defence regime should be maintained. In other cases it notes the need for a forecasting system, or says if a scheme is underway. Further information is at http://maps.opw.ie/floodplans/



If the works don't go ahead, some 890 properties could be at risk. The cost of completing works in Cobh is 2.5m, but the damages would amount to 2.1m. Sources said that in cases where the finances didn't stack up, the schemes could not proceed.

"We can't progress these schemes," one said. "We would take these aside and look at them again. Where the schemes are very close to one but just below, on closer review these costs can be reduced. Those schemes have been noted, but we would need to do a cost review."

The overall cost of the works required in the 29 areas totals almost 79m. The damages which might arise come to 61.8m.

A total of 1,883 properties are at risk, ranging from 890 in Galway to two in Coolaney, Co Sligo.

Flood relief works are designed not just to protect homes, but also transport links, water treatment plants and other essential infrastructure.

The situation is complicated by the fact that many of these towns are projected to see substantial population increases over the coming years, and will need protection to protect commercial cores.

Read more - Paul Melia: Storms will only get worse - and we may have to abandon parts of country

If the schemes are dropped, options include protection for individual properties, completing minor works costing less than 500,000, which could be carried out by the local authority, or in a worst-case scenario a voluntary relocation scheme.

While the flood defence plans completed by the OPW are based on a one-in-100-year flood event, or an event which has a 1pc chance of occurring in a given year, in major urban areas consideration could be given to more expensive schemes which provide a greater level of protection.

"For Galway, for the 100-year ratio it's below one," a source said. "But if you take standard protection up to a one-in-1,000-year event, because you're protecting so much more property you're getting greater benefits.

"We would look to examine the costs to see if a higher standard of protection might be available," a source said.

'Perfect storm' will cause havoc for businesses again if nothing is done

RTE's Teresa Mannion's weather report from Salthill in 2015 gave the nation a taste of the devastating damage from storms and flood waters hitting Galway.

But for many living in the City of the Tribes, it is a reoccurring reality.

Residents and businesses across the most vulnerable parts of the city, including Flood Street and Quay Lane, are often warned to brace themselves for high tides spilling into the streets.

Alison McArdle owner of the Cupan Tae tearooms, says that once flood waters rush into the area, no business can escape the devastation.

Located on Quay Lane by the River Corrib, Ms McArdle set up her cafe six years ago, but was unable to get insurance due to the high risk of flooding.

"If one business gets flooded around here, then we all do. We moved in knowing the risks, but were reassured that the premises had not been seriously flooded in 10 years," she said.

But in 2014, Cupan Tae suffered three days of flooding due to a combination of high tides and heavy rainfall.

"We lost a huge amount of stock, including hundreds of kilos of tea leaves. All of our electrics broke and everything at ground level was ruined. We had to close only for a couple of days, but luckily we got back in business pretty quickly.

"We just want the council to react immediately when things like this happen, which wasn't the case in 2014."

The Office of Public Works (OPW) said that defences to protect Galway City and Salthill would cost some 9.5m to install, and protect 890 properties.

Read more: 'We were millimetres from disaster... we were very lucky'

The problem is these figures don't stack up. In order for the scheme to be viable, the overall budget has to be substantially more than the cost of the estimated damage. Damages are put at 8.2m if nothing is done.

Options for flood prevention measures include quay defence walls and embankments along Long Walk, Spanish Arch and the Claddagh, some up to 1.2m high. Defences along the Dyke Road need to be strengthened to protect the city's water supply, and works are also needed on the Eglington Canal.

In Salthill, rock armour is proposed. Some roads may need to be raised including the Grattan Road.

The city council said that bespoke and more expensive flood wall finishes and approaches "would be desirable in the protected conservation areas". These include glass-panelled flood-retaining walls and self-closing barriers, but this would increase costs and could "limit the potential" for OPW funding.

Niall McNelis, who owns Claddagh and Celtic Jewellery on Quay Lane, described 2014's flooding as "the perfect storm".

"Everything went against us - spring tides, low temperatures and high winds," the Galway City Councillor said. "The sheer volume of the water that came through our doors destroyed all of our electrics and floor stock.

"We were flooded three times in the past and when I saw the waters come through our doors in 2014 I remember saying to myself, 'Here we go again'.

"Hopefully the new measures will reduce the risk of flooding in our community, but I agree we definitely need better communication from the council."
Flooding has caused a lot of suffering in recent years, but responding to the problem by dredging rivers is the wrong approach. We need to be tackling this problem at a landscape scale.

Experience elsewhere has shown that natural flood management can be significantly cheaper, and have far-reaching benefits for the natural environment.

Profound changes in land-use since the 1960s have generally sped up the flow of water through each river catchment. We have obliterated peat bogs and drained away wetlands. In doing so, we have removed the physical infrastructure that would otherwise hold back flood waters.

Add to this the loss of permeability in the land as we have paved over urban areas and compacted soils with intensive farming. Replacing woodlands, wet meadows and marshland with intensively managed ryegrass fields speeds up the flow of water through each catchment.

Instead of allowing rivers to spill over on to floodplains during times of heavy rainfall, floodplains have been drained and 'reclaimed' to increase farm productivity or to accommodate shopping complexes and new housing developments.

And so it is that the landscape of 2017 has little capacity to attenuate flooding. With climate change, extreme flood events are likely to occur once every 10 years by the second half of this century. The wise response would be to reinstate landscape features, like wetlands and woodlands, to help slow the flow and reduce flood risk.

Protecting floodplains from development, and restoring them to a state where they can retain excess water, would do much to alleviate flooding. These are measures that would make our landscapes resilient to the impacts of a warmer and wetter climate.

Natural flood management is about taking a whole catchment approach to managing flood waters, through managing soil, wetlands, woodlands and floodplains to retain water strategically at times of flood risk. This approach has gained recognition in many countries as a viable and cost-effective approach to flood risk, with extensive projects across Europe and further afield that have restored peat bogs, planted riparian woodlands, restored and created new wetlands, and re-profiled rivers and their floodplains to hold back flood waters.

Instead we in Ireland are responding with more dredging. Because dredging reduces local flooding, it is associated with more ubiquitous flood alleviation.

But dredging increases the volume of water that passes through a river channel at any given time, and often exacerbates downstream flooding.

Flood Defence Works Interactive Map This tool sets out the cost of installing flood defences, the damages which might arise and number of properties under threat, in the most at-risk areas across the State. It is based on data from the draft Flood Risk Management Plans, produced by the Office of Public Works (OPW), following extensive surveys of 90 coastal communities, and more than 6,500kms of river channel. The country is divided into 29 Units of Management (UoMs), which are areas covered by a single river basin or covered by a group of smaller rivers. Given its size, works required along the Shannon are set out in three UoM. Clicking on the icons show the works required in each area. The urban area is highlighted at the top, and the UoM beneath. The cost of proposed works is set out in m. The damage uncapped figure relates to the total cost of damages to properties and infrastructure which would arise if nothing was done. The damage figure is based on the value of the properties at risk. This figure is used to determine if a scheme should go ahead  if the cost of the damage is less than the cost of providing defences, the scheme may not go ahead. This is the cost-benefit ratio. If its less than one, the scheme doesnt make financial sense. The final figure is the number of properties protected. Some icons contain less information. For example, Tullig in Kerry is part of the Castleisland flood defence scheme so no information is contained. The OPW has also identified other areas as being at low risk, or says the existing flood defence regime should be maintained. In other cases it notes the need for a forecasting system, or says if a scheme is underway. Further information is at http://maps.opw.ie/floodplans/



The purpose of dredging was never for flood relief but for the improvement of agricultural land. Yet more flooding in recent years has meant that politicians and local authorities are put under more pressure to allocate public money for more dredging. This can increase vulnerability in flood prone areas.

The Shannon Flood Risk Group, led by the OPW, appears to be entirely focused on dredging: what is being called 'river channel maintenance'. But more dredging is a false solution.

It is understandable more people are getting more insistent we act now to reduce flood risk. And so we must. But leaving landscape-scale solutions out of the picture is folly. We cannot continue to ignore natural flood-management options.

These are cost-effective, long-term approaches that have enormous benefits for water quality and for nature.

The sooner we accept nature is a key, cost-effective ally in the fight against climate change, the sooner we will start to implement sustainable, long-term solutions to the growing problem of flooding.

Anja Murray is a broadcaster and environmentalist
A nuclear-free Korean Peninsula can only be achieved through peaceful negotiations, while any U.S. military action will threaten regional stability and give rise to mistrust among the countries involved, said a senior Chinese official.

The remark was made by Fu Ying, Chairwoman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, in her paper published by U.S. think tank the Brookings Institution on Apr. 30. Fu urged the U.S. to carefully calculate its moves, as any military option, whether big or small, carries the risk of causing huge civilian casualties and hard-to-control results.

The comment is only the most recent in a series of Chinese officials public statements regarding the denuclearization of the Peninsula. On Apr. 28, Wang Yi, Minister of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated Chinas stance on the issue during a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council, calling for all parties to fully implement DPRK-related Security Council resolutions.

In response to doubts of Chinas incompetence or reluctance in addressing the crisis, Fu noted that China has been fulfilling its role as a mediator and a party to UN sanctions, adding that China cannot force either side to assume their respective responsibilities.

Deep mistrust between the U.S. and the DPRK made it very hard for any consensus or agreement made during years of negotiations to be effectively implementedwithout holding the key to the DPRKs security concerns, China has no leverage to convince this foreign nation to stop its nuclear program, said Fu.

In terms of the possible outcomes, Fu believes there are three possibilities. The DPRKs regime can collapse, the vicious cycle of sanctions followed by nuclear and missile tests can continue till a tipping point is reached, or talks and serious negotiations can be restarted.

Only through dialogue can mutual security be achieved. In this way, we may help wrestle the Korean Peninsula out of its current vicious cycle and prevent Northeast Asia from turning into a dark forest, Fu concluded.
Rather than simply replacing the head, the team attached the donor head to the body of the larger rat, creating an animal with two heads.

Scientists say they have carried out a successful head transplant on rats ahead of plans to attempt a similar operation on a human later this year.

During the procedure, the head of a smaller rat was attached to the body of a larger rodent.

Rather than simply replacing the head, the team attached the donor head to the body of the larger rat, creating an animal with two heads.

The operation involved three rats in total: the donor, the recipient and a third used to maintain the blood supply to the transplanted head.

A pump was used to transfer blood from the third rat to the donor head to ensure the brain was not starved of oxygen.

After the procedure, the rat whose head had been transplanted was able to see and feel pain, showing the brain was functioning despite having been detached from its original body.

The experiment, reported in the journal 'CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics', was designed to investigate issues relating to blood flow to the brain and the possibility of the immune system rejecting the new organ - problems that could arise during a human transplant.

The procedure was carried out by a team including Sergio Canavero, a controversial Italian neurosurgeon who has pledged to carry out a human head transplant this year.

Hunt Batjer, president elect of the American Association for Neurological Surgeons, has criticised Mr Canavero's plans to transplant a human head.
Health Minister Simon Harris is considering establishing a national forum that will examine how to divest some of the country's hospitals that are owned by religious orders.

It's understood the forum will be modelled on the approach adopted by former education minister Ruairi Quinn in relation to Catholic primary schools.

As the row over the future of the National Maternity Hospital continues, Mr Harris is expected to bring proposals in relation to ownership to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

He is understood to favour the setting up of a forum that will include a number of experts who will examine international comparisons in relation to the role religious orders play in hospitals.

Sources said any such body would need to conduct a public consultation and an engagement process involving the clinical community.

Read more: 'I want time to pursue solutions' - Health Minister to report back on hospital deal 'at end of May'

A number of Dublin's hospitals are under the ownership of religious orders.

Along with St Vincent's, the Order of the Sisters of Charity also owns St Michael's Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

The Order of the Sisters of Mercy owns the Mater Hospital, Temple Street Children's Hospital and the Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital in Finglas.

Divestment

Government sources noted that any move towards divestment would take many years and could potentially run into legal difficulty.

Mr Harris moved to defuse the row over the St Vincent's site on Sunday as he indicated the State would look to take an ownership stake in the maternity hospital after it is transferred to the St Vincent's campus. It's understood a long-term lease of up to 999 years is being considered as a potential option.

St Vincent's declined to comment on the minister's intervention last night.

A spokesman for Holles Street, the current site of the National Maternity Hospital, said: "We are looking forward to engaging with the minister over the coming weeks."

Speaking on RTE's 'Morning Ireland', the former master of the Rotunda, Sam Coulter-Smyth, welcomed Mr Harris's intervention.

"The suggestion that they need some time to work things out I think is absolutely true. I think this needs to be taken out of the heat of battle away from the front pages of the newspapers," Dr Coulter-Smyth said.
There are 11,654 people now in the queue for orthopaedic surgery, compared to 10,634 in May 2016. Stock photo: PA

Patients in need of hip and knee operations are among those who have fared worst in spiralling hospital waiting lists since the current Government took office more than a year ago.

There are 11,654 people now in the queue for orthopaedic surgery, compared to 10,634 in May 2016.

Those needing orthopaedic surgery have the longest wait, and the list of those waiting longest has also grown - with 543 now in the queue for more than 18 months compared to 320 when the Government took office.

It comes as the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare looks set to recommend later this month that private patients no longer be treated in public hospitals to cut waiting lists and overcrowding.

In a significant response to the proposal, the body representing private hospitals said it would welcome the move and would be able to cope with the inflow of these patients. The transfer "could happen even earlier than the Oireachtas committee recommends".

Simon Nugent, chief executive of the Private Hospitals' Association, said: "It makes sense to take patients with private health insurance out of the public system and this initiative could be implemented very quickly. "The transfer of patients could commence in the first year of a new strategy rather than waiting until year two as suggested by the Oireachtas Committee," he added.

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Public waiting lists have grown dramatically since the Government took office in May 2016, with the numbers needing surgery rising from 74,986 to 84,838 in March this year.
Courses relating to construction, computer science and engineering have the highest drop out rates of any college discipline, according to a new report by the Higher Education Authority.

The report, titled 'A study of progression in Irish Higher Education (2013/14 to 2014/15)', found that construction related courses had an average rate of non-progression of 28 per cent, the highest of any discipline in the country. Education related courses had the lowest rate of non-progression, at just four pc.

Level 8 Computer Science and Engineering related courses had a non-progression rate of 16pc and 13pc respectively.

The report also looked at trends of non-progression across types of sectors and third level institutions. Level 6 and Level 7 courses saw the highest rates of non-progression, ranging from 26pc to 27pc, compared to an average of 11pc in Level 8 courses. Of Level 8's, universities had the highest non-progression rates (16pc), followed by institutes of technology (11pc) and colleges (6pc).

In total, about 3.6pc of the country's third level students are repeat students, with the greatest number of these doing Level 7 courses in institutes of technology.

The report also found how characteristics of students that drop out differ across types of institutions. It found that women are less likely to drop out than men in all sectors and institutions, except in Level 8 courses in colleges, and that mature students are more likely to progress than new entrants, except in Level 8 courses at universities.

With thanks to Campus.ie
A surfer who survived more than 30 hours stranded at sea on his board has been described as "extremely lucky".

Matthew Bryce (22) was reported missing by family when he failed to return from a surfing trip off the Argyll coast of Scotland on Sunday afternoon.

He had last been seen at around 9am on Sunday in the St Catherines area, believed to be heading to Westport Beach near Campbeltown.

Police Scotland and the coastguard launched a large-scale search, with rescue teams from Campbeltown, Southend, Gigha, Tarbert and Port Ellen involved.

The 22-year-old was eventually found by a search and rescue helicopter at around 7.30pm on Monday, drifting 13 miles from the Argyll coast.

Mr Bryce, from Glasgow, was taken to Belfast Hospital for treatment for hypothermia.

The coastguard believe his knowledge and wetsuit saved his life.

Conditions in the Irish Sea were also "fairly benign" throughout Monday.

Dawn Petrie, from the Belfast coastguard operations centre, said: "He'd been in the water for some 30 hours when the helicopter was delighted to spot him.

"He was extremely lucky.

"He was wearing the right equipment, had a very thick neoprene wetsuit on and did the right thing by staying with his surfboard.

"That must have helped him to survive for so long."

She said Mr Bryce was conscious when he was taken to hospital.

Police thanked everyone who had been involved in the search.

Chief Inspector Paul Robertson said: "The response to our appeal to find Matthew has been outstanding.

"It has been a real team effort and I would like to thank everyone who offered their assistance."

Alex Smith, from the coastguard, told BBC Radio Scotland: "His core body temperature was certainly very low but he is a very fit young man.

"It would've been quicker for us to find him if he had a personal locator beacon, a flare pack or a radio.

"I understand you don't want to be encumbered by too much equipment on a surfboard but even just having a shore contact who will raise the alarm if you fail to turn up.

"This gentleman was already 24 hours late when the alarm was raised."
Health Minister Simon Harris has reacted to the controversy over the ownership of the proposed National Maternity Hospital like a rabbit caught in headlights, Fianna Fail has claimed.

At the opening of the new Dail term, Micheal Martin questioned why the Sisters of Charity want to own the 300m facility planned for a site beside St Vincents Hospital in Dublin.

He demanded to know from Taoiseach Enda Kenny whether clinical independence at the hospital is guaranteed.

Fundamentally I would put it to you Taoiseach, the State should own the hospital and the States investment should be reflected in the ownership model, Mr Martin said.

Mr Kenny defended his minister saying the hospital needed to be built for the women of Ireland.

He said the current hospital at Holles Street is not up to standard and claimed this was partly because Mr Martin, during his time as Minister for Health, allowed the situation to drift.

The Taoiseach questioned what Fianna Fail wanted him to do given that the Sister of Charity own the site at St Vincents.

He said Mr Harris has asked for and been given a month by Government to allow space for the issues to resolved.

Mr Kenny added that the minister believes further absolute reassurance in relation to the ownership can be obtained.
The China-proposed Belt and Road initiative has not only cemented the economic ties of countries along the routes, but also linked their peoples together. The moving love story of a young Chinese lady and her husband from Kazakhstan, the birth place of the initiative, is the best evidence of such bonds.

The Belt and Road initiative was first introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. In a speech delivered at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Xi suggested that China and Central Asia should cooperate to build a Silk Road Economic Belt.

In his speech, he also cited the love story between a young Chinese man and a Kazakh woman named Valentina to illustrate the close relations between the peoples of the two countries.

Three and a half years later, the fates of a beautiful Chinese woman Han Jianghong and a young Kazakh man named Alman were once again bonded as a result of the Belt and Road initiative.

Alman, a Chinese interpreter working at the Karazhanbas Oil Field in Kazakhstan, operated under the CITIC Group, met Han in 2008 when she was sent to there as a Russian interpreter. "I tried everything to get close to her," said Alman, adding that they had many chances to communicate since they were both interpreters.

Alman helped to improve Han's Russian skills and became familiar with her during the work. His sincerity touched Han, and Han finally accepted his love.

Later, Alman left the oil field and worked for Aktau Asphalt Plant, a Sino-Kazakh joint venture. The couple married in 2013, and their baby Aruzana was born at the end of the same year.

Their romance started from the "Silk Road" since both the Karazhanbas Oil Field and Aktau Asphalt Plant are key projects of capacity cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. Their trans-national marriage, the only one in his hometown, brightens up the ancient route.

However, fate played its trick on Alman when he was immersed in happiness after marriage.

In April 2016, Alman didnt feel well, suffering frequent nosebleeds and headaches. Local hospitals couldn't make an accurate diagnosis, and Alman himself didn't pay much attention at first. Han, worried about her husband's situation, took him to Dalian in Northeast Chinas Liaoning Province for treatment.

"After 20 different tests, I was diagnosed with M3 acute leukemia," said Alman, adding that people suffering from the disease would normally die in two months if they did not receive timely treatment.

According to the young Kazakh man, he would have missed his last chance if Han had not persisted, since he had already wasted three weeks before coming to China. It is Han and the Chinese doctors who saved his life. After a six months treatment in China, Alman's disease is currently in remission.

Han shouldered a great pressure during the treatment. "She would stay with me whenever she's free, taking care of and encouraging me. She brought me hope at the hardest time of my life," said Alman.

The couple also received assistance from both the Karazhanbas Oil Field and Aktau Asphalt Plant. "The companies' help relieved our economic burden and made us focus on the treatment," Alman told the People's Daily.

"I'll be fully recovered if my disease doesn't recur in the next five years," Alman said, adding that his family will embrace a happy life, since both he and his wife will benefit from promising career developments thanks to the close economic and trade relations between Kazakhstan and China.

The love story told by President Xi and the one between Alman and Han both witness the friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

Alman said that Aruzana, the name of his child, means a beautiful mind. Now Aruzana is able to speak Chinese, Russian and Kazakh. The girl with the beautiful mind and multilingual ability is believed to be another envoy linking the friendship of the two countries, just like her parents.
Leo Varadkar yesterday tweeted a photo of him meeting French presidential front-runner Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Sunday.

Additional sick pay for the self-employed is on the cards ahead of this year's Budget, the Irish Independent has learned.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar is looking at introducing extra benefits for tens of thousands of self-employed people in a bid to bridge the gap with PAYE workers.

But the Fine Gael politician believes taxpayers should pay more by way of social insurance in order to gain access to additional benefits.

Research commissioned by Mr Varadkar found more than four-out-of-five self-employed people stated long-term illness as the number one benefit that needs to be extended.

This was followed by the benefits available for business people when they become ill for short periods of time or unemployment.

But significantly, the study found the vast majority of those surveyed would be willing to pay a higher rate of PRSI if it meant they would receive additional benefits in return.

The current headline rate of PRSI is 4pc for the self-employed. The survey of 3,200 respondents found that 88pc would be willing to pay a higher rate in return for at least one additional social insurance benefit.

Mr Varadkar last night confirmed that the findings of the report will be considered in the context of Budget 2018.

He said the self-employed will be entitled to claim a number of new benefits, including the invalidity pension, by the end of the year as a result of a decision taken as part of last year's Budget. These are on top of new benefits in the area of dental and eye treatment.

But Mr Varadkar confirmed that he wants to see additional benefits rolled out in the next Budget, expected to be in October.

"We are already tackling one of the top demands for illness cover by giving self-employed people access to the Invalidity Pension later this year, without a means test," Mr Varadkar said.

"For the first time they will have access to the safety-net of State income supports if they become permanently unable to work through illness or disability. There will be no increase in PRSI for this.

"The results of this survey will guide new policy developments in the short term, including Budget 2018, and the longer term."

Mr Varadkar has already indicated that reform of the tax system will be a key plank of his campaign to become taoiseach.

Central to his plan will be an overhaul of PRSI and USC so as to ensure more benefits are given to taxpayers.

He wants to instead introduce a system of "social insurance", which is used in many other European countries.

Social insurance money paid by workers would be "ring-fenced" to provide additional benefits such as medical expenses.

Mr Varadkar has already committed to raising the point of entry to the higher rate of tax from its current threshold of 33,800. And the Dublin West TD says the marginal tax rate will be brought below 50pc for all workers.

Battle

Mr Varadkar's main rival in the leadership battle, Simon Coveney, has yet to detail his own tax proposals.

Mr Coveney has enlisted the services of former Fine Gael adviser Ciaran Conlon, who is spearheading policy formation.

Fine Gael sources expect that Taoiseach Enda Kenny will formally announce the process for electing a new leader after he returns from Canada next week.

There is now a growing consensus with ministers and TDs that the contest to succeed Mr Kenny will be held within the next six to eight weeks, and even as early as the June bank holiday weekend.
We were sitting in the back yard one day last week, relaxing in the sun, when suddenly my wife stood up and said, "Hang on, I'm just going to throw my boobs in the window."

Seems the heat can get a tad uncomfortable under a pair of fake breasts. So she reached up under her shirt, whipped off the falsies and proceeded to throw them in through the open bedroom window.

We laughed. And then we laughed some more when I told her that what she just said would be the opening shot of an article. She didn't argue, or warn me that such a move would result in grievous bodily harm. So here we are. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

On World Cancer Day in February, I wrote about how I was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma at the tail end of last year, just months into my wife's treatment for breast cancer.

Expand Close Hope: John and his wife Tracy who underwent chemotherapy for stage 3 breast cancer in the US at the same time as him / Facebook

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Whatsapp Hope: John and his wife Tracy who underwent chemotherapy for stage 3 breast cancer in the US at the same time as him

At the time, it didn't look good. Tracy had undergone a double mastectomy, and was having a rough time on chemo. I'd been in hospital for three months and it didn't look like I'd be going home anytime soon.

To make things worse, my wife was having her treatment at home in America. I'd moved there after we married, but returned to Ireland when my health began to decline. Without insurance, long-term medical care in the States was out of the question.

So we were living apart during the worst time in our lives, a time when it didn't seem like either of us had much life left to live.

We were only in our mid-40s, with hopes and plans and dreams like anyone else. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Four months down the road, the outlook doesn't seem quite so grim.

I finally got out of the hospital in March, around about the same time Tracy was finishing chemo. Every day since then, she's been feeling better. Her hair is growing back, thicker than it ever was, with a fair bit more grey than there used to be - "a halo of worry and care," as Johnny Cash put it in one of those old gospel songs.

I'd have a similar halo if I had a similar hairline, but I have to settle for a shocking amount of new snow in the beard that's finally making a comeback after chemo.

With her cancer ordeal behind her, Tracy finally got the all-clear to move to Ireland in May, and is slowly settling in, getting to grips with the culture shock. She got here just as my treatment was ending, and was with me on the big day - Wednesday June 1 - when I went to meet my consultant for the results of my final PET scan.

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Whatsapp Shattered: John Keogh pictured at Tallaght Hospital where he underwent where he underwent chemotherapy for stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Photo: Doug O'Connor.

I'd been sick with worry for days, waiting to hear what showed up, thinking nothing but the worst. By the time Dr Hilary O'Leary took us into her office at University Hospital Limerick, it was all I could do to keep from throwing up.

She asked us to take a seat, and she smiled, a great big smile I will never forget. And then she said the words.

"I have great news," she said. "The scan shows you're in complete remission."

It's a worn-old cliche to say that time stood still, but in that moment it did. Just for a breath.

Then Tracy cried, I almost combusted with relief, and Dr O'Leary suggested we break out the champagne and book a holiday.

She also suggested I consider therapy for my anxiety, which admittedly has been bordering on the severe. It's an anxiety Tracy shares with me to an extent, one which will be familiar to many fellow cancer patients - the terrible dread that, even though you've beaten this thing, it can always come back with a vengeance.

So every small thing - a cough, a sniffle, the tiniest ache - becomes a symptom, a terrifying sign that all the horrible stuff we've just come through is about to start all over again. And that's a fear we're going to have to get past.

Because for now, we're cancer-free, we're feeling good, and it's starting to look like we might have a lot more life left in us yet.

Which is not to say we came out of it unscathed. Tracy wears fake breasts, has several new scars on her body, and has gone into early menopause. My heart is weaker since the treatment, and I walk with a cane because the chemo damaged the nerves in my legs.

And there are times when it feels like life will never return to normal, that we won't be able to recover all of the things we lost - our work, our independence, everything about the life we once had. Or simply being able to make plans and talk about the future, without that voice in the back of our minds piping up to suggest that we're being a bit presumptuous.

Dealing with that is almost worse than the physical scars.

But we're still here. Or as Tracy puts it, "We're not dead yet."

To that end, we owe much to our medical teams - Dr O'Leary and her team in Limerick, and Dr Kenneth Kotz in Wilmington, North Carolina. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to a lot of fine people in Tallaght hospital. Top of that list are consultant haematologist Dr Ronan Desmond, and my former renal consultant Dr Peter Lavin, whose investigations first uncovered my cancer.

I should also mention a lady named Laura, one of many people who got in touch to wish us well after reading the piece on World Cancer Day. I don't know her last name and I don't know where she's from, but Laura sent a card to me at the hospital. It was a beautiful card, and the message she wrote inside was encouraging.

But the most memorable thing about it was the way she addressed the envelope: "John Keogh, Patient who wrote the article in the Irish Independent, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin."

I mention this because she might have wondered if the card managed to find its way to me. It did, and I'm very grateful for it. It's one of many small gestures that have made me smile, and made my day a little brighter.

Though it doesn't beat watching my wife fling her boobs through the window.
Kiera, centre, pictured with her siblings Caoimhe (15) and Colm (19), left, son Riley (8), partner John. centre right, and brother Kieran, right, at Conor's christening.

A young mum who stepped up to parent her brother and sister at the age of 23 was shocked to be diagnosed with cervical cancer after going for her routine smear.

Kiera Coyle (31) became an official guardian to Caoimhe and Colm, then aged 9 and 13, after their father's death four years ago and said her recent cancer diagnosis brought up familiar feelings of panic for her siblings, who had lost both of their parents at a young age.

Derry City woman Kiera, who is also mum to Riley (8), Conor (2) and Quinn (1), was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October after a routine smear prompted doctors to carry out a biopsy.

Speaking to Independent.ie, Kiera said: "My mum died when my youngest, Riley, was just six-months-old. After that my younger brother and sister Colm and Caoimhe, continued to live with my dad but he struggled.

Expand Close Kiera, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, has three kids Riley (8), Quinn (1) and Conor (2) with her partner John / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kiera, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, has three kids Riley (8), Quinn (1) and Conor (2) with her partner John

"He was suffering from renal failure and as his health declined he became unable to cope with the children. Social Services became involved because they were missing days as school and we had to decide what was best for them. It was decided that they would live with me.

"After my Daddy died, my brother Kieran and I went for a guardianship order for the kids and luckily that was granted in the High Court in Belfast."

Clerical worker Kiera and her partner John welcomed daughter Quinn in October 2015, just 14 months after her second son Conor (2). Although she had been due a cervical smear in between the births, the mum became caught up with the two new babies and put off going for her appointment until August 2016.

The routine smear picked up abnormal results and Kiera went on to have a biopsy. In October, Kiera was asked to come into the hospital for the results of the test, which she knew was unusual.

Expand Close Kiera (31) was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2016. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kiera (31) was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2016.

"My smear did show that I had abnormal cells, but it was something that a few of my aunties had been diagnosed with before and I knew the procedure to get rid of them was relatively simple. I wasn't told a biopsy had been done, so when they called me in for an appointment I knew that something was up. When they asked me if I was on my own I knew something was really wrong," she said.

Kiera was diagnosed with stage one B one cervical cancer and doctors advised her to undergo a radical hysterectomy to prevent the spread of the disease to her other vital organs.

A radical hysterectomy involves the removal of the uterus, the tissues that hold it in place, the cervix and inches of the upper vagina, a surgery Kiera underwent in December.

Kiera said that although everyone was telling her she was "lucky" to already have three children of her own she did not feel that way. The mum said her diagnosis had a deep impact on her siblings who had already experienced the loss of their parents, and the news panicked Caoimhe, now aged 15.

"All people could say was how lucky I was, 'Oh youre so lucky you already have kids', 'Youre lucky this was caught when it was', but I didnt feel so lucky. I felt like if one more person told me how lucky I was I was going to scream 'I HAVE CANCER'.

"Yes I had kids, but I wasnt sure I was finished having them yet and I didnt feel lucky at all.

Expand Close Kiera, centre, pictured with her siblings Caoimhe (15) and Colm (19), left, son Riley (8), partner John. centre right, and brother Kieran, right, at Conor's christening. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kiera, centre, pictured with her siblings Caoimhe (15) and Colm (19), left, son Riley (8), partner John. centre right, and brother Kieran, right, at Conor's christening.

"I was also so afraid of telling Caoimhe and Colm particularly because anyone who has ever been close to them has died. When I told Caoimhe, she really panicked but I just told her that it was just an operation and everything would be fine afterwards. I didn't know that myself but it's what I had to say. I couldn't tell my little boy, hes only eight and I didnt want to scare him. I just told him Mummy had to get an operation on her tummy."

Although Kieras operation went to plan, she suffered complications in the weeks afterwards when her bowel twisted on New Year's Eve as a result of a stomach bug. Fortunately, Kiera avoided another massive surgery, but was forced to spend a week in St Vincents Hospital in Dublin.

While she admits the last few months have been very difficult, the mum-of-three and her family are celebrating the news that she is free from cancer and does not need to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. Kiera will have to attend check-ups every three months to ensure the cancer does not return, however she could experience other side effects from the surgery.

"I could go into menopause earlier now and Im at a high risk of lymphodema, which means I cant shave, exfoliate or even take a hot shower. After my surgery I was told I couldn't lift anything heavier than 2L of milk, which was so hard considering I have two small babies at home," she said.

Kiera hopes her story will encourage other women to keep on top of their routine smears, which she said saved her life.

"Yes, its a bit embarrassing, its a bit uncomfortable but its something you just have to do, isn't it? I didn't have any symptoms and I was diagnosed with cancer. It's so important to be aware of whats going on in your body and the smear allows you to do that," said Kiera.

For more information on national screening programme CervicalCheck visit cervicalcheck.ie.
(Xinhua) 17:38, May 02, 2017

LHASA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nathu La Pass in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has opened, the local border checkpoint said.

The Nathu La Pass sits 4,545 meters above sea level and is wedged between Tibet's Yadong County in Xigaze Prefecture, and India's Sikkim State. It is the shortest land pass for trade between China and India, and also the highest altitude land pass for trade.

The pass is open from May to November and closed from December to April, according to the Yadong border checkpoint.

The pass was closed for more than 40 years. It reopened in 2006 for trade only.

In 2015, China started to allow Indian pilgrims to use the Nathu La Pass. In 2016, 9,000 vehicles and more than 20,000 people travelled through the pass, including 588 Indian pilgrims, according to the statistics.

The pilgrims traditionally climbed over Qang La Pass, which is 5,200 meters above sea level on the China-India-Nepal border, to reach their destination. The road is steep and usually covered by snow.

Indian nationals have made the pilgrimage to Tibet every year since 1981. China has welcomed almost 80,000 Indian pilgrims in the past decade alone.
Chelseas 2-2 draw against Tottenham secured the title for Leicester.

It might seem like just yesterday, but it has in fact been a full 365 days since Leicester Citys greatest day, when they won the Premier League on a night when they werent even playing.

With Tottenham needing a win against Chelsea to keep the 2015/16 title race alive, it was left to the Blues to help Claudio Ranieris team over the line  a 2-2 draw in a feisty game at Stamford Bridge ensured Spurs couldnt catch Leicester.

May 2 will forever mark the anniversary of that wonderful league triumph  we fully expect to see this occasion celebrated every year by the Foxes.

Gary Lineker was obviously on board.

And the fans and players were happy to reminisce as well, unsurprisingly.

But there were a couple of Chelsea fans who were keen to remind Leicester that the Foxes can repay them by beating Tottenham on May 18.

With the Blues leading Spurs in this seasons title race by four points, Leicester could be in a position to end Tottenhams title hopes as the north London sides penultimate opponents this season.

Tottenham will be keen to make sure history doesnt repeat itself.
A video image of passengers on the floor of a flight from Moscow to Bangkok after it hit turbulence. Photo: RR/Rostik Rusev

At least 27 people were injured, several with suspected spinal damage, on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bangkok yesterday when their Boeing 777 hit turbulence.

Most of the injured - including a one-year-old child - were Russian.

Fifteen of them were taken to a Bangkok hospital for treatment, the Russian embassy in Bangkok said in a statement. The other three injured were from Thailand.

A video posted online by Evgenia Zibrova, apparently shot in the aftermath of the turbulence, showed passengers scattered along the aisle of the aircraft.

Food and drinks, including several bottles of fizzy drinks, had apparently been hurled from the trolley and were sprawled across the floor.

Posting the video, Ms Zibrova wrote: "Numerous air pockets one hour before landing led to broken bones, internal and external bleeding. Babies are covered in bruises, people lost consciousness. Thanks that we are still alive. Aeroflot, please help these people."

The Russian airline said in an earlier statement that several passengers had been injured during "severe turbulence" 40 minutes before landing in the Thai capital. It said the crew was unable to warn passengers of the approaching danger as the turbulence occurred in a clear sky.

"All the injured were sent to a local hospital with injuries of a different kind of severity, mainly fractures and bruises," the embassy said. "The reason behind the injuries was that some of the passengers had not had their seatbelts fastened." The flight, SU270, hit an air pocket on its approach to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.

A Russian diplomat said 15 remained hospitalised, but none had life-threatening injuries. According to a list issued by the embassy, the injured were Russians ranged in age from about one to 69. Vladimir Sosnov, deputy head of the Russian Consulate in Thailand, said: "The injured suffered multiple fractures. There are both Russian and foreign citizens among them." ( Daily Telegraph London)
Plans are afoot to relocate the capital of Indonesia, as a drastic solution to reports that the sprawling metropolis of Jakarta, already plagued by traffic jams, is also sinking.

The mega-city of 13 million is located on Indonesia's central island of Java, which hosts almost 60pc of the nation's population of 257 million, making it the most populated island on Earth.

The 'Australian' newspaper first reported that plans to uproot the capital were being considered to avoid total traffic gridlock by 2020.

The 'Sydney Morning Herald' added that President Joko Widodo had asked the National Development Planning Agency to carry out a feasibility study on possible locations, citing Palangkaraya on the island of Borneo as a possible option.

Debate about relocating the capital has frequently resurfaced since it was first mooted by president Suharto in 1957, in what was believed to be a move to cut ties with Jakarta's Dutch colonial past.

The city's problems have since become more practical and less ideological, with reports that areas of north Jakarta are sinking at a rate of 25cm a year.

Planners are said to be looking at two options. Either to only move the administrative part of the city, similar to Malaysia's solution of shifting its federal institutions out of Kuala Lumpur to the planned city of Putrajaya, or to move the entire capital itself.

"The intention behind it is understandable," said Rainer Heufers of the Centre for Indonesian Policy Studies, "...thinking about moving is one thing, doing it and getting the funds is a second".
The Czech prime minister has unexpectedly announced that his government will resign over unexplained business dealings by his rival Andrej Babis, the country's finance minister.

Premier Bohuslav Sobotka said he will meet President Milos Zeman this week to formally submit the government's resignation.

The move reflects tensions in the ruling coalition about six months ahead of parliamentary elections.

Mr Sobotka said there are suspicions that Mr Babis, the country's second richest businessman, had avoided paying taxes in the past. Doubts have also surfaced about how he gained his wealth.

Mr Babis heads a centrist movement that is favourite to win October's ballot, paving the way for him to become prime minister. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Sobotka's Social Democrats are a distant second, and the Christian Democrats are the third member of the coalition created in 2014.

The premier said it would be an option to fire Mr Babis but that would mean his rival would be given extra time to campaign ahead of the vote.

"That's the reason I'm opting for the only reasonable solution which is available, and that's the government's resignation," he said during a hastily organised news conference.

"A trust of the public in politics is at stake."

He said the move will give the coalition a chance to form a government again, but without Mr Babis. Another option is for parliament to call early elections.

Mr Babis, the most popular government politician, called the move "incomprehensible", and said the premier had damaged everything the government has done.

"(Sobotka) destroys everything," Mr Babis told Czech public radio. "The government was successful, we had results."

"I reject his nonsense."

The president plays a key role in a crisis like this because he has the right to select a new prime minister.

Mr Babis's centrist movement came in a surprise second in 2013 parliamentary elections with an anti-corruption message

He is sometimes dubbed the "Czech Berlusconi", a comparison to Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian media tycoon who until recent years dominated his nation's politics.

Mr Babis has often clashed with the leftist Social Democrats in the government.

Most notably, the Social Democrats pushed through legislation that limits the business activities of government ministers. The law bans ministers from owning media organisations, and bars companies in which ministers have more than a 25% stake from receiving state subsidies and participating in public tenders.

Mr Babis, who owned two major newspapers and the Agrofert conglomerate of 250 companies which receives state subsidies, fiercely opposed the law but has complied with it.

Despite the political bickering, the Czech economy has been doing well, with the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union.

AP
The British government should abandon the fairy tale it will be better off after Brexit, Germany's Europe minister has said.

Michael Roth made the claim in both English and German on Twitter.

The British government must finally say goodbye to the fairy tale that after Brexit everything will go better for all Britons, he wrote in his native tongue.

Reverting to English he changed the words "fairy tale" to "myth".

His public intervention added to several recent criticisms from senior German politicians about the UK governments approach towards the Brexit negotiations.

The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine reported Theresa May appeared to be unprepared for a meeting with European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker  who said he left "10 times more sceptical than before" about the process.

Ms May received a barrage of criticism following her meeting with Mr Juncker, who said she was on a different galaxy.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer called the reports deeply worrying. The government said it did not recognise the reported account of last weeks dinner meeting.

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said some people the UK had illusions about what could be achieved by the country after exiting Europe, while the country's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said there was no free lunch for the UK.

"We don't want to weaken Britain. But we also don't want that the rest of Europe is weakened," Mr Schaeuble said. "Britain should not have advantages after the exit that other countries don't have."

A special meeting of all European countries saw all the remaining 27 member states swiftly agree on negotiation positions.

It is believed that among these will be the condition that the UK must pay any money owed to the EU - estimated to be around 51bn - before a new trade deal can be considered.
Fed up with holidaymakers being divebombed by greedy seagulls in "horror movie" scenes, one British coastal area is fighting back by making it an offence to feed the birds.

The district council of east Devon which includes the popular resorts of Exmouth and Sidmouth is introducing an 80-pound ($100) fine.

"Seagulls become accustomed to being fed by people and will attack them if they are not offered food," said local councillor Iain Chubb.

"It isnt very nice when they do come  its almost like a horror movie," Chubb said, comparing it to British director Alfred Hitchcocks film The Birds.

Tourists and local business owners have long been pressing for stronger measures against feeding the gulls than mere warning signs, he told Reuters.

But only regular feeders and restaurants that leave their rubbish bins open were at risk of being sanctioned.

"Quite often the seagulls will sort of swoop over you and if youre a small child and a thing with a three-foot wingspan comes towards you like a pterodacytl you might just throw your food up in the air," he added.

"If you were to feed a seagull a couple of chips, theres nobody going to pounce out the bushes and say youve got a fine."
The EUs version of its disastrous dinner with Theresa May, which has thrown the Brexit talks into turmoil, could be true, the Home Secretary has suggested.

Amber Rudd undermined No.10s dismissal of the account of the talks  after which the Prime Minister was accused of living in a parallel reality  as Brussels gossip.

None of this is really surprising, Ms Rudd said, of the horrified leaked reaction of Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission's president.

Instead, she criticised the leak itself, saying: I think its a mistake to allow those sorts of details  if they are true  to come out from a dinner. Asked if they were true, Ms Rudd replied: I dont know.

Expand Close Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker at last weeks meeting. Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker at last weeks meeting. Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

According to accounts of Wednesday night's dinner, Ms May hinted she would try to avoid paying any exit bill, telling Mr Juncker the EU had no legal power to force Britain to pay up.

She also insisted talks about a future trade deal should start early  despite the EU making clear the expected 50bn divorce bill must be agreed first.

The EU side was also astonished at Ms May's suggestion that the controversy over EU citizens future rights could be settled next month  believing she had no grasp of its complexity.

Mr Juncker is said to have made clear to the Prime Minister that, unless she accepted the EUs red lines, there was no point in even beginning the withdrawal talks.

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His last words to the prime minister as he left were: I'm leaving Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before, according to the leak.

Asked about that devastating account of the dinner, Ms Rudd told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: None of this is really surprising.

We always said its going to be difficult, these negotiations. Im not surprised that there is some briefing coming out from different sides of the negotiation

What we will always do is make sure that we conduct our negotiations more discreetly, shall we say, so that we can have a freer negotiating hand.

The comments were in stark contrast to those of Ms May, on the campaign trail in Lancashire yesterday, when she said: From what I have seen of this account, I think it is Brussels gossip.

Just look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place, which was that the talks had been constructive.

Keir Starmer, Labours Brexit spokesman, warned: Unless we change tack quickly and adopt a more constructive approach, the weaker our negotiating hand will become.

The morning after the dinner, Mr Juncker is believed to have telephoned Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, to tell her Ms May was living in another galaxy and a parallel reality.

A few hours later, Ms Merkel made an outspoken attack herself on Britain, saying: Some people in the UK are suffering under illusions.

During the interview, the Home Secretary also appeared to pour cold water on suggestions that the Conservatives post-Brexit immigration policy will be revealed next week.

We will set out in the manifesto some of our strategy towards immigration, she said, repeating that a consultation with businesses would be held over the summer.
Michael Slager, right, has admitted violating the civil rights of a man he shot and killed (Mic Smith/AP)

A white police officer whose killing of a black motorist who fled after being pulled over was captured on mobile phone footage has pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges that could send him to prison for decades.

The plea from Michael Slager, 35, came five months after a jury deadlocked on South Carolina state murder charges against him in the 2015 killing of Walter Scott.

Prosecutors had planned to retry Slager, but as part of Tuesday's plea bargain they agreed to drop the murder case.

Slager admitted violating Mr Scott's civil rights by shooting him without justification. He could get up to life in prison and a 250,000 US dollars (193,000) fine at sentencing.

A bystander's grainy video of the shooting, viewed millions of times online, showed the 50-year-old motorist breaking away after struggling with Slager over the officer's Taser.

Slager then began firing at Mr Scott's back from 17ft away. Five of eight bullets hit him.

Slager was fired from the North Charleston police force when the video became public.

The chilling footage helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged around the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and was seized on by many as hard proof of what they had been arguing for years: that white officers too often use deadly force unnecessarily against black people.

The plea agreement in the civil rights case made no mention of race but said Slager used deadly force knowing that it was "unnecessary and excessive, and therefore unreasonable under the circumstances".

Slager had pulled Mr Scott over on April 4, 2015, because of a broken taillight on the 1990 Mercedes. Mr Scott's family said he may have bolted because he was worried about going to jail because he was 18,000 US dollars (14,0000 behind on child support.

Slager testified at his murder trial that he feared for his life because Mr Scott was trying to grab his stun gun.

The video showed Slager picking the Taser up off the ground and dropping it near Mr Scott's body in what prosecutors said was an attempt to plant evidence. Slager denied that, testifying he was following his training in accounting for his weapons.

Slager also testified last year that he regretted what happened.

"My family has been destroyed by it. The Scott family has been destroyed by it. It's horrible," he said.

AP
(Xinhua) 20:08, May 02, 2017

BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation between Chinese online news service providers and entities with foreign investment should go through a security review, according to a regulation released Tuesday.

The regulation, issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, requires the providers to abide by the law, promote healthy Internet culture and safeguard national and public interest.
Police try to disperse May Day marchers in Portland, Oregon after some began throwing missiles at officers (The Oregonian/AP)

Thousands of people from all over the US have chanted, picketed and protested in demonstrations against Donald Trump's immigration policies, along with the traditional May Day labour march.

Protesters flooded streets in Chicago and at the White House gates, they demanded: "Donald Trump has got to go!"

In Portland, Oregon, police shut down a protest they said had become a riot as marchers began throwing smoke bombs and other objects at officers.

At least three people were arrested and police urged the rest of the protesters, who included families with young children, to leave after they withdrew the permit for the march.

In Oakland, California, at least four people were arrested after creating a human chain to block a county building where demonstrators demanded that law enforcement agencies refuse to collaborate with government immigration agents.

Despite the West Coast clashes, most nationwide protests were peaceful as immigrants, union members and their allies staged a series of strikes, boycotts and marches to highlight the contributions of immigrants in the United States.

"It is sad to see that now being an immigrant is equivalent to almost being a criminal," said Mary Quezada, 58, from North Carolina, who joined those marching on Washington.

And she offered a pointed message to President Trump: "Stop bullying immigrants."

The demonstrations on May Day, celebrated as International Workers' Day, follow similar actions worldwide in which protesters from the Philippines to Paris demanded better working conditions.

But the widespread protests in the United States were aimed directly at the new Republican president, who has followed anti-immigrant rhetoric on the campaign trail with aggressive action in the White House.

Mr Trump, in his first 100 days, has intensified immigration enforcement, including executive orders for a wall along the US-Mexico border and a ban on travellers from six predominantly Muslim countries.

The government has arrested thousands of immigrants in the country illegally and threatened to withhold funding from jurisdictions that limit co-operation between local and national immigration authorities.

In Chicago, Brenda Burciaga, 28, was among thousands of people who marched through the streets to push back against the new administration.

"Everyone deserves dignity," said Ms Burciaga, whose mother is due to be deported after living in the US for about 20 years.

"I hope at least they listen. We are hard-working people."

In cities large and small, the protests intensified throughout the day.

Teachers working without contracts opened the day by picketing outside schools in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and activists in Phoenix petitioned state legislators to support immigrant families.

In a Los Angeles park, several thousand waved American flags and signs reading "love not hate".

Selvin Martinez, an immigrant from Honduras with an American flag draped around his shoulders, took the day off from his job waxing casino floors to protest.

"We hope to get to be respected as people, because we are not animals, we are human beings," said Mr Martinez, who moved to Los Angeles 14 years ago, fleeing violence in his country.

Several protesters, like 39-year-old Mario Quintero, outed themselves as being in the country illegally to help make their point.

"I'm an undocumented immigrant, so I suffer in my own experience with my family," he said at a Lansing, Michigan, rally.

"That's why I am here, to support not only myself but my entire community."

In Miami, Florida, Alberto and Maribel Resendiz closed their juice bar, losing an estimated revenue of 3,000 dollars, to join a rally.

"This is the day where people can see how much we contribute," said Mr Resendiz, who previously worked as a migrant worker in fields as far away as Michigan.

"This country will crumble down without us. We deserve a better treatment."

In Providence, Rhode Island, about the same number of people gathered at Burnside Park before a two-hour protest that touched on deportation, profiling and wage theft.

While union members traditionally march on May 1 for workers' rights around the world, the day has become a rallying point for immigrants in the US since massive demonstrations were held on that date in 2006 against a proposed immigration enforcement bill.

In recent years, immigrant rights protests shrank as groups diverged and shifted their focus on voter registration and lobbying, but larger crowds returned this year, prompted by Mr Trump's presidency.

AP
Joaquin Guzman was extradited to the US earlier this year to face drug charges (AP)

Damaso Lopez is escorted by police after his capture at an upmarket apartment building in Mexico City (AP)

Mexican prosecutors say they have captured one of the Sinaloa cartel leaders who launched a struggle for control of the drugs gang after the re-arrest of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The attorney general's office said it had detained a gang leader it called Damaso N, and a federal official confirmed it was Damaso Lopez.

He is believed to be locked in a dispute with Guzman's sons for control of the cartel's territories.

Guzman was extradited to the US earlier this year to face drug charges.

Lopez, known by the nickname "El Licenciado" - a title for college graduates - was long considered Guzman's right-hand man and helped him escape from a Mexican prison in 2001.

With Guzman in jail, the Sinaloa cartel has been controlled by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia and Rafael Caro Quintero, two of the most traditional, old-school capos, plus Lopez, and Guzman's son Ivan Archivaldo Guzman.

Joaquin Guzman faces drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges in the US. He has pleaded not guilty.
DeVoursney and Matus had been dating for several months

A couple who had been missing for a week have been found dead in Belize, according to reports.

American Drew DeVoursney and his Canadian girlfriend Francesca Matus were discovered on Monday evening on a road leading to a sugar cane field in the Corozal District near the Mexican border.

The Toronto Sun reports that the couple were last seen in a bar called Scotty's Bar last Tuesday night.

Matus, who had a house in the area, was supposed to return to Canada on April 26 but her friend raised the alarm when he arrived to bring her to the airport.

Searches ensued and Matus' white SUV was discovered nine miles away from the bar on Sunday.

DeVoursney (36) and Matus (52) had been dating for several months.

DeVoursney was a former Marine and served in Iraq in 2004.

Authorities are now carrying out a post-mortem on the bodies.
A member loyal to the ISIL waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa

An FBI translator married an IS operative she was assigned to investigate, CNN reports.

The news agency has discovered that an agent with high security clearance, Daniella Greene, travelled to Syria to meet with the well-known terrorist and warned him that he was being investigated.

The agent married the operative - who is a rapper turned ISIS pitchman - in 2014.

He is a recruiter and a fighter with a heavy online presence. He has appeared in propaganda videos including one in which he was holding a severed human head.

Weeks after the marriage took place Greene fled back to the US and was immediately arrested.

She had sent emails home lamenting her mistake and fled Syria using her own means.

She spent two years in prison after she pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism.

Court records relating to her case have recently been unsealed to allow public access to the circumstances surrounding the case.

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Security experts have suggested that her entrance to Syria may have required the sanction of top ISIS leaders due to the fact that she was a serving FBI agent at the time she travelled.

She entered the country after buying a one way ticket to Istanbul in Turkey.

The translator was still married to a US soldier at the time she travelled to Syria.

The operative she married is known as Abu Talha al-Almani but was previously known as Deso Dogg a German rapper. His real name is Denis Cuspert.

Ms Greene, who was released from prison last August, has declined to comment on the story, citing danger to her family.

The FBI has said that it has taken steps to reduce security vulnerabilities after the case.

Talha al-Almani is believed to be still at large and was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2015 by the US.
An FBI agent with top secret security clearance turned rogue and travelled to Syria to marry a wanted Isil fighter she had been assigned to investigate, it has emerged.

Daniela Greene, who worked as a translator for the agency, had used social media to spy on German jihadist Denis Cuspert, a former rapper who had gone by the moniker Deso Dogg.

Cuspert was a prolific online recruiter for the group, who gained a reputation as one of its most brutal foreign fighters. He featured in Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) videos threatening the then president Barack Obama and holding a freshly severed head.

But in an extraordinary twist that mirrors the plot of the hit TV series Homeland, which sees CIA operative Carrie (Claire Danes) fall in love with soldier-turned-jihadist Brody (Damian Lewis), the two became close and Cuspert convinced Greene to join him in Syria.

She left in late June 2014 without telling her employers of her plan, according to Federal Court documents seen by CNN.

Greene, 38, contacted Cuspert on Skype and they arranged a plan for her to travel to Istanbul, where the two would meet and marry before crossing the border into Syria.

Just two weeks after arriving, the agent sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts.

"I was weak and didn't know how to handle anything anymore," she wrote on July 8. "I really made a mess of things this time."

In another, she said: "I am gone and I can't come back. I wouldn't even know how to make it through, if I tried to come back. I am in a very harsh environment and I don't know how long I will last here, but it doesn't matter, it's all a little too late..."

Greene, born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Germany and later the US, spent a few months in Syria before realising her mistake and returning to America, whereupon she was arrested on terrorism charges.

She received a two-year-sentence and was released last summer.

The incident, which was only brought to light after a judge unsealed some of the court documents, will be a major embarrassment for the security services.

"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official, who said he suspects Greene's entry into Syria required the approval of top Isil leaders.

Most outsiders trying to get into an Isil region in Syria risk "getting their heads cut off," said Mr Kirby. "So for her to be able to get in as an American, as a woman, as an FBI employee, and to be able to take up residence with a known ISIS leader, that all had to be co-ordinated."

The FBI had no reason at the time to suspect Greene, who was hired for her fluent German and had been extensively vetted, would defect.

At the time of her departure, she had an American husband who she told that she was going to visit her parents in Munich, Germany. Instead, she went to Istanbul where she contacted Cuspert.

Greene, who now works as a hostess in a hotel lounge, said in a brief interview that she was fearful of discussing the details of her case.

"If I talk to you my family will be in danger," Greene said.

Shawn Moore, Greenes lawyer, described her as "smart, articulate and obviously naive."

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
The shocking video footage was captured by a passenger on board Photo: Commons Wikimedia

Shocking video footage captured by a passenger on board a flight bound for Los Angeles shows two men fistfighting and shouting abuse at each other.

Moments before the plane was due to take-off, a man wearing a red Hawaiian shirt springs up from his seat and starts throwing punches at a passenger behind him.

The incident happened on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight heading from Tokyo, Japan to Los Angeles, California.

Corey Hour was travelling on the airplane and used his phone to capture the outrageous moment.

"No one provoked him - he was cool up until a few minutes before he started hitting the guy," Hour told CNN.

"He started verbally abusing and intimidating people. Nothing triggered him, it just happened.

Video captures fistfight on Los Angeles-bound flight after a passenger became enraged and began throwing punches https://t.co/23fbE86RiO pic.twitter.com/ia73YwDR60  CNN (@CNN) May 2, 2017

"ANA staff and passengers handled the situation with grace and respect. They did the best they could to diffuse the situation."

After leaving the plane, the unruly passenger allegedly choked a male ANA employee, Japan Today reports.

He can be heard in the video shouting "I'll kill you" at the man, and he as later arrested and charged with assault.

He was identified only as a 44-year-old American man.

For the record ANA staff and passengers handled the situation with grace and respect. They did the best they could to diffuse the situation.  Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 2, 2017

He yells, "You think I'm crazy? What about the government!" Then exits the plane. 1.5 hours later and we finally take off. jfc  Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 1, 2017

"All Nippon Airways apologises to our passengers on Flight#6 to Los Angeles for the pre-flight incident." an airline spokeswoman said in a statement.
Randy Meisner, far right, with fellow Eagles members (left to right) Don Felder, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey, at the peak of the bands fame in the late 1970s. Picture: RB/Redferns

The Eagles have filed a lawsuit accusing the owners of a Mexico hotel of using the name "Hotel California," arguably the band's most famous song, without permission.

In a complaint filed late Monday, the Eagles said owners of the 11-room Todos Santos hotel in Baja California Sur "actively encourage" guests to believe the hotel is associated with the band, in order to sell t-shirts and other merchandise, and make guests feel welcome.

This allegedly included piping "Hotel California" and other Eagles songs through the hotel sound system, and selling t-shirts in that refer to the hotel as "legendary," resulting in apparent confusion among many guests who posted online reviews.

The Eagles also noted that the defendant Hotel California Baja LLC has applied with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the Hotel California name.

"Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in 'Hotel California,' which is false," the complaint said.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks a variety of damages and a halt to any infringement.

Neither the hotel nor the lawyer who filed its trademark application immediately responded on Tuesday to requests for comment.

The Todos Santos hotel was named Hotel California when it opened in 1950, but went through a series of name changes before a Canadian couple, John and Debbie Stewart, bought it in 2001, and according to the Eagles began using the original name in marketing. Its website is .

"Hotel California" is the title track from the 1976 Eagles album of the same name, and won the 1977 Grammy award for record of the year.

It is known for its long guitar outro featuring Don Felder and Joe Walsh, and complex lyrics sung by Don Henley.

In an interview with CBS News last year, Henley said the song is about "a journey from innocence to experience. It's not really about California; it's about America."

The case is Eagles Ltd v Hotel California Baja LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 17-03276.
Police officers who violently dragged a doctor from a plane "treated him as if he was a young hurling player," his lawyer has said.

Thomas Demetrio said the staff had no consideration for the age of Dr David Dao (69) when they forcibly removed him from an overbooked United Airlines flight.

Speaking on RTE Radio 1's Ray D'Arcy Show, Mr Demetrio said: "This was a 69-year-old man..they treated him as if he were a young 22-year-old, they treated him as if he was a young hurling player.

"His two front teeth were knocked out, his nose was broken and he suffered a concussion...that was very harrowing for him," he said.

Video footage of airport police officers pulling the 69-year-old father-of-five from his seat and dragging him down the aisle went viral earlier this month.

Today, United Airlines chief executive Oscar Munoz apologised in a congressional hearing in Washington for the incident.

Expand Close HORROR in the cabin: Lawyers for Dr David Dao say the 69-year-old grandfather has become a poster child for the mistreatment passengers suffer at the hands of the airline industry / Facebook

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Whatsapp HORROR in the cabin: Lawyers for Dr David Dao say the 69-year-old grandfather has become a poster child for the mistreatment passengers suffer at the hands of the airline industry

Mr Munoz vowed to do better as he and other airline executives faced tough questions from legislators on Capitol Hill.

He told the hearing that passenger David Dao was treated in a way that no customer should be handled, calling it a "terrible experience" that should never be repeated.

United has taken a series of steps to reduce overbooking of flights since the April 9 incident and will raise to 10,000 dollars (7,700) the limit on payments to customers who give up seats on oversold flights, Mr Munoz said.

The airline also said it will improve employee training.

"This is a turning point for United, and our 87,000 professionals," he said. "It is my mission to ensure we make the changes needed to provide our customers with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of respect."

The hearing by the House Transportation Committee comes following worldwide outrage when Mr Dao was dragged off a United flight after refusing to give up his seat to a crew member.

The incident ignited a debate about poor service and a lack of customer-friendly policies on US airlines.

Transportation Committee chairman Bill Shuster said the hearing will give legislators "an opportunity to get much-needed answers about airline customer service policies and what is being done to improve service for the flying public".

United moved to head off criticism last week by reaching a settlement with Mr Dao and issuing new policies designed to prevent customer service failures. United and lawyers for Mr Dao have declined to disclose financial terms of the settlement.

United president Scott Kirby joined Mr Munoz at the hearing, along with senior executives of American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

Mr Dao's lawyer has praised the airline and Mr Munoz for accepting responsibility and not blaming others, including the city of Chicago, whose airport security officers yanked Mr Dao from his seat and dragged him off the United Express plane.

He had been waiting to fly to Louisville, Kentucky, on April 9 when the airline decided it needed four seats for Republic Airline crew members who needed to travel to work on another United Express flight in Louisville the next morning.

When Mr Dao and his wife were selected for removal, he refused to leave.

Video of the incident sparked more than two weeks of criticism and mockery of United. Mr Munoz initially blamed Mr Dao, but later said he was horrified by the event and called it a failure on United's part.

United has vowed to reduce - but not eliminate - overbooking, which occurs when more tickets are sold than there are seats on a plane.

Additional reporting by the Press Association
(Xinhua) 20:56, May 02, 2017

BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to encourage the development of the country's logistics industry, China will offer favorable tax terms to lower the cost of commodity storage for logistics firms, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement released Tuesday.

Tax rates on urban land use will be cut by half for logistics facilities that store commodities such as agricultural and mineral products. The term only applies to facilities that cover an area of 6,000 square meters or above, according to the statement.

The tax cut will be in effect from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2019. Companies that already paid the extra will receive credit to be deducted from their taxes payable, according to the statement.

China's logistics industry has been growing steadily thanks to government support that promises lower taxes and costs. In 2016, the gross revenue of the sector hit 7.9 trillion yuan (1.1 trillion U.S. dollars), up 4.6 percent from 2015.

China will encourage more sophisticated development of the logistics sector from 2016 to 2020 to bolster economic growth and deepen supply-side reform, authorities said.
US President Donald Trump is to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin today.

It is the first their first call since Russia denounced a US military strike against Syria last month.

The call will be their third since President Trump took office.

The first call was made a week after Trump took office, while the second was after a terror attack in St Petersburg.

Expand Close Defiant: President Trump Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri / Facebook

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By Vasundhara Rastogi

The Aadhaar card contains a twelve-digit unique identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to all individuals residing in India, regardless of their citizenship. This means it is applicable for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and foreign residents, as well.

According to the Aadhaar Act, 2016, a resident is an individual who has resided in India for 182 days or more in total in the previous one year prior to the date of application for Aadhaar. It is therefore applicable to expatriates who reside in India on long-term visas. However, Aadhaar is only meant to serve as a proof of identity and address, and does not equate to Indian citizenship.

RELATED: India Regulatory Brief: Cross-Border Mergers Approved for Indian Businesses, Aadhaar Now Mandatory for Expats

Any individual resident can enrol for their Aadhaar number, free of cost, by providing basic demographic and biometric information: photograph, 10 fingerprints, and the iris scan, along with appropriate documents at the Aadhaar enrolment centre.

Although Aadhaar enrolment is a voluntary provision under the Aadhaar Act, the government has made it mandatory for residents to obtain Aadhaar identification to gain access to several of its important schemes and policies. Most recently, it was made compulsory for filing tax returns.

There are four categories of identity verification needed for Aadhaar enrolment:

Proof of Identity (PoI): Passport, PAN card, driving license, photo credit card, photo ID issued by a recognized educational institution, certificate of identity that has a photo issued by a gazetted officer, address card that has name, or photo issued by the department of posts.

Passport, PAN card, driving license, photo credit card, photo ID issued by a recognized educational institution, certificate of identity that has a photo issued by a gazetted officer, address card that has name, or photo issued by the department of posts. Proof of Address (PoA): Passport, bank statement or passbook, government photo ID cards, driving license, electricity, water or telephone bill (not older than three months), insurance policy, passport of spouse, or marriage certificate that has the residential address.

Passport, bank statement or passbook, government photo ID cards, driving license, electricity, water or telephone bill (not older than three months), insurance policy, passport of spouse, or marriage certificate that has the residential address. Proof of Date of Birth (DoB) : Passport, birth certificate, PAN Card, or government photo ID cards that contains date of birth.

: Passport, birth certificate, PAN Card, or government photo ID cards that contains date of birth. Proof of Relationship (PoR): Passport, pension card, or marriage certificate issued by the government.

Some of the common documents listed above serve as proof for all given categories. For instance, the passport can be used as proof for identity, address, relationship as well as for date of birth. Moreover, the procedure and document requirements for NRIs and foreign residents are the same, as for any other resident of India.

RELATED: Tax Compliance Advisory

Linking Aadhaar to PAN

The government recently made it compulsory for every individual, who is eligible to obtain their Aadhaar number, to link it with their ten-digit Permanent Account Number (PAN).

The two identification numbers can be linked on the Income tax website. When linking, the name, date of birth, and gender displayed on the income tax website must match with the details given on the Aadhaar Card.

Additionally, individuals are required to quote their Aadhaar number for the filing of income tax returns as well as for obtaining a new PAN card. The new rules come into force from July 1, 2017.

RELATED: International Tax Planning Advisory

Concerns for expatriates

Recently, the government of India has made quoting the Aadhaar number mandatory for filing income tax returns in the country. This is a cause of concern for NRIs and foreign residents who have already left India and must file tax returns.

For such individuals, one option is to return to India to obtain their Aadhaar number because Aadhaar requires biometric information. Alternatively, they could file their tax returns before July 1, 2017.

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide. An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017 An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in India. As such, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Indian market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to stay up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.
Most television actors are not only heading to do Indonesian series but they also seem to be gelling and spending time together.

Vishal is shooting for an Indonesian series for next three months and the way he has maintained himself is exemplary. Infact, he is one of the most stylish actors our TV industry can boast about today. Also, Shivin who is shooting for his film 'Dheet Patangey' in Indonesia joined the gang and they all had a blast.

This group picture surely speaks a thousand words!

Featured Video

Recently, actors Vishal Singh Ankit Bathla and Shivin Narang visited a theater in the country to watch the latest sensational movie, 'Bahubali 2' followed by partying at a fancy lounge.
Kabul, May 2 (IBNS): During a militant attack in Afghanistan, Taliban Commander Mullah Mohammad was killed, media reports said.

The incident occurred in Bala Boluk district of western Farah province of Afghanistan.

Two policemen were injured in the incident, media reports said.

Police spokesman Iqbal Baher told Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban stormed police check-posts in the Shewan locality on Monday night.
New Delhi, May 2 (IBNS): President Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the State of Israel on the occasion of their National Day on Tuesday.

In a message to Reuven Rivlin, the President of the State of Israel, the President has said, On behalf of the Government and people of India and on my own behalf, I extend warm greetings and felicitations to you, the Government and the people of Israel on the occasion of your National Day."

"As India and Israel celebrate 25 years of our diplomatic relations, we look forward to closer cooperation between our Governments and peoples in all areas of our shared interest. Your historic visit to India in November last year opened new avenues for our joint efforts in diverse fields including defence, water resources development, agriculture, dairy farming innovation and scientific research and development," he said.

The President said: "I am confident that our long-standing friendship will be further strengthened and our mutual understanding enhanced in the years to come."

He said :"Please accept, Excellency, my best wishes for your personal well-being and success as also for the progress and prosperity of the people of Israel."
After Morocco and Vienna, the team of 'Tiger Zinda Hai' will shoot in Abu Dhabi over a 65-day schedule from May 4 at multiple locations in the city. A set is being designed by some of those workers who helped to build the 'Star Wars' set in 2013.

The Yash Raj Films (YRF) project is a sequel to the blockbuster film 'Ek Tha Tiger'. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, it features superstar Salman Khan and actress Katrina Kaif, who are both happy to be shooting there.

Salman said in a statement: "'Tiger Zinda Hai' is a film of sizeable scale and context. Abu Dhabi, with a variety of locations, and gracious hosts, is ideal to shoot for a film like this one. I hope that the entire unit will enjoy our time here."

Katrina feels the city fits in perfectly with the movie's story. "I look forward to shooting in eye-catching locations and on the impressive set here," she added.

Work has begun on the construction of a 20,000 sq metres backlot for the movie's shoot.

The set is being designed by Rajnish Hedao from Acropolis DMG, and over 150 workers will be on site to create the film's main set, many of whom helped to build the "Star Wars" set in Abu Dhabi in 2013. The production unit will also film at several other locations around Abu Dhabi before moving onto the set.

twofour54's Film and TV Services division will provide production services for the movie, with a crew of 300 expected to work on the movie. Government support will come from the UAE military, which will provide military equipment, including choppers during the shoot.

Zafar said: "A film like 'Tiger Zinda Hai' requires a certain scale, which we found in Abu Dhabi. Keeping all the practical measures in mind, the kind of support we got on the infrastructure was phenomenal. That along with some stunning real locations, makes shooting in Abu Dhabi special."

Officials in Abu Dhabi note Bollywood's increasing attraction towards the city as a shooting destination.

Maryam Al Mheiri, CEO of Media Zone Authority - Abu Dhabi, said: "Abu Dhabi is gaining traction in India as the emerging new home of Bollywood, as a result of what we can offer this dynamic industry: a generous 30 per cent rebate, a huge variety of locations, and crew with Bollywood experience."
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

PACE made a wrong decision at the spring session to bring back monitoring of Turkeys commitment to its obligations to the Council of Europe, Ogtay Asadov, speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, said at a plenary session of the Parliament May 2.

The Azerbaijani delegation [to PACE] opposed this decision, he said.

Asadov said Turkey is one of the countries which took part in the establishment of PACE.

Earlier, the majority of PACE members voted for adoption of a resolution bringing back monitoring on Turkey. Some 113 parliamentarians voted for the resolution, 45 voted against it, and 12 abstained.

Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the PACE decision, calling it politicized and unfair.
Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors.

KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary.

No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account."

www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported that out of the 300 million people that suffer worldwide from asthma around 15-20 million asthmatics come from India alone!

soysd.mx

Around 98% of cities in low-and-middle-income countries, including Indian cities, with over 1,00,000 are not meeting the norms set out by WHO, and this number has nearly doubled to 3,000 in 103 countries since 2014, reported DNA India.

In fact, 13 cities from India fare amidst the 20 of the most polluted cities in the world according to WHOs ambient air pollution database.

The particulate matter in Delhi, Patna Gwalior and Raipur have the highest amounts of tiny suspended particles (PM2.5) in the air that can penetrate deep into your airways causing a host of lung diseases, reported the Hindustan Times.

disease_atusaludenlinea.com

In 2014 WHO had pointed out that the ratio of deaths due to lung disease in India is the highest in the world. While some of us might be inherently born with asthma, others might develop lung diseases due to our lifestyle choices or the environmental factors around us.

Smoking, lack of physical activities, food preferences, and environmental factors like dust storms and pollution are affecting your lung health and its immunity severely!

It makes it so weak that we have to gasp harder and harder to pump air into our body. For most, it can be the triggering cause of asthma! And thats why the first step to identify your lung health is to know your lung number. Lung function means how well your lungs work.

medicaldaily.com

What happens when you get Asthma?

When you have asthma, your lungs cant move as much air in and out as they should. And the more serious your asthma is, the less air your lungs are able to move.

And while we often think of heart health as a determining factor of our overall wellness, we are overlooking how our lungs capacity affects our health. A patient with high blood pressure finds it critical to get his/her BP check at regular intervals. As this help them to monitor BP level.

Similarly, an asthmatic patient or people who feel breathless should make a point to get their lung capacity check. The check-up will help you know your lung number. The number is obtained through simple and inexpensive tests like spirometry test or pulmonary test.

bdnews24.com

How does a spirometry test work and how does it help?

Spirometry measures airflow, by measuring how much air you exhale, and how quickly you exhale, spirometry can evaluate a broad range of lung diseases. Spirometry measures how well the lungs exhale.

telemedicinamorsch.com.br

You can also take a pulmonary lung function test to check the efficiency of your lungs. Pulmonary function tests are a broad range of tests that measure how well the lungs take in and exhale air and how efficiently they transfer oxygen into the blood. Lung volume measurement detects restrictive lung diseases.

These tests further help in early diagnosis of asthma and the right treatment plays a crucial role in the patient condition. Patient of asthma who is not under the right treatment runs the continuous risk of asthma attacks, which often requires regular admission to hospital and can be life-threatening.

shribhagwan.com

Knowing your lung number and why inhalation therapy is the most effective way to control asthma and breathlessness, as it is the first step you need to take understand asthma symptoms.

What is the best way to treat asthma as of now?

Inhaled corticosteroids have been recognized and widely accepted as the mainstay of asthma management till date.

The goal of treating asthma lies in controlling the disease. And the most effective way to control asthma is through Inhalation Therapy, which is available in India at a price as low as INR 4 to INR 6 per day which means that a years supply of medicine is less than the cost of one nights stay at the hospital.

hr.slovenia-terme.si

The side effects are low and the dosage required is also low comparative to oral medication. They are considered safe for people of all age groups and even for pregnant ladies.

nytimes.com

The need of the hour for patients is to gain timely and authentic information on the accurate symptoms, treatment, and tips on personal care. One such patient education website is www.breathefree.com consists of easy to understand and doctor validated information on asthma, COPD, and nasal allergy. City pulmonologists earnestly appeal to get prompt check-ups to do well in life and understand asthma symptoms, this World Asthma Day.
Reading a book is an assured method to transport yourself to a different epoch, where you see and learn from the eyes of the author.

But how would you feel if you are conversing directly with the author? Brilliant, we say! If this idea excites you then you must definitely visit this human library in Hyderabad, where you read people instead of books.

hyderabadhumanlibrary

A bunch of students in Hyderabad are trying to inculcate the culture of human library in our system and the city is already reveling in its beauty. With an aim to bring about a change in the society, these students are sharing community stories.

A bunch of students in Hyderabad are spearheading the Human Library movement in their city, hoping to bring about a change in society through community stories.

hyderabadhumanlibrary

This concept was first seen in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000 as a project for Roskilde Festival by Ronni Abergel and his brother Dany and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen.

Today it is estimated that the Human Library has been presented in more than 70 countries around the world, most of them in partnership.

hyderabadhumanlibrary

In India, the first Human Library event was held at Indore (in November 2016 at the IIM Indore campus). Hyderabad is the second city to have this event, and we are getting ready for our next event this April, says Harshad Fad, one of the organizing members.

During their first event in Hyderabad at Phoenix Arena in Hi-tech City in March, readers were asked to check the catalog and chose what interests them most.

hyderabadhumanlibrary





Each human book during that session could be used for 20 minutes and the team encouraged and entertained as many questions as readers wanted.

Some of the titles from their current library are 'A Mans Journey to the Epitome of Grace,' 'The experiences of a male dancer who impersonates as a woman,' 'Chains of Freedom,' 'The tales of a traveler who wants nations freed of borders,' 'Life in Olive Green' and 'The stories of an army man'.

hyderabadhumanlibrary

The team firmly believes that the right story can change the listener's mind, leaving a long lasting effect. And not just that, even a human book can use this opportunity to build awareness and raise knowledge about certain topics that are arcane to the society.

Even though the first event was attended by just 100 people, the founders aim to widen their reach even more as the days go by, adding more titles to their library.

Human Library is a place to challenge your prejudices and understanding our society better and not a social shopping and only people who have experienced prejudice due to issues relating to race, sex, age, disability, sexual preference, gender identity, class, religion/belief, lifestyle choices or other aspects of who they are can be a book.
No matter how brutal and inhuman the enemy becomes, the families of brave Indian soldiers remain resolute and say that they are proud of their sons who sacrifice their lives for the nation. The family of head constable Prem Sagar, who was killed and brutally beheaded by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT), have bravely stood even in grief.

The bewildered family blamed the Centre's 'lax attitude' against Pakistan, and asserted that due to the government's inaction, such brutalities were happening again. Read more

1. Probe Into Meerut Poaching Racket Widens, Slovenian Arms Dealer Sent To Tihar Jail

The police officials investigating the international poaching racket that was busted in Meerut, say that the investigation into the matter has widened.

Investigators believe that the huge arms haul at the residence of a retired Army Colonel is just the tip of the iceberg. Read more

2. Sukma Martyr's Wife Appointed As Assistant Sub-Inspector Of Police By Chhattisgarh CM

The Sukma Maoist attack from last week did jolt a lot of houses and lives, as it claimed the life of more than 25 jawans. The 24th April incident is certainly not off our minds and will take longer than usual to go off the front pages. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday made a surprise visit to a slain CRPF constable's house.

The purpose of his visit was to personally hand over a letter, appointing the late soldier's widow as ASI in the police department on compassionate grounds in Jashpur district. Read more

3. Haryana Police Allegedly Asked A 14-Year-Old Rape Victim To Strip In The Name Of Investigation

Haryana government has ordered a probe into allegations that Police in Kaithal allegedly forced a 14-year-old rape survivor to strip as part of the investigation.

She had filed a rape case on November 20 alleging that she knew the accused, and on 23rd, police took her along with the accused to the crime investigation agency (CIA) office in Kaitha. Read more

4. UP Is Launching Ambulances For Cows, Even As Lakhs Await Proper Medical Facilities In The State

Keshav Prasad Maurya, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, flagged off five ambulances on Monday that will cater to cows. The 'Gauvansh Chikitsa Mobile Vans' service will see that all injured cows are rescued and given appropriate treatment at 'gaushalas' after they are taken there in the ambulances.

Every ambulance will have a veterinarian doctor present along with an assistant. Also, a 'gauseva' toll-free number will also be put in place for locals to leave information about injured cows. Read more

5. Canada's Indian-Origin Defence Minister In Trouble For Inflating Military Record, Opposition Demands His Resignation

Since he returned to Canada, Indian-origin defence minister Harjit Sajjan is having a tough time in his country while answering why did he lie about his military service experience.

Canada's opposition is demanding his resignation for overstating his military record in Afghanistan during a speech in India. Read more
No matter how brutal and inhuman the enemy becomes, the families of brave Indian soldiers remain resolute and say that they are proud of their sons who sacrifice their lives for the nation. The family of head constable Prem Sagar, who was killed and brutally beheaded by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT), have bravely stood even in grief.

ANI

His brother Daya Shankar said:

"I am proud of my brother that he sacrificed his life for the nation, but is it very heart-wrenching the way he has been beheaded by the Pakistan military."

But they had a serious question to the government.

The bewildered family blamed the Centre's 'lax attitude' against Pakistan, and asserted that due to the government's inaction, such brutalities were happening again.

"The government is not acting properly on such issues. We should retaliate to this inhuman act of Pakistan; the Centre should not just sit idle and let Pakistan carry on its atrocities," a relative said.

Shattered and traumatised with the news of her father's horrific death, Sagar's daughter Saroj said,

"His sacrifice should not be forgotten, we want 50 heads in return for his life."

ANI

The story is not that different in Taran Taran, Punjab at the residence of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh who was also killed in the same ambush.

Paramjeet was building a new home for his family and now his body will be brought there, his brother lamented.

AFP

His daughter Simrandeep said she was proud of her father.

"My father got martyred for the country, proud of him".

His widow said she want her son to join the army, just like his father.

AFP

She also said the family won't accept the headless body.

"The government should respect my husband's sacrifice and give Pakistan a befitting reply. We want to check the body first. If the body is not complete, then we will not accept it.

Meanwhile, mother of Lance Naik Hemraj- whose body was mutilated by the BAT in 2013 reminded the government about the promises it had made then.

"They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now."

Constable Sagar and Subedar Paramjeet Singh were killed and their bodies were mutilated by the BAT on Monday in Poonch. Pakistan Army has however denied that the bodies were mutilated.

The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act" of beheading its men.
In a fresh outrage by Pakistan, two Indian soldiers were beheaded and another injured by a Pakistani 'border action team' (BAT) that sneaked into Indian territory under cover of heavy shelling in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

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The provocation led the two armies to sharply escalate their exchange of fire in several areas along the 778-km Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, worsening the already deep chill in India-Pakistan ties.

Also Read: A Captain And Two Soldiers Killed In Terror Attack On Army Camp In Kupwara, Counter Operations Underway

India vowed to exact revenge for the "barbaric" mutilation of the bodies during the well-planned BAT raid and ambush conducted over 200 metres inside Indian territory, which came less than 24 hours after Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC on Sunday.

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Government sources on Monday said the Indian Army has been given a free hand to respond to the fresh beheading, with defence minister Arun Jaitley holding that the sacrifice of the two Indian men in uniform would not go in vain.

The Army, on its part, promised "appropriate" retribution for the "despicable act". General Bipin Rawat, incidentally, was in the Kashmir Valley on Monday to review the operational situation along the LoC as well as the counter-insurgency operations in the hinterland.

"While fire assaults are already under way in different sectors of the LoC, the retaliation for Pakistan army's unsoldierly act in mutilating the bodies will be well-planned and executed at a time and place of our choosing," said a senior officer.

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The incident will mount further pressure, both tactically and politically, on the Narendra Modi government to walk its tough talk on security issues, coming as it does just after the recent massacre of CRPF jawans in Sukma as well as the terror attack on the Panzgam Army camp.

The BAT raid on Monday, during which bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh (22 Sikh Regiment) and head constable Prem Sagar (200 BSF Battalion) were left mutilated, is the third such macabre episode since the 'surgical strikes' against terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.

India had unleashed "punitive" artillery fire assaults on forward Pakistan army posts after two Indian soldiers were similarly beheaded, with their heads taken back as trophies, in separate BAT raids in the Macchil sector in October-November last year.

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Jaitley said, "This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act by our neighbour. Such acts don't take place even during war, let alone peace. Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbarism."

"The Indian government strongly condemns this act and the whole country has full confidence and faith in our armed forces, which will react appropriately to this inhuman act. The sacrifice of these soldiers will not go in vain," he added.

With 65 ceasefire violations already being recorded along the LoC since January, the Pakistan Army on Monday once again opened "unprovoked fire" with rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) and 120mm heavy mortars on two Indian forward posts, Kripan 1 and 2, in Nangi Tekri area of KG sector at about 8.40am.

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Three Army and five BSF jawans led by Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh were on a patrol to check and maintain the communication lines between the two posts, which are located ahead of the LoC fence, in the thickly-forested and semi-mountainous terrain at that time.

"The shelling, in which over 45 rounds of RPG were fired at the two posts and the patrol, went on for over 30 minutes," said an officer. The Pakistani BAT, quietly waiting in the area for some time, launched the ambush when the Indian soldiers took cover amid the heavy shelling.

"They managed to kill the two soldiers and mutilate their bodies before fleeing back in the well-coordinated operation. Another jawan, BSF constable Rajinder Singh, sustained splinter injuries on his left thigh and was evacuated to the Army hospital in Rajouri later," said an officer.

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Pakistani BATs, which typically consists of five to six regular Pakistan Army soldiers as well as some terrorists, are known to carry out such cross-border raids after systematic reconnaissance of vulnerable spots and studying the deployment and patrolling patterns of Indian troops along the LoC.

Pakistan army's elite Special Services Group (SSG) commandos are also often part of the well-planned BAT actions.

The SSG commandos, or the "black storks" as they are called due to their uniform colour, were also among the first batches of intruders that crossed the LoC into Kargil in 1999 to establish fortified positions in the icy heights that finally led to an armed conflict between the two countries.
The VIP culture is here to stay. It doesn't seem to end, come what may. So, despite ban on the much-cherished red beacon, the VIPs are not ready to give up their status symbol. Now they have sirens to distinguish themselves with the rest of the people.

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Such incidents have been reported from at least in two states, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. In Madhya Pradesh, while some politicians of the ruling BJP grudgingly followed CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's example and removed the beacon, others planted hooters on their cars as the new VIP symbol.

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The Central Motor Vehicle Rules do not provide for use of siren or hooter in any vehicle. Under Section 119 of the CMVR, exceptions are made for ambulances, fire brigades and construction equipment vehicles besides those used by police.

The noise of the hooters upset citizens who had welcomed the beacon ban. "Beacons are gone, but what about hooters and sirens? It's irritating when vehicles blaring sirens tailgate you and try to overtake even on narrow roads. Sirens have no use, apart from emergency vehicles, and only add to noise pollution," said Vineet Sharma, a private firm employee.

In Hyderabad, motorists travelling towards Panjagutta from Khairatabad were in for a rude shock as a vehicle with siren kept on honking.

"Initially, I thought it was an ambulance trying to make way and I swerved towards the left, but soon I realised it was actually a politician's car. The beacon was not flashing, but the driver kept the siren on," an eyewitness said.

The blaring siren went on for five minutes before the car eventually sped away at the signal towards Ameerpet.

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Many VIPs were also seen using sirens near road junctions, extracting "green channel" from the traffic police posted there at the expense of common motorists. Hyderabad joint commissioner of police (Traffic) V Ravinder said pilot vehicles of VIPs generally use siren only near junctions and not otherwise.

"It amounts to noise pollution and we do not allow its extensive usage."

Other states, like Maharashtra, are exploring options that can be exercised by VIPs without flouting the new rules. Minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar has written to the state DGP to look for other options, which do not violate the new rules.

Also Read: PM Modi Finally Ends The Era Of VIP Culture, Bans 'Lal Batti' On Vehicles

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Kesarkar said when a VIP like a minister is travelling, there should be something to distinguish his car from other vehicles for the purpose of security.

Also Read: The Laal Batti Is Dead, But It'll Take More Than That To Kill India's VIP Culture

Meanwhile, a minister in Karnataka is still defiant and continues to use the red beacon on his car.

BCCL/ File

Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies U T Khader defended his move claiming that I am not moving around with the red beacon light placed on my head. It is installed on my car.

He also said that since the car was given to him by the state government, he will remove the red beacon only if chief minister Siddaramaiah asks him to do so.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

Trend:

Mongolias President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj has congratulated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, I would like to extend to Your Excellency my sincere congratulations, said the Mongolian president in his congratulatory letter.

I am confident that friendly relations and cooperation between Mongolia and Azerbaijan will further extend and develop not only on bilateral but on international and regional levels, noted Elbegdorj.

Please accept, Your Excellency, my best wishes for good health and well-being as well as prosperity of the friendly people of Azerbaijan, added the Mongolian president.
Since he returned to Canada, Indian-origin defence minister Harjit Sajjan is having a tough time in his country while answering why did he lie about his military service experience.

Canada's opposition is demanding his resignation for overstating his military record in Afghanistan during a speech in India.

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A former military intelligence officer, Sajjan, reportedly claimed last month to have been the "architect" of Canada's largest military operation since the 1950s, known as Operation Medusa.

Also Read: Canadas Def Min Harjit Sajjan Visits Childhood Home In Punjab, Relives Childhood Memories Over Chai And Pakoras

The 2006 offensive delivered a blow to the Taliban, loosening its grip on Kandahar province, but at a cost -- a dozen Canadian and 14 British soldiers died. "It's come to light that the minister of defence has misled Canadians once again and it's a big one," said Rona Ambrose, leader of the opposition Tories, recalling that Sajjan made a similar claim while campaigning in 2015.

ap

"How can the prime minister allow him to remain as minister of defence when he continually misstates the facts?" she added.

It was a "whopper" of a lie to raise his own profile, said Tom Mulcair, leader of the third-ranked New Democratic Party.

ap

"That is not something you apologise for, it's something you have to step down for," he said.

Sajjan apologised repeatedly in the House of Commons for the "stolen valor" incident -- falsely claiming war experiences or military honours not earned -- while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood by his minister.

"The minister made a mistake," said Trudeau.

"He acknowledged it and apologised for it. That's what Canadians expect.

ap

"This minister has served his country in many capacities as a police officer, as a soldier, and now as a minister. And he has my full confidence," he added.

Sajjan has said he wishes to retract the inflated claims. "I in no way would like to diminish the great work that my former superiors and our soldiers have done on operations, and I'm truly sorry for it," he said Monday.
When it comes to climate change, it seems like we are all fighting a losing battle.

On April 18, 2017, scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii recorded our planets most worrying milestone so far.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations surpassed the 400 ppm, which is the highest levels in at least 3 million years!

How does an increase in Carbon Dioxide affect climate change?

CO2 is one of the primary contributors to climate change. When the levels of CO2 increases, heat gets trapped which in turn contributes to rise in temperature across the planet.

Reuters

Human activities which are mostly burning of fossil fuels to generate power and electricity have worsened the problem of carbon footprint. Climatic conditions such as El Nino is also a major contributing factor.

According to reports, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) atmospheric scientist Pieter Tans said, The rate of increase will go down when emissions decrease. But carbon dioxide will still be going up, albeit more slowly. Only when emissions are cut in half will atmospheric carbon dioxide level off initially.

Reuters

At the December 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, but it still looks like we have a long way to go.

As for the number projected by the scientists, it serves as a point of comparison,"these milestones are just numbers, but they give us an opportunity to pause and take stock and act as useful yard sticks for comparisons to the geological record, University of Southampton paleoclimate researcher Gavin Foster explained to Climate Central.

At this point, concerted global efforts in reducing the levels is the only viable option, which quite obviously is going to take a while.
The Trump administration's department of justice (DOJ) has filed a brief in the Washington DC court of appeals seeking a 60-day freeze in a case involving employment authorisation for H-4 visa-holders, who are primarily dependent spouses of H-1B visa-holders.

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Thousands of Indian spouses come in this category, and they won a hard-fought permission to work in America in February 2015, when the Obama administration issued a rule through the department of homeland security allowing eligible spouses to be employed while the H-1B visa holder awaits the receipt of his/her lawful permanent residency card (green card).

Also Read: US Reassures India There'll Be Not Much Change In H-1B Visa Policy

Soon after the rule was issued, a group called Save Jobs USA filed a lawsuit, but a district court ruled that it had no locus standi to sue and upheld the Obama administration's rule.

Taking the case to the appeals court, Save Jobs USA filed its initial brief soon after the Trump administration took charge, and found immediate support from the DOJ, which filed a document on February 1, 2017 titled "Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days", asking the court to "allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues".

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The writing is pretty much on the wall, according to immigration activists, since attorney general Jeff Sessions, when he was a US senator, had called the H-4 rule a "change [in] immigration law in a way that hurts American workers".

Also Read: Donald Trump's New Proposal For Merit-Based Immigration Could Be Beneficial For Indians

Aman Kapoor, co-founder and president of Immigration Voice, which has now filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of thousands of H-4 visa-holding spouses, says:

"There is nothing for the DoJ attorneys to confer with their leadership about given the district court's clear decision stating that this case had no basis for ever being filed."

Contrary to the popular image or impression, it is not just the bored Indian spouse who won permission to work through the H-4 route. In fact, the Immigration Voice intervention cites the case of highly qualified spouses, who, in many instances, added to the US economy both in terms of revenue and jobs.

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Sudarshana Sengupta, one of the interveners, says she has been involved in biomedical research for the last 13 years in the US, initially as a J2 dependent (work authorisation) and later on an H-1B visa. In August 2015, she decided to use H4-EAD (employment authorisation document) work authorisation to continue her research after her H-1B ended.

Also Read: Indians Working On H-1B Visa Made US Firms Remain Competitive Globally, Says Indian Envoy To US

"During the course of my research career, I have worked at and published from notable academic institutions, like Harvard University, University of Chicago and Boston University, investigating molecular biological aspects of diseases such as cancer and certain cardiovascular conditions.

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I am currently involved in preclinical research developing effective strategies for cancer immunotherapy. I am on the verge of launching my own start-up developing cancer immunotherapy strategies based on my preclinical studies. However, if H4-EAD is taken away, then I will be unable to launch my start-up," she said in her intervention.

Also Read: Indian's Need Not Worry About H-1B Visa Issues, There Are Many More Opportunities In Trump's US

In another case, Anuj Dhamija, related how he had been legally working in the US since 2010 as a project manager for a reputed Fortune 100 company. Due to a decades-long wait for a green card, he made a switch to the H4 EAD programme as it was the only option for him to pursue his business ventures in the interim.
Piracy is a nuisance, no doubt about it. And it remains a hassle -- searching for torrents, putting them on download, and mindless waiting. In Ethiopia, though, you can cut to the chase and just get pirated content from the mall instead.

According to a recent report by Torrent Freak, a few kiosks have begun popping up across a mall chain in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, which let anyone download a movie of their choice straight to a USB drive.

Maintained by a company called Escape Computing, these Swift Media kiosks are designed to look like bright yellow ATMs, positioned at various branches of the All Mart chain, a source told Torrent Freak.

Basically you go to this very big store and you approach the machine and you plug in a USB drive. The screen will turn on and it will let you browse through a massive archive of pirated movies.

All you have to do is walk up to the kiosk and plug in a USB drive. The service offers various packages for approximately $1, $2, and $4, allowing you to pick a certain number of movies for each price point.

And its not just old movies, the source indicates that some of the movies he saw available had just released in cinemas that very day. Apparently the maintenance guy torrents all day and stores the data on his drive, the drive shown by the SwiftMedia monitor. This would not have been a big deal as this is Ethiopia and the allegedly democratic government has bigger issues, he told TF.
Details added (first version posted on 12:46)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received a delegation led by President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti Mohamed Ali Houmed.

President Aliyev expressed his confidence that the visit of Mohamed Ali Houmed will play a significant role in the development of Azerbaijan-Djibouti relations and that various aspects of cooperation will be widely discussed during the visit.

The president said the two countries enjoy strong relations, which have been developing in recent years.

President Aliyev said Azerbaijan is interested in expanding these relations with Djibouti in various fields.

The president thanked the Djiboutian Parliament for adopting a resolution recognizing Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

The president noted that parliaments of more than 10 countries have already recognized Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

President Aliyev said the resolution adopted by the Djiboutian parliament reflects justice and is also indicative of the friendly ties between the two countries.

The president stressed the importance of the two countries successful cooperation and mutual support within international organizations.

Touching upon economic cooperation, President Aliyev said significant steps were taken in this regard.

The president noted that the establishment of air transportation between the two countries positively influenced mutual trade. President Aliyev pointed to broad agenda of Azerbaijani-Djiboutian relations, expressing his confidence that the cooperation will be strengthened in the future.

Mohamed Ali Houmed conveyed greetings of President of the Republic of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh to President Aliyev. On behalf of the president of Djibouti, he assured President Aliyev that Djibouti will continue to stand by Azerbaijan in various fields and at all levels.

Mohamed Ali Houmed said that despite the fact that relations between the two countries started to develop just recently, their current level gives the impression that these ties have a long history.

Touching upon the Djiboutian Parliaments resolution recognizing Khojaly tragedy as genocide, Mohamed Ali Houmed said the parliament adopted this resolution quickly and without hesitation and they were proud of this decision. He said both countries are bound together by religious and cultural ties and stressed the importance of further strengthening these bonds.

President Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President Guelleh and asked the president of the National Assembly to communicate his greetings to the president of the Republic of Djibouti.

They then posed for photographs.
Despite the recent warning,by the government over the danger of drugs, some persons have decided not to heed to these warnings.

A Nigerian businessman was apprehended by the police for allegedly attempting to transport 150 parcels of compressed Indian hemp (weed) from Accra to Nigeria.

The suspect,identified as Orji Ogbonnaya, 38, from Abia State, had rented a warehouse where he secretly deals in the substance. According to the police, he had covered the items with some used cloths and packed them in a Ghana must go carrier bag meant to be sent to Nigeria.
Three Soldiers and fourteen militants have been confirmed dead in a gun battle between the soldiers and the militants killed in the Ajakpa community in the creeks of Ondo State, during which the militants ring leader, Ossy Ibori.

According to reports, the gang leader who is now dead , Ibori, reportedly brought the militants from the creeks in a bid to steal crude oil and other activities when they had a shootout with troops.

According to a source, the clash occurred at about 1am on Monday while the soldiers were on patrol of the creeks to flush out the militants from their hideouts.

The source added, Immediately the militants saw the soldiers from their hideout, they opened fire on them. During the gun duel, a soldier and a member of the militant group were killed, while many soldiers and the militant were injured.

Another resident of Ajakpa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the casualty figures.

It was a fierce gun battle on Sunday. The militants wanted to capture the troops location. In the end, the gang leader and 14 militants were killed, while the troops lost three soldiers, he added.

According to the joint task force in Delta safe, Ibori led criminal gangs that terrorised different parts of Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states prior to this operation.

The gangs were said to have committed many atrocities, including the killing of an army Captain and two policemen at Ikorodu.

They were alleged to have carried out several attacks on the Ese-Odo community around the Ajakpa, Safarogbo and Balowo areas.

The Joint Media Centre Coordinator, Major Abubakar Abdullahi, said the injured soldiers had been rushed to a military hospital for treatment, adding that the troops were on the trail of the fleeing gang members.

The statement added, Troops of Operation Delta Safe, in line with its mandate to rid Niger Delta of all criminal acts of militancy and kidnappings, in a special operation, repelled an attack on troops location around the Ajakpa community in the creeks of Southern Ondo State last night.

The attack was led by one notorious gang leader, Ossy Ibori, with a hideout at Ajakpa, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The leader was gunned down during the gun duel along with some of his gang members. His body was identified by some of the locals in the area.

While search for other criminals, who jumped into the water with gunshot wounds is ongoing, troops have recovered one AK-47 rifle and four magazines.

He confirmed the killing of a soldier in the encounter.

He concluded, Sadly, a soldier was killed while three others sustained gunshot wounds. They have since been moved to military hospital for proper medical attention.
Wife of the vice-president, Mrs. Oludolapo Osinbajo, stunned spectators at the Runway Jazz event which took place Sunday night as part of the ongoing Lagos At 50 celebrations, when she proudly told them that her outfit cost only N1,800 and that she knitted the blouse herself.

Speaking at the Step Up initiative at the event, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo told the audience that she was wearing a N1,800 made-in-Nigeria ankara fabric.

Her Excellency made this statement to encourage the audience to be creative and buy made-in-Nigeria.

Dignitaries who also graced the event were Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule; and wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode.

More photos

Source: Punch
Five randy men were on Tuesday sentenced to prison by a Magistrates court sitting in Minna, the Niger state capital after they admitted committing adultery.

A Minna Magistrates Court on Tuesday, sentenced five randy men to three years imprisonment each after they admitted committing adultery.

They were, however, given an option of N150,000 fine each.

The accused  Mohammed Faruk, Johnbosco Dedan, David Momoh, Sunday Ekuese and Vincent Emmanuel  were arraigned alongside Naomi Abdulmajeed, on a two-count charge of enticing a married woman and committing adultery.

The Prosecutor, Insp Emmanuel Danladi, had told the court that one Abdulmajeed Akin of Tunga, Minna, reported the matter at the Tudun Wada Police Station on April 28.

Danladi quoted the complainant as alleging that his wife, Naomi, had an intimate relationship with the other accused persons who each had sex with her on different occasions and at different venues.

He said that some of the accused persons were said to have slept with complainants wife in her matrimonial home.

The offences, he said, were contrary to sections 389, 387 and 388 of the penal code.

When the charges were read to the accused persons, they all pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency.

The prosecutor thereafter asked the court to try them summarily in line with section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

He also prayed the court to order the accused persons to pay a compensation of N500, 000 each to the complainant.

Counsel to the accused persons, Obi Alex, however, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy given their admission without wasting the time of the court.

Delivering his judgment, the presiding magistrate, Mohammed Hassan, sentenced the accused persons to three years imprisonment each or a fine of N150, 000 each.

He, however, ordered the complainants wife to pay a fine of N10,000 only.

The judge also ordered the other five accused to each pay a compensation of N100,000 to the complainant.

Source: NAN
Ecobank Nigeria has announced that 74 of its branches have been merged.

It said staff from the merged branches would be deployed to other projects.

Managing Director of the bank, Charles Kie, said the bank hoped to shift its activities to digital channels and improve customers experience at reduced cost.

This, he said, also supports the banks financial inclusion strategy and the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Kie said, After a detailed analysis of the physical network of branches needed to serve our customers, the decision was made by the Ecobank Nigeria board, and approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria, to optimise 74 out of its 479 branches.

The statement failed to touch on Thursdays reports that the bank had terminated the appointment of about 50 top personnel staff.

We are deploying staff and other resources from the merged branches to other ongoing projects, while also strengthening the existing branches to make them more resourceful and up to speed in their daily activities, he added.

Source: Dailypost
The health of President Muhammadu Buhari as been a major concern to a lot of people in the country and according to facts emerging from a meeting that emerged between three former Nigeria Leaders, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar in Minna, Niger State.It was revealed that the trio are concerned about the state of health of the President.

According to the Nation, it was learnt that the three former Presidents have decided to pay a visit to the President Buhari to ascertain the true state of his health. President Obasanjo and General Abdulsalami would go for the visit because General Babangidas state of health will not allow him travel.

In the meeting which lasted for two hours, it was learnt that they expressed concern over the politicking of the Presidents health which they noted is unhealthy and a threat to national development.

They also reportedly frowned at the discordant tune by the Presidents media aides and his close associates which they plan to discuss when they meet him. The meeting according to sources ended with a prayer for the health of President Buhari and General Babangida.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijani MPs criticized the decision made by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) at the spring session to bring back monitoring of Turkeys commitment to its obligations to the Council of Europe.

PACEs decision on Turkey is subjective, MP Azay Guliyev said at a plenary meeting of the Azerbaijani parliament May 2.

"PACE has not even condemned the military coup attempt in Turkey, Guliyev said. PACE was indifferent to this issue.

MP Ganira Pashayeva also expressed regret that PACE made such a decision.

Pashayeva added that the decision once again demonstrated the existence of double standards in relation to the Muslim countries.

According to the PACE principles, a PACE member-state can not occupy the territory of another member state, but the Azerbaijani lands have been under Armenias occupation for many years and PACE does not exert any pressure on Armenia.

We condemn this biased approach in relation to Turkey and people must know that there are double standards in PACE," Pashayeva said.

MP Zahid Oruj also said that the PACE decision is biased.

Azerbaijan supports Turkey in this issue, he added.

He added that PACE decision is aimed at taking control over Turkey and hindering its independent policy.

"PACEs decision on Turkey is among the interests of the Islamophobic forces which dislike successful reforms in Turkey, MP Chingiz Ganizade said. Of course, they do not want to see a strong Muslim country."

MP Siyavush Novruzov said that there is nothing surprising in PACEs decision on Turkey.

"We have repeatedly witnessed unfair decisions made by European organizations towards Azerbaijan and this is another unfair attitude, he said.

Other MPs also condemned PACEs decision and stressed that this is the position of the circles wishing to slow down the development of Turkey.

Earlier, the majority of PACE members voted for adoption of a resolution bringing back monitoring on Turkey. Some 113 parliamentarians voted for the resolution, 45 voted against it, and 12 abstained.

Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the PACE decision, calling it politicized and unfair.
The 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of FCMB Group Plc held on Friday, April 28, 2017 at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre Onikan, Lagos.

Shareholders of the Group applauded the financial institution for its resilience, dynamism and the enhanced performance recorded last year despite the challenging operating environment.

The shareholders also unanimously approved the payment of a cash dividend of 10 kobo per ordinary share, which translates to N1.98 billion, for the year ended December 31, 2016.

FCMB Group is the holding company of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, CSL Stockbrokers Limited and CSL Trustees Limited.

The audited accounts of the Group for last year showed a profit before tax (PBT) of N16.3 billion, an increase of 109% compared to the N7.8 billion for the same period in 2015. Profit after tax also rose to N14.3 billion as against N4.8 billion prior year. Gross revenue as at the end of December 2016 was up by 16% to N176.35 billion from N152.51 billion in the previous year.

Analysts are of the opinion that with FCMB Group Plcs focus on effective portfolio optimisation, increased momentum in retail banking, digital channels coupled with its culture of excellence in products and service delivery, the Group and its subsidiaries are well positioned to improve on their remarkable performance and value addition to stakeholders.

The AGM had in attendance the Founder of the FCMB Group, Otunba Michael Olasubomi Balogun (CON), the Group Chief Executive and other Directors of the Group, senior management teams of the respective subsidiaries, as well as shareholders, representatives of regulatory bodies and the media.

See pictures from the event below:
US-based Nigerian model Zainab Zamani is setting the Instagram on fire. No day passes without the beautiful and curvy ebony sensation posting a picture that ultimately starts a riot of comments. And you can bet your last buck that most of the comments are as wild as they are punchy.

Recently, the model posted what looked like some nude pictures of herself in different positions and as expected the comments started to flow again, but many didnt fancy her going to the edge. But the model expected it and replied with her own wonderful thoughts  I know some dumb person would say some shit. I was not naked I totally had glitter on me and If I was, I would love every bit of it, stay in your lane, she shot back Definitely, sure of herself, she added, I am that creepy lizard you fall in love with But why would Zainab want to go unclad when clad shes still some sight for sore eyes?

Source: Instagram
An unfortunate criminal has met his untimely death in the hands of an irate crowd after he was caught stealing from a house.

A 26-year-old taxi driver only identified as Kwame was on Thursday afternoon lynched at Wassa Akropong in the Amenfi East District of the Western region on suspicion of theft, MyNewsGh.

According to the report, the dead thief was reported to have broken into the room of a resident through the window and made away with his phones, cash and other valuables.

Luck however eluded him when he tried leaving the room of his second victim in another house where he broken into and stole a number of mobile phones, watches and some necklaces.

He was spotted by some youth who flagged him to stop but he took off and was given a hot chase by the youth who accosted him close to the Wassa Akronpong District Court with the assistance of some other persons in view of the fact it was a market day in the area.

Obeng Mframa, a local journalist in the area disclosed that he was without interrogation subjected to severe beatings by the angry youth who retrieved the stolen items from him.

Not satisfied with what was meted out to the suspect, they stripped him naked and kept pummeling him with various offensive weapons until he lay unconscious with no effort by onlookers to rush him to any health facility in order to resuscitate him.

The police came for him at about 6Pm by which time he was already dead, he said.

The body has since been deposited at a morgue in the area with police indicating that investigations have commenced into the incident to apprehend the perpetrators behind the act.
The medical doctors in Kogi State will embark on an indefinite strike action from 12 midnight of Wednesday, 3rd May 2017as directed by the Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association.

The strike was as a result of the state government to resolve issues relating to payment of outstanding salaries and arrears to doctors in the state.

A communique issued at the end of an emergency Congress meeting in Lokoja and signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the association, Dr. Tijani Godwin and Dr. Zubair Kabiru, respectively yesterday stated that the association was disappointed at the action of the state government for not honouring the agreement.

In spite of suspending our strike action for two months to allow peaceful resolutions of issues bothering on special consideration to all doctors employed in 2015 as earlier documented in the memorandum of understanding signed on the 9th of January 2017 between Kogi State government and NMA, failure to clear nine doctors after providing necessary documents as required by the screening committee, underpayment of salaries and arrears of doctors that has been paid, implementation of the new tax regime without commensurate promotion and stepping of doctors in the state civil service, and advertisement for employment of more doctors, despite inability of the present administration to implement adjusted Consolidation Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS), the government failed to reciprocate this kind gesture.

NMA, however, warned doctors who decide to pick up employment with the Kogi state government to be cautious as they have not paid all the doctors currently in her workforce nor implement the adjusted (CONMESS).

The statement demanded that the Kogi state government retain and pay the arrears of all the doctors employed in 2015 as they have waited patiently while providing healthcare service in the state for over 15 months without salaries, clear and pay the remaining nine doctors whose name did not appear on any list and issues of underpayment of salaries and arrears should be corrected forthwith.

Asides from the payment of these arrears, the association also asked the government to return the new tax regime to status quo, or promote doctors accordingly before implementation as they canvass for uniform taxation among all the doctors in Kogi state civil service.

It would be recalled that the Association in December 2016 embarked on a warning strike and suspended it in January 2017 over unpaid salaries of doctors in the state.
Lagos State Government has wade into the alleged domestic violence case between Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe and her husband, Lanre Gentry, to stem the tide of such cases in the state. Also, the State Government has obtained a restraining order, to end three-year domestic violence between Mrs. Janet Ojeikere and her husband, Mr. Jonathan, who often allegedly physical assault and threaten to kill.

The Governments decision came after the female parties in both cases reported their alleged physical assaults to the State Ministry of Women Affairs for justice and Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), for legal actions. Speaking to Vanguard yesterday, a top official in the ministry disclosed that the case has been reported to the State Government, saying, you know the Governor does not like to hear such in Lagos and that was why both the ministry and DSVRT have been given the mandate to stem the tide.  The official added that aside the government, the Nigerian Police, Lagos State Command has commenced investigation into the alleged domestic violence. According to the official, the case is been handled by the Area F police Command, GRA Ikeja and in due time, residents of Lagos will hear more about it. On the over three years domestic violence which the government obtained restrain order, Janet alleged that her husband, Jonathan, had been physically assaulting her since their marriage was pronounced. While reporting the alleged assault at DSVRT, she explained that recently, her husband allegedly hit her repeatedly with a stick, threatening to kill her. Speaking on the restraining order, the Coordinator of DSVRT, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, explained that restraining order was a temporary court order often issued by the court to stop an individual from embarking on a particular action, especially as it concerns domestic violence. The Coordinator of DSVRT noted that the restraining order obtained by the State Government was based on the request by Janet. Vivour-Adeniyi said: As provided by the Prevention Against Domestic Violence Law, 2007, DSVRT applied for a Restraining Order. The application was made to the Family Court, magistrate court Ogudu on April 27th, 2017. The Magistrate subsequently granted a restraining order against Mr. Jonathan from coming anywhere close to the complainant for the next one year and failure to comply will earn him a minimum of three months imprisonment. We use this medium to inform any survivor of domestic violence and members of the public that there is help for you especially at the Family Courts of Lagos State, she added.

Source: Vanguard
Believers LoveWorld President, Rev. (Dr.) Chris Oyakhilome, yesterday, hosted the grand finale of his LoveWorld Festival of Music and Arts in South Africa. And in attendance was the countrys number 1 citizen  President Jacob Zuma and his wife, Dr. Bongi Ngema-Zuma.

They were welcomed by the pastor who introduced them to thousands present from all over the nation and around the world at the Nasrec Expo Center.

After appreciating Pastor Chris for his LoveWorld Festival of Music and Arts and similar events he held in the nation of South Africa, the president said:

Ive always come to be revived, to get the blessings, to be strengthened in very important, difficult tasks.

More photos below:

Source: NaijaLoaded
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday allayed fears that plans by his administration to phase out the yellow commercial buses, popularly known as Danfo would lead to massive job losses, saying that it would instead create more jobs in the transportation sector.

The Governor, who spoke at the May Day Rally held at the Agege Stadium to commemorate the 2017 Workers Day Celebration, said the Bus Reform Initiative, aimed at introducing over 5000 air-conditioned buses to replace the Danfo buses would open new vista of opportunities, while also redefining the means of road transportation in the State.

Responding to the fears raised by the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos Council, Comrade Idowu Adelakun and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Francis Ogunremi on the implications of the initiative to drivers, conductors, mechanics and other artisans, Governor Ambode assured that it would benefit all Lagosians on the long run.

He said: If Lagos is to be globally competitive, we need to change the outlook of the way the city runs. What is of paramount interest to this government is to make sure that every Lagosian has a comfortable means of moving from one point to the other. But I promise you there will be no job losses.

The Governor is not interested in driving all the new buses. It is the same bus drivers, the technicians, the mechanics that will also still be employed and trained to use these new buses. Instead of job losses, we are going to employ more people for the greater number of the buses and it will make the city more beautiful and more comfortable for all our workers.

Governor Ambode, who also addressed the request of the labour leaders on workers welfare, assured that as the States Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) continues to increase, his administration would work out modalities to improve the welfare of workers in line with his mantra of all-inclusive governance.

The Governor said that his administration was ready to look into the plight of pensioners as regards the pace of paying pension, assuring that the process would be fast tracked immediately.

Just like we have said, we have provided vehicles for the unions but again it has not gone round and it has also not gone round to the private sector unions, we will complete the whole scheme before the end of the year, he said.

The Governor said as part of the celebration of 50 years of the State, his administration would provide a befitting State Secretariat for the NLC, while government would also work on local and international training for labour leaders to make them relevant to the growth of the economy.

Governor Ambode also assured that the officers of the State Public Service, who according to him, are the real drivers of the development in the State, would continue to be equipped with the necessary competencies and skills in order to deliver effective and efficient service to the people.

Commending the choice of this years May Day celebration themed, Labour Relations in Economic Recession: An Appraisal, the Governor said the leadership of Labour unions had demonstrated a responsible sense of stakeholding in the joint enterprise to improve the society and leave lasting legacies for the generations to come through the creation of sustainable wealth and value.

Besides, the Governor enjoined the organised labour to continue to show understanding, while rightly insisting on the due and just entitlements of their members, saying that any industrial unrest will compound the challenges of economic recession.

I wish to commend the example of Lagos State to the entire nation in respect of industrial harmony. In Lagos State, both the government and organised labour believe that negotiations are more democratic and effective than unilateral impositions by the government or unilateral demands by the workers, he said.

While alluding to the fact that his administration would not have been able to fulfill the electoral promises without the support of the most versatile, resilient and innovative Public Service in the nation, he noted that the immense contributions of all workers in the private sector was also chiefly responsible for the pride of place that Lagos occupies in our nation, in Africa and in the world at large.

Earlier, Comrades Adelakun and Ogunremi commended Governor Ambode for his commitment to workers welfare and the determination with which he had been transforming the State, describing the Governor as an accomplished accounting professional, creative intellectual, skilled planner and focused implementor.

The May Day Rally featured March pasts from various Labour Unions, Trade Organisations and its Affiliates who trooped out enmasse despite the heavy downpour and were excited to see the Governor celebrate the day with them.

Source: Vanguard
The Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari has disclosed that his predecessor, Ibrahim Shema, operated over 100 bank accounts.

Masari was speaking when he had an interactive session with the Katsina indigenes living in Abuja at Shehu YarAdua Conference Centre, Abuja.

He further claimed that he met only N7.9 million in the governments salary account.

We inherited N7.9 million only in the salary account in May, 2015; the previous administration operated more than 100 savings accounts in various banks.

Now, we have serious problem in Katsina State. Federal allocations of most of our local government areas are not sufficient for them to even pay salaries.

Even the state government in many cases has to wait for interventions like bailout and budgetary support from the federal government to execute some projects.

Source: Dailypost
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The unjust approach of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) towards Turkey is regrettable, Azerbaijani MP Ganira Pashayeva said at the plenary session of Azerbaijani parliament May 2.

She added that PACEs approach towards the Muslim countries from the standpoint of double standards causes not only regret, but also concern.

"Azerbaijan condemns PACEs decision made at the spring session to bring back monitoring of Turkeys commitment to its obligations to the Council of Europe, Pashayeva said. Azerbaijan often faces double standards in PACE.

Unfortunately, PACE has not supported Azerbaijan in the fight against terrorism, she said. PACE does not support Turkey, which has been fighting against terrorism. On the contrary, PACE makes unfair decisions on Turkey.

According to the PACE principles, a PACE member-state can not occupy the territory of another member-state, Pashayeva said. But the Azerbaijani lands are under Armenias occupation for many years and PACE does not exert any pressure on Armenia.

Pashayeva said that Azerbaijan and Turkey have always urged PACE to abandon double standards.

Earlier, the majority of PACE members voted for adoption of a resolution bringing back monitoring on Turkey. Some 113 parliamentarians voted for the resolution, 45 voted against it, and 12 abstained.

Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the PACE decision, calling it politicized and unfair.
Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has said that he has only one wristwatch, which he has worn for 17 years, alongside two pairs of black shoes, which he traveled in with most times.

Speaking at The Platform, the flagship programme of Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos, Obi said when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) searched his house at Osborne, Ikoyi, Lagos, they found nothing.

He said the anti-corruption agency said he does not leave there because they could not find wristwatches, jewelry and other exotic materials.

Speaking on the Ikoyi cash, Obi said: Let me tell you what is worrisome; well we dont know, they are still dealing with who owns the money or who doesnt own the money, but that will one day be clarified.

Let me tell you where I am even worried. Why would anybody put it in such a circmstance, what if it caught fire? If that money was put in our banking system, whoever kept it would have earned eight percent per annum, so he would have earned about $7 million by now.

$7 million is about N2.8 billion today. That is the amount I spent for all secondary schools in Anambra in a year. If he decided to be generous and give it to graduates, they would have shared it to 2,800 graduates, out of which 2,000 would have been successful.

I live there, but having been governor of Anambra for eight years, I cannot live outside Anambra. The only place I have a house officially built is Onitsha, if you see any house in Lagos, Abuja or anywhere else belonging to Peter Obi, confiscate it. I lease that place for my wife and children.

On the search of his Ikoyi home, Obi said nothing was found except his wifes cloth and shoes, adding that he has only one wristwatch, which he has used for 17 years.

Ask those who searched it. I was abroad, they said they wanted to search my house, I sent the key, and they searched my whole apartment and I can tell you the only thing they found.

They said this man doesnt live here. It was only his wifes clothes and shoes that we saw, we didnt see anything belonging to him.

I have said it to Nigerians, Peter Obi wears only black shoes, and I have two pairs of it, and I travel with it. The purpose of shoe is to protect the leg from being hurt. Nothing else. I bought this from Marks and Spencer, $49.99, finish.

They said we didnt even see watch, and I have said it to everyone, this is the only watch I have, I have worn it for 17 years. The purpose of watch is to keep time. Why would I keep a watch at home? Whose time is it keeping?

Source: BreakingTimes
With OpenShift, Red Hat wants to make its PaaS as friendly to developers as to the rest of an enterprise team.

Hence, Red Hat is adding a pair of developer-focused features to OpenShift: a new cloud-native, browser-based development environment for building automatically containerized code and a set of runtimes for building microservices in OpenShift in a mix of common languages.

The revolution will be developerized

For starters, the new OpenShift.io dev environment lets teams work together on code that's containerized automatically and deployed continuously. It's built with open source components, chiefly the Eclipse Che cloud-based IDE and in-browser code editor.

Che was designed to be a workspace server for teams to work on code by popping open a browser and spinning up workspace runtimes in a container. The project recently gained a pair of features that could prove useful in OpenShift.io. One is support for Microsoft's Language Server Protocol, so an IDE can obtain contextually relevant information about code from a language's runtime. The other is built-in support for Docker Compose Workspaces, allowing projects to be deployed straight to containers.

Che has been used previously for similar projects. Microsoft and Codenvy, for instance, partnered to create an extension to the Microsoft VSTS (Visual Studio Team Services) cloud IDE that uses Che as the front end for cloud workspaces to work with VSTS projects.

Many of the touted features in Openshift.io seem like direct riffs on the same ideas: development environments on demand, continuous deployment of software as containerized microservices, and so on. They lower the bar for developing and deploying code to OpenShift; this also includes making it easier to bring developers onto a team by requiring nothing more of them than a web browser. This is normally left to whoever provisions developer resources (read: ops), not the developer toolsets themselves.

Plug and run

The other big part of the announcement, the Red Hat OpenShift Application Runtimes, helps developers create microservices that can be deployed in multiple languages.

Right now, most of the planned runtimes are less about different languages than different frameworks in certain languages. WildFly Swarm, Eclipse Vert.x, and Spring Boot, all found in the runtime collection, are Java or Java-centric. But the runtime list also includes Node.js, widely used to create lightweight, simple, responsive servicesthe polar opposite of the work done with enterprise Java stacks.

Red Hat says the point of including the runtimes isn't only to have ready-to-use access to those frameworks within OpenShift. It's also about developing consistently with those frameworks regardless of whether it's a local OpenShift deployment or one of the cloud versions (OpenShift Online, OpenShift Dedicated).

Ever since OpenShift followed the wind and became a container-focused system, almost all of its biggest changes have been aimed at developers, much as containers themselves have been. But Red Hat's focus on developers in OpenShift is ostensibly as much about having OpenShift become a new rampart within the enterprise, as Matt Asay has argued.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux provided the company with a solid on-premises presence in the enterprise, but it's through OpenShift that Red Hat is attempting to build a presence in what's next: Enterprise apps that run natively in the cloud on containers. The more that can come on board that trainas painlessly as possiblethe better for Red Hat.
For those of you who follow the inner workings at Microsoft, the news this morning will come as a shock. Julie Larson-Green, the sole senior Windows executive to survive when Steve Sinofsky exited the company, will step down from her current duties leading the Office user interface design effort.

Todd Bishop at GeekWire reports that Larson-Green is recovering from spinal surgery:

Shes expected to make a full recovery. However, based on discussions with her doctor, she decided a change was needed to focus more fully on her recovery and physical therapy.

[ The essentials for Windows 10 installation: Download the Windows 10 Installation Superguide today. | Stay up on key Microsoft technologies with the Windows Report newsletter. ]

Larson-Green started at Microsoft in 1993 as lead developer for Visual C++. She became program manager for FrontPage, then took the reins as user interface designer for Office XP. At the same time, Joe Belfiore  whos making a public comeback this morning at the New York EDU event  was in charge of UI for Windows XP.

Larson-Green continued under Sinofsky through Office 2003 and 2007, then jumped from Office to Windows in 2006, following Sinofsky. They were tasked with pulling Windows 7 out of the fire  resulting in the most popular version of Windows to date.

Larson-Green is likely best remembered by Microsoft customers as the driving force behind the Office and Windows interfaces. She and Jensen Harris are widely credited (or blamed) for developing the first Ribbon interface, for Office 2007. She and Harris are also widely credited (or blamed) for developing the tiled Metro user interface in Windows 8.

Larson-Green recently confessed to killing Clippy, the irritating, paper-clip-shaped, animated help tool. "All he could tell you was 'don't run with scissors' and 'it looks like you're writing a letter,'" she said.

In July 2013, Ryan Tate at Wired published an article on "the rise of Julie Larson-Green, the heir apparent at Microsoft" that openly wondered if Larson-Green would ultimately replace Steve Ballmer as CEO at Microsoft.

Following a meteoric rise as head of Windows and various stints leading hardware endeavors  even the Xbox One and Surface efforts  she returned to interface engineering in 2014. Most recently, Larson-Green has been the chief experience officer for the Office Experience Organization.

In marked contrast to the confrontational management styles all around her, Larson-Green has a reputation as an even-handed, experienced executive whos widely respected and trusted. Microsoft could use a dozen more like her.

Discussion continues in the AskWoody Lounge.
IMF, Bangladesh reach preliminary deal for $4.5B in loans AP - 22 minutes ago The International Monetary Fund has reached a preliminary agreement with Bangladesh to provide $4.5 billion to help the country to weather disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and manage risks from... $SPX : 3,828.11 (+0.56%) $DOWI : 33,160.83 (+1.02%) $IUXX : 11,059.50 (+0.75%)

China calls on Germany to protect access amid chip scrutiny AP - 1 hour ago Chinas government has appealed to Germany to maintain access to its markets after a company said Berlin may block the sale of a computer chip factory to a Chinese-owned buyer $SPX : 3,828.11 (+0.56%) $DOWI : 33,160.83 (+1.02%) $IUXX : 11,059.50 (+0.75%)

Taiwan's Tsai thanks British minister for support AP - Wed Nov 9, 1:41AM CST President Tsai Ing-wen has thanked British Trade Minister Greg Hands for Londons support for Taiwan after he became the latest foreign official to defy Chinese pressure and visit the self-ruled island... $SPX : 3,828.11 (+0.56%) $DOWI : 33,160.83 (+1.02%) $IUXX : 11,059.50 (+0.75%)

Gold (GC) Broke Weekly Chart Descending Wedge Resistance Tradable Patterns - Wed Nov 9, 1:24AM CST Gold (GCZ22) is consolidating after yesterdays massive near 3% surge, breaking above descending wedge resistance (on the weekly chart). GC is in the advanced stages of forming a major bottom and is... GCZ22 : 1,711.9 (-0.24%) GLD : 159.45 (+2.31%)
Inside Self-Storage (ISS) and VaultDrop LLC have released a new publication titled, Case Study: Total Storage, The Profitability of Providing 'Cloud Storage' With Every Rental. The free downloadable PDF explores how self-storage operators can improve occupancy and revenue by offering their customers cloud storage as an added amenity. Customers can use the cloud storage to store and share documents, music, photos and videos. Theyll also be able to receive their self-storage invoices and other information.

The study explains how offering free cloud storage can help a self-storage facility distinguish itself in a busy market. It includes details about program implementation at 10 Right Move Self Storage facilities in Texas.

This and other case studies can be downloaded from the Whitepapers page of the ISS Resource Center. Additional information about Right Moves program can be found in a recent video titled, ISS News Desk: Cloud Storage Opportunities for Self-Storage Operators, which was published on the ISS video portal, Self-Storage TV, last month.

VaultDrop shared its cloud-storage concept during a Vendor Presentation at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas this week. The session, The Next Great Ancillary Product: Cloud Data Storage, took place on Wednesday and was open to all registered attendees and exhibitors. The company also offered one year of free unlimited cloud storage to all event attendees. Registrants received a sign-up link in their show confirmation e-mail.

Launched in 2016, VaultDrop offers secure, unlimited cloud storage. Accounts are encrypted with contents divided and stored across multiple independently operated servers.

Founded in 2013, Right Move is a real estate firm specializing in the acquisition, development, management and operation of self-storage facilities. It manages storage properties in California, Louisiana and Texas.

For more than 25 years, ISS has provided informational resources for the self-storage industry. Its educational offerings include ISS magazine, the annual ISS World Expo, an extensive website, the ISS Store, and Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community.
The Turkish worlds well-known business peoples meetings with UNEC students have started. The well-known figures of the business world will share their business experiences with UNEC students.

Making a speech within the opening, an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral has spoken about the friendly and fraternal ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Positively appreciating the recent innovations held at UNEC to improve the quality of education, the diplomat talked his own story about the start of the career; achievements gained and gave recommendations. He said the knowledge and experience obtained in the university will be the foundation of their readiness to business world. The Ambassador recommended benefiting from the experiences shared by the business people as a good opportunity.

UNECs Vice-rector, Professor Damat Baghirov spoke about the novelties realized at UNEC. He noted that the university attaches special attention to cooperate with business people lately. Regular meetings are held with them; the businessmens proposals and recommendations are heard in the development of curriculum. The training of practical disciplines is preferred at UNEC and the subjects that meet modern requirements are taught. In addition to making the teaching process at the University more efficient, the cooperation with business community plays positive role in solving cadres problem. D. Baghirov invited business people to be in close relation with UNEC and promised the five-day discussions to be fruitful.

ATBPA Chairman Jemal Yangin spoke about the importance of mutual relations between the businessmen and higher education institutions. He said the personnel training that meet modern requirements makes university-business people cooperation necessary. To this end, the kind of meetings are of great importance in the development of relations between the higher education institutions and business community.

The five-day meetings are organized by the faculties of Turkish World of Business Administration, Business and Management and the Career Center.
INNISFIL, Ontario (May 2, 2017)-  The opening night of the 2017 campaign for Walt Motorsports had a bit of everything as Rick Spencer-Walt posted a top-five in the first feature, while getting caught up in a couple cautions during the second.

The 2016 Peterborough Speedway Champion started off the night by posting a lap of 15.078 seconds in time trials to qualify seventh for the first 35-lap feature. He quickly began to move forward, running fifth as of the first caution at Lap 4. He continued moving forward, passing Mike Bentley for fourth on Lap 11 before the third caution flew at Lap 20. The restart played into his hands, as he was able to get alongside Taylor Holdaway for third, clearing him with 10 laps to go. From there, he held on for a third place finish.

For the second feature, he drew the ninth starting spot, escaping a wreck on Lap 3 to keep himself in contention. However, shortly after the restart, he was unable to see due to the hood to come up, blocking his view out the front windshield, after Gord Shepherd cut across his nose in turns one and two. After the caution flew, he made his way down pit road to have the hood removed.

Returning to the track at the back of pack, he was able to pick off some cars to move up to 13th with 21 laps to go. He continued to slowly move forward, but it seemed to just not be his night as contact with Paul Maltese sent him spinning around in turn two with three laps to go. Restarting at the tail of the field, he was unable to make up much ground before the checkered flag flew.

Spencer-Walt will be back at Sunset Speedway on May 6 in hopes of scoring another top-five finish.

Walt Motorsports is proud to be supported by Gohydrovac.ca, Jim Wilson Chevrolet, Frame Shop Huntsville, Auto Trim Design, Heidis RV, HOTC, Greensteelroof.ca, Crowe Bros, RCP Dyno and Tuning, Speedy Auto Machine, Bent by Kent, SportsClip, Pizzaville Alcona, and Orser Technical Services.

Keep up with Rick Spencer-Walt and Walt Motorsports by liking their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Walt-Motorsports/524817640964689?fref=ts and following Rick Spencer-Walt on twitter at https://twitter.com/Rwalt31.

Press Release by Ashley McCubbin/AM Marketing  ashleymccubbin17@gmail.com
SSGA, one of the largest passive investors in the world, is getting a lot less passive when it comes to corporate governance.

One of the worlds largest passive investors is starting to look a lot more like an activist these days.

State Street Global Advisors, which mostly operates passive index funds but also has a sizable active management business, is getting increasingly involved in governance issues ranging from public company policies on the voting rights of shareholders to climate change. Ronald OHanley, president and CEO of SSGA, says the asset managers increasing involvement in governance makes sense.

Our incentives are aligned with companies as were truly long-term investors. As long as its in the index, well be invested in the company, says OHanley, interviewed on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference, being held this week in Los Angeles. OHanley is scheduled to speak at two panels on Tuesday. Both discussions  one called Activist Investors: Unlocking Value and the other called How to Accelerate Gender Diversity on Boards  will address governance issues.

OHanley emphasizes that SSGA needs to be more creative in raising issues with companies because it cant threaten to divest of specific holdings.

It forces us to make our points in a different way, he says. SSGA is getting more involved in governance for a number of reasons, including its growth in assets under management. As a result, SSGA often owns three to seven percent of a company.

That puts certain burdens and requirements on us, OHanley adds.

SSGA has also gotten more involved in governance as investors have become disillusioned with the one-size-fits-all opinions that are issued by proxy advisors such as Institutional Shareholder Services and as pension funds, endowments, and others increasingly want their views expressed to companies. Although SSGA doesnt engage with each of the 9,000 companies that are in the indexes that SSGAs funds track, it does meet one-on-one with many of the largest. Targets could include companies that are in a crisis or are the targets of shareholder activist investors.

Activists might want a short-term pop that leads to long-term value destruction later, says OHanley.

Asked about the lack of shareholder voting rights at Snapchat maker Snap, which went public in March, OHanley says SSGA will shortly put out a paper on the subject of multi-tier voting rights. He says the firm is thinking about whether companies like Snap, which he feels is an extreme case, belong in an index at all.

SSGA, for example, is considering whether it could create two versions of an index fund. One would weight companies by traditional metrics like market-capitalization, while another version could include weightings of companies based on voting rights.
While most of America remains sharply divided on the performance of the unlikely 45th presidents first 100 days in office, Donald Trump got a decidedly warmer reception at the annual Milken Global Institute conference at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

Among those positively inclined towards Trump after the first 100 days of his presidency was Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of the $26 billion, Chicago-based hedge fund firm Citadel. Although President Trump has yet to sign any major legislation, Griffin, speaking on a panel, praised the presidents efforts at tax and healthcare reform. Griffin acknowledged that Trumps 100 day check list is a little thin but said what is important is that the tone at the top had changed.

The Milken conference is, as in previous years, a veritable whos who of political and financial power players. While the program seeks to strike a balance with speakers from both sides of the aisle, it tends to tilt toward the right of center  and heavily feature the party in power. Indeed, the Trump administration is in full show this year, with several administration officials participating.

Griffin, a one-time campaign donor to former President Barack Obama who has in recent years backed Republican candidates, stopped short of giving Trump a full-throated defense but endorsed some of the Presidents high-profile initiatives. When asked by panel moderator Gillian Tett, the U.S. managing editor of the Financial Times, whether he would put his money behind either tax or healthcare reform passing Congress, Griffin balked at giving a straight answer. The hedge fund manager did stand up for Trumps one page tax reform proposal, introduced by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trump economic advisor Gary Cohen last week, which has been criticized for lacking in substance. Griffin said the one-pager sets out the parameters for Congress to begin the discussion. He also argued that the House Freedom Caucus  a right-wing faction in Congress that last month succeeded in blocking passage of the American Heath Care Act, which would have repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act passed under President Obamas administration  will rally behind healthcare reform.

While he was positive on Trumps efforts to boost the economy, Griffin noted that he is terrified of the negative attitudes toward immigrants. Critics say Trump has stoked these attitudes, between his rhetoric both on and off the campaign trail, his plans to build a wall along the Mexican border, and his two executive orders  currently blocked by the courts  seeking to curtain immigration into the U.S. from a handful of predominantly Muslim countries. But Griffin argued that Trump had gotten the message loud and clear that the country needs immigrants to do business.

Griffin also had praise for the administrations approach to regulation. Recently Griffin has been outspoken in his desire to see less regulation of banks and other financial institutions. Speaking to a packed crowd, along side Cisco CEO John Chambers, Griffin said that every part of our economy has been buried in regulations for the last eight years. Deregulation would lead to greater growth and innovation, he argued. But Griffin is also keen to see a break up of the big banks  calling it his fantasy  though he also acknowledged that ending too-big-to fail is unlikely. Trump and his advisers have recently floated the idea of reinstating a Glass-Steagall Act-style separation of commercial and investment banks.

Mnuchin, a former film financier and Goldman Sachs & Co. executive, kicked off the conference with an interview conducted by Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo.

Weve been thinking about taxes as part of an economic program for a long period of time, Mnuchin said of Trump and his administration.

Mnuchin said his offices projections show that it will probably take two years for the U.S. economy to get to 3 percent growth  it grew just 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017  and then we can have a sustained level.

Mnuchin also said he has been spending much of his time of foreign policy related issues, adding that the president has made a lot of progress on foreign policy in his first 100 days. Banking regulation reform is another area where Trumps Treasury has been heavily involved. Mnuchin joked that everyone in the room should thank me for your bank stocks doing better.
A group of finance executives say automation is already under way at investment banks, but in some areas  like investing  a human touch will still be needed.

The future of finance doesnt involve a killer app or an entirely new vision for banking and investment management. Instead, the industry is being revamped by what firms can do with data  and how their daily work will be done by far fewer people as a result, according to financial executives.

Credit Suisse is now piloting a robot named Reggie, a virtual assistant not unlike Amazons Alexa. Credit Suisses Reggie was programmed to answer regulatory questions, according to Brian Chin, CEO of global markets for the investment bank. Chin, who spoke on a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, expects that the Swiss bank will be able to ultimately cut the number of calls to its call center by 50 percent. But at this point, Reggie is better at providing information for simple questions than appropriately addressing more complex inquiries.

Chin insisted that people will be redeployed from processing jobs to technology and servicing private bank and other clients who will continue to want to talk to human beings. Reggie is one of more than 20 robots operating at Credit Suisse. Chin added that the bank has also formed a partnership with data firm Palantir. With Palantir, Credit Suisse is using data to identify rogue traders and other compliance problems. If we can get this right, we can run a more compliant business, says Chin.

The technology exists now to streamline labor-intensive processes such as loan underwriting. Mike Cagney, CEO and co-founder of SoFi, an online consumer lender, uses five pieces of data to provide instantaneous loan decisions. SoFi is now moving to use non-traditional information for underwriting, including data from cell phones, which it thinks will predict consumers future behavior. Cagney said banks could shed thousands of people if they used similar technology.

Meanwhile, the asset management industry is embracing quantitative techniques. Last month, BlackRock said it was merging some quant funds with similar actively managed funds and firing some of its portfolio management staff.

But Credit Suisses Chin thinks the investment management industry has a way to go when it comes to data innovation. The increase in the use of data by investors has made divergent opinions about securities and the markets scarce. Thats because many money managers and investors are using data in much the same way, leading to crowded trades. Chin compares the next stage of innovation in data in asset management to the popular Waze App. When the app detects a traffic jam on one route, it directs users to take one alternate path. But then that alternative route gets equally crowded. Somebody needs to invent a third option, said Chin. In money management, that means firms need to use data in more innovative ways that will lead to investors with a range of opinions again.

Not everybody sees a dire future for the labor force. WorldQuant, a quantitative hedge fund firm with more than 600 employees, is hiring. WorldQuant has 120 employees with Ph.D.s located around the world. It wants people with diverse backgrounds who can look at data in new ways to find so-called alphas, or trading signals, as the firm defines them. Speaking on the same panel, Igor Tulchinsky, founder and CEO of WorldQuant, said, More people make more alphas and more alphas mean more profits.

SoFis Cagney agreed. He says one of the companys experiments has been so successful that its become permanent. Right before SoFi sends money to approved borrowers, an employee calls the customer to ask, Will you pay us back? That simple phone call has significantly improved the companys payback statistics. Clearly, humans are not endangered.
If an investment yields results, copy cats move in, and returns fall over time. Financial executives are concerned thats now happening to the direct investment model pioneered by Canadian pension plans.

For some pensions, that means needing to understand the market effects of copy cats, particularly in private equity and infrastructure. Ron Mock, president and chief executive officer of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, which adopted the governance structure and the model in the 1990s, says the trend in these asset classes has affected prices on some of its investments.

Unfortunately, it has bid up private equity prices and infrastructure prices to a level that is fairly high, Mock said, while speaking Tuesday on a panel on the outlook for asset management at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. Mock says he sees allocators all over the world, including in the U.S., U.K., Asia, and the Middle East, adopting the Canadian model.

Some fund managers caution that the model involves plenty of complexity and many big investors may be disappointed with the ultimate results. David Hunt, president and CEO of PGIM, the investment management business of Prudential Financial, says there is a big shift to illiquid assets as people seek good returns and diversification.

Its not a generic skill set, said Hunt, who also spoke on the panel. Its very important that pension funds staff up in advance with the kinds of skills that will help them. I see that as a big challenge.

Mock says talented people with specialized skills are needed to achieve outsized returns. For example, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan directly owns five airports, requiring the hiring of staffers with engineering and operations backgrounds. These types of people are very different from other hires at Ontario Teachers. To find that alpha, we see this ramping up further and further, Mock said.

Panelist Noble Gulati, CEO of Two Sigma Advisers, says that most pensions wont have the resources to compete for talent with independent investment managers that are willing to offer lucrative pay packages. Instead, theyll hire external managers, said Gulati, who added that picking the best external managers can also be an expensive prospect.

Ontario Teachers isnt waiting for others to catch up. Illiquid investments was a great area to play in, but now were seeing things get compressed. So where do we hunt going forward? Mock said. The Canadian pension plan is looking at contrarian moves, such as forming partnerships with activist investors, which it did a few years ago, or moving assets from passive to active, which its doing now.
Here is a round-up of several brief insurance news stories from the last few days.Hub International has bought City Insurance Services  a California based brokerage that caters to Korean Americans. The deal acquires the assets of CIFS, Inc. d/b/a City Insurance Services (City) and Citys affiliates, Silver City Insurance Services Inc. and J&C Financial Planning, Inc. d/b/a MOA Financial Services. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Based in Los Angeles and Buena Park, California, City is a multi-lines insurance solutions provider including commercial and personal lines insurance as well as employee benefits solutions. Brian Jeung, President, City, will join Hub California reporting to Andrew Forchelli, Senior Executive Vice President, Hub California.The acquisition is one of the first of its kind of a Korean American insurance brokerage. Hub hopes that the acquisition will allow the company to expand its footprint into the Korean American community while providing insurance solutions from Citys existing locations.The Taxpayer Exposure Mitigation Act was introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) last week. The bill, which includes several flood insurance reform policies, is designed to take the risks that are currently underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program to the capital markets. The proposals would introduce a similar program to those already used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those seeking commercial loans would no longer be forced to buy flood insuranceWillis Towers Watson has appointed John Puetz as head of Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) for the Missouri and Kansas markets. Putz has been with Willis for seven years. He previously ran his own Kansas brokerage, starting the business after leaving Benfield Corporate Risk.Puetz, who joined Willis Towers Watson seven years ago, previously ran his own property and casualty insurance broker in Kansas.Regional independent insurance brokerage Signature B&B Companies have announced that Julie Shumer has joined SBB as Senior Vice President. Ms. Shumer, a 28-year veteran in the medical professional liability industry, will work in SBBs healthcare division and focus on developing the firms medical professional and healthcare facility silo.Peter Schapero, a Managing Principal at SBB, said, Julie has extensive experience in the medical liability industry and we are very pleased that she has joined our firm to help expand our healthcare division. Julie is responsible for helping to build lines of coverage for SBBs medical liability practice and given her extensive relationships with physicians and healthcare facilities, we believe she will be especially effective in helping us to expand this division.In addition, Ms. Shumer will work within the infrastructure of Acrisure to assist agency partners in the Northeast to further enhance their medical malpractice liability presence.I look forward to working with SBB and fostering growth with one of Acrisures largest agency partners. Professional liability coverage is a rapidly changing segment of the healthcare industry and I am excited to leverage my carrier and broker experience to develop innovative lines of coverage that benefit both physicians and healthcare facilities.Prior to joining SBB, Ms. Shumer was Senior Vice President of the healthcare division of Professional Medical Insurance Services, specializing in medical and facility liability coverages. Prior to that she was Director of Large Group Programs with First Physicians Insurance Company (FPIC) and was also a claims manager with FPICs southeast territory.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has reversed a lower courts ruling in a case examining whether damage to scallops at a seafood processing facility, when the cause of damage is unknown, constitutes an occurrence within a commercial general liability (CGL) policy.

A Superior Court judge previously concluded that defendant and insured, Raw 2 Seafoods Inc. (RSI), had no way of proving its claimed loss was caused by an occurrence and granted summary judgement in favor of the plaintiff and insurer, Hanover Insurance Group.

RSI is a seafood processing facility in Fall River, Mass. One of RSIs customers, Atlantic Capes Fisheries Inc. (Atlantic), sells scallops and various types of seafood globally. Atlantic purchases fresh scallops from fishing vessels and transports them to RSI for processing, portioning, packaging and freezing, according to the court document.

RSIs staff inspects the scallops, and after processing, the scallops are transported to Arctic Cold Storage (Arctic), a third-party storage facility. Atlantic then ships its customers orders directly from Arctics facility. RSI handles approximately four-to-six million pounds of scallops for Atlantic per year, the court document said.

By all accounts, something was rotten in the state of Denmark.

Case Background

This case, The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. vs. Raw Seafoods, Inc., comes after a July 2011 event in which RSI-processed scallops were making their way through customs in Denmark, heading to an Atlantic customer. Upon inspection, the 37,102 pounds of scallops were found to be decomposed and were deemed unacceptable for human consumption.

The United States Food and Drug Administration tested the scallops and confirmed they were spoiled, and the scallops were returned to Arctics facility. While there, representatives from Atlantic and RSI also jointly inspected the shipment and confirmed the damage. In addition, they inspected another batch of scallops that were processed by RSI for Atlantic around the same time as the rejected batch and discovered approximately 20,000 additional pounds of damaged product, the court document stated.

By all accounts, something was rotten in the state of Denmark, the Appeals Court stated in its decision document.

After the damage was discovered, Atlantic brought an action against RSI in 2012 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, which included a count for negligence for the damage to the scallops. At that time, Hanover insured RSI pursuant to a CGL policy and agreed to defend RSI in the underlying litigation while reserving its right to deny coverage under the policy.

During the underlying litigation, RSI President Jason Hutchens acknowledged that the scallops were delivered to RSI in good condition, but that somewhere in [RSIs] system, the product got messed up, he said in a statement published in the court document.

It is undisputed that the damage occurred while the scallops were in RSIs possession, but the precise cause of the damage at RSIs facility remains unknown, according to the court document.

A Federal District Court judge then granted Atlantics motion for summary judgment and issued a judgment against RSI and in favor of Atlantic for $599,790.08 with postjudgment interest.

Insurance Policy

During the underlying litigation, Hanover filed action in the Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that either the damage to the scallops was not caused by an occurrence within the meaning of the policy or the damage to the scallops fell under one or more exclusions to the policy, so Hanover had no duty to indemnify RSI for any judgment in the underlying litigation.

RSIs policy with Hanover states that Hanover will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which this insurance applies, the Appeals Court document stated.

By its terms, the policy applies to property damage caused by an occurrence. The policy defines an occurrence as an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions, the Appeals Court document added.

The policy also contains several exclusions limiting its application, as well as a special broadening endorsement.

RSI asserted counterclaims for breach of contract and violations of Massachusetts law, but a Superior Court judge granted summary judgment in favor of Hanover. In a comprehensive decision, the judge concluded that because there was no demonstrated accident distinct from [RSIs] performance of its work, RSI could not meet its burden of proving that its claimed loss was caused by an occurrence, as a matter of law, the Appeals Court document said.

The Superior Court judge dismissed RSIs counterclaims, and RSI appealed.

The parties agree that the cause of the damage was the result of some, as yet, unknown failure on the part of [RSIs] processing people or handling people within [RSIs] plant,' the Appeals Court document stated. The consensus ends there.

Appeals Court Ruling

In its appeal, RSI argued that the record demonstrates it has a reasonable expectation of proving an occurrence because RSI did not specifically intend to destroy the scallops, therefore making it an accident rather than an anticipated event. It was noted in the case that this event had never occurred before and has not occurred since.

Hanover counter-argued that RSI produced no evidence as to how the scallops were damaged, leaving the actual cause of damage to speculation. That said, Hanover argued RSI has no reasonable expectation of proving that the damage was caused by an occurrence and cannot survive a motion for summary judgment.

Under Massachusetts law, an accident is commonly defined as an unexpected happening without intention or design, the Appeals Court document said.

With that in mind, the Appeals Court concluded that Massachusetts law favors RSIs position in this case.

While the precise cause or mechanics of the damage to the scallops is unknown, the summary judgment record supports the conclusion that the damage resulted from an unanticipated mishap during RSIs processing operation the decision document stated. In other words, viewed in the light most favorable to RSI, the damage resulted from an accident, and not from a routine consequence of RSIs work.

The Appeals Court vacated the judgment entered by the Superior Court and remanded to trial court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion regarding the applicability of the policy exclusions, Hanovers duty to defend and RSIs counterclaims for breach of contract and violations of Massachusetts law.

Topics Massachusetts
American International Group announced it has successfully completed the sale of AIG Fuji Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (AFLI) to FWD Group, the insurance arm of Pacific Century Group.

The terms of the deal, which was originally announced in November 2016, were not disclosed. The deal was completed on April 30.

AFLI will be a wholly owned subsidiary of FWD Group following the close, AIG said, noting that AFLI will continue under its current corporate name pending regulatory approval of a new name.

In-force policies will not be affected by the transfer of ownership. Under the terms of the agreement, FWD Group will maintain AFLIs existing life insurance distribution agreements with AIG companies in Japan, and AIG will collaborate with FWD to support the growth of the life insurance business in Japan.

The close of this transaction does not affect AIGs extensive property and casualty business in Japan, the largest of any foreign-based insurer in the country. Japan, where AIG has operated since 1946, represents the companys largest personal insurance market and third largest commercial insurance market globally, based on net premiums written by country.

AIG said it will continue to focus on Japans P/C market through its local subsidiaries: Fuji Fire & Marine Ltd., AIU Insurance Company Ltd., and American Home Assurance Company Ltd.

Source: American International Group (AIG)

Related:
QBE Australia and New Zealand announced that Mark Baxter has been appointed to the position of chief risk officer.

Baxter has recently returned from the UK where he was Prudentials chief risk officer for the UK and Europe and an executive committee member.

Prior to this, Baxter was responsible for the global financial risk and actuarial function across the UK, South Africa and North America with the Old Mutual Group and has also held a number of executive positions at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA).

He replaces Anna Gould, who takes on the new position of head of Claims Technical and Governance for QBE Australia and New Zealand, where she will bring greater rigor to the risk culture in claims, said QBE in a statement.

A skilled senior executive with global experience across insurance, banking, asset management and superannuation, Mark joins us at a time of heightened scrutiny for our industry, said QBE Chief Executive Officer Pat Regan.

His extensive experience will guide us to further strengthen our risk management practices and reinforce a sound risk management culture, he said.

Source: QBE Australia and New Zealand

Related:

Topics Australia
Rector of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elmar Gasimov hold a meeting with Chief Editor for Commodities Markets of Thomson Reuters Office in Russia Alexander Yershov at BHOS.

Having welcomed the guest, Elmar Gasimov said that he is very pleased to see Alexander Yershov at the Higher School. Then the Rector provided detailed information about BHOS history, teaching process and education program for training of high-qualified engineers for oil and gas industry, conditions created for the students, and successes achieved within a short period of time. He also spoke about close, productive and mutually beneficial cooperation established by BHOS with leading universities in other countries and transnational oil and gas companies operating in Azerbaijan.

In his turn, Alexander Yershov expressed his gratitude to BHOS Rector for the invitation to visit one of the most prestigious and well-known higher educational institutions in the country within his short-term visit to Azerbaijan. As he informed, Thomson Reuters Corporation, which is a multinational mass media and information firm, is the worlds leading source of news and information for professional markets. It currently operates in more than 100 countries and has more than 60,000 employees around the world. In his words, the agency works with, and provides services to, more than 7,000 leading universities, research institutes, state organizations and private companies. Alexander Yershov also said that activities of Thomson Reuters in Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey and other countries significantly contributed to increase of scientific publications in these countries and, thus, raise their competitiveness in field of science and education.
Fidelis Insurance announced that it is further developing its niche specialty offerings by sponsoring a new managing general agent that focuses on specialty reinsurance.

Fidelis said it will be providing investment and cornerstone capacity for the MGA, which is expected to start writing business in January 2018.

The Bermuda-based company is sponsoring Rob Ashton in his aspirations to establish an MGA in partnership with Nexus, said Fidelis in a statement.

Ashton will join the Fidelis team in July upon completion of his notice as head of Specialty at Hiscox Re Specialty, and write on Fidelis account until the MGA is established.

We are pleased to sponsor someone of Robs caliber. Rob has earned a strong reputation in this area and has demonstrated innovation and success. We look forward to working with him in expanding our interests in this specialism, said Dan Burrows, chief executive officer UK, for Fidelis.

Given prevailing market conditions, Fidelis has seen limited opportunities for profitable mainstream specialty business, said Richard Coulson, head of Specialty Underwriting, Fidelis.

As a result, we have supplemented our book by finding ways to add innovation and value, and have compiled a substantial complementary book of more niche specialty line business, he added. It has been a natural progression to combine this with our well-developed reinsurance portfolio and expand into niche specialty reinsurance.

Source: Fidelis Insurance

Topics Excess Surplus Reinsurance Insurance Wholesale
Prosecutors say a building owner on trial in the deaths of two Ohio firefighters set the deadly fire to collect insurance money.

They say 64-year-old Ray Abou-Arab had filed for bankruptcy two years before the 2014 fire in Toledo and that he was deep in debt.

Abou-Arab has denied setting the blaze that killed Toledo firefighters James Dickman and Stephen Machcinski.

Abou-Arabs attorney said during opening statements that they will challenge that the fire was arson. He also says the building that burned was profitable and there would have been no reason to set it on fire.

Abou-Arab is charged with aggravated murder and murder.

Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty if he is convicted, leaving the possibility of a life prison sentence.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Ohio
Willis Towers Watson has appointed John Puetz as corporate risk and broking (CRB) segment leader for the Missouri/Kansas market.

Puetz will be responsible for driving the overall CRB growth strategy, value proposition and CRB talent acquisition in the Missouri and Kansas region.

Puetz joined Willis Towers Watson seven years ago and was voted a member of the Willis Exceptional Producer Council for two consecutive years.

Prior to joining the company, Puetz ran his own property/casualty insurance brokerage in Kansas. He also has worked for Benfield Corporate Risk and Marsh.

Source: Willis Towers Watson

Topics Willis Towers Watson Missouri Kansas
Motorists Insurance Group, based in Columbus, Ohio, has launched a new commercial lines company  Motorists Insurance  in Michigan and Tennessee.

The company features state-of-the-art technology to make the process from quoting to issuance and policy servicing simple and streamlined via Guidewire InsuranceSuite, which Motorists Insurance Group purchased in 2014. The suite includes underwriting, claims management, billing, rating and policy administration. Motorists also purchased Guidewire portals to improve its agency and policyholder interactions.

Motorists Insurance includes the MiChoice Business Program, which offers tiers to choose the right coverage to fit the size and unique liability needs of a company. Policyholders wont pay for coverage they dont want or need, and agents will have more power to customize a policy to satisfy their customers needs and budget.

The commercial product offering complements the workers compensation offerings of BrickStreet, with which Motorists Insurance Group recently announced an affiliation.

Plans are in place to continuously expand Motorists Insurance products to the groups full operating footprint.

Source: Motorists Insurance Group

Topics Carriers Commercial Lines Business Insurance Ohio New Markets
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that cities may sue banks over predatory mortgage lending to minorities that harms municipal finances, but cast doubt on whether such cases can succeed by throwing out a lower court decision that had allowed litigation brought by Miami to move forward.

The court, ruling 8-0, tossed out a ruling by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had permitted Miamis lawsuits against major banks but gave the city another chance to make its case before a lower court.

Bank of America Corp and Wells Fargo & Co had challenged the appeals courts decision to permit the suits by the Florida city against the banks. The Supreme Court ruling also affects a related case brought by Miami against Citigroup Inc.

Miami said Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup steered non-white borrowers into higher-cost and riskier loans they often could not afford, even if they had good credit. As a result of this alleged discriminatory lending, Miami said, property values declined because of the high rate of loan defaults that led to foreclosures. The city said it lost property tax revenue and was forced to pay to repair and maintain properties that went into foreclosure.

Writing for the court, liberal Justice Stephen Breyer said Miami had the legal standing to sue the banks but needed to present more evidence that the injuries it claims to have suffered were tied to alleged violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The ruling was a partial victory for both sides.

In Miamis favor, the justices, on a separate 5-3 vote with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joining the courts four liberal justices, did not throw out the lawsuit altogether and embraced the principle that cities can in some circumstances sue under the law.

We are pleased that the Supreme Court validated the citys standing to bring its claims under the Fair Housing Act. We look forward to litigating this case further in federal court, said Victoria Mendez, Miamis city attorney.

The banks can point to the fact that the lower court ruling permitting Miamis lawsuits was thrown out unanimously. They now get a second chance to argue why Miamis claims should not move forward.

We believe these claims are without merit and we will continue to defend our interests in this matter, Bank of America spokesman Lawrence Grayson said.

Tom Goyda, a spokesman for Wells Fargo, said that under the standard set by the court, it will be very difficult for Miami or any other municipality to show the required connection between the claimed damages and unsubstantiated allegations about our lending practices, which do not reflect how we operate in the communities we serve.

LEGAL STANDING

Miami accused the banks of a decade of lending discrimination in its residential housing market. Other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and Oakland, have launched similar lawsuits.

Miami filed the cases in 2013, in the aftermath of the U.S. financial crisis. The city sued under the housing law, which prohibits discrimination in housing sale, rental and financing.

Three of the courts conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy, said they would have thrown out the lawsuit altogether.

In order to demonstrate the connection between the alleged violation and the harm suffered, a plaintiff must do more than show that its injuries foreseeably flowed from the alleged statutory violation, Breyer wrote.

The appeals court in September 2015 overturned a lower courts decision to dismiss lawsuits by Miami against the banks. Citigroup Inc decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Business interests have sought to narrow the scope of the Fair Housing Act in an effort to ward off expensive litigation.

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in a major Fair Housing Act case from Texas, upholding a broad interpretation of discrimination claims allowed under that law, in a setback to lenders and insurers. Then, Kennedy joined the liberal justices in the majority.

Newly appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was not on the court when the case was argued in November, did not participate in Mondays ruling.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

Topics Lawsuits USA Legislation Claims
Liberty Mutual Insurance has completed its acquisition of specialty insurer Ironshore Inc., creating a global specialty business with approximately $6.5 billion in net written premium.

Liberty Mutual announced last December it would acquire a 100 percent ownership interest in Ironshore for approximately $3 billion, or 1.45 times Ironshores tangible book value at year-end 2016.

Liberty Mutual said it is combining its existing Liberty International Underwriters U.S. business and Ironshores U.S. specialty lines business under the Ironshore brand, which it said will create the sixth largest writer of excess and surplus lines in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium.

The combination of our two operations will create a top tier U.S. specialty insurer with a broad and deep set of solutions for clients and brokers, said David H. Long, Liberty Mutual Insurance chairman and CEO. For Libertys worldwide operations, Ironshore becomes an ideal complement to our $5 billion global specialty business by providing additional scale, expertise, innovation and market relationships.

Kevin H. Kelley, current Ironshore chief executive officer, will continue to lead all Ironshore operations and report directly to Long.

Ironshores existing international businesses, including its Lloyds syndicate operation (Pembroke) and Bermuda platform, will continue to operate with its existing management team, business strategy and Ironshore brand. Mitch Blaser, Ironshore COO, CEO Ironshore Bermuda and CEO IronServe, and Mark Wheeler, CEO Ironshore International, will continue to report directly to Kelley.

The combined U.S. specialty organization will be led by Shaun Kelly, Ironshore president and CEO Ironshore U.S., who will report directly to Kelley. The combined U.S. specialty operation comprises the following product leadership teams:

John OBrien, head of Environmental

Matthew Dolan, head of IronHealth

Michael Finnegan, head of U.S. Casualty

Greg Flood, head of IronPro

Edward Mazman, head of U.S. Property

Daniel Sussman, head of U.S. Political Risk

Joseph Boren will be the head of U.S. Distribution, reporting directly to Shaun Kelly. Jessica Rogin will be Ironshores U.S. chief claims officer, reporting directly to Mike Mitrovic, Ironshores global chief claims officer. Randall Kneeland will be Ironshores chief financial officer, reporting directly to Kevin Kelley.

Ironshores profitable specialty lines business will further bolster Liberty Mutuals specialty markets platform, while Liberty Mutuals strong balance sheet presents Ironshore opportunities to innovate additional product lines and to access greater insurance underwriting capacity, said Ironshore CEO Kelley.

The company said there will be no changes to the existing Liberty Mutual Global Specialty business outside of LIU U.S. Liberty Specialty Markets (including Libertys Lloyds syndicate), LIU Canada, LIU Asia Pacific, LIU Latin America and the Global Surety operation will all continue to be run by Christopher Peirce, president of Global Specialty, with no changes to the existing management team, brand or business strategy. Peirce will continue to report directly to Liberty CEO Long.

Ironshore had gross premiums written of $2.2 billion in 2016 and prior to this combination was the ninth largest excess and surplus lines insurer in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium. The company, which has approximately 800 employees located in 15 countries, is organized into three major operating hubs based in the United States, Bermuda and London.

The company said clients and brokers should continue to communicate with their existing contacts at Liberty Mutual and Ironshore.

A.M. Best Rating

Rating agency A.M. Best said it has removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of a of Ironshore Insurance Ltd. (Bermuda) and its affiliated operating companies: Ironshore Indemnity Inc. (Minneapolis), Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co. (Scottsdale) and Ironshore Europe Designated Activity Co. (Ireland).

Concurrently, A.M. Best said it has also removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the Long-Term ICR of bbb of Ironshore Inc. (Cayman Islands).

The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

A.M. Best said the ratings reflect the companys enhanced business profile under the ownership of the Liberty Mutual, which maintains strong brand recognition and a dominant market profile. A.M. Best said the deal should solidify Ironshores position as a leader in the specialty insurance market.

A.M. Best said it expects Ironshores senior management and core book of business to benefit Liberty Mutual as it builds out its specialty business segment, making the combined operations a significant player in the space.

The ratings agency noted, however, that there remains the execution risk of integrating Ironshores operations into the Liberty Mutual organization and, while the combined business will have increased scale and added capacity, market conditions remain challenging, particularly for organic growth.

As A.M. Best initially commented on Dec. 5, 2016 when the acquisition was announced, the ratings of Liberty Mutual Holding Co. and its subsidiaries remain unchanged. A.M. Best said the modest size of the transaction, along with Ironshores historical profitability, limits LMHCs execution and integration risks associated with the acquisition.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions USA Excess Surplus AM Best
A north-central Arkansas volunteer fire chief died after being struck by a vehicle early on April 30 while working as heavy thunderstorms moved through, one of five confirmed storm-related fatalities in the state, an official said.

At least four other people were killed and two children are missing as a result of storms that produced at least one tornado in the state.

Arkansas State Police say Cove Creek/Pearson Fire Chief Scotty Douglas Deckard, 51, of Quitman died after being struck shortly before 3 a.m. on Highway 25 near Quitman.

Trooper Liz Chapman told The Associated Press that he was checking water levels, when he was struck. Chapman said no other information, including whether the driver of the vehicle faces charges, will be released until the trooper investigating the accident completes a report.

Whitney Green, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said the fire chiefs death was included in the states count of storm-related fatalities.

There also were two fatalities in Washington County, including one person who was found dead after a water rescue effort, Green said.

Police in Springdale say a 10-year-old girl died after climbing over a fence in her backyard and being swept away by floodwaters. In Eureka Springs, firefighters say a woman was killed while riding an inner tube in a creek.

In east-central Arkansas, police say Julia Schwede was also killed Saturday when a tree was blown into her home in DeWitt.

In Madison County in northwest Arkansas, the sheriffs office said an 18-month-old girl and a 4-year-old boy havent been found after the vehicle they were in was swept off a bridge near Hindsville.

An EF-1 tornado with wind speeds of 86-110 mph was confirmed near Booneville in northwest Arkansas and damaged one house, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Chuck Rickard.

The storm system moved eastward out of the state on Sunday, but a good part of the state still faces flooding problems, according to Rickard.

Some of that is runoff from (Saturday) nights rains, but well be dealing with river flooding for the next few days or more, he said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Windstorm Arkansas
The South Carolina workers compensation market is strong, according to the state department of insurances most recent report, as the first reform to the states workers comp system in almost a decade readies to complete a full year of enactment and an assessment may be on its way out.

The South Carolina Department of Insurances (SCDOI) annual report Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage: The State of the South Carolina Market, submitted in Dec. 2016, says the states workers comp market is stable, with plenty of coverage availability.

In 2015, there were 979 companies writing coverage in the state in 2015, down from 987 companies in 2014 and 982 in 2013, but the past five years have been stable compared to the net gain of insurance groups entering the workers comp marketplace in the surrounding Southeastern states, the report said. The top five insurer groups  Zurich, Hartford, W.R. Berkley, BCBS of MI, and American Financial  accounted for 39 percent of South Carolinas 2015 workers comp market, up from 36 percent in 2014.

Overall, insurance companies provide 69 percent of South Carolinas workers comp coverage with the remaining coverage provided through group self-insured funds and individual self-insured employers. The states residual plan, the South Carolina Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, wrote 4.1 percent of 2015s total direct premium writings in the state, down slightly from 4.5 percent in 2014.

Workers comp made up 9.1 percent of all the states property and casualty premiums written in 2015. Direct written premiums for workers comp totaled $729 million in 2015 (including $33 million in residual market premium), an increase of $27 million from 2014, with the increase likely the result of increased payrolls, loss cost increase for some job classifications, and occasional increases to company loss cost multipliers.

Loss costs from the state approved rating organization, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), increased by 1.9 percent and 2.5 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively, after decreasing 7.4 percent in 2014.

The frequency of lost-time claims, a large component and cost driver, was stable over the past few years, the report states. The medical severity was relatively flat from 2010 to 2012 but increased 14.3 percent in 2013, while indemnity increased for the second consecutive year.

The report also notes the new legal requirement passed by the South Carolina Legislature last year, the first reforms made since 2007, requiring all insurers in the state to file to adopt approved NCCI loss costs.

The 2016 legislation made it a legal requirement for workers comp insurers to file loss cost adoptions or loss costs multipliers with the SCDOI. Insurers intent to adopt the rate filing must be submitted within 60 days of the approval date of the new loss costs in accordance with the new law.

Insurers must also now implement the latest NCCI loss costs within 120 days from the new loss cost effective date. SCDOI said in its report the new law, which amends the 1976 Code of Laws of South Carolina relating to rate filing requirements, was in response to concerns raised by SCDOI that the use of older, outdated loss costs was inappropriate.

In addition, the termination of the South Carolina Second Injury Fund (SIF) assessment on insurers is scheduled to be phased out this year in accordance with the states 2007 workers comp reforms that enacted a transition plan to close out the fund beginning in 2013. The report notes that following the 2017 assessment, additional analysis will be necessary to determine whether there is a need for an additional assessment, however, SCDOI is hopeful that SIF assessments will no longer be an issue or a component of loss cost multiplier filings in the near future.

Topics Carriers Legislation Profit Loss Workers' Compensation South Carolina
A prominent Florida eye doctor accused of political corruption was convicted of Medicare fraud Friday, increasing the odds that federal prosecutors could pressure him to testify against New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.

Dr. Salomon Melgen was found guilty on all 67 counts and could spend the rest of his life in prison if he doesnt strike a deal before his sentencing, scheduled for July 14. Menendez denies any wrongdoing.

The 62-year-old doctor collected more money from Medicaid than any other physician in the nation $21 million  at the height of the fraud in 2012.

He faces trial with Menendez this fall in New Jersey on charges the doctor bribed the senator for a variety of favors, including intervention in the fraud probe.

Prosecutors convinced jurors that the doctor stole up to $105 million from the federal medical insurance program between 2008 and 2013 by performing unneeded tests and treatments on his mostly elderly patients.

Melgens attorneys argued that the Dominican-born, Harvard-trained doctor was a kind and caring physician. They acknowledged that he made billing and treatment mistakes, exposing him to potential lawsuits and possibly losing his medical license. But they said they were unintentional, and therefore not a crime.

Prosecutors countered that anybody can make an occasional mistake, but Melgrens actions were too numerous to be honest. For example, the doctor frequently billed Medicare for tests and treatment of prosthetic eyes.

Prosecutors also pointed to tests run in seconds that were supposed to take five minutes or more. That made the tests unusable for diagnosis, but enabled him to bill Medicare up to several hundred dollars each for as many as 100 patients a day.

He pocketed millions more by splitting single-use vials of an expensive eye drug into four doses and billing the government for each one, they said.

Melgen became politically active in 1997, when he treated Florida Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles, who appointed him to a state board.

He was soon hosting Democratic fundraisers at his 6,500-square-foot (605-square-meter) North Palm Beach home. That led to his friendship with Menendez, during which Melgen paid for trips he and the senator took to France and to the doctors home at a Dominican resort.

Menendez reimbursed Melgen $58,500 after the trips became public knowledge.

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say Melgens gifts to Menendez were actually bribes. In return, they say, the senator obtained visas for the married Melgens foreign mistresses, interceded with Medicare officials when they began investigating Melgens practice, and pressured the State Department to help with a business dispute Melgen had with the Dominican government.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Florida Fraud New Jersey
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Samir Ali  Trend:

Joint live-fire tactical exercises of Azerbaijans and Turkeys armed forces are continuing.

Media representatives observed the military drills on May 2.

The joint tactical exercises started May 1 in accordance with an agreement on military cooperation between the two countries.

The aim of the exercises, which will continue until May 5, is to improve coordination of actions through the exchange of experience between the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces, as well as to achieve interoperability of the two countries military units through improving the readiness and capabilities of the units to conduct operations.

The joint exercises involve armored vehicles, mortars, military and transport helicopters, as well as air defense units and anti-aircraft missile units.
The issuance of green bondstax-exempt bonds issued by federally qualified organizations and municipalities for the development of brownfield siteshas surged in recent years along with investor appetite for renewable energy.

The SEB, a European financial services group, predicted the 2022 green bond market could reach $400 billion, but then growth unexpectedly slowed, mostly to increasing interest rates and inflation. But a mid-year report from Climate Bonds Initiative indicates the green bond market may not be struggling as suggested, down only 1% from the previous quarter. Green bond issuance rose to $236 billion globally in the first half of 2022, down modestly from a record $240 billion in the first half of 2021. While the industry represents a lot of potential for growth, it also faces significant long-term risks.

Risks of Going Green

One of the largest detractors when investing in green bonds is a lack of liquidity. Being a small market, entering and exiting positions is not as easy as more popular investments. If yyou were looking for a liquid investment, then green bonds should be avoided, at least until the demand for new issuances is high and the market shows steady growth. Traditionally, they would be strongly considered as an investment to hold until maturity. However, in the current green bond investing climate, there are signs the market's liquidity is increasing, although investors should still proceed with caution.

Another risk is the lack of a clear definition for a green bondinvestors might not know exactly where their money is going, meaning that it could potentially be used for the wrong reasons. One of the reasons is the lack of a "universally accepted legal" definition for a green bonds. Another reason is green bonds do not have state how the funds will be used to promote "green" projects.

Other risks for green bonds include: low yields, mispricing, a lack of sufficient complex research available to make an educated investment decision, and the existence of some green bond issuers with questionable reputations.

Another challenge is the demand for oil; as popular as alternative energy sources grow, there will need to be significant changes in costs and government policies to replace oil and petroleum products as the leading energy resource.

Budding Opportunities

Going green is a popular trend, and one that looks set to continue as long as interest grows and new investors are given environmentally-conscious investment options within their portfolios. Since 2020, governments around the worldincluding the U.S.have enacted new regulations, which will, in turn, help many green projects.

In 2022, U.S. enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the "first multi-decade piece of legislation targeting dramatic long-term reductions in greenhouse gases via several targeted incentive programs supporting low-carbon technologies." The new act is expected to increase renewable production while decreasing other "high-carbon" energy sources.

Green bonds are gaining popularity in the U.S. For example, in May 2013, Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) issued a $600 million convertible green bond. In March 2014, Toyota Motor Corp (TM) issued asset-backed security to finance hybrid vehicle loans.

Green bond growth is evident in the U.S., but popularity began with power companies in France. This is more of a global story than a domestic one. Here are some supranational issuers of green bonds:

European Investment Bank

African Development Bank

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

World Bank

On top of that, the World Economic Forum suggests that $700 billion per year needs to be invested in clean energy, transportation, and forestry. The International Energy Agency recommends an investment of around $1 trillion per year toward a low carbon economy by 2035.

Other corporate green bond issuances include:

Vasakronan (a Swedish real estate company)

Unibail-Rodamco (commercial property in Europe)

Unilever plc (UL)

SCA: Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (Europe's largest private forest owner; it has ambitions to pursue profitable and responsible forestry activities)

Skanska (a global project development and construction group)

You can also invest in green bonds directly via Calvert Green Bond A (CGAFX). As of September 2022, CGAFX hovers near its initial offering price and might be considered a buying opportunity as it bottoms out.

The Bottom Line

Green bonds are without a doubt on the rise, and that trend is likely to continue. However, if youre the type of investor that seeks liquidity, then consider waiting until the market grows larger and more investment products are available.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

Trend:

Bulgarian Vice-President Iliana Iotova will participate in the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue on "Advancing Intercultural Dialogue  New avenues for human security, peace and sustainable development", to be held in Baku on May 4-6, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism said May 2.

The Forum is organized in cooperation with UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the UN World Tourism Organization (WTO), the Council of Europe, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

At the Azerbaijani sides proposal, the high-level meeting of international organizations and the ministerial meeting of the world forum will be held for the first time as part of the forum.

Around 40 sessions and events, covering human security, sustainable development, migration, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, fight against extremism, attitudes towards refugees and migrants, the role of youth and education in intercultural dialogue and food security will be held as part of the forum.

The forum will be organized for the fourth time within the Baku Process initiative, launched by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in 2008.

The forum is held every two years.
A tentative deal has been reached between screenwriters and producers, averting a strike that could have crippled TV and film production and inflicted harm on the wider California economy.

The three-year agreement, which needs ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America, was confirmed by the guild and producers' spokesman Jarryd Gonzales shortly after the current contract expired on Tuesday.

The two sides held to a media blackout during negotiations which started on March 13 and centred on compensation and health care.

The agreement spares the late-night shows that would have halted immediately without writers, and allows the networks to pursue their schedules for the upcoming TV season without interruption.

Movie production would have felt the impact of a strike more gradually.

Guild members voted overwhelmingly last month to authorise a strike, and the WGA could have called for an immediate walkout on Tuesday. The previous writers' strike took an estimated 2 billion dollar toll on the state.

After the 2007-08 strike, the two sides reached agreements in 2010 and 2013, but TV writers in particular have seen their earnings slide since then and want to claw back some losses.

Driving the dispute were changes in how television is distributed, with streaming platforms including Netflix and Amazon joining broadcast and cable TV and rising in importance.

More outlets have led to more shows, but the TV season model is greatly changed. Despite the fact there are more series than ever - 455 this season, more than double the number six years ago - shows run for fewer episodes than the traditional 22 to 24-episode broadcast series.

Short seasons of eight, 10 or 12 episodes mean less pay for writers who are paid on a per-episode basis.

The 2007-08 strike played out in true Hollywood style. Writers took to social media to make their case. Stars including Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tina Fey joined picket lines, and then-Tonight Show host Jay Leno took doughnuts for strikers.

Before Tuesday's deal was announced, writer-actress Lena Dunham said she would back a strike this time.

"I would never have had the health coverage I had without the union, and that's one of the main points in this," she said at the Met Gala on Monday night.

Actress Debra Winger said she would support any reasonable action by the writers, but was mindful of the damage it would cause.

"I'm thinking of all the businesses that I work with at Warner Bros for several months out of the year and (the) restaurants, shoe repair, dry cleaners," she said during an interview promoting her new film, The Lovers.

"The last writers' strike affected the city of Los Angeles in a devastating way."

AP
British Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed claims she is at loggerheads with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker over her Brexit negotiating strategy as just "Brussels gossip".

She came under fire following reports Mr Juncker walked out of talks last week in Downing Street saying he was "10 times more sceptical than before".

Opposition parties warned the UK was heading for a "disastrous hard Brexit" after a detailed account in the German press of their dinner suggested Mr Juncker left fearing the negotiations would end in failure.

But campaigning in Ormskirk in Lancashire, Mrs May brushed off the claims insisting that they were at odds with what the commission had said about the meeting.

"From what I have seen of this account, I think it is Brussels gossip," she said.

"Look at what the European Commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place which was that the talks had been constructive."

Downing Street said it did not recognise the latest account which appeared in the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

The Prime Minister nevertheless sought to exploit the report to drive home her message that she - not Jeremy Corbyn - can provide the strong leadership needed to secure the best deal for Britain.

"It also shows that these negotiations are at times going to be tough and in order to get the best deal for Britain we need to ensure that we have got that strong and stable leadership into those negotiations," she said.

"When it comes June 8 people have a clear choice.

"There will be 27 European countries on one side of the table - who do they want to see standing up for Britain on the other side? Me or Jeremy Corbyn."

The Labour leader, campaigning in Battersea, south London, warned however that Mrs May's negotiating strategy was unravelling.

"To start negotiations by threatening to walk away with no deal and set up a low tax economy on the shores of Europe is not a very sensible way of approaching people with whom half of our trade is done at the present time," he said.

"Of course they are going to be difficult (negotiations), but you start from the basis that you want to reach an agreement, you start from the basis that you have quite a lot of shared interests and values.

"If you start from that basis and show respect, you are more likely to get a good deal.

"But if you start with a megaphone, calling people silly names, it is not a great start to anything."

According to the newspaper account - attributed to commission sources - the EU side left the meeting believing Mrs May was way too optimistic about the prospects for a deal.

When the Prime Minister told them "Let us make Brexit a success", Mr Juncker was said to have replied "Brexit cannot be a success".

At one stage - to underline the complexity of negotiations - the commission president was said to have brandished copies of Croatia's EU entry deal and Canada's free trade deal which runs to 2,000 pages.

Mrs May was also said to have angered the EU side when she warned that the UK could not be forced to pay a "divorce bill" for leaving because there was no requirement under the treaties, which drew the response that the EU was "not a golf club".

As he left, Mr Juncker was said to have told her: "I leave Downing St 10 times as sceptical as I was before."

The following morning he rang German chancellor Angela Merkel to warn her that Mrs May's approach was from a "different galaxy" and that she was deluding herself.

Mrs Merkel responded by re-writing a speech she was giving that day to warn that some in Britain were still harbouring "illusions" about the Brexit process.

No 10 said it did not recognise the account of the meeting which took place over dinner last Wednesday.

A Britishgovernment spokesman said: "As the Prime Minister and Jean-Claude Juncker made clear, this was a constructive meeting ahead of the negotiations formally getting under way."

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said: "It's clear this Government has no clue and is taking the country towards a disastrous hard Brexit."

For the SNP, Scotland's minister for UK negotiations with the EU Michael Russell said: "Leaving the EU with no deal - and no agreement on access to the single market - would be an unprecedented act of self-harm which would devastate the UK and Scottish economy."

However, pro-Brexit Conservatives dismissed the report as an attempt to destabilise the Government ahead of the negotiations.

Former party leader Iain Duncan Smith told Channel 4 News: "The reality is there is no trouble because this is all pre-negotiation guff really, at the end of the day, so it should be put in that basket and then we'll get on with the negotiation."
President Trumps voice will be represented at the event by four members of his cabinet: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Elaine Chao, the Secretary of Transportation.

Also on the agenda are former president George W Bush and former vice president Joe Biden. Both are set to be interviewed by Mike Milken himself, the onetime omnipotent credit investor who later pleaded guilty to securities fraud and now is a renowned philanthropist and public health advocate.
This is according to new IE Domain Registry (IEDR) research, which shows that being online opens up a whole new world to small businesses  with boosts to revenue, productivity, and customer acquisition.

Consumer expectations have shifted, too. When we asked 1,000 Irish shoppers, more than 70% said they were more likely to purchase from a business that has a website. More than three-quarters said they find it frustrating when they cant find details about their local business on the web, and a further 60% said theyd consider shopping with a competitor if they couldnt find their preferred business online.

On the surface, it would seem that all the necessary ingredients for a healthy Irish digital economy are there  consumers are more tech-savvy and willing to spend online, and businesses stand to benefit from this demand.

Certainly, the latest edition of the European Commissions Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) paints a rosy picture of it. So rosy, in fact, that we are ranked number one in Europe for buying and selling online by a significant margin; ahead of the UK, Germany, and France.

But on closer inspection, using the DESI as a metric for Irelands e-commerce health, especially for SMEs, is misleading. The DESI classifies small enterprises as businesses that have between 10 and 49 employees. This classification, therefore, excludes the micro-enterprises (businesses that employ fewer than 10 people) that make up more than 92% of the Irish economy.

Our dot. ie Digital Health Index tells a very different story. Twice a year, we survey 500 Irish SMEs, the vast majority of them with fewer than 10 employees, to assess the condition of Irelands digital economy. We check to see whether they have a website, a social media page, and can engage in e-commerce, among other things.

The most recent survey, published in November, showed that less than two-thirds of Irish SMEs have a website; of these SMEs, less than a third can take sales orders on their sites, while only 28% can actually process payments online. Indeed, one-in-five SMEs still have no online presence whatsoever; neither website nor social media page.

Our share of the European e-commerce market is valued at more than 9 billion, and as consumers, we are spending more online than ever before; according to the Digital Health Index, 41% of Irish consumers have increased their online spend in the last two years. This is a glaring missed opportunity for our SMEs, especially as 85% of surveyed consumers say they would prefer to spend on an Irish website.

In a post-Brexit Ireland, where economic diversification and preparedness is so essential, e-commerce must be a high priority for all our businesses, especially our smallest  and our most vulnerable  micro-enterprises.

By selling online, Irish SMEs have access to a virtually borderless global marketplace that stays open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Whereas an offline business owner in Letterkenny might depend exclusively on local footfall for business, an online business owner in the same town can make money, even while they sleep, as Internet shoppers in London and Lisbon log on to browse and buy their products.

Anecdotally, it seems that for many entrepreneurs, particularly in rural parts of the country, selling online is either too time-consuming or too complicated. To change this, we must concentrate our efforts by building up two key pillars.

The first pillar, mentorship, means more funding opportunities and shoulder-to-shoulder guidance for SMEs. The Governments existing e-commerce initiative, the Trading Online Voucher Scheme, is useful, but the surprisingly low uptake indicates that SMEs have issues with its conditional grant of up to 2,500.

The second pillar is infrastructure. While rural broadband connectivity is improving, for many SMEs actually connecting to the Internet remains a problem.

While the European Commissions stats are a useful guide, considering the huge importance of micro-enterprises to Ireland, they are not an accurate measurement of our overall e-commerce success.
Thousands of warrants are also outstanding in connection to unpaid fines.

Figures from the Courts Service show a total 462,036 fines have been imposed since 2011. But 196,909 of these remain unpaid. The information was given to Fianna Fail TD Jim OCallaghan.

However, figures registered with the Courts Service criminal case tracking system shows the level of evasion has increased sharply in the last five years.

A total of 48.5m remains unpaid. But the annual rate of evasion has doubled in the past five years, with 16.5m due at the end of last year compared to 7.5m in 2011.

The Fianna Fail justice spokesman says Ms Fitzgerald needs to tackle the issue, as the evasion levels are getting out of control.

He told the Irish Examiner: Serious questions need to be answered as to why fines, worth such a substantial amount of money, have still not been collected. Many of these date back years and total almost 50m.

It was worrying that the level of unpaid fines had doubled, he warned.

The money owed to the State could be used for cash-starved services, suggested Mr OCallaghan.

What steps is the minister taking to ensure that these fines are being paid? 48m is a considerable amount of money which could be well invested in a number of areas. Minister Fitzgerald needs to get serious about tackling this issue.

The current situation is making a mockery of the fines system as criminals can continue to refuse to pay them as they know they will not be followed up. This undermines our criminal justice system as, if fines are not paid, then offenders are faced with no real deterrent.

Altogether, the 48m outstanding represents around a third of penalties applied over five years, the figures show.

The minister also told Mr OCallaghan in the parliamentary written reply that in excess of 15,000 warrants with a total value of over 5m were outstanding.

Ms Fitzgeralds department has said wide-scale notices to appear in court have been given to defaulters for the non-payment of fines, as part of new legislation.

The introduction of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014, last year, has brought changes to the process of collecting fines, including allowing people pay them by instalment over a 12-month period.

The legislation, designed to both improve collection rates and stop people being put in prison for non- payment, also allows for attachment to earnings, community service and fines being referred to a receiver for enforcement.

Prison will only be considered as a last resort for individuals who refuse to pay. The Courts Service claims the process of collecting fines has improved in recent years.
TWO of the countrys most influential food publishers have accused the Government of treating the West Cork coast like an industrial estate by allowing the commercial harvesting of 1,860 acres of native seaweed forest in Bantry Bay.

Food writers and authors of Irelands 100 Best Restaurants, John and Sally McKenna, have accused the Department of Housing and Planning of thinking it appropriate that a few people make a lot of money out of seaweed, rather than many people making a little.

The sea and the shoreline are not a factory, you cant treat them like an industrial estate. Once you apply the economic thinking of mass production to a natural resource, what you inevitably do is destroy it, said Ms McKenna.

This type of harvesting is experimental and gives no benefit to the communities who live by the coastline. Bulk harvesting also affects much more than local communities: all the species of life that shelter in this essential biosphere of our coastline are affected.

She said seaweed in its many guises has always been a feature of Irish agriculture but was picked over the generations by those who recognise by sight and pick sustainably by hand.

For many decades, the farming of Irish seaweed has provided a small income for many people, and these people have been guardians of the coastline. Now, however, the administration we have in place seems to think it appropriate that a few people make a lot of money out of seaweed, rather than many people making a little, she added.

BioAtlantis, the biotechnology firm behind the project, has said it will use machinery to cut the kelp 25cm off its root structure so as to minimise damage to marine life such as shellfish. After three years of harvesting, a review will take place to see if the kelp quality has been damaged.

However, Minister for Housing and Planning Simon Coveney is being urged by locals, fishermen and environmentalists to reverse his departments decision to grant the 10-year kelp-cutting licence to biotechnology company, BioAtlantis.

The BioAtlantis kelp harvesting project, which will take place in sections of the Beara and Sheeps Head peninsulas, will be the biggest in Irish and UK waters but according to BioAtlantis is minute in comparison to projects in Norway, France and Iceland.

According to BioAtlantis CEO, John T OSullivan it is based on best scientific knowledge and a 2004 study on kelp-harvesting methods and sustainable resource management completed by NUI Galway and funded by the Marine Institute and Taighde Mara Teo.

However, chairman of Glengarriff Tourist and Development Association, Chris Harrington, said tens of thousands of tourists flock to Bantry Bay every year to see Garnish Island, the bays 300 seals, seabirds, dolphins and more recently, two white-tailed sea eagles and their chick.

The seals, eagles and the wider wildlife all feed on the fish and marine life that shelter in that kelp. The environment in Bantry Bay is a major part of the tourism industry here and tourism provides a lot of jobs in this region yet there was no public consultation with us about a project of a scale that could potentially harm this ecosystem, said Mr Harrington.

Niall McAllister runs Wild Atlantic Wildlife and the West Cork Sailing and Powerboating Centre in Adrigole in Bantry. He said Bantry Bays seals are a huge attraction for his customers too and that these seals feed on the marine life spawns in the kelp forest.

He said crustaceans, jellyfish and starfish shelter in the kelp while juvenile fish often linger there to protect themselves as they grow stronger. He said puffins and other seabirds also feed on this fish.

If we reduce this spawning ground, we remove fish for the seals and seabirds, he said.

Mr McAllister said the planned project is right on his doorstep yet nobody knocked on my door or bothered to send an email.

The big fear is we dont know what damage could be done. They are using a bay that I routinely hear tourists describe as out of this world as a test ground. Unbelieveable, he said.

BioAtlantis says an independent expert in marine ecology will conduct a series of underwater ecological surveys at the site before harvesting, and three and five years post-harvesting.

This will provide a means of identifying any potential effects of harvesting and will provide further scientific information which will be used to inform decision- making in Ireland in the future, said Mr OSullivan.

He also said the seaweed will recover four years after harvesting.

BioAtlantis had many reasons for not calling a public meeting at that time as there were many issues that needed to be resolved including engaging with recognised experts in marine ecology in Ireland; a legal agreement in relation to the lease; agreeing a harvesting plan with the Department of Environment; building a harvesting vessel; design and commissioning the harvesting equipment; and the completion of a baseline study in advance of commencing harvesting.
Yesterday, more than 50 family and friends gathered outside the hospital, angered at the short notice they received of the move which will see their elderly relatives dispersed onto other wards throughout the 132-bed hospital.

While the HSE says the closure of the Sacred Heart unit, which opened in 1996, is a temporary measure, families say a temporary closure of another unit in the hospital last year, St Endas, proved permanent.

The closure sees the loss of 13 rehab, 12 long-stay, and two respite beds, impacting on physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and palliative care. Seven of the beds have been closed since January.

The HSE is understood to have ordered the closures amid patient safety concerns related to nurse shortages.

One patient has been transferred to the Dunabbey House care facility across the road.

Many of the families have expressed anger both at the closure and how the HSE orchestrated the move.

Orla Glascott whose mother Madge, aged 93, is the units second longest resident at 13 years, said she received just four hours notice on the day, having been told some days ago that the unit would be closing, temporarily, in midweek.

Nan OBrien from Dungarvan, whose mother, Mary, aged 71, has lived at the Sacred Heart unit for five years, reported a similar experience.

Ms OBrien said that her mother was admitted following a stroke.

Since then, she suffers from severe speech and movement difficulties and needs 24-hour care.

She said Mary has developed a vital bond with unit staff and was heartbroken at yesterdays turn of events.

Mum was actually too upset to leave and after insisting she wasnt going, she was allowed a final 24 hours at the unit said Ms OBrien.

She described the hospital as the hub of the community and said the invaluable level of activities and care the patients have received has made it a new home for them.

Yesterdays protest was organised by Waterford Labour county councillor John Pratt who said he was extremely disappointed with the decision.

Mr Pratt said that the closure has angered and upset not just those with family in the hospital, but the wider west Waterford community.

The councillor said one patient was informed of the closure last Friday but her family only learned of it yesterday.

Mr Pratt said yesterdays protest was a quickly organised response and anticipated a larger and more concentrated show of support today.

He added that efforts to contact either the HSE or the hospital management during the bank holiday Monday proved fruitless.

Fianna Fail TD for west Waterford Mary Butler described the HSEs decision to move the closure over the bank holiday weekend as underhanded and deeply cynical.

Ms Butler criticised the HSE for acting without consultation with families or the local community.

He stressed that the importance of this unit to the people of west Waterford cannot be under- estimated.

The HSE was unavailable for comment.
For - Roisin Burke

Kim flaunts her assets with a confidence we should all aim to have. We may not agree with her, but we can admire the way she does it, writes Roisin Burke.

Kim Ks infamous arse is at it again.

Well known for breaking the internet, Kardashian West let her haters have a field day after posting pics of her incredible bottom in all its natural beauty, while on vacation in Mexico.

Of course the backlash began almost instantly with people commenting on her cellulite  the sassy lady fought back with tongue firmly in cheek, tweeting a video of herself enjoying a milkshake with the caption:  Mood #F***YouJenAtkin. There is no denying the woman has a vivid sense of humour.

Like her or hate her, Kim flaunts her assets with a confidence we should all aim to have.

Positive body image is about being comfortable in your own shape and size and no one owns their unique figure like Kim Kardashian West.

In my opinion, she is the ultimate endorsement for a positive body image.

She has an extremely unusual shape, but she has learned to accentuate her body by training hard and wearing clothes that flatter what she has in a brazen style that is, in all manners, enviable.

As a celebrity with millions of followers, Kim has a responsibility to her fans to advocate an image with which she is proud to be associated with and for the most part, I think it is.

Her look, combined with her razor-sharp tongue and sickly sweet mannerisms, makes her a feminine endorsement of steel-hard determinism and chic pragmatism  something I think was missing in my days of impressionable youth.

In my own experience, I know I spent my teenage years staring at svelte and flawless women in magazines, pining for their shape.

Like many women, I blamed myself for not being skinnier or prettier, which is the start of a cycle that encapsulates negative body image.

Thankfully, in recent years, I have become more at ease with my shape, but I can still see how someone could be easily influenced by the constant barrage of scrawny but sculpted women in the media.

For this reason, Kardashian West is a breath of fresh air in a heavily polluted sphere of bullshit.

To the fuller figure woman, Kardashian West is someone to look up to, a body shape to relate to and a celebrity that stands out from the white-wash of size zeros as a beautiful woman with curves.

Perhaps more importantly, Kim takes the good with the bad, reacting to criticism in a paradox of relatable vulnerability and enviable cheek.

Like tweeting @jenatkinhair spiked my Oreo shake to try to get me to not eat it because shes fat shaming me after negative commentary followed photos of her looking less-than-magnificent in a bikini.

. @jenatkinhair spiked my Oreo shake to try to get me to not eat it because she's fat shaming me  Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) April 25, 2017

That kind of attitude is needed to survive in todays world of social media and online retorts. I think the youth of today can learn a thing or two from her demeanour.

I dont always agree with Kardashian Wests style choices  or life choices, for that matter  but I respect her bold taste and admire the confidence with which she wears her clothes.

I would like to make it clear, very clear, that I am not an avid follower of Kardashian West. I will admit to watching many episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians during my college years, but even then my favourite was Bruce.

However, as someone who likes to keep up with fashion, Kim Kardashian West floats in and out of my world and when she does it is always with an audacious air of someone doing her own thing.

That I respect and that, I think, is something to aspire to.

Against - Ellie OByrne

Kim Kardashian is part of an industry that tells girls that their value is in their appearance, not their achievements, writes Ellie OByrne.

Sometimes youd almost wish that Kim Kardashians ass would just go ahead and break the internet.

In the latest round of tales from Kims vault, the reality TV star was supposedly papped au naturel whilst holidaying in Mexico. The resulting images of her cellulite-ridden posterior made the pages of the tabloids and triggered a new debate on social media about whether her bum is acceptable, or whether its let itself go.

The millennial yen for big bottoms has been hailed as empowering for women, and Kim and fellow well- endowed stars like Nikki Minaj and J-Lo have been touted as role models for women whose bodies couldnt conform to the athletic or emaciated fashion standards of previous decades.

The fetishisation of the female derriere is nothing new. Sarah Baartman was a woman of the Khoisan people from South Africa, known as the Hottentot Venus. She was displayed at freak shows in London in the early 1800s for her ample posterior.

After her death, her pickled brain and sexual organs and a cast of her body were displayed in a museum in Paris until 1974; sickeningly, she wasnt dignified with a burial until 2002.

Her rear was considered symbolic of rampant and primitive female sexuality; the Victorian bustle may have even mimicked her shelf-like fatty deposits as a big-butt craze swept fashionable society. Yet few would argue that Baartmans story represented empowerment; she was an object, pawed at and carved up, a symbol of male colonisation, racism and ownership.

In the modern-day freak show of social media, Kim Kardashian has considerably more agency than Baartman had; she earned a reported $51 million (47m) in 2016, with the help of social media endorsements that earn up to $300,000 a pop. That big butt is quite literally a money-maker.

But Kim still represents a woman dissected, reduced to the sum and value of her parts. Whether you fall into the omg shes really let herself go camp or the its a perfectly normal lady-bottom camp, by adding to the conversation youre still carving up female anatomy for judgement.

The toxic fashion and beauty industries and their associated media implant parasitic insecurities, the better to sell women endless consumer goods. The process begins with a message to girls and women that their value is in their appearance, as a commodity, rather than in their achievements.

Kim is part of this industry.

Shes the master of faking it; for her day-in-the-life diary for Harpers Bazaar, she reported spending an hour and a half in hair and make-up on mornings when she appears in public. Her image is the result of a vast staff of professionals, but vulnerable teens on social media seem unaware of this.

Carefully staged for spontaneity, the stars of Instagram are faking it and minting it, and teenage girls are aping them and their fragile aspirations are monetised in the process. You can bet Kims bottom dollar  pun intended that her derriere will return to newsstands and twitter feeds near you soon, no doubt having been improved through various saleable celebrity diets and procedures.

In the meantime, immunise your daughters: focus on their achievements and strengths rather than their appearance. For life-long positive self-image, from pimply teen to gamine young woman into the childbearing and post-menopausal years, a mind-set that says, look at how incredible and strong our bodies are; look at what we can do, will take our girls further than relying on the vagaries of their changing appearance for self-esteem.

The fashion and beauty industries implant parasitic insecurities, the better to sell women endless goods
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) created the Creditors Committee of the countrys Atrabank, the fund said May 2.

Atrabanks license was revoked Jan. 27, 2016 by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan. ADIF was appointed the banks liquidator Aug. 16, 2016.

The first meeting of the Creditors Committee will be held May 12 at the ADIFs office (Babak Avenue, 16, Baku, Azerbaijan).

The participants of the meeting will get acquainted with the regulations of the committee, elect its chairman and secretary, prepare a work plan and define the next date of the committees meeting.
On Monday last week, I was covering an event taking place in Dublins Smithfield Square ahead of the Jobstown trial when Solidary TD Ruth Coppinger sidled up to me. She wore a broad grin and suggested with a good nature that maybe she was owed an apology.

She was referring to a column I had written and a subsequent exchange between us on the Tonight with Vincent Browne programme a few months ago.

The column had opined that that amorphous entity, Middle Ireland, would not vote for the widespread availability of abortion in any referendum. It was written at a time when Ms Coppingers party had tabled a motion for a repeal of the eighth amendment with a view to introducing such availability.

We clashed on TV on the matter, with Ms Coppinger suggesting the column had engaged in tone policing, which was a new concept to me.

Now, she was pointing out that the Citizens Assembly had largely endorsed her view, giving lie to my estimation of the opinion of so-called middle Ireland. The previous weekend, the assembly had recommended that abortion be made widely available. Apart from stipulating some time limits, the recommendations largely amounted to a de facto position of a womans right to choose.

In Smithfield, Ms Coppinger made the point that what the result demonstrated was that when people examined the issue in detail they were swayed by the argument that abortion should be widely available. It is a valid point, but not necessarily the definitive one on the proposed amendment and what follows.

The vote at the assembly was a surprise to many and a shock to not a few. It flew in the face of numerous opinion polls, but opinion polls are not what they used to be.

So maybe there has been a major shift among a large cohort of the people. Maybe the pro-choice view is now widespread, echoing majority opinion in places such as the UK and mainland Europe. Maybe the distance travelled since the eighth amendment was inserted into the Constitution in 1983 is far greater than most of us had thought.

There are two possibilities about how the assembly reached its decision. Perhaps it is not representative of the population. It was selected by a polling company using what certainly appears to be a sound basis. But was it representative? If you were asked to take part, would you have jumped at the chance?

Unfortunately, we live in a time when civic engagement is not what it used to be. Apart from that, it was widely known that the main event at the assembly would be to repeal or not. What is not known is how many people were approached but turned down the invitation.

There is a large cohort of citizens who would run a mile from immersing themselves in the big question. There is also a large cohort that would baulk at the time commitment.

For instance, how many parents of young children who did not theretofore have strong views on the issue were approached but declined for time management reasons? The assembly was put together in a professional manner by a polling company but that does not automatically mean it is representative.

The other possibility is that the assembly is genuinely a reflection of the opinions of the population as a whole. Perhaps that is the case. In such a scenario, Ms Coppingers analysis that the members voted after detailed analysis and examination of the issue, including exposure to real life stories, stands up.

Having had the benefit of doing all that in a civilised and structured environment, perhaps the majority of those present were swayed by the arguments for widespread availability. If this is the case, then the assembly has worked as it was designed, eliciting a representative and informed opinion, albeit one that most had not expected.

One way or the other, the chances of the assemblys recommendations either being included in a repeal mechanism or being carried by a vote remains remote. In the first instance, the chances of the Oireachtas facilitating such a major shift is next to zero.

Sinn Fein has set out its policy in which abortion should be made available for fatal foetal abnormality, rape, and incest. In 2013, just seven of Fianna Fails 19 TDs voted in favour of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy bill.

What chance that a majority or even large minority in the admittedly greatly expanded compliment of TDs in that party would now vote for widespread availability? Ditto Fine Gael.

The cohort of Independents and smaller parties break out across the place, from Mattie McGrath at one end to the Solidarity party and its allies at the other. Unless massive public pressure  of a scale to even surpass that briefly assembled over water charges  is brought to bear, there is no chance the assemblys recommendation will form part of a repeal mechanism.

What if such pressure is brought to bear? What if the politicians, through pressure or in concession to the assemblys recommendations, put before the people the prospect of widespread availability of abortion?

For those campaigning for repeal, this would represent a major gamble. For one thing, the civilised and largely sealed environment in which the assembly considered the matter would not exist.

The so-called pro-life lobby would mobilise opposition that would make conflict during the marriage equality referendum look like an episode of Peppa Pig. You wouldnt bet the house that such a vote would pass. If it didnt, would we all be back to square one, with retention of a constitutional provision that the majority appear to oppose?

Alternatively, maybe the polls, the main political parties, large elements of the media, and well-aired opinion in the legal and medical worlds have it wrong.

Maybe the assembly is a true reflection of public opinion. Maybe its recommendations would be endorsed by a referendum conducted in conjunction with proposed legislation for widespread availability.

At the risk of being accused once more of tone policing, I still doubt it very much.
Only the peoples of England and Wales have actively chosen this path, the electorates in Scotland and Northern Ireland having voted to remain.

Given that the Republic of Ireland also remains strongly pro-EU, is it not time to give consideration to new constitutional arrangements for the entire north-western flank of these islands?

A tri-state confederation made up of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland with continued membership of the EU makes sense from various standpoints: political, economic and cultural.

Notwithstanding the prerequisite for independence referenda in Scotland and Northern Ireland, post-Brexit realpolitik cannot fail to recognise that there is strong support for continued EU membership in all three states.

There is also the very compelling case that open borders across the three states would obviate the need for the reinstatement of an internal Irish border, thus removing any rationale (spurious though it may be) for a return to the republican paramilitary violence that blighted this country for decades.

From a northern unionist perspective, the very real prospect of Scottish independence leaves them very much cast adrift from an England-dominated UK. Unionists of all hues already find themselves uneasy about the future of the existing Union, living, as they do, in a stat e where they have lost their Stormont majority, where the demographics are against them and where the greatest threat to that union comes not from the nationalists within but from those a short distance away across the North Channel.

That those who now most threaten the union are, for the most part, their own kith and kin can only add to the sense of unease.

Wouldnt it be considerably more palatable to retain a political link with their neighbours and historical kinsmen just thirteen miles away across that narrow stretch of water?

For the Unionists of the north, their future would be secure in a confederation where those with a Protestant identity would comprise slightly more than half the population.

Yes, they would lose the link with the London but, in a much-shrunken United Kingdom shorn of 50% of its 1801 landmass and where they find themselves ever-more marginalised and less influential, how could they ever feel secure?

From an Irish nationalist perspective, a degree of hard-won independence would have to be ceded to the new confederal authority but equally a union of north and south, of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter, in the true republican tradition of Wolfe Tone would at last be achieved and the link with Westminster would be broken.

Most importantly, the EU border would be at Hadrians Wall rather than at the Black Pigs Dyke!

For the Scots, the idea of giving up a degree of independence as soon as it is gained might seem counter-intuitive but the obvious attraction is the prospect of continued EU membership as a part of a larger English-speaking alliance.

Furthermore, for Scottish Catholics, the traditional sense of being Scottish but never truly belonging would disappear as they could easily identify with their Irish cousins in the new union.

And for Scottish Protestants  largely Presbyterian  surely the prospect of an alliance with their Ulster Scots brethren and the potential to bring to bear a political influence that was never possible in Tory-dominated Westminster would be an attractive possibility.

The confederation of three states would provide the best of all worlds for all the traditions in both Ireland and Scotland.

From an economic standpoint, a union of three English-speaking states within the EU with a combined population of some 12 million people and more than half of its land mass would have considerable clout.

The current situation where the three governments compete with each other for foreign investment is, self-evidently, in no ones best interests.

Working together, a union of the three states could, in time, become an economic powerhouse in its own right. This is not fanciful.

The region has vast natural resources in oil, wind and wave power and it has highly fertile lands and seas that have already spawned a world-class, multi-billion euro/pound food-based economy.

All three existing states have also been highly successful in attracting some of the worlds leading companies in information technology and pharmaceuticals, in particular; and given that our populations are already among the best educated in the world, the potential for future success is boundless.

And we havent even begun to mention the shared cultural imperatives such as music, dance, and the Gaelic and Ulster Scots languages that impel us to come closer together.

With a second Scottish referendum and a completed Brexit just two to three years away, we have a very short window of opportunity here. Let us begin to imagine!

Michael Sexton

Cork

If you would like to make a blog submission for consideration and possible inclusion in the irishexaminer.com readers' blog submit it here
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 1

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) remains on schedule to deliver gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field to Europe in 2020, Lisa Givert, head of communications at the TAP AG consortium, told Trend May 1.

She said TAP has removed all olive trees in the micro-tunnel area in Italy.

"The majority of trees were moved to a nursery where they will be stored and meticulously cared for over the next two years, until they can be replanted at the site  once works have finished," she said.

Givert said TAP is doing everything in its power to take best care of and protect the olive trees from Xylella, for future replanting.

Xylella is a bacterium that can cause olive quick decline syndrome.

On Apr. 20, Italian court revoked the order that earlier stopped the work to remove olive trees from the pipelines route.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers). Its highest point will be 1,800 meters in Albanias mountains, with lowest point at 820 meters beneath the sea.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
A couple of years back, USA and Japan agreed to have a MegaBot duel in the world's first robot war this coming August. This year, China makes things more interesting as it unveils its very own giant fighting robot. The third robot challenger, dubbed the Monkey King, has made it clear that China wants to take part in this huge robot event.

Pending approval from the MegaBots, the California-based startup that heads the monster robot battles, the Monkey King might take on the firm's own megabot once the dust settles after the first robot brawl. It will fight against America's MegaBot Mark III, which is created by MegaBots, and then Japan's Kuratas if it receives the go signal. The worlds only three giant robotic human-controlled fighting machines are sure going to have a big, loud, brutal robot-fight.

As of now, little information is known of Greatmetals MegaBot challenger Monkey King machine from China. However, both its promo video and recently published pics all point to the possibility that it may be able to crush MegaBots robot warrior. Unveiled over the weekend at an event at the Beijing National Stadium, the metal monkey monster is capable of fighting standing up or on all fours.

According to Jalopnik, the Chinese giant robot warrior is equipped with a handy skill that could certainly make things tricky for rivals. It can fight with a staff, which would certainly make for an awesome robot battle spectacle. However, as of now, only USA's Mark III and Japan's Kuratas are confirmed to fight this August.

According to Digital Trends, the world's first robot war would have taken place years ago, but it has been found that the pilot for MegaBot's Mark II could likely die in any robot brawl. So the match was postponed as the MegaBot modified their giant fighting robot into a more pilot-friendly Mark III. It will go head to head with Suidobashi Heavy Industrys Kuratas after years of strengthening their respective robots, confident that both teams can comfortably withstand heavy metal strikes in the technicals.
General Motors continue to create headlines as one of its popular auto brands launched a new model of its pick-up line. Chevrolet has finally launched Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and it is out in the markets now. Along with its debut, it has been revealed that the new pick-up model will make it to the Chad Hall Racing.

Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Finally Hits The Markets

Chevrolet has finally rolled out the highly awaited Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 in the stores. The first set of the new products headed out to General Motors Wentzville Assembly Center in Missouri. It was being prepped to be shipped to various customers.

The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 was a concept revealed at the 2014 LA Auto Show but it was only last year when its production was finally confirmed. The new Chevy truck reportedly has the same amenities as the Chevrolet Z71. However, Colorado ZR2 has been heavily designed for off-road performances. Several various new parts were designed specifically for it, which includes wider track, wider fender flares, rock sliders, and mutlimatic dynamic suspension spool-valve dampers.

Colorado ZR2 Makes Its Way To Chad Hall Racing

With Chevrolet finally putting Colorado ZR2 up for sale, it has also been revealed that the new truck will be making its debut in the off-road motor racing. It has been announced that one of the first products of this model will be heading off to Chad Hall Racing. Chad Hall said that the new Colorado ZR2 is perfect for the competition and he will be driving it in the upcoming Best in the Desert Race, which will be in August 2017.

Chevrolet has boasted that the 2017 Chevy Colorado was heavily built for off-road performance and the Chad Hall Racing couldnt have been a better venue to show off what it is capable of. The truck has 308 horsepower coupled with an eight-speed transmission. Its specs guarantee that it can be both fast and sturdy even on the most troublesome road.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Oil prices are going down on May 2 as the volume of output in Libya has reached the highest level since 2014.

The price of Brent crude oil has decreased by 0.25 percent to $51.39 per barrel as of 05:38 (GMT +4). The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has dropped by 0.37 percent and stood at $48.66 per barrel.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said the output has risen above 760,000 barrels per day to its highest since December 2014, with plans to keep boosting production.

Earlier, NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla said that Libya plans to bring its oil production to 1.1 million barrels per day by August 2017.

Alongside with Iran and Nigeria, Libya was exempt from the OPEC oil output cut deal reached in late 2016 in Vienna.

In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices.



Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 bpd starting from Jan. 1, 2017 for six months, extendable for another six months, to take into account prevailing market conditions and prospects.



OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting as much as 486,000 bpd.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
A bill introduced Monday by some U.S. senators aims to repeal net neutrality rules under the Federal Communications Commissions 2015 Open Internet Order, and ban the agency from issuing similar regulations in the future.

The legislation aims to give some permanence to recent moves by the Republican-dominated FCC to repeal provisions of the 2015 order. There are concerns that if the FCC at some point comes under the control of Democrats, it will promptly restore the rules under the 2015 Open Internet Order.

The Restoring Internet Freedom Act was introduced by Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, and is cosponsored by eight other Republicans including Ted Cruz, senator for Texas, and Rand Paul, senator for Kentucky.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai introduced last week his own plan to modify parts of the 2015 net neutrality rules, including the FCC's two-year-old classification of broadband as a regulated telecom-like service. The FCC will vote on May 18 to start repealing the rules.

The 2015 rules, which reclassified broadband as a regulated public utility by invoking Title II of the Communications Act, were introduced by the agency under the administration of President Barack Obama. The FCC had voted 3-2 in February 2015 in support of the rules that would prohibit providers from selectively blocking or throttling or offering paid prioritization of internet traffic.

The bill has been introduced on the same day an appeals court declined to rehear its decision last June to uphold the 2015 net neutrality rules. Broadband trade groups are expected to appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court. Weve always supported legislation to resolve the net neutrality fight but a Supreme Court ruling may be the only way to motivate Democrats to negotiate after two years of rebuffing Republican offers to compromise, said Berin Szoka, president of nonprofit think-tank TechFreedom, in a statement after the court decision.

A version of the bill introduced last year had proposed to prohibit the FCC from reclassifying broadband Internet access service as a telecommunications service and from imposing certain regulations on providers of such service.

Pai has proposed rolling back the Title II classification and the reinstating of the information service classification of broadband internet access service, combined with a "light-touch" regulatory framework. The removal of the Title II classification would return regulatory control of the privacy practices of internet service providers from the FCC to the Federal Trade Commission, which already monitors the privacy practices of Internet companies like Google and Facebook, the FCC said.

"Few areas of our economy have been as dynamic and innovative as the internet," said Lee in a statement Monday. "But now this engine of growth is threatened by the Federal Communications Commission's 2015 Open Internet Order, which would put federal bureaucrats in charge of engineering the Internet's infrastructure."

Shortly after Pai's proposal was unveiled, Lee said he would introduce legislation to permanently remove the FCC's "ability to issue net neutrality regulations."
Cisco today said it would offer its virtual switch users technology to get around VMwares recent elimination of support for third party virtual switches such as Ciscos Nexus 1000V.

VMware in March announced that going forward it would no longer support third party virtual switch (vSwitch) programs and that customers should just work with VMwares vSphere products.

+More on Network World: Cisco grabs-up SD-WAN player Viptela for $610M+

It was a strategic decision for VMware who has lead the charge for virtualizing servers and switching, but one not highly regarded by Cisco and others who have ties into virtual switching world like HPE and IBM. For customers of Cisco, HPE and IBM virtual switches, the decision will likely force them off those packages when the next version of vSphere arrives, perhaps late in 2018, experts say.

The situation began with a blog post detailing the new approach VMware wrote: Moving forward, VMware will have a single virtual switch strategy that focuses on two sets of native virtual switch offerings  VMware vSphere Standard Switch and vSphere Distributed Switch for VMware vSphere, and the Open virtual switch (OVS). This strategy is about investing in the priorities of our customers and simplifying the platform to create the best, most secure experience possible. By using the native virtual switch on the platform, customers simplify their IT landscape by reducing their upgrade times, streamline their support, deploy new features more quickly, and prepare themselves for the next wave of change agents. VMware recommends migrating from third party distributed vSwitches including Cisco Nexus 1000V, Cisco VM-FEX, HPE 5900v and IBM DVS 5000v to vSphere Distributed Switch.

In response to that change, Cisco says: We have been working on a platform-independent solution to bring choice back and to free customers from being locked into the VMWare-only virtual switching option. This solution will provide customers with a high level of consistency and control, extending beyond on-premises VMware vSphere environments. This solution will also provide a migration path forward for current AVS and Nexus 1000v customers when they upgrade to a vSphere version that does not have the 3rd party vSwitch API. Cisco will not leave our customers behind, Frank Palumbo, Cisco senior vice president of Global Data Center/Virtualization & Enterprise Networking sales wrote in a blog.

Exactly what that technology is or how it would be implemented wasnt clear and as of this writing Cisco has not responded to questions.

Palumbo continued: Last month, VMware notified customers of its intention to remove the 3rd Party virtual switch APIs in Update 2 of vSphere 6.5. These APIs allow customers to choose a virtual switch to best fit their unique network and data center requirements. This includes Ciscos portfolio of AVS, Nexus 1000v, or VM-FEX products, the HPE 5900E, or the IBM DVS 5000v.Instead, VMware has chosen to close the APIs and the open ecosystem to steer customers to its virtual networking products only. Cisco has deployed virtual switch solutions in thousands of customer networks worldwide. We regret that VMware has chosen to impose such a significant operational burden with challenging timelines for so many customers.

Palumbo went on to state that Cisco ACI-based networks do not limit customers to VMware vSphere or mandate the Cisco AVS in vSphere environments. Cisco ACI delivers advanced network virtualization and microsegmentation with all the major virtualization platforms  Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, and VMware vSphere. When using ACI with VMware vSphere, customers are free to choose and deploy virtual networking and microsegmentation with the native vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS). In fact, more than half of Cisco ACI customers operate their ACI fabrics with the VMware VDS.

Eliminating the support for third party switches wasnt really a difficult decision for VMware as supporting development for that API was a lot of effort for very little return, said Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst with ZK Research and a blogger for Network World. What Cisco is doing makes sense too, because if you are a Nexus 1000 user you are likely a big customer and Cisco will provide you with a migration path  it may be a little more brute force that what VM ware would offer but Cisco will make it work.
Microsoft will sever the update ties between Windows 10 and its default browser, Edge, to give company developers a way to refresh the browser more often than twice a year, according to an online report.

"Users will finally be able to get updates to the Edge browser via the Windows Store, which will allow Microsoft to add new features more frequently," wrote Rich Woods of Neowin Monday, citing unnamed sources within Microsoft.

Since the mid-2015 launch of Windows 10, Edge feature updates have been limited to the times when the operating system itself was upgraded. There have been four iterations of Edge thus far: The original of July 2015, dubbed version 12; then November 2015's version 13; August 2016's version 14; and April 2017's version 15.

Edge, like its predecessor Internet Explorer, receives monthly security updates that patch vulnerabilities.

Woods said that the change would take place in September, when Microsoft is scheduled to ship the next Windows 10 feature upgrade.

It's unclear whether Windows Store -- the only legitimate mart that offers "Universal Windows Platform" (UWP) apps -- will be the sole source of Edge updates, or whether the browser will continue to be bundled with Windows 10 feature upgrades.

If Edge updates are available only from the Windows Store, some enterprises may balk at assigning the browser to workers; firms using Windows 10 Enterprise can lock users out of the Store, and do so to restrict what runs on the company's PCs. And firms looking for a more stable environment, and willing to consider Edge for that reason, may object to frequent Edge feature updates.

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While Edge updates distributed from the Windows Store may give Microsoft the same number of refresh opportunities as rival browsers, notably Google's Chrome as well as Mozilla's Firefox, and thus play to consumers who cherish change, Chrome's and Firefox's every-six-week update cadence could well be exactly what corporations hope to avoid. Microsoft could solve that by making Windows Store updates optional, and instead hew to its pledged twice-annual Windows 10 and Edge upgrades for businesses.

Such a move would be entirely within Microsoft's pattern of promoting Edge as its primary browser -- it's effectively tossed Internet Explorer on the ash pile, promising only security updates but no new functionality -- and touting Edge as a legitimate rival to long-established competitors.

But in the nearly two years of Edge's existence, Microsoft has failed to convince customers to widely adopt the browser: At no point has Edge won over a majority of Windows 10 users. More telling, Edge's share has declined since its debut peak, falling last month to a record low of 21%, or just over one in five Windows 10 users, according to analytics vendor Net Applications.

There's no evidence in Net Applications' numbers that Edge has won over a sizable percentage of Windows 10 users, or that it may eventually prevail. And while most enterprises have yet to launch Windows 10 migrations, there's little motivation for IT administrators to reverse gears, dump Chrome, which they helped make the most popular browser on Windows 7, and inflict another change on employees by switching to Edge when they do move workers onto the newer OS.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Greek Ministry of Energy and Environment has dismissed the information that only European companies can take part in the new tender for privatization of the companys DESFA natural gas grid operator.

In the new tender will be able to take part investors from third countries, but in partnership with the European Gas Transmission System Operator, a source in the ministry told Trend May 2.

In March 2017, the Board of Directors of Greeces Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) decided to proceed with a new tender for DESFA.

Earlier, Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR won a tender in 2013 on the purchase of a 66-percent stake in DESFA for 400 million euros.

SOCAR intended to obtain a 31-percent stake from the Greek government and to buy a 35-percent stake in Hellenic Petroleum.



It was expected that the deal will be closed only after the purchase of at least a 17-percent stake out of SOCARs 66-percent by Italys Snam.



SOCAR, Snam and Greek government have been holding intensive talks against the background of changes in legislation that affected DESFAs financial position and market value.



However, the parties were unable to reach an understanding and consequently, the deal was terminated Nov. 30, 2016.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Azercell Telecom LLC continues to make high speed internet service available for its subscribers by offering the devices with favorable terms. The company has launched a new campaign for its 4,5 million subscribers. Thus, starting from May 1, 2017, Azercell offers 4G backed Iphone 7 and Iphone 5S for AZN 89+ and AZN 55+ respectively, under the 1001 Smartphone campaign. In addition, the company provides an opportunity to enjoy large volume data (5GB/10GB/Unlimited) and favorable call charge (AZN 0,06/min) as a present.

In order to benefit from the campaign, the subscribers are requested to visit Azercell Customer Services in Baku or in the regions. It should be noted, that Azercell is the only mobile operator to conduct the official sales of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in Azerbaijan.

The leader of the mobile communication industry of Azerbaijan and the biggest investor in the non-oil sector Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. With 48% share of Azerbaijans mobile market Azercells network covers 80% of the territory and 99,8% of population of the country. Currently, 4,5 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Azercell has pioneered an important number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, 24/7 Customer Care, online customer services, GPRS/EDGE, M2M, MobilBank, one-stop- shop service offices Azercell Express, mobile e-service ASAN signature, etc. Azercell deployed first 4G  LTE services in Azerbaijan in 2012. According to the results of mobile network quality surveys of Global Wireless Solutions company and international systems specialized in wireless coverage mapping such as Opensignal and Testmy.net, Azercells network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 2

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has exchanged views with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during a phone talk, on topics of mutual interest of regional and international agenda, the Turkmen government said in a message May 2.

Heads of the two neighboring countries noted that the existing high level of mutual understanding between the countries, closeness of positions and approaches on regional and international political issues will further continue to serve as a solid basis for constructive cooperation.

The sides also discussed priorities of cooperation in the context of implementation of agreements and prospective plans reached during the first state visit of the Uzbek leader to Turkmenistan in March 2017.

In March 2017, presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement in Ashgabat on strategic cooperation between the two countries.
The Odd Fellows, a national fraternal organization based in Winston-Salem, is facing criticism after refusing to give a prize to an autistic Oregon boy who won a competition.

Niko Boskovic, 15, of Portland, Ore., recently won an essay contest sponsored by the North Portland Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Niko wrote about the history of Ukraine and received letters of recommendation from his teachers.

David Scheer, the Oregon lodge secretary, said Niko was the clear winner among his competitors and he had earned the prize  a trip to the United Nations in New York City. He said lodge members raised money to cover all costs Niko and a second winner needed to make the trip.

After the national organization learned that Niko is autistic and would need a chaperone, it rescinded the trip offer.

The essay contest, started in 1949 by the national organization, is promoted as an opportunity of a lifetime to observe the United Nations in person while exchanging views on education, politics and religion. It will be held on July 8-18 and July 15-25, in New York.

At the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows on Trade Street, an Odd Fellows representative told a Winston-Salem Journal reporter he had no comment on the groups decision on Niko.

Odd Fellows has not responded to requests for comment from multiple media organizations or provided any statement on the controversy.

Odd Fellows says on its website an Odd Fellow promotes love and friendship and never looks at people with prejudiced eyes or bases his judgment on outward appearances.

Nikos family was stunned by the groups decision to reject him.

After several emails and calls went unanswered, Nikos mother, Loreta Boskovic, received an email from the Odd Fellows executive director.

The Board of Directors has instructed me to tell you this delegate will not be accepted for the tour, the director wrote.

Boskovic said she never received a written explanation for why her son was rejected from the trip.

We cant get any explanation in writing from them, but when I spoke with the gentleman whos the board chair for the UN Youth Program, he said we are not equipped to accept people with disabilities, she said.

The national organization told the Boskovics that they have rejected winners in the past with wheelchairs too.

Niko was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. Because of his condition, he finds it hard to speak, and his family instead gave him a letter board several years ago, which Niko uses to spell out words.

In response to the organizations rejection, the local lodge has pledged not to participate in the essay-writing contest again until the rules are amended to include those with disabilities.

Its disappointing and its disgusting, and it has really made many, many people upset, Scheer said.

Scheer said he has heard nothing from the national organization except a refund of the money the lodge had raised for Niko to travel.

Meanwhile, Niko and his family are fighting back, with the help of Disability Rights Oregon, an advocacy group. They are arguing that in rejecting Niko because of his autism, the Odd Fellows are violating his civil rights outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Not only was I willing to learn, Niko spelled about the trip. But I wanted to be an ambassador, of sorts. Really, these people are making this into a civil rights case.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 2

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend

Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov discussed the cooperation issues with his Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kyrgyz counterpart Erlan Abdyldaev and Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Aslov in Ashgabat, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a message May 2.

The high-ranking delegations arrived in Ashgabat to participate in the sixth meeting of foreign ministers of the countries participating in the Central Asia + Japan dialogue. Earlier, Meredov met with Japanese and Uzbek foreign ministers.

According to the message, at the meeting with the Kazakh delegation, the sides stressed that the cooperation between Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan reached a qualitatively new level due to the political will of the leadership of the two countries.

At the meeting with the Kyrgyz delegation, the sides stressed the role of high-level visits. The cooperation as part of international organizations was mentioned among the priority areas.

At the meeting with the Tajik delegation, the sides discussed the issues of further development of bilateral relations in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian spheres. Ashgabat attaches great importance to the regional cooperation.

The role of major joint projects, namely, the construction of a transnational gas pipeline, through which Turkmen natural gas has been supplied through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China since 2009, as well as the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, commissioned in 2014, has been also stressed.

The railway project which is being currently implemented through the territory of Afghanistan is connected with Tajikistan.

Moreover, the preparatory work is underway to build an additional branch of the transit gas pipeline to China through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Turkmenistan is also considering the possibility of supplying electricity to neighboring countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2



By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that economic independence and self-sufficiency would be realized thanks to domestic production in the country.



Addressing an inaugural ceremony for producing two new cars in Tehran, the president said that the development of domestic production will contribute to the development of the country and even resolving the issue of unemployment, IRNA news agency reported.



The president further touched upon the mass production of two new cars by Iran Khodro, the countrys major carmaker, and said that Dena Plus is a fully home-made vehicle and Peugeot 2008 is jointly produced with France.



According to the president 30 percent of the Peugeot 2008 cars produced in Iran will be exported.



The president added that production of new brands helps the Iranian carmaker to enter the global competition.



Some 233,000 Peugeot vehicles were produced in Iran over 2016, under the license of the French carmaker.



Iran Khodro is a leading Iranian automaker, producing about 600,000 cars a year.
Fans of the namaste bow or tree pose will soon have a new studio to practice their regular stretching and breathing techniques, as Essential Yoga recently held its soft opening at 140 West Richardson Street (upstairs from Katie Mae's) in Summerville's historic downtown area. Read moreEssential Yoga debuts in Summerville
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Irans services exports were materialized by 71 percent during the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2017).

The country exported $13.28 billion worth of services during the period, while the figure was planned to hit $18.775 billion, Irans Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) reported.

Irans services exports registered a fall by 1.3 percent compared to the same period of preceding year (March 20, 2015-2016).

Tourism sector revenues stood at $8.32 billion, while the country exported $2.187 billion worth of technical and engineering services in the 12-month term.

Tourism sector revenues registered an increase by 11 percent, while export of technical and engineering services decreased by 3 percent year-on-year.

The countrys revenues through road transportation and transit stood at $1.993 billion (a 28 percent decrease), followed by air transportation ($344 million, a 21 percent increase), railway ($129 million, a 1 percent fall) and marine transportation ($127 million, a 30 percent fall).

The IT services export hit $180 million during the 12-month period, 44 percent less year-on-year.

The value of the services provided to other countries is planned to reach $30 billion by 2021, Mojtaba Khosrotaj, head of the TPO, said last year.

The value of Irans annual technical and engineering exports stood at $2.257 billion during the fiscal year to March 2016, 154 percent more year-on-year.

Tourism and transportation revenues stood at $7.5 billion and $3.38 billion, respectively, during the same 12-month period.
The US Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-3 Monday in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami [SCOTUSblog materials] that cities can use the Fair Housing Act (FHA) [text] to sue banks for predatory lending practices. At issue were the questions of whether Miami qualified as the kind of party that could bring claims under the FHA and whether the harm the city said it suffered (lost tax revenue) was necessarily tied closely enough to the lending practices for the city to bring the claims. Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer said that the city could bring claims under the FHA, but that a lower court had failed to properly assess whether lost tax revenue was linked closely enough to the lending practices to be covered by the act. The case was sent back to a lower court to decide how closely linked the harm and the lending practices must be to be covered by the FHA. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito, arguing that the kind of harm the city claimed was not the kind for which the FHA intended to provide a remedy. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not take part in the decision.

The Supreme Court heard arguments [JURIST report] in the case in November. The district court had dismissed the citys cases, and the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] reversed [opinion, PDF]. The cases were consolidated for appeal to the Supreme Court into Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami [transcript, PDF].
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Tehran, Iran, May 2

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has described the past sanctions days as very harmful to his country, saying because of the sanctions the country lost huge amounts of money to individuals it trusted.

We were forced in order to bypass the sanctions to entrust $35 billion to certain individuals who we dont know how wasted the money, Zarif told ISNA news agency May 2.

Under a set of harsh sanctions, which were in place from 2012 to 2016, Iran could not receive the money it should have for the oil it sold to other countries. As a result, it chose some people as trustees to carry the money under their own name. As a result of such deals, Babak Zanjani grew to fame as a super billionaire. But he betrayed the country by embezzling stupendous amounts of the money and is now waiting his death sentence execution in a prison in Iran.

Zarif added that under sanctions Iran also had to change money to currencies other than the US dollar, which itself imposed great loss.

Now, the foreign minister noted, thanks to the nuclear deal and removal of sanctions, Iran is paid directly for the oil it sells and is able to attract finance for the projects it plans to carry out.
European dairy giant Arla Foods has played down a report it is preparing to open a production facility in China  but confirmed it remains committed to growing its presence in the country.

Free Whitepaper What is the impact of Chinas Zero-COVID lockdowns on economic activity, consumer goods and the foodservice industry? China in 2022: the impact of Chinas Zero-COVID lockdowns on economic activity, consumer goods and the foodservice industry, to examine the current situation in Shanghai and other cities in China, to better understand the worst-affected industry sectors, foodservice in particular, and to explore potential growth opportunities as China recovers. The white paper covers: Which multinational companies have been affected?

What is the effect of lockdowns on foodservice?

What is the effect of lockdowns on Chinese ports?

Spotlight on Shanghai: what is the situation there?

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What are the potential growth opportunities? While wanting to protect the country from being overwhelmed by Omicron, Chinas adherence to a Zero-COVID policy is resulting in a significant economic downturn. COVID outbreaks in Shanghai, Beijing and many other Chinese cities will impact 2022s economic growth as consumers and businesses experience rolling lockdowns, leading to a slowdown in domestic and international supply chains. Chinas Zero-COVID policy is having a demonstrable impact on consumer-facing industries. Access GlobalDatas new whitepaper,, to examine the current situation in Shanghai and other cities in China, to better understand the worst-affected industry sectors, foodservice in particular, and to explore potential growth opportunities as China recovers. The white paper covers: by GlobalData Enter your details here to receive your free Whitepaper. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Whitepaper By clicking the Download Free Whitepaper button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GlobalData privacy policy By downloading this Whitepaper, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services.



Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address. Thank you.Please check your email to download the Whitepaper.

The Danish business news publication Borsen claimed the group wanted to establish a plant in China to boost domestic and regional sales.

However, an Arla spokesperson told just-food today (2 May): At the moment we have no specific plans in place or decisions made concerning local production in China.

But the spokesperson said Arla is committed to the Chinese dairy market and continues to supply high-quality dairy products to Chinese consumers.

We sell a wide range of products in China  all exported from Europe, the spokesperson said. For example, UHT milk from Germany, organic milk powder from Denmark, powdered milk for all ages from Denmark, plus a small but growing amount of cheese and some butter.

In February, Arla forecast its revenue would grow significantly in 2017 after seeing low global prices put pressure on its top line last year. CFO Natalie Knight told just-food there had been an improvement in prices in the later part of 2016, which the Lurpak butter and Castello cheese maker expected to help boost revenues.

Related Companies
The Philippines licence to Conagra Brands Hunts brand has been acquired by local canned food group Century Pacific Food.

Free Report Whats the forecast for the food and grocery industry? Market drivers and inhibitors

Five-year forecasts and the impact of COVID-19

The performance of the online channel versus offline

Major trends in the market including rapid delivery, ambient retailing, supply chain disruption, and inflation Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. The food and grocery sector thrived during the pandemic, largely due to the shutdown of the food service industry and the sectors subsequent necessity, panic-induced bulk purchasing, and spending more time at home. The market has grown as a result of inflation. Consumer unwillingness to go out and socialize, and the reopening of several hospitality facilities, helped maintain the demand for groceries, particularly online, in 2021. As consumer behavior changes, we consume more food and drink at home, and inflation increases basket sizes. GlobalData predicts that the sector will continue to hold a higher share than had been predicted prior to the pandemic. This is true despite the fact that the food and grocery sector's share of overall retail will decline from its peak in 2020. This report will discuss market forecasts and key themes in the global food & grocery industry in 2022 and beyond. It covers:Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. by GlobalData Enter your details here to receive your free Report. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Report By clicking the Download Free Report button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GlobalData privacy policy By downloading this Report, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services.



Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address. Thank you.Please check your email to download the Report.

Century said it had bought the Hunts licence from Hunt-Universal Robina Corporation, a 50-50 joint venture the US food group has with Philippines food and beverage group Universal Robina Corp.

Conagra launched Hunts in the Philippines in 1984. Products including tomato sauce, marinade sauce and pork and beans are marketed under the brand.

Hunts is a welcome addition, with its local dominance in pork and beans, its emerging presence in condiments, and its potential to be another source of growth for us, CNPF president and CEO Christopher Po said. We are excited to work with ConAgra to further grow the brand locally.

Universal Robina Corp. said Hunts no longer fit its strategy. We have recently conducted a strategic review of our portfolio and have shifted our focus to our core categories, namely snackfoods and beverages, which are geared towards convenience and on-the-go occasions. Given this shift, URC and ConAgra have decided to spin off Hunts to CNPF as we believe that their strength in the grocery category can further add value and take the brand to new levels of growth in the years to come, Lance Gokongwei, Universal Robina Corp.s president and CEO, said.

Asked by just-food why Conagra has offloaded the local licence to Century Pacific Food, Conagra said: It was a business decision that made sense for us in that region.

Financial details were not disclosed.

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Tehran, Iran, May 2

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said Washington will continue to waive its anti-Iran sanctions.

Judging from the JCPOA implementation record so far, I think the US will extend a suspension of the sanctions, Zarif told ISNA news agency May 2.

He noted that during a recent Joint Commission meeting with the JCPOA parties, Iran and the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), stressed their will to continue implementing the JCPOA, Irans nuclear deal, under which the sanctions were removed.

However, the minister pointed out that Washington is doing much to taper down the benefits of the deal for Iran, but maintained that Washington takes care not to violate the deal in word.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson certified on April 18 that Iran is complying with the terms of former President Barack Obama's historic deal to roll back its nuclear program. The certification, made to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), extended sanctions relief to Iran.

In an April 2016 campaign speech, US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran had already violated the deal, immediately after Obama had made it. Trump had vowed he would tear the deal.
Philadelphia, 05/02/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

A new report released by State Farm Insurance reveals the top states for dog bites. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania makes the list. New Jerseys neighbor, New York, also tops the list of the states with the highest number of dog bites. The report also features some alarming statistics about dog bite cases, adds Rand Spear New Jersey and Philadelphia dog bite lawyer.

Stats from the State Farm Dog Bite Report

According to the report, State Farm has seen a 15 percent jump in dog bite claims in just a one-year period. In 2016, State Farm said it paid out over $121 million for over 3,600 dog bite claims.

The report also lists the top 10 states for dog-related injury claims:

California  433 claims

Illinois  323 claims

Ohio  211 claims

Pennsylvania  200 claims

Texas  168 claims

Michigan  167 claims

New York  156 claims

Indiana  137 claims

Georgia  125 claims

Minnesota  122 claims

Tips for Staying Safe Around Dogs

The report also offers advice from a canine expert on how to stay safe around dogs. Tips include:

Familiarize yourself with canine body language  Dog expressions and behaviors arent always the same as the expressions and reactions humans use. For example, a dog yawning may not be a sign of tiredness. Instead, its usually an indication that a dog is annoyed.

 Dog expressions and behaviors arent always the same as the expressions and reactions humans use. For example, a dog yawning may not be a sign of tiredness. Instead, its usually an indication that a dog is annoyed. Give dogs plenty of space  Animals can feel threatened when theyre crowded. Let a dog choose to be near you  not the other way around.

 Animals can feel threatened when theyre crowded. Let a dog choose to be near you  not the other way around. Treat dogs humanely  Dogs that are well treated are less likely to lash out. Never use physical punishment, pain, or fear as a training method.

Dog trainers point out that 65 percent of American households have a dog. If youre a dog owner, its important to be a responsible one. Invest in obedience training, and make sure that any children in your household or family know how to safely interact with your dog. Parents of young children should also take time to teach their kids about dog safety  something thats important regardless of whether their household has a dog.

Rand Spear a Philadelphia dog bite lawyer explains, Many people treat their dogs like family members. Dogs may be mans best friend, but they are still animals. They have instincts, and when theyre frightened or in pain, they react instinctively. Responsible dog owners always make sure that their pets are properly trained and kept on a leash or inside a closed fence when theyre outside.

Contact a Philadelphia Dog Bite Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog, you have important rights. Dont wait to speak to a dog bite lawyer about your case. Protect your rights by calling Philadelphia and New Jersey dog bite lawyer Rand Spear today at 877-GET-RAND.

source: http://randspear.com/2017/04/24/philadelphia-dog-bite-injury-lawyer-discusses-pa-top-state-dog-bites/

Social Media Tags:Philadelphia Dog Bite Injury Lawyer, Philadelphia Dog Bite Injury, PA as a Top State for Dog Bites, Philadelphia Top State for Dog Bites

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In recent years, Europes traditional powerhouse wine-producing regions from Bordeaux and Burgundy to Tuscany and the Piedmont have begun to adopt more tourist-friendly approaches. Imposing chateaux and domaines once open only to wine professionals, now also host the public in new tasting rooms. Well-marked wine-tasting routes abound. Visitors from emerging markets like those in Asia are welcomed with open arms.

Photo Credit: Mirek Nowaczyk / Shutterstock.com

However, travelers searching for more up-and-coming wine regions to explore should look further east to Hungary. Though this is where some of Europes best wines have been made for centuries, because of 20th-century events, Hungarys famous vineyards have gone largely unnoticed for decades. That is quickly changing, though, as world-renowned appellations like Tokaj regain their fame, and dynamic winemakers are once again putting Hungarys vineyards back in the spotlight.

Photo Credit: Ritz-Carlton

Thanks to Hungarys size and transportation network, not to mention luxury agencies like WineAmore, who can compile a variety of itineraries to suit any time frame, its easier than ever to put together a fabulous tasting trip here. So whether you want to spend just a day or two outside Budapest, or more time out in the hinterlands, theres plenty to see, do and taste.

Photo Credit: Ritz-Carlton

Begin in Budapest

While you could certainly rush right out to the wine regions, spend a day or two in the countrys capital at either end of your trip. Four Seasons Gresham Palace is one of Europes most lauded landmark hotels, though for luxury with a more contemporary touch, the Ritz-Carlton, Budapest opened a few blocks from the Danube on historic Erzsebet Square, taking over the historic Elizabeth Park Hotel.

The building dates back to 1913, and was originally the offices of the Adria Insurance Company. You can still marvel at the allegorical Art Deco sculptures adorning its exterior cornices and the Kupola Lounges breathtaking stained-glass dome.

Photo Credit: Gellert Spa

Though there are certainly high-end restaurants like Costes, for something a little more funky and contemporary, head to Menza, which takes mid-century roadside restaurants as its inspiration, with updates on Hungarian classics.

Of course, you should also visit the sights like the imposing castle and its various museums in Buda, and the stalls hawking delicious dishes at the colorfully tiled Great Market Hall. But be sure to block out an afternoon to luxuriate in one of the citys signature thermal baths. Though the extensive indoor-outdoor complex at Szechenyi is the most-visited, the more sedate Belle Epoque grandeur of Gellert might make more of an impression.

Photo Credit: Degenfeld

Touchdown in Tokaj

Hungarys most famous wine region is Tokaj. Which is just about a 2.5-hour train ride from Budapest, though WineAmore can also arrange a private chauffeur for your trip.

The nectar-like wines from here, called tokaji, were sought after the world over for centuries. In fact, tokaji used to be referred to as the wine of kings and the king of wines because it was beloved by so many royals, including the likes of Louis XIV. Emperor Franz Josef of the Austro-Hungarian empire even used to send Queen Victoria a case of the stuff on her birthday each yearone bottle for every month she had lived.

Photo Credit: Oremus

Though the wines from here have traditionally been quite sweet, these days, you can try those that range from tart, tangy table wines to syrupy, viscous Eszencia, and everything in between.

Among the must-see heavy hitters are Oremus, which is owned by Vega-Sicilia, and where you can get a benchmark for the range of high-quality wines being produced in the area these days. Szent Tamas in the town of Mad is another landmark winery with classified vineyards dating to the 18th century. Nearby, the winery and tasting room at Holdvolgy are contemporary and sleek, while underneath lies a two-kilometer network of caves and tunnels, some of which date back 600 years (theres a fun maze-like route that takes you from tasting station to candle-lit tasting station during your visit).

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Back in the town of Tarcal, spend the night at a former wine school that has been converted into an elegant hotel called Grof Degenfeld. The rooms here are grand and spacious with parquet floors, ceiling-height windows and crystal chandeliers. You can begin your evening with a tasting of the propertys vast range of table and sweet wines in the antique-filled library, then settle in for a leisurely meal of sophisticated fare like slow-roasted leg of duck with creamed cabbage and spaetzle gratin.

Though you could spend several more days here exploring the regions various terroirs, if you are short on time, you can always catch a train or car to one of Hungarys other significant wine regions, this one for both red and white wines

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Eager for Eger

The town of Eger is presided over by a massive castle that was the scene of an infamous Ottoman siege in 1552. A few thousand Hungarian soldiers were able to hold off an invading force of 40,000 Turks (though it fell to them decades later in another battle).

The incident is enshrined in the regions wine history as well because the Turks, marveling at the valor of the defenders, noted that they seemed to fortify themselves by drinking something red. The invaders thought it must be bulls blood for the reviving effect it had on the troops. However, legend has it, it was actually red wine made there. While the legend has been disproven, you can still try Bikaver wine, which means bulls blood, and which must contain at least three of 13 approved grapes, to this day.

Photo Credit: Ungvari Attila / Shutterstock.com

Eger is the region of wine blends, with over 60 known grape varietiesboth red and whitein common cultivation. St. Andrea is a good place to start your tasting because in addition to creating masterful blends, the father-son winemaking team here also tease out vineyard and bloc-specific wines that really gives visitors a solid sense of the areas diverse terroirs. The Nagy-Eged-Hegy comes from one of the most interesting of thesea limestone hill with steep slopes that produces reds of tremendous vitality and minerality.

Photo Credit: Gal Tibor

Back in town, make time for a visit to one of the modern winemaking pioneers in the area, Gal Tibor winery and its Fuzio Winebar. As you taste through the lineup, you can also enjoy small plates or peruse the little wine museum with an exhibit on the various volcanic soil types of Eger.

While hotel options are limited, the Imola Udvarhaz is quite central and the restaurant has some surprisingly sophisticated tasting menus that include dishes like foie gras brulee with homemade milk loaf and plum jam.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Thirsty for Hungary

Though its not on many oenophiles must-visit list at the moment, that wont be the case for much longer as Hungarys wine industry continues to develop and the world rediscovers the amazing vintages for which its vineyards were once world-renowned. That makes now the perfect time to travel here, while there are still delightful discoveries to be made without the crowds of tourists that are sure to appear before long.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Yusuf bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), will pay an official two-day visit to Azerbaijan on May 2, the OIC said in a message.

During the visit, the OIC secretary general will meet with top Azerbaijani officials, according to the message.

He will also participate in the inauguration of the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, to be held in Baku May 5-6.

Yusuf bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen will deliver a statement before the forum, in which he will note the importance of the dialogue between various cultures as a bridge that links societies and cultures, reads the message.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

The number of tourists from Russia who visited Turkeys Antalya Province in April 2017 grew by 14.5 times compared to April last year, said the report of the Antalya Province governorate.

Last month, 189,000 tourists from Russia visited the Antalya Province, according to the report. For comparison, in April of last year it was 12,144 tourists.

In general, 526,000 tourists arrived in the Antalya Province last month, which is 37 percent more than in April 2016.

Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Huseyin Yayman said earlier that Turkey expects to receive five million tourists from Russia this year.

As many as 25.35 million foreigners visited Turkey in 2016, which is 30.05 percent less than in 2015.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has joined the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish media reported May 2.

Binali Yildirim, head of the party, proposed Erdogan's candidacy for the post of the party leader at the ceremony held for this occasion.

Earlier, partys member Yasin Aktay said that the partys executive committee decided to hold an extraordinary congress on May 21.

During the extraordinary congress, a new chairman of the party will be elected, Aktay said. President Erdogan is expected to become the partys chairman.

Erdogan is the founder and ex-leader of the AKP, established in 2001. He left the party in 2014 due to his election as president.

The previous extraordinary congress of the party was held on May 22, 2016. The new head of the party was elected after the resignation of the then Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Yildirim became the only candidate and was elected party leader at the extraordinary congress in 2016.

A referendum on amendments to the Turkish Constitution was held April 16. According to one of the amendments, the countrys president can be a member of a political party.
A high-speed train ICE 945 heading from the western German city of Bochum for Berlin derailed on Monday near a railway station in the city of Dortmund, Sputnik reported citing local media.

The incident occurred at about 16:47 GMT as the train was passing a railroad switch, the Bild media outlet reported.

Nobody was injured in the incident, according to media. Causes of the derailment remain unknown.

The deadliest crash in the history of German high-speed trains occurred on June 3, 1998, near the city of Eschede, when a wheel fracture resulted in the trains derailment. The derailed train collided with a bridge causing its collapse. The incident left 101 people killed and 88 injured.
Three Egyptian police officers were killed and five more injured as a result of an attack on a police post in Cairo, Sputnik reported citing local media.

The incident took place in the district of Nasr City on late Monday when attackers on two cars approached to the police officers and opened fire at them, the Al-Ahram media outlet reported.

The Egyptian security forces are searching for the attackers, whose motives remain unknown.
International finger-pointing will not bring justice for the chemical attack in Syria. With tensions running high, only a thorough investigation can reveal the truth and diffuse the critical situation.

The recent US airstrikes on the Al-Shaayrat airbase were the first time in six years that Washington has directly interfered in the Syrian conflict, and they bring to the surface memories of the US invasion of Iraq, in March 2003.

These warlike actions have triggered a diplomatic row throughout the international community. The question of who is responsible for the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoum, in the district of Idlib, which killed dozens of civilians, remains open. It also seems clear that US President Donald Trumps order for the raid was not only a knee-jerk reaction to the use of chemical weapons but should be seen in a wider geopolitical context. The blame game has started once again and the international community is deeply divided and apprehensive as to what will follow.

United States

At the United Nations, on 7 April, US Ambassador Nikki Hailey delivered an accusatory speech blaming the use of chemical weapons on the Syrian regime. Hailey claimed: Assad did this [chemical attack] because he thought he could get away with it as he knew Russia would have his back. A different opinion was expressed by Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who affirmed during a CNN interview that what matters here is the evidence and the facts, after having characterised Trumps military airstrikes as reckless. In addition, Gabbard acknowledged being sceptical of Assads involvement in the chemical attack.

Moreover, CNNs Wolf Blitzer asked Gabbard whether she believed the Pentagons claims of having evidence to prove Assads culpability. She replied that they did not bring up that evidence before Congress, to the American people, further adding that they have not sought authorisation from Congress to launch this military action on another country. The Congresswoman accused the US of for years waging this war covertly through the CIA in order to overthrow the Syrian government.

Meanwhile, on 11 April, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went on his first official visit to Russia with the arduous quest of trying to convince Moscow to choose sides. Tillerson posed a friendly ultimatum to Moscow, requesting that the Russians join the US and their like-minded people or remain on the side of Assad and Iran.

Syria and Russia

Syrias Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Moallem stated on Thursday, 6 April, that the Syrian Army did not use chemical weapons even against the terrorists who threaten their own people. As for Russian President Vladimir Putin, he considers the US strikes on Syria to represent an act of aggression against a sovereign country violating the norms of international law. Furthermore, the Russian leader requested the US to provide the evidence they claim to have: Show it to UN observers and at the Security Council, said Putin.

The recent veto from Russia at the Security Council on the draft US-UK resolution to punish Assad for the chemical attack thus came as no surprise.

Europes reactions

The US attack hailed a low-point for trust between Russia and the US, prompting international reactions that reveal very different positions. Overall in the West, the main chorus of voices can be heard clinging to the premise that Assad must go.

Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have attributed responsibility for the attacks to Assad alone. Merkel characterised the US airstrikes as understandable, given the critical situation in Syria.

The UK has also stood beside the US, with Prime Minister Theresa May demanding an investigation into the attack, while defending the view that Assad cannot stay in power. Yet, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stated that Britain would not be joining airstrikes in Syria. A different position was adopted by Peter Ford, an ex-UK Ambassador who gave an interview defending that it is highly unlikely that Assad or Russia were behind the chemical attacks. Ford claims that the Assad regime was aware that it would never have benefited from such an assault.

If this form of atrocity seems like an act of desperation, why would the Syrian regime jeopardise its reputation in a war in which it is has lately gained the upper hand? Equally odd is the immediate response by the US, just two days after the incident. A fact that gave the Russian Foreign Ministry an good opportunity to accuse Washington of preparing the airstrikes long before the attack in Idlib.

At EU level, Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini was quick to respond to the chemical attack, saying that there was a primary responsibility from the Syrian government. However, on behalf of the EU, she has condemned the US airstrikes of 6 April. At the same time, following her recent official visit to Moscow, Mogherini reaffirmed the EUs stance on extending Russian sanctions.

NATOs Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an official statement that the Syrian regime bears the full responsibility for this development. The organisations chief further stated that NATO has consistently condemned Syrias continued use of chemical weapons as a clear breach of international norms and agreements, even though, so far, no real proof of such accusations has been made public.

Turkey and the Israeli connection

Turkey belittled the US attack as a cosmetic intervention that will not serve to oust Assad. Israel and its security officials, meanwhile, said it was only highly probable that the chemical attack was carried out by the Syrian regime.

There is another surprising thing about Trumps swift military response: the policy that he promptly followed was very much aligned with Hillary Clintons conviction, as revealed by Wikileaks, that the best way to help Israel deal with Irans growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad, an ally of would-be nuclear power Iran.

According to the Syrian analyst Afraa Dagher, it was no coincidence that the US chose Al-shaayrat airbase as a target: The Al-Shaayrat airbase was the place from which Syria fired anti-missile Sam rockets at attacking Israeli warplanes, two weeks ago. Syria downed one of the four warplanes, hit another and forced the remaining two fighter jets to quickly fly out of Syrian airspace. Dagher believes Trumps actions have sent a strong message of support to Israel, which continues its illegal occupation of the Syrian territory of Golan Heights.

Further research from the Canada-based organisation Global Research has brought to light information stating that the Pentagon trained Syrias Al-Qaeda rebels in the use of chemical weapons. This piece of news was originally published in the British Daily Mail in January 2013, but it has vanished from the website after the controversy around the mysterious chemical attack followed by the US airstrikes on Syria. Furthermore, before these airstrikes, Assad gave an interview to a Cypriot paper, in which he pointedly stated that to protect Europe from terrorists, (the West) should stop backing them in Syria.

Wikileaks revelations with Geopolitical Implications

To add fuel to this diplomatic conflict, Wikileaks revealed US State Department plans to destabilise Syria and overthrow the Syrian government as early as 2006. Additional cables revealed the existence of CIA involvement on the ground in Syria, fomenting mass demonstrations as early as March 2011.

The leaks suggest direct involvement by the Israeli government in the plans to provoke civil conflict and sectarianism through partnership with nations like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt, aimed at demolishing the power structure in Syria in order to weaken Iran and Hezbollah.

According to Mint Press News, It became then evident that the US, UK, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey would be jumping on to organise, arm and finance rebels from the Free Syrian Army. In 2012, The Group of Friends of the Syrian People was created by these very nations with an agenda to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The plan was to use a number of different factors to create paranoia within the Syrian government; to push it to overreact, to make it fear a coup, said Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

As always, global energy supply may shed some light on possible geopolitical motivations. According to one view by Dmitry Minin, published in May 2013 by the Strategic Cultural Foundation, based in Moscow, a battle is raging over whether pipelines will go toward Europe from east to west, from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean coast of Syria, or take a more northbound route from Qatar and Saudi Arabia via Syria and Turkey. Having realised that the stalled Nabucco pipeline, and indeed the entire Southern Corridor, are backed up only by Azerbaijans reserves and can never equal Russian supplies to Europe or thwart the construction of the South Stream, the West is in a hurry to replace them with resources from the Persian Gulf. Syria ends up being a key link in this chain, and it leans in favour of Iran and Russia; thus, it was decided in the Western capitals that its regime needs to change.

Whats next?

Russia and Iran, the alliance behind Assad, have warned that they will retaliate should red lines be crossed again. While the drums of war are being banged with increasing intensity and the investigations at a standstill, with Russia and the West unable or unwilling to agree even on basic facts, it is crucial to conduct an independent, in-depth investigation in order to bring to justice those who are responsible for the chemical attacks in Syria.
A military jet crashed in central Colombia leaving eight servicemen dead, countrys President Juan Manuel Santos said, Sputnk reported.

Our solidarity with relatives of the victims of the Colombian armys jet crash in [the department of] Cundinamarca. Eight people lost their lives, Santos wrote on his Twitter page on late Monday.

According to the preliminary data provided by emergency services, the Cessna Caravan jet was heading from the military base in the department of Tolima for the area north of the countrys capital of Bogota.

According to local media reports, the jet may have collided with a telecommunication antenna.
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With 259 geographical locations across Switzerland with at least one watch retailer, finding a place to buy a watch in the birthplace of fine watchmaking is no major challenge. According to a recent report published by the Mercury Project, there are 978 watch retail outlets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, each stocking on average 9.1 watch brands in its collection.

But where you should look to buy a watch in Switzerland depends on what exactly you are looking for. Cities like Basel, Berne, Lausanne and St. Gallen have a higher proportion of chain retailers, who are more likely to stock watches costing less than 1,000 Swiss francs. These retailers, which include stores like Manor, Christ and Coop City, will typically stock the top three watch brands sold in Switzerland: Certina, Fossil and Tissot.

If you are looking for luxury watches, you need to head for Zurich or Geneva, which are not surprisingly the two cities with the greatest number of watch stores in Switzerland. While you might naturally think of Geneva, with its proximity to the head offices of many of the worlds biggest names in watchmaking, as the best place to buy a Swiss watch, subtle differences mean that Zurich could actually be a better place to buy a watch in Switzerland. The Mercury Project uses a Brand Density Score (the cumulative total of brands available at stores in the city) to give an idea of the choice available. At 819, the figure is much higher for Zurich than for Geneva (677) because of the high number of mono-brand boutiques in Geneva. So if you are looking for a particular brand, Geneva is probably the better option (and the Geneva Watch Tour offers a practical way of taking in the citys watch stores and sites of horological interest), but if you are looking for overall choice, then Switzerlands financial centre is the place to go.

For overall choice across all price segments, however, you need to follow the tourists in Switzerland. They buy their watches in picturesque locations like Interlaken and Lucerne. Although there are fewer stores in these locations, particularly in the tiny tourist trap of Interlaken, there is a much better choice across all price segments to account for the demands of the tourist trade. Interlaken in particular has the biggest choice of brands in Switzerland, with an average of 12.4 brands available in each store. Finding your ideal watch in Switzerland can therefore also be a great way to see the sights of Switzerland!

Top retail locations for buying watches in Switzerland*

City Stores BDS Brands/store Zurich 89 819 9.2 Geneva 97 677 7.0 Lucerne 49 499 10.2 Basel 29 343 11.8 Interlaken 24 297 12.4 Bern 27 254 9.4 Lausanne 29 192 6.6 Lugano 24 171 7.1 St. Gallen 17 154 9.1 Zermatt 20 113 5.7

*by BDS  Brand Density Score calculated by the Mercury Project.

For more information on the Mercury Project, contact Thierry Huron: thierry.huron@mercuryproject.ch.
HOLDREGE  Most groundwater monitoring wells near Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District canals recorded slight increases or no change in levels from spring 2016 to spring 2017.

The April-to-April comparisons were presented at Mondays CNPPID board meeting in Holdrege by Central Irrigation Division Manager Dave Ford.

He said spring comparisons from 2007-2017 show about equal increases and declines recorded by the 132 wells, with most of the declines in Phelps and Kearney counties east of Holdrege.

That pattern also is clear in comparisons to baseline groundwater measurements taken from 1981-85, Ford said, with average declines of 13 feet in observation wells east of Holdrege.

Ford and Tri-Basin Natural Resources District General Manager John Thorburn of Holdrege said the longer-term comparisons may involve some artificial highs in groundwater levels during the wet 1990s.

Ford said the rise in groundwater levels in parts of Gosper County shows the effects of putting water into Elwood Reservoir for groundwater recharge at times of high Platte River flows. Those recharge efforts benefit return flows to both the Platte and Republican rivers.

We intended to start Elwood Reservoir, start the pumps, but were waiting on electricity, he said, referring to snow-related power outages in the area that lingered into Monday. The plan is to run two of the pumps through May.

Surface water supplies in the Platte Basin also are good, with Lake McConaughy now at elevation 3254.9 and a volume of 1.45 million acre-feet, or 83.3 percent of capacity, according CNPPID Civil Engineer Cory Steinke.

He said lake releases will ramp up for Nebraska Public Power District after nearly two weeks of lower releases to allow removal of a vehicle that was in NPPDs Keystone Canal.

Im looking at not spilling (extra water) from Lake McConaughy now, Steinke said, because there is room to capture inflows from the North Platte Basin that are expected to be relatively high into June. Snowpack in the North Platte and South Platte basins is at or near the May 1 average, he added.

Also Monday, the board approved a budget revision for an additional $152,000 to continue a project started about 10 years ago to replace electromechanical relays and add generator protection relays at the Jeffrey, J-1 and J-2 hydropower plants.

Engineering Services Manager Eric Hixon said current relays date back to 1950-1972 and upgrades also are needed to meet Federal Energy Regulatory Commission standards by next fall to avoid further review by that agency.

This will get us almost done with mechanical and electrical relays, Hixon said, adding that hydro down times for the equipment replacement work will depend on water flows in the CNPPID system.

The board accepted the low bid from SEL Engineering Services of Lakewood, Colo., for the project.

Public Relations Coordinator Jeff Buettner said it will be known soon if the $10.6 million in general funds earmarked for the Nebraska Water Sustainability Fund will be cut in the budget still to be approved by the Nebraska Legislature.

Buettner said last weeks forecast of an even-greater-than-expected state revenue shortfall led to a request by Gov. Pete Ricketts to cut in half the money for the water projects fund.

The Legislatures Appropriations Committee meets today, and a new budget is required by day 80 of the legislative session, Buettner said. Today is day 74.

In other business, the board:

- Was reminded by Public Relations Assistant Holly Rahmann that registrations opened Monday for the 2017 Water & Natural Resources Tour sponsored by CNPPD and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Water Center. The June 27-29 tour will include stops at CNPPID, Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, and Republican Basin streamflow enhancement projects.

A brochure is posted at www.cnppid.org.

- Was updated by Gothenburg Division Manager Devin Brundage on a FERC-required boundary review to ensure CNPPID owns or leases adequate land for control and/or access around lakes, canals and other project-related operations. The review started in the early 2000s with Johnson Lake and Lake McConaughy, recently was completed for the supply canal and smaller lakes, and will be submitted to the FERC.
Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker rushed to the jails secure inmate entrance Monday morning to see two of his men wounded on the floor.

It had been breached from the inside. He found two deputies shot  one of them died soon after.

Danker watched as the deputies received first aid from jail nurses and medics. He saw a broken garage door, busted by the van used to transport inmates. He saw blood.

Its just a shocking scene to walk into, Danker said just a few hours later.

A whirlwind pursuit of an escaped inmate across state lines on Monday morning that lasted less than 30 minutes ended with the man being captured, but heartbreak for the slain deputys family and the law enforcement family.

Mark Burbridge, 43, a 12-year veteran, died roughly an hour after he was shot.

Danker said the loss of Burbridge was something that law enforcement officers hope they never have to experience.

We lost one officer today, Danker said. Excellent man. Were going to miss him.

Burbridge had worked on road patrol, investigations and, most recently, court security.

(He) always was happy, jovial, Danker said. He was a good deputy.

Another deputy, Pat Morgan, 59, a 10-year department veteran, also was injured in the shooting, which occurred about 10:55 a.m. Morgan was shot in the lower torso, an injury that officials said was not life-threatening.

A memorial is placed outside the Pottawattamie County Courthouse on Monday in Council Bluffs.

The shooting occurred after the two deputies drove inmate Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 24, back to jail from the courthouse. Correa-Carmenaty had just been sentenced as part of a plea deal to 45 years in prison with no possibility of parole for 29 years, for voluntary manslaughter in the 2016 killing of Anthony J. Walker.

In court, he had acted cold and spoke flatly, according to Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber.

Speaking through a Spanish translator, Correa-Carmenaty directed his words toward his victims family: He died because he was an idiot.

The victims mother fled from the room in tears.

Ive never had one purposefully tweak the family, ever, Wilber said. I regret (the plea deal) because he was so unremorseful.

Wilber said he thinks Correa-Carmenaty, whose last known address was in Council Bluffs, is from Puerto Rico.

Correa-Carmenaty wasnt combative in court, but later he attacked Burbridge and Morgan upon being let out of the van at the jail about 10:55 a.m., officials said.

Danker said inmates wrists are cuffed and ankles are shackled during transport, per policy. He didnt know if Correa-Carmenaty was wearing a chain around his waist that restricted his arms.

Im sure that the deputies, when they put him in that van, coming from the courthouse, that he was shackled, Danker said. You hear across the country where prisoners who are in shackles end up getting out and doing all kinds of things.

Correa-Carmenaty grabbed one of the deputies guns and fired shots, Danker said, striking Burbridge and Morgan. As of late Monday afternoon, authorities didnt know how many shots or which deputys gun was used. The deputies did not return fire.

Correa-Carmenaty fled in the transport van and drove through the closed garage door.

A few blocks away, at 16th Street and Big Lake Road, Council Bluffs resident Jeffery Duncan, his mother and 3-year-old son were headed to the Sheriffs Office to pick up some paperwork. Duncan said they had turned right onto Big Lake Road from 16th Street when they saw the white transport van.

Duncan said his mother stopped her car because the van was coming into their lane. A man in a yellow jumpsuit then got out of the drivers-side door of the van. Duncan said the mans legs were shackled but his hands were free, and he had a gun.

The man pointed the gun at someone in the car in front of them, but the car sped off, Duncan said. No law enforcement officers were in sight, he said.

The armed man then started coming toward Duncans mothers car. His mother also sped off. When they reached the Sheriffs Office, they told deputies what they had witnessed and were told to wait inside the lobby until it was safe.

Duncan said he recognized the man in the jumpsuit because Walker, the victim in the March 2016 fatal shooting, was a family friend.

Timeline: Council Bluffs inmate escapes; Iowa deputy dead

A Pottawattamie County sheriff's deputy was fatally injured Monday when he was shot at the jail by an escaping inmate.

Correa-Carmenaty is arrested without further incident and declines medical treatment. Hes taken to the Douglas County Jail. He is expected to be returned to Iowa to face charges related to the deputies shooting.

Correa-Carmenaty then unsuccessfully tried to steal a Chevy S-10 pickup, Danker said. The 30-year-old driver, Jerry Brittain, was shot once in the neck. His injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials said. Brittain, like Morgan, was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center. Both were listed in fair condition Monday afternoon.

The passenger in the S-10 was not injured. The prison van was abandoned at 25th Street and Avenue I in Council Bluffs. Seeing the van on the grass, 31-year-old Amy Kanger stopped to see if anyone was hurt.

Correa-Carmenaty then kidnapped Kanger and took her car, Danker said.

Kanger was released in Omaha at a liquor store at 30th Street and Laurel Avenue. She alerted Omaha police to what happened about 11:15 a.m., and officers began looking for the car, a Nissan Altima.

Officers spotted the car at about 30th Street and Ames Avenue and pursued it south on 30th Street, then west on Cuming Street, through a U-turn at Saddle Creek Road and back east on Cuming. Speeds during the chase reached 80 mph.

Officers tried to stop the car with stop sticks three times, but the car didnt stop until it hit a wall at Cuming Street and the I-480 entrance ramp.

Correa-Carmenatys hands were free and a gun was found in the car, said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who was at the Monday afternoon press conference in the Bluffs.

Minutes after the car crashed, dispatchers announced that Correa-Carmenaty was in custody. He refused medical treatment and was booked into the Douglas County Jail. Wilber said he has spoken to Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine about charges.

We want him prosecuted over here, Wilber said, who plans to file warrants for first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping and maybe others, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Condolences for the slain deputy began showing up on social media even before his death was officially announced. A Council Bluffs police officer leaving the Bluffs police station said of the deputy, I knew him, and he was a good guy. He and another officer were putting black bands on their police badges.

Area law enforcement officers also were changing their Twitter profile pictures to a photo of the badge of a Pottawattamie County sheriffs deputy covered with a black band.

Schmaderer offered words of support from a veterans perspective  nearly two years ago, Officer Kerrie Orozco was killed while apprehending a fugitive.

When we faced tragedy ... all the law enforcement on this side of the river was there for us, he said at a press conference at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse. Obviously, theres going to be some time for some mourning. My suggestion is, hold your heads up high. ... Were very proud of what you do.

The last Pottawattamie County sheriffs deputy to die in the line of duty was Chief Deputy Duane Otto, who died Oct. 8, 1981, in Minden, Iowa. Otto was fatally injured when a roof of a porch fell on him as deputies entered a home.

The last deputy to be shot and killed in the line of duty was Special Deputy Claude Dail. Dail was accidentally shot Aug. 25, 1932, when a riot gun inadvertently discharged while he was protecting the Squirrel Cage Jail from rioters during the 1932 Farmers Union Strike.

Asked how the public could help the Sheriffs Office, Danker said he couldnt think of anything specific, but he said he and his deputies appreciate the communitys support.

Weve always had great support from the community, he said.

Residents were quick to respond to the days tragic news.

Minutes after the press conference, members of the Good Times off-roading club began rumbling into a parking lot on the west end of the Bluffs. They parked their pickup trucks and stood, flags in hand, beside busy West Broadway. Member Julie Duesler of Bellevue, holding her toddlers hand, said word had gone out in the group to gather after work Monday.

They were going to caravan across Council Bluffs, but police asked them not to, she said. So they stood. And passing drivers honked.

Were just showing our support for our community and our officers, Duesler said.

Memorials also began to grow at the jail and elsewhere in Council Bluffs.

At the Masonic Temple a block from the courthouse, an American flag whipped in the cold wind. Beneath it, a black flag with a blue line waved  a tribute to law enforcement.

Then, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds for the first time in days.

World-Herald staff writers Kevin Cole, Andrew J. Nelson, Jay Withrow and Christopher Burbach contributed to this report, which also includes material from the World-Herald News Service.

*****

Suspect was involved in fatal 2016 shooting

Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 24, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in January. He was one of three men involved in the fatal shooting of Anthony Walker on March 7, 2016.

About 6:30 p.m. that day, Council Bluffs police officers arrived at an apartment at 116 Glen Ave. after receiving a report that shots had been fired there.

Officers found Walker dead with a gunshot wound to his chest. They also learned that 32-year-old Patrick Schutz had gone to Mercy Hospital by private vehicle with a gunshot wound to an arm.

A witness told police a man had fled in a black Chevrolet Impala. Police found the car on a nearby street and took Correa-Carmenaty, its driver, into custody. Correa-Carmenaty told police he and another man had gone to the apartment to rob people of weed and money.

Correa-Carmenaty and two other Bluffs men were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree robbery. Correa-Carmenaty pleaded guilty to amended charges; in addition to attempted murder, according to court documents, he also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree robbery. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison Monday.

The plea came five years after Correa-Carmenaty pleaded guilty to carjacking with intent to cause serious bodily harm after an incident in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to federal court documents. In 2012, a U.S. district judge sentenced him to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Andrew J. Nelson, Emily Nitcher
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Millions of Tourists Swarm Sites Across China over Long May Day Holiday Weekend

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The Nebraska Retail Federation introduced a promotion last week intended to distinguish brick-and-mortar retailers from out-of-state and online sellers. In July the Nebraska Federation will name three 2017 Nebraska Retail Champions  one from each of Nebraskas three congressional districts.

All three retailers will receive an expense paid trip to the 2017 Americas Retail Champion competition in Washington D.C, July 17-19 to emphasize the contributions local retailers make to their community.

The Nebraska Retail Federations Retail Champions recognition is an opportunity for any individual, organization or cause that has asked local retailers for donations of merchandise or money to repay the generosity. Nominate a deserving retailer by May 15 by submitting the nomination to Rich Otto at: rich@nebraskaretail.com.

- Stamp out Hunger: Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers can be proud that their annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive is in its 25th year. The 2017 event is planned from 8:45-11:30 a.m., May 13 and as usual, donors will be able to help postal carriers in their efforts to gather food for the needy. For more information about volunteering to assist with the drive, contact the Kearney Area United Way at 237-6840.

- Cinco de Mayo: Many U.S. citizens believe May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, celebrates Mexican independence, but that is incorrect. Independence Day in Mexico is observed on Sept. 16, the date in 1810 when a call to arms went out among Mexicans to declare war against the Spanish colonial government.

The makings of Cinco de Mayo can be traced to 1861, a year that found Mexico in the poor house, having defaulted on payments to several European governments, including France. Led by Napoleon III, the French sent an army to demand repayment, but it backfired. On May 5, 1862 a force of 2,000 Mexicans drove back the 6,000 French troops. The battle spoiled Napoleons hopes to squeeze money out of the Mexicans and start his own empire in North America.

Napoleons loss is our gain, as Cinco de Mayo has evolved here in the United States into a day to celebrate the culture of Mexico with food, music and drink.
As our Nebraska Legislature considers the budget shortfall for the next two years, we were fortunate to have the Appropriations Committee support behavioral health (mental health and substance use) services by not cutting rates. However, the forecasting board has predicted another shortfall, and a 3-percent Medicaid cut may be on the table.

We just read in the Hastings Tribune of a family sharing the tragedy of their childs death by suicide. It takes courage to share such a painful and personal story. The Kearney community is concerned about the increase in teen suicide. Behavioral health has many facets and sometimes it is hard to pinpoint.

It is the youth who has suicidal thoughts, someone sitting in prison due to their untreated mental illness, a parent with a substance abuse disorder who had their child placed in foster care. Thoughts also are caused by an opioid addiction, a crippling depression, an anxiety disorder that interferes with normal activities; a reaction to traumatic events; someone unable to stop drinking despite numerous attempts as the cravings are so strong. It affects people at all socioeconomic levels.

It can be short-term or chronic. The good news is we have treatments and supports that work.

Behavioral health is essential to overall health. Historically, these disorders are shrouded in secrecy and stigma, causing individuals not to seek treatment. During a year, one out of five has a diagnosable mental health or substance use disorder. On a college campus this is one out of four. Half of those with mental health conditions have symptoms by age 14 and 75 percent by age 24; although very few get treatment.

Can you imagine not having access to treatment if you had cancer, diabetes or cardiovascular disease or being afraid what people might think?

South Central Behavioral Services has been a cornerstone for Kearney, Hastings and surrounding counties since 1974. SCBS served more than 2,200 individuals this past year and of these, 300 are considered to have a severe mental disorder that can be disabling.

Many used to reside in the Hastings Regional Center at a cost that would be significantly higher in present day dollars than investing in community based services. Not only have these individuals been able to live in the community, but critical services are available to them through a well-coordinated network of behavioral health providers in our communities, including local hospitals.

One of our more successful programs is Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) which is a nationally recognized evidenced-based program, one of three in the state and the only program outside Lincoln and Omaha. ACT was developed in Hastings by dedicated, forward thinking staff at the Hastings Regional Center for those with severe mental illness and repeated psychiatric hospitalizations.

The program was transferred to SCBS nine years ago. In January, ACT programs received a 10-percent cut in Medicaid rates. Additional cuts to any behavioral health service could be devastating.

SCBS provides 24/7 crisis response; outpatient substance use and mental health treatment, foster care, a host of specialty services for severe mental illness and programs in the Buffalo County and Adams County jails. We are the safety net for our communities. Please support our efforts with your senators and the Legislature.

Susan OBrien Henrie, Hastings

EDITORS NOTE: The author is the CEO of South Central Behavioral Services, which operates offices in Kearney and Hastings.
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Dear KFBers, we have got loads of interesting stories in tonights #MajorHeadlinesYouMissedToday featureenjoy!



President Buhari resumes, meets with AGF Abubakar Malami, GMD NNPC



After taking some days off to rest, President Buhari today resumed work

and had his first meeting with the Attorney General of the Federation

and Chief Justice of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, at the

presidential officice in Aso Rock, Abuja.

Addressing state house correspondents after his

closed door meeting with President Buhari, Malami who is a member of

the Presidential committee investigating suspended Secretary to the

Government Federation SGF, Babachir Lawal and suspended

director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke,

said the report of the committee would be submited tomorrow, May 3rd.

President Buhari also had a closed door meeting with the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru.

OBJ, Abdusalam and IBB hold private meeting in Niger State

Three former Nigerian leaders, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,

General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd)

yesterday met behind closed doors in Minna, Niger State.

It

was gathered that the meeting which lasted for over two hours was held

at the hilltop home of former military president, IBB.

Senate Drops Nigerian Peace Corps Bill

The Senate, on Tuesday, suspended passage of the conference report on

the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, over the allegation of fraud in the

recruitment exercise by the organisation which is being prosecuted in a

court.

The bill sharply divided senators at the plenary.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had separately passed the bill before the harmonisation of its provisions.

I Dont Sleep At Public Functions, I Only Pretend  Governor Ganduje

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, says he is not bowing to

blackmailers who said he was not working but sleeping. He stated this

during an interactive session with labour unions as part of May Day

celebration at the Government House, Kano.

The governor said his political opponents could not differentiate between sleeping and pretending.
Sweden's largest Shia Muslim mosque was badly damaged overnight in a suspected arson attack, police said Monday, adding later that they had made one arrest in connection with the incident.

Fire and emergency services were alerted to the scene a little before 12:30 am (2230 GMT) Monday, where "flames were engulfing the outer facade" of the Imam Ali Islamic Centre in the northern Stockholm suburb of Jakobsberg, a police spokesman said.

No injuries were reported.

"A man who earlier in the day had been arrested and was scheduled for a hearing, was, after interrogation, taken into custody," police said in a statement.

However, they released no information on the man's identity or possible motive.

"This is Sweden's largest Shia mosque with thousands of faithful... They are really concerned," mosque spokesman Akil Zahari told broadcaster SVT.

Several mosques in Sweden have been the target of arson attacks in recent years but few of the perpetrators have been caught.

In April last year, a 31-year-old man identified through CCTV footage was jailed for three years for racially-aggravated arson after admitting setting fire to a mosque in the southwestern town of Boras.

Swedish anti-racism campaigners protested in January 2015 after a trio of arson attacks on mosques in the Nordic country.

In Stockholm, residents are still coming to terms with an April 7 truck attack which killed five people, including an 11-year-old Swedish girl, a Briton, and one Belgian. Fifteen others were injured.

An Uzbek national confessed to using a stolen truck to mow down pedestrians on a busy shopping street in a rampage similar to attacks in Nice, Berlin and London.

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Armed gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in Cairo on Monday night, killing three policemen and wounding five in a drive-by shooting, Egypt's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

The attack took place in the city's northeastern neighborhood of Nasr City. Armed assailants in two cars approached the patrol near the Ring Road and opened fire at the policemen who exchanged fire with the attackers, the ministry added in a statement.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The ministry said that investigations are underway and an operation has been launched to catch the gunmen.

Egypt is battling a militant insurgency that is mainly concentrated in the restive northern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

However, militants have also struck elsewhere in the country, including the captial, often targeting police and army personnel.

Civilians have also been targeted in a number of attacks. Last month, two Egyptian Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria were struck by suicide bombings that left 47 dead.

Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group's Egyptian affiliate, which is active in northern Sinai.

Monday's driveby shooting came two days after Pope Francis concluded a historic, highly secured visit to Egypt, during which he warned against religious fanaticism and urged Muslim leaders to unite against extremist violence.

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As the nation is celebrating National Senior Citizens Month, one organization showed their appreciation to some of the elders right here in our community.

From mariachis and sweets, love was in the air on Monday afternoon, as residents of Hamilton Housing enjoyed a wonderful celebration from help of the group Laredo Organized Volunteers for Elderly and Disadvantaged (LOVED).

The event included a joint proclamation with the city and county.

"Laredo cannot forget it's people, the roots of Laredo," says LOVED President Dr. Henry Carranza. "It's important that we don't forget the roots. It's important that we provide for our people, they don't need a lot of help, just a little. A little boost."

This is just one of the many events LOVED plans to hold this month to celebrate the senior citizens of Laredo.
Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein said on Monday that Egypt's response to militants is counter-productive and breaches human rights, sparking angry reaction from foreign ministry

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein said on Monday that the security measures of Egyptian authorities were fostering radicalization, in remarks Cairo has slammed as "irresponsible" and "disgraceful".

At a news conference in Geneva, Zeid condemned recent church attacks in Egypt that left 47 dead and prompted President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to declare a three-month state of emergency. However, he said that Egypt's strategy in combating Islamist militants was aggravating the problem.

"A state of emergency, the large numbers of detentions, reports of torture, and continued arbitrary arrests  all of this, we believe, facilitates radicalisation in prisons," Zeid said.

He added that "the crackdown on civil society" was "not the way to fight terrorism."

"National security must be a priority for every country, but again not at the expense of human rights, Zeid said.

In response, Egypt's foreign ministry described the remarks as "irresponsible" and "disgraceful".

"Such irresponsible remarks launched by people who are supposed to be aware of the nature of the tasks and responsibilities of the positions they hold are shameful and even disgraceful at times," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement late on Monday.

The remarks "provide a justification and search for excuses for the spread of extremism and terrorism in Egypt," overlooking the fact that terrorism is a global phenomenon that has hit all countries, the spokesman said in the statement

Abu Zeid also lashed out at what he called the "inadequate and unbalanced reading of the situation in Egypt."

The spokesman defended the state of emergency as having been passed by an elected parliament under the "rules and restrictions" defined by the constitution.

"We don't see the High Commissioner criticizing other states implementing states of emergency under similar conditions," the statement said.

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Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is heading to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday on a two-day visit for wide-ranging talks, state-run news agency MENA reported on Tuesday.

El-Sisi will meet with Emerati leaders to discuss ways of enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries, and to coordinate around several regional and international issues, according to MENA.

The visit comes in the context of "the solid brotherly relations between Egypt and the UAE, stressing interest on both sides in ongoing coordination regarding the challenges that the Arab nation is facing, and to consolidate Arab cooperation and protect Arab national security," said MENA.

This is El-Sisi's second visit to the UAE in the past six months. In December, he attended celebrations of the UAE's 45th National Day, meeting Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the crown prince and deputy chief of the UAE armed forces.

In November, El-Sisi held talks in Cairo with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during a short visit by the drown prince to Egypt.

In statements at the time, Bin Zayed stressed his countrys unshakeable support for Egypt in light of the special relations that bind the two countries.

The UAE, a key ally of Egypt, has supported Cairo economically and politically since the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

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Senator Ronnie Sabb requested to be on the April 24, Williamsburg County School District Board of Trustees meeting agenda to discuss recent legislation passed by the House and the Senate that will allow for two at-large members to be appointed by the delegation. The entire board opposes the bill that has been vetoed by Governor Henry McMaster and is sitting in the House. Photo by Michaele Duke
Then:

Nina Vaca had already built a successful business when she appeared on the cover of Kiplinger's in May 2006. Vaca, who immigrated to Los Angeles from Quito, Ecuador, at age 2, inherited a talent for entrepreneurship from her father. After college she and a partner started Pinnacle Technical Resources (opens in new tab) in Dallas to recruit tech personnel to run companies' computer systems. She bought out her partner after the tech downturn in 2001, and expanded to provide IT consultants to businesses that had been laying off staff. Revenues were on track to reach $60 million in 2006. Her husband, Jim, and several siblings worked for the company, and her children (then ages 6, 4 and 1, with one on the way) spent plenty of time at the office.

Now:

Vaca's business really took off soon after our article was published. "My life has been transformed in so many ways," says Vaca, now 45. In 2007, Pinnacle Group (opens in new tab) landed a massive contract that was four times the size of the business. The company now has 155 employees at its Dallas headquarters and about 5,000 consultants throughout the U.S. and Canada, and it exceeded $1 billion in revenues last year.

The charismatic Vaca uses her personality to inspire entrepreneurs around the world, especially women in tech fields. She was only the second woman to chair the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (opens in new tab), and in 2014 the Obama administration appointed her as a presidential ambassador for global entrepreneurship. She's particularly proud of mentoring a woman from Vietnam and one from Jordan, both of whom spent time at Pinnacle and are now CEOs of successful companies back home. She recently launched Ninavaca.com (opens in new tab) to give other entrepreneurs resources for expanding their businesses.

Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up

Vaca's husband and siblings are still involved in the company, as are several nieces and nephews, and her children -- now ages 17, 15, 12 and 11 -- are starting to help out, just as she did in the chain of travel agencies owned by her father.

Vaca also applies her nonstop work ethic to her training as a triathlete. After last year's devastating earthquake in Ecuador, her mother called her and asked, "What are you going to do about Ecuador?" So this year, she competed in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon to raise money to build houses for displaced families in her native country. "My parents were entrepreneurs and civic leaders, and I've done both my entire life," she says. "I've always been passionate about my family and business, and this success has allowed me to give back."
Investing can be tough, as many people let emotions and outside opinions steer their decisions. There are so many ads now that make timing the market seem easy and tell you that trading is the best way to make a profit. This causes investors to be shortsighted and impatient. Many famous investors, such as Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham and David Dreman, made their fortunes not by jumping in and out of stocks, but by looking at the value of a business and where it will be years down the road. The key distinction between these successful investors and many unsuccessful traders is they are not focused on returns over a few days; they are focused on the value of owning a business long-term.

At our firm, as long as the businesses remain strong and the stock prices remain reasonable, we will not sell out of our companies. To judge a business fundamental strength, we examine its balance sheet to ensure the company can endure any potential major downturn. A company with a weak balance sheet that faces tough economic challenges runs the risk of bankruptcy. For this reason, if the company shows one or two of these three warning signs, we will further analyze whether we should sell:

Warning Sign No. 1:

If a company has a debt/equity ratio over 150%.

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Debt/equity is a great measure to show if a company is over leveraged. As an example, to better explain debt/equity, we tell people it is great if you own a $1 million home, but if you owe $1.5 million on that home then its not so great. There are some accounting policies that may negatively affect the appearance of the debt/equity ratio, but if the debt burden appears to be a large risk after analyzing the cash flow and equity of a company, we will sell at that point.

Warning Sign No. 2:

If a company has a current ratio below 0.6.

The current ratio shows the liquidity for a company and, more specifically, looks at 12 months of assets divided by 12 months of liabilities. If the current ratio is low, the company could be at risk of not being able to pay its current bills. Like debt/equity, there are some accounting policies that may negatively affect the appearance of the ratio, but if the company is in jeopardy of not being able to pay those bills, we will sell.

Warning Sign No. 3:

If the forward P-E multiple on GAAP earnings per share hits 16.5.

The only other time we will regularly sell out of a stock is if the future earnings of the company have become too expensive. The forward multiple is calculated by taking the current price divided by the estimated GAAP earnings per share. When that calculation hits 16.5, we sell.

We use GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, because this is the standard to which all companies must comply. If using non-GAAP EPS, there can be discrepancies between different companies and their earnings as some may choose to back out stock-based compensation, fluctuations in currencies or other expenses, while others may not. By using GAAP EPS we can ensure the playing field is level for all companies and we are comparing on an apple-to-apples basis. We use a multiple of 16.5, because that is the 40-year average for equities. Even dating back to the late 1800s, the forward EPS multiple was approximately 16. By using 16.5 as our forward multiple we can ensure we are not overpaying for a companys earnings.

Maintaining discipline and having a company that trades at low valuations is important to long-term success. Over the course of history, results from value investing have been superior to those of growth investing. From 1926 through 2015 large-cap value stocks produced an average annual return of 11.2%, vs. 9.4% for growth stocks.

Throughout history we have seen time and time again that buying good quality companies at reasonable valuations will lead to strong returns over the longer term. Do not fall into the hype of Wall Street and let your emotions ruin your investment decisions.
By Susan Mathew

May 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Tuesday with financial stocks pulled lower after Australia and New Zealand Bank earnings missed expectations and as investors awaited the central bank's policy decision.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.6 percent, or 33.623 points, to 5,922.9 at 0259 GMT, snapping its longest gaining streak since July 2016. The benchmark had gained 0.6 percent in the previous session.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group fell as much as 3 percent, its worst day in six months, after its 23 percent rise in first-half cash profit fell short of analysts' expectations. The financial index lost as much as 1.4 percent, also after seven sessions of gains, with the other "Big 4" banks losing between 1 percent and 2.5 percent.

ANZ's miss on consensus was disappointing, given the significant rally banking stocks have enjoyed over the past two weeks on optimism ahead of the results, said Ric Spooner, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. Among other factors, the Reserve Bank of Australia is seen holding its cash rate at a record low of 1.5 percent in its monthly policy meeting later in the day. "We are largely seeing some softening in banks and Donald Trump's comments on big banks didn't help too much," said Tony Cunningham from Cunningham Peterson Sharbanee Securities.

U.S. President Trump's comments on plans to break up big banks as reported by Bloomberg Television on Monday had little effect on U.S. stocks, which were boosted in their previous session by gains in Apple and other big tech stocks. Gold stocks were among the biggest losers on the benchmark index, as the yellow metal dipped overnight before steadying, dragging the Australian gold index down 1.8 percent. Newscrest Mining fell 1.1 percent, while Evolution Mining lost 4.2 percent.

On the gaining side, Woolworth's rose as much as 2.5 percent after reporting a surge in quarterly sales figures, pulling the consumer non-cyclicals sector up. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 0.4 percent, or 29.5 points, at 7,413.89.

Losses in financials due to declines in New Zealand shares of ANZ Banking Group , of 2.1 percent, were far outweighed by gains in industrial and utility sectors.

Air New Zealand gained 3.3 percent in its fourth straight gaining session, while Meridian Energy climbed 1.4 percent.

For more individual stocks activity click on (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Rushil Dutta; Editing by Sam Holmes)
Chinese gold imports jumped 64.5% on an annual basis in Q1 2017, while the production of the yellow metal tumbled 9.3%, as the worlds top gold producer and consumer phased out older production facilities and miners faced lower gold prices, this according to a statement released by the China Gold Association (CGA).

The drastic rise in imports was triggered by a supply and demand gap created between January and March of this year, CGA explained on Friday, adding that imports totaled 10.5 metric tons in Q1 as compared to last years first quarter.

Quarterly output was down at 101.2 metric tons as compared to Q1 2016 figure of 111.6 metric tons, the association said.

The reason for the fall in production was attributed to persistently lower gold prices and the increased phase-out of older production facilities, which were triggered by Beijings attempts to curb overcapacity, the statement explained.

The national gold consumption was up 14.7% on an annual basis at 304 metric tons, CGA said.

The breakdown of the figures shows that gold used for bullion production was up 60.2% at 101.19 metric tons and gold for jewelry manufacturing edged up 1.4% to 170.93 metric tons.

The statement noted increased public awareness of buying gold billion as a safe-haven asset during the first quarter, S&P Global Platts cited CGAs statement as saying.

Earlier in April, Reuters reported that China's net-gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong more than doubled in March on a monthly basis. Net-gold imports rose to 111.647 metric tons during the third month of the year from 47.931 metric tons recorded in February, the news agency quoted data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
* Markets closed for holiday in much of Asia, Europe

* U.S. stocks, gauge of key world equity indexes rise

* Platinum falls to 4-month low, silver at 7-week low

* Coming up: Fed meeting Tuesday and Wednesday

(Recasts, updates prices, adds comment)

By Marcy Nicholson

NEW YORK, May 1 - Gold prices fell 1 percent to a three-week low on Monday, pressured by rising U.S. stocks and an agreement that averted a U.S. government shutdown, dampening demand for non-interest paying bullion.

U.S. stocks were lifted by Apple shares hitting a record high and a gauge of key world equity indexes also strengthened, while Treasury yields rose.

"Risk appetite isn't collapsing here," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy for TD Securities in Toronto. "Gold has been a little bit overdone here. It looks like we're just trying to trend to the 200-day moving average."

Spot gold was down 0.8 percent at $1,257.58 an ounce by 3:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT), after dropping to $1,253.66, the lowest since April 11 and just above the 200-day moving average at $1,251.93.

U.S. gold futures settled down 1 percent at $1,255.50.

Many financial markets in Asia and Europe were closed for the May Day holiday. Tokyo markets will be closed for three days from Wednesday for a string of holidays known as Golden Week, and many investors take additional time off.

U.S. Congressional negotiators hammered out a bipartisan agreement on a spending package to keep the federal governmentfunded through Sept. 30, averting a government shutdown.



Gold briefly moved higher after U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in March from a record high, government data showed, while the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing employment index came in at the lowest since October.

"The current level of the ISM Manufacturing Index is still indicative of healthy growth in the sector, but it will be important to see that level hold," said Royce Mendes, director and senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

Traders said the market was waiting for the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and the statement the central bank will issue at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday following the meeting.

"We see gold maintaining a relatively higher trading range in May as tensions with North Korea will command more attention now that the bearish impact of the French election is out of the way," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.

North Korea suggested on Monday it will continue its nuclear weapons tests.

Money managers increased their net long position in COMEX gold contracts for the sixth straight week to April 25, U.S. government data showed late Friday.

Spot silver dropped 1.9 percent to $16.87 an ounce, after falling to $16.78, matching the May 10 session low.

Platinum fell 1.7 percent to $927.25 an ounce, after falling to a four-month low at $923.

Palladium was down 1.1 percent at $814.50 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Nallur Sethuraman and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Chizu Nomiyama)
An Egyptian criminal court referred to the Grand Mufti on Tuesday a death sentence issued against a man convicted of raping a 20-month-old child in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya last month.

The court is expected to confirm the sentence on 2 June after the Grand Mufti gives his opinion, which is not legally binding, on the validity of the death sentence according to Islamic law.

The Egyptian prosecution referred the 35-year-old defendant to trial last month after he confessed to the crime following his arrest, according to prosecutors.

The sentence must be ratified by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi before it can be carried out.

The convict, who was the victim's neighbour, kidnapped the child as she was playing in front of her house in Belqas village, taking her to a secluded area and raping her, according to investigations conducted by the prosecution.

The child was later found by residents and taken to Belqas Central Hospital, where she received emergency surgery for vaginal bleeding.

Shortly after the incident, which sparked outrage across the country, residents of the village reportedly attempted to burn down the house of the suspect, who lives alone.

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May 2 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

* Velocity Composites is set to float on the junior market of the London Stock Exchange. * Lloyds Banking Group has shrugged off concerns that its practice of booking revenue upfront from customers who have interest-free periods on their credit cards is a "ticking time bomb". The Guardian

* Philip Green and his wife are among the UK's richest couples - although their wealth has fallen by 433 million pounds ($558.44 million) over the past year following the collapse of BHS, according to an annual wealth ranking. * The future of Britain's power supply has been jeopardised by Brexit and the government must act urgently to ensure nuclear power stations stay open, the influential committee for business, energy and industrial strategy has warned. The Telegraph

* More than two dozen UK organisations, including the British Film Institute, Odeon Cinemas, Sky and the Premier League, have lined up against the European Commission's planned copyright overhaul. * Loch Lomond Group, whose brands include Littlemill and Glen Scotia, said the partnership with the state-backed agriculture and food & beverage giant Cofco would pave the way for its whiskies to be sold across China. Sky News

* Former Tory treasurer Lupton is to become the first chairman of Lloyds Banking Group's non-ring-fenced bank, according to Sky News. * Institutional Voting Information Service, which is part of the fund management industry's leading trade body, has issued a 'red-top' warning to Bovis investors ahead of shareholder meetings on Tuesday, according to Sky News. The Independent

* The proportion of UK female high earners has not changed for the past six years, despite initiatives to shrink the pay gap between men and women, according to research from global law firm Clyde & Co. * Brexit negotiations should not divert the UK government's attention from the challenges businesses are facing at home, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned. ($1 = 0.7754 pounds)

(Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)
May 1 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to replace Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry as chief overseer of federally chartered banks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The change, which could happen as soon as this week, could lead to President Donald Trump replacing Curry with an acting head of the agency, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which oversees the federal banking system, administers hundreds of bank supervisors stationed inside large U.S. financial firms.

Curry, appointed by the Obama administration for a five-year term that expired in April, could remain in the role until a new appointment is made.

President Trump is considering Joseph Otting, a former banker at OneWest Bank who worked with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to take on the responsibility of this office and replace Curry, the paper said.

Keith Noreika, a banking lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, is being considered as acting comptroller, WSJ said. Noreika was part of Trump's transition team for Treasury. He also advised Treasury on its $250 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, in 2008.

The White House and OCC were not immediately available for comment.

Noreika did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

(Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
* Deal paves way for debt relief talks

* Eurogroup must approve deal

* More loans depend on approval

(Adds details)

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS, May 2 (Reuters) - Greece and its foreign creditors reached a deal early on Tuesday on a package of bailout-mandated reforms, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said, paving the way for the disbursement of further rescue funds.

"There was white smoke," Tsakalotos told reporters, using a term associated with papal elections.

"The negotiations for a technical deal were concluded on all issues... the way has now been paved for debt relief talks."

Talks on the deal, which includes labour and energy reforms as well as pension cuts and tax rises, had dragged on for half a year mainly due to a rift between the European Union and the International Monetary Fund over fiscal targets.

Greece now needs to legislate the new measures before euro zone finance ministers approve the disbursement of loans, money Athens needs to repay 7.5 billion euros in debt maturing in July. The next scheduled Eurogroup meeting is on May 22, where reducing Greece's debt will also be discussed.

As part of the reforms, Athens has promised to cut pensions in 2019 and cut the tax-free threshold in 2020 to produce savings worth 2 percent of gross domestic product.

If it outperforms its targets it will be allowed to activate a set of measures offsetting the impact of the additional austerity, which includes mainly lowering taxes.

Following Tuesday's agreement, the lenders are likely to decide amongst themselves on Greece's medium-term primary surplus targets, a key element for granting further debt relief.

The IMF says Greece cannot maintain high primary surpluses unless it adopts more austerity and is granted further debt relief by the EU.

In a draft document seen by Reuters, the Fund says Greece can reach a primary surplus of 2.2 percent in 2018 and aim at 3.5 percent annually in 2019-2021, if it implements the new measures agreed with its lenders. It suggests the primary surplus target be reduced to 1.5 percent of GDP thereafter.

Its euro zone lenders believe Greece has sustain a 3.5 percent GDP primary surplus target over a longer period.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Writing by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
(Adds restructuring proposal by Franklin and Oppenheimer; adds quotes from governor; updates results of protests)

By Karen Pierog and Daniel Bases

CHICAGO, May 1 (Reuters) - Benchmark Puerto Rico general obligation bonds rose on Monday, bolstered by promised stopgap federal healthcare spending that would help the financially strapped U.S. territory even as it faces a midnight deadline to reach a restructuring deal on its $70 billion in debt.

The healthcare assistance under a deal on federal government spending follows Saturday's rejection by bondholders of the Puerto Rican government's debt restructuring offer to repay as much as 77 percent of general obligation (GO) debt and 58 percent of tax-backed bonds. On Monday, a creditor group led by mutual funds Franklin Advisers and OppenheimerFunds said it had offered a separate restructuring proposal late last month to save $15 billion in debt service relief, but that it was ignored by Puerto Rico's government.

Without a last-minute agreement or a move by Puerto Rico to seek an in-court debt workout similar to bankruptcy, bondholders and other creditors are expected to file a wave of litigation over the island's bond defaults starting at midnight Monday.

Regardless of the path Puerto Rico takes, the likelihood is for cuts to government services, including healthcare. Thousands of Puerto Rican's took to the streets on Monday to protest austerity measures.

The in-court option, known as Title III, is a provision of the 2016 federal rescue law known as PROMESA.

Bond prices rose in response to Congressional negotiations late Sunday that included a $295 million boost in Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico as part of a budget deal to avoid a U.S. government shutdown. The federal government's Medicaid help may be buoying Puerto Rico's bonds by making "participants hopeful there will be potentially some assistance down the road that mitigates the lowball first salvo in the negotiations," said Shaun Burgess, portfolio manager and lead trader for Puerto Rico strategy at Sarasota, Florida-based Cumberland Advisors.

Burgess, who is responsible for $150 million of insured Puerto Rican bonds, said the commonwealth's offer was "not even close to a good proposal."

In a statement on Monday, Stephen Spencer, a financial adviser to the group led by Franklin and Oppenheimer, said it offered two restructuring deals. One would have saved $15 billion in overall debt service relief. The other was specific to sales tax-backed debt, known as COFINA debt, and would have saved $4.2 billion in debt service for that particular credit.

The proposals "were essentially ignored," Spencer said.

A representative for Governor Ricardo Rossello could not be immediately reached on Monday.

Ramon Rosario, Rossello's public affairs secretary, told reporters that the government is still considering filing for Title III bankruptcy. "If creditors remain intransigent, we will go to Title III in defense of Puerto Rico's people," he said.

Ultimately, the decision of whether and when to file a Title III bankruptcy belongs to Puerto Rico's federal financial oversight board, not the governor, though both sides have said they hoped to work cooperatively.

DEBT PROTESTS

The spread of Puerto Rico 30-year GO bonds over Municipal Market Data's benchmark triple-A yield scale fell to 565 basis points on Monday, after widening to 585 basis points on Friday from 575 basis points on Thursday.

Benchmark Puerto Rico bonds due in 2035, and carrying an 8 percent coupon, traded up 1.1 points in price to a bid price of 64.1, up from a record low of 60.05 on March 30. Puerto Rico's fiscal turnaround plan, which has been certified by the oversight board, proposes drastic cuts to debt and government services alike, including to healthcare spending.

There would also be cuts in fringe benefits to some public employees, reduced subsidies to municipalities and the University of Puerto Rico, and reduced benefits to pensioners.

Thousands protested the austerity measures on Monday in San Juan, the capital, marching toward the city's financial center, known as the Golden Mile. Some protesters broke windows and scrawled graffiti on buildings.

There were some scuffles with police and seven arrests, according to reports from Rossello's office.

Speaking to reporters Monday evening, Rossello said organizers of the protest "lost control of the situation," and that police "had orders to intervene."

"There is no justification for today's incidents," he said.

(Reporting by Daniel Bases and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Additional reporting by a contributor in San Juan; Editing by Leslie Adler)
By Wilda Asmarini

JAKARTA, May 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia's state-controlled miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) will resume exports of nickel ore this month, with an initial shipment of 150,000 tonnes expected to leave for China in early May, a company executive said on Tuesday.

The nickel shipment in May will be Antam's first after a three-year halt due to a government ban on raw mineral exports imposed in early 2014.

Antam, which has 5 million tonnes of low-grade wet nickel ore available for immediate shipping, also requested on Tuesday permission from the mining ministry to export an additional 3.7 million tonnes of nickel ore over the next year. The company has already received official approval to export 2.7 million tonnes of nickel ore over the 12 months from end-March, all of which will be bound for China, one of the world's biggest consumers of the metal. "The first shipment of three vessels is being loaded right now," Antam director Hari Widjajanto told reporters.

"We hope it will leave in early May," he said.

Antam is planning to ramp up production from last year's 1.63 million tonnes to 9 million tonnes in 2017, Widjajanto said.

Since the government announced plans to roll back its ban on mineral exports on Jan. 12, nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange are down roughly 10 percent or just over $1,000 a tonne. The ban on raw mineral exports was imposed in 2014 to encourage investment in value-added smelting projects but the restriction hurt miners like Antam and government revenues.

The government missed its 2016 revenue target by $17.6 billion, according to unaudited budget data from the finance ministry. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Editing by Tom Hogue)
PRETORIA, May 2 (Reuters) - South Africa's central bank is concerned about further downgrades to local currency debt and the impact on the stability of the domestic financial system, it said in a report on Tuesday.

Africa's most industrialised economy has this year suffered from credit ratings downgrades after President Jacob Zuma sacked respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in late March.

"The possibility of further downgrades to South Africa's local currency rating and South Africa consequently being excluded from the remaining bond indices is disconcerting," the bank said in a financial stability review.

The regulator added that should ratings agencies downgrade South African local currency debt further it could have a significant impact on the cost of funding and investment flows.

"Market volatility could increase as a result, with sharp losses likely to be recorded in the currency, bond and equity markets, thereby negatively affecting the stability of the domestic financial system," it said.

S&P Global Ratings cut South African foreign debt to sub-investment grade in April, while Fitch downgraded both the foreign and local currency debt to "junk" status. Moody's, two notches above junk status, has put South Africa on review for a downgrade.

Local currency borrowing makes up about 90 percent of the South Africa's total 2.2 trillion rand ($165 billion) of debt.

($1 = 13.2956 rand)

(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Joe Brock)
* Russian oil output down in April to 11.00 million bpd

* Russia set itself target of 10.947 million bpd

* OPEC, non-OPEC to discuss cuts rollover on May 25

(Adds detail, companies data)

By Vladimir Soldatkin

MOSCOW, May 2 (Reuters) - Russian oil production edged down to 11.00 million barrels per day (bpd) in April from 11.05 million bpd in March, just short of full compliance with the targets of a global deal to cut oil output, Energy Ministry data showed on Tuesday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Producing Countries with Russia and other leading oil producers agreed to cut oil production by almost 1.8 million bpd in the first six months of this year to tackle bloated inventories and prop up weak prices.

Of that amount, Russia undertook to reduce its output by 300,000 bpd by the end of April to a target of 10.947 million bpd from a 30-year high of 11.247 million bpd in October.

In April, its compliance with its target was 95.2 percent.

In tonnes, oil output in April reached 45.002 million versus 46.739 million in March.

Investors are now focusing on whether the OPEC and other producers will extend cuts into the second half of the year. OPEC states and others meet on May 25 to discuss the issue.

Russia has yet to state publicly whether it backs an extension but has said it was studying the market and had held talks with some OPEC ministers to determine its position. Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, contributed the most to Moscow's cuts last month with a 1 percent reduction from March. Almost all other Russian majors, apart from Gazprom Neft , also curtailed output in April.

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom , ratcheted up oil production in April by 2.9 percent as it continued to pump more from its newly launched fields.

Smaller producers cut output by 2.1 percent.

Russian oil pipeline exports in April rose to 4.736 million bpd up from 4.415 million bpd in March.

Natural gas production was at 54.17 billion cubic metres (bcm) last month, or 1.81 bcm a day, versus 58.79 bcm in March.

(Editing by Edmund Blair)
Egypt's Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi headed with an official delegation to Ivory Coast on Tuesday to participate in the sixth meeting of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, which is taking place from 1 to 5 May.

Sobhi is set to hold meetings with a range of counterparts from the community's member-states on the sidelines of the gathering, which will focus on military cooperation.

The Community of Sahel-Saharan States is the second-largest organisation in the continent after the African Union.

The community has 27 member-states and aims to create a free trade area within Africa as well as cooperation on security and defence.

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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Windy. Cloudy skies will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High near 75F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.
The Islamic militant Hamas on Monday unveiled what had been billed as a new, seemingly more pragmatic political program aimed at ending the group's international isolation.



With the new manifesto, Hamas rebrands itself as an Islamic national liberation movement, rather than a branch of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed by Egypt. It also drops explicit language calling for Israel's destruction, though it retains the goal of eventually "liberating" all of Palestine, which includes what is now Israel.



It's not clear if the changes will be enough to improve relations with Egypt which, along with Israel, has been enforcing a crippling border blockade against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since the group seized the territory in 2007.



Hamas clung to hard-line positions that led to its isolation in the first place. The group reaffirmed that it will not recognize Israel, renounce violence or recognize previous interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals  the West's long-standing conditions for dealing with Hamas.



The five-page program, a result of four years of internal deliberations, was presented at a news conference in Doha, Qatar, by Khaled Mashaal, the outgoing Hamas leader in exile. The group has said Mashaal's replacement is to be named later this month, after the completion of secret leadership elections.



The document reflects a "reasonable Hamas, that is serious about dealing with the reality and the regional and international surroundings, while still representing the cause of its people," said Mashaal.



A copy of the program was distributed to journalists in Gaza who followed the news conference by video link.



The new platform seemed to cement the ideological divide between Hamas and its main political rival, the Fatah movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.



Hamas drove out forces loyal to Abbas in its 2007 takeover of Gaza, a year after defeating Fatah in Palestinian parliament elections. Reconciliation efforts have failed.



The Hamas manifesto was released at a time of escalating tensions between the two sides. In recent weeks, Abbas has threatened to exert financial pressure, including cutting wage payments and aid to Gaza, as a way of forcing Hamas to cede ground.



Leaders of the group have vowed they will not budge.



The war of words with Hamas was seen as an attempt by Abbas to position himself as a leader of all Palestinians ahead of his first meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. The U.S. president has said he would try to broker Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a peace deal, despite repeated failures over the past two decades.



In the past, Hamas has sharply criticized Abbas' political program, which rests on setting up a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east occupied Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.



In its founding charter, Hamas called for setting up an Islamic state in Palestine, or the territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, which also includes Israel.



The new program for the first time raises the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in the 1967 lines, saying it's a "national consensus formula." However, the wording suggests Hamas considers this to be an interim step, not a way of ending the conflict.



The document does not contain an explicit call for Israel's destruction, but says "Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea."



"There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity," the document says.



The Palestine Liberation Organization, now led by Abbas, exchanged letters of mutual recognition with Israel in 1993.



The Hamas document said it considers armed resistance against occupation as a strategic choice and that the group "rejects any attempt to undermine the resistance and its arms."



The new document stresses that Hamas bears no enmity toward Jews. It says its fight is with those who occupy Palestinian lands.



Mashaal is to step down as Hamas leader later this month. Two possible contenders for the No. 1 spot are Moussa Abu Marzouk, a former Hamas leader, and Ismail Haniyeh, a former top Hamas official in Gaza.

The story has been edited by Ahram Online

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At least 32 people were killed on Tuesday in an Islamic State group attack near a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, a monitor said.

"At least five suicide attackers blew themselves up outside and inside a camp for Iraqi refugees and displaced Syrians in Hasakeh province," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Heavy clashes then erupted between the IS fighters and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, some of whose combatants were among the dead, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The camp lies in the Rajm al-Salibeh area just inside Syrian territory, and at least 21 of the dead were displaced Syrians or Iraqi refugees, the Observatory said.

"At least 30 people were wounded, and the death toll may rise because some people are in critical condition and others are still unaccounted for," the Britain-based monitor said.

The US-backed SDF has captured swathes of northern Syria from IS, and in recent days overran most of the strategic Euphrates Valley town of Tabqa.

The battle for Tabqa is an important part of a broader offensive for IS's main Syrian stronghold, Raqa, downstream.





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Egypt saw $1.6 billion in tourism revenues from around 1.7 million tourists who visited the country in the first three months of 2017, compared to around 1.2 million tourists in same period last year, a source at the tourism ministry told Ahram Online on Tuesday.

The country's tourism receipts recorded around $1.5 billion in revenue from January to March last year.

Germans topped the list of tourists at 227,000 visitors, a 35 percent rise from the same period last year.

Ukrainians came in second at 226,000 tourists, a whopping increase of 138 percent against the first three months in 2016.

Britons came in third at 74,000 visitors, a 16 percent rise compared to the same period last year.

The rise in British tourists comes despite a ban on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, which was put in place in 2015 after a Russian passenger jet crashed in Sinai after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport.

All 224 people on board the flight were killed in the crash, which was claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

Since the deadly incident, Russia, which was the number one source of tourists to Egypt, suspended flights to the country pending the implementation of tighter security measures at all Egyptian airports.

Egypt's revenues from tourism dropped to $3.4 billion in 2016, a 44.3 percent decline from the previous year, the Central Bank of Egypt said in January. The figure is a far cry from the $11 billion in revenues generated by the sector in 2010, when 14.7 million tourists visited the country.

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Kim Soo-ha Park Young-joo



By Kwon Mee-yoo

Korean actress Kim Soo-ha, 23, will play the lead role of Kim in the musical "Miss Saigon," which will tour the United Kingdom from July until next year. Along with Kim, another Korean actor Park Young-joo is in the ensemble as an understudy for the role of Thuy.

The musical, composed by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly." Set during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, the musical tells a tragic love story between Vietnamese woman Kim and U.S. GI Chris.

Despite controversies over Orientalism and racism, "Miss Saigon" has opened opportunities for many actors of Asian descent. Back in the 1990s, Lee So-jung pioneered as the first Korean actress to debut on Broadway and Korean-American actor Michael Lee also starred in the Broadway production of "Miss Saigon." When a revival production of the musical opened on London's West End in 2014, Korean actor Hong Kwang-ho was cast in the role of Vietnamese army officer and Kim's fiance Thuy and another Korean actor Jo Sang-woong succeeded the role in 2015.

Kim was also in the 2014 London production playing a Vietnamese bargirl. It was Kim's professional debut and she successfully played the role 33 times in London. After London, she alternated the role with two other actresses in the Japanese production of "Miss Saigon" starting October 2016, before joining the U.K. tour.

Kim, a native Korean, first auditioned for the Japanese production and producer Cameron Mackintosh picked her up for the London revival.

"I dreamed of becoming a musical actress when I saw a small show while I was in elementary school. I had to practice singing and dancing at karaoke rooms because I couldn't afford private lessons," Kim said.

Park, who will join Kim on the U.K. tour, is relatively unknown in Korea. The 33-year-old actor majored in business administration at the prestigious Seoul National University and changed career paths to theater after watching "The Phantom of the Opera" in London.

He debuted as an actor in 2009 and mostly had small roles. He headed to the Vienna Conservatory of Music & Arts to learn musical professionally last year. He auditioned for "Miss Saigon" and will perform in the ensemble and portray Thuy occasionally.

"Though I am not well-known, I speak with confidence that I am the most hardworking actor," Park said. "World-class actors also started from a small role and I will do my best in Miss Saigon, because that's the thing I'm best at."

"Miss Saigon" will kick off its U.K. tour at the Leicester Curve from July 1 to 22 and continue to Birmingham, Dublin and more cities. Visit miss-saigon.com for more.
By Park Hyong-ki



Korean exports to the United States fell in the first four months of the year, despite overall robust outbound shipments.



The country's trade surplus with the U.S. reached $6 billion from January to April, down 34 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.



The drop was due to an increase in U.S. imports by more than 22 percent and decrease in exports to the U.S. by about 1 percent.



Korea increased its imports of U.S. agricultural goods, semiconductor equipment and minerals, the trade ministry said.



The decrease in Korea's trade surplus appears to reflect its efforts to soothe the Trump administration, which recently called their bilateral free trade deal "horrible."



U.S. President Donald Trump previously branded the FTA between Korea and the U.S. as "a job killer" during his presidential campaign.



In a recent interview, the president threatened to either terminate or renegotiate it for a better deal.



Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said that even though the possibility of the U.S. seeking to terminate the free trade deal was low, Korea remained cautious, adding that it will seek to reduce Korea's trade surplus.



"We are going to try to decrease the trade surplus with the U.S.," Yoo said in an interview with CNBC last month.



Korea was able to avoid being labeled a currency manipulator by the U.S. Treasury last month.



However, its report to the Congress stressed that Korea still had a "significant trade surplus with the U.S.," supported by the Korean won's undervaluation.



Korea's high trade surplus and the lower-than-expected U.S. growth in the first quarter could further increase the Trump administration's rhetoric and pressure on the Korean economy, analysts say.



The U.S. grew 0.7 percent in the first quarter, the lowest in three years. In stark contrast, the Korean economy grew 0.9 percent on brisk exports. The latter grew above its initial forecast of 0.8 percent. Korean exports in April grew about 24 percent to $51 billion.



"The weak U.S. growth could lead it to further pressure the Korean economy over trade," Hana Financial economist Kim Doo-un said.



The U.S. designated Korea a currency manipulator in 1988. Its bilateral free trade deal with Korea has been in effect since 2012.



Should a country officially request its free trade deal with its trading partner be terminated, both sides can end it within six months of the request, according to the finance ministry.




North Korea claimed Tuesday that U.S. B-1B strategic bombers made flights over the Korean Peninsula early this week in an exercise on dropping nuclear bombs, saying that Washington is to blame for rising tensions.



The United States carried out a military provocation Monday by flying B-1B bombers over Korea less than one day after Seoul and Washington wrapped up their joint military drills at the end of last month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



The allies completed their two-month joint exercises on April 30, with U.S. strategic assets taking part in the training, such as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, F-35 stealth fighter jets and B-1B bombers.



"The B-1Bs from Guam sneakily flew over sky above the East Sea (on Monday) and joined cooperative operations with strategic striking means, including the aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine," the KCNA said in an English report.



It is not confirmed whether the North's claim is true as South Korea and the U.S. have not unveiled relevant information.



This year's military drills came amid heightened tensions on the divided peninsula over another possible North Korean nuclear test and ballistic missile launches.



The U.S. sent a Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson to the region as a show of force amid concerns about the possibility of Washington's pre-emptive strike against Pyongyang.



North Korea has warned that its military is ready to "sink" the aircraft carrier "with a single strike" if needed.



"Holding a precious sword of nuclear weapons, we are closely watching military movements of the enemy with full preparations for combats," the KCNA said.



North Korea has claimed that its development of nuclear weapons is a deterrent against what it calls Washington's hostile policy toward it. (Yonhap)




North Korean soldiers carry the Korean People's Army flag as they walk past residential buildings along Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea, Apr. 13. / AP-Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan

The Chinese Embassy in North Korea has advised Korean-Chinese residents to return home amid concern that the North's military provocations may trigger a U.S. attack on the North, according to a source.

The embassy began sending the message on Apr. 20, five days before the North celebrated the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army with a show of military power, Radio Free Asia said Tuesday.

The U.S.-based station specializes in North Korea.

The station cited a Korean-Chinese living in the North's capital, who said he left for China late last month after the embassy contacted him.
By Park Si-soo



North Korea will speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program "at the maximum pace" in response to the U.S. policy that calls for new sanctions and "maximum pressure and engagement,"

A Foreign Ministry statement circulated by the North Korea's U.N. Mission on Monday said the nuclear-armed country was ready to respond to any option taken by the U.S.












By Lee Han-soo

A pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan says U.S. President Donald Trump is a "crook" for his abrupt and seemingly uncoordinated demand that South Korea pay for its THAAD anti-missile system.

Chosun Shinbo said on Monday, "Syria's attack is a tremendous war crime, but to Trump, it was only a means to pressure China and North Korea."

"The idea and value are of a mere merchant. Even by asking South Korea for money after enforcing the THAAD deployment shows that Trump is a crook and a heinous gangster rather than a merchant."

The article came six days after Trump said he wanted to charge South Korea $1 billion for the THAAD operation here.

Many South Koreans were furious over the remark. Under the Seoul-Washington pact regarding the missile defense system, the South must provide the land while the U.S. is responsible for funding the system's operation.












China holds the key for direct talks between Washington and Pyeongyang



By Jingnan Huo



WASHINGTON D.C.  The United States needs to demonstrate its openness to dialogue and keep the growing tension on the Korean Peninsula rationally controlled, according to analysts.



"Washington needs to make a move toward negotiations with North Korea now that pressure has been put on the country," said Joseph Cirincione, a professor at the Georgetown University Graduate School of Foreign Service.



Cirincione is president of the nuclear nonproliferation advocacy group, the Ploughshares Fund, after having served as a senior vice president for National Security and International Policy at the liberal think tank, the Center for American Progress.



He was worrying over the possible "negative outcome" on the Korean Peninsula from the results of passiveness on nuclear-related issues by the United States.



"I'm afraid that if the United States doesn't engage [in dialogue] with North Korea, one side or another will make a precipitous unilateral move that could ignite a military conflict unlike anything we've seen on this planet since the Korean War," Cirincione said.



But he added that it is unlikely that Washington will engage in direct talks with Pyongyang over the latter's nuclear development programs anytime soon, as U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are now trapped with their "own commitments" to show maximum military strength.



For more than 16 years, the U.S. has officially refused to engage in direct talks with North Korea insisting that having these may reward Pyongyang. During this time, North Korea has been aggressive in advancing its nuclear weapons program.



"Trump is also hit by his unpopularity in recent polls. Unpopular leaders often look to military adventure," Cirincione stressed.



Scott Snyder, an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said he didn't rule out the possibility of Washington and Pyongyang engaging in direct talks to address nuclear-related issues; however, the talks, if they materialize, would be need-based.



"The possibility of dialogue between the United States and North Korea has been seasonal," Snyder said. "The United States and North Korea have never been able to sustain a very good dialogue in the spring because the United States and South Korea conduct military exercises every March," Snyder said.



He stressed a one-on-one dialogue between Washington and Pyeongyang would be one of the best ways to clarify their intentions and avoid a misinterpretation of signals that could arise when the two sides only communicate through messages sent through the media and military moves.



China holds the key



But a break from the long-standing stalemate between the U.S. and North Korea may be possible as China is actively raising its voice for the need of direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang to halt the North's nuclear program. Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump's desire to "make deals" could break the continued deadlock in negotiations.



Direct talks between the United States and North Korea have made important contributions. Such talks in 2003, facilitated by China, led to the six-party framework that became the main platform of dialogue with North Korea for the United States and regional stakeholders including South Korea.



"China will be indispensable in facilitating direct dialogue. You need to have an interlocutor.  China is an essential partner in both solving the problem and the negotiation," said Cirincione.



"China has done this in Beijing and then Chinese officials leave the room so that the U.S. and North Korea can talk directly. It helped bring about several agreements that the U.S. and North Korea have reached over the last 20 to 25 years," the Georgetown professor added.



But Cirincione sides with Snyder over the low probability for direct talks between Washington and Pyeongyang to begin soon.



Snyder said that Washington will find it hard to explain to the public why talking to North Korea would not be the same as giving in to the rogue state.



In a related note, Cirincione said a peace treaty between the two Koreas will only come after complete a freeze of North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, and a period of time with well-maintained agreements.



Snyder said peaceful coexistence between the two countries would be a precondition of peaceful unification of the Korea peninsula. According to his observation, a peace treaty would pose a problem for South Korea because it was not a party in the armistice agreement after the Korean War.



"North Korea wants to negotiate with the United States without South Korea, and it really wants to push the Unites States off the Korean Peninsula. South Korea will not want to be left out of the process, and it's not prepared to have the United States leave," said Snyder.



The Korea Times has partnered with Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois, in the United States, under which graduate journalism students at Medill's newsroom in Washington, D.C. will write articles about Korea. This is the fourth such piece under the partnership. Kim Yoo-chul, an assistant editor of The Korea Times, contributed to this article.




By Yi Whan-woo



North Korean state media said Tuesday two U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bombers conducted a nuclear bombing drill in South Korea, Monday.



The South Korean military confirmed the arrival of the U.S. planes hours after the North Korean report, adding to concerns over a possible preemptive strike by Washington against Pyongyang and the possible outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula.



According to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the B-1B bombers performed a drill for a nuclear attack after departing from the U.S. military base in Guam.



The KCNA said the supersonic bombers, which are capable of reaching the peninsula from Guam in just two hours, secretly entered South Korean airspace over the East Sea and carried out the drill jointly with other U.S. strike assets.



"The U.S. made an impressive act of military provocation again, bringing its notorious B-1B bombers into South Korean airspace for a nuclear bombing drill less than a day after its offensive war exercise with the South ended," the KCNA said.



It was referring to the annual Foal Eagle exercise that ran from March to Monday.



"The bombers mastered procedures and methods required for joint operation with other U.S. strategic assets that were already in the region, such as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine," the KCNA said.



The South Korean military speculated that Pyongyang meant the U.S. Navy's USS Carl Vinson and USS Michigan.



The USS Carl Vinson, a supercarrier, arrived in waters off the peninsula with its strike group, Saturday, and has been operating in the East Sea since then, according to military sources.



They said the USS Michigan, a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived in Busan on April 25 but has since left.



In a show of force against North Korea, two B1-B bombers reached South Korean airspace over the East Sea around noon Monday after leaving Anderson Air Base in Guam, the South Korean military said.



They trained there for about two to three hours, joining drills involving several air fighters, such as South Korea's F-15Ks, as well as the USS Carl Vinson.



The B-1B bombers then moved to a South Korean military training site in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, for a separate drill aimed at improving precision strike capability on North Korea.




By Park Si-soo



China said on Wednesday it had expressed serious concern to Washington and Seoul after the U.S. military started moving parts of its controversial THAAD anti-missile defence system to a deployment site in South Korea, according to Reuters.

Speaking at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China urged the U.S. and South Korea to withdraw the system.



"We have already expressed our grave concerns to the South Korean and U.S. governments," the spokesman said. "The deployment of THAAD in South Korea would destroy the strategic balance and incite a further rise in the tensions."

"The Chinese side strongly urges the U.S. and South Korea to cancel the deployment and withdraw the equipment," the spokesman noted.




All major presidential candidates have pledged to reform the system that "exploits our young countrymen in the name of patriotism" in the next government. / Yonhap



By Jung Min-ho

Over the past few years, South Korea has grown into the world's sixth largest exporter and 11th largest economy, yet one occupation, conscripted soldier, still earns less than 200,000 won ($177) a month.

The average monthly wage of a conscripted soldier was about 170,000 won last year, or a bit more than 13 percent of the country's minimum wage.

Amid growing calls for reform of the system that "exploits our young countrymen in the name of patriotism," all major presidential candidates have pledged to increase this miserable situation in the next government.

The Democratic Party of Korea's Moon Jae-in, the frontrunner in the race, promised to raise the average wage by 50 percent of the minimum wage by 2020.

Speaking to members of the online community, "Girlfriends of conscripts," at a cafe in Seoul, Monday, he said it is time for the government to stop demanding sacrifices from its people and start providing them with proper compensation.

"My government will make sure to protect their human rights and give them proper welfare services," Moon, who served his own mandatory duty from August 1975 to February 1978, said.

He also pledged to reduce the service period to 18 months from the current 21 months.

The Justice Party's Sim Sang-jung, who has long been most vocal about the poor treatment of conscripts, also welcomes the reform.

She vowed to raise the average wage to 40 percent of the minimum wage and allocate a bigger share of the national defense budget for conscripts' welfare.

During a TV debate for the candidates on April 23, she criticized conservative candidates for "abusing the national defense issues only for politics" while paying little attention to people who are doing the job.

"South Korea is the country that pays its servicemen less than 15 percent of the minimum wage," Sim said. "Conservatives are interested only in buying expensive weapons, but not in treating the people who use the weapons."

Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party, and the other two right-wing candidates are less enthusiastic about raising their wages.

Ahn said he wants to increase the average wage by 25 percent, the least among the top five candidates. But instead, he promised to outsource some non-combat tasks, such as cooking and washing clothes, so that they can focus more on training.

Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party, the first Korean politician to emphasize the need for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) here, said he also believes the average wage should be raised eventually to 50 percent of the minimum wage.

Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party said he will increase it to 300,000 won.

After the end of the Korean War in 1953, South Korea, which is still technically at war with North Korea, has required all able-bodied men to serve in the military service.

Since then, South Korea, once one of the world's poorest countries, has achieved enormous economic success but the treatment for conscripts has little improved.

According to survey results revealed last year by Media Research, a local pollster, more than 51 percent said they support adoption of a voluntary military system.
By Jun Ji-hye



Former and incumbent U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) service members will launch a new association in Washington later this week, a move expected to contribute to strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance.



The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Tuesday the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA) will bring 3.5 million members together including former USFK commanders and veterans as well as Koreans who served in the U.S. military under the Korean Augmentation to the United State Army (KATUSA) program.



USFK soldiers on active duty can also join the association, the ministry added.



The foundation ceremony will be held at the official residence of the Korean ambassador to the U.S. on Wednesday (local time) with 150 U.S. politicians and military officials in attendance.



Former USFK commander Walter Sharp will serve as the first president of the association with former ROK Army Chief of Staff Kwon Oh-sung and former Eighth U.S. Army Commander Bernard S. Champoux assuming vice president roles.



"The KDVA will contribute to promoting friendship of 3.5 million members who have contributed to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War," the ministry said in a release. "The association will play a pivotal role in enhancing the ROK-U.S. alliance."



Discussions to set up the association first began in April 2014, the ministry said, noting that since then, Korean ambassadors to the U.S., former USFK commanders, former Eighth U.S. Army commanders and former Seventh Air Force commanders have joined hands to push for it.



On April 26, the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) was founded in Seoul with the aim of financially supporting the KDVA. Former Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan assumed the chair of the foundation, while former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jung Seung-jo was appointed to vice chairman.




Thirteen lawmakers announcing their defection from the conservative Bareun Party Tuesday. / Yonhap



Thirteen lawmakers announced their departure from the conservative Bareun Party on Tuesday, saying they will support the candidate of a rival party to boost the conservatives' chances in the presidential election just seven days away.



The lawmakers said they will return to the former ruling Liberty Korea Party and back its nominee Hong Joon-pyo. Bareun, which means "righteous" in Korean, spun off from the Liberty Korea Party early this year in a factional feud.

The announcement comes as Bareun's presidential nominee Yoo Seong-min has refused to drop out despite his dismal approval ratings.



"I have no plans to merge candidacies," Yoo told reporters earlier at the National Assembly. Asked whether he will complete the race, he said, "Yes. Yes."



Front-runner Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party commands an approval rating above 40 percent, double that of the closest competitor Ahn Cheol-soo of the center-left People's Party.



After struggling for weeks with a single-digit approval rating, Hong has emerged to challenge Ahn with near 20 percent support.



With their defection, the number of Bareun's lawmakers was reduced to 19, and the party lost its status as a negotiating bloc at the National Assembly.



The mass defection could also herald the end of the party that launched in January in the wake of then-President Park Geun-hye's impeachment over a corruption scandal.



On Monday, the party's election campaign chiefs held separate meetings with Hong and Yoo to discuss the possible merger. Yoo rejected the offer, while Hong reportedly took issue with the proposed method of choosing the standard-bearer through a public opinion survey. (Yonhap)
By Choi Ha-young



A group of 300 North Korean defectors expressed support for Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Moon Jae-in, Tuesday.



This is the second time defectors have backed Moon who is leading the presidential race. On April 26, 40 other defectors, mainly in their 20s and 30s, announced they would help Moon win the election.



Defectors' support for a liberal candidate in an election here is quite rare because they have generally preferred conservatives with relatively more hawkish stances on the Kim Jong-un regime.



"We will support Moon who is the only candidate with reasonable views on North Korea and who can give careful attention to our voice," the 300 defectors said in a statement. "We believe Moon is the most qualified to achieve unification of the divided peninsula."



They claimed some ultra-right organizations, funded by the Federation of Korean Industries, mobilized them for their political rallies last year.



"We've stood by conservative groups, fooled by their honeyed words amid economic difficulties," they said. "However, they have exploited us only for their own needs, disregarding our hardships. We will no longer support them recklessly."



They lashed out at the conservatives' attempts to use North Korea and security issues to win the election, capitalizing on popular concerns about regional instability.



"Even if they brand Moon as a pro-North candidate, we won't be deceived. This is such an outdated tool," the statement said.



Rather than two former conservative presidents' hard-line policies toward Pyongyang, they called for a future-oriented diplomatic approach in handling North Korea based on frequent communication with citizens. "The hard-liners can't avoid responsibility for the North's escalating missile and nuclear threats," they said.



Last month, the young defectors said in a statement they also participated in street rallies demanding the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye early this year.




Rep. Hong Moon-pyo of the Bareun Party, center, flanked by 12 fellow lawmakers, announce their defection to the Liberty Korea Party and support for LKP presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo during a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun



By Kim Hyo-jin



Fourteen lawmakers quit the Bareun Party, Tuesday, to rejoin the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and support its presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo.



Their sudden breakaway from the splinter conservative party may affect voter sentiment in the lead-up to the May 9 election, with Hong increasingly rallying support from conservatives to become a serious challenger to top liberal candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).



"People are calling for us to unify forces to prevent a pro-North Korea, leftist politician from prevailing in the presidential election," Rep. Hong Moon-pyo, accompanied by 12 fellow lawmakers, said during a press conference, referring to Moon.



"We stand here to achieve the goal of launching a conservative government through a grand merger. We will do our best for the victory of the conservatives."



One of the 14 lawmakers, Jeong Woon-chun, was not present at the conference.



Their move will reduce the Bareun Party's seats from 32 to 18, stripping it of its status as a negotiating bloc at the National Assembly. The second-largest LKP's seats will increase to 108.



The defections come after in-house conflicts in the bareun Party over whether to continue the race with its presidential candidate Yoo Seong-min who has suffered a stagnant, low single-digit support rate.



The defectors had reportedly pressured Yoo to quit the race and join hands with Hong. The LKP candidate has recently gained momentum, vying for the runner-up position with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party in opinion polls.



With the members' uneasiness growing as the election day approaches, party leaders suggested Monday that Yoo consider fielding a single candidate with Hong. Yoo, however, rejected the call and reaffirmed his position to run in the race without compromise.



"I don't think the existing old-fashioned, corrupt and fake conservatives can change the country, and rather believe conservative politics will collapse," Yoo told reporters following a conference with fellow lawmakers.



"I'm practicing politics in the Bareun Party to create hope for new conservatives and committing to run in the presidential race is part of this process."



About the politicians abandoning his party, he said, "I hoped to take this tough path with them but I still understand they had to make such a decision."



Despite Yoo's resolve, the party has a tough road ahead as more defections are expected. Party officials said three to four more lawmakers could follow suit in the coming days.



The party leaders, Rep. Kim Moo-sung, Choung Byoung-gug and Joo Ho-young, abstained from quitting the party, but stepped back from supporting Yoo's campaign.



The LKP has expectations that the lawmakers' return will be a boost for Hong to draw more conservative votes.

One party official said, "Internal surveys found that Hong's support rate has already surpassed Ahn's even though polls show they are neck-and-neck. Our goal is now to overtake Moon."



In a show of confidence, Hong wrote on Facebook later in the day, "Putting a single candidate in the conservative bloc has already been realized."



Political observers were also in line with the party's positive expectations. "Conservative voters will now have the assurance that Hong is a representative candidate of the conservative bloc. They could give second thoughts about supporting Ahn as the lesser evil," senior political analyst Hwang Tae-soon said.



Mindful of the changing landscape and possible adverse effects, Ahn noted on Facebook, "I'm concerned it will propel the simple rivalry between two big parties who have been in a hostile yet symbiotic relationship."
Hong Joon-pyo, presidential candidate of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, smiles as he leaves a meeting with religious figures near the party's office near the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo

Hong Joon-pyo, the presidential candidate of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), is fast rallying support from conservative voters and becoming a serious challenger to Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), according to the latest polls, Tuesday.

In final polling before surveys are banned from being made public, Wednesday, ahead of the May 9 election, Hong virtually closed the gap with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party.

The surveys were taken before Tuesday, so the defections of 14 Bareun Party lawmakers to the LKP were not reflected in the results.

Under the Election Law, taking new surveys on presidential candidates and sharing the results publicly will be banned starting Wednesday. It will only be allowed to cite the poll results released before Wednesday up to the May 9 presidential election.

Given the circumstances, the voters will have to guess whether the defection of the Bareun Party legislators will raise the popularity of Hong by absorbing Yoo Seong-min's supporters.





Yoo Seong-min, presidential candidate of the Bareun Party, hangs his head after receiving reporters' questions about defections of 14 of 32 Bareun Party lawmakers to the Liberty Korea Party as he enters his office at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Yoo said their defections are "heartbreaking," but vowed to finish the presidential race. / Yonhap



In a JoongAng Ilbo poll taken from Sunday to Monday, Hong garnered support of 16.5 percent against Ahn's 21.8 percent.

Hong's support rose from 11.7 percent in the previous week, while Ahn's fell from 29.4 percent.

Frontrunner Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) maintained the lead with 39.3 percent in the five-way race involving Yoo and Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party.

Yoo gained 4.9 percent, up from 4.4 percent, trailing behind fourth-placed Sim with 9.2 percent.

A group of lawmakers from the Bareun Party has been pressing Yoo to resign in a bid to help raise Hong's support and possibly defeat Ahn and even Moon.

In a separate survey taken by Gallup Korea from Sunday to Monday, Hong garnered support of 14.9 percent for third place against Ahn's 19.1 percent.

Moon carried 37.7 percent, Sim with 8.2 percent and Yoo with 3.6 percent.

Pollster Research & Research said Hong won support of 16.2 percent, trailing second-place Ahn who collected 20.8 percent, in a poll taken from Saturday to Sunday.

Yoo said he will finish the presidential race regardless of the poll results, claiming "They do not precisely reflect public opinion."

Political sources said each camp of the five presidential candidates is trying to cope with unpredictability.

Some sources warned fake news and malicious rumors may affect the presidential campaign at the last minute.
By Jun Ji-hye



The largest liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Tuesday it is not considering launching a parliamentary investigation into the government's controversial push for the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here.



It also denied reports that it will file a complaint with the prosecution against acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, Defense Minister Han Min-koo, National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and Foreign Affairs Minister Yun Byung-se on allegations of abuse of power and breach of trust.



The comments came as some DPK members called for the investigation of the high-ranking government officials in charge of foreign affairs and national security on suspicions that they conducted "unjustified negotiations" with the United States and allowed the hasty installation of the advanced missile defense system.



They also said such an opaque decision-making resulted in U.S. President Donald Trump's call for Seoul to pay for the anti-missile system, with his security adviser, H. R. McMaster, having opened the possibility of renegotiation with South Korea.



However, DPK leaders turned cautious about seeking a National Assembly investigation and filing a complaint against the security team, apparently mindful of the possible adverse impact on conservative voters ahead of the presidential election that is just a week away.



DPK Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae said, "Some reports stated we will seek a parliamentary investigation and file a complaint (against the security team). But that is not true. We are not considering it for now."



Floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho also took a cautious approach, saying the party's official stance is in line with its presidential candidate Moon Jae-in. The liberal candidate has said the issue should be handed over to the next government so that the next president can review it and make a final decision.



"It is improper to make a decision now regarding the pros and cons of THAAD," Woo told reporters. "The issue should be given to the next government as a bargaining chip."



He added, "If Moon is elected, he will call in the relevant officials and receive a briefing. Then, he will find out the truth."



For his part, Moon criticized the U.S. administration's call for Seoul to pay for THAAD, noting the system's priority is to protect United States Forces Korea (USFK) bases.



"The system deployed in Seongju County cannot protect South Korean people living in the capital and its surrounding area," he said during a radio appearance. "I want to ask President Trump about whether the U.S. government can make a unilateral decision on the deployment and the cost issue without consultation with Congress."



Meanwhile, National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin denied reports, also published Tuesday, that he had been notified at the end of last year of the U.S.'s intention to make Seoul bear the cost for THAAD.



"The reports are groundless," Kim's office said in a release.



Justice Party presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung said that the truth behind the deployment decision should be unearthed, claiming, "I believe the government has signed a behind-the-scenes deal with the U.S."



Rep. Kim Jong-dae said that President Trump told Reuters last week that he had already "informed" South Korea that it would be appropriate for Seoul to pay for the system, which he estimated at about $1 billion.



"McMaster also hinted at renegotiating terms of the THAAD agreement in line with Trump's remarks," Kim said. "This is evidence of closed-door negotiations on THAAD between the two countries. And provides reason enough to investigate what happened during their negotiations."




A group of lawmakers from the conservative Bareun Party announced Tuesday that they will support the presidential candidate of the former ruling Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and rejoin it with the election just seven days away.



The lawmakers came to the decision after the Bareun Party's presidential nominee Yoo Seong-min refused to drop out of the race in support of the LKP's Hong Joon-pyo, who has been third in public polls following the Democratic Party of Korea's Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party. Although Yoo was one of the better speakers in the series of TV presidential debates, his approval rating has not improved significantly.



The so-called anti-Yoo faction said that their decision to defect was to respond to the "people's call for a conservative merger" and to ensure that the conservatives take power.



With a weak presidential candidate, it is understandable that the 14 saw the need to stand with Hong, who has been rising in the polls despite lacking many of the qualities of a proper leader. After remaining in the single-digit approval rating, Hong is challenging Ahn with support of near 20 percent. But the lawmakers' decision to rejoin the LKP goes completely against the founding spirit of the Bareun Party, which was to part ways from the corrupt forces of the Park Geun-hye administration. The decision clearly shows that their priority lies in their own political future, not in transforming conservative politics in accordance with the people's wishes after the impeachment and removal from office of former President Park.



Despite Yoo's ties to Park during her days as party leader, the former economist was chosen to represent the party legitimately. The Bareun Party lawmakers should have put all their support behind their candidate no matter what. It is unthinkable for a normal political party to abandon their own candidate and profess support for the candidate of a rival party. Such selfish and short-sighted politicians should be severely judged by voters in future elections.




New president must be cool-headed over THAAD billing



There are growing signs that a "Trump risk" will hit Korea soon following a controversy over who should pay for a U.S. missile defense system being deployed here. Given that Trump could upend agreements even with an ally for the national interest, the new Korean president who will be elected in the May 9 snap election needs to approach the issue cool-headedly.



The controversy over the billing for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery erupted last week when the new U.S. president said Seoul should assume the payment. There has been confusion since then, although the top security officials of the allies held phone calls.



After talking with his U.S. counterpart H.R. McMaster, Seoul's National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin said McMaster reconfirmed the allies' original agreement. But the White House national security adviser denied Kim's remarks later, raising the possibility of renegotiation.



For now, it's unclear whether Washington will officially ask Seoul to pay the $1 billion THAAD cost. But the likelihood is that Trump will show his true character as a businessman through the upcoming talks on the Seoul-Washington defense cost-sharing deal or their free trade agreement.



Most worrisome is that the fundamental value of our coveted alliance might be undermined as Trump sees it as a bargaining chip rather than as a security concern. Before his election, the former real estate magnate had reiterated that allies should pay more for hosting American troops, and the THAAD billing conflict comes as a heightened risk for Korea.



The biggest problem is that it is questionable if Trump has the right understanding of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, considering his tendency to put a price even on national security. No one can object to a country pursuing its national interest, but we cannot help being disappointed with Trump's ignorance of Korea's difficult position. Cracks in the Seoul-Washington alliance will no doubt damage both sides. It will be North Korea's young dictator Kim Jong-un who is going to smile.



We cannot rule out the possibility that our leadership vacuum caused by the impeachment of the sitting president might have prompted this regrettable situation. True, Korea has had no chance to inform Trump of critical issues on the peninsula through high-level diplomatic channels.



It's apparent that the Trump administration's demand for the THAAD bill will be on top of the national agenda facing our new president. That is why leading presidential candidates must map out new and viable strategies for the Korea-U.S. alliance even now. An unimaginable security crisis could occur if the new president takes office unprepared.



What is most urgent is for the new head of state to hold summit talks with Trump as soon as possible. He or she needs to let Trump appreciate the real value of our longstanding alliance.




By Lee Hyo-sik



E-Land Group will dispose of a 69 percent stake in its retail unit to a consortium of private equity funds (PEFs) for $531 million to raise capital to improve its deteriorating financial health, company officials said Tuesday.



The move comes after the mid-tier fashion-and-retail business group failed to take E-Land Retail public early this year. E-Land Retail is the flagship unit of the financially strapped business group, which operates NC Department Store, Kim's Club and New Core Outlet. In 2016, it earned nearly 5 trillion won in annual sales.



"After delaying the initial public offering (IPO) of E-Land Retail, we decided to sell the 69 percent stake in the firm to a group of PEFs to secure much-needed cash," an E-Land Group official said. "Together with the funds, we will float company shares on the local bourse in 2018 after separating E-Land Park from it."



E-Land was forced to suspend the IPO process late last year after E-Land Park, which operates the group's hotels, restaurants and other leisure-related businesses, caused a public outcry for its controversial mistreatment of part-time workers.



The company was found to have withheld 8.4 billion won in wages from 44,400 part-timers working at its restaurant chains. Since then, the local bourse operator has been reluctant to let E-Land raise money on the capital market. E-Land Retail holds an 85.3 percent stake in E-Land Park.



Separately, the group also decided to sell Ashley, Pizza Mall and 16 other restaurant brands to MBK Partners. Korea's largest homegrown private equity fund has been conducting due diligence on E-Land Park.



"We expect to sign a sales contract with MBK in June if everything goes as scheduled," the official said. "We cannot say exactly how much we would like to get for our restaurant chains. But if the deal goes through, this will definitely bolster our financial soundness."



According to industry analysts familiar with the matter, the envisioned sale of E-Land's 18 restaurant brands, which earned a combined 680 billion won in sales in 2016, could reach as much as 1 trillion won.



Over the past year, E-Land has been trying to raise fresh funds to improve its declining financial soundness.



It sold Teenie Weenie to Chinese fashion brand V-GRASS for 1 trillion won and disposed of real estate. But to put an end to investors' lingering concerns about its financial health, E-Land needs to list its shares of E-Land Retail and raise trillions of won in capital.



The group has also had its conflicts with Korea Investors Service, Korea Ratings and other credit ratings agencies, which either downgraded its credit ratings or threaten to do so, citing its shaky financial state.




North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. Analysts say an oil embargo could paralyse Kim's government.



Beijing could back such a move following a new nuclear test by Pyongyang, analysts say



By Shi Jiangtao





Beijing would consider an oil embargo against Pyongyang in the case of further nuclear tests by its reclusive neighbour, according to diplomatic analysts.

A suspension of oil supplies from Beijing could deal a much harder blow to Pyongyang than any of the existing sanctions, possibly paralysing the government of Kim Jong-un.

But analysts said China was unlikely to impose further sanctions on North Korea without a mandate from the UN Security Council, given Beijing's sweeping ban on coal imports from the North since February.

Though economic data, especially on the sensitive crude-oil trade, is sketchy, analysts believe Pyongyang has for years relied on oil imports almost entirely from China, its top trade partner and economic aid provider.

Rumours of a Chinese oil embargo have seen gas prices in Pyongyang rise by more than 80 per cent in recent days, but it would take an international ban on oil to North Korea of at least six months to have a major impact, said Sun Xingjie, a North Korea specialist from Jilin University.

"Instead of an oil embargo of just one or two months, which is unlikely to have a major impact on North Korea's strategic oil reserves, we are talking about a halt in Chinese crude oil supplies for at least six months. That would be a real nightmare for Kim," he said.

Ahead of a Security Council meeting on North Korea on Friday, which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was to attend, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Fox News that he had been informed












A demonstration by North Korean military forces to celebrate its army's 85th anniversary, as broadcast in a news bulletin in North Korea on April 26, 2017.



Despite differences in priorities, the two powers have come together to deal with Pyongyang's challenge, analysts say

By Laura Zhou





The rising crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions has forced China and the United States to work together  at least for now  but tensions remain high in the Korean Peninsula.

Regional observers say the two powers have come together in an effort to deal with North Korea.

"Both nations have been continuing to coordinate on the North Korea issues after the Trump-Xi summit as there is a gap in the understanding between the two governments," said Li Kaisheng, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

"Trump is tough on North Korea and the Chinese government needs to express its own position as an unstable Korean Peninsula is the last thing Beijing wants, so frequent negotiation within a short period of time is necessary."

Though China and the US differed on their priorities on the North Korean crisis, the issue was where both sides could find common ground, according to Sun Xingjie, a Korean affairs expert from Jilin University.

This was especially so compared with other more contentious issues such as the South China Sea and trade, he said.

China's biggest concern was a new nuclear test by Pyongyang, while the US was more worried about the North's inter-continental missile capabilities, he added.












The "Running Man" cast admitted that they were caught unaware of former cast member Kang Gary's surprise wedding announcement. In a recent interview, they shared their honest feelings about their friend's recent marriage.

In a report by Soompi, Song Ji Hyo, one-half of "Running Man" Monday couple along with Gary shared that she was happy about Gary's marriage, she was disappointed that they were kept in the dark about it and only found out about it through the news. She also revealed that Gary changed his number so they are unable to contact him. She asked Gary to get in touch with the "Running Man" gang soon.

"Running Man" mainstay Haha, for his part said that Gary was an eccentric person and that being his friends, they understood this about his personality. Haha said that he tried to contact Gary to congratulate him but he didn't receive a reply.

The "Running Man" team also shared their love for Gary when they all cheered "7102" a number that is significant to the cast. It can be recalled that in one episode of "Running Man", the cast members had to think of a secret number and Yoo Jae Suk had to jump the number of times that he thought his cast mates picked. Surprisingly, they all picked the number 7 so it became a memorable number for them. 012 means forever in Korean so the combined numbers became a symbol of their friendship.

In related news, Gary cancelled his upcoming concert in Malaysia for an undisclosed reason, leading some fans to believe that it had something to do with his marriage. A report by Soompi cited his agency's clarification that it had nothing to do with personal reasons, All Kpop reported.

"Gary's concert in Malaysia was canceled because the production company on that side did not send us the contract fee," Gary's agency explained. "We had confirmed the concert in early-March, but they continued to push back the payment, so unfortunately, we had to cancel the show."
It seems that rumors don't stop for the relationship between Lee Min Ho and Bae Suzy. After previously, Lee Min Ho was reported to be sad leaving for army duty, recently he was rumored to quit military service to accompany Suzy in her pregnancy.

Lee Min Ho is about to leave for army soon. Yet, a strong rumor about him quitting military service for Suzy arised after saying that he was sad about his enlistment. In an interview, he said that he wanted to do it in his 20s, yet he couldn't do it because of his job. But, he said that he was grateful to have amazing jobs in his 20s. Although he was a bit sad for this enlistment, he was also grateful for his career, HeeloKpop reported.

Recently, the rumor about the breakup of Lee Min Ho and Suzy came out because the actor will leave for his army duty. But, it seems that the rumor isn't true as both seemed to be happier. Also, they were reported to spend time together for celebrating their second anniversary, ibTimes reported.

Another strong rumor came up again after Poor Primadona reported that the two might be expecting their baby together. The two seemed getting closer than ever. Thus, the rumors were all around.

About Lee Min Ho's enlistment, it was rumored that he might quit his army duty because of Suzy. As Suzy was rumored to be pregnant, actor Lee Min Ho wanted to accompany her, KoreaPortal reported. The issue might come because Lee Min Ho was previously reported to be jealous of Suzy's co-lead, Lee Jong Suk.

Regarding the rumors that all around these two stars, there is no official statement from them. Thus, fans are left with prediction only. Meanwhile, Lee Min Ho will leave for his army duty on May 12. Fans are expecting for him to be safe and do his duty well until he finishes military service.

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It's official. "Goblin" actor Gong Yoo wants to play a villain for his next film or drama role. The confirmation came from the actor himself in a recent question and answer session he had with his fans leading up to his fan meeting in Taiwan last April 28.

According to a report by Soompi, Gong Yoo said that he would like to try out something different from his usual acting roles. He said he wants to play someone from the opposite side of the spectrum for his next character.

"I want to challenge myself to play a villain," Gong Yoo said. "I've always played relatively upright roles, so now I want to try out the role of a lazy and ungainly person. A crazy person sounds good too."

Throughout his career, Gong Yoo has played mostly leading men roles in successful Korean dramas like "Coffee Prince", "Big" and most recently, the supernatural drama "Goblin" where he plays the role of a lonely and immortal god. His role in the smash hit "Train to Busan" where he plays the role of an official who is found to be responsible for the zombie outbreak that plagued Seoul was considered darker than his average characters but not to the point of evil.

Speaking of zombies, Gong Yoo said that if he were to save anyone when a zombie outbreak happens in real life, the actor had a very surprising answer. Instead of saving a person, he said he would save his two pet cats because having zombie cats would be a scarier thought to deal with than regular zombies.

Meanwhile, Gong Yoo said in an interview he has been laying low on social media recently because nowadays, he wants to appreciate his experiences in real life rather than post for the sake of posterity. He said that while many people share different thoughts about using social media, he believes that there are some people the who use the platform to project a different character or show themselves as someone different. He said he does not want to come off as someone who is not genuine because of his posts.
Everyone knows Park Hyung Sik as the sweetest guy ever, especially when it comes to the way he treats women around them. The ZE:A idol once again proves that chivalry isn't dead by helping out his "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" co-star, Park Bo Young in the sweetest way possible.

Korea Boo reported Park Hyung Sik and Park Bo Young recently attended a meet and greet event held by Korea Travel Fair, Singapore. During the event, fans discovered a simple, yet meaningful gesture that Park Hyung Sik did to Park Bo Young. The "Oh My Ghostess" star was seen struggling to get comfort with her chair.

Park Bo Young was trying multiple times to lower her chair, yet it wouldn't move. Park Hyung Sik then lowered his chair and gave it to Park Bo Young without saying a word. Park Hyung Sik's chivalrous manner didn't stop there. After switching seats with Park Bo Young, he didn't forget to give her a blanket to cover her legs.

Park Hyung Sik's gentlemanliness towards Park Bo Young clearly has made everyone swoon, hoping the on-screen couple would eventually date in real life. Fans are keeping their hopes high, especially when Park Hyung Sik admitted that he loves Park Bo Young.

In another occasion, Park Hyung Sik was asked to describe his ideal type of woman, which was pretty much similar to Park Bo Young's personality. Meanwhile, Park Bo Young has also admitted that she adores Park Hyung Sik since his ZE:A days. She also said that she's a fan of ZE:A and even knows all of its songs. She and Park Hyung Sik sometimes sang to ZE:A songs together.

Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik's chemistry clearly has led anyone to believe they're in a relationship. As of now, Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik only want to maintain their relationship as colleagues.
BTS is on a roll and no one can stop them. The group, which recently smashed the record set by One Direction on the Billboard Top 50 chart, recently reached another milestone on youtube for their "Blood, Sweat and Tears" MV. This comes seven months after they initially released the video.

While BTS' other videos are breaking records for the fastest time to reach the most number of views, its "Blood, Sweat and Tears" MV recently marked a different achievement. The video recently reached 2 million likes making it the most liked video on youtube from any K-pop group, SBS Pop Asia reported.

According to a report by Kpopstarz, BTS has also been making waves on Billboard Top 50 charts as it recently surpassed the 21-week record set by both Miley Cyrus and Rihanna on the list. BTS is currently on its 22nd week on the chart and has maintained a strong foothold and on the #1 or #2 position since it entered the list last October.

With its achievement, BTS has become the most successful musical group on the Billboard Chart in terms of most number of weeks as its closest competition, British boy band One Direction only managed to stay on the chart for eight weeks. As it stands, BTS only trails Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift as the artist with the most number of weeks on top of the charts.

It can be recalled that Justin Bieber currently holds the record for 161 weeks on the chart while Taylor Swift impressively stayed on the Billboard Top 50 for 28 weeks. With its pace, BTS stands to tie with Swift's record in six week's time if it maintains its momentum.

Meanwhile, BTS' legion of ARMY fandom has made the first day of voting for the Billboard Music Awards as a show of force, making BTS' hasthtag trend worldwide. It can be recalled that BTS earned a nomination for Top Social Artist for the BMAs and goes head to head with Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Shawn Mendez for the award, All Kpop reported.
"Goblin" actor, Gong Yoo held his first fan meeting in Taiwan on April 29. The 37-year-old actor spoiled his Taiwanese fans with numerous unforgettable activities.

Yonhap News reported Gong Yoo gathered 5,500 fans to Hsinchang Gymnasium Taipei. Multiple Taiwanese news outlets have covered every event, right when Gong Yoo landed in Taiwan to his departure on April 30. On his first fan meeting in Taiwan, Gong Yoo spent and a half hours with his fans. The "Coffee Prince" actor couldn't help to shed his tears as he watched a video from his fans.

Soompi mentioned Gong Yoo tried his best to not let fans see him crying. The actor was seen turning his head around to hide his tears when fans presented self-made clips and banners that read: My First Love and Let the days be bright when Gong Yoo with us. He couldn't believe the amount of love he receives from fans. A self-reflection from his early days as an actor hit him hard as the video displayed his pictures from time to time.

Gong Yoo admitted he has been working hard without taking a break, and the video has successfully made him weak-hearted. Yoon Eun Hye's lead man in "Coffee Prince" is determined to be a stronger man in the future for his fans.

Meanwhile, Gong Yoo's fans praised him for his humbleness. They hope Gong Yoo will stay forever that way even when he becomes more successful than he's already now.

Gong Yoo brought along his best friends, MYQ, Kwon Jin Ah, Jung Seung Hwan, and Sam Kim. The actor also spoiled his fans by singing Yoo Jae Ha's "Myself Reflected In". Gong Yoo wore an all-black outfit that somehow reminds everyone of Lee Dong Wook's grim reaper in "Goblin". After wrapping up his fan meeting in Taiwan, Gong Yoo is set to hold his next event in Hong Kong on May 6.
Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo have been linked to a dating rumor ever since they pulled off strong chemistry in "Descendants of The Sun". Recently, there was rumor saying Song Joong Ki would be stepping down from the industry before he tied the knot with "Full House" actress.

On his recent interview with W Magazine, Song Joong Ki expressed his desire to settle down and build a perfect family. However, according to Soompi, the 30-year-old actor also felt the strong feeling to take a break from acting and spend more time for himself now that he's in his 30s.

When asked about his upcoming movie "Battleship Island", which set to release on July, Song Joong Ki stated he's optimistic that the movie will be a huge success. The success of "Battleship Island" could be a great farewell gift for Song Joong Ki before he steps down from the acting industry for the time being.

While rumors about Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo dating wouldn't seem to die anytime soon, the rumored couple has come to an agreement not to say anything regarding the rumor. Song Hye Kyo has decided to put her energy in the more productive way, rather than worrying about the rumor with Song Joong Ki. Koogle TV reported the "Autumn In My Heart" actress was featured in a new commercial for Laneige's new product.

In the commercial, Song Hye Kyo is seen waking up to a flawless, radiant skin, just like how she looks every day. Song Hye Kyo's beauty as it turned out, has awed everyone including rising star Park Bo Young. The "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" actress praised Song Hye Kyo for her timeless beauty, saying the actress looks much prettier than her even without any makeup on.

Song Hye Kyo has yet to take another acting project within this year. She probably wants to take a brief break after her performance in the critically-acclaimed drama "Descendants of The Sun" last year.

Watch Song Hye Kyo's new commercial below!
Camden County sheriff's detectives say an autopsy on Monday found no sign of foul play for the death of a University of Iowa freshman. He died after becoming unconscious at a lakeside resort motel at Camden on the Lake, at the end of Horsehoe Bend Parkway, west of Lake Ozark.

Someone found Kamil Jackowski, 19, of Arlington Heights, Ill., unconscious in the motel about 7 a.m. Sunday. Paramedics took him to the hospital in Osage Beach but doctors could not revive him.

Camden County sheriff's Lt. Arlyne Page says Jackowski was attending a fraternity event.

Page says toxicology tests after the autopsy may take between six and eight weeks. She said, until the toxicology results are received, no further information can be provided as to the cause of death.

The Arklington Heights Daily Herald reports Jackowski was in Missouri for a Sigma Chi fraternity formal, and that University of Iowa fraternity and sorority leaders announced Monday they are indefinitely banning alcohol from all official events.

----
San Diego Police dont believe the La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex shooting in University Town Center, which ended with one unidentified woman shot dead on Sunday, April 30, had racial motivation. There are zero indicators that the victims were targeted for their race, said San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Chief Shelly Zimmerman at a press conference, May 1.

The incident happened around 6 p.m. April 30 when a white male identified by SDPD as 49-year-old Peter Selis opened fire poolside, wounding seven people, all of them African American or Latino. Police learned that in the days prior to the incident, the shooter and his then-girlfriend had broken their relationship, and police believe the shooting was a way to gain her attention.

Selis, who lived at the apartment complex, arrived at the community pool and laid on one of the pool chairs for 30 minutes. Then, according to Chief Zimmerman, he took a cellphone, called his ex and told her had shot two people and police had arrived on the scene. He continued talking to her, he wanted his girlfriend to listen. The victims just happened to be present.

Zimmerman said as of 11:15 a.m. Monday, two of the seven victims remain in critical condition. However, she said, they are stable and all expected to survive. Six of the victims were shot, and a seventh was injured while trying to escape the scene.

The shooter, who also fired at police, was shot and killed by police officers. Zimmerman said he used a 45-caliber handgun during the assault, and the number of rounds shot was unknown at the time.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the heroic actions of our security personnel who worked not to victimize more people, Zimmermann added.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer also thanked the medical teams working around the clock to give the victims the best possible care, the security forces and San Diegans as a whole for their outpouring support, coming together as one community. Our men and women yesterday did heroic actions in a horrific situation.

District 1 City Council member Barbara Bry said she was still in shock after the shooting. I cannot think of anything more devastating than losing a loved one to senseless gun violence, she continued, offering her condolences to the families.
PRESS RELEASE

McMaster: We Should Be Militarily Prepared for North Korea

May 1, 2017 (EIRNS)During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, yesterday, H.R. McMaster, President Trumps national security advisor, said the United States should be prepared for military action, if necessary, in North Korea.

"We do have to do something, and so, we have to do something, again, with partners in the region and globally. And that involves enforcement of the UN sanctions that are in place. It may mean ratcheting up those sanctions even further. And it also means being prepared for military operations if necessary,"

McMaster said.

President Donald Trump has connected military options to what were trying to do politically, he said.

"For too long, those two things were disconnected from each other. So, you need the viable option, the military option, to help make what you were doing diplomatically, economically, with sanctions, viable, to be able to resolve this problem short of what would be, as the president said, a major, major war and a humanitarian catastrophe,"

McMaster said.

McMaster also praised Chinas efforts in resolving the crisis.

"We do see China starting to do something. Weve seen it in Chinese public statements; weve seen it in the Chinese press," McMaster said. "You see it in the more strident and stringent enforcement of existing UN sanctions." But he said that more needs to be done, still, and that the United States will be asking China to do more.
May 1, 2017 (EIRNS)With further Astana, Kazakhstan talks scheduled for May 3-4, Russia released a four-point proposal on how the ceasefire should proceed. It includes safety lines, checkpoints, and monitoring centers. The paper below has been distributed to opposition members, and is reported in Sputnik today:

"Russia proposes creating four zones of reduction of tensions in Syria: in Idlib province, north of the city of Homs; in Eastern Ghouta; and in the South of Syria," the paper states. The warring parties would not be able to use any weapons in these zones, Sputnik reports.



The paper emphasizes that it is necessary to create conditions to drive out Daesh and the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations (both outlawed in numerous countries) from de-escalation zones, with the help of the Syrian opposition.





Russia also proposes "creating safety lines along all the borders of the de-escalation zones, in order to avoid direct fire between the sides of the Syrian conflict," the paper reads.



Such lines would require checkpoints for the entrance of civilians without weapons and humanitarian deliveries, as well as monitoring centers to control the ceasefire regime.





"Russian proposals on de-escalation in Syria envisage possible deployment of guarantor states armed groups to the country for ceasefire monitoring, and the creation of a joint working group to elaborate a plan with de-escalation borders shortly," the Russian paper with proposals reads.



"It is possible that ceasefire guarantor states [Russia, Turkey, Iran] send armed groups ... for ceasefire monitoring..." the paper reads.




PRESS RELEASE

Trump Says He Would Meet Kim Jong Un in the Right Circumstances

May 1, 2017 (EIRNS)U.S. President Donald Trump told Bloomberg News that, "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him [Kim Jong Un], I would be honored to do it," in an Oval Office interview this morning. "If its underagain, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."

Trump continued,

"Most political people would never say that, but Im telling you, under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news,"

Bloomberg reported Trump as saying. The 27-year-old Kim Jong Un has never met with a foreign leader since taking charge of North Korea after his fathers death in 2011.

The Bloomberg story reports that North Korea has become the most urgent national security threat and foreign policy issue facing Trump, who has just completed his first 100 days in office. Right now, Bloomberg points out, the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with North Korea. Some military analysts project that North Korea is on track to develop a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile that could reach the continental U.S. as soon as 2020, the interview says.

Although President Trump has sent an aircraft carrier group and a submarine to the region, the Trump administration has emphasized the use of economic sanctions and diplomacy to persuade North Korea to give up its efforts to develop nuclear missiles.

President Trump has said hes encouraged by Chinese President Xi Jinpings efforts to defuse the situation, Bloomberg reports, which implies that China is making efforts to set up talks. Trump and the Chinese President have talked several times since their meeting in March at Trumps Mar-al-Lago private club in Florida.
PRESS RELEASE

Trump Roils Wall StreetReaffirms Support for Glass-Steagall

May 1, 2017 (EIRNS)President Donald Trump directly reaffirmed his support for a "21st Century Glass-Steagall" bill in a Bloomberg News interview this morning, saying, "Im looking into that right now. Theres some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So were going to look at that."

Financial press in New York and London have been full of attacks on Glass-Steagall for the past four weeks, reflecting fear the President might do exactly this; and also showing Wall Streets awareness that a crash of corporate debt is threatened this year. Washington, D.C. Capitol Hill publications have also published attempts to discredit Glass-Steagalland Bloomberg itself is now trying to cloud the Presidents words with more such "debunkings." But no alternative has the credibility with the public, or the track record of Glass-Steagall in preserving stability and soundness in the U.S. banking system.

Trumps statements came during a 30-minute interview by Bloombergs Jennifer Jacobs and Margaret Talev. A secondary report on Bloomberg, however, notes that, although Trumps mere campaign statements on Glass-Steagall had "roiled" the "more moderate" (free-trade) Republicans, "the grass-roots base of the Republican and the Democratic Partiespeople like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warrenhave both advocated for the return of Glass-Steagall."

An hour after the interview, Presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer noted Trumps meeting with the Independent Community Bankers of America, and his "looking at 21st-Century Glass-Steagall." Later Spicer said, in answer to a question,

"He [Trump] talked about it in the campaign. Hes mentioned before, his idea of a 21st-Century Glass-Steagall, a modernization of it. Were not at a point where were able to roll out details at this time. He is actively considering options on it."

The ball is now in Congresss court, and urgently.
CalPERS used to set the gold standard for public pension funds in its investment approach, its integrity, and its management. A financial scandal and lackluster investment returns have eroded its reputation in recent years, but the CalPERS board better hope that no one pays too much attention to how its handled its latest intramural controversy if it hopes to preserve whats left of its credibility.

Credibility is an important quality for the California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest public defined-benefit fund in the country. At the moment, it hangs by a thread.

The controversy involves an astonishing attack launched against Board of Administration member J.J. Jelincic by one of his colleagues, William J. Slaton, during an open meeting on Jan. 19.

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As we reported, Slaton accused Jelincic of repeatedly disclosing confidential board material to the public. He demanded that Jelincic resign. If Jelincic refused (as he did), Slaton wanted him to be barred from all closed sessions of the board or its committeespunishments the board apparently had no legal authority to impose. Slaton refused to provide details of Jelincics supposed misdeeds in public.

If youre going to say I ought to resign, then you should say, This is what you did, and give me a chance to defend myself.  CalPERS board member J.J. Jelincic

The affair now appears to have reached its dismal conclusion. CalPERS Board President Rob Feckner has determined that Jelincic did disclose nonpublic information, but wont say what it was. The punishment, according to sources, is that Jelincic is to attend a one-day public conference by the California State Bar on the states open meetings and public records laws already scheduled for May 19 at UC Berkeley Law School.

As discipline goes, thats risibly meager. If Id have known that conference existed, Jelincic says, I probably would have asked to go to it.

The outcome suggests that Jelincics offenses must have been minor indeed, certainly not warranting his resignation. It also suggests that Slaton was out of line in publicly lodging explosive but unspecified accusations against Jelincic in public.

Slaton didnt respond to my questions about the outcome of the case. Feckner told me by email that he decided that a confidential resolution is the best way to provide leadership to the Board in terms of collegiality, civility and ethical conduct and is appropriate under the circumstances. He concluded, As far as Im concerned, this matter is closed.

Is it?

Jelincic, as we observed in the past, isnt everybodys mustard. Slaton isnt his only board colleague to find his manner grating, an opinion undoubtedly shared by some CalPERS staff members who have come under his lash at board hearings and have known him as a fellow staffer  he worked for the CalPERS investment office before getting elected to the board as a representative of the funds beneficiaries. In 2011 the board censured Jelincic for alleged sexual harassment of co-workers.

But he does ask questions that other board members are content to let lie. After he questioned CalPERS private equity officials in August 2015 about the fees being charged by their portfolio managers, CalPERS became much more open about how much it was paying, and more skeptical about whether the portfolio was even worth keeping.

Feckners private resolution bears all the signs of an effort to head off further embarrassment for the board. But since it leaves Slatons charges hanging in midair, its hard to see how it enhances collegiality, civility and ethical conduct.

Thats especially so because Jelincic insisted from the outset that the specifics of Slatons charges be aired in public. If youre going to say I ought to resign, he told me this week, then you should say, This is what you did, and give me a chance to defend myself.

CalPERS officials say Jelincic and his lawyer agreed to the private resolution, but he says that they didnt have any choice  Feckner had the authority to operate behind closed doors. As recently as the boards Feb. 15 meeting, Jelincic was still demanding a public proceeding.

I was publicly slandered, he said then. I should have the opportunity to defend myself in open session. If there is discipline, it ought to be imposed in open session.

Feckner also says that a private resolution is proper because the board material that Jelincic was accused of disclosing was, after all, confidential. But not any more, obviously, since the charge is that it reached the public by his actions. Feckner says he did not want any issues that were originally discussed with the Board in private to now officially be aired in public, regardless of whether they had already been revealed.

Jelincic late Tuesday threw down the gauntlet again with his board colleagues. I have tried to be cooperative, he wrote in an emailed statement, but recent events have shown that my cooperation has been taken as tacit agreement that the charges are legitimate. They are NOT.

He did confirm two specific charges against him that previously had leaked out, but that dont make CalPERS look any better. He says he was accused of revealing in November the confidential information that CalPERS had adopted a new asset allocation  that is, had rebalanced its various investment portfolios. Yet that fact had already appeared on a board meeting notice and Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos had confirmed it in an open session of a board committee.

The second charge involves a consultants report the board commissioned to examine its private equity investments, a perennially underperforming portfolio about which Jelincic has been raising questions for years. One can understand why CalPERS wanted to keep this report under wraps, because it seems to have been overpriced and under-informative. Yves Smith, the ace financial commentator at nakedcapitalism.com, terms it a garbage-in, garbage-out private equity whitewash based on dubious methodology.

In any event, the report had been leaked earlier  Jelincic says not by him. He says he merely had commented that the consultants hadnt found any compliance violations of its investment contracts with private equity portfolio managers. The fact that CalPERS had contracted with the firm, FTI Consulting, was public information.

Feckners resolution leaves entirely too much under wraps. A board member still stands accused of leaking confidential information, but theres no way for the public to assess whether his ostensible actions were serious, minor, inadvertent, or perhaps even justified. The propriety of one board member pointing a finger at another in open session remains unresolved. The boards policy on whats public and what should be confidential remains infuriatingly foggy.

Collegiality and civility surely are important factors in making a body like the CalPERS board function smoothly, but they can too easily shade into lethargy. CalPERS performance in recent years suggests that the latter may be its real problem. The question raised by Feckners ostensible resolution of Slatons accusations is why this breach of collegiality and civility was considered acceptable in the first place.

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.

UPDATES:

4:35 p.m.: This post has been updated with a further statement from J.J. Jelincic.

This article was originally published at 2 p.m.
Members of the Writers Guild of America scripted themselves a classic Hollywood nail-biter in their contract negotiations with the major studios.

Talks between the two sides stalled late Monday as the countdown clock approached the midnight deadline without any announcement about a deal.

It appeared likely that the guild would move to extend the deadline by 24 hours so that discussions with the studios could continue.

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While the writers and the studios seemed to have made some progress over the weekend on several issues, including the guilds healthcare plan, writers had not responded to the studios latest offer by well past noon Monday, according to sources familiar with the discussions who werent authorized to talk to the media.

The mood within the guild turned grim as optimism gave way to trepidation over the growing possibility of a strike that would have a far-reaching effect across Hollywood.

The two sides could avert a strike if they mutually agree to extend the deadline. A federal negotiator could also be called in if the discussions deteriorate further.

A mediator was brought in during the 2007 negotiations but the move failed to stop a walkout by writers. The strike lasted 100 days and resulted in numerous TV productions shutting down.

The guild, which has about 13,000 members, is negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the body that represents the major Hollywood studios and networks. Both sides have been unable to comment because of their media blackout.

On Sunday, the alliance increased its offer on the guilds employer-funded health plan, which faces mounting deficits, according to one source. The studios also improved their offers on other sticking points, such as boosting pay for writers who have been affected by the trend toward shorter TV seasons.

Writers have complained that shorter seasons have negatively affected their livelihoods since many are contractually prohibited from working on more than one series per season. The trend has also affected the health plan because studios contribute a percentage of writers gross compensation to the fund.

Despite the concessions, however, the sides remained at odds late Monday over other issues, including on the guilds demand for pay parity across different platforms, such as cable and streaming.

Since negotiations began in March, the two sides have broken off talks twice. The guilds membership voted in favor of a strike authorization April 24.

A strike would have the most immediately effect on late-night comedy shows such as Conan on TBS and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC. These daily programs depend on writers to script topical jokes based on the days headlines.

Shows currently shooting could also bear some of the brunt of a strike since writers are often called to revise scenes in the midst of production. Series including NCIS: Los Angeles on NBC, Better Things on FX and Ray Donovan on Showtime are currently shooting around the L.A. area.

Streaming series on Netflix and Amazon would be less affected because their release dates arent as strictly controlled as traditional TV. But Netflix has stated that some of its shows would be affected by a strike.

Movie production would be less affected than TV, but screenwriters would not be able to revise scenes or dialogue for films that are shooting during the strike.

A prolonged strike would have widespread economic effects throughout the L.A. area as it hits businesses tied to the industry. Technical crews  often referred to as below-the-line talent  would also experience a financial hit since they are largely dependent on local TV production.

A strike could mean a greater shift toward reality TV programming. Despite the name, reality TV often employs writers to devise scenarios for the shows. But many reality writers arent members of the WGA.

The longest strike in the guilds history was in 1988, when writers walked off the job for 155 days.

david.ng@latimes.com

@DavidNgLAT
Showrunners behind Better Call Saul, Veep and more talk possible writers strike

In less than a week, writers rooms across Hollywood will go dark if the Writers Guild of America goes on strike.

For showrunners on some of TVs most talked-about series, the focus is on crafting stories while they can.

Were just keeping our heads down and working until they tell us we cant, said Gloria Calderon Kellett, co-showrunner of Netflixs One Day at a Time. Writers for the series recently started work on Season 2.

Kellett was part of The Envelopes showrunner roundtable, alongside Bruce Miller (The Handmaids Tale), Peter Gould (Better Call Saul), Aziz Ansari (Master of None) and David Mandel (Veep).

Miller, who opened up The Handmaids Tale room earlier this week to begin work on Season 2, said theres no mad dash to churn out copy before Tuesday, when a strike would begin.

It doesnt change what youre doing in terms of figuring out the story, Miller said. We go as quickly as we can anyway. You dont want to [work] too quickly, because then you just write crappy stuff. It really doesnt change anything.

They just hope the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers can reach an agreement.

I voted yes, Mandel said, referring to the recent strike authorization vote, but boy, I really dont want there to be a strike.

Gould added: Its not really up to us. Its up to the companies to do whats right. Theres not a lot more to say than that.

The last writers strike in 2007-08 lasted 100 days. And while it wasnt what they wanted then, either, many writers enjoyed the opportunity to meet and talk with their peers in the process.

At the time, Gould was working on Breaking Bad, whose season was cut short because of the strike. He left Albuquerque, N.M., just as an episode he had written was in the prepping stages.

I was on the picket line and people would say, What show are you on? Gould recalled. And Id be like, its this thing called Breaking Bad. Theyre shooting my episode right now.

But I also remember being on the picket line and being very entertained by Dana Gould [of The Simpsons], who is no relation but is one of the funniest people around. Dana kept a whole group of us on Lankershim [Boulevard] entertained for days on end. All I could say is, I hope, if it comes to that, that I am stationed wherever he is cause hes a lot of fun.

Millers silver lining while marching outside of Universals lot involved the TV series Battlestar Galactica.

I hadnt watched Battlestar Galactica, and it turned out the people on Battlestar were [picketing where I was]. I would go home at night, watch one episode, and then Id find the writer and get like DVD commentary all day long, Miller said. Every writer, if you walk up to them on a picket line and say, Hey could we talk about your episode for 4 hours, they were in heaven. And it was great. It was so much fun, for me, because you could just ask them a million questions. It made the time go by.
The California citrus industry was livid Tuesday over the Trump administrations decision to allow lemon imports from Argentinas top producing region for the first time in 16 years.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that it will lift the ban on lemons from northwestern Argentina on May 26. The decision came days after President Trump said he was reviewing his administrations position on the issue.

We were completely blindsided, said Joel Nelsen, president of the California Citrus Mutual, an industry advocacy group. They just flat-out ignored us, and thats completely unacceptable.

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In December, President Obamas administration said it would lift the ban, which had been imposed after complaints by producers in California that the Argentine lemons carried diseases.

But a month later, Trumps administration issued a 60-day stay on the decision. That stay had been extended, stalling the return of imports from one of the worlds top lemon producers to its largest market.

We disagreed with the Obama administration, but this rule now belongs to the Trump administration and it flies in the face of the administrations priorities, which are to protect domestic agriculture, U.S. businesses and U.S. jobs, Nelsen said.

He also said serious questions remain about the hazard posed by pests that could hitch a ride on Argentine fruit and damage U.S. groves.

Argentine farmers say they have complied with all U.S. regulations and deny there are any sanitary problems with their fruit.

We see this as an achievement of more than 15 years to prove the phytosanitary conditions and their viability, said Jose Carbonell, the president of the Argentine Citrus Federation.

Its the beginning of a chapter where we will have to earn space in this market, he said. Were confident because the U.S. is producing less and consuming more lemon.

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) criticized the move, saying, It is clear that Argentina does not have an inspection regime in place to prevent the spread of devastating, invasive pests and diseases.

She said the imports will wreak havoc on American growers, and if pests and disease spread, it could result in the destruction of our domestic crops.

California produces more than 90% of the lemons grown in the U.S.  1.5 billion pounds last year  and competes with imports from Chile and Mexico, according to the USDA.

Chile and Mexico account for about 94% of lemon imports to the U.S., which have more than doubled in dollar value in the last five years, according to the USDA.

The USDA has predicted that Argentina probably would knock Chile out of competition for market share in the U.S., but Nelsen predicted a long price war that would cost California growers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Argentina produces about 1.5 million metric tons of lemons a year, of which 95% are exported. Its main market is the European Union, and its top growing region is in northwest Tucuman, about 800 miles north of Buenos Aires.

Times staff writer Geoff Mohan contributed to this report.

MORE FROM BUSINESS

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They avoided a strike, but negotiations between writers and studios were a true Hollywood thriller

UPDATES:

1:05 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Joel Nelsen, president of the California Citrus Mutual, and with USDA information about the citrus industry.

This article was originally published at 12:05 p.m.
The message from Discover landed with a digital thud in Linda Babcocks email inbox.

Your account information may have been compromised as part of an external data breach, it warned. No Discover owned or controlled systems were compromised by this incident. Because your security is important, were replacing your card(s) to help keep your card information safe.

Torrance resident Babcock, 69, was relieved at first that Discover was protecting her from scammers and identity thieves. But she naturally wanted to know more about this external security breach.

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Was it a big company she did business with frequently, such as Amazon? Was it a smaller company she might want to steer clear of in the future?

How extensive was the breach? Hundreds of credit card accounts endangered? Thousands? Millions?

These seemed like fair questions, Babcock told me. But when I called Discover and asked, all I got were vague answers. Nobody would say anything. Privacy considerations, they kept saying.

Its a problem faced by consumers nationwide. A business gets hacked and customers are then treated like children, given only the sketchiest details so as not to bruise the delicate feelings of the hacked business.

Companies dont want to take the public-relations hit, said Beth Givens, executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego advocacy group. They know that consumers equate a data breach with carelessness.

For that reason, it can be almost impossible for people to make informed decisions about the digital trustworthiness of businesses, which often value their own privacy far more than that of customers.

Im thinking of how the telecom industry lobbied aggressively to roll back privacy safeguards requiring Internet service providers to ask customers permission before sharing information with marketers.

Republican lawmakers voted in March to allow companies to once again share peoples info without their say-so. President Trump signed it into law last month.

Fun fact: The telecom industry spent nearly $86 million on lobbying activities last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

When it comes to security breaches, Californians enjoy some of the toughest notification rules in the country, aimed at bringing greater transparency to such incidents. But that doesnt always translate into openness.

The reality is that consumers will only learn details of a security breach if the company involved fesses up. And few companies want to announce to the world that their digital defenses came up short.

Under California law, customers must be notified of a breach only when it is reasonably believed by a business that personal information has been acquired by an unauthorized person.

That standard, obviously, accommodates a lot of wiggle room  although its not as big a loophole as some other states even looser requirement that notification be made only if a business thinks a breach will harm a customer financially.

In Babcocks case, the breach to that external company was deemed serious enough by Discover to warrant a new credit card. But its unknown if the company involved ever issued its own mea culpa to customers.

Babcock said that, aside from Discovers email, she hasnt received any other breach notifications in recent months.

Californias law says notification must be made in the most expedient time possible but may be delayed if a law enforcement agency determines that the notification will impede a criminal investigation. Such investigations can take months.

Its always a challenge for businesses when to tell  whether to tell  customers what happened, said Rabeh Soofi, a Los Angeles lawyer who focuses on privacy matters.

She said shes represented companies that did a lot of soul-searching about whether they really needed to disclose a security breach to customers or employees.

Heres another problem: The states notification law has no teeth.

For enforcement, it relies on Section 17200 of the Business and Professions Code, which forbids unfair practices. That law levies a general-purpose fine of $2,500 for each violation.

Its unclear, though, whether this would entail a $2,500 fine for the entire incident or $2,500 for each customer affected.

Many companies might assume they face only a $2,500 overall risk in keeping quiet because no company ever has been slapped with a fine of $2,500 per individual. That could produce a staggering penalty.

Take Yahoo. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company has reported in recent months that the accounts of more than 1 billion users may have been hacked. Thats a potential fine of $2.5 trillion if the company had kept mum about its security lapses  more than the gross domestic product of France.

Odds are, therefore, the financial risk of keeping a breach under wraps would be on the low side  and thats presuming authorities even came after you.

A spokeswoman for California Atty. Gen. Javier Becerra said she was unaware of any such prosecution ever being made.

With all this in mind, Babcock can consider herself fortunate that Discover was watching out for her.

But what about the hacking that resulted in her getting a new credit card? It turns out that credit card companies such as Discover, Visa and MasterCard often have deals with merchants under which they agree not to identify the business in the event of a security breach.

They just replace the card and tell cardholders not to worry their pretty heads.

I asked Discover for more information about the breach that affected Babcock.

No comment, a spokesman said.

David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.

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For Brian Tyree Henry, if a picture is worth a thousand words, having the artwork for the FX comedy-drama Atlanta blown up on billboards that dotted city streets is nothing short of gratifying.

The image featured stars Donald Glover, Lakeith Stanfield and Henry side by side with peaches  Georgias state fruit  in their mouths.

Theres no greater feeling than when I saw the artwork for this show, because I dont think, in my lifetime, Ive ever seen a billboard with three black men, Henry said when he visited The Times video studio this week.

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Let alone [three black men] in the front  not in the background.

Atlanta, created by and starring Glover, follows two cousins and their friend as they navigate the citys hip-hop scene to make better lives for themselves and their families. Henry plays up-and-coming rapper Alfred Paper Boi Miles.

Henry said it was important to bring depth to what could have been a one-dimensional, misunderstood character.

I really wanted people to see him, he said. I really wanted people to see that he is someones cousin and he is someones son and he deserves to be recognized.

With Alfred, he cant help how people [view him]. Hes a big guy, hes kind of rough around the edges. He doesnt really smile that much. But when you do get that side of him, youre in. I really wanted that to come across with him. I wanted there to be some levity to him. I wanted there to be some kindness to him. I wanted there to be some kind of relatability, because you dont really see a lot of Alfreds represented out there. You see the Paper Bois  easy. Personas are easy to touch and see and digest. But you dont get the chance to really see who the Alfreds are. I want to make sure I did that with him.

Outside of Atlanta, Henrys fame has been steadily on the rise since he made his Broadway debut as the General in the original cast of The Book of Mormon. He talks about his recent work on ABCs How to Get Away With Murder and NBCs This Is Us.

You can watch the full interview here:

The most-read Entertainment stories this hour 

yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com

Twitter: @villarrealy
Its May 1, and that means one thing in the fashion world. Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour gets to welcome celebrities, fashion designers, socialites and other guests for the annual Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute benefit gala in New York.

This year, the gala celebrates the opening of the new exhibition Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between, which already is receiving high praise from the media.

Cassie, left, and Sean Diddy Combs a.k.a. Puff Daddy hit the red carpet at the Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1 in New York. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

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The co-chairs of the gala are Wintour, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams.

While you might not make it to New York to see the exhibit, you can still see who wore what to the annual fashion affair.

Without further ado, heres a look at some of the fashion and celebrities hitting the red carpet at the Met Gala.

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Close to midnight, the only thing about Rihannas post-Met party at 1 Oak that was indicative of its host were the puffs of herbal smoke floating through the club.

The after-party circuit started with Comme des Garcons bash at the National Academy Museum and, as always, the official, Apple-sponsored party at the Top of the Standard, but as the night wore on into the early morning hours, 1 Oak was the place to be.

Maxwell Osborne was an early arrival, merrily dancing the night away; the Public School lads didnt dress anyone at this years gala, meaning they were free to do what they do best: party. When Virgil Abloh waltzed in (he, on the other hand, was at the Met), he and Osborne greeted each other with a friendly dance off. Nearby, Pharrell Williams had already settled into the V.I.P. area (having earlier stopped in at the Comme party), while DJ Cassidy and Young Paris posed in front of the Rihanna-branded photobooth. Who can resist a prime Insta moment?

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At 1 a.m. sharp, a Gucci sunglasses-wearing Rihanna sauntered in to a serenade of Biggie Smalls, and with her came the celebrities. Leonardo DiCaprio led model girlfriend Nina Agdal through the crowd; Kendall Jenner, A$AP Rocky, Frank Ocean, and Jaden Smith arrived in a herd; Bella Hadid and her date Alexander Wang were all smiles as they bopped in; Presley Gerber got down to business and was grinding with a leggy type moments after entry; the Proenza Schouler duo arrived late with Grimes, shortly before Cara Delevingne, Mary J Blige, Janelle Monae, and Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.

It was fun, a bubbly Kerry Washington said as she made her way to a table. Her favorite moment of the gala was inside the womens bathroom, like always.

Smith, who trotted up the Met steps earlier in the night carrying his own locks of hair, came sans the unusual accessory to 1 Oak. Moving through the crowd, he described the Met vividly as good, his personal highlight being every part.

Propped against the far wall, standing atop a banquette, A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg (ski goggles atop his head), Jenner, Zoe Kravitz, Wang and Ocean danced in clear display, lapping up all of the attention. No photos! an enlarged bodyguard huffed as he covered raised camera phones with his hand. Smith bobbed awkwardly off to the side  clearly, he hasnt yet been inducted into the A$AP Mob or Wang Gang  as a lowkey Amber Valletta surveyed the scene.

It was like a no brainer, it was just gorgeous, said Tracee Ellis Ross of the Comme look she wore to the actual gala hours earlier as she made her way towards the VIP area. I grew up on Comme des Garcons  I feel like my mom taught me about glamour and Comme des Garcons taught me about fashion. It was a dream for me.

Ross, like most, had done a quick change (at my hotel, The Mark) before making her way downtown to the crowded nightclub; the boxy, structured Comme dress wouldnt have fit inside the swampy floor.

As one editor put it, Comme doesnt work well in a crowd.

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Thousands of people marched through Los Angeles on Monday, an annual May Day demonstration that for many felt more significant since the start of the Trump presidency. Meanwhile, scores of police officers kept an eye on the crowds.

Organizers had planned several marches that would start separately but all converge downtown near City Hall, and the LAPD was expecting a massive turnout.

The preparations for May Day are particularly important in the city given the memory of ugly clashes between LAPD officers and others at MacArthur Park a decade ago. This year, officials were especially concerned given the rise in activism after the presidential election, which helped spark violence in Berkeley, Huntington Beach and elsewhere.

Heres how the day in Los Angeles unfolded behind police lines.

Bertha Ramirez, 72, of Fresno, came to march with thousands against President Trumps vowed crackdown on illegal immigration. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

MacArthur Park

As a crowd swelled near Alvarado Street and Wilshire Boulevard, Capt. Al Labrada met with organizers of one planned march with whom he had been working for months, making sure there were no last-minute changes in plans. He shook one mans hand.

Let me know if you need anything, the captain told him.

Labrada, who typically works in the departments Hollenbeck division, has spent several years as a liaison working with community groups to plan for May Day demonstrations. This year, they began talking in January.

Experience has taught Labrada the importance of meeting with the organizers. That way, he said, if they run into any issues throughout the day, they can turn to a familiar face in the LAPD for answers.

Id rather them come to me than figure out who to call, he said.

Marchers carry a giant American flag at the start of the May Day march that began at MacArthur Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

LAPD command center

The departments command center was set up inside a building in the downtown civic area. So far, everything was quiet.

Dozens of people from multiple agencies  the Police Department, Fire Department and California Highway Patrol  filled the command center. Maps of the different demonstration routes were taped to whiteboards. Aerial footage of the growing crowds streamed on large television screens mounted to the wall.

It is here where high-ranking LAPD officials were planning to monitor the days activity, get regular updates and decide how to respond to any trouble should it arise.

Deputy Chief Robert Arcos, who coordinated the LAPDs approach to the demonstrations, said the day was running smoothly. As the crowds continued to rally, he said, he was concerned the heat could take a toll on both activists and officers. Once the marches started, his attention would shift to how everyone is getting along.

Arcos said the LAPD started preparing for this day in January, meeting with organizers and trying to determine the right balance of officers to deploy along the routes. The department was braced for larger-than-normal crowds, anticipating that more than 100,000 people could attend, which would make it the largest May Day demonstration the city had seen in about a decade.

When asked whether there was a point in the day where it might be deemed a success, Arcos smiled.

Not until Im home in bed, he said.

Olympic Boulevard and Broadway

Two separate groups  each totaling a few hundred people  began to march down Broadway, their chants amplified by bullhorns. Capt. Phil Smith and Lt. German Hurtado trailed behind the last group in a police SUV. Ahead of them, two officers on motorcycles crept along.

The crowds were a little smaller than anticipated, Hurtado said, but he felt the energy when he introduced himself to the groups that morning.

Broadway was closed so marchers could reach their destination between Grand Park and City Hall. Officers on motorcycles blocked traffic. Hurtado kept an eye out for cars leaving parking garages, directing one woman away from the crowd.

The primary goal, they said, was to help the demonstrators arrive safely.

A win for them is a win for us, Smith said.

Workers take a break on a rooftop to watch a crowd of people marching on May Day. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) (Francine Orr / Los Angeles TImes)

LAPD command center

Back at the command center, officials were keeping an eye on the group that had rallied at MacArthur Park and was now heading toward downtowns Grand Park.

Officials guessed about 15,000 people were marching in that demonstration. The command center received a report that someone in the crowd was throwing water bottles.

LAPD officers form a wall between pro- and anti-Trump protesters as they converge at 1st and Spring streets in downtown Los Angeles at the conclusion of separate May Day marches and rallies. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

1st and Spring streets

The LAPDs focus turned to an intersection next to the departments headquarters at 1st and Spring streets in downtown, where a few dozen Trump supporters squared off with scores of opponents. One side waved American flags  and one that said Dont tread on me. The other group was dotted mostly with Mexican flags and anti-Trump signs.

The groups were separated by a line of yellow tape and helmet-wearing officers, their hands folded at their sides. Unsure of how the scene might play out, a handful of high-ranking LAPD officers stopped nearby to monitor what was going on.

Among them was Chief Charlie Beck, who chatted with his officers and at one point stood in the street, surveying the scene.

Beck said the LAPDs concerns about the possibility of a massive, difficult-to-control demonstration hadnt materialized.

The crowd  which estimates from authorities and organizers put at between 15,000 and 30,000  was getting smaller, he said. There hadnt been large walkouts at schools. Even the feuding pro- and anti-Trump groups were small enough that police could easily intervene if necessary, he said.

So far so good, the chief said, turning to watch another group of demonstrators march toward the intersection. But its still early, so we will see.

Anti-Trump protesters yell across the street at supporters of the president as separate May Day marches and rallies converge at 1st and Spring streets in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles and Temple streets

The people who rallied in Grand Park in front of City Hall  where the bulk of Mondays demonstrators convened  were leaving. Meanwhile, the Trump supporters left their position outside LAPD headquarters and walked along 1st Street. A smaller group of people  several of them wearing all black with their faces covered by masks and scarves  shadowed them from across the street. Patrol cars crept down the middle, separating the two groups.

Both groups stopped at Los Angeles and Temple streets, each claiming their own corner of the intersection. Officers got out of their patrol cars, strapped on riot helmets and reached for less-lethal devices in case they were necessary.

The standoff continued for another half-hour, with the two groups at one point starting to resume marching. Again, as motorcycle officers zipped ahead to block intersections, other officers lingered behind in their black-and-white cars, keeping an eye on the groups.

Eventually, only a few dozen people opposing the pro-Trump group were left, standing next to the officers and their bicycles. The crowd slowly dispersed. As it dwindled, so did the number of officers.

By the days end, the LAPD said that officers had arrested one person during the demonstrations: a 24-year-old man who police say was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

Angelenos got to exercise free speech in a productive way. Their voices were heard, with minimal involvement from the LAPD, said Josh Rubenstein, a department spokesman, recapping the day. We were pleased that it went this smoothly.

kate.mather@latimes.com

For more news on the LAPD, follow me on Twitter: @katemather
The news spread quickly among the parents of the CHIME Institutes Schwarzenegger Community School.

They had received no official notice, but they picked up the reports that Betsy DeVos  Donald Trumps secretary of Education, whose confirmation many of them had opposed  planned to visit their Woodland Hills school on Monday when May Day marches were planned in downtown L.A. and elsewhere.

Shortly after parents began posting about the visit in a Facebook group, some began planning protests, as did at least one outside group.

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Angelenos! Betsy Devos will be in Woodland Hills Monday morning May 1. Join for a demonstration #publicschools #resist @indivisible_la pic.twitter.com/bem2AYA7yZ  Indivisible CA 30 (@Indivisibleca30) May 1, 2017

But by late Sunday afternoon, federal officials, citing scheduling issues, said DeVos would no longer come. Parents received a robocall confirming as much  their first word from the school on the visit. I did not want to provide any information until I was absolutely sure, CHIMEs executive director, Erin Studer, told them.

Parents reactions were complicated, as has often been the case as DeVos makes herself known to Americas schools. On her first visit to a public school in Washington, D.C., protesters all but chased her off the premises  though she eventually made her way into the campus. Meanwhile, embarrassing video of her reception made the rounds on the Internet.

CHIME is a charter school that focuses on integrating students with special needs into academic and social life. Special education was a particularly weak point for DeVos during her confirmation hearing, which wasnt lost on parents.

Trusting that she would understand all the minutiae and complexities of special education was really scary to me, said CHIME parent Dawn Hamilton.

But Rose Beemer, who has several children at CHIME, said that though she was initially surprised that the school would host DeVos, she wound up posting a statement in support of the visit, because I did see the opportunity as a wonderful one for the school to gain attention. One of her children is on the autism spectrum, she said, and has learned language and made friends since starting at CHIME.

Some parents were worried about the effect that media coverage and possible protests would have on CHIMEs students, particularly those who are sensitive to noise. But they also saw how the publicity could help them.

I went back and forth between concern and mild horror to then thinking OK, it would be great to share our school, Hamilton said. She said her daughter Emerson, who has cerebral palsy, is receiving all of her therapies and services within the classroom, leading to a more inclusive experience.

When DeVos canceled, Hamilton was relieved, but also disappointed that this was a missed opportunity to educate DeVos.

Four parents interviewed by The Times said they assumed the visit was called off out of fear of protests  though protesters are more or less a constant for DeVos.

Her press secretary, Elizabeth Hill, insisted a scheduling conflict was to blame, though she would not specify what it was. The visit just no longer worked for the schedule, she said.

On Monday morning, parents dropping off their children noted the presence of several police cars. Other than that, they said, it was a typical Monday morning.

Joy.Resmovits@LATimes.com

@Joy_Resmovits
Massive campus protests over the election of President Trump. Violent clashes over free speech. Rallies against rising tuition. At many campuses in California and nationwide, the young people who started college last fall walked into one of the most tumultuous periods in higher education.

Now a new national survey has found that todays freshmen are more polarized by their politics than ever before, and also have growing anxiety and worries about paying for college. The survey, released Monday, has been conducted annually for five decades by the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute. This years findings are based on responses from 137,456 full-time first-year students at 184 U.S. colleges and universities.

Today's college freshmen are more politically divided and more interested in political engagement than their peers of the last 50 years, said Kevin Eagan, the reports lead author and the institutes managing director. College and university leaders need to be proactive in providing opportunities for students to discuss their differences, political and otherwise, in constructive ways while also ensuring that their campuses respect and protect students' free speech.

Here are five key takeaways:

Students are feeling their politics strongly Only 42.3% of freshmen described themselves as middle-of-the-road, the lowest figure since the survey began in 1966. The proportion of freshmen who call themselves liberal or far left is increasing  35.5% in 2016  while 22.2% said they were conservative or far right. Conservatives have not outstripped liberals on campus since 1981, when Ronald Reagan stepped into the White House. More freshmen than ever value political engagement. Nearly half said keeping up with political affairs was very important or essential to their lives, and more than a quarter said a life goal was to influence the political structure  the highest such responses the survey has ever recorded. Tolerance and empathy have partisan tilts, the survey found. Among liberals, 86.6% of students said they strongly or somewhat strongly tolerate others with different beliefs compared with 82% of moderates and 68.1% of conservatives.

(UCLA Higher Education Research Institute)

The political gender gap is growing

Women are leading the progressive surge on campuses, with an all-time high of 41.1% identifying themselves as liberal or far left, compared with 28.9% of men. Women are more likely to support federal action on climate change and stricter gun control laws.

More women than men say they can see the world from anothers perspective and work cooperatively with diverse people. Perhaps reflecting greater comfort with confrontation, more men than women say they are open to having their views challenged and can discuss and negotiate controversial issues.

(UCLA Higher Education Research Institute )

College costs have students worried

The rising cost of college has dominated the news, both nationally during the 2016 presidential election and in fierce debates over tuition hikes at Californias two public university systems. California Democrats introduced a bill in March to cover both tuition and living expenses for an estimated 400,000 students in what would be the most generous college aid plan in the nation.

UCLA found that more than half of freshmen surveyed were worried about paying for college, with concerns expressed by 65.7% of women and 34.3% of men. Latino and African American students were more than twice as likely as whites to voice major concerns.

Students from across the systems 23 campuses protest outside a Cal State Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Mental health problems are growing

Demand for campus mental health services is growing nationwide. The University of California has increased student fees to hire more clinicians to expand access to counseling.

The UCLA survey confirmed the rising need for such services. For the first time since the survey began, fewer than half of respondents said their mental health was better than average compared with their peers. More than one-third said they frequently felt anxious, while about 1 in 8 students said they were frequently depressed.

About 1 in 5 entering freshmen said they had a learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or chronic illness. Those students were far more likely to feel depressed and seek counseling.

(UCLA Higher Education Research Institute)

Students time on social media has soared

Social media use has risen to a record high among freshmen. The survey found that 40.9% of the entering class of 2016 use social media six hours or more a week, shattering the previous high of 27.2% in 2014. Women, liberals, Asian Americans, African Americans and LGBTQ students used social media the most.

But Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and other social media did not substitute for personal interaction, the survey found. About three-fourths of students who used social media at least six hours a week also said they spent that much time or more socializing with friends in person. Those who used social media less frequently also spent less time with friends.

(UCLA Higher Education Research Institute)

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

Twitter: @teresawatanabe
A Fountain Valley man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of smuggling 93 Asian songbirds  most of which died  from Vietnam to the Los Angeles International Airport, federal authorities said.

Kurtis Law, 49, who also lives in Vietnam, is facing a federal charge of smuggling goods into the U.S., according to the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Federal authorities said Law stuffed the songbirds into his luggage and boarded a flight from Vietnam on March 24. All but eight birds died during the flight or soon after Law arrived at LAX, authorities said.

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According to the attorneys office, the songbirds were placed in Laws suitcases in a way that allowed each bird little or no movement.

Investigators discovered several of the songbirds were species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a multilateral treaty known at CITES, according to federal prosecutors.

The protected birds found in Laws luggage were Bali myna, Chinese hwamei, red-billed leiothrix and silver-eared mesia, authorities said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA
The budget deal reached in Congress this week penciled in $10.2 million for an earthquake early warning system for California and the rest of the West Coast for the budget year that ends in September.

The funding represents an increase from the last fiscal years federal budget, which allocated $8.2 million for the system. The network is being built under the leadership of the U.S. Geological Survey, with development from scientists at Caltech, UC Berkeley, the University of Washington and University of Oregon.

Three dozen members of Congress earlier this spring had urged their fellow lawmakers to increase the federal funding level for the warning system to $16.1 million a year, which is the estimated annual operating and maintenance cost of the system once it is fully built. Officials estimate it will cost $38.2 million to build the system, according to a statement from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), an advocate for fully funding the system.

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The system is in development and is still being tested.

Negotiators in Congress reached a bipartisan $1-trillion deal to fund the government through September.The House approved the bill Wednesday, and the Senate is expected to follow suit in the coming days.

Last year, California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown separately approved $10 million for the earthquake early warning system, which includes seismic stations, GPS equipment, telemetry and microwave nodes.

Officials have needed more money to build out the entire network.

Too few sensors, for instance, would mean that San Francisco could see slower warnings from a large San Andreas fault earthquake that starts in Humboldt and moves toward the Bay Area. Los Angeles could also see warning delays in an earthquake that starts in Monterey County and barrels south along the San Andreas fault.

An earthquake early warning system would be able to give as much as a minute of warning before shaking from a big, distant earthquake reaches urban areas. Other countries have implemented earthquake early warning systems with success, such as Japan, which programs its high-speed trains to slow or stop if the warning system detects an earthquake is coming.

As the system gets built, officials have talked about allowing places such as classrooms, offices, shopping malls, amusement parks and police and fire stations to have ready access to alerts that would give seconds, and perhaps more than a minute, of warning before strong shaking comes in a big earthquake.

Even seconds of warning to drop, cover and hold on would save many lives in an earthquake. Beyond that, alerts would give doctors time to halt surgery and would instruct trains to slow down, preventing deadly derailments. Eventually, bigger benefits are expected: technology to open elevators at the next floor, sparing occupants from being trapped, and warnings that could halt the flow of natural gas through major pipelines, preventing catastrophic fires.

The early warning system works on a simple principle: The shaking from an earthquake travels at about the speed of sound through rock  slower than the speed of todays communications systems. That means it would take more than a minute for, say, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that starts at the Salton Sea to shake up Los Angeles, 150 miles away, traveling on the states longest fault, the San Andreas.

The prototype system has had some early successes. When a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Napa in 2014, the system gave researchers in San Francisco about eight seconds of warning before shaking began. Last year, 30 seconds of warning reached downtown L.A. before the ground shook from a magnitude 4.4 quake centered near Banning.

ron.lin@latimes.com

@ronlin

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UPDATES:

May 3, 9:35 p.m.: This report has been updated to reflect that the House on Wednesday approved the spending bill.

This was originally published on May 2 at 6:55 a.m.
A 27-year-old man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of setting a pair of brush fires that forced a shutdown of Highway 18 near Crestline, authorities said.

Benjamin Andrew Baptiste, of Cedar Glen, was booked on suspicion of several counts of arson after San Bernardino County Sheriffs deputies captured him on the side of the highway shortly after 8 p.m., according to a news release issued by the department.

Deputies responded to the area after receiving several calls about a man who may have been carrying a firearm or ax attempting to set a fire near the intersection of highways 18 and 138, according to the news release. The man was also reportedly throwing rocks at vehicles, according to the Sheriffs Department.

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Baptiste is accused of setting one fire on the side of the roadway before running into Lower Bonnie Canyon and setting a second blaze in dense brush below the highway, authorities said.

Out of concern that the suspect was armed, Highway 18 was closed and all traffic was evacuated from the road as deputies established a perimeter, according to the release.

Baptiste was captured without incident and treated for burns to his arms and hands, according to the Sheriffs Department. He was not actually carrying a firearm as the 911 callers reported, but deputies discovered Baptiste was armed with a hatchet which he discarded before he was arrested, according to Cindy Bachman, a Sheriffs Department spokeswoman.

One of the fires has already been extinguished. The other burned about three acres and was approximately 80% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to the San Bernardino National Forests Twitter account.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

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UPDATES:

9:15 a.m.: This story was updated with additional information about the weapons Baptiste is accused of carrying.

8:10 a.m.: This story was updated with information about the spread of the fires.

This article was originally published at 7:45 a.m.
A group of homeowners and Griffith Park preservationists have filed court papers to reverse the city of Los Angeles decision to block an access point to one of the most direct hiking trails to the famous Hollywood sign.

The dispute centers on the decision by city officials to close the Beachwood Drive gate on April 18, which cut off an access point to the popular Hollyridge Trail. The city cited a court order issued in February in an ongoing battle with Sunset Ranch Hollywood Stables, a privately owned horseback-riding facility in Griffith Park.

The suit filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court by the Friends of Griffith Park, Los Feliz Oaks Homeowners Assn. and the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust said that closing the Beachwood Drive gate altogether, save for those driving to and from the ranch, blocked entry to public parkland and amounted to an illegal gift of government property to a private group.

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In court papers, the groups question why the city did not consider other routes that would keep pedestrian access without interfering with the horseback-riding facility.

A basic right of Angelenos is access to its public parks, Clare Darden, a trustee for the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust, said in a statement.

Any access threatened by special-interest groups to Griffith Park land is a violation of Colonel Griffiths declaration that the park be free and open to all.

The three groups are trying to intervene in a lawsuit originally filed against the city by Sunset Ranch, which complained that hordes of hikers and tourists had obstructed the ranchs business.

For decades, the ranch has had a right-of-way agreement, or easement, that allows its staff and customers to come and go on a strip of city property.

But ranch owners claimed that the city directed hikers onto its exclusive easement road by advertising that people could access the area using a new gate.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth R. Feffer ruled in February that hikers could not be barred from using the road  dismissing the notion that it was exclusive to the ranch.

But the judge found that city guards had blocked access to the stables customers and that the thousands of pedestrians marching through to reach the Hollyridge Trail had interfered with the ranchs use of the easement.

The judge ordered the city to provide access to the Hollyridge Trail as close as possible to either the start of the Sunset Ranch easement  near the gate at Beachwood Drive  or a trailhead that was closed in 2001.

After the judges order, the city and Sunset Ranch filed court papers in March stating that the Beachwood Canyon gate would be permanently closed. Access to the Hollyridge Trail would still be provided at Canyon Drive.

In the court papers filed Monday, the three groups decried the draconian solution of shutting down the Beachwood Drive gate and said it amounted to a gift of city-owned lands to a private party  with no benefit to the public.

The groups said that other access points such as Canyon Drive would be burdened by the increase in cars and hikers. And the groups claimed the city was deceptive in describing the Canyon Drive access point as 1,500 feet east of Beachwood Drive, when the actual path is more circuitous.

This lawsuit involves humans and not birds, the groups say in court papers. For a human to walk or drive from the Beachwood gate to the terminus of Canyon Drive is a distance of approximately 2  miles.

Estevan Montemayor, a spokesman for Councilman David Ryu, whose district includes Griffith Park, issued a terse statement saying that the city of Los Angeles lost in court. He said it was unclear if the city could have complied with the judges order without closing the Beachwood Drive gate.

Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorney, said his office had not received a copy of the suit and declined further comment.

Times staff writer Emily Alpert-Reyes contributed to this report.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

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The U.S. Air Force will test launch an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base  the second test in a week.

The Minuteman III missile launch will occur between 12:01 and 6:01 a.m. from the base northwest of Santa Barbara, according to Vandenbergs 30th Space Wing.

The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system, Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement.

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The 576th Flight Test Squadron will be responsible for collecting data of the missile and ensuring safety, the Air Force said.

Vandenberg Air Force Base and the 576th Flight Test Squadron have been preparing for the operational test launch for the last 10 months, Col. Chris Moss, Vandenbergs 30th Space Wing commander, said in a statement.

The test will be the second missile launched from the base in a weeks time.

A test was conducted by the Air Force Global Strike Commands team on April 26 from the base. Air Force officials said the test launch was an operational test to show the countrys nuclear deterrent capability.

The missile traveled 4,200 miles to a test range in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, according to the Air Force.

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in San Barbara, has criticized the timing and the Air Forces motives for both launches. The organization has said the launches come amid heightened tension between the U.S. and North Korea.

On Friday, North Koreas military launched a ballistic missile hours after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on the United Nations Security Council to impose new economic sanctions on the country. The weapon apparently crashed nearby or in waters just offshore.

North Korea has stepped up its missile testing in recent weeks, having test launched at least seven short- and mid-range missile this year.

This is a very dangerous game we are playing, the peace organizations president David Krieger said in the statement.

Wednesdays test will be the third ICBM launched from the base this year.

The other test missile launch occurred in February. The missile equipped with a nonexplosive payload also traveled to a test range in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Three Minuteman III missiles were launched in 2016, according to Lt. Col. Jason Turner, 2d Range Operations Squadron commander.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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A former nursing student pleaded no contest Tuesday to charges that he killed seven people in a shooting rampage at a small Christian vocational school in Oakland in 2012, prosecutors said.

One L. Goh, 48, was charged with seven counts of murder with special circumstances and three counts of attempted premeditated murder in connection with the slayings at Oikos University.

He is facing seven terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Alameda County Dist. Atty. Nancy E. OMalley announced Tuesday. His sentencing is set for July 14.

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The enormity and devastation of this mass shooting remains unprecedented in Alameda County, OMalley said in a statement. With the conclusion of this case, we know that One Goh will never again be in the position to harm any member of our community.

Goh was armed with a .45-caliber firearm when he entered the college on April 2, 2012, pointed the weapon at a receptionist and forced her into his former classroom, prosecutors said. At his arraignment, authorities revealed that Goh had gone to the small campus in industrial East Oakland looking for a female administrator who was not there.

Inside the classroom, authorities said, Goh lined up students and fatally shot six. The 24-year-old school secretary was also killed, according to the district attorneys office. During the shooting, prosecutors said, he tried to kill three others. Goh fled in a victims car, they said.

Goh, a South Korean national, was arrested about two hours after the shooting in front of a Safeway supermarket in an Alameda shopping center a few miles away, officials said.

According to court documents, Goh confessed during a police interview.

He had been a nursing student at the university until November 2011, when he decided to leave the school voluntarily, OMalley said. She said Goh was not expelled, although he told police he was.

At the time, she said, Goh was described as a loner and what some might call a loser, but he didnt exhibit any behaviors that would have alerted anyone that he was capable of such a shooting rampage.

Former Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said in 2012 that Goh had felt bullied and teased by fellow students.

Goh was twice declared not mentally fit to stand trial.

In January 2013, a Bay Area judge found Goh was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Psychiatric evaluations determined that Goh suffered from long-term paranoid schizophrenia. Instead of being put on trial, he was held at a Napa State Hospital from April 2013 to February 2015.

Then, in July 2015, the director of the state hospital declared that Goh was mentally competent. His attorney challenged the directors report and a competency trial was held months later.

The judge again ruled that Goh was not fit to stand trial because of his mental illness.

However, criminal proceedings were reinstated in April after three mental health professionals deemed Goh was mentally competent to stand trial.

The defendants mental illness has been at the forefront of the legal proceedings for the past five years, the district attorneys office said. Taking into account loss of life, the violent actions of the defendant, as well as information regarding the defendants mental illness, we believe that the sentence is appropriate.

Gohs public defender, David Klaus, said his client was receiving treatment and medication for the past four years. Once Goh could fully understand the criminal proceedings, he was found competent to stand trial, Klaus said.

Rather than go through trial, his attorney said, Goh wanted to resolve the case and bring closure to families of the victims.

He is deeply, deeply sorry for what happened, Klaus said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

UPDATES:

3:40 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Gohs public defender David Klaus.

This article was originally published at 1:35 p.m.
Federal agents seized about five dozen firearms worth tens of thousands of dollars from a high-ranking Pasadena police officer during a raid this year, according to newly released government records.

The Feb. 16 search of the officers Sierra Madre home by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was widely publicized, but authorities did not identify the officer or detail what was recovered.

The cache of weapons was an enormous haul that took two trucks to cart away.

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On Sunday, a federal registry of potential forfeited assets listed 57 firearms that were seized from the home of Lt. Vasken Gourdikian, who most recently served as the Pasadena Police Departments spokesman and an adjutant to Chief Phillip L. Sanchez.

Here are the weapons seized in the raid of a high-ranking police officers home 

After the ATF raid, Gourdikian was placed on paid administrative leave, the Police Department launched an internal investigation and his biography was removed from the citys website.

At Gourdikians four-bedroom home in the San Gabriel Valley, agents reported hauling off more than 30 pistols, three shotguns and 20 rifles, among other weapons. The arsenal included small handguns as well as such tactical weapons as a $1,700 Bushmaster combat rifle, the records show. The estimated value of each seized gun ranged from $100 to $3,800.

Gourdikian, who has worked for the Pasadena Police Department since 1994, has not been charged with a crime, and city officials said the ATF search was unrelated to his work with the department. He remains on leave, city spokesman William Boyer said this week.

Ginger Colbrun, an ATF spokeswoman, said there was an ongoing federal investigation into the officer, but she declined to comment on it. She also did not identify the officer.

The federal search warrant for Gourdikians home remains under seal.

About six weeks after the search, the top ATF agent in Los Angeles, Eric Harden, sent a letter to area police chiefs and sheriffs, notifying them that investigators had found more than 100 off-roster guns purchased by police.

Such guns are not on a California list of approved handguns for purchase by the public, but the law gives a special exception for police officers to buy these weapons.

Colbrun said the agency found law enforcement officers who were acting as firearms dealers and that the officers appeared to be buying and reselling weapons without a federal firearms license, a violation of federal law.

The investigation into off-roster firearms began with reports on firearms sales and weapons found at crime scenes.

Firearms generally average about 10 years between the time of purchase and when they show up at a crime scene. If the window is shorter  for instance, three years  it triggers a red flag, Colbrun said.

Further digging revealed some law enforcement officers who made significant purchases and resales of firearms, Colbrun said.

ATF officials generally aim to educate law enforcement about off-roster guns so they are aware of the restrictions, Colbrun said.

Prosecutions of sworn law enforcement officers are rare.

A former Sacramento County sheriffs deputy, Ryan McGowan, was sentenced last year to 18 months in federal prison after a jury convicted him of dealing firearms without a license and falsifying records.

McGowan used his role as a deputy to buy off-roster guns, then resold them at a higher price on the private market. He also worked with a licensed gun dealer to evade federal law, prosecutors said.

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @LACrimes

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

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4:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details on a recent prosecution of a former Sacramento County sheriffs deputy.

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A San Bernardino County sheriffs deputy was injured Tuesday morning during training at the departments gun range, authorities said.

The deputy accidentally discharged his own firearm and suffered a non-life-threatening wound just before 10:30 a.m. at the Frank Bland Regional Training Center, the sheriffs department tweeted.

The deputy who accidentally discharged his own firearm sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound. He is in stable condition.  San Bernardino County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) May 2, 2017

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The deputy was listed in stable condition, officials said.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

UPDATES:

12:40 p.m.: This article was updated with the deputys condition and details of the accident.

This article was originally published at 11:25 a.m.
A USC student has been charged in the rape of a fellow student by use of drugs, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

In addition to the charge of rape by use of drugs, Armann Karim Premjee, 20, faces a count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, the district attorneys office said in a statement. Los Angeles police have spelled Premjees first name as Aarman, but a USC student directory spells it Armaan.

Premjee pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. The judge declined prosecutors request for $1-million bail, and Premjee was released from custody on $100,000 bond.

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Prosecutors allege that Premjee sexually assaulted the 19-year-old student in her dorm room just after 1 a.m. on April 1.

The victims roommate walked in when the alleged crime occurred, the district attorneys office said. Premjee went into a bathroom and when he returned, the roommate confronted him and he left.

LAPD Capt. Billy Hayes said the alleged assault was reported immediately to USCs Department of Public Safety early in the morning of April 1. Both students were undergraduates, he said.

Two weeks later, Premjee was arrested by officers with the LAPDs Robbery-Homicide Division. He was released after posting a $100,000 bond, according to jail records.

If Premjee is convicted as charged, he faces up to 10 years in state prison.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

UPDATES:

May 3, 9 p.m.: This article was updated to include Premjees not-guilty plea and bail amount.

This article was originally published at 12 p.m. May 2.
In the run-up to prom, Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita made its students a special offer. Whoever won a raffle would get to ride in a school-sponsored limo with their friends while the rest of the class took a Metrolink train.

It didnt go as planned.

It was hard just to sell the raffle tickets, said Vincent Wheeler, an administrator at Golden Valley. The students were like, This is great, but, uh, we want to take the train.

Say what you will about Southern Californias car-obsessed culture, but for two high schools in L.A. County, public transportation was the vehicle of choice for that most American of rituals.

Two trains packed with glitzy commuters sporting corsages and boutonnieres departed for Union Station on Saturday evening. One carried more than 500 students from A.B. Miller High School in Fontana. Another ferried about 500 Golden Valley students who made their connection to the red line and traveled on to Madame Tussauds Hollywood.

I think its awesome because I do get anxiety on the freeway, and theres no traffic when youre on a train.  Vanessa Rivera, A.B Miller student

There were no quiet cars on the prom trains  students sang and joked. Girls tried not to sweat off their makeup; boys tried not to sweat through their suit jackets.

Even though we have a station here in Fontana, most of the kids have never ridden the train, said Moises Merlos, principal of A.B. Miller. This is probably a new experience for 98% of them.

Travelers at Union Station greeted the glamorous procession of high school students with cheers and whistles. Are you really all from the same school? asked a man, a huge smile on his face.

I like the idea behind it - more safety and less drunk driving and all that.  Lesley Cervantes, A.B Miller student

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Houston lawyer Richard Racehorse Haynes, famed for his flamboyant but successful trial defenses of millionaire and billionaire clients in some of Texas most notorious murder cases, has died.

Haynes died Friday at his home in the East Texas town of Trinity after years of declining health, said family spokesman Chris Tritico, a Houston criminal defense lawyer Haynes once mentored. He was 90.

Initial fame came when Haynes defended wealthy Houston plastic surgeon John Hill at trial over the 1969 slaying of Hills socialite wife, Joan Robinson Hill, whom investigators said died after eating an eclair secretly laced with E. coli.

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The 1971 trial ended in a hung jury  but Hill was gunned down in the driveway of his mansion before he could be retried. The case was the subject of Thomas Thompsons bestselling book Blood and Money, which later was made into the 1981 film Murder in Texas starring Sam Elliott and Farrah Fawcett.

Haynes later represented Fort Worth oilman T. Cullen Davis, the first billionaire to be indicted for murder in the United States. Davis was accused of opening fire inside his mansion in 1976, killing his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Andrea Wilborn, and his estranged wifes boyfriend, Stan Farr. His estranged wife, Priscilla, and family friend Gus Gavrel Jr. were wounded in the shootings.

The first trial ended in a mistrial because of juror misconduct. The second ended in an acquittal in 1977.

Davis later was indicted on a capital murder solicitation charge, accused of trying to arrange a hit on his estranged wife and the judge in their divorce case. Haynes won an acquittal of Davis in that case too.

On Friday, Davis recalled Haynes cross-examinations in his trials, how he never let up if dissatisfied with witness responses or a judges ruling.

I was thinking about him yesterday, Davis, now 83, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He wouldnt give up even when the judge tried to get him to quit asking the question, and he finally would get the answer he wanted.

Former prosecutor Jack Strickland tried the cases against Davis, with Haynes at the defense table.

I remember how aggravated I was at him for two years running, the Fort Worth lawyer told the Star-Telegram. He was a very formidable adversary. He was a showman. Those were the days when lawyers had a little more latitude to mouth off and try their cases in the press.
The Department of Justice will not bring federal civil rights charges against two police officers involved in death of Alton Sterling, the 37-year-old black man whose shooting by police last summer set off days of protest in Baton Rouge, La.

The decision, first reported Tuesday by the Washington Post, was confirmed by two sources familiar with the investigation. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

Sterling was shot to death July 5 after police responded to a 911 call about a man who made a threat with a gun in front of a minimarket. Witness and police accounts differed on whether Sterling was threatening officers and whether he had reached for a gun. The Justice Department and the FBI launched an inquiry two days after Sterlings death.

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The investigation sought to find out whether officers had violated Sterlings civil rights and whether the shooting was justified. Its the first inquiry into a high-profile police shooting to be completed during the Trump administration under Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions.

The news of no federal charges does not mean the officers involved are in the clear. Louisiana Atty. Gen. Jeff Landrys office has said it would look at evidence from the investigation to see whether state charges were warranted. A spokeswoman for Landry did not reply to requests for comment on Tuesday. The officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, both white, were put on administrative leave after the shooting.

Civil rights groups, which have criticized changes in the Justice Departments approach to policing under Sessions, had closely watched for the announcement on the investigation into Sterlings death. This week, Baton Rouge was on edge as rumors spread that an announcement was imminent.

Louisiana officials said that the Justice Department should have provided them details ahead of time about its investigation results.

The departments failure to communicate with the community has created angst and nervousness, and I fear carries the potential for increased tension between the community and law enforcement, Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.) said in a letter to Sessions last week. Richmonds district includes Baton Rouge.

Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for the Sterling family, said Tuesday the family had not heard from the Justice Department.

We are not aware and the family is not aware of any decision from the Department of Justice one way or another, said Bamberg. We can only hope that the Department of Justice will inform the family beforehand so it does not have to hear the news in the newspaper or on TV.

Sessions, a critic of federal investigations of local police, has signaled a new approach toward federal oversight of local law enforcement on issues including use of force and measures to combat discrimination. Last month, he ordered a review of reform-oriented consent agreements between the federal government and local police, saying the misdeeds of individual bad actors should not impugn or undermine the legitimate and honorable work that law enforcement officers and agencies perform.

Court-enforced consent decrees are intended to broadly change police practices  often those related to discrimination or arrest procedures  and differ from investigations into specific incidents like that in Baton Rouge. But civil rights groups said the investigation results in Louisiana could give insight into how the government would treat police shooting investigations and reform efforts that were promoted under President Obama.

The same day news came out about the Sterling case, civil rights groups also hailed the guilty plea announced in another high-profile case involving a white police officer fatally shooting a black man. In a federal court Tuesday, former North Charleston, S.C., Officer Michael T. Slager pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for shooting Walter Scott in North Charleston on April 4, 2015.

When a grand jury indicted Slager nearly a year ago, civil rights groups praised it as a rare occasion when an officer accused of wrongdoing in a deadly shooting faced charges. In Slagers case, cellphone video showing him firing at Scott  who was unarmed and running away when he was shot in the back  was not in dispute, and he was dismissed from the force.

The situation was different in Baton Rouge.

The protests in the city, which led to 200 arrests, centered in part on different stories over what happened in the moments before Sterlings death. They were also a response to broader tensions in Baton Rouge between police and African Americans, who said they had been long mistreated by officers, an issue that became a point of focus in the Black Lives Matter movement.

The altercation between Sterling and police and the ensuring shooting were caught on a bystanders cellphone video and surveillance video. The officers at the scene wore body cameras, but police said they fell off before the shooting.

The officers were responding to an anonymous 911 call reporting that someone had made a threat with a gun in front of the Triple S Food Mart. Officers found Sterling in front of the store, where he was known to hawk music CDs. In videos, the officers first shout at Sterling to get on the ground, then tackle him. While hes pinned down, a voice is heard yelling, Hes got a gun! Gun! before gunshots are heard.

A police report said Sterling was hit with a stun gun after not complying with officers orders to put his hands on the hood of a car. The report said that officers saw the butt of a gun in one of Sterlings pant pockets and that he tried to reach for it.

It is unclear whether Sterling had a gun. At least one video showed police pulling an object that could be a gun from Sterlings pocket, though it was not clear if he reached for the object. The convenience stores owner, who recorded the incident on video, said Sterling did not threaten officers.

Local reports said that Salamoni, who had been on the force for three years, shot Sterling. According to the local coroner, Sterling died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. His death was ruled a homicide.

The shooting was among a string of fatal incidents involving police that gripped the country last July.

The day after Sterling was shot, the police shooting in Minnesota of Philando Castile set off protests after his girlfriend went on Facebook for a live broadcast showing Castile bleeding in the drivers seat of his car. Castile, who was 32 and black, was pulled over by an officer outside St. Paul and shot after informing the officer he had a weapon, which he was licensed to carry, in the vehicle.

The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and dangerous discharge of a firearm. His trial is expected to start later this year.

The day after Castiles shooting, five officers in Dallas were shot by an army-trained sniper during a protest over police shootings. The 25-year-old shooter, Micah Johnson, was black. Police said he left a trail of evidence that he wanted to kill white officers in response to high-profile police shootings of black men. Officers responding to the shooting killed Johnson.

Ten days later, violence returned to Baton Rouge when three officers were shot dead by 29-year-old Gavin Long. The former Marine, who was black, had a history of online video and audio ramblings in which he described violence as the solution to the oppression of black Americans. Long was also killed by responding police officers.

jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

More national headlines

UPDATES:

6:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Louisiana officials and additional background.

This article was originally published at 3:30 p.m.
In a dramatic turn of events, a former South Carolina police officer who spent two years fighting charges in a high-profile shooting of an unarmed black man pleaded guilty Tuesday in his federal case.

Michael T. Slager entered his plea in federal court in Charleston, S.C., more than two years after he fatally shot Walter Scott five times as Scott ran away after being pulled over for a broken car brake light.

Slager pleaded guilty to one federal charge of violating Scotts civil rights. In exchange, two other federal charges against him will be dropped, as will a state murder charge, according to his plea agreement.

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The move allows Slager, who was an officer in North Charleston at the time of the shooting, to avoid a jury trial.

U.S. District Judge David Norton of the South Carolina District will decide Slagers sentence, which could be life in prison. With a guilty plea, Slager has a better chance at a lesser sentence. Under the plea agreement, the federal government will advocate for Slagers crime to be treated as a lower-level offense.

The Department of Justice will hold accountable any law enforcement officer who violates the civil rights of our citizens by using excessive force, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said in a statement. Such failures of duty not only harm the individual victims of these crimes; they harm our country, by eroding trust in law enforcement and undermining the good work of the vast majority of honorable and honest police officers.

Slager entered his plea during a pretrial hearing Tuesday in Charleston before being handcuffed and led out of the court by U.S. marshals. The trial was scheduled for May 15.

We hope that Michaels acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss, Slagers lawyer, Andrew J. Savage III, said in a statement.

Speaking after the hearing, Scotts oldest brother, Anthony Scott, said the healing begins today for the family.

I knew from Day One there was something wrong with the picture, he said. My brother was violated. He was gunned down running away, and this gentleman continued to stick to that story, but today he told the truth. He said he did it. Thats our victory.

The April 2015 shooting of Scott, 50, was recorded on cellphone video by a bystander. The video became a rallying point of protests nationwide against a series of high-profile deaths of African Americans at the hands of police, including Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y., and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

But Slagers case stood out for a rarity in police shootings: In May, a grand jury indicted him on federal charges.

The indictment said that Slager used excessive force in violation of Scotts civil rights when he shot Scott and that he falsely told state investigators under oath that he fired as Scott moved toward him with a Taser. Slager also was charged with use of a weapon during a civil rights offense. The indictment said the shooting was without legal justification.

At the arraignment, Slager pleaded not guilty.

In this April 4, 2015, image from video, Walter Scott, left, runs as North Charleston Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager fires his weapon. (Feidin Santana / Associated Press)

Tuesdays guilty plea followed weeks of wrangling over Slagers trial. Defense attorneys had tried to limit testimony and evidence, including a request to toss out the video of the shooting.

In addition to the federal charges, Slager faced a criminal trial in state court for murder. Before Tuesdays plea agreement, that trial had been scheduled for August. In December, Slagers first trial on the state murder charge ended in a mistrial because of a deadlocked jury.

In a statement, South Carolina Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, who led the states case against Slager, praised the developments Tuesday.

We found justice in a resolution that vindicates the States interests by holding former police officer Michael Slager accountable for shooting Mr. Scott (in the back) when Slager knew it was wrong and illegal; as well as justice in a resolution that recognizes the egregious violation of Mr. Scotts civil rights, Wilson said.

Soon, a federal judge will decide what name and label to give the killing of Walter Scott. The same judge will determine what punishment former Officer Slager should receive. We have confidence in the comprehensive federal sentencing process and we will continue to support the federal governments efforts in any way that is necessary and appropriate, she said.

Slagers case has been viewed as a test of the justice system when it comes to police who shoot unarmed civilians, particularly shootings of blacks by white officers. In many high-profile police shootings in recent years, grand juries and the public have been divided as to whether officers should face charges.

But in Slagers case, city officials and even fellow officers said video showed that Scott did not present a danger and should not have been shot.

David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh whose research focuses on police, said the case was unusual and called the plea surprising.

They were able to get a mistrial once. There was no guarantee they could get it again, Harris said. The risk was great in going to trial. Pleading guilty does take some of the risk of the ultimate sentence off the table.

Harris said the video of the shooting, and Slagers own statements contradicting what was in the video, were probably key issues in the guilty plea.

After the shooting, Slager said he fired his weapon after using a Taser on Scott because he felt threatened.

Shots fired, and the subject is down. He took my Taser, Slager said at the time of the shooting, according to reports.

But the video, released three days after the April 4, 2015, shooting, showed events differently. Scott, with his back facing the officer, is unarmed and running as he is shot from at least 17 feet away.

The day of the videos release, North Charlestons mayor held a news conference calling out the officer.

When youre wrong, youre wrong, Mayor Keith Summey said. And if you make a bad decision, dont care if youre behind the shield or just a citizen on the street, you have to live by that decision.

Slager was arrested that day and fired from his job that week.

In October 2015, the Scott family settled out of court with the city of North Charleston for $6.5 million.

jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

Jaweed Kaleem is The Times national race and justice correspondent. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Opinion: Cops shoot and kill someone about 1,000 times a year. Few are prosecuted. What can be done?

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6 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Sessions and analysis from a law professor.

12:10 p.m.: This article was updated with Michael Slager pleading guilty.

9:35 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from Michael Slagers lawyer and additional details on the plea.

This article was originally published at 7:45 a.m.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday that he would roll back part of former First Lady Michelle Obamas healthy eating initiative: stricter nutritional standards for school lunches.

Perdue, who became head of the agency last week, announced he would be relaxing guidelines and providing greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for schools meal programs.

This announcement is the result of years of feedback from students, schools and food service experts about the challenges they are facing in meeting the final regulations for school meals, Perdue said during a visit to Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va.

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If kids arent eating the food, and its ending up in the trash, they arent getting any nutrition  thus undermining the intent of the program, said Perdue, who was accompanied by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Patricia Montague of the School Nutrition Assn.

Under the changes to the federal nutrition standards, schools wont have to cut salt in meals, states will be able to allow some schools to serve fewer whole grains, and schools will be allowed to serve 1% milk rather than only nonfat milk.

Advocates for change on school lunch nutrition have said its difficult to meet rules set under the Obama administration.

We have been wanting flexibility so that schools can serve meals that are both nutritious and palatable, Montague said during Mondays announcement. We dont want kids wasting their meals by throwing them away. Some of our schools are actually using that food waste as compost. That shouldnt be happening.

The Obama administration placed standards on school lunch nutrition in 2010 when it passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. During that time, Michelle Obama was seen by many as a leading advocate in the fight against childhood obesity. She started the Lets Move! campaign, which sought to encourage children to take part in more physical activity and help provide healthier food options in schools in under-served communities.

The percentage of U.S. children with obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s, causing long-term physical and emotional distress for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children with obesity are at higher risk for having asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Many are bullied and, as a result, are likely to suffer from depression and self-esteem issues.

In 2014, the standards were met with challenges in Congress led by the School Nutrition Assn., which has called the regulations too rigid, and House Republicans who supported the powerful lobbying groups efforts.

But according to the Department of Agriculture, 97% of schools across the country are implementing the school nutrition standards set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

The changes announced Monday are seen by some as undermining a bipartisan breakthrough.

Michelle Obama started a conversation with every mom and dad in America on what they were feeding their kids in a way that didnt cast judgment, said Scott Faber, senior vice president from the Environmental Working Group, which specializes in research and advocacy.

Nothing will change that legacy, but unfortunately todays actions will delay and undermine Obamas food policy legacy, he said.

Politicians and public health advocates have also criticized the rollbacks.

Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) condemned the Trump administrations change to nutrition standards for school meals across the country.

Just days into his new job as Secretary of USDA, Secretary Perdue has decided to put special interests ahead of the health of Americas children, DeLauro said in a statement.

The USDA and President Trump have now decided to roll back much of the progress we have made in the fight against rates of childhood obesity and malnutrition, DeLauro said. This interim final rule by the USDA is a slippery slope that will completely undermine school breakfast and lunch programs and the USDA should immediately reverse course.

McGovern said the country should build on the progress made rather than turn our backs on youths who rely on the meals.

This isnt about flexibility; its about making kids less healthy, McGovern said. Just because President Trump thinks fast food is a balanced meal doesnt mean we should lower our standards for our kids.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation has worked with more than 35,000 schools to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity.

We would not lower standards for reading, writing and arithmetic just because students found them challenging subjects and we should not do it for school nutrition either, Howell Wechsler, the organizations chief executive, said in a statement.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @melissaetehad

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President Trumps decision to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House is problematic in at least two ways. Since taking office nearly a year ago, Duterte has overseen a campaign of extrajudicial executions of suspected drug addicts and drug dealers that has claimed more than 7,000 lives. International human rights groups have condemned him, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged a criminal investigation after Duterte claimed to have killed at least three people himself while serving as mayor of Davao City. Dutertes response? He called the high commissioner an idiot, threatened to torch the United Nations headquarters in New York City and called President Obama a son of a whore. Obama condemned the assassinations and canceled a planned one-on-one meeting that was to have taken place in Laos.

The second problem with Trumps invitation to Duterte has to do with the new 250-luxury unit, 57-story Trump Tower in Manila that is nearing completion and set to open soon. Trumps developer in the project is Jose E.B. Antonio, whom Duterte recently appointed as the Philippines trade envoy to Washington. As with many of Trumps hotels, it appears the Trump Organization licensed the name and brand to the project developed by Antonio, but that brands value in the Philippines now relies on the good graces of the Philippine government. Thats a problem.

Despite these two problems  the Philippine leaders abysmal human record and the American presidents conflicts of interest  Trump has spoken warmly about Duterte, as he has about other world leaders with bad human rights records. While some claim to see a measure of realpolitik in Trumps invitation, suggesting that perhaps hes trying to build solidarity among Southeast Asian nations to counter Chinas efforts to increase its influence in the region, the truth is that his easy embrace of authoritarian leaders is troubling.

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Dutertes encouragement of a violent vigilante culture to repress drug addiction and trafficking is indefensible.

The United States effort to include a respect for human rights in its foreign policy determinations has always been a bit of a juggling act. The cold reality of the modern world and the demands of diplomacy can make it difficult to maintain a consistent moral position. China, for instance, has a long record of repressing political dissent, but little is to be gained and much could be lost by pursuing a policy of disengagement with such an enormous, nuclear-armed economic powerhouse. Similar concerns affect the U.S. relationship with Russia. Turkey hosts a major U.S. air base and is a key partner in trying to combat Islamic State, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a purge  including the imprisonment of thousands of journalists and political opponents  following a failed coup last year. Yet the U.S., for the sake of world stability and our national interests overseas, maintains relations with all those nations leaders.

The U.S. has enjoyed a long alliance with the Philippines. The two nations have been entwined since the U.S. annexed the Philippines at the end of the Spanish-American War, and Philippine immigrants now account for 4.5% of the 41.3 million immigrants living in the U.S. As a chain of islands marking the eastern edge of the China Sea, the Philippines is also strategically important in an increasingly tense region of the world. We do not mean to suggest that Trump should cut off communication with Duterte or that there might not eventually be a time when the two have to meet to discuss serious matters of mutual interest. But Trumps seemingly impulsive invitation appears to lack substance or urgency. He would be mistaken to reward Dutertes murderous campaign with a White House visit.

Trump previously hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, despite the jailing of tens of thousands of political opponents, journalists and others (including some Americans) that made Sisi unwelcome in the Obama White House. In that visit, the Trump administration said it would not raise human rights abuses in public, but would consider discussing them with Sisi in private. Whether that ever happened is unknown, but it certainly should have.

Dutertes encouragement of a violent vigilante culture to repress drug addiction and trafficking is indefensible. That Trump is willing to embrace him is worrisome. Defending human rights has been part of American foreign policy for four decades. Inviting the likes of Duterte over for a schmooze does not reflect well on the White House, or the nation.

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During the May Day marches in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, a man wearing a red T-shirt and a black mask dangled a small U.S. flag from his left hand and, in front of rolling video cameras, ignited it. It wasnt a very big flag, maybe twice the size of a folder, so it didnt make much of a fire.

But as the flag burned, LAPD officers swept in, handcuffed the protester  the smoldering flag falling to the sidewalk  and led him away to a patrol car under arrest for suspicion of arson, it was reported at the time.

Los Angeles police said Tuesday morning that the protester ultimately wasnt charged, and he was released. That no charge was filed is good, but the harm had already been done. The arrest itself should worry defenders of free speech.

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The Supreme Court ruled more than a quarter-century ago that burning the American flag as an act of protest is protected speech under the 1st Amendment, and it found laws specifically banning the burning of the flag to be unconstitutional. Despite that long history, Los Angeles police decided to arrest the protester anyway. On suspicion of arson, a charge usually connected with the intentional torching of a building, car or other sizable and valuable object.

To perceive the burning of a flag as an act of arson is, to put it generously, a cynical use of the laws and police power.

Watching the video of the protest and arrest makes it clear the man was engaged in lawful protest. There was no imminent physical risk to anyone  except maybe the protesters fingers as the flames crawled up the flag. Yet by arresting him, the police ended his lawful expression. They compounded the affront by removing him from the protest and placing him in the back of a patrol car.

This sort of police overreaction isnt unique to Los Angeles. People routinely get arrested at protests around the country, hauled off and then later released without charge. But the violation of free-speech rights occurs when the person is arrested, ending his or her involvement in the protest  protected political speech.

Granted, some protests veer into violence, and crimes are committed. That happened during the demonstrations in Washington, D.C., over President Trumps inauguration. More than 200 people have been charged in connection with a torched limousine, broken windows and assaults on police, and such accusations need to be addressed through the courts to insure that criminal actors are held accountable. But the courts also must make sure that those merely dissenting are not punished for mounting lawful protests.

And police overseers also must make certain that officers accurately assess and respond to whats before them and not do wholesale indiscriminate sweeps of protesters, which occurred at the inauguration protests when seven journalists also were arrested. While the charges against the journalists were dropped, the arrests themselves removed the journalists from the scene and precluded them from doing their jobs.

That no charge was filed is good, but the harm had already been done. The arrest should worry defenders of free speech.

Burning an American flag may be offensive to some, but the 1st Amendment is worthless if it doesnt also protect speech we dont like. Activists on the left and the right have over the years used the hecklers veto  loud and occasionally violent protests to shut down opposing views. Thats a mob in action, and its reprehensible (the recent brouhaha over canceling, then rescheduling, an appearance by conservative gadfly Ann Coulter at UC Berkeley is a case in point).

But in arresting the flag-burner Monday, it was the police  the enforcement arm of the government  that shut off political speech, and dissent. That is indefensible, and intolerable, and the Los Angeles Police Commission would be wise to review the incident with an eye toward ensuring that keeping the peace does not involve stifling free speech.

Scott.Martelle@LATimes.com

Follow my posts and re-tweets at @smartelle on Twitter
Sen. Kamala Harris says she hasnt considered running for president By Phil Willon U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Despite swirling speculation, Californias U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said shes not giving any consideration to running for president in 2020. Harris was appearing at the annual Code Conference hosted by the tech news site Recode in Rancho Palos Verdes on Wednesday night when site co-founder Kara Swisher asked if she had eyes on the White House. Im not giving that any consideration. Ive got to stay focused, said Harris, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in November after serving as Californias attorney general. After she won the seat vacated by former Sen. Barbara Boxer, Harris quickly gained a reputation as a potential presidential candidate in 2020. Harris took questions from Swisher alongside Laurene Powell Jobs, a philanthropist and the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Though she brushed off the presidential rumors, Harris urged Democrats to try harder to make convincing arguments on issues such as climate change instead of just criticizing those who disagree with them. She told the audience at the posh Terranea Resort where the conference is being held that it would be a mistake to dismiss the concerns of Americans who supported Trump in the November election. She said the issues that concern them  good jobs and the future of their families  are the concerns of all working-class Americans. There is a healthy number of people in our country who are feeling displaced, rightly, Harris said. I think we have to deal with that. Still, Harris dished out plenty of jabs at the Trump administration. She criticized Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions for resuscitating the war on drugs and told him to leave Grandmas medical marijuana alone. Harris also criticized the Trump administrations more hard-line immigration policies, and said she was concerned about allegations of collusion between Trumps campaign and the Russian government. These are serious times. These are not issues we can just sit around with a glass of Chardonnay debating and philosophizing about, Harris said. The decisions that are being made right now are impacting real human beings. Watch the entire interview: Facebook

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Trump wouldnt release his tax returns, so lawmakers move to make it mandatory for Californias primary By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Legislation to require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to gain a spot on Californias presidential primary ballot won passage in the state Senate on Wednesday, but only after a tense debate that largely centered on President Trump. Senate Bill 149 was approved on a strict party-line vote, 27-13. The bill now moves to the state Assembly, and was one of the last bills debated during a marathon session at the state Capitol to consider bills before a Friday deadline for action. The bill would require presidential candidates to file copies of their income tax returns with state elections officials for the five most recent taxable years. Failure to do so would mean their name wouldnt appear on Californias presidential primary ballot. The legislation was introduced in December, in the wake of Trumps refusal to disclose his tax returns during the 2016 campaign. The president has continued to reject calls for the information. Hes shaping international policy which could enrich himself, and the American public has no way to know, state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) said of Trump during Wednesday nights floor debate. This legislation will help make transparency great again. Republicans denounced the bill as another in a long line of efforts by Democrats in the Legislature to lash out at the election of Trump and the defeat of Hillary Clinton. I get it that some people hate Trump, state Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) said. Weve got to move ahead. Weve got to get over it. Tensions flared after Anderson tried to amend the bill on the floor  first, to require statewide and legislative candidates to also release their tax returns, and then to require a birth certificate from candidates who want access to the states primary ballot. Both were rejected by Democrats. A legislative analysis of SB 149 said some legal scholars believe the plan, which would be the first of its kind in the nation, would pass muster with the U.S. Constitution. Nonetheless, the analysis concluded that it would probably be challenged in court if signed into law. Facebook

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California Senate moves forward with bill that would overhaul Los Angeles County MTA By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) proposed to revamp the Los Angeles County MTA. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The state Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would expand and reshape the agency that oversees mass transit in Los Angeles County. Opponents of the measure include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the city and county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. The bill by Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) was sent to the Assembly for consideration after squeaking by with a 22-11 vote in the Senate. The measure would expand the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board from 12 to 15 members. It would also reduce the number of county supervisors on the board from five to two, remove the appointment of two public members and increase Los Angeles City Council member appointments by the mayor from two to five. This will allow for proportional and fair representation, Mendoza told his colleagues, adding that the board currently is made up of haves and have-nots fighting to get their share. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) opposed the measure because he said he saw it as Sacramento meddling in local policymaking. But Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Palmdale) supported SB 268. Too much power is concentrated in too few people, he said of the current board. Facebook

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Single-payer healthcare is popular with Californians  unless it raises their taxes By John Myers (Rich Pedoncelli / Associated Press) Almost two of every three Californians in a new statewide poll said they like the idea of a single-payer, government healthcare system, but far fewer support the idea if it includes a tax increase. The poll released Wednesday night by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 65% of adults surveyed support the creation of a single-payer state healthcare program to cover all of the states residents, and 56% of likely voters approved of the idea. Opinion was sharply divided between Democrats (75% support) and Republicans (66% oppose) who were surveyed. The single-payer proposal under consideration in the state Capitol, Senate Bill 562, assumes at least $50 billion in new taxes to fund the healthcare system. Asked about taxes, support drops to 42% of the adults surveyed and 43% of likely voters. While a majority of Democrats in the PPIC poll continued to support the idea if it means more taxes, support drops substantially among unaffiliated independent voters. The state Senate is expected to consider the single-payer bill before the end of the week. A legislative analysis put the estimated total cost of a new healthcare system that covers all Californians at $400 billion, while an analysis released on Wednesday by supporters provided a $331-billion estimate. The pending legislation by state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) does not identify what taxes would be raised but makes the enactment of the plan contingent on a full funding proposal. Facebook

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Knowingly exposing others to HIV should no longer be a felony, state Senate says By Patrick McGreevy The Senate voted to no longer make it a felony for HIV-positive people to donate blood or semen without telling the blood bank they are infected. ( (Toby Talbot / Associated Press)) The state Senate on Wednesday voted to no longer make it a felony for someone infected with HIV to knowingly expose others to the disease by having unprotected sex without telling his or her partner about the infection. The crime would be downgraded to a misdemeanor, and the bill would also apply to people who donate blood or semen without telling the blood or semen bank that they have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, or have tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the precursor to AIDS. The measure, which next goes to the Assembly for consideration, was introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who said it is unfair to make HIV/AIDS the only communicable disease given such harsh treatment by prosecutors. These laws are irrational and discriminatory, Wiener told the Senate, adding that the current felony status is creating an incentive not to be tested, because if you dont know your status you cant be guilty of a felony. The measure was widely opposed by Republican lawmakers including Sen. Joel Anderson of San Diego. If you intentionally transmit something that is fundamentally life-threatening to the victim, you should be charged and go to jail, he said. Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) said, My friends, its not a gay issue. Its a public health issue. We shouldnt allow someone to play Russian roulette with other peoples lives. Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a physician, voted for the bill and argued that it undermines public health to imprison those with HIV under the current law. Facebook

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Hillary Clinton: I was the victim of a very broad assumption I was going to win By Seema Mehta Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that she has no plans to run for office again, but she plans to remain involved in civic life, particularly helping the Democrats efforts to regain control of the House in 2018. Im not going anywhere, Clinton said at the annual Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes. I have a big stake in what happens in this country. I am very unbowed and unbroken about what happened because I dont want it to happen to anybody else. I dont want it to happen to the values and the institutions I care about in America. And I think were at a really pivotal point, she said. And therefore Im going to keep writing and keep talking and keep supporting people who are on the front lines of the resistance. The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee said she woke up on election day expecting to win. Clinton told the gathering that she was responsible for every decision the campaign made, though she did not believe they caused her surprise loss. She attributed that to several things, including alleged Russian interference in the election and weaponizing stolen information and fake news. She also pointed a finger at the Democrats for falling behind the GOP in using technology and data to target voters, the media for covering her e-mail controversy like it was Pearl Harbor, misogyny and the high expectations many had for her candidacy. I was the victim of a very broad assumption I was going to win, she said, adding that she always expected the race to be close. Trump responded on Twitter, saying that Clinton still refused to accept that she lost because she was a terrible candidate. Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & DNC.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017 Clinton, who has increasingly jabbed President Trump, including at last weeks commencement address at Wellesley College, blasted his reported plan to pull out of the Paris climate accord as really stupid because of the economic implications. She described his personality as impulsive and reactive. And she joked about his peculiar overnight tweet about constant negative press covfefe, saying she thought it was a hidden message to the Russians to laughter from the audience. Going forward, Clinton said that she believes that it was realistic for Democrats to retake the House in 2018, notably by focusing on Republican congressional districts she won  including seven in California. She sounded less optimistic about the Senate. Updated at 6:06 p.m.: This post was updated to add President Trumps response to Clintons remarks. This post was first published at 5:41 p.m. Facebook

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California lawmakers take aim again at establishing statewide rules for drones By Jazmine Ulloa A state senator from Santa Barbara is taking another shot at establishing statewide regulations for the use of drones after the budding industry thwarted her efforts to pass similar legislation last year. Senate Bill 347, introduced by Democratic Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, would limit disruptive drone use near private property and prohibit the weaponization and reckless operation of the unmanned aerial vehicles. It also would require pilots to obtain insurance and to license, register and mark the aircrafts per federal regulations. The bill moved out of the Senate on Wednesday with a 26-13 vote. It heads to the Assembly for consideration. Speaking on the Senate floor, Jackson urged support for what she called comprehensive drone legislation, saying California needs common-sense rules that provide certainty for everyone and keep the public safe. Washington is not going to be acting on this issue very soon, she said, citing a federal appeals court decision that this month found the Federal Aviation Administration doesnt have the authority to regulate the use of drones by hobbyists. Debate has raged in recent years over just where federal authority begins and ends. And Jacksons attempts at drone legislation last year were blocked amid opposition from lobbyists who argued against creating a patchwork of laws that varied by state. Under Jacksons new proposal, violations would be punishable by a fine of up to $250 or a misdemeanor, and the California Department of Transportation would be tasked with developing liability insurance requirements. It has the support of the California State Assn. of Counties, the League of California Cities and the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Assn, but it once again faces tough industry opposition. Facebook

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School districts would be prohibited from shaming students whose parents havent paid for school lunches By Patrick McGreevy Students eat lunch at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Los Angeles. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times) Students whose parents have not kept their school lunch bills current would no longer go through shaming that includes marking their hand so they cannot be served, under legislation approved Wednesday by the state Senate. The measure by Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) would require school districts to ensure that any student whose parent has unpaid school meal fees is not treated differently, or delayed or denied a nutritiously adequate meal. Hertzberg introduced the legislation after hearing of school districts taking lunch trays from students whose accounts were not current and throwing the food in the trash, embarrassing the students in front of their friends. No more shaming, Herzberg told his colleagues. Dont visit the failures of the parents on their kids. The measure passed on a 39-0 vote and was sent to the Assembly for consideration. Facebook

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Emilio Huerta, undaunted by 2016 loss, is back to challenge Rep. David Valadao By Sarah D. Wire (Sarah D. Wire / Los Angeles Times) Bakersfield lawyer Emilio Huerta came more than 13 percentage points short of winning Californias 21st Congressional District seat in 2016, but he plans to try again in 2018. Huerta, 59, blames his loss to Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) on inexperience and a rash of negative ads at the end of the campaign. We learned a lot in the last campaign. As a first-time candidate there was certainly a lot to learn and I think we did a good job, Huerta said Wednesday. The son of labor icon Dolores Huerta, he has worked for the United Farm Workers union  which his mother co-founded  throughout the Central Valley district. Huerta said Valadaos vote for the Republican healthcare plan shows hes ignoring Valley residents needs because it would end the expansion of the MediCal program, which many of the districts residents use for healthcare. Its going to be a pretty significant issue, he said. He is the first Democrat to announce a bid for the seat. Democrats are heartened by the fact that, while Valadao won the seat with 56.74% of the vote, the district has continued to trend Democratic in voter registration and chose Hillary Clinton for president with 54.72% of the vote. That tells me that there were die-hard Democrats, committed Democrats that vote, Democrats that were not convinced that my campaign should be supported and I think a lot of that has to do with me being a first-time candidate, Huerta said. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has made the seat a target for 2018. The majority-Latino district includes parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown and Democrats say Trump is going backwards if he pulls out of Paris climate pact By John Myers Gov. Jerry Brown warned Wednesday that a decision by President Trump to withdraw the United States from a 2015 global climate change agreement could be tragic, and vowed to keep Californias ambitious efforts in place and on track. Here we are, in 2017, going backwards, Brown said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. It cannot stand, its not right and California will do everything it can to not only stay the course, but to build more support  in other states, in other provinces, in other countries. The governor also criticized efforts to the president to dismantle climate change initiatives launched by former President Barack Obama. Trump is going against science. Hes going against reality, the governor said. We cant stand by and give aid and comfort to that. News that the president had either made the decision to pull the country out of the Paris Accord on climate change or was on the verge of doing so drew swift condemnation from California leaders. Brown and other top lawmakers attended the talks in late 2015 that resulted in the international agreement, and insisted on Wednesday that it would not hurt the states own efforts to sharply curtail greenhouse gas emissions. As with so many other matters, from human rights to healthcare, the Trump administration has continued to surrender our nations longstanding role as a global leader, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) said. Others pointed out that a decision to remove the United States from the agreement would leave it in rare company among other nations. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that such a decision by Trump would be more than just dumb + destructive. Brown, who leaves Friday for a weeklong visit to China to encourage more climate-change cooperation, predicted any decision to step away would suggest the countrys priorities arent clear. It sends a very muddled message, the governor said during an interview in his state Capitol office. Is the message [that] we like dirty cars and gas guzzlers? And were going to have a coal future? That cant happen. And Brown again suggested that Californias experience on the issue offers a road map for others. If we want to retain and enhance manufacturing, we have to do what California is doing, in clean energy and clean technology, he said. Thats the future of jobs, the future of sustainability. And we better get on board. And California will be right there with the best of them. Facebook

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This Orange County congressmans immigration town hall turned chaotic and led to three arrests By Sarah D. Wire The majority of calls into Rep. Lou Correas Orange County congressional office are about immigration worries and what the Trump administrations enforcement policies mean for Correas many Latino constituents. Theres a lot of fear in my district, he said. So the freshman Democrat has held seven town halls, all focused on immigration and explaining immigrants rights. Theyve been peaceful, with representatives from groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and the Mexican Consulate invited to help Correa answer questions. But as the crowd of about 100 people gathered at Santa Anas Delhi Center on Tuesday evening, Correa knew this time would be different. We had some people there, probably a dozen of them, that immediately had signs that were not complimentary to yours truly, he said. Two women arguing about immigration issues had already gotten into an altercation outside the town hall. They were cited for assault and battery, and barred by police from going inside. Correa told the crowd inside he would give a short presentation about immigration policy coming out of Washington and then have a question-and-answer session. About a dozen people were having none of it. Some of the most tense moments came when Correa started talking about green card holders who served in the U.S. military and have since been deported. Maam, Im trying to be courteous here, he said as a woman kept speaking over him. As soon as I started speaking, it became very clear they were not going to let me speak, Correa said Wednesday. They just got louder and louder. Video of the town hall posted on social media shows people in the crowd yelling Americans first and Illegals have no rights. Correa repeatedly asks them to let him speak. Are you guys going to cooperate, or am I going to have to ask you to leave? he said. About 15 minutes in, as some in the crowd continued to shout and their attention turned to berating a group of counter-protesters, Correa declared the meeting over. A handful of people circled around Correa as he tried to leave, yelling Shame, shame and You guys all want welfare. One womans voice can be heard repeatedly yelling Coward! Police emptied the room amid chants of USA. The crowd streamed into the parking lot, where confrontations quickly started between supporters of President Trump and others who appeared to be focused on Native American rights. Videos posted on social media show men shouting at one another, their faces so close their noses are practically touching. Police officers kept trying to separate the groups. (Warning: The video below includes language that some readers might find offensive.) Santa Ana Police Department spokesman Anthony Bertagna said a man struck a Trump supporter on the head with a pole bearing an anti-fascism flag. He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Bertagna said. The man was brought to police headquarters, and a group of about 10 people followed along to protest, he said. Shortly after, the town hall peacefully resumed in a different room with a much smaller crowd, Correa said. Several California members of Congress have held similar immigration-specific town halls or workshops in the last few months as questions swirl about changes to federal immigration policies and enforcement. The purpose of the town halls is to let people know how to follow the law, let them know their legal rights and responsibilities, Correa said. Protesters have characterized it as teaching people who are in the country illegally how to avoid deportation and get federal benefits. Facebook

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California plan for 100% renewable energy by 2045 clears key hurdle By Liam Dillon California will receive all of its power from renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, by 2045 under legislation that passed the state Senate on Wednesday. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) touted his bill, Senate Bill 100, as the most ambitious program in the world. Clean energy is the future, De Leon said. SB 100 ensures that California leads into the future. The measure would also speed up the states goal of reaching 50% renewable energy, changing the deadline from 2030 to 2026. SB 100 passed over objections from Republican senators. Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Temecula) criticized the measure as government getting ahead of technological capacity. What if we cant make that mandate that were putting into law today? Stone said. What its going to do is drive up electricity bills for our businesses. De Leons bill now moves to the Assembly. Facebook

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A new proposal on Californias cap-and-trade program emerges as vote is delayed By Chris Megerian Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), left. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A coalition of business-friendly Democrats is detailing their own ideas for cap and trade, a centerpiece of Californias fight against global warming, the latest bid in a crowded field of efforts to extend the program. Cap and trade requires polluting companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions, and lawmakers have been considering a push from Gov. Jerry Brown to extend the program beyond 2020. The new plan would force the program to sunset in 2025, earlier than previous proposals from other lawmakers. It would also direct revenue from the program toward improving air quality and helping agricultural and trucking companies lower their emissions by replacing aging equipment. The plan is also aimed at keeping costs down for industries regulated by cap and trade, allowing them to support green projects known as offsets instead of reducing their own emissions. California must continue to lead the world by implementing a strong climate policy that ensures both a healthy environment for future Californians and growth in all sectors of our economy, Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) said in a statement. The pro-business Democrats plan is the fourth such effort announced by various factions within the states ruling Democratic Party this year with two others emerging from the Assembly and one from the Senate. The plans offer varying degrees of changes to the existing program, either to prioritize pollution reductions in disadvantaged communities or eliminate offsets. Republican lawmakers also have said they want to be part of the cap-and-trade debate. Brown has pushed for a two-thirds supermajority vote of the Legislature to extend the program by the state budget deadline next month. But Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) said at a Wednesday news conference that that wasnt going to happen. Cap-and-trade is a very complex issue, De Leon said. Its very arcane. We want to make sure we get it right. De Leon said he hoped for a deal by the end of the year. Read More Facebook

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Senate fails to back bill to delay the Aliso Canyon reopening, but lawmaker will try again Facebook

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California state Senate advances bill to ban smoking and use of e-cigarettes in government housing By Patrick McGreevy Californians would no longer be able to use tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, in public housing and within 25 of those buildings under a measure approved Tuesday by the state Assembly. Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) said the measure builds on a smoking ban approved last year for federal public housing projects by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition to applying the smoking ban to state housing, expansion to include e-cigarettes makes sure the law cover new technology in tobacco use. The bill takes effect by July 30, 2018. Wood said tobacco-related diseases cost taxpayers significant funds each year. This bill will save money but will more importantly save lives, Wood told his colleagues before the vote. The measure is opposed by the Western Center on Law and Poverty, which worries it will lead to more evictions. Facebook

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Californians would not be able to buy more than one rifle a month under bill approved by state senators By Patrick McGreevy Terry McGuire, owner of Get Loaded in Grand Terrace, shows a customer a Cobalt Kinetics BAMF rifle about a week after the 2015 shooting rampage in nearby San Bernardino. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) Californians would be prohibited from buying more than one firearm in any 30-day period under a measure approved Tuesday by the Senate to reduce straw purchasing and circumvention of gun laws. California already bars people from buying more than one handgun a month. The bill by Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) expands the limit to also cover long guns, including rifles and shotguns. The measure, which next goes to the Assembly for consideration, seeks to address concerns that some people buy large quantities of guns and then sell them on the underground market to criminals and others not eligible to own guns. There is no need or reason why a person would need to purchase more than one gun a month, Portantino said during the floor debate. Republicans, including Jeff Stone of Murrieta, opposed the legislation. This is yet another example of the government trying to infringe on the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, Stone said. Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Chico) said he has seen no proof that past gun-control measures approved by the state have made the state safer. Its more of the same that will not decrease violent crime, Nielsen said. Facebook

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California state senators want to stop the public from smoking at California beaches and parks By Patrick McGreevy Californians would be barred from smoking or using electronic cigarettes in state parks and at beaches under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate. Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Concord) said his bill would address the health problems caused by smoking but also the harm done to the environment by discarded cigarette butts and the fire danger posed by the practice. Cigarette butts contain more than 150 toxic chemicals and although small in size, have a huge negative impact on the environment and the animals that live in them, Glazer told his colleagues. A legislative analysis said the bill does not address the concerns raised by Gov. Jerry Brown when he vetoed a similar bill last year. The veto message read, in part, The complete prohibition in all parks and beaches is too broad. A more measured  and less punitive  approach might be warranted. Facebook

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School day wouldnt begin before 8:30 a.m. in California under bill that clears the state Senate By John Myers (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) California teenagers wouldnt be required to start their school day before 8:30 am under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate. The legislation by Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) would not fully take effect until 2020, and sparked a lively floor debate over the science on the sleep patterns of middle and high school students, and whether they simply need to go to bed earlier. I expect this would only dispose them to stay up later, said state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber). Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield), said students need to learn what its like in the workforce. Job preparation is what schooling is all about, Fuller said. Unless youre a musician or someone who works nights, you probably did not start in the later morning. Opponents also said the later start time could affect collective bargaining agreements with teachers and other school employees. Supporters, however, pointed to a recommendation for later start times from the American Academy of Pediatrics. A University of Minnesota study linked school start times to sleep deprivation and the rate of car crashes among teenage drivers. The morning sleep time is the most valuable for student health, said Portantino. Their test scores go up, their attendance goes up, their graduation rates go up. The bill would allow rural school districts to obtain a waiver if they couldnt make the change. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) ended the debate with a simple request of the senators on behalf of teenage students. "Lets just let them sleep in a little bit, he said with a smile. Facebook

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More transparency proposed for prescription drug price increases under bill passed by California Senate By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), shown speaking in March, won Senate approval Tuesday on a bill that would require more transparency on drug prices. (Melanie Mason / Los Angeles Times) Alarmed by skyrocketing prices for some prescription drugs, the California Senate on Tuesday approved a measure aimed at increasing pressure to hold down costs to consumers by requiring more public reporting of price hikes. The lawmakers approved a bill that would require drug manufacturers to notify health plans and state purchasers such as the prison department of increases in the wholesale cost of drugs in writing at least 90 days before the new costs were to take effect. The measure also requires that health plans and insurers notify state regulators of pricing information for the most costly drugs. Were not saying that they cant raise the price. Were just saying notify us, Hernandez said during the floor debate. And if [the price] goes up a significant amount, we should be able to question why. The measure passed by a 26-10 vote with some Republicans, including Sen. Ted Gaines of El Dorado Hills, opposed. Gaines said the pharmaceutical industrys pricing of drugs helps it pay for development of new medications. It funds their research, Gaines said during the debate. The measure next goes to the Assembly, where a similar bill last year failed to win passage. Hernandez said more opponents are talking to him this year about possible compromises, although the bill is opposed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Hernandez said the bill is needed, adding that current regulations allow pharmaceutical companies to reap obscene profits at the expense of the entire healthcare system. Facebook

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California Senate advances bill to make pot use in cars an infraction By Patrick McGreevy San Bruno police officers stop cars at a DUI checkpoint. State officials are proposing to make it an infraction to use marijuana in motor vehicles. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Just months after state voters legalized the recreational use of marijuana, the state Senate on Tuesday voted to prohibit its use in automobiles because of concerns over drugged driving. A bill by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) makes it an infraction for drivers and passengers to use marijuana in motor vehicles. Stiffer penalties already exist for motorists found to be driving while impaired by drugs. California voters legalized recreational use of marijuana in November although the state does not plan to begin issuing licenses for its legal sale until January. In Washington state, which previously legalized pot, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that the number of drivers who had recently used marijuana before fatal accidents doubled from 2013 to 2014, Hill told his colleagues. Washington serves as an eye-opening case study for what other states may experience with road safety after legalizing the drug, Hill told his colleagues before the unanimous vote to approve the measure and send it to the Assembly for consideration. Facebook

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California lawmakers want to give parents at smaller companies 12 weeks of protected family leave By Jazmine Ulloa State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California lawmakers are once again seeking to expand the states paid family leave program to smaller businesses after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar measure last year. SB 63, authored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), on Tuesday moved out of the state Senate with a 25-13 vote. It now heads to the Assembly for consideration. The legislation, a priority bill for the California Legislative Womens Caucus, would allow parents at companies with 20 to 49 employees to take 12 weeks of leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child  without fear of losing their jobs. Under the current state law, only workers at businesses with 50 or more workers can take advantage of program. On the Senate floor Tuesday, the debate on the issue echoed that of last year. Republican lawmakers argued the bill would kill jobs and hurt small businesses already struggling in California. Those in favor argued progressive family leave policies attracted a strong and healthy workforce. Jackson said her bill would impact only 6.3% of California companies, while helping 16% of its workforce, a population of 2.7 million residents across the state. With so many women in the workforce than ever before, and with so many struggling, two-income families, this is a critical moment in time, she said. Facebook

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Kimberly Ellis files formal challenge over result of state Democratic Party chairperson election By Seema Mehta (Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The candidate who narrowly lost the race to be the next leader of the California Democratic Party on Tuesday filed a formal challenge of the election result. Kimberly Ellis campaign, which was already in the process of reviewing the ballots cast during the state partys convention two weekends ago, said they were filing the challenge to meet a requirement in the party bylaws that such an action must be taken within seven days of the contested act. Our review process is ongoing. Its critical that all formal processes outlined by the CDPs bylaws are followed at this time so that there can be no concern about raising issues in the manner prescribed by our party, said Hilary Crosby, immediate past controller for the state party and an Ellis supporter. Ellis campaign said challenges were also being filed in races for a vice chair, secretary and multiple regional directors. Chris Masami Myers, state party executive director, acknowledged receiving the challenges and said in a statement that they would be reviewed in accordance with the standard practices described in the bylaws. The partys compliance review commission, made up of six members who were appointed during former Chairman John Burtons tenure, will review the evidence and take oral or written testimony before issuing a ruling in mid- to late June. The state party chair race was the most heated and contentious. Longtime party leader Eric Bauman entered the race with advantages, but Ellis made the contest competitive. In the election, held this month at the state party convention in Sacramento, Bauman beat Ellis by just over 60 votes. But amid allegations levied by her supporters of ballot-box stuffing and ripped-up ballots, she refused to concede the race. Her campaign has been reviewing individual ballots for a week. Bauman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Updated at 4:57 p.m.: This post was updated to add additional information about how the review will be conducted. Updated at 3:35 p.m.: This post was updated to add a comment from a state party official. This post was originally published at 2:37 p.m. Facebook

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Darrell Issa gets on his office roof to take a picture of protesters. A mild hubbub ensues By Sarah D. Wire Yes, this is really @DarrellIssa on the roof of his district office building. Too afraid to come speak with assembled constituents below. pic.twitter.com/wCYRjO8Ev8  Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) May 30, 2017 It began when one of Rep. Darrell Issas 2018 opponents, Mike Levin, posted an image on Twitter, saying the Vista congressman was hiding on his office roof from hundreds of protesters on the street below. The photo of Issa standing on the roof ricocheted around Twitter, with many comparing it to a scene from the popular television show The Office, and left-leaning media outlets quickly publishing headlines like Darrell Issa Appears to Flee to Building Roof to Avoid Protesters. Like most things, what happened at Issas office appears to have been a bit more nuanced. Issa soon tweeted that he had spent the morning talking with constituents gathered outside the office today, then popped upstairs to take a quick pic!. Multiple images, including one from Levins account and from Issas account, show the congressman on the street with protesters. Spent the morning talking with constituents gathered outside the office today, then popped upstairs to take a quick pic! pic.twitter.com/K2CFdenOIj  Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) May 30, 2017 I just received an unprompted call from @DarrellIssa who said he tried, unsuccessfully to speak with protesters outside his district office.  Joshua Stewart (@jptstewart) May 30, 2017 .@DarrellIssa said the protesters wouldnt' speak with him, so he went up to the roof and took pictures.  Joshua Stewart (@jptstewart) May 30, 2017 The protests occur weekly outside Issas Vista district office, and the congressman has come out to speak with the group at least twice since President Trumps inauguration. Issa narrowly won reelection in 2016 over a novice opponent, and Democrats are targeting his seat in 2018. Issas staff said he tried to speak with all the protesters using their sound system, but was rebuffed. Rally organizer Ellen Montanari said she decided not to hand over the protesters microphone so Issa could take questions from the crowd because he refused to shake her hand before the protest began. He refused to do that, and he said, Step away, you are a protester. And I said I am a constituent,  Montanari said. She said he also made disparaging remarks about the protesters and the signs they carry. Issas spokesman, Calvin Moore, said Montanari cant simultaneously organize people to stand outside our office with Where is Darrell? signs and feign outrage how he wont answer her questions  and then deny him the ability to answer his constituents questions, he said. Facebook

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State Senate Democrats pass bills designed to protect against Trumps possible changes Facebook

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Rep. Adam Schiff says alleged Russian meddling in election was an effort to destroy American democracy By Seema Mehta U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, left, discusses Russias threat to liberal democracies around the world at discussion discussion hosted by Erwin Chemerinsky at UCI. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said Tuesday that the alleged Russian meddling in last years presidential election was about far more than favoring one candidate over another. He said it was an effort to undermine the foundation of American democracy in order to prop up an authoritarian regime in Moscow. Now if you look at this as just a one-off intervention, you might be inclined to dismiss the greater significance of it, or if you listen to the president, you might be inclined to dismiss this as simply efforts to relitigate a lost election, Schiff told several hundred people at UC Irvine. But the significance is really far greater. Quite separate and apart from the desire of the Russians to help Donald Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton was a more fundamental objective, and that was really to tear down at our democracy. Schiff is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating allegations of Russian intervention in the presidential election, including the leaking of hacked Democratic emails and contacts between Trump associates and Russians. Trump has declared the investigation the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history on Twitter. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), the former chairman of the committee, recently told hundreds of Republicans at a fundraiser that the investigation is about nothing more than Democrats trying to justify Clintons loss. Nunes stepped down from his position after allegations arose that he mishandled classified information. Schiff said Russian President Vladimir Putin would have reasons for wanting to see Clinton fail and Trump succeed  he believed that the CIA and Clinton were secretly behind mass demonstrations in Russia in 2011, and because Trumps positions on issues such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were more favorable to Russia than Clintons. But Schiff argued the larger point was sowing discord in the U.S., so Putin could argue that American democracy is no better than his government. Talk of rigged elections and surveillance, questioning the independence of the judiciary and freedom of the press  as Trump has done  boost Putins message, Schiff said. And the efforts are not limited to the United States, he added, pointing to allegations that the Russians made an effort to interfere in Frances recent election. The reality is there is new ideological struggle. Its not communism versus capitalism anymore. It is authoritarian versus democracy, he said. This is the broader challenge we are facing. Schiff also warned that there is no way to prevent Russian cyber-spying and that future attempts to interfere with American elections will only be more sophisticated, so voters must be educated. One of the most important conclusions the intelligence agencies have reached is the Russians will do this again, he said. The only real defense is to inoculate ourselves, to educate ourselves about what the Russians have done, why they are doing [it and] what they may do in the future and somehow we have to develop a consensus regardless of which party it helps and which party it hurts  that we will reject it. Facebook

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Rep. Devin Nunes: Democrats are using Russia investigation to justify Clintons loss By Sarah D. Wire (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA) House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes told hundreds of local Republicans at a recent private fundraiser that congressional investigations into Russias interference in the 2016 election are about Democrats trying to justify Hillary Clintons loss. The Democrats dont want an investigation on Russia. They want an independent commission. Why do they want an independent commission? Because they want to continue the narrative that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are best friends, and thats the reason that he won, because Hillary Clinton would have never lost on her own; it had to be someone elses fault, Nunes told Republicans the day after he stepped away from leading the House investigation. His remarks were recorded on video and provided to The Times. Read More Facebook

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Californias embattled tax board would lose power over staff and funding under lawmakers plan By John Myers Following months of accusations about mistakes and improper use of power by its elected members, the state Board of Equalization could lose substantial power and gain an independent overseer under legislation introduced in the state Assembly. The bill by Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) would shift much of the power over staff and spending authority away from the independent tax board and create a new inspector general to watch over its actions. What were trying to do is make sure that the reform is transparent, Ridley-Thomas said. Thats what I think the moment demands. The plan, introduced as an amended bill just before the Memorial Day holiday, comes in the wake of audits alleging the tax agency made multimillion dollar miscalculations on revenue allocations and that some of its elected members improperly used staff members who were supposed to be focused on tax collection. Earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown called the situation a mess and in April asked for an investigation by the state Department of Justice. Four members of the Board of Equalization are directly elected by voters. The fifth, state Controller Betty Yee, serves in an ex officio capacity. The Assembly bill would transfer significant staff decisions to the agencys executive director and would require the Board of Equalizations members to have their operations funded in detailed line items included in the state budget. It would also create an inspector general office and would require the boards members to disclose all ex parte communications with those seeking action by the agency. I think that these issues can be addressed if we keep them in the sunlight, said Ridley-Thomas. Facebook

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New advertising campaign targets lawmakers over votes for climate change policies By Chris Megerian A coalition of California businesses launched a new advertising campaign on Saturday to pressure lawmakers against enacting tighter policies on climate change and air pollution. The campaign includes online videos and television advertising that warn of higher costs for business and residents. It arrives as Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers are debating whether to extend the cap-and-trade program, which requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gases, and how restrictive the system should be. The first lawmaker being targeted is Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), accusing him of allowing unelected state employees to raise hidden taxes on gasoline and electricity because he voted last year for a tougher target to reduce emissions by 2030. Other lawmakers could face similar advertisements. Were locked, loaded and ready to go statewide, said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, which is funding the campaign through an advocacy group called Californians for Affordable and Reliable Energy. The roundtable represents the states largest corporations, including oil refineries and manufacturers who have been critical of climate policies. A dollar figure was not disclosed for the advertising campaign, which will represent a balancing act for the roundtable. It supports the cap-and-trade program as an alternative to more restrictive regulations, but it opposes some of the current proposals to extend it. One measure would tie the program to air quality, targeting a wider range of pollutants than just greenhouse gases, and another would make it function more like a tax and charge higher prices for emission permits. Were at a tipping point here, Lapsley said. We need to get this information out into the public in order to try and create balanced policies. Although polls show broad support for fighting global warming in California, concerns about higher costs for constituents could be influential with some lawmakers who recently passed legislation to raise gas taxes to fund road repairs. Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) is facing a recall campaign over his vote. Nonpartisan legislative analysts have said cap and trade could boost the price of gasoline by 24 cents to 73 cents by 2030. Environmentalists have said its inaccurate to tie any single policy to fluctuations in gas prices. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: The debate among Democrats didnt end at their convention By John Myers The official gathering of California Democrats lasted only three days, but the lingering debate and simmering tensions could keep going well into next years elections. On this weeks California Politics Podcast episode, we look back at the line in the sand drawn at last weeks California Democratic Party convention by some of the partys most passionate progressive activists -- including the blunt speech delivered by an influential labor union leader last weekend. We also discuss big new developments this week on the topic that energized those Democratic activists: a single-payer healthcare system for California. On Monday, a fiscal analysis put a large price tag on legislation to enact that sweeping healthcare change. Im joined this week by Times staff writer Melanie Mason. Facebook

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California lawmakers quietly refuse to stop unlimited cash flowing from political parties to their campaigns By John Myers (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) An ambitious effort to close a widely used loophole that allows large donations from political parties to be funneled into California races was rejected on Friday. The bill by Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) would have made political party money donated to statewide and legislative candidates subject to the same contribution limits as individuals. Under the language of a voter-approved initiative, Proposition 34, money from political parties is exempt from those existing limits. Its a money-laundering scheme that has completely duped voters, Levine said last fall when he first promised to introduce the bill. The proposal was quietly killed, without a formal vote, by the Assembly Appropriations Committee during its biannual session to act on bills placed on the so-called suspense file due to their estimated costs. Committee staff estimated that Levines AB 1234 would have six-figure costs both for enforcement and for placing the issue before voters in 2018. Facebook

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Veteran Democratic operative criticizes Kimberly Ellis for refusing to concede party chair race By Seema Mehta Supporters of Kimberly Ellis make signs, refusing to accept her loss to Eric Bauman for the California Democratic chair post. (Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Veteran Democratic operative Bob Mulholland slammed infighting among California Democrats, and urged Kimberly Ellis, who came up short in a nasty party chair election, to work to unify the party. I  and others did not understand some of your supporters  attacks on those of us who have spent decades or years building the Democrats in California as the most successful political Party in the country, he wrote in an open letter to Ellis on Thursday. He sent the email in the aftermath of the partys rancorous convention last weekend that featured a bitter leadership battle between Ellis, a favorite of newer members including the backers of Bernie Sanders failed presidential bid, and longtime party leader Eric Bauman. After Bauman was declared the winner by a razor-thin margin of just over 60 votes, Ellis refused to concede and demanded an audit of the vote as some of her backers floated rumors of ballot-box stuffing and discarded ballots. Ellis demurred when asked about Mulhollands scathing letter. While our review continues, we are refraining from making any statement that might cause further division, Ellis said. If we hope to truly unify this party, it will require patience by all. Officials with the Ellis campaign have been reviewing ballots this week. A spokesman said they had looked at about two-thirds by the end of Friday and hope to be done by the middle of next week. Joe Macaluso, Ellis strategist, declined to discuss the results and said her team needed to review additional documentation beyond the ballots. Were trying to stay true to our process and not release anything, but were in it, he said. Its an extensive process. Mulholland argued in his public letter that the convention should have showcased the partys message, not intraparty spats. Our annual Conventions should take care of internal business (Platforms, election of Officers, Resolutions, etc.), but more importantly a communication to voters, especially moderate Democrats and Independents about their concerns and issues, Mulholland wrote. If such busy people had a minute to read some news about our Convention, they saw Democrats yelling and arguing about ballots being stuffed, sounding like a Trump event. This Convention failed them. Mulholland listed the partys successes in the state, including Democrats lopsided voter registration edge, its nearly three-decade record of supporting Democratic presidential candidates, its election of female senators since 1992 and its hold of every statewide office, supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature and nearly three-quarters of the congressional delegation. Over the last 29 years, thats a [1.000] batting record, he wrote. Mulholland called on Ellis to hold a news conference with Bauman once she is satisfied with her audit of the vote. Then, he wrote, lets move on. Facebook

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California lawmakers block proposals meant to make it easier to track and report hate crimes By Jazmine Ulloa Graffiti mars the steeple on the Greater Holy Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Compton in January. Cases of vandalism make up close to one-third of reported hate crimes, according to a new report. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times) California lawmakers Friday stalled measures meant to help report and track hate crimes across the state, proposals filed amid a wave of incidents reported after the 2016 presidential election. The state Assembly Appropriations Committee shelved bills that would have created new hate-crime reporting requirements for police and a hotline under the attorney generals office for victims wishing to report an attack. Of those bills, a proposal filed by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) initially sought to develop a state government database with the names of felons convicted of hate crimes related to race, religion and sexual orientation. That proposal was amended to instead require every law enforcement agency to forward a summary of a reported hate crime, upon conclusion of an investigation, to the human relations commission within its jurisdiction. But a committee analysis found it could cost the state more than $150,000 to help agencies redact personal information from their records. The committee also shut down bills that would have required police to update policies to address hate crimes and include a checkbox on the front pages of reports that would prominently provide an option to indicate whether a crime was bias-related. Local law enforcement officials have reported a recent rise in reported hate crime incidents. Existing state laws require local and state law enforcement officials to compile hate crime information. California jurisdictions reported a 10.4% statewide increase in those incidents last year. Facebook

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Here were the top six moments from last nights L.A. congressional race debate By Christine Mai-Duc Robert Lee Ahn, left, and Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez sparred in a debate Thursday night ahead of the runoff for the 34th Congressional District seat. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) Attorney Robert Lee Ahn and Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez sparred Thursday night at the first and only debate in the runoff race for the 34th Congressional District seat. The candidates, both Democrats, offered little in the way of policy differences. Both agreed President Trump has racist tendencies, that keeping the Affordable Care Act is a top priority, and that they would fight to protect immigrants rights. Ahn came out swinging, repeatedly calling Gomez an insider whos sponsored by special interests, while Gomez pointed to his work supporting progressive policies in the Legislature and endorsements hes received from left-leaning groups. Here are the top six exchanges: The numbers problem: Gomez again criticized Ahn for a response he gave in an L.A. Times questionnaire that suggested he would negotiate with Republicans to protect parts of Obamacare. Gomez said Democrats need to take a hard line and that Ahn was too soft on support for Medicaid. In case you havent noticed, we have a numbers problem in Congress, Ahn shot back. Until were able to take back the House, were going to have to talk to the other side.

Gomez again criticized Ahn for a response he gave in an L.A. Times questionnaire that suggested he would negotiate with Republicans to protect parts of Obamacare. Gomez said Democrats need to take a hard line and that Ahn was too soft on support for Medicaid. In case you havent noticed, we have a numbers problem in Congress, Ahn shot back. Until were able to take back the House, were going to have to talk to the other side. Gomez fact-checks Ahns name-check: Ahn made the case that voters should send an attorney to Congress to help in the legal battles against the Trump presidency. I will join fellow attorneys and Congress members Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff in the fight, Ahn said to the crowd. Gomez, who spent much of the evening bringing up his legislative experience and vast array of endorsements, responded: I hate to mention it, but, you know, Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu have endorsed me.

Ahn made the case that voters should send an attorney to Congress to help in the legal battles against the Trump presidency. I will join fellow attorneys and Congress members Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff in the fight, Ahn said to the crowd. Gomez, who spent much of the evening bringing up his legislative experience and vast array of endorsements, responded: I hate to mention it, but, you know, Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu have endorsed me. Getting more personal: In discussions about immigration and healthcare, Gomez and Ahn delved a little deeper into their backgrounds. Gomez talked about his young nephew who feared that his mother, a permanent resident, might be deported after Trump was elected. Ahn told the story of how his parents came to the United States with $700 each and cobbled together enough money to open a hamburger stand, eventually building their piece of the American Dream.

In discussions about immigration and healthcare, Gomez and Ahn delved a little deeper into their backgrounds. Gomez talked about his young nephew who feared that his mother, a permanent resident, might be deported after Trump was elected. Ahn told the story of how his parents came to the United States with $700 each and cobbled together enough money to open a hamburger stand, eventually building their piece of the American Dream. Ahn on the attack: Ahn repeatedly criticized Gomez for taking money from corporate interests. Special interests, big pharma, big bankers. ... Its all payback time [for Gomez donors] on Day One, Ahn said. On Day One, I owe the people of the 34th District and thats it. Ahn pitched himself as an outsider who understands the district and whose small-business experience will help him relate to the problems facing everyday residents.

Ahn repeatedly criticized Gomez for taking money from corporate interests. Special interests, big pharma, big bankers. ... Its all payback time [for Gomez donors] on Day One, Ahn said. On Day One, I owe the people of the 34th District and thats it. Ahn pitched himself as an outsider who understands the district and whose small-business experience will help him relate to the problems facing everyday residents. A litmus test: Gomez fought back against the idea that hes a corporate Democrat, primarily by pointing to several endorsements hes received from left-leaning groups. If I was so establishment, I dont think Our Revolution ... would actually endorse me, Gomez said of the Bernie Sanders-affiliated group. If you want a litmus test, thats a litmus test if youre a progressive ... if youre actually able to take on the status quo.

Gomez fought back against the idea that hes a corporate Democrat, primarily by pointing to several endorsements hes received from left-leaning groups. If I was so establishment, I dont think Our Revolution ... would actually endorse me, Gomez said of the Bernie Sanders-affiliated group. If you want a litmus test, thats a litmus test if youre a progressive ... if youre actually able to take on the status quo. Gomez gets skewered on gas tax: As part of his argument that he has fought for the little guy, Ahn expressed outrage that Californias gas taxes will increase July 1, saying theres nothing progressive about the gas tax hike Gomez voted for. We already paid 38 cents per gallon. Where is that money going? Ahn said, echoing a line many legislative Republicans have used. Sacramento politicians, this is what they do, they take our money and they spend it and theres no accountability. Gomez responded by saying public safety was at stake and that fixing roads was the responsible thing to do. If you missed it, you can watch the entire thing here. The election is set for June 6. Facebook

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Rob Reiner, Hollywood bigwigs and Netflix co-founder team up to give Villaraigosas campaign a major cash boost By Seema Mehta (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Hollywood heavyweights are set to host a major fundraiser for Antonio Villaraigosas gubernatorial campaign on June 15, ensuring an infusion of large contributions shortly before a key fundraising deadline. Donors are being asked to contribute up to $29,200 to attend a summer reception at the home of media executive Peter Chernin and his wife Megan, the site of a celebrity-studded fundraiser for President Obama in 2013. Co-hosts include Paramount Pictures chief Jim Gianopulos, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, video game honcho Robert Kotick, comedian George Lopez, Sony chief Michael Lynton, NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer, producer Rob Reiner, super-agent Rick Rosen, producer Orly Adelson, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain James Costos, former White House decorator Michael Smith and attorney Michael Tuchin. Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, entered the governors race in November. Through the end of 2016, he raised $2.7 million, a respectable haul in a short time period when Democratic donors were reeling from the presidential election and distracted by the holidays. But his fundraising lags behind that of his top rivals, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang. So political observers will be scrutinizing his next financial disclosure report, which will cover the first six months of 2017. The fundraiser occurs 15 days before the fundraising period closes on June 30. Read More Facebook

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A delay on cap-and-trade vote would be a victory for Donald Trump, Gov. Jerry Browns office says By Chris Megerian (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Despite hesitance and resistance from state lawmakers, Gov. Jerry Brown is refusing to budge from his goal of reaching a deal next month to extend Californias cap-and-trade program. The latest tug-of-war on the issue came this week in an email exchange circulated among Capitol staff members and advocates working on climate change policies. Kip Lipper, an environmental advisor for Senate leadership, wrote in a Thursday email that there were no plans to take up a cap and trade reauthorization bill anytime soon. Echoing concerns that have percolated among lawmakers, Lipper said senators were gas tax weary about the possibility of another difficult vote after deciding to raise gas taxes to pay for road repairs earlier this year. The cap-and-trade program, which is a cornerstone of Californias fight against global warming, requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions and could boost the price of gasoline. With votes hard to come by, Lipper wrote, the issue should not be rushed. Camille Wagner, Browns legislative secretary, responded on Friday saying there was no reason to delay. Weve all been meeting for months on this issue, she wrote. We know the areas of agreement and disagreement  now is the time to work through those. She added that NOTHING is more important than getting a deal as soon as possible. This is not a time for retreat or a time to give aid and comfort to Donald Trump by undermining a pillar of Californias bold program to arrest climate change, Wagner wrote. If Californias Cap and Trade falls because we fail to act, climate denial wins. Brown had already faced resistance to his push to reach a deal on cap and trade in June, when the state budget is due. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) previously said we dont have to extend it this year. The disagreement over the timeline for reaching a deal is only one of the disputes surrounding cap and trade. Assembly leaders have raised the possibility of pushing legislation with only a majority vote, an idea the governors office rejected. Brown wants a two-thirds vote to insulate cap and trade from legal challenges. There are also varied ideas about how the program should function in the future. Assembly legislation would modify cap and trade so it also targets local pollution, rather than just greenhouse gases. Senate legislation would make the program function more like a carbon tax. Facebook

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The effort to make tampons tax free in California has been delayed until 2018 By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Legislation to eliminate California sales taxes on the purchase of tampons was delayed Friday by the Assemblys fiscal committee until 2018, a blow to advocates who say the tax is an unfair burden on low-income women and families. The delay imposed on AB 9 is the second setback this month for efforts to eliminate taxes on products for women and children. A separate bill that included a tax-free provision for diapers was killed in a legislative committee on May 8. The bill that was held back on Friday, written by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), would have excluded tampons, sanitary napkins and other menstrual products from sales taxes. A legislative committee analysis estimated the proposal would reduce state general fund revenues by $10.5 million a year. Dozens of other bills with a cost to state government were killed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, while AB 9 was instead reclassified as a two-year bill, meaning it is eligible to be heard again in the second year of the legislative session. Gov. Jerry Brown last year rejected a similar measure that sought to make tampons tax-free, writing in his veto message that tax breaks are the same as new spending  they both cost the general fund money. Facebook

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Outside money spills into L.A. congressional race as election day nears By Christine Mai-Duc Spending by outside groups hoping to influence Los Angeles congressional race is picking up, with less than two weeks to go before the runoff for the 34th Congressional District. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and attorney Robert Lee Ahn, both Democrats, are competing to fill the former seat of Xavier Becerra in the June 6 election. Becerra stepped down months ago to become the states attorney general. Spending separate from the candidates campaigns is reaching into the six-figure range, with most of the outside money going to support Gomez, the heavy favorite of establishment Democrats. One group funded primarily by an Ahn donor, Citizens for a Better Government, has spent $40,264 on data, printing and postage for mailers, and $8,000 on treasury services to support Ahns bid. The Latino Victory Fund, which has endorsed Gomez, recently spent $29,640 on direct mail and $30,000 on phone banking and voter canvassing for the candidate. Billboard company Outfront Media LLC has spent $1,973 on billboards for him. Also backing Gomez is a group called Middle Class Values PAC. The group spent $19,653 on mailers supporting Gomez despite not having reported receiving any major contributions so far this year. The groups biggest donors last year were a handful of Nevada casino owners and developers, but most of that money appears to have been spent on Democrats running for Congress in Pennsylvania and Nevada. Outside spending in the 34th Congressional District race has been dwarfed by candidate spending. As of March 31, Gomez had spent $446,455 and Ahn had dropped about $767,315 on his run. New campaign finance figures from both candidates are due at midnight Friday. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Browns budget team drops its hotly debated plans to redefine the states spending limit By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) With questions mounting about the legal justification for omitting some $22 billion in expenses from Californias long-standing spending cap, Gov. Jerry Browns administration dropped the plan Thursday while promising to work on the issue again later this year. Browns advisors told the Assembly Budget Committee that this could include some changes in state law to clarify the rules surrounding whats known as the Gann limit, a cap on state spending growth imposed by voters in 1979. The cap has rarely come into play in state budgeting in recent years, as it was loosened by a subsequent ballot measure in 1990. The governors administration said it continues to worry about how the law interacts with other mandates related to school funding. School financing has changed significantly since the limit was first established in 1979, said H.D. Palmer, Browns budget spokesman. Because of that, we continue to believe we need statutory clarifications related to these school funding changes. Legislative analysts warned lawmakers in April that the governor may have been overestimating how much room for spending was left under the cap, a dispute that continued for weeks while lawmakers began drafting plans for formal budget negotiations next month. Earlier this week, state senators again raised concerns about the complex estimates used to determine how much spending the Gann law would allow in the budget year that begins July 1. And they provided an analysis by the Legislatures lawyers that suggested Browns proposal could be unconstitutional. The spending limit is enforced over two fiscal years, which means Brown and lawmakers have time to reconcile different estimates. But absent changes similar to those advocated by the governor, a portion of future tax revenues would have to be split between schools and rebates to taxpayers. Facebook

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California Senate, Assembly advance their own plans on how to spend tobacco tax revenue By Melanie Mason (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Perhaps the biggest budget skirmish that remains unsolved this year is how California should spend revenue from the tobacco tax voters approved last fall. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to put that money to expand overall spending on Medi-Cal, which provides subsidized healthcare for the poor. But the some of initiatives backers, namely doctor and dental groups, have cried foul, arguing that money is meant to go to increasing payments for providers. Now, the Senate and Assembly are weighing in. In plans approved in their respective budget committees this week, both houses stray from Browns proposal to put the money toward general Medi-Cal costs and lay out their own ideas on how to divvy up the revenue. But while both houses reject Browns approach, there are key differences between their proposals. Most significantly, the Assembly would allocate all $1.1 billion in projected tax revenue in the next budget year. The Senate, meanwhile, would spend just under $350 million next year, gradually ramping up spending to $1.1 billion by fiscal year 2020-21. Both houses also would increase provider payments, but in different ways. The Assembly would put around $857 million toward once-yearly incentive payments to physicians and dentists that would be tied to their Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal caseloads. The Senate proposed putting $150 million next year to physician rate increases that would be targeted for those working in high-need areas and specialties. That number would increase in successive years, topping out at $700 million by 2020. The Senate also would put $130 million toward higher rates for dentists. The California Medical Assn., which has been pushing for higher reimbursement rates, praised both houses for including the higher rates, but group spokeswoman Joanne Adams noted that the current Legislature cannot tie the hands of a future governor or Legislature, indicating a preference toward the Assembly approach. Each house would allocate $50 million for reimbursement rates for family planning providers, a priority of Planned Parenthood. And both houses put money toward expanding Medi-Cal to cover young adults up to age 26 who are in the country illegally. The proposal builds on Californias policy of making children without legal status younger than 19 eligible for Medi-Cal, which went into effect last year. Anthony Wright, of the advocacy group Health Access, noted that by expanding coverage for those up to age 26, it would align with Obamacares policy of letting children stay on their parents health insurance until that age. This is a concrete and tangible way to show we are actually taking steps forward in expanding coverage, Wright said. The Brown administration estimates that around 130,000 people would be eligible for Medi-Cal under such a proposal, and such an expansion would cost the state just under $230 million. The Senate proposal would put around $63 million toward that expansion in the upcoming budget year and around $85 million in subsequent years. The Assembly would put $54 million toward the plan. The Brown administration did not take a position on the Medi-Cal expansion proposal, but H.D. Palmer, spokesman for Browns Department of Finance, noted that the Senate was using higher revenue projections than Browns plan, which allows legislators to propose more funding. Palmer said the administration was sticking with its original proposal to use tobacco tax dollars for general Medi-Cal spending. The budgets proposal for Prop. 56 will provide increased funding for healthcare programs and services in a way thats consistent with the measure that voters approved last fall, Palmer said. ------------ FOR THE RECORD May 25, 2017, 4:58 p.m.: A previous version of this article reported that both houses were using higher revenue projections than Gov. Browns budget proposal. The Senate is using higher projections; the Assembly is using the same estimates as the Brown administration. Facebook

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California chief justice says she stands by her decision to speak out against Trumps immigration actions By Jazmine Ulloa California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye on Thursday said she stands by her position that courthouses should be areas where immigration arrests should not occur. Cantil-Sakauye, a former prosecutor who rose through the judicial ranks as an appointee of Republican governors, drew national attention in March after she blasted the federal governments expanded immigration actions, among which she said included stalking immigrants at courthouses. Speaking at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon on Thursday, she said the Supreme Court chambers fielded an outpouring of calls and letters after her comments. Some were profane and angry, from residents living outside the state. Others came from supporters. At Sac Press Club luncheon, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye said she fielded lots of anger, support after courthouse enforcement remarks. pic.twitter.com/6OBrZOfI45  Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) May 25, 2017 Many said that as a judge, she should not wade into politics. U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly admonished her in a letter, spurring California state leaders to respond in defense of state policies. On Thursday, Cantil-Sakauye stood by her decision to denounce the actions, saying, If I couldnt speak out as chief justice, I dont know who could. Courthouses in California have numerous programs to encourage people to come forward and ask questions, seek services and mediate issues, Cantil-Sakauye said. If we have a segment [of the population] that is afraid to come, then we are looking at no access to justice, [and] potentially public safety issues, which is antithetical to what the justice system exists for, she said. To me, it is a safe zone, and I ask that courthouses be placed on par with school districts and hospitals and churches. Facebook

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Rep. Darrell Issa says the federal employee insurance program should be expanded to all Americans By Sarah D. Wire Though it wasnt included in the House Republicans healthcare bill, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) still believes Americans should have access to the same insurance plans federal employees pick from, and hes hoping the Senate will embrace the idea. In a letter Thursday, Issa asked the Senate Health Care Working Group to consider opening the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to more, or all, Americans. Its a national insurance idea thats persisted since the program began in 1960, and a proposal Issa has pitched before. The program allows more than 8 million current and retired federal employees across the country to shop among hundreds of health insurance plans and then apply their employer contribution to whatever plan they choose. Private insurance companies have pulled out of several state insurance marketplaces, where people whose employers dont offer insurance can purchase insurance using a federal subsidy. That leaves people with fewer health insurance choices, a common complaint cited by Republicans as a reason to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Its choice. If the government can maximize choice to you and then subsidize where appropriate based on need, then weve met the two bases for government involvement, Issa said. Issa voted for the American Health Care Act, the GOP bill to roll back much of Obamacare that passed May 4 without Democratic support, but he stresses that he did so just to keep momentum. One of the reasons I voted for this in the House was to keep the process alive so we could do reform, Issa said. Leveraging business models that work is the goal that somebody like me wants to do. Find out what works and invest in it, find out what doesnt work and fix it or abandon it. On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office said the bill as passed by the House would cause 23 million fewer people to have health insurance by 2026. The budget office, which Congress relies on to analyze the complex legislation, projected that many additional consumers would see skimpier health coverage and higher deductibles. The Senate has essentially said it will write its own version of the bill. Issas letter to his Senate colleagues also urges members to protect people with preexisting conditions, safeguard coverage for people with mental illnesses and protect people near retirement age from a spike in their premiums. Theres still more to be done. This bill is going to be about compromise, and a down payment on change, Issa said. Facebook

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Senate President Kevin de Leon is busy raising campaign funds  but for what office? By Phil Willon Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) stirred up speculation about a possible run for governor or U.S. Senate when he released a slickly produced video just before the California Democratic Partys convention last weekend, but he has remained coy about his future political plans. That doesnt mean he isnt padding his campaign war chest, though. De Leon has two fundraisers lined up in Los Angeles in June, presumably for his 2018 campaign for California lieutenant governor. The question is whether De Leon actually will run for lieutenant governor. In the past, he has said he hasnt made a decision. He has also given his supporters the go-ahead to endorse state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), a longtime political ally, in the race. De Leons campaign account for lieutenant governor had $1.7 million in the bank at the end of last year. He raised close to a half-million this year, according to state political financial disclosure reports. The first fundraiser in June is being hosted by veteran Hollywood executive Peter Guber and his wife, Tara, in Bel Air on June 8, with suggested contributions ranging from $500 to $2,500. The second is in late June at the Palm in Los Angeles. The fundraiser is hosted by Craig Darian, CEO of the Occidental Entertainment Group, and his wife, Kimberly, as well as Albert Sweet, the founder of the company. The suggested donations are the same as for the earlier fundraiser. De Leon made history in 2014 when he was selected by his colleagues as the first Latino to lead the California Senate. The tenure has been marked by significant action on climate change, immigration and gun control. Facebook

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Volkswagens clean car plan falls short in low-income neighborhoods, California regulators say By Chris Megerian (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) State regulators have asked Volkswagen to revise its plan to invest in zero emission technology in California, a victory for critics who said the automaker wasnt doing enough in disadvantaged communities. The investment plan, which will total $800 million over 10 years, is part of Volkswagens obligation under a multi-billion settlement for evading pollution rules. California, which is struggling to get enough zero emission vehicles on the road to meet its goals, is eager to move forward, wrote Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard Corey in a Wednesday letter to Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary. However, Corey wrote, we need more information on how the company will meet its target of spending 35% of its investment in disadvantaged communities, a target set by state regulators in hopes of broadening the adoption of electric vehicles. Corey also asked Electrify America to consider supporting hydrogen fueling stations, rather than just electric chargers. Once the company submits an updated version of its plan, state regulators will consider whether to approve it. Electrify America said it is reviewing the letter. Dean Florez, a member of the Air Resources Board, said the original investment plan had significant holes and included no real investment in disadvantaged communities. He praised the decision to request revisions and said the board should hold VWs feet to the fire. This story has been updated with additional comments. Facebook

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Lawmakers scrap effort to make it easier to pass local transportation taxes By John Myers An effort to boost the chances of local ballot measures raising taxes for transportation needs was quietly killed Thursday in the state Capitol. The proposal, which would have ultimately required changing the California Constitution through a statewide vote, was in response to the high hurdle set decades ago for local taxes earmarked for specific projects. Those kinds of taxes in cities and counties require two-thirds of the vote. The constitutional amendment by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would have lowered the vote threshold to 55% of ballots cast for any transportation proposal. Wiener argued the long list of local transportation projects lacking funds wont completely be erased by the $52-billion transportation plan signed into law last month. And he pointed specifically to examples like a transportation tax plan in the Bay Area last year that garnered 62% of the vote  still slightly shy of the two-thirds mandate. While the effort can be brought back before lawmakers adjourn the current session in the summer of 2018, Thursdays action represented a major setback for transportation groups and labor unions that supported it. The measure was opposed by business and anti-tax advocates. Wiener said he intends to re-introduce the measure in the coming weeks. We must improve and expand transportation throughout our state, which has suffered from decades of underfunding, he said in a written statement. Update 1:29 p.m. This story was modified with additional information regarding constitutional amendments and the legislative process. Update 4:10 p.m. This story was updated with comment from Sen. Wiener. Facebook

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Sex offenders will not be banned without exception from school grounds after state bill is shelved By Jazmine Ulloa State Sen. Connie M. Leyva, right. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday shelved a bill that would have banned all registered sex offenders from school campuses without exception. Senate Bill 26 by Sen. Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) would have made it a misdemeanor for a registered sex offender to enter any school building or grounds without lawful business. State laws keep registered sex offenders from living near schools. But those who have not been convicted of having sex with a minor under age 16 can visit or volunteer with groups or organizations that work with children if they give proper notice, and are granted permission. They cannot work directly with children. The committee advanced another bill by Leyva that would extend benefits under the Safe at Home initiative to former victims of forced prostitution or labor. Senate Bill 597, introduced with Secretary of State Alex Padilla, passed with a unanimous 7-0 vote. Read More Facebook

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Measure to help California students refinance private loans is shelved By Melanie Mason State Treasurer John Chiang, a candidate for governor, is behind a new effort to help people with student debt refinance their loans. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A measure to help Californians saddled with student debt refinance their student loans was shelved in a key fiscal committee on Thursday. The measure by state Sen. Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica) was touted as a way for the state to coax private lenders to offer more favorable interest. The proposal would have carried a $25-million price tag. We will continue to push for sensible solutions to the student loan crisis that provide real relief to the millions of Californians saddled with too much debt, Allen said in a statement. State Treasurer John Chiang, a 2018 gubernatorial candidate, had championed the bill, SB 674, as a way to try to get [Californians] out of debt as quickly as possible. College graduation is supposed to be synonymous with opportunity and prosperity and not a detour into a modern-day debtors prison, Chiang said in a statement. Although I am disappointed SB 674 will not be moving forward, I will continue to use my position as the states banker to invest in Californias young people and its future with innovative solutions that will make it more financially feasible to obtain a higher education, he added. 3:58 p.m.: This article was updated to add comments from Sen. Benjamin Allen and Treasurer John Chiang. This article was originally published at 11:17 a.m. Read More Facebook

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Where bills go to die: Lawmakers begin clearing the suspense file with hundreds of measures in limbo By John Myers (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) From a sales tax exemption on tampons to healthcare rules and marijuana regulation, a massive stack of proposed laws faces a major deadline Friday morning at the state Capitol. To survive, they must clear whats known as the suspense file -- the place where bills that would cost taxpayers money are held in legislative limbo. By law, bills with a fiscal impact must be sent to the floor of the Assembly and Senate by the close of business on Friday. That means its decision time for more than 800 pieces of legislation. The Senates fiscal committee will decide the fate of bills on Thursday; the Assembly will do so on Friday. Bills are generally sent to the suspense file if their projected cost to the state is $150,000 or more. The procedural move was widely used during Californias deficit years as a way for lawmakers to weigh the pros and cons of proposals in light of limited resources. But government watchdog groups have long pointed out that the clearing of the suspense file ends up hiding some of the legislative sausage-making from public view. Thats because bills that dont clear Fridays hurdle are essentially killed without a recorded vote. And neither chamber offers any explanation for why those bills were killed. Decisions on the fate of the suspense file are made in private, hours or days before the public hearing. In the Assembly, the appropriations committee chairperson will simply tell the public that a decision has been made to hold the bill. In the Senate committee, killed legislation wont even be mentioned during Thursdays hearing. That means that no one will know for sure whether a bill is really killed because of its price tag or its politics. Facebook

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Formal apology sought after U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters was cut off during state convention speech By Jazmine Ulloa (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) In my 20 years as a Democratic Party leader, I have never experienced such the type of behavior as I did at the Sacramento Convention hall on Saturday evening.  Darren Parker, longtime chairman of the African American Caucus The California Democratic Party African American Caucus is asking the state party for a formal apology to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and its members for what it called disrespect by a private subcontractor at its weekend state convention. Waters, a Los Angeles Democrat known for her comments on President Trump, had been speaking at a caucus meeting during the event Saturday night when the sound to her microphone was cut off. SEE THE VIDEO OF WATERS SPEECH> Read More Facebook

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California sees a rebound in cap-and-trade auction, bolstering key climate change program By Chris Megerian (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) State regulators announced strong results from Californias cap-and-trade program on Wednesday, spurring analysts and supporters to say the system remains solid despite questions about its political future. The program requires oil refineries, food processors, power plants and other facilities to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly all of the permits offered by the state in its latest auction were purchased, generating an estimated $500 million in revenue. Thats a shift from other recent auctions, where most of the permits went unsold, reducing revenue that state leaders have counted on for 
When Jimmy Kimmels son, Billy, was born on April 21, the late-night talk show hosts elation was quickly overtaken by utter distress.

Within hours of Billys birth, a nurse heard a murmur in the newborns heart and noticed he was a bit purple.

In the opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night, the host tearfully shared the diagnosis: genetic condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. In laymans terms that meant that baby Billy had a hole in the wall of his heart and the pulmonary artery was completely blocked.

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Billy became one of the millions of Americans with a preexisting condition. Its a group who may have to pay more for health insurance under the proposed Republican alternative to the Affordable Care Act, a topic Kimmel chose to speak bluntly about during his ABC show.

After an open-heart surgery that was the longest three hours of my life, Kimmels son had one of the heart defects fixed. He will need another surgery in three to six months and another one in his early teens. For now, hes at home recovering with his family.

After thanking the team at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for saving his sons life and joking that he was definitely getting a vasectomy after this, Kimmel turned to politics.

He brought up President Trumps proposal to cut nearly $6 billion from the National Institutes of Health, and he thanked lawmakers for instead boosting funding by another $2 billion in the final version of the budget.

More than 40% of the people who would have been affected by those cuts to the National Institutes of Health are children, he said, including patients at the hospital where his son had surgery.

We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world, he continued. But until a few years ago millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all. You know, before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease, like my son was, there was a good chance youd never be able to get health insurance because you had a preexisting condition.

Tetralogy of Fallot occurs in approximately one of out every 2,500 births in the United States  that means about 1,660 babies each year are born with that specific preexisting condition.

At least some of the political rhetoric about preexisting conditions has focused more on individuals whose health woes can be tied to lifestyle choices.

Earlier this week, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) did an interview on CNN in which he said charging people with preexisting conditions more for insurance cuts costs for people who live good lives.

Theyre healthy, theyve done the things to keep their bodies healthy, Brooks said, referring to people without preexisting conditions. Right now those are the people whove done things the right way, that are seeing their costs skyrocketing.

Brooks did go on to say that he would make an exception for those people whose preexisting conditions were due to no fault of their own: I think our society under those circumstances needs to help, he said.

The GOP alternative to Obamacare currently has no provision differentiating the type of preexisting condition someone has (i.e. baby born with a medical condition versus lifelong smoker with emphysema).

Trump has repeatedly promised that his Obamacare replacement will protect people with preexisting conditions  a population that includes as many as one in four Americans.

In its current incarnation, the GOPs healthcare proposal would allow insurers to either charge people with preexisting conditions more, or not cover them at all if the state has a high-risk pool in place. (Columnist Michael Hiltzik has laid out some of the issues with high-risk pools, including examples of them not working when theyve been tried in the past.)

Under Obamacare, insurers have to cover people with preexisting conditions and cannot charge them more because of it.

Kimmel, near the close of his monologue, called politicians bickering over healthcare partisan nonsense and urged people to reach out to their lawmakers.

If your baby is going to die and it doesnt have to, it shouldnt matter how much money you make. I think thats something that, whether youre a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right? Kimmel asked the audience. No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their childs life. It just shouldnt happen. Not here.

@jessica_roy

jessica.roy@latimes.com

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As they scramble to get votes to advance legislation to roll back the Affordable Care Act , President Trump and House Republican leaders insist their bill would protect Americans who have preexisting medical conditions.

But most healthcare experts and patient advocates dispute this, noting that the House GOP plan would allow states to scrap many protections put in place by Obamacare, as the law is often called.

This week, even late-night talk host Jimmy Kimmel jumped into the debate, telling his viewers Monday night about how his son was born with a congenital heart condition that would have once made him uninsurable.

If youre trying to make sense of the competing arguments, heres a look at Obamacares protections for sick patients and how those safeguards could change under the GOP alternative.

Obamacare 101 is a periodic primer on the debate over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act 

How did Obamacare change how preexisting conditions are handled?

One of the healthcare laws most revolutionary advances was prohibiting health insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions, a protection called guaranteed issue.

The practice of denying coverage was once widespread in the insurance industry.

In order to get healthcare coverage (if they did not get it through work), consumers had to fill out detailed medical histories.

And insurance companies routinely turned down people who had had major illnesses, such as cancer, or even less serious ailments such as arthritis.

Alternatively, insurers would charge people with preexisting medical conditions more for their health plans.

This also was barred by Obamacare, a protection that is known as community rating.

Jimmy Kimmel reveals his son was born with a heart defect.

How many people did these new protections affect?

It is difficult to know how many sick Americans who were denied coverage before Obamacare now have a health plan.

But federal census data and other surveys show that more than 20 million previously uninsured people have gained coverage since the law began guaranteeing coverage in 2014.

At the same time, other research suggests that as many as one in four Americans have some kind of preexisting medical condition, which could have made them uninsurable before 2014.

What would the House Republican plan do?

The American Health Care Act , as the House Republican healthcare bill is called, does not eliminate the guaranteed issue provision of Obamacare.

But a proposed amendment to the bill by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) would make some significant changes to the insurance protections enacted in Obamacare.

Importantly, the amendment would allow states to obtain a waiver from the federal government to eliminate the community rating requirement in the current law. That would allow insurance companies to once again charge consumers with preexisting medical conditions more for coverage.

In other words, a patient with diabetes , heart disease or cancer might still be guaranteed coverage, but only if he or she agreed to pay five or 10 times as much for a health plan.

But didnt Trump and other Republicans say the bill would enhance protections for patients with preexisting conditions?

Yes. Supporters of the amendment say that sick Americans would still be protected in these states because the amendment, among other things, requires states to enact other protections, such as offering a special insurance plan for sick customers, known as a high-risk pool.

The House bill offers states billions of dollars to operate these high-risk pools.

"The AHCA provides significant resources at the federal and state level for risk-sharing programs that lower premiums for all people," House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) claims on his website.

So would sick consumers be protected?

Not necessarily.

Nothing in the amendment requires states to certify that health plans available through the high-risk pools would be affordable.

Patients with preexisting conditions in some states would no longer be protected.  American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

That means that many sick consumers might not be able to buy such a plan, leaving them once again unable to get coverage, as many were before Obamacare.

In fact, many states operated high-risk pools before the current law was enacted. Most were underfunded, forcing states to either charge unaffordable rates for coverage or cap how many people could sign up for a plan.

Do advocates for the sick think the legislation will protect patients?

In a word, no.

Not a single major group representing physicians or patients supports the House bill.

In a letter to lawmakers last month, the American Cancer Societys advocacy arm warned that the proposal could have the effect of returning the nation to a patchwork system of health coverage in which patients with preexisting conditions in some states would no longer be protected.

And this week, a coalition of 10 leading patient advocacy groups, including the American Diabetes Assn., the American Heart Assn., the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the March of Dimes, called on Congress to scrap the approach.

We challenge lawmakers to remember their commitment to their constituents and the American people to protect lifesaving healthcare for millions of Americans, including those who struggle every day with chronic and other major health conditions, the groups warned.
President Trump says hed be honored to meet the North Korean despot Kim Jong Un. Egypts president, who allowed his opponents to be shot, is doing a fantastic job.

The president of the Philippines, who unleashed vigilante killings at home, is welcome at the White House. So is Thailands prime minister, who took power in a military coup. And Turkeys president, who jailed thousands of opponents, got a congratulatory call.

This is not business as usual for U.S. presidents.

Trumps advisors portray his public praise for foreign dictators and his willingness to meet with ruthless autocrats, without preconditions in most cases, as a way to shore up shaky alliances and possibly unlock long-frozen conflicts in the Middle East and across Asia.

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Trump, they say, believes he can use his personal charm and negotiating skills to forge ties to despots ostracized by previous presidents, and thus bring them to his way of thinking.

Critics say that outreach threatens to disrupt Americas long-standing strategic partnerships, undermines the credibility of U.S. democratic values overseas and emboldens autocrats who use bloody measures at home to suppress dissent.

Trump spoke Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their third phone call since the November election and their first since U.S. warships launched cruise missiles at a Syrian air base on April 7 to punish Russias major Middle East ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, for a nerve gas attack that killed dozens of civilians.

In a statement, the White House described the conversation as a very good one, saying Trump and Putin discussed the war in Syria, including creation of safe zones and the best way to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters at the State Department that it was a very, very fulsome call, a lot of detailed exchanges.

Trump no longer publicly praises Putin as often or as effusively as he did during the campaign, but nor does he criticize him. U.S. intelligence agencies see Putin as a major adversary who has tried to undermine U.S. relationships in Europe and interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win.

Other presidents have bucked foreign policy orthodoxy to reach out to adversaries. In perhaps the most famous case, President Nixon set aside the GOPs anti-communist policies to make his historic overture to China in 1972, leading to a tectonic shift in the Cold War.

President Obama was criticized as naive and worse by Republicans and by his chief Democratic rival at the time, Hillary Clinton, after he was asked at a debate in 2007 whether he would be willing to meet separately, without condition, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.

I would, Obama said at the time. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them  which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of [the Bush] administration  is ridiculous.

During his second term, the Obama administration signed a landmark deal with Iran to curb its nuclear development in exchange for easing sanctions and restored diplomatic relations with the communist government in Cuba, ending a freeze that began in 1961.

But those were methodically planned and slowly plotted moves that followed years of secret and public diplomacy. The speed and enthusiasm that Trump has shown in his effort to connect with renegade leaders is unusual.

Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax, a conservative media group, and longtime friend of Trump, said the presidents outreach abroad is part of a strategy.

I think he wants to build bridges, Ruddy said. He sees that if he can open up the door by praising someone or finding something to compliment, even a guy that might be considered a bad guy, he sees that as a step in the right direction.

But does Trump really admire Putin, Kim and other autocratic leaders?

What the president is signaling is that there is always an opportunity to talk, but that is very far from saying there are no preconditions.  James Carafano, fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation

I wouldnt use the word admires, Ruddy said. I think he respects people who are considered strong or people that have very high approval in their countries. Thats important for him.

The White House already cites evidence that its strategy has paid off.

After Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, for example, Cairo released Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian American aid worker who had been jailed for three years amid Sisis crackdown on civil society.

The Obama administration, which had kept Sisi at arms length, had pressed unsuccessfully for her release.

As often with Trump, his comments sometimes have veered wildly, keeping his adversaries  and much of Washington  off balance.

Last week, for example, Trump warned darkly of the possibility of a major, major conflict with North Korea in the standoff over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

On Sunday, however, Trump praised Kim as a pretty smart cookie for having survived a power struggle, and a day later said he would be honored to meet Kim under the right circumstances.

No U.S. president has ever met one of North Koreas dynastic dictators. White House aides later downplayed the likelihood that Trump would be the first, at least under current circumstances.

Trumps offer to meet such notorious leaders reflects his negotiating style, which says that you never close off the opportunity to do a deal, said James Carafano, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who has briefed the president and his team on foreign policy.

What the president is signaling is that there is always an opportunity to talk, but that is very far from saying there are no preconditions, Carafano said. Youre always offering [the other leader] an offramp: Change your behavior and meet my preconditions. 

Trumps National Security Council recently completed a policy review on North Korea and recommended a carrot-and-stick combination of increased pressure and greater engagement.

Jim Walsh, a security policy expert at MIT, said an open channel of communication with North Korea could help prevent war. But he warned that Trumps seesawing statements also could be misunderstood in Pyongyang.

Because you can get to war through miscalculation, misperception, he said. Frankly, the last several weeks weve heard a lot of bluffing, a lot of changing positions.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Trumps comments were disturbing.

I dont understand it and I dont think that the president appreciates the fact that when he says things like that it helps the credibility and the prestige of this really outrageous strongman, McCain said.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump understands the threat North Korea poses.

There is a diplomatic piece to this, Spicer said. The bottom line is the president is going to do what he has to do.

Spicer also defended Trumps invitation to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to visit Washington. Human rights groups say Duterte has either encouraged or condoned a brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings that has left more than 7,000 alleged drug users dead since he took office last year.

Spicer said the White House was aware of the killings but said Trump sees an opportunity to work with countries  that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea.

The Philippines has no political or economic ties with Pyongyang, so its ostensible role in a containment strategy is unclear. Duterte, for his part, told reporters he might be too busy to visit Washington.

Obama canceled a meeting with Duterte on the sidelines of an overseas summit last year after the Philippine leader offered a coarse insult when asked his response to U.S. concerns about the drug crackdown. Duterte has since threatened to cancel a mutual defense treaty and other ties.

But U.S. officials are concerned that he has reached out to China and Russia for support, and the White House is eager to improve relations with the leader of the longtime U.S. ally to help counter growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia.

Staff writers Noah Bierman and Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report.

Twitter: @ByBrianBennett

brian.bennett@latimes.com

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Burbank teachers wore red Monday as part of the California Teachers Assn.s Day of Action in which they pledged their support for local public schools and asked residents to do the same.

Dozens of teachers gathered at George Washington Elementary Schools front entrance at 8 a.m., when Diana Abasta, president of the Burbank Teachers Assn., proclaimed that legislators must pass a budget that makes students a priority.

We ask all Californians and the Burbank community to join us in pledging their support for a strong, inclusive, safe, adequately funded and innovative public education system, Abasta said. We need to continue to invest in our public schools and protect them from policies that threaten to dismantle public education.

Join the conversation on Facebook 

Teachers, students and administrators pose with a banner in front of George Washington Elementary School in Burbank as part of the California Teachers Assn.'s Day of Action. (Tim Berger / Burbank Leader)

Joining her were Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill and the California Teachers Assn. Secretary-Treasurer David Goldberg, who addressed Washington Elementarys educators with appreciation.

Where our real power is, is at school sites, Goldberg said. You standing here today is a really nice, powerful thing to see.

In addition to Washington, teachers on other Burbank campuses posted banners asking families and residents to write brief statements on why they love public schools.

The campaign encourages local residents to show that our schools remain the centers of our community and that we stand united in working for policies and practices that strengthen our public schools, Abasta said.

kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
If youve ever been to an Orange County park, youve probably seen the swatch of locks.

Its a massive chain filled with locks. Depending on where the park is located, it could have more than a dozen.

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, for example, in Laguna Beach has a gate with 15 locks.

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Its impressive and heavy and in a weird way reflects the value of the open space it protects.

Put another way, there were fewer locks on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station gate, even when it was operating. Why? Because few groups need access to a nuclear plant.

But a popular multi-use park in a Southern California wilderness area thats adjacent to several cities?

Ooo-la-la. Its like a love lock frenzy.

There are red and orange locks, dull brass and rusted silver. Combinations and keys. Most are Master locks, but there are American and ABUS too.

Some locks dont look like theyve ever been opened, all rusty and weather-worn.

Imagine the junk drawer of lost keys sitting in public agencies across the county.

And what agencies are we talking about? Basically, anyone that needs access.

It can vary from facility to facility but generally it could be any kind of public safety agency, perhaps a utility that has easements there, maybe a volunteer organization, said Marisa ONeil, public information officer at OC Parks. So OCFA (Orange County Fire Authority), the Sheriffs Department or whatever the local jurisdiction there might be.

That means Southern California Edison, local public works departments and environmental groups. For example, in Laguna Beach theres the Laguna Canyon Foundation, which does trail restoration, among other activities.

The locks are daisy-chained together so if at any time an agency needs access, their one lock would open the gate, ONeil said.

So the purpose of the big chain of locks is to allow unfettered access  in other words, unconditional public love.

Which means the locks of love are not unlike those put on public bridges by lovers as symbolic gestures of the strength of relationships.

Think Juliets balcony at the Casa di Giulietta in Verona, Italy, Locks Fountain in Montevideo, Uruguay and of course the love bridge at Pont de lArcheveche, Paris.

There are dozens and dozens of locations around the world.

Closer to home, there is the Sunnynook foot bridge in Atwater Village and in San Diego, there is the Spruce Street suspension bridge not far from the zoo.

In all these cases, honeymooners and lovesick sweethearts affix a lock as a way of demonstrating their personal commitment.

Strong and unbroken, the locks of course are a huge headache for most of the locations, and officials are tearing them down or repurposing them in a more productive way  which of course is what happens in real life after years of marriage, but thats another story.

What happens here in the scrubby parkland and sun-drenched hills of Southern California is that everyone gets to play: hikers, joggers, horse riders, birders and mountain bikers.

And this year in particular, with the heavy rains and abundant growth, the trails are drawing consistent crowds.

ONeil reminded people to play by the rules and be smart. Stay on the trails, bring a map, take plenty of water. Watch your dogs so they dont get bit by snakes. For other tips visit ocparks.com.

If you do get caught in a parking lot after the gate has been closed, fear not. Take a look on the daisy chain, and you should see one lock unlocked for your benefit  at least for a reasonable time after the lot closes. Eventually, they will lock the gate altogether.

So in a similar way, even with the love locks, its never what it seems. The original story of how those locks came to be is a sad tale of betrayal.

According to lore, it was World War I in the Serbian town of Vrnjacka Banja.

A man and woman fell in love, but he went off to fight the war in Greece. While he was there, he fell for a local woman. As a result, his Serbian girlfriend never recovered and allegedly died of heartbreak.

The other women in town decided that in order to prevent that from happening to them, they needed to write the names of their love interests on padlocks and put them on Most Ljubavi, which in Serbia means Bridge of Love.

It wasnt until almost 100 years later that the tradition blossomed around the world.

Now, by contrast, in parks and O.C. trails, the locks are opened freely.

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.
Organic pesticides will be used on a portion of Huntington Beachs Central Park as part of an experiment to test the possibility of eliminating potentially harmful synthetic chemicals in the city.

The City Council unanimously approved the move at its meeting Monday after several members of the public took the podium to support the idea.

The year-long pilot program submitted by Councilman Billy OConnell calls for the city to use organic pesticides in the western section of Central Park.

Officials did not lay out a timetable for the program, and the cost wasnt determined.

Pesticides are substances intended to control pests or weeds. City staff members said they planned to start the program with an organic herbicide called Avenger Weed Killer, but Councilwoman Jill Hardy asked that they consult with the city of Irvine before choosing a product.

Irvine and San Juan Capistrano are the only other cities in Orange County that have organic-first pesticide policies.

The Huntington Beach program is intended to investigate the use of organic pesticides and gauge the consequences.

The council also requested that staff conduct a three-month investigation into the possibility of expanding the program.

I believe this is very important for our children, OConnell said.

Andi Kowal, head of Non-Toxic Huntington Beach, said children are particularly vulnerable to pesticides. The pilot program is a good start, she said, but the city can do better.

We need to lighten our toxic load, she said.

Kowal said she didnt have local data on health effects of synthetic pesticides, but some people who attended Mondays meeting said such chemicals may affect their childrens asthma or allergies.

All council members favored the proposal, though some wanted clarification of the details.

Councilman Patrick Brenden said he likes the idea of an organic program but was hoping for a more detailed analysis of the costs.

Kowals husband, Tim Kowal, a board member for community group Huntington Beach Tomorrow, said Huntington Beach can use Irvine as a model.

He said the costs of going organic should be considered but that council members cant forget the potential health costs of toxic chemicals.

Several mothers showed up with their children to express gratitude for the program and their hope that the city will be free of toxic synthetic chemicals in the future.

Rachel Harris said her family regularly enjoys city parks but when her husband and boys play in the grass, they come in contact with toxic chemicals.

Whitney Wicke held her child in her arms as she told the council, Please help protect our kids; youre our voice.

Gina Clayton-Tarvin, president of the Ocean View School District board of trustees, also voiced support for the pilot program, though she feels it doesnt go far enough.

She said she hopes the city will go as far as Ocean View has in eliminating potentially harmful chemicals. The district recently stopped using the weed killer Roundup on school sites.

A judge ruled this year that California can require Roundups manufacturer, Monsanto, to label the product a possible cancer threat, though the company maintains that it poses no risk to people.

California regulators have said they relied on a finding by the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which raised issues with Roundups main ingredient, glyphosate, which has no color or smell.

The chemical is not restricted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says it has low toxicity.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot
An Uber driver from Costa Mesa pleaded not guilty Monday to a rape charge stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted a female passenger who fell asleep in his vehicle.

The Orange County district attorneys office last week charged Angel Sanchez, 36, with one count of rape of an intoxicated victim. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in state prison.

Authorities said the incident occurred March 30 when the womans friends helped her request a ride to her Santa Ana home from a company gathering in Newport Beach because she was intoxicated.

According to prosecutors, Sanchez picked up the woman in a 2016 Toyota Sienna. During the ride, the woman fell asleep, and when she woke up, she was being sexually assaulted in the back seat of the van on a street near her home, authorities said.

Officers worked with Uber to determine the drivers identity, and two days later, police arrested Sanchez at his Costa Mesa home.

Sanchez is free on $100,000 bond. He is due back in Orange County Superior Court on May 26 for a pretrial hearing, according to court records.

An Uber representative said last month that Sanchez was removed from the companys ride-hailing app as soon as Uber became aware of the allegation.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

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Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Homicide detectives are looking for information surrounding the death of a man whose body was discovered Sunday in the Angeles National Forest.

Hikers were in the vicinity of Angeles Forest Highway Mile Marker 21.08 on Sunday afternoon when they found what appeared to be a dead body, according to a release issued by Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Sheriffs Information Bureau.

Deputies from the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station and paramedics from the sheriffs Special Enforcement Bureau responded and subsequently pronounced the victim dead at the scene at 1:08 p.m., Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, confirmed Tuesday.

A preliminary investigation revealed the body appeared to have sustained multiple stab wounds to the upper torso, according to the sheriffs release. The statement also described the victim as an adult Asian male.

But Winter said the ethnicity of the victim and the exact trauma sustained could not be ascertained, due to decomposition of the body, and a full autopsy would be needed.

Winter said officials were in the process of matching the body to people who have been reported missing, but had no concrete form of identification and had not yet notified any next of kin.

We have a feeling who it might be, but were not sure, he said.

The body is the second to have been discovered in the same general vicinity in nearly two months  on March 2, the body of 35-year-old Palmdale resident Anthony James Willis was discovered on Angeles Forest Highway Mile Marker 18.87 by a passerby.

Willis was also found to have sustained upper body trauma. An autopsy later revealed the cause of his death to be sharp force injury, consistent with stabbing, the Coroners Office reported at the time.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Los Angeles Sheriffs Departments Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous information can also be provided by calling the Crime Stoppers tip line at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).

UPDATES:

May 2, 4:25 p.m.: This article was updated with information following an interview with Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

This article was originally published May 1 at 6:15 p.m.
For hundreds of Iraqi families fleeing the violence ravaging their country, the primitive displacement camp near the Syrian border town of Rajm al Salibi meant they had escaped the merciless grip of Islamic State and were poised to enter the relative safety of the Kurdish-controlled province of Hasakah.

But at dawn Tuesday, at least five Islamic State jihadis donning explosives vests snuck into Rajm al Salibi, near the town of Shaddadi in Hasakah. Some struck the nearby border checkpoint, manned by Kurdish forces, while the rest blew themselves up near the hundreds of civilians sleeping in a makeshift camp nearby.

The attacks, the Syrian government and Kurdish activists said, killed more than 46 people and wounded scores of others, the opening gambit in a multi-pronged Islamic State offensive against the militiamen of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-dominated faction that is supported by the U.S.

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group with a network of activists in Syria, put the death toll at 38, including 23 civilians, a number of them women and children. It said the death toll was likely to rise.

Amaq, a news agency affiliated with Islamic State, quoted a security source from the group who said 16 inghimasis  militants who fight until they run out of ammunition before detonating their explosives vests  had attacked four Kurdish positions in Shaddadi, including the checkpoint in the perimeter of Rajm al Salibi. Other jihadis had attacked with heavy artillery and Grad rockets, the source said.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency said that as many as 34 civilians had been taken to hospitals in Hasakah city, more than 30 miles away, and that the bodies of the dead had been left in the camp.

Thomas Garofalo, regional advocacy advisor of the International Rescue Committee, said in a statement Tuesday that he was appalled and saddened to hear of the attacks.

According to our staff, several children were among the dead, and the wounded are still being transported from the border directly to the hospital in [Hasakah]. Attacks like this only serve to show just how vulnerable civilians are in this fighting.

Garofalo said the border crossing is frequented by thousands of people from Mosul, Iraq, currently the site of a large-scale U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State, as well as Syrians fleeing from the eastern desert province of Dair Alzour, which is under the jihadis sway.

Many Mosul residents have escaped to the nearby Al Hawl camp, which hosts 17,000 people.

Abdul Rahim Shumari, head of the Iraqi parliaments human rights committee, said in an interview with Lebanese news broadcaster Al Mayadeen that hundreds of civilians were kidnapped and their cars were stolen before they had escaped.

The claims could not be independently verified.

The attacks came as fighters from Syrian Democratic Forces were clearing the last jihadist positions in Tabqa, a city about 27 miles west of the Islamic States de facto Syrian capital, Raqqah. The taking of Tabqa is seen as an important milestone in the long-awaited offensive to remove Islamic State from Raqqah.

Syrian Democratic Forces spokeswoman Jihan Sheik Ahmad said on social media that fighters from her group had also surrounded the terrorists inside the Tabqa dam.

The Syrian Democratic Forces are the prime recipient of U.S. support in Syria. Their fighters receive air cover from the warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition, and special forces operatives fight alongside the militia on the ground.

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UPDATES:

1:20 p.m.: This article updates throughout with staff reporting.

This article was originally published at 6:15 a.m.
Isai Lara Bermudez had just started lunch at a Tijuana barbecue joint when a stranger approached his table.

Watch out, she warned him. Hes after you.

Lara, an investigative reporter, had written a series of stories in February showing evidence that the police chief of a neighboring city had tortured detainees. Now it appeared he was paying the price.

For weeks, Lara didnt leave the house without a private bodyguard. He worried about his young daughters safety, and whether the cars pulling up alongside him in traffic carried gunmen out to kill him.

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This is what its like practicing journalism in Mexico.

Journalists bold enough to report on the misdeeds of drug cartels or the government often face threats and retaliation  and increasingly pay for their work with their lives. Mexico has become the third-deadliest country in the world for journalists, leading many publications across the nation to avoid controversial topics, or to shut down entirely.

Isai Lara Bermudez, an investigative reporter for Zeta, covers a homicide in the El Refugio housing development in Tijuana. Lara has been threatened because of stories he wrote. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

But Lara keeps reporting, along with the rest of the small, tight-knit staff at Zeta, one of Mexicos most respected newspapers. Zeta is also one of the countrys most frequently targeted publications: Over the last three decades, as the Tijuana weekly documented government corruption and Mexicos exploding drug war, two of its editors were killed and a third gravely wounded because of the stories they produced.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas once said Zetas reporters and editors practice suicide journalism. The newspapers motto, printed on the front page amid murder counts and corruption allegations, is Free like the wind.

Luckily for Lara, the threat communicated at the restaurant by an associate of the police chief never materialized. But that doesnt mean he can relax now. In April, U.S. and Mexican law enforcement intercepted a threat from a drug boss who planned to bomb Zetas headquarters. Now, when Lara goes to work each morning, he nods hello to a team of state police officers guarding the front door with machine guns.

Sometimes I ask myself if its worth it, said Lara, 34. But we have a commitment to our readers. And if youre paralyzed by fear, you cant do anything.

1 / 21 Baja California state police stand guard outside the offices of Tijuanas Zeta newspaper, a weekly investigative publication. Zeta has received recent threats from Mexican drug trafficking cartels for their reporting on crime. There has been a recent increase in homicides in Tijuana because of cartels fighting over the local drug market. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 21 Photographer Magarito Martinez, 44, a freelancer who frequently contributes to Zeta, at the scene of a recent drug cartel homicide in the lower-income Tijuana neighborhood of Camino Verde. A man was found killed with a hand-written note that said, The new ones dont pardon. It was was signed Tijuana New Generation Cartel. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 21 The Mexican Army leaves the scene of a drug cartel homicide in Tijuana in April. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 21 Crime scene investigators look over the body of a man found killed in a lower-income neighborhood of Tijuana. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 21 Jose Feliz, 70, reads Zeta at his El Chino newstand in Tijuana. To protect reporters, hard-hitting stories are often published under the byline Zeta investigations, rather than the writers name. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 21 Celia Cardenas Ortiz, left, shown with a family member, washes blood from the steps in front of their Tijuana home, where her husband was shot and killed in broad daylight on April 12. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 21 Isai Lara Bermudez, an investigative reporter for Zeta, covers a homicide in the El Refugio housing development in Tijuana. Lara has been threatened because of stories he wrote. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 21 Adela Navarro Bello, general director of Zeta, in her Tijuana office. Zeta is one of Mexicos most respected newspapers  and one of the countrys most frequently targeted publications. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 21 A flier offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of drug cartel members hangs in Adela Navarro Bellos office. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 21 People hold photos of Mexican journalist Miroslava Breach, gunned down while driving her child in the northern state of Chihuahua. In March, four journalists were killed and three others shot and wounded in Mexico. Breachs death prompted the publisher of El Norte, the Juarez newspaper where she worked, to close. (Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press) 11 / 21 A member of the Early Warning for Journalists National Collective places crosses in front of the attorney general building in Mexico City. Mexico ranks third in the world for the number of journalists killed, after Syria and Afghanistan, according to media rights group Reporters Without Borders. (Yuri Cortez / AFP / Getty Images) 12 / 21 A vendor walks in the red light district of La Zona Centro, in Tijuana, where drug cartel-related deaths have been rising. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 21 The scene where an off-duty police officer was ambushed and shot at outside his home in Tijuana. The officer shot back at his attackers and was not injured. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 21 The scene of a homicide in the El Refugio housing development in Tijuana. A male was shot in front of his home in broad daylight. There has been a recent increase in homicides in Tijuana due to the drug trafficking cartels fighting over the local drug market. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 21 A parked Tijuana Police car was set on fire outside of the La Presa Police Station along Presa Hermosillo Street in the Presa Abelardo L. Rodriguez neighborhood in Tijuana. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 21 Contributing to Semanario Zeta, a weekly investigative publication, freelance photographer Magarito Martinez videos a Tijuana Police car that was set on fire outside of the La Presa Police Station in Tijuana. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 21 Colonia Camino Verde where a recent drug cartel homicide took place in Tijuana. There has been a recent increase in homicides in Tijuana due to the drug trafficking cartels fighting over the local drug market. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 21 A Tijuana Police officer looks for two suspects carrying weapons who were reported near the scene where an off duty Tijuana Police officer was ambushed and shots were fired at him outside of his home in the Colinas De La Presa housing development in Tijuana. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 21 Contributing to Semanario Zeta, a weekly investigative publication, freelance photographer Magarito Martinez leaves the scene of an accident where a car plunged into the Abelardo L. Rodriguez Dam in Tijuana. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 21 Contributing to Semanario Zeta, a weekly investigative publication, freelance photographer Magarito Martinez leaves the scene of an accident where a car plunged into the Abelardo L. Rodriguez Dam in the La Presa neighborhood in Tijuana. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 21 The line of cars leaving Tijuana heading north at the San Ysidro border crossing. There has been 417 executions in Tijuana from Jan. 1 to April 20, 2017 according to Semanario Zeta, a weekly publication covering crime and corruption. T (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Sometimes I ask myself if its worth it. But we have a commitment to our readers. And if youre paralyzed by fear, you cant do anything.  Isai Lara Bermudez

Since 2000, 124 journalists have been killed in Mexico, according to the National Human Rights Commission, the governments independent watchdog. Article 19, a nonprofit that advocates for media protections in Mexico, recorded 426 threats or attacks against the press last year, including beatings and torture.

Only Syria and Afghanistan surpassed Mexico in the number of journalists killed in 2016, according to Reporters Without Borders. Since the beginning of March, four reporters have been killed and three others wounded by gunshots in attacks across the country.

The recent victims include Miroslava Breach, a veteran investigative reporter who died after being sprayed with bullets while driving her child March 23 in Chihuahua. Her death prompted the publisher of El Norte, the Juarez newspaper where she worked, to close down. In a letter to readers, the publisher said he could no longer guarantee the safety of his staff.

There are many places across the country where naming people convicted of drug trafficking or reporting on organized crime is off-limits, where shootouts are not reported, where human rights violations are not reported, said Carlos Lauria, program director at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a country where journalists are being silenced, Zeta stands out for its bravery, said Alejandro Hope, a security expert in Mexico City.

They have made it their mission to make narco violence and corruption visible, Hope said. They have gone through hell and back, and somehow have survived.

Along with exposing corruption, Zeta has chronicled a recent dramatic increase in violence in Mexico, which this year is on track to log more homicides than any year previously recorded.

The bloodshed has been particularly bad in Tijuana and the state of Baja California, where, according to federal statistics, 181 people were killed in March, twice as many as in March of last year.

While many Mexicans have grown weary of coverage of the 10-year drug war, Lara said he believes change will only occur if journalists continue to shine a light on the problem.

We cant ignore it, he said. My city is hurting, my country is hurting. Thats why Im here.

We cant ignore it, My city is hurting, my country is hurting. Thats why Im here.  Isai Lara Bermudez

On a recent windy afternoon, photographer Margarito Martinez heard a cackle over the police scanner he keeps attached to his hip.

A man had been killed in Camino Verde, a poor hillside neighborhood crisscrossed with dirt roads and dense with concrete-block shacks. Martinez, a freelancer who frequently contributes to Zeta, sped to the scene in his battered white minivan, his bulletproof vest rattling in the truck.

Martinez starting taking photos as soon as he spotted the body of a man facedown on the ground, blood seeping from a gaping gunshot wound in the back of his head.

Next to the body was a handwritten sign: The new ones dont pardon. It was was signed Tijuana New Generation Cartel.

In recent months, Martinez and his colleagues at Zeta have been documenting the rise of Tijuanas newest criminal group  an alliance formed between members of the Arellano Felix organization, which once held sway in Baja California, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is quickly becoming one of Mexicos most powerful drug gangs.

Last fall, the newspaper published the names and photos of several alleged drug lords under the headline The Jalisco Cartels Most Wanted, contradicting police claims that the Jalisco cartel didnt operate in Tijuana. That triggered yet another threat against the paper, this one from a Jalisco member known as Goofy who said he was going to shoot up Zetas headquarters. Once again, the state police were sent to stand guard outside the office.

To protect reporters, hard-hitting stories are often published under the byline Zeta investigations, rather than the writers name. The windows in the newspapers headquarters, in an elegant home in one of Tijuanas nicest residential neighborhoods, are made of bulletproof glass.

When the newspaper receives a threat, it immediately publishes the details, the idea being that the more people who are aware a crime may be committed, the less likely it is to happen. Then they alert the Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, a government program established in 2012 that provides emergency evacuations, police protection and in some cases even a panic button that summons authorities.

There are 174 journalists protected under the program, the majority of whom have been threatened by government authorities.

But funding for the program is due to run out in a few months, and Mexicos federal legislators have not earmarked more money to continue it. Human rights advocates complain that public officials dont want to strengthen protections for journalists because a free and transparent press often isnt in their best interest.

There is no political will to tackle this problem because what journalists investigate and report on is uncomfortable for many public functionaries, said Luis Knapp, an attorney at Article 19. Fewer than 1% of crimes against journalists are ever solved, Knapp said. And a federal office formed to prosecute crimes against free speech has convicted suspects in just two cases over the last six years.

It is outrage over that impunity that fuels Adela Navarro, Zetas general director, who on a recent afternoon smoked a cigarette while waiting for her reporters to finish writing ahead of that nights deadline.

Baja California state police stand guard outside the offices of Tijuanas Zeta newspaper, a weekly investigative publication. Zeta has received recent threats from Mexican drug trafficking cartels for their reporting on crime. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Each week, Zeta publishes a full-page editorial featuring a photo of Hector El Gato Felix, a Zeta editor known for his biting criticism of members of Mexicos elites, including Jorge Hank Rhon, the owner of a Tijuana racetrack.

In 1988, a man pulled up next to Felix while he was driving and opened fire, killing him. Two of Rhons bodyguards were convicted of the attack, but Rhon was never prosecuted.

The editorial addresses Rhon, as well as the current and former governors of Baja California: Will your government capture the one who ordered this crime? it asks.

In 1997, Zetas legendary founder, Jesus Blancornelas, was badly wounded and his bodyguard killed in a botched assassination attempt. Afterward, Blancornelas had a brick wall built in front of his home, and employed 14 bodyguards.

Eight years later, Francisco Ortiz Franco, who frequently wrote about drug trafficking for Zeta, was shot and killed while driving his children. In both cases, the culprits were never brought to justice.

This means that one can silence, kill or extort a journalist and never see justice, said Navarro, who won the Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Award in 2007, like Blancornelas before her.

Navarro is sometimes frustrated that Zetas stories dont have a bigger impact. Corrupt public officials hold on to power. Drug cartels continue their bloody wars.

But she knows her work is doing something. When Zeta publishes the names and faces of cartel members, many flee Tijuana.

Navarro says she runs her newsroom with a mantra coined by Blancornelas, who died in 2006 of complications from stomach cancer.

Be far from the government, he used to say, and close to the people.

To read this article in Spanish, click here.

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

Twitter: @katelinthicum

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The election of President Trump unnerved Palestinian officials.

He appointed a financial patron of Israeli settlements as ambassador to Israel. He promised to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem. And he appeared to back off the long-standing U.S. commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

And yet, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gears up for his first meeting with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, Palestinian officials in Ramallah insist on seeing the diplomatic glass as half full.

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Abbas told a U.S. envoy in March that he believes a historic peace deal is possible.

At the time of Trumps inauguration in January, the Palestinians were much more jittery.

For weeks after the election, there had been no direct contact between Trumps aides and Palestinian officials. Politicians in Israels right-wing government were declaring plans for an independent Palestinian state a thing of the past. And Palestinians were bracing for Trump to make good on his campaign pledge to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

The Trump from before the election is a different Trump than from after the inauguration.  Elias Zananiri, Palestine Liberation Organization official

But an announcement on the embassy never came. Instead, Trump invited Abbas to the White House during a phone conversation in March. Several days later, presidential envoy Jason Greenblatt met with Abbas and groups from Palestinian civil society in Ramallah.

Although Palestinian officials note that the new U.S. president and his administration have barely uttered the words two-state solution, Trump has spoken repeatedly about brokering the ultimate deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

The fear has dissipated, said Elias Zananiri, a Palestine Liberation Organization official in charge of outreach to the Israeli public. The Trump from before the election is a different Trump than from after the inauguration.

Zananiri said the main item on Abbas agenda at the White House is to learn from Trump how he intends to accomplish that ultimate achievement.

We want to hear about the substance, rather than emotion, he said. Obama was emotional about the peace process, but it failed big time.

In the weeks leading up to the meeting, Abbas has made stops in Egypt and Jordan to get support from their respective leaders, President Abdel Fattah Sisi and King Abdullah II, for a Palestinian state.

There has been widespread talk here that the Trump administration wants to organize a summit to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. In an interview last month with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, Abbas said he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Trump were to act as host.

Regardless of whether the meeting between Abbas and Trump produces an announcement on peace negotiations, the appearance of the two leaders together will be viewed as an achievement for the 82-year-old Abbas, who is struggling to remain relevant on the domestic and international stage.

Abbas, who hasnt paid a visit to the White House in years, is grappling with flagging approval ratings, rising speculation about a potential successor from within his Fatah party, Israeli attacks on his credibility as a partner for peace and a 10-year standoff with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip.

The meeting with Trump, experts say, will bolster Abbas standing as the main Palestinian interlocutor on international politics.

If you were Mahmoud Abbas, and you were facing imminent irrelevance, things have picked up now that youre meeting the president, said Khaled Elgindy, a former advisor to the Palestinian Authority leadership on peace negotiations who is now a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

He gets to show that hes on the global scene and therefore relevant. Its a strong message to his domestic rivals and others in the region who are supporting his domestic rivals. It also is a message to Hamas, that Im the address.

Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, predicted Sunday that Abbas meeting with Trump wouldnt yield much for the Palestinians. The group grabbed the spotlight Monday by releasing a new manifesto that endorses the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but stops short of recognizing Israel.

Abbas has been turning the financial screws on Gazas Islamist rulers in a bid to reassert the Palestinian Authoritys influence over the territory.

The authority informed Israel recently that it will no longer foot the bill for the electricity that Israeli power plants supply to Gaza. It has also reduced the salaries that it continues to pay tens of thousands of former employees since Hamas took control of Gaza nearly 10 years ago.

Hamas is vulnerable to such pressure because Qatar is not renewing three months worth of aid for electricity that it had been providing since January.

Abbas is flexing what little muscle he still has, said Diana Buttu, a former official with the Palestinian negotiations support unit. He needs to show that he is tough and in control.

Although Abbas and his aides are sounding upbeat about working with the new U.S. administration, only a fraction of Palestinians expect that Trump will be able to get peace negotiations restarted after a three-year hiatus.

A survey by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in March found that only 9% of respondents believed that Trump would help revive the talks, while 38% thought he was likely to worsen Israeli-Palestinian relations.

I dont think Trump is going to pressure the Israelis, said Radi Jarai, a lecturer at Al Quds University in Jerusalem. It was clear during Netanyahus visit to the U.S. that President Trump did the things that Netanyahu wanted. And even when it came to the two-state solution, which was the basis of the peace process, Trump said I dont mind if they choose one state or two states.

For all of the talk of historic and ultimate agreements, the geopolitical fundamentals that helped stymie the peace process under the Obama administration havent changed. A large group in Israels governing coalition remains opposed to a Palestinian state; Abbas is probably too weak domestically to be able to win support for painful compromises; and Arab states are preoccupied with more pressing regional crises.

The optics of the Trump-Abbas meeting are good, said Elgindy, but whether it will produce progress on a new diplomatic process is questionable.

Mitnick is a special correspondent.

@joshmitnick

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11 Die, 5 Hospitalized After Contracting Mystery Illness

Eleven people were reported dead and five hospitalized after contracting a mystery illness which was linked to the attendance at the funeral of a religious leader, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Francis Kateh, Liberia's chief medical officer, said they are still investigating the cause of the deaths and the only thing they have ruled out is Ebola.

Kateh said the five people who are hospitalized remain under observation in Sinoe county, which is a four-hour drive southeast of Monrovia, the capital. Four have been discharged.

According to the World Health Organization, health authorities in Liberia have taken precautionary steps after eight people have died of the mystery illness, 10 months after the end of the two-year Ebola virus outbreak.

Fadela Chaib, WHO spokesperson, told a briefing in Geneva, according to a report on NBC News, that the people who contracted the illness were attending the funeral of a religious leader.

Chaib said they had taken samples from the dead bodies and all came back negative for Ebola. She added they will be looking for other haemorrhagic fevers and for bacteria, if there was any common exposure to water contamination or food contamination.

She added the symptoms of the people who got ill include fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Staff at the hospital attending the sick who recently contracted the illness are wearing protective equipment. Chaib also said they are tracing the community if anybody had fallen ill after contact with those who died or have been hospitalized.

Liberia had been declared free of active Ebola virus transmission in June last year. The country was the last of three West African countries that was at the epicentre of the world's worst outbreak of the disease. According to data from WHO, the Ebola epidemic had claimed the lives of more than 11,300 people and had infected around 28,600 starting 2013 as it spread through Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

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AMD's decision to put adware of Quake Champions in Radeon's software update has received backlashes from its users. The company finally removed the link after owners complained harshly.

AMD embedded the adware in the Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.4.4 software in April 27 update as reported by PC Magazine. During the installation of the update, the driver software puts a link to the Quake Champions website on the desktop of the Windows PC. The link will take the users to the Quake Champions beta test signup page, the latest game from Bethesda Softworks.

Owners of AMD Radeon did not have the option to omit the link during the installation. They had to delete the link manually after update process was completed. This upset the Radeon owners greatly.

Furious owners took the matter to social media and Internet as reported by PC World. Complaints flooded the major PC gaming forum on Reddit, while many users tweeted their disagreement with AMD for infusing a link without their consent. Some even used a harsh and vulgar language.

Following the outrage, AMD made a quick decision to calm its customers. AMD acknowledged that its new relationship with Bethesda Softworks made the company wanted to share a new game from the video game maker to the owners of AMD Radeon. The company took down the adware within 24 hours and apologized to the users.

"We've updated our 17.4.4 release and this shortcut install has been removed," The statement from AMD read. "We apologize if this has caused any inconvenience for anyone."

This act of AMD has raised a serious concern regarding users privacy to many users. The ability for the company to embed an unwanted feature without users consent is not acceptable. Regardless of its reckless decision, AMD has provided a significant improvement in its Radeon software with the latest update.

AMD promised that its 17.4.4 release of AMD Radeon software will give a 7 percent increase of performance for RX 580 GPU and support for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III. Watch the AMD Radeon RX 580 features to support a 1440p gaming and VR support
Microsoft Surface 2017 laptop is being geared up as a budget-friendly device that can compete with the Google Chromebook platform. Incidentally, the Redmond-based company is reported to focus on its software, which may also run on a new Windows 10 variant.

Microsoft Surface 2017, meantime, will be run by a Windows 10 Cloud software, which focuses in providing cloud services on a budget-friendly technology. Meanwhile, reports suggest that Windows 10 Cloud is set to limit apps to the Windows Store in order to prevent the use of non-Store apps such as Google Chrome. Moreover, a leaked Microsoft file reportedly mentions the new laptop as an "Edu Cloud" device. Also, it revealed some features of the said device like an all-day battery life, a resume cycle and a quick boot.

As for the specs, the new Microsoft Surface 2017 will have a quad-core processor such as the Celeron or higher, 32GB internal memory, 4GB of RAM and an eMMC or SSD. The touch-enabled screen, meantime, has been noted as well to be optional, Patently Apple reported.

The new range of Microsoft Surface 2017 laptops that come with average hardware is expected to be the highlight of the next event happening in May, alongside the Windows 10 Cloud OS. It should be noted that the tech giant has been looking at the role of the education, which seems evident from its different deals it offers to schools kids, including the entire education industry, Top Examiner reported.

Microsoft Surface 2017 is scheduled for launch to make up for the delayed release of Surface Pro 5. The new laptop is believed to compete with Google Chromebook that is currently making some noise in the market.

Microsoft is hosting a special hardware and software event in New York City this week on May 2nd. The software giant has consistently used New York to launch new Surface devices, but this event will be slightly different. We're not expecting to see a new Surface Book 2 or Surface Pro 5, instead Microsoft is focusing on education. Microsoft is ready to show how it will compete with Google's Chromebooks.

The event kicks off Tuesday, May 2nd at 9:30AM ET / 6:30AM PT.
May 2, 2017, 3:06am ET

BMW US will continue offering diesel 3, X3

The next 3 will get a turbo four with 295 pound-feet of torque.

BMW's North American division isn't ready to give up on the diesel engine. It's about to introduce an oil-burning variant of the new 5 Series named 540d, and a recent report suggests the next-generation of the 3 Series and the X3 will each get at least one diesel-powered engine.

Named G20 internally, the next 3 Series will receive an evolution of the current car's 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel. It will develop 190 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, and it will shift through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Buyers will be asked to choose between rear- and all-wheel drive.

Enthusiast website BMW Blog reports the model will adopt the 330d nameplate even though it will be mechanically identical to the 320d sold elsewhere in the world.

The X3 xDrive30d will cater to crossover shoppers who want a diesel. Again, the 30d nameplate is misleading. The X3 will use the same 2.0-liter turbo four as the 3 Series, but it sounds like it will be exclusively offered with all-wheel drive.

BMW hasn't commented on the report. The next X3 is expected to debut before the end of the year, so we won't have to wait long to find out whether it will offer a diesel option.
Poland's Foreign Ministry has suspended an honorary consul in the United States who allegedly posted on Facebook an altered picture of European Council President Donald Tusk dressed as a Nazi.

Maria Szonert-Binienda headed Poland's honorary consulate in Akron, Ohio. She denies the charges.

Szonert-Binienda told the Associated Press someone hacked her Facebook account. "I did not make a photo of Donald Tusk as an SS man. I am against promoting SS symbols and ideologies. I am against using words like 'fascism' in the public political discourse today. I am against comparing our politicians to Hitler," she said.


U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday that Washington would adhere to its agreement with South Korea to shoulder the cost of a new missile defense system that is being installed in the face of the North Korean threat. But McMaster said the U.S. is also looking for Seoul to share the cost in the future.

North Korea conducted another missile test Saturday, another in a string of launches that South Korea and U.S. officials say was a failure. Pyongyang is looking to develop a long-range missile, one that could carry a nuclear warhead 9,000 kilometers to the U.S. mainland.

Their meetings occurred hours before Pyongyang declared Monday that in the face of new U.S. pressure for UN sanctions against North Korea it would "speed up" its nuclear deterrence "at the maximum pace."

Pompeo, traveling with his wife Susan, arrived in the South Korean capital over the weekend and met with the head of the National Intelligence Service and high-level presidential aides.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency chief Mike Pompeo is in Seoul for talks with South Korean intelligence officials as top U.S. officials continue to express deep concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons development program.

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group, headed by the USS Carl Vinson, is in nearby waters off the Korean peninsula, dispatched there by President Donald Trump as a warning signal against North Korea. A Japanese destroyer left port Monday to join the U.S. ships, as Tokyo takes a more active military role in the region.

In Australia, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull issued a new warning against North Korea, saying his government and the U.S. are "taking a strong message to North Korea that we will not tolerate reckless, dangerous threats to the peace and stability of our region.'' Turnbull and Trump are meeting for the first time Thursday in New York.

In an interview broadcast Sunday, Trump said he "would not be happy" if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, which would be its sixth. "I can tell you also, I don't believe that the president of China, who is a very respected man, will be happy either," Trump said of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Asked if "not happy" with another Pyongyang nuclear test meant he would undertake "military action" against the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said, "I don't know. I mean, we'll see. It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is."

Trump, in a Twitter comment, said the Pyongyang's latest missile test, even though it failed, "disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President... Bad!" But in the interview on the CBS network, Trump said North Korea eventually "will have a better delivery system."

The U.S. leader described Kim Jong Un as "obviously... a pretty smart cookie," but said the U.S. cannot allow North Korea to develop a nuclear weapon, and blamed prior American presidential administrations for not dealing with the Pyongyang's military ambitions.

Saturday's North Korean missile test came just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the United Nations Security Council of "catastrophic consequences" if the international community, and especially China, does not pressure North Korea into ending its nuclear weapons development program.

The United States and South Korea on Sunday completed their annual large-scale military drills, which involved 20,000 South Korean troops and 10,000 U.S. forces. But the two countries continued their joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan that Pyongyang has condemned as a provocation in preparation for an attack on North Korea.


A Laois resident jailed for raping a woman as she slept following a night out must wait to hear the outcome of an appeal against his conviction.

The 60-year-old man, who can not be named to protect his victim's identity, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury following a five day trial in December of anal rape of the 34-year-old woman at her home on October 10, 2010.

Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy sentenced him to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment on February 29, 2016.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the man, who has no previous convictions, did not accept the 10-2 majority verdict of the jury.

He moved to appeal his conviction today in the Court of Appeal, where judgment was reserved.

The man's barrister, Patrick Gageby SC, told the three-judge court that the man, then accused, had spoken to a member of his jury at the Luas stop next to the criminal courts building during his trial.

The explanation was that the then accused did not recognise the juror and had simply asked for directions possibly because his car was parked at the Red Cow Park + Ride.

If the trial judge was inclined not to discharge the jury, Mr Gageby said, it behoved her to make further enquiries of the jury or individual juror.

Mr Gageby said at a minimum, as a question of caution, if there has been a form of contact between the accused and a jury person, there must be a pointed enquiry of the juror as to whether he or she can pursue their judicial function as a juror and whether the contact caused an apprehension in the mind of the juror. But that wasn't done in this case, Mr Gageby submitted.

The test was whether a reasonable person had a reasonable apprehension that the accused did not get a fair trial, Mr Gageby said.

Cousnel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Remy Farrell SC, said it was an innocuous approach.

Mr Farrell said trial judges instruct jury's not to have regard to material on the internet and nobody has ever contended that it was necessary to go a step further and ask jurors whether they had complied with that direction.

He said it was the universal experience in Irish courts that jurys comply with directions.

Mr Justice Alan Mahon, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice John Hedigan, said the three-judge court would reserve its judgment.
When Kildare TD James Lawless set off for a trade trip to the European Space Agency (ESA), little did he realise he would meet a Naas man working on solving the growing problem of 'space debris'.

While on a trade mission last week, Dep Lawless bumped into Andrew Wolohan from Morell.

He is working on 'space debris'  literally cleaning up space, said Deputy Lawless.

Mr Wolohan went to school in Naas CBS, then went to IT Carlow and ended up working on satellite technology in the ESA.

His mission now is to work out how to remove all the excess parts from previous space missions that are potentially clogging up the orbit for future space travel.

Andrew Wolohan from Naas, Dep James Lawless and Dr. Eamonn Daly from TUAM who works on radiation tracking in space.

Dep Lawless, the Junior Spokesperson on Science, Technology, Research and Development, travelled to Noordwijk in the Netherlands to visit the ESA Technology and Research Centre.

It was part of a trade mission with Minister Halligan and Enterprise Ireland and our group included over a dozen Irish companies who are heavily invested in space technology, he said.

Ireland was a founder member of ESA and has contributed engineering, scientific and technology projects to many space missions.

Space is the ultimate test-bed and so many of these firms go onto 'spin-out' success when commercial applications inevitably follow.

He said there are over sixty Irish companies involved in the space industry with 2,500 high skilled and high paid jobs in this sector within Ireland today.
A 22-year-old man has received a number of jail sentences for dangerous driving after Naas District Court heard evidence of an eight mile chase by Gardai in the Monasterevin area two years ago.

Kamil Brzeczek, with an address at 5 Abbey Manor, Newbridge, received four consecutive five-month jail sentences, amounting to 20 months, following a series of dangerous driving incidents on July 13, 2015, after pleading guilty to the offence.

He was disqualified from driving for six years on each, the bans to take place at the same time.

He was fined a total of 5,750 on six other counts, including tax disc fraud.

Garda Inspector David OSullivan told Naas District Court there were eight incidences of dangerous driving. They spotted the defendant driving dangerously around 3.50pm on the day and turned to follow him, turning the blue light on the patrol car.

During the course of a chase between Grey Abbey into the Monasterevin area, he drove at excessive speed, breaking red traffic lights at one point.

On a number of occasions cars had to avoid him.

He passed lines of traffic on other occasions before stopping at Clogheen, Monasterevin.

Inspector OSullivan said the chase lasted for eight to ten miles.

Conal Boyce, solicitor, said that his client might have panicked, possibly because of the false disc.

He said it was the luck of the Gods nobody was injured but the defendant, who worked in a car valeting business, did not drive now.

Mr Boyce said his clients mother was very ill in Poland and he wanted to go there.

He made an offer of 5,000 to charity on his behalf.

Judge Desmond Zaidan said this was awful stuff and he had to send out a message and protect the public.
Nick Clegg is to make his first major intervention of the election campaign this afternoon in a speech at the National Liberal Club.

The former Deputy Prime Minister will criticise Theresa May for her pursuit of a hard Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn for his inept opposition.

He will point to analysis showing the average UK household is set to be 500 worse off this year than it was in 2016, and stress that only the Liberal Democrats are capable of providing this Conservative government with the opposition the country desperately needs.

He is expected to say:
U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Sunday tried to smooth ruffled feathers in Korea by clarifying that the U.S. will indeed pay the roughly US$1 billion for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery being stationed here.

"What I told our South Korean counterpart is until any renegotiation, that the deal is in place, we will adhere to our word," McMaster told Fox News.

U.S. President Donald Trump incensed tempers in Seoul last week by saying in an interview that he wants South Korea to pay.

But McMaster tried to make light of the remarks. "The last thing I would ever do is contradict the president of the United States," he said. "And that's not what it was. What the president has asked us to do, is to look across all of our alliances and to have appropriate burden sharing-responsibility sharing. We're looking at that with our great ally South Korea, were looking at that with NATO."

A diplomatic source in Washington said, "The mood in Washington is that pulling the THAAD battery out of South Korea at the risk of destroying the South Korea-U.S. alliance is not possible."

Cheong Wa Dae said McMaster's comments appear to confirm the existing agreement, whereby the U.S. pays for the equipment, which mostly serves to protect U.S. personnel and equipment here, while South Korea provides the land.

Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters, "I don't think it's an issue for renegotiation." And Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said that he believes the U.S. emphasis is on upholding the agreement.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told NBC News that Trump has been calling on Washington's allies to "play a bigger role," a theme that had been running through Trump's presidential campaign before he had much understanding of the existing cost-sharing agreements.


In yesterdays first part of the interview, Jo spoke of how she entered politics and why. In todays excerpt, she talks about what it is like to be a young woman in politics and how she dealt with it.

TIME IN POLITICS

From watching you on YouTube and from sitting opposite you here listening to you speak, you come across as very confident and its difficult to imagine you suffer from nerves. When you were 21 years old and stood for parliament, were you nervous? And do you still get nervous nowadays?

Of course. I was nervous going up against the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in his constituency of Hull East. And yes, I have been nervous many times since. I was even nervous today when making a speech at Conference. In fact, it was the first speech I have made since losing my seat in 2015. There was a little flutter in the pit of my stomach when I stood up to go to the rostrum. I certainly had that same feeling many times as a Member of Parliament. I vividly remember my first question to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair. Question Time would always make me nervous, even after doing it so many times. Often in politics, as in much of business, theres a premium put on people who are able to act as if they have everything under control and that they have the answer for everything. That can be quite misleading if you assume its supreme confidence thats driving this. I think people do get nervous. Its entirely natural to be nervous, and we shouldnt be afraid to admit it. We should not have people in our party or elsewhere thinking that because they feel nervous about something they couldnt become a candidate or put themselves forward for a particular project, promotion or role. Being nervous is part of life; its whether or not you let it hold you back.

Do you think nerves can be a good thing?

Definitely. In order to perform it can give you an edge. There have been times when Ive been more nervous than I wanted to be and, subsequently, its had a negative impact on my performance. I remember having to follow Shirley Williams in a debate on all women shortlists in 2001. I think I made a good speech and we did win the debate, but I was not in a good place with nerves at that time. I would have preferred to be far less nervous. I think a bit of nerves can be positive. In fact, if you stop feeling an element of nerves then there is a real danger of complacency.

Looking back on your more formative years in politics, do you feel that you suffered discrimination for being young and a woman?

Its an interesting question. If you had asked me at 27, I probably would have given you a different answer. I always used to say No, I dont experience sexism. It is true that I didnt have people telling me I couldnt do something because I was a woman. I frequently encountered people who assumed I couldnt do something because I was a woman and then being surprised when I was able to do it. Some people assumed I wasnt an MP but a researcher, and they were visibly shocked when they realised that I was actually an MP. It happened to me as a minister as well. The combination of being both young and a woman made both things more obvious. A young man or an older woman would not necessarily be an issue, but if you were a young woman in politics people thought that was strange. I know this because young men of a similar age to me werent always talked about as being young. Whereas, I would be. Articles would be written about how I was a rising star. Yet, similar articles written on the male MPs who had arrived at parliament the same time as me and had been promoted more quickly, but somehow I was the one deemed to have had a fast-promotion. Put it this way, there was a lot of double standards and many assumptions that, as a young woman, I couldnt be taken seriously and I had to prove I could be. I wouldnt have described it at the time as discrimination. Later, what I came to observe was that there is a default to people that we know and to the people who look like us. The informal decision making structures in politics within our party, and its true in other parties too, are more of a boys club. Its, perhaps, not as obvious when you are 25, as either a man or woman, when you are further away from those structures anyway. In later years, it became more obvious to me.

Do you think times have changed? Hypothetically, if a young Jo Swinson was to enter parliament now, do you think she would experience discrimination and would be subject to the same preconceived prejudices?

Do the media still have double standards regarding women?

Absolutely. Do we still end up with cliques of decisions being made by groups of blokes? Yes. The word discrimination is an interesting one. It didnt stop me getting elected and it didnt prevent me from becoming a minister, but to suggest that this wasnt or isnt an issue in our party is being blind to something that is absolutely there. For example, I attended the 21st Century Economy  Policy Working Group consultation session yesterday, and the ratio of those in attendance was four men to one woman. Some will say that the women were equally able to come along to the session, and that is possibly true. I dont know what the split is for men and women who are registered for Conference, but we do know what the splits are on the Conference stage, on our parliamentary party and among the informal structures of the party. Have times changed? Some things have improved; some things havent.

After two unsuccessful election campaigns, you finally entered the Commons at the age of 25 as MP for East Dunbartonshire. For several years, you were the youngest MP, or the Baby of the House as it is commonly known, what was that experience like? What were the positives and the negatives?

There were some advantages and some disadvantages. As the youngest MP you are pigeon holed, which is a negative. It was easier for people to forget the age of the MPs who were only a year or two older than me because the label wasnt attached to them. On the positive side, it would sometimes be good for your profile. As with being a woman MP, as opposed to a man MP, the broadcasters wanted to perceive a level of balance in their coverage, so more opportunities to do media interviews came my way. Of course, thats an advantage, but you still have all the baggage and disadvantage that comes with it, the same as the endemic throughout society. In a sense, I dont know what it was like not to be the youngest MP, not for four years anyway. I think parliament needs a mix of ages. Thats one of the difficulties about keeping a parliament thats representative. At least when you increase the representation of underrepresented groups, typically, those characteristics will remain for the duration of the time that they are elected. When you elect a younger MP that isnt the case because they get older each day. Therefore, its particularly important we nurture the talent and interest of our partys younger members, including to become candidates rather than thinking that they have plenty of time and can do it in 20 years. Yes, they might be able to do it in 20 years, but we do need some of those young people to be standing now and to be elected. That way, we, in our party and in parliament, can have a proper mix represented.

You mentioned that by being the youngest MP you had greater access to the press. Do you think they gave you a harder time or, because you were the youngest, were easier on you?

I dont think they gave me a harder or an easier time because I was the youngest MP. It did lead to some weird requests. The day after I was elected, a tabloid newspaper wanted to illustrate a story with a picture of me in my school uniform. I said No, Im not doing that. Without a doubt, as with other women in the public eye, the media is sexist in terms of its portrayal of politicians. That was part of my lived experience of being an MP.

In tomorrows excerpt, Jo talks about some of her campaigns and the impact of social media

* Rob May is a Political History PhD student and Lib Dem activist.
In the aftermath of the referendum, the Remain viewpoint has been a still small voice. Too still and too small. There are a couple of reasons for this, the first to do with the character of Remainers and the second with how theyve been treated.

Remainers on the whole are civilised people, reflective and self critical, inclined to see the other persons point of view. They are not given to elbowing their way to the front of the bar shouting their order for a drink; they leave that to the Nigel Farages of this world.

You saw this with the protest march on 25th March, a model of dignity and decorum. The placards were inventive and humorous. How did the BBC reward them? By giving the event scant coverage. Unfortunately good manners and disciplined behaviour are not very newsworthy and they devoted more time to Mr Farage on that important day.

Considering the huge importance of Brexit, protests about it have been less than expected, and the reasons for this have been analysed by Davidson. But now its time to take the gloves off. As Emmanuel Macron has said, liberal values must be defended with a vigour to match that of the far right. Otherwise, they are dead in the water.

Britain is like a ship cut off from its home port, drifting out into the Atlantic. It has been boarded by buccaneers, and the passengers taken hostage. The first thing these desperados do is silence all dissent. We are all buccaneers/Brexiteers now, they say. And woe betide anyone who isnt.

Stockholm syndrome

Under these conditions, a curious thing happens. Many of the passengers start singing from the buccaneers song sheet, claiming they always wanted to be pirates. Its called the Stockholm syndrome, in which the allegiances of victims become reversed. In a milder guise, it is simply the tendency to give in to bullies. In Brexit Britain today, many have trimmed their sails according to the prevailing wind. If you cant beat em, join em has become their motto. Of course everyone prefers to be on the winning side. The problem is that over the long term, Brexit will make us losers.

To cap it all, most of our MPs were effectively silenced too, trooping meekly through the lobbies to support what most of them knew was wrong.

To those familiar with the experiments of Stanley Milgram, this is familiar territory: people will set aside their normal misgivings to a surprising extent if they are ordered to. In this case by the whips, or ultimately by the need to observe democracy. In other words to obey the will of the people, despite the validity of that notion having been effectively demolished by Britains leading philosopher, AC Grayling, who had written to all MPs personally.

Fighting for our future

Many have assumed that as the pain of Brexit bites, leave voters will wake up and change their minds. I hope this happens, but, if my Stockholm syndrome analogy is correct, the opposite will occur. As situation worsens, loyalty to Theresa May will increase, and any overture by the EU to rescue us or take us back will evoke hostility.

A formidable struggle therefore lies ahead, but I take comfort from the confidence of A C Grayling, that we will win in the end. The fight-back begins with the coming election, where we should consider supporting the Liberal Democrats as much as possible, he says. (New European, 28 April-4 May).

So in practical terms when engaging the public, what should be our message to the doubters? This is something we have been debating in my local campaigning group, Stratford4Europe. First and foremost, to defend the EU, its noble ideals and magnificent achievements; the fact that it is a protector not a persecutor. Flawed admittedly, but still a great institution over which we were due to preside this year. And which we should be leading, not leaving.

* John King is a retired doctor and Remain campaigner.
RIVERFEST 2017, which attracted tens of thousands of people to the city is being hailed as the biggest and best ever.

Visitors to the city were treated to an electric atmosphere, free food at the Riverfest BBQ, a variety of river-based events as well as a spectacular fireworks display on Sunday night.

There were various gigs at venues across the city with Hermitage Green headlining at King Johns Castle.

Huge crowds gathered at the Riverfest Village at Arthurs Quay Park and along the riverside where the addition of a free zipline crossing over the river Shannon proved particularly popular.

World Champion jetboarders Scotty Knemeyer and Bo Krook were two of the stand out stars of Riverfest 2017 as they thrilled the crowds with unbelievable displays in the water as part of the Maldron Hotel Riverfest on the Shannon.

Saturdays Riverfest BBQ at the boardwalk at Harveys Quay proved hugely popular with the new venue coming in for praise from all.

It has been phenomenal, the amount of work and effort the chefs have put in is just mind boggling because it is a hard gig and they are so funny and entertaining and it is amazing to see so many people here its choc-a-bloc and its been an amazing day for Limerick, said Verette OSullivan, one of the judges.

Riverfest, year after year, proves that Limerick can host festivals of this size and the massive crowds attending show there is a huge appetite for such events here in Limerick, said Mayor Kieran OHanlon.

See this week's Limerick Leader print editions for further reports and pictures from Riverfest 2017.
LIMERICK city should be very proud to have the largest social housing project in the state at Lord Edward Street.

Thats according to Housing Minister Simon Coveney who was in Limerick to inspect the development, which will see 81 new homes at the former Taits Factory.

He was also in Moyross, where he checked out the progress of the areas community centre, which is undergoing a multi-million refit.

The Cork TD and Fine Gael leadership contender also gave a commitment to a number of residents facing eviction at Fishermans Quay in the Grove Island that he would investigate their case.

Mr Coveney was joined at Lord Edward Street by Senators Kieran ODonnell and Maria Byrne, and a number of other local Fine Gael councillors.

He said he hopes the 18m development can be replicated in other cities.

We are trying to build mixed integrated communities catering for different needs. Different family sizes, different ages. We want people to live together in mixed communities. There are lots of families already queuing up who want a unit in this community, and it says an awful lot of the standard being set here, Mr Coveney said.
THE Church of Irelands stance on sexuality following the marriage equality referendum will be discussed at its upcoming Synod in Limerick.

The Synod, which predominantly meets in Dublin or Armagh, will be held in Limerick for the first time in its history for three days next week.

Over 600 delegates representing the 12 Church of Ireland dioceses are expected to attend the series of discussions from Thursday, May 4, in the South Court Hotel.

Canon Patrick Comerford, of Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin group of parishes in Limerick, said he is delighted the Synod is taking place in Limerick this year, having earlier been held in Cork, Galway, Belfast and Kilkenny.

Its a great opportunity for the Church of Ireland in Limerick to engage with the wider church.

It will also help to strengthen links between the dioceses in the west of Ireland, he said.

A private members motion requests the House of Bishops to investigate a means to develop sensitive, local pastoral arrangements for public prayer and thanksgiving at key moments in the lives of same-sex couples.

It will essentially examine how we find a compromise on same-gender relationships, added Canon Comerford.

Their ideas will be presented to the general Synod in 2018, with a view to making proposals at the 2019 Synod.

The select committee on human sexuality in the context of Christian belief will also report on its work since 2013.

A spokesperson said that the committees role will end at this general Synod but members are hopeful that conversation on the issues involved will continue.

However, the church has admitted that there was some criticism levelled at the make-up of ths 16-member committee comprised of the clergy and laity, due to the fact that there were no openly LGBT people amongst its initial membership.

The committee decided it needed to recognise the hurt and indeed injury caused to LGBT members who felt the Church was excluding them.

The urgent need to improve pastoral care for those who have been or continue to feel the impact of exclusion and hurt and injury by the attitude of the Church, provides the most important message to be heard from the discussions, such as there have been, in the Church of Ireland in 2016-2017, they outline in the 2017 Synod document.

Other areas of discussion will focus on inter-diocesan conversations, the churchs finances and climate change.

Funds available to the Representative Church Body, the all-island charitable trustee of the Church of Ireland, have increased by just over one per cent to 188.6m, its financial accounts show.

It details that the churchs funds have recovered well over the last eight years from a trough of 122m in 2008, reaching a market valuation of 180m at the end of 2016.

However, they have fallen from 238m at the end of 2006 before the recession.

Concerns regarding the many challenges posed by Brexit have also been expressed by the church.

The Church of Ireland would hope that any changes brought about because of Brexit, and the border issue in particular, will reflect the desire for reconciliation and the strengthening of peace, it states.
A witness at a murder trial has described how he pulled the two accused men away from the deceased, who was bleeding in numerous places on his body.

Dylan Hayes, aged 22, of The Crescent, Kilteragh, Dooradoyle and Ger Hogan, aged 33, of Raheen Square, Ballinacurra Weston have pleaded not guilty to the murder of 26-year-old Shane Murphy at The Grove, Pallasgreen on April 30, 2015.

At the Central Criminal Court this Tuesday, Graham Kelly told prosecuting counsel Paul Burns SC that he travelled to the house in Pallasgreen that day in a taxi with Dylan Hayes.

Mr Kelly told the jury he can't remember a lot as he had been drinking for nearly four days and was very intoxicated and taking tablets on top of it.

In the taxi, he noticed that Mr Hayes had a toy gun. I told him to throw it out the window, he said.

The witness said that when they arrived at Pallasgreen they were invited into the house. Inside were Ger Hogan, Shane Murphy, Mr Murphy's girlfriend Sharon Kelly and two other women.

At one point Mr Kelly was drinking in the kitchen when he heard the girls screaming in the sitting room. When he went to find out what was happening he saw a fight going on between Shane Murphy, Dylan Hayes and Ger Hogan.

I went in to break it up, he said. I pulled the boys apart.

He said he hit Dylan Hayes and that the two accused men ran away but a short time later Ger Hogan came back so Mr Kelly struck him. I said: 'Get out of the room.' He kept coming towards me so I hit him.

When he broke up the fight, Mr Kelly said Mr Murphy fell to the ground and was bleeding in numerous places on his body.

The fight happened all in a split second and once Mr Hayes and Mr Hogan were out of the room, Mr Kelly opened Mr Murphy's top.

I saw he was bleeding, he told Mr Burns. I tried to resuscitate him. I had a woman on a 999 call telling me what to do.

He told Mr Burns that he does not remember anyone saying anything, adding: I was out of my head on drink and drugs and can't remember last week never mind two years ago.

The trial continues before Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of five women and seven men.
Korea has been the world's biggest buyer of American weapons even ahead of perpetual captive client Saudi Arabia, despite claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that Seoul fails to pull its weight.

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Korea has bought W36 trillion worth of American weapons since DAPA was set up in 2006, the biggest figure in the world and almost the same as Korea's entire defense spending last year (W38 trillion).

Korea was the No. 1 importer of American weapons from 2006 to 2015, according to the 2016 yearbook by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality. And Seoul is going to spend more than W10 trillion in coming years to buy F-35A fighters and Global Hawk surveillance drones from the U.S. under the current procurement plans.

Seoul also shoulders a massive amount of the cost of keeping the U.S. Forces Korea here, which provide the U.S. with a huge strategic advantage in the region. This year, Korea shoulders about W950 billion under the Status of Forces Agreement, up about nine-fold over the past 26 years (US$=W1,138). The amount is expected to reach W1 trillion next year when the next round of negotiations is in full swing.

It is paying W8.9 trillion toward the construction cost of the new USFK headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The Pyeongtaek base, measuring 14.68 million sq. m., is the largest single overseas base operated by the U.S. military and is expected to cost W17.1 trillion in total.

"It's possible that the Pyeongtaek base will be used as the U.S. military's key multi-purpose base with state-of-the-art facilities as a defensive foothold in Northeast Asia," a government source here said. "It would be strategically inefficient and cost much more if it had to build such a base on its own mainland with its own money."

In addition, Korea spends some W10 billion a year supporting the USFK's Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, the only such kind the U.S. military operates in the world. About 2,000 KATUSA soldiers are supporting USFK troops, who are unfamiliar with Korean culture and language, to carry out their mission.

Trump late last week ruffled Korean feathers with a characteristically unguarded demand that Seoul pay for the stationing of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here.

"We're going to protect them," he told Reuters. "But they should pay for that, and they understand that."

The battery mostly serves to protect U.S. troops and equipment from North Korean missiles.


China is considering at least a six-month halt in supplying oil to North Korea if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday quoting experts.

"Instead of an oil embargo of just one or two months, which is unlikely to have a major impact on North Korea's strategic oil reserves, we are talking about a halt in Chinese crude oil supplies for at least six months. That would be a real nightmare" for leader Kim Jong-un, the daily quoted Sun Xingjie, a North Korea specialist from Jilin University, as saying.

"China would be taking sanctions actions on their own" if Pyongyang went ahead with another nuclear test, Sun added.

China's state-run Global Times in an editorial last week also warned that North Korea would face tougher sanctions, including a halt in oil supply.
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U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Saturday tried to smooth ruffled feathers in South Korea over President Donald Trump's threat to make Seoul pay $1 billion for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery being stationed here.

Trump's ill-considered remarks have needed a lot of glossing over the first 100 days of his presidency, and McMaster did just that. What Trump really meant, he said, "is to look across all of our alliances and to have appropriate burden sharing-responsibility sharing."

McMaster hinted that other areas of the Korea-U.S. alliance could be up for renegotiation. That means talks held every five years over sharing the cost of maintaining 28,500 American troops in here could result in Seoul paying a higher bill.

Korea already pays around W1 trillion a year to maintain American troops here (US$1=W1,138). Public resistance here will be strong, and a broadly progressive new government here may not go out of its way to quell it. There is no telling how Trump will respond. It would not be beyond him to try and tear up the current agreements and completely overhaul the U.S. military presence in South Korea.

Unfortunately for Seoul, the threats to its national security are no longer restricted to North Korea. They can even come from its closest ally. This will be a massive challenge for the next administration.


Does Microsoft need a Google Chromebook rival? Microsoft may be planning a cloud-based variant of Windows 10, and that may be a direct face-off with Google /how-to-lounge/books/does-microsoft-need-a-google-chromebook-rival-111646834601862.html 111646834601862 story

A new power throttling feature is expected to be rolled out with a Windows 10 update set to come out later this yearit will reduce battery consumption of background apps and services, and could improve battery life by more than 10% in some usage scenarios. Photo: Reuters

Microsoft is hosting an Education Event later on Tuesday in New York, and the company is expected to make some announcements regarding the roadmap of the software and the hardware line-up.

At the New York event, Microsoft is expected to unveil the Windows 10 Cloud, which could be potentially pitched against Googles Chromebook platform. But, does the cloud-based operating system make sense?

According to documents leaked online, first accessed by the Windows Central website, there are some Chromebook-esque devices in the works. Leaked data suggests that these devices would run a quad-core (Celeron or better) processor, with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (64GB for 64-bit software) which would be a fast eMMC or SSD type, optional pen and touch support and target for 10-plus hours of battery life. These are expected to be low-cost computing devices, and will be targeted at students and educational institutions.

It will be critical for Microsoft, given its education focus on the potential new line-up of products, to have the perfect balance of price and performance, to become a natural competitor for the Chromebooksthey will have to be considerably less expensive than the current Surface line-up of Windows 10 convertibles.

It will be interesting to see what sort of form factor and design Microsoft goes with for the cloud machineswould they be convertibles, or have a more conventional clamshell design to keep costs down.

Also read: Windows 10 Creators Update: Microsofts bid to make your PC even smarter

This also links in with the new power throttling feature that is expected to be rolled out with a Windows 10 update set to come out later this yearit will reduce battery consumption of background apps and services, and could improve battery life by more than 10% in some usage scenarios. It was believed that Microsoft tested this feature in certain builds of the Creators Update which is now rolling out for Windows 10 machines, but did not release it this time around.

But what will be the operating system to run on these low power and low cost laptops? It will be Windows 10, but not like the one you probably use. It will be Windows 10 Cloud (Windows 10 S, as some unconfirmed reports seem to suggest), and will be more streamlined and frugal than the standard Windows 10. Some of the more power-hungry features will be stripped away, the installation size of the operating system will be reduced and users will essentially require internet access as most of the data will be stored on the cloudexpect this to be linked tightly with the OneDrive cloud storage service. This will also help Microsoft drive Office365 subscriptions, which will include the office productivity suite and OneDrive storage space.

Also read: 8 Chromebook questions answered

The reasons why Chromebooks became popular among students and in schools was not because of the specs or the cloud, but because of the price and ease of use. If Microsoft indeed makes an impression with the new cloud-based computing devices, it will not only dent Googles Chromebook juggernaut, but also perhaps have some sort of an impact on the sales of Apple iPads, which are now being pushed more as content creation and productivity devices.
2 slightly injured in train derailment in Dortmund, Germany

From:Xinhua | 2017-05-02 10:29

Rescue members work at the site of the train derailment at the Dortmund Central Railway Station in Dortmund, Germany, on May 1, 2017. Two persons were slightly injured in the train derailment Monday evening in Dortmund, a city in Germany's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the federal police of the state via twitter. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)

FRANKFURT, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Two persons were slightly injured in the train derailment Monday evening in Dortmund, a city in Germany's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the federal police of the state via twitter.

The accident happened shortly before 7 p.m. when the high-speed train ICE 945 from Dusseldorf to Berlin was arriving at the Dortmund Central Railway Station. The last three of the seven carriages of the train jumped out of the tenth track of the railway station, the police said via twitter.

All the passengers on board have been evacuated and one of the injured has been sent to local hospital for treatment, the other got treatment at the railway station.

The train and track bed were seriously damaged, and the cause of the accident remains unknown, said the police.

After entire suspension, the operation of the railway station has been partly resumed so far, namely tracks from 18 to 31, with many trains being delayed.

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A rescue member checks the site of the train derailment at the Dortmund Central Railway Station in Dortmund, Germany, on May 1, 2017. Two persons were slightly injured in the train derailment Monday evening in Dortmund, a city in Germany's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the federal police of the state via twitter. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)

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Police officers stand guard at the Dortmund Central Railway Station in Dortmund, Germany, on May 1, 2017. Two persons were slightly injured in the train derailment Monday evening in Dortmund, a city in Germany's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the federal police of the state via twitter. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)

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Rescue members work at the site of the train derailment at the Dortmund Central Railway Station in Dortmund, Germany, on May 1, 2017. Two persons were slightly injured in the train derailment Monday evening in Dortmund, a city in Germany's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the federal police of the state via twitter. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)

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Police cordon off the site of the train derailment at the Dortmund Central Railway Station in Dortmund, Germany, on May 1, 2017. Two persons were slightly injured in the train derailment Monday evening in Dortmund, a city in Germany's state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the federal police of the state via twitter. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)

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China sees tourism boom during May Day holiday

From:Xinhua | 2017-05-01 22:30

Tourists watch lion dance at a scenic zone in Emeishan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 30, 2017. China's tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan ( billion U.S. dollars) in revenue during the International Labor Day holiday. The revenue was driven by 134 million domestic tourist trips, according to the National Tourism Administration. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China saw a tourism boom during the three-day May Day holiday, a sign of the country's booming tourism industry, official data showed on Monday.

The country's tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan (11.5 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue during the holiday, up 16.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the National Tourism Administration.

During the holiday that ended on Monday, tourist destinations across China received a total of 134 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 14.4 percent.

The tourism boom came as China tries to wean its economy off over-reliance on exports and heavy industries, and shift to a growth model that draws strength from consumption, innovation and service sector.

The tourism industry is considered a driver to growth as it boosts profitability in sectors ranging from hotel, transportation to catering.

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Tourists are seen outside the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2017. China's tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan (about 11.5 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue during the International Labor Day holiday. The revenue was driven by 134 million domestic tourist trips, according to the National Tourism Administration. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

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Tourists visit a scenic zone in Emeishan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 30, 2017. China's tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan ( billion U.S. dollars) in revenue during the International Labor Day holiday. The revenue was driven by 134 million domestic tourist trips, according to the National Tourism Administration. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)

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Tourists are seen outside the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2017. China's tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan (about 11.5 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue during the International Labor Day holiday. The revenue was driven by 134 million domestic tourist trips, according to the National Tourism Administration. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

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Rural tourism maintains robust growth to help relieve poverty in China

From:Xinhua | 2017-05-02 08:29

An aerial photo taken on May 1, 2017 shows a mulberry plantation in Sangyuan Village in Hebi City, central China's Henan Province. Rural tourism maintained robust growth in China last year as more city-dwellers prefer a taste of the country life during holidays, and governments hope the burgeoning sector will help relieve poverty. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng)

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Tourists visit Sangyuan Village of Hebi City, central China's Henan Province, May 1, 2017. Rural tourism maintained robust growth in China last year as more city-dwellers prefer a taste of the country life during holidays, and governments hope the burgeoning sector will help relieve poverty. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng)

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Tourists visit an restaurant in Sangyuan Village of Hebi City, central China's Henan Province, May 1, 2017. Rural tourism maintained robust growth in China last year as more city-dwellers prefer a taste of the country life during holidays, and governments hope the burgeoning sector will help relieve poverty. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng)

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Tourists watch cockfight in Sangyuan Village of Hebi City, central China's Henan Province, May 1, 2017. Rural tourism maintained robust growth in China last year as more city-dwellers prefer a taste of the country life during holidays, and governments hope the burgeoning sector will help relieve poverty. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng)

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Tourists visit an exhibition of traditional farming tools in Sangyuan Village of Hebi City, central China's Henan Province, May 1, 2017. Rural tourism maintained robust growth in China last year as more city-dwellers prefer a taste of the country life during holidays, and governments hope the burgeoning sector will help relieve poverty. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng)

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Tourists visit in Sangyuan Village in Hebi City, central China's Henan Province, May 1, 2017. Rural tourism maintained robust growth in China last year as more city-dwellers prefer a taste of the country life during holidays, and governments hope the burgeoning sector will help relieve poverty. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng)

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The United States military's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system was tested on June 22, 2014. An interceptor was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and successfully destroyed a mock enemy missile over the Pacific Ocean.

Editor's Note: This story was updated on Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m. E.T.

With tensions brewing between the United States and North Korea  highlighted by a flurry of nuclear missile tests and fighting words by both countries  the possibility of nuclear war seems closer than it has been in years, according to experts.

Pentagon officials announced today (Nov. 28) that North Korea conducted a nuclear test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with the range to reach Washington D.C. South Korean officials believe its hostile neighbor to the north could have the ability to pair such a missile with a nuclear warhead sometime in 2018, CNN reported.

Though North Korea doesn't currently have the ability to nuke the United States capital, the mere possibility of a nuclear attack put people around the world on edge. In the event that North Korea did decide to attack the states, is there any way to stop nuclear missiles once they've been fired? [7 Strange Cultural Facts About North Korea]

One option that has been floated  and refloated  over the years, is to somehow create a shield or defense system to protect people from nuclear attacks. From the earliest uses in 1959 of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is designed to deliver nuclear weapons, the U.S. has been working on methods that would protect people from such an attack. Yet decades later, the country still has only a flawed system that most experts believe would not reliably protect Americans against a nuclear attack, said Philip E. Coyle III, a senior science advisor with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and the former director of operational tests and evaluation with the Pentagon, who has extensively evaluated missile defense systems.

But why has it taken so long to get a nuclear missile shield up and running? And is there any possibility that this technology might work in the future?

"This is the hardest thing the Pentagon has ever tried to do, as our nearly 70 years of trying shows," Coyle told Live Science.

First seeds

The first attempts at building a nuclear missile defense program started up almost as soon as intercontinental missiles were invented in the 1950s, though most of those projects were put on hold in 1972, after the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which limited the number of missiles each side could retain. A number of wacky ideas have been proposed over the years, including Operation Argus, which aimed to create a protective radiation belt above Earth by detonating a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere, and Project Seesaw, which explored using particle beams to zap nukes, according to "The Imagineers of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, the Agency That Changed the World," (Knopf, 2017)

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan said he was uncomfortable with "mutually assured destruction" (that is, the idea that both the United States and Russia had enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other in the event of a nuclear war) as the only protection against the U.S.S.R. He pushed for the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative, or the Star Wars program, in which nuclear-powered lasers placed in space would zap nuclear weapons. The program was an expensive flop, in part because the whole concept was too fantastical, said Laura Grego, an astrophysicist and expert on missile defense and space security at the Union of Concerned Scientists. [Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth]

Challenges to nuclear missile defense

In some ways, the failure of these projects isn't surprising: Intercepting an intercontinental ballistic missile is really hard, Grego said. An ICBM launches, spends 15 minutes traveling through the vacuum of space and then reenters the atmosphere before hitting its target. So an ICBM could be intercepted at just a few points on its journey: when it first launches, once it's out in space, and as it reenters the atmosphere and is zooming toward its target. Each of these approaches has its limitations.

For instance, "the launch phase is a minute to a few minutes long," Grego told Live Science.

That doesn't leave much time for a rocket to intercept and "kill" a nuclear missile, she added. What's more, historical United States rivals, such as Russia and China, have large land masses. They would likely keep their missiles far inland, meaning sea-based interceptors couldn't get to a missile during its launch phase.

So killing a missile early in the course of its flight would require hovering over likely launch sites, Grego said. Early on, the military proposed placing giant Boeing 747s with bomb-killing lasers in the skies above Russia and China.

"Pretty quickly, you can see the operational difficulty with that," Grego told Live Science. "Are you going to have several large 747s just hovering indefinitely for decades, just waiting for something to happen?"

Beyond that, there are other problems with the "launch-phase" approach. If the interceptor doesn't hit exactly the right spot on the missile, the missile "may not quite make the target it was intended. It will fall somewhere else, like Canada, which Canada will not like," Grego said. "You really have to be explicit and target the payload at the tip of the missile."

Using unmanned aerial vehicles has also been as an option, but they lack the firepower to destroy a missile, she added.

Midcourse defense

The second option, and the most viable one, is to intercept the missile during its longest flight course  in space. An advantage of that approach is that, because most U.S. enemies are west of the Pacific, they would all likely program their missiles to take a path above the poles, meaning that just one ground-based interceptor could be placed in Alaska and likely protect the whole country.

But intercepting a missile in space also has its problems.

"The incoming missile is going 15,000, 17,000 miles an hour [24,000 to 27,000 km/h]," Coyle said. "And going that fast, if you miss by an inch, you can miss by a mile."

There's another problem, too: There's no air resistance (or drag) in space. That means a decoy like a balloon that's shaped like a nuclear warhead could travel in the same way as the true warhead, making it difficult for a missile to distinguish the real missile from the decoy. And because balloons are so light, a sophisticated warhead could easily launch 20 or 30 decoy balloons to obscure the path of the warhead, Grego said.

Finally, the last-ditch effort would be to intercept as the missile reenters the atmosphere, before it hits the target. An advantage of this approach would be that air resistance would prevent decoys from distracting a system. On the other hand, "you don't have very much time to defend, because it's rapidly coming toward you, so it's not a workable strategy," Grego said. And jamming the electronics in nuclear warheads with something like an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) would likely not work; the weapons are designed to be robust enough to survive the effects of EMPs from other nuclear weapons nearby, Grego said. [Flying Saucers to Mind Control: 22 Declassified Military & CIA Secrets]

As a result, the military has in recent decades focused on attacking an ICBM during its midcourse, known as ground-based midcourse missile defense. The military developed a prototype under the Clinton administration that saw early success. But under Bush, the military pushed the weapon from an early prototype and rushed it to operational status. Since then, it has missed the target in 9 out of 17 tests, according to the military.

Between 2010 and 2017, it has missed the target in 3 out of 4 tests. (However, in late May the U.S. military announced it had achieved a successful test of the mid-course missile defense system.)

"The failure in flight-intercept tests is all the more surprising, because these tests are highly scripted to achieve success. If these tests were planned to fool U.S. defenses, as a real enemy would do, the failure rate would be even worse," Coyle said.

What's more, "it counts one of those failures a success if the interceptor hit the target with a glancing [blow] but did not destroy it," Coyle said. "Close only counts in horseshoes and not in nuclear war."

Part of the problem is that the systems were rushed through the engineering process and suffer from design flaws, both Coyle and Grego said. In addition, the military needs to develop additional technology infrastructure, such as radar in different wavelengths, or better satellites to detect missiles, that could do a better job of locating and visualizing the target.

But even if the projects were redesigned from the ground up, with careful thought and the best use of existing and new technologies, some challenges with nuclear defense may be insurmountable, Grego said. For instance, so far, no one has come up with a way to solve the problem of nuclear warhead decoys in space, she said.

And focusing on "strategic defense" that can protect American cities half the time may be much more expensive and ultimately more dangerous for the world, compared to using those resources for more effective war-deterrence strategies such as diplomacy, Grego said.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published on May 2, 2017. It was updated to add new information on North Korea's successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S., along with additional information on the U.S. mid-course missile defense tests conducted in May.

Originally published on Live Science.
School lunch programs in the U.S. will no longer be required to meet all of the nutrition standards set in the Obama era, the Trump administration announced this week.

The news means that school lunches won't necessarily see the cuts in sodium and boosts in whole grains that were outlined in the Obama administration's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which aimed to improve child nutrition.

Specifically, rather than requiring that all grain products served in school lunches be whole grains, the government will allow schools to request exemptions to this requirement for the 2017-2018 school year, said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who signed a proclamation outlining the changes on Monday (May 1). And instead of requiring schools to continue reducing sodium levels in school meals, the government will let schools keep sodium levels where they are now, at least through 2020. In addition, schools will be allowed to serve 1 percent flavored milk, instead of just nonfat flavored milk. [10 Ways to Promote Kids' Healthy Eating Habits]

Perdue said the changes were being made because existing nutrition requirements for school lunches were too stringent and had resulted in higher costs for school districts. In addition, Perdue said, some children weren't eating the healthier food.

"If kids aren't eating the food and it's ending up in the trash, they aren't getting any nutrition  thus undermining the intent of the program," Perdue said in a statement.

However, some nutrition experts expressed concern about the new standards.

"While the health impact of reopening this rule is unknown at this point, it's clear [that] having American schoolchildren eat fewer whole grains is not heart-healthy," Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said in a statement. Relaxing the sodium requirements is also worrisome, she said. "If we don't move forward with the sodium standards, there could be serious health consequences for our kids," such as increased blood pressure, as well as higher risk of heart disease and stroke, Brown said.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer watchdog group, also called the new sodium policy concerning.

"Ninety percent of American kids eat too much sodium every day," Wootan said in a statement. "Schools have been moving in the right direction, so it makes no sense to freeze that progress in its tracks and allow dangerously high levels of salt in school lunch."

The new policy does not affect the requirement for fruits and vegetables in school lunches or standards for food served in vending machines set in the Obama-era act.

Original article on Live Science.
Premier Li Keqiang stressed the role of administrative reform  streamlining administration and cutting taxes and administrative fees  in gaining global competitiveness at recent State Council executive meetings.

It should be noted that many developed or even developing countries have put great efforts into optimizing their business environment, including simplifying the approval procedure for enterprises and measures to cut taxes.

Under such a global context, administrative reform should be regarded as a priority to achieve the transformation and upgrade of the Chinese economy.

At the April 26 executive meeting, it was decided to take another step in loosening the grip on the market and push forward business registration system reform. This will be done by promoting the integration of separate business certifications and licenses and replacing the pre-approval registration with post-setup approvals. Also, institutional transaction costs for market entities will continue to be lowered to stimulate the markets vitality.

The Premier pointed out the progress of administrative reform and cutting taxes should be measured in the global environment. China will open its door wider and wider to not only introduce foreign capital, technologies and advanced experience, but also grasp the trend of global competition, the Premier said.

According to a report released by the World Bank, Chinas business environment ranking for 2016 moved up 18 positions from 2013, and its rating for ease of doing business rose 31 positions in the same period. However, ranking at an average level among developing countries, there is still a lot of room for improvement in Chinas business environment.

Accelerating the construction of high-speed telecom networks with lower charges is another effort urged by Premier Li to enhance the global competence of Chinese enterprises.

Premier Li urged government departments and enterprises to develop a global vision in further opening up and implementing administrative reform.
Oaklands highest-paid city employee last year was not the fire chief, mayor or top cop. It was a civil engineer who reviews building plans and who has long reaped one of the sweetest overtime deals in the city.

All told, Kenny Laus compensation reached $484,175, with most of it from overtime, according to data released Monday by Transparent California, a nonprofit project run by a Nevada free-market think tank.

Laus pay rate and compensation suggest that he would have needed to be working 16 hours a day, all 365 days of the year, to get the amount of overtime pay he received, said Robert Fellner, the groups research director. If Lau only worked business days, he would have been clocking more than 22 hours daily.

Lau earned the fourth-highest overtime pay out of more than 550,000 California workers, according to a survey by the watchdog group. It was his second consecutive year in the spot.

The top-paid person in California cities tends to be a city manager, firefighter or police officer collecting hefty overtime bucks, making Lau an anomaly. He did not return requests for comment.

When asked how Lau, whose regular salary is $108,841, was able to accumulate so much overtime, city spokeswoman Karen Boyd said Lau does not just work on business days.

More for you Schaaf accused of bait and switch on Oakland soda tax money

She added that fees collected through his work of processing development permits cover his salary and overtime compensation. She also said that demand for residential building permits has grown recently, giving Lau more work to do.

Over the past several years, Lau and Officer Malcolm Miller of the Oakland Police Department have been duking it out for the top city spot. In 2016, Lau made $484,175 to Millers $463,215. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, Miller was the top earner. He also did not respond to requests for comment.

As far back as 2002, Lau was making double the pay of then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. His boss at the time, William Claggett, told The Chronicle that Lau was popular with developers, whose fees for expediting reviews more than covered his overtime.

Four others in Oakland had compensation that soared above $400,000 last year, including City Administrator Sabrina Landreth and three Fire Department employees.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
The cost to keep the peace following conservative pundit Ann Coulters canceled trip to UC Berkeley last week was not cheap, officials said Tuesday.

Bay Area law enforcement agencies called in to prevent violence from erupting on campus after Coulters appearance there was scuttled on Thursday cost a total of a half-million dollars in overtime, said Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern.

Supporters and counterprotesters showed up at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park a few blocks from campus. While the two sides shouted at each other, the day did not devolve into the riot-like violence that characterized earlier political clashes in Berkeley, like the visit from right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in early February that ended with an estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.

While the most recent demonstrations turned out to be relatively peaceful, law enforcement officers summoned from around the Bay Area prepared for the worst.

Ahern estimated his agency alone spent about $80,000 in overtime and he expects to be reimbursed by the University of California.

The Oakland Police Department, San Leandro Police Department, California Highway Patrol and six other UC campuses sent officers to Berkeley on Thursday after Coulters speech on campus was canceled.

Sgt. Sabrina Reich, a spokeswoman for the UC Berkeley Police Department, said the department is working with a number of law enforcement agencies to reimburse the costs they incurred.

An official estimate of the total cost to be reimbursements is not yet available, Reich said.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
Teachers at a San Francisco elementary school sought to enlist community support in contract negotiations by sending a letter home to parents in student backpacks, a move that district officials said violated state law.

The letter, sent Thursday by some teachers at Daniel Webster Elementary, informed parents that the teachers planned to work only the hours required by their contract as of May 1, an action known as work-to-rule that is sometimes used by employees in labor disputes.

We will arrive together at 8:20 a.m., take our 45-minute duty-free lunch, and leave together at 4 p.m., the teachers wrote, adding that meetings, tutoring and other activities would be abbreviated and that no homework would be assigned. While we are committed to providing quality education to your children, SFUSD cannot continue to take our generosity for granted and expect us to volunteer hours every day.

The teachers said they would prioritize activities, only performing those they had time for. Communicating with parents and maintaining classrooms was at the top of the list while completing special education paperwork was toward the bottom. Yet none of those activities are voluntary, district officials said.

Teachers have the right to use a work-to-rule strategy to exert pressure on management, said district spokeswoman Gentle Blythe. However, she said, teachers and paraprofessionals are still expected to carry out required duties such as corresponding with parents, organizing and maintaining classroom space, giving grades and homework.

Under Californias Educational Employment Relations Act, teachers arent allowed to distribute such letters to families using school time or resources, Blythe said.

The teachers are seeking a raise as well as district concessions to address a shortage of substitutes and a need for additional staff, including teachers aides and social workers.

We support the right of the educators at Webster Elementary to enforce their contractual rights, said Lita Blanc, president of the United Educators of San Francisco. The teachers decision to work-to-rule for a limited time is a good-faith effort to raise awareness about the affordability crisis in San Francisco and its impact on our schools.

Union officials said Tuesday they were still researching the potential legal issues raised by the teachers action.

The letter was not well-received by some parents, including Adam Lashinsky, who said it was inappropriate to involve children in the dispute and shocking that teachers would stop giving homework.

While the letter included the email addresses of every school board member, and offered parents a sample message they could send in support of teachers, it did not include contact information for the writers of the letter, Lashinsky said.

He said he emailed his daughters teacher, saying he appreciated the schools staff and wasnt taking sides in the contract negotiations, but thought the lack of homework was going too far.

The teachers are punishing students this way, he said in the letter. There is no other way to interpret it.

District officials said administrators would clarify with the schools teachers what is required and what is voluntary during a work-to-rule action, while advising them that state law prohibits such correspondence using students and school time.

I support our educators in advocating for what they feel is equitable compensation and treatment, said school board President Shamann Walton. My hope is that this can be resolved in a manner that supports our educators rights to advocate and also does not disrupt the education of our students.
The Chinese economy is experiencing a faster growth speed than general official data initially revealed, according to three American economic analysts.

Their conclusion is based on a theory that a positive correlation exists between nighttime lights and economic activities.

The difference between their analysis and official data could result from underestimated growth speed of Chinas emerging businesses, analysts pointed out. In recent years, the Chinese service industry has been experiencing a sharp growth thanks to enhanced efforts from administrative reform, commercial system reform and mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

In the 2017 government work report, Premier Li Keqiang emphasized the key role of consumption in stimulating economic growth and said the service industrys value added has largely increased and accounted for 51.6 percent of last years GDP.

First quarter economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows consumption remained a central component, contributing 77.2 percent of economic growth, and the service industry was a big contributor to GDP, accounting for 56.5 percent. Meanwhile, the growth rate of GDP in the first quarter reached 6.9 percent, achieving the second consecutive growth increase.

According to Bloomberg News, Chinas economy, driven by consumption, achieved two consecutive speedy expansions and Chinese consumers are helping the countrys economy break its reliance on investment-driven growth.

The New York Times also analyzed that a significant reason for the economic growth in China is the expansion of factory scales and production since the value-added industrial output expanded 7.6 percent in March.

American business magazine Forbes pointed out Chinas first quarter GDP growth rate was beyond expectations, which indicates Chinas economic success will not end but is entering another phase. The economy will be supported by four pillars in the second phase, including super consumers, sci-tech innovation, high-end manufacturing and service industry.

The overseas observation is in line with Premier Lis judgment of the Chinese economy. The rise of emerging industries and accelerating upgrades as well as the transformation of traditional industries are turning into new engines which stimulate economic growth.

Reuters reported Chinas optimistic economic data is a relief to global investors who were concerned about the world economys stability, which stabilizes the global asset market.

According to a report from A.T. Kearney, a global consulting firm, a survey collected from 300 companies with over $500 million in revenue shows the confidence of direct foreign investment into China ranked at the top of the list.

In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adjusted its expected Chinese economic growth rate from 6.5 percent to the current 6.6 percent, which is expected to be raised further by the IMF in the coming months.
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A foiled robbery in East Oakland led police to arrest a teenage suspect in last months swarm robbery on BART, in which dozens of juveniles allegedly took over a train stopped at Coliseum Station, officials said Monday.

The arrest comes as BART seeks to identify more suspects in the April 22 train attack, while increasing police patrols on the transit system in the wake of a spike in robberies.

The arrest was the second in connection with the mob robbery, as another boy was arrested earlier Friday, BART said. But he has since been released from custody without charges  a development that BART did not announce or explain.

According to BART police, the latest arrest occurred around 5 p.m. Friday, after a plainclothes Oakland police officer witnessed a robbery on the 6200 block of Camden Street in the Frick neighborhood of East Oakland.

Responding officers tried to pull over three boys as they drove away, but they kept going, prompting a brief pursuit, police said. The chase ended when the suspects crashed into a car near Hegenberger Road and Interstate 880 and fled on foot, officials said.

Officers caught all three juveniles, and no injuries were reported. Prior to the arrest, BART said, investigators had identified one of the teens through surveillance video as one of at least 40 juveniles who participated in the train robbery.

According to police, the juveniles jumped the fare gates shortly before 9:30 p.m. on April 22 and rushed aboard at least two cars of a Dublin-bound train at Coliseum Station. While some held doors open, stalling the train, others ran through cars and some robbed and beat passengers, officials said.

The teens scattered from the scene within minutes, thwarting responding officers.

The fact this juvenile was out committing a robbery in another jurisdiction with other minors just days following the BART incident is testament of the need for agencies to work together collaboratively to solve regional issues and share resources and intelligence data, said BARTs acting police chief, Jeff Jennings. BART Police will continue to work toward identifying the suspects involved in the Coliseum incident.

The juvenile arrested Friday will face charges arising from both incidents, authorities said. He was in custody Monday at Alameda County Juvenile Hall.

Jennings last week declared a state of emergency for his department in response to a rise in robberies and other crimes on the train system. Under the declaration, BART officers must work overtime and cannot take time off beyond planned vacations.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
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A woman's black-eyed, blonde-haired mugshot, with elaborate face tattoos, has gained social media's attention online with many describing her as "creepy" and "possessed."

Morgan Joyce Varn, 24, was arrested along with Jonathan Mikael Robinson, 23, after a SWAT situation concluded at a townhome in South Carolina. She and Robinson allegedly robbed a 25-year-old man of his cellphone and cash on Monday, April 24, 2017.
All wars have unintended consequences. One of the most devastating post-World War II examples was the genocide in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. That small country's extremist insurgents, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, leapt into a leadership vacuum created by the war in neighboring Vietnam. What followed was a bloodbath.

Out of a population of slightly more than 7 million, the Khmer Rouge is estimated to have killed between 1.7 and 2.2 million of their countrymen, targeting intellectuals first, and anyone else deemed disloyal.

Americans may know about this from the Oscar-winning 1984 film "The Killing Fields," based on New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg's account of covering the conflict with his Cambodian interpreter, Dith Pran.

But it is the uncharted future of Cambodia, as much as the past, that concerns filmmaker Robert H. Lieberman in his intimate, deeply humane documentary "Angkor Awakens: A Portrait of Cambodia." He talks to mostly English-speaking survivors of the genocide, their children and grandchildren. He talks to Cambodian and American scholars, to artists and politicians, and to former American diplomats who saw the disaster coming. He even got an interview with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia's leader since 1985, who is often called a strongman.

Two young women and a young man laugh, citing a warning they say they have all heard, in some fashion, from elders who don't otherwise speak of the killings: "If you don't learn to do this or that and the Khmer Rouge come back, you will die." They live in dread.

One woman warns that younger Cambodians, too, are "a very fragile generation," although the equalizing power of social media has given them a sense of power.

"Angkor Awakens" looks back at the genocide in its first half, with somber interviews, grim archival footage of mass graves, artistic renderings and Cambodian-style shadow puppetry. The effect is always disturbing and occasionally graphic enough to make the PG-13 rating questionable.

Lieberman doesn't look too far afield for American scholars, using academics from Cornell, where he's on the physics faculty. But it is the Cambodian voices that give "Angkor Awakens" a welcome glimmer of light.

Near the end, a young woman says: "I feel we're going somewhere better, but I don't know how better."

---

Three stars. Rated PG-13. Contains footage, photos, artistic renderings and verbal descriptions of mass murder, torture, gravesites and human remains. In English and some Khmer with subtitles. 85 minutes.

Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time.

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Home renovations you do yourself can either come out amazing or be a total wreck, but one Kingwood man gives us hope in successfully finishing that DIY project we have on our plate.

John Altic is a real estate company owner who previously flipped houses himself and he used his years of self-taught experience to treat himself to the ultimate, Pinterest-worthy man cave he's dubbed, "The Lounge."

LOCAL INSPIRATION: Kitchen makeover inspiration from Houston homes

He transformed his 360-square-foot single-car garage into an epic room with dark wood floors, custom cabinets, brick accents and dozens of liquor bottles.

"Normally when I do other projects I talk to my wife, but on this one, I didn't," Altic told Chron.com. "I just showed her some Pinterest ideas and she wasn't quite picking up what I was putting down, but after a while, she realized that it's going to happen."

What was once a typical garage, Altic transformed the room - with the help of DIY books and YouTube videos. The space features in part an accent brick wall, an under-the-counter dehydrator for beef jerky, a built-in ice machine, a 170-bottle wine fridge, a separate heat and air unit and donated liquor bottles.

When all was said and done, the project ended up costing somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000, " not including the liquor," Altic told Chron.com. "I will say that a lot of my buddies have been donating to the liquor stock. I'm mainly a wine drinker, but when people come over I want them to have whatever they want."

DO IT YOURSELF? Pinterest DIY fails that make us cringe

Along with the cost, Altic also invested about a year of his time working on giving the space a facelift, though he was just working on it during the weekends and occasional late nights.

While it does scream "man cave" with its dark wood, brick and leather features, Altic says his two daughters probably spend more time in the room than he does.

Altic's DIY projects aren't stopping anytime soon. During Easter weekend, he built a treehouse with his oldest daughter during the holiday weekend. He is currently four weeks into rehabbing his daughter's bathroom, as well.

Thanks to the inspiration of Pinterest and homes he's given tours in, Altic was able to create his version of an epic man cave, which he has nicknamed "The Lounge." To see The Lounge before, during and after renovation, click through the slideshow. Continue clicking to see some Pinterest-inspired projects that didn't end as well as Altic's in the gallery above, too.

INSPIRATION: 20 kitchens that will make you want to start remodeling today
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For decades, the late Troy attorney Lambert Ginsberg would tackle any case  offering broad expertise in a field that is becoming increasingly specialized.

"Whatever the nature of the case was, he did not shy away from them," said attorney Stewart Jones Jr. "He brought a breadth of ability and intellect in the practice of law that is increasingly unusual because of the specialization of our profession."

Ginsberg died Sunday at home at 89, just days after working a typical day at Pattison, Sampson, Ginsberg & Griffin law firm, where he's been senior partner since 1986.

Edward "Ebbie" Pattison, who Ginsberg replaced when Pattison died, also continued to practice law until a few weeks prior to his death.

"I suppose my father wanted to outdo him," Ginsberg's son, Michael Ginsberg, and now managing partner at the same firm, said Monday.

Lambert Ginsberg represented many local nonprofits, and his areas of practice ranged from banking, real estate and education law to estate planning and administration and litigation.

"I think that type of lawyering and that type of lawyer is becoming increasingly extinct," said Jones. "Lambert will not be able to be replaced."

Some of Ginsberg's notable accomplishments with the more than 200-year-old firm included legal work associated with construction of RPI's EMPAC building and the college's biotech center.

Ginsberg was known for his thorough work, and his son described him as "diligent to a fault."

"He was my partner, my mentor and my friend," Michael Ginsberg said. "I credit him with my successes, my work ethic and his instilling in me the necessity as an attorney of producing only top quality work and the requirement for attention to detail."

Michael Ginsberg recalled a time as a young attorney trying a case with his father over a breach of contract related to a software company.

"At the end of the trial, he came up to me about my closing, and he said that was 'one of the finest closing arguments that I've heard,'" the son said. "'I'm so proud of you, and you have a bright future in this business.' That always resonated with me."

Lambert Ginsberg graduated from Mount Pleasant High in Thornwood, earned his bachelor's degree at Union College and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1953. He was a member of the American, Rensselaer County, Schenectady County and state bar associations as well as the state Trial Lawyers Association and the Federal Bar Council.

He was also director of the Mohawk-Hudson Community Foundation, St. Claire's Hospital Foundation and Schenectady Legal Aid Society.

afries@timesunion.com  518-454-5353  @mandy_fries
Washington

What once was shaping up as bare-cupboard exercise in government cuts is now, relatively speaking, a cup-runneth-over cornucopia of spending that New York's lawmakers are hailing as a budgetary breakthrough.

The federal budget compromise that lawmakers concluded Sunday keeps the government in operation through September. It does not include many of President Donald Trump's signature campaign themes, including building a U.S.-Mexico border wall and defunding Planned Parenthood.

Instead, the agreement provides funding for areas that Trump eschewed, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Arts, and grants for "sanctuary cities."

For New York, the agreement includes a $2 million boost in the spending cap for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, as well as potential money for stream gauges to defend against flooding and for Head Start, transportation grants and equipment for firefighters.

Also, it funds close to $3 billion nationwide in water infrastructure projects for rehabilitating antiquated drinking water and sewer lines.

"Having effective water and sewer systems is critical to public health and helping New York towns and villages grow and prosper," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.

It also increases funds for fighting opioid abuse, which has wreaked havoc especially in rural communities upstate. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration gets a $35 million increase to address opioid and heroin addiction.

New York got more than $111 million in the last two years for anti-opioid outreach and treatment through SAMHSA grants.

Also, Amtrak is spared steep cuts that would have forced it to end service to smaller cities and towns nationwide. And there is $68 million for improved highway rail crossings and Positive Train Control, the satellite-relay technology aimed at bringing out-of-control trains to a halt.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, a conservative who has said she will buck Republican leadership if she thinks her North Country district's interests are threatened, praised the agreement.

"The just-announced government funding bill contains many important initiatives I have fought for on a range of issues," Stefanik said in a statement, citing money for Great Lakes restoration, the Community Development Block Grant Program, Pell education grants and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

"I will continue to discuss this legislation with my colleagues and constituents as it comes before the House for a vote," she said.

dan@hearstdc.com
Albany

An Albany Common Council vote on updating the city's outdated zoning code was postponed Monday due to a "technical issue" related to scheduling.

Council President Carolyn McLaughlin said there was a possibility that not enough prior notification was given to the public for the council's Planning, Economic Development and Land Use Committee meeting on April 26, which discussed the city's ReZone Albany document.

The council opted to wait so residents and council members can better review the changes, McLaughlin said.

"There is no financial impact of withholding it" a few more weeks, she said.

The council was expected to vote Monday on the 300-plus page ReZone Albany document with additional changes and a provision that would have an inclusionary housing policy taking effect later this year, but after conferring with city Corporation Counsel, city lawmakers decided to hold the vote at the next council meeting, May 15.

The state Open Meetings Law requires at least a 72-hour advance notice of meetings scheduled at least one week ahead of time.

Another planning committee meeting will be held May 10. A time will be determined at a later date, McLaughlin said.

City officials have said the citywide rezoning better aligns with existing use of properties and incorporates plans for the future. It also ends what has become zoning by variance, with property owners routinely having to seek exceptions to the city's complicated network of rules for building, which officials have said stifles development.

McKownville resident Carol Waterman, who has expressed her opposition to the proposed rezone of Sandidge Way, formerly Loughlin Street, questioned the city's proper notification of the committee meeting.

"I believe that was illegally held, which calls into question this meeting," she said.

The rezoning of Sandidge Way from single-family residential to multifamily residential village would have been part of the citywide rezone changes had the council taken a vote Monday. The change would allow for a proposed 173-unit apartment complex to be constructed off of Fuller Road behind the SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Albany resident Vincent Rigosu also called into question the changes being made Monday night shortly before the vote and the regular meeting starting late.

During caucus, additional amendments and changes to ReZone Albany were discussed, causing the council meeting to start 45 minutes late.

A final draft of the rezone, also known as the Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance, was unveiled by Mayor Kathy Sheehan on March 6.

Albany has been working on revisions to the zoning code, which hasn't been updated since 1968, for nearly three years, collecting input along the way from developers, elected officials and residents.

afries@timesunion.com  518-454-5353  @mandy_fries
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Laredos City Council voted late Monday to hire an outside attorney to assist the city in avoiding a situation similar to what occurred last week.

Last Wednesday, the FBI executed search warrants in several city and county departments, including all of City Hall, to collect documents relating to contracts with Dannenbaum Engineering, a civil engineering firm that has secured several high-profile contracts with Laredo and Webb County.

The news spread swiftly across the state, as Dannenbaum offices in Houston, San Antonio and McAllen were searched by the FBI as well.

Things are different

After dealing with the fallout from last week, Mayor Pete Saenz on Monday proposed hiring outside counsel to help the city avoid any further pitfalls.

The fact that the FBI came to our city and basically interrupted our operations  I feel it has to have an impact, Saenz said. Things are different. Things have changed.

Acting City Attorney Kristina Hale noted that taxpayers cannot pay for an outside attorney to represent specific council members. Saenz clarified that this counsel would be hired to help assess the roles of the city manager, council, the city attorney and staff.

READ MORE: 'Target subjects' identified in public corruption probe

Theres the element of public trust. I would think that they would want to see specific steps by us to bring in someone from the outside, Saenz said.

Councilman George Altgelt introduced the idea that this outside counsel could be used to usher in a whole new set of rules for City Council, reworking how they deal with lobbyists, contractors and vendors. Right now, as long as there is no quorum, these interactions do not need to be on the record.

This would also set up future iterations of City Council so that they do not have to go through something like what the city experienced last week, Altgelt said.

RELATED: Photos: FBI agents raid offices, government buildings across Texas in statewide probe

Councilman Vidal Rodriguez was the only council member to vote against the motion. He did not want to burden the taxpayers with paying for an outside attorney on something that they should deal with individually, he said.

We dont need extra counsel to tell us whats right or wrong. Its in our conscience, Rodriguez said.

Several members of the public came forth to agree on this point.
Chinese diplomats threw protocol and respect out the window when they loudly disrupted a welcome ceremony at an international conference in Australia, sparking sharp rebuke from other foreign diplomats.

Australia kickstarted an international meeting on conflict diamonds (the Kimberley Process) on Monday with an indigenous-themed welcome ceremony. It was supposed to be a nice touch to give its international visitors a quintessentially Aussie welcome, but the official Chinese delegation had other plans.

As a senior Australian official began to introduce the ceremony and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, the Chinese delegation hijacked the microphone and loudly interrupted. They were incensed a Taiwanese delegation was invited to the four-day meeting in Perth, and wouldn't let the task of combating conflict diamonds get in the way of that.

And the dust-up didn't stop there. African delegations aligned with China loudly interrupted another panel later in the day, prompting Australia to scrap the panel altogether.

"It was disgusting," one high-level Australian attendee told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It was extraordinary, so uncalled for and so inappropriate, and so disrespectful."

The Chinese delegation was incensed over Australia inviting the Taiwan-based "Rough Diamond Trading Entity of Chinese Taipei" to the Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting.

Australia chairs the Kimberley Process this year, a position that rotates annually. The Kimberley Process, the international partnership between governments and the diamond industry, aims to end the global trade of so-called "conflict diamonds" that bankroll violence in resource-rich, war-torn countries.

China doesn't recognize Taiwan's independence; it still views the island as a rogue state that illegally seceded. International conferences with both sides in attendance try to skirt this diplomatic landmine by inviting representatives from the Taiwanese "economy" rather than the country, or referring to Taiwanese delegations as "Chinese Taipei."

That evidently didn't mollify the angry delegation from Beijing this time. The continual disruptions prompted the Australians to quietly force the Taiwanese delegation to leave.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it raised the incident with the Chinese government, the Morning Herald reported. "Continual disruption to the proceedings in the opening session was regrettable and the Australian government's concerns with respect to the behaviour of Chinese delegates have been raised with the Chinese ambassador," a DFAT spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for the Chinese consulate in Perth said "the head of the Chinese delegation expressed high respect for the traditional owners of the land" and the Taiwanese delegation withdrew from the meeting "after consultations."

Beijing has always been sensitive about Taiwan's recognition as a sovereign country, but it's been more so in recent months after President Donald Trump temporarily mulled scrapping Washington's "One China" policy in the month after his election.

Australia, like the United States, ascribes to the "One China" policy, whereby it recognizes Beijing as the "only" China but still maintains strong unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

For years, Canberra's been seeking to balance its economic ties to China with its traditional security ties to countries like the United States and Japan. Juggling the Taiwan issue with an increasingly emboldened Beijing will just make that diplomatic dance all the trickier.
TOKYO - The government plans to strengthen support for foreigners seeking jobs in Japanese companies, according to sources.

Envisaged measures include working with the private sector to secure human resources from India, where capable information technology personnel are plentiful, to compete with major U.S. IT companies and other entities vying for such personnel.

According to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, Japan has a shortage of about 130,000 IT security personnel and about 15,000 advanced IT experts. The government has therefore found it necessary to increase support for foreign workers.

India has attracted worldwide attention as a valuable source of human resources in the IT field, with the Indian Institutes of Technology producing top-quality workers. Major U.S. IT companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, are currently working to secure human resources from India.

The measures target people with certain skills in IT and other fields, with the government and companies coordinating to help such people find jobs. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to provide Indian universities and other entities with information on job opportunities at Japanese companies and hold job seminars in India to support people seeking employment in Japan.

The government has also started providing job assistance to foreign people who have moved to Japan as well as foreign students who want to work in Japan.

In March, the labor ministry began offering counseling services in foreign languages at HelloWork offices across the nation. Counseling services are available in a number of languages in addition to English, including Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
McDonald's should be investigated for gouging franchisees on rents and deceiving them about how the amounts are calculated, a labor union said in letters to two attorneys general.

The biggest U.S. fast-food chain collected more than $3 billion in rent from franchisees in the country in 2015, more than a third of its U.S. revenue that year, the Service Employees International Union said Tuesday in a statement.

The rents are calculated in a secretive process that violates state law in California and Illinois, said the union, known as SEIU. That's making it harder for the franchisees to pay higher wages, the union said.

The labor group asked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to subpoena McDonald's for information about how it calculates rents, as well as any documents about undisclosed or hidden franchisee costs.

"McDonald's is luring potential franchisees into paying rents that far exceed industry norms, all while reassuring them that everything is appropriate and nothing unusual is taking place," SEIU said in the complaint.

McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, didn't immediately respond to an email sent to the company's press office.

McDonald's requires franchisees to lease their restaurants from the company, with rent eating up an average of about 10.7 percent of sales, according to the letters. SEIU contends that the fast-food chain's rate of return on its real estate ranges from 10.5 percent to 19.3 percent -- between double and triple the industry average of 5.9 percent.

McDonald's returns compared to its competitors' cast doubt "on the company's claims that its base rent generates merely an appropriate return on real estate investments," the union said.

SEIU, which has clashed with McDonald's over increases to the minimum wage, said its findings are based on an analysis of publicly available franchising documents and a survey that the union conducted of 267 current and former McDonald's franchisees.

The hamburger chain's disclosures to franchisees about their rent costs are inaccurate and misleading because they don't disclose the rent formula as required under state laws, the union said.

McDonald's rent income is no surprise since its first chief executive officer, Harry Sonneborn, told investment analysts that the company "was in the real estate business, not the hamburger business," according to the letters.

"McDonald's real estate system is similar today to what Sonneborn devised 50 years ago," SEIU said.
JERUSALEM - As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepares for his first meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, the Arab leader and his advisers are expressing a kind of optimism not heard in years.

The Palestinians are saying they think Trump might be the one - with the right mix of bombast and unpredictability - to restart peace negotiations with Israel with the aim of securing Palestinian borders, a capital and a state.

It is an unusual moment because hope is not in abundant supply in the Middle East these days.

Most Israelis and Palestinians tell pollsters that they have low expectations for any change. Israel's military occupation of the West Bank turns 50 years old in June, and Trump has called a possible Palestinian-Israeli accord "the toughest deal in the world."

Similarly, former U.S. peace negotiators in Washington and their Israeli counterparts in Jerusalem say conditions are not right for a renewal of talks.

"There's incredibly low expectations" for the Trump-Abbas meeting, said David Makovsky, a former negotiator and scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

"There's no context for a grand deal," he said. Makovsky said neither Trump's base nor the Jewish American community seems to be pushing for new talks.

But Abbas and his aides insist that movement is possible and say Trump just might be able to make headway.

Nine months of peace talks under then-Secretary of State John Kerry broke down amid bitter recriminations by Israelis and Palestinians in April 2014.

Since then, there was a year-long spike in violence by lone-wolf-style Palestinian assailants armed with knives and family cars, leading to tough countermeasures by Israeli security forces.

Abbas told Japanese reporters last month that he is prepared to hold a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington "under the patronage of President Trump."

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump said: "I want to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians. There is no reason there's not peace between Israel and the Palestinians - none whatsoever."

Trump sent former real estate attorney-turned-Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, to Jerusalem and Ramallah in March to explore the possibilities. Greenblatt got good marks from both sides. Trump also named his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as his point man for making peace in the Middle East.

In March, Trump met with Netanyahu at the White House, where administration officials pushed for constraint on the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, on land the Palestinians want for a future state. Those talks ended with no firm agreement. There are about 400,000 Jewish settlers living the West Bank on land they say was promised to them by history and God.

By the end of the Obama administration, Palestinian leaders had moved away from seeing Washington as the key to a peace deal, emphasizing instead their campaign to "internationalize" the Palestinian quest for statehood, through U.N. resolutions and a symbolic gathering of world diplomats in Paris.

Trump has spoken with Abbas on the telephone. The meeting Wednesday will be their first face-to-face.

Abbas, 82, is not known for his oratory or sparkle, in public or private. He is often guarded and does not hold news conferences or tweet. He is unpopular among his own people, who question his legitimacy. Palestinian elections are years overdue.

But Abbas and his circle want to hear what Trump has to say. "We are glad that now the U.S. administration listens about us from us, and not from third parties," Abbas told the Japanese daily.

Jibril Rajoub, a top Palestinian official and a leader of the dominant Fatah political party, told The Washington Post on Monday: "We are very optimistic. I was in the States recently, and I was told this conflict is a priority issue for President Trump and he is serious to engage and have the ultimate deal."

Rajoub added: "From our side we will cooperate with President Trump. We believe that he is not in the pocket of anyone, except the American people." Trump's "America first" policy extends to national security, "which means settling the core of the conflict in the Middle East," he said.

The new chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Husam Zomlot, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last week: "When you have a president who from Day One commits himself to peace, and invests time and effort in reaching a solution, that's the definition of a historic opportunity."

"President Trump has the political capital, the relationships with all the parties involved, and the will to actually achieve this goal," Zomlot said.

Since taking office, Trump has met with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israel's Netanyahu.

Some administration officials have pressed for a regionwide push to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a grand bargain that would give the Palestinians a clear road to statehood in exchange for the moderate Arab states' public recognition of Israel.

Netanyahu often says he is prepared to meet Abbas anywhere, anytime, without preconditions - before listing his preconditions: that Abbas must recognize not only Israel, which Abbas has done, but Israel as "the Jewish state." Abbas has been reluctant to do so, in part because more than 20 percent of the Israeli population consists of Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

Today, Israel and its congressional supporters are urging Trump to push Abbas to stop social welfare payments that the Palestinian Authority makes to the families of Palestinian prisoners and assailants, either wounded or killed by Israeli forces during terrorist attacks.

This would be hard for Abbas because prisoners and "martyrs" are almost unassailable in Palestinian society. The issue has become even thornier since one of Abbas's main rivals, Marwan Barghouti, and hundreds of other prisoners began a hunger strike more than two weeks ago. Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court of five counts of murder and membership in a terrorist organization.

Abbas is also hemmed in by the Islamist militant movement Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

If Trump asks Abbas if he speaks for the Palestinians in Gaza, his answer might be a muddle.

Abbas has been fighting with rival Hamas over payments to government workers in Gaza, security arrangements, taxes and who should pay to keep the lights on in the economically crippled enclave.

This week, Hamas issued a policy document, a kind of addendum of its hard-line anti-Jewish founding charter. The new document states for the first time an apparent acceptance of an interim Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders, without recognizing Israel. Some see a softening of Hamas positions, to stay relevant. Israel called it propaganda from a terrorist organization.

Dennis Ross, a longtime U.S. peace negotiator, said at a panel Monday in Washington that after 30 years, "I can safely say that we are at a low ebb."

He said, "There's complete disbelief on both sides in an ultimate deal."

---

Sufian Taha in Ramallah contributed to this report.
From a single species of plant comes many teas. The tea tree, a shrub called Camellia sinensis, produces white, green, black and oolong teas. The tea's destiny is a matter of variables. The final drink reflects the tea cultivar, the growing environment and how the leaves are processed - dried, crushed, steamed, blended. Farmers pluck "baby" leaves, as one Snapple commercial put it in the mid-2000s, to begin making white tea.

And yet scientists in China, South Korea and the United States say there is another way to further tea's potential, beyond altering the dirt or the stages of harvest or processing.

DNA analysis could lead to "a more diversified set of tea flavors" by tracing the genes responsible for taste, according to Lizhi Gao, a botany professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Kunming Institute of Botany. He and colleagues have completed the "first high-quality" genome of the tea tree shrub, published this week in the journal Molecular Plant.

The plant took five years to analyze, thanks to the sheer number of DNA sequences involved. "The tea tree genome is extremely large," Gao wrote in an email to The Washington Post - counting 3 billion base pairs, about four times the size of coffee's genome.

Of hot and invigorating drinks, coffee gets most of the buzz, at least in the United States: This country is home to 140 million daily coffee drinkers and the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, and Americans consume more coffee than people anywhere else. Researchers sequenced the genome of robusta coffee in 2014, hinting at a future of genetically modified coffees, as The Post reported at the time. Scientists followed up with the arabica coffee genome in January.

Monday marked the tea tree's turn. It was a long time coming. Dried plants, recently found in a Chinese mausoleum, revealed that emperors in the Han Dynasty enjoyed tea 2,100 years ago, possibly as part of a soup. The sovereigns were onto something. Today, 3 billion people drink tea, and by one estimate, for every mug of coffee consumed on the planet, humans drink three cups of tea.

Gao and his colleagues had to churn through the tea tree's huge levels of retrotransposons. These repeated DNA sequences, about 80 percent of the tea genome, duplicated themselves into the genome again and again over 50 million years of tea tree evolution. "It is a mystery why retrotransposon sequences are abundant in this plant but not in another," Gao said.

But the researchers were most interested not in size but in the way tea produces tasty molecules. "The tea-processing industries in tea-drinking countries, especially in China, have developed numerous tea products with diverse tea flavor," Gao said. But processing techniques alone aren't enough, he said. Tea also depends on developing new plant varieties, containing unique combinations of flavorful molecules.

Three types of chemicals are most responsible for tea's taste. One is an amino acid only found in tea, called l-theanine, which in the last decade has been added to drinks that promote focus and concentration. (Such focus drinks are of dubious efficacy and lack supporting research.)

The second type of chemical is a class of flavonoid, or plant pigment molecule, called catechins. The third is caffeine, which evolved in tea independently of cacao and coffee, akin to the way both sea turtles and dolphins evolved flippers separately.

There are several theories as to why plants produce caffeine. Caffeine at high doses is a natural pesticide. But at low doses, as in some nectars, it may be giving insects a memorable jolt. Caffeine was one tool in tea's repertoire of "disease defense and environmental stress tolerance" methods to help it adapt globally to diverse habitats, Gao said.

The tea genome answered a question the scientist had long pondered: Why can't we make tea from close Camelliasinensis cousins, such as the tea oil plant Camelliaoleifera?

It turns out that C. oleifera and its 100 other Camellia relatives do not produce high amounts of the caffeine or catechin family of genes. (Caffeine and catechins are not proteins but secondary metabolites, which means many genes are required to construct them.) Put another way, Gao said, the expression levels of caffeine- and catechin-related genes "determines the tea processing suitability."

The chief horticulturist at Britain's Royal Horticultural Society, Guy Barter, said plant breeders would welcome this work. "Once you understand the basis for the flavors and the processing quality of the tea, you can then have genetic markers that breeders can look for when trying to produce new varieties," he told the BBC.
Yale.

Yale.

Yale.

And . . .

Yeah, it's Yale.

Four quadruplet brothers from Ohio revealed Monday that they will all attend Yale University, following an impressive round of acceptances from top colleges across the country.

Nick, Nigel, Zach and Aaron Wade of Liberty Township, Ohio, were accepted at both Harvard and Yale, as well as several other top universities. Nick got into Duke and Georgetown. Aaron could count Stanford among his options. Zach was accepted at Cornell, and Nigel at Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt. And that doesn't even cover the full list.

Ultimately, though, all four decided to accept Yale's offer, according to NBC News, which reported the brothers' choice Monday. Nick Wade confirmed the decision to The Washington Post with an email that said: "We're all heading to Yale!"

"Yale won," their father, Darrin Wade, told NBC. "They made the best offer, and it was the benchmark for my sons."

The four teens, who previously showed The Post digital copies of admission letters and notifications, attend Lakota East High School, about 30 miles from Cincinnati.

"The outcome has shocked us," Aaron Wade told The Post in April. "We didn't go into this thinking, 'Oh, we're going to apply to all these schools and get into all of them.' It wasn't so much about the prestige or so much about the name as it was - it was important that we each find a school where we think that we'll thrive and where we think that we'll contribute."

NBC reports that financial aid played a role in the siblings' decision. Via the network: Yale offered all four brothers from Liberty Township, Ohio, an "extraordinary" financial aid package, which no other college could beat.

According to the network, Aaron struggled with his choice. He told NBC that he visited Stanford and loved the school.

"But at the end of the day, Yale made sense logistically - and it's an amazing school," Aaron told NBC. "I don't regret my decision even though right now it kind of feels like a sacrifice."

Darrin Wade works for General Electric, while his wife, Kim, is a school principal. The couple, who were initially told that they were expecting twins, have been thinking about this for some time, Darrin Wade said this year.

"I remember they were doing an ultrasound, and they said, 'Mr. Wade, you better sit down.' I said, 'What's going on?' They said, 'There's not two. There's four,' " Wade said. "It was really at that point in time that I tried to figure out how we're going to pay for school."

More than 32,000 people submitted applications for the Class of 2021 at Yale, according to the university's website. The university admitted fewer than 2,500.

This isn't the first time that the prestigious institution has admitted quadruplets, though. A few years ago, Kenny, Martina, Ray and Carol Crouch earned slots at the university. All four of those quadruplets also selected Yale, according to The New York Times.

"Honestly, to have one child from a family be accepted to a school like this is amazing," Zach Wade told The Post earlier this year. "But for all four to be accepted - I just don't, I don't know how it happened."
President Donald Trump has appointed Daniel Simmons, a conservative scholar who sharply questioned the value of promoting renewable energy sources and curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, to oversee the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), according to an email distributed to department employees.

The selection marks one of several recent Trump appointments to top energy and environmental posts, which appear to repudiate the Obama administration's policies aimed at shifting the nation to low-carbon sources of electricity. Last week, Trump nominated David Bernhardt, a lobbyist who served at the Interior Department under George W. Bush, as Interior's deputy secretary. And Alex Herrgott, who had served as majority deputy staff director at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has joined the White House Council on Environmental Quality to serve as associate director for infrastructure.

Though no official announcement has been made, the acting head of the office, Steve Chalk, sent an email to DOE employees Monday saying that Simmons, a member of the Trump transition team, will become the principal deputy assistant secretary for EERE. Simmons will serve as acting assistant secretary until someone is confirmed by the Senate for the post, Chalk added. "Daniel has been with us through the transition and we look forward to his continued leadership and insights moving forward," Chalk wrote.

Simmons' appointment was first reported by E&E News.

EERE's primary mission is to foster the development of renewable and energy-efficient technologies. That includes investments in electric vehicles; solar, geothermal and wind energy; and technologies to reduce energy use in U.S. buildings.

Before Trump was elected, Simmons served as vice president for policy at the Institute for Energy Research, a conservative think tank that espouses fossil fuel use and opposes the international climate agreement that nearly 200 countries struck in Paris in late 2015. The institute's president, Thomas Pyle, headed the transition team for the Energy Department but has returned to his post in the private sector.

Testifying before Congress in July, Simmons criticized federal financial support for the Ivanpah power plant, an industrial-scale solar plant in California's Mojave Desert.

"It is unseemly that the American taxpayer has contributed billions of dollars to these facilities," Simmons said of the project, which is sponsored by Google and other private companies.

In a 2013 podcast with the Heartland Institute, a libertarian public policy think tank, Simmons argued that pursuing renewable energy could harm people's pocketbooks.

"The most simple of all points is that no matter what the renewable guys say, what they will admit is that their type of power - the wind and solar - is more expensive and will increase the price of electricity," he said. "And in an economy that is struggling, it is critical that we do everything we can to keep prices low."

At a Politico energy forum last year, he was direct about his disdain for federal subsidies for renewable energy.

"I think that everything should be treated equally across the board," Simmons said. "We have to look at the track record of the oil and gas industry [which is] producing low-cost, reliable energy, particularly when the alternative is much, much higher prices."

Simmons' appointment is likely to spark criticism from the same environmentalists who were quick to decry Bernhardt's nomination. In his capacity as a partner at Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck, Bernhardt represented oil and gas firms, mining companies and agricultural interests.

"Appointing a lobbyist like Bernhardt shows just how empty Donald Trump's promise to drain the swamp was," said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group. "From Scott Pruitt to Bernhardt, President Trump has assembled the most anti-environmental administration in history."

Herrgott's appointment, by contrast, is likely to be less controversial. While Herrgott worked for Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who has been a leading skeptic of climate science and an opponent of Obama administration plans to cut carbon emissions, he also worked with union officials and Democrats on the Hill to help ensure passage of key infrastructure measures, such as the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and the 2016 reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act.

Americans for Transportation Mobility executive director Ed Mortimer, whose U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led group is made up of both business and labor interests, praised Herrgott's selection.

"The ATM coalition is glad to see someone like Alex, who has experience with and an understanding of transportation issues, join the administration as it gears up to formulate a plan to modernize America's infrastructure." Mortimer said in a statement.

---

Staff writer Chris Mooney contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for a government shutdown later this year and suggested the Senate might need to prohibit future filibusters, threatening to fracture Washington's basic underpinnings to make progress on his legislative goals.

His latest outbursts - no sitting president has called for the government to be shut down like this - could cast a shadow over how Congress approaches numerous bills this year. Trump wants Congress to overhaul the tax code, approve a $1 trillion infrastructure package and raise or suspend the debt ceiling before the government begins falling behind on its obligations.

He has made little legislative progress in any of these areas, and he is on the verge of being dealt another stinging defeat as House Republicans splinter on a health-care bill for the second time in recent weeks. Trump's new threats suggest he will jettison attempts at compromise and instead use the bombastic partisan warfare he employed during his campaign.

The threats come after White House officials said they were furious at what they viewed as gloating by Democrats over the terms of a short-term spending bill that funds government operations through Sept. 30. In morning Twitter posts, Trump said he had to make concessions because Senate rules require 60 votes to pass legislation and Republicans control only 52 seats in the 100-seat chamber.

He wrote that Republicans needed to pick up more seats in the 2018 midterm elections or consider changing filibuster rules so that the Senate's minority party cannot block bills.

"Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!" he wrote.

Trump could easily trigger a partial government shutdown in October, by directing Republicans not to negotiate with Democrats or by refusing to sign a spending bill that Congress sends him for approval.

White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Tuesday that Congress needs to return to the practice of passing one-year appropriations bills and sending them to the White House for approval, not continuing the recent practice of lurching from one stopgap spending bill to the next.

"This is a change-agent president, and he's going to change Washington, D.C.," Mulvaney said. "And if it takes a shutdown, that's what it's going to take."

Mulvaney added, though, that a shutdown was not "desirable," seeming to break with the president.

Mulvaney plans to release a full-scale budget in mid-May that is supposed to help lawmakers craft their 2018 budgets. He said he wants work on those spending bills to begin immediately.

Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University, said Trump's threat of a shutdown was "totally, totally, totally" unprecedented.

He said the threat, coupled with talk of changing filibuster rules, was typical of Trump's approach.

"Really what he's talking about is destroying congressional procedures to get his way," Naftali said. "When he's losing, he likes to flip the game board."

The White House did win numerous concessions during the recent negotiations with Congress over the stopgap spending bill. Democrats agreed, for example, to $1.5 billion in new money for border security and roughly $21 billion in new defense spending, two of Trump's top priorities. But, Mulvaney said, Democrats tried to "spike the football" because they blocked new funding for a wall along the Mexico border.

Despite the White House's frustration, Trump's suggestion that spending bills should be able to pass with a simple majority was quickly dismissed by numerous top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

And Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was "deeply disappointed" in Trump's calls for a shutdown.

"It is truly a shame that the president is degrading it because he didn't get 100 percent of what he wanted," Schumer said. He went on to quote a Rolling Stones song to make his point, adding, "You can't always get what you want."

Trump's attacks Tuesday illustrate how he continues to take a defiant stand with Congress more than 100 days after taking office.

Top White House officials are hopeful that he can reach a deal with lawmakers to overhaul the tax code later this year, but budget rules will make that difficult without Democratic support. Democrats have so shown no willingness to accept the large-scale tax cuts that Trump proposed last week, imperiling another of his campaign promises.

Sensing how difficult it is to cobble together legislative support, Trump in recent weeks has openly floated numerous approaches to build a political coalition. He has said he wants to package his tax plan with his infrastructure plan, package his health-care plan with his infrastructure plan, pursue his health-care plan first, pursue his tax plan first, and pursue them separately but at the same time.

The last government shutdown, in 2013 when Republicans controlled Congress, lasted more than two weeks. During that partial shutdown, the Obama administration said that at one point 850,000 federal employees were placed on "furlough," or leave without pay. Many other federal employees continued to work but were not paid until the shutdown ended. In total, the furloughs accounted for 6.6 million days of lost work. The lost productivity cost the government $2 billion, the Obama White House said at the time.

Diplomatic meetings were canceled, and U.S. officials largely stopped traveling to conferences and events across the country. The processing of tax returns slowed, and many agencies begin operating with much smaller staffs.

Many government functions, such as law enforcement and national security, continued, but national parks closed and economists say there was a sizable impact on the economy, particularly in the Washington area.

Once government shutdowns end, the federal employees are typically repaid for the time they were on furlough.

Many lawmakers from both parties agree that the way the government funds its operations is broken and does not allow agencies to plan or prioritize. But the stopgap system has remained in place because lawmakers have a hard time agreeing on spending levels for different programs. Steve Bell, a Republican former staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, said Trump's call to shut down the government over the problem was merited and could lead to a breakthrough.

"I don't know anything other than a really dramatic statement that could fix this," he said.

But Republican Judd Gregg, a former senator from New Hampshire, said Trump was finally coming to grips with the major differences between finding success in Washington compared with the business world.

"I get the sense they are beginning to realize this isn't like building a building or opening a golf course," Gregg said of the White House. "This is high politics, not high-rise buildings, and the process is entirely different. The motivation is entirely different."

Former senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota and like Gregg an ex-chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Trump's call for a shutdown shows how he refuses to adjust to his role as president.

"We really need a president to reach higher and to set a positive tone of responsible leadership," Conrad said. "That's what the country desperately needs."
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's choice to be ambassador to China pledged Tuesday to leverage a personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping to convince China that it is risking its own security if it fails to prevent a nuclear crisis with North Korea.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) is expected to win confirmation and could be on the job in Beijing by the end of the month. He faced Senate questioning about the Trump administration's shifting priorities in dealing with a country Trump had accused of "raping" the U.S. economy but now considers a crucial partner in heading off conflict with North Korea.

"It is probably the most pressing issue that we have right now," Branstad said of the effort to talk North Korea out of nuclear weapons and missile capabilities that threaten the United States and its allies.

"I want to do everything I can to be a go-between between our two countries to help convince the leadership in China that it's in their interest to work together to stop this dangerous direction that is coming out of North Korea," Branstad told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Branstad placed the complex and shifting U.S. relationship with China in personal and folksy terms. He said that although he has known Xi for more than 30 years and considers him a friend, he would not hesitate to challenge him on behalf of the United States.

He said little about Trump's turnabout on China since his bristling campaign rhetoric blaming China for stealing American jobs and manipulating its currency to harm U.S. business. Branstad pledged to respect the "one China" policy governing U.S. policy toward Taiwan and criticized Chinese military activity in disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Although concerns over North Korea dominated, senators also asked about the new administration's commitment to human rights, religious freedom and prosecuting the theft of intellectual property.

Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., opened the confirmation hearing on a contentious note, accusing China of "outright theft" of American intellectual property as well as "discriminatory trade and investment practices."

Branstad got no hostile questions at his confirmation hearing and won praise from some of the panel's Democrats.

"There really is not an option for a military first strike by the United States," Sen Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., told Branstad. "We really are faced with changing their calculation in North Korea so they take action to eliminate this threat. Which takes China."

China is responsible for 90 percent of North Korean trade and is the reclusive regime's most important ally.

Branstad did not dispute allegations from senators of both parties that China has undermined U.N. efforts to rein in North Korea by looking the other way as the country skirts economic sanctions.

Branstad said additional sanctions on Chinese firms or other entities might be appropriate in response to sanctions-busting, but he otherwise advocated engagement and persuasion done quietly and without confrontation.

"Their leadership is critically important to doing that," Branstad said. "It needs to be done in a way that they don't feel it threatens them."

Trump has warned China that if it cannot prevent North Korean nuclear advances, the United States will act on its own.

"China could play a critical role in convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs, a strategic policy that would boost the security of America, China and the entire world," Branstad said.

Branstad promised to "work every day to represent American values" to the Chinese leadership, including fair trade, human rights and a free press.

Branstad was chosen for one of the most important U.S. diplomatic postings because of his political loyalty and long experience with China, which is unusual among American politicians.

Branstad was an early and important Trump ally, a rare senior GOP elected official backing the businessman and outsider candidate over more experienced mainstream Republicans last year.

He also has managed the expansion of Iowa's trade with China over six terms as the state's governor while building a relationship with the man who became China's president. As a young politician, Xi visited rural Iowa in 1985, when Branstad was in his first term as governor. The two men have corresponded and visited each other's countries since, and Branstad aides say they can be frank with each other.

Trump now says he likes and appreciates the Chinese leader, whom he invited to his Florida resort for a two-day summit last month.

At a farewell dinner last week in Iowa, Branstad told state Republicans of his hopes for the job.

"I hope we can use that great first impression that we made to continue to build a relationship between our two countries for the benefit not only of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, but for all the people of the world," the Des Moines Register quoted Branstad as saying.

- - -

Video: What to know about Gov. Terry Branstad

President Trump nominated Gov. Terry Branstad (R-Iowa), to serve as ambassador to China. Here's what you need to know about him. (Sarah Parnass, Jenny Starrs / The Washington Post)

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A TV writers strike was narrowly avoided Tuesday as screenwriters and producers struck a tentative, three-year agreement.

The previous contract between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expired at midnight Pacific time. Hoping to avoid a strike that would see about 12,000 screenwriters immediately stop working, the two parties negotiated until the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Associated Press reported.

The deal requires ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America.

"The Writers Guilds of America, West and East and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have concluded negotiations and have reached a tentative agreement on terms for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement," the WGA said in a statement.

Details are scant at this time. Both parties held a media blackout during negotiations. However, former WGA president Patric Verrone told The Hollywood Reporter the deal was positive for writers.

Negotiations, mostly concerning health care and compensation, began on March 13. Last month, the WGA voted to authorize their union to call a strike.

Such a strike would have cost the California economy $200 million per week and may have triggered cord-cutting by many television watchers, as a strike's effects wouldn't be immediately noticeable on streaming services which plan their shows further in advance than major networks, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It would have likely been immediately noticeable in late night comedy television, "where daily or weekly episodes are churned out of New York or Los Angeles, with legions of writers penning jokes, monologues, and elaborate sketches," The Washington Post's Elahe Izadi reported.

The last strike spanned 100 days from November 2007 to February 2008, caused many series to have shortened seasons. It also cost the Los Angeles County economy an estimated $2.5 billion, according to the Associated Press.
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BALTIMORE - Rod J. Rosenstein had dedicated most of his career to prosecuting fraud, corruption and other white-collar crimes before he was tapped to lead the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland in 2005.

"It was a challenging time for the office," Rosenstein recalled. "Violent crime was at near-record levels in Baltimore City and had been for some time, and of course it was the post-9/11 era."

Much of his experience didn't directly align with the state's safety priorities, but he began to expand his expertise and reorganized his team to take on violent-crime challenges while holding steady on his longtime pursuit of public corruption. A Republican appointee, Rosenstein remained in the job for 12 years, through a Democratic administration.

Those management skills, the bipartisan history and his low-key, precise demeanor are what he takes now to the job of deputy attorney general under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Stephen M. Schenning will serve as Maryland's acting U.S. attorney until President Donald Trump nominates and the Senate confirms someone to permanently fill the position.

Rosenstein, 52, discussed the work he did in Maryland from his office in downtown Baltimore days before the Senate confirmed him to the second-highest-ranking position in the Justice Department. He comes to the job as the department is expected to tackle major issues including drug enforcement and mandatory minimum sentences, violent crime in cities and the high-profile investigation of Russia's ties to Trump associates during the 2016 campaign.

Rosenstein has confronted many similar issues firsthand as U.S. attorney.

In Maryland, where Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency to fight the opioid crisis, Rosenstein's office worked closely with federal and local law enforcement to target drug distributors. Overdose fatalities are now investigated as homicides, not suicides, with law enforcement searching for evidence that leads to sources and sellers.

"If you think about the traditional view, you have someone who overdosed on drugs and you'd think, 'Well, it's their own fault because they took too many drugs,' " Rosenstein said. "But if the drug that they're taking is illegal and a drug they shouldn't have had, then someone committed a crime by giving them that drug."

Since 2015, the Maryland Attorney General's Office has indicted more than 50 drug traffickers. The idea is to disrupt the supply chain to prevent further harm, particularly from a particularly powerful batch of drugs that can set off a string of overdoses, Rosenstein said.

"The opioid crisis is about people dying from the drug," Rosenstein said. "The crack wars were about people dying from bullets, largely as the result of criminal organizations warring over turf because they were trying to make money selling the drug."

Rosenstein is expected to play an important role in determining how the Justice Department handles drug charging policies and the use of mandatory minimum sentences. Sessions has indicated that his office will pursue mandatory minimums as it clamps down on gun and drug crime, possibly undoing Obama administration policies that considered such sentences discriminatory against minorities and low-level drug offenders.

In some cases in Maryland, Rosenstein said, mandatory minimums were a "valuable tool." When applied appropriately, he said, they can stop offenders from committing more crime and induce people to share information about other criminal activity.

"A career criminal is not going to be persuaded to cooperate out of some sense of patriotism," Rosenstein said. "We've had cases where people have come in and cooperated, and they might have information that allows us to resolve a dozen murders or more because they're facing a mandatory minimum."

In Baltimore, violent crime dropped 15 percent over Rosenstein's first 10 years in office.

But enforcement alone wasn't enough to address crime, he said. He also wanted the office to focus on community and direct outreach.

Borrowing an idea from Virginia, Rosenstein worked with local law enforcement and social agencies to develop a "call-in" program. Likely recidivists were brought in to speak with police and prosecutors, who gave warning lectures about the consequences of getting caught with guns. The program helped drive down shootings and homicides in the city over a six-year period, according to former federal prosecutors for Maryland.

Those attending the meetings would be connected to resources such as information on jobs or housing opportunities.

"In some cases, I felt sorry for these career criminals," Rosenstein said. "They had been repeatedly prosecuted in the state system and had gotten light sentences. When they sat down in front of our federal prosecutor," they were told, "Hey, because of your crimes and the volume of drugs you were doing and the fact that you had a gun, you're facing a mandatory sentencing of 10 to 20 years in prison in federal court."

Rosenstein's roots in public-corruption investigations reach to the days when he was one of the Whitewater prosecutors investigating Bill and Hillary Clinton's real estate dealings in Arkansas in the 1990s.

His office prosecuted former Prince George's County, Maryland, executive Jack Johnson for bribery and brought cases in a scheme in which more than a dozen Baltimore prison guards helped a notorious gang traffic drugs, launder money and order criminal activity from behind bars. More recently, his office announced the indictment of seven Baltimore police officers and the breakup of a pay-to-play scandal involving former Maryland politicians and the Prince George's liquor board.

"That has not been an accident," Rosenstein said of his focus on corruption. "It's because we've had people committed to those cases who have exceptional experience."

Before packing and leaving Baltimore, the Bethesda resident pointed out meaningful items that filled his offices: a photo of his two young daughters - now teenagers - in matching blue dresses and hair bows; an image of Rosenstein in his 20s, grinning with a chisel and hammer as he chipped away at the Berlin Wall; and framed printouts of meaningful quotations.

One he reflects on often is from a 1940 speech that U.S. Attorney General Robert H. Jackson gave describing the qualities of good prosecutors.

"The citizen's safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility," part of the passage reads.

Rosenstein said, "It means that before filing charges we should pause and ask, 'What if we are mistaken?' "
The Washington Post first-edition Page 1 for Tuesday, May 2, 2017:

Top of the page:

Cols. 1-4: Organic or not: Consumers can pay double for that milk label. But critics say big farms can skirt the rules. Developing, by Peter Whoriskey (Post). Six photos. One graphic. Moving as ORGANIC

Cols. 5-6: After their spending-bill win, Democrats confident they can block Trump's agenda. Developing, by Kelsey Snell and John Wagner (Post). Moving as SPENDING

Above the fold:

Cols. 5-6: House Republicans continue health-care push even with little hope in the Senate. Developing, by David Weigel and Paige Winfield Cunningham (Post). HEALTHCARE

Below the fold:

C0ls. 1-2: College men filing lawsuits to clear names of sex assault. 1,475 words, by T. Rees Shapiro (Post). Moved as SEXASSAULTS-MEN on April 28.

Cols. 3-6: Trump keeps praising international strongmen, alarming human rights advocates. Developing, by Philip Rucker (Post). Three photos. Moving as STRONGMEN

Bottom of page: Keys to inside stories.

Sent: 7:30 p.m. ET

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An illusion of super powers is bad enough but on top of it is Khan's by now notorious intolerance.
The staff of the Houston Chronicle on Monday won the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for articles that described how the Texas Education Agency denied special education to tens of thousands of disabled children over the past 12 years.

The seven-part investigation, written principally by reporter Brian M. Rosenthal, revealed last year that the TEA had created a little-known "benchmark" in state regulations that said the state's 1,200 school districts should strive to limit their special education enrollments to 8.5 percent of students.
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More than 50 new and expecting moms in San Antonio received a free baby box, in which their infants can safely sleep, during a Baby Box Company launch event at the DoSeum on Tuesday.

The San Antonio moms are the first in the state to receive the boxes, which will soon be available for free online to every new and expecting mom in Texas. The Texas baby boxes, made of cardboard, are decorated with pictures of bluebonnets. Moms can get a free box after completing an online education course, available through Baby Box University.

Each box comes with a foam mattress and is designed to promote safe sleeping habits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that babies sleep on their backs on a mattress covered by only a fitted sheet with no toys or bedding.

Accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed is the leading cause of accidental infant deaths in Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. And so far this year, 106 babies have died due to sharing a bed with an adult or older child, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Samantha Traverzo brought her three-month-old daughter to the event after seeing a notice about the event on Facebook. She said she took the online course Monday, which she completed in about 45 minutes to an hour between baby breaks.

I wish I wouldve known this right when I had her, it wouldve been amazing, Traverzo said. I didnt know I was doing a lot of things wrong.

She said her daughter has been sleeping in a bassinet with a cushioned blanket, which she removed after finishing the education course. She says the light-weight box will be easy to take with her to her mother-in-laws house in Killeen.

The Baby Box Companys model mirrors a service in Finland that provides every pregnant woman in the country with a free baby box after she gets prenatal care. According to the World Health Organization, the initiative contributed to a decrease in Finlands infant mortality rate.

Baby Box Company, in partnership with University Health System, Baby Education for South Texas (or B.E.S.T.), Dallas Medical Center, Dallas Regional Medical Center, Texas Childrens Health Plan and The Center for Women and Children, and Childrens Memorial Hermann Hospital, will provide 400,000 free baby boxes to new moms in Texas over the next year.

The boxes were funded by private donations and the company.

Now the big job is to make sure that everybody in the city knows about this opportunity and the education, said Dr. Sanjie Garza-Cox, a neonatologist and president of B.E.S.T.

The education continues on before delivery, during delivery and way after delivery because they talk about car seat safety and pool safety and everything else, Garza-Cox said.

Garza-Cox said B.E.S.T. is working with San Antonios six hospital systems to provide them with informational cards to give to new mothers about the program.

It can take up to several weeks for the boxes to arrive, so Garza-Cox recommends that expecting moms order them before they give birth.

bmartin@express-news.net

Twitter: @beedotmartin
The 21-year-old student suspected of stabbing four people, one fatally, at the University of Texas in Austin Monday, was involved with groups and organizations on campus and in high school.

Kendrex White, who as of 10 a.m. Tuesday had not been charged in the stabbings, was a member of the Black Health Professionals Organization at UT-Austin and was in the International Baccalaureate program at Killeen High School. Police said White stabbed four people on the UT-Austin campus around 1:50 p.m. Monday.
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Authorities in Boerne arrested two San Antonio women Friday for their alleged role in a prostitution ring based out of a massage parlor in Kendall County, according to the sheriffs office.

Jun Jones, 41, the owner of the store, faces a charge of aggravated promotion of prostitution. Meanwhile, 46-year-old employee Shuyan Li faces a charge of prostitution.
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AUSTIN -- The Texas House tentatively approved a measure Tuesday that would reduce the fee of a license to carry by $100.

The House approved the Senate version of the bill by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, which would lower the cost of a license to carry from $140 to $40, in a 111-30 vote. The bill would also cut the cost of renewal licenses from $70 to $40.

NO LICENSE: Texas legislator files bill that would allow carrying firearms without a license

House lawmakers tacked on an amendment Tuesday that would waive any licensing fees for peace officers. The measure will now face a final vote in the House before it can head back to the Senate for approval.

Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican and author of the companion House bill, called licenses for handguns "very good policy for the state." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made the bill one of his priorities for the session.

But the measure wasn't passed without some push back from Democrats. Several Democrats -- including Reps. Harold Dutton, Gene Wu, Joe Moody and Nicole Collier -- pressed King about details of the legislation and questioned why it was necessary for the state.

LOWER FEES: Senate votes to cut handgun license fees

"I'm just a little concerned that we've taken money from these necessary programs and agencies and now we're giving a break to people who want a concealed handgun license," Collier, D-Fort Worth, said on the House floor Tuesday.

The bill would become law in September if it's approved by both chambers, and then signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. It's expected to cost the state more than $21 million in the first biennium, according to the bills fiscal note.

Gun advocates also have their eye on a bill that would allow Texans to carry a handgun without a permit. House Bill 1911 by James White, R-Hillister, made it out of committee in February and is now on the House calendar. The measure would allow a person 21 or older, not convicted of a felony, to carry a handgun without a permit.

Licenses for both open and concealed carry and safety training currently required in the state would be optional under the bill.
AUSTIN  When state Rep. Charlie Geren filed a bill to ban former legislators from becoming lobbyists for two years, Hugh Brady offered another way to try to stop the revolving door.

Brady, director of the Legislative Lawyering Clinic at The University of Texas School of Law, said a prohibition on lobbying often leads to elected officials calling themselves consultants instead of registering as lobbyists. Hired by law firms with lobbyists, they pass on information to them about government opportunities such as contracting, he added.

So Brady urged Geren, a Fort Worth Republican, to amend the state Penal Code to make it a crime for ex-legislators to pass on "official information" for two years after they leave office. The penalty would be a Class A misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a $4,000 fine. Geren recently added the provision to his bill and dropped the two-year ban on former legislators from becoming lobbyists.

"What you want is to prohibit former legislators from using what they gained on the job to benefit themselves," said Brady, a former general counsel for White House administration under President Barack Obama.

The change to the bill has pitted Geren and Brady against a coalition of watchdog groups that is accusing them of gutting the measure, which is HB 504.

"We now call it the lobotomy bill because to be effective, lawmakers will need to forget what they know," said Carol Birch, legislative counsel for Public Citizen's Texas office.

Public Citizen, Clean Elections Texas, and Texans for Public Justice released a statement Monday criticizing HB 504 and three bills that the House of Representatives is scheduled to consider Tuesday.

HB 500 would revoke pensions of elected officials convicted of felonies related to their office. The three watchdog groups said the bill is undercut by a law adopted in the 2015 session that shifts prosecution of legislators from the Travis County District Attorney to the prosecutors of their home county.

HB 501 would require legislators to disclose their government contracts, bond counsel work and legal referral fees above $2,500 if they are not involved in the case. Birch said the threshold for requiring disclosure of government contracts if the ownership of a vendor is 50 percent or more is too high, and should be lowered to 5 percent or more.

HB 505 would prevent ex-legislators who become lobbyists from using their campaign accounts for two years for lobbying. But the bill wouldn't take effect until 2019 and there is no penalty for violations, Birch said.

The bills are part of Gov. Greg Abbott's call for "ethics reform," among the issues he made a priority item in his State of the State speech. An Abbott spokesman didn't return a message seeking comment.
3

Detenido por atacar a un hombre en un cajero de Gijon con patadas y una correa para perros
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By Long Island News & PR Published: May 02 2017

31 Parks in 31 Days: How Many Will You Visit?

Hauppauge, NY - May 2, 2017 - Today, Suffolk County Legislator and Parks Committee Chair, Legislator Kara Hahn (D- Today, Suffolk County Legislator and Parks Committee Chair, Legislator Kara Hahn (D- Setauket ) kicked off the inaugural county-wide A Park a Day in May Challenge designed to encourage Suffolk residents to visit, enjoy and help promote the diverse recreational facilities available at Suffolk Countys many parks.

Using social media to spread the word, Hahn will highlight a park a day for 31 days during May. She is challenging county residents to visit each of the parks highlighted sometime during the spring or summer; take and post a selfie that identifies which park they are visiting, and post using the hashtag #APADIM to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. We have an amazing park system in Suffolk County that provides our residents with nearly limitless recreational opportunities to get out in nature at very little cost, said Hahn. Not only will the Park a Day in May Challenge give people a roadmap for exploring our majestic natural landscape, but it also gives them the opportunity to celebrate that journey of exploration with their family, friends and neighbors.

Forsythe Meadow County Park on Hollow Road, Stony Brook is the first park Hahn will highlight during the month-long challenge. Hahn personally advocated for the addition of a parking lot to facilitate access to the park, and helped design the 1.25 mile walking trail through 36 acres that includes meadows, wooded hills, gently sloping valleys and a bamboo forest, as well as an elevated view of Stony Brook Village and the harbor visible during the winter months. Each day in May, Hahn will highlight another park, choosing parks from around the county, from the Nassau border to Montauk and from the North to South shores. In 2016, Hahn conducted a similar challenge that primarily focused on parks within District Five, the legislative district she serves. Residents of my district really took up the challenge last year, so I am excited and hopeful that throughout Suffolk, families are going to get into the spirit of the challenge, said Hahn.

Through the Park a Day in May Challenge, Hahn hopes to enlist scores of Suffolk residents in raising awareness about Suffolks parks. Our County parks and beaches are the natural resources that define our quality of life and make Suffolk unique, and we must do everything we can to keep them clean, safe and accessible to local residents, said Hahn. During recent months, Hahn led an effort to expose illegal dumping in some county parks and provide stiffer penalties for such abuse.
Nature & Weather, Local News, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 02 2017

Palumbo: This legislation will preserve hundreds of acres of woodland."

Hauppauge, NY - May 2, 2017 - Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo (R,C,I,Ref-New Suffolk) today expressed his excitement about introducing legislation to expand the Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo (R,C,I,Ref-New Suffolk) today expressed his excitement about introducing legislation to expand the Long Island Pine Barrens by approximately 800 acres, which will include the Mastic Woods and the lands surrounding the Old Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant. By crafting this legislation, Palumbo hopes to protect the bucolic nature of the Long Island Pine Barrens, protecting the fauna and wildlife that call these areas their home.

This legislation will preserve hundreds of acres of woodland and ensure that all future development is environmentally conscious, said Palumbo. With limited habitats for animals on Long Island and the dire need to preserve the Pine Barrens, securing this land is crucial.

Both the Mastic Woods and Shoreham property provide sanctuary to some of Long Islands most notable wildlife, including the great horned owl, red fox and white-tail deer. These tracts of land are not only home to wildlife, but also are key to preserving over 25 different forest, wetland and shoreline ecological communities. The Shoreham property is uniquely home to one of New York states rarest species of plant, known as the seaside gerardia, whose largest population by far is found in Shoreham

Crafting this legislation will guarantee that the ecosystems, plant life and animals found in these tracts of land can be seen and enjoyed by our children and future generations, said Palumbo. We need to protect unique plant life like the seaside gerardia, that is found in this area. We are hoping to put this together and get it signed into law by the end of June.
The Islamic States Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan province) claimed gains at the Talibans expense earlier today. The two sides clashed in the Chaparhar district of Afghanistans eastern Nangarhar province, where they have fought each other repeatedly during the past two years.

A number of soldiers of the caliphate in Wilayah Khorasan set out at dawn yesterday towards positions of the apostate Taliban in the area of Chaparhar, the Islamic State claimed in a statement released via social media. Abu Bakr al Baghdadis followers added that they used light and heavy weapons during the violent clashes, killing 10 Taliban members and capturing three others. After allegedly forcing the Talibans men to flee the area, the self-declared caliphates mujahidin recovered spoils, including a machine guns, cannons and other weapons, as well as ammunition.

Local Afghan authorities confirmed that the two sides fought one another once again. According to Khaama Press, the provincial government in Nangarhar issued a statement saying several civilians, including children, were killed or wounded during the crossfire. The provincial authority reported that 21 Taliban members and seven Islamic State fighters were killed, with nine more from both sides wounded. (The provincial governments estimate of the Talibans casualties is higher than the Islamic States self-reported claim.)

Khaama Press added that the battle broke out at a time when Abu Bakr al Baghdadis loyalists are under heavy pressure from the security forces in other districts in Nangarhar.

Chaparhar is one of several districts the Islamic State seized from the Taliban shortly after Abu Muhammad al Adnani, Baghdadis first spokesman, announced the creation of Wilayah Khorasan in Jan. 2015. Citing local Afghan officials, Reuters reported in June 2015 that the Taliban had lost at least six districts in Nangarhar to its jihadist foes. However, the Taliban eventually recaptured Chaparhar and also successfully stymied the Islamic States expansion in other areas of the country.

US-led forces have dislodged Baghdadis jihadists from several of Nangarhars districts since Jan. 2016. Indeed, the group controlled 10 or more districts at the beginning of 2016, according to the US military. But Wilayah Khorasans safe haven shrunk as it faced multiple enemies. The US and its Afghan allies are currently trying to uproot the Islamic States men from their remaining strongholds in Nangarhar. But that has not been easy. Three American soldiers were killed during raids in the area during the month of April.

Despite losing ground over the past year and a half, the Islamic State is still able to engage in heavy fighting and launch large-scale attacks in Afghanistan. And the Taliban is still in its crosshairs.

On Apr. 29, Wilayah Khorasan claimed that a separate battle in the northern Afghan province of Jowzjan left 30 Taliban members dead, with 40 others captured. The group said that it taken 30 rifles, 4 PKCs, 3 RPG-7 rockets, ammunition and several vehicles as spoils. Wilayah Khorasans statement indicated that the battle with the Taliban lasted four days, which is consistent with independent reporting.

Citing local officials, Pajhwok Afghan News reported on Apr. 26 that 91 fighters had been killed on both sides, but the casualties were mostly Taliban members, including one of the groups district chiefs. Pajhwok Afghan News sources claimed that the fighting broke out after the Islamic State kidnapped three drug smugglers who had traveled from western and southern Afghanistan to do deals with the Taliban. The Islamic States representatives allegedly refused to release the men.

Wilayah Khorasans rivalry with the Taliban extends into Pakistan. On Apr. 28, the Islamic States Amaq News Agency claimed the assassination of a Taliban leader with one of his companions in Peshawar. The slaying took place one day earlier, on Apr. 27. Amaq didnt name the Taliban figure who was gunned down, but other reports quickly identified him as Maulvi Mohammad Daud.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, onfirmed Dauds death, but did not identify his killers. According to NBC News, other Taliban officials identified Daud as a member of the organizations leaders council in Peshawar.

More than three years after Baghdadi and his supporters declared their caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State continues to target its jihadist opposition around the globe. In addition to the recent attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Islamic State is battling Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in an area south of Damascus. HTS includes the group formerly known as Al Nusrah, al Qaedas largest branch in history.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Lifestyle / Travel

May 02, 2017 | By Sanesh Balasingam

I arrived in Bahrain a little after nine in the evening, after two connecting flights, I was looking forward to a warm shower and a comfy bed. My driver effortlessly handled my luggage and ushered me into a gleaming white Rolls-Royce Ghost. Exchanging pleasantries, he asked all the usual questions how long my flight was, where I was from, but there was one question that left me slightly baffled. He asked if I liked white, milk or dark chocolate, I told him my preference, he offered me the onboard wifi and off we went to the hotel.

At the hotel, I was promptly whisked upstairs to the executive floor where I was warmly greeted and given my room key. Upon arriving in my room I was delighted to find a tray of chocolates exactly as I had described earlier with a personalise welcome note and a massive Welcome to Bahrain sign sprawled across the shutters. The next morning at breakfast, after being greeted by name by everyone from the waitress to the chef that prepared my breakfast, I decided to go for a walk around the property. Walking around in the desert heat, I was struck by the sheer scale of the property  from the private marina where you can charter a yacht to go dolphin (yes, dolphin!) watching to the lagoon that connects one end of the property to the other to the private villas with a stunning sea view  this was a massive property. Yet wherever I seemed to go there was always someone ready to assist or ask how my day was or simply stop watering the plants, smile and nod. Speaking of the plants, the hotel had sourced almost every type of tree and shrub from South America. There were even beautiful pink, Chilean flamingoes in the middle of a well-curated pond that allowed for alfresco seating with a direct view of the birds. When I asked one of the managers why flamingoes they simply quipped, Well its Bahrain, everything is possible!







Being an enthusiastic gourmand, I had to try the restaurants at the hotel. Seeing as there are eleven restaurants that cater for everything from Mexican cuisine to Indian and Italian cuisine and I had a two-day stay, I decided to meet with Executive Chef, Christian Knerr to get his view on the top three. I narrowed it down to Primavera (Italian), also because I had heard so much about it even before my stay, Cantina Kahlo (Mexican) and Nirvana (Indian)  the latter Chef Knerr pointed out would be his top choice for a Michelin assessment.









First up, Primavera, where Chef Alfonso Ferraioli and his Italian crew greeted me as if I was in a traditional Neapolitan restaurant. The warmth and genuine desire to make your dining experience unforgettable clearly resonated in the smiles of each and everyone at the restaurant. Then there was the eight-course sampling menu of what can only be described as deliciously unpretentious Italian heaven. From the ricotta ravioli (which he learnt from his mother) to the scrumptious fried pizza with a simple but rich tomato sauce and a sprinkling of fresh Parmigiano and the perfectly done steak I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. Chef Alfonsos cuisine is like that girl you met in South Italy one summer, she may not have been clad in designer heels or an haute couture dress but she had a brilliant smile, honesty in her eyes and you know mama would just love her.

After lunch, I took a long walk along the beach to explore the old forts that offered breathtaking views of the Arabian Gulf. To burn off some of the million calories I had inherited, courtesy of Chef Alfonso, I hit the gym and went for a swim in the indoor swimming pool. Did I mention that the hotel has three pools, two outdoor pools, that feel like it is refrigerated to help you cool down after a long walk in the desert heat and an indoor heated pool, perfect for after the gym. Before I knew it, the sun had set and I felt peckish, ready to take on an Indian institution run by Chef Mahipal Singh. Again, and this time somewhat unsurprisingly, the team were all from India. Dinner was fit for a maharaja, with various kebabs, butter chicken, naan bread (an Indian staple), biryani rice and fish curry from Kerala. What I really liked about this restaurant was that it had influences from all over India as opposed to just a single state.







The next morning after a light but fulfilling breakfast I went for a swim in the main pool before stopping by Cantina Kahlo for what was to be an authentic Mexican lunch carefully crafted by the gifted hands of Chef Cesar de Leon Torres. Having driven around almost all of Mexico in my travels, I have to admit that my expectations were pretty high for the authentic component of this experience. Walking in, however, I was surprised to find that everyone in the team was Mexican. We swapped stories about my time in Mexico and they gave me some travel tips for my upcoming trip to Tulum. There was a real Mexican vibe to the place and food, it was genuinely authentic. We started off with guacamole (obviously!), and soon the table was full with everything from flautas, to ensaladas, tortas and a sampling board of Parrillada Kahlo which is grilled meat  Mexican style. A couple of margaritas later, I found myself feasting on the most delicious churros I have had anywhere outside of Mexico. They were fried to perfection and paired with a scrumptious homemade dipping sauce of condensed milk. To top off the fantastic experience, the staff provided me with a series of handwritten suggestions ingeniously placed in a wine bottle, which they insisted I had to break to discover. This was truly one of the most thoughtful gifts I had received throughout my travels.











I spent the rest of the afternoon, in the peace and tranquillity of the executive lounge catching up on some reading. As the sun sets, I looked out the window of the seventh floor, sipping a glass of champagne, taking in the beauty of a Bahraini sunset. In a world where so many luxury hotels pride themselves on mood lighting, vibrating armchairs and how many shower jets they have in their bathroom, it is refreshing to find a hotel that prides itself on a core quality of hospitality  sincere service.











On the morning of my checkout, I decided to cross the lagoon that connected both sides of the property the proper way. Wading through the middle of the lagoon, the expanse of the Arabian Gulf in front of me, I had an epiphany, The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain isnt merely a place to stay  it is what I would call home.
Thiruvananthapuram: Following the High Courts order, the state government has formed a special committee to examine if 14 publications of the Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind contain anti-national content.

The special committee is headed by intelligence chief B.S Muhammed Yasin and comprises of PRD director K. Ambady and former MP Sebastian Paul. The committee has to submit its report before June 27.

In 2013, the then intelligence chief T.P Senkumar had submitted a report to the Home Department that these 14 books of the Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind contained anti-secular and anti-national content. Following this, the court ordered the government to examine these materials after a PIL was filed in court.
Srinagar: Following a rocket and mortar attack on two Army posts in Poonch district, Pakistan attacked an Indian patrolling team and mutilated the dead bodies of two Indian jawans.

In a press release, the Northern Command of the Indian Army said, Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded.

The incident happened around 8:30 am yesterday. In April alone, there were seven incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
Kasargod: The state government will not complete its five year term if it is going forward like this, criticised opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. He made the remark against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government while inaugurating the Youth Congress March at Kasargod.

The Youth Congress president Dean Kuriakose is leading the march across various districts and it will conclude in front of the secretariat on May 25.
Scientists have described new results of a blood cancer study as 'outstanding' in tackling previously untreatable forms of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

The advance led by a team from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, within the Hope Clinical Trials Facility, focused on treating patients with CLL.

It follows on from a world-first clinical trial of a new drug to treat particular blood cancers. Results of that international clinical trial, led by Dr Harriet Walter and Professor Martin Dyer were published in the journal Blood in November 2015 and looked at the efficacy of a new inhibitor, ONO/GS-4059, in the treatment of CLL and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma patients, refractory or resistant to current chemotherapies.

ONO/GS-4059 targets BTK, a protein essential for the survival and proliferation of the tumour cells.

The study opened in January 2012 and 90 patients were enrolled in different centres in the UK and in France, with 28 coming from Leicester. Patients with CLL showed the best response and most of them were still on the study after 3 years, and remarkably without notable toxicities.

In the new paper, the researchers are reporting for the long-term follow-up results. Their work, published in the journal Blood, was funded by the Ernest and Helen Scott Haematological Research Institute, ONO Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Pharmaceuticals and the Cancer Research UK Leicester Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre. Local charity Hope Against Cancer fund the Clinical Trials Facility based at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Professor Martin Dyer is Professor of Haemato-Oncology in the Department of Cancer Studies at the University of Leicester and Honorary Consultant Physician in the Department of Haematology at Leicester Royal Infirmary. He said: "This current paper describes the long term follow up and shows that in patients with CLL the remissions are durable and associated with no new toxicities. Furthermore, in collaboration with Sistemas Genomicos, a company in Valencia, we have shown that mutations associated with aggressive disease respond well to treatment with ONO/GS-4059.

"Our long term follow up shows maintained efficacy without toxicity. This study is the first report of long term follow-up of a selective BTK inhibitor - and it is excellent news for patients.

"The results we are presenting are based on an international clinical study involving the UK, France, Japan and US - and led by Leicester.

This was a Phase 1 clinical study which means the researchers are in the early stages of testing the drug's effectiveness.

"We are now doing studies of ONO/GS-4059 in combination with other precision medicines to assess whether these results can be enhanced in patients with CLL and other B cell malignancies."

Local cancer research charity, Hope Against Cancer, has been funding some of Professor Dyer's work. Chief Executive of the charity, Nigel Rose, said: "Professor Dyer is a long-standing collaborator and recipient of Hope's funding. We are delighted that this is being put to such extremely important use in meeting our charity's mission of improving the lives of cancer patients locally."

Article: Long-term follow-up of patients with CLL treated with the selective Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ONO/GS-4059, Martin J.S. Dyer et al., Blood, doi: 10.1182/blood-2017-02-765115, published online 4 April 2017.
A systematic review of the published literature on yoga practice and common menstrual disorders found that all of the studies evaluated reported a beneficial effect and reduced symptoms. The impact of a range of yoga interventions on menstrual distress associated with physical and psychological symptoms for premenstrual women are described in an article published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Jennifer Oates, PhD, King's College London, U.K., assessed the evidence from 15 published studies on the effects of yoga practice on problems such as amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Enhanced mood, reduced pain, increased wellbeing, and a heightened relaxation response were among the improved outcomes reported by women who participated in a yoga intervention, as reported in the article entitled "The Effect of Yoga on Menstrual Disorders: A Systematic Review."

"While the heterogeneity of the studies presented the authors with limitations, patients can take solace that the studies uniformly found value regardless of the intensity and type of yoga intervention," comments The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine Editor-in-Chief John Weeks.

Article: Recombinant Adeno-Associated Viral Integration and Genotoxicity: Insights from Animal Models, Chandler Randy J., Sands Mark S., and Venditti Charles P., The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, doi: 10.1089/hum.2017.009, published online 15 March 2017.
Recently, researchers reported that patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of experiencing complications when hospitalized. The team has now found that potentially preventable hospital acquired complications (HACs) are linked with an elevated risk of early death - more so in patients with CKD than in those with normal kidney function. The findings appear in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

Although studies have shown that the presence of CKD is linked with a greater risk of potentially preventable HACs, the consequences of these complications were not unclear. To investigate, a team led by Scott Klarenbach MD, MSc and Babak Bohlouli, PhD candidate (University of Alberta) examined information on all adults hospitalized from April 2003 to March 2008 in Alberta, Canada. Of 536,549 patients who were hospitalized, 8.5% had CKD, and 9.8% of patients with CKD had at least 1 potentially preventable HAC.

Among the major findings:

In CKD patients with potentially preventable HACs, 17.7% of patients died while hospitalized and 6.8% died within 90 days after discharge.

CKD patients with potentially preventable HACs were 4.7- and 1.1-times more likely to die while hospitalized or within 90 days of discharge, respectively, than those without HACs, after adjustments.

Compared with patients without CKD or potentially preventable HACs, patients with CKD and no HACs, patients without CKD and with potentially preventable HACs, and patients with CKD and potentially preventable HACs were 2.2, 5.3, and 9.6- times more likely to die while hospitalized, respectively.

Length of hospital stay and readmission rates within 90 days of discharge were elevated in patients who experienced potentially preventable HACs.

"Patients with potentially preventable hospital acquired complications are at higher risk of adverse clinical outcomes - longer hospital stay, mortality in the hospital and after discharge, and readmission. The magnitude of this association is larger in patients with CKD compared with those without," said Bohlouli. The findings indicate that better prevention efforts are needed to reduce HACs, especially in patients with CKD.

In an accompanying editorial, Eric Young, MD (VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and University of Michigan Medical School) noted that the study should encourage more research into HACs in patients with kidney disease. "The study should prompt nephrologists who care for hospitalized patients to review their current practices," he wrote. "It is possible that the study findings could prompt insurers to introduce specific programs designed to create incentives for hospitals and providers to adopt practices that reduce the risk of complications in patients with chronic kidney disease specifically," he added.

Article: Adverse Outcomes Associated with Preventable Complications in Hospitalized Patients with CKD, Babak Bohlouli, Terri Jurgens Jackson, Marcello Tonelli, Brenda Hemmelgarn, Scott Klarenbach, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, doi: 10.2215/CJN.09410916, published online 27 April 2017.

Editorial: Avoiding Preventable Complications in Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease, Eric W. Young, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, doi: 10.2215/CJN.03240317, published online 27 April 2017.
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"The main issue is getting providers to change their prescribing behavior. The majority of opioids that people abuse start in the medical system as a legitimate prescription," said co-author Colleen Carey, assistant professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology. Her co-author is Thomas Buchmueller of the University of Michigan.States that implemented a "must access" database saw a decline in the number of Medicare recipients who got more than a seven-months' supply in a six-month period. And there was a decrease in those who filled a prescription before the previous prescription's supply had been used."Doctor shopping" also dropped. Medicare opioid users who got prescriptions from five or more doctors -- a common marker for "doctor shopping" -- fell by 8 percent; the number of those who got opioids from five or more pharmacies declined by more than 15 percent.On the flip side, Medicare patients appeared to evade the new regulations by traveling to a less-regulated state.Although the study looked only at Medicare recipients, the findings are likely to translate to the general population, the researchers said. The effects were especially large for low-income disabled users and for those who obtain opioid prescriptions from a high number of doctors; both groups have the highest rates of misuse and abuse, Carey said.The strongest effects were in states with the strictest laws, such as New York, which require doctors to check the opioid history of "every patient, every time." But even states with laws requiring access only under certain circumstances reduced doctor shopping.Until recently Medicare has had very few legislative tools to curtail the epidemic.And insurance companies have little incentive, because opioids are relatively cheap, costing about $1.60 per day in the study's sample. And opioids don't hit Medicare insurers in the bottom line, making up only 3 percent of their total drug costs, Carey said.Source: Eurekalert
While the temperatures are already rising in the city of New Delhi, theres one reason why were not going to be complaining about how hot and heavy the atmosphere in the capital gets on May 09th 2017. One of the most talked about dance music events in India over the past few months, Boiler Room is finally making its way to the capital city of New Delhi. After having made its Indian debut late last year in Mumbai, and giving the Bengaluru crowd something to dance the night away too last month, its about time that the session made its way Delhi.

 Boiler Room

And for their first-ever session in the city, Boiler Room, which is part of the Budweiser Music Program in India, will have house legend and Grammy Award-winning producer Roger Sanchez, rising star and Londons selector par excellence Josey Rebelle, as well as local heroes Abhi Meer and one of Indias favourite electronic producers, BLOT! blowing up the roof. Speaking about the event, Kartikeya Sharma, Marketing Director, AB InBev, and India & South East Asia, and the front-runner of the music program at Budweiser, said, The overwhelming response that the Mumbai and Bengaluru shows received is a sign that the Indian audience is hungry for the kind of experiences that we want to curate.

 Wikipedia

The specialty of this event is the fact that its an invite-only circuit that gets in; the venue remains unknown, except to those on the invites list and on the night of the party, you witness a phenomenon that many would give a lot to witness. Aside from the fact that Boiler Room is one of the best known underground dance music streaming live events across the world, its the exclusivity that attracts its cult following which is spread across a global map.
Already smashing records within 5 days of its release, Baahubali 2 is Indias Game Of Thrones. Indian cinema hasnt seen something as epic and large-scale as this. The sheer grandeur of the scenes overwhelms you, even if the plot seems like a cross between a comedy and a superhero film. The battle sequences are goosebump-inducing and the fights all too real. The last fight between Baahubali and Bhallala Deva is a clash among the titans, the kind that causes the earth to tremble and the skies to thunder.

 Dharma Productions

With a huge investment of money and manpower, Rajamouli has made a confident film. He has done what Bollywood hasnt been able to do yet. Baahubali is unapologetically epic. Although some of the sequences are so unbelievable they become humorous, there are many that are so well thought-out, youd be surprised it can actually happen.

 Dharma Productions

Prabhas carries the films most orgasmic moments on his super ripped bod. He can break mountains, shoot three arrows with one shot, ride raging bulls, and defeat a whole army of barbaric cannibals single-handedly. He is Rajinikanth-meets-Sunny-Deol-meets-Superman. He is undefeatable. Its almost bicep porn, if we can call it that.

 Dharma Productions

If in the first film, it was the huge Shiva lingam he lifts with his bare hands, he takes on vast armies single-handedly in the second part. The movie starts with him making a dramatic entry at a nail-biting moment when he pushes a building-sized rath to vanquish an agitating elephant, saving his mothers life. He is the son every mother dreams of, the husband every woman fantasizes about, the man every man dreams of becoming, in a parallel universe.

 Dharma Productions

Baahubalis superhero strength is not the only winner here. His jugaad engineering skills are so on point, the movie is every engineers wet dream. Imagine winning a battle with your impromptu engineering feats. You see an army approaching in the middle of the night and you transform into a high-functioning superhero ninja. In the blink of an eye, you come up with a winning plan  putting fire to the horns of raging bulls, you use them to crash a dam onto the charging enemy.

Baahubalis ingenious idea to get his soldiers into Bhallala Deva castle  forming balls of steel with their shields and being hurled from coconut trees  is something that would give even IITians a run for their money.

 Dharma Productions

The muscular hero sees women struggling to carry heavy pots of water and he makes an automatic water pulley. He sees men getting injured while smashing boulders and he builds an assembly-line boulder-cutter. Had Baahubali been born today, he wouldve been an engineer with patents to his name. This is the India of flying vehicles and battle chakravyuhs weve always heard of.

A ripped hero who no man can defeat and one with the brains of Tony Stark. Youve got to be a mad genius to be able to do both. Baahubali is every mans most ambitious dream.

 Dharma Productions

In all its grandiose charm and action, however, the film betrays some unintentional comic moments and that is where it falls short of becoming as epic as Game of Thrones. I must admit I came out of the hall laughing, even though I loved the film. And so did many others. If not for so many characters dying, the film could have been a brilliant exercise in comedy.

 Dharma Productions

For example, Devasenas dismissal of the Rajmata borders on the slapstick. Standing tall with her head held high in the grand court, amongst hundreds of courtiers, Devasena cuts a majestic picture but dissolves the seriousness of the scene when she asks the Rajmata if she is stupid. Its as if Devasena has been given a sharp tongue to bring about a plot twist, but along with the twist it also brings in humour.

But then, just like every hero has a tragic flaw, a brilliant film too can fall victim to a flaw or two. Doesnt take the greatness away from it. Baahubali 2  The Conclusion is a film of epic proportions, even if the action borders on the comic at times and Prabhas biceps overwhelm you more than the plot.
Raise your hands if you too came here to get some scoop on our beloved Baahubali and Bhallala Dev. Well, since everyone was going gaga over Mahishmatis two precious jewels, we thought why not discuss about their personal lives. Prabhas and Rana Daggubati are exceptional actors and while they might be playing enemies in this movie, they are best buds in real life. Time and again, their bromance has set friendship goals for us and no matter how big they are in the industry, their prank sessions are way too real. If you ever want to know who your true friends are, try playing a prank with them or on them. If they dont support you or troll you back, they arent going to stick around for long.

 Facebook

Recently, on a chat show called Konchem Touch Lo Unte Chepta, Rana shared the story where he tried to prank Prabhas but got trolled by him instead. Rana made a prank call to Prabhas and asked him to rescue from the hands of police. Now, while anyone would freak out after getting this call, Prabhas being the badass he is, listened to the entire ordeal and gave an epic response that left Rana stunned and us rolling on the floor laughing. He said, Tell him that you are in Baahubali 2 as my companion, they will leave you. Wow, looks like we arent the only ones cashing in on Baahubalis success. This incident reminds us of those South Delhi boys who no matter how troublesome the situation is, they will always have one answer  Bhai tera sab sambhal lega.

 Facebook

Since the day of its release, we have been saying that Baahubali 2 aka Baahubali: The Conclusion has broken all the records. Within its opening weekend, the film has already earned Rs. 500 crores and we wont be surprised if it crosses Rs. 1000 crores too. The first installment was brilliant and by the looks of the numbers the rough draft of the second films success is already under progress.

Source: Indian Express
F-4E fighter jet crash in August caused by engine nozzle defect: Air Force The crash of a South Korean F-4E fighter jet in August was caused by an engine nozzle problem, the Air Force said Wednesday. It announced the outcome of its probe into the cause...
Deputy Foreign Minister Terens Quick departs for Cairo today to attend the opening of a business forum being co-organized by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and the Greek Embassy in Egypt. In this framework, he will also meet with Egypt's Minister for Trade and Industry, Tarek Kabil.

Mr. Quick will also meet with the board of directors of the Greek Community of Cairo and with members of the board of the Greek Community of Alexandria.

On Thursday, 4 May, Mr. Quick will depart for Beirut, where, at the invitation of Lebanon's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran Bassil, he will participate in the proceedings of the "Lebanese Diaspora Energy" conference.
It is with great satisfaction that I address the opening of the 'Ancient Civilizations Forum', which follows on the initiative taken in 2015 by Greece's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias, for the hosting of an International Conference on 'Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East'. By way of introduction, I note the seemingly obvious: The current situation in the Middle East alone  which is anywhere from dire to devastating  suffices to fully justify Nikos Kotzias' important initiative. And this is because anyone can see that the resounding response of the coexistence and dialogue of Cultures can prove to be a powerful and effective antidote to the plagues of war and terrorist barbarity that have beset the Middle East for years now, with Syria tragically at centre stage. In this context, and with a sincere sense of duty and honour, Athens is hosting the 'Ancient Civilizations Forum', in the justifiable belief that it is fulfilling a critical mission that is intrinsically linked with Greece's iconic past and historical perspective. And I explain, briefly:



1. The Mediterranean and the Countries on its shores have for millennia now been a cradle and crossroads of Cultures whose radiance and resonance continue their historical course, retaining their universal human dimensions.



A. Greece, with Athens at its centre, was and remains a constant cradle of a radiant Civilization. Hellenic Civilization was and has always been marshalled by its Spirit, which, with its inherent extroversion and creativity, inspired Humanity and emblematically impacted Humankind's 'Sisyphean' course in their eternal struggle to understand the world around them. It was the Hellenic Spirit that allowed for the "disenchantment of the world"  to borrow a phrase from Max Weber  through the birth of Science and Philosophy, which made possible the incomparable method of the gradual transformation of information and experience into knowledge, and of knowledge into wisdom.



B. Without a trace of ethnocentric conceit and in no way belittling  quite the opposite, as today's Forum shows  the greatness and contribution of the other Civilizations in the shared laboratory of human creation, I believe that, precisely due to the aforementioned extroversion of the Hellenic Spirit, here, in Athens and Greece, one has a stronger and better sense of the need for and catalytic importance of the coexistence and cooperation of Civilizations, particularly in our turbulent and trying times.



II. Despite the historically unprecedented and stark 'warnings' of the 20th century  warnings that emerged like 'omens' from the howling weapons and rivers of blood brought by the two World Wars; wars that took humankind to the very precipice of extinction  Humanity does not seem to have got the message or understood precisely what is at stake: The ship of Humanity sailed indifferently into the unexplored waters of the 21st century, without charting a course, without an astrolabe for orientation, without even a compass to stay on course.



A. So it is no wonder that, today, Humanity feels unprepared and shocked during its painful meeting with the 'Laestrygones' and 'Cyclops' of the horror of war and barbarity of terrorism. There were those who hastily attributed the global turmoil and deadly dangers to a kind of 'clash of civilizations'. But the sweepingness of such an assertion insults the very nature of Civilization. Why? Because if the sum of human creation is to carry the title of 'Civilization', it is unthinkable that it should be made up of elements that lead inexorably to conflict with other Civilizations and that, consequently, engineer their destruction. By virtue of its origin, true Civilization has Humanism and Peace as its archetypal characteristics. Thus, for true Civilization, conflict and war are a kind of 'contradictio in adjecto'.



B. So the truth regarding the historical interrelation between today's global turmoil and its perils, on the one hand, and the course of individual Civilizations is at the other extreme: The global turmoil and its perils have their roots not so much in the clash of Civilizations, but in the fact that these Civilizations are declining at an alarming rate. And precisely because of this decline, they are no longer in a position to fulfil the natural pacifying mission dictated by their very essence, through their coexistence and cooperation on a global scale. What is behind this decline of Civilizations? The explanation was never simple, and it is not simple today.



1. Some Civilizations  like ours, Western Civilization and, thus, European Civilization  decline because the 'fuel' for their course of historical 'becoming' is exhausted, as they are cut off, imperceptibly yet, unfortunately, steadily, from the roots that supported them. That is, essentially, from the principles and values on which they were founded, and without these they lose their basic cultural characteristics. Characteristics that, among other things, equipped them for smooth coexistence and cooperation with other Civilizations.



2. Finally, other Civilizations  the examples are tangible  decline because, in the midst of the pandemonium of change brought on by globalisation in all its forms, technological, economic, social, etc., they lost their original orientation. And travelling 'blind', they have reached a dangerous impasse. This impasse is a kind of 'block' that makes it anywhere from extremely difficult to impossible for them to communicate with other Civilizations. Let's not forget that true Civilization is, by definition, destined to build bridges of communication with other true Civilizations, and not put up walls of alienation from those Civilizations.



We, the European peoples, are determined not to let through the remnants of Nazism, those who would engineer the dissolution of Europe. This was borne out by the results of yesterday's elections in France.



With these thoughts  necessarily brief and, thus, somewhat elliptical  I welcome you to Athens. And I hope that your proceedings, as well as the ones that I am certain will follow in the future, will prove to be a means, on the one hand, to rallying consciences to the defence of the history and future of Civilizations. And, on the other, to restoring the power of creation that still exists and 'smoulders' within them, and that can avert the total breakdown of global harmony and peace. Though it is morning, the owl of Athena, the sacred bird  a symbol of consensus, knowledge and wisdom  welcomes you to the Eternal City of the Goddess who thought while leaning on her spear. Thus showing, through a sublime allegory, that for Hellenic Civilization and the Hellenic Spirit, the spear always serves thought. The obverse has been unthinkable, totally foreign to the Greek mindset from ancient times to today. Testimony to this is the fact that the Greeks, from ancient times, never fought wars of expansion  only of defence. Even the campaigns they did mount were, at bottom, endeavours to spread civilization.
Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
During the most recent deployment of the Marine Corps' Middle East crisis response task force, small elements were quietly deployed to hot spots on the ground in Iraq, some close to the key Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, where a coalition fight to retake the city rages on.

In a debrief about the nine-month task force deployment, which ended in December, senior officers of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Central Command discussed four different elements that were dispatched for specialized missions in Iraq, one for a secretive assignment at the behest of the secretary of defense.

That particular mission was known as Task Force Whiskey, an assignment the Marine unit received at the end of October 2016, from then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter. It called for a company-sized element of Marines inserted near Erbil, about 50 miles southeast of Mosul. The task force was tapped because the Marines were ready and available, Operations Officer Lt. Col. John Bossie said.

"We were the only one that could respond to it quickly enough to get forces into country, up near Erbil, to conduct that mission," he said. "The order came out about the 28th of October, and by the third of November, we had the first elements on the ground, conducting their [pre-deployment site surveys], getting the site set up, so we could then use our own organic air to fly the rest of the force in."

Just an hour from Mosul, Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, home to militia forces who have fought alongside the Iraqi Army to overthrow the Islamic State. The road connecting Erbil and Mosul has featured prominently in the fight to retake the ISIS-held city.

The commander of the crisis response force rotation and its 5th Marine Regiment headquarters element, Col. Kenneth Kassner, declined to go into detail about the precise mission of Task Force Whiskey, but said it was reconnaissance in nature. In total, the tasking lasted 90-100 days, officials said, putting it inside the threshold for temporary troop presence and meaning the Marines did not need to be counted against the U.S. troop force management level, or maximum end strength in the country.

"There were many occasions such as this one: A task would come through [U.S. Central Command] to [Marine Corps Forces Central Command], and as different forces then conducted their own feasibilities of support -- more often than not, it was the special purpose MAGTF, or in concert with our [Marine Expeditionary Unit] colleagues on the ship that were able to respond to these emerging crises now," Kassner said.

It's the first time task force officials have publicly discussed such missions in support of the anti-Islamic State fight, Operation Inherent Resolve. The task force, which operates in a half-dozen countries across the Middle East, has maintained a steady contingent of 100 troops at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for security, and has staffed U.S. bases in Al-Asad and Al-Taqaddum in central Iraq.

In spring 2016, a small contingent of Marines was dispatched to establish a new artillery position in northern Iraq, initially known as Fire Base Bell and then renamed Kara Soar Base. But these troops came from the deployed ships of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which, unlike the task force, had native artillery capabilities.

These more recent small and temporary detachments of Marines dispatched to execute ground missions may demonstrate a growing willingness of regional commanders to exploit the flexibility and availability of the task force in innovative ways.

In another example of such a mission, Bossie said, the task force was called upon to create an exploitation and analysis cell, staffed with military police and law enforcement Marines, to confiscate and process information left behind by Islamic State militants as they were flushed out of Fallujah by Iraqi and coalition forces last summer.

"As the clearance of Fallujah happened, a bunch of ISIS convoys were leaving Fallujah, and coalition forces struck the convoys as they were leaving," he said. "We were able to use our human intelligence Marines as well as this exploitation-analysis cell to collect thumb drives and hard drives that came out of those convoys."

In the single convoy strike, Bossie said, Marines harvested 80 gigabytes of data, the rough equivalent of 800,000 documents.

"So that then became something that [Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve Commander Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend] notices," Bossie said. "So we then forward-postured that exploitation analysis cell in Taji and Erbil."

Taji, just north of Baghdad, houses an Iraqi Army training camp and air base, and has been the site of various Islamic State attacks. At both sites, Marines with the exploitation-analysis cell worked with special operations troops and conventional forces to use confiscated information against the ISIS militants.

"As the clearance of Mosul kicked off, those Marines were in place to exploit that captured enemy material and send it to higher intelligence authorities," Bossie said. "They went in initially for 90 days. They did such a great job, they got asked to stay for another 90 days. We left and they were still there, so I think there's going to be another extension before a national-level entity can get in there and take over."

Task Force Marines were also called upon to play an advisory and assistance role for troops from the 15th Iraqi Army Division while they staged at the Qayyarah West airfield prior to entering Mosul. The airfield, recaptured from ISIS troops in July 2016, would by October become the international headquarters and staging location for the battle to retake the militants' primary stronghold in Iraq.

Again, Bossie said, the Marines proved their value with rapid organization and response times.

"In about 10 days, we launched a force. They were in Q-West initially for 90 days, but ended up staying for more like 180 days," Bossie said. "They provided advise and assist to not only the 15th Iraqi Army Division, but also the federal police, who were a large part of the clearance of Mosul. It's another good news story for the MAGTF."

This detachment was especially small: just 14 to 15 Marines, task force officials said. But a force nearly as compact was dispatched with little fanfare to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in June 2016 when spikes in kinetic activity and protests appeared to portend an attack.

The unit scrambled 24 Marines to augment the 100-Marine security force already on site, sending a mixture of infantrymen and law enforcement troops to ensure the force had training in non-lethal crowd and riot management.

"We task-organized a force using our own organic air, flew it into Baghdad, staged them, and under cover of darkness, slid them into the embassy," Bossie said. "When the sun came up the next morning, there were 24 more Marines standing a post, reinforcing that location."

The Marines stayed just seven to 10 days, he said, before the threat appeared lessened and the element pulled out again. Time from receiving the tasking to inserting Marines at the embassy: just four hours, 45 minutes, Bossie said.

In large part, the way the Marine Corps task force can be used in Iraq and elsewhere to fight ISIS is limited only by the pertinent commanders' creativity.

In response to questions from Military.com, officials with Combined Joint Task Force OIR, which oversees the coalition fight, said there had been no change to policy or strategy regarding manning or force employment.

"The coalition commander maintains a wide range of capabilities at his disposal," an official said in a statement. "All of these are considered in our plans to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria."

The official added that CJTF-OIR operates in Iraq at the invitation of, and in coordination with, the government of Iraq.

While all of the Marine Corps detachments, with the possible exception of the exploitation-analysis unit, remained on the ground 180 days or fewer and thus did not count toward the Iraq force management level, employment of task force Marines may become even more flexible in the future.

In late April, the Pentagon confirmed that President Donald Trump had delegated to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the ability to determine maximum troop levels as he sees fit, altering a troop ceiling policy frequently criticized as arbitrary and so full of loopholes as to be effectively meaningless.

Today, the battle for Mosul rages on, with Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Othman al-Ghanmi recently predicting the coalition force would see definitive victory this month.

A new rotation of Marine Corps crisis response troops is now in place in the Middle East, led by the California-based 7th Marine Regiment.

"This is a force that's purposely task-organized to conduct myriad missions," Kassner said. "Organically, we're able to bring these forces together, task-organize them, and organically move them across the battlespace. So we're a ready force -- ready now."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
A Safie product display at Tom's Food Market in Traverse City

Dried fruit from Cherry Central

This article is one of a series of stories about Michigans agricultural economy. It is made possible with funding from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Other stories in this series can be found here When Mary Safie's grandfather Dmitri Safie preserved vegetables grown on his Macomb County farmland, it's unlikely he knew he was beginning a family food legacy whose products would end up as sought-after international exports that boost Michigan's economy.Mary Safie's enthusiasm for her family's pickled products bubbles over when she talks. On her mind recently was a major honor the Safie family brand received for their Crispy Dill Pickled Carrots at a major Canadian food show. Safie is president and CEO of Safie Specialty Foods Co., Inc. , a Mount Clemens business operating since 1929.One-third of Safie's business comes from Canadian exports. "Our Sweet Pickled Beets are our number one item," Safie says. The beets were the first product the business exported in 2008.Safie enlisted the help of the International Marketing Program of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to launch the beet export. Since then, through the department's work pooling resources with the Food Export Association of the Midwest , Safie has been able to participate in international missions to market her products, meet one-on-one with buyers visiting the United States, gather market research, and promote Safie's through international food trade shows.Safie's creates 16 different gourmet pickled products. They're proud to hand pack Michigan-grown carrots, beets, pickles, asparagus, green beans, and peppers into traditional, quart mason jars. Products range from traditional Old-Fashioned Bread & Butter Pickles and Dill Pickle Beans to trendy Sexy Hot Pickled Asparagus and Padre Pio Mild Pepperoncini.The state food and ag department has found that every $1 invested in export activity generates another $2.93 in economic activity. In 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available, Michigan agriculture exported $2.8 billion in products, translating to an additional $8.2 billion in local impact.Safie's alone sent 5 million pounds of finished product into Canada last year and hopes to grow that by 50 percent by the end of the year. "Our projected gross annual product for 2017 is 7.5 million pounds of finished product," Safie says.To meet the demands of their international growth, Safie's has increased its facilities from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet. "It's added tremendously to the local supply chain, Safie says. "We had to increase our productivity, which in turn increased our raw material needs, which then increased local expenditures."Labor force also grew. "Our growth correlates with the expansion of our line into the Canadian marketplace."The slogan "Born and raised in Macomb County, Michigan" is an important part of the Safie Specialty Foods Co. culture. "We pride ourselves as a Michigan company and, just as importantly, as a U.S. company," Safie says. "The majority of our supplies come from Michigan raw materials and over 90 percent of our supplies are of U.S. origin."Through the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Safie's has been able to court other international buyers, as well. "We've also been able to go overseas to Germany and Abu Dhabi to showcase our product," Safie says. "The State of Michigan has afforded us excellent opportunities, both nationally and internationally.""We learned through the different programs like MDARD and Food Export that taste profile is very important," Safie says. "Some countries are more inclined to consume pickled products than others and they help us identify those countries. Learning the customs and traditions of foreign countries is important when thinking about introducing your product to their market ... These programs have helped me grow and become an international company." Cherry Central , based in Traverse City, has also embraced MDARD export assistance to get Michigan foods overseas, according to Brian Klumpp, director of business development for the company. Working with hundreds of farmers, Cherry Central grows, processes, and markets fruits, whether dried, frozen, or canned. While cherries are featured in the name, apples, blueberries, and cranberries and more are also part of the product lineup."Cherry Central exports frozen fruits, dried fruits, fruit juices, fruit juice concentrates, applesauce, and fruit purees," Klumpp says. "We export to over 30 countries with particular emphasis in Europe and Asia Pacific. We've been exporting since our first year of business in 1973 and are very proud that our first customers are still important customers to us today."Cherry Central didn't need to knock on doors to find those early export markets when it began 44 years ago. "We had customers calling us," Klumpp says. While exports are still led by demand, Klumpp says more and more markets open up because of market research the business uses "to determine where, when, and what makes the most sense for our company to expand and grow in export markets."Some of that market research comes through MDARD programs. "MDARD has hosted several trade mission trips to foreign markets that have always been well-managed and very helpful to our business," Klumpp says. "They've also assisted us with market information and support."Most recently, Klumpp joined an MDARD-led food and agriculture trade mission to China in November, where a rising middle class is interested in premium products like those produced by Cherry Central. He also traveled to China with Governor Rick Snyder and others in 2013 on a similar mission. Cherry Central used a Market Builder report compiled through MDARD that showed information about competing products and prices in China, as well as what potential buyers thought about their products.Klumpp believes these export efforts have not only helped the company, its growers, and employees, but the larger fruit industries it represents. "Cherry Central's strength in foreign markets has helped these fruits to become well-known around the world for their health benefits and for their great flavors," he says.According to MDARD, Michigan agricultural exports help boost farm prices and income, while also supporting more than 22,600 jobs statewide both on and off the farm in food processing, storage, and transportation.Most anyone who has visited historic Frankenmuth has probably seen the tall grain and bean storage facilities that tower over the town. Some may not have known that's part of Star of the West Milling Co ., a business built along the Cass River by the immigrant Hubinger brothers in the 1800s, who brought milling skills with them from Germany. Among the largest millers in the United States, Star of the West is another Michigan business that exports products worldwide with the assistance of MDARD. About 20 percent of the business for its network of elevators, plants, and mills in four states come from overseas exports.According to Rob Chandonnet, vice president of edible bean sales, Star of the West experienced 27 percent growth in export sales from 2013 to 2014 alone. The company exports dry beans, edible soybeans, soft white wheat, and soft red winter wheat.Dry beans, in particular, are an important staple food in much of the world. "Star of the West processes many kinds of edible beans," Chandonnet says. Those include multiple varieties of black beans, navy beans, and small red beans, usually shipped internationally in special one-ton bags.For all of Michigan agriculture, top export markets are Canada, Japan, China, Thailand, and Mexico."The Japanese are major consumers of miso, tofu, and natto," Chandonnet says of foods produced from edible soybeans. Star of the West does what's known as identity preservation, segregating, and maintaining specific varieties of the edible soybeans that have traits customers want for making each food, such as a specific size, color or protein content.The soft white wheat Star of the West sells both stateside and overseas ends up in many foods, such as flat breads, cakes, biscuits, pastries, crackers, Asian-style noodles, and snack foods.Star of the West was recognized as the 2015 Michigan Agriculture Exporter of the Year. Chandonnet says the Michigan business could not have reached that level of success without the support it has received from MDARD international trade experts. "We appreciate the strong relationship and trust we've established with the MDARD over the years."Driving overall growth in Michigan through food and agriculture products is a common thread that connects these small- to medium-sized businesses exporting with MDARD support. Foreign customers get to taste foods produced in Michigan and Michiganders get a healthy serving of added jobs and a strengthened agricultural economy.
Article | Sip - Jan 01, 1970 | 05:30 AM

According to the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the total assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry has surpassed Rs.14.90 trillion in 2016 which represents an 18% growth in assets over the previous year. Initially viewed as an investment opportunity exclusive to the financially savvy, around 4.89 crore investor accounts exist as of this year. The increase can be attributed to a growing financially secure middle class and investor education.

The increasing interest in mutual funds have raised many pertinent questions namely what fund to invest in and for how long? Even after deciding on the investment duration and identifying the right mutual fund, the main dilemma for investors is the strategy itself. Should they try to time the market or maintain a buy and hold strategy?

Both methods have their fair share of promoters and detractors, and data supporting both claims is available. Market timing is the process where investors buy units at a low price and sell it when the prices are high. However, this method requires a vast knowledge of financial markets, accurately predicting future movements and nerves of steel. There is no algorithm or perfect process to accurately time the market for the simple reason being the sheer number of variables in the economy.

On the other hand, buy and hold strategy requires investors to buy units and keep them for an extended duration of time preferably five years or longer. As they have already decided their portfolio and identified their goals, they usually do not involve themselves in daily tracking, often checking the monthly or quarterly statements and deciding whether to invest more or not.

Despite the complexity of timing the market, a large number of investors flock to this route. The chief reason being the reward of greater returns compared to an equalized SIP. While a great deal of luck is involved, there are some events investors watch out for to time the market.

One such event is price corrections. A 'timer can wait for corrections and then decide to invest. This helps bring down the average cost and would mean higher returns. However, this would involve both anticipating a correction and deciding to buy after the correction. While many analysts can predict when the current trend is about to change depending on certain parameters, to predict them and then profit from these transactions can be impossible in many cases. Another question to ponder over is what the right amount of correction is? 5%, 10% or maybe 20%. This would depend on the stock and the investor.

The downside to time the market is the withdrawal of money at uncertain intervals which is invested again at an unknown time. Contrast this with an equalized SIP where you have a steady corpus building up with compounding.

The buy and hold strategy is also more tax efficient. Taxation comes into the picture when the investor is ready to cash out and with a long term SIP, the capital gains tax is virtually none. However, a timer will end up withdrawing their investments and have the very real possibility of paying short-term capital gains tax. And in India, short-term capital gains are the same as the highest tax bracket which is at 30%.

According to A Balasubramanian, CEO, Birla Sun Life AMC, trying to time the market is impossible. He says, (Market) volatility is something which you cannot escape. It is more important to spend time in the market rather than timing the market.

The right way would be a slight mix of both. Dont throw caution to the wind when it comes to market movements. Stay updated and informed. If there is a price correction, one can choose to invest more depending on the risk capacity of the individual. When it comes to timing, there is a greater risk of losing out on the upswing. While it may be possible to boost returns with perfect timing, there is no clear, systematic approach.
AirAsia India flew 8.4 lakh passengers in the January-March quarter of the current year, up 57 per cent from 5.38 lakh in the same period of 2016, aided by new routes and higher capacity.

The Bengaluru-based airline, which is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad, raised its fleet size to nine aircraft from six in the first quarter of the previous year, AirAsia India said in a statement.

The number of passengers carried increased by 57 per cent year-on-year to 0.84 million, with 50 per cent increase in capacity, the airline said.

The seat factor, a measure of how full the plane flies, also increased by three per cent to 89 per cent in the quarter from 86 per cent in Q1CY16.

Three new routes, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Bagdogra and Delhi-Pune, were added in AirAsia India's network, it said adding that the frequency on the Delhi-Goa route also increased in the first quarter of the current year.

AirAsia India, which will be completing three years of operations in June, currently flies on 20 domestic routes from three hubs --Bengaluru, Kolkata and New Delhi.
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Banks Unions and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) are likely to introduce variable pay as it initiates the negotiations today for the next wage settlement in the banking industry.

Talks between IBA and the bank unions under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) are to be held at Mumbai on May 2.

Bank unions are resisting variable pay but want a salary that is at par with the central government employees with the revision of Seventh Pay Commission.

"AIBEA would like to expedite the settlement on time. We deserve a good revision in our wages to catch up with the market as well as commensurate with the increased work load in banks of late," CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary of All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) had said.

The negotiations will be around the merger of Dearness Allowance (DA) and basic pay, percentage of hike or the load factor / amount and distribution of the load to different components of salaries.

The IBA is likely to introduce variable pay as the Khandelwal committee recommendations have also pushed for it given that the bipartite agreement does not consider new challenges arising out of competition, eliminates professionalism and has no relation with the capacity of individual banks to pay.

Punjab National Bank Chairperson Usha Ananthasubramanium, during her last analysts meet, had sounded out, Today, an employees salary is predictable. There is a need to recognise performance and give remuneration. We have formed an internal committee of general managers to work on this matter and submit the proposal to the board."

In the last wage negotiation between the unions and bank management, IBA had settled for a 15 percent hike.

The negotiation meeting on May 2, would be led by Rajeev Rishi, Chairman of IBA. Representatives from the Workmen Unions / Officers Associations of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) will be meeting the negotiating committee of the IBA.

This would be the 11th bipartite settlement on wage revision for nearly 8-9 lakh bank employees and officers of 21 public sector banks. The wage revision is due from November 1, 2017.

Since 1996, 10 industry level bipartite settlements have been signed by IBA with the bank unions for five year tenures. This would be the 11th after the 10th settlement signed in May 2015 covering the period from November 2012 to October 2017.

The finance ministry had recently asked the heads of public sector banks finalise the modalities for timely implementation of the next pay revision.

The Banks Board Bureau Chairman Vinod Rai also recently made a case for an improved compensation package across the board of public sector banks.

"Maybe, we are not able to do much with the fixed part of compensation package but (with) variable part we are hopeful that in the next financial year (2017-18), we will be able to introduce a far more attractive package which do have bonuses, ESOPs and other performance linked incentives as part of the package," he said.

Rai has also suggested that managing directors of the public sector banks should be appointed for minimum 6 years.
People look at Sony TV sets at an electronic shop in Tokyo December 9, 2008. Japan's Sony Corp said it will slash about 4 percent of its workforce, scale back investments and pull out of businesses as it aims to cut $1.1 billion in costs out of its ailing electronics operations. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN) - RTR22EVE

Buoyed by positive sentiment in market and forecast of a good monsoon, Japanese consumer electronics major Sony expects sales in India to grow over 20 percent this fiscal.

The company is looking at its TV panel category to drive the growth even as other verticals, such as home and car audio systems, camera and PlayStation also continue to gain traction.

"Our target is over 20 percent. It should be better than last year," Sony India Pvt Ltd Managing Director Kenichiro Hibi told PTI when asked about sales expectations for the new fiscal.

Last fiscal, the company had registered around 20 percent growth in sales despite demonetisation putting up a challenge.

The company does not make public its financial performance in India.

This year, he said: "the sentiment is quite positive. One month has just passed and I have visited many places and found that consumers' feeling was quite positive."

Hibi said the early onset of summer has had an indirect positive impact as good sales of air conditioners as it has put money in the hands of the company's channel partners.

Moreover, he said, the forecast of a good monsoon augured well for the consumer durables industry as it would drive rural sales.

"It is very good and impacts us positively as the upcountry business is dependent on agriculture. Good harvest means that they are coming to buy TV. The sentiments are good," Hibi said.

At present, 40 percent of Sony's sales in India come from upcountry areas and is growing fast, he said while adding that the majority of sales continues to be driven by metro markets.

"This is because our product portfolio is more premium. Upcountry sales is also increasing because the economy is growing and people are buying mid segment products. However, they are purchasing more in mid to high end," Hibi said.

Elaborating on how purchasing pattern has changed in non-metro markets, he said that till about two to three years, in the TV panels, 24-inch screen size was the most sought after but now it is the 32-inch.

"Even last year, we saw a good portion coming from 40 inch, which is mid to high end. They (upcountry) are going for bigger panels, which is good for us," Hibi said.

On the overall products segment, he said TV panel is the biggest category but others such as audio, which has multiple categories like home theatre, speaker systems, headphone and bluetooth speakers for mobile phones are becoming very popular among youngsters.

Even in cameras, Hibi said demand for point-and-shoot cameras have come back gradually after dropping for a few years due to the advent of smartphones.

"Customers now understand that mobile phones have limitations in shooting," he said adding "even the professional segment is growing."

Sony India is also witnessing an increase in demand for car audio systems with the car industry growing almost 10 percent last year.

"More cars they would have, we would have more car audios," Hibi quipped.
Samsung Galaxy S8

South Korean consumer electronics major Samsung is aiming to corner around 60 per cent market share of the premium TV segment by the end of this year.

The company, which today launched Smart QLED TV here to strengthen it's position in the premium segment, is expecting panels of 40 inches and above to drive majority sales.

"We are aiming to take our share in the premium panel market to 60 per cent by the end of this year from the present 48 per cent. This would be helped by our new TV range as QLED series," said Samsung India VP CE Rajeev Bhutani.

He further added: "The company would also increase its share in the overall pannel market to 35 per cent, from 31 per cent."

Presently, in value terms, the overall size of the indian TV market is around USD 2.4 billion (Rs 15,430 crore). The market is an intensely competitive one as new entrants have come into the low cost segments as well as in the premium 40 inch plus segment.

According to Bhutani, in panels of 32 inches and below, the industry has not witnessed any growth.

"As far as Samsung is concerned, we would continue to operate in all screen sizes across all points. However, our endeavour would be to drive and showcase the consumer the latest innovative products, which in turn is creating and driving the market in the 40 inch and above segment," he added.

The company has priced the QLED series between Rs 3.14 lakh and Rs 24.99 lakh for screen sizes of 55 inch to 88 inch.

Samsung has come with a pre-book offer for its QLED TV under which it is offering Samsung Galaxy S8 (Gold) free to customers who book up to May 21.
An employee is seen at the front desk of Snapdeal headquarters in Gurugram on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

At a luxury hotel in Gurgaon today, seven board members of Snapdeal will meet to discuss the final contours of the sale of the e-commerce firm to Bangalore-based rival Flipkart, sources privy to the discussion told Moneycontrol. The deal which has been in works for last few weeks is stuck due disagreement within stakeholders over final settlement for the company's earliest investors.

According to a person privy to the development, the board will focus on bringing Nexus Venture Partners one of the early investors in Snapdeal to agree to the deal to sell the company. The meeting is also likely to bring clarity to the fate of over 1,000 existing employees of Snapdeal.

"Issues such as employees retention and severance packages have broadly been sorted by now," another source close to Snapdeal told Moneycontrol.

According to the second source quoted above, the deal is likely to include a settlement amount for only a select top executives, mostly CXOs.

Other senior employees including senior vice presidents and category heads could get salaries ranging between 6-10 months titled as 'retention bonus' to join the merged entity with a specified lock in period.

For the bottom rung of employees, there has been a discussion to give them around six months of employment assurance.

Snapdeal did not respond to an email query by Moneycontrol on the issues.

The meeting today is likely to take place in Gurgaon and will be conducted in the first half of the day.

While Softbank representatives are expected to attend the meeting through a video conferencing, Nexus and Kalaari will be present in Gurgaon.

Cofounders Rohit Bansal, Kunal Bahl, Softbank's Lydia Jett, Kabir Misra and Kalaari Capital's Vani Kola are expected to join the meeting. Nexus Venture Partners' Suvir Sujan is also likely to be present. The meeting was pre-scheduled weeks ago, even as the final contours were getting shaped.

##Sellers asked to take back goods

Even as the merger talks are in progress, Snapdeal has asked sellers to take back slow moving inventory from its warehouses. According to one of the sources quoted above the gross merchandise value of the inventory that Snapdeal stores in its warehouses for the sellers amounts to about Rs 300-330 crore. Of this, at least 20-25 percent constitutes slow moving inventory.

Similar to other e-commerce firms, Snapdeal stores inventory in warehouses since that allows it to manage faster delivery of the product to the consumers.

According to people privy to the development, this (settlement) is being done since the last couple of weeks. However according to one of the persons quoted above, it had nothing to do with the deal and was a practice done with every change of cycle.

"The inventory in Snapdeal is owned by the seller and not the e-commerce company. They can take it at any point in time. The company too keeps clearing it, if the products are clogging the block," he said.

##Kalaari Capital may get a full exit

According to an industry analyst, the deal is likely to witness a full exit to Snapdeal's earliest investor Kalaari Capital.

"Kalaari has partially exited the company anyway in previous rounds. The bigger question is whether Flipkart want to bring them on board or not?" the source remarked.

Snapdeal which was started in 2010 by schoolmates Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

Things started to turn sour when an expected large funding from Softbank did not come, late last year.

Succumbing to the lack of funding, the Snapdeal is now in conversation with its biggest rival for a sale.

There have been multiple reports on differences among the investors as well as the founders of the company, which has now stalled the deal.

In an email addressed to its employees last week, Bahl has said that it was the investors who were driving the decision on the way forward, indicating that the founders had little control over immediate developments at the company.

The company is currently considering multiple options. Besides having conversations to sell Snapdeal, the company is also in independent talks to sell Snapdeal's logistics arm Vulcan Express with TVS Logistics and Future Supply Chain Solutions. For the payments arm Freecharge, Snapdeal is looking for potential buyers.

Today's board meeting will clear a lot of air on the company's various subsidiaries as well.
Titan Company

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Titan and European luxury firm Maison Montblanc, which has a joint venture to open latter's retail outlets here, is looking at a turnover of up to Rs 600 crore over the next four years.

The joint venture has seven boutique stores across Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune Hyderabad, Bengaluru and will add seven more stores this year.

"We have a plan for about 25 stores under the joint venture. This year we will add seven stores, which will take the total to 14 stores. I believe India is one of the best among store openings for MontBlanc. Twenty-five stores is a five year journey plan but we believe we can do it faster," Titan managing director Bhaskar Bhat told PTI here.

"Per boutique we should be able to do a business of Rs 20-30 crore. So for 25 stores we should be able to do Rs 400-600 crore," he added.

Bhat said the JV is adequately funded to open 25 stores and is also looking at online presence this year.

"MontBlanc globally is looking at online as an omni-play but online in India will start very soon. It could start by this year. It will be most likely in partnership (with other e-commerce players)," he said.

The boutiques sell writing instruments, watches, men's accessories and leather goods.

The JV will focus on the metros for retail outlets while online will help it to cater to the non-metro customers.

"Large cities are our primary thrust for stores. We will explore some online because the non-metro customer certainly has an allure of MontBlanc. We are not considering physical stores in non-metros right now.

"Till we have established presence in metros we won't go to the next tier because luxury is still very much a metro phenomenon. People in non-metros want it but providing access would be expensive because per store investment is very high," he said.
A team of CBI officers is in London to expedite the extradition process of Vijay Mallya. The team, led by Rakesh Asthana, would hold talks with the British prosecutors.

The 61-year-old liquor baron, wanted in India for defaulting on loans, was arrested on April 19, after he appeared at a central London police station.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London and was seen walking out with his legal team a few hours later after being granted bail.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

In January, an Indian court ordered a consortium of lenders to start the process of recovering the loans.

The arrest comes weeks after Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had indicated that Mallya's extradition would feature in his talks during his visit to the UK.

India had given a formal extradition request for Mallya as per the Extradition Treaty between India and the UK through a note verbale on February 8.
US Midterm Elections | Red wave in America? | All you need to know
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India arrives at the Hangzhou Exhibition Center to participate to G20 Summit, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Etienne Oliveau/Pool - RTX2O240

The world is comfortable with India's rising stature, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he met the latest batch of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers here.

Sharing his thoughts with the group of 41 officer trainees, he stressed on the need for the Foreign Service officers to be extremely well informed, and think in a global perspective, a PMO statement said.

He urged the officer trainees to keep in touch with their batchmates from other services so that they could always keep abreast of developments at home.

"The Prime Minister said, that by and large, the world believes that India has a bright future, and is comfortable with Indias rising stature," according to the PMO statement.
business Expect double-digit growth in decorative segment in FY18: Kansai Nerolac Kansai Nerolac reported earnings, it was an operationally strong performance. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, HM Bharuka, MD of the company spoke about the results and his outlook for the company.
In India, there is increasing talk of merging smaller banks to create a behemoth that will take on larger global players and fund big infrastructure projects. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has already set the ball rolling for bigger banks by getting state-owned State Bank of India to absorb its smaller associates.

Contrast this with the narrative in the US, where President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he is thinking of breaking up the giant Wall Street banks.

While a straightforward comparison cannot be made between big banks in the two countries, both models deliver a strong underlying message.

Lets look at the US first.

In the interview with Bloomberg, Trump spoke of reviving a Depression-era legislation called the Glass-Stegall law. It essentially involves splitting banks into two categories  consumer and investment banking. The first is a deposit-taking entity backed by taxpayers and shareholders that primarily provides loans to businesses and consumers. The other banks fall under the category of investment banks and insurers that trade and underwrite securities and create or focus on other complex instruments.

Many experts believe it was the latter  trading and investing  that led to the financial meltdown in 2008, which impacted not only the US but global markets too.

During his election campaign, Trump called for a 21st century version of the 1933 Glass-Steagall law. The logic behind the law is to prevent tax payer money from flowing into speculative operations from normal banking.

While Trumps interview momentarily impacted banking stocks, they soon recovered and moved higher on hopes that the sum-of-part valuation will be higher than the current value of these banks.

However, not many are optimistic on Trumps proposals and feel it would be difficult to implement. The biggest hurdle will be the banks themselves, which are too big to be disturbed. The banking industry has dismissed the idea as not feasible and one that would have a seismic effect on the banking system and impact jobs as well as lending activity.

In India, the rationale for the merger was to prevent the smaller banks from being crushed under the weight of their toxic assets. Banks here have small trading books as compared to the overall size of the bank. Thus, the threat of tax payers and shareholders money moving to riskier capital markets assets is ruled out. In India, lending itself is a risky business with weak laws that prevent recovery from defaulters.

The primary reason that India wants to make big banks and the US wants to break them is the same: preventing the ills of the banking system from spilling over to the economy.

However, the US experience shows us these banks become too big to manage. In fact, most of the top financial and economic roles in US governments have gone to representatives of these banks who ensure their interests are taken care of.

However, It is highly unlikely that the US big banks, which fund Wall Street and a substantial portion of global markets, will be allowed to be broken up by the forces that hold the purse strings.

In India, the reality is the exact opposite. Banks are used to meet the governments social commitments which are at times not financially feasible. Political pressure is used to fund company expansion plans and undertake restructuring that serves little purpose. Since they are nationalised banks, the government cannot be seen failing them.

Both nations need to look at Japan and the historic failure of its big banks. The country has yet to recover from the failure of its big banks at the start of the 1990s. Its economy has shrunk and at 234 percent, the government debt to Gross Domestic Product is the highest in the world. This fact should be enough to deter the Indian government from creating a monster that can take the economy down with it.
New Delhi: Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari interacts with PTI journalists in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Photo by Atul Yadav (Eds pls see Story under DEL 15,16,17,18) (PTI5_20_2015_000091B)

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Central Government is spending Rs 50,000 crore on various projects in Haryana to further improve road infrastructure in the state.

The union minister for road, transport and highways, while addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of the Pinjore bypass project from National Highway-22 to 21 A here in Panchkula district, said his ministry would accept all demands of Haryana.

The length of the national highways in the state would be doubled as the Union Government has fast-tracked the decision-making process for all infrastructure projects, he said.

Gadkari made several important announcements on the occasion including three new underpasses on NH-22 in Panchkula at a cost of Rs 170 crore.

Some of the other announcements made by Gadkari include an elevated flyover that would be built on NH-2 (Delhi-Agra) from Agra Chowk to Delhi Chowk in Palwal town, Sohna bypass on NH-71B, eastern bypass for Karnal subject to the condition that 50 per cent land cost will be shared by state.

He declared the Khangsara-Kala Amb stretch as National Highway as well as four-laning of the road from Yamunanagar to Paonta Sahib.

He urged the state government to help in land acquisition for the Delhi-Yamunanagar Expressway which would link Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

"This will boost tourism and generate employment opportunities. With a view to bringing down the pollution level, the Union Government will promote electric taxis in Haryana," he said.

The government is making efforts to further increase the pace of road construction to 40 km per day from the current 23 km per day by March 2018, he said.

The average road construction was 23 km per day in March 2017 against only 2 km per day during the Congress regime, he said.

Gadkari said 65 per cent work on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, which was being constructed at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore, had already been completed.

It would be dedicated to the people by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15.

The expressway will help divert traffic coming from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir which currently passes through Delhi, he said.

Speaking on this occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that prior to October 2014, there were about 1,470 km long National Highways in the state which had increased to 2,480 km in 2017. After completion of the ongoing works on recent announcements, this figure would reach to 3,200 km.

The present government has got completed construction of 24 bridges and work is in progress on 21 others, he said.
Abbott may refile application to withdraw its coronary stent products Alpine and Absorb from Indian market with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), after its plea to remove the two products was rejected by Indian drug price regulator.

We continue to engage with relevant stakeholders on the right time to file the requisite applications, per due process, Abbott said in an email interview to Moneycontrol.

Following the NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) price ceiling decision we have examined and re-examined whether there is a sustainable way to make available in India two of Abbott's latest stent technologies, the Alpine drug eluting stent and the Absorb dissolving stent. Considering their higher manufacturing costs and other associated costs, we have determined it is not sustainable, and we have applied to the NPPA to withdraw these two stents, Abbott said.

Abbott said that the company continues to supply Alpine and Absorb stents while the government reviews its application. There is no shortage of Abbott stents, it added.

Abbott said only a very small percentage of patients in India receive Alpine and Absorb.

Last week, Indian drug regulator NPPA rejected applications filed by Abbott and Medtronics to withdraw their stent products from market technical grounds.

NPPA in its order said that the companies cannot pull their stents from the market abruptly as the government has invoked its powers under Para 3 of the Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013 and directed the company to maintain uninterrupted supplies of all its coronary stents including BVS or bio-reabsorbable for six months from the date of the order.

NPPA has asked Abbott and Medtronic to resubmit its request two weeks before the expiry of the Para 3 restrictions, which are currently in operation.

Abbott which is dominant player in Indian coronary stent market, sells Alpine and Absorb stents, in addition to its affordable stents under Xience series.

The company said it has no intention to pull these stents off the market.

Abbott will continue to make available all other Xience coronary stent products, which are considered the worldwide gold standard in stent technology. There is no shortage of Xience stents and they continue to remain available within the ceiling price set by the NPPA order of February 13, 2017, the company said.

NPPA had on February 16 issued a notification capping coronary stent prices. It capped the prices of bare metal stent at Rs 7,260 and drug-eluting stent (DES) and biodegradable stents at Rs 29,600, much lower than the market prices. Both the prices are exclusive of value added tax. DES constitutes 95 percent of the market.

The medical devices industry, especially the multinational companies, have opposed the regulation of stent prices, and warned that decision will stifle access of innovative and advanced therapies for patients.

About three-fifths of the market for stents is shared by multinational companies such as Abbott, Medtronics, Meril Lifesciences and Boston Scientific.

Abbott has been helping people in India live fuller and healthier lives for more than 100 years while conducting its business in a sustainable way. While we are aligned with the government's intent for broad access to care, we're disappointed that the NPPA concluded there is no differentiation in coronary stent technology, Abbott said.

In India, only about 3 out of 1000 coronary heart disease patients are treated with angioplasty compared to 32 in the US.

Angioplasty is the procedure of placing stent in an artery.

As per the National Interventional Council (NIC) Registry data in 2015, a total of 3,53,346 angioplasties were performed and 4,73,000 stents were implanted in India.

The country's coronary stents market was valued at USD 481 million in 2015.
Ahead of its initial public offer (IPO) on Wednesday, road developer IRB Infrastructure Developers InvIT fund raised nearly Rs 2,100 crore from anchor investors allotting nearly 20.53 crore units at Rs 102 apiece on Tuesday.

The IRB Infrastructure Developers InvIT Fund has allotted 20.53 crore units on an average of Rs 102 to 28 anchor investors for a sum of Rs 2,094.50 crore, the company said in a statement. Anchor investors include international and domestic investors such Government of Singapore, Deutsche Global Infrastructure Fund, Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company are among the anchor investors. Bajaj Consultants is the advisor to the trust for the issue

IRB InvIT Fund plans to raise Rs 5,033 crore from the IPO. The IPO, which opens on May 3, consists of a fresh issue of up to Rs 4,300 crore, offer for sale of up to Rs 355 crore and oversubscription of up to Rs 435 crore at the upper price band of Rs 102 per unit.

An InvIT, which is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a trust, allows individuals to invest in infrastructure projects. InvITs or infrastructure investment trusts are those debt instruments which will be traded in the market and can act as investment vehicles for the sponsors. The listing of instruments enable promoters of infrastructure to monetise completed assets and raise funds for other long-term projects.

IRB has bundled six of its operational road assets across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

IDFC Bank, Credit Suisse Securities and ICICI Securities are the lead managers to the issue, while Karvy Computershare is the register to the issue. The units are proposed to be listed on BSE and National Stock Exchange.
The latest entrant in the small finance banking space is AU Financiers that recently got a licence from Reserve Bank of India to begin its operations. The Jaipur-based bank has commenced operations with over 300 branches across ten states and is looking to go public by July.

In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18's Ritu Singh, Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank said the bank would continue to grow at a compounded rate of over 40 percent in the coming years.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Q: By when do you hope to get the company listed?

A: I am very grateful to all my investors, right from IFC, Warburg Pincus, Chrys Capital and Kedaara Capital, these guys have really helped us to get this transition from non-banking finance company (NBFC) to small finance bank (SFB) and I made a promise to them that because of a lot of governance, a lot of rules and regulations from RBI, we will get this company listed by September, 2017. So I hope that before that, the initial public offering (IPO) should come. Actually, we are targeting now, July end. And this is just an offer for sale.

Q: Could you take us through your current shareholders and what kind of exits we will be seeing in this upcoming IPO in July?

A: Overall, major shareholder, my family and I hold around 35 percent. So, we will be selling around 2 percent. Kedaara is around 10 percent and he will be selling around 4 percent and similar is with Chrys and IFC, but the major shareholder is Warburg which has around 22 percent and as you all know, RBI does not allow more than 10 percent. So, they are coming down to around 15 percent with this hope that they can go back to RBI and there can be change of heart, change of rules.

Q: But how far have those conversations progressed? I believe they have been in talks for a while. Has RBI, at any point, showed an inclination?

A: RBI, as of now, has done that nobody can be more than 10 percent. But it is a long time. There is still 15 months to comply with that. So, I hope if RBI says yes, then they can look for more than that. Otherwise, whatever they have said to us, 10 percent is final.

Q: What is the long-term strategy going to be to exit some of your investments like even the 10 percent you hold in your housing finance business? Would you look to exit that at some time in the future?

A: I think all the answers lie in the future, so it can be both. If we figure out that the capital is cheap and our investment is good enough, we can go to market or if we feel that the market is expensive but if this investment is good enough. So, we will decide after three years only what should we do.

Q: What kind of growth are you promising to your investors as you become a publically listed entity in just a couple of months from now? You have been growing at very high rates, but once you start building this bank, building your deposit base, what kind of growth could you promise them?

A: The whole excitement is around opportunity. So, in AU, what we have done over the years is because of opportunity and the product and deliveries which we have built on. So now, bank gives us a better platform in terms of visibility, in terms of trust, in terms of acceptance. We can have more products, we can have more products, we can have more services. Our cost of funds can go down in the next three-five years. So, growth rate, whatever we have done over the years of 40 compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) should not be less than that. That is my idea.
Senior Technical Lead: With a median annual salary Rs 12,00,000 going up to Rs 25,00,000 per annum, an expertise in designing and building software products, in collaboration with the sales and design verticals, is the main job description. A key skill is to analyze user requirements to ensure customer satisfaction. (Image: Pixabay)

Nitin Goel

Dematerialisation of share (demat) has been a silent revolution in India. Just as your money lies in a bank and you have a passbook and internet access to view your transactions and balance, the concept of dematerialization is similar. It has made share trading and holding simpler and safer for all. Just like a bank, the details are securely stored with depositories and the data is adequately backed up in view of its value and sensitivity. Therefore the user is free of worries like fire and theft.

Demat has also made bad delivery a thing of the past and also facilitated quick electronic delivery. Further, corporate actions like bonus etc are automatically taken care of by the system and credited to the account on the due date without manual intervention. Finally, one can hold shares, ETFs, bonds, MFs in the demat account and the list is expanding every year.

The downside, of course, is that because this is technology driven some investors can get misled. Besides, unlike paper shares, there is a direct periodic holding cost payable to the demat service provider. But in todays world, technology has to be befriended in all spheres and the benefits are many. Incidentally, even issuing companies benefit with lower printing and distribution costs and efficient service to investors with the additional advantage of zero stamp duty. Forgery too is effectively taken care of by demat of shares.

So what will it take to double the number of demat accounts in six months? Will it lead to doubling equity penetration? Will it help in increasing wealth for our citizens? Here is a perspective.

The equity cult was created in the US with proof that over an extended period, real wealth could be created for retail investors. There have been stars like Warren Buffet but the real evidence lies in the continuous investment of American employee provident funds into equity markets, mostly with excellent returns. While our provident funds too have started putting money into equity markets, a track record will take time. So what is the best way to spread the equity cult? Of course, by increasing the number of demat accounts which can actually double within six months, will easily double equity penetration and increase the wealth of our citizens.

An Indian wealth research report states that today only 5% of financial wealth in Indian families goes into financial products, with a part of this going into equities directly or via mutual funds. The comparative US number is 40%. Just like Jan Dhan accounts enabled banking in unbanked areas including rural, an equally intense drive on demat accounts propelled by the prime minister will have an equally large economic impact. This is about financial inclusion. This is about creating wealth. This is about value addition. Why should not a Jan Dhan account holder have access to a globally known way to create wealth?

If India is to grow at 7%+ over the next several years, this growth will need to be funded by equity and debt. Since the government simply doesnt have the money to fund this on its own, a large part will come from the citizens who in turn will benefit from the increase in equity prices of the companies which are involved in providing the products and services which underpin this growth. Like bridges. Roads. Telecommunications. A country growing at 7% a year for ten years can give equity returns in multiples to equity investors.

Demat is also the single most effective tool for investment, reports, tracking, growth and tax compliance because it is fully electronic with a complete data trail. But a few more things need to be done which will multiply the benefits to customers.

For example, a single operating demat account which, in addition to existing products, includes life and general insurance, FDs, post office certificates, NSC, property deeds, gold holdings  in fact anything which is an investment. This will allow a single view of all investments with a facility for pledging easily. Since the date of purchase and sale of assets is part of the statement, tax certificates certifying the applicable tax could be instantly generated. The creation of a demat account will automatically create allied services around it and force financial service providers to reach out to them with suitable products. In line with the Jan Dhan account idea, a differentiated demat account with only products having relatively higher safety features is eminently possible.

So it is time for a Jan Nivesh account now. This aadhar linked account will be targeted to channelize small savings allowing investment of cash up to Rs 500 per account per month, obviously with no PAN requirement. Just like Jan Dhan, a Jan Nivesh demat account would be a revolutionary step towards true financial inclusion. This would only be allowed for first-time investors with products including mutual funds, debt and ETFs. Naturally, these could be further used as collateral for loans if necessary.

It is a fundamental duty of the government to provide all possible avenues to its citizens to increase their wealth, with the same zeal with which governments pursue taxation for revenue. So it is time for a drive to open Jan Nivesh accounts with the same intensity as the Jan Dhan effort. Is anybody listening?
May 02, 2017 / 08:16 AM IST

CNBC-TV18 brings you a brand new week of Bull's Eye. It's the popular game show where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Pankaj Jain, Vijay Chopra and Ruchit Jain battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Pankaj Jain of SW Capital

Buy Syndicate Bank with a stoploss at Rs 80.50 and target of Rs 87

Buy Federal Bank with a stoploss at Rs 105.50 and target of Rs 114

Buy Fortis Healthcare with a stoploss at Rs 218 and target of Rs 229

Buy RBL Bank with a stoploss at Rs 559 and target of Rs 579

Vijay Chopra of enochventures.com

Buy Punjab National Bank (PNB) with a stoploss at Rs 164 and target of Rs 172

Buy Syndicate Bank with a stoploss at Rs 80 and target of Rs 86

Buy Vedanta with a stoploss at Rs 238 and target of Rs 250

Buy IFCI with a stoploss at Rs 29 and target of Rs 34

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Bharat Forge with a stoploss at Rs 1107 and target of Rs 1195

Buy Cox & Kings with a stoploss at Rs 219 and target of Rs 241

Buy Karur Vysya Bank with a stoploss at Rs 115 and target of Rs 129

Buy Jindal Poly with a stoploss at Rs 432 and target of Rs 480
Hemant Thukral of Aditya Birla Money told CNBC-TV18, "We have chosen two stocks; both are from the midcap side. Karnataka Bank has seen a huge addition of open interest (OI), 12 percent. Big cash volumes happened on Friday and what was interesting for me was a complete change on the 160 strike price. Call writers saw unwinding and 160 Put saw a huge addition of 5 lakh shares. So, complete change from the sentiment perspective on that end also. So, what we have feel is now the stock is heading towards that Rs 185-190 zones and in the immediate short-term you may find resistance around Rs 175. So, a bigger positional call can also be built up with a stop loss of around Rs 155-158 zones."

"The other stock that we have chosen is Motherson Sumi Systems; again a midcap which has given a fresh breakout above its 52 week high and again a stock which has seen 8 percent fresh open interest on the way of given this breakout. What is key is again is the unwinding in 400 Calls," he said.

"What we expect now Motherson Sumi to do is test the next resistance level of Rs 410-415 and the traders should keep a stop loss of around Rs 388-390 levels," he added.

"So, both, Motherson Sumi and Karnataka Bank are buy calls for the next two to three trading sessions."
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "Cement continues to do well. So, Orient Cement is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 165 and target of Rs 181. Jai Corp is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 86 and target of Rs 98."

"Fortis Healthcare is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 215 and target of Rs 232. Smaller banks have done well, so Karnataka Bank is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 159 and target of Rs 173," he said.
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Shares of Thermax gained 5 percent intraday Tuesday on export order win worth USD 157 million.

The company has won export contracts of approximately USD 157 million from a leading African conglomerate to supply 4 utility boilers, 8 heat recovery steam generators, and 2 flue gas steam generators for its refinery and petrochemical project coming up in Nigeria.

The contract includes design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing and testing, and supervision and commissioning of these equipment at the site.

M.S. Unnikrishnan, MD and CEO of Thermax said, Thermax has proven experience of executing projects in Africa, and we are happy to receive this repeat order from the customer which is a reflection of the goodwill and trust we are gaining in the continent.

The companys equipment is for a grassroot 460000 BPSD petroleum refinery and 600000 TPA polypropylene plant, the client is setting up in the Lekki Free Trade Zone of Nigeria.

The companys consolidated order inflow declined by 18 percent/15 percent in FY15/16 on lack of orders, meanwhile expect orders to increase by 9 percent in FY17, with revival in small cycle orders in FY17, Goldman Sachs said in its report.

We do not change our earnings on back of this announcement as we already factor 15 percent/26 percent growth in consolidated order inflow for FY18/19 and EPS growth of 33 percent/12 percent for FY18/19, it added.

Goldman Sachs remains neutral on the stock with a target of Rs 870.

At 10:08 hrs Thermax was quoting at Rs 1,042.60, up Rs 24.25, or 2.38 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
In an interview to CNBC-TV18's Sonia Shenoy and Anuj Singhal, Prakash Diwan of Altamount Capital Management shared his reading and outlook on the market and also gave recommendations on various stocks.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Sonia: You looked at a lot of stock results, you were talking to us about how Bharat Financials numbers intrigued you, was it the lost that worried you or do you think because it was a higher provisions, it is fine and this stock would do well?

A: Absolutely, so if you look at the numbers, they seem very optically misleading. It shows a loss, the loss is thanks to that huge Rs 300 crore provisioning that they have made. They have gone aggressive on provisioning which has been conservative because beyond 90 days is what Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stipulates at 50 percent provisioning, they have done it for more than 60 days kind of outstanding loans as well.

Secondly, what is interesting is the net interest income (NII) has gone up, it has gone up in a scenario where things have been difficult, they are talking about guiding about AUM growth which is 50 percent for FY18. I do not see any parameter which could worry you. So it is just that because it is a bride that is getting ready to finally be part of the Swayamvar which has been in the offing for a while and the clean up, the provisioning, all of that indicates that definitely there is something that is likely to happen. Numbers are not at all misleading but people could optically look at a loss and stare at a loss and get worried, it will be a better way to look at it from a slightly more detailed perspective.

Anuj: How would you approach Oil and Natural Gas and Corporation (ONGC)?

A: Let us look at what is happening to the oil and gas sector. Every participant or constituent in this listed space has done well in the last six months.

On the gas side, you take a Petronet LNG, you take IGL, GAIL, you take anybody who is into either refining distribution. ONGC is probably as if it is kind of standing away from all this. It is not part of the sector, it has been standing out and it has not been outstanding in terms of its stock price movement, which is where the catch-up is imminent.

Secondly, some of the other investments that they have made in the last two-three years internationally and domestically, the investments into refining capacity and especially the gas infrastructure is going to start playing out. One of the subsidiaries is MRPL. It has done 40 percent in the last three months. If you have investments, which are appreciating and contributing on sum-of-the-parts basis also, ONGC needs to start getting a relook and that is what will happen. If those refining margins are such a huge premium over the Singapore complex, ONGC may not do a Reliance thing but at least it could probably still make a lot of money given the kind of strengths that it has. So I think this stock deserves a little bit of rerating which you could probably start seeing now.

Sonia: The other stock that you have been very bullish on is Cholamandalam Investment and the numbers to me look pretty decent this quarter but what did you make of them?

A: Nothing very spectacular that deserves a re-look or more accumulation to happen and what is happening is Cholamandalam is seeing at elevated levels a lot of long funds have moved out if you see in the last couple of months because of the rally. You have 50 percent of an upside in a fund where the lifespan is probably just a year away from tenure is getting to a closure level or something and the other thing is Cholamandalam is in that space which is very clearly an economy facing so if you have a Magma Fincorp and SREI Finance and all of them getting rerated, there is no reason why Cholamandalam stays out with the kind of pedigree it has. So I think it is just a matter of time but it is good, the consolidation is giving people opportunities to buy into this.

But one set of numbers before I forget which I wanted to bring to your attention was Biocon. This is another classic where I do not know why the street is disappointed with the numbers but I think it is giving you one more chance to  this is the last boarding call to get into the stock before it makes new highs. What happened to Maruti, people who are disappointed with the results and the stock reacted and they never gave you a chance, straight Rs 200 rally thereafter. So results is getting to be a very good opportunity for the brave and the longer-term people to look at buying in and because the markets are not going to be so charitable and give you too many dips as Anuj keeps on pointing out. You get a dip, buy into it if you are a long only investor. If you are a trader, that is a different dynamics but wonderful opportunities coming through in the result season.

For full interview, watch videos...

Disclosure: Reliance Industries, the parent company of Reliance Jio, owns Network 18 that publishes Moneycontrol.com.
US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un "under the right circumstances", the White House has said asserting that Pyongyang needs to meet a lot of conditions for such a meeting between the two leaders to take place.

"There's a lot of things that go along with that, and that's the key thing. "Under the right circumstances" was, I believe, the phrase he used. I think that is something in keeping with our consistent with the policy expressed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as well," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

"We've got to see their provocative behaviour ratcheted down immediately. There's a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behaviour and to show signs of good faith," Spicer said when asked about Trump's statement in an interview that he is willing to meet the North Korean leader.

"Clearly, conditions are not there right now, but I think the President has made it clear, as Secretary Tillerson had the other day, that if the conditions, if the circumstances present themselves we'll be prepared to, but they're clearly not at this time," Spicer said.

Spicer stressed the right circumstances for a meeting between the two leaders does not exist right now.

"If North Korea continues down a degree of provocative behaviour, then those circumstances will never be there," he said.

"We want to hold out the possibility that if North Korea were ever serious about completely dismantling its nuclear capability and taking away the threat that they pose both to the region and to us that there is always going to be a possibility of that occurring. That possibility is not there at this time," Spicer said.

Trump, he said, understands the threat North Korea poses.

"Having someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country and potentially our country as some point in the future is something the President takes very seriously," he said.

"So the idea that he is doing everything diplomatically, economically, and militarily to consider every way to prevent that threat from taking on the US is something" he added.

The White House spokesman also defended the decision of the US President to meet his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.

"I think there's an economic piece to this, as well. That's part of the reason that I think the President wants to meet with him," he said.

"I'm not going to get ahead of their discussions. I would suggest that there are multifaceted ways and areas in which not just the Philippines but other countries in the region can help play a role both economically, diplomatically, and otherwise to help deter the threat that they pose," Spicer said.

The meeting with the Philippines President is also an opportunity to work with countries in that region that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea.

"And, frankly, the national interest of the United States, the safety of our people and the safety of people in the region are the number-one priorities of the President," he said.

Spicer refuted allegations that by meeting his counterpart from Philippines, Trump is ignoring human rights concerns.

"The number-one concern of this President is to make sure that we do everything we can to protect our people, and specifically, to economically and diplomatically isolate North Korea," he said.

"I think when you look at what he is doing in terms of building that coalition of countries in that region to do it, I think this is hopefully going to tell you every single thing that's in his brief, but he's well aware of -- when he speaks with a leader, he gets briefed on a lot about their -- what they're doing, what they've done," Spicer said.
An administrator of a WhatsApp group has been arrested in Karnatakas Uttara Kannada district after a derogatory post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi was circulated in the group.

This is the first such arrest of a WhatsApp group administrator reported from Karnataka.

A police source told CNN-News18 that the administrator of 'The Balse Boys', Krishna Sannathamma Naik (30), from Murudeshwar area in the district has been arrested.

Krishna, an auto rickshaw driver, has been accused of posting derogatory matter about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his group.

According to the police, a photograph of the prime minister was morphed to look ugly and obscene before being circulated. Police registered a case after a complaint from Anand Manjunath Naik.

Another accused, Ganesh Naik, was also arrested and is out on bail. The third accused, Balakrishna Naik, is still on the run.

This comes in the backdrop of growing concern about the social media platform being misused to spread fake news, morphed photographs and disturbing videos with fabricated local narratives that can trigger tension and even communal rift in an area.

Recently, a joint order was issued by Varanasi District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra and Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari which made it has been made clear that any factually incorrect, rumour or misleading information on a social media group could result in an FIR against the group administrator.

There are over 200 million WhatsApp users in India. The order directed that social media group administrators should be ready to bear the responsibility and ownership of the groups. The administrator must include only those members who are personally known to him or her.
In a barbaric act, the bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated by the Pakistan Army which violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district and attacked a patrol team near the border on Monday.

The Indian Army has vowed an appropriate response to the despicable act.

Pakistan army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts along the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector.

Simultaneously, a Border Action Team (BAT) action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated, a statement by the Indian Army said.

Earlier reports had said that a BSF soldier and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army were martyred in firing by Pakistan Rangers. "At about 0830 hours, there was heavy firing from Pakistani (army) posts at BSF posts at LoC in Krishnagati sector of Poonch district with rockets and automatic weapons", a senior BSF officer had said.

It serves as a brutal reminder of two such acts in 2016 when the bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated right after Pakistan initiated cross-border firing.

Pakistani troops had breached the truce along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri sectors seven times last month. They violated the ceasefire in Poonch sector on April 19 and shelled mortars on forward posts in Noushera sector on April 17.

Pakistan had resorted to firing in the same sector on April 8, in Poonch district on April 5, in Bhimbher Gali (BG) sector on April 4 and twice on April 3 in Balakote and (Digwar) Poonch sectors.
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10 hours ago
A local community that has become increasingly active since a U.S. immigration agency moved to Morgan Hill took to the streets May 1, this time organized by a group of Gavilan College students working tandemly with Community Agency for Resources and Advocacy Services.

About 75 South County residents gathered at Galvan Park, bearing signs with different slogans supporting the working class and immigration, and marched through the downtown to their destination in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on Vineyard Court.

Gavilan student George Villa, 34, a sociology major taking a social problems class, said the May Day March was part of a social learning services project that partnered with CARAS.

Were here to support all the working class people and be part of the May Day marches across the country, said Villa, who was joined by several of his college classmates, representatives from various organizations throughout the area and other residents that shared in the groups message. We appreciate all the international workers and support undocumented immigration rights.

Martha Jimenez, 20, a sophomore at Gavilan taking the same sociology class, said her group hoped to empower the people to show them that they have a voice and support from many others in the community.

We want to encourage them to be part of a social movement, said Villa, who helped organize the service learning project to benefit the working class and immigrants. We want to bring to light the efforts and struggles of the working people and undocumented immigrants.

CARAS program specialist Armando Franco, also the organizations in-house artist, held a megaphone and led the group throughout their route as well as in May Day chants such as: United we stand. Well march until the end.

Upon the marchers arrival to the ICE office on Vineyard Court, ensemble members of El Teatro Campesino performed a historic act dealing with social injustice.

In addition, an indigenous group of native Izkalli performers spread messages of peace and healing through song, dance and burning of copal/sage. A list of guest speakers, including members of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers and representatives of People Acting in Community Together and CARAS, was also part of the local May Day March.

We have come out to bless the community, said 37-year Morgan Hill resident Manuel Rocha, decked out in his traditional garb as a Izkali performer. We are here to unite different people whether Mexican or white.We all share in the struggle and can walk together as a group.

Noe Yaocoatl Montoya, a longtime South County activist and performer with El Teatro Campesino, performed May 2 at the end of the May Day march in front of the ICE office. The act depicted the exploitation and mistreatment of immigrant farmworkers.

Its important for people to gather to draw attention to the injustices, said Montoya, a Hollister resident. We are all brothers and sisters. If one of us suffers, too many suffer.

Gavilan student Nolan Golden, 20, said he immediately jumped on the idea of organizing a May Day march since he had been discriminated against himself as a member of the LGBTQ community.

All of us really want to shed light on the unprivileged workers who are an essential part of our community, said Golden, who leaned on his event planning background to help with the march. Everyone in America should feel at home here.

The local march was one of many May Day rallies throughout the country that involved millions of people standing up for workers and immigration rights.
A Granite Falls man will serve at least five years in prison for several crimes, including stealing a truck from the town of Rhodhiss.

Eric James Haas, 33, was given his prison term of five to seven years after pleading guilty to felony larceny, felony hit and run, and admitting his status as a habitual felon during Caldwell County Superior Court on Friday. Superior Court Judge Linwood O. Foust sentenced Haas, according to a release from the District Attorneys Office.

Judge Foust also gave Haas a three-year sentence for a driving while impaired (DWI) plea. That sentence will be served concurrent to his term of five to seven years and carries a mandatory $10,000 fine, according to the release.

Haas sentence was enhanced by his habitual felon status that included prior felony convictions for possession of stolen goods in Caldwell County (May 2006), larceny of a motor vehicle in Caldwell County (November 2007) and possession of burglary tools in Catawba County (April 2013), the release said.

On April 30, 2016, Haas broke into the public works plant in Rhodhiss and stole a truck belonging to the town. The Rhodhiss Police Department and Caldwell County Sheriffs Department received information about the theft and Detective Chris Everhart found Haas and he was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Haas returned the keys to the town truck, according to information from the District Attorneys Office.

The DWI plea and sentence stemmed from a March 28, 2015, incident when Deputy John Martin of the Caldwell County Sheriffs Office stopped Haas along Morganton Boulevard in Lenoir for driving in a reckless manner. Martin smelled alcohol and obtained a blood test showing the defendants alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit, according to the D.A.s release.

Andrew Jennings and Jennifer Mathews with the District Attorneys Office prosecuted the case.
Whats on investors minds this week? Income investing and pensions provision are at the top of the agenda; Lloyds will pay a 10% dividend, star UK equity fund manager Richard Buxton says. New research from consumer champions Which? suggests that in order to secure a comfortable retirement you need to save 130 a month for 40 years. You can find the best of our content, as voted for by Morningstar.co.uk readers, below.

Top 20 FTSE 350 Dividend Paying Stocks

UPDATED FEBRUARY 2017: Dividend payments have been boosted 4.8 billion by Brexit. We reveal the top 20 dividend paying stocks in the FTSE 350
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.
In response to reports of Home Capital Group Inc.s mounting troubles, one of the lenders largest former investors warned of the possibility of a contagion spreading through the rest of the Canadian financial system.The probability has gone from infinitesimal to possible -- unlikely, but possible, according to Jim Hall, chief investment officer of Calgary-based Mawer Investment Management Ltd., which sold around 2.8 million shares, or a 4.3 per cent stake, in Home Capital recently.If depositors or bondholders start to lose faith in their banks, well then that becomes systemic, Hall stated.However, Hall emphasized that the odds of this happening are low.Its a pretty hot fire in one little corner of the forest, and it doesnt look like its spreading, Hall explained. There are firefighters standing around it right now, so if it starts to move, theyll put it out.The comments came in the wake of Home Capitals attempt to secure a loan, intending to compensate for a drop in deposits. The lender has stated that its weighing a sale, hiring RBC Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets to advise on financing and strategic options.The assets look, at this point, still reasonably good, Hall noted, adding that the firms problem is a lack of confidence. Confidence was lost in this company and the business model breaks apart. Thats the problem with banks.As of the end of 2016, Home Capitals $15-billion home-loan book represented approximately 1 per cent of the nations $1.45 trillion mortgage market. The lender had $20.5 billion in assets at year-end.Home Capitals troubles were exacerbated in April 19 when Ontarios securities regulator accused the company of misleading investors over how the firm handled a review of mortgage brokers who falsified documents about borrowers income. The lenders shares dramatically declined by 65 per cent the day after.
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

Cloudy skies. High 69F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with light rain developing after midnight. Low 63F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
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House Democrats have signaled theyll put up a fight to save the controversial Dodd-Frank Act.Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee held their own hearing on the Financial CHOICE Act  the Republican alternative to Dodd-Frank  Friday, and they strongly defended the Dodd-Frank Act and slammed the Financial CHOICE Act as the Wrong Choice Act.Weve asked for this second hearing to hear from experts and well-informed witnesses who know, understand and appreciate the importance of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and who can point out the dangers of the Wrong Choice Act, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said. Now, even with this additional hearing, we cannot fully cover all of the many ways this bad bill would hurt hardworking Americans. We would need dozens more hearings to do that. But with this slate of outstanding experts here today, we will have the opportunity to educate the public about some of the harmful repercussions of the Wrong Choice Act.No Republicans attended the Democratic hearing. Witnesses included Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who helped mastermind the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren said that the passage of the Financial CHOICE Act would be a move in the opposite direction of President Donald Trumps promises on the campaign trail.This is a 589-page insult to working families, Warren said.Hensarling hit back by blasting Warren  and former President Barack Obama  as tools of Wall Street.Barack Obama is pocketing $400,000 for a Wall Street speech and Professor Warren is joining Wall Street CEOs in defending Dodd-Frank, Hensarling said in a statement.How awkward for the Democrats. The Financial CHOICE Act ends bailouts for Wall Street and imposes the toughest penalties in history for those who commit financial fraud and insider trading. Community banks and credit unions are supporting the Financial CHOICE Act. Wall Street CEOs and Democrats are the ones saying, Dont repeal Dodd-Frank.
The relentless drilling ramp-up in Americas top shale plays is making investors more skeptical that an oil price rebound is on the horizon.

After increasing their bets on rising West Texas Intermediate crude for three straight weeks, money managers slashed the wagers by 21 percent, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Producers in Texas are leading the longest shale revival since 2011, making OPEC-led efforts to rebalance the market increasingly difficult.

After the year started on a bullish note, with prices in New York topping $55 a barrel as Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major exporters began to cut production, the rally has staggered. Saudi Arabias Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih has admitted the first three months of supply curbs failed to bring inventories below the five-year average. As optimists lose heart, prices fell back below $50 last month.

Theres still a lot of talk about high inventory levels, Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts, said by telephone. Investors felt that prices had gone up too much compared to the fundamentals. The shale oil production trend is definitely bullish, which is bearish for prices.

This months production in the top U.S. shale plays will reach about 5.2 million barrels a day, the highest level since November 2015, according to the Energy Information Administration. As producers pour billions of dollars of investment into fields like the Permian and Eagle Ford in Texas, the countrys oil-rig count has more than doubled in a year to 697 last week, according to Baker Hughes Inc.

Meanwhile, major exporters reached an initial agreement to extend output cuts, Al-Falih said April 20. Mohammad Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said last week that all producers are steadfast in their commitment to pare production, and Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the country will reach its fully agreed 300,000 barrel a day cut as promised.

As questions remain if the exporters will eventually succeed, hedge funds decreased their net-long position, or the difference between bets on a price increase and wagers on a decline, to 255,421 futures and options in the week through April 25, the CFTC data show. Thats down almost 40 percent from a record in February. Longs fell 13 percent, while shorts jumped 26 percent.

Net-long positions in Brent oil decreased. Speculators wagers on the grade,the global benchmark traded in London, fell by 69,167 contracts to 358,266, the lowest level since November, data from ICE Futures Europe showed.

WTI slid 5.4 percent during the report week, falling below two technical barriers -- the 50-day and 100-day moving averages. Futures declined 0.5 percent to $49.08 a barrel as of 8:29 a.m in New York on Monday.

The drop below $50 is enough for the casual technician to take some money off the table if youre long, Bill OGrady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis, said by telephone.

Investors had been expecting prices to rise to $55 or $60 a barrel in light of the OPEC deal and prices never reached that level, Tariq Zahir, a New York-based commodity fund manager at Tyche Capital Advisors LLC, said by telephone. You started the year with longs. Theyre giving up on the trade to a certain point.






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A major step toward completion of Loop 250 was taken Monday at the Midland Development Corp. monthly board meeting.

The board voted 4-0 to execute an advanced funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation. Board member Gary Douglas was absent.

The MDC will contribute $2 million toward the construction of a curvilinear overpass at county roads 1150 and 60. The local participation in the project is expected to accelerate the project significantly.

The construction phase has a total cost of $21.5 million, and the total project cost is $29.459 million according to a copy of the agreement received by the Reporter-Telegram.

The MDCs contribution is part of the Type A sales tax organizations effort to leverage funds to get transportation projects completed faster. While a timeline hasnt been offered yet, the development corporations contribution effectively will speed up completion of the project, according to previous Reporter-Telegram reports.

The overpass at county roads 1150 and 60 isnt the only loop project on the MDCs radar. MDC Chairman Brent Hilliard told the Reporter-Telegram that the development corporation is close finishing second advance funding agreement with TxDOT, this time for an overpass at CR 1140. The MDC is also looking at how it can contribute to projects at Interstate 20 and Midkiff Road, as well as Loop 250 and State Highway 191.

TxDOT Odessa District Engineer John Speed thanked the MDC for its contribution. He called it a tremendous opportunity to start the process of continued cooperation.

In recent months. Hilliard has worked closely with the cities of Midland and Odessa, the Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Odessa Development Corp. to cooperate on leveraging money to expedite transportation projects. The ODC recently committed to contributing $15 million over 10 years toward the effort.

The MPO policy board, which programs federal and state transportation funding, must first approve of the overpass projects before they can go forward. The federally mandated organization currently is in the process of reconfiguring its master transportation plan, which lays out priority projects.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

 Program management search: The MDC board voted 3-0 to allow Hilliard, the chairman, to negotiate and execute a master professional services agreement with engineering consulting firms Parkhill Smith & Cooper, Kimley-Horn and Maverick Engineering. The MDC and city are working on a pair of five-year infrastructure plans and want an engineering firm to serve as program manager.

The three aforementioned firms and Santec Consulting Services each gave presentations about their qualifications for engineering and design services and serving as program managers. As part of the vote, the board approved all four firms as qualified.

The MDC chose to pursue a single program manager; however, that doesnt mean the firm chosen will do all of the engineering work. Some firms that gave presentations included others firms as partners in their presentations for the sake of having the best expertise on projects.

City Engineer Matt Carr said its not uncommon for engineering firms to partner with others on projects. Engineering Services Director Jose Ortiz said hiring a program manager is necessary because it will help move projects along.

Hilliard has told the Reporter-Telegram in the past that having the engineering part of projects ready gives the MDC and the city the ability to leverage funds to see projects completed faster, especially now that there is more transportation funding available because of the passage of propositions 1 and 7.

While the citys plan is not yet complete, it has about 60 infrastructure projects so far.

Hilliard abstained from voting because of his close work with the firms on the matter.

 Spaceport Business Park: The board voted 3-0 to approve allowing Hilliard to negotiate contracts with Boler Equipment Services and Jones Bros. Dirt and Paving for projects at Spaceport Business Park at Midland International Air & Space Port.

Boler will receive $325,490 to perform wet utilities work, and Jones Bros. will receive $513,219.50 for paving work.

Hilliard abstained because of his close work with these firms on the matters.

 Sales tax: The MDC collected $675,135.89 from the Type A quarter-cent sales tax in April. It has collected $5.112 million in the fiscal year so far.






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Students in the Gregory Gym area of the University of Texas at Austin found themselves in the middle of a deadly stabbing attack on Monday around 2 p.m.

One person was killed and multiple people were injured, according to officials at the scene. The suspect, who is now in custody, stabbed three people total and assaulted another.

RELATED: At least 1 dead, multiple injured in stabbing attack on UT-Austin campus

As the events transpired, a number of students used Twitter to warn others to stay away from the area and to report what they were witnessing.

Others questioned why they were not notified sooner by the campus about the situation.

"I was at the PCL [Perry-Castaneda Library] while it happened and they didn't even give us a notice until the guy was in custody...we were all in immediate danger," Twitter user @TheRyanOujesky said.

READ ALSO: Police: Dallas paramedic shot, critically hurt; scene active

An official university alert went out to students at 2:14 p.m., the Daily Texan reported. The alert said the suspect was in custody and there was no immediate threat to the campus.

University Provost Maurie McInnis sent an email to students at 3:15 p.m. announcing all afternoon classes at the university were canceled in response to the attack.

Hours after the attack shook campus, some students tweeted their thanks to social media for alerting them to the dangerous situation.

"Unbelievable that the emergency was only announced to the PCL and surrounding areas," said Twitter user roopa nagarajan. "Moody, e.g., clueless until twitter clued us in."

Staff writer Kelsey Bradshaw contributed to this report.

mmendoza@mysa.com

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By REN XIAOJIN and JING SHUIYU in Beijing and SUN RUISHENG in Taiyuan | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-02 07:14

A technician inspects the surface of a stainless steel piece at a factory of Shanxi-based Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co, which is staking its future on its research and development efforts. ZHANG XUANYU / FOR CHINA DAILY

TISCO's innovation powering space, nuclear programs and boosting exports

If you see Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co's recently attained capability to make domestic pen-tip steel for ballpoint pens as a sign of an exclusive focus on small things, you will be mistaken. The nation's top maker of stainless steel has decidedly big plans.

For one, TISCO is going global in line with the Belt and Road Initiative. For another, it is strengthening the supply of high-strength and high-end steel available for China's big-ticket projects, such as bullet trains, next-generation nuclear power plants and aerospace programs.

It is now a key cog in the massive manufacturing wheel that powers China's endeavors in industry and science.

As of March, TISCO started to supply stainless steel to Hualong One, the country's domestically developed third-generation reactor, adding one more name to the list of over 10 completed or under construction nuclear power stations that use TISCO-made stainless steel.

TISCO's high-end products also will shine on the global stage through integration with the Belt and Road vision of huge advances in infrastructure and trade, company officials said. TISCO-made materials are used in the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, Temburong Bridge in Brunei, China-Russia and China-Myanmar natural gas pipelines, a nuclear power station in Pakistan and even for the coins cast in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland and Brazil.

For China's military forces, TISCO's materials have proved essential in making Dongfeng missile shells and the latest series of destroyers. It is the only qualified Chinese supplier of low-magnetic steel plate for warships and vessels, TISCO officials said in a statement released exclusively to China Daily.

The company's staff has worked hard to achieve technical prowess, particularly in research and development. It has further sharpened its competitive edge through R&D, officials at the Shanxi-headquartered company said.

In 2016, TISCO introduced more than 10 new products, which have garnered a more than 70 percent share of the Chinese market.

Its products have given a major boost to the country's aerospace industry, TISCO said. It made a number of components of the new Long March 7 Y2 rocket, which lifted China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou 1, into orbit on April 20. Tianzhou 1 is the nation's largest and heaviest spacecraft.

The Long March 7 Y2 included TISCO's stainless steel, electromagnetic pure iron, high-strength alloy structural steel and other materials. The company's materials also played a key role in the Long March 7 Y1 rocket, the Y2's predecessor and an important milestone.

According to the SOE's military and nuclear power business department, TISCO's high-end steel and iron have been widely used in China's crucial aerospace programs, including the Shenzhou spaceship series and the Chang'e lunar orbiters. Rocket engines use TISCO stainless steel that is resistant to high temperatures.

"With Tianzhou 1's launch behind us, we're set to supply essential materials for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the world's largest and one of the most critical fusion experiments," the company said in a statement to China Daily.

All the moves would mark TISCO's heightened efforts to expand into the international market, its chairman, Li Xiaobo, said in a written interview.

"We need to move fast to figure out potential demand, and to design the best material for clients," Li told China Daily. "Simply following others isn't going to work. We'll provide optimized solutions to win the (world's) trust."

TISCO's next ambition is to become the world's most competitive stainless steel enterprise, Li said.

TISCO is further fine-tuning its alignment with visionary national campaigns such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Made in China 2025 industrial upgrading plan, and the go-global drive of Chinese enterprises. In doing so, TISCO aims to serve high-end markets as well as burgeoning industries from a global perspective, Li said.

Experts see merit in TISCO's future plans. Belt and Road and the go-global drive will create new, long-term opportunities for iron and steel companies, said Chen Ziqi, deputy director of metallurgical and building materials for China International Engineering Consulting Corp.

Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said when Chinese firms, particularly SOEs, seek to expand abroad, industrial innovation and long-term investment goals are key to maintaining earnings.

TISCO is allocating 3.5 percent of its annual sales to R&D and innovation, which could mean several billion yuan annually for leading-edge work. This is expected to help TISCO go from a traditional manufacturer to a digital-age global supplier of new products.

"TISCO needs to grab the opportunity presented by supply-side structural reform to expand its product catalog and enhance its competitive edge," Li said.

The company has set a goal to produce 4.5 million metric tons of stainless steel this year, the nation's largest amount. It also intends to top its peers in more than 20 high-end stainless categories, such as steel for aerospace ships and nuclear power reactors.

By the end of 2020, TISCO expects high-end and specialized steel to comprise 90 percent of its total production, with R&D expenses reaching 5 percent of annual sales.

The company said it made a major breakthrough this year by launching its duplex stainless steel productshigh-strength steel with lots of chromiumin Europe's high-end materials market.

"In the past, we had to import steel to produce motors for new energy vehicles, which require extremely good quality," said Zhang Wenkang, chief engineer of TISCO's silicon steel mill. "Now, we've independently developed such material that also performs better in energy efficiency."

In 2016, TISCO launched its ballpoint pen-tip steel after spending five years in R&D to develop its own patented technology. It could help end China's long reliance on imported products. Pen-tip steel imports cost $17.3 million a year, the China National Light Industry Council said.
Organizations with employees who derive value from AI are 5.9 times more likely to see financial benefits from it 
Editor's note: Beijing will host the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in less than two weeks. Following are the views of four scholars on its global importance:

Opportunities for US to work together

Ruan Zongze, deputy director of China Institute of International Studies

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, has become the most promising platform for international cooperation. The initiative, comprising the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, has drawn a growing number of participants thanks to its global influence. More than 100 countries and international organizations support the initiative, while over 40 have signed cooperation agreements with China.

The initiative has added fresh impetus to China and the rest of the world to promote globalization and build a "community of shared destiny of humankind", which UN Security Council Resolution 2344 of March 17 referred to while calling for regional economic cooperation to promote sustainable growth in Afghanistan. The reference to a community of shared destiny of humankind in the resolution reflects the extent of China's contribution to global governance.

The UN reference was followed by New Zealand signing a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with China on March 31, indicating that more developed countries could join the Belt and Road Initiative.

Moreover, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank already has 70 members, more than both the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank. The AIIB, in fact, is the world's largest multilateral development organization after the World Bank, and has five of the G7 countries as members.

Still, some scholars in the United States doubt the intention of China's initiative, suggesting it is part of Beijing's plan to widen its influence in Eurasia and challenge Washington's global leadership. A few US scholars have even labeled it the Marshall Plan of China, and adopted a wait-and-watch approach, while others oppose it simply because it was proposed by China. By doing so, they are only preventing US enterprises from benefiting from the initiative.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation scheduled for May 14-15 will provide a platform for the participants to share their views about the future development of the initiative. In other words, although launched by China, the initiative can bring great benefits for all the participating countries. And it can help Washington and Beijing to work together in fields such as infrastructure construction in the US, and take measures to boost free trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Besides, the initiative can also help deepen Sino-US bilateral cooperation, and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.

Constructive alternative to gathering dark clouds

Martin Sieff, a senior fellow at the Global Policy Institute in Washington

Four years after its formal launch in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative continues to quietly generate momentum as one of the most important geostrategic developments of the new millennium.

Over the past 40 years, China has developed the greatest concentration of industrial and manufacturing capability, raising the overall standard of living of its people, while also helping boost the neighboring economies, which are among the greatest achievements of the human race.

And owing to its investments and still rapidly growing market for energy, food staples and raw materials, China has become the greatest economic engine powering the major economies of Africa as well.

But why is the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing so important for China? Does it mean China will further promote globalization and regional cooperation? And how should China try to seek more chances of cooperation with other countries?

The Belt and Road Initiative is vital to promoting peace and stability in two crucial regions of the worldCentral Asia and Eastern Europe. Central Asia's most visionary leaders, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, President Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan, have grasped the enormous value of transforming the region, long neglected as peripheral, into a central artery of world communication and commerce, because it will bring great benefits to their peoples.

The initiative offers the prospect of fulfilling through peace, rising living standards and improved international cooperation and understanding the goal of making the heartland of the "world island"the combined continents of Asia, Europe and Africathe communications heartland, or nerve center of the world.

That is why the forum in Beijing is so important. It offers the peoples of the "world island" a constructive alternative to the sinister gathering clouds of religious fanaticism, usually generated by poverty, fear and chaos, or the advance of menacing military alliances to threaten the national sovereignty of great nations.

Can help fulfill dream of shared destiny

Khalid Rahman, director general of the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as a "flagship project", is one of most crucial parts of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which has both economic and geopolitical goals. The impact of the Belt and Road Initiative can be gauged from the fact that once completed it will include more than 60 countries, more than half of global GDP, three-fourths of global energy reserves and more than 65 percent of the world population.

Due to its very substantial geographical location, the CPEC will serve as a primary facilitator in achieving the goal of global connectedness. On a regional level, it will gradually act as the center of economic activities with plans turning into progress. It will not only benefit Pakistan's economy by creating more than 700,000 jobs in the country and adding 2-2.5 percent to its GDP; its larger impact will be evident for regional neighbors as well.

There is good potential to link the CPEC with regional countries. The current focus is on its expansion toward the West: Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. Its expansion toward the East may take some time as India has occasionally expressed reservations against it, mainly on technical grounds. Yet as things are progressing, the chances that the CPEC could play a catalyst's role in even bringing the two countries closer are very much there.

Russia has vital interests in this region as well, as an active partner of both China and Pakistan. The Karachi-Lahore gas pipeline worth $1.7 billion has been pledged by Russia. And Russia, China and Pakistan have decided to work together to restore peace in Afghanistan.

Realizing the importance of the CPEC for Central Asia and Russia, their leaderships have shown greater interest in developing more cordial and cooperative economic and geostrategic relations with Pakistan in areas such as trade, energy sharing and tourism. Keeping in view China's economic and geostrategic interest in Central Asia and Russia, it is a vital development. The increased economic cooperation between Pakistan and Central Asia and Russia will also strengthen Pakistan's role in regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Iran, too, has been playing a very significant role in regional cooperation through the CPEC, and it is significant that Chabahar and Gwadar ports, once portrayed as competitors, have now been declared as sister ports. Given the changing scenarios, the Iranian leadership hinted that China, Pakistan, Iran and Russia should cooperate more for regional stability. And China-Russia-Iran-Pakistan cooperation is being discussed in this context.

Given these scenarios of regional connectivity, there is a definite chance the CPEC will sow the seeds of more comprehensive regional connectivity and fulfill the dream of shared destiny.
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President Xi, right, meets with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen in Washington, on March 31, 2016 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has called China's proposed Belt and Road Initiative "a future dynamo" for growth and prosperity in Asia and Europe.

Ahead of his four-day visit to China starting Tuesday, Rasmussen said he would use his trip to further boost his country's relationship with China, pledging to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is indeed a very interesting foreign policy strategy," Rasmussen said. "Further connecting Europe and Asia firmly through trade and bilateral cooperation can hopefully be a future dynamo for growth and prosperity for both continents."

President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang are scheduled to meet or hold talks with Rasmussen, and will exchange views on bilateral ties and issues of common concern.

Rasmussen's visit is among the recent high-level exchanges between China and the Nordic countries. Shortly after Xi's visit to Finland in early April, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg paid a visit to China to enhance bilateral relations.

Rasmussen visited China in 2010 during his previous term as Danish prime minister. His current term started since June 2015.

Rasmussen said he hoped the Belt and Road Initiative could provide economic stability and development for Central and South Asia gateways between East Asia and Europe.

"This will be crucial for trade between the two biggest concentrations of economic power," he said.

The Danish prime minister also said his country  as one of the world's foremost shipping nations - has been engaged in linking the two continents for centuries.

This visit happens several days before the highly-anticipated Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation on May 14 to 15 in Beijing. He said his country's representatives will be attending and "be happy to contribute" positively on both political and business level during the conference.

Rasmussen said China is Denmark's largest trading partner in Asia and his country was the first Nordic country to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership with China.

"We will now take our bilateral relationship to a new high," he said, "I am particularly pleased that we will launch our first 'Joint Work Program' during my visit."

Rasmussen revealed that the program contains 58 concrete joint cooperation areas toward 2020 between 80 Chinese and Danish state institutions, saying this will take the cooperation between the institutions of both sides one important step further.

During his visit, he said both sides will sign new agreements to strengthen economic and trade cooperation. For instance, he said a Chinese-Danish Food and Drug Regulatory Cooperation Center will be launched and it will help facilitate knowledge-sharing between public authorities in the two countries.

In terms of cultural and people-to-people exchanges, the prime minister said the two countries will sign a bilateral film agreement that allows China and Denmark to work on co-productions in the film area.

Rasmussen also said that Denmark and China have a close cooperation on international issues.

"We are both trading nations and strong supporters of free trade and increased global cooperation," said Rasmussen.

From the United Nations and climate change to the China-led Asian Infrastructural Investment Bank and Belt and Road Initiative, Rasmussen said there were many global issues with potential to deepend cooperation between both countries.

Rasmussen said he has met with President Xi on several occasions including the Nuclear Security Summit in 2016. "We've had very cordial and fruitful discussions during all our meetings  and it has led to many of the results that we now finalize in China during this visit," he said.

He also said that President Xi gave a very fine speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January and Denmark supports any efforts to stick to the road of trade liberalization and "better globalization". "Anything that China does will have an effect not only in Asia but on the rest of the world," said Rasmussen. "We wish to join China on this trip."

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would meet with Kim Jong Un, the leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), "under the right circumstances", but the White House downplayed the comment by saying that "clearly conditions are not there right now".

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News on Monday. "Under the right circumstances, I would meet with him."

This was the first time that Trump, who has just passed 100 days of his presidency, opened the door to a future meeting with the DPRK leader. On the campaign trail, he had said he was willing to meet with Kim.

But the president's remarks diverted sharply from recent US talks regarding the Korean Peninsula. On Friday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the United Nations Security Council Ministerial Session on DPRK that Pyongyang must take concrete steps to reduce the threat to the US and US allies "before we can even consider talks".

"As we have said before, all options for responding to future provocation must remain on the table," Tillerson said.

Trump's comments have left the White House scrambling to explain the US policies and downplay his remarks.

"The key part of the president's statement was 'under the right circumstances' and that is the key. And those circumstances do not exist now," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.

"There's a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behavior and to show signs of good faith. Clearly, conditions are not there right now."

He added, "I don't see this happening anytime soon."

When asked why Trump said he would be "honored" to meet Kim, Spicer said, "I guess because he's still a head of state. So it is sort of - there is a diplomatic piece to this."

Shi Yinhong, director of the Center of US Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, noted that Trump made the remarks when the US-Republic of Korea joint drills had just ended, but naval exercises are continuing with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

"I'm not sure he was serious when he made the comments," Shi told China Daily by telephone. "His remarks indicated his administration's policy (regarding North Korea) is not clear; there exists confusion."

Beijing, however, has been consistent and clear in its policies in dealing with the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, Shi said.

Beijing has proposed a "two-track approach", namely to make parallel progress on the two tracks of denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism on the peninsula.

In addition to sanctions, the UN resolutions concerning the Korean Peninsula also stress resolving such issues through peaceful manners, avoiding actions that may intensify the situation and resuming the Six-Party talks at an early date, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the UN Security Council meeting chaired by Tillerson on Friday.

"We must stay committed to the path of dialogue and negotiation," Wang said. "The use of force does not resolve differences, and will only lead to bigger disasters."

As the only way out, dialogue and negotiation also represent the sensible choice for all parties, he said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 05/02/2017 page1)
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A travelling memorial for the Vietnam War has returned to Brevard County.

Traveling Wall is a 300-foot replica of the Vietnam Memorial

Travels the east coast each year

At Wickham Park in Melbourne through May 7

Vietnam veteran Tommy Blackwell served in the war with his friend. He remembers his friend and comrades death like it was yesterday.

Cecile Eugene Little, he was 24 years old, Blackwell remembers, He left behind a wife and two young daughters.

While those memories will always remain with Blackwell, he and other veterans have a place to visit fallen veterans' memories each year.

The Traveling Wall memorial is a 300-foot replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.

Constructed more than 10 years ago, the wall travels across the east coast each year, spending a week in Melbourne.

This is the first step in the healing process for veterans' families that may have lost a husband or father or a dad. Its a very emotional place for a week, Wall Manager and Reunion Chairman Richard Russo said.

While the wall only spends a week in Melbourne, veterans said its something theyre very proud of. They hope the wall will educate the next generation.

Before we are all gone, we would like people to know war isnt a good thing, but you dont blame the warriors. They did what they had to do. I answered a call, Blackwell said.

It officially opened to the public in Melbourne at Wickham Park on Monday. Youll be able to visit the memorial through May 7.
AMARILLO  Juan Daniel Mares, 40, of Amarillo, was sentenced Tuesday morning by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 168 months in federal prison on a methamphetamine distribution conviction, announced John Parker, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Mares pleaded guilty in January 2017 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He has been in custody since his arrest Sept. 13, 2016.
Evan Sernoffsky

Three days after a Berkeley man was stabbed outside his home near John Hinkel Park, police are asking for help identifying the attacker.

The male victim was stabbed in the abdomen around 7:45 p.m. on Friday on the 800 block of San Diego Road, sustaining non-life threatening injuries. He was out on a walk when a stranger  a white man with stubble and sandy-colored hair wearing a black backpack  approached him. The attacker stabbed him and fled, making no attempt to rob the victim.
A 42-year-old man who shot to death a 20-year-old man who threatened patrons inside a bar in Fairfield will not face charges, officials said Monday.

The shooter, a Fairfield resident, acted in self-defense in the shooting at a bar in the 1700 block of West Texas Street near Gregory Lane late Thursday night, according to the Fairfield Police Department.

The man who was killed, Alexander Itzigheine of Fairfield, allegedly showed up at the bar and threatened patrons on its back patio with a gun. The Chronicle is not naming the man who killed him because he has not been charged with a crime.

One of the men on the patio fled inside and Itzigheine followed him, gun still drawn, police said.

Authorities say the man then pulled out his own gun and shot Itzigheine inside the bar, before fleeing from the business.

Itzigheine crumpled to the floor in the doorway of the bar, where officers found him bleeding, before officials said he died from his wounds at a nearby hospital.

Though the shooter was arrested Sunday on suspicion of murder, he was released after the Solano County District Attorneys Office said the case appeared to be one of self-defense.

The man could face future charges related to possessing the firearm, police said.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley
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San Antonio just missed its latest shot at the citys first James Beard Award  the culinary worlds equivalent of an Oscar  when chef Steve McHugh of Cured at The Pearl was nudged out Monday by Hugo Ortgea of Houston for Best Chef-Southwest.

McHugh, at the Chicago awards ceremony for his second straight year as a Beard finalist, also faced repeat nominee Bryce Gilmore of Austins Barley Swine and star chefs from Houston, Denver and Santa Fe.

The Wisconsin-born chef has a lot in common with his adopted home city these days. Each is on the edge of an aggressive culinary growth cycle, and each is getting a hot minute in the national spotlight.

RELATED: Food & Wine's Best New Chefs has 2 from S.A.

Just last month, Food & Wine magazine recognized Rico Torres and Diego Galicia of San Antonios progressive Mexican restaurant Mixtli among the 12 Best New Chefs in the country. Its an honor thats eluded the city since the inaugural Best New Chefs class of 1988 that included San Antonios Bruce Auden.

The magazine also recognized Hotel Emma at The Pearl among the worlds 40 best food-centric hotels, praising chef John Brands farm-minded menu at Supper.

And the list goes on: Chef Jason Dady, with six San Antonio restaurants and a seventh in the works at Lukes old spot at the Embassy Suites on the River Walk, on Sunday survived his third week of the Food Network competition series Iron Chef Gauntlet. (His competitor and friend on that show, Houston native Sarah Geueneberg, won a Beard Award Monday for Best Chef-Great Lakes.)

MORE: Sweet! San Antonio chef rolls through Week 3 of 'Iron Chef'

And two national food websites  Tasting Table and The Local Palate  each have San Antonio restaurant recommendations in their latest editions, the latter curated by McHugh himself.

The loss marked the second year of near-misses for McHugh and a long string of almost-wins for San Antonio at the Beard Awards. Auden, chef and partner at Biga on the Banks, has been a finalist six times, while Osteria Il Sogno chef and serial restaurateur Andrew Weissman has been a finalist four times. Local writers Melissa Guerra and Terry Thompson-Anderson also have been Beard finalists for their cookbooks.

You win some, you lose some, but San Antonians can get a taste of what makes every Beard finalist a winner when McHugh and new Beard Award winner Ortega join forces for a pop-up happy hour at Cured from 5 to 7 p.m. May 24.

msutter@express-news.net

Twitter: @fedmanwalking
Two chefs who competed against each other Monday night for the James Beard Award of Best Chef-Southwest will come together for a night of collaboration and tasty eats.

Chef Steve McHugh (a finalist for the award) and Hugo Ortega of Hugo's in Houston (the winner) will host a free happy hour this month with bites and tastings of Jackson Family Wines.
Stefan Bowers, the founding chef behind the popular San Antonio restaurants Feast, Battalion and Rebelle, has been chosen by the historic St. Anthony hotel to direct all of its food operations as its new executive chef, hotel owner BC Lynd Hospitality announced Tuesday.

Bowers and business partner Andrew Goodman already operate Rebelle and its companion bar Haunt at the hotel. Now Bowers will also oversee food service for the hotels St. Anthony Club, the Library Cafe, the hotels rooftop lounge, its pool bar, room service and the banquet operations that serve the hotels more than 31,527 square feet of meeting space.
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Minus their top rainmaker, whose giving status is in doubt because of her job in the Trump administration, Connecticut Republicans are spending more money than theyre raising.

The state GOP spent $174,559, but only took in $104,202 from Jan. 1 through mid-April, state and federal campaign filings reveal. Democrats raised $188,673 and spent $177,295.

Conspicuously absent from the GOPs contributor list was Greenwich wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, who could be counted year-in and year-out to give the maximum $20,000 to the party. Now the head of the Small Business Administration, McMahon is awaiting a ruling from the Office of Government Ethics on whether she can continue to contribute.

The partys shortfall has unsettled some Republicans in the build-up to next years pivotal mid-term election, when the party is seeking to recapture the governorship, maybe flip the Legislature and end a 12-year drought in statewide and congressional races.

I dont know how theyre keeping the lights on, said Jeff Wright, a former state party vice chairman and current finance director for the Fairfield Republicans, who he added have seen robust fundraising at the local level. From a business standpoint, thats not a healthy environment.

State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano did not dispute the cash flow numbers reported by the party, but said they dont tell the whole story.

Were not in the red, Romano said. When you look at our fundraising numbers this year, were close to where we budgeted for this year. We did really well in 2016, so were not in a cash crunch.

Romano said the GOP will get an infusion of cash when it holds its marquee fundraiser, the Prescott Bush Awards Dinner, in mid- to early-June. Previous hauls from the event, named for the late Bush family patriarch from Greenwich, have netted $150,000 to $200,000. Last years dinner was held in late May, but Romano said the party been waiting for Trumps Cabinet appointees to be confirmed so it could line up a keynote speaker.

A fixture at the event has been McMahon, who with her husband, Vince McMahon, CEO of Stamford-based WWE, has given tens of thousands of dollars to the state GOP during the past decade. Early on, those contributions coincided with her back-to-back unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate.

Were so happy that Linda is a member of the Cabinet, Romano said. Obviously, with such a big appointment like this, theres some compliance and regulatory things that need to be worked out. Shes been so generous to the state party.

A request for comment was left Tuesday with the Small Business Administration.

Between the GOPs state and federal fundraising accounts, the party started the year with $94,000 in the bank. By April, its cash on hand was more than cut in half to $41,586. Romano, a Derby native who is up for re-election as party boss next month, said the GOP incurred expenses from several special elections.

Danbury GOP Mayor Mark Boughton, who is expected to run for governor and has raised over $100,000 for his exploratory committee, characterized the shortfall as a blip on the radar.

I think its not really a major concern right now, Boughton said. Money will be pouring in once this legislative session ends. Theres a lot of pent up donor demand, if you will, for the Republican brand.

Democrats finished the first quarter with a surplus thanks to a $22,500 contribution from their national party, plus $2,500 from a carpenters union PAC. Another major donor was the Friends of Chris Murphy, the campaign committee of the states junior U.S. senator, which gave $16,750 to the state party in February.

Democrats were forced to pay $31,200 March 28 to the state treasurers office as part of a record $325,000 fine against the party for skirting a ban on state contractor money in state races.

nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
There will soon be a new police chief in Cy-Fair Independent School District.

On May 1, Eric Mendez, the chief of police for Austin ISD, was announced as the incoming chief of police for the district. Chief Alan Bragg, who has had a 45-year law enforcement career, is handing over the reins to Mendez in June. Mendez plans to start in CFISD the week of June 19.

"It feels pretty good to be selected as the incoming police chief in the Cy-Fair district. I've tried in the past to get to Cy-Fair. So, when this opportunity came up again I put in for it, and I am blessed because I was selected to be new chief," Mendez said. "I think Cy-Fair is a good district to go to because it's a growing district. CFISD has a good educational, foundation and base, and personally I have family in Cy-Fair. So, personally it was a good move for me."

Mendez's mother, brother, and sister-in-law reside in CFISD.

Mendez's 27 years of law enforcement includes serving on the Austin ISD police force since 1999, including the last five years as chief of police.

The incoming police chief's education includes a bachelor of science in criminal justice administration from the University of Phoenix and a master of criminal justice administration and leadership from Sam Houston State University. Additionally, Mendez completed leadership command college at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State.

"Chief Mendez was selected from a strong pool of applicants. Given his extensive experience and leadership in school district law enforcement, we are fortunate to have him join the CFISD family," said Mark Henry, CFISD superintendent of schools, in a statement.

Mendez has experience in Austin ISD as a resource officer/patrol officer, sergeant, lieutenant/bureau commander, interim chief of police, and captain/assistant chief.

Prior to Mendez's Austin ISD positions, he served nine years with the Kingsville Police Department where he was as a patrolman/field training officer, corporal, and sergeant/field training coordinator.

The minimum starting salary for the chief of police pay grade in CFISD is $107,140.

The district has 83 officers, which includes 76 sworn police and seven security officers. According to the district, bond funds have allowed for enhanced security vestibules, cameras and radio systems that will assist the officers in their jobs.

Of the $1.2 billion bond that was passed in 2014, approximately $60 million was allotted for safety and security upgrades. One security measure the district will be taking includes installing bullet-resistant window film on all the front windows of schools to prevent drive-by shootings or anyone attempting to shoot or kick-out windows.

"Once I get there I want to do an assessment and evaluation of the department and see what they do good and see what we can enhance to do better. It's all about relationships with our students across the district with our staff, parents, and community," Mendez said. "It is [important] to maintain good relationships, find out how we can better the students' educational experience, and how we can help promote their educational experience. We want the students to be successful while they are with us in Cy-Fair and after they graduate, whether that be higher education or into the work force."

All Cy-Fair Police Department officers are licensed peace officers that are certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Additionally, CFISD is a full service law enforcement agency open 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The district encompasses 187 square miles of northwest Harris County.

The district's police officers are responsible for 107 campuses, buildings, and support facilities. The department places two officers in every high school, one in each middle school, and officers patrol elementary campuses as well.

Mendez anticipates his role as CFISD's new police chief. He hopes to continue to cultivate a strong community in the district and possibly implementing various programs.

"I'm looking forward to getting started. The anticipation of my start date obviously gets me kind of excited. As I wrap things up here at Austin ISD and ensure that there is a good hand-off for the new chief, I want to be able to get started in Cy-Fair," Mendez said. "I want to hit the ground running. I look forward to anything we can do to enhance the educational environment and the educational process for students in Cy-Fair."
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers urged Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday to reconsider his support for a seemingly imminent assault by a Saudi-led coalition on the crucial Yemeni port city of Hodeida.

"In the face of Yemen's senseless humanitarian tragedy, where 19 million people need emergency support, we are committed to using our Constitutional authority to assert greater oversight over U.S. involvement in the conflict and promote greater public debate regarding U.S. military participation in Yemen's civil war, which has never been authorized by Congress," the legislators said in a letter.

The letter comes on the heels of another, signed by 55 legislators, to President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions insisting that any direct U.S. involvement in Yemen be brought before Congress for authorization. In a trip to Saudi Arabia in April, Mattis hinted at direct U.S. military and intelligence support for the Saudi-led coalition, which is seeking to dislodge the Shiite-led Houthi rebels from Sanaa and other areas they control in Yemen.

Saudi fighter jets dropped leaflets over Houthi-controlled Hodeida in recent days warning its hundreds of thousands of residents of an impending offensive, according to the United Nations and aid agencies. Yemen imports 90 percent of its food, and Hodeida's already-damaged port is the entry point for the vast majority of it. A two-year-long civil war has destroyed Yemen's economy, and more than 7 million people rely on humanitarian aid for survival.

Human rights activists have accused the Saudis of indiscriminate bombing in its campaign, saying it has killed thousands of civilians and reduced much of Yemen's vital infrastructure to rubble.

Mattis has asked for the scrapping of Obama-era rules prohibiting direct support to the coalition. Although the Obama administration sold weapons and refueled aircraft to the coalition, direct U.S. engagement through special teams was ruled out because it was considered ineffective in thwarting the well-armed Houthis and because of humanitarian concerns.

But the Trump administration has taken a harder line on the Houthis, driven by Saudi allegations that Iran funds, trains and arms the rebels as part of a proxy war against the Sunni monarchies that make up the bulk of the coalition. The Saudis allege that weapons are smuggled through Hodeida to the Houthis, providing the rebels a vital lifeline.

On Monday, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein echoed the exhortations of aid organizations, saying, "The U.N. is concerned about the humanitarian repercussions of such an attack in terms of inflaming the humanitarian crisis even further, let alone our concerns about loss of civilian life were there to be a large-scale attack on port."

Tuesday's letter, drafted by Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Justin Amash, R-Mich., asserts that any direct U.S. support for an offensive on the Houthis must be authorized by Congress. The letter also threatens legislation that would seek to "prohibit U.S. involvement in any such assault" should Mattis fail to brief Congress on the nature of U.S. support for the coalition.

"Last month, in a bipartisan request, 54 of my colleagues and I asked President Trump a simple question: what legal justification is the White House claiming for escalating U.S. involvement in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen - a war that's never been authorized by Congress?" Pocan said in an email. "With a potential green light from President Trump, the Saudis appear to be gearing up to destroy the lifeline to food imports for millions of Yemenis on the verge of starvation."

Since the Houthis took control of the Hodeida port, the Saudi navy has imposed a de facto blockade, allowing only a trickle of ships to dock. Saudi jets have also damaged many of the port's cranes, making the unloading process difficult and time-consuming. The Saudis rarely take part in ground operations, and an assault on Hodeida would probably involve a large number of troops from the United Arab Emirates, a coalition partner.

Since Hodeida is densely populated, and the port is surrounded by the bustling city, an assault could take weeks, if not months, and lead to a mass exodus of residents as well as the tens of thousands of internally displaced people sheltering there.

"The big question is how do they take the city without destroying it and the port in the process," said Scott Paul, a senior humanitarian policy adviser at Oxfam International who has worked in Yemen. "With any closure, we'd almost certainly have a famine in just a few months."

Administration officials have expressed concern about the humanitarian fallout of such an assault but have cautioned that U.S. interests in the region are increasingly at risk unless Washington acts.

Houthi naval aggression has made traversing the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where thousands of ships bound to and from the Suez Canal travel, hazardous.

In October, Houthis attacked U.S. and allied ships crossing the Red Sea, prompting the United States to use Tomahawk missiles to destroy Houthi coastal radar sites. Officials said a Houthi missile aimed at a U.S. naval vessel was fired from Hodeida.

The loss of Hodeida could force the Houthis back to the negotiating table, as the coalition hopes, but the bloodshed expected could also deepen the war's divisions and prolong Yemen's immense suffering.
Amtrak is anticipating as many as 44 days of limited service this summer for repairs at Pennsylvania Station in a preliminary plan that appears to favor the national passenger railroad's needs over those of a half-million daily New York City commuters.

Much of the track and platform work would take place during weekdays, when New Jersey Transit and Long Island Rail Road riders jam the station during rush hours. No major track outages are scheduled during the July 4th and Labor Day holiday weekends, when workers typically have off and Amtrak has a ridership spike.

Amtrak's plan calls for limited service from July 7 to July 25 and from Aug. 4 to Aug. 28, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg. Of the 600,000 riders who use Penn Station each day, 90 percent are from the commuter railroads that pay Amtrak to use its tracks.

"Why not schedule some of the work for the last week of August when so many people take off from work heading into Labor Day weekend?" said state Senator Bob Gordon, a Democrat from Fair Lawn who is overseeing legislative hearings into New Jersey Transit's operations after a fatal crash in September.

The preliminary plan didn't say how many tracks would close, but warned that "significant service impact, service adjustments are required."

Neither Christina Leeds, an Amtrak spokeswoman, nor Nancy Snyder, a New Jersey Transit spokeswoman, immediately responded to emails seeking comment on the plan. On May 1, both said the scheduling is in flux and the railroads are cooperating on the final version.

Brian Murray, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, didn't respond to an email asking whether the governor would intervene.

Commuters have endured five weeks of upheaval at Penn Station in the wake of two Amtrak derailments that led to emergency repairs, plus stepped-up maintenance that has taken tracks out of service at North America's busiest rail terminal. Though New Jersey Transit has warned of 15-minute delays for an undetermined number of days, riders say the inconvenience is far greater, sharing gripes on social media about canceled trains, scarce seating and packed platforms.

"Rather than skipping those weekends, they should be concentrating on them," said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat from Teaneck who is vice chairwoman of the legislative panel reviewing New Jersey Transit.

Christie, a Republican, has raised New Jersey Transit fares twice and drained $2.94 billion from its capital budget over seven years to pay for operations. Last year New Jersey Transit, the nation's second-busiest commuter railroad after the Long Island Rail Road, logged the most accidents among its peers, federal records show. In 2015, according to the most recent available data, New Jersey Transit reported the most breakdowns.
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James P. Black, a Beaumont artist known for vibrant landscape paintings on display throughout the country, died Monday after a year-long battle with Lou Gehrig's disease, said his stepdaughter Adasha Knight. He was 72.

Black, who was self-taught, began his art career in 1968 and contributed his work and time to local art associations, including the Beaumont Art League and the Texas Art Museum in Port Arthur.

His art hangs in galleries from Fredericksburg to New Mexico to Colorado - oil paintings of bluebonnets in bloom, the Bolivar lighthouse and a sun sinking behind the Rocky Mountains.

"We would go out to the Hill Country and he would just stop, because he was inspired by something, and just paint something so beautiful," said Marsha Black, his wife of eight years. "He saw the beauty in everything."

Although he was color blind, the South Park High School graduate focused much of his art on the rich colors of Southwest scenery. Critics called his work "tranquil" and "romantic."

Maybe his greatest contribution to the local art scene was as a teacher, at the Lonestar Art Association, the Texas Art Museum and out of his own home.

"He was very generous with his knowledge of art, and he had a talent of pulling your own talent out of yourself," said Elizabeth Balsono, Black's student for almost two decades. "He just had a very sweet artistic spirit."

Nadine Kebodeaux, board president at the Texas Art Museum, said his talent and demeanor made him the most popular teacher.

"He was an artist who wanted to help other artists," she said. "He was always interested in what other people were doing. He would always takes an interest in your work."

DThompson@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/daveth89
NORWALK  Job seekers interesting in helping build The SoNo Collection are encouraged to attend an open house in South Norwalk next week.

The Construction Jobs & Bidding Opportunities Community Open House is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. May 11 on the second floor of the office building at 149 Water St.

The open house comes as General Growth Properties prepares to begin excavation work for the nearly million-square-foot regional shopping center off West Avenue and Interstate 95 in South Norwalk.

The open house on May 11th is to introduce our contractor to the community and make the community aware of the construction job opportunities that will be available over the next two and a half years while The SoNo Collection is being built, said GGP Senior Director Douglas T. Adams. Local employment is important to us and our commitment is memorialized in the agreement with the city and the agency.

All interested residents and businesses are encouraged to attend the open house, where they will be able to learn about training, employment and contracting opportunities associated with The SoNo Collection.

GGP has hired VCC-USA, a national firm, and Connecticut-based KBE Building Corp. as its general contractors for the project. CallisonRTKL is the project architect.

The Chicago-based developer has projected that The SoNo Collection will generate 1,745 construction jobs in Norwalk, employed at an average salary of $86,500, during the 30-month construction period.

Under the Land Disposition Agreement governing The SoNo Collection, GGP and its contractors must prioritize Norwalk-based and other lower Fairfield County based Disadvantaged Business Enterprises for bidding on and performing work during the construction of the mall.

Priority must be given to persons living in the three highest-poverty rate zip codes in the city, followed by Norwalk residents in general, followed by Fairfield County residents, followed by Connecticut residents.

Adams said the May 11 open house will be the first of many events related to construction hiring.

We look forward to getting construction under way later this month, and continue to work diligently with the city and agency to remove the hotel requirement from the project, Adams said.

The approved site plan calls for 728,000 square feet of retail space, including anchor stores Nordstrom and Bloomingdales, as well as 80 to 100 smaller retailers, public realm space and the hotel on the site.

The open house comes as GGP seeks Common Council and Norwalk Redevelopment Agency approvals to remove the hotel from the approved plan.

GGP has deemed the hotel, offices or housing as infeasible as third uses for the mall. The company would pay the city $3.5 million in anticipated lost property taxes. Mayor Harry W. Rilling said the city is exploring how the payment could be used to benefits residents.

Adams and other representatives of the mall development team spoke at a District B Democrats meeting at Calvary Baptist Church on Concord Street on Monday evening.

We updated and provided the information that we had already provided to the Planning Committee, Adams said. We talked about the status of the project and how we expect to start excavation this month. And then we talked about the job fair and our progress to date on both the construction jobs but also our plans to start the career training this October.

GGP has committed $250,000 to create a career-training program for local residents. The program will be administered in partnership with Norwalk Community College and focus on the most distressed areas of Norwalk, according to GGP.
MOSCOW - In their first publicly announced conversation since the United States launched a Tomahawk cruise-missile strike in Syria last month, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the humanitarian crisis in Syria in a phone call Tuesday, with both countries expressing interest in working toward a cease-fire in the region.

The two men also discussed the possibility of trying to organize a personal meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg in July, according to the White House and the Kremlin.

The phone call came amid escalating tensions between Russia and the United States in recent weeks, following a targeted military strike on a Syrian air base in April that Trump ordered in retaliation for a sarin nerve-agent attack allegedly carried out by the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," the White House said in a readout of the call.

The White House described the conversation as "a very good one," while the Kremlin called it "businesslike and constructive."

But the dueling readouts contained some discrepancies. Though both governments spoke of a cease-fire, with the United States announcing that it planned to send a representative to the cease-fire talks that begin in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the Trump administration also said the two leaders spoke of establishing safe zones in Syria. The Russian government, however, did not mention the possibility of safe zones.

The conversation also included, according to both readouts, a discussion of fighting terrorism in the Middle East, and the "dangerous situation" in North Korea.

Saying that lasting peace in Syria is impossible without the participation of the United States, Putin expressed hope Tuesday - ahead of his conversation with Trump - that Moscow and Washington could agree on how to end the six-year-old conflict.

"I hope that we will achieve understanding on joint measures in this very important and very delicate area of international politics," Putin said at a nationally broadcast news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with the Russian leader Tuesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Putin has said the chemical attack, which killed more than 80 people, was a provocation by rebel forces, an assertion the Trump administration has dismissed while placing the blame on Assad. Trump, who spent his election campaign expressing admiration for Putin, said after the missile strike that relations with Russia "may be at an all-time low."

The two presidents spoke after Trump's inauguration in January and again when Trump offered condolences in the wake of an April 3 bombing in the St. Petersburg subway that claimed 16 lives.

"Certainly, without involvement of such a country as the U.S., these problems cannot be solved efficiently," Putin said.

On Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed in a phone conversation to meet on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting next week in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to State Department and Russian officials.

Putin has orchestrated a peace process in Syria that has brought together competing regional powers Iran and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Sochi on Wednesday to discuss Syria with the Russian leader.

But despite Putin's expressed hope for a rapprochement with Trump over Syria and the cooperative tone of Tuesday's phone call as expressed in the readouts from the White House and Kremlin, some Russian analysts have ruled out cooperation between Russian and U.S. forces.

The American demand to remove Assad "rules out the possibility of Russian-American cooperation in Syria, because we won't allow the removal of Assad before his term is up," Dmitry V. Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, said recently. "Of course, we will not give in to such blackmail."

Russia is committed to a peace process, put together by Putin, that brings together Turkey, Iran and Syrian rebel groups. Putin also wants to use Syria as the site of Russia's permanent military base in the Middle East.

Konstantin Sivkov, a member of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Science, said that "an alliance with the United States is impossible."

At the heart of Russian uncertainty was the "impulsiveness of decision-making" that led Trump to order the April 7 missile strike on a Syrian government air base.

"The lack of consideration of these decisions, and lack of a clear goal and assessment of the consequences, sharply raises the possibility of military conflict," he said.

Merkel, meanwhile, arrived in Russia to meet with Putin as German industry stepped up pressure on her to lay the groundwork for improved economic relations with Moscow. Those relations have been dampened by international sanctions tied to the Kremlin's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its proxy war on behalf of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

But Merkel and Putin sparred over Ukraine, where a peace process worked out with the German chancellor's considerable effort, called the Minsk accords, has bogged down, with both sides accusing the other of breaking cease-fire agreements.

"I would like us to make sure that the sanctions are lifted upon the implementation of the Minsk accords," Merkel said at the news conference.

In Ukraine, many oppose the stipulation in the Minsk accords that would allow two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine broad autonomy. Kiev considers it a Kremlin ploy to prevent Ukraine from integration with Western European organizations.

The issue is a matter of national pride in Russia, where nightly reports on state-controlled news programs tell of atrocities by Ukrainian "fascists" while denying the involvement of Russian armed forces in the conflict. Tuesday was the third anniversary of an event in which Russia says Ukrainian nationalists in Odessa forced people into a building and burned them alive.

"Those responsible have still not been held accountable and have not been punished," Putin said. "The international community cannot either forget about that or allow such barbarous crimes to be committed again in the future."

A Western condition for the lifting of sanctions has been Russia's return of Crimea to Ukraine, which Moscow has ruled out.

Alexei Pushkov, a senior Russian legislator, tweeted Sunday that neither "sanctions nor resolutions will change the fact of the unification of Russia and Crimea. They can kick themselves, but they can't have it back."

Merkel also brought up allegations that authorities in the Russian province of Chechnya arrested 100 gay men, at least three of whom died, according to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last month that Moscow had received no confirmation that any violations against gays took place.

"I asked the president to use his influence to protect the rights of minorities," Merkel said.

Putin, in response to a question about the detention of protesters in Russia, said Russian police behave far more "liberally" and with more restraint than European authorities, "who use tear gas and truncheons to break up demonstrations."

Another cause for tensions between Germany and Russia is the assertion from European political parties that Russia is meddling in their elections with hackers and fake news stories, the same accusations that the U.S. intelligence community directed at Moscow following Trump's election victory.

Russia backs the candidacy of right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, who will face off against centrist Emmanuel Macron in France's presidential runoff vote Sunday.

The Kremlin has consistently denied involvement in any of the election campaigns.

"We never interfere with the political life of other countries," Putin said Tuesday while dismissing the allegations that Russia had also interfered in the U.S. presidential election as "rumors" created "for a domestic battle."

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia meddled in the election in favor of Trump - an issue Democrats have sought to highlight along with Trump's positive statements about Putin during the campaign, before the airstrikes in Syria strained relations between Washington and Moscow.

"Trump's bromance with Putin appears to be back on track," Adrienne Watson, deputy communications director at the Democratic National Committee, said Tuesday with regard to the phone call. "Instead of sending Putin a tough message on backing Assad's brutal regime, Trump appears to be opting for a strategy of appeasement."

---

The Washington Post's Anthony Faiola and Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin, Rick Noack in London and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is ready to give up on Congress - or maybe he already has. And we can totally see why he wants to just shut it down and start all over again. Democrats are united against him, Republicans seem hopelessly divided, and Trump's top priorities are no closer to being law than when he was running for president.

But in this remarkable pair of tweets the president shot off Tuesday morning, Trump may be directing his ire at the wrong party. In two major showdowns so far - the budget and health care - Trump has been taking hits for an ideologically divided Republican Party that can't quite figure out how to legislate.

To wit: There's no question Democrats won this week's budget showdown, and it was mostly Trump's priorities that got left on the cutting floor when congressional leaders were making a deal.

Republicans were too divided to provide enough votes for a strictly conservative budget, so the president had a choice: Push for a political reality that doesn't exist to try to make good on his campaign promises, or back off what he wants and help his divided party in Congress avoid a shutdown.

Then, on health care: The first go-round in March to revise Obamacare, Democrats folded their arms, sat back and watched Republicans struggle to make a deal amid themselves. (Had they reached a deal, it would not have even been subject to a 60-vote filibuster by Democrats in the Senate.)

Trump didn't put all his political capital on the line to sell it, but when the bill had so little support leaders didn't even bring it up for a vote, Trump clearly felt it was Congress' fault. The next day on Twitter, he called for his supporters to watch a Fox News show in which the host called on House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., to step down. And then the day after that, he specifically targeted the group of conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus that mostly opposed the bill.

Trump tweeted: Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

---

On spending, on health care, on the border wall, Trump keeps on taking bullets for a divided Republican Party, and he hasn't won a thing. And while he may be taking aim at Senate Democrats' ability to stop big legislation through the filibuster, it is really Republicans' ideological divide that's dragging him down.

"What is Trump getting out of cooperation with the Republican Congress?" said Steve Bell, a former GOP Senate budget aide now with the Bipartisan Policy institute. "He's got to be asking himself in private - I don't know if he is. But goodness, I would be."

In the meantime, a unified Democratic Party is getting much of what it wanted: Funding for Planned Parenthood; more money, not less, for domestic programs; and not a dime spent on building Trump's wall. Oh, and Obamacare remains in place, and Trump will have to agree to pay subsidies to keep it alive.

Trump's finger-pointing at Congress - no matter which party he's blaming at the moment - isn't entirely fair to Congress.

Trump came into this job knowing pretty much zilch about the way Washington works. Why else would he have promised during the campaign to get Obamacare repealed, a "phenomenal" tax deal and a full budget that puts America's priorities in the Obama years on its head in just 100 days? Legislating those kinds of massive overhauls take years, if not decades.

Trump has yet to show any desire to try to learn. Most of his team has no firsthand experience on Capitol Hill (Vice President Mike Pence being the notable exception). Over the past several days, Trump has made clear he'd rather just blow up how Congress works than try to work within its "archaic" rules.

The exact same intransigent GOP dynamics that Trump is struggling with have brought down much more experienced politicians. In 2015, faced with the potential for a government shutdown, House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, suddenly retired rather than try to bring his party together.

"Trump is having trouble with the curve - the learning curve," said Jim Kessler, a former top Senate Democratic aide now with the center-left Third Way think tank. "It's a difficult job being president, and Trump hasn't shown an overwhelming desire to figure out how Washington works."

Nor has Washington been able to work for him. And that brings us to this moment in time: a broken Republican-controlled Congress, and a Republican president who has no idea what to do with it.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka unexpectedly announced on Tuesday that he will submit his government's resignation later this week.

Why would a prime minister disband his own government, which has been in place and relatively stable since 2014?

There are two reasons, and they both have to do with Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis, the second richest man in the Czech Republic and the leader of the anti-establishment, pro-business party, ANO. Sobotka's center-left Czech Social Democratic Party, CSSD, and ANO are currently in a governing coalition together.

Babis is under investigation in the Czech Republic over suspicion he avoided paying taxes, and questions related to how he made his money. The European Union is also investigating Babis for fraud. Babis is owner of the massive Agrofert chemicals. Although he put the company in a trust in early 2017 to comply with conflict of interest laws known as "Lex Babis," the EU's anti-fraud office is concerned that Agrofert controlled a small, anonymously owned company called Stork Nest Farm, which in 2008 received a $2.06 million EU subsidy.

The subsidy was meant for small and medium sized companies, which Agrofert is not. Babis denies any wrongdoing.

Having the minister of finance under investigation over financial improprieties reflects poorly on the prime minister. Yet Sobotka said he's resigning his whole government, and not just dismissing Babis, because he doesn't want to make his minister of finance a martyr. But there is another reason, too.

"This move needs to be understood in the context of the pre-election campaign," Jakub Janda of the Prague-based European Values think tank told Foreign Policy.

Czech parliamentary elections are scheduled for late October, and Babis is the country's most popular politician. Babis's ANO is currently polling wellahead of Sobotka's party.

For Sobotka, "this is the last possibility" to draw voters' attention to issues surrounding Babis," Filip Horky, a Czech television journalist, told FP. The elections are less than six months away, and CSSD is lagging in the polls. "This is his last chance."

"The Social Democrats have a huge problem," said Milan Nic of the German Council on Foreign Relations. ANO is polling at around 30 percent and growing. The Social Democrats are polling at around 12 percent - and has lost roughly 10 percent of its voters to ANO. With this stunt, "they're aiming at their own voters. The ones they lost to Babis," Nic told FP in an interview.

But whether Sobotka is able to capitalize on this gamble is not entirely up to him. Czech President Milos Zeman will control what happens next.

Zeman openly admired Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump (Zeman's first phone call with Trump after the inauguration apparently went better than anyone expected). He is also widely understood to prefer Babis to Sobotka. But Zeman has more of an incentive than just personal preference. Zeman faces his own elections in January. The only politician in the Czech Republic who could run against him and win is Czech Defense Minister (and former actor) Martin Stropnicky - who, as a member of ANO, answers to Babis. It is possible, Nic said, that some sort of deal could be struck between the president and the potential next prime minister, one in which Stropnicky doesn't run and the scenario most advantageous to Babis plays out.

What does that mean? It's unlikely snap elections would be held - that could be too risky with elections looming. And, though Zeman appointed his own caretaker government in 2013, it's unlikely he'll do that now (see: elections looming). The likeliest option could be that Zeman simply doesn't accept the resignation and lets the next five months or so play out on its own. Or he could allow the resignation for Babis alone, leaving the finance minister with free time to campaign, while still painting himself martyred man - exactly what Sobotka was trying to avoid.

Neither scenario is good for Sobotka or his party. In the fight to convince voters Babis is unfit to lead, the Social Democrats, "lost this argument long ago," says Nic.

"But when you're desperate," he added, "you do whatever."
The McFaddin-Ward House Museum hosted their popular yoga class on the lawn on Monday evening with Houston-based instructor Nick Wolny. After the class, participants were able to sip a cup of Mamie McFaddin-Ward's favorite summer drink, a mint-based drink. The museum will host their spring picnic on the lawn Thursday from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.
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A Houston man arrested after a two-day crime spree that left two people dead and one injured has been charged with a second count of murder and could face additional charges of arson and aggravated assault as investigators continue to unravel the evidence.

Russell Cormier, 53, who appeared Tuesday in court in a wheelchair with a bandaged hand, is charged with murder in the death of his ex-wife and a man on April 17.

Prosecutor Traci Bennett said Cormier confessed to the two slayings and to shooting a neighbor with a shotgun, although that charge has not been filed.

CRIME SPREE: Investigators say man shot wife, dragged body into driveway

Bennett said she is also considering filing an arson charge against Cormier, who is accused of setting fire to the trailer where he lived. She said Cormier apparently burned his hand during the attempt.

His attorney, Brian Roberts, said in court that Cormier was in a wheelchair because of a broken ankle, but did not give details on what happened.

Cormier remains in the Harris County Jail in lieu of bail of $500,000. State District Judge Denise Bradley ruled bail would stay the same until prosecutors decide if they want to upgrade charges to capital murder, because of the second slaying.

Intentionally causing the deaths of two people is a capital crime.

Investigators believe Cormier shot and killed his ex-wife, 61-year-old Fannie McWhite, near her northeast Harris County home on April 17.

Neighbors apparently heard two shots about 6 a.m. and looked outside to see Cormier dragging his ex-wife's body toward the street. Two shell casings were found nearby.

The neighbors said Cormier fled the scene in a black Toyota Tundra pickup truck.

Witnesses said a man in a black Toyota truck shot and killed 60-year-old Thornton "Jack" Bivens about 8 a.m. as he arrived to work about five miles away.

SUSPECT HUNT: Police say man on two-day crime spree considered extremely dangerous

Three shell casings from the same gun were found at that scene, prosecutors said. Those shells matched a pistol that Cormier had bought at sporting goods store. He told police where the gun was when he was arrested, Bennett said.

"He confessed to both murder cases," Bennett told the judge, "as well as the aggravated assault that has not been filed."

The prosecutor did not give any details on that shooting except that a shotgun was used.

Investigators with the Harris County Sheriff's Office have said Cormier is believed to have gone back to his home on Shotwell Street the following morning where he shot and injured an unidentified neighbor around 4:30 a.m.

Police believe that between the first two shootings, Cormier likely returned to his trailer to collect some belonging then set fire to it. No charges have been filed on the fire.

Days after the shootings, Harris County deputies arrested Cormier after finding him sleeping in a park on Gaston Street off the Eastex Freeway in northeast Harris County.

Several guns were recovered, said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers
Following the stabbing attack on the University of Texas at Austin campus Monday that left one dead and three injured, rumors swirled online that a student with a concealed firearm intervened to help apprehend the suspect.

Though officials said they could not confirm the reports, the issue drew the attention of Jessica Jin, the woman behind "Cocks Not Glocks," the group that organized the dildo protest of Texas' campus carry law.
The San Antonio Express-News was honored Monday with a 2016 Sigma Delta Chi award for deadline reporting of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The program, managed by the Society of Professional Journalists, recognizes the best in professional journalism including print, radio, and television.

The Express-News story Death of a jurist, a compilation of the Express-News coverage of Scalias death, was chosen over submissions from other papers with a circulation of between 50,001 and 100,000.

Former Express-News assistant city editor Gary Martin, a veteran political reporter, received word of Scalias death at a far West Texas hunting resort called Cibolo Creek Ranch from a trusted source.

Its great recognition, he said. There was a lot of people who worked on the story, to put it together in a timely fashion and to be accurate.

Martin said he received the tip at about 1 p.m.. The staff assembled to confirm it and produce the story grew to more than 10 people, including writers, editors and photographers. A short initial story, posted online about two hours after the initial tip, was a national scoop.

It was a maddening day, to say the least, Martin said. We just all had to run down different leads to try to source the story, and to make sure that it was thoroughly sourced before it was published.

The entry, which includes the initial story and subsequent coverage, can be found here.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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A federal three-judge panel in San Antonio has rejected two attempts by the state to delay a trial over whether its district boundaries for Congress and the Texas House of Representatives drawn in 2013 discriminate against minority voters.

In separate rulings, the panel rejected the states request to dismiss claims by civil rights groups and minority voters and politicos that the Legislature adopted the maps in 2013 with the intent to discriminate.
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Police are asking for the public's help in locating a 76-year-old veteran from San Antonio who has been missing for more than four weeks.

Abel Paredes Jr. was last seen on April 3 in the 8600 block of Fredericksburg Road. Police say he suffers from a medical condition that requires him to take medication.
Newly-filed court documents state that the house District 9 City Council candidate Lynlie Wallace uses as her primary Bexar County residence has been occupied by the same tenant continuously since 2013.

The documents are part of a lawsuit filed against Wallace, alleging shes not a qualified candidate for office in San Antonio because she lives in Austin. It asks that a judge order a hearing immediately.

Patrick Von Dohlen, the District 9 candidate who sued Wallace, did so after the San Antonio Express-News published a story and columns indicating that Wallace hasnt actually lived in San Antonio since at least 2013, despite her use of a local address as her primary residence. Wallace owns a house on Goldcrest Run in District 9 but has leased the property to a tenant for years; Wallace owns another home in Travis County, where she claims a homestead exemption and where shes lived for at least a few years.

Wallace works as chief of staff for state Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, and is the girlfriend of U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio. She has repeatedly rejected the assertion that she doesnt maintain a primary residence in San Antonio.

Throughout this campaign, my opponents have attempted to distract voters from the important issues at hand, but I am a legal resident of the district according to the law, and I will continue to fight for the issues important to District 9, she said in a written statement provided to the Express-News.

Jerad Najvar, Von Dohlens attorney, filed with the courts a declaration from the tenant, who said shes met Wallace fewer than three times since signing a lease in 2013. The tenants name has been redacted in the court documents, and the Express-News previously agreed not to print the individuals name at the request of Wallaces campaign manager.

The tenant states in the court document that she has lived at the house on Goldcrest Run since September 2013, when she signed a 12-month lease. Since then shes extended the annual contract twice and then in September 2016 asked for a shorter term.

Wallace agreed, the document shows, and the current lease is set to expire June 24. The tenant states in the document that she and her husband are purchasing a home and that in February, Wallace said shed be willing to break the lease early because she wanted to move back into the San Antonio house.

Not long after the conversation between the tenant and Wallace, the tenant received an email from an Express-News reporter indicating that he had some questions, the filing states. The tenant notes that her father, who lives elsewhere in Texas, received a call from the reporter, who left a message. The reporter knocked on the tenants door and subsequently interviewed neighbors. A news television reporter apparently contacted the tenant in a similar way.

The tenant and her husband, the document states, were initially confused about why reporters were interested in their house. The tenant said in the court filing that her husband suggested she call Wallace and ask her directly.

I called her and asked, Did you put this address as your residence when you filed to run? Ms. Wallace said yes. I dont remember her saying anything else, the tenant said. Honestly, I could tell she was embarrassed.

The tenant also noted that shes always sent her rent check to Wallaces address in Austin and that the candidate has never been over to the home to make any improvements or preparations to move back into the house, and that Wallace has never stayed at the Goldcrest Run house or kept any belongings there.

Najvar said his client has a compelling case, asking a judge to disqualify her candidacy.

We have more information now than we had from the prior news reports, and it is even clearer that Wallace is not a resident under the Election Code, he said. Im confident the Court will enforce the residency standard if necessary to protect the integrity of this election.

jbaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh
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Three people were arrested and one suspect is at large after the group allegedly attempted to steal around $1,600 in products from a department store at a New Braunfels shopping center, according to police.

Stephen Alexander Soto, a 19-year-old from San Antonio; Lacie Nicole Hollinshead, a 20-year-old from Schertz; and Kelley Anne Flood, a 19-year-old from Cibolo were all booked into the Comal County Jail Monday on robbery charges.

The fourth suspect, who has yet to be identified, fled from police at the scene was not captured.

RELATED: Two San Antonio women arrested in prostitution sting at Boerne massage parlor, police say

According to a statement from the City of New Braunfels, the suspects visited a Belk department store at the Creekside Town Center in the 200 block of Creekside Way, where they were caught stealing perfume and cologne and hiding it in other purchases made by Flood and Hollinshead.

While officers were on their way to the store around 6 p.m., the suspects split up and tried to flee the scene. Hollinshead dropped her purse and ran with Soto, who allegedly assaulted a loss prevention employee at Belk during their attempted escape.

Hollinshead ran to a nearby car, but returned to help Soto, who was occupied in a struggle with the loss prevention employee. Around that time, police arrived to the scene, and Hollinshead turned and tried to drive away from police. An officer stopped her at a far corner of the parking lot and arrested her. Soto was arrested as well.

Shortly after the two arrests, another officer spotted Flood and the final suspect enter the Creekside Cinema movie theater. The officer was able to arrest Flood, but the other suspect fled into the theater and escaped.

RELATED: Police searching for 76-year-old San Antonio veteran who has been missing 4 weeks

Soto was charged with robbery and booked into jail on a $15,000 bond. Hollinshead also faces a charge of robbery, as well as a charge of evading arrest in a vehicle. Her bond was set at $20,000.

Flood faces charges of robbery and failure to identify herself. Her bond was set at $17,000.

The New Braunfels Police Department Criminal Investigations Division in looking into the incident, and further arrests and charges are pending.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns
AUSTIN  Planned Parenthood has reopened its first abortion clinic in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down regulations that led to more than half of the state's abortion facilities to close.

The announcement Tuesday puts an abortion provider back in Waco. Clinics in rural and midsized Texas cities were among the first to close after Republicans in 2013 passed a sweeping anti-abortion bill later ruled unconstitutional.
To the editor:

While Montgomery County residents (including Mayor Toby Powell of Conroe) were scratching their heads about the announced expansion of the GEO Group for-profit detention center, the Commissioners Court passed yet another resolution on April 11, 2017, that will lead to still further expansion of the Conroe facility. Amazingly, none of the commissioners had copies of the resolution nor was it slated for open session. The broad language of the resolution, read aloud by attorney Nelda Blair in lieu of written copies, urges state legislators to fully support the funding and expansion of the GEO Care facility run by GEO Group. Blair then states, "Senator (Brandon) Creighton is leading the charge on that." The resolution passed with no vigorous public discussion -- though, curiously, Judge Crag Doyal did take time to discuss it with a lobbyist in Austin. So, a year or so from now, when residents are puzzled by yet another expansion at the Corley site, we can look back on the quiet passage of this resolution. And we can correlate the net benefit to GEO Group and their contributions to the Commissioners who gave them another green light (Doyal has received at least $16,500 in contributions since 2009).

GEO associate James P. Martelon's letter to the editor (April 30), claims that my letter about GEO was full of "inaccuracies and falsehoods." Martelon dismisses documented cases of abuse by giving a personal anecdote: "I have never experienced nor even been told of any abuse of any kind by any of the GEO personnel." Between 2010 and 2016, 33,126 abuse complaints were filed with DHS regarding detention facilities, including the Conroe facility, and only 1 percent were fully investigated. Complicating matters, ICE has not complied with requests for statistics on abuse and sexual assault (Courier 4/16/16, Houston Chronicle 4/12/17). Mr. Martelon states, "Local law enforcement has no say as to who is detained there." Wrong. Sheriff Rand Henderson (recipient of $5,000 in both 2015 and 2016 from GEO Group) supports the 287(g) plan that would, in fact, affect the number of Conroe residents detained in GEO's for-profit facilities (Houston Chronicle 2/21/17).

Mr. Martelon attempts to dispute that the Commissioners Court has a role in the expansion of the Corley site. My account of the April 11 session directly contradicts him. Martelon asserts that GEO Group's large contributions to the commissioners are lawful. Yes, I never said otherwise. But are they ethical? It brings to my mind a verse of scripture: "All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial" (I Cor. 6:12).

So far, the only glowing letters about the Corley facility have come from two of its own associates, and the biggest advocates are the commissioners. As Upton Sinclair wisely observed, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

B. P. Herrington

Conroe

Two-party system teetering

To the editor:

A funny thing happened in the French election, neither of the two candidates in the runoff is from the traditional parties. It would be like the U.S. having a presidential election without a Republican or Democrat on the ballot. I bring this up because new polls have come out that show among the 18- to 29-year-olds, more than 40 percent say they are non-affiliated. One poll was as high as 48 percent.

From World War II until the 2000s, Americans were about 35 percent Dems, 35 percent Reps and 30 percent independent. These numbers were consistent even during the radical 1960s and the Reagan revolution. Now the numbers are changing. New surveys of all voters shows those calling themselves independents have risen to as much a 38 percent. Of course, we all know polls have their limitations.

On the other hand, with Trump winning the Republican primary with only 35 percent of the vote and winning the presidency with less than a majority, there seems to be a change in the power structure of political parties. Plus he has been having a problem attracting new supporters. His coattails are not expanding.

If you start with the assumption that political parties are like a cult, once you join, you blindly follow the leaders; the two-party system is in trouble, because young people are better educated and more multicultural than their elders. Thus are not as homogenous in the views. If voter support for a party drops below 25 percent, most political theories state the fringe will break away. It has happened in Israel, Germany and other coalition government nations.

Could we be heading for a future where a person might be embarrassed to tell their neighbors they are affiliated with a party? A future where voters have to learn where candidates stand on the issues. And in Congress, there is no stigma or risk of losing campaign money when an elected official votes against a bill strongly supported by their party.

We old folks should never underestimate the changes that could occur in our political system when the social media generation is eventually in charge. When I see Republicans in the majority and a few conservatives joining the populist bandwagon by supporting leftist policies on the margin, it makes me believe the cracks in the party system have started. The question has to be asked, is this disloyalty to party principles permanent or just a fad?

It will be difficult to break up the two-party system because the laws are stacked in its favor. But laws can be changed. I can envision a future presidential election with only one candidate on the ballot being either a Republican or a Democrat. But not in my lifetime. However, those graduating high school today may experience it. How weird is that?

Tim Doherty

Conroe
To the editor:

There is no effort being made on the part of developers to mediate the effects of the clear-cutting they do in residential and commercial developments around Conroe.

Some municipalities require that trees be left and that more trees be planted to enhance the appearance of the sites and to provide buffers and other benefits. Leaving trees in place enhances the appearance of homes and commercial sites and raises their value beyond just the value of the buildings. You don't see the kind of wholesale destruction of land in the more upscale developments. Look at The Woodlands, for example. If they had cut down all the trees, they couldn't have called it "The Woodlands."

Apparently, Montgomery County or Conroe government is behind the 8 ball on this and doesn't require anything for developments north of Texas 242. Just let the wind blow what is left of the soil away and let the rains wash what is left into the drains and then into the river. Driving up I-45 on a windy day, the soil in the air is so dense you can barely see up the road more than a quarter-mile.

To deforest the large areas in Conroe prior to building is a travesty. And who will want to live next to a railroad track and I-45 anyway.

I live there and I hear all this noise 24/7. And that is in a neighborhood with trees further from the tracks and the interstate.

Why doesn't Conroe have any kind of requirements for developers to leave trees or to lessen the impact of development on the environment and quality of life?

Cathy Harbert

Conroe

Appeals court should clear up Open Meetings issue

To the editor:

It is good to know as reported in The Courier Thursday, April 27, that the 9th Court of Appeals is putting the Open Meetings question of constitutionality on the "Rocket Docket" to fast-track the question. This should answer the question once and for all. If there is some mis-wording then our elected Officials in Austin can fix it. If the court finds everything OK, then we can move ahead with justice.

I fail to see how a high-paid lawyer from Houston can come to Conroe and convince a lower court judge that the act is not in step with the Constitution when a higher court has already ruled differently. Do I smell something rotten here; maybe we the voters will soon find out.

Charlie Griffith

Montgomery

Standing by GEO

To the editor:

On May 2, 2017, a letter from B. P. Herrington continues his assault on the GEO Group. I am not a GEO associate but an unpaid volunteer Chaplain at the Joe Corley Federal Detention Center and I stand by every statement made in my previous letter to the Editor.

My reason for ministering as a Chaplain at the Joe Corley Federal Detention Center can be found in Matthew 25:31-46.

James P. Martelon

Chaplain

Joe Corley Federal Detention Center
San Antonios 52 candidates running for mayor and City Council positions in the May 6 election received about a third of their $1.55 million in total campaign contributions from the construction and real estate industry, according to an analysis of campaign filings by the Express-News.

The sector accounted for 47.3 percent of Mayor Ivy Taylors donations, or $212,500, and 25.3 percent of those for candidate Ron Nirenberg, or $69,570, according to the analysis of campaign data from July through March 27. For Manuel Medina  who says hes self-financing most of his campaign  they donated 9 percent, or $3,400.
Today, the House Financial Services Committee will meet to markup the Financial CHOICE Act, which contains language to repeal debit swipe fee reforms.

WASHINGTON  At 10:00 am EST today, the House Financial Services Committee will meet to markup legislation that could eliminate the debit swipe fee reforms that the convenience and fuel retailing industry fought so hard for.

The markup, the final step a committee takes in the legislative process before a bill can advance to the full House floor for a vote, is on H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, introduced by Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) on April 26, and includes a full repeal of debit swipe fee reform. Last week, retailers went to Capitol Hill and held nearly 100 meetings with lawmakers to urge them to save debit swipe fee reform. The group of 40 retailers included companies representing 10,000 convenience stores.

The inclusion of a repeal of debit reform is supported by the banking and credit card industries, who have launched media campaigns advocating for repeal. If these efforts are successful, debit reforms will go away, debit swipe fees and network fees will once again skyrocket, and the savings that convenience store customers have seen will disappear. Repealing these reforms will only benefit the top banks and the credit card giants, which will continue to price-fix the fees merchants pay.

To watch the Financial Services Committee markup of H.R. 10, please click here. To contact your representatives and ask them to protect debit reforms, visit the NACS grassroots portal.

For more information, contact Anna Ready, NACS director of government relations, at aready@nacsonline.com.
NEW YORK  The Washington Post reports that the evolution of convenience stores into hot, fast, affordable foods is just one of the pressures facing chains like Burger King, Wendys and Taco Bell, noting that low prices and speed for ready-to-eat foods among convenience stores with successful foodservice programs are big factors.

If you go to convenience store conventions, all they talk about is the decline of gas and tobacco, so they have to become more like [fast food], said Dunkin Donuts CEO Nigel Travis, noting the effect of convenience stores on Dunkins business.

For example, a chain like 7-Eleven has added low-priced chicken sandwiches and cheeseburgers to its hot and ready-to-eat foodservice offers, in addition to sandwich melts and roller grill items. We can drop in a product [in stores] overnight, and all of a sudden were in a brand-new business, Nancy Smith, 7-Elevens senior vice president of merchandising, told the news source.

The price point that convenience stores are selling hot and fresh foods at is also attractive to consumers with less discretionary income. In fact, as stated at the NACS State of the Industry Summit in April, 70% of convenience store shoppers have an annual household income of $55,000 or less. And for consumers in rural areas without access to a nearby grocery store or restaurants, convenience stores with hot-prepared foods are filling the mealtime void.

The Washington Post writes that Sheetz has found that customers mainly use its drive-thrus to order made-to-order foods like burgers, but also to request items like a gallon of milk. Travis Sheetz, vice president of operations, told the news source that he has also seen growth more recently in the cold cases containing yogurts, cut fruit and other pre-packaged foods. Those options cater to the growing number of people looking for convenient health, he said.

Wawa told the Post that the quality of food at convenience stores has improved, and that convenience stores have an advantage over QSRs in speed of service and variety in packaged beverage coolers and center-store items like salty snacks, confections and other grab-and-go merchandise. Thats something that McDonalds and the franchisees cant match, Mike Sherlock, Wawas vice president of fresh food and beverage, told the news source.

Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives, told the Post that convenience stores cannot excel at foodservice if their stores are not clean, especially the bathrooms. NACS asked consumers in May 2016 about their upcoming summer road trips, and how and when they might stop along their drives. The survey found that more than 70% of consumers would stop to use the bathroom.

Americans are seeking out stores that are more appealing inside with fresh food and an emphasis on cleanliness, and convenience stores are delivering, serving 160 million customers every dayand even more over the summer months, Lenard said.

Foodservice, a broad category that includes prepared and commissary foods, hot dispensed beverages (coffee) and cold (fountain) and frozen dispensed (slushee) drinks, is a key focus for growth in the convenience store channel. Data released at the April NACS State of the Industry Summit revealed that foodservice contributed 21.7% of in-store sales in 2016 and accounted for 35.2% of gross profit dollars, with prepared food and cold dispensed beverages driving the categorys growth. Complete industry data and analysis will be released in June in the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2016 Data.
NEW YORK  Instead of promoting canned soup, cereal and cookies from top CPG companies, more grocery stores are choosing to position fresh foods, hot prepared meals and foods from local upstarts that appeal to health-conscious consumers, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Weve got to maximize return on our shelf space, Don Fitzgerald, vice president of merchandising at Marianos, a Chicago grocery chain acquired by Kroger Co., told the news source. Shoppers, he continued, are drawn to steamy pasta at the stores deli counter, rather than a box of dried macaroni and powdered cheese.

The news source writes that ShopRite and other grocery chains around the country are building new stores formats with less space for traditional packaged foods in the center aisles, and more space devoted to in-store restaurants and fresh prepared meals for take-home consumption. Its by demand of consumers looking for a quick meal, Natalie Menza, ShopRites director of health and wellness, told the Journal.

In addition to grocers, drugstore chain CVS said its planning update its stores to focus more on healthier merchandise and foods. The new format is expected to be up and running at about 300 stores by the end of 2018.

A 70-year-old shopper at a Chicago Marianos store told the Journal that she stopped buying chips and cereal in favor of chicken breasts, brown rice, potatoes and fresh vegetables and fruit. I stopped buying that stuff because it has too much salt and sugar. Even the boxes that appear healthy, when you read them, they really arent, she said.

While shopper preferences for healthier choices shifted several years ago, the impact on CPG companies is now intensifying as retailers strive to meet consumer demand. The Journal writes that companies such as Unilever and Nestle SA said in April that North American food sales are underperforming as customers avoid the center aisles of grocery stores.

Companies like PepsiCo Inc. are working with retailers to be creative, notes the Journal. Thats a conversation weve been having with some of the retailers, to say, How can we help you rethink the center store so that we can bring growth back, said Pepsi Chief Indra Nooyi on a conference call. Our hope is that with the rejuvenation of the center store, our categories will grow, too.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente

Politics

2016 Post Mortem

Why did Trump win? New research by Democrats offers a worrisome answer. [Greg Sargent, WaPo]. Economic anxiety. As if an opioid epidemic and tens of thousands of excess deaths per year in deindustriallized America were some sort of psychological condition Clinton headlines events for groups troubled by Trump [CNN]. That should do it. As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, On November 9, 2016, Bethany Katz, an organizer who worked directly for the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee, filed a federal lawsuit, on behalf of herself and all other organizers who worked directly or indirectly for the DNC, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania asserting that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party violated federal and state law by requiring her and others to work in excess of 40 hours per workweek while denying her and others overtime compensation guaranteed by law [Swartz Swidler]. On January 20, 2017, Ms. Katz, joined by 6 other organizers who directly worked for other state democratic parties, amended the Complaint, adding 6 other state democratic parties to the lawsuit, and alleging that the state parties worked with the DNC in coordinating work and denying overtime pay to organizers.

2017

GA-06: An internal poll conducted for Democrat Jon Ossoffs campaign shows him locked in a dead heat with Republican Karen Handel in the June 20 runoff to represent Georgias 6th District [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]. The poll was conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, a polling firm that worked for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. By internal poll, we mean poll designed to be leaked. 590 likely voters, 4% margin of error.

Realignment and Legitimacy

Seeing the Clintons as a part of ones own political identity is corrosive and only serves as further indictment of the Democratic Party and its supporters, both of whom are now so out of touch that theyre looking to people spreading Infowars-esque conspiracy theories about a Soviet menace for comfort and direction. Chelsea Clinton, as grounded and benign as she may appear to be on Twitter, is still the wealthy daughter of a former president and Secretary of State. She has not come to prominence because of her own labor but due to the exploitation of the labor of others, and while this isnt specific to the Clintons, it is part and parcel of the aristocratic nature of American politics. And this deserves challenging [Paste Magazine]. The Collapse of American Identity [New York Times]. But recent survey data provides troubling evidence that a shared sense of national identity is unraveling, with two mutually exclusive narratives emerging along party lines. At the heart of this divide are opposing reactions to changing demographics and culture. The shock waves from these transformations  harnessed effectively by Donald Trumps campaign  are reorienting the political parties from the more familiar liberal-versus-conservative alignment to new poles of cultural pluralism and monism. Monism. Such stuff. Carmen Rios is the editor of Ms. Magazine. Do click through to the images: Dear @MsMagazine: please tell @carmenriosss you can disagree w/sanders w/out wishing for his imminent death. This is vile & disturbing. 1 pic.twitter.com/DmMGFqW2Cc  katie halper (@kthalps) May 2, 2017 And just to reinforce the message [NOTE: When I pasted this code in, it worked. Now, it doesnt. I also saw the first tweet imaged above. It too has been deleted.] gonna write in chelsea clinton 'til bernie dies  carmen rios ??? (@carmenriosss) April 24, 2017 Im so old that I remember when calling for a political opponents death would have been considered in bad taste Thanks to human ingenuity, most of the changes history has brought, large or small, whether they seemed catastrophic in the moment or not, have ushered in progress in its many forms and led us to the better world in which we live today  a world in which people live longer, are better educated, are healthier, have access to more opportunities, are wealthier, and have every reason to be happier than any prior generation in history [David Rothkopf, Foreign Policy]. Shorter Rothkopf: Deal with it, proles! Even though this is a family blog: Stephen Colbert to Trump: The only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putins cock holster. https://t.co/d5K2k2nH4x pic.twitter.com/3lPliSceTH  The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 2, 2017 That should play in Peoria.

Stats Watch

Gallup US Economic Confidence Index, April 2017: economic confidence weakened slightly but remains positive about the current state of the U.S. economy [Econoday]. 46 percent said the economy was getting better in April, while 47 percent said it was getting worse. Nonetheless, improved economic confidence has yet to translate into notable gains in hard measures of actual economic output, such as gross domestic product or consumer spending. Indeed, soft data  measuring general economic perceptions such as Gallups economic confidence index  and hard data are telling two very different stories of the U.S. economy. The soft data seem to suggest strong economic growth is just around the corner, while the hard data  as evidenced by Fridays GDP report  currently depict an economy that is slowly growing.

Motor Vehicle Sales, April 2017: The earliest hint on whether consumer spending bounced back up in April is not favorable. With about half the totals in, unit vehicle sales are running no better than Marchs very disappointing annualized [Econoday]. Final unit sales for April will be posted at days end. Note that Aprils result will offer the first hard indication on the second-quarter economy.

Shipping: UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. are offering a new type of pricing for deliveries within a 50-mile radius, according to a person familiar with the companies strategy, in a move designed to divert local last mile business-to-consumer traffic normally moving with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) [DC Velocity].

Shipping: United Parcel Service Inc. is asking major retailers to help pay for the extra workers and added space needed during the years busiest shipping periods and wants them to pay when their forecasts veer of course. UPS, like rival FedEx Corp. , is grappling with the e-commerce boom, and the company wants to recoup the billions it is investing to handle the surge in online shopping, a shift thats triggered an upheaval in distribution networks, fractured traditional forecasting and carved back profit margins [Wall Street Journal]. FedEx has dropped some retailers that refused price increases, while UPS appears to be taking a more targeted surge pricing approach. Amazon.com Inc. tried a variation on the strategy last year when it started charging a premium for merchants to use its warehouses in November and December. UPS appears to be saying with the new effort that it will take on the investment but not all of the risk.

Shipping: Local authorities in Liverpool are deliberating with the government on the potential of establishing a free trade zone around the port of Liverpool. A free trade area is a designated location within which goods are traded and manufactured without customs duties or taxes [Lloyds List]. Brexit fallout

Retail: Americas packaged-food giants are being pushed out of the most coveted space in the grocery supply chain. Instead of promoting canned soup, cereal and cookies, grocery stores are giving better play to fresh food, prepared hot meals, and items from local upstarts favored by increasingly health-conscious consumers [Wall Street Journal]. Thats changing the very physical structure of stores, with grocery chains increasingly carving out space for counters with fresh meals that shoppers can take home. That leaves less room for the industry heavyweights and the packaged goods that saw sales volume fall 2.4% in the first quarter, part of a long-running trend that has accelerated during a long stretch of falling food prices. Id like to see a breakdown by income on this

The Bezzle: Nearly 90 per cent of new cars [in the UK] are sold using finance deals, most of which mean the owner in effect leases a vehicle for three or four years rather than buys it outright [The Times of London]. Nearly 90 per cent of new cars are sold using finance deals, most of which mean the owner in effect leases a vehicle for three or four years rather than buys it outright. These so-called personal contract plans (PCPs) allow people to secure cars for monthly payments, helping to cause a motoring boom. Experts fear, however, that many customers are being sold loans without having the terms properly explained to them. Analysts suggest a financial downturn could result in thousands of drivers unable to keep up payments, leaving dealers with a glut of second-hand cars they would struggle to sell. The Times can reveal that The Car Finance Company, a provider of finance to those with poor credit histories, appears to be in financial trouble. Six directors of the sub-prime lender have quit since the beginning of March and its accounts are listed by Companies House as overdue.

The Bezzle: Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Wary of Auto Loans, Pack Them in Bonds [Bloomberg]. Both banks have grown more reluctant to make new subprime loans using money from their own balance sheets.  At the same time the firms are indirectly funding billions of dollars of the loans by helping companies like Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. borrow in the asset-backed securities market, essentially shunting money from bond investors to finance companies. But: Theres a problem with subprime auto, which we see, said [Jamie] Dimon, whose bank offers auto lending through its consumer banking division. But subprime auto is so small relative to the US debt market it wont make a difference to the system.' [Yahoo Finance].

The Bezzle: The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Wednesday took a new action against Security National Automotive Acceptance Co. (SNAAC), an auto lender based in Mason that specializes in loans to servicemembers. The step will cost the company a $1.25 million penalty [Cincinatti Enquirer]. In 2015, the bureau ordered SNAAC to pay penalties for illegal debt collection tactics, including making threats to contact servicemembers commanding officers about debts and exaggerating the consequences of not paying. SNAAC violated the 2015 order by failing to provide more than $1 million in refunds and credits, affecting more than 1,000 consumers. Wednesdays consent order requires SNAAC to make good on the refunds and credits it owes and pay the penalty.

The Bezzle: Before too long, it will be impossible to buy a new car without an embedded LTE modem [Ars Technica]. Swell. I sure hope there arent any security issues with the firmware

The Bezzle: In recent months, major companies that offered dedicated Apple Watch apps have since abandoned the platform, quietly removing support for watchOS in updates submitted to the App Store [Apple Insider]. Just as dumb as Google Glass, except nobody invented the term glasshole for the Apple Watch. So, Apple, go back to making everything thinner, crapifying your software, and failing to deliver for professionals whove built a lifetime round your brand.

Concentration: Domestically, [American, Delta, Southwest and United] control nearly 69% of the seating capacity. For trans-Atlantic flights, three  United, American, and Delta Air Lines Co. (NYSE: DAL)  control 82% of seat capacity. United, for example, controls more than 50% of seat capacity at 31 U.S. airports. At 17 of those airports, United owns 100% of seating capacity [247 Wall Street]. In its compilation of 155 U.S. airports, the [U.S. Travel Association] found that, in addition to United, American controlled 100% of seating capacity at 32 airports and Delta controlled 100% of capacity at 25 airports. Southwest controlled more than 50% of seating capacity at 18 airports and more than 90% at four airports. Southwest did not have control of 100% of seats at any airport.

Statistics: But every first quarter report in the post-financial-crisis economic recovery has been weak. Thats because the Commerce Department has not yet fully resolved how to deal with residual seasonality [Business Insider]. Heres how seasonality works: we know that consumers tend to spend more around Christmas. But its not because their incomes increase leading up to those holidays. So the Commerce Department has make adjustments to reflect the fact that people are spending more just because they want to give gifts  instead of assuming that something underpinning the economy has suddenly changed. But why would this same logic no apply before the Crash, as well as after? What am I missing, here?

Todays Fear & Greed Index: 51 Neutral (previous close: 49, Neutral) [CNN]. One week ago: 46 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed. Last updated May 2 at 12:11pm. Like the Five Horsemen of the Techpocalyse are Mr. Markets Id, and the Fear & Greed Index is Mr. Markets superego?

Health Care

Since the 2010 election, the 24 lawmakers on the two California legislative committees that will consider the single-payer legislation have collectively received more than $819,000 in donations from the industry groups that are officially opposing the measure. The cash haul includes more than $80,000 to the chairmen of the Assembly and Senate health committees, the latter of which is set to consider the legislation at a public hearing Wednesday [David Sirota, International Business Times]. Ka-ching.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein told her constituents at a recent San Francisco town hall event that shes not ready to support a single-payer health care system  an idea that has been gaining steam at the state level in California [David Sirota, International Business Times]. A week later, Feinstein was even further from there, benefitting from a fundraising event at the Washington, D.C., office of Avenue Solutions, a lobbying firm that represents major health insurers, pharmaceutical companies and the primary trade association for doctors. Feinstein supporters at the event were expected to kick in $1,000 to $5,000 for her re-election bid. Ka-ching.

According to aggregate whip counts conducted by various outlets, somewhere between 20 and 22 Republican members of the House have said they will vote no on the American Health Care Act, which would repeal and replace Obamacare. Thats right on the edge of the 22 members Republicans can afford to lose for the bill to pass [Business Insider].

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn expressed optimism the latest push to unwind former Democratic President Barack Obamas health-care program would succeed [CNBC] I think it will happen this week, Priebus said on CBS. In a separate interview, Cohn said he expected the plan to come to the House floor for a full vote. Were convinced weve got the votes, and were going to keep moving on with our agenda, he said.

Trumpcares long odds in the Senate, explained by a Republican senator [Sarah Kliff, Vox]. Bill Cassidy: I guess the roadblocks are you have to socialize everybody to certain concepts. One example: The American Health Care Act had a provision that if you werent working, you couldnt get a credit. There is a gentleman at Heritage Foundation who said it wont work. EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, means that someone can walk into the emergency room and get treated. Federal law requires that. f you get in a wreck with multiple trauma and youre in the hospital for six months, society eats that cost. I think people have to become emotionally aware and intellectually aware of the fact that Congress, when it passed EMTALA, made that a right. I see as people become more aware of these issues [that] were moving more to an agreement on our approach.

[A] procedural rift is beginning to emerge within the GOP, with several Republicans questioning whether reconciliation  the fast-track legislative process that circumvents a filibuster, and thus the need for Democratic support  is even the best avenue for health care overhaul efforts [Politico].

Single-Payer Medicare for All Is the Only Health-Care System That Makes Sense [The Nation].  California could be Americas Saskatchewan if groundbreaking legislation continues to advance through the legislature. If only California were sovereign in its own currency

Class Warfare

An Uber engineer killed himself. His widow says the workplace is to blame [USA Today]. [Joseph Thomas] would say, I feel stupid, theyre all laughing at me, and yet this was a guy who was as hardworking, driven and focused as there ever was, [said his wife, Zecole Thomas]. He only had one year of college, but if there was a coding language he didnt know, hed study hard and three months later get certificates saying he knew them. Its all very heartbreaking.'

The Cold World of Deindustrialization [Stanford University Press Blog]. [M]aking work more like art was an effective way to get people to work longer and harder and commit more fully to their jobs, often in exchange for mere psychological compensation. Hmm

Using panel data on individual labor income histories from 1957 to 2013, we document two empirical facts about the distribution of lifetime income in the United States. First, from the cohort that entered the labor market in 1967 to the cohort that entered in 1983, median lifetime income of men declined by 10%19%. We find little-to-no rise in the lower three-quarters of the percentiles of the male lifetime income distribution during this period. Accounting for rising employer-provided health and pension benefits partly mitigates these findings but does not alter the substantive conclusions. For women, median lifetime income increased by 22%33% from the 1957 to the 1983 cohort, but these gains were relative to very low lifetime income for the earliest cohort [NBER]. [T]he closing lifetime gender gap has kept overall lifetime inequality virtually flat. The increase within gender groups is largely attributed to an increase in inequality at young ages, and partial life-cycle income data for younger cohorts indicate that the increase in inequality is likely to continue. Overall, our findings point to the substantial changes in labor market outcomes for younger workers as a critical driver of trends in both the level and inequality of lifetime income over the past 50 years.

News of the Wired

What makes someone donate a kidney to a stranger? [WaPo]. Extraordinary altruists, as the researchers call them, come from all age, race and socioeconomic groups. Some are religious, others are not. But unlike almost everyone else, they dont see less value in a strangers life than in the life of a close friend or relative, the researchers found. And they are genuinely puzzled that the rest of the world doesnt view other people the same way.

Red alert! Intel patches remote execution hole thats been hidden in biz, server chips since 2008 [The Register]. The programming blunder can only be fully addressed with a firmware-level update, and it is present in millions of chips. It is effectively a backdoor into computers all over the world. Hoo boy.

For those who like their humor very, very dry, Bob & Ray:

There in stately splendor, far removed from the squalid village below, they play out their petty games of money and power.

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Readers, feel free to contact me with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, and (c) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here.

And heres todays plant (via):

Diphterio: Another alien plant species: Beargrass. Since they only bloom once every four years, its always a little bit special to come across a field all in bloomand so much pollen! See additional discussion from NC plant geeks.

* * *

Readers, Water Cooler is a standalone entity, not supported by the Naked Capitalism fundraisers. Please use the dropdown to choose your contribution, and then click the hat! Your tip will be welcome today, and indeed any day. Water Cooler will not exist without your continued help.
Thanks to an audience member making a video of a CalPERS board meeting in January that would otherwise have gone undocumented, we were able to publicize that the giant public pension fund was launching a full bore attack against JJ Jelincic, the only board member who does his duty by asking questions of staff. That appears to be a hanging crime in Sacramento.

This plan was so clearly dubious that not only did former general counsel, now law professor Bill Black savage the conduct of CalPERS board and its general counsel, Matt Jacobs, but reporter Mike Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times also criticized CalPERS, in an article titled, One CalPERS board member asks tough questions about its investments. Why are his colleagues trying to muzzle him?

The only potential check on this kangaroo court was that Jelincic asked for and was promised a public process.

Apparently CalPERS is determined to censure Jelincic yet recognizes that its charges and procedures wont stand up to scrutiny. The result is that CalPERS reneged on its promise to Jelincic and the public and insisted on a secret process. CalPERS even tried to gag Jelincic by cheekily asserting that an early April meeting was attorney-client privileged even though Jelincic had his own counsel and his interest was clearly adverse.

Keep in mind that CalPERS has been trying to find a way to neutralize Jelincic for a very long time. As we wrote in 2015:

This section of the Governance Committee meeting clearly shows that the board, aided and abetted by [fiduciary counsel Robert] Klausner, is in the process of establishing a procedure for implementing trumped-up sanctions against Jelincic, presumably so as to facilitate an opponent unseating him in his next election. But Jelincics term isnt up until 2018, so from their perspective they are stuck with an apostate in their ranks for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Part of their strategy appears to harass him into compliance with the posture the rest of the board, that of ceding authority to staff and conducting board meetings that are largely ceremonial.

Now for a recap of the latest chapter of this sorry saga. In January, board member Bill Slaton made an astonishing attack on Jelincic at an offsite, demanding that the board strip Jelinicic of substantive authority unless he resigned. Not only does the board lack the power to do that, but on top of that, Slaton failed offer a single specific example of misconduct. Yet showing that CalPERS lives in an Alice in Wonderland, Sentence first, verdict later realm, general counsel Matt Jacobs swung into support behind Slaton.

As we wrote then:

This plan would have started and might have proceeded entirely in secret, save for the fact that that Jelincic not insisted that the annual board peer review be held in an open session. CalPERS scheduled the meeting to discuss stripping Jelincic of power at an offsite in Monterey, away from its Sacramento board room. Jelincic had no warning that it would include a proposal to push him off the board. Moreover, CalPERS neither recorded a video, as it does for all open sessions in Sacramento and for most of the sessions its offsites, nor did it make a transcript for this illegitimate procedure. But we have a bootleg video, and weve uploaded the key section to YouTube. We have embedded the transcript at the end of this post. Well discuss the details shortly. This campaign against Jelincic is proof of diseased governance. And that is no surprise since the foxes are in charge of the henhouse. CalPERS staff is not accountable to anyone save its board, and once in a great while, the court of public opinion. And as we have documented over the past three years, the only board member who stands up to staff is Jelinicic. The other members of the board, rather than admitting to themselves that Jelincic is doing what they all ought to be doing, instead see him as a threat and are determined to beat him down. As CJ Latsa, a board member at Ohios state pension fund, Ohio PERS, wrote: This is potentially a very serious situation. It is my hope that any trustee would be considered innocent until proven guilty and an investigation would include adequate checks and balances. Without a fair and impartial review, a board could in effect act as judge, jury, and executioner. Considering the worst case scenario, it would be a travesty if a board mistakenly unelected the peoples choice without due cause.

And from Bill Black:

In an institution with a deeply rooted, sick culture like CalPERS, everything works against forceful directors trying to cure the rot. They have to confront a phalanx of directors and officers who are genuinely horrified that someone would disturb the highly prized decorum of the boardroom. The officials maintaining that the sick culture is not sick become enraged at anyone that blows the whistle on their unwillingness to act aggressively to cure the sick culture. CalPERS has had the great fortune of having a board member willing to take on its board and officers to insist on rooting out its culture of corruption. In doing so, JJ Jelincic discovered the great truth  no good deed goes unpunished. His fellow board members, with the clear connivance of the senior officers, are ginning up an effort to destroy his ability to continue to try to root out the rot at CalPERS. Neither Jelincic, who has among the greatest expertise of any board member in finance, nor the directors as a whole, knows what Jelincic is supposed to have done wrong. Here is the kangaroo nature of the proceedings at CalPERS, revealed in an excerpt from the transcript of a public board meeting. It is typical of a broken organization. Bill Slaton is a CalPERS board member. Bill Slaton: Mr. Jelincic, Im going to address you in this  that as Ive observed, youve taken unilateral actions that to me are clear violations of fiduciary duty, and by implication placed our fiduciary duty as a board at risk, and the common theme is the disrespect for the governing rules of the organization. To be more specific, Im talking about the disregard for confidentiality of materials or decisions reviewed or made by this board. [T]here are in my view only two possible solutions to protect the fund from the risk of continued fiduciary violations. The first would be for Mr. Jelincic to voluntarily resign his board position. If he chooses to remain on the board, I ask the board president to place on the board agenda as soon as possible an action item regarding a sanction or sanctions to be imposed by this board, and one sanction I ask to be considered would prohibit Mr. Jelincic from attending any closed sessions conducted by any committee or the full board while he remains a member of this board due to his repeated unauthorized disclosure of confidential material. At this point in the transcript, we have Slaton attacking Jelincic in a manner one virtually never witnesses in a boardroom. What we do not know is what confidential information Jelincic supposedly disregarded. Jelincics reputation is for pushing boards to act aggressively to fulfill their fiduciary duties, so it is bizarre for Slaton to be seeking to muzzle Jelincics efforts to improve the boards performance of its fiduciary duties on the grounds that (in some unstated fashion) doing so will improve the boards fiduciary performance. Jelincic, as one would expect, asked what specific confidentiality he was disregarding so that he could respond to Slatons attacks. Slaton provided no specific charges, making it impossible for Jelincic to respond with any specific denials.

Mind you, despite the promise of a public process, a further discussion was never put on a CalPERS board agenda. As indicated above, the next play was for CalPERS to call for an private discussion in early April, a move that I am perplexed that Jelincic and his counsel agreed to.

And CalPERS continues to resist any pretense of being transparent, despite its earlier promise to Jelincic. See the exchange below starting at 43:45 (you can also view it here):

Michael Flaherman, Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley: Im Michael Flaherman. Im a retiree of CalPERS. Im also a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. The reason I wanted to address you this morning is that I see that youre about to have a briefing on cybersecurity, and I want to call your attention to a an alert that was put out by a major law firm Kirkland and Ellis, which advises probably a third of the private equity managers you do business with. And Im just going read just a couple of sentences. The title of this portion is called Drawdown Scam. Kirkland has recently been made aware of cyber criminals targeting private equity sponsors and their drawdown practices. Thats calling capital from you. In these attacks, the prevalence of which is unclear, cyber criminals have hacked into sponsors systems sponsors meaning private equity firms and obtained drawdown notices and LP information. The criminals then used fake drawdown requests with changed bank account details in an attempt to steel funds from LPs. There are two reasons I bring this up. First, youre having this cybersecurity briefing. But the second reason I bring it up is because I called Mr. Jelincics attention to this about a month ago, when I first became aware of it. And Im concerned that if he chooses to raise the issue in closed session, this could become another of these very strange situations, where hes accused of leaking something that was actually told to him, but it appears to you that hes telling it to others. Thats a great concern. Im also here, I guess, to raise the larger issue that Im quite perplexed about the status of his censure. Its been, I think, more than three months since he was promised a public process. And I think weve all been waiting to see the charges, to see a public process, and nothing has happened. Couldcould some kind of statement from the Board president be made about the status of whats going on with that? Board President Robert Feckner: There will be one, when Im prepared to do so Flaherman: So youre not prepared to make a statement. Feckner: I am not. Flaherman: So we have a situation of secret charges, and a secret trial, and Feckner: No, I said when Im prepared to Flaherman: Well, thats very unfortunate. Thank you very much. Feckner: Yes, sir. Thank you for your comments.

It is important to understand the significance of Flaherman feeling compelled to notify the CalPERS board that he had provided Jelincic with information, even public information like the Kirkland & Ellis client alert.

From the statements that CalPERS has made to the media and Jelincic, it is apparent that they have a bizarre view of confidentiality. While it is true that the contents of the non-public portions of CalPERS board meetings are confidential, it is also a well-settled legal principle that information that is public cannot be made private simply by trying to assert that it is confidential. Thus, for instance, the board regularly reviews the status of litigation in which CalPERS is involved. However, for cases already filed, those discussions are almost certain to include material that is in court documents. For a board member to discuss something that is already a matter of public record would not be a violation of confidentiality, yet members of CalPERS board seem to believe otherwise.

And of course, you can see Feckner stonewalling Flaherman, which is hardly a demonstration of good faith or fair dealing with Jelincic and the public at large.

The boards deeply misguided sense of priorities strongly suggests that rather than find a way to beat a quiet retreat, they will instead persist in trying to find a way to smear Jelincic, no matter what the cost to their and CalPERS reputation.

This entire procedure is shameful. The board owes Jelincic an apology. But even if some board members now recognize that they will do themselves more harm if they allow this bogus procedure to continue, too many board members seem obsessed with punishing Jelincic rather than doing a better job of overseeing staff. And bear in mind, they cant hide behind the excuse that this train wreck is Slatons and Feckners doing. Feckner is proceeding with the delegated authority of the board. He is their operative and they all bear responsibility for the outcome.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Tuesday (2 May 2017) at Palais dEgmont to prepare for the meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels on 25 May.

The Secretary General thanked Belgium for hosting the Alliances headquarters for 50 years and for its support to the May meeting. Secretary General Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Michel discussed preparations for the meeting, which will focus on NATOs role in the fight against terrorism, as well as the transatlantic bond and fair burden-sharing, in line with commitments made at the Wales and Warsaw Summits. They also discussed NATO-EU relations. The May meeting will mark the formal handover of the new NATO headquarters from host nation Belgium to NATO.
Poland took the lead of NATOs Baltic Air Policing mission on Tuesday (2 May 2017), succeeding the Royal Netherlands Air Force at Siauliai airbase in Lithuania. Spain will replace the German Air Force in supporting the mission from Estonias Amari airbase.

The Polish Air Force will carry out the mission with four F-16 fighter aircraft, while the Spanish Air Force is deploying five F-18 fighter jets. Poland has now led the mission six times, while Spain is also a regular contributor.

Since 2004, seventeen Allies have participated in 44 rotations of NATOs Baltic Air Policing. The mission is a standing peacetime activity, helping ensure the integrity of the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The next scheduled rotation is foreseen for September.
(Natural News) Children born to mothers who frequently used their phones were more likely to be hyperactive, according to a recent study. As part of the study, a team of international researchers examined 83,884 mother-children pairs from Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, and Korea between 1996 to 2011. According to the research team, children aged five to seven had a 28 percent increased risk of being hyperactive if their mothers used their mobile phones four times a day while being pregnant.

The study revealed children born to mothers who used their mobile phones for an hour daily during pregnancy had higher odds of developing hyperactive behaviors. The research team also found that children born to mothers who never used their mobile phones during pregnancy had lower odds of exhibiting behavioral hyperactivity/inattention or emotional problems. Researchers speculate that radio waves emitted by mobile phones may have something to do with the increased risk of developing hyperactivity in children. However, an expert also cautioned to take these results with a grain of salt.

Pediatrician Dr. Robin Hansen of the University of California inferred that children who feel that they were being ignored by their parents might be resorting to hyperactivity to get the attention that they wanted. Is it something about the cellphone itself? Is it something that impacts your parenting behaviour? Its not until you cry or you throw something or make a lot of noise, that your parents shift their attention from the cellphone to you. It reinforces hyperactive, attention-getting behaviour, Dr. Hansen added in DailyMail.co.uk.

The findings were published in the journal Environment International.

Mobile phone use may induce hyperactivity in adults too

Excessive mobile phone use was also found to trigger hyperactivity in adults, a study revealed. As part of the research, health experts at the University of Virginia examined mobile phone use among 221 college students. During the first week of the study, half of the participants were instructed to minimize mobile phone interruptions by activating their do-not-disturb features. The participants swapped places during the second week of the study. The research team then assessed hyperactivity and inattentiveness in participants by determining the frequency symptoms similar to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The experts used the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a basis for identifying ADHD-like symptoms in adults.

The research team found that up to 95 percent of smartphone users checked their devices during social gatherings. The experts also found that one in 10 users used a mobile phone during sexual intercourse. The study participants spent at least two hours a day using their devices, the study showed. The study also revealed that the participants reported symptoms similar to ADHD when their mobile phone notifications were turned on compared to when their devices were silent. Some of these symptoms include hyperactivity, reduced focus, inattention and sitting still. According to the lead researcher, smartphones trigger these symptoms because the devices serve as temporary distractions. However, the lead researcher stressed that ADHD is not a mere collection of symptoms, but is a completely separate psychological condition that has biological causes. (Related: Learn more about the latest discoveries in mental health at Mind.news)

We found the first experimental evidence that smartphone interruptions can cause greater inattention and hyperactivity  symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder  even in people drawn from a nonclinical populationOur findings suggest neither that smartphones can cause ADHD nor that reducing smartphone notifications can treat ADHD.The findings simply suggest that our constant digital stimulation may be contributing to an increasingly problematic deficit of attention in modern society, said lead researcher Kostadin Kushlev in IBTimes.co.uk.

The findings were presented at last years Human-Computer Interaction conference in California. Follow more news on the biological health effects of EMFs at EMF.news.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

DailyMail.co.uk

Wired.co.uk

IBTimes.co.uk
(Natural News) Though malaria is a virtually unknown disease to many in the U.S., it is a global menace that affects upwards of 212 million people annually, killing close to half a million in any given year. In the past, the medical approach to the treatment of malaria has been to prescribe a type of drug called Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs). However, on the eve of World Malaria Day  which falls on the 25th of April each year  the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it will be starting to test a new anti-malaria vaccine in the fields of Kenya, Ghana and Malawi, beginning in 2018. Though scientists involved with the development of the vaccine have called this great news, insisting it will make a real difference, is this vaccine really necessary, and will it live up to the hype?

Interestingly, on some fronts, the tide has definitely been turning in the war against malaria. In the 15 years from 2000 to 2015, there was a 62 percent reduction in the number of people dying from malaria, as well as a 41 percent reduction in the total number of diagnoses. This has largely been due to the hard work of NGOs and other groups on the ground who have been educating people about avoiding the disease by using mosquito nets and other control measures, making people more aware of the symptoms of the disease so that they can get treatment sooner, and distributing more medication to nations in need.

One wonders, therefore, why there is so much interest in developing an anti-malaria vaccine now, when the battle is clearly already being won. Very disturbing, too, is the fact that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has been actively involved in the development of this vaccine, known as Mosquirix or RTS,S. The foundation has donated over $1 billion to family planning initiatives, and one of its stated objectives is to reduce the global population through its Global Health Development Programs. In a TED Talk back in 2010, Bill Gates stated, The world today has 6.8 billion people  thats headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, healthcare, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent. [Emphasis added]

Thats scary stuff. A vaccine is supposed to protect people and prolong their lives, right? So how on earth could vaccines possibly lower population? Logically, if they are as effective as theyre purported to be, they should increase the population by preventing deaths. Kinda makes you wonder whats in those vaccines, doesnt it? (RELATED: To find out more about what people like Bill Gates are up to, visit Depopulation.news)

Granted, there has been a marked increase in the number of drug-resistant malaria cases worldwide, but that doesnt mean a preventative vaccine is the best solution. Even if it doesnt kill you  and who knows, when the BMGF is involved  vaccines have side effects and are not 100 percent effective. And there is a naturally available treatment that has been successfully used to treat malaria in traditional Amazonian, Chinese and African medicine for centuries, that doesnt have side effects, can be grown anywhere and can even treat drug-resistant malaria: The Artemisia annua plant, commonly known as sweet wormwood or sweet annie.

The Health Ranger recently reported on a study published in the journal Phytomedicine, which describes how the Artemisia annua plant saved 18 patients in the Congo who were suffering from drug-resistant malaria that was totally unresponsive to any western medical treatment. When the patients failed to respond to ACTs, doctors tried the dried leaves of the Artemisia annua plant in a final bid to save their patients lives. After only five days of treatment, all 18 patients were 100 percent recovered, and blood tests revealed absolutely no remaining parasites in their blood.

If a naturally occurring, freely available plant medicine is available to treat drug-resistant strains of malaria, and other preventative measures have already turned the tide in the fight against this disease, any thinking person has to wonder why the BMGF, the WHO and others are suddenly pushing for the release of this new vaccine.

Sources:

NaturalNews.com

Edition.CNN.com

NaturalNews.com

YouTube.com

OccupyCorporatism.com
The United States military has revealed their plans to hack the brains of their soldiers to enhance their cognitive abilities, meaning what they could normally learn in weeks, they could learn in a matter of hours.

Under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative, Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT), which was first announced in 2015, has now begun.

TNT will include using electrical stimulation on the body's peripheral nervous system to activate "synaptic plasticity," -- the ability of synapses to strengthen or weaken over time. By activating this natural brain process, it is hoped that the learning process will be accelerated.

On its latest announcement, DARPA revealed it is funding eight separate research efforts to determine if the stimulation can safely be used.

"DARPA is approaching the study of synaptic plasticity from multiple angles to determine whether there are safe and responsible ways to enhance learning and accelerate training for skills relevant to national security missions," said Doug Weber, the TNT Program Manager.

DARPA has awarded $5.8 billion to a team of researchers at the University of Texas' Biomedical Device Center to carry researches related to TNT. Teams at Arizona State University, John Hopkins University, the University of Florida, the University of Maryland, the University of Wisconsin and Wright State University were also awarded contracts.

Stat News reported that most of the teams in the study are looking at the vagus nerve, the longest of the cranial nerves that connect nerves from the neck to the brain and down to the visceral organs.



The report added that previous experiments have shown that electric shocks directly at vagus nerve are helpful in treating depression and epilepsy. The researchers at looking at non-invasive process to stimulate the vagus nerve.

Researchers will conduct studies on animals and human volunteers to find out whether the technique can help in the decision-making and spatial navigation, speech perception, and threat recognition, Daily Mail noted.

The program is expected to run for four years, and DARPA aims to achieve at least a 30 percent improvement in learning rate and/or skill performance with minimal side effects.

In response to possible ethical matters, the TNT program is funding Arizona State University to host a national ethics workshop within the first year of the program.
The level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our planet is more dangerous than ever, as Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory recorded CO2 levels passed 410 parts per million (ppm) on April 18.

The Keeling Curve, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography program, which have been recording CO2 levels in the past years, assert that the latest number -- 410.28 ppm to be exact --- is the highest the world has ever seen. The researchers warned that 410 ppm is just the start of the terrifying records that will shock us in the upcoming months.

In the first-ever carbon dioxide forecast issued by U.K. Met Office scientists, they said CO2 levels could reach 410 ppm in March or April. The latest record brought the forecast to reality.

410.28 parts per million (ppm) CO2 in air 18-Apr-2017 https://t.co/5Q2FLbb4ix  Keeling_Curve (@Keeling_curve) April 20, 2017

The high levels of CO2 means we are trapping more heat and causing the climate to change at an accelerating rate. The first time the observatory recorded CO2 levels passing 400 ppm was back in 2013. Since then, 400 ppm became the new normal, Scientific American noted.

"Atmospheric CO2 is now higher than it has been for several million years, as measured in ice cores and ocean sediments," Dr. Pieter Tans, lead scientist of NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, told The Indian Express in an email.

"The current rate of increase is about 200 times faster than when CO2 increased by about 80 ppm from natural causes when the Earth climbed out of the last Ice Age, which occurred between 17,000 and 11,000 years ago," he added.

Tans noted that the dramatic increase in CO2 is no suprise, considering the amount of emission from burning oil, coal, natural gas and cement manufacturing. These processes produce 10 billion metric tons of carbon (or 37 billion metric tons of CO2) per year.

In 2015, 62 countries, including the United States, China and India, have ratified the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature to under 2 degrees Celsius. Temperature higher than 2 would mean heat extremes, water shortages, hunger, conflict and more. However, the Paris Agreement is now threatened as US President Donald Trump is showing signals that he would withdraw from it.

News 18 reported that in a speech to mark the first 100 days of his presidency, Trump said, "I will be making a big decision on the Paris accord over the next two weeks and we will see what happens," citing that while India and China are the largest coal producers, US is being unfairly targeted by asking to pay money.
April the giraffe's baby boy finally has a name. Meet Tajiri.

A few days after Tajiri was born, Animal Adventure Park decided to have a fund-raising contest to determine the calf's name. Among the top suggestions include Unity, Patchew, Apollo, Patch, Peter, Harpur, Geoffrey, Noah, Ollie and "Allysa's choice." Alyssa Swilley is the calf's caretaker. In the end, voters chose "Allysa's choice," and the caretaker decided on the name

"Tajiri was really what spoke to us," she explained in a Facebook Live video Monday. "Now, Tajiri is Swahili for both hope and confidence. Hope is something that Tajiri has not only brought you guys as a community globally now but it is a hope for giraffes. We have been able to give giraffes a voice."

However, Mashable claims that Tajiri actually means "rich" or "wealthy." Even other people noticed this blunder.



"Someone didn't do their research. 'Tajiri' means 'rich' -- not 'hope' -- in Swahili. 'Matumaini' or 'tumaini' is the word for hope," one Twitter user said.

The funds generated by the poll, as previously stated by Animal Adventure Park, will be allotted to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation; Ava's Little Heroes, a charity campaign for children with epilepsy; and the rehabilitation and improvement of Animal Adventure Park.

April the giraffe gave birth to Tajiri on April 15. At least 1.2 million people watched the Animal Adventure Park's YouTube streaming of the "event."

Official records said Tajiri weighed around 129 pounds (58.5 kilograms) and stands 5 feet 9 inches tall (1.75 meters) when he was born.

Tajiri will be naturally weaned by his mother. Once Tajiri can fully eat on its own and is no longer nursing, Taijiri will leave the zoo and will be separated from his mother, USA Today reported.

The giraffe population has been decreasing over the years. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed their population as "vulnerable" to extinction. Only less than a hundred thousand giraffes are left primarily because of illegal hunting and habitat loss.

African Wildlife Foundation noted that humans hunt giraffes for their hides, meat and tail. Humans are also taking their habitat by fueling agricultural activities and expanding settlements and roads.
In a few years, humans can do more than just play with dolphins -- it's possible we can also talk to them. Swedish start-up technology company Gavagai and Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) are teaming up to develop an artificial intelligence technology that would make it possible to translate the sounds dolphins make, according to a report from The Local.

"The technology models meaning instead of structure," Gavagai CEO Lars Hamberg explained. "It is unsupervised, and it continuously learns meaning by itself, by observing every language's usage -- much like a human. The technology is based on many years of world-leading research."

The research will include four years of working with bottlenose dolphins in Norrkoping in southern Sweden. Hamberg added that the recent advances in AI makes the goal of understanding and communicating with dolphins plausible.

Dolphins could just be the beginning as cross-species communication could eventually be applied to other animals such as cats, birds and others.

"We hope to be able to understand dolphins with the help of artificial intelligence technology," Jussi Karlgren, an adjunct professor of language technology at KTH and co-founder of Gavagai, said in a statement in Bloomberg Technology. "We know that dolphins have a complex communication system, but we don't know what they are talking about yet."

Scientists have long been fascinated with the means dolphins use to communicate with each other. Just last year, a study proposed that dolphins may have developed a type of spoken language through pulses -- also known as whistles and clicks -- according to a report from CNN.

Russian researchers taped an interaction between two adult Black Sea bottlenose dolphins where the two animals exchanged a series of whistles and clicks, each one waiting for the other to finish before "speaking." The exchange is similar to a conversation between two people.
Good news is rare in the world of endangered animals, but here's one: the once-extinct scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) has made a comeback in the wild in 2017.

According to a report from EnviroNews, 14 oryx from captive breeding programs were just reintroduced to the wild in a game reserve in Chad. The animals joined 21 others who were released back in August 2016. Twenty-five more individual oryx are set to be released in the coming July.

Five thousand years ago, the oryx population was up to one million. One century ago, hundreds of thousands still existed in the wild. By the time the year 2000 rolled around, the species have been declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Conservation experts worked over the last few decades to reintroduce the lost oryx species back to the environment.

The successful reintroduction of oryxes in Chad were the result of a collaboration among the Environment Agency -- Abu Dhabi (EAD), the government of Chad's Scimitar-horned Oryx Reintroduction Program, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF), according to the Smithsonian Insider.

"This ambitious and historic recovery effort was made possible by the establishment of a 'world herd' of scimitar-horned oryx in Abu Dhabi, and a decades-long history of excellence in the care and management of this species in human care around the world," SCBI's Steve Monfort said. "Restoring oryx to the wild will have a huge and positive impact on the conservation and management of the entire Sahelian grasslands ecosystem."

The first step of the reintroduction process includes the oryx initially living in a fenced area to acclimate them to their new home. This summer, the group will be fully released as the rainy season makes the desert setting more favorable for the animals' survival. The oryx will be tracked with a GPS-satellite collar.
A five year survey released by the California Department of Water Resources reveals half of the levees that guard California cities from a major flood dont meet modern standards, and if a levee were to break in the wrong place, it could cut off the drinking water supply to the Bay Area for months or even years.

The report also indicates 60 percent of the levees that protect the states rural areas from flooding  roughly 1,230 miles in all  are at high risk of failure from seepage, boils, structural instability, erosion and even rodents; that includes the levees that protect the drinking water aqueducts for the Bay Area and Southern California.

Much of the states 13,000 miles of levees were built in the 1800s to protect farmland in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys from potential flood.

The levees are old, said Michael Mierzwa, the lead Central Valley Flood Management Planner with the state Department of Water Resources. Were sitting on levees that were constructed over a hundred years ago, and we havent been really paying the true cost on maintenance and upkeep.

[[420926743, C]]

Mierzwa and other officials from the Department of Water Resources took the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit on a tour of the high-risk levees along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Levees there guard the aqueduct system that provides two-thirds of drinking water to the Bay Area and Southern California. A major flood event could knock out that aqueduct system, which would contaminate the fresh drinking water supply with salt water and destroy the vessel that delivers that water to homes and faucets throughout the state.

Behind the Scenes: Sacramento Delta Levee Tour

The threat of levee catastrophe is significant, said Mark Cowin, former director of Californias Department of Water Resources. We depend upon the integrity of those levees in the delta to allow us to move the water from north to south.

Cowin told NBC Bay Area that the delta supplies the Santa Clara Valley Water District with about 40 percent of its water. Alameda Countys Zone 7 Water District gets 80 percent of its water supply from the delta.

[[420926903, C]]

However, its not just the water supply thats threatened by levee failure. Other infrastructure, like transportation corridors and the electrical grid, are also vulnerable if the levees break.

Cowin says the cost of fixing the levee system is $3 billion or more.

One solution is to put the drinking water supply underground. In fact, San Franciscos Water Utility has done just that, burying the pipes that carry fresh water it gets from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to build similar pipes, or tunnels, under the delta to carry drinking water to Southern California. That project would cost $17 billion.

The catastrophic consequences of a levee failure may seem like an abstract problem, but Bruna Del Chiaro knows the danger firsthand. In 1969, a major levee failure on Sherman Island, an island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, knocked her family home off its foundation, bringing the whole structure to the ground.

These logs that had come from the other end of the island were already down underneath [the house], and you could hear them ramming and ramming and ramming  and just shaking and weakening it, Del Chiaro said. And down it went.

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The flood water also inundated the land around the home, where Del Chiaros husband, Julio, farmed asparagus and dry crops, like hay, used to feed livestock.

Del Chiaro, who now lives in Antioch, says the levee collapse that ruined her home is always on her mind, but its the possibility of a future levee collapse that really haunts her.

It affects everybody, she said, thumbing through old photos and newspaper clippings that detail the tragic flood that took her home in 1969. Few live on the islands now, but it affects everybody.

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Mark Cowin says even though hes now retired from the Department of Water Resources, hell continue to speak out about the threats posed by the states crumbling levees.

Its probably one of the facts that Id love for more Californians to understand, he said. It affects most Californians one way or another  at least part of their water supply  so it should be on everybodys minds.
Joining hundreds of thousands around the world, droves of demonstrators on Monday are gathering across the Bay Area for May Day rallies, which are drawing special attention to immigrants' rights in the wake of the Trump administration's controversial executive orders and promises.



Traditional May Day demonstrations were originally designed to propagate workers' rights and combat exploitative working conditions. But, in recent years, the annual day of action has been highlighted by a range of social issues, particularly the need for immigration reform and a living wage.

Thousands March in May Day Rallies Across the Bay Area

The jam-packed day of activity started with people blocking off an intersection near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco. Standing in the street in front of cars, demonstrators overtook crosswalks and hoisted signs reading "Sanctuary For All" and "Resist Hate, Racism, Corporate Greed" into the air. Others grabbed chalk and paint to decorate the concrete with phrases such as "Resist" and "No Ban, No Wall" in large red and white letters.

Roughly 20 protesters stamped with white pieces of paper on their shirts reading "#ResistUniteProtect" or "#SanctuaryForAll" also linked arms, formed a human wall and planted themselves in front of the entrance and exit point for deportation buses at the ICE building. The move was designed to promote solidarity with immigrants, according to protester Dalia Yedidia.



"So we know that there are workers, immigrants, and immigrant workers, and we're here in solidarity with them denouncing the intense escalation of anti-immigrant racist policies coming out of the Trump administration," she said.

[NATL] International May Day Protesters March for Workers Rights

Demonstrators blocks away at Justin Herman Plaza waved politically-themed signs and shouted in support of immigrants' rights while simultaneously chastising the Trump administration's border wall proposals and commitment  despite a blocked executive order  to defund sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with U.S. immigration officials.

"Folks are feeling a lot of fear right now in both with the executive orders and with we don't know what's going to come down the pipe," demonstrator My Trinh said. "I think they're feeling unsupported. There are folks who are being pushed into the shadows."

Motionless people  outlined by chalked silhouettes  rested on the ground while others standing over them outside the Alameda County Administration building chanted for an end to police violence and immigration raids during a May Day rally. Rick Boone reports.

Across the Bay Bridge, motionless people  outlined by chalked silhouettes  rested on the ground outside the Alameda County Administration building while demonstrators stood over them chanting for an end to police violence, mass incarceration and immigration raids.

At least four people attending that rally were arrested for trespassing, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.



Shops and restaurants across the Bay Area joined the movement behind the May Day rallies by closing their doors, students engineered school walkouts, and even major tech hubs like Facebook and Uber allowed their employees to participate in workers strikes without penalization.

Work at the Port of Oakland temporarily came to a halt, but it wasn't a walkout, a spokesman for the longshoremen's union told NBC Bay Area. He said it's a negotiated day off in the port workers' contract because typically hundreds of dock workers participate in May Day demonstrations. Only the day shift at the port was affected, he said.

Work at the Port of Oakland will come to a halt on May Day, but it wont be a walkout. Rick Boone reports.

Check below for a list of protests, rallies and demonstrations:

San Francisco: Rally and festival at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at 8 a.m.; Chinatown community rally at Portsmouth Square from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Rally at Justin Herman Plaza with a march to Civic Center Plaza at 11 a.m.; Montgomery Bart Station rally from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mountain View: March at Rengstorff Park Community Center at 4 p.m. A rally will follow at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall.

San Jose: Rally at Mexican Heritage Plaza at 1 p.m.; March to Arena Greens at Autumn and Santa Clara Streets at 3 p.m.; May Day rally and march at Story and King Roads from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Morgan Hill: March from Galvan Park to ICE office on Vineyard Court at 4 p.m.

Oakland: People's Climate Movement contingent march on 12th street near Citibank at 2 p.m.*; Hotel Workers contingent march at Mandela Parkway and Yerba Buena at 1:30 p.m.*; May Day Restaurant Industry contingent march on 1419 34th Avenue at 2 p.m.*; Rally at Fruitvale Plaza at 3 p.m.

*These marches will likely feed into the rally at Fruitvale Plaza.

Berkeley: Workers Day Rally at UC Berkeley at noon.

Concord: Rally at Meadow Homes Park at 4 p.m.; Rally at Todos Santos Plaza at 6 p.m.
The last time Massachusetts updated its wiretapping law, pay phones dotted the sidewalks and a text typically referred to a book - not a lightning-quick digital message.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey say it's time the law caught up.

The two are pushing a bill they say will update the law, giving police and prosecutors a stronger hand to solve violent crimes, such as gang-related killings and rape.

"We are limiting our capacity to keep people safe here in Massachusetts if we don't take the fact that a lot's happened since 1968 more seriously and make some of these relatively modest adjustments," Baker said Tuesday.

Healey said updating the state's wiretapping rules has been a priority of her office, and of her predecessor, former Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley. Earlier bills have been met with lukewarm support on Beacon Hill, in part due to privacy concerns.

Healey said she understands those concerns, but said the bill is focused largely on technology.

"This truly is an update that takes into account that our world looks like this now, with cellphones and with text messages and instant messaging," she said. "When the statute was originally passed, it was in a world of strictly landlines."

A key element of existing law that critics point to is language that limits electronic surveillance to crimes "in connection with organized crime."

They say the narrow phrasing has often been an impediment to prosecutors and note past decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to suppress wiretapping evidence that was not part of an ``organized crime'' investigation as defined by the law.

The legislation, which has the backing of district attorneys and police, would also allow wiretaps to investigate murder, rape, human trafficking, drug trafficking, certain civil rights violations, possession or use of explosives, and possession or use of biological, chemical or radiological weapons.

It would expand the number of offenses that could be associated with organized crime, including illegal trafficking of firearms, money laundering and creation or dissemination of child pornography.

The bill would also give Massachusetts judges the power to issue search warrants to monitor wireless devices and other modern forms of electronic communication.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said the bill will make it easier to investigate gang violence and improve the quality of life in the city.

While many defense attorneys acknowledge the technological revolution that has occurred in recent decades, they worry proposed changes could be too sweeping and encroach on the privacy of innocent people.

Martin Healy, chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Bar Association, said the group was still reviewing the governor's bill but noted the group has opposed past attempts to expansion the state's wiretapping authority.

"From a practical point of view, it may in fact serve law enforcement well to have these tools. But from a due process and civil rights perspective, it does raise some serious questions and concerns," he said.

Baker defended the bill.

"We're not talking about changing the process here," the governor said. "You're still going to have to go before a magistrate. You're still going to have to demonstrate you've exhausted available means prior to making that case. The magistrate is still going to have to rule on whether in fact they agree with you."
Superintendents in hundreds of Illinois school districts are imploring lawmakers and the governor to end the state's budget stalemate, with one official saying schools could face "dire decisions" if a deal isn't made.

Nearly 400 districts statewide are involved in an effort being driven by school leaders in Aurora, Naperville, Elgin and Sandoval, The Aurora Beacon-News reported. Some schools are using their marquees, while others are using social media to draw attention to the issues.

"You have to put the horse in front of the cart, and that's our state budget," said West Aurora Superintendent Jeff Craig. "And it's coming to a point that if our state doesn't pass a state budget, we will have to make some dire decisions."

School districts are receiving state aid this year, though some say they're owed millions of dollars by the state for services such as transportation, special education, and free lunch programs.

Craig said that without a budget, a new school-funding formula won't happen and missed payments won't come. District officials said the state owes $10 million to the district in quarterly payments for so far for 2017.

State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, an Aurora Democrat, said money set aside for districts' quarterly payments for services hasn't come through because of the backlog of bills in Springfield.

"It's a general budget issue, bigger than education," she said.

Chapa LaVia blamed Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for the stalemate, saying higher education is also in crisis.

Rauner points the finger at Democrats who've been unwilling to agree to changes he says would improve Illinois' economy, such as a property tax freeze. He also wants term limits for lawmakers.

The governor and the Democrat-led Legislature have been unable to agree on a state budget for almost two years, though they have passed measures to provide general state aid to school districts.

Democratic state Sen. Linda Holmes of Aurora said it's going to take a bipartisan effort to get a budget passed.
Lake Michigan could soon get its first floating water park.

The Northwest Indiana Times reports that German company Wibit plans to install an inflatable water park at Whihala Beach in Whiting, Indiana this summer.

The park would feature slides, tunnels, trampolines, towers, cliffs, half pipes and more and would be available for children of all ages and adults, the publication reports.

Whiting Mayor Joe Stahura told the NWI Times Wibit is investing $300,000 in the attraction and plans are moving toward final approvals. Wibit confirmed to NBC Chicago that it was working with the city to possibly install a park at the beach.

"This would be a custom configured on-water playground," the company said in a statement.

Wibit has installed inflatable sports parks across the globe, most recently in Vietnam and Dubai. There are several commercial pool and open water parks in the US already, including a commercial pool at Swim Chicago Southland in Matteson and one at Geneva Lakes Family YMCA in Lake Geneva.

The Whiting attraction would be the first of its kind in Lake Michigan and the first open water park in the Chicago area. [[421016184, C]]

The Lake Michigan park will be huge in size, Stahura said, and will be able to accommodate more than 100 people at a time.

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Demonstrations are planned across Chicago Monday as protesters and marchers mark May Day in the city where the annual event is rooted.

Also known as International Workers Day, demonstrators in cities across the country and the globe will mark the annual commemoration with rallies and marches.

This May Day is also bringing together multiple groups who say they want to call attention to racial and economic injustice. Organizers have said they will be focused on women, minorities, the LGBT community and undocumented immigrants. [[420898983, C]]

Among some of the many events slated to take place in Chicago for the first of the month, the Chicago Teachers Union will hold a rally at Seward Elementary School on the city's South Side to protest a lack of state funding.

Its a message that will be echoed at several schools across the city as the starting bells ring Monday morning, including a Mather High School, where a walk-in will be held for supporters of furloughed Northeastern Illinois University students and workers

The CTU has long been arguing that the state is in large part to blame for a budget crisis they say has impacted area schools. Last week, the city decided not to shorten the CPS school year in an effort to save money.

The CTU represents 25,000 teachers.

An 11 a.m. "March for Youth Justice" is scheduled to be held at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center before protesters in the city come together for a larger rally and march.

The 1 p.m. rally at Union Park will bring together several groups and feature speakers including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, union leaders and community organizers. Demonstrators will then join a second rally at 4 p.m. in Daley Plaza, which will include the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago May Day Coalition. The rally will be held "in support of labor, racial justice, gender equality, disability rights and immigrant rights."

Tens of thousands of immigrants and their allies are expected to rally in cities across the country. In many places, activists are urging people to skip work, school and shopping to show the importance of immigrants in American communities.

Historically, May Day commemorates an even that took place in Chicago more than 120 years ago  the Haymarket Massacre. Over the decades, it has became a focal point for demonstrations by workers and labor organizations, as well as various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups around the world.

While union members traditionally march on May 1 for workers' rights in countries around the world, the day has also become a rallying point for immigrants in the U.S. since massive demonstrations were held on the date in 2006 against a proposed immigration enforcement bill.
A registered sex offender in Connecticut is accused of enticing a 13-year-old in Tennessee, state police said.

Andrew Cunningham, of Windsor, is accused of risk of injury to a child, computer crimes, criminal attempt of sexual assault, patronizing a prostitute, enticing a minor by computer.

A 13-year-old in Tennessee was sexually enticed online by Cunningham, police learned at the end March. Cunningham allegedly tried getting the victim to travel to Hartford by bus in order to engage in sexual contact, state police said.

Between April 11 and May 2, undercover state troopers and Cunningham continued online exchanges to make arrangements for the victim to travel to Hartford and engage in sexual acts for money, state police said.

The 37-year-old was arrested at Union Station in Hartford on Tuesday.

Cunningham is currently on parole and registered as a sex offender for traveling to Illinois and had sexual contact with a female minor in 2015. The criminal case

Cunningham's bond was set at $250,000.
For one of the many immigrants in the crowd at the New Haven May Day rally, time is running out before immigration officials say he has to leave this country.

Its 25 years ago I left my country, Luis Barrios told NBC Connecticut, adding he doesnt know how it is now in his native Guatemala.

I know its very dangerous, he said.

Barrios, 52, does not want to leave his family in Connecticut, but the dad from Derby has a deportation order to take a one-way 4 a.m. flight from New York to Guatemala Thursday.

I have my four kids with my wife, he said. We try to be good citizens in this country.

Barrios said he has been on the radar of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, since police pulled him over in 2011 because a taillight on his truck was out.

I dont have any record like criminal record, he said, but now they say I have to leave the country.

Barrios shared his story on the New Haven Green at the May Day demonstration.

It signifies the workers struggle, but I think this year in particular, its bigger than ever, Ana Maria Rivera-Forastieri, of Junta for Progressive Action, said. This administration has gone out of its way to talk about how theyre going to be attacking immigrants, refugees.

Connecticut Shoreline Indivisible is another group that set up a booth at the May Day event.

Were also here to support immigrants and that they know their rights, their legal rights. if they have to confront ICE or police, so we have put together know your rights packets, Gini King, of Connecticut Shoreline indivisible, said.

Barrios has attorneys working to postpone this weeks deportation so he can seek asylum.

Hopefully, they listen to us and give me another opportunity to review my case, Barrios said.

An ICE spokesperson told The New Haven Register the agency is closely monitoring Barrios case to ensure his timely departure in compliance with the 1998 final order of removal.

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seeking reconsideration of the decision to deport Barrios.

Blumenthal and Murphy said they have repeatedly reached out to ICE officials and have received no information to justify the action.

It does not appear that Mr. Barrios poses a threat to the integrity of the immigration system. Mr. Barrios has no aggravated felonies, felonies, or misdemeanors in the United States, is a productive and valued member of his community, and has four U.S. citizen children. Based on these factors, we respectfully ask that his request for prosecutorial discretion be granted, the senators wrote.

Immigrant activists are planning a rally Tuesday at noon outside of the ICE office in Hartfords federal building on Main Street.
Over the last two weekends, police have arrested four people who they said came from Massachusetts and brought their ATVs or dirt bikes to ride them in Hartford, which is illegal to do on city roadways.

It is illegal, both under state law and by local ordinance, to ride these quads, these ATVs, on our city streets and our cops are going to be very, very serious about enforcing that law," Hartford mayor Luke Bronin said.

Police said they are concerned that riders are coming from across state lines.

All residents from Springfield, Mass. that are taking UHauls, in both cases, driving them down here in Hartford, unloading them here in the city and then riding around and then heading back," Deputy Chief Brian Foley, of the Hartford Police Department, said.

NBC Connecticut saw a rider on an ATV along Curcombe Street on Monday afternoon and flagged him down to speak with us, but he rode off.

It's a similar problem police face when they want to speak with riders, who are quick to leave the scene.

Carmen Plaza said ATVs dangerous for drivers, like her, especially if they're driving recklessly.

They get into the way of traffic, I dont know. I get so scared when I see them, I really do, Plaza said.

Police told NBC Connecticut the trend has sparked their attention and they plan to be out in full force this weekend.

Lewis Canby, of Hartford, is a fan of dirt bikes and said theres another idea the city could consider.

I think that they should be allowed to do it, but only when, like, say you get like a permit or something to do it on a certain road. You know, or something like that. Somewhere where its sanctioned," Canby said.

The mayor said his focus is getting these bikes off the streets of Hartford.

We really need residents to make sure that they're calling with tips, especially if they know where these vehicles are being stored or kept," Bronin said.

The four people arrested over the last two weekends have been given a promise to appear.
NBC 5 Investigates is learning more about Derick Lamont Brown and his role as the national head the New Black Panthers' armed militia.

Police say Brown, 36, fatally shot his roommate Monday before shooting and critically wounding a neighbor along with a responding Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic. Brown then killed himself.

On Tuesday, the FBI confirmed it was investigating Brown before Monday's shooting but will not say why there was an active investigation.

NBC 5 Investigates has learned Brown served as the national military commander for the New Black Panther Party, a group that's been on the radar for federal and local law enforcement.

Videos and photos on Facebook highlight Brown's role as a leader for the group, where he was also known as D.K. Egun Yomi or "Brotha DK."

In a 2014 video posted on YouTube, he's seen marching with a rifle at a protest over the death of a black man in East Texas.

"Mr. Brown is well known to state and local law enforcement," said Eric Jackson, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Dallas.

Jackson would not provide details on the FBI's investigation into Brown.

"Because of this being an open and active investigation we are not at liberty to discuss the nature of that investigation," said Jackson.

Brown was also a member of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club  a Dallas-based black nationalist group which conducts paramilitary training and advocates the open carry of firearms.

The national head of that club, Babu Omowale, described Brown as a tough guy who was in charge of training the militia portion of the organization.

Omowale said both groups are aware the FBI keeps tabs on them, but he does not believe Monday's shooting had anything to do with the Panthers or the gun club.

"As a group we didn't have any involvement in the incident. We would never give the go-ahead for such a malicious act," said Omowale.

Omowale said on behalf of the club he wanted to extend prayers to the family of the injured paramedic. While his group has had disagreements with law enforcement Omowale said they wish only the best to first responders who help people.

Last summer the gun club attracted attention from police after the deadly ambush on Dallas police officers downtown.

Members of the group carried rifles in the protest that preceded the attack, but the group denied the shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson, was a member even though they acknowledged knowing him from community events he attended.

It's unclear whether the FBI's ongoing investigating into Brown was part of any wider investigation of black separatists groups.

And it's still a mystery what caused Brown to shoot his roommate, a neighbor and a Dallas paramedic before killing himself.

"We all want to find out what was it that drove our brother to commit this crime," said Omowale.

The national spokesman for the New Black Panther Party, Quanell X, told NBC 5 Investigates his group has no comment on what happened in Dallas on Monday.
Firefighters have contained a large fire at the Mars Chocolate North America candy plant in Waco.



The fire started at about 1:30 Tuesday afternoon, according to Waco police.

Several cargo trailers caught fire, as well.



No injuries have been reported.



The cause of the fire is under investigation.



NBC Waco affiliate, KCEN, said the plant employs hundreds of people, and it produces most of the Snickers bars in North America.
The Borderland Project is focusing in on the vast expanse that is the Rio Grande.

The Texas Department of Public Safety uses 13 boats and 76 personnel members to cruise the waters of the Rio Grande.

The task is daunting. The river is the 20th longest in the world, is only 60 feet at its deepest point and has some stretches with little water. Other parts of the Rio Grande flow through large lakes, including Lake Amistad northwest of Del Rio.

Locals in the Val Verde County community are grappling with the notion of a border wall being built in or near their beloved lake.

Del Rio is located 152 miles west of San Antonio. It is home to Laughlin Air Force Base and Lake Amistad, which translates to "friendship" in Spanish.

If you're heading to the reservoir, chances are you'll find a friend in Jim Criswell, owner of Amistad Marine on U.S. Highway 90 in Del Rio.

"It's that time of the year again," he said, pacing back and forth in his store's shop area.

On this day, Criswell was busy fixing fishing boats ahead of a weekend fishing tournament.

While he's quick to fix a troubled boat engine, Criswell can't quite figure out where a border wall would go.

"I don't know. I'm just not in the know," he said

The lake is in a unique position. It belongs to both Texas and Mexico.

"Beautiful day," said Raul Cordero, of Farwest Guide Service.

Cordero has been fishing Amistad for more than three decades.

"This lake is known for its clear water, as you can see we've got both today," he said on a breezy, sunny day in mid-April.

Cordero drove his fishing boat out to Amistad Dam, where two eagle statues  one American and one Mexican  are perched side-by-side. The dam serves as an international barrier.

There are also 28 buoys up the river that divide the two countries.

"You cross to the other side, left side of that buoy marker, that's Mexico right there," Cordero said pointing to a buoy.

Cordero says he takes clients across the border for dinner in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

"The past two-and-a-half, three years have been really, really quiet," he said.

Cordero says Falcon Lake, located five hours south of Del Rio, experienced the occasional spillover of violence from the Mexican side years ago and it took a toll on Amistad.

People stopped going to Amistad, fearing for their safety.

"They were scared," said Cordero. "They think when they hear of a border lake, that every border lake or every border town has a problem and it's not the case."

Cordero gives credit to Mexican police and military forces in neighboring Acuna, Coahuila, for stepping up their presence in recent years, especially after a Mexican lawmaker's son was murdered.

Texas game wardens like Capt. Marco Alvizo patrol the Texas side of the lake often.

"The biggest problem is just illegal fishing activity," said Alvizo. "And in the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty good problem to have on a lake."

Alvizo says a good relationship with Mexico is "crucial."

"The intel that they have, and the Border Patrol and all the federal agencies we have on this side," he said.

All agencies, he says, are helping combat crime. It's an especially important relationship because boundaries on Amistad are often impossible to see.

"Buoy number 11, it's actually to where the boundary is probably less than 50 yards from Texas," Alvizo said.

The shore along the lake is rocky, desert terrain, prompting many to question whether a border wall through or even near the lake is feasible.

Texas U.S. Rep. Will Hurd is a Republican representing more than 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Hurd has long opposed a border wall and says Lake Amistad is one area where a wall will not work.

Hurd told NBC 5 his position on the wall has not changed.

"There is no question that we must secure our border," he said in a statement to constituents. "But building a wall from sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to go about doing so. A one-size-fits all solution won't address all of the border's complexities."

Hurd favors investing in technology and personnel.

"It actually would not make sense in this whole county, or even west of here, because there's too many canyons, too much rough country, too many areas where there's big flooding," Alvizo said.

Instead, Alvizo suggests adding extra border security personnel or better technology.

Cordero favors a wall to replace existing fence on land farther inside of Del Rio.

"Me personally, I think it would really help us," he said.

Criswell feels a wall is economically impossible.

"It's a little far-fetched," he said.

Criswell says the proposal won't stop undocumented migrants from coming. He jokingly said he might have to update the selection of items he sells in his store.

"Maybe get in the ladder business, I don't know," he said with a chuckle.

"There's times you're out here and you think you're by yourself," said Cordero, casting a reel in one of his favorite spots near Amistad Dam.

At a time when uncertainty runs as deep as the lake, many wonder if the view from atop the lake in Del Rio will change in the near future. But at least for now, two countries will continue to be linked by friendship.
The man suspected of fatally shooting a woman in the parking lot of a Fort Worth mall took his own life Monday night after a police chase, police say.[[420949633,R]]

The victim was sitting in her vehicle in the parking lot on the west side of Ridgmar Mall in the 1800 block of Green Oaks Road when she was shot multiple times, according to Fort Worth Police Officer Brad Perez.

The woman was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

When asked for an update Tuesday morning, Perez cited a report from KCEN-TV in Temple that said the suspected shooter took his own life after a short police chase in Central Texas with the Texas DPS and Bell County Sheriff's Office.



The mall shooting is believed to be domestic-related, according to authorities.

Further details have not been confirmed and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.


California's springtime snowpack is nearly double its normal levels following five years of historic drought.

The California Department of Water Resources on Monday conducted its final snowpack survey of the state's wet season. The snow holds more water than compared to several past years, which means more runoff when that snow melts in spring and runs off into reservoirs.

But it also means an increased flood threat. Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expect the Merced River in Yosemite National Park to go about a foot over its banks on Wednesday.

Large amounts of water are being released from reservoirs downstream from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to lower their levels in anticipation of the heavier-than-normal melt-off. Reservoirs on tributaries of the San Joaquin River have been lowered and authorities will continue lowering their levels through June to avoid the possibility of using spillways for emergency water releases, reservoir managers said.

The snowmelt flows downhill during warm months into reservoirs and canals, which supply one-third of the water used by residents of the most populous U.S. state. It also irrigates crops in the nation's most productive farming state.

The heavy snowpack blanketing the 400-mile long Sierra Nevada range stands in contrast to two years ago when barely any measureable snow remained at this time of year amid California's drought, state water managers said.

The California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program on Monday measured that snowpack contains nearly twice the amount of water typically found in the snow at this time of year.

While the heavy snow and its high water content will help prevent water shortages that California residents endured over the last several years, the tough winter was cruel to mountain wildlife -- killing off bighorn sheep and lengthening hibernation periods for bears.

The snowdrifts have also kept many bears hibernating in the remote wilderness inside their dens one month longer than normal because food is still scarce.

Hikers heading to the mountains are sure to find damaged roads leading to prized campgrounds that may not be repaired until next year, said Stanislaus National Forest officials. In Yosemite National Park, rangers warned that visitors will need to be careful when they are near swift-flowing rivers and waterfalls with much higher water flows than normal.

Inexperienced hikers heading into the mountains should be prepared for snow lasting longer than normal this spring and should hike with more experienced people or consider heading to coastal mountains not covered in snow, said Kathryn Phillips, director of the Sierra Club California.
San Diego police released the following timeline of events in the deadly shooting at the La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex on Sunday, April 30.

Witnesses told NBC 7 the victims were celebrating a birthday party at the complex pool when the shooting began.

One woman died and seven people suffered gunshot wounds. Another person suffered a broken bone trying to escape the mass shooting.

A security guard was also fired at by Selis, but she got away without being shot.

The gunman has been identified as 49-year-old Peter Raymond Selis. Investigators said Selis was despondent over a recent breakup in a relationship in the days leading up to the shooting.

5:30 p.m.

Selis enters the pool area dressed in street clothes and carrying a backpack, according to witness Demetrius Griffin. Selis sits in a chair and places the backpack on a nearby table.



Griffin's friend who was celebrating his birthday approaches Selis to invite him to join the party.

Seconds later, Selis removes a gun from under his shirt and fires twice into the man's chest, Griffin said.

Selis continues firing, striking a man in his leg, one woman in her arm and chest and another woman in her leg, the witness said.

Selis reloads his weapon, according to police. Then he shoots a man in his abdomen, a woman in the neck region and another in her shoulder, according to Griffin.

6:06 p.m.

SDPD communications gets a call that two people are shot near the pool area.

A second caller says they heard five to seven gunshots and neighbors are yelling.

Officers are dispatched. SDFD is made aware of situation to send units

6:07 to 6:13 p.m.

SDPD dispatches 20 officers including the department's helicopter.



Additional callers report seeing at least 3 or 4 people in the pool area, suspect is a white male in his 40s.

More calls come in to communications center.



6:13 p.m.

The SDPD helicopter ABLE and ground units arrive on scene

SDPD ABLE pilot sees the suspect is in the pool area and he has a weapon

ABLE directs ground units to where the suspect is located in the pool area

As officers approach the pool area, the suspect fires his weapon, according to SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman.

The suspect continues to fire his weapon and point his gun at officers, she said.



Three of the officers shoot toward the suspect striking him.

Suspect is pronounced deceased at the scene.
A pre-flight fistfight was captured on camera Monday on board an All Nippon Airways plane that was about to take off from Tokyo to Los Angeles.

The video shows two passengers brawling on Flight No. 6 from Narita International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. The airline said a man seen in the video wearing a red shirt was taken into custody, but details regarding charges were not immediately available.

"All Nippon Airways apologizes to our passengers on Flight No. 6 to Los Angeles for the pre-flight incident," ANA said in a statement issued Tuesday. "The individuals involved have been dealt with appropriately by local law enforcement."

NBC4 is attempting to obtain more details from Narita Airport Police.

As for the individual in custody, the airline statement said, "He was incoherent and physically violent and aggressive to other passengers." He was identified by the airline only as a U.S. citizen.

Passenger Corey Hour, who captured the video, told NBC News the "irate" man appeared to assault other passengers before takeoff, which was delayed by about 50 minutes due to weather issues. The airline told NBC4 the man was involved in confrontations with at least one woman and three men before takeoff.

Another passenger, the man seen in the dark shirt in the video, intervened, Hour said.

"The moment I heard something vocally from him was when he was leaning over the back of the seat, speaking to the man in the black shirt, saying, 'Where are you from? And, then immediately following that with, 'I'm going to kill you,'" Hour said. "The gentleman in the black was fighting defensively. He wasn't trying to start anything. He was a very calm, collected individual."

Hour said adults were protecting children, who can be heard crying on his video, as the men exchanged blows.

"There was a child in the row right in front," Hour said. "I remember his mom hunched over, cradling the child and his grandmother shielding them."



The altercation appeared to end when the man was escorted to the front of the passenger cabin, but he soon returned to exchange more punches.

"He was trying to continue fighting the gentleman," Hour told NBC News. "The flight attendants were in the middle of it."

At that point, Hour said he decided to stop recording and help restrain the passenger. When he was told to leave the plane, Hour said the man responded, "You think I'm crazy? The government is crazy."

After the man was taken into custody, other passengers continued on their flight to LAX.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward Tuesday in hopes of generating tips that help authorities locate a 5-year-old South Pasadena boy who has been missing since April 22.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended the reward, saying investigators had "no viable clues" from the public and are "seeking information (about) any person who may be concealing the child or who may have information about the child's disappearance or whereabouts."

The search for Aramazd Andressian Jr. has spanned several Southern California counties, including Santa Barbara, where authorities searched last Tuesday in the Lake Cachuma Recreation Area where the boy may have been with his father on April 21.

Aramazd Andressian Sr. was released from jail a week ago after being held in lieu of $10 million bail following his arrest April 22, when he was found unconscious at South Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Park and could not account for his son's whereabouts. The search started that day.

On Friday, the same day a search warrant was served at his South Pasadena home, Andressian released a statement through his attorney about his son's disappearance.

"I hope and pray for the safe return of my only child, my namesake, who has been missing since last Saturday morning, April 22nd," he said.

Andressian said his son wanted to go to the park that morning before they met with his mother for a custody exchange.

"In one moment, I was at the park with my son, and then I found myself waking up in Huntington Memorial Hospital hours later. I was told that a good Samaritan found me unconscious on the ground near my car, with young Aramazd nowhere in sight. I can only speculate that I must have been attacked in the park, given my unresponsive state and subsequent physical condition," the statement said.

"My family and I are heartbroken and grief-stricken that Aramazd Jr. is missing and may be in harm's way. I am pleading with the public to come forward with any knowledge of Aramazd Jr.'s whereabouts or information regarding the circumstances leading up to his disappearance."

When Andressian was released from custody, the sheriff's department said it had decided "not to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for filing consideration at this time. The matter remains under investigation."

Sheriff's Capt. Chris Bergner said the weekend the child disappeared that his father's statements had "been convoluted and not consistent."

The boy's mother contacted police at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 22 to report her son missing. She said her estranged husband, with whom she shares custody of their son, had failed to drop off the child at a pre-arranged meeting place.

The boy was last seen by his mother on April 18, via a Skype video call from an unknown location, South Pasadena police said.

Bloodhounds combed Arroyo Seco Park at least twice, and Sierra Madre's search-and-rescue team and the San Gabriel and San Marino police departments joined the search.

Authorities also searched in Orange County, where a gray 2004 four-door BMW owned by Andressian was seen on the morning of April 21 at Disneyland in Anaheim, where he and the boy apparently spent the day on April 20, officials said.

The child is white, 4 feet 1, and 55 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a plaid shirt and plaid shorts and has a small mole on the bottom of his right shoulder.

South Pasadena police asked anyone with information about the boy to call them at 626-403-7297. Sheriff's detectives can be reached at 323-890-5500.
The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal in the case of a California police officer whose 2012 killing of an Anaheim gang member sparked riots and protests.

The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that ordered a new trial in the lawsuit brought by the mother of Manuel Diaz.

She sued the city of Anaheim and Officer Nick Bennallack for excessive force in the fatal shooting. Diaz was unarmed, but Bennallack said he thought the man had a gun and was preparing to shoot after a brief foot chase.

A jury ruled in favor of the city and the officer, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge allowed irrelevant inflammatory evidence to be presented at the trial.
A tentative deal was reached between screenwriters and producers Tuesday, averting a strike that could have crippled TV and film production and inflicted harm on the wider California economy.

The three-year agreement, which requires ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America, was confirmed by the guild and producers' spokesman Jarryd Gonzales shortly after the current contract expired early Tuesday. The deal came after a flurry of last-minute bargaining, conducted during a media blackout that offered no tangible details about whether picket lines would go up until after midnight Tuesday.

In a memo to its members, the guild said gains were made across the board, including contributions to the union's health plan that should "ensure its solvency for years to come"  an issue that writers considered key.

The union said it also made strides in pay for series with fewer episodes per season, and in residuals. Members overall will net $130 million more over the contract's life than they were expected to accept, according to the memo.

There were no details released by the producers early Tuesday.

The agreement spares the late-night shows that would immediately have gone dark without writers, and allows the networks to pursue their schedules for the upcoming TV season without interruption. Movie production would have felt a strike's sting more gradually.

Guild members voted overwhelmingly last month to authorize a strike, and the WGA could have called for an immediate walkout Tuesday absent a deal. The previous writers' strike extracted an estimated $2 billion toll on the state. The producers group said the 2007-08 strike cost writers $287 million in lost compensation.

Russ DeVol, the chief research officer at the Milken Institute, estimated a strike of similar duration would have cost California $2.5 billion today.

After the 2007-08 strike, the two sides reached agreements in 2010 and 2013, but TV writers in particular have seen their earnings slide since then and wanted to claw back some of those losses.

Driving the dispute were changes in how television is distributed, with streaming platforms including Netflix and Amazon joining broadcast and cable TV and rising in importance.

More outlets have led to more shows, but the TV season model is greatly changed. Despite the fact that there are more series than ever - 455 this season, more than double the number six years ago - shows run for fewer episodes than the traditional 22-24 episode broadcast series.

Short seasons of eight, 10 or 12 episodes means less pay for writers whose payment is structured on a per-episode basis.

To address that, the guild said it won additional compensation for writers who spend more than 2.4 weeks working on a script.

The guild also touted first-time job protection for writers on parental leave.

The agreement avoided a repeat of the 2007-08 strike, which played out in true Hollywood style. Writers took to social media to make their case, entertainingly. Stars including Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tina Fey joined picket lines, and then-"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno brought doughnuts for strikers.

Before Tuesday's deal was announced, writer-actress Lena Dunham said she would back a strike this time.

"I would never have had the health coverage I had without the union, and that's one of the main points in this," Dunham said at the Met Gala on Monday night.

Actress Debra Winger said she would support any reasonable job action by the writers, but was mindful of the damage it would cause.

"I'm thinking of all the businesses that I work with at Warner Bros. for several months out of the year and (the) restaurants, shoe repair, dry cleaners," Winger said during an interview promoting her new film, "The Lovers." ''The last writers' strike affected the city of Los Angeles in a devastating way."

At the Met Gala, CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves said he was guardedly optimistic that a deal would be reached without a strike.

Associated Press writers Marcela Isaza and Brooke Lefferts contributed to this report.

NBCUniversal is a member of AMPTP, the trade group representing film studios and the TV networks during discussions with the WGA.
A female student who posted a threat against three Miami-Dade schools on social media is no longer facing a felony charge.

The teen, who is a student at Varela High School, was in court Tuesday where she learned prosecutors were dropping a felony charge of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm.

She still faces a misdemeanor charge of interference with an educational institution.

"Honestly, I think this whole thing is something where the process has worked," said her attorney, Judd Aronowitz. "I don't blame anyone for being nervous about whatever it was that initially happened, and now investigation has gone on and we're down to a misdemeanor."

Police said the girl posted a gun with the caption "I hate people" on Snapchat and warned students at Varela, Ferguson and South Dade High not to go to school.

She has been suspended from school for ten days and could face more discipline there.

Aronowitz was asked if there's a lesson for other parents to learn.

"I don't know if there's a lesson for other parents to learn and I doubt there was anything at home that precipitated it," he said. "Sometimes foolish things happen."
Patersons mayor is facing more corruption allegations  this time from a major developer accusing the mayor and his relatives of committing a kind of identity theft.

In an exclusive on-camera interview, developer Charles Florio said his companys information was stolen and improperly used for construction of a would-be beer business tied to the mayor and his family.

I dont want to be linked to a criminal, Florio said. The mayor stole my information.

Florio said his company JCM Investors had nothing to do with the construction of the would-be beer store project at East 15th Street in Paterson. But Florio said permits were obtained and many subcontractors were apparently hired under the guise that his construction company, Prime Time, was general contractor for the site. Some permits show that Florios other company, JCM Investors, as owner of the property.

They basically stole my identity. They used it to pull permits. We had absolutely nothing to do with the job itself, Florio said.

Florio said he has since reported his concerns to the New Jersey State Attorney General.

Mayor Jose Joey Torres and three department of public works supervisors were arrested in March in an alleged overtime billing scheme associated with the project. Investigators said the mayor ordered ciy workers to do construction at the private site but records showed taxpayers were billed for the work. The mayor and the workers have pleaded not guilty.

Former federal prosecutor Robert Ray said using the developers business information without authorization or his firms involvement could be a crime. If its not identity theft, it certainly sounds like something akin to identity theft. Ray added if the allegation is true, obviously that is a problem for somebody.

Torres' lawyer, John Azzarello, said in a call Monday evening that "the mayor denies he took any information from Charles Florio."

"The mayor himself never directed anyone to pay cash," Azzarello said in the call. "Anyone who suggests otherwise is flat out wrong."

The developer also said he was pressed by city officials in December 2014 to pay tens of thousands in questionable fees in cash or else he could not obtain permits to rent out his developments.

When a buildings department tells me I have to bring close to $50,000 in cash, I see a problem, Florio said.

Florio said he made city officials give him receipts marked CS for cash so  there would be no discrepancy later on. Florio later sued the city over the matter and reached a settlement.

Two city officials acknowledged cash was delivered by Florio. But the officials said the money did make it into city accounts.

Under an open records request, the city sent the News 4 I-Team copies of calculator ribbon showing the amounts reported by Florio. The city could not provide an itemized accounting of the cash deposits. Deposit slips that included the money Florio delivered were also not provided by Paterson officials.

A city spokeswoman said, There is no deposit slip or bank statement. The printout provided is the proof that the money was deposited into the Citys general fund. Thats the only thing the City has.

That money went into somebodys pocket is my feeling, Florio said.

Former prosecutor Ray said the request for the payments to be made in cash by city officials are very odd and suspicious.

A spokesman for the state attorney general Christopher Porrino declined to comment. The FBI has its own ongoing investigation into alleged corruption at Paterson City Hall.

Florio said after he was pressed to make cash payments, he hired a private investigator to follow Mayor Torres on and off for more than a year. It was that investigator who first filmed DPW workers doing construction at the would-be private beer store.

I felt there was some kind of corruption going on and I figured I should protect myself, my employees and my business. I did hire a private investigator, Florio said.

After being indicted in the alleged overtime billing scheme, Mayor Torres said he plans to stay in office while he fighting the corruption charges.
The alleged knife-wielding bandit possibly behind 18 armed robberies at businesses in Nassau and Suffolk counties was arrested along with two accused accomplices after hitting their latest target, and authorities say it appears they were trying to feed a heroin addiction.

Shane Cashmore, his girlfriend Juliana Pantaleone and another man, Paul Drab, were taken into custody following a knifepoint robbery at a Carvel on Long Island Monday night.

"I'm sorry," Cashmore told reporters as he was led from a police station in handcuffs Tuesday. "I am a heroin addict."

The arrests stem from a joint operation between Nassau and Suffolk police departments, authorities said in a unique news conference Tuesday morning involving the police commissioners from both counties as well as the district attorney from Nassau.



Police began tracking Cashmore and his accomplices because they used a unique car for their getaways, a Hyundai Tiburon, authorities said. Only 200 of those cars are registered in New York and Long Island, and one of the owners had been arrested and released a month ago in the car for drug possession.

Detectives placed a GPS device on the vehicle and began tracking it, according to law enforcement sources, and finally caught up with Cashmore at the Carvel store Monday night after the 18th robbery.

Pantaleone and Drab, who are from Levittown, were waiting in the alleged getaway car for Cashmore, authorities said. When detectives went to arrest them, they saw Pantaleone about to inject herself with heroin.

"You can understand just how persistent the heroin problem is here on Long Island," said Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter, adding that investigators from Nassau and Suffolk had been monitoring the trio since late April.

Eighteen businesses in both counties have been robbed since the spree began in February. No one was injured.

Promoda Patel's husband was one of the victims when he was working at a Subway store in North Merrick. He wasn't hurt, but it left both of them shaken.

"All the time, we locked the door because we were scared, but now, freedom!" she said after learning the "good news" of the arrests. "We not scared anymore."

Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas said, "Over the last several months, small business owners and workers have been on edge, but today they can rest more peacefully."

Each county will prosecute the robberies that took place there.
A New Jersey judge reopened a whistleblower lawsuit Monday filed by the former No. 2 police officer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Jerry Speziale's suit had been put on hold while the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial proceeded. His attorneys had formally requested that the case be reopened at the end of March, a day after two former aides to Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were sentenced.

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified compensatory damages, back pay and future pay.

Former Port Authority official David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty in the bridge case, is a defendant in Speziale's suit.

Speziale was Passaic County sheriff when he was offered a position as deputy police superintendent at the Port Authority by Wildstein, his 2014 lawsuit claims.

In a court filing in the bridge lane-closing case, Wildstein said Christie pushed for Speziale, a Democrat, to be hired at the Port Authority so that he would not run for re-election as sheriff and a Republican candidate could be elected.

Speziale said in the suit that his mandate at the Port Authority was to uncover and report corruption and wasteful spending in the agency's 1,700-member police department, but that when he reported violations he was subjected to retaliation and harassment.
An off-duty MTA worker and mother of six was shot and killed on her own Brooklyn street as she headed home from a shift late Monday, officials say.

Jacqueline Dicks, 41, was shot in the head on Elton Street just after 11:30 p.m. and pronounced dead a short time later, authorities said.

Investigators said Dicks was dead by the time they got to the scene and was wearing her MTA uniform when she was shot.



Dicks, a conductor with New York City Transit since June, had just finished her shift on the N line and her boyfriend had picked her up from the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard station in Queens to drive her to the East New York neighborhood where she lived, law enforcement sources say.

Her boyfriend dropped her off near her home and was going to the store when he heard a single gunshot, according to the sources. He told police he was blinded by headlights and couldn't see clearly but believes there may have been three people involved.

Witnesses also said they saw three men walk up to Dicks; they say one fired a single shot and all three ran away, leaving her on Elton Street.

Police are still looking for the three men. Sources said a bullet was found in the grass, and tests will be run on that as investigators search for surveillance video.

Tyrone Dicks, Jacqueline's brother, said he has no idea why anybody would want to hurt her.

"It's beyond my comprehension right now. I dont see why anybody would do that to her," he said. "Especially three men on a woman."

Her grieving family held a vigil Tuesday evening.

"Give her her life back," Tyrone said. "Let her finish her life."

Jacqueline Dicks was a mother of six who co-workers say was jovial on the job. Her boyfriend is a "good guy" who helped with the family, said Tyrone.

Her niece, Michelle Dicks, called her an "awesome" person.

"I don't even know why this had to happen to her," said Michelle. "I wish whoever did this -- whoever saw, would come and just say something. My family is taking it real hard."

Community members and coworkers rallied around her family while investigators continued their search for clues. Police did not elaborate on a possible motive.



"Last night we lost one of our own to gun violence," MTA Interim Executive Director Ronnie Hakim said in a statement Tuesday. "Jacqueline Dicks was a 41-year-old mother of six and valued member of New York City Transit. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and will assist NYPD in any way possible."
A state corrections officer shot and killed herself outside the Queens facility where she worked Tuesday, according to the NYPD.

Authorities say the unidentified woman was taken to Elmhurst Hospital after the 6:30 a.m. shooting outside Queensboro Correctional Facility on Van Dam Street, right behind LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City. Another corrections officer was also involved, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, but no one was taken into custody.



NYPD officials say the gunshot was self-inflicted, but the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear. NBC 4 New York video from the scene showed a car with a bullet hole so it appeared the deadly shot was not the only one fired.

Police and other law enforcement officers flooded the scene after the shooting, cordoning off the area with yellow caution tape and redirecting traffic.

State corrections officials called the shooting a "tragic incident," adding that facility security was never breached. It's operating on a modified schedule as a precaution.

A spokeswoman for LaGuardia Community College says the safety of its students, faculty and staff is paramount and that the school's public safety team is working with NYPD. The school was advised the scene was safe and secure, and so the campus remains open and classes are in session.
A Maryland father would trade his late son's life for his own if he could.

Kevin Ballard's son, Delaware State Trooper Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard, was shot and killed Wednesday during an investigation in a gas station parking lot in Bear, Delaware.

Kevin Ballard cried on Thursday as he spoke from his home in Accokeek, Maryland.

"If I could give my life right now to bring him back, I would, because he didnt deserve the fate that he got," he said.

Cpl. Ballard, 32, was shot in the parking lot of a Wawa convenience store as he investigated two men in a suspicious car.

The husband and father of a young child never had the chance to draw his weapon, authorities said.

The trooper's father got to speak some final words to his son. After Cpl. Ballard was shot, his wife put the trooper's father on speakerphone.

"The last words out of my mouth to him was, 'I love you. You can't leave me because you're all I have,'" Kevin Ballard recounted.

He quickly began making his way to his son's bedside. Prince George's County police escorted him to Joint Base Andrew, where he was transported via helicopter.

"I got in the helicopter and I asked the gentleman, 'How's my son?" he said, 'Unfortunately, he passed.' It was like everything inside me just went numb," Kevin Ballard said.

The suspect, Burgon Sealy Jr., 26, was shot and killed by police on Thursday after a standoff that lasted nearly a day.

The father said that once he returned to Delaware, he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from Cpl. Ballard's colleagues and strangers.

Still, it did not eliminate the pain of losing his son.

"I want my son back. I would do anything to get him back right now," he said.

Ballard was raised in Bowie, Maryland. As a teenager, he joined the Civil Air Patrol, the organization that allows young people to work closely with the Air Force. His former mentor, Paul Cienciolo, said Ballard stood out from the beginning.

Ballard went on to attend Delaware State University. He became a state trooper shortly after he graduated.

"He always had a passion to do something in that realm, where he was serving and helping people in need," Cienciolo said.

The gunman's actions hurt a family and the world, Kevin Ballard said.

"He just took away a future from a young man that was promising to the community, promising to the family, and we can't get him back," he said.

Kevin Ballard will speak at his son's memorial service Friday.
UPDATE: Casey released the letter publicly Monday evening.

Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has drafted a letter to send this week to the U.S. Homeland Security secretary urging the immediate release of four children and their mothers who are being detained at the Berks County Residential Center.

Eight other Democratic senators, including former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and 13 U.S. representatives from across the country are also expected to sign Caseys letter to Secretary John F. Kelly. The list of co-signers was not final as of Monday morning and could grow, according to an official with knowledge of the letter.

With more pressing issues facing ICE and the need to spend our limited federal resources wisely, there are more cost effective and humane approaches to this situation than family detention, the letter, which could be sent as soon as Monday, reads. The Department of Homeland Security should be focused on apprehending and deporting violent felons and maintaining a secure border, rather than expelling young mothers and children fleeing near certain death in their home countries.

The Berks County facility is one of only three detention centers in the country for undocumented immigrant families. The other two are in Texas. The facility, which is run by the county and paid for with federal funds, was scheduled to lose its license to operate with the state of Pennsylvania. But last week, a judge overruled the states decision.

As many as 40 mothers and their children are housed at the facility outside Reading. The four mothers and their children cited in Caseys letter currently face removal from the country at any moment, though lawyers for the women say the children have been granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). The status, their lawyers argue, should allow them to remain in the country pending a court hearing seeking permanent legal residency.

Three out of the four have received their employment authorization cards (see attached). They are eligible for social security cards and await only the final step in the adjudication of their legal permanent residency, the letter reads. However, they remain detained with their mothers at Berks, where they have been held for nearly 600 days. Multiple requests to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release these families have been denied, with no individualized determination as to why.

ICE officials, who have increased enforcement in 2017 throughout the Philadelphia region, do not comment on the facility. In fact, no ICE official out of the Philadelphia field office, has spoken with name attribution in recent memory.

After a recent raid on a Chester County mushroom farm in which 12 people were arrested for alleged undocumented status, a spokesman for the field office confirmed the raid and gave a statement that he said is attributable to ICE officials.

ICEs enforcement actions are targeted and lead driven. ICE does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately, the statement read.

The four women in the letter are identified, but an attorney for the women and children asked that news organizations only identify them by initials: W.M. and her three-year-old son D., C.M. and her four-year-old son A., M.N. and her seven-year-old son J., and J.M. and her 16-year-old son V.

The women fear for their safety, their attorneys say.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month declined to hear arguments in the womens appeal of their removal order, setting them up for possible deportation in the near future. It remains unclear what Homeland Security officials plan to do.

If deported, the women would be sent back to homes they fled almost two years ago in fear of their lives, their lawyers have said.

The Casey letter describes their native countries in the Northern Triangle of Central America -- El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras -- as the most dangerous areas in the world.

(V.) was only 14 years old when he and his mother, (J.), fled El Salvador because they received death threats from the MS-13 for defying gang recruitment. (V.) and his mother only want (V.) to be able to go to church and attend school without the fear of being murdered for refusing to join the gangs. They know they will face extraordinary challenges and, very likely, violence, if they return, as (V.) has two friends who were murdered for refusing to join the gangs, the letter reads. Seven-year-old (J.) and his mother (M.) have been in detention for over 550 days. According to her lawyers, (M.) is a survivor of sexual harassment and assault from gang leaders, and fled El Salvador with (J.) following threats to harm her and kidnap her son. Each of these families has a story similar to (V.), (J.), and their mothers. They fled one of the most dangerous areas in the world to seek refuge.

Others in Congress to co-sign Caseys letter include Sens. Bob Menendez, Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono, Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Sanders; and U.S. Reps. Lucille Roybal Allard, Nanette Diaz Barragan, John Conyers, Danny Davis, Keith Ellison, Luis Gutierrez, Pamila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, James McGovern, Holmes Norton, Norma Torres and Juan Vargas.
Police are searching for a man accused of sucking a young boys fingers at a park.

Investigators say the 5-year-old boy was visiting the Northampton Township Municipal Park on Hatboro Road in Southampton, Pennsylvania Saturday with his parents. The parents told NBC10 they were taking a lunch break when a man approximately 75-years-old who was sitting at a picnic table adjacent to them began talking to their son.

"He just started talking and telling us about his life, his name," the boy's father said. "His name is William but some people call him Bill."

The father said he then turned to the suspect as his family finished eating.

"And he said, 'Look, I've got Doritos cheese on my hand,'" the father said.

The couple told NBC10 the suspect then asked their son to come closer. He then put the boy's fingers in his mouth.

"The fact that he put my son's fingers in his mouth and sucked them is to me a very clear, yet disturbing message that he's sending," the boy's mother said.

Police released surveillance photos of the suspect as well as a woman who they believe is his wife. Police also say the suspect and the woman had a child with them and left in a white SUV.

"We don't know why he did it until we talk to him," the boy's mother said. "Until the police talk to him."



The suspect is described as a white male with gray hair driving a white SUV. If you have any information on the incident, please call Northampton Township Police and ask for Detective Gross at 215-322-6111.




A bill to help prosecutors convict predators who traffic in sex slavery passed in the California Senate Monday, announced a representative for Senator Toni Atkins.

Atkins created SB 230 to add sex trafficking, pimping and pandering to the list of crimes that does not allow character evidence to be used in a trial.

That helps add these sex trafficking crimes to a list of other offenses that prohibit character evidence, including cases involving sexual offenses, domestic violence, elder or dependent abuse and child abuse, said the statement.

"As a result of the complex and exploitative relationship between victims and their traffickers, cases of human trafficking, pimping and pandering are notoriously difficult to prosecute," Atkins said on the Senate floor.

"Additionally, much like victims of other sexual offenses, many victims of sex trafficking have been groomed, controlled or even brainwashed by their traffickers and do not see themselves as victims  at least not initially," added Atkins.

"Thus, securing victim testimony in human trafficking trials is difficult."

The bill will help prosecutors consider a sex traffickers' prior activities as evidence related to their current ones, explained the statement.

"I want to thank my Senate colleagues for their bipartisan support for this sensible measure to help bring sex traffickers to justice," Atkins concluded after the vote.

Next, the bill SB 230 will be considered at the state Assembly, announced the statement.

In late March, Atkins introduced three measures aimed at combatting human trafficking. According to Senator Atkins, San Diego is one of three California cities on the FBIs list of top 13 cities in the country for sex trafficking.
Two Washington, D.C., chefs are the newest honorees of prestigious James Beard Foundation awards.

Mark Furstenberg of Bread Furst was named "Outstanding Baker." Bread Furst opened on Connecticut Avenue NW in May 2014, and its website describes it as a "neighborhood bakery, a traditional neighborhood meeting place."

Nora Pouillon, creator of Restaurant Nora, received the 2017 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Restaurant Nora, which is located near Dupont Circle, became the first organic restaurant in the U.S. when it opened in 1979.

Schultzs Crab House in Essex, Maryland, was named a "2017 American Classic.

Several other D.C. restaurants and chefs were nominated for James Beard Foundation awards.

Aaron Silvermans Pineapple and Pearls was nominated in the Best New Restaurant category while Amy Brandwein of Centrolina and Tom Cunanan of Bad Saint were nominated for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic."

Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson hosted the awards ceremony Monday night in Chicago.
Two men went to a Maryland hospital after opening a package they believed contained a some type of chemical, authorities said.

The men opened the package at their home on Military Road and said they felt "different and tingly," according to Frederick Police Lt. Clark Pennington. The men took the package with them to Frederick Memorial Hospital.

They were decontaminated and treated at the hospital. Their injuries were not serious.

Authorities believe the substance was a common household item. It will be tested at a lab.

The hospital diverted ambulances and stopped accepting new patients in the emergency room, but hospital operations otherwise carried on normally, officials said.

Other patients in the emergency room were moved to an area away from the two men.

The Frederick fire and police departments are investigating at the hospital and in the neighborhood where the package was sent.
A historic Massachusetts house was destroyed after a fire broke out Tuesday morning in Princeton, Massachusetts.

Fire officials say lightning struck a home on Mountain Road overnight. Two hours later, when the homeowner awoke, Princeton Fire Chief John Bennett says much of the house was fully involved.

The family inside heard their dog barking at 3 a.m. and then saw the entire backside of the house engulfed in flames around 5 a.m., according to officials.

The lightning strike has been determined as the cause of the fire.

Responding firefighters quickly ran out of water, as there was no immediate source, which resulted in crews staying out of the home.

"We're pulling water out of ponds and these trucks are driving as quick as they can to fill up with water at local ponds and then come back up here and then dump it into this portable pond in order for us to get a supply line," Chief Bennett said. "The problem is there's no water in the immediate area."

According to officials, it took firefighters from 20 towns to bring the fire under control. More than 12 hours later, crews were still working to make sure the fire was out.

The building used to be an inn and was also a monastery for a short period of time.

There were no injuries, and officials say the family's dogs got out safely.


1,000 East Anglia pilgrims walk at Walsingham

Over 1,000 people joined the annual Diocese of East Anglia pilgrimage to Walsingham on Bank Holiday Monday, May 1.
President Donald Trump is launching a special council to upgrade the U.S. governments IT services at a time when some systems more than 50 years old. Americans deserve better digital services from their government, the

"Americans deserve better digital services from their government," said an executive order from Trump, released on Monday.

The order seeks to "promote the secure, efficient and economical use" of IT. As part of that goal, Trump is establishing the American Technology Council, which he will chair.

Joining him on the council will be more a dozen other leaders in the federal government, including the secretary of defense, secretary of commerce, and the secretary of homeland security.

The council can also invite additional attendees. Reportedly, about 20 technology chief executives will attend meetings at the White House in June to discuss upgrading the governments IT services.

Chris Liddell, a former Microsoft CFO, will help run the council, the White House said.

Last year, a U.S. government office warned that many legacy systems in use were becoming obsolete and dependent on software and hardware no longer supported. For instance, the Department of Defense still relies on 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate operations for its nuclear arms. U.S. taxpayers' data is also processed with systems more than 50 years old.

The White House released Monday's order a month after it established the Office of American Innovation. That office was designed to bring the best ideas from the government and the private sector, to develop policies that can create jobs and improve federal operations.

In December, Trump held a high-profile meeting with U.S. tech leaders. "We want you to keep going with the incredible innovation," he said then.

Trump's new American Technology Council will coordinate strategy for federal government IT use and also give advice to the president on related policy matters. The council can also function through ad hoc committees, task forces, and interagency groups.

However, the U.S. national security system will not fall under the council's scope. Nevertheless, the U.S. director of national intelligence can provide classified information on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities to the council.

Although Trump has talked up the innovation from Silicon Valley, U.S. tech firms have largely opposed the president's past positions on trade and immigration.

Experts have also said the U.S. needs to badly bolster its cyber defenses against hacking threats. So far, Trump has been taking his time to come up with a cybersecurity plan, despite a past pledge to do so, within 90 days of taking office.
A U.S. appeals court has denied a request by broadband trade groups to rehear its decision last June to uphold the Federal Communications Commission's controversial 2015 net neutrality rules.

The court's decision on Monday is a hollow victory for net neutrality supporters. Just last Wednesday, new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced plans to repeal the rules at the agency, without a court ordering him to do so.

The trade groups needed a majority of the judges on the District of Columbia Circuit to support a rehearing of last year's decision. What they got was a divided court: Three of the nine judges recused themselves, and two judges voted to deny the petition for rehearing, leaving a minority in support.

A rehearing "would be particularly unwarranted at this point in light of the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the FCC's Order," Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote in his denial of a rehearing. "The agency will soon consider adopting a [new order] that would replace the existing rule with a markedly different one."

Judge Janice Brown dissented, saying the FCC lacked congressional authority to adopt the 2015 rules. Those net neutrality regulations reclassified broadband as a highly regulated, telecom-like service in order to prohibit broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing internet content and services.

The FCC's decision "shows signs of a government having grown beyond the consent of the governed [including] the administrative state shoehorning major questions into long-extant statutory provisions without congressional authorization," she wrote.

Five broadband trade groups, including USTelecom and CTIA, as well as AT&T, CenturyLink and other providers, challenged the rules.

The court's decision isn't surprising, given that the FCC's plans to vote on May 18 to begin repealing the 2015 rules, Pai said in a statement. But the text of the decision is important because it gives the FCC latitude to classify broadband again as a lightly regulated information service, he added.

USTelecom is "gratified" that some judges wanted to rehear the case and that the FCC is moving toward a repeal of the 2015 framework, Jonathan Spalter, CEO of the trade group, said in a statement.

"Broadband innovators strongly support net neutrality and will continue efforts to promote policies that encourage investment and innovation in Americas broadband networks, consistent with the deregulatory structure of the 1996 Telecom Act," he added.
Apple has long been known keeping a big rainy day fund. But according to Lee Pinkowitz, a Georgetown University professor of finance quoted in the Wall Street Journal, theyre saving for a millennial flood."

The numbers are truly astonishing. The company has some $250 billiona quarter of a trillion!in cash, cash equivalents, and short- and long-term securities, including corporate paper, U.S. Treasury bond and money-market funds, the Journal said. Add it up, and its more than the total foreign-currency reserves held by many countries including plenty of pretty big countries, like Mexico and Indonesia. In fact, as the Journal notes, its more than the foreign reserves of the U.K. and Canada  combined.

On the corporate side, its more than the market value of AT&T or Verizon, Wal-Mart or Procter & Gamble, Visa or Comcast, Oracle or Disney. (Its not near enough to buy Google, Amazon, Microsoft or Facebook, though.)

Sure, Apple also has some $88 billion in debt, but even that astronomical amount seems like chump change next to the asset stockpile.

What might Apple spend its billions on?

Apple holds most of this treasure outside the United States, and Trumps proposed changes to U.S. corporate tax rates is fueling speculation that the company may finally move some of those dollars onshore.

In fact, most observers seem to agree that Apple has more money in the bank than it could possibly need, and everyone seems to have an idea about the best ways to spend it. Suggestions include:

Pay down debt Sure, but what do you with the rest of the cash?

Sure, but what do you with the rest of the cash? Investor dividends or stock buybacks Some folks want a special one-time dividend, while others want to grow dividend payments over time.

Some folks want a special one-time dividend, while others want to grow dividend payments over time. More advertising The company now spends far less than many of its competitors.

The company now spends far less than many of its competitors. More R&D Apple has boosted spending in this area, but $250 billion could buy a lot of innovation and possibly quiet some of the complaints that the company hasnt had a hit new category in a while.

Apple has boosted spending in this area, but $250 billion could buy a lot of innovation and possibly quiet some of the complaints that the company hasnt had a hit new category in a while. Build its own giant manufacturing plant in the U.S. That would make Donald Trump happy.

That would make Donald Trump happy. Invest in building a world class-cloud computing operation The cloud is hot, Apples offerings are less than stellar, and Apple vs. Amazon would be a be a battle for the ages.

The cloud is hot, Apples offerings are less than stellar, and Apple vs. Amazon would be a be a battle for the ages. Big acquisitionsOver the years, companies mentioned as targets for Apple buyouts include everything from Netflix to Tesla to Verizon or AT&T or a studio like Disney or Lions Gate or a music streaming service like Pandora.

Really, though, Apple has enough money to do almost anything and everything it wants. And a multi-prong approach is the most likely outcome.

Apple no doubt wants to keep a healthy sum in the cookie jar, and it will likely make nice with shareholders one way or another. As for building its own manufacturing capacity, dont count on itthe numbers simply dont add up. But I wouldnt rule out at least one headline-grabbing acquisition big enough to dwarf its $3 billion purchase of Beats back in 2014, which I still consider a head-scratcher.

On the other hand, if Apple really wanted to, it could practically give every adult American $1,000. Ill take mine in nice crisp hundreds.
'We hope match funding will attract new donors'

THE Rosemary Appeal to build a new cancer centre and renal dialysis unit at West Berkshire Community Hospital has received an amazing 155,000 from two generous local funders.

Newbury-based charity Peter Baker Foundation has offered to match grants and donations to the appeal through local fundraising platform thegoodexchange.com, up to 125,000.

And Englefield Charitable Trust has also offered to match grants and donations up to 30,000.

The Rosemary Appeal has already raised an incredible 2.27m through The Good Exchange in just six months with the help of many generous donors and funders, including 1m of match funding from Greenham Common Trust, which has now been completely matched.

However, Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Building Trust and Newbury and District Cancer Care Trust still need to raise 2.23m to provide better facilities and transform the lives of cancer and renal patients and carers in West Berkshire, saving hours of travel and discomfort to receive treatment further afield.

Secretary of Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Building Trust, Dr Rob Tayton, said: We are so grateful to Peter Baker and Englefield Charitable Trust for their very kind and generous support.

We hope this match funding will attract new donors, grant givers and fundraisers to help the appeal reach its 4.5m target.

To make a donation, visit http://bit.ly/2jMOc3w to reach The Rosemary Appeals fundraising page on The Good Exchange.

If you are considering giving a grant to the appeal email info@thegoodexchange.com
Town councillors oppose plans to convert offices into flats

PLANS to convert offices on Newbury Business Park into 129 flats have met with stern opposition from town councillors.

If given the go-ahead, the move would have a disastrous effect on Newburys premier business park in London Road, as well as on the ongoing protection of business space in the town, according to members of the councils planning and highways committee.

Developer Stonegate Homes is hoping to convert three existing office buildings into three blocks of 43 one-bed apartments under Permitted Development Rights (PDR).

At a meeting of the planning and highways committee on Wednesday, March 19, town councillors objected to the proposals and revealed their mounting frustrations at the continued loss of protected business space in Newbury.

Councillors immediately drew comparisons with Overbridge Square in Hambridge Lane, which saw developer Overbridge Development Ltd being given prior approval by West Berkshire Council to convert 60,000sq ft of office space into more than 100 apartments.

Speaking at the meeting last week, chairman of the committee, Anthony Pick (Con, St Johns) said: Im very seriously disturbed by these developments. We should make a very strong recommendation to West Berkshire Council about this issue.

Its a matter of very great urgency.

While agreeing that the location was not perfect, Lynne Doherty (Con, Northcroft), pointed out, however, that more affordable accommodation must be developed in the town.

We need affordable homes, she said.

The type of development is something that we need, but I agree that its not ideal.

Dave Goff (Con, Clay Hill) said: We could see the end of Newbury Business Park if this goes ahead.

All but one member voted to object to the proposals, with Lynne Doherty choosing to abstain.

Two of the buildings, Nexus House and Lambourn House, are currently vacant with the third, Derby House, soon to be vacant, according to the proposals.

The applicant states there has been no interest in its current office use, adding: The proposed development will make efficient use of underused buildings and provide 129 units to meet the districts housing stock on a suitably-located brownfield site.

Introduced in 2013, PDR allow a developer to change the use of a building from business to residential without having to submit a planning application.

According to a report from Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership in December, there were 29 prior approval applications for a change of use from office to residential granted between April 2013 and March 2015, which would result in the loss of approximately 165,979sq ft of existing office space.

However, the district council has confirmed to the Newbury Weekly News that officers are now looking at the possibility of introducing new regulations (article 4 directions) which would limit the scope of PDR on office conversions.

West Berkshire Council spokesman Martin Dunscombe said: West Berkshire already has a number of article 4 directions in place and officers are considering the issues surrounding its use on office conversions, the implications for West Berkshire and what evidence the council can produce to justify their introduction.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI:Most four-wheeler makers began the new financial year on a high note, with year-on-year sales growth during April hitting high double-digits for many including market leader Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, Honda, Nissan and Tata Motors.

According to sales data released by firms for April, Maruti Suzuki recorded the highest domestic unit sales since inception, selling 1,44,492 units, growing 23.4 per cent year on year.

The sales were driven by the compact and utility vehicle segment, with the former comprising the Swift, Baleno, Ignis and Dzire growing 39.1 per cent.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor also saw a huge rise in fortunes in April compared to the previous year, with domestic sales rising 51.81 per cent at 12,948 units. According to the company, the entry of the new Fortuner model has revived sales, which had been hit by a series of headwinds, not least of which was the diesel car ban in Delhi.

Honda Cars India, too, posted strong sales growth with domestic sales growing by 38.1 per cent at 14,480 units against 10,486 units last year. Pointing out that it had seen robust customer feedback to the newly-launched Honda WR-V and new Honda City, HCIL president and CEO Yoichiro Ueno said that the company hoped to continue the growth momentum.

Riding the positive sentiment generated by the new Tiago and the Hexa, Tata Motors also reported a 23 per cent growth in passenger vehicle sales, while Nissan India saw domestic sales rise 39 per cent growth in April. Nissan is proud of the performance of the recently launched new Terrano and the continued confidence that customers are showing in the Datsun redi-GO, said Nissan India managing director Arun Malhotra. Hyundai Motor India was one of the few that did not post double-digit sales growth, with domestic sales standing at 44,758 units, up 5.7 per cent year-on-year.

Marutis mini-segment recovers, registers growth at 22 per cent

The countrys largest car-maker on Monday reported a 21.9 per cent growth in its mini-segment models  the Alto and the WagonR. The turnaround comes in the wake of successive months of low sales growth and even declines in sales in the two models. According to the data released by the firm, the segment registered sales of 38,897 units in April, compared to 31,906 during the same month of the previous year. The segment had recorded a significant 15.6 per cent decline year-on-year in sales in March 2017, and a 6.8 per cent decline in February. The sales of the segment had declined by 4.4 per cent in financial year 2016-17 compared to FY2015-16. Experts say that while sales of the Alto and WagonR have improved, April might be an outlier, since customer preferences are still shifting toward newer and more feature-loaded models.

CHENNAI:Most four-wheeler makers began the new financial year on a high note, with year-on-year sales growth during April hitting high double-digits for many including market leader Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, Honda, Nissan and Tata Motors. According to sales data released by firms for April, Maruti Suzuki recorded the highest domestic unit sales since inception, selling 1,44,492 units, growing 23.4 per cent year on year. The sales were driven by the compact and utility vehicle segment, with the former comprising the Swift, Baleno, Ignis and Dzire growing 39.1 per cent. Toyota Kirloskar Motor also saw a huge rise in fortunes in April compared to the previous year, with domestic sales rising 51.81 per cent at 12,948 units. According to the company, the entry of the new Fortuner model has revived sales, which had been hit by a series of headwinds, not least of which was the diesel car ban in Delhi. Honda Cars India, too, posted strong sales growth with domestic sales growing by 38.1 per cent at 14,480 units against 10,486 units last year. Pointing out that it had seen robust customer feedback to the newly-launched Honda WR-V and new Honda City, HCIL president and CEO Yoichiro Ueno said that the company hoped to continue the growth momentum. Riding the positive sentiment generated by the new Tiago and the Hexa, Tata Motors also reported a 23 per cent growth in passenger vehicle sales, while Nissan India saw domestic sales rise 39 per cent growth in April. Nissan is proud of the performance of the recently launched new Terrano and the continued confidence that customers are showing in the Datsun redi-GO, said Nissan India managing director Arun Malhotra. Hyundai Motor India was one of the few that did not post double-digit sales growth, with domestic sales standing at 44,758 units, up 5.7 per cent year-on-year. Marutis mini-segment recovers, registers growth at 22 per cent The countrys largest car-maker on Monday reported a 21.9 per cent growth in its mini-segment models  the Alto and the WagonR. The turnaround comes in the wake of successive months of low sales growth and even declines in sales in the two models. According to the data released by the firm, the segment registered sales of 38,897 units in April, compared to 31,906 during the same month of the previous year. The segment had recorded a significant 15.6 per cent decline year-on-year in sales in March 2017, and a 6.8 per cent decline in February. The sales of the segment had declined by 4.4 per cent in financial year 2016-17 compared to FY2015-16. Experts say that while sales of the Alto and WagonR have improved, April might be an outlier, since customer preferences are still shifting toward newer and more feature-loaded models.
Akram Mohammed By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The lack of information security practices in key government websites which hosts Personally Identifiable Information (PII) has left citizens of the country more vulnerable to identity theft and financial fraud, a research paper has argued.

A paper by Amber Sinha and Srinivas Kodali of Centre for Internet and Society analysed four government websites and found that more than 13 crore Aadhaar numbers with related PII were available on the websites, exposing lax security features.

The paper published under Creative Commons is titled Information Security Practices of Aadhaar (or lack thereof): A documentation of public availability of Aadhaar Numbers with sensitive personal financial information and was released on Monday.

Sinha and Kodali looked at databases on four government portals -- National Social Assistance Programme, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Chandranna Bima Scheme, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh and Daily Online Payment Reports website of NREGA, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.

We chose major government programmes that use Aadhaar for payments and banking transactions. We found sensitive and personal data and information accessible on these portals, the report said.

Leaked through portals

Based on the numbers available on the websites, estimated number of Aadhaar numbers leaked through these 4 portals could be around 130-135 million and the number of bank account numbers leaked at around 100 million.

While these numbers are only from two major government programmes of pensions and rural employment schemes, other major schemes, that have also used Aadhaar for DBT, could have leaked PII similarly due to lack of information security practices, it said.

They fear that data of over 23 crore beneficiaries under DBT of LPG subsidies could be leaked also. Identity theft and financial fraud risks increase multifold in India..., they said.

Aadhaar payments unsafe

In case a financial fraud takes place through Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), the consumer may not be able to assert his claims for compensation due to the terms and conditions around liabilities.

These terms force the consumer to take liabilities onto oneself than the payment provider..... Regulations and standards around Aadhaar are at a very early and nascent stage causing (an) increase in financial risk for both consumers and banks to venture into AePS, they added. The authors also pulled up UIDAI for their inability in providing strong legislation against such leaks.

Leaky govt portals

National Social Assistance Programme

PII available - Access to Aadhaar no., name, bank account number, account frozen status 94,32,605

bank accounts linked with Aadhaar

14,98,919 post office accounts linked with Aadhaar numbers.

Though total Aadhaar number is 1,56,42,083, not all are linked to bank accounts

NREGA

PII Details available: Job card no., Aadhaar number, bank/postal account number, no. of days worked, registration no., account frozen status

78,74,315 post office accounts of individual workers seeded with Aadhaar numbers,

8,24,22,161 bank accounts of individual workers with Aadhaar numbers.

10,96,41,502 total number of Aadhaar numbers stored by portal

Other websites

Chandranna Bima Scheme, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

Daily Online Payment Reports website of NREGA, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

BENGALURU: The lack of information security practices in key government websites which hosts Personally Identifiable Information (PII) has left citizens of the country more vulnerable to identity theft and financial fraud, a research paper has argued. A paper by Amber Sinha and Srinivas Kodali of Centre for Internet and Society analysed four government websites and found that more than 13 crore Aadhaar numbers with related PII were available on the websites, exposing lax security features. The paper published under Creative Commons is titled Information Security Practices of Aadhaar (or lack thereof): A documentation of public availability of Aadhaar Numbers with sensitive personal financial information and was released on Monday. Sinha and Kodali looked at databases on four government portals -- National Social Assistance Programme, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Chandranna Bima Scheme, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh and Daily Online Payment Reports website of NREGA, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. We chose major government programmes that use Aadhaar for payments and banking transactions. We found sensitive and personal data and information accessible on these portals, the report said. Leaked through portals Based on the numbers available on the websites, estimated number of Aadhaar numbers leaked through these 4 portals could be around 130-135 million and the number of bank account numbers leaked at around 100 million. While these numbers are only from two major government programmes of pensions and rural employment schemes, other major schemes, that have also used Aadhaar for DBT, could have leaked PII similarly due to lack of information security practices, it said. They fear that data of over 23 crore beneficiaries under DBT of LPG subsidies could be leaked also. Identity theft and financial fraud risks increase multifold in India..., they said. Aadhaar payments unsafe In case a financial fraud takes place through Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), the consumer may not be able to assert his claims for compensation due to the terms and conditions around liabilities. These terms force the consumer to take liabilities onto oneself than the payment provider..... Regulations and standards around Aadhaar are at a very early and nascent stage causing (an) increase in financial risk for both consumers and banks to venture into AePS, they added. The authors also pulled up UIDAI for their inability in providing strong legislation against such leaks. Leaky govt portals National Social Assistance Programme PII available - Access to Aadhaar no., name, bank account number, account frozen status 94,32,605 bank accounts linked with Aadhaar 14,98,919 post office accounts linked with Aadhaar numbers. Though total Aadhaar number is 1,56,42,083, not all are linked to bank accounts NREGA PII Details available: Job card no., Aadhaar number, bank/postal account number, no. of days worked, registration no., account frozen status 78,74,315 post office accounts of individual workers seeded with Aadhaar numbers, 8,24,22,161 bank accounts of individual workers with Aadhaar numbers. 10,96,41,502 total number of Aadhaar numbers stored by portal Other websites Chandranna Bima Scheme, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh Daily Online Payment Reports website of NREGA, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
Akhila Damodaran By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: A 23-year-old software engineer Suman Malhotra was rushed to the hospital on an emergency in January and had to be on a ventilator for over a week. She is asthmatic and had been cheating on her treatment course.



Her pulmonologist at Sakra World Hospital, Dr Sachin Kumar says, She was not serious about using the inhaler and was not taking her medicines regularly. Fortunately, she recovered. It could have been fatal too.



According to a study by doctors in Karnataka, 40 per cent asthma patients do not adhere to the treatment course leading to further complications such as repeated severe attacks of asthma, some even life-threatening.



Dr MD Majeed Pasha, consultant pulmonologist, GM Hospital, Nagarbhavi, says, The main reason people dont stick with their medicines is a lack of awareness among the patients about asthma management. The majority of the patients, as soon as they feel a little better with initial treatment, stop taking medication. Some patients fear addiction to inhalers. Some are also misguided by general practitioners and quacks.



Dr Sachin says one of his patients Indupriya, a college student, worried that the treatment may be for life. Someone had suggested that she try homoeopathy, saying allopathy would be a lifelong treatment and may have side effects.

She took homoeopathy for six to eight months but it did not help. She then came to our hospital in March last year. After taking medicines regularly for a few months, the severity of asthma has reduced and now, she uses inhaler only when required. She hasnt had any symptoms since March last year.



Prevalence of asthma in Bengaluru has increased three-folds over the last two decades due to pollution and change in weather conditions, says Dr Majeed.



Dr Chethan Kumar NL, People Tree Hospital, says, There is a 25 percent increase in the number of cases in Bengaluru since last year.

A study by the Institute of Medical Education and Research across four Indian cities  Delhi, Chandigarh, Kanpur and Bengaluru  reported asthma prevalence in adults at 3.47 per cent in 2011. However, about 7.5 to 10 percent adults in Bengaluru are said to be suffering from asthma as per the recent studies. The city nowadays has also been identified as the asthma capital of India.



Dr Madhu K from Apollo Hospital, Mysuru, says maintenance therapy is necessary for such cases. Treatment should be taken regularly to keep asthma under control, irrespective of day-to-day variations. It helps improve lungs functioning.

Lifelong medicines are prescribed only in few cases. If one gets better, the medicines can be tapered. Asthma can be triggered anytime and especially during summer, due to dust, pollution, humidity and sudden change in temperature, he says adding, We ask them to visit us when there is a change in temperature and adhere to treatments.

BENGALURU: A 23-year-old software engineer Suman Malhotra was rushed to the hospital on an emergency in January and had to be on a ventilator for over a week. She is asthmatic and had been cheating on her treatment course. Her pulmonologist at Sakra World Hospital, Dr Sachin Kumar says, She was not serious about using the inhaler and was not taking her medicines regularly. Fortunately, she recovered. It could have been fatal too. According to a study by doctors in Karnataka, 40 per cent asthma patients do not adhere to the treatment course leading to further complications such as repeated severe attacks of asthma, some even life-threatening. Dr MD Majeed Pasha, consultant pulmonologist, GM Hospital, Nagarbhavi, says, The main reason people dont stick with their medicines is a lack of awareness among the patients about asthma management. The majority of the patients, as soon as they feel a little better with initial treatment, stop taking medication. Some patients fear addiction to inhalers. Some are also misguided by general practitioners and quacks. Dr Sachin says one of his patients Indupriya, a college student, worried that the treatment may be for life. Someone had suggested that she try homoeopathy, saying allopathy would be a lifelong treatment and may have side effects. She took homoeopathy for six to eight months but it did not help. She then came to our hospital in March last year. After taking medicines regularly for a few months, the severity of asthma has reduced and now, she uses inhaler only when required. She hasnt had any symptoms since March last year. Prevalence of asthma in Bengaluru has increased three-folds over the last two decades due to pollution and change in weather conditions, says Dr Majeed. Dr Chethan Kumar NL, People Tree Hospital, says, There is a 25 percent increase in the number of cases in Bengaluru since last year. A study by the Institute of Medical Education and Research across four Indian cities  Delhi, Chandigarh, Kanpur and Bengaluru  reported asthma prevalence in adults at 3.47 per cent in 2011. However, about 7.5 to 10 percent adults in Bengaluru are said to be suffering from asthma as per the recent studies. The city nowadays has also been identified as the asthma capital of India. Dr Madhu K from Apollo Hospital, Mysuru, says maintenance therapy is necessary for such cases. Treatment should be taken regularly to keep asthma under control, irrespective of day-to-day variations. It helps improve lungs functioning. Lifelong medicines are prescribed only in few cases. If one gets better, the medicines can be tapered. Asthma can be triggered anytime and especially during summer, due to dust, pollution, humidity and sudden change in temperature, he says adding, We ask them to visit us when there is a change in temperature and adhere to treatments.
Siva Sekaran By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has lambasted the TN government and the Medical Council of India (MCI) for their fraudulent, lethargic and illegal acts in not securing its quota of 50 per cent seats in each specialty in PG courses from private medical colleges and the deemed to be universities in the State. It imposed costs of `1 crore on each.

In his 130-page judgment, Justice N Kirubakaran noted that right from the beginning, though MCI framed the PG Medical Education Regulations, 2000, it failed to ensure its proper implementation. The State failed to get 50 per cent of seats from private colleges deliberately to benefit them, thereby acting against public interest. The private institutions had not followed the seat sharing regulation for unknown reasons in connivance with the State and the MCI. Private colleges should have benefited unjustly because of non-sharing of 50 per cent seats with the State.

The issue of separate prospectus for deemed universities by the State only for common counselling without including 50 per cent seats for State quota is not only a fraudulent act, but also an illegal one and against public interest, the judge said. The act of private colleges would fortify the apprehension of the general public that they are making money by selling medical seats. This is nothing but misuse and abuse of medical education for unjust enrichment, the judge said.

Taking the State and the MCI to task, the judge directed the State to strictly appropriate 50 per cent of PG medical seats in respect of each specialty from non-governmental medical institutions, excluding minority institutions and make admission on the basis of NEET merit list through centralised counselling. The judge was disposing of a batch of writ petitions, including one from M Kamaraj of Nadupatti village in Namakkal district, on Tuesday.

The petitions prayed for a direction to the State Health Secretary to appropriate 50 per cent of seats in recognised PG and diploma courses in respect of each specialty from all private medical colleges in the State. The State should also include 50 per cent seats in deemed to be universities in the counselling to be conducted for government seats in self-financing medical colleges and 50 per cent institution quota seats in deemed to be universities in the counselling to be conducted for management quota seats in self financing colleges.

The judge also held that admissions made in respect of the NRI quota by private colleges, except minority institutions, is not valid and set them aside, as per the Central governments communication dated March 10 and April 6 last. The judge also quashed the prospectus for common counselling to PG degrees/diploma courses in deemed to be universities in Tamil Nadu (excluding NRI quota) for 2017-18 session, as it did not appropriate 50 per cent quota for the State from the deemed to be universities.

Since it is the counselling authority, the State should notify on its website details about the availability of seats in each college, university, institution (specialty-wise), full fee structure of all non-governmental institutions, including deemed to be universities.

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has lambasted the TN government and the Medical Council of India (MCI) for their fraudulent, lethargic and illegal acts in not securing its quota of 50 per cent seats in each specialty in PG courses from private medical colleges and the deemed to be universities in the State. It imposed costs of `1 crore on each. In his 130-page judgment, Justice N Kirubakaran noted that right from the beginning, though MCI framed the PG Medical Education Regulations, 2000, it failed to ensure its proper implementation. The State failed to get 50 per cent of seats from private colleges deliberately to benefit them, thereby acting against public interest. The private institutions had not followed the seat sharing regulation for unknown reasons in connivance with the State and the MCI. Private colleges should have benefited unjustly because of non-sharing of 50 per cent seats with the State. The issue of separate prospectus for deemed universities by the State only for common counselling without including 50 per cent seats for State quota is not only a fraudulent act, but also an illegal one and against public interest, the judge said. The act of private colleges would fortify the apprehension of the general public that they are making money by selling medical seats. This is nothing but misuse and abuse of medical education for unjust enrichment, the judge said. Taking the State and the MCI to task, the judge directed the State to strictly appropriate 50 per cent of PG medical seats in respect of each specialty from non-governmental medical institutions, excluding minority institutions and make admission on the basis of NEET merit list through centralised counselling. The judge was disposing of a batch of writ petitions, including one from M Kamaraj of Nadupatti village in Namakkal district, on Tuesday. The petitions prayed for a direction to the State Health Secretary to appropriate 50 per cent of seats in recognised PG and diploma courses in respect of each specialty from all private medical colleges in the State. The State should also include 50 per cent seats in deemed to be universities in the counselling to be conducted for government seats in self-financing medical colleges and 50 per cent institution quota seats in deemed to be universities in the counselling to be conducted for management quota seats in self financing colleges. The judge also held that admissions made in respect of the NRI quota by private colleges, except minority institutions, is not valid and set them aside, as per the Central governments communication dated March 10 and April 6 last. The judge also quashed the prospectus for common counselling to PG degrees/diploma courses in deemed to be universities in Tamil Nadu (excluding NRI quota) for 2017-18 session, as it did not appropriate 50 per cent quota for the State from the deemed to be universities. Since it is the counselling authority, the State should notify on its website details about the availability of seats in each college, university, institution (specialty-wise), full fee structure of all non-governmental institutions, including deemed to be universities.
By BNS

The team will commence shooting for the second schedule on May 4. twofour54s Film and TV Services division will provide production services and as part of the agreement, twofour54 and Yash Raj Films have already begun construction of a 20,000-sq. meter back-lot.

The set is being designed by Rajnish Hedao from Acropolis DMG. More than 150 workers will be on site for a total 100 days to create the films main set, many of whom have helped to build the Star Wars set in Abu Dhabi in 2013. The production will also film at several other locations around Abu Dhabi before moving onto the set.

A crew of 300 is expected to work on the production, with Abu Dhabi-based freelancers working alongside crewmembers from India, the US and the UK. Demonstrating the governments support for Abu Dhabis growing production industry, the UAE military is providing military equipment, including choppers during the shoot.

CEO of Media Zone Authority - Abu Dhabi, Maryam Al Mheiri said: Abu Dhabi is gaining traction in India as the emerging new home of Bollywood, as a result of what we can offer this dynamic industry: a generous 30 percent rebate, a huge variety of locations, and crew with Bollywood experience.

As YRF brings one of Indias most awaited films, Tiger Zinda Hai for an extensive shooting schedule here, we display considerable understanding of this unique format and we look forward to working with this star studded film on a smooth, successful and visually enriching shoot while they are with us.

Director Ali Abbas Zafar said, A film like Tiger Zinda Hai requires a certain scale, which we found in Abu Dhabi. Keeping all the practical measures in mind, the kind of support we got from twofour54 on the infrastructure was phenomenal. That along with some stunning real locations makes shooting in Abu Dhabi special.

Talking about the next schedule, Salman shared, Tiger Zinda Hai is a film of sizeable scale and context. Abu Dhabi, with a variety of locations, and gracious hosts, is ideal to shoot for a film like this one. I hope that the entire unit will enjoy our time here.

Katrina Kaif who will also be seen opposite Salman said that Tiger Zinda Hai, shifts to different locations across the globe and Abu Dhabi fits in perfectly with our story.

Additionally, it provides all the comforts and conveniences that a film unit needs. I look forward to shooting in eye-catching locations and on the impressive set here.

The team will commence shooting for the second schedule on May 4. twofour54s Film and TV Services division will provide production services and as part of the agreement, twofour54 and Yash Raj Films have already begun construction of a 20,000-sq. meter back-lot. The set is being designed by Rajnish Hedao from Acropolis DMG. More than 150 workers will be on site for a total 100 days to create the films main set, many of whom have helped to build the Star Wars set in Abu Dhabi in 2013. The production will also film at several other locations around Abu Dhabi before moving onto the set. A crew of 300 is expected to work on the production, with Abu Dhabi-based freelancers working alongside crewmembers from India, the US and the UK. Demonstrating the governments support for Abu Dhabis growing production industry, the UAE military is providing military equipment, including choppers during the shoot. CEO of Media Zone Authority - Abu Dhabi, Maryam Al Mheiri said: Abu Dhabi is gaining traction in India as the emerging new home of Bollywood, as a result of what we can offer this dynamic industry: a generous 30 percent rebate, a huge variety of locations, and crew with Bollywood experience. As YRF brings one of Indias most awaited films, Tiger Zinda Hai for an extensive shooting schedule here, we display considerable understanding of this unique format and we look forward to working with this star studded film on a smooth, successful and visually enriching shoot while they are with us. Director Ali Abbas Zafar said, A film like Tiger Zinda Hai requires a certain scale, which we found in Abu Dhabi. Keeping all the practical measures in mind, the kind of support we got from twofour54 on the infrastructure was phenomenal. That along with some stunning real locations makes shooting in Abu Dhabi special. Talking about the next schedule, Salman shared, Tiger Zinda Hai is a film of sizeable scale and context. Abu Dhabi, with a variety of locations, and gracious hosts, is ideal to shoot for a film like this one. I hope that the entire unit will enjoy our time here. Katrina Kaif who will also be seen opposite Salman said that Tiger Zinda Hai, shifts to different locations across the globe and Abu Dhabi fits in perfectly with our story. Additionally, it provides all the comforts and conveniences that a film unit needs. I look forward to shooting in eye-catching locations and on the impressive set here.
A Sharadhaa By

Express News Service

When filmmaker Prem helms a project, he makes sure that it is anything but ordinary. The director of The Villain is scouting far and wide to get the best of the best for his film. Keeping with that spirit, he has now managed to bring in B-Towns Dada, Mithun Chakraborty, to Sandalwood.

A still from the film

This will mark the 350 films-old-actors Sandalwood debut. Though the filmmakers are tightlipped about casting, our source tells us that that the B-Town legend will be shooting with Sudeep.

The actor will be joining the sets of The Villain at Belagavi from next week, and later, the team will be leaving for London on May 20. However, there is no confirmation if he will be part of the London shoot, our source adds.

For Mithun, who has been on a long break, The Villain will be a comeback film. With Shivarajkumar and Sudeep in the lead, Mithuns debut in the film has us wondering about what role hell play, or whether hell be shooting with Shivarajkumar.

Sruthi Hariharan and Telugu actor Srikanth are part of the ensemble cast, but the team is still looking for a heroine. Made under Tanvi Films, The Villain is produced by CR Mohar with Arjun Janyas music.

When filmmaker Prem helms a project, he makes sure that it is anything but ordinary. The director of The Villain is scouting far and wide to get the best of the best for his film. Keeping with that spirit, he has now managed to bring in B-Towns Dada, Mithun Chakraborty, to Sandalwood. A still from the filmThis will mark the 350 films-old-actors Sandalwood debut. Though the filmmakers are tightlipped about casting, our source tells us that that the B-Town legend will be shooting with Sudeep. The actor will be joining the sets of The Villain at Belagavi from next week, and later, the team will be leaving for London on May 20. However, there is no confirmation if he will be part of the London shoot, our source adds. For Mithun, who has been on a long break, The Villain will be a comeback film. With Shivarajkumar and Sudeep in the lead, Mithuns debut in the film has us wondering about what role hell play, or whether hell be shooting with Shivarajkumar. Sruthi Hariharan and Telugu actor Srikanth are part of the ensemble cast, but the team is still looking for a heroine. Made under Tanvi Films, The Villain is produced by CR Mohar with Arjun Janyas music.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Indian army today lodged a strong protest with the Pakistani military over the beheading of its two soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a "dastardly and inhuman" act which merited "unequivocal condemnation and response".

The savage incident along the Line of Control on the Indian side also set off a spat between parties across the political divide.

India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and expressed "grave concern" over the beheading of two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

"The DGMO of the Indian army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the army said in a statement.

The DGMO also conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire" support was provided by their army post located in the vicinity of the place where Indian soldiers were decapitated.

The army said the DGMO communicated India's concerns over the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps close to the LoC in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

The Indian army has already vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act". The Pakistani army establishment has denied its involvement in the attack.

A day after the incident triggered outrage, Congress mounted a scathing assault on the Modi government, asking it to "take off the bangles" and avenge the killing of Indian security personnel. Bangles are considered a sign of femininity.

Also Read: Army, BSF bids farewell to soldiers slain in Pakistan attack at Poonch

"It is unfortunate that prime minister and the government do not have any policy on national security...We urge this government to take off its bangles and do something," Sibal said in New Delhi.

He also attacked the government over the additional charge of defence ministry to finance minister Arun Jaitley, saying there cannot be an effective defence policy without a full-time minister.

After India's DGMO's tough talk about a "response" to the brazen slaughter of two soldiers, union minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Pakistan and "rogue" state and spoke of reprisal.

Responding to the opposition's comments questioning the political will of the government to take military action against Pakistan, Naidu said, "There is will, there is kill."

"We are very firm, we will do whatever is possible, and the government is already at it, and you will hear about it," Naidu told journalists in Bengaluru.

"It (the act of mutilation) is condemnable ...it is not right to make public statements on what the response should be... the defence minister has made a statement. You will get the information with confirmation on what the result will be," he said.

"You will see that the government of India will take appropriate action," Naidu said.

Senior Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony said while just one incident of beheading of an Indian soldier was reported under the party-led UPA dispensations, while three such incidents occurred with Modi at the helm.

The government came under fire also from its old saffron ally Shiv Sena, with its senior leader and Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "sit up and think".

"After one surgical strike by us, they (Pakistan) have killed our soldiers ten times more. The prime minister should sit up and think how to avenge it," he said in Mumbai.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted the sacrifice made by the fallen soldiers would not go in vain. "The army has vowed to take effective action....we should trust our security forces."

Amid the political wrangling, Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vora met home minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the situation obtaining in the restive valley as also along the LoC.

Apart from issues like infiltration from across the border, the activities of separatists and violent protests by students, the situation along the LoC after the killing of two soldiers was also discussed.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was among the slain soldiers, were consigned to flames at his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran.

The 42-year-old soldier, who belonged to the army's 22 Sikh Infantry, was shot and beheaded by Pakistani troops along with Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF's 200th Battalion.

NEW DELHI: The Indian army today lodged a strong protest with the Pakistani military over the beheading of its two soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a "dastardly and inhuman" act which merited "unequivocal condemnation and response". The savage incident along the Line of Control on the Indian side also set off a spat between parties across the political divide. India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and expressed "grave concern" over the beheading of two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. "The DGMO of the Indian army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the army said in a statement. The DGMO also conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire" support was provided by their army post located in the vicinity of the place where Indian soldiers were decapitated. The army said the DGMO communicated India's concerns over the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps close to the LoC in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The Indian army has already vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act". The Pakistani army establishment has denied its involvement in the attack. A day after the incident triggered outrage, Congress mounted a scathing assault on the Modi government, asking it to "take off the bangles" and avenge the killing of Indian security personnel. Bangles are considered a sign of femininity. Also Read: Army, BSF bids farewell to soldiers slain in Pakistan attack at Poonch "It is unfortunate that prime minister and the government do not have any policy on national security...We urge this government to take off its bangles and do something," Sibal said in New Delhi. He also attacked the government over the additional charge of defence ministry to finance minister Arun Jaitley, saying there cannot be an effective defence policy without a full-time minister. After India's DGMO's tough talk about a "response" to the brazen slaughter of two soldiers, union minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Pakistan and "rogue" state and spoke of reprisal. Responding to the opposition's comments questioning the political will of the government to take military action against Pakistan, Naidu said, "There is will, there is kill." "We are very firm, we will do whatever is possible, and the government is already at it, and you will hear about it," Naidu told journalists in Bengaluru. "It (the act of mutilation) is condemnable ...it is not right to make public statements on what the response should be... the defence minister has made a statement. You will get the information with confirmation on what the result will be," he said. "You will see that the government of India will take appropriate action," Naidu said. Senior Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony said while just one incident of beheading of an Indian soldier was reported under the party-led UPA dispensations, while three such incidents occurred with Modi at the helm. The government came under fire also from its old saffron ally Shiv Sena, with its senior leader and Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "sit up and think". "After one surgical strike by us, they (Pakistan) have killed our soldiers ten times more. The prime minister should sit up and think how to avenge it," he said in Mumbai. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted the sacrifice made by the fallen soldiers would not go in vain. "The army has vowed to take effective action....we should trust our security forces." Amid the political wrangling, Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vora met home minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the situation obtaining in the restive valley as also along the LoC. Apart from issues like infiltration from across the border, the activities of separatists and violent protests by students, the situation along the LoC after the killing of two soldiers was also discussed. Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was among the slain soldiers, were consigned to flames at his native Vainpoin village in Punjab's Tarn Taran. The 42-year-old soldier, who belonged to the army's 22 Sikh Infantry, was shot and beheaded by Pakistani troops along with Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF's 200th Battalion.
Hemant Kumar Rout By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Land attack variant of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully test fired by Indian army on Tuesday.

The Block-III version of the weapon system was tested in steep-dive mode as part of its capability enhancement endeavour. It was fourth successive launch of the Block-III version of the BrahMos land attack cruise missile which has once again stamped its impeccable precision strike capability.

The strike range of the missile was recently enhanced from 290 km to 450 km following the technology upgradation after Indias full membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which removed caps on the range. Defence sources said, the missile was fired from a mobile autonomous launcher in full operational configuration.

All telemetry and tracking stations including naval ships near terminal point confirmed that the mission was successful.

A defencce official associated with the mission said with complex manoeuvers the cruise missile met its mission parameters in a copybook manner. The formidable missile system proved its mettle as it hit the land-based target with desired precision in a top attack configuration, he said. While maiden test of extended range BrahMos was carried out from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast on March 11, Navy had successfully test fired the missile from warship Teg from Bay of Bengal on April 21.

Developed by an Indo-Russian joint venture after the two countries signed an agreement in February 1998, the nine meter long missile can travel at thrice the speed of sound and carry warheads weighing upto 300 kg. Named after Brahmaputra and Moskova rivers, the missile can be fired on three different targets or in a variety of other combinations near simultaneously. The land-based version is also equipped with inertial navigation system and global positioning system.

BrahMos is the only supersonic cruise missile possessing the advanced capability providing an edge to the user with precise hit. Apart from land, the weapon system can also be fired from sea, submarine and air. Indian army is the first army in the World to have a regiment of supersonic cruise missile with advanced capabilities. Photo - BrahMos cruise missile

BHUBANESWAR: Land attack variant of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully test fired by Indian army on Tuesday. The Block-III version of the weapon system was tested in steep-dive mode as part of its capability enhancement endeavour. It was fourth successive launch of the Block-III version of the BrahMos land attack cruise missile which has once again stamped its impeccable precision strike capability. The strike range of the missile was recently enhanced from 290 km to 450 km following the technology upgradation after Indias full membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which removed caps on the range. Defence sources said, the missile was fired from a mobile autonomous launcher in full operational configuration. All telemetry and tracking stations including naval ships near terminal point confirmed that the mission was successful. A defencce official associated with the mission said with complex manoeuvers the cruise missile met its mission parameters in a copybook manner. The formidable missile system proved its mettle as it hit the land-based target with desired precision in a top attack configuration, he said. While maiden test of extended range BrahMos was carried out from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast on March 11, Navy had successfully test fired the missile from warship Teg from Bay of Bengal on April 21. Developed by an Indo-Russian joint venture after the two countries signed an agreement in February 1998, the nine meter long missile can travel at thrice the speed of sound and carry warheads weighing upto 300 kg. Named after Brahmaputra and Moskova rivers, the missile can be fired on three different targets or in a variety of other combinations near simultaneously. The land-based version is also equipped with inertial navigation system and global positioning system. BrahMos is the only supersonic cruise missile possessing the advanced capability providing an edge to the user with precise hit. Apart from land, the weapon system can also be fired from sea, submarine and air. Indian army is the first army in the World to have a regiment of supersonic cruise missile with advanced capabilities. Photo - BrahMos cruise missile
By PTI

JAMMU: After the surprise attack by Pakistani troops yesterday, the Indian Army and the BSF will be revising their Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) on the Line of Control (LoC) to avert such losses, a top security officer said here today.

The Indian security establishment sees a link between the attack, in which two soldiers were beheaded, and the visit by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa to the LoC a day before.

"..I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, there is no doubt about it," BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command Kamal N Choubey said when asked whether there was a link between yesterday's incident and the Pakistan army chief's visit to the area on Sunday.

"Everybody knows it well that this incident (yesterday) took place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army chief," Choubey said while talking to reporters at the BSF Frontier Headquarters here.

An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked whether the SOPs were followed by the troops during the patrolling, the BSF officer said, "SOPs are there and they have followed them. The question is basically the element of surprise. Every such incident which takes place we learn from it".

The ADG said the army and the BSF will be brainstorming together and come up with a revised SOP. "The BSF works under the operational command of the army at the LOC. I assure you, together (the army and the BSF) there will be brainstorming and we will come out with yet more revised SoP so that such incidents can be minimized," ADG said.

The top officer said it was a "very very well coordinated and planned action" by the Pakistani army.

"The firing coming from two Pakistani FDLs (forward defence locations), and simultaneously firing coming from two ambushes and a BAT action in between, is a very well coordinated action," Choubey said.

Giving details of the attack, he said, "A joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector for boundary protection.

"When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (forward defence locations) from Pakistan's side and two ambush, which they had set up, started firing simultaneously. They engaged our jawans in this."

In between this, he said, "the (Pakistani) BAT (Border Action Team), which consists of regular army and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two soldiers while the rest were engaged." He said the patrolling party, which was attacked, consisted of 9 men, out of which 6 belonged to the BSF and three to the army.

Asked whether the Indian patrol party had gone out to defuse land mines, he said, "that is a routine affair on the daily basis as a morning drill."

About alertness of the troops along the LoC, he said it depends on the terrain and two many other things, as to how action takes place and the timing.

"At that time, when there is a burst fire coming from four sides, the first reaction is really to save one self. Because you already have two colleagues getting martyred, the response depends on the situation. The response is proportionate to that situation in such case," he said.

The BSF officer said that troops along the International Border (IB) are very very alert.

"The launching pads (for terrorists intending to infiltrate) are always active and across the IB, they are always active. But we also are very very alert," he said.

The IB is under direct control of the BSF and "so far there has not been a single incident of a successful infiltration," he said.

JAMMU: After the surprise attack by Pakistani troops yesterday, the Indian Army and the BSF will be revising their Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) on the Line of Control (LoC) to avert such losses, a top security officer said here today. The Indian security establishment sees a link between the attack, in which two soldiers were beheaded, and the visit by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa to the LoC a day before. "..I would not like to comment formally on this. But yes, there is no doubt about it," BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command Kamal N Choubey said when asked whether there was a link between yesterday's incident and the Pakistan army chief's visit to the area on Sunday. "Everybody knows it well that this incident (yesterday) took place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan army chief," Choubey said while talking to reporters at the BSF Frontier Headquarters here. An army soldier and a BSF head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated after special forces of Pakistan army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into Indian territory to carry out the ambush in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Asked whether the SOPs were followed by the troops during the patrolling, the BSF officer said, "SOPs are there and they have followed them. The question is basically the element of surprise. Every such incident which takes place we learn from it". The ADG said the army and the BSF will be brainstorming together and come up with a revised SOP. "The BSF works under the operational command of the army at the LOC. I assure you, together (the army and the BSF) there will be brainstorming and we will come out with yet more revised SoP so that such incidents can be minimized," ADG said. The top officer said it was a "very very well coordinated and planned action" by the Pakistani army. "The firing coming from two Pakistani FDLs (forward defence locations), and simultaneously firing coming from two ambushes and a BAT action in between, is a very well coordinated action," Choubey said. Giving details of the attack, he said, "A joint team of the Army and the BSF is deployed in Krishna Ghati sector for boundary protection. "When the team was going for regular line maintenance, two FDL (forward defence locations) from Pakistan's side and two ambush, which they had set up, started firing simultaneously. They engaged our jawans in this." In between this, he said, "the (Pakistani) BAT (Border Action Team), which consists of regular army and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two soldiers while the rest were engaged." He said the patrolling party, which was attacked, consisted of 9 men, out of which 6 belonged to the BSF and three to the army. Asked whether the Indian patrol party had gone out to defuse land mines, he said, "that is a routine affair on the daily basis as a morning drill." About alertness of the troops along the LoC, he said it depends on the terrain and two many other things, as to how action takes place and the timing. "At that time, when there is a burst fire coming from four sides, the first reaction is really to save one self. Because you already have two colleagues getting martyred, the response depends on the situation. The response is proportionate to that situation in such case," he said. The BSF officer said that troops along the International Border (IB) are very very alert. "The launching pads (for terrorists intending to infiltrate) are always active and across the IB, they are always active. But we also are very very alert," he said. The IB is under direct control of the BSF and "so far there has not been a single incident of a successful infiltration," he said.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: In a first for the country, Madhya Pradesh (MP) on Tuesday became the first State to adopt January to December as its fiscal year. MP shelved the decade-old practice of observing it from April to March, which has been followed since the time of the British Raj from 1867.



The earlier window was adopted to coincide with the British financial year. The new decision was taken at the State cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.



This comes a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed the idea of a January-December fiscal year at the governing council meeting of the Niti Ayog in Delhi on April 23.



The cabinet decision was made public by the minister for public relations and government's official spokesperson, Dr Narottam Mishra. He said it would be implemented by presentation of the annual State budget in December, 2017, instead of February-March, 2018.



"Instead of the past practice of budget being presented in March next year, the government will present the budget in December this year only," said Mishra.



India has followed the April-March financial year since 1867 from the time of the British Raj. It was adopted to coincide with the British financial year. Prior to that, Indias financial year was May-April.



The cabinet also cleared the proposal to declare the Narmada river as a living and legal entity, a resolution on which will be passed at the day-long special session of the State Assembly on Wednesday.



Mishra further said all principal secretaries of departments and the chief secretary have been directed by the State government to prepare a two year roadmap for their departments.



The roadmaps execution will be monitored quarterly by the minister in charge of every department, and departments will take a turn to present it every Tuesday.



The government also decided to review all laws which have lost significance in the present era and pave the passage for their replacement with more relevant, newer laws, said Mishra.



"Also every letterhead, diary, poster, banner and State government advertisement will compulsorily bear the photograph of BJP ideologue Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya on his birth centenary year," said Subodh Mishra.



BHOPAL: In a first for the country, Madhya Pradesh (MP) on Tuesday became the first State to adopt January to December as its fiscal year. MP shelved the decade-old practice of observing it from April to March, which has been followed since the time of the British Raj from 1867. The earlier window was adopted to coincide with the British financial year. The new decision was taken at the State cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This comes a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed the idea of a January-December fiscal year at the governing council meeting of the Niti Ayog in Delhi on April 23. The cabinet decision was made public by the minister for public relations and government's official spokesperson, Dr Narottam Mishra. He said it would be implemented by presentation of the annual State budget in December, 2017, instead of February-March, 2018. "Instead of the past practice of budget being presented in March next year, the government will present the budget in December this year only," said Mishra. India has followed the April-March financial year since 1867 from the time of the British Raj. It was adopted to coincide with the British financial year. Prior to that, Indias financial year was May-April. The cabinet also cleared the proposal to declare the Narmada river as a living and legal entity, a resolution on which will be passed at the day-long special session of the State Assembly on Wednesday. Mishra further said all principal secretaries of departments and the chief secretary have been directed by the State government to prepare a two year roadmap for their departments. The roadmaps execution will be monitored quarterly by the minister in charge of every department, and departments will take a turn to present it every Tuesday. The government also decided to review all laws which have lost significance in the present era and pave the passage for their replacement with more relevant, newer laws, said Mishra. "Also every letterhead, diary, poster, banner and State government advertisement will compulsorily bear the photograph of BJP ideologue Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya on his birth centenary year," said Subodh Mishra.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: After being caught red-handed while fleecing customers and then proceeding on a flash strike past Monday midnight, fuel pump dealers in Uttar Pradesh ended their stir on Tuesday after the intervention of the State government.

So far, 26 people, including owners of five petrol pumps, have been arrested since April 27.

The State government, in a stern move, has set up a team of senior officials to undertake extensive checking of petrol pumps across the State to stop short measuring. Also, an Indian Oil manager was suspended on Tuesday for allegedly helping one of the staffers in a petrol pump tamper with the dispensing machine. Issuing the orders, the chief secretary said a team of officials was given the mandate to check all the 6,600 petrol pumps across the State and take action against those found guilty of duping customers.

The DMs of the districts concerned have been directed to send a detailed report over the functioning of the fuel pumps on a daily basis. The team set up by the chief secretary will include the executive magistrate, district supply officer, police officers, inspector of weight and measures department, senior officials of the oil companies along with technical staff. The dispensing machine, if found fitted with the chip, would be sealed and a report would be sent to the Additional District Magistrate (ADM, Food and Civil Supplies) for further action.

Earlier, the petrol pump owners had decided to proceed on a strike after state-wide raids on fuel stations to nab the fraudsters. Following this, there were huge crowds at petrol pumps on?Tuesday morning. In the meantime, a delegation of Lucknow Petroleum Products Dealers Association met the officials concerned to seek an amnesty period for course correction. The officials warned them of strict action if they continued with their unreasonable protest.

The UP STF busted the racket whereby fraudsters were caught manipulating the volume of fuel by fixing dispensing machines.

LUCKNOW: After being caught red-handed while fleecing customers and then proceeding on a flash strike past Monday midnight, fuel pump dealers in Uttar Pradesh ended their stir on Tuesday after the intervention of the State government. So far, 26 people, including owners of five petrol pumps, have been arrested since April 27. The State government, in a stern move, has set up a team of senior officials to undertake extensive checking of petrol pumps across the State to stop short measuring. Also, an Indian Oil manager was suspended on Tuesday for allegedly helping one of the staffers in a petrol pump tamper with the dispensing machine. Issuing the orders, the chief secretary said a team of officials was given the mandate to check all the 6,600 petrol pumps across the State and take action against those found guilty of duping customers. The DMs of the districts concerned have been directed to send a detailed report over the functioning of the fuel pumps on a daily basis. The team set up by the chief secretary will include the executive magistrate, district supply officer, police officers, inspector of weight and measures department, senior officials of the oil companies along with technical staff. The dispensing machine, if found fitted with the chip, would be sealed and a report would be sent to the Additional District Magistrate (ADM, Food and Civil Supplies) for further action. Earlier, the petrol pump owners had decided to proceed on a strike after state-wide raids on fuel stations to nab the fraudsters. Following this, there were huge crowds at petrol pumps on?Tuesday morning. In the meantime, a delegation of Lucknow Petroleum Products Dealers Association met the officials concerned to seek an amnesty period for course correction. The officials warned them of strict action if they continued with their unreasonable protest. The UP STF busted the racket whereby fraudsters were caught manipulating the volume of fuel by fixing dispensing machines.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: The panchayat of Madora village in Mathura district has found a strange way to pull in wrongdoers and put a leash on the crime rate by imposing hefty penalty on the culprits.



The panchayat members have decided to impose Rs 21,000 on girls talking on mobile phones while walking on the street, as they feel it increases the rate of crime against girls, and encourages elopement.



However, instead of cracking down on the criminals, the axe will fall on girls. Not only this, but anyone found indulging in cow slaughter or cow theft would have to shell out Rs 2 lakh, while those found selling liquor would have to cough up Rs 1.11 lakh.



However, the quantum of punishment apart from the penalty would be decided by the entire panchayat. The decision to this effect was announced by former village pradhan Mohd.

Gaffar on Tuesday, who said that the Muslim community here supported chief minister Yogi Adityanaths campaign against cow slaughter.



We, too, respect the cow and will not allow its killing," Gaffar said. Even the provision of reward is also there.



Those who will provide information about cow slaughter or theft will get Rs 51,000, Gaffar said adding that bovine killers would be handed over to police and also be boycotted socially in the village.

In case a person is not in a position to pay off the penalty, the money would be taken by selling off their property, said Gaffar.



Meanwhile, village pradhan Usman said that five committees to control crime were formed in the village and they will report to a high-powered committee which would take the final decision in cases of crime.

If the super committee would fail to control incidents of crime, then police would be informed, said Usman.



Madora was in the news in 2014 when over 2,000 voters here boycotted the Lok Sabha polls due to absence of a road in the village. They alleged that no one had paid any attention to their demands during the last 15 years.

LUCKNOW: The panchayat of Madora village in Mathura district has found a strange way to pull in wrongdoers and put a leash on the crime rate by imposing hefty penalty on the culprits. The panchayat members have decided to impose Rs 21,000 on girls talking on mobile phones while walking on the street, as they feel it increases the rate of crime against girls, and encourages elopement. However, instead of cracking down on the criminals, the axe will fall on girls. Not only this, but anyone found indulging in cow slaughter or cow theft would have to shell out Rs 2 lakh, while those found selling liquor would have to cough up Rs 1.11 lakh. However, the quantum of punishment apart from the penalty would be decided by the entire panchayat. The decision to this effect was announced by former village pradhan Mohd. Gaffar on Tuesday, who said that the Muslim community here supported chief minister Yogi Adityanaths campaign against cow slaughter. We, too, respect the cow and will not allow its killing," Gaffar said. Even the provision of reward is also there. Those who will provide information about cow slaughter or theft will get Rs 51,000, Gaffar said adding that bovine killers would be handed over to police and also be boycotted socially in the village. In case a person is not in a position to pay off the penalty, the money would be taken by selling off their property, said Gaffar. Meanwhile, village pradhan Usman said that five committees to control crime were formed in the village and they will report to a high-powered committee which would take the final decision in cases of crime. If the super committee would fail to control incidents of crime, then police would be informed, said Usman. Madora was in the news in 2014 when over 2,000 voters here boycotted the Lok Sabha polls due to absence of a road in the village. They alleged that no one had paid any attention to their demands during the last 15 years.
M P Nathanael By

The recent attack on the Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh has once again brought to the fore the serious consequences of leaving important forces without top leadership. The post of Director General of CRPF had been vacant for nearly two months. It has taken a toll of 25 deaths of CRPF jawans for the government to be shaken out of its slumber and appoint Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, as the new Director General. Simultaneously, R K Pachnanda, presently the DG of the National Disaster Relief Force was designated to take over as the Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. He is to take over after the present Chief Krishna Choudhary proceeds on superannuation on June 30. Pachnanda had earlier served as Additional Director General in the CRPF Headquarters.

The lackadaisical attitude of powers that be is quite evident from the fact that even three posts of Special Directors General have been vacant for quite sometime. One of these Special DGs is tasked to exclusively oversee the operations against Maoists in the Left Wing Extremist-affected states with Headquarters at Raipur. In the absence of any officer of the rank of Special Director General, the next junior in rankan Additional Director General has been entrusted with the onerous responsibility of heading the three-lakh-strong body, the largest paramilitary force in the world. The malady of appointing officials as heads of forces after considerable delay leads one to suspect the motives of the powers that be.

Last year, the appointment of the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation was delayed by quite a few months until the apex court intervened and directed the government to appoint a director immediately. The motive behind delaying the appointment was quite apparent. The senior-most officer of CBI then, R K Dutta was eased out to join the Ministry of Home Affairs so that the sleuth next in seniority, Rakesh Asthana, an IPS officer of Gujarat cadre could be entrusted with the responsibility. Not much need be said any further.

One should be too naive to believe that the leaders did not have the time to hold the meeting. The leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and the then Chief Justice of India T S Thakur, who were then the members of the selection committee, known for their rectitude, could have sabotaged any motive of the government to appoint a person of their choice and hence the deliberate procrastination.

To top it all, even the defence forces have not been spared from the malady of delayed appointments. Quite contrary to the tradition of announcing the Army Chiefs name at least two months in advance, the rank and file of the Army was left guessing as to who would be their next Chief until about a fortnight before the then Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag was to retire on December 31, 2016.

As expected, two senior Lt. Generals were superseded and Lt. General Bipin Rawat was named the next Army Chief.The delay in announcing the chief had already sent a message that the next head could be anyone and not necessarily the senior most. Mercifully, the Army was not left headless and General Bipin Rawat took over honourably as the chief. The signals were loud and clear. Seniority and merit alone don't count for the top slots.

It was not just one but two Lt. Generals who were overlooked for no tangible reasons. For an officer of that stature, who earned his three-star Generals rank after several filtrations and strict scrutiny by Boards, the top post should have come to the senior most Lt General on a platter by virtue of his seniority. None would grudge a person being lifted to the exalted post merely because his seniority entitles him to it.

Four Lt Generals retired on March 31 this year but their replacements were delayed as proceedings of the promotion board had not been approved for over four months by the concerned authorities.

In the paramilitary forces, the norm is to give additional charge of Director General to the head of any other head of a paramilitary force until a new chief is selected and appointed. Precious time is lost in taking vital decisions as all important policy decisions are put on hold till a regular chief takes over.

When the defence services and the paramilitary forces which play a very important role in guarding our borders and maintaining law and order can be neglected in the appointment of their chiefs, the plight of other important organisations can well be imagined. Timely promotions in the defence services particularly above the rank of Brigadiers and its equivalent in the other services becomes all the more important as they have to perforce retire if they do not pick up the higher rank before a certain age.

The heads of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau too was delayed last year.

As of now, several commissions like the National Minority Commission, the National Commission for Schedule Tribes and the National Commission for Backward Classes are either headless or without the full strength of members.

The National Human Rights Commission functioned without one member for as long as two-and-a-half years. Finally, the member appointed after the intervention of the Supreme Court after considerable delay was a politician, much against the laid down stipulations for appointment of members.

The powers that be need to pay more attention to these important aspects of governance in appointing and promoting senior officers. The political masters have a duty towards the people who have elected them. They have to provide good governance for smooth and efficient functioning of every arm of the government.

M P Nathanael

Inspector General of Police (Retd), CRPF

Email: paulnathanael@hotmail.com

The recent attack on the Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh has once again brought to the fore the serious consequences of leaving important forces without top leadership. The post of Director General of CRPF had been vacant for nearly two months. It has taken a toll of 25 deaths of CRPF jawans for the government to be shaken out of its slumber and appoint Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, as the new Director General. Simultaneously, R K Pachnanda, presently the DG of the National Disaster Relief Force was designated to take over as the Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. He is to take over after the present Chief Krishna Choudhary proceeds on superannuation on June 30. Pachnanda had earlier served as Additional Director General in the CRPF Headquarters. The lackadaisical attitude of powers that be is quite evident from the fact that even three posts of Special Directors General have been vacant for quite sometime. One of these Special DGs is tasked to exclusively oversee the operations against Maoists in the Left Wing Extremist-affected states with Headquarters at Raipur. In the absence of any officer of the rank of Special Director General, the next junior in rankan Additional Director General has been entrusted with the onerous responsibility of heading the three-lakh-strong body, the largest paramilitary force in the world. The malady of appointing officials as heads of forces after considerable delay leads one to suspect the motives of the powers that be. Last year, the appointment of the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation was delayed by quite a few months until the apex court intervened and directed the government to appoint a director immediately. The motive behind delaying the appointment was quite apparent. The senior-most officer of CBI then, R K Dutta was eased out to join the Ministry of Home Affairs so that the sleuth next in seniority, Rakesh Asthana, an IPS officer of Gujarat cadre could be entrusted with the responsibility. Not much need be said any further. One should be too naive to believe that the leaders did not have the time to hold the meeting. The leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and the then Chief Justice of India T S Thakur, who were then the members of the selection committee, known for their rectitude, could have sabotaged any motive of the government to appoint a person of their choice and hence the deliberate procrastination. To top it all, even the defence forces have not been spared from the malady of delayed appointments. Quite contrary to the tradition of announcing the Army Chiefs name at least two months in advance, the rank and file of the Army was left guessing as to who would be their next Chief until about a fortnight before the then Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag was to retire on December 31, 2016. As expected, two senior Lt. Generals were superseded and Lt. General Bipin Rawat was named the next Army Chief.The delay in announcing the chief had already sent a message that the next head could be anyone and not necessarily the senior most. Mercifully, the Army was not left headless and General Bipin Rawat took over honourably as the chief. The signals were loud and clear. Seniority and merit alone don't count for the top slots. It was not just one but two Lt. Generals who were overlooked for no tangible reasons. For an officer of that stature, who earned his three-star Generals rank after several filtrations and strict scrutiny by Boards, the top post should have come to the senior most Lt General on a platter by virtue of his seniority. None would grudge a person being lifted to the exalted post merely because his seniority entitles him to it. Four Lt Generals retired on March 31 this year but their replacements were delayed as proceedings of the promotion board had not been approved for over four months by the concerned authorities. In the paramilitary forces, the norm is to give additional charge of Director General to the head of any other head of a paramilitary force until a new chief is selected and appointed. Precious time is lost in taking vital decisions as all important policy decisions are put on hold till a regular chief takes over. When the defence services and the paramilitary forces which play a very important role in guarding our borders and maintaining law and order can be neglected in the appointment of their chiefs, the plight of other important organisations can well be imagined. Timely promotions in the defence services particularly above the rank of Brigadiers and its equivalent in the other services becomes all the more important as they have to perforce retire if they do not pick up the higher rank before a certain age. The heads of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau too was delayed last year. As of now, several commissions like the National Minority Commission, the National Commission for Schedule Tribes and the National Commission for Backward Classes are either headless or without the full strength of members. The National Human Rights Commission functioned without one member for as long as two-and-a-half years. Finally, the member appointed after the intervention of the Supreme Court after considerable delay was a politician, much against the laid down stipulations for appointment of members. The powers that be need to pay more attention to these important aspects of governance in appointing and promoting senior officers. The political masters have a duty towards the people who have elected them. They have to provide good governance for smooth and efficient functioning of every arm of the government. M P Nathanael Inspector General of Police (Retd), CRPF Email: paulnathanael@hotmail.com
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Women and girls numbering around 6,582 from 20 different States including Kerala, in 16-minutes danced their way into the Guinness Book of World Records by performing the largest ever Thiruvathirakkali, Keralas traditional art form in eastern suburb, Kizhakkambalam here.



The participants created new history in the Guinness book of World Records at Kitex Apparel Park grounds here on Monday. The record attempt was organised by Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, in association with Chavara Cultural Centre and the Parvanendu School of Thiruvathira .



The record for the worlds largest Thiruvathira belongs to Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, said Rishi Nath, adjudicator of Guinness World Records, while handing over the certificate to Sabu Jacob, president and chief coordinator of Twenty20, which rules Kizhakkambalam panchayat.



Iringalakkuda in Thrissur had in 2015 recorded Thiruvathira with 5,211 dancers.



More than setting the world record, we hope this mega event will serve to bring together the people of Kerala and give a much-needed fillip to non- performing arts, said Sabu Jacob.



A group of women were initially trained under Malathy G Menon, founder of Parvanendu School of Thiruvathira. They were in turn delegated to lead smaller groups to train nearly 7,000 women.



Along with 2,500 woman and children from Kerala, a Russian woman and nearly 4,000 woman from 19 different States across India participated. Dissemination is the only way Thiruvathira can flourish as an art form. It can reach greater heights only if more people embrace it, learn and practice it as a part of their daily life, she added.



With no age limit, women aged between 10-75 have performed the dance. Thiruvathira being a traditional art form has deep roots in creating synergies among communities irrespective of caste, creed and culture, said Fr. Roby Kannanchira, director of Chavara Cultural entre.

KOCHI: Women and girls numbering around 6,582 from 20 different States including Kerala, in 16-minutes danced their way into the Guinness Book of World Records by performing the largest ever Thiruvathirakkali, Keralas traditional art form in eastern suburb, Kizhakkambalam here. The participants created new history in the Guinness book of World Records at Kitex Apparel Park grounds here on Monday. The record attempt was organised by Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, in association with Chavara Cultural Centre and the Parvanendu School of Thiruvathira . The record for the worlds largest Thiruvathira belongs to Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam, said Rishi Nath, adjudicator of Guinness World Records, while handing over the certificate to Sabu Jacob, president and chief coordinator of Twenty20, which rules Kizhakkambalam panchayat. Iringalakkuda in Thrissur had in 2015 recorded Thiruvathira with 5,211 dancers. More than setting the world record, we hope this mega event will serve to bring together the people of Kerala and give a much-needed fillip to non- performing arts, said Sabu Jacob. A group of women were initially trained under Malathy G Menon, founder of Parvanendu School of Thiruvathira. They were in turn delegated to lead smaller groups to train nearly 7,000 women. Along with 2,500 woman and children from Kerala, a Russian woman and nearly 4,000 woman from 19 different States across India participated. Dissemination is the only way Thiruvathira can flourish as an art form. It can reach greater heights only if more people embrace it, learn and practice it as a part of their daily life, she added. With no age limit, women aged between 10-75 have performed the dance. Thiruvathira being a traditional art form has deep roots in creating synergies among communities irrespective of caste, creed and culture, said Fr. Roby Kannanchira, director of Chavara Cultural entre.
Vignesh A By

Express News Service

TIRUPUR: Accepting what seemed like an innocuous Facebook friend request ended up in a nightmare for a a 13-year-old girl from Tirupur, as the friendly stranger turned out to be a sexual predator, who ensnared the young teen and raped her. Lured by the 21-year-old youth's sweet-talk, the teenager ran away with him to Chennai and then to Puducherry, where she was sexually abused for two days.

The girl's harrowing tale came to light on April 29 when she reached Tirupur two days after she went missing and narrated her ordeal to her parents. On April 27, the girl's parents lodged a complaint with the Tirupur North police claiming their 13-year-old daughter had gone missing. Even as the sleuths were trying to trace her whereabouts, she returned on her own two days later.

What the girl had to tell about the two days away from home swung the city police into action, leading to the arrest of a 21-year-old youth from Chennai and a 27-year-old man from Puducherry. Police said the girl became friends with Siva (21) on Facebook recently. Over time, Siva talked her into eloping with him and on April 27, he reached Tirupur.

The girl gave her family members the slip and eloped with Siva to Chennai. After a brief stay there, Siva took her to a lodge in neighbouring Puducherry, where he allegedly raped her for two days. Later, Siva sold her gold chain weighing one sovereign, gave her the return fare to Tirupur and vanished. Finding the girl all alone, lodge owner Prabakaran (27) befriended the girl under the guise of helping her reach Tirupur. After realising what had happened, Prabakaran too allegedly sexually abused her.

The girl managed to escape from the lodge and reach Tirupur with the money Siva had left her. After hearing her tale, a team of sleuths traced Siva to Chennai and arrested him on Monday on charges of kidnapping and raping a minor girl. Another team nabbed Prabakaran from his lodge in Puducherry. Both the accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

TIRUPUR: Accepting what seemed like an innocuous Facebook friend request ended up in a nightmare for a a 13-year-old girl from Tirupur, as the friendly stranger turned out to be a sexual predator, who ensnared the young teen and raped her. Lured by the 21-year-old youth's sweet-talk, the teenager ran away with him to Chennai and then to Puducherry, where she was sexually abused for two days. The girl's harrowing tale came to light on April 29 when she reached Tirupur two days after she went missing and narrated her ordeal to her parents. On April 27, the girl's parents lodged a complaint with the Tirupur North police claiming their 13-year-old daughter had gone missing. Even as the sleuths were trying to trace her whereabouts, she returned on her own two days later. What the girl had to tell about the two days away from home swung the city police into action, leading to the arrest of a 21-year-old youth from Chennai and a 27-year-old man from Puducherry. Police said the girl became friends with Siva (21) on Facebook recently. Over time, Siva talked her into eloping with him and on April 27, he reached Tirupur. The girl gave her family members the slip and eloped with Siva to Chennai. After a brief stay there, Siva took her to a lodge in neighbouring Puducherry, where he allegedly raped her for two days. Later, Siva sold her gold chain weighing one sovereign, gave her the return fare to Tirupur and vanished. Finding the girl all alone, lodge owner Prabakaran (27) befriended the girl under the guise of helping her reach Tirupur. After realising what had happened, Prabakaran too allegedly sexually abused her. The girl managed to escape from the lodge and reach Tirupur with the money Siva had left her. After hearing her tale, a team of sleuths traced Siva to Chennai and arrested him on Monday on charges of kidnapping and raping a minor girl. Another team nabbed Prabakaran from his lodge in Puducherry. Both the accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
Karal Marx L By

Express News Service

VILLUPURAM: Mention the word Kanaiyaru in this part of the State and chances are people would start talking about the popular Umbalachery cow, a country breed that can be sourced from that village.

In Kanaiyaru near Ulundurpet, rearing the Umbalachery is the main profession  as many as 60 families are into it with each having over 30 cattle heads. Till a few months ago, business was lucrative. No longer.

The situation has changed from bad to worse with about 20 Umbalacherys and 10 goats dying in the village because of acute drought. Many villagers have not been able to graze their livestock and provide proper fodder or water. Left with little options, quite a few villagers have started migrating to places where relatives have at least drinking water.

The USP of the Umbalachery is withstanding extreme summer, yet it is dying. Informs Devan (48), a local: The Umbalachery cow can withstand extreme climate, which is why it is in high demand. They are usually employed in farm work.Villagers in Kanaiyaru, which has a population of 750 people, rear about 2,000 livestock, including 1,500 cows and 500 goats.

Poongothai (58), another villager, blames the lack of water on the eucalyptus plantation in the nearby forest. This village that is located near the Edaikal forest is well known for its fertile soil. But a decade ago the forest department planted eucalyptus trees on 2,000 acres in the forest. This destroyed the bushes and medicinal plants as eucalyptus sucks up ground water, she points out.

This year due to low rainfall, there is a total absence of vegetation in and around Kanaiyaru, not even grass. Villagers point out that about 100 spotted deer live in the forest nearby and they too are facing water shortage.

They demand that the district administration supplies free fodder for the cattle and also make arrangements for drinking water.

A forest department official requesting anonymity told Express that since the water shortage was anticipated, the department has made arrangements like digging water troughs in forests to supply water to the wild animals. He added that after a discussion with the Ulundurpet revenue officials, necessary steps would be taken to supply water to the villagers and also fodder for livestock.

Umbalachery factoids

Native breed of Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts

Light built and medium sized animals

Bullocks are small, swift and best suited for agricultural operations

The cows are poor milkers

VILLUPURAM: Mention the word Kanaiyaru in this part of the State and chances are people would start talking about the popular Umbalachery cow, a country breed that can be sourced from that village. In Kanaiyaru near Ulundurpet, rearing the Umbalachery is the main profession  as many as 60 families are into it with each having over 30 cattle heads. Till a few months ago, business was lucrative. No longer. The situation has changed from bad to worse with about 20 Umbalacherys and 10 goats dying in the village because of acute drought. Many villagers have not been able to graze their livestock and provide proper fodder or water. Left with little options, quite a few villagers have started migrating to places where relatives have at least drinking water. The USP of the Umbalachery is withstanding extreme summer, yet it is dying. Informs Devan (48), a local: The Umbalachery cow can withstand extreme climate, which is why it is in high demand. They are usually employed in farm work.Villagers in Kanaiyaru, which has a population of 750 people, rear about 2,000 livestock, including 1,500 cows and 500 goats. Poongothai (58), another villager, blames the lack of water on the eucalyptus plantation in the nearby forest. This village that is located near the Edaikal forest is well known for its fertile soil. But a decade ago the forest department planted eucalyptus trees on 2,000 acres in the forest. This destroyed the bushes and medicinal plants as eucalyptus sucks up ground water, she points out. This year due to low rainfall, there is a total absence of vegetation in and around Kanaiyaru, not even grass. Villagers point out that about 100 spotted deer live in the forest nearby and they too are facing water shortage. They demand that the district administration supplies free fodder for the cattle and also make arrangements for drinking water. A forest department official requesting anonymity told Express that since the water shortage was anticipated, the department has made arrangements like digging water troughs in forests to supply water to the wild animals. He added that after a discussion with the Ulundurpet revenue officials, necessary steps would be taken to supply water to the villagers and also fodder for livestock. Umbalachery factoids Native breed of Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts Light built and medium sized animals Bullocks are small, swift and best suited for agricultural operations The cows are poor milkers
By Express News Service

WARANGAL: Taking strong exception to AICC general secretary and partys Telangana unit in-charge Digvijaya Singhs comment that Telangana police has set up a bogus ISIS site which is radicalising Muslim youths and encouraging them to become ISIS modules, district TRS leaders burnt Singh in effigy and demanded him to withdraw his comment.

Warangal West TRS MLA Vinay Bhaskar along with other party leaders burnt Digvijaya in effigies at Kakatiya University circle on Monday and raised anti-Digvijaya slogans.

Later speaking to media, Vinay said the Congress leader crossed all his limits by commenting on states police force.

How can a person who was the Chief Minister twice accuse a police force of involving in anti-national activities? He has completely lost his mind. We want the government to take action against him, he said.

Vinay alleged that Digvijaya was doing this drama for publicity. He has stooped to such a level for creating a sensation; he is trying to make a respectable force anti- national, he alleged.

MLA lodges complaint against Digi for making derogatory comment

Hours after the Congress Party senior leader Digvijaya Singhs remarked on Telangana police by tweeting that Telangana had set up an ISIS site, TRS party MLA Maganti Gopinath lodged a complaint with the Jubilee Hills police seeking action against Singh.

In his complaint, Gopinath said Digvijaya made derogatory remarks against the state police by tweeting a post  The issue is whether Telangana Police should be trapping Muslim Youths in becoming ISIS modules by posting inflammatory information?

The remarks made by Digvijaya abused state police who brought reforms in the police department and made the city and state crime free. These remarks are a violation of the law and should be punished by registering criminal cases, the MLA said. The police will seek a legal opinion on the case before taking any action.

WARANGAL: Taking strong exception to AICC general secretary and partys Telangana unit in-charge Digvijaya Singhs comment that Telangana police has set up a bogus ISIS site which is radicalising Muslim youths and encouraging them to become ISIS modules, district TRS leaders burnt Singh in effigy and demanded him to withdraw his comment. Warangal West TRS MLA Vinay Bhaskar along with other party leaders burnt Digvijaya in effigies at Kakatiya University circle on Monday and raised anti-Digvijaya slogans. Later speaking to media, Vinay said the Congress leader crossed all his limits by commenting on states police force. How can a person who was the Chief Minister twice accuse a police force of involving in anti-national activities? He has completely lost his mind. We want the government to take action against him, he said. Vinay alleged that Digvijaya was doing this drama for publicity. He has stooped to such a level for creating a sensation; he is trying to make a respectable force anti- national, he alleged. MLA lodges complaint against Digi for making derogatory comment Hours after the Congress Party senior leader Digvijaya Singhs remarked on Telangana police by tweeting that Telangana had set up an ISIS site, TRS party MLA Maganti Gopinath lodged a complaint with the Jubilee Hills police seeking action against Singh. In his complaint, Gopinath said Digvijaya made derogatory remarks against the state police by tweeting a post  The issue is whether Telangana Police should be trapping Muslim Youths in becoming ISIS modules by posting inflammatory information? The remarks made by Digvijaya abused state police who brought reforms in the police department and made the city and state crime free. These remarks are a violation of the law and should be punished by registering criminal cases, the MLA said. The police will seek a legal opinion on the case before taking any action.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: In a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, one of its employees with a top-secret security clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, according to a media report.

Rogue employee Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter- terrorism authorities on two continents, CNN reported.

Cuspert had praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.

Before travelling to Syria, 38-year-old woman translator lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.

Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

"Greene's saga, which has never been publicised, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBIan agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathisers across the country," the channel said.

It also raises questions about whether Greene received favourable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offence, it added.

"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official.

Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011.

She was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A" identified as Cuspert.

As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.

It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad.

Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show.

"Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.

She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014 and flew on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. From there she travelled to Gaziantep city, close to the Syrian border.

She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him. Shortly after, Greene sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law.

On August 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest.

After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on August 8, 2014.

WASHINGTON: In a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, one of its employees with a top-secret security clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, according to a media report. Rogue employee Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter- terrorism authorities on two continents, CNN reported. Cuspert had praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head. Before travelling to Syria, 38-year-old woman translator lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records. Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities. She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer. "Greene's saga, which has never been publicised, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBIan agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathisers across the country," the channel said. It also raises questions about whether Greene received favourable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offence, it added. "It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official. Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011. She was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A" identified as Cuspert. As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state. It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad. Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show. "Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany. She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014 and flew on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. From there she travelled to Gaziantep city, close to the Syrian border. She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him. Shortly after, Greene sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law. On August 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest. After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on August 8, 2014.
By ANI

NORTH KOREA: North Korea has said it will continue testing nuclear weapons in the face of what it sees as a provocation from the U.S.

On Monday, Pyongyang declared that it was ready to conduct its sixth nuclear test whenever leadership deemed appropriate, as the North Korean capital continues trading shows of force with Washington, the Sputnik reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Friday condemned the ballistic missile launched by North Korea, saying that it has disrespected the wishes of China.

"North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!" Trump tweeted.

Trump has been pressuring China to be more aggressive in its approach to the North Korean issue, though he described Chinese President Xi Jinping as "a fantastic person."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded bluntly to this sentiment at a recent UN Security Council meeting, saying, "The key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side  It is necessary to put aside the debate over who should take the first step and stop arguing who is right and who is wrong."

Wang added, "Now is the time to seriously consider resuming talks."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who chaired the meeting, flatly rebuffed these remarks, saying the US "will not negotiate our way back to the negotiating table with North Korea, we will not reward their violations of past resolutions, we will not reward their bad behavior with talks."

NORTH KOREA: North Korea has said it will continue testing nuclear weapons in the face of what it sees as a provocation from the U.S. On Monday, Pyongyang declared that it was ready to conduct its sixth nuclear test whenever leadership deemed appropriate, as the North Korean capital continues trading shows of force with Washington, the Sputnik reported. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Friday condemned the ballistic missile launched by North Korea, saying that it has disrespected the wishes of China. "North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!" Trump tweeted. Trump has been pressuring China to be more aggressive in its approach to the North Korean issue, though he described Chinese President Xi Jinping as "a fantastic person." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded bluntly to this sentiment at a recent UN Security Council meeting, saying, "The key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side  It is necessary to put aside the debate over who should take the first step and stop arguing who is right and who is wrong." Wang added, "Now is the time to seriously consider resuming talks." U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who chaired the meeting, flatly rebuffed these remarks, saying the US "will not negotiate our way back to the negotiating table with North Korea, we will not reward their violations of past resolutions, we will not reward their bad behavior with talks."
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: At least three Taliban militants were killed and several others injured in a clash with forces when the insurgents sneaked across the border from Afghanistan and targeted two Pakistan Army border posts, army said today.

The militants targeted the army border posts in South Waziristan tribal district, where the military has been conducting operations to flush out militants from the area.

"Pakistan Army troops valiantly repulsed terrorist attack. Three terrorists (were) killed and a number of others were injured during intense exchange of fire," the army said.

Taliban has claimed the responsibility for the attack which they said was to avenge a suspected US drone strike in neighbouring North Waziristan last week.

The rebels said that about 120 fighters took part in the raid, which went on for several hours.

Pakistan has been accusing Afghanistan of sheltering the Taliban militants who launch cross border raids and also sent suicide bombers to target civilians, charges denied by Kabul.

The Taliban fled to Afghanistan from the tribal areas along the border after a massive operation was launched in June 2014 by Pakistan Army.

ISLAMABAD: At least three Taliban militants were killed and several others injured in a clash with forces when the insurgents sneaked across the border from Afghanistan and targeted two Pakistan Army border posts, army said today. The militants targeted the army border posts in South Waziristan tribal district, where the military has been conducting operations to flush out militants from the area. "Pakistan Army troops valiantly repulsed terrorist attack. Three terrorists (were) killed and a number of others were injured during intense exchange of fire," the army said. Taliban has claimed the responsibility for the attack which they said was to avenge a suspected US drone strike in neighbouring North Waziristan last week. The rebels said that about 120 fighters took part in the raid, which went on for several hours. Pakistan has been accusing Afghanistan of sheltering the Taliban militants who launch cross border raids and also sent suicide bombers to target civilians, charges denied by Kabul. The Taliban fled to Afghanistan from the tribal areas along the border after a massive operation was launched in June 2014 by Pakistan Army.
By Associated Press

CAIRO: Accounts from witnesses and survivors cast doubt on American suggestions that the Islamic State group was to blame for the deaths of more than 100 people taking refuge in a house hit by a U.S. airstrike earlier this year in Mosul, the deadliest single incident of the months-long campaign to retake the Iraqi city.

U.S. officials said soon after the March 17 strike that investigations could find that militants forced people into the building, booby-trapped it with explosives, then lured in the strike.

None of that happened, according to seven witnesses and survivors who spoke to The Associated Press.

Instead, they described a horrifying battlefield where airstrikes and artillery pound neighborhoods relentlessly, trying to root out IS militants, leveling hundreds of buildings, many with civilians inside, despite the constant flight of surveillance drones overhead. Displaced families scurry from house to house, most of them driven out of their homes in other neighborhoods by IS militants, who herd residents at gunpoint out of districts about to fall to Iraqi forces and push them into IS-held areas.

Their accounts underscore how increased use of bombardment has made the fight for Mosul's western sector, which began in mid-February, dramatically more destructive than its eastern half.

More than 1,590 residential buildings have been destroyed in western Mosul, based on analysis of satellite imagery and information from local researchers, the U.N. said last week. Airstrikes killed 1,117 people in western Mosul in March and April alone, according to Iraq Body Count, an independent group that documents casualties in the war, cross-checking media reports with information from hospitals, officials and other sources.

In comparison, an estimated 1,600 civilians were killed or wounded from all causes during the 100-day campaign to recapture Mosul's less densely populated eastern half, which ended in mid-January. Official figures from the Pentagon, which is slower in confirming deaths, are far lower: it said over the weekend that it has confirmed that coalition airstrikes killed at least 352 civilians in Iraq and Syria combined since the campaign against IS started in 2014.

The witnesses all told the AP that no one was forced into the building that was destroyed on March 17. It was seen as safe because it was not on a main road and was only two stories tall, making it unlikely to be used by IS militants as a sniper's position that might be hit by an airstrike. Its owner, Tayseer Abu Tawfiq, was a respected local businessman who let anyone in need stay with his own family of 14.

U.S. Central Command has refused to comment on the strike until its investigation is completed. An Iraqi security official said coalition aircraft were called in when IS fighters were seen moving house to house along rooftops, firing at Iraqi forces. Militants were also in the streets nearby, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.

Ali Zanoun was one of only two people in the house to survive the airstrike. Trapped in the rubble for five days, he drank from a bottle of nose drops, his only source of water.

Buried around him were the bodies of more than 20 family members, including his two wives, Luma and Nadia, three sons and four daughters, one of whom gave birth only two days earlier to an infant, who also died.

He and his family ended up in the house after IS militants drove them out of their homes in the nearby Ammel district before it fell to Iraqi troops. For a week, they bounced from house to house.

Finally Zanoun and one of his brothers ended up at Abu Tawfiq's house, because they heard he was "a humane person," the 50-year-old said from his hospital bed in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

It was small, only 200 square meters (2,200 square feet). The women crowded into the basement, while the men stayed in the two floors above.

Zanoun said he saw IS fighters in the streets in the days before the airstrike, and one day he saw a sniper on a roof about 300 meters (yards) away. But when asked if fighters ever entered Abu Tawfiq's house or used it to fire from, he said: "Never."

Another man, who gave only his first name, Khaled, to protect relatives still living in IS-held areas, ended up at the house after IS militants forced him out of his home at gunpoint. He stayed there for two days but left on the afternoon of March 16 because it was too crowded  around a dozen families "and more coming," he said. His brother remained at the house along with his 12-member family.

He angrily dismissed the idea that IS booby-trapped the house. "Liars! Is it logical that I would stay in a house with explosives?" he asked. "Daesh didn't enter the house," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Abdullah Khalil Ibrahim, whose house is next door and was severely damaged in the strike, spoke to Abu Tawfiq the night before. There were no militants in his neighbor's home, Ibrahim said, adding that he told Abu Tawfiq it wasn't safe having so many people in one place. "I can't turn people away," Abu Tawfiq replied.

The next morning, the strike hit as Ibrahim and his wife were about to have breakfast. He heard a jet flying low, then the walls and ceiling collapsed from the impact. Under the wreckage, he hugged his 2-year-old son close as a fire raged.

Ibrahim survived along with his wife and son, though Ibrahim's leg had to be amputated. A five-member family staying at their home was killed.

During his days under that rubble, Zanoun said he heard people and fighters outside, along with the sound of gunbattles and more airstrikes. He would call for help, and sometimes someone would shout that they would bring water, but no one ever did.

Finally, his brothers dug him out. He was rushed to Irbil and underwent multiple surgeries. It was only later that they told him about his family. He began to scream his children's names.

"My entire family is gone," Zanoun said. "They melted. Not even a fingernail or a little bone found."

CAIRO: Accounts from witnesses and survivors cast doubt on American suggestions that the Islamic State group was to blame for the deaths of more than 100 people taking refuge in a house hit by a U.S. airstrike earlier this year in Mosul, the deadliest single incident of the months-long campaign to retake the Iraqi city. U.S. officials said soon after the March 17 strike that investigations could find that militants forced people into the building, booby-trapped it with explosives, then lured in the strike. None of that happened, according to seven witnesses and survivors who spoke to The Associated Press. Instead, they described a horrifying battlefield where airstrikes and artillery pound neighborhoods relentlessly, trying to root out IS militants, leveling hundreds of buildings, many with civilians inside, despite the constant flight of surveillance drones overhead. Displaced families scurry from house to house, most of them driven out of their homes in other neighborhoods by IS militants, who herd residents at gunpoint out of districts about to fall to Iraqi forces and push them into IS-held areas. Their accounts underscore how increased use of bombardment has made the fight for Mosul's western sector, which began in mid-February, dramatically more destructive than its eastern half. More than 1,590 residential buildings have been destroyed in western Mosul, based on analysis of satellite imagery and information from local researchers, the U.N. said last week. Airstrikes killed 1,117 people in western Mosul in March and April alone, according to Iraq Body Count, an independent group that documents casualties in the war, cross-checking media reports with information from hospitals, officials and other sources. In comparison, an estimated 1,600 civilians were killed or wounded from all causes during the 100-day campaign to recapture Mosul's less densely populated eastern half, which ended in mid-January. Official figures from the Pentagon, which is slower in confirming deaths, are far lower: it said over the weekend that it has confirmed that coalition airstrikes killed at least 352 civilians in Iraq and Syria combined since the campaign against IS started in 2014. The witnesses all told the AP that no one was forced into the building that was destroyed on March 17. It was seen as safe because it was not on a main road and was only two stories tall, making it unlikely to be used by IS militants as a sniper's position that might be hit by an airstrike. Its owner, Tayseer Abu Tawfiq, was a respected local businessman who let anyone in need stay with his own family of 14. U.S. Central Command has refused to comment on the strike until its investigation is completed. An Iraqi security official said coalition aircraft were called in when IS fighters were seen moving house to house along rooftops, firing at Iraqi forces. Militants were also in the streets nearby, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. Ali Zanoun was one of only two people in the house to survive the airstrike. Trapped in the rubble for five days, he drank from a bottle of nose drops, his only source of water. Buried around him were the bodies of more than 20 family members, including his two wives, Luma and Nadia, three sons and four daughters, one of whom gave birth only two days earlier to an infant, who also died. He and his family ended up in the house after IS militants drove them out of their homes in the nearby Ammel district before it fell to Iraqi troops. For a week, they bounced from house to house. Finally Zanoun and one of his brothers ended up at Abu Tawfiq's house, because they heard he was "a humane person," the 50-year-old said from his hospital bed in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. It was small, only 200 square meters (2,200 square feet). The women crowded into the basement, while the men stayed in the two floors above. Zanoun said he saw IS fighters in the streets in the days before the airstrike, and one day he saw a sniper on a roof about 300 meters (yards) away. But when asked if fighters ever entered Abu Tawfiq's house or used it to fire from, he said: "Never." Another man, who gave only his first name, Khaled, to protect relatives still living in IS-held areas, ended up at the house after IS militants forced him out of his home at gunpoint. He stayed there for two days but left on the afternoon of March 16 because it was too crowded  around a dozen families "and more coming," he said. His brother remained at the house along with his 12-member family. He angrily dismissed the idea that IS booby-trapped the house. "Liars! Is it logical that I would stay in a house with explosives?" he asked. "Daesh didn't enter the house," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. Abdullah Khalil Ibrahim, whose house is next door and was severely damaged in the strike, spoke to Abu Tawfiq the night before. There were no militants in his neighbor's home, Ibrahim said, adding that he told Abu Tawfiq it wasn't safe having so many people in one place. "I can't turn people away," Abu Tawfiq replied. The next morning, the strike hit as Ibrahim and his wife were about to have breakfast. He heard a jet flying low, then the walls and ceiling collapsed from the impact. Under the wreckage, he hugged his 2-year-old son close as a fire raged. Ibrahim survived along with his wife and son, though Ibrahim's leg had to be amputated. A five-member family staying at their home was killed. During his days under that rubble, Zanoun said he heard people and fighters outside, along with the sound of gunbattles and more airstrikes. He would call for help, and sometimes someone would shout that they would bring water, but no one ever did. Finally, his brothers dug him out. He was rushed to Irbil and underwent multiple surgeries. It was only later that they told him about his family. He began to scream his children's names. "My entire family is gone," Zanoun said. "They melted. Not even a fingernail or a little bone found."
By AFP

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions, dialing back threats of military action against the regime Monday.

As Pyongyang threatens to carry out a sixth nuclear test that would further enflame tensions on the Korean peninsula, Trump appeared to offer the prospect of a diplomatic off-ramp.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him I would, absolutely. I would be honored to do it," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg.

"If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that," Trump said.

In recent weeks Trump has threatened and berated the regime, fearing it may be months away from marrying nuclear and long range missile technology --- making a strike against the western United States possible.

Trump's main gambit has been to encourage China to use its leverage to pressure Pyongyang -- a strategy that has failed to produce results in the past.

The Republican president has also said he is ready to act alone in the stand-off, however -- and on Monday signaled that this could involve face-to-face talks with Kim, who has yet to meet a foreign leader since taking power.

In the latest rhetoric to fuel jitters across the region, North Korea warned Monday that it was prepared to carry out a nuclear test "at any time and at any location" set by its leadership.

The regime will continue bolstering its "preemptive nuclear attack" capabilities unless Washington scraps its hostile policies, a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency.

"The DPRK's measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership," the spokesman added, apparently referring to a sixth nuclear test and using the North's official name, the Democratic Republic of Korea.

CIA director in South Korea

The North has carried out five nuclear tests in the last 11 years and is widely believed to be making progress toward its dream of building a missile capable of delivering a warhead to the continental United States.

It raises the tone of its warnings every spring, when Washington and Seoul carry out joint exercises it condemns as rehearsals for invasion. But this time fears of conflict have been fueled by a cycle of threats from both sides.

The joint drills have just ended, but naval exercises are continuing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea on Monday, the US embassy in Seoul confirmed, following reports of an unannounced visit as tensions mount on the peninsula.

Pompeo's visit coincided with news that the controversial US missile defense system known as THAAD -- whose deployment has angered China -- is now operational in South Korea.

"It has reached initial intercept capability," a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

'A pretty smart cookie'

Seoul regularly warns that Pyongyang can carry out a test whenever it decides to do so.

Pyongyang's latest attempted show of force was a failed missile test on Saturday that came just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed the UN Security Council to raise pressure on the North.

Trump on Sunday repeated his determination to resolve the threat posed by North Korea, warning in a CBS interview: "We cannot let what's been going on for a long period of years continue."

But the US leader also offered some backhanded praise for Kim, saying he had faced a formidable challenge in taking over the country at a reported age of 27 after his father's death in 2011.

"He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power," Trump said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," he said.

That comment left the White House struggling to downplay Trump's apparent admiration.

"His point was he assumed power at a young age when his father passed away and there's a lot of potential threats that could have come his way and he's obviously managed to lead a country forward, said Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions, dialing back threats of military action against the regime Monday. As Pyongyang threatens to carry out a sixth nuclear test that would further enflame tensions on the Korean peninsula, Trump appeared to offer the prospect of a diplomatic off-ramp. "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him I would, absolutely. I would be honored to do it," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg. "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that," Trump said. In recent weeks Trump has threatened and berated the regime, fearing it may be months away from marrying nuclear and long range missile technology --- making a strike against the western United States possible. Trump's main gambit has been to encourage China to use its leverage to pressure Pyongyang -- a strategy that has failed to produce results in the past. The Republican president has also said he is ready to act alone in the stand-off, however -- and on Monday signaled that this could involve face-to-face talks with Kim, who has yet to meet a foreign leader since taking power. In the latest rhetoric to fuel jitters across the region, North Korea warned Monday that it was prepared to carry out a nuclear test "at any time and at any location" set by its leadership. The regime will continue bolstering its "preemptive nuclear attack" capabilities unless Washington scraps its hostile policies, a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency. "The DPRK's measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership," the spokesman added, apparently referring to a sixth nuclear test and using the North's official name, the Democratic Republic of Korea. CIA director in South Korea The North has carried out five nuclear tests in the last 11 years and is widely believed to be making progress toward its dream of building a missile capable of delivering a warhead to the continental United States. It raises the tone of its warnings every spring, when Washington and Seoul carry out joint exercises it condemns as rehearsals for invasion. But this time fears of conflict have been fueled by a cycle of threats from both sides. The joint drills have just ended, but naval exercises are continuing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea on Monday, the US embassy in Seoul confirmed, following reports of an unannounced visit as tensions mount on the peninsula. Pompeo's visit coincided with news that the controversial US missile defense system known as THAAD -- whose deployment has angered China -- is now operational in South Korea. "It has reached initial intercept capability," a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity. 'A pretty smart cookie' Seoul regularly warns that Pyongyang can carry out a test whenever it decides to do so. Pyongyang's latest attempted show of force was a failed missile test on Saturday that came just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed the UN Security Council to raise pressure on the North. Trump on Sunday repeated his determination to resolve the threat posed by North Korea, warning in a CBS interview: "We cannot let what's been going on for a long period of years continue." But the US leader also offered some backhanded praise for Kim, saying he had faced a formidable challenge in taking over the country at a reported age of 27 after his father's death in 2011. "He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power," Trump said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," he said. That comment left the White House struggling to downplay Trump's apparent admiration. "His point was he assumed power at a young age when his father passed away and there's a lot of potential threats that could have come his way and he's obviously managed to lead a country forward, said Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
RI Election Day Coverage Recap: Election Results and more

In the Nov. 8 election Rhode Islanders cast their vote for governor, Congressman, and ballot issues. Here's everything you need to know.
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Tim Mitchell is a reporter at The News-Gazette. His email is tmitchel@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mitchell6).
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Marlin 'the boss now' after being sworn in as mayor of Urbana
Robot offers optimal precision, smaller incisions and more rapid recovery for patients.

Medical City Dallas orthopedic surgeon, Charles Rutherford, MD, performed the first robotic-assisted total knee surgery on a MAKOplasty robot in Dallas on April 25. Medical City Dallas is the first hospital in Dallas to offer this procedure on the leading-edge MAKOplasty robot.

This innovative technology is advancing the treatment of severe arthritis by allowing surgeons to be more precise during surgery. By combining the accuracy of computer design with robotic capabilities, this knee replacement can now function more like a normal knee.

Fifty-two million adults are currently affected by arthritis, making it the leading cause of disability in the United States. The Center for Disease Control estimates that by 2040, 78 million, or 25% of the U.S. adult population, will be affected. Charles Rutherford, MD, Medical Director, Medical City Joint Restoration Institute and Orthopedic Robotic Program.

The MAKO robot offers greater accuracy for surgeons and a more customized approach for minimally invasive total knee replacement surgeries. This technology increases the longevity of knee replacement implants through patented technology that provides wear and oxidation resistance and mechanical strength. Patient outcomes can also result in more natural knee motion and increased stability after surgery.

The Joint Restoration Institute at Medical City Dallas provides innovative, customized treatment using minimally invasive techniques and state-of-the-art technology such as computer-assisted navigation, robotically-assisted total hip replacement, total knee replacement and partial knee resurfacing. Its comprehensive approach to joint care results in faster recovery times and shorter hospital stays.

Patients benefit from collaborative teamwork with families, physicians, therapists, nurses, case managers, social workers and volunteers, and most leave the hospital the day after surgery. The dedicated 12-bed Joint Restoration Unit features state-of-the-art private rooms, a group therapy gym and amenities for families and friends.
The puzzle of how the brain regulates blood flow to prevent it from being flooded and then starved every time the heart beats has been solved with the help of engineering.

Anyone who has felt the pulse in their own neck will have a sense of the sudden rush of blood that is pumped to their brain with each heartbeat.

As the heart contracts, a surge of blood flows through the arteries into the head and then as the heart expands, the blood levels drop again.

The human brain, however, requires a steady stream of blood to ensure it gets the constant supply of oxygen it needs to work properly.

Too much blood can cause the pressure in your head to increase and so damage delicate brain tissue, while too little blood will cause it to starve.

Exactly how the body manages to keep the blood flow in the brain so tightly controlled during the ups and downs of the cardiac cycle has remained largely a mystery.

But now researchers at Leeds Beckett University, the University of Bradford and the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in Milan have helped to unravel what may be going on inside our heads.

Their findings provide new insights into the workings of the brain, which may be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions such as vascular dementia and normal pressure hydrocephalus.

In a new study, published in the journal Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, they found blood appears to be stored in the blood vessels in the space between the brain and skull.

When the heart pumps blood into the cranium, only a fraction of it flows into the capillaries that infuse the brain. The arteries in the cranium expand to store the excess blood.

This expansion of the arteries also pushes out fluid that surrounds the brain - known as cerebrospinal fluid - into the spinal column.

Then, when the heart relaxes, there is a sudden drop in the pressure pushing blood through the arteries, so they contract and the blood they held is pushed into the brain's capillaries.

This forces used blood out of the brain into the veins between it and the skull. These cerebral veins expand to store this blood as it leaves the brain.

The amount of blood stored in the cerebral veins, however, is less than the blood stored in the arteries, so cerebrospinal fluid flows back into the cranium from the spine.

Increasing pressure then causes the veins to discharge the blood they hold back towards the heart before the cycle starts again.

The researchers found this storing of blood by the veins leading out of the brain appears to play an important role in regulating the behavior of the whole system.

Clive Beggs, Professor of Applied Physiology at Leeds Beckett University, said: "How the intracranial arterial, venous and cerebrospinal fluid volumes interact with each other has been something of a mystery. In this study, we have been able to describe, for the first time, the interactions that take place in the whole fluid system within the cranium over the cardiac cycle.

"This is crucially important for understanding many diseases of the brain, especially those that occur with aging."

The researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to scan the necks of 12 healthy young adults, allowing them to monitor the flow of blood through their arteries and veins, and of cerebrospinal fluid into their spines. The scans were performed at Don Gnocchi Foundation in Milan.

They then used a series of algorithms developed by Professor Beggs and his colleague Simon Shepherd, Professor of Computational Mathematics at the University of Bradford, to model the changes in different fluid volumes inside each volunteers' skulls.

The study showed that when the blood volume stored in the cranial arteries reached its peak, the volumes of blood in the veins and cerebrospinal fluid in the cranium were at their lowest.

Then as the arterial volume decreased, so the volumes of venous blood and cerebrospinal fluid in the cranium increased.

Crucially, the study shows that the flow of blood in the veins leading out of the cranium is closely linked to the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in and out of the brain's ventricles - cavities in the center of the brain. In diseases such as normal pressure hydrocephalus these ventricles become enlarged.

This suggests that if, for any reason, the flow of blood in the veins leading out of the cranium becomes restricted, this will inhibit the ability of the intracranial system to absorb the changes caused by the cardiac cycle.

This would result in the blood flow through the brain capillaries becoming more pulsatile.

While the implications of this are not fully understood, increased levels of pulse in the brain's capillaries are thought to be associated with vascular dementia in the elderly.

The researchers hope the method they used to determine the changes in brain fluid volume could be useful to neurologists looking to study patients with brain disease.

Dr. Marcella Lagana, researcher at Don Gnocchi Foundation in Milan, where the MRI scans were performed, said "The innovative model can be translated into the clinical practice in further studies on subjects with different kinds of neurological disease."

In the future, the team hopes to compare the results from the healthy adults with those from patients suffering from a variety of neurological diseases to see if brain fluid changes play a role in these respective conditions.

Professor Beggs said: "Abnormal fluid behavior in the cranium may be associated with a whole range of neurological conditions and may also be related to aging.

"As you get older, the flexibility of blood vessels decreases, so more of the pulse may reach into the brain through the vascular bed and over time this could lead to problems.

"The work we have done may help lay the groundwork for new ways to diagnose these problems."

Professor Shepherd added: "Aside from the significant advance in understanding the specific mechanics of cerebral fluid flow, the other important aspect of this work is the novel transfer of powerful analytic methodologies from the hard sciences such as maths, physics, and engineering, into the world of medicine.

"The opportunities for putting medical theories on a much firmer theoretical footing, underpinned by hard science, is very important for establishing the credibility and acceptance of these ideas."

Source: Leeds Beckett University
In perhaps the largest national suicide intervention trial ever conducted, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Brown University found that phone calls to suicidal patients following discharge from Emergency Departments led to a 30 percent reduction in future suicide attempts.

The study was published recently in JAMA Psychiatry.

The year-long trial, which involved 1,376 patients in eight locations nationwide, provided suicidal patients with interventions that included specialized screening, safety planning guidance and follow-up telephone calls.

"People who are suicidal are often disconnected and socially isolated," said study co-author Dr. Michael Allen, MD, professor of psychiatry and emergency medicine at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at CU Anschutz. "So any positive contact with the world can make them feel better."

Allen is also medical director of Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners in Denver which has already implemented a similar program where counselors call suicidal patients following their discharge from Emergency Departments (EDs).

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2015, there were 44,193 deaths by suicide nationally. Over one million people attempt to take their own life every year.

Colorado routinely ranks among the top 10 states for suicide with about 1,000 deaths a year. Last year, it was number seven in the country. The state Legislature has set a goal of reducing suicides by 20 percent by 2024.

Allen said simply handing a suicidal patient a psychiatric referral when discharged isn't enough.

"We call them up to seven times to check on them after discharge," he said. "If they aren't there we leave a message and call again. For many, this telephone call is all they get."

The crisis center has worked with 17 of Colorado's 88 EDs and is hoping to increase that number and eventually go statewide.

"We don't need more brick and mortar buildings, we can reduce suicide risk by simply calling people on the phone," Allen said.

His colleague and study collaborator Dr. Emmy Betz agreed.

"Telephone follow-up programs offer a great way to help bridge an ED visit to outpatient mental health care and hopefully save lives," said Betz, an associate professor of emergency medicine at CU Anschutz who has conducted extensive research on suicide. "It would be great to see such programs become more widely implemented. Suicide is a leading cause of death, especially in Colorado, and a shortage of inpatient and outpatient mental health care options make innovative approaches like telephone counseling even more attractive."

The study was led by Brown University and Butler Hospital psychologist Ivan Miller.

Miller, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said he was encouraged that they were able to impact suicide attempts among this population with a relatively limited intervention.

While suicide prevention efforts such as hotlines are well known, published controlled trials of specific interventions are much rarer, Miller said.

"We were happy that we were able to find these results," he said.

This report was one of several from the Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation (ED-SAFE) study led by Miller, Professor Edwin Boudreaux of the University of Massachusetts and Dr. Carlos Camargo of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University.

Dr. Betz was the principal investigator for Colorado's ED-SAFE site.

The trial took place in three phases to create three comparison groups. In the first phase, 497 patients received each ED's usual treatment as a control group. In phase two universal screening was implemented and 377 patients received additional attention in the ED. In the third phase, 502 patients received the experimental intervention.

Those patients received the same Phase 2 care including additional suicide screening from ED physicians, suicide prevention information from nurses and a personal safety plan they could fill out to prepare for times when they might begin harboring suicidal thoughts again.

Over the next year, they also received periodic phone calls from trained providers at Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., who would discuss suicide risk factors, personal values and goals, safety and future planning, treatment engagement, and problem solving.

The number of suicide attempts and the proportion of people attempting suicide declined significantly in the intervention group compared to treatment as usual. The middle group, which received only additional screening, did not show a significant drop compared to the treatment as usual group.

"This is a remarkably low cost, low tech intervention that has achieved impressive results," Dr. Allen said.
Immunotherapy, in which cells from the human immune system are unleashed to fight disease, has been the big story in cancer treatment over the past few years. When it works, it can spur long-lasting remission in patients for whom other treatments have failed. But most patients don't benefit, and there is still no good way to predict who will respond.

A team of researchers led by an engineer from the University of Houston is trying another tack - designing immune system cells that can survive within a tumor even when the nutrients needed to sustain them aren't available. That should allow the cells to work more efficiently in more people.

Navin Varadarajan, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UH, works with T cells, immune cells that can recognize and attack disease cells. But all cells need nutrients to survive, and tumors harbor areas of nutrient limited zones, meaning T cells often die before completing their task, Varadarajan said.

"We know once they get to the tumor, nutrients are limited," he said. "If they are not able to cope and compete effectively for these nutrients, they're going to die. The question is, can you engineer the T cells to survive and persist?"

To further the work, Varadarajan has received a $375,000, three-year grant from the Melanoma Research Alliance, part of $8.5 million in new funding awarded to researchers at 28 institutions in six countries.

"These awards will further our ability to improve melanoma outcomes, support the next generation of melanoma researchers and help draw us ever closer to a cure," said Debra Black, chair and co-founder of the Melanoma Research Alliance.

Varadarajan's work will use a novel research platform he developed to allow researchers to study T cells at a single-cell level, as well as single cell T cell-tumor cell interactions. The proprietary chip-based platform works by co-incubating T cells and tumor cells in dense arrays of nanoliter wells, or nanowells, and monitoring the functional interaction between the cells. The goal is to engineer T cells that retain their anti-cancer properties in the inhospitable environment of a tumor.

The platform will allow researchers to track thousands of interactions and hone in on the traits that predict success. The engineered T cells will then be tested in mice at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This work builds on existing research conducted by Melisa Martinez, a postdoctoral researcher in Varadarajan's lab, in collaboration with an MD Anderson team headed by Chantale Bernatchez.

Varadarajan began working on immunotherapy after arriving at UH about seven years ago. Since then, the therapy has taken off.

"It's amazing how well it's done," he said. "It's become a major player in clinical oncology. All of our work now is going toward getting it to work for more people."

He said the treatment is effective for about 20 percent of patients who receive it.

"For now, we don't have good biomarkers to tell who is a good candidate for immunotherapy," he said. Engineering T cells to work more broadly could be another way to increase the therapy's effectiveness. "It's a complementary approach."
New Delhi: A seven-judge bench in the Supreme Court on Monday ordered for a psychological examination of Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan. The order directs the DGP, West Bengal to make sure tests are carried out by a panel of doctors in Kolkata on May 4. While there is a positive direction to the top cop to get Justice Karnan examined, can the judge be forced to undergo the tests?



Consider this:



* An accused in a murder or rape case cant be compelled to stand for the test identification parade (TIP) when victims or eye-witnesses are called upon to identify the assailant



* Criminal laws dont allow police to forcibly get finger prints or even a handwriting sample of accused



* Lie detector tests cant be carried out without the accused according his consent



In all the instances cited above, when accused refuse to participate in the TIP or decline to give samples, adverse inferences can be drawn against him. At the best, the refusal would come handy as a circumstantial evidence against the accused but that cannot be enough to prove his guilt.



A look at civil laws would also connote that estimation of mental fitness of a person is usually ordered by a civil court to protect his rights, especially when there are apprehensions with regard to usurpation of his properties by others taking advantage of his lack of cognition.



In 2011, the Delhi High Court had ordered veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari to undergo a DNA test but the principle laid down in the judgment was unequivocal  it asserted another mans right to ascertain his parenthood as a part of his fundamental right to live with dignity. It had snubbed Tiwaris arguments regarding invasion of his right to privacy after pointing out when there are two fundamental rights competing with each other, precedence has to be given to the right to life and live with dignity.



The other class of cases where issues of blood tests and DNA samples frequently arise pertain to matrimonial disputes. In a series of judgments, the Supreme Court has ruled that these tests cannot be ordered as a matter of routine.



In Goutam Kundu Vs State of West Bengal, 1993, and Sharda Vs Dharmpal, 2003, the apex court laid down that courts in India cannot order blood test as a matter of course or to have a roving inquiry. The judgments maintained that such tests can be ordered only after examining the consequences of such tests (including it may not have the effect of bastardising a child), and when there is a strong facie case in favour of the plea.



The recently enacted Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 deals comprehensively with subjects of mental illness, medical care, admissions to recognized institutions as well as rights of persons with mental illness. The provisions in the Act elucidate that treatment cannot be given without informed consent of the patient with the support of his nominated representative. This law says that a test can be conducted without a patients consent when he is hurting himself. The Act further states that a person with mental illness shall have the right to confidentiality in respect of his mental health, mental healthcare, treatment and physical healthcare.



It, therefore, raises serious questions as to whether Justice Karnan can be forced to undergo the psychological examinations, especially when he has been a judge himself, dealing with cases and laws day in and day out.

The Supreme Court order on Monday said that the tests will be done to examine whether he is in a position to defend himself in these (contempt of court) proceedings or not. The court took into account suo motu orders written by Justice Karnan whereby he sought to impose travel ban on the Supreme Court judges who are hearing his contempt case and also sought the judges presence before him.



The apex court, therefore, asked the DGP to ensure compliance with its direction on the medical tests but can Justice Karnan be divested of his basic rights as a person and also as a judge of a constitutional court in being forced to go through the medical tests.



Notably, on the last date of the hearing in March, the bench had specifically asked Justice Karnan whether he wanted to get his medical tests done under the supervision of the court but he had vehemently shot down the suggestion. He had narrated how he had been a judge for last nine years, handling variety of cases and that he would know the best about soundness of his mind.



Article 142, which empowers the Supreme Court to issue any directives for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it, seems to be the only plausible explanation for the direction issued by the seven senior-most judges of the top court. But it cannot be lost sight of that the person in question occupies a constitutional post and it is only through a procedure prescribed in the Constitution that he can be removed.



Not to forget, it is the Parliament and its members who have to initiate the proposal for removal of a judge of a high court and the Supreme Court. Hence, the direction of medical tests of Justice Karnan becomes suspect on many grounds, most importantly when the order is directly affecting his basic human rights and also his rights as a person sitting on a constitutional post.
Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the report said.

China's official stand is that the Kashmir issue left over from history should be resolved between India and Pakistan though Beijing has been stepping up its investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

India has protested to China over the CPEC and is yet to name an official delegation to take part in a summit of the Belt and Road initiative, of which CPEC is a part. The summit is to be held from May 14-15.

A report in Chinas state-run Global Times has revealed Beijings plans to interfere in Kashmir because of its nearly $50 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.The report, which eggs on the Chinese leadership to play a greater role in resolving conflicts in South and Southeast Asia, says Beijing cant turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments.It cites the recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya issue as proof of Chinas increased ability in resolving conflicts beyond its borders.China has strong ties with both Myanmar and Bangladesh, helping in infrastructure development in both countries. Relations with the former have warmed further since Myanmar President Htin Kyaw struck a deal in China on an oil pipeline between the neighbours after almost a decade of talks.ALSO READ | Some Communist Party Officials Funding Dalai Lama: China's Rare Disclosure One Belt, One Road is Chinas grandiose plan for land and sea routes connecting the world's second largest economy with the rest of Asia and beyond. Representing investments of hundreds of billions of dollars, it is a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping.This is perhaps the first time that Chinese official media started floating Beijing's interest in playing a mediatory role to resolve the Kashmir issue.While China in the past has played down reports of the presence of its troops in PoK, saying that they were there to deliver humanitarian assistance, its $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the disputed Gilgit and Baltistan region increased its involvement in the disputed areas.Chinese official media also referred to last month's participation of Chinese troops for the first time in the Pakistan Day parade as a sign of Chinese military playing a role in regional stability.
Thane: A Mumbai Police constable has been booked for trying to run his car over a man after a financial dispute.



The video of the incident, which had gone viral, shows constable Ramesh Awtes car dragging Atul Pethe over a few metres and then knocking him down.



Awathe works with the Special Branch of the Mumbai Police while Pethe owns an ice cream shop in Thane.







On April 21, Awte came to Pethe's shop in Thanes Naupada area and started hurling abuses at him. Thereafter, the accused drove his vehicle in a negligent manner to harm the victim. Pethe clung to the vehicle and was dragged for some distance," a police release said.



Sources said the constable had taken Rs 3 lakh loan from Pethes mother. When Pethe asked for the money, the constable threatened him.



Awte has been booked under IPC sections 279 (rash driving) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).The constable is on the run.
Notwithstanding the prohibition, the HC judge ordered the Registrar General of Calcutta High Court to issue NBWs against the seven senior most judges, including the Chief Justice of India.

A day after the Supreme Court said that no authority or agency was obligated to carry out his orders, Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan on Tuesday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against the judges who passed restraint orders against him in a contempt of court case.On February 8, the seven-judge bench had stripped Justice Karnan of all judicial and administrative powers pending the contempt case. Therefore, all his orders are now null and void and bind no authority to comply with his directions.The order signed by Justice CS Karnan reads, The Registrar General of Calcutta High Court is directed to issue non-bailable warrant against CJI J S Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Chelameshwar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Kurian Joseph.It should be executed through Director General Police or Commissioner of Police, Delhi, it further reads.On May 1, the seven-judge bench directed the Director General of Police, West Bengal to constitute a team of police personnel and ensure that Justice Karnan is medically examined on May 4 and a report is submitted by May 8.Hours after Justice Karnan called up a press conference and termed it as ridiculous and unusual an order by a seven-judge special bench of the Supreme Court to medically examine him.Am I mentally unstable? Who is the Supreme Court to judge that I have a mental illness? The seven judges looking at my case are corrupt, he said in a press conference hours after the SC order. If the DGP acts me without my consent, I will pass an order against him. He should stay within limits.... I won't submit to any treatment.The seven judges had issued a suo motu contempt order against Justice Karnan in February after he had named 20 corrupt judges and was seeking probe against them to curb high corruption in the Indian judiciary. Justice Karnan was stripped off of his judicial and administrative powers.On Monday, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the court that Justice Karnan was referring to the SC judges as accused in the press conferences and his recent orders against the judges.Rohatgi stated that if the court does not pass an order, then there would be a completely unsatisfactory situation.SC also directed that all orders passed by Justice Karnan after February 8, to all courts, commissions or authorities would not be acted upon. The next hearing in the case is on May 9.
The midnight notification was issued by the poll panel after the Home Ministry turned down a request by the commission for additional security forces in militancy-hit Anantnag. The Home Ministry said it could spare 30,000 personnel.

The demand seemed unprecedented as the poll body had sought 70,000 paramilitary forces for deployment in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, which has 403 Assembly constituencies and 80 Lok Sabha seats.

The Election Commission has cancelled bypolls to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat saying the situation was not feasible to hold elections.The 10-page order said said "in view of the prevailing ground situation and non-availability of sufficient security forces, the Commission is of the considered view that peaceful, free and fair poll is not feasible on May 25, as scheduled, though some political parties have asked for the same." The EC said it had also considered postponing the polls to another date but it was not a feasible option.The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Mehbooba Mufti in July last when she became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The parliamentary seat was to go to polls on April 12 which were postponed due to violence during the April 9 polling for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in which eight people were killed.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh will meet Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra on Tuesday evening to discuss the security situation in the state.A home ministry official told PTI that the EC had been told that around 300 companies of paramilitary personnel could be arranged for deployment during the bypoll. A company of paramilitary comprises around 100 personnel.Last week, the EC had asked the home ministry that 740 companies of paramilitary forces be put at its disposal by May 12 so that proper deployment of forces could be undertaken.Earlier, the EC had sought 30,000 paramilitary personnel for the bypoll to Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats.There are around 10 lakh paramilitary personnel under the Home Ministry's command, but it is difficult to assemble them from different parts of the country on such a short notice, the official said.The PDP, the ruling coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, had urged the EC to defer indefinitely the Anantnag bypoll in the wake of the "volatile situation".(With PTI inputs)
The Indian Army has vowed appropriate response to the barbaric attack by the Pakistan Army, which killed and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.Here are five options before India to respond to the grave provocation:This would violate the 2003 ceasefire, but is the safest method of immediate retribution. It will also be a straightforward message to the Pakistan Army.The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes last September in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to dismantle terror infrastructure after the Uri attack. But former army chief General Bikram Singh feels that such a strike may not be of much help this time. We did surgical strikes and then we didn't push it through. We will have to bleed Pakistan even economically, he told CNN-News18.The dastardly attack by Pakistan Army violates international convention. But India is unlikely to approach any international forum as this may give Pakistan an opportunity to raise the Kashmir issue on international stage.Past flag meetings, however, have made little headway as is evidenced by the repeated provocations by Pakistan.There have been demands to bring diplomacy to a complete halt, but this shuts down a limited window for dialogue.At 8:30am on Monday, Border Action Teams (BATs) of Pakistan crossed into the Indian side while the Pakistan army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts. "It was a pre-planned operation of Pakistan army. They had pushed in BATs over 250 metres deep inside Indian territory and set up ambushes for a long period to carry out the attack," a senior army officer said.The martyrs were Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the BSF and Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment of the Army. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF battalion suffered injuries in the attack.A BSF officer said troops guarding the border line retaliated effectively.In April this year, there have been seven ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.On April 19, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch sector.On April 17, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by firing and shelling mortars on forward posts in Noushera sector along the LoC in Rajouri district. They had broken the ceasefire in the same sector on April 8, in Poonch district on April 5, in Bhimbher Gali (BG) sector on April 4 and twice on April 3 in Balakote and (Digwar) Poonch sectors.In Digwar sector of Poonch, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), Naib Subedar S Sanayaima Som, was killed in an improvise explosive device (IED) blast along the LoC in Poonch sector on April 1.There were four violations of the ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch in March.In 2016, there were 228 instances of ceasefire violation along the LoC, while there were 221 instances of ceasefire violation along the International Border (IB).
The university seemed divided over the issue as a large section of students, teachers and alumni were critical of the administrations decision to honor Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been criticized worldwide for his crackdown on universities and restrictions on free speech and dissent.

When talking about Indo-Turkish relations, Jamia Millia Islamias role is hard to ignore given that some of the legendary founders of the university like Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari were the very people who led the Indian Medical Mission to Turkey to treat Ottoman soldiers wounded in the 1912-13 Balkan Wars, said Ahmad.

How can Erdogan be a dictator when he just had a referendum? He was elected in the past and people have been voting for him. Why would they vote for someone who crushes their liberties? said Dr Mohsin Ali, founder of the Turkish language and literature center.

A day after the Turkish President was conferred with an honorary doctorate, the flutter around the decision by Jamia Milia Islamia University refuses to die down.Erdogan was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the university on Monday afternoon.Much before the ceremony, however, students on campus were contemplating online petitions and email campaigns against the decision.Erdogan was conferred the degree amidst much fanfare. Jamia vice chancellor Professor Talat Ahmad read out the citation and declared the new programs and memorandums lined up to boost higher education. Jamia was the first university to start Turkish language and Literature Course in India in 2006-2007. The university will soon launch a post graduate program in Turkish language and Literature.Erdogan, in his speech, advocated for Indias permanent spot in the United Nations Security Council and said that terrorism was to be fought collectively. It is unfair to associate it with just one religion, he added.His words seem to hit the right chord with a certain section of the audience, who said the decision to confer the doctorate on the Turkish president was the governments choice and there was no lack of support for it.Omair Anas, the research fellow from Indian Council for World Affairs, saw both sides to the honor.In 2011, Erdogan became the first high-profile figure to visit Somalia and raised awareness of the international community about the famine. Being honored for humanitarian diplomacy in regions like Somalia is very important. If any non-Muslim leader had done this, he would have received international acclaim, so why not Erdogan? said Anas, adding that Turkeys work in Somalia would be a good case study for humanitarian projects.Its common for political leaders to be awarded with honorary doctorate, but Erdogan seems to be particularly lucky with it. Jamias degree is 40th such honour for the Turkish President, among the highest in the world. Interestingly, University of Aleppo had revoked on July 15, 2013 the honorary doctorate it had conferred on Erdogan on August 22, 2009 after his relationship with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turned bitter.
Bhopal: A journalist-turned-crusader fighting a lone battle against the mining mafias in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh has inspired many in the state to fight the menace caused by mining.



The 76-year-old ant-graft crusader Santosh Bharti is not just battling sand mafias, but the corrupt government machinery, too.



If it weren't for his efforts, the Damoh Zila Panchayat President wouldn't have been penalised. Not just that, the orders were also issued to remove him due to his role in illegal quarrying.



The central zone bench of NGT, based in Bhopal, has fined Zila Panchayat head Shivcharan Patel with Rs 9.25 lakh, and also ordered his removal from the public office over illegal quarrying of sand in Panna tiger reserve buffer area.



Bhartis lawyer Sudesh Waghmare said: "Ordering assessment of damage caused by the illegal sand mining in the area, the NGT bench ordered action against the accused under IPC if no FIR was lodged against him."



Petitioner Santosh Bharti told News18 over the phone that it all started on June 5, 2016, when a young deputy ranger Forest Manisha Porwal went to check illegal quarrying of sand on our complaint and found one tractor trolley stuck in the sand.



Soon Zila Parishad heads son Indrajeet Patel landed on the scene. "Indrajeet, who is a sarpanch of village Bacchawan, not only threatened the officer but also freed his tractor and left," Bharti said.



A subsequent complaint to police by Porwal bore no result and police, forest officers, and district collector did nothing, despite court orders, he alleged.



However, in April this year, the NGT appointed IFS officer RS Murthy as court commissioner and Murthy found illegal quarrying complaints true. On his report, the NGT issued an order against Zila Panchayat head on Monday. Zila Panchayat head Patel and his son Indrajeet are reportedly absconding soon after NGT order, sources said.



Significantly, it was Bharti who took Murthy to the site, submerged in waste deep water to help him see how illegal mining was taking place.



This is perhaps the first such verdict in the country, Bharti said, adding that illegal mining and mindless boring against norms was rampant in Damoh district.


Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to adopt a January to December fiscal year.



The decision was made in a cabinet meeting led by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently encouraged states to adopting this idea.



The cabinet has decided to hold the budget session in December January, Public Relations Minister Narottam Mishra told the media after the meeting.



The meeting also decided that a picture of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay will be issued with all the government letter heads, banners and advertisements.



Following a proposal from Modi, the Centre is in consultation with the states to have a January to December financial year, doing away with the old tradition of financial year starting on April 1 and ending on March 31. The system was adopted around 150 years ago during British rule.



Mishra said that it was also decided in the meeting that functioning of all departments would be reviewed on a quarterly basis.



On the lines of Modis Chai Pe Charcha, Chouhan held the cabinet meeting with lunch. The secretariat had called up all the ministers on Monday evening, urging them to bring their home made food.



In accordance with plans to shift fiscal year, Centre had presented the annual budget on Feb 1 this year. Once the country switches to January to December financial year, it will align with fiscal years of several economies globally.
Bengaluru: An administrator of a WhatsApp group has been arrested in Karnatakas Uttara Kannada district after a derogatory post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi was circulated in the group.



This is the first such arrest of a WhatsApp group administrator reported from Karnataka.



A police source told CNN-News18 that the administrator of 'The Balse Boys', Krishna Sannathamma Naik (30), from Murudeshwar area in the district has been arrested.



Krishna, an auto rickshaw driver, has been accused of posting derogatory matter about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his group.



According to the police, a photograph of PM was morphed to look ugly and obscene before being circulated. Police registered a case after a complaint from Anand Manjunath Naik.



Another accused, Ganesh Naik, was also arrested and is out on bail. The third accused, Balakrishna Naik, is still on the run.



This comes in the backdrop of growing concern about the social media platform being misused to spread fake news, morphed photographs and disturbing videos with fabricated local narratives that can trigger tension and even communal rift in an area.



Recently, a joint order was issued by Varanasi District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra and Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari which made it has been made clear that any factually incorrect, rumour or misleading information on a social media group could result in an FIR against the group administrator.



There are over 200 million WhatsApp users in India. The order directed that social media group administrators should be ready to bear the responsibility and ownership of the groups. The administrator must include only those members who are personally known to him or her.
New Delhi: The Pakistan army is learnt to be upset with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over his recent meeting with Indian steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal.



Army sources said it was a secret meeting and Jindals visit to the hill resort town of Murree was a clear violation of visa rules, facilitated by Sharif. They said Jindals visa only allowed him to visit Islamabad and Lahore.



Jindal, who is said to be a mutual friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharif and considered a sort of back-channel contact, briefly visited Pakistan on April 26.



Jindal was taken by helicopter to Murree, where he met Prime Minister Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz. His trip led to speculation that a move for revival of bilateral dialogue could be afoot.



Pakistan's Foreign Office has kept mum on the timing and the motive behind the visit even as his "secret" visit echoed at the National Assembly.



There was no formal press statement by the PM's Office on Jindal's meeting with Sharif even though it regularly issues press releases on the prime ministers engagements with business delegations.



Sharifs daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif confirmed the meeting, but added that there was no reason for any speculation.

Mr. Jindal is an old friend of the Prime Minister. Nothing secret about the meeting and should not be blown out of proportion, she tweeted.



Media reports said Jindal and his delegation were received by Sharifs son Hussain Nawaz and Maryam Nawazs son-in-law, Raheel Munir at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.







Jindal in the past facilitated a secret meeting between Sharif and Modi in Kathmandu on the sidelines of a SAARC summit in 2014. The meeting had then helped save the summit that seemed to be headed for failure and a last-minute deal to create a regional electricity grid was clinched. In 2015, Jindal was in Lahore on the occasion of Modis surprise visit to greet Sharif on his birthday and attend his granddaughters wedding.
New Delhi: As India bid a solemn farewell to two soldiers killed and mutilated by the Pakistan army, their families have only one demand  action, not assurance.

Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the BSF and Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army attained martyrdom on Monday morning when the Border Action Team of Pakistan launched an attack 250 metres on the Indian side in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan army was providing this team cover fire from across the border. The bodies of the two soldiers were beheaded by the Pakistan army after the attack.

ALSO READ | Bodies of Two Soldiers Mutilated by Pakistan Army, India Vows Revenge

Almost 24 hours later, the families are seeking answers from the government and calling for retribution. My 12-year-old nephew is asking for his father. What do I tell him? asks Ranjeet Singh, brother of Paramjeet.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Ranjeet said: We keep bragging that our army is bigger than Pakistans entire population. Then why cant we attack them? What is the Prime Minister and the government doing? He even questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the latters birthday last year.

Ranjeet had earlier said the family wont accept his brothers headless body. How do I know that it is my brother if his head is missing? We will not accept a headless body.

Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the Indian Armys 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the BSF attained martyrdom on Monday morning.

Paramjeet Singhs distraught widow, too, had said the family wont accept the mutilated body and called for a befitting reply to Pakistan.

We did not get any information from any official or the government. The government should respect my husbands sacrifice and give Pakistan a befitting reply. We want to check the body first. If the body is not complete, then we will not accept it.

The mortal remains of both soldiers were cremated with full military honours on Tuesday afternoon. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was conspicuously absent at the last rites of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, which was performed in Tarn Taran, adding to the locals anger against the political establishment.

ALSO READ | Pak Brutality: When Bodies of Indian Soldiers Were Mutilated Earlier

ALSO READ |

The anger among family members of BSF jawan Prem Sagar was also palpable. His brother Daya Shankar called for more surgical strikes against Pakistan.

If the PM orders me, I will go to Pakistan and chop off 100 heads for each of our own. Our politicians keep talking about compromise. The PM and Defence Minister are not giving clear instructions to our troops. Talks are not enough, he told CNN-News18, adding that he was proud of his brothers sacrifice for the nation.

ALSO READ | Pakistan Army Set Up Death Trap to Carry Out Barbaric Border Attack

The Indian Army has vowed an appropriate response to the despicable act, which significantly took place a day after Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and raised Islamabads Kashmir rhetoric.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
Allahabad: Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh on Tuesday said a proposal was afoot to recruit government doctors in UP through walk-in interviews, doing away with the earlier selection process involving the Public Service Commission.



Singh said, "I wish to propose recruitment of MBBS doctors through walk-in interviews. The selected candidates may directly be posted at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health. Centre (CHC).



"In this way, there will be no need to involve the UPPSC which has earned a lot of infamy for corruption over the past few years", he added.



During the previous Samajwadi Party government in the state the UPPSC had been rocked by various scandals. These included leakage of question papers for civil services preliminary examinations and appointment of Chairman Anil Yadav being struck down by the Allahabad High Court.



The health minister said, "On Wednesday, meeting of the state cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is scheduled. I will try to bring forth the proposal there. If it does not materialise then I will certainly take it up next week."



The minister said that the state is facing a shortage of "7,000-7,500 doctors and 18,000 paramedicals. We also need AIIMS and super-specialty hospitals. But I wish to start off by making optimum use of the resources we already have."



He also called upon private practitioners to devote a little time to PHCs and help in revolutionising the state's health care sector.



He promised incentives for those medical professionals who will put two years of service at PHCs and CHCs and devote their time for the proposed move to introduce "evening OPDs".



Singh also said he was committed to improve the condition of AYUSH centres and increase the number of BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery) doctors at PHCs and CHCs.



with PTI Inputs
We cannot entertain a defaulter or grant him indulgence under Article 32 of the Constitution. We are not going to interfere with Article 32. You better move the High Court for the relief under Article 226 of Constitution," a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said.

We cannot collect money for you (Unitech). You have to pay the flat buyers for the delayed possession. It's our order and we know how to execute our orders," the bench said.

The apex court had on February 20 had directed the developer to deposit 14 per cent interest on Rs 16.55 crore invested by these home buyers and had said that the interest would be calculated from January 1, 2010.

The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition filed by real estate major Unitech Ltd, saying defaulters cannot be allowed to approach the apex court to get their fundamental rights enforced against the government and its authorities.Unitech had filed a plea in the SC under Article 32 (right to move to Supreme Court for getting fundamental rights protected) seeking direction to Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation for the release of over Rs 165 crore pending with it, PTI reported.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the real estate major, said the firm did not have money to pay the flat buyers and if the directions are issued to Telangana state Industrial Infrastructure Corporation to refund the pending amount of over Rs 165 crore, then it would be of great help, PTI reported.He said if the company moved the High Court, it would consume lot of time and Unitech would not be able to meet the May 8 deadline fixed by apex court.The apex court granted permission to withdraw the petition and clarified that it has not expressed any view on the merit of the case, PTI said.On April 24, the apex court had directed Unitech to deposit 14 per cent interest on Rs 16.55 crore invested by 39 home buyers at its project in Gurugram by May 8. It had warned the reality firm that failure to meet the deadline could invite attaching of realtor's property and refused to grant more time to Unitech Residential Resorts Ltd which had delayed handing over of flats to these home buyers.The 39 home buyers had booked flats in Unitech's Vista housing project in Gurugram. They had sought a refund of their principal amount, totalling Rs 16.55 crore with interest, after the developer, which had promised to give the possession by 2012, delayed it.It had asked the real estate major to deposit the amount with the apex court registry.The bench had directed the registry to disburse 90 per cent of this amount to home buyers on pro rata basis, as was done while giving refund of the principal amount. However, it had said that the issue of compensation would be deliberated upon later.The court on January 12 had directed that Rs 2 crore deposited by Unitech with its registry as principal amount, be distributed among 39 home buyers.The apex court had on August 17 last year directed the embattled real estate firm to deposit Rs 15 crore principal amount by September-end to pay back investors and home buyers who were not given possession of the flats on time.The investors had told the court that they had paid money to the firm on time and the company was scheduled to hand over possession of the flats in 2012 but had not till date.Over two dozen home buyers of Unitech's housing projects in Noida and Gurugram had approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) after the builder failed to give them possession of the flats as the per schedule.The consumer forum had asked Unitech to refund the money to the home buyers with interest.(With PTI inputs)
Police said she was picked for questioning from her house in Ghaziabad in the morning and later arrested. MP KC Patel had said that he was honey trapped by the woman.

A woman who had alleged that she was raped by a BJP MP was arrested on Tuesday on charges of 'honey trapping' the lawmaker.Police sources said the woman claimed that she had made the CD since the MP had been sexually assaulting her and threatening her with dire consequences.On Monday, a Delhi court has ordered police to investigate the case.The woman has accused Patel, a lawmaker from Gujarats Valsad constituency, of raping her at his official residence on March 3 when he invited her to dinner. She said she was raped on several other occasions and alleged that the Delhi Police had refused to file an FIR. She alleged that the MP had threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the rape.Patel has denied the allegations and said the woman and her gang had drugged him and filmed him in an objectionable position after he passed out. He reportedly said that the woman had demanded Rs 5 crore in exchange for not making the content public and threatened to file a false rape case if he refused.The MP had then approached the police who filed an FIR under Section 384 (extortion) of the IPC.The court on Monday sought an Action Taken report from the SHO of the North Avenue Police Station by May 12 and ordered the appointment of an investigating officer.
Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Monday arrested most wanted ATM looter Sambhav Acharya from a theatre here, while he was watching the much-awaited film Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.



The accused, a resident of Balichandrapur area of Jajpur district, is involved in more than 50 cases of looting ATMs.



"A case was registered against him at Capital Police Station here in 2007 besides a few other cases at various police stations in the state. Our special squad arrested him from a cinema complex today (Monday)," said Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyabrata Bhoi.


May 2 marks the 96th birth anniversary of legendary auteur Satyajit Ray, considered one of the world's best. Many consider the visionary and extremely talented Ray to have inherited the legacy of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.



He was not just a film director but also a writer, illustrator, graphic designer and music composer. The illustrious Ray family has contributed to Bengal's art, culture and music for over a century.



Ray was the son of poet and author Sukumar Ray and grandson of legendary writer Upendrakishore Roychowdhury. He graduated from the Presidency College of Kolkata and enrolled himself into the Visva-Bharati University founded by Rabindranath Tagore and trained under such masters as Nandalal Bose and Benod Behari Mukherjee.



He started his career as a graphic artist before heading to London to realise his passion for filmmaking and getting an opportunity to see timeless classics of masters such as Vittorio De Sica. Ray directed 36 films which included several documentaries and short films as well. As a writer, Ray was the avant garde of popular science fiction and detective novels. He immortalized the character of Pradosh C Mitra, the suave Bengali detective with an international touch to his crime solving methods.



Ray's ability to buck the trend, coupled with a strong subject matter and simple story telling helped him to churn out classics which are considered benchmarks for world class movies. Ray is India's first and only Oscar-winning director. His timeless classics Apu Triology, Jalsaghar, Sonar Kella, Charulata, and Shatranj Ke Khiladi captured the attention of movie buffs both nationally and internationally.



Born on May 1, 1921, Ray received the prestigious Academy Award for lifetime achievement at a very late stage of his life. His son Sandip said in an interview Ray wanted very badly to collect the Oscar himself, but couldn't due to his illness.



The academy has undertaken to restore damaged prints of the films of Ray, who received the honour on his death bed in a hospital in Kolkata.



Ray shot to global fame with Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar from his Apu trilogy -- a coming-of-age narrative describing the childhood, education and early maturity of a young Bengali boy in the early 20th century. 'Pather Panchali' won 11 international prizes, including Best Human Document at Cannes.



He directed dozens of films, including feature films and documentaries, and wrote numerous books, some of which have been translated into English, German and Spanish.



Ray, seen as one of the world's greatest directors, died before he could translate several of his popular books into films. He immortalised many characters from his books and brought them alive on the big screen. His son is now restoring his old documents, original illustrations and scripts.



(With inputs from agencies)


Image: Yogen Shah

Image: Yogen Shah

#softlysoftlycatcheemonkey #everydayphenomenal A post shared by sonamkapoor (@sonamkapoor) on Mar 4, 2017 at 1:03pm PST

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Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor was recently spotted at the Mumbai airport with her rumoured boyfriend Anand Ahuja. Even though the two have never admitted to being in a relationship, their public outings narrate a different tale.They often post pictures with each other and indulge in friendly banters over the comments on social media platforms such as Instagram.The actress is currently mourning the loss of her maternal grandmother Draupadi Hingorani Bhambani. Many of her film industry friends including the likes of Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor attended the prayer meet and extended their support to the family.On the professional front, Sonam is gearing up for Pad Man alongside Akshay Kumar and her home production Veerey Di Wedding.
Two weeks ago, political circles in New Delhi were abuzz with speculations of a senior Congress leader close to 10 Janpath joining the BJP. One newspaper went to the extent of saying that Gandhi family loyalist and former minister Kamal Nath could be the one being wooed by the ruling party. In an exclusive interview with News18s Marya Shakil, he says it is absurd to suggest that he could even think of leaving the Congress for the BJP. Edited excerpts:





Marya Shakil (MS): To begin with, lets talk about rumors around you considering to join the BJP. Should such speculations be taken seriously?



Kamal Nath (KN): Well, this was initiated by the BJP. They were trying to use my name to entice others. There was no such talk, there was no such thought. It is absurd to suggest that such a thing would even cross my mind when I tried to get to the bottom of it, I came to know that the rumour was started from the BJP camp, which was trying to use my name to go to the people saying Oh! Even Kamal Nath is going to join us, so why dont you? It was just politics, plain politics of enticement of Congressmen from the Congress.



MS: Why do you blame the BJP? What if someone from your own party was behind the mischief?



KN:No, it was not someone from within our party. But whatever information I could get, it was purely and wholly initiated by the BJP.



MS: The process for internal elections in Congress is underway. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has said that Rahul Gandhi is in a position to become the party president. What are your views?



KN: Of course, he should take over. I have said this many times. I said it two years ago that he should be in the position he is de-facto leader of the party now we should not let any confusion or any kind of misunderstanding remain. It is very clear that Rahul Gandhi is leading the party. And that he should take on the role as the president of the party.





MS: We are witnessing a scenario where politics is being defined by the ruling party. BJP president Amit Shah has a blueprint ready for the upcoming state polls and is already gearing up for 2019. Rahul Gandhi is seen as someone who is not a 24x7 politician. Can he really script the Congress revival?



KN: Of course, he can. He is holding very consistent and long discussions, very detailed discussions with Congressmen. State-wise, he is getting a sense of things. A strategy is being prepared. The BJP strategy is only to create a climate.



MS: Why cant Congress create such climate?



KN: Because that is not the Congress way of functioning. We are doing what we have to do. Yes, there is some delay somewhere. I agree with you that in some states there may be a delay. Rahul Gandhi is seized of the matter and I see no doubt that we will have a blueprint a blueprint is already in the making. After all, elections are two years away and you cant start making (strategy) new issues will come up in the next two years.



MS: What about the Assembly polls in several states ahead of the 2019 general elections?



KN: Of course. For state elections, blueprints are being made. Just last week, we had a two-and-a-half hour long discussion with people from Madhya Pradesh. I was also there.



MS: Lets talk about Madhya Pradesh a little more. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has said that when states go to polls, a strong regional leader should be projected as the chief ministerial candidate. Are you up for it in Madhya Pradesh?



KN: Well, its important but I must say that its not absolutely necessary. Whom did the BJP project in Uttar Pradesh? Whom did the BJP project in Uttarakhand? And if you see, state after state there was no CM candidate from the BJP and the Congress. So, it depends on circumstances.



MS: Doesnt a strong regional leader as chief ministerial candidate help in the run-up to the elections?



KN: I firmly believe that when we are talking about Madhya Pradesh, no single person can bring victory to the Congress. Everybody has to be working together. All leaders have to work together. Madhya Pradesh is a large state, it is not a small state like Haryana or Uttarakhand.



MS: Opponents say Madhya Pradesh Congress is divided between various groups and that there is a lot of confusion. Is that true?



KN: There is no confusion. No! I dont think as of date there are any factions or confusion in the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.



MS: Recently, Digvijaya Singh was removed from the post of state in-charge of Goa and Karnataka. Do you think it was important to fix responsibility?



KN: I think Digvijaya himself asked to be released. And I believe that national general secretaries should not have so many states with them. You cannot function. You cannot do justice. Even after being released from two states, he has two very important states to handle  Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.



MS: The criticism is that most general secretaries of All India Congress Committee have lost connect with the people. Do you think accountability should be fixed for loss in every election?



KN: I think there could be some disconnect. I was general secretary in 2001. I am still the general secretary of the party. This depends on the person. And it depends on the state. Try and fix responsibilities in a state like UP. In UP, we were not in the context since Day 1. We won 21 seats. The contest was between the BJP, Samajwadi Party and the BSP. Now to say that so and so should take responsibility for the Congress loss in UP is not correct.



MS: Then who is responsible for poll debacles, one after another? Is Congress having a problem in reinventing itself?



KN: There has to be some kind of accountability and it must be measured. It has to be in relation with something. Politics has changed in the country. The Congress should change with the changing politics. Social Media was never a thing 10 years ago, not even 5 years ago. But today social media is a big thing. Even aspirations are different. We are the largest aspirational society on this planet. Previously, if you looked at a village, you could say this village will vote for us. Today, you cant even say that about a house because the father can vote for somebody else, so can the son, the mother or the daughter.



MS: Do you think senior Congressmen like you are being complacent because you have seen power for several decades? Why isnt there any desperation to get out of the opposition mode?



KN: No, we are not trying to wait in the opposition. We certainly dont want to remain in opposition and we wont be in the opposition. Let me be very emphatic. I am saying that the politics has changed. The Congress must adapt and adopt this change. Look at the organization at the grassroots level  not just at the district level, but at village level. Previously, the village level organization sprung up on its own. Today, you have to drive it.



MS: Do you think the high command culture is outdated?



KN: I dont think there is any high command culture. Doesnt every single party have it? They may give it a different name. What is internal democracy in Samajwadi Party, the BJP or the BSP? What internal democracy are we talking about? Was Amit Shah elected as BJP president? The moment Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, within a few days he declared that Shah will be the next BJP chief.



MS: It looks like in the next Lok Sabha polls, it will be Modi Vs nobody. Who can challenge Modi in 2019?



KN: I dont think it will be Modi Vs nobody. The fact is that Narendra Modi has said so many things. Its going to be those so many things Vs the people. The question is issues. Today, the voter looks at issues. And how can you say that we dont have anybody? We have Rahul Gandhi. Nobody can point a finger at him. He is new in politics, lets face it. He has not been in politics as long as Modi has been. So we must recognize this fact. He brings fresh air.



MS: Why is Rahul Gandhis freshness not able to win elections for Congress?



KN: In the recent Assembly elections, what happened in Goa? The BJP was in power there. The defence minister went back. What happened in Manipur? They were hungry to form a government, not to win elections. We stuck to our principles. We did not go for allurement. Lets see how long it will last.



MS: Are you not worried that there is a steady flow of Congress leaders to the BJP? For example, Himanta Biswa Sarma has done immense damage to the Congress in the North East.



KN: There were issues between him and the chief minister. It had nothing to do with Delhi. I was general secretary in Assam in 2002 and I know the ground situation there. He had only one demand, remove the CM. But majority of MLAs were with the CM.



MS: You have worked with both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Given the fact that most of Rahul Gandhis decisions in the recent times have proven wrong, shouldnt Priyanka lead from the front?



KN: Its up to her. Its for the family to decide. Its not for me to decide. And if Priyanka decides to play a more active role, I think it will be very good. But that is a decision she must make, not us.







MS: Recently, Priyanka Gandhi issued a statement on Robert Vadras land deals. Do you think allegations against Vadra are forcing her to remain a backroom person?



KN: There will always be politically motivated charges. There is no sustainable charge against Robert Vadra or Priyanka Gandhi. Hype has been created around this.





MS: In Chhindwara, your constituency in Madhya Pradesh, you have built a 101 ft tall statue of Hanuman. Is Congress trying to redefine the Hinduvta agenda of the BJP?



KN: The statue was built three years ago, before Modi was in picture. And now people outside Chhindwara are getting to know of it. We celebrate everything, including Hanuman Jayanti. Whats wrong with that? I also celebrate Ram Navami.



MS: Does it have anything to do with some kind of rethink within the Congress?



KN: The fact of the matter is that the BJP has taken theka of Hindutva have they taken theka of Ram and Hanuman? We are going on the line we always followed. We have nothing to do with Hindutva. It has got to do with the sentiments of the people and the ethos of this country.


Had such an allegation been made against Arvind Kejriwal that person would have been kicked out of the party, Vishwas told News18.

If Vishwas is given a larger role in the party, I will support it. We are a democratic party, said Alka Lamba, AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk.

Overriding the diktat issued by Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal against issuing public statements, senior leader Kumar Vishwas on Tuesday said that he was disappointed with how the party dealt with Amanatullah Khans statement on him being a BJP agent.He also said he would decide his next course of action by the end of the day.Khan had alleged that Vishwas was conspiring to split the party and was planted by the RSS and the BJP.Its not just one MLA. I think someone else is behind it. After six continuous losses, our movement against corruption has been corrupted. Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia know that I dont want to be CM, deputy CM, or the party chief, he said.Even as the party tried to reach out to both Khan and Vishwas to sort out the differences, the top brass seemed to be having a tough time.Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hit out at Vishwas, saying "We are hurt by Kumar Vishwas' statements. No one had asked him to apologise."Sisodia also said that Vishwas was making it a personal issue now, and he should have come to the Political Affairs Committee meeting to iron out the differences.The deputy CM also denounced Vishwas' assertion that the party was founded by the trio - Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Vishwas himself. "The party was not founded by the three of us but by thousands of workers," Sisodia added.AAP is a democratic party and all members have the right to bring up any issue they feel like. It is up to the party to decide if it wants to take action or not, party spokesperson Ashutosh told the press on Tuesday.Sources in the party said that Khans statements had done more good than bad for Vishwas, who had decided to skip the PAC meeting on Sunday.Soon after Khans allegations, there were a series of unofficial meetings at deputy chief minister Manish Sisodias residence on Sunday, attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders Ashutosh, Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh and several MLAs.Later, Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Alka Lamba paid a visit to Vishwas at his Ghaziabad residence. Despite visits from the leaders, Vishwas had refused to attend the crucial PAC meeting till Khan was sacked. Khan, soon after entering the PAC meeting, resigned from the committee.
Kumar Vishwas is conspiring to split the party. He has been planted by the BJP and the RSS, Khan had told News18 in an interview on Sunday.

AAP is a democratic party and all members have the right to bring up any issue they feel like. It is up to the party to decide if it wants to take action or not, party spokesperson Ashutosh told the press on Tuesday.

Late last night, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Okhla constituency Amanatullah Khan walked out of the partys Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting and announced that he had resigned from the PAC. I have stepped down, but I still stand by what I said, Khan told reporters.After a humiliating drubbing in the recently-held Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, AAP seems to be headed towards factional fight. Khans words created ripples across the party and the rift in the party was split wide open.Even as the party tried to reach out to both Khan and Vishwas to sort out the differences, the top brass seems to be having tough time. Soon after Khans allegations, there were a series of unofficial meetings at deputy chief minister Manish Sisodias residence, attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders Ashutosh, Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh and several MLAs. Later, Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Alka Lamba paid a visit to Vishwas at his Ghaziabad residence. Despite visits from the leaders, Vishwas refused to attend the crucial PAC meeting till Khan was sacked.Arvind Kejriwal is upset with the way Amanatullah Khan and Kumar Vishwas have been speaking to the media, instead of resolving issues within the party. Kumar Vishwas skipped the PAC too. Nobody is allowed to issue public statements, and all issues must be discussed with the party leadership, said Sisodia.Soon after Khan levelled his allegations against Vishwas, Kejriwal sent out directives, banning all MLAS from issuing statements to the press about the infighting. There were many leaders who demanded strict action against Khan, some even demanded that he should be sacked from the party.Imran Hussain, AAP MLA who also holds a Cabinet post in the Kejriwal government, told CNN-News18, We all strongly condemn Amanatullah Khans statements. The man has lost his mental balance.The party in a press conference on Tuesday said no action had been taken against Vishwas yet, it did not rule out the possibility of action being taken against the poet-turned politician in the near future.Sources in the party said that Khans statements had done more good than bad for Vishwas, who had decided to skip the PAC meeting on Sunday.If Vishwas is given a larger role in the party, I will support it. We are a democratic party, said Alka Lamba, AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk.Janakpuri MLA Rajesh Rishi said, It is time Kumar Vishwas is made the National Convenor. Arvind Kejriwal can run the government, while Vishwas runs the party.
Chennai: The AIADMK rival factions merger have hit a major roadblock as both Chief Minister K Palaniswami and rebel leader O Panneerselvam blamed each other for the non-movement of talks.



How can I or my supporters trust the them (Palaniswami-led group)? quizzed O Panneerselvam after coming to know that the in-power group had furnished affidavits to the Election Commission affirming VK Sasikala and and TTV Dinakaran as party general secretary and deputy general secretary respectively, reported PTI.



Palaniswami, without naming Panneerselvam's group, said "some" were "posing obstacles," though his camp was ready for "unconditional talks." He said conditions were being imposed by the rival camp wantonly.



Citing the symbol row in the EC and a court case, he asked how parleys could be conducted with strings attached under such circumstances.



The chief minister, at a public meeting here, asserted that only through dialogue a solution could be found to the issue. He said Amma group felt that both the government and party should function well.



Former chief minister O Panneerselvam had said that the Palaniswami camp had already given affidavits to the EC stating Sasikala and Dinakaran as party general and deputy general secretaries, affirming their roles as the party chief and deputy chief.



Now, a new addition was the inclusion of the name of Palaniswami as well in the papers submitted to the EC, he noted. Referring to the names of Sasikala and Dinakaran figuring in the papers submitted to the EC, he asked "how we can believe them."



Panneerselvam group had been opposing Sasikala and Dinakaran from the beginning and had demanded their formal ouster from the party as a pre-condition for talks.



Palaniswami group had announced days ago that both Sasikala and Dinakaran will be "kept out" of both the party and the government.



Last week, Amma camp functionaries including district secretaries held deliberations in the party headquarters here during which papers that were to be submitted to the EC also came up.



Senior leader R Vaithialingam had said that Palaniswami who also happens to be the party headquarters secretary was included in the party papers to be given to EC and no "corrections" were made.



The papers were part of the documents that were submitted in connection with the two leaves symbol row.



At that time, Panneerselvam camp had claimed that signatures were being taken from functionaries in papers that still had the names of Sasikala and Dinakaran even after announcing that they were being eased out.



Meanwhile, sources said Panneerselvam will embark on a state-wide tour on May 5 from Kanchipuram to meet party workers and the public.



(With PTI Inputs)
(Image: Debashis Sarkar/ News18.com)

New Delhi to Mumbai via Jaipur and Indore in just 80 minutes. Or, Bengaluru to Chennai in 21 minutes. These transportation speeds can change the way India moves its people and cargo. While we will wait for the half-a-century old 300 kmph bullet train to be a reality, the 1,300 kmph plus future in transportation is already knocking at our doors.Called the Hyperloop, startups like Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies are taking baby steps to showcase what the future of transportation could be.With the need for cleaner and faster transportation, both the companies have India in its crosshairs. However, there is no ministry or body to have serious talks to ideate the Hyperloop vision in the country and ultimately take things beyond the initial exaltation.Is it time that the government stops chasing the missed bullet train opportunity and get on-board to lead in Hyperloop transport globally? Or, is the entire Hyperloop story a mere hype created by startups to fantasize sci-fi movies?Excerpts...There is no particular challenge which is unique to India. Any project like this, globally, brings along with significant challenges related to local and environmental constraints along with land acquisition and other urban hiccups. There is no new challenge to build Hyperloop in India. It is similar to what any railways or metro rail projects already face.Overall, it is going to have a lean construction. The tracks will be elevated and based on pylons. The components are mostly modular. So, you can just bring the tubes and set them in place. The construction can take place with minimal disruption.Also, as it is all raised on pylons, it will take minimal land as compared to high-speed railway tracks. For high-speed railway tracks, you will need a flat wide corridor of up to 150 feet land or build expensive tunnels. At Hyperloop One, we are always trying to scale down the construction in terms of costs.The fact that the Indian government is looking at bullet trains makes it obvious that they are comparing it with Hyperloop as well. This is mainly because bullet train projects are expensive, and of course, much slower to complete and deliver. Bullet trains projects shouldnt be seen as a Hyperloop competitor. In fact, they both serve different purposes and can coexist.We want to work in a way that we integrate all the existing modes of transportation. So, if there is a high-speed rail connection between two points, a Hyperloop system can be built to connect stops to complete the transport network.Building the infrastructure is going to be expensive. But once the Hyperloop network is in place it is going to be a different story. We are using vacuum and magnetic levitation to get high speeds. So, the energy consumption is very low compared to other faster modes of transport like bullet trains or aircrafts. The maintenance cost of Hyperloop pod is low as there is no mechanical contact happening real-time. This means there will be less wear-and-tear due to friction. Also, the pods are weather-proof.Essentially, all these savings from running cost will directly translate to savings for thepassengers. Given the mass transport market in India, we are expecting over 20,000 passengers during peak hours. Thus, the cost of tickets can be lower.While it is too early to comment on the exact ticket prices, our goal is to make Hyperloop tickets cheaper than existing fast modes of transport in the country like airlines and railways.We are already in talks with Ministry of railways, NITI Aayog among other ministries. There is excitement and we are ready to showcase the proof of concept in the coming months.There is no point building the same test track that is already there in Nevada in some rural area in India to prove the technology to the government. Instead of building test tracks, which goes from nowhere to nowhere, we are happy to invite government stakeholder to come and look at the Hyperloop system at the Nevada Desert Development Site.Once the government is convinced, we can work on a proof of operations project by connecting two cities at a later date.We are in talks with the Railways because its the closest thing to Hyperloop. Also, aviation is pretty close and not to miss the surface road transport department. So, I think it is going to be a combination of experts from different ministries that we will need to talk to. In order to regulate something like this, we need experts from different ministries to form a panel.Not necessarily. We could definitely work with one particular ministry to take things forward to a certain level and then involve other ministries as and when needed. Eventually, we need all the ministries to work in sync.We will need a group of experts from around the world to go ahead with our plans and if India wants to take the first step then it definite needs to provide the right people from different departments to get the plan on track.Of course. For cargo, we are open to work with logistic players including e-commerce companies. But for passengers, we obviously need government support. We are totally dependent on how fast the government takes things forward.We are expecting to have a fully-operational Hyperloop transport system by 2021. It can come up anywhere in the world. If India wants to take the lead then the government needs to act fast now. We are actively looking are local manufacturing as well and India could take the lead and be the global exporters of this technology.
New Delhi: The Amnesty International on Tuesday accused the Bangladesh government of "stifling" free speech and "silencing" the critical voices in the media, invoking colonial-era sedition laws.



The human rights body released a report -- Caught between fear and repression: Attacks on freedom of expression in Bangladesh -- detailing a series of recent attacks on secular bloggers, atheists and journalists by fundamentalists in the neighbouring country.



"Between the violence of armed groups and government's repression, the secular voices in Bangladesh are consistently being silenced. Not only is the government failing to protect freedom of expression, it is blaming the people for the threats they face and criminalising the works of bloggers and journalists through a slew of repressive laws," said Amnesty International's Bangladesh researcher Olof Blomqvist.



Asked why the report was being released in Delhi instead of Dhaka, he said the Amnesty International wanted to highlight the "regional nature" of threats to freedom of expression, adding that it had documented similar issues and restrictions in India, Pakistan and Maldives as well.



"We have also organised a press conference in London for the Bangladeshi journalists based there.



"The Bangladesh government treats journalism as if it is a crime. Through imprisonment, threats, intimidation and constant interference in their work, the Bangladesh government has done all it can to silence the critical voices in the media," said Blomqvist.



Speaking on what should India's role be in the matter, Aakar Patel, Executive Director of Amnesty International India, said, "India can offer refuge to those who leave Bangladesh due to these incidents. It should not only accept refugees of a particular faith. The policy should be based on threat perception of individuals."



He said India should be in regular touch with the governments of all the neighbouring countries going through a turmoil, including Bangladesh, and put pressure on them to initiate action against the perpetrators of such attacks.



"India should be the torch-bearer as regards freedom of expression. We have gone wrong on the issue of sedition. If we come up with a clear policy regarding freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution, it will help the neighbouring countries in the long run," said Patel.



The Amnesty International report comes in the backdrop of brutal attacks on bloggers and publishers, including the lynching of writers Ahmed Rajib Haider and Avijit Roy, in Bangladesh in recent years.
"It's come to light that the minister of defense has misled Canadians once again and it's a big one," said Rona Ambrose, leader of the opposition Tories, recalling that Sajjan made a similar claim while campaigning in 2015.

Sajjan apologised repeatedly in the House of Commons for the "stolen valour" incident  falsely claiming war experiences or military honours not earned  while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood by his minister.

Canada's opposition on Monday called for Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan to resign or be sacked for overstating his military record in Afghanistan during a speech in India.Sajjan, a decorated former military intelligence officer, erroneously claimed in New Delhi last month to have been the "architect" of Canada's largest military operation since the 1950s, known as Operation Medusa.The 2006 offensive delivered a blow to the Taliban, loosening its grip on Kandahar province, but at a cost  a dozen Canadian and 14 British soldiers died."How can the prime minister allow him to remain as minister of defense when he continually misstates the facts?" she added.It was a "whopper" of a lie to raise his own profile, said Tom Mulcair, leader of the third-ranked New Democratic Party."That is not something you apologise for, it's something you have to step down for," he said."The minister made a mistake," said Trudeau. "He acknowledged it and apologised for it. That's what Canadians expect. "This minister has served his country in many capacities as a police officer, as a soldier, and now as a minister. And he has my full confidence," he added.Sajjan has said he wishes to retract the inflated claims."I in no way would like to diminish the great work that my former superiors and our soldiers have done on operations, and I'm truly sorry for it," he said Monday.
The Global Times, a tabloid publication attached with the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibet's discipline watchdog linking "15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities, PTI reported.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

In a rare disclosure, China's ruling Communist Party said some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to him.According to a PTI report from Beijing which quoted the state-run Global Times, a senior discipline inspection official has lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the party's fight against separatism.Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials.According to PTI, this is the first time the Chinese official media has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials' links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.A few party officials are failing to "uphold their political integrity" and are "completely ignoring political discipline," Wang was quoted as saying.China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the 81-year-old leader.His recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh which China calls 'South Tibet' soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese "standardised" named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.
New Delhi: The FBI - an agency tasked with rooting out Islamic State (IS) sympathizers across the USA - is facing a major embarrassment after CNN reported that an FBI translator with a top-secret security clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key IS operative she had been assigned to investigate.



Daniela Greene, lied to the agency about her travel plans and went to the war-torn country to get married to Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned IS pitchman.



The entire affair was kept hush-hush by the Justice Department and the FBI.



There are questions being raised on the two-year sentence being handed out to the former-translator as usually even a failed attempt to travel to Syria is met with a much stringent sentence.



The official line held by the agency, which asked for a reduced sentence to Greene, is that the 38-year-old has been extremely cooperative and does not deserve a full sentence.



Cuspert aka Deso Dogg is known in Syrian circles as Abu Talha al-Almani. The former rapper turned to religion from his American gangsta rap avatar after a near-fatal car accident.



Greene, a German-born American, joined the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011, a post which comes with top level security clearance and requires going through a gruelling application and rigorous vetting process.



Greene was assigned to the bureaus Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A."



CNN identified "Individual A" as Cuspert using court documents, newspaper articles about him, government bulletins, videos and other sources. His identity was ultimately confirmed by a source familiar with the investigation.



On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel forma document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad  claiming to want to go meet her family and then boarded a plane to Istanbul.



Greene, who was still married to her American husband (a US soldier) at the time, travelled to the city of Gaziantep, about 20 miles from the Syrian border.



Cuspert had moved to Syria and had been issuing propaganda/threat videos for the terrorist group for some time now.



After Greene reached Gaziantep, she contacted Cuspert and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him.



Shortly after, Greene started having second thoughts about her actions and sent emails, from inside Syria, to an unidentified person in the US indicating that she was breaking the law.



While Greene was expressing regrets, Cuspert was actively fighting IS's battles.



After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on August 8, 2014.



Reacting to the report, the FBI, in a statement to CNN, said as a result of Greene's case it "took several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities. The FBI continues to strengthen protective measures in carrying out its vital work."
Sochi: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in her first visit to Russia since 2015, signalling renewed dialogue between Berlin and Moscow.



The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow's ties with the EU have plunged to a post-Cold War low.



Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Moscow for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backing the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in the east of the country.



Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West.



In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was "not frozen" but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.



Merkel's visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries' relations "to fully normalise", while meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.



Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.



Berlin and Moscow said Tuesday's talks agenda includes preparations for July's G20 summit in Germany as well as Ukraine and Syria.



Merkel has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europe's backyard is fulfilled.



Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.



Last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.



"There are two topics that weigh down relations... the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.



Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies.



Seibert called this "a difficult context that one cannot ignore," but added that "our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements."



He said the leaders would also prepare for the upcoming G20 meeting in Hamburg in July, while a German government source told AFP the visit would be "above all about the G20."
"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him I would, absolutely. I would be honoured to do it," Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg.



The Republican president has also said he is ready to act alone in the stand-off, however  and on Monday signalled that this could involve face-to-face talks with Kim, who has yet to meet a foreign leader since taking power.



Pyongyang's latest attempted show of force was a failed missile test on Saturday that came just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed the UN Security Council to raise pressure on the North.



"He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power," Trump said on CBS's "Face the Nation."



US President Donald Trump said he would be "honoured" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions, dialing back threats of military action against the regime Monday.As Pyongyang threatens to carry out a sixth nuclear test that would further enflame tensions on the Korean peninsula, Trump appeared to offer the prospect of a diplomatic off-ramp."If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that," Trump said.In recent weeks Trump has threatened and berated the regime, fearing it may be months away from marrying nuclear and long range missile technology  making a strike against the western United States possible.Trump's main gambit has been to encourage China to use its leverage to pressure Pyongyang  a strategy that has failed to produce results in the past.In the latest rhetoric to fuel jitters across the region, North Korea warned Monday that it was prepared to carry out a nuclear test "at any time and at any location" set by its leadership.The regime will continue bolstering its "pre-emptive nuclear attack" capabilities unless Washington scraps its hostile policies, a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency."The DPRK's measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its supreme leadership," the spokesman added, apparently referring to a sixth nuclear test and using the North's official name, the Democratic Republic of Korea.The North has carried out five nuclear tests in the last 11 years and is widely believed to be making progress toward its dream of building a missile capable of delivering a warhead to the continental United States.It raises the tone of its warnings every spring, when Washington and Seoul carry out joint exercises it condemns as rehearsals for invasion. But this time fears of conflict have been fuelled by a cycle of threats from both sides.The joint drills have just ended, but naval exercises are continuing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea on Monday, the US embassy in Seoul confirmed, following reports of an unannounced visit as tensions mount on the peninsula.Pompeo's visit coincided with news that the controversial US missile defense system known as THAAD  whose deployment has angered China  is now operational in South Korea."It has reached initial intercept capability," a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.Seoul regularly warns that Pyongyang can carry out a test whenever it decides to do so.Trump on Sunday repeated his determination to resolve the threat posed by North Korea, warning in a CBS interview: "We cannot let what's been going on for a long period of years continue."But the US leader also offered some backhanded praise for Kim, saying he had faced a formidable challenge in taking over the country at a reported age of 27 after his father's death in 2011."So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," he said.That comment left the White House struggling to downplay Trump's apparent admiration."His point was he assumed power at a young age when his father passed away and there's a lot of potential threats that could have come his way and he's obviously managed to lead a country forward, said Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Priyanka Chopra, left, and Nick Jonas attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between exhibition on Monday, May 1, 2017, in New York. (Image: AP)
Brussels: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, is greeded by French President Francois Hollande during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Saturday, April 29, 2017. EU leaders met on Saturday for the first time as the formal European Council of 27 to adopt guidelines for the upcoming Brexit negotiations. (Image: AP/PTI)
On Monday night, half the seats at the Lynchburg Republican Committees debate in the race to secure the GOP nominations for city commonwealths attorney and sheriff sat empty.

Of the four candidates for both posts, only one in pursuit of each contested seat accepted the invitation to take the stage. Timothy Griffin, a Bedford prosecutor and Lynchburg resident seeking to replace current Commonwealths Attorney Mike Doucette, who is not seeking re-election, and John Romano, a sergeant with the Lynchburg Police Department seeking to become sheriff, both spoke to more than two dozen people at New Covenant Schools in Lynchburg about their desire if elected to fight crime in the city by being more engaged in the community and with the citys youth.

In addition to more community prosecuting by working with students as young as middle school-age to encourage them to stay out of crime, Griffin, an assistant commonwealths attorney in Bedford County, pledged to toughen up on gangs in order to stem violent crime in the city.

The recent arrests of three men with alleged ties to the MS-13 gang following the homicide of local teenager Raymond Wood has spurred concern over the presence of gangs in Central Virginia.

Im going to come to Lynchburg and crush the gangs, and Im not going to apologize for it, he said. We will do this with no half measures and go after them like no prosecutor has gone after them before.

Romano echoed Griffins concerned about crime in the city, citing what he calls a youth crisis where poor children are not receiving the support they need to succeed and stay out of gangs and the drug culture that adds to violence. In order to remedy this, Romano wants to have the sheriffs deputies more involved with volunteering in the schools and with organizations like the Boys & Girls Club.

Make no mistake, these violent gangs are preying on our children, he said. Its not something I read in the newspaper; its something Ive seen every day as a police officer. I understand the sheriffs office has a primary mission of serving civil process, protecting our three courts and transporting prisoners, but it is everybodys job  to build this community and make it better.

Running against Romano is newly sworn-in Lynchburg Sheriff Donald Sloan, who moved into the job in April following the early retirement of former Sheriff Ron Gillispie two months before the GOP primary. Sloan said his responsibilities as sheriff mean his campaign has taken a backseat, so he decided with his campaign committee only to attend the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance forum May 16.

My time and my responsibility is primarily for the Lynchburg sheriffs office, and now that Im the sheriff, I need to make sure I take care of that first and foremost, he told The News & Advance on Monday.

Griffins opponent Bethany Harrison, assistant deputy commonwealths attorney for Lynchburg, said she did not attend the debate because she had a prior commitment with voters. She told The News & Advance by phone Monday she was informed of Mondays debate, asked to reschedule and then could not make the three other dates offered, and could not reach the LRC to reach an agreeable date. She also will attend the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliances forum May 16.

Both Griffin and Romano attacked their opponents as part of the status quo and part of the criminal justice system that is not working in Lynchburg.

Romano slammed Sloan for being part of the administration during the 2013 scandal in which former Capt. Buddy Gene Wade was ordered by Lynchburg Circuit Court to pay $118,080 to a city pawn shop after the store filed a civil lawsuit against him, alleging he took merchandise and resold it.

Griffin criticized his opponent for not being tough enough on crime in Lynchburg and pledged to toughen up on criminals, especially gang members.

My opponent came out and said on video Since 2008, 2009, we havent really had a gang problem, he said.  It was only a couple of weeks later that [the Wood slaying occurred]. If I am commonwealths [attorney], they will not come here anymore. If anyone says they should go to Lynchburg to commit a crime, someone will tell them, No, you dont want to go there because Griffin will come for you.

Both Griffin and Romano serve on the executive committee for the LRC.
A 3D printed people's models are seen in front of a displayed Airbnb logo in this illustration taken, June 8, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Heather Somerville and Dan Levine

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Airbnb Inc and the city of San Francisco have settled a year-long lawsuit over a local ordinance forbidding the home-rental company from taking bookings from hosts who have not properly registered their homes.

The settlement, which Airbnb announced during a call with reporters on Monday, marks the latest effort by the company to compromise with cities and improve its relationship with regulators globally as it eyes an initial public offering. Airbnb is an online marketplace for short-term lodging, with "hosts" who rent their homes in 65,000 cities.

City officials across the globe have sought to minimize Airbnb's impact on tight housing supplies and rental costs, sparking legal fights with the company, which has argued that, as an Internet platform, it is not responsible for the listings on its website.

As part of the settlement with San Francisco, where Airbnb is headquartered, the company will create a registration system requiring that anyone in the city who wants to rent room or house on Airbnb must first supply their name, address and zip code, said Airbnb global policy chief Chris Lehane. Only after registering can hosts list their homes for rent.

"Every host on the Airbnb platform will be registered, which is what the city has said it will be looking for," Lehane said.

The company will turn over host registration information to city officials. The city last year enacted an ordinance, sparking the lawsuit, making it illegal for Airbnb to collect fees for providing booking services for rentals that had not been properly registered. Airbnb makes money by charging a service fee on bookings.

Airbnb's new registration system, expected to roll out in early 2018, will not prevent hosts that are not compliant with city laws from registering, meaning there could be a lag period during which illegal hosts can rent out homes before city officials identify them. San Francisco limits each host to one rental unit and caps the number of nights a unit can be rented.

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Airbnb will also deactivate listings if there is an invalid registration, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement. Currently, there are 2,100 registered short-term rental hosts in San Francisco, but Airbnb has more than 8,000 listings in the city.

Herrera called the settlement "a turning point when it comes to enforcement."

The settlement must still be approved by the San Francisco mayor and board of supervisors. Airbnb has similar registration systems in the works in Denver, New Orleans and Chicago.

In a statement, Mayor Ed Lee said the settlement "protects our rental housing stock while allowing residents who follow the rules to gain income to help make ends meet."

The settlement is the latest evidence that Airbnb has lessened its long-standing resistance to turning over data to city officials. In his remarks, Lehane also indicated that Airbnb has backtracked somewhat from its previous argument that any city rules to limit listings published on its website violated a broad federal law that protects internet companies from liability for content posted on their platforms.

"We fundamentally do believe that platforms need to take responsibility," Lehane said.

Airbnb still has ongoing litigation in Miami and Santa Monica, California.

(Reporting by Heather Somerville and Dan Levine in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)
Katie Wendelson and her mother, Carol, are as close as you can get.

During the opening moments of NBCs new comedy Great News, the mother-daughter duo talks on the phone from the moment they wake up, finishing each others sentences while talking about everything from The Bachelorette to a birthday gift Carol gave to a friend.

Katie (Briga Heelan), a producer for a national cable news show called The Breakdown, stays on the phone with her mother (Andrea Martin) for most of her commute from New York City to the shows studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The office is only about 10 minutes from her parents house, leading her mother to wonder why she doesnt just move back home. Her old room is just as she left it, Carol reminds her: So your father can sleep in there, and you can sleep in the big bed with me.

So, yeah, Carol is a bit overbearing. And its only magnified when, inspired to seize the day after the death of a friend, she decides to go back to school to study TV production and eventually winds up as the newest intern at The Breakdown.

She quickly endears herself to producer Greg (Adam Campbell) because shes the only one who can talk down the shows high-maintenance anchor Chuck (John Michael Higgins). He fancies himself a tough newsman and is horrified and confused by much-younger co-anchor Portia (Nicole Richie), a millennial on steroids whose story pitches range from how to Instagram your vacation to why bathroom water is sweeter than kitchen water (huh?).

Chuck is known for firing interns; the shows video editor, and Katies frequent sounding board, Justin (Horatio Sanz), has even put together a montage of his most memorable firings.

But Carol quickly becomes indispensable to Greg when she puts Chuck in his place with some very stereotypical but funny mom-speak as she tries to remember the name of that guy from that mob show who died of a heart attack. You know, the one who was in that movie she loved with Old Christine? (That would be James Gandolfini, in Enough Said, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

While her coworkers love Carol, Katie, unsurprisingly, isnt a fan of her worlds colliding in this way. She doesnt seem to mind her mothers overbearing ways at home, but she cant stomach them at work.

Carol immediately starts divulging things Katie has said about her coworkers in front of them (when she meets Justin: He doesnt smell that bad), over-sharing about everything from Katies email password to her struggles with irritable bowel syndrome, and interfering with her daughters attempts to advance in the workplace.

The show definitely gets in some funny one-liners, mostly from Martin, a seasoned comedy pro. And its full of quick, amusing flashbacks to everything from Chuck and Portias first meeting to Carols attempts to teach Katie to ride a bike as a child.

Theres also some fun to be had in references to Katies dad, whom we have yet to formally meet. Hes been in a few scenes, but you never see his face, a la Wilson in Home Improvement.

When Carol first shows up in Katies office in the pilot, she wonders if Dad finally ran off because of how Carol treats him.

No, Carol replies, hes in the car. I cracked a window. Hell be fine.

I like Heelan as Katie but think the character needs some work. Right now, shes saddled with playing the (mostly) straight woman to her mother, and most of Katies dialogue revolves around her desire to produce The Breakdowns lead story, something she has yet to do in her three years working there.

Im just not sure how long the same old storyline will fly: Katie gets her shot at a big story and Carol interferes  in the second episode, it was because she didnt want Katie going in search of a bear on the loose in Central Park  before Katie ultimately finds a way to come out on top, often while begrudgingly taking her moms advice.

Its all a bit formulaic. But the show was created by writer/producer/actress Tracey Wigfield, who worked on both 30 Rock and The Mindy Project and cameos in the first episode as The Breakdowns resident meteorologist.

Shes incredibly talented, so I have high hopes for where Great News can go.

"Great News" airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC.




homeless inequality poverty

It's no secret that the US has an inequality problem.

But it is worth considering what may be the factors exacerbating the disparity.

In his recent commentary, Byron Wien, the vice chairman of Blackstone Advisery Partners, offered some thoughts as to why the inequality gap in the US has grown wider since 2000.

He argues that it has something to do with the fact that the wealthy own homes and stocks, while the less affluent do not.

"How did [the widening inequality gap] happen? Wealthy people own the expensive real estate where they live, and may have other expensive properties as well. They are also more likely to own common stocks. Both the real estate and the equities have appreciated," he wrote.

"The less affluent tend to be renters with limited equity holdings. Many live paycheck to paycheck and their personal wealth has not appreciated significantly," he added.

Wien also argued in his commentary that "in spite of the wealth disparity, inequality does not seem to be a major political issue at this time." However, given the rise of populist movements both in the United States and across the world, at a time when inequality has grown amid increased globalization, some could argue that there might be a correlation between rising inequality and shifts in the political climate.

In any case, taking a look at the data on US inequality is pretty eye-opening.

Back in November, Deutsche Bank's chief international economist Torsten Slk sent around a chart showing the share of US household wealth by income level. Notably, the top 0.1% of households now hold about the same amount of wealth as the bottom 90%.

us inequality

Relatedly, back in August, Goldman Sachs' Sumana Manohar and Hugo Scott-Gall shared a chart comparing a given country's gross domestic product per capita to its Gini coefficient.

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screen shot 2016 08 08 at 11.30.32 am

The Gini coefficient is a measurement of the income distribution within a country that aims to show the gap between the rich and the poor. The number ranges from zero to one, with zero representing perfect equality (everyone has the same income) and one representing perfect inequality (one person earns the entire country's income and everyone else has nothing.) A higher Gini coefficient means greater inequality.

Developed-market economies such as those in Germany, France, and Sweden tend to have a higher GDP per capita and lower Gini coefficients.

On the flip side, emerging-market economies in countries like Russia, Brazil, and South Africa tend to have a lower GDP per capita but a higher Gini coefficient.

The US, however, is a big outlier. Its GDP per capita is on par with developed European countries like Switzerland and Norway, but its Gini coefficient is in the same tier as Russia's and China's, both of which are emerging markets.

And finally, the Goldman duo also shared a chart comparing the mean and median incomes in the US from 1975 to 2014.

This is another informal measure of inequality: A handful of hyper-affluent people can skew a mean upward while not changing the median very much. That means a higher degree of inequality will most likely be reflected in a bigger spread between a mean and median income.

As you can see below, the gap between the two has been widening over time, which suggests that income inequality has been growing.

screen shot 2016 08 08 at 11.56.37 am

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The Tobago Jazz Experience ended on Sunday with performances by Grace Jones, Lletesha Sylvester, Ronald Hinkson, Arita Edmund, Cousoumeh, Kaycyy and Elan Trotman.
Petrotrin oil spill reaches Venezuela

On Monday, sea bathers in Point Fortin reported oil on their skin and a pelican covered with oil came ashore. One person said the bird appeared to be in distress and could not even flap its wings because of the oil. On Sunday night, however, the ministry said it been monitoring the response of Petrotrin to the oil spill from Tank 70 in the Point-a-Pierre Refinery .

The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was activated to a Tier 2 level (which allowed for maximum use of in country resources) on April 24, and the ministry is employing the incident management system to manage this spill in coordination with Petrotrin and other Government agencies... In addition to containment, recovery and clean-up activities, the ministry said, The management of the spill included tracking its trajectory via computer- based models complemented by daily aerial and marine surveys. These surveys, according to the ministry, indicated movement of the spill in a westerly direction towards the TT/Venezuela maritime boundary. The ministry also initiated the activation of the TT/ Venezuela Bilateral Oil Spill Plan via diplomatic channels through the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs and at the operational level with officials of Petr?leos de Venezuela, PDVSA .

The ministry said daily monitoring and reporting on oil spill response here and in Venezuela will continue in accordance with established protocols and the public will be advised on any further developments .




Fate of the Senate

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A 15-year-old boy has died after a Dallas-area police officer fired into a car that authorities initially said was being driven in an "aggressive manner," the AP reports. However, the Balch Springs police chief later said his department incorrectly described why an officer shot at the vehicle. Jonathan Haber said Monday that video contradicted his original statement about the Saturday night shooting that killed Jordan Edwards, a high school freshman. Edwards and four other teenagers were in a vehicle leaving a party when an officer fired at them. Police first said the vehicle was backing up toward police at the scene "in an aggressive manner." But Haber said Monday that video shows the vehicle not reversing, but instead "moving forward as the officers approached."

Haber had said at a news conference Sunday that officers heard gunshots after responding to a call of drunken teenagers in a neighborhood. Attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing the boy's family, says the shooting of Jordan, who was black, brings to mind other deaths of black people in encounters with police. He says the car wasn't being driven aggressively and that the teens in the car weren't the ones police had been called about, and adds that the family wants the officer arrested and charged. Haber called Monday for time to let authorities complete their investigations. (Read more police shooting stories.)
A Scottish man is "extremely lucky" to be alive after spending more than 32 hours at sea with only his surfboard. Matthew Bryce, 22, was spotted by a coast guard helicopter some 13 miles off the coast of Argyll, Scotland, around 7:30pm Monday after first jumping in the waves almost a day and a half earlier, reports the BBC. Bryce, from Glasgow, had told family members he was planning to surf at a beach off Argyll around 9am Sunday and hit the waves about 2.5 hours later. When he hadn't returned after several hours, family members alerted police, per ABC News.

Coast guard rescue teams from several bases combed the shoreline and sea near the Argyll beach for hours, per the Guardian. But just as hope and daylight were fading Monday, a coast guard helicopter spotted Bryce with his bright orange surfboard some 13 miles off the coast, where a rip current had apparently carried him, reports Surfer. Hypothermic but conscious, he was airlifted to a hospital in Northern Ireland where he's now recovering. Says a coast guard rep: Bryce's ability to stay with his surfboard helped save him, along with "all the right clothing including a thick neoprene suit." (A wetsuit might've saved this shark attack survivor.)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 28, 2017) - Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CXB) (the "Company" or "Calibre") announces results on the Company's 100% owned Monte Carmelo Gold Project (the "Project") located within the 876 km2 Borosi Concessions, Northeast Nicaragua.

Highlights

The maiden drilling program on the 100% owned Monte Carmelo Gold Skarn Project consisted of 8 holes for 2100 metres and is now completed.

All holes intersected skarn mineralization with variable anomalous in gold, silver, copper, and iron.

Results include; 29.5 m grading 0.58 g/t Au, 4.9 g/t Ag and 0.22 % Cu from surface including 10.5 metres grading 1.43 g/t Au and 7.5 g/t Ag and 0.32 % Cu (0 - 10.5m).

Additionally, the maiden drilling program on the 100% owned Santa Maria low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver project will commence in the near term.

President and CEO Greg Smith stated: "Calibre continues to aggressively advance the Company's 100% owned gold projects in the Borosi District. The Phase 1 drilling at Monte Carmelo tested one of several targets within the Project which hosts additional potential for high grade gold skarn mineralization. This initial eight hole drill program intersected the targeted gold-silver-copper-iron skarn mineralization but we have yet to find the source for the high grade gold samples from the surface and auger drilling work. The Monte Carmelo diamond drill rig has now been moved to the 100% owned Santa Maria gold-silver project to initiate a minimum 2,500 m drill program."

100% Owned Monte Carmelo Gold Skarn

The maiden drilling program at the 100% owned Monte Carmelo Gold Skarn Project consisting of eight diamond drill holes totalling 2100 metres has been completed and all assay results have been received. The drilling targeting high-grade gold skarn mineralization exposed on surface and tested by an extensive program of auger drilling.

All drill holes intersected skarn mineralization consisting of garnet and magnetite skarn developed in calcareous sediments, limestone, and intrusives. Mineralization consist of massive and veined zones with anomalous levels of gold and silver with variable copper associated with iron and lesser amounts of zinc, lead, and arsenic.

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Drill hole MD17-006 intersected a broad iron rich zone from surface with 29.5 m grading 0.58 g/t Au, 4.9 g/t Ag and 0.22 % Cu from surface including 10.5 metres grading 1.43 g/t Au and 7.5 g/t Ag and 0.32 % Cu (0 - 10.5m).

Drill hole MD17-007 intersected a highly mineralized iron rich zone consisting of magnetite skarn averaging 0.28 g/t Au, 6.34 g/t Ag, 0.33 % Cu, and 0.20 % Zn over 14.5 metres (83.8 - 98.3 m). Additionally the hole intersected 0.36 g/t Au, 65.8 g/t Ag, and 3.51% Cu over 1.53 m (74.72 - 76.25m) and a third intercept from surface of 7.0m grading 0.45 g/t Au, 1.9 g/t Ag, and 0.11% Cu.

Diamond drill hole MD17-001 intersected 2.1 metres grading 0.36 g/t Au (36.6 - 38.7m) and a second intercept of 1.1m grading 0.16 g/t Au and 3.62 % Zn (127 - 128.1m). Drill hole MD17-002 intersected 2.0 metres grading 0.10 g/t Au and 0.48 % Cu (120.25 - 122.25m). MD17-003 intersected a narrow zone of weakly to moderately anomalous mineralization which included 331 ppm Mo (molybdenum) over 3.71 metres (110.66 - 114.37m). Drill hole MD17-004 intersected a near surface, broad mineralized zone with low grade gold and silver values grading 0.22 % Cu and 0.51 % Zn over 47.28 metres (7.62 - 54.9m). MD17-005 contains a narrow zone grading 1.19 g/t Au over 1.15 metres (50-45 - 51.6m). Drill hole MD17-008 intersected a near surface zone of 9.4 metres grading 0.15 g/t Au (0.0 - 9.4m) and a second intercept of 4.95m grading 0.14 g/t Au (63.05 - 68.0m).

Overall the intercepts define a variably mineralized flatly dipping zone consisting of broad anomalous zones with irregular higher grade structures related to the contact of two intrusive phases (granite and granodiorite) and the calcareous sediment and limestone host rocks.

100% Owned Santa Maria Gold-Silver Project

The maiden drilling program, consisting of a minimum of 2500 metres of diamond drilling, is expected to commence in the near term.

Calibre is committed to best practice standards for all exploration, sampling and drilling activities. Drilling is being completed by independent firm Kluane Drilling Ltd. Analytical quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the sample strings. Samples are placed in sealed bags and shipped directly to Acme Labs (a Bureau Veritas Group Company) in Managua, Nicaragua for sample preparation and then to Acme Labs in Vancouver, Canada for 50 gram gold fire assay and ICP-MS multi element analyses.

The technical content in this news release was read and approved by Gregory Smith, P.Geo, President and CEO of the Company who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

About Calibre Mining Corp.

Calibre owns a 100% interest in over 413 km2 of mineral concessions in the Mining Triangle of Northeast Nicaragua including the Primavera Gold-Copper Project and Monte Carmelo Gold Project. Additionally the Company has optioned to IAMGOLD (176 km2) and Centerra Gold (253 km2) concessions covering an aggregate area of 429 km2 and is party to a joint venture on the 33.6 km2 Rosita D gold-copper-silver project with Rosita Mining Corporation. Major shareholders of Calibre include gold producer B2Gold Corp, Pierre Lassonde and management.

Calibre Mining Corp.

Greg Smith, P.Geo.

President and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or does not expect", "is expected", anticipates" or "does not anticipate" "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements including but not limited to those with respect to the price of gold, potential mineralization, reserve and resource determination, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Atlas to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements
Grim news from Belize: Searchers say they have found the bodies of missing Canadian woman Francesca Matus and her American boyfriend, Drew DeVoursney. According to Breaking Belize News, the bodies were found Monday evening in Corozal District, near the border with Mexico. "They were both found ... they are dead," says Nancy Rifenbark, a friend who joined a search party, per Global News. Matus' vehicle was found abandoned in a sugarcane field on Sunday around 15 miles from where they were last seen leaving a bar last Tuesday night. It isn't clear how the couple died, though foul play is widely suspected.

Matus, 52, who spent winters in the Central American country, was supposed to fly back to Canada last Wednesday, the CBC reports. DeVoursney, a 36-year-old former Marine who had been with Matus for a few months, was scheduled to return to Georgia this week. "Drew is no longer with us. Someone had killed a United States Marine, my brother in arms, who survived Fallujah, Iraq, and Afghanistan," said friend Brandon Barfield, per the New York Daily News. Barfield says DeVoursney signed up after the 9/11 attacks and served two tours in Iraq. Police have not released any official comment on the deaths. (Read more Belize stories.)
A tentative deal was reached between screenwriters and producers Tuesday, averting a strike that could have crippled TV and film production and inflicted harm on the wider California economy. The three-year agreement, which requires ratification by members of the Writers Guild of America, was confirmed by the guild and producers' spokesman, Jarryd Gonzales, shortly after the current contract expired early Tuesday, the AP reports. Further details weren't immediately available. The two sides held to a media blackout during negotiations that began March 13 and centered on compensation and health care.

The agreement spares the late-night shows that would immediately have gone dark without writers, and allows the networks to pursue their schedules for the upcoming TV season without interruption. Movie production would have felt a strike's sting more gradually. After the 2007-08 strike, the two sides reached agreements in 2010 and 2013, but TV writers in particular have seen their earnings slide since then and want to claw back some of those losses. Before Tuesday's deal was announced, writer-actress Lena Dunham said she would back a strike this time. "I would never have had the health coverage I had without the union, and that's one of the main points in this," Dunham said at the Met Gala on Monday night. (Read more Writers Guild of America stories.)
Jimmy Kimmel is known for his smirks, but Monday night he offered tears instead on Jimmy Kimmel Live with an emotional announcement, per the Hollywood Reporter. The late-night host was absent from his show last week, and he explained that it was because of the birth of his son, William "Billy" Kimmel, with wife Molly McNearneya story he told through tears, though he assured audience members it had a "happy ending." Kimmel describes how, shortly after his son was born, a "very attentive nurse" not only picked up on the fact that the baby had a heart murmur (a common occurrence with newborns), but also that the infant was "purple." It turns out the baby was born with congenital heart disease and, at just three days old, had to undergo open-heart surgery at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

The surgery went well, and little Billy is now home with his mom and dad and big sister Jane. "Poor kid, not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face," Kimmel joked during audience applause as a picture of his smiling son was shown. He adds the baby is "doing great. He's eating, he's sleeping, he peed on his mother today." Kimmel momentarily got political and thanked members of Congress for voting Monday to give the NIH $2 billion more than usual, despite President Trump's wishes to cut funding. "If your baby is going to die, and it doesn't have to, it should not matter how much money you make," Kimmel said. (Trump himself was on Kimmel's show.)
After last month announcing it would deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea within the year, the US military says THAAD is now operational andin what is sure to thrill Kim Jong Un"has the ability to intercept North Korean missiles," per the New York Times. More details:



An official tells CNN that operation of the system on a former golf course in Seongju is "limited." Officials tell AFP that additional hardware is needed to make the system fully operational, a goal set for later this year.

But even when fully operational, THAAD won't be able to shoot down the kind of intermediate-range missiles North Korea has been testing, CNN notes. It can, however, destroy short- and medium-range missiles in the final phase of flight.

So who's footing the bill? President Trump said he wanted Seoul to fork over $1 billion, but Seoul said the US agreed to pay last year; White House national security adviser HR McMaster reaffirmed the latter recently. McMaster, however, says a "renegotiation" is possible to include "appropriate burden-sharing," per the Times.

This headache could continue. The leader of South Koreas main opposition partywho's called for an immediate suspension of THAAD pending a reviewappears to be the favorite in the May 9 presidential election.

He's not the only South Korean approaching THAAD with caution. The AP reports many fear health issues from the radar or that THAAD could become a target of North Korea. There are also concerns about its effect on the economy. Per AFP, South Korean automaker Hyundai has already seen its sales plummet in China, which initially condemned the deployment.

On Tuesday, China called for the countries involved to "stop the deployment immediately," adding it will "firmly take necessary measures to safeguard our own interests."

(Read more THAAD stories.)
The Japanese have no problem working insane hourssometimes to the point of deathbut when it comes to dealing with life's other stresses, they may simply pack it all in and vanish. It's what's known as "johatsu," or "evaporated people," a phenomenon Joseph Hincks delves into for Time. Per an estimate by Lena Mauger, a French journalist who's written a book on the subject, almost 100,000 Japanese citizens disappear annually when they can't "lose the black dog of depression, throw the monkey of addiction from their backs, or buck the horns of sexual impropriety," as Hincks puts it. This has led to what Mauger calls an alternative society beneath Japan's public-facing one, in which desperate citizens seek shelter in "shady" areas scrubbed from city maps. But not everyone buys Mauger's theories, with one critic telling Hincks that parts of Mauger's narrative are "fantasy at best."

Hincks ran into conflicting missing-person numbers during his search deep in a culture where being "spirited away" is part of the country's legends. What he did find were "yonige-ya," or "fly-by-night shops" that specialize in helping people such as domestic-violence victims flee, which can cost clients thousands of dollars. The CEO of one such firm, Yonigeya TS, says one of its goals is to "fill the gap" for abused citizens in a way law enforcement and shelters perhaps can't. But violence isn't the only reason TS draws clients, with some trying to escape debt or employers, or even for no apparent reason. For those who can't pay to employ a professional disappearing team, there are always DIY guides, with one boasting the tagline: "Abandon your sad, pathetic reality." More on the mystery here, including the industry that tracks down the missing parties. (Japan workers are now encouraged to enjoy "Premium Fridays.")
The family of an Australian man says he's been jailed in the US because he got delayed at the Canadian border and missed a visa deadline by a measly 90 minutes or so. Baxter Reid was legally in the US on a five-year visa that stipulated he leave the country every six months to keep the visa valid, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. So far, so good: On April 23, Reid and his American girlfriend, Heather Kancso, set off for the Canadian border and, after car trouble, got there at 10pm with two hours to spare, says Reid's father. They figured they were safe, but Canadian customs officials detained them for questioning that lasted well beyond midnight. At that point, for reasons that remain unclear, they denied Reid entry to Canada. With his visa now expired, he promptly got arrested by US border authorities around 1:30am.

"They threw Baxter in cuffs" and took him to a federal detention center in Buffalo because he "was illegally in the US for a SINGLE HOUR," Kancso writes on a GoFundMe page, which has so far raised more than $8,000 for an immigration lawyer, per the Guardian. "It just makes no sense to me," she tells the Morning Herald. "I'm almost ashamed to say I'm American." Reid's father says it could be weeks before his son receives a court date and six months before he actually appears in front of a judge. Kancso, meanwhile, fears he'll end up with criminal charges and be deported to Australia and forbidden to return to the US. Australian officials confirmed they were trying to help a citizen detained in the US, but declined to provide details. (Read more immigration stories.)
President Trump has an important phone call on his docket Tuesday: He'll be speaking with Vladimir Putin at 12:30pm Eastern. The talk comes less than a month after Trump said US-Russian relations "may be at an all-time low," notes the Wall Street Journal. The most recent tension flared when the US accused Moscow of lying about a chemical attack on civilians in Syria, and Reuters expect Syria's civil war to be a topic of discussion.

Trump and Putin have spoken twice by phone since Trump took office, notes Radio Free Europe, which adds that the two leaders have not scheduled a face-to-face meeting. Both are expected to attend the G20 summit in Germany in July. Before talking with Trump, Putin will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Black Sea city of Sochi. It's their first meeting in two years, with ties strained in the wake of Russia's military action in Ukraine, reports NPR. (Read more President Trump stories.)
If you've ever purchased Great Value organic milk at Walmart, we have bad news for you: Per an in-depth investigation at the Washington Post, that supposedly organic milk is actually pretty similar to conventional milk. The Post investigated Aurora Organic Dairy, one of the largest organic operations in the US, which supplies the organic milk for the house brands at Walmart, Costco, and other big retailers. Its findings were pretty grim: In order to be certified as organic under USDA standards, cows must be allowed to graze freely on grass for a certain amount of time, and the Post's observations made it look unlikely that many of Aurora's cows are doing that. And it shows: Cows who graze make milk with a different chemical makeup than cows who are kept indoors and fed corn or other grains, but Aurora's milk tested at levels closer to conventional milk.

The organic industry is massive, with $6 billion in organic dairy sales last year in the US, and organic producers can sell their milk for nearly double the price of conventional milk. But it also costs significantly more to produce organic milk, and if big dairies like Aurora are skirting USDA requirements, it gives them an unfair advantage over smaller producers who are doing things right. The Post delves into the USDA process for certifying products organic; in what the paper calls an "unorthodox" move, dairies are allowed to hire their own inspectors. In the case of Aurora, those inspectors performed their annual audit after grazing season was over, so they "were poorly positioned to know" whether the dairy was meeting the USDA's grazing requirements, per the Post. The full piece, which includes Aurora's response to the testing and a look at past run-ins the dairy has had with the USDA, is worth a read. (Read more organic milk stories.)
A court in Munich has rejected a woman's legal bid to obtain the name of a man she spent three nights in a hotel with seven years ago, reports the AP. The unidentified woman gave birth to a son nine months after the encounter in Halle, eastern Germany, and sought to force the hotel to reveal her lover's full identity. She wanted the man, whom she knew only by the first name Michael, to pay child support.

Judges rejected her request, arguing that it could unduly breach the privacy of four men with that name who were registered at the hotel during the period. Those men have the right to "control their own data and protect their own marriage and family," the judges said, per the BBC, adding it wasn't clear the name the man gave the woman was his real one. The Munich Appeal Court will not review the case, a court rep says. (Read more Germany stories.)
An ex-FBI translator was accused of endangering US security because of the person she marriedan ISIS terrorist once called "the pop star of jihad" by the Fader. In a just-publicized story that ex-State Department spokesman John Kirby calls a "stunning embarrassment for the FBI," CNN reports on court records revealing Daniela Greene, a bureau translator with top-level security clearance, traveled to Syria in June 2014 and married Denis Cuspert, a German rapper-turned-ISIS propagandist. She also reportedly lied to the FBI about her destination (she'd noted "Vacation/Personal" on a required travel form, claiming she was going to Germany to visit family) and, apparently, to the husband she was still married to in the US. She soon had second thoughts about her union with Cuspert, however, and fled Syria about a month later. She was arrested in the US in August 2014.

Greene had been assigned in January 2014 to investigate Cuspert (called "Individual A" in court records and identified by CNN as Cuspert), who once went by the rapper name Deso Dogg; in 2006 he went on tour with US rapper DMX. Cuspert is said to have converted to Islam in 2010 after a serious car accident and became known for praising Osama bin Laden and appearing in ISIS promotional videos. Greene pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and served two years in a reduced sentence after cooperating with authorities, CNN notes, adding that details of that cooperation are "shrouded in court-ordered secrecy." Greene was released from prison in August 2016 and now works as a hotel lounge hostess. All she would say to CNN when contacted: "If I talk to you my family will be in danger." (Does this Twitter account belong to James Comey?)
FILE PHOTO: Fox News President Bill Shine departs after meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

By Jessica Toonkel

(Reuters) - Bill Shine, co-president of Fox News Channel, has become the latest executive to resign in the wake of a sexual misconduct scandal at the cable channel.

The exit of Shine, who has been with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc's Fox News since its inception over 20 years ago, marks a key step in the attempt by Rupert Murdoch and his sons, who run the company, to clean house after a series of embarrassing revelations.

Chairman Roger Ailes resigned in July following sexual harassment allegations, and top-rated news host Bill O'Reilly left last month after a report that Fox and O'Reilly had paid out $13 million to settle harassment claims by five women.

Star anchor Megyn Kelly left Fox in January to join NBC News. Kelly was one of Ailes' accusers and detailed his behavior in her best-selling book, "Settle for More." Ailes has denied the allegations.

Shine has been named in a number of lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct at the company, and was blamed for not doing more to prevent it.

Last month, Julie Roginsky, a Democratic political consultant and Fox News contributor, sued the network and Ailes, accusing them of denying her a permanent hosting job after she rebuffed Ailes' sexual advances.

She also sued Shine, asserting that he failed to investigate her claims.

Shine and Jack Abernethy were appointed co-presidents in August to lead Fox News in the wake of Ailes' departure.

Abernethy remains co-president of Fox News and chief executive of Fox Television stations. Suzanne Scott, who was executive vice president of programming has been promoted to head of Fox News' programming, and Jay Wallace has been similarly promoted to head of news, the company said.

The co-president position that Shine held remains open, a Fox spokeswoman said. It is not clear if Fox will fill that position.

VETERANS PROMOTED

The promotion of Scott and Wallace does not signal any great change of direction, as both are Fox News veterans who joined the company in 1996.

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Scott has also been mentioned in legal action surrounding the misconduct scandal. In her lawsuit Roginsky alleges that Scott did not investigate her claims of sexual advances toward her, and was one of a number of executives that encouraged Fox News contributors to retaliate against former anchor Gretchen Carlson, who filed the sexual harassment lawsuit last year against Ailes that eventually led to his resignation.

Scott is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment on behalf of Scott.

Shine will leave the company after helping a transition over the next few weeks, the cable channel said on Monday.

"Bill has played a huge role in building Fox News to its present position as the nation's biggest and most important cable channel in the history of the industry," Rupert Murdoch, co-executive chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox, said in a statement announcing Shine's resignation. "His contribution to our channel and our country will resonate for many years."

After talk of Shine's departure started last week, Fox News host Sean Hannity tweeted that Shine's departure would be "the total end" of Fox News Channel and started a hashtag #Istandwithshine.

Hannity had no statement about Shine's departure, the Fox News spokeswoman said.

The lawsuits against Fox News continue to mount. On Monday, a Fox News contributor said in a lawsuit that she was taken off the air after writing an article about a medical condition that would likely leave her infertile.

(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Bill Rigby)
The former South Carolina police officer who fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed black motorist he had pulled over for a broken taillight, will plead guilty in the federal civil rights case against him Tuesday. In return, the state will drop a pending murder charge against him, the AP reports. Slager was fired after the 2015 incident; he claimed Scott grabbed his Taser, but cellphone video shows Slager shooting Scott in the back as he ran away. His first trial on the charge of murdering Scott ended in a mistrial in December after the jury couldn't reach a verdict.

The federal charges filed against Slager last year were called "historic" and were seen as possibly another route to a conviction against him. As the Los Angeles Times reports, he faces three federal charges, including violating Scott's civil rights, and it's not yet clear to which he'll plead guilty. The charges carry a possible sentence of life in prison, but in the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to recommend a lesser sentence. His federal trial had been scheduled to begin May 15, NBC News reports, and state prosecutors had originally planned to retry him on the murder charge later this year. (Read more Walter Scott stories.)
The family of Jordan Edwards, the 15-year-old shot dead by a cop near Dallas Saturday night, issued a statement Tuesday remembering the boy as a "humble and sharing spirit" killed in an act of "horrific, unexplainable violence," per CBS Dallas-Fort Worth. The statement added Jordan's brothers witnessed his "senseless murder," though it also called for no violence toward the police, and no "protests and marches" for the teen as the family sets up his funeral. The shooting has met further scrutiny after Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber said Monday he "misspoke" during his initial description of the incident, per the Washington Post. After a 911 call had reported drunk teens in the area, a responding officer fired into the car Jordan was riding in as a passenger, fatally wounding him in the head. Haber first said the car had been backing up toward cops "in an aggressive manner."

Body-cam video showed that wasn't the case: The car was moving forward, away from cops, per Haber, who retracted his original statement Monday and said he doesn't believe the shooting "met our core values," per the Dallas Morning News. Public outrage over the boy's death is growing, with Daily News columnist Shaun King noting, "I am so angry right now that I have to admit I'm struggling to put one sentence in front of the other." He adds Jordan and others in the car had been "responsible," refraining from drinking and smoking and leaving the party they were at when noise levels prompted the 911 call. King also calls for the cop who shot Jordan to be fired and arrested. "What we desire only second to having our beloved Jordan back, is Justice For Jordan," the family's statement reads. Per the Post, Jordan is the youngest of more than 330 people shot and killed in 2017 by cops. (Read more Jordan Edwards stories.)
If changes arent made by the next hearing, I can assure you, you wont like the outcome, Rep. Bill Shuster told representatives from four US airlines Tuesday. The Hill reports United, Alaska, American, and Southwest were being questioned by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee following last month's incident in which a doctor was dragged from a flight. Other US airlines were invited to the hearing but didn't show. Shuster, the committee's chairman, called those that did attend the "brave few," according to Bloomberg.

Lawmakers are threatening to take legislative action against airlines if the customer experiencewhich one Democratic representative says is currently "terrible"doesn't improve. Specifically at issue are airlines' policies around overbooking and bumping passengers. Rep. Elizabeth Esty says lawmakers are looking for "assurances" from airlines so that legislation isn't necessary. (Read more airline industry stories.)
President Trump and Russian President Putin signaled the prospect of increased cooperation in Syria Tuesday, in what the White House called a "very good" phone discussion that included a focus on setting up safe zones in the war-torn nation, the AP reports. The White House said the leaders also agreed to try to set up their first in-person meeting in July, on the sidelines of an international summit in Germany. Tuesday's call marked the first time Trump and Putin have spoken since the US launched missiles against an air base in Syria, an attack that outraged Russia. The US military action sparked new tensions between Washington and Moscow, with top US officials sharply condemning Putin's continued support for Syria's Bashar Assad.

But the leaders appeared to again be edging toward closer cooperation following Tuesday's call. The Kremlin said Trump and Putin agreed to bolster diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syrian civil war, which has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions more displaced. The White House announced it would send a top State Department official to Russian-led talks on Syria that begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan. "President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," the White House said. The Kremlin characterized the call as "business-like" and "constructive." (Read more Vladimir Putin stories.)
World's oldest man Mbah Gotho passes away at 146

New Delhi : Claimed to be the world's oldest man from Indonesia has passed away at an age of 146.

As per an official document, the Indonesian man (Mbah Gotho), was born in the year 1870.

Mbah Gotho, also known as Sodimedjo, was a heavy smoker and was admitted to hospital last month for an undisclosed health complaint.

He discharged himself six days later and ate only porridge until he died a few days later, his grandson Suyanto told the BBC.

"Since he came back from the hospital, he only ate spoonfuls of porridge and drank very little," the relative said.

Mbah Gotho is understood to have outlived four wives, 10 siblings and all of his children.

The Indonesian from Central Java is believed to have checked himself out of hospital six days after being admitted on April 12.

His age is yet to be verified. Once it is done he will become the oldest man with staggering figures.

Prior to him, Jeanne Calment (from France) lived for 122 years.
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(Adds comment from Freeport, paragraph 6)

TIMIKA, Indonesia, May 1 (Reuters) - Thousands of workers from the Indonesian unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc staged a rally near its Papua mine on Monday, a union leader said, protesting against layoffs by the miner due to a contract dispute with the government.

The union representing a third of the 32,000 workforce sent a notice to Freeport on Monday threatening to strike from May 1 to the end of the month at the Grasberg mine, the world's second-biggest copper mine.

Freeport is trying to ramp up output and exports at Grasberg after reaching a temporary deal with the government following a 15-week stoppage linked to new mining rules, but customers are concerned that labour unrest could now hit supply.

Freeport had laid off about 10 percent of its workforce and warned it could cut another 5,000 to stem losses, sparking protests from workers.

"We are still waiting. We have good intention by opening up in a transparent and fair manner so the problem can be solved. We actually don't want a strike to happen," said union leader Aser Gobai, adding that about 8,000 workers had participated in the rally in Timika, the nearest town to the mine.

Freeport said in an emailed statement that its Indonesia unit "continues to work with union leaders, with the support of government officials, to encourage a safe and efficient return to normal operations for the benefit of all stakeholders."

Freeport Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said last month the company could punish workers for absenteeism.

Any delays in resuming exports could support copper prices. London Metal Exchange prices were last at $5,735 a tonne, up 4 percent this year.

Adding to tensions around Grasberg, several Freeport workers and police were injured in a clash in Papua last month, when officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators in Timika who authorities said had been attempting to free a union leader at a court hearing.

New rules in Indonesia require Freeport to obtain a new mining permit, divest a 51 percent stake, build a second copper smelter, relinquish arbitration rights and pay new taxes and royalties.

Freeport insists any new permit must have the same fiscal and legal guarantees as under its 30-year mining contract, and in February it served notice to Jakarta, saying it has the right to commence arbitration if no agreement is reached by June 17. (Reporting by Samuel Wanda in Timika,; Additional reporting by Nulifar Rizki, Wilda Asmarini and Fergus Jensen in Jakarta and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Matthew Lewis)
FILE PHOTO - A statue stands atop Grand Central Station in front of the MetLife building in New York, October 8, 2008. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

By Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - MetLife Inc (MET.N) is asking a U.S. court to put on pause a case over how the government deems certain companies "too big to fail," one of the most significant reforms to come out of the financial crisis, while President Donald Trump's administration finishes reviewing the current regulatory approach.

In March 2016 U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer struck down the government's designation of MetLife as "systemically important," saying it was "arbitrary and capricious" in assessing the risks to the financial system of a possible failure by the largest U.S. life insurer.

The government, under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, immediately appealed and the two sides squared off in court last October, with a decision expected next month.

Some companies are wary of the "too big to fail" designation because it forces them to hold on to capital and creates extra oversight they say is burdensome.

Last week, Trump ordered a review of the Financial Stability Oversight Council made up of the country's top financial regulators and how it makes the designations.

MetLife said in its filing the review could prompt the Trump administration to reconsider the case and whether "it is appropriate for the government to continue pressing this appeal."

"At a minimum, the findings of the forthcoming report may substantially illuminate this courts consideration of the issues on appeal," the company wrote.

Two of the three judges on the panel considering the case were appointed by Obama, who signed the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law that created designations with the intent of preventing a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the government injected billions of dollars into failing banks and other companies in order to keep the financial system afloat.

The court appeared more sympathetic to FSOC's arguments than Collyer, who said it should have analyzed costs and benefits to MetLife, the likelihood MetLife would fail and possible counterparty losses.

Story continues

Whoever loses the appeal had been expected to take the case to the Supreme Court. However, Trump's review and MetLife's Monday motion now cast doubt on that possibility.

The U.S. Treasury did not respond to a request for comment. Its secretary, Steve Mnuchin, is overseeing the review as chair of the FSOC.

The only nonbanks carrying the "too big to fail" label are American International Group (AIG.N), which received a $182 billion bailout during the crisis, and Prudential Insurance (PRU.N). MetLife is not considered designated during the appeal.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
New Delhi:

According to government officials, around 55 terror camps of Pakistan-backed militant groups have come up across the Line of Control in PoK in the last four months. In these camps training have been given to terrorists to push them into Jammu and Kashmir.

The government officials have said this quoting intelligence reports that at least 20 new terrorist camps have come up this year taking the total number to 55.

It is to be noted that when India carried surgical strikes on Pakistans terror launch pads in September last year, most of the 35 terror camps were dismantled by the Indian army.

ALSO READ: General Bipin Rawat visits frontier areas in north Kashmir; interacts with troops deployed along LoC

The officials also said that these camps have been resurfaced by Pakistan since January and besides these camps, 20 new have come into existence. All these 55 camps are actively operating, an official said.

As of now about 160 terrorists are active in the Kashmir Valley and their Pakistani handlers have instructed them to intensify attacks on security forces to keep the pot boiling and the LoC active, the government officials said quoting intelligence reports.

Mondays attacks along the Line of Control wherein two Indian soldiers were killed and mutilated, is part of this strategy, the officials said on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: General Bipin Rawat visits Kashmir; takes stock of security measures in valley

With inputs from PTI.

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New Delhi:

The government on Tuesday informed Supreme Court that Aadhaar was made compulsory to check issuance of fake PAN cards. The government emphasised that the fake PAN cards were used for terror financing and circulation of blackmoney.

The idea behind bringing Aadhaar was to have a secure and robust system to ensure that the identity of a person cannot be faked, it said.

Today, you have blackmoney which is being used in drug financing and terror financing. So it was decided to bring in a more robust system by which identity of a person cannot be faked, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan.

The top law officer, who was opposing the challenge to making Aadhaar mandatory for PAN card, said out of 29 crore permanent account number (PAN) in India, 10 lakh cards have been cancelled as it was found that there were multiplicity of PAN and a person had more than one PAN card which were being used for unscrupulous activity causing a loss to the exchequer.

He said that 113.7 crore Aadhaar card have been issued in the country till date and the government has not found any case of duplication as the biometric system of finger prints and iris scan, which was used in Aadhaar, was the only known technology in the world which is fool-proof.

Countering the petitioners objections, Rohatgi also said their arguments on so-called privacy and bodily intrusion is bogus.

Also read: Worried about linking Aadhaar with PAN card? All you need is ID proof scan and OTP

Also read: PAN card not linked with Aadhar card may be invalid after December 31



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New Delhi :

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat, who arrived in Srinagar on Monday evening on a two-day visit, will hold a high-level meeting with top officials of the ministry of Defence and Army in the backdrop of barbaric attack committed by Pakistani troops who killed and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Poonch sector of Jammu.

Two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated in an attack by the Pakistani troops on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack was carried out by the Border Action Team (BAT), which generally comprises Pakistani army personnel and terrorists, under the cover of Pakistani shelling in Krishna Ghati Sector in Poonch district.

Indian Army had vowed an appropriate response to the despicable?act, which significantly took place a day after Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris.

Pakistani Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati Sector (in Poonch district) this morning, a defence ministry spokesman had said.

Also Read | Poonch: Bodies of two Indian soldiers mutilated by Pakistani troops, Indian army warns of 'appropriate response'

On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday to discuss the law and order situation in the state and also the future course of action to tackle it.

Vohra may be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him about the tense situation including killing of seven persons in Kulgam and mutilation of the bodies of two soldiers along the Line of Control.

Also Read: Pakistan Army contacts Indian Army over safety of census workers near Line of Control

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New Delhi:

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday suggested a three-pronged approach to give Pakistan a befitting reply on increased tension along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.



The senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP said that India must revoke Pakistan's status of Most Favoured Nation in trade, close down the embassy and demolish terrorist camps in PoK.



In an exclusive interview to News Nation, Swamy expressed concern over the mutilation of 2 Indian soldiers by Pakistani Border Action team on Monday and said India's long-term policy should be to breakdown Pakistan in four parts.



Here are the future actions against Pakistan, as suggested by Subramanian Swamy:



First, India should cancel the Most Favoured Nation bestowed to Pakistan



Second, We should close down the embassy



Third, Indian Air Force should destroy 42 terror camps currently operating in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

Read | Barbaric Pak mutilates jawans: Students raise anti-Pakistan slogans outside martyr Prem Sagar's residence

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New Delhi:

A joint squad of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and district force from the forests under Pushpal police station area in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday arrested three Maoists in Sukma district.



The arrests were made during a search operation in the Naxal-affected region.



The cadres were apprehended on Monday were identified as Kawasi Hadma (32) from Darbha area of Bastar district, and Ramnath Nag (21) and Buchha Dhurwa (24), both natives of Malkangiri in Odisha, a district police official told PTI.



According to him, the trio were active as jan-militia members - lower rung Maiosts, and were allegedly involved in the attack on a police party between Daldali and Tulsi villages of the region on March 28 this year.



They were produced before a court in Sukma on Monday which remanded them in judicial custody, the official said.

(With Inputs from PTI)

Also read:

Sukma Police announce reward of Rs 40 Lakh for capture of Naxalites behind attack on CRPF

Police recovers a Naxal's body from Sukma CRPF attack site



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New Delhi :

The Delhi police officials on Tuesday arrested a woman who allegedly honey-trapped and blackmailed Valsad BJP MP KC Patel from her residence in Ghaziabad.

Patel had filed a police complaint last week claiming that he had been drugged by the woman who had taken objectionable videos and photographs of him.

The woman had approached a city court claiming that the police had not acted on her rape complaint against the lawmaker.

The woman is being questioned. She has claimed that she had made the CD since the MP had been sexually assaulting her and threatening her with dire consequences, police sources said.

BJP MP KC Patel alleged honey-trap case: Police takes accused woman into custody, for questioning, from her house in Ghaziabad. pic.twitter.com/ON0CWE1veQ  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

The MP claimed that she had threatened to file a rape case against him if he did not pay her Rs five crore.

Patel had alleged the woman invited him to a place in Ghaziabad for some work and offered him a soft drink laced with sedatives.

Also Read: Valsad BJP MP KC Patel alleges being honey trapped, files complaint with Delhi Police

It has emerged that the woman was involved in similar instances earlier, a police official said. (With PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi :

After observing dearth of security personnel in the backdrop of tumult situation in the Valley, the Election Commission rescinded the notification issued for Anantnag by polls. The bypoll has been cancelled.

The Election Commission said the ground situation is not conducive to hold free and fair elections. The EC had already deferred the bypoll for May 25, which was earlier slated for April 12, due to poor law and order situation in the Valley.

The Commission, which issued the order late last night, said non-availability of sufficient number of security personnel was another reason to cancel the poll process.

J&K: Election Commission of India rescinds notification issued for Anantnag Elections pic.twitter.com/dnL3rzwbKE  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

The 10-page order said a fresh date would be announced later.

EC cancels Anantnag by-polls over worsening law and order situation



Read @ANI_news story -> https://t.co/D7VzbTw2ff pic.twitter.com/VjkSIKOsLC  ANI Digital (@ani_digital) May 2, 2017

Also Read | J&K: 2 militants open fire on CRPF men in Anantnag bank

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New Delhi:

The son of Border Security Forces Prem Sagar who lost his life in ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Tuesday said that the last rites of his father will not be done till the time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister doesnt visit them.

Earlier, mortal remains of BSF head constable Prem Sagar was brought to his village in Deoria in UP. The family has been in shock since Prem Sagars demise.

The daughter of slain BSF head constable Prem Sagar, who was killed by Pakistani troops and mutilated in Krishna Ghati of Poonch sector, said she wants 50 heads for his fathers sacrifice.

Under the cover of heavy mortar fire, a Pakistani special forces team sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded two Indian security personnel today, officials had said.

Also read: Want 50 heads for my fathers sacrifice, says slain BSF jawan Prem Sagar's daughter

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New Delhi:

As the Indian army launched a surgical strike on terror launch pads last September, camps of Pakistan-backed militant groups have mushroomed across the Line of Control in PoK along with 20 more joining in, official said on Tuesday.

There were around 35 training camps of various militant groups across the LoC and many were dismantled and shifted deep inside Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, after the surgical attack by Indian army took place.

Quoting intelligence reports, government officials said at 20 new terrorist camps have come up in the last four months, while the earlier ones have also returned closer to the LoC, taking their number from 35 to 55.

Read more: Kumar Vishwas says Arvind Kejriwal's stand on surgical strikes reason behind AAPs poll debacles

According to the reports all these camps are "actively operating". The disclosure by the government came a day after Pakistan army's Border Action Teams (BAT), which consist of both army regulars and militants, shot dead and beheaded two Indian soldiers in an ambush they had laid inside Indian territory.

There have been 60 infiltration attempts along the LoC in the first four months of 2017, in which 15 terrorists managed to enter into Jammu and Kashmir.

Quoting intelligence reports, officials said as of now around 160 terrorists are active in the Kashmir valley and their Pakistani handlers have instructed them to intensify attacks on security forces to keep the "pot boiling and the LoC active".

They said since the state government will start functioning in the state's summer capital Srinagar from May 8 after the 'Darbar Move', militant groups were trying to boost the morale of their cadre by intensifying attacks on Indian security forces.

Read more: Of surgical strike, demonetisation and Pak's mutilation of Indian Army's jawans

Monday's assault by a BAT contingent is part of this strategy, they added.

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New Delhi:

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh cautioned the parties to ensure that the grand alliance does not become Modi versus all fight, taking cue from a similar situation during 1971 general polls, wherein a united opposition had targeted then prime minister Indira Gandhi.



Unity of the progressive forces is need of the country. But at the same time, I would like to convey word of caution. If you do not define the grand alliance properly, the fight will become Modi versus others. Hence, we will have to be alert. This is not a fight of personalities, but of ideologies, Singh said.



He made the remarks during an event organised here to mark 95th birth anniversary of late socialist leader Madhu Limaye.



Stating that the country did not need anti-Congressim, the senior Congress leader asked the parties to offer a positive narrative to save democracy from the communal BJP.

Read | BJPs thumping victory in UP, Uttarakhand forges unity of Opposition ahead of presidential elections



Opposition leaders today made a strong pitch for unity among secular forces, contending that it was the need of the country in order to take on the ruling BJP juggernaut.



The leaders termed the upcoming presidential polls as the first acid test of such an alliance as they advocated coming together of the parties at national-level.



CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury called for forming such an alliance during the presidential polls to ensure secular supervision of the Constitution.



Do we want communal supervision or secular supervision? The result will have a bearing on the situation in the country. So, it is going to be an acid test. We appeal that secular parties come together, he said.

Read | Opposition meets President, raises concern over voices of dissent being muzzled



Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav too expressed similar views, saying the leaders will join hands to save the country.



CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjaan asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to field a consensual candidate for the presidential polls.



Or else, the opposition parties will field common candidates for the presidential and vice presidential polls, he said.



The event was also attended by JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi, his NCP counterpart D P Tripathi, CPI national secretary D Raja, BSPs Sudhindra Bhadoria and others.



President Pranab Mukherjees term expires on July 24.



(With Inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders tried to convince Kumar Vishwas over Amanatullah Khan controversy on Tuesday. Kejriwal expressed confidence that they will get Vishwas convinced.

Earlier in the day, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Tuesday addressed a press conference at his residence. Kumar Vishwas got emotional while speaking and said that he will be taking major decision this night.

Manish Sisodia said that Kumar Vishwas was called to PAC but he is commenting on television. He said that People very well know that who are going to get benefit out of this.

On April 30, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tried to quell speculations of a rift between him and Kumar Vishwas, days after the senior party leader differed with him over EVM tampering as the reason behind the AAP's recent poll defeats.

Party chief Kejriwal also warned party leaders against trying to create a divide between him and his "younger brother" Vishwas, after AAP's Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan alleged earlier in the day that Vishwas was trying to "usurp" the AAP and that he harbours ambitions of leading the party.

Here are the updates:

# Reports say Kejriwal and Vishwas along with Sisodia went to Sisodia's house at Mathura road

# Before leaving Kejriwal said Vishwas is an old friend and he is upset. We will convince him

# Then Kejriwal Sisodia and Vishwas left together

# Kejriwal and Sisodia met Vishwas for just 2 minutes

# Kapil Mishra, Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh accompanied Arvind Kejriwal



# Hope that we will convince Kumar Vishwas, says Arvind Kejriwal

# Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia reached residence of Kumar Vishwas

# Kumar Vishwas supporters raise slogans against Amanatullah Khan

# Supporters raise slogans in support of Kumar Vishwas and AAP



# Supporters gather outside Kumar Vishwas' residence

#AAP workers accumulate outside #KumarVishwas' residence and shouting in support of him. Party workers demanding expulsion of #Amanatullah pic.twitter.com/FRNHHOp68l  News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 2, 2017

Here are the excerpts from the press conference:

# I will not be silent on mistakes of party

# MLAs coming from other parties attacked me

# I will speak when it is a matter of country

# I hoped that Amanatullah will be ousted from party

# Amanatullah attacked me earlier

# Viswas showed dissent to the party

# Amanatullah alleged Viswas to be BJPs agent

# I dont have any desire to become CM, deputy CM

# I will not ask for forgiveness from anyone

# I will take decision this night

# I will not join any party

This is Me, This is My Nation. We, The Nation! No compromise. No, Never, Not at all! YYhttps://t.co/xKqFQuVB5j  Dr Kumar Vishvas (@DrKumarVishwas) May 2, 2017

Also read: Kumar Vishwas aiming to become AAP boss, alleges party MLA Amanatullah Khan; Kejriwal quashes 'rumours'

Also read: Kumar Vishwas says Arvind Kejriwal's stand on surgical strikes reason behind AAPs poll debacles



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New Delhi :

Hitting out at Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for his remarks on Telangana police, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu asked the leader to provide evidence over his charges or apologise.

Digvijaya Singh had said that Telangana Police was encouraging Muslim youths to join the terror outfit of Islamic State.

Naidu said the Telangana Police pro-actively share information on anti-terror operations with other states and such baseless charges demoralise the forces.

Shocked by allegations of Sh Digvijay Singh on #Telangana police encouraging Muslims to join ISIS. He should present evidence or apologise, Naidu said in a tweet.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister was responding to Singhs accusation that Telangana Police was radicalising Muslim youths and encouraging them to join the Islamic State (IS) by setting up a bogus website of the terror group.

Singh earlier claimed that the state police had set up the website to trap Muslims youths and that it was radicalising and encouraging them to become ISIS modules.

Also Read: Not having a pre-poll alliance with Goa Forward Party 'a mistake', says Digvijaya Singh

The senior Congress leader had also asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao whether he had authorised the state police to trap Muslim youths and encourage them to join the IS.

If he has then shouldnt he own the responsibility and resign? If he hasnt then shouldnt he enquire and punish those who are responsible for committing such a heinous crime (sic), Singh said in a tweet.

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New Delhi :

The daughter of slain BSF head constable Prem Sagar, who was killed by Pakistani troops and mutilated in Krishna Ghati of Poonch sector, said she wants 50 heads for his fatheras sacrifice.

Saroj, daughter of Prem Sagar, asserted that she did not receive any information about her fatheras death from the administration. Prem Sagar was a native of Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh.A

Under the cover of heavy mortar fire, a Pakistani special forces team sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded two Indian security personnel today, officials had said.

The Indian had Army vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act", which significantly took place a day after Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris.

Deoria (UP): Family mourns demise of BSF head constable Prem Sagar, whose body was mutilated by Pakistan Army in KG Sector (J&K), yesterday pic.twitter.com/CIENQe4fyW a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 2, 2017

The Pakistan army had denied that it was involved in any attack.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had asserted that the "sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain" and the Indian armed forces will react "appropriately" to the "inhuman act" of the Pakistani troops.

"This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks do not take place during war," he had said. (with PTI inputs)

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New Delhi/Lucknow:

Lucknow-based Petrol Pump owners ended their strike at around 12 noon on Tuesday morning after holding talks with district officials.

Petrol Pump owners had said that STF crackdown has scared away the petrol pump workers, making them unable to run the day-to-day operations. District officials have ensured the owners that STF will not harass the petrol pump staff, sources said.

Petrol Pump owners might have ended their strike, but not before bringing district administration to their knees.

The conditions put forward by petrol pump association allows them to eat their cake and have it too.



The conditions allow petrol pump owners to get away with little punishment even if they are caught cheating customers with the chip.



1) Only nozels or device found with chip will be sealed, not the entire petrol pump



2) Neither employee or petrol pump owner will be arrested even if a theft device is found in petrol pump



3) No FIR will be registered for cheating customers even if proof is found



4) If caught red-handed, there will be an enquiry and no actiuon will be taken till report comes out.

Lucknow: Petrol pump owners call off their strike over raids at petrol pumps by UP STF after meeting of DM & petrol pump association pic.twitter.com/K1ZC3wZ5jP  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 2, 2017

Read | UP STF arrests 23 people in petrol pump cheating case

Late night decision of Petrol Pump owners to go on a strike to protest the government crackdown on malpractices had crippled life in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

Since the decision was taken late on night, most of the people did not get a chance to fill up their fuel tanks and thus are left with no way to drop their children to school or make it the office.

According to reports, public sector companies owned petrol pumps were still open. And since such petrol pumps are few in numbers, a huge crowd has gathered outside these pumps to avail the fuel.

Petrol pumps reopened at 12 noon.

The Chip scam



In a shocking revelation, the Special Task Force (SP) of Uttar Pradesh Police unearthed a scam where at least eight petrol pumps in Lucknow were using a chip to cheat the costumers.



The STF conducted raids at the petrol pumps on Thursday after receiving a tip off and recovered electronic chips at few pumps. Several persons were detained from the petrol pump near King George Medical University in Lucknow.



The petrol was being sifted using an electronic device, STF sources said. It was found that around 50 ml petrol per litre was being stolen by the petrol pump staff.



The chip costs about Rs 3,000. A racket of petrol pump owners, involved in using the chip in the machines to dupe customers, has been busted.

Video | Petrol pumps in UP using electronic chip to steal fuel and dupe customers, reveals Special Task Force

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New Delhi:

There are 300 million asthmatics worldwide with 1/10th of those residing in India. According to World Health Organisations ambient air pollution database thirteen of the worlds 20 most polluted cities are in India.

The air in Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur has the highest amounts of tiny suspended particles (PM2.5) that penetrate deep into the airways and lungs to cause asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, stroke and a clutch of other diseases.

It's Impact

Asthma attacks all age groups but often starts in childhood. It is a disease characterised by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which vary in severity and frequency from person to person.

This condition is due to inflammation of the air passages in the lungs and affects the sensitivity of the nerve endings in the airways so they become easily irritated. In an attack, the lining of the passages swell causing the airways to narrow and reducing the flow of air in and out of the lungs.



Asthma spreading it's roots

Experts are struggling to understand why asthma rates worldwide, on average, are rising by 50% every decade. Some blame it on hygiene hypothesis, which holds that children with lower exposure to bacteria and viruses in early childhood do not develop a robust immunity, says Dr Mehal Shah, consultant pulmonologist at Mumbais Saifee, Bhatia and Wockhardt hospital.

Other triggers include sudden overuse and misuse of antibiotics, indoor and outdoor air pollution, pollen, food colour and additives, obesity, smoking, second-hand smoke, poorly ventilated homes and workplaces (10% of adult asthma is work-related), cold weather, exercise and stressors such as domestic violence and even relationships breaking down.

It's Treatment

Inhaled corticosteroids have been recognized and widely accepted as the mainstay of asthma management till date.

The goal of treating asthma lies in controlling the disease. And the most effective way to control asthma is through Inhalation Therapy, which is available in India at a price as low as INR 4 to INR 6 per day which means that a years supply of medicine is less than the cost of one nights stay at the hospital.

People need to gain awareness regarding on this rising chronic disease and acquire authentic information for medical care.
Beijing:

Chinas ruling Communist party for the first time has publicly said some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to the 81-year-old exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, undermining the fight against separatist forces.



A senior discipline inspection official has lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the partys fight against separatism, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday.



Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the countrys anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.

Read | India will pay dearly if it plays Dalai Lama card: Chinese media



The Global Times, a tabloid publication attached the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibets discipline watchdog, linking 15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities.



It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials.



This is the first time official media here has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.



Wang, in an article published on Monday in a magazine run by the CPC, the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision, wrote that some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations.

Read | China warns India, says Dalai Lama's visit will have negative impact on border dispute



A few party officials are failing to uphold their political integrity and are completely ignoring political discipline, Wang said, adding that such behaviour has affected the CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism.



China views the 14th Dalai Lama as a separatist working to split Tibet from China.



China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.



In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the spiritual leader.



His recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh which China calls South Tibet soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese standardised named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.

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New Delhi:

An employee of FBI with top-secret clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, said a media report

Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, a German rapper turned ISIS, reported CNN.

Denis Cuspert had praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.

Before travelling to Syria, 38-year-old woman translator lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.

Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official.

Greene was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A" identified as Cuspert.

As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.

It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

(With PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi:

Severe turbulence has injured 27 people on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bangkok, after a plane unexpectedly hit an "air hole" during its approach to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

24 Russians and 3 Thais were hurt, with some suffering serious fractures and bruising according to the statement from Russian Embassy in Bangkok.



The Boeing 777 hit a pocket of aclear aira turbulence a where there is no telltale cloud pattern or radar presence to warn pilots of the change in air pressure a as the flight prepared to land in Bangkok, shortly after midnight on Monday.

Denis Antonyuk, an official at Russiaas embassy in Bangkok said 24 Russian nationals and three Thai citizens were injured on flight SU270.

aFifteen Russians and two Thais are still in hospital,a he told AFP, adding the rest had been discharged.

"Some injured passengers were not wearing seat belts. All victims were taken to a local hospital with various injuries, mostly fractures and bruises. Some require surgery. Fifteen people remain hospitalized," the embassy said.

The Airport Authority of Thailand said in a press release that 30 passengers had been injured during the flight with 27 individuals transferred to Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok, while three chose to seek their own treatment.

A video shows passengers lying injured in the aisle after they were hurled up to the ceiling.

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By Suzanne Barlyn

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MetLife Inc (MET.N) plans to invest $1 billion in an efficiency program through 2019 that will eventually reduce annual operating costs by around $800 million, the insurer said on Thursday.

The investments will go toward technology improvements, Chief Executive Steven Kandarian wrote in his annual letter to shareholders, but did not provide more details.

MetLife first unveiled its cost-cutting plan last summer, saying it would save a gross $1 billion a year, partly through job cuts. In Kandarian's letter and a separate proxy filing, the insurer said pretax annual savings would be $800 million when netting out "stranded" overhead costs related to a business it is divesting.

In February, MetLife's board conducted a "deep dive examination" of the insurer's strategy and goals to boost shareholder returns, Kandarian said. A key part of that strategy is the planned spinoff of Brighthouse Financial, its retail life insurance business, which is awaiting regulatory approval.

The company continues to look for ways to reduce the capital it needs to hold and increase its free cash flow, Kandarian said.

In his letter, the CEO touched on everything from U.S. tax reform and expectations of an easing regulatory environment to the company's plan to return nearly $4.5 billion of capital to shareholders this year.

"The U.S. federal regulatory outlook is now more positive than it has been in nearly a decade," Kandarian said, adding that the "prospect for pro-growth tax reform has also brightened."

The remarks come days after the White House unveiled a proposal to significantly cut corporate taxes, and MetLife asked an appeals court to pause a case regarding whether it deserved a "too big to fail" designation while the Trump administration finishes reviewing the current regulatory approach. [L1N1HW1CV]

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Andrew Hay)
Sri Lankas massive garbage piles now collapsing in deadly avalanches like a scene ripped right out of Idiocracy

If youve ever seen Idiocracy, youre probably familiar with the Great Garbage Avalanche of 2505. Unfortunately for the real world, garbage avalanches have already started. It seems weve got a 500-year head start on making the dystopian world depicted in the film a reality. If were actually honest with ourselves, its obvious that the would-be joke movie is a startling mirror image of the direction our society is headed in. Slightly exaggerated, perhaps  but sadly becoming more accurate than not.

Sri Lankas capital city, Colombo, was devastated by the collapse of a garbage mountain with a height in excess of 300 feet in mid-April. After four days, local authorities were reportedly forced to close down their primary dump along the northeastern corridor of the city.

The collapse resulted in a massive landslide of rubbish that wiped out 145 homes and took at least 30 lives. Hundreds of troops were still looking for missing people days after the accident took place. The hope of finding survivors began to wane after four days of searching through the rubble, officials said. Six people have reportedly been missing since the garbage avalanche occurred, and some reports say that up to 100 people were trapped beneath the landslide of mud and rubbish. According to NBC News, authorities are having a hard time determining the exact number of missing people.

Residents of the area, who mostly live in shanties, have been calling for the government to remove the dump due to health problems being caused by its presence. Some are also urging the government to assist those who lost their homes to the massive tidal wave of garbage. Liyanage Menaka, a survivor of the collapse whos home was destroyed, commented, The lives of more than 100 are lost. What we are asking is (that they) give us a solution and take care of our kids.

Now, the president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, has banned anti-garbage collection protests. Anyone caught trying to prevent city authorities from conducting garbage collection and disposal reportedly faces prosecution and an indefinite period of jail time. Any person who by word or deed causes a disruption of garbage disposal will be guilty of an offence [sic], the presidential order declares. Authorities say that they are disposing of garbage in alternative locations, but is that really going to be enough to combat this growing problem?

While city officials from Colombo say that they will be finding new locations to put their rubbish, the issue of garbage accumulation is far from over. And its not just a Sri Lankan concern; garbage is a global issue. Putting waste in another part of the city or country is merely a temporary solution to a long-term problem. The garbage landslide in Sri Lanka is likely just the beginning.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, in 2016 it was estimated that the worlds nations produced 1.3 billion tons of waste  and by 2100, that number is expected to climb to 4 billion tons. Trash is a growing problem, and over half of the worlds people dont even have access to adequate waste collection. It is likely that we will literally be drowning in our own waste some day in the ever-nearing future. As urbanization and industrialization expand in countries around the world, the amount of waste created will also skyrocket. As reported by the Times, The United Nations Environment Program predicts the amount of waste will probably double in lower-income African and Asian cities as a result of population growth, urbanization and rising consumption.

The UN says that public waste systems are already having trouble keeping up with expansion, and that the waste-producing trend seems to have no bounds. The global trash problem brings many harmful effects, though they are not all as clearly visible as a 300-foot trash mountain. Damages to the environment, human health and safety will be the outcome of our immense production of waste. Nothing is without consequence, and the rate at which humans are polluting the earth will certainly come with a hefty price tag.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

NBCNews.com

NDTV.com

LATimes.com

Submit a correction >>
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 1, 2017) - Volcanic Gold Mines Inc. ("Volcanic") (TSX VENTURE:VG) is pleased to report that it has entered into a binding and exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (the "MOU") to acquire an initial 70% interest in the Seimana Project in Guinea. This interest may be further increased to 100% through additional project expenditures. Seimana comprises four exploration permits, which together adjoin much of the western boundary of Volcanic's existing Mandiana Project ("Mandiana"), as well as the lands the Company has under option from West African Mining Associates SARL ("WAMA"), as announced by Volcanic on April 14, 2017. The acquisition of the Seimana Project will expand Volcanic's holding in the Mandiana district to almost 1,000 fully contiguous square kilometers of highly prospective Birimian terrain, characterized by widespread, linear zones of shallow artisanal gold mining.

The Seimana Project

Exploration at Seimana in 2014 and 2015 by a former option holder included the drilling of 31 reverse circulation holes for a total of approximately 3,000m of drilling over 9 of the 40 reported targets. In much the same fashion as drilling works conducted at Mandiana and WAMA -- to which Seimana is geologically similar -- these targets were derived from artisanal workings. Drilling results include:

4m @ 19.8g/t from 50m in hole TAMRC001

5m @ 2.64g/t from 61m in hole TAMRC002

10m @ 2.58g/t from 36m in hole KROURC001

5m @ 2.02g/t from 55m and 3m @ 3.50g/t from 66m in hole KROURC002

3m @ 5.6g/t from 26m in hole KOTRC001

3m @ 5.06g/t from 21m and 3m @ 3.50g/t from 66m in hole KRDRC002

The reader is advised that the above results are historic in nature and are yet to be verified by Volcanic.

Earlier works at Seimana include surface geochemical and rock-chip sampling, and broad prospecting of artisanal workings over much of the property. Mineralization at Seimana lies along strike from Avocet Mining's Resource1 of 1.99 million ounces (Measured and Indicated) and 1.02 million ounces (Inferred) of gold at the Tri-K property, located 7 km to the south of the Seimana Project. Mineralization appears to be associated with NW trending geological structures, in common with other known gold deposits within the Siguiri Basin. It is anticipated that Volcanic will include Seimana in its airborne geophysical survey program currently planned over its consolidated land package, to be followed-up by further prospecting, with the aim of defining and refining drilling targets at the Project.

Story continues

1Competent Persons' Report, 31 December 2014 (JORC standards)

The MOU

Pursuant to the terms of the MOU, Volcanic will make a cash payment of US$17,640 to the Seimana optionors, which is to be used to complete the renewal of the mineral tenures that comprise the Project. Subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence on title to the Seimana Project, Volcanic will have the exclusive right to earn a 70% interest in the Project by incurring exploration expenditures of US$700,000 on the Project within 18 months of the effective date of the MOU, including expenditures of at least US$300,000 within the first 6 months. Once Volcanic has acquired the 70% interest, the remaining 30% interest in the Project held by the optionors will remain undiluted until such time as Volcanic has incurred aggregate exploration expenditures of US$2M. Thereafter, the minority owners will have the right, but not the obligation, to participate in any project funding in proportion to their percentage ownership in the Project, or will be diluted proportionally.

About Volcanic

Volcanic brings together a deeply experienced and successful mining, exploration and capital markets team focused on building a multi-million ounce gold resource in the underexplored West African country of Guinea and its neighbouring countries. Through the strategic acquisition of mineral properties with demonstrated potential for hosting gold resources, and by undertaking effective exploration and drill programs, Volcanic is seeking to become a leading junior gold resource company.

Qualified Person

Mr. Simon Meadows-Smith is a Qualified Person as defined by "National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" and has approved the disclosure of the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Meadows-Smith holds a BSc degree in geology from Nottingham University, England, and has been involved in mineral exploration since 1988, including 20 years of experience working in West Africa. He is a Fellow in good standing of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining in London.

Volcanic Gold Mines Inc.

Jeremy Crozier, President

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and include, without limitation, statements about the Company's proposed optioning of the Seimana Project and exploration plans therefor. Often, but not always, these forward looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "estimate", "estimates", "estimated", "potential", "open", "future", "assumed", "projected", "used", "detailed", "has been", "gain", "upgraded", "offset", "limited", "contained", "reflecting", "containing", "remaining", "to be", "periodically", or statements that events, "could" or "should" occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, whether the Company will complete the acquisition of an option to earn an interest in the Seimana Project as planned, or whether the Company's exploration work thereon will proceed as intended; changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; the Company or any joint venture partner not having the financial ability to meet its exploration and development goals; risks associated with the results of exploration and development activities, estimation of mineral resources and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; unanticipated costs and expenses; and such other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's quarterly and annual filings with securities regulators and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to: that the Company will complete its acquisition of an option to earn an interest in the Seimana Project as planned and that the Company's exploration work thereon will proceed as intended; that the Company's stated goals and planned exploration and development activities will be achieved; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
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DANBURY  Some 150 people marched through downtown Monday afternoon demanding justice and better treatment of immigrants, a rebuke to President Donald Trumps crackdown on immigration.

The march began at the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury on Harmony Street and ended with a rally at Kennedy Park.

Many marchers held handwritten signs bearing messages like Love Thy Neighbor and chanted phrases such as No hate in Hat City and Undocumented, unafraid.

Theres a lot of hate going on right now, said Rocio Perez, 35, of Danbury, who moved to the United States from El Salvador 12 years ago. People need to know immigrants arent here to be hated but to be a vital part of this community.

The Danbury event was part of a nationwide day of action calling for better rights for immigrants and workers. It was held on May Day, also known as International Workers Day, when union members around the world traditionally march for workers rights. But May Day has become a rallying point for immigrants in the United States since massive demonstrations were held in 2006 against a proposed immigration enforcement bill.

In recent years, immigrant-rights protests shrank as groups diverged and shifted their focus to voter registration and lobbying. Larger crowds were expected to return this year, however, as immigrant groups joined with Muslim organizations, womens advocates and others in opposition to the presidents policies.

Among Mondays speakers was Glenda Armstrong, president of the Greater Danbury NAACP.

As the oldest civil rights organization in this country, we the NAACP stand today and every day for civil rights for all people, Armstrong said.

In his first 100 days, Trump has aggressively pursued immigration enforcement, including issuing executive orders banning travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries and starting work on a border wall. The government has arrested thousands of undocumented immigrants and threatened to withhold funding from jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local and federal immigration authorities.

In February, dozens of Danbury businesses closed during a similar national strike. Mondays May Day rally in Danbury was organized by several groups, including CT Students for a Dream, Danbury Justice Network, AFT Connecticut and more.

In these times, we all have to stand together against all of these attacks against members of our community, said Mike Dobsevage, 40, of Bethel, who attended the rally. A lot of undocumented immigrants are living in extreme fear. This is a strong message against Trumps policies.

Before the event, Angelica Idrovo, who led the march, demanded clarity from Mayor Mark Boughton about the citys level of cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Everyone deserves rights, said Idrovo, an undocumented immigrant who moved to Danbury from Ecuador in December 2009.

We feel terrorized, she said. Im here for the community that cannot come out of the shadows.

The Associated Press contributed to this article
NEWTOWN - For the first time in five years, the 26 bicyclists who pedal 400 miles to honor the Sandy Hook massacre victims will be riding with their backs to Washington, D.C.

If it sounds like the activists are sending a message to Congress, they are.

We have been riding for four years into Washington, D.C., and during that period of time, Congress has failed to pass a single piece of legislation that would reduce gun violence, said Monte Frank, an attorney who founded the four-day ride after the massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook School in 2012.

This year we decided we are going to start in Washington and ride away from Congress and toward the states and cities and communities that are working hard to protect their citizens from gun violence.

The twist on the Team 26 ride means Frank and his colleagues will begin their fifth annual message tour from the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning, and make their way through Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, before arriving home Sunday night to a reception in Newtown.

All of those states have enacted gun safety reforms that both recognize the Second Amendment and provide protection for their citizens, said Frank, who lives in Sandy Hook.

Franks group is calling on federal lawmakers to pass background checks on all gun sales, among other measures.

In many ways, this year is the most important ride weve had, Frank said. In spite of the political environment in Washington, we are going to persevere. Were not giving up hope for a brighter future for our country.

Connecticuts Congressional delegation plans to attend Team 26s send-off Thursday at the Capitol. Among those scheduled to speak are Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and U.S. Reps. Elizabeth Esty, John Larson, Rosa DeLauro, Joe Courtney and Jim Himes, all Democrats.

Some of the same lawmakers plan to be in Newtown to welcome Team 26 home Sunday night.

Tour stops include press conferences in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Trenton, N.J. The riders plan to pedal at least eight hours each day. Police escorts through various cities are planned to ensure the riders will keep to their schedule, Frank said.

A group of Sandy Hook families, Sandy Hook teachers, town leaders and politicians will be waiting for Team 26 at Edmond Town Hall in downtown Newtown pn Thursday night.

We are excited about the welcome home rally - we have an amazing program planned, Frank said. We are going to be all smiles when we arrive.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
(TSX-V | OYL)

TORONTO, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - CGX Energy Inc. ("CGX Energy" or the "Company") announced today the release of its audited consolidated financial results for the year ended December 31, 2016, together with its Management Discussion and Analysis. These documents will be posted on the Company's website at www.cgxenergy.com and SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Professor Suresh Narine, Chairman of CGX Energy and newly appointed its Executive Director, Guyana on April 14, 2017, commented: While the global downturn in petroleum prices has significantly affected the company over the past two years, the de-risking of the Guyana basin through multiple large discoveries has simultaneously provided enough buoyancy to allow the company to take steps to restructure its debt and prepare to continue exploration. The company has been aided significantly in this regard through the support of its major shareholder, Pacific Exploration & Production Corporation, which was successfully restructured after being also affected by the downturn in prices. The next several months are important ones for the company as we restructure and begin preparing to play our role in the further exploration of the Guyana basin. I wish to thank the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for their cooperation and collaboration, especially over the past 12 months.

2016 Year-End Overview and Highlights

On April 26, 2017 , the Company entered into a bridge loan agreement (the " Bridge Loan III ") with Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. (" Pacific ") in the aggregate principal amount of up to $3,100,000 . The Bridge Loan is a non-revolving term facility. The Bridge Loan III accrues interest at an annual rate of 5% per annum and is repayable in full including all accrued interest in April 2018 . The Company may draw all or part of the Bridge Loan III in one or more advances to be made on a date or dates agreed to by both parties. Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares of CGX's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Bridge Loan III. As of April 28, 2017 , the Company had drawn down approximately $1,410,000 on the Bridge Loan III.





, the Company entered into a bridge loan agreement (the " ") with Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. (" ") in the aggregate principal amount of up to . The Bridge Loan is a non-revolving term facility. The Bridge Loan III accrues interest at an annual rate of 5% per annum and is repayable in full including all accrued interest in . The Company may draw all or part of the Bridge Loan III in one or more advances to be made on a date or dates agreed to by both parties. Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares of CGX's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Bridge Loan III. As of , the Company had drawn down approximately on the Bridge Loan III. On October 13, 2016 , the Company entered into a bridge loan agreement (the " Bridge Loan II ") with Pacific in the aggregate principal amount of up to $2 million . This facility was used to help CGX fund monthly general and administrative expenses and was a drawdown facility that was approved by Pacific on a monthly basis. The Bridge Loan II accrues interest at an annual rate of 5% per annum and is repayable in full including all accrued interest in October 2017 . Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares of CGX's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Bridge Loan II. As of April 28, 2017 , the Company had fully drawn on the Bridge Loan II.





, the Company entered into a bridge loan agreement (the " ") with Pacific in the aggregate principal amount of up to . This facility was used to help CGX fund monthly general and administrative expenses and was a drawdown facility that was approved by Pacific on a monthly basis. The Bridge Loan II accrues interest at an annual rate of 5% per annum and is repayable in full including all accrued interest in . Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares of CGX's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Bridge Loan II. As of , the Company had fully drawn on the Bridge Loan II. On March 4, 2016 , CGX entered into a bridge loan facility (the "Bridge Loan I") with Pacific in an amount up to $2 million . This facility was used to help CGX fund monthly general and administrative expenses and was a drawdown facility that was approved by Pacific on a monthly basis. The Bridge Loan I accrues interest at an annual rate of 5% per annum and is repayable in full including all accrued interest in March 2017 . Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares of CGX's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Bridge Loan I. The Company had fully drawn on the Bridge Loan I.

On November 16, 2015 , Company agreed to issue a convertible debenture (the " Convertible Debenture ") by private placement in the amount of $1.5 million to Pacific. The Convertible Debenture has a term of twelve months and an annual interest payable of 5% and was convertible at the option of the holder at a conversion price of C$0.335 . The Convertible Debenture has been funded in full. Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares in the Company's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Convertible Debenture.





, Company agreed to issue a convertible debenture (the " ") by private placement in the amount of to Pacific. The Convertible Debenture has a term of twelve months and an annual interest payable of 5% and was convertible at the option of the holder at a conversion price of . The Convertible Debenture has been funded in full. Pacific has the right to take a pledge of shares in the Company's subsidiaries in an event of default under the Convertible Debenture. Pursuant to the terms of the Petroleum Prospecting Licences (" PPL ") governing the Corentyne Block, the Company is currently negotiating the terms of an extension of the spud date for its next exploration well on the block. The previous spud date was July 1, 2016 . The Company is also currently negotiating extensions on its commitments of its Demerara and Berbice PPLs.





") governing the Corentyne Block, the Company is currently negotiating the terms of an extension of the spud date for its next exploration well on the block. The previous spud date was . The Company is also currently negotiating extensions on its commitments of its Demerara and Berbice PPLs. The Company continues to negotiate with its trade creditors, including with respect to the approximately $14.4 million owed to Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. (excluding interest), approximately $9.5 million owed to Prospector PTE. Ltd. (excluding interest), and the approximately $2.9 million owed to Teikoku Oil (Suriname) Co., Ltd. (excluding interest), with a view to determining how to address these significant payables in light of depressed oil prices. For further information regarding these payables, please see the Company's financial statements.



Executive Appointment and Option Grant

CGX Energy also announces that on April 14, 2017 its Board of Directors appointed Professor Suresh Narine, as its Executive Director, Guyana, subject to regulatory approval. Professor Narine will remain as a director of the Company. In conjunction with his appointment, the Board of Directors has agreed to grant Professor Narine incentive stock options to purchase 1,000,000 common shares of the Company. The stock options will be granted on May 2, 2017 pursuant to the Company's stock option plan and will be exercisable at a price equal to the closing market price on such date. The options will expire on May 2, 2022.

About CGX Energy

CGX Energy is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company focused on the exploration of oil in the Guyana-Suriname Basin.

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

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur in the future. These forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by CGX Energy. CGX Energy believes the expectations and assumptions on which it develops forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance 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. In addition, other risks that may affect the forward-looking statements in this news release are outlined further in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and CGX Energy undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE CGX Energy Inc.

For further information: please contact: Brooks Lyons, Manager, Commercial & Business Development at (832) 300-3200 or [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cgxenergy.com


This quarterly earnings news release should be read in conjunction with our first quarter 2017 unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) as well as our 2016 Annual Report which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Unless otherwise noted, all amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars.

GUELPH, ON, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Co-operators General Insurance Company (Co-operators General) today released consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The consolidated net income was $34.6 million compared to net income of $39.3 million for the same quarter in 2016. This resulted in an earnings per common share of $1.55 for the quarter compared to $1.78 in the same period last year.

"It is common for severe weather to be a factor in the first quarter, and that was the case this year as windstorms in Ontario and the Atlantic made an impact on our results. Claims costs increased compared to the same period the year prior in our home, auto and commercial lines of business," said Rob Wesseling, president and CEO of The Co-operators. "We continue to achieve good growth, as we increased direct written premium across all lines of business. That partially offset the increased claims costs, as did an improvement in our investment performance."

CO-OPERATORS GENERAL'S FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS









($ in millions, except for earnings per share and ratios)





1st quarter

2017 1st quarter

2016 Key financial data



Direct written premium (DWP) 540.3 519.5 Net earned premium (NEP) 609.3 588.5 Net income 34.6 39.3 Total assets1 5,706.9 5,854.5 Shareholders' equity1 1,588.6 1,578.9





Key success indicators



DWP growth 4.0% 6.2% NEP growth 3.5% 6.9% Earnings per common share $1.55 $1.78 Return on equity 9.9% 12.4% Combined ratio - excluding market yield adjustment2 102.5% 95.6% Minimum Capital Test (MCT)1 235% 227%

1 Balance sheet data and MCT results for 2016 are as at December 31 2 The combined ratio for 2016 has changed as a result of a reclassification of commission revenue that was previously netted with commission and general expenses

First quarter review

DWP improvements during the first quarter were attributable to growth in policy and vehicle count in all lines of business paired with higher average home and farm premiums. In the first quarter, DWP increased by 4.0% or $20.8 million to $540.3 million. NEP increased during the first quarter by 3.5% or $20.8 million compared to the same period last year. The increase in NEP is seen in all geographic regions and all product lines, with the exception of the commercial line of business.

The combined ratio, excluding the market yield adjustment for the quarter, was 102.5% compared to 95.6% for the same period last year. Undiscounted net claims and adjustment expenses have increased by 12.6% from the first quarter of 2016, bringing the loss ratio to 68.0%. The increase was driven by the frequency of current accident year claims within the home line of business, primarily as a result of windstorms in the Ontario and Atlantic regions, compared to less severe weather in the same period of the prior year. Excluding the windstorms, we experienced an increase in the frequency of current accident year claims within the home and auto lines of business, combined with an increase in the severity of current accident year claims in the commercial line of business. The expense ratio increased by 1.4 percentage points, to 34.5%, as compared to the same period in 2016, driven by an increase in information technology system initiatives and higher distribution costs.

Net investment income and gains increased by $33.1 million versus the first quarter of 2016 on the strength of investment gains in our preferred share portfolio. In the first quarter of 2017, unrealized preferred share gains were $20.6 million in contrast to the $10.2 million in unrealized losses recognized during the same period in 2016.

The Company's investment portfolio is comprised of high quality and well diversified assets. The credit quality of the bond portfolio remains high with 86.3% rated A or higher and 98.0% considered investment grade. The equity portfolio is 78.4% weighted in Canadian stocks.

Capital

The Company's capital position remains strong, as the Minimum Capital Test for Co-operators General was 235% at March 31, 2017, well above the internal and regulatory minimum requirements.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, including statements regarding the operations, objectives, strategies, financial situation and performance of Co-operators General. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "would", "should", "could", "trend", "predict", "likely", "potential" or "continue" or the negative thereof and similar variations. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risk, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements or information. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Consequently, we make no representation that actual results achieved will be the same in whole or in part as those set out in the forward-looking statements and information. For further information, refer to our first quarter 2017 MD&A or our 2016 Annual Report.

SHAREHOLDER AND INVESTOR INFORMATION

About Co-operators General Insurance Company

With assets of more than $5.7 billion, Co-operators General is a leading Canadian multi-product insurance company. Co-operators General is part of The Co-operators Group Limited, a Canadian co-operative. Through its group of companies it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, wealth management as well as investment management products. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement and commitment to sustainability, and is listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Aon Hewitt.

Co-operators General Class E, Series C Preference Shares trade under ticker symbol CCS.PR.C on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information can be found at www.cooperators.ca .

SOURCE The Co-operators

For further information: P. Bruce West, Executive Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Telephone: (519) 767-3036

Related Links

www.cooperators.ca


BOGOTA, Colombia, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company) will release on May 11, 2017 its financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2017. Ecopetrol will host two conference calls to review the results on May 12, 2017. The details of the conference calls will be announced to the market within the next days.

The earnings release will be available on Ecopetrol's website: www.ecopetrol.com.co

This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For further information, please contact:

Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations

Maria Catalina Escobar

Phone: (+571) 234 5190

E-mail: [email protected]

Media Relations (Colombia)

Jorge Mauricio Tellez

Phone: (+ 571) 234 4329

E-mail: [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090209/ARM001LOGO

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.

Related Links

http://www.ecopetrol.com.co


Fourth straight quarter in the black for BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe; one-year gain of 11.22% tops ten-year average return

TORONTO, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - The median return of the BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe, a BNY Mellon Global Risk Solutions fund-level tracking service, was +3.11% for the first quarter of 2017, marking the fourth straight quarter of positive results. The one-year return of +11.22% was above the Canadian Master Trust Universe's ten-year annualized return of +5.97% and marked the fourth consecutive quarter of positive one-year performance.

With a market value of more than $234.5 billion and an average plan size of $2.6 billion, the BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe is a fund-level tracking service that can be used to make peer comparisons of performance by plan type and size. It consists of 90 Canadian corporate, public and university pension plans. Additional insight of the Canadian Master Trust Universe data is provided by BNY Mellon's big data product, Asset Strategy View, and the Universe product extension, Asset Allocation Trust Universe. "With the additional insight of Asset Strategy View and the Asset Allocation Trust Universes, we can provide the marketplace with insights into sub-asset class information, such as the movement of investments to alternatives," said Tim Rourke, Vice President Relationship Management and Pension Practice Lead, CIBC Mellon.

"The Canadian plans are off to a healthy start for 2017 with 100% of the plans posting positive results and a median return of +3.11% for the first quarter. The Canadian Foundations & Endowments plans outperformed Canadian pension plans in the first quarter, gaining +3.68% followed by Canadian Universities' median returns which reported +3.23%," said Catherine Thrasher, Managing Director, Global Risk Solutions Canada, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. "Both plan types benefitted from higher allocations to outperforming international equities, the top performing asset class for the first quarter with a median return of +7.74%. U.S. equity was the best performing asset class over the one year time horizon (+21.65%)."

Q1 Highlights of the BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe

100% of plans posted positive results during the quarter; median returns for plans over $1 billion exceeded the median of the BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe by 11 basis points for Q1 2017.

exceeded the median of the BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe by 11 basis points for Q1 2017. Canadian Foundations & Endowments plans saw the highest median return (+3.68%), followed by Canadian Universities (+3.23%);

Canadian equity posted a quarterly median return of +2.24%, versus the S&P/TSX Composite Index return of +2.41%. U.S. equity's median quarterly return of +5.55% outperformed as compared to the S&P 500 Index result of +5.48%. International equity and non-Canadian equity, with median returns of +7.74% and +6.80%, reported higher results versus the MSCI EAFE Index and MSCI World Index returns of +6.80% and +5.94%, respectively.

Further insight on international equities from the Asset Allocation Trust Universes indicate emerging markets equity posted the highest median results for the quarter, +11.46%, surpassing the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, +10.87%.

Fixed Income performance was positive during the first quarter with a median return of +1.46%, versus the FTSE TMX Canada Bond Universe Index return of +1.24%.

Alternative asset classes were led by infrastructure, reporting a median return of +2.81%, followed by hedge funds +2.02%, real estate +1.21% and private equity +1.14% in the first quarter as reported by the Asset Allocation Trust Universes.

BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe Median Plan Returns*













Universe Medians 1Q

2017

% One-

Year

% Three-

Years

% Five-

Years

% Ten-

Years

% Canadian Master Trust Total Fund 3.11 11.22 7.88 9.66 5.97

Canadian Equity 2.24 18.60 6.80 10.25 5.37

U.S. Equity 5.55 21.65 16.62 20.35 9.09

International Equity 7.74 17.24 9.05 12.89 3.67

Non-Canadian Equity 6.80 19.03 12.07 16.02 6.04

Fixed Income 1.46 2.29 5.55 4.38 5.68

Real Estate 0.93 6.80 5.70 8.74

Canadian Foundations & Endowments 3.68 13.56 8.19 10.69 6.14 Canadian Universities 3.23 13.16 7.71 10.15 6.13



*All returns are posted gross of fee results, calculated in Canadian dollars.

Information containing any historical information, data or analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance, analysis, forecast or prediction. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Information should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy. Some products or services are available only through BNY Mellon.

About CIBC Mellon

CIBC Mellon is a Canadian company exclusively focused on the investment servicing needs of Canadian institutional investors and international institutional investors into Canada. Founded in 1996, CIBC Mellon is 50-50 jointly owned by The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). CIBC Mellon's investment servicing solutions for institutions and corporations are provided in close collaboration with our parent companies, and include custody, multicurrency accounting, fund administration, recordkeeping, exchange-traded fund services, pension services, securities lending services, foreign exchange processing and settlement, and treasury services. As at March 31, 2017, CIBC Mellon had more than C$1.7 trillion of assets under administration on behalf of banks, pension funds, investment funds, corporations, governments, insurance companies, foreign insurance trusts, foundations and global financial institutions whose clients invest in Canada. CIBC Mellon is part of the BNY Mellon network, which as at March 31, 2017 had US$30.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration. CIBC Mellon is a licensed user of the CIBC trade-mark and certain BNY Mellon trade-marks, is the corporate brand of CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services Company and CIBC Mellon Trust Company, and may be used as a generic term to refer to either or both companies.

For more information, including CIBC Mellon's latest knowledge leadership on issues relevant to institutional investors active in Canada, visit www.cibcmellon.com.

SOURCE CIBC Mellon

For further information: Jennifer Israel, Corporate Communications, CIBC Mellon, 416-643-6538, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cibcmellon.com


Supporting Inuit in taking action on their health priorities

IQALUIT, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut are committed to a renewed Inuit-Crown relationship to make progress on the issues that are most important, including health.

Today, the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health; the Honourable George Hickes, Minister of Health, Government of Nunavut; and Aluki Kotierk, President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., announced the renewal of the Nunavut Wellness Agreement.

The renewed Nunavut Wellness Agreement is focused on supporting Inuit in defining and taking action on their health priorities. This model is culturally respectful and supported by strong partnerships at both the community and territorial level.

The Government of Canada will provide $189 million in funding over 10 years to the Government of Nunavut for community-based programs covering four broad areas: healthy children, families and communities; healthy living; mental wellness; and home and community care. Examples of activities supported under the Agreement include:

Community wellness programs, such as school-based breakfast programs, mental wellness programming, mentorship activities, cooking classes and physical activities.

Health promotion initiatives, including mental health and wellness and sexual health programming; maternal and child health programs, such as the "Nunavut Baby Boxes" filled with newborn essentials; and tobacco cessation programs.

Community development initiatives that will support recruitment and training for coordinators.

Home and community care programs to ensure a coordinated system of home and community-based healthcare and support services delivered in all Nunavut communities.

This renewed agreement allows for longer-term planning, implementation and program delivery across Nunavut's 25 communities, and increases flexibility to better respond to community needs. A strong principle of the new Agreement is that Inuit share governance and leadership in the design, implementation and evaluation of health programs across Nunavut.

Quotes

"It is exciting to see all the innovative programs and activities being delivered in Nunavut that are supported through this agreement. We know that programs that are community owned and driven are most effective. This agreement provides the opportunity for the people of Nunavut to take a leadership role in addressing their unique healthcare needs and circumstances."

The Honourable Jane Philpott

Minister of Health

"The ongoing work in our communities through the collaboration with Health Canada and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., to support wellness programs is welcomed by the Department of Health. This collaboration ensures that communities will be able to continue to focus on community-based initiatives that aim to improve their health and well-being through a community-determined approach that emphasizes the development of cultural knowledge and skills, and promotes Inuit values."

The Honourable George Hickes

Minister of Health, Government of Nunavut

"NTI is pleased with the renewal of the Nunavut Wellness Agreement. The multi-year funding approach addresses a challenge that Inuit have expressed as a barrier to delivering consistent programming at the community level. This renewed approach builds upon community capacity to deliver programs based on priorities and need. It is our hope that this multi-party agreement will inspire other government departments to work closely with Inuit organizations so that programs and services are reflective of Inuit goals and objectives in accordance with Article 32 of the Nunavut Agreement."

Aluki Kotierk

President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Quick Facts

Health Canada will invest approximately $19 million yearly in the Nunavut Wellness Agreement, for a total of $184.5 million over 10 years.

will invest approximately yearly in the Nunavut Wellness Agreement, for a total of over 10 years. The Public Health Agency of Canada will invest more than $455,000 yearly, for a total of approximately $4.5 million over 10 years.

will invest more than yearly, for a total of approximately over 10 years. In Budget 2017, the Government pledged $54 million to Nunavut to renew and expand the Territorial Health Investment Fund starting in 2017-18. This funding will support territorial efforts to innovate and transform Nunavut's healthcare system and ensure northerners have access to the healthcare they need.

to to renew and expand the Territorial Health Investment Fund starting in 2017-18. This funding will support territorial efforts to innovate and transform healthcare system and ensure northerners have access to the healthcare they need. The previous Wellness Agreement expired on March 31, 2017 , and was first announced in April 2012 .

SOURCE Health Canada

For further information: Andrew MacKendrick, Office of Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; Nadine Purdy, Manager of Communications Department of Health, Government of Nunavut, 867-975-5712, [email protected]; Kerry McCluskey, Director of Communications, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, 867-975-4914, 1-888-646-0006, [email protected]; Media Relations, Health Canada, 613-957-2983; Public Inquiries: 613-957-2991, 1-866 225-0709
TORONTO, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to growing the economy and the middle class, and helping those working hard to join it. Through the Build in Canada Innovation Program, the Government of Canada is investing in Canadian innovations to create inclusive and sustainable economic growth for communities across Canada.

The Government of Canada today announced it is investing in a made-in-Canada mobile support system for injured soldiers.

Quality of Care Health Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, received a $508,567 contract for its mobile phone application that supports injured soldiers in their physical and mental recovery. The innovation, called the mobile support system for injured Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, enables soldiers to track their symptoms and recovery progress from home while connected to healthcare professionals and their peers. The Quality of Care (QoC) Health application, built with specialized components to protect security and privacy, is a cost-effective solution that reduces the users' visits and helps them return to work faster.



The mobile support system for injured CAF members is being tested by National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces as part of QoC Health's Return to Duty Program.

This investment was made through the Build in Canada Innovation Program, which helps Canadian innovators land their first sale and get their innovations tested by the Government of Canada. This program is just one of the many ways the Government of Canada supports innovation and small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.

Canadian innovators can submit their proposals on the Build in Canada Innovation Program's website.

Quotes

"Our government is committed to growing the economy and the middle class, and to helping those working hard to join it. By matching innovative products, such as the QoC Health application, with government needs, the Build in Canada Innovation Program helps Canadian companies move their products from the lab to the marketplace."

Steven MacKinnon

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement

"QoC Health is just one of the many small and medium companies the government helps through the Build in Canada Innovation Program. The government will continue to purchase cutting-edge technology that benefits Canadians and creates jobs and economic growth."

Adam Vaughan

Member of Parliament for SpadinaFort York



"The Build in Canada Innovation Program allowed us to try this unique platform that helps ill and injured CAF members be better connected to their Return to Duty Program support network."



Captain Marie-France Langlois (Navy)

Director, Casualty Support Management

National Defence

Quick Facts

QoC Health is a Toronto -based social enterprise that builds and develops digital solutions for healthcare organizations. It was founded by a team of experts in healthcare, business and technology.

-based social enterprise that builds and develops digital solutions for healthcare organizations. It was founded by a team of experts in healthcare, business and technology. QoC Health uses secure and cost-effective mobile technology that was designed with the recommendations of injured Canadian Armed Forces members, but can also be used in other post-clinical settings.

More than 223 contracts have been awarded under the Build in Canada Innovation Program, bringing Canadian companies one step closer to selling to domestic and international markets.

Innovation Program, bringing Canadian companies one step closer to selling to domestic and international markets. More than $81 million has been awarded in contracts since the Build in Canada Innovation Program began in 2010.

Associated Links

Build in Canada Innovation Program

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Facebook

SOURCE Public Works & Government Services Canada

For further information: Contacts: Annie Trepanier, Office of the Honourable Judy M. Foote, 819-997-5421; Media Relations, Public Services and Procurement Canada, 819-420-5501, [email protected]

Related Links

www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca


MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - West Village Partners ("WVP") is pleased to announce that it has concluded the purchase of the 72-acre former industrial site at 70 Mississauga Road South in Port Credit. WVP is looking forward to working with the Port Credit residents and stakeholders on a plan to transform these lands into a complete, vibrant and diverse waterfront community where people can live, work and play. This development has been long anticipated and will be a harmonious and supportive complement to Port Credit.

WVP is a joint venture of four leading Canadian developers and city builders: Kilmer Group, Dream Unlimited Corp, Diamond Corp, and FRAM + Slokker.WVP has developed a mixed-use master plan that builds upon the principles of the City of Mississauga's Inspiration Port Credit vision and recognizes the importance of thoughtfully integrating with the vibrant neighbourhoods of Port Credit.

"We're determined to deliver a special community that will raise the bar for architectural and design excellence and to transform this section of the Port Credit shoreline into a dynamic waterfront community with places to live, work, shop and play," said WVP Spokesperson Ken Tanenbaum, Vice Chairman of Kilmer Group, who was speaking at an event unveiling the draft master plan today in Mississauga.

The event was attended by Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Councillor Jim Tovey, Mississauga City Manager/CAO Janice Baker and a broad cross section of the Port Credit community.

"Today is another important milestone for the historic and charming waterfront community of Port Credit. The unveiling of the draft plan for this new development is proof that Mississauga is a city in demand and that people continue to choose Mississauga to raise a family, find a well-paying job and enjoy an unrivalled quality of life. Let me acknowledge all staff, Council, business leaders and community partners who have worked together to make this plan a reality," said Mayor Crombie.

WVP's master plan is dedicated to revitalizing the 72-acre site in a manner that will fulfill important city building objectives of architectural excellence, connectivity, high quality public realm, community gathering spaces, and a series of parks that collectively enhance the Mississauga waterfront experienceall informed by a thoughtful environmental strategy.

WVP is committed to transparent communications and engagement with the public, elected officials, City Staff and all stakeholders. Following in our tradition of working with the public in the development of our projects, later this spring the WVP will hold the first of what we anticipate will be a series of public meetings to engage with the community in delivering an extraordinary landmark development for the City of Mississauga.

BACKGROUNDER

For more than three decades the landmark property at 70 Mississauga Road South on the Lake Ontario shore in Mississauga has sat idle with residents wondering when and how it could be brought to life. In December 2016, West Village Partners (WVP) was selected by Imperial Oil as the winning bidder after a robust RFP process to purchase the 72-acre lakefront property and concluded the purchase in March 2017.

VISION

WVP's development draft master plan proposal aspires to transform the former industrial site into a complete, vibrant and diverse waterfront community where people can live, work and playa harmonious and supportive complement to Port Credit.

WVP is dedicated to revitalizing the 72-acre site in a manner that will fulfill important city building objectives of architectural excellence, connectivity, high quality public realm, community gathering spaces, and a series of parks that collectively enhance the Mississauga waterfront experienceall informed by a thoughtful environmental strategy.

THE SITE: 70 Mississauga Road South

72 acres (29.1 hectares)

Brickworks from the late 19th Century until 1927

Oil refinery from 1932-1985

Site decommissioning in 1988

INSPIRATION PORT CREDIT

The City of Mississauga undertook a far-reaching evaluation of the potential future of the site, with extensive outreach to the community. The report, Inspiration Port Credit (IPC) released in November 2015, described the overall vision as: "A lakefront urban neighbourhood of landscapes, meeting places, living, working, learning and drawing people to the water's edge to play." Members of WVP engaged in the IPC process from the beginning and the team embraces the vision.

HIGHLIGHTS OF WVP's DRAFT MASTER PLAN PROPOSAL:

Approximately 2500 housing units (home to +/- 5000 residents), with a range of built form including townhomes, mid rise and high rise, maximizing views to the lake

Approximately 200,000 square feet commercial development (both retail and office)

Approximately 1000 jobs in construction and support services during the development process

Estimated 1000 jobs post construction

Estimated $17 Million realty taxes/year generated for City of Mississauga (at 2017 rates)

realty taxes/year generated for (at 2017 rates) A new waterfront park, with a beach and ecological gardensall respecting and reflecting the natural shorelines of Lake Ontario and the Credit River, completing a fully connected system of waterfront parks by delivering the missing link from J.C. Saddington Park west to the Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens

and the Credit River, completing a fully connected system of waterfront parks by delivering the missing link from west to the Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens Four green corridors link the waterfront to Lakesore Road, and neighbourhood gathering places, with a series of parks, offering community amenities, sustainability, diverse vegetation, play areas and meeting points

Proposed Community Centre-possibility of a partnership with YMCA and Evergreen in The Campus neighbourhood

Street system designed at an angle to harmoniously blend with patterns of the existing neighbourhoods to the west and the north, adding variety and offering open views to the waterfront

Balanced mobility choices with an intricate pedestrian network and bike routes to accommodate all forms of movement

Rejuvenate Lakeshore Road West, creating a main street that mirrors the streetscapes east and west of the site, punctuated with trees and gathering spaces

The Village Square Central Street Promenade is the site's vibrant central spine and promenade, with a series of street squares that will draw the main street buzz of Lakeshore Road West down into the heart of the neighbourhood and ultimately to the lake

Site studies underway with the goal of beginning site works in fall 2017

Subject to approvals, phased construction schedule anticipated to begin in 2019

WEST VILLAGE PARTNERS

The West Village Partners bring unparalleled experience and skills in creating vibrant, large scale mixed-use urban developments and communities. Across the team, there is successful and award-winning experience and expertise for developments in the local market of Port Credit and Mississauga, for projects requiring environmental remediation, and for large-scale legacy revitalization communities.

Kilmer Group- Based in Toronto, Kilmer has 3 generations of experience in the construction and development industry in Canada. It has a particular expertise in large-scale redevelopment of brownfields, most recently demonstrated with the construction of the Athletes Village for the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games. www.kilmergroup.com

Dream Unlimited-TSX:DRM is a Toronto-based real estate development and management company with approximately $14 billion of assets under management in both North America and Europe. The scope of the business includes residential land development, housing and condominium development, investments in and management of Canadian renewable energy infrastructure, commercial property ownership and asset management and management services for three TSX-listed real estate investment trusts and one TSX-listed diversified, hard asset trust, (Dream Hard Asset Alternatives Trust). Dream Alternatives Trust provides an opportunity for unitholders to invest in hard asset alternative investments, including real estate, real estate lending, real estate development and infrastructure, including renewable power. http://www.dream.ca

Diamond Corp.- Established in 2008, Diamond Corp. is a Toronto-based real estate management company with a strong commitment to developing high-quality, innovative, and award-winning projects. Diamond Corp. has established itself as a leader in the region's development industry, with a focus on projects that are both sensitive to  and add value to  the communities in which they work. With a portfolio representing over 17 million square feet of gross floor area and approximately 15,000 new homes, some of Diamond Corp.'s notable projects include three major master-planned mixed-use communities throughout the GTA. Rooted in a legacy and tradition of both quality and innovation, Diamond Corp. maintains a commitment to embracing key city-building opportunities.

http://www.diamondcorp.ca

Fram + Slokker  Fram + Slokker is a Mississauga-based, award-winning company renowned for its creativity in planning, designing and building premier residential and mixed-use communities across Canada and the United States, including several successful projects in Port Credit. Along with its record of excellence, Fram brings a deep knowledge of the Port Credit community. http://www.framhomes.com/

SOURCE West Village Partners

For further information: Sean Mallen, cell: 416-602-9772, [email protected]; Karen Priest, cell: 416-543-8525, [email protected]
Canadians invited to support thousands of local children and families

TORONTO, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - May 3rd marks a key milestone for McDonald's Canada as the company celebrates 40 years since the launch of the Canadian-born McHappy Day, a one-day event in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada (RMHC Canada) and other local children's charities which is now celebrated in 18 countries throughout the world including the United States, Australia, England and Sweden.

Tomorrow, $1 from every Big Mac sandwich, Happy Meal and hot McCafe beverage sold will go towards supporting families of sick children, when they need it most. Every McDonald's restaurant will celebrate in its own unique way, including hosting local celebrities, athletes, media personalities, dignitaries and VIPs to raise donations.

"McHappy Day is a long-standing tradition that was born right here in Canada  and it really is at the heart of who we are and what we do," said John Betts, President and CEO of McDonald's Canada. "We strongly believe in community and giving back to the neighbourhoods where we live and work in. Every year, Canadians across the country come together around the important work of the Ronald McDonald Houses and Family Rooms, and celebrate McHappy Day in all of our restaurants."

In addition to McHappy Day's milestone year, George Cohon, founder of McDonald's Canada, RMHC Canada and McHappy Day, is celebrating a special milestone as well: his 80th birthday.

"McHappy Day is an event that is near and dear to my heart because it raises awareness and funds to help over 30,000 families of sick children stay together during difficult and often unexpected times each year," says Cohon. "When I helped found RMHC Canada, I would never have imagined the RMHC network of programs  the 15 Ronald McDonald Houses, 16 Family Rooms and 2 Care Mobiles would grow to this size  one family at a time. I am so thankful and inspired by the kindness and generosity of Canadians from coast to coast."

Canadians can also support families directly through in-restaurant and online fundraising activities including:

Purchasing a McHappy Day Heart in-restaurant

Purchasing fundraising merchandise at participating McDonald's restaurants (such as branded socks, notebooks and pins)

Starting your own Make Fun Matter Campaign at MakeFunMatter.ca

Donating online: rmhc.ca

RMHC Facts:

Last year, the RMHC network of programs in Canada support over 30,000 families, from across 1,800 communities

support over 30,000 families, from across 1,800 communities There are 15 Ronald McDonald Houses, 16 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms and 2 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles in Canada .

. Since the first Ronald McDonald House opened in Canada , over 321,000 families have been cared for at RMHC

opened in , over 321,000 families have been cared for at RMHC Last year, McHappy Day raised over $5 Million !

About Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada (RMHC CANADA)

RMHC Canada is the national foundation of support for Canada's 15 Ronald McDonald Houses, 16 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms and 2 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles across the country. Collectively, these programs support over 30,000 families each year, providing access to quality health care and enabling family-centered care. All, by keeping families close  one family at a time.

The 15 Ronald McDonald Houses across the country provide a home for out-of-town families whose children are being treated at a nearby hospital, while the 16 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms offer families a place to rest and recharge right inside the hospital. Completing our circle of support are 2 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles, mobile health units that bring medical care to underserved communities in Alberta.

As our founding and forever partner, and RMHC's largest donor, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited, their franchisees and guests, generously provide over $10 million annually to help support the RHMC network of programs for families with sick children across Canada.

For more information visit www.rmhc.ca.

About McDonald's Canada

In 1967, Canadians welcomed the first McDonald's restaurant to Richmond, British Columbia. Today, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited has become part of the Canadian fabric, serving close to three million guests every day. Together with our franchisees, we proudly employ nearly 90,000 people from coast-to-coast and approximately 85 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. Of the almost $1 billion we spend on food, more than 85 per cent is purchased from suppliers in Canada.

For more information on McDonald's Canada visit www.McDonalds.ca.

SOURCE McDonald's Canada

For further information: or to book an interview with a representative from McDonald's Canada or Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) for McHappy Day, please contact: Adam Grachnik, McDonald's Canada, [email protected], 416-446-3354; Lindsey Coulter, Weber Shandwick, [email protected]; 416-642-7883; Riddhi Gandhi, RMHC Canada, [email protected], 416-446-3427; McDonald's Media Relations Line, [email protected], 1-877-786-3342
OTTAWA, May 1, 2017 /CNW/ - As part of Mental Health Week (May 1 to 7), Her Excellency Sharon Johnston will attend the 15th Champions of Mental Health Awards Gala. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at 7 p.m., at the Shaw Centre (Canada Hall I), in Ottawa.

During the gala dinner, Her Excellency will deliver a speech and present the Sharon Johnston Champion of Mental Health Award for Youth to Ms. Lauren Whiteway from Moncton, New Brunswick. This young woman has become a vocal advocate for her severe form of anxiety that causes her to be unable to speak in certain situations.

About the Sharon Johnston Champion of Mental Health Award for Youth

This award is presented to a Canadian who is 21 years old or younger and who has shown leadership in his or her community by promoting mental health or mental illness awareness. The award may also be given to an organization dedicated to providing services to youth. This award was renamed in 2015 in honour of Her Excellency for her work in supporting and helping Canadians living with mental illness.

About the Champions of Mental Health Awards

The annual Champions of Mental Health Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose outstanding contributions have advanced the mental health agenda in Canada. Organized by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH), this event brings together decision makers, business leaders, national media members, sponsors and other stakeholders. For more information on the 2017 award recipients, visit www.camimh.ca.

Photo opportunity with Her Excellency and the 2017 Champions of Mental Health

at 6:15 p.m. in Room 105. Media wishing to cover the event must confirm their attendance with Impact Public Affairs.

Follow GGDavidJohnston and RideauHall on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Governor General of Canada

For further information: Media information: Marie-Eve Letourneau, Rideau Hall Press Office, 613-998-0287, 613-302-0912 (cell), [email protected]; Emily Gale, Impact Public Affairs, 902-599-2059 (cell), [email protected]
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - On April 18th BC PharmaCare announced that it was expanding its existing coverage of medications for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the paediatric population, by adding three long acting ADHD medications under the Special Authority (SA) program. The SA program covers medications for patients under special medical circumstances. The SA program will still require a physician's written request and documentation of failure on cheaper short acting medications (either Ritalin or Dexedrine).

In the fall of 2015, CADDRA, an alliance of health care professionals working in the field of ADHD; individual B.C physicians; and CADDAC, a national ADHD awareness and advocacy organization, called on the B.C. government to take immediate action to provide coverage for all long-acting medications for all age groups diagnosed with ADHD.

CADDRA and CADDAC along with BC medical practitioners welcome these expanded medication options for children. But British Columbia continues to lag significantly behind other provinces by denying coverage to individuals over 19, thereby discriminating against adults with ADHD.

"ADHD does not disappear once someone turns nineteen. Impairments will continue to impact school and workplace functioning and when ADHD is not treated it results in increased, health, justice, and social service costs." says Heidi Bernhardt, President and Executive Director, CADDAC.

Why is this PharmaCare expansion good news?

"Similar to antidepressant and other mental health medications, ADHD treatment through medication is not a "one size-fits-all" scenario, so adding more choice improves our ability "to get a better treatment fit." explains Dr. Doron Almagor, CADDRA's President. "Long-acting medications are better tolerated, have fewer side effects, greater effectiveness, less abuse potential, and improved adherence. Long-acting ADHD medications are currently the most widely prescribed ADHD medications and are listed as the first-line medication treatment option by the Canadian ADHD Practice Guidelines."

Why is this PharmaCare change bad news?

On turning 19, children who have had access to these medications through Limited Coverage will now be refused treatment under PharmaCare. To qualify for access to these newer medications as a child, they had to fail on a trial on the short acting medications. Therefore, reverting back to these medications is not an option.

"The BC government policy is 'Your ADHD will no longer be treated after your 19th birthday'. This is at the exact time when patients are leaving home and looking for work or going to college, one of the most vulnerable times in their lives," explains Dr. Don Duncan, Clinical Director, BC Interior ADHD Clinic. Dr. Derryck Smith, Clinical Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia adds, "At a time in their lives of great transition and change and when their ADHD impairments will be most tested, these patients will be set up to fail.

The only way that adults with ADHD, might access these newer medications is for their doctor to spend hours mining years of medical data from numerous sources, and writing lengthy reports describing symptoms and past failed medication trials.

"I can't tell you how lucky I was to find a doctor willing to spend hours doing the paperwork required for me to obtain the medication I needed to treat my ADHD" Jessica Lamb-Brown who was first diagnosed with ADHD as a young adult expressed. "I used to hate myself and my failures, but once I started ADHD medication it allowed me to do what I knew I could do." Jessica who completed her education and is now working, started her treatment on short acting medication which worked for a while but eventually needed to be changed to a long-acting medication. "My medication needs to be reviewed again but I don't even want to pursue this because I know the amount of time and effort it will take to reapply through this arduous process."

Increasing treatment choices for children and adolescents with ADHD using Pharmacare is good. Barring adult patients' access to these treatment options is discriminatory. This will result in increased post-secondary school failure, more job loss and unemployment and greater overall costs to health care.

Learn More:

www.caddra.ca

www.caddac.ca

ABOUT CADDAC

CADDAC is a national not-for-profit organization that provides leadership in education, awareness and advocacy for ADHD organizations and individuals with ADHD across Canada. CADDAC provides a wide-range of information for, parents, adults, children/adolescents, educators and health care providers on its website, www.caddac.ca, as well as information on our up-coming conference and future educational events.

About CADDRA

CADDRA is a Canadian non-profit, multi-disciplinary alliance of healthcare professional working in the field of ADHD. We produce the Canadian ADHD Practice Guidelines  now in its 3rd edition  and assessment toolkits. CADDRA provides education, training and support on ADHD for healthcare clinicians through our annual national conference, training courses and eLearning portal.

SOURCE Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada

For further information: Media Contact: Russ LeBlanc, [email protected], Phone: 905-430-2933; Heidi Bernhard, President and Executive Director, CADDAC, [email protected], Phone: 905-471-3524

Related Links

www.caddac.ca


SILVER SPRINGS, MD, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Pharmacists can be effectively trained to recommend and apply genetic testing results for their patients to tailor their medications for better therapeutic results, says Dr. Micheline Piquette-Miller, of the University of Toronto.

Piquette-Miller, a professor in the Leslie Dan School of Pharmacy at U of T, is a feature panel member today at an international conference on pharmacogenomics the study of drug-gene interactions. She is presenting to genomics researchers, clinicians and international experts who have gathered in Maryland to discuss and exchange information about how best to apply burgeoning pharmacogenomic information into real-world medical services, such as doctor's offices, hospitals and pharmacies.

Called Genomic Medicine X: Pharmacogenomics, the conference has been sponsored by the US National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the premier national organization for the translation of genomic research into improving human health.

"Some people react badly to common prescription medications and genetic differences are often at the root of some of these adverse responses," notes Piquette-Miller. "Our research shows that community pharmacists can be easily trained to interpret the results to personalize and optimize drug therapy based on their patient's genetic profile."

The conference is discussing methods to better use new knowledge on pharmacogenomics in routine clinical services. Goals include identifying research gaps, sharing approaches to implementation of pharmacogenomics, and facilitating more collaborative activities in the research community.

Piquette-Miller is one of the co-leads of PRIME (Pharmacists as Personalized Medicine Experts), a unique research study in Canada, which trained 21 Ontario community pharmacists to perform pharmacogenomic testing and to apply the results to optimize patients' medications. After a two-day training program, the pharmacists were equipped to recommend genetic testing to their patients. The pharmacists received the results and then were able to better advise the patient and doctors to prevent adverse reactions and improve patient outcomes.

"The study has enrolled over 125 patients throughout Ontario and the responses from patients, pharmacists and prescribers have been very positive. We hope to expand this very important line of research to benefit a larger number of pharmacists and patients in the future," she said.

The PRIME study is being conducted by Drs. Lisa McCarthy; Beth Sproule; Micheline Piquette-Miller, Natalie Crown; Daniel Mueller and James Kennedy from the University of Toronto, with funding from the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy and a partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health IMPACT Study.

PRIME is one of the research studies operating under the umbrella of OPEN- Ontario Pharmacy Evidence Network a consortium of academic scientists from seven institutions who research the impact and effectiveness of pharmacist medication management services. More information about OPEN and the PRIME research program can be found at www.open-pharmacy-research.ca/PRIME.

The NHGRI Genomic Medicine X conference will be broadcast live beginning at 8:30 am EST on Tuesday, May 2nd : https://www.genome.gov/genometvlive/

SOURCE OPEN

For further information: Lisa McCarthy, Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Phone: 416-323-6059, Email: [email protected]
The Government of Canada supports TOHU and the MONTREAL CiRQUE FESTIVAL

MONTREAL, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today announced $100,000 in funding for TOHU, the Cite des arts du cirque.

This funding, provided through the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, will help support the 8th annual MONTREAL CiRQUE FESTIVAL, which will run from July 6 to 16, 2017, as well as the programming for TOHU's 201718 season.

Thanks to this support, Canadians will have more opportunities to enjoy performances featuring circus arts in their communities.

Quotes

"This year of celebration, marking Canada 150 and Montreal's 375th anniversary, is a perfect time to highlight our achievements and reflect on Canada's place in the world. Gems like TOHU enhance Canada's cultural scene through their boldness and energy, and improve the quality of life of citizens in their communities in a tangible way."

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Along with their considerable artistic contributions, TOHU and the MONTREAL CiRQUE FESTIVAL support the socioeconomic development of north-end Montreal, and more specifically, in the Saint Michel district. Their involvement shows how art can play an important and positive role in the lives of our citizens."

Nicola Di Iorio, MP for Saint-LeonardSaint-Michel

"Thanks to committed partners like the Department of Canadian Heritage, TOHU is now better equipped than ever to offer original and innovative programming, contributing to the international reach of Quebec circus arts. The 2017 edition of the MONTREAL CiRQUE FESTIVAL will include a strong digital component for interactive performances held at the Quartier des spectacles."

Stephane Lavoie, Executive and Programming Director, Cite des arts du cirque

Quick Facts

TOHU, located at the centre of the Cite des arts du cirque, specializes in circus arts and is a leader in sustainable development through culture. Since 2004, TOHU has employed more than 500 young people from the borough of Saint-Michel and helped promote the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex.

The MONTREAL CiRQUE FESTIVAL has grown significantly in the past seven years. The 2016 edition drew 317,000 spectators over 11 days.

The 2017 indoor show lineup will feature three original creations by Montreal circus companies. The big outdoor show at Place Emilie-Gamelin will run for four weeks, instead of the usual two, as part of Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations.

Associated Links

TOHU http://tohu.ca/en/ MONTREAL CiRQUE FESTIVAL https://montrealcompletementcirque.com/en/ Canada Arts Presentation Fund http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1452621893765/1452621979961

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: Rachel Rappaport, Press Secretary (interim), Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


Two male passengers were filmed throwing punches at each other on a Japanese plane headed to Los Angeles. The fight broke out right before the All Nippon Airways flight took off from Tokyo.



The men kept throwing punches even as a flight attendant and other passengers tried to stop them. One of the men was dressed in a black coloured T-shirt while the other had on a red shirt.

According to passengers, the men were arguing about something and it escalated into a fist fight. The men kept throwing punches even as a flight attendant and other passengers tried to stop them. One of the men was dressed in a black coloured T-shirt while the other had on a red shirt.





"Someone help. This guy is crazy," The combatant in the black t-shirt screamed as they separated momentarily but the other man struggled to get another punch in and the fight continued again, while a female flight attendant desperately tried to separate them.



Peace returned to the aircraft for a while, after the aggressive adversary walked away. However, as

the second man settled into his chair, the other man in a red shirt returned and attacked him again.

The fight ended after one of them, who happened to be a 44-year-old American, was removed. Report has it that as he was being taken away, he choked an airline employee in the terminal and this led to him being arrested for assault.





Watch the video below.
Yushau A. Shuaib writes on the recent exposure of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, to disrepute after the discovery of $43 million in an Ikoyi apartment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, through the whistle blower policy.

Preparatory to the daring and merciless military operations against Boko Haram members, top officers of security and intelligence agencies were in Lagos and Abuja, towards the end of 2014 to interact with critical stakeholders that matter in shaping public perception and opinions. The then President of Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr. Femi Adesina was part of the audience.

The interactive sessions involved the display of video clips of horrific atrocities of Boko Haram terrorists against humanity. Gory scenes of brutal executions of captured intelligence officers who were accused of spying on the terrorists group were shown. The officers and their informants were cruelly dismembered, buried or burnt alive by the dare devil terrorists.

DG of the DSS, Lawal Daura (in purple) pictured at an All Progressives Congress, APC, campaign event

There were also reported cases of captured men dressed in women attire by Nigerian troops who were later discovered to be security operatives assigned to spy in terrorists enclaves. Strangely enough, between January to May 2015, when Sambo Dasuki was the then National Security Adviser, over two dozen occupied towns were successfully recovered and liberated from Boko Haram. The towns were: Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bara, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulag, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Kala Balge, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, Vimtim among other communities.

Meanwhile, while the military and security agencies took credit for all counter-terrorism campaigns, most of the high-profile terrorists arrested, especially at the borders and across the borders were facilitated by the intelligence service. The service also facilitated the participations of reluctant neighbours in Multi-National Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) and other special forces for the success of operations.

Recently too, when 21 Chibok girls were freed by Boko Haram in October 2016, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo publicly disclosed that there was no exchange of detained members of the Boko Haram sect for the girls. The Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed also strongly denied the report that Nigerian government paid a robust ransom for their release. Since no one knows what influenced the Father Christmas gesture of Boko Haram leaders in releasing the girls which even took a section of the military by surprise, it is purely exceptional intelligence operations.

This writer has deliberately avoided mentioning any of Nigerias secret organisations on the above operations. The recent exposure of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to disrepute after the discovery of cash haul in an Ikoyi apartment is a sad commentary to the one of the most organised, fine and respected intelligence organisations in Africa. Not only has the scandal damaged the integrity of the agency, it further exposed the Nigerias intelligence community to global ridicule.

It is necessary to point out that in security circle, a black budget is allocated for classified and other covert operations of a nation which can be expended under different covers and through different channels including funding of NGOs, cultural groups, religious organisations, corporations, private firms and on most occasions through cash that could not be traced. Consciously and unconsciously, patriotic and innocent citizens have supported or carried out intelligence activities without being identified with the secret service.

The instrument relating to the establishment, structure and duties of the National Intelligence Agency, especially under the National Security Agencies Act 1986 (Cap 278LFN), clearly states that The accounts of the National Intelligence Agency shall not be subject to external audit but the Director General shall by first week of March each year, render to the President certificate showing the total expended during the preceding period and the under which the expenditure was made and copy the National Security Adviser.

Similarly, there are repeated keywords on NIAs mandates which include: national security, national interest, employing covert sources, using the cover of government or private concerns; conduct espionage, covert operations, and counter intelligence activities.

Even though there are declared staff who are authorised to disclose their identities, most intelligence operatives are undeclared and barred from disclosing their identities but only to close family members and associates. While some live in opulence for covert assignments, others act beggarly and pretend to be poor in sensitive terrains.

The intelligence agencies allow other sister agencies take the credit for successful operations. Most of the arrested terrorists commanders especially at the borders and across the borders were facilitated by the intelligence service.

The scandal over N13.3 billion recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at Osborne Street, Ikoyi, Lagos is quite embarrassing because the Director General of NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke has claimed that the fund belonged to the agency.

The incident is coming at a period of an intense inter-agency rivalry where security agencies were allegedly reported to be behind the leakages of classified and confidential information to smear their perceived oppositions within the same government.

The above scenario is again playing out here. Now that NIA has laid claim to the amount found in Ikoyi apartment, does it mean the EFCC was misled? Is the mysterious whistle-blower a character in the inter-agency rivalry? Or is it another counter-intelligence by another foreign secret service against Nigeria?

In a December 2016s article by this writer on Magus EFCC: Between Suspects and Victims I warned that President Buhari should ensure that the brewing inter-agency conflict among critical institutions should be urgently addressed. For instance, if the EFCC should attempt to retaliate against the report of DSS, the result will not only be dirty but likely to compromise national security.

While the EFCC publicised the discovery, it has totally failed to disclose the owner. Even the vibrant spokesperson of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren had to put off his mobile phone for almost 72 hours during the fracas.

With all fingers pointing to the fact that the money belongs to NIA, the burden of proof is who is the mysterious whistle-blower? Could the whistle-blower have acted on behalf of an agency engaged in the rivalry or was it as major counter-intelligence operation by foreign interests to expose and embarrass our intelligence network?

There are many ways of removing public officers but such attempts should not be done by rubbishing the integrity of public institutions they represent, especially in Nigerias security architecture.

I strongly believe at this critical period and with the unabated inter-agency rivalries and the incidence of leakages of classified information by some agencies of government, the current National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno should be wary of these developments. Though a gentleman, he needs to be more pragmatic, charismatic, assertive and decisive in dealing with erring agencies.

Yushau A. Shuaib is a former spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). He is the founder and chief executive of PR Nigeria. He is a PR consultant can be reached by email HERE . His official website is www.yashuaib.com

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

One of the heart-aching videos was that of a captured female intelligence operative who was daggered into pieces before she could plead for her life. Few months after some debriefing with the stakeholders, through miraculous strategies of operations against terrorists, positive images emerged on the gallantry of Nigerian troops. PRNigeria released some of the declassified videos on the storming of Sambisa Forest by the special forces and intelligence operatives from the air and on the ground. The original video showed hijab-dressed female intelligence operatives, guiding women and children from the air raid to safe military zone.
A report on the level of illicit financial flows in and out of Nigeria, Africa as a whole and emerging market economies has been put at between $2 trillion and $3.5 trillion yearly.A Washington-based think-tank, Global Financial Integrity (GFI), which released the report, said Africa is the most vulnerable to the flight of capital needed for investment and other purposes.But a poll of development economists said that sub-Saharan Africa, widely known for dependence on aid inflows and the charity of industrialised nations, is actually a net exporter of capital to the rest of the world.The report is coming ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban, South Africa, which will hold this week, where the regions development and financial challenges will be in the spotlight. It shows that combined illicit outflows and inflows amounted to 14.1 per cent to 24 per cent of total developing countries trade from 2005 to 2014, the last year for which comprehensive data were available.Meanwhile, the World Bank Group affirmed that Nigeria had its fair share of the global economic challenges and frequent regulatory intervention aimed at taming money laundering, as its remittance record in 2016 declined by 10 per cent out of the $575 billion global figure.Consequently, the remittance record to developing countries as a whole also fell for a second consecutive year, a trend that was not seen in three decades.Specifically, flows to sub-Saharan Africa declined by an estimated 6.1 per cent to $33 billion in 2016, from about $36.3 billion in 2015 due to slow economic growth in remittance-sending countries and decline in commodity prices, especially crude oil, which impacted remittance receiving countries like Nigeria.Also, the Acting Director of the World Banks Global Indicators Group, Rita Ramalho, said the diversion of remittances to informal channels due to controlled exchange rate regimes in Nigeria affected the remittance records.While Nigeria lost by 10 per cent, Bangladesh fell by 11.1 per cent and Egypt, 9.5 per cent, with exceptions among major remittance recipients being Mexico and the Philippines, which saw inflows increase by 8.8 per cent and 4.9 per cent.Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had reiterated her call on the global community to play by action rather than mere declarations on the issues of corruption and illicit financial flows, particularly from Nigeria and Africa as a whole.Adeosun, at the just-concluded International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group meetings in Washington DC, flayed assessed complacency among developed countries, which serve as haven for proceeds of the ugly trend.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on Monday blamed the disruption and protest by workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja on factions in the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).Ngige told newsmen on the sideline of the celebration that what happened was as result of infiltration by non-workers into the rally venue and not necessarily workers anger about minimum wage.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was disrupted for close to one hour by workers who barred government officials from delivering the speech from the federal government.He said that the workers had no reason to be angry with the present administration because it had been very friendly with them.The Federal Government has been friendly to workers to the extent that it even went ahead and initiated the bailout fund.No government has done that before and that was because we did not want to lay off any worker.So what happened today is that some people who are not really workers infiltrated this arena and they started causing some problems.Be that as it may, we are going to address the issue of minimum wage, we are also going to address the issue of backlog of promotion areas and allowances of all sorts.We captured them in the 2016 budget but for some reasons the releases are not forthcoming but the president of the senate has assured us now.So we are going to capture them in the 2017 budget and once its captured in the appropriation, the minister of finance will handle the rest.Ngige insisted that the venue was infiltrated by non-workers due to some factionalisation within the labour federation, adding that the conclusion was reached based on intelligent report.He said the issue of minimum wage was being delayed because the government employed what it called a tripartite negotiation also known as social dialogue so as to capture all sectors.He said this was because the issue did not concern the government or public sector alone but also the private sector so it needed time to carry everybody along.We have finished the framework for the composition of the committee of the minimum wage and we have passed it round to government to source the requisite and qualified persons that will man this committee.We are going to address the issue of minimum wage; we are also going to address the issue of backlog of promotion arrears and allowances so workers should be patient and give us some time.Within the next quarter, the minimum wage committee will start functioning and in the next three months too backlog of all arrears and other allowances that are due to them will be paid, he said.However, the President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, and his counterpart, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Bobboi Kagama, said that Nigerian workers had expressed anger and disappointment on the non-implementation of the minimum wage thereby disrupting the 2017 May Day celebration.According to them, workers have today expressed their sadness, challenges, as many of them have not earn their salaries, so it is a demonstration of anger on the situation in the country.The challenges workers are passing through are enormous, workers have expected that either the President or the Vice president would have been present to respond to workers yearning and anticipation.Workers attitude today have shown that it is an accumulation of anger, and that the economic situation is biting very hard on them as many of them cannot pay their bills.Also, some workers who spoke with NAN believed that there was no infiltration of the venue by non workers as claimed by the minister but what played out was an accumulation of grievances against the government.Mrs Asaba Lydia a unionist of the Nigeria Civil Service Union said the workers were taken for granted by the government thus the reason for sending representatives rather than coming themselves.Lydia said the issue began with the ministers act by sending the permanent secretary to represent him while he represents the president, adding that it was not fair to the workers.A day such as this, the government could not even honour workers by attending the event themselves, if the president is not available what about the Vice President?We have tried to follow the norm as workers and it has not worked so now we are saying we are tired of failed promises, enough is enough Mr Dassey Heblom, a civil servant, said workers refused to listen to the speeches of the government officials because every year it had always been stories without action or implementation.Heblom said workers were now aware of what was going on and thus would not stop asking for their rights for policy statements to be made and implemented.We are tired of talks, we want action, that is all we are saying, imagine we are even celebrating this day without salaries not to talk of the accumulation of unpaid allowances, he said.
Police in Ghana nabbed a 38-year-old Nigerian national who attempted to smuggle 154 parcels of compressed dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp to Nigeria. The suspect, Orjii Ogbonanya, from Abia State, is said to have concealed the suspected narcotic in bales of used clothes.Briefing journalists in Accra, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mrs Effia Tenge, said the police had a tip-off about some people trying to smuggle Indian hemp to Nigeria and proceeded to the scene at Darkuman junction in Accra.She said when the police arrived at the warehouse, they saw a number of bags containing used clothes. The officers then confiscated the bags and took them to the police station and when they were opened, the suspected narcotic was found.According to Mrs Tenge, the police counted 154 parcels of compressed dried leaves concealed in second-hand clothing which was packed in "Ghana must go" bags.Upon interrogation, Ogbananya allegedly admitted the offence and told the police that the parcels belonged to a man he named only as Goodman, who is currently on the run.Source: Ghana News Online
Former delegates to the 2014 National Conference are currently meeting in Abuja.The meeting, which is being chaired by Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, is also being attended by former delegates from the six geo-political zones of the country.The former delegates are currently debating how to convince the Federal Government to look at the reports of the conference and implement them.Former President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the conference whose reports was also submitted to him before the 2015 elections.The All Progressives Congress which defeated the Peoples Democratic Party, did not send delegates to the conference.The APC said then that it would not implement the outcome of the conference, which it described as a jamboree.
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has called on Nigerians to continue criticising President Muhammadu Buhari because the President is on his way to destroy the country.Fayose, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors Forum gave the call while reacting to a question on whether he is the main opposition voice to the Buhari-led government.Speaking with newsmen, Fayose said, Its not as if I am the main opposition to Buhari, I am just a believer in fairness, wherever criminals belong, whoever they are, Muslims or Christians, it does not matter, crime is crime, wickedness is wickedness, brutality is brutality.I will continue to say it as it is, because when we all keep quiet we will be taken one after the other and we will be destroyed by this administration. We must remember that Nigeria is greater than all of us, the power of the people is better than those of us in power.One day we will all die whether its by oppression or sickness, so let me say I am not afraid of anything. If you dont die, age will take everything away from you.Look at our President, if you can see his heart, he wishes he was 42 years old because that is the age and time one can be active. May God give him good health because it is in good health that Nigerians can benefit.When the President comes out every Friday, do we say we have a ceremonial President? Let us have a President valued for money and votes. You cant deceive people forever because the truth hurts and the hunger in the land is ridiculous. The people are hungry and angry.
Wueng Agati, a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 told Justice Okon Abang of the Fed...

Wueng Agati, a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 told Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja how about N1.2billion was credited into two accounts allegedly connected to a former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, who is facing trial for N29billion fraud. Agati, a banker with the Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB, who was led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, gave the name of the accounts as Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.Nyako is being prosecuted along his son, Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako, Abubakar Aliyu and Zulkifikk Abba on a 37-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering. Five companies that allegedly served as conduit pipes for the illegal diversion of the funds-Blue Opal Limited, Sebore Farms & Extension Limited, Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited, were equally charged before the court as the 5th to 9th accused persons respectively.Narrating what he knew about the matter, Agati, who testified as the PW8, told the court how the EFCC wrote his bank in 2014, requesting for the account opening document, certificate of identification and statement of account of several accounts which included Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.In 2014, the EFCC wrote to GTB, requesting for account opening and statement of accounts of Mainstream Energy Limited, Dantshoho Hotel Limited, Alkali Mahmoud, Tower Asset Management Limited, Dantshoho Petroleum Marketing Company Limited, Babangida Inuwa and Blue Ribbon. We generated the documents and forwarded them to the EFCC, Agati said.The documents were presented and admitted in evidence as follow: account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Babangida Inuwa  Exhibit AC1; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Dantshoho Hotel Limited  Exhibit AC2; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Alkali Mahmoud  Exhibit AC3; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Mainstream Energy Limited  Exhbit AC4; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Blue Ribbon MultiLinks Limited  Exhibit AC5 and account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Tower Asset Management Limited  Exhibit AC6. The PW8 went on by giving a breakdown of how the over N1billion was credited into the accounts of Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.Blue Ribbon account was first credited with N10million by CIFT FSDH; On December 17, 2012, N20million was paid into the same account by same CIFT FSDH; On December 28 2012, N40million was credited to Blue Ribbon by CIFT/FSDH; The account also got credited with N50million each on February 19, 2013, and March 12, 2013 by CIFT/FSDH. On April 17, 2013 N14million was paid into the account (Blue Ribbon) in four tranches. The first tranche of N1million was marked cash deposit by (Blue Opal) by Jelilat Ibrahim.The second lodgment was also N1million, which was marked cash deposit (Blue Opal Nigeria Limited).The third lodgment was N10million and marked customer deposit cheque (Tower Asset Managing Limited/Blue Ribbon Multi links Limited), while the fourth lodgment of N2million was marked customer deposit cheque (Tower Asset management Limited/Blue Ribbson Muiltilinks Limited, Agati stated.When asked to take a look at Exhibit AC1 and tell the court the transfer that was done from the account, Agati said, On November 12, 2013, a sum of N1,015,740,000 (One billion, Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira) was transferred from the account (Babangida Inuwa) to another bank. Justice Abang, thereafter, adjourned to May 3, 2017 for further hearing.
For the second time within a week, the Presidential Investigative Panel, headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, last night grilled the su...
The Federal Government has reiterated its determination to stop the importation of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol by 201...

The Federal Government has reiterated its determination to stop the importation of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol by 2019.The Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru disclosed this to newsmen on the sideline of the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, U. S.Baru, who was represented at the conference by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas, and Power, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, said the feat was achievable.He said that all the nations three refineries were producing petroleum products between five and six million litres of PMS daily.That is part of what is making the PMS market in Nigeria stable today, we believe that the set target of exiting PMS importation in 2019 is achievable.As a result lack of turnaround maintenance over the years, it will take more years to get the refineries fully back to their nameplate capacities.We will also bring in new refineries that will co-locate with existing ones, we are on course and I see us becoming a net exporter of products, he said.He said in line with its transformation agenda, the corporation was aligning its 12 Business Focus Areas with the Federal Governments 7-Big Wins as championed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.Baru had earlier told newsmen that the corporations power supply was the most reliable and the cheapest.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, has begged Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) no...

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, has begged Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) not to relocate from the country, encouraging the renowned prophet to come for dialogue with the government in a means of finding lasting solutions to the various challenges the Church is experiencing in recent times.The Minister made this assertion while fielding questions from the media during his attendance at the NATOP AGM for 2017 held at the Renaissance Hotel Ikeja Lagos by Marriott today.Joshua was speaking at his church service on Sunday 30th April 2017.Joshua disclosed that he had just returned from the Holy Land after holding meetings with three prominent Israeli mayors of Jerusalem, Tiberias and the Jordan Valley. TB Joshua said Israel offered him both land and facilities in an area around the biblical site of the Sea of Galilee for the Nigerian Pastor to organize meetings for international pilgrims.This is where my Father in Heaven came from  its non-negotiable, Joshua explained, adding it was not a decision he undertook lightly. Its the best place for you to meet Prophet T.B. Joshua. After your healing, blessing and deliverance, you can move around all the spiritual monuments which will establish your faith, he clarified.Joshua said his decision to leave was not connected to the persecution he endured during his ministry. TB Joshua said the move would help people to appreciate what his ministry had been contributing to both the local economy and Nigerias international image.This is the most persecuted ministry in the world. Who are the people persecuting the ministry? My people, Africa. That is why I choose to live a lonely life. If you want to see me, come to this churchYour life can preach a better sermon than your mouth, he exhorted the congregation, stating that the Israeli officials had observed his ministry from afar before inviting himProphet TB Joshua SCOAN, over the years has remained the biggest tourism attraction in Nigeria. And while several tourism experts have urged the Nigerian Government to certain waivers and several incentives to protect the Church and encourage tourists to continue to thrive in bringing more foreigners into the country.The Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) AGM for this year focused on the theme of Positioning Tourism within the Nigerian Economic Space with Senator Liyel Imoke as the Keynote Speaker.Liyel Imoke spoke on The Building Blocks of Tourism Products and held the audience spell bound with in-depth understanding of what needs to Make Nigerian Tourism successful as he gave revealing insights and accounts on how he was able to lift the Carnival Calabar from a young carnival into an Africas biggest Street Party.Mr. Folorunsho Folarin-Coker, DG NTDC;Otunba Segun Runsewe DG, NTDC were also at the event as well as Mr. Gabe Onah, Chairman of Carnival Calabar Commission with Mr. Ikechi Uko, organizer of Akwaaba African Travel Market; Mrs. Fatima Garbathi, former President of NATOP, and Nkereuwem Onung, President of NATOP; Mr. Bernard Bankole, National President, National Association of Nigerian Agencies (NANTA) among several other dignitaries.
The call for pay rise and improved working conditions resonated across the 36 states yesterday as workers marked the 2017 May Day. Fro...

The call for pay rise and improved working conditions resonated across the 36 states yesterday as workers marked the 2017 May Day.From Lagos to Maiduguri, Kebbi to Akwa Ibom, Ibadan to Minna and Osun to Sokoto, it was the same call better welfare package.The umbrella bodies  Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC)  asked employers for a review of minimum monthly salary from N18, 000 to N65, 000.Besides, they asked for N25, 000 minimum monthly pension for retirees and special pay package for workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.In Abuja, the workers protested the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Eagle Square.The protest marred the celebration, preventing the presentation of the Presidents goodwill message.In the message, the President promised that the report of the Main Government/Labour Committee on Mimimum wage and palliatives will be fully implemented.Trouble started when the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment, Mrs. Biola Bawa, was invited to read the address of the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige.The invitation was rejected by the workers with a thunderous No. They said Ngige must read his own address.The drama continued for a while with the workers refusing appeal from NLC and TUC presidents Ayuba Wabba and Bobboi Kaigama that the workers allow Mrs. Bawa to address the rally.Attempts by former Edo State governor and former NLC President Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to calm down the workers who took over the podium, also failed.The minister read his address.Some of the workers noted that if the President could not attend the rally, he should have sent the Vice President and not the minister.The shout of go back to your seat by the NLC and TUC leadership with a loud chorus of no by the workers was deafening.Many of the workers sat in their stands to watch the development which lasted for over one hour. A few of them went round the square, chanting no marching, no marching.The workers who had become tired of what was going on began to leave the Square. Guests left the arena through the security exit and the rally ended in confusion.As many of the workers made to leave the arena, the protesting workers took over the podium chanting we don win, we don win. An attempt by security operatives to force them out of the podium almost resulted in violence.Some of the workers also blocked the police patrol vehicles deployed in the area, prompting security reinforcements to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order.Dignitaries at the rally, including Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara and representative of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), among others, left the venue through the back door .Ngige attributed the protest to infiltration of the venue by non-workers and the factionalisation of the labour union.The minister, however, assured that promotion and transfer allowances of workers would be paid in the third quarter of the year. He restated the governments commitment to the welfare of the citizenry, including the workers.A few unions that were left after majority of the workers had left, observed the traditional march past before leaving the square.The President assured workers that his administration would implement the recommendations of the main government/labour committee as it relates to the new minimum wage and palliatives to cushion the effect of the harsh economy.Admitting the hardship being faced by Nigerians, Buhari promised that the government will do all within its power to better their lot by providing a commensurate welfare package.He said the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was designed to restore economic growth as a result of the challenges of the past two years.He said: I am aware of that the economic recession the country found itself at the beginning of the year has huge implication for the seamless conduct of industrial relations.This arises from the fact that economic recession by its nature is usually characterised by a substantial risk of the vicious circle of low productivity, mass retrenchment of workers and closure of work places due to high cost of doing business, unregulated subcontracting and outsourcing with its attendant consequences on welfare of workers, among others.I strongly believe that the effective deployment of labour relation, which is an amalgam of approaches, could be used in creating a conducive work environment that would attract direct foreign investment for wealth and job creation.Therefore anchored on our shared understanding of our predicament, government, workers and employers can work together to pull out our economy from this recession. I call on organised labour to partner with this administration by resorting to social dialogue as an indispensable tool for conflict resolution.Todays (yesterdays) event reminds all of us of the great sacrifice and contributions the working class has made and continues to make towards wealth creation in the overall interest of our national growth.As a responsible and labour-friendly government, my administration will continue to accord high priority to the welfare of workers irrespective of whether they are in the formal or informal sector of our national economy.Buhari praised organised labour for its solidarity towards the fight against corruption which, he said has been the bane of sustainable development .Buhari said: My administrations commitment to the fight against corruption is irreversible. We must fight corruption before it destroys us. I therefore call on organised labour to join hands with us in ensuring that workers imbibe the new doctrine of honesty, transparency, accountability and probity in doing government business.By our collective resolve and determination, we shall eradicate corruption from our society and the worker should be in the forefront of activities in the realisation of the whistle-blowing policy of this administration.The economic recovery and growth plan of this administration is specifically developed for the purpose of restoring economic growth following the challenges experienced in almost two years of our administration that resulted in negative growth.I am confident that with your support and cooperation and the strong determination of my government to ensure its full implementation, the three broad strategic objectives which include restoring growth, investing in people and building globally competitive economy will be fully realised.The government will give expeditious consideration to the proposal contained in the technical committee report on the new minimum wage and palliatives and government will take necessary steps to implement the final recommendations of the main government labour committee as it relates to the setting up of the new minimum wage committee and the needed palliatives in order to reduce the discomfort currently being experienced by the Nigerian working class.
The Ogun State Government has revealed that it has plans to honour new world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua.487p.Joshua defeated veteran Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in London on Saturday, knocking out the Ukrainian in the 11th round. The bout was watched by 90,000 fans inside the stadium.The London 2012 Olympic Games gold medallist was born in England to a Nigerian mother and father, who comes from Sagamu in Ogun State.Ogun State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Afolabi Afuape, said on Monday that the plans to honour Joshua, who spent some of his early years in Nigeria before returning to England, had not been finalised.Afuape said, Anthony Joshua has made us proud as our son. A decision will be taken on how the state will honour him.We are planning that, it is still at an infancy stage. As soon as we conclude the plans, you will be informed.Meanwhile, Majority Leader of the Ogun State House of Assembly Yinka Mafe says he will move a motion to have the Sagamu Stadium renamed Anthony Joshua Stadium, and the popular Cinema Street in Sagamu renamed Anthony Joshua Street, according to ESPN.Of the two, the street is the most significant, as his family owns almost half the land and property on one side of the street.The cinema, from which the road takes its name, was built by his great grandfather Daniel Adebambo Joshua in the 50s, and is one of the oldest of such facilities in the country.Mafe joined hundreds of Sagamu youths to watch the fight in an open air viewing event organised by the Sagamu Youth Congress, and was thrilled by both the turnout and the outcome.We are proud of what he has achieved as a son of Sagamu, and we will be happy to do our own little bit to show our appreciation and support for him, Mafe said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue, today, staged a protest, rejecting Mrs Comfort Echoda ...

The All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue, today, staged a protest, rejecting Mrs Comfort Echoda as their candidate in the forthcoming local council election.

The protesters alleged that due to incessant attacks on the community by Fulani herdsmen, a woman was incapable of piloting the affairs of the area creditably.

Leader of the protesters, Abel Omaluwa, said that the security situation in the area did not warrant a woman to be at the helm of affairs.

Omaluwa said:We are not against Echoda as a person, but being a woman and giving the present security situation in the area, she cannot perform well.

With recurring cases of fresh attacks between farmers and herdsmen, the situation will be too difficult for a woman to manage effectively.

Since the announcement of Echoda as the partys candidate, our teeming supporters are discouraged.

Our fears are that if the woman is allowed to contest, it will have adverse effects in this and subsequent elections.

Omaluwa, appealed to APC to look into their request, presented a copy of their petition, signed by 30 people to the leader of the governments delegate, Dr Tavershima Adyorough.
Police found three kegs of beer and 52 bottles of "hard alcohol" at the rented house where dozens of New Jersey high school students held a post-prom alcohol bash, police told The Daily Freeman.

Nearly three dozen high school students from Wallington High School were charged with underage drinking and were issued appearance tickets for Saugerties Town Court, according to the report.

The high school had its prom on Thursday night.

On Friday, a neighbor reportedly called police complaining of loud noise coming from a nearby home. When police arrived, they allegedly found "a number" of students between the ages of 17 and 19 consuming alcoholic beverages.

Officials arrested 34 people, according to the report.

The district is investigating the incident and is not issuing a comment, Superintendent of Schools James Albro said Tuesday.

Police are reportedly trying to locate the Wyckoff man who rented the teens the home to determine if he knew of their plans.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
PBA Local 49

Members of PBA Local 49 hold a news conference Monday to address county layoffs.

PARAMUS -- The local union representing police officers alleged Monday that pending layoffs at the Bergen County Sheriff's Department were a result of political retaliation.

The union said at a news conference that the officers were being discriminated against because they were previously employees of the now-defunct Bergen County Police Department.

The union said that 37 former Bergen County Police Department officers were given notices that they were to be laid off or demoted.

"All these officers want is to be treated fairly," PBA Local 49 President Chris Weston said outside of the Sheriff's Office on Monday. "I can assure you, this will affect public safety."

Former Bergen County freeholders, including Rob Hermansen, attended the news conference, after which he criticized the layoff plan.

"It's a disgrace. That's the best way I can say it," Hermansen said.

County Executive James Tedesco placed the Bergen County Police Department under the Bergen County Sheriff's Office in January 2015 in one of his first official acts.

At the time, Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, who was recently reelected, said that the plan would reduce the force through attrition, not layoffs.

The Bergen County freeholders recently revised the agreement, including changing the wording to state that it intended to reduce the force through attrition "to the extent practicable."

Weston said the public and union weren't given time to respond to the amendments before they were approved last month.

County freeholders post agendas of their meetings on its website outlining what is up for discussion.

"We believe this whole process has been done in bad faith," Weston said.

The union claimed that they have repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to meet with Saudino. Supporters of the merger said the move would save taxpayers millions of dollars over a period of 25 years.

The sheriff's office and Bergen County freeholders didn't immediately comment.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
CAMDEN -- The ex-girlfriend of David "D.J." Creato Jr. acknowledged at his murder trial Tuesday that she wished at times that he would give up custody of his 3-year-old son, Brendan.

Prosecutors have argued that Creato, 23, of Haddon Township, killed his son and dumped his body in Cooper River Park Oct. 13, 2015 because he was afraid his girlfriend, Julia Stensky, was going to leave him due to the child. Creato denies the charges.

Stensky testified that soon after she and Creato got together, she started attending Pace University in New York City and visiting him in Haddon Township on some weekends.

On the weekend before Brendan was found dead, she said, she was annoyed Creato couldn't pick her up at a train station and that he had custody of his son that weekend.

"My logic at the time was I believed I was coming down, you, know, sacrificing my weekends in New York to be with DJ," she said. "I was 17 at the time and I just didn't think I was ready for the responsibility of care for another woman's toddler."

She said that she told him it would be better if he just let the boy's mother or grandparents have custody, even if it meant paying child support.

Creato told police in an interview that Stensky had given him an ultimatum that weekend, saying she would leave, but they talked more and decided not to break up.

Creato called 911 on the morning of Oct. 13, 2015 to report that he woke up to find his son was missing. A police dog tracked Brendan's scent to a stream in Cooper River Park, where the boy was found dead. His socks were clean, which Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah told jurors means the boy couldn't have walked the three-quarter-mile route from Creato's apartment to the stream.

Creato told police that while it was very unlikely his son would walk out of the apartment at night, he did know how to unlock the door. He also said that perhaps, if he had forgotten to lock the door, someone might have taken his son from the home.

Creato was questioned for hours that day, but was only indicted and arrested three months later. His murder trial in Camden County Superior Court began April 20 and is expected to last until the end of May.

Shah told jurors that Stensky was in New York City when Brendan went missing, and witnesses and surveillance back up her alibi.

Stensky tried to invoke her fifth amendment right to refuse to testify in order to avoid incriminating herself, but Judge John T. Kelley ruled that she did not have a good reason and had to testify.

In addition to testifying about her feelings toward Brendan, Stensky told jurors that her former boyfriend had "financial problems" -- she and his mother often paid for his food -- and was jealous that she was talking to a male classmate. She recalled telling police that Creato was afraid she was going to leave him for another man.

Shah told jurors in her opening statement that Creato may have also been motivated to kill the boy because he did not have enough money to split the cost of Brendan's preschool with the boy's mother: his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Denoto.

The prosecutor also told jurors that Creato was crazed with jealousy the night before he reported his son missing. Creato told police himself that he tried to call her 9 times, and a detective testified Creato had logged into Stensky's snapchat at 1:30 a.m.

During cross-examination by Creato's attorney, Richard Fuschino Jr., Stensky said she saw Creato with his son between five to 10 times and believed he was a good parent.

"He was a good father. He tried his best," she said. "He gave him toys and stuff to play with... We would go on walks."

Every time she told him she would rather Brendan wasn't in his life, he always said that would never happen, Stensky said.

Fuschino asked her whether she ever told Creato to get rid of or kill his son. "Absolutely not," she said. She said the last time she talked to Creato was Jan. 11, 2016, the day he was indicted.

The lead detective in the case, Michael Rhoads of the Camden County prosecutor's office, testified last week that Stensky agreed to come to Haddon Township and gave one statement to police the day Brendan was found dead.

However, Rhoads said he later found a blog post by Stensky in which she referred to Brendan as a "mistake" that tied Creato down and said she didn't want to be tied down because of it, too. He asked Stensky to come give another statement but she had hired an attorney and refused, Rhoads testified.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
CAMDEN -- They came in all makes, models and calibers, prosecutors say -- handguns, shotguns and assault rifles. Many were purchased in Georgia and Pennsylvania before being sold on the streets of South Jersey.

Darnel Johns, 49, admitted Tuesday in Camden federal court to illegally selling at least 22 of the weapons in the fall and winter of 2014, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

Johns, of Albrightsville, Pa., was snared in what prosecutors described as a "wide-ranging" series of gun-trafficking arrests made by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives. Court documents state the agency employed an informant to buy numerous guns from Johns and another man.

Johns pleaded guilty to both conspiring to deal firearms without a license and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The weapons he sold included a sawed-off shotgun, multiple assault rifles and an "assault-stye pistol" with a high-capacity magazine, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say some of the guns were stolen and had obliterated serial numbers, while others were obtained through so-called "straw purchases" made by third parties from licensed gun dealers, according to court documents.

Johns faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and up to five years on the conspiracy charge, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 on each count, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Johns' sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 4.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MAURICE RIVER TWP. -- A live camera installed to watch a pair of ospreys building a new nest caught something else this weekend.

A half dozen boys were seen tossing trash into the nest and then mugging for the camera, apparently happy over their show of disrespect for nature.

"Honestly it seems like some kids that made a bad decision and then they wanted their five minutes of fame," said Joe Haase, leader of the 4-H group that built the platform where the nest is located. "Typical teenage behavior."

Members of the Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs 4-H Club are seen in early March building their osprey nesting platform near the East Point Lighthouse in Maurice River Township. (Facebook)

Now the public's help is being sought in identifying the boys caught on the camera which live-streams activity in the nest located near the East Point Lighthouse in the Bayshore region. New Jersey wildlife officials are also investigating the incident.

Haase said it was Saturday right at 8 p.m., that the camera caught the six approach the nesting platform, toss a cigarette pack in and then do a sort of celebratory dance -- all the time seemingly very aware that they were on camera.

The platform where the nest is located was built by members in Hasse's 4-H Club which is named "Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs." Those involved include both boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 13.

They had the idea they'd like to learn more about ospreys, raptors that thrive in the habitat along the state's Bayshore area.

"One of the projects that the kids wanted to get involved in was building an osprey nest," Haase said.

Completed in March, the platform is about 100 feet from the nearest roadway in the middle of marshland which is part of the state's Heislerville Wildlife Management Area in Cumberland County. The nesting area, which measures about 3 feet by 3 feet, is about 12 feet off the ground. A camera which live-streams all activities there is mounted on that platform.

Saturday's incident is not the first, Haase says. A stuffed chicken toy was thrown into the empty nest a few weeks ago but the ospreys didn't take kindly to that and picked up the chicken and dropped it in the marsh.

It was just about a week ago that the pair began actually building their nest. The male has been gathering materials and dropping them on the platform for the female to arrange, Haase said. Marsh grass, then phragmites were put in place and now sticks are coming in.

The live-streaming camera shows the building in progress.

As for the cigarette pack tossed in the nest, the birds have now buried it there. Law prohibits disturbing nesting ospreys so it will remain there, Haase said.

Besides, ospreys are very territorial. The teens who put trash there this weekend apparently didn't realize that had the ospreys been around they could have attacked them.

"I'm concerned parents weren't around and they allowed their kids to be unsupervised or they were there and watched them do it and said nothing," Haase said.

"Obviously, teenagers don't drive themselves out to the middle of nowhere."

A portable toilet was also found overturned near the nesting site. Officials are not sure if the teens were involved in that incident or not.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Spokesman Larry Hajna said Tuesday the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the incident.

Haase said anyone who knows the identities of the boys seen tossing the trash in the nest should call the DEP's tipline at 1-877-WARNDEP.

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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New Orleans man with history of impersonating cop again accused of impersonating cop
Where to find Kentucky Derby watch parties on Saturday in New Orleans
Experience in public office or the need for change. Voters in District 9 are being asked at Tuesdays election to judge what they value more when it comes to who will represent them on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.
Welcome to non league daily news now - your number one spot for all things relating to the National League System. Our dedicated reporters have come straight from the sidelines to bring you news fresh from the dugout - but not before theyve stopped off at the burger van first!

We know that non league football fans are full of heart, passion, and belief. You trust the manager, you believe in the team, and, for some strange reason, you trust those rickety stands, too! Here at Non League Daily, we hope we can become your trusted non league news resource - a platform thats just as passionate about non league daily news now as you.

Come rain or shine, well be out reporting on the latest non league fixtures. Well also be scouring the news, refreshing social media, and sourcing information from team websites in the hopes of finding the latest breaking non league daily news for our readers.

As youll soon see, weve got exclusive match reports on the Vanarama National League, weve got transfer speculation thatll affect the National League South, weve found great stories thatll spice up the National League North, and weve even got news on the latest giant killers of the FA Cup.

We may not be able to agree on who is going up this year, but we can all agree that any news on the NLS worth knowing will be published here, at Non League Daily.
A Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office deputy has died after being shot this morning during an escape and carjacking at the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Mark Burbridge, 43, a 12-year veteran of the office, died Monday after he was shot by Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, authorities said.

During a press conference Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker called Burbridge a good deputy and an excellent man.

It still hasnt sunk in, Danker said of the days events.

Deputy Pat Morgan was also shot during the incident. The 10-year veteran is in stable condition at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

After the escape, Jerry Brittain of Council Bluffs was also injured during a carjacking by Correa-Carmenaty, police said. Authorities reported Brittain was being treated at the Nebraska Medical Center. Another carjacking victim, Amy Kanger of Glenwood, was uninjured.

Correa-Carmenaty, 24, was sentenced to 45 years in prison earlier this morning at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse in connection with the 2016 shooting death of Anthony Walker. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the case.Two other men had been previously convicted and sentenced.

Correa-Carmenaty was on his way back to the county jail from his sentencing when the shooting and his attempted escape occurred, according to law enforcement.

Danker said around 11 a.m., Correa-Carmenaty assaulted the two deputies, obtained a gun from one of the deputies and shot both men. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound man then fled the scene in a jail transport van, driving through a closed garage door.

At the intersection of Big Lake Road and North 16th Street, just outside the jail entrance, Correa-Carmenaty got out of the van and attempted to carjacked Brittain, shooting the 30-year-old once before getting back into the van. A passenger in the truck was uninjured.

Near 25th Street and Avenue I, Kanger, 31, stopped her 2015 Nissan Sentra to see if anyone was injured when she saw the transport van up on the grass of a yard at the intersection. Correa-Carmenaty kidnapped the woman at gunpoint, forcing her into the Nissan, police said.

Correa-Carmenaty entered Omaha and dropped Kanger off at the R&L Liquor store at 5825 North 30th St.

Kanger alerted authorities and a pursuit started at 30th and Sprague Streets in Omaha.

The suspect drove south on 30th Street, west on Cuming Street, did a U-turn at Saddle Creek and Cuming Street and traveled east on Cuming Street again. He avoided stop sticks at three intersections.

When Correa-Carmenaty attempted to enter Interstate 480 southbound he collided with a brick wall on Cuming Street and was apprehended by authorities without further incident. He remains at the Douglas County Jail.

Before the man was apprehended, law enforcement officers were stopping cars on West Broadway and looking inside the vehicles.

A dozen area schools were placed on lockout, including Crescent and Lewis & Clark Elementary Schools and Kanesville Alternative Learning Center, said Council Bluffs Community School District spokeswoman Diane Ostrowski.
Students are protesting the direction Iowa Western Community College is taking with its theater program following the schools decision not to renew the contract of the programs chairwoman.

Students involved in protests held last week, where they said 25 to 30 students staged sit-ins near top administrative offices, said they plan to continue demonstrations this week.

We would like to know what direction the department is going, freshman drama major Qhayisa Mafilika told The Nonpareil.

Sophomore drama major Jackson Newman said that, in addition to the sit-in, students have held signs in support of the department following the Iowa Westerns decision not to renew the contract of Shea Saladee, the chairwoman of the Theater Department.

Newman said students want any future plans for the department made public.

Theres a lot of nervousness regarding the future of the department and the schools dedication to it, he said.

Saladee told The Nonpareil on Monday afternoon that her contract was not renewed, and she said it was done so without cause after the end of this semester.

I still have two more weeks remaining, she said. I am finishing up my second year.

As the departments leader, Saladee said shes proud of her accomplishments.

I have redeveloped the curriculum and increased the number of performances we choose to do, she said.

Last fall, her students performance of Othello was recognized at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, one of six performances so honored from 225 productions that were reviewed, she said.

This years spring performance of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is also being considered for that festival, Saladee added.

Saladee also said her students learn all aspects of the theater, such as directing, lighting, stagecraft and more, not just acting.

Ive got a broad range of knowledge that somebody in my position would need to possess, she said.

Meanwhile, Saladee submitted a letter seeking an appeal of the schools decision of having her contract not renewed, she said.

A spokesman for the college, however, said he couldnt discuss personnel matters but said theres no reason for the students to be concerned about the future of that program.

The theater program is not going anywhere, said Don Kohler, the colleges vice president of marketing and public relations. Over the years, the school invested a lot of resources into this program, and we intend to keep it a strong program.

The college wont eliminate the theater program, he said.

While the students may be concerned about an instructor, we are focused on a first-class theater program, Kohler said. Weve made a commitment to a nice theater and a nice program and that is not going to change.

However, Mafilika said the students arent satisfied with the response theyve heard so far.

We will be here until we have answers, he said.
An inmates escape from the Pottawattamie County Jail on Monday ended in a crash in Omaha after a chaotic half hour that saw one deputy killed, one deputy wounded, a man wounded in an attempted carjacking and a woman kidnapped in her own car.

1. At 10:55 a.m., an inmate at the Pottawattamie County Jail shoots two deputies. Sheriff Jeff Danker said Wesley Correa-Carmenaty assaulted the pair, stole a van and crashed through the garage door at the jail, at 1400 Big Lake Road in Council Bluffs. One wounded Pottawattamie County deputy is loaded into an emergency rescue vehicle at the jail. Deputies Mark Burbridge, 43, and Pat Morgan, 59, were both shot. Burbridge died shortly after noon.

2. The escaped inmate tries to steal an S-10 pickup truck near 16th Street and Big Lake Road. Driver Jerry Brittain is shot in the neck before the escapee flees. Brittains injuries werent considered life-threatening.

3. The jail van is dumped by the escapee at North 25th Street and Avenue I in Council Bluffs. Passer-by Amy Kanger sees the van and stops to see if anybody is hurt. Correa-Carmenaty kidnaps Kanger at gunpoint and takes her car, according to police.

4. At 11:15 a.m., Kanger is released by the inmate at R & Ls liquor store at 5825 North 30th St. in Omaha. She is uninjured and calls Omaha police, who begin looking for her car.

5. Police spot the stolen car at 30th Street and Ames Avenue and follow it south.

6. The car turns west onto Cuming Street.

7. It turns around at Saddle Creek Road and heads back east on Cuming Street. Police put down stop sticks on Cuming Street at 40th, 36th and 30th Streets. The car didnt run over any of them.

8. The stolen car crashes into a wall as it attempts to get on I-480 South from Cuming Street. Omaha police quickly surround the car. The Douglas and Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Offices were also present, as were U.S. marshals and Council Bluffs police. Correa-Carmenaty is arrested without further incident and declines medical treatment. Hes taken to the Douglas County Jail. He is expected to be returned to Iowa to face charges related to the deputies shooting.
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Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried writes The Norse Mythology Blog. A Norse mythologist and musician in Chicago, he is Theology and Religious History Faculty at Cherry Hill Seminary and Adjunct Professor, Pagan Chaplain, and Pagan Forum Faculty Advisor at Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also a featured columnist for The Wild Hunt and serves as goi (priest) of Thor's Oak Kindred, a diverse organization dedicated to the practice of the Asatru religion in Chicago.

Click here for more about Karl.
ArcelorMittal is calling for more federal investment in the Great Lakes to ensure it has clear shipping channels for iron ore and other raw materials it brings by lake freighter to Northwest Indiana's steel mills.

The Luxembourg-based steelmaker is hoping any infrastructure plans will include port and river dredging, lock maintenance and a new icebreaker. ArcelorMittal is calling for specific projects like a new lock to replace the 47-year-old one at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan that gives ore boats safe passage to the steel mills that ring Lake Michigan's southern shore in the Region.

"These projects are critical to navigation routes for water commerce and the movement of goods," ArcelorMittal Americas Senior Director for Government Relations Tom Dower said in a statement. "Waterborne transportation is safe, efficient and the most environmentally friendly method of transport."

The Cleveland-based Lake Carriers Association estimates Great Lakes freighters moved 83.3 million tons of cargo last year. That figure included 44.1 million tons of iron ore for steel production.

"It's clear that to remain globally competitive, our nation needs greater infrastructure investment  on the highways, byways, waterways and all things in between," Dower said.

He also called for another U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker to help move ore from the mines in Minnesota's Iron Range to Northwest Indiana steel mills.

"While recent winters have been relatively mild, we still lose material due to frozen waterways. In 2013-2014, one of the worst winters in recent history, cancelled cargo totaled 7 million tons, costing the U.S. economy 4,000 jobs and $700 million in economic activity," Dower said. "Only the Coast Guards Mackinaw is capable of navigating Lake Superiors severe ice conditions. This underscores the need for Congress to provide crucial funding for maintaining the Mackinaw and securing an additional ice breaker."
An expected crackdown on steel imports has not yet materialized, as steel imports skyrocketed by 30.6 percent year-over-year to 3.4 million net tons in March, according to the American Institute for International Steel.

The Falls Church, Virginia-based steel industry trade association reported imports were up 24.7 percent in March as compared to February. Steel imports grew by double digits from major trading partners the European Union, Brazil, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.

Most dramatically, imports of steel spiked by 71.4 percent to 389,000 tons from the EU, according to the American Institute for International Steel.

Canada sent over the most steel from January to March, 1.6 million tons, followed by Brazil with 1.16 million tons.

"The steel import numbers provide encouragement at a time when other economic indicators are not as positive," AIIS said in a press release. "Economic growth in the first quarter was just 0.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, but the sharp increase in steel purchases indicates that companies are investing and building, something that may be reflected in gross domestic product calculations in the next quarter or two."

Steel imports captured 26 percent of the U.S. market share in March, and have 25 percent so far this year, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

So far this year, the United States has imported 8.9 million tons of steel, an 18.7 percent increase as compared to the first three months of 2016. Imports of finished steel, which doesn't require any further processing in the United States, have risen 7.8 percent year-over-year to 6.92 million tons.

Imports of heavy structural shapes were up 83 percent year-over-year in March, while imports of hot rolled sheets rose by 53 percent over the same period, according to AISI.
CROWN POINT  The state has filed new charges against a 44-year-old registered sex offender accused last month of child molestation.

Jose L. Jeronimo was charged Tuesday in Lake Criminal Court with two felony charges of child molestation.

Police allege Jeronimo groped the genitals of a 12-year-old girl Dec. 12 outside a residence in Lake Station, according to a probable cause affidavit. The girl told police in an interview Jeronimo had also raped her when she was six years old.

An assistant for Jeronimo's attorney, Timothy E. Bianco, said Bianco declined to comment on the new allegations.

Jeronimo was previously charged April 20 in Lake Criminal Court with two counts of child molestation on allegations he twice groped a 13-year-old girl at a residence in East Chicago.

He pleaded not guilty to those charges at a court hearing April 27.

Jeronimo was convicted of sexual battery in December 2008 for molesting another 13-year-old girl at a residence in Whiting, according to court records. He was sentenced to three years probation and required to register as a sex offender, records state.

Jeronimo is jailed without bond on the new charges, according to court records.
HAMMOND  A former Calumet Township trustee and her son are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court next week to plead guilty to federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

Mary Elgin additionally has agreed to plead guilty to failing to pay her 2013 federal income taxes.

The U.S. Attorney's office has agreed to recommend the minimum prison terms for Elgin and her son, Steven Hunter, who served as head of the township's information systems and technology office.

The government lawyers state they will oppose any court sentence that doesn't include prison time.

Elgin, who presided over one of the largest township poor relief operations in the area from 2003 until her defeat by voters in 2014, is admitting in her written plea agreement she extorted cash and work from her township employees to benefit her re-election and other political aspirations.

Hunter is admitting in his agreement he distributed his mother's campaign fund-raising tickets, which employees had to sell or pay for with their own money.

Elgin and Hunter are set to official change their not guilty pleas to guilty Monday morning before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen. If the judge accepts their new pleas, he is likely to cancel their trial, which was to begin Monday.

The U.S. Attorney's office charged Elgin, Hunter, Ethel Shelton (Elgin's secretary) and Alex Wheeler (her campaign manager), in 2014.

Elgin and Hunter were scheduled to be tried before a federal jury Monday. Shelton and Wheeler have pleaded not guilty and have been ordered to stand trial at a later date, yet to be scheduled.

Both government and defense lawyers had said late last month there was little prospect they would plead guilty. The court posted their agreements on its Website late Friday.

Elgin is admitting she and her co-defendants forced township employees to sell political fundraising tickets. The number of tickets depended on the size of the employee's township salary.

The government earlier alleged the scheme was designed to kick back about 1 percent of their salaries. She employed as many as 135 to distribute assistance to Gary's poorest residents.

The agreement states Elgin and Hunter's conspiracy cost taxpayers between $15,000 and $40,000 over her years in office. She also agrees she owes the Internal Revenue Service $6,311 in income taxes for 2013.

The judge could order Elgin and Hunter to pay those amounts or more.
MERRILLVILLE  Emergency responders from a three-state area will participate in a massive disaster drill training beginning Saturday at the Radisson Hotel site, an exercise the Merrillville deputy fire chief calls a "once in a lifetime" experience.

The building, which is pretty much reduced to rubble, will simulate a collapsed building from a tornado.

Numerous entities, including police and fire personnel from Merrillville and Crown Point, the U.S. Marine Corps Chemical Biological Incident Response Force, Chicago Emergency Management and National Guard units from three states, will participate in the United Front 2017 activities, according to the Indiana National Guard. The training runs through May 12.

Merrillville Deputy Fire Chief Jim Lilley described the program as a "once in a lifetime" type of training opportunity. He said the Fire Department has participated in exercises at vacant facilities in the past, but "nothing to this magnitude."

"This is going to play out like a real-world event," Lilley said.

In addition to the high level of training participants will receive while practicing large-scale rescues and other emergency scenarios, the program "is an opportunity for members of the military and local responders to share best practices for critical tactics, techniques and procedures in response to natural disasters," according to the Indiana National Guard.

Lilley said he hopes the area never experiences a major natural disaster like the one that will be simulated, but the upcoming exercises are valuable to prepare for such an event. He also said it's important to train with military personnel to better understand how all the organizations would operate together.

The training program is expected to draw heavier traffic on U.S. 30, Interstate 65 and Broadway while it occurs, and those traveling through that area are likely to see a large number of military and local emergency response vehicles there.

Lilley said Merrillville Emergency Management Agency personnel will be on site to assist with traffic control, and neighboring businesses will remain open while the training occurs.

Signage also will be posted to advise motorists of the disaster response exercises.

Lilley said the program will include nighttime training. He said a nearby residential community could expect to hear some noise during evening hours, but there will be efforts to limit the noise as much as possible.

Lilley asks residents to "bear with us" during the night training because it's a rare opportunity to complete the exercises.
Behind the smiling faces of children in a recent Region photo gallery were equal parts hope and desperation for loving families.

And with the recent end to the 2017 legislative session in Indianapolis, it's a good time to remember the adoption-friendly state of Indiana still can and should do a better job of helping place thousands of children into loving adoptive homes.

For the third year in a row, BellaBoo's Play and Discovery Center, a facility of the Lake County Parks Department, hosted the Indiana Department of Child Services' Indiana Heart Gallery.

At any given time in the Hoosier state, DCS is looking to place an average of 120 to 150 children into adoptive homes.

The Heart Gallery aims to bring awareness to the issue by showcasing the photos of children in need of families.

We laud the effort, which helped place more than 1,000 foster children in Indiana homes in 2014 alone.

But we also know the state can and should do better.

One of the biggest obstacles known to any family that has gone through an adoption process is the immense cost to most families.

Adopting a child can cost $30,000 or more  a steep bill for many Hoosier families who otherwise would be able to provide loving homes.

Federal adoption tax credits help offset some of the cost, and four years ago, then-Gov. Mike Pence championed and signed into law a bill providing a state adoption tax credit of $1,000, or equal to 10 percent of adoptive families' federal credits, whichever is less.

The state credit is better than nothing, but $1,000 barely makes a dent in the often exorbitant costs of adoption.

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Pence had proposed a possible state tax credit equal to the federal credit for most families, which at the time was a $13,190 income tax credit for families earning $197,800 or less. But political compromise reduced the amount to $1,000 in the final bill.

Heading into next year's legislative session, state legislators should consider renewing a push for higher adoption tax credits.

Indiana political leaders often pride themselves on track records of both fiscal and social conservatism, and most claim to be pro-life.

Continuing to push an adoption-friendly agenda in the Hoosier state is the best way to definitively demonstrate such values.

The state's majority party should put its money where its mouth is and renew a push for higher tax credits that provide both aid and incentive for loving Hoosier families to become forever homes for children who deserve them.
INDIANAPOLIS  The Indiana Supreme Court is denying a request from an attorney who wanted his public records case against Vice President Mike Pence to be given a fresh look amid revelations that the former Republican governor used a private AOL email account to conduct state business.

The court's ruling effectively ends the two-year effort by Indianapolis attorney William Groth, a Democrat, for documents and emails from Pence's tenure as governor, his lawyer Gregory Bowes said Monday.

Groth initially sued after Pence refused to release a document attached to an email from Texas Republicans, which outlined a legal strategy for challenging then-President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration.

A lower court sided with Pence, as did Indiana's Court of Appeals. That led Groth to appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.

But once Pence's use of a private AOL email account was revealed, Groth asked to have the case sent back to a lower court to see if additional emails had been withheld from him.

The state's highest court denied both requests in a unanimous opinion issued Thursday.

Pence took office as governor in 2012. During that time his administration repeatedly delayed or denied the release of records that could shed light on his tenure.

Pence's efforts stand in stark contrast to the image he had previously sought to cultivate. He has long presented himself as a champion of a free press and the First Amendment.

Pence spokesman Marc Lotter said in a statement that the court's decision reaffirms "then-Governor Mike Pence acted in compliance with Indiana law."
A pair of teenagers have been charged after they allegedly brought loaded guns to a Staten Island high school.

Police say 16-year-old Obrian Ballenger and 18-year-old Erik Morris each had weapons in their bookbags.

Sources say another student alerted a school administrator about the guns, who then contacted police.

The school notified parents of the incident, but students we spoke with say they had no clue what was going on.

"It was just like a normal day at school, you know, just, you know, go to class and do your classwork and that's it," said one student. "And right now, when his father told him, I'm just like, I'm just kind of creeped out."

"I actually had no idea it was happening, and I think that the school's security is pretty good by the fact that no one even knew it was going on," said another.

The Department of Education says it's providing the school ongoing support and extra guidance counselors.

Police say Morris has three prior arrests.

Both teenagers are charged with criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.
As the city prepares for President Donald Trump's first visit since his inauguration, Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke with students about the new administration and its impact on New York at a special NY1 town hall meeting. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

President Donald Trump will be in New York aboard the Intrepid on Thursday to mark a turning point in World War II, the Battle of the Coral Sea. Mayor Bill de Blasio has not been invited.

"If they invite me in my role as mayor, I would respect that, even though I have real differences with the president," de Blasio said. "If it's the kind of situation that is a civic event, if you will, and about more universal values, of course I would participate."

The mayor's opposition to President Donald Trump was front and center at a town hall meeting NY1 hosted to debate the first 100 days of the Trump administration and discuss what lies ahead. CUNY students in the audience had a chance to ask questions.

The mayor said he met with President Trump shortly after his election in the hope that they could find some common ground. But, he added, "I have not seen it. I had hoped the divisive rhetoric would end. It has not ended. And the lack of interest in the facts continues, sadly. And what he attempted to do was extreme in attempting to undo Obamacare, and attacking this city directly and our interests. It does not suggest common ground."

Some common ground, or at least civility, seemed to be on the table as a prominent Trump support and a prominent Trump critic went head to head.

"The reality is that the only success he has made is a Supreme Court nominee, which was a stolen seat," said Public Advocate Letitia James.

"I think the president's messaging has to be straightened out. I think he needs to communicate better what he is trying to do. But I am optimistic," said City Councilman Joe Borelli of Staten Island.

The friendly banter between Trump fans and opponents may be a distant memory come Thursday. Protesters are expected to flood the streets to send messages of their own to the president.
Agricultural News

American Farm Bureau's Senior Lobbyist Talks Ag Policy Under Trump During His First 100 Days

Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays is in Washington, D.C. this week speaking with policymakers and influencers in the agricultural community. Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation, was on hand to talk about her impression of President Donald Trump during his first 100 days in office, and what direction she sees his trade and agricultural policies developing. You can listen to their entire interview about the Trump administration in regards to agriculture, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of this story.





"I think most of our farmers, the first thing they would say is, 'he really is doing what he said he would do on regulatory reform,'" Thatcher said. "The fact that he got in there early and said 'I'm not going to implement the Waters of the United States,' is important."





Concerning his position on trade policies, Thatcher heavily emphasized that she and her organization were pleased with the President's decision not to withdraw from the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, as was hinted at last week, but rather strive instead to renegotiate the NAFTA treaty.





"I think Secretary Perdue had something to do with convincing him that renegotiation would be a better option," she remarked. "He was called over to the White House and asked, 'What do you think?' and I think made a great pitch.





"Certainly, he is a very pro-trade guy. I think he knows what the country is saying from all the visits he's made. By every condition, he seems to be an incredibly hard worker. So, he'll be good for us."





Good thing, too, for the agriculture industry to have a man who understands the business and politics like Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in place finally. With many important policy matters in flux currently, Thatcher says Perdue will prove to be strong advocate for America's farmers and ranchers during Farm Bill negotiations, which she says is shaping up to be very controversial.





Also, she insists he will be a strong voice of reason regarding trade negotiations - when the time comes.





"I think when we get USTR Lighthizer there and then we have the Secretary, that'll be a good time to rally the administration and all the ag groups together," Thatcher contended, "so we're all pulling on the wagon in the same direction."



















Click or tap the LISTEN BAR below to hear their entire discussion about Pres. Trump's First 100 Days

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Agricultural News

Trump's Tough Stance on Regulations During His First 100 Days a Good Sign of Things to Come







Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays is attending the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Washington Watch Fly-in this week in Washington, DC speaking with policymakers and influencers. During his visit, Hays has had the chance to speak with Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, about President Trump's first 100 days in office and the impact he has had on agriculture. He says so far, he is optimistic about what he has seen.





"Everything from the roll back of the Waters of the United States to several of the executive orders that have been signed, to the tax reform package that was submitted by the President last week," Woodall said. "All of these are very pro-agriculture; pro-cattle business."





Woodall says the ag community is excited to finally have an administration in which to work with and feels that meaningful advancements in policy may actually begin to happen with the leaders now in place. However, he points out that there is a significant amount of red tape that still must be cut through to kill regulations that are plaguing the industry, like WOTUS, once and for all. Right now, the main hurdle in doing this is answering two questions posed by the Supreme Court asking, what exactly is a "navigable water," and where does the jurisdiction lie on this matter? Woodall and his team hope to take advantage of having a friendly administration to get these questions answered and move the process forward.





"We don't have to fear EPA anymore. He wants to return a little common sense and science to the discussion. That really resonates with cattle producers," Woodall said, referring to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. "We're excited about actually working together with the EPA to protect the environment."





Listen to Hays discuss with Woodall his thoughts and impressions of President Trump's Administration during his first 100 days and how he has impacted US agriculture, on today's Beef Buzz.





The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.





















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Secretary Perdue Lists Trade, Labor and Regulation Reform Among his Top Priorities Moving Forward

In the US Department of Agriculture Whitten Building's historic Williamsburg Room, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, held a news conference with members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters today in Washington, DC in conjunction with the group's Washington Watch fly-in, answering questions related to the agricultural policy he began shaping since his confirmation, only six days ago. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays reported on location from the event. You can listen to Hays narrate highlights from today's news conference, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of this story.





Among the broad spectrum of topics covered during the conference, two pressing issues stand out. The first of which, regarding the type of deputy secretary Perdue hopes to be put in place by President Trump. Specifically being asked, if there should be a Midwesterner appointed to the post to balance his Southern appeal.





"I don't necessarily need a deputy from the Midwest," Perdue retorted, denoting his understanding that not all of agriculture in centered in Georgia from which he hails. "But, we're very serious about geographical, as well as industry type of diversification. I want USDA to look like America.





"We're diligently searching for different people, deputies and undersecretaries of all those missionaries that will give us a diversification that look like American agriculture."





Regarding a timeline as to when a deputy secretary will be named, Perdue responded that he wished not to "get ahead of the boss" and that the timeline was at the discretion of the White House.





Beyond filling vacancies, Perdue was also asked about his priorities and which matters will draw the focus of his attentions first, as he settles in to his new post.





The Secretary outlined three main areas in which he has decided, after meeting with more than 75 senators, warrant the bulk of his consideration starting off.





"Number one was trade, number two was trade, number three was trade-," Perdue joked. "But number four and five were the labor situation and regulation. I think the President and Scott Pruitt have already made a great step forward in the regulation area.





"I think we've made great steps with the President and his decision on NAFTA - you need to know, I'm a grow and sell it kind of guy. If these guys and gals can grow it, I'm going to do my best to sell it."





On the matter of immigration and labor reform, Perdue reassured reporters that the President's focus in on the criminal element related to illegal immigration, citing comments by the President at the recent farmers' roundtable hosted by the Secretary and President Trump.





"He understands there are dedicated farm workers out here who are immigrants and he wants to find a way that we can use the productive capacity of those people who are here to serve agriculture."





Listen to Secretary Perdue's full remarks to these questions and more, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below.



















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New York City entrepreneur Jason Richelson could skip the trip to Omaha this weekend and watch the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting online. For the second year, Warren Buffett will livestream the meeting to the world.

But the annual pilgrimage to hear CEO and Chairman Buffett live and rub shoulders with other investors has become a touchstone that Richelson said he doesnt want to lose.

Being in the same, albeit enormous, room with Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger as they answer shareholder questions helps instill the Berkshire business culture in Richelson, which he said he brings back home.

Its one place where I know that what comes out of their mouth is the right way to be, and the right way to operate, said Richelson, founder of point-of-sale software company ShopKeep and wine delivery business Simply Wine NYC. It helps me a lot, coming from New York.

Some Omahans worried that the livestream, first offered in 2016, would slash in-person attendance at the meeting, the biggest single-day annual gathering in Omaha and an important source of income for hotels, restaurants and retailers.

But it doesnt seen to be having that effect this year.

Hotels report strong bookings, and Buffetts office told The World-Herald that requests for shareholder passes to the 2017 meeting are up about 10 percent.

If this translates into people coming to the meeting, that would put attendance back to the record level seen in 2015.

Buffett estimated last years meeting attendance at about 40,000, down from the record of about 44,000 at the 2015 meeting, which was a special celebration of 50 years of Buffett leadership.

Ann Bolzenius, a high school business teacher from the St. Louis area, hopes to be one of those thousands to attend this year. The in-person experience will continue to be popular as long as Buffett leads the meetings, she said.

Bolzenius watched the livestream from home last year but said it wasnt the same as her earlier trips to Omaha.

You dont feel the magnetism, she said.

In Omaha, she has stood in the rain, snow and sunshine waiting for the meeting, where she picks up wisdom to carry home to her students. Shes seen Bill Gates, Bobby Shriver and Bono, who was licking a Sees lollipop. She saw a couple drop $1.3 million on a necklace and bracelet at Borsheims.

When they talk about the Woodstock of capitalism, its the journey people look forward to every year, Bolzenius said.

Buffett said last years livestream was a success, counting 1.1 million unique, real-time views and 11.5 million views in replays since then.

He has defended the livestream, saying it gives people who cant make the trip a chance to see him and Munger in action, especially those from foreign countries. The 2016 meeting was translated live in Mandarin, and the same will happen this year, according to Yahoo, a nod to prospective Chinese investors.

But people who can make the trip seem to want to do just that.

Mark Blakley, a financial analyst at a natural gas firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will be in Omaha for his 10th consecutive meeting.

First year attending was after I graduated college, and Ive been hooked since, he told The World-Herald in an email. I saw the livestream option was available last year and considered it, but nothing can quite replace being there.

Ralph Witkin, a commercial real estate investor from Las Vegas, plans to be in Omaha this weekend for his 15th Berkshire meeting.

Witkin has made friends at meetings and says each year is like a reunion. He attends presentations from professional fund managers, enjoys a good steak, shops for electronics at Nebraska Furniture Mart and adds to his watch collection from the selection at Borsheims.

The Internet is a great tool, but it doesnt adequately replace some of the old-school methods, Witkin said. Besides, three years ago, Buffett told me to keep coming to the meetings. 

All these visitors are filling up hotels. Tim Darby, general manager of the Magnolia Hotel downtown, said all of his propertys 145 rooms have been booked for Berkshire weekend since October, as usual.

Darby, the president of the Metropolitan Hospitality Association, said he hasnt heard from fellow hotel managers one way or the other about whether the livestream is affecting bookings.

No news is good news, he said. Im anticipating that we have a very strong weekend for hotels in Omaha. Its a great piece of business. It kicks off our summer as a hotel industry.

If anything is a problem, its the continuous expansion of the number of hotel properties and rooms in Omaha. Berkshire weekend is a sellout, but the growing competition makes things harder the rest of the year, Darby said.

This spring, there are more than 15,000 hotel rooms in the area, up about 13 percent from three years ago, according to data Darby shared from STR, a London firm that collects hotel market data.

But even with nearly 2,000 new rooms since then, any late bookings had best look for rooms outside of the downtown area, where hotel managers say vacancies were gobbled up months ago.

Probably where youll find changes is in outlying hotels, said Stephanie Grade, general manager of the sold-out Embassy Suites downtown, commenting on any hit that hotels might have taken from the livestream.

Other downtown hotel managers, like Hilton Omahas Brian Thomas, concurred with Grade.

Its possible that the streaming may have an impact on the hotels that are a little bit further out. Its a non-issue as far as were concerned here, said Thomas, who is director of sales and marketing for the downtown Hilton. It doesnt have an impact at all, fortunately.

Thats the case even 15 miles from downtown at La Vistas Embassy Suites, which is full for the weekend.

Jessica Jones, general manager of the new Candlewood Suites in Millard, said her property was 80 percent booked for Berkshire, which is pretty good for a hotel thats been open only a month, she said.

At the Residence Inn by Marriott Omaha West, near 180th Street and West Dodge Road, general manager Joshua Olsen expects to sell out his 108 suites for the weekend, as he has the two previous Berkshire meetings since his hotel opened in mid-2014.

He said if some hotels dont sell out, its more likely because of the increasing number of rooms available, not because of the livestream.

Richelson, the New York entrepreneur, found hotel prices to be holding their own  and so expensive, in fact, that he changed his routine. Instead of staying at the downtown Embassy Suites at about $400 a night for three nights, hell be at Harrahs in Council Bluffs.

Im just going to walk across the river in the morning, he said.

World-Herald staff writer Steve Jordon contributed to this report.

The Omaha World-Herald is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Correction: Mark Blakley's name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
Backpage faces pressure to crack down on human trafficking ads in Canada

That is pretty fukking sad that modern day slavery still happens and more over, in Canada of all places.

It was a splashy announcement: A police investigation into human trafficking in London, Ont., dubbed Project Equinox resulted in 78 arrests and 129 Criminal Code charges last month. Eighteen women and girls in the sex trade as a result of human trafficking were helped to get out. The youngest was 15.One detail did not appear in the news release: Every one of the 18 victims had been advertised on the classified ad website Backpage.com.Sex trafficking in Canada is not just on the Dark Web, buried deep under obscure layers of the Internet. In many cases, its just three clicks away. Hundreds of escort ads are posted each day on Backpage in more than 50 Canadian cities.Some women are there by choice, acting as independent operators. But many women on the site, police say, are being forced or coerced for the purpose of sexual exploitation  in other words, trafficked. In fact, of the sex-trafficking victims police are finding, they say the majority were advertised on Backpage.Whats more, some of them are minors. Toronto police say 95 per cent of underage victims they have found were sold on the site. London police say its 100 per cent. And Halifax police say its the best-known site for minors. One quarter of police-reported human-trafficking victims in Canada are under the age of 18, according to Statistics Canada.In the market for underage girls, Backpage is the most known one out there, said Detective Sergeant Darrell Gaudet, who oversees the Integrated Special Enforcement Section at Halifax Regional Police.The Dallas-based company operates in 97 countries and gets most of its revenue from adult ads. In the United States, it is the subject of lawsuits, and its executives are also facing criminal charges for pimping and money laundering. The charges filed by Californias Attorney-General allege that in seven of the 13 pimping counts the victims are children.In January, after a U.S. Senate inquiry published scathing findings, among them that the company knowingly concealed evidence of criminality, Backpage abruptly shut down its U.S. adult-services ads section, citing unconstitutional government censorship.Not so in Canada, where there has been little or no legal action and tepid federal government response. The ads continue to be uploaded hourly. Among the descriptions: Fresh, Young, New in town, Just off the plane, Available 24/7, Barely legal, Looks underage, Hot young angel  do whatever u want.The sites prevalence raises thorny questions. Some police see it as a useful investigative tool in finding and reaching victims and say shutting it down would only result in new sites popping up. Child advocacy and anti-trafficking groups, however, say it is facilitating criminal activity, including child trafficking, and needs to be stopped.In the United States, Backpage is involved in 73 per cent of all child-trafficking reports the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children receives from the public (excluding some reports from Backpage itself).Its the No. 1 place where children are being sold, said Staca Shehan, executive director of the case analysis division at the centre, which has worked on almost 500 cases in which a child was trafficked for sex on Backpage.Actions against the company in the United States beg the same question about what should be happening in the Canadian context, said Signy Arnason, associate executive director and director of Cybertip.ca at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which gets calls from people concerned about Backpage ads on a monthly basis. Its something definitely that needs to be looked at, because Backpage is known for their sexual services. And within there, there are definitely youths who are being exploited in this capacity.Liz McDougall, general counsel who speaks for Backpage, said the company cant comment currently.Kevin Coon, managing partner at global law firm Baker McKenzie, said the company is the key purveyor for these ads here in Canada as well. Its very unknown but it is insidious, and that service is the major advertiser and exploiter in the industry.He said it is running afoul of Criminal Code provisions on the purchase of sex.Its right in our backyard. Anybody can go on the website and see how prevalent it is, said Mr. Coon, who specializes in human rights and labour rights, adding that the federal government has a key role to play in legislative action and in enforcing existing laws and raising awareness.Canadas national action plan on human trafficking expired last year, and Public Safety Canada did not say when a new plan would be announced. Under Canadian law, it is prohibited to advertise sexual services and to procure the sexual services of someone under the age of 18. But whether it is due to a dearth of enforcement, other priorities among governments or a need for new legislation, the ads flourish.Across Canada, an average of 1,600 new adult-services ads (which include female escorts and body rubs) are posted on Backpage every day, according to Uncharted Software, a Toronto-based software and data visualization firm. It pegs the number of unique ads in Toronto alone at about 500 a day. By its count, Backpage hosts about 60 per cent of all the online adult ads in Canada, making it the largest provider in the country.Backpage has 943 location sites, according to this years U.S. Senate subcommittee report. It is the worlds No. 2 classified ad website and gained market share in the sex ads space after Craigslist closed its adult section in 2010.The Senate report cites the National Association of Attorneys General in describing Backpage as a hub of human trafficking, especially the trafficking of minors.Backpage does not deny that its site is used for criminal activity, including the sale of children for sex, the report says. Rather, the company argues it just hosts content created by others and is thus immune from liability under the U.S. Communications Decency Act.But the inquiry found that Backpage systematically edited its adult ads, scrubbing them of terms such as teenage, little girl and rape before posting them. Through simply redrafting the ad, the user would be permitted to post a sanitized version, the report said.The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says there are more requirements for ads selling cars, boats or pets, which require phone numbers, than human beings.Pressure on the company is coming from many sides. Backpage is the subject of a searing new U.S. documentary, airing on Netflix this month, titled I Am Jane Doe. The film follows the legal battle that several mothers are fighting on behalf of their teenage daughters, who were trafficked and advertised on the site.In 2015, major credit-card companies stopped allowing their cards to be used to purchase Backpage adult ads, citing concerns about the trafficking of minors. Bitcoin is used instead.In Canada, some police see the site as a useful tool in their investigations.Im torn about Backpage, said Detective Michael Hay, head of Londons human-trafficking unit, which started in January and uses the site to reach people who the police suspect are being trafficked. If the site were shut down in Canada, Im sure something else would pop up within a few weeks, but then wed be behind the eight ball trying to catch up again.Police in Ontario say Backpage is a key place where underage girls are advertised. Those in Calgary and Edmonton, however, say those types of ads are more likely to appear on free social-media sites such as Tinder.Even if the site were more regulated or shut down, some say that would not address the root of the problem, which is the demand for these services. Nor would it change the broader issues that make children more vulnerable, such as homelessness or addiction.When the girls listed on the site are underage, Det. Hay says, odds are they have a pimp. He estimates that of all the escort ads on Backpage in his city, at least 25 per cent of the girls and women are being trafficked.These victims, many of them have psychological and physical damage as a result of this. Some of these girls that weve come across havent eaten in days, havent slept in days, dont know what city theyre in  have been beaten, abused, Det. Hay said. Its a horrific thing. Ive been a police officer for 17 years, and this is something  I cant even wrap my head around it some days. Its a really horrible crime.Megan Walker, executive director of the London Abused Womens Centre, regularly receives calls from family members who are searching for their missing daughters  and using Backpage to see whether theyre still alive.Parents are initially traumatized by the fact that their daughters have been recruited into trafficking, but then are further traumatized when they go onto Backpage.com every day and see what services the pimp is advertising that their daughter will perform, she said.She estimates that about 60 per cent of the people her centre speaks with are tracking their daughters through Backpage. She thinks more enforcement is needed to tackle the demand side of the crime  the johns and pimps  and that Backpage ought to be shut down.This is a public safety issue. Trafficking across Canada is a huge issue impacting women and girls in our communities, she said.The RCMP did not respond to e-mailed questions.In an e-mail, Public Safety Canada said the government takes very seriously any potential tools used to facilitate the trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation.Barbara Gosse, chief executive officer of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, said people need to know that in Canada you can not buy sex from a juvenile. It is child abuse. We need to start using the right language. There is no such thing as child prostitution  it is strictly child abuse.Backpage, she said, is absolutely enabling this.In February, the Toronto Police Services sex-crimes unit announced an arrest in a human-trafficking investigation. The release offers a window into how sex trafficking works.The allegations, which have not been proved in court, are as follows: In October, 2016, a 16-year-old girl was recruited and procured into the sex trade by a man. She was coerced into the trade with the promise of earning a lot of money. In this time, the man controlled the girl through threats and intimidation. The girl was taken to various hotels in Toronto, where the man took photographs of her in various stages of undress and posted them on Backpage.com, advertising her sexual services.In November, she tried to flee. The man found the girl, stripped her of all her clothing and assaulted her. Eventually, she was able to escape and reported the incident to police. The accused now faces 12 charges, including trafficking in persons under the age of 18.
In looking for the best stocks to buy, I run a couple dozen stock screens, but three are my favorites.

They are the Robot Portfolio (which I report on to readers each January), the Bunny Portfolio (with a report each December) and the Old Faithful screen, whose turn comes today.

The Old Faithful series has been one of my most successful. In 14 outings, my selections have beaten the Standard & Poors 500 Index 12 times.

The average 12-month return on my Old Faithful selections has been 24.3 percent, compared to 5.3 percent for the Standard & Poors 500 Index in the same periods. All figures are total returns including dividends.

Bear in mind that my column recommendations are theoretical and dont reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. Their results shouldnt be confused with the performance of portfolios I manage for clients. And past performance doesnt predict future results.

The Old Faithful stocks I recommended a year ago advanced 30.1 percent, versus 18.0 percent for the S&P 500. Greenbrier Cos. (GBX), a maker of railroad cars, led the parade with a 63 percent return. Sanmina Corp. (SANM), a contract manufacturer of circuit boards and other electronic products, chipped in 54 percent. My other three picks had gains, but trailed the index.

Old Faithful criteria

To make it through the Old Faithful screen, a stock must:

 Be traded in the U.S., with a market value of $250 million or more.

 Sell for no more than 15 times earnings, 2 times book value (corporate net worth per share), and 2 times revenue.

 Have debt less than stockholders equity.

 Show earnings growth of 10 percent a year, on average, the past five years.

 Have a return on equity (a measure of profitability) of 15 percent or better.

None of the criteria, in isolation, is terribly hard. But to meet all of them is tough. Usually, only about 20 to 30 stocks pass (out of about 4,700 publicly traded U.S. stocks). This year, with the market pricey, only eight passed.

Usually, I pick a few stocks to recommend from among those that pass the Old Faithful screen. This year, since there are only eight, I will recommend them all.

The chosen eight

 AmTrust Financial Services Inc. (AFSI) writes workers compensation and other property & casualty insurance coverage. It has turned a profit 13 years in a row. The stock sells for less than eight times earnings and yields more than 4 percent in dividends.

 Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH) is an offbeat conglomerate run by Sardar Biglari out of San Antonio, Texas. It owns Steak n Shake and other restaurants, Maxim magazine and First Guard Insurance. The restaurants provide almost all the revenue, and the company has been profitable in 13 of the past 15 years.

 JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) seems to me superior to many competing airlines in scheduling and service. Airlines have done well the past two years, with planes flying full and fuel costs subdued. I got out of my airline stocks in January, but if I were to own one, this one deserves consideration.

 NeuStar Inc. (NSR), out of Sterling, Virginia, provides marketing information, telecommunications services (such as caller ID) and cybersecurity services. It has earned better than a 20 percent return on stockholders equity six years running, yet sells for only 11 times earnings.

Four of the eight Old Faithful nominees are from outside the U.S., but trade here.

 Magna International Inc. (MGA), based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, produces auto parts used by almost every major car manufacturer worldwide. It notched a 21 percent return on stockholders equity last year, scoring high on profitability. The stock sells for a modest eight times earnings.

 Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. (UEPS) is a payment processor based in South Africa. It does most of its business there and in South Korea. The companys revenue growth has been outstanding for a decade, but has reversed in the past year. This is a high-risk, but I think interesting, pick.

 Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG) is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. It operates more than 2,000 jewelry stores under several brand names, including Kay, Zales and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry. Revenue and earnings have been growing at a double-digit pace the past five years, but revenue has slowed lately.

 Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co.(SHI) is just what it sounds like  a Chinese chemical company. In the past four years, it has paid off almost all of its debt. Profitability is outstanding, with a return on equity of almost 28 percent last year.

Disclosure: One of my clients owns Magna International, and one owns Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical.

John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, and a syndicated columnist. His firm or clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.
Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker rushed to the jails secure inmate entrance Monday morning to see two of his men wounded on the floor.

It had been breached from the inside. He found two deputies shot  one of them died soon after.

Danker watched as the deputies received first aid from jail nurses and medics. He saw a broken garage door, busted by the van used to transport inmates. He saw blood.

Its just a shocking scene to walk into, Danker said just a few hours later.

A whirlwind pursuit of an escaped inmate across state lines on Monday morning that lasted less than 30 minutes ended with the man being captured, but heartbreak for the slain deputys family and the law enforcement family.

Mark Burbridge, 43, a 12-year veteran, died roughly an hour after he was shot.

Danker said the loss of Burbridge was something that law enforcement officers hope they never have to experience.

We lost one officer today, Danker said. Excellent man. Were going to miss him.

Burbridge had worked on road patrol, investigations and, most recently, court security.

(He) always was happy, jovial, Danker said. He was a good deputy.

Another deputy, Pat Morgan, 59, a 10-year department veteran, also was injured in the shooting, which occurred about 10:55 a.m. Morgan was shot in the lower torso, an injury that officials said was not life-threatening.

The shooting occurred after the two deputies drove inmate Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 24, back to jail from the courthouse. Correa-Carmenaty had just been sentenced as part of a plea deal to 45 years in prison with no possibility of parole for 29 years, for voluntary manslaughter in the 2016 killing of Anthony J. Walker.

In court, he had acted cold and spoke flatly, according to Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber.

Speaking through a Spanish translator, Correa-Carmenaty directed his words toward his victims family: He died because he was an idiot.

The victims mother fled from the room in tears.

Ive never had one purposefully tweak the family, ever, Wilber said. I regret (the plea deal) because he was so unremorseful.

Wilber said he thinks Correa-Carmenaty, whose last known address was in Council Bluffs, is from Puerto Rico.

Correa-Carmenaty wasnt combative in court, but later he attacked Burbridge and Morgan upon being let out of the van at the jail about 10:55 a.m., officials said.

Danker said inmates wrists are cuffed and ankles are shackled during transport, per policy. He didnt know if Correa-Carmenaty was wearing a chain around his waist that restricted his arms.

Im sure that the deputies, when they put him in that van, coming from the courthouse, that he was shackled, Danker said. You hear across the country where prisoners who are in shackles end up getting out and doing all kinds of things.

Correa-Carmenaty grabbed one of the deputies guns and fired shots, Danker said, striking Burbridge and Morgan. As of late Monday afternoon, authorities didnt know how many shots or which deputys gun was used. The deputies did not return fire.

Correa-Carmenaty fled in the transport van and drove through the closed garage door.

A few blocks away, at 16th Street and Big Lake Road, Council Bluffs resident Jeffery Duncan, his mother and 3-year-old son were headed to the Sheriffs Office to pick up some paperwork. Duncan said they had turned right onto Big Lake Road from 16th Street when they saw the white transport van.

Duncan said his mother stopped her car because the van was coming into their lane. A man in a yellow jumpsuit then got out of the drivers-side door of the van. Duncan said the mans legs were shackled but his hands were free, and he had a gun.

The man pointed the gun at someone in the car in front of them, but the car sped off, Duncan said. No law enforcement officers were in sight, he said.

The armed man then started coming toward Duncans mothers car. His mother also sped off. When they reached the Sheriffs Office, they told deputies what they had witnessed and were told to wait inside the lobby until it was safe.

Duncan said he recognized the man in the jumpsuit because Walker, the victim in the March 2016 fatal shooting, was a family friend.

Correa-Carmenaty then unsuccessfully tried to steal a Chevy S-10 pickup, Danker said. The 30-year-old driver, Jerry Brittain, was shot once in the neck. His injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials said. Brittain, like Morgan, was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center. Both were listed in fair condition Monday afternoon.

The passenger in the S-10 was not injured. The prison van was abandoned at 25th Street and Avenue I in Council Bluffs. Seeing the van on the grass, 31-year-old Amy Kanger stopped to see if anyone was hurt.

Correa-Carmenaty then kidnapped Kanger and took her car, Danker said.

Kanger was released in Omaha at a liquor store at 30th Street and Laurel Avenue. She alerted Omaha police to what happened about 11:15 a.m., and officers began looking for the car, a Nissan Altima.

A worker at the liquor store said a woman ran in about 10:45 a.m., shortly after the store opened. She was crying and frantic. She asked the worker to call 911.

Omaha police arrived in about two minutes.

"It was cops everywhere," the worker said. "They were up and down the street."

Officers spotted the car at about 30th Street and Ames Avenue and pursued it south on 30th Street, then west on Cuming Street, through a U-turn at Saddle Creek Road and back east on Cuming. Speeds during the chase reached 80 mph.

Officers tried to stop the car with stop sticks three times, but the car didnt stop until it hit a wall at Cuming Street and the I-480 entrance ramp.

Correa-Carmenatys hands were free and a gun was found in the car, said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who was at the Monday afternoon press conference in the Bluffs.

Minutes after the car crashed, dispatchers announced that Correa-Carmenaty was in custody. He refused medical treatment and was booked into the Douglas County Jail. Wilber said he has spoken to Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine about charges.

We want him prosecuted over here, Wilber said, who plans to file warrants for first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping and maybe others, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Condolences for the slain deputy began showing up on social media even before his death was officially announced. A Council Bluffs police officer leaving the Bluffs police station said of the deputy, I knew him, and he was a good guy. He and another officer were putting black bands on their police badges.

Area law enforcement officers also were changing their Twitter profile pictures to a photo of the badge of a Pottawattamie County sheriffs deputy covered with a black band.

Schmaderer offered words of support from a veterans perspective  nearly two years ago, Officer Kerrie Orozco was killed while apprehending a fugitive.

When we faced tragedy ... all the law enforcement on this side of the river was there for us, he said at the press conference. Obviously, theres going to be some time for some mourning. My suggestion is, hold your heads up high. ... Were very proud of what you do.

The last Pottawattamie County sheriffs deputy to die in the line of duty was Chief Deputy Duane Otto, who died Oct. 8, 1981, in Minden, Iowa. Otto was fatally injured when a roof of a porch fell on him as deputies entered a home.

The last deputy to be shot and killed in the line of duty was Special Deputy Claude Dail. Dail was accidentally shot Aug. 25, 1932, when a riot gun inadvertently discharged while he was protecting the Squirrel Cage Jail from rioters during the 1932 Farmers Union Strike.

Asked how the public could help the Sheriffs Office, Danker said he couldnt think of anything specific, but he said he and his deputies appreciate the communitys support.

Weve always had great support from the community, he said.

Residents were quick to respond to the days tragic news.

Minutes after the press conference, members of the Good Times off-roading club began rumbling into a parking lot on the west end of the Bluffs. They parked their pickup trucks and stood, flags in hand, beside busy West Broadway. Member Julie Duesler of Bellevue, holding her toddlers hand, said word had gone out in the group to gather after work Monday.

They were going to caravan across Council Bluffs, but police asked them not to, she said. So they stood. And passing drivers honked.

Were just showing our support for our community and our officers, Duesler said.

Memorials also began to grow at the jail and elsewhere in Council Bluffs.

At the Masonic Temple a block from the courthouse, an American flag whipped in the cold wind. Beneath it, a black flag with a blue line waved  a tribute to law enforcement.

Then, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds for the first time in days.

World-Herald staff writers Kevin Cole, Andrew J. Nelson, Jay Withrow and Christopher Burbach contributed to this report, which also includes material from the World-Herald News Service.

*****

Suspect was involved in fatal 2016 shooting

Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 24, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in January. He was one of three men involved in the fatal shooting of Anthony Walker on March 7, 2016.

About 6:30 p.m. that day, Council Bluffs police officers arrived at an apartment at 116 Glen Ave. after receiving a report that shots had been fired there.

Officers found Walker dead with a gunshot wound to his chest. They also learned that 32-year-old Patrick Schutz had gone to Mercy Hospital by private vehicle with a gunshot wound to an arm.

A witness told police a man had fled in a black Chevrolet Impala. Police found the car on a nearby street and took Correa-Carmenaty, its driver, into custody. Correa-Carmenaty told police he and another man had gone to the apartment to rob people of weed and money.

Correa-Carmenaty and two other Bluffs men were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree robbery. Correa-Carmenaty pleaded guilty to amended charges; in addition to attempted murder, according to court documents, he also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree robbery. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison Monday.

The plea came five years after Correa-Carmenaty pleaded guilty to carjacking with intent to cause serious bodily harm after an incident in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to federal court documents. In 2012, a U.S. district judge sentenced him to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Andrew J. Nelson, Emily Nitcher
COUNCIL BLUFFS  People left bouquets of flowers on a Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office vehicle parked outside the Council Bluffs office Tuesday morning to honor slain Deputy Mark Burbridge, who was fatally wounded Monday.

The vehicle's license plate bears Burbridge's badge number, 7810.

Sheriff Jeff Danker said Tuesday that the outpouring of support is heartening.

"People have been incredibly spontaneous in their show of support," Danker said. "We are very blessed to have such wonderful community support -- not just for our office, but for all law enforcement."

A memorial fund has been set up to assist Burbridges wife and three children. Donations can be made at any Treynor State Bank location in care of the Mark Burbridge Memorial Fund. Online donations can be made via PayPal by sending donations to the email address markburbridge7810@gmail.com.

Tuesday, James Fischer drove about an hour from Walnut, Iowa, to lay a single purple iris on the memorial outside the Sheriff's Office.

Fischer, 28, knew Mark Burbridge from the deputy's visits to his family's antique stand at the Granary Mall in Walnut.

"He would stop by to see how we were doing, ask how everything was going," Fischer said. "He was always very supportive. It's unbelievable something so tragic would happen to such a great person."

Fischer picked out the iris at a flower shop because it reminded him of the blue so prevalent during the funeral two years ago for Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco.

"Kerrie was a grade ahead of me at Walnut High," Fischer said. "She and Mark had the same kind of character, very fun-loving. He will be missed a lot."

Three-year-old Allen Bryen had met Burbridge too. His mother, Pamela Bryen, of Council Bluffs said Burbridge often helped with evictions at an apartment complex where she used to work.

Bryen helped her son place a ring of bells and a flag on the memorial.

The flag had the names of Allen and his brother and sister along with the inscription "Thank you for all you do."

Allen's blond head bobbed in agreement when he was asked if he remembered his friend Mark.

"Mark was awesome," Pamela Bryen said. "He was always joking around with us. And he loved his own kids so much. He was always talking about them."

Brianna Glendinning of La Vista brought sandwiches and cookies to the Sheriff's Office. Afterward she stopped to pay homage at the memorial. Her company, she said, supplies telecommunications equipment for many law enforcement agencies.

"The Sheriff's Office is very close to our hearts," she said. "Tragedies like this are such a reminder that we have to be there to support each other. I think it's amazing the amount of support you see here."

Dan Flaharty said he and Burbridge, 43, had an unusual meeting in the 1990s.

Flaharty, 69, said he and a buddy "stayed out of trouble" by mowing lawns for the elderly. They happened to drive past Burbridge's Council Bluffs home on a day the deputy was battling a balky lawn mower.

"He was having trouble with that mower, and we just stopped to help," Flaharty said. "We stopped and mowed the lawn for him and ended up fixing the lawn mower, too."

After that, Flaharty, who is a retired Council Bluffs firefighter, and Burbridge would bump into each other "on the streets and in the stores" around town.

Flaharty honored Burbridge by placing a bouquet of flowers topped with an American flag on a sheriff's vehicle out front of the Sheriff's Office. A simple gesture, he said, but one he felt he needed to make.

"Mark was doing a job he loved," Flaharty said. "He was a very good deputy and I wanted to show respect for him and his family. I'll honor him every day."

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office also has been hearing from other law enforcement agencies from across the country, Danker said.

"We're getting calls and emails letting us know that if there is anything they can do, they will," he said. "It's very touching."

Officials said Burbridge, a 12-year veteran, and another deputy, 59-year-old Pat Morgan, were shot by an inmate who escaped from the jail and drove into Omaha, where he was captured. Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 24, had been sentenced Monday for voluntary manslaughter at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse and had been brought back to the Pottawattamie County Jail when the shooting occurred. Correa-Carmenaty grabbed a gun from one of the deputies and shot them, officials said.
WASHINGTON  It appears that Terry Branstad can start packing his bags for China.

Iowas Republican governor received bipartisan praise Tuesday at his confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. ambassador to that country.

Ive got good Democratic friends in Iowa who give you high marks, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Branstad during the hearing. At least as high as theyre going to give to somebody on the other side.

A vote on the Senate floor is likely in the coming weeks. Branstad then would be responsible for helping manage one of the most important bilateral relationships on the planet.

Its up to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vet his nomination, but from the start committee members praised Branstads credentials and instead turned to wrestling with Chinas role in U.S. efforts to deter North Koreas nuclear program.

Branstad noted that China has an interest in helping head off a conflict that could send massive waves of refugees across the border. But he also conceded that China is resolutely opposed to having a democratic country on its doorstep.

Millions of lives hang in the balance, Branstad said, and China is in the best position to influence North Koreas behavior toward a peaceful outcome.

He pledged to work hard on the issue and indicated that he was open to different approaches, including sanctions against Chinese companies who do business with North Korea in violation of United Nations resolutions.

I see this as probably the biggest challenge that Ive ever had in my entire life, and I want to do anything and everything that I can to try to find an acceptable solution for the benefit of the entire human race, Branstad said.

The hearing also dealt with Chinas approach to human rights and unfair commercial practices.

Several members, for example, brought up the need to end Chinas rampant theft of U.S. intellectual property.

Its just like going and robbing a bank, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said of Chinas activities.

In fact, much of the hearing felt like an airing of grievances as senators hit a laundry list of complaints against China for:

 Decimating U.S. steel jobs by subsidizing and dumping cheap steel onto the market.

 Failing to crack down on its own shady pharmaceutical plants that supply the opioid fentanyl, causing an epidemic of overdoses in the United States.

 Suppressing its own citizens civil rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech.

 Maintaining unfair trade barriers to U.S. agricultural products such as beef and chicken.

President Donald Trump tapped Branstad for the ambassadorship in part because of the governors long-standing trade diplomacy with China that has boosted Iowa exports to that country.

Theres also a personal relationship with President Xi Jinping that goes back to 1985, when Branstad was a first-term governor welcoming Xi as the leader of an agriculture delegation from Chinas Hebei province, Iowas sister state.

Xi reportedly still talks about the hospitality he received on that trip.

During Tuesdays hearing, Branstad repeatedly said he hopes to lean on that personal connection, but he also sought to assure senators that he wont be a pushover.

I know I have a lot to learn about foreign policy and a lot of these issues, Branstad said. Ive been trying to get up to speed as best I can, but Im not bashful about bringing these issues up, and just the fact that the leader of China calls us an old friend doesnt mean that Im going to be at all reluctant or bashful about bringing up issues where we think they have not been fair.

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, noted in his opening comments that he looked forward to hearing that Branstad would stand with the Chinese people when it comes to labor rights.

I must say your record as governor in Iowa has raised some concerns, Cardin said, without being specific. In February, Branstad signed a collective bargaining law that bans public employee unions in most cases from negotiating over certain issues, such as health insurance.

Cardin did not return to the topic, however, and as the hearing wrapped up, he applauded Branstads performance.

Amid the somber talk of international diplomacy, there were a few lighter moments.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., alluded to all the time he spent in Iowa as a presidential contender and his visits to the Iowa State Fair.

He said those trips taught his kids that you can fry anything.

Even butter, Branstad responded, laughing.
Inquiry demanded after indigenous girls die in Ontario group homes

What is wrong with our system and the way we deal with indigenous people here in Canada. there has to be a better way.

Indigenous leaders are demanding an inquiry into the deaths of all indigenous children in care after the recent deaths of two northern Ontario teenage girls in provincial group homes last month.Poplar Hill First Nations Amy Owen, 13, took her own life on April 17 after she was taken out of her community near the Manitoba border and flown to live at a Prescott group home in eastern Ontario.I dont know why the parents have to go through this. I always thought they would bury me first. I always prayed for her, hoped she wouldnt do anything like this, said her father Jeffrey Owen, 36.She would secretly call us. At the agency she was at, they forbade her to talk to us and they always delayed and delayed visits, he said.Fort Albany First Nations Courtney Scott, 16, died in a house fire at her group home on April 21 in Orleans, Ont. She was also living away from home, removed at a young age along with her sisters and brothers.To me, I havent seen my granddaughter for so many years, she was so small the last time I saw her. She was maybe 12. She was happy when she saw her mom, said her grandmother, Madeline Koostachin. The family has many unanswered questions about the fire and what happened to Courtney.Another Poplar Hill girl, Kanina Sue Turtle, 15, was taken into care and she died Oct. 29, 2016. Her family is still waiting for details on if whether Kanina committed suicide, said her father, Clarence Suggashie.The kids should be in the community here. They should keep them here so they dont lose their culture, their language and we can see them, Suggashie said.Owen, Scott and Turtle are members of one of Nishnawbe Aski Nations 49 northern Ontario First Nation communities, and NAN has inherent jurisdiction over their well-being regardless of where they live, said NAN deputy grand chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum.But provincial legislation and how services are delivered do not coincide with NANs jurisdiction over their kids, said Achneepineskum.It is very obvious the services, the resources and the policies governing those resources need to be fixed. Why should a child have to travel so far away to get basic services? she asked.We want an inquiry.Achneepineskum added they have no official records that confirm the number of youth the NAN communities have lost while in care, but the loss of two young lives in a matter of weeks must be examined.The province is trying hard to bring mental health services to kids in remote communities and they are working with their indigenous partners, including the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, on improving outcomes, said Rob McMahon, a ministry of children and youth spokesperson.Where needed, and often as a last resort, there are times when a young person travels outside of their home community to receive care. Childrens aid societies and indigenous child well-being societies supervise, monitor and track the placement of children in their care, including the children they place in residential resources outside their jurisdictions. However, there is no formal reporting by societies of these numbers at this time, McMahon said.Mental health services are difficult to access for NAN kids and First Nations-led child agencies struggle with both a severe lack of services and high suicide rates among the youth. It is difficult to access diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services and delays makes treatment even more elusive.Owen and Scotts deaths follow the tragic suicides of two girls from Wapekeka First Nation, Jolynn Winter, 12, and her friend, Chantell Fox, 12, who took their lives last January after a plea for emergency mental health funding was refused for the remote community more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. Another four girls were flown out of Wapekeka for urgent mental health care. An anonymous private donor stepped in to pay $380,000 for the emergency care Health Canada had initially refused to provide.Amy had no means of getting any mental health help closer to home so she had to be flown to Ottawa, completely cut off from her Anishinaabe culture, language and from everything she knew, said Achneepineksum. To visit, her parents would have to take a flight to Sioux Lookout, then to Thunder Bay and then to Ottawa, which is expensive.How can they expect a child to deal with their mental health issues when they are so disconnected with their families? Phone calls will not do, she asked.Owen said his daughter Amy tried to commit suicide when she was taken away from her family and placed in a Pickle Lake home. It broke her spirit, he said. I wish I could have done something to prevent this. I wish I could drive there and just go pick her up. There were just so many things I wish I could have done.Amy was receiving one-on-one supervision, he said, because she was high risk for suicide. I dont know how she could have done this when she was supposed to have all this support. Why was she left in a room for so long? By the time they checked on her it was too late, he said.If they were closer to home, we could visit. Amy wasnt into hurting herself when she was with us. She was smart, outgoing, she liked to have fun. She loved her family, especially her little sister. She even looks like her, Owen said. Amy had seven brothers and sisters ranging in age from 18 to 5.When Irwin Elman, Ontarios Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, found out about Owen and Scotts deaths, he insisted there be immediate changes concerning conditions in group homes and how far First Nations kids are taken outside of their communities for care. Frankly, children should survive our attempts to protect them. That is a pretty low bar in terms of outcome but . . . we need to do something now, Elman said.Elman has asked the ministry better analyze the 19,000 serious occurrence reports they see every year and they should be used daily to identify homes at risk and visit them immediately to speak to the kids and assess the available supports.Immediately they should create a roster of clinicians, in my opinion, mental health professionals and trained child and youth workers who can be quickly deployed to homes in crisis to support young people and stabilize the homes, he said.And then the ministry should determine the numbers and situations of First Nations children living in group homes in southern Ontario. And then they should immediate reach out to those kids through culturally appropriate means to see how they are, he said.
COUNCIL BLUFFS  For about 140 miles, the procession returning slain deputy Mark Burbridge home from central Iowa was met with well wishers at rural overpasses over Interstate 80 and on the streets of Council Bluffs.

The body of the 43-year-old Pottawattamie County Sheriffs deputy had been taken to the Iowa State Medical Examiner north of Des Moines for an autopsy after he was killed in a jail break Monday.

Pretty much from Des Moines, all the way here, all the overpasses were covered. People were stopping by the side. It was very humbling, said Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Sgt. Marc Freeman, who drove one of the dozens of vehicles in the convoy.

Officials had informed the public via social media of the route from the Ankeny, Iowa, examiners office to the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home in the Bluffs. The motorcade left Ankeny about 1 p.m.

Danielle Marco, 25, of Council Bluffs, stood on the east side of 16th Street at Avenue B to watch the motorcade. She was with her two daughters, Alexa, 2, and Mayleigh, 6 months. Marco held Mayleigh in her arms while Alexa sat in the stroller.

The line of about 40 law enforcement vehicles and firetrucks passed by about 3 p.m.

I hope it warms the familys hearts knowing that they have all this support behind them, Marco said. The first thing that popped up in my head when I heard about it was that it has just been two years since the passing of (Omaha Police Officer) Kerrie Orozco.

Some people waved American flags. Some stood with their hands on their hearts; others bowed their heads in prayer.

Others paid their respects at a memorial for Burbridge in front of the Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office. They placed flowers, flags and other items on a Sheriffs Office vehicle with a license plate that bears Burbridges badge number, 7810.

Sheriff Jeff Danker said that the outpouring of support is heartening.

People have been incredibly spontaneous, Danker said. We are very blessed to have such wonderful community support  not just for our office, but for all law enforcement.

James Fischer drove about an hour from Walnut, Iowa, to lay a single purple iris on the memorial. Fischer, 28, knew Burbridge from the deputys visits to his familys antique stand at the Granary Mall in Walnut.

He would stop by to see how we were doing, ask how everything was going, Fischer said. He was always very supportive. Its unbelievable something so tragic would happen to such a great person.

Fischer picked out the iris at a flower shop because it reminded him of the blue so prevalent during the funeral two years ago for Orozco.

Kerrie was a grade ahead of me at Walnut High, Fischer said. She and Mark had the same kind of character, very fun-loving. He will be missed a lot.

Brianna Glendinning of La Vista brought sandwiches and cookies to the Sheriffs Office. Afterward, she stopped by the memorial. Tragedies like this are such a reminder that we have to be there to support each other, she said.

Dan Flaharty said he and Burbridge had an unusual meeting in the 1990s.

Flaharty, 69, said he and a buddy stayed out of trouble by mowing lawns for the elderly. They happened to drive past Burbridges Council Bluffs home on a day the deputy was battling a balky lawn mower.

We stopped and mowed the lawn for him and ended up fixing the lawn mower, too, he said.

After that, Flaharty, who is a retired Council Bluffs firefighter, and Burbridge would bump into each other on the streets and in the stores around town.

Flaharty honored Burbridge by placing a bouquet of flowers topped with an American flag on the memorial. Mark was doing a job he loved, Flaharty said. He was a very good deputy and I wanted to show respect for him and his family.

The Sheriffs Office has been hearing from other law enforcement agencies from across the country, Danker said.

Were getting calls and emails letting us know that if there is anything they can do, they will, he said. Its very touching.

The caravan arrived at the funeral home about 3:15 p.m. The dozens of patrol vehicles passed by, emergency lights flashing but otherwise silent. The crowd was silent, too.

At the funeral home, mourners watched silently from afar as Burbridges body was removed from the back of a Lincoln Navigator, his path into the funeral home lined with his fellow deputies, who saluted.

Woodman tower supporting #Blue with the @PottCoSheriff office in the background pic.twitter.com/jh3yzlTjSr  OPD Helicopter (@OPDABLE1) May 3, 2017
The six goose eggs laid in a flowerpot outside an Omaha hospital have yielded four chicks, and on Monday the family waddled away to a nearby pond.

Ralph and Alice, a pair of Canada geese, have nested near Lakeside Hospital every spring since 2005. This year the pair chose a spot about 20 feet from the emergency room doors.

Security has definitely been on their toes keeping an eye on them, said hospital spokeswoman Kathy Niver. Hospital security pointed a GooseCam at this years nesting spot to monitor the progress and watch for interlopers. The GooseCam was viewed by people from 35 countries 5,127 times, Niver said.

The nesting site was right outside the window of Inglish Camero, vice president of patient care and self-proclaimed goose advocate. Its believed the goslings hatched about 10 p.m. Sunday, she said.

One egg didnt hatch. Camero said one of the goslings got out of the nest early and disappeared, leaving only four babies.

Camero walked with the family as it made its way to the nearby pond about 11 a.m.

Security used a car to block the traffic as they crossed the road, Camero said. It will be less stressful around here now because (Ralph) was getting kind of mean.
A Lutheran bishop knocked on the massive bronze doors of a Catholic cathedral as the sun dipped low Monday evening.

A Catholic archbishop waited inside to open the door and welcome him.

The ritual moment in Omaha symbolized unity between the two faiths and was the start of an ecumenical prayer service commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Lutheran Bishop Brian Maas and Catholic Archbishop George Lucas presided during the service that drew hundreds to St. Cecilia Cathedral.

The service was one in a series of local events commemorating the Reformation and marking five decades of the two faiths working toward unity.

With joy we have come to recognize that what unites us is far greater than what divides us, said Lucas, leader of the Omaha Archdiocese.

Maas delivered a similar message in his sermon.

Our shared foundation is Christ, said Maas, leader of the Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Pope Francis has encouraged similar gatherings around the world, and he and Bishop Munic Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, co-presided over a prayer service in Sweden in October.

Mondays service was marked by music, words and actions aimed at showing communion between the two faiths.

Lucas and Maas walked down the aisle together, sprinkling the crowd with holy water.

Representatives of Lutheran Family Services and Catholic Charities lit candles together.

And Maas and Lucas sat side by side at the altar.

The Reformation dates to 1517, when Friar Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of his Catholic church in Wittenberg, Germany, denouncing the Catholic sale of indulgences  pardons for sins  and questioning papal authority.

That led to his excommunication from the Catholic Church and the start of the Protestant Reformation.

In his sermon, Maas acknowledged the rift over the centuries, but called for healing.

Its time to look beyond what divides us, he said.
Stephen Steve Allen Zimmerman age 62 of Plattsmouth, NE peacefully passed away on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at Nebraska Medicine in Bellevue, NE.

A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M., on Sunday, May 21, 2017 at the Hopper Community Center in Weeping Water, NE.
WHITECLAY, Neb.  The Budweiser trucks rolled into Whiteclay early Monday morning for what could be the last time. But instead of hauling cases into the unincorporated villages four beer-only liquor stores, a group of men brought stacks and stacks of boxes out to load into the truck.

Store owners said other distributors will pick up the remaining products within the week. By noon, the stores shelves were nearly empty.

Whiteclays streets were empty, too. Lakota Hope, the street ministry in the village, made pancakes for anyone who was hanging around on Monday. But when those with the ministry went out to tell the street people about the free meal, they didnt find the usual group of men hanging on the villages edges. Just one man joined the group for breakfast.

Counselors from Rapid City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, came to the village Monday, too, only to find out that there was no one there.

We dont have the people and the problems we were expecting, said Matt Walz of Keystone Treatment Center in Sioux Falls. Now its a matter of figuring out how to actually help.

Though their liquor licenses didnt expire until midnight Sunday, the Whiteclay beer store owners collectively decided not to open at all Sunday.

We wanted to prove a point that people would just go elsewhere, said Stuart Kozal, owner of the Jumping Eagle Inn, referring to the influx that the businesses that sell liquor were seeing in Rushville, the nearest town to the south. The other beer stores owners declined to comment.

Rushville sits just 21 miles to the south of Whiteclay. It has a grade school, a middle school and three churches. The population hovers around 900. There are a couple of bars, a gas station that sells beer and one small liquor store called Barrel House Liquor.

Thats where the Budweiser trucks went after their stops in Whiteclay  this time unloading cases of beer into the small store. The owner of Barrel House declined to comment, as did the cashier at the gas station right across the street.

But Rushville resident Ryan Huss, 55, who said he spent Sunday night and Monday afternoon in a booth in the gas station, said he has noticed more people going in and coming out of the two stores.

I hang out here all the time, he said. But I have never seen as many people buying beer and alcohol here. Shutting down those stores doesnt mean people arent going to drink.

It was a concern many in Rushville echoed in the days after finding out the Whiteclay stores were set to close, at least temporarily.

Walz, however, said, Weve got decades worth of data showing that when alcohol availability decreases, so do DUIs. I understand and sympathize with the fears of those in Rushville. But I think with time they will realize that those fears are unfounded. The closing of these stores should offer hope for both sides.

The four Whiteclay stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer each year, almost all to residents of the officially dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just across the state line in South Dakota.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission decided in April not to renew the stores licenses  a decision that was reversed by a judge Thursday. But then, just hours later, an appeal by the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office effectively suspended the ruling until the State Court of Appeals renders a decision.

Its uncertain if or when the stores could reopen.

For Kozal, that uncertainty means hes looking for another job, as are the three employees he let go.

Today feels like a punch in the gut, he said, sitting on a stump in front of his store. After 36 years of doing this, I just dont know whats next. But well keep fighting this. If we win, then the boys will just be hauling this beer back here.

Winnebago activist Frank LaMere says he knows the legal fight will continue, but hes optimistic that the beer wont be coming back to Whiteclay.

We got through the first days of this, he said. We came to Whiteclay (on Sunday) to look the devil in the eye. But hed already left town. I dont think hes coming back.

LaMere and Bryan Brewer, former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, tried to meet Monday morning with the current tribal president, Scott Weston, but the meeting didnt happen. They had planned to discuss ways to address alcoholism on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and get detox services to those who need it, hoping to enlist the help of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service.

Kevin Yellow Bird Steele, who handles public relations for the tribe, said Weston was in the office when the activists arrived but was on a scheduled conference call and couldnt meet with them.

Weston did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Brewer was frustrated that the tribal government didnt seem to be prioritizing the issue. But LaMere wasnt deterred.

If one door is not open, we will go knock on four or five more, he said.

LaMere said he plans to meet with the police chief in Rapid City about the possibility of taking people to the detox center there. After that, hell continue working with other treatment centers as well as law enforcement in Nebraska and South Dakota.

We understand that now the Whiteclay stores are closed, the next steps will come in fits and starts, he said.

But seeing the streets of Whiteclay nearly empty was a victory, he said. On Sunday, he went on the reservations radio station and pleaded for those whod lived on the streets of Whiteclay to go home to their families.

If just one person goes home to heal, then all of my work for the last 20 years will be worth it, LaMere said. And I do believe many of them went home on Sunday, instead of going on to Rushville.

For Kathryn Thunder Hawk, a tribal member living on Pine Ridge, the focus shouldnt be about whether people will now go to neighboring towns for alcohol.

The responsibility of each persons decision to drink isnt the issue here, she said. Its about recognizing and ending the horrible legacy of Whiteclay. We did that. We started a conversation, and now we must come together to help our people.
Any current or former Girl Scout can recall the first words of the group's promise, "On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country."

God, faith and spirituality have been ingrained in the backbone and history of the secular organization, whose badge-wearing, cookie-selling members are still going strong across the country.

But for the better part of the past decade, the Catholic Church has eyed the Girl Scouts of the USA suspiciously, claiming the organization is too close to groups in conflict with the pro-life, traditional family values of the Catholic faith, such as Planned Parenthood. The Girl Scouts organization has denied the allegations, but the controversies  largely rooted in misinformation  have prompted dioceses to cut ties with the scouts.

In the latest instance, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is ending its relationship with the Girl Scouts and transitioning its support to a Christian-based scouting group, saying the Girl Scouts' programs and materials are "reflective of many of the troubling trends in our secular culture," and that the organization is "no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel."

Kansas Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in a statement Monday the archdiocese's pastors have been asked to begin phasing out Girl Scouts troops, either quickly or over the next several years. As an alternative, the statement said, they should begin forming troops through American Heritage Girls, which describes itself as a "Christ-centered leadership and character development ministry" that promotes itself as a faith-based alternative to the secular Girl Scouts.

Some priests are allowing existing Girl Scout troops to continue meeting on church premises until their members graduate. Others have told their troop leaders they will have to start meeting elsewhere. Naumann also called for an end to Girl Scout cookie sales in the archdiocese, the Kansas City Star reported.

"No Girl Scout cookie sales should occur in Catholic Schools or on parish property after the 2016-2017 school year," he said in a letter to priests in January.

The decision to phase out Girl Scout troops across the archdiocese, which oversees dozens of Catholic churches and schools in 21 counties in northeast Kansas, was welcomed by some families who feel the American Heritage Girls' faith-based approach aligns best with Catholicism. But it also prompted anger and frustration among many families who have seen generations of their children benefit from the program's leadership-building, service-oriented mission.

"I just wish we could have coexisted," said Maria Walters, a former Girl Scout leader in the archdiocese and mother of two Girl Scouts, said in an interview with the Washington Post. "To take down a little girls organization when kids need to feel connected, need to feel important, is really sad to me."

Since 2007, the archdiocese leadership has been addressing concerns from some Girl Scout members and their mothers, who claimed that Girl Scout materials contradicted their Catholic beliefs, Naumann said. In the years that followed articles circulated on the Internet and criticism mounted over the group's membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), which comprises 145 member organizations and is "closely tied to and celebrated by International Planned Parenthood," Naumann said.

Girl Scouts of the USA, Naumann wrote in his statement, contributes more than a million dollars a year to the membership organization, which advocates for women's health legislation that specifically includes artificial contraception and abortion as a right of all women.

Girl Scout materials also frequently present Margret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, and feminist pioneers Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem as role models, Naumann said, adding that these women "do not support a Catholic worldview."

However, the Girl Scouts of the USA has repeatedly said it does not take a position or develop materials on issues regarding human sexuality, birth control and abortion, and that it does not have a relationship or partnership with Planned Parenthood. It compares its membership in WAGGGS to the United States' relationship with the United Nations, saying it does not necessarily agree with every position the membership group takes. The national funds that the Girl Scouts of the USA sends to WAGGGS come solely from investment income.

"It's hard for me to understand why we have to be responsible for something that's happening in another country or across the world," said Walters. "To be looking at it so globally, it's hard for me to wrap my head about it."

Walters used to coordinate her parish's Girl Scout troops, which usually amounted to about 100 girls, and have existed at the parish for at least 25 years. Troop leaders are no longer allowed to recruit in the church's newsletter or post fliers on church grounds, though the parish's priest is allowing current groups to continue meeting.

"Many leaders were very concerned and quite frankly angry about it," Walters said. She is particularly unsettled by the fact that the archdiocese has so far not taken such actions against the Boy Scouts of America.

She says her church's Girl Scouts have led numerous food drives through the church, worked with the Ronald McDonald House and local children's hospitals, and has volunteered around the parish. It has also hosted a popular father-daughter dance.

Walters said the Girl Scouts' network, which has 1.9 million girl members and 800,000 adult members nationwide, also provides valuable scholarships and opportunities for girls later on in life. When her daughter, who is heading to college next year, mentioned her nine years of participation in the Girl Scouts to admissions counselors, "that is something they recognize," Walters said.

"They recognize the leadership, the service, Walters said. "I'm not sure what the reaction would be if I said American Heritage."

Kansas City joins a growing list of archdioceses across the country that have taken measures against the Girl Scouts in their communities. The Archdiocese of St. Louis in February of last year published an advisory addressed to priests, followers and scout leaders, urging them to scale back ties with the Girl Scouts and to think twice about membership and even about buying their cookies.

In January 2012, St. Timothy Roman Catholic parish in Chantilly in Fairfax County, Virginia, ousted 12 troops with 115 girls. Lawmakers in Indiana and Alaska have publicly berated the Girl Scouts.

Some parents began reporting that when their daughters went out to sell Girl Scout cookies, they had doors slammed in their faces by people refusing to make purchases because they think the profits go to support abortion and birth control.

About three years ago, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops began studying the issue. It said it held a lengthy dialogue with the Girl Scouts and developed a resource guide for Catholics, writing that the question of whether to host Girl Scouts must be answered at the local level. Diocesan bishops have the final authority over what is appropriate for Catholic scouting in their dioceses, it said.

American Heritage Girls has 1,005 troops and more than 47,000 members, claiming troops in every state in the country and some foreign countries. About a quarter of the membership is Catholic, with American Heritage Girls troops in more than half the dioceses in the United States.

The organization was attractive to the archdiocese because of its Christian values and in part because of its opposition to abortion. Some of the troops have participated in protests and prayer vigils outside clinics that perform abortions, the Kansas City Star reported.

In a lengthy explanation about the archdiocese's relationship with the Girl Scouts, Naumann wrote that "Girl Scouting is adopting the popular culture; we are dedicated to Catholic teaching."

"While secular programs feel they must change with the culture to survive, Jesus calls us to stand in the truth," he wrote.

Walters disagrees, saying, "we definitely need to grow with the change in the world."

"You may not care for what the Girl Scouts do, and that's fine," Walters said. "But there's some of us and a lot of us who like the Girl Scouts. I wish the archbishop would have recognized that, and not cut us."
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has vetoed legislation that would give more than 7,800 Nebraskans equal footing in our countrys democracy (Lawmaker will fight veto over felons voting rights, April 28 World-Herald).

His reasoning for this has absolutely no factual standing. Ricketts claims that reinstating civil rights for returning citizens is against Nebraskas Constitution; however, it is not.

In 2005, legislation was passed that eliminated the Board of Pardons requirement when re-establishing voting rights and reduced it to a two-year waiting period. The current legislation, Legislative Bill 75, simply permits them to engage in the process sooner.

Why does our governor believe that withholding the civil rights of any free American is acceptable? I find that more concerning than the thought of a free Nebraskan who has paid his or her debt heading to the polling place.

Alexandra Garrison, Omaha
'Kejriwal ji, if my claims true, you'll resign and retire': Sukesh writes a new letter

IRCTC update: 151 trains cancelled on Nov 09; here is the complete list

433 from northeast inducted in Delhi Police; given training for fluent Hindi

India

oi-Preeti Panwar

New Delhi, May 2: Delhi Police has recently added over 400 personnel from the northeast.

A news report said that over 433 cops, including men and women have been inducted into Delhi Police force and they have been trained in fluent Hindi, to communicate to locals in a hassle-free manner.

The cops from northeast have been trained to tackle criminal cases of rape, murder, accident, and burglary. They have also been trained to handle crime cases against north easterners at Delhi Police training schools.

Special emphasis was given on safety and security of women, gender issues and cases related to children and senior citizens.

A TOI report said that women constables underwent commando training at the Jharoda Kala outdoor training facility where they were trained in handling latest weapons, vehicle driving, firing practice and hand to hand combat.

OneIndia News
After MCD poll debacle, AAP may go in for a major reshuffle

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, May 2: The Aam Admi Party's electoral defeat in Muncipal Corporation of Delhi elections has lead to critical introspection in the party. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has begun reconstructive surgery of the party, hinting major changes in the party's leadership structure.

According to the sources Kejriwal has decided to reachout to over 60 legislators who had won the party a massive mandate in assembly elections in the national capital just two years ago and gather feedback on party's performance at the ground level.

Kejriwal will also meet AAP volunteers who backed the party during the elections but who seem to have lost steam after successive defeats.

It may be recalled that in a meeting called by Kejriwal of AAP leaders and law makers, the leaders assesed the situation and had called for urjent organisational restructure.

This also holds significance at the backdrop of resignation by top leaders like Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey and Brijesh Pathak, who held key positions in the party, post debacle. The posts have to be refilled.

Besides, Kejriwal on Monday tried to pacify the specualtions of a rift between him and Kumar Vishwas by calling him 'younger brother', days after the senior party leader differed with him over EVM tampering as the reason behind the AAP's recent poll defeats.

AAP sources indicated that a much-anticipated organisational reshuffle would take place shortly. AAP's founder member Kumar Vishwas play a greater role, though it is not known yet what that role will be, sources said.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 14:16 [IST]
Allahabad university violence: HRD ministry orders probe

India

oi-Anusha

The union HRD ministry has ordered a probe into the violence that broke out at the Allahabad University. The ministry has formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the matter. 22 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence. The yogi Adityanath government too had sought a report on the violence that broke out in the varsity on April 28.

Arson and vandalism were witnessed inside the Allahabad varsity after four students chanted slogans at the University guest house where a meeting of the varsity's Executive Council was underway, in violation of the prohibitory orders. The agitators were demanding an investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the University. The students were arrested and the news of their arrest triggered violent protests inside the campus.

Youngsters a bus, hurled stones damaging window panes and vehicles. Protests were quelled by the police along with personnel of the Rapid Action Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary. Prohibitory orders under section 144 were imposed a few days earlier when attempts of the University authorities and police to evict illegal occupants from hostels were met with angry protests.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 6:51 [IST]
BJP's victory in MCD polls is an end of 'anarchy': Shah

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, May 2: The Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the civic polls was the 'foundation' for the next assembly polls in Delhi and it marks the end of 'anarchy', party chief Amit Shah said on Tuesday.

Shah said the credit for the win goes to the BJP's booth-level workers. He rubbished Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's contention that it may have something to do with alleged manipulation of the electronic voting machines.

"The mandate of the national capital is the nation's mandate. It establishes once again that the people of India are firmly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is their stamp of approval on the Modi government's works," he said.

Shah was addressing a convention of the BJP workers in New Delhi to celebrate the party's success in the recent municipal polls where it retained control of all the three civic bodies, decimating the AAP and the Congress.

Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Shah said no matter what the Delhi chief minister believes, the victory has got nothing to do with EVMs. "This is the victory of the BJP's booth-level workers," he said. Grappling with a series of defeats, Kejriwal has been alleging that the EVMs could have been tampered with to favour the BJP.

The allegation, which has been echoed by few other parties as well, has been rubbished by the Election Commission. Shah did not elaborate on the 'anarchy' jibe.

However, relentless feuds and acrimony with the BJP-led Centre have marked the tenure of the AAP government, which stormed to power in 2015, and he may well have been referring to the tussle.

PTI
Caught on camera: Mumbai cop tries to run over man

India

oi-Anusha

A constable attached to the Mumbai special branch was caught on camera trying to run over a man with his car. In a video said to have been recorded on April 21, Ramesh Awate, a Mumbai cop is seen trying to run over a man following an argument over money. The policeman is currently absconding.

#WATCH: Mumbai constable Ramesh Awate trying to run man over with his car after argument over money in Thane, Awate is on the run. (21/04) pic.twitter.com/Yoo6Q0UMfQ  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

The incident is said to have taken place near a popular ice cream joint in Thane. The victim, 31-year-old Atul Pethe claimed that the constable visited his sister's store and started a fight. The duo allegedly argued over financial dealings. Pethe tried to record the fight when Awate allegedly got into his car and drove straight into the victim.

The video shows Pethe clinging to the car's bonnet and dragged for a distance. Onlookers saved the day when they charged at the car forcing the policeman to back off, reverse the vehicle and flee from the spot. Pethe claims that had it not been for the alert citizens, the cop would have crushed him into an oncoming truck.

In his complaint to the police, the victim claimed that the two were friends and Awate had borrowed Rs 3 lakh from his mother but refused to return the same. Each time the policeman was reminded of the loan, he would get agitated and start a fight. The complaint is said to have irked the police constable who finally attempted to run over his friend.

Days after a complaint was filed no arrests have been made in the case. The accused is a police constable who is currently on the run.

OneIndia News
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

This cop from Pakistan became a millionaire overnight: Here is how

Daughter of beheaded BSF braveheart wants 50 Pak heads for her fathers sacrifice

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, May 2: The families of two Indian soldiers, who were killed and beheaded by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, were mourning the deaths of their beloved men.

The two soldiers killed on Monday were Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the Border Security Force.

Speaking to ANI, daughter of Sagar, Saroj, said, "We got no information from the administration about his death. We want 50 heads for his sacrifice."

Sagar was a resident of Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. In Tarn Taran, Punjab, the family of Singh mourned his demise too, reported ANI.

The army issued a statement saying that the bodies of an army soldier and a BSF head constable were mutilated but a senior army officer told PTI that they were beheaded.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in Delhi that the "sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain" and the Indian armed forces will react "appropriately" to the "inhuman act" of the Pakistani troops.

"This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks do not take place during war," he said.

"Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. The government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act," Jaitley said.

The attack was carried out by the Border Action Team, which comprises the special forces, under the cover of shelling by Pakistani troops in Krishna Ghati Sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Back in 2013 after the brutal killing and beheading of Lance Naik Hemraj and his colleague Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh were carried out by Pakistan's Border Action Team, the then leader of the opposition and current external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said if Pakistan does not return the severed head of the martyred soldier Hemraj, India should get at least 10 heads from the other side.

OneIndia News
Poonch attack: Last respects paid to Naib Subedar Singh

India

oi-Madhuri

Families of the two Indian jawans, who were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan, are mourning the death of their loved ones. Mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh on Tuesday was brought to his native place in Tarn Taran Sahib district in Punjab by helicopter.

Mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh brought to his native place in Tarn Taran, Punjab pic.twitter.com/KMhmzzIDGf  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Naib Subedar, aged 42 years, belonged to Tarn Taran Sahib. He is survived by his wife Paramjeet Kaur. Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF, aged 45 years, belonged to Takenpur, District Deoria, UP. He is survived by his wife, Shanti.

Naib Subedar was to come home on leave on April 28 but since one of his friends had to take a leave urgently, Singh deferred his leave. While, Prem Sagar, had joined the BSF in 1994 and was posted to J&K two years ago. He was home in February when he visited his family.

Earlier on Monday, wreath laying ceremonies were organised at Poonch and Jammu in honour of the brave martyrs Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF, who laid down their life guarding the Nation's frontiers while serving at the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch.

The mortal remains of the two martyrs were flown to Jammu. While Naib Subedar was carried to Tarn Taran in helicopter, Prem Sagar's body was flown to Delhi from where it will be carried to his native village in UP.

Meanwhile, family members of Naib Subedar had earlier refused to cremate his body until his head is returned to them. ''Whose body is this? It is all behind this box! We are not being shown the body? Why?,'' asked the relatives of Naib Subedar, demanding to see his body.

However, after persuasion by Army and government officials, they agreed to complete the last rites of Singh.

OneIndia News (with inputs)
'Don't criticise union government in public', Tamil Nadu CM tells ministers

India

oi-Anusha

Is Tamil Nadu Chief minister Edappadi Palanisamy cosying up to the central government? That may be the case if his appeal to his cabinet of ministers is anything to go by. During Tuesday's cabinet meet, the Chief Minister is said to have asked Tamil Nadu ministers to refrain from criticising the union government in public. Amidst the political uncertainty in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy held a cabinet meet on Tuesday where he advised his ministers not to speak ill of the BJP government in the centre in public.

Issues like drought, drinking water crisis, the constitution of Cauvery management board and NEET were discussed in the cabinet meet that was convened even as two warring factions of the AIADMK are considering a merger.

During the meet, the Chief Minister appealed to his cabinet not to criticise the centre when addressing the public on various issues including fishermen, NEET and drought situation. His statement comes days after farmers from Tamil Nadu demanded action from the centre over drought and loan waiver.

Soon after the cabinet meet, Edappadi Palanisamy wrote to the Prime Minister requesting him to secure the release of five fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were detained by Sri Lankan navy. At a time when popular belief is that the centre is backing the O Panneerselvam camp of the AIADMK, Edappadi Palanisamy's appeal to his ministers seem like an attempt to win the favour of the BJP.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 15:39 [IST]
Ron Vlach did a lot of handshaking.

I know I shook a thousand hands, said Vlach, a Vietnam veteran from Fremont, who was part of a unique homecoming.

Vlach was among 650 veterans who went on the Patriotic Productions flight to Washington, D.C. on Monday. Four charter planes took the veterans to see a host of sites including the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

After the whirlwind, daylong tour, the veterans returned to Nebraska, arriving at Lincoln Airport where they were greeted by an estimated crowd of 7,000 supporters.

No one really knew or expected how many people would be there, said veteran Dan Rosenbaum of Fremont. The entire Lincoln Airport was full of people.

Rosenbaum was able to reach a balcony where he could look over the crowd.

The crowd even flowed out of the airport terminal and down the street.

It was just incredible, Rosenbaum said. There were so many people with signs. The Air National Guard guys were there. There was a Marine Corps group that was singing. There was a childrens choir that was singing.

As veterans left, they could see a huge American flag that was lighted and suspended between two large firetrucks.

The warm homecoming was just part of an event-filled day that began with veterans boarding buses at about 2 a.m.

Aboard the bus, another veteran asked Rosenbaum, who served in the U.S. Navy, the name of the hospital ship on which he served.

Rosenbaum told him it was the USS Sanctuary.

You know what? the other veteran said. I was on that ship. That was a great ship. Im here today, because of that ship.

At Reagan National Airport, two large firetrucks shot water over the tops of the airplanes.

That was pretty, Vlach said.

The weather was good in the capital city.

It was beautiful in D.C., just gorgeous, Rosenbaum said.

Veterans were taken in buses to see the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

Ive been humbled in my life, but never like that. Never, Vlach said.

Vlach and other veterans saw people dropping off mementos. There were a multitude of mementos left just that day and Vlach said a building in Washington, D.C., is filled with items that have been left at the Wall, which contains more than 58,600 names.

Veterans who came to the Wall looked for the names of friends theyd lost.

The Vietnam Wall truly was incredible. I did find the guys name on the wall that I graduated from high school with, Rosenbaum said, adding, They had a wreath-laying ceremony while we were there, which was cool, and Taps was played, and the place was just packed full of people.

Rosenbaum also was impressed by the Lincoln Memorial.

They put us all up on the steps and took our pictures and that was very, very moving, he said.

Vlach was awed by United States Marine Corps War Memorial. The statue features the scene of Marines raising an American flag atop Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima during World War II. The entire war memorial is about 78 feet tall, its website states.

That by far was the neatest statue there in my own opinion, Vlach said.

Both Vlach and Rosenbaum were impressed when they saw Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

You see pictures of that and you just never realize how big that is  its just huge, Rosenbaum said. We were able to go and watch the changing of the guard, which was another very moving thing.

Vlach said veterans saw one of the caissons that carried the flag-draped casket of a fallen soldier. Six horses pulled the caisson, which Vlach said was accompanied by about 30 soldiers.

That was impressive, he said.

The veterans also were able to watch the changing of the guard at the cemetery.

Rosenbaum said the flights out of Washington, D.C., were delayed by about an hour.

Before landing, Vlach recalled the pilot of the plane announcing the estimated size of the crowd at the Lincoln Airport.

He said Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts shook each of the veterans hands as they came off the planes.

Vlach said he shook 1,000 hands and that Fremonts HyVee Food Store was there to hand out yellow roses to local veterans getting off the planes.

The group of veterans from Nebraska was the largest delegation from any state organized to go to Washington, D.C.

Its probably one of the top five experiences in my lifetime, Vlach said.

Rosenbaum noted something else:

It went from when we came home  from people throwing rocks and spitting on you and calling you baby killers  to the outpouring of love last night, he said.

Rosenbaum said Catholic school students have a class about the Vietnam War. Veterans received Thank You cards from different schools from around the state.

Those kids never knew what Vietnam was, but at least theyre learning about it and that was a very moving part of it, too, he said. It really was.
Explained: Why did the ECI freeze the symbol of the Shiv Sena

Not just future of Sena but democracy at stake, says Uddhav

Enough of Mann ki baat, time for Gun ki baat: Uddhav tells Modi

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Coming down hard on the Union Government over mutilated bodies of two soldiers being found near LoC in Poonch, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray said India should respond to Pakistani aggression by 'guns' and not talks.

"Our jawans being attacked in Kashmir, PM does 'Mann ki baat' now its time for him to do 'Gun ki baat'," he reportedly said at a gathering.

Bodies of two Indian soldiers were found in a mutilated condition on Monday along the Line of Control. While India was quick to condemn the cowardly act, the Pakistani army refuses to stop its despicable acts. As expected, Pakistan denied mutilating bodies of Indian soldiers.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also strongly condemned the killings and described them as a "barbaric and disgraceful act".

"The government must move beyond platitudes and hold Pakistan to account," he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier on Monday, the Congress and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded decisive action from the government to the mutilation of two Indian soldier. The main opposition party criticised the government for its inability to deal with Pakistan, criticising Modi for lack of credible leadership in the country.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 21:47 [IST]
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

This cop from Pakistan became a millionaire overnight: Here is how

Hemrajs mother reminds Sushma Swaraj of her bring 10 heads from Pak remark

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, May 2: A day after Pakistani forces beheaded two Indian soldiers in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, mother of Lance Naik Hemraj, who was killed in a similar manner by Pakistani attackers in 2013, asked the government to attack Pakistan for its repeated brutality against Indian jawans.

"When my son's body was mutilated, the government said 10 heads will be brought for one. It's time for decisive war," said mother of Hemraj.

Back in 2013 after the brutal killing and beheading of Hemraj and his colleague Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh were carried out by Pakistan's Border Action Team, the then leader of the opposition and current external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said if Pakistan does not return the severed head of the martyred soldier Hemraj, India should get at least 10 heads from the other side.

"The question is: Will we sit without any reaction and engage in a dialogue [with Pakistan]? This should not happen. At least the government should react in some way. That is why we have said the government should take some tough measures," Swaraj said.

Hemraj and Sudhakar were killed on January 8, 2013 by the Pakistan Army regulars after infiltrating into the Indian territory in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Today, the nation is demanding: Don't prove a weak government. They [the Pakistan Army] came on the Line of Control, killed our soldier and took away his head with them and there should be no reaction ... this should not be tolerated at any cost," said Swaraj.

Swaraj added, "The government (the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh government) should apologise for the apathy. They should apologise to the family of the soldier and the country. But they should at the same time take revenge for the incident."

The two soldiers killed on Monday were Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the Border Security Force. A BSF constable Rajinder Singh was injured but is out of danger.

The army issued a statement saying that the bodies of an army soldier and a BSF head constable were mutilated but a senior army officer told PTI that they were beheaded.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 9:25 [IST]
Henious acts of Pakistan army: Mutilating bodies is nothing new

India

oi-Anusha

Bodies of two Indian soldiers were found in a mutilated condition on Monday along the Line Of Control. While India was quick to condemn the cowardly act, the Pakistani army refuses to stop its despicable acts. As expected, Pakistan denied mutilating bodies of Indian soldiers but this is not the first time that the Pakistan army has behaved in a unsoldierly and barbaric manner. Since 1999, Pakistan army has shocked the world with its heinous acts.

Indian was taken aback with the case of Captain Saurabh Kalia. During the 1999 Kargil conflict Captain Kalia was tortured by Pakistani captors who held him as a prisoner of war. Pakistan later handed over his mutilated body to India. He along with five other soldiers of his patrolling team was captured alive and kept in captivity where they were tortured, then killed.

In February 2000, a terrorist, Ilyas Kashmiri had led a raid on the Indian army's 'Ashok Listening Post' in the Nowshera sector. Seven Indian soldiers were killed in the raids. The terrorist had then the head of an Indian jawan to Pakistan. 24-year-old Indian jawan Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar whose head was taken to Pakistan belonged to the 17 Maratha Light Infantry.

In June 2008, a jawan of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way. He was captured by the Border Action team in Kel sector. Indian authorities found his body beheaded after a few days.

In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body was mutilated by BAT. The border action team also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Another BSF constable, Rajinder Singh, suffered injuries in the attack.

On October 28, 2016, Pakistan sponsored militants attacked a post along the LoC and killed an Indian Army soldier. His body was found in a mutilated condition in the Machil sector.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 6:33 [IST]
The culture of bulldozing thrives while the law sleeps: Sibal on demolition in Prayagraj

Sibal's 'no hope left' from SC remark; AIBA calls it \"contemptuous\"; Rijiju condemns it as \"unfortunate\"

'India is an excessive example of the use of religion': Kapil Sibal

'How many heads will you bring for 2 soldiers' asks Kapil Sibal

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Senior Congress party leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday questioned the government's response to the mutilation of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani forces in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir.

In a press conference at the party headquarter, Sibal referred to Sushma Swaraj's statement on mutilation of Indian soldier Hemraj in 2013 when UPA II was in power.

Jab 2013 mein Hemraj ka sar kata tha,Sushma ji ne kaha, ki ek ke badle 10 laayenge.Mein PM se pochna chahta hun ki 2 ke badle kitne?:K Sibal pic.twitter.com/KRMbDs3vcq  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Sibal asked 'In 2013, when Hemraj was beheaded, Sushmaji had said they will bring 10 heads from the other side.' Now I ask PM how many heads he will bring for two soldiers'. Lance Naik Hemraj's body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team along the Line of Control in 2013.

Also, Sibal asked the possibility of full time strategy in absence of full time Defence Minister. 'After surgical strike we were assured that such attacks would not recur. But violence is on the rise' he further said.

Continuing his tirade against the BJP government, he said in the last 35 months 135 soldiers have been killed. Who is responsible for this' , he asked. He called for strong action against Pakistan.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 14:58 [IST]
In Karnataka, the fight is between the RSS and the BJP

India

oi-Anusha

The ongoing crisis in Karnataka BJP is a byproduct of the tug of war between the party and the RSS. While the BJP has solidly backed B S Yeddyurappa despite the rebellion, the RSS is backing its member turned BJP functionary B L Santosh. So much so that a complaint has now been filed against Yeddyurappa with the RSS.

The general secretary in-charge of Karnataka BJP, Muralidhar Rao minced no words while stating that B S Yeddyurappa will lead the party in Karnataka. His statement was a clear warning to those rebelling against him. Caution was also issued to those allegedly engineering the rebellion, B L Santosh as Yeddyurappa claims. For the BJP Yeddyurappa is indispensable in the upcoming 2018 assembly elections. For the RSS it is a fight for control.

B L Santosh, the RSS hoped would hold a position on control in the Karnataka BJP. With B S Yeddyurappa at the helm of affairs, the same may not be possible. "With Amit Shah and Narendra Modi getting all the credit for wins in all recent polls, the RSS feels the need to remain in a position of command. Karnataka is their only hope since Gujarat will once again be a Modi-Shah show. The keen interest in Karnataka politics has a lot to do with who is in control or holds sway," said a BJP office bearer who has an RSS background.

"Anyone but B S Yeddyurappa is the concept. The RSS wants someone that they can have a control on. It is got nothing to do with dominance but a lot to do with relevance. The RSS wants someone who listens to it at the helm of affairs and B S Yeddyurappa can never be that person. Since you can't control him, why not create a rift to make way for a new candidate seems to be the logic," said another BJP leader.

Unfazed by the rebellion around him, B S Yeddyurappa claimed that the issues would be sorted in a couple of days. K S Eshwarappa who led the Sangolli Rayanna brigade was disappointed with the central leadership's announcement not tolerating rebellion. While some in the party believe that both leaders will sort their differences while their supporters will take a fall, other believe that K S Eshwarappa will be made the fall guy in the fight between the RSS and the BJP.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 7:45 [IST]
India's top lawyer to defend country at UN

India

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

Amid rising cases of "cow vigilantism" and controversies like "love jihad", Attorney General, Mukul Rohatgi, will present India's case on the country's human rights conditions and answer questions related to allegations of their violation, at the United Nation's Human Rights Council.

Questions that are to follow India's presentation of its report on human rights, at the nearly four hour session of the council's Universal Periodic Review working group on May 4, are likely to be related to a host of issues such as the country's position on allegations of violation in Jammu and Kashmir, minority rights, torture and recent strictures passed by the government against Non-governmental organisations.

The hearings which are to take place in Geneva, are held every five years for every country, call for reports from both governmental and non-governmental agencies from the other countries of the council of 47 members, the US Congress and civil society groups, and other international agencies like Human Rights Watch and the India national Human Rights Commission.

Rohatgi, who took charge as AG after the BJP government came to power, said in an interview to a leading national daily, that he would convey the Indian legal system's impartial standards. This he believes, can be done through the cases of the fair treatment given to Ajmal Kasab, one of the 10 terrorists who was part of the 26/11 attacks and was the only one caught alive, and Yaqub Memon, who was convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blast cases.

He is reported to have said, "These are two people who committed crimes against the state. They orchestrated, and were directly involved in, the massacre of hundreds of innocents, both Indian and foreign, in the heart of our financial capital. Yet, both were tried impartially by a court of law, provided legal aid, were given every opportunity to appeal till the last stage even as their petitions for clemency were entertained at the highest level."

Also, with the rising unrest in Kashmir since last year, the role of the Indian army in the the region is set to gain special attention. Especially since the the Human Rights Council's, Special Rapporteur report has asked for either a repeal or radical amendment of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. The same report also focused on incidence of caste and gender-based violence.

Along with these, the HRC submissions made so far, countries including the UK, Switzerland, Netherlands and Norway have registered questions related to the treatement of religious minorities, focusing on the recent incidents of communal violence.

Same-sex relationships are another controversial issue that is to come up following the Supreme Court's judgment which re-criminalised them. With countries like Sweden and Spain having asked the government to clarify its stand.

The council has also received dozens of submissions regarding hate speech against minorities, cases of cow vigilantism and love jihad, from advocacy groups like Centre for Justice and Peace (CJP), among others.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 17:05 [IST]
Jaitley directs navy to remain prepared

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, May 2: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday urged top commanders of the Indian Navy to be prepared at all times, and spoke on the 'situation along the Western border' and its links to internal security.

Jaitley said, "Preparedness is the best deterrent" and also spoke on the "emerging security situation" in the Indian subcontinent and "extra regional powers" in the Indian Ocean region, an official statement said.

Addressing the Naval Commanders' Conference in the national capital, Jaitley spoke about "the prevailing and emerging security situation in the sub continent as also the expanding presence of the extra regional powers in Indian Ocean Region".

He also referred to the situation on the Western Border and its linkage to the internal security. He urged the Commanders' to be prepared at all times as 'Preparedness is the best deterrent'."

Acknowledging the different crucial requirements of the Indian Navy, the Defence Minister assured the Commanders that the government is working on all issues "very positively" and is going to increase the resources to make good the shortfalls soon.

He lauded the efforts of the Indian Navy in indigenisation and urged the Commanders' to focus on furtherance of domestic expertise.

The statement indicated that the Strategic Partnership model that the Defence Ministry is trying to put in place for defence manufacturing, and has been long delayed, may come through soon.

"...Due impetus through appropriate defence procurement policies (such as SP Model which would be finalised soon) is being given to make good the critical capability shortfalls viz. ship-borne Multi Role Helicopters (MRH), conventional submarines and Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs)," the statement said.

Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition Vice Admiral D.M. Deshpande had said recently that the Navy needed submarines to maintain the force level, and the Navy may look for other means to procure submarines if the Strategic Partnership programme does not get implemented.

The four-day conference that started on Tuesday will have Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and top commanders of the Indian Navy deliberating over issues like sustained operational effectiveness, combat readiness and improved maintenance philosophy to carry out its roles and missions.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, Defence Secretary A.G. Mohan Kumar and other senior functionaries of the Defence Ministry were also present at the conference on Tuesday.

IANS
Should Kashmir be given to Pakistan: Row erupts after this question appears in MP civil service exam

JK Governor briefs Rajnath on Kashmir situation

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, May 2: Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra on Tuesday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and apprised him of the situation in the state in the wake of ceasefire violations by Pakistan troops and stone pelting incidents in the state.

During the meeting, Vohra is said to have briefed the minister on the Pakistan ceasefire violation and discussed the way forward in the State which is under Central rule.

According to the sources Vohra has assured Rajnath that situation will be controlled at the earliest and the government will take strict action against those behind it.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)
Over 13,000 flats up for grabs in DDA housing scheme, forms available from today

Karnataka: Venkaiah Naidu to review progress of urban sector schemes

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, May 2: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu will chair the review meeting of the implementation of Centre's urban development schemes in Karnataka on Tuesday.

"The Central assistance will be about Rs 9,000 crore for the schemes, including Smart City Mission, PMAY-U, AMRUT and HRIDAY," an official release said.

Under Smart City Mission, five cities of Davangere, Belgavi, Shivamogga, Mangaluru and Hubbali-Dharwad have been selected for the financing. The Centre provides Rs 500 crore to each city over a period of five years under the scheme.

"Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, the Centre has approved an investment of Rs 4,971 crore with central assistance of Rs 2,319 crore for improving basic urban infrastructure in 27 mission cities," the release said.

"Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban, construction of over 1.46 lakh affordable houses for urban poor in Karnataka has so far been approved with an investment of Rs 6,288 crore with Central assistance of Rs 2,492 crore," it said.

"Karnataka's Badami is among the 12 cities in the country which is selected for Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme. An investment of Rs 22.26 crore is envisaged for improving heritage related infrastructure in Badami," the release added.

PTI

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 11:06 [IST]
Should Kashmir be given to Pakistan: Row erupts after this question appears in MP civil service exam

From hijab to Kashmir, Zawahiri was Al-Qaeda's voice for everything anti-India

Kashmir crisis: Congress slams BJP for refusing to talk with Pak, stakeholders

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, May 2: As Kashmir is boiling once again, the opposition Congress has hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for refusing to talk with Pakistan and various other stakeholders to bring normalcy in the Valley.

"BJP president Amit Shah and general secretary Ram Madhav say they won't talk to Pakistan and other stakeholders. How will the situation improve then? It's a political issue," said senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

"It is a matter of grave concern. It looks like the situation (in Kashmir) is not under control (Ye bada chinta ka vishay hai,aisa laghta hai halaat pe kaabu nhi paya ja raha)," added Azad, in regard to the report of the mutilation of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani attackers on Monday.

The Congress leader said that till the BJP-Peoples Democratic Party alliance was ruling the state, the situation in Kashmir won't improve.

On Monday, under the cover of heavy mortar fire, a Pakistani special forces team sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control into the Poonch sector and beheaded two Indian security personnel, reported PTI.

The Indian Army vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act", which significantly took place a day after Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited some areas along the LoC and promised support to the Kashmiris. The Pakistan army denied that it was involved in any attack.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in Delhi that the "sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain" and the Indian armed forces will react "appropriately" to the "inhuman act" of the Pakistani troops.

"This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks do not take place during war," he said.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 7:42 [IST]
In association with Trauma Awareness Month, the American Red Cross is urging eligible donors to get out and donate at one of the organizations blood drives throughout the month of May.

According to the National Trauma Institute, trauma accounts for approximately 41 million emergency department visits and 2.3 million hospital admissions in the U.S. annually.

Donating blood to the American Red Cross will help ensure lifesaving blood is available for patients with traumatic injuries and other serious medical needs.

A single car accident victim can need as many as 100 units of blood, Amy Brown, Donor Recruitment director at Midwest Red Cross Blood Services, said in released information. In trauma situations, when theres no time to check a patients blood type, emergency personnel reach for type O negative red blood cells and type AB plasma.

O negative red blood cells and AB plasma can be transfused into any patient, regardless of blood type, making donors with these universal blood types an important part of the Red Cross trauma team.

Less than 7 percent of the population has type O negative blood, and only about 4 percent of the population has type AB blood.

Platelets may also be needed to help with clotting in cases of massive bleeding. Because platelets must be transfused within five days of donation, there is a constant need to keep up with hospital demand.

Currently several Red Cross blood drives are set to be held in Fremont during the month of May.

The first blood drive will be held on Wednesday, May 3rd at the St. Patricks Auditorium at 435 Union Street from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Two more blood drives will be held on March 9th at the Fremont Health Medical Center at 450 E. 23rd Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on May 13th at Fremont Mall at 860 E. 23rd Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The American Red Cross is seeking blood donors of all types and those who donate before May 14th will have a chance to win one of three $1,000 gift card shopping sprees from GiftCertificates.com

Donors must bring either their donor card, or a valid form of photo identification, such as a drivers license to be allowed to give blood.

The American Red Cross has several other requirements for individuals interested in donating blood. Donors must be 17 years of age, weight at least 110 pounds and be in good general health.

Male Power Red donors must be at least 51 in height and weigh at least 130 pounds, and females must be at least 55 and weigh 150 pounds.

Power Red is similar to a whole blood donation, except a special machine is used to allow donors to safely donate two units of red blood cells during one donation while plasma and platelets are returned to the donors body.

Before giving blood donors are also encouraged to get a good nights sleep, drink an extra 16 ounces of water and to eat a meal 2-3 hours before they donate.

Donation appointments can be scheduled by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Tamil Nadu: Heavy rains in several parts of Tamil Nadu in next 2 days

Lankan navy arrests 5 Tamil Nadu fishermen: Palanisamy writes to Modi

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Chennai, May 2: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting to secure immediate release of 5 fishermen from Sri Lankan custody.

The fishermen, who set sail from Rameswaram fishing base, were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Monday on charges of poaching in the territorial waters of the island nation.

Palanisamy requested Modi to immediately direct officials in the ministry of external affairs to take action through diplomatic channels to secure the immediate release of the five fishermen and 5 fishing boats seized by the Sri Lankan navy.

"A round 60 boats had sailed from Pamban in Rameswaram Island on Sunday. Sri Lankan navy personnel belonging to the North Central Naval Command arrested five Indian fishermen while they were allegedly engaged in illegal fishing 15.5 nautical miles north off Mannar coast within the International Maritime Boundary Line," a Sri Lankan website said.

The country boat was also taken into the custody and handed over to the assistant directorate of fisheries at Mannar for onward action.

The fishermen were later produced before the Mannar court which remanded them in judicial custody till May 15. The fishermen were lodged in Vavuniya prison.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 16:15 [IST]
Locals, ex-servicemen raise anti-Pakistan slogans in Jammu

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Locals and ex-servicemen shouted anti-Pakistan slogans on Tuesday in Poonch as the mortal remains of two Indian soldiers were being taken to Jammu.

#Visuals: Mortal remains of Indian soldiers, whose bodies were mutilated by Pak Army in Krishna Ghati sector, Poonch, being taken to Jammu. pic.twitter.com/X5ZBvT7Squ  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Two security personnel, a junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army and a BSF head constable, were killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. The Indian Army recovered mutilated bodies of martyred soldiers. Pakistan attacked Indian posts with rocket launchers and automatic weapons in ceasefire violation.

#WATCH: Locals & ex-servicemen shouting anti-Pak slogans in Poonch (J&K), as mortal remains of 2 Indian soldiers, are being taken to Jammu pic.twitter.com/D5ocLRuG4u  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Indian forces have vowed appropriate action against Pakistan for its 'unslodierly' act. However, Pakistan as usual in a denial mode said its army would 'never disrespect soldier, even Indian'.

Meanwhile, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat arrived on a two-day visit to Kashmir. The Army Chief's visit to Kashmir assumes significance in view of the beheading of Indian soldiers.

In 2016, Indian Army had claimed that it has evidence to prove the complicity of Pakistan in mutilation of a soldier's body killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Machhil sector along the Line of Control.

(With input from agencies)
Militants loot bank in Kashmir's Kulgam, area cordoned off

India

oi-Anusha

Armed gunmen barged into Ellaquai Dehati Bank at Kader in Kulgam of Kashmir on Tuesday. Reports suggested that the gunmen looted Rs 65,000 from the bank after which security forces have cordoned off the area. Searches operations are underway with terrorists suspected to be holed up in the same locality.

The incident comes a day after a gang of militants killed at least seven people including five policemen and took away their weapons. Hizbul Mujahideen later claimed responsibility for the attack on a bank's cash van. Jammu and Kashmir police force's ASI Bashir, constables Ashfaq, Farooq, Muzaffar and Qasim were killed in the attack on Monday. Security guards of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Javed and Muzaffar were also killed.

Security forces have cordoned off the Yaripora locality which houses the bank. Forces suspect that the militants are holed up and search operations are underway.

OneIndia News
UK PM Liz Truss resigns after 45 days in office, successor to be elected next week

Modi expresses concern over Australia's renewed visa policy

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday and expressed concern over changes in visa policy which is likely to affect Indians the most.

Australia on April 18 abolished a visa programme known as 457 visa which allowed businesses to employ foreign workers for a period up to four years for skilled jobs where there is a shortage of Australian workers.

Modi discussed this with Turnbull when the latter had called to express gratitude for his successful India visit.

The 457 Visa programme is used mainly to hire foreign workers in the restaurant, IT and medical industries and the majority of such visa holders came from India, Britain and China

According to government statistics, 95,758 people were living in Australia under 457 Visa programme last year, with the highest proportion coming from India (24.6 per cent), followed by Britain (19.5 per cent) and China (5.8 per cent).

Stating that Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, the Australian PM had said: "We will no longer allow 457 Visa system to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians."

The scheme will be replaced by two temporary visas that will impose tougher English language tests, stricter labour market testing, at least two years of work experience and a mandatory police check. The numbers of jobs eligible for the two-year and four-year visa streams will be slashed, with 216 occupations ranging from antique dealer to fisheries officer to shoe-maker, axed from a list of 651 professions on the list.

The Australian prime minister had also stressed that English language proficiency was essential for economic participation and integration into the Australian community and social cohesion.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 19:27 [IST]
MP Honey trapped: Police arrest woman for extortion bid

India

oi-Gulam Rabbani

By Gulam Rabbani

New Delhi, May 2: The Delhi police on Tuesday arrested a woman who allegedly honey trapped Lok Sabha MP K C Patel and demanded Rs 5 crore. An FIR was registered with the Delhi police on the same a few days ago.

Lok Sabha MP caught in compromising position: Honey trap racket suspected

On Tuesday, the police conducted raids at her house but were unable to find her there.

Earlier, the woman herself alleged that K C Patel had invited her for dinner and raped her at office residence. She said that she was raped many times by Patel and this time she had to make a CD evidence so that he does not threaten her.

In April, the woman went to the Ghaziabad police station to file a complaint against the MP but could not give a written complaint and was asked to go to the Delhi police as it was not under the jurisdiction of Ghaziabad police.

Police earlier said that the woman would submit the CD only after FIR was registered.

The police and the MP had rubbished the woman allegations. A top police official had told that the woman has registered a rape case against MP from Haryana at Tilak Marg police station but later withdrew it.

The police officer also aids that the woman withdrew the complaint when the police started a probe in the matter.

However, the case of extortion was registered instead of a rape case, police added.

The police said that the call details of the woman are checked and interrogation will also take place later in the day.

MP K C Patel had claimed that he had been framed and he was waiting for a probe into the matter to clear his name. He added that he will cooperate with the investigation.

OneIndia News
Mutilation of soldiers: BSF to come out with improved Standard Operating Procedures

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Pakistani army provided cover with firing to Border Action Team to attack and kill two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir, the BSF said on Tuesday.

KN Choubey, ADG Western Command BSF, briefed media on the mutilation of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army on Monday.

'Taking advantage of the firing from Pakistan side, BAT (Border Action Team) mutilated bodies of soldiers', added Choubey. Another jawan Rajendra Kumar who was injured in the ceasefire is now in stable condition.

A day after two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan, Border Security Force said it would come out with more revised Standard Operating Procedures to minimise casualties.

'Together (BSF and Army) there will be brainstorming, we will come out with more revised SoP, so that such incidents can be minimised' he said.

Together(BSF &Army) there will be brainstorming, we will come out with more revised SoP, so that such incidents can be minimised: KN Choubey pic.twitter.com/gC53Om8Ph3  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Meanwhile, mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh has been brought to his native place in Tarn Taran, Punjab. Relatives of Paramjit Singh demanded to see body covered in tricolour. They asked why the body was not shown to them.

Whose body is this? It is all behind this box! We are not being shown the body? Why?: Relatives of Paramjit Singh demand to see his body pic.twitter.com/oKJppbRNW0  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

Two security personnel, a junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army and a BSF head constable, were killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. The Indian Army recovered mutilated bodies of martyred soldiers.

Indian forces have vowed appropriate action against Pakistan for its 'unslodierly' act. However, Pakistan as usual in a denial mode said its army would 'never disrespect soldier, even Indian'.

OneIndia News
As the countdown clock struck zero, rocket of Aakash BYJUS took off from Bandra Bandstand

Night-time map lights up India, testifies success of rural electrification

India

oi-Anusha

A night-time map of the earth by NASA shows that nighttime lights in India have increased between 2012 and 2016. The images clicked by NASA's Suomi-NPP satellite shows bright night light activity in the Indian sub-continent. Union Minister Piyush Goyal claimed that this testified the success of rural electrification & implementation of clean energy projects in India.

Night-time map testifies the success of rural electrification & implementation of clean energy projects in India.https://t.co/KEypuYmT1H pic.twitter.com/NzshipOZmw  Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 2, 2017

NASA's satellite images show outlines of continents, laced with webs of light. In the latest global mosaic of Earth's night-light that NASA released based on images collected throughout 2016, India is seen brightened dramatically. Taking off from the images, John Nelson, a cartographer compared the equivalent pixels on two different maps and calculated the difference by subtracting the brightness value of one from the other

An article in the National geographic says that India's brightened night-light comes as no surprise. "The country is home to more than its fair share of people living without electricity, and its government has been working to change that by establishing a rural electrification program and investing heavily in renewable energy," the report said.

NASA's map shows where Earth's nighttime lights have increased and decreased between 2012 and 2016. Increased activity has been depicted in blue and dimmed areas have been depicted in pink. With a splash of blue spread throughout, India looks bright at night. The map incidentally shows dimming of lights in parts of the developed world, Nelson suggested that efficient lighting technology may have been the reason.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 18:26 [IST]
No one can claim immunity from identification: Govt to SC

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

During the hearing of a plea challenging linking of Aadhaar with the Permanent Account Number in the Supreme Court, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Tuesday said people cannot claim immunity from identification as the Union Government is entitled to have identification.

The AG said people cannot ask for being invisible, adding that no right is absolute.

"Under extreme cases even right to life can be taken away, under due process," ANI quoted the AG as telling the apex court.

On April 27, the government had clarified to the apex court that the PAN will be made invalid from July 1 if not applied for the Aadhaar-PAN card link. It also stated that the PAN card will not be made invalid if the person had applied for the same.

However, the apex court had asked the government to justify the notification issued in this regard.

On April 26, the government told the top court that the decision was taken with the intention of curbing tax evasion and to keep a check on the circulation of black money. Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the move was to scrap fake PAN cards that are being used to divert the funds to shell companies.

Three petitions were filed by the senior Communist Party of India leader Binoy Vishwam, Dalit rights activist Bezwada Wilson and a retired army officer S G Vombatkere in this regard.

In August 2015, the top court in an order clarified that the Aadhaar cards will not be mandatory for availing benefits of the government's welfare schemes.

As NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to put an end to the black money, in March said that Aadhaar card mandatory for filing the income tax returns, for applying for a PAN card and to seek free gas connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. Responding to the move, the court in March had given green signal to the Centre for making Aadhaar Card mandatory to open bank accounts, getting mobile connections and passports.

OneIndia News
Omar Abdullah's Twitter tirade, calls Mehbooba Mufti shameless

India

oi-Anusha

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah took to twitter accusing the PDP-BJP government in the state of mismanaging the situation in Kashmir. Reacting to the cancellation of Lok sabha bypolls in Anantnag, Omar Abdullah said that Mehbooba Mufti's government was responsible for the "regression" in Kashmir. "It's depressing to see how far we have regressed in Kashmir from the highs of the Assembly polls of 2014 to the cancelled election of 2017 (SIC)," his tweet read.

Omar accused Mufti of "shamelessly clinging to power" with her "5 percent of the people" despite pulling the valley back to the situation it was in during the 90s.

The only things keeping @MehboobaMufti in office are her shamelessness & a misplaced sense of pride in Delhi preventing admission of mistake  Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) May 2, 2017

In a series of tweets, Omar Abdullah claimed that the current government was making up excuses after mismanaging things in the valley. His tweets comes after his father and National conference's president Farooq Abdullah demanded that President's rule be imposed in the valley.

"In many ways, this is similar to the symbolic victory against India scored by the release of militants for Mehbooba Mufti's sister in 1990," Omar claimed in a tweet, adding that the only thing that was keeping the current government in office was "a misplaced sense of pride in Delhi preventing admission of mistake."

His tweets sparked off a row on how Farooq Abdullah's statements on Kupwara attacks had insulted martyrs. BJP leaders lambasted Omar Abdullah for statements that emboldened separatists.

OneIndia News
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

This cop from Pakistan became a millionaire overnight: Here is how

Days after attack, Imran Khan's party to resume long march on Nov 10

Pak Envoy evades queries on mutilation of 2 Indian soldiers

India

oi-Madhuri

Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Tuesday evaded question on mutilation of Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army in KG sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

#WATCH: Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit evades questions on mutilation of Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army pic.twitter.com/47q8byxmrt  ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

On Monday, the Pakistani Army killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies along the Line of Control in Poonch district.

The dead were identified as Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF's 200 Battalion. This is the first incident of its kind since November last year.

However, Pakistan had rejected India's accusation that it killed two soldiers in unprovoked firing and mutilated their bodies near the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Calling it a despicable act, the Indian Army promised an appropriate response. Union Minister Arun Jaitley also described the killings as reprehensible and inhuman and said such acts "do not take place even during war".

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 11:28 [IST]
Pakistan mutilates bodies of Indian soldiers: Here is what India can do

India

oi-Anusha

As news of Pakistan army mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers broke on Monday, angry reaction emerged from various quarters. Even as Pakistan denied such acts by its army, the Indian government, as well as the army, promised to 'respond appropriately'. But what really are the option before India?

This is not the first time that Pakistani forces have mutilated bodies of Indian soldiers. The army, much like it has in the past, retaliated by opening fire on Monday. The first option that India has is an extended version of Monday's reaction.

Deploy artillery

The Indian army could bring artillery along the Line of Control and cause maximum damage to Pakistani posts. This will inflict casualties on the Pakistani army and is a retaliation that has been chosen on multiple occasions earlier. In October 2016, the Indian army had used Bofors guns to destroy several Pakistani army posts. The assault was in retaliation to the mutilation of Sepoy Mandeep Singh in Macchil sector in Kashmir

Cross-border raids

Officers of the Indian army, current and retired believe that tactical cross-border raids are also an option. The perfect retaliation to the attack carried out on the Indian side of the LoC. Cross-border raids to exact revenge are not uncommon. Those posted along the LoC are trained for such raids, said an officer.

Identify and destroy enemy posts

Officials commanding personnel posted along the LoC are generally aware of which posts Pakistani teams came from. Selective target and destruction of enemy posts are an option before the Indian army. Speaking to media several defence experts said that the army should identify the posts from which the 'rogues' came from and deploy heavy weapons to flatten that post.

Shut down trade

Defence experts believe that apart from retaliation from the army, shutting down trade points along the LoC will pinch Pakistan where it hurts, economy. Shutting down trading points will send out the message loud and clear that if its army indulged in despicable behaviour, no exchanges can take place with Pakistan including trade.

Multi-level retaliation

Some external affairs experts believe that the issue cannot be dealt with militarily alone. Experts suggest that a multi-level approach comprising military, political, trade and diplomatic approaches are required to address the situation. While tactical operations continue on one side, experts suggest that the government put pressure by sending back Pakistan's diplomats and abrogating international treaties.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 8:05 [IST]
Remonetisation has not solved currency crisis: Kerala FM

India

oi-PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, May 2: Kerala government on Tuesday said the remonetisation process of the Centre has not resolved the currency shortage felt in the state and demanded the union government to correct its policy.

Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac while replying to a calling attention on the matter in the assembly said Kerala would take up the currency shortage issue with the Centre in the coming GST council meeting.

"We will discuss the issue with Finance Ministers of other states and will take it up strongly with the Centre," he said. Stating that remonetisation has not solved the note crisis, he said it was continuing even after five months,though the Centre promised that currency crunch would be over by 50 days after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 8 last year.

Isaac attributed note hoarding as one of the reasons for the present shortage. Banks complaints that they were not getting adequate cash from RBI, he said.

Taking up the issue, Parakkal Abdulla brought to the notice of the house the empty ATMs in the state and said about 40 per cent of the more than 9,000 ATMs were not functioning due to nonavailability of currency.

PTI
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

In J&K, 14,000 dropouts find their way back to schools

Soldiers' bodies mutilated: What top leaders said

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Angry reactions poured in from all quarters as the news of Pakistan army mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers broke on Monday.

Mutilated bodies of Head Constable Prem Sagar and Naik Subedar Paramjeet Singh were found near LoC in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan, as usual, denied that its forces carried out such an act, but denial has been the hallmark of Islamabad.

Vice Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand said Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers and the army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choosing.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Army told the Pakistani military that mutilating bodies of the two soldiers was a "dastardly and inhuman act" which called for a response and unequivocal condemnation.

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen A K Bhatt spoke to his Pakistan counterpart and expressed "grave concern" about the killing and beheading of the two soldiers

Here is what country's leaders said about the blood curdling incident:

Rahul Gandhi Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi strongly condemned the killings and described them as a "barbaric and disgraceful act". "The government must move beyond platitudes and hold Pakistan to account," he wrote on Twitter. Arvind Kejriwal Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded decisive action from the government in response to the mutilation of two Indian soldiers. Uddhav Thackeray "Our jawans being attacked in Kashmir, PM does 'Mann ki baat' now its time for him to do 'Gun ki baat'," Thackeray said. Kapil Sibal "In 2013, when Hemraj was beheaded, Sushmaji had said they will bring 10 heads from the other side. Now I ask PM how many heads he will bring for two soldiers," Sibal asked.

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Story first published: Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 0:28 [IST]
Troubles mount for TTV Dinakaran, now ED files case

India

oi-Anusha

The enforcement directorate on Tuesday filed a case against TTV Dinakaran for money laundering. Following the investigations by the Delhi crime branch police in the alleged election commission bribery row, the enforcement directorate has now booked him for illegal money transaction.

The move comes as a blow to TTV Dinakaran who is currently in judicial custody. Sasikala Natarajan's nephew faces charges of conspiring with alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekhar to bribe election commission of India officials to receive a favourable verdict in the AIADMK symbol row case. A Delhi court on Monday sent TTV Dinakaran and his aide Mallikarjuna to judicial custody till May 15.

The enforcement directorate's case against TTV Dinakaran comes after the Delhi crime branch police traced the illegal channels through which money was transacted. The arrest of a hawala operator from Delhi airport led police to the crucial link between TTV Dinakaran and Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The Delhi police have collected ample evidence to prove that money was routed through illegal channels.

Picking off from the Delhi crime branch's investigations, the enforcement directorate has now registered a case. The money routes involve more than two states and a central agency like the enforcement directorate will make investigations easier without problems of jurisdiction, it is expected. The police had arrested Naresh, a hawala operative who hails from Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi in connection with the case. The Delhi police had found Rs 1.3 crore on Sukesh Chandrashekhar on the day of his arrest and this money is said to have been transferred through illegal routes.

OneIndia News
Trust deficit plagues AIADMK merger, Panneerselvam to begin statewide tour

India

oi-Anusha

The warring factions of the AIADMK are yet to sail past the trust deficit. With affidavits supporting Sasikala Natarajan emerging from the Edappadi Palanisamy camp, the Panneerselvam camp is unwilling to trust. Accusing Panneerselvam camp of making new demands every day, the Edappadi Palanisamy camp is unwilling to give in. As the end result, the talks have now hit a roadblock.

Even as talks are going nowhere, Panneerselvam is all set to go on a statewide tour. The former Chief Minister is all set to strengthen his supporter base for the upcoming local body polls. Meanwhile, Edappadi Palanisamy has been meeting district chiefs of the AIADMK in an attempt to secure his support base.

Both factions have now hardened their stance. While Edappadi Palanisamy camp yielded to Panneerselvam's demands of distancing Sasikala and her family from the party, they have not officially expelled her. This has come as a cause of concern to Panneerselvam camp. Their demand for a CBI probe into Jayalalithaa's death has been rejected by the Palanisamy camp citing a petition in court. With affidavits supporting Sasikala's appointment becoming public, Panneerselvam camp now suspects motive of the merger.

Even as talks are put on the backburner for now, both factions have started putting their affidavits together to be submitted to the election commission in the AIADMK symbol row. In his meeting with the district secretaries, Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy is said to have asked functionaries to produce affidavits supporting Sasikala Natarajan and this has come as a cause of concern to the other faction. The Panneerselvam camp is on the verge of calling off the merger talks if their demands are not met and more such affidavits are unearthed.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister is holding a cabinet meet on Tuesday and these issues are likely to be addressed there as well.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 7:39 [IST]
UP ATS picks up two more accused in Al-Qaeda radicalisation case

UP cabinet approves GST implementation from July 1

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Uttar Pradesh, May 2: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved the GST Bill ahead of introducing it in the forthcoming assembly session so that the new tax regime could be rolled out from July 1, state government spokesperson and Minister Siddharthanath Singh said.

Singh also said that "from now on Uttar Pradesh Day will be celebrated on January 24, the day of its formation. The celebrations were necessary for giving a strong identity to the state," he said.

"The state cabinet has also approved the transfer policy 2017-18 for government officials and employees under which transfers can only take place till June 30. Officials and employees who are in one post for long durations will also be re-jigged soon," he said.

The state cabinet also approved rules for the district mineral board and instructed that a new policy will have to be implemented within three months.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 14:46 [IST]
UP decides to scrap manual tendering, to adopt e-tendering instead

India

oi-Gulam Rabbani

By Gulam Rabbani

Lucknow, May 2: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to scrap the manual tendering process in government departments and replace it with online tendering and procurement systems to bring in transparency.

The decision, that is to be implemented within three months, was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow.

"Manual tendering process is being scrapped from all government departments and e-tendering and e-procurement system will be implemented within three months to bring about transparency in the system," cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh said.

He said the system would end the nexus between politicians, business houses, and bureaucrats. He added that putting e-tendering in place may also open the doors for investments from foreign companies as well.

On April 9, the UP government had decided to stop the practice of manual tendering in Public works Department. The government had stated that all PWD projects will be done through e-tendering-online process. It also said that the projects pegged at Rs 1 crore or above will be awarded through the e-tendering process.

UP CM yogi had asked the departments to make all the roads in the state path-holes free and adopt the e-tendering process. He had also called for keeping firms and contractors having links with mafia at a bay. He had stressed on giving a chance to the ones with a clean image.

On direction from CM Yogi, additional Chief Secretary Sadakant had issued the order to all the district heads of PWD. He had said that the UP government had directed the PWD to assure that the people without any criminal, anti-social element or mafia should be given the projects to handle.

In a letter, the officer had stated that the senior officials in the government will have to ensure that the rules are not violated at the field-level. He warned that the government will check periodically that the e-tendering process is implemented properly.

To maintain transparency, the government had also stopped the system of issuing purchase order of sand, brick or any other construction material that costs Rs 1 lakh or above.

OneIndia News (With PTI inputs).
Vijay Mallya extradition: CBI team in London to pursue case

India

oi-Anusha

A team of officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation led by Rakesh Asthana has reached London in connection with the extradition of Vijay Mallya. Reports suggested that the team of officials from the CBI and Enforcement directorate led by CBI additional director is currently holding talks with British prosecutors to expedite the liquor baron.

Based on the possibility that Mallya may seek a political plea to halt his extradition, talks will be held simultaneously in India and London. Reports suggested that even as officials of ED and CBI coordinate with their counterparts in London, the liquor baron's extradition will be discussed during talks between home secretaries, Rajiv Mehrishi and Amber Rudd, during a visit to India later this week.

Officials anticipate that Mallya could claim his extradition process a 'political vendetta' before UK court since he was an MP during the UPA regime. Officials also anticipate Mallya to argue that his case is a civil offence and not a criminal one as being alleged by Indian investigative agencies. India hopes that the home secretary-level talks will ensure that the UK government is in agreement with Indian authorities over Mallya's extradition.

Proving dual criminality is the priority for Indian agencies and the fact that the provisions under which Mallya is booked in India are similar to those in the UK may make it easy. Other conditions include charges against Mallya not attracting capital punishment in India, jail term between 1 and 7 years. Mallya's case meets all preconditions making the Indian authorities confident of a successful extradition.

OneIndia News
Rahul Gandhi faces music, sued for using KGF-2 songs in Yatra's promos

Bharat Jodo Yatra will proceed to Srinagar, come what may, says Rahul Gandhi as march enters Maharashtra

Demonetisation deliberate move by 'PayPM' to help his friends: Rahul Gandhi

Will Rahul be able to defeat PM Modi in his home turf, Gujarat?

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

After its recent series of election defeats, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi launched the party's election campaign in Gujarat on Monday. Gujarat is scheduled to host assembly elections in a few months from now.

However, the 'battle of Gujarat' is going to be a very tough one for the Congress as it's the home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the state is currently under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Will the Congress and its main face, Rahul, be able to defeat the saffron party in its home turf? Currently, it looks impossible.

Let us check what Rahul did in Gujarat on Monday through a couple of pictures taken by the photographers of PTI...

A special election garland Rahul was garlanded at a public meeting at Dedia Pada tribal belt in Narmada district on Gujarat foundation day on Monday. Picture credit: PTI Will this dhol be able to beat PM Modi? Rahul played a 'dhol' at a public meeting at Dedia Pada tribal belt in Narmada disrict on Gujarat foundation day on Monday. Picture credit: PTI Modiji, here I come to challenge you! Congress VP addressed a public meeting in Narmada district on Gujarat foundation day on Monday. Picture credit: PTI One more garland for Rahul Rahul felicitated by party workers during a public meeting at Dediapada village in Narmada district on Monday. Picture credit: PTI In memory of grandmother, Indira Gandhi In this image, Rahul is seen holding a framed picture of former PM Indira Gandhi. Picture credit: PTI In trademark attire of a Congress neta Like all Congress leaders, Rahul too is seen dressed in white kurta and pajama and the trademark Congress topi. Picture credit: PTI

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 7:24 [IST]
Won't carry out last rites till CM Adityanath comes, says martyred soldier's son

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Son of BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar, who was killed by Pakistani forces near the LoC on Monday, has said that his father's last rites will not be carried out till Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath comes, said reports.

Head Constable Sagar was on patrol duty on Monday morning between two forward posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir as part of a team of 10 BSF and Army soldiers, when Pakistani troops opened unprovoked fire.

According to reports, Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) crossed the Line of Control and ambushed the patrol team. When it took cover, Head Constable Sagar and Naik Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the Army were left behind. They were killed and their bodies were mutilated.

Earlier on Monday, wreath laying ceremonies were organised at Poonch and Jammu in honour of the brave martyrs Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar

The mortal remains of the two martyrs were flown to Jammu. While Naib Subedar's body was carried to Tarn Taran in helicopter, Prem Sagar's body was flown to Delhi from where it was carried to his native village in UP.

Head Constable Prem Sagar was from the 200th batallion of the BSF. He joined the force in 1994. He is survived by his wife and four children, three of who are still studying in school.

OneIndia News
A sweeping package of proposed tax cuts backed by Gov. Pete Ricketts perished in the Legislature on Tuesday.

Supporters fell six votes short of ending a filibuster of the plan, despite a final-hour attempt at compromise between urban and rural conservatives to increase aid for property taxpayers.

Many Democrats and some moderate Republicans had opposed the measure from the start.

We are not saying no to the taxpayers. We are saying no to a bad bill, said Omaha Sen. Burke Harr, who led opposition to the plan.

Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, who championed the proposal on Ricketts behalf as chairman of the Legislatures Revenue Committee, said he wont attempt to revive the measure this year.

Its a bad day for Nebraska, he said. That was our shot at comprehensive tax relief for the year. Thats not to say something couldnt come back next year.

Supporters got 27 of the 33 votes needed to end the filibuster that had trapped the proposal on its first round of debate before the full Legislature.

Supporters said the income tax cuts would benefit small businesses, many of which pay the states top individual income tax rate. Opponents said they havent seen evidence that cutting the top rate will stimulate the economy.

The plan would have lowered Nebraskas top personal and corporate income tax rates, adjusted the way agricultural land is valued for tax purposes, capped statewide property tax growth and expanded the earned income tax credit for low-income residents. Income tax cuts would have gone into effect when state revenue grew beyond a preset amount.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
In UP 166 criminals killed in encounters in past five years: Yogi

Yogi cracks namoona joke to attack SP, Congress

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Lucknow, May 2: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath showcased his humourous side during the opening session of the Bharatiya Janata Party's state executive meeting in Lucknow on Monday while attacking the opposition parties who called him a namoona (sample).

"The opposition is so worried that they want to unite to take on Yogi. There is much talk about how such a namoona (sample) was made Chief Minister by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji," the CM laughed.

Attacking the former Samajwadi Party government of Akhilesh Yadav, the 44-year-old BJP CM said, "After the BJP came to power in UP, there is a 'halchal' (buzz) around the Chief Minister's office. Earlier, after lunch time, there was no activity."

Since Adityanath became the CM of UP in March, he introduced several rules and regulations to discipline truant government employees. The new UP government has instructed all officials to attend duty on time. It has also launched action against those officials who do not attend offices.

The priest-turned-politician CM has asked BJP lawmakers not to take law into their hands and work in their respective constituencies diligently.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 10:57 [IST]
Are Chinese officials funding Dalai Lama-led Tibetan movement? Report indicates so

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Beijing, May 2: In a major development regarding Tibet's freedom struggle against Chinese hegemony's, now a report from the China's ruling Communist Party revealed that some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to him.

The report stated that such acts by the Chinese officials are undermining the fight against "separatist" forces. The Indian authorities are yet to react on the matter. India is seen by the Chinese authorities as a country friendly towards Tibetan freedom struggle.

According to a PTI report from Beijing that quoted the state-run Global Times, a senior discipline inspection official has lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the party's "fight against separatism."

Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.

Global Times, a tabloid publication attached to the ruling Communist Party of China, also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibet's discipline watchdog linking "15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities."

It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials.

This is the first time official media in Beijing has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials' links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.

Wang, in an article published yesterday in a magazine run by the CPC, the central commission of discipline inspection and the ministry of supervision, wrote that "some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations."

A few party officials are failing to "uphold their political integrity" and are "completely ignoring political discipline," Wang said, adding that such behaviour has affected the CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.

In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the 81-year-old leader.

The Dalai Lama's recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls "South Tibet," soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese "standardised" named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.

OneIndia News
Canada: Trudeau says 'emergency not over' after blockades

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau rebuffs calls for Harjit Sajjan's resignation

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Ottawa, May 2: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice - once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.

IANS
After two year of COVID-19 delay, China plans to issue visas for stranded Indian students

China prepares to meddle in Kashmir 'to protect massive investments'

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Beijing, May 2: China is ready to resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan because it has a vested interest, an opinion piece in a Chinese daily said on Tuesday.

China has so far been neutral over the Kashmir dispute, but the commentary in the Global Times run by the Communist Party of China indicates a probable in shift in Beijing's policy.

"Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan," said the commentary by a Global Times reporter.

"China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn't mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments," the commentary said.

The commentary said "mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests".

The $46 billion CPEC is the key artery of the One Belt One Road, an ambitious project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is arguably on his way to become as powerful as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Though China seems to put in everything to make OBOR a success, India's opposition to CPEC can play spoilsport.

India has vociferously opposed the project, saying it won't approve of the road which goes through its territory occupied by Pakistan.

"There is so much to learn for China about how to play its role as a regional power at a time when the country is witnessing a boom in outbound direct investment. For instance, China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence."

IANS

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 15:27 [IST]
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

This cop from Pakistan became a millionaire overnight: Here is how

Erdogan hints on multilateral dialogues to resolve J&K issue, Pak welcomes offer

International

oi-PTI

Islamabad, May 2: Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, "We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all."

"Pakistan welcomes the Turkish President's offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement on Monday night. Erdogan's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India.

The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India on Monday asserted that the Kashmir issue is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism. However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogan's remarks, saying, "Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues" in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the Foreign Office said. It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the international community, including the US, have urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security.

PTI

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 11:59 [IST]
Jawans' mutilation: World won't accept India's claim says Sartaj Aziz

International

oi-Madhuri

Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday downplayed the news of Pakistan army who mutilated Indian soldiers along Line of Control in Poonch district on Monday Morning. In a statement, Aziz said no one in the world is prepared to accept India's contention that Pakistani forces killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies.

The Adviser also said Organization of Islamic Cooperation has rejected Indian attempts of equating Kashmiris' freedom struggle with terrorism.

Aziz further said that Indian government has broken its own record of brutality in Kashmir not only in target killing but also by indiscriminately killing over 100 young unarmed Kashmiri protestors.

The Adviser said that Pakistan has always welcomed the statements aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Earlier today, the Pakistan military denied any cross Line of Control movement by its troops and mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies.

The Indian authorities were told that there was unnecessary media hype following the allegations. "Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects the same from the other side and hope prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to vitiating of environment and affecting peace along LoC," the statement said.

OneIndia News
Pak restoring to proxy war against India: US experts

International

oi-PTI

Washington, May 2: Afghanistan's relationship with India is unacceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like Haqqani network and the Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

During a Congressional hearing, Seth Jones, Director of International Security and Defence Policy Centre at the Rand Corporation said that Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals.

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and Taliban, so it's a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

"The Pakistani government is continuing with its policy, their strategy of strategic depth, that it views everything through the lens of fighting India," Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation.

"That unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India to establish strategic depth in Afghanistan, it's come back to bite them with groups like the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, and other groups which have attacked the Pakistani state," Roggio said.

"Unfortunately, Pakistan seems unwilling to recognise this that it still while it fights the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, it continues what other groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and a host of other groups because they are willing to serve as Pakistan's strategic depth," he said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan said that in recent years the US has given over 33 billion US dollars in some form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that support a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise that when a US drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in May 2016, he was in South-western Pakistan.

Speaking about ISIS, he said: "ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghan further complicates the country's tourist landscape."

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as 'ISIS Khorasan Province'.

PTI

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 12:33 [IST]
Retired Pak army brigadier masterminds terror funding through cross-border trade

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A retired brigadier of the Pakistan army has been appointed to oversee the funding of terrorism through cross-border trade. NIA sources say that the retired army officer has identified 667 traders through whom the funds are being raised. The officer has been identified as Brigadier Ahmed Iqbal, sources say.

NIA officials say that they have examined documents that have been seized from the Trade Facilitation Centres located at Salamabad in Uri and Chakkan-da-Bagh in Poonch district. These documents would help the agency get a better picture of how cross border trade is funding terror activities in India.

The biggest draw is the California almonds. They are sourced at Rs 350 from Pakistan and sold at Rs 650 in India. There are a select set of traders who work on the pay rolls of terrorist organisations who carry out this trade for them. NIA officials say that the worry is that a bulk of the traders are on the payrolls of terrorist groups either out of choice or fear.

Food items imported at low price:

The NIA has found that a food item would be imported from Pakistan at a very low price and then sold at double the amount in India. For instance the California almonds would be imported by the trader at Rs 350 a kilogram and then sold at Rs 650 in the Indian market. The profit investigators say would be used to fund terror.

The NIA has also found a list of 21 items that are being imported by traders from Pakistan at a very low cost. Out of this the highest profit margin is for the California almond which sells at double the cost in India, the NIA official also informed.

Investigators have stumbled upon crucial evidence regarding terror funding along the Line of Control through the sale of dry fruits and food products. The modus operandi adopted by terror groups in selling products at a higher cost and using the profits to fund subversive activities in India was discovered by the National Investigation Agency.

It was found that cross border traders had been tapped by terror groups to help raise funds for terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Investigators were stumped to find out that terror funding continued unabated despite the decision on demonetisation wiping out the fake currency network.

Sold at double the cost:

The NIA has found that a food item would be imported from Pakistan at a very low price and then sold at double the amount in India. For instance the California almonds would be imported by the trader at Rs 350 a kilogram and then sold at Rs 700 in the Indian market. The profit investigators say would be used to fund terror.

There is a select network of traders that the terror groups have tapped into to further their agenda. These traders work under terror groups such as the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, an NIA official informed.

The NIA has also found a list of 21 items that are being imported by traders from Pakistan at a very low cost. Out of this the highest profit margin is for the California almond which sells at double the cost in India, the NIA official also informed.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 7:01 [IST]
Trump willing to meet North Korea's Kim given 'right circumstances'

International

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

Among growing tensions, US President Donald Trump said that he would be honored to meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un, under the right circumstances, even though the Asian country has continually suggested that it will continue its nuclear weapons test.

The offer is a continuation of what the President had said on the campaign trail before he took office in January. "If it would be appropriate for meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Trump is reported to have said in an interview. "Under the right circumstances I would meet with him," he added.

Though following his recent pronouncement, he did not clarify what would be the right conditions for such a meeting to take place, the President's press secretary, Sean Spicer, did later clear that such a meeting could clearly not take place under the current conditions and he does not see it taking place any time soon.

North Korea, which has been developing its nuclear program even though it has been under pressure not to from western countries led by the United States, has been at the centre of rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Trump's statement comes after North Korea, under the regime of Kim, had warned on Monday that it will carry out nuclear tests anywhere and anytime as decided by its leadership.

It had also test-launched a missile on Saturday, which countries like the US and South Korea have said was unsuccessful but still has drawn widespread international condemnation. The country has also conducted five nuclear tests in defiance of the UN Security Council and unilateral resolutions.

The American Secretary of State Rex Tilerson had told the United Nations Security Council on Friday that his country would not negotiate with North Korea, while the Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday that Trump had made clear "that the era of strategic patience is over."

While later the same day, US state department spokeswoman said in a statement, "The United States remains open to credible talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula; however conditions must change before there is any scope for talks to resume," and added that the country must abandon its nuclear weapons program.

The Korean countries, North and South, are technically still at war after the conflict between the two nations in the period of 1950-53 ended in a truce and not a treaty.

Trump in an interview last week had reportedly said that a major conflict with North Korea was possible, while China had warned that the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control. China, which is the North's major ally, is being pursued by the US to help stop the growth of the country's nuclear and missile development program.

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by  Graham Pierrepoint



THE PROMISE

IMDb

Dir: Terry George

Starring Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Andrew Tarbet, Angela Sarafyan, Jean Reno, Marwan Kenzari, Tom Hollander

2.5 STARS (out of 5)

War films seem to have sprung up a little lately  while the UKs own Their Finest dealt with the theme of propaganda during a time of great unease on British soil, Terry Georges latest film attempts to put forward a historical event which still continues to go denied by many. Set during the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, George makes a clear attempt to educate a wider audience about the rounding-up and genocide of Armenian people in what is now regarded as modern-day Turkey. The film  The Promise  was even subject to some controversy on its initial premiere, as it appeared to be subject to a deluge of one-star reviews on IMDb. Was the influx politically motivated? Regardless of where you stand, it can hardly be said that such a paltry rating is applicable here.

Focusing on three people caught up in the growing unrest in 1914 and 1915, Oscar Isaac portrays an Armenian man keen to study medicine and to help improve the standard of medical care in Southern Turkey. On his travels, he meets Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), with whom he immediately clicks  however, she has a boorish American beau (Christian Bale)  igniting a to-and-fro love triangle that is to unfold upon a backdrop of war and atrocity. Will love survive the conflict  and can the men put their differences aside to help the Armenian people of Turkey?

George is perhaps most famous for bringing the award-winning Hotel Rwanda to cinemas, and it is clear that he is aiming to cultivate similar gravitas with an idea and a script that is partly written to help educate a wider populace about exactly what went on in Turkey during 1914 and 1915. Rather than focus entirely on the atrocities themselves, however, The Promise throws a rather cinematic love triangle into the mix, likely to help add some humanity to proceedings and to help ease the moviegoing public into the themes covered. For the most part, this certainly works  Oscar Isaac once again proves he is marvellously versatile and dependable in a lead role, Charlotte Le Bon proves to be a star on the rise, and Christian Bale  love him or hate him  is always worth watching.

The Promise - Official Trailer (Open Road Films)

What The Promise does well is, certainly, deliver its central point  of showcasing exactly what went on during the Armenian genocide to the extent where, somewhat effectively, we genuinely care about what happens next. While it does perhaps miss out on that hallowed grandiose war epic status that it is perhaps trying to chase down, it never relents on being interesting  it is perhaps telling therefore that this side of the picture, at the very least, should have been given more of a focus. While George has clearly attempted to ease the story in with a central premise and story between three characters we could come to follow and admire  its the romantic aspect that never quite hits the heights it hopes to.

While The Promise is finely shot and has a very clear idea in mind, the central love triangle  despite the cast all working well  is far too derivative of similar movies we have seen hundreds of times over. The romance and the building tension would, on paper, be all the more predictable  and it is genuinely saccharine and rather unbearable at its worst. Certainly, it is a unique experience to behold a movie so focused on one hand in bringing a tale of genuine atrocity to audiences while using the other to layer on a romantic overlay that never really goes anywhere wed like it to. Thousands of other movies before The Promise have earned their status from balancing genuinely intriguing character stories alongside captivating backdrops  whether they be war, devastation, or something else entirely  it has become something of the formula that Titanic laid down as groundwork twenty years ago. Sadly, while the paper-light nature of the central plot doesnt let the side down entirely, it certainly doesnt help the movie hit the heights it ought to.

On paper, The Promise could have been incredible  but without more of a slant towards the epic and without a core premise that stands up to the grandiosity of the backdrop and history in play, we are left with a movie which, while interesting and important, fails to stand up as a piece of truly transformative and intriguing film. For those interested in this devastating piece of history, it cannot be recommended enough  but beyond the social and historical merits, The Promise stands to be sadly forgotten due to far more effective contemporaries. With a solid cast, direction and more besides, its a film that deserves watching  but it could have been so much more.
Rumble 07 Nov 2022

President Bill Clinton appeared on Meet the Press five times, including twice during his presidential campaign in 1992. On..
Sri Lankas navy intercepted a boat carrying 30 Rohingya refugees who had been living in India and two suspected Indian traffickers after they tried to enter the country illegally, police said on Monday.

The island nations navy and coastguard stopped the boat and its human cargo, which included 16 children, off Sri Lankas northern shores on Sunday, police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said.

The 32 people were produced before the magistrate on Monday and remanded them till May 2, he told Reuters. They have lived in India for more than five years.

A local human rights official who met the Myanmar refugees said their planned final destination had been Australia, which lies more than 4,200 miles (6,760 km) from Sri Lanka.

They said they got refugee status in New Delhi after coming to India five years back, via Bangladesh. They are from six families, the official said, asking not to be named.

Tens of thousands Muslim Rohingya have fled mostly Buddhist Myanmar since 2012. Refugees, residents and human rights groups say Myanmar forces have committed summary executions, raped women and burned homes.

More than 1 million Rohingya live in apartheid-like conditions in Myanmars Rakhine State, where many in the Buddhist majority consider them interlopers from Bangladesh.

About 69,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since October, straining relations between the two neighbors who each see the stateless Muslim minority as the other nations problem.

(Reuters)
Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

South African equity-centric hedge funds returned modest gains in the first quarter of the year, edging the performance of the average hedge funds across the globe.

Hedge funds serviced by Peregrine were marginally up in April, concomitant with mostly positive market sentiment amongst the local bourse's sectors. Industrials stand out as the top performer for the month when taking a closer look at the sectoral indices with a very good +4.7% for March. This translates into +7.1% for the sector YTD while resources were also strong with +3.3% gained for the month, seeing it's YTD move over the line and into the black at +1.9%.

Financials still seem to be taking pain however, a second consecutive down month albeit marginal at -0.9% means it's YTD currently stands in the red at -1.9%. Comparatively, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index (FWC) advanced 0.24% during the same month and capped the first quarter up 2.3%.

"Kicking on from the previous month's fiscal announcements and effectively ending the financial year, locally most of March was driven by political storms, while further abroad, Europe moved into a potentially volatile political year with France kicking off the first round of elections," Peregrine said in its monthly report to investors.

It added ......................

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Paper, books, wooden joints, tea whisks  Japanese culture has, for seemingly all of its long recorded history, greatly esteemed the making of objects. But no one object represents the Japanese dedication to craftsmanship, and within that the eternal pursuit of approachable but never quite attainable perfection, than the sword. You can see what it takes to make a katana, the traditional Japanese sword of the kind carried by the armed military class of the samurai between roughly the 8th and 19th centuries, in the 26-minute video above, which offers a close look at each stage of the swordmaking process: the Shinto blessing of the forge, the hammering of the red-hot metal, the tempering of the freshly shaped blade, the construction of the scabbard and hilt, the final assembly, and every painstaking step in between.

Originally produced for the United Kingdoms National Museum of Arms and Armour and Portland Art Museums collaborative 2013 special exhibition Samurai! Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection, the videos wordless but certainly not silent portrayal of this ancient and continuing practice has a kind of hypnotic quality.









But if youd like a more verbal explanation to accompany your views of the making of a traditional Japanese sword, youll get it in the 50-minute documentary above, The Secret World of the Japanese Swordsmith, a portrait of the highly respected Yoshindo Yoshihara, one of only thirty full-time swordsmiths currently practicing in Japan. If you then feel up to a Japanese swordsmithing triple-bill, give Samurai Sword: Making of a Legend a watch as well.



This 50-minute program tells the story of the katana itself, beginning with this breathless narration: For over one thousand years, one weapon has dominated the battlefields of Japan, a weapon so fearsome that it can split a man from throat to groin  yet it spawned an an entirely new art form and spiritual way of life. A sword so technologically perfect in structure, so beautiful in creation, that it gave rise to an aristocratic warrior creed. It also gave rise to no small number of samurai movies, a tradition that many a cinephile among us can certainly appreciate. Though inextricably tied to a specific time and place in history, and an even more specific class that arose from the peculiar political circumstances of that time and place, the katana continues to fascinate  and in this digital, hands-free age, its makers draw a more intense kind of respect than ever.

Related Content:

Japanese Craftsman Spends His Life Trying to Recreate a Thousand-Year-Old Sword

Female Samurai Warriors Immortalized in 19th Century Japanese Photos

Mesmerizing GIFs Illustrate the Art of Traditional Japanese Wood Joinery  All Done Without Screws, Nails, or Glue

Watch Japanese Woodworking Masters Create Elegant & Elaborate Geometric Patterns with Wood

How Japanese Things Are Made in 309 Videos: Bamboo Tea Whisks, Hina Dolls, Steel Balls & More

The Making of Japanese Handmade Paper: A Short Film Documents an 800-Year-Old Tradition

Watch a Japanese Craftsman Lovingly Bring a Tattered Old Book Back to Near Mint Condition

Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities and culture. Hes at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer, the video series The City in Cinema, the crowdfunded journalism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los Angeles Review of Books Korea Blog. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.
Ampoules Market : Research Report Competitive Situation and Trends 2017 - 2025

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Global Ampoules Market: SnapshotAmpoules are small glass or plastic containers that are used typically used for storing liquid chemicals and pharmaceuticals. They enable protection from air or contamination and are usually filled with non-reactive or inert gasses to avoid spill while opening. Glass is the commonly used material for the manufacturing of ampoules, owing to its high transparency and ability to withstand elevated temperatures. Moreover, plastic consists of electrostatic charges that may attract or react with the contained liquid, thereby declining its preference.The introduction of stringent government regulations and industry standards for pharmaceutical packaging is working in favor of the global ampoules market. Strict regulations and standards are compelling manufacturers to upgrade their packaging practices so that there is no compromise in terms of quality and efficacy of drugs. The swelling demand for safer transportation of reactive liquids is also providing a fillip to the global market. Moreover, the rising usage of ampoules in the food and beverage sector is stoking the growth of the market.Request a Brochure of the Report @However, the growing concerns regarding the dumping of ampoules are hampering the growth of the global market. Plastics and glasses do not decompose easily and thus, have adverse effects on the environment. Nevertheless, the increasing adoption of sustainable materials such as green plastics or biodegradable plastics for manufacturing of ampoules is likely to augur well for the growth of the market. Furthermore, the rising focus of market players towards technological innovations and product extensions is estimated to provide a significant boost to the growth of the global ampoules market.Ampoules Market: OverviewAmpoules are the most widely used common packaging solutions globally. They are small sealed vials used to preserve samples in both liquid and solid forms. Ampoules are generally made of glass, but with the help of advanced technologies, ampoules are also manufactured using plastics. Ampoules are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, owing to their beneficial characteristics. The packaging of the vial is 100% tamper-proof. Recently manufactured ampoules are most commonly used to store pharmaceutical products or samples and chemicals that are supposed to be protected from contaminants and air. The hermetically potted glass ampoule that was initially used to preserve sterilized solutions was introduced by a French pharmacist in the late 1890s.Request for TOC of the Report @Ampoules Market: Inclusive InsightAmpoules are produced by an industrial process, which includes short lengths of glass tubing, and are given shape by heating with the help of gas torches along with gravity in automated production lines. In order to check for quality control, computer vision techniques are being used. The filling followed by sealing of vials is done on an industrial scale by automated machinery. In a small scale industry such as laboratory settings, filling, and sealing of ampoules is done by hand. Empty ampoules can be purchased from the scientific glass supply houses, and then can be sealed with the help of a small gas torch.Modern ampoules have ampoule codes. These codes are in the form of colored rings of enamel around the neck of the vial. Color coding is done during the process of manufacturing ampoules. Colored rings are being painted on the neck of the ampoules by a machine after the ampoules are filled and sealed. These colored rings help to identify content inside the ampoules, and hence does not require further testing. The ampoule codes allow accurate handling of the substance for labeling, storage and secondary packaging.Read Complete Report @Ampoules Market: Key RegionsThe growing pharmaceutical packaging industry is subsequently leading to an increase in demand for ampoules, and is the major driving factor for the ampoules market worldwide. Introduction of new injectable therapies due to the development in the field of biotechnology, are leading the growth. Developed countries such as North America and Europe are expected to boost the demand for ampoules owing to advances in biotechnology and its applications in the region. North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) are the key segments for the global ampoule market. Asia Pacific is expected to be the major consumer of ampoules, owing to the growing pharmaceutical and packaging industry in the region. North America and Europe are also expected to boost the demand for ampoules in the near future due to increasing demand for ampoules for advanced technologies such as the RFID tags.Ampoules Market: Key Market PlayersThe major companies of ampoules market are: Truking Technology Limited, Shanghai Far-East Pharmaceutical Machinery CO., Ltd., Bausch-Stroebel, Hunan China Sun Pharmaceutical Machinery Co., Ltd., SCHOTT, Nipro Glass, Essco Glass, Gujarat Fabricators, Kishore Group, James Alexander Corporation, Ciron Group of Companies, GLAND PHARMA LIMITED, A. H. Industries, Claris Lifesciences Limted (Company), Kapoor Glass (India) Pvt Ltd, Global Pharmatech, and Lifespan Biotech Private Limited among others.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Bradycardia Market Trends and Research Report 2017 - 2025

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Global Bradycardia Market: OverviewBradycardia, also known as, bradyarrhythmia is one of the most important cardiac diseases. Bradycardia is a medically abnormal state of heart in which the pulse rate (heart beats) is less than 60 beats per minute (BPM). Bradycardia, in simplest sense, is a condition, in which heart shows decline in its efficiency. If heart shows around 50 BPM, it brings symptoms like tiredness, weakness, fatigue, dizziness and skin fainting. This is considered as symptom of heart diseases. Further, if the heart rate is less than 40 BPM, it must be taken seriously to treat.Bradycardia is caused due to various cardiac and non-cardiac symptoms. Non-cardiac symptoms mainly include abusive drugs consumption, endocrine and metabolic dysfunctioning, neurologic factors and electrolyte imbalance. Further, prolonged sleep and autoimmune response are the other major causes. Whereas, cardiac caused include valvular and vascular heart diseases, ischemic heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia. Bradycardia is usually diagnosed by pulse rate monitors and ECG.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Bradycardia Market: SummaryThe global bradycardia market is segmented on the basis of two parameters: the types of disease and therapeutic treatments. On the basis of types of disease, it is divided into ventricular, atrioventricular nodal, atrial, and infantile bradycardia. On the basis of drugs and therapy, the market is segmented into epinephrine, dopamine, adrenaline, levsin, and atropine. Hypothyroidism treatment is also useful in bradycardia, which includes liotix, liothyronine, and levothyroxine. Although drug therapies are largely available, the usual and core therapeutic aspect is pacemaker installation. Pacemakers are considered as the prime therapy for bradycardia and arrhythmia. Drugs and pacemaker therapies are used specifically when the heart slows down to lower than 50 BPM.The global bradycardia market is segmented on the basis of geography, into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world. The North American region has so far been the dominant one in the global bradycardia market, owing to a fast rate of growth in its number of bradycardia patients. On the other hand, Asia-Pacific and RoW regions are showing a lot of promise for growth over the coming years, owing to a rise in awareness of diagnostics and monitoring in cardiac diseases and the growth of medical infrastructure.Request for TOC of the Report @Global Bradycardia Market: Trends and ProspectsThe global bradycardia market is expected to grow are a very fast pace during between 2014 and 2020, likely to be driven by factors such as the increasing prevalence of cardiac diseases and bradycardia, extensive R&D efforts, and a rise in awareness of cardiac disease monitoring. Other factors such as the evolution of medical and healthcare infrastructure and growth in medical expenditure in emerging economies are also promoting the global bradycardia markets growth.According to a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2008, the prevalence of bradycardia was in close to 15% of males and 7% of females from the total U.S. population. Extensive R&D practices are consequently being conducted, further benefittin the global bradycardia market. Considering the growth opportunities in the market, pharmaceutical companies and medical devices manufacturers have taken a serious part in the bradycardia R&D practices. However, key restraints to the global bradycardia market include lack of awareness and tendency of ignorance towards the symptoms, especially in emerging economies from APAC, The MEA, and Latin America, and the generally high cost of pacemaker-based treatments.Read Complete Report @Key players operating in the global bradycardia market include Medtronic, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, St. Jude Medical, Inc., Mayo Clinic, and UMC Utrecht Holding BV.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Skin Lighteners Market Report Analysis and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Skin Lighteners Market: OverviewSkin lighteners are chemicals that lighten the skin tone by bringing down the concentration of melanin. Also referred to as skin whiteners or skin bleaching agents, skin lighteners are typically used in specific areas of the skin where melanin concentration is abnormally high. Such areas include birth marks and moles. They function by preventing tyrosinases that brings downs melanin production. Skin lighteners come in the form of lotions, cream, powder, or gels and is comprised of retinoid, melanin-inhibiting ingredient, and sunscreen. Based on product type, skin lighteners can be segmented into topical creams, cryosurgery, and laser resurfacingThe global skin lighteners market is characterized by stiff competition, wherein the prominent vendors try to outdo each other on the basis of product differentiation, quality, and pricing. The entry barrier to the market, however, is stiff on account of the stronghold of the existing leading players and high cost of research and development.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Skin Lighteners Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global market for skin lighteners is expected to grow at a healthy clip on account of a growing desire among people to have radiant and flawless skin. Their usefulness in tackling skin-related concerns such as scars, pigmentation, discoloration, acne marks, and age spots has been positively impacting their market. Skin lighteners also aid in the treatment of medical conditions such as vitiligo, hyperpigmentation, melasma, and rosacea. This has further stoked their demand.Strong competition among leading vendors in the market has led to frequent unveiling of innovative products. Another noticeable trend in the market is the use of plant extracts such as aloe vera, green tea extracts, marine algae extract, grape seed extract, mulberry extract, flavonoids, etc. in formulating products because of the rising ranks of discerning consumers preferring natural ingredients. Such plant extract-based skin lighteners aid in lowering melanin production and increase collagen production, thereby making the skin healthy and spot-free.Request for TOC of the Report @One factor discouraging the growth in the market is the presence of certain active ingredients, namely skin lighteners and hydroquinone in skin lighteners which can cause harm to the skin. In fact, hydroquinone is already banned in some countries or can be had only if prescribed by a dermatologist.Global Skin Lighteners Market: Regional OutlookNorth America leads the global skin lighteners market with maximum share and Europe follows next. This is mainly because of the strong spending capacity of the people, awareness about skin whiteners, an advanced healthcare infrastructure, and a proper regulatory framework in place. Asia Pacific is also considered a lucrative market for skin lighteners because of a strong desire among people in the region for a lighter skin tone, increasing disposable income, and a fast developing healthcare infrastructure. India and China are frontrunners in the market in Asia Pacific by dint of their huge population and growing awareness among them about the various skin lighteners in the market. Japan too is a key market in the region because of its improving healthcare infrastructure.Read Complete Report @Companies Mentioned in ReportSome of the key players in the global market for skin lighteners are Beiersdorf AG, Clarins SA, CavinKare Pvt. Ltd., Elder Health Care Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Kao Corporation, Emami Limited, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido Company Limited, and Jolen Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Composite Repairs Market : Share and Forecasts Research Report 2017 - 2025

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Global Composite Repairs Market: OverviewThe key role of composites is to restore the structural integrity of a component without hampering the original design strength. Composite repairs are extensively used for damaged structural parts of automotive panels, wind turbine blades, aircraft airframe, boats, and pipelines, among others.On the basis of type, the global composite repairs market can be segmented into cosmetic, structural, and semi-structural. Based on process, the market can be classified into vacuum infusion, autoclave, hand lay-up, and others. The major end users of composite repairs are aerospace and defense, wind energy, automotive and transportation, marine, construction, and pipes and tanks, among others.Request a Brochure of the Report @The report provides an in-depth analysis of market segments and the competitive landscape. The report also profiles major players in the global composite repairs market based on various attributes such as company overview, SWOT analysis, product portfolio, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments.Global Composite Repairs Market: Key TrendsComposites are presently being used in luxury cars or high-end racing cars. However, they are also slowly entering the mainstream passenger cars market. Due to urbanization, the ever-growing demand for automobiles has increased manifold. High and constant demand for automobiles has, in turn, led to the growth of the global composite repairs market. In addition, the use of composites in mass transit is a key factor driving the use of composite repairs in the automotive and transportation segment of the global market. Moreover, the new and advanced commercial aircrafts such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 and A380 are expansively using composites in airframes, thereby pushing the growth of the market.Request for TOC of the Report @There are several materials in the pipeline that are being considered for testing, or are still in the research and development stage, and waiting to be launched. They in turn will give stiff competition to the existing composites, thereby limiting the market growth in the years to come. There are various self-healing composites such as lost wax process, hollow fibers, and Sheffield solid-state healing that can change shape on their own, detect damage, and protect themselves from lighting. These are the materials that are likely to pose a threat to the growth of global composite repairs market.Global Composite Repairs Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global composite repairs market can be classified into Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to exceed other regions and become a large market share holder for composites in the near future. The demand is growing owing to increased expenditure in the aerospace industry. Moreover, two of the most populated countries of Asia Pacific  China and India  are investing majorly in wind energy. The governments of the said countries are focusing on the generation of clean energy by installing wind turbines. The APAC composite repairs market is also receiving an impetus from the defense industry. In order to increase value-added manufacturing activity, the governments in several Southeast Asian countries are concentrating on maintenance, repair, and operationsRead Complete Report @(MRO) industries and aircraft parts manufacturing as part of their economic development strategy.Global Composite Repairs Market: Key PlayersThe global market for composite repairs is highly fragmented. Some of the key players in the market are Fibrwraps, Lufthansa Technik AG, Total Wind Group A/S, Air France KLM E&M, HAECO, UpWind Solution, Technical Wind Services, Citadel Technologies, Milliken Infrastructure, T.D. Williamson, West Systems, WR composites, and Concrete Repairs Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Cross-Linked Polyethylene Market Set for Rapid Growth and Trend by 2025

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Global Cross-Linked Polyethylene Market: OverviewPolyethylene is a commodity plastic that is available at low cost and is easy to process. Due to its thermoplastic nature, it cannot be reprocessed repeatedly; hence crosslinking is required to retain its desirable properties, especially at high temperatures. This process changes the nature of polyethylene from thermoplastic to thermoset, making it more durable.The cross-linked polyethylene market can be broadly classified on the basis of type into high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyolefenic elastomer (POE), and others such as linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Based on application, the market may be segmented into wires and cables, automotive, plumbing, and others, including dental, groundskeeping, medical, and sports.Request a Brochure of the Report @This report offers an in-depth analysis of market segments and the competitive landscape. The report also profiles major competitors in the global cross-linked polyethylene market based on various attributes such as company overview, SWOT analysis, product portfolio, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments.Global Cross-Linked Polyethylene Market: Key TrendsOn the basis of type, high density polyethylene (HDPE) is a prominent segment of the cross-linked polyethylene market. Cross-linked HDPE has high demand due to its thermosetting nature, which offers better mechanical strength and greater stress crack resistance in comparison to traditional HDPE. Besides this, cross-linked HDPE is expansively used in the production of pipes and tubings to transport gases and cold/hot water and its low cost makes it a rapidly growing segment of the cross-linked polyethylene market. Apart from this, cross-linked HDPE delivers resistance to corrosion, abrasion, cracks, and stress because of its high tensile strength due to intensive cross-linking. On the other hand, high insulation properties of low density cross-linked polyethylene make them ideal for use in cables and wires.Request for TOC of the Report @In terms of application, plumbing currently accounts for a major share in the market for cross-linked polyethylene. It is used in the construction of water transmission systems and sewer systems. The increasing investment in construction activities, plus several water infrastructure ventures being undertaken by emerging economies, is anticipated to drive market growth.The automotive industry is also assisting the growth of the cross-linked polyethylene market. For transmission and power distribution channels, cross-linked polyethylene are being heavily used to manufacture battery cables and automobile parts. The demand is expected to grow further due to the increase in hybrid and electronic cars.However, the risk of plumbing disasters and several safety issues are limiting the growth of the global cross-linked polyethylene market.Read Complete Report @Global Cross-Linked Polyethylene Market: Regional OverviewOn the basis of geography, the cross-linked polyethylene market can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. In terms of value and volume, Asia Pacific is slated to witness impressive growth in the market for cross-linked polyethylene over the course of the forecast period. The key factor driving the growth in this region is the large amount of investments made by companies, particularly in the automotive sector. In addition, strong industrial base in the construction sector and several production facilities are being shifted to emerging economies in the region, hence augmenting its growth.Global Cross-Linked Polyethylene Market: Key Market PlayersSome of the prominent key players in the global cross-linked polyethylene market are AkzoNobel N.V., The Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Inc., Borealis AG, LyondellBasell Industries, PolyOne Corporation, Arkema Group, 3H Vinacom Co., Ltd, Falcone Specialities AG, and Hanwha Chemicals.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Polyfilm Market To Make Great Impact In Near Future by 2025

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Global Polyfilm Market: OverviewPolyfilms have become an integral part of our daily lives. They are eco-friendly and can be safely used for food packaging. Due to their flexible nature, these films find application in many end-use industries.On the basis of Resin type, the market can be segmented into low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), High-density polyethylene (HDPE), biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BoPP), biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BoPET), and biaxially oriented nylon film (BoPA)The report presents a comprehensive overview of the various factors contributing to the expansion of the global polyfilm market. It also presents insights into challenges that the market could face over the forecast period. The prevailing trends in overall market operations are also studied in the report in detail.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Polyfilm Market: Key TrendsThere are a few factors that are giving impetus to the market growth. They include technological developments in agriculture, rising demand for BoPET films, and increased usage of bio-based polymers. On the other hand, several European countries have stringent government and environmental regulations, limiting the growth of the polyfilm market.In terms of end-use industry, the packaging and agriculture segment is anticipated to witness substantial growth. The increase in population has given a boost to the food packaging industry, thereby raising the demand for polyfilms. Due to their environment-friendly characteristics and long shelf life, polyfilms have an edge over other films in the market. Plus, the improving retail sector is pushing the demand for polyfilms. Besides this, the increasing usage of greenhouse films for increased crop yield is leading to a rise in the demand for polyfilms in the agriculture segment of the market. Polyfilms are also being widely used across beauty and personal care, food and beverages, tobacco, and hygiene industries.Request for TOC of the Report @Based on resin type, LLDPE is a key market segment. High mechanical strength, transparency, improved sealing property, glossy appearance, and low production cost are a few of the properties augmenting the demand for LLDPE. LLDPE also performs well when blended with other resins.Global Polyfilm Market: Regional OverviewFrom a geographical standpoint, the global market for polyfilms can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific accounts for a large share in the polyfilm market in terms of volume, owing to the fact that a majority of the polyfilm manufacturers are based in India.China is another promising market for polyfilms in the Asia Pacific region. Companies are spending significant amounts in setting up manufacturing units in this country. Few factors such as increased health awareness, changing lifestyle, and long shelf life of the film is driving the growth of the market. Environment-friendly bio-based polyfilms are also quite popular in China; however due to their high cost, they are losing out to other cheaper alternatives available in the market.Read Complete Report @Global Polyfilm Market: Key MarketsThe report profiles some of the prominent competitors operating in the market. It also provides insights into the threats and opportunities that the companies are expected to witness in the coming years. The players in the global polyfilm market include Max Speciality Films, Formosa Plastics Corporation, Chiripal Polyfilm, Cosmo Films, Polyplex Corporation, Uflex Limited, Taghleef Industries, Vacmet India Pvt Limited, Garware Polyester, Jindal Polyfilm, and SRF Limited.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Compressor Rental Market To Increase at Steady Growth Rate 2017 - 2025

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Global Compressor Rental Market: OverviewCompressors are devices that convert mechanical energy into pneumatic energy by using compressed air and gas. As this compressed air or gas is released, a considerable amount of energy is trapped, so as to utilize it for a variety of purposes, such as air transfer, cleaning, and pneumatic device activation. As the rate of urbanization and industrial activities increases, the market for compressor rentals will advance rapidly.The report provides key information about the market trends, opportunities, growth drivers and challenges, along with aspects such as market size, supply and demand ratio, and detailed market segmentation. The leading market players are analyzed in terms of their market shares, product portfolios, and business strategies.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Compressor Rental Market: Drivers and RestraintsWith the development of designs of compressors, more efficiency has been attained so as to meet the demands of various end-users. Some of the compressors being portable, are extensively used in industrial and domestic activities, benefitting the growth of the global compressor rentals market. Technological advancement in the field of compressors is expected to boost the adoption rate of compressors. One example is that of air compressors. Traditional air compressors are run at full speed, and have to be stopped when they reach the right pressure. Then, the compressed air is stored to allow pressure hysteresis. As this is a wasteful practice, technological upgrades in air compressors have been carried out to control speed, thereby saving energy, and contributing toward market growth. Air compressors facilitate transfer of air in several industries such as chemical plants, oil extraction, food and beverage, automobiles, and transport. This is expected to expand the global market for compressor rentals.On the other hand, factors such as high maintenance costs and the contamination of air caused by oil lubrication are expected to limit growth. Also, oil-free compressors can be noisy, and thus can restrict demand for them.Request for TOC of the Report @Global Compressor Rental Market: Key SegmentsThe market can be segmented based on end user, technology, types, and geography. On the basis of their design and function, compressors can be divided into centrifugal compressors and positive displacement compressors. In terms of end user, the market for compressor rentals was dominated by the construction segment. The construction segment gained prominence because the execution of construction and building activities such as blasting, piling, spraying, and operating pneumatic tools require portable air compressors.Oil-free air compressors have been growing popular recently as they supply non-contaminated air. The portable air compressors, on account of the convenience they offer, are high in demand in off-site operations. The key end-user segments for air compressors can be industrial, commercial, and residential. Industrial air compressors are similar to commercial air compressors; only they are more powerful and bigger in size and volume. Commercial level air compressors are not very portable when compared to residential ones, but they are certainly more powerful. They can run for a long time without a refill. On the residential level, air compressors are used to spray paint, fill air in balloons, balls, and tires. These functions are generally conducted with electric air compressors, which are ideal for domestic purposes. As the demand for air compressors in all these sectors increases, the compressor rental market is slated to present significant opportunities.Read Complete Report @Global Compressor Rental Market: Regional OutlookAccording to geography, the key segments can be Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, Europe, and EMEA. The region of Asia Pacific has been exhibiting substantial growth, thanks to the presence of a number of capital-intensive companies that are inclined towards renting compressors instead of buying them. Large- scale construction projects in the countries of Asia Pacific, such as China, Thailand, and India, will further fuel market growth.Global Compressor Rental Market: Vendor LandscapeSome of the key players operating in the global compressor rental market include Caterpillar Inc., Ingersoll Rand, Atlas Copco, Aggreko plc, and United Rentals, Inc. One key development in the competitive landscape is the launch of new GA VSD+ oil-injected, compact, rotary screw compressors by Atlas Copco in 2013. These air compressors are designed to cut energy consumption to half the amount required by traditional compressors of similar type. The leading companies in the global compressor rental market have been emphasizing on better product offerings through increased investments in R&D activities.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Construction Repaint Market : Evolving Technology, Trends and Industry Analysis 2017 - 2025

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Global Construction Repaint Market: OverviewConstruction repaints are paints used in residential buildings, commercial, and institutional establishments for the purpose of maintenance works, making repairs, and carrying out renovation. They typically consist of varnishes, emulsions, and enamels. The paints are primarily waterborne or solvent-borne formulations. The large number of buildings and constructions across the globe that need renovation and repairs have necessitated the demand for these repaints and kept the construction repaint market fast emerging.The construction repaints market can be segmented on the basis of resin type, formulation, application, and region. Major resin types that have applications as repaints are acrylic, epoxy, alkyd, polyurethane, and epoxy. Key regions witnessing the growth of the construction repaint market are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.Request a Brochure of the Report @Waterborne paints being water soluble are widely used as construction repaints. Acrylic paint, a resin type and having waterborne formulations, occupies a prominent share in the construction repaint market. Acrylic paints are available as emulsions, lacquers, powders, and enamels and are easy to maintain. Being cost-effective and having low volatile organic compounds (VOC), they are preferred over other construction repaints. Stringent environmental regulations related to emission norms of volatile organic compounds laid down by the governments in various countries have led to a significant demand for these construction repaints.The research report provides a comprehensive insight into the manufacturing processes, current and emerging trends, and the advances in specialty chemicals. The study analyzes the key market dynamics and assesses their impact on the demand for the major types of construction repaints across the globe. Prepared with the help of insights from various industry leaders and market experts, the report evaluates the development of upstream raw material value chain, downstream client survey, and supply chain network, along with their impact on competitive dynamics. The insights help stakeholders track the key trends and enable players to devise impactful strategies to gain a stronghold in the construction repaint market.Request for TOC of the Report @Global Construction Repaint Market: Drivers and RestraintsWorn-off paint coatings in a large number of commercial and residential buildings and the damage of paints in various construction structures over time are the key factors driving the demand for construction repaints. Coupled with this, the rising demand for various repair and maintenance activities in the construction sector is anticipated to boost the growth of the construction repaint market. The demand for paints in different end-use industries such oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, and pharmaceutical is expected to stimulate the demand for construction repaints for various applications.In contrast, volatility in the raw materials prices due to fluctuating crude oil prices and growing popularity of glass buildings are crucial factors expected to hinder the growth of the construction repaints market. The application of durable paints, which has slowed down the decay of paints in buildings, is likely to impede the growth of the construction repaint market to some extent. In addition, the high cost involved in the manufacturing of paints having high performance characteristics is expected to hinder the growth of the market in some regions. However, the demand for bio-based paint materials  driven by stringent environmental regulations by various governments in developed and developing regions  is anticipated to create promising growth opportunities for players in the construction repaint market.Read Complete Report @Global Construction Repaint Market: Region-wise OutlookThe Asia Pacific region is estimated to contribute a major share in the construction repaint industry. The growth in the region is driven by the construction of residential and commercial buildings in countries such as China, Japan, and India, which has spurred the demand for cost-effective construction repaints. Growth of non-residential constructions due to increased urbanization in these countries and the rise in infrastructural spending have stimulated the demand for construction repaints in Asia Pacific. Companies vying for a significant share in these regions need to evaluate the market dynamics and the key development trends to devise business strategies.Companies mentioned in the report:Prominent players operating in the construction repaint market include Akzonobel N.V., PPG Industries Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Axalta Coating Systems LLC, RPM International Inc., The Valspar Corporation, Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd., Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., and Asian Paints Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Ethylene Glycol Market : Industry Analysis & Outlook 2017 - 2025

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China Ethylene Glycol Market: OverviewThe China ethylene glycol market is likely to experience a tremendous growth, primarily due to the burgeoning demand for polyester fibers across the globe. Polyester fibers are widely used in the textile industry in the manufacturing of carpets, upholstery, conveyer belts, and seat belts. Ethylene glycol is an organic compound primarily used in the manufacturing of polyester fibers and polyethylene terephthalate. Globally, Asia Pacific is one of the key consumer as well as manufacturer of ethylene glycol. China is one of the important growth sites of the Asia Pacific market.At present, China uses conventional processes for the production of ethylene glycol. Manufacturers are shifting their focus from conventional petrochemical route to coal. The country is expected to commercialize its coal-based manufacturing processes in the forthcoming years across all projects. Several manufacturers in the country produce ethylene glycol using syngas, a mixture of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide.Request a Brochure of the Report @The report is a complete, professional study for existing as well as new manufacturers in the China ethylene glycol market. It provides essential insights into the industry chain structure along with an extensive understanding of the upstream raw materials and downstream demand chain and import and export statistics. It also sheds light on the currently available production capacities and the efficiency at which they are utilized. The competitive landscape of the market has been derived using tools such as Porters five force analysis and market attractiveness analysis. It offers a detailed overview of drivers, restraints, opportunities, and trends of the China ethylene glycol market.China Ethylene Glycol Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growing demand for PET resin from the food and beverage industry for the manufacturing of water bottles and food containers is driving the China ethylene glycol market. The rising demand for antifreeze agents is also bolstering the growth of the market. Ethylene glycol is used as antifreeze in the automotive industry. Moreover, it is extensively used in medical sterilization and as heat transfer agent and coolant in geothermal pumps and air conditioning systems. The increasing production capacity for ethylene glycol is favoring the growth of the market.Request for TOC of the Report @On the flip side, the efficiency of the existing production setups is low and therefore, the output has not increased as significantly as production capacities have increased. Volatile prices and transportation of raw materials, particularly ethylene dioxide are primary concerns for players in the market.China Ethylene Glycol Market: Regional SegmentationEast China will be a prominent regional segment during the forecast period. Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangsu are the major revenue contributors to the growth of the region, primarily due to high ethylene glycol consumption in these provinces. Hebei province located in North China also serves as a major hub for the China market. Shijiazhuang Lanyang Chemicals Co. Ltd. and Shijiazhuang Panjiang Chemicals Ltd. are among the major producers of ethylene glycol in the province.China Ethylene Glycol Market: Key Manufacturers Mentioned in the ReportSome of the prominent players in the China ethylene glycol market are Jiangsu Tianyin Chemical Co. Ltd., Hebei Qilong Chemicals Co. Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell, Sinopec, China National Petroleum Corporation, and Anhui XinYuan Chemical Co. Ltd.Read Complete Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Anticonvulsant Market to register high demand rate by 2025

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Global Anticonvulsant Market for Fibromyalgia: OverviewThe global market for anticonvulsants used for fibromyalgia demonstrates a massive potential for future growth. The efficiency of anticonvulsants in the treatment of various neurological disorders, specifically fibromyalgia, is likely to increase their popularity, reflecting greatly on their demand over the forthcoming years.The increasing prevalence of fibromyalgia, boosted substantially by the ever-rising base of geriatric population and the increasing expenditure on healthcare, thanks to the augmented disposable income of people have been acting as the key factors driving this market and are expected to maintain its growth pace in the near future too.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Anticonvulsant Market for Fibromyalgia: Drivers and RestrainsCurrently, a number of both, patented and off-label anticonvulsant drugs, are being used in the treatment of fibromyalgia. Although with expired patents, Topiramate, levetiracetam, divalproex sodium, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, and carbamazepine are driving the global market for anticonvulsants used for the treatment of fibromyalgia considerably. In addition, a robust pipeline of anticonvulsants drugs is waiting for U.S. FDA approval, which, post approval, is expected to add significantly to this market in the years to come. The rising preference for generic products is also projected to influence this market remarkably over the next few years.On the other hand, the stringent regulatory guidelines for the approval of drugs may create obstacles in the growth trajectory of this market to some extent. However, the advancement in medical and healthcare infrastructure in emerging economies is likely to normalize their effects on this market in the near future.Request for TOC of the Report @Global Anticonvulsant Market for Fibromyalgia: Geographical AnalysisThe global market for anticonvulsants used for fibromyalgia registers its presence across Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. Due to the presence of a large pool of established players, North America has acquired the leading position in this market. The high disposable income of consumers that enables them to afford expensive treatments, is likely to maintain the growth pace of the North America market for anticonvulsants for fibromyalgia over the next few years. Apart from this, the growing awareness among consumers regarding health and wellness and the rising number of neurological disorders are also expected to further drive this market.Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is anticipated to offer the most promising opportunities for the growth of the worldwide market for anticonvulsants used for fibromyalgia in the near future. The improvement in economic conditions, rise in purchasing power, and the increase in the living standard of people in Asian countries, such as India and China, are likely to boost this regional market over the years to come. The substantial progress in the medical tourism industry in this region is also projected to reflect positively on the demand for anticonvulsants in Asia Pacific in the near future.Read Complete Report @Global Anticonvulsant Market for Fibromyalgia: Companies Mentioned in the ReportPfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Inc., UCB Group, Novartis AG, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), and Abbott Laboratories are some of the leading players operating in the global market for anticonvulsants used for fibromyalgia.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting ser-vices to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Discover the Global "Silicone Gel Scar Paste" market by manufacturers, countries, type and application, forecast to 2022

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Research Beam added a report on Global Silicone Gel Scar Paste Market Research Report 2016 - Silicone Gel Scar Paste Industry Research, Analysis, Technology, Growth, Demand, Report, Trends and ForecastReport splits global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Silicone Gel Scar Paste in these regions, from 2011 to 2021,Request for Sample Copy @The Silicone Gel Scar Paste Market Research Report is an extensive study of the current market trends and growth prospects of the industry. The report offers comprehensive analysis for the historic period, 20112016 and the forecast period, 20162021. Industry overview is provided in terms of definition, specifications, and industry chain structure of Silicone Gel Scar Paste. Manufacturing processes and cost structures are discussed along with raw material and equipment suppliers. In addition, in-depth analysis of types and applications is covered in the study with the help of figures offering insights on market share in similar format presented in ReportRegional analysis for the Silicone Gel Scar Paste market is offered on the basis of market size, sales, sale price, and growth rate. In addition, import, export, supply, and consumption analysis are included for each region.Report Description with TOC @Following regions are analyzed: North America Europe AsiaGlobal market size in terms of volume & value, growth rate, sales, and sale price are analyzed for the historic period. Moreover, an extensive analysis of market size of types, applications, and regions is offered for the forecast period. The feasibility and SWOT analysis for new project investment is explored along with marketing distributor analysis.Data & statistics are provided with the help of figures and tables to help market players, investors, and stakeholders gain thorough understanding. Research conclusions are presented at the end of the report.For More Information about Report@The report firstly introduced the Silicone Gel Scar Paste basics: definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain overview. industry policies and plans; product specifications, manufacturing processes; cost structures and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, capacity utilization, supply, demand and industry growth rate etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The report includes six parts, dealing with basic information; the Asia Silicone Gel Scar Paste industry; the North American Silicone Gel Scar Paste industry; the European Silicone Gel Scar Paste industry; market entry and investment feasibility; and the report conclusion.About Us:With the arsenal of different search reports, Research Beam helps you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency. With the window of opportunity getting open and shut at a speed of light, it has become very important to survive in the market and only the fittest and competent enough can do so. So, we try and provide with latest changes in the market that can suit your needs and help you take decision accordingly.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205, Portland, OR 97220U.S. & Canada Toll Free: + 1-800-910-6452UK: + 44-845-528-1300, India: +91 20 66346070Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975Email: help@researchbeam.comWeb:
High Demand for Takeaway Food Delivery Market Trends & Opportunities (2015 Edition)

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"The Report Global Takeaway Food Delivery Market: Trends & Opportunities (2015 Edition) provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Scope of the ReportThe report titled Global Takeaway Food Delivery Market: Trends and Opportunities (2015 Edition)" analyzes the significant trends and potential opportunities in the global takeaway food delivery market. The market size and forecast in terms of value for global takeaway market has been provided for the period 2015 to 2019, considering 2014 as base year. The report also provides the compound annual growth rate (% CAGR) for the forecasted period 2015 to 2019. Over the next five years, global food takeaway market revenue is forecasted to grow due to increased spending power of consumers, rising emerging economies and recovery of GDP of developing countries.The report also provides an analysis of consumer behavior on the basis of how many times consumers placed an order, spending nature of customer on per food delivery and the percentage share of restaurants of total food spend.View Report @The report provides the detailed analysis of ten countries with their actual and forecasted market size. The US is the largest market for takeaway food delivery market with highest revenue. The UK is the largest takeaway food delivery market within European region and second largest in the world. The report also provides the detailed description of the US food takeaway market on the basis of revenue, net food sales and online market penetration.The report also provides a detailed comparison of key market players of food takeaway market. GrubHub is the market leader with highest revenue earned in the fiscal 2014 with highest number of restaurants in comparison to other key market players like Just Eat, Delivery.com, and Foodler.com etc.Furthermore, the report profiles key market players such as GrubHub, Just Eat Inc, Foodpanda, Delivery Hero and Hungryhouse on the basis of attributes such as company overview, recent developments, strategies adopted by the market leaders to ensure growth, sustainability, financial overview and recent developments.Country CoverageUSUKSpainFranceItalyNetherlandsDenmarkNorwaySwitzerlandBrazilGet Sample Copy Here :Company CoverageGrubHub Holding IncJust Eat Plc. (JE)FoodpandaDelivery Hero and HungryhouseExecutive SummaryFood is an essential, social and enjoyable aspect of everyday life. However, there is often little time to cook at home or dine out. In addition, diners are increasingly looking for a broader and more diversified choice of cuisines and menu items. Food takeaway market facilitates customer with a wide variety of options at any place at any point of time. Consumers have many choices for takeaway food, including online takeaway food aggregator portals, independent restaurants and restaurant chains offering online ordering services, as well as local restaurants offering telephone-based and walk-in takeaway food services.The online purchase of takeaway food is growing continuously with upward market trends. There is large number of companies that provide online food ordering services and feature attractive menus on their web portals that allowed consumers to place orders with restaurants and food chains at their supreme convenience. Introduction of these online platforms benefit both restaurants as well as diners. Traditional telephone based ordering has taken over by online platforms which facilitates consumer with wide variety of choices, ratings and reviews including payment by credit or debit card and provide more efficient consumer experience.The major factors driving the growth of industry are increase in urban population, rising demand from emerging markets, increased spending power of consumers etc. But takeaway market is also facing some challenges like stricter food safety regulations, seasonal demands, and change in internet regulations etc. which create hurdles for the growth of market. Recent market trends in global food takeaway market are increased use of online media for ordering, industry consolidations through mergers and acquisitions, increase in commission rates by market players etc.About usMarketResearchReports.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.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Castor Bean Industry: 2017 Market Growth, Development Trends, Size and 2022 Forecast

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This is a Professional and in-depth market research on the current state of the Global and China Castor Bean industry. The Global Castor Bean market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.2017 Major Manufacturers Analysis of #Castor Bean Jayant Agro Organics, PRIME GLOBAL CAPITAL GROUP, NK Proteins, Ambuja, Adani Group, RPK Agrotech, Gokul Overseas, Kanak, Adya Oil many More Industry Profiles Overview.Complete report on Castor Bean market spread across 108 pages, profiling 09 companies and supported with 180 tables and figures is now available @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 complete report spreads across 108 pages.The Global Castor Bean Industry focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Castor Bean industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.The Global Castor Bean Industry provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Castor Bean market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.With 180 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.Place a Direct Purchase on this Report @Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Castor Bean3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis4 Production Analysis of Castor Bean by Regions, Technology, and Applications5 Sales and Revenue Analysis of Castor Bean by Regions6 Analyses of Castor Bean Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2010-20177 Analysis of Castor Bean Industry Key Manufacturers8 Price and Gross Margin Analysis9 Marketing Traders or Distributor Analysis of Castor Bean10 Development Trend of Castor Bean Industry 2017-202111 Industry Chain Suppliers of Castor Bean with Contact Information12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Castor Bean13 Conclusion of the Global Castor Bean Industry 2017 Market Research ReportList of Tables and FiguresConnect us @ sales@reportsnreports.com with subject line 2017 Market Research Report on Global Castor Bean Industry  and your contact details to purchase this report or get your questions answered. OR Call Us @ +1 888 391 5441.Deep Research Reports is digital databank of syndicated market reports for worldwide and China businesses. Reportsnreports.com offers market research reports to businesses, entities and organizations with an objective of assisting them in their decision making process. Our collection of 500,000+ industry & nation research reports shields 5000+ micro markets. We provide 24X7 available, online and offline support to our clients.Ritesh TiwariUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, Hadapsar,Pune, Maharashtra 411013, IndiaTel: +1-888-391-5441sales@reportsnreports.com
Brazil Generic Drug Market Driven by Government Initiatives and Public Health System

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Brazil generic drug market has grown at a CAGR of 15% during 2010-2016. Some of the factors which have facilitated the market growth include government initiatives, increase in aging-population and growth in the rate of lifestyle diseases.The latest report by IMARC Group titled, Brazil Generic Drug Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Forecast and Opportunity 2017-2022, finds that the Brazil generic drug market reached a value of more than US$ 80 Billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of around 15% during 2010-2016. In 1999, a law was passed by the government of Brazil  The Generic Drugs Law  which allowed the substitution of generic drugs for trademark branded drugs. This law authorized laboratories to handle and sell drugs, thereby enabling commercialisation and availability of previously more expensive branded drugs after the expiry of their patents. This has helped in improving the quality of drugs and facilitating the consumers to access quality drug treatment.Get Sample of Report:Highlights of Brazil generic drug market:The Generic Drugs Law gave impetus to the market and helped in improving the quality of the generic drugs.Free distribution of medicines for the treatment of various diseases by the government and public health system provide stimulus for the market growth.The factors such as increasing aging-population and growing lifestyle diseases have further driven the demand for generic drugs in the region.The Brazilian generic drug market has been spurred by the active participation of the government and health-care organizations. Besides passing the Generic Drugs Law, the government has also made constant efforts in promoting the sales of generic drugs. Most importantly, The Brazilian Federal Government represents the biggest pharmaceutical client itself. It distributes free contraceptives and medicines for hypertension, asthma, diabetes, Parkinson's, glaucoma, osteoporosis and rhinitis through their programmes and initiatives. Moreover, the Brazilian public health system; the Sistema Unico de Saude, avails generic versions of the medicines for the treatment of various diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, Alzheimer, Hepatitis, transplants, Lupus, etc. Some of the other factors which have contributed in influencing the market include an increase in the aging-population and the growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases. Considering the developments, the market is further expected to reach a value of almost US$ 190 Billion by 2022.Browse full report with TOC @The report examines the competitive landscape of the market and provides the details of the major players of the market such as EMS S.A., Sanofi Group, Eurofarma Laboratorios S.A., Hypermarcas S.A., Sandoz, Ache Laboratories and Uniao Quimica Farmaceutica Nacional S.A. The report also provides an in-depth analysis on the historical, current and future trends in the generic drug market in Brazil. This research report serves as an exceptional tool to understand the drivers, sales trends, volume trends, market structure, competitive landscape, regulations, key players, manufacturing and the outlook of generic drugs in Brazil. This report can serve as an excellent guide for investors, researchers, consultants, marketing strategists and all those who want to gain an insight into the market for generic drugs in Brazil.Find more research reports related to Healthcare Industry @IMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.IMARCs information products include major market, scientific, economic and technological developments for business leaders in pharmaceutical, industrial, and high technology organizations. Market forecasts and industry analysis for biotechnology, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and tourism, nanotechnology and novel processing methods are at the top of the companys expertise.IMARC Group610 North Randolph StreetArlingtonVA 22203Tel no: +1-631-791-1145Email: sales@imarcgroup.comWebsite:Follow us on twitter: @imarcglobal
Electrical Market - Saudi Arabia Industry Analysis and Forecast by 2024

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New York, May 01: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Electrical Market - Saudi Arabia Industry Analysis and Forecast by 2024The electrical market includes product to secure cables, to produce association points and low voltage product used in applications rated less than one kilovolt. The high level of construction activities in Saudi Arabia and growing consumer expenditure are projected to continue driving the Saudi Arabia electrical market. The Saudi Arabia electrical market is additionally expected to considerably gain from the rising energy demand within the Middle-east.How Big is the Saudi Arabia Electrical Market?The electrical market is expected to exceed more than US$ 11 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of more than 10% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:The electrical market is segmented on the lines of its solutions, electrical solutions by product, lighting solutions by technology, lighting solutions by application, lighting control systems market by application and regional. Based on solution segmentation it covers electrical solutions and lighting solutions.Under electrical solutions by product segmentation it covers metallic cable management systems, low voltage (LV) systems, wiring devices, lighting control systems and lightning protection systems.A metallic cable management system is further segmented into cable tray systems, cable conduit systems and raceway systems and others. Low voltage system contains LV switchgears, isolators, automatic transfer switch, LV panel boards and others. Wiring devices covers sockets & extension leads, connectors and switches. Lighting protection system covers lighting protection and earthing protection. Lighting protection system further segmented into conventional systems and non conventional systems. Earthing protection covers earthing systems, surge protection devices and others. Saudi Arabia lighting solutions by technology segmentation covers LED lighting and other lighting.Saudi Arabia lighting solutions by applications segmentation covers solar lighting, cinema and theater, lighting, area lighting, pool lighting, tunnel lighting, street lighting, hospital lighting, flood lighting, decorative lighting and commercial lighting. Saudi Arabia lighting control systems market by application covers commercial applications and residential applications. Commercial application is further segmented into hospitality applications and other commercial application. Hospitality applications cover home automation systems, sensor automation systems and wireless automation systems. Residential application covers home automation systems, sensor automation systems and wireless automation systems. Home automation system is further segmented into villas and others.The electrical marketis geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for electrical and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for electrical.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Electrical Market for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Legrand S.A., ABB Ltd., Atkore International Holdings Ltd., Eaton Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Honeywell International, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, GE Co., Siemens AG, Schneider Electric SA, TE Connectivity Ltd., Johnson Controls, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Emerson Electric Co., Wipro Limited, Al Fanar, Hesham El-Sewedy Ent, Hager, TECON, Lutron, Debbas, Leviton, Al-Abdulkarim Holdings Co., SESCO, Waha Electric Co., Electric House, K.S.C Limited, and Al Fozan.. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Electrical Market has been segmented as below:By Solutions Segment AnalysisElectrical solutionsLighting solutionsElectrical Solutions by Product Metallic Cable Management SystemsCable Tray SystemsCable Conduit SystemsRaceway SystemsOthers (Floor Ducts & Junction Boxes, etc.) Low Voltage (LV) SystemsLV SwitchgearsIsolatorsAutomatic Transfer Switch (ATS)LV Panel BoardsOthers (LV Components, etc.) Wiring DevicesSockets & Extension LeadsConnectorsSwitchesOthers (Electrical Accessories, etc.) Lighting Control Systems Lightning Protection Systemso Lightning ProtectionConventional SystemsNon-conventional Systems (ESE)o Earthing ProtectionEarthing SystemsSurge Protection DevicesOthers (UPS Systems, etc.)Saudi Arabia Lighting Solutions by TechnologyLED LightingOther LightingSaudi Arabia Lighting Solutions by ApplicationsSolar LightingCinema and Theater LightingArea LightingPool LightingTunnel LightingStreet LightingHospital LightingFlood LightingDecorative LightingCommercial LightingSaudi Arabia Lighting Control Systems Market by Application Commercial Applicationso Hospitality Applications (Including GRMS)Home Automation SystemsSensor Automation SystemsWireless Automation Systemso Other Commercial ApplicationsHome Automation SystemsSensor Automation SystemsWireless Automation Systems Residential Applicationso Home Automation SystemsVillasOtherso Sensor Automation Systemso Wireless Automation SystemsReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all electrical market in Saudi Arabia.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of electrical data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Market Data Analysis: Global Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017

Global Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017

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This report studies Isocyanates in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production (Units), price ($/Unit), revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringBASFBayerBorsodChemMitsui ChemicalsVencorexKPX ChemicalCangzhou DahuaCNIGCFujian Southeast ElectrochemicalJuli ChemistryGNFCDowOCI Company LtdBluestarTosohHuntsmanWanhuaSGBDAsahi KaseiEvonikMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Isocyanates in these regions, from 2012 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSplit by Product Types, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoMDITDIADISplit by applications, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Isocyanates in each application, can be divided intoPolyurethane foamPaints & coatingsAdhesives & sealantsOthersAsk a complete & professional report sample, please send message to tinaning@qyresearch.com or visit atTable of contents1 Isocyanates Market Overview2 Global Isocyanates Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Isocyanates Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Regions (2012-2017)4 Global Isocyanates Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2012-2017)5 Global Isocyanates Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Types6 Global Isocyanates Market Analysis by Applications7 Global Isocyanates Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Isocyanates Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Isocyanates Market Forecast (2017-2021)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixRelated Reports:Global Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017Europe Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017China Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017India Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017Korea Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017Japan Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017USA Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017Other Region/Country Isocyanates Market Research Report 2017Contact Details:Company Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchContact Person: Tina Ning | Professional Market Research Report PublisherEmail: tinaning@qyresearch.com or qyresearcheurope@126.comTel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Web:QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Global Surgical Sealants and Adhesives Market worth $3.28 Billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 11.7 %

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According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Surgical Sealants & Adhesives Market is expected to grow from $1.68 billion in 2016 to reach $3.28 billion by 2022 with a CAGR of 11.7 %. The factors favouring the growth of the market are increasing number of surgical procedures and raising demand for technological advanced products with FDA and CE mark approvals. In addition, insufficient reimbursements, huge costs involved in clinical data requirement in launching and designing new products are some factors hindering the market.Browse the report:Based on the Product segment, fibrin sealants is the fastest growing segment as it has various applications in medical areas and also has got FDA approved to its products and can be used in haemostats, sealants and adhesives compared to other sealants. Furthermore, based on the application segment, cardiovascular segment leads the market globally as the demand for cardiovascular surgeries such as open heart surgery, heart transplantation procedures are increasing. North America has acquired highest growth rate in surgical sealants & adhesives market as new medical technologies are emerging in this region.Request a sample of the report:Some of the key players in Surgical Sealants & Adhesives Market are Medtronic PLC, Sanofi Group, Sealantis Ltd., Cohera Medical Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Baxter International Inc., Cryolife Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, C.R. Bard Inc., Vivostat A/S, Ocular Therapeutix Inc., Ethicon Inc., Mallinckrodt PLC, Cardinal Health, and Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation.Applications Covered:Cosmetic SurgeriesGeneral SurgeriesOphthalmic SurgeriesCardiovascular SurgeriesPulmonary SurgeriesCentral Nervous System (CNS) SurgeriesUrological SurgeriesOther ApplicationsBuy the report@End-Users Covered:Ambulatory Surgical care CentersHospitalsClinicsIndications Covered:Tissue SealingTissue EngineeringSurgical HemostasisProducts Covered:Natural/Biological Sealants and AdhesivesPolypeptide/Protein-Based Sealants and AdhesivesPolysaccharide Based Sealants and AdhesivesSynthetic and Semi Synthetic Adhesives and SealantsPolyethylene Gylcol Based HydrogelUrethane-Based AdhesivesCyanoacrylatesOther Synthetic Sealants and AdhesivesRegions Covered:North AmericaUSCanadaMexicoEuropeGermanyFranceItalyUKSpainRest of EuropeAsia PacificJapanChinaIndiaAustraliaNew ZealandRest of Asia PacificRest of the WorldMiddle EastBrazilArgentinaSouth AfricaEgyptAbout Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Information:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Email: sales@orbisresearch.com
Oman Air, the National Carrier of Sultanate of Oman, is celebrating the latest in a string of prestigious wins, following the presentation to the airline of the Best Arab Air Carrier supporting Arab Tourism award. The 2017 Arab Tourism Media Awards ceremony organised by the Arab Centre for Tourism Media was held at Roda Al Bustan Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

On behalf of Oman Air, Mahfood Al Harthi, Senior Vice President Sales (GCC, Middle East and Africa) of Oman Air received the award and commented:

Oman Air is pleased and proud to accept the Best Arab Air Carrier supporting Arab Tourism award and we would like to thank the judges and everyone else at the Arab Tourism Media Awards for this accolade.

Since last year, Oman Air saw the introduction of 11 aircrafts joining the airline's fleet. And with the addition of the new aircraft Oman Airs fleet currently stands at 52. This will not only offer more people a superlative passenger experience, but also enable even more people to visit Oman and discover for themselves the unique beauty and timeless culture of this wonderful country, which is increasingly renowned at an international level as a distinguished tourist destination.

The airline continues to be recognised for its award winning on board experience; winning an array of industry awards in 2016 to add to its growing collection and continue its progress to becoming a successful, sustainable company of the highest quality: To Become the Best.

Recently, the National Carrier has been voted recently the Best In-Flight Duty Free provider in the Middle East by readers of the German passenger services industry publication, Pax International Magazine. In addition, awards in 2016 include Worlds Leading Airline  Economy Class at the World Travel Awards in the Maldives, and Foreign Airline of the Year by Sector to the Middle East at the annual KLIA Awards, introduced in 2006 to recognize the best in Malaysian aviation industry. The coveted Signum Virtutis, the seal of excellence, from the Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyle Awards 2016 and winner for the best airline in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The accolades are not limited to the passenger operation; Oman Air Cargo was also awarded Best Cargo Airline for Valuable Goods  North and East at the India Cargo Awards 2016 held in Delhi.
Lighting Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2025 |The Insight Partners

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Latest market study on Lighting Market to 2025 - Global Analysis and Forecasts by Type, Application, Technology and Industry Verticals, the report include key understanding on the driving factors of this growth and also highlights the prominent players in the market and their developments.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the Lighting Market to 2025 @Lighting is an essential need of our everyday lives. Since the introduction of the first light bulb, this industry has been revolutionizing the way lights were used. Lighting today has become quintessential and advancements in the lighting technology has made the lighting market more expandable. Thus, there are several new companies entering the lighting industry, fueling growth of the lighting market in the years to come.The report aims to provide an overview of Global Lighting Market along with detailed segmentation of market by type, application, technologies, industry verticals and five major geographical regions. Global Lighting market is expected to witness demand growth during the forecast period due to decreasing prices owing to rising completion and dramatically rising population leading to urbanization majorly in developing countries.Request Sample Copy @The objectives of Lighting Market report are as follows: To provide overview of the global lighting market To analyze and forecast the global lighting market on the basis of type, application, technology, and industry verticals To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall lighting market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM), which are later sub-segmented across respective major countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key lighting manufacturing players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesInquire about discount on this report @Segmentations Covered in the Lighting Market Type: Electrically powered Lighting, Solar Powered Lighting Application: Architectural Lighting, Signage, Backlight, Outdoor Lighting Technology: CFL Lamps, Fluorescent Lamps, Halogen Lamps, High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lamp, Light Emitting Diode (LED) Lamps, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Lamps Industry Vertical: Automotive, Retail, Corporate, Hospitality, Agricultural, Marine & Aerospace, Government, Healthcare Geographical Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), South America (SAM)Some of the leading players in Lighting Market Report Koninklijke Phillips Hubbell Inc. Osram Litch Acuity Brands GE Lighting Lutron Inc Eaton Corp Cree Crompton Lighting, and Digital lumens.Why Buy Lighting Market Report? Highlights widely used product offerings thereby allowing organizations to gain revenues by focusing majorly on select products The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Lighting market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long term strategies Get reliable information about the strategies manufacturers in this market use to drive revenue Gain insights into the competitive landscape, to strengthen market competitiveness and positioning Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as the those hindering it Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution Examine the current and future impact of the five forces namely: bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitutes, threat of new entrants and degree of competitionProcure 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.com505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
USA, EU, Japanese IT Outsourcing Market to Make Strong Progress Thanks To Increasing Investments

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USA, EU, Japanese IT Outsourcing Market Professional Survey Report 2017 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.The rapid growth in the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market has boosted many crucial companies to conduct a detailed market research to outdo its current situation, restraints, leading players and areas of operation. As the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market flourishes, it becomes a challenging task for all key players to depend only on the in-house resources to investigate the market and this is where professional external sources come into the picture. This study by our expert investigators offers a brief synopsis of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market and further discusses the key elements responsible for the growth of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market. This in-depth study forecasts upcoming projects, leading players, applications, and the size of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market for a given period.The study unfolds details about leading companies in the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market by considering factors such as their production capacity, list of products, upcoming projects and their geographical reach. The analyst administer the value chain analysis of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market, upstream and downstream components, changing/emerging trends in demand and supply and import and export of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market are also weighed in this market research report. This market research report also highlights some other important factors which are responsible for the growth of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market.This report studies the global IT Outsourcing market, analyzes and research the IT Outsourcing development status and forecast in USA, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeCognizantAccentureIBMTCSWiproHCLDellInfosysCapGemini+IGATECSC.Get 30 % Discount on this premium report @The reports authors have depicted leading organizations in the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market by taking into account factors such as their annual revenue, key segments, production capacity , products to name a few. New developments, current & emerging trends, and future opportunities in the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market are highlighted by the analysts while assessing the market. SWOT analysis, a standard industry tool, is used by our analysts to calibrate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and thrusts of the leading players of the USA, EU, and Japanese IT Outsourcing market.Table of ContentsUSA, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia IT Outsourcing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20211 Industry Overview1.1 IT Outsourcing Market Overview1.1.1 IT Outsourcing Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global IT Outsourcing Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 USA1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India2 Global IT Outsourcing Competition Analysis by Players2.1 IT Outsourcing Market Size (Value) by Players (2015-2016)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Cognizant3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions4 Global IT Outsourcing Market Size by Application (2011-2016)4.1 Global IT Outsourcing Market Size by Application (2011-2016)4.2 Potential Application of IT Outsourcing in Future4.3 Top Consumer / End Users of IT Outsourcing5 USA IT Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook5.1 USA IT Outsourcing Market Size (2011-2016)5.2 USA IT Outsourcing Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)6 EU IT Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU IT Outsourcing Market Size (2011-2016)7 Japan IT Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook7.1 Japan IT Outsourcing Market Size (2011-2016)7.2 Japan IT Outsourcing Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)8 China IT Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook8.1 China IT Outsourcing Market Size and Forecast (2011-2016)Get Enquiry before Buying on this report:For more info on this report click here @:About Research n Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact us:Mr. Sunny DenisContact No. +1-888-631-6977sales@researchnreports.com(ResearchnReports)
Excipients Market in Latin America Will Grow at a CAGR of More Than 6% by 2023

Excipients Market

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New York, May 02: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Excipients Market By Product Segment Analysis, By Route of Administration Analysis and By Function Analysis - Latin America Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2023How Big is the Latin America Excipients Market?The Latin America excipients market is expected to exceed more than US$ 626 million by 2023; Growing at a CAGR of more than 6% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:The flourishing pharmaceutical trade in geographical area has been driving the excipients market within the region due its growing usage in producing medicines. Excipients area unit more and more are getting used by pharmaceutical corporations for coating, binding as diluents and filters, solvents and as colorants for creating tablets, capsules and alternative varieties of medication. Therefore the progress of the pharmaceutical trade is directly proportional to the success of the excipients market in geographical area The increasing expenditure on attention and also the up disposable incomes that enable customers to pay on medicines in geographical area is additionally chargeable for the increase of excipients within the region.The major driving factors of Latin America excipients market are as follows:Growing consumption of oral solid dosage drugsDevelopment in pharmaceutical market in Latin AmericaThe restraining factors of Latin America excipients market are as follows:Use of excipients in other end user industriesHigh manufacturing priceThe Latin America excipients market is segmented on the lines of its product, route of administration, function and country. Based on product segmentation the market covers gelatin, sugar and other, minerals, polymers and alcohols. Sugar and other is further divided into lactose, sucrose, maltitol, glucose and others. Under minerals segmentation it covers calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, clay, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide and others. Based on polymers segmentation it covers MCC, HPMC, ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, CMC, croscarmellose sodium, povidone(binders), crosspovidone(disintegrants), pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, polyethylene glycol, acrylic polymers and others. Under alcohol segmentation it covers glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbitol, mannitol and others.The Latin America excipients market is based on route of administration segmentation covers tropical, parenteraloral and others. Under oral segmentation is further segmented into tablets, capsules (Hard & Soft) and liquids and semisolids. Based on function segmentation flavors & sweeteners, viscosity agents, film coating, controlled release, fillers & diluents, disintegrants, binders & adhesives, lubricants & glidants and others. Under country segmentation the Latin America covers Caribbean, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Central America, Brazil, Argentina and rest of South America.This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for Latin America excipients and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for Latin America excipients.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for various Latin America excipients market for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Ashland Inc., BASF SE, FMC Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Merck KGaA, Evonik Industries AG, and Croda International Plc, CP Kelco, JRS Pharma, Roquette Pharma, Avantor Performance Materials Inc., Colorcon Inc., Innophos Holdings Inc., Cargill Inc., The Lubrizol Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, Asahi-Kasei Corporation, Cabot Corporation, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Latin America Excipients Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment Analysis Gelatin Sugar & Othero Lactoseo Sucroseo Maltitolo Glucoseo Others Mineralso Calcium phosphateo Calcium carbonateo Clayo Silicon dioxideo Titanium dioxideo Others Polymerso MCCo HPMCo Ethyl celluloseo Methyl celluloseo CMCo CroscarmelloseSodiumo Povidone(binders)o Crosspovidone(disintegrants)o Pregelatinized starcho Sodium starch glycolateo Polyethylene glycolo Acrylic polymerso Others Alcoholo Glycerino Propylene glycolo Sorbitolo Mannitolo OthersBy Route of Administration Analysis Tropical Parenteral Oralo Tabletso Capsules (Hard & Soft)o Liquids and Semisolids OthersBy Function Analysis Flavors & Sweeteners Viscosity Agents Film Coating Controlled Release Fillers & Diluents Disintegrants Binders & Adhesives Lubricants & Glidants OthersBy Country Analysis Latin Americao Caribbeano Colombiao Chileo Mexicoo Central Americao Brazilo Argentinao Rest of South AmericaReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all Latin America excipients.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of Latin America excipients data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Australia - Smart Cities Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Australia - Smart Cities" to its huge collection of research reports.Executive SummarySmart City Transformation 2016While a holistic approach towards the development of smart cities is still often missing, in 2016 there are some good examples, both nationally and internationally, of councils that are moving in the right direction. We are migrating from smart cities being a concept for the future to the point where we are now seeing cities making tangible plans and infrastructure decisions to support such a transformation.This also means that the associated obstacles and challenges are more evident.The most difficult issue to resolve in building smart cities is the funding. And this is not unique  all sectors and industries that are facing transformation are dealing with the same problem. The transformation process will not be possible unless investments are made in the ICT platform.This unique report explores the issues, challenges and developments for smart cities, as well as providing insightful information on some of the leading cities from around the world.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The development of smart cities  and indeed smart countries  requires vision and recognition of the fact that many of todays social, economic and sustainability problems can only be solved with the assistance of smart technologies. Key infrastructure elements here include broadband, energy, water and transport. In many cases the uniqueness, affordability, capacity, robustness, security and quality necessary for this calls for fibre optic and high-speed wireless infrastructure, to be used to develop smart integrated city systems. With the growth of cities, rising costs and lower income, cities are struggling to manage the transition to smart cities. This need will increase dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years as industries and whole sectors (healthcare, energy, transport, water) carry out the process of transforming themselves in order to better address the challenges ahead.We need to create smart cities, smart businesses and smart countries, with high-speed infrastructure, smart grids, intelligent buildings, etc. Smart cities are also the hubs in the emerging interconnected/sharing/digital economy.In order to better manage our societies and economies we need to have much better information about what is happening within all of the individual ecosystems, and in particular information about how these different systems interact. Currently they all operate within silos and there is little or no cooperation or coordination between them. ICT can be the bridge to connect them, collecting data from them and processing it in real time. Information can then be fed back to those who are managing the systems, and those who operate within them, such as doctors, teachers, business people, bureaucrats, politicians.Some of these data interactions are already happening around smartphones, social media, traffic and crowd control, and weather information. This is only the start of what is known as the internet of things (IoT) or machine-to-machine communication (M2M).While no city can claim to be the leader in the smart city movement there are thousands of examples in the leading cities around the world, and increasingly in Australia also, that have very impressive scores on the board. The fact that most leading cities are now finally developing strategic smart city plans  or at least economically viable smart city projects  indicates that this is not just another blue sky story, but a solid business reality.There is now also more federal and state government focus on the need for cities to become smarter in order to improve lifestyle, drive job growth (especially in new, emerging small businesses)  and, equally important as is the case in all digital transformation processes, to take unnecessary costs out of the city economy. The big question, however, is who will fund these city transformations.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Low-cost and Easy Deployment of Free Space Optics Encourages Increased Adoption by Network Providers

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Free space optics (FSO) communication, also known as optical wireless or free space photonics (FSP) is a line-of-sight technology that propagates light in free space such as vacuum, air, or outer space in order to wirelessly transmit data for computer networking and telecommunication. This technology requires light, which can be focused by either using light emitting diodes or lasers. Free space optics uses optical signals as the carrier frequencies to offer point-to-point transmission of communication information through the atmosphere. This technology offers several benefits over the existing techniques such as radio, microwave, or optical systems. The advantages associated with FSO such as low initial investment, low power usage per transmitted bit, high bandwidth provisioning, flexible rollouts, high security, and quick establishment of communication link has led to increasing number of applications of free space optics in various industries.Browse Market Research Report @A surge in demand for high bandwidth and increasing application of free space optical technology in military environments is strongly driving the growth of the free space optics market. Bandwidth usage is experiencing unprecedented growth and the demand for bandwidth is not likely to slow down in the coming years. Free space optical communication is a viable solution for various military applications and the most promising military environments where FSO technology can be used include military bases, in between bases where bases are co-located within 2-4 km of one another, ship to shore communications, and ship to ship communications. In addition to these factors, the incorporation of free space optics in 3G and 4G networks is triggering the market growth. Furthermore, quicker time to market and reduced costs associated with free space optics technology is boosting the market growth. The conjoint effect of all these drivers is thus set to bolster the growth of the global free space optics market during the forecast period.Advancements in free space optics technology and healthy economic growth of emerging economies are offering potential growth opportunities to the free space optics market. Advancements in free space optics technology have led to growth in requirement of free space optical communication in several applications including telecommunications, military and defense.Key players in the fiber space optics market are coming up with rapid technological advancements to mitigate the effect of atmospheric attenuation on the FSO signals and this is expected to offer potential growth opportunities to the growth of the global free space optics market. Further, an unexpected exponential growth of the telecommunications industry and tremendous increase in the online time used up by existing customers is witnessed in the developing regions of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. This is persistently fuelling the demand for bandwidth and consequently offering lucrative opportunities for the growth of the FSO market.The competitive profiling of the major companies in the global free space optics market across five broad geographic regions has been included in the study. The competitive landscape is inclusive of the recent developments of the leading players in the field of free space optics and the various business strategies adopted by these companies. In the report, market attractive analysis of the chief application of free space optics has been provided in order to offer an insight into the global free space optics market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @An extensive analysis of market dynamics which includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities of the global market is included under the scope of the study. Hence, the global free space optics market report offers an inclusive study of the market along with providing the forecast of the market for the period from 2016 to 2024.Some of the major players in the market are: Trimble Hungary Ltd. (Hungary), Mostcom Ltd. (Russia), AOptix Technologies Inc. (U.S.), Optelix (South Africa), LightPointe Communications, Inc. (U.S.), IBSENtelecom Ltd. (Norway), Harris Corporation (U.S.), Anova Technologies (U.S.), fSONA Networks Corp. (Canada) and Wireless Excellence Limited (U.K.) among others.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
The US Personal Care Products for the Maternity Market to grow at a CAGR of 2.37% during 2016-2020

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Albany, NY, May 02, 2017: The personal care products for maternity market is a sub-segment of the overall personal care market based on product use by a specific target audience. This sub-segment includes six product categories: skin care, hair care, oral hygiene, bath, sun care, and depilatory products.BPC manufacturers focus on enhancing brand and brand recall to generate repeat purchases among consumers. In the maternity market, this is important as women who find a product safe for use during their pregnancy are likely to continue their use even after the birth of their babies. These customers are also more likely to prefer products of the same brand for their children. Brand loyalty, therefore, plays a significant role in market growth. Johnson & Johnson is a prime example of a vendor that offers skin care lines for both mothers and babies.The personal care products for maternity market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 2.37% during the period 2016-2020. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the personal care products for maternity market in the US for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the retail sales of maternity personal care products, which include:- Skin care products- Hair care products- Oral hygiene products- Bath products- Sun care- Depilatory productsGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Technavio's report, Personal Care Products for Maternity Market In the US 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Johnson & Johnson- L'Oral- Procter & Gamble- Unilever- Este LauderOther prominent vendors- Amway- Avon Products- Cadiveu Professional USA- Chatters Canada- Clarins Group- Combe- Conair- Coty- Edgewell Personal Care- Henkel- Kao- Markwins Beauty Products- Revlon- ShiseidoMarket driver- Changing lifestyles and shopping habits- For a full, detailed list, view our reportEnquiry at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Latest Report Details Of Global Bearing Cleaner Industry 2017, Trends and Forecast Report

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"The Report Global Bearing Cleaner Industry 2017, Trends and Forecast Report provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Bearing Cleaner Report by Material, Application, and Geography Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).The report firstly introduced the Bearing Cleaner basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia Bearing Cleaner Market;3.) the North American Bearing Cleaner Market;4.) the European Bearing Cleaner Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Table of ContentsPart I Bearing Cleaner Industry OverviewChapter One Bearing Cleaner Industry Overview1.1 Bearing Cleaner Definition1.2 Bearing Cleaner Classification Analysis1.2.1 Bearing Cleaner Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Bearing Cleaner Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Bearing Cleaner Application Analysis1.3.1 Bearing Cleaner Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Bearing Cleaner Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Bearing Cleaner Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Bearing Cleaner Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Bearing Cleaner Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Bearing Cleaner Product Market Development Overview1.6 Bearing Cleaner Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Bearing Cleaner Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Bearing Cleaner Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Bearing Cleaner Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Bearing Cleaner Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Bearing Cleaner Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Bearing Cleaner Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market Trend2.2 Down Stream Market Analysis2.1.1 Down Stream Market Analysis2.2.2 Down Stream Demand Analysis2.2.3 Down Stream Market Trend AnalysisPart II Asia Bearing Cleaner Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Bearing Cleaner Market Analysis3.1 Asia Bearing Cleaner Product Development History3.2 Asia Bearing Cleaner Competitive Landscape Analysis3.3 Asia Bearing Cleaner Market Development TrendChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Bearing Cleaner Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast4.1 2012-2017 Bearing Cleaner Capacity Production Overview4.2 2012-2017 Bearing Cleaner Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2012-2017 Bearing Cleaner Demand Overview4.4 2012-2017 Bearing Cleaner Supply Demand and Shortage4.5 2012-2017 Bearing Cleaner Import Export Consumption4.6 2012-2017 Bearing Cleaner Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginChapter Five Asia Bearing Cleaner Key Manufacturers Analysis5.1 Company A5.1.1 Company Profile5.1.2 Product Picture and Specification5.1.3 Product Application Analysis5.1.4 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value5.1.5 Contact Information5.2 Company B5.2.1 Company Profile5.2.2 Product Picture and Specification5.2.3 Product Application Analysis5.2.4 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value5.2.5 Contact Information5.3 Company C5.3.1 Company Profile5.3.2 Product Picture and Specification5.3.3 Product Application Analysis5.3.4 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value5.3.5 Contact Information5.4 Company D5.4.1 Company Profile5.4.2 Product Picture and Specification5.4.3 Product Application Analysis5.4.4 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value5.4.5 Contact Information...About usMarketResearchReports.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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Dock Underwater Lights Market 2016: focuses on top players Aqualights, OceanLED, Bluefin LED, YCH Ind, Lumishore, Aqualuma, Sea Vision, Hurley Marine

Dock Underwater Lights

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The Dock Underwater Lights research report by QY Research represents an inclusive evaluation of the Global Dock Underwater Lights Market and comprises considerable insights, historical data, facts, and statistical and industry-validated data of the global market. Additionally, it consists of estimated data that is evaluated with the help of suitable set of methodologies and assumptions. The research report highlights informative data and in-depth analysis of Dock Underwater Lights market and its corresponding segments that are based on technology, geography, and applications.The examination on value chain of Dock Underwater Lights market is provided which covers the growth factors and restraints of the industry along with the key market competitors.To Request Sample Copy Of This Report:The report comprises precise information, comprehensive analysis in two waysqualitative and quantitativeindustry experts inputs, and information provided by industry analysts and industry participants involved in the entire value chain. The report highlights exhaustive study of major market and their present trends, along with corresponding market segments. The Dock Underwater Lights report also provides data regarding various market factors and their impact on the overall market and its segments.Global Research report analyzes the scope of Dock Underwater Lights industry including size, share, analysis, sales, supply, production, definition, specification, classification, demands, application, forecast trends, industry policy, and news. The report focuses on regional as well as global market, its key players, along with market segments including detailed study on various divisions and its applications. The report provides comprehensive information on each and every segment covered of the Dock Underwater Lights market.Furthermore, the report evaluated major market points such as production, revenue, capacity utilization rate, gross, price, capacity, gross margin, supply, cost, demand, export, consumption, import, growth rate, market share, and so on.Browse Complete Report At:The global Dock Underwater Lights market report is a helpful source which assists manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, customers, and individuals and investors who have interest in this market.Notes:Production, means the output of Dock Underwater LightsRevenue, means the sales value of Dock Underwater LightsThis report studies Dock Underwater Lights in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringAqualightsOceanLEDBluefin LEDYCH IndLumishoreAqualumaSea VisionHurley MarineKepmarineAbout Us:MRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client. While, expertise research specialist helps to provide strategic solution in specialists consulting. It consists of head such as, latest report, category, niche market and news. Reports published on the million of category like chemical, machinery and equipment, consumer goods, manufacturing and construction etc. Latest national, international, business News published under news portal.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,Tel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Door Warning Systems Market Globally to register highest growth by 2016-2021

Door Warning Systems

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The Door Warning Systems research report by QY Research represents an inclusive evaluation of the Global Door Warning Systems Market and comprises considerable insights, historical data, facts, and statistical and industry-validated data of the global market. Additionally, it consists of estimated data that is evaluated with the help of suitable set of methodologies and assumptions. The research report highlights informative data and in-depth analysis of Door Warning Systems market and its corresponding segments that are based on technology, geography, and applications.The examination on value chain of Door Warning Systems market is provided which covers the growth factors and restraints of the industry along with the key market competitors.To Request Sample Copy Of This Report:The report comprises precise information, comprehensive analysis in two waysqualitative and quantitativeindustry experts inputs, and information provided by industry analysts and industry participants involved in the entire value chain. The report highlights exhaustive study of major market and their present trends, along with corresponding market segments. The Door Warning Systems report also provides data regarding various market factors and their impact on the overall market and its segments.Global Research report analyzes the scope of Door Warning Systems industry including size, share, analysis, sales, supply, production, definition, specification, classification, demands, application, forecast trends, industry policy, and news. The report focuses on regional as well as global market, its key players, along with market segments including detailed study on various divisions and its applications. The report provides comprehensive information on each and every segment covered of the Door Warning Systems market.Furthermore, the report evaluated major market points such as production, revenue, capacity utilization rate, gross, price, capacity, gross margin, supply, cost, demand, export, consumption, import, growth rate, market share, and so on.Browse Complete Report At:The global Door Warning Systems market report is a helpful source which assists manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, customers, and individuals and investors who have interest in this market.Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Door Warning Systems in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East & AfricaAbout Us:MRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client. While, expertise research specialist helps to provide strategic solution in specialists consulting. It consists of head such as, latest report, category, niche market and news. Reports published on the million of category like chemical, machinery and equipment, consumer goods, manufacturing and construction etc. Latest national, international, business News published under news portal.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,Tel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
2017 Global Aniline Printing Ink Market Report by Segment and Regional Opportunity

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In our aim to provide our erudite clients with the best research material with absolute in-depth information of the market, our new report on Global Aniline Printing Ink Market is confident in meeting their needs and expectations. The 2017 market research report on Global Aniline Printing Ink Market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the Global Aniline Printing Ink Market report is a noteworthy.Request a sample of this report @The Global Aniline Printing Ink Industry report provides key information about the industry, including invaluable facts and figures, expert opinions, and the latest developments across the globe. Not only does the report cover a holistic view of the industry from a global standpoint, but it also covers individual regions and their development. The Global Aniline Printing Ink Industry market report showcases the latest trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, supplies, capacity, production, profit, price, and competition. The key players covered in the report provide a detailed analysis of the competition and their developments in the Global Aniline Printing Ink Industry. Accurate forecasts and expert opinion from credible sources, and the recent R&D development in the industry is also a mainstay of the Aniline Printing Ink Market report.The report also focuses on the significance of industry chain analysis and all variables, both upstream and downstream. These include equipment and raw materials, client surveys, marketing channels, and industry trends and proposals. Other significant information covering consumption, key regions and distributors, and raw material suppliers are also a covered in this report.In our aim to provide our erudite clients with the best research material with absolute in-depth information of the market, our new report on Global Aniline Printing Ink Market is confident in meeting their needs and expectations. The 2017 market research report on Global Aniline Printing Ink Market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the Global Aniline Printing Ink Market report is a noteworthy.Request a sample of this report @The Global Aniline Printing Ink Industry report provides key information about the industry, including invaluable facts and figures, expert opinions, and the latest developments across the globe. Not only does the report cover a holistic view of the industry from a global standpoint, but it also covers individual regions and their development. The Global Aniline Printing Ink Industry market report showcases the latest trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, supplies, capacity, production, profit, price, and competition. The key players covered in the report provide a detailed analysis of the competition and their developments in the Global Aniline Printing Ink Industry. Accurate forecasts and expert opinion from credible sources, and the recent R&D development in the industry is also a mainstay of the Aniline Printing Ink Market report.The report also focuses on the significance of industry chain analysis and all variables, both upstream and downstream. These include equipment and raw materials, client surveys, marketing channels, and industry trends and proposals. Other significant information covering consumption, key regions and distributors, and raw material suppliers are also a covered in this report.In our aim to provide our erudite clients with the best research material with absolute in-depth information of the market, our new report on Global Aniline Printing Ink Market is confident in meeting their needs and expectations. The 2017 market research report on Global Aniline Printing Ink Market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the Global Aniline Printing Ink Market report is a noteworthy.!!br0ken!!Browse the complete report @Finally, the Aniline Printing Ink Market report ends with a detailed SWOT analysis of the market, investment feasibility and returns, and development trends and forecasts. As with every report on Orbis Research, the Aniline Printing Ink Industry is the holy grail of information which serious knowledge seekers can benefit from. The report which is the result of ultimate dedication of pedigree professionals has a wealth of information which can benefit anyone, irrespective of their commercial or academic interest.Major Points from Tables of Content:Chapter One: Aniline Printing Ink Market OverviewChapter Two: Global Aniline Printing Ink Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter Three: Global Aniline Printing Ink Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)Chapter Four: Global Aniline Printing Ink Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)Chapter Five: Global Aniline Printing Ink Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter Six: Global Aniline Printing Ink Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter Seven: Global Aniline Printing Ink Manufacturers Profiles/AnalysisChapter Eight: Aniline Printing Ink Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter Nine: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter Ten: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter Eleven: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter Twelve: Global Aniline Printing Ink Market Forecast (2017-2022)Chapter Thirteen: Research Findings and ConclusionChapter Fourteen: AppendixBuy a report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com
Turkish tourism revenue reached $3.4 billion in the first quarter of the year with a 17.1% year-on-year decrease, amid the continuing decline in the number of foreign arrivals, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TUIK).

According to TUIK, while some 71.8% of this income, excluding GSM roaming and marina service expenditures, was obtained from foreign visitors, the remaining 28.2% were obtained from Turks residing abroad.

The number of foreign arrivals to Turkey fell to 3.8 million in the first three months of the year with a 6.4% decrease compared with the same period of 2016, according to the data from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry announced.

About 1.6 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in March, with a 4% year-on-year decrease.

While the number of arrivals from Europe continued to decline in March, there was a significant increase in the number of arrivals from Russia in March, data showed.

A total of 565,643 people from European countries visited Turkey in March, with an almost 25% year-on-year decrease.

In the same month, the number of arrivals from Russia to Turkey showed a 145% year-on-year increase, hitting 58,654.

Most tourists arriving in Turkey were from Iran, Georgia, Bulgaria, Germany and Russia in March.

In the first three months of the year, 1.4 million Europeans visited Turkey with a 23% year-on-year increase.

In the same period, 138,039 Russians visited Turkey with a 109% year-on-year increase.

Number of Turkish citizens visited abroad increased by 4%

In this quarter number of Turkish citizens visited abroad increased by 4% compared to same quarter of previous year and reached to 1 million 897 thousand 554. Average expenditure was $ 451 per capita.

Tourism income and expenditure, I. Quarter: January-March, 2017
Global Grain and Cereal Crop Protection Market 2016-2020 - Features Key Vendors ( BASF, Bayer CropScience, FMC, Dow AgroSciences, Syngenta )

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Albany, NY, May 02, 2017: Soil erosion and land pollution are also reducing the size of arable land per person. This forces farmers to increase the crop yield from limited available land. This, in turn, increases the demand for crop protection chemicals, which helps enhance the yield and quality of crops. Pesticides are used to control pests that feed on crops and also helps regain the lost nutrients from the soil. Currently, the loss of production yield in crops such as wheat, maize, and corn due to pests is 30%-40% annually.Crop protection products save 25% of all global staple crop from being lost due to insects, weeds, and diseases. By adopting crop protection products, the total crop yield will increase, and the number of people at the risk of hunger will reduce by more than 90 million by 2050.The global grain and cereal crop protection chemicals market to grow at a CAGR of 5.71% during the period 2016-2020. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global grain and cereal crop protection chemicals market for 2016-2020.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- Europe- ROWGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Technavio's report, Global Grain and Cereal Crop Protection Chemicals Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- BASF- Bayer CropScience- FMC- Dow AgroSciences- SyngentaOther prominent vendors- Agrium- Monsanto- Sinochem Group- Sapec Group- YaraMarket driver- Revolutionary changes in farming practices- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Increase in demand for organic farming- For a full, detailed list, view our reportEnquiry at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Decorated Apparel Global Market - By Printing Technique, By Product Type, By Region, By Country: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts From 2016 - 2021

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ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on "Decorated Apparel Global Market - By Printing Technique, By Product Type, By Region, By Country: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts From 2016 - 2021".A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of global decorated apparel market on the basis of by Technique (Embroidery, Scree Printing, Dye Sublimation, Digital Printing,Heat Transfer, Direct to Garment (DTG) and Others, By Product Type (Womenswear, Menswear and Others), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, ROW) and By Country (US, Canada, U.K., Germany, China, India, Japan, Australia, Brazil).Global Decorated Apparel Market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 10.92% during 2016  2021. The strong growth in decorated apparel market is driven by increasing population, rise in per capita disposable consumer income, and growing demand for customized or personalized apparel.Embroidery Technique hold the major percentage share in the total decorated apparel market. Among the regions, Asia-Pacific region holds the largest market share mainly due to high population, increasing disposable income, increasing demand for customized and personalized apparel. Decorated apparel industries demanding more energy efficient and technologically advanced printwear equipment. However, North America is expected to grow at a faster pace during forecasted period. According to Azoth Analytics research report, "" Global Decorated Apparel Market  By Printing Technique, By Product Type, By Region, By Country: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021)"", Global Decorated Apparel Market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of over ~10.92% during 2016 - 2021.Make an Enquiry of this report @Scope of the ReportThe report provides coverage by Technique, Product Type and Region:By TechniqueEmbroideryScreen PrintingDye SublimationDigital PrintingHeat TransferDirect to Garment (DTG)OthersBy Product TypeWomenswearMenswearOthersBy RegionEuropeNorth AmericaAsia-PacificRest of the World (RoW)By CountryUSCanadaU.K.GermanyChinaIndiaJapanAustraliaBrazilCustomization of the ReportThe report could be customized according to the clients specific research requirements. No additional cost will be required to pay for limited additional research.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Growing Focus On Global Baby Care and Mother Care Products Market - Analysis By Product, By Region, By Country: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts 2016 - 2021

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ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on "Growing Focus On Global Baby Care and Mother Care Products Market - Analysis By Product, By Region, By Country: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts 2016 - 2021".Rising infant population among the developing countries along with the growing focus on e-commerce has led to the growth of Baby and Mother Care market.Market for Baby and Mother Care products is growing steadily on account of the rising infant population in developing economies such as India and China. Rampant urbanization in these regions has also led to rise in the number of nuclear families with both parents in the work force. As a result, there is increase in the per capita expenditure on mother as well as child care.Among the segments, market is expected to be driven by Nursing Bottles and Nipples on account of growing infant population. The Breast Pumps segment is expected to perform particularly well in the forecast period, owing to the increase in the working women population.While developed regions will continue to dominate the market in terms of revenue, emerging nations are expected to respond to the market optimistically due to higher birth rate in these regions.Global Baby and Mother Care Market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6.52% during 2016  2021F, on account of rising penetration of e-commerce as well as increasing foray of innovative products.North America region remains the major market among all the regions. In the forecast period, APAC region will witness strong growth driven by the countries such as India and China.According to Azoth Analytics research report, Global Baby Care and Mother Care Products Market  Analysis By Product, By Region, By Country: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021), Global Baby and Mother Care market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.52% during 2016 - 2021. On the basis of market segment, Global Baby and Mother Care Market has been segmented on (By Products: Nursing Bottles and Nipples, Soothers and Teethers, Breast Pumps, Breast Pads; By Region-Americas, Europe, APAC, and ROW; By Country: U.S., Canada, France, Germany, China, India)Make an Enquiry of this report @Scope of the ReportReport Highlights:Primary Research: Interviews conducted with key management people to gain quality responses and deeper insights.Secondary Research: Data and insights from industry associations, annual reports, company presentations, premium journals and internal database.Actual Period: Historical and current market sizing (2011-2015)Forecast Period: Projected market sizing (2016E-2021F)Companies Covered: Pigeon Corporation, Munchkin Inc, Medela AG ,Ameda AG, Philips: Avents Holdings Limited,Handi-Craft Co.Strategic RecommendationsThe report provides Segmentation by ProductsNursing Bottles and NipplesSoothers and TeethersBreast PumpsBreast PadsThe report provides coverage by RegionAmericasEuropeAsia PacificROWThe report provides coverage by CountryUSACanadaFranceGermanyIndiaChinaCustomization of the ReportThe report could be customized according to the clients specific research requirements. No additional cost will be required to pay for limited additional research.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Fixed Broadband Market In Australia - Insights, Statistics and Analyses

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Fixed Broadband Market In Australia - Insights, Statistics and Analyses" to its huge collection of research reports.Growth in the Australian fixed broadband market has slowed in line with higher penetration rates. Within the market there is a dynamic shift among customers to fibre networks, as this infrastructure is being built out by nbn (NBN Co), the company responsible for the national broadband deployment. While fibre has become by far the fastest growing sector, and DSL is beginning to slide as customers are migrated to the NBN, there is continuing solid growth in the cable broadband sector. This will be supported in coming years when nbn begins to offer commercial services based on the DOCSIS3.1 standard from mid-2017.Although progress is improving, the fact that the NBN has been a tool for political brinkmanship over the years has cost the country dearly in time and wasted opportunities. Australia ranks relatively low in the global rankings for fixed-line broadband speeds, and during 2015 it fell in a number of tables covering these metrics. Rather than rolling out a first class infrastructure throughout the country, based on FttP, a second rate multi-technology mix has been adopted which incorporates copper infrastructure and assigns fibre to a minority of connections. By contrast, most developed countries have far further advanced their fibre projects, and are fast-tracking infrastructure developments to keep pace with customer demand for high-end IP-delivered services as well as to develop their international competitiveness and digital economies.The deployment of FttP in greenfield estates is a fast-growing industry, supported by an updated regulatory regime and pricing models. By early June 2016 there were 268,290 greenfield sites passed, of which 162,670 were activated, as well as 1.481 million brownfield sites serviceable, of which 723,440 were activated. As a measure of the speed of deployment reached (compared to the doldrums of 2011), some 31,690 additional lots or premises were passed or covered by the NBN during the last week of May 2016, of which about 25,980 were in brownfield areas and 2,750 in greenfield sites.The multi-technology NBN has left room for further development in the DSL and cable sectors, both of which are benefiting from the deployment of new technologies. nbn has trialled G.fast technology and expects to provide services based on this upgrade during 2017. HFC is also gaining a new lease of life, with nbn also preparing to trial DOCSIS3.1 technology with a view to commercialising services by mid-2017.Make an Enquiry of this report @As well as these technological developments, consolidation within the broadband market will provide greater reach and scale for operators in coming years.Table of Contents1. General overview and market insights1.1 Market developments1.1.1 Broadband statistics1.1.2 Forecasts - broadband subscribers - 2016; 2018; 20211.1.3 Market share by platform1.2 Access revenues1.2.1 Statistical overview1.3 Surveys and statistics1.3.1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Survey - update December 20151.3.2 Regional improvements1.3.3 Statistical information by technology1.3.4 Broadband speeds1.3.5 Broadband traffic1.4 ISP market overview1.4.1 The market going forward1.4.2 Data limiting1.4.3 ISP market statistics2. Statistical overview of the DSL Market2.1 Brief overview of the NBN2.2 Regulatory environment - analysis2.2.1 The impact of fibre optic networks on digital subscriber line (DSL) regulation2.2.2 Unbundling of the local loop (ULL) and Bitsream Access2.2.3 Wholesale DSL pricing2.3 DSL infrastructure2.3.1 Overview2.3.2 Tool for competitors2.3.3 DSLAM infrastructure2.3.4 Street cabinet IP DSLAM2 upgrades (Top Hat)2.3.5 FttN and VDSL2.3.6 G-fast developments2.4 Brief overview of broadband providers market2.4.1 Market consolidation2.4.2 The shrinking number of ISPs2.4.3 Market share statisticsTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Silica Flour Market to grow at over 7% between 2016 and 2024.

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The global research report Silica Flour Market Size By Application (Sodium Silicate, Fiberglass, Cultured Marble, Additive, Reinforcing Filler, Foundry Work, Ceramic Frits & Glaze, Oilwell Cements, Glass & Clay Production), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, GCC), Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024 by Global Market Insights, Inc. says Silica Flour market size is poised to surpass USD 650 million by 2024.Silica flour gets consumed in fiberglass production and is widely used in renovation & construction industry. Fiberglass is widely used in construction sector owing to its better insulation properties as compared to other substitutes. Fiberglass has applications in transportation and construction industries for security and aesthetic purpose. Expanding automotive and construction industries owing to a surge in the global population are likely to propel the product market over forecast period.Request for a sample of this research report @It is used in plastics and mortar as a filler to improve its quality and reduce the tar required for mold filling. It acts as a coarse material in cleansers, skin care products, toothpaste, and paints. It also acts as a grout in some pharmaceutical products. Granulation of silica sand is done into a fine powder and is used in manufacturing the product. It has application in creation of tile, porcelain, earth, and glass. Rapid urbanization along with industrialization is expected to enhance the product market.The next preliminary factor that drives silica flour market consumption is the surge in glass demand. Glass market shall witness a potential growth due to expansion of construction industry. Climatic variations and improved standard of living have created innovative glass designs as per the consumer requirements. Increasing residential construction and commercial projects shall drive the product market. Increasing awareness regarding glass applications in commercial enterprises and packaging industry shall bolster the product market.Silica flour became popular in cement and oil well applications and will contribute considerably to their markets in few years. It causes health hazards on continuous exposure. The global regulatory bodies have noted these consequences; hence, silica flour manufacturers changed regulations to maintain a safe work environment. This can lead to reduced profit margins and can hamper the product market in forecast period.Browse key industry insights spread across 129 pages with 103 market data tables & 11 figures & charts from this 2017 report Silica Flour Market in detail along with the table of contents:Fiberglass is the most prominent silica flour market application contributing to over 25%. Nowadays, fiberglass is applied to buildings considering the environmental regulations. Fiberglass maintains the building temperature by reducing heat exchange between the interior of the building and its surroundings. Vehicles use fiberglass to protect it from exterior surroundings and maintain a desirable temperature and privacy in the vehicle.Sodium silicate contributes as another promising silica flour market application. It is better than many other alkaline salts in chemical and physical properties. It is affordable and is therefore used in many applications. It is majorly used as detergents, binders, anticorrosive, defocculates, zeolites, adhesives, cement, coagulant aids, and catalyst bases in industries.Sodium silicate solves a wide range of problems in industrial processes if used economically and efficiently. Silica flour market shall witness growth in coming years owing to these flourishing sectors. Sodium silicate application shall witness gains of over 6% in revenue generation by 2024.Glass has numerous applications in many products of daily use. Glass has applications in renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. It is widely used in medical technology, housing, packaging, tableware, electronics appliances, and biotechnology. Silica flour market shall flourish due to mounting glass usage in wide range of applications worldwide. Glass application had a market size of more than USD 45 million in 2015.Key silica flour market participants include Sil Industrial Minerals, Inc. FINETON Industrial Minerals Ltd., AGSCO Corp., SCR-Sibelco N.V, Hoben International Limited, Adwan Chemical Industries Ltd., Premier Silica LLC, Opta Minerals Inc, Saudi Emirates Pulverization Industries Co., U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Silica flour market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry, with estimates and forecast in terms of volume in kilo tons & revenue in USD million from 2016 to 2024, for the segments:Silica Flour Market by Application Sodium silicate Fiberglass Cultured marble Additives Reinforcing filler Foundry work Ceramic frits & glaze Oilwell cements Glass & clay production OthersThe above information is provided on a regional and country basis for the following: North Americao U.S.o Canada Europeo Germanyo UKo Franceo Spaino Italy Asia Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano Australiao Indonesiao Malaysia Latin Americao Brazilo Mexico MEAo South Africao GCCBrowse Related Reports: Kaolin Market Size By Application (Paper, Ceramics, Paints & Adhesives, Fiberglass, Rubber, Plastics, Cement), Metakaolin Market Size By Application (Concrete, Mortar), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, GCC) Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024About Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
Automotive Relay Market 2017- Omron, TE Connectivity, Panasonic, HELLALS, American Zettler, Fujitsu

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Apex Research, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Automotive Relay Market across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of Automotive Relay Market from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global Automotive Relay industry, and estimates the future trend of Automotive Relay market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares Automotive Relay Market performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportTE ConnectivityOmronPanasonicHELLALSAmerican ZettlerFujitsuGrunerNECBader GmbHXiamen Hongfa ElectroacousticShanghai Hugong Auto-ElectricGuizhou Tianyi Electrical AppliancesSong Chuan GroupDongguan Sanyou Electrical AppliancesNingbo Forward RelaySongle RelayNingbo HuikeQunli ElectricThe market research report explores the Automotive Relay market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of Automotive Relay Market. The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Automotive Relay market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Automotive Relay. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Automotive Relay market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Automotive Relay is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Automotive Relay market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Automotive Relay market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The worldwide Automotive Relay market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Automotive Relay production volume, data pertaining to demand and Automotive Relay supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Automotive Relay along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Automotive Relay across the world.About UsWe provide global enterprises and businesses across different industry verticals comprehensive market research services from off-the-shelf research reports to customized research conducted by our highly experienced industry analysts.Frank ValadezBusiness Development HeadEmail id - sales@apexresearch.bizWebsite -
France Metal Packaging Market Latest Development, Trends and Statistics

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The France Metal Packaging Market Material Segment Outlook (2016-2022) statistical report, published by Market Research Future contains succinct information on France metal packaging market, segmented on the basis of materials (steel and aluminium). Rise in active consumer response, the changing customer needs and demands and increase in consumption of beverages, are the major drivers of France metal packaging market. However, extreme competition and environmental issues are certain restraints that are projected to hinder the growth of this market. The report provides information on France global metal packaging market and forecast from 2016 to 2022.Make an enquiry before buying this Report @Table of Contents Infographic SummaryFrance Metal Packaging market size, by material, 2016-2022, (in USD Million) Introduction Global Market DataList of TablesFRANCE Metal Packaging MARKET: by material, 2014-2022 (USD Million)Browse Report Details @At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market Will hit at a CAGR 3% from 2016  2027

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Market SegmentationThe Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market can be segmented on the basis of types, treatment, and applications.Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market by Types: Primary and SecondaryGlobal Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market by Treatment methods: General Diagnosis Non-hormonal medical treatmento Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)o Over-the-counter (OTC) medications Hormonal medical treatmento Combined oral contraceptiveo Progestin regimenso Levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LN-IUS) Surgical TreatmentGlobal Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market by Applications: Pharmaceuticals Hospitals ClinicsMarket Highlights:Globally, more than 50% of post pubescent menstruating women are affected by dysmenorrhea, with 1012% of them having severe dysmenorrhea with incapacitation for 13 days each month. Because young women constitute a significant percentage of the adult work force in the US, nearby 600 million working hours or 2 billion dollars are lost annually because of incapacitating dysmenorrhea if adequate relief is not provided. Women who continue to work or to attend classes have been shown to have lower work output or scores during their dysmenorrhea.Dysmenorrhea is characterized as recurrent pelvic pain associated with menstruation. Dysmenorrhea is the most well-known gynecologic dissension in adolescents, happening in 60-93% of ladies in this demographic congregation. It is more predominant amid late youthfulness, with the start of ovulatory cycles a few years after the beginning of menstruation. Crest occurrence happens amid the late adolescent years and mid-20s.Request a Sample Report @Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market Major Players:Some of the major players of Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market are as follows: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Merck, Inc. Bayer Schering Pharma AG Vanita Therapeutics, Alvogen, Pfizer, Inc. Roche Laboratories Taj Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. Sanofi Terramedic, Inc.Latest Trends in Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market: Novartis receives three FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designations in 2016 for Ilaris to treat rare types of Periodic Fever Syndromes. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an established method for pain relief in Dysmenorrhea, which does not involve the use of medication.Browse Report Details @It is for the most part ordered into two general classes: Primary Dysmenorrhea alludes: to menstrual pain without any fundamental pelvic pathology. Secondary Dysmenorrhea alludes: to menstrual pain connected with a predefined organic etiology.Symptoms of Dysmenorrhea include cramping pain in the midline in the suprapubic area, and may have associated backache, leg pains, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness and headache.Market ApplicationThe Dysmenorrhea is been treated by various methods such as with the help of medicines, with the help of high level treatment and in some severe cases surgeries is been preferred. Presently Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device is been used for the treatment of Dysmenorrhea.Request Table of Contents for this Report @Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market Regional Analysis:The regional analysis includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and rest of the world. The Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 3% during the forecasted period due to high usage of low price OTC (over-the-counter) and off-label treatment.North America:The North America is dominating the Dysmenorrhea market followed by Europe due the existence of a large number of Dysmenorrhea patients in these regions. North America and European Dysmenorrhea market is driven by high healthcare spending, improved healthcare infrastructure and high awareness about the disease and high availability of its treatments.Asia-Pacific:Asia-Pacific is expected to have rapid growth in Dysmenorrhea market due to increase in purchasing power, changing healthcare infrastructure and increased awareness for clinical facilities in the regions such as India, China, Japan and others.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Maternal Health Market Continues to Witness Growth & Expansion Forecast to 2027

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Market SegmentationThe Maternal Health market can be segmented on the basis of types and applicationsGlobal Maternal Health Market by Types: Prenatal Child Birth PostpartumGlobal Maternal Health Market by Applications: Hospitals Clinics PharmaceuticalsMarket Highlights:As per the statistics provided by WHO in 2015, around 3, 03,000 women died because of the complications they had faced during the childbirth or pregnancy. Most of these deaths can be avoided as the necessary medical interventions exist and are well known. The key obstacle is pregnant women's lack of access to quality care before, during and after childbirth. About 20 million of women are estimated to experience pregnancy-related illness after childbirth.World Trade Organization (WHO) is supporting those countries who are delivering integrated, evidence-based and cost-effective care for mothers and babies during pregnancy, and childbirth. Investing in health systems  especially in training midwives and in making emergency obstetric care available round-the-clock  is key to reducing maternal mortality.Request a Sample Report @Global Maternal Health Market Major Players:Some of the major players in the global Maternal Health market include Ansell limited, Agile Therapeutics Church & Dwight Co CellCura ASA Fuji Latex Co Okamoto industries Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc. SanofiBrowse Report Details @Global Maternal Health: Market ApplicationIn the Maternal Health Market, Oxytocin and misoprostol are been used to prevent and treat PPH, and magnesium sulfate prevents and treats pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. There are various drugs and devices such as diaphragm, Oral Contraceptives, IUD, among others are available which are used to cure maternity issues occurred during pregnancy period in women.Global Maternal Health: Market growth InfluencerThe major growth drivers for Maternal Health market are: rising infertility rates due to advancing maternal age among older women, nutritional deficiencies, lifestyle stress and exposure to toxic environmental agents in young women. Delayed parenthood decisions, increased patient awareness about newer contraceptive devices, growing affluence and adoption of expensive healthcare services are also driving the growth of Maternal Health market.Request Table of Contents for this Report @Global Maternal Health Market Regional Analysis:The regional analysis of Maternal Health Market includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and rest of the world. The Maternal Health Market is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 7% during the forecasted period.Middle East & Africa:The Middle East & Africa is dominating the Maternal Health Market followed by Asia and Europe. About half of the 10 million women who give birth every year in the Middle East & Africa experience some kind of complication with more than 1 million of them suffering from serious injuries that could lead to long term illness.Asia-Pacific:Asia-Pacific is expected to have rapid growth in Maternity market during forecasted period. India among other countries such as China, Japan and others shows good opportunity for Maternal Health Market. According to UNICEF, Indias maternal mortality rate reduced from 212 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007 to 178 deaths in 2012. The advance is largely due to key government interventions such as the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) scheme which encompasses free maternity services for women and children, a nationwide scale-up of emergency referral systems and maternal death audits, and improvements in the governance and management of health services at all levels.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Portable Charger Market 2017  Industry Size, Share, Top 10 Countries, Trends, and Analysis to 2021

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Portable Charger Market Research Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.Every key element that has happened so far in the Portable Charger has been represented in this widely inclusive report. A key portion of these market elements incorporate the key player profiles and the markets general competitive scene, as players are known to have whats coming to them of impact over it. Different courses of the Portable Charger announced in the report incorporate drivers, restrictions, and key open doors that influence a larger part of the players in it. To totally cover the competitive scene of the Portable Charger, a SWOT examination is jotted down for all players, new and old. This takes into account a clearer projection for the Portable Charger over the coming years. Extra analyses incorporated the player profiles are their budgetary structures and current vital production arrangements for all the key players in the market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Portable Charger is additionally investigated on the premise of its perfunctory chain, an entry that utilizes research and information in view of the utilization and production abilities introduced into the market currently. This segment likewise fuses the product depictions and cost structures of the Portable Charger. The report also offers a point by point investigation inside the market to determine its trademark qualities as far as upstream and downstream requests for raw materials are concerned, and in addition the import, and cost drifts that affect them.The report additionally gives the aftereffects of an exceptionally itemized review on the Portable Charger in view of its provincial divisions. For each key district expressed, the client is given statistical data points on the player pool and in addition request, alongside expectations for the same. This can be vital for regional players attempting to extend their points of view in the market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsGlobal Portable Charger Market Research Report 20171 Portable Charger Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Portable Charger1.2 Portable Charger Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Portable Charger by Type in 20151.2.2 With Single Solar Plate1.2.3 With Led Light1.2.4 With Voltage Adjustable1.3 Portable Charger Segment by Application1.3.1 Portable Charger Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Mobile Phones1.3.3 Digital Cameras1.3.4 MP3 & MP41.3.5 Automotives1.3.6 Others1.4 Portable Charger Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Portable Charger (2012-2022)2 Global Portable Charger Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Portable Charger Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Portable Charger Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Portable Charger Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Portable Charger Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Portable Charger Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Portable Charger Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Portable Charger Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Portable Charger Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Portable Charger Production by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Portable Charger Production Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Portable Charger Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Korea Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 Taiwan Portable Charger Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Portable Charger Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2012-2017)4.1 Global Portable Charger Consumption by Regions (2012-2017)4.2 North America Portable Charger Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Portable Charger Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Portable Charger Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Portable Charger Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Korea Portable Charger Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 Taiwan Portable Charger Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)Read More @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States
Battlefield exchanges and covert assassinations herald an expanding war between the Afghan Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In recent weeks, the two sides have engaged in skirmishes in eastern and northern Afghanistan while IS is accused of orchestrating the killings of several pro-Taliban clerics in northwestern Pakistan.

In the latest round of fighting, IS claimed to have captured a remote district in eastern Afghanistan after defeating rival Taliban fighters.

A statement by the terrorist group now controlling parts of Syria and Iraq said IS fighters have overrun the mountainous Chaparhar district in Afghanistans eastern Nangarhar Province.

An Arabic-language statement by the IS Amaq news agency on May 1 pointedly labels the Taliban as apostates and claims to have overrun Chaparhar after killing or injuring 10 Taliban fighters and capturing three more.

Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for Nangarhars governor, confirmed the clashes. He said 21 Taliban fighters and eight IS militants were killed in the April 30 clashes.

The clashes come days after the Afghan officials said scores of fighters were killed in battles between the Taliban and IS in the northern province of Jawzjan.

On April 26, provincial spokesman Mohammad Reza Ghafoori said 76 Taliban and 15 IS militants were killed in the fighting that broke out a day earlier.

The Taliban, usually eager to claim battlefield successes, are surprisingly silent over the recent clashes. It was not possible to independently verify IS and Afghan government claims about fighting in remote Afghan regions.

A more sinister struggle between the two rival jihadist organizations appears to be under way in neighboring Pakistan.

On April 29, the Taliban confirmed that one of their leaders, Maulvi Daud, was killed on April 27 in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistans northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The confirmation followed an IS claim on April 28 saying the group had assassinated a Taliban leader in Peshawar a day earlier.

Earlier in April, the Pakistan Express Tribune daily reported that police in Peshawar suspected IS to be behind the assassination of three pro-Taliban clerics in the city.

According to the newspaper, unknown assassins first killed an Afghan cleric, Maulana Bahar Sahibzada, on April 14. A few days later, another Afghan cleric, Mullah Jalil, was killed in the Shamshato refugee camp near Peshawar on April 19. The next day, a Pakistani cleric, Mufti Abdul Qayum, was gunned down at a Peshawar mosque.

The Afghan Taliban are widely seen to be operating from sanctuaries and safe havens in Pakistan, where many of its fighters are recruited from pro-Taliban religious schools.

The two leading Sunni jihadist organizations have been at each others throats since the emergence of IS in Afghanistan in 2015.

Months after IS announced its Khorasan Province branch, a historical region comprising todays Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansur issued a warning for IS leader Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi.

"[We] will be forced to react to defend our achievements," Mansur wrote to Baghdadi in an open letter issued in June 2015.

"In light of religious sanctions, you should help your brothers in the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] to remain united and strong, Mansur wrote. Refrain from taking steps from afar that result in disappointing the mujahedin [Taliban] leaders, religious scholars, and thousands of pious fighters, which will prompt them to lose their love and sincerity for you."

Their rivalry is magnified by the fact that the Taliban and IS adhere to different schools of Islams Sunni denomination.

IS follows Takfiri-Salafism, while the Taliban adhere to Deobandism, which is a puritanical from of Hanafi Sunni Islam practiced in South Asia.

-- With reporting by AP and Reuters
Automotive Wheel Hub Market: Trends and Forecast by 2025

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Wheels are the most important part of a vehicle for smooth and safe transportation. The hub is located in the center of a wheel that connects the axle to the wheel itself. The automobile is able to execute its function depending on the quality of its wheels.Rising demand of automobiles are estimated to increase the demand for automotive wheel hub in the market. The expansion of the automotive industry is further anticipated to increase the demand for automotive wheel hubs in the market. Rising average age of vehicles, globally, is likely to increase the demand for automotive wheels in the automotive aftermarkets. Currently, vehicle penetration per 1,000 population is very low in emerging countries such as China and India.Vehicle penetration per 1,000 population in both China and India are in double digits. Rising vehicle penetration in emerging economies including China, India, Russia and South Africa is estimated to increase the demand for automotive wheel hubs in the market. A major restraint faced by the automotive wheel hub market is the high price of wheels in aftermarkets. A major opportunity in the automotive wheel hub market is the increasing focus of automotive firms such as Volvo, Tesla, BMW AG to produce electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles.Obtain Report Details @This is anticipated to create a considerable demand for automotive wheel hubs in the market. Both Volvo and BMW plan to sell 1 million electric vehicles by 2025 and 2017 respectively. Furthermore the advent of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) is likely to generate requirement of high quality wheels and hubs.In terms of materials the global automotive wheel hub market can be segmented into aluminium wheels, steel wheels and alloy wheels. The market when segmented on the basis of wheel type are tube wheels and tubeless wheels. In terms of application, the market can be segmented into original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarkets.In terms of end-users the market can be segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, off-road vehicles and two wheelers. Steel wheel hub segment has a major share in the automotive wheel hub market. Moreover tube wheels segment commands a major share as compared to tubeless wheel segment in the market, however the share of tubeless wheels is rising. Passenger vehicles are a prominent segment in the end-user category.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @In terms of geography the market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Asia Pacific is a significant market for automotive wheel hub. China is a prominent market for automotive wheel hub in Asia Pacific. In Asia Pacific China recorded significant y-o-y growth in vehicle sales in 2016. India and Japan are other major automotive wheel hub markets in the region.The automotive wheel hub market in India is estimated to expand as India follows China in terms of y-o-y growth in vehicles sales. The automotive wheel hub market in Japan is anticipated to contract due to decrease in vehicles sales in the region. North America follows Asia Pacific in terms of market size in the automotive wheel hub market. The U.S is a prominent market for automotive wheel hub market in North America followed by Canada and Mexico. Europe follows North America in terms of market size in the global automotive wheel hub market. Germany is a significant market for automotive wheel hub in Europe. The other major automotive wheel hub markets are the U.K, France, Italy, and Spain. Brazil is an important automotive wheel hub market in Latin America, however the market is likely to contract due to recession in Brazil. The recession is estimated to be over by the end of 2017.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automotive Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensors Market: Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025

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Automotive mass air flow (MAF) sensors are one of the chief components of the electronic fuel injection system in an automobile. The MAF sensor is installed between the intake manifold and air filter of the car engine. The main function of the MAF sensor is to measure the mass air flow or the amount of air that enters an internal combustion engine. Information related to mass air flow in an engine is necessary for the engine control unit for balancing and delivering the correct fuel mass to the engine. In the automobile applications, air density varies with respect to the use of forced induction, ambient temperature and altitude.Therefore, mass air flow sensors are more appropriate in automotive applications in comparison to volumetric flow sensors for the purpose of determining the quantity of air intake in each cylinder. Mass air flow sensors do not have any moving parts, unlike a vane air flow meter which uses a sprig loaded flop. MAF sensors make use of electrical current to measure airflow. In many cases, intake air temperature sensor and oxygen sensor is also installed along with the mass air flow sensor. When mass air flow sensor function in conjunction with an oxygen sensor, the air/fuel ratio of the engine can be accurately monitored and controlled.The global automotive mass air flow sensors market is being primarily driven by the benefits offered by these sensors including, improved engine performance, superior engine control, fast response time, high resistance and durability and low airflow restriction among others. Further, increasing vehicle production globally is strongly boosting the market growth of MAF sensors. However, common signs of problems associated with mass air flow sensors include running lean under load or rich at idle, rough stalls and decrease in fuel efficiency.Obtain Report Details @The global automotive mass air flow (MAF) sensors market can be segmented on the basis of types into hot wire and hot film. Despite being slightly different in design, both these types of MAF sensors measure the density and volume of entering the engine in order to calculate the amount of fuel required to maintain the proper fuel mixture. Hot-wire type of mass air flow sensors are most commonly used in the modern automobiles owing to the benefits associated with this type including, low airflow restriction, smaller overall packages, quick response to changes in airflow, low cost and no requirement for separate temperature and pressure sensors among others.Based on the design of MAF sensors, the market can be bifurcated into variable voltage output (analog) design and frequency output (digital) design. Both these designs work on the hot wire principle and their operation is similar. The outputs from both can be measured using a scanner or a dvom (digital volt/ohm) meter which can measure frequency. The global automotive mass air flow (MAF) sensors market can be further classified geographically into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Middle East and Africa. There is strong growth potential for the market in the emerging countries of Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing market for automotive intake manifolds during the forecast period, with China and Japan being the main contributors to the market in this region.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Some of the major players in the global automotive mass air flow (MAF) sensors market include Robert Bosch GmbH, Denso Corporation, Delphi Automotive PLC, Dorman, Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. and ACDelco among others. The key players in the global market are heavily investing in innovations and research and development activities to manufacture mass air flow sensors that ensure improved engine performance coupled with low levels of harmful emission from the automobile with maximum fuel efficiency.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automotive Engine Pulley Market: Evolving Technology, Trends and industry Analysis up to 2025

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An engine pulley is a basically a wheel that is mounted to the engine of a vehicle, mostly automobile, that drives or guides a belt. It is also known as a serpentine belt. The belt is a part of a system which powers the peripheral devices within an engine compartment including the power steering, fan of the vehicle and air conditioner. An engine pulley is frequently used in combination with a timing belt  which helps in the opening as well as closing of the engine's valves.The engine pulley system in a vehicle usually features many pulleys that perform diverse functionalities.One pulley may be in control of powering the air conditioning unit, whereas another pulley or a set of pulleys may take care of the engine timing. Certain types of pulleys, known as idler pulleys, are responsible for keeping tension on the belt and aids in guiding the belt accurately through the system. Generally idler pulleys are not connected to the peripheral devices, and they are adjusted in a number of directions to regulate the tension on the belt. Adjusting the tension of the pulley need to be done very carefully in order to prevent breakage and avert dismounting of the belt.The global automotive engine pulley market is principally driven by the growth in vehicle production owing to growing disposable income and rapid urbanization, especially in the developing nations. Furthermore, increasing demand for lightweight and efficient pulley systems that reduce the vehicle weight and improve vehicle performance for meeting rigorous government regulations including the CAFE standards are likely to increase the global automotive engine pulley market growth during the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @The global automotive engine pulley market can be segmented by type, type of vehicle, and geography. Automotive engine pulleys can be of two types - drive belt, and timing belt. The drive belt segment held a significant market share in the global automotive engine pulley market in 2016. Drive belts reduce engine load along with increasing fuel efficiency and available power. Moreover, these belts are easy to maintain and replace. These factors are likely to boost the segments growth thereby augmenting the overall growth of the automotive engine pulley market. Based on vehicle type the market can be divided into passenger car, light commercial vehicle, and heavy commercial vehicle. By volume, the passenger car segment is expected to hold a substantial share of the market, owing to the rising demand for high-quality pulleys with advanced load-carrying capacity.By geography, the global automotive engine pulley market can be segmented broadly into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle east and Africa. Asia pacific held a significant market share in the global market in 2016 owing to the rising production of vehicles in Japan, and China. Asia Pacific is followed by North America and Europe, in terms of market share. The U.S. held the majority of the market for automotive engine pulleys in the North American region trailed by Mexico and Canada. The demand for automotive engine pulleys in European region is likely to be high owing to the growing demand for technologically advanced automobiles in this region.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @The key players in the region are investing profoundly in research and development activities to introduce strong and durable automotive pulley systems that have reduced widths and a lengthier service life than the existing ones. For instance, some R&D activities are focusing on decreasing the breadth of the belt for incorporation of those in compact engines. The primary aim of this is to attain a reduction of width from 16 to 20 mmto 10 mm to 14 mm. Some of the major players in the global automotive engine pulley market include ContiTech, Phoenix Pulleys, Bearings & Belts, Clark Pulley Industries, Zhejiang Renchi Auto Parts Co.Ltd., Panjiva, Inc., KAVO B.V., and Kanemitsu Co. Ltd., among others.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automotive Cylinder Heads Market: Trends and Forecast by 2025

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An automotive cylinder head is a solid metal piece that is sealed in place with the head gasket and helps to cap and seal the end of the cylinder bore. The internal combustion engine is a crucial component in any kind of automobile and this IC engine can be divided into two parts, namely: the cylinder block and the cylinder head. The automotive cylinder head, commonly known as the head, is the end cover of the IC engine and is used against the piston, which compresses the contents of the cylinder.The cylinder head is installed or fitted above the cylinder block and this entire installation forms the internal combustion chamber, the joint of which is sealed by the head gasket. These cylinder heads are the key to controlling fuel deployment and the air flow in and out of the cylinders. Further, cylinder heads also hold valves and injectors and consists of more moving parts compared to any other part of the engine. The inside of the cylinder head is made of a number of passages, known as tracks or ports and the air mix passes along these to the inlet valves. There are other ports inside the automotive cylinder head which function as routes through which exhaust gases pass when leaving the engine block.Automotive cylinder heads are required to be robust, as they need to withstand very high temperatures and huge pressures, while retaining their form and shape to seal the cylinder block through the head gasket. The global automotive cylinder heads market is primarily driven by the organic growth of vehicle production globally owing to rapid urbanization and growing disposable income in the developing nations, Further, rising demand for lightweight and complex cylinder heads to reduce the vehicle weight and enhance engine performance for meeting stringent government regulations such as the CAFE Standards is expected to boost the global market growth during the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @The global automotive cylinder heads market can be segmented on the basis of types into flathead cylinder head, overhead valve head and overhead cam head. Flathead cylinder heads are generally found in older engine. Overhead valve head type of cylinder heads has been in extensive use from 1950s till now. This type of cylinder heads has the valves located within them instead of the flathead ones, where the valves are located in the block.The global market is also segmented based on material into cast iron, aluminum, and titanium. The design and the material used in the construction of automotive cylinder heads is a major factor of consideration as they help in building torque and horsepower. Cast iron is used widely for the production of cylinder heads by manufacturers, OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, as it offers lower cost of production and high durability. However, major automakers such as Ford are shifting towards aluminum for manufacturing cylinder heads, owing to their lightweight and ability to develop complex parts.The market can be classified on the basis of vehicle type into passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles. The global automotive cylinder heads market can be further classified geographically into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth rate during the forecast period, driven by the rapidly increasing automobile export rate from this region, growing demand for mid-segment vehicles and increasing automotive production in countries such as China, Japan and India.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Some of the major players in the global automotive cylinder heads market include ThyssenKrupp AG, Nemak, Linamar Corporation, Sandvik Coromant, All Head Services, Elringklinger AG, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Brodix and Federal-Mogul Corporation among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automobile Ignition System Market: Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025

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The automobile ignition switch in a car is connected between the car battery and ignition coil and transforms the low voltage into high voltage. The high voltage generates heat and ignites the air-fuel mixture in compression chamber. This helps the vehicle to move.Rising automobile demand across the world is anticipated to boost the demand for ignition system. The number of people purchasing automobile per 1,000 population is very low in emerging and developing economies. Rising automobile penetration is anticipated to increase demand for ignition system. Rising average life of vehicles means increased vehicle maintenance cost and subsequently increase in demand for ignition system.Rising population of middle income group in emerging and developed economies is anticipated to increase automobile demand and subsequently increase in demand of ignition system. Low fuel prices are anticipated to increase demand for automobiles and subsequently demand for ignition system will rise. Rising attention by emerging countries in automobile manufacturing is anticipated to increase demand for automobiles and subsequently demand for ignition system will rise. A major restraint faced by automobile ignition system market is stringent emission norms by governments around the world.Obtain Report Details @A major opportunity in automobile ignition system market is increasing acceptance of electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid vehicles (HV) across the world. Major automotive manufacturers such as Volvo and BMW plans to launch 1 million electric vehicles by 2025 and 2017 respectively.By ignition type the market is segmented into contact ignition, transistor ignition and electronic ignition. By engine type the market has been categorized into petro, diesel and others. By vehicle type the market is segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and off-road vehicles. The contact ignition system is the most common ignition system. In this system the current flowing in the ignition coil is cut off in the distributor to generate high voltage and ignition spark. In transistor ignition type the current is cut by transistor and it provides more stable current than contact ignition so better generation of spark plug. Electronic ignition is the latest ignition system where a microcontroller controls the total system.By geography the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Latin America. The U.S. is a prominent market in North America. Rising automobile production in Mexico is anticipated to increase demand for automobiles and subsequently demand for automobile ignition system will rise. Europe is a significant automobile ignition systems market.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Rising demand for automobiles in Germany and the U.K among others is expected to increase demand for automobile ignition system. Automobile sales are expected to slow in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece and France and is expected to lower the demand for automobile ignition systems market. Asia Pacific is the dominant automobile ignition system market. China had a significant vehicle sales growth y-o-y in 2016. India and Japan are major automobile ignition systems market in Asia Pacific. India followed China in vehicle sales growth y-o-y in 2016. India is the fifth largest automobile market in the world and is expected to be the third largest market by 2020 and automobile ignition system market is expected to grow. In Japan there was a decrease in vehicle sales growth y-o-y in 2016 and this is anticipated to contract the automobile ignition system market. In Brazil the decreasing vehicle sales is expected to lower the demand for automobile ignition system in the Latin American region. Automobile sales growth in Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Iran is anticipated to increase demand for automobile ignition system in the MEA region.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market - Industry Insights 2024 | Research Report

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Global Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market: OverviewFiber reinforced polymers (FRP) panels and sheets, also known as FRP composites, have a wide range of architectural applications. Early applications majorly included making marine products such as speed boats, sail boats, and wave runners. Characterized by the properties of corrosion resistance, impact resistance, and durability, FRP composites are finding myriad applications today. Owing to the amazing design flexibility that can be attained with FRP panels and sheets, they are being increasingly used for a wide spectrum of products ranging from making recreational equipment and high-rise buildings to components of commercial aircrafts.Browse Market Research Report @FRP composites are widely used in diverse end-use industries, including construction, automotive and transportation, recreational and marine, and aerospace. The market has evolved rapidly over the past few years with the expanding architectural applications that demand corrosive conditions, such as underground storage tanks. Rapid pace of urbanization has led to the soaring demand for composites in a large number of building and construction designs.The report offers in-depth insight into the current market scenario, key drivers and restraints, emerging trends and opportunities, and market share and size of key segments. Technological advances in composite engineering expected to influence the competitive dynamics are analyzed in the report. The research study evaluates the key factors shaping the demand for FRP composites in various end-use industries. Recent developments in various developing and developed regions and product innovations brought by leading manufacturers are highlighted in the report.Global Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe fiber reinforced polymers panels and sheets market is primarily driven by their wide ranging applications across diverse industry verticals, especially in architectural design and construction activities. The enormous design flexibility and high strength-to-weight ratios of FRP composites have bolstered their demand in various engineering designs. In particular, there is a spiraling demand for FRP composites in making turbines and aircraft bodies, fuelling the market growth in major regions. The ability of FRP composites to offer unique architectural features in complex facades and curvilinear shapes has made them increasingly popular in civil engineering applications for a variety of new constructions and remediation projects.The use of FRP composites in exterior cladding applications has significantly enhanced the durability and reduced the seismic loads earlier not possible with traditional wood, masonry, or metals. The emerging applications of FRP composites in designing high technology recreational products and medical applications are expected to unlock abundant growth opportunities for the market players.Global Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market: Regional OutlookNorth America is a prominent market for FRP panels and sheets. The impressive growth in the regional market is attributed to the increasing demand for FRP composites in the building and construction segment in various countries, particularly the U.S. A significant demand for FRP composites in the regional market comes from the architectural usage of FRP composites in activities related to reproduction or restoration of historic buildings. Advancement in fabrication processes and the use of advanced reinforcement materials have enlarged their structural and functional properties, propelling the North America market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Asia Pacific market is expected to witness a substantial demand for FRP panels and sheets in various end-use industries. The rapid pace of urbanization has led to the demand for composites in different residential and commercial remediation projects. Competitive pricing and the availability of cheap labor for manufacturing FRP panels and sheets in countries such as China and India have impelled companies to shift their production plants to these countries. This is expected to unlock exciting opportunities for the market players.Global Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market: Competitive LandscapeVarious FRP manufacturers use a variety of fillers and additives to achieve the required performance improvements of FRP composites, thus enhancing their performance. Major players operating in this market include Glasteel, Inc., Brianza Plastica S.p.A., Crane Composites Inc., U.S. Liner Company, Panolam Industries International Inc., LAMILUX Heinrich Strunz Group, Optiplan GmbH, and Polser Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics Inc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Polyurethane Adhesive Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size 2024

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An adhesive is a substance that holds materials together by surface attachment. It is used for the joining of two substrates. Adhesives are made up of raw materials such as fillers, softeners, tackifiers, cross-linking agents, and antioxidants. Acrylic, natural rubber, silicone, and polyurethane are the different types of adhesives depending upon the degree of their composition.Browse Market Research Report @Polyurethane adhesives offer flexible curing time at room and extreme temperature. This is the major advantage of polyurethane adhesives. They can be applied either manually or with the help of dispensing equipment. Polyurethane adhesives offer excellent bonding characteristics for surfaces such as ceramics, rubber, plastic, glass, and wood. Polyurethane adhesives are widely employed in applications where higher efficiency is required at lower operating cost. Fast curing time, excellent strength, good abrasion & chemical resistance, good optical clarity, and good strength & impact resistance are some of the key characteristics of polyurethane adhesives. These adhesives are employed in industries such as automobile, building & construction, packaging, aerospace, electrical & electronics, locomotives, and optical due to their versatility in operations. Based on technology, the polyurethane adhesive market can be segmented into solvent borne, reactive, dispersion, and hot melt. Solvent borne accounts for the dominant share of the polyurethane adhesive market, as these provide instant bonding with good adhesion characteristics. In terms of type, the market for polyurethane adhesive can be segmented into thermoplastic and thermoset. Thermoplastic polyurethane adhesives are comparatively expensive; however, these are widely used in structural and load bearing applications due to their properties such as adjustable sealing temperature, high tack, and ability to adhere to different surfaces such as metal, PVC, rubber, wood, and leather. Thus, the segment is expected to witness significant growth rate in the near future.Growth in the construction industry, proliferating use of adhesive in automotive applications to reduce the weight of vehicles, and rise in demand in emerging countries of Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa are driving the market for polyurethane adhesives. Increase in middle class population and accelerated rate of urbanization in developing countries such as India, China, and Brazil is also propelling the construction industry and hence the demand for polyurethane adhesive. The building & construction industry dominates the polyurethane adhesive market. Expansion in the building & construction industry in countries such as the U.S., China, Germany, India, Japan, and South Korea is expected to boost the demand for polyurethane adhesives in the next few years. Polyurethane adhesives are increasingly used in place of traditional fasteners for joining and sealing applications. The need to reduce the overall weight of vehicles in order to achieve better fuel efficiency and curb exhaust emission is also propelling the demand for polyurethane adhesives in countries such as India, China, Brazil, and Mexico. Footwear is also a lucrative segment of the polyurethane adhesive market, led by the rising demand for innovative footwear design, particularly in countries in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Increase in usage of polyurethane adhesive in various end-user industries is likely to drive the demand for these adhesives; however, fluctuation in prices of crude oil, which is a basic raw material, may hamper market growth in the near future.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Major players operating in the polyurethane adhesive market are 3M, BASF AG, Avery Dennison Corporation, Arkema S.A., Ashland Inc., H.B. Fuller, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Huntsman Corporation, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Scott Bader Company Ltd., Sika AG, and The Dow Chemical Company.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Intumescent Coatings Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share 2024

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Global Intumescent Coatings Market: OverviewThe rising demand from end-use industries such as construction and oil and gas is anticipated to boost the global intumescent coatings market. The market will also gain impetus from the demand generated by the automotive industry. The automotive industry is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the next few years following the launch of new vehicle models with in-built advanced safety features. This will emerge as a prime factor fueling the demand for intumescent coatings from the automotive industry. The implementation of stringent regulations for improved fire safety in buildings and the increasing emphasis on building aesthetics will also propel the growth of the global intumescent coatings market.Browse Market Research Report @Intumescent coatings offer lower installation complexity and a wide range of operating temperatures as compared to other types of passive fire protection products. The rapid infrastructural development witnessed in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific such as India, Indonesia, and China and the rising emphasis on safety standards are also expected to drive the global intumescent coatings market.The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the various factors that will drive and restrain the global intumescent coatings market. It also covers exhaustive information relating to the markets performance in the past and the impact of prevailing government policies on its growth trajectory in the future. To study the prevailing competitive landscape, the report also profiles the most prominent enterprises operating in the market.Global Intumescent Coatings Market: Key Opportunities and ThreatsParadigm shift in consumer preference from solvent-based to water-soluble coatings due to the superior performance offered by the latter and reduced VOCs will result in the surging demand for intumescent coatings during the forecast period. However, fluctuating raw material prices are likely to hamper the growth of the market to a great extent since it is highly dependent on petrochemicals. Nevertheless, increasing investments in the research and development of bio-based epoxy resins used in intumescent coatings manufacturing will augment the industry growth in the near future.Based on application, the two major segments of the global intumescent coatings market are cellulosic coatings and hydrocarbons. Of these, the cellulosic coatings segment led the market owing to rising demand from residential and commercial construction activities. Regionally, the market is expected to witness rising demand from North America and Asia Pacific.In terms of end-use industry, the oil and gas industry exhibits the highest demand for intumescent coatings. The market also witnesses rising demand from the construction and automotive industries. The growing awareness regarding safety among consumers along with rising emphasis by regulatory bodies on implementing suitable fire protection standards is expected to boost the demand for intumescent coatings.Global Intumescent Coatings Market: Region-wise OutlookAsia Pacific exhibits attractive prospects for enterprises operating in the global intumescent coatings market. The rapid industrialization and economic boom witnessed in the emerging economies of the region provide lucrative opportunities for the market. Additionally, strong infrastructural spending in India, China, South Korea, and Malaysia augments the demand for improved fire safety, which is in turn, driving the market for intumescent coatings in the region.The market for intumescent coatings in the U.S. is also growing at an impressive pace, driven by opportunities from the aerospace industry. Stringent regulations mandating the implementation of fire protection in buildings will augment the demand for intumescent coatings from Europe. Latin America and the Middle East and Africa are also expected to report high demand for intumescent coatings in the future.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @Global Intumescent Coatings Market: Vendor LandscapeTo provide a holistic evaluation of the prevailing vendor landscape, the report profiles companies such as No-Burn Inc., Sherwin-Williams, Jotun Group, AkzoNobel, and others. The strengths and weaknesses of the companies profiled are examined in detail. The report also provides insights into the threats and opportunities that these companies may witness in the near future.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automatic Polycarbonate Glazing Market: Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025

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Automotive glazing is the process of installing rear quarter windows, front quarter windows and sunroof in an automobile. Tempered glass, which is toughened by chemical or thermal treatments, is employed in non-windshield applications. Laminated glass, which holds itself even when shattered, is utilized in windshield applications due to safety reasons. Laminated glass consists of two or more layers of glass. Currently polycarbonate is being employed as a material in automotive glazing.Rising demand for polycarbonate in automotive glazing as compared to laminated or tempered glass is due to its light weight, parts integration and resistant to impact. This is estimated to increase the demand for polycarbonate in the automotive glazing market. There has been a rise in demand for fuel-efficient vehicles across the world. Fuel consumption of vehicles is directly proportional to vehicle weight. Polycarbonates materials weight half of laminated or tempered glass. Therefore there is a rise in demand to employ polycarbonate in automotive glazing. Furthermore there is a demand for employing automobiles with reduced carbon dioxide emissions, which is projected to increase the demand for polycarbonate in the automotive glazing market.Rising demand for automobiles is anticipated to further increase demand for polycarbonate in the automotive glazing market. Polycarbonate materials offer complex 3D shapes, which is not possible in laminated or tempered glass. Parts integration is also possible in automotive polycarbonate glazing, which is not possible in laminated glass. Polycarbonate more scratch resistant than laminated glass, which is likely to increase the demand for polycarbonates in the automotive glazing market. Polycarbonate materials have better thermal insulation properties than laminated glass, which reduces the load on in-vehicle air-conditioner. This is estimated to further increase the demand for polycarbonate materials in the automotive glazing market.Obtain Report Details @In terms of glazing type the market can be segmented into windshield and non-windshield. In terms of application, the market can be segmented into rear quarter windows, front quarter windows, backlight and sunroof. In terms of vehicle type the market can be segmented into passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. The market share of windshield applications is one fifth of the overall glazing market. The rest of the glazing market comprises non-windshield applications.In terms of geography, the market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Asia Pacific is the largest automotive polycarbonate glazing market. China is a significant market for automotive polycarbonate glazing in Asia Pacific. The growth in y-o-y automobile sales was considerable in China. Another important automotive glazing market in Asia Pacific is India.India followed China in terms of growth of y-o-y automobile sales in 2016. Additionally, Japan is an important automotive glazing market, however the market size is anticipated to contract due to decrease in vehicle sales in 2016. North America follows Asia Pacific in terms of market size in the global automotive polycarbonate glazing market. The U.S is a prominent market for polycarbonate glazing followed by Canada and Mexico. Europe is the third largest automotive polycarbonate glazing market. Germany is a significant market for automotive polycarbonate glazing in Europe. Other major automotive glazing markets in Europe include the U.K, France, Italy, and Spain.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Quantum Cascade Lasers Market: Current trends, Opportunities, Challenges and Forecast by 2025

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Quantum cascade lasers were first demonstrated in 1994 by Bell Labs Team. Quantum cascade lasers are used as a semiconductor lasers which offer peak emission in the mid-IR range. This quantum cascade lasers finds in mainly application of chemical physics such as research on helium droplets, in matrix isolation infrared photochemistry and in population pumping. Various quantum cascade laser manufactures are now focusing on the design for operating wavelengths ranging from a few microns to well above 10 m. In recent trends, a number of applications have been catered by medium- IR quantum cascade lasers. Additionally, powerful mid-infrared (IR) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have been developed and commercialized recently for various semiconductor application. The Quantum Cascade Lasers market is predicted to witness a steady growth during the projection period from 2017 to 2025.Global Quantum Cascade Lasers market has been segmented on the basis of packaging type, operation mode, fabrication technology, end use industry and geography. On the basis of packaging type, global Quantum Cascade Lasers market has been fragmented into C-Mount Packaging, HHL and VHL Packaging, To3 Packaging. According to industry-standard, one-tab C-mount package provides good thermal contact and easy to mount, making it an ideal choice for high-power and OEM applications.Obtain Report Details @Extensive utilization of C-Mount packaging across various application segments especially in gas and plasma diagnostics and environmental analysis is predicted to boost the Quantum Cascade Lasers market growth in the coming years. In addition, global Quantum Cascade Lasers market is classified on the basis of operating mode into continuous wave and pulsed. In terms of fabrication technology, global quantum cascade lasers market has been segmented into fabryperot, distributed feedback and tunable external cavities. Additionally, global Quantum Cascade Lasers market has been segmented on the basis of end use industry into telecommunication, industrial, aerospace and defense and medical among others.Major application for Quantum Cascade Lasers is stand-off explosives detection in defense industry. Across the globe, various researchers are now focusing to determine the goal of discriminating and nano-gram quantities of several explosives at distances up to fifty meter. This is expected to increase the demand of Quantum Cascade Lasers Market in coming years. The quantum cascade laser has been used in many novel biological and medical applications to detect noninvasive blood glucose monitoring solution in recent year. This in turn is predicted to drive the demand of global Quantum Cascade Laser market during the forecast period from 2017- 2025.Across the globe, owing to significant economic development in quantum cascade laser usage in free-space communication and multiple gas sensing technique is expected to create a better opportunity for quantum cascade lasers. This is expected to create better opportunity for the Quantum Cascade Laser market in coming years. On the flip side, lack of commercialization and requirement of skilled labor force to develop quantum cascade lasers products is likely to affect the installation of quantum cascade lasers across various end use industries. However, high cost of quantum cascade lasers and higher installation are also hindering the demand of the Quantum Cascade Lasers market during the forecast period.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Geographically, global Quantum Cascade Lasers market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle- East and Africa (MEA), Latin America. In 2016, North America held the largest share of the Quantum Cascade Lasers market due to the high technological adoption of QCLs in military and defense, industrial and medical among others industries in the area. Asia Pacific is estimated to be the second largest market for Quantum Cascade Lasers market currently, followed by Europe. Furthermore, in Asia Pacific region owing to industrially developing economies in China and India is enhancing the demand for Global Quantum Cascade Lasers market.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Printed Antennas Market: Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025

Printed Antennas Market, Printed Antennas Market Size, Printed Antennas Market Share

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Printed antennas are also known as microstrip antennas. Printed antennas possess different useful beneficial properties which include conformability, mechanical durability, low production costs and compactness. Additionally, these printed antennas also have widespread applications in different end use industries which include commercial application, military, aerospace and defense applications. It also has applications in mobile radio communication devices.The printed antennas market has been segmented into by printing technology which includes flexography, gravure printing, ink-jet printing and screen printing among others. The market has been segmented into by end use industry which includes industrial equipment, automotive, aerospace and military, consumer electronics, telecommunication, healthcare among others. The market printed electronics by region has been segmented into, Asia Pacific, North America, South America, MEA (Middle East and Africa) and Europe.Printed antennas have wide applications across telecommunication, military and defense end use industries. In telecommunication, a printed antenna generally means an antenna fabricated applying microstrip technologies on a PCB (printed circuit board) and generally used at microwave frequencies. Most of the printed antennas primarily have multiple patches in a 2D array.Obtain Report Details @Printed antennas are usually connected to the receiver or transmitter or via foil microstrip transmission lines. Printed antennas have low manufacturing cost and design owing to simple two - dimensional physical geometry. They are primarily used at UHF (ultra high frequency) and higher frequencies owing to the size of the antenna are directly tied to the wavelength at the resonant frequency.Low cost production easy integration with circuit components along with convenient of fabrication are some of the prime major driving factor for the market. Printed antennae are cost effective and easy to fabricate by applying advanced printed circuit technology is also fueling the demand for printed antennas in different end use industries. These printed antennas are easily mounted on the surface of spacecrafts, aircrafts, missiles, satellites and convenient mobile devices. With the growing technological advancement, the application of printed antennas in different industries such as automotive is growing rapidly.Increasing demand for printed electronics in military, aerospace, and defense is one of the major driving factors of the market. Increasing raw material prices and cyclical nature of semiconductor industry may inhibit the growth of the printed antennas market. However, increasing application scope of printed antennas in wireless communication devices and aerospace and defense equipment is one of the major opportunities for the market.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @In 2016, North America accounted for the highest market share in terms of revenue for the printed antenna market, followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The U.S. is dominating the market for printed antenna across North America. In Asia Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India among others are some of the major market fueling the demand for printed antenna. Additionally, Germany, Italy, France and the U.K. among others are some of the major markets for printed antenna across Europe. In South America, Brazil and Argentina both are anticipated to contribute positive growth over the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Considerable development and advancement in the field of electronics and other industries for example; automotive sector is fueling the demand for printed antennas across Middle East and Africa (MEA).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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Non-Volatile Memory Market: Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025

Non-Volatile Memory Market Size, Non-Volatile Memory Market Share

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Non-volatile memory or storage is a specific type of computer memory that can retrieve information even when the power is switched off. This is a secondary storage that has the capability to hold data even when the power is turned off. This kind of memory does not need to be periodically refreshed having the capability of long-term consistent storage. Certain examples of non-volatile memory includes computer storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical discs and flash memory among others. Non-volatile memory or NVM is often included in any normal design for aiding in fault identification along with rectification of fault signals through the history.This kind of memory also allows the computer to keep track of the time and other system settings resulting in growing demand for this market globally. The global non-volatile memory market has been segmented on the basis of type, application and geography. The global market for non-volatile memory on the basis of type has been segmented into mechanically addressed systems and electrically addressed systems among others. Different application areas that has been considered under the scope of this report includes consumer electronics, automotive & transportation, industrial, energy & power, agricultural, military & aerospace and healthcare among others.Global non-volatile memory market on the basis of geography has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.Obtain Report Details @It is the capability of this memory to retain information even when the power source is switched off that forms a major driver to push the growth of this market globally. Along with this, it is also the ease of storage that further drives the growth of this market. Non-volatile memory also allows computer hardware to be upgradeable allowing the developers scope of adjusting new technologies. This kind of memory allows the data to be stored permanently and is generally stored for read-only purpose that cant be changed or removed. Considering all these drivers there are a few restraints that poses challenges for the market growth and negatively impacts it as well.The high costs associated with application of non-volatile memory has negative effects on the market growth. In addition to this, it is also the relatively slow speed associated with non-volatile memory that also pose challenges in this market. With all these drivers and restraints taken into consideration there is also a huge scope of opportunities for this market in coming years. Non-volatile memory technologies such as phase-change RAM (PCRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM) and magnetic RAM (MRAM) enables memory chips that requires low-energy, have more density and latency being relatively closer to current DRAM chips that may provide various scope of opportunities in the coming years.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Geographically, it is Asia Pacific that forms one of the major region contributing to the overall growth along with being one of the fastest growing regions globally. Japan, China, and South Korea among others are some of the key countries contributing to the overall growth of this market. Growing internet penetration along with rise in consumer electronics has been some of the major drivers that has pushed the demand for this market. North America followed by Europe has been some other major regions contributing to the overall growth of this market. Advancement along with growing demand for IoT or internet of things technology has been some major factors to positively drive the demand for this market in these regions.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
NMR Magnets Market: Current trends, Opportunities, Challenges and Forecast by 2025

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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is an analytical chemistry technique in which there are nuclei in a magnetic field and it re-emit electromagnetic radiation. The theory behind NMR comes from the spin of a nucleus that can generate magnetic field without any external magnetic field so that the nuclear spins are random in direction.Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is theoretically a powerful complex analytical tool. It is used for research to determine the content and purity of the sample. There are varieties of NMR techniques that are available and are used to acquire the desired results. In addition, Nuclear magnetic resonance is used in advanced medical imaging technique like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). NMR is also used in vivo phosphorus NMR spectroscopy in which the chemical shift is used to provide an indication.On the basis of type Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) market has been segmented into resonance frequency and nuclei. By resonance frequency the market can be further segregated into sub-100 MHz, 300-400 MHz, 500 MHz, 600 MHz, 700-750MHz, 800-850 MHz and others. The global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance market can be categorized based on nuclei into 1H, 2H, 31P, 23 Na, 14N, 13C and 19F.Obtain Report Details @The global market for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance market is expected to witness a progressive growth in the coming years. The increasing demand from the pharmaceutical sector is one of the key factors that is driving the growth of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) market. In addition, the rising number of application in institutions is expected to generate a promising opportunities for market players in the global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in the forecast period. However, the problem is to set up the small scale reaction in NMR lab because experience shows that experiment condition cannot be mimicked. The need for skilled professionals to operate this highly sophisticated system and the high cost of instruments are the factors that hinder the growth of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) market. Moreover, significant capital investment is required to purchase new systems due to which many customers are focusing on upgrading their existing equipment. Nevertheless, the technological developments and innovations is expected to fuel the growth of this market.The global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance market is segmented on the basis of end user and geography. On the basis of end user, the global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) market is segmented into oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceutical among others. The pharmaceutical segment leads the market and is expected to have a promising growth in the coming years. The development in NMR magnets is attributable to the growing demand for these across various industries including oil and gas and academics. In academics, the NMR magnets are used in organic chemistry lab extensively for structure elucidation. European agencies have proactively funded NMR technology development and invested in the build out of academic core research facilities.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @The global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnets market is further categorized based on geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. Europe held the largest market share in terms of revenue, followed by North America. Western Europe comprises the biggest market owing to its strong country specific funding. In Asia Pacific region Japan leads the market but China is growing at a greater rate than Japan owing to the high growth in this region that have improved the investment scenario and also the collaboration of key players with the complimentary companies.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. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Thermoplastic Polyurethane Films Market: Latest Trends,Analysis & Insights 2024

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The global market for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films features the dominance of few large and well-established TPU films brands and a high level of competition, observes a recent report by Transparency Market Research (TMR). Owing to the capital-intensive production process, the market has been able to keep new entrants at a bay and the situation is expected to remain unchanged in the next few years as well. Leading vendors are expected to forge partnerships through acquisitions and mergers with promising players in key regional territories as a way of expanding geographically and adding new technologies and products to their own portfolios.Some of the leading vendors in the global thermoplastic polyurethane films market are BASF SE, Huntsman Corporation, Covestro AG, Polyol Macromolecule Polymer (Fujian) Co., Ltd, The Lubrizol Corporation, Huafon Group, Tosoh Corporation, and Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd.Browse Market Research Report @Transparency Market Research estimates that the global TPU films market will exhibit a promising 6.8% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024, rising to a valuation of US$516.9 mn by 2024 from US$286.8 mn in 2015.Rising Production of Automobiles in Asia Pacific to Present Vast Growth Opportunities for TPU Films MarketIn terms of product variety, the report examines the market for segments such as polyester TPU, polycaprolactone TPU, and polyether TPU. Of these, the segment of polyester TPU dominated the global TPU films market in 2015, accounting for the largest share in the global market in terms of both revenue and value. Over the reports forecast period, the segment of polycaprolactone TPU is expected to expand at the most promising pace - an estimated 7% CAGR.From a geographical perspective, the market for TPU films in Europe is presently the leading contributor of revenue to the global market, thanks to the excellent demand from an established automotive industry. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the one with the most promising growth opportunities owing to the increasing production of vehicles in the region.Promising Rise in GDPs in BRICS Countries Key to Rising Global Demand for TPU FilmsThe significant rise in the production as well as consumption of volumes of a variety of automobiles in emerging economies such as India, Brazil, China, Russia, and South Africa is one of the key factors expected to boost the overall intake of TPU films in the next few years. The steady rise in GDPs of these countries has encouraged the rise in production units across a number of industries, a trend expected to gather strength with time due to encouraging government regulations and high demand for products in domestic markets. This trend is also expected to hold true for the automotive industry, which is a key consumer of TPU films.The massive rise in efforts aimed at reducing the overall weight of vehicles to make them more energy efficient and better at long-term performance has compelled automakers to replace metal parts with suitable alternatives such as TPU films. Although TPU films have found vast usage across automotive parts such as seating in-fills and interior door panels, their overall promise is expected to be hampered due to the increasing availability of substitutes.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @This review of the market is based on a recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research, titled Thermoplastic Polyurethane Films Market (Product Type - Polyester TPU, Polyether TPU, and Polycaprolactone TPU; End Use - Automotive, Building & Construction, Furniture, Aerospace, Footwear, Energy, Medical & Healthcare, Recreation, and Flexible Packaging) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016-2024.For the study, the global thermoplastic polyurethane films market has been segmented as follows:Thermoplastic Polyurethane Films Market  Product AnalysisPolyester TPUPolyether TPUPolycaprolactone TPUThermoplastic Polyurethane Films Market  End-user AnalysisAutomotiveBuilding & ConstructionFurnitureAerospaceFootwearEnergyOthers (including medical & health care, flexible packaging, and recreation)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Commercial Aircraft Lighting Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 6% worldwide during 2016-2021

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The global Commercial Aircraft Lighting market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 6% during 2016-2021. This growth is driven due to increase in aircraft orders, growing passenger traffic, need for improved lighting systems for passenger experience.Make an Enquiry @Key Players Diehl Stiftung & Co. Kg., Zodiac Aerospace, United Technologies Corporation, B/E Aerospace, Inc, Luminator Aerospace, Cobham PLC, Honeywell International Inc, STG Aerospace Limited, Astronics, and Diehl AerosystemsGlobal Commercial Aircraft Lighting Market ($ billion), 2016-2021As per the MRFR analysis, the cost associated with modern lighting systems, issues related to its fittings, and growing aircraft backlogs are the factors limiting the market growth.With approximately 40% of all new airplanes being delivered to airlines based in the Asia Pacific region, it is expected to grow significantly to reach $XX billions during the forecast period. With the stability in Americas aviation and growing demand from Middle East regions (from airlines), the global market is expected to reach $XX billion.Study Objectives of Global Commercial Aircraft Lighting MarketTo provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 5 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Commercial Aircraft Lighting MarketTo provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo analyse the Global Commercial Aircraft Lighting Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW)To provide country-level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo provide country-level analysis of the market for segment by aircraft types, fit, light types, and technologyTo provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analysing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyse competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Commercial Aircraft Lighting MarketAccess Report Details @The market report for Commercial Aircraft Lighting of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Commercial Aircraft Lighting Market chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) Market Assessment Report - Future Prospects and Forecast from 2017-2021

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Global External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) Market Research Report Forecast 2017 to 2021 Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.This research report helps provide insights into innovations, opportunities and new development in the External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market and its connected industries. It includes vital trends and dynamics of the market at regional as well as global level for the given forecast period. For a pervasive understanding of the market, business strategies and latest developments of the vital players accompanied with co-development deals and market size have also been enclosed. Briefly citing, their revenue share, contact information and meticulous SWOT analysis is available.Get 30% Discount on this report at:This market intelligence report is a comprehensive analysis of the situation of External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market. A detailed investigation of the past progress, present market scenario, and future prospects has been offered in the report. It also gives accurate data of the main strategies, market share, and products of the leading companies in this market sector.This report provides a through outline of External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market based on important parameters such as applications end users, products, regions and many more. An estimated volume revenue growth with respect to global market for External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) over the forthcoming years has been mentioned in detail.Enquiry before buying:A comprehensive analysis of the situation of External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market is been done in this intelligence report. It includes the investigations done of the past progress, ongoing market scenarios and future prospects. An accurate data of the products, strategies and market shares of leading companies in this particular market is mentioned.It elucidates a detailed outline of External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market depending on the important parameters. End users, products, regions and many other segments are studied and explained. A brief idea about the driving forces which help make the market more flourishing are discussed in order to help client understand the future market position. Estimated revenue growth in terms of volume with respect to the External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market for the upcoming years have been mentioned in depth.A PDF sample can be accessed using the below mentioned link:The report takes a close and analytical look at the various companies that strive for a higher share of the global External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market. For this purpose, a section dedicated to company profiles has been included in the report. The profiling of the leading players is done in order to judge the current competitive scenario. The competitive landscape is assessed by taking into consideration many important factors such as business growth, recent developments, product pipeline, and others.The research report further makes use of graphical representations such as tables, info graphics, and charts to forecast figures and historical data of the global External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) market. The report is presented in a clear and concise manner so that readers can understand the market structure and dynamics effectively.Browse the entire report in detail on the below link:About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Research N Reports0916, Gold Point, Dr,Houston, TX,Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1 888-631-6977,sales@researchnreports.com,
Email Market Size, Share, Analysis and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Email Marketing Industry: OverviewThis report on the global email marketing provides analysis for the period 2015  2025, wherein 2016 is the base year and the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period. Data for 2015 has been included as historical information. The report covers drivers which is driving factor for email marketing industry. It also covers restraints and opportunities for the growth analysis of email marketing. The regional trends covered in the scope of the study expected to influence the global Email marketing growth during the said period.The study provides a comprehensive analysis on market growth throughout the above forecast period in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Mn) across different geographies. Email marketing is basically used to do advertisements and brand awareness related to products, solution and services. The email marketing has wide adoption across various end-use industry includes retail/e-commerce, IT & telecom, travel & leisure, publishing, BFSI and others for promoting their products, solutions and services and improve customer relationship.Request for brochure of this report -Global Email Marketing Industry: SegmentationThe global email marketing industry has been segmented on the basis of component, type, enterprise and end-use industry. The component segment has further been divided into software/applications and services. Furthermore, software is sub-divided into white label software, third party and web-based application and the services segment into integration & installation and support & maintenance. On the basis of type the market has been divided into traditional and automated. The enterprise segment has been segregated into small and medium enterprise and large enterprise. On the basis of end-use industry the market has been divided into retail/e-commerce, IT & telecom, travel & leisure, print & publishing, BFSI and othersGeographically, the report classifies the global email marketing industry into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America; the regions are analyzed in terms of revenue generation and also included analysis of countries such as the U.S., Canada, the U.K, France, Germany, China, India, Japan, Australia, UAE, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Argentina. The market size and forecast for each region and country has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025 along with the CAGR (%) for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.Global Email Marketing Industry: Scope of the StudyThe report further includes key industry developments in the email marketing industry. Porter Five Force analysis and ecosystem analysis is also included in the report. The report also covers market indicator which provide supporting factor for the growth of the email marketing covered in the scope of study. It shows market attractiveness analysis for all the segments and for all the regions in the scope of study which identifies and compares segments market attractiveness on the basis of CAGR and market share index.The study also includes competition landscape which include competition matrix, market share analysis of major players in the global Email Marketing industry based on their 2016 revenues, and profiling of major players. Competition matrix benchmarks leading players on the basis of their capabilities and potential to grow. Factors including market position, offerings and R&D focus are attributed to companys capabilities. Factors including top line growth, market share, segment growth, infrastructure facilities and future outlook are attributed to companys potential to grow. This section also identifies and includes various recent developments carried out by the leading players.Companies Mentioned in the ReportCompany profile of the key players profiled in the global email marketing industry specifically covers provides company details (HQ, Foundation Year, Employee Strength), market presence of the company by segment., strategy of the company for the growth in the competitive market, revenue and operating profits and SWOT analysis.Key players operating the global email marketing industry companies profiled are Alchemy Worx Ltd., Adestra Ltd, GetResponse, VerticalResponse, Inc., dotmailer Ltd, Forfront Ltd., BlueHornet Inc., Constant Contact, Inc., BlueTie Inc., Drip, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), The Rocket Science Group, LLC (mailChimp), iContact Corporation, Salesforce Inc., Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd., Campaign Monitor, Natexo Group, Epsilon, Responsys Inc (Oracle Corporation) and Salesforce Inc.Browse full report @The global market for email marketing is segmented as below:By Component Software/Applicationo White Label Softwareo Third-party Standardo Web-based Application Serviceso Integration and Installationo Support and MaintenanceBy Type Traditional AutomatedBy Enterprise Small and medium Enterprise Large EnterpriseBy End-use Industry Retail/E-Commerce IT & Telecom Travel & Leisure Print/Publishing BFSI OthersBy Geography North Americao The U.S.o Canadao Rest of North America Europeo The U.Ko Germanyo Franceo Rest of Europe Asia Pacific (APAC)o Indiao Japano Chinao Australiao Rest of APAC Middle East and Africa (MEA)o UAEo South Africao Saudi Arabiao Rest of MEA South Americao Brazilo Argentinao Rest of South AmericaRequest for Discount of this report - @Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Market in Global Industry : Market Trends, Analysis, Growth and Status 2017

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Latin America Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Market: OverviewThere has been a tremendous increase in agricultural and food exports and imports globally. Growth in production, consumption, and trade of perishable, processed, and packaged food items has driven the need to design and manufacture efficient and effective refrigeration equipment for the commercial sector. Refrigeration is one effective method to store and transport perishable food items across and within nations. Rise in income level has raised the spending capacity in economically developed as well as developing nations. Level of income in an economy has a huge impact on the spending capacity of the population on consumption of processed and packaged food items. Export of meat demands the need for effective transportation refrigeration equipment. Appropriate refrigeration equipment play a vital role in preventing food wastage due to spoilage during storage and transportation.Request for brochure of this report -Production, storage, and transportation of perishable food items require appropriate refrigeration equipment and the rise in food trade has increased the demand for refrigeration equipment in the commercial sector significantly. The rise in income levels of an economy also boosts the spending capacity of the population on leisure travel. To meet the accommodation and meals of travelling population, the hospitality industry has witnessed a tremendous growth. This industry also keeps pace with the changing food consumption patterns due to huge penetration of stored, processed, and packaged food in the food industry. Out of which arises the need to equip the restaurants and food storage areas with efficient and energy saving refrigeration and storage equipment. Hotel industry relies largely on refrigeration in order to maintain food supply. The Increasing number of restaurants also is a vital reason to drive the demand for efficient commercial refrigeration equipment.Latin America Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Market: SegmentationThis research report provides an in-depth analysis of the commercial refrigeration equipment market in Latin America based on product type, application, refrigerant type, and country. On the basis of product type the commercial refrigeration equipment market in Latin America is segmented into transportation refrigeration equipment, refrigerator and freezer, beverage refrigeration, commercial refrigeration equipment parts, and others. On the basis of application the commercial refrigeration equipment market in Latin America is segment into food services, food and beverage retail, food and beverage distribution, food and beverage production, and others. On the basis of refrigerant type the commercial refrigeration equipment market in Latin America is segmented into fluorocarbons, inorganic, hydrocarbon/Natural.The report segments the Latin American commercial refrigeration equipment market by country into Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Rest of Latin America. It also encompasses the key factors by country in the commercial refrigeration equipment market in Latin America. It further offers analysis of the factors that drive and restrain the growth of commercial refrigeration equipment market in Latin America. It discusses the prevailing market trends and prospective growth opportunities in the commercial refrigeration and equipment market country wise and segment wise. It provides market estimates and forecasts for all the segments in terms of revenue (in US$ Mn). Also provided in the report is the competitive landscape of the major players in the Latin American commercial refrigeration equipment market.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe major players profiled in the report include Metalfrio Solutions SA, Beverage-Air Corporation, Illinois Tool Works, Inc., Dover Corporation, Daikin Industries, Ltd., United Technologies Corporation - (Climate, Controls and Security Unit), Hussmann International, Inc., Lennox International Inc. The company profiles offer a descriptive overview of the companies with respect to the company details, company description, SWOT analysis, revenue and regional market share, and strategic overview. The report also offers a competitive landscape of these players for the year 2016.Browse full report @The Latin America commercial refrigeration equipment market is segmented as below:By Product Type Transportation Refrigeration Equipment Refrigerator and Freezer Beverage Refrigeration Commercial refrigeration equipment parts OthersBy Application Food Services Food and Beverage retail Food and Beverage distribution Food and Beverage Production OthersBy Refrigerant Type Fluorocarbons Inorganic Hydrocarbons/NaturalBy Country Brazil Mexico Argentina Chile Rest of Latin AmericaRequest for Discount of this report - @Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Terahertz Radiation Devices and Systems Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2020

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The global terahertz (THz) radiation devices and systems market is growing with a considerable rate, due to increasing popularity of techniques such as ultrasound and infrared (IR). Terahertz radiations are used to control, inspect, and monitor, the infrared and ultrasound techniques. Terahertz technologies are replacing less safe technologies, such as nuclear and x-ray, due to their ability of penetrating through barrier materials for performing non-ionizing and non-contact testing. Terahertz technologies opened the scope for various new applications in telecommunications and biomedical fields, which is further driving the growth of the global terahertz radiation devices and systems market.To Browse Full Report Visit Here:The frequency of terahertz radiation falls between infrared radiation and microwave radiation. When the frequency of electromagnetic radiations becomes very high, the electronic counters are unable to measure them digitally. Therefore, it must be measured with the help of proxy, which uses the properties of energy and wavelength. Correspondingly, the modulation and generation of coherent electromagnetic signals in high frequency range is not possible with the conventional electronic devices; which requires the development of new techniques and devices using terahertz radiation technology. The terahertz radiation can be obtained through natural and artificial sources. In natural source, terahertz radiation is emitted as a part of the black body radiation, from substances with temperatures greater than about 10 kelvin. While in artificial source, the terahertz radiation can be obtained through backward wave oscillator, varactor multipliers, organic gas far infrared laser, free electron laser, synchrotron light sources, and electronic oscillators, based on resonant tunneling diodes.Earlier, the application of terahertz technology was limited to laboratory applications and radio astronomy, due to their expensive and bulky systems. However, with the technological advancements in terahertz technology, it became commercialized in markets such as weapons detection, industrial process monitoring pharmaceuticals quality control, and non-destructive testing.Browse For Related Research Visit Here:On the basis of enabling technologies, the terahertz radiation devices and systems market can be categorized as THz waveguides, THz detectors, THz sources, and THz regulators, switches, lenses and other devices. On the basis of type, the terahertz radiation devices and systems market can be categorized as communication devices, therapeutic devices, sensors, imaging systems, computers and spectroscopes.On the basis of end users, the global terahertz radiation devices and systems market can be categorized as healthcare, security or public safety, scientific research, manufacturing, multipurpose, and military or defense. The global terahertz radiation devices and systems market can also be categorized on the basis of application as astronomy, medical imaging, passenger screening, land mine and IED detection, process or quality control, compact and low-cost THz cameras, diagnostics, target acquisition and identification, and art and archaeology.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:AbhishekExecutive  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Telepresence Equipment Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2020

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The telepresence equipment market has been greatly influenced by the chances in telepresence software, along with the increasing influence of cloud services. Over the last few years, the telepresence industry is in transition from a hardware-based telepresence reporting model to cost effective endpoints telepresence reporting. The operational disadvantage associated with the older telepresence equipment is driving their replacement with modern and sophisticated equipment. Moreover, the lower operating cost and higher efficiency of cloud based telepresence equipment is driving the growth of the market. The telepresence equipment has seen a high penetration rate in the developing countries, including China and India.To Browse Full Report Visit Here:Telepresence services offer high speed data transfer capabilities to communication channel with the users at distinct location. The telepresence equipment is widely used in the corporate governance gizmos. The penetration of telepresence equipment was increased in the communication industry, in an inclusive manner to nearly clinch all video collaboration system used in the videoconferencing.The high initial setup cost, along with the high threat from the substitute technology, such as videoconferencing is hindering the growth of the global telepresence equipment market. Moreover the dedicated bandwidth allocation, in addition to dedicated support requirement of telepresence services is limiting its growth in the small and medium scale enterprise.Despite the mature nature of the market in North America, the region accounted for the largest market share in 2014. However, with the growing popularity of videoconferencing and VoIP based technologies in the U.S. and Canada, the North American market is expected to decline during the forecast period. Europe accounted for the second largest market during 2011-2014. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period, owing to the surging industrialization in developing countries, including China and India. In 2014, the telepresence market in China was greater than the combined market size of Japan, and South Korea. Country wise, the U.S., China, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., Italy and Brazil are some of the major market globally.Browse For Related Research Visit Here:During the recent years, the telepresence equipment industry has witnessed large number of merger and accusation (M&A). In 2014, Cisco dominated the telepresence equipment market, and accounted for more than 40% of the global market. With the market share of nearly 25%, polycon accounted for the second largest vendor. Apart from these two vendors, Huawei accounted for double digit market share in 2014.Some of the competitors in the global telepresence equipment market are HP, Huawei, Logitech, RADVISION, Polycom, and SONY.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:AbhishekExecutive  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Pembina Pipeline Corp. got turned away by the City of Portland in 2015 when it tried to locate a controversial propane export terminal at the Port of Portland's Terminal 6.

But the Calgary-based energy infrastructure company will be back in the Oregon spotlight after announcing plans Monday to acquire Canadian rival Veresen Inc., the company behind the controversial 12-year push to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay.

The $7.1 billion deal would give the combined company access to more oil and gas resources, a broader geographic reach and the scale to pursue larger projects, including the Jordan Cove terminal, the companies said in a joint statement. They called Jordan Cove "the most advanced LNG export project on the West Coast" and said it would be able to compete well with gas being shipped to Asia from the Gulf of Mexico.

"This was always the project that was just a little too big for Veresen, but it's not too big for the combined entity," Veresen chief executive Don Althoff said in a conference call Monday after the announcement. He and Pembina chief executive Mick Dilger also said that the company might still seek to sell stakes in the project to other entities.

Veresen spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the terminal project, only to see its application denied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last year after it found insufficient public need for the gas export project to overcome the impact of the projects 231-mile feeder pipeline on landowners.

Regulators declined Veresen's appeal of the decision, but did so without prejudice, which leaves the door open for it to reapply. The company has redesigned the terminal and initiated a pre-application process with the commission, and said it hopes to receive a different answer now that the Trump administration is in place.

It's not clear if the merger itself would have any impact on that regulatory effort, but the White House has already signaled its support for the project. In remarks to the International Institute of Finance reported last month by The Washington Post, Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn said, "the first thing we're going to do is we're going to permit an LNG export facility in the Northwest."

The White House is not in charge of permitting such facilities, but Trump will be remaking FERC by appointing four of its five members (three slots are currently vacant) and has already expressed strong support for more energy infrastructure projects and jobs.

Althoff claims that Jordan Cove terminal and its Pacific Connector pipeline are an $8 billion to $10 billion project that will create 4,000 construction jobs and 240 permanent jobs. All of those totals are higher than prior estimates, despite the fact that the redesigned facility no longer has a natural gas power plant attached to it.

Christine Tezak, an industry analyst with Clearview Energy Partners in Washington D.C., said the federal permitting process could go relatively quickly for Jordan Cove once Trump has nominated and received Senate confirmation for a set of FERC commissioners who are more supportive of energy infrastructure development. In the meantime, Tezak said, the White House could push the Department of Energy to approve a license for Jordan Cove to export gas to countries without a free trade agreement with the United States, which includes many of the biggest potential importers in Asia. That approval is currently conditioned on project approval by FERC.

Still, she said, the state of Oregon would have the power to kill or substantially delay the project by denying the terminal a coastal zone management or water quality permit.

"We are not expecting the landowner opposition to Pacific Connector to abate even if the certificate process at FERC concludes in an approval," she said. "So in addition to state permit risk, we see risk in the affected landowners trying to beat back eminent domain if the pipeline is being built to serve...foreign customers, versus domestic customers.

Stacey McLaughlin, a Myrtle Creek landowner who has helped lead opposition to the Pacific Connector pipeline, says landowners are ready to redouble their efforts.

"Veresen was always underfunded for the Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector projects, now they admit it," she said. "This move simply confirms the project is about exporting Canadian gas for Canadian profits...

"Only thing that has changed for landowners is our Goliath just got a little bigger, and the bigger they are the harder they fall."

Overall, Tezak said, there continues to be more projects in the FERC queue than there is apparent demand globally for U.S. LNG. She said some project owners may be willing to make the commitment simply to have the long term-option open to develop a terminal.

- Ted Sickinger

503-221-8505; @tedsickinger
Russell St. BBQ, the 14-year-old Northeast Portland barbecue joint, will open a new counter-service spot in the former Hokusei space on Southeast Belmont Street this month, owner Sharon Santucci tells The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"I grew up in East Texas, where you go right up to the man -- or woman - at the counter, and interact with the person who's smoking the meat," says Santucci, a Swamp City, Texas native. "We're going to put all of our energy into our barbecue, cut back a little bit on the space."

Russell St.'s chef, Diane Santucci - the longtime couple married in 2015 - grew up in Virginia, has relatives in the Carolinas and undertook an epic road trip of southern barbecue capitals from Kansas City to North Carolina. As you might expect, the barbecue will resemble the non-denominational meat menu at the original location, with Texas-style brisket and beef ribs, Alabama-style smoked chicken and white sauce and Memphis-style baby back ribs. The new restaurant will feature a few new additions, including a custom kielbasa-style pork-and-beef sausage and, a couple of months after opening, both frozen margaritas and barbecue breakfast tacos.

Longtime employee Danny Contreras will manage the new restaurant's kitchen, while chef Scottie Fullerton will take on more responsibility at the original.

The new restaurant takes over the former home of Hokusei sushi, which closed, reopened as a pop-up, Fukami, then closed again. Fukami chef Cody Augur now pops up Sunday and Monday at Davenport, 2215 E. Burnside St.

Russell St. BBQ's new counter expects to open on May 24th at 4246 S.E. Belmont St., next to Slappy Cakes. Visit russellstreetbbq.com for more information.



-- Michael Russell
An education advocacy group said it will sue if Oregon doesn't sell the Elliott State Forest for $221 million or find another way to deposit the same amount into a state account that benefits schoolchildren.

The Oregon School Boards Association sent a letter Friday through its attorney to the three members of the State Land Board  Gov. Kate Brown, Treasurer Tobias Read and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson  urging them to fulfill their duty to maximize the financial return to the Common School Fund.

The school boards group says Oregon is constitutionally required to make as much money for K-12 education as possible from the forest, which straddles Douglas and Coos counties in Southwest Oregon. They say that maximum value, $221 million, was established by an independent property appraisal.

"We appreciate that some individuals may place a higher regard on noneconomic values of the Forest, such as scenery or recreation, than on the value of the Forest as an economic asset to benefit the State's public schools," attorneys John DiLorenzo and Gregory Chaimov of Davis Wright Tremaine said in the letter, alluding to environmental advocacy groups who are pushing to keep the land public. "The Board, however, may not consider the desires of anyone other than the State's schools."

The letter arrived a little more than a week before the obscure three-person body is expected to once again discuss the fate of the forest. The saga pits opponents who decry the proposed sale of public lands against K-12 advocates who say the state's hands are already tied.

For more than two years, the land board has considered selling the 82,500-acre state forest to raise revenue for the school fund. The forest, once a big moneymaker for the state, has not been as profitable in recent years as logging plummeted in the face of legal challenges from environmental groups. The land board appeared to be on a path toward selling the forest until Read

switched his stance on the proposed sale

of the property to a timber company and local tribe, opting to join Brown in planning to keep the forest in public hands.

Environmental groups lobbied Read heavily in the weeks before his March 28 announcement that he would support a proposal to maintain public ownership.

The school board association's attorneys said the state's mission is "crystal clear."

"We urge you to adhere to those fiduciary obligations in the face of whatever political pressure may be brought to bear by those who lack appreciation for those duties," they wrote.

Bryan Hockaday, Brown's spokesman, said in an email that the governor has "made clear the critical importance of fulfilling the State's fiduciary obligations to the Common School Fund" even as she has worked on a new plan to keep the forest in public hands.

Earlier this year, Brown had expressed support for the idea of issuing state bonds to maintain public ownership of the forest. Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, is also open to issuing state debt to keep the forest.

Hockaday said the governor will release a new plan later this week that "honors the Common School Fund, protects the Elliott's diverse habitats, and ensures the sustainable harvest of timber."

The Common School Fund has roughly $1.4 billion in assets, according to the state. More than 1 million acres of state lands, including the Elliott, produce revenue for the education endowment. The account distributed more than $136.6 million to K-12 programs across the state in the 2015-17 biennium. Oregon's overall K-12 budget during that same period was more than $7.3 billion.

The land board is scheduled to meet May 9.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
By Eugene Robinson

WASHINGTON -- President Trump's first 100 days in office were mostly about empty noise. The next 100 likely will be the same.

There is no principle at the heart of Trump's policies. In many cases, there are no policies at all, just improvised attempts to bridge the gap between Trump's rhetoric and inconvenient reality. This is no way to run a corner bodega, let alone the greatest nation on Earth.

What kind of president calls North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a "pretty smart cookie," as Trump did in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation"? Who uses words of grudging admiration for a brutal dictator who consolidated power by executing hundreds of people, including his uncle? Who gives props to the leader of a rogue regime that threatens U.S. allies with nuclear weapons and may soon have missiles that can target Seattle?

The aides and surrogates who speak for the president will have to walk back those remarks, just as they have walked back so many others. I'd feel sorry for Trump's mouthpieces, but they chose to do those jobs.

What kind of president invites a man like Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House? Duterte has addressed his country's problem of drug-fueled crime with a campaign of assassination that has killed more than 7,000 people without arrest, trial or judgment, according to Human Rights Watch. That's not the kind of leader the U.S. president usually invites to drop by.

Yet Trump and Duterte had a "very friendly" chat by phone on Saturday, according to the White House. The State Department and the National Security Council were reportedly caught off guard. Those who claim Trump is on a learning curve should be honest and acknowledge that he takes two steps forward, then two full steps back.

What kind of president guarantees health insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, under the back-from-the-grave Obamacare replacement measure being considered by the House, when no such guarantee of affordable coverage is in the bill? "I guarantee it," said Trump. Not really, says the legislation.

In the "Face the Nation" interview, it became clear that Trump does not understand what is in the bill he so vocally supports. States would be allowed to void the pre-existing conditions requirement if they establish "high-risk pools" to accommodate the unhealthy. But there is no requirement that states provide the ample funding necessary to make such an arrangement viable. The bill would punish the sick and renege on a central Trump campaign promise. He is either being dishonest or clueless.

What kind of president seeks to govern a divided country -- he lost the popular vote, remember -- by holding campaign-style rallies designed to appeal only to his political base? Trump skipped the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner; the last sitting president to do so was Ronald Reagan in 1981, when he was recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in an assassination attempt. Trump decided instead to continue his absurd and self-defeating war against the news media.

Speaking in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump called CNN and MSNBC "fake news" and railed against the "failing New York Times." Meanwhile, journalistic icons Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein stood on the dais at the WHCA dinner as a reminder that this isn't the first time an administration has sought to deflect scrutiny by attacking the media -- and that what Bernstein called "the best obtainable version of the truth" will emerge if journalists do their jobs.

Protestors at the Harrisburg event waved Russian flags, a reminder that the question of possible collusion between Trump's campaign and agents of the Russian government remains unresolved. Woodward and Bernstein inspired a generation of journalists who are determined to unearth the answer.

I chalk up two actual accomplishments for the administration in the first 100 days. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was nominated and confirmed. And substantial progress has been made on a pro-business -- and mostly anti-consumer -- agenda of deregulation.

But what else has worked out the way Trump promised? He didn't, after all, label China a currency manipulator. He didn't, after all, pull the United States out of NAFTA. He didn't, after all, get funding to start building a border wall. He did, however, order a missile strike in Syria, breaking his pledge of an "America First" foreign policy.

This nation isn't being led, it's being buffeted this way and that by the president's bluster. What British politician Gordon Brown once said about a rival is true, in spades, about Trump: "The more he talks, the less he actually says."

Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinsonwashpost.com.

(c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group
TRUMP35.JPG

President Donald Trump

(AP Photo/File)

By Hugh Hewitt

Sea change. An enormous one. That's the only way to understand President Donald Trump's first 100 days - as a breaking from and often a breaking of the Obama presidency, one every bit as turbulent as what's encountered by a sailing ship going from calm seas into a hurricane.

Trump's first 50 days were a jumble of ups and downs, mostly downs. But beginning with the flawless testimony of Neil Gorsuch to the Senate Judiciary Committee and his subsequent confirmation under rules that will speed the way for future Supreme Court nominees, the Trump turnaround began and gained an almost uninterrupted momentum. The president's directive to strike Syria after it apparently rained sarin poison on babies and toddlers was a defining moment, reinforced by using the "mother of all bombs" in Afghanistan and dispatching an armada of weaponry toward North Korea (no matter how indirect a route the ships took to arrive there).

All along, a legislative legacy was passing beneath the noses of Manhattan-Beltway media elites who could not be bothered to learn the wide-ranging implications of the baker's dozen of Congressional Review Act measures that passed the House and Senate by simple majorities and were signed into law by Easter. This is a legislative outpouring not exceeded in substantive impact by any modern president except Franklin Roosevelt, though others have seen more statutes passed. Yet because regulatory rollback bores or confounds journalists, these new laws were discounted or simply dismissed.

In fact, a law passed under the little-used Congressional Review Act not only repeals an existing regulation but also bars the affected agency from acting in the same area without explicit legislative approval. These measures will therefore reverberate for decades, whether by hamstringing public funding of abortion at the state level; narrowing the reach of environmental regulators over "waters of the United States"; or slapping down the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on hunting in Alaska.

Trump's Cabinet appointees, meanwhile, represent the most conservative collection of the modern era, and his national security team 2.0 (with H.R. McMaster taking the place of Michael Flynn as national security adviser) is at least the equal of any that has served since the end of the Cold War. Trump's sometimes loose campaign rhetoric on national security has been realigned with governing realities, underscored by assessments of how badly damaged the past eight years left the country. President Barack Obama's legacy is easily summarized in eight words: "leading from behind," "red line," "JV," Aleppo and Libya.

Sure, there have been big fumbles and stumbles, especially at the start: the first executive order on immigration; the use of "so-called" in referring to a federal judge (never appropriate or prudent); branding journalists, no matter how biased, the "enemy of the American people."

Of continuing concern are the administration's refusal to release White House visitor logs, West Wing staff intrigues and the glacial pace of appointments, particularly the absence of Republicans at the Pentagon and the failure to move swiftly on filling appellate court vacancies. All these are unforced errors that have combined to deny Trump the accolades that would have been forthcoming had his accomplishments not been so interlaced with pratfalls.

Trump's most significant setback - the collapse of the repeal and replacement of Obamacare - is not yet a conclusive defeat. And a spate of executive orders has set the stage for regulatory relief across the federal government. Could Trump have done better? Of course. But what he has done is without question of historic and lasting impact.

On the political front, there is the slight but ongoing shuffle to the center - a very good thing so long as the judicial picks remain originalists and the military rebuilding robust. In office, Obama moved left, left and then more to the left. Trump has begun his presidency by casting off his moorings to the hard right while keeping true believers such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the forefront and the rhetoric of jobs, jobs, jobs constantly resounding.

This a politically potent combination, and the drop-off in protest marchers between the Jan. 21 and April 15 rallies and the disappointments to Democrats in the Kansas and so far Georgia special elections - Jon Ossoff's best shot at actually winning Georgia's 6th Congressional District seems to have come and gone - telegraph that it is working. Progressives' complaints are increasing both in number and decibels, and their energy veering wildly leftward, much to the delight of Republicans who worry about the downside potential of November 2018.

Trump has been adapting and learning in his own, always unique and often far-too-unnecessarily-divisive way. Just imagine what the next three and two-thirds years can bring - if he minimizes the errors of the first 100 days and repeats the parts that have been greeted with broad-based conservative applause.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post

Hugh Hewitt, a Post contributing columnist, hosts a nationally syndicated radio show and is author of "The Fourth Way: The Conservative Playbook for a Lasting GOP Majority."
Tuesday 2 May 2017 1:00pm



University of Otago PhD candidate Chelsea Cunningham, of Ngati Kahungunu, leads a group in the field in Hawke's Bay.

Hawkes Bay iwi are working closely with University of Otago experts to learn how to record and protect sites with crucial cultural and archaeological values.

In March the University launched Omaio ki Tua, a project in partnership with Pukehou Marae, Kahuranaki Marae and the Kairakau Land Trust.

This community-based initiative to protect and conserve Maori heritage places in coastal areas of the Ngati Kahungunu rohe has been funded by the Department of Conservation through its Community Conservation Partnerships programme.

The head of the Universitys Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Professor Richard Walter, says many of these places are archaeological sites that contain physical evidence of past human activity.

They possess important cultural and archaeological values and, because of their location in the coastal zone, they are increasingly vulnerable to damage through rising sea levels and other coastal processes.

The project is based on the principle that the best way of achieving effective archaeological site management is for mana whenua groups to take an active and leading role. Marae-based groups have been given training and the resources to carry out ongoing monitoring and oversee the management of sites.

Led by Professor Walter, the University ran a two-day workshop at Pukehou Marae at which participants learned the principles of archaeological site recording.

As well as obtaining general skills in recognising and describing archaeological sites, site mapping, photography and GPS work, the participants were shown some of the methods archaeologists use to read and interpret archaeological landscapes, Professor Walter says.

The workshop included a focused session of work on Manawarakau Pa at Kairakau.

The University team is made up of staff of the research unit, Southern Pacific Archaeological Research (SPAR), who specialise in working with iwi, hapu and marae groups on archaeological research and management.

SPAR staff member Dr Karen Greig, a researcher in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, has developed a phone app for the programme that can be used to record and monitor archaeological sites and which feeds information into a central marae-managed database.

In addition to the University of Otago team, the local partners in the project are James Graham and Tihema Makoare (Pukehou), Robin Hape (Kahuranake), Wiki Moore and Jill Munroe (Kairakau Land Trust).

The initial workshop at Pukehou was attended by representatives and interested members of all those groups, plus Christine Barnett from Heritage New Zealand, Charles Ropitini from Hawkes Bay Museum and local heritage consultant, Elizabeth Pishief.

The project will run for another year with further workshops and fieldwork planned.

For further information, please contact:

Professor Richard Walter

Department of Anthropology and Archaeology

Tel: 03 479 8754

Mobile: 021 473 880

Email: richard.walter@otago.ac.nz
Tuesday 2 May 2017 2:21pm



Ralph Hotere, Drawing for O.E. Middletons The Loners. No 10 (1972), pen & ink on paper, 305 x 193mm, Hocken Collections, Te Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago. Image reproduction by permission of the Hotere Foundation Trust.

Curated to coincide with the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival, Freefall will feature important works of art from the Hocken Pictorial collections, combined with gems from the Hockens holdings of archives, books, ephemera, maps and music, and significant works of art from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Special Collections at the University of Otago Library.



Freefall offers an opportunity to explore connections between these collections, the creative relationships between artists and writers, and to investigate notions about the look, use and role of image, narrative, words and text in art and print-based media.

Predominantly an art exhibition, Freefall features paintings by some of New Zealands most important artists, including Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere and Joanna Paul.



Their friendships and artistic collaborations with writers spurred an interest in incorporating text and text references in their artworks and fed into their thinking about the look of the word and the use of words in art.



Hocken pictures such as McCahons The Wake (1958) - a series of 16 loose canvases depicting his friend John Caselbergs poetic lament for his beloved Great Dane Thor - will be fully installed for the first time in at least a decade, in keeping with the visual experience the artist intended to create with this work.



Other examples of cross-disciplinary practice in Freefall include Untitled [The stillness of the rose], 1974-1980, by poet and former Burns Fellow Cilla McQueen and artist Joanna Paul, and works by Ralph Hotere, whose collaborations with Robert Burns Fellows such as O. E. Middleton and authors such as Bill Manhire culminated in works of art and writing of great sophistication and beauty.



The Hockens rich archive collection contains diaries, letters and documents, and striking examples of unique historic texts, such as Ngapuhi Chief Hongi Hikas writing sample, and the hand-crossed school roll of young Maori attending the Church Missionary Society school at Rangihoua in 1816.



Although primarily of historical significance, these documents prompt visual connections that would otherwise not necessarily be made between them, as exampled in the refined use of te tuhi (line) in Hongi Hikas alphabet lettering, and in Ralph Hoteres linear works, such as his drawings for Middletons The Loners.



Other striking historic linear and text-based documents include Hone Tuhawaikis Declaration of ownership of Robucka [Ruapuke] Island (28 March 1840) in which the Chief has hand drawn his moko as his signature, the Rev James Watkins Vocabulary of Maori words, compiled at Waikouaiti 1840-1844, and Munshi Abdullahs Hikayat Abdullah, c.1843, an autobiographical account of life in early Singapore, written in Malay using Arabic-derived Jawi script.



Frederick Tucketts Otago Block Map of 1844 is accompanied by the original sketch for the map in surveyor J.W. Barnicoats notebook.



Documents such as Emily Siedebergs 1891 Letter to the Chancellor of the University of Otago, requesting admission to the Medical School, and sheets of passionate handwritten notes by Lawyer Alfred Hanlon, drafted for his 1895 defence of Minnie Dean, the only woman to receive the death penalty in New Zealand, illustrate the power of the word.



The work of Janet Frame is represented by her bold and beautiful letter to James K Baxter (1947), praising his first book Beyond the Palisade and Frames original manuscript of The Pocket Mirror (1967), the only volume of poetry published during the authors life-time.



Dunedins vibrant 1980s music scene is represented by some rare hand- produced posters and the album cover for Look Blue Go Purples Bewitched, featuring lyrics and comic-strip insert.



A handful of examples of important and extraordinary books from the Hocken and the University Librarys Special Collections will also sit alongside European works of art dating from the 14th-19th century, drawn from the collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. These were predominantly donated by Mary Dora and Esmond de Beer who, along with their cousin Charles Brasch, were among Dunedins most significant benefactors to the arts.



Freefall will be on display at the Hocken Collections Exhibition Gallery, Hocken Library, 90 Anzac Avenue, Monday  Saturday 10am-5pm from Saturday 6 May- Saturday 1 July.



The exhibitions curator is Robyn Notman (Head Curator, Pictorial Collections), with curatorial support from Andrea Bell (Curator, Art), and advice from Anna Blackman (Head Curator, Archives), Peter Sime (Head Curator, Publications), Karen Craw (Curator, Maps), Katherine Milburn (Liaison Librarian, Curator Ephemera), Amanda Mills (Liaison Librarian, Curator Music and AV), Dr Anna Petersen (Curator, Photographs) and Dr Donald Kerr (Special Collections Librarian, University of Otago).
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A line formed outside the Humane Society of Midland County on Saturday morning. The doors opened and dogs and cats inside kennels and cages found a reason to wag their tails faster and perk their noses and ears a little higher.

Thirty-six animals at Midlands no-kill shelter  19 dogs, 17 cats  were adopted as part of the Bissell Pet Foundations Empty the Shelters event, which covered adoption fees at 66 participating shelters statewide on Saturday. Adopters only had to pay $10 for licensing fees.

It was a fantastic event, said Beth Wellman, shelter director at the Humane Society of Midland County.

The shelter processed 169 adoptions in April, according to Wellman. The 36 adoptions that were handled in a few hours Saturday represented over 20 percent of the monthly total.

Wellman anticipated the larger influx of adopters.

We pulled dogs from all over the place prior to the event, she said. Canines, some in danger of being euthanized, came from other shelters all over Michigan and a couple surrounding states.

And at least half the adopters came from outside the county, she said.

By the end of the day, there was only one dog that hadnt been adopted: Dutch, a 4-year-old pit bull mix. But over the weekend, a group of people had banded together to pay Dutchs adoption fee, the Humane Society reported. The neutered male needs a home without cats and is selective with other dogs  the Humane Society advises bringing in your dog to meet Dutch before adopting. He was attacked by another dog, and Dutch has a scar on his lip, according to the Humane Society.

There were seven cats that were not adopted.

The shelter at 4371 E. Ashman St. has about 34 dog kennels and 60 cat cages. It nears capacity with cats, but not so much with dogs, Wellman said.

Being relieved of 36 animals in one day eases the pressure of having animals sit in cages, she said.

Its a momentary breather for staff, she said. Its a huge day of positivity, which is great for morale.

Momentary because the staff knows its only a matter of time before repopulation: When the shelter reopened on Monday, staff took in five cats in the first two hours.

It amazes me with what we can do with this building, she said, noting its not built for long-term care.

The Humane Societys board of directors is getting numbers together and talking to people with the goal of expanding the shelter, Wellman said.

I hope were able to have a better facility soon, she said. But we need donations from the community. Thats the only way we are funded.

The Humane Society had placed 1,245 cats and 815 dogs with new owners in 2016; since 2011, the shelter has placed more than 13,369 cats and dogs, according to its website.

Adoption fees at the Humane Society of Midland County normally vary between $75 to $300 for dogs and puppies and $0-60 for cats and kittens.

On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Humane Society is hosting another adoption event  the fifth annual Mid-Michigan Pet Expo at the Gerstacker Building at the Midland County fairgrounds. Search Mid-Michigan Pet Expo on Facebook to see the event page with more info.

The Bissell Pet Foundation reported 1,530 pet adoptions statewide at the 66 participating shelters on Saturday. More than 20 shelters reported they were almost or completely empty by the end of the day.
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan will recognize Midland County Habitat for Humanity at the Building Michigan Communities Conference today in Lansing. The chapter was chosen for the Affiliate of the Year Award in honor of its significant accomplishments that have advanced the mission of Habitat for Humanity.

Midland County Habitat for Humanity was selected by a panel of judges made up of representatives from Habitat for Humanity of Michigan affiliates who have not entered a candidate in the current years awards program, and also the Habitat for Humanity of Michigan Board of Directors. The judges consider the affiliates volunteer impact, number of families served, fundraising activities, advocacy actions, community partnerships and best practices. They found Midland County Habitat for Humanity to excel in these areas.
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Two boaters were rescued after they were trapped at the Dow dam on the Tittabawassee River on Saturday morning.

Midland Fire Department Battalion Chief Chuck Powell said the call, made about 7:15 a.m. to 9-1-1, reported a boat had gone over the dam and two fishermen were in need of rescue.

The Midland County Sheriffs Office reports the men  a 63-year-old from Sanford and a 23-year-old from Midland  were in a 16-foot aluminum fishing boat and it lost power from its two outboard motors. The boat drifted toward the dam and got stuck.

The boat was hanging kind of precariously on the edge of the dam, Powell said, adding the boat was tipped at a 45 degree angle.

The response included a call for the Midland Fire Departments rescue boat, as well as to the Jerome Township Fire Department for another boat. That boat and rescue swimmers were placed downriver in case the fishermens boat went over the dam while rescue efforts were made upriver, Powell said.

The Midland County Sheriffs Office Dive Team, Midland Police, Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation police officers, and The Dow Chemical Co. loss prevention/fire/EMS department also assisted. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter also was on standby.

Powell said the rescue included sending life jackets to the fishermen, who were not wearing flotation devices when the accident occurred, and setting up a rope rigging called a highline across the river upstream from the dam. Firefighters then launched a rescue boat, tethered to the highline to prevent it from also becoming trapped on the dam.

Firefighters on the rescue boat sent flotation harnesses, tied to ropes, to the fishermen and used those to get the fishermen into the rescue boat.

It turned out well, Powell said, giving credit to the Ladder 3 crew  Lt. Mark Laux, fire truck operator Mickey Mason and firefighter Ben Liebenow. The three are members of the departments Technical Rescue Team.

There were no injuries. The boat the fishermen were in washed over the dam later Saturday.
The Michigan State Police is hosting an event to raise awareness of missing persons cases, as well as to help resolve cases.

The Missing in Michigan event is set for 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Madonna University-Franciscan Center, 36600 Schoolcraft Road in Livonia.
SPRINGFIELD  The movement to improve conditions for the 2,500 women housed in Illinois' two female prisons is advancing with passage of a House bill that would create a women's services division in the Department of Corrections to oversee the unique needs of women, most of whom were abused before they arrived at the prison door.

The Women's Correctional Services Division would provide senior level oversight of programs at the Decatur and Logan County correctional centers and the parole division that supervises women after prison.

Deanne Benos, a former assistant director of IDOC who later founded the Women's Justice Initiative, said the legislation that now moves to the Senate would help the prison system address issues outlined in the Gender Informed Practice Assessment (GIPA), a study conducted last year of the Logan County prison.

"This law will be a model. Illinois will be the first in the country to statutorily define gender responsive practices," said Benos, who coordinated the project with IDOC Women & Family Services Coordinator Margaret Burke.

The 18-member consulting team spent four days talking with staff and inmates before releasing its assessment in November 2016.

Underscoring the need to examine the unmet needs of female inmates is the 767 percent growth rate of women in Illinois prisons between 1980 and 2014, a rate that exceeds the 700 percent national growth rate for the period. Minority women across the country continue to be disproportionately impacted by incarceration.

The Logan assessment offers a snapshot of the issues facing the complex population.

The 1,835 women at the facility outside Lincoln are mothers of a total of 3,700 children, and about 44 percent of the women do not have a high school or GED diploma.

About 41 percent, or an estimated 770, have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Fifty-eight percent of women in IDOC are on a mental health caseload compared with 25 percent of their male counterparts, according to the GIPA.

The GIPA notes that most women have a history of physical and sexual abuse  "conditions at risk of being dangerously triggered, misunderstood and mismanaged in a prison." Without adequate mental health services, women become less stable and are released into the community in worse shape than when they entered the system.

The assessment cited culture and leadership changes needed at Logan. A hastily arranged transition of Logan in 2013 from a male to female facility housing women previously held at the Dwight and Lincoln correctional centers left the prison without properly trained staff and inconsistent policies, said the GIPA.

"Numerous reports from both staff and women suggest that a poorly planned, rushed and chaotic transition of the women from Dwight/Lincoln to Logan set the tone for the culture that exists at Logan today," said the report.

The recommendations for women-centered policies are part of an ongoing collaboration between IDOC and advocates for change, said Benos.

"It's going to be a long haul. So far it's producing positive results," starting with an initial round of staff training, said Benos.

The John Howard Association recently released results of its Logan survey that includes perceptions from staff and inmates that the prison is not a safe place to live and work. About 66 percent of inmates opined that the disciplinary process is unfair, and about 70 percent were dissatisfied with the prison's health care services.

On the issue of safety, 44 percent of inmates said they do not feel safe, compared to 31 who did not express safety concerns and another 25 percent who had no opinion. Almost half of Logan's staff responded that they do not feel the prison is a safe work environment, with 30 percent having an opposing view and 20 percent expressing a neutral view.

Jennifer Vollen Katz, executive director of the Chicago-based prison monitoring group, said the survey is part of a pilot program to increase feedback from staff and inmates in Illinois. Katz said data from the survey and GIPA point to what has been known for a long time: "The incarceration experience is simply different for women than men."
BLOOMINGTON  Chanting "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" and "Immigrant rights are human rights," about 300 people marched Monday evening from outside the McLean County Museum of History to outside Bloomington City Hall to support immigrant families in McLean County.

Responding to Trump administration comments about increasing deportations through partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, several speakers called for the City Council to adopt a "Welcoming City" ordinance, which would bar the city and Bloomington police from reporting people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

"We can't control what is happening in (Washington) D.C., but we can here," said Illinois People's Action board member Sonny Garcia, who was among several people who spoke at the rally in front of City Hall. He asked the City Council  which swore in newly elected members Monday evening in City Hall just before the rally  to "stand up and say 'no' to hate and be an example to the nation."

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner came outside to welcome the marchers.

Calling the United States, "a nation of immigrants," Renner said "the better part of humanity has to prevail and, here in Bloomington, it will prevail."

Renner told the marchers that "our police force does not work with ICE" but stopped short of endorsing the Welcoming City ordinance.

He told The Pantagraph earlier that the city legal department is analyzing a Welcoming City ordinance, but there are concerns.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos also told The Pantagraph earlier, "While I'm generally supportive of what they're trying to accomplish, that particular document is difficult to support because there are legal issues."

Renner and Koos have expressed concern about endorsing a document that puts police at odds with federal agents. Renner may issue a mayoral proclamation as an alternative to the ordinance.

But Jenn Carrillo, YWCA McLean County mission impact director, told The Pantagraph after the rally, "We need to go beyond a proclamation and codify it in an ordinance."

Carrying signs that read "Blono is better when we keep families together" and "Migration is Beautiful," many marchers  some shivering in the wind and 47-degree temperatures during the lengthy rally  also held plastic monarch butterflies. They have become a symbol of the immigration rights movement because they migrate from Mexico to the United States and Canada.

"Migration is not only natural but beautiful," said YWCA CEO D. Dontae Latson.

The Rev. Doug Hennessy, retired pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bloomington, said: "God's Word tells us every person without exception has inherent human dignity and is worthy of respect. That families are meant to be together. That this one small planet is meant to be shared, not divided."

A Welcoming City ordinance "would be an important way for our community to say to our brothers and sisters and families who are most immediately threatened by the current situation, that we stand in solidarity with them," Hennessy said.

"The war against immigrants is a war against people of color," said Divah Griffin of Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal.

Among those who marched and rallied were David and Abby Warfel of Bloomington and their sons, Sam, 15, and Joe, 10.

"We're here to support the immigrant community," Joe said. "No human is illegal."

"We want to help families to stay together," Abby said. "We wouldn't want to be separated from each other. We want others to have that same sense of safety."

"The national climate on immigration is very distressing and we want to do something to make our community safer," said David Warfel, noting his ancestors emigrated from Germany.

"I want other families to have the same opportunities that my family had," he said.
At least 20 activists were arrested in St. Petersburg yesterday for protesting the torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya.

The demonstrators used the city's May Day parade as an opportunity to protest the persecution of gay men by the government, first reported last month. The protestors reportedly covered themselves in fake blood, carried Chechen flags with rainbows and held signs that demanded Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov be tried by the International Court of Justice at the Hague.

Igor Kochetkov, an activist detained at the march, told Reuters he and a group of ten protestors were taken to the St. Petersburg police station while another group was detained elsewhere. Still locked up, he said, "I was waving a rainbow flag (representing gay rights), and was shouting 'Kadyrov should go to the Hague'."

Reports of gay men in Chechnya being detained in concentration camps where they are tortured and even murdered have been largely ignored by international leaders. The Russian journalist who originally broke the story, Elena Milashina, has had to go into hiding following threats. Kadyrov denied the claims with the chilling defense that, "you cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic." A spokesperson for Putin stands by Kadyrov.

UK Minister of Foreign Affairs Alan Duncan brought the issue to parliament last week, citing sources that said Kadyrov planned to "eliminate" the LGBTQ population of Chechnya by May 26.

"Human rights groups report that these anti-gay campaigns and killings are orchestrated by the head of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov," he said. "He has carried out other violent campaigns in the past, and this time he is directing his efforts at the LGBT community. Sources have said that he wants the community eliminated by the start of Ramadan. Such comments, attitudes and actions are absolutely contemptible."

Below, a video by Human Rights First shows survivors of the Chechen camps telling their stories:

[h/t Dazed]

Image via Twitter




The Justice Department announced its decision today to not charge the Baton Rouge officers involved in the shooting death of Alton Sterling last summer. Video of Sterling's death, including the moments leading up to it and the immediate aftermath, went viral and prompted protests across the city.

Sterling's death happened the day before a Minnesota officer shot Philando Castile point blank, killing him, during a routine traffic stop. Castile's death was live-streamed by his girlfriend on Facebook. Massive protests erupted across the country, and in the same week five white Dallas police officers were gunned down by a lone black shooter.

Baton Rouge police say that officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake approached Sterling, who was selling CDs outside of a convenience store, because he matched the description of an armed suspect.

Sterling, a father of five, eventually ended up on the ground on his back with the two officers above him. The officers claim they saw the butt of a gun in Sterling's pocket, and in response they shot and killed him.

This video shows the moments officers killed Sterling. Warning: it is graphic and upsetting.



At the time, President Obama expressed confidence in the Justice Department's impending investigation of whether the officers had cause to fire, saying, "We have seen tragedies like this too many times."

Even under Obama and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the Justice Department was reluctant to bring charges against officers in cases of excessive force.

In the 2014 case of 18-year-old Mike Brown, which sparked mass protests in Ferguson, Missouri and the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter movement nationwide, the Justice Department did not charge officer Darren Wilson, saying there was "no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilson's stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety." In the 2015 shooting case of 24-year-old Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, investigators similarly concluded that they could not prove "the use of force was objectively unreasonable based on all of the surrounding circumstances." And in 2015, an Ohio jury declined to charge officers in the 2014 death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Under the new administration, there is concern that the police reforms that were slowly taking shape in the form of increased sensitivity training, heightened accountability, and the mandatory wearing of body and dashboard cameras will be slowly rolled back. Trump is aggressively pro-law enforcement, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a Justice Department review of court-mandated reforms within police departments with high levels of complaints.

Another open case of a black man being killed by the police moved forward today. Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager arranged a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to a single count of using excessive force to deprive of a person of their civil rights in the fatal shooting of Walter Scott, the New York Times reports.

Slager was filmed shooting Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, in the back in 2015 after an altercation at a traffic stop. In the video, Scott is very clearly running away from the officer, who then shoots and fires directly at Scott. The maximum sentence for Slager's charge is life in prison, but he will likely serve far less time than that.

"We hope that Michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss," Slager's defense lawyers said in a statement.

Both of these developments come on the heels of the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, who was shot in the head by police on Saturday night as he and his friends drove away from a house party outside Dallas. Charges have yet to be filed in Edwards' case.

Sterling's family is holding a vigil tonight, and has asked that the focus remain on Sterling.

[h/t Washington Post]

Image via Twitter
A federal appeals court ruled today that Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs, can be sued for damages by the couples she denied.

David Ermold and David Moore are the couple who originally filmed Davis refusing to give them a license and were the first plaintiffs in the case against her. In September 2015, Davis famously argued that she was denying licenses to same-sex couples on "God's authority," and has been in and out of court ever since. She even did a stint in jail for contempt-of-court, a time which she called "peaceful."

A U.S. district judge dismissed same sex couples' case against Davis last August, but the Sixth Circuit Court reversed that decision today, ruling that the couples are entitled to receive compensation for the damages caused by Davis' actions. The appeals court ruled that the case is valid because it's "not a general challenge to Davis's policy, but rather seeks damages for a particularized harm allegedly suffered by a specific set of plaintiffs."

Now, the case gets kicked back to the U.S. district judge. If he rules in Ermold and Moore's favor, Davis could be responsible for paying damages to the couple, which would set a precedent for future cases.



[h/t The Cut]

Image via Getty
The sixth edition of FRIEZE New York returns to Randall's Island from May 5 to 7 with over 200 galleries from 31 countries  and a VIP preview on Thursday, May 4. This year they are collab'ing with the Getty-led initiative "Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA" and NYU's Institute of Fine Arts to present a symposium on Latin American and Latino art on Friday, May 5. Plus, all three special "platforms" return: Spotlight, featuring solo presentations from 31 galleries; Frame, with 17 emerging global galleries; and Focus, showcasing (and subsidizing) young galleries.

Kenny Scharf, Fast Fun, 1978 via Honor Fraser Gallery

Several New York galleries will take a look back at the 80's East Village scene in their Frieze spots: Honor Fraser Gallery has early works by Kenny Scharf made between 1978 and 1985; P.P.O.W. is showing works by Martin Wong, David Wojnarowicz and Anton van Dalen; and Skarstedt features Mike Kelly and Cindy Sherman. Also look for seven special commissions curated by Cecilia Alemani, including a secret movie theater by Jon Rafman and a tribute to Rome's Gallleria La Tartaruga with a program that changes daily and includes a new "interactive performance" piece by Ryan McNamara on Friday, May 5. Three non-profits have also been invited to participate this year: the Judd Foundation, Sculpture Center and White Columns.

When you need a break, check out new restaurant pop-ups from Cafe Altro Paradiso, Russ & Daughters and TYME Fast Food: as well as returning favorites including Sant Ambroeus, Frankies Spuntino and Roberta's.

Tickets are HERE. Take the ferry ($19 r/t) from East 35th Street  there's also a fast ferry from East 90th Street again this year, but it only runs during the week. Take the bus ($8 r/t) from the Guggenheim (88th Street and Fifth Avenue). Take a cab, drive or walk across the East 103rd Street footbridge.

SATELLITE FAIRS:

Manolo Valdes (Valencia, 1942) via Beck & Eggeling International Fine Arts and TEFAF

Another major fair, TEFAF, joins the fun this year. Founded in 1988, TEFAF Maastricht now attracts over 75,000 visitors to their annual event in the Netherlands. From May 4 to 8, the first New York Spring Fair will focus on modern and contemporary art and design from over 92 dealers, all within a unique environment created by Tom Postma Design at the Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue). Tickets are HERE. There's a big opening night benefit for The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering on Wednesday evening, May 3. Check out Swiss Galerie Gmurzynska's installation in the armory's Colonel's Room designed by Alexandre de Betak.





The PORTAL art fair is moving to 435 Broome Street in SoHo for this year's second edition opening on May 3. Thirty global artists will be featured and, rather than take fees, the fair's organizers ask the artists to consider donating a percentage of sales. Look for several mixed-media installations including a structure made from two large canvases by Iranian/American artist Zahra Nazari. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through May 8 and admission is FREE.





Via Art New York

Art New York & CONTEXT New York return in 2017 with over 120 international galleries from 50 countries showing at Pier 94 (55th Street and Westside Highway) from May 3 to 7, with a VIP preview from 2 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Check out a special, silk-screened edition of Bob Gruen's iconic, rock-star shots presented by Gary Lichtenstein Editions; photos from Andy Warhol's 1987 memorial at St. Pats by Christophe von Hohenberg; and 99 portraits of the 99% by Jason Meyers presented by Long-Sharp Gallery.





SUPERFINE! kicks off on May 4, 6 to 11 p.m., and runs through Sunday, May 7, featuring 40 global exhibitors and over 750 works on view at 459 West 14th Street. If you're in a "NY State of Mind," go HERE for tickets . On May 5, 6 to 10 p.m., there's a Young Collectors' Ice Cream Social with Penguin Prison.





Antoine Tempe, Adama Paris, 2103. Courtesy (S)ITOR/Sitor Senghor

The third NYC edition of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair is back at Pioneer Works (159 Pioneer Street, Red Hook) with over 20 exhibitors on hand from May 5 to 7, noon to 8 p.m. daily.

The fifth FRIDGE art fair explores "50 Shades of Fridge: Art and Kink for the Age of Revolution" at two Brooklyn locations from May 3 to 6. The main fair is at the Branded Saloon (603 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn) and there's a pop-up at the NU Hotel (85 Smith Street, Brooklyn). They are hosting a "Grand Gala" to support Jacob's Color Link Initiative on May 3, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., at the saloon.





NYCxDESIGN celebrates global design with a citywide series of events running from May 3 to May 24. Go HERE for the complete run-down. Lots of things happening around town including: a photo exhibition by Levon Bliss at Moooi (36 East 31st Street); a showcase of student work at Parsons (66 Fifth Avenue); an exhibition of post-war French designers at Demisch Danant (30 West 12th Street); and a discussion on Women Craft Entrepreneurs on May 23, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at ABC Carpet & Home (888 Broadway). This year they've added a public-hub DESIGN PAVILION in Astor Place Plaza from May 7 to 11, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with creative structures, displays and talks.









Also for design aficionados: The Collective Design fair celebrates their fifth anniversary with global design galleries showing at Skylight Clarkson Square (550 Washington Street) from May 3 to May 7; BKLYN DESIGNS is at Brooklyn Expo Center (72 Noble Street) from May 5 to May 7; and WantedDesign runs from May 17 to 23 at Industry City (220 36th Street, Sunset Park, Brooklyn) and from May 20 to 23 at Terminal Stores (269 11th Avenue, Manhattan).

BENEFITS:





Creative Time's 2017 Gala is Wednesday, May 3, at City Point in downtown Brooklyn. This year they're honoring Carol Lim and Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony and there's a "Pledges of Allegiance" flag auction with flags by Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, Trevor Paglen, Pedro Reyes and Rirkrit Tiravanija.





Sean Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization hosts a benefit auction and dinner at Sotheby's New York (1334 York Avenue) on Friday May 5, 7 p.m. The auction includes works by Ed Ruscha, Jonas Wood, Deborah Kass and Henry Taylor; along with "experiential" lots including dinner with Penn and Bill Clinton and a private tour of James Turrell's Roden Crater. You can preview the auction starting May 1. Tickets are HERE.





Doron Langberg, Sleep, 2014. Courtesy Paddle8

Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, hosts a benefit/auction on Saturday, May 6, 6 to 9 p.m., at 591 Broad Street in Newark, NJ. The theme, "Downtown83," acknowledges the cultural impact of the 80s. The auction via Paddle8 closes on May 12. Check it out and bid HERE.

Williamsburg arts venue National Sawdust has their third annual gala in honor of Philip Glass, Renee Fleming and Helga Davis at Gotham Hall (1356 Broadway, Manhattan) on May 3, 6 to 10 p.m. David Byrne, Julianne Moore and Ann Ziff are scheduled to speak; plus there will be live performances and a seated dinner. Tickets are HERE.

Splash photo by Mark Blower. Courtesy of Mark Blower/Frieze


A leaked document revealed Facebook exploited children and insecure teenagers in targeted ads. The social media site allegedly used algorithms to monitor posts, photos and engagements in favor of the company's advertisers.

The confidential document obtained by The Australian came from an internal source. It cited Facebook algorithms detected words users posted like "nervous," "stupid," "failure," "stressed," among others, which advertisers analyzed to target marketing on vulnerable kids.

The report only covered Australian and New Zealanders as young as 14 and as old as college students. It did not involve data from other countries. Facebook Australia executives allegedly compiled the document, who also identified how teens broadcast their accomplishments on the social media platform.

Facebook admitted the document existed as it issued an apology to The Australian, according to News Corp Australia. The company also promised an internal investigation and admitted that such a practice of data mining to target young vulnerable children for advertising was inappropriate.

Facebook also told Mashable the people behind the leaked document "did not follow" the company's process of research for marketing purposes. "The analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook," a spokesperson told the news outlet.

Australian businesses follow strict codes for Advertising & Marketing Communications to Children. The leaked document implied the social media company's mining of user details for the benefit of companies might have been in violation of its provisions.

Facebook got into a similar data mining controversy in the past. In 2012, the company also issued an apology for its psychological experiment on users, The Guardian reported.

Some 700,000 user newsfeeds from around the world became vulnerable for marketing researchers to determine emotions and target its ads. The controversy resulted in Facebook updating its terms of use.

Parents, do you have teens of Facebook? Do you discuss issues like data mining breach with them? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Sound off in the comments below.
President Donald Trump might be the most present man on the planet, but people were not concerned about him as much as with his son, Barron Trump. On Donald Trump's first 100 days, an analysis showed that the 11-year-old overthrew his father in terms of interest as he garnered the most number of clicks since the president's inauguration.

Publishing optimization platform, SocialFlow, collected data from the three major social media sites and showed Barron yielded clicks more than any topic that concerned his father. Across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, most people became interested with the Trumps when critics scrutinized the boy for carrying autistic traits.

The articles that defended Barron comprised the most-clicked topic, USA Today said. Meanwhile, most-read articles concerned Barron's right to privacy and it became a part of the top 500 stories during Trump's first 100 days.

CEO of SocialFlow, Jim Anderson, told CBS News that it was encouraging to know that Trump's supporters and critics united interest for the presidential son. Even Hillary Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, stood against the assaults.

Barron-Mania! Littlest Trump is the Most Popular Family Member in First 100 Days #BARRONTRUMP https://t.co/piFtCsC7Ub via @heatstreet  TVDinner (@tvdinner2) May 1, 2017

"At a time when so much seems to divide our country, this is one example of how people from all parts of the spectrum share a common value: keep the children out of it," Anderson said. "And if we can find one common shared value, it's a good bet there are others."

Interestingly, Trump's big stories like his spat with Russia and North Korea fared poorly in terms of clickability. The president's Muslim ban in January, however, made it to the top, following Barron.

Donald's son with Melania Trump first received mockeries that implied his autistic traits during the Republican National Convention in 2016. As previously reported, the youngest Trump appeared restless and walked wobblier than normal during the event.

Barron also clapped erratically, with his hands touching neither each other. The traits, which are common among children with autism spectrum syndrome (ASD), gave rise to the idea that he might be secretly a child of special needs.
Donald Trump official and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue did not allow one of the accomplishments of former First Lady Michelle Obama to continue. The accomplishment derailed by Perdue pertained to one of the plans implemented during the Obama administration in an attempt to fight childhood obesity.

Obama's accomplishment focused on stricter nutritional standards for lunches and breakfasts served in schools. The plan was to cut down on sodium, serve less whole grains and reduce sweetened milk drinks. The restrictions made its way in 2012 under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Perdue talked about the cancellation of Obama's plan while he talked at Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia. He pointed out that he decided to stall the implementation of Obama's initiative because the food might just end up in the trash since it is likely the kids at school will not want to eat them. Perdue continued that some schools complained about the new menu for lunch and breakfast because the whole grain changes resulted to children not wanting to eat them.

The Agriculture Secretary promised they will work on long-term solutions regarding foods served in schools. One of the proposed changes was children must take fruits and vegetables, CBS News reported.

Perdue said their latest move will not require schools to change the amount of sodium in the foods they serve until 2020 but they will grant schools with waivers if they want to quit serving only whole-grain enriched food. Perdue said they will not go back to the same food served before the Act came into existence but they will offer schools with more flexibility in order to benefit both the schools and the students.

Even though Perdue believed the restrictions from Obama were too strict, other advocates such as public health researcher Miriam Nelson said the program regarding schools meals resulted to progress in the past five years. She added, "This progress has contributed to reversing the trend in childhood obesity rates nationwide. ... We want to continue the progress we have made."

Moreover, 97 percent of schools complied with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. They will be able to get extra six cents per meal, as per their reimbursement from the government, The Washington Post revealed.

This is not the first time a nutrition-related legacy from the Obama administration got stalled by the Trump government. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced they will re-write some parts of the ObamaCare.
An unidentified illness broke out in Liberia resulting to the death of 11 people. Health experts said the cases were not due to Ebola this time.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Liberian officials said these people all went to the funeral of a religious leader. After attending, they contracted the illness and a total of 20 people got infected. Five remained in area hospitals and four received clearances to be discharged.

The illness surfaced on April 23 and among those infected were also children. WHO and Liberian officials did not say, however, how many children got sick or if any of those who died were kids. Those who contracted the illness attended a religious leader's funeral a day before they got infected.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said in a statement they took samples from the people who died from the illness and the results showed they were negative for Ebola, yellow fever and Lassa fever. She pointed out that the next step is to look for "other hemorrhagic fevers and for bacteria, if there was any common exposure to water contamination or food contamination," NBC News revealed.

Ebola broke out in Liberia two years ago and the number of cases began to drop months back. But Yellow fever, which is passed through a mosquito bite, remained a problem in the area. Lassa fever, which is acquired from infected rats, also remained rampant in West Africa, World Health Organization revealed. The other victims tested positive for malaria and received treatment.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received the sample and said that the mortality rate for the mystery illness is higher in children. There's a possibility that the illness was due to an ingestion or exposure to a contaminant.

As for the real cause of the deaths, it might be determined in a week or two. The symptoms that the infected people suffered from included confusion, diarrhea, headache and vomiting.

The new illness came two years after Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone became the hardest hit areas in the world after a global Ebola outbreak. Around 28,600 people contracted the disease and health officials estimated 11, 300 deaths. Just last year, WHO declared Liberia free of Ebola.
A recent Christianity Today article by Tish Harrison Warren caught my eye. Warren is an ordained minister in the Anglican tradition, and a woman. Christianity Today is more open on female ordination than many other evangelical publications, but Warrens article points to some major blindspots nonetheless. Warren, you see, is concerned about woman bloggers who operate outside of church authority and yet write about their spiritual journeys publicly for all to see. This isapparentlya crisis.

The rise of the blogosphere in the early 2000s yielded the genre of the spiritual blogger. From the comfort of their living rooms, lay people suddenly became household names, wielding influence over tens of thousands of followers. A new kind of Christian celebrityand authoritywas born: the speaker and author who comes to us (often virtually) as a seemingly autonomous voice, disembedded from any larger institution or ecclesial structure. Just as the invention of the printing press helped spark the Protestant Reformation and created a crisis of authority, the advent of social media has catalyzed a new crisis in the church.

Yes, thats righta crisis.

One thing I appreciate about the internet in general, and the blogosphere in particular, is that it has provided a platform for voices that would otherwise have gone unheard. It means anyone with an internet connection can say their piece, and in a place others can read it.

And that, Warren argues, is a problem. Because it usurps church authority.

One of the most prominent recent examples of this crisis involves the popular blogger Jen Hatmaker, who last year announced that her views about homosexuality have changed. She was cheered by some and denounced by others. LifeWay stopped selling her books. Aside from the debate about sexuality, broader questions emerged: Where do bloggers and speakers like Hatmaker derive their authority to speak and teach? And who holds them accountable for their teaching? What kinds of theological training and ecclesial credentialing are necessary for Christian teachers and leaders? What interpretive body and tradition do these bloggers speak out of? Who decides what is true Christian orthodoxy? And how do we as listeners decide whom to trust as a Christian leader and teacher?

Now maybe its just me, but I was raised in an evangelical home, and I grew up with the idea that all one needs is the Bible, and the Holy Spirit. I didnt grow up believing that religion needed to be filtered through specific authority figuresfigures appointed by whom, exactly? In this way my upbringing reflected ideas present in evangelicalism at least since the early 1800s. After the Revolutionary War, Americans had become unwilling to accept authority for authoritys sake. Popular religious leaders arose, with or without official denominational backing. People felt empowered to form their own ideas, and to follow their own interpretations.

I understand the critique this thought process often garnersit was this period that spawned the Church of Mormon, after all, and all manner of new religious experiments evangelicals would disapprove of. A man and his Bibleor a woman and her Biblepotentially means as many denominations as there are people. But I am shy of authority in the realm of religion. I dont want to see anyone dictating what others must believe, or what they are allowed to say, or when they may speak. A woman blogger speaks for herself. If she doesnt claim to speak for a church, or a denomination, what is the problem?

Warren, however, is convinced that there is a problemand a big one.

In this new cyber age, authority comes not from the church or the academic guild but from popularity. Hits on a viral post lead to book deals, which lead to taking the conference stage. Winsome, relatable writing, good storytelling, and compelling life experiences are often as crucial to audience sizeand therefore to authorityas theological teaching, presuppositions, or argument. Christian bloggers and conference speakers have become a sort of cyber-age equivalent to megachurch pastors, garnering huge followings based on a cult of personality and holding extensive power and influence, yet often lacking any accountability to formal structures of church governance.

Im not sure how exactly Warren missed this, but megachurch pastors dont actually typically have that much in terms of accountability to formal structures of church governance. Megachurches are often built around a cult of personality. In fact, much of evangelicalism in general lacks accountability to formal structures of church governance. Churches with no denominational affiliation proliferate, as do denominations that exercise little top-down control.

Nor does Warren address the differences between running a megachurchwhere you are dealing with real peoples everyday livesand writing a blog, where your authority only goes so far as people are willing to read your writing and find meaning in it. Pastors of megachurches are in physical contact with their followers; there is opportunity for grooming and abuse. There is also greater opportunity for financial mismanagementblogging does not typically pay much, and a Patreon lacks the same umph as a church tithe.

If Warren is so concerned about the lack of church authority, why isnt she out there remonstrating against megachurches? Why isnt she making an outcry against Independent Fundamentalist Baptist churches? Warren belongs to a denominations that exercises church authority, with bishops and the like, but the evangelical megachurch I grew up in had nothing of the sort. Why is it female bloggers, who are typically doing little more than writing a public diary, that have garnered Warrens attention?

Warren mentions that woman bloggers are less likely than male religious leaders to have seminary training. Why yes. This is true. But you know what? There are a zillion and one male pastors out there with zero seminary trainingor with seminary training in fundamentalist institutions that do little more than formalize Bible reading and memorization. Having seminary trainingfor better or for worseis not a requirement for being a pastor or church leader. Why, then, the focus on woman bloggers?

If Warren is so concerned about women bloggers relative lack of seminary training, why doesnt she encourage denominations and seminaries to offer online courses or create readings packetssay, lists of recommended booksfor female bloggers who write about spiritual matters? Instead of calling for greater denominational authority and control over woman bloggers, why not focus on the services these bodies can offer bloggers? Denominations could easily create an online certificate for bloggers interested in more formal education.

But Warrens concern, as we shall see, runs deeper:

with the blessing and power of leadership comes the duty and vulnerability of speaking out of ones particular theological tradition and in turn being held accountable to that same tradition. As public teacherseven those operating in cyberspacewe forfeit the luxury of holding merely private beliefs.

I think Warren is missing the point of lay blogging. Women bloggers who write about spiritual matters frequently are writing about their private beliefssharing them on a blog is in practice little different from sharing them with a girlfriend or sister. I well remember those conversations, where we would talk over various spiritual issues and offer our own thoughts on tricky passages, or swap stories or ideas that helped us understand this concept or that. Is this sort of conversation on Warrens chopping block too?

Warren continues as follows:

When Christian writers or speakers make theological statements, we have a responsibility to give a specific argument, show our rigorous theological work, elevate the conversation, welcome strong criticism and debate, and in so doing, help others think and worship better. And although many Christian writers and speakers might have some level of private, informal accountability in their home churches, they still need overt institutional superintendence (to match a huge national stage) and ecclesial accountability that has heft and power. Otherwise, they can teach any doctrine on earth under the banner of Christian faith and orthodoxy.

Theres a big difference between hold yourself to a standard and the sort of top-down denominational control Warren is suggesting. Its absolutely true that anyone writing their thoughts on the internet, especially one with a large platform, has a responsibility to make sure that what they are writing is accurateto put in some background research when necessaryand to think through the ramifications of what theyre writing, etc. But Warren is suggesting more than this. She is suggesting denominational control over what women write.

And god forbid woman bloggers teach any doctrine on earth under the banner of Christian faith and orthodoxy! Newsflash: this is exactly what male (and female) pastors have been doing in this country for hundreds of years. We dont have a state church. We have this thing called freedom of religion. Warren may want to take a good hard look at the state of Christianity beyond her specific, top-down denominationChristianity in the U.S. has always been characterized by the teaching of any doctrine on earth under the banner of Christian faith and orthodoxy. Why focus on female bloggers rather than on male pastors?

Warren never properly differentiates between woman bloggers as a group and the high-profile woman bloggers she sometimes mentionsthose having a huge national stage. I would be a-okay with Warren calling for high-profile woman bloggers to look into seminary training, be aware of their limitations, and consider finding a team of mentors or pursuing formal denominational affiliation. Instead, Warren paints all woman bloggers who write about spiritual matters with the same brush and calls for ecclesiastical accountability with heft and power.

What might such ecclesiastical accountability look like?

I am an Anglican priest; the tradition I serve in offers just one model of church governance and accountability. If I were to teach or write anything that wandered from Anglican orthodoxy (specifically the constitution and canons of the Anglican Church in North America), the next day or sooner Id get a call from my bishop, to whom Ive formally and publically pledged to submit. He has actual power to take away my title, my job, my authority, and my microphone.

Warren never considers that this sort of top-down denominational control might be a bad thing in some instances. It means she can be silenced, if she displeases someone in power. It means her tenure is contingent on her repeating the party lineand staying in line.

Im grateful that I cannot speak as an autonomous, unbridled voice. Instead, I have a large, international, historically grounded body that prays for me, that supports me, and that also makes sure I dont accidentally (or intentionally) lead others astray or invent ideas that will damage the church.

Okay, I stand corrected. She does realize thisand she likes it.

If we dont respond to this current crisis of authority institutionally, we are allowing Christian doctrine to be highjacked by whomever has the loudest voice or biggest platform.

Um, Warren? That is how it always is. That is how it has always been.

All of uswhether complementarians or egalitariansneed to create institutional structures to recognize the authority held by female teachers and writers and then hold them accountable for the claims they make under the name of Jesus and in the name of the church.

And again I saywe have freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.

Providing ecclesial oversight does not mean that all writers will speak out of one narrow tradition. Nor does ecclesial affiliation itself ensure orthodoxythere is, of course, no silver bullet against false teaching. Nevertheless, without institutional accountability there is simply no mechanism by which we as a church can preserve doctrinal fidelity.

Im slightly baffled that one could study church history in seminary and still come away believing that there is such thing as doctrinal purity, let alone that it is something you can actually protect. Sure, you can decide what beliefs you and your denomination (if youre in charge of it) teach and adhere to, but you cant control anyone elses beliefsand Christians beliefs have been fragmented and in disagreement for as long as Christianity has been a thing. If a woman blogger isnt claiming to speak for the Anglican church while having no official affiliation, why is Warren upset? Christianity fragmented long before the advent of blogging.

The ironic thing is that Warren is an Anglican. Shes writing in an evangelical magazine, and Im willing to bet that at least 50% of that publications readership believes infant baptismwhich Warren practices as an Anglicanis false teaching. Christianity Today is not the publication of a specific denomination; its readership is made up of those from many different denominationsdenominations that disagree strongly on multiple points.

There is no way to prevent false teaching or preserve doctrinal fidelity. American Christianity doesnt operate with that level of top-down institutional authority. We do not have an established church. If Warren doesnt like some of the things she reads on the female Christian blogosphere, she can create her own blog and respond. It really is that simple!

Lets be very clear about what is going on hereblogging has offered a platform to millions of people who did not have one before (particularly marginalized people, who may not have access to any other platform). Within the church, blogging has enabled a wide swath of laypeople, particularly women, to write about their spiritual journeys, their interpretations of Bible passages, and so forth. Warren does not like this democratization because these bloggers are not trained or under the control of the church, and that makes them dangerous. So she calls on pastors and others with seminary training to crack down on this democratization by imposing ecclesiastical authority.

And people wonder why Millennials are leaving the church.
Iran Khodro beging mass production of Peugeot 2008

05/02/17

Report by Press TV; photos by Islamic Republic News Agency

French auto giant Peugeot has started the mass production of its latest flagship crossover in Iran - a landmark move that could cement its presence in the Middle East's biggest vehicle market.







The production of Peugeot 2008 subcompact SUVs officially started in the central site of Iran Khodro Industrial Group (IKCO) in capital Tehran in a ceremony attended by the country's President Hassan Rouhani.







Peugeot 2008 was the first product of an ambitious joint venture between the two companies and was based on an agreement that they signed to the same effect last year.



It is already seen highly by Iran's media which described it as a tangible outcome of a post-sanctions agreement with a Western state.











Besides Iran, Peugeot 2008 is currently being produced in France, Brazil, China and Malaysia, as well.



Peugeot - a member of PSA Group - signed an agreement worth 400 million with the IKCO last year for the joint production of 200,000 cars per year.







The agreement - which the French company described as "a crucial milestone" - led to the formation of a joint venture named IKCO-Peugeot Joint Venture (IKIAP).



The partnership between the two companies envisaged an investment of 400 million in the development of a competitive manufacturing base for producing, launching and marketing Peugeot 208, 2008 and 301 models.







Peugeot has already announced that Iran Khodro can use the platform that will be created as a result of the joint venture to develop its own vehicles, as well.



The IKCO presents itself as the biggest automotive group in the Middle East and already has set up production lines in Venezuela, Belarus, Senegal, and Azerbaijan. It dominates Iran's massive market along with another Iranian auto major - SAIPA.
The DashCam may be compact, but its packed with features, including 1440p video, voice command, and all the detection and alert functionality you could ask forincluding an alert to keep you from snoozing at a stoplight. Add Wi-Fi connectivity and youve got one of the best dash cams weve tried. Our only concerns are the lack of a second channel for a rear view camera, and the units tendency to run a bit warm.

Garmins Dash Cam 55 adds a unique and essential feature compared to other dash cams weve reviewed. These little windshield-mounted watchers are already handy for protecting you from litigious pedestrians and drivers, or capturing a drive-by shooting or strange natural event. The Dash Cam 55 can also keep you from angering everyone stopped behind you at the red light.

The Dash Cam 55 senses when the car stopped in front of you at a light or stop sign has moved and lets you know about it. Universally applied, this could mean less noise pollution (cars behind you honking), less road rage, and less stupidity. In San Francisco recently, I saw a driver ignore three green lights in a row. Not one of the maybe 15 cars waiting behind ever honked. Go figure.

Shopping note: We link at the top of the review to a bundle on Amazon that includes a 64GB SD card, carrying case, and cleaning solution for a reasonable $230. Direct from Garmin, you can buy just the Dash Cam 55 for $200.

This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best dash cams. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.

Features

While the wake-up-dummy alert is a boon to humankind, it shouldnt obscure the fact that the Dash Cam 55 is also a very good all-around camera. Its extremely small (about 2 ounces and 2.2 x 1.6 x 1.3-inches), has GPS, accepts voice commands, and produces excellent video.

Its also got a cool semi-permanent (adhesive), magnetically-coupling mount that makes it easy to remove from the car. That may not mean much to suburbanites, but in a city full of opportunistic car thieves, its a must. Its also quite handy when you want to adjust settings: Just pop it off, make the adjustments, pop it back.

Garmin The Dash Cam 55 uses a magnetic coupling mount on your windshield.

As far as smart features are concerned, the Dash Cam 55s move-it-stupid alarm is joined by lane departure, forward collision, as well as stoplight warnings and traffic camera alerts. All the interaction you could possibly want. And more.

Performance and video quality

The Dash Cam 55s performance was very good. You can see the nice quality of the 3.7MP, 30-fps, 25601440 video in the shots below. You might prefer the 1080p HDR video, which better handles glare and night time shots.

If we had any complaint at all, its that the video seemed slight less stabilized than what weve seen from other cameras. Granted, my car has a stiff suspension, but Ive used it with all the other cameras Ive tested. We dont know whether the small size and light weight of the camera, or the magnetic mount, makes it more vulnerable to vibration, but the jitter, while subtle, was noticeable.

IDG Daytime captures were quite goodin this case, despite the glare of the midday sun and a not-very-clean windshield.

IDG Nighttime captures were adequate, but weve seen better.

About the Go Alert: Its great and it works, but it errs on the side of making sure youre truly asleep at the wheel, not sounding until theres perhaps 40 to 50 feet of clearance. A sensitivity control to tickle the habitually hesitant sooner might be nice. On the other side of the coin, the Dash Cam 55s red-light warnings were very thorough here in San Francisco. So much so, we grew weary of them in short order.

Note- 8/14/19: Garmins red light warning feature is subscription-based. A free year is included, but after that its $25 a year to maintain it.

IDG 1080p HDR video from the DashCam 55 at twilight. The smudge near the top right read of the vehicle in front came courtesy of an avian friend.

One other note: The Dash Cam 55 ran rather warm, and the upper edge of its climate rating is 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Thats worrisome only because we hear fairly often from users in hot climates such as Arizona or Florida, complaining about the rate at which the wee beasties expire. The unit is warrantied for a full year, so you can still give the Dash Cam 55 the shot it deserves.

The interface

The Dash Cam 55 is controlled primarily via four buttons on its right side that serve as exit/up/down/enter controls. It can be also partially controlled by voice command using the Okay Garmin cue. Voice command worked quite reliably, even in my noisy convertible. There are six commands: Save Video, Take a Picture, Record Audio, Stop Audio, Start Travelapse (record video), and Stop Travelapse. All very helpful, but voice control is addictive and we wound up wishing for more. Hows that for ingratitude?

Conclusion

If theres a better single-channel (no rear camera) dash cam than the Garmin Dash Cam 55, youd be hard-pressed to find it. Perhaps ThinkWares more expensive models have an edge, but theyre not this small and unobtrusive. The Dash Cam 55 is good stuff, though we wish it ran a bit cooler.
Yes thats right, laptop. Unlike the convertible Surface Book and Surface Pro , the new Surface Laptop sticks to a traditional clamshell notebook design. One glance confirms its a Surface device, though. The laptops keyboard features the same Alcantara material used on Microsofts $160 Signature Type Cover for the Surface Pro 4, and the same large 3:2 aspect-ratio displays of modern Surface devices. Another similarity: That 3.4-million-pixel display features Microsofts PixelSense technology, which gives it full access to Windows 10 Ss wide range of inking and touch capabilities.

Windows is taking aim at Chromebooks yet again, but with Windows 10 S , Microsofts leading the charge with a Google Chromebook Pixel-like halo PC of its own: the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop.

Those finger-friendly abilities should prove doubly handy in schools, and thats the whole point. Much like the original Surfaces highlighted Windows 8, and the gorgeous Surface Studio exists to exalt Windows 10s inking chops, this new Surface Laptop is Windows 10 Ss paragon. Its preloaded with a slightly tweaked operating system, which works only with apps from the Windows Store to improve battery life and reduce software headaches.

Traditional desktop apps will work with the Surface Laptop, but only if theyve been wrapped in a Windows Store package first, like Evernote and Arduino IDE have been. Windows 10 S also allows you to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro if you want to expand beyond the Windows Store to use desktop software. The upgrades free until the end of the year, or $50 after that.

Microsoft

The Surface Laptop sticks to the usual Surface swankiness under the hood. Its powered by Intels powerful Core i5 and Core i7 processors, paired with up to a 1TB PCIe SSD directly integrated into the motherboard to improve energy use (and decrease user repairability).

Speaking of battery life, the Surface Laptop boasts up to 14.5 hours of endurance, and it wont lose any of its charge when its not being used. Microsofts notebook wakes and sleeps instantly when opened and closed.

Leave your charger home and go to school, then go to the library, then go home and binge-watch Netflix, Surface head Panos Panay proudly declared.

So how does it hold up in practice? Panay says that the Surface Laptop is thinner and lighter than any MacBook, 50 percent faster than the MacBook Air, and the Core i5 version is faster than the Core i7 MacBook Pro. (Expect workload caveats to apply to that particular claim.)

Microsoft

Physically, the Surface Laptop weighs a mere 2.76 pounds, with a 14.5mm thickness. The notebook mimes Chromebooks even more with its limited port selection. The left side features a USB port, a mini-DisplayPort, Microsofts proprietary Surface charging connector, and a headphone jack, while the right edge lacks any portsnot even an SD card reader.

The Surface Laptop will be available in Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue, or Graphite Gold when preorders launch today and starts shipping on June 15. Itll start at $999 for the entry Core i5-equipped model.

Wait, how much? Dont expect Microsoft to move many Surface Laptops in cash-strapped public schools at that price. The Surface Laptops clearly a halo product inspired to prod other PC vendors towards Windows 10 S, much like the Chromebook Pixel was. (And no, Googles laptop didnt sell in droves.) But with the ability to install Windows 10 Pro over Windows 10 S at will, this new Surface may just prove popular with college studentsand anybody elsewho might otherwise be swayed to Apples MacBook.

Surface laptop configurations

Microsoft

After the event, Microsoft revealed the configurations available for the Surface Laptop.

The Core i5 version packs Intels integrated HD 620 graphics. The entry level $999 model packs a 128GB SSD with 4GB of RAM, and is only available in Platinum. The step-up $1,299 Surface Laptop offers the full palette of color choices, as well as a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM.

The Core i7 Surface Laptops include Intels HD 640 graphics and is only available in Platinum, at least for now. The base $1,599 Core i7 version includes the same storage and memory configuration as the high-end Core i5 model, while the priciest Surface Laptop bumps that up to a 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM for $2,199. Theres no sign of the 1TB storage option that Panay touted in his reveal.
The President of Groupe Ideal, HON. Dr. Nii Kotei Dzani has been named the overall best entrepreneur for his excellent contributions towards the countrys socio economic development at the just ended entrepreneur foundation of Ghana awards at the banquet hall in Accra.



He was also touted as one successful entrepreneur who demonstrates vision, business excellence and innovation and therefore deserves to be honored.



Speaking on the award, Dr.Nii Kotei Dzani said Success indeed comes with hard work. It has not been an easy journey in my career as an entrepreneur. Alot were required of me. The story is endless and surely will be told one day to inspire many. It was never a smooth experience however with hard work, determination, perseverance and by the grace of God I am where I am today.

Success is never achieved on a silver platter he added. He used the occasion to advise the youth to build to be able to sustain in the entrepreneurial world.



The GECE awards 2017 , is a premiere competition for emerging entrepreneurs ,corporate executives established business owners, innovative and creative entrepreneurs who own and operate businesses are being given recognition for their achievement in business development.



The Ghana entrepreneurship and Corporate Executive Awards GECE award is an initiative of entrepreneur foundation of Ghana in collaboration with entrepreneurship association of Ghana. Ministry of trade and industry and finance.

The theme for this years event Promoting Economic Growth through private sector development and Corporate Governance was chosen to enhance business relationship between entrepreneurs and business executive and also to promote governments private sector development initiative.



Some award winners on the night of the event were Mr Gobind Wadhwani MD Kanem/em industries limited who won the lifetime entrepreneur achievement,Mr Richard Dugan Groupe President Mcottley holdings energy for young entrepreneur ,Mr Godwin Gyamfi,Entreprenuer of the year-real estate development,Mrs Abigail Asolange Harlley Chief executive office AI Energy Group was also adjudged the best woman entrepreneur among others.



Also in attendance were ministers of state, former first lady nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, Deputy minister of communications among other dignitaries.



Dr. Dzani is an Entrepreneur and Businessman per excellence, with extensive business experience as an Economist and Business Owner with a proven record of successful entrepreneurship. He brings on board considerable years of experience in managing Micro & SME financing operations in Ghana.



He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana and an Honorary Doctorate from Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma, USA. He also holds an MBA in Corporate Governance & Finance from University of Hull, United Kingdom. He is currently undertaking a professional law degree.

The companies that form this spectrum include Ideal Finance, First Trust Savings and Loans, Ideal Capital partners, Ideal Asset solutions, Ideal Trade, tv Africa, Ideal pension Trust, Ideal Insurance brokers, Tsaste Foundation, a CSR wing of the Groupe Ideal financial holdings Force 64 Security, and Westfield offshore consult.



Groupe Ideal currently operates in the areas of Investment Banking, Business Finance, Trade, Asset Management, Mining and Offshore Consultancy Services, Media, and Security Services

Through its broad spectrum of operations, Groupe Ideal has created jobs for several youths in Ghana, thereby helping to improve standards of living and accelerating the general development of the country.



With a vision to be the standard of excellence in every sector we operate in, Groupe Ideal hopes to replicate such impacts beyond the shores of Ghana by extending its operations into other African countries, Europe and America.



The annual awards organized by the entrepreneurs foundation of Ghana is an exclusive award that seeks to reward excellence among the most committed and dedicated entrepreneurs and corporate executives in Ghana.it is to recognize entrepreneurs who have displayed massive performance that helped them emerge out of poverty, create jobs and add value to the society .

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In an increasingly competitive global economy, there is the need for Destination Managers to understand both the effective management and functioning of all stakeholders in the tourism value chain.



At the end of its semester, University of Ghana Business School invited Mr. Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, the Chief Executive Officer of Kaya Tours and Tourism Ambassador Extraordinaire to share with the combined class of level 400 marketing and weekend MBA class.



The invitation which came from the senior affable dynamic lecturer Dr. Kobby Mensah came at the right time he said. Touching on the topic Destination Management Mr. Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey a.k.a Abeiku Santana highlighted on the elements to consider at the Destination before its management and marketing.



The Broadcast Entrepreneur, made a comparative and competitive analysis between destinations such as Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Uganda and Sao Tome.



Mr. Aggrey further explained that Destination Management is a co-ordinated management of all the elements that makes up a destination and there are attractions, amenities, accessibility, marketing and pricing.

He charged the students to take up tourism marketing and destination marketing challenge after graduating from school.

When asked how he felt lecturing the University of Ghana Business School? He said it is not my first time lecturing university students, recently I lectured students of Ghana Technology University on Entrepreneurship and Pentecost University on Leadership. Teaching and lecturing is a passion that I have nurtured for years besides the media and tourism work I have done he added.



He concluded by saying if any institution calls on him to offer insight or lecture in areas of communication, entrepreneurship, marketing and tourism, he is ever ready to honor that invitation.



The students expressed their gratitude to the tourism ambassador who recently graduated with Master Degree in Tourism Management from the University of Cape Coast.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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President Nana Akufo-Addo will leave Accra today [[Tuesday] for Togo to hold talks with his counterparts.



The visit, according to sources at the presidency, will focus on the pollution of some water bodies due to the activities of illegal miners in Ghana.

The President will from Togo head to Ivory Coast and Cameroon where he will hold similar talks with the Presidents of both countries.

The move by the President comes days after a powerful delegation from Ivory Coast called on President Akufo-Addo at the Flagstaff House to express concern about the constant pollution of some of their water bodies due to Galamsey activities in Ghana.

There has been intense pressure on government to end the illegal practice, and save water bodies and the environment from further destruction.

Currently, some water treatment plants in Ghana have been shut down due to the activities of illegal miners, which have rendered water bodies from which the plants harvest water for processing, useless.

Watchers of the sector have further warned that Ghana may soon be importing water from neighboring countries if the menace is not tackled.

The Galamsey menace has also led to the destruction of many farmlands, which serve as livelihood for a number of families.

It is on the back of these challenges that Citi FM launched its #StopGalamseyNow campaign to pressurize government to ensure that the activity is permanently banned.

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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The President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, has paid a working visit to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the seat of government, the Flagstaff House, in Accra on Friday April 28.



The visit was meant to deepen the ties between the Ghana and The Gambia and afforded the The Gambian President the opportunity to thank President Akufo-Addo for the role he played during the general elections in The Gambia.



Welcoming Mr Barrow at the Flagstaff House, Mr Akufo-Addo assured him of Ghanas support in deepening the economic ties between the two countries.



Mr Barrow won the last elections in The Gambia, beating Yahaya Jammeh who had ruled the country for 22 years.





Mr Jammeh refused to give up the seat after losing the polls. However, with the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other international bodies, he gave up the seat, paving the way for the Barrow to govern the country.



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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.

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President Akufo-Addos penchant of breaching Ghanas constitution is not likely to stop anytime soon, The aL-hAJJ can today report.



Painstaking investigations by The aL-hAJJ have revealed that, contrary to what many thought the president was yet to constitute his cabinet as required by the constitution; President Akufo-Addo, indeed, is already operating a large size secret Cabinet on the blind side of Ghanaians.



This revelation comes a week after this paper published how the Presidents record elephant size 110 Ministers and deputies was skewed in favor of two of the ten regions of Ghana.



The aL-hAJJ can authoritatively report that President Akufo-Addo quietly constituted his bloated and lopsided Cabinet even before the last batch of Ministers were approved by parliament but, has purposely kept the list under wrap because it violates the constitution.



Intelligence picked by this paper indicates that the presidency may not publish the list of Cabinet Ministers any time soon as many, including Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu and Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, would have wished.



A memo from the seat of government in possession of this paper detailing those among the 40 appointed sector Ministers President Akufo-Addo has named as Cabinet Ministers shows the list is bloated and skewed in favor of some regions.



While the 1992 constitution requires a President to appoint a maximum 19 Cabinet Ministers, President Akufo Addos Cabinet list contains a staggering 26 Ministers from eight out of the ten administrative regions in the country.



The Eastern and Ashanti regions top the list with 7 Cabinet Ministers each, followed by Northern region, 4; Brong Ahafo region, 3; Greater Accra region, 2; and one Cabinet Minister each for Volta, Upper East and Upper West regions. Central and Western regions have no representation on the list of Akufo Addos Cabinet Ministers.



This is contrary to what pertained in immediate past President Mahamas government, which had 19 Cabinet Ministers coming from all the ten regions of Ghana. Under the Mahama administration, Volta region had 2 Cabinet Ministers, Greater Accra, 2; Eastern 3; Northern 3; Brong Ahafo, 3; Central, 3 and Western, Ashanti, Upper East and West regions had one Cabinet Minister each.



The list of Akufo Addos Cabinet Ministers include; the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery; Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako Atta; Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh; Minister of Defense; Dominic Nitiwul; Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta; Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko and Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto.



Others on the list are Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu Ekufful; Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations, Prof Frimpong Boateng; Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo; Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Kyea; Trade and Industry Minister, John Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten and Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, John Peter Amewu.



The rest are Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayokor Botchwey; Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama; Minister of Gender, Women and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba; Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu; Minister of Employment and Labor Relations; Ignatius Baffour Awuah; Information Minister, Abdul Mustapha Hamid; Minister of National Security; Albert Kan Dapaah; Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu; Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei; Minister of Planning, Prof Gyan Baffour; Minister for Business Development, Ibrahim Awal Mohammed and Minister for Special Development, Mavis Hawa Koomson.



President Akufo-Addos unprecedented 26 member Cabinet runs contrary to article 76 (1) of the 1992 constitution which provides that there shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, the Vice-President and not less than TEN and not more than NINETEEN Ministers of State which shall assist the president in the determination of general policy of government.



President Akufo-Addo on February 23 this year appointed a career diplomat, Mrs Mercy Yvonne Debrah-Karikari, as Secretary to Cabinet. A statement signed by Director of Communications at the Flag Staff House, Eugene Arhin, stated that Mrs. Debrah-Karikaris appointment takes retrospective effect on February 14, 2017.



Despite hurriedly naming his Ministers and appointing Secretary to Cabinet, President Akufo-Addo is yet to submit the list of his Cabinet Ministers to parliament let alone, making it public; having being sworn into office almost four months ago.



Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu and a Presidential Staffer under the Mahama administration, now MP for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak among other well-meaning Ghanaians; have been relentless in their calls on President Akufo-Addo name his Cabinet.



Haruna Iddrisu charged President Nana Akufo-Addo to name his cabinet ministers to Parliament in accordance with Article 76 of the 1992 constitution. Seconding the motion for the approval of regional ministers-designate in Parliament on Friday 17, 2016, the minority leader said 46 ministers have so far been approved by the House and the time has come for the President to name his cabinet ministers.



This, according to him, will enable Parliament to hold such ministers to respond to actions and inactions of government. Haruna Iddrisu said, If for nothing at all, I want to know the status of my leader in Parliament (Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu), who is the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs. To Dr Apaak, the president is not a democrat as it appears his Cabinet does not exist. He wondered why, four months into President Akufo-Addos tenure, Ghanaians do not know the ministers in the Presidents Cabinet even though the constitution mandates the formation of a Cabinet.



It is a constitutional mandate Some have tried to argue that there is nowhere that the President is mandated within the context of timelines to announce his Cabinet, but similarly there is no timeline considering the prerogative to appoint ministers. But he has already done that, so why not complete the processes by letting us know As at now there is no Cabinet. It does not exist because we have not been told, the MP noted on Class Fm.



But Nana Boakye, a deputy Director of National Service Secretariat has not only established the existence of an Akufo-Addo Cabinet, he indeed, confirmed the President is hiding his cabinet as stated by The aL-hAJJ.



Oblivious of the consequences of his defence and, believing he was refuting claims that President Akufo-Addo has not as yet constituted his Cabinet, Nana Boakye, on Metro TVs Good Morning Ghana show recently let out the cat.



We have a CabinetI have had like two or three meetings with the Minister of Education where he told me they are going for Cabinet meeting. For my Minister, my senior brother, Hon Mathew Opoku Prempeh theyve been times where I have a meeting with him but he told me we should meet after Cabinet meeting. So there is cabinet, Nana Boakye confidently stated.



The aL-hAJJ can confirm that President Akufo-Addo constituted his Cabinet before the last batch of Ministers were approved by parliament, but he is unable to make it public because other regions have no representation and it also more than nineteen.

Source: The Al-Hajj









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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Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu Senya West, Ms Hanna Tetteh, has said she did not acquire a diplomatic passport during her first term as legislator because there was no need for it.



When I was a Member of Parliament, the first time from 2001 to 2004, I didnt have a diplomatic passport, she said.



According to her everyone wants to have a diplomatic passport but she opted not to acquire one and made use of only a service passport whenever she needed to travel for official duties.



She explained that MPs in the erstwhile Mills administration clamoured for diplomatic passports and that is when they started using diplomatic passports.



However, she was of the opinion that having a situation where MPs revert to service passports would not be a bad thing.



Ms Tetteh explained that a government official could still disclose to any embassy his intent of travelling to that country when he applies for a visa and the embassy will take cognisance that you are not going on a personal trip but government business hence service passports should be adequate.



The former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration emphasised that diplomatic passports are not meant to be used for personal travels.



Ms Tetteh further explained that spouses of public officials are not permitted to use diplomatic passports unless they are serving in a capacity that entitles them to it.



For personal trips, you would make the application as would any other ordinary Ghanaian but for official trips the protocol service can make the application on your behalf, but private visits you make the application yourself, she explained.



Her comments follow the abuse of diplomatic passports by three sitting MPs and a former legislator recently.



The culprits, identified as George Boakye, a former Member of Parliament for Asunafo South; Richard Acheampong, MP for Bia East in the Western Region; Joseph Benhazin Dahah, MP for Asutifi North (Ntotroso) in the Brong Ahafo Region and Johnson Kwaku Adu, MP for Ahafo Ano South West in the Ashanti Region, have been banned from entering the UK for 10 years for alleged visa fraud.



However, Ms Tetteh explained that a clear distinction between official trips and personal travels must be established and various missions from foreign countries in Ghana made aware of that categorisation.



She indicated in an interview on Radio XYZ on Tuesday, 2 May that it should not be the case that the protocol office will be used to secure visas for personal trips.







Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will, in the month of May, pay official working visits to the countries of the ECOWAS region.



The visits will afford President Akufo-Addo the opportunity to introduce himself, as the new Ghanaian leader, formally to the governments and peoples of our neighbouring countries, explore and deepen our bilateral relations with them, and reiterate Ghanas full commitment to the ECOWAS project.



President Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, 2nd May, 2017, left Ghana to begin the first phase of this tour. It will take him to our immediate neighbours, i.e:



 Togo: 2nd  4th May, 2017

 Burkina Faso: 4th  5th May, 2017

 Cote dIvoire: 5th  7th May, 2017



The President will, in the remaining days of the month, visit the other 7 countries, with the 2nd phase taking him to Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Benin, Cape Verde, and, then, finally to Liberia and Sierra Leone.



The President will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway MP, and officials of the Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana from the first phase of his tour on Sunday, 7th May, 2017. In his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.







signed

Eugene Arhin

Director of Communications

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Cassandra Sainsbury, the 22-year-old Australian woman currently charged with drug trafficking offences in Colombia, was arrested after international drug agencies tipped off local cops, according to Colombian police.





Colonel Rodrigo Soler, head of narco trafficking control, told The Australian that Ms Sainsburys travel plans had caused some suspicion among authorities. Sainsbury was arrested when 5kg of cocaine were found concealed in boxes of headphones inside her suitcases.

Colonel Soler also told The Australian that the quantity of drugs disqualified Ms Sainsbury for bail. The Australian seemed to suggest that Soler was weirded out that they were interested in a single Australian when theyve got a bunch of other people who do the same thing. Why are you interested in just one Australian? he said.

We have people from Mexico, Spain, all different places, all ages using all different methods, he said.

Jorge Mendoza, the ports and airports director for Colombias anti-narcotic police, told ABC Radio that Ms Sainsbury could have been a drug mule.

She could possibly be a drug mule. In going through security we found she had 18 packets inside her luggage which even before opening it we found covered in plastic.

Well keep you posted.

Source: The Australian.

Photo: Facebook.
Colombian authorities were alerted of alleged drug mule Cassandra Sainsbury after her last-minute plane ticket to the South American nation was purchased by an unknown buyer in Hong Kong, The Australian reports.

This new information comes after law enforcement officials admitted that theyd received a tip-off from other international drug agencies, whod identified the 22-year-olds travel plans as suspicious.

Sainsbury, the Adelaide woman found with 5.8kg of cocaine allegedly stashed within several sets of headphones shed purchased as gifts, had been in Colombia for little over a week when she was arrested at Bogota international airport.

via Colombian Police.

The airports trafficking control head Colonel Rodrigo Soler said the tickets unknown source, and the relatively short duration of Sainsburys stay, were two factors that contributed to her arrest.

In addition to information gleaned at customs regarding who purchased her ticket  authorities asked who bought your tickets? Where did you buy it?  Colonel Soler told The Australian when someone leaves their country for Colombia without a strong justification  for instance if a person comes to Colombia for two or three days  that triggers an alert.

Sainsbury has maintained her innocence in the ordeal since being arrested. Colonel Soler offered his perspective on how likely it was she had been duped into transporting the drugs, saying that only 10 percent of travellers caught with drugs were legitimately unaware of their presence.

Shes currently being held at El Buen Pastor prison, awaiting her first court date.

Source: The Australian / The Sydney Morning Herald / news.com.au.

Photo: Colombian Police.
To say that the Liberal Party is scrambling to insulate itself from a Labor Party caning following the delivery of the upcoming Federal Budget is something of an understatement. In fact, theyre now going so far as to re-tread old Labor policy  Gonski no less  and it looks like their long-favoured private institutions are at the top of the hit list.

The Turnbull Government today announced they will again enlist David Gonski to compile an investigative report into education funding. This is, for all intents and purposes, Gonski 2.0; a do-over after the then-Rudd Government ordered a similar report from Gonski back in 2010.

And while the Government did not outright confirm it today, they strongly inferred that a number of over-funded institutions on the Australian eastern seaboard will wind up seeing negative growth in their funding levels as a result of the new report.

Education minister Simon Birmingham referred specifically to 24 over-funded schools that would be in line for a cut in their rate of funding following the conclusion of the education system review.

There will be a small number of schools that will experience some negative growth, thats around 24 schools across Australia. They are largely within the eastern seaboard, in fact, they are entirely along the eastern seaboard.

Though stopping short of actually naming any institution, prior communication from the Government has indicated that elite independent and private institutions with runaway funding levels would be first in line to have their cashflow curtailed.

The original Gonski Review, a needs-based approach to school funding, recommended a Schooling Resource Standard guideline; a standard of funding for each school the report deems necessary. Currently, for example, exclusive all-girls school Loreto Kirribilli in NSW is funded at 277% of its SRS mark. In Victoria, Melbourne Grammar School receives 141% of its SRS.

The current rate of school funding was frozen during the Gillard Government years, and Gonski version was shelved altogether by the incoming Abbott Government after the 2013 election. The implementation of Gonski 2.0 by the Turnbull Government represents a rather astonishing about-face for an arm of politics that has traditionally maintained deep ties with the private and religious education sectors, both of whom wield considerable political clout.

Turnbull fronted media today to confirm the move, part of a $19billion boost to the system over the next decade.

This investment will set Australian children on the path to academic excellence and success in their future lives. It will deliver real needs-based funding for children from all backgrounds in every town and every city and every region and every state  in every classroom of our great nation.

It should be noted that the amount now promised to the education sector by the Liberal Government is still some $22billion beneath the mark promised by Labor at the last election.

The Gonski reforms have been the subject of an Australian Education Union-backed I Give A Gonski campaign that was to take aim at the Government following the delivery of the budget.

A move to an even SRS-level of funding will see around 353 currently-over funded schools worse off over time.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: Stefan Postles/Getty.
Australia is doing pretty bloody well when it comes to fine dining. Weve got hatted restaurants and critically acclaimed joints coming out of our ears, practically  hell, not one but two fine dining spots in Oz made it into the 50 Best Restaurants of 2017 countdown (Brae and Attica, hello and welcome), and a whole gang of acclaimed chefs who end up as protegees of international superstars like Heston Blumenthal, so theres clearly something in the water that creates amazing kitchen talent. While theres loads of hype around restaurants for their overall cuisine and dining experience, and sure  if youre a foodie you probably have a hit-list of places you absolutely must eat at in your lifetime, we wanted to get down to the most important element. The meal of the divine. Yeah  dessert.

Aussie restaurants are killing it with their dessert offerings. You dont even need to be a sweet tooth to appreciate this list, because even someone who usually forgos the office birthday cake will be drooling when they cast their eyes over some of these babies. Start saving your dollars and booking flights, coz were about to take you on a national tour of the best desserts (IMHO) across our land.

SNOW EGG  QUAY, SYDNEY





Image: Quay.

If youre into fine dining, youre well across the famous Snow Egg. In fact, most non-foodies recognise this iconic dish  after all, its featured on Masterchef and been covered by food blogs and websites for years. The flavours change over the years, but the premise remains the same  a fruit-based granita, with an ice cream filled meringue egg on top. crack into the egg and the gooey, half-melted ice cream oozes out.

STRAWBERRY WATERMELON CAKE  BLACK STAR PASTRY, SYDNEY





Image: Black Star Pastry.

You wouldnt think watermelon would work in a cake, but one bite of this weird/wonderful dessert from Black Star Pastry will have you converted. Something about the rose-scented cream just works when combined with juicy watermelon slices and sweet strawbs. You can buy it by the slice at their three Sydney stores, and they just opened in Carlton down in Melbs too, so if youre VIC-based you dont have to road trip into NSW. Want more? Lately theyve been turning this guy into a three-tiered cake monstrosity for big events like weddings or birthdays. Or, you know, just personal eating if youre me.

CHERRY JAM LAMINGTON  BENNELONG, SYDNEY





Image: Bennelong.

Bennelong are all about taking quintessentially Aussie meals and giving them a luxury spin  it was hard to pick between this take on your Nans lamington, or their visual masterpiece of a Pavlova (its styled to actually look like the Opera House), but the lamington won out because it involves coconut parfait thats been put under liquid nitrogen to create flakes that literally melt in your mouth. Its also got cherry jam, coconut cream icecream and sponge making up the cake side of things, with a rich choc ganache over the top. Sign us up.





WHIPPED EMU EGG WITH SUGAR BAG  ATTICA, MELBOURNE

Image: Attica.

They landed 32nd place in this years Best Restaurants global countdown, so of course Attica has a dessert on their menu that you absolutely must add to your foodie bucket list. Their vibe is small dishes with big flavours, and near the end of their Extended Tasting Menu is this beauty  a whipped emu egg, with a chocolate mousse beneath. Think whipped egg sounds revolting? Its more like a custard/cream type of flavour  after all, egg whites whipped with sugar are the foundation for meringue.

PEANUT BUTTER PARFAIT  SUPERNORMAL, MELBOURNE

Image: Instagram / Supernormal.

This dessert has a cult following  Melbournians whove tried it are straight up obsessed. Its easy to see why  peanut butter is the best, so making a parfait out of it, then dumping crushed peanuts, salted caramel sauce and a scoop of exceptionally soft chocolate on top? Thats inspired.

TIPSY CAKE  DINNER BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL, MELBOURNE

Image: Breadcrumbs.

This is a signature Heston dessert, and its the best news ever that it made it across the pond and Down Under onto his Melbs restaurant menu. Its a boozy, brandy soaked pudding of brioche paired with spit-roasted pineapple  yep, its everyones winter comfort dessert dream come true.

WHIPPED BAHEN & CO CHOCOLATE  WILDFLOWER, PERTH

Image: The Engineer Eats.

This decadent dessert involves wattleseed cream, which sounds insane but reports from food blogs nationally praise it for its complex textures and amazing flavours. Its definitely for chocolate lovers, who can expect creamy choc mousse alongside crunchy chocolate crumbs to go with their wattleseed cream  let us know what that tastes like, yeah?

RED VELVET PANCAKES  50SIXONE, ADELAIDE

Image: 50sixone.

Theres a lot to love at Adelaide dessert bar 50sixone  they claim their ice-cream pops are one of the most expensive in Australia, and feature 24 carat gold leaf and fresh vanilla beans. Theyre also doing plenty of those OTT mega shakes Instagrammers love  but itd be a damn shame to visit and not try their red velvet pancakes. Each is layered with thick marscapone, and topped off with berry compote, ice cream and chocolate crumble. Its a lot for one whore we kidding, we could smash this in a second.

ROAST PUMPKIN TARTE TARTIN  ALCHEMY, BRISBANE

Image: Alchemy.

Alchemy has a range of amazing desserts  one of their key kitchen signatures is the use of liquid nitrogen, so you can imagine some of the masterpieces they come up with. Our pick is the roast pumpkin tarte tartin, simply because its like a fine dining spin on the classic American Thanksgiving staple of pumpkin pie. Alchemys version involves graham crackers, white chocolate and almond cream  peak decadence achieved.

Wish you had the kind of spare $$ to hit up all of these amazing restaurants and order their entire dessert menu? If you win our current competition thanks to our pals at Set for Life, you could pocket a sweet $20k  thats enough to jet outta your hometown weekly for Aussie culinary adventures.

PEDESTRIAN.TV X SET FOR LIFE $20K GIVEAWAY

Image: Black Star Pastry.
Capital City Airport, originally called Harrisburg State Airport, was dedicated on Aug. 16, 1930.

According to a story written for The Sunday Patriot-News and dated Sept. 4, 1955, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, a technical adviser for Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., flew in on Oct. 23, 1930 and on Oct. 25. He was greeted by more than 5,000 people each day.

"Two days later TWA began regular mail and passenger service. On April 20, 1931, the airline instituted their first coast-to-coast service spanning the continent in 24 hours."

According to the story, the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the effort to build the airport. Eight hundred people subscribed $252,000 in a public sale of stock to finance the original construction.

The Capital Landing Field Company was created by the chamber to purchase the land - 214 acres of adjoining farms and the lease of another 79 acres. Central Construction Company was awarded the contract to build the facility on Aug. 29, 1929. The main runway was 3,000 feet long, 500 feet wide with a cross runway of 2,500 feet. The hangar was steel, brick and concrete.

When TWA began coast-to-coast service it also instituted night air mail. The Northrop single engine plane with an open cockpit left Newark at 9:45 p.m. and arrived here at 11:30 p.m. According to The Sunday Patriot-News, hundreds of people came to the airport every night to see the plane arrive and depart.

Later, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought the airport. With money from the Works Progress Administration and the state, the airport was enlarged. The state took formal possession on Jan. 28, 1936. In June of that year, new runways were laid out and a new hangar and administration building were built.

The state named the facility the Harrisburg-York State Airport.

Capital Landing Field Company was dissolved Nov. 27, 1936.

"During World War II an air squadron was located at the airport and the federal government built barracks to the rear of the administration building. ... Subsequently a brick hangar was built for the use of the Pennsylvania Air Guard and its headquarters and some of its training is maintained there."

Today, Capital City Airport is owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, which also owns Harrisburg International Airport.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- An attacker with a machete-like knife fatally stabbed one person and wounded at least three others Monday on the University of Texas campus, and police had a suspect in custody, authorities said.

Travis County Emergency Medical Services tweeted that one person died at the scene near a gym. The others were taken to the hospital with potentially serious wounds. There also were reports of additional patients with non-life-threatening injuries, the agency said.

Student Rachel Prichett said she was standing in line at a food truck outside the gym when she saw a man with a knife that resembled a machete approach the person standing behind her.

"The guy was standing next to me," Prichett said. "He grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved the knife in it. I just started running as fast as I could."

Ray Arredondo, 22, said he was walking to his car when a mass of students near the gym started running.

"They were just screaming, 'Run! Get out of here!'" Arredondo said.

He later saw what looked like CPR being performed on someone outside the front door of the gym. Another student, Arredondo said, was sitting on a bench being treated for cuts to the head or neck.

Student Peter Hasse said he saw police put a suspect in handcuffs and into a patrol car. The man in custody seemed calm, Hasse said.

Authorities cordoned off the scene to keep students away as a large contingent of state and local police, including officers in helicopters, swarmed the area.

The University of Texas is blocks from downtown Austin and the Texas Capitol building and is one of the nation's largest universities.

The attack occurred in the central campus, just a short walk from the administration building and landmark clock tower that was scene of a mass shooting in 1966.
Congressman Scott Perry holds a town hall event at Red Lion Junior H.S

Rep. Scott Perry, R-4th, maintained a strong score this year from the American Conservative Union.

(SEAN SIMMERS/PennLive)

Rep. Scott Perry's perfect score of 100 this year nudged down to 96 - down a few points but still strong.

With few exceptions most scores went up - except for that of Sen. Bob Casey, who maintained a failing score of 4.

Before the cheers and jeers are handed out, consider the source: The ratings are among the scores handed out by the American Conservative Union Foundation, which has been has been rating member of Congress for 46 years.

The overriding criteria: a lawmaker's commitment to conservative values.

The organization culls the scores based on individual voting records over the past year.

Perry, a Republican from York County, appears to have been given a negative mark on the report card for his vote on a bill regarding a concrete masonry marketing promotion program.

The union opposed the program because it gives large, private companies the authority to tax members of their industry to promote their products. The House passed the bill on Nov. 14 by a vote of 355-38.

Barletta, a surrogate on President Trump's campaign trail, sees his score improve from last year's 57 to a 72. The Hazleton Republican got failing grades on seven votes, including one that would provide funds to local jurisdictions for the repair of public and private infrastructure.

Republican Representatives Lou Barletta, left, and Tom Marino, both surrogates on President Trump's campaign trail last year, both improved scores by the American Conservative Union.

This bill authorized the federal funds in instances where the president has declared an emergency as the result of chemical, lead, or other contaminants in systems.

The conservative organization opposed the precedent for federal aid designed "to help the city of Flint, Michigan for what is primarily a state and local responsibility."

The House passed the bill on Sept. 28 by a vote of 284-141.

Rep. Charlie Dent, a 15th congressional district Republican who has increasingly adopted a centrist outlook, improved on last year's failing grade of 33 to 40.

Dent still got more negative marks than he did positive ones - 13 to 10 respectively.

Casey's score of 4 should come as no surprise given the right-leaning outlook of the organization.

No surprise here: Sen. Bob Casey garnered a paltry score from the conservative group. James Robinson | jrobinson@pennlive.com

The conservative group gave Pennsylvania's Democratic senator a passing mark on his vote on a resolution to kill a measure regarding catfish inspection. The resolution was sponsored by sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who argued that the program duplicated federal catfish inspection program already in place. The program had been cited as wasteful by the Government Accountability Office.

The conservative group deems the programs examples of overregulation by the federal government. The Senate passed the resolution on May 25 by a vote of 55-43.

Other notable scores include that of Rep. Tom Marino, a Republican from the 10th congressional district. Also a Trump surrogate during the election cycle, Marino improved his score from 63 to 86.

The American Conservative Union Foundation also ranks elected state officials.
WILLIAMSPORT -- A Clinton County communications dispatcher who resigned a year ago says she was pressured into performing sex acts on the emergency services director and was passed over for promotion.

Christine Woods of Lock Haven makes the allegations in a civil rights suit filed against the county Friday in U.S. Middle District Court .

Commissioner Robert "Pete" Smeltz Monday said the suit was not a surprise, but he declined further comment, saying it was a personnel matter.

"We'll let it play out in court," he said.

In her suit, Woods contends the sexual acts with director Kevin Fanning occurred during work hours in the fall of 2008 while she was on a 90-day probationary period after becoming full time.

The requests for sexual favors ended on Dec. 19, 2008, when Woods' then-husband became aware of them, the suit states.

Calls to Fanning were not returned.

While working as a dispatcher in the 911 center from September 2004 through last May 2, Woods says she was bypassed three times for promotions.

She contends she was more qualified than those selected in February 2015 and March 2016 for shift supervisor and in December 2015 for quality assurance supervisor.

The suit states Fanning filled the quality assurance position with a woman who left the department more than two years earlier.

Woods claims she endured a discriminatory and hostile office culture, with male supervisors ostracizing her, speaking to her only when necessary.

After taking her concerns to the county commissioners, Woods said in the suit, she was told their investigation concluded she was the reason she had not been promoted.

She terms her resignation a constructive discharge.

Woods is seeking unspecified damages, alleging discrimination under the federal civil rights law and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Act.
Several hundred people, the majority of them Latino immigrants, converged on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg to join forces with the tens of thousands of others nationwide who on Monday marked May Day by staging rallies and protests to focus attention on the needs of workers and immigrants.

About 200 participants from across Pennsylvania lent their voices to what organizers said is the increased momentum here in the Commonwealth but also the country in the push back against what is widely seen in this sector as the hardline immigration policies and rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration.

"We are not going to make one step one backwards," said Adanjesus Marin, of Make the Road Pennsylvania, an immigration advocacy group. "We are going to stand up strong for our rights. We are going to beat all the anti-immigrant rules being proposed right here in Harrisburg and we are also going to stop Trump's raids and the wall."

Approximately 31 other such rallies were being staged across Pennsylvania on Monday, which being May 1, has historically being a union solidarity day around the world.

Much of Monday's rally was underscored by opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump, who advocates building a wall along the country's southern border with Mexico, deporting undocumented immigrants and penalizing sanctuary cities. The president's attempt to institute bans on certain immigrants have been blocked by the courts.

Monday's crowd in Harrisburg, which consisted of families, children and immigration advocates, chanted what has become since the election of Trump familiar pro-immigration chants.

"The people united will never be defeated."

"Say it loud. Say it clear. Immigrants are welcomed here."

Speaking to the gathering, the Rev. Greg Edwards, of Power Northeast and the Resurrected Life Church in Allentown, said the immigrant community could no longer sit on the sideline while its members were being marginalized and made invisible.

"This is not only criminal, but it's immoral," he said.

When workers are denied rights, he added, that too is criminal and immoral.

"We are in need of a revival," he said.

Rallies were taking place across the country in major cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Alex, a regional director of the advocacy group CASA in Action, said the rallies underscored to momentum to protest and push back against what she called the Trump's administration's xenophobic and racist actions.

"We are going to let the president know that we will not accept his wall, his ban, or his persecution of immigrants. These events are part of our ongoing struggle to protect the Latinx community and uphold the rights of all immigrants."

Trump's policies, she said, have led to the deportation and terrorization of immigrant families across the state. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to removed the "shackles" off ICE agents.

Data newly published by The Washington Post finds that during the first several weeks of the Trump administration Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 21,362 immigrants -- including 5,441 with no criminal record.

That number marks a substantial increase from the last two years of the Obama administration. Still, the most aggressive immigration enforcement was seen during President Obama's first six years in office.

Advocacy for the rights of immigrants has kept pace with efforts by the Trump administration to enforce hardline policies. In February, immigrant communities across the country staged "Day Without Immigrants" rallies to protest the president's travel ban and his executive order which called for the defunding of so-called sanctuary cities, which refrain from enforcing detention requests from federal immigration authorities.

A federal judge last week blocked the Trump administration's order threatening to take strip funds from sanctuary cities .

Judge William H. Orrick sided with jurisdictions that argued that such a could be unconstitutional.

Orrick's ruling was applied nationwide.

The Pennsylvania Senate has advanced a measure that would cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies to such cities and counties.

Under the bill, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and more than a dozen counties, including many of the most populous counties, could lose access to state subsidies that last year totaled $1.3 billion, according to a Senate Appropriations Committee analysis.

On Monday, as men, women and children held flags and protest posters, speaker after speaker admonished what they said was the dehumanization of immigrants and especially immigrant workers.

"The flame of freedom has never been so low and the soul of this country so sick," said Edwards, who blamed the militarization of the country, the materialization and white supremacy.Investigation reveals cause of deadly Harrisburg hoverboard house fire
A plaque honoring Trooper Landon Weaver has taken its place along with the other 96 members of the Pennsylvania State Police who have died in the line of duty, as the slain 23-year-old was honored during the annual State Police Day ceremony at the Academy in Hershey.

Plaque honoring the late Trooper Landon Weaver added to new memorial at Pennsylvania State Police Academy.

Macy Weaver of Martinsburg, Landon Weaver's widow, was presented with the Pennsylvania State Police Cross during the Tuesday event that also marked the 112th anniversary of the state Police.

The award is presented posthumously to the next of kin of a trooper whose life was lost under honorable circumstances in the performance of duty.

Trooper Landon Weaver, 23, was fatally shot in the line of duty Dec. 30 while investigating a Protection From Abuse violation in Juniata Township, Huntingdon County.

Weaver was killed by Jason Robison, 32, who was in turn shot and killed by state troopers in a confrontation the next day.

"He was a great kid. I just loved him to death. It's just hard," said Christine Weaver of Roaring Spring, Landon Weaver's grandmother.

"He was more of a son than a grandson to us," she said of the oldest of their five grandchildren.

"He wanted to be a trooper since his junior or senior year in high school," said his grandfather, Merril Weaver Jr. It was going to be either military service or state police for Landon, and he told his family while in college, "If the state police call me, I'm going."

"He was a kid everyone wanted to have," said his aunt, Sandy Mangiacarene.

Added Merril Weaver, "He was very well-disciplined, even in high school." By curfew, "You'd hear that Jeep coming up the lane."

Landon worked at the paper mill where his grandfather worked over the summer. "He was very hard-working . . . He's one they still talk about."

A new memorial wall and searchable computerized kiosk was unveiled inside the Academy, which tells the stories of each of the state police troopers who died in service to the state.

Also attending the ceremony was the family of Trooper Blake Coble of the Beaver barracks, who died Oct. 4, 2012, after serving since 1988. He died after his patrol car was struck by a tractor-trailer that ran a stop sign in South Beaver Township, Beaver County.

"I'm so glad he's remembered. It's an honor," said his mother, Judy Coble of Washington, Pa.

Attending the ceremony each year is Wendy Bilheimer of Quarryville, widow of Trooper Wayne Bilheimer, who died in a helicopter crash along the Susquehanna River April 12, 1989.

"We just really appreciate the service, the solemnity, the respect it pays tribute to all of the state police who lost their lives in the line of duty. We're just very grateful."

"It's also a connection for his grandchildren who never knew their grandfather in person," she added.

Her husband was helping to search for someone who jumped from the Norman Wood Bridge, when the helicopter struck power lines and crashed in 1989.

"The intense pain was certainly subsided, but the loss is always there," Wendy Bilheimer said.

During the ceremony, the names of the 97 troopers who died in the line of duty were recited, along with the biography of Landon Weaver.

"We see their service to society as footprints from the past that guide our pathway into the future," said Col. Tyree Blocker, PSP commissioner. "Our department has witnessed incredible social and technological changes. But the one most important aspect of life that has never changed or faltered has been the spirit of the state troop, the soldier of the law."

"This strength of character which closely guides the core values of honor, service, integrity, respect, trust, courage and duty, serves as a living tribute to our fallen comrades," Blocker added.

Weaver was born Nov. 11, 1993, to Erie and Christine Lanzendorfer Weaver in East Freedom.

He graduated in 2012 from Central High School in Martinsburg, and attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, majoring in criminology.

He enlisted in the state police Dec. 14, 2015, in the 145th cadet class, and graduated June 17, 2016. He was assigned to the patrol unit at Troop G, Huntingdon.

More than 2,000 law enforcement officers from states as far as Arizona and Florida attended Weaver's funeral Jan. 5 at Blair County Convention Center.

In addition to his parents, wife and grandparents, Weaver is also survived by his brother, Larett Weaver.

Last week, a man charged with supplying the gun that Robison used to kill Weaver entered a guilty plea in Huntingdon County court. Police say Bradley McMullen, 27, stole a .32-caliber Beretta from his father last fall and gave it to Robison in exchange for drugs.
A Carlisle man will spend 11 years in prison on charges he robbed two banks, one at gunpoint, the U.S. attorney said today.

Jeffrey Turns, 33, was sentenced Monday in Middle District Court in Harrisburg for robbing Fulton Bank in Dillsburg Aug. 12, 2015 and Santander Bank in Mechanicsburg Aug. 27, 2015.

During the Santander Bank robbery, Turns threatened tellers with a firearm, said U.S. Attorney Bruce Brandler.

He was apprehended just after the Santander robbery by police in Upper Allen and Lower Allen townships, Camp Hill and state police.

When taken into custody, Turns was fleeing in a stolen car with the firearm in his waistband, and nine additional stolen firearms in the back of the car.

Turns was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release at the end of his prison term, and pay restitution of $3,471 to Fulton Bank. Officers recovered the money taken from Santander Bank when they arrested Turns.
Interstate 83 in York County has reopened after a multi-vehicle crash.

The crash was reported at around 8:30 p.m. near mile marker 9.5. Traffic is stopped between Exit 8: PA 216 - Glen Rock and Exit 10: PA 214 - Loganville, according to PennDOT.



Reports said the crash involved tractor-trailers, with ABC27 reporting with crews remained at the scene to clean up a fuel spill.

For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources.

Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here.

Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
Quadruplets-Ivy League

Lakota East seniors and quadruplet brothers from left, Zachary, Aaron, Nigel, and Nick Wade pose together at Lakota East High School, in Liberty Township, Ohio, Wednesday, April 5, 2017. All the brothers have been accepted at some of the nation's top universities, including each of them to both Yale and Harvard. (Greg Lynch /The Journal-News via AP)

(Greg Lynch)

Quadruplets from a Cincinnati suburb will all be attending Yale University in the fall, after getting into some of the top schools in the county.

Nick, Nigel, Zachary and Aaron Wade, of Liberty Township, revealed their choice via video chat on Monday morning's NBC "Today" Show, removing their jackets together to show Yale T-shirts. The brothers told The Associated Press they had great visits to Yale and were offered hefty financial aid packages.

After they got their acceptances from multiple schools, Aaron was leaning toward Stanford while his brothers favored Yale. But he said he was happy with Yale after visiting.

Their mother, Kim Wade, is a Lakota Schools junior high school principal. Their father, Darrin Wade, works at General Electric Co.
Pittsburgh Zoo.jpg

File photo.

Pittsburgh Zoo officials announced this week that one of their elephants is expecting a baby and likely to deliver this summer.

It marks the second pregnancy for 21-year-old Seeni, a Botswana elephant. At 14-years-old, while living at Okavango Delta in Botswana, she delivered her first calf.

"Seeni's pregnancy is exciting news... The infusion of new genetics is important to secure a future for African elephants in North America," Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, told WTAE-TV.

The announcement also comes amid heightened public interest in zoo animal pregnancies, some made more accessible through live-streamed online videos. It was not immediately clear if a similar arrangement was planned with Seeni in Pittsburgh, although at least one local news station said they'd be sure to suggest it.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency has enhanced staffing in the Commonwealth Response Coordination Center at PEMA headquarters outside Harrisburg to monitor severe storms crossing the state, the agency said in a news release Monday evening.

Multiple storm watches and warnings are currently in effect in various counties. Citizens are urged to monitor local media for updates and take weather alerts seriously.

The National Weather Service provides the following guidance regarding tornado watches vs. tornado warnings:

Tornado Watch: Be prepared, Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans and check supplies and your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. The watch area is typically large, covering numerous counties or even states.

Tornado Warning: Take action. A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. There is imminent danger to life and property. Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If in a mobile home, a vehicle, or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Warnings are issued by your local forecast office. Warnings typically encompass a much smaller area (around the size of a city or small county) that may be impacted by a tornado identified by a forecaster on radar or by a trained spotter or member of law enforcement who is watching the storm.

You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below.

Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
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Pennsylvania Storms

PennDOT crews work to clear a drain along Edinboro Road, west of Peach Street in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pa., Monday, May 1, 2017, after heavy rains flooded the stretch of road, closing both eastbound lanes. A McKean, Pa., woman was unhurt when her Chevy Cobalt, shown here, got stuck in the high water, the Times-News reports.

(Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP)

It looks a like war zone in parts of north-central Pennsylvania in the wake of a line of powerful storms that produced strong wind gusts and heavy rain Monday.

A peak wind gust of 71 mph was recorded at the Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville, and the National Weather Service said it is investigating the possibility a tornado touched down in Rebersburg in Centre County.

The line of severe storms that crossed the north-central part of the state late in the afternoon and evening brought down numerous trees and caused widespread power outages.

The storms were associated with a cold front, said David Martin with the National Weather Service in State College.

They also caused damage in parts of McKean, Elk and Clinton counties and a portion of southern New York State, he said.

"Rebersburg is a mess," Miles Township Fire Chief Eric Miller said Tuesday. Buildings have collapsed, roofs are blown off and power poles snapped off, he said. One man was hospitalized after a shed collapsed on him, he said.

All power may not be restored in the Rebersburg area until sometime Wednesday, Miller said he was told.

The Centre County 911 center received 508 calls between 6 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m., almost all storm related, its director Dale Neff said.

In Lycoming County, trees came down on vehicles, porches collapsed and part of the roof of a downtown Williamsport church was blown off.

PPL has moved in crews from other regions to help restore power in the Williamsport-Lock Haven area, spokeswoman Terri MacBride said. At the peak of the storm, about 10 p.m. Monday, the utility had 11,177 customers without power, she said.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, power company websites showed more than 7,000 customers without power in Lycoming County.

The county 911 center said it had 958 calls from 3:30 to 11 p.m. Monday. Williamsport firefighters said they answered more than 100 storm-related calls.

Two of them were for gas leaks caused by meters being broken by falling debris. A high voltage power line arcing in the northern part of the city could be seen for some distance.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in Montoursville reported as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday nine roads in Lycoming County, five in Montour, four in Sullivan and one each in Bradford and Columbia still were closed due to flooding or downed trees and wires.

As much of 3.65 inches of rain was reported in Montour County with lesser amounts in other areas, Martin said.

There is a potential for a soaking rain in the same area Thursday night into Friday, he said.

High winds damaged this home in Rebersburg.... pic.twitter.com/WRhh9kBGYD  Aimee Lewis (@aimee_lewisTV) May 2, 2017
By Marc Thiessen

Let's face it: The past 100 days have been a disaster . . . for Democrats.

Marc Thiessen (Washington Post photo)

While much ink has been spilled in the past week assessing President Trump's first 100 days in office, the Democrats' abysmal performance has largely escaped scrutiny. So let's review their record.

The Democrats spent much of Trump's first months in office pushing their unfounded narrative of Trump's alleged collusion with Vladimir Putin. But that narrative went up in smoke when Trump launched missile strikes against Putin's Syrian ally, Bashar Assad.

Trump not only hit the air base from which Assad allegedly had launched his chemical weapons attack but also dropped the "mother of all bombs" on the Democrats' efforts to paint him as a Putin puppet.

His Syrian strikes were followed by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley's blistering speech before the U.N. Security Council laying the blame on Russia for failing to stop Syria's use of chemical weapons and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's charge, on a recent visit to Afghanistan, that Russia is arming the Taliban.

Suddenly, we're in a new Cold War with Moscow - which pours cold water on Democrats' case for Trump-Putin collusion. All that effort at character assassination down the drain.

But most damaging has been the Democrats' seemingly nonstop efforts to further alienate the millions of Americans who twice voted for Barack Obama but switched to Trump last year.

The president's critics have pointed to a Post-ABC News poll, which showed that Trump had not expanded his base of support since he took office. Well, Trump did not need to expand his base. He won the election (and the poll suggested that if the election were held again today, he would not only defeat Hillary Clinton again but also win the popular vote this time).

The ones who need to expand their base are Democrats - the party that lost - and they utterly failed to so.

According to the Post-ABC News poll, only 2 percent of Americans who voted for Trump regret their votes, while fully 96 percent say it was the right thing to do.

In other words, after 100 days, Democrats made no inroads with these Obama-Trump voters. Quite the opposite, today just 28 percent of Americans say that the Democratic Party is in touch with the concerns of most Americans today - 10 points behind Trump.

Perhaps one reason is that Democrats have made clear their deep-seated contempt for the values of working-class, socially conservative Democrats who left their party in droves last year.

On April 21, newly elected Democratic National Committee chairman Thomas Perez announced that pro-life candidates are no longer welcome in the Democratic Party: "Every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman's right to make her own choices about her body and her health. That is not negotiable." Hear that, Middle America? Get with the baby-killing program.

Democrats are completely focused on placating their frothing, left-wing, anti-Trump base - and the American heartland thinks these people are insane. They see women marching in anti-Trump rallies wearing "pussy" hats (and placing them on the heads of young children). They see left-wing mobs attacking Charles Murray at Middlebury College and trying to stop Ann Coulter from speaking at the University of California at Berkeley. They see "Bill Nye the Liberal Guy" - honorary co-chair of the March for Science - raising a question about whether people should be punished for having "extra kids." (Which of their kids, they wonder, is the "extra" one?) They see a horrible feedback loop of left-wing intolerance for their beliefs and way of life.

And they see Democrats in Washington pandering to these people.

They also see that Democrats have not even made a pretense of cooperation with the candidate they elected. The Democratic Party is no longer the opposition; it is "The Resistance." These voters rightly ask: Resistance to what? The answer, they conclude, is resistance to ideas that are not their own. Resistance to the values of Middle America. Resistance to the candidate who promised to fight for them - the "forgotten Americans" the Democratic Party abandoned.

The Democrats' unrelenting, hyperventilating obstruction of Trump has sent crystal-clear a message to millions of Obama-Trump voters: We don't hear you. We loathe your president and all of you who put him into office. And we're going to show you what you can do with your Trump vote, by doing everything in our power to undermine the man you elected.

Not smart. Cranking out the liberal base while alienating working-class, traditionally Democratic voters did not work in 2016. It cost Democrats not only the presidency but also a historic opportunity to take control of the Senate in a year when the playing field was tilted against the GOP.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, Democrats seem hellbent on doubling down on this failed strategy in 2018. Trouble is, in 2018 Republicans are defending only eight Senate seats, while Democrats are defending 25 - including 10 in red states that Trump won. And working-class voters in those states see that Democrats have utter contempt for their choice of president, and thus utter contempt for them.

A hundred days in, these voters remain loyal to Trump. That's good news for the president. But for Democrats, it is a disaster.

Marc Thiessen is a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute and former chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush.
MASON CITY | The Mason City Park Board Monday night authorized using park property for bike racks and staff assistance in a proposed bike share program for Mason City.

The City Council will consider approving the overall program at its meeting Tuesday night. The council meets at 7 p.m. in the Mason City Room of the public library.

The bike share program would be administered through Koloni Share of Pocahontas, which operates similar programs in other Iowa communities. Forest City plans to initiate the program later this month, according to Steve Schurtz, who spoke at the Park Board meeting.

Schurtz is a member of the city's Active Living and Transportation Commission, which works in conjunction with the Blue Zones program.

The program allows participants to use their smart phone to activate the system, unlock a bicycle from a rack, ride it and then return it to the same rack or another rack in the system and lock it, Schurtz said.

Schurtz said the commission is asking the City Council to approve the program and authorize the first bike rack to be at City Hall. He said the goal in Phase I is to have three bike racks -- perhaps one in East Park and the other at the MacNider Campgrounds -- and 12 bicycles.

If the program is successful, the goal is to add more bikes and more racks, he said.

Schurtz said local sponsors have already agreed to purchase eight bikes and there are three "probable" sponsors. He said the commission has also secured sponsors for three bike racks. Another sponsor has agreed to provide maintenance for the bikes.

It is a rental program, Schurtz said. Fees have not yet been determined.

Donations have covered most of the costs of getting the program started.
FILE - This April 2017 file photo provided by the Burleigh County Sheriff's Department in Bismarck, N.D., shows Dahlia Hunter, one of eight people who were extradited from Jamaica to face charges in the U.S. in what authorities say is a multimillion-dollar lottery scam that victimized dozens of Americans. Hunter pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Bismarck, N.D. (Burleigh County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)
Mark Burrell, right, and a man who said he goes by the name Abundis, left, light marijuana joints Monday, May 1, 2017, during a May Day protest in Seattle. The two men identify with constitutionalist and libertarian ideals and had been arguing with counter protesters when they decided to smoke pot together with their opponents. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
MASON CITY | A Clear Lake man who allegedly attacked his significant other faces criminal charges.

Jeremy Simmer, 33, was charged with felony domestic assault -- strangulation and misdemeanor domestic abuse assault -- second offense.

He's accused of applying pressure to his significant other's neck, cutting off air flow, about 10:15 p.m. Sunday in an apartment in the 2400 block of S. Taft Avenue, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit.

Court documents said the victim had visible injury.

Simmer was previously convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault on March 3, 2005, in Cerro Gordo County.

-- Molly Montag
Gretchen Whitmer wins second term as Michigan governor

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defeated Republican challenger Tudor Dixon in the Michigan governor race in the 2022 midterm election to earn a second term.
Oil up Tuesday as OPEC, Russia cuts outweigh output elsewhere





LONDON

Petroleumworld 05 02 2017

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on news of lower production by Russia and OPEC, and expectations that major exporters would extend output cuts into the second half of the year.

Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 30 cents at $51.82 a barrel by 1230 GMT (8.30 a.m. ET). The futures contract hit a one-month low of $50.45 last week after the restart of two Libyan oilfields. U.S. light crude CLc1 was 20 cents higher at $49.04.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first half of 2017 to try to reduce a global glut.

OPEC oil output fell for a fourth straight month in April, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday, dropping to 31.97 million bpd as Nigeria and Libya pumped less crude.

Russian oil production fell slightly last month to 11.00 million bpd, almost hitting its output target under the deal with OPEC, Energy Ministry data showed on Tuesday.

OPEC and other producers plan to meet on May 25 and are widely expected to keep output limits for the rest of the year.

"The second half of the year looks brighter, provided OPEC remains at least as disciplined as during the first half of 2017," said Tamas Varga, analyst at London broker PVM.

BP Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary told Reuters on Tuesday that oil inventories would keep falling this year.

"If the OPEC cuts get rolled into the second half of the year, that will underpin oil prices," Gilvary said. "We are managing things around $50-$55 a barrel. That's probably the range we would expect for the rest of the year."

But oil market sentiment is fragile.

Libya's National Oil Company said on Monday production had risen above 760,000 bpd to its highest since December 2014, with plans to keep boosting production.

U.S. crude output C-OUT-T-EIA is at its highest since August 2015, while the Syncrude Canada oil sands project has started shipping crude from its Mildred Lake upgrader again after cutting production due to a fire in March.

U.S. crude inventories are expected to mark a fourth straight week of declines from a record high hit at the end of March, but stocks are still seen about 10 percent above year-end levels, according to Reuters calculations.

The American Petroleum Institute will release inventory data at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.






SAP, Siemens sign cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia-officials





JEDDAH

Petroleumworld 05 02 2017

Saudi Arabia wants German companies Siemens and SAP to play an important role in furthering the kingdom's "digital transformation", company officials said on Sunday during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to the country.

Top executives at the engineering conglomerate and the business software company who were travelling with Merkel signed declarations of intent to work with the Saudi authorities, the officials said.

Saudi Arabia is pushing a long-term economic transformation dubbed "Vision 2030" to reduce the country's reliance on oil, attract investment and improve the lives of its citizens.

Siemens signed a framework agreement with the Saudi National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP) which the German group said could lead to equipping infrastructure projects worth at least a billion euros.

The company also wants to provide vocational training in Saudi Arabia, while SAP has agreed with the Saudi Ministry of Planning to cooperate on the country's digitization efforts, officials said.

The German business delegation travelling with Merkel on her Gulf visit also includes the chief executives of Lufthansa , national railway operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial services group Bilfinger.






OTC 2017: Offshore oil industry insists still alive and kicking





HOUSTON

Petroleumworld 05 02 2017

Offshore oil industry insists it's not dead yet



The halls are not as crowded, the exhibits are not as elaborate and the swagger has left the attendees at the Offshore Technology Conference, but the industry insists that it's not dead yet.

The star speakers at OTC no longer talk about how high-technology will allow them to drill in ultra-deep water or conquer the most difficult oil reservoirs. On Monday, it was all about reducing costs and choosing contractors wisely to survive lower-for-long oil prices.

Richard Morrison, BP's regional president for the Gulf of Mexico, said he rewrote the company's business plan after the price collapse of 2014 to make sure the company could break even at prices below $40 a barrel. Prices are currently hovering around $50, making those operations barely profitable.

"We refocused and paused our exploration drilling program, we terminated a long-term rig contract, we allowed two others to expire and we warm-stacked another," he said. "We halved our fleet of vessels and helicopter and we have nearly halved the Gulf of Mexico workforce since 2014."

That's what it takes to make Gulf of Mexico operations cash-flow positive this year. And Morrison said it will likely stay that way for the next two years until oil prices rise above $60 again.

Looking through the OTC program this year, at least two-thirds of the panels are about reducing costs. And that's even after the offshore industry has laid off 40,000 jobs globally, sold off 100 aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico and virtually stopped exploratory drilling. The industry is still desperate to find savings.

The problem, of course, is the rousing success of onshore oil, where horizontal drilling rigs are producing oil from hydraulically-fractured shale for less than $40 a barrel. Land-based wells can start up and shutdown quickly in response to short-term trends in crude price, making final investment decisions a lot easier to make.

Offshore rigs take years to plan, cost billions to launch and need 20 years of operation to recoup the capital expenditure. Approving a $5 billion rig is hard to do when a major oil company is barely making money off of rigs that were approved on the expectation of $85 oil.

The federal government was out in force at OTC on Monday, and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said he was there to help. He promised to do everything possible to help the industry.

"You should be excited. If you are in the oil and gas, or energy segment in this society, the stars have lined up and we're going to make jobs," Zinke declared. He then signed orders creating a new special post dedicated to helping the energy industry and starting a comprehensive review of the government's five-year energy plan.

resident Donald Trump has promised to give domestic energy production a boost, and Zinke's repeated promise to make U.S. energy globally dominant had a frighteningly jingoistic tone. But oil, and coal for that matter, are global commodities traded around the world.

There is simply only so much the administration can do to boost the industry, and deregulation will not save the industry more than $1 a barrel in production costs.

The problem with conferences like OTC is that only those who believe in the industry's future get to speak. Every one taking the stage has an interest in the industry's survival, and in the case of corporations, no executive will dare say anything that might impact the stock price.

Yet there were ominous voices at OTC, if you paid close attention. Nizar Al-Adsani, CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp., laid out his strategic plan and suggested that OPEC members intend to make the cheapest crude in the world even cheaper to protect their market share.

"What shale has brought to the (Persian) Gulf is technology, and that technology can be used in the gulf to lower per unit cost," he said. "The low cost producer will, at the end of the day, prevail."

Adsani said Kuwait intends to increase production by 1 million barrels per day by 2020, at the same time that Permian basin wells also plan to add another million.

No one should expect a return to $100 oil for a very long time, Adsani added. They'll be lucky to see $85 a barrel. Once upon a time, that was considered the minimum price needed to sanction a deep water well.

So while offshore drillers fight to lower costs, they need to keep an eye on the competition. They are also working to lower costs. Offshore is not the only sector of the oil industry trying to stay a step ahead of the grim reaper.








CLEAR LAKE | A Clear Lake man accused of arming himself with a hatchet style hand-axe after assaulting his girlfriend was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail.

Rusty Thorngren, 28, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of domestic assault causing injury, third-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

The Cerro Gordo County Attorney's Office dismissed a felony count of going armed with intent.

Clear Lake man accused of arming himself with axe CLEAR LAKE | A Clear Lake man armed himself with a "hatchet style hand-axe" after assaulting

Although probable cause existed for the charge, there was no assurance of a conviction because Thorngren used a weapon to hit an vehicle rather than another person, according to court documents.

The victim also requested leniency, documents state.

Thorngren was accused of assaulting the victim on March 26 in the 600 block of 12th Avenue North in Clear Lake, using an expandable metal baton to damage her car and then walking toward her carrying an axe as well as the baton.

After his arrest, Thorngren kicked out the driver's side window of a squad car and damaged another police vehicle.

Thorngren was ordered to pay two $315 fines and one $615 fine, as well as surcharges and court costs. Victim restitution will be determined at a later date.

 Mary Pieper
T&T oil spill reaches Venezuela; former energy minister Kevin Ranmarine chastises Petrotrin





GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 05 02 2017

An oil spill which occurred at Trinidad and Tobago's state oil company Petrotrin on April 23 has now spread to the Venezuelan maritime boundary.

The country's Ministry of Energy says it is tracking the trajectory of the oil spill through computer based models of aerial and maritime surveys as the spill is moving in a westerly direction towards the border, reports the Trinidad Express.

Venezuelan authorities have been alerted and the country confirmed oil sightings in the vicinity of Guiria, on Sunday. Venezuela is now treating with the oil and the impacted areas.

On April 23, over 300 barrels of the black crude leaked into the Gulf of Paria from Petrotrin's Pointe-a-Pierre refinery after storage tank #70 ruptured.

The company has come in for heavy criticism by Trinidad and Tobago's former energy minister, Kevin Ramnarine, who posited that if, for example, the tank was 20% full it would contain a volume of 30,000 barrels of fuel oil. Given the location of the rupture (at the base of the tank) most of the contents of the tank would have been spilled. How much of this fuel oil entered the sea and how much fuel oil was contained in the refinery? Mr. Ramnarine asked, in a comment he made on Facebook on April 28.

Petrotrin must also say, he added, why the tender process for the installation of bund walls was stopped.

Bunding, also called a bund wall, is a constructed retaining wall around storage where potentially polluting substances are handled, processed or stored.

The country's energy ministry said since the incident, a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was activated to a Tier 2 level, which allowed for maximum use of in-country resources on April 24.

The MEEI is employing the Incident Management System to manage this spill in coordination with Petrotrin and other Government Agencies such as the Environmental Management Authority, Occupational Safety Health Authority, Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard in accordance with the NOSCP.

Daily monitoring and reporting on oil spill response efforts both in Trinidad &Tobago and in Venezuela will continue in accordance with established protocols and the public will be advised on any further developments accordingly, the ministry said.








OTC 2017: U.S. looks past energy independence to global dominance - Trump's Interior Sec.



Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, flanked by men and women who work on offshore oil and gas platforms signed two orders at OTC in Houston directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to develop a new five-year offshore exploration plan and creating a key new position.

HOUSTON

Petroleumworld 05 02 2017

The U.S. is in the position to be energy-dominant, not just independent, thanks to fracking and plans to loosen drilling regulations, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Monday.

Oil production across the U.S. may increase by 17 percent to a record 10.24 million barrels a day by the end of next year as companies cut costs and become more efficient in drilling, especially in areas such as West Texas and North Dakota. Domestic output hasn't surpassed 10 million barrels a day since 1970. At a time when OPEC and other producers are cutting output, U.S. exports surged above 1 million barrels a day for the first time.

In 1983, I was told we're going be out of oil and fossil fuels definitively in 2003. That's not true, Zinke said at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. And, you know, I always say God's got a sense of humor -- he gave us fracking. And fracking is a game-changer -- certainly a global game-changer.

Zinke is pushing forward President Donald Trump's plans to expand oil and natural gas drilling and reconsider regulations that might limit development of U.S. natural resources. Trump on Friday ordered Zinke to revise a five-year schedule for auctioning offshore drilling rights with the aim of potentially including territory left out by former President Barack Obama.

Click here for more on Trump's offshore drilling plans

My task is to look at it look at where we're going to make changes, recommendations across the board, Zinke said. The stars have lined up so we can create energy jobs."

Zinke signed two orders, one designating the creation of a counselor position to the Secretary for Energy Policy within the department, and the other directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to develop a new five-year plan for offshore exploration that reconsiders the regulations that currently govern those activities. The latter order will direct immediate development of outer-continental shelf leasing programs that open the door for drilling offshore Alaska, the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.

He's also looking at reorganizing the Interior Department, where, he says, in five years 40 percent of the employees will be retirement age.

Right now we're really senior, almost like an ice cream cone, Zinke said. This is a 100-year organization. About 100 years ago Teddy Roosevelt formed the park service. And what we're trying to do is look at 100 years hence.






This piece, titled, The New Plague, depicts life in Philadelphia in the age of COVID. Artist and educator Raphael Tiberino began painting at the age of four and has been in the spotlight as a professional creative for over 25 years.


AstraZeneca's immunotherapy drug durvalumab has been approved by U.S. regulators to treat advanced bladder cancer in patients. The medicine, which will be sold under the brand name Imfinzi, is part of a new generation of drugs that stimulate the immune system to help fight cancer.

AstraZeneca, which has North American headquarters and 1,500 employees in Wilmington, is testing the oncology medicine to treat lung cancer. Clinical trial results in patients are expected this summer.

"This first approval for Imfinzi is an important milestone in our return to growth," said AstraZeneca chief executive officer Pascal Soriot.

The Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Imfinzi to treat advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, the most common form of bladder cancer, in patients whose disease has progressed despite chemotherapy.

The medicine is being tested on its own, and in combination with another immune system-boosting therapy called tremelimumab, in numerous cancers.

The approval comes as AstraZeneca has lost revenue due to patent expirations and generic competition for some of its blockbusters treatments, including schizophrenia drug Seroquel XR and COPD drug Symbicort.
HAMPTON | A man from Mexico illegally living in Hampton who stole the identity of a U.S. citizen has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.

Francisco Hernandez-Espinoza, 24, received the prison term Monday after a December guilty plea to one count of misuse of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft.

During the plea hearing, Hernandez-Espinoza admitted that on June 4, 2012, he illegally used the name and Social Security account number of a U.S. citizen to obtain employment in Clarion, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

On Nov. 3, 2016, Hernandez-Espinoza was arrested by immigration agents in Hampton.

During his sentencing hearing, Hernandez-Espinoza admitted that between 2011 and 2015, he was convicted eight times in Iowa and Minnesota of using the name of the U.S. citizen, including after being arrested for criminal sexual conduct and domestic abuse assault.

Hernandez-Espinoza was fined $5,000. A special assessment of $200 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Hernandez-Espinoza is being held in U.S. Marshal custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
ROCKWELL | A North Iowa woman has been given a deferred judgment for possession of marijuana pills that law enforcement initially believed to be ecstasy.

Jamie Johnson, 24, of Manly, was put on probation for one year and ordered to pay a $315 civil penalty for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

She also was given a deferred judgment and one year of probation for misdemeanor driving while under the influence. She was assessed a $1,250 civil penalty.

If she successfully completes probation, the convictions will be stricken from her record.

Johnson pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week in Cerro Gordo County District Court.

A state trooper made contact with Johnson after coming upon her Buick Century broken down on the side of Highway 65 south of 130th Street in rural Rockwell on Jan. 27.

Johnson was arrested for driving with a suspended license and then searched by the trooper, who found a container containing 15 green pills in Johnson's jacket pocket.

The criminal complaint states a field test indicated the presence of 8 grams of ecstasy in the pills.

The Iowa State Patrol charged Johnson with felony possession of more than 5 grams of ecstasy with intent to deliver.

The Cerro Gordo County Attorney's Office filed trial information on Feb. 3 charging Johnson with a lesser felony, failure to affix a drug tax stamp, rather than possession with intent to deliver.

Lab test results by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation indicated some of the pills actually contained marijuana, while others contained legal substances, said Assistant County Attorney Gina Jorgensen.

The charge was reduced to marijuana possession because there weren't enough marijuana pills to require a drug tax stamp, according to Jorgensen.
A Hunting Park man and three others were arrested Tuesday and charged with trafficking and abusing a 14-year-old girl who had run away from home, forcing her to have sex with men after placing an advertisement about her online, according to police.

The girl, who ran away on April 23, was first sexually assaulted by 18-year-old Shaikey Cooper, whom the girl met with because she considered him a friend, police said.

After Cooper assaulted her at his house on the 4200 block of North Eighth Street in Hunting Park, police said, he took her to the North Philadelphia home of Reggie Jamal Fields, 23.

There, police said, Cooper and Fantasia Gale, 21, created an internet advertisement offering sex with the girl for money. Over the next two days, police said, the group forced her to have sex with several men against her will.

On April 25, police said, the girl escaped the house, on the 1800 block of North 20th Street, while the others were sleeping. She went to Temple University Hospital and told staff and police about the assaults, authorities said.

Cooper, Fields, and Gale, of the 1200 block of South 32nd Street in Grays Ferry, were arrested this week and charged with offenses including conspiracy, trafficking, and involuntary servitude. Each remained in custody Tuesday on $5 million bail, according to court records. Their attorneys could not immediately be reached or declined to comment.

Shawn Jackson, 23, of the 2900 block of North 12th Street in North Philadelphia, was also arrested and charged with rape, criminal conspiracy, and related counts, police said. He also remained in custody, court records said. His attorney, Joseph L. Coleman, said Jackson had pleaded not guilty and looked "forward to contesting the allegations."

Authorities were looking for Angelo Romero, 24, of the 1600 block of North Worrell Street in Juniata Park, although they did not specify potential charges he might face.

Police said the girl, who was later taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, was no longer hospitalized but was recovering and safe.
MASON CITY | North Iowa businesses are encouraged to involve summer interns in a program designed to connect young workers to the community and to each other in a new program sponsored by the Mason City Chamber of Commerce.

College Connections will provide a series of social and educational activities on a once-a-week schedule from June 1 to July 27.

Chamber members will serve as Lunch & Learn speakers on a variety of topics relevant to college students and new graduates, including networking, managing credit and working with different personality styles.

Several social activities are also planned.

Those interested in registering should visit the chamber's website or call 641-423-5724 for more information.

The program is free for chamber members; $100 for non-members.
MASON CITY | Police have located four children whose mother was jailed last week for allegedly not turning them over to the Iowa Department of Human Services.

An adult brought the children  three girls and a boy  to the Mason City Police Department on Monday night, said Mason City Police Capt. Mike McKelvey.

Police had been searching for the children since April 25.

They say that's when the children's mother, Mariah Britten, refused to comply with an order removing the children from her home and placing them in temporary custody of Iowa DHS.

Britten, 25, of Mason City, was arrested Thursday and jailed for a felony violation of a custodial order and four counts of contempt of court.

Investigators from multiple agencies continued to search for the children after Britten's arrest.

The person who ended up turning over the children called Mason City police on Monday.

"(The caller) would not tell us where they were at," McKelvey said. "It was a lot of waiting and negotiating and they did bring them to the police department."

The children all appeared to be O.K., McKelvey said.

"The kids seemed well taken care of. Well fed. In good spirits last night," he said. "So, at least that's a positive so this whole thing can kind of be put to bed now as far as the criminal side and let the courts and let the courts and DHS process play out as far as custody."

The person who brought the children to police has not been charged, but the police inquiry into where the children were at for the past week remains active.

Investigators have not said why the children were removed from Britten's home.

She remained jailed without bond Tuesday afternoon in Mason City.
THORNTON | Leila Mae (Steenhard) Nannenga of Thornton, Iowa, passed away on Friday, April 28, 2017, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 3, at Zion Reformed Church, 2029 Jonquil Ave., Sheffield, Iowa, with Pastor Art Zewert officiating.

Visitation with be 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Retz Funeral Home in Thornton, Iowa.

Interment will be at Pleasant View Cemetery, Thornton. Inquiries may be made at 641-892-4241.

Leila is the daughter of Edward and Marlys Steenhard of Sheffield, Iowa, born Nov. 2, 1947, in Hampton. Having grown up on a farm southwest of Thornton, Leila soon displayed her love for the out-of-doors, preferring to work with her father whether it involved doing livestock chores or working in the fields.

She graduated from the Meservey/Thornton school system in 1966 and went on to attend NIACC in Mason City, Iowa, attaining her associates of arts degree.

On Nov. 29, 1970, Leila was united in marriage to Christ J. Nannenga at the First United Methodist Church of Thornton. During the early stages of dating, the duo went to check out some springing Holstein heifers near Ventura, Iowa, the prelude to the union of a country girl and a farm boy.

To this union was born their only child, Elizabeth Ann Nannenga, on Nov. 27, 1977.

Leila faithfully journeyed through life by the side of her husband in his many varied endeavors. Some of her experiences included working as a farrowing attendant at Pleasant Valley Pork of Swaledale, Iowa; sharing in the ownership and operation of the Townhouse Cafe of Thornton, Iowa; owner and operation of the Southern County News of Thornton, Iowa; as well as being a pillar of support during her husband's tenure as Cerro Gordo County Supervisor.

As a person of many talents, she enjoyed sewing many of her daughter's and husband's clothing.

As her family has a long history of enjoying the peace music can bring, she cultivated Elizabeth's interest in vocal and instrumental music throughout her daughter's school years with Elizabeth going on to become an honor graduate of Drake University of Des Moines and employed as a music teacher today.

Elizabeth's mother would seldom miss a school concert conducted by her daughter, for "MammaBear" was never far removed from any of her daughter's activities. At an evening musical rehearsal, Elizabeth introduced Leila as "MammaBear: someone who will do all in her power to help, protect, and love, but beware the consequences of making her "growl." The nickname stuck.

Leila's passion for the arts, her love of being able to create lovely items from a spool of thread, a skein of yarn or a bolt of fabric continues her legacy in her daughter's private as well as professional life.

Leila was a quilter who enjoyed all of the sewing arts. A fun pastime for Leila was to go on quilt shop hopping road trips with Elizabeth. Her interest in reading as well as in genealogy suited her well as she worked for a term as school librarian and Thornton Public Librarian.

In truth, Leila was heartbroken when the Thornton school building was closed, a closing that would separate her from the many students who came to the library to read, study or just to share a concern.

Being very active in her faith, she assisted in Bible school and Sunday school programs. She would personally go door-to-door in her community inviting children she knew of to attend Bible school. Having been very influential in its structure, Leila had a high regard for the after-school "Kid's Club" program housed at the Grace UMC of Mason City, Iowa.

Leila, a cancer survivor, was afflicted with Parkinson's disease as well as renal failure.

She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Ann Nannenga of Thornton, Iowa; her brother, Daniel Steenhard of Sheffield, Iowa; her husband, Christ J. Nannenga of Story City, Iowa; her sister-in-laws, Mary (Brewer) Nannenga of Story City, Iowa and Marie Nannenga of Mason City, Iowa; her niece, Jackie (Mark) Hawley and great-nieces, Beverly and Katherine Hawley of Roland, Iowa, as well as many relatives and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Marlys Steenhard, and brother-in-law, Karl Nannenga.
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Ask Rep. Tom MacArthur why he wants to cut your health care

Rep. Tom MacArthur put the Houses cruel American Health Care Act back on track by making a deal with the hard-right Freedom Caucus. Now it has a greater chance of life than many Americans will if it passes.
MASON CITY | State Rep. Todd Prichard of Charles City, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor next year, spoke at a town hall meeting Monday night at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mason City.

"I know Iowa can do better than what we have seen during this legislative session," he said in March, when he announced plans to run for governor. "The current administration appears to have given up on creating quality jobs and growing wages in communities like Charles City, and we need a new vision for Iowa."




For the last few weeks, it has come to light that some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ units suffer from a red tint on their display. Samsung has maintained that this is just a color calibration issue and can be manually fixed. A software update to that effect has been rolled out in South Korea, India, Europe and now in the US as well on T-Mobile.

The new OTA update brings in additional color optimization settings, along with stability and performance improvements. The size of the update differs based on the region the update is rolling out. While in the US, the color correction update on the S8 weighs in at 138 MB, in India (XXU1AQDG) it comes in at 426 MB.

A new option, "Full Screen Color Balance" is added in the Adaptive Display Screen mode along with "Screen Edge Color Balance" in Screen Mode menu.

We can confirm that the red tint issue has been fixed on the unit we have after playing around with the settings a bit and several other users have also said the same over social media.

Since its launch, the Galaxy S8 has had its share of issues including random restarts, dodgy WiFi and DQA errors. But it seems the latest update has resolved most of these issues. Are you still facing any issues with your Galaxy S8 or S8+? Do let us know in the comments section and we will try to find a solution.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Gov. Terry Branstad earned high praise  and apparently a clear path to confirmation  from a Senate panel that questioned him for nearly two hours on his nomination to be United States ambassador to China.

Youve had an outstanding hearing, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told Branstad Tuesday morning. The governors on-the-ground experience with China  (and) understanding of what drives the thinking within China will serve us well.

Referring to Branstads nearly 23 years as governor, Corker thanked him for his willingness to give up a very comfortable place -- apparently issues of re-election are not a problem -- to go to a post that is much more temporary yet, in many ways, far more meaningful from the standpoint of our security and the world security.

The ranking Democrat, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, offered his compliments to Branstad commitment to upholding human right, open markets, rules-based order in the South China Sea and press freedom.

I must tell you the way you expressed it I believe expresses what I would hope to hear from our ambassador-to-be to China," Cardin said. He then asked Branstad about human rights in China, which he believes is moving in the wrong direction.

Although later Branstad said that human rights wasnt always at the top of his agenda when leading international trade missions to China and other nations, he always tried to recognize my responsibility as an American to represent our values.

It would be my intent as ambassador to bring up those difficult issues that the Chinese may not particularly want to talk about, but are important, said Branstad, who was flanked by his wife, Chris, and two sons, Marcus and Eric, who is a Trump liaison to the Commerce Department, as well as staff members.

Answering Cardins follow-up question, Branstad said he would not only be willing to meet with Chinese people who may disagree with their government, but to travel to other parts of the country to meet with them as well.

Regarding religious minorities in China, Branstad noted hes a Catholic and would want to attend a Catholic church while in China.

Human rights was not the only issue senators explored with Branstad.

They returned several times to North Koreas recent military activity and Kim Jong-uns attempts to develop deliverable nuclear weapons.

Chinas lack of willingness to play the role it has to be played has got to change, Corker said, warning that without China stepping up something severe is going to happen in the region.

Branstad agreed North Koreas recent action present a threat to all of humankind. He expressed a belief there are things China can do through diplomacy and economic pressure to send a clear signal that they as well as the United States and other countries do not tolerate this expansion of nuclear technology and missiles by the North Korea leadership.

I would want to of all I can to serve as a key go-between as we explore how we can work together with China and other Asian nations to contain North Korea, Branstad said.

There was a focus on protecting intellectual property rights from China, which Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, called a serious offender."

Branstad noted Iowa has had some experience with that, referring to a Chinese national being convicted of attempting to steal information about seed corn from Pioneer DuPont, which is based in Delaware, which is represented on the Foreign Relations Committee by Democrat Sen. Chris Coons.

The governor said hes heard from many companies about their concerns with intellectual property theft. As the Chinese economy develops, he said, Hopefully, they will see there is a danger to them as well of having their intellectual property stolen by other countries."

That demonstrated Branstads command of the range of hot button issues, said Susan Neely, who worked on his first gubernatorial campaign and was his chief of staff.

That really came through today as you listened to questions and he had something to relate to all of the questions, she said after attending the hearing.

It was easy for Branstad to make connections as senators brought up their concerns with selling chicken, pork and beef to the Chinese. He told them his preference would be to serve beef from Iowa, not Australia, at the embassy.

He was introduced by Iowas two Republican U.S. senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, who praised who work ethic.

He will bring Midwestern humility and level-headed leadership to the job, Grassley told the committee. He is a workhorse who is unafraid to get in the trenches to get the job done.

Having worked with him, Ernst expressed confidence Branstad will exemplify the same leadership, thoughtfulness, and dedication in his role as ambassador to China on behalf of the United States as he did for the people of Iowa.

I look forward to him being confirmed by the Senate and bringing the Iowa Way to Beijing, she said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to recommend Branstads confirmation next week with a vote by the full Senate before the end of the month.

Following the hearing, Branstad and his family were headed to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
The Austin, TX, police officer reported missing on Wednesday is thought to be alive in Mexico and is facing criminal charges, the Austin Police Department confirmed Friday night, reports KVUE.

Officer Coleman Martin, 29, is facing a Class A misdemeanor charge of "false report," which caused a search for his whereabouts.

According to an affidavit, Martin's wife called police on Tuesday, April 25, and reported that he was suicidal. She told officers that he left their residence around 10 a.m. that morning, telling her he was leaving for a while to "clear his head." She stated that around 10:15 a.m. he sent her a text message containing a photo of a handwritten note that said he was going to commit suicide and drown himself in a lake near the border of Mexico.

The affidavit said that around 7 a.m. on April 26, law enforcement with the Amistad National Recreation Area reported that Martin's vehicle was found near the lake. A "suicide note," the same one Martin to his wife in a text message, was found on the seat of his vehicle.

Investigators discovered that Martin had a close relationship with a woman other than his wife. On April 27, investigators interviewed the woman and she provided evidence that Martin was still alive and the entire event had been an attempt to fake his own death. She showed investigators an email that Martin sent her after the alleged suicide telling her that it was a success.
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When consumers suffer the dreaded buyers remorse it is typically because they failed to do any research into their purchase or were tricked by false advertising or a corrupt seller into buying a bad product. One might have empathy for voters suffering political buyers remorse because they were sold a pack of lies by a corrupt politician they ardently supported, but that is a very big might. It is likely that invalid buyers remorse is the case with a growing number of American farmers who gladly voted for Trump even though he pledged to get rid of undocumented Hispanic immigrants conservatives claim are stealing Americans jobs. It isnt exactly clear what drove farmers to support the maniac who promised to round-up and evict the highly-skilled immigrant labor force they depend on to survive, but they did and now they are beyond experiencing buyers remorse. They are incredibly nervous and worried sick because their livelihoods are in jeopardy because of Trumps nativist immigration policy.

It isnt just Trumps ugly immigration policies that have already hit farmers and ranchers hard; his anti-immigrant comments are making it difficult, if not impossible, to find highly-skilled cheap immigrant labor to do back-breaking farm work.

This has been an issue since Trump took office, and finally last week CNN aired a short special segment about the issue where a farmer in California said he was unable to get any workers this year. And, Joel del Boscaya, the son of Mexican immigrants, said the problem became increasingly worse after the election and Trumps pledge of mass deportations began in earnest. Mr. Boscaya had this to say about Trumps mass deportation threats and blamed him for his business woes. He said:

That makes me nervous. Putting a wall on the border, that makes me nervous. He also said, like farmers across the nation, that Trumps anti-immigrant comments and policies affect his bottom line because we can grow crops, but not pick them.

An asparagus farmer, Joe Del Bosque, echoed Boscayas worries and lamented that skilled immigrant field workers are so afraid of being rounded up and arrested while on the job, or even traveling to the fields, that he struggled to find enough skilled hands in March to pick his crop.

One Oregon farmer who would only speak on condition of anonymity and refused to even identify his crop because he feared harsh reprisals from federal I.C.E. (immigration) agents, said he may be forced to retire. He is already unable to find skilled immigrant labor and understands that no-one is willing to start toiling at dawn in the dirt and cold except for immigrant labor. And like nearly all farmers, he expressed admiration for their willingness to do the back-breaking work with expertise and efficiency that no temporary labor, machine or inmate is capable of doing.

According to an article in U.S. News, the American Farm Bureau Federation has already warned that Trumps strict immigration enforcement would raise food prices 5 to 6 percent because of a drop in supply. As it is now, skilled migrant field workers are already easy targets for ICE agents who have arrested hundreds of immigrants. Whether it was apple pickers in upstate New York, or Guatemalans pulled over on their way to pick plants used in the floral industry, Trumps anti-immigrant talk and policies are having a harmful effect on the agriculture industry.

Some immigration hardliners, including Trump, claim that undocumented Hispanic farm laborers are stealing jobs from good white Americans. But like everything out of the alt-White movement Trump leads, that is patently untrue and an easily disproven dirty lie. According to an economists study for the Center for Global Development in 2013 who looked at farms in North Carolina; immigrant manual laborers had almost zero effect on the job prospects of native-born U.S. workers.

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a study and reported that stepped-up deportations could carry significant economic implications for consumers and the agricultural industry and everything related to putting food on Americans tables. The study reported that if Americas undocumented labor force shrank only 40 percent, vegetable production could drop by more than 4 percent. Combined with fruits and nuts, just a 4 percent drop in production will translate into considerably higher prices for consumers.

Some large agricultural employers are actively lobbying for reasonable visa and immigration reforms because they comprehend that what the Trump is doing is not going to accomplish anything but decimate their businesses. In fact, at a recent seminar held by an immigration attorney talking about immigrants legal rights, attorney Sarah Loftin was more than surprised that half of the attendees were winery owners or farmers. What Ms. Loftin didnt know, or at least didnt say, was how many of the agricultural employers were also Trump voters.

There is such a high level of concern among agricultural employers that they are desperately looking at unwanted contingency plans like expensive mechanization or switching to growing less labor-intensive crops. For example, officials in Vermont are considering a vocational program to train inmates in dairy farming.

One vineyard owner is less than enthused, and not at all optimistic about the alternatives being considered to replace skilled immigrant farm labor; I dont trust that temps off the street, or jailhouse labor, or whatever alternative they come up with would work. It is a valid concern by every farmer who understands, through years of experience, that agricultural field work is backbreaking, dirty, and requires a skill level that takes years to perfect. There is a very short window to harvest, process, and ship fruits and vegetables to market with no room whatsoever for inefficiency or carelessness.

It is impossible to know for sure how many in the agricultural community voted for the man devastating their industry with his words and deeds. However, in Californias Great Central Valley that provides well over half the fruits, vegetables, and nuts for Americans, farmers overwhelmingly supported the Trump. Now they are weeping and gnashing their teeth because they are having a tough time getting their crops planted or harvested. And, it is noteworthy to say that it is not only because ICE agents are rounding up undocumented field workers; it is because of sheer terror of the possibility they will be abducted, detained, and deported on their way to the fields. Trumps anti-immigrant talk and policies may give farmers buyers remorse, make them nervous and threaten their bottom line, but for the immigrant labor force, it is more than just nerve-wracking; exactly as Trump and his supporters intended.
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During an interview with CNNs Chrisitiane Amanpour at a Women for Women event, Hillary Clinton explained why Donald Trump is not a legitimate president.

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When asked if Putin hated her, Clinton said, Well, he certainly interfered in our election, and it was clear that he interfered to hurt me and to help my opponent, and if you chart my opponent and his campaigns statements, they quite coordinated with the goals that that leader who shall remain nameless had.

Later in the interview, Hillary Clinton took personal responsibility for the defeat, and added, I was on the way to winning until Jim Comeys letter on October 28, and Russian Wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off, and the evidence for that intervening event is I think compelling persuasive.

Hillary Clinton was accusing Donald Trumps presidential campaign of coordinating with the Russians. Clinton both took responsibility for the defeat and wanted the American people to know that Trumps election was not above board and legitimate.

Questions about Trumps legitimacy as president are constant because there are many unanswered questions about what the relationship was between the Trump campaign and Putin during the election.

Hillary Clinton deserves credit because she could have pulled an Al Gore and vanished after losing an election under questionable circumstances. Instead, she is out there making her point of view known.

Clintons statements are why this country needs an independent investigation into Trumps relationship with Russia, and one gets the sense that Hillary Clinton is going to keep pushing until the truth is known by all about what happened in 2016.
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Sally Yates is described as being motivated and ready to set the record straight about the warning that she gave the White House about Mike Flynns Russia activities when he testifies before the Senate.

CNN reported, Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates is prepared to testify before a Senate panel next week that she gave a forceful warning to the White House regarding then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn nearly three weeks before he was fired, contradicting the administrations version of events, sources familiar with her account tell CNN.But because of the classified nature of the information, she is unlikely to explain in detail what specific information prompted her to raise concerns with the White House about his alleged ties to the Russians. She is, though, expected to give her version of events when she informed the White House about her concerns that Flynn may have been compromised by the Russians, contradicting Spicers comment that Yates was simply giving officials a heads up about the then-national security advisor, the source said.

Yates was the reason why the Trump White House had Devin Nunes cancel a meeting of the House Intelligence Committee because she has knowledge and information that directly contradicts the Trump White House version of the events surrounding Mike Flynns firing.

The White House doesnt want Sally Yates to testify because her testimony will expose many of the lies that the Trump has been using as part of their Russia scandal cover-up. Sally Yates may not be able to go into detail, but to have an eyewitness testify that the White House isnt telling the truth is a very important.

Day after day, the Russia scandal constantly haunts the Trump White House. No matter what they do, they cant shake the scandal. The testimony of Sally Yates will set the wheels in motion. The White House will try to frame Yates as a partisan and a disgruntled public servant who Trump fired, but the reality is that she knows things that this White House doesnt want the public to know, and she is about to tell her story to Congress.

The Russia scandal is about to get real for Donald Trump.
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Ivanka Trump is the Pepsi of Feminism. Shes using feminist anger and energy to try to market her products, herself, and her father the p*ssy grabber.

Republicans get pretty outraged that women who care about their personal liberty have the temerity not to worship at Ivanka Trumps feet. After all, they say, she has a business and is very successful.

Of course, there is no way to prove that Ivanka would be successful without the access to her fathers resources, the family name, and the exposure that comes from being born to the Trump family. So thats always a problem.

But the New York Times delved into Ivanaka on Monday, and it managed to really explain something that many women feel but cant articulate. Theres the sense that Ivanka doesnt really get it, or else how could she stand by her p*ssy-grabbing father. But now there is proof.

When Ivanka was struggling with her brand, the The New York Times wrote, penetrating the mass market presented a challenge: Ms. Trumps gilded life felt distant to women who shopped at Macys. So, late in 2013, she and her husband gathered with a few employees in front of a whiteboard in their Upper East Side apartment. Sheryl Sandbergs Lean In had just topped the best-seller charts, and Ms. Trumps team wanted its own catchy yet accessible slogan.

The brainstorming solidified into a new motto: Women Who Work.'

Not only is Ivanka not one of them  the average American woman who works (most women cant afford a nanny, for example, and arent in the top 1%), but she only became a feminist when she needed to freshen her brand, to make herself more approachable.

Ivanka Trump is the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad of feminism.

As Wired put it, Pepsis tone deaf message was so superficial as to enrage the entire internet, All those Womens Marches, Black Lives Matter protests, and demonstrations outside Trump Tower would be much more effervescentand effective!if someone had just brought some soda.

So Ivanka and her team set about cultivating an image  the opposite of actually organically creating a following due to actions.

Ms. Trump and her team set about tailoring her image to fit the concept. An internal document lists one of her challenges as perceived as rich and unrelatable. (An additional one: Most of her followers on social media were men.) Ms. Trump was told to post more down-to-earth pictures on her Instagram feed  less made-up model, more mommy.

The NTY writers note that Ivanka is a lot like her father. She uses corporate words and doesnt have strongly held positions. She puts a lot of stock in image and branding, is sensitive to criticism, makes effusive, broad claims, and Like him, she appears confident she can master realms in which she has little expertise or experience. The two even speak in similar streams of superlatives: tremendous, unbelievable.'

That Ivanka is Donald Trumps daughter became obvious when she abruptly ended a Cosmo interview during the campaign when she was asked questions about her fathers paternity leave plan; that is to say, they didnt allow her to offer propaganda about how Trump was great for women and run.

The NYT piece written by Jodi Kantor, Rachel Abrams and Maggie Haberman gave powerful insight into Ivanka in a section where they reported her frustration over her father being caught on tape bragging about grabbing women by the p*ssy, her unfulfilled desire for her father to issue a full-throated apology, and her ultimate lack of success in bringing Trump around to really getting the issue.

And theres one of the problems for women who dont buy Ivanka as the New Hillary.

Ivanka doesnt understand exactly why its so damaging for her father to be bragging about grabbing random women by their p*ssy.

How could she? Not only is Ivanka seemingly OK with the way her father has sexualized her and treats her like a piece of meat in public with his own words, saying he would have sex with her and talking about her breasts, but she is too privileged to understand that so many of her fathers victims didnt feel free to say no or the cost they paid if they did reject him.

Theres a long list of women who rejected Donald Trump and paid dearly for it. Journalists who were harassed and humiliated professionally for years because of it. This is a man who called a female journalists boss to call her a c*nt in reaction to a story of hers that he never actually read.

A champion for women? No. Ivanka Trump might as well claim her father is Jesus walking on water than her claim he is an advocate for working women. She is also not an advocate for working women or equality politics. She cant even handle being asked questions by Cosmo on family leave policies (hint: womens rights are also about family rights). Most women deal with a lot more push back in the world than that.

Ultimately, Ivanka Trump using feminism as a branding tool off of which she can make more money for herself and her family is a clear indication that she doesnt value the real issues. She says shes trying to learn about issues, but then suggested to Planned Parenthood, according to the New York Times, that they split into two organizations, keeping abortions separate. That right there says it all. There is just no clue about the liberty at stake for women when it comes to reproductive freedom.

Not everyone has a family jet they can hop in and take to a place where they offer legal abortions (not suggesting Ivanka has done this, but rather that she knows she can do whatever she needs or wants to do because she has the money and power needed to override any laws).

Ivanka Trump is a superficially insulting Pepsi ad to feminism.
Political Editor

Schuyler Kropf is The Post and Courier political editor. He has covered every major political race in South Carolina dating to 1988, including for U.S. Senate, governorship, the Statehouse and Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.
CLEAR LAKE | Eldon Vine will never forget what he saw coming off the night watch with the Marine Corps in Panmunjom, Korea, in 1953.

Negotiations to end the war had failed, but by April the U.S. and Koreans had agreed to exchange sick and wounded prisoners of war.

Vine, a Clear Lake resident, couldn't wait to welcome the prisoners of war back into friendly territory. He imagined celebration, fanfare and, perhaps, a few profanities from serviceman thrilled to be free of enemy hands.

That's not what he saw.

"They just sat there like zombies," Vine said of the American prisoners. "They were horribly undernourished-looking. Our side had taken in new clothing for them, so there they were in these stiff, brand-new clothing, spotlessly clean -- they weren't, but the clothing was -- and, they just sat there."

The men had no animation.

"My belief is they weren't able to let themselves believe they were coming out, you see," Vine said. "That's quite a downer. And that's not what I was expecting."

Even though it didn't affect his safety directly, Vine still considers the conditions of the prisoners and their reactions to freedom the second-most traumatic thing he witnessed while serving as a forward observer from July 1952 to July 1953.

The worst thing? That he can barely bring himself to talk about.

He's not alone in that. Many veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars have said the same thing to the Globe Gazette in recent years.

Originally from Decorah, Vine volunteered to be drafted so he could pick his branch of service.

He was the fifth of his brothers to serve in the military.

Three chose the Army, one chose the Air Force and he chose the Marines.

There wasn't much of a transition from civilian to military life.

"You go from Decorah to six months later being in Korea," he said.

Vine and the First Marine Regiment were stationed in the mountains, looking for enemy forces between the capitals cities of Seoul and Pyongyang.

"Most of the enemy action took place at night, of course, and we did the same thing when we were out patrolling," he said. "In daylight, we learned the secret was not to stare fixedly, but just to kind of glance."

Once an enemy location was spotted, they'd radio or phone in the location to the artillery units.

The "farm boys" like Vine were known to be especially good at zeroing in on the exact location.

"They told us, 'We like farm boys, you're better at judging distance,'" Vine recalled. "And, we were. City boys never saw that far, you know? Things are close."

The unit was out in the field all the time. Once, they stayed in the same position for about two months.

They lived in huts, or bunkers, dug into the side of ridgelines and fortified with sandbags.

Vine's hut had two bunks made out of boards salvaged from ammunition crates.

The impact of the day-to-day hardships out the field is something that's difficult to explain, he said.

In the winter, they'd take their next day's rations into their sleeping bag at night so it wouldn't be frozen when they wanted to eat it the next day.

Sometimes they could heat those meals, but often they could not.

Bathing was often splashes of water from a helmet, and that was only after it had been hauled up the hill in a 5-gallon pail.

"All those little discomforts and inconveniences, they're not grand sacrifices, but most people who lack appreciation don't have the faintest idea," Vine said.

As tough as conditions were, Vine felt he had been prepared for the challenges by the hard economic times hitting the country during his childhood in Decorah.

"All of us had memories of the Great Depression when things were really dire back in Iowa. We were not used to luxuries of any kind," he said. "What we hoped to have in life was enough to eat and enough to keep warm, that sort of thing."

Letters from his future wife, Kathy, also helped.

"She wrote me about 350 letters," he said, pausing to remember. They often arrived in bunches, telling about happenings in Decorah, what she was doing and what relatives were up to.

"I was very much admired and envied by the guys around me," Vine said. "They didn't have anything to say about it, but they were eating their hearts out."

Vine was sent stateside in July 1953. After a few months at Camp Pendleton, he moved back to Decorah.

He and Kathy moved to Clear Lake, when he took a job as a salesman.

Not long after, he went back to school to be a teacher. Vine taught middle school social studies at Clear Lake Schools, retiring after 24 years.

"(The war experience) was invaluable there," he said. "I didn't tell war stories, but I told encounters with the environment and that sort of thing, and the boys liked that sort of thing."

Vine never has thought much about the political maneuvering that led to the war, or the idea of fighting for the cause or the flag.

When it boils down to it, that's not what he and many of the people on the front lines were thinking about.

They worried about each other, not the cause.

"It was your duty to be there, and once you are, your goal is to watch out for your friend and your friend watches out for you," Vine said.
Neither of the two leading candidates, JoAnn Orishack and Alan Perry, received the required 50% of the vote. Read moreMayor's race will go to a runoff in Hilton Head
On Oct. 26. 2015, Senior Deputy Ben Fields forcibly removed a student from her chair after she refused to leave her math class at Spring Valley High in Columbia. The incident sparked a debate over the scope and purpose of law enforcement in schools, along with a push to revise the state's "disturbing schools" law. File
When members of Charleston's Board of Architectural Review-Large meet Wednesday afternoon, they again will review plans for an 8-story building at 295 Calhoun St.  what will be one of the largest and most prominent buildings at one of downtown's most important gateways. They should stand fi Read moreEditorial: Protect integrity of BAR, Charleston's unique character
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Statehouse from Columbia. She previously covered city government and other topics in South Carolina and Maryland. Maya has a bachelors in English from Spelman College and a masters in journalism from the University of Maryland.
DOVER  It took jumping through a few hoops, but Jody Wiza got what she wanted.

And what she wanted is certainly unique, which is the best description of The Hair Shack and The Shack Bar, her co-joined businesses in Dover. "Nowhere, anywhere," she said when asked if she's ever seen a combination bar and grill/hair salon. "This is the first one."

Wiza, who has been cutting hair for 17 years ("Hair is my life"), came up with a bright idea last spring: If customers  who often had to wait a few hours in her salon while they got a cut and color  brought in an adult beverage or two, why not turn her salon into a combination bar and salon?

To be clear, the bar and grill, and the salon are separate businesses. And bringing alcohol into the salon is off limits, she said. Besides, who wants hair in their cocktail?

But for those customers who come in for a process that might take a few hours, Wiza wanted to give them a place to relax, have a drink, get a sandwich or salad or soup, and kick back among friends.

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"It'll be better because getting your hair done can be boring," said Dyana Miller, who lives in Plainview but treks down to Dover and The Hair Shack when her follicles need some attention.

Sitting around reading magazines, Miller said, can't compete with having a sandwich, a drink and chatting with friends who can come along and either enjoy a day out or get their own hair done as well.

Miller admitted she's brought a drink into a salon before, and she likes the set up at The Shack Bar, where everything's on the up and up, better.

The bar has a beach bar aesthetic, and Wiza said there will eventually be outdoor seating in the summer. Surfboards, Tiki idols and and plenty of bright colors great customers who step into a bar inspired by Wiza's frequent trips to Florida, where she and husband Bruce have business and family interests.

On the roof will be a hollowed out Volkswagen Microbus with an "Open" sign in the window that, along with the headlights, will be lit when the bar is open. Wiza plans to hold an open house for her new business venture on May 6 and is inviting everyone to sign the bus before it gets hoisted to the roof.

The bar, she said, makes a great place for husbands to hang out with their wives while the women are getting their hair done. "While the wife is color processing, the husband goes out and gets a drink or a sandwich," she said. In fact, the same can be said of kids, who can get a bite to eat while a parent or sibling is in the salon.

The inspiration, Wiza said, came when her customers kept bringing drinks into her salon. "It's that small-town thing," she said. But she knew there were laws against it, and, she added, it was a bit of an inconvenience for her customers to go to the bar next door, buy a six-pack and haul it down the street to her business.

So she mentioned it to Bruce  her then-fiance  and a year ago to the day, he began building the bar. "He's built everything in here," she said, proudly pointing to a wooden bench, the cue rack for the pool table, and pieces of the bar. "He's been amazing."

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While Bruce was building, Wiza  then Jody Ramsey  started working with an attorney to see how her business could be built legally and setting the bar and grill up as a separate limited liability corporation from the salon. There were construction permits to obtain, a liquor license to get, and a few other hurdles along the way.

"We got married March 4, right in the middle of all this," she laughed.

In addition to those folks getting a color, Wiza said, she envisions bridal parties, groups enjoying a day of pampering and families who need to get their hair done taking advantage of the bar, grill and hair salon combination of services.

Still, Wiza said, her core focus will remain on cutting hair. Like bartenders, she said, stylists are often those people you go to when you're feeling down. "If you're looking to feel better about yourself, you get your hair done or you get a drink," she said. "People come in and spill their guts."

For those days, Wiza said, she has the cure for what ails you. "I want people to come in, have fun and look beautiful."
GOODHUE  An excavation company located just north of the city of Goodhue has been fined $80,000 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for its use of an old underground fuel tank.

Fitzgerald Excavating and Trucking in Goodhue, owned by Jason Fitzgerald, earned the fine after it was discovered the company had buried a used 12,000-gallon fuel tank that had previously belonged to a gas station and used it to purchase bulk fuel for his vehicles, said Cathy Rofshus, a spokeswoman for the MPCA.

The 30-year-old tank posed a high risk of leaking and was prohibited from being reused, the MPCA stated. Furthermore, Fitzgerald installed the tank himself instead of using a licensed tank contractor. In an effort to hide the violations from the MPCA, he buried the tank, poured a concrete pad over it, He then placed several 1,000-gallon above-ground tanks as decoys on top the pad.

"He had it all set up to look like he was using those above-ground tanks for fueling," Rofshus said. The above-ground tanks are exempt from state regulations.

Rofshus said on Sept. 24, 2015, MPCA compliance officers went to the site to inspect several aspects of the facility. While there, they noticed the above-ground tanks were empty. At that point, the officers began to notice other irregularities with the set up of Fitzgerald's fuel system.

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The officers realized the above-ground tanks were not functional. While Fitzgerald told the officers he fueled his vehicles either in Red Wing or Zumbrota, pooled fuel on the site led the officers to investigate further.

Eventually, they found a modified tool box that had been placed over the the fill-pipes for the underground tank. Vent pipes for the underground tank were located within hollow posts disguised as load-bearing beams for the fuel area.

"He's removed the tank himself," Rofshus said. Just as in the installation of the underground tank, the removal of the tank  which had no leak detection, corrosion protection, or spill or overfill protection  was not done by an MPCA-certified tank contractor.

In addition to the $80,000 fine, the company must take several corrective actions including properly dispose of ash and solid waste stored at the Goodhue facility; stop storing, disposing of, and burning waste materials; and submit a plan for managing waste to the MPCA for approval.

The company, which provides demolition, excavating, tiling and septic-installing services, has been in trouble with the MPCA before, Rofshus said. In 2009, the MPCA fined Fitzgerald $10,000 for violations in solid waste and installing on-site sewage-treatment systems. The company was also ordered to perform $10,000 worth of environmental labor for the county.

Rofshus said that the fine is meant to be in order with what the company may have benefited from its illegal activities, but it's quite possible that by purchasing fuel at bulk rates, they might have saved more than $80,000 from their activities.

In Minnesota, the MPCA said, there are about 18,000 regulated underground storage tanks in use. The MPCA's Underground Storage Tank Program helps to prevent contamination from leaking tanks by focusing on technical assistance and compliance.
Jordan Glynn wants to see Rochester move forward while also taking into account its past.

The 28-year-old Rochester native appears to be the first official candidate for Rochester's 2018 mayoral election. The local musician said he decided to run after reflecting on what he's seen in other cities and what is happening in his hometown.

"It's not about politics for me," he said. "It's simply about guiding the community through the growth and all the changes we have going on while trying to protect its quality of life, its values and history."

Glynn said he's starting his campaign early to discover what the community wants in its next mayor.

"I want to spend as much time as possible connecting with the community," he said, noting he knows housing and transportation will be key issues but also suggesting he wants to find ways to overcome a pattern of delays and inaction in local government.

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With about 18 months remaining before the election, Mayor Ardell Brede has not yet announced whether he will seek a fifth term. On Monday, he indicated an announcement is possible early next year.

Kim Norton, a former legislator, has indicated an interest in running for the seat but has not yet made it official. On Sunday, she posted a comment to Glynn's announcement on Facebook.

"Was hoping I had your support," she wrote. "Oh well, democracy!!"
RED WING  The trees have been felled and the right-of-way purchased. Now, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is ready to begin the three-year process of replacing the 1960 U.S. Highway 63 Eisenhower Bridge.

The bridge, which has outlasted its 50-year design lifespan, said MnDOT Project Director Terry Ward, was judged to be fracture critical in the wake of the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in north Minneapolis.

It will be replaced by a new two-lane 1,643-foot replacement bridge that is scheduled for traffic in September 2019. The new bridge is being designed for a 100-year lifespan. The existing Eisenhower Bridge will then be removed by August 2020, Ward said.

Representatives from MnDOT and the city of Red Wing, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the contractor for the project will be on hand at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Red Wing Public Library to answer questions about the project.

"We started some field work," Ward said. "We've done tree removals on the Minnesota side and we've done some of the tree removal on the Wisconsin side."

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MnDOT has also acquired the necessary right of way for the reconfiguration of downtown Red Wing including a permanent overpass of U.S. Highway 61. When entering Red Wing from Wisconsin, drivers will be given the option to either exit toward Third Street downtown or take a "buttonhook" to join up with Highway 61 east of that bypass.

A traffic signal will be installed where the buttonhook terminates at Highway 61. The exit to downtown on Third Street will see the removal of the traffic signals at Third and Plum streets. Instead, a four-way stop will be installed, according to MnDOT plans.

The $63.4 million project will also see a temporary overpass of Highway 61 built to allow uninterrupted traffic over the highway and to the current bridge during construction.

The right of way includes four properties purchased. Those have been handed over to the contractor and will be assessed for contaminated waste, Ward said, before being demolished.

"The contractor team wants to start in mid-May on the Wisconsin side," he said. "On the Red Wing side, it's real challenging to get to the river."

Construction on the Minnesota side will likely begin in June.

Ward said keeping the traffic flowing over the river is important, just like the other two Mississippi River crossing projects that have been completed recently. MnDOT has replaced the Dresbach bridge that carries Interstate 90 across the Mississippi, and built a new bridge in Winona before beginning work last fall to rehabilitate the old bridge in Winona.

MnDOT District 6 Spokesman Mike Dougherty said there has been a lot of interest from the community on the bridge project, and Wednesday's open house will be a venue for many answers.

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"They'll get to hear how things will start and how things will progress on the project," he said.
A pitch for a mixed-income housing policy met with mixed results Monday.

The proposed policy changes came in a report from Grounded Solutions Network, which the Rochester City Council tasked last year to provide housing policy recommendations aimed at increasing the number of affordable apartments and homes in the city.

The $30,000 expense was approved after the council received an estimate stating the city needs to create about 4,500 units of affordable housing in the next five years to meet growing demand.

On Monday, council member Mark Hickey said the report relied too heavily on hypothetical situations and failed to offer compelling evidence. At the same time, he pointed to 482 affordable apartment that the city has approved in his ward since April 2015.

"When I look at real-world examples, it seems in Rochester we have a successful model, where some of these other things we're being asked to look at are based on hypotheticals," he said.

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Council member Michael Wojcik, however, noted the proposed policy changes would encourage even more units of affordable housing by mixing it with higher-priced market-rate housing.

"I don't see anything in here that would have dissuaded any one of those projects," he said.

Robert Hickey of Grounded Solutions Network, who prepared the report, said the proposed policies seek to encourage developers to build more apartments and homes that would be affordable to people earning up to 50 percent of the area median income. The result, he said, would fill a growing need in the city.

"There's going to be a great deal more demand of apartments for households earning $40,000 and below," he said, also noting new home construction starting at $270,000 fails to meet the demand, as well.

The report suggests encouraging developers to make 10 percent of their units affordable to the targeted incomes in complexes or developments with more than 10 units. Encouragement could come with tax-increment financing that focuses on affordable apartments, with help in marketing less-expensive homes or through other incentives.

"It doesn't address all your needs," Robert Hickey said, noting it doesn't provide for low-income or senior housing needs.

Council member Nick Campion said it does start to address a priority the council discussed Friday during a retreat with city department heads, which is creating an attractive and affordable city to draw needed workers to the region.

"I don't think we can sit on the sidelines anymore with this," he said, noting a policy shift could also help clarify the process for developers.

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Council member Ed Hruska said he'd like more clarity of existing circumstances first, suggesting a closer look at fees developers say drive up the cost of homes and apartments.

"I'd like to see a case study of our situation a little bit," he said, referencing studies of other communities' existing policies in the Grounded Solutions Network report.

Council member Mark Bilderback also noted more work is needed and suggested it requires a combined effort by developers and city staff.

"We all have a lot of working together to figure this out," he said.

Assistant City Administrator Gary Neumann said the 50-page report, which was received last week, includes policies that could be implemented locally and some that likely would conflict with existing state policies.

"We'll work with (the Rochester-Olmsted Planning Department), and we'll look at this report," he said noting the city administration would seek to present the council with recommendations in July.

For the developers' part, Robert Hickey presented the Grounded Solutions Network report to members of Rochester Area Builders prior to Monday's meeting with the city council.

Keith Cousins, RAB's public affairs director, said the group would oppose policy changes that mandate the type of housing built.

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"Instead of mandating a percentage of a product at a certain price point, we need to create the proper housing market for the people that are coming to Rochester," he said in an email. "This can be accomplished through partnerships with the city, nonprofits or other agencies to mitigate risk that comes with innovative, lower-cost housing types."
In an interview yesterday, President Trump speculated that Andrew Jackson might have prevented the Civil War. Hes probably right. Indeed, any Democratic president of that era might well have prevented it.

The Democrats were the party that accommodated Southern slaveholders, of which Andrew Jackson was one. Sufficient accommodation in 1861 very likely would have prevented, or postponed, the Civil War. It had done so in the past eight years of Democratic presidencies.

Im not sure President Trump had this in mind when he made his pronouncement. In fact, it seems Trump did not. Rather, he cited Andrew Jacksons toughness.

This is also a plausible view. Its possible that, even absent fulsome accommodation of their interests, the Southern states would have abstained from secession in 1861 due to fear of Jackson, had Old Hickory been president.

When I heard that Trump had made his statement about Jackson, I immediately thought that the liberal mainstream media would fact check Trumps speculation. The thought was facetious. How does one fact check conjecture?

But the media has done just that. For example, NPR turned to one of its hosts, Steve Inskeep, who wrote a book about Jackson. Inskeep said:

Jackson never questioned the underlying, fundamental difference between North and South, which was on slavery. He didnt actually disagree with his fellow Southern leaders about that issue. It was much, much harder to compromise as the Civil War broke out in 1861, because the nation was more squarely confronting that issue. Northern votes had just elected Abraham Lincoln, a president from an allegedly radical new party that insisted that slavery was wrong and must be contained to the South. . . People did try, desperately, to work out that problem before the shooting started in 1861, but it was in the end an irreconcilable difference.

Right. But there was no irreconcilable difference about slavery between the South and Andrew Jackson, as Inskeep acknowledges. So Trump may well be right in saying that Andrew Jackson, if president in 1861, would have prevented the Civil War.

Other outlets have focused on Trumps statement during the same interview that Jackson was really angry that he saw what was happening in regard to the Civil War. They point out that Jackson died in 1845.

It seems to me that when Trump spoke of what was happening in regard to the Civil War, he was using short-hand to refer to events preceding that War that were relevant to or presaged it. In other words, he meant that Jackson was angry about the growing possibility of disunion and/or the treatment of the South, the North, or maybe even both.

There were major events before 1845 that were relevant to matters of disunion and/or the expansion of slavery. Among them were the Missouri Compromise (1820), the Nullification Crisis (1832), and arguably the question of whether to go to war with Mexico (an issue of great concern to Jackson in 1844).

We know for certain that Jackson became really angry about Nullification. His Proclamation to the People of South Carolina, asserted the supremacy of the federal government and declared that disunion by armed force is treason.

Jackson was also pretty passionate about going to war with Mexico, something the slaveholder class desired, in part because it expected the territory acquired from Mexico to become slave states (as Texas did). Jackson supported James Polk for president in 1844, rather than his protege and vice president Martin Van Buren, because Polk was ready to go to war and Van Buren wasnt.

Why Trump chose to dabble in pre-Civil War history, I dont know. But contrary to gleeful claims from the liberal media and perhaps against the odds, he didnt make a hash of it.
The White House has agreed to an omnibus spending bill that extends appropriations through September 2017. The omnibus averts the dreaded government shutdown that would have ensued without agreement among the powers that be. The bill requires 60 votes in the Senate, so the Democrats had final say over the bill. It was going nowhere without their agreement.

Early yesterday evening (Eastern time), White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short provided an on the record telephone briefing to a small group of conservative media representatives. The briefing was provided on a few minutes notice. I appreciated the invitation and the punctuality with which the briefing was brought off. The call went live precisely at the appointed hour.

Catching up on the bill after the call, I learned it is the traditional 1,665 page monstrosity. McClatchy parses a few of the notable components here.

As for the briefing, I can say this. It was brief.

I take it that the the outcome represents the traditional Democratic rout of Republicans (now including the White House). We havent gotten tired of winning on this front; we have gotten tired of losing. The Democrats are feeling emboldened and encouraged.

Short characterized the border security spending as a step toward FY [fiscal year] 2018. I take it that the administration looks to the FY 2018 budget to redeem the time (my words, not his). On this occasion the administration has chosen surrender as the better part of valor (my words, not his).

Short highlighted several elements of the omnibus. He itemized $21 billion for defense and $1.5 billion for border security. He paused here to note that the bill did not include costs sharing reduction payments to bail out Obamacare insurers. He also noted that the administration had fought off (the continuation of, I think) tax credits for renewable energy. He added that the bill did include funding for school choice in the District of Columbia and asserted that this represented the keeping of a campaign promise.

Short wound up his summary with two comments. He observed that the bill needs 60 votes in the Senate and therefore needs to be bipartisan. He nevertheless took it as an accomplishment that spending caps are kept in place.

Short stayed on the line to answer all the questions we had (I counted four). If I had had more time to collect my thoughts, I would have asked how the administration views the bill. I take it from the the few elements that Harty chose to highlight that the administration makes no great claims on its behalf.

After attending the White House reception for conservative media last week, I expressed the hope that the administration would reach out to outlets such as Power Line to the detriment of its enemies among the mainstream media. My invitation to join the call yesterday came via the White House press office email account from which I received the invitation to the reception. I hope the outreach will continue in the future.
Nigerias Romeo Oriogun has been named winner of the 2017 Brunel International African Poetry Prize.

The competition is open to African poets worldwide who are yet to publish a full poetry collection.

The poetry prize award of 3,000 cash prize is in its fifth year.

Romeos beautiful and deeply passionate writing on masculinity and desire in the face of LGBT criminalisation and persecution earned him the top spot.

The judges said, Romeo Oriogun is a hugely talented, outstanding, and urgent new voice in African poetry. His poetry is wide ranging but at its heart are deeply passionate, shocking, imaginative, complex and ultimately beautiful explorations of masculinity, sexuality and desire in a country that does not recognise LGBT rights. We wish him all the best for the future.

Oriogun lives and writes in Udi, a small town in Enugu State. His poems have been featured in Brittle Paper, African Writer, Expound, Praxis, and others. He is the author of Burnt Men, an electronic chapbook published by Praxis Magazine online.

Oriogun explained that he entered the Brunel International African Poetry Prize because in Africa there are very few spaces for queer writing, I thought it was a means of sharing my poems. He described reaching the shortlist as a blessing and a surprise.

In discussing hardships and threats in Nigeria he said: Sometimes this is the price I pay for writing but it is better than keeping quiet. I know queer people may not be free to love openly in my lifetime but it is a journey and we are laying the stones for the future.

The judges were unanimous this year in their decision that among a shortlist of ten stunning new poets, selected from nearly 1,200 entries, Oriogun  who only begun writing three years ago  should receive the prize, said the organisers.

.

The judges include Chris Abani (Northwestern University); Kwame Dawes (University of Nebraska); Safia Elhillo (winner of the 2015 Prize); Patricia Jabbeh Welsley (Penn State University) and chair and founder, Bernardine Evaristo (Brunel University London)

The latter said, Romeo Oriogun is a hugely talented, outstanding, and urgent new voice in African poetry.

Aside from Oriogun, Nigerian poets Saddiq Dzukogi, Rasak Malik Gbolahan, and Kechi Nomu were also shortlisted for the prize alongside Sahro Ali (Somalia) Leila Chatti (Tunisia), Kayo Chingonyi (Zambia), Yalie Kamara (Sierra Leone), Richard Oduour Oduku (Kenya) and Nick Makoha (Uganda).

All the winners and most of the shortlisted poets of the past four years have had poetry pamphlets published with APBF in their New Generation African Poets series of box sets, in partnership with U.S. publishers Slappering Hol Press and Akashic Books. Some of these poets have also published, or are about to publish, their first full length collections.

African poetry is now undergoing a revolution with the publication of many brilliantly unique poets who are changing the literary landscape of the continent, the prize judges said.

The previous winners of the award are: 2013, Warsan Shire (Somalia); 2014, Liyou Libsekal (Ethiopia); 2015, Safia Elhillo (Sudan) and Nick Makoha (Uganda); 2016, Gbenga Adesina (Nigeria) and Chekwube Danladi (Nigeria).

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A former chief executive officer of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Atedo Peterside, has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of discriminatory exchange rates that shows bias.

When three people are competing in the same industry and they asses forex at different rates, effectively the winner is no longer chosen by efficiency, its chosen by who is closest to central bank, Mr. Peterside said Friday.

He made the remarks as the keynote speaker at the 2017 First Quarterly Dinner of Kings College Old Boys Association, Abuja branch, while presenting a paper entitled Evolving Economy, Good Governance and Repositioning Nigeria.

Mr. Peterside described the Nigerian governments Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) as a timid plan that may leave us with negative GDP per capita growth throughout the plan period unless something gives.

The recovery plan has three broad strategic objectives: restoring growth of the economy, investing in the Nigerian people, and building a globally competitive economy.

It targets the growth of Nigerias gross domestic product, GDP, by 2.19 percent in 2017 and 7.0 percent by the end 2020.

But according to the former bank chief, instead of being distracted by the timid plan, Nigerians should focus on 11 major impediments to speedy economic recovery.

The first on the list was the issue of foreign exchange rate, he said.

It is mind-boggling and very difficult to understand why Nigeria, in 2017, would be embracing multiple exchange rates which have been rejected globally as a bad idea that was only ever embraced by intellectually and/or morally bankrupt persons. There is no known economic theory on earth that favors multiple exchange rate as viable medium and long-term economic policy prescription.

It means someone can legally give the man from FGC dollar at 180 and give someone else at a different rate. The point Im making is that no one gives anybody that kind of laxity, Mr. Peterside said.

Mr. Peterside urged the CBN to speedily work towards dismantling the embarrassing concoction of multiple exchange rates, bank quotas and special windows.

He however hailed the bank for making forex available through the banks at N360/$1 to the hundreds of thousands of individuals who he said had been needlessly starved before.

Mr. Peterside said that some other impediments to economic recovery include reaching some understanding with Niger Delta militants.

He said significant progress has been achieved here following the mature and level-headed diplomatic initiatives led by the vice-president in recent months.

He however noted that the government should remember that appeasing militants is necessary in the short term, but the long-term solution is to embrace the constitutional amendment which he recommended a one per cent royalty payment to immediate host communities on all mining and mineral producing activity.

Other impediments are ineffective deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, need for political restructuring, bloated civil service, infrastructural deficit, dysfunctional legal system, strategic asset sales, restoring business confidence and beefing up the regulatory agencies.

On Buharis anti-corruption crusade, he said every success recorded was marred by the insistence on over-zealous security chiefs to launch a personal vendetta on the opposition.

Little wonder that every crook in the country is caught up in a stampede to join the ruling party? he asked.

Even more disturbing is FGs mean-spirited dangerous penchant for disobeying court orders. The assault on the rule of law is led by the FG itself and now a few Governors are copying them. The end-result of all this may well be anarchy.

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The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, on Tuesday, sealed the premises of tax-defaulting companies in Lagos, Owerri and Port Harcourt.

In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the FIRS enforcement team shut the offices of Fiddil Commercial Company at the Trans-Amadi area of the city over tax liabilities totalling N150,524,655,00, which was accumulated between 2010 and 2015.

The enforcement team, on arrival, met the Chief Security Officer of the firm, who claimed the company has not been in operation for some time.

The chief security officer, who identified himself as Mr. Omoni, told the team that there were no members of staff in the office and promised that the director of the company would be informed of the development.

After a few minutes, the FIRS team gained entrance into the premises and the firms Chief Executive Officer came out of hiding to explain that the company has not been doing business, but had made arrangements to pay before the enforcement teams arrival.

FIRS officials, however, asked the 12 workers out of the office complex before sealing it off.

The team also visited Annajul Rosari Limited located at 102 Rumuogba Estate, which is owing N50,998,582.70.

In Owerri, the offices of Roche Construction Nigeria Limited were shut over the companys failure to pay Company Income Tax (CIT) and Education Tax (EDT) dating back to 2011. The company has a total liability of N218,939,417.29. Other companies distrained included Benkolo Investment Limited, which owes N15,728,386.34; Kolo Industries Nigeria Limited, with a tax debt of N14,279,547.32; Frank Gilly Nigeria Limited, which has a tax liability of N26,892,862.23; and Owerri Hotels, which owes N14,802,846.22.

Equally shut was Summer Suites Limited, a hotel which owes N1,985, 793.20.

In Lagos, the FIRS closed the premises of Sycamore Consulting Limited, 2 Garba Close off Amodu Ojikutu Street, Victoria Island, which owes N59,977,290.



The enforcement team also shut Itex Integrated Services at 163 Sinari Daranijo Street, Victoria Island, over tax liabilities of N99,390,324. Similarly affected was Jallis Construction Company, which has a tax debt of N81,701,000.

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English Finnish

ASPO PLC PRESS RELEASE May 2, 2017



Invitation to the press conference on Aspo's interim report



Aspo Plc's interim report for January-March 2017 will be published on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, approximately at 10.00 a.m. Finnish time.



A press conference (in Finnish) for analysts, investors and media will be held on the same day at 14.00 (Finnish time), at Hotel Kamp, conference room Akseli Gallen-Kallela, address Pohjoisesplanadi 29, 00100 Helsinki. Registrations beforehand to hilkka.jokiniemi (a) aspo.com, tel. +358 9 521 4100 by Friday May 5, 2017, at the latest.



CEO Aki Ojanen and CFO Arto Meitsalo will be present at the meeting. The conference will be held in Finnish. The presentation material (in English and Finnish) will be available on Aspo's website www.aspo.com under "Investors > Presentations" on the publication day at 14.00.



ASPO PLC



Aki Ojanen

CEO



Further information:

Harri Seppala, Group Treasurer, Aspo Plc, phone +358 9 5211 or +358 400 617 201

harri.seppala(a)aspo.com



DISTRIBUTION:

Key media

www.aspo.com



Aspo is a conglomerate that owns and develops business operations in the Northern Europe and growth markets focusing on demanding B-to-B customers. Our strong company brands - ESL Shipping, Leipurin, Telko and Kauko - aim to be the market leaders in their sectors. They are responsible for their own operations, customer relationships, and the development of these. Together they generate Aspo's goodwill. Aspo's Group structure and business operations are continually developed without any predefined schedules.






Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia condemned the use of chemical weapons by anyone.

He called for a full and impartial investigation into April 4 poison gas attack in the Syrian city of Khan Sheikhoun.

Putin told a news conference after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel held in Russias Black Sea resort of Sochi that those guilty must be found and punished.

But this can be only done after an impartial investigation.

A solution in Syria can be only found by peaceful means and under the aegis of the UN, Putin said.

The Khan Shaykhun chemical attack took place on April 4 on the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate of Syria.

At the time of the attack, the town was under the control of Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front.

The town was reported to have been struck by a heavy airstrike by government forces followed by massive civilian chemical poisoning.

According to the Idlib health authority, the release of the toxic gas, which included sarin, or a similar substance, killed no fewer than 74 people including 16 women and 23 children and injured over 557.

The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war since the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013.

Videos and photos taken by activists and medics on the scene showed victims choking and fainting, some with foam coming out of their mouths.

However, the videos and photos have not been independently verified.

(Reuters/NAN)

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There was heavy presence of security operatives in and around Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, on Tuesday morning as the police prepared to arraign a former governor of the state, Sule Lamido.

Police sources told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Lamido would be arraigned at a Dutse High Court on Tuesday morning. The arraignment was yet to start at 8:40 a.m.

Mr. Lamido, a Peoples Democratic Party leader, is to face charges of allegedly inciting his supporters to violence in the build up to local government elections set to hold in Jigawa on July 1.

Mr. Lamido has been in police custody at the Zone One Police Command in Kano, since Sunday morning following a petition by the Jigawa State government accusing him of inciting violence.

On Monday, the PDP faction led by Ahmed Makarfi demanded Mr. Lamidos release and accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of witch-hunt.

Details later

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The Senate has stepped down the bill to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps, after lawmakers opposed adoption of the conference report on it.

The setback, Tuesday, followed the presentation of the report of the conference committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives chaired by Bayero Nafada.

The Senate had since last year passed the bill giving legal backing to the Peace Corps and, thereafter, transmitted it to the House of Representatives for concurrence, which was done.

But rather than completing the passage process, lawmakers, including James Manager, PDP-Delta; and Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, argued against the establishment of the corps.

They cited the opposition to the corps by the security agencies and litigation between such agencies and the drivers of the corps.

Thousands of youth see hope of employment in making the peace corps gain statutory status.

But Mr. Akpabio said anybody that wanted to empower the youth could do so through a foundation, not necessarily the Act of the National Assembly.

He said the corps had been operating illegally with some of them being addressed as general, field marshal and commander general.

But John Enoh, PDP-Cross River; and Binta Garba, APC-Adamawa, urged support for the bill, noting that it would help tackle problem of unemployment and that the Senate should not reverse itself having first passed the bill.

Mrs. Garba queried why his colleagues were differing from what they had supported before.

Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, warned that the Senate should not stop its process in view of the court case to avoid a precedence that will motivate anybody to approach the court anytime a bill is in the works in the Senate.

He also brushed aside opposition from the security agencies, including the police.

He touched on the earlier opposition of the Police Force and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria to the bills that eventually established Civil Defence Corps and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria respectively.

Intervening, Senate President Bukola Saraki proposed that the process be stepped down to review issues raised and relate with the House of Representatives.

But he stressed that suspension of the process should be cited as done in view of the court case.

Mr. Sarakis proposal received positive response when a voice vote was taken and the Senate, therefore, referred the matter to its committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters chaired by David Umaru, APC-Niger.

The committee has two weeks to submit its report.

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The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, says President Muhammadu Buhari is worried about the delay in the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act by the National Assembly (NASS).

Mr. Malami stated this when he briefed State House correspondents on Tuesday on the outcome of a closed-door meeting with President Buhari in the presidential villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.

According to him, the president noted that there had not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the anti-graft bill by the NASS.

Its a routine briefing of the president as it relates to general issues  the issues that have to do with anti-corruption.

Mr. President is worried about the anti-corruption bills that are pending before the National Assembly overtime. There has not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the bills and indeed, the asset management agency was also part of the discussion.

Mr President is worried that the assets that have been gathered over time by the agencies of government and that are responsible for the fight against corruption are scattered all over the place.

Embedded in the Proceeds of Crime Bill is Asset Management Agency which is the agency put in place by the presidency for the purpose of the management of the associated assets that are recovered.

So, Mr. President is indeed worried and the discussions bothered on how best we can handle it. There are limited issues that relate to the parastatals under the Ministry of Justice, he said.

The Minister said he also briefed the president on the report of the Electoral Reform Committee as well as other pending bills that were presented for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council as they relate to amendment to the electoral process.

He said the essence of the meeting was to seek the view of the president and the direction as to what to do next as it relates to the Electoral Reform Committee report that has been submitted and to consider routine processes under the Ministry of Justice.

On the presidential committee investigating the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Malami said the committee would submit its reports on May 3.(NAN)

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A Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, on Tuesday dismissed an application by top officials of Zinox Technologies Limited, its subsidiary, Technology Distributions Limited, and their allies, including Access Bank PLC, in respect of a case of alleged N170.3 million fraud against them.

An Ibadan-based computer retail firm, Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, and its managing director, Joseph Benjamin, had filed an application against the officials, accusing them of impersonating the company and illegally diverting a contract awarded to it by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, in 2012.

Other accused persons include the Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Zinox Group and Technology Distributions Limited, TD, Chris Ozims, and a director of TD, Folashade Oyebode; the chief executive of Admas Digital Technologies Limited and Pirovics Engineering Services Limited, Onny Igbokwe, along with one Princess O. Kama. Also listed were two staff of Access Bank Plc, Obilo Onuoha and Deborah Ijeabu.

Following the application filed in November 2014, the suspects had filed a counter application asking the court to dismiss the allegation against them for lack of evidence. The substantive case was adjourned to enable the court resolve the application by the defendants.

However, following a report by PREMIUM TIMES published on September 15, 2016, the defendants filed an application on October 4, 2016 urging the court to commit both Mr. Benjamin and this newspaper for contempt.

In a 21-paragraph affidavit by Chris Eze Ozims, the defendants asked the court to commence contempt proceedings against Mr. Benjamin and PREMIUM TIMES for engaging in acts of media trial by causing to be published and discussing facts and issues before the court for determination.

They claimed the publication by PREMIUM TIMES were distorted deliberately to mislead the public and defame the defendants and put the integrity of the court into disrepute.

But, on Tuesday after reviewing volumes of documents tendered before the court throughout almost three years period the case lasted, Justice Femi Adeniyi dismissed all the preliminary objections by the defendants, with a N100,000 cost. The application by Access Bank was equally dismissed with a N50,000 cost.

In the judgment delivered for almost four hours, Justice Adeniyi said the objections by the defendants to the case of impersonation, forgery and contract scam against them did not only lack merit, but also incompetent, and did not deserve any serious consideration by the court.

Although the objection by Technology Distributions Limited was upheld by the court, the judge said the court could not give a ruling against a limited liability company other than in its legally registered name with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.

The application by the two Access Bank managers were equally dismissed, despite their claim that they acted on behalf of the bank. The court however rejected their claim, arguing that the bank could not have asked them to act or be involved in any fraudulent act on its behalf.

The two bank managers were accused of facilitating the opening of a fictitious Citadel Oracle account No. 0059202675 at the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, branch of Access Bank using fake documents and the forged signature of the companys managing director.

The account, which Mr. Ozims said was approved with the consent of the top hierarchy of Zinox Group, including its Chairman, Leonard Stanley Ekeh, and wife Chioma, was used by the suspects to funnel the proceeds of the fraud.

The facts and evidence on which the court relied to deliver the judgment on Tuesday were the same contained in a petition by Citadel Oracle and Mr. Benjamin to then Deputy Inspector General in charge of Force Criminal Investigation Bureau, Solomon Arase, which the police claimed were false.

Although investigations by the special fraud unit of the police were concluded since 2014 and a prima-facie case established against the suspects, prosecution was stalled, as Mr. Arase refused to forward the case file to the directorate of prosecution, DPP for the commencement of trial of the suspects.

In a bizarre twist the police on June 16, 2016, three days before the end of IGP Arases tenure, police charged Mr. Benjamin to court, accusing him of giving false information in his petition against the suspects.

On July 2, 2016, Mr. Benjamin, who was the petitioner, was arraigned as accused before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja on a one-count charge of false petitioning to IGP Arase with intention of misleading him over a case of identity theft, impersonation and criminal conversion of contracts against the accused.

All the accused were listed as witnesses.

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President Muhammadu Buharis wife, Aisha, has broken her silence on her husbands health, amid growing concerns about the presidents fitness.

Mrs. Buhari said the presidents health was not as bad as its being perceived.

She said Mr. Buhari, who has missed key state meetings and functions in the last two weeks, and has not been seen in public, continues to carry out his responsibilities.

The first lady made her comments on Twitter Tuesday night, using her verified handle, @aishambuhari.

I thank all Nigerians for their concern, love and prayers over my husbands health status, she began. I wish to inform everyone that his health is not as bad as its being perceived. Meanwhile he continues to carry out his responsibilities during this period.

She added: As it may come to your notice, he is meeting with Minister of Justice and GMD of NNPC this evening. Long Live Nigerians, Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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Workers in the states of the federation on Monday received assurances from state governments that their welfare would be a priority, despite calls by the workers for payment of salaries and arrears.

These assurances and demands were made as they joined their counterparts across the globe to mark the 2017 May Day celebration.

In Kano State, the chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress asked the state government to explain how it spent the states share of the Paris Club Debt Refund and settle over N11 billion entitlements owed workers in the state from the fund.

Speaking at the State Stadium on Monday, the states NLC chairman, Kabiru Minjibir, said the state government needed to make a clear statement on the Paris Club refund so that workers would know that the government was strictly following the guidelines for the release of the funds.

Mr. Minjibir also urged the state government to respect the agreement with the Federal government by using a substantial amount from the refund to offset outstanding gratuity and death benefits to retired state civil servants.

The outstanding gratuity and death benefits to retired civil servants in Kano has risen to over #11 billion which needs governments quick actions, he said.

The NLC chairman said payment of the outstanding entitlements was necessary, taking into consideration the dire financial situation of the retired workers who had served the state diligently.

In the same vein, the NLC chairman urged the state government to evolve measures for regular payment of pension on or before 18th and the salaries on or before 25th of every month.

Mr. Minjibir decried a proposal before the National Assembly to move the minimum wage from the exclusive to the concurrent list of the constitution, which would allow the different federating units of the federation take independent positions on the matter.

We will like to state clearly without ambiguity that workers shall at all times resist any attempt from any quarters to infringe on their rights, the NLC chairman warned.

Ogun

In Ogun State, labour urged the state government to carry the workers along in its affairs, instead of seeing them as anti-government.

This is even as the celebration in the state witnessed a mild drama, as the Chairman of the NLC, Akeem Ambali, was prevented from delivering his address.

Mr. Ambali was on October 2016 sacked by the State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun over alleged role in disparaging the government at the World Teachers Day, held in Abeokuta.

He had however continued to stay in office as the Chairman of the union,, despite the action of the governor in line with the laws of the labour union.

But on Monday at the event, Mr. Ambali had prepared to deliver a speech, but could not apparently warned by officials of the governor not to mount the podium.

The chairman of the Trade Union Congress in the state, Olubunmi Fajobi, had to read the speech on his behalf.

While doing so, Mr. Fajobi said the union remained a non-partisan and not anti-empoyer as being speculated in some quarters.

We wish to plead for greater understanding by our employer, he said. We recongnise the economic pressures and the need for workers to survive under the current conditions.

He called on Governor Amosun to, in the spirit of workers day, reinstate four workers, which include himself, who were fired by the governor.

The governor, in his response, said the dismissed workers are pardoned, they will now proceed on retirement from the public service with full terminal benefits in accordance with the extant public service regulations.

The pardon does not apply to Mr. Akeem Ambali because, unlike the other three, he had approached the law courts to challenge his dismissal from the civil service, the governor said.

While all parties await the outcome of litigation, as a responsible and law-abiding administration, we cannot be seen to have taken any action on a matter that is already before a court of competent jurisdiction.

That will be subjudice and an affront to the independence of the other arm of Government.

Mr. Amosun also noted that in the spirit of the May Day celebrations, the state government had also pardoned a section of the workforce that unlawfully stayed away from duty in the month of October 2016 and had therefore paid them for that month.

Ekiti

In Ekiti State, the Nigeria Labour Congress called on the state governor, Ayo Fayose, to use all available means to ensure the payment of workers outstanding salaries.

The non-payment of the outstanding salaries has come to a point where we have to be open, in fact, we are hungry, Chairman of the congress, Ade Adesanmi, said while speaking in Ado-Ekiti at the May Day celebration.

He said the governor should seek alternative ways, particularly looking inwards as a means to paying outstanding salaries of workers in the state.

Mr. Adesanmi however commended the governor for speaking against all forms of

oppression represented by destructive activities of herdsmen, reducing crime rate in the state, attending to workers, teachers welfare, promoting over 15,000 workers in arrears, and transparency in running the affairs of the state among others.

Mr. Fayose, in his remarks, said he would not allow representatives of the federal government to speak at the May Day celebration because the federal government had failed in improving the economy.

Mr. Fayose said he would only listen to speeches presented by the Head of Service, Gbenga Faseluka, and labour leaders in the 2018 edition of the celebration.

The Federal Government has failed Ekiti workers and lacks the moral right to address them, the governor said.

He commended the workers the workers for their patience and perseverance.

No governor would come after me and abolish that transparency legacy I am leaving behind. During my first term, I used to pay your workers at the 25th of every month, he said.

It is because of the debts left behind by past administration. I dont want to dwell on past errors and I promise you, I wont owe a kobo by the time I will be leaving office. God will provide the money as I believe this strongly.

Osun

In Osun State, the labour unions in the state on Monday suspended the usual fun fare associated with the May Day celebration to honour the late first civilian governor of the state, Isiaka Adeleke.

The governor of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, who commended the gesture of the workers in a statement, said the workers were sensitive enough to use the moment to honour the departed.

He said he said he was well acquainted with the sacrifices made by the workers under the gruelling economic conditions in the country.

Mr. Aregbesola assured that the efforts and sacrifices of the workers in ensuring stability of the state would not be in vain.

We must express appreciation for the rare sensitivity of the umbrella body of the workers, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), in putting off this years celebration in our state as a mark of honour for the memory of the first civilian governor of the state, our own brother, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, who unfortunately and suddenly exited this world on Sunday April, 23, 2017, he said.

The Labour Day has coincided with the state burial. The pains and pangs of his sudden death are still with us. May the peace of Allah be with him in his final abode of rest.

He recalled that his administration from inception had showed commitment to the welfare of workers, even though the economic situation in the country affected the states capacity to meet the demands of workers welfare.

We remember with nostalgia, how this administration, at inception, showed ample commitment to the welfare of its workforce, he noted.

We could not have done less for we hold tenaciously to the belief that it is only through the commitment and cooperation of our workers that we can realise the very noble objectives for which we are here as government.

More than six years, we have no reason to doubt that our workers have been dependable partners in our development journey so far.

He stated that with the glory of God and the unflinching support of the workers in the state, he has been able to pilot the affairs of the state effectively.

Mr. Aregbesola solicited the continued understanding and support of workers and the people as the government works to take the state to an enviable height.

Ondo

In Ondo State, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu promised to build new industries instead of reviving dead ones as a means of creating jobs in the state.

While addressing workers during the celebration in Akure, the state capital, the governor said the government was about to establish a glass.

We want to begin reforestation in the state and another glass industry would be established that will employ not less than 10,000 people, he said.

There is a dire need for us all, particularly workers in this state, to start thinking out of the box on how to diversify our economy from the oil dependence into agriculture, entrepreneurship and industrialisation in order to boost our Internally Generated Revenue.

He promised to pay salaries promptly and to maintain a cordial relationship with the workforce, but urged workers to be diligent with their work.

In his speech, the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Soladoye Ekundayo, urged the governor to find solution to the crisis rocking the Ondo State House of Assembly to enable the Assembly pass the 2017 budget.

According to him, the stalemate at the house was affecting the states economy/

While charging the Akeredolu government to seek new ways of raising the IGR, he warned that citizens should not be overtaxed.

Enugu

In Enugu State, workers brought a long list of demands to the government of the state, including increase in salaries, as organised labour trouped out in large number to mark the May Day celebration.

After examining the long list of demands, the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, responded by saying that the government would make all efforts to meet the demands of the workers.

I have nonetheless, taken due note of all the areas of concern that you have dutifully outlined and I want to assure you that, despite the daunting economic challenges currently facing us, the God that fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, will also make it possible for us to address and resolve these issues satisfactorily and comprehensively, the governor stated.

Mr. Ugwuanyi described Enugu State workers as committed allies in the struggle to make the State a better place for all citizens.

While others are lamenting the harsh effects of the recession, we are forging ahead in all areas of development and strengthening the bonds that tie us together, he said.

Even our pensioners are not left out in the celebration of this new dawn as they now receive their pensions regularly.

The workers also used the occasion to honour Ugwuanyi, as the most labour- friendly governor in the state.

Pensioners for the first time, participated in the celebrations, as they took their turn during the match past along with other unions under the various ministries and parastatals.

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A PREMIUM TIMES journalist has been selected alongside 18 other professionals by the U.S. government to participate in its 2017 International Visitors Leadership Programme, IVLP.

The papers Business and Economy Editor, Bassey Udo, is the only representative from Nigeria invited to join 18 other participants from 16 African countries selected for the three weeks regional programme between May 14 and June 3 on the theme, Transparency in Federal, State and Local Governments.

The IVLP is the US Department of States premier professional exchange programme for current and emerging leaders from across the world to visit the U.S. to meet with professional counterparts and visit U.S. public and private sector organisations and places related to their fields of interest.

The programme helps to bridge cultural and political divides and cultivate lasting relationships by connecting current and emerging foreign leaders with their American counterparts.

Mr. Udo, a 1995 Communication Arts graduate from the University of Uyo and a holder of the 1999 Master of International Law & Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, is an award winner for impact investigative journalism.

A co-winner of the 2013 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism (Local Government Category), Mr. Udo is an ethical journalist with specialty in reporting the extractive industries, particularly energy, oil & gas, power & steel, mining & solid minerals sectors, apart from reporting finance and economy.

Other participants in the programme include an Assistant Director, Litigation Department, Port of Cotonou, Ibitayo Balley (Benin); Consultant, Link International Consulting, Daniel Edah (Benin); Professor, Law Faculty, University of Ouagadougou, Abdoulaye Soma (Burkina Faso); Chief of Relations with Institutions, COMUC (Coordination des Organisations Musulmanes Centrafricains), Sali Abdoulaziz (Central African Republic); Lawyer, Kinshasa Court of Appeal, Honore Mitshabo (Democratic Republic of Congo); deputy director general, Ivoirian National Police, Elie Pale (Cote dIvoire); Judge/Advisor, Cour de Cassation, Sophie Ambounda (Gabon) and Director of the Border & Air Police, National Police, Leyigui Darius, a major (Gabon).

The Programme Officer, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Sylvester Bayowo would be representing Ghana; Legal Advisor, Ministry of Health, Hawa Beavogui (Guinea); Mayor, Mzuzu City Council, William Mkandawire (Malawi); Ombudsman, Office of the Ombudsman of Malawi, Martha Mwagonde (Malawi); Director of Finance, Ministry of Education, Simbo Tounkara (Mali); Expert, Forum Civil, Binette Ndiaye (Senegal); Programme Manager, CARE International, Ahmed More (Somalia); Senior Legal Officer, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Mhlonishwa Dlamini (Swaziland); Economist, Ministry of Finance,Toure Moroud (Togo) and Program Assistant, Human Rights and Peace Center, Makerere University School of Law, Andrew Karamagi (Uganda).

Details from organisers revealed the programme was designed to afford participants opportunity to examine the historical context of human rights in the U.S., review related contemporary foreign policy issues, and outcomes of adopting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The programme would also help participants examine the organisations that monitor or advocate for international human rights issues; explore the human rights components of U.S. foreign policy and discuss how grassroots organisations seek to influence human rights policy at the international, national, state and local levels.

They would also analyse a variety of human rights concerns related to such issues as disability rights, freedom of press/speech/religion, access to education, and due process.

To realize the cultural objectives of the programme, participants are expected to have informal engagements with Americans during home hospitality and learn about the historical and cultural diversity of the U.S. through city tours and cultural activities in the host communities.

Participants would also engage in a volunteer activity during their stay in Washington DC, to underscore the importance of volunteerism and civic engagement in the U.S.

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The management of mobile telecoms firm, MTN Nigeria, on Tuesday gave reasons why it sacked 280 of its employees on Friday.

In a major shake-up, the South African telecoms giant served letters dispensing with the services of about 15.6 per cent of its entire 1,800 Nigerian workforce.

Those affected included some 200 permanent employees and about 80 contract staff across various cadres of its operations, including graduates and senior managers in all departments of the organization.

Majority of those affected had put in more than 15 years, having joined MTN since it commenced business in Nigeria in 2001.

But MTN spokesperson, Funso Aina, said the disengagement of the workers was part of an ongoing business transformation drive towards sustained growth, to facilitate the firms continued role as a partner for progress and socio-economic development in Nigeria.

MTN is a diverse community of committed change agents, brought together in pursuit of a common goal  driving growth and transformation by sharing our technology. Our people are our greatest asset, each individuals knowledge, experience and ideas contributes to our continued growth and improvement. As such, ensuring a healthy and highly motivated workforce is a priority for us, Mr. Aina said.

He said it was with the above in mind that the company decided to implement a Voluntary Severance Scheme, VSS, designed to balance individual employee needs with business exigencies of the company.

The scheme, he explained, was based on feedback from employees, following consultation with elected employee representatives.

Besides, he said the scheme provided a financial incentive and opportunity for employees, who had worked with MTN Nigeria for over five years, to pursue other career interests and personal ambitions full-time, while increasing opportunities for professionals with a fresh perspective to join.

Although about 200 permanent staff of the company voluntarily took up the VSS offered by MTN management, to enable them move on to face other challenges, the services of about 80 others, made up of those casual and contract workers, were dispensed of by management.

Mr. Aina said both categories of the affected workers, who received their letters last Friday, were given the same severance package in accordance with the number of years of service.

The successful conclusion of the VSS exercise last week makes it possible for MTN to tailor the competence and experience base of its workforce to meet technology shifts and future business needs, he said.

While restating its commitment to Nigeria, Mr. Aina said MTN would continue to execute its strategy of attracting, developing and retaining the best Nigerian talents.

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A former Lagos State governor and All Progressives Congress, APC, national stalwart, Bola Tinubu, has described President Muhammadu Buharis nephew, Sabiu Tunde Yusuf, as a man of character and integrity.

In a personal letter to Mr. Yusuf on his wedding, Mr. Tinubu said Mr. Buharis nephew, who is also the presidents Personal Assistant, has come a long way in just a few years.

Mr. Yusuf married his heartthrob last Saturday in Kaduna. In attendance among others were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, some governors including Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-rufai.

The former Lagos governor also described Mr. Yusuf as a very diligent and dependable personal assistant who continues to be a resourceful administrator in the presidents personal office, adding that whenever I see the President and you interact, the affection and loyalty are obvious and admirable.

Mr. Tinubus emotional letter reads: I present nothing but congratulations and best wishes on your wedding and for your marriage. This is a great moment in your life and I pray that you relish this day and the memory of it to the fullest. You have come a long way in just a few years. Those of us who have witnessed your growth as a man of character and integrity cannot help but be touched with a sense of pride in the path towards maturation that you have taken.

I recall the build-up to the 2015 presidential elections. It was a season of great but uncertain expectations and high tensions. It was a period when the true nature of a man would be repeatedly tested. President Muhammadu Buhari was fortunate to have a young man by the name of Sabiu Yusuf aka Tunde by his side.

Tunde, you proved to be a loyal and diligent assistant who stood ready to contribute to the historic mission upon which we had embarked. You served then candidate Buhari with dedication and singular purpose. You paid attention to the minutest details. You kept the paper flow and communication line going.

Tunde, you may be young and physically unimposing, but you played a strong and important role during those critical moments. You became a very diligent and dependable personal assistant who continues to be a resourceful administrator in the presidents personal office. Whenever I see the President and you interact, the affection and loyalty are obvious and admirable.

I have watched you mature both in your professional assignment and as a man. That you have taken the step to establish a household with a woman you love is a sign of that maturation. I wish you a happy married life. I pray that you continue to grow in all spheres. May your household be one of peace, love, prosperity and joy. Congratulations.

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Palm Beach, FL, USA, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Palm Beach, Florida, April 19, 2017 -- SceneDoc Inc., a global law enforcement and public safety software provider, today announced the completion of a round of financing co-led by Responder Ventures (Palm Beach, FL), Motorola Solutions Venture Capital (Schaumburg, Illinois) and iGan Partners (Toronto, Ontario).

SceneDoc is public safetys new standard for mobile data collection. By modernizing with SceneDoc, agencies operate with higher levels of clarity and control, with fewer moving parts, capturing data and reporting at the point of need. SceneDoc Collect, the overarching platform, provides public safety professionals with an ability to securely collect eNotes, eForms, create sketches and reports, and capture audio, video, and photos. SceneDoc is saving officers 50% of the time they spend on administrative functions, resulting in less time reporting and more time keeping the communities they serve safe. SceneDoc recently released an autonomous module for eCitations, building on a mission to becoming the de facto standard in how data is being collected in public safety.

The company will use the funding to expand its sales and marketing efforts, bring its mobile data collection platform to new global markets, and accelerate product development.

The evolution for core police operations to be augmented with a smartphone or tablet device is imminent and we are going to see rapid growth in the public safety mobile application ecosystem attributable to advances with FirstNet. Our ongoing strategy to becoming the leading solution in public safety data collection remains clear, said Alex Kottoor, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.

According to Nathanial Wish, Founder of Responder Ventures, "SceneDoc is driving innovation in efficiency and accuracy vital to addressing pressing challenges facing law enforcement agencies today. Our mission at Responder Ventures is to identify the leading solutions for public safetys most challenging problems. Our investment in SceneDoc reflects a strong belief the Company has addressed several key issues within law enforcement including mobility in evidence collection and efficiency in reporting. As both a leading solution and early entrant in to a fast-growing space, SceneDoc has the opportunity to drive impact through modernization for law enforcement.

About SceneDoc

SceneDoc is public safetys new standard for mobile data collection. By modernizing with SceneDoc, agencies operate with higher levels of clarity and control, with fewer moving parts, capturing data and reporting at the point of need. SceneDoc is saving officers 50% of the time they spend on administrative functions, resulting in less time reporting and more time keeping the communities they serve safe. See why our customers are advocates at http://www.scenedoc.com.

About Responder Ventures

Responder Ventures, LLC is a venture capital firm formed to identify, invest in, and manage a portfolio of technology companies that provide innovative products and solutions to the public safety sector. With a team of seasoned industry and investment professionals, Responder is dedicated to addressing the most pressing problems within public safety by investing in technologies and supporting entrepreneurs that make our communities, and those who serve them, safer. www.responderventures.com
The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, says the continued detention of former Jigawa governor, Sule Lamido, and his Niger State counterpart, Babangida Aliyu, has to do with their ambitions to run for president in 2019.

He appealed to the international community and the media to help stop the regime of harassment of the opposition by the All Progressives Congress government in order not to truncate the nations democracy.

In a statement on Tuesday by his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Mr. Fayose said the action was being perpetrated by the APC cabal bent on holding on to power by whatever means.

It appears that the cabal in the APC led government that is holding Nigerians to ransom want their candidate to contest the 2019 election unopposed, he said.

Obviously, that is the reason for the arrest and detention of former Governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu and Alhaji Lamido who have shown interest in the presidency.

He described the reason given by the police for Mr. Lamidos arrest as childish and ridiculous.

If a former governor is arrested and incarcerated for what they called incitement, what should

the police have done to those Fulani herdsmen that have killed thousands of Nigerians across the country? he asked.

With the arrest of Alhaji Lamido, the detention of former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan since February this year and the arrest and detention of Dr Babangida Aliyu, it is becoming clearer

that these APC people will only contest election against themselves in 2019.

It will even be unnecessary to continue to fund the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since they dont want anyone to contest the 2019 presidential election against their party.

The APC cabal can as well proscribe INEC and declare their party the perpetual

ruler of Nigeria instead of wasting money on conduct of elections.

Reacting to Mr. Fayoses allegations, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, told PREMIUM TIMES that the governor was only playing to the gallery.

He is only seeking relevance and drawing attention to himself, Mr. Ojudu said. It think he should be ignored.

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The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on Tuesday inaugurated a seven-member panel to assess the status of all projects executed with the take-off grants received by the newly established 12 federal universities.

Mr. Adamu, while inaugurating the panel in Abuja, advised them to discharge their responsibilities with the fear of God.

He noted that the members were chosen on the basis of their proven integrity and hard earned reputation, saying they should bring all these qualities to bear on the different aspects of the assignment in addition to professionalism.

According to him, in order to achieve the critical roles of universities, the present government has shown strong commitment to tackling the challenges facing the Nigerian university system.

Towards addressing this acute problem at the federal level, 12 additional universities were established by the Federal Government between 2011 and 2013.

These universities are federal universities in Lokoja, Lafia, Kashere, Wukari, Dutsin-Ma, Dutse, Ndufu-Alike, Oye- Ekiti, Otuoke, Birnin Kebbi, Gusau and Gashua.

The 12 universities were provided with grants to enable them to effectively meet their operational recurrent expenditure and most importantly, capital expenditure towards the execution of their various take-off projects, he said.

Mr. Adamu stressed the need for an audit panel to be set up to further consolidate the funding of these universities to enable them achieve their overriding objectives.

He added that the audit was also necessary as a result complaints and petitions from stakeholders and clients including the vice chancellors of the 12 universities as well as campus based unions and community leaders.

He noted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was also currently investigating a number of allegations of financial impropriety arising from the utilisation of the take- off grants in some of the universities such as Kashere, Dutsun-Ma and Otuoke.

Mr. Adamu listed the members as Olufemi Bamiro as the chairman, Salihu Abubakar, Mansur Ahmed, Umar Aliyu, Freddy Ezenwa, Patrick Oshio and Kefas Magaji as members.

The minister said the panel had been given 12 weeks to effectively carry out their assignments in these universities.

He, however, commended the panel for accepting to undertake the assignment while urging them to give it the diligence and seriousness it deserved.

Responding, Mr. Bamiro, a professor, promised to justify the confidence the federal government has reposed in the committee.

Mr. Bamiro, who was the former vice-chancellor, University of Ibadan, said the report that would be generated at the end of the 12 weeks duration would be used to advance the cause of the institutions.

Covering the 12 universities is a huge task but we will ensure that we work hard to deliver within the duration given by the minister.

It is the report that will help the system to identify what has happened and see how we prevent future occurrence.

The report must contain the way forward on what the government must be doing to make sure the universities are able to advance.

We promise that the confidence reposed in us will not be misplaced, he said.

(NAN)

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Suspended Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, did not fund former President Goodluck Jonathans election campaign in 2015, former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said.

Writing via his verified twitter handle on Monday, @realFFK, Mr. Fani-Kayode said some elements in the present government were bent on destroying and rubbishing the embattled NIA boss.

There had been unverified claims in the social media that the about N13 billion found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in a house in Ikoyi, Lagos, was a part of Mr. Jonathans 2015 presidential campaign funds.

But Mr. Fani- Kayode, who served as the Director of Media and Publicity for the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation in 2015, said the reports were false.

The attempt to rubbish the DG of the NIA and destroy him by certain elements in government will fail, Mr. Fani-kayode tweeted. He did not spend one kobo on GEJ s campaign.

The $43.5 million, 27, 800, and N23 million #IkoyiMoney had been a subject of controversies in recent week, culminating in war of words between Mr. Fani-Kayode and the current Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi.

Earlier, Mr. Fani-Kayode, together with an aide to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state, Lere Olayinka, had allegedly linked the ownership of the money to Mr. Amaechi.

The former Rivers governor threatened to sue the duo.

In a letter by his lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi, Mr. Amaechi claimed the comments made by the two men on their Twitter handles were defamatory.

The minister quoted Messr. Fani-Kayode and Olayinka as saying that, Amaechi bought two of the flats (7A and 7B). He then gave 7A to Mo Abdul, the TV presenter, who is suspected to be his girlfriend. But the flat where the money was found belong (sic) to Rotimi Amaechi. This is believed to be cash kept for 2019 elections. Lets see how the cover-up game goes.

Reacting to Mr. Amaechis threat, the former aviation minister said he was not losing sleep over the legal action, adding that his lawyers would respond accordingly.

In a terse statement by his Special Adviser on media, Jude Ndukwe, the former aviation minister said, We have been inundated with calls concerning a threat by Rotimi Amaechi to sue Chief Fani-Kayode for defamation over the 43 million USD issue.

We are not losing any sleep over this matter. We have not received any court processes or letters from Ameachi but when we do so our lawyers will respond vigorously and appropriately.

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A Lagos-based lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has urged the Nigerian Senate to declare the office of the president vacant and constitute a medical panel of experts to examine the health status of Muhammadu Buhari in order to determine if he can still continue to function in office.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Adegboruwa said the Constitution anticipates a fit and proper chief executive, to run the affairs of Nigeria.

Since I personally got to know of the ill health of General Buhari, Ive changed a lot of my views concerning his government, said Mr. Adegboruwa.

We are all human after all, and no one can play God or rejoice over another man on account of his ill health. I then decided to pray for the President and also to lie low, in respect of my usual assessment of his policies, in order to give him enough time to fully recover.

But hard as I tried, I couldnt just convince Uncle Lai Mohammed or any other member of General Buharis cabinet, to publicly admit to the people of Nigeria that the President is truly and seriously sick, as sick could be, even though I personally know the true position.

On account purely of his ill health, the President has not been performing his official duties, he has not been able to preside over the Federal Executive Council and he has not been seen in public for about two weeks now, he said.

Mr. Buharis health condition has continued to be a subject of speculation among Nigerians, especially following the presidents absence from last weeks weekly Federal Executive Council meeting for the third time in a row.

Explaining Mr. Buharis continued absence, Nigerias Information minister, Lai Mohammed, said the president was resting.

Last Friday, Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, urged Mr. Buhari to make public his state of health.

Nigerian civil society leaders, including notable lawyer, Femi Falana, on Monday called on Mr. Buhari to immediately take a medical leave to attend to his health.

But in his statement on Tuesday, Mr. Adegboruwa disagreed with the suggestion that Mr. Buhari should immediately embark on a medical leave; instead he called on the Senate to swear in the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, as acting president.

We cannot continue in this fashion whereby a cabal has taken over the affairs of Nigeria, causing great panic in the land, purely for their own selfish ends. Enough is enough, Mr. Adegboruwa said.

It is based on the foregoing that I find it hard to align with activists, who seem to suggest that all that the President needs presently is a medical vacation and begging him to so proceed.

That cannot be the option before our great nation, with all due respect to these patriots. Somebody capable, fit and proper, must be in charge of Nigeria, not a cabal. And our nation cannot be ruled by proxy, through a cabal that was not elected into office.

Where on earth did the activists meet with the President, to know that he is sick and deserves a medical vacation? Has any of them been privy to know his health status? Just yesterday, Nigerians were being insulted by the aides of the President that he is so fit and healthy that he will contest and win the 2019 election, when I know that there are ministers and aides who have never ever spent as much as 20 minutes with the President, since they were appointed.

We do not need to wait for the Yaradua scenario before we take steps to save the President from himself and his handlers.

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The pioneer national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bisi Akande, has said that the dwindling health condition of President Muhammadu Buhari, is a major challenge currently facing Nigeria.

Mr. Akande urged Nigerians to pray for Mr. Buharis divine healing.

To avoid the ugly consequences of letting President Buharis ailments throw Nigeria into confusion, I am urging all Nigerians to begin to pray for his divine healing and perfect recovery, he said.

There are two challenges facing the country today. The first and most critical is the health of the President which, unfortunately, is a development beyond his control and for which we did not prepare.

The second is the disorder and lack of cohesion between the National Assembly and the Presidency. These are two great red flag dangers that have the potential of plunging the country into unprecedented chaos and of destabilising the gains of democracy since 1999.

The greatest danger however is for political interests at the corridor of power attempting to feast on the health of Mr President in a dangerous manner that may aggravate the problems between the Executive and the National Assembly without realizing if, in the end, it could drag the entire country into avoidable doom.

Mr. Akande noted the delicateness of the Union of Nations making up Nigeria, stressing that the democracy and the rule of law governing the Nigerian Federation were also fragile.

Certain Nigerian leaders, having been blindfolded by corruption, assume the possibility of using money in manipulating the national security agencies to intimidate, suppress and hold down certain ethnic nationalities or playing one ethnic nationality against the other with a view to undermining the constitution and perversely upturning the rule of law, Mr. Akande asserted.

Let me warn today that those who wish to harvest political gains out of the health of the President are mistaken.

This is not Nigeria of 1993. We are in a new national and global era of constitutionalism and order. We hope Nigerians have enough patience to learn from history.

My greatest fear, however, is that the country should not be allowed to slide into anarchy and disorder of a monumental proportion.

Mr. Akande said the health of the president was intricately intertwined with the health of the nation.

He recalled that he did not see the president at the wedding of his grandson in Kaduna last Saturday, saying that he wept as a result.

When last we met at the wedding of his daughter in Abuja last December, I complained to him that I was not happy about his stressful looks, Mr. Akande recalled.

His reply connoted some allusions to circumstances where an honest man fighting corruption is surrounded mostly by unpatriotic greedy ruling class.

He felt painfully frustrated. He assured me he would soon be going on vacation. I then knew that corruption has effectively been fighting back. And I prayed for Nigeria. That was why Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and I rushed to meet him in London in February this year when he was sick and could not return as scheduled from his vacation.

The rest is history but we must appreciate that his poor health is already taking a toll on the health of Nigeria as a polity, he said.

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A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Wueng Agati, on Tuesday told Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja how N1.2 billion was credited into two accounts allegedly connected to a former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, who is facing trial for alleged N29 billion fraud.

Mr. Agati, a banker with the Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB, who was led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, gave the name of the accounts as Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.

Mr. Nyako is being prosecuted alongside his son, Abdul-Aziz Nyako who is a senator, Abubakar Aliyu, and Zulkifikk Abba on a 37-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering.

Five companies that allegedly served as conduit pipes for the illegal diversion of the funds-Blue Opal Limited, Sebore Farms & Extension Limited, Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited, were equally charged before the court as the 5th to 9th accused persons respectively.

Narrating what he knew about the matter, Mr. Agati, who testified as the PW8, told the court how the EFCC wrote his bank in 2014, requesting for the account opening document, certificate of identification and statement of account of several accounts which included Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.

In 2014, the EFCC wrote to GTB, requesting for account opening and statement of accounts of Mainstream Energy Limited, Dantshoho Hotel Limited, Alkali Mahmoud, Tower Asset Management Limited, Dantshoho Petroleum Marketing Company Limited, Babangida Inuwa and Blue Ribbon. We generated the documents and forwarded them to the EFCC, Agati said.

The documents were presented and admitted in evidence as follows: account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Babangida Inuwa  Exhibit AC1; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Dantshoho Hotel Limited  Exhibit AC2; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Alkali Mahmoud  Exhibit AC3; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Mainstream Energy Limited  Exhbit AC4; account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Blue Ribbon MultiLinks Limited  Exhibit AC5 and account opening, statement of accounts and certificate of identification for Tower Asset Management Limited  Exhibit AC6.

Mr. Agati went on by giving a breakdown of how the over N1 billion was credited into the accounts of Blue Ribbon and Babangida Inuwa.

Blue Ribbon account was first credited with N10million by CIFT FSDH; On December 17, 2012, N20million was paid into the same account by same CIFT FSDH; On December 28 2012, N40million was credited to Blue Ribbon by CIFT/FSDH; The account also got credited with N50million each on February 19, 2013, and March 12, 2013 by CIFT/FSDH.

On April 17, 2013 N14 million was paid into the account (Blue Ribbon) in four tranches. The first tranche of N1million was marked cash deposit by (Blue Opal) by Jelilat Ibrahim. The second lodgement was also N1 million, which was marked cash deposit (Blue Opal Nigeria Limited). The third lodgement was N10 million and marked customer deposit cheque (Tower Asset Managing Limited/Blue Ribbon Multi links Limited), while the fourth lodgement of N2 million was marked customer deposit cheque (Tower Asset management Limited/Blue Ribbson Muiltilinks Limited, Mr. Agati stated.

When asked to take a look at Exhibit AC1 and tell the court the transfer that was done from the account, Mr. Agati said, On November 12, 2013, a sum of N1,015,740,000 (One billion, Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira) was transferred from the account (Babangida Inuwa) to another bank.

Justice Abang, thereafter, adjourned to May 3, 2017 for further hearing.

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Many suspected leaders of Boko Haram may have been killed in a recent air strike carried out by Nigeria Air Force fighter jets on locations believed to be hideouts of the deadly insurgents, an official said.

According to a statement issued from the Directorate of Public Relations and Information of the Nigeria Air Force, the strike took place on April 28 in a village called Mangosum in Borno State.

The incident was not reported until Tuesday when the Director of Air Force Public Relations and Information, Olatokunbo Adesanya, an air commodore, mentioned it in a terse statement.

Mr. Adesanya said the attack was effected following a NAF intelligence.

He said while a large number of suspected Boko Haram leaders were killed during the raid, troops also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition at the attacked location.

At dawn on 28 April 2017, the Nigerian Air Force Component of Operation LAFIYA DOLE conducted an air interdiction mission on some remnants of the Boko Haram Terrorists in a village 3.42 km Northeast of Mangosum, said Air Commodore Adesanya.

On the previous day, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had successfully provided air cover to troops of 27 Task Force Battalion thereby enabling them to repel an attack by the Boko Haram Terrorists.

Subsequently, a NAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft trailed the remnants of the insurgents that attacked the Battalion to a village near Mangosum, following which the NAF conducted the air interdiction mission with two Alpha Jet and one F-7Ni aircraft.

Battle Damage Assessment conducted after the strike showed that several leaders of the Boko Haram Terrorist Organization and their followers were killed during the attacks.

In addition, a sizeable cache of weapons and equipment was destroyed. With the successful air interdiction, the Nigerian Air Force was able to frustrate yet another attempt by the remnants of the Boko Haram Terrorists to regroup in the Sambisa general area, he said.

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After a protracted legal battle, justice finally came the way of Edet Akpan, an associate professor of mathematics, whose appointment with the University of Uyo, Uniuyo, was terminated in 2004 for raising questions over the way the university was being run.

Mr. Akpan was reinstated after he won his case against the school both at the Federal High Court, Uyo, and the Court of Appeal, Calabar.

He was the chairman of the universitys branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU around 2002 when Akpan Ekpo, a professor of economics, was the vice chancellor of the university.

The then union leader had criticized Mr. Ekpos leadership style as being inimical to the progress of the university.

The termination of Mr. Akpans appointment followed a familiar sequence within the school during Mr. Ekpos tenure. Firstly, he was queried in his personal capacity as a lecturer for speaking up against the university administration. Next, the school acted on an anonymous letter which alleged that Mr. Akpan forged his certificate, and suspended the lecturer in 2003 without giving him an opportunity to defend himself.

He was not even given a chance to see a copy of the letter that was written against him, PREMIUM TIMES gathered. He was also barred from entering the school.

All these happened despite a subsisting order from the Federal High Court, Uyo, restraining the school from taking any action against the lecturer.

The police also reportedly investigated the forgery case and exonerated the lecturer.

Mr. Akpan, afraid that the university could still sack him despite the controversial suspension, ran back to the court a second time. He obtained another order which restrained the school from acting further on the anonymous letter.

The school went ahead to terminate his appointment in March 2004, in defiance of the order of the court.

Interestingly, the travails of the union leader coincided with the period in which the National Universities Commission, NUC, withdrew accreditation for several courses in Uniuyo, including courses in the faculty of social sciences where the then vice chancellor, Mr. Ekpo, came from; a development that the federal court took notice of while delivering judgment in the suit challenging the termination of Mr. Akpans appointment.

Let me further observe here and hold that what the defendants termed insubordination and misconduct are constructive criticism of an inept administration that finished last in the accreditation exercise in all the universities in Nigeria, Justice E.S Chukwu of the federal high court, Uyo, said in his judgment in 2013.

While ordering the university to reinstate Mr. Akpan, Justice Chukwu noted that the university had become a place where the truth will always be punished senselessly.

The judge continued: If there is any person that his appointment should be terminated, it is the Vice Chancellor; and his kangaroo panel (that) should be shown their way out.

If they had honour, they ought to have resigned and not witch-hunt innocent citizens like the plaintiff whose association (ASUU) cried foul or complained of gross incompetence in the university administration.

The court also ordered Uniuyo to pay Mr. Akpan his emoluments for all the years he was kicked out of his job and N500, 000 to cover the cost of litigation.

After the tenure of the then vice chancellor, Mr. Ekpo who later became the Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Lagos, two other vice chancellors  Akaneren Essien and Comfort Ekpo  came and left without recalling Mr. Akpan.

In February this year, the university recalled Mr. Akpan back to the classroom, after trying unsuccessfully to have the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court nullify the judgment of the trial court. While the Court of Appeal upheld the judgement of the High Court, the Supreme Court rejected a request for stay of execution by the university.

The universitys spokesperson, Godfrey Essien, declined to comment on the reinstatement when contacted. He said the governing council was yet to brief him on it.

However, Kimse Okoko, a professor and immediate past chairman of Uniuyos Governing Council, who confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Akpan had been reinstated, said it did not make any sense dragging the issue further at the Supreme Court.

The lecturers and students in the department of mathematics threw a surprise party to welcome back Mr. Akpan who had put in about 29 years of service in Uniuyo and was an associate professor for eight years before he was sacked.

Mr. Akpan said he should have been promoted to a full-fledged professor in 1998, and still hopes that that could be done before his retirement in June.

My belief is that you can suppress the truth only for some time. At the appropriate time, the truth will surface, Mr. Akpan said in a sober tone, when PREMIUM TIMES met him in his office at the university.

He now has strands of white hair on his head.

The former ASUU chairman, who is married with five children, said his survival out there was nothing but a miracle from God.

While he was out of his teaching job he spent time on farm work and preaching engagements in the Methodist Church.

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Workers have given the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation, OGBC, until Wednesday to settle their outstanding entitlements totalling N148,264,000 or face an industrial action.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the workers, under the banners of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and Radio Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union, RATTAWU, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management of the state-owned radio station Thursday last week at a joint congress they held at the premises of the station in Abeokuta.

The resolution was signed by Abiodun Ogundipe and Ayo Aina, who are the chairmen of the organizations NUJ and RATTAWU Chairman respectively, on behalf of the 157 workers.

They said the amount represents the arrears of their entitlements since 2012.

These include four months arrears of salaries (N76.8 million), pension (N45 million), union dues deductions for 2017 (N464,000) national housing fund deductions for 2013 to date (N2 million) and CTCS deduction for 2011-2016 (N6m).

The unions while calling for the intervention of the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, in the matter, said they resorted to the ultimatum at the expiration of an earlier 14-day ultimatum.

Following the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum given to the management of the station on the 16th of April, 2017 and its expiration on 25th of April, 2017 for the payment of all outstanding salaries and deductions, we write to inform you of the decision of both unions (RATTAWU and NUJ) to issue the final seven-day ultimatum as stipulated in the labour law for the demand to be met, the resolution read.

The aggrieved workers forwarded copies of the resolution to Governor Amosun, Secretary to State Government, Head of Service, Commissioner of Information and Strategy and Chairman of the Board of the radio station.

This decision was taken at a joint congress of both unions that was well attended by our members today, 26th of April. We would also like to state that the management has not paid adequate attention to our demands as money that should have been used to meet part of our demands have been diverted to the payment of imprest and buying of fuel for personal use of management staff, the letter stated.

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The fire at the palace of the Oba of Lagos on Tuesday has nothing to do with the Lagos monarchs relationship with the Ooni of Ife, an official has said.

The spokesperson of the Oonis palace, Moses Olafare, told PREMIUM TIMES that the Ife monarch, Enitan Ogunwusi, is unhappy with the fire incident.

We are not happy over the fact that the palace of Lagos king got burnt, we can only sympathise with the palace on the development, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the fire incident at the Lagos monarchs palace. The fire occurred about one week after a video showed the Lagos monarch, Rilwan Akiolu, snub the Ooni.

There have been rumours on social media that Tuesdays fire was caused by the snub, reports denied by Mr. Olafare.

People are entitled to their own views, he said. But what people say doesnt mean that is the position of the palace.

What happened is mere coincidence and should not be traced to the incident in Lagos, we send our sympathies, he added.

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PHILADELPHIA, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diversified Search, one of the top ten executive search firms in the nation, announced today that Lyn Brennan, a search executive with deep experience in the healthcare and life sciences arenas, will join the firms Healthcare Services Practice as a Managing Director. She will be based in Diversifieds New York office, beginning May 8.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/83b89cc7-bb4f-4241-aa63-b05143bd4101

The opportunity to be part of one of the most dynamic and growing healthcare practices in the field of executive search was simply too good to pass up, said Brennan. The team is top-notch, with a deep knowledge of healthcare, life sciences, and the major players in both. I am excited to be part of this top-drawer team, and to expand its reach even further.



We are thrilled to welcome Lyn into the Diversified fold, and think she will be a key asset to our healthcare team as we continue to build our already significant business in this constantly changing, unpredictable sector, said Diversified President and CEO Dale E. Jones. Her track record is impeccable. We are deeply honored that she has decided to join us.



Brennans appointment is the latest step by Diversified Search to continue expanding its footprint in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Last fall, Diversified acquired BioQuest, the highly-regarded San Francisco-based boutique life sciences search firm.



Brennan began her career in search in 1998, as a Vice President and Director at Isaacson Miller in Boston. Specializing in healthcare and life sciences, she subsequently worked in similar roles at Amrop Battalia Winston and, most recently, at Heidrick & Struggles. Prior to her career in executive search, Brennan, a registered nurse with degrees from both Georgetown and New York University, worked as a practice leader in healthcare operations at Ernst & Young, and as a director of healthcare operations and quality at Coopers & Lybrand. She resides in Connecticut.

Lyn is a versatile and high-energy executive who manages to be both creative and results-oriented, added Martha C. Hauser, Diversifieds Healthcare Services Practice Leader. Her depth and breadth of experience is formidable, particularly in growth sectors such as integrated health systems, academic medicine, and not-for-profits. I am honored and excited to have her as part of our growing healthcare team.

About Diversified Search

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Diversified Search is the largest U.S. female-owned and -founded firm in the industry. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Southern California, and Washington, D.C. Diversified is also the exclusive U.S partner of AltoPartners, an international alliance of 58 independent executive search firms that spans 35 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

http://www.diversifiedsearch.com/

http://www.altopartners.com
The Polish flag was raised at the Clock Tower of the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Tuesday as part of observances marking the Day of the National Flag falling on May 2.

The ceremony was attended by President Andrzej Duda and Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz. Present were also Poland's First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, President's Office head Malgorzata Sadurska and army commanders.

The ceremony was preceded by a concert of a Polish army orchestra and followed by a military parade.

From the Royal Castle the president left for the Belvedere Palace where he will laid a wreath at the Monument to Marshall Jozef Pilsudski. "It's beautiful and remarkable that the Day of the National Flag and the Day of the Polish Diaspora merge in a symbolic way on May 2", President Andrzej Duda said in front of the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw on Tuesday. The president presented Polonia Restituta Orders to people merited for their work for the Polish Diaspora and Polish National Flags to Polish organisations operating in Poland and abroad.

The head of state also presented school IDs to students of a Polish school in London.
NEW YORK, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hunt Mortgage Group, a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States, announced today it launched a new fixed rate loan program. The fixed rate product offers borrowers a seven-year fixed rate loan collateralized by multifamily and commercial real estate properties for acquisitions or refinancing.

With this new product, Hunt Mortgage Group will provide loans from $7.5 million to $25 million nationwide. The program is designed to be attractive relative to providers of conduit debt as it allows borrowers to lock in spreads for a seven-day period during the loan application process, and a 45-day period from the receipt of an executed loan application until the loan closes. The program also offers advantages relative to conduit debt as the loan closing is not subject to B-buyer review and loan servicing will be retained by Hunt Mortgage Group through the life of the loan.

Hunt Mortgage Group is a leading national provider of agency loans for both traditional and affordable multifamily properties, commented Barry Polen, Managing Director at Hunt. This new loan product enables us to expand our stabilized lending products beyond our robust agency programs. This fixed product offers a unique financing option with a spread lock, surety of close and continuity with Hunt Mortgage Group for the life of the loan.

The initial capital earmarked for the program is $300 million. As customer demand grows, more money is expected to be allocated to this effort. Hunt Mortgage Groups Proprietary Loan Program, which was started in 2014, has quickly expanded to finance most commercial asset classes in addition to multifamily. Recently the Proprietary Loan Group has been extremely successful in the Bridge lending space.

Our new seven-year fixed loan product presents financing competitive with conduit lenders, yet offers a better all-around client experience, added Mike Becktel, Managing Director of Hunt Mortgage Group. This Proprietary Hunt Mortgage Group program allows us to provide a balance sheet lending solution, where we fund these loans directly in-house with the Hunt Companies support.

About Hunt Mortgage Group

Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., is a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States. The Company finances all types of commercial real estate: multifamily properties (including small balance), affordable housing, office, retail, manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, industrial, and self-storage facilities. It offers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA in addition to its own Proprietary loan products. Since inception, the Company has structured more than $21 billion of loans and today maintains a servicing portfolio of more than $12 billion. Headquartered in New York City, Hunt Mortgage Group has 189 professionals in 20 locations throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.huntmortgagegroup.com.
For Drew Blandas clients, the 609 area code represents so much of their identity they have it permanently inked on their ribs, biceps, shoulders and calves.

Some proudly wear the numbers forever underneath a tattoo of the Cape May Lighthouse.

If you have 609 on your arm, people know youre from South Jersey. Thats the calling card, said Blanda, 27, a tattoo artist at Rebel Image Tattoo in Rio Grande, Middle Township, who has tattooed dozens of 609 variations.

But that distinction is soon in for an identity check.

South Jersey, meet your newest area code: 640.

The state Board of Public Utilities last month approved a plan to roll out the three-number code in the same area as the 609, including in Atlantic, Cape May and southern Ocean counties. State officials expect it out later next year.

Nobody will lose an existing 609 number, so the change will not force anyone to change numbers or hire tattoo removal specialists. But it represents another way the growth of cellphones and mobile devices has transformed the way Americans  and South Jersey residents  see themselves and relate to their geographies.

Once confined to landlines, area codes have been pushed by the growth of cellphones. About 95 percent of American adults now have at least one cellphone, according to the Pew Research Center.

That growth was explosive throughout the country, and states added more area codes to keep pace.

In October 2015, the Board of Public Utilities was told the region would run out of numbers for the 609 area code by the third quarter of next year.

A new area code adds the potential for 7.9 million more numbers, said BPU spokeswoman Susanne LaFrankie.

Neustar Inc. is serving as the administrator for the North American Numbering Plan, which was developed in 1947 by AT&T to simplify long-distance calling.

The new 640 area code is called an overlay, meaning it wont cause a geographic split in an existing area code. That happened in the 1990s, when the creation of the 856 area code meant western parts of South Jersey, including most or all of Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester and Camden counties and parts of Burlington and Atlantic counties got an entirely new area code separate from 609.

The North American Numbering Plan currently lists nine New Jersey area codes, including 862, 848 and 551.

Local attachment to the 609 area code is not unique.

Blanda, who also has clients in Vineland, has tattooed plenty of 856s, too.

People from Philly I grew up with, Ive done 215 with the Philly skyline behind it, he said. So the numbers are serious. People do take it seriously.

That being said, Blanda may get some future business if the new number catches on.

Ill probably do a 640 or two in a few years, he said.
ATLANTIC CITY  Uber and Lyft drivers from around the region came out of hiding Monday as state regulations regarding transportation-network companies went into effect.

Were elated that we have this opportunity now to be able to come out of the muddy waters and be able to offer the visitors and residents of Atlantic City an alternate form of transportation, said Lance Zeaman, representing United Drivers for Uber South Jersey, a group of 240.

After a year of back and forth, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation in February that set safety standards and consumer protections on the companies and their drivers who use apps to pick up passengers.

According to Uber, in 2016 there were more than 13,000 New Jersey residents driving with Uber and more than 700,000 riders across the state.

For local taxi company Atlantic City Yellow Cab Co., the day was less joyful. Owner Murray Rosenberg said ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft devalue the once-costly taxi medallions required to operate a cab in the city.

Our medallions have become nearly worthless. You cant sell them; you cant even give them away at this point, said Rosenberg, who owns 40 medallions he said were valued at $200,000 each more than a year ago.

He said the regulation of transportation network companies as anything other than taxis is a direct blow to his industry.

I see the complete destruction of the taxi industry if these people are not at least brought to a level playing field, Rosenberg said. Why do somehow they get the right because they use a computer system ... to just operate the way they want.

Atlantic City Director of Licensing and Inspection Dale Finch said the law prohibits cities from requiring secondary licenses and from ticketing the drivers for being unlicensed.

Finch predicted the regulation of the industry is going to have a devastating effect on the taxi industry across the state.

Atlantic City has 250 taxi medallions in circulation. Taxi drivers each pay an annual fee of $60 in addition to a $150 annual fee for each medallion, which can have up to four drivers registered to it. In addition, limousine drivers pay an annual fee of $100.

Theres nothing we can do to regulate them. We get no monetary benefit as a city from it. I think that this is ill-advised, Finch said.

Both Finch and Rosenberg said taxis must change their business model to compete. Finch said Atlantic City also may reexamine the way it regulates taxis and limousines.

Rosenberg said he is looking into a GPS for his 100-year-old company.

Meanwhile, Zeaman was optimistic for Ubers future in Atlantic City.

We have a lot of great ideas with regards to a lot of promotions, perks and comps that we can now openly offer the public, he said. I think if the city leaders stand behind us and support us, well be a big asset here in Atlantic City.
SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Chenna Baree shoe, a project of the School of Unusual Arts, is a stylish, earth conscious, super flexible shoe. The colorful palette of linen uppers, complemented by the natural rubber sole are designed for maximum flexibility and are free of animal by-products. Prototypes went out for testing to yoga instructors, tai chi practitioners, circus trainers, dance teachers, office workers and the general public. The feedback has been ecstatic. There is a great market for these shoes, said the designer, Paul Kasdan, now to get the word out.



A video accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d8768a0b-3c51-4135-b94b-10b4307931d4

Kasdan, a veteran orthopedic shoemaker spent 2 years learning Chinese, designing the shoes, and researching a factory in China that met his requirements before placing an initial order for testing. I wanted to make a stylish, earth conscious shoe that was as close to the ground and as flexible as possible. Ive been practicing tai chi my whole life and never found a shoe that offered me this kind of foot freedom, said the designer.

The design is based on martial arts footwear worn by Shaolin Monks, as well as traditional canvas farming shoes in production for over 80 years in China. Over the course of two separate trips to China, Kasdan located an authentic small factory which met his requirements for ethical treatment of workers, environmental awareness and great communication. The production runs are small and most of the assembly is done by hand. Kasdan adds, This is a unique shoe without question, but it is ultra-simple. There are no gimmicks. Its about flexibility and feeling connected to the ground.

Visit Chenna Baree on Kickstarter to pre-order the shoes, learn more about this story and to support the project.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1631455451/chenna-baree-earth-conscious-shoes-for-vibrant-liv?ref=cy4gzz

About Chenna Baree

Chenna Baree is a project of the School of Unusual Arts, a registered Canadian not for profit corporation dedicated to the cross cultural understanding of the meaning of life. Chenna Baree is the first major project undertaken by the School. In addition to exercise footwear, Chenna Baree has designed sitting cushions and stools in collaboration with local craftspeople.
STAFFORD TOWNSHIP  Medical experts say children treated at an Ocean County pediatricians office did receive effective vaccines after state investigators said the vaccines may have been compromised.

State Deputy Attorney General Bindi Merchant and Medicaid Fraud Division investigators alleged earlier this year that Dr. Michael Bleiman and his practice, Southern Ocean Pediatrics and Family Medicine in Manahawkin, gave children vaccines that were stored at improper temperatures and thus possibly ineffective.

Bleiman agreed to pay $156,220 in civil penalties and update office procedures.

But a project by Southern Ocean Medical Center found patients vaccinated at Bleimans practice between November 2014 and October had appropriate levels of immunity against diseases, said Dr. Theodore Zalenski, vice president of clinical effectiveness at the hospital.

The project enabled any concerned parent in the community to get their children tested for vaccine immunizations, including children treated at Bleimans practice, Zalenski said.

All of the (tested) kids vaccinated were immune, so we recommended that they just go back into the normal pattern for vaccinations, Zalenski said.

The vaccines in question were administered to children as part of Vaccines for Children, a federally funded, state-operated program that provides 1.6 million free or low-cost vaccines annually to eligible low-income children in New Jersey.

The Medicaid Fraud Division temporarily suspended Bleiman on Jan. 27 from treating patients in Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare programs after a routine investigation found childhood vaccines for chickenpox, rubella, mumps, measles and other diseases were stored at improper temperatures.

Merchant and the Office of the Attorney General alleged in a Jan. 9 complaint to the state Board of Medical Examiners the possibly compromised vaccines were administered to children between November 2014 and Oct. 24.

They (vaccines) were not given knowingly, Bleiman said. I or anybody in this office would never intentionally hurt a child.

Bleiman agreed to pay the fines to the Medicaid Fraud Division in an April 27 settlement for incorrect Medicaid billing and reimbursement payments for the administration of vaccines, related pediatric office visits and hospital inpatient care.

The practice maintained there has been no further evidence that (Vaccines for Children)-supplied vaccines were compromised in the official settlement agreement.

Bleiman has treated children and families as a pediatrician for more than 20 years in New Jersey. He has no history of medical board actions against him, according to state records.

Zalenski likened his colleagues giving and attentive nature to the famed Patch Adams, and said he has a long history of treating families in the community.

When someone has no insurance, he takes care of them, Zalenski said. Hes one of those that will follow the Hippocratic oath exactly.

Bleiman and his practice were still permitted to treat other patients during the temporary suspension. The practice now can resume treating patients in the Medicaid program, according the State Comptrollers Office.

Southern Ocean Pediatrics and Family Medicine will keep accurate records in the future by using updated electronic medical record software, and use new digital thermometers that will alert health providers if and when storage temperatures go out of range, according to the settlement.
Press Release

Nokia commits to ongoing network migration in support of T-Mobile's 5G vision

T-Mobile's plans highlight nationwide 5G network launch

Operator calls for leveraging multiple spectrum bands

2 May 2017

Irving, Texas - Nokia is to play an integral role in T-Mobile's plans to launch nationwide 5G coverage in the United States by 2020.

Forthcoming 5G networks will bring many benefits to service providers and consumers, with exponential increases in bandwidth and massive throughput, along with advancements in vertical industries and new entrants - just a few of the myriad possibilities of these next-generation networks.

T-Mobile's announced plans to utilize all of its spectrum resources align strongly with Nokia's strategy of multi-radio platforms and advanced antenna technologies. Specifically, this will bring 5G radio air interface improvements (spectral efficiency in particular) to low bands such as 600MHz, thus allowing for enhanced coverage benefits. Additionally, Nokia will look to enable the 5G network capabilities where 600MHz spectrum is the preferred coverage layer.

One of the key benefits of 5G is enhanced mobile broadband that will allow users to consume content when and where they desire. Nokia, along with T-Mobile, will provide a multi-layer, cross-spectrum blueprint for how the networks of the future will come into existence.

Marc Rouanne, president of Mobile Networks business group for Nokia, said: "Nokia and T-Mobile share a vision of innovating in mobile networks to deliver real benefits to consumers. This collaboration to maximize spectrum is a very exciting development, and is a strong example of Nokia's commitment to supporting its customers' ambitions to create new capabilities to make 5G a reality, connecting everything to everything."

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About Nokia

Nokia is a global leader innovating the technologies at the heart of our connected world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing.

From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in virtual reality and digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. www.nokia.com

Media Enquiries:

Carol DeMatteo

External Communications, North America

Phone: +1 214 728 6197

Email: carol.dematteo@nokia.com

Communications

Phone: +358 (0) 10 448 4900

E-mail: press.services@nokia.com
CHICAGO, May 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GATX Corporation (NYSE:GATX) today announced that Jennifer McManus has been appointed Director, Investor Relations. In this role, Ms. McManus will be responsible for all aspects of GATXs shareholder communications. Ms. McManus will succeed Christopher LaHurd, who has been appointed Vice President, Business Development at GATX Rail International.

Ms. McManus joined GATX Corporation in 2015 as Director, Accounting Research, Policy & Planning in GATXs Accounting Department.

We are pleased that Jennifer will be leading our investor relations activities, said Robert C. Lyons, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of GATX Corporation. With strong financial and communication skills, Jennifer is uniquely qualified to assist our stakeholders in understanding GATXs strategy, strengths, and performance.

Ms. McManus received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Accounting from The University of Michigan and her Masters of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

GATX Corporation (NYSE:GATX) strives to be recognized as the finest railcar leasing company in the world by its customers, its shareholders, its employees and the communities where it operates. As the leading global railcar lessor, GATX has been providing quality railcars and services to its customers for more than 118 years. GATX has been headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, since its founding in 1898. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.gatx.com.



Investor, corporate, financial, historical financial, and news release information may be found at www.gatx.com.
PALO ALTO, California, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

TO ALL STOCK EXCHANGES

BSE LIMITED

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LIMITED

NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

EURONEXT LONDON

EURONEXT PARIS

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find enclosed the press release titled "Infosys Foundation USA Commits Funding to Train 1,000 Teachers in Computer Science".

The same will be made available on the Company's website at the following weblink

https://www.infosys.com/newsroom/press-releases/Pages/funding-train-1000-teachers-cs.aspx

This is for your information and records.

Yours sincerely,

For Infosys Limited

A G S Manikantha

Company Secretary

Infosys Foundation USA is pleased to announce the funding of Computer Science (CS) professional development for over 1,000 public school teachers in the summer of 2017. Including teachers supported in previous years, this will bring the total number of elementary and secondary school teachers trained to over 2,100, to benefit more than a million students over the next several years.

"The future is being written in code, and there is a critical need to invest in computer science education today. To prepare children for 21st century jobs it is vital that students can identify and solve complex problems, develop critical thinking skills and learn the computational thinking that is pervasive in a digital economy," said Vandana Sikka, Chairperson of Infosys Foundation USA. "Teachers are the heart and soul of our children's education and their role is even more significant in our digital world. One CS teacher alone can help hundreds, or even thousands, of students. Multiply that body of teachers by the thousands, and now you are able to achieve scale to get closer to our dream of making computer science accessible to every child in the United States."

Inspired by the success of the 2016 CS PD Week, the Foundation is making investments in a variety of computer science teacher training workshops. These workshops make it easier for teachers from rural areas and smaller districts to attend at no cost in July 2017. Participating programs include Exploring Computer Science and Bootstrap at CS PD Week 2017 in Golden, CO; and Beauty and Joy of Computing, UTeach CS Principles, and Mobile CS Principles at various cities throughout the US. The latter three programs will make it possible for teachers to offer the new College Board endorsed Advance Placement CS Principles course to students in their high schools.

In addition, Infosys Foundation USA is continuing its funding of Code.org to train several hundred teachers in their high school CS Principles course, as well as in courses designed for elementary school students. Through its partnership with education crowdfunding leader DonorsChoose.org, the Foundation continues to provide CS training opportunities to teachers across America. By focusing on such evidence-based curricula, the Foundation is working to ensure that students benefit from a high quality computing education.

Infosys Foundation USA has already made multiple investments in previous years towards this goal of reducing the digital divide. The Foundation is the leading sponsor of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), the professional association for 23,000 CS teachers worldwide, and supports CSTA's Continuing Professional Development Pipeline project and Teaching Excellence awards, along with the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). Besides supporting CS PD Week 2016, the Foundation has provided funding for CS training for hundreds of teachers with various partners.

Infosys Foundation USA's long standing commitment to this cause is demonstrated by its systemic approach to supporting a variety of CS education programs over the past several years. These include funding directed towards curriculum development, afterschool programs, mentoring opportunities, research, evaluation, and boot camps and hackathons.



About Infosys Foundation USA

Infosys Foundation USA is focused on bridging the digital divide in America by supporting high quality computer science education and coding skills with a particular focus on underrepresented communities. It aims to give children and young adults the skills they need to become creators, not just consumers, of technology. In pursuit of this mission, the Foundation has partnered with internationally acclaimed non-profits and institutions like Code.org, New York Academy of Sciences, DonorsChoose.org, and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, Infosys Foundation USA committed a million dollars to the Infy Maker Awards to inspire makers across the U.S. to demonstrate creative excellence in making projects with genuine impact. Learn more at http://www.infosys.org/usa/ follow on Twitter @InfyFoundation or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InfosysFoundationUSA

Media contacts:

Asia Pacific

Sarah Gideon

Infosys, India

+91-80-4156-3998

Sarah_Gideon@infosys.com

EMEA

Margherita Di Cerbo

Infosys, Europe

+44-2075162748

Margherita.DiCerbo@infosys.com

Americas

Chiku Somaiya

Infosys, USA

+1-408-375-2722

Chiku.Somaiya@infosys.com

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE Infosys Limited
Itinerary highlights include: * Pesto making class in Portofino * Day in the Cinque Terre * Enchanting Tuscan town of Lucca * Ceramics painting workshop in Florence * Michelangelo's David * Exclusive tour of Uffizi Gallery, focusing on female highlights Options for a free day include meeting Florentine artisans, special museum visits, or an excursion to the Chianti countryside. To learn more, go to www.susanvanallen.com .

"Women love Italy because Italy loves women," says award winning author Susan Van Allen, who has been traveling there for 40 years. "Golden weeks are transformational experiences," she adds. "When women land in a country that's been adoring females since the earth was coolingfrom Goddess Venus to the Madonna--they feel as though they've come home, to a place where they are deeply appreciated and understood."

Golden Weeks are perfect for solo travelers, girlfriend getaways, and mother/daughter vacations. Having led these trips for five successful years, Van Allen says, "I know exactly what women want. They lead busy lives and often do all the planning, so it's a joy for them to leave that to me, and indulge in a perfect balance of planned activities and opportunities for them to explore according to their desires. Everything goes at a leisurely pace, so there's time to fully absorb Italian treasures, get to know my local friends, and stop to taste the Prosecco."

The Golden Week is a collaboration with Perillo Tours, America's leading tour operator to Italy.

Dates: September 22-30, 2017

Cost: $4890 per person, double occupancy, $5590 per person, single supplement. Includes 4 nights at Hotel Continental in Santa Margherita, 4 nights in Florence at Plaza Hotel Lucchesi, some meals, including daily breakfast buffet at hotel, domestic transportation, private tours, activities and gratuities. International airfare not included.

Contact for info and sign-up: Perillo Tours, 855-784-7687, [email protected]

SOURCE Susan Van Allen

Related Links

http://www.susanvanallen.com


LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating 20 years, JVS Strictly Business L.A. will bring together more than 500 business and community leaders to honor Belmont Village Senior Living and AvalonBay Communities for their exemplary support of the JVS mission and the organization's HealthWorks and ApartmentWorks career training programs. These companies are being recognized for their significant and impactful contributions in lifting people from poverty to employment by both sponsoring JVS training programs and hiring their graduates. In addition, the inaugural Founder's Award will be presented to JVS Honorary Vice President Steven Hirsh. The event takes place on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with award-winning NBC4 weathercaster Fritz Coleman returning to serve as master of ceremonies.

JVS Strictly Business LA Honors Patricia G. Will, Belmont Village Senior Living Founder and CEO on June 7, 2017 at The Beverly Hilton On June 7, 2017, John Smith, Senior Portfolio Maintenance Director, will accept the JVS Corporate Partnership Award on behalf of AvalonBay Communities at Strictly Business L.A.

This year's program will include remarks by JVS Corporate Leadership Award Honoree, Patricia G. Will, Belmont Village Founder and CEO. John Smith, Senior Portfolio Maintenance Director, will accept the JVS Corporate Partnership Award on behalf of AvalonBay Communities. All proceeds from Strictly Business benefit the life-changing work of JVS Los Angeles, a nonprofit, non-sectarian agency dedicated to empowering people to overcome barriers and achieve sustainable employment.

With these committed partnerships from the private sector, JVS is able to leverage the funding received from the city, county and state to offer these successful training programs at no cost to participants, who are primarily of low income and from traditionally underserved communities. "JVS has been an extraordinary partner not only in making sure that we have training in the heart of the city but also looking at how we can improve workforce development," affirms L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Belmont Village Senior Living is the first health care industry employer to partner with HealthWorks, a program that trains individuals for entry level careers as Certified Nurse Assistants. "Over the next 10 years the seniors housing industry will need to fill more than one million jobs. The JVS HealthWorks program is a model for how to get that done," comments Will. "We are proud to be a participant in its success, both as a sponsor and as an employer. We've hired many outstanding program graduates who have become highly valued members of our Belmont Village teams and we look forward to welcoming many more graduates in the future." Founded by Will in 1997, Belmont Village is a fully integrated developer, owner and operator of first rate senior living communities. The company currently operates 24 communities across the country, with five new properties under development and nearly 3,000 employees. Patricia Will is a nationally recognized leader in senior living. She serves on the boards of numerous academic and charitable institutions and has played an integral role in setting standards and shaping policy for the industry.

Recipient of the JVS Corporate Partnership Award, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has been involved with ApartmentWorks, a nationally recognized job training program for apartment maintenance technicians, since its inception. "It is especially meaningful for AvalonBay to be a supporter and partner of JVS ApartmentWorks program, not only because we have hired so many skilled and highly motivated graduates over the years, but also because this is the only training initiative of its kind in our industry," explains Smith. "We know the need for dedicated staff will continue to grow." AvalonBay has a long-term track record of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing distinctive apartment homes in some of the best markets across the United States. Driven by a bold purpose to create a better way to live, AvalonBay is committed to giving back and contributing to the vitality of local communities.

In recognition of his leadership, JVS Honorary Vice President Steven Hirsh will receive the Founder's Award for his vision as the first chair of Strictly Business L.A. and his commitment to introduce and engage the business community in the critical mission of JVS.

The Strictly Business L.A. Awards Luncheon takes place on Wednesday, June 7. Business Networking Reception begins at 11am, followed by the luncheon program from Noon to 1:30pm at The Beverly Hilton at 9876 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills 90210. Hosted parking. Tickets are $175 per person. To register online, go to: http://www.jvsla.org/sb-2017. For ticket and sponsorship information, contact Mary Koenig at [email protected] or (323) 761-8888 x8891.

ABOUT JVS

JVS Los Angeles is a non-sectarian 501(c)(3) founded in 1931 to address workplace discrimination and assist those struggling in the midst of the Great Depression. JVS Los Angeles offers hope and opportunity to our diverse community, helping people overcome barriers to achieve self-sufficiency through sustainable employment. www.jvsla.org

SOURCE JVS Los Angeles

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"We come to Albany to advocate for suicide prevention because we know that suicide prevention efforts are effective in saving lives," said Ann Morrison, AFSP Long Island Area Director . "With support for education and training with targeted efforts to those at risk, we can reduce the suicide rate and offer hope." This is the third time AFSP is hosting a State Capitol Day in New York. Ms. Morrison is part of a national movement of AFSP volunteer advocates who will be visiting 35 state capitols across the United States in spring 2017 to bring best practices in suicide prevention to state legislators.

Suicide Prevention Materials, A6718/S804

Educating students to recognize signs and symptoms of suicide risk in themselves and others and encouraging them to seek treatment is a best practice of all school and community-based youth suicide prevention programs. If passed, A6718 would amend the Mental Hygiene Law and Education Law to require the Office of Mental Health and the State Education Department to identify or develop materials for educators on suicide prevention in school-aged youth and requires the materials to be available on the State Education Department's website. It would also amend the law to state that instruction on suicide prevention may be included in the Health Education provided to all secondary school students and shall be taught by certified health education teachers.

Veteran Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, A7233/S4642

This legislation would create a veterans' mental health and suicide prevention task force to study current mental health practices and suicide prevention efforts and recommend the best to the state.

Suicide Prevention Advisory Council, A7225

According to the NYS Office of Mental Health, Suicide Prevention Office, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among Latina adolescents in NYS. Latina teens also attempt suicide at a higher rate than any other youth group. Lack of access to culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services is a large contributing factor to Latina teen suicides and may impede proper treatment. If passed, A7225 would establish a Latina adolescent suicide prevention advisory council within the Office of Mental Health. This Advisory Council would determine appropriate services and resources needed to address the needs of Latina adolescents at risk of suicide.

Collegiate Suicide Prevention Program, S3080

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. If passed, S3080 would amend the current education law to require public and private colleges and universities to provide students with information about depression and suicide prevention resources available on campus. The suicide prevention programs available to students may include workshops, seminars, discussion groups and film presentations.

Mental Health Education, A03887B

The advocates are thanking their representatives for supporting Mental Health Education, which was signed into law in 2016, clarifying that mental health will be included as a part of overall health education.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide. AFSP celebrates 30 years of service to the suicide prevention movement. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Related Links

http://www.afsp.org


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Africa Growth Corporation (OTC: AFGC), herein after referred to as "Africa Growth," today announced the launch of its new website: www.AfricaGrowthCorp.com. The purpose of the site launch is to provide information about Africa Growth's important activities in the nascent sub-Saharan mortgage markets, including its plans to create Mortgage Acceptance Corporations ("MACs") for country-specific housing markets in the region. Africa Growth's country-specific MACs will channel both equity and debt funding from Wall Street to sub-Saharan markets where mortgage capital is either scarce or largely nonexistent, thereby unlocking attractive opportunities for the capital markets, as well as contributing to access to mortgages to millions of people in the region.

"The website gives further insight into the market opportunity to earn attractive rates of return while simultaneously improving the quality of life in the region by providing affordable mortgages to creditworthy families," said Christopher Darnell, Chairman and CEO, Africa Growth Corporation.

Africa Growth estimates that there is currently a shortage in excess of 100 million homes in the sub-Saharan African region because of a lack of mortgage finance. This represents an investment opportunity of approximately $2 trillion today. Only about 2 percent of sub-Saharan African families have mortgages. Furthermore, sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest growing population in the world, which means the demand for mortgages is growing every day.

Namibia MAC, the first Mortgage Acceptance Corporation established by Africa Growth, is working with Wall Street investment banks to launch an initial tranche of up to $250,000,000 of exchange-listed bonds. Namibia has maintained an investment-grade sovereign credit rating according to Moody's and Fitch since 2005.

To learn more about the Company and its investment opportunities, please visit AfricaGrowthCorp.com.

Namibia Mortgage Acceptance Corporation

Namibia Mortgage Acceptance Corporation was formed as a special-purpose, wholly owned subsidiary of Africa Growth Corporation (AFGC) to provide mortgage finance to Namibia.

AN INVESTMENT IN NAMIBIA MORTGAGE ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION (Namibia MAC) MAY ONLY BE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH, AND FOLLOWING REVIEW OF, A CONFIDENTIAL PRIVATE PLACEMENT MEMORANDUM. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE OR SUPPLEMENT THE CONFIDENTIAL PRIVATE PLACEMENT MEMORANDUM AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE SECURITIES. THIS INFORMATION IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FAMILIARIZING YOU WITH A POTENTIAL OFFERING BY THE COMPANY. ANY INVESTMENT IN THE COMPANY WILL BE LIMITED TO ACCREDITED INVESTORS AND QIBs, AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN RULE 501(a) OF REGULATION D UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED.

Information in this document constitute forward-looking statements or statements that may be deemed or construed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The risks, uncertainties and other factors are more fully discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to Africa Growth Corporation herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above mentioned cautionary statement. Namibia Mortgage Acceptance Corporation, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this estimate, except as may be required by law.

SOURCE Africa Growth Corporation

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http://AfricaGrowthCorp.com


NEW YORK, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC praised Senate Judiciary Committee members for asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions "to undertake effective action to address the increasing number of religious hate crimes in the U.S." The bipartisan letter, spearheaded by Senator Charles Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee's ranking minority member, comes amidst a rise in hate crimes targeting Muslims and Jews across the country.

"Effectively combatting hate crimes demands a concerted federal government response," said Richard Foltin, AJC Director of National and Legislative Affairs. "It is imperative that federal authorities help state and local authorities in carrying out their responsibility to monitor and prosecute hate crimes, and bring cases under federal hate crimes laws, where necessary."

The Senators' letter declares that hate crimes are "an affront to the liberty of all Americans, even if they are not members of the particular group that has been harmed." Other Judiciary Committee signatories include Senators Orrin Hatch, Richard J. Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Amy Klobuchar, Christopher A. Coons, and Mazie K. Hirono.

The Senators point out that "the federal government has long played a role in investigating and prosecuting religious hate crimes" and that in situations where state of local governments do not act "the federal government must do so."

Further, the Senators assert, the Justice Department "should work with state and local officials to improve their participation in the Hate Crime Statistics Act's reporting of crimes directed against people of faith and other hate crimes."

The Senate Judiciary Committee letter to the attorney general comes after a series of meetings on Capitol Hill, in which AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, and the Muslim Jewish Advisory Council, a national group co-sponsored by AJC and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), urged the need for vigorous, bipartisan advocacy on hate crimes.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

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http://www.ajc.org


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC praised several UNESCO member states for voting against the organization's latest resolution attacking Israel. The measure was adopted today in Paris by a vote of 22 to 10, with 23 abstentions.

"Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Paraguay, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Togo, Ukraine and the United States asserted moral leadership in unequivocally rejecting this malicious Arab- sponsored resolution," said AJC CEO David Harris. "Indeed, the Arab sponsors could not even muster a majority of nations voting, which they must regard as a setback from their usual expectation of an 'automatic majority.'"

The resolution was submitted to the 59-member UNESCO Executive Board by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan. It mostly repeated the assertions of previous UNESCO resolutions regarding Jerusalem, Israel's capital city, and holy sites in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

"The Palestinian leadership and their allies have consistently abused UNESCO as a forum to censure Israel, including on Israel's Independence Day today," said AJC CEO David Harris. "This misguided strategy undermines the UNESCO mission, and does nothing to advance the peace that the Palestinians continue to assert they desire." UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, was established as a non-political body to promote education, science, and culture around the world.

AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, has long supported a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on two states living side-by-side in peace within secure and recognized borders. Such a solution can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties.

"It's a tragedy that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and several Arab countries have sought for a long time to exploit this body to castigate Israel and deny self-evident historical truths in the process," said Harris, who met last week in Rome with Italy's foreign minister, part of AJC's outreach to UNESCO members in advance of the vote.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


AkzoNobel has completed projects around the world through its Human Cities program that are focused on sustainability and making urban cities more livable and inspiring.

"We appreciate organizations like AkzoNobel taking an active role in improving our city," says Mayor Barry. "This grant provides much needed funds for infrastructure improvement. The AkzoNobel Human Cities scholarship will also help us to develop the future leaders of Nashville, by providing resources for our students to pursue higher education."

"We are proud of our heritage in Nashville, which dates back to 1947, and the Human Cities grant announced today is another way for us to demonstrate our commitment to the city and people of Nashville," says Yvette Williger, AkzoNobel People Services Leader based in Nashville.

The Mayor's Youth Council is composed of top students from 23 public, private and charter schools in the city of Nashville who:

Provide input on government policies and practices that may affect young people Advocate on issues and initiatives that could impact the lives of young people Recommend and activate youth initiatives Serve as communications liaisons between the Metropolitan Government and Nashville youth Promote the accomplishments, abilities and contributions of the city's youth

Members of the Mayor's Youth Council are involved in student-led programs through the city's Oasis Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is to train the next generation of leadership in the city through community service and positive action.

"Students involved in the Oasis Center determine which projects they will activate throughout the year. The AkzoNobel Human Cities grant will give us the opportunity to have a greater impact on the city, and I look forward to the ideas that our kids come up with this year," says Tom Ward, President and CEO of the Oasis Center.

Funds from the Human Cities grant will be allocated over the next two years. As part of the partnership, a representative from AkzoNobel will help determine the sustainability projects the students activate, and local employees from AkzoNobel's Nashville facility will volunteer with students in completing these projects.

Earlier this year, AkzoNobel announced that it is investing $10 million to expand production capacity at its Nashville facility. The planned expansion is two-fold. Initially, the company has relocated 40 professional services roles to the city. There is significant investment to increase production capabilities and the company expects to add more than 30 new positions to support manufacturing. Over the next five years the company will look to bring additional new jobs to the city.

For more information, visit www.akzonobel.com.

AkzoNobel creates everyday essentials to make people's lives more livable and inspiring. As a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, we supply essential ingredients, essential protection and essential color to industries and consumers worldwide. Backed by a pioneering heritage, our innovative products and sustainable technologies are designed to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing planet, while making life easier. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we have approximately 46,000 people in around 80 countries, while our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International, Interpon and Eka. Consistently ranked as a leader in sustainability, we are dedicated to energizing cities and communities while creating a protected, colorful world where life is improved by what we do.

SOURCE AkzoNobel

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SEGUIN, Texas, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alamo Group Inc. (NYSE: ALG) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding capital shares of Santa Izabel Agro Industria, LTDA ("Santa Izabel"), a privately held company owned by Soufer Industria Ltda. Santa Izabel, located in Sao Joao da Boa Vista, SP, Brazil, designs, manufactures and markets a variety of agricultural implements and trailers sold throughout Brazil. Santa Izabel has been serving this market for over 60 years.

Santa Izabel's sales in 2016 were approximately US $12.6 million and the purchase is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.

Ron Robinson, Alamo Group's President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are pleased to have Santa Izabel as part of the Alamo Group. They are firmly established in the Brazilian market and have a modern, well equipped manufacturing facility. They are also near our existing Herder operation in Brazil, which we acquired in 2015. This acquisition enhances our platform for growth by increasing both our product portfolio and capabilities in one of the world's largest agricultural markets. And, we feel the timing is good as the agricultural market in Brazil starts to rebound from the declines of the last several years."

About Alamo Group

Alamo Group is a leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and service of high quality equipment for infrastructure maintenance, agriculture and other applications. Our products include truck and tractor mounted mowing and other vegetation maintenance equipment, street sweepers, snow removal equipment, excavators, vacuum trucks, other industrial equipment, agricultural implements and related after-market parts and services. The Company, founded in 1969, has approximately 2,970 employees and operates 24 plants in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil as of March 31, 2017. The corporate offices of Alamo Group Inc. are located in Seguin, Texas and the headquarters for the Company's European operations are located in Salford Priors, England.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: market demand, competition, weather, seasonality, currency-related issues, and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update the information contained herein, which speaks only as of this date.

SOURCE Alamo Group Inc.

Related Links

http://alamo-group.com


Fong brings a wealth of experience in building and developing high-growth technology companies across various verticals like healthcare, telecommunications and enterprise workload management. A University of Waterloo graduate with a Computer Engineering degree, Alan has built his professional acumen in companies like IBM, Cybermation, Redknee and PointClickCare. Throughout his progressive career in the software industry, he has helped create product value by understanding customer problems and building technology solutions that improve business outcomes and realize rapid growth potentials. A true technologist and strategist, Alan is greatly involved in the startup ecosystem as an advisor and mentor to various young companies, helping them focus on customer value and preparing them to scale rapidly.

In his new role as Fleet Complete's CTO, Alan Fong will direct the new generation of product development, supporting the company's next level of growth on the international stage and continue bringing simplicity to the end users without sacrificing the high-caliber technical quality.

"I am thrilled to join this vibrant and agile company with innovative zeal and a razor-sharp focus on scalable, user-centric technology, quickly heading to global success," comments Alan Fong, "Fleet Complete is perfectly positioned in the transforming automotive industry with Cloud, Big Data and IoT, and I am excited to be part of the next chapter of the company's global endeavours and unique business solutions development."

"We are delighted to have Alan on board," says Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete, "He will bring to the company his tremendous expertise developing platforms and services that empower customers and organizations. With the international scope and sharper focus on operational safety, we at Fleet Complete would like to ensure that the quality of our integrated platform is unparallelled, and bringing Alan to the team will help us achieve that."

For more information on Fleet Complete please visit www.fleetcomplete.com.

About Fleet Complete

Based in Toronto, Fleet Complete is a global IoT provider of mission critical fleet, asset and mobile workforce management solutions. Since 2000, Fleet Complete has been providing dispatching, fleet tracking and mobile resource management solutions to more than 8,000 businesses worldwide. The company maintains key distribution partnerships with AT&T in the U.S., TELUS in Canada, Telstra in Australia and T-Mobile in Europe, remaining one of the fastest-growing companies in North America that has won numerous awards for innovation and growth since its inception in 2000 (as Complete Innovations Inc.). For more information, please visit fleetcomplete.com

SOURCE Fleet Complete

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Eleonore Zone Inferred Resources Total 357,920 Ounces at 4.18 g/t Au

MONTREAL, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV: ALG) (the "Corporation") is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource estimate in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") for its Tijirit Property ("Tijirit" or "the Property") in Mauritania. The 100%-owned Tijirit project, which encompasses an area of more than 1,000 km2, is situated approximately 25 kilometers southeast of Kinross' Tasiast gold mine.

Highlights

The updated NI 43-101 technical report comes only nine months following our maiden report (reference Algold's NI 43-101 technical report filed August 4, 2016). Inferred resources at the Eleonore zone, where the majority of drilling was completed, increased significantly to 357,920 ounces at 4.18 g/t Au at a cut-off grade of 1.5 g/t Au. For comparison purposes with Algold's maiden report, and using base case scenario (see below), Eleonore inferred resources increased from 19,650 ounces of gold at 3.26 g/t Au to 357,920 ounces of gold at 4.18 g/t Au. It is important to note that capping negatively impacts results, particularly when applied to nuggety high-grade mineralizations such as that at Tijirit, resulting in an overall decrease in grade and ounces of approximately 20%.

The overall high grade nature of the Eleonore deposit allows for various cut-off grade parameters to be applied and thus will allow Algold to choose between various potential mining scenarios as more drilling will permit to better define the width, depth and strike extension.

Eleonore Zone

The base case, with a cut-off grade (COG) of 1.5 g/t Au without pit constraints, includes inferred resources of 357,920 ounces of gold at a grade of 4.18 g/t Au.

Lily and Sophie Zones

The base case, with a COG of 0.4 g/t Au in pits and 1.4 g/t Au under pits, incudes measured and indicated resources of 43,430 ounces of gold at a grade of 1.04 g/t Au and inferred resources of 244,210 ounces of gold at a grade of 1.37 g/t Au.

The alternate case, with a COG of 1.5 g/t Au without pit constraints, includes measured and indicated resources of 17,710 ounces of gold and inferred resources of 148,820 ounces of gold both at 2.24 g/t Au.

The updated report takes into consideration 24,104 meters of reverse-circulation ("RC") drilling and 4,181 meters of core drilling, most of which was carried out on the Eleonore zone.

The base case resources by zone are shown in the following tables, at cut-off grades of 0.4 g/t Au COG in pits and 1.4 g/t Au COG under pits, excepts for Eleonore at a global cut off 1.5 g/t Au. Alternate scenarios are presented at 1.0 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Au and 2.0 g/t Au COG without use of pit constraints. Note that the 1.0 g/t Au cut of grade is presented for comparisons with Maiden Resources, but has no reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction using the new cost and price assumptions. Figure 1 shows the up-to-date drilling over the mineralized zones on a recent (April 2017) aerial photography of Tijirit. Figures 2a, 2b, and 2c, present longitudinal sections of the Eleonore North, Central and South gold zones.

Table 1: Tijirit Base Case Resources (0.4 g/t Au cut-off in pit and 1.4 g/t Au under pit, except Eleonore at 1.5 g/t Au)











Zone Classification Au

(g/t) Tonnage

(t) Ounces Sophie/Lily Measured 1.03 73,000 2,420 Sophie/Lily Indicated 1.04 1,226,000 41,010 Total M+Ind 1.04 1,299,000 43,430 Sophie/Lily Inferred 1.37 5,528,000 244,210



















Zone Classification Au

(g/t) Tonnage

(t) Ounces Eleonore Inferred 4.18 2,665,000 357,920



















Zone Classification Au

(g/t) Tonnage

(t) Ounces Total Sophie/Lily/Eleonore Inferred 2.29 8,193,000 602,130

1. Effective dates for Eleonore and Sophie/Lily resources are March 17, 2017 and November 4, 2016, respectively. 2. The Independent QP for this resources statement is Yann Camus, Eng., SGS Canada Inc. 3. The mineral resources are presented at a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off grade in pits and 1.4 g/t Au cut-off grade under the pits, except Eleonore at a global cut-off 1.5 g/t Au. 4. The resources are presented without dilution. 5. Whittle pits have been used using a gold value of US$1,500/oz. 6. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. This disclosure does not include economic analysis of the mineral resources. 7. Totals may not add up due to rounding. 8. No economic evaluation of the resources has been produced. 9. This resource estimate has been prepared in accordance with CIM definition (2014). 10. Density used is between 2.0 and 3.0 depending on rock type and alteration based on measurements. 11. Capping varies from 3.5 g/t Au (Lily) to 45 g/t Au (Eleonore) depending on extreme local grade.

Table 2: Tijirit Sensitivity Analysis (The mineral resources are presented at a 1.0 g/t Au COG - for comparison with maiden resources only.)

Sophie & Lily













Zone COG Classification Au

(g/t) Tonnage

(t) Ounces Sophie/Lily 1.0 M+Ind 1.68 538,000 29,040 Sophie/Lily 1.0 Inferred 1.65 4,800,000 253,920 Sophie/Lily 1.5 M+Ind 2.24 246,000 17,710 Sophie/Lily 1.5 Inferred 2.24 2,068,000 148,820 Sophie/Lily 2.0 M+Ind 2.76 122,000 10,800 Sophie/Lily 2.0 Inferred 2.87 932,000 85,880

Eleonore













Zone COG Classification Au

(g/t) Tonnage

(t) Ounces Eleonore 1.0 Inferred 3.01 4,434,000 428,690 Eleonore 1.5 Inferred 4.18 2,665,000 357,920 Eleonore 2.0 Inferred 5.57 1,701,000 304,660

Refer to base case table for assumptions. Detailed tables for separate Measured and Indicated numbers will be in the full NI 43-101 report.

Table 3: Eleonore Zone Sensitivity Analysis - Various Cut-off Grades















COG (In Pit) Au (g/t) COG (Under Pit) Au (g/t) Class Name Au (g/t) Tonnage (t) Ounces Au Comments 0.4 1.4 Inferred 3.13 3,978,000 400,820 COG different in pit and under pit 0.5 1.4 Inferred 3.18 3,905,000 399,740 1.0 1.4 Inferred 3.60 3,334,000 385,900













COG (In Pit) Au (g/t) COG (Under Pit) Au (g/t) Class Name Au (g/t) Tonnage (t) Ounces Au Comments 1.0 1.0 Inferred 3.01 4,434,000 428,690 Equal COG in pit and under pit 1.5 1.5 Inferred 4.18 2,665,000 357,920 2.0 2.0 Inferred 5.57 1,701,000 304,660 2.5 2.5 Inferred 6.93 1,211,000 269,730

COG = cut-off grade

Base case 43-101 scenario highlighted in grey

Table 4: Tijirit Maiden Resources (1.0 g/t Au cut-off, no pit constraints (August 4, 2016)











Zone Category Au

(g/t) Tonnage

(t) Gold

Ounces Eleonore Indicated 3.62 51,000 5,980 Sophie I - II Measured 1.79 28,000 1,600 Sophie I - II Indicated 1.57 216,000 10,900 Sophie III Indicated 1.13 29,000 1,040 Lily Indicated 1.54 189,000 9,410 Total Measured & Indicated* 1.75 513,000 28,930











Eleonore Inferred 3.26 188,000 19,650 Sophie I - II Inferred 1.96 1,635,000 103,180 Sophie III Inferred 1.10 320,000 11,270 Lily Inferred 1.48 2,258,000 107,470 Total Inferred* 1.71 4,401,000 241,560

* Totals may not add up due to rounding.

Increasing Potential of the Tijirit Project

"As anticipated, Tijirit's Eleonore Zone continues to deliver high grade gold resources. The ongoing Phase III drilling indicates that the mineralization is open along strike and at depth, leading us to believe that we can continue to increase the magnitude this resource significantly," stated Francois Auclair, Algold's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Infill drilling on the Eleonore North, South and Central areas of the drilling target continues to impress, with both remarkable grades and stand-out widths, such as hole T17RC045 (Eleonore South)  10 m @ 14.15 g/t Au (reference Algold's press release dated April 25, 2017). Additionally, the results reported on April 6, 2017 from hole T17RC013, 3 m @ 7.69 g/t Au, including 1 m @ 20.2 g/t Au on Eleonore South at a vertical depth of 150 meters are beginning to outline an area that could grow significantly in the future with additional drilling, both in strike-length and dip continuity (Figure 2c). In addition, recent geological mapping shows the presence of new structures parallel or sub-parallel to the mineralized zones."

Whittle optimized open pits have been prepared to allow to constrain the resource estimate. The assumptions are a gold price of US$1,500/oz, mining recovery of 95%, mining dilution of 5%, processing recovery of 95%, a processing cost of $14/t, a G&A cost of $3/t and an open pit mining cost of $3/t. The cut-off grades for the base case are calculated from the same assumptions with the addition of an underground mining cost of $40/t. The resulting COGs are 0.4 g/t Au in open pits and 1.4 g/t Au under the open pits. For Eleonore, Algold believes the best potential is expressed at a reasonable COG of 1.5 g/t.

Algold's Phase III drilling program is currently underway with the aim to further increase mineral resources.

Resources Modeling and Estimation

The resource estimation was prepared by SGS Canada Inc.  geological group Geostat ("SGS Geostat") with an effective date of March 17, 2017, using results from 489 RC holes totalling 61,807 meters, 53 diamond drill holes ("DDH") totalling 7,995 meters and 16,239 meters of trenching carried out on the property both by Algold Resources in 2016 and 2017 and past operators Shield Mining and Gryphon Minerals from 2009 to 2012. The supporting NI 43-101 Technical Report will be posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com no later than 45 days after the date of this release.

The database contains 542 drill holes and 197 trenches with 58,752 assay results. (Details are provided in the table below.)











Hole Types Number of Drill Holes Sum of Length (m) Number of Assays* Sum of Assayed Length (m)* DDH 53 7,995 4,785 4,688 RC 489 61,807 47,071 61,678 Trenches 197 16,239 6,896 16,207 Total 739 86,041 58,752 82,573

*Some historical assays (223) have no gold grades, but are part of the total.

A modeling cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au, a minimum thickness of two meters and a minimum accumulation of 1.2 m.g/t were used to delineate mineralized volumes. The 1,628 two-meter composites were capped at grades varying between 3.5 g/t Au and 45 g/t Au based on local extreme grades. Only 14 composites were capped. The gold loss due to the capping is of 16% for the base case resource. Densities are based on 898 readings from DDH holes. A density of 2.00 t/m3 was used for saprolite and fresh rock was set to 2.7 t/m3 in the Lily zone, 2.8 t/m3 in the Sophie III zone, 2.85 t/m3 in the Sophie II zone, 3.0 t/m3 in the Sophie I zone and 2.86 t/m3 in the Eleonore zone.

The block model has a block size of 2 x 2 x 2 meters. Estimation was done by inverse distance squared with ellipsoid influenced distances. A total of 154 separate volumes were estimated with 154 composite sets. Two estimation passes were used with ellipsoids of 75 x 75 x 25 meters and 150 x 150 x 50 meters. The first pass uses a minimum of four and a maximum of seven composites, with a limit of two per drill hole. The second pass uses a minimum two and a maximum of seven composites, with a limit of two per drill hole except for 32 volumes with a minimum of one. The smoothing of the estimation is adequate. The measured and indicated categories have been outlined by hand on longitudinal based on drilling density. Drilling every 40 meters was classified as indicated and drilling every 30 meters was classified as measured. Eleonore has only inferred with a maximum interpolation up to 100 meters and 45 meters extrapolation. The remainder is inferred with interpolation up to 200 meters and limited extrapolation.

Algold Retains the Services of Investor Relations Firm

Algold is pleased to announce that it has engaged Paradox Public Relations Inc. ("Paradox") as strategic investor relations consultants to the Corporation. Paradox will focus on developing and expanding Algold's communications with the investment community through a comprehensive investor relations program. Paradox is an investor relations company founded in 2001 and is based in Montreal, Canada. Paradox provides a wide range of services to companies to help broaden investor exposure and develop a shareholder following. The term of the agreement entered into between the Corporation and Paradox is for an initial period of six months. In consideration for its services, Algold has agreed to pay to Paradox a monthly fee of $6,500. In addition, the Corporation has granted to Paradox stock options giving it the right to purchase up to 300,000 common shares of the Corporation, to be priced according to Algold guidelines. The options granted will vest quarterly starting on the grant date.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC)

Since the beginning of 2017, analytical work for drill core and reverse circulation chips, geochemical samples and rock chip samples has been carried out at the independent SGS Laboratories Ltd. in Bamako, Mali. The 50 g fire assay with ASS finish analytical services are accredited by SANAS and are carried out with a quality assurance protocol in line with ISO 17025:2005. Prior to 2017, drill samples were prepared in the independent ALS Laboratory in Nouakchott, Mauritania and analysed at ALS Laboratories Ltd. in Loughrea, Co. Galway, Ireland, an ISO 17025 (2005) Certified Laboratory.

In both 2016 and 2017, samples are stored at the Company' field camp and put into sealed bags until delivered by a geologist on behalf of Algold to the respective laboratory where samples are prepared and analyzed. Algold's samples are logged in the tracking system, weighed, dried and finely crushed to better than 70%, passing a 2 mm (Tyler 9 mesh, US Std. No.10) screen. A split of 1,000 g is taken and pulverized to better than 85%, passing a 75-micron (Tyler 200 mesh) screen, and a 50-gram split is analyzed by fire assay with an AA finish. Selected samples may be re-analyzed using a 1 kg cyanide leach (Bottle Roll) using "LeachWELL" or a 1 kg screen fire assay method. These results automatically supersede the original 50g fire assay result. As part of Algold's quality assurance and quality control (QAQC) procedures; blanks, duplicates and certified reference material (standards) are routinely inserted within the sample stream to monitor laboratory performance during the preparation and analysis.

This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Yann Camus, P.Eng., of the independent firm SGS Canada Inc.  geological group Geostat is the qualified person under NI 43-101 standards who supervised the preparation of the resource estimate and approved all resource-related material in this press release. Yann Camus has sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralization under consideration and to which the activities are being reported to qualify as the Qualified Person for the purposes of the announcement. Yann Camus has reviewed the results of the QAQC program at Tijirit, both during and prior to Algold's involvement, and is sufficiently satisfied with both the QAQC protocol as well as the performance of the QAQC measures to view the assay results reported in this release as both accurate and precise. Mr Camus visited the property from April 16 to 20, 2016, for current personal inspection requirements. All information supporting the resource estimation was verified for any inconsistencies. There was no limitation on the verification process.

Andre Ciesielski, DSc., PGeo., Algold Resources Ltd Lead Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person, and Alastair Gallaugher, C.Geo. (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London), BSc. Geology, Algold's Exploration Manager in Mauritania, Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Andre Ciesielski has further approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release. All information pertaining to the resource estimates have been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Yann Camus, P.Eng., SGS Canada Inc. and Qualified Person.

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 resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION



This press 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 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. Forward-looking 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.

For further information, please contact:

Algold Resources Ltd.

1320, boul. Graham, bureau 132, Mont-Royal, Quebec, H3P 3C8, www.algold.com

SOURCE Algold Resources Ltd.

Related Links

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DUBLIN, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergan plc, (NYSE: AGN), a leading global pharmaceutical company, announced today that 23 Allergan-supported abstracts were selected for poster presentations at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Baltimore, Maryland from May 7-11, 2017.

Building on a nearly 60-year heritage in ophthalmology with expertise in discovering and developing new therapeutic agents to preserve and protect vision, these presentations further establish Allergan as a leading global pharmaceutical company. The breadth of abstracts to be presented showcases Allergan's dedication to research and innovation in the area of ophthalmology.

The scheduled times (noted in local Eastern Time) of the 23 Allergan presentations, presentation titles, locations and authors are as follows:

Retina Poster Presentations

- Interspecies Comparison of Small Molecule Distribution into the Aqueous Chamber Following Intravitreal Administration

Date and Time: Sunday, May 7 , 1:30-3:15 PM

, Location: Posterboard A0305, Session 132, AMD and anti-VEGF therapy 1

Authors: J.R. Seal , W. Orilla, E. Chow, J.A. Burke and J. Shen

- Brimonidine Drug Delivery System (Brimo DDS Generation 1) Slows the Growth of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Hypofluorescence Following Regional Blue Light Irradiation on a Nonhuman Primate (NHP) Model of Geographic Atrophy (GA)

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 11:00AM-12:45PM

, Location: Posterboard B0464, Session 249, AMD: New Drugs, Delivery Systems

Authors: C. Ghosn, A. Almazan, S.Decker, J.Burke

- Brimonidine Drug Delivery System (DDS) Generation 1 in Patients with Geographic Atrophy: Post-hoc Analysis of a Phase 2 Study

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 11:00AM-12:45PM

, Location: Posterboard B0428, Session 248, AMD Therapies (excluding anti-VEGF)

Authors: B.D. Kuppermann , S.S. Patel , D.S. Boyer , A.J. Augustin , W.R. Freeman , T. Kim, K.J. Kerr , F.J. Lopez and S. Schneider

- Persistent Diabetic Macular Edema After 6 Months of anti-VEGF Therapy is Associated with Diminished Long-Term Improvement in Vision: A Post-Hoc Analysis of Protocol I

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 11:00AM-12:45PM

, Location: Posterboard B0410, Session 247, Diabetic Macular Edema and anti-VEGF Therapy

Authors: S. Whitcup, J. Campbell, A.L oewenstein, P. Dugel, N. Holekamp, S. Kiss, A. Augustin, V. Shih, J. Lai, C. Wykoff and S.R. Sadda

- Abicipar Pegol in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration (nAMD): Comparability Between Japanese and Non-Japanese Patients, and Treatment Effects on Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy (PCV) and non-PCV Patients

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 11:00AM-12:45PM

, Location: Posterboard B0463, Session 249, AMD: New Drugs, Delivery Systems

Authors: D.Y. Kunimoto , M. Ohji, R.K. Maturi , T. Sekiryu, Y. Wang, G.Pan, X.Y. Li and S. Schneider

- A Systematic Approach to Statistical Evaluation of Geographic Atrophy Clinical Studies

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard B0316, Session 284, AMD Clinical Research I

Authors: T. Kim, A. Mitchell, J. Liu, K. Kerr, F. Lopez and S. Schneider

- Comparison of Three Baseline Measures to Predict Geographic Atrophy Progression Rate in Clinical Studies

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard A0305, Session 132, AMD and anti-VEGF therapy 1

Authors: Q. Ho, M. Mackowski, K.J. Kerr , F.J. Lopez and S. Schneider

- Optimized Dual Protein/miRNA Method to Quantitate Clinical Biomarkers of Ocular Disease

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard B0253, Session 283, AMD Translational Studies and Choroidal Neovascularization

Authors: M.A. Burton , J.J. Cunningham , G. Rodrigues and T.C. Hohman

- Qualification of a Multiplex Panel to Analyze Complement Proteins in Human Ocular Tissues

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard A0255, Session 283, AMD Translational Studies and Choroidal Neovascularization

Authors: M.A. Burton , J. Yang, P. Baciu and J.J. Cunningham

Glaucoma Poster Presentations

- In Vivo Angiographic Study of Normal Rabbit Aqueous Outflow

Date and Time: Sunday, May 7 , 3:15PM-5:00PM

, Location: Posterboard B0366, Session 159, Intraocular Pressure; Aqueous Humor Dynamics

Authors: S.S. Lee , A. Almazan, J.A. Burke and M.E. Robinson

- Evaluation of the Xen45 Gel Stent in Patients with Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard A0174, Session 275, Clinical Trials and Drug Studies 1

Authors: F. Millan, M.E. Reveron , L. Gonzalez, M. Siso, C. Suescum, G.D. Novak , S.S. Lee and V. Vera

- Lower Levels of Adherence to Topical Glaucoma Mediations are Associated with Increased Risk of Visual Field Progression

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard B0506, Session 384, Glaucoma

Authors: D. Fong, M. Batech, C. Mattox, T. Luong, J. Jimenez, J. Campbell and H. Chandwani

- Performance of a New Ab Interno Gelatin Stent in Refractory Glaucoma and 18-month Safety Results

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 10 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard B0354, Session 484, Surgery and Would Healing

Authors: D.S. Grover , W.J. Flynn , K.P. Bashford , A. Sheybani, Y.J. Duh and B. Niksch

Dry Eye Poster Presentations

- Osmolarity-Dependently Protective Effects of Trehalose on Inflammatory Markers in Primary Human Corneal Epithelial Cells Exposed to Hyperosmotic Stress

Date and Time: Sunday, May 7 , 1:30PM-3:15PM

, Location: Posterboard A0417, Session 133, Dry Eye, Non-Clinical

Authors: Z. Liu, X. Chen, D. Chen, S.C. Pflugfelder and D.Q. Li

- Polymer Size and Other Physical Properties Vary Widely Among Hyaluronic Acid-Based Lubricant Eye Drops

Date and Time: Sunday, May 7 , 1:30PM-3:15PM

, Location: Posterboard A0379, Session 133, Dry Eye, Non-Clinical

Authors: P.A. Simmons , P. Aragona, H. Wang and T. Wang

- Intranasal Neurostimulator Induces Morphological Changes in Meibomian Glands in Patients with Dry Eye Disease

Date and Time: Monday, May 8 , 3:45PM-5:30PM

, Location: Posterboard B0002, Session 280, Lacrimal and Meibomian Glands

Authors: J.N. Pondelis , G. Dieckmann, P. Kataguiri, A. Abbouda, S. Zeina, M. Franke, M. Senchyna and P. Hamrah

- In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Demonstrates Intranasal Neurostimulation-Induced Globlet Cell Alterations in Patients with Dry Eye Disease

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 8:30AM-10:15AM

, Location: Posterboard A0284, Session 315, Dry Eye, Clinical

Authors: G. Dieckmann, P. Kataguiri, N. Pondelis, A. Jamali, A. Abbouda, Z. Salem , M. Franke, M. Senchyna and P. Hamrah

- Quantitation of Tear Production by Tear Meniscus Height Following Acute Use of the Intranasal Tear Neurostimulator

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 8:30AM-10:15AM

, Location: Posterboard A0282, Session 315, Dry Eye, Clinical

Authors: B. Orrick, M. Watson, E. Anjieli, M. Franke, M. Holdbrook, G. Ousler and M. Senchyna

- Evaluation of 0.05% Cyclosporine Ophthalmic Emulsion on Ocular Surface Staining and Visual Function in Subjects Who Engage in Electronic Visual Tasking

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 8:30AM-10:15AM

, Location: Posterboard A0251, Session 315, Dry Eye, Clinical

Authors: K. Stonecipher, G. Torkildsen, E. McLaurin, L. Villanueva, G. Ousler and D.A. Hollander

- Tear Total LipidConcentration in Patients with Dry Eye Following Intranasal Neurstimulation

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 8:30AM-10:15AM

, Location: Posterboard A0283, Session 315, Dry Eye, Clinical

Authors: K. Basso, M. Kamat, M. Franke, M. Holdbrook and M. Senchyna

- Clinical Evaluation of a Novel Lipid-Containing Lubricant Eye Drop with Omega-3 Oil and Trehalos

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 8:30AM-10:15AM

, Location: Posterboard A0261, Session 315, Dry Eye, Clinical

Authors: M. Hom, G. Berdy, A. Verachtert, L. Downie, H. Liu, C. Carlisle, P. Simmons and J. Vehige

- Effect of Intranasal Neurostimulation on Tear Protein Content in Patients with Dry Eye

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9 , 8:30AM-10:15AM

, Location: Posterboard A0263, Session 315, Dry Eye, Clinical

Authors: A.M. Woodward , M. Senchyna, M. Franke, M. Holdbrook and P. Argueso

- Effect of Intranasal Tear Neurostimulator on Meibomian Glands

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 10 , 11:00AM-12:45PM

, Location: Posterboard A0226, Session 441, Conjunctival Cell Biol and Meibomian Glands

Authors: M. Watson, E. Angjieli, B. Orrick, S. Baba, M. Franke, M. Holdbrook, G. Ousler, D.A. Hollander , M. Senchyna

About Allergan plc

Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a bold, global pharmaceutical company and a leader in a new industry model  Growth Pharma. Allergan is focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing branded pharmaceuticals, devices and biologic products for patients around the world.

Allergan markets a portfolio of leading brands and best-in-class products for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics and dermatology, gastroenterology, women's health, urology and anti-infective therapeutic categories.

Allergan is an industry leader in Open Science, the Company's R&D model, which defines our approach to identifying and developing game-changing ideas and innovation for better patient care. This approach has led to Allergan building one of the broadest development pipelines in the pharmaceutical industry with 70+ mid-to-late stage pipeline programs in development.

Our Company's success is powered by our more than 16,000 global colleagues' commitment to being Bold for Life. Together, we build bridges, power ideas, act fast and drive results for our customers and patients around the world by always doing what is right.

With commercial operations in approximately 100 countries, Allergan is committed to working with physicians, healthcare providers and patients to deliver innovative and meaningful treatments that help people around the world live longer, healthier lives every day.

For more information, visit Allergan's website at www.Allergan.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect Allergan's current perspective of existing trends and information as of the date of this release. Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Allergan's current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Allergan's business. These factors include, among others, the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of FDA approvals or actions, if any; the impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance of and continued demand for Allergan's products; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Allergan's periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Allergan's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (certain of such periodic public filings having been filed under the "Actavis plc" name). Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS:

Investors:

Karina Calzadilla

(862) 261-7328

Media:

Mark Marmur

(973) 906-1526

Suzanne Jacobson

(201) 273-4724

SOURCE Allergan plc

Related Links

http://www.allergan.com


HOUSTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) provided the following statement regarding the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District's results of investigation into the tragic accident in Firestone, Colo., which occurred on April 17.

"I know I speak for everyone at Anadarko when I say that our thoughts and prayers remain with the Martinez and Irwin families as they continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones," said Al Walker, Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO. "The safety of our employees and the people who live and work in the communities in which we operate is our number one priority. Consistent with that, and out of an abundance of caution, last week we shut in our vertical wells in the Oak Meadows area and throughout the basin. We hope that doing so also provided some additional reassurance to the community in the wake of this tragic accident. We will continue to take all necessary and appropriate steps in that regard, and will continue to cooperate fully with all ongoing investigations to ensure we fully understand the basis for the fire district's conclusions and that no stone is left unturned prior to any final determinations."

The company also will continue to work with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) on additional steps or actions the agency deems necessary.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Anadarko believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this news release, including the timing of operational activities and determinations or other factors related to investigatory efforts. See "Risk Factors" in the company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings and press releases. Anadarko undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Anadarko Contacts

INVESTORS :

Robin Fielder, [email protected] , 832.636.1462

Jim Grant, [email protected] , 832.636.8320

Pete Zagrzecki, [email protected] , 832.636.7727

MEDIA :

John Christiansen, [email protected] , 832.636.8736

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141103/156201LOGO

SOURCE Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Related Links

http://www.anadarko.com


LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lundin Law PC , a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against The Toronto-Dominion Bank ("TD" or the "Company") (NYSE: TD) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between December 3, 2015 and March 9, 2017 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period should contact the firm prior to the May 11, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at [email protected].

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also do nothing and be an absent class member.

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, TD made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: the Company's wealth asset growth and increased fee-based revenue was spurred by a performance management system that led to its employees breaking the law at their customers' expense in order to meet sales targets; that TD illicitly increased customers' credit lines and overdraft protection amounts without their knowledge; that the Company illicitly upgraded customers to higher-fee accounts without their permission; that the Company lied to customers about the risk of its products and services; and that as a result of the above, TD's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. Upon release of this news, TD's stock price dropped materially, which harmed investors according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding shareholders' rights.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

[email protected]

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE Lundin Law PC

Related Links

http://lundinlawpc.com


GRANITE BAY, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AQUAOSO, an early-stage water management and trading platform that helps customers identify, manage, buy and sell water rights, has been receiving critical recognition from key tech and investor organizations due to its mission to build a water resilient future through advanced technologies.

Christopher Peacock, Founder/CEO of AQUAOSO said, "We are very honored that we were selected to participate in the 2017 Entrepreneurs Showcase Accelerator in Sacramento and being a presenter at the 8th Annual Entrepreneurs Showcase Demo Day. This demonstrates that water rights management is an increasingly critical issue for the future of global sustainability."

The current process for buying and selling water rights is broken which is destroying the true value of water by billions of dollars and muting pricing signals that results in the inability to efficiently allocate water around the world. AQUAOSO combines knowledge of water markets with IoT technologies and big data to reimagine how we manage, trade and view water resources. AQUAOSO helps customers identify, manage, buy and sell water rights while significantly saving money and time, reducing risk and encouraging conservation. It's like Zillow, for Water.

"We selected AQUAOSO primarily due to their mission to build a resilient water future through advanced technologies that enable smart water markets," said Aaron Anderson of the Entrepreneurs Showcase Accelerator. "Sacramento is a hub of agriculture, water, and sustainability startups, and Chris is building a great company that will take advantage of all our region has to offer."

The AQUAOSO team consists of highly respected water industry veterans. The initial focus of the company is California agriculture with eventual expansion in the global water trading market. The platform is scheduled to be a fully operational by 4th Quarter of 2017.

About AQUAOSO

AQUAOSO is a public benefit corporation that is building a water rights management and trading platform to provide transparency and insight into water data and transactions for all stakeholders. We enable smart water markets with big data and IoT devices to increase the efficient allocation of water while enhancing agricultural value. We unlock the true value of water and encourage the efficient use of water in the face of extreme weather events and urban growth while protecting our food supplies and building a water resilient future. AQUAOSO is A Better Way to Water Trade.

Media Contact

Chris Peacock, Founder/CEO

Phone: 916.245.0560

[email protected]

aquaoso.com

About Entrepreneurs Showcase Accelerator

Entrepreneurs Showcase Accelerator brings together the most promising technology startups from Northern California to engage in 8 weeks of intensive education and mentoring sessions in order to refine their business model, hone their pitches, and prepare to take the stage in front of investors on Demo Day.

SOURCE AQUAOSO Technologies, PBC

Related Links

http://www.aquaoso.com


"Intuitiveness has been a key differentiator for ARCHICAD since the beginning. Our next-gen Stair Tool provides a creative, productive and enjoyable user experience -- the reason why architects love ARCHICAD," said Peter Temesvari, Director of Product Management at GRAPHISOFT. "ARCHICAD 21's Stair Tool does the heavy lifting in the background  making sure the architect's stair design complies with relevant global and local design standards  turning what is usually a painful task into something fun. We also further refined ARCHICAD's best-in-class OPEN BIM workflows in version 21, making interdisciplinary collaboration a very smooth process."

What's new in ARCHICAD 21

New Stair and Railing Tools

Designing stairs is one of the most complex tasks in architecture, since the stair must comply with stringent standards. The countless iterations required to sync design intent with these standards in a specific building has meant tedious, manual work  up until now. The new Stair Tool in ARCHICAD 21 extends architects' creativity with automatic validation against human ergonomics  on the fly. In other words, ARCHICAD's algorithms validate thousands of design options in the background and offer architects the most optimal stair designs to choose from within the context of the specific building.

With ARCHICAD 21's next-gen Stair Tool, architects can jump right into the creative process: placing stairs with simple polyline input and choosing from various design options. If a problem can be solved in a variety of ways, the software offers a selection of the best options that fit both the user's graphical input and the chosen standards. Intuitive graphical methods allow users to easily tweak the stair's shape and to customize structural and finish components. As for the Railing Tool, one-click input creates an instant associative railing along stairs or other building elements, whose posts and panels can be assigned as patterns, or customized individually.

Updated CineRender Engine

CineRender by MAXON offers architects integrated, photo-realistic rendering options in the BIM context. The latest version introduces Light Mapping and Secondary GI methods for more realistic, yet fast rendering.

Element Classification System

An ARCHICAD model can be described as a central BIM database that stores all project data and makes it accessible to any project stakeholder. While previous ARCHICAD versions provided a fixed set of Element Classifications, ARCHICAD 21 introduces a flexible way to classify elements supporting any national or company-standard classification system. In addition, classifications are core to intelligent OPEN BIM workflows, providing unprecedented interoperability among disciplines. Classifications can be transferred between projects via XML file format.

IFC Model Referencing

Place IFC files as hotlinks into ARCHICAD projects as protected reference content. Model Filtering narrows the inserted IFC reference content by categories, such as Structural or MEP, or by element selection. The inserted IFC model content can be updated easily from the linked source file. If the link is broken, elements of the inserted IFC modules can be edited as regular ARCHICAD elements.

Collision Detection

With the evolution of BIM as the de facto workflow, architects increasingly receive consultant information in a BIM format. To help architects fulfill their role as lead coordinator of the model, Collision Detection becomes a standard part of the feature set starting with ARCHICAD 21.

In addition to the features highlighted above, ARCHICAD 21 delivers several other performance and functional improvements. For more information about ARCHICAD 21, and to sign up for the online streaming of ARCHICAD 21's world premiere, please visit www.graphisoft.com/archicad.

About GRAPHISOFT

GRAPHISOFT ignited the BIM revolution in 1984 with ARCHICAD, the industry-first BIM software for architects. GRAPHISOFT continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as its revolutionary BIMcloud, the world's first real-time BIM collaboration environment; and BIMx, the world's leading mobile app for lightweight access to BIM for non-professionals. GRAPHISOFT is part of the Nemetschek Group.

Press Information

www.graphisoft.com

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/ARCHICAD

SOURCE GRAPHISOFT

Related Links

http://www.graphisoft.com


ROCKVILLE, Md., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The cost of cancer care continues to be a top concern for patients and their healthcare providers. In response, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has launched The Financial Advocacy Boot Camp, the first free online training program designed for all those who work to assist cancer patients in navigating financial issues related to their cancer treatment. As a just-released report, The Costs of Cancer: Addressing Patient Costs, from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network makes clear, "Not only does cancer take an enormous toll on the health of patients and survivorsit also has a tremendous financial impact. For patients and their families, the costs associated with direct cancer care are staggering." The challenges patients face in dealing with the rising cost of care is also highlighted in the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2017 State of Cancer Care in America report, which notes that "Even among patients with health insurance, a cancer diagnosis can be financially catastrophic." Financial advocates have become vital members of today's cancer care team, playing a critical role in helping patients access treatment and understand the costs of care, and working to reduce the potential for financial toxicity as a side effect of cancer. Due to the evolving and increasing complex healthcare coverage landscape, financial advocates have an ongoing need for training, information, and resources.

"A cancer diagnosis is a stressful and life altering event. Financial advocates can help by playing a key role in alleviating the added financial stress of a cancer diagnosis. ACCC's Financial Advocacy Boot Camp training will help these professionals keep up with the ever-changing landscape and tools to best help the patients they work with," said Mark S. Soberman, MD, MBA, FACS, ACCC President and Medical Director, Oncology Service Line and Chief Physician Executive, Monocacy Health Partners at Frederick Regional Health System.

Developed by expert, experienced oncology financial advocates, this comprehensive online program covers five domain areas:

Financial Advocacy Fundamentals

Enhancing Communication

Improving Insurance Coverage

Maximizing External Assistance

Developing and Improving Financial Advocacy Programs and Services.

Steven Ackerman, Patient Support Coordinator, Kadlec Clinic Hematology & Oncology in Kennewick, WA, recently completed the program. "I feel the Financial Advocacy Boot Camp is the most comprehensive and useful training method for both new and seasoned financial advocates. It is a crucial tool in the new field of financial advocacy and the ever-changing healthcare system."

"As a newcomer to oncology, financial navigation can feel like a daunting task. I was relieved to find this Boot Camp! Now, I am more confident that I can help my patients make informed choices to ease their financial stress," said Joanita Miranda, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

About the Financial Advocacy Boot Camp

The Financial Advocacy Boot Camp is designed for financial advocates, nurses, nurse and patient navigators, social workers, pharmacists, pharmacy techs, medical coders, administrative staff, cancer program administrators, and other healthcare professionals involved in financial advocacy for patients with cancer. Learn more.

The Financial Advocacy Boot Camp is the newest resource from the ACCC Financial Advocacy Network. Established in 2012, the Financial Advocacy Network provides needed resources to help expand the skills and knowledge base of oncology care team members who deal directly with patients on complex financial issues surrounding their cancer diagnosis and treatment.

About the Association of Community Cancer Centers

The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) is the leading advocacy and education organization for the multidisciplinary cancer care team. More than 23,000 cancer care professionals from over 2,500 hospitals and practices nationwide are affiliated with ACCC. Providing a national forum for addressing issues that affect community cancer programs, ACCC is recognized as the premier provider of resources for the entire oncology care team. Our members include medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, cancer program administrators and medical directors, senior hospital executives, practice managers, pharmacists, oncology nurses, radiation therapists, social workers, and cancer program data managers. For more information, visit ACCC's website at www.accc-cancer.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and read our blog, ACCCBuzz.

SOURCE Association of Community Cancer Centers

Related Links

http://www.accc-cancer.org


PRINCETON, N.J., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Attention patent owners! AST, the leading provider of proactive patent defense solutions, today announces the launch of IP3 2017 (Industry Patent Purchase Program), a fixed price, fixed term, collaborative patent buying program. The new program will provide patent owners access to all AST Members  dozens of the world's most successful companies across multiple industries, such as information technology, software, semiconductors, communications, automotive, health tech, and social media  including Ford, Google, Honda, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Philips, SAP, Sony and Uber.

AST's new IP3 builds on the success of 2016's IP3, a first of its kind industry program designed to give sellers an easy way to access the secondary market by streamlining the process of selling patents with a fixed price, rapid response model. AST's IP3 2017 still promotes the fundamental principles of last year's Program with new modifications based on Member and market feedback. Open to its full Membership, AST plans to make fixed priced purchasing an ongoing part of its business, offering different installments of the Program to patent sellers, each one targeting specific patent areas and technologies. The IP3 Program announced today will focus on the following technologies:

Internet of Things

Wireless

Content Delivery/Video Distribution

Networking

Communications

"The success of IP3 among buyers and sellers and the strong results indicated a desire for more fixed price, fixed term, patent purchase programs, so launching a new IP3 is a natural evolution of this kind of innovative solution," said Russell W. Binns, Jr., CEO of AST. "With our new Program open to all of AST's Members, patent sellers will have access to prospective buyers from some of the world's leading companies looking for high quality patents to acquire. We believe the new IP3 responds to our Members' needs and creates a more efficient way to acquire certain assets. Further, because we are focusing on specific technologies for IP3 2017, we anticipate a very focused and efficient selection process for patent acquisitions."

"AST has been a strategic force in building defensive IP strategies for years, and I worked closely with them during my tenures at Microsoft and Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., and with my new role at Uber, I am delighted to once again be a Member of AST," said John Mulgrew, Global Head of IP, Uber. "We found IP3 in 2016 to be very successful for us at Uber and look forward to being involved in AST's IP3 in 2017. Last year's IP3 proved that patent sellers are very interested in buying programs that help eliminate friction in the secondary patent market and increase efficiency."

How to Submit Patents for Sale

Patent sellers and brokers are welcome to submit their patents for sale at a price they set via the AST IP3 portal: ast.com/IP3 from August 1 through September 30, 2017. The portal will go live in the coming days. AST will only consider submissions in the specific technology areas outlined above for this installment of IP3. Submissions outside of these areas will be routed to AST's Standard Purchase Model. Sellers need only identify the patent family and price at which they are willing to transact. Each submission should contain only related assets, a preference will be made for single family submissions or related families.

Just like last year's IP3 program, at the end of the submission period, AST and its Members will review all the submissions and let the submitters know whether there is interest in a purchase by November 21, 2017. Once AST contacts sellers about purchasing their patents, there will be additional diligence which will enable transaction closure in short order. It is anticipated that all transactions and payments will be completed by the beginning of 2018.

By June 1, 2017, more detailed information about the new IP3 will be found on ast.com/IP3 including a link to the submission form (which will go live on August 1, 2017), the applicable patent purchase agreement, and other important details. There are also terms and conditions that you should make sure you fully understand before participating. Participating sellers are encouraged to consult with an attorney prior to their submission. Throughout this process, AST reserves the right not to transact for any reason.

About AST

AST is the leading provider of proactive patent defense solutions. We offer a highly efficient, cost-effective and proven method of mitigating the risk of patent assertions and litigation by enabling our Members to collectively purchase assets available on the open market. Because we are an independent, not-for-profit cooperative, we provide a trusted and fully transparent way for Members to analyze patent purchase opportunities including triage, evaluation and acquisition services. AST's Members currently include top global companies from a wide-range of industries including Ford, Google, Honda, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Philips, SAP, Sony and Uber. For more information on AST please visit http://www.ast.com.

Press contact:

Cindy Stoller

FeverPress

917-331-0418

[email protected]

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE Allied Security Trust

Related Links

http://www.ast.com


HONG KONG, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Axiom Holdings, Inc., (OTCQB: AIOM), a Nevada corporation, announced today that it has signed a term sheet on April 26, 2017 with a Slovakian technology partner to invest up to $500 million USD for the modernization of the Vojany Power Station (Slovakia).

The modernization efforts are expected to transform the Vojany Power Station into a multi fuel transitional power plant with a blend of more environmentally friendly fuels including biomass of various categories, engineered fuels, clean coal and natural gas when needed along with unique battery storage.

Curt Riley, CEO of Axiom Holdings, commented, "We are excited about the Vojany project and our ability to leverage multiple technologies to provide clean energy to Slovakia." The Vojany Power Station has the capacity to produce 1320MW.

Completion of the transaction is subject to entering into definitive agreement with the Slovakian government and obtaining the financing required to meet the needs of the proposed project.

ABOUT Axiom Holdings, Inc.

Axiom Holdings, Inc., is an Independent power producer that develops, builds, owns and operates power generation plants. Axiom Holdings will continue to leverage its global partnerships with hydropower developers and expand its asset portfolio through acquisition and development of an identified pipeline of projects. Axiom's strategy is to continue to acquire power companies in China, Europe and South East Asia.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to plans to obtain the capital to finance the Vojany Power Station project) and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan" and other similar expressions. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not within the control of the company. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to 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.

SOURCE Axiom Holdings, Inc.
LONDON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Ballaro is an Italian restaurant specialized in Sicilian cuisine, that opened in December in Twickenham, London. Their dishes are created using only the finest, freshest, seasonal ingredients and can be enjoyed in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. There's a beautiful real wood burning oven in the main dinning room where you can see the chefs in action and they boast an extensive Sicilian wine list to pair with anything you choose.

A cornucopia of classic pizza and pasta dishes adorn the menu, as is to be expected from an Italian restaurant, yet there are also some truly irresistible main courses also available that showcase some of the lesser known delights from the cuisine. Particularly merit worthy meals include the eclectic Fritto misto, a mix of deep fried fish complete with marinated artichokes and homemade tartar sauce, and the heavenly Coniglio con cavolo nero e scamorza, oven baked rabbit wrapped in Parma ham, filled with smoked cheese and sage served with black cabbage and fennel seeds.

Boris and Lucio met in London 7 years ago, they share the same passion for Sicily and fresh food so they decided to open a Restaurant in Twickenham.

Arrived in UK in 2005 from Palermo, Boris worked in various Italian restaurants around London as a Chef. From 2013 to 2016 was shareholder and executive chef of Bianco 43 Blackheath.

Lucio, born in Messina region, has been in UK for 20 years. From 2000 to 2001 he opened a deli in Battersea Square. In 2003, he followed it up with La Baita in Clapham common park which is still running. Later, from 2010 to 2016, he was the owner of Melanzana restaurant in Battersea Square.

Ballaro takes the name from a lively, traditional Sicilian open air market in Palermo where fresh ingredients are bought for daily family meals.

Ballaro Twickenham want to maintain the tradition of using seasonal ingredients in Sicilian recipes which have been prepared with a modern twist.

They will take you to discover the traditional foods and flavours of Sicily.

Restaurant Contacts:

Ballaro, 34 Heath Road, Twickenham, TW1 4BZ

www.ballaro.co.uk

[email protected]

+44-(0)-20-3261-0003



SOURCE Ballaro
SANTA ANA, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE: BANC) today announced it will release 2017 first quarter financial results on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, before market open. The Company will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter earnings at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) on the same day.

Interested parties are welcome to attend the conference call by dialing 888-317-6003, and referencing event code 3117731. A live audio webcast will also be available and the webcast link will be posted on the Company's investor relations website at https://www.bancofcal.com/investor. The slide presentation for the call will also be available on the Company's website prior to the call.

An audio archive of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website within 24 hours after the end of the call.

About Banc of California, Inc.

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE: BANC) provides comprehensive banking services to California's diverse businesses, entrepreneurs and communities. Banc of California operates 37 offices in California. The Company was recently recognized by Forbes for the second straight year as one of the 100 Best Banks in America for 2017.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "Safe-Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are necessarily subject to risk and uncertainty and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to various factors, including those set forth from time to time in the documents filed or furnished by Banc of California, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and Banc of California, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any such statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date on which the forward-looking statement is made.

Investor Relations Inquiries: Media Inquiries: Banc of California, Inc. Abernathy MacGregor Timothy Sedabres, (855) 361-2262 Ian Campbell / Joe Hixson / Kristin Cole, (213) 630-6550 [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Banc of California, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bancofcal.com


WHIPPANY, N.J., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer today announced the appointment of Bhavesh Ashar as senior vice president and head of Oncology for the company's Pharmaceuticals Division in the United States. Ashar will report to Carsten Brunn, Head of Bayer Pharmaceuticals for the Americas region.

"Bhavesh is a well-respected, results-driven leader with extensive industry knowledge and a proven track record of launching products and driving growth in oncology," said Brunn. "We are delighted to have Bhavesh join Bayer's U.S. Pharmaceuticals organization. I'm confident that he will help to advance our growing leadership in oncology and our ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of people living with cancer."



Previously, Ashar served as vice president and general manager of U.S. Oncology at Sanofi and was responsible for managing a diverse portfolio comprising solid tumor, hematology and transplant products. Ashar was with Sanofi for more than 14 years and held positions of increasing responsibility in sales and marketing, with a strong focus on specialty markets. Prior to joining Sanofi, Ashar served as an engagement manager with McKinsey & Company.

Bayer's diverse oncology portfolio and pipeline is helping to address some of the most difficult to treat cancers in areas of high unmet need. The oncology franchise includes three marketed products and several other compounds in various stages of clinical development.

"Oncology is a critical growth driver for Bayer and I am excited to help the company realize the full potential of its diverse cancer portfolio," said Ashar.

Ashar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Imperial College in London and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2016, the Group employed around 115,200 people and had sales of EUR 46.8 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.7 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.us.

 2017 Bayer

Forward-Looking Statement

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Intended for U.S. Media Only

SOURCE Bayer

Related Links

http://www.bayerus.com


BBVA Compass, working with nonprofit Foundation Communities, financed more than half of the total cost of Lakeline Station Apartments in Northwest Austin as part of the bank's $11 billion commitment. The community of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments offers rents ranging from $378 to $1,120 a month, which is significantly less than what's found on the city's booming rental market. Residents pay according to their income levels, with most families at Lakeline earning between $20,000 and $50,000. Foundation Communities sets aside 10 percent of the apartments for families who are formerly homeless or extremely low-income.

"This slice of land has been fully transformed to create opportunities for lower-income individuals," said BBVA Compass Austin CEO Joe Petet. "BBVA Compass takes great pride in its role as the financial engine of that endeavor, which will make a meaningful difference in many lives. This is smart business that will allow us to carry forward our commitment to our communities."

Lakeline marks the third time BBVA Compass and Foundation Communities have come together recently to bring more affordable housing to Austin. The bank also helped finance Bluebonnet Studios on South Lamar and Live Oak Trails Apartments in Oak Hill, which both opened in late 2016 and together added 165 units to the city's affordable-housing stock. The issue is a critical one in Austin, where the growing population and rising property values are creating a shortage of affordable housing.

"The people who make Austin Austin  the musicians, artists, health care workers, teachers, service industry workers  are getting priced out of our city," said Foundation Communities Executive Director Walter Moreau. "That doesn't have to happen if we work together. We are grateful to BBVA Compass for recognizing the value, economic and otherwise, of these three communities and helping give nearly 300 families and individuals a place to call home."

BBVA Compass provided over $20 million of financing for Lakeline, including a $5.5 million permanent loan and $15 million of equity investment through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which gives investors a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for investing in affordable housing. The tax credit was created by Congress in 1986 to encourage private investors to inject cash equity in affordable housing projects, and those investors are held accountable for maintaining the project's compliance for 15 years. Supporters say the program has brought much-needed oversight and private market discipline, with an end result being that lower-income individuals have better choices for higher-quality housing.

Lakeline is emblematic of that with its green building standards and prime location. It is located in the sought-after Round Rock Independent School District. The Learning Center at Lakeline will provide a variety of on-site support services, including after-school and summer learning programs, and fitness, nutrition and money management classes. The Learning Center will also be the first "net zero" commercial building in the city, meaning that it can produce more energy than it consumes thanks to its use of solar power. Lakeline also boasts native plant species and a series of rain cisterns for collecting water for irrigation.

"This is a community anyone would want to live in," Petet said. "It's a far cry from the days when 'affordable housing' meant living on the edges of society and out of reach of better opportunities and brighter futures."

Lakeline opened its doors to its first residents in December 2016, and as of mid-April, when Foundation Communities held a grand-opening tour for investors and community partners, it was fully leased with about 40 families already on the waiting list.

Keith Murphy, a current resident, spoke to attendees about his path to Lakeline. He grew up in the foster-care system and experienced a series of hardships before he met his wife and they embarked on a life together and now have three children. Before landing at Lakeline, the family of five was living with relatives in a two-bedroom apartment and struggling to make ends meet.

"Living at Lakeline has been like a dream come true for us," Murphy said. "My children are my world and I'm determined that when they look back on their lives, their memories will be full of joy instead of pain. I don't want them to experience hardship. I want to be the best father. I want them to be happy and healthy and know that I'll always be there for them. At Lakeline, we found a home where we can live up to our potential and keep dreaming."

Follow @BBVACompassNews on Twitter

About BBVA Group

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The BBVA Group is the largest financial institution in Spain and Mexico, has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States and is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey's largest bank based on market capitalization. Its diversified business is focused on high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 657 branches, including 342 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 19 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 5th nationally in the total number of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2016. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.

Editor's Note:

BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank.

SOURCE BBVA Compass
"Ben's experience in taking companies from early stages of development all the way through to commercialization will be invaluable to executive management and to our engineering teams," Aries CEO Greg Bafalis said. "His previous work with fluidized bed gasification is especially important to us, and Ben brings a waste conversion and green energy knowledge base that is rare to find even in a global marketplace."

Gardner, recently engaged as a consultant with several energy companies, provides Aries with almost 20 years of progressive engineering, project management, project controls, commissioning/startup and plant manager experience. His career path in the power and chemical industries include Southern Company Services (Birmingham, AL), Range Fuels (Denver, CO), and RTI International (Research Triangle Park, NC).

As an independent resource, he has worked on the technical and management teams at such industry pioneers as Agilyx Corporation, Sundrop Fuels, and Brightleaf Power. Aries Clean Energy, formerly branded as PHG Energy, in 2014 acquired the intellectual property and assets of MaxWest Environmental Technologies, a fluidized bed gasification company where Gardner had previously contributed as a technical consultant in process engineering.

"The great news here is that Aries has already proven its patented technology and installed the world's largest downdraft gasification plant for a city here in Tennessee," Gardner said. "That commercialization step is critically important for the company to move to the next level. What I see now in the project development pipeline is very exciting, and we are moving into a phase of rapid growth through new deployments across the United States as well as offshore."

About Aries Clean Energy

Aries Clean Energy, LLC, based in Nashville, Tennessee, designs and builds innovative bio-based downdraft and fluidized bed gasification systems using its eight patents granted to date. Its projects provide for the sustainable disposal of waste, reduction of carbon emissions, and the production of clean thermal and electrical energy. The company's ongoing R&D efforts are focused on cleaning syngas produced from waste for use in internal combustion engines. A solar division designs and implements commercial and community scale photovoltaic facilities.

Visit our website: www.ariescleanenergy.com

Media Contact:

Nancy Cooper

[email protected]

615-471-9093

SOURCE Aries Clean Energy

Related Links

http://www.ariescleanenergy.com


MONTREAL, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - BioAmber Inc. ("BioAmber" or the "Company") (NYSE: BIOA & TSX: BIOA) is pleased to announce that its common stock ("Common Shares") will begin trading on the TSX under the symbol "BIOA" beginning May 3, 2017. . The CUSIP number will be 09072Q106, the same CUSIP as the Common Shares currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE").

BioAmber's previously issued special warrant (the "Special Warrant") was automatically exercised, on April 28, 2017, for 2,224,199 Common Shares (the "Underlying Shares") following the issuance of a receipt for its final prospectus qualifying the Underlying Shares by the British Columbia Securities Commission.

The Special Warrant was issued in a private placement on December 30, 2016, at a price of US$4.00 per Underlying Share issuable upon the exercise of the Special Warrant, resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of US$8,896,796. The proceeds were placed in escrow and were released to the Company concurrently with the automatic exercise of the Special Warrant.

About BioAmber

BioAmber (NYSE: BIOA & TSX: BIOA) is a renewable materials company. Its innovative technology platform combines biotechnology and catalysis to convert renewable feedstock into building block materials that are used in a wide variety of everyday products including plastics, paints, textiles, food additives and personal care products. For more information visit www.bio-amber.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "seek," "will," "may" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond BioAmber's control. BioAmber's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur and the timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by BioAmber, see disclosures contained in BioAmber's public filings (i) with the SEC, including the "Risk Factors" section of BioAmber's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and (ii) with the British Columbia Securities Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section of BioAmber's prospectus dated April 27, 2017.

SOURCE BioAmber Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bio-amber.com/


NEW YORK, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE: BXMT) (the "Company") today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of $250.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.375% convertible senior notes due 2022 (the "Notes"). The offering is expected to close on May 5, 2017 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The offering will generate gross proceeds of approximately $250.0 million, or $287.5 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional Notes solely to cover over-allotments in full.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to originate and purchase additional commercial mortgage loans and other target assets and investments consistent with its investment strategies and investment guidelines, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including repayment of indebtedness.

The Notes will pay interest semiannually at a rate of 4.375% per annum and will mature on May 5, 2022. The Notes will have an initial conversion rate of 28.0324 shares of the Company's class A common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $35.67 per share of the Company's class A common stock and a conversion premium of approximately 15% based on the closing share price of $31.02 per share of the Company's class A common stock on May 1, 2017). The initial conversion rate is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events, but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest. Prior to February 1, 2022, the Notes will be convertible only upon certain circumstances and during certain periods, and thereafter will be convertible at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day prior to maturity. Upon conversion, holders will receive cash, shares of the Company's class A common stock or a combination thereof at the Company's election.

Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The offering was made pursuant to the Company's currently effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

The offering of these securities may be made only by means of a prospectus and a related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained by contacting: Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 800-831-9146; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014; BofA Merrill Lynch, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department or email [email protected]; Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 888-603-5847, email: [email protected]; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717.

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 these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT) is a real estate finance company that originates senior loans collateralized by commercial real estate in North America and Europe. Our investment objective is to preserve and protect shareholder capital while producing attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through dividends generated from current income from our loan portfolio. We are externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.L.C., a subsidiary of Blackstone.

About Blackstone

Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is one of the world's leading investment firms. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for its investors, the companies it invests in, and the communities in which it works. Blackstone does this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Blackstone's asset management businesses, with over $360 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.

Forward-looking Statements and Other Matters

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "indicator," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. The Company believes these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, as such factors may be updated from time to time in its periodic filings with the SEC which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in the filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forwardlooking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events or circumstances.

SOURCE Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.blackstone.com


BEIJING, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Broadband Forum and SDN/NFV Industry Alliance today announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly set up an Open Broadband Laboratory Asia (OBLA) and promote the development of network transformation and cloud evolution.

The partnership  which was signed during the China SDN/NFV Conference in Beijing last week  also introduces the Forum's Open Broadband initiative, with a mission to create an open framework for cloud-based broadband. Open Broadband Labs are a collaborative resource for the integration, staging and testing of open source, commercial software, standards-based and vendor implementations where suppliers, integrators and operators can work together on new and coexisting solutions. The focus of Open Broadband Labs, such as OBLA, is acceleration of go-to-market and go-to-production for new services and applications, and the migration from existing broadband infrastructures to cloud-based ones introducing NFV and SDN technologies.

Under the agreement, the Forum will exclusively license the SDN/NFV Industry Alliance to undertake the construction of OBLA in China and to conduct conformance and interoperability testing, migration best practices, technical due diligence and training around the project. The SDN/NFV Industry Alliance will build and manage the OBLA, while the Broadband Forum will provide technical direction, testing methods, a standards framework and domain expertise. The aim of the project is to develop network cloud standards verification, testing, solution conformance and a proving ground for new services.

"As operators look to bring the efficiencies of data centers and cloud technologies to the network, gradually transforming it to a software-based infrastructure, it is incredibly important that we speed up standards, testing, conformance and best practice to ensure smarter, programmable and faster networks that deliver leading edge capability for operators and world-class experience for their customers," said Broadband Forum Chairman Kevin Foster, of BT. "This new lab facility is a strategic and natural evolution of the Forum's ongoing work on virtualization and cloud, with almost every project in our current scope now connected to these next-generation network technologies. We look forward to strengthening this work with the SDN/NFV Industry Alliance."

The OBLA builds on the Forum's ongoing and completed virtualization and cloud projects, including the Network Enhanced Residential Gateway, which shifts functionalities from the Residential Gateway to the operator's network, Cloud Central Office, Fixed Access Network Sharing, SDN in the Access Network, and the virtual Business Gateway.

This complements the SDN/NFV Industry Alliance's focus on increasing the readiness in SDN commercial utilization and promoting the healthy development of the SDN industry.

"The lack of standards and a unified framework for Network Cloud and SDN is a significant problem, which leads to fragmentation in the industry and defeats interoperability, slowing the industry's development. As one of the most important organizations in broadband, the Broadband Forum's Open Broadband Lab can be the unified and standardized platform to address the fragmentation issues and resolve the problems the industry is facing," said Mr. Wei Leping, President of the SDN/NFV Industry Alliance, and China Telecom Beijing Research Institute. "China SDN/NFV Industry Alliance is pleased to collaborate with the Forum to create the physical laboratory and verify the standardized framework, testing for interoperability and enabling application development based on this platform."

For more information on the Broadband Forum's work, please visit: broadband-forum.org.

To find out more about the SDN/NFV Industry Alliance, please see: sdnia.org

About the Broadband Forum

Broadband Forum, a non-profit industry organization, is focused on engineering smarter and faster broadband networks. Our work defines best practices for global networks, enables service and content delivery, establishes technology migration strategies, engineers critical device & service management tools, and is key to redefining broadband. Our free technical reports and white papers can be found at broadband-forum.org. Twitter @Broadband_Forum.

For more information about the Broadband Forum, please visit broadband-forum.org or follow @Broadband_Forum on Twitter. For further information please contact Brian Dolby on +44 (0) 7899 914168 or [email protected] or Jayne Garfitt on +44 (0) 1636 812152 or [email protected].

About the SDN/NFV Industry Alliance

The SDN/NFV Industry Alliance (SDNFVIA) was founded on November 4, 2014 by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), together with 15 organizations in the industry. Guided by the principle of "openness, innovation, collaboration and implementation", the alliance focuses on increasing the readiness in SDN/NFV commercial utilization and promoting the healthy development of the SDN/NFV industry.

SOURCE The Broadband Forum

Related Links

http://www.broadband-forum.org


/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today demanded accountability for the actions of law enforcement personnel following the police shooting of an unarmed African-American ninth-grader in Texas .

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 Jordan Edwards, 15, was leaving a party over the weekend when he was fatally shot by police, who initially claimed that Edwards and his companions had backed down the driveway "in an aggressive manner" towards them. An Edwards' family representative said the car was fired on without provocation and police now say the car carrying Edwards was driving away from them when they shot into it.

SEE: Police Chief Admits to Getting Key Detail Wrong in Fatal Shooting of Black Teen in Texas

http://time.com/4763224/texas-police-shooting-black-teen-jordan-edwards/

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"There must be a thorough and independent investigation of this tragic incident so that the facts come to light in a transparent manner and to ensure that all those responsible for the death of Jordan Edwards are held accountable for their actions.

"There have been too many such police-involved shootings nationwide resulting in the deaths of African-American men and boys. This issue must be addressed by law enforcement agencies and by our nation's leaders and policy-makers."

"We will work with our partners in the civil rights community to seek justice and accountability for this deadly police shooting," said Iyad Alnachef, executive director of CAIR's Dallas/Fort Worth chapter (CAIR-DFW).

CAIR has called for similar investigations of other incidents nationwide involving allegations of disparate treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement authorities.

In September of last year, CAIR demanded an independent investigation after a Charlotte, N.C., police officer fatally shot an African-American man while serving a warrant for a different person.



CAIR's Oklahoma chapter also called on state officials to ensure a "fair and transparent" investigation into the 2016 police shooting death of Terence Crutcher, and welcomed the U.S. Dept. of Justice investigation into the shooting. Crutcher, an unarmed 40-year-old father of three, was fatally shot by a Tulsa Police officer after his vehicle broke down on a two-lane highway in North Tulsa.

SEE: CAIR-OK Seeks 'Fair and Transparent' Probe of Police Shooting Death of Terence Crutcher

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13778-cair-ok-seeks-fair-and-transparent-probe-of-police-shooting-death-of-terence-crutcher.html

CAIR's Minnesota chapter joined the Minneapolis NAACP in calling for an independent investigation of an incident in which an African-American man was arrested for walking in the street because a sidewalk was under construction.

SEE: CAIR-MN Calls for Probe of 'Walking While Black' Incident in Minnesota

https://www.cairmn.com/57-internships/380-cair-mn-calls-for-probe-of-walking-while-black-incident-in-minnesota.html

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La mision de CAIR es mejorar la comprension del Islam, fomentar el dialogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprension mutua.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR's Email List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

CONTACT: CAIR-DFW Civil Rights Director Nikiya Natale, Esq., 469-554-0786, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com


Sodexo , world leader in Quality of Life services, invited elementary school students in Sodexo-served school districts across the United States to create comfort food options that kids will enjoy. Out of nearly 2,500 entries, Madison was one of five finalists selected to create videos of their recipes, and the public was invited to vote for its favorite. By scoring the most votes for her winning Cauliflower Tots recipe, Madison will be honored with a celebratory event at her school and more than $2,000 worth of prizes.

Now in its seventh year, the Sodexo Future Chefs program encourages better eating by actively involving students in good nutrition. Students participating in the program represent 1,300 Sodexo-served elementary schools in 256 school districts and 30 states.

Sodexo is committed to taking measurable sustainable actions that ensure a brighter future in the areas of health and wellness, environmental stewardship and community development. The Future Chefs program is one of the many ways Sodexo shares its health and well-being expertise with the clients, customers and communities it serves. Another example is Sodexo's use of research-based principles recommended in the Smarter Lunchroom Movement, developed by the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs to equip primary and secondary school lunchrooms with tools to improve the eating behaviors of children.

Watch Madison make her Cauliflower Tots here and join the Sodexo Future Chefs social media conversation by using the hashtag #SDXFutureChefs in related Tweets and posts.

Sodexo USA is an American business that is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 80 countries. Delivering more than 100 services across North America that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life, Sodexo is a leading provider of sustainable, integrated facilities management and food service operations. It employs 123,000 Americans at 12,500 sites across the country and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional U.S. jobs through its annual purchases of $9.2 billion in goods and services from small to large American businesses. In support of local communities across the U.S., the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has contributed close to $30 million over the past 20 years to help feed children in America impacted by hunger.

Learn more about Sodexo at its corporate blog, Sodexo Insights.

SOURCE Sodexo

Related Links

http://www.sodexoUSA.com


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Capex S.A. (the "Purchaser") today announced the commencement of an offer by the Purchaser to purchase for cash from each registered holder (each, a "Holder" and, collectively, the "Holders") any and all of its outstanding 10.00% Notes due 2018 (the "Notes") issued by the Purchaser under the indenture dated as of March 10, 2011 (the "Offer").

The Offer is being made by the Purchaser pursuant to the offer to purchase dated May 2, 2017 (the "Offer to Purchase") and the related letter of transmittal (the "Letter of Transmittal") and notice of guaranteed delivery (the "Notice of Guaranteed Delivery" and, together with the Offer to Purchase and Letter of Transmittal, the "Offer Documents"). The Purchaser intends to finance the purchase of the Notes with the proceeds of a concurrent issuance of new notes (the "New Notes").

The table below summarizes certain payment terms for of the purchase of the Notes:

Description of Notes CUSIP / ISIN Nos. Outstanding

Principal Amount Total Consideration* 10.00% Notes due 2018 CUSIP: P20058AA4 /139612AD7 ISIN: USP20058AA42 / US139612AD76 U.S.$200,000,000 U.S.$1,004.17

________________

* Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes. In addition, Holders will receive Accrued Interest (as defined below).

The Offer will expire at 8:00 A.M., New York City time, on May 10, 2017, unless extended or earlier terminated (such date and time, including as extended or earlier terminated, the "Expiration Time"). Notes tendered may be validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Time, but not thereafter, except as described in the Offer Documents or as required by applicable law.

Holders validly tendering and not withdrawing their Notes at or before the Expiration Time will be entitled to receive U.S.$1,004.17 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of the Notes (the "Total Consideration"), on the Settlement Date (as defined below). Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer Documents, the Purchaser expects to accept for purchase all of the validly tendered and not validly withdrawn Notes on the same day of the Expiration Time (the date of such acceptance, the "Acceptance Date"). With respect to Notes accepted for purchase on the Acceptance Date, if any, the Holders thereof will receive payment of the Total Consideration for such accepted Notes on a date promptly following the Acceptance Date (which date is expected to occur within three business days following the Acceptance Date), with the date on which the Purchaser pays the aggregate Total Consideration for such Notes, together with an amount equal to Accrued Interest thereon, being referred to as the "Settlement Date." The Settlement Date in respect of Notes with respect to which a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery is delivered at or prior to the Expiration Time (to the extent that such Notes are not delivered prior to the Expiration Time) that are accepted by the Purchaser for purchase in the Offer is expected to be the third business day following the Acceptance Date (the "Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date"). In addition, Holders whose Notes are purchased in the Offer will receive accrued and unpaid interest in respect of their purchased Notes from the last interest payment date to, but excluding, the Settlement Date ("Accrued Interest"). For the avoidance of doubt, accrued interest will cease to accrue on the Settlement Date for all Notes accepted in the Offer, including those tendered by the guaranteed delivery procedures set forth in the Offer to Purchase.

The obligation of the Purchaser to accept for purchase, and to pay for, Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Offer, or Notes with respect to which a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery is delivered at or prior to the Expiration Date, is subject to, and conditioned upon, the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as set forth in the Offer Documents, including the issue of the New Notes, in the sole discretion of the Purchaser.

The Information and Tender Agent for the Offer is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. To contact the Information and Tender Agent, banks and brokers may call +1-212-430-3774, and others may call U.S. toll-free: 866-470-4200. Additional contact information is set forth below.

By Mail, Hand or Overnight Courier:

By Facsimile Transmission: 65 Broadway, Suite 404

(for eligible institutions only) New York, NY 10006

+1 212-430-3775/3779 USA







Attention: Corporate Actions Attention: Corporate Actions

Confirmation by Telephone E-mail: [email protected]

+1 212-430-3774

Any questions or requests for assistance or for additional copies of this notice or the Offer to Purchase may be directed to Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (together, the "Dealer Managers") at their respective telephone numbers set forth below or, if by any Holder, to such Holder's broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Offer.

The Dealer Managers for the Offer are:



Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

60 Wall Street

New York, New York 10005

Attn: Liability Management Group

U.S. Toll Free: (855) 287-1922

Collect: (212) 250-7527

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

383 Madison Avenue

New York, New York, 10179

Attention: Latin America Debt Capital Markets

U.S. Toll Free: (866) 846-2874

Collect: (212) 834-7279

This notice does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, or any solicitation of any offer to sell, the Notes or any other securities in the United States or any other country, nor shall it or any part of it, or the fact of its release, form the basis of, or be relied on or in connection with, any contract therefor. The Offer is made only by and pursuant to the terms of the Offer Documents, and the information in this notice is qualified by reference to the Offer Documents.

None of the Purchaser, the Dealer Managers or the Information and Tender Agent makes any recommendations as to whether holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the Offer.

The Offer Documents are also available at www.gbsc-usa.com/Capex/

* * *

Forward-Looking Statements

This notice includes and references "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may relate to, among other things, the Purchaser's business strategy, goals and expectations concerning its market position, future operations, margins and profitability.

Although the Purchaser believes the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of these assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions could be incorrect.

The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and trends to differ materially from those made, intended, or implied in or by the forward-looking statements depending on a variety of uncertainties or other factors.

The Purchaser undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Capex S.A.
PHILADELPHIA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI) will report its first quarter results on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, after the market close. Following the release, management will host a Webcast at 4:30 pm Eastern Time to discuss the company's results.

The Webcast can be accessed live via CDI's website at www.cdicorp.com. The webcast will also be archived on CDI's website for 60 days at http://investor.shareholder.com/cdi/events.cfm.

Company Information

CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI) seeks to create extraordinary outcomes with our clients by delivering solutions based on highly skilled and professional talent. Our business is comprised of four segments: Enterprise Talent, Specialty Talent & Technology Solutions, Engineering Solutions and MRI. We provide engineering, information technology and staffing solutions to clients. Our clients are in multiple industries, including energy, chemicals, infrastructure, aerospace, industrial equipment, technology, and also include municipal and state governments, and the U.S. Department of Defense. We have offices and delivery centers in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we also provide recruiting and staffing services through our global MRINetwork of franchisees. Learn more at www.cdicorp.com.

SOURCE CDI Corp.

Related Links

http://www.cdicorp.com


ORLANDO, Fla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan Constantine, CEO of Jury Lab, LLC, has launched her patent-pending emotion response software service that provides the legal, business, and media community break-through technology to enhance the proven sciences of emotion recognition, body language reading, and deception detection. Her software can read people's emotions with 97 percent accuracy. Originally created to help the legal system better understand jury responses in a mock jury setting, the technology has limitless applications outside of the legal field.

"Using the same concepts inside a mock jury settings, businesses can apply the technology to focus groups, leadership training, and beyond," says Constantine. "Emotion analytics is becoming a driving force in business sales, marketing, and advertising. Being able to tap into the emotional responses of the audience to understand their emotional reaction to a brand or product allows businesses to better position themselves in the marketplace. For years, big corporations have been using focus groups to test products, and the Jury Lab technology takes this one step further for even better results."

In 2015, Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience released findings from a study that assessed 100 ads across 25 brands in the consumer goods market. The study revealed that ads with above-average scores on a neuroscience-based copy test generated a 23 percent lift in sales  meaning ads with the best emotional responses generated more buying potential. The study tapped into the measurement of neurological and biological reactions such as heart rate, sweat, posture, facial reactions, and electrical impulses in specific regions of the brain and tied those reactions to the eventual success of an ad campaign. Neuroscience findings indicate emotion is a stronger predictor in buying with rational thought backing up the emotional response.

The Jury Lab technology is less invasive than what was used in the study and just as effective. It tracks the facial expression of up to 12 people while collecting and analyzing this emotional response data. The software captures in real time the micro-expressions people have to the information presented, tapping into the subconscious emotions and then more effectively analyzing their responses.

Businesses can use the software to better understand how effective a sales person's pitch is to the consumer, and then help them perfect it for better results. It can be used to assess consumers' emotional responses to a brand or product with more accuracy than gathering verbal or written feedback in a survey or focus group setting. In turn, the software can also help businesses more effectively chose people for leadership roles. During the interviewing process, a business can create mock scenarios to test the potential leader's reactions, assess their emotional reactions, and help them better refine their responses and leadership skills.

The Jury Lab technology also has applications for media, especially television news. It can help news stations better understand how consumers respond emotionally to particular anchors and reporters, which equate directly to ratings. Emotional analytics derived from the software and analysis can help news stations improve their news segments, and increase news anchor trust and likeability, helping to increase viewer loyalty and bring in new viewers.

Constantine is the author and founder of Silent Messages and a leading expert in reading facial expressions of emotions in the legal community. She has more than 12 years of experience analyzing jurors, witnesses, and suspects in high profile cases. In addition, Constantine has been consulted as the human behavior expert for some of the world's most noteworthy trials, including Amanda Knox, Michael Jackson, George Zimmerman, Casey Anthony, and has appeared on numerous national television programs to discuss her work and expertise.

For more information and to learn how the technology works, visit TheJuryLab.com. Constantine is also available to TV news for on-air demonstrations of the power of her Jury Lab technology.

About The Jury Lab, LLC

Founded by trial consultant and human behavior expert Susan Constantine, Jury Lab, LLC offers emotional response software for the legal community. For more information, visit TheJuryLab.com.

Media Contact:

Susan Constantine, CEO

The Jury Lab

Phone: 407-405-3417

Email: [email protected]

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE The Jury Lab, LLC

Related Links

http://www.TheJuryLab.com


Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word meaning "crowned," the awards will be presented to winners at a gala ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on Tuesday, June 20.

More than 3,600 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration and more than 190 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year's Stevie Award winners.

Judges' comments about Electric Guard Dog's Bronze Award for Company of the Year Business Services included, "In securing the perimeter, EGD has shown single-minded determination." Another noted EGD is "making a substantial impact."

When it came to DeMao's Gold Award the comments were even more categorical. One described DeMao "a bold and innovative leader" while another commented, "Mr. DeMao's impressive suite of well-measured successes, ranging from industry awards, to record-breaking sales, is extraordinary."

CEO Jack DeMao commented, "On behalf of myself and my team, I want to thank the judges for these awards, we are truly humbled by both wins. We share both awards with our competitors in the Business Services category, our vendors, and our customers. It's easy to measure business purely in profits, and yet, given the amount of time we all spend at work, there's the potential to achieve so much more. The Stevie Awards recognize the many ways in which a business can empower individuals, team efforts, and the community as a whole. Again, we are truly humbled to be recognized."

Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards commented, "Each year the judges find the quality and variety of the nominations to be greater than the year before. The 2017 competition was intense and every organization that has won should be proud."

Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2017 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

About Electric Guard Dog

Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, Electric Guard Dog, the #1 Theft Deterrent Service in the U.S., is the market leader in electric security fences and perimeter security in the country. As a security partner for over 3,600 commercial and industrial locations across the U.S., the Company protects businesses from theft and provides a safer work environment for employees while reducing total security costs. For additional information, please visit www.electricguarddog.com.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

For more information, contact Kathleen Hannon at [email protected], or via phone at (704) 425-8106.

SOURCE Electric Guard Dog

Related Links

http://www.electricguarddog.com


"We want candidates who share our passion for delivering innovative, sustainable engineering and development solutions with technical excellence," said Chief Human Resources Officer Shelie Gustafson. "We offer exceptional career opportunities for diverse employees to work on inspiring programs and projects in an inclusive environment." Gustafson cited the firm's reputational credentials, including nine consecutive years among Ethisphere's list of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" and many accolades as a top-choice employer in professional services.

CH2M designs, delivers and manages some of the most complex and iconic infrastructure and industrial projects in the world, such as the Panama Canal expansion; advanced research and technology facilities; and global development programs such as London's 2012 Olympic Games, the most sustainable on-record. With a reputation for innovative, smart and scalable development solutions, CH2M in 2016 became the first professional services firm honored with the World Environment Center Gold Medal Award for global leadership delivering progressive social, environmental and economic outcomes.

Learn more about the exciting careers offered at CH2M, and connect with our recruitment team on LinkedIn.

About CH2M

CH2M leads the professional services industry delivering sustainable solutions benefiting societal, environmental and economic outcomes with the development of infrastructure and industry. In this way, CH2Mers make a positive difference providing consulting, design, engineering and management services for clients needing world-class solutions in environmental; industrial and advanced facilities; transportation; and water markets, from iconic infrastructure to global programs like the Olympic Games.

Ranked among the World's Most Ethical Companies and top firms in environmental consulting and program management, CH2M in 2016 became the first professional services firm honored with the World Environment Center Gold Medal Award for efforts advancing sustainable development. Connect with CH2M at www.ch2m.com; LinkedIn; Twitter and Facebook.

Contact: Brian Morandi

CH2M Corporate Marketing and Communications

720 286 0719

[email protected]

SOURCE CH2M

Related Links

http://www.ch2m.com


SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- San Francisco commuter shuttle drivers for Chariot, a jitney service owned by Ford Motor Company, chose Teamsters representation today via card-check agreement.

Ford recognized the Teamsters as the bargaining representative of Chariot workers based on an overwhelming showing of support by the drivers.

The 215 drivers are seeking better wages, benefits and working conditions.

"Right now, the drivers are not making enough to keep up with the cost of living in the Bay Area. We're looking forward to negotiating with the company to improve the working conditions for Chariot drivers," said Mark Gleason, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 665.

"We're excited to have the Chariot drivers as part of our union. Whether they work for a private on-demand company or the high tech industry, drivers are joining the Teamsters for many of the same reasonsto gain a good wage, benefits and respectful treatment on the job. We're proud that our involvement in the transportation industry helps level the playing field," said Rome Aloise, President of Teamsters Joint Council 7.

Chariot operates 150 passenger vans around San Francisco. The company announced plans earlier this year to expand to eight cities in 2017.

The union is encouraging the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to develop a program for private bus companies that will mirror the labor harmony provision that exists in the permitting program for shuttle buses serving high tech companies.

Shuttle drivers for contractors servicing Yahoo, Facebook, Salesforce, Apple, Genentech, eBay, Cisco, Amtrak, Netflix, Zynga, PayPal, LinkedIn and Twitter have all joined the Teamsters since 2014.

The Teamsters Union is part of a growing movement of labor, faith and community-based organizations and workers challenging income inequality in Silicon Valley through an innovative partnership called Silicon Valley Rising. For more information, visit http://siliconvalleyrising.org.

For more information on tech worker organizing with the Teamsters, visit: http://teamster.org/tech-drivers-deserve-union.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Doug Bloch, (510) 333-1179

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 665

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


"Microdrones has an excellent product line. We've investigated multiple brands and feel this is the best option on the market for our customers," said GEOCOM General Manager, Carlos Escudero. "Microdrones quadcopters are easy to control, highly maneuverable, can fly for a long time, and are very robust and weather-resistant. They're not going to be stopped by environmental challenges."

Before selling Microdrones UAVs, GEOCOM was successful in selling Trimble's line of professional drones.

"Unmanned aerial systems have been a popular product here in Chile, especially for mining clients. And we expect tremendous growth," said Escudero. "The companies that are buying these want to do more with less and know that with drones, the work will be safer, faster, and more precise. These customers have seen results very quickly and many are now looking to buy additional systems."

Available immediately, GEOCOM is offering Microdrones' mdMapper packages, complete solutions that include aircraft, sensors, and software  everything companies need for aerial mapping. These packages were designed for simple training and easy use to allow users to get started quickly.

The mdMapper product line-up currently includes:

mdMapper200  Compact, complete, and competitively priced, mdMapper200 is a great option for companies seeking the easiest possible drone to transport or a smaller drone to add to their fleet.

Compact, complete, and competitively priced, mdMapper200 is a great option for companies seeking the easiest possible drone to transport or a smaller drone to add to their fleet. mdMapper1000  Extra-long flight times and resistance to harsh environmental conditions make this complete mapping system an excellent choice for applications like surveying, mapping, inspection, and construction.

Extra-long flight times and resistance to harsh environmental conditions make this complete mapping system an excellent choice for applications like surveying, mapping, inspection, and construction. mdMapper1000DG  The benefits of mdMapper1000 plus the power of direct georeferencing combine to produce the best possible accuracy and time savings with no ground control points.

Users can also increase the functionality of their systems by purchasing accessory kits. Some of the available options include inspection, multispectral, thermal, and soon LiDAR and methane gas detection kits.

"GEOCOM is a pioneer in geospatial," said Elena Rodriguez, Microdrones' sales manager for South America. "They've been at the forefront of their industry for decades and have been the first to introduce many new technologies in Chile."

GEOCOM opened its doors in 1985. With more than 30 years of experience, the company is known throughout Chile for their expert service and breadth of line.

"I am very pleased to have the largest Trimble dealer of UAVs in the Western Hemisphere, GEOCOM, as a Microdrones partner," said Phil Kern, Trimble Dealer Manager. "I look forward to working with Carlos and his outstanding team for a long time."

GEOCOM employs numerous engineers to assist customers as they get off the ground with UAVs. "They don't just buy the product and then we disappear," explained Marcela Wevar, GEOCOM Brand Manager. "We are a partner that stands by our customers. Everything we do is to help them grow. Caring about people is what makes us successful."

To learn more about GEOCOM's team, products, and services, visit http://www.geocom.cl/.

SOURCE Microdrones
AUSTIN, Texas, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Colleges of Distinction has released its Public Colleges of Distinction 2017 Guidebook, and it is available for immediate download. The comprehensive guidebook is a unique and thoroughly researched resource for those who want a reliable and personalized approach to the college selection and application process, specifically for those evaluating public colleges and universities.

"This Guidebook is an excellent tool for prospective students and parents. Speaking as a University President and the parent of a teenager engaged in the college search process, it represents a concise way to help find the school that is a best fit for the student and offers valuable advice to make the transition to college an easy and successful one," says Dr. John Nicklow, Ph.D., President of University of New Orleans.

To be chosen as a College of Distinction featured in the annual guidebook, each college is subject to rigorous research before it can be listed. This includes in-person campus visits, school records research, interviews with the campus community and admissions directors and much more.

This research produces verifiable results across Four Distinctions  Engaged Students, Great Teaching, Vibrant Community and Successful Outcomes.

"The school profiles in this book emphasize core skills such as critical thinking, writing, research and global perspectives. The colleges must also offer out-of-classroom learning programs," said Colleges of Distinction's Chief Operating Officer Tyson Schritter. "Each one is successfully making a student's college years not just an education but a valuable life experience."

Listed below is a small sampling of Public Colleges of Distinction included in the 2017 guidebook:

Eastern Connecticut State University

University of New Orleans

Northern Michigan University

Midwestern State University

Colorado Mesa University

To view the complete list of all colleges and universities selected for the Public Colleges of Distinction 2017 Guidebook and learn more about becoming a College of Distinction, please visit the company's site for more information.

About Colleges of Distinction

Since 2000, the Colleges of Distinction website and guidebook have recognized and honored schools throughout the U.S. for excellence in undergraduate-focused higher education. The member schools in the Colleges of Distinction consortium distinguish themselves through their focus on the undergraduate experience. The website and annual guidebooks provide dynamic college profiles, customized tools, and resources for students, parents, and high school counselors.

SOURCE Colleges of Distinction

Related Links

http://www.collegesofdistinction.com


ATLANTA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The millions of U.S. small businesses are critical drivers of long-term economic growth that is sustainable; in fact, small businesses currently account for creating two out of every three jobs across the nation.1 Lenders, which reined in small business lending during the economic recession, are once again competing to provide small business credit cards, working capital lines of credit and other types of loans to small companies and startups as a way to expand and buoy profitable portfolios. In an emerging trend, more and more lenders are eschewing using only credit bureau-based forms of assessing creditworthiness for more predictive models that are based on alternative data blended with traditional business payment data and B2B trade credit information.

In LexisNexis Risk Solutions "Ask the Small Business Experts" series, Ben Cutler, the company's head of Small Business Risk, sat down with David O'Connell, senior analyst, Aite Group, to discuss the state of small businesses today. Below is an excerpt from that conversation.

Ben Cutler, LexisNexis Risk Solutions : Aite Group recently conducted a survey of small businesses with up to $20 million in revenue. A question in the survey asked the principals whether a lender recently denied them credit and why. What were the results, and were you surprised by the answers small businesses shared?

David O'Connell, Aite Group : The top two answers were what you might expect; 39 percent of principals attributed their credit decline to the newness of their company; similarly, 37 percent of principals blamed the decline on the lack of a lengthy credit history. In this, I detect frustration on the part of SMBs, who feel that their credit evaluations should be based on a bigger set of data points than is currently the case. They probably don't know that they are a "thin file" or "no file" applicant, but they want lenders to perform broader evaluations of themselves, their businesses and their cash flows.

The third most selected answer did surprise me, though. Of the credit-seeking small businesses surveyed, (19 percent) indicated that they didn't think banks knew enough about their businesses. There is so much information that can be detected about a small business these days, especially when you think about all the types of analytics out there such as sentiment testing. By this I mean tapping into all the data sources out there--from public filings on principals to what folks are saying on the Web--to perform a broad evaluation on the credit worthiness of that SMB.

If a lender applies sentiment testing across an individual small business, its principals, its customers and its geography, a wide net is cast and banks should be able to learn a lot about any SMB and find the false positives. For example, using different types of testing could prove that the businesses flagged as credit risks as a result of binary facts, like traditional credit scores built by credit bureaus, are credit worthy and fit into plenty of lenders' risk appetites.

Cutler : At LexisNexis Risk Solutions, we've recently introduced into the marketplace new small business credit scores and small business credit reports, which we built using alternative data. Lenders are already using these products to address what you mentioned earlier  a company that is "too new" and a company without "a lengthy credit history." How can banks make use of the results of your study?

O'Connell : Lenders really need to complement traditional metrics such as ratings bureau data and financial results with alternative data and a more granular take on longevity, which may be indicated by transaction volume rather than time itself. Doing so will not only make for a fuller credit analysis, it will also create a customer experience desired by credit-seeking SMBs. When asked about how they decided where to apply for credit, 52% of credit-seeking SMBs said that a lender's ability to perform a credit evaluation on factors other than just ratings bureau data was "very important."

Cutler : Your survey also asked whether small business principals currently mix, or have mixed in the recent past, their personal and business operations. Tell us more about the answer.

O'Connell : I have to say I was surprised that only 20 percent of principals at credit-seeking small businesses had not mixed assets in some way. It seems that one would want to have a firewall between their company, their personal lives, their personal assets and the assets upon which their families rely. Nevertheless, there's little risk associated with bankruptcy these days, so I suppose people perceive little risk here. I was encouraged that 41 percent of principals had used their personal funds to fund the business. This motivates the principals and the creditors to have a successful, cash flow positive business, which is obviously a good thing. However, the mixing of physical assets is a little concerning. If I'm a bank, I don't think I want to finance real estate, cars or other equipment that are in use by something other than the business I'm financing. And in this, I think banks need to worry about not just the founder or the CEO, but all the principals and decision makers at an SMB. It is critical that a lender identify and understand all of the the entities, cash flows, ownerships and people associated with the business.

Cutler : What should banks do now to attract and lend to more small businesses?

O'Connell : Get the cheapest capital they can. It turns out that price and terms are two of the most important determinants that influence where small business principals apply and where they close. The next big determinant is process, and this is an area where the various classes of credit provider examined by Aite Group were found to possess little competitive advantage relative to one another. Although banks are a bit faster when it comes to responding to credit applications when they are an applicant's primary deposit bank, alternative lenders are often faster with loan documentation. But for both processes, no provider category had a significant competitive advantage. This means that the customer experience is still up for grabs and requires investments by all categories of credit provider.

Cutler : Please shed light on any other insights about small business credit risk assessment that the survey conveyed.

O'Connell : Lenders need to prepare for combat. The small business lending market is about a half trillion-dollar market. The pendulum has shifted back in favor of the borrower; it is a borrower's market. Small business principals are perceptive, patient and opportunistic. By this, I mean most seek credit weeks or months in advance of a credit need. Our study showed that principals submitted more than six applications on average over the last two years and are very price sensitive. Lenders need to hone their pricing, lower their capital costs and make their processes as "Amazon" as possible.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

At LexisNexis Risk Solutions, we believe in the power of data and advanced analytics for better risk management. With over 40 years of expertise, we are the trusted data analytics provider for organizations seeking actionable insights to manage risks and improve results while upholding the highest standards for security and privacy. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, LexisNexis Risk Solutions serves customers in more than 100 countries and is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. For more information, please visit www.lexisnexisrisk.com.

1 http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/15-004_09b1bf8b-eb2a-4e63-9c4e-0374f770856f.pdf

SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Related Links

http://lexisnexis.com


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A bipartisan spending bill for Fiscal 2017 that includes key provisions the Lupus Research Alliance and lupus advocates across the country have fought for is well on its way to becoming law this week. H.R. 244 has been introduced in the House of Representatives for a vote later this week to be followed by a vote in the Senate. President Trump indicated he will sign it into law.

H.R. 244 establishes for the first time an annual $5 million lupus medical research program at the Department of Defense (DoD), provides $34 billion for biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health, and appropriates an additional $2 million for the Lupus Initiative at the Office of Minority Health  a national program initiated over 10 years ago by the Lupus Research Alliance.

Appropriations Dedicated for Lupus Research

The new bill includes $5 million for a lupus research grant program under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program operated by the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command in Ft. Detrick, MD. DoD data show that women  the primary population affected by lupus  now make up a much greater share of our armed forces and veterans than ever before. Lupus also disproportionately targets women of color; a recent report found that the active-duty female force is racially diverse.

Strong Leadership from the Congressional Lupus Caucus

Lupus research has been a top priority of the Congressional Lupus Caucus led by Co-chairs Representatives Tom Rooney (R-FL), William Keating (D-MA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). The Caucus leadership has championed the cause and responded strongly to Lupus Research Alliance advocates who travelled to Washington over the past year to meet with their lawmakers. In addition to the Caucus members, the Lupus Research Alliance thanks House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Defense Subcommittee Chair Kay Granger (R-TX) for their work on behalf of the lupus community.

Bill Grants Request for $2 Billion NIH Funding Increase

The bill provides $34 billion for biomedical research that Lupus Research Alliance advocates requested when visiting legislators over the last two years. With this provision, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget for research conducted through the National Institutes of Health is increased $2 billion over 2016.

"Funding for the NIH is critical for people with lupus and all chronic diseases," noted Kenneth M. Farber, Co-CEO and Co-president, Lupus Research Alliance. "While our organization invests substantially in pioneering innovative lupus research, our investigators then obtain large grants from the NIH to continue their research  work that must advance if we are to give people with lupus the much-needed improvements in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention they need."

Alleviating Racial Disparities

The Lupus Initiative, also covered by H.R. 244, is a national healthcare provider education program originally conceived by the Lupus Research Alliance in collaboration with the federal government to help alleviate racial disparities in lupus. Over the past decade, more than $10 million in Congressional appropriations has been secured to fund the Lupus Initiative so medical professionals throughout the country can better recognize, diagnose and treat lupus promptly and properly.

"We identified significant racial disparities in lupus care among minority populations over 15 years ago and created the Lupus Initiative with the Office of Minority Health, Office of Women's Health and the Surgeon General to address the issue," commented Margaret G. Dowd, Co-CEO and Co-President of the Lupus Research Alliance. "Our advocates work hard each year to urge legislation that continues to support this critical healthcare professional education to improve diagnosis, prompt treatment and encourage racially diverse participation in clinical studies for new therapies."

About Lupus

Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. More than 90% of lupus sufferers are women, mostly young women between the ages of 15 to 44. Women of color are especially at risk. In lupus, the immune system, which is designed to protect against infection, creates antibodies that attack the body's own tissues and organs -- the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, blood, skin, and joints.

About the Lupus Research Alliance

The Lupus Research Alliance unites the global lupus community in bold determination to free the world of lupus through the power of science. The organization is transforming the lives of people affected by lupus as it welcomes and embraces a new scientific era, pioneers innovation, pushes the frontiers of knowledge, enlists diverse new scientific talent, and leads the drive to new treatments, prevention and cure. Because the Lupus Research Alliance Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs.

SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance

Related Links

http://www.lupusresearch.org


SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California consumers are being priced out of their life insurance policies once they become disabled resulting in the loss of valuable coverage, according to a class-action lawsuit accusing Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company of "bad faith."

According to the lawsuit:

"Consumers purchase life insurance coverage to provide peace of mind to themselves, and financial support to their families when they die. The life insurance coverage at issue here is no exception. In fact, Plaintiff's and class members' life insurance coverage provides an extra layer of protection to ensure consumers are able maintain their life insurance coverage in the event they become disabled. Plaintiff's and class members' life insurance policies include a 'waiver of premium' provision intended to ensure that consumers will not be priced out of their coverage in the event they become disabled and lose their job. Under the waiver of premium provision, an insured that becomes disabled is no longer required to pay premiums on his or her life insurance coverage and cannot be dropped from coverage for failure to pay. Without such a protection, consumers face the very real threat that their coverage will be terminated if they are unable to pay their premium when they become disabled, resulting in the loss of valuable life insurance coverage."

The class action lawsuit filed by Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP and Consumer Watchdog alleges that Hartford created an unlawful scheme to deny valid "waiver of premium" claims. Hartford benefits financially from this illegal business practice by terminating valuable life insurance coverage that it would otherwise be required to pay out upon the insured's death, according to the lawsuit.

Download the Class Action Lawsuit against Hartford here.

"Hartford is purposefully ignoring the law in order to deny insurance coverage and reap the financial rewards," said Travis Corby of Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP. "We filed this lawsuit to expose this bad faith practice and to warn others who may have been taken advantage of by Hartford."

Under California law, a consumer is legally disabled, referred to as "Total Disability," when he or she cannot perform the substantial and material duties of his or her job due to sickness or bodily injury. Hartford illegally ignores this standard and denies waiver of premium claims where an insured can do "any work," even if an insured could work only a few hours a week at a low-paying job. As a result, disabled consumers face the very real likelihood they will not be able to afford their life insurance premiums and will lose their life insurance coverage when they are sick or injured.

The results are devastating on consumers. Keith Laster, the lead plaintiff in the case, was insured under a $250,000 Hartford life insurance policy. Mr. Laster suffers from arthritis that caused severe pain in his left shoulder and left wrist after working as a senior construction manager for the City of Anaheim. After Laster's doctor performed surgery to help with the condition, Mr. Laster experienced severe pain and was prescribed medications that prevented him from returning to work, either in the field or at a desk.

During this process, Mr. Laster applied for a waiver of premium under his life insurance policy with Hartford, but was initially denied. In October of 2014, Hartford reversed its denial stating that he was indeed "totally disabled." Then, nearly a year later, Hartford revoked the waiver of premium stating Mr. Laster was not prevented from doing "any work." Hartford wrongly concluded that Mr. Laster was not disabled and therefore refused to waive the premium on his life insurance coverage.

"I bought life insurance to provide peace of mind to myself and financial support to my family if something were to happen to me, including if I became disabled" said Mr. Laster, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. "I feel like I have been deceived and left hung out to dry with no protection."

The lawsuit seeks to compel Hartford to apply the correct definition of "Total Disability" when reviewing "Waiver of Premium" claims, and to reimburse consumers who have been harmed as a result of Hartford's unlawful scheme to deny life insurance benefits.

"Hartford is preying on consumers when they are most vulnerable. Without the 'waiver of premium' protection Hartford promised to consumers, consumers face the very real threat that their coverage will be terminated if they are unable to pay their premium when they become disabled, resulting in the loss of valuable life insurance coverage," said Jerry Flanagan, Litigation Director for Consumer Watchdog and one of the lawyers in the case. "Consumers like Mr. Laster are being deprived of the benefits they paid for and are entitled to."

The case, Keith Laster et al. v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, was initially filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC645326, but was later removed to the United States District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 2:17-cv-00851 BRO (JEMx)

Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP leads the nation in protecting policyholders from insurance company abuse. The firm has been protecting the rights of insurance consumers, both individuals and businesses, for over 40 years after having set the legal precedent requiring insurance companies to act in good faith. For more information, go to: http://www.shernoff.com

Consumer Watchdog is a nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, D.C. and Santa Monica, CA. Find us on the web at: http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog

Related Links

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org


This unique skincare manufacturing facility is based in Corona, California, and has recently been honored with the prestigious "SBA International Exporter of the Year" award for 2017. As a full-scale production lab that offers experienced onsite chemists and technicians  with state-of-the-art equipment that includes nine permanent filling lines and full production capability  it's no wonder why skincare gurus like Medford use Cosmedx Science for their formula testing and creation, manufacturing, labeling and bulk fulfillment needs.

Cosmedx Science differs from many other labs of its type in the sense that they specialize in not only the creation of formulas (they have 2,000 signature formulas they've already created in-house), but in revamping or improving so-called "problem formulas" or underdeveloped formulas to resolve constituency and formulization issues, and help bring them to market.

"Clients often come to us with their "problem formulas" or formulas that need further development and testing," explained Chris Amato President of Cosmedx Science. "Our experienced team helps solve the problem for the client while we carefully work to reduce cost and improve formula quality."

At the time when Amato acquired Cosmedx, in addition to the domestic market, the company was also exporting products throughout Asia. He made a commitment to increase the export business by networking at various international trade shows in conjunction with the California Trade Alliance and sought assistance from the Center for International Trade Development. His participation in the U.S. Commercial Service Gold Key program helped to match Cosmedx with agents, distributors and strategic partners around the globe. This has led to Amato meeting with over 20 foreign representatives and establishing relationships with buyers and distributors throughout the European Union, Asia, Russia, South America, Central America, and the Middle East. With this focus and effort, Amato expects exporting sales to triple this year. He now attends the largest beauty and personal care trade shows in New York, Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Italy and has added Dubai and Mexico City to his 2017 calendar.

The growth in exporting has allowed Cosmedx to hire additional staff. With the increase in raw materials purchased from local vendors, the increased business with local trucking companies and the need to utilize temporary staffing agencies for production, Amato is creating jobs and generating additional economic benefits to the community.

Amato will be recognized and receive his award as the 2017 Exporter of the Year at the local Small Business Week Awards program which will be held Friday, June 9, 2017 from 10:30 a.m. until approximately 2:00 p.m. at the Disneyland Hotel Grand Ballroom. The event is being hosted by the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. For more information on the event or to register, email [email protected] or call 714.953.4289.

About Cosmedx Science, Inc

Cosmedx Science, Inc. is full-scale cosmetics manufacturing lab. It provides industry-leading research and development, formula improvement and problem-solvingand features a full-scale production lab for skincare lines, bath and body products, professional salon and spa products, pet care products, and many more.

Situated in a state-of-the-art 80,000 square-foot facility in Corona, California, the technicians and chemists at Cosmedx Science combine 50 years of experience to deliver the highest quality products, backed by unwavering customer service and support. Learn more at: http://www.cosmedxscience.com.

About Small Business Week:

Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. As part of National Small Business Week, the agency takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners and others at local events around the country. Every day, these individuals are working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America's global competitiveness. For more information, please visit www.sba.gov/nsbw/nsbw.

SOURCE Cosmedx Science, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cosmedxscience.com


PALO ALTO, Calif., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Effective May 1, 2017, Bob Fickett will assume the role of chief executive officer of CPI International, Inc., which is the parent company of Communications & Power Industries LLC (CPI) and Communications & Power Industries Canada Inc. (CPI Canada). Mr. Fickett has served as president and chief operating officer of CPI International since March 2002. He will retain his current roles at CPI, where he has served as president since March 2002 and as chairman of the board of managers since December 2015.

Mr. Fickett replaces Joe Caldarelli in the chief executive officer role at CPI International. Mr. Caldarelli will transition to a new role as vice chairman of CPI International, and will continue to serve in his current roles as a member of the board of managers of CPI and as president of CPI Canada.

"It has been a privilege to serve as the chief executive officer of CPI International for these past 15 years, but the time has come for me to take a less active management role," said Mr. Caldarelli. "I have full confidence that Bob Fickett, who has been my partner in managing the company these many years, will continue to lead a strong, vibrant CPI to many future successes. He is an accomplished and talented leader, and he is well-liked and thoroughly respected both within the industry and within the company."

"On behalf of the company, I would like to thank Joe Caldarelli for his 35 years of contributions to CPI International," said Mr. Fickett. "Under Joe's leadership, our revenue grew from approximately $250 million in fiscal 2002 to $495 million in fiscal 2016. We evolved from focusing almost solely on vacuum-based technology to incorporating solid-state based technology, advanced antennas, radomes and many other complementary products and services into our product offerings, without ever losing sight of who we are as a company or what our customers need from us. It has been a pleasure working with him, and I look forward to continuing to working together in our new roles at CPI International."

Mr. Fickett joined CPI's predecessor company, Varian Associates, Inc., in 1982. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

About Communications & Power Industries

Communications & Power Industries (CPI) is a global manufacturer of electronic components and subsystems focused primarily on communications and defense markets. With a heritage of technological excellence that spans decades, CPI develops, manufacturers and globally distributes innovative and reliable technology solutions used in the generation, amplification, transmission and reception of microwave signals for commercial and military applications. CPI serves customers in the communications, defense, medical, industrial and scientific markets. CPI consists of Communications & Power Industries LLC, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and Communications & Power Industries Canada Inc., located in Ontario, Canada. Learn more about CPI at www.cpii.com.

SOURCE CPI International Holding Corp.; CPI International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cpii.com


"Leemor Joshua-Tor has used structural biology to provide valuable insight into some of the most fundamental aspects of how our cells work, including how the genome is copied and how gene expression is controlled," President Stillman commented. "Her election today recognizes this outstanding research and I congratulate her. She brings great credit to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory."

Joshua-Tor's laboratory studies the molecular basis of nucleic acid regulatory processes, RNA interference (RNAi) and DNA replication in particular. They use the tools of structural biology, biochemistry and biophysics to study proteins and protein complexes associated with these processes to elucidate how they work. X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy and other structural techniques enable her lab to obtain the three-dimensional structures of these molecular machines. Biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology allow them to study properties that can be correlated to their function and biology.

"My election to the National Academy of Sciences is a great honor," said Joshua-Tor. "I am lucky to have had wonderful colleagues and collaborators throughout my career, to have the support of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and to be part of the very stimulating environment at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory."

Joshua-Tor is well known for her work in revealing structures involved in the gene-silencing mechanisms of RNAi. In 2004, she and colleagues used x-ray crystallography to identify a then enigmatic protein called Slicer at the heart of the RNAi machinery. The appropriately named enzyme, a member of a family of proteins called Argonaute, acts to cleave messenger-RNAs that have paired with small interfering RNAs, effectively preventing a gene's message from being expressed.

After solving for the structure of Argonaute, Joshua-Tor performed critical experiments with then CSHL Professor Gregory Hannon, proving that Argonaute was the only protein required for Slicer activity, and shedding light on a structural feature of the proteina groove in its topographyinto which a short RNA and messenger-RNA can nestle when the two are paired, prior to cleaving.

Following her discovery of Slicer, Joshua-Tor used structural biology and molecular biology tools to determine the structure of a protein called E1 that is found in papillomavirus, a DNA tumor virus that causes cervical cancer. This work was part of a larger thrust in her research to understand the molecular motors involved in replication initiation. They have also been examining the eukaryotic machinery with the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC) as the centerpiece of these studies.

Leemor Joshua-Tor was born in Israel and trained at Tel-Aviv University, where she earned a B.Sc. in chemistry, and at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, where she earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology prior to joining the CSHL faculty as an assistant investigator. She was named associate professor at CSHL in 1999 and professor in 2005. In April 2017 she was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

A gifted mentor, Dr. Joshua-Tor was named co-director of the undergraduate research program at the Watson School of Biological Sciences in 2001, and in 2007 was named the school's dean, succeeding Dr. Lilian Clark. She held the post of dean for five years before returning to her laboratory full-time.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. Visit www.cshl.edu

SOURCE Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Related Links

http://www.cshl.edu


MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CytoSorbents Corporation (CTSO), CytoSorbents Corporation (CTSO), a critical care immunotherapy leader commercializing its CytoSorb blood purification technology to treat deadly inflammation in critically-ill and cardiac surgery patients around the world, will report Q1 2017 financial results after the market close on Monday, May 8, 2017.

CytoSorbents' management will host a live conference call and presentation webcast that will recount both operational and financial progress during Q1 2017 followed by a question and answer session.

Conference Call Details:

Date: Monday, May 8, 2017

Time: 4:45 PM Eastern

Participant Dial-In: 1-719-325-4929

Live Presentation Webcast: http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=124222

It is recommended that participants dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. There will also be a simultaneous live webcast of the conference call that can be accessed through the following audio feed link: http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=124222

An archived recording of the conference call will be available under the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://cytosorbents.com/investor-relations/financial-results

About CytoSorbents Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSO)

CytoSorbents Corporation is a leader in critical care immunotherapy, specializing in blood purification. Its flagship product, CytoSorb is approved in the European Union with distribution in 43 countries around the world, as a safe and effective extracorporeal cytokine adsorber, designed to reduce the "cytokine storm" or "cytokine release syndrome" that could otherwise cause massive inflammation, organ failure and death in common critical illnesses such as sepsis, burn injury, trauma, lung injury and pancreatitis, as well as in cancer immunotherapy. These are conditions where the risk of death is extremely high, yet no effective treatments exist. CytoSorb is also being used during and after cardiac surgery to remove inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and free hemoglobin, which can lead to post-operative complications, including multiple organ failure. CytoSorbents has completed its REFRESH (REduction in FREe Hemoglobin) 1 trial  a multi-center, randomized controlled study that has demonstrated the safety of intra-operative CytoSorb use in a heart-lung machine during complex cardiac surgery. In 2017, the company plans to initiate a pivotal REFRESH 2 trial intended to support U.S. FDA approval. CytoSorb has been used safely in more than 20,000 human treatments to date.

CytoSorbents' purification technologies are based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads that can actively remove toxic substances from blood and other bodily fluids by pore capture and surface adsorption. Its technologies have received non-dilutive grant, contract, and other funding in excess of $18 million from DARPA, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and others. The Company has numerous products under development based upon this unique blood purification technology, protected by 32 issued U.S. patents and multiple applications pending, including CytoSorb-XL, HemoDefend, VetResQ, ContrastSorb, DrugSorb, and others. For more information, please visit the Company's websites at www.cytosorbents.com and www.cytosorb.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements in this press release represent management's current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2017, as updated by the risks reported in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in the press releases and other communications to shareholders issued by us from time to time which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors which may affect our business. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, other than as required under the Federal securities laws.

Please Click to Follow Us on Facebook and Twitter

Cytosorbents Contact:

Amy Vogel

Investor Relations

732-398-5394

[email protected]

Public Relations Contact:

Amy Phillips

Pascale Communications

412-327-9499

[email protected]

SOURCE CytoSorbents Corporation

Related Links

http://www.cytosorbents.com


WASHINGTON, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dairy leaders thanked newly confirmed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for recognizing the important role school milk plays in ensuring school-aged children get the nutrition they need.

In one of his first actions as Secretary of Agriculture, Perdue visited Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va., to announce that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will implement regulations to allow school districts to again offer low-fat (1%) flavored milk as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. Under the Obama Administration, USDA eliminated low-fat flavored milk as an option in the school meal and a la carte programs. Since then, consumption of school milk declined, as did overall participation in the school lunch program.

"In just the first two years after low-fat flavored milk was removed from the program, 1.1 million fewer school students drank milk with their lunch," said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. "Secretary Perdue's action today recognizes that a variety of milks and other healthy dairy foods are integral to child nutrition programs in schools."

"Today Secretary Perdue took an important step toward bringing back lunchroom favorites  low-fat chocolate and strawberry milk  that students have been missing," said J. David Carlin, senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy for the International Dairy Foods Association. "When kids don't drink milk, it's extremely difficult for them to get the proper amounts of calcium, potassium, Vitamin D and other nutrients that dairy foods supply."

Perdue was joined in Virginia by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). Throughout the visit, Perdue outlined principles to provide schools greater flexibility while maintaining the nutritional standards of the program.

"We would also like to thank Sen. Roberts for his efforts to bring more milk options and flexibility to the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs," said Carlin. In the House, Reps. GT Thompson (R-PA) and Joe Courtney (D-CT) were also strong supporters of enhancing the milk options available to school kids.

USDA will publish an interim rule to cover the regulatory changes needed to allow low-fat flavored milk in schools. It is unclear when the change will be implemented.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF's cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF's activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers with a membership of nearly 525 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members operate more than 600 manufacturing facilities and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. Visit IDFA at www.idfa.org.

SOURCE International Dairy Foods Association

Related Links

http://www.idfa.org


LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC has appointed longtime political communications specialist and educator Dan Schnur as director of the global advocacy organization's Los Angeles regional office. He will succeed Janna Weinstein Smith, who is relocating to Washington, D.C., at the end of the month.

"Dan Schnur's prominence in our community and his sustained history of leadership make him uniquely qualified to lead AJC in Los Angeles," said Scott Edelman, President of AJC Los Angeles. "We are thrilled to welcome Dan to lead our extraordinary team of staff professionals, and grateful for the many accomplishments of his predecessor, Janna Weinstein Smith."

Schnur comes to AJC after a career in communications and advocacy in California and national politics, and, more recently, teaching at the University of Southern California and the University of California  Berkeley.

"I am honored to head the AJC Los Angeles office, to work with leaders in our community to build and strengthen relationships with those who share our core principles," said Schnur. "I have spent years building support for the causes and issues that are most important to me, but nothing is more vital than the values that form the pillars of the Jewish community."

Since 2004, Schnur has taught politics, communications and leadership at the University of Southern California. He has been Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, founder of the USC/LA Times statewide political poll, and faculty advisor to the Trojans for Israel and SC Students for Israel organizations.

In addition to his position at USC, Schnur is an Adjunct Instructor at the University of California at Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies. He also has held the post of Visiting Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics at Harvard University and taught an advanced course in political campaign communications at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management.

Earlier in his career, Schnur spent nearly 20 years in state and national politics, working on four presidential campaigns and three campaigns for governor of California. He served as chairman of the California Fair Political Practice Commission, communications director for Governor Pete Wilson, and for Senator John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. In 2011, Schnur changed his party registration to No Party Preference.

In recent years, he has been involved with AJC Los Angeles, serving on its Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

AJC, a non-partisan organization founded in 1906, has headquarters in New York, 22 offices across the U.S, 10 around the world, and 34 international partnerships with overseas Jewish communities and student organizations.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


CHONGQING, China, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ) ("Daqo New Energy" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of high-purity polysilicon for the global solar PV industry, today announced that it plans to release its unaudited financial results for the First Quarter of 2017 ended March 31, 2017 before the U.S. markets open on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

The Company has scheduled a conference call to discuss the results at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on May 9, 2017 (8:00 PM Beijing / Hong Kong time on the same day).

The dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

Participant dial in (U.S. toll free): +1-888-346-8982 Participant international dial in: +1-412-902-4272 China mainland toll free: 4001-201203 Hong Kong toll free: 800-905945 Hong Kong local dial in: +852-301-84992

Participants please ask to be joined into the Daqo New Energy Corp. call. Please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin.

You can also listen to the conference call via Webcast through the URL: http://mms.prnasia.com/DQ/20170509/default.aspx

A replay of the call will be available 1 hour after the conclusion of the conference call through May 16, 2017. The dial in details for the conference call replay are as follows:

U.S. toll free: +1-877-344-7529 International dial in: +1-412-317-0088 Canada toll free: 855-669-9658 Replay access code: 10106374 To access the replay using an international dial-in number, please select the link below.

https://services.choruscall.com/ccforms/replay.html

Participants will be asked to provide their name and company name upon entering the call.

ABOUT DAQO NEW ENERGY CORP.

Founded in 2008, Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ) is a leading manufacturer of high-purity polysilicon for the global solar PV industry. As one of the world's lowest cost producers of high-purity polysilicon and solar wafers, the Company primarily sells its products to solar cell and solar module manufacturers. The Company has built a manufacturing facility that is technically advanced and highly efficient with a nameplate capacity of 18,000 metric tons in Xinjiang, China. The Company also operates a solar wafer manufacturing facility in Chongqing, China.

For more information about Daqo New Energy, please visit www.dqsolar.com.

For investor inquiries, please contact:

Daqo New Energy Corp.

Investor Relations Department

Phone: +86-187-1658-5553

Email: [email protected]



SOURCE Daqo New Energy Corp.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Data Resolution, an award-winning global provider of Microsoft hosted technologies, proudly announces the launch of four Microsoft Dynamics products (GP, NAV, SL, and AX) and a host of other products into the AWS Marketplace. Data Resolution is doubling down on its efforts to make enterprise applications on the AWS public cloud more accessible and user-friendly for businesses of all sizes.

Dynamics on AWS by Data Resolution

"Our suite of fully supported enterprise applications on the AWS public cloud represents an exciting and continuing shift in how organizations continue to consume enterprise technology," said Jim Pathman, CEO, Data Resolution. "By pre-provisioning the software in the AWS Marketplace, we have simplified what was once a daunting and time-consuming onboarding process for many organizations. Organizations can now take advantage of AWS's pay-per-hour model to maximize flexibility and eliminate any risk of overspending on IT resources."

In the past year, Data Resolution launched four Microsoft Dynamics packages and two Adobe products (ColdFusion and Media Server) on the AWS public cloud.

"The AWS Marketplace offers customers innovative solutions to harness the power of the AWS Cloud," continued Pathman. "With its second major release to the AWS Marketplace, Data Resolution has made frictionless enterprise purchase and deployment of Microsoft business applications like Dynamics  including taking advantage of Clusters and AWS Resources and allowing clustered deployments  possible for organizations of all sizes. Additionally, Data Resolution's 24/7/365 support across multiple AWS regions makes it easier for AWS customers globally to purchase and run any of the four types of Dynamics."

Tailored to meet the needs of companies big and small  Data Resolution has designed and pre-optimized all four Dynamics packages for simplicity and ease of use. Data Resolution offers fully managed support and services for all Dynamics products:

Dynamics GP on AWS  Designed for growing businesses frustrated by the current line-up of clunky and incompatible software, Dynamics GP is now pre-provisioned, providing the full complement of out-of-the-box functionality. This product has never been so easy and quick to get up and running.

Designed for growing businesses frustrated by the current line-up of clunky and incompatible software, Dynamics GP is now pre-provisioned, providing the full complement of out-of-the-box functionality. This product has never been so easy and quick to get up and running. Dynamics NAV on AWS  Tailored for small to mid-size businesses ready to take software to the next level. Like Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV equips growing teams with up-to-speed operational visibility to help reach their goals. It is tried and tested in supply chain environments and businesses that demand high visibility over operations .

Tailored for small to mid-size businesses ready to take software to the next level. Like Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV equips growing teams with up-to-speed operational visibility to help reach their goals. It is tried and tested in supply chain environments and businesses that demand high visibility over operations Dynamics SL on AWS  Built with project-based teams in mind, Dynamics SL fills the gaps between accounting and project management platforms. Dynamics SL is the perfect solution to help project-driven organizations manage people, projects, and profitability.

Built with project-based teams in mind, Dynamics SL fills the gaps between accounting and project management platforms. Dynamics SL is the perfect solution to help project-driven organizations manage people, projects, and profitability. Dynamics AX on AWS  Bringing together the best from Microsoft, Dynamics AX helps big teams act faster and smarter across their IT, finance, commerce, and operations. Dynamics AX is designed to handle large enterprise situations, which often have highly variable internal user accounts and can make scalability and licensing a headache.

To further ease the migration of enterprise applications to the cloud, Data Resolution and AWS are offering a special limited duration promotion.

Companies that spin up a test or development Dynamics project on AWS before June 30, 2017 can receive up to $20,000 in AWS hosting infrastructure credits.

Learn more about the promotion here:

http://connect.dataresolution.net/aws-credits-for-sharepoint-or-dynamics

About Data Resolution

Data Resolution LLC is an award-winning global Microsoft provider of managed technology solutions and has been named the Microsoft Dynamics Hoster of The Year for three consecutive years. Data Resolution supports businesses of all sizes and offers a wide range of services includes software hosting (SaaS), managed virtual environments, business continuity solutions, Cloud computing, and advanced data center services.

With five global SSAE16- Type 2 certified data centers, Data Resolution delivers best in class Microsoft ERP, CRM, Unified Communications, Messaging, Portals, and Collaboration solutions. Our solutions span many industries including financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and professional services.

For Media Inquiries:

Dean Ara, Director, Marketing

1-855-646-8662

[email protected]

SOURCE Data Resolution
Epicor has held successful Roadshows all over the globe to demo the latest version of their ERP software and all it can accomplish for its users. Candice Evertowski, the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Datix, is excited to bring the event, and all its benefits, to St. Louis for the first time.

"Datix is the predominant Epicor ERP consultant in St. Louis and Missouri, so we knew we were an ideal fit to help host the first Epicor Roadshow of the year in the area," Evertowski commented. "We are excited to display the remarkable capabilities of Epicor ERP with a private tour of Potter and its facilities for attendees to see first-hand how effective the software is. This event is a must-attend for any businesses considering an Epicor ERP system."

The agenda for the St. Louis Epicor Roadshow includes a presentation from Jeff Loyet, Director of MIS at Potter Electric Signal on his company's journey with Epicor ERP. Then Datix's own CEO Matt Schuval, will discuss best practices for an ERP implementation before Creed Grimm, a Senior Solution Engineer at Epicor, gives an in-depth demonstration of Epicor 10 itself. The day will finish with breakout discussion groups and a plant tour of Potter Electric Signal Company. Attendees will be able to glimpse first-hand what Epicor ERP can do for a company's shop floor. Throughout the day, the Roadshow will provide a better understanding of the implementation process, its challenges and ultimately, how to overcome them.

Matt Schuval, CEO of Datix, looks forward to his presentation and the proactive conversation on Epicor ERP implementation that the Roadshow promises.

"The Epicor Roadshow will provide a true 360-degree look at Epicor ERP and how businesses can leverage the platform for growth," Schuval said. "Datix has almost 20 years of experience helping businesses implement Epicor ERP, and over time we have honed a proven list of best practices with our Strategic Solutions Process. The presentation will complement Potter's personal account of their experiences with the software, and it should produce fruitful discussion for any businesses looking to implement their own instance of Epicor ERP. It's an opportunity to gain a true perspective and valuable insight surrounding an implementation of Epicor ERP."

Aside from the hands-on software experience the Epicor Roadshow will give attendees, the event will also be an excellent networking opportunity with a complimentary breakfast and lunch provided. Roadshow participants will be able to meet other current and potential Epicor ERP users in the area and discuss their own experiences with Epicor ERP and how they have found success with the software. The experts in attendance will be on hand to answer whatever questions a guest might have about Epicor ERP, and in-person demonstrations will give participants the chances to gain a higher level of insight into the software than could be found through online demos.

The first St. Louis Epicor ERP Roadshow of 2017 will take place at Potter Electric Signal Company, 5757 Phantom Drive, Suite 103, Saint Louis, MO 63042 on Thursday, May 18, 2017 from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

About Potter Electric Signal Company

Since 1898, Potter Electric Signal Company has been a global leader in manufacturing of fire sprinkler monitoring systems, corrosion solutions, electronic fire systems and security detection equipment. Potter Electric Signal Company has been an Epicor ERP customer since 2008.

About Datix

Datix is a premier software services company based in St. Louis, MO, USA. During our almost 20 years in operation, we have worked with clients in a wide range of industries. Our unique approach in optimizing business processes through software can be applied to almost any industry, from discrete manufacturing to product distribution. As authorized partners of Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, and Magento, we specialize in Business Process Management and Enterprise Application Solutions, including customizable integration options. Unity is Datix's pre-built integration solution for ERP and CRM enterprise software, available to connect your software seamlessly without any of the normal errors or bugs that can come with integration.

Datix also provides a wide range of ERP and CRM support services, business consulting and software development to our clients around the globe. www.datixinc.com

Datix Media Contact: Candice Evertowski

Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer

Datix

314-962-3466 ext. 1004

[email protected]

SOURCE Datix

Related Links

http://www.datixinc.com


WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DCI Consulting Group (DCI) today announced the release of EEOPay, the latest version of DCI's industry-leading pay equity analysis software. Developed in response to expanded state laws, activist investors, international and U.S. government regulatory enforcement, and private litigation, EEOPay is the most comprehensive and advanced monitoring tool on the market.

The updated software was created with human resources professionals in mind, enabling the HR professional to conduct advanced statistical analyses and use the results to make sound decisions all without being a statistician.

DCI will be hosting a web broadcast for clients and prospective users to learn more about the new functionality and powerful reporting tools built into DCI's latest software release. Please register at DCI's website for the complimentary web broadcast to be held Wednesday, May 10 at 2:00 pm EDT, or the rebroadcast on Tuesday, May 23 at 11:30 AM EDT.

New state laws and increasing pressure from shareholders to ensure pay equity are leading companies to look for solutions to help mitigate risk and ensure employees are being paid in accordance with applicable laws. EEOPay helps employers monitor the wage gap and conduct in depth, statistical analyses of their pay practices. The program not only identifies statistical patterns within the workforce, but also identifies individual outliers and guides employers in appropriate salary adjustments.

In addition, EEOPay enables employers to look at all forms of compensation and other employment practices such as base pay, bonus, variable pay and performance and provides advanced statistical modeling in an easy to understand report. Users now also have the ability to run multiple regression analyses mirroring the new methodology used by OFCCP and in recent court settlements.

"We are proud to release the latest version of our industry-leading pay equity analysis software, which we updated in response to the need in the market for employers to conduct very advanced and powerful analyses to identify and remedy areas of pay inequities. This software utilizes sophisticated statistical modeling, but is presented in a way that a human resources professional can understand," said David Cohen, President of DCI.

Additional features in version 1.1 include updated report layouts making results easier to read and interpret, new reports showing summary information for groups with significant differences in regression and Fisher's Exact analyses, the ability to view and export reports in separate windows, special options for exporting the Statistical Cohort Individual report to Excel and automatic selection and handling of vector-coded variables.

About DCI Consulting Group: DCI is a human resources risk management consulting and software firm based in Washington, D.C. providing services in the areas of systemic compensation discrimination analyses; affirmative action plan development and implementation; employee selection and test validation; and OFCCP audit and litigation support.

Media Contact:

Sara Morgan

Eleven Eleven PR

(703) 298-2243

[email protected]

SOURCE DCI Consulting Group
COPPELL, Texas, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DecisionEd (http://decisioned.com/) is pleased to announce that its industry-leading analytics solution for K-12 school districts will now incorporate IBM's renowned Watson Analytics data discovery service, further enhancing the platform's capacity for learning from data and delivering powerful, actionable insights.

"With so much data at their fingertips, analytics has become increasingly valuable for school districts across the nation," says DecisionEd Chief Architect Mark Mason. "DecisionEd has made it easier for school districts looking to organize and make sense of all that data. Our platform takes multiple data sources and compiles them automatically, so administrators and other users can get straight to the important work of getting answers from the data. Ultimately, DecisionEd empowers faster, better and safer decision making. And with the integration of the Watson Analytics engine, the platform just got a big upgrade."

IBM Watson Analytics has already earned a reputation for enabling advanced analytics through machine learning without adding needless cost or complexity. With Watson on board, the DecisionEd platform can now actively learn from a district's data. Over time, insights will become even more refined as the platform generates a precise picture of "what's going on" in each district. Likewise, the platform will be able to make increasingly sophisticated predictions about how various factors influence each other. Watson can process English language questions meaning there's almost no gap between the end user and the data-driven insights he or she is seeking. Finally, each district's data is fully protected within a close, secure environment.

DecisionEd's integration of Watson Analytics gives school districts access to pre-packaged, relevant data called "DecisionSets." These DecisionSets provide a window into the most pertinent questions and problems in the field of education. All parties  administrators, teachers, students and parents  will ultimately benefit from this innovation.

"School districts are working diligently to close achievement gaps and optimize all the resources at their disposal," adds Mason. "Data is among the most important of those resources, yet few districts can afford to add a full-time data scientist to their staff. Now they can  and its name is Watson."

In terms of student performance metrics, knowing when and how to deploy interventions or structure content delivery is essential. Every decision a district makes has ripple effects, so those decisions need to be well-informed. DecisionEd transforms data into actionable information, allowing decision makers to ask the right questions at the right time, and to see the answers in a comprehensible form. The platform has already been shown to reduce dropout rates and improve baseline performance by helping districts identify and support struggling students. DecisionEd incorporates criteria like attendance, grades, assessments and overall academic progress to allow a district to maximize the effect of their resources.

The essence of DecisionEd is big data analytics  adapted for the education marketplace. School districts have historically collected reams of data spread across disparate data resources. Now, DecisionEd extends the analytical options through IBM Watson. No special expertise is required to engage with the platform, ask penetrating questions of the data, produce interactive and timely reports, and achieve success through better decision making.

About DecisionEd

With more than 10 years of experience in the industry, DecisionEd provides a powerful, easy-to-use, easy-to-understand education intelligence solution with simple customization and FERPA-compliant security to K-12 school districts throughout the United States. Headquartered in Coppell, Texas, DecisionEd is a privately held company. Visit www.decisioned.com.

Contact:

Karen Krycho, Media Relations

[email protected]

972-591-6707

SOURCE DecisionEd

Related Links

http://www.decisioned.com


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The State of Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), the government agency responsible for regulating the medical use of cannabis in Delaware, has executed the state's cannabis seed-to-sale tracking and patient registry contract with BioTrackTHC.

Delaware's stated goals for the Medical Marijuana Program include, "protect the people of Delaware by minimizing the risk of theft and diversion of marijuana to unregistered individuals," and, "regulate the production and sale of medical grade marijuana to registered individuals." In pursuit of those goals, DHSS in 2016, issued a Request for Proposals for the Delaware Enterprise Consolidated Cannabis Control System, their designation for an integrated statewide seed-to-sale cannabis tracking and patient registry system.

"Our sincerest thanks to DHSS for choosing Team BioTrack," said Patrick Vo, CEO of BioTrackTHC. "DHSS has been wonderful to work with throughout the contracting process, and we look forward to partnering with them to provide the tools and data they need to continue overseeing the industry and protecting their patients."

The implementation of an integrated seed-to-sale tracking and patient registry system will enable the state to keep close tabs on the activity of the Medical Marijuana Program. Designated state officials will be able to view compassion center dataincluding plant s counts and usable inventory, lab results, transportation, and point-of-sale datato perform periodic audits and ensure compliance. Additionally, the patient registry portion of the system will improve patient accessibility to the Program by automating the patient application process and decreasing application processing times.

BioTrackTHC currently has live seed-to-sale government traceability systems in Washington; New Mexico; Illinois; Hawaii; New York; and the city of Arcata, California.

About BioTrackTHC:

Bio-Tech Medical Software, Inc., through its BioTrackTHC division, develops and provides effective, cutting-edge technology solutions for the emerging medical and recreational cannabis industry. Visit www.biotrack.com/ for more information, email [email protected] or call 1-800-797-4711 to order software. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for important updates and relevant industry news. BioTrackTHC currently holds 7 government contracts and operates in over 2000 locations across 24 states, D.C., Canada and Puerto Rico. Bio-Tech Medical Software, Inc. is a privately-held company, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Cynthia Salarizadeh

Salar Media Group

[email protected]

(856) 425.6160

https://www.biotrack.com

SOURCE BioTrackTHC

Related Links

http://www.biotrack.com


ATLANTA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DentalPost, the dental industry's premier job board and community announced today its approval as a PACE Program Provider by the Academy of General Dentistry. Launched in 2016, DentalPost EDU is a platform to help dental professionals get their CE's online. Available courses span various topics.

A few course providers include:

Front Office Rocks

Inspired Hygiene

Leslie Canham , CDA, RDA

, CDA, RDA Linda Harvey , RDH, MS, LHRM and Trish Reynolds , RDH, CRDH, BASDH

, RDH, MS, LHRM and , RDH, CRDH, BASDH Lisa Spradley

Patti DiGangi , RDH, BS, and Patti Beeson , RDH

"We are thrilled to become an Approved PACE Program Provider," said Tonya Lanthier, RDH, CEO of DentalPost. "When we launched our EDU platform, we knew the next step was to get the PACE Program Provider status. In addition to our top-notch contributors, we want to continue to elevate our platform and becoming a PACE program provider is the best way to do this. It's very exciting to be able to offer our 750,000 users a platform where they can take PACE programs online, when it works best for their busy schedules. At DentalPost, we are always looking to bring the most innovative tools to the dental industry to make dental professionals lives easier."

To get started, visit edu.dentalpost.net. If you are interested in contributing a course as an education partner, please email [email protected]

About DentalPost

Based in Atlanta, DentalPost is the dental industry's premier online and mobile job board. With more than 750,000 job seekers in the U.S. and Canada, DentalPost connects dental professionals with dental offices to help create dental teams that excel. Founded in 2005 by Tonya Lanthier, a Registered Dental Hygienist, DentalPost leads the industry in metric-based career matching including personality tests as well as values, skills and work culture assessments to assist in selecting the best match for each position. For further information on DentalPost visit www.dentalpost.net, download the app on Android and iOS or contact us at 678-805-7820.

About the Academy of General Dentistry

The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) is a professional association of over 40,000 general dentists dedicated to providing quality dental care and oral health education to the public. Founded in 1952, the AGD is the second largest dental association in the United States, and it is the only association that exclusively serves the needs and represents the interests of general dentists. For more information about the AGD, visit www.agd.org.

Media Contact:

Sara Wakefield

[email protected]

770-778-6194

SOURCE DentalPost

Related Links

http://www.dentalpost.net


LONG ISLAND, N.Y., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, April 28, local policy makers, and members of the Long Island building and design community learned about a growing trend in new construction: building "Solar Ready."

Solar Ready principles help guide architects, engineers, and builders on how to design a building's roof in a way that would allow for maximum energy production either from initial solar panel installation or future adoption. Some municipalities including the Town of Brookhaven have already adopted Solar Ready building requirements.

The Designing and Building "Solar Ready" conference was given in two sections: why build solar ready, and how to build solar ready. Architects and engineers learned about the technical requirements to install solar in both a residential and commercial setting.

"Solar installed on Solar Ready homes and buildings maximizes financial returns and can cover 100 percent of energy needs including electric loads, vehicle charging, heating, and cooling of the entire home," said David Schieren, CEO of SunPower by EmPower Solar. "Solar is the fastest growing new energy source. Its impact is magnified when a building is designed properly from the beginning."

"All new homes should be built 'solar ready.' If you look at the growth in the installation of solar systems and the strong desire among homeowners to both save money on utility bills while also doing their part to help improve the environment, it is the worst kind of antiquated thinking for any new homes to be constructed that are not solar ready," says Neal Lewis, Executive Director of the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College.

"Long Island is well on the path to transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and rooftop solar power is one key ingredient in this critical transition," said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "The more accessible solar power is to property owners, the faster Long Island will move into the 21st century of clean energy. These changes in design to accommodate solar arrays are simple to include during the building process, but could be difficult and costly to change after construction."

The conference covered compliance with building codes and regulations, orientation, and design of roof structures, using roof anchors, laying electrical equipment, solar panel layout, and optimal roofing materials. Presenters also discussed how to build homes "Battery Ready" which will play a large part in making solar accessible during times when the panels may not be producing energy; during night time and bad weather.

These initiatives come as solar installations in New York are growing rapidly. A few reasons for growth include the affordability of installation, incentives, and electric bill savings. There are also environmental initiatives to comply with in the coming years, including Governor Cuomo's goal of powering New York on 50 percent renewable energy by 2030. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, "For the first time ever, solar ranked as the No. 1 source of new electric generating capacity."

"With a range of transit oriented developments and multifamily housing projects underway over the last decade it is important to bring solar energy technology to these buildings," says Eric Alexander from Vision Long Island.

About SunPower by EmPower Solar

SunPower by EmPower Solar provides customized residential and commercial solar energy solutions using the industry's highest efficiency solar panels and best combined power and product warranty.

With over 1,500 solar and battery systems installed since 2003, EmPower has received several awards for excellent customer service and workmanship.

Media Contact:

Tara Bono

516.837.3459

[email protected]

SOURCE SunPower by EmPower Solar

Related Links

http://www.empower-solar.com


SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE: DEI), a real estate investment trust (REIT), has released its first quarter 2017 financial results by posting its First Quarter 2017 Earnings Results and Operating Information package to the investor relations section of its website at www.douglasemmett.com/investors.

As previously announced, Jordan Kaplan, CEO, Mona Gisler, CFO, Kevin Crummy, CIO, and Stuart McElhinney, Vice President Investor Relations will host a live conference call to discuss Douglas Emmett's financial results at 2:00 pm Eastern Time (11:00 am Pacific Time) on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. Interested parties can access the live call via the internet by going to the investor relations section of www.douglasemmett.com at least fifteen minutes prior to the start time of the call in order to register, download and install any necessary audio software. Those without internet access can listen to the call by phone at (888) 349-0488 (U.S.) or (412) 542-4156 (International)  ask to join the Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) call. For those unable to participate on the live call, a rebroadcast will be available for 90 days on Douglas Emmett's website at www.douglasemmett.com/investors.

About Douglas Emmett, Inc.

Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities. For more information about Douglas Emmett, please visit our website at www.douglasemmett.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the historical facts, the statements in this press release regarding Douglas Emmett's business activities are forward-looking statements based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to us about known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors that are beyond our control or ability to predict. Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance and some will inevitably prove to be incorrect. As a result, our actual future results can be expected to differ from our expectations, and those differences may be material. Accordingly, investors should use caution in relying on forward-looking statements to anticipate future results or trends. For a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stuart McElhinney, Vice President  Investor Relations 310.255.7751 [email protected]

SOURCE Douglas Emmett, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.douglasemmett.com


EclecticIQ, the cyber threat intelligence technology provider, has announced the launch of EclecticIQ Fusion Center, a revolutionary approach to the collection, analysis, and distribution of cyber threat intelligence.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/495681/EclecticIQ.jpg )



Available as a managed service, EclecticIQ Fusion Center gathers the best threat intelligence from open-, community-, and over 30+ commercial sources[1] and fuses it into optimized bundles tailor made for sectors, geographies or individual clients. Clients receive a single, standards-compliant feed that contains all the intelligence needed for enterprise threat intelligence practices, Security Operations Centers, and Incident Response teams.

With this launch, organizations can focus entirely on responding to threats without having to manage multiple intelligence feeds. EclecticIQ Fusion Center simplifies procurement and contracting, saving time and money for cyber threat intelligence analysts, and improving cyber readiness.

"Traditionally, organizations have had to manually procure, consolidate and triage multiple sources of intelligence in order to understand the threat landscape and ensure action," said Joep Gommers, Founder & CEO at EclecticIQ. "This approach overburdens analysts and IT resources with repetitive, low-value work."

"EclecticIQ Fusion Center makes it simple for organizations to run a highly effective cyber threat intelligence practice. Threat analysts should be working together in teams to protect their organizations against cyber threats, and every minute that they spend on data processing is a missed opportunity," he concluded.

Clients can customize the mix of open-, community-, and commercial sources contained in the intelligence bundle, and EclecticIQ specialists and partners will work directly with organizations to determine the optimal mix of intelligence sources suitable in any given industry or geography. If sources are not delivering up to par, clients can change the mix of sources without changes in contracting and delivery already in place.

Prior to delivering an intelligence bundle, EclecticIQ Fusion Center performs a full range of data management activities as part of an extensive fusion process, including deduplication of threat data, qualification for priority and relevancy, and tagging according to user-customizable taxonomies.

EclecticIQ can also enrich intelligence feeds with commentary and insights from regional intelligence specialists. The resulting feed contains the most relevant, timely, and valuable intelligence, fused into a single bundle that's designed expressly for an organization.

Chris O'Brien, Fusion Center Intelligence Lead at EclecticIQ said "We're constantly evaluating intelligence sources using objective measures such as unique insights, corroboration with other sources, structuring, and data correlation. Our objective, all-source approach ensures that we always have the most relevant, timely and valuable intelligence available. It's extremely difficult for any single organization to perform this level of due diligence on their own, which is why our clients are so excited about the launch of EclecticIQ Fusion Center."

EclecticIQ Fusion Center works with EclecticIQ Platform or any standards-based threat intelligence platform.

More info at http://www.eclecticiq.com/fusion-center

About EclecticIQ

EclecticIQ helps organizations to turn cyber threat intelligence into business value through products built for cyber security professionals in threat intelligence, threat hunting, SOC, and Incident Response.

EclecticIQ Platform is the analyst-centric threat intelligence platform based on STIX/TAXII that meet the full spectrum of intelligence needs.

EclecticIQ Fusion Center enables the acquisition of thematic bundles of cyber threat intelligence from leading suppliers with a single contract.

The company won Deloitte's Technology FAST50 Rising Star Award for "Most Disruptive Innovator".

https://vimeo.com/eclecticiq/fusion-center

Learn more: https://www.EclecticIQ.com.

--------------------------------------------------

1. Including Fox-IT, Group-IB, Intel 471, RedSocks, and SenseCy.

SOURCE EclecticIQ
DALLAS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The two economists who influenced the design of the tax reform being proposed in the House of Representatives say it "has the potential to boost the economy, raise wages, maintain progressivity, and do so without expanding federal debt." But they are critical of a tax reform outlined by President Trump last week, which differs from the House plan in important ways.

In a study, primarily financed by the Goodman Institute, Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff and Berkeley economist Alan Auerbach find that the House tax plan would attract trillions of dollars of capital to the U.S. economy that would otherwise be offshore. It would also boost wages, increasing the take-home pay of the average household by as much as $4,000 a year.

"The current corporate income tax raises very little revenue," said Kotlikoff. "But it creates burdens for business, distorts investment decisions, and encourages American companies to invest overseas, leaving U.S. workers behind." The House Republican plan would replace the 35% tax on corporate profit with a 20% tax on sales, after deducting investments, wages and the cost of inputs.

The proposal, developed by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, has been criticized for creating large deficits to give tax cuts to the rich. But the study finds that the total tax package (corporate plus personal income tax reform), if it succeeds in attracting dramatically more investment, pays for itself  by eliminating deductions and loopholes and creating enough new taxable income to offset the effects of lower tax rates.

"The proposal is definitely not a giveaway to the rich," said Kotlikoff. "Under the new tax regime, the distribution of resources would be almost as progressive as it is today, even as everyone enjoys higher income."

Kotlikoff believes the current corporate income tax mainly falls on workers, whereas the reform would shift that burden to owners of capital. For that reason, corporate tax reform is the most progressive part of the proposal. "The House Republican tax plan would replace a tax on labor with a tax on wealth," he said. "This is something every Democrat should support."

In contrast to the House proposal, the economists criticized the outline of a tax reform by President Trump, which appears to create a loophole for the self-employed and appears to favor imported goods over domestic production.

In doing their analysis, Kotlikoff and Auerbach are using:

What is by far the most comprehensive model of international capital flows in response to corporate taxes.

The only known model that allows economists to calculate the lifetime distributional effects of all major tax and spending polices.

About the Goodman Institute

Led by Dr. John C. Goodman, the Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research (GIPPR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization that promotes private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. Topics include reforms in health care, taxes, and entitlements. Visit www.goodmaninstitute.org.

SOURCE Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research

Related Links

http://www.goodmaninstitute.org


The city is set to pay $1.1 million in taxpayer money to the family of a bystander fatally shot by an undercover NYPD officer during a gun-buy sting gone awry, according to a release by the Comptroller's Office authorizing the settlement.

The Daily News reports that city lawyers agreed to the payout after the widow of the victim, Felix Kumi, filed paperwork indicating her intent to sue. Kumi, 61, drove a school bus and lived in Mount Vernon, where on an afternoon in August 2015 a plainclothes detective traveled to buy a gun from a black market seller. The sale took place in a parked car, and according to the NYPD, a man climbed into the back seat with the officer and held up him and the gun dealer at gunpoint. When the alleged robber, Alvin Smothers, ran off with the money, the unidentified officer called for backup, called on Smothers to stop, and opened fire.

Police alleged that Smothers pointed his gun at the detective a second time as he fled, before the officer unloaded. The court papers viewed by the News say that the cop failed to identify himself, and shot within five seconds of the robbery, firing 21 bullets and hitting Smothers twice in the back.

Kumi was crossing a street at the time and was hit in the torso. Smothers survived, but Kumi died early the next morning at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

Responding officers recovered the sting money and a fake .45-caliber pistol.

The Comptroller's Office signed off on the settlement in October 2016, and according to the News the deal is supposed to include $375,680 in legal fees for Kumi's family's lawyer.

Smothers is being charged with robbery and second-degree murder, apparently for the events leading to Kumi's death. Those charges are still pending. The detective who killed Kumi has not been publicly identified, but according to the tabloid he quit the force in October and is collecting a disability pension for his post-traumatic stress disorder. He has not been charged with a crime.
VIENNA, May 02, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

At the 36thESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology) meeting, 5-9 May in Vienna, Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) will demonstrate the clinical flexibility of High definition Dynamic Radiosurgery (HDRS), a single oncology platform combining Versa HD linear accelerator and Monaco treatment planning system.

HDRS supports clinicians to deliver high-volume advanced stereotactic therapies, such as stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) within standard treatment time slots.

Equipped with full-field, high definition beam-shaping technology and High Dose Rate modes, Versa HD offers end-to-end precision and accuracy to deliver a variety of stereotactic treatments throughout the body. Monaco enables efficient high definition planning and supports the Monte Carlo algorithm  the most accurate dose calculation available, ensuring lowest possible dose to critical structures while maintaining tight dose coverage to the target. The unique combination of Versa HD and Monaco allows the delivery of highly conformal and efficient stereotactic treatments in shorter or fewer arcs.

"With Elekta's HDRS solutions, our team plans and delivers high doses and handles small, intricate fields without compromise. Many tumors located near critical organs or difficult-to-access areas require a level of precision not achievable with traditional linear accelerators, and this platform may be an important option for these individuals," says Bora Tas, PhD, Chief Medical Physicist, Department of Radiation Oncology, Yeni Yuzyil University Medicine Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. "Versa HD also helps optimize clinical workflow, which should allow oncology departments to function efficiently and enable the treatment of more patients each day."

"Stereotactic radiation therapies have become increasingly important cancer treatment modalities in recent years because they meet the demand for effective therapies that are low-cost, high value and address the needs of patients and clinicians," says Dr. Richard Hausmann, Elekta's President and CEO. "Elekta is committed to developing focused solutions that continue to enhance the precision and targeting of radiation therapy and allow our customers to provide their patients with optimal care and outcomes."

Visitors to Elekta's booth (#3000) will have the opportunity to participate in interactive demonstrations and learn more about recent Elekta innovations, including:

The role of magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MRT) and how research and development in this growing field is becoming a tangible reality. Join Elekta on Saturday 6 May at 10:10 when the future of MRT will become clear. For more information, visit elekta.com/MR-linac.

Venezia, a new gynecological applicator now cleared for use in most markets, provides 3D image-guided adaptive brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer. Venezia uniquely allows clinicians to treat IIIA and IIIB tumors in the cervix, parametrium and vaginal extensions through a combination of straight and oblique needles with consistent and reproducible placement.

Leksell Gamma Knife Icon, which offers clinicians unrivaled precision in frameless and frame-based treatment approaches for both single-session and fractionated SRS treatments. Learn how QA and planning are fast and intuitive for treating tumors adjacent to critical structures or multiple brain lesions.

MOSAIQ, the leading comprehensive and open EMR, will be showcased through a virtual experience. Visitors will learn how they can unlock data into actionable analytics, make more informed decisions based on clinical and operational insights and manage cancer registries more efficiently with MOSAIQ Oncology Informatics.

Additional Elekta educational meetings and symposiums will be hosted for customers throughout the congress. To learn more about these events, visit: www.elekta.com/ESTRO. For live updates from ESTRO 36, follow @Elekta on Twitter.

For further information, please contact:

Gert van Santen,

Group Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB

Tel: +31-653-561-242,

E-mail: [email protected]

Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Raven Canzeri,

Global Public Relations Manager, Elekta

Tel: +1-770-670-2524,

E-mail: [email protected]

Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Elekta

Related Links

http://www.elekta.com/ESTRO


MOSCOW, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

EM, a leading financial and corporate communications agency for emerging markets clients, has been shortlisted as a finalist for the 2017 EMEA Financial PR Consultancies of the Year award by The Holmes Report, the definitive voice of the global public relations industry. The other finalists are Barbarino, CNC, Hering Schuppener, and Maitland.

EM was recognised for its impact on the financial PR and investor relations landscape - in particular in Russia - with work on a significant number of M&As, activist campaigns, as well as Russian IPOs and ECM transactions, including most recently the Detsky Mir IPO - the first globally marketed IPO since Western sanctions against Russia.

Tom Blackwell, CEO and co-founder of EM, said:

"We are thrilled to be on a short-list with such distinguished and long-established agencies. It was just four years ago to this day when we completed our management buyout and formed EM. Despite being a supposedly rocky ride since then for our core market of Russia, our firm has maintained revenue growth of 25% year on year and further expanded our geographic footprint into Asia and America.

"Key to getting to where we are today has been our talent, energy, and audacity. But we have also been helped along the way by our unwavering commitment to enjoying life. Numerous sources have suggested that EM (with support from its dedicated clients) has consumed more champagne than any other financial PR consultancy across the entire EMEA region. We look forward to further success, by all measures."

Holmes Report's EMEA PR Consultancies of the Year awards are the result of an exhaustive research process involving more than 200 submissions and face-to-face meetings with the best PR firms across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

About EM

EM is a leading independent financial and corporate communications agency for the companies in emerging markets. Through our market-leading team in Moscow headquarters, and offices in London, New York, and Hong Kong, we offer services across financial PR, investor relations, IPO and M&A transaction support, crisis communications, reputation management, and strategic advisory.

SOURCE EM
SAO PAOLO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

HIGHLIGHTS

In 1Q17, Embraer delivered 18 commercial and 15 executive (11 light and 4 large) jets, representing a decline from the 21 commercial and 23 executive (12 light and 11 large) jet deliveries in 1Q16;

The Company's firm order backlog ended the quarter at US$ 19.2 billion ;

; Revenues in 1Q17 were US$ 1,026.3 million , representing a decline of 21.6% as compared to 1Q16, due largely to a decline in commercial jet and executive jet deliveries;

, representing a decline of 21.6% as compared to 1Q16, due largely to a decline in commercial jet and executive jet deliveries; Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted EBITDA margins were 3.0% and 10.1%, respectively, in 1Q17. Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted EBITDA exclude the impact of US$ 7.6 million in additional provisions related to the Company's voluntary dismissal program;

in additional provisions related to the Company's voluntary dismissal program; 1Q17 Net income attributable to Embraer shareholders and Earnings per ADS were US$ 42.5 million and US$ 0.23 , respectively. Adjusted Net income (excluding the impact of FX-related non-cash deferred income tax and social contribution and the aforementioned provision) for the quarter was US$ 23.2 million , representing Adjusted Earnings per ADS of US$ 0.13 in 1Q17;

and , respectively. Adjusted Net income (excluding the impact of FX-related non-cash deferred income tax and social contribution and the aforementioned provision) for the quarter was , representing Adjusted Earnings per ADS of in 1Q17; In January, Embraer issued US$ 750 million in principal value of bonds at par, with maturity in 2027 and a coupon rate of 5.4%. The Company finished 1Q17 with a total cash position of US$ 3,482.0 million and total debt of US$ 4,287.8 million , yielding a net debt position of US$ 805.8 million ;

in principal value of bonds at par, with maturity in 2027 and a coupon rate of 5.4%. The Company finished 1Q17 with a total cash position of and total debt of , yielding a net debt position of ; In March, the Company announced that it successfully completed the inaugural flight of the first prototype of the E-195 E2 commercial jet, several months ahead of schedule. All three jet models of the E2 program remain on track for their respective entry into service plans  the E-190 E2 in the first half of 2018, the E-195 E2 in the first half of 2019 and the E-175 E2 in 2021;

Embraer reiterates all aspects of its financial and delivery outlook for 2017.

MAIN FINANCIAL INDICATORS

in millions of U.S dollars, except % and earnings per share data IFRS (1) (1) (1) 4Q16 1Q16 1Q17 Revenue 2,027.8 1,309.0 1,026.3 EBIT 276.6 85.7 23.4 EBIT Margin % 13.6% 6.5% 2.3% Adjusted EBIT 246.1 85.7 31.0 Adjusted EBIT Margin % 12.1% 6.5% 3.0% EBITDA 378.5 159.5 95.8 EBITDA Margin % 18.7% 12.2% 9.3% Adjusted EBTIDA 348.0 159.5 103.4 Adjusted EBTIDA Margin % 17.2% 12.2% 10.1% Adjusted Net Income 2 209.1 (1.7) 23.2 Net income attributable to Embraer Shareholders 195.2 103.9 42.5 Earnings per share - ADS basic (US$) 1.0634 0.5690 0.2312 Net debt (574.7) (219.9) (805.8)



(1) Derived from unaudited financial information.







For more information, please visit ri.embraer.com.br

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Eduardo Couto, Chris Thornsberry, Caio Pinez, Nadia Santos, Paulo Ferreira and Viviane Pinheiro.

(+55 12) 3927- 1000

[email protected]

http://ri.embraer.com.br

Follow Embraer's IR Department on Twitter: @IREmbraer

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Embraer will host a conference call to present its 1Q17 Results on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 11:30AM (SP) / 10:30AM (NY). The conference call will also be broadcast live over the web at http://ri.embraer.com.br

Telephones:

Operator Assisted (US/ Canada) Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (877) 846-1574

Operator Assisted International Dial-In Number: (708) 290-0687

Your own International Toll-Free number for Brazil: 0800 047 4803 (land line) and 0800 047 4801 (cell phone)

Code: 60342039

ABOUT EMBRAER

Embraer is a global company headquartered in Brazil with businesses in commercial and executive aviation, defense & security. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets aircraft and systems, providing customer support and services.

Since it was founded in 1969, Embraer has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft. About every 10 seconds an aircraft manufactured by Embraer takes off somewhere in the world, transporting over 145 million passengers a year.

Embraer is the leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 130 seats. The company maintains industrial units, offices, service and parts distribution centers, among other activities, across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

For more information, please visit www.embraer.com.br

SOURCE Embraer

Related Links

http://www.embraer.com.br


While EnCore is a newer company, founders Jim Downey and Tom McFarland have a long-standing relationship with Boeing over the course of their 40 years of experience in the industry. "Being named Supplier of the Year by Boeing is a humbling experience," explains Tom McFarland, CEO of the EnCore Group. "Our goal is to be predictable and reliable for Boeing no matter what the challenge, consistently without fail."

"Boeing's success is a testament to the partnerships we hold with the finest aerospace suppliers in the world such as EnCore," said Kent Fisher, Boeing's leader for enterprise Supplier Management. "Together we will continue to deliver affordable, technologically advanced products and services that give our customers a competitive edge."

With a growing reputation for on-time delivery and a commitment to quality, the four companies of the EnCore Group are making a name for themselves in aviation. In 2016, EnCore Interiors dominated North American 737 MAX Galley orders and added its first two customers in the European market, while EnCore Composite Structures saw sales double since its founding in 2011. Meanwhile, EnCore International doubled capacity to meet the EnCore Group's machining demand, and achieved all required Boeing qualifications to be able to deliver EnCore's first 787-10 production parts directly to Charleston, SC, all within one year of setting up operation. And still relatively new to the aircraft seating industry, LIFT by EnCore opened their new certification facility and announced two launch customers for their first product, 737 Tourist Class Seating.

This year's recipients represent an elite group among more than 13,000 active Boeing suppliers in 48 countries around the world. This selection was based on stringent performance criteria for quality performance, delivery performance, cost, environmental initiatives, customer service, and technical expertise.

About the EnCore Group

Founded in 2011 by Jim Downey and Tom McFarland, the EnCore Group is comprised of four dedicated aerospace companies, each with its own specific focus.

EnCore Interiors is a full floor-to-floor design, manufacturing, and certification company. They offer galleys, lavatories, class dividers, closets, flooring, and other components.

EnCore Composite Structures has become a leading designer and manufacturer of highly engineered components that utilize composite and other lightweight materials for commercial and military applications.

EnCore International is a multi-process facility that opened in November 2015 to support the EnCore Group's growing production needs. By utilizing new manufacturing technologies, they are able to work fluidly with the other companies in the group to offer support and expedite production.

LIFT by EnCore is an airline seating supplier with a focus on revolutionizing the industry by delivering superior results.

CONTACT: Karen Happel, 1-516-376-1167, [email protected]

SOURCE The EnCore Group
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ensono, a leading hybrid IT services provider, appointed Jason Deck as vice president of Hyperscale Cloud products and marketing. In his new role, Deck will call on his previous experiences with AWS to lead the development of hyperscale products and strategy.

Deck has more than 15 years of experience and leadership in IT and telecommunications industries. He believes companies not born in the cloud are an underserved market, and seeks to provide them with the resources necessary to be successful in a cloud environment. Ensono will leverage Deck's expertise to assist clients in their transition from legacy systems to the cloud, making him an integral piece of Ensono's growth in the IT managed services space.

"Jason is a notable leader in our industry, and he is an important addition to elevate Ensono's Hyperscale Cloud incubator and services," said Brett Moss, senior vice president of Hyperscale Cloud. "As more businesses move to the cloud, we'll use his insights to align our services with the needs of our current and potential clients."

Prior to joining Ensono, Deck was the senior vice president of strategy at Logicworks, an enterprise cloud automation and managed service provider, where he was responsible for defining the strategy for Logicworks' brand and position in the market. Deck played a critical role in Logicworks' significant growth from its Managed AWS business, and the company's sale to Pamplona Capital Management in 2016. Before his time at Logicworks, he held sales, business development, marketing and alliance roles for Cisco Systems, Brocade Communications and Equinix.

"Ensono understands where the market is headed, and I'm honored to join an organization with an in-depth knowledge of legacy systems and how to take companies' IT systems to the next level," said Deck. "My goal is to ensure Ensono is widely recognized as the best-in-class enabler of digital transformation."

Deck holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in New York, in addition to an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

To learn more about Ensono, please visit www.ensono.com.

About Ensono

For business leaders managing lots of complexity or disrupting the status quo, Ensono delivers complete Hybrid IT services and governance, from cloud to mainframe, tailored to each client's journey. Whether it's leveraging the power of the cloud or modernizing legacy technologies, you'll be on track to operate for today and optimize for tomorrow. Some of the world's most successful companies rely on us to help them be great at what they do. We've been recognized in Gartner Magic Quadrants for Data Center Outsourcing in North America, and Cloud Managed Hosting in Europe, as well as acknowledged by the Uptime Institute for 100% availability. We have over 1,000 associates across North America and Europe and are headquartered in greater Chicago, IL. Visit us at www.ensono.com

Media Contact:

Beth Burghgraef

312-648- 6017

[email protected]

SOURCE Ensono

Related Links

https://www.ensono.com


ATLANTA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that Richard F. Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and John Gamble, Chief Financial Officer, will present and meet with investors in Europe this month as well as Jeff Dodge and Doug Brandberg of Investor Relations. Below is the schedule.

Smith, Dodge, and Brandberg will be presenting on

Tuesday, May 16 th at the Barclays Americas Select Franchise Conference in London

Gamble, Dodge, and Brandberg will present and meet with investors on

Wednesday, May 10 th at the J.P. Morgan Business Services Conference in London

at the J.P. Morgan Business Services Conference in Thursday, May 11 th in Stockholm and Copenhagen

in and Friday, May 12 th in Paris

Dodge and Brandberg will meet with investors on

Tuesday, May 9 th in Frankfurt, Germany

in Monday, May 15 th in Zurich and Geneva

in and Wednesday, May 17 th at the Barclays Americas Select Franchise Conference in London

at the Barclays Americas Select Franchise Conference in Thursday, May 18 th in Scotland

Smith, Gamble, Dodge, and Brandberg will discuss the company's first quarter performance, as well as the strategic outlook for 2017.

An archive of the presentation will be available at investor.equifax.com.

About Equifax

Equifax is a global information solutions company that uses trusted unique data, innovative analytics, technology and industry expertise to power organizations and individuals around the world by transforming knowledge into insights that help make more informed business and personal decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its database includes employee data contributed from more than 7,100 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 9,700 employees worldwide.

Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Named to the Top 100 American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015-2016); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2016); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2016); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015-2016). For more information, visit www.equifax.com.

SOURCE Equifax Inc.

Related Links

http://www.equifax.com


SEATTLE, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gov. Jay Inslee has declared May 2017 as Hospitality Month. This is the first such honor for the Washington hospitality industry, recognizing the nearly quarter of a million people employed by the industry in the state. Employment Security Department (ESD) Commissioner Dale Peinecke will read the proclamation at a hiring event at 9 a.m. on May 5, 2017 at Motif Seattle, 1415 5th Ave. Seattle, WA 98101.

"Hospitality Month is a chance to celebrate all that the industry can offer Washington's workforce and the many contributions it makes to local communities," said Governor Jay Inslee. "Hospitality jobs are key to Washington's economy, pay more than $5 billion in wages, provide important training and serve as a vital path to entrepreneurship for immigrant families."

"Our industry provides career opportunities at every level and takes people from the starting line to $60k and beyond. We are not successful unless our employees are successful," said Anthony Anton, President and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association. "This hiring event, and Hospitality Month, is a chance to lift people up and even provide a new generation a chance at the American Dream."

The Washington Hospitality Association, ESD and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Employment Pipeline are all jointly hosting the hiring event with other partners in the WorkSource system, including the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC).

"At ESD, we are partners in the WorkSource system, connecting businesses and jobseekers and supporting transitions to new jobs and empowering careersand that's what makes Hospitality Month so great," said Dale Peinecke, Commissioner of the Employment Security Department. "We love it when we can introduce jobseekers to new opportunities in exciting and fulfilling careersand we are excited to unveil our new 'Welcome to Hospitality' website specifically for those who want to learn about jobs in the hospitality sector."

This hiring event is different from a typical job fair as it removes roadblocks to employment such as lack of transportation, certifications, permits, uniform needs, food assistance, Orca Lift cards, childcare assistance vouchers and more. These resources will be available for 12 months.

For King County workers who want jobs, this is an opportunity to start a lasting career with critical support. The day will connect hundreds of vetted, employable, ready-to-interview candidates with businesses in need.

READ THIS RELEASE ONLINE



Contacts:

Stephanie McManus, Communications Advocacy Manager, 360-956-7279, [email protected]

Janelle Guthrie, ESD Communications Director, 360-902-9289

SOURCE Washington Hospitality Association
SOCIAL EXPERIMENT BY THE SLICE To conduct this experiment, DIGIORNO recruited real people to host friends and family for a pizza party at a Manhattan loft. During three separate parties, the room was set up with more than 40 high-resolution cameras that captured footage of guests while pizza baked in the oven, and after it was served.

With the help of facial recognition and emotion-tracking software, the footage was then analyzed to identify patterns in emotion. For example, "joy" was classified based on indicators of happiness like smiles and eye movements.

"This experiment gave us unique insight into our belief that oven-fresh pizza helps people get more out of their occasions," said Jeff Hamilton, President, Nestle Foods Division, Nestle USA. "We were able to learn about how, when and why moods may change in response to pizza in an exciting new way."

THE RESULTS

Across all three gatherings, when pizza was in the oven, it coincided with the highest observable increase in joy  even greater than levels reached when the pizza was actually being eaten.

Notable findings include:

Pizza Prep: When pizza went into the oven, everyone's mood improved, with joy increasing up to 18 percentage points.

When pizza went into the oven, everyone's mood improved, with joy increasing up to 18 percentage points. That Smells Great: As smell permeated the room, partygoers were happiest, with joy increasing up to 24 percentage points.

As smell permeated the room, partygoers were happiest, with joy increasing up to 24 percentage points. It's Ready: Taking pizza out of the oven also had significant impact on the moods of partygoers, with an increase in joy up to 20 percentage points.

Taking pizza out of the oven also had significant impact on the moods of partygoers, with an increase in joy up to 20 percentage points. Serving up Slices: When hosts cut the pizza, partygoers experienced up to an 11 percentage point increase in joy.

When hosts cut the pizza, partygoers experienced up to an 11 percentage point increase in joy. Eating Pizza: As partygoers took their first bite and began eating pizza, increase in joy went up to 11 percentage points.

From putting it in the oven and smelling the aroma as it bakes to finally enjoying those first bites, there's no doubt that baking pizza in your own oven is a sure-fire way to elevate any experience.

For more information on the findings, visit digiorno.com/powerofpizza or follow along at Facebook.com/digiorno and @DigiornoPizza on Twitter.

1 88 percent of respondents said eating pizza makes them happy. Data according to survey from United Minds. This survey was designed and conducted by United Minds on behalf of DIGIORNO using an online survey of 1,086 Americans between 18 and 80 years of age. The sample was demographically representative of the US population. The survey was fielded Feb. 8-14, 2017.

ABOUT THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

DIGIORNO conducted a social experiment using 24 real people and measured the effect of oven-fresh pizza on gatherings. Three separate parties were set up with more than 40 high-resolution cameras to capture participants throughout the event. The footage was then processed using custom software that used facial recognition and emotion tracking to map the partygoers' expressions. All measurements of joy are compared to five minutes after the beginning of each party, which was used as the baseline for testing.

Patterns were identified based on the levels of JOY displayed by partygoers in response to stimulus. Video was broken down to images at five-second intervals in order to process through facial analysis software. Patterns in emotion (Joy, Sorrow, Anger, Fear, Surprise) were calculated with Google's Vision API on a scale of 0-4. The JOY scores were averaged on a per minute basis (by participants experiencing JOY only) and subtracted from the initial JOY felt upon arrival at the party.

Nestle USA

Named among "The World's Most Admired Food Companies" in Fortune magazine for twenty consecutive years, Nestle USA is committed to enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. By providing choices, from nutritious meals with LEAN CUISINE to baking traditions with NESTLE TOLL HOUSE, Nestle USA makes delicious, convenient, and nutritious food and beverages that make good living possible. With 2016 sales of $9.7 billion, Nestle USA is part of Nestle S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland  the world's largest food company  with 2016 sales of $91 billion. For product news and information, visit Nestleusa.com or Facebook.com/NestleUSA.

SOURCE Nestle USA

Related Links

http://www.Nestleusa.com


CHICAGO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fastweb (www.fastweb.com), the leading website for scholarship and financial aid information and a member of the Monster network, honors students of Asian-Pacific heritage during Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month by highlighting a wide range of scholarship opportunities to help them reach their educational goals.

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. According to Asianpacificheritage.gov, "the month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants."

Fastweb has gathered an impressive group of opportunities in their new resource, Scholarships for Asian Pacific American Students. Awards of various amounts up to $16,000 are available in academic areas such as education, math, science, psychology and more for students exhibiting leadership qualities and demonstrating financial need. Applications for these undergraduate and graduate opportunities are being accepted now. Additional scholarships can be found in Fastweb's scholarship directory for Asian or Pacific Islander students.

Fastweb provides helpful and insightful online resources to help students find ways to fund their education. Resources are available online and always at no charge. More programs for all students can be found on Fastweb.com

About Fastweb:

Fastweb, a top site in the Monster Worldwide network, is the nation's recognized leader in helping students pay for school, by providing scholarship and financial aid information, as well as information on jobs and internships. As the oldest and most popular free online scholarship matching service, one out of three college-bound seniors use the site and more than 50 million users have benefitted from Fastweb's information and services. Fastweb lets students create personalized profiles that can be matched against its expansive databases of colleges and scholarships. To learn more about Fastweb, visit www.fastweb.com and follow Fastweb on social media for the latest on paying for school all year long: Twitter (at @PayingForSchool); Facebook; Pinterest; Google+.

About Monster Worldwide:

Monster Worldwide, Inc. is a global leader in connecting people to jobs, wherever they are. For more than 20 years, Monster has helped people improve their lives with better jobs, and employers find the best talent. Today, the company offers services in more than 40 countries, providing some of the broadest, most sophisticated job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management capabilities. Monster continues its pioneering work of transforming the recruiting industry with advanced technology using intelligent digital, social and mobile solutions, including our flagship website monster.com and a vast array of products and services. For more information, visit monster.com/about.

SOURCE Fastweb

Related Links

http://www.fastweb.com


SUVA, Fiji , May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Fijian Prime Minister and incoming COP23 President, Frank Bainimarama, has appealed to the US President, Donald Trump, not to abandon the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. He said it was critical for the whole world to "preserve at all costs" the historic achievement that was reached in the French capital in 2015 and the multilateral consensus for decisive action to reduce carbon emissions and arrest the current rate of global warming.

The PM was speaking at the 4th Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit in Melbourne, Australia, to a gathering of business leaders, climate policy experts and private sector investors. The event is the biggest of its kind in the region and it was the Fijian leader's first major address as incoming COP President.

Mr Bainimarama drew strong applause from the audience when he made a direct public appeal to President Trump, who has said that he will soon announce his decision on whether America will leave the Paris Agreement or stick to the commitments it made under the Obama administration. The Trump administration is reported to be divided on the issue.

"Mr President, please do not abandon the Paris Agreement. Stay the course. Listen to those around you who are encouraging you to do so", Mr Bainimarama said. "Don't let the whole side down by leaving when we have a clear game plan and have put so many scores on the board. Let's see this process through for the benefit of all 7.5 billion people on Planet Earth, including your own citizens in vulnerable parts of America".

The Prime Minister said Fiji intended to forge a strong global movement to maintain the momentum for decisive climate action. "Our number one priority is to build a grand coalition of governments, civil society and the private sector to defend and uphold the Paris Agreement", which he described as "a triumph of dogged negotiation and diplomacy" and " France's gift to the world".

"Where governments fail to lead, the private sector must do so, as is already happening in America. Where the call to action goes unheeded, civil society must mobilise ordinary people to turn up the pressure. And where politicians deny the magnitude of the challenge we face, men and women must use their power at the ballot box to replace them", he said.

The Fijian leader said there was no longer room or time to question the scientific consensus on global warming. "This says that man-made climate change is not a hoax. It is frighteningly real. And the evidence is global - whether it is the loss of the Arctic ice flows within four decades, the loss of cities like Miami in five decades, or in the Pacific, the loss of three entire nations over a similar period - Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall islands.

As well as outlining Fiji's plans to cut its own "tiny" carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 by lifting its reliance on renewable energy, the PM also repeated his country's willingness to shoulder some of the burden of finding new homes for those displaced by climate change. "We have offered to give permanent refuge to the populations of two of our nearest neighbours, Kiribati and Tuvalu, in the event that they are submerged altogether. And while we will need assistance to resettle them in Fiji, we welcome these Pacific brothers and sisters with open hearts and open arms", he said.

The Prime Minister paid a fulsome tribute to Germany for offering to host COP23 in Bonn but with Fiji in the chair and providing the 70-million Euros needed to stage the event in November. "With more than 20,000 people expected in Bonn, we could never have staged an event on this scale in Fiji. But thanks to Germany, the voice of the Pacific will be heard. And COP23 Fiji in Bonn is a selfless act of generosity on the part of the German Government and the German people that we in the Pacific will never forget".

The PM said Fiji still had to fund its COP Presidency and with limited resources after one third of its GDP had been wiped out last year by Tropical Cyclone Winston, the biggest storm ever to make landfall in the southern hemisphere. "We have gone to the world seeking support in the form of contributions to enable us to do this job properly on behalf of everyone. I have to say that the response so far has been disappointing. We are having difficulty persuading certain countries to assist us financially to do the job we have been entrusted to do. But as I keep saying, failure is not an option. And I appeal to you all to spread the message that Fiji needs assistance if we are to make our presidency of COP23 an unqualified success", he said.

SOURCE The Fijian Government
The driver who struck and killed 22-year-old Jack Delaney Koval while he crossed the West Side Highway last July was an off-duty police officer, a spokesman for the NYPD confirmed Monday.

Steven Oquendo, a 27-year-old police officer in Manhattan (a spokesman declined to provide his rank or file), was not charged in Koval's death following the July 31st crash. According to police, Oquendo was driving with the light when he struck Koval in the crosswalk at 46th Street around 2:15 a.m., and remained on the scene.

But Koval's family and legal team hope that evidence in the case, including witness testimony that Oquendo accelerated rapidly around an Uber SUV before striking Jack, will compel an administrative law judge to suspend or revoke Oquendo's license at a DMV fatality hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning.

"The hope is that there is sufficient evidence submitted that even though Jack might have been crossing against the light, the officer was operating too quickly," said Daniel Flanzig, the Koval family's lawyer.

Reached by phone on Tuesday, Oquendo declined to comment on the allegations. "I have no comment for the accident, I just really feel bad for the victim," he said. "I think about it every day, and my condolences to the family."

The witness whose account Flanzig plans to emphasize Wednesday is named in the initial crash report. Flanzig, who was recently retained by the Koval family, got in touch with him last week, he said.

Any detail about the NYPD's follow-up with this witness is contained in the Collision Investigation Squad report, which can only be obtained through a Freedom Of Information Law request. Flanzig said he requested the file a month ago, to prepare for tomorrow's hearing, as it contains details about the investigation including surveillance video and 911 calls. He has yet to receive it.

"For these hearings it's extremely useful to have the FOIL result in hand," said Steve Vaccaro, an attorney who often represents cyclists. "Typically the administrative law judge and the DMV just have a skimpy little file of records, just a preliminary report."

This was the case last week, when Judge Jettie Thomas apologized to the driver who struck and killed a cyclist named Lauren Davis in Brooklyn in April 2016.



The intersection where Koval was struck (Google Maps).

Transportation Alternatives has advocated for the NYPD to release all CIS reports to the public. "That's where you can see what the precise causal factors were," the group's director, Paul Steely White, told Gothamist last fall.

DMV hearings regarding fatal crashes are mandatory under the vehicle and traffic law, regardless of whether a driver is charged criminally. An administrative judge is tasked with determining whether the driver demonstrated "gross negligence" and acted "in a manner showing a reckless disregard for life or property of others."

Oqeundo also failed to file an accident report, according to his hearing notice.

Vaccaro says that advocates fought for DMV hearings to be more effective in 2014, after an administrative judge dismissed two traffic tickets incurred by the driver who struck and killed 3-year-old Allison Liao in a hearing that lasted less than a minute. "We really kicked them in the pants," Vaccaro said, recalling a meeting between Transportation Alternatives, himself, and the DMV. "They started holding these hearings more frequently."

Vaccaro has represented clients in about ten DMV hearings, he said. "In most of these we've been able to get a suspension or even a revocation of the drivers' license," Vaccaro told Gothamist. "For families, this is important above and beyond anything they might recover in a civil lawsuit."

Last August, Flanzig represented the estate of Matthew Brenner, a cyclist who was struck and killed by driver Caitlin Venedam in July 2014. Venedam was not charged in the crash, but evidence presented in the DMV hearing compelled a judge to revoke her license. Flanzig presented evidence that Venedam had been distracted at the wheel, looking at a GPS map on her phone. "Cops didn't have any of that," Flanzig said.

Koval, who graduated from Emory University last spring, moved to New York City shortly after July 4th, 2016 to start a job as an analyst at Centerview Partners, a financial advisory firm. He was killed later that month. A preliminary police report included a false account of the circumstances: he did not, as was originally reported, jump a divider and step into oncoming traffic before he was killed.

The Kovals told Gothamist that they believe witness accounts prove Oquendo was driving recklessly. "I have this theory that [cops] get immunity when they are driving," Joe Koval, Jack's father, said. "What police officer would ever ticket them?"

"This guy killed our son," Koval added. "He was driving crazy, and if the DMV has to put it to him it's fine."

Koval and his wife Bobbi will attend tomorrow's hearing. "It's not fair that [the driver] walks around without some kind of reprimand," he said. "But it's going be the toughest day of my life sitting across from this guy at a conference table."

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which declined to prosecute Oquendo, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[Update 5:00 p.m]: The Manhattan DA's Office issued the following statement:
PITTSBURGH, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The judging results are in, and finalists have been named in the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania's 53rd Golden Quill awards, recognizing professional excellence in written, photographic, illustration, broadcast and online journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia. See the list at www.westernpapressclub.org.

Winners will be announced at the Golden Quill Awards presentation on Thursday, May 25, 2017, at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, 300 W. Station Square Drive, Pittsburgh.

Also that evening, the Press Club will honor retired KDKA-TV reporter/anchor Mary Robb Jackson and retired KDKA-TV chief photographer Michael Challik with the President's Award. The Service to Journalism Award will be presented to Chris Moore, producer/host at WQED Multimedia and the founder of the Frank Bolden Urban Journalism Workshop -- now the Frank Bolden Multimedia Workshop -- of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation. He is also co-chairperson of the Educational Committee.

Ellie Hartleb of Erie, a senior at American University, will receive the 2017 Bob Fryer Memorial Scholarship at the awards presentation. Beaver Falls native Emily Kohlman, a sophomore at Penn State University, is the recipient of The Press Club Scholarship.

The Golden Quill Awards evening will start at 6 p.m., with a cash bar and reception. Dinner and the awards ceremony will follow at 7 p.m.

The premier sponsor of the event is the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. Lead sponsors are Frank, Gale, Bails, Murcko & Pocrass, P.C., and Cision.

Tickets are $55 each, $550 for a table of 10. You can download an invitation from the Press Club's website, www.westernpapressclub.org. Payment can be made via check or online at www.westernpapressclub.org. For information about reservations for the dinner, contact Ann Hohn at: 412-471-9474; [email protected].

PR Newswire is the official wire of The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania.

SOURCE The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania

Related Links

http://www.westernpapressclub.org


LONDON and NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fornova today announced the closing of a $17M series B financing round to further accelerate the growth of its disruptive market intelligence and market visibility solutions for hotels worldwide. The Series B round was led by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP), with participation from Waypoint Capital and existing investor JAL Ventures.

In a worldwide hotel market encompassing hundreds of thousands of hotels and millions of rooms, Fornova's early-stage growth trajectory has been impressive. More than 13,000 hotels have already adopted its solutions, including brands such as Marriott, Hilton, NH Hotels, and Premier Inn. Revenues have grown more than 100% in the past twelve months. Fornova now employs more than 115 professionals in five offices around the world.

Fornova's CEO, Dori Stein, said, "The hotel industry is at an inflection point in its struggle to optimize online revenue and drive sales. In spite of the proliferation of new technologies and revenue solutions, hoteliers continue to overlook the fundamentally dynamic nature of the online marketplace. As a result, they are missing important insights on how their products are priced online, how to distribute them effectively, and how to optimize the booking path to their advantage." He concluded, "Fornova's patented technologies provide an unprecedented toolset to help hoteliers turn the tide in their favor, succeeding in this dynamic and fast-changing marketplace. Our products are pioneering new ways to meet the needs of today's hoteliers  and we look forward to the exciting journey ahead, with our new investors and hotel partners."

Fornova's technologies for scanning, extracting and analysing massive amounts of information from the online marketplace provide a two-tiered solution :

Its market intelligence product allows hotels to collect and analyse all the available information from the market, to better understand how their hotels are priced, ranked and presented on the different online marketing channels.

product allows hotels to collect and analyse all the available information from the market, to better understand how their hotels are priced, ranked and presented on the different online marketing channels. Its channelling and market visibility product translates the data analysis into actions, which have direct effect on the bottom line  reflected in occupancy and direct brand.com sales.

"Fornova's cutting edge technology equips travel providers with the precision tools needed to stay ahead of competition," stated Thomas Preuss, Partner at DTCP. "We are happy to support Fornova's growth and development as a pioneer and technology leader in this space. We see a strong demand for a transparent and powerful business intelligence tool from all actors in the market. Proprietary data and comprehensive coverage of all sales channels are crucial determination factors in the increasingly competitive hospitality market."

"We welcome both DTCP and Waypoint on board," said Joshua Levinberg, JAL Ventures Co-Founder. "As an early investor, we are excited about their contributions and look forward to a bright future as Fornova accelerates its growth."

"Waypoint is happy to partner with Fornova at this highly significant moment in the company's development," said Frederic Wohlwend, Head of Group Strategic Development and Chief Digital Officer at Waypoint Capital. "We are focused on high growth innovative investments and have immense enthusiasm for Fornova's future."

Fornova will use the new investment to grow sales, marketing and productization worldwide, and make its data even more actionable - helping hotels optimize brand visibility online, efficiently drive traffic to brand.com websites, improve occupancy and close more bookings. Fornova's technology has its roots in the company's Goldenfeeds product, which helps drive conversion for dozens of the world's top retail, fashion and mobile companies  including Nike, Nordstrom, IKEA and Gucci.

For more information on Fornova, visit www.fornova.com.

About Fornova

Fornova's intelligence-based technology drives dynamic online distribution for the hotel industry. Based in Israel with offices in London, Amsterdam, New York and Ukraine, Fornova's solutions are gaining rapid adoption, serving more than 13,000 hotels worldwide, and have won recognition as the most cutting edge market intelligence and market visibility tools available.

About Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP)

DTCP provides venture capital, private equity, and advisory services to the technology, media and telecommunication sectors. Operating as a bridge between Europe, Silicon Valley and Israel, the company connects people, capital, and ideas to accelerate innovation and provide value to its portfolio companies, its limited partners, and the connected world.

To learn more about DTCP, visit www.telekom-capital.com or @TelekomCapital on Twitter.

About JAL Ventures

JAL Ventures Fund provides expansion capital to fast growing, revenue generating technology companies in Israel. The fund's management team brings decades of experience and strong track record as entrepreneurs, executives and investors. JAL investment sectors include Enterprise tech, SaaS, Cyber Security & Defense. For more information visit www.jalventures.com.

About Waypoint Capital

Waypoint Capital and the businesses created by it advise and also manage directly a broad portfolio of companies and investments in healthcare, medical technologies and asset management, including real estate. Headquartered in Geneva, it has offices in London, Jersey, Boston and Luxembourg. For more information, visit www.waypointcapital.net.

Contact: Michael Frenkel, MFC PR

for Fornova

(201) 317-7035/ [email protected]



SOURCE Fornova
LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Individual Rights reached a settlement with the Attorney General of California this week that guarantees the Attorney General will not use California Code section 8195 to stifle legitimate First Amendment speech. The state of California previously attempted to ban artist Timothy Desmond from displaying one of his paintings at the 2015 Big Fresno Fair because it depicted a Civil War battle scene, complete with confederate flag. The state justified its flag ban by arguing that California Code Section 8195  which prohibits the state from displaying the Confederate flag on public property  could be applied to the speech and actions of individual citizens.

The Center for Individual Rights (CIR) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Desmond that argued the flag ban was an unconstitutional limit on Desmond's free speech rights. The lawsuit sparked a wave of media coverage that rebuked California's actions. The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board endorsed Desmond's suit and called California's flag ban "absurd."

In response to CIR's suit, the state of California reversed course and agreed to let Desmond display his civil war painting at the 2016 Big Fresno Fair. The California Attorney General claimed the ban on Desmond's painting was due to a "mistake." However, Desmond and CIR continued the suit, seeking assurances that Section 8195 would not be used in an unconstitutional manner again.

This week, the Attorney General agreed and entered a settlement that concedes "California Government Code section 8195 applies only to the State of California and not to private individuals Section 8195 neither affects the rights of private individuals nor authorizes the government to restrict the sale of a Confederate Flag or any similar images, by private individuals in a government forum."

CIR President Terry Pell commented, "The First Amendment is clear: the state may not ban the expression of certain points of view simply because some find them distasteful. Freedom of speech has costs, whether in the form of hurt feelings of those who are forced to listen or the cost of police necessary to protect against the riots that sometimes result."

Pell continued, "Today, some public officials wonder whether controversial speech is deserving of the cost of protecting it. But either we protect speech or it is not truly free. The California Attorney General's willingness to defend Desmond's right to display his painting represents a refreshing commitment to the principle of free speech."

The Center for Individual Rights is a non-profit public interest firm that specializes in civil rights, free speech, and other cases affecting individual rights. For more information visit CIR's web site at http://www.cir-usa.org.

Contact: Rachel Schwartz/PR AdvantEDGE Inc.

310.990.2764

[email protected]

SOURCE The Center for Individual Rights

Related Links

http://www.cir-usa.org


BETHLEHEM, Pa., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Geneia, an analytics and technology leader in transforming healthcare delivery, and the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH) are empowering employers with the timely, actionable analytic insights needed to improve the quality and cost of employee healthcare.

"As the result of our work with Geneia, our employers now have a much better understanding of the current and future healthcare needs of their employee populations as well as the expected costs," said Tom Croyle, LVBCH president. "The availability of these insights at the employer and coalition levels means LVBCH is able to help our employers better prepare and, in many cases, improve upon the expected trends in cost and employee health."

Through the Geneia  LVBCH partnership, employers are using the Theon advanced analytics platform to access actionable insights, such as population demographics, emergency department utilization and primary care usage. There currently are ten employers representing over 50,000 lives in the advanced analytics program.

Some of the most salient insights across the LVBCH Care Engager Module Users population are:

The population skews younger and is concentrated in families.

35 percent have not seen a primary care physician in the past 12 months.

Cancer and cancer-related treatment are the third highest cost condition, yet essential screenings that could identify cancers before they progress are below Pennsylvania quality benchmarks established by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:







Geneia & LVBCH Empowering Employers with Analytic Insights





Preventive Screening LVBCH Care

Engager Module

Users Agency for Healthcare

Research & Quality

(AHRQ) Pennsylvania

Benchmark # of LVBCH Care

Engager Module Users

without Screenings Breast cancer 71% 88% 1,465 Cervical cancer 66% 90% 3,288 Colorectal cancer 52% 66%* 6,845 HPV vaccine 17% 30% 443













Opportunities to improve cancer-related preventive care for the population within the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH) Care Engager Module Users identified using Geneia's Theon advanced analytics platform.













*CDC benchmark

As noted in the LVBCH publication, Type 2 Diabetes Report  2016, the Greater Lehigh Valley has more people of working age who have Type 2 diabetes compared to the rest of Pennsylvania and the country, but the data in the Care Engager  Module of the Platform shows far too many diagnosed diabetics are not receiving their annual diabetes checks.



To slow disease progression, the standard of care for diabetics includes an HbA1C/blood glucose test every six months and annual foot and eye exams, yet:

has more people of working age who have Type 2 diabetes compared to the rest of and the country, but the data in the Care Engager Module of the Platform shows far too many diagnosed diabetics are not receiving their annual diabetes checks. To slow disease progression, the standard of care for diabetics includes an HbA1C/blood glucose test every six months and annual foot and eye exams, yet: 381 diabetics or 15 percent lack HbA1C/blood glucose tests,



860 diabetics or 33 percent lack foot exams,



1,618 diabetics or 62 percent lack eye exams.





Complications of pregnancy are in the top 10 conditions driving costs and two of the most costly claims resulted from premature births. But only half of pregnant women received pre-natal care, and even fewer, approximately 25 percent, received post-partum care.

Together, these insights indicate there is a significant opportunity to improve these numbers by working much more closely with the health plan and participating providers to emphasize preventive care and chronic condition management. Collaboration on value-based outcomes has the potential to provide meaningful improvements in cost and quality, and mitigate disease progression in the LVBCH population.

"Without a doubt, LVBCH is one of the most forward-looking employer coalitions in the country," said Mark A. Caron, FACHE, CHICO, CEO of Geneia. "It is empowering employers with the kind of analytic insights that accelerate meaningful and effective collaboration between employers, health plans and providers. Only by coordinating our efforts can we hope to reverse two decades of declining employee health and increasing costs."

To learn more about the partnership and the population insights, join Geneia at the LVBCH 37th Annual Conference, Healthcare in Transition: What's Next?, on May 4.

ABOUT LVBCH

LVBCH is a multi-state, not-for-profit coalition of employers striving to provide the finest healthcare coverage possible for their employees, in the most economical fashion. The Coalition's mission is to improve the delivery, cost and quality of healthcare in our communities through: Collective employer action; Quality and data initiatives; Value-based purchasing; and, Providing forums for the exchange of information, ideas and resources. The Coalition is also a member of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, the National Quality Forum and The Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit www.lvbch.com.

ABOUT GENEIA

Geneia LLC specializes in the development of advanced clinical, analytics, and technical solutions for healthcare transformation. Our team of physicians, nurses, technologists, analytics experts, and business professionals have created a suite of solutions that enable health plans, hospitals and employers to better understand, evaluate and manage the health of their populations. Using our advanced analytics platform, remote patient monitoring tool, and education and research institute, we work with healthcare organizations to improve outcomes, lower cost and restore the Joy of Medicine. The company has offices in Harrisburg, PA, Manchester, NH, and Nashville, TN. To learn more, visit geneia.com or connect with us Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Geneia

Related Links

http://www.geneia.com


TOLLAND, Conn., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the digital revolution in fashion comes a change to how companies execute their workflow to go from concept to consumer quicker in an effort to stay on trend. The market demands and ever changing consumer tastes are requiring companies to accelerate their adoption of automation and digitization to remain competitive.

With the continued focus on IoT and Industry 4.0, Gerber Technology is pushing design, development and production integration points to the next level. To strengthen these connections, Gerber has appointed Steve Gore as senior vice president of automation solutions, aligning innovation around product development and aftermarket service and support. The realignment further supports Gerber's effort toward innovating workflow and supply chain processes for the flexible material industries they serve to assist customers to Embrace Their Digital Reality.

"With consistent change in the industry around integration and digitization, promoting Steve Gore, and expanding his responsibility to include our aftermarkets and service, is an integral move. Steve has been an essential part of implementing our integrated Digital Solutions," stated Mike Elia, CEO at Gerber. "Steve's passion and commitment to our customers will ensure we continue to provide Gerber's industry-leading automation products and unparalleled levels of customer support."

Steve's team launched Gerber's entry into IoT back in 2008 with the implementation of GERBERconnect. While Gerber is continuing to build on its capability, the platform captures countless points of data enabling Gerber's customers to create dashboard reports to assess manufacturing efficiency. It also allows Gerber technicians to remotely monitor and diagnose a machine's health in real time to ensure maximum uptime and machine efficiency.

"The customers we support are facing increasing pressures to get their products to market faster and to leverage technology to achieve greater quality and efficiency," said Steve Gore. "Gerber's end-to-end solutions and the depth of industry knowledge on my team has me truly energized to strengthen our position as we help our customers embrace industry 4.0 and other key trends that support the digitization of their workflows."

Gore has served in several senior leadership roles at Gerber including vice president and general manager of Gerber's Industrial business, vice president of sales for North America and president of the former Gerber Innovations business unit. He joined the company in May 2007 through the acquisition of Boston-based Data Technology, Inc where he was a partner.

About Gerber's Digital Solutions

Gerber's Digital Solutions include the newest releases of YuniquePLM product lifecycle management software, as well as AccuMark, the industry-leading pattern design, grading, marker making and production planning software, AccuMark 3D and AccuPlan. The Digital Solutions architecture uses common file structures. Data can easily be passed to the cut room where smart machines, like the GERBERspreader XLs series and Gerber Paragon line of multi-ply GERBERcutters, can process the order with a simple barcode scan. A closed-loop, end-to-end Digital Solution like Gerber's, that integrates software and smart machines, allows companies to automate their entire process and streamline data and workflow necessary to provide insight, maximize throughput, minimize errors and reduce labor costs to be competitive in mass production environments.

About Gerber Technology

Gerber Technology delivers industry-leading software and automation solutions that help apparel and industrial customers improve their manufacturing and design processes and more effectively manage and connect the supply chain, from product development and production to retail and the end customer. Gerber serves 78,000 customers in 130 countries, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies in apparel and accessories, home and leisure, transportation, packaging and sign and graphics.

Based in Connecticut in the USA, Gerber Technology is owned by AIP, a New York-based, global private equity firm specializing in the technology sector and has more than $3.0 billion assets under management. Visit www.gerbertechnology.com for more information.

Contact: Jamie Bibb

Tel: +1 419 244 7766

[email protected]

SOURCE Gerber Technology

Related Links

http://www.gerbertechnology.com


LAS VEGAS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the GCC- Global Crowdfunding Convention, the Industry flagship crowdfunding convention for six years running, unveiled the release of its Premier Issue of Crowdfunding America Magazine.

Let us help you tell your story. Establish your campaign as the campaign! Crowdfunding America Magazine provides content and articles showcasing the world of Crowdfunding. It is the first to incorporate and publish thought leadership and best-practices content, as well as offerings by issuers, in their own voice. Throughout our print and digital landscape, we can help you expand your ability to raise capital from a new audience of 240 million non-accredited investors!

Crowdfunding America Magazine brings the country's top experts in the Billion Dollar Crowdfunding Industry to an exciting digital and printed magazine where the best practices of how to successfully use this fundraising phenomenon are revealed by Industry Experts and Crowdfunding Rockstars who have raised millions of dollars, along with full-page advertisements and advertorials of featured new offerings and the platforms and service providers driving the new equity crowdfunding industry.

Created by Crowdfunding Pioneer, Ruth E. Hedges, one of the world's foremost authorities on Crowdfunding and one of the original pioneers of the Crowdfunding legislation signed into law as the JOBS Act on April 5, 2012, and Joe Lotito, CEO of Desert Custom Publishing. Crowdfunding America Magazine also features many of the key sponsors of the GCC http://thegccworld.com who are looking to expand their brand throughout the year.

With their printed version, Crowdfunding America Magazine is looking to expand the reach of crowdfunding campaigns to a wider audience. In addition to providing all the ins and outs of the Crowdfunding Industry, the magazine also showcases current offerings and provides an easy way for Americans to identify and discuss these offerings with their financial advisors when considering their investment opportunities. It exposes an entire new market to the Crowdfunding Industry, and provides many more benefits that are only available with a printed magazine.

Crowdfunding America Magazine is also for people who want to learn about the new laws that have opened the door for everyday individuals to invest in the next Big Idea and for people who want to learn proven strategies on how to get started on their own Crowdfunding Campaign and increase their chances of raising the money they need.

Crowdfunding America Magazine will cover it all and is a game-changer and resource for the entire Crowdfunding Industry. In every issue, you will find the best Funding Portals and Experts to help you through the Crowdfunding process, discover the secrets to launching a successful campaign and help you find your next winning investment!

"Crowdfunding America Magazine is the next step in spreading the word about this new industry that we have set into motion," founder Ruth E. Hedges explains. "Since passing the JOBS Act in 2012 and subsequently founding the Annual Global Crowdfunding Convention, my colleagues and I at the forefront of the Crowdfunding Industry have seen the interest in crowdfunding grow exponentially, but there is still a large portion of the population that has no idea what crowdfunding is about or how much they can benefit from the new JOBS Act.

"We developed Crowdfunding America Magazine with the mission to provide valuable information and education about all the different kinds of crowdfunding models and strategies to startups, entrepreneurs, small business owners, investors, colleges and universities, 240 million American crowdfunding investors and even the government officials that need it."

Crowdfunding America Magazine is published by Crowdfundingroadmap Inc., the producer of the Global Crowdfunding Convention, and Desert Custom Publishing, publishers of The BBB Connection, the official magazine of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada.

Crowdfunding America Magazine is available in both digital and printed versions. To sign up for your copy or to obtain information about listing your campaign or how you can become an advertiser, expert sponsor or content provider, go to www.CrowdfundingAmerica.com or call (702) 900-1270.

Media Contact:

Ruth E. Hedges

(702) 900-1270

SOURCE Global Crowdfunding Convention

Related Links

http://www.CrowdfundingAmerica.com


ST. LOUIS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, today reported record net sales of $1.5 billion for the first three months of 2017, a 4.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was $17.7 million, a 17.5 percent increase from the first quarter of 2016.

"After five consecutive years of record net sales, Graybar sustained its momentum in the first quarter of 2017," said Kathleen M. Mazzarella, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Graybar. "We set a new record for first quarter net sales by focusing on profitable growth, delivering exceptional service and strengthening our position in the supply chain. We will continue to execute on these strategic priorities as we pursue new opportunities to grow and innovate for the future."

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of 290 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 573-2571

[email protected]

Kara Bowlin

(314) 573-2578

[email protected]

SOURCE Graybar

Related Links

http://www.graybar.com


BJERRINGBRO, Denmark and YEHUD, Israel, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

A partnership between Grundfos and TaKaDu is set to ramp up the companies' capabilities within digital water management systems. The collaboration will combine Grundfos' technological expertise and experience with TaKaDu's analytical event management solutions to transform raw data into end-customer value.

"Being a global leader in our segment, we have worked with connected solutions for quite a while, and we have got the experience and technological capability to offer monitoring services to our customers. However, the partnership with TaKaDu accelerates our efforts in the digitalization journey, and allows us to speed up the process of providing our customers with best-in-class, data driven solutions," said Kenth Hvid Nielsen, Group Vice President, Global Water Utility, Grundfos.

The two companies are already in the process of exploring the partnership opportunities by running a joint pilot at Frederikshavn Forsyning, a Danish water utility company. Here the high-tech solutions are employed and tested in a "live" environment.

"We are very excited to partner with Grundfos in the global water market, and expand our comprehensive event management solution to new dimensions of data, related to energy and network operations. Data analytics yields a wide spectrum of benefits, and we are confident that this partnership will boost efficiency of both water and energy," said Amir Peleg, TaKaDu's Founder and CEO.

Using data analytics in water utilities helps optimize operations and decision making with real-time information about events, such as leakages or assets failures, including the time it started, magnitude, location, etc. This helps utilities detect any incident at an early stage, increasing visibility, and making it easier to reduce water loss and improve customer service.

Future digital offerings leveraged by this partnership can help water utilities on a global scale to fulfil new operational targets for saving energy and water, as well as managing water network assets in the most economical way.

About the companies

Grundfos

Grundfos is a global leader in advanced pump solutions and a trendsetter in water technology. The company contributes to global sustainability by pioneering technologies that improve quality of life for people and care for the planet. As such its core activity aligns closely with the sustainability aspects of how we use water and manage water quality. Grundfos has over 18,000 employees working out of 56 countries all around the world. For more information, visit http://www.grundfos.com, follow @grundfos on Twitter, or visit our Facebook-page at http://www.facebook.com/Grundfos/

TaKaDu

TaKaDu (http://www.takadu.com ) optimizes operational efficiency and improves water management across-the-board. A proven IoT solution for the water industry, TaKaDu offers the most comprehensive integrated event management platform, based on big data analytics and sophisticated algorithms. TaKaDu provides multiple benefits, including reduced leakages and supply interruptions, automatic early warning of anomalies, improved data integrity, and KPI measurements. Ensuring a faster response time, TaKaDu also helps to improve customer service. A cloud-based SaaS platform, TaKaDu brings together huge amounts of information in an easy-to-use, flexible and scalable solution. Its innovative approach has earned notable commendations, including the World Economic Forum Tech-Pioneer Award and a Harvard Business School case-study.

Further information:

Frank B. Winther

Grundfos

[email protected]

+45-21-99-62-40



Natalie Chouraqui

TaKaDu

[email protected]

+972-54-4750-889



SOURCE TaKaDu and Grundfos
FREDONIA, Wisc., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Guy and O'Neill Inc., a private label and contract manufacturer, has been awarded a 2017 Top Workplaces honor by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This is the second year in a row the company has been bestowed the award as it was also recognized as a top workplace in 2016. The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution, and Connection, just to name a few.

"The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And oftentimes, people assume it's all about fancy perks and benefits," says Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. "But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every daythe employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that what's most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it's going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together. Claffey adds, "Without this sense of connection, an organization doesn't have a shot at being named a Top Workplace."

"We're proud to be recognized as one of the top workplaces in Milwaukee," said Ralph Patitucci, CEO and Chairman, Guy and O'Neill Inc. "It is truly an honor to be recognized as a top workplace for the second year in a row by our employees. We work so hard to cultivate a culture that people want to be a part of. I'm so proud of all our Guy & O'Neill employees, who we truly consider to be family. They are the ones that make Guy & O'Neill a great place to work and the culture so special." Jennifer Engert, HR Manager, added, "I'm so excited that Guy & O'Neill was recognized for this honor again. Guy & O'Neill is a great place to work and I'm so thankful to all our employees. They are the ones that make it happen and this award is a reflection of the can-do spirit and attitude they bring to work every day."

About Guy and O'Neill

Guy & O'Neill, Inc. was founded in 1975 with headquarters in Fredonia, Wisconsin. It is focused on contract, private label and consumer goods manufacturing for wet wipes, personal care, household care, adult care and automotive care. Guy & O'Neill has created and delivered innovation for fortune 500 retailers and consumer product companies with an emphasis on the highest standards for business ethics, quality and customer service. For more information visit www.guyandoneill.com.

About WorkplaceDynamics, LLC

Headquartered in Exton, PA, WorkplaceDynamics specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. This year, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations will participate in the Top Workplaces campaigna program it conducts with more than 40 media partners across the United States. Workplace Dynamics provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. WorkplaceDynamics is a founding B Corporation member, a coalition of organizations that are leading a movement to redefine success in business by offering a vision of a better way to do business.

SOURCE Guy and ONeill Inc.

Related Links

http://www.guyandoneill.com


TAMPA, Fla., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC ("HealthEdge") is off to a quick start with its third fund, HealthEdge Investment Fund III L.P. ("Fund III"), completing two platform acquisitions in less than a year of activity. Since holding a first closing on Fund III in June 2016, the Florida-based private equity firm, which focuses exclusively on lower middle market healthcare businesses, completed investments in The Columbus Organization ("Columbus") in December 2016 and Central Florida Inpatient Medicine ("CFIM") in March 2017.

"Cost containment and improved outcomes are major driving forces in the current healthcare landscape, both of which are core to Columbus' and CFIM's service offerings. We are excited to partner with two businesses that are recognized leaders within their respective markets and that can benefit from our value-added operational approach," commented HealthEdge Managing Partner and Co-Founder Phil Dingle.

Columbus is the nation's leading provider of on-site case management, professional staffing, and consultative services, focusing exclusively on agencies that serve individuals with special needs. Since 1984, the company has assisted more than 140 state and local agencies in over 40 states and the District of Columbia to help solve staffing and programmatic problems. Many of these agencies faced challenging regulatory, certification, and litigation issues. Columbus consistently improves outcomes within identified timeframes and fiscal parameters.

According to Richard Ronder, former Chief Executive Officer of Columbus, said, "It was important to our leaders that we align ourselves with a team that could enhance our operations and service model, and we are confident that joining forces with HealthEdge ensures our ability to continue to provide best-in-class services to both new and existing customers." Mr. Ronder will assume the role of board Chairman and remains an owner of the Company.

CFIM is one of the largest private hospitalist groups in the state of Florida and the largest in the central Florida marketplace. The company's physicians and other healthcare practitioners fill a critical role in medicine, caring for patients in both acute and post-acute settings and working to improve quality and clinical outcomes by creating efficiencies throughout the continuum of care. CFIM currently utilizes over 100 medical doctors and nurse practitioners across nearly 50 area hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. HealthEdge's investment, in partnership with CFIM co-founder and CEO Dr. Krishan Nagda, provides CFIM with a solid foundation to continue building a leading hospitalist provider via acquisitions and organic expansion.

According to Dr. Nagda, "Having already built our business into the market leader in central Florida, our goal was to align ourselves with an investment fund that could bring both financial backing and other strategic, operational, and management expertise to help guide our company. We are confident that our new partnership with HealthEdge solidifies our ability to continue expanding into new facilities and geographies, ensuring that we invest in quality improvements and provide outstanding care for our patients." In addition to continuing his role as the company's CEO, Dr. Nagda has joined the Board of Directors.

Over the next several years, HealthEdge will seek to invest in another six to eight businesses as it builds the Fund III portfolio, generally focusing on companies with revenues between $5 to $75 million. "We are delighted with the investment pace achieved thus far in Fund III," commented Scott Heberlein, Partner of HealthEdge. "Positioned as one of the few private equity firms focused on lower middle market healthcare in our region, combined with a market presence that now spans over a decade, has afforded us with attractive deal flow." HealthEdge's target sectors within healthcare include products and devices, distribution and other third party services, selected providers of care, and business to business services.

ABOUT THE COLUMBUS ORGANIZATION

The Columbus Organization's founding mission is to make a difference in the lives of people with special needs, and its guiding principle has been to provide high-quality services in a manner that maintains the dignity and privacy of the consumers and families served. Columbus' professionals have extensive expertise in clinical practice, recruiting professional staff, clinical research, staff training, forensic issues, litigation issues, and developing policies and procedures for agencies servicing individuals with special needs. For more information on Columbus, visit www.columbusorg.com.

ABOUT CFIM

Central Florida Inpatient Medicine was founded in 2001 with two physicians covering local hospitals. Today, CFIM has grown to be the largest independent hospitalist group in central Florida. The company utilizes over 100 medical doctors and nurse practitioners serving patients in Orlando area hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other post-acute settings. CFIM's growth has been driven by its mission of providing the highest quality inpatient care in the most efficient manner. CFIM is a subsidiary of Spectrum Medical Partners, Inc., a practice management organization formed by HealthEdge and the shareholders of CFIM to invest in and acquire leading hospitalist businesses. For more information on CFIM, visit www.cflim.com.

ABOUT HEALTHEDGE

HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC is an operating-oriented private equity firm founded in 2005 that focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry. HealthEdge seeks to achieve superior returns by investing in businesses that benefit from the knowledge, experience, and network of relationships of its partners. HealthEdge's partners have more than 100 years of combined operating experience in healthcare as CEOs and investors. For more information on HealthEdge, please visit www.healthedgepartners.com.

For more information on HealthEdge, please contact:

Brian W. Anderson, Managing Partner

Phillip S. Dingle, Managing Partner

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE HealthEdge Investment Partners

Related Links

http://www.healthedgepartners.com


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Founded 27 years ago by a group of community leaders, Holocaust survivors and the children of survivors, the Memorial is sited on two acres and features a series of open-air rooms. Volunteers, including Holocaust survivors, lead tours of the Memorial's exhibits and participate in other educational programs open to the public.

The Memorial hosts more than 130,000 visitors every year, including thousands of schoolchildren and people from around the world. Professionals and volunteers work to educate visitors about the time before and during the Holocaust. The Memorial also provides a place for people to reflect and explore how they feel about what they are seeing, to think about their role as citizens and their relationship with other people, and to discuss anti-Semitism and intolerance.

Security is challenging in any open-air venue, and the Memorial's previous analog security system was "extremely outdated," according to Brenda Moxley, director of community security for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

Moxley is the retired FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Miami Division, whose background includes counter-terrorism. Hired by Federation to provide security consultation to 120 Jewish organizations in the Miami-Dade area, Moxley is working to improve critical security infrastructure, crisis management and education.

The Hikvision security camera system will provide much needed security improvements at the memorial and enable Moxley to implement a coordinated and integrated security plan.

Jeffrey He, president of Hikvision USA Inc., and Hikvision Canada Inc., said Hikvision is pleased to work with Moxley and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. He noted that China has an important historic connection with the Jewish people. "Shanghai, a city one hour away from Hikvision headquarters in Hangzhou, China provided a safe haven for Jewish refugees during the Holocaust," He said. More than 25,000 Jews came to Shanghai between the years 1937 and 1941.

"Safeguarding people and protecting property is why Hikvision is in the security business," He added.

About Hikvision

Hikvision is the world's leading supplier of video surveillance solutions. Featuring the industry's strongest R&D workforce, Hikvision designs, develops, and manufactures standard- and high-definition cameras, including a variety of IP cameras, analog cameras, and cameras featuring the latest in high-definition analog technology. Hikvision's product suite also includes digital video servers, hybrid and standalone DVRs, NVRs, and other elements of sophisticated security systems for both indoor and outdoor use.

SOURCE Hikvision USA
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Homicides have declined 30 percent in Honduras, according to the most recent government data, announced last week by President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Hernandez also gave an update on Operation Arpia 2, wherein 384 prisoners were transferred from various penitentiaries to El Pozo, which will house Honduras's most dangerous prisoners.

Operation Arpia is the highest-impact operation undertaken in Latin America. Earlier this year, authorities transferred 755 detainees who were members of two enemy criminal gangs, Mara Salvatrucha and Pandilla 18. Under Operations Arpia 1 and 2, one-third of the prison population at San Pedro Sula has been relocated.

The operations also yielded a 45 percent reduction in extortion crimes, the seventh-most common reason for incarceration in Honduras.

President Hernandez attributed the reduction in crime to reforms passed by Honduras's National Congress last February, the prisoner transfer program, and the Government's law enforcement efforts, especially those of judicial officials, the National Anti-Extortion Force, and the National Inter-Agency Security Force (Fusina).

In 2016, Honduras's homicide rate was 59 per 100,000 residents, according to the Violence Observatory at the National Autonomous University of Honduras.

"This means that Fusina was correct to propose these reforms, and that Congress did what needed to be done when it passed them," said Hernandez.

He added that Arpia 2 "was a successful and noteworthy operation, showing not only our political will but also the Honduran State's new capabilities."

Migration and Security

Hernandez said that Central America, particularly Honduras, continues to be important to U.S. interests.

"I want to share what, to me, is an important element of the United States' immigration policy, the subject of security; how the Trump Administration sees this subject; and what Honduras and the Central American and Mesoamerican region mean for the security of the United States," he said.

He referred to a speech U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly recently gave at George Washington University. "He clearly identified there how the new U.S. Administration sees the subject of security and immigration," said Hernandez.

Kelly said, "But it's not enough to tackle the problems here at home . . . Border security starts 1,500 miles to the south of the United States with incredible partners like Colombia, the Central American countries, and Mexico."

Kelly added, "A stable country needs a strong, accountable government that protects its citizens, upholds the rule of law, and expands economic opportunity for all its people. Without this, countries fail, and their people flee."

U.S. Priorities

When asked about the 30 percent decrease in U.S. assistance to countries in the Central American Northern Triangle, Hernandez said, "If we receive assistance, it will be welcomed, but if not, there are things that only we as Hondurans are going to make a priority."

Hernandez stated that, in his most recent working trip to Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed that President Trump had requested a 30 percent reduction in aid for Central American countries, which some members of Congress supported and others opposed.

In response to this extreme action, Hernandez said, "This is a very sovereign decision by the United States."

Support for Law Enforcement Should Continue

Hernandez also stated that the establishment of a Tri-National Force -- from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador -- to fight crime was a Honduran initiative, before President Trump was inaugurated.

He highlighted the advancements that Honduras and the region have made in this area and what that means for the United States, given that President Trump promised to combat criminal gangs.

Hernandez said that law enforcement operations should be executed jointly, with mutual assistance among all affected countries, including the United States. "United, we are stronger and more effective," he said.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lauren Archambeault

(202) 471-4228 ext. 113

[email protected]

SOURCE Republic of Honduras
PHOENIX, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) will provide the commercial and military versions of its innovative 3-D weather radar solution to Lockheed Martin for use on its new LM-100J Super Hercules commercial freighter.

With Honeywell's IntuVue RDR-4000 and 4000M Weather Radar systems, the Lockheed Martin LM-100J will benefit from the same ease of use and early warning of weather hazards  such as lightning, hail and turbulence  available in commercial airliners and business jets. The radar enables pilots to operate in difficult environments to support cargo transport, oil and gas operations, firefighting, medical evacuation, search and rescue, humanitarian relief missions, and more. Getting a better picture of weather ahead can make flying more secure, shorten flight times or delays, and protect airplanes and precious cargo from costly damage due to hail and other extreme weather.

Weather conditions around the globe can be severe, and the LM-100J is expected to operate in those conditions. Honeywell's IntuVue RDR-4000 currently helps thousands of commercial aircraft across the world manage the financial and safety impact of thunderstorms, hail and turbulence that cost the commercial airline industry more than $100 million annually.

Honeywell adapted the advanced technology from the IntuVue radar into the RDR-4000M to support the unique operating conditions of cargo aircraft like the C-130, C-17 and LM-100J. Its capabilities include high-resolution ground mapping for better awareness of ground features in difficult visual conditions, a 65 percent lighter system than legacy radars, and five times the reliability compared with weather radars installed today on most C-130s. These benefits have made the IntuVue RDR-4000M a popular retrofit choice for C-130 operators.

"Regardless of why you're flying, whether it's for civil or military purposes, weather does not play favorites. Hail and wind shear from thunderstorms are damaging and can easily ground a mission," said Bob Smith, president, Mechanical Systems & Components, at Honeywell Aerospace. "Honeywell's IntuVue RDR-4000 is pioneering the way to give pilots and operators access to clear skies, no matter how bad the weather. With technical advancements like turbulence detection out to 60 nautical miles and the use of live 3-D data and high-resolution ground mapping, our system makes sure pilots have the best information to fly safer, smarter and more efficiently around hazardous conditions."

"Operators around the world will rely on the LM-100J to go where other commercial freighters won't fly to and can't reach to deliver vital supplies and cargo. Weather will always be a major factor and consideration for LM-100J operations," said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions at Lockheed Martin. "Honeywell's IntuVue radar provides LM-100J pilots with a more complete picture of the weather that impacts their flight. IntuVue gives pilots the necessary data and forecasts so that they can best navigate flight paths without negative impacts to delivery timelines. The system also ensures a safer flying environment for LM-100J crews, which is of paramount importance. IntuVue's capabilities and technological advantages will truly enable the LM-100J to deliver goods anywhere at any time."

Key Features of the IntuVue RDR-4000M Weather Radar

Enhanced weather detection. The IntuVue RDR-4000M automatically collects a complete 3-D scan of all weather and terrain up to 320 nautical miles ahead of the aircraft and up to 60,000 feet above ground level. The system also features an advanced hazard feature that predicts hail and lightning out to 160 nautical miles and extended range turbulence up to 60 nautical miles.

The IntuVue RDR-4000M automatically collects a complete 3-D scan of all weather and terrain up to 320 nautical miles ahead of the aircraft and up to 60,000 feet above ground level. The system also features an advanced hazard feature that predicts hail and lightning out to 160 nautical miles and extended range turbulence up to 60 nautical miles. High-resolution ground mapping. The IntuVue RDR-4000M map mode provides detailed images of features such as shorelines and bridges, and allows for easy identification of urban areas to better inform pilot actions and decisions.

The IntuVue RDR-4000M map mode provides detailed images of features such as shorelines and bridges, and allows for easy identification of urban areas to better inform pilot actions and decisions. Skin paint mode. The IntuVue RDR-4000M system can be set to a skin paint mode, enabling a pilot to detect and navigate to another aircraft in reduced visibility due to darkness, clouds or rainfall. This mode helps support missions such as aerial refueling.

Honeywell's RDR-4000M Weather Radar is delivering the best information possible for greater efficiency, safety and performance in both the civil and military sectors. In addition to the weather radar system, Honeywell also sells more than 50 GoDirect services and applications, many of which focus on weather and reducing fuel costs. Details on Honeywell's IntuVue technology and work with Lockheed Martin on the LM-100J can be found at the links below.

Supporting Resources

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 software-industrial company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace and automotive products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, cars, homes and buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Honeywell

Related Links

http://www.honeywell.com


SAN DIEGO, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) today announced the election of Clyde H. Ishii, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon operating a private practice in Honolulu, as its new President at The Aesthetic Meeting 2017. The Aesthetic Society is the leading professional organization devoted entirely to aesthetic plastic surgery and cosmetic medicine of the face and body, comprised of over 2,600 board-certified plastic surgeons.

In addition to his role as ASAPS President, Dr. Ishii has served on ASAPS' Board of Directors and has been an integral contributing member on multiple ASAPS committees including Finance and Investments, Residents and Fellows Forum Subcommittee, Medical Students committee, New Member Committee, Residents Blog Subcommittee, Program committee, Teaching Course subcommittee, Webinar subcommittee, Future Leaders committee, Traveling Professor Program, International Visiting Fellow Program, Publications Committee, Industry Policy Committee, Conflict of Interest Committee, Product Development Committee and the Women's Aesthetic Surgery Committee. Dr. Ishii is also an active participant with the Society's research arm, the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation and served as ASAPS' Membership Commissioner between 2010 and 2013. Dr. Ishii is currently the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Honolulu Shriners Hospital and has been in private practice in Honolulu since 1986. He has presented and published numerous papers on the many nuanced facets of Asian facial cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Ishii's tenure as President of ASAPS will include engaging younger plastic surgeons and residents in the organization, addressing the ongoing needs of our members in their practices, pursuing the Society's data bank offerings to enhance the information we offer our members and the public at-large, establishing relationships with plastic surgery organizations abroad, and working with other plastic surgery organizations for mutual benefit.

"I am confident that Dr. Ishii will serve the Society in marked ways that will have a lasting impact by utilizing his expertise in relationship-building and diplomacy, as well as his finely tuned research and plastic surgery practice skills," notes Daniel D. Mills, MD, Immediate Past-President of ASAPS.

"It is a distinct honor to assume the role of President of The Aesthetic Society. I look forward to continuing to work with my peers, the top, board-certified aesthetic plastic surgeons in the industry, to grow the Society's membership and to continue our mission of patient safety and education," states Dr. Ishii.

Other newly named Aesthetic Society officers serving on ASAPS' Executive Committee are as follows:

President-Elect: W. Grant Stevens, MD of Los Angeles, CA. An Aesthetic Society member since 1994, Dr. Stevens is the medical director of Marina Plastic Surgery. Dr. Stevens is a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Southern California division of plastic & reconstructive surgery, the director of the USC Marina Del Rey Aesthetic Surgery Fellowship, and the director of the USC Aesthetic Surgery division. He is an active member at Marina Del Rey Hospital, where he served as chairman of the department of surgery. He is also the past chairman of the liposuction committee and the past co-director of the breast center. He now serves as the current Chairman of Industry Relations for ASAPS. He was appointed by the governor to the Medical Board of California medical quality review board, and is currently the Co-National Secretary and Third Vice President of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Stevens also serves on the Editorial Board for the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

Vice President: Charles H. Thorne, MD of New York, NY. An Aesthetic Society Member since 1996, Dr. Thorne is in private practice in New York City. Dr. Thorne is Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital and is a tenured professor at NYU. He has served on the American Board of Plastic Surgery and was elected Chair of the board in 2014-2015. Dr. Thorne has served as the Cosmetic Section Editor of the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, as Editor-in-Chief of the Grabb and Smith Plastic Surgery Textbook, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Bellevue Hospital, Director of the NYU Plastic Surgery residency program and was president of the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons in 2003.

Treasurer: Herluf G. Lund Jr., MD of St. Louis, MO has been a member of The Aesthetic Society since 2000. Dr. Lund is President of St. Louis Cosmetic Surgery, a four-member plastic surgical group in private practice specializing in aesthetic surgery and cosmetic medicine. Dr. Lund has served as a Councilor, the Treasurer and the Secretary for the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society. He is a past-president of the Missouri Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons and the Washington University Medical Center Alumni Association. Dr. Lund completed his plastic surgery residency at Washington University School of Medicine where he was actively involved in numerous research projects including the safety and design of implants for both breast augmentation and breast reconstruction.

Secretary: William P. Adams, Jr., MD of Dallas, Texas has been a member of The Aesthetic Society since 2002. He is in private practice and is also an Associate Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Past President of ASERF (Aesthetic Society Education and Research Foundation), and current ASAPS Program Chair. In 2009, he founded and currently serves as the President and Chief Medical Officer for The Plastic Surgery Channel, a multi-media company and information source for plastic surgery operated by plastic surgeons. He has published numerous papers and has presented multiple plastic surgery lectures on the international level. He also serves on the breast editorial board of Aesthetic Surgery Journal and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

About ASAPS

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), is recognized as the world's leading organization devoted entirely to aesthetic plastic surgery and cosmetic medicine of the face and body. ASAPS is comprised of over 2,600 Plastic Surgeons; Active Members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (USA) or by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and have extensive training in the complete spectrum of surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures. International Active Members are certified by equivalent boards of their respective countries. All members worldwide adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and must meet stringent membership requirements.

Website: www.surgery.org

Follow ASAPS on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ASAPS

Become a fan of ASAPS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AestheticSociety

Follow ASAPS on Instagram: www.instagram.com/TheAestheticSocietyASAPS

Join Smart Beauty Guide: www.smartbeautyguide.com

Locate a plastic surgeon in your area: http://www.smartbeautyguide.com/select-surgeon

Media Contacts: Leigh Hope Fountain or Sarah Liburn - 562-799-2356

[email protected] or [email protected]

SOURCE American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Related Links

http://www.surgery.org


The hotel stands next to Hotel Gracery Kyoto Sanjo North, which the company opened in July 2016. Both moderately-priced hotels were constructed in adjacent lots, strategically complementing each other, and bringing the total number of rooms at the location to 225. All 97 rooms at Hotel Gracery Kyoto Sanjo North are double rooms while all 128 rooms at Hotel Gracery Kyoto Sanjo South are twin rooms. Guests can choose North or South based on their needs. Standard rates for double rooms start at 21,600 yen and 22,680 yen for twin rooms.

Centrally located in the Teramachi Kyogoku and Shin Kyogoku shopping arcades, covered historical streets lined with long-established family stores, both hotels provide an ideal base for visitors exploring Kyoto. They offer easy access to numerous historical monuments and tourist attractions, and are conveniently located a few subway stops from Kyoto JR station (approximately fifteen minutes by taxi), the main entry point to Kyoto.

The hotel emphasizes concierge service with designated staff who can provide local information and assist international visitors with various activities. Spacious guest rooms all have separate toilets/bathrooms for additional comfort, and the hotel's restaurant, Bon Salute, serves a wide selection of buffet breakfast items prepared with fresh local ingredients.

Honoring Kyoto as the birthplace of Kabuki, the 500-year old Japanese theatre involving elaborate costumes, makeup, acting and dance, as well as Kyoto's long history of tea ceremonies and heart-felt hospitality, two one-of-a-kind themed rooms, the Kabuki Room and Kyoto Room, add unique character to the hotel. A corridor connecting to the North hotel is also decorated with colorful paintings of Kabuki actors and traditional lanterns, transporting guests to the world of Kabuki.

For more information and reservations, visit http://kyoto.gracery.com

About Fujita Kanko

Fujita Kanko Inc., established in 1955, is a publicly-traded tourism industry corporation headquartered in Tokyo. In addition to its core hospitality business, the company operates wedding and banquet facilities, high-end resorts, leisure facilities and related services. It has 70 properties/facilities, including its five-star flagship, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, and 32 mid-priced hotels throughout Japan in the Hotel Gracery and Washington Hotels groups.

Keiko Okano

[email protected]

+1-212-583-1084 (U.S.)

SOURCE Fujita Kanko Inc.
LONDON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Trends, shortages, opportunity; Canadian financier, Wayne Tisdale seems to have a sense for these things. He has done it several times in the past. His current target: Cobalt. Other majors focused on the industry include: Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO), Anglo American plc (OTC: NGLOY), Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX)

Tisdale's latest venture, Scientific Metals (STM.V; SCTFF) looks to impress once again. This time the target is cobalt, and the goal is a pure play development that could put the U.S. on the cobalt map at a time when the world is desperate for new supply.

Between the electric vehicle (EV) boom and the launch of Tesla's cobalt-hungry battery gigafactory, cobalt is a metal that is already in short supply.

Tisdale's 3 Golden Rules

#1 Look for early signs of need and shortage in a specific commodity

With cobalt, this is obvious. Prices are increasing, hedge funds are hoarding physical supplies, and demand keeps increasing.

North America produces only about 4 percent of the world's total cobalt supply-not enough to put a dent in the demand coming from Tesla's new gigafactory in Nevada, which started producing batteries in January.

To add further to the demand, tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are under increasing pressure to source ethical supplies of cobalt. The answer? North-American sourced material.

The bulk of the world's cobalt, mined and brought to market is a by-product of nickel or copper, and when it's not economical to mine either, the cobalt supply picture further tightens.

Major miner Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) would agree that this is the hottest metal on the market now, too, and it sees the widening supply gap. That's why it moved to expand exploration in the U.S. in January, but in a copper and nickel play that will produce cobalt as a by-product. Giant Anglo-American (OTC: NGLOY) and Freeport McRoRan (NYSE: FCX), which also produce cobalt as a by-product, are likely eyeing the fast rise of the 'after-thought' metal. As tech giants and hedge funds battle each other for supply, the STM Idaho project targets a 'pure' cobalt play.

Additionally, hoarding has begun. February saw major cobalt acquisition initiatives by hedge funds from Switzerland to China. The hedge funds' stockpiling of cobalt resulted in a rush to secure additional supply, according to a 23 February Financial Times article.

#2 Find overlooked and inexpensive assets in that space

Cobalt has been generally overlooked. As electric vehicles became mainstream, demand for lithium increased rapidly. Tisdale launched Pure Energy in 2015, when the price of lithium was only around $5,000 per tonne. He watched it increase 450 percent.

But lithium is only one key component of the lithium-ion battery. Cobalt makes up some 35 percent of this mix-see Golden Rule #1: we don't have enough, and what we do have comes from problematic sources such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

#3 Hire smart people early on, because they will take you where you need to go

Tisdale and his team at Intrepid Financial have in recent years created $2.7 billion in market value by building and financing 5 companies in completely different industries.

Rainy River (gold) was worth $1.2 billion at its peak

at its peak Xemplar (uranium) hit $1 billion at its peak

at its peak Ryland Oil (oil and gas) sold for $114 million

Webtech Wireless (tech) was worth $300 million at its peak

at its peak Pure Energy (lithium) is worth $65 million (and counting)

The Next Chapter: All-American Cobalt



On a daily basis, you hear about revolutionary names in industry, from Elon Musk's Tesla Motors Inc. to EVs and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), for investing brilliance to billionaire investor George Soros, who boosted his mining shares this year, including a $264-million stake in Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX).



Tisdale's Scientific Metals (STM.V; SCTFF) acquired the Idaho Iron Creek Project in September, with historic estimates (currently being updated) and encouraging indications that there may be up to 10 million tons of cobalt on the property. This historical exploratory work included 30,000 feet of diamond drilling.

Next door to STM is the only other cobalt property in the US that is slated to come into production, with an estimated 3 million-plus ton of .55 percent cobalt.

With global demand for cobalt set to exceed supply this year and beyond, cobalt is a commodity that warrants investor attention. Tesla's $5-billion battery gigafactory will have doubled the world's battery production capacity by the end of this year, and its demand has just started. The price of cobalt has increased more than 50 percent since November, and is expected to increase further.

Tisdale and Scientific Metals (STM.V; SCTFF) are stepping in to fill the vacuum with a unique all-American cobalt pure play. They could be among the first to put the U.S. on the ethical cobalt map just as battery demand hits fever pitch. Tisdale has been at the beginning of many trends and he's here again-with cobalt.



By James Burgess



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This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.



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SOURCE OilPrice.com
TAMPA, Fla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In early 2017, insurance agents  and Florida homeowners  received some unsettling news, according to Kelly Overcash, a Private Risk Advisor for Lykes Insurance, a premier Florida-based insurance firm.

Overcash explains that due to the ongoing abusive practice of assignment of benefits and some recent Florida Supreme Court decisions, Demotech, an organization that rates the financial stability of insurance carriers, announced they were suspending their company rating guidelines in Florida.

"Florida insurance companies were told to bolster their financial balance sheets or risk being downgraded to a 'B' rating," says Overcash. "This could have caused thousands of Florida homeowners to default on their mortgages since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require insurance from an 'A' rated carrier."

Fortunately, in mid-March, Demotech reversed their decision after most of the companies facing downgrades fortified their claims reserves and policyholder surplus.

Most Florida homeowner policies have been issued through Florida-domiciled insurance companies, some of which opened for business after the 2004/05 storm seasons. Overcash notes that this breathed new life into a crumbling Florida property insurance market after many carriers had left the state. But there are some concerns.

"These days, the ability to purchase a homeowner policy issued through a national insurance carrier has been severely limited," she says. "Even carriers with national name brands have carved off their Florida business into a separate company to shield the assets of the parent company from catastrophic hurricane losses. Thankfully, we now have an abundance of options through Florida-only insurers, but some are better capitalized and have more claims handling experience in our State."

What does this mean for homeowners? Overcash suggests they ask the following questions before purchasing a policy:

How long the company has been in business: If they are a newer firm, there may be little to no history of their ability to handle and pay claims resulting from catastrophic events like the 2004/05 storm seasons. They may be perfectly fine, but it's something a consumer should know.

Demotech or A.M. Best: A.M. Best reviews the financial stability of insurance companies once they have attained a certain size and number of years in business. Demotech analyses new, smaller insurance companies. An "A" rating from Demotech does not necessarily carry the same weight as an "A" rating from A.M. Best.

Whether they write in states other than Florida : Writing property policies in other states allows for a greater spread of risk. Therefore, the success and profitability of a given insurance company does not rely solely on the mercy of Florida weather and State politics.

: Writing property policies in other states allows for a greater spread of risk. Therefore, the success and profitability of a given insurance company does not rely solely on the mercy of weather and State politics. Ask to see their financial stability rating in writing, including claims reserves and policyholder surplus. Checking out the financial stability of an insurer is a critical step in securing a policy that protects what is arguably the homeowner's largest investment.

"The reputation and financial health of your insurance company should be more important than whether or not they have the cheapest premium. A cheap price won't matter if they become insolvent," says Overcash. "While options may be limited for Florida homeowners, ask your insurance adviser to help you make a better-informed decision so you can feel more comfortable about the insurance company you hire to protect your home."

About Lykes Insurance

Lykes Insurance was founded in 1925 by Lykes Bros. Inc., a 101-year-old privately held Florida-based company. As a premier commercial insurance firm with offices in Tampa, Fort Myers, Winter Park and Sarasota, Lykes Insurance focuses on building long lasting partnerships with companies and individuals, providing protection for businesses, managing risk and designing innovative employee benefit solutions. For more information, please visit www.lykesinsurance.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Suzie Boland

RFB Communications Group

813-786-1019

[email protected]

SOURCE Lykes Insurance
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HubSpot, Inc. (NYSE: HUBS), a leading inbound marketing and sales software company, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2017.

Financial Highlights:

Revenue

Total revenue was $82.3 million , up 40% compared to the first quarter of 2016.

, up 40% compared to the first quarter of 2016. Subscription revenue was $77.5 million , up 41% compared to the first quarter of 2016.

, up 41% compared to the first quarter of 2016. Professional services and other revenue was $4.7 million , up 18% compared to the first quarter of 2016.

Operating Income (Loss)

GAAP operating margin was (9.7%) for the quarter, compared to (16.7%) in the first quarter of 2016.

Non-GAAP operating margin was 1.6% for the quarter, an improvement of approximately 7.7 percentage points from (6.1%) in the first quarter of 2016.

GAAP operating loss was ($8.0) million for the quarter, compared to ($9.9) million in the first quarter of 2016.

for the quarter, compared to in the first quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP operating income was $1.3 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of ($3.6) million in the first quarter of 2016.

Net Income (Loss)

GAAP net loss was ($8.1) million , or ($0.22) per basic and diluted share for the quarter, compared to ($10.2) million , or ($0.29) per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2016.

, or per basic and diluted share for the quarter, compared to , or per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP net income was $1.2 million , or $0.03 per basic and diluted share for the quarter, compared to net loss of ($3.9) million , or ($0.11) per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2016.

, or per basic and diluted share for the quarter, compared to net loss of , or per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2016. First quarter weighted average basic and diluted shares outstanding for GAAP income per share was 36.2 million, compared to 34.7 million basic and diluted shares in the first quarter of 2016.

First quarter weighted average basic and diluted shares outstanding for non-GAAP net income per share was 36.2 million and 38.5 million, respectively, compared to 34.7 million shares in the first quarter of 2016.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

The company's cash, cash equivalents and investments balance was $160.6 million as of March 31, 2017 .

as of . During the first quarter, the company generated $11.6 million of free cash flow compared to a loss of ($4.9) million during the first quarter of 2016.

Additional Recent Business Highlights

Grew total customers to 31,262 at March 31, 2017 , up over 40% from March 31, 2016 .

, up over 40% from . Total average subscription revenue per customer was $10,357 during the first quarter of 2017.

during the first quarter of 2017. Grew marketing customers to 24,775 at March 31, 2017 , up 28% from March 31, 2016 .

, up 28% from . Increased marketing average subscription revenue per customer during the first quarter of 2017 to $12,598 from $11,494 in the first quarter of 2016.

"Q1 was another solid quarter for HubSpot and we're very pleased with the results," said Brian Halligan, co-founder and CEO. "Between the strong revenue growth and improved operating leverage we continue to show across the business, we see great signs that our marketing and sales products are really resonating with our customers. In particular, I'm incredibly excited about the impact we're making with our growth stack customers who have adopted both our marketing and sales products and the huge opportunity we have to elevate the value we bring to both established and new customers around the world."

Business Outlook

Based on information available as of May 2, 2017, HubSpot is issuing guidance for the second quarter of 2017 and raising guidance for full year 2017 as indicated below.

Second Quarter 2017:

Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $85.0 million to $86.0 million .

. Non-GAAP operating loss is expected to be between a loss of ($1.0) million and breakeven. This excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately $13.2 million .

and breakeven. This excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately . Non-GAAP net loss per common share is expected to be between a loss of ($0.02) to breakeven. This excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately $13.2 million . This assumes approximately 36.7 million weighted common shares outstanding.

Full Year 2017:

Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $355.5 million to $359.5 million , up from our previously guided range of $349 million to $353 million dollars .

, up from our previously guided range of . Non-GAAP operating loss is expected to in be in the range of ($5.0) million to ($3.0) million , up from our previously guided range of a loss of ($11.5) million to ($7.5) million . This excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately $45.2 million and amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $16 thousand .

to , up from our previously guided range of a loss of to . This excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately and amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately . Non-GAAP net loss per common share is expected to be in the range of ($0.10) to ($0.04) , up from our previously guided range of a loss of ($.30) to ($.22) . This excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately $45.2 million and amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately $16 thousand . This assumes approximately 36.9 million weighted common shares outstanding.

Conference Call Information

HubSpot will host a conference call on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) to discuss its first quarter 2017 financial results and business outlook. To access this call, dial (877) 201-0168 (domestic) or (647) 788-4901 (international). The conference ID is 4752615. Additionally, a live webcast of the conference call will be available in the "Investor" section of the HubSpot's web site at www.hubspot.com.

Following the conference call, a replay will be available until 11 pm on May 11, 2017 at (800) 585-8367 (domestic) or (416) 621-4642 (international). The replay pass code is 4752615. An archived webcast of this conference call will also be available in the "Investor" section of HubSpot's web site at www.hubspot.com. The company has used, and intends to continue to use, the investor relations portion of its website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

About HubSpot

HubSpot is a leading inbound marketing and sales platform. Over 31,000 total customers in over 90 countries use HubSpot's award-winning software, services, and support to create an inbound experience that will attract, engage, and delight customers. Learn more at www.hubspot.com.

The tables at the end of this press release include a reconciliation of generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") to non-GAAP operating income (loss), operating margin, subscription margin, expense, expense as a percentage of revenue, net income (loss), and free cash flow for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 and 2016. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning our financial guidance for the second fiscal quarter of 2017 and full year 2017, our position to execute on our growth strategy in the mid-market, and our ability to expand our leadership position and market opportunity for our inbound platform. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts and statements identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, our history of losses, our ability to retain existing customers and add new customers, the continued growth of the market for an inbound platform; our ability to differentiate our platform from competing products and technologies; our ability to manage our growth effectively to maintain our high level of service; our ability to maintain and expand relationships with our marketing agency partners; our ability to successfully recruit and retain highly-qualified personnel; the price volatility of our common stock, and other risks set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 16, 2017 and our other SEC filings. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands)





















March 31,



December 31,





2017



2016

Assets















Current assets:















Cash and cash equivalents

$ 69,786



$ 59,702

Short-term investments



53,001





54,648

Accounts receivable  net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $748 at March 31, 2017 and $617 at December 31, 2016



34,935





38,984

Deferred commission expense



9,550





9,025

Restricted cash



-





162

Prepaid hosting costs



2,234





5,299

Prepaid expenses and other current assets



10,263





8,433

Total current assets



179,769





176,253

Long-term investments



37,846





35,718

Property and equipment, net



34,697





30,201

Capitalized software development costs, net



7,072





6,523

Restricted cash



4,940





321

Other assets



1,184





966

Goodwill



9,773





9,773

Total assets

$ 275,281



$ 259,755

Liabilities and stockholders' equity















Current liabilities:















Accounts payable

$ 3,257



$ 4,350

Accrued compensation costs



8,717





11,415

Other accrued expenses



18,187





15,237

Capital lease obligations



790





796

Deferred rent



249





159

Deferred revenue



104,432





95,426

Total current liabilities



135,632





127,383

Capital lease obligations, net of current portion



288





275

Deferred rent, net of current portion



11,643





10,079

Deferred revenue, net of current portion



1,139





1,171

Asset retirement obligations



611





591

Other long-term liabilities



1,625





1,556

Total liabilities



150,938





141,055

Commitments and contingencies















Stockholders' equity:















Common stock



36





36

Additional paid-in capital



379,459





365,444

Accumulated other comprehensive loss



(708)





(864)

Accumulated deficit



(254,444)





(245,916)

Total stockholders' equity



124,343





118,700

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$ 275,281



$ 259,755



Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands, except per share data)











For the Three Months Ended March 31,





2017



2016

Revenues:















Subscription

$ 77,503



$ 54,936

Professional services and other



4,749





4,024

Total revenue



82,252





58,960

Cost of Revenues:















Subscription



11,409





8,910

Professional services and other



5,663





5,061

Total cost of revenues



17,072





13,971

Gross profit



65,180





44,989

Operating expenses:















Research and development



13,370





9,804

Sales and marketing



46,672





35,198

General and administrative



13,138





9,848

Total operating expenses



73,180





54,850

Loss from operations



(8,000)





(9,861)

Other income (expense):















Interest income



303





179

Interest expense



(52)





(87)

Other expense



(128)





(333)

Total other income (expense)



123





(241)

Loss before income tax provision



(7,877)





(10,102)

Income tax provision



(198)





(52)

Net loss

$ (8,075)



$ (10,154)

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

$ (0.22)



$ (0.29)

Weighted average common shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share:



36,205





34,692



Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands)











For the Three Months Ended March 31,





2017



2016

Operating Activities:















Net loss

$ (8,075)



$ (10,154)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities















Depreciation and amortization



3,329





2,201

Stock-based compensation



9,303





6,231

Provision for deferred income taxes



(27)





3

Amortization of bond premium discount



77





221

Noncash rent expense



1,667





1,112

Unrealized currency translation



(46)





(252)

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisition















Accounts receivable



4,176





347

Prepaid expenses and other assets



1,061





(2,403)

Deferred commission expense



(464)





(299)

Accounts payable



(1,250)





(804)

Accrued expenses



922





(1,154)

Deferred rent



(34)





(23)

Deferred revenue



8,453





8,152

Net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities



19,092





3,178

Investing Activities:















Purchases of investments



(16,367)





(8,969)

Maturities of investments



15,860





8,875

Purchases of property and equipment



(5,835)





(6,641)

Capitalization of software development costs



(1,610)





(1,434)

Restricted cash



(4,431)







Net cash and cash equivalents used in investing activities



(12,383)





(8,169)

Financing Activities:















Employee taxes paid related to the net share settlement of stock-based awards



(1,153)





(958)

Proceeds related to the issuance of common stock under stock plans



4,340





2,992

Repayments of capital lease obligations



(240)





(142)

Net cash and cash equivalents provided by financing activities



2,947





1,892

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents



428





538

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents



10,084





(2,561)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period



59,702





55,580

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$ 69,786



$ 53,019



Reconciliation of non-GAAP operating income (loss) and operating margin (in thousands, except percentages)

























Three Months Ended March 31,









2017

2016









































GAAP operating loss





$ (8,000)

$ (9,861)

Stock-based compensation







9,303



6,231

Amortization of acquired intangible assets







16



24

Non-GAAP operating income (loss)





$ 1,319

$ (3,606)





















GAAP operating margin







(9.7%)



(16.7%)

Non-GAAP operating margin







1.6%



(6.1%)























Reconciliation of non-GAAP net income (loss) (in thousands, expect per share amounts)





Three Months Ended March 31,









2017

2016









































GAAP net loss





$ (8,075)

$ (10,154)

Stock-based compensation







9,303



6,231

Amortization of acquired intangibles







16



24

Non-GAAP net income (loss)





$ 1,244

$ (3,899)





















Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share:

















Basic





$ 0.03

$ (0.11)

Diluted





$ 0.03

$ (0.11)





















Shares used in non-GAAP per share calculations:

















Basic







36,205



34,692

Diluted







38,497



34,692



Reconciliation of non-GAAP expense and expense as a percentage of revenue (in thousands, except percentages)

































































Three Months Ended March 31,



2017



2016



COS, Subscription

COS, Prof. services & other

R&D

S&M

G&A



COS, Subscription

COS, Prof. services & other

R&D

S&M

G&A

GAAP expense $ 11,409

$ 5,663

$ 13,370

$ 46,672

$ 13,138



$ 8,910

$ 5,061

$ 9,804

$ 35,198

$ 9,848

Stock -based compensation

(115)



(449)



(2,442)



(3,770)



(2,527)





(94)



(324)



(1,758)



(2,427)



(1,628)

Amortization of acquired intangibles

(9)



-



-



(7)



-





(18)



-



-



(6)



-

Non-GAAP expense $ 11,285

$ 5,214

$ 10,928

$ 42,895

$ 10,611



$ 8,798

$ 4,737

$ 8,046

$ 32,765

$ 8,220

































































GAAP expense as a percentage of revenue

13.9 %

6.9 %

16.3 %

56.7 %

16.0 %



15.1 %

8.6 %

16.6 %

59.7 %

16.7 % Non-GAAP expense as a percentage of revenue

13.7 %

6.3 %

13.3 %

52.2 %

12.9 %



14.9 %

8.0 %

13.6 %

55.6 %

13.9 %

Reconciliation of non-GAAP subscription margin (in thousands, except percentages)











Three Months Ended March 31,





2017

2016

















GAAP subscription margin

$ 66,094

$ 46,026

Stock -based compensation

115

94

Amortization of acquired intangible assets

9

18

Non-GAAP subscription margin

$ 66,218

$ 46,138

















GAAP subscription margin percentage



85.3 %

83.8 % Non-GAAP subscription margin percentage



85.4 %

84.0 %

Reconciliation of free cash flow











(in thousands)

































Three Months Ended March 31,





2017

2016

















GAAP net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities

$ 19,092

$ 3,178

Purchases of property and equipment



(5,835)



(6,641)

Capitalization of software development costs



(1,610)



(1,434)

Non-GAAP free cash flow

$ 11,647

$ (4,897)



Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this release, HubSpot's non-GAAP operating income (loss), operating margin, subscription margin, expense, expense as a percentage of revenue, net income (loss), and free cash flow are not presented in accordance with GAAP and are not intended to be used in lieu of GAAP presentations of results of operations.

Management presents these non-GAAP financial measures because it considers them to be important supplemental measures of performance. Management uses the non-GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, including analysis of the company's performance against prior periods, the preparation of operating budgets and to determine appropriate levels of operating and capital investments. Management also believes that the non-GAAP financial measures provide additional insight for analysts and investors in evaluating the company's financial and operational performance. However, these non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as an analytical tool and are not intended to be an alternative to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. We intend to provide these non-GAAP financial measures as part of our future earnings discussions and, therefore, the inclusion of these non-GAAP financial measures will provide consistency in our financial reporting. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included above in this press release.

These non-GAAP measures exclude share-based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets. We believe investors may want to exclude the effects of these items in order to compare our financial performance with that of other companies and between time periods:





(a) Stock-based compensation is a non-cash expense accounted for in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense allows for financial results that are more indicative of our operational performance and provide for a useful comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies because stock-based compensation expense varies from period to period and company to company due to such things as differing valuation methodologies and changes in stock price.



(b) Expense for the amortization of acquired intangible assets is a non-cash item, and we believe that the exclusion of this amortization expense provides for a useful comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies.

SOURCE HubSpot, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hubspot.com


SAN DIEGO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) the genomics-powered, health intelligence company, announced today that several new senior staff have been hired to lead and continue to develop the company's growing portfolio of genomic based, CLIA-validated products and associated business strategy and operations.

These key additions are: Travis Lacey, Chief Corporate Development Officer; Dale Gordon, Chief Commercial Officer; Gary G. Altman, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer, who will all report to HLI CEO, Cynthia Collins  and Steven Ness, D.O., client services strategist who reports to Dale Gordon.

Collins stated, "Over the last months HLI has launched several important products including our whole genome sequencing product to the insurance industry, our suite of oncology products, and we have continued to grow the HLI database of genomic and phenotypic data. We are at a pivotal point in the evolution of HLI and I am pleased to welcome Travis, Dale, Gary and Steveall seasoned business leadersto help me build on the sound science foundation and revolutionary technology at HLI."

Travis Lacey  Chief Corporate Development Officer

Travis Lacey has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare across functions including investment banking, business development, and operations. During his career, he has successfully led over fifty mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions with significant domain and functional expertise across the healthcare landscape, including pharma, devices and healthcare services.

Lacey joined HLI from GE Healthcare where he was managing director leading the divestiture practice and portfolio optimization across the $18B GE Healthcare platform. Prior to GE Healthcare, Lacey spent nine years in healthcare investment banking at Jefferies and Co., Inc. and Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. where he was responsible for sourcing and leading merger and acquisitions and financing transactions. Prior to that, he spent the first ten years of his career at Abbott Laboratories where he held multiple positions across operations, manufacturing technology and quality.

Lacey received his Bachelor of Science in Statistics from University of Tennessee, Knoxville and his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Dale Gordon  Chief Commercial Officer

Dale Gordon serves as chief commercial officer at Human Longevity. Prior to joining HLI, Gordon was most recently with GE Healthcare as the general manager of account management. There he was focused on the development and execution of commercial account management strategies, driving profitable growth and an improved customer experience across GE's Lab, Cell Therapy and Bioprocess businesses.

Before taking his position at GE, he had a long career at EMD Millipore, now MilliporeSigma and part of the Merck KGaA Group. There he served as head of regional (commercial) marketing in the Americas, responsible for developing and executing the regional marketing strategy across the multiplex and cytometry, lab water, separation and preparation, advanced analytics, life science reagents/antibodies, and biomonitoring portfolios. Other positons included head of North American sales, account management, head of global sales operations, global sales forces effectiveness manager, and area sales manager.

Gordon is a graduate of the University of Florida where he received a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Cell Science. He served on the board of directors at the Lab Product Association and served as chairman of their government affairs committee. He also serves on the board of directors at Small Steps for Compassion located in Tanzania, Africa.

Gary G. Altman, PhD  Chief Operating Officer

Gary Altman has more than 25 years of experience in leading start-ups and global businesses from concept through commercialization. His experience includes roles as CEO, COO, VP and GM.

As co-founder and chief operating officer of a VC-backed drug discovery company, Altman raised $60M and advanced two drug candidates into human clinical trials. As general manager of a global business within a public corporation, Altman had P&L responsibility for $200M. He has initiated and led highly-productive relationships with diverse constituencies including academia, non-profits, and industry. Altman's experience spans a broad spectrum of technologies including cell therapy, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

He holds a PhD in Biochemistry and was a National Science Foundation post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Howard Temin, 1975 Nobel Laureate, at the University of Wisconsin, and served on the faculty of the MBA program at Johns Hopkins.

Steven Ness, D.O. Client Services Lead

Steven (Steve) Ness, DO has more than 17 years of experience leading marketing, medical affairs and client services teams in the diagnostic and life sciences fields. Most recently he served as director of client services at GE Healthcare's Clarient Diagnostics leading the department to industry-best customer service response times. Prior to joining GE, he held medical affairs and marketing positions at Quidel Corporation, Quest Diagnostics and Antech Diagnostics. In 2006 he co-founded Veterinary Diagnostics Institute, a veterinary reference laboratory, and launched the industry's 1st canine, feline and equine biomarker for heart disease and heart failure. The test was marketed under the brand name CardioCare. Idexx Laboratories purchased the rights to this test and now sells it under the Idexx CardioPet brand name.

Ness received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Norwich University, Military College of Vermont, and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from University of New England. He completed a pediatric internship at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA. He served for five years as an active duty Navy physician stationed at Camp Pendleton where he was Regimental Surgeon for the 11th Marine Corps Regiment. There he had five Navy physicians under his leadership and was responsible for the healthcare of over 3,000 active duty U.S. Marines. He deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ness was honorably discharged from the Navy at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

About Human Longevity, Inc

Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) is the genomic-based, health intelligence company empowering proactive healthcare and enabling a life better lived. HLI combines the largest database of genomic and phenotypic data with machine learning to drive discoveries and revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI's business areas include the HLI Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research center which uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning, along with curated personal health information, to deliver the most complete picture of individual health; HLIQ Whole Genome and HLIQ Oncology. For more information, please visit http://www.humanlongevity.com or http://www.healthnucleus.com.

SOURCE Human Longevity, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.humanlongevity.com


VIENNA and VALLETTA, Malta, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Study on 17 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region identifies major challenges to migration reporting / New media award promotes fact-based journalism on migration

Media in many countries on both sides of the Mediterranean are under-resourced and unable to provide the time, money and appropriate level of expertise needed to tell the migration story in context. This is the main finding of the study "How does the media on both sides of the Mediterranean report on migration?" which has been launched today.

EUROMED Migration IV, funded by the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the EU, commissioned the Ethical Journalism Network to conduct this study for which journalists from 17 countries have examined the quality of migration media coverage in 2015/16 from a national perspective. The study covers nine EU countries: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Spain, Sweden as well as eight countries in the south of the Mediterranean: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.

It finds that journalists are often poorly informed about the complex nature of migration as a phenomenon; newsrooms are also vulnerable to pressure and manipulation by voices of hate, whether from political elites or social networks. At the same time, the study highlights inspirational examples of journalism at its best -resourceful, painstaking, and marked by careful, sensitive and humanitarian reporting. The study also provides a series of detailed recommendations and calls for training, better funding of media action and other activities to support and foster more balanced and fact-based journalism on immigration, emigration, integration, asylum and other migration-related challenges.

One example of an activity designed to foster balanced reporting on this topic is the EU-funded Migration Media Award for which several partners have come together on the initiative of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD); over 100 applications which are currently being evaluated were received for its first edition. The winning entries will be announced before the end of May and an awards ceremony will be held on 14 June in Malta, under the auspices of Malta's EU presidency. The award is a collaboration of the EU-funded EUROMED Migration IV and Open Media Hub projects, in partnership with the European Asylum Support Office and Malta's Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Further information and contacts

Find the entire study and 17 country chapters at www.icmpd.org/EMM4migration_narrative

The Migration Media Award is online at www.migration-media-award.eu

In Valletta: Soren Bauer: [email protected]; +356-991-25-201

In Vienna: Bernhard Schragl, [email protected], +43-676-714-7002

SOURCE International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Franchise Association (IFA) Franchise Education & Research Foundation announced today it is accepting applications for its annual NextGen in Franchising Global Competition, a worldwide program that engages millennial entrepreneurs seeking careers and business opportunities in the franchising industry. Applications are open from May 1  Sept. 1, 2017 at www.NextGenFranchising.org.

"While there are many entrepreneurial competitions and accelerators out there, NextGen in Franchising is the only competition focused on helping millennial business owners grow their concepts through the franchise model," said David McKinnon, CFE, Foundation vice chair and chair of the NextGen in Franchising Committee. "According to the IFA's Franchise Business Outlook for 2017, the franchise sector is expected to grow by $36 billion this year and we are excited to drive that growth as we identify the top up-and-coming entrepreneurs worldwide who are positioned to become the next big thing in franchising. This truly unique competition will allow NextGen winners to have the opportunity to meet personally with leaders within the industry to utilize as resources as they build their companies."

The NextGen in Franchising Global Competition is open to entrepreneurs ages 21-35 with businesses that have been operating for 1-5 years. Winners receive a trip to the IFA's Annual Convention in Phoenix from Feb. 10-13, 2018; a spot at the NextGen in Franchising Summit, a two-day educational and networking program for next generation entrepreneurs; an accelerator program with industry leaders and CEOs; an opportunity to participate in the FRANSHARK competition for additional cash prizes; and opportunities to network with leading franchisors, franchisees and suppliers and with other young entrepreneurs.

Winners of the 2017 NextGen in Franchising competition hailed from 10 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Australia, Mexico, Tanzania, and Hungary, among others. Jennifer Turliuk, founder of Toronto-based MakerKids, was named the 2017 FRANSHARK winner.

"Competing at NextGen was an extremely valuable experience for MakerKids," said Turliuk. "After winning the competition, we started to receive much franchise interest to help us hit the ground running. We also gained media coverage from local and international publications, and were able to meet veterans of the franchise industry. We have been able to further develop our business from the mentorship from several of the judges. As first-time franchisors, we could not be more pleased!"

The NextGen in Franchising program is made possible due to the generosity of its donors and sponsors, which include David McKinnon, the founding sponsor; the Stewart & Jane Bainum Fund; Lawrence "Doc" Cohen, Doc & Associates; Stephen P. Joyce Fund; Choice Hotels Foundation; J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation; Tariq Farid, Edible Arrangements; Charlie Chase, FirstService Brands; Amit Kleinberger, Menchie's Frozen Yogurt; Aziz Hashim, NRD Holdings; Joe Bourdow, Valpak; Melanie Bergeron, Two Men & A Truck Intl.; Amit Pamecha, FranConnect; and the Fred DeLuca Foundation/Subway.

To apply for the NextGen in Franchising Global Competition, visit NextGenFranchising.org. For more information, please contact Elayne Jacobs at [email protected] or call (202) 588-8138.

About the IFA Franchise Education & Research Foundation

Founded in 1983, the International Franchise Association (IFA) Franchise Education & Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and supported through the generous contributions of IFA members and others. The Foundation's mission is to advance franchising and the free enterprise system by increasing the knowledge and professional standards of all members of the franchising community; educating the next generation of franchise practitioners; increasing recognition of franchising's key role in the free enterprise system; and providing comprehensive information and research about important developments and trends in franchising.

About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world's oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.

Contact:

Chelsea Bear

Fish Consulting

[email protected]

954-893-9150

Gionne Jones

IFA Franchise Education & Research Foundation

[email protected]

202-662-0772

SOURCE IFA Franchise Education & Research Foundation
LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lundin Law PC , a shareholder rights firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against TherapeuticsMD, Inc. ("TherapeuticsMD" or the "Company") (NYSE: TXMD) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between July 7, 2016 and April 9, 2017 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the Company's shares during the Class Period should contact the firm prior to the June 19, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at [email protected].

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, TherapeuticsMD made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that the Company's New Drug Application ("NDA") submission for TX-004HR was deficient and was not supported by the complete TX-004HR clinical program, which would likely cause a delay of the Food & Drug Administration's potential approval of the NDA. Upon release of this news, the Company's stock price declined materially, which harmed investors according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding shareholders' rights.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

[email protected]

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE Lundin Law PC

Related Links

http://lundinlawpc.com


(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 )



These four hubs will not only have technology and innovation focus areas, but will closely serve clients in key industries such as financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, energy and more. The first hub, which will open in Indiana in August 2017, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2021 for American workers and will help boost Indiana's economy.

"Infosys is committed to hiring 10,000 American technology workers over the next two years to help invent and deliver the digital futures for our clients in the United States," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys. "Learning and education, along with cultivating top local and global talent, have always been the core of what Infosys brings to clients; it is what makes us a leader in times of great change. In helping our clients improve their businesses and pursue new kinds of opportunities, we are really excited to bring innovation and education in a fundamental and massive way to American workers. New advances in technology - artificial intelligence, in particular - are radically transforming our world, and it is within our reach to learn these new technologies and to be the innovators and entrepreneurs who bring solutions based on these technologies to our clients in all industries."

"It's so good to welcome Infosys to Indiana, and to expand our growing tech ecosystem with the addition of their estimated 2,000 Hoosier jobs," said Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb . "Indiana continues to put the tools in place, such as the Next Level Trust Fund and incentivizing direct flights, that allows us to attract and retain great companies like Infosys. In addition, our higher education institutions are producing a world class workforce, establishing Indiana as the innovation hub of the Midwest. I look forward to working with Infosys to elevate Indiana to the next level."

In filling these jobs, Infosys will hire experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges, to create the talent pools for the future. To ensure that American workers are fully equipped to innovate and support clients in the rapid digitization of all industries and consistent with Infosys' over 35 year-long commitment to the U.S., the company will institute training programs in key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.

This development comes as part of Infosys' continued legacy of a three-decade long investment across the U.S. In just the last 3 years, Infosys has renewed this focus by setting up an innovation hub in Silicon Valley. A unique, open environment that encourages new ways of working, collaborating, thinking and delivering breakthrough next-generation projects to clients.

Infosys pursues its mission of inspiring children, young adults and educators to become creators of technology through its charitable foundation, Infosys Foundation USA. Since 2015, more than 134,000 students, over 2,500 teachers and almost 2,500 schools across America have benefited from high quality computer science training and classroom equipment funded by Infosys Foundation USA. The Foundation also partners with organizations such as Code.org, CSTA and others to advance the skills development of millions of students.

"Since joining Infosys nearly three years ago, it has been my personal endeavor to help us get much closer to our clients, to co-innovate with them, on their most important business problems," added Dr. Sikka. "Having lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years, and being a part of the incredible innovation here, I truly believe Infosys can help clients bring innovation more directly into their businesses, as they create and drive their digital transformations. We can achieve this by enhancing our ability to attract and recruit local top talent across the United States, by harnessing the global scale of Infosys, through software and platforms, and by educating and training people in the necessary skills."

For more information on jobs at Infosys please visit: https://www.infosys.com/careers/

About Infosys Ltd

Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of over 200,000 innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies, that we bring to every project we undertake.

Visit http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

SOURCE Infosys
"Jim's experience is perfectly aligned with our approach. He is a smart, analytical, creative, and impactful leader with experience marketing to, and through, the channel. He has an extremely successful track record with both large enterprises and SMBs, across a wide range of vertical industries. In addition, he has scaled a Unified Communications business and, like Intermedia, works closely with Microsoft as a preferred Office 365 partner. Jim's broad and extensive knowledge will be a tremendous asset to the company and instrumental in continuously driving our brand and presence in the industry," said Michael Gold, CEO at Intermedia.

Kruger has spent the past 16 years with Polycom, where he has held various product and marketing leadership roles of increasing responsibility. During that time, Polycom's revenue has grown from $373 million to $1.3 billion, with an ecosystem that now surpasses 400,000 customers and 7,000 partners. While serving in a product marketing and management role for Polycom's Voice division, he led the largest and most successful solution launch in the company's history. Polycom's Voice product line continues to be the company's fastest growing business today. He was also instrumental in the success of Polycom's 2011 rebranding, resulting in the strong name recognition that the company has achieved. Most recently, Kruger led all aspects of Polycom's marketing, including product, services, brand, field and internal/external communications, managing an annual budget of $60 million and a team of 160 global marketing professionals.

Prior to Polycom, Jim directed marketing and product management for Palm's wireless internet service and served in several senior marketing roles at GTE (Verizon) Wireless. Kruger earned an MBA in Marketing from California State University East Bay and a bachelor's degree in Social Science from University of California, Berkeley.

"I am really excited to join Mike and an incredibly impressive Intermedia team. At Polycom, we partnered with Intermedia, so I have had a front row seat to see how they run the business, and how much customers and partners love working with them. Intermedia has built a thriving, differentiated cloud business with a robust and compelling product suite, an award-winning support organization, and a stellar reputation in the channel. With the support of Madison Dearborn Partners, the company's existing growth mindset, and the huge opportunity the cloud presents, Intermedia is positioned extremely well to accelerate its growth and profit trajectory. I believe strongly in the vision and the opportunity ahead, and I look forward to being part of this journey," said Kruger.

Intermedia has built a $200+-million business around delivering a broad and tightly integrated suite of highly supported cloud business applications for customers and the partners that serve them, spanning from email and productivity, to Unified Communications and voice, to backup and security services. As a result, customers gain incremental value and channel partners can differentiate their offering by selling under their own brand.

"Intermedia's Cloud Voice business is growing faster than leading pure-play public companies. Already a leading Cloud Voice provider, Intermedia is investing heavily in this aspect of the business. With Jim's Unified Communications experience with both voice and Office 365, we are well positioned to continue scaling these critical areas of the business," concluded Gold.

About Intermedia

Intermedia is a one-stop shop for cloud business applications. Its Office in the Cloud suite integrates the essential IT applications that companies need to do business, including email, voice, file backup and sharing, conferencing, instant messaging, identity and access management, mobility, security and archiving  all delivered by a single provider and integrated into one control panel. Intermedia services offer enterprise-grade security, a 99.999 percent uptime service level agreement and award-winning 24/7 support, as certified by J.D. Power and TSIA.

Intermedia's 750+ employees serve more than 85,000 businesses and 6,000 active partners, including VARs, MSPs, distributors and telecoms. Its Partner Program lets partners sell under their own brand with control over billing, pricing and other elements of their customer relationships. Intermedia is the world's largest independent provider of Exchange email in the cloud and a leading cloud voice provider. For more information, visit Intermedia.net.

For more information, visit Intermedia.net.

Contacts

Melanie Lombardi Katie Holloran Intermedia LEWIS for Intermedia 650.285.5857 619.308.5222 [email protected] [email protected]

Office in the Cloud is either a trademark or registered trademark of Intermedia.net, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft and Office 365 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

J.D. Power 2016 Certified Assisted Technical Support Program, developed in conjunction with TSIA. Based on successful completion of an audit and exceeding a customer satisfaction benchmark for assisted support operations. For more information, visit www.jdpower.com or www.tsia.com.

SOURCE Intermedia

Related Links

http://www.intermedia.net


IRVINE, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Purdue University in Indiana will acquire Kaplan University, a provider of higher education offering degree programs online as well as on-ground through its 15 campuses.

Purdue University is a public non-profit land-grant university and Kaplan University is a for-profit higher education system.

This is the second transaction in 2017 between a non-profit and a for-profit higher education entity. Earlier this year, the Dream Center Foundation in Los Angeles, California announced its acquisition of Education Management Corporation, a for-profit higher education system that operates Argosy University, The Art Institutes, and South University.

Fardad Fateri, President & Chief Executive Officer of International Education Corporation, an operator of a post-secondary career education system of colleges across the United States said, "It is uncertain whether these two recent acquisitions mark the beginning of a potential trend in American higher education but these transactions certainly do very loudly counter the unfavorable voice of political extremists against the viability of for-profit education." He added, "In fact, it is abundantly clear that Purdue University and The Dream Center Foundation have a contrary perspective to that of the political far left as they do see the significant value and contribution of for-profit education to American higher education as a whole."

Fateri contends that for-profit education's ability to offer timely, current, and relevant curricula that prepare students for careers in high demand marketplace industry verticals have materially influenced online and on-ground higher education in the past few decades. For-profit higher education's innovative approaches to teaching and learning continue to enhance service, quality, measurable student outcomes, and meaningful student achievement in all of higher education in the United States. Therefore, non-profit higher education's attraction to join forces with for-profit colleges and universities is indeed warranted and a natural progression in the evolution of American higher education.

"Several have called the Purdue and Kaplan transaction a disruption in higher education; calling this deal a disruption is a significant stretch," Fateri says. "Uber disrupted the transportation industry, and VRBO as well as AirBnB disrupted the hospitality industry. A public non-profit public land-grant university acquiring a for-profit university does not disrupt higher education or student learning," Fateri adds.

Fateri asserts, "We are used to so little change in our dogmatic and stagnant ecosystem in higher education that even a transaction appears to be disruptive. The deal is admittedly unusual but not disruptive."

According to Fateri, this is a smart, and a mutually beneficial strategic business transaction. Fateri concludes, "I applaud Purdue and Kaplan for developing a prudent solution to address several complicated business, regulatory, academic, and management problems while concurrently creating opportunities for multiple stakeholders."

About Fardad Fateri & IEC

Fardad Fateri is the President & Chief Executive Officer of International Education Corporation, an operator of post-secondary career education system of colleges offering programs to prepare students for high demand careers in business, trades, healthcare, criminal justice and technology. Fateri writes and speaks frequently on leadership development, organizational culture, workforce development, and student learning. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at University of California in Irvine, Alliant International University and Harvard University.

Media Contact:

Cori Blas

[email protected]

9498127710

SOURCE International Education Corporation
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeppesen, a Boeing Company, has teamed with Teledyne Controls to integrate Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro with Teledyne's GroundLink Comm+ system with Aircraft Interface Device (AID) functionality, known as GroundLink AID+. This will deliver greater data connectivity for carriers using FliteDeck Pro, the leading electronic flight bag (EFB) solution for airlines and large-scale operators.

"Advances gained through use of Teledyne's GroundLink AID+ technology will continue the wave of new capabilities delivered through FliteDeck Pro to help operators access and process critical flight data," said Scott Reagan, director, Jeppesen OEM Client Management. "Based on strong customer demand for this capability, we are pleased to team with Teledyne Controls to connect FliteDeck Pro with additional data sources, creating more intelligent capabilities on the ground and in the air."

GroundLink AID+ technology from Teledyne will allow airlines to view real-time GPS-based, ownship positioning on navigational charts to increase situational awareness in flight. Specifically, this alliance between Jeppesen and Teledyne allows airport charts, departure charts, enroute and weather maps and arrival charts in FliteDeck Pro to be quickly and easily integrated with data from the aircraft's existing onboard data systems to help enable the pilot to make better informed decisions to increase operational efficiency and improve safety margins.

Murray Skelton, director of Business Development at Teledyne Controls, notes that the technical integration has been easy and cost-effective: "With approximately 10,000 GroundLink units already flying, it is an easy transition for those with the technology already installed. It not only protects their legacy investment but it also enables them to make even more of it. It means that every future customer with the GroundLink Comm+ system installed can gain instant benefit."

The integrated solution will be demonstrated at the AEEC/AMC Conference in Milwaukee, WI (May 14).

Connectivity provides the pilot with access to the EFB at all times. Pre-flight, pilots can update their EFB database, review maintenance logs, Minimum Equipment Lists (MELs), flight release and notices to airmen (NOTAMs). During the ramp/taxi, they can calculate take-off performance and complete their checklist. During the flight, they can log flight progress and review enroute, arrivals and approach charts. After the flight, they can file the pilot log and send performance calculations off-board.

For further detail on the industry-leading navigation, operations, training and optimization solutions provided by Jeppesen, please visit www.jeppesen.com.

About Jeppesen

For more than 80 years, Jeppesen has made it possible for pilots and their passengers to safely and efficiently reach their destinations. Today, this pioneering spirit continues as Jeppesen delivers transformative information and optimization solutions to improve the efficiency of air operations around the globe. Jeppesen is a Boeing subsidiary and part of the Digital Aviation business unit within Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. Boeing offers the industry's largest portfolio of support and services solutions, providing customers a competitive advantage by solving real operational problems, enabling better decisions, maximizing efficiency and improving environmental performance  intelligent information solutions across the entire aviation ecosystem.

About Teledyne Controls

Headquartered in Southern California, Teledyne Controls LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated. Teledyne Controls is a leading manufacturer and innovator of a wide range of data management solutions designed to help aircraft operators collect, manage and distribute aircraft data more efficiently. Teledyne Controls maintains worldwide facilities and a global network of field representatives to support its many airline, airframe, and military customers. Additional information about Teledyne Controls can be found at http://www.teledynecontrols.com.

SOURCE Jeppesen

Related Links

http://www.jeppesen.com


OAKLAND, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of its groundbreaking achievement and innovation in health care sustainability, Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest integrated health system, has garnered 17 Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence awards, including the designation of the Vacaville Medical Center as one of the top 25 hospitals in the country for environmental excellence.

Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. The Environmental Excellence Awards are given each year to honor environmental achievement in the health care sector. Kaiser Permanente has been recognized by Practice Greenhealth for its sustainability work every year since the awards program began in 2002.

Kaiser Permanente's awards recognize the commitment, embodied in its 2025 Environmental Stewardship Goals, to buying safer products, conserving energy, using solar and wind power and managing waste that puts the organization among the nation's leaders in environmental responsibility.

"This recognition underscores the many ways environmental stewardship has become embedded throughout our organization as we work to deliver on our commitment to improve the total health of our employees, members and the communities we serve," said Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente's vice president for employee safety, health and wellness and its environmental stewardship officer. "We are thrilled to be part of the momentum that is building around the benefits of green practices within the health care industry and beyond."

All of the 13 Kaiser Permanente hospitals honored are in California. The full list of Kaiser Permanente's Environmental Excellence awards includes:

Circle of Excellence for Environmentally Preferable Purchasing : Kaiser Permanente

: Kaiser Permanente Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award : Vacaville Medical Center

: Vacaville Medical Center Partners for Change Emerald :

: Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center



Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado



Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center

Partner for Change:

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia , Inc.

, Inc.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States



Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center

Partner Recognition:

Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center



Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center

The awards will be presented at the Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards Gala, set for May 18th in Minneapolis, Minn., at the conclusion of the CleanMed Conference & Exhibition.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 11.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Media Contact:

Marc Brown

[email protected]

510-271-6328

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

Related Links

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org


Kaiser Permanente's "Find Your Words" public health awareness campaign focuses on TV, radio, and online messages that talk about depression in an honest and inspiring way. Coinciding with the start of National Mental Health Month , the campaign launches today, Monday, May 1.

View the "Find Your Words" 60-Second Message Here

"At Kaiser Permanente, we believe health is achieved when mind, body, and spirit work together to improve your life," said Roland Lyon, Kaiser Permanente Colorado president. "With this campaign, we hope to spark the conversation and let Coloradans know that receiving care for your mental health is just as important as going to the doctor for strep throat or a broken arm."

The "Find Your Words" campaign drives viewers to FindYourWords.org, a website that provides basic information about depression, offers resources and invites the public to engage in a conversation about mental health and wellness through an interactive component. Kaiser Permanente partnered with several national organizations including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Crisis Text Line and Mental Health America on the "Find Your Words" campaign.

"We are expanding partnerships with local and national mental health organizations, and standing together as a strong voice against the stigma and shame that can hinder some from seeking help," said Margaret Ferguson, MD, president and executive medical director of the Colorado Permanente Medical Group which provides care to the 680,000 Kaiser Permanente members in the state. "We want people to know that mental health treatment works and that there is hope."

Thriving Schools Behavioral Health Grants

In addition to the "Find Your Words" campaign, Kaiser Permanente is awarding grant funding to advance social and emotional wellness and mental health in school districts across the state. In August 2017, Kaiser Permanente will award five Colorado school districts a combined $1.5 million in Thriving Schools behavioral health grants.

The schools, listed below, will use the grants to increase access to mental health and wellness programs to help teachers and staff learn how to identify and deal with mental health needs in students as well as themselves.

Boulder Valley School District (Denver/Boulder)  Fairview High School, Nederland Middle-Senior High School, and Nederland Elementary School

The Thriving Schools grant will help address the mental health and social emotional learning needs identified in three Boulder Valley schools by providing teachers, staff, and parents with professional learning through the Let's Connect programa comprehensive social and emotional training program for adults and students.

Cherry Creek School District (Denver/Boulder)  Prairie Middle School

The Thriving Schools grant will support the implementation of the Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS) program in Prairie Middle Schoolone of the largest and most diverse schools in Colorado. Its 1,780 students represent 70 countries and 45 different languages.

Summit School District (Mountain Colorado)  Dillon Valley Elementary School, Silverthorne Elementary School, and Upper Blue Elementary School

Summit School District serves more than 3,500 students in the diverse mountain communities of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne. The Thriving Schools grant will support the SAFE KIDS Summit County project which provides wellness training for teachers and staff in three local elementary schools.

Thompson School District (Northern Colorado)  Lincoln Elementary School, Monroe Elementary School, and Truscott Elementary School

The Thompson School District serves more than 16,000 students in the communities of Loveland, Berthoud, Fort Collins, and Weld and Boulder counties. The Thriving Schools grant will support In Focus, a training program that helps teachers and staff to recognize their own emotions and limitations to help their young students manage their emotions, improve their focus, and gain self-control.

Fountain-Fort Carson School District (Southern Colorado)  Jordahl Elementary School, Fountain Middle School, and Welte Education Center

This school district has more than 8,000 students, including 4,600 students from military families. The Thriving Schools grant will provide teachers and staff with training focused on trauma-informed care and culturally sensitive practices.

"A child's mental health is greatly influenced by their experiences at school," said Douglas Newton, MD, Kaiser Permanente Colorado psychiatrist. "With these grants, we hope to support more Colorado teachers and staff as they continue to learn skills to identify mental health and wellness needs for themselves, their students and the school community."

Additional Mental Health Support

Kaiser Permanente also offers schools a unique approach to learning about, identifying, and living with mental health issues. "People Like Vince" is a free, interactive play for elementary students that seeks to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by teaching students about social and emotional wellness. This school year, "People Like Vince" was performed to more than 13,000 students at 49 Colorado schools.

In addition to schools, Kaiser Permanente has long provided support to various public mental health organizations. Recently, Kaiser Permanente teamed up with eight Colorado foundations to announce an $11.2 million, five-year 'LAUNCH Together' grant aimed at promoting the social and emotional health and well-being of Colorado's children and families.

Kaiser Permanente has also long been committed to advancing mental health through research. Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Institute for Health Research is currently involved in numerous studies including evaluating the effectiveness of online programs for managing depression, interventions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of pregnant and postpartum women, suicide prevention, and early detection of mental illness.

In 2011, the IHR joined the Mental Health Research Network to develop a diverse national resource for mental health researchers. This partnership enables multiple health systems and hospitals across the US to coordinate data and implement the most effective treatments for patients.

To learn more about mental health, please visit FindYourWords.org and see what you can do to take part in this important conversation.

About Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Kaiser Permanente Colorado is the state's largest nonprofit health plan, working to improve the lives and health of all Coloradans for 48 years. We are comprised of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado and the Colorado Permanente Medical Groupone of the state's largest medical groups with more than 1,200 physicians. We provide comprehensive care for our 680,000 Kaiser Permanente Colorado members through 31 medical offices across the statefrom Pueblo to Greeley and now in the mountains in Summit and Eagle counties. We are also committed to our social mission and in 2016, proudly directed more than $118 million to community benefit programs to improve the health of all Coloradans. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit kp.org/share or follow us @kpcolorado or like us facebook.com/kpcolorado

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Related Links

http://www.FindYourWords.org


NEW YORK, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential securities fraud at KBR, Inc. ("KBR" or the "Company") (NYSE:KBR)

The investigation focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws regarding bribery and corruption charges. Specifically, on April 28, 2017, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office announced an investigation into KBR's "officers, employees and agents for suspected offenses of bribery and corruption."

On this news, KBR's share price declined, causing harm to investors.

If you invested in KBR stock or options and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/KBR. There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

CONTACT:

FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

[email protected]

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

Related Links

http://www.faruqilaw.com


CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- La-Z-Boy recognized Tipperary Sales, one of the largest La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries dealers in the country, with three prestigious honors at an awards ceremony held during High Point Furniture Market in High Point, Nc. Two Tipperary Sales locations were recognized for being in the top ten stores of 350 in the country, and one employee was recognized individually for excellence in interior design services.

"We are proud to honor Tipperary Sales and its employees for their continued dedication to serving our customers  both in stores and in the community," said Jim Reilly, vice president of sales for La-Z-Boy. "One Tipperary Sales employee, Billie Wachman, earned recognition for being among the top performing designers in the country. At the same time, they were recognized for having two top-ten stores in the nation. These tremendous awards are evidence that Tipperary's organization embodies our mission of helping our customers live life comfortably."

The Pinnacle Award

The Pinnacle Club recognizes the top-selling in-home design consultants and sales consultants in the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries network, one of the industry's largest dedicated store networks. Tipperary was honored to receive one of these prestigious awards. Billie Wachman, an in-home designer from the Evans, Ga. location was recognized as the South Central region's honoree. Only 14 La-Z-Boy consultants and designers are inducted into the Pinnacle Club annually, making it the highest honor for store employees. This is Billie's fourth time as a Pinnacle recipienta tremendous honor.

"Billie is a tremendous talent," said Martha Brown, President and CEO Tipperary Sales. "She connects naturally with customers, helping identify their needs and then designing a room-- or even an entire homeequally beautiful and comfortable."

Two Top-Ten Stores

Each year, La-Z-Boy honors ten of the top-performing stores in the country. Rising to the top of 350 locations across the nation, Tipperary Sales claimed No. 9 for its Greenville, Sc. Store for $7.9m in sales. The No. 6 spot was awarded to Tipperary's Pineville, Nc. store for $9.2m in sales. This is the second year in a row that the Pineville, Nc. location achieved top ten recognition.

"Buying furniture is very personal," continued Brown. "We aim to provide our customers with an exceptional furniture buying experience, treating them in a way that honors our store, our community and the La-Z-Boy brand."

About Tipperary Sales, Inc.

Tipperary Sales, Inc., a family-owned company, founded in 1976, operates seven La-Z-Boy Galleries in the Southeast. Today, Tipperary Sales, Inc. is owned and operated by the second generation of the Brown family.

La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores operated by Tipperary Sales, Inc. are located at 4205 Washington Rd. in Evans, Ga.; 150 Traders Way, Pooler, Ga.; 7035 Smith Corners Blvd. in Charlotte, Nc. 11515 Carolina Place Pkwy. in Pineville, Nc.; 4960 Centre Pointe Dr Suite 102, N. Charleston, Sc.; 5342 Sunset Boulevard in Lexington, Sc.; 1046 Woodruff Rd. in Greenville, Sc. For more information, please visit www.la-z-boy.com/southeast.

About La-Z-Boy

Headquartered in Monroe, MI, La-Z-Boy is one of the world's leading residential furniture producers. The company manufactures a full line of comfortable products for the living room and family room, including the company's world-famous recliners, reclining sofas and love seats, sleep sofas, modular furniture and leather upholstery, as well as stationary sofas, love seats and chairs. It is a division of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB), one of the world's leading residential furniture producers, marketing furniture for every room of the home. Live Life Comfortably. SM

SOURCE La-Z-Boy Southeast
This year's May Day protests in NYC featured impassioned demonstrations at multiple locations throughout Manhattan that lasted well into the evening. But there's still a full week ahead, with more rallies and protests planned for a variety of causes. As always, find our list of notable protest, rallies, and panels below.

"Chelsea Manning And Whistleblowers In The Age Of Trump"

Two weeks ahead of Chelsea Manning's release from prison, Verso Books will host a wide-ranging discussion about the lessons of her case and the role of government leaks under Trump. The panel features Chasio Strangio, an ACLU attorney who represented Manning, as well as Chase Madar, a former civil rights attorney and the author of Manning's biography. The event is free, but guests should arrive early to ensure entry.

Wednesday May 3rd, 7 p.m. | Verso Books, 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010



"Taxi Medallion Driver Owner Association Rally"

Just weeks after prices for taxi medallions hit an all time low, medallion owners and drivers will gather outside of City Hall to urge city and state leaders to improve regulation of the yellow cab industry. Their demands, put forth by the Medallion Owner Driver Association, include the establishment of a state-run emergency task force focused on fair taxi regulation, an end to banks foreclosing on medallions, and the creation of a distressed asset relief plan. The rally isn't limited to those who work in the industrysupporters of yellow cabs are encouraged to turn out as well.

Wednesday, May 3rd, 1 p.m. | New York City Hall



"Protest Trump's First Presidential Visit To NYC"

Donald Trump will visit New York as president for the first time on Thursday, an appearance sure to set off midtown traffic woes and several citywide protests. One protest, which has already attracted 6,000 interested people on Facebook, is scheduled to greet Trump at the site of his planned speech aboard the U.S.S Intrepid. Organized by the Working Families Party and Resist Here, the rally is billed as a "joyful Cacerolazo"a popular style of Latin American protest that involves banging on pots, pans, and utensils to attract attention. Attendees are encouraged to wear white as tribute to past civil rights movements, and also in observance of Star Wars Day.

Thursday, May 4th, 2 p.m. | DeWitt Clinton Park, 650 W 54th Street



"Whose Streets? Our Streets! Keep Trump Out of New York!"

A second anti-Trump protest is scheduled to take place outside Trump Tower throughout the daybeginning at 8 a.m. and lasting until 8 p.m.. This one is hosted by the New York Immigration Coalition and New York State Action Fund, and promises to "take over the streets around Trump Tower and make sure he knows what real New York values are about."

Thursday, May 4th, 8 a.m. | Trump Tower, 725 5th Avenue



"Anti-Trump Fiesta"

On the morning after the president leaves the city, more anti-Trump New Yorkers will converge outside of Trump Tower for a resistance-themed celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Money-permitting, the fiesta will include "mariachis, taco food trucks, eloteros, tamaleros," according to organizers. The event also marks one year since then-candidate Trump declared his love for Hispanics over a Trump-branded taco bowl.

Friday, May 5th, 8 a.m. | Trump Tower, 725 5th Avenue



"La Marcha de Mayo"

A host of Latino advocacy groups, including CUNY DREAMers and LOUD, have organized a march in support of the Hispanic community both in and outside of the United States. Attendees plan on rallying at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, then marching the 14 blocks to Trump Tower at around noon. Individuals are encouraged to RSVP ahead of time, and to join the sign-making event hosted by Mixteca on Thursday.

Saturday, May 5th, 11 a.m. | 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza




MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- LACNIC will be holding its 27th meeting together with NIC.br on 22-26 May at the Bourbon Cataratas Hotel in Foz do Iguacu, Brasil. Topics to be presented during the meeting include IPv6 implementation success stories in the LAC region, the final stage of IPv4 exhaustion, progress made by Latin American and Caribbean Internet exchange points, and major threats to cybersecurity.

With more than 700 registered participants from more than 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries, the LACNIC 27 meeting will also address emerging trends in technology and their impact on the future development of the Internet over the next 10 years, as well as women's participation in Information Technologies with a panel especially devoted to this topic.

One of the critical aspects of the Foz do Iguacu meeting will be accelerating IPv6 deployment after IPv4 exhaustion at a time when the region has reached an Internet penetration rate of 59.6%. According to the latest information available on 31st March, the Latin American and Caribbean community has already reached 385 million users, having incorporated 40 million new users over the past year (Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com/).

The IPv6 protocol is key not only to foster the development of the Internet of Things throughout the region, but also because it is a vital tool for connecting 40% of Latin Americans who do not yet have access to the Internet. There are 255 million users in this situation and only 4 million IPv4 addresses, so IPv6 is essential for any project aimed at providing access to such communities.

As expected, much of the analysis and discussions in Foz do Iguacu will focus on IPv6 deployment. The event will also include a panel on successful cases of IPv6 implementation in the region (examples in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) and the IPv6 Challenge aimed at recognizing projects that have promoted the implementation of version 6 of the IP protocol.

According to research conducted by LACNIC, at least nine countries of the region already have more than 1% of their traffic over IPv6: Guatemala, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Trinidad Tobago, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.

Likewise, the first regional anti-abuse group formed by LACNIC, LACNOG and M3AAWG will be officially presented and five proposals for policy modifications will be discussed during the Policy Forum.

This meeting would not be possible without the support of its sponsors: Cisco, Huawei, Google, NTT Communications, Internet Society, ICANN, Netflix , Arbor, Facebook, Antel, Telcomanager, Grupo Binario, GlobeNet, Ams-ix, Secure64, IP Trading, Furukawa and our local organizer NIC.br.

We encourage everyone with an interest in these issues to participate remotely at http://www.lacnic.net/web/eventos/lacnic27

Related Links

http://www.lacnic.net/web/eventos/lacnic27



SOURCE LACNIC
RESTON, Va., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Icelandic airport operator, Isavia has selected the BEONTRA Operational Terminal Prediction (OTP) tool from Leidos to help maximize the efficiency of its terminal operations at Keflavik Airport following a successful pilot project.

BEONTRA OTP is a forecasting and prediction tool that can accurately improve resource planning throughout the airport. This is done using data consolidated from a number of sources including live flight updates from the Airport Operational Database and stakeholders such as airlines. The information, updated in real-time, gives airport staff the ability to manage the passenger journey. The system combines real-time information with airport trend data, for example, how early passengers tend to arrive, how long it takes to people to walk through the terminal, and how long it takes passengers to pass through each checkpoint. The result is a simple graphic display showing when passenger wait times will peak.

Keflavik is the largest airport in Iceland with about seven million passengers per year. Accurate resource planning, especially around Security Control, is critical to ensure that staffing levels reflect the volume of passengers that use the terminal throughout the day. A reporting dashboard, which will be fed with real-time information, will enable the airport team to improve the planning of existing resources and help decrease passenger wait times at Immigration.

"Our BEONTRA OTP tool enables our airport customers to improve the effectiveness and productivity of their terminals to benefit both passengers and personnel," said Angie Heise, Leidos Civil Group president. "Using predictive airport management and data analysis tools reduces the challenges faced by our customers and results in a better traveller experience."

About Leidos

Leidos is a global science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.Leidos.com


INDIANAPOLIS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will conduct a webcast on Saturday, June 3, 2017, to discuss the company's oncology pipeline, including data from the MONARCH 2 study of abemaciclib in patients with hormone-receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer, which will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. The webcast will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central Time.

Investors, media and the general public can access a live webcast of the conference call through a link that will be posted on Lilly's website at https://investor.lilly.com/events.cfm. A replay will also be available on the website following the conference call.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. F-LLY

Refer to: Lauren Zierke; [email protected]; (317) 277-6524 (Media)

Philip Johnson; [email protected]; (317) 655-6874 (Investors)

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company

Related Links

https://www.lilly.com


LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Live.me, the live broadcasting app, celebrated it's one year anniversary with an award celebration in a swanky Bel-Air mansion on Saturday April 29th in Los Angeles. Hundreds of Live.me broadcasters were in attendance at the invite-only event which also included appearances by recording artist Kesha, FaZe Banks, FaZe Nikans, RiceGum, Macy Kate, Diego Navarette (Diegosaurs), Nick Bean, Sam and Rosa Pottorff, Andrew Fontenot, and dozens of other social media stars.

Ocean Park Standoff, the latest need-to-know LA pop rock band led by Ethan Thompson, Samantha Ronson, and Pete Nappi, performed a handful of songs live, including the hit single "Good News." Contortionist and America's Got Talent finalist Sofi Dossi performed a routine which included shooting a bow and arrow using only her feet.

Live.me has celebrated many successes in its first year, including becoming the highest grossing live broadcasting app in the US, recognized a handful of broadcasters for achieving various milestones throughout the year. The list of winners includes:

Queen of Hearts Award : SavageWinter - 1337 [Most hearts received in a single broadcast with 3,977,141 hearts]

: SavageWinter - 1337 [Most hearts received in a single broadcast with 3,977,141 hearts] Rainmaker Award : Ice King [Sent the most gifts with 44.2M coins]

: Ice King [Sent the most gifts with 44.2M coins] Lit Marathon Award : Gharet Starke [Longest consecutive stream at 154 hours]

: Gharet Starke [Longest consecutive stream at 154 hours] Class Act Award : TurnUpKing [The highest Broadcaster Class Level/Experience]

: TurnUpKing [The highest Broadcaster Class Level/Experience] Time Well Spent Award : Ashcatash [Broadcasted the most hours with 1,675.6]

: Ashcatash [Broadcasted the most hours with 1,675.6] Social Butterfly Award : Collins Key [Most shares in a single broadcast with 9,879 shares]

: Collins Key [Most shares in a single broadcast with 9,879 shares] Tubefilter Chart Topper Award : TheRealKatherinRojas [Has appeared highest the most weeks on the Tubefilter rankings and ranked highest]

: TheRealKatherinRojas [Has appeared highest the most weeks on the Tubefilter rankings and ranked highest] Diamonds Are Forever Award : Kristina Plisko [Has received the most diamonds with 44.1 diamonds]

: [Has received the most diamonds with 44.1 diamonds] Follow Me Award : Roman Atwood [Most followers with 5.53M fans]

: [Most followers with 5.53M fans] Live.me Star Award: SammieFreakingFirth [Person cumulatively appearing highest across all 3 in-app charts (diamonds, gifter, trending)]

"A year ago, it was hard to imagine Live.me would break through in the way it has, but it's a testament to our strong community of live broadcasters and how much the live video format has been embraced by all types of creators," said Khudor Annous, Head of Marketing & Partnerships for Live.me. "We've got some exciting surprises in store for this next year and big plans to continue to reshape the future of mobile broadcasting."

The party included sponsors Heineken and Hint Water, and music by DJ William Lifestyle, co-founder of the charity HashtagLunchbag. To recap the first year of activities and broadcasters, a brand new video was debuted and can be seen on Live.me's YouTube page: https://youtu.be/Sbj2jTk_Urs

About Live.me

Live.me is the fastest and highest grossing live broadcasting platform in the U.S. The app has been downloaded by more than 21 million people, including creators of all formats and interests, to connect with others and earn virtual goods that can be exchanged for prizes, rewards, and cash. More than 200,000 hours of live video are broadcast daily on Live.me.

SOURCE Live.me
WILMINGTON, N.C., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today two longtime utility directors launched a communications consulting firm dedicated to helping water and wastewater professionals across North Carolina and the nation meet their customers' growing expectations for information. WaterPIO (www.WaterPIO.com) provides short-term, long-term and emergency communication services to utilities and local government operations that will strengthen their relationships with their ratepayers, all for a fraction of the cost of full-time personnel.

"WaterPIO knows from firsthand experience that water and wastewater services are out of sight and out of mind, often only thought of when there's a big bill or main break," said Mike McGill, WaterPIO President. "We give industry and local government leaders with limited staff and resources the ability to effectively communicate with their ratepayers on a consistent basis. And when an emergency occurs, we're always on call, ready to provide hands-on support for their incident response."

WaterPIO is staffed by experts with decades of experience serving water and wastewater utilities. Mike McGill recently served as Chief Communications Officer for Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in Wilmington, NC, where he created and implemented customer and media relations plans for the largest water utility in eastern North Carolina. He was previously the Director of Customer Relations and Communications for Loudoun Water and Public Affairs Coordinator for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

Mike Richardson provides WaterPIO with important counsel and technical expertise on current and future regulatory issues. He is the only person to serve as president of North Carolina's three main water associations and directed the City of Wilmington's water operations for 22 years. The Cape Fear Region's largest groundwater treatment plant was recently named in his honor.

Because of WaterPIO's extensive experience, we understand how ratepayers are receiving the news they want - no matter how important or trivial - without needing to ask for it. Social media, emails, texts and mass media immediately update customers whenever there is news that affects their lives.

That's why WaterPIO offers a variety of service packages tailored to fit water leaders' goals, staffing levels and budgets. They range from short-term and construction project-based communications to comprehensive, long-term planning and execution.

Media relations work is a particular WaterPIO specialty. Over the years, we've earned our water utilities millions of dollars in positive news coverage and can establish or improve any operation's standing with the press. We also train employees on how to handle difficult complaints or questions from reporters.

WaterPIO is a pioneer in the field of crisis communications for the water and wastewater industry. We created the first emergency notification system to microtarget customers about boil water advisories, water restrictions and sanitary sewer overflows. WaterPIO is NIMS/ICS-trained and we've served as lead public information officers (PIOs) during hurricanes, transmission main failures, algal blooms and coal ash contamination.

Finally, WaterPIO is adept at writing and producing print and online materials that effectively communicate key messages. We offer an array of brochures, bill inserts, Annual Reports, Consumer Confidence Reports, and other information items that greatly improve customer education.

For more information, water and wastewater professionals, and local government officials, are encouraged to visit WaterPIO.com and contact us at (910) 622-8472 or [email protected].

WaterPIO also serves as a media resource for drinking water, source water and wastewater-related issues. Journalists are encouraged to contact Mike McGill at (910) 622-8472 or [email protected] whenever background information or public comment is needed.

Contact:

Mike McGill

(910) 622-8472

[email protected]

www.WaterPIO.com

SOURCE WaterPIO

Related Links

http://www.WaterPIO.com


MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mahaffey Fabric Structures, the leading provider of temporary fabric structures and shelter solutions in the United States, recently installed a temporary hangar for Bombardier's full-scale restoration of a Huey Vietnam-era helicopter. The Huey is on display at Marion County Vietnam Memorial in Fairmont, West Virginia.

Mahaffey Fabric Structures

"After learning more about the history of the helicopter and the significance of the Memorial, we were honored to help Bombardier," said Kevin Ponder, project manager at Mahaffey Fabric Structures. "We truly value partners like Bombardier, and we always try to help when asked. We are proud to have played a small part."

Mahaffey installed a 20 foot-by-50 foot temporary hangar from its MegaStructure Series, specifically customized to fit the Huey. The installation of the hangar was completed in one day, and less than a week later, the helicopter was fully restored to its original, wartime form.

"Mahaffey has been a reliable partner for Bombardier at Bridgeport for the past few years," said Chad Hill, director of operations at West Virginia Air Center. "I approached them with the idea of using one of their structures, so that our team could perform the repairs on-site. Mahaffey understood the importance of the Memorial to the region and was eager to help. Overall, we were very pleased with how everything transpired."

The Huey, specifically known as U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D, tail number 66-16109, was purchased by the U.S. Army in March 1967. In January 1968, it was shipped to Vietnam, where it logged 4,908 hours in the air. Veterans and their families frequently visit the helicopter at Marion County Vietnam Memorial to pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

To learn more about the restoration of the Huey and Mahaffey's involvement, visit:

mahaffeyusa.com/vietnam-helicopter-restoration.

About Mahaffey Fabric Structures

Founded in 1924, Mahaffey Fabric Structures currently serves customers throughout North America, Mexico, the Caribbean and beyond, installing more than 400 temporary structures in a typical year. This award-winning, innovative company simplifies the rental experience, as all planning, siting, permit gathering, installation and maintenance are performed by Mahaffey's highly-skilled, professional crews, so you can focus on the work at your site while we focus on the details of your structure. For more information, visit mahaffeyusa.com.

Media Contact:

Beth Wilson

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 901.278.3773

Related Images

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This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Mahaffey Fabric Structures

Related Links

http://www.mahaffeyusa.com


The collaboration includes custom recipes featuring the authentic flavors of HERDEZ  brand's newest addition to its line of products, Guacamole Salsa. In addition, the heart of the partnership is a master cooking class with food Latina influencers where Chef Marcela will bring her depth of culinary experience to teach contemporary Mexican dishes. The "Street Taco Fiesta with Chef Marcela featuring the HERDEZ  Brand," will be held on May 4 th at her home, in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

Mexican cuisine is known not only for its rich flavors  of which there are plenty  but also for its vibrant cultural heritage, the family values it represents and its evolving tastes. Marcela will pass along her expertise on how to combine traditional Mexican ingredients with bold flavors to create delicious dishes that are reminiscent of home.

"We are excited to partner with Chef Marcela Valladolid to represent our brand and create delicious Mexican dishes," said Gilberto Gutierrez, Senior Brand Manager of HERDEZ Brand. "Our customers expect authenticity when they buy HERDEZ Brand, and that means providing a real Mexican dining experience. Chef Marcela embodies the Mexican culture and understands how to incorporate HERDEZ Brand's authentic flavors into her cooking."

Chef Marcela's Mexican contemporary culinary creations are available exclusively on www.herdeztraditions.com/Guacamole-Salsa. Among the new recipes are:

Salmon Gobernador Tacos, cooked with HERDEZ  Guacamole Salsa

Homemade Adobada Street Tacos, prepared with HERDEZ Guacamole Salsa

"HERDEZ Salsas have always been a favorite of mine because I love the authentic taste," said Chef Marcela. "I've had a lot of fun experimenting with the versatility of HERDEZ Guacamole Salsa and I can't wait to introduce people to this new product that combines the rich taste of avocados with all the classic ingredients of a salsa verde."

Join in the fun with the makers of the HERDEZ Brand and Chef Marcela at the "Street Taco fiesta" cooking master class on May 4th at 5:30pm PST through a live broadcast on Facebook.com/HerdezTraditions. Highlights during the event will also be shared on Instagram @HERDEZTraditions and on Twitter @HERDEZBrand. Join the conversation via #HerdezAtCasaMarcela and #HerdezGuacamoleSalsa. For more information about the Facebook live broadcast visit HerdezTraditions.com/Guacamole-salsa.

About the HERDEZ Brand

HERDEZ salsa is made the authentic way, using yummy ingredients like tomatoes, onions, chile peppers and cilantro. Today, HERDEZ Salsa is the No.1 selling salsa brand in Mexico and a growing staple in homes in the United States. HERDEZ authentic Mexican products are available nationwide at major grocery stores. Visit www.herdeztraditions.com for more information.

About Chef Marcela

Marcela Valladolid is a celebrity chef, television personality, designer, author and businesswoman. Marcela began her professional career as a Food Editor for Bon Appetit Magazine. Her first television show was Relatos Con Sabor for Discovery en Espanol and she published her first book, Fresh Mexico, in 2009. She hosted her second show, Mexican Made Easy, for the Food Network in 2010 and released a companion book, Mexican Made Easy, in 2011. Marcela is currently co-hosting the Emmy-nominated Food Network hit show, The Kitchen and has recently released her third book, titled Casa Marcela: Recipes and Food Stories of My Life in the Californias, in April 2017.

SOURCE HERDEZ Brand

Related Links

https://www.herdeztraditions.com


KELOWNA, British Columbia, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Marapharm (MRPHF) announces that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 7.02 acres located in Desert Hot Springs, CA and that the development has an approved CUP for 102,125 square feet of cannabis cultivation and processing. The purchase price is $2.5 million USD. The agreement is contingent for 60 days, for approval of up to 40,000 square feet of interim facilities, for trailer pods to be brought to the property for interim growing before construction. An interim plan for cultivation was previously approved by the City but was not continued. MSA Consulting Inc. is contracted to renew the process.

Marapharm announced April 17, 2017 that it purchased, without contingencies, 1.22 acres of property located in Desert Hot Springs, CA, zoned industrial and approved for a CUP of 29,193 square feet, for cultivation and processing. Items which are completed in the development process include the required orientation meeting, development agreement, conditional use permit, preliminary review (street improvements, water retention and capacity, utilities, setbacks, grading, fore suppression, fences, walls, etc.), agreement submissions, application preparations submissions, architecture and landscape review, environmental submissions and review, city attorney review, planning commission approvals, city council and several other steps.

ABOUT MARAPHARM VENTURES INC.

http://www.marapharm.com

Marapharm trades in Canada, ticker symbol MDM on the CSE, in the United States, ticker symbol MRPHF on the OTCQB, in Europe, ticker symbol 2M0 on the FSE.

Marapharm has 300,000 square feet of medical marijuana licenses for its land and facilities in WA and NV. About two and a half years ago, Marapharm applied in Canada to Health Canada for a MMPR (production and sales) license and has passed the necessary security clearances. The application is currently in the in-depth screening process. In September 2016, Health Canada contacted Marapharm with a provision to amend its application to allow for the new regulations, ACMPR.

Construction photos and videos can be accessed through the Marapharm website. Marapharms common shares are publicly traded in Canada, under the ticker symbol 'MDM' on the Canadian Securities Exchange, and in the United States, under the ticker symbol 'MRPHF' on the OTCQB, and in Europe, under the ticker symbol '2M0' on the FSE.

Additional information on the operations or financial results of Marapharm are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the CSE website (http://www.thecse.com), the OTC website (http://www.otcmarkets.com), and the SEDAR website (http://www.sedar.com) under the profile for Marapharm Ventures Inc.

STOCK EXCHANGES:

Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB has approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", 'may", "will", "project", "should", 'believe", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumption but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon.

For Further Information:

http://www.marapharm.com

Linda Sampson

CEO

+1-778-583-4476

E-mail: [email protected]



SOURCE Marapharm Ventures Inc.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketware, a leader in healthcare relationship technology, recently welcomed Alex Obbard, who takes on the role of senior vice president of sales.

"Alex's presence at Marketware will reinforce an already great team," says Bryce Bartel, Marketware CEO. "He has decades of sales leadership experience, and was an integral part of the phenomenal growth at his last company, Solutionreach. His expertise in the industry will ensure our continued growth on the sales side of our business."

Marketware's product suite elevates the healthcare experience for teams working in physician relations, data analytics, patient and consumer marketing, strategic planning, and business development.

Obbard has more than 25 years' experience building and leading sales teams and driving SaaS-based sales growth. Before joining Marketware, Obbard served as SVP of sales at Solutionreach, the leader in patient relationship management; the company currently supports more than 100,000 healthcare professionals at approximately 25,000 practices. Prior to Solutionreach, Obbard was vice president of sales at Burton group, managing VP of sales for Gartner, and VP of sales and marketing at dotOne.

Of his transition, Obbard says: "What impressed me about Marketware was that in just a few short years, the team has developed the industry's best physician relationship management platform, supported by an unmatched analytics engine and toolkit. I feel incredibly fortunate to have joined such a success story in the making."

Board member Nick Efstratis, managing director with Marketware investor EPIC, says, "Alex joins the team at a critical time, and his experience in leading successful sales teams will prove invaluable to the organization as it continues to mark rapid sales growth."

About Marketware:

Marketware provides the healthcare industry with relationship and business intelligence technology. Marketware's product suite elevates the healthcare experience for teams working in physician relations, data analytics, patient and consumer marketing, strategic planning, and business development. With years of proven experience, Marketware is trusted by health systems across the United States looking to grow, retain or uncover new market share. Learn more about the future of healthcare at marketware.com.

Press Contact:

Krystal Guerra, VP Marketing

[email protected]

801.944.4230 ext. 5280

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Marketware
IRVINE, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations today reported April U.S. sales of 24,164 vehicles, representing a decrease of 7.8 percent versus April of last year. With 26 selling days in April 2017 versus 27 year-over-year in 2016, the adjusted daily sales rate is down 4.2 percent. Year-to-date sales through April are up 2.6 percent versus last year, with 93,235 vehicles sold.

Key April sales notes:

A mix of both all-new 2017 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover SUVs and previous-generation models led to the nameplate's best April sales of all time with 11,334 sold. This represents a YOY increase of 28.4 percent during the 2017 CX-5's first full month of sales.

The midsize, three-row Mazda CX-9 continues to build momentum, tallying 2,134 sales. This represents CX-9's best April since 2011 when it posted 2,750 sales.

MX-5 Miata soft top and MX-5 RF retractable fastback sales continue to be strong, with 1,319 sold, a YOY increase of 21.5 percent. This represents MX-5's best April since 2008 when sales totaled 1,441 MX-5s.

Total sales of Mazda's CX crossover SUV line, including the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9, were up 40.5 percent YOY with 14,615 vehicles sold in the month of April. When making purchase decisions regarding crossover SUVs, a majority of Mazda customers continue to choose the AWD option, with 62.1 percent of CX-line vehicles sold in April being equipped with predictive i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported April sales of 3,830 vehicles, up 5 percent YOY.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through more than 600 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.



Month-To-Date

Year-To-Date























April April % % MTD

April April % % YTD

2017 2016 Change DSR

2017 2016 Change DSR























Mazda2 - 3 (100.0)% (100.0)%

- 3 (100.0)% (100.0)%

Mazda3 5,980 10,722 (44.2)% (42.1)%

26,586 32,855 (19.1)% (19.9)%

Mazda5 1 54 (98.1)% (98.1)%

6 259 (97.7)% (97.7)%

Mazda6 2,249 3,929 (42.8)% (40.6)%

12,941 14,212 (8.9)% (9.8)%

MX-5 Miata 1,319 1,086 21.5% 26.1%

4,701 3,495 34.5% 33.2%

CX-3 1,147 1,504 (23.7)% (20.8)%

4,861 6,421 (24.3)% (25.0)%

CX-5 11,334 8,826 28.4% 33.4%

35,708 32,433 10.1% 9.0%

CX-9 2,134 71 2905.6% 3021.2%

8,432 1,161 626.3% 619.1%























Total Vehicles









































CARS 9,549 15,794 (39.5)% (37.2)%

44,234 50,824 (13.0)% (13.8)%

TRUCKS 14,615 10,401 40.5% 45.9%

49,001 40,015 22.5% 21.2%























TOTAL 24,164 26,195 (7.8)% (4.2)%

93,235 90,838 2.6% 1.6%













































Selling Days 26 27





101 100









































































SOURCE Mazda North American Operations

Related Links

http://www.mazdausa.com


TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Medeon Biodesign, Inc., a Taiwan publically traded medical device company, is pleased to announce today that it has received approval by the Health and Disability Ethics Committees, Ministry of Health, New Zealand to commence the CE clinical trial for the XProTM Suture-Mediated Vascular Closure Device System (XProTM System), the company's large bore closure device, at Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand.

The clinical study will assess the safety and effectiveness of the XProTM System to facilitate hemostasis in patients undergoing percutaneous endovascular procedures utilizing 8-18 Fr introducer sheaths via the common femoral artery, including Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implementation (TAVI), Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR), Thoracic Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (TEVAR), and Percutaneous Balloon Valvuloplasty (PBV) procedures. The prospective, multi-center, single arm study will enroll up to 60 patients in New Zealand and Australia. The results will support CE Mark regulatory submission.

XProTM System, the innovative suture-mediated closure device targeting percutaneous large bore procedures, had its safety and effectiveness demonstrated in first-in-man studies in late 2015 at Sanatorio Italiano Hospital in Asuncion, Paraguay. The device achieved immediate or rapid hemostasis at the puncture sites with excellent clinical outcomes, including fast ambulation and discharge from the hospital.

Dr. Mark Webster, an interventional cardiologist at Auckland City Hospital, who is also the principal investigator of this clinical study, stated "As TAVI procedures expand to intermediate and low risk patients, reducing all peri-procedural complications assumes greater importance. Access site complications from large bore vascular sheaths and valve delivery systems remain a concern, and are still a common cause of patient morbidity and, very occasionally, mortality. A dedicated, large bore vascular closure device with reproducible safety and efficacy has the potential to significantly lower the time, effort, and expense of these procedures, as well as improve patient outcomes."

"I am very pleased to have witnessed the development of the XProTM system from its early conception to its present form. The system is easy to use and has certain distinct features and potential advantages over currently available pre-closure solutions. Suture based pre-closure techniques allow physicians to optimize control over percutaneous large-bore access site hemostasis, and the XProTM System's novel suture deployment mechanism has the potential to enhance safety, minimize risk of iatrogenic vessel narrowing and shorten procedure time." notes Dr. Kendrick Shunk, an Interventional Cardiologist TAVI operator and Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco, who also serves as a clinical advisor to Medeon Biodesign and Medical Monitor for this CE study.

"Optimal large bore vascular closure can be achieved by three simple steps with the XProTM System. Our suture mediated technology with built-in safety mechanisms is designed to assist interventionalists to manage procedures more efficiently while minimize potential complications associated with vessel narrowing and concerns arising from other technologies that leave behind foreign materials in the blood vessel. The commencement of this clinical study will accumulate more clinical experience to demonstrate its safety, effectiveness, and reproducibility of this disruptive technology." says Dr. Yue-Teh Jang, Chairman and CEO of Medeon Biodesign.

About Medeon Biodesign

Medeon Biodesign (TPEx: 6499) is a publicly traded company headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, and currently listed on Taipei Exchange. The company focuses on the development of medical devices for minimally invasive surgeries to treat diseases of sizable patient population, such as cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, orthopedic, neurosurgery, obesity, gastroenterology, hematology, nephrology, gynecology, urology, and plastic surgery. For more information, please visit www.medeonbio.com/en.

Contacts

Dr. Yi-Ju Chen

+886.2.2881.6686

[email protected]

SOURCE Medeon Biodesign

Related Links

http://www.medeonbio.com/en


BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MNJ Technologies, a fast-growing technology solution and services provider, announces Ben Niernberg in the newly created role of Senior Vice President. Niernberg will oversee the sales and marketing divisions of the company, with a focus on growing the brand in the marketplace, strengthening strategic partner relationships and adding diversity to the portfolio of services and solutions.

MNJ Technologies Direct, Inc.

The addition of Niernberg is a crucial step in the ongoing effort MNJ is making to invest in the future and change the lens through which they look at the business.

Niernberg joins the MNJ Technologies team with over 15 years of progressive business experience and a track record for generating profitable and sustained growth, launching new markets and revitalizing divisions. With experiential specialty in change management, he is equipped to seamlessly roll out new strategies while maintaining the level of customized service on which MNJ partners and clients have come to rely.

"I am very excited to join MNJ Technologies. Due to the amazing work owners Sue and Paul Kozak have done over the last 15 years, MNJ is an established leader in the marketplace and has a customer focus and internal culture that is unparalleled in the industry," said Niernberg. "With the help of the outstanding team I have in place here, I hope to be able to add value through my years of experience in taking MNJ to the next level while continuing to maintain and build on what has made them so successful over the last 15 years."

In Niernberg's decade spent at Canon Solutions America, a subsidiary of Canon USA Company, he was in a variety of management roles where he developed sales and sales strategy in multiple new markets, before moving to a director role, where he grew sales revenue in the first year by 20%, taking the business from #4 in the country to the #1 ranked position in the marketplace. In his last role with Proper Title, a full service commercial and residential title insurance company, Niernberg and his team were able to double company revenue and net income in two years. By challenging the current business model, innovative changes to servicing customers, sales strategies and creating a customer experience best in class in the industry, Proper Title became the 2nd-ranked title insurance agency in Illinois.

"Ben has an intense passion for enabling an organization, and its people, to develop and expand into their full potential," said Susan Kozak, President of MNJ. "His extensive experience in change management, business development, marketing and sales makes him an incredibly valuable addition to our executive leadership team. We are confident that he has the knowledge and passion to take MNJ to the next level and to enable us to meet the needs of our ever-growing client base."

About MNJ Technologies

MNJ Technologies provides comprehensive technology solutions to clients through expert knowledge, industry-leading partnerships, consultative services, and strategic sourcing capabilities. Through customized technology and services, MNJ Technologies is able to reduce costs, simplify systems and increase productivity for your organization.

http://www.mnjtech.com

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE MNJ Technologies Direct, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.mnjtech.com


KineMaster, which made its debut on Google Play at the end of 2013, has won the hearts of its users by bringing video editing features to smartphones that were previously only available in a PC environment. KineMaster has been featured internationally as App of the Week on Google Play in numerous countries, and has received multiple awards both at home and abroad. On April 28 th , KineMaster launched on the App Store, and is now available to iPhone users as well.

As more and more people record video using smartphones, action cameras, drones and other personal mobile devices, the need to edit these videos for both personal and professional use continues to grow. KineMaster makes this possible directly on the smartphone by providing precision audio and video editing tools, as well as multiple video layers (for B-roll and picture-in-picture support), Chroma Key (Green Screen), key-frame animation, animated handwriting, overlays, visual effects and more, with even more effects, music and overlays available for download via the KineMaster Asset Store. The KineMaster user interface is carefully crafted to provide a simple, comfortable and convenient mobile editing experience while still providing a full set of professional editing tools at your fingertips: A blend of power and convenience that sets the standard for mobile video editing.

NexStreaming is preparing a special launch event for KineMaster on iPhone, with free 30-day promotional codes offered to qualifying applicants. Follow @KineMaster on Twitter and watch for a tweet during the first week of May with detailed information on how to participate.

Jaewoo Kim, Head of Video Editing Business Division at NexStreaming, said "KineMaster users produce incredible, sophisticated videos combining many hundreds of carefully choreographed layers and our engineers are building enhanced tools to continue to improve the convenience and seamlessness of working with such complex projects on mobile." He also said, "The KineMaster for iPhone release is a major step forward, reinforcing KineMaster as the market leader in mobile video editing."

NexStreaming also offers the NexEditor SDK, a video editing solution, which is the underlying video editing engine KineMaster is built upon and can also be used to build applications that work with photos and videos on both Android and iOS platforms.

NexStreaming will be attending Mojocon 2017 in Galway, Ireland from May 4th through May 6th to explore business partnership opportunities and to showcase KineMaster's current and upcoming features as well as the new iPhone version.

KineMaster is the editor of choice for professionals and amateurs alike all around the world; from North America to Europe, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India and more, and in China under the Chinese brand name "Qiaoying". KineMaster can be installed via the App Store, the Google Play Store, and via the Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi and 360 app markets in China.

About NexStreaming

NexStreaming is a widely acknowledged mobile multimedia software company with its own video-processing technologies highly optimized for mobile devices. Products include: NexPlayer SDK, providing HD video streaming services including live broadcasting, NexEditor SDK, the advanced and sophisticated video editing solution delivering optimum performance on every device for the fastest recording and editing, KineMaster, the first and only professional video editor app available for iPhone and Android, and SingPlay, the Karaoke app that converts MP3 music into karaoke tracks in real time. NexStreaming is a publicly traded company listed on the Korean stock exchange (KOSDAQ:139670) since December 2011, with its headquarter in Seoul, Korea and branches in Spain, the U.S, Mainland China and Taiwan.

SOURCE NexStreaming Corp
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement was released today by North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) in reaction to the budget deal approved by the U.S. Congress that contains a provision to increase the number of H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2017:

"North America's Building Trades Unions are frustrated by actions taken by the US House Appropriations Committee to insert text late into the night on April 30 into a compromise spending bill that would allow for an increase in the number of H-2B visas for FY2017, from 66,000 to a potential for 70,000.

"This maneuver runs directly counter to President's Trump's recent executive actions to 'buy American and hire American,' and which were specifically crafted to instruct the Departments of Labor, Justice, Homeland Security and State to take prompt action to crack down on fraud and abuse in our immigration system in order to protect workers in the United States and their economic conditions.

"The H-2B visa was conceived as a low-skilled, guest worker program that is meant to be used by employers to fill seasonal and temporary jobs, but which has now been all too often used by unscrupulous employers in the construction industry as a means to exploit guest workers and drive down community wage and benefit standards.

"The many horrific abuses within the H-2B program have long been documented, and NABTU has repeatedly sought reforms to address the shortcomings in the law that have enabled these abuses to continued unabated.

"The language inserted into this spending bill does nothing to address or reform the fundamental flaws in the program which have caused harm to foreign and American workers alike. Instead, it doubles down on bad policy which will have the effect of further jeopardizing the jobs, wages and benefits of American construction workers, while ensuring that guest workers remain vulnerable to abuse.

"NABTU will aggressively work with Congress to make structural changes to the H-2B visa program so that it is confined to its original mission of assisting employers with seasonal and temporary employment needs, while preventing it from being abused to erode the job and economic prospects of U.S. construction workers."

North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) is an alliance of 14 national and international unions that collectively represent over 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. Along with our contractor partners, our unions invest over $1.2 billion annually to fund an operate over 1,900 apprenticeship training centers across North America.

www.NABTU.org

www.Facebook.com/NorthAmericasBuildingTradesUnions

@BldgTrdsUnions

SOURCE North Americas Building Trades Unions

Related Links

http://www.nabtu.org/


NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Nashville Chapter will present the 2017 Music City Gold Pen Awards, which recognizes the best communications projects and professionals in middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky, on Thursday, May 18. The event takes place from 6-8 p.m. at Noah Liff Opera Center located at 3622 Redmon Street, Nashville. Register online to reserve your seat today.

IABC Nashville will present awards in 25 categories, ranging from complex communications campaigns to single news articles. Attendees will have the opportunity to celebrate with Nashville's leading communicators and learn about their award-winning projects. Alanna Autler, an award-winning investigative reporter with the WSMV-TV Channel 4 News I-Team, will be presenting this year's awards.

The awards program honors individuals, agencies and companies who are leading the communication profession as measured by international quality and impact standards. Last year's award winners included HCA, MP&F, Country Music Association, Connexon Partners, MTSU, Kirklands, Ingram Barge Company, and many more.

"The Music City Gold Pen Awards provide a great opportunity for attendees to learn about top communications work and connect with industry professionals who are setting new standards for excellence," says IABC Nashville President Tom Kenley. "And, this year, the celebration is in a popular new venue, providing an appropriate setting to recognize the best, as well as providing an opportunity to enjoy a unique atmosphere in our vibrant and growing city."

Proudly sponsoring this year's event is The Creative Group, a Robert Half company. Event photography will be generously provided by Bernadette Ruby.

ABOUT IABC NASHVILLE

IABC Nashville is one of more than 100 chapters in 70 countries providing learning opportunities for its members and professional development sessions that offer new insights into the latest communication trends, technology and issues facing the industry. The chapter is diverse, with members representing area agencies, broadcast stations, corporations, universities and nonprofit organizations. IABC Nashville also offers ties to job bank services and the annual Music City Gold Pen Awards program. IABC is the only place to connect with communicators globally. Connect here. Go Anywhere!

SOURCE IABC Nashville

Related Links

http://nashville.iabc.com


ATLANTA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- National DCP, (NDCP) the $2 billion supply chain management cooperative serving Dunkin' Donuts franchisees, today announced plans to open its ninth distribution center in McDonough, Georgia, in June 2017.

Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company currently has eight distribution centers and 30 transportation hubs throughout the county. The new distribution center will serve over 450 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and employ approximately 60 people.

"Expanding our distribution network helps support the continuous growth of Dunkin' Donuts franchisees," says NDCP CEO Scott Carter. "Given its geographic proximity within the rapidly expanding southeastern market and access to a strong workforce, McDonough is an excellent location for our next distribution center."

Located in a 182,000 square foot building, the McDonough Distribution Center features 24 dock doors and 25 trailer parking spots to manage high capacity demand. The facility is slated to begin store deliveries on June 12, and a grand opening event will be held on Wednesday, June 28.

About National DCP

National DCP, LLC (NDCP) is a $2 billion supply chain management company serving the franchisees of Dunkin' Donuts. They provide comprehensive business solutions including food, beverages, supplies, packaging, technology and healthcare to more than 8,900 Dunkin' locations in the U.S. and customers in 51 countries. Each year, NDCP purchases more than 100 million pounds of coffee, 112 million pounds of sugar and 24 million gallons of milk, and drives 30 million miles delivering approximately 75 million cases of product to Dunkin' stores. The organization was formed as a membership cooperative following the successful merger of five different operating companies in 2012 to support Dunkin' Brands' growth and expansion plans. NDCP's innovative practices have been recognized with the 2015 Supply Chain Pioneer Award from Partnership Gwinnett, the 2016 InformationWeek Elite 100 List and the 2017 Food Logistics Rock Stars of the Supply Chain designations.

SOURCE National DCP, LLC

Related Links

http://nationaldcp.com


SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Health has been recognized by McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, as an outstanding provider of behavioral health and addiction services for teenage patients. McLean's 2017 report indicated that treatment at Sovereign Health of Rancho San Diego led to marked improvements in teens' symptoms and functional impairments from admission to discharge.

Sovereign's Rancho San Diego facility is part of a national behavioral health system that provides treatment for teens who have trauma, mental health, substance use disorders, eating disorders, transgender issues and co-occurring conditions. McLean Hospital assessed Rancho San Diego's adolescent facility and other behavioral health organizations by analyzing data from the 24-item Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-24), a leading behavioral health assessment tool, and three other validated measures of clinical change.

The BASIS-24 is grounded in the latest scientific methods of survey development and validation that is available in both Spanish and English. The survey is designed to identify a wide range of symptoms and functional deficits across the diagnostic spectrum.

In the surveys evaluated for the McLean report, teenagers, their parents and treating clinicians rated the degree of difficulty faced by the teens at admission and discharge. The BASIS-24 survey results showed marked improvement in symptoms and functioning at discharge. According to the parents/caregivers' ratings also, the teens on average had normal range scores on anxiety, depression and conduct problems at discharge; they had impaired range scores at admission.

"The use of validated tools allows Sovereign Health to determine how adolescents feel before and after they receive treatment, which allows Sovereign Health to enhance the clinical and overall effectiveness of treatment provided to teens at our Rancho San Diego facility," said Veena Kumari, Ph.D., C. Psychol., AFBPsS, an internationally renowned researcher and Chief Scientific Officer for Sovereign Health. "The report from McLean Hospital not only helps us to ensure that our standards of care are of the highest quality, it also helps us to make informed decisions about patient care and optimize our clinical programs on an ongoing basis."

The survey results can be used by mental health providers, researchers, purchasers of mental health services, accreditation agencies, and internal quality assurance departments to measure the change in consumer self-reported symptoms and functional impairments over their course of treatment. The data are used to improve an organization's clinical effectiveness and ensure the delivery of high-quality treatment, services and care to patients seeking mental health services.

Rancho San Diego's adolescent facility is licensed by the Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD), part of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and an accredited organization by The Joint Commission. "Sovereign Health's Rancho San Diego facility has been recognized by an extremely prestigious independent third party as one of the top adolescent facilities in the entire nation," said Seth Zajac, J.D., general counsel and board member at Sovereign Health. "This really showcases our hard work and commitment to providing accredited services, and you get an even greater appreciation for what Sovereign is doing as a national behavioral health system."

To see more about McLean's eBASIS results, visit McLean Hospital's Evaluation of Teens' Clinical Outcomes.

About Sovereign Health's Rancho San Diego facility

Rancho San Diego is dedicated to enhancing the safety and efficacy of care delivered to teens and provides high-quality treatment guided by measurement-based care. Importantly, Sovereign's adolescent facility helps alleviate the growing need for mental health treatment beds for teens in the state of California by helping teens overcome difficulties due to a behavioral health condition, including those stemming from trauma. Teens are provided with a safe community where they can receive thorough, comprehensive biopsychosocial and medical assessments upon admissions and individualized, evidence-based treatments such as neurofeedback, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), cognitive remediation and other psychotherapies, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), from a trauma-informed and gender-appropriate approach.

About Sovereign Health

Sovereign Health's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of high-quality behavioral health treatment services for adults and adolescents, including support services for family members. One factor that differentiates Sovereign from other treatment providers has been the company's ability to offer separate mental health and addiction or dual diagnosis treatment programs at its facilities. For more information, visit www.sovhealth.com.

SOURCE Sovereign Health

Related Links

http://www.sovhealth.com


LOUISVILLE, Colo., and NORFOLK, Va., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A new train crew management and payroll system now being developed is expected to boost operating efficiency, lower costs and increase productivity, supporting goals of Norfolk Southern's strategic plan to improve corporate performance.

Norfolk Southern and software company PS Technology have agreed to develop the automated system for phased future deployment throughout Norfolk Southern's network.

"Incorporating PS Technology's CrewPro software with our operating and data platforms will save costs and streamline Norfolk Southern's train crew management and payroll processes," said Fred Ehlers, NS vice president information technology. "When deployed, the system will expand Norfolk Southern's digital capabilities to enhance interactions with our train crews."

Ehlers said the software optimizes train crew assignments by factoring in employees' work schedules and geographical operating credentials, federal regulations, and labor contract requirements. "In effect, the software analyzes data to come up with the best, most efficient match of crew and train," Ehlers said.

Seenu Chundru, PS Technology president, said, "We are pleased to collaborate with our longtime business partner Norfolk Southern to develop CrewPro. The system leverages technology to reduce costs of managing train and engine service crews. Optimization tools enable automated decision-making support and efficiency improvements."

In addition to crew assignments, CrewPro ultimately will manage payroll, taxi and lodging services, and vacation scheduling for some 11,700 Norfolk Southern transportation employees in train and engine service.

About PS Technology

PS Technology (PST) is committed to delivering significant and measurable returns to its clients and partners. For over three decades, PST has improved the processes and systems surrounding crew management, timekeeping and physics-based simulation solutions with integrity and a desire to create value.

PST's asset management systems power the largest railroads in North America. PST's crew management and timekeeping solutions have been used to manage the day-to-day operations of over 100,000 employees that run, maintain and support rail operations across more than 120,000 miles of rail. PST's physics-based simulation solutions provide a premium learning environment.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 19,500 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation

Related Links

http://www.nscorp.com


FREMONT, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NEXTracker, a Flex company, announced today it has started supplying its advanced single-axis trackers to the largest solar power plant in the Western Hemisphere. This grid-connected project of over 750 megawatts will deliver energy to the Northern Mexico region under a long-term contract. Scheduled to enter commercial operation by mid-2018, NEXTracker has shipped over 200 MW to the project site to date.

"Mexico, along with India, Australia and the Middle East is part of a new wave of renewable energy markets poised for significant growth over the next few years," said NEXTracker CEO Dan Shugar. "Much of that growth will be supported by single-axis solar tracking technology. NEXTracker's proven experience, and advanced software and tracker technology, help solar power plants operate more effectively with greater energy gains. With our local manufacturing program, local engineering design expertise and an office in Mexico City, this project has our full support."

"It is with a sense of pride that we are witnessing in Mexico the installation of the largest solar power plant in the Western Hemisphere," states Israel Hurtado, General Secretary of ASOLMEX. "The unprecedented scale of this plant, combined with local manufacturing, solar job development and industry leading technology such as NEXTracker's single-axis trackers, represents a huge boost to help us reach a 35 percent renewable energy target by 2024."

The plant is designed to generate about 1,700 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy per year, offsetting annual emissions of more than 780,000 tons of CO 2 . The plant will cover a land area equivalent to that of lower Manhattan amounting to over eight square miles and will generate enough output to power approximately 1.3 million Mexican households.

Mexico's solar market is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. The country's energy ministry has recently awarded more than 4 GW of solar projects to independent power producers via the second renewable energy auction following the nation's energy reform in 2014. Most of the utility-scale projects slated for 2017-2018 in Mexico favor solar tracking due to high insolation and ideal land conditions. As part of the 'sun belt,' Mexico receives high annual solar irradiation across 85 percent of the country's land area.[1]

NEXTracker will manufacture a range of structural, mechanical and electrical components locally for this project. The Company's proven high quality design, coupled with local deployment, installation and commissioning support, are ideal for solar in Mexico. The tracker's key drive and electrical components are fully sealed against sand and dust ingress--a critical factor for asset reliability in northern Mexico's desert climate. Notably, this project features NEXTracker's new, internally developed SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system. Built on Flex's cyber-secure connected intelligence platform, the system will provide industry-leading control and data collection and management capabilities, enhancing operational control and analysis of NEXTracker components.

About NEXTracker

NEXTracker, a Flex company, advances the power plant of the future with solar tracker and energy storage innovations to increase performance and reduce costs for all size power plants. As the #1 tracker supplier worldwide with 8 GW under contract, NEXTracker is globally recognized for delivering the most advanced photovoltaic solutions for hundreds of projects across five continents. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Company has offices in China, India, Spain, Latin America, and Australia. For more information, visit: NEXTracker.com and follow the Company on Twitter @NEXTracker.

[1] Energia16, March 28, 2017. http://www.energia16.com/asolmex-boosting-mexicos-solar-energy-market/?lang=en

SOURCE NEXTracker

Related Links

http://www.nextracker.com


Business

Here's how this free app turned amateurs into UAE's top professional stock market traders

Going into business without first having some basic knowledge of how the market works and the tools at our disposal increases your risk of getting into trouble. Simulators provide learning platforms for people who want to start learning how to invest.
TORONTO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Norbord Inc. (TSX andNYSE: OSB) announced results from its 2017 annual meeting of shareholders held earlier today. All of the eight nominees listed in the Corporation's Management Proxy Circular dated March 3, 2017 proposed by management for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting of shareholders were elected by acclamation. The Directors will remain in office until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed. The proxies received by management were as follows:



Votes in Favour Votes Withheld Name # % # % Jack L. Cockwell 68,600,342 91.16 6,650,124 8.84 Pierre Dupuis 71,719,801 95.31 3,530,665 4.69 Paul E. Gagne 74,895,997 99.53 354,469 0.47 J. Peter Gordon 69,235,676 92.01 6,014,790 7.99 Paul A. Houston 72,433,743 96.26 2,816,723 3.74 J. Barrie Shineton 69,563,093 92.44 5,687,373 7.56 Denis A. Turcotte 74,656,584 99.21 593,882 0.79 Peter C. Wijnbergen 71,382,116 94.86 3,868,350 5.14

Norbord Profile

Norbord Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of wood-based panels and the world's largest producer of oriented strand board (OSB). In addition to OSB, Norbord manufactures particleboard, medium density fibreboard and related value-added products. Norbord has assets of approximately $1.8 billion and employs approximately 2,600 people at 17 plant locations in the United States, Canada and Europe. Norbord is a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "OSB".

SOURCE Norbord Inc.

Related Links

http://www.norbord.com


WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

In recent weeks, all eyes have been on a looming showdown between the United States and North Korea. Michael Mazza research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, offers his thoughts on the situation:

The Korean peninsula is not Asia's sole nuclear hotspot, nor is the Beijing-Pyongyang relationship the region's only malign axis. China's relationship with Pakistan has done, and continues to do, real harm to U.S. interests.

If South Asia is the world's most unstable nuclear flashpoint, China bears significant responsibility for making it so. Not only did China's first nuclear weapon test, in 1964, help set off a chain reaction of proliferation across Asia, but China directly abetted that proliferation.

According to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Islamabad's nuclear program, China sent a planeload of enriched uranium - accompanied with blueprints for a nuclear device - to Pakistan in 1982. Khan may have later passed design information to Libya, Iran, and North Korea.

In 1998, the Chinese leadership took negligible action to prevent Pakistan's first test and may have even provided a tacit go-ahead. Beijing, in fact, may have tested a Pakistani weapon on Chinese soil as far back as 1990.

Pakistan now has an arsenal of at least 100 warheads. Troublingly, it ranks No. 22 out of 24 countries rated by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) on the security of their nuclear materials. NTI reports that the low rating is due to "increasing quantities of nuclear materials, political instability and corruption, and the presence of groups interested in and capable of illicitly acquiring nuclear materials."

Such an acquisition would be a nightmare for American security planners. Severe civil strife or regime instability could even lead to direct American military intervention in Pakistan to secure nuclear sites, a scenario fraught with danger. Beyond this lurid history, the China-Pakistan axis today contributes to a balance of power both in South Asia and across the Asia-Pacific that is unfavorable to American interests.

Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama sought tighter economic and security ties with India, in the hopes that a closer relationship would enhance conventional deterrence vis-a-vis China. They likewise hoped to see Delhi make greater contributions to security in East Asia.

There have been notable advances in this regard, but China and Pakistan threaten to tie down India in South Asia. Close China-Pakistan military ties ensure that Islamabad remains a threat on India's northwestern border. The relationship, moreover, forces Delhi to fret about the possibility that its rivals might conspire regarding their territorial disputes with India.

Beijing's relationship with Islamabad has also facilitated Chinese power projection into the Indian Ocean region. In May 2016, a Chinese nuclear attack submarine was spotted pier-side in Karachi, and Chinese warships now have apparent use of Gwadar port, which China has developed over the last decade. Chinese naval vessels have reportedly been escorting Chinese commercial ships in and out of Gwadar since November 2016. With China's ongoing counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden and the Chinese military's construction of a base in Djibouti, a more robust Chinese naval presence in the Arabian Sea is in the offing.

Ostensibly, China has pursued such a course in order to defend far flung sea lines of communication. But its navy will also be in position to threaten those same sea lines, thus posing a security threat to Asia's major trading economies - namely, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. In the opening stages of any conflict with Delhi, moreover, Chinese forces would be poised to present a threat to India from the west, a novel prospect for an Indian military that has long prepared for an air and land war with China to be fought in and over the Himalayas.

The China-Pakistan relationship raises human rights concerns as well. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a string of infrastructure projects inaugurated in 2014, may spur economic development along the route, which stretches from Kashgar, in China's northwestern province of Xinjiang, through portions of Kashmir claimed by India, to Gwadar, Pakistan. But as the World Uyghur Congress has noted, the CPEC might lead to a greater influx of Han Chinese to Xinjiang and, absent a relaxation of apartheid-like conditions for Muslims there, greater ethnic tensions.

Indeed, given the Chinese Communist Party's general preference for the iron fist over the velvet glove in the so-called Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, more oppressive security measures are likely. Pakistan is not unsympathetic to the plight of China's Uyghurs, but Beijing has effectively neutralized Islamabad as a potential defender of Chinese Muslims' rights. Indeed, Pakistan has, from time to time in recent years, extradited Uyghurs - even children - to China, where they face certain punishment.

Greater oppression in Xinjiang would be a tragedy in its own right and contrary to America's interest in advancing the cause of freedom in Asia. Beyond the human tragedy, however, Chinese practices in Xinjiang have now become a security concern for the United States. Chinese repression of the Uyghur community is an important factor leading to greater radicalization within that community, and there are believed to be approximately 100 Uyghur militants fighting with ISIS in the Middle East. What happens in Xinjiang doesn't stay in Xinjiang.

The United States has long looked at Pakistan as an important partner in the Afghanistan war and with good reason. But Islamabad has also been a crucial partner in Beijing's efforts to complicate India's security environment and to project Chinese power into the Indian Ocean region. U.S. national interests suffer as a result.

Michael Mazza is research fellow in foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.



Full Article can be found at

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/330167-north-korea-is-a-problem-but-china-and-pakistan-are-just-as

SOURCE American Enterprise Institute
VANCOUVER, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (TSX.V:NEE) (the "Company" or "Northern Vertex") is pleased to announce the execution of a commitment letter and term sheet with Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation ("Cat Financial"), pursuant to which Cat Financial has agreed in principle to fund the Company's purchase of certain key equipment including power generators and mobile equipment manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. and the crushing plant for use at the Company's Moss Mine gold silver project.

Kenneth Berry, the Company's President and CEO, states: The Cat Financial US$9M Equipment Finance Facility combined with the previously announced Sprott Lending Facility of US$20M will strengthen the Company's ability to fulfill its mandate of producing gold in Q4 2017. Construction activities at the Company's Moss Gold Mine continue under the guidance of M3 Engineering Technology Corp., Golder Associates Inc., and N.A. Degerstrom, Inc.

The material terms and conditions of the Cat Financial equipment finance facility (the "Equipment Finance Facility") include:

Financing between 70% - 80% of the equipment purchase price to maximum amount of US$9,000,000 of equipment purchases;

of equipment purchases; Quarterly payments over a four year lease period;

The right to buy the equipment at the end of the lease period for nominal consideration;

Security over the acquired assets in favour of Cat Financial and a guarantee from the Company; and

Payment of interest and arrangement and commitment fees to Cat Financial.

Closing of the Equipment Finance Facility is subject to customary conditions for such financings including the execution of a Master Lease Agreement and applicable security documentation, equipment delivery and satisfactory completion of conditions precedent.

About Northern Vertex

Northern Vertex Mining Corp. is an exploration and mining company focused on the reactivation of its 100% owned Moss Mine Gold/Silver Project located in NW Arizona, USA. The Company's management comprises an experienced management team with a strong background in all aspects of acquisition, exploration, development, operations and financing of mining projects worldwide. The Company is focused on working effectively and respectfully with our stakeholders in the vicinity of the historical Moss Mine and enhancing the capacity of the local communities in the area.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF NORTHERN VERTEX

"Kenneth Berry "

President & CEO

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.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains statements about our future business and planned activities. These are "forward-looking" because we have used what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements including but are not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work and analyses. Forward-looking statements usually include words such as may, intend, plan, expect, anticipate, believe or other similar words. We believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, actual events and results could be substantially different because of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business or events that happen after the date of this news release. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. As a general policy, we do not update forward-looking statements except as required by securities laws and regulations.

Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the execution of a Master Lease Agreement and related documents with Cat Financial, drawdowns under the Equipment Finance Facility to fund equipment purchases, timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

SOURCE Northern Vertex Mining Corp.

Related Links

www.northernvertex.com


As part of the new relationship, Crouse becomes a strategic partner with Northwell as the health system seeks to establish a presence in upstate New York and identify other opportunities to fill the critical health needs of the 15-county area served by Crouse in Central and Northern New York. Established in 1887, Crouse is a 506-bed, non-profit, community hospital serving more than 23,000 inpatients, 82,000 emergency patients and more than 250,000 outpatients annually. Crouse is one of Central New York's 10 largest employers, with a workforce of 3,300 employees between two hospitals, a combined medical staff of more than 900 physicians and multiple primary care sites. Crouse Health already has an affiliation with Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, NY  a relationship that is expected to be enhanced under the Crouse/Northwell agreement

"Over the past two years as we have worked to keep Crouse strong and strategically-positioned for the dynamic environment we are in, we have been engaged in numerous discussions with multiple organizations, both locally and regionally," said Crouse Health CEO and President Kimberly Boynton. "Among the key criteria our board, physician leadership and senior leadership team used to evaluate potential partners was a strong alignment and compatibility with the Crouse culture as well as our mission, which is to provide the best in patient care and promote community health. This was a thoughtful and focused process, and we were steadfast that whichever partner we chose to align with had to be in sync not only with our mission, but with our core values. We have that in Northwell."

"Northwell Health is thrilled by the opportunity to partner with Crouse Health. Working together, our goal is to provide Crouse Health with the expertise to prosper in this incredibly complex health care environment, and collaborate with the hospital to help improve the health of Central New York residents, which is at the heart of our mission in the New York metropolitan area," said Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, which includes 21 hospitals and more than 550 outpatient facilities in the New York metropolitan area. "For Northwell, this collaboration creates a key strategic alliance in a major upstate hub with a high-quality, financially stable, mission-focused provider that has relationships with numerous other hospitals in the region."

Crouse is the region's largest provider of maternity care, delivering 4,000 babies annually, and is a state-designated regional referral center for high-risk neonatal intensive care services. The hospital also operates one of the nation's largest, most-established ambulatory surgery programs in the US, with two major surgery centers  the first opened in 1976 -- near the hospital's main hospital complex, including a three-story, 90,000-square-foot facility with 18 operating rooms that opened in in 2010. The hospital's combined inpatient, outpatient and ambulatory surgical volume is more than 17,000 procedures annually. Other clinical specialties include comprehensive diagnostic and interventional cardiac care (including the region's only pediatric cardiac catheterization program), neurosciences/ stroke and cancer care. The hospital also operates the Pomeroy College of Nursing, providing critical nursing education to more than 300 students annually.

As part of this new relationship, Northwell will assist Crouse in expanding its primary care network, and help develop care management programs and other services that will position the hospital and its affiliates to meet the challenges of population health. Northwell will also assist Crouse with group purchasing, physician recruitment, quality improvement initiatives, the possible creation of urgent care centers, and the sharing of other best practices to increase clinical and operational efficiencies, and improve patient safety and the overall patient experience.

"Our partnership with Northwell only helps strengthen Crouse's clinically integrated health network and we are excited about the potential this affiliation will have  not only for both partners, but for the region as well," said Crouse Chief Medical Officer Seth Kronenberg, MD, adding that telemedicine and population health are two critical areas Northwell and Crouse will be evaluating. In addition, sharing 'best practices' across the two organizations  clinical and operational  and taking advantage of other economies of scale will be a focus of the affiliation as planning moves forward, he said.

# # #

About Northwell Health

Northwell Health is New York State's largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals and over 550 outpatient facilities. We care for more than two million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 61,000 employees  15,000+ nurses and nearly 3,400 physicians, including nearly 2,700 members of Northwell Health Physician Partners -- are working to change health care for the better. We're making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institute. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. And we offer health insurance through CareConnect. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu.

About Crouse Health

Crouse Health is a leading regional healthcare provider and a top 10 employer in Central New York, with 3,300 employees between two hospitals (Crouse and Community Memorial), a combined medical staff of over 900 physicians and multiple primary care sites. Crouse is Central New York's largest provider of maternity care services, delivering 4,000 babies annually, and is the designated regional referral center for high-risk neonatal intensive care services. Other areas of specialty include comprehensive diagnostic and interventional cardiac care (Crouse is home to CNY's only pediatric cardiac catheterization program); internal medicine; surgical services (including the latest advancements in bariatric, GYN oncology and robotic surgery); orthopedics; neurosciences/stroke care; oncology; and the region's only hospital-based chemical dependency treatment services for adolescents, adults and seniors. Crouse also operates the Pomeroy College of Nursing, providing critical nursing education to more than 300 students annually. For more information: Crouse.org

SOURCE Northwell Health

Related Links

https://www.northwell.edu


TULSA, Okla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) today announced first-quarter 2017 financial results.

SUMMARY

First-quarter 2017 net income attributable to ONEOK and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) increased 5 and 4 percent, respectively, compared with the first quarter 2016;

First-quarter 2017 dividend coverage ratio was 1.27;

The natural gas gathering and processing segment's average fee rate increased to 83 cents in the first quarter 2017, compared with 68 cents in the first quarter 2016;

in the first quarter 2017, compared with in the first quarter 2016; The natural gas liquids segment connected three new third-party natural gas processing plants to its natural gas liquids (NGL) system in the first quarter 2017; and

ONEOK reaffirms 2017 financial guidance.

FIRST-QUARTER 2017 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS



Three Months Ended

March 31, ONEOK 2017

2016

(Millions of dollars, except per

share and coverage ratio amounts) Net income attributable to ONEOK $ 87.4



$ 83.4

Net income per diluted share $ 0.41



$ 0.40

Adjusted EBITDA (a) $ 459.6



$ 441.6

Cash flow available for dividends (a) (b) $ 164.2



$ 169.3

Dividend coverage ratio (a) 1.27



1.31

(a) Adjusted EBITDA; cash flow available for dividends and dividend coverage ratio are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations to relevant GAAP measures are attached to this news release. (b) Distributable cash flow (DCF), as calculated per 2017 guidance, would total $324.2 million and $322.8 million for the first quarter 2017 and first quarter 2016, respectively. DCF is a non-GAAP measure. A reconciliation to the relevant GAAP measure is attached to this news release.

"All three of ONEOK Partners' business segments reported higher first-quarter adjusted EBITDA compared with the same period last year, driven by increased fee-based services across the partnership's footprint," said Terry K. Spencer, president and chief executive officer of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners. "Our performance through the first three months of 2017 and the increased drilling rig activity in the basins we serve has us well-positioned to achieve 2017 financial guidance expectations. Severe winter weather in January impacted first-quarter 2017 volumes, primarily in the Williston Basin, but was taken into consideration when setting 2017 financial expectations. Since January, volumes have recovered and are now averaging above November 2016 levels.

"We've seen increased activity across our footprint as producers continue to move drilling rigs into highly productive areas such as the STACK and SCOOP plays in Oklahoma and the Williston and Permian basins," Spencer said. "The partnership holds strong asset positions in all of these areas, where continued growth benefits all three of our business segments.

"The announced merger transaction with ONEOK Partners positions our businesses for continued growth," Spencer added. "This transaction represents a great opportunity for current ONEOK shareholders and ONEOK Partners unitholders, who will benefit from a long runway of future development opportunities across our footprint."

FIRST-QUARTER 2017 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

ONEOK's first-quarter 2017 results benefited from higher average fee rates in the natural gas gathering and processing segment, higher fee-based transportation services in the natural gas pipelines segment, and increased transportation and exchange service volumes and wider location and product price differentials in the natural gas liquids segment. Severe winter weather in January, primarily in the Williston Basin, impacted the natural gas gathering and processing segment's volumes during the quarter.

Recently completed capital-growth projects in the natural gas pipelines segment, including the joint venture Roadrunner Gas Transmission Pipeline and the WesTex intrastate pipeline expansion, both in the Permian Basin, provided additional fee-based earnings during the quarter.

Ethane rejection levels on the partnership's NGL system decreased to an average of more than 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter 2017, compared with an average of more than 175,000 bpd during the first quarter of 2016. The partnership expects ethane recovery levels to fluctuate but generally increase for the remainder of 2017, as ethane supply and demand begin to balance.



Three Months Ended

March 31, ONEOK 2017

2016

(Millions of dollars) Operating income $ 314.4



$ 311.4

Operating costs $ 192.0



$ 177.1

Depreciation and amortization $ 99.4



$ 94.5

Equity in net earnings from investments $ 39.6



$ 32.9

Adjusted EBITDA $ 459.6



$ 441.6

Capital expenditures $ 112.7



$ 196.4



Higher first-quarter 2017 results primarily benefited from:

Higher average fee rates resulting from contract restructuring in the natural gas gathering and processing segment;

Higher firm demand charge transportation revenues in the natural gas pipelines segment; and

Increased transportation and exchange service volumes and wider location and product price differentials in the natural gas liquids segment.

Operating costs increased in the first quarter 2017 compared with the first quarter 2016 due primarily to increased property taxes in the natural gas liquids and natural gas pipelines segments and higher labor and employee-related costs. ONEOK's first-quarter 2017 results also include approximately $7 million in costs associated with the proposed ONEOK and ONEOK Partners merger transaction.

Capital expenditures decreased in the first three months of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016 due primarily to projects placed in service in 2016 and fewer well connections in the natural gas gathering and processing segment due to the impact of severe winter weather in the Williston Basin in the first quarter 2017.

EARNINGS PRESENTATION AND KEY STATISTICS:

Additional financial and operating information that will be discussed on the first-quarter 2017 conference call is accessible on the ONEOK and ONEOK Partners websites, www.oneok.com and www.oneokpartners.com, or from the links below.

> View earnings presentation

> View earnings tables

ONEOK AND ONEOK PARTNERS HIGHLIGHTS:

ONEOK:

Announcing on Feb. 1, 2017 , an agreement to acquire the outstanding common units of ONEOK Partners it does not already own and announcing an expected dividend increase to 74.5 cents per share for the first quarterly dividend following the close of the transaction;

, an agreement to acquire the outstanding common units of ONEOK Partners it does not already own and announcing an expected dividend increase to per share for the first quarterly dividend following the close of the transaction; Announcing in April a new $2.5 billion , five-year senior unsecured revolving credit facility to replace the existing ONEOK and ONEOK Partners credit facilities. The new facility will be available upon the expected completion of the merger transaction and termination of the existing ONEOK and ONEOK Partners credit facilities;

, five-year senior unsecured revolving credit facility to replace the existing ONEOK and ONEOK Partners credit facilities. The new facility will be available upon the expected completion of the merger transaction and termination of the existing ONEOK and ONEOK Partners credit facilities; Reporting first-quarter 2017 net income attributable to ONEOK and adjusted EBITDA increases of 5 and 4 percent, respectively, compared with the first quarter 2016;

Receiving $107.2 million in distributions from the company's general partner interest and $90.3 million in distributions from the company's limited partner interests in ONEOK Partners in the first quarter 2017;

in distributions from the company's general partner interest and in distributions from the company's limited partner interests in ONEOK Partners in the first quarter 2017; Having $302.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and $298.9 million of capacity available under its $300 million credit agreement, on a stand-alone basis, as of March 31, 2017 ; and

of cash and cash equivalents and of capacity available under its credit agreement, on a stand-alone basis, as of ; and Declaring in April 2017 a dividend of 61.5 cents per share, or $2.46 per share on an annualized basis.

ONEOK Partners:

Reporting first-quarter 2017 net income attributable to ONEOK Partners and adjusted EBITDA increases of 6 and 4 percent, respectively, compared with the first quarter 2016;

Reporting first-quarter 2017 distribution coverage of 1.10 times;

Connecting three additional third-party natural gas processing plants - one each in the Permian Basin, Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain region - to the partnership's NGL system; and

Declaring in April 2017 a first-quarter 2017 distribution of 79 cents per unit, or $3.16 per unit on an annualized basis.

BUSINESS-SEGMENT RESULTS:

Key financial and operating statistics are listed in the tables.

Natural Gas Liquids Segment

The natural gas liquids segment's first-quarter 2017 adjusted EBITDA increased 3 percent compared with the first quarter 2016, primarily benefiting from increased optimization and marketing from wider location price differentials. Recent natural gas processing plant connections, wider product price differentials and increased ethane recovery also contributed to the increase. The segment connected three new third-party natural gas processing plants - one each in the Permian Basin, Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain region - to its system during the quarter.

NGLs fractionated increased 4 percent and NGLs transported on gathering lines increased 2 percent in the first quarter 2017, compared with the same period in 2016, primarily benefiting from new processing plant connections in the Williston Basin, increased ethane recovery and increased Mid-Continent volumes gathered from the STACK and SCOOP areas.



Three Months Ended

March 31, Natural Gas Liquids Segment 2017

2016

(Millions of dollars) Adjusted EBITDA $ 278.2



$ 270.2

Capital expenditures $ 20.5



$ 34.2



The increase in first-quarter 2017 adjusted EBITDA, compared with the first quarter 2016, primarily reflects:

A $5.3 million increase in optimization and marketing due primarily to wider location price differentials;

increase in optimization and marketing due primarily to wider location price differentials; A $3.9 million increase in transportation and storage services due to higher distribution pipeline volumes and higher storage and terminaling revenue in the Gulf Coast region;

increase in transportation and storage services due to higher distribution pipeline volumes and higher storage and terminaling revenue in the Gulf Coast region; A $3.6 million increase due to wider product price differentials, increased exchange-service volumes from recently connected natural gas processing plants primarily in the Williston Basin, increased ethane recovery and increased volumes gathered in the STACK and SCOOP areas, offset partially by decreased volumes gathered from the Barnett Shale and lower rates on the West Texas LPG system; offset partially by

increase due to wider product price differentials, increased exchange-service volumes from recently connected natural gas processing plants primarily in the Williston Basin, increased ethane recovery and increased volumes gathered in the STACK and SCOOP areas, offset partially by decreased volumes gathered from the Barnett Shale and lower rates on the West Texas LPG system; offset partially by A $5.5 million increase in operating costs due primarily to higher property taxes and higher employee-related costs.

Natural Gas Gathering and Processing Segment

The natural gas gathering and processing segment's first-quarter 2017 adjusted EBITDA increased 4 percent compared with the first quarter 2016 due primarily to higher fee-based revenues from restructured contracts.

The segment's average fee rate for the first quarter 2017 was 83 cents, compared with 68 cents in the first quarter 2016, a 22 percent increase.

Severe winter weather and natural production declines on existing wells impacted natural gas volumes in the first quarter 2017. Natural gas volumes processed decreased approximately 4 percent compared with the same period last year.



Three Months Ended

March 31, Natural Gas Gathering and Processing Segment 2017

2016

(Millions of dollars) Adjusted EBITDA $ 104.0



$ 100.0

Capital expenditures $ 63.2



$ 141.5



First-quarter 2017 adjusted EBITDA increased, compared with the first quarter 2016, which primarily reflects:

A $19.8 million increase due primarily to restructured contracts resulting in higher average fee rates, offset partially by a lower percentage of proceeds (POP) retained from the sale of commodities purchased under POP with fee contracts; offset partially by

increase due primarily to restructured contracts resulting in higher average fee rates, offset partially by a lower percentage of proceeds (POP) retained from the sale of commodities purchased under POP with fee contracts; offset partially by A $10.2 million decrease due primarily to lower volumes as a result of severe winter weather in the first quarter of 2017;

decrease due primarily to lower volumes as a result of severe winter weather in the first quarter of 2017; A $2.4 million decrease due primarily to lower realized natural gas prices; and

decrease due primarily to lower realized natural gas prices; and A $2.2 million increase in operating costs due primarily to increased labor and higher employee-related costs, partially offset by lower outside service expenses.

The following table contains equity-volume information for the periods indicated:



Three Months Ended

March 31, Equity-Volume Information (a) 2017

2016 NGL sales - including ethane (MBbl/d) 9.8



16.4

Condensate sales (MBbl/d) 3.1



2.7

Residue natural gas sales (BBtu/d) 71.1



83.8

(a) - Includes volumes for consolidated entities only.







The partnership's equity NGL and natural gas volumes decreased in the first quarter 2017, compared with the first quarter 2016, due to contract restructuring efforts and the impact of severe winter weather in the first quarter 2017.

Natural Gas Pipelines Segment

The natural gas pipelines segment's first-quarter 2017 adjusted EBITDA increased 12 percent, compared with the same period in 2016, driven by higher fee-based earnings from transportation services due to increased firm demand charge contracted capacity. Recently completed capital-growth projects including the partnership's joint venture Roadrunner Gas Transmission Pipeline and the WesTex intrastate pipeline expansion, both in the Permian Basin, provide additional fee-based earnings and expand the partnership's connectivity of producers with end-use markets in one of the most active basins in the country.

Construction is in progress on a 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) westbound expansion of the partnership's ONEOK Gas Transmission (OGT) Pipeline out of the STACK play in Oklahoma and on a 22-mile, 55 MMcf/d OGT pipeline that will provide transportation and storage services to a third-party electric generation plant near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The electric generation plant connection project is expected to be complete in the third quarter 2017 and the OGT expansion is expected to be complete in the second quarter 2018. Both projects are supported by long-term, firm fee-based agreements.



Three Months Ended

March 31, Natural Gas Pipelines Segment 2017

2016

(Millions of dollars) Adjusted EBITDA $ 83.0



$ 74.3

Capital expenditures $ 25.0



$ 17.9



First-quarter 2017 adjusted EBITDA increased, compared with the first quarter 2016, which primarily reflects:

A $9.9 million increase from higher transportation services due primarily to increased firm demand charge capacity contracted; and

increase from higher transportation services due primarily to increased firm demand charge capacity contracted; and A $6.4 million increase in equity in net earnings from investments due primarily to higher firm transportation revenues on the Roadrunner pipeline; offset partially by

increase in equity in net earnings from investments due primarily to higher firm transportation revenues on the Roadrunner pipeline; offset partially by A $4.3 million increase in operating costs due primarily to higher property taxes and higher employee-related costs; and

increase in operating costs due primarily to higher property taxes and higher employee-related costs; and A $3.0 million decrease due to gains on sales of excess natural gas in storage in the first quarter 2016.

Capital expenditures increased in the first quarter 2017 compared with the same period in 2016 due primarily to the timing of maintenance projects.

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST:

ONEOK and ONEOK Partners executive management will conduct a joint conference call at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10 a.m. Central Daylight Time) on May 3, 2017. The call also will be carried live on ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' websites.

To participate in the telephone conference call, dial 800-210-9066, pass code 6861498, or log on to www.oneok.com or www.oneokpartners.com.

If you are unable to participate in the conference call or the webcast, the replay will be available on ONEOK's website, www.oneok.com, and ONEOK Partners' website, www.oneokpartners.com, for 30 days. A recording will be available by phone for seven days. The playback call may be accessed at 888-203-1112, pass code 6861498.

LINKS TO EARNINGS TABLES AND PRESENTATION:

Tables:

http://ir.oneok.com/~/media/Files/O/OneOK-IR/financial-reports/2017/q1-3may2017-earnings-results-financial-news.pdf

Presentation:

http://ir.oneok.com/~/media/Files/O/OneOK-IR/financial-reports/2017/q1-3may2017-earnings-results-presentation.pdf

NON-GAAP (GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES) FINANCIAL MEASURE:

ONEOK has disclosed in this news release adjusted EBITDA, cash flow available for dividends, distributable cash flow, free cash flow, dividend coverage ratio and distribution coverage ratio, which are non-GAAP financial metrics, used to measure the company's financial performance and are defined as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income adjusted for interest expense, net of capitalized interest, depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, income taxes and allowance for equity funds used during construction (equity AFUDC) and certain other noncash items;

Cash flow available for dividends is defined as cash distributions declared from ONEOK's ownership in ONEOK Partners adjusted for ONEOK's standalone interest expense, corporate expenses, excluding certain noncash items, payments related to released contracts from ONEOK's former energy services business, capital expenditures and equity compensation reimbursed by ONEOK Partners;

Free cash flow is defined as cash flow available for dividends, computed as described above, less ONEOK's dividends declared;

Dividend coverage ratio is defined as cash flow available for dividends divided by the dividends declared for the period;

Distributable cash flow is defined as adjusted EBITDA, computed as described above, less interest expense, maintenance capital expenditures and equity earnings from investments, excluding noncash impairment charges, adjusted for cash distributions received and certain other items;

Dividend coverage ratio (as calculated per 2017 guidance) is defined as ONEOK's distributable cash flow to ONEOK shareholders divided by the dividends paid for the period; and

Distribution coverage ratio is defined as ONEOK Partners distributable cash flow to limited partners per limited partner unit divided by the distribution declared per limited partner unit for the period.

These non-GAAP financial measures described above are useful to investors because they and similar measures are used by many companies in the industry as a measurement of financial performance and are commonly employed by financial analysts and others to evaluate our financial performance and to compare our financial performance with the performance of other companies within our industry. Adjusted EBITDA, ONEOK cash flow available for dividends, free cash flow, distributable cash flow and coverage ratios should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP.

These non-GAAP financial measures exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income. Additionally, these calculations may not be comparable with similarly titled measures of other companies. Reconciliations of net income to adjusted EBITDA, cash flow available for dividends, free cash flow to net income, distributable cash flow and coverage ratios are included in the tables.

ONEOK, Inc. (pronounced ONE-OAK) (NYSE: OKE ) is the general partner and as of March 31, 2017, owns 41.2 percent of ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS), one of the largest publicly traded master limited partnerships, which owns one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Mid-Continent, Permian and Rocky Mountain regions with key market centers and is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the U.S. ONEOK is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Stock Index.

For information about ONEOK, Inc., visit the website: www.oneok.com.

For the latest news about ONEOK, follow us on Twitter @ONEOKNews .

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Words such as "anticipates", "believes," "expects", "intends", "plans", "projects", "will", "would", "should", "may", and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' current views about future events. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction involving ONEOK and ONEOK Partners, including future financial and operating results, ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts, including future results of operations, projected cash flow and liquidity, business strategy, expected synergies or cost savings, and other plans and objectives for future operations. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements contained in this news release will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and are not guarantees of future results. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following:

the ability to obtain the requisite ONEOK stockholder and ONEOK Partners unitholder approvals relating to the proposed transaction;

the risk that ONEOK or ONEOK Partners may be unable to obtain governmental and regulatory approvals required for the proposed transaction, if any, or required governmental and regulatory approvals, if any, may delay the proposed transaction or result in the imposition of conditions that could cause the parties to abandon the proposed transaction;

the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied;

the timing to consummate the proposed transaction;

the risk that cost savings, tax benefits and any other synergies from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected;

disruption from the transaction may make it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers;

the possible diversion of management time on merger-related issues;

the impact and outcome of pending and future litigation, including litigation, if any, relating to the proposed transaction;

the effects of weather and other natural phenomena, including climate change, on our operations, demand for our services and energy prices;

competition from other United States and foreign energy suppliers and transporters, as well as alternative forms of energy, including, but not limited to, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy and biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel;

and foreign energy suppliers and transporters, as well as alternative forms of energy, including, but not limited to, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy and biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel; the capital intensive nature of our businesses;

the profitability of assets or businesses acquired or constructed by us;

our ability to make cost-saving changes in operations;

risks of marketing, trading and hedging activities, including the risks of changes in energy prices or the financial condition of our counterparties;

the uncertainty of estimates, including accruals and costs of environmental remediation;

the timing and extent of changes in energy commodity prices;

the effects of changes in governmental policies and regulatory actions, including changes with respect to income and other taxes, pipeline safety, environmental compliance, climate change initiatives and authorized rates of recovery of natural gas and natural gas transportation costs;

the impact on drilling and production by factors beyond our control, including the demand for natural gas and crude oil; producers' desire and ability to obtain necessary permits; reserve performance; and capacity constraints on the pipelines that transport crude oil, natural gas and NGLs from producing areas and our facilities;

difficulties or delays experienced by trucks, railroads or pipelines in delivering products to or from our terminals or pipelines;

changes in demand for the use of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil because of market conditions caused by concerns about climate change;

conflicts of interest between ONEOK and ONEOK Partners;

the impact of unforeseen changes in interest rates, debt and equity markets, inflation rates, economic recession and other external factors over which we have no control, including the effect on pension and postretirement expense and funding resulting from changes in stock and bond market returns;

our indebtedness could make us vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions, limit our ability to borrow additional funds and/or place us at competitive disadvantages compared with our competitors that have less debt, or have other adverse consequences;

actions by rating agencies concerning the credit ratings of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners;

the results of administrative proceedings and litigation, regulatory actions, rule changes and receipt of expected clearances involving any local, state or federal regulatory body, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the National Transportation Safety Board, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC);

our ability to access capital at competitive rates or on terms acceptable to us;

risks associated with adequate supply to our gathering, processing, fractionation and pipeline facilities, including production declines that outpace new drilling or extended periods of ethane rejection;

the risk that material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting could emerge or that minor problems could become significant;

the ability to market pipeline capacity on favorable terms, including the effects of:

future demand for and prices of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil;



competitive conditions in the overall energy market;



availability of supplies of Canadian and United States natural gas and crude oil; and

natural gas and crude oil; and

availability of additional storage capacity;

performance of contractual obligations by our customers, service providers, contractors and shippers;

the timely receipt of approval by applicable governmental entities for construction and operation of our pipeline and other projects and required regulatory clearances;

our ability to acquire all necessary permits, consents or other approvals in a timely manner, to promptly obtain all necessary materials and supplies required for construction, and to construct gathering, processing, storage, fractionation and transportation facilities without labor or contractor problems;

the mechanical integrity of facilities operated;

demand for our services in the proximity of our facilities;

our ability to control operating costs;

acts of nature, sabotage, terrorism or other similar acts that cause damage to our facilities or our suppliers' or shippers' facilities;

economic climate and growth in the geographic areas in which we do business;

the risk of a prolonged slowdown in growth or decline in the United States or international economies, including liquidity risks in United States or foreign credit markets;

or international economies, including liquidity risks in or foreign credit markets; the impact of recently issued and future accounting updates and other changes in accounting policies;

the possibility of future terrorist attacks or the possibility or occurrence of an outbreak of, or changes in, hostilities or changes in the political conditions in the Middle East and elsewhere;

and elsewhere; the risk of increased costs for insurance premiums, security or other items as a consequence of terrorist attacks;

risks associated with pending or possible acquisitions and dispositions, including our ability to finance or integrate any such acquisitions and any regulatory delay or conditions imposed by regulatory bodies in connection with any such acquisitions and dispositions;

the impact of uncontracted capacity in our assets being greater or less than expected;

the ability to recover operating costs and amounts equivalent to income taxes, costs of property, plant and equipment and regulatory assets in our state and FERC-regulated rates;

the composition and quality of the natural gas and NGLs we gather and process in our plants and transport on our pipelines;

the efficiency of our plants in processing natural gas and extracting and fractionating NGLs;

the impact of potential impairment charges;

the risk inherent in the use of information systems in our respective businesses, implementation of new software and hardware, and the impact on the timeliness of information for financial reporting;

our ability to control construction costs and completion schedules of our pipelines and other projects; and

the ability of management to execute its plans to meet its goals and other risks inherent in our businesses that are discussed in ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' most recent annual reports on Form 10-K, respectively, and in other ONEOK and ONEOK Partners reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

These reports are also available from the sources described below. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made. Neither ONEOK nor ONEOK Partners undertakes any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the Risk Factors included in the most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners on file with the SEC. ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Additional Information And Where To Find It

This communication is not a solicitation of any vote, approval, or proxy from any ONEOK stockholder or ONEOK Partners unitholder. In connection with the proposed transaction, ONEOK filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a registration statement on Form S-4, which includes a preliminary prospectus of ONEOK and a joint proxy statement of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners. These materials are not yet final and will be amended. Each of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. ONEOK and OKS will each mail the joint proxy statement/prospectus to their respective stockholders and unitholders. This document is not a substitute for any prospectus, proxy statement or any other document which ONEOK or ONEOK Partners may file with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. ONEOK and ONEOK Partners urge investors and their respective stockholders and unitholders to read the registration statement, including the preliminary joint proxy statement/prospectus that is a part of the registration statement, and the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus, and other relevant materials filed and to be filed with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction when they become available, as well as other documents filed with the SEC, because they contain or will contain important information. You may obtain copies of all documents filed with the SEC regarding this transaction (when they become available), free of charge, at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). You may also obtain these documents, free of charge, from ONEOK's website (www.oneok.com) under the tab "Investors" and then under the heading "SEC Filings." You may also obtain these documents, free of charge, from ONEOK Partners' website (www.oneokpartners.com) under the tab "Investors" and then under the heading "SEC Filings."

Participants In The Solicitation

ONEOK, ONEOK Partners and their respective directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees may be soliciting proxies from ONEOK stockholders and ONEOK Partners unitholders in favor of the proposed transaction and related matters. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of ONEOK stockholders and ONEOK Partners unitholders in connection with the proposed transaction are set forth in the preliminary joint proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC on March 7, 2017 and will be set forth in the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus when it becomes available. You can find information about ONEOK's executive officers and directors in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 6, 2017. You can find information about ONEOK Partners' executive officers and directors in its annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2017. Additional information about ONEOK's executive officers and directors and ONEOK Partners' executive officers and directors can be found in the above-referenced Registration Statement on Form S-4 and the other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. You can obtain free copies of these documents from ONEOK and ONEOK Partners using the contact information above.

Analyst Contact: Megan Patterson 918-561-5325 Media Contact: Stephanie Higgins 918-591-5026

SOURCE ONEOK, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.oneok.com


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About Panama City Surgery Center

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About Jellyfish Health

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Media Contact:

Erika Grau

214.909.9437

[email protected]

SOURCE Jellyfish Health

Related Links

https://www.jellyfishhealth.com


LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perfectomundo is the first Tequila to climb Mount Everest! A few precious bottles of Perfectomundo Blanco were carried on mules and by hand up the world's highest mountain during a recent trip to Nepal by world famous DJ and co-Founder of Perfectmundo Paul Oakenfold.

Tequila on Mt. Everest is another chapter in the story of this remarkable Tequila that has been sweeping the board at awards competitions around the world. The team of Perfectomundo have a fun and fabulous mission - to continue to spread the spirit of adventure and vision of the Perfect World without borders and suffering, helmed by visionary Paul Oakenfold who was there to raise funds for Nepal earthquake victims, through this event which was his highest altitude performance, personally supported by the Prime Minister of Nepal as well as other local dignitaries.

"When you hike 10 days into the Himalayas to get to 17,600 feet, you only pack the most important items! Cheers to Perfectomundo Tequila for sharing the spirit of adventure and discovery around the world," says Oakenfold.

Perfectomundo proprietary recipes come from one of the oldest and most prominent award-winning distilleries in the heart of Agave country, located on the private estate in the Town of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico. It comes in 3 expressions: Blanco, Reposado and 3.5-year aged Anejo.

Photos are available. Paul Oakenfold is available for interviews & quotes.

For media inquiries please contact:

Zac Albright [email protected]

SOURCE Perfectomundo
NEWINGTON, N.H., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2017.

First Quarter Fiscal 2017 Highlights

Total revenue increased from the prior year period by 9.3% to $91.1 million .

. System-wide same store sales increased 11.1%.

Net income increased 9.3% to $17.9 million , or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to net income of $16.3 million , or $0.09 per diluted share in the prior year period.

, or per diluted share, compared to net income of , or per diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted net income (1) increased 21.2% to $18.4 million , or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to $15.2 million , or $0.15 per diluted share in the prior year period.

increased 21.2% to , or per diluted share, compared to , or per diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA (1) increased 23.3% to $42.3 million from $34.3 million in the prior year period.

increased 23.3% to from in the prior year period. 54 new Planet Fitness stores were opened system-wide compared to 48 in the year ago period, bringing system-wide total stores to 1,367 at March 31, 2017 .

(1) Adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. For reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted net income to U.S. GAAP ("GAAP") net income see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" accompanying this press release.

Christopher Rondeau, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "There were several highlights from the first quarter that continue to underscore the growing popularity of our fitness offering and reinforce the strength of our business model. We added over 1.2 million net new members during the first three months of 2017 to surpass 10 million members system-wide. This increase was driven by the expansion efforts of our franchisees over the past year, including 54 new store openings and double digit same store sales growth during the quarter. Strong revenue and net income growth was fueled primarily by our high margin Franchise segment and contributed significantly to the Company's robust cash flow generation. With approximately 1,000 new stores scheduled to open in the next 5 years, combined with our growing national and local advertising spend, we are confident that we'll continue to be successful in attracting more and more first time and casual gym users to Planet Fitness."

Operating Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2017

For the first quarter of 2017, total revenue increased $7.8 million or 9.3% to $91.1 million from $83.3 million in the prior year period. By segment:

Franchise segment revenue, which includes commission income, increased $9.1 million or 33.0% to $36.8 million from $27.7 million in the prior year period;

or 33.0% to from in the prior year period; Corporate-owned stores segment revenue increased $1.3 million or 5.2% to $27.0 million from $25.7 million in the prior year period; and

or 5.2% to from in the prior year period; and Equipment segment revenue decreased $2.7 million or 9.0% to $27.3 million from $30.0 million . This decrease was driven by fewer equipment placements in connection with new franchisee-owned store openings versus the prior year period, partially offset by an increase in replacement equipment sales to existing franchisee-owned stores.

System-wide same store sales increased 11.1%. By segment, franchisee-owned same store sales increased 11.5% and corporate-owned same store sales increased 4.5%.

For the first quarter of 2017, net income was $17.9 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to net income of $16.3 million, or $0.09 per diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted net income (see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures") increased 21.2% to $18.4 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, from $15.2 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Adjusted net income has been adjusted to reflect a normalized federal income tax rate of 39.5% for the current year period and 39.4% for the comparable prior year period and excludes certain non-cash and other items that we do not consider in the evaluation of ongoing operational performance (see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures").

Adjusted EBITDA, which is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain non-cash and other items that we do not consider in the evaluation of ongoing operational performance (see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures"), increased 23.3% to $42.3 million from $34.3 million in the prior year period.

Segment EBITDA represents our Total Segment EBITDA broken down by the Company's reportable segments. Total Segment EBITDA is equal to EBITDA, which is defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures").

Executive Leadership Promotion

The Company announced that Dorvin Lively, currently Chief Financial Officer of Planet Fitness, has been promoted and will now serve as President and Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. In this newly created position, Lively will oversee the brand's technology and real estate and development functions, as well as its corporate stores, in addition to his ongoing oversight of all finance related functions.

Rondeau, commented, "Dorvin has been instrumental in the successful expansion of our brand since joining Planet Fitness in 2013. During his tenure as Chief Financial Officer, we have more than doubled the number of stores system-wide while achieving strong financial returns for our franchisees, and more recently our shareholders. The Board of Directors and I are confident that Dorvin's experience and deep knowledge of our business will prove invaluable as we execute the Company's growth strategies."

Rondeau continued, "My passion for the Planet Fitness brand and my commitment to bringing affordable and non-intimidating health and wellness to millions of people has never been stronger. We have an exciting future ahead, and with Dorvin's well-deserved promotion, I look forward to increasing my focus on brand growth, long-term strategic initiatives, and franchisee and shareholder returns."

2017 Outlook

For the year ending December 31, 2017, the Company now expects:

Total revenue between $405 million and $415 million ;

; System-wide same store sales growth in the 7% to 8% range; and

Adjusted net income of $73 million to $76 million , or $0.74 to $0.77 per diluted share.

Presentation of Financial Measures

Planet Fitness, Inc. (the "Company") was formed in March 2015 for the purpose of facilitating the initial public offering (the "IPO") and related recapitalization transactions that occurred in August 2015, and in order to carry on the business of Pla-Fit Holdings, LLC ("Pla-Fit Holdings") and its subsidiaries. As the sole managing member of Pla-Fit Holdings, the Company operates and controls all of the business and affairs of Pla-Fit Holdings, and through Pla-Fit Holdings, conducts its business. As a result, the Company consolidates Pla-Fit Holdings' financial results and reports a non-controlling interest related to the portion of Pla-Fit Holdings not owned by the Company.

The financial information presented in this press release includes non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA, Segment EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted to provide measures that we believe are useful to investors in evaluating the Company's performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental measures of the Company's performance that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for GAAP financial measures such as net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with, GAAP. In addition, in the future, the Company may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted. The Company's presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted should not be construed as an inference that the Company's future results will be unaffected by similar amounts or other unusual or nonrecurring items. See the tables at the end of this press release for a reconciliation of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Total Segment EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Adjusted net income per share, diluted, to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

The non-GAAP financial measures used in our full-year outlook will differ from net income and net income per share, diluted, determined in accordance with GAAP in ways similar to those described in the reconciliations at the end of this press release. We do not provide guidance for net income or net income per share, diluted, determined in accordance with GAAP or a reconciliation of guidance for Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted, to the most directly comparable GAAP measure because we are not able to predict with reasonable certainty the amount or nature of all items that will be included in our net income and net income per share, diluted, for the year ended December 31, 2017. These items are uncertain, depend on many factors and could have a material impact on our net income and net income per share, diluted, for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Investor Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call at 4:30 pm (ET) on May 2, 2017 to discuss the news announced in this press release. A live webcast of the conference call will be accessible at www.planetfitness.com via the "Investor Relations" link. The webcast will be archived on the website for one year.

About Planet Fitness

Founded in 1992 in Dover, N.H., Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States by number of members and locations. As of March 31, 2017, Planet Fitness had approximately 10.1 million members and 1,367 stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Dominican Republic. The Company's mission is to enhance people's lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, which we call the Judgement Free Zone. More than 95% of Planet Fitness stores are owned and operated by independent business men and women.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements, approximations, estimates and projections with respect to our anticipated future performance, especially those under the heading "2017 Outlook," ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on the Company's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of the business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control. Actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties associated with competition in the fitness industry, the Company's and franchisees' ability to attract and retain new members, changes in consumer demand, changes in equipment costs, the Company's ability to expand into new markets, operating costs for the Company and franchisees generally, availability and cost of capital for franchisees, acquisition activity, developments and changes in laws and regulations, our substantial indebtedness, our corporate structure and tax receivable agreements, general economic conditions and the other factors described in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, neither the Company nor any of its affiliates or representatives undertake any obligation to provide additional information or to correct or update any information set forth in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Planet Fitness, Inc. and subsidiaries Condensed consolidated statements of operations (Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)





For the three months ended March 31,



2017



2016

Revenue:













Franchise $ 30,281



$ 21,491

Commission income

6,516





6,186

Corporate-owned stores

27,041





25,697

Equipment

27,264





29,969

Total revenue

91,102





83,343

Operating costs and expenses:













Cost of revenue

21,124





23,639

Store operations

15,184





14,732

Selling, general and administrative

13,820





11,845

Depreciation and amortization

7,951





7,703

Other gain

(32)





(186)

Total operating costs and expenses

58,047





57,733

Income from operations

33,055





25,610

Other expense, net:













Interest expense, net

(8,763)





(6,367)

Other income

682





393

Total other expense, net

(8,081)





(5,974)

Income before income taxes

24,974





19,636

Provision for income taxes

7,108





3,291

Net income

17,866





16,345

Less net income attributable to non-controlling interests

9,024





12,977

Net income attributable to Planet Fitness, Inc. $ 8,842



$ 3,368

















Net income per share of Class A common stock:













Basic & diluted $ 0.14



$ 0.09

Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding:













Basic

64,121





36,598

Diluted

64,150





36,598



Planet Fitness, Inc. and subsidiaries Condensed consolidated balance sheets (Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)







March 31,



December 31,





2017



2016

Assets















Current assets:















Cash and cash equivalents

$ 60,236



$ 40,393

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for bad debts of $118 and $687 at

March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively



14,988





26,873

Due from related parties



2,914





2,864

Inventory



1,331





1,802

Restricted assets  national advertising fund



2,502





3,074

Other receivables



9,715





7,935

Other current assets



7,905





8,284

Total current assets



99,591





91,225

Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $33,794 as of March 31, 2017 and $30,987 as of December 31, 2016



61,104





61,238

Intangible assets, net



249,148





253,862

Goodwill



176,981





176,981

Deferred income taxes



561,342





410,407

Other assets, net



8,186





7,729

Total assets

$ 1,156,352



$ 1,001,442

Liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)















Current liabilities:















Current maturities of long-term debt

$ 7,185



$ 7,185

Accounts payable



13,278





28,507

Accrued expenses



10,263





19,190

Equipment deposits



10,739





2,170

Deferred revenue, current



18,226





17,780

Payable to related parties pursuant to tax benefit arrangements, current



11,283





8,072

Other current liabilities



536





369

Total current liabilities



71,510





83,273

Long-term debt, net of current maturities



700,672





702,003

Deferred rent, net of current portion



5,213





5,108

Deferred revenue, net of current portion



8,445





8,351

Deferred tax liabilities



1,052





1,238

Payable to related parties pursuant to tax benefit arrangements, net of current portion



552,213





410,999

Other liabilities



5,271





5,225

Total noncurrent liabilities



1,272,866





1,132,924

Commitments and contingencies (note 11)















Stockholders' equity (deficit):















Class A common stock, $.0001 par value - 300,000 shares authorized, 72,473 and 61,314

shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively



7





6

Class B common stock, $.0001 par value - 100,000 shares authorized, 26,026 and 37,185

shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively



3





4

Accumulated other comprehensive loss



(1,274)





(1,174)

Additional paid in capital



23,087





34,467

Accumulated deficit



(155,288)





(164,062)

Total stockholders' deficit attributable to Planet Fitness Inc.



(133,465)





(130,759)

Non-controlling interests



(54,559)





(83,996)

Total stockholders' deficit



(188,024)





(214,755)

Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit

$ 1,156,352



$ 1,001,442



Planet Fitness, Inc. and subsidiaries

Condensed consolidated statements of cash flows

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in thousands)











For the three months ended March 31,





2017



2016

Cash flows from operating activities:















Net income

$ 17,866



$ 16,345

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:















Depreciation and amortization



7,951





7,703

Amortization of deferred financing costs



465





371

Amortization of favorable leases and asset retirement obligations



94





99

Amortization of interest rate caps



432





75

Deferred tax expense



5,298





1,354

Gain on re-measurement of tax benefit arrangement



(541)







Provision for bad debts



27





7

Gain on disposal of property and equipment









(186)

Equity-based compensation



380





576

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, excluding effects of acquisitions:















Accounts receivable



11,859





8,864

Notes receivable and due from related parties



(99)





3,544

Inventory



471





3,081

Other assets and other current assets



(2,187)





(4,632)

Accounts payable and accrued expenses



(21,244)





(16,202)

Other liabilities and other current liabilities



188





30

Income taxes



310





(2,314)

Payable to related parties pursuant to tax benefit arrangements









(2,113)

Equipment deposits



8,569





(334)

Deferred revenue



527





(1,091)

Deferred rent



106





85

Net cash provided by operating activities



30,472





15,262

Cash flows from investing activities:















Additions to property and equipment



(5,336)





(865)

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment









20

Net cash used in investing activities



(5,336)





(845)

Cash flows from financing activities:















Principal payments on capital lease obligations









(12)

Repayment of long-term debt



(1,796)





(1,275)

Premiums paid for interest rate caps



(366)







Dividend equivalent payments



(20)







Distributions to Continuing LLC Members



(3,142)





(6,411)

Net cash used in financing activities



(5,324)





(7,698)

Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents



31





119

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents



19,843





6,838

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period



40,393





31,430

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$ 60,236



$ 38,268



















Supplemental cash flow information:















Net cash paid for income taxes

$ 1,595



$ 4,336

Cash paid for interest

$ 7,857



$ 5,815

Non-cash investing activities:















Non-cash additions to property and equipment

$ 38



$ 170



Planet Fitness, Inc. and subsidiaries

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, the Company uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: EBITDA, Total Segment EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted (collectively, the "non-GAAP financial measures"). The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when used in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, are useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release are supplemental measures of the Company's performance that are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for GAAP financial measures such as net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. In addition, in the future, the Company may incur expenses or charges such as those added back to calculate Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted. The Company's presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income, and Adjusted net income per share, diluted, should not be construed as an inference that the Company's future results will be unaffected by unusual or nonrecurring items.

EBITDA, Segment EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

We refer to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as we use these measures to evaluate our operating performance and we believe these measures provide useful information to investors in evaluating our performance. We have also disclosed Segment EBITDA as an important financial metric utilized by the Company to evaluate performance and allocate resources to segments in accordance with ASC 280, Segment Reporting. We define EBITDA as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Segment EBITDA sums to Total Segment EBITDA which is equal to the Non-GAAP financial metric EBITDA. We believe that EBITDA, which eliminates the impact of certain expenses that we do not believe reflect our underlying business performance, provides useful information to investors to assess the performance of our segments as well as the business as a whole. Our Board of Directors also uses EBITDA as a key metric to assess the performance of management. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain additional non-cash and other items that we do not consider in our evaluation of ongoing performance of the Company's core operations. These items include certain purchase accounting adjustments, stock offering-related costs, and certain other charges and gains. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance in addition to EBITDA because it eliminates the impact of other items that we believe reduce the comparability of our underlying core business performance from period to period and is therefore useful to our investors in comparing the core performance of our business from period to period.

A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure, is set forth below.





Three Months Ended March 31,





2017



2016



















Net income attributable to Planet Fitness, Inc.

$ 8,842



$ 3,368

Net income attributable to non-controlling interests



9,024





12,977

Net income

$ 17,866



$ 16,345

Interest expense, net



8,763





6,367

Provision for income taxes



7,108





3,291

Depreciation and amortization



7,951





7,703

EBITDA



41,688





33,706

Purchase accounting adjustments-revenue(1)



336





-

Purchase accounting adjustments-rent(2)



196





182

Stock offering-related costs(3)



608





-

Severance costs(4)



-





380

Other(5)



(573)





-

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 42,255



$ 34,268



(1) Represents the impact of revenue-related purchase accounting adjustments associated with the 2012 acquisition of Pla-Fit Holdings on November 8, 2012 by TSG (the "2012 Acquisition"). At the time of the 2012 Acquisition, the Company maintained a deferred revenue account, which consisted of deferred area development agreement fees, deferred franchise fees, and deferred enrollment fees that the Company billed and collected up front but recognizes for GAAP purposes at a later date. In connection with the 2012 Acquisition, it was determined that the carrying amount of deferred revenue was greater than the fair value assessed in accordance with ASC 805Business Combinations, which resulted in a write-down of the carrying value of the deferred revenue balance upon application of acquisition push-down accounting under ASC 805. These amounts represent the additional revenue that would have been recognized in these periods if the write-down to deferred revenue had not occurred in connection with the application of acquisition pushdown accounting. (2) Represents the impact of rent related purchase accounting adjustments. In accordance with guidance in ASC 805  Business Combinations, in connection with the 2012 Acquisition, the Company's deferred rent liability was required to be written off as of the acquisition date and rent was recorded on a straight-line basis from the acquisition date through the end of the lease term. This resulted in higher overall recorded rent expense each period than would have otherwise been recorded had the deferred rent liability not been written off as a result of the acquisition push down accounting applied in accordance with ASC 805. Adjustments of $103 and $85 in the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, reflect the difference between the higher rent expense recorded in accordance with GAAP since the acquisition and the rent expense that would have been recorded had the 2012 Acquisition not occurred. Adjustments of $93 and $97 for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, are due to the amortization of favorable and unfavorable lease intangible assets which were recorded in connection with the 2012 Acquisition and the acquisition of eight franchisee-owned stores on March 31, 2014. All of the rent related purchase accounting adjustments are adjustments to rent expense which is included in store operations on our consolidated statements of operations. (3) Represents legal, accounting and other costs incurred in connection with offerings of the Company's Class A common stock. (4) Represents severance expense recorded in connection with an equity award modification. (5) Represents certain other charges and gains that we do not believe reflect our underlying business performance. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, this amount includes a gain of $541 related to the adjustment of our tax benefit arrangements primarily due to changes in our effective tax rate.

A reconciliation of Segment EBITDA to Total Segment EBITDA is set forth below.



Three Months Ended March 31,



2017



2016

Segment EBITDA













Franchise $ 32,032



$ 23,813

Corporate-owned stores

10,693





10,162

Equipment

6,094





6,318

Corporate and other

(7,131)





(6,587)

Total Segment EBITDA(1) $ 41,688



$ 33,706



(1) Total Segment EBITDA is equal to EBITDA.

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per Diluted Share

As a result of the recapitalization transactions that occurred prior to our IPO, the limited liability company agreement of Pla-Fit Holdings that was amended and restated (the "New LLC Agreement") designated Planet Fitness, Inc. as the sole managing member of Pla-Fit Holdings. As sole managing member, Planet Fitness, Inc. exclusively operates and controls the business and affairs of Pla-Fit Holdings, LLC. As a result of the recapitalization transactions and the New LLC Agreement, Planet Fitness, Inc. now consolidates Pla-Fit Holdings, and Pla-Fit Holdings is considered the predecessor to Planet Fitness, Inc. for accounting purposes. Our presentation of Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted, gives effect to the consolidation of Pla-Fit Holdings with Planet Fitness, Inc. resulting from the recapitalization transactions and the New LLC Agreement as if they had occurred on January 1, 2015. In addition, Adjusted net income assumes that all net income is attributable to Planet Fitness, Inc., which assumes the full exchange of all outstanding Holdings Units for shares of Class A common stock of Planet Fitness, Inc., adjusted for certain non-recurring items that we do not believe directly reflect our core operations. Adjusted net income per share, diluted, is calculated by dividing Adjusted net income by the total shares of Class A common stock outstanding plus any dilutive options and restricted stock units as calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP and assuming the full exchange of all outstanding Holdings Units and corresponding Class B common stock as of the beginning of each period presented. Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted, are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent, and should not be considered, alternatives to net income and earnings per share, as calculated in accordance with GAAP. We believe Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, diluted, supplement GAAP measures and enable us to more effectively evaluate our performance period-over-period. A reconciliation of Adjusted net income to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, and the computation of Adjusted net income per share, diluted, are set forth below.





Three Months Ended March 31,





2017



2016



















Net income attributable to Planet Fitness, Inc.

$ 8,842



$ 3,368

Net income attributable to non-controlling interests



9,024





12,977

Net income

$ 17,866



$ 16,345

Provision for income taxes, as reported



7,108





3,291

Purchase accounting adjustments-revenue(1)



336





-

Purchase accounting adjustments-rent(2)



196





182

Stock offering-related costs(3)



608





-

Severance costs(4)



-





380

Other(5)



(342)





-

Purchase accounting amortization(6)



4,622





4,843

Adjusted income before income taxes

$ 30,394



$ 25,041

Adjusted income taxes(7)



12,006





9,866

Adjusted net income

$ 18,388



$ 15,175



















Adjusted net income per share, diluted

$ 0.19



$ 0.15



















Adjusted weighted-average shares outstanding(8)



98,528





98,707



(1) Represents the impact of revenue-related purchase accounting adjustments associated with the 2012 Acquisition. At the time of the 2012 Acquisition, the Company maintained a deferred revenue account, which consisted of deferred area development agreement fees, deferred franchise fees, and deferred enrollment fees that the Company billed and collected up front but recognizes for GAAP purposes at a later date. In connection with the 2012 Acquisition, it was determined that the carrying amount of deferred revenue was greater than the fair value assessed in accordance with ASC 805Business Combinations, which resulted in a write-down of the carrying value of the deferred revenue balance upon application of acquisition push-down accounting under ASC 805. These amounts represent the additional revenue that would have been recognized in these periods if the write-down to deferred revenue had not occurred in connection with the application of acquisition pushdown accounting. (2) Represents the impact of rent related purchase accounting adjustments. In accordance with guidance in ASC 805  Business Combinations, in connection with the 2012 Acquisition, the Company's deferred rent liability was required to be written off as of the acquisition date and rent was recorded on a straight-line basis from the acquisition date through the end of the lease term. This resulted in higher overall recorded rent expense each period than would have otherwise been recorded had the deferred rent liability not been written off as a result of the acquisition push down accounting applied in accordance with ASC 805. Adjustments of $103 and $85 in the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, reflect the difference between the higher rent expense recorded in accordance with GAAP since the acquisition and the rent expense that would have been recorded had the 2012 Acquisition not occurred. Adjustments of $93 and $97 for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, are due to the amortization of favorable and unfavorable lease intangible assets which were recorded in connection with the 2012 Acquisition and the acquisition of eight franchisee-owned stores on March 31, 2014. All of the rent related purchase accounting adjustments are adjustments to rent expense which is included in store operations on our consolidated statements of operations. (3) Represents legal, accounting and other costs incurred in connection with offerings of the Company's Class A common stock. (4) Represents severance expense recorded in connection with an equity award modification. (5) Represents certain other charges and gains that we do not believe reflect our underlying business performance. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, this amount includes a gain of $541 related to the adjustment of our tax benefit arrangements primarily due to changes in our effective tax rate, partially offset by accelerated depreciation expense taken on our headquarters in preparation for moving to a new building. (6) Includes $4,086 and $4,219 of amortization of intangible assets, other than favorable leases, for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, recorded in connection with the 2012 Acquisition, and $536 and $624 of amortization of intangible assets for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, recorded in connection with the acquisition of eight franchisee-owned stores on March 31, 2014. The adjustment represents the amount of actual non-cash amortization expense recorded, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, in each period. (7) Represents corporate income taxes at an assumed effective tax rate of 39.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 39.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2016 applied to adjusted income before income taxes. (8) Assumes the full exchange of all outstanding Holdings Units and corresponding shares of Class B common stock for shares of Class A common stock of Planet Fitness, Inc.

A reconciliation of net income per share, diluted, to Adjusted net income per share, diluted is set forth below for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016:





For the Three Months Ended

March 31, 2017



For the Three Months Ended

March 31, 2016





Net income



Weighted

Average

Shares



Net

income

per share,

diluted



Net income



Weighted

Average

Shares



Net

income

per share,

diluted

Net income attributable to Planet Fitness

Inc.(1)

$ 8,842





64,150



$ 0.14



$ 3,368





36,598



$ 0.09

Assumed exchange of shares(2)



9,024





34,378













12,977





62,109









Net Income



17,866





















16,345

















Adjustments to arrive at adjusted

income before income taxes(3)



12,528





















8,696

















Adjusted income before income taxes



30,394





















25,041

















Adjusted income taxes(4)



12,006





















9,866

















Adjusted Net Income

$ 18,388





98,528



$ 0.19



$ 15,175





98,707



$ 0.15



(1) Represents net income attributable to Planet Fitness, Inc. and the associated weighted average shares, diluted of Class A common stock outstanding. (2) Assumes the full exchange of all outstanding Holdings Units and corresponding shares of Class B common stock for shares of Class A common stock of Planet Fitness, Inc. Also assumes the addition of net income attributable to non-controlling interests corresponding with the assumed exchange of Holdings Units and Class B common shares for shares of Class A common stock. (3) Represents the total impact of all adjustments identified in the adjusted net income table above to arrive at adjusted income before income taxes. (4) Represents corporate income taxes at an assumed effective tax rate of 39.5% and 39.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, applied to adjusted income before income taxes.

SOURCE Planet Fitness, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.planetfitness.com


WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Police were notified in more than half (56 percent) of the 1.3 million nonfatal domestic violence victimizations that occurred annually during the 10-year period from 2006 to 2015 in the United States, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Police responded to nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of these victimizations in 10 minutes or less. When police responded to the scene, they took a report 78 percent of the time. During some initial responses, they also questioned persons (36 percent), conducted searches (14 percent) or collected evidence (11 percent).

These findings are based on data reported by victims in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and not from police records. Nonfatal domestic violence includes serious violence (rape or sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault) and simple assaults committed by intimate partners (spouse, former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend), immediate family members (parent, child or sibling) or other relatives.

The victim notified the police in about three-quarters (76 percent) of reported domestic violence victimizations, while about a quarter (24 percent) of notifications came from other persons. Victims of violence by an intimate partner reported the victimization to the police at the same rate as victims of violence by other relatives. The rate of reporting to police was also the same for domestic violence victimizations involving serious violence as for those involving simple assault.

The domestic violence offender was arrested or charged in about 2 out of every 5 victimizations reported to police, either during the initial police response or during follow-up. The victim or other household member signed a criminal complaint against the offender in about half (48 percent) of reported victimizations. When a victimization involved a serious injury and a criminal complaint was signed, the offender was arrested or charged 89 percent of the time.

Domestic violence against females involving a serious injury (54 percent) was reported to police at about the same rate as domestic violence involving no injury (55 percent). A greater percentage of male domestic violence victimizations were reported to police when a serious injury was involved (77 percent), compared to when there was a minor injury (57 percent) or no injury (49 percent).

During the 10-year period, an average of about 582,000 nonfatal domestic violence victimizations were not reported to police each year. In about a third (32 percent) of these unreported victimizations, victims cited the personal nature of the incident as a reason for not reporting it to police. Some victimizations were not reported because the victim wanted to protect the offender (21 percent), felt the crime was minor or unimportant (20 percent) or feared reprisal from the offender or others (19 percent).

Domestic violence victimizations involving serious violence (31 percent) were more likely than victimizations involving simple assault (13 percent) to go unreported to police due to fear of reprisal. Female victimizations (24 percent) were four times as likely as male victimizations (6 percent) to go unreported to police due to fear of reprisal.

Other key findings in the report are from BJS's most recent Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey:

In 2013, 92 percent of sheriff's offices, 89 percent of local police departments and 70 percent of state law enforcement agencies formally addressed domestic violence with a specialized unit, other dedicated personnel, policies, procedures or training in 2013.

47 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies employing 100 or more full-time sworn personnel operated a full-time domestic violence unit in 2013.

90 percent of local police departments serving 250,000 or more residents operated a specialized domestic violence unit with full-time personnel in 2013.

The report, Police Response to Domestic Violence, 2006-2015 (NCJ 250231), was written by BJS statistician Brian A. Reaves. The report, related documents and additional information about BJS's statistical publications and programs can be found on the BJS website at www.bjs.gov.

The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan R. Hanson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART). More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

CONTACT: KARA MCCARTHY

202-598-9320

EMAIL: [email protected]

www.bjs.gov/

SOURCE Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

Related Links

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov


BEIRUT, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

A multi-country study in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - covering Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, and Palestine - reveals the reality of men's lives behind the headlines. While a majority of men surveyed in the four countries support a wide array of inequitable, traditional attitudes; a sizable minority of men in the four countries acknowledge and support women's equality in many aspects of public and private life.

The International Men and Gender Equality Study in the Middle East and North Africa (IMAGES MENA) produced by Promundo and UN Women in collaboration with local research partners is the first study of its kind and size in the Middle East and North Africa to take a wide-angle, comparative lens to the lives of men - as sons and husbands and fathers, at home and at work, in public and private life - to better understand how they see their positions as men, and their attitudes toward gender equality. Equally important, IMAGES provides women's perspectives on these same issues. The study includes quantitative and qualitative research with nearly 10,000 men and women aged 18 to 59 in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine, including both urban and rural areas. The study's findings will be revealed at a regional launch event on May 2, as part of the "Masculinities in the Arab World" conference co-organized by ABAAD, UN Women, and Promundo in Beirut, Lebanon.

The study reveals that although traditional attitudes about gender equality dominate, at least one quarter of men hold more open and equitable views, supporting women's economic, social, and political equality. Personal histories, family influence, and life circumstances are among the factors that impact men's support for gender equality.

The findings show that while young women are showing more equitable views towards equality than the older generation, younger men do not necessarily hold more equitable views than older men.

The study also highlights the tremendous stress in men's lives, namely the challenge of finding paid work and fulfilling the traditional masculine role of a provider in times of economic uncertainty, particularly in those countries affected by conflict. The effects of conflict and unemployment were frequently cited as reasons for, or aggravating factors in, men's depressive symptoms. One-third to one-half of men in the four countries reported being ashamed to face their families because of lack of work or income.

The research, coordinated by UN Women and Promundo, also confirms international findings of the inter-generational cycle of violence: experiences of violence in childhood are associated with men's use of violence in adult life. Violence breeds violence in all four countries. Men who witnessed their fathers using violence against their mothers, and men who experienced some form of violence at home as children, were significantly more likely to report perpetrating intimate partner violence in their adult relationships.

On the positive side, there is also evidence for inter-generational cycles of care: although many traditional norms are reinforced at home, fathers can have a powerful role in breaking these norms. Fathers who encouraged daughters to take on non-traditional professions or to work outside the home, or who allowed daughters to choose their husbands, seemed to contribute to the emergence of more empowered women.

"There is a long way to go for men to fully accept and support equality for women in the Arab region, as in many parts of the world," says Gary Barker, President and CEO of Promundo and co-author of the study. "Across all four countries, we see that one of the biggest disrupters of gender inequality is when men take on more of the activities in the home typically defined as women's roles."

Indeed, the research points to some key pathways for equality, which are particularly notable around involved fatherhood: In all four countries, men whose fathers had participated in traditionally feminine household work and caregiving, as well as men who were taught to do this work as children, were far more likely to report contributing in this way within their own marriages.

Another factor associated with men's more equitable behaviours is women's work outside the home. In two of the countries, men whose wives worked outside the home were more likely to do more of the unpaid care work. In a region where only about a quarter of women work outside the home, this points to the potential dual impact of policies to increase women's paid work.

"For our work as UN Women, this report is incredibly important as a tool in our programming, in our lobbying and in our efforts to work with member states, civil society and communities. The results, though they may seem bleak when looking purely at numbers, do affirm that there are also true stories of champions, of men and women who believe strongly in gender equality. Indeed, this study is a seed, and its stories will grow into a tree of hope and humanity," says Mohammad Naciri, Regional Director for Arab States, UN Women.

As seen in this study and many others, men frequently dominate or control household decision-making, political and leadership spaces, and the daily lives of women and girls. This research offers a unique perspective on the state of male-female relations in the MENA region, it helps to better understand these dynamics, and to subsequently design and improve programmes and policies to address them.

For more information about the research findings:

http://www.imagesmena.org

#imagesmena

SOURCE Promundo-US and UN Women
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IRVINE, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Proove Biosciences, Inc. announces that its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Brian Meshkin, will speak at the 5th annual 10x Medical Device Conference which takes place in San Diego from May 1-3, 2017. This event is the annual in-person reunion for the Medical Devices Group. With more than 345,000 members, it is the world's largest medical device community.

On Wednesday morning, Brian Meshkin will speak about "Realizing Precision Medicine  Especially as it Relates to Pain Management." Having founded Proove over 7 years ago, Meshkin brings a unique perspective. While overcoming many challenges due to funding and growth, Meshkin has led Proove to become one of the fastest growing and successful technology companies in North America.

"It's an honor to be invited and to participate in this event which brings together so many leaders in the field of medical devices," explains Proove CEO Brian Meshkin.

Joe Hage, the leader of the Medical Devices Group, states, "The Medical Devices Group is the world's largest medical device community and the industry's only spam-free, curated forum for intelligent conversations with medical device thought leaders. I heard Brian speak at another event and was particularly impressed with his understanding of precision medicine, vision for the future, and ability to engage the audience. Precision medicine is an important trend impacting medical devices and there will be many entrepreneurs attending who can learn from the experiences faced by Brian and Proove. I was excited when Brian accepted our invitation."

About Proove Biosciences: Proove Biosciences is the leader in precision medicine for the condition that lies at the nexus of health  pain. Proove delivers precision medicine solutions for the nation's most prevalent and expensive health condition by investing heavily in research that has won awards from leading medical societies and been published in peer-reviewed journals. Discovered by NIH-funded scientists, Proove has translated into clinical practice the genetic variants and phenotypic factors contributing to pain sensitivity and chronic pain risk. Proove's medical advisory board is led by those NIH-funded researchers and the company has licensed some of its technology from leading academic centers, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Utah, and other institutions. Positioned as The Healthcare Decision Company, Proove's patented technology platform combines genetic, clinical, environmental and lifestyle information to help clinicians better evaluate pain sensitivity, assess risk for opioid use disorder, predict therapeutic response to pain medications, and assess drug metabolism for the many medications used in chronic pain patients. Based in Irvine, California, Proove has been recognized on the Inc. 500 and the Deloitte Technology Fast500 as one of the fastest growing companies in North America. For more information, please visit www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).

SOURCE Proove Biosciences, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.proove.com


WASHINGTON, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading independent proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is recommending investors support a Teamster-sponsored shareholder resolution calling for enhanced disclosure of XPO Logistics Inc.'s (NYSE:XPO) human capital management performance, among other sustainability practices.

ISS is also advising against XPO's advisory vote on executive pay (the so-called "Say-on-Pay" vote) due to a recent $20 million "mega-grant" to CEO Bradley Jacobs, a pay risk previously flagged by the Teamsters. Coupled with recent controversy over XPO's workplace practices, the recommendations raise the specter of a contentious annual shareholder meeting when investors meet May 10 at XPO's Greenwich, Conn. headquarters.

In supporting the Teamster's sustainability proposal, ISS wrote that such reporting allows shareholders to better evaluate the potential risks, liabilities and opportunities of XPO's practices and highlighted recent controversy over working conditions at an XPO warehouse operated on behalf of leading UK online clothing company, ASOS plc.

"Shareholders have every reason to be concerned about workplace practices, when the UK House of Commons' Business Committee calls your employment contracts 'exploitative' and demands a Parliamentary inquiry into working conditions at one of your facilities," Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall said.

In a detailed letter to investors, GST Hall also flagged the risks to long-term shareholder value from the company's business model of labeling drivers independent contractors while treating them like employees. The California Labor Commissioner has called worker misclassification a form of "wage theft" and recently awarded $855,000 to four port and rail drivers working for XPO due to alleged misclassification of the drivers as independent contractors.

"This could be the canary in the proverbial coal mine for XPO shareholders," Hall said, noting that numerous class action lawsuits were pending. "A sustainability report will allow investors to inspect what potential liabilities or risks to the current business model lie beneath the hood."

In recommending against the company's Say on Pay, ISS found a "high concern" for the alignment of pay and performance, noting that CEO Jacobs' compensation was more than three times that of his peers and had increased nearly 200 percent over the past year  driven largely by a $20 million "mega-grant" of equity in fiscal 2016. ISS said it was "unclear why the committee made an award of this magnitude," adding that it was "particularly concerning given that there is no commitment to refrain from making additional grants during the [four-year] measurement period."

"This feels like a crowning award for a CEO who still faces profound uncertainty over the underlying economics of his business model," Hall said. "The board risks overvaluing its executive team and undervaluing its workforce."

The Teamsters' sustainability resolution calls for the publication of an annual sustainability report that covers, among other things, the company's processes, practices and performance regarding human capital management and climate change.

XPO is one of the world's largest global third-party logistics companies, providing transportation and logistical services to 63 percent of Fortune 100 companies.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Ted Gotsch, (202) 624-6911

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


CHICAGO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago-based Radio Flyer is proud to announce its animated short film Taking Flight won a 2017 Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. The film was also nominated for Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program. Originally debuted in 2016, the film has received more than 20 awards and accolades from international and local film festivals.

Radio Flyer's Chief Wagon Officer, Robert Pasin, accepted the award and dedicated it to his grandfather who invented the iconic Little Red Wagon with the dream of bringing joy to every boy and every girl.

"My grandpa, Antonio, came to America from Italy in 1914 in search of a better life," said Pasin. "Thank you for teaching us that with persistence, imagination and love all dreams can take flight."

The film is inspired by generations of kids whose imaginations have taken flight with Radio Flyer. In the fictional tribute, what begins as a small boy's boring day with Grandpa turns into a larger-than-life journey of imaginative play. Through the power of imagination and an epic adventure, a boy learns to be a kid, a father learns to be a dad and a grandfather reminds us all what childhood is about.

Academy Award-winning director Brandon Oldenburg led the project with producers Robert Pasin and Lampton Enochs.

For more information about Radio Flyer's 100th anniversary, visit http://www.radioflyer.com/celebration.

About Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer, Inc., maker of the famous and beloved Little Red Wagon is the world's leading producer of wagons, tricycles, pre-school scooters and other ride-ons. Radio Flyer has more than 100 award-winning products available in 25 countries. Since 1917, the family-owned company has created icons of childhood, building a legacy of high quality, timeless and innovative toys that spark the imagination and inspire outdoor, active play. Radio Flyer wheels have carried, hauled and fueled more kids' play and adventures than any other ride on toy. Radio Flyer has received numerous awards, including "Best Places to Work" by Fortune, "Top Small Workplaces," by The Wall Street Journal and "5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America," by Inc. For more, information visit www.radioflyer.com.

Contact: Katie Ahern

312-929-0515

[email protected]

SOURCE Radio Flyer

Related Links

http://www.radioflyer.com


NOVI, Mich., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWED) -- a railroad track and bridge workers' union within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters -- is in the midst of a protracted battle with the largest railroads in this country over healthcare.

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:

Demonstrations on Wed., May 3, 2017

5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.

-- Proviso Yard, Northlake, IL

-- Homewood/Markham Yard, Homewood, IL

-- Calumet Yard, Chicago

-- Radnor Yard, Nashville

-- Davis Yard, Roseville, Calif.

Under the slogan "Healthcare Not Wealthcare," the union will take its message public at rallies across the country on May 3. BMWED railroad workers, vital to the cross-country infrastructure of American freight and passenger service, will stand together with allies to push back against the railroads' collective greed. All railroad crafts (with a combined membership of more than 150,000 rail employees) will be welcomed to the rallies.

This fight, which has been ongoing in collective bargaining for two years, epitomizes the systemic problems with the structure of American healthcare.

In 2012 the BMWED entered a National Agreement that provided the railroads $90 million in annual healthcare savings. The Union's proposal this time, which includes putting the networks out to competitive bid for the first time in 20 years, provides over $130 million in annual savings, most of which comes from the medical vendors - not the railroad workers' pockets. Ours is a true "mainstream" proposal that will reduce costs without creating financial hardship to rail workers.

Despite the fact that the BMWED has demonstrated at the bargaining table potential savings of over $100 million through tighter provider management, these highly profitable corporate giants balk. Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Southern Pacific, for example, have averaged almost $25 billion in revenues annually and have generated profits of $5 billion - a whopping 20% return for investors. And still they want more from their workers.

SOURCE Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes

Related Links

http://www.bmwe.org


Within BLACK, RBC has bundled five leading financial services technology providers into one simple, intuitive platform. Accessible through a single login, on most devices, BLACK is offered to RBC's clearing & custody clients with a strong desire to leverage the power of technology to enhance client relationships and grow their business.

BLACK represents a unique and expandable platform containing a full menu of wealth management solutions developed by the following industry leading financial technology partners:

CircleBlack  Client Account Aggregation and Portfolio Analytics

Redtail  Customer Relationship Management

Riskalyze  Risk Alignment

MoneyGuidePro  Financial Planning

Vestmark  Trading and Rebalancing

RBC  Clearing and Custody

"The BLACK platform truly addresses the needs of our independent broker dealers and registered investment advisor clients," said Brett Thorne, head of RBC Correspondent Services and RBC Advisor Services. "The world of financial services along with technology is rapidly changing. We wanted to build an exclusive advisor platform to help our firms and their advisors realize opportunities, gain efficiencies and thrive in this new environment."

Financial advisors who leverage BLACK will be able to deliver financial solutions with their clients' goals and values at the forefront. The integrated applications on BLACK allow advisors to streamline client interaction, while offering a wider array of capabilities.

About RBC Correspondent Services and RBC Advisor Services



RBC Correspondent Services is the third-largest clearing provider based on number of broker-dealer clients in the United States. The business specializes in providing comprehensive clearing, custody and execution services to independent broker dealers and their advisors who seek knowledgeable support, powerful trading tools and platforms, expanded investment choices, compelling advisor development programs and high quality proprietary research.

RBC Advisor Services is a full-service custody partner for RIA firms. RBC AS provides tailored access to a sophisticated wealth management and brokerage platform. Offering capabilities and solutions of an industry leader and providing personalized service and support in helping advisors manage their clients' wealth.

RBC Correspondent Services and RBC Advisor Services are divisions of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC, a wholly owned subsidiary of, and separate legal entity from, Royal Bank of Canada.

For more information, please visit www.rbccorrespondentservices.com or www.rbcadvisorservices.com.

SOURCE RBC Royal Bank

Related Links

http://www.rbc.com/


Filippa, who weighs 90 kilograms, is in excellent physical condition and has passed all the pre-release tests. She has been fitted with a GPS satellite tracking collar for post-release monitoring while she adjusts to life in the wild.

The Dichun Regional State Nature Sanctuary was specifically chosen for her release site following extensive research by the Federal Supervisory Natural Resources Management Service and IFAW.

In 2015, Filippa was found as an emaciated, orphaned tiger cub, her mother most likely killed by poachers. She was discovered by residents of Filippovka village in the Khasansky District near the border of the Land of the Leopard National Park, who gave her the name Filippa.

National park staff delivered Filippa to the PRNCO Tiger Center and she soon showed signs of improvement. Food and veterinary support of Filippa's rehabilitation was provided by the autonomous non-commercial organization "Amur Tiger Center." She is now fully rehabilitated into a clever and experienced hunter, ready for life in the wild.

"Rehabilitation of large carnivores is a multi-stage process. However, there are two key elements. The first most important stage is ensuring survival of the injured animal: in captivity, a wild animal experiences immense stress and discomfort. This work determines success of further rehabilitation and preparation for release. The second key element is the release itself. After a year and a half of being taken care of in captivity the tigers once again find themselves in new conditions  full freedom in the wild. First weeks after release are not easy as well. The young tigers need to learn to make independent decisions, choose their way and deal with dangers. Of course, during this time, we really worry for our "graduates," but knowing, how well Filippa learnt to deal with challenges we would like to believe that she will find her place in the wild," said Ekaterina Blidchenko, zoologist with the PRNCO Tiger Center.

"Seeing a rare wild animal return to the wild, one feels both glad and very anxious! We are happy to be involved in this important work and hope Filippa will have a long and healthy life in the wild," said Masha Vorontsova, Russia and CIS Regional Director at IFAW.

Continued monitoring of the released tiger will be implemented by the Department for Conservation and Management of Wildlife Resources of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast government.

About IFAW (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 social @action4ifaw and Facebook/IFAW.

SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare

Related Links

http://www.ifaw.org


HAMILTON, Bermuda, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM) announced today that Reid T. Campbell will become its Chief Financial Officer on May 17, 2017. Mr. Campbell has served as a Managing Director of White Mountains Capital, Inc. since January 2004 and as the President of White Mountains Advisors LLC since January 2015. He joined White Mountains in 1994 and has served in a variety of financial management positions. Prior to joining White Mountains, Mr. Campbell spent three years with KPMG LLP.

David T. Foy, White Mountains's current Chief Financial Officer, will remain an advisor to senior management through the end of 2017. Mr. Foy said, "It has been a great pleasure to serve White Mountains over the past 14 years, and I am pleased to have such a capable successor as Reid. I am confident he will be a great White Mountains CFO, and under Manning's leadership, I believe White Mountains has a bright future."

G. Manning Rountree, White Mountains's Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to announce Reid's promotion to CFO. We also want to thank David for his many important contributions during his 14 years with White Mountains, including his major contribution to the success of our Symetra investment."

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

White Mountains is a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol "WTM". Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at the Company's web site located at www.whitemountains.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or referenced in this press release which address activities, events or developments which White Mountains expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The words "will", "believe," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate," "predict" and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to White Mountains:

change in adjusted book value per share or return on equity;

business strategy;

financial and operating targets or plans;

incurred loss and loss adjustment expenses and the adequacy of its loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and related reinsurance;

projections of revenues, income (or loss), earnings (or loss) per share, dividends, market share or other financial forecasts;

expansion and growth of its business and operations; and

future capital expenditures.

These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by White Mountains in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to its expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including:

the risk that the Transaction may not be completed on the currently contemplated timeline;

the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the Transaction may not be satisfied or waived, including the failure to receive any required regulatory approvals from any applicable governmental entities (or any conditions, limitations or restrictions placed on such approvals);

the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement dated May 2, 2017 , among OneBeacon, Intact Financial Corporation and the other parties thereto (the "Merger Agreement"), including in circumstances which would require OneBeacon to pay a termination fee or other expenses;

the risks related to diverting management's attention from White Mountains's or OneBeacon's ongoing business operations and other risks related to the announcement or pendency of the Transaction, including on White Mountains's or OneBeacon's ability to retain and hire key personnel, their ability to maintain relationships with its customers, policyholders, brokers, service providers and others with whom they do business and their operating results and business generally;

the risk that shareholder litigation in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability;

the risks that are described from time to time in White Mountains's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to White Mountains's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 filed February 27, 2017;

claims arising from catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, fires, terrorist attacks or severe winter weather;

the continued availability of capital and financing;

general economic, market or business conditions;

business opportunities (or lack thereof) that may be presented to it and pursued;

competitive forces, including the conduct of other property and casualty insurers and reinsurers;

changes in domestic or foreign laws or regulations, or their interpretation, applicable to White Mountains, its competitors or its customers;

an economic downturn or other economic conditions adversely affecting its financial position;

recorded loss reserves subsequently proving to have been inadequate;

actions taken by ratings agencies from time to time, such as financial strength or credit ratings downgrades or placing ratings on negative watch; and

other factors, most of which are beyond White Mountains's control.

Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by White Mountains will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, White Mountains or its business or operations. White Mountains assumes no obligation to publicly update any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: Todd Pozefsky

Tel: (203) 458-5807

SOURCE White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.whitemountains.com


WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the 5th time, 26 cyclists will ride approximately 400 miles in four days to honor the 20 first-grade children and six educators killed at the Sandy Hook School and all victims of gun violence. "Team 26" is dedicated to raising awareness of the public health crisis of gun violence, and to support common sense measures to reduce it.

But, this year is different. In the previous four rides, the cyclists road to Washington from Newtown, Ct. This time, Team 26 will ride from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to Newtown, CT. They will leave the Capitol on May 4th and ride towards and through states that are actually working to reduce gun violence.

"Until members of Congress do their jobs and pass laws to make Americans safer, instead of offering thoughts and prayers for victims, we will ride with the Congress at our backs," said Team 26 Leader Monte Frank.

The riders will arrive in Newtown on May 7th for a Welcome Home Rally.

While Team 26 will be riding away from Congress, they will be sending a message that Congress remains complicit in the gun violence that continues to occur in the United States at rates that are unacceptable. Congress must act to prevent gun violence by passing common sense measures, including requiring a background check on all gun sales and limiting magazines to 10 rounds. The dangerous efforts to pass federally mandated concealed carry must be defeated. This legislation (S. 446 & H.R. 38) would allow potentially dangerous individuals to carry loaded, concealed guns in states that otherwise would have laws to prevent them from doing so.

Team 26 will be stopping for events at city halls and universities in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. Speakers will include federal and state lawmakers, mayors, activists, family members and survivors. Team 26 will be applauding their efforts to make our communities safer and standing with them in honoring those killed by gun violence (more than 130,000 people have been killed by gun violence since the Sandy Hook School shooting).

A large crowd is anticipated at the Welcome Home Rally at 5:30 p.m. on May 7th at Edmund Town Hall in Newtown. The event will include First Selectman E. Patricia Llodra (Host), Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, Team 26 leader Monte Frank, Sandy Hook families, Sandy Hook teachers  survivors, and other gun violence prevention activists.

For more information, please go to the team's website at www.team26.org, Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SandyHookRideOnWashington) and on Twitter @RideonTeam26.

Full Ride Schedule

Thursday, May 4 - Alexandria, VA to Baltimore - 70 miles

Alexandria Meet and Greet and departure - 7:30 am

SE Washington Meet and Greet

House Triangle at the U.S. Capitol in D.C.  10 am

Press Conference including:



Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (host)

(host)



Senator Richard Blumenthal





Senator Chris Murphy





Congressman John Larson





Congressman Jim Himes





Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro





Congressman Joe Courtney





Congressman Mike Thompson





Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton





Team 26 leader Monte Frank





Other Senators and Representatives



Leave Capitol at 11pm (cyclists, including members and staff, to join)

(cyclists, including members and staff, to join) College Park, MD  12 pm

 City Hall in Baltimore, MD  4 pm

Friday, May 5 - Baltimore to Plymouth Meeting, PA - 107 miles

University of Delaware  1 pm

 Senator David Sokola and Newark Mayor Polly Sierer , to ride the final mile and a half to the Perkins Student Center (325 Academy St, Newark, DE 19716).

Saturday, May 6 - Plymouth Meeting, PA to Morristown, NJ - 111 mile s

Philadelphia City Hall  9 am

City Hall  Trenton City Hall  1 pm

City Hall  Morristown Town Hall 6 pm

Sunday, May 7 - Morristown to Newtown - 111 miles

Morristown Town Hall Send Off - Local cyclists to join  8:30 am

Newtown, CT  Edmund Town Hall (45 Main Street)  5:30 pm

SOURCE Team 26

Related Links

http://www.team26.org


HOUSTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: WTTR), a leading provider of total water solutions to the U.S. unconventional oil and gas industry, today announced that it will release 2017 first quarter results on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 after the market closes. In conjunction with the release, Select Energy has scheduled a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. eastern time.

What: Select Energy Services 2017 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call



When: Wednesday, May 17, 2017  5:00 p.m. eastern / 4:00 p.m. central



How: Live via phone by dialing 201-389-0872 and asking for the Select Energy call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time, or live over the Internet by logging on to the web at the address below



Where: http://investors.selectenergyservices.com/events-and-presentations

A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through May 24, 2017 and may be accessed by calling 201-612-7415 using passcode 13661529#. A webcast archive will also be available at http://investors.selectenergyservices.com/events-and-presentations shortly after the call and will be accessible for approximately 90 days. For more information, please contact Donna Washburn at Dennard  Lascar Associates at 713-529-6600 or email [email protected].

Select Energy Services, Inc. is a leading provider of total water solutions to the U.S. unconventional oil and gas industry. Select provides for the sourcing and transfer of water (both by permanent pipeline and temporary pipe) prior to its use in the drilling and completion activities associated with hydraulic fracturing, as well as complementary water-related services that support oil and gas well completion and production activities including containment, monitoring, treatment, flowback, hauling and disposal. For more information, please visit http://selectenergyservices.com.

WTTR-PR

Contacts: Select Energy Services

Gary Gillette, CFO & SVP

Justin Briscoe, SVP, Business Development

(940) 668-0259

[email protected]





Dennard  Lascar Associates

Ken Dennard / Lisa Elliott

713-529-6600

[email protected]

SOURCE Select Energy Services, Inc.

Related Links

http://selectenergyservices.com


MILAN and NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Selerant (www.selerant.com) announces its recent hire of Lucio Pieroni, who joins the company as European and Asia-Pacific Professional Services Director.

"During my professional career, I have helped R&D and Quality teams improve their efficiency and contribution to their business. Joining Selerant adds a new important tool to my toolbox: a system which is specifically tailored to the needs of R&D, Quality and Regulatory. I am looking forward to helping Selerant clients maximize the benefits they can get out of DevEX and to amplify their voices to continuously tune the system to their needs," said Pieroni.

Pieroni brings more than 30 years of experience in food R&D and consulting with multi-national companies such as P&G, Mars and more recently, with consulting company Kalypso. He acted as Global Vice President of R&D and served as an executive board member at Mars Pet Food. In this position, he led the category's global R&D team and served as the corporate leader for best practices in innovation.

Mr. Pieroni begins his tenure this month. His responsibilities include growing Selerant's Professional Services team to expand the breadth of services offered and consistently improve upon the quality of those services. His expertise lies in the commercialization of successful products, organizational transformation, end-to-end cycle of innovation, and linking innovation and technology strategy to the business strategy.

CEO Carlo Colombo looks forward to having Pieroni on the team. "We welcome Lucio and look forward to leveraging his impressive R&D background to continue to improve the quality of service we provide Selerant customers," he said.

About Selerant

Founded in 1990, Selerant is a leading global provider of formula-based product lifecycle management (PLM) software and consulting services within three core manufacturing segments: Food & Beverages, Personal Care/Pharmaceutical and Specialty Chemicals. Selerant has offices in the United States, Italy, China, Germany, France, Switzerland, India, Serbia and Ukraine.

Selerant customers include:

Nestle

Barilla

Brown-Forman

Bacardi

McCormick

Welch's

Wrigley

Continental Mills

Contact:

Hollie Farrahi

Marketing Manager, Selerant

(646) 203-1604

[email protected]

This release was issued through The Xpress Press News Service, merging e-mail and satellite distribution technologies to reach business analysts and media outlets worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.XpressPress.com.

SOURCE Selerant

Related Links

http://www.selerant.com


TAMPA, Fla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven Seas Water, a division of AquaVenture Holdings Limited ("AquaVenture") (NYSE: WAAS), a leader in Water-as-a-Service (WAAS) solutions, today announced that Senior Vice President Fred Hung will present at the Financing Water Utilities of the Caribbean Conference held from May 3-5, 2017 at the Riu Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The presentation will focus on how to implement successful Public Private Partnerships.

"We value our Carribbean partners and are pleased to have this opportunity to discuss and promote the improvement of sustainable services and public private partnerships," said Fred Hung, Senior Vice President of Seven Seas Water.

About the conference:

The objective of the Conference is to share best practices and lessons learned among water utilities of the Caribbean, United States, and Latin American countries on access to public and private sources of capital for utility improvement and infrastructure projects. In general, the Conference will present a situational analysis of the water utilities of the Caribbean, provide for benchmarking against a model utility of the wider region and defining action plans towards attaining selected characteristics of such a model utility, and identify financing options to achieve a goal of financial and operational self-sufficiency of water utilities.

About AquaVenture:

AquaVenture is a multinational provider of WAAS solutions that provide customers a reliable and cost-effective source of clean drinking and process water primarily under long-term contracts that minimize capital investment by the customer. AquaVenture is composed of two operating platforms: Quench, a U.S.-based provider of Point-of-Use, or POU, filtered water systems and related services to approximately 40,000 institutional and commercial customers; and Seven Seas Water, a multinational provider of desalination and wastewater treatment solutions, providing 7 billion gallons of potable, high purity industrial grade and ultra-pure water per year to governmental, municipal, industrial and hospitality customers.

Investor Contact:

[email protected]

855-278-WAAS

SOURCE AquaVenture Holdings Limited

Related Links

http://www.aquaventure.com


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of KBR, Inc. ("KBR" or the "Company") (NYSE: KBR). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether KBR and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On April 28, 2017, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it had opened an investigation into "the activities of KBR's UK subsidiaries, their officers, employees and agents for suspected offences of bribery and corruption."

On this news, KBR's share price fell $1.43, or 9.24%, to close at $14.05 on April 28, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

http://www.pomerantzlaw.com


"Sometimes, we don't appreciate something until it's gone, and that applies to color as well," said Ellen Moreau, senior vice president, marketing communications at Sherwin-Williams. "For several years now, Sherwin-Williams has been celebrating the benefit of a fresh coat of paint with National Painting Week. This year, we're inviting our fans to get involved in a new way, and for a good cause, as we illustrate the role color plays in our communities, homes and everyday lives."

How it works

Visitors to DonateYourColor.com will have three options for donating: giving the color from a photo that can be easily shared on their social media channels; searching the internet in black and white with a Chrome browser extension; or, turning a personal website into black and white with an easy-to-use application. Depending on the option a user chooses, Sherwin-Williams will donate between 500 and 5,000 square feet of paint.

Participants who donate will be in good company, joining DIY influencers Vintage Revivals, Curbly, City Farmhouse and Thistlewood Farms, plus Apartment Therapy, Brit+Co and many others who are donating their color from website home pages, social media sites and more.

In addition, as part of National Painting Week, an annual celebration of protecting and beautifying the things and places we love, Sherwin-Williams employees will volunteer their time and expertise to revitalize spaces throughout the U.S. and Canada. Sherwin-Williams will also be sharing findings from proprietary research on color preferences, expert advice from Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing Sue Wadden, and key insights from color psychologist, Dr. Sally Augustin.

To get involved or for more information on how to donate your color, visit DonateYourColor.com. For more information on Sherwin-Williams products and services, or National Painting Week, visit: NationalPaintingWeek.com.

Ask Sherwin-Williams

For more than 150 years, Sherwin-Williams has been an industry leader in the development of technologically advanced paint and coatings. As the nation's largest specialty retailer of paint and painting supplies, Sherwin-Williams is dedicated to supporting both do-it-yourselfers and painting professionals with exceptional and exclusive products, resources to make confident color selections and expert, personalized service at its more than 4,200 neighborhood stores across North America. For more information, visit sherwin-williams.com. Join Sherwin-Williams on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Contact

[email protected]

Kirsten de St. Aubin

612-375-8539

[email protected]

SOURCE Sherwin-Williams

Related Links

http://www.sherwin-williams.com


CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Steel mills face complex challenges in manufacturing where process fluids can optimize operations. Quaker Chemical Corporation (NYSE:KWR, "Quaker"), a longstanding supplier of steel fluids, offers integrated process solutions ranging from cleaners, rolling oils, corrosion preventives, temper fluids, and surface treatment, which will be featured at AISTech 2017 - the Steel industry's premier technology event.

Furthermore, for many mills, the threat of fire is very real. Hydraulic systems operating under high pressure can ignite through sudden line ruptures or by coming into contact with a high temperature ignition source. These occurrences can dramatically impact production. At the same time, in some processes, the less obvious factors can affect productivity. Corrosion and washout caused by water contamination and ingress lead to frequent maintenance needs and possibly, equipment failure.

Quaker addresses these challenges with QUINTOLUBRIC 702-46 RD, a water glycol based fire-resistant hydraulic fluid, and QUAKERTEK BGG, a water-resistant lithium complex grease.

Designed to provide optimum performance in hydraulic systems where fire-resistant fluids are required, QUINTOLUBRIC 702-46 RD features:

FM (Factory Mutual) Approval

Superior liquid and vapor phase corrosion protection when compared to competitive products

Excellent stability with a high viscosity index

Formulated for use in areas where water-resistance is a primary concern, QUAKERTEK BGG grease:

Seals out water and contaminants

Provides long-term lubrication and corrosion protection where constant water exposure is common

Performs well in high temperature applications due to its dropping point of > 500F (260C)

Quaker's entire steel portfolio, (https://www.quakerchem.com/expert-experience/industry-expertise/steel ), will be at AISTech 2017 - Booth 1503 (https://www.quakerchem.com/aistech-2017) from May 8 to 10 at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Technical experts from Quaker will presenting papers during the conference sessions:

"Friction & Microsurface in Steel Cold Rolling Investigated in Pilot Mill Trials," by Bas Smeulders , Research Scientist, on Monday, May 8 at 3:30 pm

by , Research Scientist, on at "Examples of How Fire-Resistant Grease Improved Work Safety and Reduced Fire Hazards in Steel Plants" by Tim Mattern , Global Business Development ManagerGrease, on Tuesday, May 9 at 11:00 am

With a complete range of integrated process fluids and a commitment to customer service to troubleshoot issues, Quaker strives to meet the steel industry's demand for greater efficiency, improved working conditions, and reduced total cost.

About Quaker Chemical Corporation:

Quaker Chemical is a leading global provider of process fluids, chemical specialties, and technical expertise to a wide range of industries, including steel, aluminum, automotive, mining, aerospace, tube and pipe, cans, and others. For nearly 100 years, Quaker has helped customers around the world achieve production efficiency, improve product quality, and lower costs through a combination of innovative technology, process knowledge, and customized services. Headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania USA, Quaker serves businesses worldwide with a network of dedicated and experienced professionals whose mission is to make a difference. Visit quakerchem.com to learn more.

SOURCE Quaker Chemical Corporation

Related Links

http://www.quakerchem.com


CHICAGO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sigenics, Inc. has received a $1M award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop electronics technology that is key to a brain-based visual prosthesis system. The Sigenics award is part of an $11.8 million grant to Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) funded by the White House BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies). The project's goal is to test an artificial vision system that may provide visual perception to people with blindness.

The intracortical visual prosthesis (ICVP) system will translate images, captured by a glasses-mounted camera, into patterns of electrical stimulation and wirelessly deliver them to the visual cortex of the brain. A group of miniature 16-channel implantable stimulator modules, called wireless-floating-microelectrode-arrays (WFMA), that use Sigenics-designed wireless electronic chips will deliver the patterned electrical stimulation to the user's brain through ultraminiature needle-like electrodes; about five of the electrode tips could be placed at the end of a human hair. Sigenics has also developed the non-implanted hardware that will process the camera image and prepare it for communication with the brain.

Mr. Glenn DeMichele and Dr. Douglas Kerns, Sigenics' Director of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer respectively, have been working with IIT for over 20 years toward the clinical deployment of this technology. Sigenics' CEO, Dr. Philip Troyk, is a professor of biomedical engineering at IIT, and is principal investigator for the NIH project.

"This innovative project is the beginning of a bright future, where technology is applied in novel ways to treat disability and disease," said DeMichele. "Our company is very excited and honored to be part of the exceptional team doing this pioneering work."

The ICVP project is supported by the National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UG3NS09555. The content here is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

For more information about the ICVP project please call: (312) 567-5304.

ABOUT SIGENICS, INC.: Sigenics is a privately-held fabless semiconductor company based in Chicago, IL. With 17 years of experience in developing and delivering "private label" custom integrated electronic circuits, Sigenics offers design, engineering, and manufacturing services for Medical, Military/Aerospace and Industrial applications. www.sigenics.com

CONTACT:

Samuel Smith

Sales/Marketing Coordinator

[email protected]

312-448-8000 x235

SOURCE Sigenics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sigenics.com


TAMPA, Fla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SiteZeus, a leading location intelligence platform aimed at optimizing business decisions, was honored as the recipient of two bronze Stevie Awards for the 15th Annual American Business Awards today, for "Best Software Product of the Year" and "Tech Startup of the Year."

The American Business Awards, which sponsor the Stevie Awards, are the nation's premier business awards program. Organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations  public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.

Founded in 2002 in an effort to increase both consumer and investor trust in businesses, the awards will be presented to winners at a gala ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on Tuesday, June 20.

More than 3,600 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories. SiteZeus was nominated in both the Tech Startup of the Year- Software and Best Product or Service of the Year- Software- Data Visualization Technology categories, and received the bronze title for both nominations.

The win comes at an exciting time for SiteZeus, as more and more diverse brands are discovering what the artificial intelligence platform has in store for their business.

"We are incredibly proud to have received these honorsand humbled, as well, to share this accomplishment with other impressive and innovative businesses. The SiteZeus team continues to strive to make our platform not just appealing, but vital to business owners everywhere. We hope these awards are meaningful to our clients, both current and potential," Hannibal Baldwin, CEO and Co-Founder of SiteZeus, said.

"Very good product and excellent support material...The integration of the 3rd party data providers in the Olympus Data Exchange seems very expansive and powerful," a judge of the contest said about SiteZeus. "The nomination shows lots of innovation in the development of the platform. Lots of potential for this startup."

More than 190 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year's Stevie Award winners.

"Each year the judges find the quality and variety of the nominations to be greater than the year before. The 2017 competition was intense and every organization that has won should be proud," Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards, said.

Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2017 Stevie winners are available at www.stevieawards.com/ABA.

About SiteZeus

SiteZeus is the leading SaaS cloud-based location intelligence technology platform available, building higher intelligence around location based decisions by pioneering the use of firsthand machine learning and artificial intelligence. Combining your expertise, the power of big data, and a data agnostic database architecture, with a truly unique and interactive user experience, SiteZeus allows individuals and organizations to mitigate risk, discover efficiencies, and interpret actionable insight from technology that analyzes more data points than humanly possible. For more information, visit www.sitezeus.com.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

SOURCE SiteZeus

Related Links

http://www.sitezeus.com


NASHUA, N.H., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SnoopWall, Inc., the global leader in breach prevention, on the heels of recently announcing a partnership with Assurant to launch Cyber Breach Prevention protections in the Small to Medium Size Enterprise (SME) markets, says its CEO, Gary Miliefsky, a world-renowned cyber security expert and frequent speaker on international media outlets including SKY NEWS, FOX NEWS, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, CTV and many more (with his bio available online at http://www.garymiliefsky.com and http://www.snoopwall.com/media), will be keynoting the exclusive AON Benfield Ignition Forum 2017 in Chicago, Ill., on May 3, 2017.

CEO of SnoopWall, Inc.

The AON Benfield Ignition Forum 2017 is an invitation-only exclusive event for MGAs and Carriers with a spotlight on an industry in transition.

"With great risk, properly navigated, comes great reward. There is a huge opportunity for the Insurance Industry to drive strong security by design in the cyber environments they are insuring because they have tremendous untapped leverage on the manufacturers of smart computing equipment. I'll share the upcoming threats against Internet of Things (IoT) and smartdevices including autonomous cars. In addition, during my keynote, I will explain what the Insurance industry needs to do to consistently manage and measure cyber risks when binding cyber insurance policies," said Gary S. Miliefsky, CEO of SnoopWall, Inc.

About Gary Miliefsky

Gary is the CEO of SnoopWall, Inc. and a co-inventor of the company's innovative breach prevention technologies. He is a cyber-security expert and a frequently invited guest on national and international media, commenting on mobile privacy, cyber security, cyber crime and cyber terrorism, also covered in both Forbes and Fortune Magazines. He has been extremely active in the INFOSEC arena, he is an active member of Phi Beta Cyber Society (http://cybersecurityventures.com/phi-beta-cyber/), an organization dedicated to helping high school students become cyber security professionals and ethical hackers. He founded and remains the Executive Producer of Cyber Defense Magazine. Miliefsky is a Founding Member of the US Department of Homeland Security (http://www.DHS.gov), the National Information Security Group (http://www.NAISG.org) and the OVAL advisory board of MITRE responsible for the CVE Program (http://CVE.mitre.org). He also assisted the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), which operates within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in their development of The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, as well as the Center for the Study of Counter-Terrorism and Cyber Crime at Norwich University. Previously, Gary has been founder and/or inventor for technologies and corporations sold and licensed to Hexis Cyber, Intel/McAfee, IBM, Computer Associates and BlackBox Corporation. Gary is a member of ISC2.org and is a CISSP. Learn more about him at http://www.snoopwall.com/media and http://www.garymiliefsky.com/

About SnoopWall

SnoopWall is the world's first breach prevention security company delivering a suite of network, mobile and app security products as well as cloud-based services protecting all computing devices from prying eyes and new threats through patented counterveillance cloaking technology. SnoopWall secures mission critical and highly valuable confidential information behind firewalls with our award-winning patented NetSHIELD appliances and with WinSHIELD on windows and MobileSHIELD on Google Android and Apple iOS mobile devices with next generation technology that detects and blocks all remote control, eavesdropping and spying, based on the patented AppSHIELD SDK. SnoopWall's software products and hardware appliances are all proudly made in the U.S.A. Visit us at http://www.snoopwall.com and follow us on Twitter: @SnoopWallSecure.

Media Contact:

Brittany Thomas

News & Experts

Tel: 727-443-7115 Ext: 221

[email protected]

Related Links

SnoopWall Media Page

Assurant Partnership

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE SnoopWall, Inc.
In addition to the savings being passed to the consumer, Soupure is now able to ship to many of the regions in the northeast US from parts of NY through Maine down to Maryland with one day delivery. View shipping rates by state here.

Considered the authority in the soup industry, Soupure aims to redefine the way people eat today by bringing together functional foods with convenience. The whole food based product line includes soup cleanses, drinkable soups, bone and vegetarian broths and infused alkalized waters.

"Soupure started as an e-commerce business serving greater Los Angeles. The recipes were created through a collaboration of medical experts and culinary artists. Each soup was formulated to provide a layered taste profile with enhanced super foods to develop a new experience with soup as drinkable functional food on the go. It was a big milestone in 2016 to scale our business with nationwide direct to consumer shipping. It is a great thrill to now reach a further key milestone in our e-commerce business where we can deliver our fresh products nationwide with speed and cost efficiencies," said Jesse Langley, CEO of Soupure.

About Soupure

Initially developed to combat the top ten most common ailments seen by doctors today, Soupure's all natural and organic products are free of GMOs, dairy and preservatives. The portable packaging makes it easy for today's active consumer to enjoy as a snack, addition to a meal or as the meal itself. Angela Blatteis and Vivienne Vella, the Co-Founders of Soupure, authored the first soup cleanse cookbook, "The Soup Cleanse", which is now published around the world and attributed to starting the soup cleanse trend. For more information on Soupure visit www.Soupure.com. #SoupingIsTheNewJuicing

SOURCE Soupure

Related Links

http://www.Soupure.com


DELRAY BEACH, Fla., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Sperling Prostate Center is pleased to announce its participation as a new study site for a clinical study of MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for the focal treatment of localized low and intermediate risk prostate lesions. They are now recruiting patients.

The Sperling Prostate Center is a diagnosis and treatment center with locations in Florida and New York City. The Center is headed by Dan Sperling, M.D., D.A.B.R., a renowned expert in the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate lesions.

"We are excited to join this study to evaluate MR-guided focused ultrasound as a non-invasive and non-radiation treatment option for prostate cancer patients who may currently be on watchful waiting or active surveillance," states Dr. Sperling.

The multi-center FDA-approved clinical study (NCT01657942) is sponsored by INSIGHTEC, the developer and manufacturer of the Exablate Prostate system.

The Exablate Prostate system is based on INSIGHTEC's proven MRI-guided focused ultrasound technology which received its CE mark in December 2016. It uses focused ultrasound waves to precisely ablate (destroy) the identified prostate lesion. The treatment is done under MRI for visualization of the patient's anatomy as well as real-time temperature monitoring. The treatment does not require incisions and is performed in a single session, allowing patients to quickly return to normal activity.

Men who are interested in participating in the clinical trial should call Malissa Owen at the Sperling Prostate Center, (561) 300-1363, for evaluation of suitability.

About Sperling Prostate Center

Sperling Prostate Center is a global leader in advanced 3T MRI-based detection, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer tumors. The Center is located at 4205 W. Atlantic Ave, Bldg. D, Delray Beach, FL 33445. Learn more at www.sperlingprostatecenter.com.

SOURCE Sperling Prostate Center

Related Links

http://www.sperlingprostatecenter.com


"Leadership is more than leading other people  it's about leading yourself, which can be a challenging journey. That's why you need to figure out what you believe in, what you're passionate about, what you're enthusiastic about, what you're energized about," he said. "And what I look forward to sharing with you at future events are ways you can put yourself in a position of strength so you have the freedom to pursue the things you want to pursue and create the future you want."

Jasmyn Allen, a student at MOT Charter High School who participated in the first event, attended the dinner with her father, her principal, and several of her fellow students. "I loved being at the event in November! The speakers talked about concepts I had never really thought about before," she said. "It changed my mindset and the way I view my role in my future. I'm excited to attend more events like this because I want to see other people learn something like I did and feel inspired to do more for themselves and others."

Elaine Elston, the Principal of MOT Charter High School, recognized Allen as someone who has experienced incremental changes during her high school career, rising above and unifying her fellow students. "I have a lot of faith in what kids can do, and I don't think there are enough programs like this that also think kids can do great things."

"That's why the Siegfried Leadership Program is so great for students," she continued. "With this program, Rob [Siegfried] is lifting the veil of mystery for these kids. To hear that if you focus on having the right mindset and then put in a rhythmic effort, you could really do anything is powerful. And to hear it from someone who isn't your parent is even better. Rob's giving them the information to help them see a successful future, and he's also exposing them to new experiences that will build their leadership and business skills now."

Siegfried Leadership Program

This impactful program provides an impetus for students in grades 8 through 12 to strengthen their individual leadership during a half-day event that features a series of inspiring talks, group sessions, and sharing of insights. Siegfried Leadership Program is a collaborative effort between Siegfried, Junior Achievement of Delaware, and the University of Delaware's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship.

Upcoming Events

On May 10, 2017, Siegfried Leadership Program will host a leadership development event for young adults in grades 8 through 12 at Clayton Hall on the University of Delaware's campus in Newark, DE. Speakers include Rob Siegfried and David Edward Garcia, a motivational youth speaker and comedian who believes that individual leadership stems from utilizing strengths, having a positive mindset, and perseverance.

Another event will be held on October 4, 2017.

For more information about the program and its upcoming events, please visit SiegfriedLeadershipProgram.com.

About The Siegfried Group, LLP

The Siegfried Group, LLP (Siegfried) works alongside financial executives across the nation, on their most important accounting and finance projects. Filled with an innovative spirit and led by an ambitious entrepreneur, Siegfried provides unique Leadership Advisory combined with high potential talent. At the heart of our Firm is our approach to individual leadership and the continual pursuit of helping people grow both personally and professionally. As a whole, we value being fair, having fun, and fostering stakeholder value. For more information about Siegfried, please visit siegfriedgroup.com.

Contact:

Karen S. Campbell

(408) 209-2545

[email protected]

SOURCE The Siegfried Group, LLP

Related Links

http://www.siegfriedgroup.com


DALLAS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TeamSupport, a top business to business (B2B) help desk and customer support software company, today announced the launch of a major enhancement to their built-in customer chat functionality. Containing several advanced features, the update simplifies and modernizes chat support with new in-chat webcam, audio, screen share, image pasting, and file attachment functionality. The update also provides a direct link to TeamSupport's built-in Knowledge Base to make finding answers even easier.

"Live chat is an extremely popular and growing channel for customer support," says TeamSupport CEO Robert C. Johnson. "Customers prefer chat because it's fast, easy, and eliminates waiting on hold for phone support or waiting for email replies. Support teams like chat because simple questions can be answered quickly and efficiently in real-time."

TeamSupport's chat feature has always been integrated directly within the system for ease of use and issue tracking purposes, but these recent improvements make the feature one of the best in the customer support industry.

These improvements include two visual support tools that give users the option to use TeamSupport's ScreenView and VideoView functionality directly within a live customer chat, making it easier for customers to explain complicated issues and for agents to communicate detailed solutions. Instead of typing out long exchanges to describe problems and convey solutions, chat participants can simply share their screen or webcam to resolve software/hardware issues or conduct product training sessions in real-time. This feature is perfect for the many B2B support situations in which showing is better than telling, saving time for agents and customers alike. Video chat also allows a more personal touch to customer support interactions, which can be great for training and onboarding purposes. Audio chat provides the capability for "live" conversations when video is not needed.

The update includes an Inline Image Paste capability that allows users to insert images directly in chat conversations with ease using either drag-and-drop or cut and paste functionality. This makes it possible for agents and customers to quickly share photos, schematics, training material and other images for problem resolution or training. Drag-and-drop File Attachment functionality makes it incredibly simple to share files during live chat sessions.

Finally, the new chat interface is powered by the TeamSupport Knowledge Base (KB) and enables agents to deliver faster and more efficient customer support. Agents can now search for related tickets or KB articles while in an active chat, enabling them to tap into the Knowledge Base for speedy resolution - all without ever leaving the chat window.

"According to industry experts the chat industry is projected to continue its accelerated growth rate through 2020," says Johnson. "This industry trend, along with customer feedback, led us to rethink our customer chat functionality. A picture, shared video, audio, or file can eliminate the need for support agents and customers to type thousands of words. And in-chat access to the TeamSupport Knowledge Base makes finding answers faster and easier than ever before."

Like most TeamSupport innovations, the new chat features were inspired by customer feedback. Use cases for the new features include virtually any B2B chat support scenario. Software support agents can now walk customers through on-screen steps in real-time using the live chat screen share feature. Manufacturers can help customers set up equipment or physically show product features and settings with live video and audio. Likewise, customers and users can provide detailed descriptions of their questions and issues to speed up the resolution process.

TeamSupport is focused on providing advanced customer support solutions for B2B organizations, delivering tools that help companies provide faster, more efficient customer support to resolve issues and manage the overall customer relationship through collaboration and customer visibility. The rollout of these new features improves the live chat support process and provides agents and customers with powerful new tools to solve problems and communicate vital information. To find out more, please visit www.teamsupport.com.

About TeamSupport

TeamSupport, based in Dallas, Texas, is an online help desk and customer support software built specifically for business to business support. Built by a team of veteran software company executives, TeamSupport has won many industry awards, including being ranked on CRM Magazine's elite list of Rising Stars recognizing the industry's most innovative and growing CRM-related software solutions. Learn more about why TeamSupport is one of the best help desk software solutions today and the trusted customer support software provider to prominent business clients worldwide by visiting www.TeamSupport.com.

SOURCE TeamSupport

Related Links

http://www.teamsupport.com


"I am grateful for the opportunity to have served the company and its employee owners as CEO since 2004 and look forward to continuing to contribute to the company's success," said Collins. "I am excited about the company under Al's leadership. I had high expectations of Al when he joined the company as President in 2013. Based on his performance here and his very successful track record leading organizations significantly larger than Technomics, he is the right executive to lead the company."

As President since 2013, Leung has led the company's business operations and strategic growth initiatives as well as the core support functions of business development, marketing, and technology. Under his leadership, the company has continued its impressive run of 17 consecutive years of both revenue and income growth. In addition to expanding its existing core business with the Department of Defense, Technomics has continued to diversify and increase the non-Defense segments of its portfolio with clients such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy.

"It is a privilege to be following Rick's footsteps. Rick's formula for success was simplehire great people, grow and develop our employees with direct feedback, and focus on delivering work we are great at doing. I will use this same approach to deliver the next 17 years of consecutive top line and bottom line growth. This is an interesting time for our clients. Their problems are only getting more complex. This is a great opportunity for us to leverage our extensive experience to help our clients transition from understanding cost drivers to actively managing them."

Leung's career spans 25 years in the consulting services, technology, and cost estimation industries. Before joining Technomics, he was a Vice President and Partner in IBM Global Business Services where he had positions leading the Hong Kong business line, the Industrial Sector across the Asia Pacific region, the US Defense Industry account, and the Supply Chain Practice. Prior to his time at IBM, Leung was an associate partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He started his career as a civilian at the Naval Center for Cost Analysis.

About Technomics

Technomics is an employee-owned consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping our clients make better decisions faster. Our staff of multi-disciplined, quantitatively-oriented decision analysts deliver a variety of analytics-based service offerings that meet our clients' varied needs. Excellence in cost estimating and cost analysis forms the center of our services offerings. Our team of engineers, mathematicians, statisticians, and other quantitative professionals apply decades of data analytics and visualization experience to ensure client success.

SOURCE Technomics, Inc.

Related Links

http://technomics.net


SAN ANTONIO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Almost 20 years since its last update, Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), the agency providing organ donation and recovery services for families in Central and South Texas, is unveiling a modern look in its new corporate logo, website and domain.

TOSA CEO Joseph Nespral said the move to update the company's image will help the non-profit organization as it strives to inspire individuals to save lives and sign up as organ donors.

"This new logo reflects who we are as a company today," Nespral said. "We're excited to have this innovative branding as we move forward in a new phase of our organization."

The updated logo prominently features a heart to represent warmth, life and generosity, and evokes characteristics of TOSA's staff and lifesaving work. The heart, which also includes a nearly-complete infinity symbol, represents the continuation of life via organ donation. Likewise, the infinity symbol can also be viewed as the number 8, which are the number of lives a single organ donor can save. The colors used in the new logo, a blue-to-red gradiation, reflect that through donation, death turns into new life. The branding was developed by Reddoor Creative of Boerne.

The last time TOSA updated its logo was in 1997 when the organization changed its name from South Texas Organ Bank to Texas Organ Sharing Alliance.

The website at the new domain, www.TOSA1.org, will provide a clean, user-friendly design complete with facts about donation, as well as information to assist donor families and community members interested in joining the Donate Life mission.

"As we educate our community on the urgent need for more organ donors, we want to provide the public easy access to our website and lifesaving information," Nespral said.

Headquartered in San Antonio, TOSA has satellite offices in Austin and McAllen. The company and its staff have consistently been recognized as a Top Workplace by San Antonio Express-News.

Texans are encouraged to register online at DonateLifeTexas.org or at Texas Department of Public Safety or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. For information on organ donation and community initiatives, contact TOSA at 866-685-0277 or visit TOSA1.org.

CONTACT: Michelle Segovia, 1-512-4594848, [email protected]

SOURCE Texas Organ Sharing Alliance

Related Links

http://www.TOSA1.org


SAN JOSE, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Thales, a leader in critical information systems, cybersecurity and data security, announces its e-Security business has joined the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), the world's leading organization, transforming business and society by accelerating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). As a member of the IIC, Thales will collaborate with industry leaders on global initiatives for IIoT security, particularly in the realm of data protection and device security.

The IIC facilitates the continued development of a trustworthy IIoT environment. The organization's commitment seamlessly aligns with Thales's overall mission of providing companies with security and trust in their data, in any environment, while maintaining business agility. In the IoT space, solutions such as Thales's digital birth certificate, code signing and transparent encryption solutions empower organizations to manage device security and protect data efficiently. Thales's cryptographic expertise is well-established and respected, especially in relation to delivering security at the point of manufacture; enterprises including Samsung, Polycom and Microsemi currently deploy IoT offerings from Thales.

Digital birth certificates  based on keys generated within the certified secure confines of Thales's tamper-resistant nShield HSMs and implanted into devices at the point of manufacture  authenticate devices as well as help manage their security configuration on an ongoing basis. Thales's code signing solution, built on its nShield HSM, helps ensure authenticity and integrity of firmware updates, providing important protection against the introduction of malware into IoT devices. The Vormetric Data Security Platform's Transparent Encryption offering further strengthens Thales's IoT solution set by seamlessly protecting data-at-rest across the wide range of platforms and environments in the IoT.

John Grimm, Senior Director of Security Strategy, Thales e-Security says:

"Thales has been delivering secure, high-assurance cryptography for device security and data protection for many years  well before the technology became part of the IoT security dialogue. We're looking forward to participating in the IIC  to work with member companies to develop secure and interoperable ecosystems, and to help deliver robust technologies to fuel innovative digital transformation across a wide variety of industries. While the IoT is still fairly nascent, the same is not true of our technology. Manufacturers continue to choose Thales as a cornerstone of their device security and data protection strategies."

Dr. Richard Soley, Executive Director, Industrial Internet Consortium, says:

"As device security and data protection are top of mind for many companies, we are thrilled to have Thales as a member of the IIC, working alongside our members to develop secure, interoperable IIoT solutions across a wide number of industries."

About Thales e-Security

Thales e-Security is the leader in advanced data security solutions and services that deliver trust wherever information is created, shared or stored. We ensure that the data belonging to companies and government entities is both secure and trusted in any environment  on-premise, in the cloud, in data centers or big data environments  without sacrificing business agility. Security doesn't just reduce risk, it's an enabler of the digital initiatives that now permeate our daily lives  digital money, e-identities, healthcare, connected cars and, with the internet of things (IoT), even household devices. Thales provides everything an organization needs to protect and manage its data, identities and intellectual property, and meet regulatory compliance  through encryption, advanced key management, tokenization, privileged-user control and high-assurance solutions. Security professionals around the globe rely on Thales to confidently accelerate their organization's digital transformation. Thales e-Security is part of Thales Group.

Industry insight and views on the latest key management trends can be found on the Thales e-Security blog at blog.thalesesecurity.com.

Follow Thales e-Security on Twitter @Thalesesecurity, and on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

About Thales

Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets. With 64,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of 14.9 billion in 2016. With over 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design and deploy equipment, systems and services to meet the most complex security requirements. Its exceptional international footprint allows it to work closely with its customers all over the world.

Positioned as a value-added systems integrator, equipment supplier and service provider, Thales is one of Europe's leading players in the security market. The Group's security teams work with government agencies, local authorities and enterprise customers to develop and deploy integrated, resilient solutions to protect citizens, sensitive data and critical infrastructure.

Thales offers world-class cryptographic capabilities and is a global leader in cybersecurity solutions for defence, government, critical infrastructure providers, telecom companies, industry and the financial services sector. With a value proposition addressing the entire data security chain, Thales offers a comprehensive range of services and solutions ranging from security consulting, data protection, digital trust management and design, development, integration, certification and security maintenance of cybersecured systems, to cyberthreat management, intrusion detection and security supervision through cybersecurity Operation Centres in France, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Hong Kong.

SOURCE Thales

Related Links

http://www.thalesesec.com


The first meeting of the EEC Development Policy Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha, agreed on the establishment of the "eastern aviation city," or "Aeropolis," in the vicinity of U-Tapao International Airport to help promote the EEC. There will be the development of three business groups in the future including Sattahip Commercial Port, a Specialized Medical Center, and defense technology. The meeting also agreed to have the State Railway of Thailand conduct the feasibility study on the development of high-speed train system linking Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang & U-Tapao airports, to maximize the benefits of the "Aeropolis" to the country. The Policy Committee also endorsed the development plan for the Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECI) under the Ministry of Science and Technology in Wang Chan Valley and Rayong province and the Eastern Digital Innovation Park under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society in Sri Racha, Chonburi.

In this occasion, Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth led a group of Thai and international media representatives to visit the new face of U-Tapao International Airport, which showcased the country's capability to become the aviation hub of the region. Developed under the "One Airport, Two Missions" concept, U-Tapao International Airport was initially built for national security purpose but later expanded its capability to serve commercial aviation services. The group later visited the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Center located at the airport.

Aviation is among nine target industries being promoted in the three provinces in EEC area, in which key focuses are those involving high technology and extensive research and development, and crucial to the development of the country's infrastructure and logistics, and promotion of tourism destinations in the areas. Other target industries are Next-Generation Automotive, Smart Electronics, Eco-friendly Petrochemicals and Bio-Chemicals, Automation and Robotics, Medical Hub, Affluent, Medical & Wellness Tourism, Food for the Future and Digital industries.

Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth said that, "The Thai government is keen to offer a full support to international investors in these target industries who strive to achieve sustainable development goals, bring a better quality of life to the local community and provide continuing opportunities for local SMEs. We have qualified workforce in the market, as well as utilized best efforts in mitigating investment obstacles and offering attractive privileges and incentives. Most importantly, the EEC Scheme, which was developed for constant and sustainable development, has now been approved by the Council of State and in the process of seeking the Cabinet's approval."

On the same day, the Prime Minister also met with 21 top business leaders in relevant organizations and industries including Amata Corporation Public Company Limited, The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), PTT Global Chemical Company Limited, Senior Aerospace (Thailand) Limited, BMW etc.

Amata affirmed the EEC development supported both local and international investment to align with Thailand 4.0 roadmap, through the recent collaboration with Yokohama Smart City Project provides the blueprint of development of smart city in Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate reduce power consumption and the ambition to build the city of education with a total of 7 educational institutes in the estate.

JETRO expressed that Japanese investors were confident on the clear direction of the EEC project and optimistic about the Thai government's recent announcement of Investment Promotion Act 2017.

According to Senior Aerospace, to be a part of the new EEC program is a good opportunity to educate local people as well as learn from them, while strengthening the mutual relationship, as well as marks the beginning of business expansion into the future where they foresaw more and more new players in the aviation sector.

PTTGC, as a veteran investor in the areas, expressed readiness to embrace new business partners in value-added industry sectors.

The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) set new chapter of investment promotion - Investment 4.0 to align with the Thai government's Thailand 4.0 policy, which takes into account the shifting to value-based, innovation-driven economy, the development of human capital, and the creation of high value service. BOI's mission to promote investment in the EEC focuses on core technologies that Thailand has strong potential, including biotech, nanotech, advanced material and digital technology. This is in line with BOI's.

According to the BOI, those investing in EEC area will enjoy special incentives that are highly competitive and considered 'most enticing ever' offered in Thailand. These include 50% deduction on corporate income tax (CIT) for five years in addition to a CIT exemption of 13 years and other incentives granted in line with the Competitive Enhancement Act, which includes a maximum corporate income tax exemption of 15 years, among others. The government will also provide other supports including eliminating barriers, rules and regulations in order to generate real, high-value investments as well as One Stop Service to facilitate investment in the area.

The EEC, consisting of three Eastern provinces Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong, is expected to be a flagship investment and technology hub of Thailand and reshape the future of the country. The development of EEC will bring a great deal of benefits to other regions of Thailand as it directly connects to other Eastern provinces including Prachin Buri, Srakaew, Chantaburi and Trad, as well as serve as economic link between upper and lower Northeastern region, and the Gulf of Thailand.

For more information, please contact

Name: Apichaya Sophonratana

Tel: +662-553-8111 Ext. 6932

E-mail: [email protected] or visit www.boi.go.th

SOURCE The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI)

Related Links

http://www.boi.go.th


WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Furman Group, Inc., an advocacy firm representing public agencies and private interests in the specialized areas of water and infrastructure, today announced the promotion of Mallika S. Vastare to Vice President, Government Relations. She will have primary responsibility for the firm's work with Congress, the Federal agencies and the Administration.

"Mallika has been a key part of our success and we are thrilled to promote her to this important position," said Hal Furman, Chairman of The Furman Group. "Mallika's work on the California drought bill last year was instrumental in passing that critical legislation," Furman added.

Ms. Vastare joined the firm in 2014 as a Government Relations Advisor and quickly enhanced the firm's presence on Capitol Hill and in political fundraising networks. She was previously with National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), where she specialized in banking and tax issues.

Ms. Vastare received a Bachelors' degree from American University. She is a member of the Board of Women in Government Relations.

The Furman Group, Inc. provides government relations and specialized consulting services to public agencies and private entities in the target areas of water and infrastructure. Now in its twenty fifth year of operation, the company is recognized for its successful implementation of government relationship strategies which yield meaningful results for its clients.

SOURCE The Furman Group, Inc.
NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) has awarded three clinical trial centers $125,000 each for the Parkinson's Disease Trial Recruitment Innovation (PD-TRI) program, a new initiative to increase clinical trial awareness, accessibility and volunteer enrollment.

The centers selected for PD-TRI are: Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA; and Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. Centers were chosen on several criteria, including a large clinical research portfolio, strong infrastructure for executing Parkinson's clinical trials, and commitment to implementing and assessing novel interventions for recruitment of research volunteers.

Clinical Trials are Vital to Parkinson's Research Progress

The only route to new and better Parkinson's treatments, and ultimately a cure, is through clinical trials. Willing participants are crucial to the successful completion of trials and the development of novel therapies. Unfortunately, the majority of clinical trials face recruitment challenges that lead to increased costs and sometimes even study abandonment. Certain barriers, such as limited knowledge of research opportunities, negative perceptions of research, and lack of transportation can prevent eligible individuals from participating. By overcoming some of these hurdles, PD-TRI hopes to facilitate recruitment of volunteers  critical partners in advancing research.

"Clinical trial sites enroll, on average, only one volunteer per month," says Sohini Chowdhury, deputy CEO at The Michael J. Fox Foundation. "This contributes to the lengthy process of Parkinson's drug development, and PD-TRI aims to advance understanding of recruitment to address this challenge."

Implementing Solutions to Increase Clinical Trial Engagement

As part of the PD-TRI program, individual centers will pilot novel interventions within Parkinson's clinical trials. Methods may include:

Creating a clinical trial referral network of local community practitioners;

Using behavioral economics principles, such as incentives, to bridge gaps in volunteers' awareness of clinical research opportunities;

Engaging caregivers to help make trials more accessible to patients with PD cognitive impairment; and

Offering transportation to and from study visits in partnership with Lyft Concierge.

Each trial center will perform ongoing qualitative and quantitative assessments to evaluate the impact of their selected interventions. The sites plan to submit their experiences for peer-reviewed publication to inform clinical trial recruitment practices and speed field-wide developments in Parkinson's research.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding more than $700 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.

For more information, visit us on the Web , Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

SOURCE The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Related Links

http://www.michaeljfox.org/


LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GS1 Connect 2017 will feature presenters from more than 50 leading corporations including Google Manufacturer Center, Mondelez, Pfizer and Target over the course of the three-day conference and exhibit to be held June 20-22, 2017 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Nevada. This year's theme "Collaborating for Business Excellence," reflects the role of GS1 Standards in bringing industry communities together for business process innovation.

"Entire industries are being challenged to evolve their organizations and meet new business, regulatory and consumer demands. GS1 Connect provides attendees with the opportunity to learn best practices for implementing GS1 Standards to support this shift and drive positive business outcomes," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US.

A popular feature each year, GS1 Connect 2017 will again offer "How to Do Business With" sessions and Trading Partner Roundtables hosted by major brands and retailers, providing suppliers an opportunity to learn about business process requirements. Additional highlights from the five main conference tracks include:

Grocery: Session topics include on-shelf availability, case-level labeling, SmartLabel, food traceability, and managing digital content in grocery. Speakers will include experts from Ahold USA, J.M Smucker Company, Kroger, Mondelez, SUPERVALU, Unilever, Wakefern and Wegmans.

Retail: Sessions will focus on inventory accuracy, solving for returns, optimizing order-to-cash business processes, leveraging item-level RFID, and product images and attribute consistency. This track will include speakers from Genesco, J. Renee, the Libman Company, Longevity Brands, L'Oreal, National Gypsum and Target.

Foodservice: Session topics include improving operational efficiency, case-level traceability, data quality and the power of product attributes. Speakers will include experts from DineEquity, EcoLab, Gordon Food Service, US Foods and Wendy's Quality Supply Chain Co-Op.

Healthcare: Sessions will address supply chain data in clinical systems, efficiency in contracts and chargeback processes, requirements of the U.S. FDA Unique Device Identification (UDI) rule and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), and RFID in healthcare. This track will include speakers from Centrastate, Johnson & Johnson, Mercy and Pfizer.

Standards & Solutions: Sessions will address strategic planning, product identification for e-commerce, interactive packaging, blockchain and private labeling. This track will include speakers from 3M, Google Manufacturer Center, Merial and SCA.

The "Standardsville" exhibit area and Tech Track offer ample networking opportunities with solution providers and vendors. GS1 US University certificate courses and workshops are also available for those looking to build their foundational knowledge of GS1 Standards.

Each year, GS1 Connect is attended by more than 1,300 industry professionals seeking to learn about the application of GS1 Standards to address today's most pressing business challenges. The conference and exhibit is geared toward executives, directors, and managers in customer service/relations, electronic data interchange (EDI), finance, information technology (IT), e-commerce, marketing, materials handling, operations, packaging, quality/safety/compliance, supply chain management, and transportation/logistics.

GS1 Connect 2017 is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, Sato America, Blue Software, Cybra, Edgenet, Edict Systems, Intertrade and SML. To view the full agenda and speaker lineup, or to register, visit www.gs1connect.org.

About GS1 US

GS1 US, a member of GS1 global, is a not-for-profit information standards organization that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards, the most widely-used supply chain standards system in the world. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading partner collaboration that optimizes their supply chains, drives cost performance and revenue growth while also enabling regulatory compliance. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code-based RFID, data synchronization, and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). www.gs1us.org

SOURCE GS1 US

Related Links

http://www.gs1us.org


PASO ROBLES, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer and Project Apis m. today announced three new research proposals have received grants from Healthy Hives 2020, a $1 million research effort to improve the health of honey bee colonies in the U.S. by the end of 2020.

The grant recipients include:

Healthy Hives 2020 is a Bayer CropScience initiative for improving the health of honey bee colonies in the U.S. by the year 2020.

Dr. Olav Rueppell , University of North Carolina at Greensboro , who will investigate virus content and resistance in several currently available honey bees;

, , who will investigate virus content and resistance in several currently available honey bees; Dr. Edmund Stark , Michigan State University , who will aim to develop a commercially viable, cost-effective product to control the Varroa mite, considered by many to be the major cause of honey bee colony decline; and

, , who will aim to develop a commercially viable, cost-effective product to control the Varroa mite, considered by many to be the major cause of honey bee colony decline; and Julie Shapiro , Keystone Policy Center, who submitted a proposal on behalf of the Honey Bee Health Coalition and will conduct the Bee Integrated Demonstration Project to showcase best management practices that help to reduce honey bee colony loss.

"This year's Healthy Hives 2020 grant recipients are undertaking innovative research efforts that have the potential to make an immediate impact on honey bee colony health," said Danielle Downey, executive director of Project Apis m. and Healthy Hives 2020 program manager. "With these projects, Healthy Hives 2020 has funded 10 honey bee research efforts."

The Healthy Hives 2020 initiative was launched in 2015 with a two-day workshop that brought together some of the nation's leading bee health experts and stakeholders at the Bayer North American Bee Care Center in Research Triangle, North Carolina. The 17 summit workshop attendees identified a wide range of bee health concerns which were later reviewed by the Healthy Hives 2020 Steering Committee and prioritized into the most promising areas of research.

The program is focused on four major research objectives:

Conducting an economic assessment of the "true" cost of commercial beekeeping operations to help beekeepers maximize efficiency and production;

Creating a set of "Best Management Practices" for commercial beekeeping based on definitive colony health performance data;

Evaluating the use of "smart hive" technology to monitor honey bee colony health during commercial migratory operations; and

Assessing honey bee genetics for traits that are relevant to colony resistance to pests and diseases, as well as pollination efficiency and honey production in the U.S.

Healthy Hives 2020 is one of several activities of Bayer's North American Bee Care Program. Other Bayer bee health programs include:

Establishing the North American Bee Care Center three years ago as a focal point for education, research and collaboration, hosting more than 10,000 visitors;

Launching Feed a Bee, a major honey bee forage initiative that engaged more than 250,000 consumers last year to distribute seed to plant more than 65 million flowers; and

Distributing $500,000 over the next two years to fund Feed a Bee planting projects in all 50 states.

For more information on Bayer's bee health programs, please visit www.beehealth.bayer.us. You can also follow and share with us on Twitter @BayerBeeCare, on Facebook at facebook.com/BayerBeeCareCenter and view photos on Flickr.

Bayer is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer representative, or visit Crop Science, a division of Bayer, online at www.cropscience.bayer.us.

Visit the Bayer Connect - Social Hub for social media, recent news, blog posts, videos and more from Crop Science, a division of Bayer.

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2016, the Group employed around 115,200 people and had sales of EUR 46.8 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.7 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.us.

Project Apis m.

Project Apis m. (PAm) is the go-to organization at the interface of honey bees and pollinated crops. Since 2006, we've infused over $6 million into honey bee research which aims to provide healthier bees, resulting in better pollination and increased crop yields for the grower, and lower losses and better honey production for the beekeeper. We work closely with commercial beekeepers, growers, and top bee scientists in the USA and Canada to direct strategic efforts focused on practical solutions. PAm funds research studies, purchases equipment for research labs, supports graduate students through scholarships to encourage careers in pursuit of science-based solutions to honey bee challenges, and has expanding efforts to enhance honey bee health and nutrition by putting forage on the landscape where it counts most for bees. We are a non-profit 501 (c) (5) organization governed by a nine-member board. Our board members are beekeepers, pollinators and honey producers representing major national and state industry organizations. PAm also has four scientific advisors who review project proposals with the board. For more information on Project Apis m., visit website: www.projectapism.org.

Find more information at www.cropscience.bayer.us.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com . The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

SOURCE Bayer

Related Links

http://www.bayer.us


MENLO PARK, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Todd Musselman has joined global consulting firm Protiviti as a managing director in its Technology Consulting practice. Based in Dallas, he works with clients on security and privacy issues with a focus on identity and access management.

Musselman brings nearly 20 years of cybersecurity experience to the firm, including extensive knowledge of Oracle software products for IT security. He recently served as a security solutions account manager at Oracle where he led cybersecurity architects to support sales and deployment of on-premise and SaaS security solutions to multinational retail and consumer product companies. Previously, Musselman managed HP's Cybersecurity Identity Management Solutions business. He also served as a cybersecurity subject-matter expert in prior roles at Accenture and a Big Four firm.

"Todd's experience in architecting, governing and managing identities in the cloud across multiple enterprise domains and devices is at the forefront of the cybersecurity marketplace, which will greatly benefit our clients who are working to extend and protect their sensitive data," said Kurt Underwood, managing director with Protiviti and global leader of its technology consulting practice. "Our clients can be confident that we offer them the most effective, advanced identity and access management solutions for their application security and privacy needs."

About Protiviti

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Through its network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries, Protiviti and its independently owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting solutions in finance, technology, operations, data analytics, governance, risk and internal audit.

Protiviti has served more than 60 percent of Fortune 1000 and 35 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index.

Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services.

Editor's note: Photos available upon request.

SOURCE Protiviti

Related Links

http://www.protiviti.com


SAN LEANDRO, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TriNet Group, Inc. (NYSE: TNET), a leading provider of comprehensive human resources solutions for small to midsize businesses, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.

First quarter highlights include:

Total revenues increased 10% to $807.6 million , while Net Service Revenues increased 22% to $199.0 million , each as compared to the same period last year.

, while Net Service Revenues increased 22% to , each as compared to the same period last year. Total WSEs at March 31, 2017 increased 2% from March 31, 2016 , to approximately 331,000.

increased 2% from , to approximately 331,000. Average WSEs increased 3% to approximately 328,000 as compared to the same period last year.

Net income was $28.7 million , or $0.41 per diluted share, compared to net income of $11.6 million , or $0.16 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

, or per diluted share, compared to net income of , or per diluted share, in the same period last year. Adjusted Net Income was $31.6 million , or $0.45 per diluted share, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $19.5 million , or $0.27 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

, or per diluted share, compared to Adjusted Net Income of , or per diluted share, in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $63.3 million , a 50% increase from the same period last year.

"We began the year with strong financial performance, and we are well positioned to achieve our 2017 financial goals," said Burton M. Goldfield, TriNet's President and CEO. "The steps we've taken during the past year to strengthen our management team, improve our operational discipline and further expand on the differentiated vertical products, are beginning to pay off. Going forward, we are committed to executing our strategic plan, including completing our platform consolidation, laying the groundwork to launch additional vertical products and profitably expanding our business."

TriNet's total revenues for the first quarter of 2017 increased 10% from the first quarter of 2016 to $807.6 million, while Net Service Revenues increased 22% from the first quarter of 2016 to $199.0 million. Net Service Revenues consisted of professional service revenues of $120.1 million and Net Insurance Service Revenues of $78.8 million. Net Insurance Service Revenues consisted of insurance service revenues of $687.5 million, less insurance costs of $608.6 million. Professional service revenues for the first quarter of 2017 increased 7%, and Net Insurance Service Revenues increased 55%, compared to the first quarter of 2016.

At March 31, 2017, TriNet had cash and cash equivalents of $216.1 million and total debt of $449.8 million.

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

We anticipate filing our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q ("Form 10-Q") for the three months ended March 31, 2017 today, May 2, 2017, and it will be available at www.trinet.com. This press release should be read in conjunction with the Form 10-Q and the related Notes to Condensed Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained in the Form 10-Q.

Earnings Conference Call and Audio Webcast

TriNet will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET) today to discuss its quarterly results and the outlook for the 2017 second quarter. TriNet encourages participants to pre-register for the conference call. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. To pre-register, go to: http://dpregister.com/10105196. For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, they can do so by dialing +1 (412) 317-5426 and requesting the "TriNet Conference Call." The live webcast of the conference call can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of TriNet's website at http://investor.trinet.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on this site for approximately one year. A telephonic replay will be available for one week following the conference call at +1 (412) 317-0088 conference ID: 10105196.

About TriNet

TriNet is a leading provider of a comprehensive human resources solution for small to midsize businesses, or SMBs. We enhance business productivity by enabling our clients to outsource their human resources, or HR, function to one strategic partner and allowing them to focus on operating and growing their core businesses. Our HR solution includes services such as payroll processing, human capital consulting, employment law compliance and employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans and workers' compensation insurance. Our services are delivered by our expert team of HR professionals and enabled by our technology platform, with online and mobile tools, which allow our clients and their employees to efficiently conduct their HR transactions anytime and anywhere. For more information, please visit http://www.trinet.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to TriNet's financial results as determined in accordance with GAAP are included at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data. For a description of these non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses each measure, please see the section of the tables titled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains, and statements made during the above referenced conference call will contain, statements that are not historical in nature, are predictive in nature, or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or otherwise contain forward-looking statements including, among other things, TriNet's expectations regarding: its ability to execute its strategic plan, its ability to make enhancements to its technology platform and complete its platform consolidation, its ability to launch additional vertical products and its ability to profitably expand its business. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, but are based on management's expectations as of the date hereof and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from our current expectations and any past or future results, performance or achievements.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include: risks associated with the market acceptance of outsourcing the HR function, and the anticipated benefits associated with the use of a bundled HR solution; changes to and our ability to comply with laws and regulations, including both those applicable to the co-employment relationship as well as those applicable to our clients' businesses and their employees; the amendment, repeal, replacement or continuing implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other health care reform, which may be more challenging in a changing political environment; our ability to maintain the security of our information technology (IT) infrastructure against cyber-attacks and security breaches; our ability to manage unexpected changes in workers' compensation and health insurance claims by worksite employees; the unpredictable nature of our costs and operating expenses, in particular our workers' compensation and health insurance costs; our ability to remediate the material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting; our ability to effectively acquire and integrate new businesses; our ability to gain new clients, and our clients' ability to grow and gain more employees; our ability to effectively acquire and integrate new businesses; volatility in the financial and economic environment to small and mid-sized businesses; our ability to effectively manage our growth; the effects of increased competition and our ability to compete effectively; and our ability to comply with the restrictions of our credit facility and meet our debt obligations.

Further information on risks that could affect TriNet's results is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2017, which are available on our investor relations website at http://investor.trinet.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements in this press release, and any forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. In addition, we do not assume any obligation, and do not intend, to update any of our forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

TriNet, Ambitions Realized and the TriNet logo are registered trademarks of TriNet.

Key Financial and Operating Metrics

We regularly review certain key financial and operating metrics to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance and make strategic decisions. These key financial and operating metrics may change over time. Our key financial and operating metrics for the periods presented were as follows:



Three Months Ended March 31,

Percent (in thousands, except per share and operating metrics data) 2017

2016

Change Income Statement Data:











Total revenues $ 807,610

$ 732,939

10 % Operating income 49,487

25,902

91

Net income 28,737

11,577

148

Diluted net income per share of common stock 0.41

0.16

156

Non-GAAP measures (1):











Net Service Revenues (1) 198,968

163,250

22

Net Insurance Service Revenues (1) 78,847

50,847

55

Adjusted EBITDA (1) 63,343

42,153

50

Adjusted Net income (1) 31,577

19,533

62















Operating Metrics:











Total WSEs payroll and payroll taxes processed (in millions) $ 9,816

$ 9,402

4 % Total WSEs at period end 330,731

324,103

2

Average WSEs 327,803

319,424

3















Cash Flow Data:











Net cash provided by operating activities $ 75,904

$ 40,431

88 % Net cash used in investing activities (6,848)

(5,607)

22

Net cash used in financing activities (37,052)

(5,224)

609







(1) Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures section below for definitions and reconciliations from GAAP measures.

(in thousands) March 31,

2017

December 31,

2016

Percent

Change Balance Sheet Data:











Cash and cash equivalents $ 216,054

$ 184,004

17 % Working capital 159,869

156,771

2

Total assets 1,872,672

2,095,143

(11)

Notes and capital leases payable 449,934

459,054

(2)

Total liabilities 1,830,125

2,060,553

(11)

Total stockholders' equity 42,547

34,590

23



TRINET GROUP, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited)



Three Months Ended March 31, (in thousands, except share and per share data) 2017 2016 Professional service revenues $ 120,121 $ 112,403 Insurance service revenues 687,489 620,536 Total revenues 807,610 732,939 Insurance costs 608,642 569,689 Cost of providing services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization of intangible assets) 56,450 45,705 Sales and marketing 49,191 48,708 General and administrative 25,302 27,650 Systems development and programming 11,040 6,389 Amortization of intangible assets 1,350 4,980 Depreciation 6,148 3,916 Total costs and operating expenses 758,123 707,037 Operating income 49,487 25,902 Other income (expense):



Interest expense and bank fees (4,748) (5,042) Other, net 151 (42) Income before provision for income taxes 44,890 20,818 Income tax expense 16,153 9,241 Net income $ 28,737 $ 11,577 Other comprehensive income, net of tax 12 351 Comprehensive income $ 28,749 $ 11,928





Net income per share:



Basic $ 0.42 $ 0.16 Diluted $ 0.41 $ 0.16 Weighted average shares:



Basic 68,509,328 70,521,066 Diluted 70,913,970 71,745,753

TRINET GROUP, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)

(in thousands) March 31,

2017 December 31,

2016 Assets



Current assets:



Cash and cash equivalents $ 216,054 $ 184,004 Restricted cash and cash equivalents 14,578 14,569 Prepaid income taxes 27,583 42,381 Prepaid expenses 9,051 10,784 Other current assets 2,005 2,145 Worksite employee related assets 1,039,349 1,281,471 Total current assets 1,308,620 1,535,354 Workers' compensation collateral receivable 34,755 31,883 Restricted cash, cash equivalents and investments 127,715 130,501 Property and equipment, net 63,417 58,622 Goodwill 289,207 289,207 Other intangible assets, net 29,724 31,074 Other assets 19,234 18,502 Total assets $ 1,872,672 $ 2,095,143 Liabilities and stockholders' equity



Current liabilities:



Accounts payable $ 22,598 $ 22,541 Accrued corporate wages 40,908 30,937 Notes and capital leases payable, net 36,606 36,559 Other current liabilities 14,546 12,551 Worksite employee related liabilities 1,034,093 1,275,995 Total current liabilities 1,148,751 1,378,583 Notes and capital leases payable, net, noncurrent 413,328 422,495 Workers' compensation loss reserves 164,671 159,301 Deferred income taxes 91,847 92,373 Other liabilities 11,528 7,801 Total liabilities 1,830,125 2,060,553 Commitments and contingencies



Stockholders' equity:



Preferred stock   Common stock and additional paid-in capital 543,600 535,132 Accumulated deficit (500,461) (499,938) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (592) (604) Total stockholders' equity 42,547 34,590 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,872,672 $ 2,095,143

TRINET GROUP, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)



Three Months Ended March 31, (in thousands) 2017 2016 Operating activities



Net income $ 28,737 $ 11,577 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:



Depreciation and amortization 8,123 8,746 Stock-based compensation 6,207 7,397 Changes in operating assets and liabilities:



Restricted cash and cash equivalents (877) (3,202) Prepaid income taxes 14,798 6,735 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,701 (1,157) Workers' compensation collateral receivable (2,872) (7,688) Other assets 148 (312) Accounts payable (413) 6,111 Accrued corporate wages and other current liabilities 11,903 (2,505) Workers' compensation loss reserves and other non-current liabilities 8,229 15,205 Worksite employee related assets 242,122 346,563 Worksite employee related liabilities (241,902) (347,039) Net cash provided by operating activities 75,904 40,431 Investing activities



Acquisitions of businesses  (300) Proceeds from maturity of marketable securities 3,625 1,500 Acquisitions of property and equipment (10,473) (6,807) Net cash used in investing activities (6,848) (5,607) Financing activities



Repurchase of common stock (27,595)  Proceeds from issuance of common stock on exercised options 2,099 504 Awards effectively repurchased for required employee withholding taxes (1,987) (656) Repayment of notes and capital leases payable (9,569) (5,072) Net cash used in financing activities (37,052) (5,224) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 46 160 Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 32,050 29,760 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 184,004 166,178 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 216,054 $ 195,938





Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information



Interest paid $ 4,162 $ 4,083 Income taxes paid (refunded), net (564) 2,572 Supplemental schedule of noncash investing and financing activities



Payable for purchase of property and equipment $ 1,971 $ 1,435

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to financial measures presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we monitor other non-GAAP financial measures that we use to manage our business, make planning decisions, allocate resources and as performance measures in our executive compensation plan. These key financial measures provide an additional view of our operational performance over the long term and provide useful information that we use in order to maintain and grow our business.

The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is used to enhance the understanding of certain aspects of our financial performance. It is not meant to be considered in isolation, superior to, or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP Measure Definition How We Use The Measure Net Service Revenues  Sum of professional service revenues and

Net Insurance Service Revenues, or total

revenues less insurance costs.  Provides a comparable basis of revenues

on a net basis. Professional service

revenues are represented net of client

payroll costs whereas insurance service

revenues are presented gross of insurance

costs for financial reporting purposes.

 Acts as the basis to allocate resources to

different functions and evaluates the

effectiveness of our business strategies

by each business function, and



 Provides a measure, among others, used in

the determination of incentive

compensation for management. Net Insurance Service Revenues  Insurance revenues less insurance costs.  Is a component of Net Service Revenues,

and



 Provides a comparable basis of revenues

on a net basis. Professional service

revenues are represented net of client

payroll costs whereas insurance service

revenues are presented gross of insurance

costs for financial reporting purposes.

Promotes an understanding of our

insurance services business by evaluating

insurance service revenues net of our WSE

related costs which are substantially pass-

through for the benefit of our WSEs. Under

GAAP, insurance service revenues and

costs are recorded gross as we have

latitude in establishing the price, service

and supplier specifications. Adjusted EBITDA  Net income, excluding the effects of: - income tax provision,

- interest expense,

- depreciation,

- amortization of intangible assets, and

- stock-based compensation expense.  Provides period-to-period comparisons on a

consistent basis and an understanding as to

how our management evaluates the

effectiveness of our business strategies by

excluding certain non-cash charges such as

depreciation and amortization, and stock-based

compensation recognized based on the

estimated fair values. We believe these charges

are not directly resulting from our core operations

or indicative of our ongoing operations.



 Enhances comparisons to prior periods and,

accordingly, facilitates the development of

future projections and earnings growth prospects,

and



 Provides a measure, among others, used in the

determination of incentive compensation for

management. Adjusted Net Income  Net income, excluding the effects of: - effective income tax rate(1),

- stock-based compensation,

- amortization of intangible assets,

- non-cash interest expense(2), and

- the income tax effect (at our effective tax rate(1))

of these pre-tax adjustments.  Provides information to our stockholders

and board of directors to understand how

our management evaluates our business,

to monitor and evaluate our operating results,

and analyze profitability of our ongoing operations

and trends on a consistent basis by

excluding certain non-cash charges.





(1) We have adjusted the non-GAAP effective tax rate to 40.5% for 2017, from 42.5% for 2016, due to a decrease in state income taxes from an increase in excludable income for state income tax purposes. These non-GAAP effective tax rates exclude the income tax impact from stock-based compensation and changes in uncertain tax positions. (2) Non-cash interest expense represents amortization and write-off of our debt issuance costs.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

The table below presents a reconciliation of Total revenues to Net Service Revenues:



Three Months Ended

March 31,

Change

2017 vs. 2016 (in thousands) 2017

2016

$ %

Total revenues $ 807,610

$ 732,939

$ 74,671

10 % Less: Insurance costs 608,642

569,689

38,953

7

Net Service Revenues $ 198,968

$ 163,250

$ 35,718

22 %

The table below presents a reconciliation of Insurance service revenues to Net Insurance Service Revenues:



Three Months Ended

March 31,

Change

2017 vs. 2016 (in thousands) 2017

2016

$ %

Insurance service revenues $ 687,489

$ 620,536

$ 66,953

11 % Less: Insurance costs 608,642

569,689

38,953

7

Net Insurance Service Revenues $ 78,847

$ 50,847

$ 28,000

55 %

The table below presents a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA:



Three Months Ended March 31, (in thousands) 2017

2016 Net income $ 28,737

$ 11,577 Provision for income taxes 16,153

9,241 Stock-based compensation 6,207

7,397 Interest expense and bank fees 4,748

5,042 Depreciation 6,148

3,916 Amortization of intangible assets 1,350

4,980 Adjusted EBITDA $ 63,343

$ 42,153

The table below presents a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted:



Three Months Ended March 31, (in thousands) 2017

2016 Net income $ 28,737

$ 11,577 Effective income tax rate adjustment (2,027)

394 Stock-based compensation 6,207

7,397 Amortization of intangible assets 1,350

4,980 Non-cash interest expense 622

775 Income tax impact of pre-tax adjustments (3,312)

(5,590) Adjusted Net Income $ 31,577

$ 19,533 GAAP Weighted average shares of common stock - diluted 70,914



71,746 Adjusted Net Income per share - diluted $ 0.45

$ 0.27

SOURCE TriNet Group, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.trinet.com


CHICAGO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The entire retail line of Tyson branded chicken products will be from birds raised with No Antibiotics Ever (NAE), Tyson Foods announced, making the company the world's leading provider of chicken raised with no antibiotics. Products have now begun to appear on shelves at grocery stores nationwide. Coinciding with the NAE announcement, a documentary film series is being released that gives people an inside look at Tyson products, practices and more.

The series, filmed by award-winning documentarian Daniel Junge, addresses a variety of misconceptions about the brand  from how chickens are raised to what's inside a Tyson chicken nugget. The first video in the series just launched, with the remaining rolling out online and across social media over the next several weeks.

"The videos and our No Antibiotics Ever commitment represent a big step for the Tyson brand in our efforts to act sustainably and transparently," said Duke Zandstra, senior marketing director for the Tyson brand. "Our goal is to show what good can come when a food company the size and scale of ours opens its doors and invites people in."

Junge met with farmers and their families, plant workers, chefs, animal well-being experts, veterinarians, hatchery managers, truck drivers and others. He also met with the company's namesake and chairman, John Tyson. His comments are featured in the video series.

"I was excited to go where cameras aren't typically allowed," said Junge. "To go behind the scenes of a big chicken producer is intriguing to me. I was interested in seeing the reality behind a lot of the stories you hear about 'big food' and was impressed with the access Tyson Foods provided me to do exactly that."

The first video takes viewers inside a chicken farm to show how independent farmers raise Tyson chickens and addresses misconceptions about where the company sources its chickens. Additional videos in the series will address a range of topics including a detailed demonstration of how Tyson chicken nuggets are made and an interview with a veterinarian about the move to No Antibiotics Ever. All video content will be available to view on www.tyson.com/our-practices.

What the videos don't answer, the Tyson brand team is inviting people to ask on its Facebook page. Experts will be on-hand to answer and further demonstrate the company's commitment to transparency.

"We're working to drive positive change at scale and are constantly striving to do better," said Zandstra. "It's important we invite people in and along for the journey. In the end, we hope people feel good about Tyson chicken when they head to the grocery store."

About Tyson  Brand

In the 1930s, John W. Tyson moved his family to Arkansas and began delivering farm-raised chickens directly from his truck. From those humble beginnings, the Tyson brand grew, finding new ways to help feed the nation while staying true to its original belief that every family deserves to have farm-raised chicken of the highest quality on their table. The brand's portfolio of products includes Tyson Fresh and Frozen Chicken, Naturals Chicken, Grilled & Ready Chicken, Any'tizers Snacks, Tyson Chicken Nuggets and Crispy Strips. As the brand has grown, our beliefs have remained the same. Be good. Be humble. And always keep it real. For more information, visit www.tyson.com.

About Tyson Foods, Inc.

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is one of the world's largest food companies with leading brands such as Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Sara Lee, Ball Park, Wright, Aidells and State Fair. It's a recognized market leader in chicken, beef and pork as well as prepared foods, including bacon, breakfast sausage, turkey, lunchmeat, hot dogs, pizza crusts and toppings, tortillas and desserts. The company supplies retail and foodservice customers throughout the United States and approximately 115 countries. Tyson Foods was founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson, whose family has continued to lead the business with his son, Don Tyson, guiding the company for many years and grandson, John H. Tyson, serving as the current chairman of the board of directors. The company currently has approximately 114,000 Team Members employed at more than 400 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world. Through its Core Values, Code of Conduct and Team Member Bill of Rights, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity and trust and is committed to creating value for its shareholders, customers and Team Members. The company also strives to be faith-friendly, provide a safe work environment and serve as stewards of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.

SOURCE Tyson Foods, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tyson.com


Ellis will be presented with the 2017 Entrepreneurial Award at a banquet later this week, honoring career-long achievements of the highest caliber as an entrepreneur, launching global innovations and managing a growing enterprise. The Chicago Booth DAA, established in 1971, recognizes outstanding accomplishments that embody the school's dedication to limitless inquiry and courageous leadership among its more than 51,000 alumni.

In making its announcement, the selection committee said, "Amy Fershko Ellis, '80, president and co-founder of MedAvante, Inc., is a disruptive innovator who has developed her novel ideas into successful products spanning more than 21 consumer, business, and healthcare categories. She spearheaded the development of MedAvante's groundbreaking methodological and technological innovations, including the centralization of drug efficacy trial ratings and the Virgil eSource Platform to change the way human drug trials are conducted."

Paul M. Gilbert, MedAvante CEO and co-founder, said, "All of Amy's colleagues are proud that the Booth School has confirmed what we have all known for a very long time  that she is an outstanding role model for entrepreneurs and a creative force who turns pioneering ideas into profitable marketplace realities."

"Amy brings systematic thinking to the task of leading innovation, one of the most perilous decision-making environments," said Gilbert. "Her ability to cut through to the core issue with incisive questioning, probing and proving, combined with deep business acumen, has enabled her to achieve an admirable track record of significant innovations."

"We are all especially gratified that the Chicago Booth Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes Amy's accomplishments in developing MedAvante's unique company culture and mission," said Gilbert. "We have worked together for years to build an environment in which all employees feel their voices are heard and their contributions are meaningful and essential."

Previous recipients of the Chicago Booth DAA Entrepreneurial Award include Daniel P. Caruso, CEO of Zayo Group, Matthew M. Maloney, cofounder of GrubHub, Dhiraj Rajaram, founder of MuSigma, and David G. Booth, co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors.

About MedAvante

MedAvante is the global clinical data services company dedicated to maximizing signal detection in clinical trials. Founded in 2002, MedAvante pioneered Central Ratings, a groundbreaking clinical trial methodology. This heritage of clinical expertise, coupled with technical innovation and operational skills, enabled MedAvante to develop the electronic source (eSource) platform, Virgil, the first such technology to replace costly and error-prone paper rating scales with real-time digital collection and cloud management of source data. Designed by clinicians for clinicians, Virgil offers built-in clinical guidance to ensure accurate, standardized assessments. MedAvante helps brings better drug therapies to market through smarter, faster clinical trials. Based in Hamilton, NJ with operations teams in the US, Germany, Russia and Japan, MedAvante delivers services for clinical trials in more than 40 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.medavante.com.

SOURCE MedAvante, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.medavante.net


BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Every diagnosis of cancer comes with fear, anxiety, even confusion. Patients are faced with crucial decisions and have an urgent need for information they can trust. Most of all, patients need someone to help guide them through the complex challenges and barriers that cancer treatment presents.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Guideway Care have announced a partnership to expand the reach of UAB's proven cancer navigation program, Patient Care Connect, to patients nationally.

The UAB Patient Care Connect program was funded by a $15 million Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation grant to help create a national model for improving outcomes while reducing unnecessary health care utilization, as well as decreasing the cost of cancer care.

The national implementation of the program will be led by Guideway Care, which provides knowledgeable cancer care guides, processes and technology to assist cancer patients, especially during the periods in between clinical visits.

"Building on the proven methodology created at UAB, Guideway Care provides patient guidance beyond navigation," said Craig Parker, CEO of Guideway Care. "Guideway Care arms Care Guides with proven processes, advanced communication protocols and purpose-built patient communication technology to help patients navigate obstacles during a difficult and stressful diagnosis."

The UAB Patient Care Connect program succeeded locally by using nonclinical resources to resolve barriers patients encounter during their cancer journey. Specific results during UAB's program implementation include:

55 percent reduction in hospitalizations: Hospitalization rates dropped significantly from 35.8 percent to 16.1 percent in the navigated patient population.

29 percent reduction in ER visits: ER visits decreased from 30.7 percent to 21.8 percent in the navigated patient population.

60 percent reduction in ICU admissions: With ICU admissions, a dramatic reduction occurred from 10 percent to 4 percent in the navigated patient population.

45 percent reduction in overall cost: In terms of Medicare claims, there was a considerable reduction of overall cost in the navigated patient population from $15,091 to $8,269 per patient per quarter, which is a Medicare savings of $6,822 per navigated patient. Cost in the last six months of life decreased from $23,735 to $16,764, a 29 percent reduction per patient for the navigated patient population, in comparison to the non-navigated group that increased from $13,418 to $15,544.

In "Resource Use and Medicare Costs During Lay Navigation for Geriatric Patients With Cancer," published by JAMA Oncology in January, the UAB team reported that an "estimated potential 10:1 return on investment" of the UAB cancer navigation program "helps make a financial case to organizational leadership for sustainability of navigation programs."

By pursuing patient engagement outside the traditional model, which focuses on clinic-based care, the "navigators are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of these high-risk patients and help them better use outpatient resources."

Not only did the program have a remarkable impact on the cost of care as reported in the JAMA Oncology article, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) independent third-party assessors, the National Institutes for Health-funded NORC at the University of Chicago, found a significant improvement in satisfaction among patients.

"What we know for sure is that our specialized nonclinical navigators (care guides) have a positive effect on our oncology patients and engage them in their health care, which can be increasingly complex," said Gabrielle Rocque, M.D., medical director of the program and lead author on the study. "The extra layer of support that navigators provide can make a big difference. We have patients who tell us that they never would have made it through their treatment without their navigator."

The introduction of CMS' Oncology Care Model, or OCM, is recognition of the importance of programs such as Guideway Care. The OCM aims to provide higher-quality, more highly coordinated oncology care at the same or lower cost. The more than 200 participants in the OCM are required to provide the core functions of patient navigation.

The Guideway Care program meets and exceeds the core functions by surrounding patients with the resources and guidance so desperately needed during their cancer journey. In a recent article published in the March 2017 issue of Health Affairs titled "Innovative Oncology Care Models Improve End-of-Life Quality, Reduce Utilization and Spending," researchers from both NORC and CMS stated, "Under this model, participating practices are required to redesign themselves to include several aspects of [the Patient Care Connect] program."

"Bundled payments are coming  transferring risk and financial burden to providers," said Edward Partridge, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. "It is absolutely necessary to transition from fee-for-service thinking, and prepare our physicians and hospital delivery systems for performance-based payment models."

"The Guideway Care program positions cancer centers to be on the forefront of this movement while differentiating themselves with an outstanding patient experience."

About UAB Medicine

UAB Medicine comprises the School of Medicine and the $3 billion UAB Health System that includes all of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's patient-care activities and 2,300 licensed beds in six hospitals, one of which is UAB Hospital  the third-largest public hospital in the United States, winner of the Women's Choice award, and one of U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals. UAB is the state of Alabama's largest single employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center; its professional schools and specialty patient-care programs are consistently ranked among the nation's top 50. UAB is the largest academic medical center in Alabama and one of the top four largest academic medical centers in the United States.

About Patient Care Connect

In 2012, UAB Health System Cancer Community Network received a grant to offer a new cancer care model, employing nonclinical personnel to help patients overcome the barriers they encounter during their cancer journey. UAB and associate sites have each established a team of navigators who will work with their clinical team to provide patient navigation services to eligible beneficiaries. The organization providing these services for UAB under the grant was called Patient Care Connect.

About Guideway Care

Guideway Care guides patients through the challenges of cancer treatment and recovery  providing knowledgeable cancer care guides to improve patient engagement, satisfaction and efficient resource utilization by interacting with patients in between the patients' visits to clinical settings  the exact gaps when and where obstacles are most likely to occur.

Specialized Cancer Care Guides supported by advanced Cancer Care GPS technology and proven protocols (developed by the UAB Health System Cancer Community Network) deliver personalized attention in a confidential, respectful, compassionate and quality-driven manner that cancer patients so often need but cannot or do not receive. Unlike traditional disease navigation, we expand critical communications, interactions and guidance for patients to cover the gaps between clinical interactions.

Patients experience less stress, higher quality of life, better quality of care and supportive, high-value communication. Health systems add seamless and more comprehensive patient interaction, filling gaps in communication, understanding, scheduling, outreach, education and knowledge exchange than would otherwise typically happen for patients and providers.

The continuous guided dialogue from the Guideway Care platform produces substantially lower costs, improved satisfaction, lower stress, higher quality, and a superior total experience for the patients and their families, as well as the associated care teams.

About the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center

One of the nation's leading cancer research and treatment centers, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center located in a six-state area that includes Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina and Georgia. UAB's cancer services are routinely recognized as being among the nation's best.

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is home to an outstanding faculty of more than 330 physicians and researchers, many of whom are internationally and nationally recognized for their expertise in oncology. The center treats an estimated 5,000 new patients each year.

VIDEO: www.youtube.com/uabnews TEXT: www.uab.edu/news TWEETS: www.twitter.com/uabnews

SOURCE The University of Alabama at Birmingham
SHANGHAI, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International announced today the launch of its upgraded campaign at 100 airports worldwide, providing discounts and services at various types of merchants. From now to February 28, 2018, UnionPay cardholders can enjoy exclusive privileges and value-added services at more than 100 international airports across about 30 countries and regions.

UnionPay International have been devoted to improving its global privilege system to meet cardholders' diverse demands, launching global campaigns featuring "Global Airports", "Famous Business Districts" and "Selected Tourism Destinations" each year. Besides these themed campaigns, UnionPay International also launched a cross-border marketing platform, U Plan, which realized a higher level of precision in cross-border marketing via mobile Internet.

The "Global Airport" campaign this year is featured with three highlights:

Firstly, it is more extensive. The participating airports are not only in traditionally popular tourist destinations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and Middle East, but also include Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, Plaisance International Airport in Mauritius and Nadi International Airport in Fiji. Cardholders may enjoy discount up to 10% at merchants in more than 100 international airports.

Secondly, it covers more types of merchants and provides value-added services. UnionPay International now offers exclusive discounts at airport restaurants, bookstores, gift shops as well as privileges such as VIP lounge access, airport shuttle bus, car rental and tax refund.

Thirdly, exclusive privileges of mobile QuickPass and U Plan are available. Special offers for UnionPay mobile QuickPass are launched in the Chinese Corner at Melbourne Airport, Relay Book Store at New Zealand Airport and food streets at 5 airports in Taiwan. King Power at 4 airports in Thailand, JR Duty Free at 8 airports in Australia and New Zealand, and Travel Pharm at 3 airports in New Zealand offer the highest discounts available for U Plan users. Cardholders may get U Plan coupons via the mobile app of UnionPay international and its cooperative banks and travel agencies.

Latest data show that UnionPay has expanded to more than 160 countries and regions outside mainland China, covering almost all the popular tourist destinations. More than 20 million merchants and 1.3 million ATMs outside the Chinese Mainland accept UnionPay cards. Cardholders may also enjoy various value-added services such as UnionPay Emergency Assistance and Overseas Tax Refund.

SOURCE UnionPay International
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

TAUGHT-OLOGY

Profile America  Tuesday, May 2nd. Before the school year draws to a close and summer vacation takes over, it's time to say thanks to America's teachers. Today is Teacher Appreciation Day, falling on the second day of Teacher Appreciation Week. The goal of both is to honor the dedication and valuable contributions teachers make to their students' lives. The idea goes back to 1944, when Mattye Woodridge of Arkansas began lobbying for a day to honor teachers. With the help of Eleanor Roosevelt, the first National Teacher Day was held in 1953. Now, there are almost 58 million students enrolled in kindergarten and nursery schools up through high schools across the country, guided by more than 3.15 million teachers. You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at www.census.gov.

Sources:

Teacher Appreciation Week/accessed 2/28/2017:

www.day-finder.com/teacher-appreciation-week-2017.php

National Teacher Day/accessed 2/28/2017:

www.calendarpedia.com/when-is/teacher-appreciation-day.html

Students/Table 1 All Races:

www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2015/tables.html

Preschool, elementary, middle & high school teachers:

https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/B24124

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Related Links

http://www.census.gov


WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced its preliminary antidumping margins calculated in connection with the ninth annual administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steam activated carbon from the People's Republic of China, noted Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP, counsel to domestic activated carbon manufacturers. Activated carbon is used in drinking water, wastewater, odor control, and pollution abatement applications.

The specific preliminary margins calculated by the Commerce Department are as follows:

Jacobi Carbons AB: $1.02/kg.

(includes: Tianjin Jacobi International Trading Co., Ltd. and Jacobi Carbons, Inc.)

Datong Juqiang Activated Carbon Co., Ltd.: $0.62/kg.

Separate Rate Respondents: $0.82/kg.

(includes: Beijing Pacific Activated Carbon Products Co., Ltd.; Datong Municipal Yunguang Activated Carbon Co., Ltd.; Jilin Bright Future Chemicals Company, Ltd.; Ningxia Guanghua Cherishmet Activated Carbon Co., Ltd.; Ningxia Huahui Activated Carbon Co., Ltd.; Ningxia Mineral and Chemical Limited; Industry Technology Trading Co., Ltd.; Shanxi Sincere Industrial Co., Ltd.; Shanxi Tianxi Purification Filter Co., Ltd.; Tancarb Activated Carbon Co., Ltd.; Tianjin Channel Filters Co., Ltd.; Tianjin Maijin Industries Co., Ltd.)

PRC-Wide Rate: $2.42/kg.

These margins reflect the Commerce Department's preliminary calculations of the antidumping duty rates to be assessed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") for shipments by the companies identified above that entered the United States between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016. These margins are subject to change in the final determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued in September 2017, and can be extended until November 2017.

David A. Hartquist, lead counsel to the domestic industry said, "The antidumping order continues to be effective in ensuring fair competition with imports of activated carbon from China." Mr. Hartquist added, "We will continue our efforts to ensure the effectiveness of the antidumping order, including aggressive efforts to thwart various evasion schemes."

The petitioners in this case are Calgon Carbon Corporation and Cabot Norit Americas Inc. They are represented in this investigation by David A. Hartquist, R. Alan Luberda, and John M. Herrmann of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
MILL VALLEY, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to job site Glassdoor, the annual median base pay in the United States grew 2.7 percent year over year in April 2017 to $51,350. The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports show pay growth decelerated slightly from the 2.8 percent revised pay growth recorded last month, marking a three-month long downward trend: U.S. pay growth peaked in December at 3.1 percent. Retail jobs showed above-average wage growth across the U.S. as a whole and in each metro covered by the reports. The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports provide a unique view into the country's wage picture with salary estimates for 60 job titles across multiple industries and year-over-year (YOY) pay growth trends in the United States. The reports now include details on 10 major metros: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.1

"While we have experienced a slight decline in wage growth during the first few months of this year, April's growth is strong and is well above 2016's average of 2.3 percent and 2015's 1.9 percent growth. The job market continues to be fast-growing and we are seeing big gains in salaries for jobs that are typically low-wage, like restaurant cook and customer service manager," said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist of Glassdoor.

Five New Markets Added to Local Pay Reports; Houston, Philadelphia Lag Behind National Average Growth

Glassdoor is now tracking an additional five markets for its Local Pay Reports: Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C., bringing the report to 10 metro areas and the U.S. total.

While the U.S. continues to see steady growth in salaries, Houston and Philadelphia wages lagged far behind. Houston continues to fall below the national average with the median base pay rising only 1.0 percent YOY to $54,410  nearly 2 percentage points less than the national average. Houston has had below average wage growth for 16 of the past 17 consecutive months, primarily due to continued softening in the energy sector. Philadelphia also showed slow wage growth of 1.6 percent YOY with a median base pay of $54,408 in April, compared to 2.0 percent in the previous month.

Fastest growing among the markets we track was Los Angeles, with pay growth in April at 3.8 percent YOY, bringing the median annual pay to $59,639. Seattle, another new metro added this month, had a wage increase of 3.1 percent. The city's median base pay notched up to $59,585, and the pay growth is largely due to the number of technology companies headquartered in the Pacific Northwest city.

Retail Jobs Reap Big YOY Growth

Retail jobs in general continued to show strong wage gains in April, including roles like cashier which saw an increase of 5.0 percent and a median base pay of $27,582, and store managers which were up 6.6 percent to $48,848.

"Traditional department store retail jobs are on the decline, as Americans are shifting away from 'commodity buying' to 'experience buying' that happens at smaller retailers and boutiques. Consumers are spending their dollars at smaller retailers that offer in-store experts and a pleasant shopping experience, and there is a need for these retail positions," said Chamberlain.

This may also be due to the large number of open retail jobs todayeven as large department store jobs are declining, there are approximately 860,000 job postings in retail listed on Glassdoor across the U.S. Some of these jobs are in online retail, and the wage growth trend continues for warehouse associates, whose base pay was up 6.3 percent YOY in April to $39,920.

According to Chamberlain, "Jobs that are the highest paying aren't always where we see the biggest growth. At the national level, we're seeing strong pay gains for retail store managers and cashiers as employers struggle to fill these front-line roles."

The weakest U.S. pay growth was for design engineers, a common manufacturing job, which experienced a pay decline of 0.3 percent YOY, to $70,616. Web developer salaries are also flat in April, with negative growth of 0.1 percent YOY. This follows several months of having the smallest or negative YOY growth for this job title.

Jobs with Biggest Pay Gains  U.S. Rank Job Title % Wage Growth YOY

(April 2016-April 2017) Median Base Pay 1 Customer Service Manager 7.4% $54,177 2 Recruiter 6.9% $51,306 3 Store Manager 6.6% $48,848 4 Warehouse Associate 6.3% $39,920 5 Professor 5.8% $90,007

For a list of jobs with the biggest gains and declines, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

Highest and Lowest Paying Jobs

In addition to wage growth, the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports track the highest and lowest paying job titles each month.

Highest Paying Jobs in April Rank Job Title % Wage Growth YOY

(April 2016-April 2017) Median Base Pay 1 Physician 2.7% $243,094 2 Attorney 3.6% $98,594 3 Data Scientist 1.1% $94,944 4 Tax Manager 1.2% $93,212 5 Product Manager 2.2% $90,538

For more on jobs with the highest and lowest pay, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

The full data sets for the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports can be found on the Glassdoor Economic Research site, along with report methodology and Frequently Asked Questions.

To read more trends and insights from Chamberlain on this month's report or his predictions regarding the April Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation Report, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

Any individual can also keep tabs on their personal worth in their local job market through Know Your WorthTM by Glassdoor. Visit Glassdoor or download the Glassdoor Job Search apps for iPhone or Android.

To speak with Dr. Chamberlain regarding the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports or his predictions for this month's jobs report: [email protected].

About Glassdoor

Glassdoor is one of the largest and fastest growing job sites in the world today. Set apart by the tens of millions of reviews and insights provided by employees and candidates, Glassdoor combines all the jobs with this valuable data to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. As a result, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for approximately 700,000 companies in more than 190 countries. For labor market trends and analysis, visit Glassdoor Economic Research. For company news and career advice and tips, visit the Glassdoor Blog and for employer-related news and insights to help employers hire, visit the Glassdoor for Employers Blog. Visit Glassdoor.com or download our apps on iOS and Android platforms.

Glassdoor is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.

Know Your Worth, Salary Explorer and the Glassdoor logo are trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc.

1 For full methodology of the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports and how salary estimates are compiled, visit: https://www.glassdoor.com/research/studies/glassdoor-local-pay-reports-methodology/.

SOURCE Glassdoor

Related Links

http://www.glassdoor.com


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- VentureApp, a professional chat platform, today announced VentureMap New York City, an interactive network visualization of the city's tech ecosystem, in partnership with RRE Ventures. The map displays 3,043 investments into tech startups by angel investors, venture capitalists, incubators, accelerators, and more.

Interact with VentureMap NYC at https://www.ventureapp.com/map/nyc-tech/

By mapping thousands of startup and investor relationships, VentureApp gives professionals the ability to surface common investor connections and trends in their community, search for relevant investors in their industry, and access other founders and investors directly and immediately via VentureApp's chat interface.

"There is a flurry of investment activity in our city, and VentureMap NYC captures all of that data in a visual and actionable way," said Steve Schlafman, principal at RRE Ventures, a partner on VentureApp's data integrity. "When raising capital, warm introductions are everything for founders. VentureApp is making the process of finding relevant connections easier, which ensures more deals get done at the end of the day."

VentureMap NYC uncovers a variety of trends in the following startup investment sectors:

Angel investors and angel groups  Smaller investments by individuals are fueling NY startups. VentureMap NYC highlights more than 1,000 investments into 585 businesses by hundreds of prominent angel investors, such as New York Angels, Adam Rothenberg , David Tisch , Gary Vaynerchuk , and more.

, , , and more. Venture capital firms  Zeroing in on more than 1,600 investments into almost 1,000 businesses, VentureMap NYC surfaces the highest deal frequency from VC firms like BoxGroup, RRE Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Union Square Ventures, Thrive Capital, and others.

Incubators and accelerators  Grand Central Tech, Betaworks, and Techstars NYC are active accelerators on VentureMap NYC, making close to 500 investments in NYC startups.

"The innovation economy can be very exclusive to outsiders," said Chase Garbarino, CEO of VentureApp. "As part of our mission to make the benefits of the innovation economy more accessible to all, we think mapping tech ecosystems on top of a chat platform makes entering a massive community like New York City much easier and more actionable for professionals and founders."

Aiming to be the dedicated platform to engage and grow your extended business network, VentureApp is rolling out VentureMaps in various cities and industries this year to bring communities together. If you're interested in seeing a map of your city's investment ecosystem, or if you'd like to learn more about how to get yourself, your business, or your investment firm represented on VentureMap NYC, please reach out to VentureApp at [email protected].

About VentureApp

VentureApp is a chat platform for professionals to communicate with their closest business contacts and connect with new partners in their extended business network. Headquartered in Boston with more than $6M in funding, VentureApp launched in September 2015 with a focus on making the innovation economy more accessible to all in order to drive economic growth. Thousands of professionals from DraftKings, Silicon Valley Bank, HubSpot, Drizly, Goodwin Procter, and more are chatting on VentureApp. For more information, visit http://www.ventureapp.com or follow VentureApp on Twitter @VentureApp.

Media Contact:

Katie Sullivan

Director of Communications

Email: [email protected]

Related Links

VentureApp Professional Chat

Twitter

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE VentureApp
It was Hillary Clinton who said that not accepting the results of the election was horrifying and un-American. Shortly after she lost she questioned the election. Since the election liberal Democrats have done nothing but question the election and say it was stolen. Liberals have rioted and destroyed property. They have beaten people they disagree with. They have shut down free speech with violence and celebrated their denial of others to speak. They have shut down parades with threats of violence. They have threatened to blow up the White House. They have asked for the military to overthrow the President. They say that they will not accept President Trump. They say Republicans are the threat to society. But it is the liberal Democrats who are creating all of the violence. Because they are the new fascist Brown Shirts trying to destroy the country. They are the ones who are un-American.
BEAVERTON, Ore., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Vernier Software & Technology has announced the winnersone high school teacher and one middle school teacherof its 2017 Engineering Contest. Carl Stoltz of Hononegah High School in Rockton, Illinois and Tate Rector of Beebe Junior High School in Beebe, Arkansas were recognized for their creative use of Vernier sensors to introduce engineering concepts or practices to their STEM students.

"The winners of this year's Engineering Contest showcase true creativity and innovation," said John Wheeler, CEO of Vernier Software & Technology. "Their use of data-collection technology to teach students about engineering conceptsand to engage them in meaningful, hands-on learningexemplifies STEM solutions that other educators can use in their own classrooms."

Selected by a panel of Vernier experts, the winning projects demonstrated engineering practices called for in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and were chosen based on innovation and the ease by which other teachers can replicate the project.

The winners each receive $1,000 in cash, $3,000 in Vernier technology, and $1,500 toward expenses to attend the 2017 National Science Teachers' Association (NSTA) STEM conference or the 2017 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) conference.

The Winning Projects

In "Sound Proofing Box," Stoltz created a project that combines learning the physics of sound waves with practicing engineering principles. The project challenges students to reduce the intensity of a sound travelling through a box, as measured by a Vernier Sound Level Sensor. Students work in groups to research materials, test decibel levels, log results, and brainstorm ideas to iterate their box design. The project ends with all groups testing their final design and explaining their materials and reasoning.

In "Baby Saver 2000," a group of Rector's students worked collaboratively to design a safety device for cars that warns operators when the interior is becoming too hot for infants. After performing research on this potential life-threatening condition, the students defined the problem, generated concepts, and documented ideas. Once they chose a method to pursue, they iterated design prototypes utilizing a range of technology, including a Vernier Temperature Probe, the LEGO EV3 robotics platform, and an Arduino microcontroller. In addition, they created 3-D printed items to help attach the parts to an infant's car seat. The students completed the project with a presentation video highlighting how much they learned, as well as their ability to solve real-world problems using technology.

William Anderson of St. Louis University High School in St. Louis, Missouri was also recognized with a notable entry for "Soaring to New Heights in Environmental Science." In this project, Anderson's students launch a weather balloon twice each school year to understand the structure and function of the atmosphere and to investigate seasonal and altitudinal changes in atmospheric conditions.

To watch videos of the 2017 winning projects in action or to learn more about the winners, visit http://www.vernier.com/grants/engineering/2017-winners/.

About Vernier Software & Technology

Vernier Software & Technology has led the innovation of scientific data-collection technology for 36 years. Vernier was founded by a former physics teacher and employs educators at all levels of the organization. The company is committed to teachers and to developing creative ways to teach and learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) using hands-on science. Vernier creates easy-to-use and affordable science interfaces, sensors, and graphing/analysis software. With worldwide distribution to over 140 countries, Vernier data loggers are used by educators and students from elementary school to university. Vernier technology-based solutions enhance STEM education, increase learning, build students' critical thinking skills, and support the science and engineering practices detailed in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The Vernier business culture is grounded in Earth-friendly policies and practices, and the company provides a family-friendly workplace. For more information, visit http://www.vernier.com.

SOURCE Vernier Software & Technology

Related Links

http://www.vernier.com


DALLAS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ACTIVE Network, the premier global marketplace for activities and events and an industry-leading provider of intelligence solutions, today announced a multi-year strategic alliance with Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) to offer Visa Checkout, the easier way to use a Visa card online, as a payment option across its activity and event registration platforms globally. The multi-year agreement also includes both ACTIVE and Visa investing in a series of digital, cross-promotional marketing activities to be executed throughout the term of the agreement.

"We are thrilled to partner with ACTIVE Network, whose customers organize activities and events across the globe," said Sam Shrauger, senior vice president, digital solutions, Visa Inc. "With the integration of Visa Checkout across ACTIVE's online and mobile properties, even more consumers will have a safe, secure, and seamless way to use their Visa card online."

Upon implementation of the program this summer, ACTIVE will provide Visa Checkout as a payment option for anyone who registers for an activity or event through ACTIVE.com and its mobile app, in addition to any in-app purchases. Recently reaching more than 20 million accounts, Visa Checkout enables millions of consumers to pay in just a few clicks on any device around the web with some of the world's top merchants. Visa Checkout will soon be available to consumers registering for activities across ACTIVE's online and mobile properties within the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

"This unique relationship between ACTIVE and Visa is not only mutually beneficial for our two companies, it's a win for our customers as well as for consumers seeking both convenience and security when registering for activities and events," said Greg Ingino, chief information officer for ACTIVE Network. "We're consistently working to integrate new solutions into our technology suite that benefit our customers. By adding Visa Checkout, we're making it easier for people to register for and participate in our customers' events and activities."

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks  VisaNet  that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/ and @VisaNews.

About ACTIVE Network

ACTIVE Network is the premier global marketplace for activities and events, connecting participants and activity organizers, while offering intelligence solutions through our industry-leading data and insights platform. Our enterprise-level ACTIVEWorks platform offers organizers advanced SaaS technology that streamlines the administration of activities and events. Our ACTIVE Network Activity Cloud platform combines intelligence solutions and data tools to provide actionable insights that help organizers better manage their events and increase both revenue and participation. Founded in 1999, ACTIVE Network is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information, please visit ACTIVEnetwork.com and follow us on Twitter.

 2017 Active Network, LLC and/or its affiliates and licensors. All rights reserved. ACTIVE Network, ACTIVE.com and ACTIVEWorks are registered trademarks of ACTIVE Network, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE ACTIVE Network

Related Links

http://www.activenetwork.com


According to Dorothy Breininger (a.k.a. "Dorothy The Organizer"), a best-selling author and problem solver on the A&E show "Hoarders," "The short and easy book is chockful of useful organizing tips and information I've gathered from my years of working closely with Selma."

Schimmel was diagnosed with breast cancer at 28. A genetic test later revealed she had the BRCA gene mutation, as her grandmother, mother, and sister, Debby Bitticks, who has committed herself to carrying on Schimmel's work with VOI. Though she had a prophylactic oophorectomy, she was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

"In her 30+ years as a cancer patient she knew the importance of keeping the reports from doctors, hospitals, and medical providers in an organized system so that consultations and second opinions are facilitated," says Bitticks, CEO, Vital Options International. Bitticks' grandmother, mother, and sister all died in their 50s.

Drawing on her experience as a cancer patient, Schimmel became a tireless advocate for patients, caregivers, and physicians. She launched Vital Options, a cancer communications organization, in 1983. She later started The Group Room, a cancer talk call-in radio show, which eventually became a video-platform for featuring discussions with world leading cancer experts.

VOI recently partnered with healtheo360 (www.healtheo360.com) in an effort to streamline packaging and distributing the latest information on research and treatment to patients. Reporting from the major medical conferences, such as ASCO, ESMO, ASH, and SABCS, heatheo360 provides interviews with key opinion leaders, doctors, and patients, which are videoed and disseminated through VOI and healtheo360's extensive channels.

Dave Duplay founded healtheo360 in 2012 after his 32-year-old sister-in-law was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer. "As my brother and his wife, most cancer families are so overwhelmed by the diagnosis they don't know where to start. The Cancer Concierge, however, will put them on the right track," he says.

About Vital Options International

Vital Options International (VOI) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit cancer communication, education, and advocacy organization with a special mission: Generating global cancer conversations. Today, through its Advocacy in Action, Vital Conversations, and Living With Cancer platforms, Vital Options International continues to lead the most meaningful panel discussions and engaging one-on-one interviews about clinical trials, treatment advances, psychosocial issues, and access to care  all the vital challenges faced by everyone in the global cancer community. www.vitaloptions.org.

Contact: Judy Welage

Welage Public Relations

917-697-9838

SOURCE Vital Options

Related Links

http://www.vitaloptions.org


HOLMDEL, N.J., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG), a leading provider of cloud communications services for businesses, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Alan Masarek, is scheduled to present at the following investor conferences:

Jefferies Technology Group Investor Conference

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 1:45 p.m. ET

Miami, Florida

Needham Emerging Technology Conference

Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 3:40 p.m. ET

New York, New York

J.P. Morgan 45th Annual Technology, Media and Telecom Conference

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at 9:20 a.m. ET

Boston, Massachusetts

A live webcast of each event will be available live on Vonage's Investor Relations website at http://ir.vonage.com. A replay will be available shortly after the live webcast.

About Vonage

Vonage (NYSE: VG) is a leading provider of cloud communications services for business. Vonage transforms the way people work and businesses operate through a portfolio of cloud-based communications solutions that enable internal collaboration among employees, while also keeping companies closely connected with their customers, across any mode of communication, on any device.

Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform, provides tools for voice, messaging and phone verification services, allowing developers to embed contextual, programmable communications into mobile apps, websites and business systems, enabling enterprises to easily communicate relevant information to their customers in real time, anywhere in the world, through text messaging, chat, social media and voice.

The Company also provides a robust suite of feature-rich residential communication solutions. In 2015 and 2016, Vonage was named a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as-a-Service, Worldwide. Vonage has also earned Frost & Sullivan's 2015 Growth Excellence Leadership Award for Hosted IP and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) Services and the 2016 North American Cloud Communications Product Line Strategy Leadership Award. For more information, visit www.vonage.com.

Vonage Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. Vonage is a registered trademark of Vonage Marketing LLC, owned by Vonage America Inc. To follow Vonage on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/vonage. To become a fan on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/vonage. To subscribe on YouTube, visit www.youtube.com/vonage.

(vg-f)

SOURCE Vonage Holdings Corp.

Related Links

http://www.vonage.com


WEST ORANGE, N.J., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PEF Services, a leading fund administrator for Limited Partners (LP) and Alternative Investment Managers, today announced that Weichert Enterprise LLC has selected PEF Services to support their complex limited partner administration accounting services.

Weichert Enterprise LLC is a New Jersey-based private equity investment firm with interests in energy, business services, the industrial sector, and community banks. With their core team supporting essential LP administration functions, Weichert Enterprise needed to supplement internal resources to address the complex and non-standardized reporting received from their investment manager group. Partnering with PEF Services allows them to focus their efforts on investment selection and monitoring while receiving the critical information and analytics to support these tasks. Weichert Enterprise selected PEF Services to support their key investment initiatives, enhance compliance and increase operational efficiencies.

"PEF offers us the technology and private equity-specific accounting reporting and expertise that we need to increase our operational efficiencies," said Gerald C. Crotty, president of Weichert Enterprise LLC. "Working with PEF will help us gain a higher degree of standardization and consolidation of investment reporting and performance, allowing us to focus on strategic investment decisions."

The administration of illiquid alternative assets has become increasingly complex. Investors and investment boards are more sophisticated, compliance requirements are more rigorous, and access to advanced analytics is more critical to investment monitoring than ever before. PEF's LP Administration Solutions group (LPAS) addresses the unique administration and data needs of limited partners investing in illiquid alternative assets.

"PEF helps limited partners gain stronger control over their environment to improve transparency and standardization with access to best-in-class technologies and a full spectrum of senior-level expertise," said Hank Boggio, Chief Revenue Officer of PEF Services. "We're delighted to welcome Weichert Enterprise LLC to our family of clients to help them manage their workflow more efficiently, improve visibility, insight and control."

About PEF Services LLC

PEF Services provides high-value, high-touch Fund Administration solutions supported by senior professionals with extensive experience in alternative investments. PEF has a 15-year track record of delivering cost-effective solutions to Funds and General Partnerships, including Buyout, Venture, Real Estate, Special Purpose Vehicles, Mezzanine, Credit, SBIC, and Fund of Funds. The firm's LP Administration Solutions Group (LPAS) focuses solely on meeting the unique administration and data needs of limited partners investing in illiquid alternative assets. In partnering with PEF, firms increase operational efficiency, reduce and control operating costs, improve focus on core capabilities, and gain access to experts in private capital back office operations. For more information please visit www.pefservices.com.

Press Contact

Laura Hills

VP, Marketing

PEF Services

212.203.4685 x180

[email protected]

SOURCE PEF Services

Related Links

http://www.pefservices.com


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of ASB Bancorp, Inc. ("ASBB" or the "Company") in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by First Bancorp ("FBNC"). Under the terms of the agreement, ASBB shareholders will receive 1.44 shares of FBNC or $41.90 in cash, or a combination thereof, for each share they own.

WeissLaw is investigating whether ASBB's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. Notably, the Company recently announced positive financial results. It reported a remarkable 63.6% increase in net income in the first quarter of 2017, and a record 118.4% increase in earnings. ASBB also reported significant growth in net interest income, loan balances, total deposits, and book value per common share.

The acquisition is a strategic and financially attractive transaction for FBNC, which hopes to solidify its position as one of the top community banks in the fast-growing North Carolina region, a point highlighted by FBNC CEO Richard Moore when he stated he expected the acquisition of ASBB to "increas[e FBNC's] footprint in the attractive Asheville market."

Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating the Board of Directors' decision to sell ASBB and whether ASBB shareholders will obtain their fair and proportionate share of the Company's continued success and future growth prospects. If you own ASBB shares and would like more information about your rights or our investigation, or if you have information to share with us, please contact Joshua Rubin by telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at [email protected].

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/asb-bancorp-inc/

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

Related Links

http://weisslawllp.com


Airline flies a record number of guests and achieves its 48th consecutive profitable quarter

CALGARY, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - WestJet (TSX: WJA) today announced its 48th consecutive profitable quarter, with first quarter 2017 net earnings of $48.3 million, or $0.41 per diluted share. This compares with quarterly net earnings of $87.6 million, or $0.71 per diluted share reported in the first quarter of 2016. These first quarter 2017 results include a pre-tax non-cash adjustment to its maintenance provision of $18.5 million and irregular operations related costs of $7.0 million due to severe winter weather experienced in the quarter. Based on the trailing twelve months, the airline achieved a return on invested capital of 10.0 per cent, compared with the 11.3 per cent reported in the previous quarter.

"We are pleased to report strong topline revenue growth and our first positive unit revenue (RASM) performance in eight quarters. We are seeing good results from Plus, our premium economy product, growth in our WestJet Rewards program and penetration into the business traveller segment all of which gives us confidence that RASM will continue to improve for the remainder of the year," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. "I want to thank our over 12,000 WestJetters for their continued dedication to safely providing our growing number of guests with WestJet's award-winning brand of friendly caring service, especially given the challenging winter weather conditions we endured in the quarter."

Operating highlights (stated in Canadian dollars)



Q1 2017 Q1 2016 Change Net earnings (millions) $48.3 $87.6 (44.9%) Diluted earnings per share $0.41 $0.71 (42.3%) Total revenues (millions) $1,114.3 $1,031.4 8.0% Operating margin 7.3% 12.0% (4.7 pts) ASMs (available seat miles) (billions) 7.699 7.294 5.5% RPMs (revenue passenger miles) (billions) 6.393 5.988 6.8% Load factor 83.0% 82.1% 0.9 pts Segment guests 5,687,659 5,325,106 6.8% Yield (revenue per revenue passenger mile) (cents) 17.43 17.22 1.2% RASM (revenue per available seat mile) (cents) 14.47 14.14 2.3% CASM (cost per available seat mile) (cents) 13.42 12.45 7.8% Fuel costs per litre (cents) 64 47 36.2% CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share (cents)* 10.27 9.86 4.2%

*Refer to reconciliations in the accompanying tables for further information regarding calculations.

Dividend declaration

On May 1, 2017, WestJet's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.14 per common voting share and variable voting share for the second quarter of 2017, to be paid on June 30, 2017, to shareholders of record on June 14, 2017. All dividends paid by WestJet are, pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act, designated as eligible dividends, unless indicated otherwise. An eligible dividend paid to a Canadian resident is entitled to the enhanced dividend tax credit.

Caution regarding forward-looking information

Certain information set forth in this news release, including, without limitation, information regarding us seeing good results from Plus, our premium economy product, growth in our WestJet Rewards program and penetration into the business traveller segment all of which gives us confidence that RASM will continue to improve for the remainder of the year, is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond WestJet's control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on WestJet's current forecasts and strategy, the expected demand environment, the utilization of our fleet, the forward-curve for jet fuel price, the expected exchange rate of the Canadian dollar to the U.S. dollar, agreements and bookings, but may vary due to factors including, but not limited to, changes in guest demand, changes in fuel prices, delays in aircraft delivery, general economic conditions, competitive environment, ability to effectively implement and maintain critical systems and other factors and risks described in WestJet's public reports and filings which are available under WestJet's profile at sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information. WestJet does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward-looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Non-GAAP measures

This news release contains disclosure respecting non-GAAP performance measures including, without limitation, CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share and return on invested capital. These measures are included to enhance the overall understanding of WestJet's current financial performance and to provide an alternative method for assessing WestJet's operating results in a manner that is focused on the performance of WestJet's ongoing operations, and to provide a more consistent basis for comparison between reporting periods. These measures are not calculated in accordance with, or an alternative to, GAAP and do not have standardized meanings. Therefore, they may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other entities. Readers are urged to review the section entitled "Reconciliation of non-GAAP and additional GAAP measures" in WestJet's management's discussion and analysis of financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2017, which is available under WestJet's profile on SEDAR at sedar.com, for a further discussion of such non-GAAP measures and a reconciliation of such measures to GAAP. The financial information accompanying this news release was prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards unless otherwise noted.

Management's discussion and analysis of financial results and consolidated financial statements and notes for the three months ended March 31, 2017, are available through the Internet in the Media and Investor Relations section of westjet.com or under WestJet's SEDAR profile at sedar.com .

Analyst conference call

WestJet will hold its quarterly analysts' conference call today, May 2, 2017, at 8 a.m. MDT (10 a.m. EDT). President and CEO Gregg Saretsky and Executive Vice-President of Finance and CFO Harry Taylor will discuss WestJet's first quarter results and answer questions from financial analysts and members of the media. The conference call will be available in Toronto by calling 416-915-3239, in Vancouver by calling 604-638-5340 and across Canada and the United States through the toll-free telephone number 1-800-319-4610. The call can also be heard live through an Internet webcast accessible via the Media and Investor Relations section of westjet.com.

Annual meeting of shareholders (AGM)

WestJet will hold its AGM today, May 2, 2017, at 10 a.m. MDT (12 p.m. EDT) at WestJet's Calgary Campus at 22 Aerial Place NE. The AGM webcast will be available live in the Media and Investor Relations section of westjet.com.

About WestJet

We are proud to be Canada's most trusted airline, powered by an award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our regional airline, WestJet Encore, and with partnerships with airlines representing every major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 150 destinations in more than 20 countries. Leveraging WestJet's extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience, WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights, vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards the purchase of WestJet flights and vacations packages on any day, at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods  even on seat sales. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com.

Recent recognition includes:

2017 Best Airline in Canada and Travellers' Choice Winner Mid-Sized and Low-Cost Airlines  North America (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for airlines)

2016 Canada's Most Trusted Airline (Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria)

2016 Canada's most reputable company for Corporate Social Responsibility (Reputation Institute)

2016/2015/2014/2013/2012 Ranked top three for Canadian Brands (Canadian Business Magazine)2016/2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (MoneySense magazine)

2015/2011/2010/2008/2007/2006/2005 Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture (Waterstone Human Capital)

2015 Best Employers in Canada (Aon Hewitt)

Connect with WestJet on Facebook at facebook.com/westjet

Follow WestJet on Twitter at twitter.com/westjet

Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at youtube.com/westjet

Read the WestJet blog at blog.westjet.com

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings

For the three months ended March 31

(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)









2017 2016





Revenue:





Guest 934,772 886,220

Other 179,500 145,224

1,114,272 1,031,444 Operating expenses:





Aircraft fuel 235,516 166,415

Salaries and benefits 231,015 222,321

Rates and fees 162,263 153,747

Sales and marketing 100,339 89,077

Depreciation and amortization 97,623 81,769

Maintenance 66,948 52,938

Aircraft Leasing 44,341 46,307

Other 88,173 73,098

Employee profit share 7,027 22,501

1,033,245 908,173 Earnings from operations 81,027 123,271





Non-operating income (expense):





Finance income 4,199 3,746

Finance costs (15,702) (5,161)

Gain (loss) on foreign exchange (283) 4,721

Gain (loss) on disposal of property and equipment 1,369 (1,080)

Loss on derivatives (2,317) (1,312)

(12,734) 914 Earnings before income tax 68,293 124,185





Income tax expense (recovery):





Current 10,741 39,485

Deferred 9,242 (2,944)

19,983 36,541 Net earnings 48,310 87,644





Earnings per share:





Basic 0.41 0.71

Diluted 0.41 0.71

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars)

(Unaudited)









March 31 2017 December 31 2016 Assets



Current assets:





Cash and cash equivalents 1,471,628 1,520,822

Marketable securities 99,747 -



Total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities 1,571,375 1,520,822

Restricted cash 91,599 102,649

Accounts receivable 109,852 127,785

Prepaid expenses, deposits and other 171,402 181,070

Inventory 32,112 33,535

1,976,340 1,965,861 Non-current assets:





Property and equipment 4,104,180 4,036,880

Intangible assets 64,888 66,187

Other assets 84,778 95,368 Total assets 6,230,186 6,164,296











Liabilities and shareholders' equity



Current liabilities:





Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 511,691 547,490

Advance ticket sales 648,569 626,635

Deferred Rewards program 169,239 155,567

Non-refundable guest credits 41,035 42,942

Current portion of maintenance provisions 128,855 103,571

Current portion of long-term debt 151,540 145,128

1,650,929 1,621,333 Non-current liabilities:





Maintenance provisions 261,605 262,663

Long-term debt 1,894,230 1,901,530

Other liabilities 9,155 8,374

Deferred income tax 318,601 309,694 Total liabilities 4,134,520 4,103,594





Shareholders' equity:





Share capital 555,842 555,716

Equity reserves 96,910 93,039

Hedge reserves (11,907) (11,003)

Retained earnings 1,454,821 1,422,950 Total shareholders' equity 2,095,666 2,060,702





Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 6,230,186 6,164,296

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the three months ended March 31

(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars)

(Unaudited)









2017 2016





Operating activities:



Net earnings 48,310 87,644 Items not involving cash:





Depreciation and amortization 97,623 81,769

Change in maintenance provisions 35,312 22,325

Amortization of transaction costs 1,426 1,233

Amortization of hedge settlements - 320

Loss on derivatives 4,528 1,312

(Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment (1,369) 1,080

Share-based payment expense 4,145 4,412

Deferred income tax expense (recovery) 9,242 (2,944)

Unrealized foreign exchange gain (2,392) (907) Change in non-cash working capital 57,500 14,107 Change in restricted cash 11,050 5,851 Change in other assets 3,020 7,120 Change in other liabilities 967 (719) Purchase of shares pursuant to compensation plans (179) (146) Maintenance provision settlements (7,939) (362)

261,244 222,095





Investing activities:



Aircraft additions (155,122) (211,546) Aircraft disposals 2,185 203 Other property and equipment and intangible additions (9,318) (17,399) Purchase of marketable securities (99,747) - Changes in non-cash working capital (18,464) (4,963)

(280,466) (233,705)





Financing activities:



Increase in long-term debt 41,708 352,695 Repayment of long-term debt (38,507) (41,612) Shares repurchased - (13,965) Dividends paid (16,408) (17,132) Cash interest paid (14,478) (16,354) Change in non-cash working capital (1,566) (13,124)

(29,251) 250,508





Cash flow from operating, investing and financing activities (48,473) 238,898 Effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents (721) (15,785) Net change in cash and cash equivalents (49,194) 223,113





Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 1,520,822 1,183,797





Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 1,471,628 1,406,910





Supplemental disclosure of operating cash flows



Cash interest received 4,075 3,579 Cash taxes paid, net 44,982 44,939

CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share



(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars, except percentage, mile and per unit data)

(Unaudited)

WestJet excludes the effects of aircraft fuel expense and employee profit share expense to assess the operating performance of the business. Fuel expense is excluded from operating results due to the fact that fuel prices are impacted by a host of factors outside WestJet's control, such as significant weather events, geopolitical tensions, refinery capacity and global demand and supply. Excluding this expense allows WestJet to analyze its operating results on a comparable basis. Employee profit share expense is excluded from operating results due to its variable nature and excluding this expense allows greater comparability.







Three months ended March 31

2017 2016 Change Operating expenses 1,033,245 908,173 125,072 Aircraft fuel expense 235,516 166,415 69,101 Employee profit share expense 7,027 22,501 (15,474) Operating expenses, adjusted 790,702 719,257 71,445 ASMs 7,699,062,691 7,294,404,117 5.5% CASM, excluding above items (cents) 10.27 9.86 4.2%

Return on invested capital

(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars, except percentages)

(Unaudited)

ROIC is a measure commonly used to assess the efficiency with which a company allocates its capital to generate returns. Return is calculated based on our earnings before tax, excluding special items, finance costs and implied interest on our off-balance-sheet aircraft leases. Invested capital includes average long-term debt, average finance lease obligations, average shareholders' equity and off-balance-sheet aircraft operating leases.











March 31 2017 December 31

2016 Change Earnings before income taxes 360,341 416,233 (55,892) Add:







Finance costs 59,615 49,074 10,541

Implicit interest in operating leases(i) 92,651 93,684 (1,033)

512,607 558,991 (46,384) Invested capital:







Average long-term debt(ii) 1,766,361 1,610,746 155,615

Average shareholders' equity 2,050,892 2,010,348 40,544

Off-balance-sheet aircraft leases(iii) 1,323,593 1,338,338 (14,745)

5,140,846 4,959,432 181,414 Return on invested capital 10.0% 11.3% (1.3 pts.)

(i) Interest implicit in operating leases is equal to 7.0 per cent of 7.5 times the trailing 12 months of aircraft lease expense. 7.0 per cent is a proxy and does not necessarily represent actual for any given period. (ii) Average long-term debt includes the current portion and long-term portion. (iii) Off-balance-sheet aircraft leases are calculated by multiplying the trailing 12 months of aircraft leasing expense by 7.5. At March 31, 2017, the trailing 12 months of aircraft leasing expenses totaled $176,479 (December 31, 2016  $178,445).

SOURCE WestJet

Related Links

http://www.westjet.com


BENTON HARBOR, Mich., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Yummly, Inc. Yummly, founded in 2009 by David Feller and Vadim Geshel, is a food-centric technology company that provides personalized recipes and cooking resources. Yummly boasts more than 20 million registered users and is one of the world's largest digital recipe platforms. The acquisition strengthens Whirlpool's ability to bring purposeful, consumer-relevant innovations to market in the emerging IoT space.

"We are committed to introducing new products to market that remove complexity from the day-to-day lives of consumers. Increasingly, these products will be defined by both physical and digital experiences. Yummly brings an outstanding platform on which to begin building our digital product offering," said Brett Dibkey, vice president, Integrated Business Units for Whirlpool Corporation. Joe Liotine, president of Whirlpool North America added, "We look forward to the many possibilities to create value for our consumers with this acquisition."

With this announcement, Whirlpool Corporation continues to strengthen its position as a leader in building a seamlessly integrated connected kitchen. Every day, millions of consumers around the world use Whirlpool Corporation appliances to prepare meals for their families. The Yummly acquisition will allow these consumers to dramatically reduce the stress from meal planning by helping answer the age-old question, "what's for dinner tonight?"

As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Yummly will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Redwood City, California.

"We are extremely excited about the opportunities and innovations we can create with Whirlpool Corporation," said Brian Witlin, CEO of Yummly. "Whirlpool's purposeful and consumer-centric approach to innovation aligns perfectly with what we do, who we are, and what we seek to create for consumers as the kitchen becomes ever-more digitally connected."

The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be finalized in May 2017. Terms of the acquisition are confidential and will not have a material impact on Whirlpool Corporation's 2017 financial statements.

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $21 billion in annual sales, 93,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2016. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com, or find us on Twitter at @WhirlpoolCorp.

About Yummly

Yummly, founded by David Feller and Vadim Geshel in 2009, is a leading digital platform (mobile and web) for personalized recipes and cooking resources. Since Yummly's inception, it has been active in the digital kitchen and connecting users to the recipes they love. From recipe recommendations to handy tools and helpful videos, Yummly has everything needed to improve life in the kitchen every step of the way. The company, headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, uses patented technology and proprietary data to understand food and taste, making it the best source for recipes tailored to specific taste preferences. For more information, visit www.yummly.com.

Whirlpool Corporation Additional Information

This document contains forward-looking statements regarding product capabilities, growth opportunities, impact on Whirlpool's financial statements, post-closing operations for Yummly and closing timelines. Actual events or results may differ materially from those statements as a result a many factors, including the company's ability to complete the acquisition and realize the benefits from such acquisition. For information about the factors that could cause such differences, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, including the information set forth under the caption "Risk Factors."

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation

Related Links

http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com


At the awards ceremony, to be held on May 19 at Brooklyn Public Library, the city-wide and borough winners and honorable mention recipients will be given medals. In addition, the city-wide winners will receive $500, and the borough winners, $100. Each team of educators who assisted the winners will also receive an awarda gift certificate for their choice of 15 children's books contributed by Keats' publisher, Penguin Random House.

"Some of the city's most talented young writers and illustrators have worked hard to bring their creative ideas to life through the making of a book," says Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. "It was at public school that Ezra first received recognition for his talent, inspiring him to pursue his dreams. Our hope is that this award will inspire these young people as well."

"Our students' creativity, thoughtful work, and perseverance are demonstrated in these outstanding picture books. Each book is evidence of the exemplary teaching and learning that occurs daily in our public schools," says Karen Rosner, Coordinator of Visual Arts for the New York City Department of Education, and supervisor of the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking initiative. "The exhibition of the winning books at Brooklyn Public Library truly reflects our richly diverse student population and the talent of our public school students."

"Brooklyn Public Library is proud to showcase the beautifully innovative books made by our city's talented young writers and illustrators," says Kimberly Grad, Coordinator of School Age Services at Brooklyn Public Library and one of the judges of the Competition. "The students who participated in this year's competition truly embody the spirit of Ezra Jack Keats, who inspired so many readers and writers with his groundbreaking work."

Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan Students Take Home Top Awards

The Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition is divided into three categories: elementary (grades 3-5), middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). Students in District 75 are encouraged to participate, and several are among our winners.

City-wide Winners

Grades 35:

The Story of the Mirabal Sisters, by Amber Siurano (Grade 4)

P.S. 63 Old South School, Ozone Park, Queens

Maria Panotopoulou, Teacher; Kathleen Fleischmann-Cavanaugh, Librarian; Diane Marino, Principal

The winner says: "History is my passion, and I decided to write about the inspiring Mirabal sisters. Like my great-grandfather, the three sisters stood up and fought against the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. I chose not to add facial features to the sisters; I felt they could represent anyone who acted as they did. I did not draw mouths on the people's faces, only eyes, because at the time people could only observe and not speak against the cruelty of Trujillo."

Grades 68:

Life of a Brighton Beach Sparrow, by Elizabeth Abramowitz (Grade 6)

I.S. 98 Bay Academy, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

Meredith Samuelson, Teacher; Maria Timo, Principal

The winner says:

"My inspiration came from watching the sparrows in my neighborhood, Brighton Beach. I've always been fond of these cheerful birds and enjoyed making sketches of them, so I decided to write about Brighton Beach as seen through the eyes of a sparrow named Wings."

Grades 912:

He Abandoned Us, by Jennifer Huang (Grade 12)

Stuyvesant High School, Manhattan

Leslie Bernstein, Teacher; Eric Contreras, Principal

The winner says:

"The seven sins and God have always been topics of interest to me. I wanted to prove that our favorite charactersheroes and heroines along with villainswere not without faults, and had flaws. The hardest part after deciding what I wanted to do was choosing which character would depict which sin."

Judging

The judging panel is composed of librarians, artists, teachers and others involved in promoting diversity in children's literature. They focus on the quality of writing, illustrations and presentation. This year's panel included Guest Artist Sean Qualls, award-winning children's book author and illustrator, and:

Kimberly Grad , Coordinator of School Age Services, Brooklyn Public Library

, Coordinator of School Age Services, Brooklyn Public Library Melissa Jacobs , Coordinator of Library Services, New York City Department of Education

, Coordinator of Library Services, New York City Department of Education Jeanne Lamb , Former Coordinator of Youth Materials Selection, New York Public Library/Book Ops

, Former Coordinator of Youth Materials Selection, New York Public Library/Book Ops Yesha Naik , Children's Librarian, Brooklyn Public Library

, Children's Librarian, Brooklyn Public Library Barbara Ornstein . Former Children's Specialist, Central Library, Brooklyn Public Library

. Former Children's Specialist, Central Library, Brooklyn Public Library Jo Beth Ravitz , Artist and Art Consultant

, Artist and Art Consultant Mark Tuchman , Art Director, School Library Journal

, Art Director, Phoebe Yeh , VP/Publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers

The Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition Expands into Four Cities

In addition to New York City, where the program is in its 31st year, Atlanta is the latest city to launch an Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition. The inaugural awards ceremony took place on March 4 at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, where the books were on display through April 4. San Francisco hosted its fifth annual competition, with awards given on April 9 at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, which spearheaded the award-winning initiative. Baltimore's second annual Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Awards ceremony will be held at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum on May 6, during the African American Children's Book Festival.

About the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

Founded by Ezra Jack Keats, the late Caldecott award-winning children's book author and illustrator, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation fosters children's love of reading and creative expression by supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries; cultivating new writers and illustrators of exceptional picture books that reflect the experiences of childhood in our diverse culture; and protecting and promoting the work of Keats, whose book The Snowy Day broke the color barrier in mainstream children's publishing. Keats. Imagination. Diversity.

For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.ezra-jack-keats.org.

Contact:

Sheree Wichard

[email protected]

718-788-9585

SOURCE Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

Related Links

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org.


NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual California Dental Association's meeting in Anaheim, CDA Presents, attracts dental professionals from across the country and vendors from across the world showcasing leading technology in dentistry.

The MouthWatch intraoral camera can be used as part of the turnkey option for TeleDent. With TeleDent a dentist or hygienist can create or improve an effective teledentistry program - keeping patients and providers connected to care through store and forward exams of live video consultations.

Dentists, hygienists and public health innovators have been hearing more about teledentistry in the news, including the ADA's announcement of the acceptance of teledentistry billing codes. At CDA Presents this year, they'll have a chance to talk with MouthWatch CEO, Brant Herman at booth #2338 about MouthWatch's turnkey teledentistry platform, MouthWatch TeleDent and to explore teledentistry hands-on.

With TeleDent a dentist or hygienist can create or improve an effective teledentistry program - keeping patients and providers connected to care through store and forward exams of live video consultations.

On coming to this year's CDA Presents, Herman says:

"We've really seen in the last year a marked increase in the awareness of teledentistry. I think we've been part of that. Coming to California, a state that is leading the way in teledentistry, we're looking forward to meeting with dentists, RDHs, RDHAPs and public health decision-makers who want to see how teledentistry can work for them, and how it can be implemented without huge costs, complex IT problems, and worries about security and HIPAA compliance."

MouthWatch recently released a new product guide describing the use cases and benefits of teledentistry and TeleDent.

From the TeleDent Product Guide brochure

Positive outcomes for private dental practices adopting teledentistry-enabled services could include, according to MouthWatch:

Expanding the marketing reach for dental practice treatment services to new potential patients

Maximizing hygiene department revenue by providing preventive care outside the office

Adding new revenue streams via reimbursable services that can be performed outside the office

Seeing a significant improvement to in-office visits following teledentistry consultations

Increased job satisfaction and care opportunities for RDHs and RDHAPs

TeleDent can be launched with a subscription to the TeleDent platform, an intraoral camera and a Windows 10 laptop or tablet. TeleDent can also be purchased as a turnkey system that includes the TeleDent platform subscription, a MouthWatch intraoral camera and a MouthWatch Windows 10 tablet with the TeleDent software pre-installed and configured. Pricing details and financing plans are available by contacting MouthWatch.

MouthWatch will be at booth #2338 at CDA Presents. Free consultations by phone on how TeleDent can be implemented for different use cases can also be scheduled at mouthwatch.com.

Media Contact:

Brant Herman

(917) 533-3462

SOURCE MouthWatch, LLC

Related Links

http://www.mouthwatch.com


A Seeley Lake father and son will not be able to hunt for years after illegally killing an elk in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in 2015 and then lying to investigators to cover it up.

William Bartlett and his son Leland were charged in October following an investigation by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks about an elk shot by Leland who could not have a hunting license because of a previous poaching conviction.

As part of plea agreements, William forfeited his right to get a hunting, fishing or trapping license for five years, and Lelands right was suspended for a decade. For the next five years, the pair are also banned from accompanying any hunter, fisher or trapper into the field.

The son will also have to make presentations at hunters education courses about what he did and the consequences he faces.

FWP game warden Bill Koppen, who investigated the crime, said that in addition to officers, other residents in the area will likely be keeping an eye on the Bartletts over the coming seasons.

Anybody can turn anybody in. If youre thinking youre getting away with it just because the warden didnt see it, youre wrong, he said. It upsets people when this kind of thing happens.

According to a court affidavit, U.S. Forest Service officer Tyler Robinson was working out at a Seeley Lake gym during the start of early rifle season in September 2015 when the gym owner Terryl Bartlett  Williams wife and Lelands mother  told him her husband and son were out hunting and that they had killed an elk.

Leland later told Robinson he'd killed the elk. Because of a prior elk poaching conviction in Beaverhead County, Lelands hunting privileges had been suspended from December 2013 to December 2015.

Weeks later, William told FWP game warden Chris Hamilton that his wife had killed the elk. But Robinson had seen her working at the gym during the hunting trip.

Hamilton and Robinson later spoke and realized they had been told conflicting stories.

As FWP game wardens began to investigate, Leland changed his story and said his mom had been with them and killed the elk. Terryl told a warden she had been there and made the kill, but cited a different rifle and number of shots than what Leland described. Another employee at the gym confirmed to investigators Terryl had been working the days of the hunt.

William stopped answering investigators questions after being told they knew his wife had been at work when he said she'd been hunting with them, according to the affidavit.

Investigators obtained a warrant for cell phone records, and found Terryls phone had been making and receiving calls from a Missoula tower during the days of the hunt, which would have been impossible if she'd been hunting in the Bob Marshall.

Several FWP employees told the investigator Leland had shown them pictures on his phone of the elks antlers. When asked to present the antlers, William initially said they had been stolen before agreeing through his attorney to turn them over.

Terryl eventually pleaded guilty to obstructing a peace officer and received a several hundred dollar fine.

Under the plea agreements with the father and son, the Missoula County Attorneys Office agreed to defer prosecution for five years of the felony charge.

William received an 18-month suspended jail sentence and 100 hours of community service. Leland got a two-year suspended jail sentence with 250 hours of service. The father was fined $3,000, the son $4,000, and the pair are responsible for an additional $8,000 in restitution to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, today announced policy recommendations to guide Congressional action to improve healthcare access for women living with heart disease. The recommendations were created as part of WomenHeart's Access Now! Campaign, a multi-year initiative to determine if women with heart disease have access to the health care and treatment that they need.

"Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women," said Mary McGowan, CEO for WomenHeart. "Nearly 48 million women are living with or at risk for heart disease, which means it directly or indirectly impacts every American. At a time when healthcare faces an uncertain future, it is essential that Congress does all it can to improve the heart health of our mothers, sisters, spouses and daughters."

WomenHeart recommends that Congress:

Enact legislation that provides insurance plans with premiums women can afford, and benefit packages that allow access to the appropriate, sex- and gender-specific diagnostic testing, drugs, devices and treatments





Take action to address measures to reduce out of pocket costs for co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles





Require transparency for insurance benefit plans and costs so that women can compare plans and choose the one that will work for them





Pass HR 1155, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs, which will make these vital programs more widely available, particularly in rural areas





Expand reimbursement for cardiac rehabilitation to a wider range of cardiac conditions, with lower co-pays and deductibles





Work with insurance companies to minimize administrative barriers to receiving evidenced-based diagnostic testing, drugs, devices and treatments, including standardizing preauthorization forms

The recommendations were created through a robust process that considered the perspectives of patients, advocates, medical professionals, researchers and health policy specialists. As a first step, WomenHeart completed a literature review and developed an online survey to learn about the experiences and perceptions of women with heart disease related to their access to health care.

Following the survey, WomenHeart hosted a series of in-person and telephone focus groups to further explore the survey responses.

There was consistent feedback between the focus group and survey participants. Most notably, participants repeatedly indicated that having insurance does not eliminate access issues, and that despite having the means and knowledge to pursue access and coverage, participants still experienced frustrations with access and cost.

The results of the survey and focus groups were then reviewed and discussed at a Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) meeting in Washington, D.C., where recommendations for action were developed. Representatives from a total of 22 organizations participated in the meeting, including the American Heart Association, The FH Foundation, the Association of Black Cardiologists, Aetna, National Women's Law Center and the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.





About the Survey and Focus Groups

The survey was launched in February 2017 and sent to WomenHeart's database, partner organizations and social media channels. A total of 480 respondents met the inclusion criteria and completed the survey.

Survey participants mirrored the demographics of the average US cardiac care population:

Greater percentage aged 65+

Less employed

More reliant on Medicare

Lower household incomes

Participation in the survey and focus groups was limited to females diagnosed with a cardiovascular or heart disease. Focus group participants were members of the WomenHeart community. Since the respondents to the online survey and members of the focus group were not randomly selected, the study does not reflect a statistical representation of the population of the United States.

About WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is the nation's only patient centered organization serving the nearly 48 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease  the leading cause of death in women. WomenHeart is solely devoted to advancing women's heart health through advocacy, community education, and the nation's only patient support network for women living with heart disease. WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, physicians, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. To receive a free online heart health action kit or to donate, visit www.womenheart.org.

SOURCE WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

Related Links

http://www.womenheart.org


CHICAGO, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., (Goldwind) (SZSE: 002202) (HK: 2208), today announced its wholly-owned subsidiary has received tax equity financing commitments from MidAmerican Wind Tax Equity Holdings (a Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary) and Citi, for its 160-megawatt (MW) Rattlesnake Wind Project located in McCulloch County, Texas.

"We are very pleased to partner with world-class institutions Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Citi on this innovative and breakthrough deal. Their support is a testament to the performance and reliability of Goldwind's Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) wind turbine technology, with its industry-leading availability," said Mr. Wu Gang, Chairman of Goldwind. "Goldwind will continue our internationalization strategy."

"Citi is proud to support this innovative project, which is being developed by Goldwind, the largest Chinese wind turbine manufacturer," said Marshal Salant, Global Head of Alternative Energy Finance at Citi. "The Rattlesnake Wind Project offers a great example of Citi's commitment to supporting the global aspirations of its clients, enabling growth and economic progress through investment in sustainable energy solutions."

With its strong R&D capabilities, Goldwind is the world's largest manufacturer of PMDD wind turbines, which is representing the industry's next generation technology. Goldwind has twice been named to the list of the "top 50 most innovative companies in the world" by the MIT Technology Review.

The approximately $250 million Rattlesnake Wind Project, utilizing 64 Goldwind GW 109/2.5MW PMDD wind turbines, will bring significant economic benefit to the community of McCulloch County and support approximately 250 well-paying construction and service-related jobs. Once operational, the project will be Goldwind's largest U.S. wind project to date.

About Goldwind

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd is a world leading wind turbine technology and energy solutions provider (SZSE: 002202) (HK: 2208). With more than 38 GW of capacity worldwide, Goldwind's revolutionary Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) technology is shaping a new standard in wind energy. Goldwind offers its innovative comprehensive solutions for renewable energy development, including equipment manufacturing and sales, service, and investment. To learn more, visit www.goldwindglobal.com.

About Goldwind Americas

Goldwind Americas, headquartered in Chicago, is a world leading wind turbine technology and energy solutions provider. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

To learn more, visit www.goldwindamericas.com.

GOLDWIND U.S. MEDIA CONTACTS:

Colin Mahoney

Mahoney Communications Group

T: +1 (212) 220-6045

E: [email protected]

Erica Carr

Corporate Communications Specialist

Goldwind Americas

M: +1 (480) 239-2834

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Goldwind

Related Links

http://www.goldwindglobal.com


ST. LOUIS, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1957, the Ford Fairlane was the country's best-selling car, gas cost about 25 cents per gallon  and Zeke McIntyre opened Edward Jones' first branch office in Mexico, MO. Today, the Fairlane is just a memory, 25 cents might buy a tenth of a gallon of gas  and Edward Jones' 43,000 associates include 15,000 financial advisors serving more than 7 million clients from more than 13,000 branch offices across North America. But 60 years ago, in May of 1957, Zeke McIntrye was the first, and the firm is celebrating this milestone.

Edward Jones was actually founded in 1922, but up until 1957, all of its financial advisors were housed in one office in St. Louis. The opening of Zeke McIntyre's office launched a new phase for the firm, permanently transforming the way in which investors receive financial advice from Edward Jones.

"Since we opened our first branch office 60 years ago, establishing trusted relationships with our clients has been critical to our success," said Edward Jones Managing Partner Jim Weddle. "Providing tailored solutions and a high level of service has enabled us to grow to more than 13,000 locations and we are excited to offer our services to a new generation of clients as we enter the next 60 years."

The firm has come a long way since Ted Jones, son of the firm's founder, met McIntyre and encouraged him to open the first branch office, located in a coat closet of an accounting firm situated above Scott's Five & Dime Store.

"I remember my dad telling us about trying this 'experiment.' It seemed like a good opportunity," said Bill McIntyre, Zeke McIntyre's son. "It really was the American Dream and a good example of somebody with a good idea who acted on it and it became successful. Zeke and Ted Jones had very similar personalities and were down-to-earth people. I think he liked Ted and thought it would be a great working relationship. I'm sure neither of them envisioned there would be this many other offices today."

The firm has not forgotten its humble beginnings, but continues to look toward the future  with no signs of taking its foot off the gas. As has been the case for the last six decades, Edward Jones' success will be fueled by its growing numbers of financial advisors, growth in clients being deeply served and continued focus on ensuring clients' interests always come first.

McIntyre's pioneering spirit led Edward Jones to name one of its most coveted awards the Zeke McIntyre Pioneer Award, which recognizes financial advisors who achieve high levels of success early in their careers. The award is given annually to a select group of financial advisors during regional meetings with their peers and families.

McIntyre was an inaugural member of the Edward Jones Hall of Fame, which honors special individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the firm. In its inaugural year, the Hall of Fame recognizes those who have helped shape the firm and who have been most responsible for its success with bronze sculptures placed in the firm's St. Louis-based headquarters.

Recipients embody the firm's values, culture and spirit of caring by routinely making a difference in the lives of others. In a way, these are individuals whose fingerprints can be found all over the firm because they have fundamentally helped to create it.

Edward Jones, a FORTUNE 500 firm, provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work. The firm's 14,000-plus financial advisors work directly with more than 7 million clients. The Edward Jones Web site is located at www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.

SOURCE Edward Jones

Related Links

http://www.edwardjones.com


If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
New Delhi, April 28 : Objecting to the Jammu and Kashmir government order to clamp down on social media and instant messaging apps, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Friday said internet clamp-down is not the key solution to criminal activities.

The IT industry organisation said the focus of the law enforcing agencies should be on engaging with alternate modes of communication used for criminal activities rather than a "blanket ban".

"Internet clamp-down, according to IAMAI, does not solve the problem it sets out to solve, but in turn creates other societal problems. Shutting down channels of communication during law and order crisis only heightens the state of paranoia amongst the citizens," it said in a statement.

"Elements engaging in nefarious activities continue to access other channels of communication, irrespective of the shutdown, and the focus of the law enforcing agencies should be to engage with these modes of communication, rather than to order a blanket ban."

The statement pointed out that internet clamp-downs have become a regular feature of executive diktat and as per records, there have been 73 instances of internet blockage between 2012 and 2017, with 32 in Jammu and Kashmir alone.

"Medium of communication via internet can be used by law enforcing agencies to communicate their messages more effectively during crisis. There are numerous instances of internet communication proving to be effective in disaster management, both in India and abroad," IAMAI stated.

According to the IT industry association, internet shutdown is not justified under any situation.

"Denying people internet access affects their right to freedom of expression, access to basic amenities like medical assistance, and information in emergency situations. Also, often a person's inability to freely communicate in a riot-like situation can cost her or his life," the statement added.
Ottawa, April 29 : Canada will allow Brazil, Bulgaria and Romania's citizens to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) to fly to or transit through a Canadian airport, a ministry statement has said.

Starting May 1, those citizens of these countries who have held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid US non-immigrant visa would be eligible to apply for the eTA, the Canadian Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said on Friday.

They would not need a visitor visa, to travel to Canada by air, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, those who do not meet these criteria or were travelling to Canada by car, bus, train, or boat would still need a visitor visa.

"This initiative will make it easier for eligible travellers to come to Canada and to transit through a Canadian airport. It will also encourage them to make repeat visits."

"The end result will be more travel and tourism and more economic benefits for Canadians," said Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen.

The Ministry also said Canada was to lift the visa requirements for all Romanian and Bulgarian citizens on December 1, 2017.

At that point, the citizens from these two countries' would no longer need a visa to travel to Canada. However, similar to other visa-exempt travellers, they would need an eTA to board their flight to Canada.

Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, cannot apply for an eTA and would need a valid Canadian passport to fly to Canada.

Permanent residents of Canada were also not eligible to apply for an eTA, and, as usual, must show their permanent resident card or a permanent resident travel document when travelling to Canada.
Washington, April 29 : Press freedom in the US and across the world is at its lowest point in 13 years, according to a new report by the watchdog group Freedom House.

The group makes its annual analysis based on the legal, political and economic environment for journalists in the prior year, reports CNN.

This year's report issued on Friday changed the US' press freedom rating by two points, from 21 to 23 -- its worst rating in more than a decade.

The group attributes this to a worsening political environment, the rise and polarisation of partisan media outlets and an increase in Russian-sponsored propaganda related to the 2016 presidential election.

US President Donald Trump's open disparagement of the press, both as a candidate and since taking office, also contributed to the diminished score, according to the report.

"No US president in recent memory has shown greater contempt for the press than Trump in his first months in office," the report noted.

"Trump's attacks mirror initial actions in other countries where media freedom subsequently suffered far more drastic restrictions and interference," CNN quoted the report as saying.

However, the US is categorszed as having a free press in the latest findings, and its constitutional protections were applauded.

"The US enjoys lively, aggressive, and diverse media, and some of the strongest legal protections for reporting and expression anywhere in the world."

Globally, the 2017 report found that only 31 per cent of countries have a free press, which the group defines as "a media environment where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures."

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Denmark had the most press freedom; North Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Crimea and Eritrea had the least.
Kochi, April 29 : Five days after the Supreme Court ordered the Kerala government to re-instate T.P. Senkumar as the state police chief, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has yet to take action in the matter and is learnt to have sought fresh legal advice from experts.

On Saturday, Senkumar told reporters in the state capital that he was not unduly worried as his counsel will take "appropriate action at the appropriate time".

He declined to confirm reports that his counsel is set to approach the Supreme Court on Monday to bring to their attention that the state government has not acted.

Vijayan, who Saturday arrived at Kochi to take part in a party meeting, ducked media queries on the delay in Senkumar's reinstatement.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the Kerala government to restore Senkumar as the Director General of Police after noting that his removal in May last year was "arbitrary".

Vijayan, who is also the Home Minister and is known to be a tough customer, was presented a report from the Law Secretary P.G. Harindranath, who has recommended that Senkumar should be appointed without further delay. But he is learnt to have sought fresh legal advice from other experts.

The Vijayan government removed Senkumar in 2016 after a public outcry over alleged mishandling of a temple fire tragedy and a murder case, which the Supreme Court negated and ordered for the reinstatement.

Senkumar is to retire from service on June 30.

Kaleesheweran Raj, a legal expert, told the media that the state government is inviting trouble by delaying obeying the apex court's directive.
Kolkata, April 29 : A model-turned-actress from the city died while her companion, actor Vikram Chatterjee, was seriously injured in a car accident in south Kolkata on Saturday, police said.

Sonika Singh Chauhan died in the car accident near Rashbehari area at around 3: 30 a.m on Saturday while Bengali film actor Vikram Chatterjee sustained injuries on the shoulder and head, police said.

According to police, Vikram, who has worked in films like Mainak Bhowmik's "Bedroom" and Anjan Dutt's "Saheb Bibi Golam", was at the wheel of his car when he lost control and the car crashed into a roadside shop.

Locals rushed the duo to hospital where Sonika was declared brought dead. Chatterjee was treated and later shifted to Ruby General Hospital, police said.

According to the hospital authorities, the actor is stable but in a state of shock.

"Chatterjee has sustained a head injury. Also there can be an injury in his spine. But he is stable now. We are awaiting the MRI report to identify if he has sustained any internal injury. Overall he is in a state of trauma after the incident," a doctor said.
Washington, April 30 : US President Donald Trump has invited his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte to the White House, an official statement announced.

"President Trump enjoyed the conversation and said that he is looking forward to visiting the Philippines in November," the statement said on Saturday, adding that Trump invited Duterte to the White House "to discuss the importance of the US-Philippines alliance."

The White House statement noted that Trump and Duterte discussed the country's war on drugs, The Hill magazine reported.

"They also discussed the fact that the Philippine government is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, a scourge that affects many countries throughout the world," it added.

Duterte made headlines last year when he told former President Barack Obama to "go to hell" after he criticised the Philippine leader's drug war.

"I am the President of a sovereign country, and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people. Son of a b***h, I will swear at you," Duterte said.

Since he took office last year, Duterte has encouraged the extrajudicial killings of thousands of citizens accused of dealing or using drugs, reports the magazine.

He also compared his campaign to kill criminals to the Holocaust.

The Filipino leader also compared himself to Trump earlier this month, praising the US President as "a realistic and a pragmatic thinker" and saying of his approach to tackling illegal drug trade "he will really kill you".
Shimla, April 30 : Rains brought down mercury in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, bringing cheers to thousands of tourists who have thronged the hill stations to escape the heat wave in the northern plains. Higher reaches saw mild snow.

Shimla recorded a maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius with a rainfall of 6.3 mm. The weather department has forecast more thundershowers in the state till Monday.

Nearby areas also experienced rain. "Most of the areas in the state saw rain, bringing the temperatures down considerably. Higher reaches got mild spells of snow too," a weatherman told IANS.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a temperature of 10.4 degrees Celsius, while it was 34.2 degrees Celsius at Una town. The day temperature at Dharamsala town stood at 26.6 degrees Celsius.

Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, recorded three cm of snow.

"What a pleasant relief in Shimla," said Rohit Gandhi, a tourist from Delhi.
Istanbul, May 1 : Iranian British and Gem TV owner Saeed Karimian has been shot dead along with a Kuwaiti business partner in Istanbul, the media reported on Monday.

They were travelling in a car when a jeep blocked their path and two masked attackers opened fire at them in Maslak Square here on Saturday, the Hurriyet daily reported.

Karimian died at the spot and his partner M.M. succumbed to injuries in a hospital here.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

The jeep used in the attack was found burnt here.

Sariyer Mayor Sukru Genc said the murder was related to money.
Washington, May 1 : US Congressional negotiators reached a critical agreement on a massive spending bill which if approved by the House and Senate would fund the government through the end of September, a media report said.

The bill would add billions for the Pentagon and border security but would not provide any money for President Donald Trump's promised border wall with Mexico, official aides told CNN on Sunday night.

Votes in both chambers are expected by the end of the week.

The deal was reached on Sunday night after weeks of tense but steady negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill and White House officials, who debated over spending priorities but were equally determined to avoid a politically fraught government shutdown.

Aides in each party disputed some characterisations from the other side as to what made into the final proposal. But one of the key aspects they agreed on was a provision for $1.5 billion for border security, including for technology and fixing existing infrastructure. However, it does not allow the money to be spent on building Trump's multi-billion dollar wall along the Mexico border, reports CNN.

There is no money provided for a deportation force and there are no cuts of federal monies to so-called sanctuary cities.

Aides also agreed that the bill includes billions in new defence spending, including for the global war on terrorism, a major demand from Republicans.

In the proposal, there are no cuts to funding for Planned Parenthood, a demand from Democrats.

Funding for the National Institute of Health is increased by $2 billion and there is additional money for clean energy and science funding.

Negotiators also agreed to make a permanent fix for miners health insurance and a disaster aid package.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the agreement is consistent with his party's principles.

"This agreement is a good agreement for the American people, and takes the threat of a government shut down off the table," CNN quoted the New York Democrat as saying.

The deal means a government shut down on Friday, when agencies are set to run out of money, is unlikely.

Last week, Congress passed a one-week stopgap spending bill when it became clear negotiators needed a bit more time to finalise an agreement.
New Delhi, May 1 : AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dinakaran, accused of attempting to bribe Election Commission officials, was on Monday sent to 14 days judicial custody by a court here.

Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary sent Dinakaran, nephew of jailed AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala, to judicial custody till May 15 over the bribery allegations.

Dinakaran is accused of trying to obtain a favourable verdict from the poll panel so that the now frozen "two leaves" party symbol could be restored to the AIADMK.

Mallikarjuna, a long-time friend of Dinakaran, who was arrested on April 25, was also remanded to judicial custody for a similar period.

The order came after the Delhi Police told the court that they did not require any further custodial interrogation of the accused.

Dinakaran and Mallikarjuna were presented before the court after expiry of their five days in police custody.

The court allowed Dinakaran and Mallikarjuna's plea seeking proceedings of the case through video-conference.

The court also extended judicial custody, till May 15, of a hawala operator from Delhi, Naresh Jain aka Nathu Singh.

Dinakaran's aide Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is in judicial custody till May 12, was arrested on April 16.

On April 25, Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested Dinakaran for trying to pay Rs 50 crore in bribes to the poll officials through middleman Sukesh Chandrashekar to ensure the "two leaves" poll symbol was allotted to the AIADMK faction led by Sasikala.
MISSOULA  White supremacist propaganda was found posted on several gas pumps at Gilly's Gas and Grocery in Missoula.

The incident was reported to the Missoula Police Department at about 10 a.m. Sunday, according to Sgt. Travis Welsh. Several fake quotes used in antisemitic propaganda were typed up and then tucked into the signs on the four gas pumps.

John Arvish found one of the papers while he was getting gas. He threw away the first paper and drove off, but later returned to alert the clerk about finding the papers. Arvish and the clerk ended up finding several more taped to other pumps.

Gilly's Store Manager Chuck Weight said this is the first time something like this has happened at the station. Nothing was vandalized, he said.

The manager could have complained about someone littering on the property, but it really isn't something the police can take actions on, Welsh said.

Arvish knew what the papers were after reading a couple sentences, he said. As a social studies teacher at Victor Public School, Arvish said he is familiar with propaganda used by white supremacist groups. His students have told him they have found papers like this on their lawns in the past year, Arvish said. The first time he heard about a student finding one was in spring 2016.
New Delhi, May 1 : Police are looking for a woman who allegedly honey-trapped BJP MP K.C. Patel after similarly ensnaring 15 politicians and businessmen. But the woman accused Patel of raping her.

Delhi Police said on Monday that the MP, K.C. Patel from Gujarat, filed a complaint alleging extortion by a woman-led gang after being honey-trapped and filmed in an "objectionable position".

The woman had earlier approached a Delhi court alleging she was raped by the Lok Sabha member from Valsad.

"Patel alleged the woman gave him a spiked drink at her residence and filmed him in objectionable positions after he became unconscious," said a police officer.

"She threatened to make the clips go viral. She demanded Rs 5 crore from him," said the officer.

"The woman had earlier extorted at least 15 other people, including some businessmen and a Haryana-based senior politician."

The MP said the woman approached him seeking his assistance but he realised he was honey-trapped after she showed him the objectionable video clips.

In his Saturday complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, Patel alleged that the gang was led by the woman who took him to her house in Ghaziabad.

Police have registered a case of extortion against the woman and her gang.

Patel's complaint came after the woman on Wednesday approached the Patiala House Court charging Patel with rape.

Police said the woman alleged that she was first raped by Patel at his official residence on March 3 when he invited her to dinner. He raped her on several other occasions in various places.

She also accused Patel of threatening her with dire consequences if she approached police. She claimed that police refused to register her complaint.

"I was raped multiple times by Patel. I had to make a CD as evidence so that he stops threatening me. I approached the court to know the status of my complaint after police refused to register my case," she said.

Patel has rubbished the allegations. Police say the woman has made similar allegations against other politicians in the past to extort money.

"Investigations reveal that she took back her complaints when police started probing them," Special Commissioner of Police M.K. Meena said.

"This time she tried to extort Patel. We are investigating from all possible angles," Meena said.

Patel said he had faith in law. "I will cooperate in the investigation."
Baghdad, May 1 : A total of 309 civilians were killed and 387 others injured during April due to violence, terrorism and armed conflicts across Iraq, a UN agency said on Monday.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (Unami) said figures of casualties do not include security members, as the Iraqi military declined to give information about casualties among the troops, Xinhua news agency reported.

April's results also excluded the casualties in Iraq's western province of Anbar, where volatility of the situation on the ground disrupted figures from there, the agency said.

Most of the civilian casualties occurred in Nineveh province, where 153 were killed and 123 others injured in fierce battles between Iraqi forces and Islamic State (IS) militants in the terror group's stronghold Mosul city.

Jan Kubis, the UN envoy to Iraq and the Unami chief, said civilians continue to pay a heavy price in the conflict.

"IS terrorists have detonated car bombs in residential neighbourhoods in Mosul and attacked civilians desperately fleeing the fighting as the security forces liberate more territory from the terrorists. But (the group's) atrocities were not confined to the combat zones and spared no one," Kubis said.

Earlier, the Unami said a total of 6,878 civilians were killed and 12,388 wounded in 2016, adding that the figures did not include the civilian casualty figures for Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December.
Lucknow, May 1 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the time of developmental politics has come in the country and that people are no longer interested in politics of caste, creed and appeasement.

Addressing the inaugural session of the state executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state capital, Yogi credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with ushering in development as the main plank in present-day politics.

"The days of divisive politics, appeasement and caste-ridden elections are about to end," he said while pointing out how the state government was working in sync with the union government keeping "development for all" mantra in focus.

"Modiji has taught everyone the politics of development and how to run a positivity and delivery-focussed government," he said drawing applause from the BJP leaders.

"We have been given a major responsibility by the people of Uttar Pradesh and we are trying our best to come true to their aspirations and working hard to usher in an era of all-round development in the state," the 44-year-old Chief Minister said.

Counselling the party workers on "how politics is not an objective to capture power for the BJP", he assured the party leaders that his government was committed to providing a transparent and working government in the state.

"We have begun by cracking down on the criminal elements and a road map has been designed for the first 100 days and very soon people will feel a definitive change in governance," the Chief Minister said.

He also enumerated various other initiatives undertaken by the state government in the last one-and-half months that the party has been in power in the most populous state of the country.
Paris, May 1 : Far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Monday accused her pro-European Union (EU) centrist rival Emmanuel Macron of being the "candidate of continuity", the media reported.

She linked Macron to incumbent President, Francois Hollande, in whose cabinet he once served, the BBC reported.

She launched a full-throttled attack on Macron, calling him the candidate of "a morbid continuity, littered with the corpses of jobs transferred offshore, the ruins of bust businesses, and the gaping holes of deficit and debt".

"Emmanuel Macron is just Francois Hollande who wants to stay and who is hanging on to power like a barnacle," she told a rally in Villepinte, a suburb north of the capital.

Le Pen has capitalised on anti-EU feeling, and has promised a referendum on France's membership.

She has won support in rural and former industrial areas by promising to retake control of France's borders from the EU and slash immigration.

However, Le Pen trails Macron in the polls by about 20 percentage points ahead of Sunday's second round of voting.

Macron, who will holds a rally later on Monday, told the BBC the EU must reform or face the prospect of "Frexit" -- exit from the 27-member bloc.

France is on high alert as traditional May Day protests, on the left and the right, get under way.

Although five big unions have urged their members not to vote for National Front (FN) leader Le Pen, only two have expressed their support for Macron.
Ottawa, May 2 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice - once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.
New Delhi, May 2 : Actress Swara Bhaskar, who has essayed some strongly opinionated roles in films like "Nil Battey Sannata", "Anaarkali of Aarah" and "Listen... Amaya", says that heroines in Hindi films are no longer expected to be like "a white angelic character".

She feels it's liberating to see the loss of that perfection in the female protagonist and the fact that she can be grey, complicated and confused is a positive development.

"As far as the Hindi film industry is concerned, the biggest development and greatest achievement is that the heroine has lost two things: Firstly there is no binary dichotomy between heroine and the vamp. The heroine (is no longer considered) as the virtuous, sexually-unthreatening and docile female figure and the vamp as the sexually promiscuous, sexually free and sexually expressive and available figure.

"That binary opposition has been lost and now you see films like 'The Dirty Picture' and 'Anaarkali of Aarah' where you have heroines as protagonist who are sexually both promiscuous, expressive, free and fearless," Swara told IANS in an interview.

The 29-year-old, who was in the capital to work for jewellery designer Akassh K. Aggarwal's "Changing Phase of Feminism" show at the India Runway Week, also feels that the Hindi film heroine has lost the burden of being a good girl.

"And ultimately being the white angelic character. While it was there in films like 'Bandhini' and 'Guide' where you had female characters who were very complex, but largely speaking, commercial Hindi cinema was stuck to heroines who were very good, virtuous and angelic. Now in the latest set of films, you see characters like Tanu in 'Tanu Weds Manu' or Zoya from 'Raanjhanaa'. They are dark or grey characters.

"The loss of that perfection and the fact that she can be grey, complicated and confused, I think that is a very positive development -- whether you call it feminism or gender issue in the Hindi film industry. I think it's liberating for women and I think it's a great step when it comes to representation of women," she added.

Swara, who has created a niche for herself even by playing supporting roles in films like "Tanu Weds Manu", "Tanu Weds Manu: Returns" and "Raanjhanaa", feels that she is a director's actress.

"Actors seem most glamorous and the most important part of a Hindi film when you see that on silver screen, because our faces are plastered all over, but I always feel that actors are the most dispensable part in Hindi films. We are very easily interchangeable or replaceable. Cinema is a director's medium and it is the vision of the director that drives the film," she said.

Swara also feels that her journey in Bollywood has been a wholesome experience.

"I think it's been a slow, determined road. From smaller parts to bigger lead parts, I think it's been a good balance of both commercial and not-so-commercial works. I think I have broken a lot of rules of what a heroine should do or shouldn't do as far as Bollywood is concerned.

"I am an outsider in the industry and I neither have a godfather nor anyone backing me... (In spite of that) it's been amazing," she said.

With some of her powerful roles in films that touched upon social issues, does Swara relate more to issue-based cinema?

"I don't think I am more relatable to issue-based cinema because I have done equal number of hardcore commercial films that had no social issues as a part of story line. I think what perhaps happened was that all the characters that I have played were strong, empowered characters. So there is this... woman-of-substance kind of image that gets associated with me on screen.

"I stay cool with that and it's a good image to have. I am conscious of the kind of films I do or the kind of films I have," said the actress.

(Nivedita can be contacted at Nivedita.s@ians.in)
Washington, May 2 : The White House has said that the US will continue talks with Israel about its settlement activity on occupied Palestinian territory.

"I'm sure that we'll continue to have conversations with the Prime Minister (on Israeli settlement activity)," Xinhua news agency quoted White House spokesman Sean Spicer as saying on Monday.

"That'll be something the President will continue to discuss."

Israeli authorities announced on Friday that the country intended to build 15,000 new settlement houses in East Jerusalem despite President Donald Trump's earlier call for holding back new settlement activities for a possible new effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the media that the new Israeli settlement plan was a "deliberate sabotage" of efforts to resume negotiations.

The new settlement activity came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to visit the White House later this week.

The White House said last month that Trump and Abbas would "reaffirm the commitment of both the US and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and ultimately concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel."

In another statement in March, the White House said Trump in his first phone call told Abbas that he believed peace between Palestine and Israel was possible.

In a major departure from the longtime policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump in February said he was open to either a one-state or two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I'm looking at two-state, one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one," Trump said at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, Trump also asked Netanyahu to "hold back" on building new settlement "for a little bit".

The former US administration under Barack Obama often criticised Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which Washington considered as a major obstacle to peace.
The source of our light and creator of life, but do we know all about it? Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi : Title: 15 Million Degrees - A Journey to the Centre of the Sun; Author: Lucie Green; Publisher: Penguin Random House UK; Pages: 303; Price: Rs 499 Its light made life on earth possible and continues to sustain it. We may revel in -- or sometimes revile -- sunlight, which takes a little over eight minutes to reach us through 150 million km of space but was generated when we had not even evolved as the Homo sapiens.

And for that matter, do we know how the Sun produces this light, or what other things it sends our way? What is so unique about one star among the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, "which in turn is just one galaxy out of the hundreds of billions that are sprawled across the known Universe".

Plenty, as Professor Green, who has studied it for almost two decades, tells us in this illuminating book.

She not only goes to show how the star has more influence on us than we know, especially as far as power supply and communications are concerned, and how extensively this influence stretches -- way beyond our own planet -- but also why the study of the Sun is important.

A solar physicist at the University College of London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory and by her own admission, "completely obsessed" by the celestial body, Green seeks to demonstrate "just how much lies behind a seemingly straightforward desire to understand the Sun".

It is an enlightening journey she takes us on, encompassing thousands of years of seeing it by the naked eye (with a warning against trying it without necessary precautions), hundreds of years of gazing at it through telescopes, and decades of monitoring it from space. And then it draws in the disciplines of atomic physics, thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, gravity and light.

But should this deter the reader without scientific knowledge or inclination, Green proves her prowess as a science communicator by ensuring her explanation is cast in as accessible a manner as possible, with relatable analogies and seasoned with a ready wit.

Among the best example is explaining what happens in a photon-electon collision through the medium of a money loan and its eventual repayment: "I won't get the same 50 pound note back. But that doesn't matter -- I'll get the same amount of money back and will still be in an excited state."

While there are scientists galore from Sir Issac Newton (who proves to have had a mean side too) down to Albert Einstein and more closer to our time, those who get their place in the sun include Annie Jump Cannon and her fellow woman computers at Harvard Observatory -- "well before a 'computer' changed from being a person to a machine" -- who in the end-19th/early 20th century, categorised stars on the basis of their emitted light (Cannon herself did 250,000 stars in her career at the rate of three a minute).

There is Cecilia Payne, who discerned the ratio of elements that composed the sun, but was forced to term her findings an "anomaly" after experts didn't agree and failed to get much credit even after she was proved correct, and Indian-American Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who as editor of a esteemed astrophysical journal, reposed faith in a contributor advocating a radical theory -- despite the doubts of external referees.

But most engrossing than the interesting expositions of how the Sun is made up (and of what), its parts and their complex workings, and its unique features like sunspots, flares, wind and more, is Green's evocative account of its creation (as well as its solar system including our home planet), and why despite the chain nuclear fusion at its core, it does not explode -- yet. Equally gripping is its inevitable end as a star that is around midway through its existence.

While the epilogue gives a precis of the celestial body's importance as well as what we don't know about it, the overall effect of this sparkling book is to create a sense of wonder in the universe's subtle workings -- as well as the persistence of those who devote their lives in trying to discern them.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
New Delhi : Economy, culture and human bonds are the most important ties that bind Saudi Arabians and Indians together. Our association is one of the fondest and one of the oldest in the world, going back all the way to the third millennium BC. There had been ancient peaceful contacts and interactions between the two peoples, including immigrations from both sides.

India has for many centuries welcomed Arabs, who have come here to settle, study or for trading. Over the years that I have proudly served as Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Republic of India, I have come across so many stories of the deep human bonds that exist between the peoples of Saudi Arabia and India. I have heard stories of Arabs who came decades ago to Gujarat, Bombay (now, Mumbai), Delhi and Hyderabad for learning, trade and work. No wonder the name of India, "al-Hind", is very common in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. Several Indian goods that entered the Arab world were named after their place of origin. Indian swords, a favourite in the Arab world, were known by names such as Hindi, Hindawani and Muhannad.

Evidently, Saudi Arabia and India have a shared history of culture and of people's ties. As recently as the beginning of this century, there were approximately 1.5 million Indians working and living in Saudi Arabia. That number has now risen to over three million people. Doctors, engineers, IT professionals, workers, academicians, scientists and chemists are all part of the Indian community in Saudi Arabia, working hard to establish themselves in almost all economic sectors, given the plethora of opportunities. We look at them as partners. Ravi Pillai is a good example that comes to my mind. Mr. Pillai moved to Saudi Arabia in the late 70s, and since then, he has established himself as one of the most successful businessmen across the region -- in construction, hospitality, education and retail. His businesses today employ more than 70,000 people.

Consider this as an example: A billionaire industrialist who owns multiple hospitals in the region, a visionary doctor, a multi-millionaire in retail business, a successful investment banker, all have one thing in common -- they all are Indians who have established their fortunes in Saudi Arabia and the region.

Success stories around Indians are not an exception in Saudi Arabia. They are highly regarded for their educational and technical achievements; for their integrity and sense of discipline; for their honesty and devotion to work. The contribution of Indians in economic development has been acknowledged by our government and we have made significant efforts to make them feel at home. Employees of large companies have access to state-of-the-art housing facilities and their children have access to schools with a board of education of their choice. For instance, the Indian board of education of CBSE following NCERT curriculum is taught in many schools across the country. Be it education or housing, jobs or lifestyle choices, there is access for everyone -- natives or expatriates.

We have worked diligently to ensure that the guests of the Kingdom have an accessible redressal system to protect them from any violations. When it comes to the rights of workers, all contracts that each of them gets into with their employers are detailed out addressing every aspect of their work life. Saudi labour law provides to all expatriates full legal protection, which includes a unified labour contract, and provisions that prohibit employing persons in jobs different from the profession stated in the contract or holding their payments. Article 61 of the labour law requires the employer to "treat his workers with due respect and refrain from any action or utterances that may infringe upon their dignity and religion".

It also lays down guidelines of giving workers the time required to exercise their rights without any deductions from their wages. Further, Article 101 lays down provisions for rest periods wherein "no worker shall work for more than five consecutive hours without a break of no less than thirty minutes each time during the total working hours for rest, prayer and meals".

In fact, we always aim to ensure best practice. For instance, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development announced on April 23, 2017, that they will open bank accounts for domestic workers in the country. This has been done to ensure that all domestic workers get their wages and entitlements on time and that employers honour their contracts. Job security will also improve through this move, as employers will have to register their contracts electronically.

We also have one of the most progressive corporate policies around employees serving their notice period. In such situations, these employees are entitled to eight fully-paid hours per week or a full day per week to look for alternative employment.

I will re-emphasise that there are provisions and guidelines for any employee in any sector to seek legal redressal in case of dispute or violation of their labour rights. Violators in Saudi Arabia are penalised and punished for violating labour laws.

The Kingdom also has a very strong law prohibiting the trafficking of humans. In 2009, Royal Decree number M/40 dated 21/7/1430H declared that any person who was convicted would be liable to face imprisonment and pay a huge fine. The law was further strengthened last year ahead of the anti-human trafficking day (August 9), reinforcing the commitment of our government against this injustice. The Ministry of Interior also issued an order regarding human trafficking, emphasising the need and the importance for everyone to come and work together, to prevent it.

"Treat people as you would like to be treated" is an Islamic principle. You have a similar saying in the Indian text of Hitopadesha which states that, "one should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated". This principle, and the bond of friendship have been brought to life many times. One such instance that immediately comes to mind is that of an Indian guest worker in Saudi Arabia, who was jailed for two months after getting into an altercation with his colleague in a third country. His parents sought help from his Saudi-based employer, who readily made all arrangements to get him out of prison, including physically travelling from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi to secure his release. This is just one of the many examples of friendship and goodwill that exist between the people of the two countries.

A bilateral agreement on labour cooperation for recruitment of General Category Workers was signed during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia in April 2016. The two countries are constantly working together to improve the situation of workers. An agreement on Labour Cooperation for Domestic Service Workers Recruitment was signed between Saudi Arabia and India in 2014. Additionally, in 2014, the two governments signed a bilateral agreement that allows prisoners to spend their sentenced term in their home country if they wish.

Also, a Joint Working Group on consular issues was established under the umbrella of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Commission to discuss consular issues on a regular basis.

Recently, while going through news clippings from across the Kingdom, one particular news item caught my attention -- a Saudi Arabian employer threw a wedding reception for her help and even paid for her honeymoon. Stories like this are not rare in our country and employers across Saudi Arabia recognise and appreciate the hard work and dedication of those that work for them.

There is always a significant reward for hard work and perseverance, and that is true for most of our Indian guests who have come to Saudi Arabia and have embraced us as their own, collaborating with us in our journey of growth and development.

(Saud M. Al-Sati is Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India. The views expressed are personal)
New York, May 2 : Millions shared their pain on Twitter on Tuesday after Instagram's 'Stories' feature experienced issues that prevented them from uploading images to the photo-sharing app.

According to a report in CNET, Facebook-owned Instagram tweeted that the company was aware of the problem and working to fix it.

However, people could still view their previously uploaded images.

'Stories', a feature that lets users post photos and videos that vanish after 24 hours, was introduced in Instagram in 2016, after it became famous on photo and video sharing platform Snapchat.

After watching the efforts being paid off, Facebook later rolled out the same feature in Whatsapp and Facebook mobile app as well.

Facebook, which bought Instagram for $1 billion five years ago, said in April it counted more than 200 million people using Instagram Stories.

Last week Instagram announced that it now has more than 700 million users, with the last 100 million joining the platform in just four months.

"We're thrilled to announce that our community has grown to more than 700 million Instagrammers. And the last 100 million of you joined faster than ever," the company wrote in a blog.

Facebook in April announced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool and the company was leveraging it to build amazing visual experiences for people, including an AI-infused camera across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.
Dubai, May 2 : Inaugural T20 World Champions India dropped six points to slip to the fourth spot in the ICC T20 International rankings in the annual update released here on Tuesday.

The Virat Kohli-led side is now on 118 points, three points behind ICC World Twenty20 2009 winner Pakistan, which has joined second-placed England on 121 points after gaining five points.

But Pakistan is ranked behind the ICC World Twenty20 2010 winner by a fraction of a point.

England have benefitted significantly to rise three places after gaining seven points to now sit on 121 points.

Eoin Morgan's side is four points behind table-topper New Zealand, which is on 125 points after dropping two points.

South Africa has slipped two places to fifth ranking after conceding six points, but is one point ahead of Australia.

Australia has swapped places with reigning ICC World Twenty20 champions, the West Indies, which is 14 points ahead of 2014 winner and eighth-ranked Sri Lanka (95 points, down by four).

Bangladesh is ranked 10th on 78 points after gaining four points, while Zimbabwe has retained its 12th rank after gaining three points.

Among the non-Test playing sides, Afghanistan and the Netherlands have moved in opposite directions.

Afghanistan is the side to benefit most after England as it has gained six points and climbed to 90 points.

But while Afghanistan has strenghtened its ninth position, the Netherlands has dropped nine points to slip one place to 14th rank.

Scotland is in 11th rank on 67 points (up by four), followed by the UAE in 13th (52, up by four), the Netherlands in 14th (49, down by nine), Hong Kong in 15th (46, up by three), PNG in 16th (39, down by four), Oman in 17th (38, down by one) and Ireland in 18th (36, down by four).

Australia and the next nine highest-ranked sides will qualify automatically for the ICC World Twenty20 2020 to be staged in Australia.

The bottom eight sides on the team rankings will get a second chance to qualify for the seventh edition of the tournament when they will join the regional qualifiers in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2019.

Six sides will qualify from the qualifier to complete the 16-team line-up.
Los Angeles, May 2 : Actor Johnny Depp is suffering from "compulsive spending disorder" and may need to be medically examined, according to latest court claims from his former management company.

The legal documents, filed by Joel and Robert Mandel of the Mandel Co on Monday, claim that Depp's "ultra-extravagant lifestyle" cost $2 million a month, "which he simply could not afford", before he fired the Management Group in March 2016, reports variety.com.

The firm "did everything possible to protect Depp from his own irresponsible and profligate spending", according to the lawsuit.

Depp is said to have spent more than $75 million to acquire and improve on 14 residences -- including a chain of islands in the Bahamas, multiple houses in Hollywood and a 45-acre chateau in the South of France.

"In retrospect, it appears that Depp may suffer from a compulsive spending disorder, which will be proven in this action through a mental examination," wrote attorney Michael Kump in the complaint.

In January, Depp had sued his former management company for fraud.
Beijing, May 2 : China's central bank on Tuesday suspended open market operations for policy tightening.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) withdrew 70 billion yuan ($10 billion) from the market, as reverse repurchase agreements (repos) matured, Xinhua news agency reported.

Reverse repos is a process by which central banks purchase securities from banks with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

"There was an increase of fiscal spending at the end of April and liquidity in the banking system remains at a moderate level. The central bank will not conduct reverse repos on Tuesday," said a PBOC statement.

The central bank has conducted open market operation reverse repos for nine-consecutive days.

Analysts said such moves reinforced the view that liquidity in the banking system will remain tight in May, as the economy stabilises in an uncertain environment.

China's GDP expanded 6.9 per cent year on year in the first quarter, up from the 6.8-per cent growth in the previous quarter and 6.7 per cent in 2016.

China has set the tune of its monetary policy in 2017 as prudent and neutral, keeping an appropriate liquidity level but also avoiding excessive liquidity injections.
Sydney, May 2 : Australian scientists called for action on Tuesday, as new research said deforestation has driven lots of the world's animals to the brink of extinction.

Researchers at the Macquarie University here warned species ranging from butterflies to frogs and lizards were all at risk, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The amount of expected extinction is really high, I think the scientific community should find the result disturbing," Associate Professor John Alroy told Xinhua news agency.

"Previously, research has focused on a local extinction, but what is new about this research is that it's not about a local or small forest but about complete extinction globally."

Tropical forests are home to the majority of all plant and animal species, and according to the findings, disturbing their ecosystem could have a severe impact.

"A mass extinction could have happened right under our noses because we just don't know much about the many rare species that are most vulnerable to extinction," Alroy said.

More than half of the world's species are found in tropical forests, even though they only make up 10 per cent of the earth's land surface, so according to Alroy, the solution is to "create more areas that are protected from deforestation".

"A lot more field work needs to be done in the tropics and the time to do this is now," he said.
New Delhi, May 2 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju here on Tuesday paid his last respects to BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar, who was killed by Pakistan Army near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

Sagar's body was brought to Palam airport where he was paid last respects and was prepared for the journey onward to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria.

"We will take the body in a helicopter. Travelling time to Deoria is about three-and-half hours. The entire arrangement will be made by the BSF and the Uttar Pradesh government," Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju told media persons.

Speaking to a news channel on the Kashmir issue, another BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was "firm and the forces are doing their job in containing those who are inspired and instigated from across the border".

According to the Indian Army, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Border Security Force trooper Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan Army in an "unprovoked" attack in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Monday.
Srinagar, May 2 : Two gunmen on Tuesday looted Rs 65,000 from a bank in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said.

The gunmen entered a branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank (Regional Rural Bank) in Kader village and looted the money at gunpoint, a police official said.

The robbery took place a day after militants killed five policemen and two bank employees in Kulgam's Pombai village.
New Delhi, May 2 : Instead of raking up the triple talaq issue, the government should focus more on education and other basic facilities to India's "under-privileged" communities, including Muslims, a woman leader of the Jamaat-e-Islamic Hind (JeIH) said on Tuesday.

JeIH Secretary Atiya Siddiqua said a negative image of Muslims was being portrayed to show Muslim men as dominant and women as victims.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement asking Muslim leaders not to politicise triple talaq, Siddiqua said it was the government which was unnecessarily blowing triple talaq and polygamy out of proportion.

"These practices have been in Islam since the beginning. Why was there no hue and cry (about it) so far? Why did this happen all of a sudden?" Siddiqua asked.

"The fact is that the practice of polygamy among Muslims is too low than other communities and the percentage of divorce is also least among Muslims."

She asked the government not to interfere in Muslim religious matters and termed polygamy as a "divine law and boon for society" because it can give social and financial security to widows and uplift their status.

She said the Jamaat had been conducting a pan-India awareness programme with Muslims over issues like marriage, divorce and inheritance. The 15-day awareness programme ends on May 7.

"During our visit to various slum areas (in Uttar Pradesh), Muslim women told us that the education of their children was their priority. It (triple talaq) is a non-issue. It is being politicised unnecessarily .

"The government should take up issues like education and basic facilities... for underprivileged," Siddiqua said.

She said Muslim clerics have also been advised to deliver Friday sermons related to Muslim personal laws and eliminate misconceptions about it.

Shaista Rafat, in-charge of JeIH Delhi and Haryana women wing, said Islamic laws were "divine and they are for the good of people. Those who say these practices should be abolished are unaware about the Shariah laws."

The BJP-led central government has been pushing for a ban on the practice of triple talaq -- verbally divorcing wife by uttering the word "talaq" thrice.

The debate against the practice was fueled when a woman in Uttar Pradesh lodged a complaint against her husband who had allegedly threatened her with triple talaq after she delivered a girl child.

The practice is not followed in at least 22 Muslim countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 2 : The Congress-led opposition in Kerala on Tuesday created ruckus in the state Assembly demanding the resignation of state Power Minister M.M. Mani for his disparaging remarks on women workers, and over the Pinarayi Vijayan government failing to reinstate T.P. Senkumar as state police chief despite orders by the Supreme Court.

As soon as the assembly opened for question hour, the opposition was up in arms shouting slogans demanding the resignation of Mani for his disparaging remarks on women plantation workers last month.

Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan asked the Opposition to remain quiet amid the din. Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala then said that they did not wish to disrupt the assembly as issues concerning the people were being discussed.

"But Congress legislator P.T. Thomas will now approach the Kerala High Court with a special petition against Mani for action following his curt remarks against women plantation workers," said Chennithala, after which the question hour went ahead.

After Question Hour, senior opposition legislator M. Ummer of the IUML sought leave for an adjournment motion, saying the Constitution has been breached by Vijayan, as even after eight days of the apex court order to reinstate Senkumar, he had failed to carry it out.

"You (Vijayan) have violated the oath of secrecy, as you are yet to act on the apex court order on reinstatement of Senkumar. When the verdict came, you said the details are awaited. But the same day the 56-page judgement was made available. Now even after a week, you are still dilly dallying, which is a clear sign of disrespect to the apex court. All your arguments against Senkumar, raised by one of the country's highest paid lawyers, was dismissed. No one knows if Kerala has a state police chief now. What is being said is that a former state police chief who is now your advisor is running the show... This is not acceptable," said Ummer.

In his reply, Vijayan said: "We are on the job of reinstating Senkumar as the state police chief."

"We are duty bound to comply with the order. It will be done. The due process of law to implement the order is being done. It must be recalled that the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Kerala High Court ruled in favour of the state government, but the apex court ruled in favour of Senkumar. We will certainly comply with the order," said Vijayan.

Unhappy with the answer, Leader of Opposition Chennithala asked Vijayan if he can tell the people of Kerala who the state police chief is.

Vijayan failed to give an answer. There was thumping of desks when Chennithala pointed out that such a situation has never arisen in Kerala.

"The silence of Vijayan on naming the state police chief reveals that a grave situation is prevailing in the state. When the executive fails, the judiciary steps in and that's what has happened in Kerala now. And if you try to delay the officer's reinstatement by filing a revision petition, it won't even reach the gate of the Supreme Court. You told the assembly that Senkumar is not fit to hold the post of the state police chief. You should never have said that and all the material that you produced to prove it, fell flat," said Chennithala.

When the Speaker disallowed the adjournment motion, Chennithala led a walk out with the entire opposition.

Meanwhile, Senkumar's petition against State Chief Secretary Nalini Netto for failing to abide by the apex court order to reinstate him is to come up before the Supreme Court on Friday.

In the another development, the Director General of police Jacob Thomas who heads the Vigilance Department on Tuesday extended his leave.

This has come as a blessing in disguise for Vijayan, as the present state police chief Loknath Behra who will have to move out to accommodate Senkumar will be made the Vigilance chief.

All eyes are on Wednesday's cabinet meeting and it remains to be seen if Vijayan will hand out the order or will he wait till Friday.
Pyongyang, May 2 : North Korea on Tuesday said the US military has conducted a nuclear bomb dropping drill in South Korea and called it an "extremely reckless" move presaging a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.

"On May 1, the US imperialists committed one more military provocation of conducting a nuclear bomb dropping drill against the major objects of North Korea in the sky over South Korea by bringing a formation of notorious nuclear strategic bomb B-1B in the wake of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 17 joint military drills," Xinhua news cited the KCNA as saying.

The report said the bombers took off from Guam and "stealthily came in the sky over the East Sea of Korea to acquire the procedure and way of the coordinated operation with the strategic striking means such as nuclear carrier and nuclear sub".

"What merits a serious attention is that such a military game is underway when (US President Donald) Trump and other warmongers are crying out for making a pre-emptive nuclear strike at North Korea day after day," it said.

Tension has remained high over the past two months between the US and North Korea over Washington's threat to stage a military attack upon Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile programmes.

The US and South Korea also held their largest so far joint military exercises in the past two months, while the USS Carl Vinson nuclear aircraft carrier task group has arrived in the waters off the peninsula for joint drills with the South Korean military.
Mumbai, May 2 : NDA ally Shiv Sena on Tuesday urged the central government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss, what it said was, the "worsening situation" in Jammu and Kashmir.

"What is happening is serious. It is very sad," Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said.

"We are such a big country and yet these things are happening. It does not portend well for us. As a nation, we have to take some decisions. There should be an all-party meeting to discuss the happenings in Jammu and Kashmir and on the Line of Control," Raut told media here.

The demand by the Sena -- a partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance -- comes after a spurt in violence in the state and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers by a Border Action Team of Pakistan on Monday.

The Sena is also an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra.

Earlier, Sena President Uddhav Thackeray demanded tough action by India against Pakistan for its continued aggression from across the border.
DROTTNINGHOLM, Sweden  Despite a cold wind and chilling temperatures, spring has come to Sweden. At least, spring for the milk cows.

In an annual event that warms hearts across the country, "koslapp"  the cow release  has become a popular family outing for urban residents. That's when the farmers of Sweden free their cows from the barns and stables where they have spent the long, dark, cold winter.

Dozens of dairy cows frolicked and jumped over the weekend on the outskirts of Stockholm, the capital.

"I live in the city and it's really nice to come out to the countryside," said 37-year-old Linda Lundberg from Stockholm who attended the event with her friends. "It's fun to celebrate spring together with the cows."

In recent years, milk farms across Sweden have seen a growing number of people attending what used to be simply a big day for Sweden's agricultural community. Last year, alone, dairy cooperative Arla Foods saw around 165,000 people flock to their farms across the Scandinavian country to watch the cows, frisky with excitement, race out into the sun and the lush summer pastures.

"We make a lot of people happy, both families and children," explained Elin Rydstrom, 37, who has spent the past week preparing to welcome about 1,000 people at her small organic farm in Drottningholm. She's noticed a real shift in people's attitude toward farmers.

"When I was little, people would tease me at school and say 'You smell like cows,' " she recalled. Now her children's classmates come to the farm "and everyone thinks it's really nice."

Media-savvy farmers are now turning to social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to change the perception of their profession and to encourage people to reflect on where their food comes from.

"Snapchat allows me to bring the farm to the city," explained 28-year-old dairy farmer Anna Pettersson. She posts farm-life photos on social media and answers questions from users, including about animal welfare, food production and the length of her working hours.

Pettersson told The Associated Press that she hoped social media will encourage people to better understand what they consume and the need to pay for quality produce.

A mere 30 minutes after their release, the cows were settling into their new environment while groups of people elsewhere on the farm were searching for the best picnic spot.

"It's something special to have a farm and to be able to do this," Rydstrom said. "To show the importance of quality food and being out in nature."
Thiruvananthapuram, May 02 : The united democratic front (UDF) has decided to approach the court against power minister M M Mani over the anti-women remarks allegedly made by the latter during a speech.

The decision to take legal recourse against the minister was taken at the fronts parliamentary party meeting held early on Tuesday.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala later informed the state assembly that UDFs parliamentary party secretary and congress legislator P T Thomas would file a petition against M M Mani before the Kerala high court over the ministers controversial remarks.

The opposition legislators again raised a din in the assembly demanding the power ministers resignation.

Chennithala told the assembly that the opposition front would persist with its boycott of Mr. Mani inside and outside the assembly until the latter tenders his resignation.

The opposition had earlier decided to boycott the minister by desisting from asking questions on the floor of the assembly pertaining to his ministry.

M M Mani had landed in a soup after he made obnoxious and sexually loaded remarks against pembilai orumai, a collective of women plantation workers in Munnar, while addressing a public meeting in Idukki on April 22.

Even though the CPI(M)-led LDF government has dismissed clamour for Manis removal from the cabinet, the party state committee has decided to take the disciplinary action of public censure against him.

Members of pembilai orumai have been staging a protest in Munnar for almost a week demanding the ministers resignation.
Kolkata, May 2 : Claiming that the Congress and Left Front activists in the state are switching over to his party, BJP's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday said that the BJP and ruling Trinamool Congress will be the main rivals in next year's Panchayat (rural body) elections.

"The way the grass-roots workers from the Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist are joining our party every day, it seems a majority of their candidates who won the last elections will be with us," Ghosh told the media in Burdwan town in West Bengal district of the same name.

"The fight to win the Panchayat elections will evidently be between two parties -- the TMC and the BJP. The common people will come under our party's flag and vote for the BJP. They will resist the Trinamool Congress," he said.

Ghosh claimed that the CPI-M and Congress have already lost a lot of political ground in the state, and might even find it difficult to name candidates for all Panchayat seats.

"Even if they manage to file nominations, there won't be enough people to campaign for them," he said.

Talking about Trinamool Congress' overwhelming presence in the 2016 assembly elections, Ghosh said the ruling party might lose its lustre if some of their leaders, accused in various chit fund scams, get arrested before the Panchayat polls.

"No one knows what will be the state of the Trinamool Congress by the time the Panchayat elections are held. If two or three of their leaders get arrested, the party may lose its lustre. Who knows if they will be in a position to fight the elections or not," he said.

The BJP leader also held the state government responsible for the recurring incidents of violence against police.

"The police have never been humiliated and heckled in this way. They never had to stoop so low. They are helpless. They are facing the heat due to the lack of governance in the state," Ghosh said, claiming the police won't stand by the ruling party-backed hooligans for long.

Echoing his views, BJP National Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya exuded confidence that all the Trinamool Congress leaders accused in Sarada (chit fund) and Narada (sting footage) scams will be punished, and demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expel them from her party.

"I want to ask if she will expel her corrupt ministers named in an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation. If she does not do so, the people of Bengal will grab them by the collar and expel them from the state," Vijayvargiya said at a public rally in Burdwan.

The CBI has registered a case against a dozen senior Trinamool leaders who were purportedly seen accepting wads of currency notes in the Narada sting footage. The list includes former and current ministers,ands members of Parliament and assembly.

"It is shameful that more than half of her cabinet has been accused by the CBI of corruption," he added.
New Delhi, May 2 : Condemning as "barbaric" the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday wondered if Union Minister Smriti Irani would now "gift bangles" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she had wanted to send to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a similar killing in 2013.

During the Congress-led UPA rule in 2013, after a terror attack on Indian soldiers, Irani while addressing a public meeting had offered to send bangles to Manmohan Singh.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack by the Pakistanis and the mutilating of the bodies of two of our soldiers," the Congress spokesperson said, briefing mediapersons.

"During the UPA regime there was a woman MP (Smriti Irani) who said the Prime Minister should be gifted bangles. Will the same MP who is now a Minister send bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?," Sibal asked.

He also said there should be a policy to tackle terrorism and the government should discuss it with the opposition.

He said the BJP-led NDA government will have time to protect the borders "only if they have time to spare from election campaigns. What kind of a government is this that despite knowing that Pakistan will not change its ways, they invited the ISI to Pathankot," said Sibal, referring to the Pakistani team that went to Pathankot to probe the 2016 terror attack on an Indian airbase.

"In the last 35 months, 135 soldiers have died in Jammu and Kashmir. Who is responsible for this?" he asked.

"They said demonetisation will end terrorism, but terror attacks only increased after that. I remember when Hemraj was beheaded (in 2013) Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) said 'We should get 10 heads for one'...How many heads will they get for two?" Sibal wondered.

India on Tuesday blamed Pakistan for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
Paris, May 2 : Fashion designer Christian Louboutin says a part of his beauty line is inspired by Indian classical dance form Kathakali because he loves everything about Indian culture.

The 54-year-old, who joined forces with brand Batallure Beauty LLC in 2012 to launch his cosmetics collection, which he has since expanded to include a lipstick, nail polish as well as an eye make-up range, says that Kathakali has influenced him to a great extent, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I love all aspects of Indian culture. In fact, my new eye make-up collection was inspired by the Indian dance, Kathakali," Louboutin told ES magazine.

Known for designing footwear with the signature red sole, Louboutin is currently working on a new project in Mumbai, India, with Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, whom he calls a "great friend".
New Delhi, May 2 : India on Tuesday again blamed Pakistan for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir as the Indian DGMO raised the matter with his Pakistani counterpart.

Director General of Military Operations Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt, in a call to his Pakistani counterpart, expressed "grave concern" over Monday's incident in Krishna Ghati sector, where the Pakistan Army targeted an Indian patrol on the Indian side of the Line of Control and mutilated the bodies of two soldiers.

"DGMO Indian Army conveyed that such inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," said an Indian Army statement here.

The DGMO told his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire support" was provided by a Pakistani military post to the assailants.

"The Pakistani DGMO was also apprised that while undertaking this dastardly act, full fire support was provided by Pakistani Army Post located in vicinity of the incident site," the statement said.

Bhatt also expressed concern over the presence of training camps of the Border Action Team (BAT), made up of Pakistani military and the terrorists it trains, close to the vicinity of the LoC, it added.

Earlier, the Pakistani military has said that military officials at local level talked over a hotline to reduce tensions after New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of mutilating the bodies of two of its soldiers.

"A local commanders' level hotline contact was established at Rawlakot-Poonch sector on LoC (Line of Control) last night between the Pakistan and Indian Army authorities," Xinhua news agency quoted the Pakistan Army as saying.

"The Indian counterpart was told that there has been no CFV (ceasefire violation) from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies," a statement from the Army's Inter-Services Public Relations said.

The statement said the Indian authorities were told there was "unnecessary media hype" following the allegations against the Pakistani military.

"Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects same from other side and hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to vitiating the environment and affect peace along the LoC," the statement said.
New Delhi, May 2 : Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday slammed senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas for making statements in the media over the ongoing infighting within the party in the wake of its civic polls debacle.

"Rather making statements on TV channels, he should raise his concerns within the party forum," Sisodia told reporters.

He also said that Vishwas was never asked to apologise for the video which he had released after the disrespect shown to soldiers in Kashmir last month.

Sisodia's remarks came minutes after Vishwas accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders of conspiring against him, asserting that he won't compromise with his principles and will soon take a call on his future line of action.

Sisodia said that Vishwas was making remarks on television which was "lowering" the morale of party workers.

"No one in the party asked Kumar Vishwas to apologise. He made it personal. The party does not belong to Arvind (Kejriwal), to me or to Kumar (Vishwas) but it belongs to lakhs of workers in India and abroad," Sisodia told reporters at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence.

He added that it should not be made a personal issue.

"I along with Sanjay Singh had gone to meet him. He did not come to the PAC yesterday (Monday). He is making remarks in the media which is lowering the morale of party cadre and everyone knows who is getting benefited," Sisodia said.
Lucknow, May 2 : The body of BSF trooper Prem Sagar, killed and "mutilated" by Pakistani military, was flown to Deoria in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday evening by a special chopper.

The body was received at the Police Lines by Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Sahi, MP Ravindra Kushwaha and officials.

The body was taken to his village Tikampur by his family members who demanded that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath must personally come and pay homage to the trooper.

Villagers blocked a rail track demanding Adityanath's visit, leading to the blockade of Vaishali Express for over an hour.

The younger brother of the trooper, who is also with the Border Security Force and is posted in Chhattisgarh, said the news of the killing had shattered the family.

BSF's Prem Sagar and an Indian soldier were killed and their bodies "mutilated" by Pakistani forces on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
London, May 2 : Around 20,000 Sikh and Punjabi diaspora members turned up for the Baisakhi celebrations organised by the Indian High Commission at Northolt, London, with a rich array of langar food served to more than 15,000 persons, an official statement said.

The Indian High Commission organised Baisakhi celebrations on April 30 at Northolt, London. The celebrations were part of the larger celebrations of the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji, being organised by the government of India globally and flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Shri Patna Sahib earlier this year.

This was the first major public event targeted not only at the Punjabi and Sikh population in the UK but also to spread the message of peace, social coherence and valour embodied by the revered 10th Guru of Sikhs, a High Commission statement said.

The event, organised with financial assistance of India's Ministry of Culture was a tremendous success in all its aspects, it said.

It saw the participation of 14 Gurudwaras from all over London which pitched in with volunteers and a rich array of langar food items for all visitors. Between 18,000 to 20,000 people turned up throughout the day -- at one time, more than 1,800 cars were parked at the arrangements made for visitors. The langar alone served more than 15,000 people throughout the day.

The event drew tremendous support from other Indian community organisations. Close to 60 stalls put up catered to India in all its diversity. The predominant theme, of course, was the richness and warmth of Punjabi culture traditions.

The cultural programmes, at two different stages at the venue, saw some of the best names in the UK and India performing. These included Punjabi Spiritual Music, Bhangra and Giddha performances, and some eminent names like Jasbir Jassi, Channi Singh OBE, Angrez Ali, etc.

The mission also organised Gatka (Punjabi martial arts) competition in which more than 120 experts participated. Kabbadi by children aged 5-7 years drew appreciation from thousands of people.

In addition, turban tying, classes for Bhangra and Giddha, face painting, henna painting, dhol performance by small children, and many free contests and attractions for children were also arranged.

The event also saw the participation of the Royal Army, Navy, Air Force and the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association (MSPA), Sikh Scouts, as well as many charity organisations, the statement said.

The mission organised free shuttle service to facilitate commuting to the venue for those using public transport.

The event was attended by Members of Parliament, Lords, Mayors and Councillors from all over the UK. High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha (donning the traditional Sikh Turban) greeted the entire Indian community, in particular the Punjabis and Sikhs.

He thanked all Gurudwaras and community organisations that partnered in making this day-long event a great success, and stated that such an event should be conducted every year to celebrate the spirit of Baisakhi together with everyone.
Mumbai, May 2 : Tata Sons will seek necessary permissions to implement the June 22, 2016, London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) award in the Tata-NTT Docomo case.

The development comes after Delhi High Court on last Friday approved the consent terms between Tata Sons and Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo which were laid down by the LCIA award.

According to a regulatory filing made to the BSE by Tata Power on Tuesday, Tata Sons shall take necessary permissions from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and tax authorities to remit the amount in lieu of shares to be transferred to Tata Sons as per the consent terms.

"In terms of the Inter-Se Agreement dated 25 March 2009, Tata Power is to acquire 118,222,767 equity shares of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL). As on the date of the Arbitration Award i.e. 22 June 2016, $117,128,573 was payable by Tata Power for the same," Tata Power said in the filing.

"The final amount payable would be determined on the date of the payment to Docomo and would, therefore, vary over the amount indicated above. Tata Power has remitted Rs 790 crore to Tata Sons on 9th August 2016 and this will be appropriately adjusted against the amount that will be governed by the terms and conditions similar to those stipulated by the Delhi High Court Order of 28 April 2017."

On Friday, the Delhi High Court dismissed the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) application opposing the enforcement of a $1.18 billion arbitral award in the Tata-NTT Docomo case.

Tata Sons had announced in February 2017 that it had reached an agreement with NTT Docomo. Tata Sons had all along maintained that while it was willing to pay NTT Docomo what it owed the company according to their agreement, Indian laws prevented it from doing so.

In April 2014, NTT Docomo had decided to sell its entire 26.5 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices and withdraw from mobile telephony in India. Under the agreement between Tata and NTT, the latter had the right to request a buyer for its stake at a fair market price or 50 per cent of its acquired price, amounting to Rs 7,250 crore, whichever was higher. That would have meant a higher price than what is allowed under current rules which state that foreign companies can only exit investments at a valuation based on the return on equity.

In January 2015, NTT initiated arbitration proceedings against Tata Sons, claiming the latter failed to fulfil its obligation to find a buyer for Docomo's stake in Tata Teleservices Ltd.

A London tribunal had ordered the promoter of major Tata operating companies to pay $1.17 billion as compensation to NTT Docomo in June for breaching an agreement. Thereafter, Docomo filed enforcement proceedings in Delhi High Court. It also approached London's Commercial Court seeking enforcement action assets such as Jaguar LandRover and Tata Steel, which it argued, are controlled by Tata Sons.
Ankara, May 2 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejoined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday after an absence of about three years, the first major change to come into effect following a controversial vote to boost his powers.

Erdogan was welcomed as a new member at a special ceremony at the party headquarters in Ankara by hundreds of AKP officials, Anadolu news agency reported.

Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan said: "Today, I return to the party that I founded, my home, my passion, my love, which I had to leave according to our Constitution on August 27, 2014, when I was elected President."

Erdogan last month narrowly won a referendum on sweeping constitutional changes to create a presidential system in Turkey with just over 51 per cent of the vote.

Under the old system, the head of state had to break ties with their political party and Erdogan had to leave the AKP when he became President in August 2014 after serving 13 years as the Prime Minister.

Now, the new reforms permit the President to be a member of a political party, allowing Erdogan to return to the AKP which he co-founded in 2001. He is expected to chair the ruling party as well.

"I will nominate Erdogan as the candidate chairman of the party at the May 21 extraordinary congress," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said at the event.

Erdogan becomes the fourth President to retain his party ties.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, maintained his membership in the Republican People's Party (CHP), as did his successor, Ismet Inonu.

Turkey's third President Celal Bayar was also a member of the Democrat Party.
DECATUR  After nearly a year with the fear of layoffs lingering overhead, the Macon County Sheriffs Department is now moving forward with a plan to hire more than half a dozen deputies.

The hiring is thanks to a sales tax increase that voters approved during the April 4 consolidated election, which increases the sales tax by 25 cents on every $100 spent on tangible goods. It is expected to raise an extra $2.5 million per year to pay for the operations of the sheriff's office and county jail.

Were so thankful for residents who are allowing us to move forward with this, said Lt. Jonathan Butts. Were looking for good people with good character that we can build on.

At minimum, Butts said the department will look to hire four new deputies. With some possible retirements on the horizon, the number of new hires could end up being six by the end of the year.

Applications for the job can be picked up at the Macon County Law Enforcement Center at 333 S Franklin St. or online at www.sheriff-macon-il.us. Applicants have until Friday, June 2 to apply.

Sheriff officials had initially thought it would not be until the end of the year or early next year when hiring could begin, as the sales tax increase originally would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2018.

But officials learned about a fairly new state law that allows local municipalities to start collecting the new taxes as early as July 1, as long as the proper paperwork is filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue by May 1.

The county board held a special meeting on April 27, where it approved going forward with the tax increase and submitting paperwork before the May 1 deadline.

The Department of Revenue will start notifying local retailers to start collecting the additional sales tax on July 1, which Supervisor of Assessment Josh Tanner said it the standard protocol whenever a local governing body increases sales tax.

While the money will start collecting at the start of July, Tanner said the funds would not be available for the county until October.

That should not be an issue for the sheriff's department as Butts said  between the tests, background checks and interviewing of applicants  it will likely be September at the earliest before the first new deputy is hired.

The hiring is quite the change from where the department was just a few months ago, when it had to eliminate four specialty positions and leave six positions unfilled. Layoffs were avoided due to the aforementioned vacancies and a retirement within the office

Officers in those specialty positions, which include a school resource officer, drug interdiction detective, narcotic detective, and a U.S. marshal, were reassigned at the beginning of the year to the patrol division.

Butts said the plan is to reassign those officers back to their specialty positions once the new deputy hires complete their training.
Mokokchung (Nagaland), May 2 : Nagaland Chief Minister AShurhozelie Liezietsu on Tuesday urged the Naga people to seek an early and amicable settlement to the six-decade-old separatist Naga movement.

"Nagas have been suffering for too long and we want to see an early solution which is amicable and honourable," he told a large gathering of Ao Naga and Angami Naga tribes here on the occasion of the premier Ao festival Moatsu.

"Nagas have been suffering for too long due to non-resolution of the political problem," Liezietsu said.

Moatsu festival this year had a unique feature in that the Ao community had invited the Angami community to partake in the festival.

Accordingly, more than a thousand Angami tribals, dressed in their unique cultural attires, joined in the celebrations at Mokokchung, the district headquarters of the Ao Nagas.

"Let's do our best to be in a position of a civilised state because fighting for supremacy in a family can never help a family to move ahead and it can never compete with other peoples of the country," he said, hinting at the fragmentation of the Naga political groups into factions.

"Each one of us need to contribute our best to see that it (Naga political issue) is solved once and for all, each one of us has a role. If there is no peace, there cannot be progress and development."

Dwelling on the genesis of the Naga movement for self-determination, the Chief Minister recalled how 2,000 odd Nagas were taken to the warfront in Europe during World War I.

They returned home with the feeling that Nagas were different from other peoples of the world.

After the Nagas came back, they officially formed the Naga Club in 1919 through which awareness was created for the Nagas to move towards togetherness and also the political consciousness to stay as one people.

"We need to be Christians not only in Church. There is no looking back now: we need to build our Naga brotherhood on a stronger foundation. Let this be a milestone between our different communities and between God and us," Liezietsu said.
New Delhi, May 2 : Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday urged top commanders of the Indian Navy to be prepared at all times, and spoke on the "situation along the Western border" and its links to internal security.

Jaitley said, "Preparedness is the best deterrent" and also spoke on the "emerging security situation" in the Indian subcontinent and "extra regional powers" in the Indian Ocean region, an official statement said.

Addressing the Naval Commanders' Conference in the national capital, Jaitley spoke about "the prevailing and emerging security situation in the sub continent as also the expanding presence of the extra regional powers in Indian Ocean Region".

He also referred to the situation on the Western Border and its linkage to the internal security. He urged the Commanders' to be prepared at all times as 'Preparedness is the best deterrent'."

Acknowledging the different crucial requirements of the Indian Navy, the Defence Minister assured the Commanders that the government is working on all issues "very positively" and is going to increase the resources to make good the shortfalls soon.

He lauded the efforts of the Indian Navy in indigenisation and urged the Commanders' to focus on furtherance of domestic expertise.

The statement indicated that the Strategic Partnership model that the Defence Ministry is trying to put in place for defence manufacturing, and has been long delayed, may come through soon.

"...Due impetus through appropriate defence procurement policies (such as SP Model which would be finalised soon) is being given to make good the critical capability shortfalls viz. ship-borne Multi Role Helicopters (MRH), conventional submarines and Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs)," the statement said.

Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition Vice Admiral D.M. Deshpande had said recently that the Navy needed submarines to maintain the force level, and the Navy may look for other means to procure submarines if the Strategic Partnership programme does not get implemented.

The four-day conference that started on Tuesday will have Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and top commanders of the Indian Navy deliberating over issues like sustained operational effectiveness, combat readiness and improved maintenance philosophy to carry out its roles and missions.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, Defence Secretary A.G. Mohan Kumar and other senior functionaries of the Defence Ministry were also present at the conference on Tuesday.
New Delhi, May 2 : The rift within the AAP deepened on Tuesday with founder member Kumar Vishwas accusing senior leaders of conspiring against him and indicating his possible exit from the party.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, a childhood friend of the poet-politician, hit back, saying he should have used proper forum to raise his concerns.

"I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell those conpirators that I will not allow you to do so," he said defying a party request not to rake up issues in the media.

He did not take any name but his target was clear.

Kumar Vishwas dubbed Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who accused him of being a "BJP-RSS agent", as a "mask" behind those ganging up against him.

Khan on Sunday alleged that Kumar Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and plotting a coup against party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Pledging to keep highlighting what he said were the AAP's mistakes, Kumar Vishwas said he would continue to speak in the interest of the country.

He denied he wanted to be the AAP Convenor. "I have already said 10 times and even to Arvind and Manish and the party that I don't want to be the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister or the Convenor."

He said he would not join any political party or Swaraj Andolan.

Kumar Vishwas broke down while speaking. "I had not joined the movement for this."

Asked if he would quit the AAP, he responded: "I will decide tonight and will soon tell you."

The AAP fielded Sisodia, a Kejriwal confidant, to counter the allegations. He slammed his former colleague for speaking publicly.

"Rather than making statements on TV channels, he should raise his concerns within the party forum. He should come and attend the PAC meet."

Sisodia said Kumar Vishwas' remarks were affecting the morale of party workers.

He said Kumar Vishwas was never asked to apologise for a video he released last month in which, among other things, he made oblique criticism of the AAP. "No one asked him to apologize. He made it personal.

"The party does not belong to Arvind, to me or to Kumar but it belongs to lakhs of workers in India and abroad," Sisodia told reporters at Kejriwal's residence.

Sisodia said he and party leader Sanjay Singh went to meet him. Still, Kumar Vishwas skipped an AAP leadership meeting on Monday. "Everyone knows who is benefitting" from his public remarks."

Also on Tuesday, Kumar Vishwas said he had thought he had touched the right nerve by raising the issues of introspection within the party after its drubbing in Delhi's municipal polls.

He also subtly attacked Kejriwal, accusing him of raising questions on the surgical strike by the Indian Army last year on terrorists in Pakistani territory.

"If we made mistakes and gave a 'wrong message' which lowered the morale of our soldiers, then we need a course correction," he said.
Washington, May 2 : Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to use his complete authority in combating hate crimes against religious minorities in the US.

Krishnamoorthi made the appeal in a letter signed by 68 others.

The Congressman's letter comes after Kelly in a Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus meeting said that there was a need for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to focus more on white supremacist organisations and hate groups, the American Bazaar Online reported on Tuesday.

"I was heartened to hear Secretary Kelly's recognition of the threat posed by hate groups and other forces of intolerance," Krishnamoorthi said.

"This letter urges the Secretary to act on that knowledge and use the resources of his department to combat both hate crimes and their root causes."

Krishnamoorthi wrote in the letter that many Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, and other religious minorities in the US are living under the fear for their safety and requested him to protect their interests.

Kelly, during his congressional meeting, said: "One of the first things I noticed from the last administration is that there was not enough focus, in my view, on white supremacy organisations or hate organisationsA this intolerance is truly disgusting."

In the letter, Krishnamoorthi pointed out the attacks on Indian Americans and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries. He specifically pointed to the Kansas incident in February, where Indian American engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead.

Krishnamoorthi said the time has arrived to take decisive action to put an end to the hate crimes, and asked Kelly to assure the US people their basic rights to live freely in the country.
Lucknow, May 2 : BJP national President Amit Shah on Tuesday advised party workers here to be humble and accountable to the people and warned them against getting swayed by the landslide victory in the state assembly elections held earlier this year.

"There is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government now in the state, and therefore, your responsibility has increased manifold," he told party leaders and workers at the concluding session of the state executive held in the state capital.

The "advisory" assumes significance in the backdrop of several high-handed acts of BJP workers and leaders, such as a mob attack on the Saharanpur SSP's house and beating up of police at Kannauj.

Speaking in the presence of the party's state President and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior leaders, the BJP chief hailed the party workers.

"The party cadres have worked very hard for three years since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to achieve this stunning victory and hence the workers and leaders need not only to be fair in their conduct but also remain connected to the people."

He also attacked the previous governments in the state over the past 15 years and accused them of plundering the state for self-promotion and doing nothing for the people.

"But all that is a thing of the past now and we are working for all-round development of the state with the credo given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi - Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas," he said.

Shah also exhorted the workers and state leaders not to rest and instead be prepared for winning other elections and to ensure that the people standing on the last step of the social ladder were benefited by the schemes rolled out by the central and state governments.

He also praised the Yogi Adityanath government and said the state government had begun to work for the people.

Earlier, on his first visit to the state capital after the installation of the BJP government, Amit Shah was accorded a grand welcome by party workers at the airport.
Srinagar, May 2 : Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday visited frontier areas in north Kashmir and asked troops to remain "vigilant", a day after two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan Army.

The Army Chief interacted with commanders and troops deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) and assured them that the whole nation stood by them.

"Accompanied by the Northern Army and Chinar Corps Commanders, the Army Chief was briefed by Formation Commanders on the security situation on the border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture besides overall operational and logistical preparedness," the statement said.

"The Army Chief asked all to remain vigilant and thwart any misadventure from across especially now as the summer sets in," the statement said, referring to infiltration attempts across the border.

"During his interaction with troops, the General reassured that the entire nation stood behind its soldiers in their brave endeavours to safeguard country's sovereignty and integrity and maintain peace in the Valley," the statement added.

The army chief's visit comes as India, during Director General Military Operation talks with Pakistan, on Tuesday blamed Islamabad for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of a soldier and a BSF trooper in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Pakistan has denied the charge.
Islamabad, May 2 : The Pakistani military on Tuesday warned India against any "misadventure" following the killing of two Indian soldiers on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing," a Pakistan Army spokesperson said.

The Pakistan Army also asked India to provide "actionable evidence" to substantiate its charge of Pakistani ceasefire violations and allegations that Pakistani troops "mutilated" the bodies of two Indian soldiers.

India said a soldier and a BSF trooper were killed and their bodies "mutilated" on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

The Pakistani Director General Military Operations (DGMO) rejected as "baseless and unfounded" the Indian allegations.

He said Pakistani troops did not cross the LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries.

The DGMO said the Pakistan Army was a "professional military outfit". "Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of the world from the situation within the Kashmir Valley."

The DGMO told his Indian counterpart that "we are fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC".
Gurugram, May 2 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday re- inaugurated the commercial operation of the Rapid Metro Phase-2, which was inaugurated by IL&FS Rail Ltd. CEO Rajiv Banga on March 31.

"Tuesday's inauguration was a formal one, though train service on the Rapid Metro Phase 2 was available to commuters after the inauguration by Banga," Rapid Metro's spokeswoman Gunjan told IANS.

The Haryana Urban Development Agency is the state organisation involved in the project on the Public-Private Participation model.

RTI activist Harinder Dhingra told IANS that the re-inauguration was done only to help Rapid Metro since the company was allegedly misappropriating government stamp duty.

Earlier too, Khattar had re-inaugurated various projects, including a private hospital in Sector 56 here in 2015, and a main road in DLF area last year.

On March 31, Rapid Metro began commercial operations of its second phase to connect the residential areas of Sector 55-56 here with Delhi Metro at Sikanderpur station.

The second phase of Rapid Metro has six stations -- Sikanderpur, DLF Phase-1, Sector 42-43, Sector 53-54, Sector 54 Chowk, and Sector 55-56 in Gurugram, a distance of nearly seven km.

Twelve trains run on the route, with two on stand-by. The first train is available at 6.05 a.m. and the last 35 minutes past midnight. The trains operate at a frequency of around five minutes.

Tokens bought for Delhi Metro rides are valid for travel by Rapid Metro, and commuters are able to change to the latter network from the Yellow Line at Sikanderpur through a skywalk.
Kolkata, May 2 : Tata Steel UK on Tuesday said it has completed the sale of its speciality steel business to Liberty House Group for 100 million pounds.

The sale includes several South Yorkshire-based assets including the electric arc steelworks and bar mill at Rotherham, the steel purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth as well as service centres in Bolton and Wednesbury, UK, and in Suzhou and Xi'an, China.

"As a responsible owner, Tata Steel in the last couple of years has undertaken a transformation plan at speciality steels, including investing in vacuum induction melting furnace, to ensure the business can have a sustainable future.

"We thank the employees, trade unions and management for their diligent hard work in the journey to turn around the business in difficult times and we wish them a successful future under new ownership," said the company's CEO Bimlendra Jha.

The speciality steel directly employs about 1,700 people making steel for the aerospace, automotive and the oil and gas industries.

The steel producer recently completed a consultation with its employees on proposals to structurally reduce risks in its wider UK business.

"It is also in discussions with the British Steel Pension Scheme trustees and the Pension Regulator to develop a structural solution for its UK pension scheme in the coming months," the company said.

Tata Steel's UK business continues its process of transformation that is essential to create a viable future for its UK strip products business.

Its strip products business will continue to employ almost 8,500 people in the UK, manufacturing products for sectors like the automotive and construction industries, it added.

The steel maker invested 1.5 billion pounds in its UK business since acquiring Corus in 2007.
New Delhi, May 2 : India on Tuesday conveyed to Australia its concern over the possible impact of the changes made by that country in regulations regarding a visa programme for skilled professionals, official sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a phone call from his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull, during which the Indian concern was voiced, a Ministry of External Affairs statement said.

"The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue," it said.

They also discussed the follow-up action taken after Turnbull's visit to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen bilateral relations.

A few weeks ago, Turnbull had announced his decision to abolish the 457 Visa, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers for up to four years for skilled jobs.
Kolkata, May 2 : A newly married woman committed suicide after allegedly facing torture from her in-laws over dowry in West Bengal's Nadia district, police said.

"Pratima Das (22), a resident of Nadia district's Taherpur, committed suicide by hanging herself on Monday night," a senior officer from Taherpur police station said.

Pratima was married to Jeet Das, a BSF trooper for three months. Her husband mostly stayed away from home due to professional commitments.

According to police, the family members of the deceased accused her in-laws of torturing her over the demand for dowry. However, no complaint was lodged against the husband.

"We have arrested Pratima's sister-in-law on the basis of the complaint. The father-in-law and mother-in-law of the deceased are absconding since the incident," the officer said.

"The autopsy report confirmed the death as suicide. However no suicide note was found in the room. The hunt is on to catch the in-laws," he added.
Jammu, May 2 : The BSF said on Tuesday that the surprise element helped Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) to kill two Indian soldiers and "mutilate" their bodies on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

After the surprise attack by Pakistani troops on Monday, the Indian Army and the BSF will revise the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) on the Line of Control to avert such losses, a senior officer said.

BSF Additional Director General Kamal N. Choubey told reporters here that there was a possible link between the Monday beheading and the Sunday visit of Pakistan Army chief Qamar Bajwa to the LoC.

"Everybody knows this incident took place immediately after the visit of the Pakistan Army chief."

An Indian Army soldier and a BSF Head Constable were killed and their bodies "mutilated" after Special Forces of the Pakistan Army sneaked about 250 metres across the LoC into India for an ambush in Poonch district.

Choubey said the SOPs were followed by the troops during patrolling but in such cases the element of surprise always lay with the attacker. "We learn each time such an incident takes place."

He said the Army and BSF will brainstorm to come up with a revised SOP.

"The BSF works under the operational command of the Army at the LOC. I assure you, the Army and the BSF will together come up with revised SoPs so that such incidents can be minimized."

Giving details about Monday's incident in Krishna Ghati sector, he said: "The firing came from two Pakistani FDLs (Forward Defence Locations) and simultaneously from two ambushes while a well-coordinated BAT action was carried out."

BAT is made up of Pakistan Army personnel and the terrorists it trains.

The officer said the patrolling party which was attacked had nine men -- six from the BSF and three from the Army.

He said troops along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir "are very, very alert.

"The launching pads (for terrorists intending to infiltrate) are always active across the IB, but we also are very, very alert.

"The IB is under direct control of the BSF and so far there has not been a single incident of a successful infiltration," he said.
New Delhi, May 2 : BJP ally Shiv Sena and the Congress party on Tuesday attacked the government over the mutilation of two soldiers' bodies by Pakistani forces along the Line of Control (LoC) with Uddhav Thackeray asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop his "Mann ki baat" and instead take up "Gun ki baat".

Congress leader and former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal recalled the remarks of Smriti Irani in 2013 when she had threatened to send bangles to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when two Indian soldiers were similarly mutilated by Pakistani soldiers and asked whether she will be sending bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi now.

Clarifying the government's stand, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was acting tough against border violations and the sacrifice of the soldiers will not go waste.

In a sharp reaction to the killing and the mutilation of two Indian soldiers near the Line of Control, Thackeray said Kashmir is "burning" and the government must take action.

"It's time to stop 'Mann ki Baat' and start 'Gun ki Baat' against Pakistan," he demanded, referring to the Prime Minister's monthly radio broadcast.

Congress leader A.K. Antony, a former Defence Minister, said that during the party-led UPA regime there was just one incident of mutilation but since the BJP-led NDA took over at least three such incidents have taken place.

"It (the incident) has affected the morale of Indian people, Indian Army and also the continuous attacks on military installations has put a question mark about the security structure on the border. More than anything, it has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army," Antony said.

He termed the act as cowardly and inhuman and asked the government to give a free hand to the Army to seek retribution.

His party colleague Sibal wondered if Union Minister Smriti Irani would now "gift bangles" to Modi.

"During the UPA regime there was a woman MP (Smriti Irani) who said the Prime Minister should be gifted bangles. Will the same MP who is now a Minister send bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?," Sibal asked.

Sibal also said the BJP-led NDA government will have time to protect the borders "only if they have time to spare from election campaigns".

"What kind of a government is this that despite knowing that Pakistan will not change its ways, they invited the ISI to Pathankot," said Sibal, referring to the Pakistani team that went to Pathankot to probe the 2016 terror attack on an Indian airbase.

"In the last 35 months, 135 soldiers have died in Jammu and Kashmir. Who is responsible for this?" he asked.

"They said demonetisation will end terrorism, but terror attacks only increased after that. I remember when Hemraj was beheaded (in 2013) Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) said 'We should get 10 heads for one'...How many heads will they get for two?" Sibal wondered.

Maharashtra Minister Ramdas Kadam, of the Shiv Sena, took potshots at Modi, saying he should concentrate more on national security than elections.

"What's stopping the Centre from taking direct action against Pakistan? How many more soldiers should we lose and how many more widows should we see before India does something?" he said, demanding direct action against the neighbouring the country.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi said that Modi's remarks on Pakistan and black money had become an albatross around his neck.

Prasad rejected the opposition criticism and said the government was taking tough action on border violations.

"The army has issued a public statement that adequate, suitable and effective response shall be given. Let's leave it to the armed forces to completely concretise their strategy," Prasad told CNN News 18 channel.

The Aam Aadmi Party said it will support the government over its response to the mutilation by the Pakistan Army of bodies of the Army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and the BSF's Head Constable Prem Sagar along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
San Donatao (Italy), May 2 : Italian oil and gas giant Eni on Tuesday said it has won an international tender to supply over 11 million tonnes of liquified natural gas to Pakistan till 2032 - a quarter of the country's current LNG imports.

The LNG will be delivered to a new Floating Storage and Regas Unit moored in Pakistan's second busiest port, Port Qasim,in the southern coastal city of Karachi, Eni said.

A significant part of the LNG will be sourced from Indonesia, where the Jangkrik field operated by Eni (also supplying the Chinese market) will come on stream in the coming months, the company stated.

The deal helps Eni cement its position as the leading domestic gas producer in Pakistan - now one of the fastest growing LNG markets worldwide, the company noted.

LNG is an "integral" part of Eni's strategy, it said.

Eni recently inked a long-term accord to sell gas produced at its Coral South floating Liquefaction facility in Mozambique to British supermajor BP, the company said.
New Delhi, May 2 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday decided to itself inspect the most polluted stretch of Ganga river, between Haridwar in Uttarakhand to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh -- to get the clear picture.

The green panel has been hearing the 32-year-old case of pollution in the river since February 6, after the Supreme Court forwarded the matter to it.

So far, it has reprimanded the officials and even ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam officials for irregularities and shut down industries along the stretch. However, it is, for the first time, that the tribunal had decided to make an on the spot inspection.

NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar on Tuesday pointed out the absence of definitive data on the quality and quantity of pollutants being discharged into the river.

"It will be in the interest of justice to have site inspection of most polluted parts of Ganga in segment B of Phase-I (Haridwar to Unnao).

"Therefore, we direct the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Union Environment Ministry, Water Resources Ministry, the Central Pollution Control Bord, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Bord, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to make all preparatory steps for inspection at Kanpur at the first instance," the bench added.

According to the CPCB report, there are over 1,000 Seriously Polluting Industries (SPI) and 30 storm water drains lining the Ganga in the stretch between Haridwar and Kanpur and more than 800 million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage being poured into it.
New Delhi, May 2 : IRTDC's luxury train Maharajas' Express will run on two more routes from the coming monsoon, it was announced on Tuesday.

"The packages named 'Southern Sojourn' and 'Southern Jewels' will cover prominent destinations in west and south India. The Southern Sojourn will cover Goa, Hampi, Mysuru, Ernakulam, Kumarakom, and Thiruvananthapuram while the Southern Jewels will cover Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysuru, Hampi, and Goa," an official release said here.

As part of the promotional campaign, the Railways is offering one free ticket on the booking for first adult passenger on twin-sharing basis at full cost, for the newly-introduced Maharajas' Express circuits during the coming monsoon in June-July 2017.

On the booking of the first adult passenger on twin-sharing basis at full cost, the second adult sharing the same cabin will be complimentary.

Another first introduced this time is that passengers can opt for a break in the journey and can also book a seat for a one-night trip.

Maharajas' Express commenced its operations in 2010, and since then the train has become a leading luxury train in the world, with comparisons with the Royal Scotsman and the Eastern and Oriental Express.

The train, run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. is a recipient of the coveted Leading Luxury Train of the World Award for the last five years in a row since 2012.

The five Maharajas Express journeys emanating from either Mumbai or Delhi are christened 'Heritage of India', 'Treasures of India', 'Gems of India', 'Indian Panorama', 'Indian Splendor', and 'Jewels of India' and take passengers through various places across the country.
New Delhi, May 3 : A Delhi Police Assistant Sub-Inspector was on Tuesday suspended for mishandling the assault on Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari's staff.

"ASI Kailash Chand, who was posted in a PCR unit, could have prevented the seven attackers from barging into Tiwari's residence where they attacked his personal staff," said a senior police officer.

A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against Chand, the officer said.

Action against Chand was taken after Tiwari complained to senior police officers against him following CCTV footage which showed Chand entering and coming out of Tiwari's residence after the incident, the officer added.
Manila, May 3 : The Philippines President Rodrigo said he may or may not accept the US President's invitation to the White House.

US President Donald Trump invited Duterte to Washington to discuss important bilateral relations, said the White House on Sunday following a "very friendly" telephone conversation between the two leaders, Efe news reported.

"I'm tied up I cannot make any definite promise...I'm supposed to go to Russia, Israel," said Duterte during a visit to the Chinese fleet in Davao on Monday.

Duterte's statement on President Donald Trump's invitation is seen to come at a time when the Philippines is giving priority to its relations with China.

The US government said it sought the support of Asian nations to isolate North Korea amid heightened tensions due to Kim Jong-un regime's missile tests and its continuation of nuclear weapons program.

Duterte, in his statement on Monday, also hinted at a possible engagement in the joint military drills with China in the west of Mindanao Island, a troubled region where pirates and Islamist terror groups remain active.

Three Chinese warships concluded a three-day visit to the Philippine port city of Davao on Monday in an attempt to strengthen the bilateral defence relations despite both being embroiled in the territorial disputes over sovereignty issue in the South China Sea.

The Philippine leader visited the Chinese President Xi Jinping in October and since then, both countries have strengthened their bilateral relations through several cooperation agreements.
State legislators from Washington to Florida have proposed bills to crack down on protesters. Thats troubling, not only because of what some bills would do, but because of the cultural trend they reflect.

Two bills would protect drivers who hit protesters. They may not be intended to protect intentionally driving into people, but one is widely read as proposing just that, according to Spencer DesAutels, a Tennessean who was hit by a car while protecting demonstrators from traffic.

Other bills would charge demonstrators for policing costs and hold peaceful protesters responsible if other demonstrators became violent.

Some of the bills have already died in committee; others may yet be killed. Not all the bills are egregious on their face. One raises the fine for blocking traffic and impeding emergency vehicles to $200 and makes it a misdemeanor. Taken on its own, thats reasonable. But forcing protesters to risk prosecution if strangers marching alongside them commit crimes is egregious. Encouraging drivers to hit people is shocking.

This trend is being driven by Republican lawmakers. Thats striking, because much of the discussion of free speech lately has involved the campus left suppressing right-wing speech. But there are people on both sides who want to make it harder for their opponents to be heard.

The fact that challenges to free speech are coming from both sides suggests that as a culture, we are losing respect for this essential principle. But it also shows how the commitment to free expression can be restored by remembering that we all need it.

 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Phoenix Capital Group representatives packed a total of 2,080 bags of food for United Way!

Phoenix Capital Groups first volunteer event with Valley of the Sun United Way was Saturday, April 8th 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix Capital Group representatives donated their time Saturday morning to attend the WeekEND Hunger Backpack Assembly. Representatives assembled food bags with seven nonperishable meals and snacks that are distributed weekly during the school year to local schools. The WeekEnd Hunger Backpacks will provide seven supplemental meals and snacks to children who rely on schools for two out of their three meals Monday through Friday. These backpacks ensure that children will eat throughout the weekend, returning to school on Monday morning ready to learn.

Valley of the Sun United Way has been uniting diverse partners and bringing together donors, business supporters, non-profits, government and faith-based communities to build a stronger Valley for us all. Phoenix Capital Group is thrilled to partner with other supporters to reach three objectives: ensure children and youth succeed, end hunger and homelessness, and increase the financial stability of families and individuals. Carla Snyder, the Director of Corporate Relations at United Way, and Tatum Williams, the Marketing Manager of Phoenix Capital Group, have worked together to create a big picture plan to help aid the community and fight childhood hunger.

With the Valley of the Sun United Ways resources and Phoenix Capital Groups manpower, together the two will make a difference, impact the community, and help children reach to their potential. Watch for updates via Phoenix Capital Groups social media a representatives teamed up with United Way to break the cycle of poverty in Phoenix, Arizona.

The year 2016 was an encouraging year for Phoenix Capital Group as representatives worked hard to give back to the community. The year 2017 has potential to be an extremely prosperous year as representatives work with Phoenix Capital Groups new partner, Valley of the Sun United Way, to give back even more to the Phoenix community.

About The Valley of the Sun United Way

Since 1925, Valley of the Sun United Way has been uniting diverse partners and bringing together donors, business supporters, nonprofits, government and faith-based communities to build a stronger Valley for us all. To accomplish this, United Way is keenly focused on achieving key Community Objectives, including ensuring children and youth succeed, ending hunger and homelessness, and increasing the financial stability of families. United Way is the largest nonprofit investor in health and human service programs in the Valley with the support of nearly 90,000 individual donors, 700 business supporters, and a wide array of volunteers and partners. For more information, visit http://www.vsuw.org.

About Phoenix Capital Group, LLC

Phoenix Capital Group is an industry leading provider of transportation financing services for trucking companies in the United States. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Phoenix Capital Group also maintains regional offices in Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee. Phoenix Capital Group offers a powerful array of transportation services including recourse freight factoring and non-recourse freight bill factoring, equipment financing, fuel card programs and a free online load board service.

Additional information about Phoenix Capital Group, LLC is available at http://www.pcgfactoring.com. This Phoenix Capital Group news release and other announcements are available at http://www.pcgfactoring.com/press-release/ and as part of a Phoenix Capital Group load board at http://pcgfactoringloadboard.com/. You can also follow our news on Twitter at @PHXCapitalGroup.

Contact: Phoenix Capital Group, LLC, (623) 298-3460, or fill a contact form on the website.
This year marks a huge milestone for Western Computer. Established in 1987 in Simi Valley, California Western Computer was founded by CEO Tom Bardos and President Linda Collins. Now, with over 160 resources across North America, Western Computer has contributed to the success of over 500 companies by providing successful implementations and first-class support.

We have seen many changes in technology since our establishment and have continually made investments to provide enhanced customer service for our clients, states Linda Collins, President of Western Computer. We have built this company on our hard-earned reputation as a trusted partner to our customers. Our accomplishments and successes over the past three decades would not be possible without the competency and commitment of our phenomenal team. I look forward to what the future has in store for us as Microsoft continues to launch world class products.

Western Computer was named a Microsoft Gold Certified ERP Partner in 2002. Since its establishment, Western Computer has assisted companies, from midsize to some of the worlds largest, in selecting, implementation and reaching their business and technology objectives.

Western Computer will be celebrating this milestone at the Dynamic Communities User Group Summit this October in Nashville, Tennessee starting October 10th and running through October 13th. Western Computers experienced consultants will be in attendance to answer questions, demo solutions, and meet with customers. Be sure to visit booth #565 for a special 30th anniversary giveaway.

For more information on Western Computer, please visit http://www.westerncomputer.com.

About Western Computer

For 30 years, Western Computer has designed and implemented business solutions for a wide array of industries. Over 160 resources across North America provide deep knowledge that is unmatched for Distribution, Manufacturing, Rentals and many more. Western Computer has also been ranked number 15 on Accounting Today's VAR 100 report for the third year in a row. To learn more, visit http://www.westerncomputer.com or call (805) 581-5020. Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Contact

Katherine Turner-Lawrence

Vice President of Sales & Marketing

805-581-5020
Leading provider of population health management solutions that improve patient outcomes and lower health care costs. We are thrilled to collaborate with MedCurrent to implement evidence-based guidelines for most chronic conditions, starting with diabetes."

Healthy Interactions, LP and MedCurrent Corporation are pleased to announce a ten-year license agreement to provide Clinical Decision Support (CDS) solutions to manage chronic conditions, starting with diabetes.

Last year, the CEO of a leading health system said, Our patients progress significantly when they participate in the Healthy Interactions Diabetes Program. Their biometrics, treatment adherence, quality measures and economics dramatically improve. How do I get all my patients into your programs? says Paul Lasiuk, CEO of Healthy Interactions. This question inspired us to figure out how we can help our health system partners identify the appropriate patients for corresponding Healthy Interactions programs. How do we help them fill the funnel?

The Healthy Interactions Integrated CDS Platform connects into electronic health record (EHR) systems to seamlessly capture relevant patient data and provide real-time, evidence-based decision support to healthcare professionals. The CDS solution immediately informs the healthcare professional if the patient has a chronic condition, provides the diagnosis, and automatically develops recommendations based upon individual patient care plans and medical prescriptions.

Lasiuk continues, We are thrilled to collaborate with MedCurrent to implement evidence-based guidelines for the most prevalent chronic conditions, starting with diabetes. Healthy Interactions will be the first and only one-stop-shop providing CDS with our proven patient education and digital connectivity platforms to support chronic care patients across the continuum of care. The Integrated CDS platform simplifies physician workflows while improving the standard of care, resulting in more timely diagnosis, improved biometrics, enhanced patient engagement and improved economics.

Clinical Decision Support continues to expand across various clinical conditions and medical specialties, says John Adziovsky, President of MedCurrent. We are excited to develop a solution that supports Healthy Interactions in improving care for patients with chronic conditions by helping clinicians provide the best quality of care. Our OrderWise platform not only identifies every transition of care point to optimize care plans, it also enables providers to monitor the improvements and challenges patients have with managing their health.

About Healthy Interactions:

Healthy Interactions is a global leader at improving the lives of people with diabetes and other chronic conditions. Healthy Interactions programs have been deployed in 127 countries, in 39 languages and cultures. Over 100,000 licensed healthcare professionals have been trained and certified by Healthy Interactions. Over 30 million patients have benefited by participating in Healthy Interactions programs. Healthy Interactions programs uniquely integrate in-person sessions with a complimentary digital engagement platform. Healthy Interactions programs have been clinically validated by over 50 independent clinical and behavioral studies and publications.

About MedCurrent:

MedCurrent is a physician-founded Clinical Decision Support (CDS) solutions provider focused on three core operating principles: improved quality of care, improved patient outcomes, and lower system healthcare costs. Our CDS technology platform, OrderWise, is easy-to-use and highly configurable to support local clinical and business operations. Centered on a philosophy of deep EMR integration and efficiency, OrderWise provides real-time access to evidence-based guidelines directly within clinical workflows at the point of care. OrderWise is designed to be content agnostic, and incorporates any appropriate use criteria (AUC) from all clinical specialties including radiology, cardiology, lab and chronic disease management. Our solutions are complemented by actionable analytics and a results-driven professional services team, enabling clients to solve unique business challenges. Proven results and superior clinician engagement make MedCurrent a global leader in CDS solutions.
GFI Software today announced the acquisition of Exinda, a US-based software company creating solutions designed to help IT teams manage the way users, traffic, devices and applications behave across the network. Founded in 2002, Exinda is trusted by over 4,000 business and educational organisations worldwide to ensure that their business-critical applications always perform as promised.

The acquisition of Exinda strengthens GFIs ability to deliver on its promise to create simple yet powerful products for the SMB market, said Scott Brighton, CEO of GFI Software, and added: Exindas application and network performance tools perfectly complement the existing GFIs product portfolio of communication and security products, and bring tremendous added value to our constantly expanding global community of customers and partners. By acquiring Exinda were getting one step closer to our strategic goal - building a world-class network security, management and communication platform for SMBs.

The acquisition includes a set of tools developed by Exinda, focused on application visibility and control: the award-winning Exinda Network Orchestrator, and specific tools focused on Microsoft applications, such as Office 365 and Skype for Business.

Exinda has worked tirelessly with our customers to ensure that their business-critical applications perform consistently and reliably, said Michael Sharma, CEO of Exinda, and added: Now, as part of GFI, our customers and partners will benefit from the increased scale and access to world-class security products, which will make the network administrator continue to look like a hero to their end user. Exinda was advised by New York-based Sparring Partners Capital during this process, while Razorhorse Capital advised GFI on this acquisition.

###

About GFI Software

GFI Software, part of the ESW Capital group of companies, develops right-sized, smartly engineered IT solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our solutions enable IT administrators to easily and efficiently discover, manage and secure their business networks, systems, applications and communications, regardless of their location. GFI Software is a channel-focused company with a network of thousands of partners worldwide. We have received numerous awards and industry accolades, and are a long-time Microsoft Gold ISV Partner. For more information about GFI Software, our products, and success stories of our customers from over 120 countries, please visit http://www.gfi.com

About Exinda

Exinda application control solutions provide end-to-end management of both the network and the cloud to help organizations guarantee the best possible quality of experience for voice, video and application sharing services. Real-time monitoring, unified visibility and actionable recommendations allow IT Managers to quickly troubleshoot and resolve issues related to business critical services like Skype for Business, Office 365 and SharePoint. Exinda has helped more than 4,000 organizations in over 80 countries worldwide guarantee application performance, improve quality of experience and reduce network operating costs for the IT executive. For more information about Exinda, please visit http://www.exinda.com

About Razorhorse Capital

Razorhorse Capital, Inc. dedicates its resources to acquiring lower and mid-market software businesses. Over the past five years, Razorhorse has led over 30 acquisitions and minority investments with its partners, putting over $400 million of equity capital to work. For more information, visit http://www.razorhorse.com

About Sparring Partners Capital

Sparring Partners Capital is an investment bank dedicated to providing mergers & acquisitions advisory and capital raising services to technology-enabled companies and private equity firms. Founded in 2001, Sparring Partners Capital has an extensive track record of advising clients based in North America, Europe, and Asia. Headquartered in New York City, Sparring Partners Capital is a licensed broker-dealer; Member FINRA / SIPC. For more information, please visit http://www.sparringpartners.com
Tecplot, Inc., developer of the leading visual data analysis software for engineers and scientists, today announced the general availability of Tecplot 360 2017 Release 2.

Tecplot is committed to improving the power, performance, usability and reliability of its industry-leading flagship data visualization product. Many improvements in Tecplot 360 2017 Release 2 add up to major benefits for Tecplot customers.

Highlights of this release include:

Enhanced Fluent Loader

Tecplot 360's Fluent loader has improved performance and reduced memory requirements for data with shared grids (typically time-dependent solutions). Fluent Additional Quantities and Variables in symmetry zones can now be loaded. The Fluent variable name map has been updated to give more variables meaningful names. In a test using a transient solution with 30 time steps of about 1 million data points each, time to first image fell from just over 74 seconds to under 4 seconds (a reduction of 95%), and memory use was cut by 93% (both compared to Tecplot 360 2017 R1).

Expanded PyTecplot APIs

PyTecplot, Tecplots Python API, has expanded to cover Interpolate, 2D and 3D vectors, Streamlines, View adjustments, Contour and line legends, 3D orientation axis, Auxiliary data, Node map, face map, and face neighbor information, Solution time for transient data and Slice extraction.

Improved SZL Server Performance

SZL Server, Tecplots client-server module, supports two-factor authentication and password authentication for SSH connections. Performance for data sets with a large number of zones has also been improved. In our test involving a 681-million-cell simulation with 81 time steps accessed from Tecplot SZL Server over a SSH-tunneled connection, the time needed to open the file and display all time steps in sequence was cut in half, from 1,737 seconds to 834 (compared to Tecplot 360 2017 R1).

Integrated Q-Criterion Calculation

Q-Criterion, a method for vortex identification, is now built into Tecplot 360s CFD Analyzer. This integration makes the calculations faster, more memory efficient and easier to use. In our test using a Plot3D data set with 5,800 zones and 263 million cells, calculating Q-Criterion using Calculate Variables was more than 6 times (84%) faster than a macro we provide for the calculation (from nearly 47 minutes to 7 minutes and 20 seconds). Using a SZL file format further reduced the time required by 22%.

TecIO Writes Individual Zones in Excess of 2 Billion Nodes

The TecIO library is provided to allow third-party applications to read and write Tecplot file format. The library now includes an easier-to-use API for writing SZL files. The new release of TecIO supports 64-bit indexing which allows individual zones to exceed two billion nodes! The new API is also more flexible in the order in which it accepts data, which can help lower the amount of memory needed to write files.

If you still think that Tecplot cant handle big data, take a look at the new TecIO API said Scott Fowler, Tecplot Product Manager, TecIO now supports 64-bit indexing, which allows the writing of individual zones in excess of 2 Billion (yes, with a B) nodes!

About Tecplot 360

Tecplot 360 is the fastest, most memory-efficient CFD post-processor available for desktop computers. The softwares industry-leading speed  both computational and rendering  is achieved through Tecplots proprietary SZL technology, which is a combination of deferred data loading, exhaustive parallelization, and many other code optimizations. When loading modern high-fidelity CFD solutions, benchmarks show 94% less memory usage, 6.75 times faster time to first image, and 50% smaller file sizes compared to earlier versions of Tecplot 360. Results vary depending on the size and type of data.

CFD engineers are now able to load and analyze data once reserved for only the largest high-performance computing centers.

In January 2017, three powerful modules were integrated into Tecplot 360:



Tecplot Chorus, an analytics tool for exploring large data sets.

PyTecplot, a Python API for automating workflows.

SZL Server, a client-server module for accessing data remotely.

These modules are available for customers on TecPLUS maintenance service and anyone who downloads a free trial of the software. Visit http://www.tecplot.com/360

Tecplot 360 users with current TecPLUS maintenance can upgrade to Tecplot 360 2017 Release 2 at no additional cost.

Special pricing is available for Academic users upon request. See http://www.tecplot.com/academic

About Tecplot, Inc.

Tecplot, an operating company of Toronto-based Constellation Software, Inc. (CSI), is the leading developer of Visual Data Analysis software for engineers and scientists.

CSI is a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:CSU). CSI acquires, manages and builds software businesses that provide mission-critical solutions in specific vertical markets.

Tecplots products allow customers using desktop computers and laptops to quickly analyze and understand information hidden in complex data, and communicate their results to others via brilliant images and compelling animations. The companys products are used by more than 47,000 technical professionals around the world.

Since its founding in 1981, Tecplot has consistently delivered category-leading innovation to the engineering and scientific communities. Examples of this never-ending innovation include Tecplot 360 for lightning-fast analysis of CFD simulation and test data, and Tecplot RS for oil & gas reservoir visualization.

Tecplot has been awarded numerous Small Business Innovation Research contracts from DOD, NASA, DARPA, and the National Science Foundation. In 2012, the company was named a Red Herring Top 100 Americas Award winner.

Tecplot, which is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., has been named one of Seattle Business magazines 100 Best Companies to Work For four times in the past five years.

More information: http://www.tecplot.com/360

Contact: pr(at)tecplot(dot)com
Water Cooler

Hard water is a widespread problem, affecting an estimated 85 percent of American homes. Hard water means that there is an abundance of dissolved minerals in the water. Although it does not pose a health risk, hard water can cause a variety of difficulties in everyday life. Water hardness is defined as mineral grains per gallon, or GPG. Anything over 1 GPG is technically considered hard, although water up to 3.5 GPG does not typically cause problems. Water over 10.5 GPG is extremely hard. For those with hard water in the San Antonio area, 101 Water Texas offers a complimentary water softener consultation.

Benefits of Softer Water

Homeowners with hard water who begin using a water softener will notice several benefits right away. Softer water reduces the need for harsh cleaning chemicals, improves the appearance and feel of hair and skin, and even improves the lifespan of appliances that use water.

Other benefits include:

Cleaner clothes

Reduced soap scum and scaling in sinks and tubs

Increased water flow

Better efficiency for water heaters and dishwashers

Reduced usage of soaps and detergents

Choosing a Water Softener

Water softeners are available in numerous types, each with its own pros and cons. Commonly available types include:

Salt-based ion exchange

Salt-free

Dual-tank

Magnetic

Whichever type of water softener is selected, it must be properly sized to the demands of the household. With the exception of dual-tank systems, water softeners are unusable during their regeneration cycle. Although regeneration usually takes place at night, it is best to choose a unit that can meet the homes needs for at least three days before entering a regeneration cycle, and has the capacity to handle short-term increases in water usage.

Finally, different water softeners have different features and different regeneration cycles. Some handle their regeneration cycles mostly automatically, while others require manual input from the user. When comparing various water softeners, it is important to understand these distinctions.

101 Water Texas knows that choosing the right water softener can be challenging. Homeowners in the San Antonio area are invited to call to schedule a free water softener consultation.

About 101 Water Texas

101 Water Texas has been locally owned and operated since 1994. For business inquiries and more information about the companys services, call (210) 510-4105 or visit http://www.101watertexas.com/. The company's address is 401 E. Sunterra Blvd, Suite 375, San Antonio, TX 78258.
The National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists is closing nominations for the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders on Friday, May 12.

The Congress, which is set to kick off in about 60 days, is an honors-only program for high school students who want to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields. The purpose of this event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country who aspire to be scientists or technologists, to stay true to their dream and after the event, the aim is to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.

The Academy was founded on the belief that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education plays a critical role in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace of the 21st century and that we must identify prospective talent at the earliest possible age and help these students acquire the necessary experience and skills to take them to the doorstep of vital careers. Based in Washington, DC and with an office in Boston, MA, the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help address this crisis by working to identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to advances in society as scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.

For more information visit http://www.SciTechLeaders.com or call 617-307-7425.
The Unified Classroom will serve as the hub for our data, enabling easy accessibility to what we need to be more informed of what we are doing.

PowerSchool was selected to provide Pennsylvanias Esperanza Cyber Charter School with one solution for a number of instructional and administrative needs. The PowerSchool student information system (SIS) is currently implemented at the school, but leaders were seeking a cohesive platform for a learning management system (LMS), student assessment, special education management, and student registration. The Unified Classroom streamlines these processes into one solution, allowing school leaders to make more informed decisions to drive student success.

The school unsuccessfully used three student assessment solutions and was also unhappy with its LMS. When school leaders learned PowerSchool was launching the Unified Classroom, they took a deep look into how this could transform instruction and learning for their school community.

The Unified Classroom will allow us to tailor our instruction on-demand, stated Andrew Rosado, Director of Education Technology at Esperanza Cyber Charter School. If we see there is a deficiency somewhere, we are going to attack it head on. We can identify areas of weakness and address those concerns instead of trying to sweep it under the rug.

School leaders are excited about leveraging the Unified Classroom to allow teachers to create common benchmark assessments per grade level and per subject to assess if students are meeting common core standards. We need to show that students are not only proficient, but that they are growing, stated Rosado. Our need for a stronger assessment program will enable us to look at data critically and learn what standards students are hitting perfectly and/or struggling with. We want to be quantifiable, not anecdotal.

Rosado adds, The ability to provide accurate grades to parents and offer school personnel an easy-to-use system to do reporting and grades in real-time are things we often, as educators, take for granted. The Unified Classroom will serve as the hub for our data, enabling easy accessibility to what we need to be more informed of what we are doing. We really believe the Unified Classroom is going to be the change we are looking for.

About Esperanza Cyber Charter School

Esperanza Cyber Charter School is a public charter that prepares students in grades K  12 to meet the challenges of living creatively and productively in an increasingly technologically sophisticated and interconnected world. Esperanza Cyber Charter School offers a quality education that prepares critically thinking, socially capable, spiritually sensitive and culturally aware young adults who can use English and Spanish while providing an academically rigorous, yet flexible, online learning program that tailors learning experiences to each child.

About PowerSchool Group LLC

PowerSchool is the leading K-12 education technology provider of solutions that improve the education experience for 100 million students, teachers, and parents in over 70 countries around the world. We provide the industrys first Unified Classroom experience, empowering teachers with best-in-class, secure, and compliant online solutions, including student information systems, learning management and classroom collaboration, assessment, analytics, behavior, and special education case management. We streamline school office and administration operations with online solutions for student registration, school choice, and finance/HR/ERP. We drive student growth through digital classroom capabilities and engage families through real-time communications across any device. Visit https://www.powerschool.com/ to learn more.
Shark branding - QOR360 At Shark, giving life to a brand starts with some basic market positioning  which suggested to us shifting the companys name to something more contemporary and relevant.

Award-winning branding, creative, and digital marketing agency, Shark Communications is celebrating positive first quarter sales results for new start-up client QOR360, a manufacturer of Active Sitting, ergonomic chairs. QOR360 was founded by leading trauma surgeon, Dr. Turner Osler, and a team ergonomic furniture designers and body work experts. The chairs design utilizes a patented rocking mechanism that transforms the static and fixed sitting of standard ergonomic chairs, into the more dynamic, fluid, and naturally therapeutic state of Active Sitting.

As a branding agency with clients that have included the US Olympic Trials, Dell Computer, Brookline Bancorp, and numerous corporate and start-up clients, Sharks branding process began by changing the companys name from The Kinetic Furniture Company of Vermont to QOR360 to underscore the companys unique technology and its benefits to posture, core muscles, and back health. The company's logo was then designed by Shark to reference the company's core rocking technology invented by Dr. Osler. A more extensive system of graphics was then developed by Shark to integrate the design of the company's commerce-enabled website, print and digital ads, and related marketing communications across digital and traditional media.

As Shark Creative Director, Peter Jacobs, notes, For us, giving life to a brand always starts with some basic market positioning strategy  which suggested the shift of the companys name to something more contemporary and relevant. We see two fundamental goals in the branding process for clients. One, distinguishing a company or product tin the marketplace, and two, infusing a sense of perceived value into the logo, product, service, and the brand. For QOR360, we seem to be succeeding."

Founded in Burlington, Vermont, QOR360s ergonomic seating includes revolutionary active sitting technology and is elegantly designed to fit beautifully in the home, office, studio, and more. To learn more, or purchase online, please visit http://www.qor360.com

Shark Communications is a Burlington, Vermont-based, branding, web, SEO, and digital marketing agency founded by award-winning Creative Director, Peter Jacobs. Shark serves clients in a wide variety of industries with a strategically-planned mix of creative and digital marketing solutions. Shark has received numerous creative, design, and marketing awards for clients large and small. More about Shark Communications can be viewed on the agencys website: harkcomm.com or its blog: digitalagencyvt.com
Nightingale Awards for Nursing Excellence This award ceremony is like the Academy Awards of Nurses, its the most acknowledged honor for the nursing profession"-Greg Jamian, Board Member, Oakland Univerisity School of Nursing

On May 9th, AmeriStaff Nursing Services will join Oakland University School of Nursing as a sponsor in honoring the winners of the 29th annual Nightingale Awards for Nursing Excellence. The awards program is designed to acknowledge nurses that excel in their area of specialty from around Michigan. This award ceremony is like the Academy Awards of Nurses, its the most acknowledged honor for the nursing profession, said Greg Jamian, Board Member of Oakland University School of Nursing.

AmeriStaff Nursing Services has sponsored this event for the past 10 years providing guidance, charitable contributions, and award presentations for those in attendance. Each year the attendance has grown, which continually adds to the prestige of the ceremony. The awards are handed out to nurses who have demonstrated leadership, quality of care, innovation, teamwork, and advocacy throughout their professional lives.

Jamian continued, Our sponsors for this event are greatly appreciated. We have been fortunate through the years to always have quality corporate health sponsorship for this amazing event. AmeriStaff Nursing Services has been very generous through their involvement and commitment of the Nightingale event throughout the years. AmeriStaff Nursing will have six of their own nurses in attendance at the awards which Jamian says have exhibited the qualities of excellence in their fields.

AmeriStaff Nursing Services, a part of the AmeriCare Medical Incorporated family of companies, provides a dignified approach to home health care and medical staffing. The AmeriCare Medical family of companies takes an orchestrated approach to home health care. With their companies working together, they provide a totally integrated and seamless experience for their clients. In addition to AmeriStaff, they also operate Sun Medical Equipment Company and Rx iV Intravenous Pharmacy to provide a comprehensive form of care that benefits their clients and patients.

Community Outreach

The Nightingale Awards for Nursing Excellence has provided support for many different areas of the Oakland University School of Nursing. Many different opportunities have been funded by the proceeds from the awards including scholarships, research support, and technological resources.

Other recent events sponsored by AmeriCare Medical Incorporated include: Brain Injury Symposium at Oakland University in cooperation with the William Beaumont School of Medicine, sponsorship of the meeting of the Detroit Chapter of Case Management Society of America, Oakland County Adopt-A-Road program, and the Troy Somerset Gazettes Sunrise Senior Expo.

About AmeriCare Medical, Inc.

For more than three decades AmeriCare Medical, Inc. has provided integrated healthcare services to hospitals, assisted care facilities, and private homes throughout Michigan. AmeriCare Medical, Inc. is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program for high standards of excellence in medical staffing, private duty nursing, durable medical equipment and specialized pharmacy services. AmeriCare Medical, Inc. is the parent company of AmeriStaff Nursing Services, Sun Medical Equipment and RxIV Pharmacy, making it a one-stop resource for patients and their home care needs. For more information visit AmeriStaffServices.com or call (248) 288-2270.
Specialty Technical Consultants

Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) and Specialty Technical Consultants (STC) announce the availability of the newly updated International Audit Protocol Consortium (IAPC) EHS audit protocol for Thailand. Leading companies around the world use IAPC EHS audit protocols to understand the scope of their EHS regulatory obligations and rapidly collect, share, archive, and export audit findings in a cost effective manner. IAPC EHS audit protocols are now prepared by STC in partnership with STP and continue to focus on those national (plus, in some cases, regional or provincial) EHS requirements that have site-specific application for manufacturing operations. As a leading EHS management consulting firm with a global network of experienced EHS teaming partners, STC has indepth knowledge and technical expertise of local/regional EHS requirements.

STP and STC maintain leading-edge EHS audit protocols for more than 30 jurisdictions. The protocol documents are written in English and are available in MS Word, Adobe Acrobat and Excel formats, as well as through STPs web-based portal or can be integrated into an existing company platform. Using the protocols custom templates and advanced functionality features, auditors can easily track audit findings and manage data over time to improve compliance, risk management and safety performance. In addition, STPs formatting is compatible with leading risk management and sustainability platform providers.

Highlights of selected legislation covered in the newly updated protocol include:



"Ministerial Regulation B.E. 2559 Re: Soil and Groundwater Monitoring and Control of Contamination within the Factory Issued under the Factory Act B.E. 2535 (1992)" directs factories to conduct soil and groundwater monitoring within the facility premises and encourages practices that limit the potential for soil and groundwater contamination.

"Notification No. 2 B.E. 2559 of Ministry of Industry Re: Submission of EIA Report by Specific Industries" directs specified industries to submit the EIA report to Ministry of Industry to measure the impact of their operations on the environment.

"Notification of National Environmental Board No. 10, B.E 2538 (1995); Notification of National Environmental Board No. 24, B.E 2547 (2004); Notification of National Environmental Board No. 28, B.E 2550 (2007); Notification of National Environmental Board No. 33, B.E 2552 (2009); and Notification of National Environmental Board No. 36, B.E 2553 (2010)" prescribe air quality standards in the general atmosphere under "Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E.2535 (1992)."

"Notification of National Environmental Board No. 30, B.E 2550 (2007)" prescribes standards of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the general atmosphere under "Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E.2535 (1992)."

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry B.E. 2558 Regarding the List of Hazardous Substances under Hazardous Substances Act 2535" prescribes the additional hazardous substances under different sections of the "Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2556 (2013)."

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: List of Hazardous Substances No. 3 B.E. 2560 (2017)" amends the list of hazardous substances published by the Ministry of Industry in 2015 by further including new hazardous substances.

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Statement Submission about the Production or Import of Hazardous Substances issued under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (1992)" directs facilities to submit the statement about the production or import of hazardous substances above the quantity of 1,000 kg per year under "Hazardous Substances Act 2535."

"Nuclear Energy for Peace Act, B. E. 2559, (2016)" repealed the "Atomic Energy for Peace Act, B.E. 250461) and Atomic Energy for Peace Act (No. 2), B.E. 2508 (1965)." Under this Act, any facility that imports, exports, uses, possesses or chemically transforms nuclear energy, source materials or special nuclear materials must obtain a license from the Nuclear Energy Commission.

"Ministerial Regulation (B.E. 2559) under the Public Health Act B.E. 2535 (1992)" establishes provisions regarding the license and operational fee for the collection, transportation and disposal of various wastes under the "Public Health Act B.E. 2535."

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Exemption to facilities under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (1992)" provides exemption to facilities to comply under "Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535" that import export or possess any hazardous substance of quantity less than 1 kg, only for research and development purposes. However, the facilities are required to submit a notice to Ministry of Industry for the same.

"Ministerial Regulation No. 25 B.E. 2559 (2016) Issued Under the Factory Act B.E. 2535 (1992)" establishes the prohibition of expansion of all type or sizes of factories within the area of 100 meters from the public water source the sake of protecting the environment and security issues.

"Notification issued by Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (B.E. 2559) Re: Reporting of Accident and Employee Injury to Social Security Office" prescribes the requirements to report accidents and employee injuries to the Social Security Office under the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare.

"Ministerial Regulation Re: Guidelines and Requirements to be Followed While Working on Electricity issued under Safety, Occupational Health and Environment at Work Related to Electricity B.E. 2558 (2015)" sets guidelines and requirements to be followed while working on electricity and works involving electricity. The guidelines are provided to enhance worker safety and operational safety.

"Notification of the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare Re: Prescribing Standards in Work Related to Electricity B.E. 2558 (2015)" provides the requirements related to the monitoring and maintenance of electrical and electronic equipment and preparation of the inspection records for the same.

"Notification of the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare Re: Prescribing Requirements in Work Related to Electricity B.E. 2558 (2015)" provides the procedure and conditions of safety training for workers working on electrical and electronic equipment.

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Safety Procedures for Boilers Using Liquid as a Heat Transfer Medium" provides the safety and inspection requirements for boilers using liquid as a heat transfer medium.

"Ministerial Regulation No. 66 (BE 2559) Re: Construction of Walkway between Large Building" issued under the "Building Control Act B.E. 2522 (1979)" provides the requirements and specifications for the construction or modification of a walkway connecting large buildings which can also be used as a fire escape.

"Ministerial Regulation B.E. 2558 (2015)" issued under the "Land Transport Act B.E. 2522 (1981)" prescribes the guidelines to be followed while transporting the dangerous goods/hazardous substances by road types under the "Land Transport Act."

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Guidelines to be Followed While Transporting any Dangerous Goods/hazardous Material by Road or Maritime Territorial Water under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (2004)" prescribes the classification of hazardous material, requirements for packing, marking, labeling and documents to carry while transportation of hazardous material/dangerous goods by road or maritime territorial water.

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Registration of fixed tank used for transportation of any dangerous goods/hazardous material under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (2004)" prescribes the application form and required documents to be submitted for the registration of fixed tank which is permanently attached to the tank vehicle or as part of the structure of the vehicle used for transportation of any dangerous goods/hazardous material.

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Liability Insurance for the Damage of Third Party from the Transportation of any Dangerous Goods/hazardous Material under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (2004)" prescribes liability insurance to be obtained by carrier of the hazardous substance for the damage of third party (include environment, animals, plants, natural resources) from the transportation of any dangerous goods/hazardous material.

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Regarding the addition of Hazardous substances (No.2) under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (2004)" prescribes the addition of hazardous substances under various sections of the "Hazardous Substances Act."

"Ministerial Regulation Re: Standards for Heating, Lighting and Sound for Workers under Safety, Health and Environment at Work Act 2554 (2011)" sets standards for heating, lighting and sound for workers under "Safety, Health and Environment at Work Act" and implementation and management under Ministry of Labour.

"Notification of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare Re: Measurement and Analysis of Atmospheric Concentration of Hazardous Chemicals at Workplace and Storage Area" requires facilities to measure and analyze the atmospheric concentration levels of hazardous/dangerous chemicals at the workplace and in the storage area of the facility. The facility is also required to submit the certified test results and a report to Department of Labour Protection and Welfare.

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: Regarding the addition of Hazardous substances (No.3) under Hazardous Substances Act B.E. 2535 (2004)" prescribes the addition of hazardous substances under various sections of the "Hazardous Substances Act."

"Notification of the Ministry of Industry Re: List of Hazardous Substances No. 2 B.E. 2558 (2015)" amends the list of hazardous substances published by the Ministry of Industry in 2013 by including new hazardous substances.

"Ministerial Regulation Re: Labeling and Signage Requirements on the Building Issued under the Building Control Act B.E. 2522" prescribes the labeling and signage requirements on the building under the "Building Control Act B.E. 2522."

For more information on all International EHS audit protocols offered by STP and STC click here.

About Specialty Technical Publishers

Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) produces technical resource guides covering environmental, health & safety, transportation, accounting, business practices, standards and law, offering comprehensive guidance on key compliance and regulatory issues. STP is a division of Glacier Media Inc., a Canadian information communications company that provides primary and essential information in print, electronic and online media. Glaciers Business and Professional Information Group publishes directories, technical manuals, research and development materials, medical education, electronic databases, investment information and specialty websites.

About Specialty Technical Consultants

Specialty Technical Consultants, Inc. (STC) is a specialized management consulting firm working to enhance environmental health and safety (EHS) performance. Through its consulting services, STC partners with clients to strengthen management systems' design and implementation, and identifies needs and implements solutions to meet business objectives. Services provided include: EHS compliance support; risk assessment; EHS auditing; corporate responsibility and sustainability; EHS management systems development and implementation; EHS regulatory information tools; and EHS training.

STC is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the Supplier Clearinghouse for the California Public Utilities Commission, and as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.
The Springs at Butte By refreshing living spaces were delivering what our residents have asked for

Built in 1999, with expansions in 2003 and 2008, The Springs at Butte has provided independent living, assisted living, and memory care to seniors in Butte, Montana for 18 years.

Acquired by The Springs Living in 2015, the major renovation at The Springs at Butte confirms a commitment to serving Buttes senior population with a warm, comfortable environment thats changing the way people experience senior living.

By refreshing living spaces were delivering what our residents have asked for, said Brenda Connelly, RN and director of operations of The Springs Living. We believe that the upgrades will now match the quality of care and services they have been receiving all along and will reaffirm why they chose us as their home.

The renovation includes the addition of a new gathering space called Fanchos named after the grandfather of The Springs Livings founder. We wanted a place to connect our independent living cottages residents with the greater community, and Fanchos will create that comfortable, relaxed, easy-living atmosphere, explained Connelly. Signature food and beverage options will be served in Fanchos to encourage that sense of camaraderie and lingering with friends or family.

Other notable renovation improvements will be a complete refresh to Footsteps Memory Care, and the addition of a purposeful activity room where residents can enjoy group exercise classes, listen to guest speakers, watch movies, engage in community events and participate in a host of creative projects. We anticipate opportunities for continuing education as well. Fresh paint, new furniture, and upgraded common spaces throughout the community, round out the list of projects.

Local general contractor, Markovich Construction, is partnered with The Springs Living to run the remodel project. Construction is underway and scheduled for completion by summer 2017.

The Springs at Butte is located at 300 Mt. Highland Drive, Butte, MT (406) 494-0083.

The Springs Living is a senior housing company headquartered in Oregon. Founded in 1996, the company has 11 retirement communities in Oregon and four in Montana. The Springs Living is building a reputation for helping people experience senior living differently. For more information about The Springs Living visit http://www.TheSpringsLiving.com
UltraLibrarian.com With Ultra Librarian, engineers now have an online component repository for part search and model download reducing potential errors and speeding up the design process by minimizing the time designers spend searching for and creating library content.

EMA Design Automation (http://www.ema-eda.com), a full-service provider and innovator of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) solutions, has created a website for Ultra Librarian, http://www.UltraLibrarian.com, giving electronics designers online access to pre-authored and verified parts with pricing and technical information to help them choose the best electronics components for their designs and the ability to download symbols, footprints, and 3D models. With the creation of UltraLibrarian.com, engineers now have a centralized, online component repository for part search and model download, said Manny Marcano, president and CEO of EMA. This reduces potential errors and speeds up the design process by minimizing the time designers spend searching for and creating library content, giving them more time to create outstanding designs.

The new Ultra Librarian website allows users to search through over 40 million components to compare pricing, availability, and technical information in order to find the perfect parts for the design. The site allows searching by part number, partial part number, or keyword. Non-specific searches often return tens of thousands of results, so users can narrow their search by category, compliance, distributor, or manufacturer. The resulting part list includes links to a detail page, the manufacturer, and the datasheet for final selection. Once the appropriate part is selected, the user can switch to the model page to download a symbol, footprint, and 3D STEP model for the part, if they exist.

The cloud-based Ultra Librarian model library currently has coverage for over 9 million parts. Many of these parts were created through relationships with the part manufacturers covering the latest and most widely used components. All website users have access to the full library where they can search for a part, preview the symbol, footprint, and 3D model, and then download one or all of them for the design tools of their choice. Ultra Librarian supports 22 of the most widely used EDA tools, and all popular MCAD tools support the STEP format, making UltraLibrarian.com useful to almost every electronics designer.

All part pricing information is available for free. Up to 30 model downloads per month are also free, and each download can include a symbol, a footprint, and a 3D model allowing up to 90 ECAD/MCAD models free per month. Subscriptions are also available allowing for more model downloads.

For more information about Ultra Librarian visit http://www.UltraLibrarian.com. To learn more about EMA, go to http://www.ema-eda.com or call 585.334.6001.

About Ultra Librarian

Ultra Librarian is a PCB design solution offering library creation software and the worlds largest database of over 9 million CAD neutral library parts. Electronics designers have online access to pre-authored and verified parts with pricing and technical information to help them choose the best electronics components for their designs. Symbols, footprints, and 3D models from over 400 manufacturers can be exported to 22 different CAD tools. Library creation software includes templates for over 300 part types and allows easy customization and export to the same 22 CAD tools. Ultra Librarian is owned by EMA Design Automation. Visit http://www.UltraLibrarian.com for more information.

About EMA Design Automation, Inc.

EMA Design Automation is a trailblazer in product development solutions offering a complete range of EDA tools, PLM integrations, services, training, and technical support. EMA is a Cadence Channel Partner serving all of North America. EMA develops Ultra Librarian, TimingDesigner, CircuitSpace, CIP, EDABuilder, and a host of custom solutions to enhance the OrCAD products, and all are distributed through a worldwide network of value added resellers. EMA is a privately held corporation headquartered in Rochester, New York. Visit EMA at http://www.ema-eda.com for more information.

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EMA Design Automation, TimingDesigner, CircuitSpace, EDABuilder, Ultra Librarian and the EMA logo

are registered trademarks, and Component Information Portal is a trademark of EMA Design Automation, Inc.

Cadence and OrCAD are registered trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

All other trademarks in this release are the property of their respective owners.
We are working one-on-one with patents to ensure that their health continues to improve after they leave the hospital.

To better meet the healthcare needs of the homeless and unstably-housed population, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) has established a new Medical Respite Program that provides patients recovering from illnesses with a safe place to recuperate and receive ongoing non-acute care and support following a hospital stay. This innovative model represents the first and only medical respite program in the tri-state region.

The transition home after a hospital stay can be challenging for any patient who requires additional support during recovery from an illness, said Patrick Perri, MD, Medical Director of the AHN Medical Respite Program. But for patients who are homeless or in an unstable living arrangement, leaving the hospital is an even more daunting and potentially dangerous prospect.

With 10 beds spread between Bethlehem Haven (a part of Pittsburgh Mercy Health System) and Wood Street Commons (run by Community Human Services)  existing homeless services facilities located in downtown Pittsburgh  the AHN Medical Respite Program first addresses the patients primary needs for safe temporary housing and nutrition.

Healthcare workers from AHNs Center for Inclusion Health and Healthcare@Home program then provide follow-up medical care and service coordination in a compassionate, home-like environment. Through this model, the program helps patients achieve better health and social stability while lowering their risk of costly re-hospitalizations.

This unique partnership between AHN, Wood Street Commons, and Bethlehem Haven is helping us close gaps in the health care continuum for a highly vulnerable subset of patients, said Stuart Fisk, CRNP, MSN, Director of AHN Center for Inclusion Health. We are working one-on-one with patients to ensure that their health continues to improve after they leave the hospital.

AHN caregivers deliver various levels of post-acute care for patients in the Medical Respite Program, including IV antibiotics, dressing changes and wound care, treatment for substance use disorders, physical therapy, and coordination of follow-up medical care. Transportation assistance for appointments is also provided, and patients who need a primary care physician are able to establish a relationship with one.

Importantly, staffs at Bethlehem Haven and Community Human Services also work directly with patients to ensure that their longer-term housing, nutrition, and behavioral health needs are met.

More than 50 patients have benefited from the Medical Respite Program since its inception last year. One patient, who discovered that he had blood cancer while incarcerated, called the assistance life-saving.

I have no family or social supports in the Pittsburgh area. If it wasnt for the Inclusion Health Team offering me a respite bed at Wood Street, I would have been on the streets dying. he said.

Through the Medical Respite Program, the patient was able to receive chemotherapy and was connected with a primary care physician in the Internal Medicine Clinic at Allegheny General Hospital. He also was assisted in obtaining health insurance, disability, and permanent housing benefits.

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About Allegheny Health Network

Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), part of Highmark Health, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of eight hospitals, including Allegheny General Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg, Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, womens health, diabetes and more. It also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; an employed physician organization, home and community based health services and a group purchasing organization. The Network employs approximately 17,000 people, has more than 2,800 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
SignatureCare Emergency Center  South Austin is having their Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony May 3rd at 5701 West Slaughter Lane Bldg G Austin, TX. The Emergency Center opened early March, as the first SignatureCare Emergency Room in Austin, TX.

Were excited to formally celebrate the opening of our Austin Emergency Room, said Aaron Braun, SignatureCare's Managing Member. The ribbon cutting ceremony will double as an open house, and all of our Austin community members are welcome to come and bring their families. We strive for patient satisfaction, high quality care and no long wait times. "Your Care is our Signature."

Our Austin ER is fully equipped to handle most emergencies at hand. The Free-Standing Emergency Room offers little to no wait times, on-site imaging services: such as X-rays and CT scans, and has a full on-site laboratory. All the doctors at SignatureCare Emergency Center are board-certified and able to treat both adult and pediatric emergencies.

As a free-standing ER we have the ability to tend to our patients on more of a one-on-one basis, said Braun. We offer ER care that is more personal than hospital based ERs. SignatureCare is one of the fastest growing emergency centers in Texas, with current locations in Houston, Austin, College Station and Stafford, TX.

For more information on SignatureCare Emergency Center  Austin visit http://ercare24.com/austin/

About SignatureCare Emergency Center

Licensed by the Texas Department of Health Services, SignatureCare Emergency Centers are freestanding emergency rooms that are always open. SignatureCare has four locations in the Houston area with each offering state-of-the art medical imaging, and X-rays. All of our emergency rooms are fully staffed with medical professionals, including board-certified physicians, licensed nurses, radiology technicians, and emergency-trained ancillary staff. All SignatureCare Emergency Centers are open 24/7- 365 days a year.

For more information on SignatureCare Emergency Center and its other locations visit http://www.ercare24.com.
Dr. Alan J. Bauman, founder and CEO of Bauman Medical in Boca Raton, has been named one of the countrys most transformative CEOs in Forbes.com by contributor and nationally syndicated radio host, Robert Reiss. Dr. Bauman was recognized for his role in reinventing the hair restoration industry over the past 20 years. Dr. Bauman has become internationally-known for both his pioneering work with new technology, including minimally-invasive no-linear-scar F.U.E. or Follicular Unit Extraction and other microsurgical hair transplants, low level laser therapy, "PRP" or platelet-rich plasma therapy, prostaglandin analogs, trichology for hair and scalp health, 3D-printed hair and scalp "CNC" cranial prosthetics and most recently, robotic-assisted ARTAS FUE hair transplantation. This pioneering work, in addition to his practices Core Values and Patient-First approach to hair restoration and hair loss prevention, have helped to distinguish Dr. Baumans medical practice over the decades.

Everyone at Bauman Medical is so excited by this amazing recognition, commented Dr. Bauman. It has been such an honor to help lead the way in educating consumers, the beauty industry, as well as my fellow medical colleagues on hair transplant technology and artistry, which are continually changing and evolving. Our favorite reward however is seeing how our patients lives are forever transformed by the work we perform.

When identifying transformative CEOs, we look for business leaders who are reinvigorating a company, reinventing an industry or rebooting society," explained Robert Reiss, Forbes contributor and author of The Transformative CEO. Through his tireless innovation and dedication to his patients' results, Dr. Bauman has proven himself transformative because he's consistently moved the hair restoration field forward into the mainstream, which has in turn helped tens of millions of Americans "reboot" or enhance their appearance, confidence and self-esteem through hair transplantation and the medical specialty of hair restoration.

Dr. Bauman opened Bauman Medical in 1997, at a time when he says, great technology was coming of age. Continued technological advances, coupled with Dr. Baumans successful adoption and implementation of them, have been at the forefront of his success. He has long been a pioneer of new hair transplant procedures; after performing his first FUE-style hair transplant in 2001, Dr. Bauman was the first surgeon to present a Poster Abstract on FUE at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery's Annual Meeting in 2003 and was also the first to perform FUE at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgerys Orlando Live Surgery Workshop a few months later in 2004. In 2008, he became the first ABHRS-certified hair restoration physician to routinely use NeoGraft FUE for hair transplant procedures.

Dr. Bauman attended the launch of the ARTAS robotic hair transplant system in Anchorage, Alaska in 2011, and later his clinic became one of the first full-time ABHRS-certified FUE-only practices to offer robotic-assisted ARTAS FUE transplants in the US. The ARTAS system offers consistent micron-level precision for hair follicle harvesting, protection of existing hair during site-making as well as sophisticated 3D preview imaging for realistic patient expectations. Over the years, he and his team transplanted over two million FUE grafts, making him among one of the most experienced and sought after surgeons performing artistic FUE hair transplant procedures in the world.

Today, the Bauman Medical Hair Transplant and Hair loss Treatment Center in Boca Raton, Florida is the worlds largest and most comprehensive stand-alone treatment facility dedicated exclusively to hair restoration for men and women.

Dr. Baumans distinction as a world-class hair restoration physician is not only due to his continued investment in the latest technology, but also his foresight and ability to leverage those technologies and digital tools to benefit and connect with patients around the world. Thanks to social media and other digital communications, weve seen todays effective hair loss treatments move to center stage, explained Dr. Bauman. Which has been a huge step forward in helping men and women win the battle against hair loss, by connecting them with the help they need, wherever they are.

Dr. Baumans commitment to his patients through education, continued training and innovation, are the cornerstone of his success, as well as his partnerships with other industry experts. Dr. Bauman exemplifies the type of surgeons NeoGraft seeks for a partner, commented Glenn Normoyle, CEO of NeoGraft. The industry as a whole has benefited from mirroring his patient first approach to generate consistently excellent outcomes.

Spencer Kobren, best-selling author, host of the syndicated talk radio show, The Bald Truth, and founder of the American Hair Loss Association, echoed this by adding, Over the last 20 years, Dr. Bauman has distinguished himself as a true innovator in the field of hair restoration. An exemplary IAHRS-accepted member, he has consistently been one of the earliest adopters of the best, most effective technology and treatments and has always been passionate about sharing this valuable information. Kobren added, Im confident he will continue to positively transform the industry as well as the lives of his many patients.

To learn more about Dr. Bauman and Bauman Medical visit http://www.baumanmedical.com or call 1-877-BAUMAN-9 or 561-394-0024.

About Dr. Alan J. Bauman:

Alan J. Bauman, M.D. is the founder and chief medical officer of the Bauman Medical Hair Transplant and Hair Loss Treatment Center in Boca Raton, Florida. At more than 11,000 square feet, his clinic is the worlds largest stand-alone treatment center dedicated exclusively to treating hair loss in both men and women. Dr. Bauman has been a full-time hair transplant surgeon who since 1997 has treated almost 20,000 patients and performed over 7,000 hair transplant procedures.

Dr. Bauman was recently once again voted as a top Hair Restoration Physician by the esteemed Aesthetic Everything Network, an annual review process that evaluates doctors medical education, training, professional affiliations, experience, expert source status with the national media, disciplinary histories, as well as medical peer and patient feedback.

Dr. Bauman is one of approximately 100 physicians worldwide to achieve board certification from the esteemed American and International Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS). He is a Fellow of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (FISHRS), an accepted member of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS), recommended by the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA), a member of Procter & Gambles Pantene Hair Research Institute (PHRI), member of and invited speaker for Intercoiffure Canada America, and an active lecturer and physician faculty member for numerous medical organizations.

Dr. Bauman received his M.D. degree from New York Medical College and surgical residency training at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York before specializing exclusively in hair transplantation more than twenty years ago. As an award-winning philanthropist and founder of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Bauman Philanthropic Foundation, Dr. Bauman is also the proud recipient of the 2015 Guardian Angel award presented at Wigs and Wishes by the founder of Friends Are By Your Side, Mr. Martino Cartier. Dr. Bauman also received the Business Leader of the Year Award presented to him by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce thanks in part to his community support and active social contributions and philanthropic involvement. Recently, he was listed as a Top Transformational CEO in Forbes. Dr. Bauman has appeared in print, radio and television as a medical expert and successful early-adopter of the most advanced technologies in the treatment of hair loss. Appearances, interviews and profiles include the Today Show, The Early Show, Good Morning America, Extra, Access Hollywood and Dateline NBC among other TV appearances. Newspaper and Magazine articles and feature stories include The New York Times, Newsweek, Cosmo, Vogue, Allure, O  The Oprah Magazine and Mens Health among others. Dr. Bauman is available for private individual long-distance or in-office consultations. Call Bauman Medical at 1-561-394-0024 or visit online at http://www.BaumanMedical.com
The leading global secure enterprise video platform provider We are thrilled to welcome Natalia Kermode to the movingimage team. Her depth of technical knowledge and experience in the corporate video industry will be extremely valuable to us as we further expand into the US market.

movingimage, the leading secure enterprise video platform (EVP) provider, today announced that the company has launched a significant US market expansion and has hired veteran industry leader Natalia Kermode as the managing director of sales, Americas. Kermode, who comes to movingimage from key competitor Kaltura, is joining a team of international experts charged with aggressively growing the companys US market presence. With financing for the major US expansion and a fast-growing roster of more than 500 customers in top global companies including the Volkswagen Group and Bayer, movingimage is already an established international leader with its Enterprise Video Solution, a platform for managing secure corporate intranet and internet video. The company has now set its sights on becoming the major EVP provider in the US.

We are thrilled to welcome Natalia Kermode to the movingimage team, said Rainer Zugehor, founder and CEO of movingimage. Her depth of technical knowledge and experience in the corporate video industry will be extremely valuable to us as we further expand into the US market, building our customer base and developing new partnerships.

For the past seven years, Kermode has managed US and global enterprise and channel sales for video platform vendor Kaltura, where she personally signed more than half of the companys Fortune 100 clients. She was the companys top sales person for four out of five years prior to moving into higher level management positions. She has a proven track record of developing new markets, engaging partnerships and hiring top-notch personnel. She will leverage this experience in building movingimages North American sales team and expanding the companys partner network, which already includes major partners such as Microsoft, Akamai and Citrix.

movingimage is a well-established market leader in Europe and has the most robust, secure and deeply integrated cross-enterprise video solution available, said Natalia Kermode, managing director of sales, Americas for movingimage. movingimage has reinvigorated my excitement for what enterprise video can do for companies, and Im very excited to have this opportunity to lead movingimages sales expansion into the US market.

About movingimage

As the leading global secure Enterprise Video Platform provider, movingimages mission is to revolutionize how enterprises and organizations use video. The company offers cutting edge software-as-a-service and proudly touts an extensive customer portfolio of over 500 companies, including blue chip corporations like Bayer and the Volkswagen Group.
I feel good when I help customers learn the software and improve the business. Together, we find solutions for their pain points.

EpiCenter, a leading authorized partner of Epicor Software that blends its manufacturing history with Epicor software expertise to empower clients to compete at top levels, announced today that its west coast division has added another consultant, Kristine Lim. In her new role, Lim will work with EpiCenter clients to support their enterprise resource planning (ERP), financial accounting processes, order, inventory and purchasing management, distribution and logistics management.

A California native, Lim rounds out the Epi West team. She lives in the Los Angeles area but will work out of EpiCenters El Paso office, which covers the west coast. Currently registered in a dozen states, in addition to the El Paso offices, EpiCenter has offices in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Westfield, MA.

From southern California to Seattle, WA, Kristine has worked with aerospace and defense and high-tech organizations, including those that specialize in repetitive manufacturing, says EpiCenter President Jeff Glaze. Her ability to understand the clients needs and business requirements and develop creative solutions to meet their objectives, even in a fast-paced, high-pressure setting is impressive.

When beginning her career, Lim hoped to be a teacher, but her interest in the high-tech industry pointed her toward consulting instead. She realized that was a way to incorporate her desire to teach, since training and education plays a major role in helping clients get the most out of their ERP systems. I feel good when I help customers learn the software and improve the business, says Lim. Together, we find solutions for their pain points.

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ABOUT EPICENTER

A full-service, value-added reseller for Epicor, EpiCenter follows Epicors Signature Methodology along with industry-specific expertise from its extensive background in engineer-to-order and make-to-stock manufacturing and distribution. Offering tools acquired as a former manufacturer itself, EpiCenter assesses people and production needs first, and then translates those requirements to the software. Clients include companies in aerospace and defense, medical device, electronics and high tech, tool and die, rubber and plastics, fabricated metal, furniture and fixtures, energy, automotive, industrial machinery, firearms, biomedical, foam products, machine shops, and distribution. For more information, contact http://www.epicentererp.com
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 82F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
The recently opened west wing at Center 615 in East Nashville includes 34 private suites. People like the community aspect but at the end of the day, its nice to be able to close your door.

Center 615 has added 34 private suites and 10 work stations to its newest expansion, plus a meditation room, a nap room, additional conference rooms, lounges and kitchens.

The expansion brings the Center 615 East Nashville campus to 65,000 square feet, with 92 private offices, 8 conference rooms, 26 coworking spots and 2 event spaces across three buildings on Main Street. Free parking is standard, too.

Next up is a lush courtyard with a putting green, shuffleboard, lounge seating, breakout meeting space and more, all in the space that once served as a construction companys garage, maintenance, and loading dock. Work starts in June with the opening expected in September.

Owner and developer Christian Paro consistently weights his projects in favor of private offices while creating smaller coworking areas and big opportunities for community interaction and events.

People like the community aspect but at the end of the day, its nice to be able to close your door, Paro said.

Despite the buzz, coworking, an upgrade from a coffee shop nook that comes with membership amenities such as conference room time, doesnt always serve the needs of teams well. It can be a perfect fit for a single person or two people whose venture will expand, but emerging sentiment suggests an open floor plan increases distraction and decreases productivity.

Paro and his team already knew that.

We take trips each year, and every single time big open floor plan places were scrambling to build out more private offices, he said.

Theyve seen it in Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego, Portland, Chattanooga - even Paris, Amsterdam and Budapest. Theyre seeing it in Greater Nashville where competitors that opened without private offices are updating their space to accommodate tenants.

Roscoe High, a commercial broker with Southeast Ventures, credits Paro for finding a niche that is underserved.

The industry standard is a three-year lease and a minimum divisible space of 3,000 square feet, he said. For a new tech startup, two-person law office, or even four-person firm, options are limited.

You can lease from a friend. You might find an office condo here and there, High said. But unless you have 5-6 employees and a three-year term, a lot of commercial office space isnt interested.

Suites in the recently opened west wing in Center 615s flagship building range from 100 to 700 square feet, with cluster options available to create a larger footprint into several thousand square feet. The diversity and flexible terms make an attractive difference.

Leases start at 6-months or a year, and members can add on or move to a smaller or larger space within the campus at any point during their lease with no penalty.

Christian has been able to create an environment above and beyond offices, High said. It is a community of collaboration where small business owners and sole practitioners can come and go and not worry about the length of the lease term.

Community is key. Beyond beer and ping pong, Center 615 has organized member events from laser tag to fancy wine tastings and elaborate costume parties.

We approach it more strategically and take cues from our members on programming, Paro said.

About Center 615

For information about available suites visit the website or call 615-457-1596, extension 3. Center 615 comprises three buildings on Main Street in East Nashville - Main, at 615 Main St.; Bricks, at 625 Main St., and Loft, at 626 Main St. - plus Studio 615, at 272 Broadmoor, which serves videographers and photographers. Indoor and outdoor event spaces are available for rent at several buildings.

High resolution images for print publications and additional images are available.
O Hello Media in action for the Kashi activation at Expo West by On Board Experiential Brands and agencies are always looking for solutions to extend their reach beyond the attendees present at the activation itself, and O Hello Media powered by Cinebody will facilitate that need"

O Hello Media, a nationwide provider of full service experiential photography & videography solutions, has partnered with Cinebody to bring real time videography and post-production to their suite of content capture services. Serviced by O Hello Media, the platform will give experiential marketing agencies and brands an authentic way to connect with their consumers and broaden their reach for social engagement. In conjunction with O Hello Medias documentation of activations through thoughtful and captivating photography & videography, the Cinebody platform will serve as another unique way for brands and agencies alike to market and interact with their target demographic.

The experiential industry is constantly shifting, and with that has come a demand for instant content to meet the current behaviors in online media consumption, says O Hello Media Founder, Taryn Covrigaru. Brands and agencies are always looking for solutions to extend their reach beyond the attendees present at the activation itself, and O Hello Media powered by Cinebody will facilitate that need. In addition to the O Hello Media team fueling the content creation, clients will also have the opportunity to invite brand ambassadors or even consumers to contribute live footage at the event through a unique project code. The content will feel authentic, but will be polished through instant professional post-production and align with the brands creative strategy. This, paired with O Hello Medias management of the project from start to finish, will allow agencies to focus on the overall successful execution of the event without having to skip a beat.

The polished footage and post-produced video will be facilitated through the use of the Cinebody H7, a hardware unit designed to support documentation. O Hello Media has equipped their national network of professional experiential content creators with the H7, which will enable their team members to document footage using the refined camera technology of todays mobile devices paired with the H7 features; a camera strap for increased stability, 37mm lens, tripod mount capabilities and functionality for accessory attachments including lights, microphones & lenses.

Cinebody is very excited to partner with O Hello Media and power their future content strategies. Forward thinking outfits like O Hello Media combined with Cinebody technology are pioneering content creation for the modern landscape, says Cinebody Founder & CEO, Scott McDonald.

O Hello Media is thrilled to bring the solution to market and will have the opportunity to promote the launch this week at Event Marketers 15th anniversary of the Experiential Marketing Summit in Chicago. As the exclusive photography sponsor of the summit, they will have a roaming team member photographing as well as capturing content on the Cinebody device throughout the conference. They will also provide demos and the opportunity for attendees to contribute footage from booth 506 in the expo hall.

For more information about O Hello Medias Cinebody solution, please direct inquires to Taryn Covrigaru at taryn(at)ohellomedia.com or 303-847-0906.

About Cinebody:

Cinebody is revolutionizing real-time storytelling and content creation across the globe. An intuitive mobile app paired with a powerful software platform invites brands and creators to collaborate with video on the cloud unlike ever before. Cinebody is the best way to create and deliver high-quality content in real-time. To learn more, visit http://www.cinebody.com

About O Hello Media:

O Hello Media is a nationwide full service photography & videography agency specializing in experiential marketing. Headquartered in Denver, CO, they are best known for their visually captivating content that effectively highlights the story of an engaged consumer experience at various brand activations throughout the country. Alongside their quality content, O Hello Media serves as an extension of the event marketing agency with their behind the scenes project management team at HQ responsible for managing the back-end logistics and production on every project. For more information, visit http://www.ohellomedia.com
Rum Diplomatico announced the winners of the Continental Semi-Finals in America & the Caribbean. Jose Luis Valencia of Peru, Enrique Auvert from Panama and Kevin Beary from Chicago achieved top recognition, after competing in a group of 12 talented bartenders. The three finalists will travel to London at the end of June to compete in the global finale. As the next round in this global cocktail competition, contestants were selected from North America, Central America & the Caribbean, and South America with one winner from each region. The competition took place at the Ritz Carlton and 297 Bar in Aruba. The first leg of the competition focused on creating a cocktail with Diplomaticos new mixing rum, Mantuano, followed by a second round focused on creating the perfect serve with Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, the brands flagship expression.

This is the 3rd installment of the biennial competition organized by the award-winning Venezuelan rum, and was hosted by industry luminary Tad Carducci, Director of Spirits Education at Domaine Select Wine & Spirits. The esteemed judging panel included Eric Lorincz, head bartender at the iconic American Bar in Londons Savoy Hotel, Pamela Wiznitzer, one of Americas top mixologists, and Kevin Brauch, Canadian celebrity chef and speaker. Other competitors this year included Freddy Moreno from Colombia, Franky Marshall from New York, William Seijas from Venezuela, Brandon Casey from Arizona, Simon Alberti from Mexico, Freddy Johnson from Grand Cayman, Sean McGuigan from Vancouver, Bruno Facina from Brazil and Gavin Miller from Montreal.

It was very exciting to organize such a wonderful event in Aruba and see so much talent gathered in one place, said Jose Rafael Ballesteros Melendez, Diplomaticos C.E.O. All of the participating bartenders came up with amazing cocktail creations and the three winners will now fly to London to take their chance at the global finale, competing with some of the best bartenders in the world, It will be a fantastic professional experience for all of them. 

Contestants underwent multiple rounds and were judged on their original cocktail creations based upon three main criteria of technique, presentation, decor and garnish and organoleptic subjects (such as taste, texture, aroma and balance). This year more than 1,200 bartenders entered the competition from 40 countries. 13 finalists will compete in the global Finals.

Founded in 2013, the Diplomatico World Tournament was developed to honor the bartender community worldwide. Participants compete first in a regional qualifying round, winners advance on to the country final, then representatives from each country go to continental semi-finals, where they then compete for a spot in the global Finale. This years finale will be held in London at the prestigious Savoy Hotels Beaufort Bar. Diplomatico continually strives for excellence and innovation within the rum category and is currently the only Venezuelan rum producing an international event of this nature.

*Note: photography available upon request.

About Rum Diplomatico (http://www.ronDiplomatico.com)

Rum Diplomatico, a brand inspired by the character of Don Juan Nieto Melendez, is a super-premium rum hailing from Venezuela. Located at the foot of the Andes Mountains, the Diplomatico Distillery (producing top-quality spirits since 1959) combines traditional methods with modern technology to produce the finest of rums. The production area boasts great conditions for sugar production including fertile lands, abundant water and favorable weather. Their team of award-winning Master Blenders work diligently to create unique and complex rums. The product range consists of the New Tradition Range: Planas (aged up to 6 years), Mantuano (aged up to 8 years) and Reserva Exclusiva (aged up to 12 years), and the Prestige Line: Single Vintage 2000 and Ambassador, both are aged 12 years and finished in sherry casks for one and two years respectively.
Nimble Impressions volunteered at Feed My Starving Children in Eagan last month with friends and family. Our charitable efforts are an extension of our company beliefs. Authentic passion of serving people is part of our DNA.

Nimble Impressions, a premier Twin Cities area marketing and creative agency has been nationally recognized for Doing Good. PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) is featuring Nimble in this months May edition of their nationally distributed PPB Magazine. The feature article titled The Heros Among Us seeks to highlight companies that have established charitable giving programs or charitable outreach efforts. The Nimble For Good initiative established by Nimble in 2016 to formally brand efforts made by the company gained the attention of Texas based PPAI.

The article (http://pubs.ppai.org/2017/04/the-heroes-among-us/) is a wonderful recognition for a small business trying to make an impact beyond the products/services offered. Its a real affirmation that being a socially responsible company is valued by our global community. Nimble is humbled by the exposure and also encouraged by it to continue efforts. What an honor! We know we can do so much more, but are pleased to have a formal effort in place to keep momentum going. We can more easily rally internal and external support with what is in place, says Alan Haskins, CEO of Nimble Impressions.

Nimble For Good (http://nimbleimpressions.com/nimble-for-good/) is the philanthropic arm of Nimble Impressions. Graced by our amazing customers Nimble is consequently healthy and strong. The company believes in the notion that "To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Expected." In that spirit the company developed this formal initiative to give back and display its dedication to doing good.

Great organizations like the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), National Parkinsons Foundation, and Feed My Starving Children are current benefactors. Part of what caught the attention of PPB was the 1% of NOLS initiative. Nimble gives 1% of Promotional Product Sales to NOLS. As a unique organization dear to the company, utilizing and encouraging sales of promotional products was a creative approach to giving back.

The drive to exceed customer expectations is inevitably connected to this recent attention. Steve Schendel, Sales Executive for Nimble believes that our charitable efforts are an extension of our company beliefs. Authentic passion of serving people is part of our DNA. The company is honored to recognize his contribution to the local community as a volunteer firefighter for the Apple Valley Fire Department.

Nimble is grateful to PPAI and PPB for spotlighting their efforts. It will use this attention as fuel to build on what has been done so far.

About Nimble Impressions

Nimble Impressions is a Minnesota-based marketing agency whose knowledge and over 20 years of experience, coupled with your unique business situation, create phenomenal results.

While we are based in the Twin Cities, Nimble serves clients nationally. We collaborate on a brand and carry it through the different, unique business areas catering to company needs such as: messaging, web design and development, print and digital collateral, as well as marketing and promotional services and products. A partnership with us equates to an extension of your businesss daily operations. We alleviate the heavy lifting associated with strategic marketing. Whether your company is in need of a website redesign, promotional products or a tradeshow booth, we can help. Search engine optimization, to public relations to design and communication, we will bend to assure all of your needs are met and delivered above expectations.

From start to finish our staff, whose everyday goal is to ensure your satisfaction, skillfully manages every aspect of your project with expertise, creativity and customer service.
Daymond John Accountex USA attendees can get ready to learn about my unique goal-setting and achievement strategies, which will empower them to make positive changes in every aspect of their life.

Accountex USA announced ABCs Emmy Award Winning Shark Tank star, Daymond John as a featured keynote speaker at the 2017 accounting technology conference and expo. The keynote titled Daymond Johns 5 Shark Points: Fundamentals for Success in Business and Life will be delivered on September 8th at 11:00am followed by a book signing. Accountex USA will be held September 6-8, 2017 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

From his successful role on ABCs Shark Tank, to a New York Times best-selling author, and as the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Daymond John has become globally recognized for his relentless commitment to supporting entrepreneurs. Daymond initially made his mark as the entrepreneur and branding expert behind the $6 Billion dollar brand FUBU. In 2009, Daymond was tapped by television producer, Mark Burnett, to join the cast of a new business-reality concept, Shark Tank, which made him a household name.

Daymond John has written three books, the most recent of which debuted at #2 on the New York Times Best-Seller list in January, 2016. The most successful selling novel of any of the Sharks, The Power of Broke takes an in depth look at how successful entrepreneurs who started from broke were forced to think more creatively and to leverage their resources more efficiently, than their counterparts.

Daymond commented about the upcoming appearance at the leading accounting technology conference, Through my entrepreneurial journey there have been many successes, as well as failures. I have learned a few things about getting the best out of business and life. He continued, Accountex USA attendees can get ready to learn about my unique goal-setting and achievement strategies, which will empower them to make positive changes in every aspect of their life.

Accountex USA, the leading independent expo and conference on accounting technology. The event provides a three-day schedule focused around the solutions that move accounting and finance forward. The educational conference offers CPE with content from more than a single vendor perspective. Sessions are taught by experts, resulting in a high-caliber learning experience with real-world lessons and practical takeaways that can be implemented seamlessly. Registration is now open at AccountexUSA.com.

The Accountex USA expo brings together the largest selection of technology solutions and offers professionals in-person time to learn about the latest upcoming trends. The expo is the premier event of the year for the accounting and finance professional as well as the developer community. Accountex USA is welcoming numerous new solution providers to the expo hall for 2017 including Wordpress, Abacus Next, Neat, Veem, and Doc.it.

About Accountex USA

Accountex USA is the leading independent expo and conference focusing on accounting technology. Accountex USA focuses on the technology that moves accounting forward as well as the business processes and organizational success needed in the marketplace. It is an independent conference, which means that it offers more than one viewpoint of solutions. Accountex USA features the most accounting technology solutions at one major event, plus latest trends and the traditional technologies that still dominate, without any focus on a singular suite of products. http://www.accountexusa.com. ###
Students will be able to complete their degrees more quickly while relying less on borrowing.

This morning, Congress released a bipartisan bill funding the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017. The bill is expected to be considered and passed this week. Included in the bill is the restoration of Year-Round Pell Grants.

The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), our members and our students across the country have urged Congress throughout the past year to restore Year-Round Pell Grants. We commend and thank the 115th Congress for listening, and for taking this important bipartisan action. In particular, we thank and commend Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.); Congressman Tom Cole (R-Okla.); Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.); and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) for their support. Many additional members of Congress worked to reinstate Year-Round Pell Grants, and we are grateful for their support of community college students.

The reinstatement of Year-Round Pell will provide low-income students with much-needed assistance to attend college continually. As a result, students will be able to complete their degrees more quickly while relying less on borrowing.

Read today's Latest Action in Washington alert

for more detail about the legislation, how Year-Round Pell Grants can be accessed, and other details of the legislation that will affect community college students.

We look forward to continuing to work with Congress toward making high-quality education at community colleges more accessible to students so that they can have as great a chance as possible to succeed.

J. Noah Brown

President and CEO

About ACCT

Founded in 1972, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is the nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees of community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. ACCT's purpose is to strengthen the capacity of community, technical, and junior colleges and to foster the realization of their missions through effective board leadership at local, state, and national levels. For more information, visit http://www.acct.org. Follow ACCT on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CCTrustees.

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Jon Henschen Unfortunately, compliance departments often treat well-established advisors with good compliance records like teenagers.

Jon Henschens most recent article, 5 Compliance Approaches that Chase Away Advisor Talent, has been published on ThinkAdvisor and featured on Investment Advisor. Henschens article discusses how compliance departments often treat well-established advisors with good compliance records like teenagers. He asserts that when experienced advisors are treated as if they were newly licensed, it not only burns relationship bridges, but also can be unsettling enough to drive them to change broker-dealer. Henschens article continues by identifying categories of destructive compliance behavior that can send their best advisors headed for the exit door.

The first example Henschen cites is the French law approach, where the standard practice in some compliance departments is to treat the advisor as guilty until proven innocent. He recounts one advisors story in which the heirs to a clients estate submitted two complaints over the sale of universal life policies. The advisor had financial plans to back the investments, so he felt confident he had done nothing wrong. The compliance department assumed the worst of the advisor, siding with the heirs in their complaint stance. This advisor ended up leaving the firm before the arbitration date due to being treated as if he were a criminal. Later, at the new firm, the arbitration hearing completed and the advisors UL policies were found to be appropriate investments and the complaints were dismissed.

A second problematic area described by Henschen is when compliance and broker-dealer staff do not stay neutral on the topics of politics and religion, which are best avoided. His firm has witnessed both sides of the political debate offended by back-office voicing of political or religious convictions. One advisor who headed a local Tea Party chapter was suing his firm because he believed they had terminated him for his political stances, while a female advisor expressed her desire for a broker-dealer that was less Bible Belt and more progressive because her current firm made her feel somewhat like an outsider due to her sexual orientation.

The third problematic style is when broker-dealers cater to a lowest common denominator culture. In this environment, according to Henschen, overreaching compliance policies and processes replace sound judgment and common sense. He recalls an instance where a 30-year veteran reported being treated like a child and sent a Letter of Education, despite the fact that the advisor committed no error. Henschen asserts that these demeaning communications can infuriate an experienced professional and can be invasive and destructive. He continues by identifying five indicators of broker-dealers with lowest common denominator cultures, summarized here:



The firm goes above and beyond FINRA requirements

Decisions are made by committee

All advisors are treated as if they are high risk

The higher quality, energetic and ambitious people are leaving

The culture is consumed by a fear of failure

According to Henschen, the most common segment to the lowest common denominator mentality historically has been insurance-owned broker-dealers, which by their very nature are overtly risk adverse. However, the mentality is spreading.

The fourth problematic approach Henschen identifies is what he calls Egos gone wild, noting that many advisors that come to him to discuss clashes with compliance staff where their inflated egos escalate conflicts well beyond what is necessary. These encounters are not limited to compliance, and can involve other members of upper management as well.

The parental management style is the fifth compliance style Henschen calls out, and for this category, he shares wisdom from K. Palmer Hartl, an independent consultant to businesses and nonprofit organizations says. According to Hartl, Far too often managers operate psychologically like parents and their employees function like children (control freak managers are frequently guilty of parental management). The consequences of this are that many American businesses are not realizing the full potential of their labor force so creativity and productivity suffer.

Henschens final observation is that, The real tragedy for compliance departments and management in all of these circumstances is they often lack self-reflection, rarely even realizing that there is a problem  until of course it is too late and their best advisors head to the exit door.

Read the full article here.

Jon Henschen is President of Henschen & Associates, an independent broker-dealer recruiting firm located in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Jon is a staunch advocate for independent financial advisors, and is widely sought after by both reps and broker dealers for his expertise and advice on independent broker dealer topics. He is frequently published and quoted in a variety of industry publications, including ThinkAdvisor, Investment Advisor Magazine, Wealth Management Magazine, Financial Advisor IQ, Financial Advisor Magazine, Investment News and others.
Italian-Style Coffee Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk Weve known from many previous studies that coffee appears to have a protective effect against other health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. This large study shines a light on the potential benefits of drinking coffee on prostate cancer.

Dr. David Samadi comments on new research showing consuming more than three cups of Italian-style coffee daily might possibly reduce the risk of prostate cancer by more than half when compared to consuming between 0-2 cups daily.

It may be time for men to consider switching to Italian-style coffee as a means of reducing their risk of prostate cancer. A recent study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that the consumption of this beverage has a protective effect on prostate cancer risk. In an analysis of almost 7,000 men from Italy, those who consumed more than 3 cups a day showed a 53% reduction in prostate cancer disease risk when compared to men who had a daily 0-2 cups of coffee.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have always been a huge advocate for the positive health benefits drinking coffee provides, explained Dr. David Samadi. Weve known from many previous studies that coffee appears to have a protective effect against other health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The evidence on the effect of coffee consumption on prostate cancer are limited and this large study shines a light on the potential benefits of a common beverage consumed around the world on this common cancer in men.

Prostate cancer remains one of the most common chronic diseases occurring in men particularly over the age of 50. Over the years it has been know that lifestyle modifications have demonstrated a positive impact on the prevention of this disease. But the impact of coffee consumption on the incidence of the disease is still under debate. In the European Union, the country of Italy has one of the lowest incidences of prostate cancer in comparison to other populations from developed countries showing a higher prostate cancer occurrence. This study wanted to research and evaluate the effect of Italian-style coffee consumption on prostate cancer risk to gain better knowledge of coffees influence on this disease.

Italian-style coffee is different from the type of coffee consumed in the United States, stated Dr. Samadi. Here in the U.S. the use of filters when preparing coffee is very common but that can lead to a reduction of the important nutrients and compounds that are part of ground coffee that may not be present in the final cup we drink. Italian-style coffee is prepared unfiltered with high-pressure hot water temperature or boiling water that may result in less loss and a greater concentration of bioactive compounds that could be beneficial for reducing prostate cancer.

For this 4 year observational study there were 6,989 men who participated by reporting their daily intake of Italian-style coffee using a food frequency questionnaire.

Findings showed men who consumed at least three cups of Italian-style coffee every day were at a 53 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer, compared with men who consumed fewer than three cups daily.

The researchers confirmed their findings by showing that caffeinated coffee extracts reduced the ability of prostate cancer cells to grow and divide while at the same time reduced their ability to spread, explained Dr. Samadi. They were also able to show that decaffeinated coffee extracts did not have the same effect. To me this shows caffeine appears to have a positive effect on prostate cancer. Keep in mind, there are numerous bioactive and antioxidant compounds in a cup of coffee that can prevent oxidative DNA damage influencing the growth of tumors. Coffees antitumor effect has been shown in other types of cancer such as bladder, breast, colorectal, esophageal, pancreatic, and liver cancers.

Dr. Samadi went on to add, We always have to consider the fact that coffee is not prepared the same throughout the world. Depending on the geographical location and culture of a country, those factors can influence a cup of coffees final nutrient composition. In the meantime, Ill keep encouraging men to have their cups of coffee throughout the day.

Patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer can contact world renowned prostate cancer surgeon and urologic oncologist Dr. David Samadi, for a free phone consultation and to learn more about prostate cancer risk, call 212-365-5000.
K. Hovnanian Homes is pleased to announce that The Landings at Martins Run will host its New Phase Grand Opening on May 6th and May 7th in Lorain. Pictured: The Barrington home design. This really is the ideal community for families in and around Lorain County, said Derek Lewallen, Marketing Manager for K. Hovnanian Homes Ohio Division.

K. Hovnanian Homes is pleased to announce The Landings at Martins Run will host its New Phase Grand Opening on Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th in Lorain. Those interested in purchasing a new home at The Landings at Martins Run are encouraged to speak to a Sales Consultant about possible incentives.

This really is the ideal community for families in and around Lorain County, said Derek Lewallen, Marketing Manager for K. Hovnanian Homes Ohio Division. As an added benefit, a 15-year special tax savings is offered exclusively to homebuyers in the city of Lorain. For complete tax savings details, please contact City of Lorain officials.

The Landings at Martins Run, a quaint reserve of single-family homes, offers homebuyers five distinctive home designs to choose from with one- or two- stories and up to 2,379 sq. ft. (base plan) of living space. Homes also feature two- to four-bedrooms, two to two-and-a-half baths and two-car garages (base plan).

This community also features neatly paved fitness trails that serve as the ideal backdrop for runners, bikers and power walkers, said Lewallen. Workout stations situated along the trails will challenge you to reach your fitness goals.

Part of Lorain County, The Landings at Martins Run is located near metro parks, the beaches of Lake Erie and a variety of year-round family-friendly recreation destinations. Lorains Black River Landing is conveniently located downtown, featuring a vibrant port with seasonal celebrations, community get-togethers, outdoor concerts and a bustling marina for weekend boating and sailing. Lorain County and Northeast Ohio are home to a wide selection of local and International fare. Lorain Palace Theater is also nearby.

The Landings at Martins Run is located at 4312 Brooks Court in Lorain, Ohio. The Sales Center is open Monday from 1pm to 6pm and Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm. To learn more, visit http://www.khov.com/LandingsMartinsRun or call 440-960-5400.

ABOUT HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC.

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., founded in 1959 by Kevork S. Hovnanian, is headquartered in Red Bank, New Jersey. The Company is one of the nations largest homebuilders with operations in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia. The Companys homes are marketed and sold under the trade name K. Hovnanian Homes, Brighton Homes and Parkwood Builders. As the developer of K. Hovnanians Four Seasons communities, the Company is also one of the nations largest builders of active lifestyle communities.

Additional information on Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., including a summary investment profile and the Companys 2016 annual report, can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Hovnanian Enterprises website at http://www.khov.com. To be added to Hovnanians investor e-mail list, please send an e-mail to IR(at)khov(dot)com or sign up at http://www.khov.com.
The Jewish Council for the Aging (JCA) announced the Kursban Family as their 2017 Humanitarian Awardees for their collective and individual ongoing dedication to causes that better humanity and the world in which we live. The family will be honored alongside Kitty Kelley, Americas best-selling investigative biographer, at the JCAs 24th Annual Sylvia Blajwas Productive Aging Award Dinner to be held on May 21, 2017 at 5:30pm at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center.

The JCA Board and staff leadership team feel that the Kursban family has contributed so much to so many for such a long time, said David. N. Gamse, CEO of JCA. Family & Nursing Care, founded by Sandy Kursban in 1968, is a for-profit business with the compassionate soul of a charity. All of the Kursbans give selflessly of their time and resources to improve our community and the world. We are proud to honor them for their contributions.

In addition to founding Family & Nursing Care in 1968 to provide quality in-home care for aging adults, Sandy Kursban founded the Family & Nursing Care Foundation, a fund of the Community Foundation in Montgomery County, in 2008. The Foundation serves two purposes: to provide low-income aging adults with the dedicated home care they need, and to support home care training programs for individuals who want to become caregivers. Ms. Kursban passed along her passion for helping to her three children who will also be honored.

Neal Kursban, President of Family & Nursing Care, gives of his time and resources to myriad causes, including Planned Parenthood, fighting cancer, and volunteering his time at a homeless shelter. Mindy Kursban, General Counsel of Family & Nursing Care, is passionate about equality. She serves by being a voice for the voiceless and works to prevent the exploitation and abuse of animals and to protect the environment. Following closely in her mothers footsteps, Julie Black is the President of Nurture Care, an organization that refers caregivers to aging adults. She is also active in the larger community, giving generously of her time and resources to organizations that make a positive impact in the world.

My family is so honored to be receiving this award, said Sandy Kursban. I have been blessed in my life and have always felt compelled to help others who are less fortunate. My children have found their own causes and passions and make me proud with their societal contributions each and every day.

This is the seventh year that the JCA has honored outstanding humanitarians as part of their Productive Aging Awards Dinner. The Kursbans join past awardees: Esthy & James Adler (2016), Sylvia Greenberg (2015), The Honorable Sidney Kramer (2014), Arlene & Robert Kogod (2013), Irma & Lester Poretsky (2011), Joanne & Norman Goldstein (2010), and Rabbi Matthew Simon (2009).

JCA was built on the Jewish values of tzedakah (righteous duty) and tikkun olam (repairing the world), said Gamse. All of the Kursbans embody these values in their professional and personal pursuits.

Those who purchase tickets for the Productive Aging Award Dinner or make donations to the event sustain essential senior services in the Greater DC area. For information, contact Micki Gordon, JCA's Assistant CEO, at 301.255.4231.

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About Family & Nursing Care

Since 1968, Family & Nursing Care has been the premier provider of in-home services for older adults, dedicated to and recognized for their passion and commitment to serve, help, and enhance the quality of life and well-being of others. As a pioneer in the aging care industry, Family & Nursing Care offers customized services including personal care, companionship, and more. The Family & Nursing Care Foundation was launched by Family & Nursing Care, Inc. in 2008 to improve access to home care for low-income seniors and to offer training opportunities for prospective caregivers. Annually, they provide grants to four community organizations that support their dual missions. In addition to donating a percentage of their company profits each year to their own foundation, Family & Nursing Care also gives generously to many other non-profit organization in the community. For more information, please visit http://www.familynursingcare.com.

About the Jewish Council for the Aging (JCA)

The Jewish Council for the Aging (JCA) helps older adults in the Greater Washington, D.C. region maintain independence, dignity, vitality and self-respect. It also helps people of different generations understand, learn from, and care for one another. JCA accomplishes this through a myriad of community-based programs built upon vibrant programmatic partnerships with funders, fellow charities, and local communities; and by providing opportunities for volunteers to make the National Capital Area a great place to age. Although Jewish heritage and values guide the organizations vision and work, JCA is a recognized leader in meeting the needs of seniors and caregivers regardless of their religious beliefs. For more information, please visit http://www.accessjca.org.
Im very pleased to have Adam Smith assume a broader role where he will be responsible for marketing, business development, and operations. Chris Neal has an outstanding record building and growing high performance sales organizations.

Automated Insights, Inc. (Ai), creator of Wordsmith, the worlds first public natural language generation (NLG) platform, today announced that long-time employee Adam Smith is being promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Chris Neal has been hired as the new Chief Revenue Officer.

Marc Zionts, Ais Chief Executive Officer, commented Im very pleased to have Adam Smith assume a broader role where he will be responsible for marketing, business development, and operations. Chris Neal has an outstanding record building and growing high performance sales organizations. These two changes will help continue to drive Ais record growth in the emerging NLG market.

Automated Insights Wordsmith is the first self-service NLG platform, and is used in over fifty industries by hundreds of customers. Allstate, The Associated Press, Cisco, and Yahoo use Wordsmith to generate more than 1.5 billion pieces of content per year, making Ai the largest NLG provider in the world.

Adam Smith has been working with Automated Insights since 2008, when he became an Advisor working directly with Ai Founder and Executive Chairman, Robbie Allen. In 2011, Smith joined the company full time as Vice President of Operations and first business hire. Smith then moved to sales, serving as VP of Sales and then Chief Revenue Officer after the company was acquired in 2015. As CRO, he was responsible for all revenue-producing areas of Ais business, including the Wordsmith platform, new products, managed service implementations, and enterprise partnerships. As COO, Smith will also spearhead the expansion of Ais business development group, building on partnerships with companies like TIBCO, Tableau, and MicroStrategy in the Business Intelligence space.

I have been part of many amazing days at Ai, but I have never been more excited about our potential than I am today, said Smith. With Wordsmith, there is no market we cant impact.

Chris Neal joins Ai after co-founding BlueStripe Software, where he served for eight years as Chief Executive Officer and led the company to a successful acquisition by Microsoft. Prior to BlueStripe, Neal was the Vice President of Field Operations in the Americas for eight years at Wily Technology, where he was responsible for growing sales from the beginning of the company through its acquisition by CA Technologies. Neal brings over twenty years of experience in scaling and running successful enterprise software organizations to Automated Insights as the companys new CRO.

I am thrilled to be joining the Automated Insights team. Ai is the clear leader in NLG, and Im looking forward to helping the company accelerate its already impressive growth.

ABOUT AUTOMATED INSIGHTS

Automated Insights is the creator of Wordsmith, the worlds first public natural language generation engine. Wordsmith allows users to generate human-sounding narratives from data. The platform makes it easy to produce millions of personalized reports, articles, and narratives in the time it takes to write just one. Wordsmith helps companies in data-driven industries, including financial services, e-commerce, real estate, business intelligence, media and many others, achieve content scale, efficiency and personalization. Customers including SlingTV, GreatCall, TIBCO, the Orlando Magic, and Constellation Brands use Wordsmith to generate 1.5 billion pieces of content a year. For more information, visit https://automatedinsights.com.
Kenall Protective Services Training Center Ribbon-Cutting at Gateway Technical College, April 28, 2017 I believe that business, government and education can work together to create a better future for our young people and give them the best possible education and training to get a good start in life

With scissors in hand, community leaders including the President and CEO of Gateway Technical College, Bryan Albrecht, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, Chairman and CEO of Kenall Manufacturing, Jim Hawkins and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch cut the yellow police tape and officially opened the highly-anticipated new Kenall Protective Services Training Center at Gateway Technical College on Friday, April 28, 2017.

The training center has been remodeled and expanded, providing a state-of-the-art training site for Gateways law enforcement academy, as well as ongoing training for law enforcement professionals throughout Wisconsin. It includes newly remodeled tactical training areas, additional classrooms, a 12-lane shooting range, and a CSI lab. The center and other specific training sites also demonstrate situation-appropriate lighting solutions donated by Kenall.

Last November, Gateway Technical College named the Kenall Protective Services Training Center in recognition of the companys $250,000 donation to the Gateway Promise program. The program provides financial aid, including tuition and fees, for qualified low-income high school seniors in the Gateway district. Since moving to Kenosha in 2014, Kenall and Gateway have formed a close, cooperative relationship: Gateway provides valuable training and support for our employees and we, in turn, strive to be a resource for the college, said Hawkins.

Being a part of the Gateway Promise is something that Hawkins takes very seriously: I believe that business, government and education can work together to create a better future for our young people and give them the best possible education and training to get a good start in life, said Hawkins. For more than 50 years, Kenall has been working closely with law enforcement and corrections to create safer spaces in those demanding environments: the Kenall Protective Services Training Center is a natural extension of our commitment to the law enforcement and corrections communities. It is also our way of showing our support for the men and women who put their lives on the line for all of us, every day, Hawkins concluded.

About Kenall

Kenall Manufacturing was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1963 and has built a reputation for durable lighting solutions of superior quality and exceptional value. Today, the company focuses on the design and manufacture of sealed correctional lighting as well as healthcare, transportation, high-abuse and food processing lighting. Kenall luminaires are designed and manufactured in the USA and meet the guidelines established under the Buy American Act and the North American Free Trade Agreement. For additional information, visit http://www.kenall.com.
Ashworth College 30th Anniversary One thing I like about Ashworth is that its very flexible, its affordable and I can do it on my own time.

Ashworth College, a global leader in online education, celebrates its 30th anniversary this spring. The nationally accredited institution provides effective, affordable and flexible online career-focused education opportunities. Ashworth College is proud to have more than 300,000 alumni across the United States and around the world.

Ashworth College originated in 1987 as a family-owned school offering a single course in real estate appraisal. The popularity of the course meant the founders knew they had filled a widespread need for high quality, career-focused distance learning. Currently, Ashworth College offers more than 125 programs spanning online career certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree and master's degree programs. Offerings are in high-demand fields including healthcare, business, technology, education, legal studies, creative services and trades. Ashworths mission and academic model is centered on removing obstacles for students - from where they are now to where they want to go - whether their goal is to finish high school, advance quickly in their career, or earn a college or post-graduate degree thats affordable and can be completed on their terms.

As one of the most responsible models of education, Ashworth College delivers high student ROI and has a student satisfaction rate above 90 percent, with more than 90 percent of students reporting that they achieved their goals upon completing their studies.

One thing I like about Ashworth is that its very flexible, its affordable and I can do it on my own time, said Cecilia Occhieny, who graduated in 2015 with an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. I work full-time and Im a mother of 3 children and so it worked for me. My plan for the future is to open a kindergarten school and I have everything I need to open a school from Ashworth College.

Ashworth College continues to build its online programs to fit an increasingly digitized student demographic while serving a sector of higher education that has grown dramatically since distance learning began in the 1800s. The progression of distance learning delivery has included the U.S. Postal Service, radio, television and the Internet, which enabled widespread online college programming. According to a 2015 report by the Online Learning Consortium, 5.8 million students take online courses in the United States alone, with 2.85 million taking all their courses at a distance and 2.97 million taking some, but not all, distance courses.

"Online college offerings have grown exponentially in the past three decades, and Ashworth College has become a leader in the field during this time said Rob Klapper, CEO of Ashworth College. We continue to increase our online course and degree options to fit the needs and aspirations of our impressive 21st century student population.

In recognition of its 30th anniversary, Ashworth College has created a video highlighting the growth and success of online education, titled 30 Things to Know About Online Education and Distance Learning.

About Ashworth College

Ashworth College is a nationally accredited institution that is committed to providing affordable and flexible online career-focused education opportunities. Over its 30-year history, Ashworth has graduated more than 300,000 students. Ashworth College is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The Distance Education Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency. Ashworth College is devoted to providing students with a practical education so they can achieve their education and career goals on their terms.

For more information about Ashworth College or its programs, visit http://www.ashworthcollege.edu.

Media Contact:

Melanie Durian

For Ashworth College

(720) 726-5446

mdurian(at)wearecsg.com
butter LONDON + The Knot Collaboration We are thrilled to be partnering with The Knot on this inspiring beauty collection. Beauty is intrinsically entwined with the wedding industry, and to collaborate with such a well-respected, innovative multiplatform wedding resource is a perfect fit."

butter LONDON, the prestige colour cosmetics and nail lacquer brand, has teamed up with the number one wedding brand*, The Knot, for a vibrantly blissful beauty collaboration. The nail and cosmetics collection, launching May 15th, was designed to embrace all things wedding. Not just for brides, everyone is invited to celebrate with beautiful hues and high-quality formulas to make any look flawless.

We are thrilled to be partnering with The Knot on this inspiring beauty collection, says butter LONDON President Sarina Godin. Beauty is intrinsically entwined with the wedding industry, and to collaborate with such a well-respected, innovative multiplatform wedding resource is a perfect fit.

The smallest, most personalized wedding details matter for our couples and their guests, including the perfect wedding day look, said Sara Ezrin Larsen, VP of Product Marketing, XO Group/The Knot. As we invite couples and guests to celebrate their love and own self-expressions, we couldn't have asked for a better partner than butter LONDON to launch this exclusive beauty collection."

butter LONDON and The Knot go big in this collection with gorgeous captivating colour, featuring award-winning formulations ranging from butter LONDONs iconic Nail Lacquer and the brands best-selling Double Decker Lashes Mascara, to Plush Rush Lip Gloss. The collection includes four kits, with makeup and nail polish in shades ranging from soft pinks and nudes to a Nail Lacquer custom matched to The Knots signature blue. Designed to be perfectly giftable  whether youre celebrating a bachelorette weekend, bridal shower, or wedding day pop the champagne, its time for the best day ever.

The exclusive collection includes:

A Perfect Pair Lips & Tips Collection ($12, Launching May 2017)



Petite Plush Rush Lip Gloss in First Kiss (Pearly Ballet Pink)

Fashion Size Nail Lacquer in The Knot (Soft Baby Blue)

Champagne Toast 4-Piece Petite Plush Rush Lip Gloss Collection ($19, launching May 2017)



Plumping, luscious lip colour with an addictive champagne scent

Includes: Fireworks (Shimmering Golden Pink), Rose (Soft Rose), Flirt (Raspberry Rose), The Toast (Toasted Honey)

Love Me, Knot 4-Piece Fashion Size Nail Lacquer Collection ($26, launching May 2017)



8-Free, highly pigmented nail colour

Includes: White Wedding (Pearly White Shimmer), Save the Date (Soft Pink Creme), Say Yes (Rosy Nude Creme), Flower Girl (Rosy Pink Creme)

Best Day Ever 6-Piece Beauty Collection ($29, Launching May 2017)



Plush Rush Lip Gloss in Lets Eat Cake (Soft Pink)

On The Glow Pen in White Gold (Soft White Gold Shimmer)

Fashion Size Double Decker Lashes Mascara in Stacked Black

Fashion Size Nail Lacquer in Happily Ever After (Soft Petal Pink)

Nail Scrubbers 2-in-1 Prep & Lacquer Remover Wipes (2 Packettes)

Launching May 15th, just in time for bridal season, Kohls will be the exclusive department store retailer for the collection. The kits will also be available on Kohls.com and butterLONDON.com.

*Source: ComScore (Average Monthly Unique Visitors, FY 2016)

About butter LONDON

Founded in 2005 by a beauty-obsessed British entrepreneur and Londons premier fashion manicurist, butter LONDON catapulted into the runway world bringing a refreshingly hip & haute fashion sense to nails. This trailblazing luxury approach  fueled with a better-for-you ingredient philosophy  quickly made butter LONDON the first world-renowned, high-fashion 3-Free nail lacquer brand. Today, we continue to create innovative, imaginative, good-for-you products for eyes, lip, face, and nail using the same ingenious Crafted with Care approach to formulations. We believe playful is beautiful and we encourage you to live a little with lively, luxe products you can trust. We are makeup royaltyand we wear it very well. For more information on butter LONDON, visit http://www.butterlondon.com.

About The Knot

The Knot is the nations leading wedding resource and marketplace that seamlessly engages, matches and connects couples with the right products, services and local wedding professionals they need to plan and pull off their wedding. The trusted brand reaches a majority of engaged couples in the US through the #1 wedding website TheKnot.com, its mobile apps, The Knot national and local wedding magazines, and The Knot book series. The Knot has inspired approximately 25 million couples to plan a wedding thats uniquely them. The Knot is the flagship brand of XO Group Inc. (NYSE: XOXO), which helps people navigate and enjoy lifes biggest momentsfrom getting married to moving in together and having a baby. Please visit The Knot online at TheKnot.com and follow on social media: Facebook.com/TheKnot and @TheKnot on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Quad slot tower/rackmount for Mac Pro and 8-bay RAID storage system The JMR systems are robust enough that they can stand up to the production office environment for a whole season without maintenance and more importantly has the speed to support our very demanding data environment

JMR Electronics, Inc., a leading design center and manufacturer of scalable storage solutions, announced today that Colortime LLC has purchased their latest Lightning(TM) Thunderbolt(TM) certified desktop workstations (LTNG-XQ-8-DTMP) for the Apple Mac Pro to streamline their color correction workflow and approval process.

Colortime LLC specializes in all aspects of digital media content creation, management, and distribution. Their workflow requires the latest technologies, with 4K and HDR as standard features in all their color correction rooms, edit bays, and QC rooms. Bill Womack, CTO, Colortime LLC said, "A JMR workstation is placed in the producer's office at the beginning of a season and each week it allows the producer and director to view final images just as if they drove across town to see them on our finishing system. They see exactly what our Senior Colorist, Russell Lynch sees in his color suite, with a modest internet connection carrying synchronization and color correction information to the remote system allowing real-time playback of the color corrected episode.

The JMR systems are robust enough that they can stand up to the production office environment for a whole season without maintenance and more importantly has the speed to support our very demanding data environment  12MB frames at 24 frames per second, continued Womack. The JMR Lightning chassis is an integrated, self contained workstation that looks like the Mac Pro tower workstation and for our purposes, contains a new Mac Pro, PCIe extender with RAID controller, and solid state RAID. Before the JMR Lightning workstation, we had systems that would overheat requiring maintenance once or twice a week. Setup was also more difficult requiring an outboard RAID with extra cables to manage.

The JMR LTNG-XQ-8-DTMP is the only storage systems on the market featuring four full-bandwidth PCIe slots, using two independent Thunderbolt-2 20Gb/s bridge circuits. This one-of-a-kind product safely houses a new-generation Mac Pro computer, remotes its on-off power function and all of its I-O ports, and adds additional cooling to the computer to maintain lower operating temperatures. The system also includes a Thunderbolt-compatible ATTO SAS RAID controller installed in one of the PCIe slots, and an integrated, hot-swappable RAID disk storage subsystem which can be populated with any compatible 2.5 SFF drives, either rotating or SSDs  thus providing on board storage up to 32TB.

The top or side cover which is installed or removed with just two thumbscrews and takes 30 seconds allows access to any interior components, making new connections to the installed Mac Pro, or removing/installing different PCIe cards in the Thundebolt-PCIe card section quick and easy.

The value of the JMR workstation for Colortime is speed, clean installation, and a rugged self-contained system with no required external wires or expansion chassis. The feedback from the producers is that they are very happy with the speed, the ability to view full resolution images, and that the system is quiet and unobtrusive allowing them to focus on their episode rather than negotiating LA traffic, concluded Womack. "Next, we are considering the JMR Lightning system to do the same thing for remote editorial work.

More details on the JMR Lightning Thunderbolt products are available at http://jmr.com/thunderbolt-storage-products-external-mac-pro-storage.

About JMR Electronics

JMR is a leading value provider and systems integrator of scalable storage systems for high performance and capacity driven applications for multiple markets including; video and post-production, military and government, education, VOD, DCC, gaming, security, medical imaging, HPC and Web 2.0. Since 1982, JMRs reliable and innovative RAID systems are proudly made in the U.S.A., manufactured entirely from their Chatsworth, California facilities. JMRs complete line of affordable Lightning storage products; SilverStor SMB focused products, and BlueStor Cloud-ready rackmount and desktop solutions are built to handle the most demanding project needs for A/V centric markets. Reliability. Innovation. Performance. This is JMR. For further information, please visit http://www.jmr.com, contact sales(at)jmr(dot)com , or call 818-993-4801.
HydroPoint WeatherTRAK with OptiFlow offers comprehensive visibility across the entire site, effective management of narrow water windows and tools to help us achieve more with fewer truck rolls and man hours.

HydroPoint Data Systems, an established leader in smart water management solutions and maker of WeatherTRAK smart irrigation technology, today announced that Ladera Ranch has selected HydroPoint for its new site-wide irrigation solution and will standardize on WeatherTRAK controllers with OptiFlow throughout its 4,000-acre planned community. The Southern California communitys stated goals during the evaluation process were to conserve water and to ensure its always-stunning landscape stayed that way, both without adding management time or labor cost.

We manage thousands of professionally maintained acres throughout Orange County and knew that to achieve Ladera Ranchs goals they needed to adopt both a cloud-based platform and advanced flow management, stated Lott Steffey, principal at landscape management firm Mosaic Consulting, Inc. HydroPoint WeatherTRAK with OptiFlow offers comprehensive visibility across the entire site, effective management of narrow water windows and tools to help us achieve more with fewer truck rolls and man hours.

Ladera Ranch is one of Americas largest and most beautiful planned communities, said Steve Hohl, owner of Water Concern, the irrigation design and water management consulting firm that designed the site. Keeping it pristine takes expertise and time. The HydroPoint central dashboard will give Mosaic Consulting the information and tools needed to more effectively and easily manage water usage throughout the site.

At full deployment, HydroPoints solution at Ladera Ranch will include:



Nearly 300 WeatherTRAK Pro3 controllers

WeatherTRAK Central for web-based real-time visibility and control

OptiFlow advanced flow management

WeatherTRAK Mobile

Rene Orta of Mosaic Consulting is the on-site manager responsible for the ongoing success of the project, including daily set-up, programming and monitoring. Site One Landscape is the supplying vendor and OConnell Landscape Maintenance will operate the system and maintain the site on an ongoing basis.

Ladera Ranch is one of the best water managed properties in the nation, said Chris Spain, HydroPoint co-founder and CEO. Their decision to select WeatherTRAK with Optiflow to improve their overall water management and to keep their community beautiful is a huge testimony to how powerful OptiFlow is.

About HydroPoint

HydroPoint is the proven leader in smart water management solutions, making water  both indoors and out  simpler to manage through visibility and automation. As the 2014 EPA WaterSense Manufacturer Partner of the Year, the Company offers WeatherTRAK and Baseline, the most complete and effective smart irrigation management systems available today; WaterCompass, an innovative leak detection and flow monitoring solution; and Sustainability Services to accelerate savings. From Walmart to Los Angeles County, HydroPoint has been helping commercial, government, education and home communities maximize water savings, reduce operating costs and minimize risk since 2002. For more information, visit http://www.hydropoint.com.
We want our customers to be as confident in their choice as we are in our craftsmanship. Now they can sample their rings and get the perfect size and color the first time, said Groove Life founder Peter Goodwin

Groove Life, makers of the first breathable, silicone ring, is excited to announce Groove Try On. Try 5 Rings for 5 Days at home for free. Groove Try On applies to all their signature silicone bands worn by people living an active, hands-on lifestyle.



Their new policy is unheard of in the online accessories community where the convenience of remote shopping is often overshadowed by issues with sizing.



We want our customers to be as confident in their choice as we are in our craftsmanship, said Groove Life founder Peter Goodwin. Now they can sample their rings and get the perfect size and color the first time.



Since 2015, Groove Life has been creating comfortable, affordable, and innovative silicone bands for adventurers, craftsmen, outdoorsmen, and more.



Theyve given these intrepid men and women a foolproof way to show off their style and marriage status without breaking the bank or risking damage to their digits.



Their rings feature a low profile, patent pending inner grooves that promote air circulation, and a break-away design that keeps fingers safe in the event a ring gets snagged on a tool, rock face, or branch.



Our rings are designed to keep up with their wearer, explains Goodwin. Theyve been put to the test against every terrain, hobby, and profession we can think of. The best part is that even if you do happen to tear your Groove Ring, we have a lifetime warranty.



With the new policy, customers will be able to try on five different rings to check the fit and style. Theyll then have five days to decide which rings they love and are only charged for what they keep.



The initial shipping cost is only $1.99 for all five rings, and Groove Life covers the return postage.

Currently, they offer an Original and Thin version of their Groove Ring in an array of fashion forward colors.

About

Groove Life launched in 2015 with the release of their flagship product the Groove Ring. Founder Peter Goodwin wanted to wear a ring that showed his commitment to his family while meeting the demands of his work as an Alaskan guide and wilderness lodge owner. His creation not only offers durability and functionality, but rugged good looks as well.

For additional information, please visit: https://groovelife.co/pages/tryon or contact brooke(at)veteranpr(dot)com.
Skill Silo (https://skillsilo.com) is pleased to announce that 15 language courses are now available for lessons via Skype.

Using an innovative model that allows for face-to-face time between students and teachers, Skill Silo helps students quickly learn a variety of languages, no matter where they are located.

Its hard to learn a new language when you are only using pre-recorded material or an app, says Josh Aharonoff, CEO. Each language has subtle nuances, inflections, tones and more that are critical to learn, if one is to respect and speak the language properly. That is why our inclusion of Skype in each language learning package is so important. Our students get the benefit of seeing and hearing the language, while also being expertly tutored in it. This means a faster, more lasting and productive learning experience.

Its easy to master a new language with Skill Silo. The process is simply to choose a language, schedule a lesson and start learning! Language choices currently include: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

To get started learning a new language for fun, school, business, or travel, visit https://skillsilo.com/courses today.

About Skill Silo

Skill Silo brings experienced language tutors to you. Study a new language wherever and whenever you want, with a unique online learning model.

Contact Details

Josh Aharonoff

Phone: (516) 441-2005

Email: info(at)skillsilo(dot)com

Source: Skill Silo

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Suzanne Carawan, CMO, HighRoad Solution We are finally seeing an uptick in the adoption of marketing automation & digital advertising spend

HighRoad Solution, the only digital agency focused exclusively on associations to offer marketing automation services announced the launch of their 2017 State of Digital Marketing in Associations study. The new report was released at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Membership, Marketing & Communications Conference being held today in Washington, DC. HighRoad Solution is the only endorsed eMarketing provider to ASAE.

The study, conducted by Demand Metrics Chief Analyst, Jerry Rackley, is a continuation of the work that was started in late 2014. Now four years into the study, the report has come to serve as a benchmark for the association community to understand where marketing dollars go and the issues associations face as they undertake digital transformation. The results of the 2017 show that the majority of associations still view their marketing as sub-optimal and seek greater member insight. Despite the need to increase member understanding, the study revealed that associations have cut back on their marketing budget.

It's alarming to see constricted budgets based on the research data, commented Suzanne Carawan, CMO of HighRoad Solution. However, when put in context with the mass disruption that the association industry is experiencing due to the change in administration and association staff reorganizations underway, it is understandable. The focus for associations seems to be a shift inwards to focus on developing a strategy for how to evolve and operate in a digital-first, competitive environment."

The study examines a variety of areas that affect marketing effectiveness including organizational alignment, budgets and skill gaps. The study notes that while the tactics are all very similar across respondents, some organizations are better able to execute due to strong marketing leadership and executive alignment. One highlighted area for 2017 is the increase in digital advertising with Facebook and Twitter which showed a sharp uptick in spend.

Were finally starting to see the upswing in adoption of marketing automation, stated Carawan.  The increase in adoption numbers coupled with increases in digital advertising show that associations are starting to get serious about attracting and converting previously unknown users into customers. We predict that we are going to see this trend increase over the coming year. 

The new 2017 State of Digital Marketing in Associations report is now available for download within HighRoads educational and research initiative, HighRoad U, at http://site.highroadsolution.com/sdma

About HighRoad Solution

HighRoad Solution is the only digital marketing agency endorsed & used by ASAE. Offering services to implement and integrate leading marketing technology platforms, as well as development of software solutions that fit the unique marketing and communication needs of associations. Clients choose the HighRoad for its consulting expertise and client-partnership approach.

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Since receiving his Masters Degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University, Tanner Milne, founder and owner of Menlo Group, has obtained much success. Now, his achievements have landed him among some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs in the country as he is being inducted into the Sun Devil 100.

Selected by the ASU Alumni Association, Sun Devil 100 recipients must own or lead a company which bring in $250,000 or more revenue in a calendar year. Additionally, the business must have been running for at least three years and is required to operate in a manner consistent with the ASU charter.

Involved with commercial real estate development and brokerage since 2003, Mr. Milne has truly made a name for himself in the industry over the last 9 years. His company, Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate was founded in 2008 with the mission of giving clients unmatched service, innovation and solutions in their commercial real estate ventures. While the initial focus was on the office, medical office and office condo markets, Menlo Group is has now expanded into a full-service real estate services brokerage in the Metropolitan Phoenix area as well as throughout the rest of Arizona.

Milne recently returned to his alma mater for the Sun Devil 100 ceremony, a celebration held in honor of the 2017 recipients. Alongside other aspiring business men and women who are also graduates of ASU, Milne was given the opportunity to connect not only with others who have founded remarkable businesses, but also with students who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs in the future.

When asked about his success, Mr. Milne responded, Ive found that my unique ability is to see what our clients dont, simplify a plan, and remain focused so that all involved are more successful. Using that, I have found a way to create a proven process that promises a successful transaction  thats a differentiator from many of our competitors.

About Menlo Group

Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage that services the industrial, retail, child care and general, medical and dental office markets in the Metropolitan Phoenix area. We exist to illuminate the path to success for our clients, advisors and employees. Yes, we're a commercial real estate firm. But really, that's just the vehicle we've chosen to help people find their own definition of success. Finding just the right location and structure for a client, the right tenants for a building, the right fit for brokers and employees. Those are the things we strive for every day. Learn more at http://www.menlocre.com/ .
An Iranian-born businessman sentenced in absentia for spreading "propaganda" against the countrys Islamic government was shot dead in Istanbul on Saturday, media reported.

Two unidentified gunmen shot Saeed Karimian, the head of the Dubai-based GEM TV, and Kuwaiti businessman Mohammed Al-Mokhtari after using a jeep to block their car as they drove through the upscale neighborhood of Maslak, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported.

Karimian, 48, was killed instantly. Al-Mokhtari died later in hospital.

The burnt out wreckage of the jeep allegedly used by the attackers was later found in Istanbuls outer suburbs.

Karimians family told the BBC that the businessmans murder followed on from months of threats by the Iranian government, and that he had planned to move to London.

The mayor of Istanbuls Sariyer district, Sukru Genc, was quoted by local media as saying the killing was "related to money."

A Tehran court sentenced Karimian in absentia last year to six years in prison for "acting against national security" and "propaganda against the state."

GEM TV was established in London in 2001 and relocated to Dubai in 2006. The media group comprises 18 television channels that broadcast in Farsi, Kurdish, Azeri and Arabic.

GEMs programming includes foreign shows translated into local languages, which led it to be viewed as an instrument of cultural "soft war" by Tehran.

(photo: newsheads.in)

occrp.org
Cybereason, developers of the most effective Total Endpoint Protection Platform including EDR & NGAV, today announced it was ranked #3 by Calcalist, Israels leading financial newspaper, in its 2017 ranking of Israels Top 50 startups.

Calcalist annually ranks the Top 50 Israeli startups with the highest growth momentum and the greatest potential to capture significant market share. Cybereason ranked as the fastest growing security company for the second year in a row and moved up from #11 to #3 in overall ranking of technology companies.

Cybereasons ascension into the Top 3 of Calcalists annual technology company ranking is the direct result of the amazing achievements of our world-class employees in Tel Aviv, Boston, London and Tokyo. Our growth is nothing short of amazing. We are proud to have disrupted some of the largest cyberattack attempts against many of the worlds largest and well known companies. These attacks didnt make headlines because we stopped aggressive hackers in their tracks, said Lior Div, CEO and co-founder, Cybereason.

At Cybereason, the companys record and rapid growth is the result of product innovation. In December 2016, Cybereason declared war on ransomware and launched RansomFree, a free and unique product designed to block never-before-seen ransomware in order to protect consumers and small businesses from becoming victims. RansomFree is being used by more than 200,000 businesses, organizations and consumers and blocks 99 percent of ransomware strains.

Recently, Cybereason also launched a new Endpoint Security Platform that includes next-generation antivirus (NGAV) functionality that will be available later this quarter. By integrating Cybereasons award-winning endpoint detection and response platform with classic and next-generation antivirus, enterprises can secure their entire environment against sophisticated threats on a single agent for ease of deployment and management.

Cybereason expanded internationally with the opening of its EMEA office in London in late 2016 to drive growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The office also supports current customers and partners in Europe. The Tel Aviv and Boston offices both exceed 100 employees.

Last year, Cybereason launched Cybereason Japan, a joint venture between Cybereason and Softbank and it has already delivered Cybereasons award-winning technology to many Japanese companies.

Cybereason has also been the recipient of many industry awards and is regularly recognized by leading news organizations and outlets for outstanding product innovation.

Significant Awards

JMP Securities Super 60 Company to Watch

2017 EY Entrepreneur Semi-finalist Lior Div, CEO

2017 CRN Security 100: 20 Coolest Endpoint Security Companies

Best Places to Work 2016, Boston Business Journal

2017 Built in Boston 50 to Watch List (the only security company on the list)

2017 Cyber Excellence Awards Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company

2017 Cyber Defense Magazine Award for Cutting Edge Endpoint Security Solution

2016 EY Entrepreneur of Year Finalist Lior Div, CEO

About Cybereason

Cybereason is the leader in endpoint protection, offering endpoint detection and response, next-generation antivirus, and managed monitoring services. Founded by elite intelligence professionals born and bred in offense-first hunting, Cybereason gives enterprises the upper hand over cyber adversaries. The Cybereason platform is powered by a custom-built in-memory graph, the only truly automated hunting engine anywhere. It detects behavioral patterns across every endpoint and surfaces malicious operations in an exceptionally user-friendly interface. Cybereason is privately held and headquartered in Boston with offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo.

For more information, please visit:

Website: http://www.cybereason.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Cybereason

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Cybereason

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cybereason

Media Contact:

Bill Keeler

Director, Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler(at)cybereason(dot)com

(508) 414-7755 (cell)
2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Design Competition

The United States Mint today announced a call for artists to design the obverse (heads side) of the commemorative coin honoring the first manned moon landing. Authorized by law, the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program celebrates the innovation and bravery of the successful mission and the fallen astronauts who preceded that endeavor. The competition invites artists to design a common obverse image that is emblematic of the United States Space Program leading up to the first manned Moon landing. The winning artist will receive $5,000 and have his or her initials included on the coins. Competition details and entry can be accessed at http://www.usmint.gov/apollo.

The success of the crew and the team behind Apollo 11 nearly 50 years ago holds special meaning to Americans, said David Motl, Acting Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint. The Apollo 11 Commemorative Coin Design Competition presents a unique way for artists to capture the sense of pride for such an enormous accomplishment, while also memorializing fallen astronauts.

Phase One of the competition, which is open through June 29, 2017, or until 1,000 entries are received, calls for artists age 18 and older to submit portfolios of their prior work. From these entries, an expert jury will select no more than 20 applicants to participate in Phase Two. During Phase Two, artists will create an original design for the common obverse of the coin, which shall be submitted as a digital file. The final winner will be announced in 2018. As authorized by law, the common reverse (tails side) will depict a representation of a close-up of the famous Buzz Aldrin on the Moon photograph taken July 20, 1969, which shows the visor and part of the helmet of the famed astronaut.

An expert jury composed of members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee will review and score design submissions. Both groups provide experienced and impartial expertise in advancing the state of public art and the interests of American citizens and coin collectors. The jury will choose a winning design to recommend the Secretary of the Treasury for selection. With the winning design selected, the United States Mint will begin issuing curved gold, silver, clad, and five ounce silver commemorative coins in 2019. Surcharges for this program are authorized to be paid in various denominations to three recipient organizations: the Smithsonian Institutions National Air and Space Museums Destination Moon exhibit, the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

For the first time in recent history, this commemorative coin program will be composed of four coins instead of three, including $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and five ounce silver proof coins. This will be the first time that a curved version of a five ounce silver coin is produced and offered by the United States Mint.

The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program represents a meaningful and exciting undertaking for the United States Mint, said Motl. We look forward to the publics participation in creating the final obverse design.

About the United States Mint

The United States Mint was created by Congress in 1792 and became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. It is the Nation's sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The United States Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver and gold bullion coins. Its numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers. The Mint is celebrating its 225th anniversary in 2017 (#USMint225).

# # #

United States Mint  Connecting America through Coins
Camden R. Fine, the longtime president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), today announced his plans to retire in May 2018. Concurrent with his retirement announcement, ICBA Chairman Scott Heitkamp, president and CEO of ValueBank Texas, announced that the ICBA Executive Committee has named Rebeca Romero Rainey, a third-generation community banker, as Fines successor. Romero Rainey is owner, chairman and CEO of Centinel Bank of Taos, N.M., and ICBA immediate past chairman.

Fine, a native Missourian and longtime community banker and bank owner before coming to ICBA in May 2003, announced to more than 1,000 bankers at the 2017 ICBA Capital Summit that he would step down on his 15th anniversary on May 5, 2018. Fine emphasized that he will remain fully engaged as ICBA CEO over the next year.

Fine, who has been named a Top Lobbyist by The Hill newspaper for nine consecutive years, said he is proud of his accomplishments through the years, including waging a campaign to prevent Wal-Mart from receiving a bank charter, raising the limit on FDIC insurance to $250,000, making FDIC insurance assessments more equitable for community banks, and, most importantly, ensuring that community bankers have a seat at every table in Washingtonat the White House, with congressional leaders and with agency heads.

Romero Rainey thanked Fine for his service to ICBA and the nations community banks and said that she was honored and humbled to have been asked by the Executive Committee to succeed Fine next year. Romero Rainey said that during the coming year she looks forward to making the transition to Washington, D.C., with her family.

Romero Rainey has served ICBA and the community banking industry for more than 15 years. She is ICBAs immediate past chairman and has held the positions of chairman of the Federal Delegate Board and of the Minority Bank Council. She has served on the FDIC Community Bank Advisory Committee and the Kansas City Federal Reserve Community Depository Institution Advisory Council. At the state level, she is the past president and a current board member of the Independent Community Bankers of New Mexico and has received the New Mexico Governors award for Outstanding Women.

Romero Rainey is a graduate of the Wellesley College in Massachusetts and the Pacific Coast School of Banking.

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nations voice for more than 5,800 community banks of all sizes and charter types, is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy, best-in-class education and high-quality products and services. For more information, visit ICBAs website at http://www.icba.org.
Jason Chen, Jiusko Designer, modeling signature watch I want the world to experience the wonders of skillful craftsmanship through affordable options. - Jason Chen, Jiusko designer

Jiusko USA recently unveiled its newly redesigned website, along with an upgraded, competitive five-year warranty and a complimentary 30-day Love It or Return It policy. The Guangzhou-based watch manufacturer is winning the confidence of the North American watch community with its Jiuskos Luxury Collection, and the companys new site is just a piece of the puzzle.

Jiusko even gifted watches to various celebrities at the Golden Globes, the Grammys, and the Oscars to help get the word out.

Our site got a facelift, says Mr. Moshe Gluck, Jiuskos exclusive US distributor, of the new design. The Lookbooks get heavy traffic, and the feedback and inquiries are overwhelming, but positive and encouraging. He shares: Every time a customer compares us to the biggest Swiss players, Im thrilled anew. Like Dr. Thomas Pfenningdorf from Frankfurt, who was at first skeptical, but then returned for a second pick and confirmed his satisfaction through emails and Amazon reviews alike.

Jason Chen, chief designer for the Jiusko Collection, noted, Twenty years of apprenticeship to major brands gave me the unique opportunity to secrets and connection. To me, the tick-tick is the most fascinating voice in the world.

Originally from Taiwan, Jason started in the industry at the young age of 16. I loved and studied watches and clocks since childhood. Jason feels a watch reflects personality, and is a form of spiritual communication. He enjoys his work, and noted that his goal is for customers to share the joy in his artwork. I want the world to experience the wonders of skillful craftsmanship through affordable options.

Before now, obtaining mans most-wished-for timepiece took years of saving. Compiling a decent collection was a luxury reserved for the richest of the rich. No longer. As Ariel Adams, owner of a-blog-to-watch.com, claimed on a Jiusko Tourbillon review: "China already won the tourbillon war. Adams is enjoying his Jiusko 168 Tourbillon, calling it a surprisingly competent design and very wearable timepiece.

At last, millennials can dare to compare, choosing true value over popular status brands for their watch collections.

Jiusko. Affordable Luxury. Dare to compare.

https://www.jiuskousa.com/

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https://www.facebook.com/JiuskoWatches

https://www.instagram.com/jiuskousa/

https://www.pinterest.com/jiusko/
Bryan McCaleb, Sagora Senior Living President This is Sagora Senior Livings first community in Katy.

Sagora Senior Living, one of the nations top 50 senior housing operators, expands into South Houston area by acquiring The Orchard Assisted Living & Memory Care of Katy, Texas.

The Orchard at Katy is an established retirement community with 50 assisted living apartments and 40 memory care apartments located at 24802 Kingsland Boulevard in Katy, Texas.

Sagora Senior Living is honored and excited to invite The Orchard Assisted Living and Memory Care into our family of senior living communities, said Sagora Senior Living President Bryan McCaleb. We are unique because we pride ourselves in acknowledging that residents are truly first when it comes to retirement lifestyles and health. This expansion into the Katy area is testimony to Sagoras undeniable commitment to placing residents in the most respectable and desirable locations we can offer.

Sagora Senior Living is actively redefining assisted living with a resident first philosophy that guides all aspects of the program designs, five-star amenities and socially active cultures within their unique retirement communities in Texas and across the United States.

According to Sagora Vice President of Operations Dara Brown, the Fort Worth-based parent company will begin the operational transition of the community effective May 1, 2017.

Weve been preparing the best approach for welcoming The Orchard residents into the Sagora Family, Brown said. We celebrate Sagoras core values that resonate with our residents like commitment, communication, empowerment and excellence. We are thrilled to bring our positive culture and family values to the Katy community. We have an excellent, inclusive plan underway to celebrate with our residents, their families and our new associates.

The Orchard is Sagoras first community in Katy, the 18th community in Texas, and now part of 28 unique Sagora Senior Living communities across the nation.

About Sagora Senior Living

Sagora Senior Living currently operates 26 retirement communities, each with a unique focus on retirement lifestyle choices including independent living, assisted living, respite and memory care. The companys mission is to serve and celebrate the wisdom of their residents and family members by enriching their lives with a Resident First philosophy developed locally within each community. Sagora hires only the most qualified industry professionals, implements the most beneficial services and activities, and makes it a priority to listen to their residents. For more information about Sagora Senior Living, visit http://www.Sagora.com.

Media Contact: Dara Brown

Vice President of Operations

817-586-2193

Dbrown(at)sagora(dot)com
Aida will change the way many people approach website creation and design.

Innovative website building platform, Bookmark, announces the official release of sophisticated AI software Aida (Artificial Intelligence Design Assistant). Aida empowers those without any technical skills with the ability to instantly create a customized website.

Aida combines machine learning algorithms with a user's unique website desires to make selections from millions of design combinations, and produce a website that fits their needs. She creates the first version of a website in under two minutes, and then guides users through the simple process of editing content, images and other website sections.

Aida will change the way many people approach website creation and design, says David Kosmayer, CEO of Bookmark.com. Whether you are a young entrepreneur looking to test out your idea or an offline business finally transitioning online, Aida allows you to be lean, flexible and quick as she eliminates 90% of the pain points usually associated with website creation and design.

Each website the AI website builder creates is one that suits the users business and industry. Aida then allows the user to add their own personal touch to the website by giving them the ability to easily alter the style, font and images. Easy drag-and-drop capabilities also allow users to add specific modules and features that make sense for their business.

David assures that the human factor is still vital in the process of creating a website. Aida is still learning, and as Bookmark grows, so will Aidas creative power. This is the starting point to the collision of the complex AI world and the creative designers mind. Eventually we want Aida to assist each user in discovering their inner creative genius. Bookmark will be their canvas and Aida is their paintbrush.

Aida complements Bookmarks core service features including the e-commerce website builder, and extensive database of e-learning courses. Following a recent round of funding, Bookmarks quest to build a true entrepreneurial platform continues to innovate and grow.

Bookmarks Aida isnt the only software changing the landscape of design. Fellow Toronto-based start up Logojoy has harnessed the power of AI within their AI-powered logo design platform. AI is the way of the future, and our success is a testament to that, says Logojoy CEO, Dawson Whitfield. It is a rapidly growing industry and companies will have to adapt to remain competitive, or be left behind.

Bookmarks Aida is now live with additional features expected to roll out soon. To learn more about Bookmarks AI software visit: https://www.bookmark.com
BrightStar Care Colorado Springs I am proud of what we have accomplished in our first seven years. We have had our fair share of challenges, but it has been immensely rewarding. Past News Releases RSS BrightStar Care Colorado Springs...

BrightStar Care Colorado Springs...

On May 17, BrightStar Care Colorado Springs, a home care and medical staffing agency, located at 3730 Sinton Road, Suite 200, in Colorado Springs, welcomes the community to celebrate this special milestone. Refreshments will be served and staff will be on hand to answer any questions for those interested in BrightStar Cares services.

I am proud of what we have accomplished in our first seven years. We have had our fair share of challenges, but it has been immensely rewarding, said Steve Lamb, owner of BrightStar Care Colorado Springs. Matching high quality home care employees with families requires significant effort in finding qualified candidates. We check credentials, perform background checks and drug tests to verify that candidates are competent to provide care. We also provide continuing supervision and education for our employees, offering opportunities to improve on skills, such as dementia care. I have made it my goal that every BrightStar Care employee is someone I can trust with my own parents.

Steve Lambs commitment to BrightStar Care Colorado Springs grew out of his own family experience, understanding that most people want to stay in their homes and be independent for as long as possible. Lamb focused on building his management team with the right skills and the heart to provide the best of the best to their clients.

With over 15 years experience working in hospitals, home care agencies, and skilled nursing facilities, Sherisse Ziemer, RN is BrightStar Cares Director of Nursing. In addition, Amy Ellison finds and hires great employees as the recruiter, Lauren Morrell acts as Client Care Manager, matching employees with clients, and Zach Gatti works as Community Development Manager. I could not accomplish my goal of providing great care to my clients without these key employees, and our many personal care workers, said Lamb.

In addition to providing the highest quality home care services to Colorado Springs and surrounding area, BrightStar Care Colorado Springs has obtained The Joint Commission accreditation. Recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality, The Joint Commission accreditation makes a strong statement to the community about an organizations efforts to provide the highest quality services. Lamb said, Im committed to providing great care, and the Joint Commission gold seal of approval is evidence of this accomplishment.

About BrightStar Care Colorado Springs

BrightStar Care Colorado Springs provides quality home care, caregivers, and medical staffing solutions to families and businesses in the Colorado Springs area. Its home care agency services include companion care, skilled home care, personal care, child care, Alzheimers & Dementia Care and transportation services. For more information, call (719) 264-8800, visit http://www.brightstarcare.com/colorado-springs or connect on Facebook.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
Matt John, Chief Strategy Officer, Elemental LED Matt truly embodies the traits that this award represents. The acknowledgment of Matts success by peers in our industry couldnt make me any happier, said Randy Holleschau, CEO of Elemental LED.

Elemental LED announced today that Matt John, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Business & Product Development, has been honored as an award recipient of enLIGHTenment Magazines 2017 Legends, Leaders & Luminaries. The annual awards program honors those individuals in the lighting industry who have been nominated by their peers for leading by example, standing out in their field, and inspiring others. Matt John received the Luminary Award in the Manufacturers category.

Matt truly embodies the traits that this award represents. The acknowledgment of Matts success by peers in our industry couldnt make me any happier, said Randy Holleschau, CEO of Elemental LED. I have worked with Matt for years and I am proud of his many accomplishments. Having others see Matt as I do  a true visionary with superb knowledge of LED technology that is shaping the future  is profoundly satisfying. He deserves to be honored in this way.

"Standing out among the rest is something Matt does every day and we feel fortunate to have him guide our company's product strategy and innovation," says Chris Le Blanc, President and COO of Elemental LED. "Matt is one of the most forward thinking and collaborative executives I've worked with and this recognition from his peers further underscores his value to us, and our company."

About Elemental LED:

Elemental LED, founded in 2008, is a leading North American based engineering and technology company with offices in California and the United Kingdom. We manufacture an extensive high-quality portfolio of lighting, power supplies, and controls. We specialize in superior patented linear, accent, and task LED lighting featuring unparalleled CRI and R values with flawless, and vibrant high-fidelity color rendering. We are proud to be America's largest provider of low voltage linear LED lighting, inspiring lighting professionals with our innovative technology, unmatched quality, and best-in-class customer experience.
This photograph by Husson University student Katelyn Boyington is just one of many exceptional pieces of artistic expression that will be on display at Hart Studio on May 2, 2017. Public exhibitions are a valuable part of the art educational experience. They serve as venues where students can exchange creative ideas with their peers and receive feedback from members of the public.

WHAT:

Student work from Husson University will be featured at an exhibition on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. A wide variety of creative mediums will be represented as part of this showcase. Student drawings, paintings, pastels, photography, graphic design, set design, computer aided drafting, digital illustration, collages, assemblages, and batik prints will be on display.

The featured work was created in a variety of fine arts courses at Husson University. Also included are graphic design pieces from the marketing and communications program at Hussons New England School of Communications and individual student submissions.

Exemplary student work from the following courses will be included as part of this showcase:



CT 245 Photography I

CT 345 Photography II

EP 221 Computer Aided Drafting/3-D Visualization

EP 441 Design and Technical Practicum

EP 448 Final Portfolio/Proficiency Review

FA 101 Art and Human Experience

FA 110 Photography

FA 120 Drawing 1

FA 125 Art for Children

FA 200 Exploring with Art

FA 205 Painting 1

FA 210 Pastel Painting

MC 245 Graphic Design I

MC 329 Digital Illustration

MC 335 Graphic Design II

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

WHO:

Kathi J. Smith, an assistant professor of studio arts and art appreciation at Husson University, organized this exhibition. She will be available for interviews.

Assistant Professor Smith joined Husson University in 2014 and has over 15 years of art education experience. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing, with a minor in art history from the University of Southern Maine. Smith also has a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of New Hampshire.

Prior to joining Husson University, Smith taught at Plymouth State University where she received their Distinguished Teaching Lecturer Award. Over the past four years, she has participated in many regional and national exhibitions, and five prestigious residencies. She received a full fellowship supported by the Joan Mitchell Foundation to attend the Vermont Studio Center and has been a fellow and artist-in-residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut, and the Heliker-LaHotan Foundation in Maine. In the summer of 2014, she participated in a seven-week artist-in-residency program in Brittany, France, sponsored by Maryland Institute College of Art. The July 2013 edition of Artscope Magazine ran a feature on her called Kathi Smiths New England. She exhibits her work regularly in Maine, New York, and New Hamphire and maintains a working studio in Bangor, ME. Smith practices primarily in the arena of painting and drawing, though she also has facility in ceramics, printmaking, and other mediums. Smiths artwork reflects her landscape, in which she invites close observation of familiar-seeming places and their narratives.

WHEN:

Monday, May 2, 2017 from 2 p.m.  6 p.m.

Refreshments will be served from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

WHERE:

Husson University

Hart Hall - Basement

Hart Art Studio

1 College Circle

Bangor, ME 04401

WHY:

This showcase is designed to give students an opportunity to share their work with the public. It is also an opportunity to highlight some of the exceptionally talented students at Husson University. Public exhibitions are a valuable part of the art educational experience. They serve as venues where students can exchange creative ideas with their peers and receive feedback from members of the public.

The event is a collaboration between Hussons College of Science and Humanities and the Universitys New England School of Communications.

For more than 100 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent superior value in higher education. Our Bangor campus and off-campus satellite education centers in Southern Maine, Wells, and Northern Maine provide advanced knowledge in business; health and education; pharmacy studies, science and humanities; as well as communication. In addition, Husson University has a robust adult learning program. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu.
Dee Bisel and her team celebrate their new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Lawrence, KS. The new facility includes The Garage, a free community meeting space. The new facility includes The Garage, a community meeting space available for free to non-profits, referral groups, training, and community meetings during business hours. Past News Releases RSS Minuteman Press International Gets...

Minuteman Press Owner Mark Calis...

Minuteman Press Franchise in...

The Minuteman Press franchise in Lawrence, KS has been owned and operated by Dee Bisel for over 24 years. Dee is a member of the Minuteman Press International Presidents Club for top performers thanks to the hard work that she and her dedicated team have put in to build their business. To celebrate their relocation to their new facility at 1404 E. 24th Street, Suite B, Dee and her team held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 13, 2017, in conjunction with the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. The event was attended by friends, family, staff, customers, and members of the community. Also on hand was Kevin Dunaway, Minuteman Press International Field Representative for the St. Louis region.

The Lawrence, KS design, print, and marketing center moved from the west to the east side of town in 2015, and in recent months they expanded to take over the adjoining suite. The company moved its large format printing equipment to the back of the new suite and decided to offer the front portion to the Lawrence community. Minuteman Press named it The Garage, a community meeting space available for free to non-profits, referral groups, training, and community meetings during business hours.

For this event, Dee Bisel and her team gave away door prizes, gift bags, and raffled off a free pop-up banner. "I'd like to congratulate Dee and her fantastic staff on a successful relocation as well as their continued efforts to give back to the community," added Matt Peretz, Minuteman Press International Regional Vice President for the St. Louis region.

For more information on Minuteman Press in Lawrence, Kansas, call 785-842-2656 or visit their website: http://www.minutemanlawrence.com

About Minuteman Press International

Minuteman Press International is a number one rated business marketing and printing franchise that offers world class training and unparalleled ongoing local support. Started in 1973 by Roy Titus and his son Bob, Minuteman Press began franchising in 1975 and has grown to over 950 business service franchise locations worldwide including the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Minuteman Press is ranked #1 in category by Entrepreneur 25 times and 14 years in a row, including 2017. Franchise Business Review has also named Minuteman Press International to its 2017 Top Franchises and 2017 Top B2B Franchises lists thanks to positive feedback and reviews from owners.

At Minuteman Press, we are the modern printing industry, providing high quality products and services that meet the needs of today's business professionals and go way beyond ink on paper. Today, our centers offer innovative branding solutions and produce custom designs, promotional products, branded apparel, direct mail marketing, large format printing (banners and posters), signs, and much more. Prior experience is not necessary to own and operate a successful Minuteman Press franchise.

To learn about Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and access Minuteman Press franchise reviews, visit http://www.minutemanpressfranchise.com or call 1-800-645-3006 for more information.
A delegation from Armenia's State Revenue Committee delegation, headed by Chairman Vardan Harutyunyan, visited Iran from April 27 to April 29.

During the formal meeting between the heads of the customs services of the two countries, a protocol on the Exchange of customs statistical information between the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration was signed.

The Armenian delegation met with Irans Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Head of the Customs Administration, Massoud Karbasian. They discussed proposals regarding trade facilitation and simplification of customs procedures at the borders.

The two sides also agreed to organize and complete the protocol on the exchange of electronic data of passengers, vehicles, and international transportation of goods between the Armenian State Revenue Committee and the Iranian Customs Service within a short period.

In the near future, the representatives of the Information Technology Department of Iran's Customs Service will be invited to Armenia to discuss the protocol.
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Melanie Nolan at Knopf has acquired How to Hang a Witch author Adriana Mather's next YA series, currently untitled, in which a girl named November is shipped off to a secret boarding school that boasts an eye-for-an-eye punishment system. When a student is found murdered, November is the main suspect. Publication is planned for spring 2019; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.

Jocelyn Davies at HarperTeen has bought at auction Danielle Rollins's new YA series, Dark Stars, a time travel saga in the vein of Firefly and Doctor Who, about a girl from the past who stows away on a journey through time with a boy from the future, and finds herself caught between two groups: one that wants to protect the past, and one that wants to use time travel for their own dark agenda. The first book is scheduled for winter 2019; Mandy Hubbard at Emerald City Literary Agency brokered the three-book deal for world rights.

Jordan Brown at HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has acquired two new YA novels by Rebecca Podos. The first, The Psychic Sisters of Saltville, is a work of magical realism about Ruby, a girl from a family of women with a particular gift: each has a premonition of her own death upon reaching her teenage years. When her great-aunt dies, Ruby sets out to uncover the family's macabre legacy, and begins to wonder whether they're the heroes or the villains of their story. Publication for the first book is set for winter 2019; the second is set for winter 2020. Lana Popovic at Chalberg & Sussman did the deal for North American rights.

Sarah Landis at HMH has bought Ever the Brave author Erin Summerill's new YA fantasy, Once a King. Set in the world of Summerill's Clash of Kingdoms series, the book follows 17-year-old Lirra, who's forced on the run with King Aodren after the murder of a high official. Together, they must find the true murderer to avert a war among the four kingdoms. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Josh Adams at Adams Literary negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Miriam Newman at Candlewick has acquired The Lost Coast, a YA novel by Amy Rose Capetta, in which 17-year-old Danny is drawn to the redwoods of California by a spell. The queer teen witches who cast it need Danny's abilities to bring back their friend who's gone blanklost to the world. Publication is planned for spring 2019; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties brokered the deal for North American rights.

Erin Stein at Imprint has bought North American rights to Laurie Elizabeth Flynn's Last Girl Lied To. When a 17-year-old's best friend goes missing, she is faced with the reality that the girl she knew better than anyone might have been a carefully constructed lie, and her disappearance might not be an accident. Publication is scheduled for 2019; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the two-book deal.

Reka Simonsen at Atheneum has acquired A Nearer Moon and Audacity author Melanie Crowder's new middle-grade fantasy adventure series, Lighthouse Between the Worlds. The first installment tells the story of twin siblings who stumble upon a secret society tasked with protecting humanity from nightmares. The first book is set for publication in fall 2018; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency handled the two-book deal for North American rights.

Joy Peskin at FSG has bought Elly Swartz's Give and Take, a coming-of-age story in which 11-year-old Maggie learns that people are more than the things that hold their memories, thanks to her all-girls trap shooting team, her turtle, and a foster baby named Izzie. Publication is projected for winter 2019; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.

Becky Herrick at Sky Pony Press/Swirl has acquired world rights to Salted Caramel Dreams by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper, a middle grade novel about a girl dealing with her best friend drifting awayand then needing her help when she least expects it. The book is scheduled for February 2018; the author was unagented.

Orli Zuravicky at Scholastic has bought world rights to Valorie Fisher's next two picture books beginning a new series, Now You Know, that uses photo-illustrations and infographics to explain topics from engineering to food. Publication is slated for 2018 and 2019; Carrie Hannigan at Hannigan Salky Getzler represented the author-illustrator.

Tamar Brazis at Abrams has won at auction Ishta Mercurio's (l.) Small World, a STEM-concept picture book that explores a girl's journey of growing up in the world and discovering its beauty and marvel. Jen Corace will illustrate; publication is planned for spring 2019. Laura Biagi at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency represented the author for world English rights, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator for world rights.

Nina Gruener at Cameron Kids has acquired world rights to Boats on the Bay, written by Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrated by Grady McFerrin. The picture book features a day in the life of all the different boats that live and work on a busy bay. Publication is set for fall 2018; Deborah Warren of East West Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.

David Levithan at Scholastic has acquired North American rights to Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book?, a nonfiction debut by bestselling author Ally Carter, aimed at teens, tweens, and the grownups who want to write for them. In the book, Carter answers writing-related questions from teenagers and shares advice from top YA writers. Publication is planned for fall 2018, to coincide with NaNoWriMo; Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

Emily Easton at Crown has bought Signs of Life by YA and adult author Megan Miranda. Pitched as a teen Contact meets Stranger Things, the story is about a girl and boy who connect when each discovers an inexplicable scientific frequency, which suggests their family tragedies are mysteriously connected. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary brokered the deal for world English rights.

Kieran Viola at Disney-Hyperion has acquired Prince in Disguise and It's Not Me, It's You author Stephanie Kate Strohm's new YA novel, La Vie En Rosie, a romantic comedy featuring two American teens who win coveted spots in a French culinary program and fall in love with food, Paris, and each other. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.

Sarah Landis at HMH has bought in a preempt Alexa Donne's YA novel, Brightly Burning. Pitched as Jane Eyre in space, the debut follows a 17-year-old spaceship engineer who's hired away to the Rochester, a mysterious private ship, as she tangos with the mercurial, handsome young captain and discovers a conspiracy that threatens the safety of the fleet, which has been orbiting Earth for more than 200 years. Publication is set for June 2018; Elana Roth Parker at Laura Dail Literary Agency did the two-book deal for North American rights.

Alyson Day at HarperCollins has acquired Kiss Collector, a contemporary YA novel by Wendy Higgins. Seventeen-year-old Zae Monroe, brokenhearted by her cheating boyfriend and her parents' separation, decides it's time to turn the table on boys and take what she wants from them: kisses, as many as possible, with no emotional attachment. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Jill Corcoran at Jill Corcoran Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.

Amanda Maciel at Scholastic has bought world rights to Kaitlin Ward's YA thriller, The Caves, about a girl who falls to the center of the earth, but instead of burning like her science books say, she meets a group of survivors who might be in more danger escaping their cave than they are trapped inside. Publication is set for 2018; Sarah LaPolla at Bradford Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

Adam Rau and David Saylor at Scholastic/Graphix have acquired Amelia Erroway and the Boys with Wings, a science-fantasy adventure graphic novel for middle grade readers, written and illustrated by Betsy Peterschmidt. The debut graphic novel follows young, spirited Amelia as she navigates the trials and tribulations of adolescence through learning how to fly. Publication is scheduled for 2019; Allen Spiegel at Allen Spiegel Fine Arts did the deal for world rights.

Rhoda Belleza at Macmillan/Imprint has bought National Endowment for the Humanities fellow Jennie Englund's debut, Taylor Harper: Before and After. Told in a split narrative, the middle grade novel flips back and forth between two timelines: before and after a drunk driving accident, in which 13-year-old Taylor is a passenger and her brother is the driver. Publication is slated for fall 2019; Holly Root, now at Root Literary, handled the deal for world English rights; the deal was negotiated at Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.

Sonali Fry at Bonnier Publishing USA has acquired Fadeaway, a debut contemporary novel by Maura Stokes, for the company's new middle-grade imprint. The book follows 14-year-old Sam, reeling after the sudden death of her best friend, Reagan. When Sam starts hearing Reagan's voice and sensing her presence, she must make a choice: should she keep Reagan in her life, or discover who she is without Reagan by her side? Publication is planned for summer 2018; Melissa Nasson at Rubin Pfeffer Content did the deal for world rights.

Wendy McClure and Eliza Swift at Albert Whitman have bought world rights to two picture books written by Tara Luebbe (l.) and Becky Cattie, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff (r.). In I Am Famous, an only child learns that her parental paparazzi and adoring grandparents will be her biggest fans no matter the flaws in her performanceand in the sequel, I Used to Be Famous, she has to learn to share the spotlight. Publication for the first book is scheduled for spring 2018, with the second to follow in 2019; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds represented the authors, and Mela Bolinao at MB Artists represented the illustrator.

Erin Clarke at Knopf has acquired at auction North American rights to All Are Welcome, a picture book celebrating diversity and inclusivity in the classroom by Alexandra Penfold (l.), illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. The book is slated for fall 2018; Susan Ginsburg at Writers House represented the author and Penfold, an agent at Upstart Crow Literary, represented the illustrator.

Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown has bought world rights to Rock What Ya Got, a picture book by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Kerascoet. With a format that breaks the fourth wall, the story is a reminder, especially for girls, about accepting who you are, rather than focusing on who you are not. Publication is set for fall 2018; Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrators.

Wendy McClure at Albert Whitman has bought world rights to the picture book Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town written by A. LaFaye (l.) and illustrated by Nicole Tadgell. The book tells the story of young Dede and her family who, along with 40,000 Exodusters, joined the northern migration of African-Americans from the Jim Crow South of Reconstruction, to the pioneering Midwest, with hopes of staking a claim and securing a home to call their own. Publication is slated for fall 2019; Essie White at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and Christina Tugeau at the CATugeau Agency represented the illustrator.

Jessica Garrison at Dial has acquired world rights to Jill Esbaum's How to Grow a Dinosaur, a picture book "guide" to becoming a big brother or sister, about a young dinosaur who can't wait to teach the new baby everything he knows, and who discovers the challenges and rewards of raising a freshly hatched sibling. Mike Boldt will illustrate; publication is scheduled for 2018. Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author and Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the artist.

Semareh Al-Hillal at Kids Can Press has bought Marsha Diane Arnold's (l.) Mine. Yours., a picture book set in China. The story features animals and games of China, in which Little Panda learns about belonging and other characters learn about sharing. Qin Leng will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2018. Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary negotiated the deal for world rights on behalf of the author; the artist represented herself.

Alessandra Balzer at HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has acquired in a preempt Lovely Beasts by Kate Gardner (l.), a picture book about how first impressions can be deceiving when it comes to certain animals. Heidi Smith will illustrate; publication is slated for fall 2018. Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions did the deal for world rights.
Books Are Magic's first weekend; Oklahoma City pop-up goes permanent; Spanish-language bookseller on her inspiration; Canadian bookstore offers co-working; and more.

Books Are Magic Sees Strong First Weekend Sales: Author Emma Straub's new bookstore, Books Are Magic, opened this weekend in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood riding a wave of press attention. Owners Michael Fusco-Straub and Emma Straub told PW that the store sold "over 2,700 books in the first three days," with a rough breakdown of 1,100 on Saturday (Independent Bookstore Day), 900 on Sunday, and 700 on Monday. Fusco-Straub noted that sales were strongest in adult bestsellers, as well as middle grade.

Oklahoma City Bookstore Opens After Relocation: Commonplace Books started as a pop-up store and has moved into a permanent space in the city's Midtown district.

Founder of DC Spanish-language Pop-up on Her Inspiration: Angela Maria Spring explains how she was motivated to open her mobile bookstore after reading a motivational memoir while working at Politics and Prose.

Hamilton, Ont. Bookstore Offers Co-working: Bryan Prince Bookseller is renting six desks to writers and academics for daily use.

Video Tour of Japan's Book Off Bookstore: The Good E Reader offers a video tour of a branch of Japan's Book Off chain, which has more than 860 outlets in the country.

Behind the Scenes at Blackwells: A reporter tours the UK bookstore chain's 10,000 sq-ft. flagship store in Oxford.
Seven thousand miles from its home campus in Evanston, Illinois, USA, Northwestern University dedicated its new state-of-the-art media and communication building on its campus in Qatar.

Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of the Qatar Foundation and visionary behind Education City, Northwestern President Morton Schapiro and Dean Everette E. Dennis spoke at a series of events held in the new building.

Referencing his tour of NU-Qs new building, President Schapiro said: This is everything you can dream about.

He added: As President of Northwestern, I can tell you, nothing makes me prouder than to have a campus here in Doha producing graduates who are skilled in journalism, filmmaking, and communication and carry the name of our university far and wide as they use their skills for the betterment of mankind.

Designed by American architect Antoine Predock, NU-Qs LEED Gold certified building is designed to embody architectural elements from Qatars desert landscape and local culture. At 515,000 square feet, the NU-Q building is three times the size of its previous home and the largest institution of its kind anywhere in the world.
NEW YORK (AP)  Fox News owner 21st Century Fox and a New York investment firm are in talks to buy TV station operator Tribune Media, according to several reports.

A successful bid would keep Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., another TV station operator that is also reportedly pursuing the company, from snatching up Tribune. Blackstone, a private equity firm, is said to be putting cash toward creating a joint venture, while 21st Century Fox would contribute some TV stations, according to the reports.

21st Century Fox owns and operates the Fox network, FX cable channel and 28 TV stations. Adding Tribune would give 21st Century Fox control over more local TV stations, most of them in major cities.

Tribune owns or operates 42 stations across the nation, including WQAD News 8 based in Moline, WGN in Chicago, WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles. It also has stakes in the Food Network and job-search website CareerBuilder.

The deal does have clear strategic value for Fox," said Jefferies analyst John Janedis, in a note to clients Monday. Several of the stations that Tribune owns are affiliated with Fox and air the network's primetime shows such as "Empire" and "The Simpsons."

Tribune, 21st Century Fox Inc. and Blackstone declined to comment Monday. The possible deal was first reported by the Financial Times.

Reports of a potential bid from Sinclair, based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, emerged a month after proposals to dial back regulations that kept a lid on such deals were floated by Ajit Pai, the chairman appointed by Trump to head the Federal Communications Commission.
British-based Orogen PLC says its wants to expand operations at the Mutsk gold mine in Armenias Syunik Province

Orogen Managing Director Colin Bird says the companys renewed interest in Mutsk is based on the successful project at Armenias Amulsar mine.

Orogen says it has invested US$2.5 million in exploratory work and thus has taken 80% control of the Armenia-based GeoRoyal CJSC.

The transaction is based on a prior agreement with GeoRoyal, which owns the exploratory license for Mutsk.

GeoRoyal was registered in Armenia in 2009. Given that its a closed stock company, information as to the shareholders isnt publicly available.

Hovsep Hovasapyan, a citizen of Russia, served as GeoRoyals director until 2016, being replaced by Armen Safaryan, an Armenian citizen.

Orogen has no mine operating experience. Then companys 2016 interim report says Mutsk will be its biggest business project to date. Orogen signed a contract to search for gold and silver in the U.S. state of Nevada.

The Mutsk mine is located 3.5 kilometers from the village of the same name in Syunik.

GeoRoyal has submitted a preliminary evaluation of the work to be carried out and the environmental impact with Armenias Ministry of Nature Protection.

The second public hearing on the mine is scheduled for May 12 in Mutsk.
NEW YORK -- Eric Roegner, chief operating officer of Investment Castings, Arconic Titanium and Engineered Products and president of Arconic Defense, has been named president of Arconic Global Rolled Products.

He will continue as president of Arconic Defense. He succeeds Kay Meggers who is leaving Arconic June 2 to become a faculty member at the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University.

Eric is the ideal leader to deliver on our strategic plan for the Global Rolled Products segment, said David Hess, interim Arconic Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Roegner joined Arconic  then Alcoa Inc.  in 2006 and has 11 years of experience in the aerospace, defense, automotive and other industrial markets, and 14 years of automotive and oil and gas experience gained prior to joining Arconic. Most recently, he led the successful integration of RTI, including the post-acquisition divestiture of RTIs Remmele Medical business.

He will report to Mr. Hess.

Since joining Arconic in 2010, Kay (Meggers) has played a significant role in positioning Arconic for long-term success, including leading the transformation of the GRP business and pivoting the portfolio to a higher margin product mix, said Mr. Hess.

Mr. Meggers led expansions in Iowa and Tennessee to capture growing automotive demand for aluminum. GRP also has invested to capture future growth in aerospace, including through the recent investment in the Very Thick Plate Stretcher in Davenport. He spearheaded a range of productivity improvements, resulting in approximately $200 million in savings per year.
SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP)  A man serving a decades-long prison sentence in the 2010 death of a Northern Illinois University student is continuing an appeal of his conviction.

Chief Judge Robbin Stuckert on Monday partially denied a motion by the state to dismiss the appeal of William Curl of conviction in the death of 18-year-old freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller of Plainfield. Her burned body was found in a park two days after she disappeared.

In May 2015, Curl filed a petition for post-conviction relief, saying he only agreed to plead guilty because his court-appointed attorney made mistakes. He also claims he entered the plea because then-DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack threatened to prosecute the 40-year-old Curl's 13-year-old son in connection with Keller's murder.

Stuckert on Monday set a May 23 hearing during which a date for an evidentiary hearing may be determined.
Dirk Wouters, Belgian Ambassador to the United States, plans to visit the Quad-Cities Thursday afternoon until noon on Saturday.

"We are proud to have Ambassador Wouters visit us and get to know our people, our schools, our businesses and our diverse communities," Patrick Van Nevel, Moline-based Honorary Consul of Belgium, said in a Tuesday news release.

"He will also get acquainted with our regions rich Belgian heritage, visiting the Center for Belgian Culture in Moline and attending the Centers monthly waffle breakfast on Saturday morning before returning to Washington later in the day."

Mr. Wouters will visit businesses in the Quad-Cities and Iowa City, Renew Moline, and the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum. He also will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center, Davenport, presenting "Transatlantic, EU-U.S. Relations Under the New U.S. Administration: Are We Really Going to Question This Historic Relationship?" and make a presentation, "Belgium As a Gateway to Europe: Transatlantic Relations in an Age of Doubt" to the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce Friday morning.

"We are honored to have a diplomat of his stature visit our region, and we welcome the opportunity to showcase our communities and introduce Ambassador Wouters," Mr. Van Nevel said. "Belgium is one of the most open economies and leading exporters in the world."

Mr. Wouters has been Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and was one of the main architects of the successful Belgian EU-Presidency and key foreign policy decisions on Afghanistan and Libya, according to his biography. From 2001 to 2016 he was the Permanent Representative of Belgium to the European Union.

Mr. Wouters lived in New York while Deputy Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations (1995-2000), with a special responsibility for coordination and overseeing the work in the political, military, economic and development section, according to his biography. In this position, he helped create the International Criminal Court.

During his tenure, Mr. Wouters also was an active participant in the Open-ended Working Group of the General Assembly on the Reform of the Security Council. For more details, visit unitedstates.diplomatie.belgium.be/en/ambassador-dirk-wouters-biography.
MILAN -- A long-empty downtown building will have new life thanks to Black Hawk Bank and Trust.

Board members approved a redevelopment tax increment financing agreement with Black Hawk Bank and Trust at Monday night's meeting. The estimated project cost is $650,000, with Milan's share being approximately $3,868.

The bank plans to renovate the inside and outside of 324 W. 2nd Ave. -- the former site of the hardware store -- into more space for offices for the bookkeeping and loan processing departments.

"Just to have that type of investment in our downtown is something every community wants to see," finance director Mark Hunt said, explaining that this will allow Black Hawk Bank and Trust to deepen its roots in Milan and also maintain a centralized location.

"It's a good location, it makes a lot of sense for everybody," administrator Steve Seiver agreed.

While there is some new developments coming in, other business are leaving. Just recently, Lewis Machine and Tool, Choice Video and Milan Lanes have announced closures or relocations. Mr. Seiver tried to look on the bright side by saying that it means there are more available spaces for new businesses to come in since the property and buildings will be available, saying that the former Milan Lanes building has "excellent potential" because of a prime location and decent sized building.

The board also:

-- Approved the semi-monthly and miscellaneous bills totaling approximately $517,000. A majority of the amount was because of bond payments.

-- Discussed the QComm911 intergovernmental agreement concerning the consolidated dispatch center between Milan, East Moline, Silvis and Moline. They were approved for an extension to as late as December 2018 to be moved in and operating.

-- Approved a lighting upgrade not to exceed $20,000 through Tri-City Electric for the village-owned building that houses Edwards Creative.

-- Learned about the budget draft for the 2018 fiscal year. The budget proposes about $31,000 in income for the general fund.

-- Learned that the Milan Police Department collected 139 pounds of prescription medications to safely discard during the drug take back day

-- Re-swore in trustees Jody Taylor, Jerry Wilson and Jim Flannery. They also voted to remain on the same committee boards since there are no board seat changes

-- Learned that the village of Milan Yard Sale Days will be May 19 and 20.
Maltas Prime Minister called a snap election on Monday after allegations by a journalist that his wife was involved with an offshore company that received payments from Azerbaijans first family.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called the vote for June 3 after local journalist Daphne Caruana-Galizia wrote on her personal website that his wife, Michelle Muscat, was behind an offshore company that had received well over US$ 1 million in payments from a Dubai company owned by Leila Aliyeva, a daughter of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

Transcriptions of two declarations of trust, published on Caruana-Galizias website, purported to show that Michelle Muscat was a beneficial owner of a Malta-based company, Egrant Inc. Caruana-Galizia did not publish an original of the document.

Caruana-Galizia, citing a whistleblower in Maltas Pilatus Bank, wrote that a Dubai company owned by Aliyeva transferred a $1.017 million loan repayment to Egrant in 2016, as well as several other transactions valued at about $100,000 each. She did not provide documents to back up her claim.

In calling the election, Prime Minister Muscat denied the allegations made in Caruana-Galizias report.

"Everybody knows about the attacks made in the past few days on me and my family. I have nothing to fear because truth is on my side and I am clean," he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Joseph Muscat (Photo: Partit Laburista Malta CC BY-SA 3.0)

occrp.org
Id like to address the elephant in the room. That elephant being the Republican Party and their refusal to represent the majority of their constituents. Lets begin with stricter gun control (something that would help lessen the fears parents have when sending their children off to school), 53% of Americans favor this (Pew Research) yet the elephant in the room refuses to consider any such thing. Over 70% of Americans want stricter background checks yet again; the elephant in the room refuses to represent them. 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal. Again, the elephant in the room pushes laws that do the opposite. 74% of Americans do not want social security reduced in any way. But the elephant in the room pushes to do just the opposite, cut social security. 63% of Americans now prefer Medicare for all, but the elephant in the room fights it with all its might. 67% of Americans feel more needs to be done to reduce climate change, but not the elephant in the room. The elephant sides with the fossil fuel industry claiming its not a big concern. Given these few statistics (there are more like them) its obvious that the Republican Party is the party of minority rule, quite the opposite of what our founding fathers envisioned. The Republican Party has become a power cult, not a party that represents the majority of Americans. Remember this while you mark your ballot in this midterm election. Save Democracy! Vote Democratic!
In 2015, Illinois needed a new financial watchdog. Auditor General William Holland was in charge of scrutinizing public pocketbooks. But after more than two decades at the helm, he was finally stepping down.

Frank Mautino was supposed to be the right man for the job.

He was the favorite of Springfield insiders who had worked with his father, a longtime House member like his son. He also was a bipartisan darling. Holland called Mautino a man of great wisdom and dedication. Springfield chatterer Rich Miller heralded the news of his impending appointment: Hell be a good choice 

Mautinos few critics in the General Assembly were dismissed as petty, partisan and paranoid. But outsiders knew something was fishy about Frank.

And they were right.

For more than a year, Mautino has been under fire for filing absurd campaign spending reports during his time as a lawmaker. His story is a shining example of the political arrogance that has brought the state to its knees.

Heres the spending in question. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

First, Mautinos campaign spent more than $225,000 over 16 years at a single gas station.

Lets assume Mautino spent half the money on gas and as cost $3 a gallon and the car he filled up got 15 miles to the gallon. Mautinos spending would give enough fuel to drive more than 35,000 miles per year from 1999 to 2015. The circumference of Earth is less than 25,000 miles, and Mautino ran unopposed three times in that period.

The second spending under review by the Illinois State Board of Elections involves checks cut to a local bank. Mautino had a practice of cashing campaign checks and then listing the bank as the recipient of the money, leaving him free to dole out the cash in the dark. He spent more than $150,000 this way.

At worst, these are reckless receipts of brazen corruption. At best, this is brutish bookkeeping that should disqualify Mautino from the position he currently holds.

Thats right, he still hasnt stepped down.

Illinois auditor-in-chief has refused to speak for over a year while under investigation for allegedly cooking his books. Even if he comes out of all this unscathed, how could anyone take his investigations seriously given Mautinos own shoddy accounting?

State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, introduced a resolution calling for Mautino to resign last year. It got holed up in House Speaker Mike Madigans Rules Committee. Madigan said he believes Mautino -- his former deputy majority leader -- will be vindicated and continue to work as the auditor general.

Of course, its in the interest of most state lawmakers to hold their watchman over a barrel rather than push for his resignation. Leverage matters.

On May 1, counsel was to file written statements in the case brought against Mautino at the Illinois State Board of Elections. The hearing officer is expected to file a recommendation by the end of the month. Mautinos office is also under federal investigation, but thats been kept under wraps.

So whats the lesson in all this mess?

First, near-unanimous agreement on a political appointment among state politicians and gossips means you should run for the hills. Greasing all the right palms is not a qualification you want in an auditor general.

There were plenty of clues that should have invited more skepticism. That he was one of Madigans made men should have been enough to disqualify him from an oversight position. Further, his family is a mainstay in the distributor business  an industry where political clout goes a long way.

It turns out those two pieces of trivia may be linked.

Data obtained by nonprofit Open the Books revealed agencies have paid more than $270,000 to Mautino Distributing Company -- most of it after Madigan brought Mautino into a leadership in 2009.

That brings us to the second lesson: In Illinois, concerned citizens often do a better job at rooting out corruption than government officials tasked with oversight.

The Edgar County Watchdogs, a group started by of a couple of downstate Illinoisans doing yeomans work to keep government in check, first brought Mautinos campaign spending to light. When they presented their findings to the Illinois State Board of Elections, they found the agency still wouldnt take proactive steps. They needed a formal complaint. David Cooke from Streator stepped forward to take the hit. He enlisted the help of Liberty Justice Center, a sister organization of the Illinois Policy Institute, to argue on his behalf.

Frankly, Mautinos case is an embarrassment. Leaders in both parties should be calling for his resignation, and taking concrete steps to sharpen the teeth of government oversight.
G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now!
The contract encompasses the installation of track and catenary, high and low-voltage electrification, signalling and telecommunications systems.

Installation work will begin in January 2019 and is due to be completed in autumn 2021. Most of the work will take place in the lines 18.5km twin-bore tunnel, which will be the longest railway tunnel in Scandinavia.

The contract is the fifth and final turnkey contract to be awarded for the Follo Line project and is also the first turnkey contract to be awarded for railway engineering since Bane Nor was established at the beginning of this year.

For detailed data on railway construction projects around the globe, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
The project will establish the business case for reducing journey times, increasing capacity and enhancing freight operations on the route, which links the Highlands with Scotlands Central Belt and the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The work is being carried out as part of the Highland Main Line Upgrade Phase 2, which is expected to cost up to 250m.

The long-term aim of the project is to reduce the fastest Inverness - Edinburgh journey time from 3h 18min to 2h 45min with an average journey time of three hours and hourly services by 2025.
An investment group is seeking federal permission to construct a privately-owned, all-new railroad that would bypass the congestion of Chicago.

Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc. on May 1 filed an application with the Surface Transportation Board to construct and operate as a common carrier a railroad line through parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.

In the filing the Delaware-incorporated company cited statistics showing the decades-old congested network of rail routes through Chicago delays 500 or so trains  about 25% of all rail-borne U.S. freight  each day. While it noted the volume of rail freight is projected to grow by 80-90% by 2040-50, the company added in the filing that there havent been any significant additions to the Chicago rail infrastructure since 1907.

It called the process of moving railroad shipments through Chicago slow, inefficient and time-consuming, and the rail infrastructure woefully inadequate to handle current traffic moving from railroad to railroad. It said it takes trains as long as 30 hours to pass through the Chicago area, longer during severe winter weather.

Great Lakes plans to build an entirely new 261-mile railroad from 38 to 89 miles from downtown Chicago, fully grade-separated from other rail lines and highways, for the purpose of moving up to 110 freight and passenger trains through Chicago without stopping. It would interchange with all the Class 1 railroads except Kansas City Southern, and six regional railroads via 26 interchange points. (Download the map from the link below.)

The new railroad would improve the flow of freight and passenger trains originating and terminating in the Windy City, the company stated.

The corporation lists 24 investors led by majority shareholder Frank Patton. Patton left Lehman Brothers to found financial software start-up Portfolio Dynamics in 1970, which he sold in 2002. He first proposed a number of years ago a toll road for trucks around Chicago before transitioning to a rail concept.

In 2016 Patton convinced 14 investors to contribute as much as $50 million to help pay for the STBs environmental study of the proposal, including James Wilson, a former assistant vice president of operations for Santa Fe. Wilson is Vice Chairman of Great Lakes.

Patton in published reports said that he has had discussions with potential railroad partners dating to 2009, but has not disclosed details.

In the filing Great Lakes said construction would require no public funding, and would be paid for mostly through the sale of debt securities. It pegged construction costs at $2.8 billion.

The application is STB Finance Docket No. 35952. (Download the docket from the link below.)
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority awarded Tutor Perini a $291.5-million contract for the Mid-Day Storage Yard portion of the East Side Access Project.

The facility encompasses approximately 33 acres and spans 1.5 miles from west to east within the Harold Interlocking, part of the MTAs Sunnyside Yard in Queens, N.Y. The project will include demolition and removal of existing structures, railroad buildings and the Montauk Cutoff Bridge and ramp, and the construction of the Mid-Day Storage Yard, including excavation and grading of the yard, construction of retaining walls, duct banks, signal troughs and various structures, utilities, track work, pedestrian bridge and electrical substations.

The contract also includes installation and testing of the yards systems. Tutor Perini says construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2017, with substantial completion expected in the third quarter of 2020.
This past weekend I turned 30. That always seemed like such an adult number growing up, and now that its here, Im wondering how it happened. Its one of those big birthdays.

If entering a new decade is good for anything, its reflecting and contemplating the future. Not only on a personal level, but also of course as a dairy farmer on an industry level.

What is in store for the dairy industry in the next 30 years?

I often wonder what my grandpa would think if he could see our farm and the industry today. I wonder what his opinion would be as a member of a generation that saw so much change. He saw everything from hand milking all the way to robotic milking. All sorts of innovations have occurred in just the last 30 years and they are setting the stage for the future. Will technology continue to change and lead the industry?

Looking at the future of the dairy industry at times can be hard, too. While long-term planning is always important, I feel like we often get stuck in the daily grind while just trying to survive the present. Will the market ever be stable enough for us to truly focus on long-term planning? How will regulations and legislation continue to affect the decisions we can make on our farms? Is there even a future for the dairy industry?

While I dont anticipate the changes my grandfather saw in his lifetime, it is fun to contemplate what might be on the horizon for the dairy industry in the next 30 years. I commend the forethought, research, and innovation that this industry dedicates to making changes. I am looking forward to the next 30 years.

What do you think will be the most influential change of the next 30 years in dairy?

The author is a third-generation dairy farmer from Oregon where she farms in partnership with her husband and parents. As a mother of two young boys who round out the family run operation as micro managers, Darleen blogs about the three generations of her family working together at Guernsey Dairy Mama. Abiqua Acres Mann's Guernsey Dairy is currently home to 90 registered Guernseys and is in the process of transitioning to a robotic milking system.
The U.S. missile strike on the air base from which the regime of President Bashar Assad conducted a chemical-weapons attack on Syrian civilians has prompted debate about U.S. strategy in the region. The Trump administration has said that Assad must go, but that may take considerable time and faces Russian opposition. Given growing Islamic State losses in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, there is a pressing need and a golden opportunity for a strategy to deal with the related problem of suturing the wounds left after the impending defeat of ISIS.

Steps are needed to fill the vacuum left as the caliphate collapses, lest forces on the ground  Sunni and Shiite Arabs, Kurds, and Iranian proxies  turn on each other to gain control. The U.S. can no more afford to turn its back on this post-ISIS danger than it can take full responsibility for it. The answer is for NATO to act under U.S. leadership. The alternative is either chaos or Iran, backed by Russia, filling the void, with great harm to U.S. and allied interests in either case.

NATO is the only security organization with the skills and breadth to take on this task. The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition of 68 partners is ill equipped to engage in this complex task. A more cohesive organization such as NATO should lead, but in ways that allow continued Arab participation. A creative version of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition could provide the answer.

The post-caliphate political circumstances and potential stabilization missions vary in these three countries. Separate but related missions would need to be designed. Those missions might be guided by three principles.

First, the political circumstances for success need to be created in each country. NATO involvement could help create those circumstances....

The remainder of this commentary is available on nationalinterest.org.

Hans Binnendijk and David Gompert are adjunct senior fellows at the RAND Corporation. Binnendijk served previously as NSC Senior Director for Defense Policy and edited Transforming for Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations. Gompert was senior adviser for national security, Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraq, 200304.

This commentary originally appeared on The National Interest on May 2, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
New Mexico homeowners and business owners have a bright future ahead of them thanks to Governor Susana Martinez and the Solar Consumer Bill of Rights.

Even though solar power is a growing industry in New Mexico, solar companies have done a dreadful job of clearly communicating the systems and financing involved in purchasing private solar energy. This law remedies that situation.

For too long, solar company salesmen have been misrepresenting benefits, expectations, and even costs to homeowners. As a result, these well-meaning but egregiously misled consumers become subject to agreements that are diametrically opposed to their best interests. Solar consumers are then left in the dark with no recourse for their situation.

These same solar companies often fail to provide their services in a timely manner and/or provide overbuilt systems that produce more energy than needed, increasing lease payments and draining consumers of their hard-earned money. Private solar systems are even sometimes installed improperly and dangerously. No industry that indiscriminately and deliberately manipulates consumers should remain unchecked.

Nevertheless, the Solar Consumer Bill of Rights is far from anti-solar. In fact, this law is quite the opposite. The law simply protects New Mexico homeowners and business owners from shady business practices and dubious deeds. All consumers deserve to be fully informed. By simply requiring reasonable and appropriate disclosures and transparency, this legislation provides meaningful protection for those who are interested in buying, leasing, or financing private solar systems. What could be better for promoting solar energy in New Mexico?

This law promotes solar as a safe, reliable option for homeowners and business owners alike. New Mexicans no longer have to worry that they are being fooled into purchasing private solar energy systems. The Solar Consumer Bill of Rights promotes good, honest business. Good business benefits everyone, especially the solar companies.

Furthermore, the legislation was a collaborative effort, which included local and national solar providers, the local business community, realtors and their associations, low-income advocates, NM Construction Industry Division, and state legislative officials.

The Solar Consumer Bill of Rights is good lawmaking. Thank you, Gov. Martinez and the New Mexican legislature, for choosing the consumers of New Mexico over shady solar companies and their dubious deeds. Other Governors and legislators throughout the United States would be wise to follow suit.
Jose R. Cardenas is a director with the international consultancy Vision Americas. He served in several senior foreign policy positions during the George W. Bush administration (2004-2009), including at the Department of State, the National Security Council, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. This piece is part of a special RCW series on the U.S.-China geopolitical relationship. The views expressed here are the authors own.

U.S. President Donald Trumps opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and his withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership have led some critics to claim that the United States is turning its back to regional trading partners, and that Trump is thus freeing up China to make inroads into Latin America. But Chinas presence in the Western Hemisphere is already well-established, having predated Trumps election by almost 20 years. Beijings involvement in the region is subject to the ebb and flow of the regions economic and political changes, but it stems from the needs both of China and corresponding Latin American capitals.

But if Chinas position has long since become a fixture in the hemisphere, it is equally true that U.S. policymakers have been remarkably complacent over the years as the growing Chinese presence has necessarily impacted not only the region, but U.S. political, economic, and security interests. That needs to change.

Chinas interest in Latin America is both economic and strategic. It was the accelerating Chinese economys voracious appetite for raw materials that keyed its entry to the region, a land of plenty when it comes to natural resources. Iron, soybeans, copper, and oil make up the bulk of Chinese imports from the region. In turn, securing access to Latin American markets for the export of Chinese manufactured products became a priority as well.

Economic Push

The numbers are staggering. China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and its bilateral trade with Latin America and the Caribbean has since skyrocketed, from $15 billion in 2001 to $288.9 billion in 2013 -- an increase of almost 2000 percent. That number now represents 6 percent of Chinas total foreign trade, an increase from 2.7 percent in 2000. (Some 13 percent of Latin Americas trade is now done with China, up from negligible levels in 2000.)

In the past decade, Chinas two biggest development banks have provided $125 billion to Latin America -- more than the combined total lending of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. China is now Latin Americas largest creditor. In addition, between 2000 and 2015, Chinese leaders visited the region more than 30 times.

Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping made his third trip to the region since 2013, announcing a plan to double bilateral trade and to increase investment stock value by 150 percent over the next decade.

Not Just Economics

China also has significant geopolitical interests. It wants to project power and influence in an area long considered to be within the U.S. sphere of influence -- no doubt a response to what Beijing considers U.S. efforts to contain and encircle China in Asia by cultivating allied and friendly governments.

Critical to Chinas aspirations as a growing global power as well is what it calls global governance reform. In translation, that means Beijing uses its growing trade and financial might to challenge the architecture of the U.S.-dominated post-World War II order and alter it along lines more favorable to China. Beijing sees developing its own alliances through trade and loans as an important way to counterbalance U.S. influence and to secure support in multilateral forums on such important issues to Beijing as human rights, climate change, and economic governance.

It bears noting that China considers its principal regional economic and political interlocutor to be the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States, an organization established by the late Venezuelan firebrand Hugo Chavez that purposefully excludes the United States and Canada.

Finally, it is no coincidence that of the 22 countries that diplomatically recognize Taiwan, 12 are in Latin America and the Caribbean. China wants specifically to erode this support for Taipei. As a Chinese white paper on Latin America and the Caribbean in 2008 put it succinctly, the One China principle is the political basis for the establishment and development of relations between China and Latin America.

Changing Times

Chinese demand for commodities keyed its entry into the region and helped produce one of Latin Americas fastest periods of growth in decades, but the times are changing. Lackluster global economic growth and the cooling Chinese economy (which has contributed to the end of the global commodity boom) have resulted in a drop in Chinese imports from and exports to Latin America in recent years. Indeed, over the past year regional revenues from commodity exports to China dropped some 40 percent.

Latin America is also changing politically. Chinas initial push into the Western Hemisphere was facilitated by the rise to power of a host of leftist populist governments -- a phenomenon collectively referred to as the Pink Tide. Many leaders, foremost among them Venezuelas Hugo Chavez, were determined to distance themselves from the United States and from institutions perceived to be allied with Washington. These leaders were happy to align themselves with China, which adheres to a supposed policy of non-interference in countries internal affairs. That equally suited a number of Latin American governments, which proceeded to undermine democratic institutions and the rights of their citizens.

However, with the bust in oil prices and other commodities exposing the economic dysfunction of the populist model, frustrated voters are shifting their support to more pragmatic, market-friendly governments. These governments can be expected to operate in a more sober and transparent manner, and to be more respectful of democratic institutions, eschewing the opaque, behind-the-scenes deals that China previously thrived on. With less opportunity to present itself as the buyer or lender of last resort, China will find itself needing to adapt to a more challenging and competitive environment.

Beijing seems to be adjusting well: Chinas evolving economic strategy is now one of diversification, with an emphasis less on traditional industries such as mining and energy extraction and more on sectors such as infrastructure (including energy, airports, seaports, and roads), construction, telecommunications, manufacturing, finance, agriculture, tourism, and even the space sector.

Implications for the United States

Chinas authoritarianism, global designs, and disregard for international norms and practices raise serious questions about the impact of its engagement in the Western Hemisphere on the promotion of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. In recent congressional testimony, U.S. Southern Commander Adm. Kurt Tidd put it like this:

For Russia, China, and Iran, Latin America is not an afterthought. These global actors view the Latin American economic, political, and security arena as an opportunity to achieve their respective long-term objectives and advance interests that may be incompatible with ours and those of our partners. Their vision for an alternative international order poses a challenge to every nation that values non-aggression, rule of law, and respect for human rights -- the very same principles that underlie the Inter-American system of peace and cooperation. Some of what theyre doing -- while not a direct military threat -- does warrant examination. Even seemingly benign activities can be used to build malign influence.

This was certainly evident in recent years, with China providing anti-American governments with an alternative source of trade, investment, and finance outside conventional institutions that ordinarily require some conditionalities on good governance, transparency, anti-corruption efforts, human rights, and the rule of law. In some cases, it didnt create major problems. In others, such as Venezuela ($65 billion in Chinese loans) and Ecuador ($11 billion), Beijing bankrolled authoritarianism and human rights abuses, undercutting U.S. efforts to promote its policy agenda in the Americas and setting the stage for the chaos now underway in Venezuela.

Yet it is not as though the United States can block or impede Chinese trade and investment in the hemisphere. It is also important to keep things in perspective: U.S. trade with Latin America is still three times larger than Chinas. Nor can China match our proximity, cultural and familial ties, and long shared history. The best response therefore to the Chinese presence in the Western Hemisphere is to do what the United States does best: compete.

The situation is best approached as a strategic competition in which the United States employs its comparative advantages and the above described strengths to secure its role as the preferred partner of choice for our Latin American neighbors. China may have the cash advantage, but it cannot compete with the United States in terms of the aforementioned, nor in the agreements shared throughout the Western Hemisphere on rules-based behavior, transparency, and a belief in economic opportunity, strong institutions, and the rule of law. The United States also boasts a 50-year record of promoting sustainable long-term regional development and humanitarian projects, a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and -- not to put too fine a point on it -- laws that prohibit bribery and other corrupt practices that often undermine the publics faith in their systems.

This is in contrast to the Chinese presence, where cultural differences, radically divergent value systems, and different ways of doing business often impair mutual understanding and trust. China also has a poor record on human rights, anti-corruption practices, and environmental and labor conventions. (In many cases, Chinese construction companies import Chinese workers, spurring local resentments over lost employment opportunities.)

On the economic front, many economists worry that Chinas demand for raw materials harkens back to Latin Americas bad old days of too much dependence on commodity exports. Neither do they see purchasing Chinese manufactured goods in return as being conducive to long-term development. Again, in contrast, the United States provides meaningful value-added, job-creating investment in the region while purchasing the sort of manufactured goods that generate more jobs.

Game On

Whatever professions of a win-win economic situation for all, or of Chinas benign intent, Chinas position in Latin America affects the U.S. agenda and regional stability -- and Beijing has the resources and motivation needed to adapt to changing circumstances and to remain such a regional fixture for the foreseeable future. That is why U.S. complacency is not an option. Competition need not be hostile, just determined. In particular, the Trump administration has an excellent opportunity to press the U.S. advantage by drawing closer to regional heavyweights Brazil and Argentina, who are attempting to shake off the legacies of years of statist economics. These are countries where China has been particularly active. Each now has a market-friendly president desperate to produce economic growth and draw foreign investment.

A reinvigorated U.S. engagement with the hemisphere will reap significant benefits for the U.S. economy. It will create new investment opportunities, including in the energy sector, but it will also drive up the cost of doing business for Beijing. That China continues to expand its presence in other regions such as Asia and Africa is one thing, but encroaching in our own neighborhood more directly impacts the U.S. national interest. Its time for America to pay closer attention.
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Govt mulls gradual switchover to the January-December financial year

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The Union government is taking preparatory steps to switch over to a new financial year cycle that will start from January and end in December. At present, the governments financial year starts in April and ends in March.

According to top government sources, the switch-over will be a gradual process. To begin with, the next Union Budget presentation date is likely to be advanced by about a month, to prepare the ground for a change in the financial year.

A change in the financial year would be best signalled by an advancement of the presentation of the Union Budget, which would also make sure that the governments financial year planning is in tune with the new cycle, said a senior government official.

There is, however, no clarity yet on whether advancing the Union Budget presentation date to early January would pave the way for the switchover to the proposed financial year cycle of January-December from next year.

For that to happen, the Union Budget needs to be presented in December. It is, therefore, likely that the target date for launching the new financial year cycle could be January 2019.

The Union government is aware that the experts committee, headed by former chief economic advisor, Shankar N Acharya, had not favoured a change in the current financial year cycle.

While the committees views are still being examined, the government has begun seeking different views on the issue as its mind is inclined towards a change.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked chief ministers of states at a meeting of NITI Aayog that they should examine the idea of a financial year change and make suggestions to the Centre on how this can be implemented.

An ideal situation would be where the state governments also switch over to a January-December financial year cycle, according to the sources.

But if the Centre adopts the January-December cycle, states too would have to fall in line. Hence, an attempt is being made to secure the consent of the states to the financial year change.

A change in the governments financial year will also affect the various dates of tax payments by individuals and corporations. The modalities of such changes are yet to be worked out.

No farm tax for now

Even though NITI Aayogs view on taxation of agricultural income kicked up a controversy, the Union government is in no mood to consider levying income tax on farmers irrespective of their relative income levels.

A paper produced by a NITI Aayog member had suggested that income tax on farmers could be considered. It has been clarified later that such a view is not shared by NITI Aayog.

The chief economic advisor in the finance ministry has suggested that if a tax on farmers has to be considered, the states must do so as the Constitution allows only states to levy such a tax.

The government view on taxing farmers is that such an idea is not under consideration and it cannot possibly be examined before the general elections in 2019.

A tax on farmers could be politically exploited by the Opposition political parties and can be a political liability for the ruling party during the next general elections. At present, barring plantation companies, no other segment of farm income is taxed either at by the Centre or by any state.
Industry watchers say while its completely possible for a firm like SoftBank to step in and take control of Ola, its usually one of the least favoured options.

Indias largest taxi service aggregator, Ola, reported a threefold increase in losses to Rs 2,313.6 crore (Rs 23.17 billion0 for the year ended March 31, 2017, but its largest investor, SoftBank, continued to retain confidence with the company.

Unlike with Snapdeal, the Japanese investment firms biggest bet in India that it is desperately trying to sell, SoftBanks demands from Ola are more on the lines of pulling up its socks, sources said.

SoftBank penalised Ola in its latest round where it invested $250 million at a $3.5-billion valuation, down from $5 billion at which the company had raised its last round. Moreover, Ola has already begun to position itself from fast-paced growth to growth with profits in its sight.

We have significantly improved our bottom line over the past year or so, and we have a very clear path to profitability. Within the next two years, we will be profitable, said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and chief executive, at a TiE event in Delhi last month.

Ola has drastically scaled back incentives it had paid to drivers to keep them from being poached by rival Uber, which has done the same. Issues of fares, too, have crept up on both platforms in the past six to eight months.

While Ola burned money to fend off an attack from Uber, the US ride-hailing giant felt the pinch, too.

Estimates suggested Uber spent between $600 and $800 million in 2016, which helped it get to 45-per cent market share in the Indian taxi aggregator market, with Ola still maintaining the lead.

Industry watchers say while its completely possible for a firm like SoftBank to step in and take control of Ola, its usually one of the least favoured options.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
India needs 1.4 million hotel beds a night but has only 2.4 lakh, points out Rahul Pandit, MD and CEO of Ginger Hotels.

IMAGE: CLICK on each of the rooms in the image to get the statistics on India's acute hotel room shortage. Graphic by: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com and Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com



This year -- 2017 -- heralds the start of a potential, extended four-year up-cycle for hospitality in India.



The last five years have seen the sector deliver a muted performance. Due both to the economic downturn and the largest release of new supply since independence.



The tide is turning.

IMAGE: Room demand in Indian hotels has picked up pace, growing over 16 per cent last year, and is forecast to maintain the momentum.

Image shows receptionists attending to guests at the Crown Plaza hotel, run by the InterContinental Hotels Group, New Delhi. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters.

India is today the fastest growing major economy in the world. Supply that grew in double digits has petered down to sub-10 per cent and is expected to maintain a single-digit trot over the next four to five years. Aggregate room demand has picked up pace, growing over 16 per cent last year and is forecast to maintain momentum.



This buoyancy is also reflected in the adjacent airline sector, growing over 21 per cent in passenger traffic last year to 131 million -- making India the fourth largest aviation market and the fastest growing domestic market globally.

IMAGE: Delhi's Aerocity, located near T3, Indira Gandhi International Airport, has added tremendously to country's bed capacity, offering accommodation in some 16 brand new luxury hotels and has footfalls of approximately 10,000 per day.

It is also mirrored in the order books of Indigo and SpiceJet airlines getting ready to add over 400 and 200 new aircraft each respectively. Boeing estimates India would need 1,800 new aircraft over the next decade.

This demand upsurge is already leading to congestion at existing airports. The government has identified a plan to revive 160 airports and airstrips. The Udan scheme, that seeks to connect 43 unserved and underserved locations, is a welcome step for regional connectivity.





IMAGE: The 75,000 international visitors that arrive daily in India need a place each day to stay. Paharganj district, New Delhi, is a popular tourist area packed with backpacker hotels near the main railway station. Photograph: Vijay Mathur/Reuters.

A quick comparison with China highlights the scale of opportunity. China has 307 hotel rooms per 100,000 people, India has only 18.

Delhi and Mumbai, India's top cities each have 20,000 and 15,000 branded hotel rooms. Shanghai and Beijing have 130,000 and 110,000, totalling more than the total branded supply in India.





IMAGE: Delhi and Mumbai, India's top cities each have 20,000 and 15,000 branded hotel rooms.

Image shows Matteo Boglione, executive chef of Le Cirque Signature restaurant, prepares a dish in the kitchens of one of the city's prominent hotels, The Leela Mumbai. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters.

As many as 270,000 people travel by air daily in India. Assuming half of them do return journeys, 135,000 need a place to stay each night. Additionally, 75,000 international visitors need a place each day. This adds up to a requirement of 210,000 beds each night.



Air and international visitors, however, are only the tip of the iceberg.

IMAGE: A million people join India's workforce each month. The youth add to the domestic travel market of over 1.3 billion visitations a year, touring all over India, even Kashmir.

Image shows a hotel in Srinagar. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

1.3 million people travel daily on Indian Railways. Bisecting the demand for return journeys, 650,000 need a place to stay each night. Using railways as a proxy, surface transport demand (cars and buses) is estimated to be over 600,000 people daily.



Thus, the aggregate lodging requirement for India adds up to over 1.4 million beds each night.





IMAGE: Currently three-fourths of the branded supply of beds is held in the luxury and upscale segment, like this one in New Delhi.

Image shows members of a wedding band in front of the ITC Maurya, New Delhi, where both US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, stayed, among many other heads of state. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters.

So, the conundrum is -- if the tracked supply in the branded lodging market is under 240,000 rooms, where are these people staying?



Friends and family for one -- that is why Indians lean on their relatives so much! A large part of this demand is consummated in the unstructured, non-branded market.



Deep Kalra of Make My Trip already lists over 750,000 rooms, but says they have yet not fully covered the market.



The countrys evolving demographics also support this growth.





IMAGE: India's domestic travel market -- 1.3 billion visitations a year -- is today fast becoming the mainstay of the travel and tourism business.

Image shows an employee prepares a room at the Four Points hotel, Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters.

With the average age at 28 years, India is today the most youthful major economy in the world. The fact that it lagged this curve over the last few decades now presents it an opportunity -- and challenge -- to catch up to the per capita potential of mature economies over the next few decades. While Europe and China grow older and North America sees incremental addition to its working age population, India will become the dominant workforce powerhouse of the world.



A million people are getting released into the workforce in India each month, and this pace will continue over the next decade as well. The youth are more productive, increasing the countrys disposable income and contributing spends back into the economy. They also add to the domestic travel market of over 1.3 billion visitations a year, which is today fast becoming the mainstay of the travel and tourism business in India.





IMAGE: Leisure breaks are now fast becoming a lifestyle requirement for interpersonal communication and acquiring experiential memories among India's young workforce.

Image shows a family at a restaurant in Tata Group's Ginger hotel, New Delhi. Photograph: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters.

This demographic movement has caused another significant shift over the last decade. India added over 90 million people (more than the population of Germany) to its urban cities between 2005 and 2015. Fifty-three cities today have a million-plus people each. More than 470 million will reside in Indian cities by 2020. These urban nuclei are the natural markets for service and commerce.



Such urban clusters have had an unforeseen impact on leisure travel. The youth are taking leisure breaks to connect to their partners and families, unable to do so in the congestion and pace of modern cities. They are also visiting pilgrimage destinations to keep connected to their beliefs, away from their native moorings. Leisure breaks are now fast becoming a lifestyle requirement for interpersonal communication and acquiring experiential memories.



Thus, leisure travel -- which used to be niche and seasonal -- has now become mainstream, more impervious to occupancy and rate concerns than business travel. With the rapid improvement in the road network and car ownership, surface transport too is adding its might. Earlier road trips were preferred within three-four hours of driving distance, it has now doubled to six-eight hours -- thus increasing both the range and frequency of such travel.





IMAGE: The aggregate lodging requirement for India adds up to over 1.4 million beds each night.

Image shows guests at Holiday Inn, New Delhi, waiting to receive their relatives. Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters.

Currently three-fourths of the branded supply is held in the luxury and upscale segment. Budget and mid-scale, akin to the global stack, represent the major growth opportunities for lodging in India.



Indias democracy, led by PM Modis T pentagon -- Talent, Tradition, Tourism, Trade and Technology -- of development and a GDP forecast of seven per cent + over the next decade, augurs well for capital looking at an appreciation arbitrage. This is the time to check in to India.



The writer is MD & CEO, Ginger Hotels, and member, National Committee on Tourism, Confederation of Indian Industry.
'Will Muhammad Habib Zahir -- who was part of the team that arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav and went missing in Nepal -- figure in a Jadhav-for-Zahir deal?' asks Aditi Phadnis.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

It is a rare court judgment that ends up satisfying everyone.

In its order on charges of money laundering and corruption against Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family, the country's fiercely independent supreme court played Solomon and managed that feat by allowing Sharif to stay on as prime minister on the basis of 'insufficient evidence' (two words that had supporters of the ruling party dancing on the streets of Lahore and Islamabad), while instituting a team that will investigate the charges against him.

The court has insulted him by saying that previous probes were rigged (namely, by the national accountability board etc) and humiliated him by saying a joint investigation team will report to the court (not unlike our Central Bureau of Investigation).

To all this, the response of Sharif's daughter Maryam is to send heartfelt thanks to God ('Praise and glory be to Allah alone') suggesting that the family was expecting much worse.

The Opposition believes it has been vindicated and says Sharif has been reduced to a lame duck government -- if it has any shame, it should go on its own now.

But Sharif and his advisors see no reason to do anything drastic, now that they have a mandate from the highest court in the land.

The verdict was split -- two out of three judges said he should be disqualified.

So what are the implications: For Pakistan and for India?

There is hardly any doubt about Sharif's emasculation, whatever his family might say. But the supreme court has left several windows open for him to exercise his authority as PM.

While the order says the JIT must be headed by a senior officer of the federal investigation agency not below the rank of additional director general, who should this person be and who should select him?

The order is silent on that. So there is nothing to prevent the prime minister's office from offering post-retirement deals in return for a guaranteed outcome. The same goes for other members of the team.

Asif Zardari, co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, put his finger on it when he asked: 'How can government officers, who are subservient to the prime minister, probe allegations against him and his family?'

On other matters in his jurisdiction, the court order means nothing for Sharif. He will continue to be the top boss when it comes to negotiating important deals like the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and the $54 billion spending on infrastructure that it entails.

Much of the CPEC infrastructure is going to be built by private consortia and will be paid for by China and the people of Pakistan.

If all the planned projects are implemented, the value of those projects would exceed all foreign direct investment in Pakistan since 1970.

The CPEC project is expected to create some 700,000 direct jobs between 2015 and 2030 and add up to 2.5 percentage points to Pakistan's growth rate: All adding up to a resounding 'ka-ching' in the Sharif family's cashboxes.

The Pakistan army is completely immersed in Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad aimed against an assortment of Islamic radicals/terrorists.

Hasnain Malik of the well-known investment banking firm Exotix assesses that deaths related to terror were down 40 per cent year on year in Q1 2017.

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's parliamentary majority is so huge that the ruling party outnumbers all others in the lower house even if they join together tactically. So there's nothing to stop Sharif from rolling out his administrative agenda.

If Sharif advances the general election, due Q2 2018, it is almost certain that he will be voted in again, given the disarray in the Opposition.

What does all this mean for India?

The current glitch in relations caused by Kulbhushan Jadhav needs to be ironed out fast: The two prime ministers will be meeting in Kazhakhstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the first week of June.

Both countries will become full members of SCO at the meeting. Obviously, Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif will shake hands.

But will the meeting be more than that? And how will the background be set by the bureaucracies in the two countries?

Will Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Habib Zahir -- who was part of the team that arrested Jadhav and went missing in Nepal -- figure in a Jadhav-for-Zahir deal? We will never know.

After weeks of anxiety over the Pakistan supreme court order (written in February but read out only in April) the Sharif administration is functional once again.

There is no talk of Sharif going to London for medical treatment and staying there.

The family has taken charge and we now have to watch for the next chapter in this endlessly entertaining subcontinental drama of power and authority, which would be comical were it not for the collateral damage it causes to the people of both countries.

MUST READ features on the KULBHUSHAN JADHAV CASE in the RELATED LINKS BELOW...
'Gandhi has not become out of date, we have.'

Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari is a former chief justice of the Bombay high court. He worked with Mahatma Gandhi at a young age and has been a staunch 'Gandhi vicharak' for decades.

Justice Dharmadhikari was in Patna to attend the centenary celebrations of the Champaran Satyagraha, Mahatma Gandhi's first non-violent struggle against the British in 1917.

The soft-spoken judge, 90, spoke to M I Khan about why Gandhian ideas are still relevant in Modi's India.

Has Gandhism lost its relevance?

Gandhi used to say that there is nothing like 'Gandhism or Gandhivaad.' He was a man who experimented with truth. Words like 'Gandhian,' 'Gandhism' or 'Gandhivaad' were not in his dictionary.

Adding 'ism' or 'vaad' to any ideology brings stagnation in it.

The best thing for one to say is that one is a 'Gandhi vicharak,' someone who does brainstorming on Gandhi's thoughts. Others may be described as committed to take Gandhi's work forward.

Gandhi was not ready to accept 'vaad' or 'ism' after his name. He was against it.

Gandhi has only ceased to exist physically after assassinated. His thoughts and ideas flow as usual.

There is a need to study, analyse and understand Gandhi's thoughts. But they have not become a part of our lives till date.

What about hundreds of self-proclaimed Gandhians or Gandhivaadis?

Gandhi had more disciples and fewer successors.

A successor takes the work and thoughts of a person forward while a disciple merely follows what a person said.

For many, following Gandhi's thoughts is like performing rituals. They don't understand him.

We need to discuss his thoughts and take them forward.

Decades after the assassination, why did Nathuram Godse kill him?

Gandhi's killing was a conspiracy. Godse represents a belief.

He believed that if you take away the head of a man, his thoughts will also be finished.

But he forgot that he assassinated a man who had said that 'My life is my message.'

Gandhi experimented with truth his entire life; some of his experiments failed too.

In the end, only those fail who experiment. A person who never appeared for an examination never failed.

The attitude of experimenting with truth must be understood and followed. I think till date we have not understood Gandhi fully.

How can we spread his thoughts among the younger generation?

Gandhi's focus was on two things: Sangarsh (struggle) and rachna (creation).

He didn't only talk about a non-violent struggle against injustice, but also about a constructive result.

His fight was to change society.

Conversely, thinking only about a constructive result without struggling for it is also meaningless.

Gandhi also stresses on duties more than rights.

The younger generation can be made aware of such things. Gandhi has taught us to create an interest for his thoughts among them.

What was your experience with Gandhi? How did it change your life?

I still feel a sensation when I think about how he once put his hand on my shoulder to walk.

That touch strengthened my shoulders enough to never shy away from performing my duties or compromise on my principles.

Even during the Emergency, as a judge of the Bombay high court, I performed my duties well.

I never bowed down before anyone after his touch on my shoulder, I am proud of it.

Some say Gandhi is not relevant now as his thoughts have become outdated.

Gandhi has not become out of date, we have.

Gandhi used a telephone then, he travelled across the country in trains.

If he were alive today, he would have had social media accounts, and a personal laptop.

He was very scientific. He was not against machines.

A man was killed in Alwar by so-called 'cow protectors.' Similar incidents involving 'gau rakshaks' have been reported across the country. How could Gandhi have reacted to it?

Gandhi never used the phrase 'gau raksha' (cow protection). He instead called for 'gau seva' (serving the cow).

Gandhi would have never approved of such a move (to kill people in order to protect cows).

But a mob is like a head without a brain.

Some people question the title 'Father of the Nation' for Gandhi. How do you see this?

Before Gandhi arrived, India was a country, but not a nation.

The word 'rashtrapita' or 'father of the nation' is important.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose never called him Bharatpita or Indiapita. He called him rashtrapita. A country is different from a nation.

Before Gandhi, only Adi Shankarachrya had visited the entire country. But he did that with a religious aspect.

Gandhi visited the country, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, to understand the socio-political situation and culture of people.

What is your view on the Kashmir issue?

We seem to only want the land of Kashmir, not its people. We want them to go to Pakistan.

We don't love the people of Kashmir. We only love the land. Only landlords love the land.

We must develop people to people dialogue. It is the only way to solve the problem.

The government to government initiative has failed. Now, only a people to people dialogue will work.

What is your worst fear?

Sometimes I fear India will disintegrate.

Kashmir and the North East states have been showing a clear sign of it. I also fear South and North India will be separated.

What is the lifeline of a vibrant democracy?

The freedom to dissent is a must in a democracy, so is the Opposition.

IMAGE: Mahatma Gandhi with Charlie Chaplin, left, London, 1931. Photograph: Getty Images

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The army should be given a free hand to take appropriate action against Pakistan for the beheading of two Indian soldiers, former defence minister A K Antony said on Tuesday.

The Congress leader also raised questions over the security along the Line of Control with Pakistan, saying the incident has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army.

Asserting that he was not seeking to politicise the issue, Antony said while only one incident of mutilation happened during his eight-year stint as defence minister, the last three years have witnessed three such incidents.

Army Junior Commissioned Officer Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and Border Security Force head constable Prem Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated by a Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into Indian territory along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

I have no words to say about the cruelty of the Pakistan Army. So the government must give a free hand to the army to handle it in its own way, Antony told reporters.

Continued attack in Kashmir has put a question mark about security in the border. I think, it has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army.

My only request to the government is give freedom to the army to take appropriate action at an appropriate time. My message is give freedom to the army to take appropriate action as a reaction towards the inhuman, barbaric acts of Pakistan, he said.
The Indian army on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with the Pakistani military over the beheading of its two soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a dastardly and inhuman act which merited unequivocal condemnation and response.

The savage incident along the Line of Control on the Indian side also set off a spat between parties across the political divide.

Indias Director General of Military Operations spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and expressed grave concern over the beheading of two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

The DGMO of the Indian army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response, the army said in a statement.

The DGMO also conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that full fire support was provided by their army post located in the vicinity of the place where Indian soldiers were decapitated.

The army said the DGMO communicated Indias concerns over the presence of Border Action Team training camps close to the LoC in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

The Indian army has already vowed an appropriate response to the despicable act. The Pakistani army establishment has denied its involvement in the attack.

A day after the incident triggered outrage, the Congress mounted a scathing assault on the Modi government, asking it to take off the bangles and avenge the killing of Indian security personnel. Bangles are considered a sign of femininity.

It is unfortunate that prime minister and the government do not have any policy on national security...We urge this government to take off its bangles and do something, Sibal said in New Delhi.

He also attacked the government over the additional charge of defence ministry to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying there cannot be an effective defence policy without a full-time minister.

After India's DGMOs tough talk about a response to the brazen slaughter of two soldiers, union minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Pakistan and rogue state and spoke of reprisal.

Responding to the oppositions comments questioning the political will of the government to take military action against Pakistan, Naidu said, There is will, there is kill.

We are very firm, we will do whatever is possible, and the government is already at it, and you will hear about it, Naidu told journalists in Bengaluru.

It (the act of mutilation) is condemnable ...it is not right to make public statements on what the response should be... the defence minister has made a statement. You will get the information with confirmation on what the result will be, he said.

You will see that the government of India will take appropriate action, Naidu said.

Senior Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony said while just one incident of beheading of an Indian soldier was reported under the party-led UPA dispensations, while three such incidents occurred with Modi at the helm.

The government came under fire also from its old saffron ally Shiv Sena, with its senior leader and Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sit up and think.

After one surgical strike by us, they (Pakistan) have killed our soldiers ten times more. The prime minister should sit up and think how to avenge it, he said in Mumbai.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted the sacrifice made by the fallen soldiers would not go in vain. The army has vowed to take effective action....we should trust our security forces.

Amid the political wrangling, Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vora met home minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the situation obtaining in the restive valley as also along the LoC.

Apart from issues like infiltration from across the border, the activities of separatists and violent protests by students, the situation along the LoC after the killing of two soldiers was also discussed.

IMAGE: Late Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh's wife Paramjit Kaur, son Sahildeep Singh and daughters Khushdeep Kaur, left, and Simardeep Kaur wait for the arrival his mortal remains at their village Vain Poin, some 40km from Amritsar on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo
Doctors treating Egyptian national Eman Ahmed have sought an apology from her sibling Shaimaa Selim, who alleged that the hospital authorities used her sister for mere publicity and made false claims about the formers weight loss.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shaina N C also came out in support of the demand by the doctors of Saifee hospital, which treated Eman for weight loss.

All said and done, it would be in order for her (Shaimaa) to apologise to Dr Muffazal Lakdawala and the hospital authorities for the good work they had done for Eman.

Her action is not only an insult to the doctors and hospital authorities, but to the governments of Maharashtra and India, Shaina said.

The BJP leader along with Lakdawala and Dr Aparna Bhaskar called on Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on Monday evening to seek an apology from Shaimaa Selim.

Eman Ahmed was looking quite well and it can be seen that she had lost considerable amount of weight, Shaina said, adding, I have already spoken to Eman assuring her that the hospital authorities and the government are her well-wishers.

The Saifee hospital has already made it clear that they would not be charging any fee from Emans family.

Eman, believed to be worlds heaviest woman, weighed around 500 kg when she was brought to Saifee Hospital in Mumbai in February.
The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Amma leader TTV Dinakaran and others in connection with the Election Commission bribery case.

Officials said the central probe agency has registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after taking cognisance of a Delhi police FIR in the matter.

They said the agency will probe the possible "proceeds of crime" as part of its charter under the anti-money laundering law and soon will issue summonses to the accused.

A meeting of the ED and Delhi police officials has taken place recently and it is expected that after the central probe agency registered a separate case, a few more such meetings could be held to take the probe forward.

Dinakaran and his aide Mallikarjuna were sent to the Tihar Jail till May 15 by a Delhi court on Monday after the police said that the accused were not needed for custodial interrogation.

Dinakaran was arrested on April 25 after four days of questioning by the Delhi police for allegedly attempting to bribe an unidentified EC official to get the undivided AIADMK's 'two leaves' election symbol for his faction for a byelection to the R K Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu which was later cancelled by the Election Commission.

Middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was the first to be arrested in the case, had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore to help the faction keep the 'two leaves' symbol.

The EC had frozen AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol after two factions led by Sasikala and former chief minister O Panneerselvam staked claim to it.

The AIADMK-Amma faction leader has been accused of allegedly arranging the amount from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.

The court had on April 26 remanded the duo to five-day custody of Delhi Police which said it needed to unearth the money trail and the entire conspiracy in the case.

Mallikarjuna, who had been accompanying Dinakaran everywhere ever since the arrest of alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar on April 16, was arrested for facilitating the alleged Rs 50-crore deal between Dinakaran and Chandrasekar.

Chandrasekar is in judicial custody till May 12.
Daniela Greene returned to the US just a month after tying the knot with Denis Cupert; was immediately arrested and sentenced to two years in federal prison

IMAGE: The 38-year-old woman translator went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011.

In a stunning embarrassment for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, one of its employees with a top-secret security clearance travelled to Syria in 2014 and married a key Islamic State operative she had been assigned to investigate, according to a media report.

Rogue employee Daniela Greene married Denis Cuspert also known as Abu Talha al-Almani, a German rapper turned IS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter-terrorism authorities on two continents, CNN reported.

Cuspert had praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former president Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.

Before travelling to Syria, 38-year-old woman translator lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.

Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene seemed to realise she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

Greenes saga, which has never been publicised, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBI -- an agency that has made its mission rooting out IS sympathisers across the country, the channel said.

It also raises questions about whether Greene received favourable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offence, it added.

Its a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it, said John Kirby, a former State Department official.

Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011.

She was assigned to the bureaus Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work in an investigative capacity on the case of a German terrorist referred to in

court records only as Individual A identified as Cuspert.

As part of the FBIs investigation into Individual A, Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file. Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained sole access to a third Skype account, the records state.

It was in April 2014, during Greenes work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to IS and its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when travelling abroad.

Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterised her travel on the form as Vacation/Personal, court records show.

Want to see my family, she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.

She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014 and flew on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. From there she travelled to Gaziantep city, close to the Syrian border.

She contacted Individual A, the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him.

Shortly after, Greene sent e-mails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law.

On August 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest.

After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States.

She was arrested on August 8, 2014.
After the unfortunate killing and beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan's Border Action Team on Monday, many old tweets by various Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including its then prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, have been re-posted by users, to highlight the difference between what they had said in the days of the UPA government in a similar situation, and what is happening now.

For instance, a tweet by BJP leader Giriraj Singh in the aftermath of Pakistan attacking Indian soldiers in 2013, 'Had Modi been the PM, Indian forces would've reached Lahore by now', was re-tweeted many times after Monday's attack.

We bring you some of the old tweets by BJP leaders:
The Congress vice president asked people if Vibrant Gujarat had helped them in any way. Amit Agnihotri reports.

Rahul Gandhi unveiled his pro-poor agenda to win back Gujarat from the Bharatiya Janata Party and took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for catering only to the rich.

Elections for the 182 seat Gujarat assembly are likely in November this year.

Launching the Congress poll campaign from Dediya Pada, a tribal area, Rahul asked people if the Vibrant Gujarat concept promoted by Modi had brought any benefits to them over the past 20 years.

Taking a dig at PMs radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Rahul exuded confidence that the Congress would come back to power and the state government would rather listen to the views of the poor voters.

The rally at Dediya Pada was in continuation of a series of events the state unit had launched recently to mobilise Tribal votes, where the BJP too is trying to get a toe hold.

Rahul reminded the voters of the United Progressive Alliances land bill and said PM Modi had tried to change it. He charged the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to take away the land of tribals and give it to the rich for a song. The Congress government will not be run by an individual, he declared, hitting at Modis style of functioning.

The Congress vice president further attacked the BJP saying that the resourceful Patels, who used to support the BJP, were worried over the lack of educational facilities for their children.

Trying to connect with the Tribals, Rahul said their traditional rights over water, land and forest would be protected by the Congress as he charged PM Modi of diluting the laws meant to empower the panchayati raj institutions.

Acknowledging that the Congress was poor at marketing itself, Rahul said his party rather works for the people than make false promises.

Mentioning the note ban, the Congress leader said PM Modi took away their savings in a single stroke. He appreciated the work done by women in promoting Anand milk cooperative movement and said the youth in the state had no jobs due to BJPs policies.

May 1 was chosen to launch the Congress poll campaign as it was also foundation day of Gujarat.

IMAGE: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting at Dediya Pada in Gujarat's Narmada district on Monday. Photograph: PTI Photo
In yet another such instance, a man carried the body of his three-year-old son on a two-wheeler from a government hospital in Bengaluru to his home.

The boy had been knocked down by a vehicle near Karpur Gate in Anekal on Sunday evening and when his father, a migrant labourer from Assam, took him to the Anekal government hospital, he was declared brought dead, police said.

The father then took back the body on a two-wheeler.

A video showing it has gone viral, following which the hospital authorities have come under attack.

The hospital authorities have denied any insensitivity on their part.

They said the parents of the boy had taken the body without the mandatory autopsy.

On getting to know about the incident, we searched for the parents and took the body back to the hospital for the post-mortem examination, an official of the hospital said.

A relative of the boy said they did not ask for the ambulance as they felt it would not be affordable for them.

The doctors said he has died, so we took the body back to our place near Electronics city where we stay. The police came and took away the body for procedures, said Liton Khan, a relative of the victim.

He said, We had left. We are poor, how can we afford the ambulance? We did not have money, so we had left.

The police said it has registered a case and is looking for the motorist who caused the accident.

The members of an official panel, mandated to protect the women and children against violence, however, visited the government hospital and recommended action against the hospital authorities.

The incident comes close on the heels of a similar one at Etawah in Uttar Pradesh where a labourer was forced to carry the body of his 15-year-old son over his shoulder after he was allegedly denied help by doctors at a government hospital.

The incident brought back the memories of Odishas Dana Majhi, who had to carry his dead wife on his back last year after he was allegedly denied a hearse by a hospital.
Pakistan on Tuesday claimed that the international community has rejected Indias contention that the turmoil in Kashmir is primarily a cross-border terrorism issue, as it blamed India for scuttling all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the issue.

Pakistan Prime Ministers Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, in a hard-hitting statement, said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Indias contention that the Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today, Aziz said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

He also welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the issue.

The recent offer of the Turkish President Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the issue must be welcomed, Aziz said.

'In this context, the Indian counter proposal that it is ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan is no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions on Kashmir,' Aziz said.

He alleged that the Indian government has broken its 'own record of brutality' in Kashmir by 'indiscriminately killing' unarmed Kashmiri protestors.

Aziz said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperations Declaration adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul, in April last, 'out-rightly (sic) rejected India's attempts of equating the Kashmiris' freedom struggle with terrorism'.

'Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large scale uprising, which is going on in Kashmir, involving mostly young unarmed Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly shows that Kashmir is a burning issue requiring urgent international attention,' Aziz said.
Opposition leaders asked all secular forces to field a joint candidate for presidential elections and have common minimum programme to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party, reports Archis Mohan.

The emphatic win of the Bharatiya Janata Party has led to much churn among Opposition parties, awakening them to the need for unity and even be willing to shed long held ideological positions in a spirit of accommodation.

This was evident on Monday as prominent Opposition leaders met to advocate "unity of progressive forces" to "fight the challenge to the democratic and secular character of the Constitution by the Sangh Parivar."

Leaders like Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury said fielding a common presidential candidate would be the acid test of Opposition unity. The Communists have had deep ideological differences with the Congress party and socialists, but Yechury instead recounted the several points of congruence and their shared history.

On issues like 'triple talaq', Yechury said it was arbitrary and all religions should follow a uniform civil code, where not just 'triple talaq' but also abandoning one's wife without 'talaq', or divorce, be illegal.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has been one of the most acerbic critics of the Sangh Parivar. But in his speech, Singh indicated that the time has come to embrace the secularism as defined by Mahatma Gandhi, and jettison the secularism of Jawaharlal Nehru.

He said the secularism of Gandhi and of Nehru were distinct.

"Gandhian secularism is more relevant to India," Singh said, emphasizing that it was Gandhi's secularism that had stopped the advance of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He said Hindu and Muslim communalism were two sides of the same coin and needed to be fought with equal vigour.

The leitmotif of the politics of Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav has been anti-Congressism. But today, Yadav praised former prime minister Indira Gandhi's foreign policy -- for India's victory in the 1971 war under her leadership and for she having engineered the merger of Sikkim in the Indian union in 1975.

He criticised Modi government's foreign policy. Yadav was one of the thousands jailed during the Emergency that Indira Gandhi had imposed from 1975 to 1977.

The occasion that brought these leaders on the same platrform was an event to mark the 95th anniversary of veteran socialist leader Madhu Limaye, who had been a strong votary of anti-Congressism.

Amid the talk of unity, opposition leaders also issued words of caution.

Congress' Singh reminded that a united opposition had launched a 'grand alliance' against Indira Gandhi in 1971, but were resoundingly defeated. Then, Indira Gandhi had said: "They say banish Indira, I say banish poverty." Singh said the fight wasn't between personalities, but was an ideological battle.

Earlier, Yechury said the first test of unity would be to have a joint candidate for presidential elections.

"First let's achieve this. Then we can talk about the next step," he said. But Yechury cautioned that a 'grand alliance' would fail if it were to focus only on electoral arithmetic. Yechury advocated that progressive democratic forces should sit together to agree on a common minimum programme as evidence of their ideological coherence.

Singh, Yechury and others spoke of how Modi governmnet's policies have led to more concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.

CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury with Senior JD-U leader Sharad Yadav. Photograph: Subhav Shukla/PTI Photo
Afghanistans relationship with India is unacceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like the Haqqani network and Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told United States lawmakers.

During a Congressional hearing, Seth Jones, Director of International Security and Defence Policy Centre at the Rand Corporation said that Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals.

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and Taliban, so its a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

He also acknowledged that Afghanistan is Indias strongest regional ally which is unacceptable to Pakistan.

India is an enemy while the Afghan government is an ally of the Indian government, Jones said last week.

The Pakistani government views everything through the lens of fighting India, Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation.

"Unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India have come back to bite Pakistan. Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist," Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that in recent years the US has given over $33 billion (Rs 2,14,500 crore) in form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that supports a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise when a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor in south-western Pakistan in May, 2016.

"The list of evidence of Pakistans support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al Qaeda leader and America's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counter-terrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not Afghan Taliban," he said.

Speaking about the Islamic State militant group, he said: ISIS (Islamic State) announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January, 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghanistan further complicates the country's tourist landscape.

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the IS affiliate in Afghanistan known as ISIS Khorasan Province.
Action, not assurance is the demand of the families of two soldiers whose bodies were mutilated by the Pakistan army.

IMAGE: BSF head constable Prem Sagar's family mourns his demise. Photographs: ANI

Shattered and traumatized with the news of her father's horrific death at the hands of the Pakistani Army in Krishna Ghatti, Jammu and Kashmir, the daughter of Border Security Force head constable Prem Sagar on Tuesday demanded '50 heads in return' of her father's life.

"His sacrifice should not be forgotten. We want 50 heads in return for his life," said Saroj while consoling her mother, who was still coming to terms with her husband's gruesome death.

The relatives of the late solider also rebuked the Centre's 'lax attitude' against Pakistan, and asserted that due to the government's inaction, such brutalities were happening again.

"The government is not acting properly on such issues. We should retaliate to this inhuman act of Pakistan. The Centre should not just sit idle and let Pakistan carry on its atrocities," said the constable's relative.

"I am proud of my brother that he sacrificed his life for the nation, but is it very heart-wrenching the way he has been beheaded by the Pakistan military," said Dayashanker, Prem Sagar's brother.

Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan's brutal Border Action Team mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control, where they had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj in 2013.

The Indian Army confirmed the involvement of the BAT in the gruesome act beheading Indian soldier.

"Pak Army carried out unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector. Simultaneously, a BAT action was launched on a patrol operating in between the two posts. In a unsoldierly act by the Pak Army, the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded," read the Indian Army's statement.

It is the same Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and badly severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles, on January 8, 2013.

Indian Army killed terrorist Anwar Khan in August 2015 in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir. He was part of a 15 member team of Lashkar and Jaish terrorists in the BAT team that killed Hemraj and Sudhakar.

Pakistan's brutal and barbaric BAT acts along the Line of Control (LOC) may be not in public domain, but the Indian Army has been bearing its brunt for long. The raiding members of BAT are specially instructed not be caught on the Indian side.

Defence experts say that the Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the BAT which employs highly trained terrorists for Trans-LoC action up to a depth of 1 to 3 kilometres.

In February 2000, seven months after the Kargil War, a Pakistani BAT killed seven Indian soldiers in Nowshera in Rajouri district. The army was shocked to discover the headless body of a soldier, Sepoy Bhausaheb Talekar.

Defence experts say that the Pakistani BAT beheads and mutilate the bodies of Indian soldiers to terrorise troops and wage psychological warfare.

If war is the only solution, so be it: Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh's brother

IMAGE: Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh's brother points out at the newly-build house where Singh was supposed to shift.

Brother of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh who hails from Punjab's Tarn Taran has called on the Centre to assure justice and go to war with Pakistan if they have to.

"The Centre should take strict action. If war is the solution, then we should just go to war with Islamabad and finish the issue once and for all. By any chance if the issue can be sorted out with dialogue then even that should be tried," said the brother of the slain jawan.

"He built this house and was supposed to shift here on May 10. Instead of him, now his body will enter into house. We are very proud of him and would never forget his sacrifice," his brother added pointing towards the newly-build house, in which Singh was supposed to shift.

"I am proud of my father for being declared a martyr. My father sacrificed his life for the country, and I'm proud of him," said Simrandeep, Singh's elder daughter.

Meanwhile, the body of the slain hero has been brought to his hometown here and will be cremated with full honors.

Mother of jawan beheaded in 2013 reminds governemnt of '1 for 10' promise

Mother of Lance Naik Hemraj, whose body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team along the Line of Control in 2013 called on the Centre to step up and retaliate.

"They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead ten people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done. The government should take stern action against Pakistan now," said the mother of Hemraj.

She further called on the government to try and understand how painful it is to lose one child and pressed for retaliation.

"The government must take stern action against Pakistan. They have not fulfilled any of the promises made to the martyr's family till now," she added.

Resonating similar sentiments, Hemraj's brother asserted that the situation is very upsetting and India must resonate to Islamabad's atrocities.

"It is a very sad situation. The way our soldiers are losing their lives and the government is not taking any action in this regard. The centre should take stern action against Pakistan so that such incidents are not repeated in future," he said.

"Under Modi government, almost every day one soldier is losing his life. The government is not at all concerned about the people. They don't have any solid strategy to tackle this kind of situation," said another relative.
The mortal remains of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh, who was killed in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native Vainpoin village in Tarn Taran on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old soldier, who belonged to the armys 22 Sikh Infantry, was beheaded on Monday by Pakistani troops, who similarly mutilated the body of Head Constable Prem Sagar of the Border Security Forces 200th Battalion.

A large number of mourners from his village and surrounding areas, besides his family and friends, paid their last respects to him.

Senior army officers and those from the civil administration were also present as buglers sounded the Last Post and the slain soldier was accorded a gun salute.

His body was wrapped in the tricolour and brought for cremation in a bedecked vehicle.

The last rites were held up for a few moments as his relatives remained adamant that they be shown the body. They went ahead with the ceremony after persuasion by civil and army officials.

A Pakistani Special Forces team had on Monday sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control into the Poonch sector and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

Singh is survived by his aged parents Udham Singh and Gurinder Kaur, wife Paramjit Kaur and three minor children -- daughters Simardeep Kaur and Khushdeep Kaur, and son Sahildeep Singh, who are aged between 11 and 14.

Shocked by the demise of the soldier, who was to arrive at his village a week later on holiday, his family and friends has demanded a befitting reply be given to Pakistan.

Paramjit Kaur lamented that no senior functionary of the government had come to meet the family or attended the funeral. She also demanded that the Centre should give free hand to army so that Pakistan is taught a stern lesson.

"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now. If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husbands killing, Kaur said.

The anger was palpable among the villagers in Tarn Taran, a border district close to the Indo-Pak international border, against Pakistan.

While Shaheed Paramjeet amar rahe slogans rent the air, Pakistan murdabad slogans were also raised.

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab on Tuesday, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

The martyrs father Udham Singh said he was proud of his son, but wanted that Pakistan be given a befitting reply.

"Their action has caused much pain. They should be taught a lesson," he said.

Paramjeet was the only earning hand in the family. The family lives in a semi-kutcha house.

Struggling to hold back her tears, his daughter Simardeep said she was proud of her father, who had laid down his life for the nation.

Udham said Paramjeet had wanted to give the best possible education to his children and had talked about about renovating his house so his kids could get more space to study and play.

His elder brother Ranjit Singh said the entire village and the country is proud of the sacrifice. He, however, demanded that the government should give the army a free hand to hit back at the enemy.

Ranjit was also critical of the government, saying barring the area MLA who turned up at the last moment for the cremation, the rest had stayed away.

"My brother has sacrificed his life for the nation and not for his family. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have been here today, he has served in the Army and should know the pain we are going through. Not just him, but nobody from the government found time to be with us in this hour of grief, he told reporters.

A childhood friend of Paramjeet also asked, Why cant our government give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Give our Army a free hand. The Sikh Regiment alone is enough to take on Pakistan.

Earlier, the Army and the BSF bid farewell to the martyred soldiers who were beheaded by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

A wreath-laying ceremony was organised in Poonch in their honour which was attended by top ranking security officials.

IMAGE: A senior army officer pays tribute to the soldiers killed by the Pakistani Army in Poonch during a wreath laying ceremony. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com
Pakistan Army on Tuesday asked India to produce actionable evidence on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team sneaked across the Line of Control, beheaded two Indian security personnel and mutilated their bodies.

The issue was discussed during a hotline contact between the Director Generals of Military Operations of Pakistan and India this morning to defuse the tension.

Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers, according to a statement issued by the army.

Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza told his Indian counterpart Lt Gen A K Bhatt that neither ceasefire violations occurred in the Sector (pointed out by India in the mutilation allegation), nor crossing of the LoC by Pakistanis troops have taken place.

Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Valley, Mirza claimed.

A junior commissioned officer and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the LoC in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistans border action team crossed into the Indian side as the Pakistan Army launched heavy rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts in the Krishna Ghati sector.

The Pakistan DGMO asked his Indian counterpart to provide actionable evidence related to the incident and urged the Indian army to look inwards to probe the incident, the army statement said.

He said that Pakistan was fully committed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LoC. He accused Indian troops of continuously targeting innocent civilians on LoC and apprised the Indian General that continuity of such action would invite appropriate response.

Any misadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing, the Pakistan DGMO warned.

The DGMOs contact followed after the local commanders level hotline contact was established last night at Rawlakot-Poonch sector on LOC between the army authorities of the two countries, the army statement said.

Local commanders of Pakistan also told Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violation was committed by their side.

Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations, the army said.

The statement also said that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LoC and expects the same from the other side.

Pakistan Army said it hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to the vitiating of the environment and affect peace along LoC.

The incident evoked a sharp reaction from India with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying such attacks do not even take place during war and that the whole country has full faith in the armed forces.

Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. Government of India strongly condemns this act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act, Jaitley had said.

IMAGE: Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat visits frontier areas in North Kashmir. He also interacted with commanders and troops deployed along the LoC. Photograph: ANI
Last updated on: May 02, 2017 17:07 IST

A day after the deadly attack on a bank cash van that left seven people dead, terrorists on Tuesday looted cash from a branch of the Elaquai Dehati Bank in south Kashmirs Kulgam district.

Unidentified gunmen barged into the bank branch at Yaripora in the district and looted Rs 65,000 in cash at gunpoint before fleeing, a police official said.

On Monday, terrorists attacked a cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in Damhal Hanji Pora area of the district and shot dead five policemen and two bank security guards.

The policemen and security guards were returning to district headquarters after delivering cash at a bank branch.

IMAGES: Security personnel outside the bank branch in Kulgam after terrorists looted a large amount of cash from it on Tuesday. Photographs: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com
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.
Egypt: Videos Show Army Executions in Sinai

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 21 April 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Egypt: Videos Show Army Executions in Sinai, 21 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5908af834.html [accessed 9 November 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.

Egyptian military forces in the northern Sinai Peninsula executed at least two and as many as eight unarmed detainees and covered up the killings to make it appear that the victims were armed "terrorists" shot to death in a raid, Human Rights Watch said today. Video of the killings, aired by a television channel aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and based in Turkey on April 20, 2017, appears to show a man in a camouflage uniform executing the two detainees, one after the other, with an assault rifle.

Two Sinai sources identified the executioner as a well-known member of a local militia that works at the behest of the Egyptian military. The video also appears to show a member of Egypt's military intelligence service observing and directing the first execution and that the soldiers used Humvee vehicles supplied by the United States to transport the detainees. Other videos and photographs Human Rights Watch reviewed corroborate the incident.

"These outrageous killings confirm that Egypt's counterterrorism campaign in the Sinai is out of control," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Egypt's allies cannot claim ignorance about these deadly abuses."

Countries that provide weapons, materiel, or training to the Egyptian military should suspend all such assistance as long as the Egyptian armed forces remain responsible for widespread and serious violation of human rights, Human Rights Watch said. International law obliges Egypt to apprehend and prosecute the men responsible for the killings.

Sinai News 24, an independent Facebook page that tracks events in the Sinai Peninsula, reported that the two victims were brothers from the Rumailat clan  Daoud Sabri al-Awabdah, 16, and Abd al-Hadi Sabri al-Awabdah, 19  whom the army had arrested in the town of Rafah and forcibly disappeared on July 18, 2016. In the execution video, the militia member is shown briefly interrogating the second victim about his family and confirming that he is a member of the Rumailat before he and another soldier execute him.

Human Rights Watch was not able to immediately confirm the location or date of the killings, but the video appeared to be authentic.

Human Rights Watch reviewed an original version of the execution video and a separate video, posted on a pro-government Facebook page on November 20, 2016, that appears to show the same eight bodies seen in the execution video lined up next to a building that also appears in the execution video. In the second video, six soldiers stand next to the line of bodies. "This is the revenge for those who died," one says.

In a photograph of the same scene obtained by Human Rights Watch, one of the soldiers can be seen lifting the head of one of the bodies by the hair as he looks at the camera. In a third video of the scene, also posted on the same pro-government Facebook page, a man can be heard saying, "Should I change the position of the gun?" The man who is filming the body replies, "Finish, finish."

In addition, two bodies that appear in the execution video were also shown in official media releases published by the Egyptian armed forces on November 5 and December 6, 2016. In the December release, the armed forces spokesman described the operation that led to the victims' death as "law enforcement forces" continuing to "tighten their security grip in the areas of countering terrorist activities in North Sinai, where they managed to eliminate eight armed terrorist elements."

A representative for Mekameleen, the channel that obtained the execution video, told Human Rights Watch that according to their information, the incident took place sometime in October or November in al-Tuma, a village south of Sheikh Zuweid, a town where Egyptian forces have repeatedly fought elements of the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS). Residents of al-Tuma had previously abandoned the village due to the fighting, North Sinai residents told Human Rights Watch.

Two North Sinai sources told Human Rights Watch that the man seen executing both victims is a member of a local militia, colloquially called Group 103, which was formed by the Egyptian military in 2015 to assist in Sinai operations and which the military arms and oversees. The second source knew the man's identity because they previously lived near each other in Sheikh Zuweid. Three other sources  the Mekameleen representative, an expert on Sinai affairs in Egypt, and an independent Sinai group  all independently identified the same man to Human Rights Watch.

In the execution video, the militia member appears to be wearing an Egyptian army infantry patch on his shoulder. A second man in the video appears to be wearing a patch of the armed forces' Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department. During the first execution, the intelligence officer stands mostly off screen to the right of the camera holding a mobile phone, and a voice can be heard directing the militia member: "Not just the head. Not just the head. Enough." Soldiers can be seen placing and removing their assault rifles next to at least two of the eight bodies, apparently so that the bodies could be falsely photographed with weapons.

Since the military removed former President Mohamed Morsy in July 2013, violence has significantly increased in North Sinai, an underdeveloped and long-marginalized governorate that borders Israel and Gaza. The extremist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which pledged allegiance to ISIS and renamed itself Sinai Province in November 2014, has established a stronghold in the area and waged a series of attacks on Egyptian police and armed forces there, in addition to targeting Christians and suspected collaborators. Since 2013, North Sinai has experienced at least 1,500 armed attacks, which have killed dozens of civilians and hundreds of members of the security forces, according to the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.

In response, Egypt has deployed more forces to the Sinai than at any time since the country's 1973 war with Israel. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as defense minister orchestrated Morsy's ouster, has repeatedly stated that Egypt is in a "state of war" and compared recent operations to the previous conflicts with Israel, in 1973 and 1967.

The counterterrorism campaign in North Sinai has been rife with abuses. Between July 2013 and August 2015, Egyptian authorities destroyed around half of the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, evicting thousands of families and demolishing at least 3,255 buildings. Dozens of families Human Rights Watch interviewed in 2016 and 2017 reported numerous arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings by Egyptian military and Interior Ministry forces.

In January 2017, Interior Ministry counterterrorism troops most likely executed at least four and as many as 10 North Sinai men whom they had previously arrested. The Interior Ministry then apparently staged a fake raid to cover up the incident.

The killings shown in the video that surfaced on April 20 fit a pattern described by several North Sinai residents. At least two detainees formerly held by the army told Human Rights Watch that their guards would come at dawn, summon certain detainees, and take them away without telling them where they were going. These detainees did not return, said the former prisoners, who said they believed the men had been executed.

In one of two such cases in November 2014 that Human Rights Watch documented, the detainee discovered after his release that one of the men taken away by guards had been killed the same day. The man's family found his body later in a deserted area.

Several North Sinai residents have told Human Rights Watch that when the army conducts regular arrest sweeps in villages, troops are usually accompanied by one or more militia members, sometimes referred to as "collaborators," who play a leading role in identifying and arresting suspects. Other residents said that these individuals have threatened them or had their relatives arrested due to personal or business disputes.

Residents said that military "collaborators" have falsely identified numerous individuals as "terrorists," leading army troops to arrest them. One former resident of Sheikh Zuweid said that members of these militias live in or next to the Zohor army barracks in Sheikh Zuweid. The army forcibly evicted residents of many buildings surrounding the base and allowed militia members to occupy them, this person said.

If the fighting in North Sinai has risen to the level of an "armed conflict" under international law, the conduct of both sides would be regulated by international humanitarian law, also known as the laws of war. The willful killing of a civilian or prisoner of war constitutes a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, which would be a further obligation on Egypt to arrest and prosecute those responsible.

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Equatorial Guinea: Free Human Rights Defenders

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 21 April 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Equatorial Guinea: Free Human Rights Defenders, 21 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5908aff54.html [accessed 9 November 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.

Equatorial Guinean authorities should immediately release two men who head the country's leading human rights organization, seven human rights and transparency organizations said.

The police detained Enrique Asumu and Alfredo Okenve, who head the Center for Development Studies and Initiatives (CEID), on April 17, 2017, and have exceeded the 72-hour period that Equatorial Guinean law permits them to detain a person without charge.

"The authorities have a long history of harassing, arbitrarily detaining, and generally interfering with the work of human rights defenders in Equatorial Guinea," said Tutu Alicante, executive director of EG Justice, which monitors human rights abuses in Equatorial Guinea. "This latest incident shows the authorities' willingness to trample on the country's due process laws to intimidate and silence dissent."

The organizations raising their concerns about the detention are Human Rights Watch, EG Justice, Publish What You Pay, Transparency International, the UNCAC Coalition, Amnesty International, and the International Anti-Corruption Conference.

Asumu is the president, and Okenve vice president, of CEID. On April 16, authorities prevented Asumu from boarding a flight from the country's island capital, Malabo, to the mainland city of Bata, claiming they were acting on the orders of the minister of national security, said a colleague of Asumu's who was present and Asumu's lawyer.

The following day, Asumu and Okenye visited the ministry's offices, which are housed in same building as the Central Police Station in Malabo. The national security minister interrogated the two men in his office for more than five hours, said two colleagues who accompanied them to the meeting and waited outside. After the meeting ended, at about 6 p.m., the authorities prevented Asumu and Okenve from leaving the building, and they continue to hold them there.

The police have permitted the colleagues, as well as family members, to visit Asumu and Okenve, and have allowed them access to their lawyers. But the authorities have not brought them before a judge, which the law requires within 24 hours. Nor have the authorities charged them, which under Equatorial Guinean law must take place within 72 hours.

The Ministry of the Interior ordered CEID to suspend its activities indefinitely in March 2016. Colleagues who have spoken with Asumu and Okenve said that the authorities have threatened to fine them 10 million CFA francs (US$16,000) for violating this order.

The ministry issued the order after shutting down a youth meeting that it contends included statements by participants that constituted incitement, a charge CEID maintains is false and politically motivated. The organization appealed the suspension order, but received no response, a representative from the organization said.

The organization announced that it would resume its activities in September 2016. A representative of the organization contended that the April 2016 suspension of its operations was effective only for three months. Since then, it has organized events attended by representatives from various government ministries.

The government of Equatorial Guinea is applying to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an effort that brings together governments, companies, and nongovernmental groups to encourage better governance of resource-rich countries by fostering open public debate about the use of oil, gas, and mining revenues. The EITI requires member governments to foster "an enabling environment for civil society" and to "refrain from actions which result in narrowing or restricting public debate in relation to implementation of the EITI."

Equatorial Guinea has been dogged by corruption scandals exacerbated by the lack of transparency related to natural resource revenues. The suspension of the country's leading organization promoting transparency and respect for human rights, and the detention of its leadership, send the wrong signal about the government's commitment to combatting corruption, the groups said.

"These detentions make the government's promises to respect civil society as part of its bid to join EITI ring hollow," said Elisa Peter, executive director of Publish What You Pay. "They threaten to topple the country's EITI candidacy and send the message that the government will not tolerate independent voices."

When CEID resumed its activities in September 2016, it also resumed its role as a member of the national steering committee that involves government officials, oil companies, and civil society as the first stage in applying for EITI membership. The national steering committee last met on April 12, and the minister of mines attended an event the human rights group held on April 14 in celebration of its twentieth anniversary.

"The government works with CEID when it wants to feign respect for civil society, but then keeps this suspension order hanging over it like the sword of Damocles," said Sarah Saadoun, a business and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "By bullying two of the country's most respected human rights defenders, the government seems to be trying to silence civil society at a moment of rising anger over the country's deepening economic crisis."

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Gambia: Justice for Jammeh-Era Abuses Crucial

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 21 April 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Gambia: Justice for Jammeh-Era Abuses Crucial, 21 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5908b0624.html [accessed 9 November 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.

In a March 6, 2017 letter to Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou, Human Rights Watch encouraged the new government of President Adama Barrow to develop a strategy detailing how it intends to hold to account those implicated in the arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances that were the hallmark of Jammeh's rule.

"All Gambians deserve to see justice for the terrible crimes committed during Jammeh's rule," said Jim Wormington, West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The new government needs to identify the concrete steps it will take to investigate past abuses and ensure fair trials."

Barrow defeated Jammeh in the December 2016 elections and was sworn in on January 19, two days before Jammeh finally stepped down under threat of a regional military intervention. Jammeh went into exile in Equatorial Guinea.

Since taking office, Barrow's government has released dozens of political prisoners and has reversed Gambia's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. Barrow has promised that victims of the Jammeh era will "get justice." But while the government has announced plans for a truth and reconciliation commission, it has yet to say how it will conduct judicial investigations into past crimes.

During Jammeh's rule, Human Rights Watch interviewed dozens of torture survivors, former detainees, and family members of Gambians killed or forcibly disappeared, including people targeted as long ago as 1996 and as recently as January 2017. Many described the government's failure to investigate and prosecute abusive officials.

Tambadou told Human Rights Watch by email on April 20:

We want to ensure first and foremost that there is social cohesion and national reconciliation; to establish the truth and document an accurate historical record of past abuses in order to learn appropriate lessons and prevent recurrence; and to rebuild our administration of justice system in order to ensure not only prosecutions should it be required but also safeguard the fair trial rights of the accused in accordance with minimum standards of international human rights norms.

He said in March that, until his ministry has the necessary capacity and resources, "no new criminal cases involving crimes allegedly committed by the former government will be handled." Tambadou had earlier criticized the police for the arrest of nine former intelligence officials for the alleged murder of opposition activist Solo Sandeng in April 2016, stating that it occurred without his knowledge and that "criminal investigations must never be rushed." The prosecution has since asked for more time to collect evidence in the case, while the accused remain in custody.

Human Rights Watch identified key reforms needed to bolster the capacity, independence, and impartiality of the justice system, which was both neglected and politicized during Jammeh's time in power. Priorities include establishing an independent judiciary; creating a system to protect witnesses and judges; ensuring that accused receive access to effective legal representation; and identifying ways to incorporate victim participation into the proceedings, in addition to serving as witnesses.

The government should also support efforts by third countries to bring universal jurisdiction cases against Jammeh-era officials living outside of Gambia, Human Rights Watch said. Switzerland has already arrested and charged former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko with crimes against humanity for his role in torture during Jammeh's time in power.

"The Barrow government has expressed a commitment to justice for Jammeh-era crimes," Wormington said. "Now they need to promptly develop a strategy to ensure victims and their families have their day in court."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 21 April 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups, 21 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5908b0d44.html [accessed 9 November 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.

For the past four years, the Kremlin has sought to stigmatize criticism or alternative views of government policy as disloyal, foreign-sponsored, or even traitorous. It is part of a sweeping crackdown to silence critical voices that has included new legal restrictions on the internet, on freedom of expression, on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and on other fundamental freedoms.

Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow)  June 5, 2014 Regional Public Association in Defense of Democratic Rights and Freedoms "Golos" (Moscow)  June 5, 2014 Center for Social Policy and Gender Studies (Saratov)  June 5, 2014 (the organization was shut down  May 22, 2015) Women of Don (Rostov region)  June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  February 29, 2016) Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma)  June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  June 19, 2015) Interregional Human Rights Association "Agora" (Kazan)  July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down  December 29, 2016) Regional public organization "Ecozaschita!  Womens' Council" (Kaliningrad)  July 21, 2014 Public Verdict Foundation (Moscow)  July 21, 2014 Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Moscow)  July 21, 2014 Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms / JURIX (Moscow)  July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down  May 26, 2015) Soldiers' Mothers (Saint Petersburg)  August 28, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  October 23, 2015) Freedom of Information Foundation / Institute for Information Freedom Development  August 28, 2014 PIR Center  September 3, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  February 24, 2016) Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov)  October 2, 2014 (the organization was shut down  November 6, 2015) "News Agency MEMO.RU" (Moscow)  November 20, 2014 Regional Press Institute (St. Petersburg)  November 20, 2014 Moscow School of Civic Education  December 9, 2014 Rakurs, Arkhangelsk regional non-governmental LGBT organization  December 15, 2014 All-Russian movement "For Human Rights"  December 22, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  December 30, 2015) Human Rights Center (Kaliningrad)  December 25, 2014 Krasnodar Regional Social Organization of University Alumni  December 25, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  April 22, 2016) Regional social organization "Public Commission for Academic Sakharov's Heritage Preservation"  December 25, 2014 Resource Human Rights Center (St. Petersburg)  December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down  November 3, 2015) Regional Public Organization "Man and the Law" (Republic of Mari El)  December 30, 2014 Center for Social Development "Vozrozhdeniye" (Pskov)  December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down  January 31, 2017) Public Human Rights Organization "Civil Control" (St. Petersburg)  December 30, 2014 The League of Women Voters (St. Petersburg)  December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down  May 22, 2015) Free Press Support Foundation  December 30, 2014 Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "The Committee Against Torture"  January 16, 2015 (the organization was shut down  September 13, 2016) Educational Center "Memorial" (Sverdlov region)  January 16, 2015 Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training"  January 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  July 22, 2015) "Information Bureau of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg"  January 20, 2015 Jewish regional branch of the Russian public organization "Municipal Academy" January 26, 2015 (the organization was shut down  May 22, 2015) The noncommercial partnership "Press Development Institute - Siberia"  January 30, 2015 Center for social, psychological and legal help to victims of discrimination and homophobia "Maximum" (Murmansk)  February 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down  October 28, 2015) Interregional public fund for civil society development "Golos-Povolzhye" (Samara)  February 6, 2015 Interregional charity organization "Siberian Environmental Center" (Novosibirsk)  February 12, 2015 Center for Civic Analysis and Independent Research / GRANI (Perm)  February 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  June 19, 2015) Municipal public organization "Samara Center for Gender Studies" (Samara)  February 16, 2015 Regional Fund "Center for Defense of Mass Media Rights" (Voronezh)  February 26, 2015 Regional Charitable Social Foundation "For nature" (Chelyabinsk)  March 6, 2015 (the organization was shut down  April 18, 2017) Regional Ecological Social Movement "For nature" (Chelyabinsk)  March 6, 2015 Humanist Youth Movement (Murmansk)  March 13, 2015 (the organization was shut down  August 25, 2015) Regional Social Organization for Contribution to Harmonization of Interethnic Relations "Azerbaijan"  March 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  July 22, 2016) Regional Social Environmental Organization "Bellona-Murmansk"  March 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down  October 16, 2015) "Educational Center for Environment and Security" (Samara)  March 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  October 8, 2015) Foundation "Migration XXI Century"  March 27, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  November 25, 2016) Eco-logika (Rostov)  April 3, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  March 30, 2016) Transparency International Russia - April 7, 2015 Social Environmental Organization "Planeta Nadezhd"  April 15, 2015 Foundation for Consumers' Rights Defense (Novosibirsk)  April 17, 2015 (the organization was shut down  May 12, 2016) Civic Assistance Committee  April 20, 2015 Foundation 19/29 - Foundation for Support of Investigative Journalism  April 24, 2015 Commemorative Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm - 36"  April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down  August 18, 2016) Women's League (Kaliningrad )  April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down  December 16, 2015) Legal Expert Partnership "Soyuz "  May 7, 2015 (the organization was shut down  25 August 2015) Center for Development of Non-Commerical Organizations  May 13, 2015 Club of Accountants and Auditors of Non-Commercial Organizations  May 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  March 30, 2016) Informational Bureau of the Council of Ministers of Northern Countries (Kaliningrad)  May 13, 2015 Sutyajnik (Yekaterinburg)  May 15, 2015 Human Rights Academy (Yekaterinburg)  May 15, 2015 Ecological Center "Dront" (Nizhny Novgorod)  May 22, 2015 The non-profit organization "Liberal Mission" Scientific Foundation of Theoretical and Applied Research  May 25, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  September 11, 2015) The non-profit Dynasty Foundation  May 25, 2015 Union of Employers (Tula region)  May 28, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  December 13, 2016) Youth organization "Nuori Karjala/Young Karelia"  June 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down  March 25, 2016) Siberian Center for Support of Social Initiatives  June 19, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  September 21, 2016) Interregional Social Foundation for Peace in the South and in the Northern Caucasus  June 19, 2015 Informational Center "Free Inform"  June 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down  June 21, 2016) Center for Independent Sociological Studies (St. Petersburg)  June 22, 2015 Regional Organization for Population and Development  June 23, 2015 Geblerov Ecological Societ (Barnaul)  June 23, 2015 Association "Legal Basis" (Yekaterinburg)  July 3, 2015 Interregional Non-governmental Organization "Northern Environmental Coalition" (Petrozavodsk)  July 8, 2015 (the organization was shut down  December 1, 2015) Komi Human Rights Commission "Memorial" (Syktyvkar)  July 21, 2015 Altai Regional Public Fund for 21st Century Altai (Barnaul)  July 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down  March 28, 2016) Interregional Public Foundation for Civil Society Development "GOLOS-Ural" (Chelyabinsk region)  July 22, 2015 SREDA Foundation  July 28, 2015 Non-governmental environmental organization "Green World" (Nizhny Novgorod)  July 29, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  October 28, 2016) Civic Action Foundation (Perm)  August 5, 2015 Alliance of Funds of Local Communities of the Perm territory  August 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  October 26, 2016) Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center  regional branch of the "For Human Rights" All-Russian movement (Nalchik)  August 18, 2015 (the organization was shut down  November 6, 2015) The Human Rights Center of the Chechen Republic (Grozny)  August 21, 2015 Interregional Social Ecological Foundation "ISAR-Siberia" (Novosibirsk)  August 26, 2015 Perm Regional Human Rights Center (Perm)  September 3, 2015 Siberia's lifeline (Novosibirsk)  September 3, 2015 Golos Foundation in Support of Democracy  September 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down  June 21, 2016) Jewish Cultural Center "Hesed-Teshuva" (Ryazan)  September 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  December 13, 2016) Sakhalin Environment Watch (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)  September 18, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - April 10, 2017) Yasavey Manzara Information and Research Center (Naryan-Mar)  September 23, 2015 (the organization was shut down  June 15, 2016) Consumer Rights and Environment Protection Association "Princip" (Moscow region)  October 5, 2015 Far East Center for the Development of Civil Initiatives and Social Partnership (Vladivostok) October 13, 2015 Russian Research Center for Human Rights  October 20, 2015 Women of the Don (Rostov region)  October 27, 2015 Friends of the Siberian Forests (Krasnoyarsk)  October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down  December 6, 2016) Photography Club "Sobytiye" (Omsk)  October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down  December 16, 2015) Research and Information Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg)  November 6, 2015 Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk)  November 10, 2015 (the organization was shut down  August 1, 2016) Glasnost Defense Foundation  November 19, 2015 Human Rights Institute  November 20, 2015 Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North  November 27, 2015 Green World (Leningrad region)  December 2, 2015 Mashr (Republic of Ingushetia)  December 8, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  April 18, 2017) Woman's World (Kaliningrad)  December 11, 2015 Panorama Information and Research Center (Moscow)  December 18, 2015 Dauria Ecological Center (Chita)  December 30, 2015 (the organization was shut down  September 1, 2016) Yekaterinburg Memorial Society (Yekaterinburg)  December 30, 2015 Bureau of Public Investigations (Nizhny Novgorod)  January 14, 2016 Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Orenburg)  January 14, 2016 Institute of Forecasting and Resolving of Political Conflicts (Nizhny Novgorod)  January 22, 2016 Ryazan Historical, Educational and Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Ryazan)  February 1, 2016 Society of Assistance to Social Protection of Citizens "Peterburgskaya EGIDA" (Saint Petersburg)  February 2, 2016 (the organization was shut down  April 26, 2016) Center for Health and Social Support "SIBALT" (Omsk)  February 15, 2016 Chelyabinsk Regional Organ of Public Independent Action "Ural Human Rights Group" (Chelyabinsk)  February 15, 2016 Women of Eurasia (Chelyabinsk)  February 15, 2016 Ural Democratic Foundation (Chelyabinsk)  February 15, 2016 Legal and Social Support Charitable Foundation "Sphere" (Saint Petersburg)  March 1, 2016 Centre for Civic Education and Human Rights (Perm)  March 3, 2016 The International Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation "Batani" (Moscow)  March 11, 2016 Center for Social and Labor Rights (Moscow)  March 21, 2016 Arkhar (Gorno-Altaysk)  April 5, 2016 (the organization was shut down  October 6, 2016) Publishing House "Valentin Manuylov"  April 15, 2016 Tengri School of Soul ecology (Altay) - May 17, 2016 Hanse Buero / Information Bureau of Schleswig-Holstein in Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad) - May 24, 2016 (the organization was shut down  December 30, 2016) Krasnoyarsk Regional Public Organization Agency of public initiatives (Krasnoyarsk) - May 27, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  September 21, 2016) Saratov Regional Public Organization "Socium" (Engels) - May 30, 2016 Perm regional non-governmental organization "Perm Civil Chamber" (Perm) - June 9, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  September 21, 2016) Regional non-governmental organization Integration center "Migration and Law" (Moscow) - June 16, 2016 Non-Profit Partnership "ESVERO" (Moscow) - June 22, 2016 Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice (Moscow) - June 29, 2016 Altai regional sport and patriotic youth public organization "Arctica" (Biysk) - July 6, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended  February 8, 2017) Autonomous non-governmental organization "Free Word" (Pskov) - July 13, 2016 The Institute of Economic Analysis (Moscow) - July 22, 2016 Penza regional youth civic organization for prevention of negative phenomena among youth "Panacea" (Kuznetsk) - August 15, 2016 (the organization was shut down  December 8, 2016) Samara regional, civic organization "American alumni club" (Samara) - August 26, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit organization "Publishing house 'Park Gagarina'" (Samara) - August 31, 2016 Levada Analytical Center (Moscow) - September 5, 2016 Environmental Watch on North Caucasus (Maikop) - September 13, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit human rights organization "Draftee's school" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 Foundation for support of civil freedoms "Legal mission" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Moscow) - October 4, 2016 Sverdlovsk regional non-profit foundation "Health Era" (Ekaterinburg) - October 11, 2016 Chapaevsk non-profit organization "Chapaevsk city medical personnel association" (Chapaevsk) - October 21, 2016 Regional charity foundation "Samarskaya gubernia" (Samara) - November 2, 2016 Non-profit partnership "Internet Community" (Samara) - December 13, 2016 Autonomous non-profit organization for social support "Project April" (Tolyatti) - December 19, 2016 ANNA Centre for the prevention of violence (Moscow) - December 26, 2016 Southern Human Rights Centre (Sochi) - December 26, 2016 Sverdlovsk branch of the International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Ekaterinburg) - December 29, 2016 SOVA Center for Information and Analysis (Moscow) - December 30, 2016 Sverdlovsk civic organization for assistance to legal migration "Nelegalov.Net [No Illegals]" (Ekaterinburg) - January 10, 2017 Environmental human rights center Bellona (Saint Petersburg) - January 16, 2017 Youth civic organization "Pro-movement" (Altay region) - January 25, 2017 Kaliningrad regional civic organization "Society for German culture and Russian Germans Eintracht - Soglasie" (Kaliningrad) - January 31, 2017 Foundation for development assistance to mass communication and legal education "Tak-Tak-Tak" (Novosibirsk) - February 20, 2017 Murmansk regional non-profit organization "Kola ecological center" (Apatity) - April 20, 2017

And the four NGOs which registered voluntarily:

Non-commercial Partnership "Supporting Competition in the CIS Countries"  June 27, 2013 "The Union of Young Political Scientists", KarachayCherkess Republican Youth Social Organization  December 15, 2014 Regional Social Movement "Novgorod Women's Parliament" (Veliky Novgorod)  March 6, 2015 Center of Independent Researchers of the Altai Republic  June 10, 2015

Leader of at least 1 NGO faces criminal charges personally:
China: Don't Force 8 Refugees Back to North Korea

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 23 April 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, China: Don't Force 8 Refugees Back to North Korea, 23 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5908b3154.html [accessed 9 November 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.

China should immediately disclose the whereabouts of eight North Korean refugees currently detained in China, publicly pledge that none of them will be returned to North Korea, and provide them with asylum or allow departure to a third country of their choice, Human Rights Watch said today. North Koreans who are forced back after fleeing their country face a real risk of torture, sexual violence and abuse, incarceration in forced labor camps, and public executions, making them refugees sur place in the need of urgent protection.

"By now, there are plenty of survivor accounts that reveal Kim Jong-Un's administration is routinely persecuting those who are forced back to North Korea after departing illegally, and subjecting them to torture, sexual violence, forced labor  and even worse," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. "The government in Beijing should respect its obligations under the Refugee Convention by protecting these eight North Koreans, and under no circumstances force them back to North Korea."

Chinese government officials detained a group of eight North Koreans in mid-March 2017 during what appeared to be a random check on a road in northeastern China. A Christian pastor following the travel progress of the group told Human Rights Watch that the group had gathered in Shenyang city, in Liaoning province. Traffic police stopped their vehicle in the middle of the night, and after realizing the travelers did not have valid identification documents, took the group to a local police station.



While waiting inside their vehicle parked outside of the police station, they contacted the pastor, and sent him desperate voice messages and video recordings asking for help from Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders. One of the members said, "Please, please help us. If we are sent to North Korea, we die. Please save us." Soon after they sent those messages, the group was taken by police into the station for questioning.

Several hours later, refugees contacted "Kwon," the pseudonym of one of the group member's 18-year-old son, who has lived in South Korea since 2013. Then after another few hours, a member of the group contacted Kwon and told him his mother had collapsed under the pressure of the detention, and that the police had taken her to the hospital. Afterwards a Korean-speaking officer walked in and confiscated their cell phones. However, one group member hid a cell phone and later texted the pastor to tell him. The following day, the group contacted Kwon for the last time, and said the police had brought his mother back to the prison. At the beginning of April, the pastor heard from people he knows in China that the group was still in China, held close to the original location where they were detained, but he and Kwon could not get official confirmation of the exact whereabouts of the group. The pastor and Kwon fear the group could face immediate forced return to North Korea, saying they believe most repatriations happen within two months after detention.

The pastor said among the group are two women who said they had previously been sold to Chinese men and faced beatings at their hands. Those two women managed to escape their captors, but they had nowhere to go Two other women suffered injuries that they couldn't treat in China because they couldn't go to the hospital given their undocumented status: one woman had badly hurt her head, hip, and back in a recent traffic accident and the other is Kwon's mother, who had been sick for several years with an unknown disease. Her health situation has worsened in the past few months.

Activists and family members have reported to Human Rights Watch at least 41 detentions of North Koreans in China over the past nine months, including a teenager, a 10-year-old child, and a woman who is seven-months pregnant. Based on information received from family members, Human Rights Watch believes at least nine of these people were forcibly returned to North Korea. However, Human Rights Watch does not have reliable estimates of the total overall number of North Koreans returned to North Korea by the Chinese government. Forcing North Koreans back to North Korea amounts to refoulement, or the sending of persons back to territory where they face serious human rights violations (persecution) or torture, a practice forbidden by international treaties to which China is a party.

According to testimonies received by Human Rights Watch from North Koreans who have been apprehended in China and returned to North Korea, the North Korean government treats those who leave the country without permission harshly upon repatriation.

In 2010, North Korea's Ministry of People's Security adopted a decree making defection a crime of "treachery against the nation," punishable by death. North Koreans who have fled the country since 2013, or with contacts inside the country, have told Human Rights Watch that people repatriated by China, who were caught trying to go to South Korea, can face seven to fifteen years of forced labor in ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso  re-education correctional facilities), incarceration in political prison camps (kwanliso), or even execution. Those who had been illegally living in China may be sentenced to more than two years of forced labor in ordinary prison camps. A former senior official in the North Korean state security service (bowibu), who worked on the border and received North Koreans sent back from China, told Human Rights Watch that they torture every single returnee to find out where they had been in China, who they had contacted, and what activities they had done.

Political prison camps in North Korea are characterized by systematic abuses and often deadly conditions, including meager rations that lead to near starvation, virtually no medical care, lack of proper housing and clothes, regular mistreatment  including sexual assault and torture by guards, and executions. Death rates in these camps are reportedly extremely high. Detainees in ordinary prison camps face forced labor, food and medicine shortages, and regular mistreatment by guards.

The 2014 Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea found that those fleeing the country are targeted as part of a "systematic and widespread attack against populations considered to pose a threat to the political system and leadership of the DPRKto isolate the population from contact with the outside world." It also found that "almost all of the repatriated people are subjected to inhumane acts. The torture, sexual violence and inhumane conditions of detention that victims endure during the search and initial interrogation phase appear to be based on standard procedures."

China regularly labels North Koreans as illegal "economic migrants" and repatriates them based on a 1986 border protocol. However, regardless of the reasons they initially leave the country, North Koreans are virtually guaranteed extremely abusive treatment if forced back, qualifying them as refugees sur place or refugees because of circumstances post-dating their departure.

China, as a state party to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1984 Convention against Torture, is specifically obliged not to return refugees when that may put them at risk of persecution or torture. The same obligations bind China as a matter of customary international law.

Human Rights Watch calls on China to immediately stop forced repatriation of North Koreans, and to allow the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to exercise its mandate. China should provide asylum to North Korean refugees, give them the option to seek resettlement in a third country, or allow them to pass through Chinese territory without fear of arrest or forcible repatriation.

In December 2016, the Security Council discussed for a third year in a row the human rights situation in North Korea as a threat to international peace and security. Last month, the UN Human Rights Council passed without a vote a resolution that strengthens the UN's work to assess and develop strategies to prosecute the continued pervasive abuse of human rights by the North Korean government.

"There is no way to sugar coat this: if this group is forced back to North Korea, their lives and safety will be at risk," said Robertson. "The world is watching to see whether Beijing observes its duty to protect these eight refugees or becomes complicit with North Korea's abuses."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Doha, Qatar -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/02/2017 --The work done with the community is an essential part of how the American School of Doha is committed to the intellectual and personal development of its students, empowering them and inspiring them to become better people and global citizens actively building a fairer world.



From building a school to make education available to local children in the Machakos region of Kenya with several fundraising efforts to build the Machakos Education Center to 8th-grade students funding 3rd world business entrepreneurs through kiva.org and student service trips with Habitat for Humanity, which have been done for over a decade, this kind of valuable work is one of several contributing factors as to why the American School of Doha is widely respected as one of the best schools in Qatar, out of all the international schools in Qatar.



As just mentioned, the American School of Doha's recognition of the importance of global citizenship and community service learning can be witnesses in the school's fifth-grade students recent fundraising campaign which aimed to contribute funds to help build a school in Kenya. The Machakos Education Center has been a continuous project of the American School of Doha, and its students were incredibly enthusiastic to contribute to the effort by raising funds.



Unfortunately, millions of children in Africa walk for several hours going to and from school every day. To grasp what that is like, and in a great lesson of solidarity, the school's fifth-grade students and others walked the track for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Payton, a fifth-grade student at ASD, had this to say on the matter "one of our values is compassion, and we are putting it into action by sharing the experience of walking to school. The money raised will help students in Kenya have a school that is closer, and this will increase their learning time".



Several other members of the community including other students, parents, and teachers took part in the fun-filled event either walking or running, which has become a school tradition. According to Walk-a-Thon Teacher-Sponsor Alli Farmer "fifth-grade students have organized this fundraiser for several years and it helps them connect with others. The walk is supported by classroom activities that help the kids understand the world around them. It's a week that extends their learning and encourages them to be global citizens."



This community-based element of the students' personal development is one of the main reasons why the American School of Doha is considered by the very demanding international expatriate population as one of the best schools in Doha.



With a valuable spirit of giving back and standing back for important causes, there was even an ASD version of the Women's March, which took place in several cities around the world. This variety of conscientious initiatives is all the more pertinent when one takes into account the high quality of the education offered by the international schools in Qatar, proving that parents value a holistic approach to education going beyond mere learning with an excellent preparation to ensure the top students of today become the leading citizens of tomorrow.



More details can be found at - http://www.asd.edu.qa/page.cfm?p=1023



About American School of Doha

The American School of Doha is committed to the intellectual and personal development of our students, inspiring them and empowering them to become positive, active global citizens.



Website: http://www.asd.edu.qa

Email: info@asd.edu.qa

Tel: +974 4459-1501

Address: American School of Doha - Qatar Al -Soudan PO Box 22090
Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, director of the NGO Mother Nature Cambodia, was expelled from Cambodia in February 2015 and placed on a black list that prevents his return to the country. The Khmer-speaking Spanish environmentalist, who drew the government's ire by leading a campaign against a controversial dam project, spoke to Sel San of RFA's Khmer Service about evidence that sand dredging is still going on despite a government ban.

RFA: Its been a while since you have been away from Cambodia. Do you miss Cambodia?



Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson: Yes, I do. I have been finding ways to return to Cambodia. However, the current circumstance is not easy me to return.



RFA: You have stated that sand is still being exported although the government has banned it. What evidence do you have to prove your claim?



Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson: We have ample evidence. After receiving information from the local villagers of sand dredging activities, four Mother Nature activists took the boat with some villagers to the sites. They have taken some pictures of the sand dredging operation.



RFA: The government has accused Mother Nature of failing to cooperate with the Ministry of Mines and Energy to address this issue. The ministry has accused your group of creating problems rather offering to help solve them. Is that correct?



Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson: No, it isnt. We have always availed ourselves for such cooperation since mid-2015 but all to no avail. Unfortunately we have been retaliated against for our work. The activists of Mother Nature have been prosecuted. An arrest warrant was also issued for me by the Koh Kong court. I therefore dont think there is a need for us to cooperate with the ministry anymore. What we need to do now is collect information on our own and publish it on social media to put pressure on the government. We are not creating problems. We are finding solutions to the problems. We note that the government and ministries concerned are incapable of curbing sand export.



RFA: The Ministry of Mines and Energy has indicated that the ban on sand exports is not a blanket order. In other words, sand which is the raw material for making glass is allowed for expert. What kind of sand is being exported now?



Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson: Well, its the ministrys new excuse. The government ministries have manipulated the public since November 2016. Its a complete lie that the ban is not a blanket order. I recall the ministry has stated that the export of all kinds of sand is banned. The sand that is being dredged now is for landfill and construction purposes. It is not for making glass. The reason we didnt inform the ministry before we made a public statement about the sand dredging activities was that we didnt want the ministry to collude with the companies to destroy the evidence.



Translated by Nareth Muong.
Authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan have detained a former professor at a ruling Chinese Communist Party school after he called for President Xi Jinping's replacement.



Zi Su was taken away from his home in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu on April 28 after he posted an open letter online calling on Xi to step down as head of the party in favor of Hu Deping, son of late ousted premier Hu Yaobang, whose death in 1989 sparked the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.



"Xi Jinping was elected general secretary ... in 2012 and has served for five years," Zi's letter said. "His achievements ... have been to punish a number of corrupt officials, but his faults have been to imitate [late supreme leader] Mao Zedong with a personality cult around him and a focus on centralization of power."



"He serves as the head of a dozen groups or committees, which goes against the democratic constitutional orientation of reforms to the political system, and he has launched an unbridled attack on human rights lawyers and democracy activists, as well as increasingly clamped down on online free speech," the letter, posted on the Weiquanwang rights website, said.



"His anti-corruption campaign has been waged under a one-party dictatorship ... and he has made use of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to ... carry out selective anti-corruption work," it said.



"But his biggest mistake of all has been to institute the "seven taboos," comprehensively restoring the ideology of the Mao era, which was openly opposed by Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang and other party leaders who advocated reform," Zi wrote.



"Many people inside and outside the party believe that Xi Jinping is unsuitable to continue in the post of general secretary," he said. "I suggest ... that Hu Deping takes over. Those who agree can add their signatures to my proposal."



Teahouse photo



Within hours of posting the letter, Zi had been taken away, posting a photo on Sunday to WeChat to let people know he was safe, sources close to him told RFA.



"The first we heard from him was 24 hours after he disappeared, when he posted a photo to WeChat showing himself sitting in a teahouse," an associate surname Liu said on Tuesday. "He wrote that he was having a good think somewhere about a number of matters, but it was quite vague."



"He just wanted to let people know he is OK."



Liu said Zi's family have yet to receive any official notification regarding his 'disappearance.'



"Some people are staying in his WeChat group [as a way of maintaining communication], while others have withdrawn out of concern for their own safety," he said. "I hope they release him soon."



Zhu Delong, a friend of Zi's, said he doesn't believe his friend is at liberty, regardless of the photo.



"All my communications are being monitored right now," Zhu told RFA. "So I can't speak freely, I can't really help you, because I'm being monitored as well."



"My phone is being monitored and I have been banned from ever using WeChat again," he said. "I have been shut down for good."



Zhu said he believes Zi's detention has to do with the open letter.



"That thing he sent out was pretty sensitive," Zhu said. "If he has been detained, then they should notify his family ... so you'll have to ask them."



Asked if he fears for his own safety, Zhu said: "Of course I'm worried, but what can I do about it? I'm in my sixties now, anyway."



No notification



A duty officer who answered the phone at the Chengdu municipal branch of the state security police, who detained Zi briefly last October on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power," declined to comment.



"I don't really know about this, but if he has been detained by us, they will inform the family," the officer said. "You can ask them. If there's no notification, there's no notification."



Calls to the Chengdu municipal police department rang unanswered during office hours on Tuesday.



Zi was detained on Oct. 27 and held briefly in the Sichuan No. 2 Detention Center, before being released, suggesting that he may have remained on police bail.



The outspoken professor had previously told RFA as the party celebrated its 95th birthday on July 1, 2016, that Xi was using "controls and political struggle of the kind used by Mao Zedong."



Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Xin Lin for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
An international group of lawyers and judges on Tuesday called on Beijing to release human rights lawyer Xie Yang, who was detained during a nationwide crackdown on the legal profession beginning in July 2015, and whose trial at a court in the central province of Hunan was called off last month.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) called on the Chinese government to release Xie, who has reported torture during his incarceration.

"Xie Yangs arrest and prosecution seem to be in connection with his performing legitimate professional functions as a human rights lawyer," ICJ secretary general Sam Zarifi said in a statement on the group's website.

"No lawyer should ever be subject to persecution for carrying out their professional duties," Zarifi said. "Lawyers in China like Xie Yang are indispensable in ensuring human rights protection and upholding the rule of law in China."

"The government should release Xie Yang immediately and conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation on the allegations that he has been subjected to torture," he said.

The ICJ said Xie has been unable to communicate with his lawyers since he gave them his account of his torture at the hands of police, and is now represented by a government-appointed lawyer.

In the absence of evidence that he has committed a recognizable crime compatible with international human rights law, Xie should be immediately released, it said.

The group called on the government to bring to justice "any persons found to be responsible for the torture of Xie Yang."

It said no statements made under torture or ill treatment should be admitted as evidence at any trial.

Xie's wife Chen Guiqiu, who is currently in the United States, said the government lawyer is colluding with police, and can't be trusted to provide a proper defense for her husband.

She also accused the authorities of breaking a previous promise to release Xie soon.

"They told me before that he would be released around the end of April, and that he'd probably have some restrictions on his freedom for a few days after that," Chen told RFA. "The conditions attached to this were that we should stop speaking out."

"Back then, I was still holding onto that illusion [so I didn't give media interviews], but now they still haven't released him, so I think that they were just playing for time and fobbing me off," she said.

Full video confession

A source close to the authorities told RFA that the promise had been linked to Xie's making a full video "confession."

The offer had been made soon after the allegations of Xie's torture had been published, the source said.

Fellow rights lawyer Wen Donghai said it was unacceptable for the authorities to force Xie to "confess" in such a way.

"From the family's point of view, they are not going to accept this, but the authorities set a huge amount of store by it," Wen said. "It's really a bad way of doing things."

"It's becoming increasingly clear that this whole crackdown on lawyers has been really damaging, and there have been repercussions," he said.

"There was never any law in the July 2015 crackdown cases, and now they are trying to make it look better," he said.

Meanwhile, a resident of southern China's Guangdong province said he has been fired from his job after he traveled to Changsha to show support for Xie ahead of the canceled trial on April 25.

Bu Yongzhu said he was sacked without notice from the company where he has worked for seven years.

"They told me I was fired on the spot, and that I couldn't stay in the company dorm anymore," Bu told RFA on Monday.

"It is very hard for me to accept this reality, but there is no law to speak of," he said. "This is ruthless persecution."

Bu said his bosses had denied any link between his trip to Changsha and his firing.

"I think it is pretty obvious, because it's not just this court case," Bu said. "I went to show support when [China's Gandhi] Tang Jingling, [rights lawyer] Guo Feixiong [and others] were tried in Guangzhou," he said.

"They also had a talk with me about those times, too," he said, adding that he plans to seek arbitration from the government's labor bureau.

Reported by Ng Yik-tung and Ho Shan for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Members of the Magway regional government hold a press conference to discuss the alleged embezzlement of funds in the town of Magway in central Myanmar's Magway region, April 25, 2017.

Authorities in Myanmar are continuing to investigate the alleged embezzlement of regional development funds in the Magway region and review a claim of 4 billion kyats (U.S. $2.9 million) supposedly used for regional development in the central part of the country.

Phone Maw Shwe, former chief minister of Magway, has already said he will ensure that a total of 7.5 billion kyats (US$5 million) in missing funds will be returned to the regional governments coffers. He also said the 4 billion kyats had been used for regional development.

Questions about the money arose a year ago when Tun Tun, a lawmaker from Magways Pwintbyu township, asked parliament about the alleged embezzlement of regional development funds collected as taxation from small-scale oil producers in Magway region by the previous regional government.

The Bureau of Special Investigations under the Ministry of Home Affairs began probing the matter and found that 7.5 billion kyats was missing, more than 3 billion (U.S. $2.2 million) of which had been spent on the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which was then in power.

Nay Myo Kyaw, minister of labor and migration for Magway region, said on a debate program broadcast on April 1 that he was starting an investigation of the missing funds, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reported.

Phone Maw Shwe, who served as chairman of the USDPs Magway region chapter while he was chief minister, and Kyi Tun, chairman of Shwe Thukha Microcredit Association and chairman of the Magway Division Development Foundation, sent a letter to current Magway Chief Minister Aung Moe Nyo on April 27 indicating that they will transfer the 3 billion kyats to the current regional government.

Nay Myo Kyaw, spokesman of the Magway regional government, said the funds will be directed to helping residents, and that if the pair fail to return the money as promised, the Magway government will take action against them.

Once it has received 3 billion kyats, the Magway government will review the rest of the missing funds that are due, he said.

We have a committee to receive the returned money, but we havent received any of it yet, said Nay Myo Kyaw, adding that the two men pledged to return the funds during the first week of May, and they still have until the end of the week to transfer them.

Magways chief minister has already talked about how this money will be used [to benefit] people in the region, he said. We will discuss in parliament how we will use this money in 25 townships in Magway regionmostly on development.



NLD government sends letters

The current ruling government under the National League of Democracy (NLD) party sent letters dated April 18 to Phone Maw Shwe and Nyi Tun asking them to provide an explanation for the missing funds.

The letters instructed the two to return 1.7 billion kyats (U.S. $1.2 million), four motor vehicles, a backhoe, and two boats that had been donated to the USDP through the Magway Division Development Foundation.

They were also asked to return more than 1.57 billion kyats (U.S. 1.1 million) of funds that had been transferred to the microcredit association.

The governments letter threatened action against the pair if they fail to respond or do as they promised.

Kyi Tun said his microcredit firm will return the 1.57 billion kyats it had received from regional development funds under the previous government, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported.

We have given loans to people with that money, and we have to ask them to pay them back, he was quoted as saying. I have verbally told this to the secretary of the Magway [regional] government.

He also said the firm will repay the money as soon as it gets it back from borrowers, but that it is difficult to set a time frame for the repayment, according to the report.

USDP spokesperson Nandar Hla Myint denied the allegations that Phone Maw Shwe had misappropriated more than 1.7 billion kyats from Magways development funds, though the former chief minister has not made a public statement on the matter, the report said.

On Friday, the USDP threatened to take legal action against the Magway government for attempts to attack its credibility or gain a political advantage in the scandal, it said.

Aung Moe Myo told DVB on Sunday that Phone Maw Shwe had returned the backhoe, an Isuzu truck and three minibuses, and the speedboats the previous day.

Myanmar is ranked 136 out of 176 in Transparency Internationals latest Corruption Perceptions Index, with the same overall score as Nigeria, Lebanon and Guatemala. The countrys score has improved in recent years.

Reported by Thet Su Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Myanmar children search for ruby stones at a mining site in Mogok in the Pyin Oo Lwin district of central Myanmar's Mandalay region, March 26, 2014.

Half of Myanmar's child laborers work in dangerous conditions for low minimum wages as the Southeast Asian country strives to eliminate the ubiquitous practice of employing young people, the countrys labor minister said Monday.

Half of Myanmar's child laborers are working in dangerous conditions, but we cant ask them to stop immediately, Thein Swe, the minister of labor, employment and social security, said in reply to questions by reporters at a Labor Day ceremony in the commercial capital Yangon.

We now have been working on collecting data on child laborers, providing them with an education, and checking the safety of their work environments, he said.

Thein Swe also said his ministry is working with other ministries to pay current workers a minimum wage of 3,600 kyats (U.S. $2.60) per day and eventually to eliminate child labor in the country.

President Htin Kyaw sent a message to the ceremony saying that the government has been working on the eradication of forced and child labor as well as the enforcement of workers rights under the law.

Phyo Min Thein, chief minister of Yangon region, along with lawmakers and representatives from labor organizations attended the ceremony on May 1, a public holiday in Myanmar that commemorates the achievements of the country's labor movement.

Trade unions that represent the interests of workers in Southeast Asia frequently hold rallies on Labor Day to push for improved treatment and labor conditions from their employers and governments.

The International Labour Organizationthe Geneva-based United Nations agency that deals with global labor problems and standardsdefines child laborers as those who are either below the legal age for employment or engaged in work requiring longer working hours than prescribed by law for their age group.

Through its four-year U.S. $5 million project, the Myanmar Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, the ILO is trying to increase awareness of child labor in Myanmar, reduce child poverty in certain areas of the country, and improve the legal and institutional environment contributing to the elimination of child labor.

An October 2015 report issued by ILO on child labor in the Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone, Myanmars largest industrial zone, situated about 10 kilometers (six miles) outside Yangon, found that half of those interviewed were under the legal working age of 13 and tended to drop out of school after the fourth or fifth grade in order to work.

One of five children in Myanmar between the ages of 10 and 17 goes to work instead of school, according to a Myanmar census report on employment published in March 2016.

The children who worked in the industrial zones formal sector, performing jobs such as delivering water and sewing garments, did so mainly to contribute to the incomes of their impoverished families, but also because of the lack of coherent legislation to prevent and eliminate child labor, the ILO report said.

Children who worked informally performing physically laborious tasks such as pushing and carrying heavy loads outdoors in the heat and dust for long periods were more likely to be exposed to hazards and have greater risks of illness and injuries, the report said.

Reported by Aung Theinkha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Authorities in northwestern Chinas Gansu province have freed a Tibetan man in poor health a little more than three years before the end of a 13-year prison term imposed for his role in protests that swept Tibetan areas of China in 2008, a source in the region said.



Jampal, 45, was released on April 30 from Baiyin prison near Gansus provincial capital Lanzhou and returned to his home in the Nangma Tsangkor village of Machu (in Chinese, Maqu) countys Tserima township at 11:00 a.m. the next morning, a local source told RFAs Tibetan Service.



Many Tibetans from the village gathered to welcome him home after his nine years spent in prison, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Accused of leading a Tibetan protest in front of government offices in Tserima township in early March 2008, Jampal was taken into custody on March 14 and held for eight months in the Machu county detention center, RFAs source said.



Later, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison and was jailed in Baiyin, he said.



Beaten, tortured



Jampal was beaten and tortured in prison, suffering injuries to his head and leg, and can now walk only with difficulty, the source said.



Family members who traveled to Baiyin to receive Jampal on his release found him weak and thin, and several former acquaintances found it difficult to recognize him, he said.



But despite his poor health while detained, he behaved well in prison and was always friendly to the authorities and his prison mates, and for this reason his sentence was commuted by a little more than three years.



A Tibetan named Lakyab was taken into custody at the same time as Jampal, but Lakyab was released earlier since he was given only eight years in jail, the source said.



Family members suffered



Jampal's family members suffered great hardship during his nine years in prison, a source in the region told RFA.



"His mother, named Phurtse and aged around 70, fell ill for a long time under the stress, and her husbandJampal's fatherpassed away," the source said, speaking on condition he not be named.



Jampal's wife and daughter also endured suffering and worry in his absence, the source said, adding that Jampal's wife took on the main responsibility for their family while he was away.



Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijings rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.



Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Pig farmers in Vietnam say they are operating at a loss amid falling domestic pork prices caused by Chinas decision to cut imports and have called on the government to renegotiate a trade deal with Beijing in a bid to pull their industry out of a tailspin.



China stopped buying live pigs from Vietnam in November, citing quality concerns, hurting farmers who had traditionally relied on the neighboring country as their largest export market. The move has led to an oversupply of pigs in Vietnam and driven down the cost of pork.



Pig farming in Vietnam has also been hit by an increase in cheap meat from abroad, with around 7,800 metric tons of pork imported into Vietnam in the year leading up to March 15a nearly 16 percent increase in volume, a recent report by the official Tuoi Tre News said, citing customs data.



Vietnam has seen the price of pork fall from around 40,000 dong (U.S. $1.76) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) to as low as 20,000 dong (U.S. $0.88) in recent months, and with the countrys pork production expected to surpass 3.7 metric tons in 2017an annual increase of 3.2 percentthere is no end in sight to the market woes.



On Tuesday, a pig farmer surnamed Hoa told RFAs Vietnamese Service that she pays 1.6 million dong (U.S. $70) for each pig she buys and, after accounting for the cost of their feed and other upkeep, must sell pork for at least 33,000 dong (U.S. $1.45) per kilogram just to break even.



I have to sell at 35,000-37,000 dong (U.S. $1.54-1.63) per kilogram if I want to make a profit, she said, adding that she is more likely to get 20,000-22,000 dong (U.S. $0.88-0.97) per kilogram and only 14,000-16,000 dong (U.S. $0.62-0.70) for bad quality pigs.



The pig farmers are having to sell everything off. We want the government to negotiate with China or find a way for us to sell pigs [at a reasonable price].



Ly Hong Vinh, another farmer who owns more than 500 pigs, told RFA that the state of the market had destroyed his livelihood and said he is about to go underwater financially.



I have to borrow money from the bank and my relatives, but because I keep borrowing, they dont want to lend me money anymore, he said.



Ive lost a lot. Regardless of whether I sell the pigs or keep them, I will still lose.



Government assistance



Tong Xuan Chinh, vice director of the Animal Husbandry Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said the government has taken steps to alleviate the pressure on Vietnams pig farmers.



We must make use of all resources from the government to help the farmers during this crisis, he told RFA.



We have asked entrepreneurs to reduce prices of animal feed. We also asked slaughterhouses and foodstuff companies to buy more pigs from farmers.



Last week, MARD minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong called on large animal husbandry businesses to increase their purchase of pigs and keep them in frozen storage to help farmers reduce inventory and slow the drop in pork prices, according to a report by the official Vietnam News Service.



Noting that the government had helped their industry turn a profit over the past two decades, he urged the firms to take responsibility for the farmers plight, asking them to reduce the price of breeding pigs, feed and veterinary medicine, the report said.



Cuong has also suggested that the government direct banks and credit institutions to cancel the debts of pig breeders, and people selling animal feed to help them recover their losses.



At the meeting, representatives of the businesses proposed that the ministry temporarily stop importing pork to stabilize the domestic market.



Also last week, deputy Agriculture Minister Vu Van Tam pledged that his ministry would work with its counterpart in Beijing to resume exports to China.



Reported by Lan Huong for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Aziz Orucov, the Baku manager of the Internet television station Channel 13, has been sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention in jail over a confrontation with a police officer.

Baku's Nasimi district court passed the sentence on May 2 after ruling that Orucov, who also used the pen name Aziz Qarasoglu, had resisted the lawful order of a police officer.

Orucov was detained earlier in the day, together with his wife, Lamiya Carpanova, who is an editor at Channel 13. Carpanova was released after being held for about two hours.

Orucov's lawyer, Elcin Sadiqov, told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service that his client was set up and intended to appeal the ruling.

He said Orucov was detained because police reportedly mistook him for a wanted suspect named Faiq Cabbarov. Sadiqov added that there was no resemblance between his client and Cabbarov and that the incident was fabricated.

Sadiqov said the case was another example of the Azerbaijani authorities' ongoing crackdown against the media. Last month, the Ministry of Communications asked a Baku court to ban the websites of RFE/RL's Azerbaijan Service, the nongovernmental Azadiq newspaper, Meydan TV, Turan TV, and the Azerbaycan Saati TV channel.

RFE/RL President Thomas Kent called the move "blatant censorship that is intended to intimidate the independent press."

The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists on April 28 called on Baku to cancel the request and to lift a decree temporarily blocking the sites.

CLARIFICATION: This article has been amended to refer to the Azerbaijani journalist by his given name, not just his pen name.
One of the most amazing things about the past few years is the extent to which Vladimir Putin's Kremlin got Germany so wrong.

It's truly remarkable when you think about it.

Germany is Russia's most important trading partner in Europe.

Berlin has long been one of Moscow's main advocates on the continent, resisting, for example, U.S. efforts to enlarge NATO to include former Soviet republics like Georgia.

Putin speaks fluent German and spent five years as a KGB agent in Dresden.

You'd therefore think he understands the country, right?

But for some inexplicable reason, the Kremlin leader failed to grasp that the first forceful annexation of another country's territory in Europe since World War II would, you know, kind of freak the Germans out.

And he failed to grasp that an intensive propaganda effort aiming to stir up fear of migrants and undermine the German government's authority would end up damaging Moscow's standing.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Putin in Sochi today at a time when relations between Berlin and Moscow are at a post-Cold War low.

The Putin regime was counting on lucrative energy deals, close business ties with German industry, and an intensive lobbying network to keep Berlin in Moscow's corner following Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

It thought business, money, and pragmatism would do the trick.

Putin and his cronies expected the Germans to be as cynical as they themselves were.

They didn't count on the Germans having principles.

And that speaks volumes about the Putin regime.

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ASTANA -- A court in Kazakhstan has sentenced a Jehovah's Witness to five years in prison after convicting him of inciting religious and ethnic hatred.

The May 2 verdict against Teimur Akhmedov is likely to be criticized by members of the Christian denomination and rights activists who are concerned about the treatment of religious minorities in the Central Asian country.

Akhmedov, 60, is being treated for cancer. He was arrested in January and went on trial on April 6.

The court convicted him of propagating ideas that "disrupt interreligious and interethnic concord." His lawyers said he would appeal the verdict.

Mostly Muslim Kazakhstan has a secular government and has been ruled by President Nursultan Nazarbaev since before it gained independence in the 1991 Soviet collapse.

In neighboring Russia, the Supreme Court declared the Jehovah's Witnesses an extremist organization in an April 20 ruling and ordered its property in Russia seized, effectively banning it.


SKOPJE -- The stalemate over control of Macedonia's legislature continues after the newly declared parliament speaker, Talat Xhaferi, has been blocked from taking up the post by nationalist lawmakers who oppose his election.

Xhaferi, a lawmaker from one of the three ethnic Albanian parties that has agreed to form a coalition with Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev, was elected on April 27 by the alliance as speaker of parliament.

The move prompted supporters of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party to storm the parliament, where they physically assaulted Zaev and several ethnic Albanian lawmakers.

And on May 2, when Xhaferi tried to enter the speaker's office, several VMRO-DPMNE lawmakers were occupying the room and refused to allow him to enter, declaring that his election to the post was not valid because the vote was conducted outside of standard parliamentary procedures.

Xhaferi's predecessor, VMRO-DPMNE lawmaker Trajko Veljanovski, also did not appear on May 2 to hand over the keys to the office or the official seal to Xhaferi.

Meanwhile, the general secretary of parliament -- who is also a member of the VMRO-DPMNE -- announced that Xhaferi's election as parliament speaker was not legally valid until it is published by Macedonia's official legal journal.

It was not clear if or when that publication, which is also controlled by VMRO-DPMNE members, might publish the results of Xhaferi's election by the legislature.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov -- an ally of the VMRO-DPMNE party  has refused to give the Social Democrats and three ethnic Albanian parties a mandate to form a new government, even though they created a coalition with 69 of the parliament's 120 seats.

WATCH: U.S. Envoy Calls For New Macedonian Government

Macedonia's parliament has been deadlocked since December, after the VMRO-DPMNE won the most votes in a general election but was unable to reach a coalition agreement with other parties.

Ivanov and his political ally, former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, accuse Zaev's Social Democrats and the ethnic Albanian parties of intending to undermine Macedonia's national unity because of their plan to make Albanian the country's second official language.

U.S. and European Union officials have recognized Xhaferi's election as parliament speaker and have urged Ivanov to allow Zaev's alliance to form a new government.

Macedonia has been without a functioning government since 2015, when it sank into political turmoil over a wiretapping scandal that brought down the ruling VMRO-DPMNE.

The political stalemate has brought to a halt Skopje's efforts to move toward membership in the European Union and NATO.

With reporting by dpa
It's a place where a toddler can be thrown in jail for crimes committed by a tribe member; where people can spend years behind bars without ever being charged; and where the authorities can oust entire communities from their homes without explanation.

Justice in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is a throwback to another era -- a colonial one. For more than a century, human and legal rights have taken a back seat under a set of laws introduced by the British Raj in 1901 in an effort to bring resistant Pashtun tribes on a contested frontier to heel.

But now plans are in motion to bring residents of the restive region along Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan under the umbrella of the central government by ending the old legal system, offering voting rights and greater government representation, and raising living standards. The inclusive approach, in theory, will end FATA's isolation and help lure locals away from joining the various militant groups that thrive there.

Legal 'Black Hole'

A number of tribes voluntarily agreed to the laws, known as the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) when they were introduced. But the system did not die with the end of British colonial rule -- it was incorporated into Pakistan's legal system upon its founding in 1947, and remains more or less intact today.

Residents of the seven tribal areas that make up FATA have suffered immensely under the system, and have seen few of the benefits of being part of a state. They were granted only minimal political representation; were not allowed to vote in national elections; infrastructure modernization such as electrification largely passed them by; unemployment rates jumped to as high as 80 percent; and millions have been displaced by fighting and natural disasters.

The FCR was originally intended to quell fierce Pashtun opposition to the British Indian empire in the late 19th century. The system gave unchecked power to tribal leaders, who were given partial autonomy in exchange for quelling rebellion and protecting British interests. The FCR suppressed the locals while keeping the area extremely isolated.

The British created FATA and the neighboring Northwest Frontier Province (known today as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province) as a buffer zone following the creation of a 2,400-kilometer border with Afghanistan known as the Durand Line in 1893. The border, which Kabul does not recognize to this day, divided the Pashtun tribes who lived in the region.

The draconian laws allowed the British Raj -- and later presidentially appointed bureaucrats known as "political agents" -- to punish an entire tribe for the crime of an individual, jail residents for up to three years without cause, and forcibly relocate people and have their property searched and seized.

In one notorious case, a 2-year-old was jailed in 2004 along with her mother and two siblings for a crime committed by the girl's father.

In another, the entire Mehsud tribe was subjected to collective punishment in 2009 after the government moved against the Pakistani Taliban, which was led by 35-year-old tribesman Baitullah Mehsud. The political agent in FATA's South Waziristan tribal agency ordered the detention of tribe members and the seizure of their property.

The lack of formal law and writ of the state in FATA has led many activists to label the area a "black hole." For residents of FATA, the proposed reforms are essential to establishing law and order, and ridding their homeland of the moniker.

Nation-Destroying

Sayid Kabir has been incarcerated numerous times in FATA without charge or explanation.

"I was put in jail seven times under the FCR," says the 37-year-old, who now lives in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, under which FATA would be subsumed under the reforms. "I did not commit any crime. I only protested for more provisions of water and electricity in my community."

It's a common story in FATA. Former resident Qayum Afridi says he was jailed for years in dismal conditions. The FCR, he says, "destroyed us" and must be abolished. If and when the reforms go into effect, he may get his wish.

Supporters of the proposed changes have staged several protests calling for the government to adopt the reforms immediately.

The reforms, recommended by the government-appointed FATA Reforms Committee, were approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his cabinet on March 2. Pakistan's president also endorsed the reforms.

For the reforms to take effect, the plan approved by the government on March 2 must now be codified as a draft constitutional amendment that requires approval by two-thirds of the lawmakers in both chambers of Pakistan's bicameral legislature. There are 104 members of the upper chamber of Pakistan's parliament, the Senate, and 342 lawmakers in the lower chamber, the National Assembly. In 2016, both chambers of Pakistan's legislature approved a draft version of the plan.

Under the plans, FATA would be merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province within five years. The jurisdiction of Pakistan's national courts would be extended to FATA, and tribal law enforcement would be incorporated into the national security forces. The merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would also give FATA access to Pakistan's main parliamentary body, the National Assembly, something it was denied under the FCR.

Afrasiab Khattak, a senator and the president of the secular Awami National Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, says the reforms would bring about significant change.

"If properly implemented the reform package for mainstreaming FATA can not only empower the local population by providing them with the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution but can also bring the area under full state control and deprive the terrorists from enjoying the safe heavens in the area," he said.

Only Closer To Fine

Others say the planned changes, collectively known as the Riwaj Act, do not go far enough.

Mustafa Qadri, a Pakistani human rights activist, says the proposed reforms are "far from perfect," but can be an "important step toward a new, positive phase in FATA's history."

"There are other concerns with the proposed legal setup in FATA: enshrining so-called 'tribal laws' into legislation is a recipe for further abuse of rights," Qadri notes.

He refers to the "jirga" legal system in which unelected tribal councils dominated by elders mete out justice. Qadri says this system is "dominated by political interests" and fails to meet "even elementary aspects of international fair-trial standards."

Under the reforms, the jirga system would work in tandem with Pakistani courts, which would have jurisdiction in the area, thereby creating an opening for disputes.

Qadri also says that women are excluded from defending themselves under the patriarchal system in which tradition-bound village elders decide their fates. This, he says, has made them particularly vulnerable to rulings that allow sexual and other forms of abuse to be perpetrated with impunity.

He also laments that under the changes the country's powerful military -- which has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture during recent campaigns in the region -- is still above the law and will retain sweeping powers. FATA is a heavily militarized area where around 100,000 Pakistani troops are stationed.

Mohammad Taqi, a U.S.-based Pakistan political analyst, says there are major constitutional, political, and administrative challenges that must be addressed before the changes go into effect, but that the plan is doable.

"All tribal agencies and frontier regions are contiguous to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," he says. "Expanding the administrative machinery will be a major task but not an insurmountable one."

Divided Over Reforms

FATA residents appear to be divided over the proposed reforms, although a majority want to eradicate the FCR and merge with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The FATA Research Center, an Islamabad-based nonprofit organization, conducted a poll in February that found that 68 percent of respondents approved of abolishing the FCR; 74 percent of respondents (54 percent fully; 20 percent partially) endorsed merging FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, 26 percent of residents wanted FATA restructured into separate province. This is in keeping with the positions of some religious and nationalist political groups that have voiced opposition to the reforms, saying the changes could undermine local tribal traditions and Islamic law that is dominant in FATA.

In March, five tribal leaders challenged the proposed reforms in the Supreme Court, saying they were "illegal and unconstitutional." The tribal leaders noted that only the president, and not the prime minister, can decide a merger of the tribal areas even though the president has already backed the reforms. They said a jirga should decide on the merger.

One of the most prominent critics of the proposed reforms is Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a hard-line Islamist who leads the largest faction of the Jamiat-e Ulema Islam (Society of Muslim Clerics, JUI). Mainly led by traditional Sunni clerics, the JUI wants to turn Pakistan into a Shari'a state. Rehman has accused Islamabad of "bulldozing their wishes" upon FATA's residents.

Another critic is Mahmood Achakzai, the head of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, who has also alleged that Islamabad is enforcing changes in FATA without the consent of residents.

Both men have been accused of opposing the reforms for personal and political gain.
The Kremlin has confirmed that Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on May 17.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 2 that the meeting was on Putin's schedule, confirming earlier reports in the Italian media.

He did not provide details about the agenda for the meeting.

Gentiloni, who took office in December, is also expected to visit China on the same trip.

Gentiloni visited the United States last month for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. He urged Trump to play a "very critical role" in stabilizing Libya.

Trump, however, said flatly, "I don't see a role in Libya."

Italy will host a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) world powers on May 26-27. In January, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said his government was seeking to resume "the G8 format with Russia and ending the atmosphere of the Cold War."

Russia was suspended from the G8 in March 2014 after Moscow illegally annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

Based on reporting by TASS, Financial Times, and The Washington Times
Moscow police say they are investigating reports that fragments of the bodies of Kyrgyz citizens were found in a dumpster in the Russian capital.

The May 2 statement came hours after the Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow said it had lodged formal requests for the Moscow police, prosecutor's office, and Investigative Committee to provide detailed information regarding the situation.

Moscow police said body fragments had been found in a trash receptacle on April 24 and indicated that they had been thrown away by a detective after forensic tests.

Media reports said on May 1 that several human bones, fragments of skin, and hair found in the dumpster might be parts of the bodies of four Kyrgyz citizens killed in a traffic accident in January.

Many people from Kyrgyzstan and other former Soviet republics in Central Asia come to Moscow and other Russian cities to find work.

Based on reporting by Interfax, KyrTAG, TASS, and Moskovsky Komsomolets
Russia has kicked off the trial of a prominent New York real-estate developer and former Guggenheim Museum board member who is accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds to fuel her lavish lifestyle.

The in-absentia trial of Janna Bullock, a U.S. citizen and a staple of New York City's social scene, was slated to begin in a Moscow court on May 2, escalating Russia's multiyear pursuit of the Soviet-born businesswoman and her assets.

Bullock, 49, is accused of committing a raft of fraud and money-laundering crimes stemming from her business operations in Russia while her now ex-husband served as the finance minister of the Moscow Oblast, the region that surrounds the Russian capital.

Her trial is being held at Moscow's Basmanny district court, according to the website of the court, which has handled politically tinged criminal cases and become synonymous with what Kremlin critics denounce as a rigged judiciary.

The judge in the case rejected a motion by the defense to involve U.S. diplomats in the case and inform them that a U.S. citizen was being tried, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not immediately comment on the trial when contacted by RFE/RL.

The judge also ruled that that the trial could remain open to the public, TASS reported.

An attorney representing Bullock in court, Shamil Arifulov, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as telling the court that his client was not guilty.

It was not immediately clear whether Arifulov was serving as a court-appointed attorney.

The court said on its website later on May 2 that the trial had been adjourned until May 18.

Bullock has repeatedly said she and her former husband, Aleksei Kuznetsov, are victims of rampant corruption in Russia, accusing former business partners of colluding with officials to loot her business empire, which she once estimated at around $2 billion.

Russia accuses the pair of using Kuznetsov's position to conduct financial machinations that resulted in the loss of more than 11 billion rubles from regional coffers -- more than $400 million at exchange rates between 2005 and 2008, when the crimes were allegedly committed.

Russian prosecutors have already secured several convictions of alleged accomplices, while Kuznetsov was detained by French authorities on an Interpol warrant in 2013, triggering a fight by Moscow to secure his extradition.

A French court last month released Kuznetsov from jail but placed him under supervision pending the extradition matter. He has applied for political asylum in France.

Russian prosecutors said in an April 5 statement they had decided to proceed with Bullock's in-absentia trial after U.S. authorities refused to extradite Bullock.

The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously declined to discuss Russia's attempts to secure Bullock's extradition.

The United States and Russia do not have an extradition treaty, and have sparred over mutual refusals to hand over suspects in high-profile cases -- most notably in the case of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who fled to Moscow in 2013.

Bullock did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the trial, and the telephone number listed on her website appears to have been disconnected.

Richard Lafont, a New York attorney listed as her representative in unrelated U.S. civil litigation, did not immediately respond to an e-mail or voicemail seeking comment on May 2.

From Brighton Beach To Courchevel

The trial of Bullock in absentia marks the latest in a string of legal and financial difficulties she has faced since she and Kuznetsov left Russia for good in 2008 amid mounting allegations of financial wrongdoing.

A native of the Belarusian town of Pinsk, Bullock emigrated to the United States in the early 1990s and put down roots in Brighton Beach, an enclave in Brooklyn known for its large Russian-speaking population.

She met Kuznetsov, then an executive with the now-defunct Russian lender Inkombank, later that decade and began making a splash on the New York real-estate scene in the years after he assumed his post in the Moscow region in 2000.

She began snapping up and reselling pricey Manhattan real estate, amassed an art collection, and became a jet-set regular in New York and France, where she acquired two hotels in the ritzy ski resort Courchevel -- a popular destination among Russia's business and political elite.

She also launched a real-estate development company in Moscow that conducted substantial business with the Moscow Oblast government, whose finances were teetering at the time Bullock and Kuznetsov left Russia in 2008.

Russias Investigative Committee said in a May 2 statement on the start of the trial that Bullock and her alleged accomplices used "fictitious deals" to extract regional funds and transfer the money to offshore firms in Cyprus.

The money was used to purchase "elite" real estate in Switzerland and France, 10 automobiles, and a Cayman Islands-flagged yacht, among other assets, the statement alleged.

Bullock was elected to the board of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation -- which oversees the world-renowned Guggenheim Museum -- in 2007, but stepped down three years later as allegations of financial misdeeds began filtering out of Russia.

Russian authorities accuse Bullock, Kuznetsov, and several accomplices of moving regional funds to a vast network of offshore firms and using the money to finance an extravagant lifestyle.

Russia's state-owned Gazprombank for several years has been seeking to recover more than $20 million in damages it claims to have suffered due to the alleged embezzlement.

The lender has secured a Cypriot court decision freezing $26.3 million of Bullock's assets worldwide and ordering her to provide an exhaustive account of her global assets to the bank.

After a protracted and acrimonious fight over this disclosure in the U.S. federal court in Manhattan, Bullock began providing information about her assets to Gazprombank several months ago based on the Cypriot court order, according to U.S. court documents.
Russia has launched multiple suicide drones on Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding people and damaging civilian facilities, the head of the regional military administration said, as fierce battles are under way in the eastern Donetsk region and in the south.

"The occupiers attacked the area massively with kamikaze drones. Our air defense destroyed five barrage ammunition. They also attacked with drones the city of Dnipro, targeting a logistics enterprise. Four employees were wounded, three of them are in serious condition in hospital," Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.

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, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Russian forces also bombarded the Nikopol district in the region with Grad missiles and heavy artillery. Reznichenko said the shelling damaged private houses, a factory, and a power line, but no one was injured.



A fire spread over more than 3,000 square meters, but it had already been extinguished, Reznichenko said.



Russian troops regularly shell the Dnipropetrovsk region with various types of weapons, in particular the Nikopol, Kryvorizky, and Synelnyk districts.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed that Ukraine will not "surrender a single centimeter of our land" in Donetsk, where heavy fighting has been under way, and he thanked Ukrainian troops who are holding positions in the Donbas region.



The epicenter of the battle for the industrial region of Donetsk is around the towns of Bakhmut, Soledar, and Avdiyivka.



"The activity of the occupiers remains at an extremely high level -- dozens of attacks every day," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address late on November 8.



"They are suffering extraordinarily high losses. But the order remains the same -- to advance on the administrative boundary of Donetsk region. We will not yield a single centimeter of our land," he said.



Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russia said it annexed in September following referendums considered a sham by Kyiv and its Western allies.



Fighting had been going on there between Ukrainian military and Kremlin-backed separatist forces since 2014, the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea in the south.

Zelenskiy said the goal of the Russian troops is to push to the administrative border of the Donetsk region.



"We clearly understand the enemy's plans, so we act accordingly. Carefully, thoughtfully, and in the interests of the liberation of our entire territory. We are strengthening our positions, breaking Russian logistics, consistently destroying the potential of the occupiers to keep the south of our country under occupation," Zelenskiy added.



Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said the most intense battles were taking place in Bakhmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region, where the Ukrainian military repels dozens of Russian attacks per day.



Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the region's military administration, said the city of Bakhmut was very badly damaged, and there is not a single surviving house in Avdiyivka, Maryinka, or Krasnohorivka. Russian troops are trying to wipe the cities "off the face of the Earth," he said.



Fierce fighting was also going on on the edge of the town of Snihurivka, in the southern Mykolaiyv region, according to Yury Barabashov, the town's Russian-appointed mayor, as cited by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.



Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in the southern Kherson region, said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had tried to advance on three fronts, including Snihurivka.



Vitaly Kim, the Ukrainian governor of the Mykolayiv region, apparently quoting an intercepted dialogue between Russian troops, suggested that Ukrainian forces had already pushed the Russians out of the area.



"Russian troops are complaining that they have already been thrown out of there," Kim said in a statement on his Telegram channel.



The information could not be independently verified.



The Ukrainian military said it destroyed two Russian ammunition depots in southern Ukraine on November 8, one in Snihurivka, and one in Kostromka, in the neighboring Kherson region.

WATCH: Paratroopers with Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade say they're holding positions around the small city of Maryinka in eastern Ukraine despite daily Russian attacks.

Russia has mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists in recent months seeking to stave off an offensive launched by Ukraine to regain Russian-occupied territories.



Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on November 8 that 21 Russian conscripts had surrendered to Ukrainian forces around Svatove in the eastern Luhansk region.



"These poor mobilized men -- really poor, they had had nothing to eat or drink in three days -- of course they decided to surrender," Zhdanov said on his YouTube channel.



In the southern Kherson region, a battle between advancing Ukrainian forces and the Russian occupiers has been looming for weeks in the city by the same name, the only regional capital Russia has captured intact since its unprovoked invasion in February.



Kherson is arguably the most important of the four partially occupied Ukrainian regions that Russia says it annexed. It controls both the only land route to the Crimean Peninsula and the mouth of the Dnieper River that bisects Ukraine.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also commented on the fighting in eastern Ukraine on November 8. He was quoted by TASS as saying that information released about casualties among Chechen fighters near Lysychansk, a city in the eastern Luhansk region, was false.



"Not a single fighter of ours was killed in the aforementioned area," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that he didn't want to comment on "such falsehoods" but found it necessary "to reassure all sane and concerned people."



Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, released video footage that it said showed a drone strike obliterating a Ukrainian tank that was hiding in an urban area and shelling Russian troops.



"A Russian squad of unmanned aerial vehicles spotted the Ukrainian tank and destroyed it using a precision strike," the ministry said on November 8, according to TASS.



The Ukrainian military's General Staff said Russian troops used drones and artillery on November 8 to shell communities along the Sumy region's border with Russia in northeastern Ukraine. The only damage reported was to utility poles.



Sumy borders three regions of Russia -- Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod. The border regions of Ukraine are regularly shelled by Russia.



Neither side's battlefield claims could be independently verified.



The Ukrainian military has accused Russian troops of more looting and destroying infrastructure in Kherson.



"A convoy of trucks passed over the dam of the Kakhova hydroelectric station loaded with home appliances and building materials," the military said.



Russians were dismantling mobile phone towers and taking equipment, it said, adding that near the city of Beryslav, Russian forces "blew up a power line and took equipment from a solar power station."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN
14 Workers on the floor of a steelworks in Donetsk, Ukraine. Macha says a colleague of the dead worker told him that, in order to avoid paying health insurance, "We took the body and threw it over the fence, and called the ambulance there so it hadn't happened in [the mill's] territory."
ON MY MIND

In Budapest, thousands march and chant, "Europe Not Moscow!"

In France, a pro-European centrist is poised to handily defeat a pro-Moscow nationalist in the May 7 presidential election runoff.

In Finland, a new center has been established to combat Russian disinformation and hybrid threats.

In Sweden and Finland, the issue of joining NATO is being taken more seriously than ever before.

In Spain, prosecutors are aggressively pursuing cases against Kremlin-connected organized crime groups.

Across Europe, the backlash against Moscow's efforts to subvert and undermine the EU with disinformation, corruption, and organized crime is gathering steam.

The Kremlin's efforts to undermine Europe's institutions and unity has been going on for years. But until recently, the operation was stealthy and Moscow could count on European complacency.

Elites could be corrupted with lucrative sweetheart deals. The Kremlin's black cash could fatten the ledgers of Western banks and create a ready-made lobby for Moscow. Gangsters could advance the Kremlin's interests without leaving fingerprints.

But the war in Ukraine and Moscow's meddling in Western elections have woken up an increasing number of people to Russia's nonkinetic war on Europe.

Not long ago, talk of a Russian threat to Europe was confined to the Baltic states and Poland. Today, it is being heard everywhere.

The backlash hasn't reached critical mass just yet. But it is gaining momentum.

IN THE NEWS

U.S. President Donald Trump has scheduled a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 2, the same day German Chancellor Angela Merkel is paying a rare visit to Russia.

Thousands of Hungarians marched in central Budapest on May 1 in a show of support for the European Union, protesting against what they described as a rise in Russian influence under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The U.S. national security adviser, Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, says Russian President Vladimir Putin is "acting against the Russian people's interest in his relationship with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his policies to aid the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Darya Kulakova, a Russian opposition activist, has been jailed for organizing a letter-writing campaign urging, in part, President Vladimir Putin not to run for a fourth term next year.

Polish authorities say they have arrested an Austrian man suspected of committing war crimes in eastern Ukraine, though there were conflicting reports about whether he fought with Kyiv's forces or alongside Russia-backed separatists.

Turkish authorities say they have arrested an Iranian national suspected of smuggling components of a Russian-made antitank missile system from Ukraine in order to deliver them to a terrorist group.

A Russian television network has published a video of the attack on opposition leader Aleksei Navalny in which the face of the assailant is blurred, drawing fire from the activist who says his vision may be permanently damaged after the incident.

The wife of Belarusian opposition leader Mikalay Statkevich says he has been arrested ahead of planned antigovernment protests.

Russia has again accused the United States of lying about its deployment of antimissile systems in Europe, as Washington repeated its findings that Moscow was violating a key arms-control treaty.

LATEST POWER VERTICAL PODCAST

In case you missed it, the latest Power Vertical Podcast looks at Kremlin meddling in the French elections and the backlash in Europe against Russian political interference.

WHAT I'M READING

The New Soviet Schools

In Republic.ru, Polina Potopova has a piece looking at how Soviet-era traditions are being revived in schools in Ulyanov Oblast.

Lifestyles Of The Rich and Corrupt

Open Russia has a video showing the properties in Europe owned by State Duma deputies and their spouses.



Kremlin-backed Extremists

Political Capital has a report, From Russia With Hate, looking at violent extremist groups in Central and Eastern Europe with Kremlin ties.

Mogherini And Ukraine

Fredrik Wesslau has a commentary for the European Council on Foreign Relations on how EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is "missing in action" in Ukraine.

Russia And The U.S. Right

Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger have a piece in The Washington Post on why so many U.S. conservatives are embracing Putin's Russia.

Lawfare, meanwhile, has launched a comprehensive page cataloging the ongoing revelations about U.S. President Donald Trump's ties to Russia.

The Attack On Navalny

Kevin Rothrock has a piece for GlobalVoices on how Aleksei Navalny's supporters have unmasked those responsible for a recent chemical attack on the opposition leader.

The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group has a piece claiming that the man identified as Navalny's attacker participated in an attempt by pro-Kremlin militants to seize control of Kharkiv.

And Shaun Walker has a profile of Navalny in The Guardian.

Russian TV And Germany's Election

Bloomberg's Henry Meyer has a piece looking at the role Russian-language television is playing in Germany's election.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken together by telephone for the third time since Trump took office in January.

The scheduled phone conversation on May 2 was the first between the two leaders since the United States carried out a missile strike against a Syrian air base in retaliation for what Western countries charged was a chemical-weapons attack against civilians by Syrian government forces.

A White House statement described the conversation as "a very good one" -- including discussions on the war in Syria, "working together to eradicate terrorism throughout the Middle East," and "how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea."

The White House also announced that Washington will send a representative to Syria peace talks scheduled in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 3 and 4.

A Kremlin statement said the emphasis of their phone conversation was on coordinating Russian and U.S. actions in the fight against terrorism.

It said the two agreed to increase dialogue between U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an attempt to bring a resolution to the war in Syria.

Moscow also said Trump and Putin both expressed support for the idea of organizing their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the July 7-8 summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in Hamburg, Germany.

On North Korea, the Kremlin said Putin called upon Trump to show restraint and make an effort to reduce tensions that have been raised in the aftermath of North Korea's nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile tests.

Several hours before their phone conversation, Putin met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi for talks focusing on the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as on strained bilateral relations.

Both leaders said after their May 2 meeting that it is essential for all parties to fulfill their commitments under the Minsk process to regulate the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists.

"Today we once again reiterated the necessity of the strict observation of the Minsk agreements by the parties to the conflict [in eastern Ukraine]," Putin told journalists.

Merkel said Moscow and Berlin "are of differing opinions about the cause of the conflict." She said it was essential for Kyiv to regain complete control of its border, including the portion between the separatist-controlled areas and Russia.

Putin and Merkel also discussed the six-year-old civil war in Syria. Putin repeated Russia's calls for an "impartial investigation" into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's Idlib Province last month that left about 80 people dead.

Putin also said Russia was counting on the United States to help find "efficient solutions" to the conflict in Syria.

Merkel said she spoke to Putin about domestic developments in Russia, including the arrests of demonstrators at recent anticorruption rallies and media reports about the persecution of homosexual men in the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya.

"The possibility of the right to demonstrate is a part of civil society," Merkel said.

She also urged Putin to "use his influence" to put an end to the abuse of homosexuals in Chechnya.

Russia's Novaya Gazeta reported in April that at least 100 gay men had been abducted by security forces in Chechnya and at least three had been killed.

Putin defended the actions of Russian police, saying they acted within the framework of the law and showed "far more restraint than their colleagues in other European countries."

Putin also categorically rejected allegations that Moscow interfered in the U.S. presidential election in November or was playing any role in Germany's domestic politics.

The Russia leader said it was "unthinkable" that Russia would interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries. He dismissed the reports of interference in the U.S. election as "rumors." Putin added that Moscow would not tolerate outside interference in its own domestic affairs.

In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued an assessment charging that Putin "ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election." Security agencies in Germany, France, and other countries have also alleged Russian efforts to influence their electoral processes.

For her part, Merkel said she was confident Germany could handle any disinformation campaigns and would take "decisive measures" in the event of interference. She also noted that "hybrid warfare plays a role in Russia's military doctrine."

The two leaders also discussed preparations for the G20) summit in Hamburg on July 7-8. The G20 is now the chief format for Russia to meet the other world powers after its exclusion from the Group of Eight (G8), which is now the G7.

In addition to his talks with Merkel, Putin is scheduled to talk by telephone with U.S. President Donald Trump later on May 2.

Merkel's one-day trip was her second visit to Russia since Moscow seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014.

Russia and Germany have scaled back ties and Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Moscow for seizing Crimea and for its involvement in the war that has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

A key mediator in the conflict, which pits Russia-backed separatists against Ukrainian government forces, Merkel is a major proponent of keeping the sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan is fulfilled.

Merkel has attended several meetings with Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the Minsk II agreement, which she and Hollande brokered in February 2015.

The most recent such meeting was held in October and the four leaders spoke by phone in April, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

With reporting by dpa, AP, TASS, and Reuters
Several thousand people -- mostly members of unions, workers, students, and pro-leftist activists -- marched in Belgrade on May 1 on International Workers Day.

Representatives of the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia and United independent trade unions demanded higher wages, an increase in the minimum wage, restoration of slashed pensions, and the signing of collective agreements.

Trade union representatives gave their demands to government representatives.

The Serbian government cut pensions and salaries in the public sector in 2014 as a part of a package of government austerity measures.

Unions in Kosovo also staged demonstrations on May 1. The Union of Independent Trade Unions in Kosovo asked the government to improve the working conditions of the private sector.

Kosovo's National Ensemble of Song and Dance also staged a demonstration seeking better working conditions.
DUSHANBE -- A senior U.S. diplomat is meeting with top officials during a visit to Tajikistan.

The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe told RFE/RL that Daniel Rosenblum, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asia, arrived in Dushanbe on April 30 and will leave on May 3.

Tajik authorities say Rosenblum met with Emergency Committee officials on May 1 and discussed cooperation in preventing natural disasters. The talks also focused on the training of rescue specialists and improvement of the committee's technical capabilities.

Rosenblum's trip to the Central Asian country follows an April 25 visit by the commander of the United States Central Command, General Joseph Votel.

President Emomali Rahmon's office said he and Votel discussed military cooperation aimed at bolstering regional security and stability.

It said Rahmon and Votel also discussed proposals for broadening cooperation on strengthening the capabilities of Tajik border forces on the former Soviet republic's long frontier with Afghanistan.
A high-level U.S. envoy met with Macedonian leaders on May 1 and urged them to allow a newly formed parliamentary majority made up of Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties to form a new government.

Nearly five months after parliamentary elections, Macedonian nationalists opposed to the inclusion of ethnic Albanians are blocking efforts by the new government to take office, triggering a major political crisis in the tiny Balkan country.

"We feel that it is very important for the leaders to find a way to allow the majority in parliament...to propose a government and a government program," U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Yee said in Skopje after meeting with leaders on both sides in the impasse.

"We understand there are concerns about the composition of the government program and, like in all European democracies, we believe that whatever is proposed by the majority should be considered seriously in parliament, debated in parliament, and voted in parliament," he said.

President Gjorge Ivanov, an ally* of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, which has ruled Macedonia for years, has refused to give a mandate to Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev to form a government, saying his coalition with ethnic Albanian parties threatens the sovereignty of the state.

After meeting with Yee, Ivanov issued a statement on May 1 calling on Zaev to provide reassurances that his coalition would work according to the constitution and uphold national unity.

Zaev had no immediate response. After meeting earlier in the day with Yee, the Socialist leader had vowed to begin putting together a new cabinet following his coalition's election last week of a new speaker of parliament.

The naming of Macedonia's first ethnic Albanian parliament speaker, Talat Xhaferi, on April 27 had prompted about 100 protesters to storm the parliament building and beat up Zaev and his fellow coalition leaders, most of them ethnic Albanians.

The protesters and VMRO leaders charged that the speaker's election was not legal because it allegedly did not follow parliamentary rules.

But Zaev -- with U.S. backing -- dismissed their objections on May 1, saying "the new speaker was elected legally and legitimately." He vowed to quickly put in place a new cabinet.

Meanwhile, Macedonia's Interior Ministry on April 30 made the first arrests of six people it said were involved in last week's violence in parliament, which had bloodied Zaev's face and injured over 100 people.

The ministry said it had filed criminal charges against 15 people in all who are considered to be instigators of the violence, charging them with "participation in a mob and preventing officials from performing their duties."

The ministry said the police who were charged with protecting parliament did not move quickly enough to stop the violence and appeared to be acting in the interests of the VMRO.

The mob attack was led by masked individuals, some of whom were armed, and videos made at the scene showed they appeared to outnumber the parliament's security force.

Macedonia's political crisis intensified after December elections failed to produce a resounding majority for any party. The VMRO won a narrow majority but was unable to put together a ruling coalition in the months following the election.

That led to Zaev putting together a first-time majority coalition between the Social Democrats and two parties representing ethnic Albanians, who make up about one-third of Macedonia's 2.1 million population.

The deal envisages a law allowing wider use of the Albanian language, an agreement that provoked a nationalist backlash and led to daily street protests by nationalists and VMRO sympathizers.

Macedonia has been without a functioning government since 2015, when it sank into political turmoil over a wiretapping scandal that brought down the ruling VMRO party.

The political stalemate has brought to a halt Skopje's efforts to move toward membership in the European Union and NATO.

EU leaders have joined the United States in urging Macedonian leaders to end the political stalemate so the country can resume its path toward membership.

* CORRECTION: This story has been amended from an earlier version to note that President Ivanov is an ally of the VMRO-DPMNE rather than a member of that party.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters
Tajikistan is set to hold a five-day celebration of culture from neighboring Uzbekistan, an apparent sign of warming ties following the death of longtime Uzbek autocrat Islam Karimov last year.

The Tajik Culture Ministry said on May 2 that the country will stage the Uzbekistan Culture Days on May 9-13, the first such event since the two Central Asian countries gained independence in the Soviet collapse of 1991.

It will feature concerts by leading Uzbek entertainers, showings of Uzbek films, and exhibits of Uzbek art in Tajikistans capital, Dushanbe, and the southern city of Qurghonteppa.

On April 20, an exhibition of Uzbekistan-made goods was held in Dushanbe and deals worth $35 million were signed by Tajik and Uzbek businesses.

Earlier in April, Uzbekistan's national airline resumed flights from Tashkent to Dushanbe after a hiatus of some 25 years.

Relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have been strained for years over disputes about transportation transit routes, border security, and water resources.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyaev, who came to power after Karimov's death was announced in September, has taken steps to improve ties with neighboring countries.

Based on reporting by news.tj and avesta.tj
Sonny Perdue, with his wife, Mary, takes the oath of office April 25, administered by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in the U.S. Supreme Court Building, becoming the 31st U.S. secretary of agriculture.
UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.: A Fredericksburg judge on Tuesday tossed out all charges against the three defendants in the beating death of Stuart Cole. The ruling came after the prosecution rested and the defense attorneys asked him to strike the charges.

Judge Sarah Deneke ruled that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence tying Cole's death to an assault or that an assault happened.

Earlier story:

The state says Stuart Cole died as a delayed result of injuries he suffered at the hands of a mob attack in the badlands of a Fredericksburg parking lot.

The accused say Cole agreed to settle a dispute with one among a group of young men in a fight that ended with one punch, followed by a kick.

Defense attorneys for three of the six men originally charged in the case also characterized the 22-year-old Cole as a chronic cannabis user, while also pointing out that he owned handguns and had glass smoking pipes, other paraphernalia and baggies of suspected marijuana in his apartment, all found after his December 2015 death.

A jury of seven men and six women heard drastically different accounts in the case involving an altercation and the death of Cole nearly five years after his August 2011 run-in with a group of six young men at the Walmart in Central Park.

The defendants were eventually charged with assault by mob and involuntary manslaughter.

Before Tuesdays trial started, cases for three of the men were continued, with one defendant expected to testify as a prosecution witness. Also, the involuntary manslaughter charge was dropped against David Kerns, 24, one of the three men in the current trial.

The other men on trial are Sebastian Irvin, 24, the man who attorneys said punched Cole and knocked him out, and Demetrious Martin Walker, 23, who has admitted to kicking Cole.

The case stretches back to Aug. 22, 2011, when the altercation took place. Cole suffered serious injuries, including a fractured skull, which had him in a coma and on life support at one point shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The Fredericksburg Police Department handled the case, which went cold, so cold that Coles bloodied shirt and pants were destroyed. A detective testified that the evidence destruction happened prior to Coles death and was part of protocol.

Defense attorneys seized on that admission in court Monday.

Police re-opened the investigation after Cole died in his Fredericksburg apartment on Dec. 14, 2015, and the chief medical examiner in Richmond ruled that Coles death was a homicide related to the injuries suffered in the 2011. Police characterized the incident as an attack by a group of men and used surveillance video images and social media to help generate leads. They eventually tracked down the six men and arrested them.

Prosecutor Justin Witt, who endured a barrage of objections by the three defense attorneys on Monday, said in his opening statement that things started with an exchange of words in Walmart. He said the group of six later cornered Cole in a back part of the parking lot, which he said was known as the badlands. He said surveillance video didnt catch details but that Cole was punched once and then kicked, and left on the pavement with serious injuries.

Witt, along with Coles mother and brother, also described issues Cole dealt with following the altercation, including seizures, memory loss and car crashes. Doctors, including an assistant chief medical examiner who studied Coles brain, testified to the injuries he suffered.

The defense attorneys attacked the prosecutions case on numerous points, all disputing a link between Coles death and the altercation.

Kerns attorney, Andrew Cornick, said his client was completely innocent and that it was ridiculous that he was even on trial.

He said the 1920s-era charge of mob wounding was meant for things like lynching and tar and feathering, not a fight between teenagers and a stupid act by one person.

Eugene Frost, defending Irvin, said Cole agreed to settle whatever disagreement theyd had in the lot, and that Cole approached his client among the group.

Of Cole approaching his client, the attorney said he didnt think he was going there with love in his heart.

He said Irvin went only to watch but that when Cole approached him, his client punched Cole once and knocked him out. He said Irvin caught Cole to keep him from falling to the ground unconscious. Then, the attorney added, another person came along and kicked Cole.

Frost said those were independent actions.

Terry Patton, the attorney for Demetrious Walker, said his client did kick him and that he feels bad about that. But the attorney said that kick had nothing to do with Coles death five years later.

He, along with the other defense attorneys, pointed out other possible causes for seizures Cole suffered following the confrontation. They primarily focused on a pair of car crashes, with Cole suffering head injuries in at least one of them, and heavy marijuana use, which they said could account for memory loss Cole suffered in the years after the altercation.
RACINE  A Racine man is facing charges after he was served with an eviction notice and deputies discovered a stockpile of weapons in his apartment. As he was being taken into custody, he allegedly attempted to draw for a weapon he was carrying.

Pepijn F. Schmidt, 30, of the 4000 block of North Main Street, is facing misdemeanor charges of contempt of court and resisting an officer and a felony count of possession of a firearm silencer.

According to the criminal complaint:

In December, Racine County Sheriffs Office investigators served Schmidt eviction paperwork. At the time, Schmidt refused to fully open the door and told deputies he was not going to leave. Deputies learned that Schmidt, who had served in combat in the military, was heavily armed inside the apartment.

According to the criminal complaint, representatives from the county Human Services Department, deputies and military veterans tried to convince Schmidt to come out of the apartment and receive assistance. After attempts failed, deputies learned that Schmidt only left his apartment every two or three weeks to go to a local grocery store.

On April 18, deputies arranged to intercept Schmidt at a grocery store in the 3900 block of Erie Street. As Schmidt came out of the store and caught sight of officers, he reportedly reached for a handgun he was carrying as a sidearm.

Two other deputies converged on his right side and were able to bring Schmidt to the ground, where he reportedly continued to resist. Deputies told him to stop resisting for several minutes until he was overpowered. Two handguns, two handgun magazines and two knives were found in Schmidts possession.

At his apartment, the following items were located:

Two shotguns, one of which was loaded, was found in Schmidts bedroom.

Five rifles  a loaded .308-caliber semiautomatic rifle was found in his living room and a loaded .223-caliber rifle was found in a back closet.

Two loaded revolvers  one at the front door and another on a book case in the living room.

Two loaded semiautomatic pistols  a 9mm was located in the living room and a .22-caliber with an affixed silencer was located in a back closet.

Thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Two sets of military-grade body armor.

Other military items and edged weapons were located.

Schmidts next scheduled court appearance is a preliminary hearing set for at 8:30 a.m. May 10 at the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. He is being held on a $2,500 bond at the Racine County Jail. He is ordered not to possess or control any weapons and body armor and must comply with Behavioral Health Services orders and take all medication as prescribed, online court records showed.
9:00 UPDATE:

Showers and storms moving across Central Virginia are staying below severe levels, and strong storms are unlikely for the rest of the evening.

The storms produced some wind damage in Pittsylvania County and Halifax County, but weakened after the sun went down.

The National Weather Service cancelled the Severe Thunderstorm Watch early.

The duration of rain probably wouldn't be longer than 1 hour in any given location, so flash flooding is not a concern.

A fragmented line of thunderstorms will continue pushing east across Virginia ahead of a cold front, likely clearing east of Interstate 95 by midnight.

Dry, calm and pleasant spring weather will return on Tuesday.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
A former Roanoke College student has been charged with aggravated sexual battery in an incident in a campus dormitory last month, according to court records.

James Douglas Caruso, 19, is charged with aggravated sexual battery in which the victim is incapacitated, object sexual penetration and sodomy against a helpless victim, according to online court records.

Caruso is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman inside his New Hall dorm room on April 20.

Roanoke College spokeswoman Theresa Gereaux said Caruso was a student at the time of the incident but is no longer enrolled at the college. She said that because of privacy laws, she could not say if he left voluntarily or when his departure became effective. She also did not say whether the woman was a Roanoke College student.

According to a search warrant filed in Salem Circuit Court, the woman told police she had been socializing and drinking alcohol with Caruso inside his dorm. She fell asleep and later awoke to find Caruso sexually assaulting her.

The woman told police that although she was intoxicated at the time, she had previously made it clear to Caruso that she did not want to engage in any sexual activity with him. The woman noticed blood on the bedding, and she left her underwear and an earring in the room when she left, according to the warrant.

The next day, police seized from the room various bedding items, buccal swabs, swabs from hands, female underwear, an earring, a cellphone, condoms and condom wrappers, and an empty bottle of rum.

Caruso, who was 18 at the time, was also arrested that day.

He has bonded out of the Western Virginia Regional Jail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 20 in Salem General District Court.
Several residents said their concerns with the park began worsening a few months ago following the sale of the property to a firm with ties to a hedge fund that has gained notoriety in recent years over its purchase  and attempted purchases  of a number of newspapers across the country.
RICHMOND  As they prepared to take up roughly a dozen old complaints of illegal political mail or signs, members of the Virginia State Board of Elections complained Monday that they were flying blind because the state agency they oversee stopped offering guidance on whether the ads in question violated the law.

The lack of staff analysis and recommendations, coupled with lengthy delays between when complaints come in and when they come up for review, left one board member openly wondering whether the state is doing enough to police political campaigns.

Board members also raised concern about receiving limited details about the cases  many dating back to the November election  on Friday afternoon for a Monday-morning meeting.

Officials from the Virginia Department of Elections told the board they chose to stop providing detailed memos outlining the facts of each potential violation, the relevant code section and recommendations for action because doing so would constitute legal advice on often hazy questions, such as whether a particular message amounts to express advocacy.

Those are legal questions that we cant answer, said elections department Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Howard.

In an email, Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortes said his department has previously told the board that some issues would be better handled by the Attorney Generals Office, but said the change probably could have been communicated better before Mondays meeting.

Among the complaints the board was scheduled to take up at the meeting was the Democratic Party of Virginias accusation that former Richmond mayoral candidate Joe Morrissey circulated intentionally misleading sample ballots in November that suggested he was the Democratic-endorsed candidate and failed to include the required disclaimer letting voters know who paid for the sample ballot. The eventual victor  current Mayor Levar Stoney  joined in the complaint as the mayoral candidate endorsed by the local Democratic committee.

Under state law, all political advertisements must include a Paid for by disclosure identifying the source of the ad, and violations could potentially bring fines of up to $1,000. In the two weeks before an election, the civil penalties can jump to $2,500.

The Board of Elections, whose three members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly, is tasked with deciding whether a violation took place.

By law, those accused of violations must receive notice at least 10 days prior to a board hearing, but most of the 11 people or groups on the agenda for Mondays meeting did not show up.

With little information from staff and few people in attendance to explain their side of the story, the board deferred action.
NORTH KOREA

Nation says it will accelerate program

UNITED NATIONS  North Koreas Foreign Ministry says the country will speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program at the maximum pace in response to the new U.S. policy that calls for new sanctions and maximum pressure and engagement.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday that was circulated by North Koreas U.N. Mission says the government is ready to respond to any option taken by the United States.

TEXAS

Police arrest suspect in stabbings

AUSTIN, Texas  A student was arrested on accusations of stabbing at least four people Monday on the University of Texas campus, according to authorities.

One person was killed and three others seriously wounded in the incident.

The suspect surrendered to police, authorities said.

Police identified the suspect as 21-year-old Kendrex J. White.

University police Chief David Carter described the weapon as a Bowie-style hunting knife. He said the stabbings occurred within a one-block area.

There was no immediate word about a motive.

Paramedic shot, suspect found dead

DALLAS  A man suspected of shooting and critically injuring a paramedic who was tending to a shooting victim Monday has been found dead in a Dallas home, ending a threat that locked down the neighborhood for hours, authorities said.

A police robot found two bodies in a home east of downtown, including that of the suspected gunman, as authorities scoured the neighborhood following the shooting, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said during a news conference.

Interim Police Chief David Pughes said its believed the shooting started as a dispute between the suspected gunman and the victim, whom emergency responders were trying to help out on the street. Pughes said the two were neighbors.

WEATHER

Death toll rises to at least 16 after storms

ST. LOUIS  Several southern states braced for more severe weather Monday in the wake of storms, tornadoes and flooding that claimed 16 lives and left authorities in Arkansas searching for two children swept away by raging waters.

The outbreak that began Saturday over much of the U.S. Midwest and South included at least four tornadoes in Texas and severe flooding after more than a foot of rain fell in parts of Missouri. The storm even spawned a mid-spring snowstorm in Kansas.

Its not over yet. More flooding and tornadoes are possible as storms roll eastward in a band stretching from Alabama into the Ohio River valley. A wind advisory was in effect over much of the South. Parts of the Florida Panhandle could be affected by severe thunderstorms or high winds and dangerous rip currents.

In Missouri, docile creeks swelled to dangerous levels, and river levels jumped after the downpours. The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency counted 143 water rescues statewide but acknowledged countless others probably werent reported.
Business News First Hawai I Small Business Conference Being Held On Maui | RobinsPost News & Noticias

The festival showcased 140 vendors from Maui, including food trucks from Maui and Molokai. It was great to be back in person where our manufactures can share their products ... Read More The Wahine Forum hosted by Hawaii Business magazine and presented by The Queens Health System. It is the states largest professional development conference. Hawaiis top female ... Read More More than 140 recreational fishers were in attendance at the first in a series of talk story events held Friday night on Maui. The four hour talk story session focused on marine management and was ... Read More Another month of solid US hiring suggests more big Fed hikes Nations agree to curb emissions from flying by 2050 After almost a decade of talks, the nations of the world committed Friday to ... Read More And it all ties into housing," Aiona said at a news conference about his proposals. DEMOCRATS SEEK TO MAINTAIN DOMINATION IN RELIABLY BLUE HAWAII. HERE'S WHAT TO EXPECT ON TUESDAY. Green vowed to ... Read More It never hurts to look on the bright side once in a while. Here are seven recent praiseworthy moments in the business scene. Read More The price has been reduced on this oceanfront property Kapalua, Maui, to $41.9 million, but it remains the highest current price listing in Hawaii for a single-family home. | Photo: courtesy of ... Read More but Hawaii homeowners could feel its fallout with higher hurricane insurance rates within a few years, says one local expert. Ian left an estimated $53 billion to $74 billion in damage caused by ... Read More Much of the eroded soil ends up in the ocean, smothering West Mauis reefs. Additionally, the preserve is home to 300 native and endemic plant species, including koa and the threatened Hawaii ... Read More Looking at the different counties, Oahu and Maui County both experienced declines in occupancy of about 8 percentage points last month compared to September 2019. Kauai and Hawaii Island ... Read More And we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortions in Hawaii, Ige, a Democrat, said at a news conference. Ige is the latest ... Read More If you own a small business and are looking to attractand ... Kaiser Permanente is available in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Washington, ... Read More
Business News Business Forums Of Businessmen From Bih And Uae | RobinsPost News & Noticias

This platform strengthens dialogue, as well as the exchange of knowledge and ideas between officials, academics, and business leaders from around the globe ... Read More He was speaking at the India  UAE India Business Forum organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. The conference was ... Read More UAE is trying to lure advanced technology companies away from hubs in Asia and Europe by fast-tracking business licenses and offering long-term residency for employees, Bloomberg reported. The nation ... Read More Im excited to open the first Dubai Future Forum with a keynote about the value of strategic foresight within business, government and society  and how the field itself must evolve, she added. The ... Read More Newly established Samana Business Centre, part of Dubai-based Samana Group, on Wednesday launched with a women-focused CSR campaign. It will encourage, motivate and support female entrepreneurship ... Read More Nov 4 | You need to earn at least $100,000 per year to afford a home in 27% of U.S. ZIP Nov 4 | Nashville's industrial real estate market, which encompasses assets like warehouses and ... Read More Business conditions in the Dubai non-oil economy continued to strengthen at a robust rate in September, according to the latest PMI survey data. Activity and new business rose sharply despite ... Read More with retailers expecting brisk business during Diwali. Diwali, like all other major festivals, is of utmost importance for the UAEs retail sector due to the presence of the large Indian ... Read More What is working against them is their dependence on siloed security, says Trellix study 60% of UAE SecOps teams are ... Get Breaking News Alerts From Gulf News Well send you latest ... Read More won a lead spot on all Dubai initial public offerings this year, boosting its fees and reviving a long-dormant business in the face of stiff competition from local and international banks. Read More DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--XPENG AEROHT, the largest flying car company in Asia and an affiliate of XPENG, today conducted the first flight of its electric flying car ... Read More VERONA, Italy, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Europe's wine business forum par excellence, wine2wine Business Forum comes back on 7-8th November, offering more than 50 sessions in a two-day ... Read More
Business News Business Times Exclusive Ranking The Best School Districts In Pennsylvania | RobinsPost News & Noticias

See how the two differ in coursework and focus by exploring the rankings below ... Full-time, out-of-state tuition at the business schools that top U.S. News list of best MBA programs can ... Read More Using data compiled by Niche, an education research platform, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 best public school districts in America for 2023. Niche ranked school districts based on a weighted ... Read More Stacker analyzed 2021 data from Niche to calculate the best school district in every state. Niche rankings rely on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, SAT/ACT scores, college ... Read More Many public school districts across the country are understaffed, underfunded, and underperforming. (Here is a look at the best private high schools in America.) ... Read More Two Connecticut school districts were named among the 50 best in the U.S., according to Niche's newly released report titled "2023 Best School Districts in America." Westport School District was named ... Read More A look at the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland ... Eric Sondheimer is the prep sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has been honored seven times by the California ... Read More ranks as the best school district in the state. Niche based its ranking on a weighted index of several measures, including self-reported standardized test scores, parent and student surveys ... Read More In a showdown of the states top two high school football powerhouse programs ... Eric Sondheimer is the prep sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has been honored seven times by ... Read More
Politics News President Vladimir Putin Denies That Russia Has Ever Interfered In The Domestic Politics Of Other Countries | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as 'Putins chef,' said Russia interfered in past U.S. elections and is still doing so today. Read More Kremlin-connected businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that he interfered in U.S. elections and would continue to do so. The statement by the man known as Putin's chef because of his ... Read More Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of seeking global domination by fueling the conflict in Ukraine. Read More
Politics News Icihaiti Politics International Cooperation In The Field Of Justice | RobinsPost News & Noticias

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Elections News Italy S Renzi Wins Democratic Party S Primary Elections | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Italys new far-right-led government of Giorgia Meloni has won the first of two required confidence votes in Parliament by a comfortable margin. The vote in the lower Chamber of Deputies ... Read More
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In it, the newspaper's opinions team debunked allegations made by election deniers trying to discredit Arizona's electoral system. "Arizona voters can depend on the security and professional ... Read More According to the details, the gunfight began in the Tangpawa area of Anantnag. Police and security forces are on the job. Commenting on the encounter, the Jammu and Kashmir police said ... Read More Checking on election security and voting threats ... Norah ODonnell, faced with a situation likely never encountered by CBS News predecessors like Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather, cautioned ... Read More With midterm elections just over two weeks away ... Power the Polls, told CBS News the group is tracking about 400 jurisdictions nationwide that are still looking for more workers. Read More Election security is on voters minds, as well. I worry about people trying to harm voters or people working the elections, said Lisa Watkins of Fairfax County, Virginia. Watkins who ... Read More Two terrorists were killed in the Anantnag ... security forces, said the officials on Monday One terrorist was killed earlier in the encounter that broke out in the Tangpawa area of Jammu and ... Read More To really understand an election, you have to understand the ... Of late, in the face of worse economic news, the Democrats have faced headwinds on this. So will they be enough to keep the races ... Read More Welcome to Fox News Election Brief, a newsletter with the latest updates from the 2022 midterm elections campaign trail. Subscribe now to get Fox News' Election Brief in your inbox. Read More The Problem Solvers got an exclusive inside look at the security measures one metro areas election office is taking. Once you drop your ballot into one of the ballot drop boxes, what happens to it? Read More Worse, the election winners are more likely to be special interests who dont fight for students needs. Theres strong evidence that interest groups deliberately pushed for the current system. Read More The 2022 midterm elections will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The midterms are elections that occur halfway through a president's four-year term. All 435 seats in the U.S. House are up for ... Read More Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in ... Read More
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Former President Trump told Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward that he had good chemistry with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Woodward revealed in a clip from his new audiobook. In the clip, ... Read More
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A prosecutor and a defense attorney quibbled Tuesday over the significance of a $30 payment that a jail inmate made last year as part of an alleged plot hatched to kill a Madison police officer.

In her opening statement to the trial of Alijouwon Watkins, 21, Assistant District Attorney Colette Sampson told jurors that $30 may sound like an absurd amount, but the evidence will show its all that he had in the world.

To Watkins lawyer, David Stegall, the $30 was part of a grand lie, and there never was a conspiracy involving Watkins to kill police Officer Elisabeth Misener in order to make a previously charged domestic battery case against Watkins go away. Instead, he said, it was the work of a fabulist jailhouse snitch who was looking for something in return for the information he concocted.

Its like something out of a bad, bad crime movie, Stegall said.

Watkins faces several charges related to the alleged June 27, 2015, battery of his then-girlfriend, who told police Watkins cracked her car windshield after he became enraged because she wouldnt loan her car to him. Two other charges relate to a jailhouse plot to hire a hit man to kill Misener, and to find someone to act as a witness, to testify the police brutally attacked Watkins as they arrested him.

Those charges include conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide and solicitation of perjury. Watkins is also charged with witness intimidation.

The two sets of charges, initially charged as separate cases, were combined last month for this weeks trial, which is expected to last until Friday before Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds.

The battery happened, Sampson said, as Vera Cox was driving Watkins, Watkins brother and another man as they ran errands. Part of it took place in the parking lot of the McDonalds restaurant on Verona Road. Cox called police later while they were parked at the side of a street, where she stopped, she testified Tuesday, because Watkins kept grabbing the wheel as she drove, having a tantrum at her decision not to let him use her car.

Later, as police tried to arrest Watkins, Sampson said, he fought them off. The officers, Sampson said, had called in the wrong address, so backup was slow in coming. Misener ended up with a concussion in the struggle, in which Watkins got away with a handcuff on one wrist.

Last June, as Watkins trial approached in that case, investigators learned he had solicited a fellow jail inmate, Damian James, to find someone to kill Misener. James reported the solicitation, and investigators played along to see where it led. Watkins paid $30, all he had in his jail account, as down payment for the deed, and volunteered to kill anyone later if James asked him to.

Instead, the hit man James hired was a federal agent.

But Stegall told jurors that the prosecution was telling a story, and in the trial they would learn the facts. The villain in the story, he said, was James, who has lied to everyone involved. He said James fancies himself as a Marine sniper, with ties to the Italian Mafia. Stegall said there was no plan to kill Misener.

Mr. James orchestrated this from start to finish, Stegall said. Youll be the judges about whether there were any promises made.

Dont believe him, he added.
Product Reviews Porsche Cayenne Blasts Past Tow Rating Pulls Air France Airbus A380 Roadshow | RobinsPost News & Noticias

CarsGuide has published 4 expert reviews of the Porsche Cayenne 2016. It has an average rating of 7.7 out of 10. Read all the reviews here. The towing capacity of the 2016 Porsche Cayenne supports up ... Read More Google updated the documentation on how to write product reviews to add examples of kinds of product reviewers and to tighten the focus of the documentation with more precise wording. Overall ... Read More In its third attempt, Porsche is finally getting it right with the Cayenne. Even from this brief ... 2022 group test review The new Mazda CX-60 PHEV is designed to appeal to premium SUV buyers ... Read More Aviation industry heavyweights Airbus and Air France are charged with manslaughter in a trial that opens Monday over the crash of Flight 447 on June 1, 2009. The worst plane crash in Air France ... Read More The LOreal Paris Glycolic Skin Brightening Serum was the other product I tried. The formulations is non-sticky and light. One of its main ingredients is niacinamide, a form of Vitamin B3. Read More The Orchestra was directed by Daniel Harding, who is not only a renowned conductor but an Air France pilot on the Airbus A320 as well. The idea of performing "The Firebird" by Stravinsky as close ... Read More Anyone can read what you share. By Aurelien Breeden PARIS  Airbus and Air France went on trial on Monday over their role in the 2009 crash of a Rio de Janeiro-Paris flight that plunged into the ... Read More PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Air France and Airbus pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of involuntary manslaughter over the 2009 crash of an A330 jetliner, which killed everyone onboard. Read More The trial of two of Frances biggest companies began Monday over the crash of Air France flight 447 ... that had affected a few Airbus aircraft in the past, but one which the company had not ... Read More PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - A French criminal court opened the historic manslaughter trial of Air France (AIRF.PA) and planemaker Airbus (AIR.PA) on Monday, with angry relatives demanding justice 13 ... Read More Aviation industry heavyweights Airbus and Air France are charged with manslaughter in a trial that opens Monday over the crash of Flight 447 on June 1, 2009. The worst plane crash in Air France ... Read More
Science News Iowa Schools Urged To Bolster Computer Science Classes | RobinsPost News & Noticias

An Iowa school ... to Siouxland News. "I think they should be afforded that safety that government and politicians have," another man, Larry Pigott, grandfather of 11 kids in the school district ... Read More In response to the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, Texas, this summer, Iowa City School District ... The amount of school shootings shown in the news makes any educator concerned ... Read More The College of Engineering at University of Iowa has a rolling application deadline. The application fee is $60 for U.S. residents and $100 for international students. Its tuition is full-time ... Read More The Gazettes Iowa high school football staff pose and answer ... K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford can gain for 4 Downs: 1st & 10: What class do you think is deepest with really good teams? Read More Gubernatorial candidates focusing on public schools is far from new. But in the Iowa race for governor, both candidates have spent significant time on the campaign trail discussing their plans for the ... Read More CHEROKEE, Iowa (KCRG) - A school district in Northwest Iowa is allowing some staff members to carry guns on school grounds. The district in Cherokee, Iowa, came to the decision during a board ... Read More It was a major topic among Iowa lawmakers earlier this year during the legislative session. It was a significant factor in the June primary elections in Republican legislative campaigns. Read More Xtream Arena hosts the Iowa high school state volleyball tournament for the first time in 2022. Forty teams will come to Coralville to compete  eight in each of the IGHSAUs five classes. Read More To say that the Iowa Hawkeyes' offense has struggled during the 2022 college football season would be extremely kind. The Hawkeyes are dead last  131st out of 131 FBS schools  in yards per ... Read More Say what you will about the way the regional pairings are created, but the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union ... out just that way across all five classes. Only one team ranked in the top ... Read More Online Programs in professional areas with the largest enrollments are evaluated annually by U.S. News, based on criteria such as employment outcomes of graduates. Read More IN WESTERN IOWA. THE CHEROKEE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL VOTE TO ALLOW SOME STAFF MEMBERS TO CARRY GUNS ON CAMPUS. PREVIOUSLY, ONLY LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS ALLOWED TO BRING WEAPONS TO SCHOOLS. THE NEW ... Read More
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A new geopolitical crisis is stirring against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, tensions around Taiwan, and the sharpening US-China rivalry. North Korea ... Russel, a former assistant secretary ... Read More Korea, Japan have been closely monitoring the Punggye-ri nuclear test site North Korea passed a law enshrining the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself With reports saying ... Read More North Koreas Foreign Ministry has criticized the United States for expanding combined military exercises with South Korea that it claims are practice for an invasion. Read More South Korea says North Korea has fired artillery shells near the rivals sea boundary in its latest weapons test SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea fired artillery shells near its sea boundaries ... Read More NORTH Korea is on the brink of its first nuclear bomb test in five years, South Korea has said. The South is now in 24-hour stand-by as it awaits the next move by the Norths dictator Kim Jong ... Read More North Korea Says It Will Not Overlook Any Kind of ... spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency. "In the future, too, our army will never allow any provocation ... Read More The United States, Japan and South Korea warned Wednesday that a North Korean nuclear test would warrant an "unprecedentedly strong response," vowing unity after a blitz of missile launches from ... Read More A TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile launches with file footage is seen at the Seoul Railway Station in South Korea on Sunday. (Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press ... Read More As Biden warns ... to North Korea, underscoring limited U.S. options to contain its nuclear and missile programs. Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia under former president Barack ... Read More SEOUL, South Korea ... former U.S. President Donald Trump in June 2018, but the diplomacy collapsed after the second Kim-Trump meeting in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North ... Read More and South Korea is also developing indigenous systems designed to intercept various kinds of North Korean missiles. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news ... Read More South Korea's military says its capable of detecting and intercepting the variety of missiles that North Korea has launched in a barrage of recent simulated nuclear attacks on its rivals SEOUL ... Read More
Science News Science Uncovers The Gene Responsible For Dalmatian Disease Ards | RobinsPost News & Noticias

A genetic variant that appears to have boosted medieval Europeans ability to survive the Black Death centuries ago may contribute  albeit in a small way  to an inflammatory disease ... Read More The Black Death pushed certain protective genetic ... in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has appeared in The Scientist Magazine, Science News, The ... Read More The discovery of a genetic variant that is relatively common ... High cholesterol is a major cause of disease burden in countries of all income levels, is a risk factor for heart disease and ... Read More Pathological processes are usually characterised by altered gene activity in the cells affected. So, gaining an accurate picture of gene activity can provide the key to the development of new ... Read More Now, researchers report they have pinpointed a large number of genes responsible for the disorder. Advertisement "Our findings show that common genetic ... Ocean. Science News // 2 days ago ... Read More Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have revealed, for the first time and in near-atomic detail, the structure of the key part of the inner ear responsible for hearing. This is the ... Read More "In most cases, iron storage disease is due to a defect in the haemochromatosis gene HFE, which is located on chromosome 6," says Professor Ott. It only occurs in people who have inherited this ... Read More Brown School of Engineering and his team point out in a paper published in Science Advances that ... from patients with sickle cell disease, and the PD-1 gene in primary T-cells. Read More A groundbreaking new Israeli study has revealed that two biological factors could be the key to preventing high-risk individuals from developing heart disease. For more stories from The Media Line ... Read More Some of the same genetic ... Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all ... Read More Scientists from the University of Oxford have identified a gene associated with strong immune ... so they not only stop us developing severe disease, but also keep us symptom-free for as long ... Read More The overexpression of a gene tied to cell division and the structure and function of neurons may prevent and protect against cognitive decline in both mice and humans with Alzheimer's disease (AD ... Read More
Internet News Pennsylvania Lawmaker Shuts Down Internet Troll By Calling His Grandmother | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Behind the scenes, a key ally says that former President Donald Trump is encouraging state lawmakers in Pennsylvania ... News. "What can [Trump] do? As head of the Republican Party, he can make ... Read More One of the UKs most respected news anchors has been forced to apologize after he was caught on a live feed calling a cabinet ... If its in breach of his code of conduct, I do hope they ... Read More American Federation For Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital that "school choice is the only way to truly secure parental rights in education" and "Pennsylvania lawmakers ... Read More One of the most popular cricket pundits in the Indian spectrum at present, Aakash Chopra has duly made a name for himself as an analyst of the game since his retirement. When it comes to Indian ... Read More READ MORE: University of Miami frat shut down after video surfaces of frat chants about having sex with dead woman As the news spread, thousands took to social media to share their thoughts. Read More PREVIOUS COVERAGE | A crash in Lebanon County has shut down a portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike on ... 275.3 and 277.5. Stay tuned to CBS 21 News for more information when it becomes available. Read More Stacker investigated school districts with slow internet in Pennsylvania using data from Connect K-12. Access to high-speed internet in schools has come a long way in the last decade. In 2013 ... Read More Emily Ratajkowski & Brad Pitt Are Officially Dating? After Seemingly Coming Out As Bi, Model Reveals Her Relationship Status ( Photo Credit  Instagram; IMDb ) Its been several weeks ... Read More It's a well-known fact that Windows PCs need to be shut down or restarted on a semi-regular schedule to preserve their stability and apply security updates from Microsoft. If you fail to do this ... Read More Deadline reported on Sunday that Comcast's Spectacor division is shutting down the technology and gaming ... Cox Communications, and internet streaming service Philo. Read More
Technology News New Push To Change Voting Technology In Minnesota | RobinsPost News & Noticias

More than two-thirds of Americans say they are unlikely to purchase an electric vehicle in the next three years, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research ... Read More Gov. Tim Walz is running against Republican Scott Jensen in Minnesota's gubernatorial race. This is one of 36 gubernatorial elections taking place in 2022. The state's pandemic response has become a ... Read More Democrat Tim Walz won a second term as Minnesotas governor on Tuesday, fending off a challenge by Republican Scott Jensen, a family practice physician who grabbed ... Read More More than two-thirds of Americans say they are unlikely to purchase an electric vehicle in the next three years, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research ... Read More US midterm election will be held on Nov. 8, but early voting is already underway and candidates are making their closing arguments. Follow CNN for the latest election news and updates. Read More The 2022 midterm election is less than two weeks away, with control of Congress and key statehouses at stake. Our reporters are covering contests across the nation. Read More The St. Cloud Times asked the St. Cloud City Council candidates five questions about themselves and their goals if elected to office Nov. 8. Read More On social media, in political ads and at campaign rallies, Republicans say Democrats push for battery-powered transportation will leave Americans broke, stranded on the road and even in the dark. Read More Many Republican candidates are seeking to capitalize on Americans precarious financial situations heading into next weeks midterm elections to vilify a key component of President Joe Bidens climate ... Read More
Travel News Travel 10 Things To Do In Barcelona | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Barcelona has some of the most unique and inspiring architecture in the world, so a tour of the city's parks, museums and churches is a must. Start your days off with tours of Antoni Gaudi's ... Read More (Getty Images) "Cruise departure times are unyielding and companies typically never wait for delayed flights," says Julie Loffredi, editor at travel ... a shortage of things to do. Read More "For example, for the year up to the end of July, spending in Barcelona ... do more shopping and take advantage of the better hotel rates because of the strong dollar. Aga Jones, owner of Aga ... Read More Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang faces Arsenal, late England auditions and Ralph Hasenhuttl again staring down the barrel ... Read More We asked ten travel bloggers from around the world to share their travel lifestyles and tips with us. Being a travel blogger encapsulates the best things I love to do: travel, be creative ... Read More And more good news ... detailed travel tips. Her motto is Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do. Why: Theres just something about Barcelona that attracts everyone and draws them in ... Read More "It must be a cruise line first and operated with those who can do ... things out," he said. "My job is to assure my clients' desires are exceeded, not frustrated." Steve Orens, president of Plaza ... Read More News and updates as we count down to a busy weekend of action in the English top flight, the FA Cup first round, WSL and more ... Read More Expedia recently released its 2023 Travel Hacks report, and Priceline also came out with tips for booking your winter getaway. Read on for more details, but the key things to know are that ... Read More Passengers leave cruises for all kinds of reasons. But when should you leave your cruise? And what are your rights if you're asked to leave? Read More ARSENAL have qualified for the last-16 of the Europa League after a 1-0 win over FC Zurich in their final game. Takehiro Tomiyasu hobbled off injured in the match and there are fears he could miss ... Read More
Travel News Cuba Vacation Travel Guide Expedia 4k | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Travel websites like Tripping.com, a vacation rental search engine ... and even before the news, American interest in traveling to Cuba has steadily risen. According to data released by the ... Read More The Association Les 3 Vallees announces today the launch of a new online travel agency  Les 3 Vallees Travel - to provide consumers globally a simple and direct way to book vacations to the ... Read More The three companies, Expedia, the Airlines Reporting Corp., and Google didnt discuss the issue during a travel industry or ... and for summer vacation we examined 6- to 9-day trips and 13 ... Read More R Family Vacations, the LGBTQ-focused tour operator run by luxury advisors Kelli Carpenter and Gregg Kaminsky, have rebranded to KelliGregg Travel. The rebrand comes as the company evolves ... Read More There are plenty of reasons to buy travel insurance but saving money and potential headaches are top of mind. And inflation certainly doesn't help. The price of plane tickets is expected to spike ... Read More (It's not too late to book Thanksgiving travel either, but some of the best deals may have already passed.) Expedia recently released its 2023 Travel Hacks report, and Priceline also came out with ... Read More Travel expenses can be pricey, depending on where you're going and when. So, you may be inclined to deny or refuse travel insurance as a way to cut costs. But sometimes that decision can end up ... Read More That rule doesn't apply to websites like Expedia, sometimes called online travel agencies, or OTAs, though Expedia does voluntarily comply. Even when flights are canceled by the airline ... Read More Editor's Note  Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel's weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations ... inspiration for your upcoming vacation plans, and Fat Bear Week weathers a ... Read More Instead of having a family feast in their homes, many are opting to celebrate in the comforts of a getaway in a vacation rental, Caroline Burns, a travel expert and the director of PR at ... Read More Apple Leisure Group Vacations is enabling travel advisors to earn educational credits and accreditation status with a new specialist program, ALGVPro. Upon completion of the five interactive ... Read More
Travel News Travel Time From Ancient Rome | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Rome is a lasagna. We build layer on layer so we have to build around our ancient city, luxury travel advisor Mitra ... from the Trevi Fountain. So next time you're in the Eternal City ... Read More Baccarat Hotel Rome is poised to set a new standard for ... This dynamic modern metropolis is not just one of the most cherished travel destinations in the world, but it has been a preeminent ... Read More There are still plenty of unexpected attractions to be found among the ancient streets and buildings of Rome. Here are my favorites. Read More Photo Credit: TW photo by Rebecca Tobin I'm not exaggerating when I say I still can't figure out my favorite thing about the Hotel de la Ville, Rocco Forte Hotels' newest property in Rome. Read More Regan Stephens is a Philadelphiabased freelance journalist with 10 years of experience writing about food, drinks, travel ... before returning to full-time freelance writing. Read More Ancient Roman observation towers until recently were known only places like Scotland, Germany and Romania. But, an archaeological excavation at an ancient city of Volubilis in northern Morocco has ... Read More "If it is a 1st Century Roman structure, with its only known comparisons in Rome and Pompeii, then it is the only one of its kind in Britain to date making it nationally important." ... Read More Father Moses planned to do the walk from London to Rome, one of three major Christian pilgrimages, in 2020, but COVID-19 delayed that to this year. Read More Conventional travel wisdom suggests that those flying around Thanksgiving and Christmas, holidays that many Americans travel for every winter, should book their travel as early as possible. Yet the ... Read More Ratings and prices are accurate and items are in stock as of time of publication. Books about time travel artfully challenge ... and a gladiator from ancient Rome. Farways longtime dream ... Read More Need inspiration for next years travels? Nat Geo has named its up and coming destinations, with a responsible travel slant ... Read More
Us News Dprk Blames Us South Korea For Tension On Korean Peninsula | RobinsPost News & Noticias

If the United States and South Korea attempt to use arms against us without ... instability of the Korean Peninsula on reckless military moves of the U.S. and South Korea. EVERYBODY IS HOLDING ... Read More North Korea on Monday demanded that the United States and South Korea stop large-scale military exercises, calling them a provocation that may draw "more powerful follow-up measures" from Pyongyang. Read More The United States is continuing to ramp up tensions ... move the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff called very unusual. The US State Department on Monday also denounced North Korea ... Read More North Korea added to its recent barrage of weapons demonstrations by launching four ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, as the United States sent two supersonic bombers streaking over South ... Read More Beijing and Moscow had bent over backwards to justify North Koreas violations of UN sanctions, US ambassador says. Read More I think North Korea should talk to us rather ... defuse military tensions and remove the danger of war in the Peninsula. Four years, a new American president and a new South Korean president ... Read More The US, South Korea, and Japan on Wednesday agreed to further strengthen deterrence to counter North Korea amid growing tension on Korean Peninsula ... Kyodo News reported. Japans Takeo ... Read More Officials from the United States and its Asian allies Japan and South ... North Korea's new nuclear policy is creating a serious tension on the Korean Peninsula, Cho told a joint news ... Read More "We have in the past expressed our concern at the recent ballistic missile launches by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and we have now noted reports of another ICBM launch on November ... Read More WASHINGTON: North Korea yesterday demanded that the US and South Korea stop large-scale military exercises, calling them a provocation that may draw more powerful follow-up measures from Pyongyang. Read More
A guidance counselor at Indian Mound Middle School in McFarland has been named the Wisconsin middle school teacher of the year.

Jill Runde was honored in a surprise ceremony at the school, with state superintendent of schools Tony Evers making the announcement in an all-school assembly.

Runde gets $3,000 from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation, along with a plaque.

Runde began counseling at McFarland High School in 2002 and went to Indian Mound Middle School five years later.

According to the Department of Public Instruction, Runde has used improvisational skits by students at the high school to make them aware of such topics as bullying, stereotyping, teen suicide, puberty issues and drugs and alcohol, and also set up an ambassador student liaison group at the middle school to give support to students.

"The McFarland community is a much better place for children, thanks to someone as dedicated as Jill," McFarland Youth Center president Shawn Miller said in support of her nomination.
Us News Us Reg Closes Financing For Iowa Biodiesel Refinery Upgrades | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Smith used the stolen funds to pay expenses related to the operation of Permeate Refining, LLC, which operated a now-defunct ethanol plant in Hopkinton, Iowa ... Like us on Facebook to see ... Read More The North-East was rocked last night by the news ... the US as low as 11p a litre of biodiesel. D1, which yesterday said it had made an annual loss of 46.1m, is also ready to close its refinery ... Read More has closed a US$80 million financing with Apollo PK AirFinance for the acquisition of nine new spare engines directly from CFM. This transaction will provide GOL with additional operational ... Read More US president announces release of 15m barrels of oil from strategic reserve as he fights to keep gas prices in check before midterms Joe Biden has called on oil companies to pass on their massive ... Read More DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  A Des Moines television reporter announced this week on a newscast that she will publicly identify as a transgender woman. Load Error Nora J ... Read More It is the largest biodiesel refinery on the eastern seaboard, and it is a refinery that makes heating oil in a very different way. Used cooking oil is very plentiful from New York restaurants. Read More --(BUSINESS WIRE)--OSSIO, Ltd., a fast-growing orthopedic fixation technology company, announced today that it has closed $38.5 million in Series C financing ... will enable us to accelerate ... Read More an Iowa state senator. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox ... Read More SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SingleStore, the cloud-native database built for speed and scale to power data-intensive applications, today announced it has closed its F-2 round of financing at $ ... Read More The third-largest maintenance workers union opposed the deal, saying concerns over paid time off remained unaddressed The USs third-largest railroad union rejected a deal with employers ... Read More Authorities say a border bridge connecting the U.S. and Mexico near Brownsville, Texas has been closed temporarily BROWNSVILLE ... 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events ... Read More
Us News Nuclear Bombers Spotted Over North Korea As Us Prepares For Ww3 | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Korea, Japan have been closely monitoring the Punggye-ri nuclear test site North Korea passed a law enshrining the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself With reports saying ... Read More Michael Morell sits down with North Korea expert Markus Garlauskas to discuss his assessment of North Korea's missile tests and the threat of nuclear weapons under Kim Jong Un's regime. Read More North Korea added to its recent barrage of weapons demonstrations by launching four ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, as the United States sent two supersonic ... Read More US Air Force B-1B bombers landed in ... including launching one over Japan. Officials in Washington and Seoul say North Korea also appears prepared to resume nuclear testing for the first time ... Read More Officials from the United States and ... preemptively. North Korea's new nuclear policy is creating a serious tension on the Korean Peninsula, Cho told a joint news conference after talks ... Read More North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the sea, as the U.S sent two bombers over South Korea in a dueling display of military might that underscored rising tensions in the region. Read More The U.S. and South Korea jointly warned North Korea on Thursday that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un' ... Read More (Photo: Korean Central News ... flew over Japan, KCNA reported. Kim said the launches were "an obvious warning" to South Korea and the United States, informing them of North Korea's nuclear ... Read More Animosities on the Korean Peninsula have been running high in recent months, with North Korea testing a string of nuclear-capable missiles and adopting a law authorizing the preemptive use of its ... Read More As North Korea moves closer to its first nuclear test in five years, one of the biggest worries for the US and its allies might be a relatively small blast. Kim Jong Un has made clear he wants to ... Read More North Korea ... to tell the US and South Korea that any demonstrations of alliance solidarity and readiness will be in vain, Rand Corporation analyst Soo Kim told the AFP news agency. Read More
Us News Us Anti Missile System Operational In South Korea | RobinsPost News & Noticias

North Korea's military claimed that their recent missile drills were practice to mercilessly attack South Korean and American targets, as the DPRK responds to recent air drills. Read More The North Korean military said its response to US-South Korean war drills would be 'resolute and overwhelming', state media reported on M ... Read More South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said that the US ... THAAD system and the PAC-3 missile-defence system. Janes learnt that the UNFK has been working on a Joint Emergent Operational ... Read More North Koreas military says its recent barrage of missile tests were practice to attack its rivals air bases and warplanes and paralyze operation command systems ... Read More Michael Morell sits down with North Korea expert Markus Garlauskas to discuss his assessment of North Korea's missile tests and the threat of nuclear weapons under Kim Jong Un's regime. Read More South Korea says the recovered debris of a North Korean missile fired toward the South amid a barrage of sea launches last week was determined to be a Soviet-era anti-aircraft weapon that dates back t ... Read More The United States, which deploys about 28,500 troops in South Korea, has been operating an advanced anti-missile system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in southern South Korea since ... Read More Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from the western town of Sukchon, north of the capital, Pyongyang, and flew across the country toward waters off the Norths eastern ... Read More South Korea's military says North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern sea. The Souths Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday did not immediately say how far the missile flew ... Read More has been operating an advanced anti-missile system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defence in southern South Korea since 2017, apparently aimed at protecting nearby regions and additional US ... Read More
Us News North Korea Calls Us Bombers Maneuvers A Push For Nuclear War | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Michael Morell sits down with North Korea expert Markus Garlauskas to discuss his assessment of North Korea's missile tests and the threat of nuclear weapons under Kim Jong Un's regime. Read More Michael Morell sits down with North Korea expert Markus Garlauskas to discuss his assessment of North Korea's missile tests and the threat of nuclear weapons under Kim Jong Un's regime. Read More Tactical is an inexact term for a nuclear weapon that could be used within a theater of war, which to North Korea probably includes South Korea, Japan and US assets in places such as Gua ... Read More Massive US-South Korea joint military drills tend to cause the North to be tempted all the more to push ahead with a new nuclear test even though such military exercises are purportedly designe ... Read More Quoting leader Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the drills, the state-run Korean Central News ... and US officials have been warning since May that North Korea may be preparing for its first nuclear ... Read More North Korea has said its recent barrage of missile launches were tactical nuclear drills ... either. The US and South Korea held joint maritime exercises involving the USS Ronald Reagan ... Read More Seoul  North Korea's recent missile tests involved "tactical nuclear ... war" that gamed out hitting South Korea's ports, airports and military command facilities, the Korean Central News ... Read More more usable in a war that would stop short of destroying the entire Korean Peninsula. Its not clear if North Korea actually possesses the technology to build a nuclear warhead small enough to ... Read More The U.S. and South Korea are jointly warning North Korea that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of ... Read More The state-run Korean Central News Agency ... of the tactical nuclear weapons [to underscore that it is] very unreasonable to call for the full denuclearization of North Korea. Read More For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Leader Kim Jong Un guided exercises by nuclear ... The US-led UN forces are still technically at war with North Korea as the ... Read More
Us News Bodies Of Missing Us Canadian Couple Found In Belize | RobinsPost News & Noticias

This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Four dismembered bodies found in ... were reported missing by relatives ... Read More A couple missing for a month in Mexico may have been killed and buried under patio of hostel, police believe. Police found two bodies buried ... and have gone without news from the pair since ... Read More Western Cape police retrieved the bodies of a man and a woman in a quarry dam in Paul Kruger Street, believed to be those of the missing Stellenbosch couple on Monday. Police spokesperson Warrant ... Read More Okmulgee Police Department confirmed that four dismembered bodies recovered ... Kennedy was reported missing Saturday night and may be suicidal. On Monday, police found Kennedy's blue PT Cruiser ... Read More The bodies of two people found in a vehicle in Burnaby on Oct. 17 were a couple recently reported missing to the Coquitlam RCMP. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has now taken control of ... Read More Picture: SAPS. The bodies recovered in the vehicle found in the quarry in Stellenbosch have been confirmed to be those of missing couple Leila Lees and Ethan Kirkland. The young couple ... Read More Cape Town  Stellenbosch University has expressed shock at the death of a young couple whose bodies were found in a vehicle ... were reported missing on Saturday. The quarry is near the block ... Read More A body believed to be that of a California woman reported missing ... at a news conference, adding, I wish that we could have brought Ms. Fuentes home. On Monday, searchers found the ... Read More Four bodies were found and recovered from a river in Oklahoma Friday amid a search for four men who were reported missing earlier this week. The bodies were found after "suspicious items" were ... Read More The body of missing Princeton University student Misrach Ewunetie was found on campus Thursday ... Theres no constant update or interaction with us, he told CNN by phone on Thursday ... Read More Investigators determined the victims died from gunshot wounds before they were dumped in the Deep Fork River Dismembered bodies found in the ... of four men reported missing last week, the local ... Read More 20 (UPI) --Missing Princeton University student Misrach Ewunetie has been found dead on campus, but her death does not appear to be suspicious, authorities said Thursday afternoon. Her body was ... Read More
World News Saudi Prince Says Iran Wants To Control The Muslim World | RobinsPost News & Noticias

An official describes it as a credible threat of an attack soon or within 48 hours. Concerns of a possible attack come after the Biden administration criticized Tehran for sending drones to help ... Read More The Spanish law firm, which specializes in sports law, says there are two legal paths to suspend the Islamic Republic from the World ... News Digital, "The government of the Islamic Republic of ... Read More Saudi Arabia has currency reserves plus a sovereign wealth fund that total all together $1.1 trillion, and that is apart from their regular annual oil income. So if Riyadh wants fancy weapons ... Read More But a Saudi source tells Fox News Digital that al-Shaalan's rhetoric does not represent the views of the government and there is a good chance that they will take action against the prince for ... Read More Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on during ... article with gallery 3:26 PM UTC World Italy's Meloni discusses energy with Egypt's Sisi, raises rights issues, article with gallery ... Read More Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud (L) of Saudi arrives to ... article with gallery 9:13 AM UTC World at Work Analysis: Airlines ... Read More Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is driven to a ... It will be, God willing, a new start for the Arab world that is suffering from rupture, reported pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat. Read More If the Saudi heir refuses to cooperate, the court could make a summary judgment in Cengiz and Dawns favour, which may even lead to the seizure of the princes assets around the world  from ... Read More Iranian activists have called on world soccer's governing body to ... The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights says at least 277 people, including 40 children, have been killed in the government ... Read More CAIRO (Reuters) -Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not attend the Arab summit to be held on Nov. 1 in Algeria, in compliance with a doctors' recommendation to avoid travel, the Algerian ... Read More
World News U S News World Report Ranks Abington Heights Among Top High Schools In Pennsylvania | RobinsPost News & Noticias

The highest ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World ... ranking was based on the overall score carried out to many decimal places to prevent ties. High schools placing in the top 75% ... Read More BC also placed 41st in the Great Schools Great Prices ranking. Boston College Graduate Schools, including the School of Social Work and the Boston College Law School, maintained their high position ... Read More David Reibstein, an academic at the Wharton School who conducted the research, said the lower quality of life had a lot to do with safety concerns. Read More The overall ranking in the new edition evaluates 2,000 schools ... 2022-2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Overall Best Global Universities  Top 10 Africa  Top ... Read More The U.S. News & World Report travel rankings are based on an analysis of expert and user opinions. We believe this unbiased approach makes our rankings more useful than simply providing our ... Read More China has surpassed the U.S. on a major ranking of the worlds best universities. Among the 2,000 schools from more than 90 countries ranked by U.S. News ... 8 of the top 10, the report ... Read More Penn also produces female founders at one of the highest rates in the country, according to new data from Pitchbook. Read More New subject rankings include artificial intelligence and meteorology. WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report ... edition evaluates 2,000 schools  up from more ... Read More China has surpassed the U.S. on a major ranking of the worlds best universities. Among the 2,000 schools from more than 90 countries ranked by U.S. News ... 8 of the top 10, the report ... Read More
World News Story Police In Oregon End Portland March As Anarchists Set Fires | RobinsPost News & Noticias

Portland police declined to identify officers who shot a man on Monday in Southeast Portland, the fourth time since July that the bureau has gone against its own policy to release the names of ... Read More Portland police said the man was armed, but did not say with what. Police have not said how many shots were fired or how many officers fired their weapons. The man was treated for a gunshot wound at ... Read More The Portland Police Associations president ... Tina is the only candidate for governor who will keep Oregon families safe and stand up to extremists." Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed ... Read More Photograph: Courtesy of the Newport, Oregon, police department Police in Oregon ... implied it could be used for training, the Miami news station WPLG reported. Authorities ultimately took that ... Read More Protesters, some of them armed, threw rocks and smoke bombs outside a drag queen story time event at an Oregon pub over the ... had semi-automatic rifles, police said. The projectiles were rocks ... Read More green region experienced the world's worst air pollution. Seattle and Portland, Oregon, were first and second, respectively, in the global ranking of places with the poorest air quality ... Read More A haze of smoke covering parts of western Washington and Oregon is expected to clear before the week's end ... Portland briefly topped a list of large cities with the worst air quality in the world. Read More The air was difficult to breathe and residents struggled with haze as numerous fires smolder in US north-west Seattle, Portland ... and Oregon is expected to clear before the weeks end. Read More The Southwest Oregon ... Center in Portland. Last year, wildfires burned 828,777 acres. And in 2020  one of the most destructive fire seasons in Oregons history  fires scorched well ... Read More (AP)  Protesters, some of them armed, threw rocks and smoke grenades at each other outside a drag queen story time event at an Oregon pub ... semi-automatic rifles, police said. Read More
After a public contest, Dane Countys long-awaited day resource center for the homeless now has a name: The Beacon.

The name was chosen from 400 submissions, and was one of four finalists that included, The Opportunity Place, The Net and The Turning Point Center.

The Beacon is a beautiful and hopeful message, Jackson Founder, president of Catholic Charities, which will run the facility, said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Were one step closer to realizing a vision that began a number of years ago, County Executive Joe Parisi said. It has taken a community coming together.

The Beacon, which is projected to open Oct. 1, is being developed in the old Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce building, 615 E. Washington Ave. The building was purchased by the county for $1.75 million in July. Catholic Charities will run the facility.

The center is expected to serve more than 100 homeless men, women and children from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. It will offer showers, laundry facilities, a mail center, computers and family spaces. Staff will provide housing, counseling, job search and health care services.

This will mean the world to folks, said United Way of Dane County president Renee Moe, adding there is no way a homeless person can make multiple appointments in one day traveling by bus and that The Beacon will bring it all under one roof.

In early April, the County Board approved a $2.3 million contract with J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. to transform the chamber building into the resource center.
MILWAUKEE  A lengthy inquest into the dehydration death of a Milwaukee inmate has raised troubling questions about how Sheriff David Clarke manages the county jail, just as the White House is said to be considering the tough-talking lawman for a job.

Seven jail staffers could face criminal charges after the Milwaukee County District Attorneys Office outlined a case for a jury that suggested disobedient inmates were routinely deprived of water as punishment and pleas for help were ignored.

Clarke wasnt among the seven staffers, including two supervisors, whom the jury recommended should be charged because prosecutors say he wasnt directly involved in the events that led to the death last year of 38-year-old Terrill Thomas, who was deprived of water for seven days. But the death happened under the leadership of the brash cowboy hat-wearing sheriff, which his critics say is sufficient cause for his removal from office.

I think there is a counterproductive and negative culture that has been established at that jail, said county Sup. Supreme Moore Omokunde, who called on Clarke to resign in December. The creation of that culture starts at the top with Sheriff Clarke.

Wisconsins Republican governor, Scott Walker, issued a less than wholehearted defense of Clarke last week, saying that although he could remove him from office, hed leave it to voters to decide.

A spokesman said Clarke wouldnt comment for this story. The sheriff has said little about Thomas death, other than to highlight what landed him in jail: allegedly shooting a man in front of his parents house and later firing a gun inside a casino.

Clarke said in a statement posted to the sheriffs office Facebook page Monday that he respects the legal process but would say nothing else. There will be no speculation of what will happen until it happens, he said.

Although the jury recommended charges, it will be up to prosecutors to decide who gets charged and for what.

The unwanted attention comes as Clarke is reported to be in line for a position with the Department of Homeland Security. Politico, relying on unnamed sources who it said were familiar with President Donald Trumps administrations planning, reported Friday that Clarke was up for the job of assistant secretary in the Office of Partnership and Engagement, which coordinates outreach to state, local and tribal law enforcement.

The White House and Homeland Security would not confirm or comment on the report.

Clarke has made himself a darling of the political right through his provocative social media presence, his staunch support for Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration and his support for patroling of Muslim neighborhoods.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Milwaukee-based immigrant-advocacy group Voces de la Frontera both were quick to decry Clarkes rumored appointment to a federal leadership post, describing him as a divisive figure.

But despite the investigation into his jail, Clarke remains popular with many conservatives, including some who have been trying to get him to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin next year.

Thomas death was one of four at Clarkes jail in 2016, but the only one in which prosecutors are considering charges.
Magna chief executive John Silker

PLANS for a 20 million global centre of excellence in glass have been announced by Magna.

The Glass Futures project is the brainchild of the British Glass Manufacturers Confederation in Sheffield, is backed by a consortium including two of the worlds largest glass manufacturers, as well as Siemens and Leeds University.

The project will employ about 100 people and include a furnace producing 30 tonnes of glass a day for windows, bottles and fibreglass.

It will be housed in a previously unused area of the former Templeborough steelworks, with the intention of integrating it into the existing tourist attraction.

Magna chief executive John Silker said: This is an incredibly exciting project to be part of.

As a former steelworks we are very much at the heart of industry in South Yorkshire and so we are thrilled to host this centre of international importance.

Richard Katz, director of not-for-profit firm Glass Futures said: We are very excited to be working with the team at Magna, which is the perfect venue for this project being at the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment District and part of science education.
The Guangzhou Diamond Exchange (GZDE) recently concluded its first rough diamond sale, comprising carefully selected parcels of rough from a number of well-known international suppliers.

The sale came about after the special permissions granted by AQSIQ (the ministry in charge of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in China) and those from the Customs and other relative authorities, for such sales.

Announcing the completion of this milestone, the organization said that the sales came at the end of two and a half days of viewing during which hundreds of buyer-dealers inspected the goods which were for sale.

Transactions were carried out through three modes, GZDE reported including allocations, negotiations and online auction. The parcels that generated maximum interest among buyers were all sold through the auction process, the exchange said.

The commencement of rough diamond trading services in GZDE will make it easier for Chinese rough diamond dealers to directly access international primary rough diamond supplies. It will also help in the development of new trade channels for the Chinese domestic diamond jewellery market, GZDE stated.

Alongside the sales, GZDE also hosted a business conference themed as Innovative Supply, Vigorous Upgrade, it said. The event focused on innovative service for diamonds in supply channels, processing technology and an integrated market service system.

Nearly 400 delegates attended the sessions which were addressed by senior representatives from the Diamond Processing Specialized Committee of Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China, GZDE, Guangdong Gems and Jade Exchange, Delta TAU, Sarine Technologies Ltd., China Gold Newspaper and some other organizations from the industry.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




The UAE continues its deep commitment and involvement in the Kimberley Process (KP) following its successful tenure as KP Chair in 2016.

Set up as a joint initiative between the Ministry of Economy and DMCC, the aim of the UAE Kimberley Process Taskforce is to support and reinforce multilateral cooperation regarding the import, export, and transit of rough diamonds in line with KP requirements. Maryam Al Hashemi leads the KPCS in her capacity as 2017 Chair of the Committee of Participation and Chairmanship, CPC, of the Kimberley Process and the Director of the UAE KP Office.

Commenting on the UAE KP Taskforce meeting, Maryam Al Hashemi, said, "Members of the UAE KP Taskforce come from government and federal authorities, and always ensure a lively, constructive debate on the issues and initiatives put forward for discussion. The focus of our purpose remains to safeguard trade from the flow of conflict diamonds.

"The Federal Customs Authority works closely with its partners to facilitate trade and protect society. The cooperation with the UAE Kimberley Process Office and other agencies is vital to ensure that the diamond trade continues to be in line with the Kimberley Process especially as the UAE is now playing a major role in the rough diamond trade", said Suoud Al Agroobi, Director of International Relations for the UAE Federal Customs Authority.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




The Antwerp World Diamond Centre together with the University of Antwerp will debut the first Antwerp Summer University, From Mine to Finger, from 28 August to 8 September 2017.The summer school is primarily designed for Master students and final year Bachelor students who are interested in deepening their knowledge about diamonds and its industry.In the first week, students will discover the world of diamonds in every aspect; such as the historical, geological, technical, economical, commercial and ethical perspectives of the global diamond trade. During the second week, the summer school builds further on this introductory track by focusing on "innovation" and "sustainability" in every facet of the global diamond industry, from Mine to Finger.Students currently studying at universities across the globe are welcome to apply before May 18, via www.uantwerp.be/mine-to-finger
Travis County records show he was arrested and charged with DWI on April 4, 2017. Three injured students were found. Authorities have evacuated Gregory Gym as of 2:10 p.m. Students say McCombs School of Business is on lockdown. Access to the Perry Castaneda Library has been temporarily due to the investigation. Moody College says they are not on lockdown and the building is open. UT canceled the rest of classes and events for the remainder of Monday afternoon and evening. A friend of him, after White had been missing classes , previously, asked him about it last week and White said he had a few things going on his life and that he had to put academics on the back burner for a bit.
The state Assembly has passed a legislative package to combat homelessness in Wisconsin, including one creating a new council that a leading homelessness advocate has hailed as vital to the cause.

Assembly lawmakers voted on a bipartisan basis Tuesday to pass the four bills.

One would create the Interagency Council on Homelessness to be led by the governors designee, the first of whom would be Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. The council also would include the secretaries of eight agencies that get homelessness funding.

Joseph Volk, executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness, has said creating the interagency council is maybe our top priority.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said the proposals are important initial steps in an ongoing fight against homelessness.

Our caucus rallied around this issue because its the humane thing to do, Steineke said.

Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, said during Tuesdays debate that she favors creating the council. But she said this and other GOP bills dont do nearly enough  or provide sufficient funding  to make a dent in Wisconsins homelessness problem.

Republicans are trying to place a Band-Aid on a gaping wound with these anemic proposals, Subeck said.

Other bills passed Tuesday would:

Give the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority the ability to pilot a program to prioritize chronically homeless people on a waiting list for federal Housing Choice Vouchers, also known as Section 8.

Free up underused, previously allocated state money for transitional housing, to be used for additional types of housing models, and frees separate homelessness prevention funds to be used where there is the greatest need statewide.

Create a grant program for certain municipalities to receive $75,000 annually to pilot a program for two years that connects homeless people to jobs and workforce training.

The Senate has yet to take up the bills.

Also Tuesday, the Assembly passed bills:

Removing a requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds applying for jobs to obtain work permits signed by their parent or guardian. The requirement would remain for minors under age 16.

Barring the state Department of Public Instruction from submitting a state plan required under the Every Student Succeeds Act to the federal Department of Education without first responding to any objections submitted to DPI by the state Assembly or Senate education committees.

Allowing an unaccompanied person under age 21 to be present during a large event at a music festival venue issued an alcohol beverage license.
Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific joined K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) to celebrate the opening of the Legacy Project mine on May 2.

CP says the mine is the first of its kind built in Saskatchewan in more than 40 years, and the rail infrastructure built to serve it is the most significant engineering project undertaken by railroad since the mid-1980s.

We are incredibly proud to have collaborated with K+S Potash Canada on this project and look forward to delivering their product to international markets for years to come, said CP President and CEO Keith Creel. Building 30 km (18.6 miles) of new rail through a rural area, including a river valley, is no easy feat and I want to congratulate all those who invested their time and energy in bringing this project to a successful conclusion.

CP says the 18.6-mile route to the mine site was a geotechnical challenge as grading through the valley required the movement of 9.7 million cubic meters of earth. Adding to the scope of the project was the construction of a 137-meter (449-foot) bridge and 70-meter (229-foot) tunnel. The rail project featured nearly 50,000 crossties, 30.4 km (18.8 miles) of track, 4,500 metric tons of steel (plates, rail, bolts), 90,000 metric tons of ballast and thousands of hours of work.

KSPC needed to ensure that transportation of product from our mine to our port facility would be both secure and competitive, said Dr. Ulrich Lamp, president and CEO, KSPC. When we signed the contract with Canadian Pacific in 2013, we knew we had found the perfect partner and strategic fit for those needs. We are so pleased to see the finished rail infrastructure.

CP will primarily use unit trains to ship the potash products to KSPCs handling and storage facility in Port Moody, B.C. then on to overseas market. These unit trains will be approximately a mile and a half long, consisting of 177 rail cars and four locomotives.

The mine will have marketable product by the end of Q2 2017 and will reach a production capacity of two million metric tons of potash by the end of 2017.
German vacuum pumps maker Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG (PFFVF.PK,PVTCY.PK) reported that its net income for the first quarter surged 65.6 percent to 14.8 million euros from 9.0 million euros in the year-ago period. Earnings per share grew 64.8 percent to 1.50 euros from 0.91 euros in the prior year.

Operating profit or EBIT increased 65.6 percent to 21.4 million euros from 12.9 million euros in the prior-year period.

Order intake rose 24.8 percent to 146.5 million euros from 117.4 million euros last year.

Sales for the quarter grew 24.9 percent to 136.9 million euros from 106.9 million euros in the prior year.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2017, Pfeiffer Vacuum said it expects sales for the year to increase significantly from 2016 and result in a significant improvement in operating profit. Further, the company expects the positive development will continue in 2018.

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Business News
German stocks erased early gains to turn flat on Tuesday, with financial stocks rising after U.S. President Trump told Bloomberg News he's considering breaking up big Wall Street banks and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House is making steady progress on its tax reform plan.

In economic releases, Eurozone manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in six years in April, final data from IHS Markit showed. The PMI rose to 56.7 in April from 56.2 in March. However, the score was slightly below the expected level of 56.8.

Growth was led by Germany, which saw its rate of expansion remain close to March's 71-month high.

Separately, figures from Destatis showed that German jobless rate held steady at 3.9 percent in March in adjusted terms.

The benchmark DAX was up 9 points or 0.08 percent at 12,447 after hitting as high at 12,485 earlier in the session.

Deutsche Bank rose half a percent while Commerzbank gained about 1 percent.

Bayer fell over 2 percent after West Virginia State University accused Dow Chemical and Bayer of polluting the groundwater under its campus with three likely carcinogens.

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DuPont (DD) and The Dow Chemical Co.(DOW) said that China's Ministry of Commerce has granted conditional regulatory approval of their proposed merger of equals.

MOFCOM's approval is conditional on DuPont and Dow fulfilling commitments given to MOFCOM in connection with the clearance.

Specifically, and consistent with commitments already made to obtain the European Commission's regulatory approval for the proposed merger of equals, Dow and DuPont will divest certain parts of DuPont's crop protection portfolio and research and development pipeline and organization and Dow's global Ethylene Acrylic Acid copolymers and ionomers .

In addition, Dow and DuPont have made commitments related to the supply and distribution in China of certain herbicide and insecticide ingredients and formulations for rice crops for five years after the closing of the proposed merger of equals.

On March 27, the European Commission conditionally approved the merger. The companies reaffirm their expectation for closing of the merger to occur between August 1, 2017 and September 1, 2017, with the intended spin-offs to occur within 18 months of closing. The companies expect that the first step of the intended separation process will be the spin-off of the Materials Science Company, assuming such sequencing would allow for the completion of all intended spin-offs within 18 months of merger closing and would not adversely impact the value of the intended spin-offs.

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Business News
South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has received permission from South Korean authorities to test a self-driving vehicle fitted with its electronic parts and software in the country, as the tech giant strives to expand in to the automotive industry.

South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, gave Samsung its approval to test its self-driving on roads on Monday. The ministry said that the car is a modified version of a South Korean car maker Hyundai's vehicle using Samsung's own components such as cameras as well as its artificial intelligence software.

The company plans to use the car to develop a self-driving algorithm capable of driving in adverse weather conditions and next-generation components for autonomous cars.

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Business News
New Zealand will on Wednesday release Q1 figures for unemployment, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

The jobless rate is expected to fall to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent in the three months prior, while the employment change is called steady at 0.8 percent.

Australia will see April results for the Performance of Service Index from AiG; in March, the index score was 51.7.

Finally, the stock in South Korea and Hong Kong are closed on Wednesday in observance of Buddha's birthday. The markets in Japan also are shuttered for Constitution Memorial Day.

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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.
By SA Commercial Prop News

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille



Pretoria - In the on-going fight against poverty, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille says the province will continue to prioritise job creation and creating conditions needed for an inclusive economic growth in 2012.

Delivering her State of the Province Address today, the premier said that government, citizens, civil society and business each had a role to play to tackling what she described as the "primary obstacle in living a full life".

She said her vision for the Western Cape was of an "Open, Opportunity Society in which every person has the means, resources and the power to live a life he or she values".

"... The only sustainable way to beat poverty is by creating opportunities for growth and jobs. This insight informs our strategy, which is this: to shift resources and energy into the creation of growth and job opportunities without compromising our ability to deliver better outcomes in health, education, and social development, and while refocusing our efforts to promote social inclusion with a more pragmatic, more measurable and less ideological approach," she said.

Zille said that her first priority was to create the conditions needed for inclusive economic growth and job creation. "This is by far the most important way in which our economy can create job opportunities for our citizens and, more importantly, redress the legacy of poverty and underdevelopment."

To this end, an Economic Development Partnership (EDP) has been established, where all stakeholders in the economy will come together to develop and help implement a shared agenda for economic growth, development and inclusion.

"The EDP will focus on facilitating the development of a shared economic vision, strategy and brand for the province. It will work to move us from a 'culture of disaggregation and fragmentation' towards one of collaboration.

"Over time, its work will result in an improved investment climate, a more competitive and resilient economy and, ultimately, higher levels of growth and employment. That is the only sustainable way to fight poverty," said the premier.

The official launch of the EDP will take place in April.

Zille said she looked forward to participating in the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission, as alluded to by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address last week.

The commission has been tasked with identifying and developing projects and infrastructure initiatives across the three spheres of government.

Zuma said last week that billions of rands would be spent over the coming years on new infrastructure, with the government to focus on building rail, road, and economic links in five regions in the country and building new universities and refurbishing hospitals.

"In his State of the Nation Address, the President focused specifically on the Industrial Development Zone in Saldanha and the required railway links. We will do everything possible to make this partnership with the national government a success, in the interest of all the people of this province," said the premier.

The President had also announced that he would convene a presidential infrastructure summit to discuss the implementation of the government's plan with potential investors and social partners.

Zille said that the Western Cape had put together a game-changing infrastructure agenda that included three city regeneration projects, the doubling of the capacity of the Cape Town Convention Centre, the development of new and upgraded roads that offer a demonstrable impact on economic growth as well as the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle or Public Private Partnership to bring broadband access to every school, every provincial and municipal government facility in the Western Cape, and ultimately to every citizen, while driving down the cost of broadband access for business.

"This is a huge new development that will position the Western Cape as a broadband access leader in South Africa, and support the existing Information Technology Centres in every school in the province," said Zille.
Several car makers and a two-wheeler maker on Monday said they closed the first month of the current fiscal with volume growth as compared to April last year.

Leading the group was Maruti Suzuki India, which reported a 19.5 per cent growth, selling a total of 151,215 units last month up from 126,569 units in April 2016.



For April, domestic sales edged by 23.4 per cent to 144,492 units (including 411 units of light commercial vehicle Super Carry) from 117,045 units.



However, exports of the automobile major declined by 29.4 per cent, with 6,723 units shipped out last month, down from 9,524 units in April 2016.



Segment-wise, sales of passenger cars was up by 26.6 per cent to 109,505 units against 86,481 units in April 2016.



The company's passenger car segment comprises brands like Alto, WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire, Dzire Tour and Ciaz.



Besides, sales of utility vehicles, which comprises brands like Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza, rose by 28.6 per cent to 20,638 units.



In contrast, off-take in the van segment, which includes brands like Omni and Eeco, decreased by 4 per cent to 13,938 units.







Total domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 144,081 units -- up 23.1 per cent -- from 117,045 units in April 2016.



On the other hand, the second-largest car maker in India, Hyundai Motor India, reported a 3.6 per cent growth in sales to 56,368 units in April as compared to 54,420 units in April last year.



Domestic sales stood at 44,758 units, up 5.7 per cent from 42,351 units in April 2016.



"Hyundai, with a volume of 44,758 units, continued its growth momentum on a strong base of last year and continued strong performance on volume," company Director (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said.



The carmaker, however, said its exports declined by 3.8 per cent to 11,610 units compared to 12,069 in April last year.



The Japanese-Indian joint venture Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a surge of 52 per cent in domestic sales during April 2017.



The company's total domestic sales stood at 12,948 units of the Etios series as compared to 8,529 units sold during April 2016.



It exported 1,109 units of the Etios series as against 978 units exported in the like month last year.



"We have been able to sustain a robust growth in April 2017. This has been propelled by the overwhelming response the new Fortuner received," said N. Raja, Director and Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing.



Similarly, Nissan Motor India's deliveries surged 39 per cent in April 2017 to 4,217 vehicles from 3,028 in April 2016.



"We usher in the new fiscal year with robust growth in terms of sales and positive sentiment," said Arun Malhotra, Managing Director of Nissan India.



But commercial vehicle and car maker Tata Motors closed last month with a lower overall sales as sales of commercial vehicles were hit due to a court ban on sales of BS III emission norms-complaint vehicles.



Last month, Tata Motors passenger vehicles in the domestic market sold 12,827 units, a growth of 23 per cent, over April 2016.



According to Tata Motors, its commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market totalled 16,017 units, down by 36 per cent from April 2016.



"This is an unusual decline, in exceptional circumstances," the company said.



Tata Motors passenger and commercial vehicle total sales (including exports) in April 2017 totalled 30,972 vehicles, a de-growth of 21 per cent over 39,389 vehicles sold in April 2016.



Its domestic sales of commercial and passenger vehicles for April 2017 stood at 28,844 units, down from 35,604 units in April 2016.



In the two-wheeler segment, Eicher Motors Ltd logged 25 per cent volume growth, selling 60,142 units (domestic 58,564 units, exports 1,578) last month as against sales of 48,197 units (domestic 47,037, exports 1,160).
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Monday reported nearly 33 per cent growth in sale of khadi products to Rs 2, 005 crore in the fiscal year 2016-17 from Rs 1, 510 crore during 2015-16.

The industry reported a growth of 31 per cent in production of khadi products at Rs 1,396 crore during the period under review.

"The sale of khadi products has recorded a quantum jump in 2016-17. We are getting handsome orders from the governments, corporates and schools/colleges, state governments etc. We will achieve the sales target of Rs 5,000 crore by the end of 2018-19," KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said in a statement.



The Khadi India Showroom at Connaught Place (New Delhi) had recorded a retail sale of Rs 96 crore during the financial year 2016-17, he added.

Saxena further said the KVIC is also setting up export cells to promote overseas sales of the products.



While the overall sales of both Khadi and village industries had jumped over 24 per cent to approximately Rs 51,996 crore in 2016-17, the production had also shot up over 23 per cent to Rs 42,506 crore, the statement added.



The khadi and village industries products are manufactured by about seven lakh privately-owned household units, which are funded through schemes such as the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme.
Two gunmen on Tuesday looted Rs 65,000 from a bank in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said.

The gunmen entered a branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank (Regional Rural Bank) in Kader village and looted the money at gunpoint, a police official said.





The robbery took place a day after militants killed five policemen and two bank employees in Kulgam's Pombai village.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra met Home Minister Rajnath Singh here on Tuesday to discuss the worsening security and law and order situation in the state.

According to officials, the Home Minister and the Governor also discussed Monday's terror attack in Kashmir's Kulgam district that killed seven people and the killing of two Indian soldiers and mutilation of their bodies by Pakistan Army personnel near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch.

Vohra is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the situation in the state, especially against the backdrop of Monday's violence.

The spike in stone-pelting incidents by students which has caused law and order problems in the valley was also discussed, the officials said.

They said the issues like infiltration from across the border with Pakistan and steps to control the situation also figured during the meeting.

The meeting comes after the Home Minister chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the situation in the state.

Monday's meeting was attended by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, RAW chief Anil Dhasmana and Central Reserve Police Force chief Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar.
NDA ally Shiv Sena on Tuesday urged the central government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss, what it said was, the "worsening situation" in Jammu and Kashmir.

"What is happening is serious. It is very sad," Sena Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said.



"We are such a big country and yet these things are happening. It does not portend well for us. As a nation, we have to take some decisions. There should be an all-party meeting to discuss the happenings in Jammu and Kashmir and on the Line of Control," Raut told media here.





The demand by the Sena -- a partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance -- comes after a spurt in violence in the state and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers by a Border Action Team of Pakistan on Monday.



The Sena is also an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra.



Earlier, Sena President Uddhav Thackeray demanded tough action by India against Pakistan for its continued aggression from across the border.
Condemning as "barbaric" the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday wondered if Union Minister Smriti Irani would now "gift bangles" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she had wanted to send to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a similar killing in 2013.

During the Congress-led UPA rule in 2013, after a terror attack on Indian soldiers, Irani while addressing a public meeting had offered to send bangles to Manmohan Singh.



"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack by the Pakistanis and the mutilating of the bodies of two of our soldiers," the Congress spokesperson said, briefing mediapersons.



"During the UPA regime there was a woman MP (Smriti Irani) who said the Prime Minister should be gifted bangles. Will the same MP who is now a Minister send bangles to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?," Sibal asked.



He also said there should be a policy to tackle terrorism and the government should discuss it with the opposition.



He said the BJP-led NDA government will have time to protect the borders "only if they have time to spare from election campaigns. What kind of a government is this that despite knowing that Pakistan will not change its ways, they invited the ISI to Pathankot," said Sibal, referring to the Pakistani team that went to Pathankot to probe the 2016 terror attack on an Indian airbase.



"In the last 35 months, 135 soldiers have died in Jammu and Kashmir. Who is responsible for this?" he asked.





"They said demonetisation will end terrorism, but terror attacks only increased after that. I remember when Hemraj was beheaded (in 2013) Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) said 'We should get 10 heads for one'...How many heads will they get for two?" Sibal wondered.



India on Tuesday blamed Pakistan for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
The central government on Tuesday defended linking the Aadhaar number with permanent account number (PAN) and making it mandatory for filing income tax returns, telling the Supreme Court that it was meant to curb individuals possessing PAN cards ' title=' multiple PAN cards '>multiple PAN cards by putting in place a robust identification system.

Telling the bench of Justice A.K.Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan that people and shell companies possessing PAN cards ' title=' multiple PAN cards '>multiple PAN cards were causing tax loss of thousands of crores of rupees, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that government was not just dealing with the matter of tax collection but money laundering, curbing black money and terror funding.

Opposing the petitions challenging insertion of Section 139 AA in the Income Tax Act, he said by linking Aadhaar number with the benefits under the social welfare schemes, government had saved Rs 50,000 crore.



Describing Aadhaar as a PAN in more complex milieu, Rohatgi said that back in 2009, the government had considered issuing PAN Plus having iris and finger impressions but this was shelved as by then Aadhaar had come in.



The bench was also told that PAN too was introduced as a unique identification document and Aadhaar has now been linked with PAN because earlier identity proof documents like ration cards, driving licence and others could be manipulated.



Telling the court that there can't be a duplicate of Aadhaar identity, he brushed aside the apprehensions that digital record of individual's iris and finger print scan could be leaked.



"No data under Aadhaar will be shared with anyone or anybody" except in the case of criminals being investigated by police, Attorney General said that the vires of Section 139AA could not be raised on the strength of an interim order of the court.



If today Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act is read down on the strength of the earlier interim order of the court, what would happen if later that interim order itself goes, he asked.





The top court by its August 11, 2015, order had said that the Unique Identification Number or the Aadhaar card will not be used by the government or its agencies for any purpose other than the PDS Scheme and in particular for the purpose of distribution of foodgrains, etc. and cooking fuel, such as kerosene. It had also allowed its use for the LPG Distribution Scheme.



Addressing the petitioner's contention that insisting on Aadhaar that carries his Iris and fingerprint scan was an intrusion on their body, Rohatgi said that no right was absolute including right to the body.



As he said that the state can extinguish the life of person accused of certain offences, the court reminded him that can only be by following due process of law.



"Balance has to be made in the society we live in, dignity of person has to be protected", the bench said even as Rohatgi argued that when a person can give impression of his finger prints for registration of property, then how giving it in digital form is objectionable.



The court's observations came in the course of the hearing of two petitions challenging the newly inserted Section 139AA.



The government had inserted Section 139AA in the Income Tax Act through the Finance Act, 2017, with the objective of curbing the black money.



Senior Communist Party of India leader Binoy Visman, former Indian Army officer S.G. Vombatkere and Safai Karamchari Andolan founder and convenor Bezwada Wilson had moved the court challenging the section's validity.
AAP founder member Kumar Vishwas on Tuesday accused its leaders of conspiring against him and said he won't compromise with his principles and soon take a call on his future action.

"I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell those conspirators that I will not allow you to do so," Kumar Vishwas told reporters without taking any name.



He denied that he wanted to be the Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party.



"I have already said 10 times and even to Arvind (Kejriwal) and Manish (Sisodia) and the party that I don't want to be the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister or the Convenor," he said.





Kumar Vishwas also said that he would not join any political party or the Swaraj Aandolan.



Kumar Vishwas broke down while talking to reporters, saying: "I don't know why you are here... but I had not joined the movement for this."
Manish Sisodia ' title='Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia '>Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday slammed senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas for making statements in the media over the ongoing infighting within the party in the wake of its civic polls debacle.

"Rather making statements on TV channels, he should raise his concerns within the party forum," Sisodia told reporters.



He also said that Vishwas was never asked to apologise for the video which he had released after the disrespect shown to soldiers in Kashmir last month.



Sisodia's remarks came minutes after Vishwas accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders of conspiring against him, asserting that he won't compromise with his principles and will soon take a call on his future line of action.



Sisodia said that Vishwas was making remarks on television which was "lowering" the morale of party workers.

"No one in the party asked Kumar Vishwas to apologise. He made it personal. The party does not belong to Arvind (Kejriwal), to me or to Kumar (Vishwas) but it belongs to lakhs of workers in India and abroad," Sisodia told reporters at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence.



He added that it should not be made a personal issue.



"I along with Sanjay Singh had gone to meet him. He did not come to the PAC yesterday (Monday). He is making remarks in the media which is lowering the morale of party cadre and everyone knows who is getting benefited," Sisodia said.
Petrol pump owners on Tuesday called off their strike over raids at petrol pumps by Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police.

They called off the strike after a meeting with District Magistrate and Petrol Pump Association.



The STF on Saturday arrested 23 persons for using chips in petrol pumps to dupe people buying fuel.



Seven petrol pumps in the state capital were sealed after the raids.

The arrested persons include nine petrol pump owners, nine managers, four employees and an electrician.



After consumers complained about alleged malpractices at certain fuel stations, Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh handed over the probe to the STF, an elite force to take on organised crime.

The probe revealed a huge racket after which these arrests were made.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved the GST ' title=' GST '>GST Bill ahead of introducing it in the forthcoming assembly session so that the new tax regime could be rolled out from July 1, state government spokesperson and Minister Siddharthanath Singh said.

The decision was taken at the fifth cabinet meeting of the state government, presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.



In another cabinet decision, all manual tendering will be done away with in Uttar Pradesh within the next three months and it would be replaced by e-tendering and e-procurement process, Singh, also the Health Minister, announced.



Singh also said that from now on Uttar Pradesh Day will be celebrated on January 24, the day of its formation. The celebrations were necessary for giving a strong identity to the state, he said.





The state cabinet has also approved the transfer policy 2017-18 for government officials and employees under which transfers can only take place till June 30. Officials and employees who are in one post for long durations will also be re-jigged soon, he said.



The state cabinet also approved rules for the district mineral board and instructed that a new policy will have to be implemented within three months.


With the Facebook-owned Instagram's popular 'Stories' feature going dark, the users almost broke into tears early on Tuesday, with some bombarding the micro-blogging website Twitter with outrageous posts.

"I thought World War 3 had finally come", "Almost a heart attack" and "Instagram Down will be the most frustrating part of my week" were some of the reactions that hapless Instagrammers tweeted after 'Stories' experienced a bug.

For the third time in 10 days, Instagram, which has 700 million users, experienced a problem that began late Monday night.

According to a report in CNET, the Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app tweeted that it was aware of the problem and was working to fix it.

There was no further official word from the company about whether the latest bug issue had finally been resolved.

This time, the bug prevented the 'Stories' users -- over 200 million -- from updating the feature that lets them post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

#instgramdown started trending and users came out with numorous jokes and memes.

"#Instagram crashed this morning resulting in your breakfast going cold! :P," a user tweeted, referring to people's habit of posting a story before they eat anything.

Another user said: "#instagramdown was the best thing to happen on twitter."

Although people were unable to update posts, they could still view their previously uploaded images and other people's stories which had some time remaining to be 'expired'.

The last time a bug sent the users into a tizzy was on April 27 when people complained of the app having crashed, among other issues.

On April 24, users complained about app's news feed not loading, apparently because of an issue with its servers.

'Stories' was introduced in Instagram in 2016 after it became famous on its rival photo and video sharing platform Snapchat.

After watching the efforts pay off, Facebook later rolled out the same feature in Whatsapp and Facebook mobile app as well.

Last week, Instagram announced that it now has more than 700 million users, with the last 100 million joining the platform in only four months.

"We're thrilled to announce that our community has grown to more than 700 million Instagrammers. And the last 100 million of you joined faster than ever," the company wrote in a blog.
Pakistan on Monday rejected India's accusation that it killed two soldiers in "unprovoked" firing and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Inter-Services Public Relations in a statement said the Pakistan Army "did not commit any ceasefire violation on LoC or a BAT (Border Action Team) action in Krishna Ghati Sector as alleged by India."



It said the "Indian blame of mutilating soldiers' bodies are also false".



The Indian Army said on Monday that the "despicable act" occurred in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch border district, and warned of "appropriate response" to the "unsoldierly act" by the Pakistan Army.





The Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement said the " Pakistan Army is a highly professional force and shall never disrespect a soldier, even Indian".
Here are the unofficial results for Saline County in the 2022 election
A building workshop for the Operational Phase 6 of the Global Environment Facility (G.E.F.) and Small Grant Programme (S.G.P.) was officially opened yesterday.

The Sustainable Development Agenda provides a pathway for national governments to move towards a more environmentally-sensitive approach to economic growth and social development.

United Nations Resident Coordinator, Lizbeth Cullity said the programme fits in well with S.G.Ps overall objective  Global environmental secured through community-based initiatives and actions

S.G.P. supports the empowerment of vulnerable communities to lead their own environmentally sustainable development through sustainable interventions, she said.

Today G.E.F.- S.G.P. capacity building workshops aim to orient, inform and build capacity of the shortlisted applicants in advancing your concept notes to full proposals.

Over the past 12 years, when GEF-SGP was first established in Samoa, it has supported environmental programmes delivering an estimated $6 million tala for a total of 162 small grants projects on climate knowledge and advocacy, capacity building, technology transfer, adaptation and mitigation.

The workshop will generate powerful and influential community actions that can be replicated in other communities with the hop that the newly introduced grant maker plus function will empower other partners.

Whether from the donor community or other sectors to work alongside the S.G.P. to secure harmonized efforts towards saving degraded environment.

It is believed that at the end of the workshop, participants will be able to understand better the overview of G.E.F.  S.G.P. Operational Phase 6 and be able to complete the proposal form.

I wish to emphasize that this is an excellent opportunity to thank the Government of Samoa especially the Prime Minister, Tuilaepa for continued support in advancing the Call for Climate Change.

Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele encouraged participants to make the most of the opportunity.
Today is World Press Freedom Day. Commemorated on the 3rd of May every year, it is a day designed to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

It is also a day to reflect and learn from the past as we look to continue this journey ahead.

Here in Samoa, the day is being marked with various media activities focusing on Media Freedom and Social Media use in Samoa. Elsewhere, the global theme for this year is Critical Minds for Critical Times: Medias role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

The theme couldnt be more apt in our opinion.

In light of recent developments in the social, economic, spiritual and political sphere of this paradise we call home, we believe an objective media driven by critical thinkers is vital.

It goes without saying that when the medias objectivity is removed and stunted, it loses its power to make a difference. Which is why constructive critical thinking is absolutely necessary.

Having said that, we believe there is much to be celebrated in Samoa. Indeed, while things are not perfect  and probably never will be  the idea that we can commemorate a day like this in a peaceful and politically stable environment are achievements to be proud of.

We say this because in a world that is not free - where freedom of speech and expression are stifled and trampled upon  a day such as today is not possible at all.

Instead, oppression and unimaginable suffering would reign supreme so that the citizens know nothing more than pain and sorrow.

In Samoa, however, we believe freedom of the press is respected by everyone  including the government. True that such freedom is not absolute. But thats life.

Whats important to remember at this point is the media in Samoa must be allowed to play its part to work towards fulfilling our collective dream of ensuring that press freedom is promoted and fearlessly defended.

In doing so, the free flow of information is enhanced so that the publics right to know is guaranteed.

It goes without saying that a free press means a free people.

In the words of the United Nations, today is a day for the media and citizens of every country to celebrate and reflect on the fundamental principles of press freedom.

What are these fundamental principles? Well allow us on the occasion of World Press Freedom today to enlighten  or remind our readers - about Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fundamental principles of press freedom it highlights includes:

 Censorship, direct or indirect, is unacceptable; thus laws and practices restricting the right of the news media freely to gather and distribute information must be abolished, and government authorities, national or local, must not interfere with the content of print or broadcast news, or restrict access to any news source.

 Independent news media, both print and broadcast, must be allowed to emerge and operate freely in all countries.

 There must be no discrimination by governments in their treatment, economic or otherwise, of the news media within a country. In those countries where government media also exist, the independent media must have the same free access as the official media have to all material and facilities necessary to their publishing or broadcasting operations.

 States must not restrict access to newsprint, printing facilities and distribution systems, operation of news agencies, and availability of broadcast frequencies and facilities.

 Legal, technical and tariff practices by communications authorities which inhibit the distribution of news and restrict the flow of information are condemned.

 Government media must enjoy editorial independence and be open to a diversity of viewpoints. This should be affirmed in both law and practice.

 There should be unrestricted access by the print and broadcast media within a country to outside news and information services, and the public should enjoy similar freedom to receive foreign publications and foreign broadcasts without interference.

 National frontiers must be open to foreign journalists. Quotas must not apply, and applications for visas, press credentials and other documentation requisite for their work should be approved promptly. Foreign journalists should be allowed to travel freely within a country and have access to both official and unofficial news sources, and be allowed to import and export freely all necessary professional materials and equipment.

 Restrictions on the free entry to the field of journalism or over its practice, through licensing or other certification procedures, must be eliminated.

 Journalists, like all citizens, must be secure in their persons and be given full protection of law. Journalists working in war zones are recognized as civilians enjoying all rights and immunities accorded to other civilians.

Why is it important that we remind about these fundamental principles?

Well, our government as part of a global push towards a free world has made a commitment to press freedom. Such a commitment must be respected and it is the medias responsibility to hold them to account.

In Samoa, although press freedom is relatively respected, it hasnt always been that way. We havent exactly been problem-free ourselves.

The media in Samoa today is free because of the work of its pioneers who have had to endure so much suffering and pain because they had a vision about a free Samoa.

Look at the newspaper you are reading today. Founded by Gatoaitele Savea Sano and Muliaga Jean Malifa, its history is littered with threats on their lives, their family and ridiculously expensive lawsuits obviously designed to put them out of business.

Still, they hung on to the vision, they persevered and by the grace of God, the Samoa Observer Newspaper Group has come a long way.

Let me tell you though that running a daily newspaper on an isolated group of islands in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean is not the sort of business for the faint hearted.

But thats our commitment to you. We are here to serve you. We are the publics eyes and ears, we are their conscience.

If we dont shine a light on serious corruption, who will?

It goes without saying we are far from perfect. We make mistakes and we know there is a lot more we can improve on. We accept that.

We are confident, however, because the foundation upon which this newspaper was established was rock solid.

It was founded upon a desire to help the people of this nation become as informed as possible about the issues that affect them in all spheres of life. It was founded upon a dream to make a difference and to be that difference. That desire remains; it is nearly 40 years old.

The truth is simple enough. Even in countries where freedom of the press exists, the government and the powerful will always find ways to try and silence the press.

Thats that love-hate relationship which should always exist if the media performs its role.

Samoa is no exception.

This is where we need journalists who are critical thinkers and are not afraid to ask the hard questions

Let me remind again that men and women of the media are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the public, holding public officials to account for the decisions they make and how they spend money and public resources. Journalists should never be lapdogs.

Long live press freedom in Samoa and the world!
The Accident Compensation Corporation (A.C.C.) has bought the Gold Star Building for $7million tala.

And the Minister responsible, Lautafi Fio Purcell, is confident the government will generate good returns from its investment.

The purchase was confirmed by the Minister during an interview with the Samoa Observer yesterday.

I can confirm that the Accident Compensation Corporation is buying the building at that cost ($7million), Lautafi said.

The market price given to us at first was $9.5million but we have managed to bargain down a lot...I mean we had to really bargained hard."

In fact the family was nearly at a point where they did not want to sell their property (to A.C.C.)

Lautafi said the purchase had to be approved by Cabinet first and foremost.

The A.C.C. wants this (building) so that they use it to generate more money, he said.

The building is fully occupied by ten tenants and they are very good tenants."

The money that the A.C.C will receive from the building is way better than taking this money and depositing it in the bank for return."

This is a good investment for our people.

Lautafi said there are other options the government is looking at to generate more profits from the building.

That includes a car park on the top, or possibly set up other shops if ... but that is for the future, it all depends."

As you can see the building is right in the middle of town and so people are buying stuff everyday.

The property was up for sale at the beginning of February this year.

The Corporations mission is to create a sustainable accident compensation scheme and to be more responsive to the needs of the scheme beneficiaries.
In 2016, the number of female sex workers in Samoa was estimated at around 400. The age during which some of them began sex work ranged from 13 to 21 years old.

This is according to the Multi-country Mapping and Behavioural study 2016, quoted by the Ministry of Health in their sixth annual report to UNAIDS.

A copy of the report has been obtained by the Samoa Observer.

The Pacific Multi-country Mapping and Behavioural Study 2016 found that there are an estimated 400 female sex workers in Samoa, the report reads. Most women are doing sex work for economic reasons.

Payment varies considerably from $50 to $200 tala."

These women have a wide range of clients, including local and foreign men and 58.3% had children and the majority had no other employment.

The study was the work of the U.N.D.P, U.N.I.C.E.F and the University of New South Wales which called for urgent need for reforms in Pacific island countries to adequately address HIV and sexually transmitted infections (S.T.Is) among vulnerable populations.

It examined the behaviour risk factors and social and structural determinants of risk that drive the epidemic among vulnerable groups, such as men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers and seafarers.

Samoa was among nine countries the Study covered.

According to the report, the number of partners some of the women have had in the last 12 months was 10. Nine were clients.

Only 33% of the participants used a condom on the last occasion of vaginal intercourse with a client; a majority were inconsistent condom users with clients in the last 12 months, the report reads.

Condom use with casual non- paying partners was low; 50% used a condom on the last occasion.

The report further says that a minority of the women drank alcohol and their HIV knowledge was moderate.

None of the women had accessed a sexual health service in the last 12 months, although 60% had been given condoms in that period."

None had been tested for HIV in the previous 12 months."

There is therefore a need for extensive condom programming and health education outreach to this group."

Interventions should also seek to provide female sex workers with housing, sanitation, and economic services to support their participation in prevention interventions, says the report.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Health, Leausa Toleafoa Dr. Take Naseri, said their sixth annual report to UNAIDS since 2010 this year entitled Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM Report) is evidence of Samoas commitment to the global response to HIV, AIDS, and STIs.

This commitment stems from the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS: Intensifying their efforts to eliminate HIV/AIDS.

He pointed out that in 2016, Samoa signed the new political declaration agreeing to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals and this reaffirmed their commitment.

He said the Global AIDS Monitoring Report is highly regarded with an in-depth analysis of core indicators that provide insight into our national efforts in alleviating HIV/AIDS through collective prevention initiatives and programs carried out by our various committed stakeholders and health sector partners.

In addition, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) pose considerable threats to morbidity and possible mortality in both adults of reproductive age and newborns."

STIs can also significantly increase the risk of HIV transmission if not addressed in our population."

If STIs are not managed and prevented, they can contribute negatively to healthcare costs attributable to treatment and care, program management, and other costs that will in turn affect the governments overall health budget."

While much has been done by our various partners, there is still room for more strategic interventions to counteract these largely preventable diseases. Samoas new HIV, AIDS and STI Policy 2017-2021 is set to launch this year and is aimed to guide the national response to combat new and ongoing challenges.

He pointed out that over the years, Samoa has received financial support from several international and regional partners.

The government of Samoa also contributes significantly through providing human resources and managing the logistical aspects of the National Programme for HIV, AIDS, STIs and TB.

Leausa stated the government through the Ministry of Health acknowledges the continuous support rendered by the UNDP/ Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Without this support, our people living with HIV or AIDS would not receive free treatment, said the Chief Executive Officer.
The hearing of two men accused of assaulting 44-year-old Misa Vailigi Rarotoga of Vaimea resulting in his death last July started yesterday.

PJ TupuolaPuni and Max Alefosio appeared before Supreme Court Judge Leiataualesa Daryl Clarke. They are jointly facing a murder charge.

PJ TupuolaPuni is represented by lawyer Diana Roma while Max Alefosio is represented by Leiataua Jerry Brunt.The prosecution team is made up of Leone Sua-Mailo and Lucy Sio.

The defendants have entered a not guilty plea to the charge against them.

The court was told that there are 19 prosecution witnesses including police officers and two doctors.

Peato Joseph Kitiona, who claimed to have seen what happened, gave evidence yesterday.

On the night of 22nd July, 2016 at around 8:30 PJ and Max came to my house and we had a drink.There it was them two, me and my uncle, said Mr. Kitiona.

Not long after PJ was making noises then he and Max came to the front of the road as the road to my house goes to the back, so when they left me and my uncle were watching television at the time."

At around 11:30pm my uncle and I came to the front to look for a cigarette and while making our way to the front, PJ called out to us and we saw him, Max and another guy sitting on the side of the road going to the back of our house drinking.We joined them."

While we were drinking Misa (deceased) was walking towards us from JPs Bar at Vaimea and joined us. Not long after he (Misa) joined us, he said goodbye and went to his house.

When Misa left, my uncle and I walked not far away from where we were drinking to find a lighter.

The Court heard that the deceased came back with another person named Tanielu.

As we were standing not far from where we were drinking I saw Misa walking back to Max and thats when I saw Misa punch Max and he fell on to the fence and screamed for help."

At the time when Max screamed for help I saw PJ came running out of JPs Bar on to the other side of the road where Max and Misa were fighting and joined in."

The fight continued for a while.My uncle and I were still standing there looking at whats happening. I saw Misa fall to the ground."

When the deceased fell to the ground, I pulled my uncle and told him to go home and thats all I know about the incident that night.

During cross examination, Ms. Roma asked the witness if the person (Tanielu) who was with the deceased was involved,

The eyewitness said yes.

Ms. Roma then asked the witness if he was involved in the fight and he said no.

But the lawyer was not convinced. She put it to him that other witnesses say he was involved.

During cross examination, Leiataua Jerry asked Mr. Kitiona if he knew the deceased.

How well do you know the deceased, Leiataua asked.

Very well because he is from Vaimea and I have lived in Vaimea all my life, said Kitiona.

What is your relation to PJ?

He is my uncle, said Mr. Kitiona.

Leiataua then put it to the witness if he did not think of helping his uncle when he saw that he was in trouble.

When you see someone from your family getting beaten, isnt it normal for a family member to help another family member who is in trouble? the lawyer asked.

Didnt you feel that you had to help out your family because he was getting beaten by others?"

No, because Im not a violent person and I try to stay away from trouble, the witness told the Court.

What if I say that there were witnesses at the local club that saw you were involved in the fight?"

Your Honor, this is the honest truth I was not involved. I only stood there and watched them fight but I was not involved in the fight.

The hearing continues.
Bank South Pacific Samoa staff members collected food items, clothing, toiletries and other items to donate to Goshen Trust, Samoa Victim Support and Ola Toefuataina (Tafaigata Prisons).

Each organisations serves different purposes to the communities of Samoa.

For Goshen they assist with the rehabilitation of mental health patients before they are ready to go back to the community. Samoa Victim Support as Samoa knows it offers a safe haven for those who have gone through hard times.

The Tafaigata Prison is the rehabilitation of those who committed crime and serving time.

B.S.P follows seven values that go hand in hand with our vision and mission. Every month we roll out one value for each department to come up with activities to ensure that our staff members are living these values.

For April the value was community. And it was great to see our staff members enjoying the visits to these organisations and donating food items, clothing, and other items from the goodness of their own hearts, said General Manager Maryann Lameko-Vaai.

B.S.P recognises the hard effort by those who run these organisations hence why our staff members handpicked them. We do hope that our staffs modest donations will go a long way for them.

We respect and value the communities that we operate in and we want to grow together with the community by giving back to them through community projects such as these, she added.

With a commitment to supporting the Samoan Community, B.S.P continues to extend its helping hand in any way in order to help grow with the Samoan community.
Some good news for the vaping industry late Monday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given manufacturers of electronic cigarette equipment a three-month reprieve from registering their products.

The June 30 date has now been pushed back three months, and hopefully more is to come, said Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association.

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E-cigarette manufacturers have said the process of registration and approval would shut them down.

Other deadlines under the FDAs rule deeming e-cigarette devices and liquids to be tobacco products are also delayed three months, but the registration deadline was the closest.

The vaping industry has expressed hope that the new administration of Donald Trump would be more sympathetic to vaping than that of former president Barack Obama. Trumps pick for the new FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, has not yet been confirmed, but that is considered imminent.

Conley forwarded an FDA email announcing the delay.

This extension will allow new leadership at the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services additional time to more fully consider issues raised by the final rule that are now the subject of multiple lawsuits in federal court, stated Lindsay R. Tobias, an FDA policy analyst.

Earlier today, the vaping industry suffered a defeat in Congress.

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At a presentation kicking off the two-day California Solar Expo at the San Diego Convention Center on Monday, a representative of one of more than 50 exhibitors summed up the industry by saying, Solars the party that everyone wants to be in.

But the party is getting crowded.

Solars residential segment is expected to grow about 9 percent nationally but is expected to slow in California this year.

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A report from the GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), an industry trade group, forecasts 13.2 gigawatts of photo-voltaic solar will be added to the grid this year, which is 75 percent more than was installed in 2015 but, at the same time, represents a 10 percent drop from 2016.

The industry says the slowdown will be isolated to the utility-scale market. A late 2016 surge in finished projects was caused by developers anticipating the expiration of federal tax credits, which were ultimately extended.

On the investor front, the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, an index comprised of solar stocks, is down 26 percent from a year ago.

With so much growth over the last few years, people have become accustomed to a certain percentage of scale year over year, said Ruben Ugarte, director of business development for Temecula-based Horizon Solar Power. A lot of contractors, a lot of installation companies are learning how to be profitable at a growth that is on par with last year, versus super-growth.

The solar industrys growing pains can be felt across a number of sectors and California, the undisputed champion in the industry, seems to be feeling the effects first.

Were probably not going to see 40 percent year-over-year growth rates in California or elsewhere as weve see in the past, said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state affairs at SEIA. But I do think there are still opportunities for customers to save money on their utility bills when they go solar.

Long-running debates over net-metering and rate designs figure to present the most immediate risks.

Net-metering  the billing mechanism in which utilities pay rooftop solar customers for the excess electricity their systems send back to the grid  gets push-back from utilities who contend the policy benefits wealthier customers who can more easily afford the cost of installing solar.

Utilities have also complained that net-metering allows customers in California to take advantage of the grids reliability, while at the same time they can effectively sell the power produced by their rooftop systems at the full retail rate.

A move to change Californias net-metering system was turned back in early 2016 after the California Public Utilities Commission was deluged with phone calls and petitions, but the battle has raged in other states such as Nevada and Hawaii.

Tax incentives have also been a target. Utah lawmakers earlier this year passed a measure that will phase out the states residential solar income tax credit in 2021.

The federal government offers a 30 percent Investment Tax Credit, but it is scheduled to begin ramping down in 2020. The residential credit is set to drop to zero after 2021 while the commercial and utility credit may eventually drop to 10 percent.

Theres also uncertainty surrounding policies for renewable sources under President Donald Trump, who has touted lifting federal regulations to stimulate the coal industry while at the same time reviewing federal policies concerning the oil and gas sectors.

Particularly over the next few years with the new administration, its going to be all about the states, said Gallagher. Its going to be the states that drive solar policy  Were going to have to work hard to make sure state policies continue to support solar markets. And thats what were doing.

On the manufacturing side, companies that make solar panels are struggling with falling prices. Last week, bankrupt solar panel maker Suniva filed a petition with federal trade officials to place new tariffs on imported solar products from places like China.

Without todays requested global safeguard, the U.S. solar manufacturing industry will die, a Suniva executive said in a statement.

At the same time, solars success in California has come so quickly that the states power grid is struggling to keep up.

On March 11, the California Independent System Operator reported that 40 percent of net grid power produced between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. came from utility-scale solar generation, marking the first time thats happened.

The trick is finding a way to integrate such large amounts of solar into the system. The wet winter in the state has led to a surge in hydroelectricity, leading to curtailments of utility-scale solar.

One potential answer may come from pairing solar with energy storage. If solar energy produced at peak times can be stored by, for example, batteries to get used later in the day, the grids surges can be smoothed out.

Solar plus storage is a natural  like chocolate and peanut butter, Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Spice Solar, based in San Jose, said last week.

Storage prices are high but proponents say its costs are dropping.

In order to best capture the full value of the solar system, at some point when the economics are right, customers are going to want to be able to store their solar production at noon when rates are lower and send that solar production back onto the grid at 6 or 7 or 8 p.m. when theres not a lot of production from their panels when prices are high, Gallagher said.

The solar industry employs an estimated 260,000 workers nationwide, with California accounting for more than one-third of that amount. Tuesdays final day of the expo will feature a job fair that is open to the public.

We dont want (the industry) to be a bubble, Ugarte said. We want to be a sustained industry that have longevity where we can make this industry a career when Im 60 and when my kids are 40.

California Solar Expo job fair

Hosted by GRID Alternatives

When: Tuesday, 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

Where: San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive

Admission is free

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rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski
San Onofre Beach, where a shark bite left a 35-year-old woman fighting for her life, is one of Southern Californias Californias white shark hot spots, said Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach.

Tagging data, fishermens catch and beachgoer observations all indicate that the popular San Diego surf spot, along with Ventura, Santa Monica Bay and Huntington Beach, has long been a nursery for the ocean predators.

These are areas where young white sharks occur, Lowe said. We know that based on known fishing records dating back to the 1930s.

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Shark bites at the site seem to bear that out. More than half the shark attacks that have occurred in San Diego County since 2004 took place at San Onofre, according to figures from the Shark Research Committee, a nonprofit organization that shark attacks on the West Coast. As of Saturday there have been 11 shark attacks in the county in that time, including six at San Onofre.

Other reports from San Onofre and surrounding areas also confirm that white sharks are regular visitors. Recent videos showed sharks breaching in the water beyond the surf break, and in 2010 a paddle boarder captured GoPro footage of a baby white shark circling his board. In nearby San Clemente, at least three fishermen landed white sharks from the shore or pier between 2013 and 2016.

As alarming as shark encounters may seem, theyre rarely a threat to people, said Nicole Nasby Lucas, a researcher with the Oceanside-based Marine Conservation Science Institute. Mature white sharks prefer the open ocean, or marine mammal rookeries at the Farallon or Channel Islands. The younger sharks feed exclusively on fish, and dont start hunting seals or sea lions until theyre about 10 feet long, scientists said. So its unusual for one to bite a human, as it did on Saturday.

Generally its not a threat for people, because they only eat fish, as juveniles, she said. It could be the only time there would be danger from a juvenile would be if you are swimming in a school of fish.

Young white sharks tend to swim just outside the surf break, but sometimes come closer; Lowe said he has caught them in water ranging from 12 feet to just three feet deep.

Smaller sharks can definitely get into that shallow water, he said.

While the baby sharks favor the three northern beaches, he said juveniles from 1 to 3 years old - about six to nine feet long  often gravitate to San Onofre.

If those other places are the nursery, lets think of that as preschool for white sharks, he said.

Lowe said its not clear why the sharks linger there, but said San Onofres abundant food supply could be part of it.

Its a very productive habitat, (with) stingray, halibut, croakers and barred sand-bass, usually species that are living on the bottom, Lowe said. These are species that are easy for them to catch.

As seals and sea lions have recovered from near extinction, white sharks, which hunt marine mammals as adults, have also flourished. Stingrays, a favored prey of juveniles, are also on the rise, Lowe said.

It seems like the number of juvenile (white sharks) is going up, so from everything we tell, the population is healthy and increasing, Nasby said.

With sharks swimming alongside people, beachgoers should be predator smart and avoid remote locations, murky water and river mouths, which can deposit decaying animals that may attract sharks, Lowe said.

Millions of people go in the water each year without incident, so they need to be aware, but they dont need to be afraid to go in the water, he said.

Note: a previous version of this article misidentified the prey of juvenile white sharks. The young sharks often eat stingrays.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
A former Southern California Marine has been handed a 21-month federal sentence for faking a Purple Heart and lifting from another Marines combat story to get years of disability benefits and a free house.

In a rare prosecution under the 2013 Stolen Valor Act, a 35-year-old Iraq War veteran will also have to pay back more than $300,000 to the U.S. government and a Texas charity.

Brandon Blackstone served with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment out of Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert in 2004. He deployed to Iraq in August, during a period of fierce fighting on the Syrian border.

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So did Casey Owens, another 1/7 Marine.

But thats where the similarities in the two Marines stories end  and where Blackstones fabrications began.

Prosecutors and fellow Marines said Blackstone fashioned a tale of blast injuries and combat stress based on a horrific explosion that nearly killed Owens and cost him both of his legs.

Owens was in a Humvee that triggered a double anti-mine bomb while responding to a downed U.S. serviceman in September 2004.

Blackstone was in the area and likely witnessed the event. But he wasnt injured in that attack  or in any other combat incident  according to people who were there, the U.S. Attorneys office in Texas and Blackstones own lawyer.

In fact, he was evacuated from Iraq after a month with appendicitis.

But starting at least in 2006, Blackstone began spinning a story of suffering traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder after his Humvee hit a mine in Iraq.

He even fabricated two witness statements to support his claim for U.S. Veterans Affairs Department disability benefits that he received from 2006 to 2015, prosecutors said.

Worse, in the eyes of his fellow Marines, he began showing the photograph of Owens mangled Humvee as part of his story about how he was wounded.

This scumbag lied to try to get st. You dont do that. Its not honorable. Its not how we are. Its personal for me, especially, as a friend of Caseys, said Andrew Rothman, a 1/7 Navy corpsman who was a key player in exposing Blackstones fraud.

This kid essentially stole from all of us. And the honor part is bigger to us than the money and the house.

Blackstone was awarded a 100 percent disability rating and, by claiming to have a Purple Heart, his application for a mortgage-free house was granted by Texas-based Military Warriors Support Foundation.

Meanwhile, Owens tried to make the best of his life with a double leg amputation and brain injuries, among other medical complications. He moved to Aspen and competed as a Paralympics skier.

But Owens was still in pain. He did national TV interviews describing how he struggled to get the care he needed for his mental and physical wounds. His right leg required additional surgeries that took more of it away.

In October 2014, Owens used a gun to kill himself.

But things for Blackstone were going well. He became a mentor at a Missouri-based veterans charity, Focus Marines Foundation. He even started his own nonprofit group, called The Fight Continues, with two other post-Sept. 11 veterans.

But those brushes with others in the veterans community led to his downfall. His story, including video testimonials he was giving about his combat injuries, didnt sit right with other 1/7 Marines who dedicated a Facebook thread to discussing it.

Eventually, Rothman tipped off the Warriors Support charity that was poised to grant Blackstone the deed to the donated house.

Blackstone pleaded guilty in September to one count of wire fraud and one count of fraudulent representation about the receipt of a military decoration for financial gain.

At his sentencing last month, a federal judge in Texas called Blackstone shameful, but gave him credit for accepting blame for his actions. Sentencing guidelines limited his incarceration to 27 months or less, according to news reports. His was given credit for time served since February, so he will serve 18 more months.

Blackstones defense lawyer, Justin Sparks, said his client was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered a head injury in Iraq -- but not in combat.

The head wound happened when a superior roughed him up in the barracks and he hit his head on a dresser. There were other injuries while in uniform that werent related to combat but required surgery, Sparks said. While in the hospital, a higher-ranking Marine informally gave Blackstone a Purple Heart medal to acknowledge his pain  but it wasnt an official award.

Theres no explaining why Blackstone lied about the Purple Heart or applied for the free home, knowing he wasnt qualified, the former Marines lawyer told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Theres not really a good answer for that. He was in a very, very tough time in his life and reached a pitfall there, Sparks said this week.

Sparks said his client seemed to lose his grasp on reality as the story spun on.

Theres a symptom of PTSD where you are living your life in the third person. Youre always convincing yourself about what is reality, he said. Its almost a coping mechanism.

Sparks said his client is still rated at 70 percent disabled by the VA.

The lawyer disagreed that Blackstone was appropriating Casey Owens story.

Brandon never claimed his lost his legs, Sparks said. The only common elements in the two stories are PTSD, the Purple Heart and head injuries. There must be at least 1,000-plus soldiers who have those three things.

Blackstones fellow troops dont buy the PTSD explanation for his behavior. Several of them also were disappointed by his sentence.

He was in the grip of his own lies, said Eric Calley, a former Marine who used his own money to start The Fight Continues with Blackstone.

That judge should be ashamed. I think (Blackstone) deserves a life sentence for what he did to our veterans.

Lezleigh Owens Kleibrink, Owens sister, said her family was hoping for closure from a tougher sentence but didnt get it.

Kleibrink said she has no doubts that Blackstone was trying to at least bask in the association with her brothers reputation.

He was a thief and Caseys story was a means to get what he wanted, she told the San Diego Union-Tribune this week.

What Brandon doesnt understand is that its ripped open our wounds once again, Kleibrink said. Anyone who makes my mother cry like this  He may have joined the Corps, but he was no Marine.

The Military Warriors Support Foundation said it was the charitys first brush with stolen valor in awarding more than 750 homes to combat-wounded veterans.

This was an unusual case, in that even official VA documentation was inaccurate, said spokesman Casey Kinser. That said, we are constantly reviewing our processes to vet our applicants more accurately and efficiently.

The Fort Worth-area house that Blackstone nearly owned has been awarded to another Marine family.

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Educators from Tijuana and San Diego are joining forces to support students who switch between the U.S. and Mexican school systems.

Slated to start next fall, the effort will begin as a pilot program linking a small number of schools in the two cities, as educators from Baja California and the San Diego Unified School District collaborate on a range of issues benefiting binational students.

The program, announced Monday, will focus on establishing links through efforts such as teacher collaboration, curriculum support, parent workshops, student mentor programs and cross-border instructional visits.

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We want our students to benefit from not having any gaps in their education, Cindy Marten, superintendent of San Diego Unified, said at a news conference announcing the initiative, which also involves the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

Of some 700,000 pre-kindergarten through ninth-grade students enrolled in Baja Californias public schools, about 54,000 are U.S. citizens, said Yara Amparo Lopez, coordinator for the systems binational migrant education program.

Lopez said she has seen an increase this year in U.S. students moving with their families to Baja California, as parents are deported or voluntarily move to Mexico. Since January, 1,200 new U.S. students have enrolled in Baja California schools, she said.

While there have been previous efforts at cross-border collaboration, Lopez said this is the first that carries the commitment of a school superintendent and Baja Californias education secretary.

Although details have yet to be worked out, Marten said, today, were casting a vision, and were saying, What would it be like if there was better communication and cross-border collaboration between educators?

Supporting the effort at a news conference on Monday were Mexican Consul General Marcela Celorio; Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego; and Lindsay Burningham, president of the San Diego Educators Association.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
The organizational chart of top management at Californias bullet train authority disappeared from the agencys website about three months ago, sending what now seems like a sign of impending shakeup.

Chief Executive Jeff Morales announced his departure on April 21 in a letter sent to Gov. Jerry Brown and the rail authority. Late last year, the senor deputy officer left, and before that the chief administrator and the computer systems director said goodbye.

A leadership exodus has also roiled the authoritys corporate rail delivery partner, Parsons Brinckerhoff, which makes many of the day-to-day engineering and construction decisions in the effort to build a high speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and is critical to the bullet train projects success or failure.

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Gary Griggs, the companys top executive on the California project who has worked on BART, the San Francisco subway, and the Taiwan bullet train, quietly announced his retirement recently. Griggs was preceded by Tony Daniels, Hans Van Winkle, Brent Felker and Jim Van Epps  all since about 2012. A deputy, Gay Knipper, was just let go as well.

It adds up to a senior management upheaval at a time when the rail authority is wrestling with construction falling behind schedule, cost estimates heading higher and a hostile wind blowing from the Trump administration.

As long as Dan Richard is at the helm and Mike Rossi oversees finance, then you are in good shape.  Thea Selby, former rail authority board member

The rail authority has disclosed little publicly about the exits, and after denying Morales rumored departure, had little to say when he revealed that the rumors were true.

There was no particular thing that precipitated his decision beyond determining that it was simply time to move on, spokeswoman Lisa Marie Alley said.

The chief of the state department overseeing the rail agency offers a similar assessment.

Jeff made a call on his own that it is time to do something else, State Transportation Agency Secretary Brian Kelly said in an interview Saturday. Jeff has brought this project a long, long way. And all of us together have been assessing what do we do as we go forward.

Kelly said the rail program is moving from the planning stage to a construction push that has 1,000 workers building bridges and preparing to lay track in the Central Valley  a new phase that will require different leadership skills. An evaluation of the organization began late last year, he said.

A spokeswoman for Parsons Brinckerhoff said it is not unusual for a project of this size and duration to experience personnel changes.

Gary Griggs, she said, is retiring following a successful career in our industry, and Gay Knipper has recently accepted an opportunity with another firm. The project attracts many qualified candidates from around the world who are interested in working on the next phase of this program.

But some construction industry executives, academic experts and officials with direct knowledge of the rail authoritys operations say the exits reflect both tensions within the authoritys ranks and loss of confidence about the projects future.

When you have a large infeasible project, it is better to not be in the room when it comes to a halt, said James Moore, vice dean for academic programs at USCs Viterbi School of Engineeringnoting that his views are not those of the university.

Moore, who heads the schools transportation engineering program, said the technology for high speed rail does not exist to deliver on the promises made for the system, and engineers generally will flee such projects as the future becomes clouded.

Art Bauer, who led the state Senates oversight of high speed rail for years, offers a similar interpretation: The departures are a signal that the project is over with. If this project were booming, people would be clamoring to be part of it. People want to be part of a success and have bragging rights.

When you have a large infeasible project, it is better to not be in the room when it comes to a halt.  James Moore, Viterbi School of Engineering, USC

Among the projects many supporters, the departures cause little concern.

They say their confidence is bolstered, in part, because the rail authority still includes former utility industry attorney Dan Richard and former banking executive Michael Rossi.

As long as Dan Richard is at the helm and Mike Rossi oversees finance, then you are in good shape, said Thea Selby, a former member of the rail authority board.

Supporters also note that the state just sold bonds to pay for work in the Central Valley, and a Superior Court judge tentatively rejected an effort by opponents to block the use of the money, which they contend would violate the terms of a 2008 bond act.

The opponents said they plan to appeal if the ruling is made final.

Meanwhile, political insiders are scrutinizing the details of recent departures for clues as to what may come next.

Morales five-year tenure at the top of the project had ups and downs.

The project did begin construction in the Central Valley, and Morales helped build political support that won additional state funding from greenhouse gas fees.

But the project failed to obtain any private investment and still has a massive $40-billion funding gap. It is falling behind schedule and facing estimates of higher costs as well.

While Morales likely did not get fired, he did battle with the rail authoritys board of directors and came to lose the confidence of at least some of the members, according to multiple officials who are involved in the project.

There was mounting evidence that the project was slipping into trouble that could not be repaired.

Asked about whether there was friction between the board and Morales, Kelly said, In most respects they have been working very much together.

When the 2016 business plan was issued, Morales won a tactical battle to lower the estimated final cost of the project to $64 billion, prevailing over those who wanted a price billions of dollars higher, according to individuals with knowledge of the dealings.

When the Federal Railroad Administration warned in December that the cost of the initial construction segment in the Central Valley could increase by 50% to $10 billion and the estimate became public weeks later, Morales and Richard both asserted that the estimate was part of a risk analysis that was wrong.

Morales resignation letter two weeks ago was addressed to Brown as well as the authoritys board.

A spokesman for the governor said Brown was not involved in Morales decision to leave.

But the executive turnover does offer Brown an opportunity to install fresh management, possibly better skilled at dealing with the immediate problems of managing property acquisition, environmental approvals, large-scale construction and making amends with the Trump administration.

Morales was part of President Obamas transition team, not a background likely to win many friends in the conservative Congress.

Brown has hoped to make the bullet train system a part of his legacy, but he has said little about the programs specific challenges this year and in his State of the State speech said only, We have roads, we have tunnels, we have railroads and even a dam that the president can help us with. He has not acted to fill a vacancy on the rail authority board.

Many project insiders speculate that the governor is quietly considering a restructuring of the entire project before he leaves office after the gubernatorial election next year.

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @rvartabedian

UPDATES:

3:07 p.m., May 4: This article was updated to more fully describe Gov. Jerry Browns comments on high speed rail in his State of the State address and other public remarks.

4:47 p.m., May 2: This article was updated to indicate that James Moores stated opinions are not those of USC.

This article was originally published at 2:30 p.m., May 1.
A woman who was the only official objector to the $25-million deal to settle three Trump University lawsuits said Monday that she would appeal the settlement, a move that could mean months of further litigation and delay any payout.

Sheri B. Simpson filed a formal notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The move was immediately criticized by the lawyer for the other 3,700 or so class members who are eligible to get up to 90% of what they spent on President Trumps defunct real estate success program.

Gary Friedman, the lawyer for Simpson, said the appeal will be based on the argument that a San Diego federal judge who approved the settlement on March 31 erred because class members were not given a second chance to opt out of the case.

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The class members had a right to opt out of the settlement, Friedman said. The notice they received from the court promised them in no uncertain terms they had that right. Then, once the defendant got elected president, it became inconvenient to honor that promise.

Rather than take the more than $15,000 she would get under the terms of the settlement, Simpson wants to take the president to trial individually and seek an award four times that amount or more, Friedman said.

Lawyers for the class members said Simpson and her lawyer mischaracterized language that went out in the class notices, which  when read in the correct context  stated that participants would be able to opt out of receiving a portion of the settlement, not leave the case entirely. By staying in the case, Simpson is bound by the settlement, they argue.

Jason Forge, one of the main lawyers in the class-action suit and settlement, said that the decision to appeal is wrong and could hurt other members of the class who will have to wait to collect their money from Trump.

Its the wrong fight against the wrong people for the wrong reason, he said Monday. My only real concern is we wont have enough time to make it right for everyone. We have a number of senior citizen students here waiting for their money. And given the length of time that appeals can take, we may not be able to get that money to them before they die.

The class-action lawsuits  two filed in San Diego and another in New York  claimed Trump University misled students into thinking it was an accredited university and conned people into signing up for the $35,000 Gold Elite program. The elite status paid for a yearlong mentorship and exclusive access to Trumps resources, which students said were not provided for the most part.

Trump defended his program, saying it provided valuable training and garnered a 98% approval rating among students.

Friedman said Simpson regretted holding up settlement payments. We feel terribly about the delay, he said. But she is not going to be guilted into changing her position.

He said he planned to ask the appeals court for an expedited hearing schedule.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com

Davis and Moran write for the San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State University has agreed to pay $10,000 and take other steps to settle a lawsuit filed by a former student who said he was suspended and wrongly accused of sexual assault.

Francisco Sousa was a 20-year-old foreign exchange student from Portugal when he was arrested by SDSU police Dec. 9, 2014, and charged with

sexually assaulting and imprisoning a woman near campus. About a dozen reports of sexual assault had been reported in the area that semester.

Sousa denied the accusations and the charges were dropped in January 2015, but the school would not lift the suspension. He sued SDSU that April to demand information about the accusation against him.

The school lifted the suspension against him that September, and Sousa later sued for monetary damages and to seek an apology from SDSU for sending a campus-wide email announcing his arrest.

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Besides the monetary award, the settlement changes the record of his arrest to a police detention, and the school has agreed to additional training for employees who investigate sexual assault claims.

Specifically, the settlement states three employees would be sent to a civil rights investigator training and certification course or a similar training program.

It also will result in the schools Clery Act director and campus police participating in a webinar about timely warning notices and immediate notifications. The Clery Act is a federal law that relates to crime reporting, security and the prevention of and response to sexual assaults at publicly funded colleges and universities.

Attorney Domenic Lombardo, who represented Sousa in his first lawsuit against SDSU, said the request for training was an attempt to prevent others from being wrongly accused.

If theyre going to identify an offender, they need to do it in a measured, thoughtful and methodical way, he said.

Gina Jacobs, interim chief communications officer at SDSU, said the school does not comment on settlement agreements, but it did have a statement about sexual assault.

San Diego State University takes the issue of sexual assault very seriously, the statement read. It is our institutional responsibility to investigate all complaints to ensure the safety of our students. The university is committed to preventing sexual violence through education, training and accountability.

Sousa did not return to SDSU after the suspension was lifted and now lives in Los Angeles, where he is enrolled in another school and plans to graduate this semester with a business degree and a minor in economics. He did not seek a large monetary settlement, he said, because he did not want taxpayers burdened with the cost. The settlement money will go to his parents, who helped pay his legal bills, he said.

No amount of money can compensate for what I went through, he said. My main objective was to vindicate my name.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Warth writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
What do you call a nurse who combines the compassion of Mother Teresa with the coolness of a CSI investigator?

You can call these nurses saints or you can call them detectives, but the double-barreled job title is forensic nurse.

There ought to be a TV crime show to glorify the (mostly) women doing both the Lords and the DAs work.

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In fact, Im told by one forensic nurse that a pilot is in the planning stage. (How does she know? She was asked to consult.)

My interest in this cusp between healing and criminal justice is, I concede, personal.

Over the past three years, Ive been repeatedly thanked for saving Palomar Healths Forensic Health Services.

Havent heard of it?

Not surprised.

This division of Palomar Health is a largely unsung heroine of our criminal justice system.

As for my role as savior, well, its flattering to think that columns can change the world, but the praise is overstated.

Palomar forensic examiner Cathy McLennan gave me the script and, to be honest, the musical score.

All I added was the cheek, the attitude.

In a 2013 column, I beseeched readers to open up their checkbooks and make up a funding gap that threatened the 33-year-old safe haven for abused children and assaulted women.

The child program, a boon to law enforcement trying to discover the truth of what happened at home, operated alongside a North County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), forensic nurses who collect and document evidence from the bodies of adolescent and adult rape victims.

As always, the Forensic Health Services contract with law enforcement was $200,000 short of costs. This time, however, Palomar Health, which had made up the difference for years, turned out its pockets.

Shuttering Forensic Health Services would have meant longer drives for victims. The most delicate safety net there is would be stretched by miles of traffic.

Saints be praised, the community rallied in the Christmas season and beyond.

Supervisor Dave Roberts stepped up with county grant money. Palomar Healths foundation contributed. Individuals donated in droves.

The Golden Door, the exclusive Twin Oaks Valley health spa founded by Deborah Szekely, adopted Forensic Health Services as a cause celebre for its charitable foundation.

A May 2018 conference on child abuse is being scheduled at the Door, a direct reflection of the spas guiding interest in the safety of children and women.

Its my beacon, says Kathy Van Ness, the Doors general manager.

All told, North County donated more than $800,000 to the center in the past three years.

Now, Im glad to report, those front doors that came close to closing have been flung wide open to the whole region.

From the ashes of near-cremation the Forensic Health Services has spread its wings.

Starting last Monday, May Day, virtually every suspected rape victim in San Diego County, assuming her (or, in growing numbers, his) consent, will be examined by a Palomar nurse, a quadrupling of the programs regional role.

Last year, North Countys SART performed 195 exams. That number is expected to spike to more than 800 in the next 12 months.

That means more nurses need to be hired and more exam rooms made available in Escondido and Poway and downtown San Diego at the Family Justice Center, SDPDs one-stop shop for domestic violence cases.

Ultimately, Forensic Health Services hopes to offer exam rooms to the south or east, says Michelle Shores, supervisor of Palomars SART program.

In yet another leap from the fire pit, Forensic Health Services has been awarded a county grant to perform 130 exams of domestic violence victims at the Family Justice Center in downtown San Diego as well as other locations.

Adding a layer of complexity to these new forensic exams is a focus on strangulation, one of the most common, and hardest to document, forms of domestic violence.

With high-powered cameras in ideal photographic conditions, bodily evidence can be put into the sort of context that pays dividends in court, says SDPD Lt. Misty Cedrun, head of the SDPD Domestic Violence Unit.

This pilot program is based on the Maricopa, Ariz., record of success: A strangulation prosecution rate of 60 percent compared to a former 15 percent rate.

The grant, which began in February, has paid for more than 20 exams so far, Im told. Its early but two defendants, confronted by the exam evidence, have pleaded out, which is a positive sign.

Instead of detectives taking photographs of bruises, forensic nurses have elevated the collection of evidence to a whole new level, says Cedrun. Its priceless.

As it happens, two of Palomars veteran forensic professionals  McLennan, an interviewer, and Patty Secor, a nurse  are retiring in the next few days.

Theyve gone from the brink of disaster some four years ago to the crest of success.

Secor, 67, talks proudly about the 19 cases in which she personally testified and the 18 convictions her SART exams helped obtain.

Eighteen wins and one loss in court. Thats one analytical way to quantify a career.

But were still nurses, Shores reminds me.

To be sure, theyre still secular saints offering comfort at a persons lowest possible point.

But theyre also cool hands offering victims a weapon with which to fight back in court.

The exam gives victims power, Shores says of the voluntary first step toward justice.

They leave on the road to survival.

logan.jenkins@sduniontribune.com
The question of whether race motivated Peter Selis hung over San Diego in the aftermath of Sundays mass shooting as police officials, investigators and members of the community at large tried to piece together what happened  and why.

San Diego police on Monday said Selis was despondent over a recent breakup with his girlfriend when he shot seven people, killing one, in the pool area of a University City apartment complex.

But the circumstances of the shooting  Selis was a white man and most of his victims were black or Latino  have made race a central topic of discussion.

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The reason why people are speculating a hate crime in the community is because this is a 49-year-old white male, who walks into a pool area, a gathering with mostly black people, in a mostly white community in San Diego, said the Rev. Shane Harris of the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization.

He lives there, and he walks in there, and he shoots six African Americans and one Latino. You leave no choice for people to look at what the motive is. And we are not letting this one off.

On Monday evening, police revised their previous statements and said that one of the victims was a white woman, not black. That was after Harris and others made their comments for this article. Nevertheless, Selis trained his fire on poolside birthday gathering of mostly people of color.

Investigators have not seen anything that indicates indicates Selis rampage from a pool lounge chair at the upscale La Jolla Crossroads complex was motivated by racial animosity, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

We have zero information that this was racially motivated, she said at a Monday news conference.

Zimmerman said Selis called his former girlfriend while he was gunning people down and kept her on the phone as the shooting continued.

His reaction to the breakup, not race, appears to be the central factor, Zimmerman said. It was a spontaneous act of violence and the victims were shot because they were nearby, not because of their skin color, she said.

An African-American woman at the party disputed that notion and noted that a white friend was let go by Selis.

I feel there was hate within this crime, and I dont think that is a deniable thing here, said Lt. j.g. Lauren Chapman, who is stationed at 32nd Street Naval Base.

Selis shot at arriving officers who returned fire and killed him, Zimmerman said.

Bishop Cornelius Bowser of Charity Apostolic Church called for an investigation to determine what motivated the gunman.

See wherever the evidence leads, if it leads to a suicide mission, to someone who had issues with people of color, Bowser said. The investigation needs to continue until they can be clear what the motives were for doing that.

Bowser said police have a legitimate interest in keeping the public informed about the status of the case and help keep people calm after an emotional tragedy. He added that they might inadvertently heighten tensions if they prematurely dismiss the possibly that race was a factor.

Sometimes, I think that the thing that riles people up the most is when they dont have all the information, or they feel like something is being held out, he said.

Drew Phillips witnessed the shooter reloading at an apartment complex in University City where the shooter eventually shot 7 victims in the swimming pool area. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Harris of the National Action Network also called for an investigation to determine Selis motives.

We want to address this, and make it very clear that we want to see a thorough investigation on whether hate was involved in this crime or not, he said.

He added that he wants police to be transparent about the methodology of their investigation, and to set a deadline for when their inquiry will be complete.

Others had concluded that Selis was motivated by racial hatred.

Officials still wont admit this was a hate crime, media personality and filmmaker Tariq Nasheed said on Twitter.

Later, he added: I would like @SanDiegoPD to explain how a white killer can go to a predominantly white area of San Diego, shoot 7 Blks, and its NOT racial?

Michael Benjamin, a student at the University of California San Diego and a resident at La Jolla Crossroads for a little over a year, said he often felt that some people in the complex were quietly hostile toward him because hes black.

Their treatment, combined with the circumstances of the shooting, make it clear that Selis, one of his neighbors, was motivated by a hatred against black people, he said.

I dont think its rocket science, said Benjamin, the president of UC San Diegos National Society of Black Engineers.

Some of the other residents have looked down at him while riding with him in the elevator, or physically move away when he is near. There have also been bad looks, and ongoing animosity, he said.

Just living there, and going to school, and walking around the apartment complex, I feel racial tensions as I walk around, he said.

Benjamin said he had never met Selis, or if he did, he does not remember him.

Besides the recent breakup, Selis also faced significant debt. A mechanic at a car dealership, court records show he filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and owed tens of thousands of dollars to medical groups, credit card companies and tax collectors.

Zimmerman did not mention Selis financial struggles at the news conference on Monday.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
Californians are used to droughts, which on average happen once every decade. But the drought we're in now looks different from all the rest in California's modern history in its length and severity.

As the Golden State enters new and disturbing territory, elected officials, water experts, municipal planners and the public are struggling to understand what lies ahead, how it will affect them, and what they can do.

California has a record population, unprecedented demands for residential and environmental uses, and a productive but threatened agricultural sector that feeds much of the United States. It faces these challenges with a system to store and deliver water that was largely finished decades ago. Plans to renovate the system have foundered because of political disagreements.

So now California is faced with drought again, in exceptionally unfavorable circumstances. The last drought began in 2007 ended with the wet year of 2011. But immediately after that, the dry years began again. In retrospect, 2011 was an outlier in nearly a decade of California drought.

Worse, drought has also taken hold on the Colorado River basin, California's other major source of water. The vast storage capacity of reservoirs such as Lake Mead had dipped dangerously low, just when the state needs it most. Hot weather experienced in recent years makes rain less likely.

And while Californians are grappling with a 25 percent reduction in water use ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown, they should be aware the outlook can get a lot bleaker. Studies of California's climate going back 1,200 years have found evidence of megadroughts lasting up to 200 years. Even a drought of a few decades would be unprecedented in California's history as a state.

No one knows if we are entering a megadrought. Climate science has so far failed to accurately predict future climate trends. But history says an ultra-severe drought beyond the experience of California since it became a state in 1850 is very possible.

As California deals with this uncertainty, U-T San Diego talked with water experts to look at what is happening, and how the state could cope if the worst does take place.

If the drought does continue, water experts say conservation targets will become steadily more rigorous. A 50 percent cut is possible, a mandate briefly considered in early 1991, during the peak of another drought. Water transfers from farmers to cities will become more common. And the push for reclaimed water and desalinated water for drinking will accelerate.

View the photo gallery: California drought

Long journey

In a gigantic bucket brigade spanning hundreds of miles, Southern California gets most of its water from two main sources, Northern California rivers and reservoirs, and the Colorado River.

Northern California water reaches Southern California through Metropolitan Water District, the region's biggest water wholesaler. Metropolitan sells to the San Diego County Water Authority, which in turn sells to the retail agencies that supply residents, businesses and farmers. Metropolitan similarly sells to its other member agencies as far north as Ventura County and east nearly to Banning.

The Water Authority also imports Colorado River water from deals with the agricultural Imperial Irrigation District. This water is transported through Metropolitan's system. The Water Authority pays IID farmers for water-saving equipment, and the saved water is sent to San Diego County.(Some of the water now comes from land fallowing, but this is due to end in two years.) Roughly half the imported water comes from this deal, with the other half from Metropolitan.

(Aaron Steckelberg)

California relies on this extensive network of reservoirs, canals, aqueducts and other infrastructure for two reasons. One, most of the people live where it isn't rainy. Two, runoff varies greatly from year to year.

In 1977, the driest year on record in California, runoff reached just 15 million acre-feet, but runoff quickly rebounded. In 1983, runoff reached a record 135 million acre-feet. (One acre-feet is about 326,000 gallons).

This rapid up and down in runoff can be smoothed out with California's water storage capacity in most years. If droughts last no longer than about three or four years, the state can get through without too much trouble.

California's water system isn't designed to cope with a shortfall longer than that. So when runoff drops well below average for more than a few years, drought really begins to bite.

The Depression-era drought of 1929- 34 was the longest and most severe in California's history. The effects were felt statewide, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. And there were none of the modern network of reservoirs and aqueducts that supply Southern California. Metropolitan Water District itself was formed in 1928, to bring Colorado River water to Southern California.

At that time, San Diego County was entirely self-sufficient, relying on local water supplies. That would last until 1947, when the San Diego County Water Authority, which serves nearly all of the county's population, joined Metropolitan.

Droughts past

The drought of 1987-1992 drought is more pertinent to California's current condition, as the modern network was virtually complete by then. At that time, Metropolitan supplied nearly all the water used in San Diego County.

Water agencies ordered conservation measures much like those imposed in this drought; restrictions on outdoor water use such as watering lawns and washing cars. In San Diego, then-mayor Maureen O'Connor resisted calls for conservation mandates in favor of voluntary conservation.

But as the drought worsened by the beginning of 1991, Metropolitan briefly considered ordering a 50 percent reduction in water use. And since the county got nearly all its water from Metropolitan, the San Diego County Water Authority considered imposing similar cuts. This would have been a rare action for the Water Authority, because restrictions are customarily imposed by local water agencies that sell directly to end users.

"We were actually considering banning outdoor water use," said Lester Snow, who was general manager of the Water Authority at that time.

Where water is stored and delivered to in California  Metropolitan Water District ( / Metropolitan Water District)

The Water Authority's dependence on Metropolitan made such drastic actions inevitable if Metropolitan had actually gone through with the cut, said Snow, who is now director of the nonprofit California Water Foundation.

Then-Gov. Pete Wilson helped set up a "water bank" in which Northern California farmers sold water to import to Southern California customers. That effort was successful in blunting the drought's harm in urban areas.

And the worst-case of a 50 percent cut was dropped when torrential March 1991 rains replenished rivers, reservoirs and the Sierra snowpack. That month entered water history as "Miracle March."

O'Connor, who had said rain was likely, was vindicated against critics such as former city manager John Lockwood, who had retired that March.

"Heavenly intervention is where she's one up on me. . . . If she pulls off one more miracle, I'm going to convert to Catholicism," Lockwood was quoted as saying in a March 30, 1991 article in the Los Angeles Times. "I'll never contest her again. If she says it's going to snow on Mt. Helix, by gosh, I'll get my skis out."

The drought didn't end then, but the worst was over.

Snow said that since that time, the Water Authority has made great progress both in conserving water and in diversifying its supply, namely through the water importation agreements with Imperial Valley farmers.

Drought followed by drought

This time around, the script is different. California entered drought in 2007, and exited it with the wet year of 2011.

Normally, the end of a drought means the urgency of developing a secure water supply abates. But this time, the dry years returned immediately, beginning in 2012 and extending to the present.

California's biggest reservoir, Lake Shasta, can hold about 4.5 million acre-feet. It's now 58 percent full. Second-largest is Lake Oroville, which can hold 3.5 million acre-feet, is now at 50 percent capacity. And Trinity, the third-largest reservoir with a 2.4 million acre-feet capacity, is 48 percent full.

And with the critical Sierra snowpack virtually nonexistent this year at 5 percent of average, only a tiny amount of snowmelt will be available during the hot summer months to refill these reservoirs.

Surface water is a small but significant part of San Diego Countys water supply. The colored dots on this map depict streamflow conditions as a percentile. Most streams are running far below normal.  USGS ( / USGS)

Meanwhile, the Colorado River basin has itself been enduring drought for nearly 15 years, said Deven Upadhyay, manager of Metropolitan's Water Resource Management Group.

"Folks that look at tree-ring data say you can have long dry spells, with a few wet years sprinkled in, but you're still in a long-term drought," Upadhyay said. "We're seeing that on the Colorado River."

The impact of this drought took longer to be felt in the Colorado River basin because of the much larger storage capacity in its reservoirs, he said.

Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, can hold up to 31 million acre-feet, nearly seven times the capacity of Lake Shasta. It has the most capacity of any reservoir in the entire United States. Lake Mead is now about 38 percent full, the lowest it's been since the reservoir was first filled in the 1930s. The last time Lake Mead was full was 1983, a record wet year across the West.

Southern California and Metropolitan have been sheltered from the Colorado River basin drought up until now because these users have a high priority under California's water rights, Upadhyay said. The much greater capacity of its reservoirs than California's means it takes longer for the drought to be felt.

"When you get the wet-dry cycles on the Colorado River, you have huge storage reserves to be able to buffer the impacts," he said. "On the State Water Project (which delivers Metropolitan's water), you don't have anywhere near storage to be able to buffer the year-to-year drought impacts."

In the wet year of 2011, Metropolitan got 80 percent of its allocated water from the State Water Project, he said. Three years later, the agency got just 5 percent. Colorado River deliveries have remained relatively stable.

Metropolitan's members also benefit from the agency's newest reservoir, Diamond Valley Lake. Completed in 1999, the reservoir can hold about 810,000 acre-feet, making it the biggest in Southern California. It is now 47 percent full, and will fall as water is withdrawn to meet demands.

For that reason, on April 15 Metropolitan banned private boat launches at the reservoir. The water level fell below the lowest level of the boat ramp at the reservoir's East Marina.

"Rental boats at the lake will remain available until it becomes impractical or unsafe to operate and maintain the rental fleet," Metropolitan said in a statement on the closure.

In this October 2008 file photo, the water level at Diamond Valley Lake fell below the level of the end of the concrete boat ramp because of the drought occurring then.  Steve Thornton ( / Steve Thornton)

What's ahead

It's impossible to predict all the measures that will be taken if the existing drought continues for many more years. These measures are enacted by public officials, from Gov. Brown on down to officials of local water agencies. But water experts say there's a fair degree of certainty what kinds of measures will be enacted.

Increased conservation, especially with outdoor water use, is all but certain. Since most urban water is used outdoors and is not necessary for sanitation, drinking or cooking, that water is the most dispensable. Lawns have long been a target of programs to partially fund their replacement with low-water use landscaping.

The San Diego County Water Authority's water shortage and drought response plan relies on a mixture of conservation and "supply enhancement," said Dana Friehauf, a water resource manager.

"You have to look at both sides of the equation," Friehauf said. "If you're in a megadrought, a long-term drought, you're going to have to look at demand management ... along with looking at supplemental supplies, local supplies."

As a wholesale water agency, the Water Authority doesn't directly impose conservation rules on end users, Friehauf said. Each of the authority's 24 member agencies do have conservation plans that kick in at various degrees of shortage.

"Right now, the agencies are all in a Drought Alert, which is considered Level 2, which has mandatory restrictions," Friehauf said. "And if the drought were to worsen, they could potentially go to a Drought Critical or a Drought Emergency."

Friehauf said the measures are aimed at saving water for what is necessary for health and safety, and for the economy, in that order.

"You want to preserve those as long as you can, and that's why you target the landscaping and outdoor water uses," Friehauf said.

On the supply side, the Carlsbad desalination plant nearing completion by Poseidon Water will boost the region's local supply of drinking water by up to 50 million gallons a day, or 56,000 acre-feet a year. That represents about 7 to 10 percent of the county's consumption.

Further into the future, water reclamation to repurify wastewater for drinking will be phased in with the city of San Diego, which has about half the county's population. The city's Pure Water San Diego program aims to provide one-third of the city's supply by 2035, two decades from now.

On a statewide level, California will continue to benefit for the next several years from the residual storage along the Colorado River, said Metropolitan's Upadhyay. The state's Western neighbors will feel the pinch first if the drought doesn't end.

The condition of Lake Mead will play a big role in what happens, Upadhyay said. If the reservoir's surface elevation falls below 1,075 feet, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will probably declare a shortage in the lower Colorado River basin.

"It's going to be really close this year," he said. "That decision is typically made in August."

Fortunately for California, Southern Nevada and Arizona would have their deliveries cut first, while California would be protected under a 1968 deal. Arizona would lose 320,000 acre-feet a year, while Nevada and Mexico would be cut by lesser amounts.

If Lake Mead drops below 1,050 feet, Arizona's reduction goes to 400,000 acre-feet. If the elevation drops below 1,025 feet, Arizonas supply will be reduced by 480,000 acre-feet.

Meanwhile, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which gets 90 percent of their water from the Colorado River and serves Las Vegas, is preparing to keep the water coming from Lake Mead by installing a "third straw" or intake. The first intake will sputter dry if the elevation falls below 1,050 feet. The new intake and the second one will keep the water coming at elevations down to 1,000 feet.

In California, San Diego County also enjoys a degree of protection, said Snow, the former Water Authority general manager. The county's imports of Imperial Valley water, which has high priority rights, a desalination plant in Carlsbad scheduled to go into operation later this year, expanded conservation and in the longer term, more reclaimed water purified to drinking standards, make the region far more resilient than in the past.

Drought conference at USC

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

But since the severity of droughts only become apparent in retrospect, one of the state's top water officials warned last week against over-optimism. Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, spoke Monday at a conference on the drought at USC.

"This is about looking at what happened in Australia, where they thought they were in the normal three-year drought cycle for six years," Marcus said. "And then they had to do really dramatic things. And the first thing they said was, Don't wait, don't wait, don't wait."
After nearly 12 years running the Lemon Grove School District, Superintendent Ernie Anastos is retiring at the end of this school year.

Anastos, 66, is one of San Diego Countys longest serving superintendents. Hes been at the helm in Lemon Grove since 2005. He was recently named Superintendent of the Year for the region covering San Diego and Imperial counties by the Association of California School Administrators. He was honored Friday during the organizations annual Honoring Our Own awards dinner.

His last day with the district will be June 30. A successor has not been named.

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The Lemon Grove School Board hired Leadership Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in superintendent recruitment, to assist in conducting a search for a new leader.

A day-long forum to collect comment to assist the district in the selection for the new superintendent is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m Wednesday at the district office, 8025 Lincoln St. Community members times to weigh in are from 10 to 11 a.m. and from 4:20 until the end of the forum.

The consultants also developed an online survey to collect feedback from the community about the selection. In English: surveymonkey.com/r/D5RQZ53 and in Spanish: es.surveymonkey.com/r/D5582KG

Anastos focused on creating neighborhood schools that serve as community centers in the city of 25,000.

Under his leadership, a number of specialized schools were developed, including the Dual Immersion Academy at Mount Vernon Elementary (an International Baccalaureate Candidate School), the San Miguel Arts Academy, and the Lemon Grove Academy of the Sciences and Humanities.

During his tenure, the Lemon Grove Academy campus began having medical and dental clinics that serve students and their families through a partnership with UCSD.

Anastos, a native of Hingham, Mass., has been an educator for 45 years. He graduated from Brandeis University and holds a masters degree in special education from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts.

He started his career in education as an elementary school teacher, then spent 20 years in the Sweetwater Union High School District. He was principal at National City Middle School from 1992-97 and Rancho del Rey Middle School from 1997-2001.

Before being appointed to the top job in Lemon Grove, Anastos was area superintendent in charge of Instructional Support Services and Student Support Services from 2002-05 in the Sweetwater district.

The Lemon Grove School District serves about 3,800 students in kindergarten through eighth grade at six schools, and operates a preschool. Its budget for the 2016-17 academic year is $42 million.
Former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory, civil rights activist Harold Brown and community activist Andrea Skorepa will receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees from San Diego State University during commencement ceremonies this month.

All three are alumni who have served the San Diego region for decades in multiple capacities.

As city manager, McGrory (class of 1976) played an important role in the development of Petco Park and East Village and in the redevelopment of City Heights. McGrory also served as chair of the Campanile Foundation, helping to steer The Campaign for SDSU, which raised $800 million.

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He will be honored at the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts commencement ceremony on May 14.

Skorepa (class of 1971), an advocate for San Diegos poorest residents, has served families in San Ysidro and the South Bay for 36 years as president and CEO of Casa Familiar. She helped grow the non-profit organization from nine employees, no assets and a $60,000 budget to a thriving institution with 34 employees, $8.1 million in assets and a budget of $1.7 million.

She will receive an honorary doctorate from the College of Arts and Letters at its May 12 commencement ceremony.

Brown (class of 1959) is known is a champion of civil rights, a conservator of African American history and a lifelong crusader on behalf of San Diegos underrepresented communities.

The first African-American administrator at SDSU, Brown created a certificate program in community economic development within the Fowler College of Business. The program later became the Center for Community Economic Development under Browns direction, offering classes in finance, accounting and leadership to train professionals to develop underserved communities.

Through his advocacy and the donation of his own personal papers, the SDSU Library established the Harold K. Brown Civil Rights and African American Experience Collection.

He will be recognized at the Fowler College of Business commencement ceremony on May 13.

SDSU has conferred more than 45 honorary degrees since 1963, when President John F. Kennedy received the first.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
A panel that reviews alleged misconduct by San Diego police officers is raising its profile and making other changes just as a companion panel on relations between police and the community begins to meet.

San Diegos Community Review Board on Police Practices is stepping up its outreach efforts with the media, local residents and police officers, leaders of the group told the City Councils Public Safety Committee last week.

The panel has also expanded its mission to include lower-level misconduct cases, changed its name, changed how board members are chosen and added outside legal representation to avoid conflicts of interest with the city.

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News of the changes comes just as the recently revived Citizens Advisory Board on Police/Community Relations held its first meeting last month.

RELATED: San Diego revives citizen police advisory panel

That panel will focus on the idea that policing San Diego is a shared responsibility that suffers without robust collaboration between residents and police.

It aims to make residents aware of their rights and responsibilities when interacting with police, and may recommend policies designed to make law enforcement more sensitive, effective and responsive.

Meanwhile, the Community Review Board on Police Practices only evaluates misconduct complaints from residents and reviews officer-involved shootings after the Police Departments Internal Affairs Division completes its investigation and issues any discipline.

Leaders of that board said last week that body-worn cameras, which San Diego police have begun wearing in recent years, have been extremely helpful in their review of misconduct cases.

The board has developed a new communications plan to boost media exposure and has begun posting board minutes online, taking bus tours of the city and introducing themselves to new officers when they graduate from the Police Academy.

Theyve also begun tackling category 2 cases involving misconduct related to service, courtesy and procedure. Previously they only handled category 1 cases, which involve misconduct related to use of force, slurs, discrimination and criminal conduct.

Despite the change, the number of cases they have handled during the current fiscal year is down 35 percent compared to the previous fiscal year, a drop from 67 to 43.

The 23-member board also has six vacancies which cant be filled until the city finalizes a new policy for board appointments.

The city last year began providing the board $25,000 annually for outside legal representation.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
A San Marcos chiropractor was arrested last week on suspicion of sexual battery on a client and investigators say additional victims have come forward.

John Michals, 42, was taken into custody on April 25 at his private practice on East San Marcos Boulevard, sheriffs Detective Michael Tingley said Tuesday.

Michals also practices at the North County Health Services Department on Valpreda Street. Sheriffs officials said the first alleged incident took place there.

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The woman, in her 30s, called the Sheriffs Department on March 15 to report having been touched inappropriately by Michals during a treatment that day, sheriffs Sgt. Daniel Deese said.

He said as an investigation unfolded, word spread to some other clients and two women came forward with similar allegations.

Because of this, we believe there may be additional victims who have yet to report, Tingley said in a statement.

Michals pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court on Thursday to one misdemeanor count of sexual battery, the District Attorneys Office said.

The investigation into the two other cases is continuing. Deese said the arrest was not made public immediately while his office conferred with county prosecutors.

Tingley asked that anyone who may be a victim or has other information in the case contact him at (760) -510-5200.
The electricity went out at more than 1,500 homes and businesses in Ramona Tuesday morning after a vehicle crashed into a power pole.

Power lines were sagging, but not on the ground, after a vehicle hit the pole on West Old Julian Highway about 5:55 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said. The driver got out, apparently uninjured.

The outage hit 1,555 San Diego Gas & Electric Co. customers, according to the utilitys website. Repairs initially were expected to be completed by 8:30 a.m., but that later changed to 3 p.m.

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Officers closed the highway where it meets Third Street at a big bend in the road.
A group of six friends were playing Frisbee and thinking about surfing Saturday evening at San Onofre beach when they heard someone yelling shark.

They didnt know it, but their actions in the next 15 minutes would give Leeanne Ericson a chance at survival.

The 35-year-old mother of three was attacked by a shark that stripped the muscle and flesh from her leg and briefly dragged her underwater, authorities said. On Monday, she remained in critical condition at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla.

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Ericson had been swimming on Saturday around 6:30 p.m. at the cobblestone beach known as Church while her boyfriend surfed next to her. Thats when the shark bit off the back of her right leg down to the bone and she disappeared under the water, bleeding profusely. Her boyfriend dove in after her.

From land, it wasnt long before the friends could see two men about out a 100 yards out, paddling in a surfboard with a woman on it, laying face down.

One in the group, Hunter Robinson, started heading towards the couple, running increasingly faster over the punishing cobblestone reef that covers the shallow waters along the beach.

At first we were just going to help out, said the 34-year-old San Clemente resident. We didnt know what was going on until about 50 feet away, (when) the waves cleared up and I saw her leg.

His friend Thomas Williams splashed through the water by his side, with Grant Parker and Wade Nevitt following close behind. A nearby Marine who saw what was happening was rushing to help as well.

On the way out, Robinson yelled back to his girlfriend, Christy Cox, and Williams wife, Makenzie, and asked them to call 911. They were already dialing.

When the men reached Ericson and her exhausted boyfriend, they were all standing about waist-deep in the ocean. The victim wasnt moving but remained conscious.

You could see she was bleeding pretty well and her entire hamstring was missing, said Parker, 29, of Newport Beach. You could see the back of her leg was just torn flesh.

At that point it sunk in, said Williams, a Navy veteran who took an EMT course in September in hopes of getting a job with an ambulance service. We were looking at the wound and you knew you had to tourniquet it, but I didnt know what to use. Then Hunter said grab the surf leash.

Together the men worked carefully to lift Ericson and loop the plastic line around her leg before tying it off. They continued the brutal slog over the slippery cobblestone rocks, carefully carrying the surfboard so Ericson didnt spill into the water.

It took everybody because every other step you take you could fall, Robinson said.

Only later, after the adrenaline wore off, would the men realize their feet were bloodied and bruised. The friends said they didnt even have time to think about whether the shark could still be near.

As they approach the shoreline, people started speaking to Ericson to try to keep her awake. She responded faintly, saying, I cant breathe.

Once on shore, they applied towels to her leg to try to slow the bleeding and continued to move her on the surfboard as quickly as possible to the parking lot in order to meet an emergency crew.

Thomas was checking her pulse, and within minutes an ambulance pulled up.

The medics wrapped Ericsons leg and put her in the vehicle while her boyfriend tried to comfort her. She was then airlifted to the hospital.

Her mother, Christine McKnerney Leidle, wrote on a GoFundMe page that her daughter is expected to undergo several surgeries and that her recovery will be lengthy.

After the incident, the friends reflected, somewhat dazed, over a solemn dinner about the traumatic events.

Life can change in an instant. Thats what we all talked about, said Robinson. That and just really enjoy the people around you.

We just wish the best for her and her family, he added.
A teenager was shot and nearly robbed of his necklace on a National City street Monday night, police said.

A friend dropped him off at a local hospital, where he was treated for a wound to his right thigh.

The 19-year-old San Diego teen told police he was walking east along East Division Street, near North T Avenue, when a fellow in a hoodie walked up to him and tried to grab his necklace. The victim ran and heard two gunshots, National City police said.

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The victim called a friend for help. The friend took him to a hospital and left. Hospital staff called police about 9 p.m. to report the shooting.

Police said the victim was reluctant to give any other details about the incident.
A speeding driver led San Diego police on a freeway pursuit Tuesday, but her smoking car broke down and she was arrested, police said. The cars engine compartment went up in flames.

An officer saw the Hyundai sedan speeding east on Interstate 8 near College Avenue and tried to pull over the driver shortly after 2 p.m. As she drove, smoke started coming out of the car, police said.

She sideswiped a pickup during the pursuit. The Hyundai quit working and she stopped on the freeway shoulder near La Mesa Boulevard.

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Flames spread through the engine compartment but fire crews got the blaze doused before the whole car was engulfed. The thick black smoke blew across the freeway, prompting the California Highway Patrol to block traffic for a short time.

The driver was arrested, then taken to a hospital with complaints of pain, police said.
The stretch of beach in north San Diego County where a 35-year-old woman nearly lost her life in a shark attack last weekend lures surfers with its legendary waves and wealth of surf breaks.

But something about it also draws great white sharks, experts say.

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Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, said his research confirms what surfers have long noticed: San Onofre is one of Southern Californias white shark hot spots.

Tagging data, fishermens catch and eyewitness observations seem to bear that out. San Onofre  along with Ventura, Santa Monica Bay and Huntington Beach  is a nursery for the ocean predators.

It was near San Onofres popular Church surf spot that Leeanne Ericson of Vista was attacked about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. A shark believed to be a great white bit off the back of her right leg, down to the bone, and pulled her beneath the waves.

On Monday, she remained in critical condition at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, authorities said.

Ericson had been swimming near the surf line while her boyfriend surfed nearby, witnesses said. When she disappeared under the water, he dove in after her and pulled her onto his board.

A group of people on the shore saw the commotion and rushed in to help. Those quick actions likely saved Ericsons life, her family has said.

Though shark attacks are rare, six out of the 12 that have taken place in San Diego County since 2004 were at San Onofre, according to figures from the Shark Research Committee, a nonprofit organization that tracks shark attacks on the West Coast.

Other reports from San Onofre and surrounding areas confirm that white sharks are regular visitors there.

Recent videos showed sharks breaching in the water beyond the surf break, and in 2010 a paddle boarder captured GoPro footage of a baby white shark circling his board. In nearby San Clemente, at least three fishermen landed white sharks from the shore or pier between 2013 and 2016.

Lowe said its not clear why the sharks linger there, but that San Onofres abundant food supply could be part of it.

Its a very productive habitat, (with) stingray, halibut, croakers and barred sand-bass, usually species that are living on the bottom, Lowe said. These are species that are easy for them to catch.

On Saturday evening, six friends were playing Frisbee on the shoreline at San Onofre and thinking about surfing when they heard someone yelling shark.

One of the group, Hunter Robinson, spotted the injured Ericson and her boyfriend and started heading toward the couple, running increasingly faster over the punishing cobblestone reef that covers the shallow waters along the beach.

At first we were just going to help out, said the 34-year-old San Clemente resident. We didnt know what was going on until about 50 feet away (when) the waves cleared up and I saw her leg.

Right beside Robinson was his friend, Thomas Williams, with Grant Parker and Wade Nevitt following close behind. A nearby Marine who saw what was happening rushed to help as well.

When the men reached Ericson and her boyfriend, Ericson wasnt moving but was still conscious.

At that point it sunk in, said Williams, a Navy veteran who took an EMT course in September in hopes of getting a job with an ambulance service. We were looking at the wound and you knew you had to tourniquet it, but I didnt know what to use. Then Hunter said grab the surf leash.

Together they worked carefully to lift Ericson and loop the plastic line around her leg before tying it off. They continued the brutal slog over the slippery cobblestone rocks, carefully carrying the surfboard so Ericson didnt spill into the water.

As alarming as shark encounters may seem, theyre rarely a threat to people, said Nicole Nasby Lucas, a researcher with the Oceanside-based Marine Conservation Science Institute.

Mature white sharks prefer the open ocean, or marine mammal rookeries at the Farallon or Channel Islands. The younger sharks feed exclusively on fish and dont start hunting seals or sea lions until theyre about 10 feet long, scientists said. So its unusual for one to bite a human, as it did on Saturday.

Generally its not a threat for people, because they only eat fish, as juveniles, she said. It could be the only time there would be danger from a juvenile would be if you are swimming in a school of fish.

Young white sharks tend to swim just outside the surf break, but sometimes come closer; Lowe said he has caught them in water ranging from 12 feet to just three feet deep.

Smaller sharks can definitely get into that shallow water, he said.

While the baby sharks favor the three northern beaches, he said juveniles from 1 to 3 years old  about six to nine feet long  often gravitate to San Onofre.

If those other places are the nursery, lets think of that as preschool for white sharks, he said.

As seals and sea lions have recovered from near extinction, white sharks, which hunt marine mammals as adults, have also flourished. Stingrays, a favored prey of juveniles, are also on the rise, Lowe said.

It seems like the number of juveniles is going up, so from everything we can tell, the population is healthy and increasing, Nasby said.

With sharks swimming alongside people, beachgoers should be predator smart and avoid remote locations, murky water and river mouths, which can deposit decaying animals that may attract sharks, Lowe said.

Millions of people go in the water each year without incident, so they need to be aware, but they dont need to be afraid to go in the water, he said.

As Ericsons rescuers were getting her ashore, they spoke to her, trying to keep her awake. She responded faintly, saying, I cant breathe.

Once on shore, they applied towels to her leg to try to slow the bleeding and continued to move her on the surfboard as quickly as possible to the parking lot to meet an emergency crew.

Thomas was checking her pulse, and within minutes an ambulance pulled up.

The medics wrapped Ericsons leg and put her in the vehicle while her boyfriend tried to comfort her. She was then airlifted to the hospital.

Her mother, Christine McKnerney Leidle, wrote on a GoFundMe page that her daughter is expected to undergo several surgeries and that her recovery will be lengthy.

On Monday, she told NBC 7/39 that Ericson, a single mother of three, was in a medically induced coma.

I cant imagine my daughter being in that water and the shark taking her under, Leidle said in the interview. She must have been so scared, so scared.

Note: a previous version of this article misidentified the prey of juvenile white sharks. The young sharks often eat stingrays.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com
One government failure and apathetic citizen at a time, civic illiteracy is eroding the Golden State. Thats the forecast for California, according to data recently collected on civic involvement in the democratic process.

Start with the recently published California Civic Health Index that revealed that the states population is threatened by languor. Apathy is deadly for civic activity from volunteerism to voting to community service. Nonprofits California Forward, the Center for Civic Education and Pepperdine Universitys Davenport Institute for Public Engagement collaborated to gauge civic proficiency statewide.

The index reveals that only a quarter of citizens have participated in a non-electoral political event (be it a rally, protest, demonstration or public forum) and roughly the same fraction is partaking in volunteer work. Only 8 percent report working with neighbors to resolve a community problem, and only 9 percent attend town halls or similar meetings.

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Then there is continued lack of electoral enthusiasm. In 2008, voter turnout in California ranked 42nd in the nation. This past November, even with the grass-roots tea party furor, turnout slipped even further, according to the Secretary of States Office.

The fact is that California is no longer instilling civic values, virtues or anything of the kind.

If this is to be a year of sound public policy that doesnt create monstrous deficits or tolerate inefficient programs that do not truly work for the people, surely it must be a year of civic re-engagement.

It is time for California, our nations most active economic center, to mandate Civics 101, to create a yearlong civics course that students must complete to graduate from high school. Such a program would teach students about how their government ticks, immerse them in current events within the state and beyond, and help them engage in community activities.

Local activities could be as diverse as constructing organic greenhouses in San Diego to volunteering at a Red Cross chapter or VA hospital to calling public attention to community hardships.

This curriculum or tour de force in citizenship would have students review important documents in American life, from George Washingtons farewell address to the Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona. Daily reading of regional newspapers, as well as an international newspaper, would be required with engaging classroom discussions following such assignments.

In my work at Harvard, Ive begun to create an interactive civics course for secondary school students that includes political debates, live forums and panel discussions as well as virtual community games and real-life engagements that reframe citizenship for the 21st century. Moreover, the rudiments of citizenship must be incorporated into early childhood education.

In an era in which the Internet dominates young peoples education and communication, be it via word processing, Facebook or e-mail, online-based civic activities that encourage citizenship have enormous potential to engender a more robust democracy in California. Online, via issue-based town halls, students can revive the ancient Greek assembly or Roman forum. Games can involve students taking charge of different branches of federal or state government, swapping from executive to legislative to judicial, and their respective responsibilities.

As state and national economic conditions remain precarious, e-simulations can teach young people the fundamentals of financial literacy, the consequences of their spending habits, and how to fulfill their educational and career objectives with balanced budgets. The online revolution may have arrived, but Civics 2.0 has not. Without these digital tools and a bedrock of civic values, any form of rule by intelligent citizens will crumble.

Seventy percent of Americans believe civics is not adequately emphasized in their childrens education, according to an end-of-year Zogby poll. As the Civic Health Index report concludes, students must develop civic knowledge that goes beyond test-taking and uncreative evaluation mechanisms.

Civic inattentiveness and disinterest are so dire that such a program might be Californias (and the nations) only solution. With youth gripped to a consumer culture centered on individual rather than collective interests, the nation is spiraling deeper into a vicious cycle.

Californians should revive the spirit of service that has defined the American experience, leading the 50 states as a beacon of civic literacy for the next decade.
The California charter school movement began with the adoption of a 1992 law legalizing such schools in Americas largest state. In the quarter-century since, the charter movement has proven extremely popular. About 10 percent of the schools 6.2 million students are enrolled in charters.

The academic record of these schools is mixed, according to a 2014 Stanford study, to above average, according to 2015 state test results. But the best charter schools  such as the High Tech High campuses in San Diego County  are world-class. And by and large, parents of charter students value having an alternative to regular public education  schools with far fewer rules and more of an emphasis on the needs of students than adult employees.

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Charters growth and popularity riles the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, which combine to be the most powerful force in state politics. These unions opposition to charter schools has waxed and waned, but the weakness of their allegations has always limited how much they can achieve. Far from being bastions of white elitism, charters are as likely to enroll minority students from poor communities as public schools. Far from being unaccountable, charters that perform poorly can actually be shut down  which is almost an impossibility with a public school. Far from being costly drains on education funds, studies have repeatedly shown charters in California and the rest of the nation have managed to educate students while getting significantly less funding per student than regular schools.

But now comes the most focused attempt to derail the Golden States charter-school movement in years. Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broads confirmation in 2015 that he plans to seek to sharply expand charter schools in Los Angeles Unified has triggered an all-hands-on-deck response from United Teachers Los Angeles, the most powerful local union chapter.

This has led directly to a game-changing anti-charter bill being considered by the Legislature  a naked power grab that barely bothers to make the case it is addressing a real problem. SB 808, by Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, would end the right of county boards of education and the State Board of Education to overturn decisions by school districts to reject charter school applications and give districts the final say on whether charters seeking renewals after five years should be approved. Given that most urban school board members in California are elected with the support and money of teachers unions, this could have enormous consequences if approved. This is hinted at by the fact that the union-allied Los Angeles school board has already endorsed the bill.

If SB 808 survives what could be a long slog lasting into 2018 and reaches Gov. Jerry Browns desk, the assumption might be that the politician who founded two Oakland charter schools would quickly veto it. But Brown has done the CTA and CFT huge favors, only starting with his backing school finance machinations that freed up money for teacher raises. So heres hoping SB 808 dies a deserved death  and doesnt offer the governor another chance to reciprocate the unions past support.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

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A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts on state pension systems offers a gloomy overall view. The net liability of these pension systems jumped by 17 percent from fiscal year 2014 to fiscal year 2015, reaching $1.1 trillion  and that liability is based on anticipated investment returns that many experts think are unrealistic.

But the report also shows how the state government can help the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System get on firmer ground: by emulating New Yorks policies.

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In 2015, New Yorks public pension systems were 98 percent funded, per conventional actuarial estimates, while Californias were 74 percent funded. The key difference between the states approaches is that when pension investments have a bad year, New York boosts employer contributions to prevent unfunded liabilities from exploding. CalPERS and CalSTRS dont have this proactive approach, instead choosing to hope that years in which investments are booming will make up for bad years.

Calpensions.com reports that New Yorks policies are so effective its system has employees and employers contribute significantly less toward pensions in normal years than Californias system does.

Instead of clamoring to launch new spending programs in a year of growing revenue, state lawmakers should be prudent and copy their counterparts in Albany. When another state shows a better way to deal with one of Californias huge problems, its irresponsible not to take notice.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Police say Sunday nights deadly mass shooting in University City was the awful result of a gunman distraught over a breakup with his girlfriend a few days earlier, not a racially motivated hate crime as some feared after a white man shot seven people of color at a crowded apartment complex pool party.

For the record: An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly identified the races of the seven gunshot victims in Sundays University City shooting, based on information from the San Diego Police Department. According to a revised statement from police on Monday night, the gunman shot five African Americans, one Latino and one white person, not six African Americans and one Latino.

That the actions of more than 60 first responders saved lives is reason to be grateful even as we grieve. That dozens of callers flooded 911 to alert authorities to the horrible situation is a real sign many of San Diegos citizens will look out for one another. But the fact that some people suspected the worst  and others still do  says a lot about how real the problem of racism is in our community and country, and what a fraught time in America we all live in.

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The facts are these: A 49-year-old white man shot six people of color, including five African Americans and one Latino, and one white person, all adults, one fatally. The victims were at the La Jolla Crossroads apartment complex near the Westfield UTC Shopping Center. One was celebrating his birthday. An eighth person broke his arm while fleeing the shooting. After it began, the gunman called his ex-girlfriend to say he had just shot several people and that the police had arrived. He stayed on the phone as he shot his weapon again. Police ultimately returned fire, killing him.

One witness said the shooter declined an offer of food and drink from the man who was celebrating his birthday, moments before turning his gun on their group. The witness told an officer he shot into a predominantly black group of folks, adding, Im not going to make it about race, but that its awfully interesting who had been shot.

There is zero information to indicate that race played a factor in this terrible and horrific crime, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman countered Monday morning while relaying the tragic timeline. The victims were targeted for no other reason but their mere presence in the vicinity of the suspect.

Monday, as San Diego police continued interviewing witnesses, police in Dallas responded to a gunman who had shot a paramedic and others, and police in Austin responded to a stabbing at University of Texas that left one dead and three injured.

At the intersection of weapons, mental illness and other factors, were left to consider what causes contribute to violence. Something random? Something situational such as the despondency and debt the University City shooter faced? Something deep-seated such as racism? Something multifaceted?

Of course, people will assume different things. But the truth is this: We should reject racism in its many forms and condemn heinous acts of violence. We should weigh all the facts  as difficult as that may be when the American experiment sprang from slavery and too many Americans harbor prejudice  before drawing any conclusions. We should also listen to, and look out for, one another  as dozens of neighbors and first responders did Sunday night. We, as San Diegans, are in this together.

Lets not glance askance at one another or look over shoulders when gathering with friends. Lets feel as if we can approach strangers seated nearby and offer food and drink and friendship. Lets hope that if they say no, it is not for the worst reasons.

The alternative is too difficult to bear.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte may be too busy to take up U.S. President Donald Trump s invitation to the White House, as reported on Monday, but the meeting proposition has put a spotlight back on Dutertes tough approach to fighting drugs and crime, which has raised human rights alarms in and outside of his country.

The White House defended the invitation as Trump tries to build support in Asia to rein in North Korea, but on Monday, Duterte told The New York Times that he had a busy schedule and cannot make any definite promise.

His invitation drew objections from human rights advocates who have accused Duterte of waging a war on drugs that has resulted in thousands of people dead in the Philippines. Among the accusations made against Duterte, Human Rights Watch says Dutertes methods have killed more than 7,000 people caught up in the countrys war on drugs.

Human Rights Watch did the math in January; thats 30 people a day since Duterte came to power in June 2016.

Dutertes tough methodology isnt the only source of outrage and condemnation. Dutertes tough rhetoric has also earned him a reputation. Here are five objectionable remarks Duterte has made throughout the years.

1. I will kill you. I will take the law into my hands  forget about the laws of men, forget about the laws of international law whatever.

Duterte made these remarks at an annual police gathering in the Philippines Quezon City on Aug. 17, 2016.

Watch the Full Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Ox4D03jAc I will Kill You President Duterte Message To All Drug Lords President Duterte Affirms To Destroy Criminal ...

2. Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there is three million drug addicts. Id be happy to slaughter them.

A month later, Duterte drew condemnation from Jewish leaders around the world for his latest threat against drug dealers and addicts by suggesting to take similar measures used by Hitler in the Holocaust .

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte compared his anti-drugs campaign to Hitler's persecution of Jews during WWI, saying, "Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there are three ...

3. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.

After winning the election in the Philippines last year, Duterte reportedly visited a village in Manila where he instructed people to kill drug addicts.

4. My order is shoot to kill you. I dont care about human rights, you better believe me.

In August 2016, Duterte admitted to reporters that he gave a shoot-to-kill order in the Philippines war against drugs, which he says extended to anyone involved in drug trade, even politicians, the Los Angeles Times reported.

5. Instead of helping us, the first to hit was the State Department. So you can go to hell, Mr. Obama , you can go to hell.

In October 2016, Duterte threatened to break up with America and told former President Obama to go to hell after the U.S. reportedly refused to sell weapons to the Philippines. A month earlier, Duterte had used a slur to describe Obama, which led to a meeting between the two leaders being cancelled.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte calls Barack Obama a "son of a whore" as he vows not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos.

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

Read The Conversation on Flipboard.
A San Diego attorney was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for operating an illegal money-transferring business, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Attorney Richard Medina Jr. pleaded guilty a year ago, admitting the scheme collected nearly $12 million from people across the U.S. and transferred the cash to financial institutions around the world, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Prosecutors said Medina, now 40, and other co-conspirators received a commission for the services of the business, which was not registered with the Secretary of the Treasury as required by law.

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Medina previously conceded he supervised people who picked up cash from clients in several cities and deposited the money into interest-bearing trust accounts that he had opened.

The Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, which are intended to raise money for charitable purposes, allowed the unlicensed business to prevent banks from reporting the transactions, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

In all, there were 47 deposits totaling nearly $12 million from March 2013 to February 2014. Many of the transfers were in the amounts of $200,00 to $300,00, collected in cities including San Diego, New York and Chicago and sent to cities such as Mexico and Hong Kong, according to court documents.

Authorities did not disclose information about the clients.

In addition to the sentenced he handed down, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez also ordered Medina to serve three years of supervised release and give up nearly $12 million.

According to the state bar association, Medina began practicing law in 2003 and graduated from University of San Diego School of Law. He is no longer eligible to practice law, according the associations website.

Two of Medinas co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty to charges related to money laundering and criminal conspiracy. Francisco Cuevas, 39, was sentenced in February to four years and three months in prison. Oscar Trevino Caro Del Castillo, 39, was sentenced in March to two years and three months behind bars.
Somalias former president, an ex-warlord who was forced from government, sought political asylum in Yemen, arriving Tuesday in a private jet from his impoverished homeland, an aide and a Yemeni security official said.

One of the former presidents aides confirmed that Abdullahi Yusuf was offered a permanent home in Yemen, which lies across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia.

Yusufs decision to seek asylum confirms his retirement from politics in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.

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The 75-year-old former warlord resigned in December following a series of public quarrels with his prime minister.

The aide said it was possible Yusuf could return to Somalia or move to a third country, such as the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.

Yemen and Somalia are two of the worlds poorest countries, according to the U.N. Human Development Index.

Yusuf and his family arrived in Yemen aboard a private jet, said the Yemeni security official, adding that the former president will stay at a hotel for few days before moving to a house provided for him.

Both the official and the aide asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Two years ago, Ethiopian troops intervened on Yusufs behalf to drive an Islamic administration out of the Somali capital and much of the countrys south. But after Yusufs government was unable to deliver security or social services, the Islamist insurgency began to regain ground until it controlled all of central and southern Somalia.

The Somali governments presence is now limited to pockets of the capital, Mogadishu, and the parliamentary seat of Baidoa.

The Islamists have splintered into several factions and some have begun fighting each other, raising fears that Somalia may sink deeper into chaos.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/02/2017 -- Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) announces the addition of a new report titled "Europe Market Study on Automotive Parts Remanufacturing: Germany Anticipated to Create Incremental Opportunity 1.8X Times that of the U.K. Between 2016 and 2024". A solution-oriented approach and process up-gradation are two important focus points for key players operating in the Europe automotive parts remanufacturing market, as highlighted in a new report.



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Report Description



Impact analysis of key growth drivers and restraints based on the weighted average model is included in this report to facilitate clients with pertinent decision-making insights. This report provides a detailed analysis of the automotive parts remanufacturing market across various countries in the Europe region. It provides a market outlook for 20162024 and sets the forecast within the context of the automotive parts remanufacturing market including service offerings in the market. This study discusses key trends within countries contributing to the development of the market, as well as analyses the degree to which drivers are influencing this market in each European country. Insights from this extensive market study are provided with an objective to enable market players to plan their differentiating strategies capable of evolving with the changing market landscape.



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Europe Automotive Parts Remanufacturing Market: Segmentation



To understand and assess opportunities in the Europe automotive parts remanufacturing market, we have divided the report into three sections based on market segmentation as under:



By Components



Engine and Related Parts

Turbocharger

EGR Valve

Carburettors

Transmission and Related Parts

Clutches

Bearings

Electricals and Electronics

Starters

Alternators

Others

Wheel and Brakes Related

Hub Assemblies

Master Cylinders

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Steering

Fuel Systems

Others

By Vehicle Type



Passenger Car (PC)

Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV)

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Off-Highway Vehicles

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UK

France

Italy

Russia

Rest of Europe

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Research Methodology



Market volume is inferred through in-depth secondary research and validated from industry experts through primary interviews. Each interview is thoroughly analyzed and average market volume is deduced and reconfirmed prior to incorporating in the report. The price of remanufacturing components is deduced on the basis of component type, where the average price of each component type is inferred across all the five assessed countries. The market value of the Europe automotive parts remanufacturing market is thus calculated from the data inferred from the average selling price and market volume.



For the eight year forecast of the Europe automotive parts remanufacturing market, various macroeconomic factors and changing trends have been observed, giving an idea about the future of the market. Other important factors considered to arrive at market forecast include the size of the current market, data from the demand side and the supply side and other dynamics shaping the scenario of the Europe automotive parts remanufacturing market. In the compilation of the report, the forecast is conducted in terms of CAGR, while other important criteria such as year-on-year growth and absolute dollar opportunity have also been incorporated presenting the client with crystal clear insights and future opportunities likely to emerge in the Europe automotive parts remanufacturing market.



About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)

Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.



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Montgomery, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/02/2017 -- Lake Conroe Condos on the south shore of Lake Conroe near to the Waterpoint Marina are perfectly located to escape from the hustle and bustle of Houston for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Each of the 56 luxury condominiums has an oversized terrace with a glass railing, making the most of the stunning lake views. Top of the line Bosch appliances, quartz countertops, Pella windows and sliding doors, a keyless front door entry lock, custom cabinetry, a WiFi controlled thermostat and energy-efficient LED lighting are some of the design features.



Resort style amenities include a private gated entrance, poolside cabanas, elevators with access to all levels, a spacious hot tub, a private covered parking garage, fire pits and even a boat slip and marina amenities.



The Lake Conroe condos offer upscale living in a naturally beautiful setting. With a choice of floor plans the condos range from 2 bedrooms, 2 bathroom properties like 'The Compass' and 'The Island' to 4 bedrooms, 4 bathroom properties like 'The Captain' and 'The Lighthouse'.



These condos on Lake Conroe are nestled between exciting retail and dining options to the south and Sam Houston National Forest to the north. As a permanent home or as a weekend getaway, the condos at The Shoreline offer lakeside living at its finest.



At the time of this press release (May 2nd, 2017), the condos are 20% sold. Updates to availability will be posted to the website.



About The Shoreline at Waterpoint

Just a one hour drive from Houston, Texas, The Shoreline is the premiere luxury mid-rise condominium being developed on the southern shore of Lake Conroe. This Lake Conroe real estate opportunity is located near to Waterpoint Marina, 56 exclusive luxury condos over four levels of living space will enjoy lake views amid tropical landscapes with resort style amenities.



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Utah is reported to launch opioid awareness campaign prepared by the Utah Department of Health in collaboration with the Utah Department of Commerce years before. The goal is to raise peoples awareness of the dangers of using opioid and to reduce the overdose risks to avoid deaths.

According to CBS News, the latest report from the Utah Department of Health had revealed that nearly 300 residents from Utah had died due to opioid overdoses in 2015. It was also shown that the rates of opioid prescription had risen to 30 percent from 2002 to 2015.

Angela Dunn, deputy state epidemiologist for the health department then stated that as there are a high number of deaths involved with prescription opioids, understanding its risks is vital to safety. It was then explained that the opioid campaign would involve Utah pharmacists. Greg Jones, chairman of the Utah Pharmacy Licensing Board then explained that red stickers would be placed by the pharmacists.

The red sticker would be labeled "Caution: Opioid. Risk of Overdose and Addiction" which aims to allow people to ask about certain dangers of opioid. Jones added that people tend to think that opioids are safe to take when it is not that all simple as reported by Fox 13 Now.

With that said, the pharmacists are to explain queries about the opioids proper usage and would be able to provide an overdose-reversing drug called naloxone to those experiencing risks. "We hope that when people see these warning stickers, they will ask us about the medications they have been prescribed and what they should watch for and do in case of a potential overdose," he stated.

Nonetheless, people are growing more aware of the dangers of opioid as seen on anecdotes. Yet, the results would still take time, Dunn concluded. The red sticker campaign for opioid awareness was said to be effective starting Monday.
People in Alaska and the Yukon Territory felt the shaking after an earthquake rocked the Canada border. Reports indicate no apparent damage is surfaced after the incident.

According to ABC News, an earthquake in the northwest British Columbia literally shook up the existing communities in the nearby Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Kathryn Carl, a teacher in Klukwan, an Alaska village revealed that the earthquake shook her at 4:30 a.m. Initially, she thought that her 80-pound dog had jumped on her bed, but later understood the shock of a magnitude 6.2 quake.

After this incident, a number of aftershocks that included the magnitude 6.3 quake at 6:18 a.m. preventing her from taking a sound sleep. The students of the nearby Klukwan School also felt the shaking of the earthquake while preparing for a hooligan trip. Kathryn Carl is the head teacher of the school.

Earthquake first struck the southwest of the Whitehorse, the capital of Canada's Yukon territory. The acting director of the infrastructure and operations for the capital city said that officials checked all the major structures after the quake. No severe damage was found. Only traffic lights got affected as some parts of the city lost power due to this incident.

Three Whitehorse substations play the key role in supplying electricity. The manager of the Atco Electric Yukon, Jay Massie, revealed that the earthquake affected one of them and eight thousand customers experienced a power cut. Later an aftershock again affected the station when the preparation was almost completed to restore the power. Though, sometimes after power was restored.

Massie felt the first quake when he was preparing her daughter to attend the swimming lessons. The quake was slow, but a crescendo forced everyone to wake up in his home. CBC News reported that after an earthquake on Monday morning, a Whitehorse Office and a school will remain closed in the Yukon.

Residents of the Whitehorse revealed that they woke up and saw dishes were knocked off the shelves due to the quake. Even they also felt the aftershocks later. The people living in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, also felt the earthquake.

State Rep. Charisse Millett woke up from her sleep as the plastic dishware was knocked off her counters during the earthquake. According to Amy Vaughan, the geophysicist of the U.S. Geological Survey, an aftershock just after the earthquake must be a larger one. Though, the later quakes remain smaller. Now, after the said quake the aftershocks mainly ranged from the magnitudes 2 to 5.

Vaughan reveals that the initial earthquake might lead to damage, though the remote places dropped the probability of any major problem. Tom Mattice, the emergency programs manager of Juneau, got no reports of any kind of damage so far. Rep. Scott Kawasaki, Fairbanks Democrat, posted a video on Twitter that showed liquid in a bottle of energy drink was shaking due to the earthquake.

Kawasaki usually spends at least two nights weekly in his Capitol office to complete his important work. This time he experienced the quake while staying in his office. Haines, a place in Alaska, located 60 miles southeast of the quake epicenter, also experienced the earthquake, but no report of severe damage was surfaced. Haines' chief of police, Heath Scott, inspected the area of 2,500 and saw noticed no severe damage.

It is obvious that earthquake raises panic among the people. Citizens of the Alaska and the Yukon Territory also experienced the same thing. The positive side is the quake caused no major damage and normalcy restored in the area quickly.
Tea, a beverage that is consumed by people all over the world, has high socio-economic implications. Green tea, white tea, black tea and "chai" are made from the leaves of the tea tree plant (Camellia sinensis). The genus Camellia encompasses around a hundred species, out of which C. sinensis. var. assamica and C. sinensis var. sinensis are the only two that are grown commercially.

Even though tea has been used by people as a beverage since time immemorial, not much is known about the biomolecular properties of the plant parts, except for the leaves. To get an insight into the genetic aspects of the tea tree plant's antioxidant properties, scientists from Kunming Institute of Botany, China, sequenced its whole genome. The first draft of the deduced sequence was published yesterday in the Molecular Plant journal.

Some of the previous studies made on the biochemistry of the tea tree plant had revealed that the distinctive taste of the tea comes from the unique blend of caffeine and catechin, an inherently bitter tasting compound. The levels of these molecules vary between the various species of Camellia genus.

The recent genomic study revealed that C. sinensis, the commercially cultivated tea tree plant species, contains high catechins and caffeine levels. The higher levels of these compounds were found to be simultaneous with the presence of multiple copies of the genes responsible for flavonoids and caffeine production.

According to Phys.org, though caffeine and catechin are not proteinaceous compounds that can be directly expressed by the genes, their cellular levels in tea tree leaves depend on the level of expression of multiple proteins associated with their manufacture via various biochemical pathways. The variable expression of these genes dictates the taste and commercial demand in the beverage industry.

Lizhi Gao, the lead author of the study, further explained that around 67 percent of the total number of base pairs of the tea tree genome are "retrotransposons" or jumping genes. It is speculated that during evolution, these sequences may have been copied and pasted multiple times at various locations of the genome. This has not only led to the increase in the total genomic size of the plant but it seems it may also have helped the tea tree plant to survive in adverse conditions.
Iridium and SpaceX have collaborated to launch the next-generation constellation of mobile satellite system. The first fleet comprising 10 Iridium Next satellites have already been launched last January. Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium mobile satellite services provider, revealed that eight of these launched satellites are already functional, while the remaining two will soon enter the adjacent orbital plane, where they will stay for at least 10 months.

According to Executive Biz, SpaceX has already confirmed its availability to launch the second batch of Iridium Next satellites on June 29 this year from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It is also speculated that apart from the launch expected in June, Iridium will also send three more fleets of mobile communications satellite this year, most probably in August, October and the final one in December.

SpaceX officials have also promised Iridium a 60-day turnaround period after each launch. Desch expressed his appreciation toward SpaceX's efforts in a recently held investor's conference. He also said that if SpaceX manages to continue its pace, then the entire Iridium next-generation satellite system will be up and functional by mid-2018.

Furthermore, Iridium engineers have also started to reposition the satellites of the legacy constellation satellites launched in the 1990s. The legacy constellation satellites that were built by Lockheed Martin have crossed thrice their original expected age. The company wishes to decommission the old satellites as soon as the new ones replace them, Space News reported.

However, some of the healthiest satellites may be retained as spares. The decision will be based on their functional condition. It is also said that Iridium plans to keep some of them in temporary storage orbits from where they may be taken up for use if required.

As for the rest, the decommissioning will involve a series of steps as recommended by NASA. They will be first deorbited with the help of multiple thruster burns. Once the fuel is exhausted, they will be put in the lowest orbit where their batteries will be passivated. The engineers will then open their electrical relays, propellant lines and solar arrays so that the satellites will be dragged toward the Earth's atmosphere.

While trying to re-enter, they will be incinerated due to friction. It is expected that the entire process may take up to a year. In the meantime, Iridium will see to it that all its next-generation satellites are launched, positioned and operational.
The call for legalization of marijuana is at its all-time high. Current polls suggest that 61 percent of Americans think it is okay to legalize the use of marijuana. On the other hand, 88 percent thinks it is okay to use the drug for medical purposes.

In a report by CBS News, it was shown that 71 percent oppose the federal government's efforts to stop selling marijuana in states that have legalized it. About 65 percent also think that marijuana is actually less dangerous compared to other drugs.

In the same breadth regarding drug abuse, 69 percent believe that abusing marijuana should be treated as addiction and a mental health problem, not a criminal offense. On the other end of the spectrum, 23 percent think legalizing marijuana could lead to the increase of violent crime.

Based on the CBS polls, belief of pot being made legal has reached new heights. Around 61 percent of Americans so far believe it is okay to use pot. This is a five-point increase from a poll made only a year ago. Out of those polled, it was found that people over the age of 65 are the most opposed to marijuana legalization, while those under 65 support it.

Despite the issue, many states have legalized the use of marijuana in some form. Today, most Americans believe that the federal government should not try to stop its sale in the approving states. Even the majority of those who think marijuana should be illegal do not think the federal government should not be involved in the issue that should be dealt with by state.

According to Washington Examiner, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recenlty stated that marijuana legalization is a move "beyond stupidity." He has often argued that marijuana is only the gateway for people to move on to harder drugs. He stated that if lawmakers should legalize marijuana, they might as well pursue the legalization of heroin. Presently, however, medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey.
The 20,568 teu Madrid Maersk is the first of Maersk Lines second generation triple-E vessels and is deployed on the companys Asia  Europe network. Maersk has ordered 11 second generation triple-E newbuildings from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The Madrid Maersk took the crown of the worlds largest containership from the 20,170 teu MOL Triumph, which was delivered to Mitsui OSK Lines just weeks earlier.

It is the first owned newbuilding the Danish line has taken delivery of since July 2015, and the company has 27 newbuilds on order including the Madrid Maersk. Apart from the second generation triple E vessels has nine 15,226 teu and seven 3,596 teu container vessels on order.

Maersk stressed the relatively conservative nature of its expansion plans. The orderbook corresponds to 11% of Maersk Lines current fleet  a relatively small order book when compared to the industrys order book of around 15%.

To stay competitive and achieve lowest cost, Maersk Line will continue to manage fleet capacity tightly.
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Handwritten Note

Dispatch from Crame No. 75

05 / 01 / 2017

I'm happy to see my colleagues in the Senate minority who paid me a visit this morning as a group. (Each of them had previously visited me.

We talked about various matters, from serious stuff, to mundane and funny ones.

Of course the first thiung they asked is how am I doing, I didnt't have to reply to that. That I appear relaxed and stress-free is quite self-evident to them. And I'm sure my new hairdo (very short and with striking, if not shocking color) did not escape their attention. They're just too nice to make any comment.

Seriously now, we discussted foremost the minority bloc's legislative agenda - which bills to support and which to oppose and the way forward. My colleagues also reiterated the plan to petition the proper court to allow me to participate in the voting on major legislative measures.

I can see that this will be a truly functioning and dynamic minority.

One last thing. Absolutely no destab plan tackled as there is no such thing. Sorry to disappoint the paranoids among the Duterte sycophants...
Press Release

May 1, 2017 Koko: best way to commemorate Labor Day is to protect workers' rights "The best way to commemorate Labor Day is to continue to work to protect the welfare of the Filipino Worker, who continues to be denied rights guaranteed by our Constitution." This according to Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, who on Labor Day reiterated the need to pass a law strengthening the prohibition against labor-only contracting, or what is popularly known as "endo," or end of contract scheme. Pimentel, author of Senate Bill No. 117, An Act Strengthening the Prohibition Against Labor-Only Contracting, said that while Article XIII, Section 3 of the Constitution says that "the State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized," many companies exploit loopholes in the Labor Code to deny workers their constitutionally-guaranteed right to security of tenure. "Despite the rights of workers under constitutional and labor laws, there are employers who wantonly circumvent labor laws through a system that is designed to prevent workers from attaining regular employment and security of tenure," lamented Pimentel, who obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law. The gaps in the law are exploited, according to the former Bar topnotcher, "by terminating employment every five months and thereafter rehiring the same workers for the same duration." Aside from this, Pimentel added, employers also avoid the regularization of its employees by engaging the services of workers either from manpower cooperatives or placement agencies. "These prevalent practices of labor contractualization," stressed Pimentel, "have made it difficult for workers to attain the security of tenure guaranteed by the Constitution." Pimentel's proposed measure would amend Article 280-A of Presidential Decree 442, so employees that have been rehired repeatedly "by the same group of companies, the parent and subsidiary companies, or by companies with interlocking directors" shall be considered regular employees from the date when they were first hired, regardless of whether such service is continuous or broken. The senator from Mindanao said that he was hopeful that measures to end "endo" would be passed under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has spoken out repeatedly against labor-only contracting and has expressed support for legislation to end the practice. In one of his first public statements after assuming the presidency, the Chief Executive warned employers to stop contractualization, as "it will not do good to our country," "Don't wait for me to catch you because I will be unforgiving. If I find you out, I'll just simply close your plant." Pimentel added that in addition to plugging loopholes in the Labor Code, efforts should also be made to increase penalties for violations of labor standards, particularly wage laws. The Senate President also said that the Social Security System (SSS) should go "all out" in filing cases against employers who fail to remit the SSS contributions of their employees. "One way we can encourage compliance with our labor laws is to make employers know that attempts to skirt the law will not be countenanced," said Pimentel. "We should let businesses know that when it comes to enforcing labor laws and standards, we mean business."
SENATOR SONNY ANGARA ON THE 3RD READING APPROVAL OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT

"Any day is a great day to discuss the health and wellness of the Filipino. I commend our colleagues, particularly the sponsor, Sen. Hontiveros, and co-author, Majority Floor Leader Sotto, and the rest of the members of the Senate, for going all-out to fight for the approval of this very important measure.

There is no time better than today to chart a national mental health policy for the country. The numbers on mental health problems are staggering, and we can no longer ignore this.

We have the highest incidence of depression among Southeast Asian countries according to a recent World Health Organization study.

Almost one out of every 100 households had a member with a mental disorder, based on a 2004 Department of Health (DOH) survey.

And a DOH study likewise showed that one in three employees from 20 government agencies in Metro Manila had experienced a mental health problem or breakdown at least once in their lifetime - including specific phobias, alcohol abuse and depression.

A Philippine Psychiatric Association survey even revealed that there are only 490 psychiatrists serving in the country today, which means there are roughly 50 qualified psychiatrists for every 10 million Filipinos.

That is why the Senate's passage of the bill is laudable, unquestionably crucial, and undeniably timely.

We are closer to integrating mental health services into the national health system to make it more accessible, affordable and equitable. And we will be needing the help of our friends from the House of Representatives to be able to do it.

I am calling on our House counterparts to prioritize the passage of a similar measure in their chamber." ###

NOTE: Sen. Angara is an author and co-sponsor of the measure
Press Release

May 2, 2017 Bam calls for probe on secret jail cell, urges PNP to clean up ranks Sen. Bam Aquino has filed a resolution seeking to investigate the operation of a secret jail cell discovered in a police station in Manila as he called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to clean up its ranks to bring legitimacy to the drug war. "As the government's enforcement arm in its war against illegal drugs, the PNP should safeguard the public's trust by ensuring that abusive policemen are investigated and punished accordingly," Sen. Bam said in Senate Resolution No. 348. Sen. Bam stressed an upstanding police force must go hand-in-hand with the administration's war against drugs to earn public trust. "Kailangan pangalagaan ng kapulisan ang tiwala ng publiko, lalo na dahil prayoridad and giyera kontra ilegal na droga. Hindi katanggap tanggap ang kahit anong pang-aabuso, gaya ng tagong selda na nadiskubre sa loob mismo ng istasyon ng pulis," said Sen. Bam. The secret jail cell was discovered by a team from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) inside the Raxabago Police Station in Tondo, Manila. The CHR found 12 persons inside the jail cell where they were detained for at least 10 days even without the filing of proper charges. The CHR also discovered that the arrests of the 12 detainees were not recorded. Also, families of the detainees claimed that elements of the Drug Enforcement Unit were asking for money, ranging from P40,000 to P100,000, in exchange for their release. Sen. Bam said the probe is aimed at ensuring that the rights of those under custodial investigation or detention by the Philippine National Police (PNP) are protected. Earlier, Sen. Bam called on the government not to treat with kid gloves erring policemen who were behind the secret jail cell, insisting that they should be held accountable for their actions. "Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang ganitong pagmamalabis. Kailangan itong maimbestigahan at matigil," said Sen. Bam. If the PNP will not make the necessary steps to hold erring policemen accountable for their illegal acts, Sen. Bam said abuses such as the secret jail cell will continue and even flourish.
Press Release

May 2, 2017 Gatchalian to PNP: Lose Public Trust, Lose War on Drugs Sen. Win Gatchalian on Tuesday warned that the public approval of the administration's War on Drugs will continue to nosedive if the Philippine National Police (PNP) fails to address reports of police abuses in the implementation of the administration's campaign against illegal drugs. Gatchalian took to task PNP Dir. Gen. Bato Dela Rosa for his failure to keep his officers in check, urging him to "immediately launch an intensive probe" into recent allegations made against police officers. "The endless string of public scandals concerning the questionable methods employed by police officers in waging the fight against illegal drugs is starting to take its toll on the credibility of the PNP. Public trust in the institution is fast declining, and the people are losing their faith in police officers," Gatchalian said. The March 2017 survey of the polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) had indicated an 11% drop in public satisfaction in the administration's war on drugs. Also, 73% of the respondents expressed fears about being wrongly targeted and becoming victims of extrajudicial killings, while 44% did not believe police claims that slain suspects fought back during operations. Last week, television video reports showed how a team from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) discovered about 12 men and women, alleged to be drug offenders, were illegally detained inside a "lock-up cell" hidden behind a bookshelf at the Police Station 1 in Tondo, Manila. Some of the detainees claimed the police were extorting money from them, with amounts ranging from P30,000 to P100,000, in exchange for their freedom. Others alleged they were beaten up with wood. Also, an online investigative report tagged a certain PO3 Ronald Alvarez from the Manila Police Station 2 to be behind drug-related summary killings in Tondo. At least 7 Tondo residents accused Alvarez of killing Joshua Cumilang, Rex Aparri, Mario Rupillo, and Danilo Dacillo. The report also cited 20 other residents claiming that encounters in the community were actually summary executions, and accused the police of torture and harassment. A newspaper article, on the other hand, cited the allegation of one PO1 Vincent Tacorda that he was ordered by former Catanduanes police chief Senior Supt. Jesus Martirez to kill a suspected drug pushed in Virac so that the local police group would have a "kill" record in the government's war on drugs. Martirez is now chief of the PNP Research and Development Center in Camp Crame. The suspect survived the killing. Against the backdrop of these numerous police controversies, Gatchalian emphasized the importance of the public perception of PNP in the success or failure of the administration's anti-illegal drug campaign. "The integrity of the PNP and its members must remain unsullied at all times. If the people lose trust in the police, we will lose the War on Drugs," said Gatchalian.
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May 2, 2017 STATEMENT OF AKBAYAN SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON TRUMP'S INVITATION TO DUTERTE TO VISIT THE WHITE HOUSE It is rubbing salt in the wound. This is not a simple invitation. It is a virtual endorsement of the climate of killing and impunity in the Philippines. It also exposes the foreign policy priorities of the Trump government in the region. It is willing to ignore the deteriorating human rights situation in one of its oldest allies in the region for superpower games. I appeal to the good citizens of the United States, especially our American friends working on human rights and democracy, to oppose this planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The American public must not allow their country to become complicit to the thousands of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. We must not allow human rights and democracy to take the backseat in favor of narrow geopolitical interests. I also urge my fellow lawmakers in the Philippines to use this as an opportunity to lead the effort in crafting a truly independent and progressive foreign policy founded on the principles of equality and human rights, particularly the right to life and dignity, and in the context of our other challenges, such as China and the West Philippine Sea.
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May 2, 2017 HISTORIC MENTAL HEALTH LAW PASSES SENATE In a historic vote, the Senate on Tuesday passed on third and final reading a national mental health policy, the first of its kind in the country. Senate Bill No. 1354 otherwise known as the Philippine Mental Health Law was sponsored and principally authored by Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros. It seeks to integrate mental health services and programs in the public health system. The bill also mandates the government to put up basic mental health services at the community level and psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services in all regional, provincial and tertiary hospitals. Philippines: One of few countries in the world without a mental health law "This is an historic day for all of us. After being one of the few countries left without a mental health policy, we are now one step closer to realizing a national mental health law to comprehensively address the Filipinos' mental health needs and ensure that our rights as persons with mental health needs are protected and secured," Hontiveros said. Hontiveros thanked her fellow senators for supporting the passage of the said bill. She particularly commended the Senate's new Chairperson of the Committee on Health, Senator JV Ejercito, for backing the proposed measure. "Invisible illness, invisible war" "Because of this measure, our people with mental health needs will no longer suffer silently in the dark. They will no longer endure an invisible illness and fight an invisible war," Hontiveros said. In 2012 alone, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were 2,558 cases of Filipinos committing suicide, averaging to 7 suicide cases daily. On the other hand, the Department of Health (DOH) counts that 1 in 5 Filipino adults have some form of mental illness, with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety topping the incidents of disorder. Hontiveros' mental health bill was co-authored by Senators Vicente "Tito" Sotto, Loren Legarda, Antonio Trillanes, Bam Aquino, Sonny Angara, and Joel Villanueva. Mental health advocates led by Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa, Antoinette Taus and Jerika Ejercito attended the senate session and lauded the passage of the said bill.
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May 2, 2017 PRIVILEGE SPEECH OF AKBAYAN SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON THE DEATH OF DR. SHALAH "JAJA" SINOLINDING AND DR. DREYFUSS "DREY" PERLAS Mr. President, I rise on a matter of personal and collective privilege. Sa tuwing umiikot ako sa mga probinsya, lalo na sa mga malalayo at liblib na lugar, paulit ulit kong nadidinig ang isang daing: kakapusan na serbisyong pang-medikal at kakulangan ng doktor. Hindi pa man ako senador noon, isa sa mga usapin na pinangako ko sa aking sarili na isusulong, ay ang usapin ng rural health. Tiyak ko na ang ating Chairperson sa Committee on Health na si Senator JV Ejercito ay ganito din ang saloobin. Plain and simple - we need more health professionals to go to the countryside and tend to the health needs of our fellow Filipinos who live far away from the gleaming hospitals of the Capital. And when we do get health professionals who, despite the high costs of medical education in this country, are willing to serve our poor and marginalized kababayan in rural areas, they deserve more than accolades --- Mr. President, they deserve full protection. Kung kaya po, Mr. President, I rise today to call the attention of our government to a troubling pattern that if left unchecked threatens to undermine all our efforts to improve the health status of our poor and marginalized countrymen in rural areas. Exactly 2 weeks ago, on April 18, Dr. Shahid "Jaja" Sinolinding, an ophthalmologist in Cotabato City and his companion was gunned down in his clinic by a yet to be identified assailant who pretended to be his patient. While there has been some progress in the investigation, we are nowhere near in uncovering the truth behind this incident and bringing the perpetrator to justice. As a practicing eye physician, Dr. Sinolinding was known for his generosity. A native of North Cotabato, he was said to have treated the eye problems of thousands of poor patients from the different provinces of the in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for free. He volunteered in several ARMM sponsored outreach programs reaching out and serving the poor and marginalized communities in the region who rarely had access to health services. Dr. Jaja, as he is fondly known, has touched many lives and if not for this deplorable act, would have surely touched and served a lot more. Nakikiramay ako sa kanyang mga naulila: ang kanyang mga kapamilya, mga kaibigan, at mga kapatid sa ARRM na nawalan ng isang kapita-pitagang manggagamot. What is even more tragic is that Dr. Sinolinding is the second "barrio-doctor" to be murdered in a space of two months, following the death of Dr. Dreyfuss "Drey" Perlas, a 31-year old doctor from Aklan province who, after his 2-year stint in the Doctors-to-the-Barrios Program (DTTB) of the DOH chose to stay as the Municipal Health Officer of the Sapad town, a fifth-class municipality in Lanao Del Norte out of a genuine desire to continue serving the community that he had come to love. Dr. Drey was brutally gunned down while riding a motorcycle on his way home from a medical mission and his attackers remain at-large. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Drey when I became the graduation speaker of his batch in Doctor's to the Barrios batch 3 years ago. These doctors could have gone the usual route to establish a profitable medical practice in the big cities but instead, they chose a life of service, offering their talents and skills to help in healing poor Filipinos in communities where health care is underprovided. Meeting a group of young doctors with infectious enthusiasm and passion to serve communities in far flung areas was a moving experience, and Dr. Drey and his batchmates left me feeling both grateful to them and optimistic for the future. Mr. President, these acts of violence committed on our doctors and other health professionals serving rural areas must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It is imperative that the perpetrators of these heinous acts are caught and be made to face our justice system as swiftly as possible given its far-reaching implications. We call upon our law enforcement agencies to act quickly for the speedy resolution of these cases. I cannot begin to imagine the anguish of their loved ones. Nakikiisa ako sa mga inulila nila. But there is a fundamental point I want to make this afternoon, Mr. President. The attacks on Dr. Jaja and Dr. Drey are attacks not just on these individual doctors. It is an attack on the community which depend on these doctors and health professionals for their health care needs; it is an attack on the entire health sector and our collective aspirations to achieve better health for all Filipinos. Mabigat ang mga sakripisyo na dinaranas ng ating ang mga health workers. We salute their silent sacrifice in helping solve our country's health problems and I believe we should do more to look out after them. The gravity of these murders and the heroism of the health workers who serve our communities must be put in its proper context. For the longest time, the country has experienced a shortage of health workers. The current ratio of health worker to population according to the DOH stands at around 17.2 health workers per 10,000 people -- way short of the ideal ratio of 44 health workers per 10,000 people. Seven out of ten Filipinos die without having been seen by a doctor. The poorest quintile of our population will have to travel more than 40 minutes to go to a health facility. The situation is more acute in in rural areas given the maldistribution of health professionals. Majority of them concentrate in urban areas where there are more lucrative opportunities, or even overseas, leaving our health facilities in the rural centers under-manned and the public health workers there over-utilized and over-burdened. Mr. President, kaunti na nga lang ang doctor at mga health workers na naninilbihan sa kanayunan ay hindi pa natin sila maalagaan ng tama. Paano natin sasabihin sa atin mga doktor, mga nurses, mga dentista, at sa iba pang mga health workers na mag-lingkod sa mga mamayan sa probinsya at mga pamayanan kung ang pamahalaan ay di pala sila kayang protektahan at pangalagaan. Mr. President, before we went on recess last month, I filed Senate Resolution No. 310 which sought to look into the death of Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas and together with our esteemed colleague, Senator Gordon manifested on the floor our indignation over his death. Last week, I filed Senate Resolution 321 which similarly seeks to condemn this deplorable act, and more importantly, to conduct an inquiry on the deaths of these 2 "barrio doctors" with the objective of identifying measures and mechanisms to ensure the safety and well-being of all health workers particularly those serving in rural areas. Ako ay nananawagan sa aking mga kasamahan sa Senado na mas maging pursigido pa sa paghahanap ng hustisya para kay Dr. Jaja at Dr. Drey at sa pangangalaga sa kapakanan ng ating mga manggagawang pangkalusugan. Mr. President, let us take better care of those who are taking care of us. Maraming salamat po. *Please check against delivery
Press Release

May 2, 2017 Senate pushes for mental health law The Senate approved today on third and final reading a bill which seeks to integrate mental health services into the national health system to make it more accessible, affordable and equitable. Senate Bill No. 1354 or the Mental Health Act of 2017 was approved with 19 affirmative votes, zero negative vote and no abstention. The bill was authored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Tito Sotto and Senators Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, Sonny Angara, Sonny Trillanes, Bam Aquino, Loren Legarda and Joel Villanueva. "This is a historic day for all of us. After being one of the few countries left without a mental health policy, we are now closer to realizing a national mental health law to comprehensively address the Filipinos' mental health needs and ensure that our rights as persons with mental health concerns are protected and secured," Hontiveros, sponsor of the bill, said. The Philippines is one of the very few countries that did not have a mental health law, Sotto, a co-sponsor of the proposed measure, added. While mental health was a critical public health issue, Hontiveros said, inadequate attention had been given to it. She said data and information on mental health were outdated and the capacity of health care delivery system to respond to patients with mental health conditions was severely lacking. For instance, she said, the ratio of mental health worker per population in the Philippines was only two per 100,000 population. In comparison, Malaysia has 4.9 mental health workers per 100,000 population while Indonesia has 3.1 per 100,000 population. Hontiveros cited a World Health Organization study which showed that a person committed suicide every 40 seconds. In the Philippines, she said, the 2010 national census estimated that of the 1.4 million Filipinos with disabilities, 14 percent or over 200,000 persons were found to have mental disabilities or disorders. Sotto said two to three million Filipinos suffered from mental health problems but a big part of them were not being reported due to the stigma attached to their condition. Another 2011 study by WHO showed that the Philippines had the highest incidence of depression in Southeast Asia. Senator Sonny Angara, who also co-sponsored SBN 1354, said a 2004 Department of Health (DOH) - Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showed that almost one out of every 100 household had a family member with mental disorder. According to Angara, a 2006 DOH study of the prevalence of mental health problems in the National Capital Region revealed that across 20 government agencies in Metro Manila, one in three employees, or 32 percent of 327 respondents, had experienced a mental health problem or breakdown at least once in their lifetime. These include specific phobias, alcohol abuse and depression. "Our institutions are ill-equipped to keep track and treat the mental health of our kababayans and because of this inability, many cases possibly go undiagnosed," Angara said. "We hear stories of people spiralling into destructive depression because of the lack of social support and the delay in accessing treatment for fear of being ostracized," Hontiveros added. Hontiveros said the bill proposed an appropriation of five percent of the incremental revenues from the excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products to secure the necessary resources for the implementation of the measure. The bill proposes for the integration of mental health services into the primary health care system at the community level and mandates mental health services to be made available at this level as well as the strengthening of the capacity of tertiary regional and provincial hospitals in providing psychiatric, psycho-social and neurologic services. The bill also seeks the integration of mental health promotion in educational institutions as well as the workplace to address the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health. It provides for the capacity building, reorientation, and training of mental health professionals and health workers and provides punishment of imprisonment of less than six months to two years a fine of P10,000 to 200,000 for the violation of the proposed measure. (Leah Zarragoza/OJT)
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May 2, 2017 Senate OKs bill updating penalties under old Revised Penal Code The Senate passed today on third and final reading a bill which seeks to update the amounts prescribed under the 87-year old Revised Penal Code, to prevent the imposition of cruel and excessive punishment. Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, sponsor and author of Senate Bill No. 14, said the bill sought to address the "outdated" penalties for certain crimes, which were based on the economic standards since the Revised Penal Code first took effect in 1930. The bill, co-authored by Senator Leila de Lima and co-sponsored by Senator Richard Gordon, was approved with 21 affirmative votes, zero negative vote and no abstention. Drilon noted that in 2014, the Supreme Court, in the case of Lito Corpuz v. People of the Philippines (G. R.No. 180016, 29 April 2014) had asked Congress to amend the Revised Penal Code and "take into consideration the changed conditions since the law's enactment." "The only remedy is to call for the much- needed overhaul of an archaic law that was promulgated decades ago when the political, socio-economic, and cultural settings were very much different from today's conditions," Drilon said. He said the bill essentially sought to "update the value of the damages used in determining the extent of liability and imprisonment; and adjust the amount of fines," using a formula adopted from the Department of Justice (DOJ). "The application of the DOJ formula yields adjusted rates that are more appropriate for the objectives of the law - one, to avoid the imposition of cruel and excessive punishment, and two, to make imposable fines an effective deterrent to crimes," Drilon said. For instance, Drilon said, a person found guilty of estafa today involving an amount of P250 would suffer a jail term or would be imprisoned for up to two years and four months. Under the proposed measure, the imposable penalty for such an offense involving the same amount "would be reduced to four months of imprisonment." In contrast, Drilon said a P5 fine imposed under the present Revised Penal Code "would be increased to P1,000." According to the bill, imposed fines on high crimes such as treason and rebellion will increase from 20,000 and 8,000 to a maximum of 4 million and 1.6 million respectively. The bill also seeks to update penalties for maltreatment of prisoners, unlawful arrest and indirect assault from 500 to 100,000 while penalties for falsification of documents will be increased from 5,000 to 1 million. Drilon said the proposed measure would have a retroactive effect, and was expected to benefit about 54,189 mostly poor inmates. "Not that they will be immediately released, but their sentences will be equitably reduced, corresponding to today's value of the property stolen, not the values set in 1930," he stressed. "We truly believe that the threat of injustice created by an outdated instrument of justice is real, and thus requires immediate legislative action." (Olive Caunan)
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May 2, 2017 Senate approves Philippine Innovation Act The Senate passed today on third and final reading a bill which seeks to adopt innovation as a vital component of the country's development and use it to promote the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises, through programs and initiatives which include the creation of a new interagency national innovation council. Senator Win Gatchalian, principal author of Senate Bill No. 1355, otherwise known as the Philippine Innovation Act, said the measure sought to make innovation a major driver of economic growth in accordance with the Ambisyon Natin 2040 long-term plan laid out by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). "Realizing our economic potential as a people will depend largely upon our ability to develop and maintain an innovative, strategic, and adaptive economy that is fully capable of sustaining inclusive growth over the next couple of decades," Gatchalian said. "The Philippine Innovation Act will be the driving force behind a Philippine innovation renaissance over the next few decades. It is a smart investment we need to make today in order to secure the bright high-income future of the Philippines," he added. Under the proposed measure, a new government body - the National Innovation Council (NIC) would be tasked to prepare a long-term roadmap based on innovation and coordination of such efforts in both the private and public sector through a National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document. The NIC will be headed by the President as chair and the NEDA director-general as vice-chair, with secretaries from various executive departments as members. Under the bill, the council would be tasked to strengthen partnerships among different actors - from the public and private sectors, to the academe, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), research and development institutions, and local communities "towards improving the quality of life through innovation." To help achieve this, the NIC would be tasked to administer an approximately P1 Billion Innovation Fund, "from which grants would be issued to strengthen entrepreneurship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions benefitting the poorest of the poor." "It compels us to place innovation at the center of our development policies to enable the country to move as a coherent whole. We cannot anymore afford to take half-steps, or sporadic efforts, in our bid to fuel sustainable and inclusive growth," Gatchalian stressed. The bill identified food security, education, health, clean energy, disaster resilience, community development, infrastructure, traditional knowledge, and governance as some of the "key areas for innovation." "We need to finally develop a culture of innovation that will propel our nation to an economic success," Gatchalian said. Senator Loren Legarda, co-sponsor of the measure, said the country needed a "well-defined, explicit vision for the country that places innovation in the context of where we want to be in the mid-to long-term." "Our innovation agenda needs to transcend the term of political administrations," she said. She noted that in the country, at least agencies pursue their respective innovation programs "with very weak coordination," pointing out the lack of coordination and convergence between and among government agencies." She said the measure intended to provide support and protection to Filipino inventors, so that intellectual theft against the likes of Dr. Abelardo Aguilar, who discovered the antibiotic erythromycin in 1949 but died in poverty and without recognition, "will not happen again." Aside from Gatchalian and Legarda, the bill was also authored by Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Cynthia Villar, Joel Villanueva and Richard Gordon.
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May 2, 2017 Villanueva wants communities to get more from mining Senator Joel Villanueva has filed a bill which seeks to increase the public share from the mining industry by reforming the mining fiscal regime and mandating transparency in the extractives sector. Villanueva's Senate Bill No. 1166 or the "Maximizing Benefits from Mineral and Mineral Products and Quarry Resources Act" requires companies to pay royalty for all the mineral mining operations in the government. "It is the Filipino people who are the inherent owners of the country's extractive resource. The public deserves nothing less than our fair share from the use of these resources. The country's current fiscal regime does not provide for the adequate and equitable payment by mining companies for the extraction of minerals. It is high time we correct this," Villanueva stressed. Mining companies are required to pay royalties on top of the corporate taxes and fees they paid as business enterprises. However, not all mining companies are required to pay taxes under the current system. In 2015, royalty payment amounted to only 1.21% of the estimated total value of mineral industry in the same year. "While we recognize our benefits from the industry, we also cannot deny the negative social and environmental impacts of mining operations in the country. These are costs that the mining industry needs to account for to make sure we are not at the losing end in allowing private companies to use our resources," Villanueva added. Senate Bill No. 1166 also aims to generate more jobs in the mining sector by encouraging the development of local downstream industry. The bill seeks to do this by taxing the export of raw ore to discourage outflow of unprocessed mineral and encourage domestic manufacturing. Under the proposal, raw ore export will be taxed 20% by 2018, 40% by 2019, and 60% by 2020. The bill also aims to prohibit the exportation of raw ore by 2021 to strengthen the link of mineral extraction to manufacturing in the long-run. "We need to develop the Philippine downstream industry for minerals and mineral products to help increase the number of local jobs from this sector. To do this, we need to change the mining fiscal regime to create incentives that encourage processing and manufacturing domestically." According to Villanueva, data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau show that mining sector is currently not a huge employment generator, accounting for 234,000 jobs or equivalent to 0.6% of total employment in 2015. Senate Bill No. 1166 also proposes to increase the share of local government units from the mining proceed from the current share of 40% up to 50%. The bill will also create a Natural Resource Trust fund from the mining revenues, to be used by national and local governments to fund education and health programs, among others. Aside from the proposed measure, Villanueva also vows to ensure the immediate passage of the 'FOI for Mining' bill which he also filed to institutionalize the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI) which acts as an oversight body of the extractive sector. Amid the recent call of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) requiring miners to make tax disclosures in compliance to the PH-EITI, the senator says that the passage of the 'FOI for Mining' bill into law promotes transparency by letting the public gain access from the revenue and public benefit of the mining and extractive resources through requiring the extractive industry to publish their tax payments. The bill also mandates the PH-EITI to disclose all data of material, national and local payments and revenues; make available to the public all concessions, contracts/licenses, agreements and joint ventures of the government; and to publicly release all data, information, reports on the extractive industries that allow the people to freely use, re-use and redistribute them without restrictions. "We want communities and local government units to get more from mining. What we are advocating is fairness in the extraction of resources through higher taxation, and good governance of the sector. The prioritization of these bills ensures that the present and future generations benefit from these finite resources," Villanueva stressed.
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Napa Valley's Cultivar winery has opened its wine bar of the same name on Chestnut Street in the Marina.

The wine list, which features Napa Valley wines exclusively, is unsurprisingly dominated by Cultivar's own wines, including its higher-end brand Caspar Estate. Owned by brother-sister team Jody Harris and Gingy Harris Gable, it feels like an extension of the wineries' tasting rooms, complete with discounts for wine club members.
A driver lost control of his car while stoned on marijuana and plowed into a pet store at a Santa Rosa strip mall, police said Tuesday.

Officers were called to 4125 Montgomery Drive at 9:20 p.m. on Monday after getting reports that a car had crashed into the front of Village Pets & Supplies, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Witnesses told police they saw the driver get out of the car following the crash and try to walk away, officials said.

The driver, 26-year-old Jeffrey Dallas Pearson of Santa Rosa, told police he had smoked marijuana prior to the accident, officials said. He was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs.

Pearson estimated he was driving at 60 mph when he crashed a 2014 gray Ford Focus into the front of the pet store, police said.

He was booked into the Main Adult Detention Facility in Santa Rosa, and his bail is set at $10,000, according to jail records.

No animals were harmed, according to the Santa Rosa Fire Department. And the stores resident fish, birds and reptiles didnt seem shaken in the aftermath of the crash, according to store manager Breauna Wyatt.

The store remained partially open Tuesday, selling essentials like pet food as employees worked to clean up the debris, Wyatt said.

Its pretty gnarly. The front of the store is definitely in a makeover state, said Wyatt.

But things could have been much worse, she said.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

We got really lucky. No animals were harmed, none of our employees were harmed. If it had happened during the day  it came through right where we all wouldve been standing, she said.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com
Steven G. de Polo / Getty Image

A 69-year-old man died Tuesday morning from injuries he suffered a day earlier when he lost control of his bicycle in Petaluma and was sent hurtling over the handlebars, hitting the ground face-first, officials said.

Police were called to the intersection of B Street and El Rose Drive shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Monday and found the bicyclist on the ground with significant trauma to his head and face, despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet, according to Sgt. Ron Klein, a spokesman for the Petaluma Police Department.
A teenager who was fatally shot while driving in the Outer Sunset District of San Francisco on Monday has been identified as a Daly City resident, officials said.

The victim, 15-year-old Reajohn Jackson, was killed around noon on Monday when someone opened fire on a white Pontiac he was driving, according to the San Francisco Medical Examiners Office.
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Companies from Uber to Ford are racing to deploy self-driving taxis on city streets, perhaps within five years.

Other robot vehicles may not be far behind.

Proterra, the Burlingame electric bus company, has partnered with the University of Nevada, Reno to develop and test autonomous buses in the heart of Renos downtown.

Step one involves outfitting a Proterra battery-powered bus with the sensors needed to scan the street. That work is already under way at a facility near the citys airport. Then the bus, driven by a human, will spend day after day plying a route along Renos Virginia Street, picking up passengers and gathering data on the pedestrians, traffic and streetscape.

In step two, engineers from the university and Proterra will use that data to see how different self-driving algorithms would perform if given control of the bus. Eventually, one of those programs will be allowed to steer, under the watchful eye of a driver.

Were taking a crawl, walk, run approach for the downtown corridor, said Richard Kelley, chief engineer with the universitys Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center. For the live test, we want to make sure the vehicle can see before we give it the steering wheel.

Proterra isnt the only company eyeing this future.

French company EasyMile, for example, is already testing autonomous shuttle buses in San Ramons Bishop Ranch office park. Another French firm, Navya, tested robotic shuttles in Las Vegas in January. And Tesla, whose massive battery Gigafactory lies east of Reno along Interstate 80, has also discussed creating an autonomous bus.

Proterra CEO Ryan Popple says the idea has obvious appeal, as a way to improve safety and make public transit more reliable and efficient.

Hes not convinced, however, that autonomous buses will ever go without some kind of human supervisor, even if that person doesnt do the driving. Robot school buses, for example, would probably need someone to supervise the students.

Youre going to need a human being there to take care of the people, Popple said. You might not need that with freight, but passengers are the most precious cargo you can carry.

The Proterra project will be the first to take advantage of the Living Lab, a partnership of the university, the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission, two state agencies and the cities of Reno, Sparks and Carson City. Companies and researchers developing autonomous vehicles will be able to test their creations on streets and highways selected by the partnership.

The Regional Transportation Commission already runs Proterra buses. One is being equipped with cameras and lidar, the laser version of lidar used in most self-driving cars. Figuring out the right places to mount it on a full-size bus, however, is a little trickier.

You can just throw a lidar on top of a car, and youre good, Kelley said.

Self-driving buses have other unique considerations.

For example, Popple notes that any automated bus would have to carefully monitor passengers entering and exiting the doors. To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the bus would also need to work with passengers using wheelchairs or walkers.

Personally, Im not comfortable yet with the idea that an ADA passenger could get on an autonomous vehicle, and that we could code for every possible disability, Popple said. You need to be able to move everyone, whether theyre physically or mentally disabled, or theyre really young, or theyre a senior.

And yet, Popple believes that electric, autonomous buses will become an integral part of urban life, eventually.

He argues that they will be cheap enough to buy and operate that passengers will be able to use them for free, with cities simply baking the costs into their annual budgets. Those costs will be at least partially offset by the savings on insurance, should self-driving buses prove to be as safe as expected.

That said, Popple doesnt want to rush the tests.

When the Reno project advances to the point of letting the buses drive themselves, they will face intense scrutiny, particularly if they screw up. He points to the furor that erupted in December, when one of Ubers self-driving cars was caught on video rolling through a red light in front of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

In our market, we cant just put a vehicle out there, and then have a bus run a red light, Popple said. I probably would have heard from my mother. Ryan! What are you doing? Theres a bus running out of control!

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
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The failed nursing student who killed seven people during a 2012 shooting spree at Oikos University in Oakland pleaded no contest Tuesday to all charges stemming from the rampage in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty against him.

One Goh, 48, entered his plea in Alameda County Superior Court and faces seven life sentences, one for each victim he killed.

Goh pleaded no contest to seven felony murder charges and three felony attempted murder charges. Besides the seven life sentences, he faces an additional 271 years to life in prison and will not be eligible for parole.

When Goh walked into the courtroom, his hands cuffed to a chain around his waist and his salt-and-pepper hair grazing his shoulders, a relative of one of the victims dabbed away tears with a napkin as she sat in the court gallery.

As Judge Jeffrey Horner read the different counts that Goh pleaded no contest to, several of the victims family members hung their heads and looked at their hands. Another woman in a black sweatshirt rested her head on a mans shoulder and covered her eyes as the names of the victims were read aloud by the judge.

To this charge, is your plea a plea of no contest, Horner asked Goh after reading every charge, special circumstance and allegation.

Goh nodded affirmatively and his Korean interpreter answered, Yes, Your Honor.

Stacie Pettigrew, an Alameda County assistant district attorney, said prosecutors will not pursue the death penalty against Goh.

Goh was extremely remorseful, to such a degree that he wanted to die. For a long time he wanted to receive the death penalty in this case, said David Klaus, Gohs attorney and assistant public defender.

When the district attorney decided not to seek the death penalty, Klaus said, it allowed the defense to move forward with a no-contest plea.

Hes deeply, deeply mentally ill. Theres no question about that, Klaus said.

Goh was sent back to Napa State Hospital to await his sentencing July 14.

The enormity and devastation of this mass shooting remains unprecedented in Alameda County, said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley. With the conclusion of this case, we know that One Goh will never again be in the position to harm any member of our community.

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The plea deal comes after court-appointed doctors recently said Gohs mental capacity had been restored and his case could proceed to trial. Goh had previously been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to Napa State Hospital, a locked psychiatric facility.

He was able to talk to us about giving a no-contest plea and that was new and different, Klaus said of Gohs mental capacity.

Investigators believe Goh plotted to kill an administrator at Oikos University when he was unable to get his tuition back after withdrawing from classes. Unknown to him, the administrator had left her job shortly after Goh dropped out of the schools nursing program.

On April 2, 2012, Goh walked onto the school campus armed with a .45-caliber handgun and took a receptionist hostage before fatally shooting her and six students, and wounding three others, authorities said. He then took a car belonging to one of his victims and drove to a nearby Alameda store, where he surrendered to an employee who called police, according to authorities.

Oikos University is a small, private Christian school near the Oakland airport that has a vocational nursing program and offers courses in music, Bible studies and Asian medicine.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
A new hairdo, a spray-on tan, a facial, working out almost every day  obviously, my wife was having an affair.

Whos the lucky guy? I nonchalantly asked as she came home sweating from another workout.

It didnt take long for me to bust her. We were leaving the next day for our annual trip to her homeland, a small town an hour north of Montreal, and this year we were invited to the wedding of the son of her best friend from high school.

Hell be there, wont he? I asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

She wouldnt look at me directly. But there was a trace of a smile. She was going to enjoy this. Who?

You know who. That dashing French Canadian ex-high-school-boyfriend of yours, Paul Citroen.

Its not Citroen, she replied. Thats a car. And yes, hell be there. But I havent seen him in 35 years. He might have aged a bit.

Clearly, she was determined to show him that she hadnt aged. But I quickly realized this wasnt all about her. Id heard enough stories of my wife riding on the back of the dashing Pauls motorcycle, her hands wrapped around his waist, her head nestled into his back as they sped through the Quebec countryside without helmets, the stupid idiots.

How many times had I heard how handsome he was? A French Adonis. Long flowing raven hair. Sculpted body. Chiseled face. Yuck.

And now I would get a chance to meet the man who got caught making out with my wife behind the high school gym 38 years ago. This meant war. I had to rise to the occasion.

What are you doing? my wife asked as I dropped to the floor and started doing pushups.

Pumping up for Paul, I answered, a bit out of breath. Ive got to show him you made the right choice.

I popped up from the floor and showed her my newfound muscles. She was impressed. We were now a team and we high-fived each other. Wed show that dashing Frenchie that we didnt miss him in the least.

My wife packed her sexiest cocktail dress and I packed my most elegant suit (of the two I owned) and we flew to Montreal. At the car rental counter, I upgraded from economy to a premium car, in case he saw us drive up.

On the day of the wedding, my wife spent even more time than usual getting ready, adding a little more tan cream to her shoulders (in case he forgot we live in California) and I did a few more pushups, just in case we came to blows.

We arrived at the church a little early and took our seats. Then we sat back and scanned everyone who came up the aisle, waiting for the famous Paul (or Pol if you want the correct French pronunciation  double yuck) make his entrance.

We couldnt find him. No one even remotely resembling a dashing Frenchman had appeared. I could see the look of panic begin to creep into my wifes face. All that work, all those treatments ... what a waste. I didnt even want to think about all those pushups I did.

My wife turned to an acquaintance sitting nearby and, trying not to sound too desperate (probably for my sake) asked them if they knew what happened to Pol.

What do you mean? they replied, pointing to someone across the aisle and about three rows in front of us. Hes right there.

When my wife looked over and finally recognized her long-lost boyfriend, I wasnt sure if I saw disappointment or exhilaration in her face. Im going with exhilaration, especially after she started quietly chanting, I WIN, I WIN, I WIN.

The aging battle was no contest. The dashing Frenchie was no longer dashing. The sculpted body had gained 50 pounds. The chiseled face had collapsed. He looked more like a French Archie Bunker than a French Adonis.

Well, at least he still has all his hair and its not that gray, my wife said, trying to be a gracious winner.

I preferred to grind my French nemesis into the dirt. He probably colors it, I replied.

We high-fived again, which was OK because the ceremony hadnt started. And once it was over, we went up to Pol and said our hellos.

He turned out to be a nice guy. Up until then, I had never even considered that as part of the equation.

Nick Hoppes column appears Tuesdays in Datebook. Email: NickHoppe61@gmail.com
Californias ban on conversion therapy, which seeks to turn gay youths straight, survived a U.S. Supreme Court challenge Monday when the justices rejected an appeal by religious conservatives who argued that the law interfered with their right to provide spiritual counseling to minors.

The law, the first of its kind in the nation, was passed in 2012 and took effect in 2014 after federal courts ruled that it did not violate free speech. It prohibits licensed therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation of patients under 18.

Conversion-therapy techniques have included counseling and training to encourage opposite-sex behavior, hypnosis, and aversive methods such as hormone treatment and nausea-inducing drugs. National psychiatric and medical organizations say such treatments are deceptive and dangerous, leading in some cases to depression or suicidal impulses.

In Mondays case, Christian legal organizations argued that the law was aimed at suppressing conservative religious beliefs and practices held by many of the families who sought therapy for their children, and many of the counselors who provided it. They also argued that the law would prevent ministers, who also serve as therapists, from saying certain prayers or quoting certain biblical passages to young people.

The Supreme Court, without comment, denied review of a federal appeals court ruling that rejected those arguments.

The goal of the California law is the prevention of harm to minors, regardless of the motivations for seeking (conversion therapy), the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in August. That ruling upheld a federal judges decision to dismiss the lawsuit.

Although some youths and their families seek to change their sexual orientation for religious reasons, others have secular motivations, appeals Judge Susan Graber said in the 3-0 ruling. Under the state law, she said, minors are free to take such steps on their own and with the help of friends, family, and religious leaders, or with the help of a state-licensed therapists after turning 18.

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And because the law regulates conduct only within the confines of the counselor-client relationship, Graber said, it does not limit what ministers can say in church.

The same court had ruled earlier that the law regulates conduct, not speech, in much the same way the state regulates other medical practices. New Jersey later passed a similar law that courts have also upheld.

The Supreme Court case is Welch vs. Brown, 16-845.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
Lots going on these summery spring days. (Who turned up the heat?) So todays column will have to do some multitasking.

Item No. 1: After watching Citizen Jane  the excellent new documentary about writer-activist Jane Jacobs and her titanic struggles with New York urban planning czar Robert Moses, who preferred high-rises and highways to human beings  I got to thinking about San Franciscos own Moses, Justin Herman.

Back in the late 1950s and 60s, when Herman ruled over the city as executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, he was responsible for razing much of the Fillmore district and disappearing thousands of its black residents in the name of urban renewal  or Negro removal, as James Baldwin mordantly put it.

Once known as the Harlem of the West, with its vibrant nightlife and street scene, the Fillmore became a bleak moonscape of vacant lots and dreary street corners after Hermans wrecking balls began their destructive work. Herman became so loathed in San Franciscos eviscerated African American community that one irate citizen lunged at him during a heated Redevelopment Agency meeting and nearly throttled him. The powerful bureaucrat died shortly after of a heart attack in summer 1971.

Tom Fleming, editor of the Sun-Reporter, an African American newspaper, summed up Hermans sorry legacy this way: Negroes and the other victims of a low income (fate) generally regard him as the arch villain in the black depopulation of the city.

So why was this man honored by having his name attached to the Embarcadero plaza that is the gateway to San Francisco?

As cities across America re-evaluate their histories, taking down monuments and renaming streets that celebrate dishonorable men, its time for San Francisco to do the same. We need to rename Justin Herman Plaza.

There have been earlier efforts to do this, but they went nowhere. In 2001, Supervisor Chris Daly introduced a resolution to strip Hermans name from the plaza, but it never even got a board hearing. In 2015, Brett Harris-Anderson, who grew up in the Western Addition, and his wife, Michelle, started a petition to rename the plaza after the late poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, who was San Franciscos first black female streetcar operator and began her performing career here. Unfortunately, their campaign didnt catch fire, but its time to reignite it.

I would welcome a public conversation about changing the name of Justin Herman Plaza, Supervisor Aaron Peskin told me. The plaza is located in his district, so hes the right one to start that conversation. Hermans name evokes memories of a dark time in San Francisco history that were still grappling with today. Its a legacy of displacement, of removing people of color and low-income people. Thats not something we should be honoring.

Speaking of Peskin, California Assemblyman Phil Ting should be applauded for taking up his campaign in Sacramento to give San Francisco the legal authority to implement a local income tax. San Francisco is already the poster city for the nations obscene wealth gap  and that divide between the super rich and the rest of us will only widen if President Trump succeeds in pushing through his tax giveaway to himself and his fellow plutocrats. Meanwhile, San Francisco is facing massive cuts in federal subsidies for housing and social services under Trump that will make the city even more Dickensian.

So its time for San Franciscos super rich to give back to their city  the gold mountain that helped make their fortunes.

Ting admits that he has an uphill battle to win state approval for a San Francisco income tax. No localities in California currently have this authority. And his bill, which is still in the writing stage, has no hope without Gov. Jerry Browns support, said Ting.

But desperate times call for creative measures. Trump is trying to bully us by using the club of federal funding cutbacks, the assemblyman from San Francisco told me. Either we give in, or we learn to live with much less, or we find a way to become self-sufficient as a city by raising our own revenue.

While Ting is showing leadership with his tax-the-rich plan, District Nine Supervisor Hillary Ronen is sticking her neck out on an even hotter local issue, the homeless crisis, by pushing for a Navigation Center in her district, which covers the Mission and Bernal Heights. On Thursday at 6 p.m. at John OConnell High School, Ronen will host what is certain to be another contentious community meeting on the planned Navigation Center.

Some of those who attended Ronens last community meeting demanded to know why other supervisors arent doing as much to build Navigation Centers in their districts. Its a good question.

One official in the mayors homeless program points to Districts Five and Eight as areas that urgently need such shelters, but says that Supervisor London Breed, in District Five, has resisted such efforts and newly appointed Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, of District Eight, has shown little interest or initiative. In an emailed statement, Breed denied opposing a Navigation Center in her district, but added, As a city, we have to think strategically about where to place (them) to best serve the people they aim to reach. I dont think that means automatically putting Navigation Centers in  every district. Sheehy, for his part, declined to comment for this column, explaining he would have more to say to The Chronicle at a later date.

Sheehy better hurry. Rafael Mandelman, a progressive activist with high visibility, just announced he will challenge Mayor Ed Lees hand-picked man in next Junes election. And Mandelman told me that hell be making the homeless crisis a centerpiece of his campaign. I want to be the supervisor who cracks the code on homelessness. I share the deep sense of shame and frustration that other San Franciscans feel about this human tragedy.

San Francisco Chronicle Columnist David Talbot appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email: dtalbot@sfchronicle.com
Sait Serkan Gurbuz/Associated Press

The nations official information source on climate change just went dark. The Environmental Protection Agencys website on the topic is due for a makeover courtesy of the Trump team, which makes no bones about its skepticism about the global threat.

Instead of a directory of research studies and causes, the agency is updating our website to reflect EPAs priorities under the leadership of President Trump and Administrator (Scott) Pruitt. The final product probably wont bear any resemblance to the now-departed data.
Californias cap-and-trade program, the crucial mechanism for Californias fight against climate change, is facing stiff headwinds.

The California Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against the program years ago, challenging the programs legality because it functions like a tax but did not receive a two-thirds vote in the state Legislature. That lawsuit is still working its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, the state has struggled to find the right fiscal balance between the demands of selling permits and easing businesses into the need to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.

The state has given away free permits and struggled to sell large percentages of the permits in recent auctions. And while companies enjoy the ability to purchase offset credits for green projects like forest preservation, in exchange for their emissions, environmental activists in the states most polluted areas say the program hasnt done nearly enough to help them.

So state Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, and President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, are considering a new proposal, SB775, to fix some of the programs problems.

Will it be enough?

SB775 would address cap and trades struggles in a variety of ways. It would eliminate the programs free permits and raise the prices for permits  to a point.

Following a suggestion from the states nonpartisan legislative analyst, the bill would also put a ceiling on the price of emission permits.

The idea here is to allow businesses to plan for their low-carbon investments, such as switching to solar power.

The idea is also to avoid the possibility of price spikes, which businesses would be likely to pass on to customers.

The proposal makes sure that everyone who sells carbon-intensive products in the state is treated fairly, said Jeff Barbosa, Wieckowskis communications director. It provides businesses market certainty by placing a cap on carbon price, so they can plan ahead more effectively.

In a bow to concerns about how cap and trade is affecting residents in Californias more polluted communities, SB775 would also get rid of the offset program. (Theres separate legislation in the state Assembly to target specific pollutants that affect public health.)

These changes should bring more fairness and stability to the cap-and-trade system.

Charging set, certain amounts for emission permits, for example, is what California should have done from the beginning. It might have been more initially disruptive for businesses, but it also would have created economic certainty for them and set the state system on a firm fiscal footing.

But now a fair, smart bill thats designed to correct some of the problems that have emerged with the cap-and-trade system has a very high threshold to pass.

In an effort to extend the cap-and-trade system to 2030, and to ward off the Chamber of Commerces lawsuit, SB775 has to muster a two-thirds vote. Its not going to be an easy lift in the state Legislature, but nothing thats important is an easy lift there. SB775 is a tough but fair fix.
While Googling symptoms is not new, crowdsourced medical diagnoses are technologically new and trendy. However, such advice easily can cross into unlicensed medical practice, leading to patient exploitation and harm.

This is how crowdsourced medical advice works: Patients with mysterious symptoms  often elusive to the medical community  pay to submit their case to an online forum of diagnostic enthusiasts who return a list of potential diagnoses. Popular diagnoses are listed first. The process relies on a fundamental principle that a sufficient quantity of advisers will outweigh questionable quality.

Patients can pay thousands of dollars for consideration. Some are urged to pay extra as a reward to attract top diagnosticians. Customers are patients who range from those discouraged by a long and fruitless search for a diagnosis to those who are skeptical of their physicians advice, or those who are simply interested in a tech approach to health care.

The medical advisers are variable, too. Some platforms restrict evaluation to medical professionals; others employ anyone with an Internet connection, good intentions, and an admiration for the television medical dramas Dr. House (one company calls amateur diagnosticians medical detectives, deceptively abbreviated M.D.s).

A group of medical professionals can include retired doctors, medical students and health practitioners ranging from acupuncturists to speech pathologists. But is a retired surgeon qualified to discuss an uncommon rash?

Is an audiologist knowledgeable to comment on chest pain?

Patients receive diagnoses from numerous, but potentially inappropriate, advisers with little guidance on how to gauge the quality of the advice.

I fear for customers of such websites.

For example, the podcast Reply All discussed a patient with unsettling neurologic symptoms and headaches, possibly following neck trauma. As Yale physician and columnist Lisa Sanders cautioned in the podcast, this alarming combination might suggest a particular emergency: a dangerous tear in an artery supplying blood to the brain. If missed, devastating strokes can occur.

Although the patients crowdsourced recommendations included the appropriate artery imaging, the patient instead sought the higher-ranked suggestion of chiropractic treatment, which is notorious for worsening exactly such tears. The lesson: Ruling out dangerous diagnoses is more important than reaching the right answer.

Clearly diagnostic crowdsourcing sites do not approach illness systematically; they spew a textbooks worth of rare and common diagnoses together. Trained physicians contemplate prevalent, easily testable diagnoses first, in order to spare unnecessary, invasive procedures. Then, as symptoms evolve and results return, probabilities of diagnoses shift. Continual re-evaluation is key.

Admittedly, individual physicians cannot know every diagnosis. I cared for a teen whose brain was overrun by her hyperactive immune system, affecting her mood, her personality, her very core. After many meetings among experts, we could not find a diagnosis and instead focused on treating her symptoms. Eventually, her family agreed to arrange her care from home, rather than from the hospital. When she left, she pleaded that we not send her home without a definitive diagnosis. Our conversation was heart-rending because I could not offer her a satisfactory answer. I expressed my hope to her that we would reach a breakthrough, but feared that she left feeling abandoned by the medical system.

How terrifying to become inexplicably ill.

How disheartening when the experts say, We have no answer.

Understandably, hopeful patients will request second, third, or even a crowds worth of other opinions. The diagnostic crowdsourcing companies however exploit this desperation.

One companys frequently-asked-questions page reminds patients that it aims to supplement rather than replace doctors. This disclaimer may serve only to avoid legal liability for offering unlicensed advice, but I agree with its message: Patients long-standing, trusted, trained physicians should guide them through the unregulated realm of Internet medicine.

My teenage patients father approached me in the UCSF cafeteria recently to tell me that her specialists had finally diagnosed her. She has a very rare illness, but one with a potential cure. Time and patience might sometimes be necessary to find an explanation, but trained physicians who know their patients well will do so more safely and reliably. Although crowdsourcing companies advertise more efficient answers, patients benefit more by filtering the voice of experts from the noisy crowd.

Dr. Jeff Russ is a pediatrics and child neurology resident at UCSF. An earlier version of this commentary appeared on the social media website KevinMD.com.
Good neighborhood restaurants often fade into the fabric of the area and survive without much publicity. They serve their regular customers well, and dont often get wider notice.

Yet at their very best, some of these unsung restaurants will surprise those who happen to find their way in. These types of places are what make cities like Paris so alluring. I would put Divino in Belmont in that class, though I dont think youll find many people strolling Ralston Avenue as they would Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

Owner Vincenzo Cucco knows a lot about neighborhood restaurants. He owned and continues to help out at Bacco in Noe Valley. In 2006 he opened Divino in Belmont; I reviewed the restaurant soon after it opened. While I was impressed with his take on Italian flavors, I never had an opportunity for a return visit.

When I entered the glass door, it was apparent the restaurant had undergone a face-lift; Cucco added a full bar and changed the color scheme. Its now a deep gold with charcoal gray accents. Its still not the type of interior that makes much of an impression, but fortunately the food does.

I had forgotten how good Cucco is with traditional pasta. I had Bolognese sauce at a half dozen restaurants in Bologna last year, and his version with pappardelle ($17.50) beat them all, with its deep rich sauce and flecks of meat and mushrooms.

Ive also enjoyed meatballs ($10.50) at dozens of Bay Area restaurants, and his meatballs, which he attributes to his mother, are among the best. The juicy orbs are placed in a thick, bright red sauce that has a sweet, complex flavor.

The calamari salad ($12.75) features grilled squid surrounding cannellini beans. The beans have a custardlike softness, are infused with a hint of rosemary and are blanketed with a pile of arugula leaves glistening in a tangy vinaigrette.

The pork chop crusted in pistachio ($23.95) was on the menu when I initially visited, but Id forgotten how good it is. Its one of the tenderest pieces of meat that Ive encountered. The thick, well-marked chop is propped on a mound of mashed potatoes and sweet-and-sour red cabbage that leaks into the thick sauce and slightly diminishes the pleasure of the meat.

The menu also includes six or seven specials, such as a sauteed Petrale sole ($25) on a butter sauce with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables like Brussels sprouts and corn. The combination was good, if not memorable.

The waiter, who knew his craft, asked if we would like lemon with the fish; when we said yes, he quickly brought over three wedges presented on the edge of a glass. The service from start to finish was friendly and professional.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

I was again surprised at dessert.

I wasnt that enamored with the panna cotta ($8), but I had the opposite reaction to the apple tart ($8). It was a square of puff pastry fluted at the four corners, so you could see the delicate layers with the caramelized apples in the center, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzles of caramel.

From the Caesar salad ($8.95) to the tart, the food satisfied, and it made me wish that something this good would open in my Potrero Hill neighborhood.

Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic and editor at large. Email: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelbauer1 Instagram: michaelbauer1

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

  

Divino

Food:   

Service:   

Atmosphere:  

Price: $$$

Noise: Three Bells
Rallies and protest events are a part of political life in the Bay Area. Heres a roundup of whats happening.

Wednesday

Democratic race: Kimberly Ellis, candidate for chair of the California Democratic Party, will discuss her vision for the party at a meeting of San Mateo County Democracy for America. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at Woodside Road United Methodist Church, 2000 Woodside Road, Redwood City. The event is free. For information, contact Carole Dorshkind at cdorshkind@comcast.net.

Friday

Immigration discussion: A presentation by the Party for Socialism and Liberation on how to build the resistance to defend immigrant rights. The event is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at 2969 Mission St. in San Francisco. For information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1917646978471340/.

Saturday

Immigration event: Remembering the 135th Anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act and standing in opposition to President Trumps proposed travel ban. A rally will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Portsmouth Square, 733 Kearny St., San Francisco. Contact Chinese for Affirmative Action: (415) 274-6750.

Resistance discussion: A report on the impact of May Day protests, hosted by the Peace and Freedom Party. The discussion is from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Starry Plough Pub, 3101 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. For information, contact (510) 332-3865 or cuyleruyle@mac.com.

Sanctuary cities discussion: A panel hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party Bay Area on how unions, religious groups and schools can defend immigrants. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the panel talk begins at 2 p.m. at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St. in San Francisco. For information, call (415) 864-1278 or email bafsp@earthlink.com.

Health care film: Now Is the Time: Healthcare for Everybody will be screened from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Contra Costa Central Labor Council, 1333 Pine St., Suite E in Martinez. The event is free.

Sunday

Health care film: Now Is the Time: Healthcare for Everybody will be shown, followed by a health care discussion on the proposed California proposition for a single-payer plan. The event is from 2 to 4 p.m. at the San Lorenzo Library, 395 Paseo Grande in San Lorenzo. For information, contact aruchlis@gmail.com.

May 13

Art show: A resistance-inspired show hosted by Indivisible Alameda County. The event is from 3 to 7 p.m. at 37275 Niles Blvd. in Fremont. For information, contact kidniles@aol.com.
UPDATE: Kevin Callahan was released and all charges against him dropped in the death of Steven Lee. From KSBW.com:

"The Santa Cruz County District Attorney dropped all charges against a surfing pioneer who was accused of murdering a fellow homeless man Saturday night.

"Kevin Callahan, 58, was released from custody Tuesday. Prosecutors said an autopsy performed on 52-year-old Steven Lee lead to the decision, as well as insufficient evidence."

More here. Previous story below:

A homeless man accused of killing another homeless man near Santa Cruz's Main Beach volleyball courts was once one of the world's top surfers.

Police found Kevin Callahan, known for most of his 58 years as Kevin Reed, sleeping on the beach early Sunday morning not far from the body of Steven Lee, 52. The pair reportedly had both been living near the near the seawall along Beach Avenue.

Callahan was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder.

In 1975, Kevin Reed's innovative talent on a surfboard landed him on the cover of Surfing magazine. He was especially known for catching air.

"He was the first guy to do the aerials," surfboard shop owner Bob Pearson told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. "That's a fact, and he did it five years before anybody else."

Pearson said Callahan has a rough time over the last few years, living on the streets (or on the beach) and drinking heavily.

In an outtake from the 2010 surfing documentary "The Westsiders" by Josh Pomer, Callahan tells about warning his fellow surfers about drugs  specifically crack cocaine and methamphetamine  which were ruining the Santa Cruz surfing community.

"I did tell all of them, Barney, Ratty, all of them. I never want to see any of them living in the gutters, because surfing will not support you," Callahan said. "You need to have a real job."

Callahan said he quit surfing because of the aggressive behavior and general unpleasantness of the local surfers.

According to police, Lee's death is being treated as a homicide although his body showed no signs of obvious trauma. An autopsy is pending.

Callahan is being held in Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.
Room for improvement

From a SoMa rent-making scheme to a company worth $31 billion, Airbnb has grown up a lot over the past decade  and often clashed with its hometown.

2007

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia offer airbeds for attendees at a design conference at their SoMa bachelor apartment.

2008

Chesky, Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk found AirBed & Breakfast, brokering spaces in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. They also try selling cereal boxes with images of Barack Obama and John McCain to raise money.

2009

The company is accepted by the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator; changes name to Airbnb. Airbnb gets $20,000 from YC and $600,000 from Sequoia Capital and Y Ventures. Chesky lives in multiple Airbnbs for several months.

2010

Airbnb gets $7.2 million funding.

2011

February: Airbnb says it has booked 1 million nights to date.

July: Airbnb gets $112 million funding; becomes a unicorn (worth more than $1 billion).

A San Francisco host finds her apartment trashed. After a lackluster initial response, Chesky apologizes and the company announces $50,000 host guarantee for damage and other new safeguards.

2012

January: Airbnb says it has hosted over 1 million guests and has 120,000 listings.

May: Airbnb increases host guarantee to $1 million.

Fall: Airbnb raises $250 million from Founders Fund; it does not reveal the funding until October 2013.

2013

January: Airbnb says it has had 5 million guest stays; 300,000 listings in 192 countries; fills more room nights than Hilton Hotels.

May: Airbnb ruled illegal in New York.

October: Airbnb says its served 9 million guests.

2014

April: Airbnb raises another $500 million, giving it a $10 billion valuation.

July: Airbnb introduces much-maligned Belo logo.

October: San Francisco passes law legalizing and regulating short-term rentals. Previously, residential rentals of less than 30 days were forbidden, a law that was widely ignored. Airbnb had extensive input into the law, the first in the nation.

September: Airbnb starts to collect and remit hotel tax in S.F.

2015

February: New Airbnb law takes effect in S.F., requiring hosts to register with the city. Only a minority do so.

June: Airbnb raises $1.5 billion (bringing total to $2.3 billion) at $25.5 billion valuation.

October: Airbnb stumbles with tone-deaf S.F. ad campaign congratulating itself on paying taxes.

November: Voters reject Proposition F, which would have reined in short-term rentals. Airbnb spends $8 million campaigning against it; the pro-Prop. F side spends less than $500,000.

December: Airbnb projects over 1 million guests on New Years Eve.

2016

June: City supervisors unanimously pass new law holding Airbnb and other websites accountable for steep fines and criminal penalties when they arrange rentals of unregistered properties. Airbnb sues S.F. in U.S. District Court, claiming the new law violates its rights under the Communications Decency Act and First Amendment. Implementation of the law is suspended pending resolution of the suit.

October: Airbnb sues New York City over law that imposes steep fines on hosts who rent out illegally and bars Airbnb from showcasing housing units that arent legal to rent.

S.F. supervisors pass stricter rules, limiting short-term rentals to 60 days a year for entire homes.

November: U.S. District Judge James Donato orders the city and Airbnb to figure out a solution to getting all hosts registered.

December: Mayor Ed Lee vetoes 60-day cap on rentals.

Airbnb settles lawsuit with N.Y.C., providing that only hosts, not Airbnb, get fined.

Airbnb projects more than 2 million guests on New Years Eve.

2017

March: Airbnb completes a $1 billion fundraising, with investors placing a $31 billion value on the company.

May: Airbnb, joined by HomeAway, and San Francisco say theyve reached a settlement to drop the lawsuit and implement automatic pass-through registration for all local hosts.

 Carolyn Said
Cisco Systems said Monday it has agreed to a $610 million deal to buy Viptela, a San Jose maker of software that helps businesses connect remote branch offices, data centers and other sites.

Cisco made the deal to beef up its own networking technologies with Viptelas cloud-first approach, Rob Salvagno, vice president of corporate business development, wrote in a company blog.

The firms already had strong ties. Two former Cisco executives, President Amir Khan and CTO Khalid Raza, co-founded Viptela in 2012. CEO Praveen Akkiraju, who took over the post in January, is also a former Cisco executive.

The deal, which includes cash and equity awards, is expected to close in the second half of this year, with Viptelas employees joining Ciscos enterprise routing team.

Courts

Net neutrality

ruling stands

A federal appeals court said Monday it wont reconsider its ruling to uphold the governments net neutrality rules that require Internet providers to treat all online traffic equally.

The decision means the rules favored by consumer groups but despised by telecom companies will remain in place for now. But the Trump administration has already signaled that it intends to scrap the Obama-era policy.

A divided three-judge panel ruled last year to preserve regulations that ban service providers from favoring some content over others. The 2-1 ruling was a win for the Obama administration and consumer groups that sought the rules.

Cable and telecom industry groups like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T say the rules threaten innovation and undermine investment in broadband infrastructure.

Those groups asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to take another look at the earlier ruling, but a panel of eight judges on the court declined. Two judges dissented.

The rules prohibit Internet service providers from favoring their own services, blocking other sites and apps, or creating fast lanes for video and other data services that pay for the privilege. That means companies like Verizon  which offers its own video services  cant slow down Netflix or charge Spotify extra to stream faster than competing services.

New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a speech last week that the rules were unnecessary. He wants to eliminate the FCCs broad powers to monitor Verizon and others for bad behavior.

In a statement Monday, Pai said the courts decision was not surprising. He said the process of repealing the rules is expected to begin at the FCC on May 18.

Television

Tribune Media

eyed by Fox

Fox News owner 21st Century Fox and a New York investment firm are in talks to buy TV station operator Tribune Media, according to several reports.

A successful bid would keep Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., another TV station operator that is also reportedly pursuing the company, from snatching up Tribune. Blackstone, a private equity firm, is said to be putting cash toward creating a joint venture, while 21st Century Fox would contribute some TV stations, according to the reports.

21st Century Fox owns and operates the Fox network, FX cable channel and 28 TV stations. Adding Tribune would give 21st Century Fox control over more local TV stations, most of them in major cities. Tribune owns or operates 42 stations across the nation, including WPIX in New York, KTLA in Los Angeles and WGN in Chicago. It also has stakes in the Food Network and job-search website CareerBuilder.

Tribune, 21st Century Fox and Blackstone declined to comment Monday. The possible deal was first reported by the Financial Times.

Banking

UBS to pay

$445 million

UBS Group AG has paid $445 million to settle National Credit Union Administration claims that the bank contributed to the collapse of corporate credit unions by selling them faulty mortgage-backed securities, the regulator said in a statement on Monday.

The administration said the settlement  which UBS agreed to without admitting or denying wrongdoing  closes a lawsuit filed in 2012 and is the latest in a series of deals struck with banks accused of improper sales to five corporate credit unions that failed. The agency had already recovered $79.3 million from UBS last year in a related claim.

With todays settlement, another legacy matter has been resolved, said Peter Stack, a UBS spokesman.

The settlement is tied to losses at U.S. Central Federal Credit Union and Western Corporate Federal Credit Unions, institutions that provided loans and other services to customer-facing credit unions before they were taken into conservatorship in 2009 and later shuttered.

Chronicle News Services
Sweating it out

Fitbit, which is due to report earnings Wednesday, sure is leaky lately  in more ways than one. Take its plans to release a full-featured smartwatch this fall: Yahoo Finance got the scoop, obtaining pictures showing a new design thats hardly going to wow fans of the Apple Watch. The other problem: Fitbit is reportedly struggling to make the new device waterproof, delaying its release. Fitbit laid off 6 percent of its workforce this year as it reported disappointing sales.

When you come to a frork in the road

McDonalds is touting a new french fry-centric utensil  the frork  as part of a campaign to promote its new line of burgers. The chain says the utensil has an opening where people can insert some fries, which act as edible tines. McDonalds says it will give away 100,000 of them to people who buy the new burgers starting May 5. Its the latest push by McDonalds to drum up excitement and get people into its restaurants, after four years of declining customer transactions in the U.S. Even the company concedes that the utensil is superfluous in a mock infomercial that it posted online.

Number of the day

-24%

Thats how much Advanced Micro Devices shares dropped Tuesday, its worst one-day decline in more than a decade. Its weak second-quarter forecast deflated investors hopes that a new range of chips would take sales from Intel. It was the worst intraday drop since January 2005, after a huge run-up this year.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
Theranos Inc. agreed to settle an early investors claims that the embattled blood-testing firm misrepresented its performance and technology in order to raise more than $96 million in funding.

Partner Management Fund LP will drop two lawsuits related to the startups fumbling of blood tests, Theranos officials said Monday in a statement. Terms of the accord werent released.

The settlement clears the way for Theranos to push ahead with a plan to offer additional preferred shares to investors who agree not to sue in the wake of scandals involving the Palo Alto companys blood-testing capabilities.

The deal allows our tender offer to go forward and enables us to return our focus where it belongs, which is on executing our business plans, David Taylor, Theranos general counsel, said in the statement.

Officials of San Franciscos Partner Management couldnt immediately comment on the settlement. The hedge fund has more than $5 billion under management and has invested in other pharma and biotech companies.

The pact comes as Theranos seeks to resolve suits tied to doubts about the validity of the companys blood-testing technology. Theranos agreed last month to pay more than $4.8 million to settle the Arizona attorney generals consumer-fraud claims over botched tests. The company also has agreed to a two-year ban on operating blood-testing laboratories to end a U.S. regulatory probe.

Partner Management accused Theranos in a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit of lying about its blood-testing capabilities in order to line up financing. The fund agreed to invest $96.1 million in the startup, according to court filings. It was seeking to recoup its investment plus additional damages.

The hedge fund later filed a separate suit in Delaware challenging Theranoss offer to swap additional preferred shares for investors rights to sue over the testing scandal. Partners officials said a lawyer for Theranos threatened to have the company file for bankruptcy protection if the fund didnt agree to the swap.

Theranos still faces other suits, including claims from ex-partner Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. that Theranos misled it about the state of its technology when providing blood testing in some of its Arizona stores.

Jef Feeley is a Bloomberg writer. Email: jfeeley@bloomberg.net
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Serious crimes fell 10 percent in San Francisco last year as the city saw fewer robberies, far fewer boosted cars and a slight but welcome reduction in the vehicle break-ins that have plagued many neighborhoods, according to police figures released Tuesday.

Its definitely a positive when we see the numbers decrease, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a Police Department spokeswoman. Part of it is due to the diligence of the officers out there, monitoring and being proactive in our high-crime areas, having a large presence, and taking fast action in making arrests.

The year-to-year reductions come as new Police Chief Bill Scott takes command and seeks to reassure members of the public frustrated by rising crime that has struck residents, workers and tourists alike. The index of eight serious crimes measured by the Police Department  including homicides, assaults, robberies and burglaries  hit a recent high in 2015 of 60,068 incidents.

While last years tally of 53,898 incidents was a clear improvement, it was still 29 percent higher than the total in 2011.

Violent crimes decreased 8 percent last year, with drops seen in robberies, assaults, rapes and cases of human trafficking when compared with 2015. Homicides, though, jumped from 53 to 58, mirroring a Bay Area and national trend but still reflecting a far lower level of violence than that seen in past decades.

Property crimes fell 11 percent in San Francisco, from 53,291 reported cases in 2015 to 47,658 in 2016. Reported offenses decreased in every category  burglaries, thefts, stolen vehicles and arson cases.

While vehicle break-ins were down, they remained at extremely high levels. After they skyrocketed 31 percent from 2014 to 2015, police recorded 24,235 incidents in 2016, a 6 percent drop year-to-year.

However, some neighborhood groups have linked the drop in property crimes to city residents growing so hardened to burglaries  and seeing sidewalks covered in broken glass  that theyve stopped reporting every car break-in.

But in August 2015, police deployed a plainclothes task force specializing in curbing property crimes. As arrests were made, officials said, they saw a decrease in reports almost instantly.

If the crime stats were positive overall, they also revealed a surge in gun violence last year.

The 40 gun killings were a jump of 15 percent, while the 189 people who survived bullet wounds represented an increase of 27 percent, reaching a level not seen it at least six years. Authorities seized 1,216 firearms last year, up 12 percent from 2015 and 40 percent from 2011.

Talkoff said the gun violence last year was alarming to the Police Department, and that the way to fight it is making quick arrests. Referring to guns, she said, We are always working to get more of them off the streets to keep the public safe.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
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The failed nursing student who killed seven people during a 2012 shooting spree at Oikos University in Oakland pleaded no contest Tuesday to all charges stemming from the rampage in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty against him.

One Goh, 48, entered his plea in Alameda County Superior Court and faces seven life sentences, one for each victim he killed.

Goh pleaded no contest to seven felony murder charges and three felony attempted murder charges. Besides the seven life sentences, he faces an additional 271 years to life in prison and will not be eligible for parole.

When Goh walked into the courtroom, his hands cuffed to a chain around his waist and his salt-and-pepper hair grazing his shoulders, a relative of one of the victims dabbed away tears with a napkin as she sat in the court gallery.

As Judge Jeffrey Horner read the different counts that Goh pleaded no contest to, several of the victims family members hung their heads and looked at their hands. Another woman in a black sweatshirt rested her head on a mans shoulder and covered her eyes as the names of the victims were read aloud by the judge.

To this charge, is your plea a plea of no contest, Horner asked Goh after reading every charge, special circumstance and allegation.

Goh nodded affirmatively and his Korean interpreter answered, Yes, Your Honor.

Stacie Pettigrew, an Alameda County assistant district attorney, said prosecutors will not pursue the death penalty against Goh.

Goh was extremely remorseful, to such a degree that he wanted to die. For a long time he wanted to receive the death penalty in this case, said David Klaus, Gohs attorney and assistant public defender.

When the district attorney decided not to seek the death penalty, Klaus said, it allowed the defense to move forward with a no-contest plea.

Hes deeply, deeply mentally ill. Theres no question about that, Klaus said.

Goh was sent back to Napa State Hospital to await his sentencing July 14.

The enormity and devastation of this mass shooting remains unprecedented in Alameda County, said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley. With the conclusion of this case, we know that One Goh will never again be in the position to harm any member of our community.

The plea deal comes after court-appointed doctors recently said Gohs mental capacity had been restored and his case could proceed to trial. Goh had previously been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to Napa State Hospital, a locked psychiatric facility.

He was able to talk to us about giving a no-contest plea and that was new and different, Klaus said of Gohs mental capacity.

Investigators believe Goh plotted to kill an administrator at Oikos University when he was unable to get his tuition back after withdrawing from classes. Unknown to him, the administrator had left her job shortly after Goh dropped out of the schools nursing program.

On April 2, 2012, Goh walked onto the school campus armed with a .45-caliber handgun and took a receptionist hostage before fatally shooting her and six students, and wounding three others, authorities said. He then took a car belonging to one of his victims and drove to a nearby Alameda store, where he surrendered to an employee who called police, according to authorities.

Oikos University is a small, private Christian school near the Oakland airport that has a vocational nursing program and offers courses in music, Bible studies and Asian medicine.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
When my boss casually asked if anyone on the team was interested in going up on a media flight to experience zero gravity, my hand shot up straight into the air.

I looked around and wondered why I was the only one who had volunteered. It turns out my coworkers had been watching the most recent season of "The Bachelor," which featured a Zero G flight as one of the dates. It didn't go so well for the contestant on board.

"Yeah, she just spent the whole time throwing up," my coworker told me.

I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into, but the team at Zero G assured me only five-percent of participants get motion sickness. I liked those odds and decided that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was surely worth the small risk of me potentially embarrassing myself.

The pre-flight preparations for both the media and the paying participants consisted of a few basic medical disclosure forms and instructions on what foods to avoid beforehand (which I now knew to pay extra close attention to).

After checking in at a hotel ballroom, I put on my flight suit and got ready for the FAA-mandated safety briefing, where I learned a lot more about what we were in for. Zero G CEO Terese Brewster explained the company has flown about 700 of these flights, all of which are flown by a team of pilots, with no autopilot whatsoever. NASA actually uses the same type of plane plane to train astronauts, who have affectionately nicknamed it the "vomit comet."

We then went through a TSA security screening and took a bus to the airport, where we boarded a modified Boeing 727, which looks a lot like a normal jet from the outside, but is completely different on the inside.

More for you Elon Musk's 'Boring' Tunnel System Speeds Cars Along at 130 MPH

There are almost no windows (just a few over the wings), all the overhead bins have been removed, and there are only a few rows of seats in the back of plane. The majority of the fuselage is open space with padding on the floors, walls and ceilings.

The takeoff was like any other plane ride (seat belts buckled, tray tables in the stowed and locked positions, etc.) and it took us a while to get to the reserved airspace where we conducted the parabolic flight pattern that creates the feeling of weightlessness.

In the meantime, I chatted with the person sitting next to me, Dan Fowlie, COO of a software company in New Zealand. He planned his Bay Area trip around this Zero G flight. In fact, I noticed quite a few foreign accents among the dozen other passengers. Some had come from their homes in Southern California, while others came from as far as the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.

Fowlie explained he was thinking about going into space one day if Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos' private space travel efforts work out, and he wanted to try Zero G as a test-run of sorts.

"In the past couple years, probably since I turned 30, I've started to value experiences more than possessions," Fowlie said.

After about 15 minutes, it was time for the first parabola. We all spread out on the padded floor and the pilots steered the plane into a steep increase in altitude. During this part of the parabola, we felt a sensation of increased gravity, about twice the normal amount or "two Gs" as astronauts might say. It was hard to lift my arms and legs off the floor and would have been nearly impossible to stand up.

Then came the drop.

The first maneuver simulated "martian gravity" and is designed to ease you into the weightless experience. During this first free fall, the amount of gravity on the flight is about the same as on Mars, so I felt one-third my normal weight.

I rolled over on the floor and started doing push-ups effortlessly (for the record, that's not normal). Just as I was starting to marvel in the microgravity, I heard the crew yell, "Feet down, coming out!" That's the signal to lay back on the floor so the plane can rapidly ascend to a higher altitude and start the cycle over.

Next came two sessions of "lunar gravity," caused by a slightly steeper descent in order to mimic the kind of gravity we would feel if we were on the moon. I got a little braver with these two parabolas and enjoyed the feeling of jumping around at one-sixth my normal weight.

Now it was time for the real deal: zero gravity, the same feeling of weightlessness that astronauts experience on the International Space Station. The Zero G team didn't need to announce when it was time to get off the floor. My body just floated up.

It's hard to explain exactly what it feels like to be in zero gravity, as many of the flight staff and pilots warned me it would be. Before trying it, I thought it would feel like being underwater or scuba diving, but that's not exactly accurate. In fact, if you try to "swim" in zero gravity, there's no resistance to propel you forward so you end up kicking the person next to you.

Each parabola felt far too short. They told us the periods of zero gravity would last about 30 seconds, but each time it felt over in the blink of an eye. After I spent the first few parabolas flailing around trying not to hit others, I was determined to start making the best use of my time in zero gravity.

It was much harder to control my body than I expected. No matter what I did, I seemed to end up on the ceiling. I tried to somersault, I found myself on the ceiling. I tried to do a handstand, I ended up upside down and on the ceiling. I tried to catch bubbles of water floating in the fuselage, I ended up on the ceiling and wet when gravity returned and the water came splashing down on me.

Before I knew it, it was over and I was buckling back into my seat for landing. We had experienced 15 parabolas (one martian, two lunar, and 12 zero gravity). The whole flight lasted about an hour and a half. And despite my fears going into it, I didn't even feel an ounce of motion sickness.

If you're wondering how much this costs, it's not cheap. The flight costs $4,950 plus a five-percent tax (that's another $247.50).

With the price tag in mind, I tried to guess who else would be on my flight with me that wasn't an invited member of the media. CEO of Zero G Terese Brewster explained when the company first started, they marketed the experience as very space-centric to appeal to those with a fascination for all things astronomic. And while some of those who fly with Zero G are interested in the idea of space flight, that's not the only demographic.

"We have people [for whom] it's a bucket list item and they save up for it. We have people who don't need to save up for it, who can fly multiple times and it's not a financial impact to them," Brewster told me.

On my flight, there was a wheelchair-bound man on board who got to experience a new range of mobility in zero gravity. There were also quite a few thrill seekers, who had tried skydiving and bungee jumping multiple times.

For most people, the Zero G flight was the closest experience they've had to being in space. But not for Alan Eustace, a former senior vice president at Google who holds the world altitude record for a jump from the stratosphere.

This was Eustace's fourth Zero G flight and this time he brought his 11-year-old daughter Emily along for the ride.

"I think it's really special, it's especially special to be able to share it with somebody. You're going to go home and try to explain it to somebody and they're not going to understand what it was," Eustace said.

Eustace was right: It has been a challenge explaining the experience to friends, family, and now SFGATE readers. But here's my best effort: it was a few delightful moments of feeling absolutely weightless and a little out of control.

Oh, and it's nothing like you see on "The Bachelor." But that shouldn't surprise anyone.

Editor's note: SFGATE was invited to experience a Zero G flight for free as a media representative.
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Spanning three blocks of Valencia Street in the heart of San Franciscos Mission District, the 2017 S.F. Cinco de Mayo Festival on Saturday, May 6, will celebrate the Bay Areas Latino communities with live music and dancing as well as vendors showcasing everything from authentic Latin American cuisine to locally crafted arts.

The festival welcomes guests of all ages to celebrate. Barbara Walden, a producer of the event with the Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc., highlights how meaningful it is for visitors to learn about the history and heritage of the Missions community.
LEESBURG, Va.  Schools wont have to cut more salt from meals just yet and some will be able to serve kids fewer whole grains, under changes to federal nutrition standards announced Monday.

The move by President Trumps Agriculture Department partially rolls back rules championed by former first lady Michelle Obama as part of her healthy eating initiative.

Separately, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday it would delay  for one year  Obama administration rules that will require calorie labels on menus and prepared food displays. The rule was scheduled to go into effect later this week.

As his first major action in office, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said his agency will delay an upcoming requirement to lower the amount of sodium in meals while continuing to allow waivers for regulations that all grains on the lunch line must be 50 percent whole grain.

Schools could also serve 1 percent flavored milk instead of the nonfat now required.

If kids arent eating the food, and its ending up in the trash, they arent getting any nutrition  thus undermining the intent of the program, said Perdue, who traveled to a school in Leesburg, Va., to make the announcement.

Health advocates who worked closely with the Obama administration on nutrition issues criticized the two moves, saying that the Trump administration is messing with rules that are popular with the public.

The menu labeling law would have required chain restaurants and other establishments that sell prepared foods to post the calorie content of food. The FDA said the delay allows for further consideration of ways to reduce costs or make the rules more flexible as supermarkets and pizza delivery companies have lobbied against it.

The Trump administration is showing in two important ways that it puts business interests before its populist rhetoric on the campaign trail and what mainstream Americans want, said Margo Wootan, a lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The school meal changes reflect suggestions from the School Nutrition Association, which represents school nutrition directors and companies that sell food to schools. The group often battled with the Obama administration, which phased in the healthier school meal rules starting in 2012.

The Obama administration rules set fat, sugar and sodium limits on foods in the lunch line and beyond. Schools have long been required to follow government nutrition rules if they accept federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals for low-income students, but these standards were stricter.

The Trump administration changes leave most of the Obama administrations school meal rules in place, including requirements that students must take fruits and vegetables on the lunch line. But the health advocates who have championed the rules are concerned about the freeze in sodium levels, in particular.

By forgoing the next phase of sodium reduction, the Trump administration will be locking in dangerously high sodium levels in school lunch, Wootan said.

Mary Clare Jalonick is an Associated Press writer.
The ocean's giants are in full-blown combat here in the Monterey Bay.

A mother gray whale successfully defended her calf from a pod of killer whales Sunday.

DRONE VIDEO: Watch Sunday's fascinating whale war

The mighty mother held her baby on her back and used her tail to fight while the orcas attacked.

"The gray whale mom was very good at protecting her calf," Nancy Black of Monterey Bay Whale Watch said.

"The gray whale mom took her calf and swam very fast to the beach shoreline and saved her calf," Black said. The calf was battered in the hour-long battle, but survived.

Gray whales retreat to shallower waters to escape from killer whales.

The same pod of nine orcas has attacked five calves since April 19. Black and other longtime local whale observers said the number of battles that unfolded over the past two weeks is "unprecedented."

"And we dont expect it to slow down any time soon," marine biologist Katlyn Taylor said.

Taylor also witnessed the mother defend her calf Sunday while on a Discovery Whale Watch boat.

"The killer whales took off at high speed to the west. It is very likely that another attack drew their attention away from the scene," Taylor said.

How are the humpbacks doing during these whale wars?

There are about 70 humpback whales in the Monterey Bay right now. Interestingly, some humpbacks charged into the middle of orca vs. gray whale attacks, blowing their spouts and making killer whales back off.

On Monday, a fight between humpbacks and the orcas was documented by marine biologist Kelsey Haines, of Princess Monterey Whale Watch.

"We saw about five six different humpback and very actively fighting the orcas," she said.

Within the huge splashes, Haines saw the humpbacks try to defend the target of an orca hunt.

Gray whale mother and baby pairs migrate north from Mexico each year. As they swim across the Monterey Bay, a deep sea canyon sets the scene for some epic battles.

Haines said the pod has killed six gray whale calves in the past seven days. Typically, there are only 10 kills documented in an entire season.

"And who knows how many more we've not been able to witness," she said.

Editor's Note: There are restrictions on where you can fly drones over the marine sanctuary. Check the rules before taking one out.
Prosecutors who withhold evidence that might have helped a criminal defendant will soon face the prospect of punishment by the State Bar of California, under rules already in place in every other state.

The state Supreme Court voted unanimously Monday to approve most of the disciplinary standards that the bar had proposed for prosecutors, who are rarely punished for breaking the rules in California.

According to the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara Law School, courts found prosecutorial misconduct in 707 cases in California between 1997 and 2009, but only seven prosecutors in those cases were disciplined by the bar.

A new state law, effective this year, makes it a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison, for a prosecutor to intentionally withhold evidence that would have made a difference in a case. The bars new ethics rules are broader, requiring disclosure of evidence that a prosecutor knew, or should have known, might help the defense. Lawyers who violate the rules can be reprimanded, suspended or, in the most serious cases, disbarred.

The standards are based on American Bar Association guidelines that have been endorsed as binding rules in all other states. Some of the changes take effect immediately, including a requirement that prosecutors who have convicted a defendant, and later learn of evidence casting doubt on the conviction, disclose that evidence to a court immediately and also notify the defendant, unless a court authorizes delay.

The central provision of the new rules, however, will be postponed while the bars governing Board of Trustees considers changes suggested by the court. The provision defines the types of evidence that prosecutors would have to disclose if they learned about it before or during the trial.

The state Supreme Court asked the bar to consider requiring disclosure only for information that casts significant doubt on prosecution testimony or evidence.

But a prominent supporter of the new rules said the justices did not object to the idea of disciplining prosecutors who fail to turn over evidence that might help a defendant avoid a conviction or reduce a sentence.

I was very relieved to see that the court maintained what I thought were the most crucial parts of the revision, said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor and former federal prosecutor.

The California District Attorneys Association, which had argued that the bars proposed ethical standards were too broad, praised the decision by the states high court.

The ethical rule (the justices) suggest is logical and requires prosecutors to follow existing law, Mark Zahner, the associations chief executive officer, said Tuesday. Prosecutors would expect nothing more or less.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
New Delhi, May 2 (IBNS) : In what people may perceive as a result of US President Donald Trump's H-1B visa policy, Indian IT giant Infosys will hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years.

According to media reports, the company will also open four technology centres in the United States as part of a plan to ramp up local hiring in that country.

"Proud that 10k+ Americans will become Infoscions in the next 2 yrs! Thx @GovHolcomb for a warm Hoosier welcome..." Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka tweeted.

Though the move is likely to be seen as a fallout of the White House pushing for creating more jobs for Americans, Financial Times quoted Sikka as saying that the main reason for the spurt in local hiring reflected the changing nature of the work.

New technologies such as artificial intelligence were evolving his companys business, putting more emphasis on local hires who could work closely with customers, he said. You need a strong sense of locality in the work we do," Sikka told FT.

The company has been quoted as saying that it will hire experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges.

The company plans to institute training programs in the US in areas such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.

Last month, the Trump administration had announced a review of the H-1B visa programme to check the flow of low-cost workers from outside and make companies hire more Americans.
New Delhi, May 2 (IBNS):: ICICI Group on Tuesday dedicated 100 aICICI Digital Villagesa to the nation at an event in New Delhi marking the bankas efforts to partner the nationas progress by empowering rural India.

Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance, Defence & Corporate Affairs inaugurated the event, ICICI Rural Summit  Sashakt Gaon, Samriddh Bharat.

The inauguration of the digital villages follows the banks commitment given in November 2016 to transform 100 villages into ICICI Digital Villages in as many days.

The programme involves end to end digitisation of transactions and other commercial activities, providing vocational training to villagers, extending credit facility and helping the villagers to access markets and earn a sustainable livelihood.

Speaking at the event, Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Bank said: ICICI Group has always believed that the key to building a prosperous nation is through empowering its villages. In line with our vision of Sashakt Gaon, Samridhh Bharat, we have transformed 100 villages across the country in 100 days. We have created a less cash ecosystem at these villages, provided vocational training to over 11,300 villagers, including more than 7500 women and offered them credit linkages. We have done all of these in the past 100 days."



This ambitious move of transforming over 100 villages into digital villages is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision to scale up the digital village programme. In January 2015, he had dedicated the first ICICI Digital Village at Akodara in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, to the nation at an event commemorating 60 years of the ICICI Group.



The 100 villages which have been transformed into ICICI Digital Villages are located across 17 states in India. These include 16 in Gujarat, 14 each in Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh, 12 each in Tamil Nadu & Karnataka and 11 in Rajasthan among others.
New Delhi, May 2 (IBNS): The Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha on Tuesday launched here Tarang Sanchar, a web portal for Information sharing on Mobile Towers and EMF Emission Compliances and said that it will go a long way in clearing the myths and misconceptions of public on mobile towers and emissions from them.

He expressed the hope that the portal will empower common man to know at the convenience of a mouse click, about towers working in a particular locality and whether they are compliant to the EMF emission norms defined by the Government.

Sinha said that the portal will allow users to get a tower or base station checked for radiation emission, for a fee of Rs 4,000.

He said that mobile phone today has become an essential requirement for all including the poor in the remotest corner of the country and no one will be allowed to spread misconception about the harmful radiation from the towers to impede the growth of the country.

Sinha reiterated that there are over 25,000 studies by WHO in the last 30 years on the subject and there is no proof that EMF radiation has any harmful effect on human health.

Brushing aside growing concerns over the emanating electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiations from mobile towers, the Telecom Minister once again reminded that Indian norms had prescribed 10 times stricter limits for radiation emission in comparison to global standards. He said that more measures are being taken to penalise the erring entities.

Sinha said that to realize the Prime Ministers vision of Digital India, it is necessary to have more and more mobile towers in every nook and corner of the country and the Ministry has already approved installation of towers over government buildings, 16 places in post offices and soon a decision will be taken to install the same in Cantonment Boards, which will not only help in spreading digital connectivity, but will also solve the problem of call drops significantly.

Describing the launch of the portal a historic step, the Minister said that in future it will help in identifying the blind spots and added that it is also environment friendly as no paper work is required for this.

He said that it has the complete collated technical details of over 14.5 lakh base stations (BTSs) spread across the country of all technologies (2G, 3G, 4G etc.) and of all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, DoT P K Pujari said that the portal will make information available to all concerned and he underlined that the focus of the government in the last three years has been transparency, disclosures and citizen-centric measures, which are the hall marks of good governance.

He said, though there is no scientific evidence of any health concerns from low power mobile BTSs, a need was felt to educate the citizens about EMF emissions from mobile towers and status of their compliances.

Pujari said that the portal has three elements of providing information, EMF compliance process and interface between different departments, besides ease of doing business.

In his address, the Chairman, TRAI R S Sharma said that the portal will be a mile stone for transparency, fair play, citizen empowerment and will finally lead to a knowledge economy.

He said that digital empowerment in India is only possible when there is adequate digital infrastructure.

Sharma said that mobile phone in India today is not only a talking tool, but it has become an instrument for various transactions including cashless transaction and he lauded the collaborative effort between the government and the industry for this.
MOSCOW  Anzor was lying on a dirty floor as a man in army boots jumped on his back. His agony worsened when his captors started torturing him with electric shocks.

Its a feeling like they are breaking every bone of every joint in your body at the same time, he said.

Anzor is a gay man from Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia where dozens of men suspected of being gay were reportedly detained and tortured, and at least three of them were allegedly killed.

After his ordeal, Anzor fled Chechnya and is now in hiding in Moscow, fearing not only for his own life but also for the safety of his relatives. He spoke on the condition of using only his first name.

Antipathy to homosexuality in Russia is widespread. Gay rights activists requests to hold rallies are routinely rejected by officials, and any rallies that do take place are often attacked by antigay thugs. But this antigay purge, sanctioned by top local authorities, is unprecedented, said Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program coordinator for Human Rights Watch.

Another gay man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said we were tortured every day. Beside beatings, we were beaten several times a day with polypropylene tubes.

Chechen officials vehemently deny not only the reported torture of gays, but also sometimes their very existence.

There are no homosexuals in Chechnya. You cannot detain and persecute those who do not exist, Alvi Karimov, a spokesman for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, told the Interfax news agency.

Homosexuality is a taboo in conservative Chechnya, and the gay community there was used to leading a double life  marrying, having children and hiding their sexuality.

Nataliya Vasilyeva and Alexander Roslyakov are Associated Press writers.
1 Terrorism arrests: British police arrested three women Monday as part of a continuing counterterrorism investigation that included a raid last week. The three were arrested on suspicion of planning attacks. Two are 18 and one is 19. They are being questioned at a police station outside London. The arrests are part of an ongoing operation related to a series of arrests that began Thursday when police stormed a house in northwest London. A total of 10 people have been arrested as part of the investigation. None has been charged or identified.

2 Venezuela protests: President Nicolas Maduro called Monday for a new constitution as an intensifying protest movement entered a second month amid clashes between police and demonstrators. After hundreds of thousands took to the streets again to call for his ouster, Maduro announced that he was calling for a citizens assembly and a new constitution for the economically flailing South American nation. He said the move was needed to restore peace and stop his political opponents from trying to carry out a coup. Opposition leaders immediately objected, charging that Maduro was seeking to further erode Venezuelas constitutional order.
As the effort to convince Santa Fe voters to levy a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks entered the last few days before the election, new campaign reports show that spending by both sides topped $3 millionmarking Santa Fe as battleground in a proxy war between Big Soda and media mogul Michael Bloomberg.

After years of unsuccessful attempts to tack on taxes to sugary drinks that some blame for the rise in obesity and diabetes, a number of cities have recently passed such measures. The spending shows both sides would consider a victory in Santa Fe to be an important one.

A last-minute push by advocates, including a $234,000 media buy, outpaced contributions to the group, leaving a negative balance of $140,000 on its books. But in an election where some hope marketing dollars equate votes, they outspent Big Soda by $60,000 through April 30. About 8,000 early and absentee voters have cast ballots so far. Early voting closed on Friday, and Election Day is tomorrow.

Opponents latched on to the overspending. "If they cant run a fiscally sound campaign, why should the people of Santa Fe trust them to responsibly manage the funding for pre-K?" Better Way for Santa Fe and Pre-K's David Huynh tells SFR in a statement. "Voters should keep the pro-tax campaigns irresponsible spending in mind as they head to the polls tomorrow."

There's no indication that either of the two political consultants running the advocacy campaign will have a role in administering expanded pre-K programs, should voters approve the tax.

"We continue to be grateful for the support of Michael Bloomberg for our effort to bring Pre-K to Santa Fes kids who cant afford it. We're up against the soda industry, who will spend endless amounts and say anything to the community to protect their profits," emailed one of the consultants, Sandra Wechsler, for Pre-K for Santa Fe.

Along with Eli Il Yong Lee, Wechsler runs the pro-tax group that has spent a total of $1.66 million in the election. The group reported taking in just a couple hundred dollars cash during the last week, but benefited from $37,000 from OLE, or Organizing in the Land of Enchantment, an Albuquerque-based progressive advocacy group that paid for door-to-door campaigning and mailers. It also took in $17,000 in media buys and consulting fees paid for by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg's total for the election topped $750,000.

Better Way for Santa Fe and Pre-K, a group funded almost exclusively by the American Beverage Association, has raised and spent $1.6 million dollars so far. The ABA wired $365,000 to the campaign on April 26. For the election, the ABA has contributed $1.345 million in cash, plus additional in-kind donations. The local Coca-Cola distributing franchise continued to pay employees to work on the campaign, and The Coca-Cola Company, based in Atlanta, has paid for "employee time, transportation and lodging" during the election.

While touting itself as the underdog, Pre-K for Santa Fe raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and in-kind spending on strategy, research and media buys from Bloomberg, who took on Big Soda by trying to limit the size of sodas sold in New York City.

By April 7, Pre-K for Santa Fe said it had raised a little more than $100,000, though Bloomberg. OLE kept the effort close through in-kind spending. Bloomberg actually chipped in $400,000 cash on April 7, the day the first reports came out, though the money wasn't reported until April 25.

Tax advocates have also had a boost from the American Heart Association, which donated time and campaign materials for the effort. The group has lately tried to capitalize on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe's endorsement of the measure, featuring it prominently in TV commercials over the weekend.

Anti-tax spending outpaced that of tax advocates early, with $800,000 in cash pouring in to Better Way for Santa Fe and Pre-K from the American Beverage Association by the second reporting deadline on April 7. That money slowed over the two and a half weeks until the next reporting date; nevertheless, the group wired another $180,000 for the effort, bringing its total before today to $980,000.

Much of the group's money was spent early-on, farmed out to high-powered out-of-state political consulting groups. Still, Better Way's spending included flooding the airwaves with television commercials during the last week. The ads feature an array of Santa Feans making familiar arguments against the tax. Better Way also spent $10,000 on work by Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff.

Smart Progress New Mexico, a minor player on the anti-tax side of the election, reported raising $250 in cash, with its fundraising and spending topping $13,000.

Santa Fe Reporter
Scales Corp lifted its final dividend for 2016, when earnings were bolstered by a series of acquisitions, and is optimistic about the coming year even without earlier tailwinds.

The Christchurch-based company's board declared a final dividend of 10 cents per share, payable on July 7 with a June 28 record date. That takes the annual shareholder payout to 18 cents, eclipsing the 17 cents paid from 2015 which included a 4 cents per share special dividend.

Earlier this year Scales posted a 6 percent gain in annual profit to $38.2 million on a 24 percent gain in revenue to $373.9 million, It's previously forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will fall to between $55 million and $62 million in calendar 2017 from $67.3 million in 2016 on expected lower revenue from two of its apple businesses.

"Scales directors remain positive with regard to 2017 financial performance, with all three divisions (horticulture, storage & logistics and food ingredients) trading well during the first quarter of 2017 and including this years apple harvest," managing director Andy Borland said in a statement.

The company will provide an update to shareholders at its annual meeting on June 14 in Christchurch.

The shares slipped 0.6 percent to $3.33, having slipped 2.9 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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Former Feltex Carpets shareholder Eric Houghton has been granted leave by the Supreme Court to challenge a Court of Appeal ruling that dismissed his long-running suit against the promoters and directors of the failed carpet-maker.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Sian Elias and Justices Terence Arnold and Mark O'Regan approved the appeal to New Zealand's highest court on the question of "whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicants appeal."

In dismissing Houghton's appeal to the lower court last year, the bench of the appeal court had found that while there was conduct that could be deemed misleading or deceptive, it wasn't material enough to cause loss.

Houghton had sued the former Feltex directors, owners and sale managers in a representative action seeking $185 million including interest for shareholders who his suit said had been misled by the 2004 prospectus. In the original High Court suit, Justice Robert Dobson had found in favour of the defendants, while noting some criticisms of the offer documents. The appeal court, in rejecting Houghton's appeal, had noted that the forecast for earnings in the 2004 financial year in the prospectus gave Houghton grounds to pursue a claim that the document contained misleading statements

In seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court last month, Houghton's lawyer Patricia Mills argued that because the Feltex prospectus contained an untrue statement it wasn't a valid offer document and meant, therefore, that the company wasn't entitled to offer securities to the public.

The Supreme Court justices said that "given the complexity of the issues the applicant raises, the court would be grateful for the assistance of senior counsel at the hearing," which they intend to be heard in the last week of July, if possible.

They noted that the respondents - the directors, two Credit Suisse entities and brokerages First NZ Capital and Forsyth Barr - had expressed their intention "to support the Court of Appeal judgment on other grounds".

The respondents are fielding 11 lawyers, including four Queen's Counsels.

Feltex failed in 2006.

(BusinessDesk)
Icebreaker has promoted Australasian manager Greg Smith to chief executive and says Rob Fyfe will become non-executive chairman of the merino wool clothing company.

Smith joined the company in 2013, having previously worked at Michael Hill International. The company was founded by Jeremy Moon, who handed the day-to-day running of the business to former Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe in 2014. Interests associated with Moon now own almost 37 percent of the company, while Pencarrow Private Equity has a similar holding and smaller holders include Stephen Tindall's K One W One and Sam Morgan's Jasmine Investment Holdings.

Icebreaker said it has annual sales of $220 million, of which 86 percent were in offshore markets Its own outlets and e-commerce sales make up 32 percent of sales, according to the company's statement.

Fyfe said the company has spent the past four years positioning itself to respond to "evolving consumer preferences, changing buying patterns and the changing competitive landscape and Greg Smith has been integral in shaping our business strategies."

(BusinessDesk)

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Kolkata, May 2 (IBNS): The 7th convocation of Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, SRFTI was formally inaugurated by Governor of West Bengal Kesharinath Tripathi on Tuesday morning.

The day also marked the 96th birth anniversary of legendary film maker Satyajit Ray.

The Governor Kesharinath Tripathi and other dignitaries garlanded the portrait of Satyajit Ray at the institute.

Speaking on this occasion, Tripathi recalled the glorious contribution of Satyajit Ray towards the growth of Indian film industry.

He said Ray had put Indian cinema on the international arena.

Inaugurating the 7th convocation ceremony of SRFTI, the Governor said audio visual media is playing a vital role in upholding qualities and values of the nation.

He also asked the students to put their learning for public good. He asked the students to effectively use the knowledge they have attained during their stint in the institute.

The Governor praised the SRFTI, Kolkata for bringing out quality filmmakers and shaping future of students.

The Managing Trustee of Public Service Broadcasting Trust, PSBT, Rajiv Mehrotra, the Chairman and head of Prasad Studio, Chennai, Ramesh Prasad, SRFTI Director Debamitra Mitra, Dean of the institute Shymal Karmakar and Registrar BDM Ambedkar were present on this occasion.

Mehrotra said the great obligation before the filmmaker is to tell the truth as perceived by him. There is a nurturing environment in SRFTIfor filmmakers who wish to make meaningful films, he added.

The Chairman and head of Prasad Studio, Ramesh Prasad discussed about 4 Ps which are Passion, Patience, Perseverance and Purity of thought, which his father L V Prasad had followed and said it is an inspiration for all the aspiring filmmakers.

The Director of SRFTI, Debamitra Mitra said 73 students of 9th and 10th batch were awarded their degrees along with meritorious and trophies at the convocation on Monday.

The event concluded with cultural programme presented by the students from different states.

Image:Wikimedia commons
New Delhi, May 2 (IBNS) : The Delhi police have detained the woman, involved in cross allegations with Gujarat BJP MP KC Patel over a honey trap case, media reports said.

The woman is being questioned by police in connection with the case.

The incident surfaced after the MP filed a complaint of extortion with the Delhi police and the woman, on the other hand, accused him of sexually exploiting her.

Denying the allegation, Patel claimed that it was a case of honey trap.

Patel on Monday told the police that he was offered a spiked drink by the woman in a house in Ghaziabad and as he went into a sedated state, obscene pictures were taken.

The BJP MP alleged that the woman had threatened to make his pictures public if he did not pay Rs 5 crore.

However, the woman who identified herself as a lawyer, said that she was repeatedly raped by Patel and the pictures she took were to protect herself and and not to black mail him.
Srinagar, May 2 (IBNS) : Suspected militants took away Rs. 65,000 from a bank in Kulgam area of South Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.

According to reports, armed gunmen barged into a branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank at Kedar Yaripora village of Kulgam town and took away the cash from the counter.

Soon after the incident, security forces cordoned off the area. A search operation is underway as militants are suspected to be holed up in the same locality.

The incident comes a day after at least seven people, including five policemen, were killed when militants attacked the cash van of a bank in Kulgam.

The militants also took away the slain policemen's weapons.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)
Phagwara, May 2 (IBNS): President Pranab Mukherjee attended the 8th Convocation of the Lovely Professional University (LPU) on Tuesday at Phagwara, Punjab.

Speaking on the occasion, the President reiterated his call for enhancing the quality of basic as well as applied research in institutions of higher learning in the country.

Stating that good placement records alone do not bear testimony to an institution's international ranking, he stressed that for quality of higher education in the country to improve, it was necessary that importance be given to nurturing intellectual capital in institutions.

Pointing out that the LPU has students from more than 50 Countries, the President said while this was a good achievement, one couldn't be satisfied with just this.

He recalled that India, with its Universities in Taxila and Nalanda had been a world leader in higher education for more than 1300 years.

It was time that all our Institutions of higher learning once again strove to become magnets for mighty minds - students and faculty from all across the world. The trend of Indian students going abroad for higher studies will have to be reversed, and only then will our education system succeed, he said.

The President said in a nation of 1.3 billion people, 757 Universities and more than 38,000 degree colleges is insufficient. More people require to have access to higher education.

However, increasing numbers alone is not enough. It is essential that mind is applied to enhancing numbers with commensurate enhancement in the quality of education being offered, he said.

The President emphasized the importance of research and cross fertilization of ideas in higher education institutions.

He said it was such a free flow of ideas from across the world that had led to flowering of great diversity in India. This diversity was the key quality of our civilization.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Beginning June 30, ships of any size will travel below the newly-raised Bayonne Bridge spanning the Kill Van Kull, connecting Staten Island and New Jersey, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday.

By then the existing lower level will be removed, and 64 feet above it will be the new roadway, providing a navigational clearance for ships of 215 feet, up from the current 151 feet.

"We're going to have any ship that carries cargo any place in the world be able to come right here," Christie said, standing beside Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman John Degnan and Gary Cross, CEO of Maher Terminals in Elizabeth, NJ.

At the container terminal, the monstrous boxes behind them with the Bayonne Bridge visible in the background, Christie said the $1.6 billion "raise the roadway project" is six months ahead of schedule.

The project, which entailed constructing a higher roadway through the metal arch of the bridge, as the lower level remained open and functioning, was an "unprecedented engineering challenge," Christie said.

A raised roadway will lift the navigational restriction and will allow container vessels carrying more cargo access to the ports of Newark, Elizabeth, and Staten Island after passing through the Panama and Suez Canals.

"This is truly an engineering marvel," the governor said.

The elevated roadway opened and cashless tolling began in February, with the lower level remaining. The project's completion is slated for mid 2019.

The bridge will have four 12-foot-wide lanes in each direction, outside and inside shoulders and a shared use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.

"When this bridge opened in 1931, it was a roadway that was fine for its time, but that's when Model A Fords were running across that bridge, not the kind of vehicles that we have now," Christie said.

The Port Authority project is under construction by Skanska/Koch/Kiewit Infrastructure Co. and since it began, businesses and residents living near the bridge have complained of debris falling.

While people can file damage reports and be reimbursed by the Port Authority, calls for preventive measures like netting to catch falling items before they hit the buildings and cars below, have been unanswered.
AP photos

13 jobs for Hillary Clinton (commentary)

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She's out of the woods

After a bit of personal downtime following her loss to Donald Trump (including some long nature hikes), Hillary Clinton is ready to get back in the swing of things. Here are some job possibilities for the former First Lady, U.S. Senator, Secretary of State and two-time presidential contender.

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New York City mayor

Wouldn't you love to see her dust Mayor Bill de Blasio in a Democratic primary? Staten Islanders might even vote for her. And how about a Hillary scrum versus Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis for all the marbles? Priceless.

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Spy

She's got a score to settle with the Russians. And everybody knows Hillary has a gift for subterfuge and obfuscation. U.S. intelligence would be the perfect place for her. Maybe she'd finally learn why she really lost in 2016.

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Campaign strategist

After losing two battles for the White House, you figure Hillary would know exactly what NOT to do when it comes to running a campaign.

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Cybersecurity expert

The email scandal. The homebrew computer server. Hillary could tell you a thing or two about keeping your personal information safe.

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Chelsea's handler

We already know that former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton is being groomed for a political run of her own. Mom can surely help show her the ropes. Rose from "Gypsy" would have nothing on Hillary when it comes to being a stage mom from hell.

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Fashionista

Songstress Katy Perry named a pink power pump shoe after Hillary. And who wears a pantsuit better than the woman who would be president?

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Secretary of State

Not even President Donald Trump could be this perverse. And it would be quite a step down for Hillary. Still, she does have the resume.

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TV talking head

Then it really would be "Clinton News Network." And "MSDNC." It only makes sense after so many ex-Obama Administration folks have signed on with the networks to give "analysis."

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College president

No joke. This might actually make the most sense. Who better to make safe spaces for all the little snowflakes who don't want to hear a discouraging word on campus?

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Host of "The View"

Everything in culture and media is about politics these days, so the female-oriented TV chat show would be the perfect place for Hillary to get her message out while also keeping touch with her base. Or how about giving Clinton her own late-night program?

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New York governor

Hey, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is looking at running for president in 2020. We're going to need somebody to keep things dysfunctional in Albany. Maybe these two could just trade aspirations.

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"Saturday Night Live" cast member

It's almost like she already is one, right?

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President of the United States of America

Third time's the charm, right? Just ask William Jennings Bryan.

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Image: twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm

New Delhi, May 2 (IBNS): Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia, made a telephone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, officials said.

Prime Minister Turnbull thanked the Prime Minister for the success of his recent visit to India.

Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of the recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals visa programme.

The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides will remain in close touch on the issue.

The two Prime Ministers also discussed the follow-up action taken after the visit of Turnbull to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, read an official statement.


Washington, May 2 (Just Earth News): The lack of progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is impeding Palestine's development, according to a new United Nations report, which also reiterates the international community's commitment to a two-state solution in the region.

The report, issued by the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), notes that despite a number of international efforts over the past six months to advance the two-state solution, last year has been characterized by a continued lack of progress on the political front.

In contrast to recommendations outlined in the July 2016 report by the Middle East Quartet, there has been a surge in Israeli settlement-related activity and a continued high rate of demolitions in Palestinian and Bedouin communities as well as continuing acts of violence against civilians, signs of a deepening political rift between Gaza and the West Bank, and continued military build-up and firing of rockets by extremist groups in Gaza.

This environment threatens the erosion of the achievements of the Palestinian state building effort, according to the report.

The institutions of Palestinian governance remain vulnerable to political instability and require affirmative steps to protect and advance state-building efforts, the authors wrote.

The report also notes a deepening political rift between Gaza and the West Bank. Tensions between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are aggravating a difficult situation in the Gaza Strip with an intra-Palestinian disagreement over issues such as electricity access and payment of salaries.

Analysing the impact of the Hamas take-over ten years ago and the ensuing Israeli closures and conflicts, the report notes that Gaza is facing a downward spiral of de-development, while the people in Gaza are caught in a cycle of humanitarian need and perpetual aid dependency.

The report covers the period from 15 September 2016 to 15 April 2017.

It will be presented to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) at its bi-annual meeting in Brussels on 4 May. The Committee, chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the European Union and the United States, serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Photo: UNRWA/Alaa Ghosheh

Source: www.justearthnews.com
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Washington, May 2 (Just Earth News): The rights of indigenous peoples are being abused by authorities and corporations that want access to their land and the resources a such as petrol a that l beneath it, the United Nations expert on the issue on Monday said on the sidelines of the 2017 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, currently under way in New York.

The situation of indigenous peoples rights is really not in a very good state these days because there are policies and laws used to criminalize them, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said in a press briefing alongside three other indigenous leaders.

She noted the use of harassment, torture and arrests against indigenous peoples peacefully protecting their property. This is out of line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007, which established a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, well-being and rights of the worlds indigenous peoples.

The main preoccupation of indigenous peoples is really to work on the defence of their land and resources, and protection of the right of self-determination. In their assertion of this right, they are accused of being a terrorist or arrested, Tauli-Corpuz.

The independent UN expert just returned from Honduras, where she met with the family of an indigenous right defender killed last year. She noted the hearings in the case are being delayed and said that there was a lack of determination from the side of prosecutors to pursue a case.

Tauli-Corpuz had also recently been in the United States, where members of the Standing Rock reservation are protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. There, she saw indigenous peoples arrested and pounced on by police dogs.

These gatherings are not violent and should not be subjected to this type of force, said Tauli-Corpuz.

Indigenous peoples represent five per cent of the worlds population, but their lands hold about 80 per cent of the worlds biodiversity, according to UN-cited figures.

Petrol, minerals, its all beneath the earth, which leads to a tremendous problem, said Lourdes Tiban Guala, a Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from Ecuador.

Speaking alongside Tauli-Corpuz, she described the importance of land to indigenous peoples: The land passes everything, health, education, agriculture. But whenever there are discussions about the economy of a country, indigenous peoples lands are the first to be used.

This is done without discussions with the indigenous peoples, but with the belief that the nations will trade for some chickens, some cows.

But indigenous peoples do not want machinery on their territory without prior consultation, the Ecuadorian advocate stressed.

Among other issues raised in on Mondays briefing was the idea of having an Ambassador for the indigenous peoples joining Ambassadors from the 193 UN Member States on the General Assembly floor.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Source: www.justearthnews.com
A Canberra man has been imprisoned by immigration officials in the United States for overstaying his US visa by less than two hours, after being denied entry to Canada.

Baxter Reid, 26, and his American girlfriend, Heather Kancso, travelled to the Canadian border in upstate New York before Mr Reid was arrested by US border police on Monday, April 24 local time.

Mr Reid is now imprisoned at Buffalo Federal Detention Centre where he could face six months in jail before his case is heard by a judge.

Ms Kancso has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr Reid's legal costs.
A Canberra man who told police internet hackers might have targeted him because he was a Donald Trump fan as they uncovered thousands of child exploitation images and videos on his computer has been sent to jail.

Mackenzie William Sutton, 36, was arrested in December after police raided his family's Nicholls home and discovered software used to access the dark net and erase an internet user's search history on his electronic devices.

Further searches and forensic analysis revealed more than 4000 images and 80 videos depicting child pornography, with more than 100 images and 30 videos classified as being in the most heinous category.

The ACT Supreme Court heard Sutton, who was convicted for child pornography in 2009, downloaded the material in the space of four weeks after he found himself in "a dark place" and unable to think about the consequences of his actions in November.

He initially denied knowledge of the images and videos and suggested he'd been targeted on the internet because of his support for the United States president and his right-wing political views.
It's taken 90 years, but the 14-carat gold key used to open Old Parliament House in 1927 has finally made its way back to the grand old building.

On May 9, 1927, the Duke of York took the exquisite and rather delicate looking key and unlocked the heavy wooden doors that looked out onto a bare paddock, opening, in some respects, a brand new nation.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Tony Smith and director of the Museum of Australian Democracy Daryl Karp, unveil the gold key used by the Duke of York to open Old Parliament House in 1927. Credit:Rohan Thomson

If you're wondering whether the key might still actually unlock those doors, apparently the locks have been changed since then.

The key is a centrepiece in a new exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy, The Opening Day: 9 May, 1927, marking Old Parliament House's 90th year.
Street: works on paper. By John Pratt. Beaver Galleries, 81 Denison Street, Deakin. Until May 14. John Pratt, who recently retired form the School of Art in Canberra, has been for many years celebrated as a printmaker and draughtsman of national significance. John Pratt, Kerb II, in Street: works on paper at Beaver Galleries. This exhibition is his strongest, most challenging, and most profoundly moving show to date. It is a large and highly accomplished exhibition of 25 woodcuts and collages that focus on the human figure as set within an urban environment. The premise behind most of the compositions is the question of what actually happens when people leave a zone of safety, such as a footpath, and launch themselves across the road  placing themselves potentially in harm's way. Conceptually, the strength of the show lies in the fact that the theme is treated as a broad metaphor for life itself, with the figure launching into the unknown on leaving the confidence of youth, or secure employment, or even robust health. It becomes a tortured, slightly enigmatic being facing an existential dilemma.

John Pratt, Step II, in Street: works on paper at Beaver Galleries. The figure itself, as found in the glorious woodcuts Terrain II, Step II, Passage I and Kerb II, has something heroic about it, boldly charging into the future, while the surroundings are somewhat fragmented, unknowable and slightly menacing. Pratt, speaking about these works in a catalogue note, observes "the street zone was like a stage with a broad repertoire of movement and intent  walking, running, conveying, waiting, conversing. While the role of the pavement as a relaxed transit zone prevailed, there was also at times a certain sense of urgency, uncertainty and even 'flight'." The pieces are to some extent self-referential, but they also serve as a visual metaphor for everyone. On a much broader level, they may comment on the general uncertainty that many of us feel in the face of unfolding global events and the sense of personal impotence at being unable to have an impact on that which we are witnessing. On entering the exhibition one is mesmerised by the technical brilliance of Pratt's work, the juxtaposition of organic, tactile elements and photographic architectural insertions. For many years, he has masterfully included in his prints unexpected colour-intense fragments to disrupt the general harmony of the composition, in this way introducing a note of urgency and destroying any sense of harmony and equilibrium. Almost as in music when a composer introduces a discordant note to completely alter our perception of a passage of harmony, Pratt's colourful interventions play a formal as well as an emotional role in his compositions.
The ACT's Catholic education office will consider closing schools, increasing fees or expanding class sizes in response to a federal funding cut announced as part of a shake-up of the schools funding model.

The territory's non-government sector is the only in the nation to definitively lose out under a policy proposed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Education Minister Simon Birmingham on Tuesday.

Mr Turnbull declared he would "bring the school funding wars to an end" in a stunning policy turnaround that will see the federal government pump an extra $19 billion into schools over the next decade.

At a surprise press conference flanked by businessman David Gonski, who conducted a landmark review of school funding for the Gillard government, Mr Turnbull said he would succeed where Labor failed by delivering a genuine needs-based funding model.
Efforts to reduce smoking in Canberra may be leaving women behind as new health data shows they are more likely than men to smoke in almost all ACT suburbs.

The figures from the latest Australia Health Tracker data also reveal which parts of Canberra have the most smokers and risky drinkers, as well as which suburbs have more overweight people and which cancers are more prevalent in different areas.

Women are more likely to smoke than men in the ACT, new data shows. Credit:Joe Armao

Smoking rates for Canberra women are close to the national average of 13.3 per cent, at 12.8 per cent, while men living in the territory have a much lower smoking rate (12.6 per cent) than those in other parts of the country (18.9 per cent).
The planning authority that forced the closure of the Westside container village has launched its own activation project to bring Canberrans to the shore of Lake Burley Griffin.

The National Capital Authority wants to reinvent Acton Peninsula, home of the National Museum of Australia, as a "globally recognised precinct of culture, education and recreation", National Capital Authority chief Malcolm Snow revealed on Tuesday.

Lake Burley Griffin's West Basin, with the National Museum of Australia in the foreground. The National Capital Authority has released a plan to renew Acton Peninsula. Credit:National Capital Authority

He unveiled a draft structure plan to revitalise the peninsula, independent of the West Basin redevelopment unfolding next to it.

Mr Snow said while better paths and cycleways would be key to activating Acton Peninsula, he had an "open mind" about other ways to bring people into the precinct.
Professor Saini welcomed the positives of Monday's announcements, including the retention of the Higher Education Partnership and Participation Program which aims to help disadvantaged students succeed, but said the proposed policy was not all good news.

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham announced this week the government would lower the HECS threshold more than $10,000 to $42,000, increase student fees by about 8 per cent and impose a 2.5 per cent efficiency dividend on universities.

University of Canberra vice-chancellor Deep Saini has vowed to minimise the impact of fee increases on his students while admitting broader funding cuts have put a dampener on his decision to move to Australia from Canada less than a year ago.

"We are told constantly that universities bring $22 billion into the Australian economy and it's the largest service export from the country, the third largest export overall," he said.

"[This] is not happy news in anybody's books and that comes on top of the $3.9 billion that has been cut since 2011. There is $3.7 billion in cuts that's proposed for university infrastructure.

"To go and cut such a huge amount of that sector that is creating so many jobs, that is helping our economy in such a way, that's not a pleasant experience to have eight months after I arrived in this country."

The university was conscious that students would be forced to fork out under the changes, Professor Saini said, adding "we are not going to create more pain for our students".

"But we certainly will keep our fees in line with the sector and we operate within that sector so we have a university to manage and we will take all the measures that we can," he said.
A resolution on the agenda of Santos' AGM proposes that the company implement the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Of course, as many of those investors are superannuation funds, invested on behalf of their members, we'll see whether they're prepared to stick their necks out.

Santos made an eleventh-hour attempt to placate investors, producing a four page statement on climate change disclosure where it commits to "review", rather than implement, the TCFD recommendations. Credit:Brendan Esposito

More importantly, it will be the first test of whether investors, who have been lauding the importance of climate risk disclosure, are prepared to put their money where their mouths are.

Thursday will be a major test of whether the fossil fuel industry is prepared to disclose the risks that climate change, including action to reduce emissions, poses to its business.

The TCFD, initiated by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Chaired by Michael Bloomberg, is supported by companies like BHP Billiton and Unilever, and financial institutions responsible for assets of $US20 trillion ($26.6 trillion). In December, it released a draft set of recommendations for how companies and investors should disclose a whole manner of climate risks to their business.

Risks fall into two main categories. 'Physical risks' include the impacts of climate change like extreme weather, altered rainfall patterns and sea-level rise, and 'transition risks' which include policy and market changes that are inevitable if we are to maintain a habitable climate.

The principle is compelling. If we're going to meet the goals of the Paris climate change agreement and hold global warming well below two degrees, a rapid decarbonisation of the economy will be required. Asking coal, oil and gas companies to explain just how they plan to be compatible with that future economy is a fair enough question.

The trouble is moving beyond the obvious need for greater disclosure, to investors actually insisting that the TCFD recommendations be implemented. Despite institutional investors and many superannuation funds telling us that engagement is a far better form of action than divesting from a company, their efforts to convince companies to improve disclosure of climate-related risks have been largely unsuccessful. Currently, just two ASX companies disclose analyses of their performance under a scenario where climate change is kept below two degrees - AGL Energy and BHP Billiton. And we can critique the robustness of those analyses on another day.

Why Santos? It's one of Australia's largest pure-play fossil fuel companies and in many ways going backwards on disclosure after deciding to not even produce a sustainability report this year. Santos don't disclose climate change mitigation scenario analysis, they don't have targets to reduce their own emissions, and their discussion of climate-related risks is severely limited. Late last year, investors specifically asked Santos to improve its disclosure, yet six months have passed, and it has delivered nothing.
Washington, May 2 (Just Earth News): Raising alarm over use of rhetoric by States that they can asolve problemsa and find ways around lawful safeguards, the United Nations rights chief on Monday urged vigilance to protect and promote human rights of everyone.

The use of, or the creation of, some form of political fog to create confusion at times, even amounting to the depth charging of truth or parts of it, so that a government can pursue a particular line [is,] I think something [] to watch very carefully, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein at a press briefing in Geneva.

Violations by non-State actors of human rights norms, of international law, do not, and should not serve as grounds for violations thereby by Government actors, he underscored.

In his remarks, he expressed particular concern over the renewed state of emergency in Turkey and the human rights situation in the country.

According to reports, up to 150,000 civil servants have been suspended. Furthermore, there are reports that last week about 10,000 police officers were also suspended and some one thousand among them detained.

With such a large number, it is highly unlikely that the suspensions and detentions will have met due process standards, added Zeid.

Yes, the terror attacks need to be tackled, but not at the expense of human rights, and I am very concerned about the renewed state of emergency which was undertaken in mid-April and the climate of fear in the country, he underscored.

In the same vein, he also drew attention to the dangers confronting human rights defenders, journalists and civil society members in their lines of work.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights also spoke out against the impact of human rights violations on the lives of people and the resulting increased suffering.

Human rights violations have also resulted in famines in Yemen and South Sudan and human rights deficits have exacerbated the impact of droughts in other places like Kenya, Somalia and northern Nigeria, he said.

UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Intercontinental Hotel Group and Marriott International are among many global hotel operators that have earmarked Australia as a growth centre.

Intercontinental has signed a management agreement with family-run developer Salta Properties to open a 170-room Hotel Indigo in its new building in Docklands, the first bespoke Indigo brand hotel to open in Melbourne.

Salta Properties' proposed 26-storey apartment tower with an Indigo Hotel in Melbourne's Docklands.

The Indigo Hotel, to be included in a 26-level apartment building at 699 La Trobe Street, will be Intercontinental's second offering of the brand in Australia and is due to open in 2019.

Intercontinental opened an Indigo hotel in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley in 2016.
So much cash is raining on some US-based corporations that they are at a loss on what to do with all the money.

With the $US250 billion sitting in its bank account, Apple could comfortably go out and buy Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, at today's market price without borrowing a penny. The technology giant would still have $US50 billion left to buy more than 700,000 Tesla model S electric cars or about four Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers.

Then there's Microsoft. The Seattle-based software maker has the second-largest stash, at $US126 billion, enough to buy a $US100,000 home for 1.2 million Americans.

And the blizzards of green are not limited to the tech sector.
After wasting years loudly rejecting the thoughtful, needs-based school funding model, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has seemingly endorsed David Gonski's proposal.

While short of an outright backflip, Mr Turnbull's has announced Mr Gonski will conduct yet another review of school funding, only six years after his previous offering, due to report by the end of the year. The debate this time around appears to be less about how much money is needed, and more on how it should be spent to boost student performance and results.

On the face of it, the move would seem to nullify one of Labor's sharpest and longest-running attacks on the government.

But the detail is yet to emerge - the absence of public terms of reference for Mr Gonski's inquiry ensures a slew of relatively positive headlines for the government just days out from its latest budget - not informed debate.
In just 100 days, President Trump has damaged American democracy while simultaneously accelerating democracy's global decline.

No, Trump is not a dictator or a fascist, as some wrongly claimed. But he certainly has authoritarian tendencies and a baffling admiration for despots. He has a penchant for attacking democratic institutions and appears willing to sacrifice them in a heartbeat on the altar of his ego. And he has spouted several dangerous lies that a sizeable portion of his political base unfortunately believes to be true. As a result, he has already managed to do major damage to democracy at home and abroad in five important ways.

Trump has repeatedly endorsed and applauded dictators and despots. Credit:Bloomberg

1. Undercutting the integrity of US elections

Trump falsely claimed millions of people voted illegally last year. That's not true. Every serious study into voter fraud has concluded that it is a minuscule problem. North Carolina conducted a vote audit for 2016, and found one case of in-person voter impersonation  out of millions of ballots cast. And yet tens of millions of Americans now wrongly believe that millions voted illegally. That is a serious challenge to public faith in the bedrock of American democracy.
At one level, this should come as no surprise, considering that both major political parties have embraced Australia's " stop the boats " mantra, to the point there is now virtually no argument between them about the adequacy and legality of turnbacks.

The absence of a political, or even a media, debate on the matter is particularly disturbing considering that boat turnbacks are unlawful under international law , as explained in a new Policy Brief from the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law . Nevertheless, Dutton presented Operation Sovereign Borders as an "ongoing success", affirming the government's commitment to "remain absolutely resolute that we won't see new vessels arrive"  disregarding the lethal effect of Australian policy of deterrence, which has so far produced 1,992 deaths since the Tampa affair .

According to Australia's Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, "about 765 people on 30 boats have now been returned" since the operation began in late 2013. Yet, at his press conference , he refused to answer a single key question about where or when the boat was intercepted. "The people were returned in March, and that's the only detail that I can provide you at this time," he said. No mainstream media reported the story.

On the day US President Donald Trump launched his air strike on Syria almost a month ago, the Australian government touted the 30th turnback of an asylum seeker boat under Operation Sovereign Borders . Australian authorities returned the 25 Sri Lankan nationals aboard the boat, with the co-operation of the Sri Lankan Government.

However, the policy rests on a thin domestic legal veneer. It does not accord with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Search and Rescue Convention, the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, the Refugee Convention or the core international human rights treaties. Instead, Australian law concerning turnbacks exploits gaps in those texts and misinterprets key concepts, dubiously expanding Government powers of control to the detriment of the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum. And yet, the turnbacks policy continues.

The EU is following suit. The recent "Malta Declaration" shows that European leaders, too, are "determined  to significantly reduce migratory flows" across the Mediterranean. Though data shows that maritime crossings are clearly linked to refugee movements from some of the world's key hotspots, EU member states have deployed a securitarian, rather than humanitarian, response since the beginning of the so-called "refugee crisis" in 2015.

Operations coordinated by Europe's external frontiers agency (Frontex) focus on border security and migration control, despite the "saving lives" rhetoric used to justify deployments. Operation Triton, for instance, covering the central Mediterranean, does not include a proactive search-and-rescue component. Neither does Operation Sophia, the European military-led mission patrolling the high seas close to Libya, whose objective is to combat migrant smuggling through the identification and "disposal" of smuggling vessels. The short-term effect of these operations has not been to stop the boats, but rather to push maritime flows to the eastern Mediterranean, to the Turkish-Greek route, as the first six-monthly report of Operation Sophia reveals.

There, in the Aegean Sea, Frontex-coordinated Operation Poseidon has been buttressed by two additional measures to counter crossings. The first is the controversial EUTurkey Statement, which guarantees the readmission of all "irregular migrants" who leave Turkey, including refugees. It also ensures Turkey's co-operation with EU anti-smuggling efforts, including through "pullbacks" of migrant vessels headed to Greece. So far, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime has readmitted 1487 people and has blocked the exit of most migrants since March 2016, which has resulted in a huge drop of daily arrivals in Greecefrom 2500 to just 43notwithstanding serious human rights concerns.

The second measure is that controls at sea have been reinforced by an anti-smuggling NATO mission  which has no search-and-rescue or border-security mandate. When NATO ships encounter distress situations, their response is apparently to directly return to Turkey all survivors, irrespective of whether those on board face persecution or other serious harm, including illegal removals back to Syria. The effect of this policy has been to displace asylum-seeker movements back to the LibyanItalian route, as indicated by Operation Sophia's second six-monthly report.
Student activists lashing the federal government for not "investing in the long-term prosperity of Australia" by asking them to repay their study loans sooner are missing the point.

Australia's university students should be investing in themselves.

The most rabid comments have come from the president of the National Union of Students, Sophie Johnston, who appears to come from the Donald Trump school of Twitter tirades.

The government's plan to ask people to repay their student loans earlier was, she claimed, "terrifying news for students".
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has spectacularly declared that the government wants to "bring the school funding wars to an end" with a new package that will scrap existing arrangements.

But which schools will benefit? Which will lose out? Why was businessman David Gonski, who conducted the former Labor Gillard government's school funding review, part of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's announcement? Here's what you need to know.

Most schools will receive more money

The federal government is increasing school funding from the levels contained in the 2016 budget. This will take funding from $17.5 billion in 2017 to $30.6 billion in 2027, which is more than in the 2016 Coalition government budget but less than had been projected by the Gillard Labor government.
Mark Latham will need to invent a new insult.

He once branded as "Big Macs" the faction of the Labor party devoted to the US alliance, always ready to march in lock-step with Uncle Sam.

Then along came Donald.

As Malcolm Turnbull prepares to meet with President Trump this week, the first meeting after the now infamous "worst" phone call, a remarkable but largely-unheralded shift has taken place in the ranks of the Opposition.
Our Prime Minister has some form in self-satisfaction, but even by the usual Turnbullian standards, this was a smugness high point.

If the politics of education funding were a poker game  an unfair comparison because poker is both fairer and more predictable  a David Gonski unveiling would represent a royal flush.

When Turnbull announced his school funding press conference at lunchtime on Tuesday, most suspected a pea-and-thimble trick.

But he surprised us. Not only was Turnbull offering new, real money, he was getting the band back together.
Shaddadi, May 2 (IBNS): ISIS terrorists attacked near Syria's north-eastern border with Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 30 civilians and injuring 34 others, media reports said.

SANAs reported that terrorist groups affiliated to ISIS attacked on Tuesday morning the Camp of Rajm al-Salibi to the east of al-Shaddadi city, an area where civilians reside, most of them children and women, after escaping from the cities of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, and Iraqi refugees coming from Mosul also reside there.

The injured people were rushed to hospital for treartment.
He will stop in Singapore on his way to Sydney, to take part in a charity polo match, the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup.

"Prince Harry will attend events to celebrate the city's hosting of the 2018 Invictus Games, the international sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women founded by the prince in 2014," a spokesperson said.

Prince Harry visits the Opera House on his last visit to Sydney in May 2015. Credit:louise kennerley

Kensington Palace confirmed on Tuesday night that the royal will visit Sydney in "early June".

Prince Harry is heading back to Australia next month.

Prince Harry will visit Sydney and Singapore in June. Credit:Kirsty Wigglesworth

Sentebale is a charity Harry established with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006. The organisation provides psychological support for children living with HIV in Southern Africa.

Lesotho is one of the world's poorest countries. One third of its children are orphans.

Harry visited and volunteered around the African kingdom in 2004 during his gap year.

His latest trip south will be the prince's second official visit to Australia in two years.
A woman working at a major construction company is subjected to daily harassment and threats of rape and violence in her office for years. A new analysis of latest Tax Office figures finds that 30 of the nation's top 31 earning jobs pay men more than women. And in the US, Fox News' top-rating star Bill O'Reilly is finally out after a sexual harassment scandal with complaints from female colleagues dating back to 2002.

"I think women have made a lot of progress towards equality in the workplace and these days we do tend to see a lot less of the overt or extreme behaviour of the Mad Men mentality," says Emma Starkey, senior associate at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.

Despite progress and good intentions, many obstacles to equality remain. Credit:Stocksy

"But while now we see a real intention, or desire, to have female-friendly workplaces, we still have a long way to go to make those a reality everywhere. A lot of the barriers are systemic."

Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins agrees, saying we're seeing advances we never would have seen a decade ago, yet there's still plenty of work to be done. The World Economic Forum's 2016 Gender Gap Report, for instance, ranked Australia a lowly 46th for overall gender equality.
Strangers who ask me if there's a cure for my skin condition aren't coming at it from a medical perspective. They don't even consider the pain; they just couldn't imagine what it's like to look like me, and hope my face can be fixed (and yes, they've told me this too).

These questions are like bullets. One after the other. And the people asking them have no idea of how inappropriate they're being. They feel entitled to an explanation.

I have the type of Ichthyosis that makes my skin fragile - it's a wonder I'm so resilient.

When I speak of the reactions some people have to my face, my friends are shocked. They don't believe it. But these things do happen. Some people think it's their right to know what's wrong with me, and expect me to be polite when answering them.

So when I was asked to appear in the second season of ABC's You Can't Ask That, I jumped at the chance. I loved the first season, and thought this could be a good way to publicly address the questions and comments I frequently receive from strangers who cannot deal with my facial difference.The questions asked of me on You Can't Ask That are all questions (or variations of) that I've been asked before. I get asked a combination of ridiculous, funny and rude questions most weeks.
When politicians try to be hip to the youth, it's rarely effective. Remember the Liberal party posse dancing to Daft Punk? Well, today we learned that just as politicians should not attempt to sing and dance (unless they're this guy), celebrities also should not wade into education policy.

Indeed, a few well-meaning celebrities have made the misguided call to advise the government on how it should combat bullying, seemingly without consulting any experts on the matter.

Maeve Marsden

Missy Higgins, Troye Sivan, Guy Pearce and Joel Creasey were among those who signed an open letter and launched a change.org petition asking the Prime Minister and Education Minister to fund a new anti-bullying, anti-violence program that wasn't mired down in "politics and controversy" like the ill-fated Safe Schools Coalition.

The letter clumsily calls for a new program  specifically "an anti-bullying, anti-violence program with a focus on LGBTI bullying that isn't just another anti-bullying program"  and it suggests other forms of bullying be included, such as "religion, race, gender, faith, sexuality, disability, skin conditions, social standing or political persuasions".
Vincent O'Dempsey allegedly admitted to three separate people he was involved in the 1974 murders of Barbara McCulkin and her two daughters, a trial has heard.

Prosecutor David Meredith has told the Brisbane Supreme Court the people were unconnected other than they were all involved in criminal circumstances.

Barbara McCulkin (right) and her daughters Vicky (left) and Leanne (centre) disappeared from their home on January 16, 1974.

"They were people who you'd might expect O'Dempsey to trust that they would not speak to police," Mr Meredith said at the opening of the trial.

Barbara McCulkin and her children Vicki, 13, and Leanne, 11, have not been seen or heard from since January 16, 1974.
Jurors in a Queensland manslaughter trial have been warned evidence will include "unpleasant" photos and details of "unorthodox" sexual activity with escorts.

Brisbane Supreme Court Justice James Douglas gave the warning after Lee Benjamin Feld, Benjamin Samy Ghobrial and Milan Chante Walker pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Gregory John Hudson at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast in October 2014.

Gregory John Hudson was found dead inside a residence in Varsity Lakes. Credit:Queensland Police

They have also pleaded not guilty to robbing Mr Hudson in company with personal violence.
Washington: Russian state hackers get the headlines, but nations across the globe are pouring money into cyber espionage units, a development, security experts say, that is allowing smaller nations to close the espionage gap without the satellites or tech muscle of big nations.

"It's very inexpensive. It's very efficient," said John Hultquist, a cyber espionage analyst who's studied the growth of hacking among smaller nations for iSight Partners, a division of FireEye, California-based cyber security firm.

The spate of global cyber espionage has unfolded largely under the public radar.

Hultquist said his firm was tracking several new players, which he declined to identify  "I'd get in trouble for naming them"  that had no prior experience in cyber espionage.

"These would be smaller developing countries that would appear to be building out their own capability," Hultquist said. "It's not just the Chinese anymore or the North Koreans. Some of them are quite good."
Residents in Melbourne's booming northern and western suburbs have been promised new hospital buildings, in a funding boost announced in Tuesday's budget, to cope with surging demand.

Meanwhile, the state government has also moved to improve services for the mentally ill and addicted, with $406.7 million to meet the most urgent needs.

Hospitals in the north and west will get an infrastructure boost. Credit:Paul Rovere

But Victoria's doctors association says the cash set aside for this grossly underfunded sector has still fallen short of what's required.

The Andrews Government has committed to build a new hospital in Footscray, allocating $50 million to develop a business case and start design work, including identifying land options.
A second Melbourne man has been charged with the murder of a man whose body was found inside a barrel on a property in central Victoria.

Detectives from the missing persons squad have revealed a 46-year-old Sunshine man was charged with murder this week. This follows the earlier arrest of a 31-year-old man from St Albans who has also been charged with murder.

Police are seeking witnesses who may have seen a Suburu Impreza on October 24 last year like the vehicle pictured. on

The pair will face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The dead man, David Whimpey, 30, from Albanvale in Melbourne's west, was last seen alive at 10pm on October 23 last year, outside a hotel on the Old Calder Highway in Keilor.
Washington, May 2 (IBNS): In an unlikely praise for Kim Jong-un, the US President Donald Trump has said he's contemplating a meeting with the North Korean leader, but only if it's 'appropriate' for him to do so, reports said.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Trump said that it will be an honour for him to meet Kim.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would - absolutely. I would be honoured to do it," he said.

In another interview with CBS, the American President also appreciated the political acumen of the North Korean leader and hailed him as a 'smart cookie'.

"People are saying: 'Is he sane?' I have no idea... but he was a young man of 26 or 27... when his father died. He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others," he said.

"And at a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie," Trump added.

However, the White House issued a statement later saying that the reclusive nation will have to meet many conditions in order to enter a dialogue with the US.

Earlier, Trump was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying that he fears a 'major, major conflict' with North Korea.

Tensions have also escalated between the two nations as Jong-un was quoted in the media as saying that he plans to blow up America with five-million nuclear bombs.
Perth police are hunting a man who crashed his ute into a home in the northern suburb of Kinross, damaging several cars and pieces of property.

9 News reporter Alice Pooley said the crash happened around two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon with witnesses saying the driver appeared to be drunk as his ute swung off the road and hit a fence.

"Then we're told he went on to crash into another car and the home next door's letterbox and then slammed into their garage very seriously damaging a car that's inside. We're told that it is a write off."

An elderly couple live at the home on Kinglassie Circle and luckily no one was injured.
A group of fishermen caught more than they bargained for in WA's north - filming an enormous manta ray swimming around their boat just metres from the shore.

Boilermaker Chris Holzer and his mates were returning from a crabbing trip at Boat Beach on Sunday just outside the Pilbara town of Wickham when they spotted something big in the water.

"It was at least three metres across, very big and very graceful," Mr Holzer said.

"It just came right in and swum around the boat. An amazing sight.
Premier Mark McGowan has stuck to Labor's pre-election pledge to freeze TAFE fees for the next four years.

At Labor's campaign launch in mid-February, Mr McGowan said a freeze on fees would be paid through the Foreign Buyers Surcharge, which is expected to raise $21 million when introduced in 2019/20.

Labor leader Mark McGowan with his family at the party's campaign launch. Credit:Michael Stamp.

"By freezing TAFE fees we will encourage Western Australians to learn the skills our economy needs to grow," he said at the time.

"As a father of three young children, I know we need to create more opportunities for young Western Australians to have a bright future.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously hosted Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Egypt's president. Credit:Bloomberg "He doesn't even pretend to utter the words," said Michael McFaul, a US ambassador to Russia under Mr Obama. "Small-d democrats all over the world are incredibly despondent right now about Donald Trump - and that's true in China, in Iran, in Egypt, in Russia. They feel like the leader of the free world is absent." A tipping point for many Trump critics was his invitation to Mr Duterte to visit the White House. Senator Benjamin Cardin, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was "deeply disturbed" by Mr Trump's "cavalier invitation" and called on him to rescind it. "This is a man who has boasted publicly about killing his own citizens," Mr Cardin said of Mr Duterte in a statement. "The United States is unique in the world because our values - respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law - are our interests. Ignoring human rights will not advance US interests in the Philippines or any place else. Just the opposite." Yet Mr Trump's advisers said the president's silence on human rights matters is purposeful, part of a grand strategy to rebuild alliances or create new ones. Mr Trump's outreach is designed to isolate North Korea in the Asia-Pacific region and to build coalitions to defeat the Islamic State in the Middle East and North Africa, senior administration officials said.

Inside the Trump White House, the thinking goes that if mending bridges with a country like the Philippines - historically a treaty ally whose relationship with the United States deteriorated as Mr Duterte gravitated toward China - means covering up or even ignoring concerns like human rights, then so be it. "The United States has a limited ability to direct things," said Michael Anton, the National Security Council's director of strategic communications. "We can't force these countries to behave certain ways. We can apply pressure, but if the alternative is not talking, how effective would it be if we had no relationships? If you walk away from relationships, you can't make any progress." Mr Anton explained that Mr Trump is trying to "balance" interests. He said the decision to invite Mr Duterte to the White House - a symbolic gesture that gives credibility to the autocrat's rule - was agreed to by most of Mr Trump's advisers. "It's not binary," he said. "It's not that you care about human rights so you can't have a relationship with the Philippines, or if you have a relationship with the Philippines you don't care about human rights." Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker described the Trump strategy as establishing commonality with offending nations before publicly chastising them for offenses.

"Their approach is to obviously continue to hold up the values that we have here in America," Mr Corker said in a recent interview. "But their approach is to build some commonality - never let go of that as an American cause, but to work on it in ways where they achieve a result, and to not go in on the front end." White House officials cite the release last month of Aya Hijazi - an Egyptian-American charity worker who had been imprisoned in Cairo for three years amid Mr el-Sissi's brutal crackdown on civil society - as evidence that their strategy is paying dividends. Mr Trump and his aides worked for several weeks with the Egyptian leader and his government to secure Ms Hijazi's freedom. The Obama administration had pressed unsuccessfully for her release, but once Mr Trump moved to reset US relations with Egypt by embracing the leader at the White House, Egypt's posture changed. Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for human rights and democracy under Mr Obama, said Mr Trump appears to be living up to his campaign promise. "The whole idea of 'America First' is that we're not trying to make the world better," Mr Malinowski said. "We're trying to protect the homeland and the domestic economy, and the rest is all cutting deals with whoever is willing to cut deals with us. There's not much room in that equation for standing up for the rights, freedoms and well-being of other people."

Human rights activists are concerned that Mr Trump is condoning the actions of dictators when he is warm to them or extends invitations to visit. "Inviting these men to the White House in effect places the United States' seal of approval on their heinous actions," said Rob Berschinski, senior vice president at Human Rights First. He went on to say, "nothing excuses President Trump's clear inclination to reward mass murderers and torturers with undeserved honours." Asked at the daily White House press briefing whether Mr Trump had "a thing" for totalitarian leaders, press secretary Sean Spicer suggested he was cultivating such leaders with the explicit aim of weakening North Korea. "The president clearly, as I said, understands the threat that North Korea poses," Mr Spicer said. "Having someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country - and potentially our country - at some point in the future is something that the president takes very seriously." But Mr McFaul posited that the Trump administration may be naive in calculating that personal outreach and warm praise will convince authoritarian leaders to support US interests.
Beijing: One of China's top diplomats, former ambassador to Australia Fu Ying, has cited an apocalyptic science fiction novel to warn that North Korea and the United States must talk to avoid a tipping point in the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis.

Madam Fu recounted her personal involvement in talks between North Korea, China and the US in 2003, and gave three possibilities of how the current crisis could end.

Regime change, which she said had been the Obama administration's "main goal" in imposing financial sanctions, may not be realistic in the short term, because Kim Jong-un had stabilised North Korea's domestic situation.

She says North Korea won't give up nuclear weapons to avoid sanctions because the regime started nuclear testing after sanctions began.
Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that he might not accept US President Donald Trump's invitation to visit the White House, because he was "tied up" with a busy schedule.

"I cannot make any definite promise," Duterte said, adding, "I'm supposed to go to Russia. I'm also supposed to go to Israel."

Trump's invitation on Saturday to Duterte, an authoritarian leader who has been accused of ordering extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, drew criticism from human rights advocates, who said such a visit would amount to a White House endorsement of Duterte's policies. Thousands of people have been gunned down in the Philippines since Duterte took office in June, promising a crackdown on narcotics.

White House officials said Trump had called Duterte in an effort to mend their countries' recently strained relationship, as a bulwark against China's expansionism in the South China Sea. Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff, said Trump also wanted to build a united front in Asia in opposition to North Korea's pursuit of nuclear and missile technology.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that has authority over the population of the Gaza Strip, released a new manifesto on Monday moderating its position toward Israel. It includes new statements on borders, its relationship with Islamist groups and on the Jewish people. What does it all mean?

Is it important that Hamas has issued a new statement of principles?

A masked militant from the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of Hamas, in Gaza. Credit:AP

For years, the opposition of Western powers to dealing with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has rested on three planks: its conduct of armed violence and terrorism against Israel; its refusal to honour the political commitments made by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the Oslo accords and beyond; and its refusal to recognise the existence of Israel.

The Hamas charter was issued in 1988, at a time when there was no peace process, no international recognition of a Palestinian people, and in the middle of a massive Israeli crackdown in the occupied territories in which soldiers brutally beat, imprisoned and tortured thousands of people living under Israel's military rule. The charter's tone was apocalyptic and relied heavily on interpretations of Islamic scripture and European anti-Semitic texts to cast the conflict as part of an eternal struggle between Muslims and Jews. Over time it has become an additional obstacle to Hamas sitting in any diplomatic forum that involves Western nations, for whom anti-Semitism has since World War II been regarded as beyond the pale.
A person is treated by first responders after a deadly stabbing attack on University of Texas on Monday. Credit:Emily Johnson/AP He then looked at everyone in what appeared to be a "theatrical stunt" before turning to slash a man in the neck, the witness said. It was only after he walked up to another man and stabbed him in the back that someone screamed, "Run!" Brown died at the scene, and the other three, whose identities were not immediately released, were being treated at University Medical Centre Brackenridge. It was about 1:49pm when UT police received a call of a stabbing. The first officers got to the scene two minutes later, some tending to the wounded while another approached White, according to witnesses and UT Police Chief David Carter, who provided a timeline of events at a media briefing. Carter said White offered no resistance, immediately complying with an officer's order to get on the ground.

Arredondo said he emerged from the building where he was hiding to see a police officer tending to one man being given CPR. Another officer was giving aid to a man nearby who appeared to have wounds to his neck and head, Arredondo said. Other photos on social media showed what appeared to be a medic tending to a third man with wounds to his back sitting on the steps near the Perry-Castaneda Library. Arredondo photographed an officer taking White into custody. He described the suspect's demeanour as "nonchalant." "He looked almost unfazed by the whole thing," Arredondo said. "He had a grim look on his face, looking back and forth at individuals. He was not struggling." The crowded area of students was soon cleared as UT police and Austin police homicide detectives placed barriers marking off the entire intersection. Within two hours of the attack, UT officials canceled all classes and all remaining events for the day, turning the crowded campus into a relative ghost town.

Three hours after the attack, a slow trickle of students strolled through the area, weaving in and out of buildings to avoid the web of bright yellow police tape lining the streets in every direction. Some could be heard speaking to friends and family on their phones, asking what they knew or whether they had heard about what happened. Austin Jacobs, a freshman who said he lives at Jester Centre, said the area is usually buzzing with students. As police continued to gather evidence, he said he still feels safe. He said that, like others, he had heard rumours that the attack might have had something to do with fraternity life. Carter said investigators have not established a connection there yet but would not rule it out. "His motivation, obviously what is going through his mind, I can't answer that at this time," Carter said. "It would be premature to indicate or suggest one thing or another."

Korbin Springer, a 19-year-old junior, said he got to know White in a Spanish class they took together this semester. White was always smiling and happy-go-lucky when they would chat before and after class, Springer said. A little over a month ago, White stopped coming to class, and Springer assumed he had dropped it until about a week ago when White returned, upset about a traffic incident. He told Springer he had been arrested for drunken driving but said he'd had a seizure and hadn't been drunk. "When I saw him then, he was very depressed and not the same," Springer said. "He was a happy guy. He was upset, I think against the police, because he felt they wrongly accused him." According to an arrest affidavit, police arrested White on April 4 on a charge of driving while intoxicated after he was involved in a wreck on campus. On Monday, when Springer heard about the stabbing and saw a photo of White being arrested, he was shocked.

No one answered the door at a house in Killeen where public records indicated White once lived. A woman who answered the phone at the home hung up when she was told she was speaking with a reporter. Even as the active situation ended quickly with White's arrest, the event touched off fear for many at the university. One penned an open letter to university President Greg Fenves calling him a failure. Meanwhile, unfounded rumours of a bomb threat at one building came just as false rumours of a stabbing in West Campus fuelled social media hysteria. Only last week, a drive-by shooting in which no one was injured was reported on campus. No one was arrested in that incident. Vandals also targeted four fraternity houses in April, leading to increased patrols around those houses. "I am too scared to leave my apartment," communications senior Erin Gust said in an open letter to Fenves. "I do not want to go back on campus. I cannot concentrate to study for my exams. Being in college is about learning and growing, but this cannot happen if people are living in fear. Your students are living in fear, in fear of being shot, stalked, raped, stabbed or even murdered while trying to learn and better themselves on your campus.
Glance Technologies Announces Closing of Private Placement

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA  (Marketwired)  05/02/17  Glance Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: GLNNF)(CSE: GET.CN)(CSE: GET.WT)(FRANKFURT: GJT) announces that in addition to the closing of its rights offering on April 27, 2017 and the first tranche of its private placement on April 28, 2017, it has closed the second tranche of its private placement by issuing an additional 250,000 units (Units) at a price of $0.20 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds from the private placement and rights offering of $1,866,104 from the issuance of 9,330,520 Units.

Each Unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant, with each warrant exercisable into one common share at a price of $0.23 per share for the first 6 months and $0.25 thereafter until the warrants expire 24 months from the issuance date of the Units.

The proceeds of the private placement will be used primarily towards further development of the Glance Pay apps features, marketing, and sales.

About Glance Technologies Inc.

Glance Technologies owns and operates Glance Pay, a streamlined payment system that revolutionizes how smartphone users choose where to dine, order food & drink, settle bills, access digital receipts, earn great rewards, & interact with merchants. Glance is building a valuable network of merchants and consumers, and offers targeted in-app marketing, social media marketing, customer feedback, in-merchant messaging and custom rewards programs. The Glance Pay mobile payment system consists of proprietary technology, which includes user apps available for free downloads in IOS (Apple) and Android formats, a merchant manager apps, large scale technology hosting environment with sophisticated anti-fraud technology and lightning fast payment processing.

For more information about Glance, please go to

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements including the completion of the rights offering (collectively forward-looking information) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, potentially and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Glance cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by Glance is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to Glances public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Glances profile on SEDAR at .

Contacts:

Glance Technologies Inc.

Christina Rao

Vice President, Investor Relations

(604) 723-7480
INFINIDAT Challenges All-Flash Array Performance in Real-World Workloads

WALTHAM, MA  (Marketwired)  05/02/17  , the markets leading independent provider of , today announced its , inviting enterprises to test their all-flash storage systems against the performance of the companys flagship storage solution, InfiniBox. Customers who choose InfiniBox often state that all-flash-arrays (AFAs) have failed to meet the fundamental promise of providing superior application performance across all workloads. The Faster Than All-Flash Challenge aims to prove that InfiniBox can outperform AFAs in any real-world application workload. As part of the challenge, INFINIDAT will make a substantial charitable contribution to The American Cancer Society if InfiniBox is proven to have superior performance; if not, the company will donate to a charity of the participating organizations choice.

In recent years weve seen a number of storage start-ups, and established incumbents alike, grasping for relevance by launching aggressive, well-funded marketing campaigns that present flash media as a silver bullet for the data center. Admittedly, theyve done a remarkable job of propagating this mythology, said Brian Carmody, Chief Technology Officer at INFINIDAT. This challenge is about more than putting an end to the false narrative of all-flash for all workloads, its about showing organizations that they neednt compromise between cost, capacity, reliability and performance. Enterprises can have it all with the InfiniBox, and were prepared to prove it.

INFINIDAT has already tested its InfiniBox against comparable systems from industry-leading AFA vendors  . The Faster Than All-Flash Challenge will allow enterprises to test this for themselves in their own data centers and experience the superior performance that INFINIDAT provides.

When utilized as a targeted solution for individual workload improvements, flash media can provide tremendous value to the modern data center, yet that value is ultimately wasted when unaccompanied by innovations to the system architecture. This is the case with currently available AFAs, which simply rely on placing faster media (flash) behind outdated, legacy front-end architectures as a means of boosting performance. Recognizing that any media-reliant storage solution would fail to meet the real-world performance requirements of todays enterprises, INFINIDAT developed an innovative storage software architecture with the adaptability and flexibility to optimize the performance of any media type  present and future.

As a cloud service provider, we have a multi-tenant environment and need the high level of performance at scale that InfiniBox delivers in order to stay ahead of our customers needs, said Dan Hamilton Vice President of Technology at Whipcord.

We were seeing lower write latency than the all-flash array we use for our VDI. Whatever we put on the InfiniBox, I know that write latency is pretty much non-existent, said Joe McVicker, Senior Storage Administrator at healthcare provider HMSA.

Innovators like INFINIDAT demonstrate that architectures still matter, and that all-flash is not the only way to deliver the performance needed to serve enterprise-class apps, said Dave Vellante, Co-Founder & Chief Analyst at Wikibon.

As participants in the Faster Than All-Flash Challenge, organizations may test drive the InfiniBox via a try & buy agreement during which INFINIDAT guarantees the system will outperform the organizations pre-existing storage system using a real-world workload. If InfiniBox delivers superior performance per the terms and conditions, INFINIDAT will donate $10,000 USD to The American Cancer Society in the participating organizations name; if not INFINIDAT will instead donate $10,000 USD to a charity of the organizations choice.

For more information on the Faster Than All-Flash Challenge, visit .

For more information on INFINIDAT and its enterprise storage products, visit .

About INFINIDAT:

INFINIDAT Blog:

Follow us on Twitter:

See us on LinkedIn:

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Companies who acquire, store and analyze the most data achieve the greatest competitive advantage. INFINIDAT helps clients achieve competitive business advantage at a disruptive price point by delivering 1M IOPS of performance, 99.99999% reliability and scales from 115 terabytes to over 10 petabytes in a single 42U rack. Automated provisioning, management, and application integration provide a system that is incredibly efficient and easy to deploy and manage. INFINIDAT is changing the paradigm of enterprise storage while reducing capital requirements, operational overhead, and complexity. INFINIDAT: Storing the Future.

Deborah Mullan

Bhava Communications for INFINIDAT

(510) 984-6122
Wikimedia Commons

Ontario, May 2 (IBNS): In the wake of the struggling and declining media industry in distribution of news, Minister of Canadian Heritage, MAlanie Joly made a call last week that the Canadian media industry needs to be redefined, media reports said.

Joly commented, while addressing an audience of journalists at the annual Canadian Association of Journalists conference Friday, that there had been job cuts in Canadian news outlets due to decline in its profits in recent years and said it was too early to predict what Ottawa will do to help, theStarNews reports said.

She added that government should work as catalyst to redefine change of our business practices.

A range of options existed from tax changes to the creation of a fund for media projects.

A report, published in January on the declining media sector, said Google and Facebook, were responsible for huge portions of digital ad spending.

Keeping this in mind, Joly said, the government should include journalists in media industry as well as big agencies like Google and Facebook, in all its decisions.

A Parliamentary committee, has explored these questions for several months and is expected to make recommendations on how to respond to changes of the ascendancy of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook, which publish news for millions of users collectively, and the downfall of newspapers and private broadcasters in smaller markets.

In late January, the Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum released a report on the media industry.

The report said in almost a decade, ad revenues for community and daily newspapers in Canada dropped from $3.8 billion to $2.3 billion, while private broadcasters also saw declines.

It recommended several ways the government could support Canadian journalism including the application of sales tax to the sales of digital subscriptions of foreign media outlets, such as the New York Times website, and the introduction of fund to support digital news innovation local news and indigenous reporting.

The fund would start with $100 million from Ottawa and then run on $400 million per year, and the money could come from the digital subscription tax revenue.

It could also be funded by a suggested 10-per-cent levy on advertisements purchased from digital platforms that dont spend enough money on news reporting in Canada.

Joly said Friday that the reports recommendations are being considered but would not say which ones, if any, the government may act on.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
DriveScale Named Inaugural Winner of Neuralytix Distinguished Innovator Award

SUNNYVALE, CA  (Marketwired)  05/02/17  DriveScale, the company that is pioneering software-defined infrastructure for modern workloads using industry standard servers and commodity storage, today announced that Neuralytix, a leading global IT analyst and advisory firm, has named the company the recipient of its first Distinguished Innovator Award (DIA). This honor underscores DriveScales high level of innovation and creativity as it addresses some of the toughest problems faced by IT operators today. DriveScales products make large installations of Hadoop and other modern workloads more economical, more efficient and easier to manage.

The Distinguished Innovator Award (DIA) is awarded by Neuralytix analysts to vendors or customer solutions that demonstrate true innovation in the development of a product, service or solution and are not a derivative or a betterment of an existing technology. When selecting the winner, Neuralytix analysts nominate companies based on these requirements. Once the list of nominees is curated, the judges cast their votes and the winner is notified.

DriveScales technology has been recognized as the inaugural winner of this award due to its unique capability to solve common over-provisioning issues faced in the data center. By allowing administrators to manage the boundaries of compute clusters, assign resources on demand and eliminate hardware silos, DriveScale helps scale-out operators improve utilization of existing resources and respond to end users needs in real time.

When identifying the winner of our first Distinguished Innovator Award, we looked for an organization that filled the gaps in the technology industry by developing creative and unique solutions, said Ben Woo, principal analyst at Neuralytix. The DriveScale System brings an elegance and simplicity in design that is the hallmark of great innovation in the data center. DriveScale employs practicality and pragmatism to solve the persistent problem of scalability faced by data center administrators without overcomplicating the issue as many have done in the past. Its exciting to see not only what the company has accomplished so far with its technology but also the potential it has to drive much needed change in the industry as it grows.

We are honored to be the inaugural winner of Neuralytixs Distinguished Innovator Award. Our team has used our collective decades of industry experience cultivated during tenures at Cisco UCS Systems, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Image and more to develop a software-defined, scale-out architecture that solves critical issues in the data center that enterprise organizations deal with every day, said Gene Banman, CEO of DriveScale. Having our technological innovations recognized by leading industry experts such as the analysts at Neuralytix help validate our teams continued dedication to addressing the critical problems of compute and storage scalability. We look forward to continued growth and technological innovation that enables flexibility and improved ease of use for data center administrators.

DriveScale is leading the charge in bringing software-defined infrastructure to modern workloads. Its composable data center architecture transforms rigid data centers into flexible and responsive scale-out deployments. Using DriveScale, data center administrators can deploy independent pools of commodity compute and storage resources, automatically discover available assets, and combine and recombine these resources as needed. This provides for a more economical operation, greater efficiency and ease of use. DriveScale is founded by a team with deep roots in IT architecture and that has built enterprise-class systems at Cisco UCS and Sun Microsystems. Based in Sunnyvale, California, the company was founded in 2013. Investors include Pelion Venture Partners, Nautilus Venture Partners and Ingrasys, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxconn. For more information, visit or follow us on Twitter at @DriveScale_Inc.

Neuralytix is a leading global enterprise IT research and advisory firm. We provide the insight necessary for clients to excel in the digital economy. Founded in 2012, Neuralytix advises organizations across the globe on how to achieve sustainable growth and improve competitive advantage by leveraging our strategic thought leadership, market intelligence and analyses of the enterprise technology market.

Jocelynn Stidham

Bhava Communications for DriveScale

(703) 863-1277
Druva Expands Global Cloud Footprint to Align with Brexit and Regional Data Requirements

SUNNYVALE, CA  (Marketwired)  05/02/17  , a leader in cloud data protection and information management, today announced that it has significantly expanded the reach of its public cloud offerings to better support customers unique data regulation challenges around the world. The expansion is a result of increasing global demand for cloud-based data protection and information management that can meet both national and regional data protection requirements. The new locations in Canada, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong enable companies to host their data in locations that best meet their specific requirements around data residency, location and transfer. The addition of these new cloud locations furthers Druvas mission to support an increasing amount of global organizations in their ambitions to manage and protect data as cloud-first organizations.

Data privacy regulations are ever-changing. Each evolution of these regulations impacts global businesses and more than ever, companies need to ensure their data is protected, secure and compliant, said Jaspreet Singh, CEO at Druva. Druva continues to lead in data protection and information management. By expanding the range of options available to our customers around the globe, companies can take full advantage of the cloud and ease the burden of compliance requirements.

The public cloud options include:

Canada  A new location that enables private sector customers to manage data in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This federal privacy law sets guidelines on how, and where, Canadian citizen data is stored. With this new center, Druva can aid organizations in both helping to identify this data as well as store it within region for businesses dealing with sensitive workloads.

United Kingdom (Available in Q3)  Allows organizations in the U.K. to embrace the cloud for their data protection needs while maintaining data within the boundaries of the country. As the U.K. begins the process of leaving the European Union, as part of Brexit, the U.K. data center will be critical for meeting data sovereignty regulations.

Hong Kong  The new Hong Kong region will give customers the ability to meet the varying local data protection guidelines of the region while taking advantage of the cost savings delivered by the public cloud.

Druva is a cloud-first SaaS company, based on the infrastructure of the leading public cloud vendors which have been extensively audited for security controls. This enables Druva customers to manage and protect their data in the cloud, while having the utmost confidence that the data is secured to meet regional regulation demands. With more companies opting for cloud-first IT strategies that make preferential use of cloud services over on-premises solutions, Druvas approach ensures that customers can efficiently run highly secure deployments in compliance with local and regional data protection and privacy rules. This flexibility and attention to local regulations is necessary for any company to ensure data protection and information management success.

Companies are looking at public cloud services to make their IT more efficient and more flexible, said Tom Keane, General Manager, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Corp. Druva helps deliver enhanced management and recovery services for critical customer data, powered by Microsoft Azure.

In the UK, the new expansion will provide our customers with a simple and effective way to manage their data within the region, whatever changes take place after Brexit. While the Information Commissioners Office in the UK has already indicated that it will follow the data protection rules of the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new public cloud location will help customers align to the specific data sovereignty requirements of the UK, commented Rick Powles, Vice President EMEA at Druva.

To find out more about Druvas support for public cloud services, please visit .

Druva is the leader in cloud data protection and information management, leveraging the public cloud to offer a single pane of glass to protect, preserve and discover information  dramatically increasing the availability and visibility of business critical information, while reducing the risk, cost and complexity of managing and protecting it.

Druvas award-winning solutions intelligently collect data, and unify backup, disaster recovery, archival and governance capabilities onto a single, optimized data set. As the industrys fastest growing data protection provider, Druva is trusted by over 4,000 global organizations and protects over 25 PB of data. Learn more at and join the conversation at .

Stacey Burbach

Druva

415-310-9767
BERNINA of America Announces BERNINA 350 Special Edition Cotton+Steel Instagram Sweepstakes Winners

Posted by Publisher Software

AURORA, IL  (Marketwired)  05/02/17  BERNINA of America, the premier manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines, is pleased to announce that Margaret Strachan (Duluth, Ga.) and Tia Curtis (Leavenworth, Kan.) were chosen as the BERNINA 350 Special Edition (B 350 SE) Cotton+Steel Instagram Sweepstakes winners. To enter the sweepstakes, participants had to share images of the B 350 SE Cotton+Steel sewing machine with hashtag #iwantaCSBERNINA to Instagram. Chosen at random, these two winners were given a chance to choose one of the two B 350 SE sewing machines (a value of $1,899) with specially-designed Hello Lovely or I Love Sewing faceplates. Both Margaret and Tia chose the B 350 SE Hello Lovely faceplate. The sweepstakes ran from April 3 until April 14 and was available to United States citizens, 18 years or older with a valid Instagram account.

Congratulations to Margaret and Tia for being chosen as the BERNINA 350 Special Edition Cotton+Steel Instagram sweepstakes winners, said Amy Sherfinski, Director of Marketing for BERNINA of America. We are confident that you two will enjoy, not only the brightly-colored Hello Lovely faceplate, but the BERNINA Free Hand System, the slide-on extension table and the seven BERNINA presser feet, to name only a few of the features and functions of this machine.

The B 350 SE sewing machine includes 191 total stitch patterns, a maximum sewing speed up to 900 stitches per minute, and a stitch width up to 5.5 mm. The B 350 SE also has a direct-selection function that allows sewists to switch quickly between 18 utility stitches and 63 decorative stitches, including 11 quilting stitches. Additionally, a high-precision buttonhole function with two programmed buttonhole styles gives users the ability to sew buttonholes of the exact same length every time. Theres also enough memory space to permanently store up to 30 stitches as well as a bright LED sewing light. For more information, visit .

I am so grateful to BERNINA and Cotton+Steel for the opportunity to win this amazing sewing machine. I have a vintage BERNINA Record 830, which sews beautifully. However, I cant imagine how wonderful of an experience sewing on my new B 350 is going to be, said Margaret Strachan, BERNINA 350 Special Edition Cotton+Steel Instagram winner from Duluth, Georgia.

At the end of 2015, Margaret Strachan suffered a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage and continues to recover and deal with cognitive disabilities shes encountered due to the episode. However, after several frustrating months, she opened her sewing room door and is managing to complete her sewing projects.

Once again, I would like to express my appreciation. Sewing on this lovely machine is going to be such a bright, sweet reward, after having so much drama over the past year and a half, noted Strachan.

Ive thoroughly enjoyed my BERNINAs over the years and am thrilled to add the B 350 Special Edition Cotton+Steel to my collection, said Tia Curtis, BERNINA 350 Special Edition Cotton+Steel Instagram winner from Leavenworth, Kansas.

Tia Curtis graduated from Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shortly after graduation, she joined the Army and was commissioned into the Army Nurse Corps. After she got out of the Army, Tia found interest in quilting and joined a club for conversation and quilt creation. After buying her first machine, she started a bag making business (Camp Follower Bags) and over time shifted to quilting full-time. Tia teaches sewing and quilting classes and has a YouTube channel and website, .

BERNINA partnered with Cotton+Steel (C+S), a contemporary fabric design company, to design two faceplates, Hello Lovely and I Love Sewing for the new B 350 SE sewing machine. The Hello Lovely faceplate features a bright colored, floral design with two flying birds. The I Love Sewing faceplate features a colorful design with scissors and thread, perfect for any sewist. The B 350 SE sewing machine also includes seven BERNINA full-shank presser feet. In addition to the two custom-designed faceplates, the B 350 SE sewing machine comes equipped with a slide on extension table and the BERNINA Free Hand System. The seven BERNINA presser feet include the Reverse pattern foot #1, the Zipper foot #4, the Blindstitch foot #4, the 3-Groove pintuck foot #30, Patchwork foot #37, the Buttonhole foot with slide #3A, and the Walking foot #50 with three soles. For more information visit, .

Founded in Switzerland more than 100 years ago, BERNINA is the worlds premier manufacturer with a proven reputation for offering quality state-of-the-art sewing, quilting and embroidery machines, overlockers, and embroidery software. BERNINAs leadership is marked by an impressive number of ambassadors, industry leaders, influencers and bloggers who chose to partner with the company. BERNINA products are sold in the United States through a network of over 400 fully trained independent dealerships that also offer support and education. Select BERNINA and bernette machines, and BERNINA software can also be purchased online. BERNINA products are designed for beginning to advanced sewists and priced to meet a variety of budgets, with new products being introduced every year. You can follow BERNINA on Facebook: , Instagram: , and Pinterest: , and read BERNINAs WeAllSew blog at . To learn more about BERNINA and to find a Dealer, visit or call (630)978-2500.

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Joanne Tedesco

(312)780-7210

Lia Antonetti

(312)780-7218
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Today this newsroom joins forces with local and regional titles across the UK to launch a campaign to fight fake news.

As we approach the most significant national election in a generation, the need for independent local newspapers and their websites to report and explain the issues in an entirely neutral, honest and balanced way is essential.

This approach is in keeping with their ethos of always seeking to provide trusted news, campaigning on behalf of their communities, giving advertisers respected platforms to promote their services, exposing wrongdoing through painstaking investigations, and ensuring that the voice of residents and the business community is heard with clarity and authority.

This election will be different from any other. It is not simply that the outcome will define our future relationship with the EU and the manner in which it is negotiated; but it will be held in the context of the phenomenon of fake news.

In the past 12 months there has barely been a single global event  from the election of the President of the United States to an incident involving a gunman at a Washington pizzeria  that has not been infected by the suggestion that entirely fabricated information designed to deceive had been circulated indiscriminately via social media.

Fake news takes many forms and operates at several levels. At its most extreme and democratically destructive, it comprises deliberately and maliciously contrived statements which are cynically distributed in the guise of real news with the aim of deceiving for political or financial gain.

More frequently, it is an unsubstantiated rumour indiscriminately posted on social media sites which rapidly gains credence, to the distress of those featured in it and the alarm of all who read it. Repetition through shares and likes adds an undeserved authority. Comment, unlabelled as such, masquerades as truth; satire is confused with reality.

Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels.

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It is little surprise that major businesses  whose role is critical to jobs and the economic success on which we all depend  are increasingly shunning digital sites that have placed their advertisements alongside extremist and offensive material.

That would never happen within our print and digital pages. When you advertise your business with us, you are sharing in the family values that underpin everything we do. We are uniquely placed to ensure that our newspapers and websites enhance and magnify your values. Your advertisements will appear alongside content that meets the very high standards to which our profession is committed.

Fake news can be hard to identify. In November, a BuzzFeed News analysis found that top fake presidential election news stories generated more total engagement on Facebook than top election stories from 19 major news outlets combined.

The great global social media conglomerates have been slow to respond and grudging to intervene. When they do, they give the impression that their intercession is more favour than obligation. They sit outside all normal regulation that robustly holds traditional media to account and they are often immune from actions for defamation or contempt.

You would have thought politicians would have made the eradication of these hoax story sites a top priority, demanding that the global internet and social media giants must be made responsible for what they transmit.

Instead, it is established newspapers and their websites which continue to be the political whipping boys, expected to submit to the most rigorous regulation and the threat of the most pernicious and damaging regime of court costs on the planet while they seek to pursue honest, investigative journalism in the public interest.

Unlike social media and the major digital platforms, this newspaper and its website are accountable for every single word we publish.

We have signed up to a comprehensive Editors Code of Practice  which even our detractors have imitated  and we and all our staff have contractually bound themselves to its requirements. This code encompasses everything from accuracy to privacy, harassment, intrusion into grief or shock, protecting children, reporting crime, and the use of clandestine devices and subterfuge.

It is explicit in the sensitivity we show in reporting suicides and protecting the most vulnerable in society, not least the victims of sexual assault.

As a result, virtually all the content that we generate ourselves is produced by journalists trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists to the highest industry benchmarks. These reporters are qualified in a range of skills  from newspaper law and ethics to shorthand, to ensure we get every quote right.

Every word they write is checked in local newspaper offices by qualified, senior experts and if we do make a genuine mistake, you can contact us immediately  we are real people, locally based, living in our shared communities. Were not some digital algorithm.

We are passionate and exquisitely professional about the way in which we hold decision makers to account, represent our home towns, and provide news and information that is suitable for whole families.

We are honest brokers of local information, upholding the values that you share with us, seeking always to do the right thing no matter how difficult that can sometimes be in fast changing times.

That all costs money. When you buy our paper or advertise with us you are supporting the very journalism and quality that keeps integrity at the heart of all we do.

We make a real difference.

In the past year alone, the campaigns run by local journalists have highlighted threats to hospitals and in one specific case a serious failing in a local authoritys childrens services.

Another investigation led to the revelation of allegations of child abuse among drivers working for a council.

Many local newspapers have been in existence for a century or more. They have often been the single catalyst for social change. At heart, they are the conscience of a community and the defender of its truth..

With pride, we provide trusted news and honest advertisement platforms and thanks to the tireless diligence of our editorial staff you can be confident that our stories are always exactly what they purport to be: the genuine article. Fact  not fake.
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A 42-year-old man who bound his ex-partner in her Shepton Mallet home and threatened her with a taser has been jailed by three years by a judge this afternoon.

Hosam Khamis, appeared in Taunton Crown Court this afternoon in custody after previously admitting assault by beating and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

A charge of false imprisonment was ordered to lie on file.

As the sentence was handed down, Khamis was told he had inflicted horrendous trauma on his victim.

Prosecuting, Mary Cowie told the court that on September 21 last year, Khamis had gone to his former partner's house in Shepton Mallet, bound her hands behind her back and threatened to kill her in revenge for wasting years of his life after their relationship broke down.

They had been in a relationship for 15 years, but at the time of this incident had been estranged and living separately, with her in Shepton Mallet and him in Cornwall, she said.

He arrived at her home after receiving a text message telling him not to come, he produced cable ties and bound her hands  first in front of her and then behind her back. He had a taser with him, capable of emitting 20,000 volt. He threatened her with it, hit her in the head and told her thats for wasting my life.

He went on to gag her with a shirt and cling-film, threatening to kill her, remaining at the house for a number of hours.

As he prepared to leave, he became agitated, trying to get rid of any evidence that he had been there, and took two mobile phones and a telephone from the house so she could not call the police after he had left.

But he missed one of the phones in the house and she was able to call for help, Ms Cowie said. When police arrived, they found cut zip-ties and cling film at the house.

A box for a taser was found in a lay-by near the Bath and West Showground, although the taser itself has never been located, the court heard.

Khamis was stopped by police trying to drive back into Shepton Mallet shortly after the incident. When arrested, he denied his actions and told them the victim had threatened him with the taser.

His victim told the police the incident had been so distressing that her hair had began to fall out from with stress and she had been put on medication to help deal with the trauma she suffered.

Defending, Patrick Mason said Khamis had no previous convictions and there was a complicated background with the couple.

These are two very intelligent people and this incident came out of the blue, he said. He grew up in Cairo and had a difficult childhood.

There were a lot of problems in their relationship, and he had a number of inner conflicts and demons to deal with. They separated in March last year and he was stressed and anxious.

It was not excusable what he did that day, he had become very angry and he had taken the ties and the taser along to impress upon her the need for her to listen to him that day, but he knows his behaviour was completely inexcusable.

Sentencing Khamis, Judge David Evans said: You may have become emotionally overwrought but there was no sensible justification for what you did that day.

It is clear to me you were expressing not just emotional anguish but also uncontained anger because you were unable to control your former partner.

You restrained her, you put her face down on the sofa. You behaved erratically and although at times you expressed some regret about how you were behaving, you decided to go ahead with your premeditated plan to assault and intimidate her as a revenge for your loss of control.

She must have been terrified. She could not have known how far you were willing to go. She was in fear of her life. The level of fear she must have felt is unimaginable. And when you finally did leave, you made attempts to clear away the evidence of what you had done and went as far as to take away her phones so she could not call for help.

You should be utterly ashamed of yourself.

Khamis, of Tredour Road, Newquay, was sentenced for three years for assault by beating and three months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was also made the subject to two restraining orders, preventing him from contacting directly or indirectly, two named individuals.
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Theresa May visited the South West today as part of the Conservative party's election campaign but inexplicably our colleagues at a sister title were not allowed to film her.

Cornwall Live reporters were ready and waiting at the Trout Industrial Estate in Helston for a visit by the Prime Minister to the county on Tuesday, (May 2), but they were taken aback when they were given stringent guidelines which forbade them from filming her arrival or departure.

They were also told they could put two questions to the PM, but again they were not allowed to film or record her replies.

Ms May was visiting Helston firm AP Diving - but you guessed it, reporters were not allowed to film anything on the shop floor.

For most of the visit they found themselves in a locked room.

A Cornwall Live blog of the visit said: "Having covered the level of media control here is far and above anything I've seen before. We're not even allowed to show you her visiting the building."

Reporters from the title struggled in vain to get images or video, they were eventually allowed to put a couple of questions to the PM but these could only be relayed in text.

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As this video shows, they were only allowed to from a street outside the premises of the company she was visiting.

A reporter can be heard trying to reason with a member of the PM's team, saying "We're the local press.."

Another post said "PM is here - but we've been shown the door".

Cornwall Live asked the PM whether the county could have any more money for the county's health and social care system and were told the council was in a position to raise cash for social care.

Referring to Brexit she said: "We stand at a crucial moment...we must get the right deal in Britain."

She also added: "That is about strong and stable leadership."

Theresa May was visiting Cornwall on the campaign trail in the run-up to June 8's General Election.

All six seats in the county are held by Conservatives but it's thought some may be vulnerable to a Liberal Democrat challenge.
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Rumours suggesting that Yeovil Crematorium could be moved and houses built on the site are understood to be false.

Sources have told Somerset Live that there are no plans to put houses on the crematorium.

A confidential South Somerset District Council district executive agenda item can be found online relating to the proposed redevelopment of Yeovil Crematorium.

A decision is due to be made on this on June 1, 2017 but no further information is being made publicly available.

There have subsequently been rumours that houses are planned to be built on the site and the crematorium - along with memorial tablets - would be relocated but this is understood to be 'entirely false'.

Somerset Live understands after speaking to sources close to the district council that the council papers relate to the chapel building and the facilities at the crematorium.

A post published on the Yeovil Real News Facebook group earlier today (May 2) by Independent candidate for Yeovil East, Neil Mitchell suggested this was what was planned.

He posted a screenshot of a conversation with Yeovil Conservative Party aide Alexander Priest asking him for assurances the crematorium will not be relocated and houses built on the land.

Mr Priest pointed out that he has no say in this at all.

District councillor Peter Seib also dismissed the rumours and said he was keen to see improvements made to the chapel.

He said: My position is that I would prefer to see any improvement to the crematorium by expanding the chapel capacity and replacing the burners with more modern units to make sure there is enough capacity.

The crematorium opened in 1971 and is managed by a joint committee of members of South Somerset District Council, Yeovil Town Council, Yeovil Without Parish Council and Brympton Parish Council.
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The family of a couple who died after their car went into the River Avon in Bristol have paid tribute to them.

John and Joan Tipler died after their Renault Clio left Feeder Road and entered the water at approximately 11pm on Wednesday, April 26.

In a statement, their family said: "It is with great sadness and regret that we, the immediate family, have to formally announce the deaths of John, 69, and Joan, 73, who were from the Barton Hill area in Bristol.

"They lost their lives in a tragic accident late on the evening of Wednesday, 26 April after they lost control of their car and ended up in the river at Feeder Road.

"Despite the heroism of the emergency services at the very difficult scene, and despite all attempts at resuscitation, they were both pronounced deceased in the early hours of 27 April."

The statement read: "John and Joan had lots of friends and were very active within the local Royal British Legion. They were also members of their respective Bowls and Skittles Clubs.

"We will all remember them both, with much love and great affection and would ask that the family be left to grieve privately at this incredibly difficult and emotional time.

"The police investigation into the accident is ongoing and any further information will be released through them."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Constabulary said: "As part of our investigation into the incident we are keen to hear from anyone who was in the Feeder Road area at the time.



"Anyone who might have seen the vehicle prior to it entering the water, or the incident itself, is asked to contact us on 101 and quote log number 1111 of 26/4."
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It has been hard to keep track of every little controversy that has transpired since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in November.

The billionaire and reality TV star has somehow made it through his first 100 days, despite calls from some politicians and voters to impeach him.

Nevertheless, he now has the dubious honour of having the lowest opinion poll rating for his first 100 days in office than any president since John F. Kennedy.

His 40 per cent rating is lower even than Gerald Ford's 47 per cent, which came after the Watergate scandal which forced his predecessor Richard Nixon to resign in disgrace.

By contrast, Trump's predecessor Barack Obama enjoyed a comparatively healthy 65 per cent approval rating after his first 100 days.

Here is a timeline of the key events leading up to and during Donald Trump's first 100 days as US president.

2016

November 9

Billionaire businessman Donald J Trump is elected as president of the United States, beating the Democrat candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

December 19

Mr Trump surpasses 270 votes in the US Electoral College to formally win the presidency, despite protests and pressure from thousands of voters to abandon him.

2017

January 6

After meeting with intelligence officials, the president-elect says that alleged hacking by Russia had "absolutely no effect" on the outcome of the US election.

January 8

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson flies to New York for talks with key members of Mr Trump's team.

January 11

The property tycoon announces he is voluntarily handing over control of his business empire to his two sons Donald Jr and Eric.

On the same day, US media outlets report on the circulation among top officials of a dossier containing lurid allegations about Mr Trump. The document was compiled by a British former MI6 agent, and was denounced on Twitter by the then president-elect as "FAKE NEWS".

January 20

Large crowds watch as the reality TV star is sworn in as the 45th president, before he delivers an inauguration speech in which he says the date will be remembered as "the day the people became the rulers of this nation again".

January 21

Mr Trump accuses the media of lying about the size of the Inauguration Day crowd, which he said was up to half a million and backed up to the Washington Monument. Photos and public transport data suggest otherwise.

January 24

The president signs executive actions to advance the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, which opponents claimed could undercut a global climate change deal and affect drinking water and Native American cultural sites.

January 25

Mr Trump signs immigration actions to build a border wall, saying: "We've been talking about this right from the beginning."

January 26

Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto cancels a trip to Washington. A few hours later, Mr Trump calls for a 20 per cent tax on imports from Mexico to pay for the southern border wall.

January 27

Prime Minister Theresa May MP becomes the first foreign leader to meet the president for talks, just a week after his inauguration.

In a joint press conference at the White House, the pair hail the US-UK "special relationship" and Mrs May says Mr Trump has accepted an invitation from the Queen for the president to make a state visit to Britain later this year.

Just hours later, the president signs an executive order for "new vetting measures", barring those fleeing from Syria indefinitely and imposing a 90-day ban on entry to the US for people from seven Muslim-majority nations. He says the decision is to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the country.

January 29

Mrs May's spokesman says she does "not agree" with the refugee ban and will make representations if it affects Britons.

January 30

A petition calling for Mr Trump's state visit to the UK to be cancelled reaches one million signatures. Mrs May responds that the Government "looks forward" to hosting him.

February 4

The US state department is forced to reverse visa cancellations for up to 60,000 foreigners after a federal judge blocks Mr Trump's travel ban.

February 5

The Justice Department appeals against a court ruling blocking Mr Trump's travel ban, with the president saying aliens have "no constitutional rights" to enter the US.

February 6

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow tells MPs the travel ban has made him "even more strongly" opposed to President Trump addressing both Houses of Parliament during his state visit, saying it is "not an automatic right, it is an earned honour".

February 9

A US appeals court refuses to reinstate the ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations. The president tweets: "SEE YOU IN COURT".

February 16

The Trump administration says it will revise its travel ban order, and will not pursue an appeals court review.

March 15

A judge in Hawaii puts the revised federal travel ban, which lifted restrictions on Iraqi citizens, on hold.

March 16

White House press secretary Sean Spicer repeats allegations made by a former judge on Fox News TV that former president Barack Obama used Britain's surveillance agency GCHQ to spy on Mr Trump before he became president.

In a break with convention, the listening post dismissed the claims as "nonsense" and "utterly ridiculous".

March 17

The White House assures the UK Government that allegations that GCHQ spied on Mr Trump will not be repeated.

March 20

FBI director James Comey confirms the agency is investigating possible co-ordination between President Trump's associates and Russia.

March 28

Mr Trump signs an executive order rolling back Mr Obama's efforts to combat climate change.

March 31

A US judge rules the president must pay $25M (20M) to settle lawsuits over Trump University, ending years of litigation.

April 4

President Trump blames Syrian president Bashar Assad's regime for a chemical attack which left nearly 90 people dead, including civilians, in Khan Sheikhoun in Syria.

April 7

The president orders a barrage of 59 cruise missiles targeting an airbase on Syria in retaliation for the chemical weapons attack. The British Government says it "fully supports" the US action, which it says "is intended to deter further attacks".

April 10

Mrs May telephones Mr Trump and is thanked for her support over the air strikes. The leaders agree a "window of opportunity now exists" in which to persuade Russia to abandon Assad.

April 12

Russia vetoes a UN resolution condemning the chemical weapons attack and calling for an international probe. Mr Trump says the US is "not getting along with Russia at all", and relations are at an "all-time low".

The president also says in a television interview that he made the decision to launch the retaliatory air strikes while eating "the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake" as he dined with China's president Xi Jinping.

April 13

The largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US military, known as a massive ordnance air blast (MOAB) weapon and dubbed the "mother of all bombs", is dropped on IS caves in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.

April 17

Mr Trump warns North Korea it has "gotta behave" a day after the isolated nation's failed medium-range missile test. His intervention came after a North Korean ambassador accused the US of creating a scenario in which "thermonuclear war may break out at any moment".
Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) inducted its last class of the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007, on Thursday, April 27, seven new members were identified to join this elite group.

Anna Tarka DiNunzio, a South Side resident and a teacher at Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 located on 19th and Sarah streets, was included with those receiving honors.

Ms. DiNunzio studied Spanish throughout her years in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and completed her studies in the International Baccalaureate Program at the Schenley High School Teacher Center in 1990. She graduated from Georgetown University in 1994 with a Bachelor's of Science in Spanish.

During her junior year, Ms. DiNunzio studied in the Dominican Republic in Santiago de los Caballeros. After graduating, she worked for a lobbyist on Capitol Hill and spent a considerable amount of time back in the Dominican Republic.

Ms. DiNunzio, the daughter of two PPS teachers, realized she had a passion for teaching while tutoring students in Washington, D.C. She returned to Pittsburgh and attended the University of Pittsburgh, earning a Master of Arts in Teaching in 1998, with a dual Pennsylvania certification in Elementary Education and K-12 Spanish.

Although she received job offers from school districts surrounding Pittsburgh, she accepted a position to teach 4th grade at Phillips when the school added its Spanish magnet component.

In addition to teaching, Ms. DiNunzio has taken on leadership roles at both the school and district levels. She is a member of the school's Instructional Cabinet and Discipline Committee and is the teacher in charge when the principal is out of the school.

She has worked as a member of the district's teacher evaluation design and compensation teams. Since her first years at the school, she has been one of three union representatives and became a member of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teacher's Executive Board in 2011. She sits on multiple committees that include both PFT and PPS members who work collaboratively on issues that affect students.

Ms. DiNunzio has been rated "Distinguished" annually since 2009 when the school district implemented a system that not only evaluates teachers but also provided feedback to help all teachers improve. As a teacher leader, she is often providing feedback to teachers on best practices.

In the next school year, she will become the school's instructional teacher leader working closely with the teachers and school principal Michael Calvert to improve student learning and achievement. Her passion and dedication to the students, staff, parents and community is evident in all that she does.

When Ms. DiNunzio married Chad, her husband of 13 years, they lived in Brookline until they purchased her parents' home in Banksville where she was born and raised. In 2011, her family, that now included two sons, Dominic and Matteo, moved to South Side because, while teaching at Phillips, she fell in love with the neighborhood.

Both sons accompany their mother to school each day and, when they were in 2nd grade, they each became her students for that year. Her son Dom will be attending Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, PPS's Creative and Performing Arts School, next year.
If you're one of the many who voted absentee this year in Michigan, the Secretary of State has an online tool to track the status of your ballot, and more.
Breakdown of Indiana Statehouse races across South Bend area

The 2022 election is a midterm election. Voters will come out to to vote in various Indiana statehouse races Nov. 8 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Overcast. High 68F. Winds NNE at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 61F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The first Australian-built satellites to be launched in 15 years are set to take off this week from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Unlike the enormous satellites Australia uses for telecommunications, each of these new satellites is the size of a loaf of bread. But although small, they may provide a key step in enabling Australia's entry into the global satellite market.

Three types of cubesats are the Australian contribution to the international QB50 mission, in which 36 satellites from different institutions around the world will carry instruments provided by the Von Karman Institute (VKI) to examine the lower thermosphere. This is a very interesting part of the atmosphere for several reasons, such as the way it disturbs GPS measurements.

The cubesats will be first delivered to the International Space Station, and then released into their orbits.

One of Australia's entries in the cubesat race to space.

The three teams that developed the Australian cubesats are: one from UNSW, one collaboration between the University of Sydney, the Australian National University and UNSW, and one collaboration between the universities of Adelaide and South Australia.

Once the VKI instrument and support systems (power, communications, and so on) are installed, there is still room for the teams to install payloads of their own.

PhD student Ben Southwell working on the loaf-sized UNSW-ECO satellite at AITC. (Image credit: UNSW, Author provided)

The UNSW cubesat, known as UNSW-EC0, is running four experiments including a GPS receiver, and two boards testing radiation-robust software and self-healing electronics. The fourth experiment is to test the satellite's chassis, built using a 3D-printed material never before flown in space.

The launch is significant, not just because it is so long since Australia built satellites, but because it could be the start of something much bigger.

Small is good

Globally, the space industry had an estimated US$335 billion (AU$440 billion) turnover in 2015. It's expected to reach US$1 trillion (AU$1.3 trillion) by 2030.

This is an innovation sector Australia cannot ignore, and small satellites  especially nano-satellites or cubesats  offer Australia a way in.

According to a report last month by Allied Market Research, the small satellite market is expected to be worth US$7 billion (AU$9.2 billion) by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of about 20 percent.

Artists impression of UNSW-ECO in orbit. (Image credit: UNSW, Author provided)

Analyst Spaceworks said in February that by 2023, the requirement for launches in the 1kg to 50kg class will be 320 to 460 satellites per year, more than 70 percent of them for commercial purposes.

Another analyst Euroconsult last year said there would be more than 3,500 small satellite launches in the next decade, worth US$22 billion (AU$29 billion) with launch earnings of US$5.3 billion (AU$7 billion). That's a 76 percent increase over the previous decade.

Australia in space

This disruption has the potential to be more important for Australia than for any other developed nation.

Australia is the largest economy in the world not to have a space agency, which I have highlighted before, and suggested ways forward. As a result, Australia has not developed a traditional space industry.

The University of Sydneys Prof Iver Cairns with its i-INSPIRE-2 cubesat. (Image credit: UNSW/University of Sydney, Author provided)

Exploiting cubesats offers an opportunity for Australia to participate in this industry, despite the absence of an agency.

In the same way that the success of Rocket Lab forced New Zealand to establish a space agency, Australia's success with cubesats could finally see the establishment of an agency here.

A gathering of space minds

The launch of the QB50 cubesats has been delayed several times and is currently slated for 1am (AEST) on Wednesday April 19.

So by sheer coincidence it will coincide with a gathering in Sydney of the Australian cubesat community  CUBESAT 2017: Launching Cubesats for and from Australia  that will showcase some of the remarkable progress Australia has made in recent years.

This includes three cubesat missions that have constructed satellites  QB50 mentioned above, and a further two from the Defence Science and Technology Group: Biarri (two launches of one cubesat and three cubesats) and Buccaneer (one cubesat).

Dr Barnaby Osborne, Dr Joon Wayn Cheong and John Lam with early stage UNSW-ECO. (Image credit: UNSW, Author provided)

A large number of Australian start-ups are looking to operate in the global small satellite market.

Several companies are developing launch capability, including Gilmour Space Technologies in Queensland. Other companies are developing ground segment capability to help manage operational satellites including Saber Astronautics in Sydney. Some are developing cubesat components such as Obelisk Systems in Maitland, New South Wales.

Ambitiously, there are also companies looking to develop cubesat constellations, which are large numbers of satellites with orbits optimised for global coverage for a range of different applications. The Australian leader at present is Fleet from Adelaide.

Government interest

CUBESAT 2017 is the second workshop of its kind. When the first was run, two years ago, there was no way then to anticipate the huge leaps Australia has made in this niche area of space.

Artists impression of UNSW-ECO leaving the International Space Station. (Image credit: UNSW, Author provided)

Recently, the Space Industry Association of Australia released a white paper calling for a space agency.

There was some encouragement for the community in the response from the federal Science Minister, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, to that call when he said:

I'm quite excited at the idea of us doing more in space.

So there is hope we may see some developments.

In terms of cubesats, it is with great excitement we look forward to where we'll be in the next two years, when perhaps we can say, with Australian-made assets in space, that the Australian space industry has finally been established.

Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.
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Algiers, May 1, 2017 (SPS) - The Sahrawi ambassador to Algiers Bouchraya Hamoudi Bayoune affirmed Sunday that the adoption by UN Security Council of a resolution on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the obligation to begin negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front without prerequisites, confirm the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, adding that this is a response to all the Moroccan plots against the legitimate Sahrawi cause.

In a statement to APS, Bouchraya said that the Sahrawi government welcomed favourably the adoption by the Security Council of the resolution 2351 (2017) promulgated Friday on Western Sahara. In this regard, he added that this resolution reaffirms the Sahrawi peoples right to self-determination, calls for negotiations without prerequisites and underlines the need to give a fresh impetus to the peace process in the region.

This decision rejects, undoubtedly, all the attempts of Morocco and its allies, notably France, aimed at straying the Sahrawi cause from its legal path by causing crises, as it is the case in the region of Guerguerat, he added.

The Sahrawi diplomat said that the UN decision comes to confirm once again that the non-respect of the clauses of the ceasefire of 1991 is behind the crisis of Guerguerat, forcing the Security Council to impose the respect of its clauses and to designate UN Secretary General to follow its implementation by the concerned parties. (SPS)

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The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its allies, led by MP TR Baalu, submitted a memorandum to President Draupadi Murmu demanding the removal of Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi. A few days earlier, TR Baalu had called upon MPs of allied parties who are members of the Secular Progressive Alliance to sign the memorandum to be submitted to the president.
Algiers, May 1, 2017 (SPS) -Sahrawi coordinator with the United Nations Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) M'hamed Khedad affirmed Monday that the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution extending the mandate of the Minurso and calling for negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front without prior conditions, is was a "great victory" for the Sahrawi cause, and put back political process ensuring the right of Sahrawi people to self-determination.

During a press conference held at the embassy of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Algiers, Khedad said "the adoption by the Security Council on last Friday of the resolution 2351 (2017) proved the willingness to resolve the conflict blocked by the Moroccan occupier since March 2012, refused to pursue direct negotiations with the Polisario Front and relaunch discussions with a view to finding a solution ensuring self-determination of Western Sahara."

"This resolution puts back the political process on rails after it was blocked by Morocco since March 2012. The Secretary General of the UN and the Security Council called for giving a new impetus to negotiations," said Khedad.

According to the same official, the appointment of the former German president reflected the good willingness to resume negotiations and the firm commitment of the Security Council to let the Sahrawi people decide upon his fate."

On this occasion, Khedad affirmed "Polisario Front's willingness to negotiate with Morocco" on the political basis of the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. "

"We are for negotiations with Morocco on the basis of self-determination but not on the nature of the conflict that is purely colonial," he recalled.

In response to a question on the role of the AU in the monitoring of political process and its involvement, Khedad stated that the AU had always been present and had always showed its interest in resolving the conflict, and referred to the last visit of the president of the AU Commission and the commissioner in charge of peace and security in New York before the debates of the Security Council, during which participants took the decision that the Western Sahara issue had to be settled through joint action between the AU and the United Nations."

Besides, he stressed that "the US administration and the Security Council did not seek an eternal ceasefire in Western Sahara, and are no more able to fund the Minurso and achieve the goals set by the Minurso, as decided by the Security Council and the United Nations." (SPS)

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The award is one of the highest accolades within the dairy industry and is awarded each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sector throughout their lifetime.



Dr Esselmont developed the UKs first computerised dairy herd health scheme, which has been the forerunner of technology in use on all progressive farms today. DAISY (The Dairy Information System) was created to run on a variety of mini-computers, and allowed farmers to have a same-day turnaround on their data.

RABDF chairman Mike King said it was fitting that Dr Esselmont was recognised by the whole industry as a pioneer and communicator.

Mr King said: The dairy sector has benefited not only from the way DAISY exposed strengths and weaknesses in management systems, but also from Dr Esselmonts ability to communicate solutions to a generation of farmers who were then inspired and able to embrace the digital revolution.

Dr Esslemont said it was a honour to receive such a prestigious award, and that when his team first started out, they had no idea of the role DAISY would play in pioneering future farm software and informing farmers and veterinarians alike.
The event marks the conclusion of a successful five-year research programme to develop the first Net Feed Efficiency Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) and will afford visitors the opportunity to hear about the projects next steps followed by a tour of the Givendale Stabiliser suckler herd.



The project to develop the first Net Feed Efficiency EBV has been funded by the UKs innovation agency, Innovate UK, as part of a drive to improve sustainable protein production. It has been managed by the Beef Improvement Group (BIG) with support from JSR Farms, Alltech/Keenan and SAC Consulting, with all partners scheduled to be present at the open day.

The new genetic indicator will apply to the UKs fastest growing cattle breed, the Stabiliser, and will allow beef producers to adopt new breeding strategies to reduce feed costs whilst also improving their environmental credentials through lower greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to presentations from project partners, the open day will provide an opportunity to hear the experiences of other Stabiliser breeders, through a formal presentation as well as through informal discussions over lunch or during the afternoon tour.
HARTFORD  Professionals who engage in controversial conversion therapy in attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of young teens would be subject to civil penalties under legislation overwhelmingly approved Tuesday in the House of Representatives.

The bill, which passed 141-8 and moves next to the Senate, aligns Connecticut with only six other states that have banned the practice, which is also called reparation therapy. Conservative Republican lawmakers, mostly from Eastern Connecticut, argued that the General Assembly was attempting to infringe on the rights of parents.

A lot of this has to do with opinions and political correctness, said Rep. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott. The state should not be telling free people how to live their lives.

But supporters of the bill from both sides of the aisle said the so-called therapy, including electro shock, hypnosis and brain-washing tactics in exchange for payment is unacceptable in Connecticut. The bill, which has about 100 co-sponsors, would protect those under 18 from being submitted to the radical therapy, and those who take money for doing it, they could be fined under the states unfair trade-practices law.

Sexuality and gender identity are genetically determined, said Rep. William Petit, R-Cheshire, a physician who has specialized in endocrinology for the last 30 years.

It would allow for religious leaders and medical personnel to counsel the young people to explore their identities. On Monday, the United States Supreme Court upheld a similar law in California

Were just protecting our LGBT children here in the state of Connecticut, said Rep. Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, who led the 90-minute floor debate. He said that while his mother simply said great when he came out to her as gay, its a lot tougher for many other young people. Never was I broken and in need of being fixed, Currey said. The practice or treatment is not science, its science fiction.

Rep. Pam Staneski, R-Milford, a co-sponsor of the bill, stressed that the legislation would not hinder professional psychiatric or medical counseling, as well as religious instruction for children and their parents.

Cmon guys, its hard enough growing up, House Minority leader Themis, R-Derby, a co-sponsor of the bill who admitted growing up shy. What were talking about today cant be changed. I know there is a difference of opinion on that. I believe very strongly that we are born the way we are born, with the feelings we have. And the fact that there are people that try to change those feelings people have makes me sad.

Klarides seemed to be directing her remarks at the conservative members of her caucus when she said that people are born with their gender and sexual identities. It is not a decision, it is not a choice, how people feel about themselves and others in regards to their sexuality.

Were dealing with kids, Klarides said, summarizing the path of the legislation from its introduction in January, through committee hearings and votes. We are showing that we respect peoples feelings and when we start to try to change that in this way that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT

ractices law
STAMFORD  Stamford Public Schools is joining at least a dozen other districts in the region to formally criticize a new Netflix show that explores teen suicide, bullying and sexual assault.

Since 13 Reasons Why was released on March 31, school districts in New Canaan, Norwalk, Weston, Danbury, Newtown and New Milford have sent letters cautioning parents of the shows sensitive content.

This series does not take a nuanced approach to why people kill themselves. Instead it has a potential for viewers to see suicide as a glorified or vengeful act, Joseph OCallaghan, head social worker for Stamford Public Schools, said in a statement Tuesday.

The show, based on a book by Jay Asher, centers on high school student Hannah Baker, who after committing suicide leaves behind tapes detailing the 13 reasons why she took her own life. Many school officials worried about middle and high school students watching the show without the resources to deal with the complex issues it addresses.

Please discourage your child from viewing the program, as it may prompt more questions than answers, OCallaghan wrote. However, if your child has already watched it or plans to watch it despite our recommendation, we strongly encourage you to watch along with your child and have an open and honest discussion about the content.

Most importantly, the series does little to discuss the issues of mental health as the primary driver in suicides. Please refer to the guidance from the National Association of School Psychologists, which has also been shared with all SPS social workers, guidance counselors and administrators.

Such letters, officials say, may help make families aware of the show and be there should their children need to talk about it.

noliveira@stamfordadvocate.com
1. Start using chatbots.

Doesn't require any coding knowledge.

Can answer customer questions.

Is able to take orders directly from Facebook Messenger and comments.

Integrates with all the major payment systems.

strategy. Despite this, brands of all kinds and sizes are not using this tool to its full potential. Although the number of "follows", "likes" and "shares" is still important, the credibility of a brand is distinguished by far more than just this. Today, social media requires a unique set of skills whereby brands need to fully understand the needs of their audience. To help you out, I've put together 10 social media strategies you need to implement this year, whether you are a young entrepreneur or a well-established brand.You may have already heard, but chatbots are in. This comes as no surprise as they are the one digital tool that can communicate and resolve problems for your customers without the potential need for any human interruption. In addition to the above, chatbots integrate with the platforms that consumers now feel most comfortable interacting through: social media. Platforms such as Chattypeople make integrating an AI-powered chatbot into your social media strategy easy. These tools allow you to create a chatbot that:

Related: How to Create a Facebook Messenger Chatbot For Free Without Coding

2. Create a personalized experience for your customers.

Break the traditional views customers have of you only trying to sell to them.

Make your customer's experience more personal.

Boost your sales.

Create a loyal fan base.

3. Create an efficient content marketing strategy.

Chatbots are not only a great way to automate certain everyday tasks, and if implemented properly, your chatbot will allow you to create more personalized experiences for your customers. To do this, stop linking your advertisements solely to your landing pages, and create ads that redirect your audience to a Messenger window with your chatbot. Linking ads to your chatbot will:

Quality is key and content is no exception. Content marketing has been a prominent form of marketing for a long time and this is not set to change anytime soon. Many brands are not linking quality content with the right posting schedule and the correct frequency of posts. High-quality SEO content coupled with all the above will help you bring in the right customers at the right time. Aside from its ability to attract an organic audience, a good content marketing strategy can be implemented for free. Be sure to create a relevant hashtag strategy along with your optimized and thorough content.

Related: 3 Simple Steps to Automate Your Content Marketing

4. Create a community for your audience.

Asking your audience questions.

Gathering their opinions on certain matters.

Sharing newsworthy information rather than just information about your products or services.

Liking and sharing some of their posts rather than just the other way around.

Asking them to interact directly with your posts through "likes" and "shares".

5. Jazz up your profiles with a diverse content strategy.

Although followers and the many other metrics are important, they are not the "be all and end all" to social media success. You need to show your audience that you are not just a robot. Integrate personality through humor and emotions into your posts so that your audience can relate to your brand. Social media is all about being social, and if your customers see the same types of posts time and time again, they will lose interest. Make your communications interactive by:

People respond to good imagery, fun videos, and some interesting podcasts once and awhile. Jazz up your content by using this type of media regularly. Your social media pages will look bland if all you post and share is text, so be sure to use other types of media to catch your audience's eye. This is also a great way to add a level of personality to your brand.

Related: 4 Reasons Why Your Business Should Invest in Content Marketing

6. Use brand advocates.

Create social media guidelines specific to your brand.

Tell your advocates about social media best practices.

Add a leader to each section of your social media advocacy plan.

Track the correct data to pinpoint areas for improvement and those that are doing well.

Your best promotional tool is the people who love your brand. Instead of focusing all your efforts on finding new customers, why not leverage your current ones? In addition to your current customers, you could use your own employees. To use your employees as brand advocates, you should:

Related: Here's What 2016 Taught Us About Content Marketing and SEO

7. Create profiles on the relevant channels.

8. Establish a social media budget.

Today, people create profiles on every social media channel available with the aim of reaching as many people as possible. Unfortunately, with that mindset, you will not reach your chosen target audience. As a result, it is key you look at your buyer personas when choosing your social media channels. For example, you won't necessarily need a LinkedIn profile if you are launching a gothic clothing brand; the same as you won't need to be on Pinterest to promote your surveillance services.

Social media platforms are one of, if not the most important, forms of marketing. Allocating the right budget to your social media endeavors is crucial to your success. Not only this, leveraging that budget with the right strategy will be the most cost-effective way for you to reach your chosen target audience. Because social media is used on a much more personal level, you will also find that it is a place where you can make a much deeper connection with your customers.

Related: 6 Content Marketing Tips for First-Timers

9. Run cross-channel campaigns.

Tell an engaging story.

Link back to a specific landing page that will give your audience more information about your campaign.

Have a unique and memorable name coupled with relevant hashtags.

10. Tell a story by going live.

Show your audience you are more than just a money-making machine.

Engage and inspire your customers.

Create shareable and memorable content.

To further engage your customers, run cross-channel campaigns across all your social media channels. Keep in mind that these campaigns are run by virtually every company today, so you will need to give yourself an edge to help you stand out from the crowd. Add an emotional component to your social media campaigns so that your audience can relate to your cause. An efficient cross-channel social media campaign will:Yes, your content will tell the story of your brand as a whole, but why not share with your audience what's happening with your company in real time? Facebook and Instagram, among other platforms, have created their own live streaming features, something that is not yet being used to its full potential by big brands. To compete with them, start using these live features before they really catch on. Live stories are a great way to:Businesses worldwide are slowly becoming more preoccupied with gathering customers on their social media platforms rather than their websites. By following the 10 strategies outlined above, you'll not only set yourself up to compete with well-established brands but also create a social media plan that will withstand the test of time.

Related:

10 Social-Media Marketing Strategies for Companies

Pursue Your Facebook Ad Strategy Like the Entrepreneur You Are

Put Your Experience to Work for Yourself and Others as a Life-Coach



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
We always hear how small businesses are the backbone of the US economy and rightfully so -- they account for more than half of all jobs and sales in the US. However, even though this entrepreneurial cohort is 28 million strong, their fragmentation -- from different industries to different sizes to different geographies -- often leave them behind when it comes to legislation.

As the president and Congress look to tackle much-needed tax reform, I'm concerned there arent enough small business voices at the table ensuring that the reform thoughtfully includes the needs of the various types of small businesses in our economy. This is critical as Congress evaluates President Trumps outline of reform priorities and tries to make tax reform a reality.

Here are some of the items that they should make sure are included in any final regulation to benefit small business.

1. Ensure small businesses benefit from tax rate reductions.

It is widely believed that a lower corporate tax rate will be a cornerstone of any tax reform plan, and that makes sense, given that we have the second-highest corporate tax rate in the entire world. However, without careful planning, that wont benefit most small businesses, as the majority of entrepreneurs use pass-through entities like single-member LLCs and are taxed at an individual tax rate, not a corporate one.

While President Trumps campaign proposal did recognize this, it is of key importance to find an easy way to handle it in any legislation. The rate small businesses owners pay on their income should not be any higher than the rate that bigger companies pay.

This should also go for freelancers, who are becoming a bigger part of the workforce and, in effect, are their own solo businesses.

Also, if small business owners are accommodated with a lower rate, that accomodation shouldnt be negated by the Alternative Minimum Tax formula (which should go for its own reasons).

Related: How to Start a Business With (Almost) No Money

2. Offer thoughtful pension options.

One of the only benefits of the current archaic tax code for a small business is that there are various pension plans that can allow business owners to put away six figures a year on a tax-deferred basis. The options and incentives for small business owners to continue to save for their retirement should not be sacrificed during reform, but should be significantly simplified, so its easier to implement and easier to understand.

It should also not create disincentives for hiring. Based on the way certain plans are required to be structured by the current tax code, you cant add employees (or add hours to certain existing employees) without offering them plan access, which can be a deterrent to hiring.

3. Revise the 1099 definition.

If you are confused by the difference between a 1099 worker/independent contractor and an employee, you are not alone. Per the IRS, Generally, you must withhold income taxes, withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment tax on wages paid to an employee. You do not generally have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to independent contractors.

This may seem like a small distinction, but to small business owners who are already consumed with burdensome administrative tasks, not to mention a cost structure that may not be yet scalable, it is a significant one.

While small businesses make extensive use of independent contractors and freelancers as a way to fill in gaps in their business, the IRS says that if you perform work that would be done in the normal course of business by an employee (including, among other things, not setting your own hours or methodology for completing the work), you are considered an employee, not an independent contractor, for tax purposes.

This stands even if you own your own firm or have additional clients.

This outdated definition creates a barrier to hiring for small business owners because, for example, a freelancer may be considered an employee by IRS standards, creating additional paperwork and compliance for a small business owner.

If a small business only needs a person for projects, shortened hours or even for part of the year, having an expanded 1099 definition would allow an independent contractor to be employed by multiple businesses without creating redundancy in administrative work.

As reporting is taken care of (currently via W-9 and 1099-MISC forms) and if both parties are in agreement that an independent contractor arrangement makes sense, why would the government stop that? Income and other taxes are still getting paid. While businesses pay and collect Social Security and Medicare taxes (aka FICA taxes) for each employee, an independent contractor is subject to self-employment taxes, which cover both Social Security and Medicare contributions in an amount roughly equivalent to the FICA tax.

This simple definitional change is critical for allowing small business to grow and more jobs to be created.

Related: 5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich

4. Allow for the expensing of capital investments.

The current tax code considers a business's major capital outlays (property, equipment and more) as capital investments instead of expenses. This means that you can only expense (for tax purposes) a portion of the investment over its useful life.

As a simplified example: If the expected useful life of a piece of technology is 5 years, you can only expense 20 percent of what you paid per year for five years.

In recent years, there have been some temporary rules that allow small business owners of a certain size to be able to fully expense these investments immediately, up to a certain cap. This should be fully allowed at any time for all businesses (especially small businesses) with no caps as a way to encourage the investment needed for growth.

5. Stop penalizing family businesses if someone dies.

The estate tax (or death tax) is supposed to be one of those stick it to the 1-percenters types of legislation. The tax, which penalizes estates valued over a certain mark, not only raises very little revenue each year, but often affects small, family-owned entities who have the majority of their wealth tied up in their business.

No family should be forced to sell a small business because a family member has passed away. Thats a completely inane and damaging tax rule.

Related: Habits of the World's Wealthiest People (Infographic)

6. Abandon extra taxes.

Tax reform doesnt work if other taxes end up getting piled on. One that could be a big issue for small businesses is the talked-about border tax. As a good number of small businesses rely on international markets for raw material imports and also as potential customers for their own products, creating taxes that further limit free trade will be felt strongly by entrepreneurs.

While there are certainly other considerations related to small business owners and taxes, making these six changes would be a huge step toward helping our small businesses continue to prosper and hire.

Related:

6 Tax Reform Changes Needed to Help Small Businesses Grow

Trump's Tax Plan Could Help Businesses, But Questions Remain

3 Trigger Events That Could Make Your Current Business Structure Obsolete



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Immigrants: We get the job done. -- Alexander Hamilton

Last year, when I was lucky enough to see the Broadway hit Hamilton, this line delivered by the show's star character ignited raucous applause by the audience.

Related: 4 Reasons Why Immigrants Are Essential for Entrepreneurship

At this point in the play, the American rebels are about to defeat the mighty British military at the Battle of Yorktown, led by two foreign-born soldiers: Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette.

In the theater where I sat, a sense of recognition swept across the room -- acknowledgement for the hard work so many millions of immigrants have performed over the decades, to move our country forward. And while, like other audience members, I felt that this sentiment spoke to our nation's current political and cultural climate, for me there was another layer of meaning, as well.

In fact, this sentiment reminded me of my own impoverished immigrant fathers journey as an entrepreneur, and his contributions to this nation.

The sentiment further reminded me how, as a kid growing up in the United States, whenever I didnt finish all my food, my father would swoop in and eat every last bite. He didnt eat just my leftovers, either, but everyones at the table. That's because he himself grew up in pre-tourism Thailand, when food and money were hard to come by; so he learned not to take either for granted.

He was the first in his family to attend college, relying on a Thai government scholarship awarded to the top student in the class. After graduating, he moved to the United States under a student visa.

Arriving without family or connections, he applied to be a waiter at the local diner and was turned down because of his poor language skills. Even after studying English for years, he was turned away again, from an entry-level restaurant job, because of his limited ability, and his limited visa prevented him from holding other, living-wage jobs.

Out of desperation, he shipped himself some woven reed baskets from Thailand, convinced a Manhattan Bloomingdale's manager to become his first customer and opened a small wholesale trading company. His business, which imported baskets and, later, silk flowers, grew steadily. But, then, amid this progress, a neglected cigarette started a fire that destroyed the office and inventory.

Undeterred, my father reopened his business. But the silk flower industry fizzled in the early 1990s, and his company fizzled with it. So, he tried again, starting a candle company that exists to this day, after going 25 years strong. In the 40 years since he arrived in the United States, his companies have employed hundreds have and left an indelible mark on the U.S. gift industry.

Related: The Immigrant Entrepreneurs Behind Major American Companies (Infographic)

I made at least a small mark on the business myself. As a child, I was expected to help without asking anything in return: I sorted mail and delivered it to each department in the company. I filled in as a model in the company's annual catalog. I helped write orders at trade shows -- an experience that taught me how to talk to buyers.

All that early exposure taught me a way of doing business that was handed down to me by my immigrant parents: That "way" required being resourceful, family-centric and driven by family ties. At the snack company I founded and run today, we employ several lessons I learned from my immigrant father:
The suspect, identified by campus police as 20-year-old student Kendrex J White, was apprehended for allegedly attacking four people.

By Press Trust of India: A student has been killed and three others injured after multiple people were stabbed inside the University of Texas at Austin campus in the US.

The suspect, identified by campus police as 20-year-old student Kendrex J White, was apprehended for allegedly attacking four people.

One of the victims died at the scene, University of Texas (UT) police chief David Carter said.

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"Police got the call around 1:30 pm on Monday about a person with a knife who attacked or assaulted someone outside the Gregory gym. A UT police officer saw a man, later identified as White, with a "large, bowie-style hunting knife," Carter said.

ACCUSED TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

"The officer drew his gun and told White to get on the ground, which he did, and police took him into custody. Within about a block, three more people were found stabbed," he said.

According to Austin-Travis County EMS, they have taken three people with potentially serious injuries to University Medical Center Brackenridge.

The University officials said they have cancelled classes and events on the campus for the rest of the days.

"About a dozen Austin police units swarmed responded to provide back up and support university police, which is leading the response to the stabbing, University spokeswoman said.

BOMB THREAT AT BELO CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA

In a separate incident, the Belo Center for New Media was briefly evacuated after a reported bomb threat. But the university police said the building was not under lockdown and is open.

"There is no immediate threat at this time," they said.

A sign had been draped across the building's sky bridge with the words "Tuition Pays for Bombs" before it was taken down.

Last week, university police alerted the campus about a drive-by shooting near Dean Keeton and San Jacinto streets on Thursday.

No one was injured, and police said neither the shooter or his target were affiliated with the university.

The attack came three days after police said a former student wielding a machete and other blades attacked students at Transylvania University in Kentucky. One student was hospitalised in that attack.

ALSO READ | Australia: Indian priest stabbed, asked about nationality before attack

--- ENDS ---
I recently celebrated the five-year anniversary of my college startup, Headbands of Hope, which gives a child with cancer a headband for every one sold.

I was inspired to start my company after an internship with a wish-granting organization. I discovered kids losing their hair to chemotherapy often wanted to wear headbands instead of wigs or hats.

To date, the business has done some incredible things. We've been featured on Good Morning America, Vanity Fair, The TODAY Show, Seventeen Magazine, Cosmopolitan and worn by countless celebrities. But, the milestone Im most proud of is donating over 100k headbands to childrens hospitals across America and six countries.

Sometimes, when you have a business and you're constantly looking forward, its hard to realize how far youve come. That's why I wanted to look back at my junior year in college when I founded the company.

Ive learned so much. I continue to learn every day (usually by making mistakes . . . but well get to that later), but here are five key things Ive learned in five years of entrepreneurship.

1. Use your resources

I started my business with a small account of funds I saved up from my Disney World internship the year before. I never sought out investors or thought about the funding I didnt have; I looked at what was on the table for me right then and there. Beyond money, the biggest resource I had was being a college student. As a communications major, I knew very little about entrepreneurship (it took me forever even to learn how to spell it!). So, in between classes, I set up meetings and appointments with students and professors at the business school to share my idea and get their input. I started to tap every department I felt could help me: design school, textiles school, marketing department and the list goes on. Little by little, Headbands of Hope evolved into a strong startup because I used all the different areas of expertise my college had to offer.

You can always come up with a list of things you wish you had, but that's not an efficient use of time. Instead, identify whats right in front of you and start there. Youd be surprised what you can accomplish when youre resourceful.

Related: How to Start a Business With (Almost) No Money

2. Take care of your people

I used to think great entrepreneurs and business owners were successful because they were all really smart and hard-working. That could still be true, but theres a key element even more important than hard work and brains: your team. My company would not be what it is today without the people around it, and I find the most important element of my job is making sure my team has everything they need to do the best job they can -- whether that's tech tools or just my support and trust.

Steve Jobs most likely didnt come up with the iPod, but he built a team of people who believe in innovation and were trained to think outside the box. Ive learned being a leader isnt about being the smartest or having the best ideas, its about creating a team that cultivates innovative ideas and passionate work.

Related: 22 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

3. Show up

When I look back on the turning points in my business, I can usually pin point a time where I chose to just show up. It may sound silly or simple, but opportunities wont happen to you if youre not there for them. Its easy to stay at home and work from your computer, but thats not where life happens. I used to weigh opportunities by who else was going to be there, what could I get out of it, what the expense was etc. Now, I try to not look at things so transactionally and instead understand that it's always worth meeting new people.

One time, I was asked to speak last minute at a conference in Raleigh. I was busy that day but decided to show up to give a quick talk and then get back to work. Turns out, the other speaker was Jeff Hoffman, the co-founder of Priceline.com. We hit it off. Now (two years later), he serves on my board of advisors. We talk regularly. Hes been an amazing mentor and a wonderful friend.

Dont have an agenda or a list of people you want to meet, just come as yourself and be open to opportunity. You never know what will happen.

4. When you fall, make it a part of your dance

When you slip up, just weave it into your story. Failures don't have to be a red light or a brick wall in front of you; consider them a pivot or an extra step.

Ive found that people who have perfect track records usually become a prisoner of their own success. Theyre afraid to take risks for fear it might mar that perfection. Because of that, they usually stay right where they are or play it safe. Safe places aren't where growth happens.

Once, when I was in a business competition at Under Armour, I made it to the final round and lost. But when I was there, I developed a great relationship with Under Armour and we ended up repurposing their extra materials to make donated headbands for John's Hopkins Childrens Hospital. It wasnt the outcome of the competition I was hoping for, but it still developed into an incredible experience.

You might not always get what you want, but always look for value in the experience.

Related: Inspiring Quotes to Help You Get Through Your Work Day

5. Remember why you started

Starting a company can be really, really hard. There, I said it. Starting and building my business has been the most challenging thing Ive ever done, but it has also been the most rewarding. Ive learned that meaningful work doesnt mean its easy -- it means its going to be worth it. Whenever times get tough, I pull up a file on my computer of all the pictures and letters weve received from hospitals (thousands of them) and remember why I started this in the first place.

At the end of the day, success is not what it looks like to others, its what it feels like to you.

Related:

The 5 Lessons I've Learned From 5 Years as an Entrepreneur

Lessons Learned in Entertainment That Can Benefit Every CEO

4 Things Teaching Has Taught Me About Running a Business



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Right now, in Hartford, state legislators are facing a decision that will have repercussions for Connecticut workers and taxpayers for years to come. The General Assembly is considering three different bills regarding the future of Connecticuts gaming industry, and while they deliberate thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in casino revenue sharing hang in the balance.

If state legislators pass House Bill 7319, or House Bill 7239, which would both open a competitive bidding process to those potentially interested in building an in-state casino, these jobs and dollars will continue be lost as new or expanded casinos in New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts steadily pillage Connecticuts casinos. In the short term, Connecticut will be delayed for several years from competing with MGM Springfield, situated just five miles across the border in Massachusetts. In the long term, the state will dishonor its existing tribal compacts with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes, and will find it nearly impossible to recoup the tribes slot revenue payments.

As someone who has been studying the casino gaming industry in the Northeast for 22 years, I can say with full confidence that these bills are the wrong choice for Connecticut. Theyll benefit MGM, not the state and its residents, and they will cost Connecticut $85.6 million a year. To avoid this crippling blow, state legislators should authorize the tribes plan to build an East Windsor gaming facility by passing the third bill in front of the General Assembly  Senate Bill 957.

The wisdom of the tribes plan has been apparent to me since fall 2015, when they first joined together to form MMCT Venture. Several months earlier, the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans commissioned me to study the impact that MGM Springfield would have on their flagship facilities and Connecticuts economy. What I found was shocking. If MGM Springfield remained unchecked by competition from a third Connecticut casino, my research showed, the state would lose 9,300 jobs as the casinos lost $700 million in revenue, while the state would lose up to $100 million per year in revenue sharing payments

Not content to sit back and accept this fate, the tribes soon set to work planning a Hartford-area casino that would recapture more than 46 percent of these jobs and generate almost $78 million in tax revenue. Now, in 2017, their mission has come incredibly far  theyve selected a site in East Windsor, and signed a development agreement with the town. The tribes project has also become more important than ever as Connecticuts economy continues to suffer and companies like GE take business away from the state by leaving for Massachusetts.

State legislators have an easy opportunity to make this vision a reality by passing Senate Bill 957. Doing so would let the tribes break ground in East Windsor, and would give Connecticut a chance of competing with MGM Springfield when the facility opens in 2018. So far, however, theyve continued weighing this bill against two others, both of which would have terrible consequences for the state.

A recent report that I released reveals the scope of these consequences. If Connecticut passes a bill allowing a competitive bidding process, it will be acting in violation of its long-standing compacts with the tribes, which contribute 25 percent of their slot revenue to the state. These payments add up to nearly $267 million each year. If the new, competitively bid casino taxed is taxed 25 percent of gross gaming revenue  the same tax rate for resort casinos in Massachusetts and New York  it will contribute approximately $181 million to the state per year.

Its not hard to see how this math works out: if Connecticut pursues an open process and breaks the tribal compacts, it will lose $86 million annually. For the state to simply break even in terms of revenue, the new casino would need to generate $1.063 billion every year in gross gaming revenue. No commercial casino in the country currently generates that much gaming revenue  including MGMs properties.

Connecticut cant afford this revenue loss, and it cant afford the additional job losses that will occur if a third casino is needlessly delayed. If the General Assembly wants to fight back against MGM, rather than playing into their hands and suffering as a result, they need to act quickly and make the right decision. SB 957 must be passed before the end of session, allowing the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes to start construction on their East Windsor facility. After studying gaming for over 22 years, I know what will and wont work for a particular state. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a tribally owned casino is the only thing that will truly work for Connecticut.

Clyde W. Barrow is professor of public policy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and General Manager of Pyramid Associates, LLC.
T he recurring theme in the debate about leaving the EU is that because it takes almost half of what we sell overseas, leaving the bloc without some kind of mitigating trade deal could cause these exports to plunge and it might take years to make up the difference elsewhere.

Hence the joke that, when leading Brexiteer Michael Gove said the British had had enough of experts, what he really meant was that we had had enough of exports.

Less frivolously, there is genuine concern that operating only under the umbrella of the World Trade Organisation, as would be the case if we have a so-called hard Brexit, would be disastrous for our export performance and national prosperity.

It is a powerful argument, but is it true? Barely a day goes by without hearing the assertion but what you never get is hard evidence to justify it or an explanation of why it might be true. No one properly explains exactly why the WTO option should be so disastrous.

This is the starting point for Graham Gudgin and Ken Coutts of Cambridge Universitys Centre for Business Research and Neil Gibson of Ulster University. If the average tariff imposed under WTO rules is only around 4% (which it is), and sterling has already fallen since the referendum by about 12% (which it has), why should it be so disastrous? The fall in the currency is three times what was necessary to overcome the tariff walls.

This observation prompted them to look again at the work published last year by the Treasury  in what was dubbed Project Fear  where it forecast there would be a 45% fall in British trade with the EU if it had to operate under WTO rules. They found it hard to believe that was the answer so they set about re-doing the sums for themselves.

That, however, is a lot easier said than done because the work involved is huge. The Treasury model calculated the average effect on trade resulting from EU membership for all its member countries and used this average figure to draw conclusions about the UK. The academics repeated the exercise looking at the experience of 120 countries each trading with the other 119 over the past 65 years to create an analysis much more specific to Britain. It was a vast exercise collating well over one million pieces of data.

Next comes the theory. The core of economic thinking about trade is what is called the gravity model which says that trade between two countries is linked to their relative sizes and the distance between them. Like most economics it is common sense: you do not need to be an economist to work out that it is much easier to export to a prosperous country nearby than a poorer country far away.

The gravity model reflects this. A small country will export most readily to a big country close by especially one with the same language and traditions  hence we take most of the exports from the Republic of Ireland. Even a big country finds it hard to trade with the other side of the world, hence we do more with Belgium than we do with Brazil.

But although this is common sense it does not give all the answers, because other things matter too and these are not captured by the model.

Germanys experience shows that being organised and making long-term local connections in faraway markets brings big rewards in the end. It helps too to have something people want to buy  which, McKinseys analysis says, is a major problem for UK manufacturing because we simply do not have enough world-class companies, particularly among medium-sized businesses.

Historical and cultural ties can matter, too, as was seen when the UK was the major importer of New Zealands lamb and butter  and it still takes most of its wine. Similarly, we have no special trade relationship with the US but it is our largest market outside the EU.

Models get derailed by non-mathematical factors. The academics view is that failing to recognise these complexities led the Treasury to draw unjustified conclusions.

Tweaking the assumptions in different ways gives a range of results but on balance they suggest that the fall in trade with the EU might only be half as bad as the Treasury believes  perhaps a little over 20%, rather than 45%. One should say, however, that being academics they are far more honest than politicians about the tentative nature of their conclusions and the continued uncertainty around hard numbers.

Nevertheless their conclusions have far reaching implications particularly if coupled with the possibility of curbs on EU migration. It is the proud boast of UK governments that the British economy has created three million new jobs in the past 12 years. What is said less frequently is that most of these jobs are low paid and about three-quarters of them have gone to migrants, the majority from the EU. Thus the paradox of UK growth. It is a fact that if most new jobs pay below the national average, then that national average will gradually fall. Growth should not be the sole measure of success; it is growth in income per head that matters.

Politicians bang on about how good they are at making the economy grow  making the overall size of the cake bigger. What they never say is that it has taken so many extra workers to do this that the average share everybody gets rises very little. If the number of people wanting a share of the cake grows as fast as the cake, no ones slice gets larger.

The coming curbs on unskilled immigration make it likely that many low-paid jobs in areas such as food-processing, catering and agriculture will disappear  the firms will have to automate or go out of business. This will hit overall growth, but counter-intuitively, because it is the below-average low-paid jobs to go first, the average of what is left will be higher.

Which leads the academics to conclude that though a hard Brexit falling back on WTO rules might cause a drop by 2025 of perhaps 2% in total output as measured by GDP, most will probably not notice any difference because per capita GDP will hardly fall at all.

An article based on this research will shortly be published by Policy Exchange
B P has almost trebled its profits in the first three months of the year as the corporate titan attempts to recover from the slump in oil prices.

Chief executive Bob Dudley deemed the results robust and said that the year had started well, indicating there will be even more to boast about in the second half.

Higher oil prices and deep cost-cutting have helped BP record profits of $1.5 billion (1.2 billion), compared with $532 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Dudley, who took a $3.7 million pay cut this year in a bid to win over fractious shareholders, eased investors fears over the dividend by maintaining its quarterly payout at 10 cents a share. The firm is one of the largest dividend payers in the UK. The strong results beat analysts expectations of a $1.2 billion profit, sending the shares 2% higher to 451p.

BP still faces significant payouts over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 but payments will fall sharply from 2019.

Oil prices have soared by almost 80% in the past year but BP said that cost-cutting, including slashing 4000 jobs, and a clutch of new projects were also improving underlying profitability.

BP scared investors this year when it said it needed oil to be at $60 a barrel to break even. The average price per barrel in this quarter was $54, up from $34 a barrel a year ago.

However, BP said earlier it had seen its highest upstream figures for five years, producing 2.4 million barrels a day, after taking a 10% stake in onshore oilfields in Abu Dhabi. Finance chief Brian Gilvary said: We will continue to build a portfolio that is fit for the future.

The oil giant has also been cutting costs aggressively over the past three years. Its targeted $7 billion cost savings were delivered a year early last year. New projects are also 15% under budget.

A new compression facility in Trinidad came onstream weeks ago, one of seven major projects that will start this year. BP expects to reach a new milestone of 800,000 barrels a day of production by 2020.

However, investors sounded fears over the companys significantly higher debt pile, which climbed from $30 billion to $38.6 billion.

Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: A stretched balance sheet means BP will have less and less resilience to deal with the unexpected. Until that is resolved, doubts will remain over the long-term sustainability of the dividend to which BP have stuck resolutely so far.

Jason Gammel, analyst at Jefferies, said the results were strong, with the exploration and production division almost a fifth better than expected.

The backdrop for oil prices remains uncertain, with Opec production cuts possible and prospects of US production increasing.
S lowing UK order growth damped the Citys appetite for Just Eat today, sending its shares down more than 5%.

The takeaway deliveries company, which is without a permanent chief executive and chairman, said orders rose 17% in the UK in the quarter to March 31. Over 2016 the growth rate was 31%.

The shares slid 31.5p to 545.5p.

Interim boss Paul Harrison said the figure met expectations and compared with a strong performance last year.

Weve got a very strong business in the UK and are looking forward to exciting initiatives that will drive it, including our X Factor sponsorship, he said.

Just Eats chairman Dr John Hughes took a leave of absence last week to undergo medical treatment.

Hughes had been running the firm after boss David Buttress stepped down suddenly last month for family reasons.

Harrison said Just Eat had considerable bench strength in its teams and could wait for the right candidate to replace Buttress.

A shortlist of potential successors is currently under consideration by board members, Harrison added.
B P is a conundrum for investors. On the one hand, it has a big chunk of new oilfields bought late last year which are about to come onstream in a big way. On the other, it has to invest heavily at first to get the most out of them.

That means taking on more debt (now a whopping $38.6 billion) and selling other assets if it is to protect its all-important dividend.

Further complicating matters is the overhang from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which still costs it billions of dollars every year in compensation and clean-up costs.

Its rivals, notably Shell and Chevron, have also been pumping billions into replenishing their stock, but did so earlier in the industrys cycle. So their investments are already beginning to pay back. Even with oil prices stuck at around $51 a barrel, they can still make good money. BPs investment needs mean crude has to be $60 to balance its books, albeit that is projected to fall nearer to $55 by December.

Back in 2013, many investors thought Chevron was nuts to be spending up to $38 billion a year on new projects such as its Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant in Australia. Likewise, they said Shell was wrong to be spending 35 billion on BG in 2015.

Last week, Gorgon was one of the key reasons Chevrons profits shot the lights out, and, while the price of the BG deal still seems way too high, Shell has undeniably bought some cracking good assets. Expect strong production numbers and falling capital expenditure in its quarterly profits on Thursday.

So, having seen Shell and Chevron start making good on their promises of jam tomorrow, you can make a case for buying into BP now in the hope of the same.

Todays numbers contained no nasty surprises and the headline figures should get better through the year as new projects and big disposals rake in cash. Further out, the cost of the Gulf spill will also slow, from $5.5 billion this year to $2 billion in 2018 and $1 billion annually thereafter.

But when set beside Shell, BP remains the riskier punt. Its balance sheet is the most stretched and, particularly after Shells aggressive move into gas with BG, it remains more reliant on the volatile oil price. BP and its dividend may be safe today but what if the oil price, $28 a barrel only last January, falls again?

BP is getting safer, and deserves credit. But widows and orphans would still be better off in Shell.

The factory flaw

Its great to see the weak pound boosting manufacturers 10% of the economy. But Europes factories are doing just as well without the currency boost.

What happens to ours when we face EU tariffs or a return of sterling to more normal levels?
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Incorporates Bangla-Capsize story)

Dhaka, May 2 (PTI) At least 11 persons, including two women, have been killed and many injured when a severe storm lashed parts of Bangladesh.

Four persons were killed and over 100 houses were damaged as the storm lashed Rajshahi district yesterday evening.

Two women were killed in lightning at Shibganj in Chapainawabganj.

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Also, five persons were killed when a boat, carrying six passengers, capsized in the Padma river in Dorgapara area during the storm yesterday, the Daily Star reported.

One of the passengers managed to swim ashore and the bodies of five persons, who went missing after the capsize have been recovered, the report said.

"Fire service personnel conducted a day-long search of the Padma yesterday. The five bodies surfaced today morning nearly three kilometres from the site of the accident, in Talaimari," said Nurul Islam, fire service official.

The storm left a trail of destruction, uprooting hundreds of trees, flattening many tin-roofed and mud-built houses and snapping road and rail communication facilities. PTI AMS AKJ AMS

--- ENDS ---
M usic-streaming giant Spotify is in advanced negotiations to treble the size of its UK headquarters with a new home overlooking the Thames, the Standard has learned.

The Swedish digital service business, which counted Rihanna, Drake and Coldplay among its most streamed artists last year, is close to agreeing a lease with property investor Blackstone to take almost 60,000 square feet at the art deco Adelphi Building near the Strand.

West End property sources said the move would give it space for significantly more employees.

Spotify, which is mulling a listing, currently has around 20,000 square feet off Oxford Circus on Argyll Street.

Its most recent UK accounts show that staff numbers in Britain rose to 180 in 2015, up from 167 a year earlier.

The report said: The companys primary focus is to continue its rapid growth and increase the number of users and subscribers in the UK.

Plans to expand follow reports that Spotify is eyeing a listing. It was valued at $8.5 billion (6.6 billion) in a recent funding round, and has 18 offices globally.

If the latest leasing deal completes, Spotify will join the likes of PR firm Finsbury and The Economist at the building which is being let by Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank.

All parties declined to comment.
B illionaire activist Bill Ackman could turn his gaze across the Atlantic to terrorise UK boardrooms, he told the Standard on Tuesday.

The US activist is listing his $4.6 billion (3.6 billion) Pershing Square Holdings investment fund in London today, with hopes of attracting millions more in fresh capital. Pershing is likely to join the FTSE 250 in June.

Ackmans fund currently has no UK investments  preferring to focus on the US market  but investing in British firms is something that we are open to, he said.

You should expect the substantial majority of our investments to be in the US but if we were to do something outside the US the most likely market would be the UK... Its very feasible.

Pershing is listed in Amsterdam but investors have been pushing Ackman, worth $1.4 billion, to float on larger and more liquid London market. He added that Brexit had no bearing on todays move. We think the London Stock Exchange is still one of the worlds premier venues, certainty for an entity like this one. The asset management industry is dominant in the UK.

The hedge-fund boss last month sold out of his worst investment  a big stake in US drugs firm Valeant  at a huge loss but insisted his batting average is still high.

Ackman also defended the role of the activist investors in the corporate ecosphere as more cash flows towards cheaper, index-tracking funds. As the world becomes more passively managed, as more and more capital becomes indexed, its actually the activist investors the index funds rely on to improve everything from the governance to the way their businesses are being managed, he said. If you envision a world where every stock was held by an index fund, there would be no one to knock on the door and say we need change here.

The billionaire is also hoping that the London listing will help Pershing increase its value. Its trading at a huge discount, he added.

Ackman has backers in London who have been with Pershing since its beginning in 2004 but he is due to spend the next two days in meetings with investors, who can now pump in funds following the London launch.
Choosing a dress that suits all the bridesmaids is a headache for any bride. Even, it turns out, when the bridesmaids are models who would look great in anything.

Victorias Secret star Ana Beatriz Barros married businessman Karim El Chiaty on the Greek island of Mykonos last year, with fellow catwalk stars Alessandra Ambrosio, Fernanda Motta and Isabeli Fontana among her 10 model bridesmaids.

The Brazilian model, 34, told Hello! Fashion Monthly that the style credentials of her bride squad did not prevent drama over their outfits, saying: Oh, they [the dresses] were a bit of a nightmare!

They all wanted something different to wear; one would say, I dont look good in pink then another would say, I dont like the style of this or that. Can you imagine, all these models, theyre so aware of what works on them and what doesnt so they had all these opinions. And, of course, in the end they all looked amazing, and they would have looked amazing in anything!

The three-day ceremony took place last July. Barros walked down the aisle in front of 1,500 guests in a custom-made Valentino gown and wore three other dresses during the celebrations. She said: It was simply the best moment of my life. You stand there and think: Is this really all for me? Do I deserve all this? It was just magical.

She also joked how the guest list got some pulses racing: Even my dad was saying on the day, Oh my goodness, I have never seen so many beautiful women in my life. And afterwards the whole of Mykonos was asking my father-in-law to thank me for bringing all these women to the island.

20 best engagement rings - in pictures 1 /26 20 best engagement rings - in pictures Dior For the girl who wants to stop everyone in their tracks. Rose Bagatelle, 43,000, dior.com Beaverbrooks For the girl who wants a prospective heirloom without the price tag. 18ct Gold Diamond Cluster Ring, 1250, beaverbrooks.co.uk Cartier For the girl who wants a bling-y twist on a classic- looling ring. Ballerine Solitaire Platinum, diamonds, POA, cartier.co.uk Berganza For the girl who lives her life lusting after past eras. Solitaire Colombian Emerald Ring with Diamond Set Shoulders (circa 1960), 25,500, berganza.com The Diamond Store For the modern girly-girl who's looking to be spoiled on a budget. Aquamarine 0.70ct and Diamond 18k White Gold Ring, 885, thediamondstore.co.uk Astley Clarke For the feminine girl looking for something a bit different. Morganite Leah Ring, 1450, astleyclarke.com Van Cleef & Arpels For the girl looking for something a bit classic. Boheur Solitaire, 4250, astleyclarke.com Boodles For the girly-girl looking to be spoiled... with no budget. Double Vintage Oval-Cut Yellow Diamond Ring, 45,000, boodles.com Earnest Jones For the girl who wants to prove it doesn't have to be flash. 9ct White Gold Third Carat Diamond Solitaire Ring, 743, astleyclarke.com Beaverbrooks For the girl who wants to emulate that royal ring. 18ct White Gold Diamond and Sapphire, 1350, beaverbrooks.co.uk Harry Winston For the girl who wants quality without scrimping on quantity. The One, Round Brilliant Diamond Micropave Engagement Ring, POA, harrywinston.com Blue Nile For the girl who's looking for something different but eternally classic. Marquise Cut Halo Diamond Engagement Ring in Platinum, 1,728, bluenile.com Tiffany For the girl who likes labels. Soleste Oval, 14,100, tiffany.co.uk Vera Wang For the girl who thinks there's nothing better than bigger. 18ct white gold 0.95CT diamond engagement ring, 3199, ernestjones.co.uk Lewis Malka For the girl who wants traditional without looking dull. Six Claw Swiss Wire Solitaire Engagement Ring, 2,950, lewismalka.com Lucie Campbell For the girl who wants glamour with a big splash of colour. 18ct Yellow Gold Oval Diamond Cluster engagement ring Centre Stone 1.45ct, 19,000, luciecampbell.com Mappin and Webb For the girl who wants diamonds here, there and everywhere. Amelia Engagement Ring, 3250, mappinandwebb.com Tiffany For the girl who wants romance, rainbows and unicorns...all the time. Heart shape set in platinum, 12,200, tiffany.co.uk Boodles For the girl who wants a little extra colour in her life. Vintage Oval Sapphire Engagement Ring, 6,500, boodles.com Chaumet Paris For the girl who wants roses, all day and all night. Liens Solitaire Engagement Ring in Platinum with Diamonds, POA, chaumet.com

Barros was spotted by a scout on a beach when she was on holiday in Rio de Janeiro as a teenager. She was signed by Elite Model Management and at 15 moved to New York  with her mother to keep her grounded.

Ana Beatriz Barros in a shoot for Hello! Fashion Monthly (Andrew Woffinden)

She didnt let success go to my head, Barros said. She taught me that my integrity was my most valuable asset, that I had to be professional and always remember its a job.

Some girls do become divas, I have seen it. But nobody can stand people like that  after a while nobody wants to work with a diva.

The full interview appears in the June issue of Hello! Fashion Monthly, on sale today
M ichelin-starred chef Jason Atherton is inviting some of his biggest rivals into the kitchens at his nine London sites for a one-off gastronomic extravaganza.

The unique lunchtime collaboration, called Social Sunday, will see Atherton and his chefs host culinary competitors. The event, on June 11, forms part of the Evening Standards London Food Month, celebrating the capitals rise to become the worlds eating-out capital.

Atherton said: It is great for the restaurant industry to have the support of the London Evening Standard at this uncertain time leading up to Brexit.

He will host the Young Guns event at his Mayfair flagship Pollen Street Social. It features rising stars Elizabeth Allen, the former head chef at Hackneys Pidgin who is soon to launch her first solo venture, Shibui; Mark Jarvis of Farringdons Anglo; and James Cochran, formerly of The Ledbury and now at his eponymous restaurant in Liverpool Street. They are creating a five-course menu with matching wines costing 180.

Across the street at Little Social, chef patron Cary Docherty will be creating a five-course 100 menu with matching wines with Lee Westcott, executive chef of Bethnal Greens The Typing Room.

Paul Hood, head chef at Michelin-starred Social Eating House in Soho, will be joined in his kitchen by Peter Sanchez-Iglesias of Casamia restaurant in Bristol, which also boasts a star. Frankie van Loo at Marylebones Social Wine & Tapas has recruited Tom Brown from Knightsbridge seafood restaurant Outlaws at the Capital, while French chef Claude Bosi, of Bibendum, will head to City Social to create a 125 five-course menu alongside executive chef Paul Walsh. Alex Craciun, chef patron at Athertons Japanese izakaya-style restaurant in Farringdon  Sosharu  will welcome star chefs Ollie Dabbous and Ben Orpwood, formerly of Zuma and Sexy Fish, to create a 90 Japanese menu with modern British influences.

The other restaurant events are at Athertons City grill Temple & Sons, where David Carter of Smokestak will be guest chef; and Hai Cenato in Victorias Nova building, which is hosting Ben Tish, formerly of Salt Yard Group.

There will also be a one-night star-tender residency at Social Eating House where top mixologist Matt Whiley, AKA the Talented Mr Fox, will be among those joining the restaurants Blind Pig bar team headed by Jamie Jones.

Finally, on Monday June 12, Atherton will team up with head chef Phil Carmichael at Berners Tavern to create a one-off dinner for 12 guests in the top penthouse suite at Fitzrovias London Edition hotel.

It is the third year of the Social Sunday event. All staff will work for free and proceeds will be donated to the Hospitality Action charity, supporting people working in restaurant or hotel sectors who have fallen on hard times.
N ewington Greens Perilla is teaming up with cocktail crafters Pollen Room for a two week collaboration starting today.

It will see Perillas Ben Marks and Matt Emmerson, who launched their first restaurant late last year following a series of pop-ups, work with Pollen Rooms Anya Montague, who most recently mixed concoctions for Dan Barbers WastED project.

The drinks will focus on showcasing sustainability and underused ingredients, and will include the Purslane made with Napue gin from the Kyro distillery in Finland along with unfortified fino sherry, pickled sea purslane and homemade vermouth, and the Nettle which combines white nettle cordial, Dewars 12 whisky, cow parsley and citric solution.

These cocktails will each be paired with dishes from Perillas five-course tasting menu, which includes grilled mackerel with horseradish, and courgette with pecorino and basil.

The Purslane cocktail, made with Norwegian gin

Pollen Room co-founder and florist Emily Bayliss will also be decorating the restaurant with seasonal flowers to bring to life Anyas creations.

Ben said: Matt and I have always admired Anyas work, putting together amazing concoctions both at the Pollen Room and around the world and we are excited to be working with someone that shares our passion for creating great flavours from simple ingredients.

Visit perilladining.co.uk.
F rom experiencing the thrill of adventure to taking amazing vacations at little or no cost, there are a lot of unique perks to being a flight attendant.

But the job comes with its challenges as well.

Delays and flight cancellations, 4 a.m. wake-up calls and sporadic hours, weekends and holidays spent working, and long work commutes top the list for many.

Flight attendants are also privy to a wide array of human behaviours, some of which would challenge anyone's people skills.

Here are some of the most trying work conditions flight attendants have been subjected to:

Dirty diapers in the seat

Poo smelly enough to land a plane

The BBC reports that in March 2015, a British Airways flight from London to Dubai was forced to turn around because of a "smelly poo."

Abhishek Sachdev, who was on board the flight, told BBC, "The pilot made an announcement requesting senior cabin crew, and we knew something was a bit odd. About 10 minutes later he said, 'You may have noticed there's a quite pungent smell coming from one of the toilets.' He said it was liquid fecal excrement. Those are the words he used."

A BA spokesperson said the situation posed a health and safety problem because only half the air is recycled and cleaned on an airplane.

Passengers were put up in a hotel overnight since the next available flight was 15 hours later, according to the BBC.

Emotional-support marsupials

Toilet abuse

"A passenger stood on top of the closed toilet and defecated," a flight attendant with 30 years of experience told Business Insider.

Dangerously impatient passengers

In 2014, a passenger on a China Eastern Airlines plane who said he wanted to "get off the plane quicker" deployed the emergency slide after the aircraft landed at Sanya Phoenix International Airport.

The incident caused the aircraft to be delayed for two hours and reportedly cost about $16,000 in damage.

In April, a United Airlines flight attendant pulled the same stunt.

Exploding e-cigarettes

In March, a Delta Air Lines flight was delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after an e-cigarette belonging to a passenger ignited on board the flight.

While battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices are permitted on planes as long as they're not checked, the lithium ion batteries in e-cigarettes have shown a propensity to ignite if they are damaged.

Mini travel essentials - in pictures 1 /13 Mini travel essentials - in pictures Philip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo Keep your hair looking fresh for those all important beach snaps

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marksandspencer.com Elemis Limited Edition Summer Set Treat your skin to spa treatment that'll leave it glowing and radiant

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timetospa.co.uk NARS Travel Brush Set A travel sized brush set for the jetsetting fashionista

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selfridges.com MAC: Sized to Go False lashes extreme Mac has brought out a range of sized-to-go cosmetics to glam up your holiday

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Spiders on a plane

Strange item requests

A flight attendant with the pen name Betty writes in her online series "Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant" that the strangest things people have asked her for on planes are actually fairly ordinary items  what's surprising is what some of these items would be used for.

Items requested include tweezers for pulling thorns out of a passenger's butt; a pen to clean ears with; a screwdriver "to take the seat apart"; and a cup, lid, straw, and knife "to make a catheter."

Strange announcement requests

A flight attendant with three years of experience told Business Insider that she's gotten her fair share of strange announcement requests.

"One gentleman was angry, and he asked me if I could make an announcement over the PA. When I asked him what he wanted me to announce, he he said, 'somebody in this vicinity is passing gas, and I need them to stop,'" she said.

Another passenger asked her to make an announcement asking a neighbouring passenger to give up the armrest.

Whatever this is

Animals left on planes

More than 700 international cabin-crew members told Skyscanner in 2013 about items they found on flights after passengers disembarked.

Animals accounted for several of the more unusual items on the list, including a falcon, dried fish, a frog, a tortoise, and a parrot.

People who make soup with the airline water

In response to the Quora question "What are the weirdest things flight attendants have seen in their line of duty?" former flight attendant Heather Wilde said she's seen her fair share of things many people would consider weird.

Flying pigs

Virtually undetectable turbulence

"One of the weirdest things I experienced was clear-air turbulence. I was bounced between the ceiling and the floor twice and broke my foot in two places when the bar cart landed on it," a flight attendant with 27 years of experience told Business Insider.

The worst place to put a baby

Uncomfortable 'cat-cidents'

"I know more than one fellow flight attendant who has had the uncomfortable situation of having to tell a woman that she can't breastfeed her ... cat! You read that right: Breastfeeding. A. Cat. And this isn't an isolated incident," Betty wrote.

She says the cat feeders' responses are always the same: "I'm just feeding my 'baby.'"

In-flight laundry

Unfortunate accidents

Betty writes that passengers tend to get more inebriated on flights to Las Vegas. In his drunken state, one passenger passed out while he was in the restroom, fell backward, and ended up on the floor with his fly still down and his privates exposed.

After much debate among the attendants about what to do, "they finally decided to get the long metal tongs that we use to serve bread in first class to move the exposed body part back into his pants! He didn't feel a thing," Betty wrote.

'Ambien zombies'

From streaking down the aisle totally nude to falling like an axed tree, when passengers consume an unfortunate mix of Ambien  which people take to sleep on planes  and airplane cocktails, it makes even the most normal people do very bizarre things, Betty says.

"These folks are sleeping, which means they think they are at home and safe in their beds. When they are home and safe in their beds they think it is perfectly acceptable to take off all of their clothes," Betty wrote.

Alas, this is not acceptable behavior on a long-haul international flight.

Pee hazards

A severe fear of flying

"I had a woman run to the front of the plane and throw herself in my closet. (She thought she was going to bathroom.) She then curled up in the fetal position in the closet and started sucking her thumb. She later told me that she forgot to take her anxiety medicine before flight," a flight attendant with 30 years of experience told Business Insider.

Balancing acts

States of undress

"One passenger attempted to board the plane wearing a raincoat and no pants," a flight attendant with 40 years of experience told Business Insider.

In-flight workouts

Sandwich thieves

"Never say never. Weirdness will always outdo itself if you challenge it," a flight attendant with 21 years of experience told Business Insider.

"For example, a passenger stole a sandwich off the galley counter. It was a crew member's, who bought it at the airport. They'd taken a bite and left it on the counter (with a little lipstick around the bite mark) to assist someone. When the crew member came back to the galley, it was gone.

"The crew member later found the thief eating it at their seat. When asked how they could just take a used sandwich with lipstick on it, they shrugged and said, 'I was hungry.'"

So many feet!

A bloody mess

"I haven't seen this, but I did have flight attendants tell me about blood dripping from the overhead because someone was bringing in a goat's head from a Caribbean island. That was before TSA and all their security procedures were put in place, of course," Annette Long, a flight attendant with 13 years of experience, told Business Insider.
A paranoid schizophrenic who killed his father by stabbing him 24 times in front of horrified customers in his north London cafe has been jailed.

Barangu Gulbudak believed 49-year-old Huseyin Gulbudak, from Enfield, was trying to "telepathically hurt him" when he launched the frenzied assault in August last year, the Old Bailey was told on Tuesday.

The university drop-out, who had regularly smoked strong "skunk" cannabis since he was 16, carried out the deadly attack as his "highly-regarded" father worked at Efes restaurant in Kilburn High Road.

Gulbudak, who turns 22 on Wednesday, also threatened to kill customers at the restaurant as they tried to stop his deadly attack by throwing chairs at him.

The killer arrived at the restaurant at 6.30pm on August 1 last year, the court heard.

A forensic officer enters the cafe where the owner was stabbed to death / Ben Morgan

Half an hour later he repeatedly stabbed his father in the neck and torso with a kitchen knife, causing massive injuries.

The devoted father was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead 90 minutes later, the court was told.

In the months leading up to the attack, the court heard Gulbudak had been to the North Middlesex Hospital in north London several times with complaints, including that he had been "hearing voices".

A month before the attack he had been taken there by his mother and told staff he was suffering from a "mental breakdown" before discharging himself.

A police cordon was set up outside the cafe / Ben Morgan

The court heard a note had been found at the young man's home mentioning a plan to "kill father" and he had also previously tried to buy a gun.

Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC told the shaven-headed, bearded defendant that as well as his mental illness, he was satisfied he had an underlying aggressive streak and was a danger to the public.

He said: "You have pleaded guilty to killing your own father, who was only 49 when you took his life. He had many more years ahead of him.

"He was highly-regarded, hard-working and devoted to his family. As well as taking your father's life, you have devastated theirs."

The judge said that he agreed with a psychiatrist who found the defendant's drug use had played a role in "triggering" his mental illness, although he had not taken cannabis in the hours and days leading up to the attack.

Gulbudak was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of six-and-a-half years and ordered to be held and treated in a secure mental unit

The killer had previously admitted manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

Speaking after his murder a cousin of the victim told the Standard: His family was everything to him. He worked so hard for them to build a better life for them all, especially his kids. He wanted them all to go to university.

He was a very good daddy. He always put his family first. He never took a holiday, he just worked and worked because he loved his kids and wanted to support his family.

He was a wonderful family man.
T he manager of a housing estate who went on shopping sprees with at least 100,000 taken from its accounts could face jail.

Paula Phillips, 52, spent thousands on Amazon and at stores including Tesco, Argos and ScrewFix.

She went on the sprees while employed as estate manager of Wellington Mills housing co-operative in Lambeth, from March 2015 to last April, Inner London crown court heard.

She also swindled more than 10,000 in her previous job at Havering council.

Phillips, of Romford, admitted fraud by abuse of position.

Judge Jeremy Donne QC freed her on unconditional bail until sentencing on June 2, and warned that prison was a distinct possibility.
T he Duke of Cambridge has blasted the decision to publish topless photographs of his wife as particularly shocking in court.

William claimed the publication of images of Kate sunbathing on holiday in the south of France mirrored his late mothers battles with the paparazzi.

The Duke expressed his sadness at the incident more than four years ago in a written statement read to a court in Nanterre, west Paris, where six people are on trial in connection with the alleged breach of privacy.

The long-lens images of Kate, taken as they holidayed in the south of France, adorned the front and inside pages of France's Closer magazine in September 2012 alongside an article about the loved-up pair entitled "Oh my God!".

William and Kate were on the terrace of a private chateau in Provence owned by Viscount Linley, the Queen's nephew, when they were photographed.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Paris 1 /20 Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Paris The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge depart after meeting French President Francois Hollande PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Les Invalides, where they met a number of victims and first responders from the Bataclan and Nice attacks and also heard more about the important historic and current role of the site, in particular its work supporting veterans and its rehabilitation programmes, as part of their official visit to the French capital PA The Duchess of Cambridge at Les Invalides after she met a number of victims and first responders from the Bataclan and Nice attacks and also heard more about the important historic and current role of the site, in particular its work supporting veterans and its rehabilitation programmes PA Royal arrival: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at Les Invalides PA The Duchess of Cambridge at Les Invalides after she met a number of victims and first responders from the Bataclan and Nice attacks and also heard more about the important historic and current role of the site, in particular its work supporting veterans and its rehabilitation programmes PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Les Invalides, where they met a number of victims and first responders from the Bataclan and Nice attacks and also heard more about the important historic and current role of the site, in particular its work supporting veterans and its rehabilitation programmes PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Les Invalides, where they met a number of victims and first responders from the Bataclan and Nice attacks and also heard more about the important historic and current role of the site, in particular its work supporting veterans and its rehabilitation programmes PA The Duke of Cambridge speaks at a reception at the British Embassy in Paris PA Tour: William and Kate are on a trip to Paris Getty Images Surprise: Visitors take photos of the Royal couple Getty Images Paris: The couple look through the clock at Musee d'Orsay Getty Images Tour: Director of the Musee d'Orsay, Laurence des Cars, guides the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge AFP/Getty Images Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during for a dinner hosted by Her Majesty's Ambassador to France, Edward Llewellyn, at the British Embassy in Paris PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend a dinner hosted by Her Majesty's Ambassador to France, Edward Llewellyn, at the British Embassy in Paris PA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend a dinner hosted by Her Majesty's Ambassador to France, Edward Llewellyn, at the British Embassy in Paris PA

The trial of six people - including three photographers - linked to Closer magazine and regional newspaper La Provence began on Tuesday.

In a written declaration read in French in court by the couple's lawyer Jean Veil, William said: "In September 2012, my wife and I thought that we could go to France for a few days in a secluded villa owned by a member of my family, and thus enjoy our privacy.

"We know France and the French and we know that they are, in principle, respectful of private life, including that of their guests.

The Duchess of Cambridge was pictured sunbathing topless / PA

"The clandestine way in which these photographs were taken was particularly shocking to us as it breached our privacy."

He added that the images were "all the more painful" given the harassment linked to the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

William ended his statement by thanking the French authorities for their support and work on the investigation.

Ernesto Mauri, 70, chief executive of publishing group Mondadori which produces Closer, faces one charge of using a document obtained by a breach of privacy, as does Marc Auburtin, 56, who was La Provence's publishing director at the time.

Family visit: the Royal Family touch down in Canada for a tour / PA WIRE

Laurence Piau, 50, editor of Closer magazine in France, is charged with complicity.

Agency photographers Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides and Valerie Suau, who was a photographer for La Provence, stood in the dock together as they faced charges of invasion of privacy and complicity.

The three other defendants were represented in court by lawyers.

A lawyer working on the case in court / EPA

The court heard that cellular data placed photographers Moreau, 32, and Jacovides, 59, in the areas surrounding the chateau between September 4 and 6 when the topless images are believed to have been taken.

While the pair acknowledged they were looking for the royal couple, they said they did not know where they were staying.

Both deny taking the photographs at the centre of the controversy, which are alleged to have been sold on to Closer.

Suau, 53, who is said to have taken photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge in her swimwear which were printed in La Provence, told the court she did not intend to breach the royals' privacy.

The publication of the images prompted a fierce reaction at the time, with a statement issued by St James's Palace stating they were "reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales".

Jean Veil is representing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge / EPA

The royal couple launched their own legal proceedings in 2012 and a court in Paris banned Closer, which is separate from the UK's Closer magazine, from printing any further images.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry discuss mental health

Presiding judge Florence Lasserre-Jeannin will announce the verdict on July 4 at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre.
T hirteen people accused of a suspected hate attack that left a teenage asylum seeker fighting for his life in hospital will go on trial later this year.

The mixed-sex group - who are aged between 15 and 24 - each denied one charge of violent disorder when they appeared before Croydon Crown Court on Tuesday.

Victim Reker Ahmed, a 17-year-old Kurdish Iranian living in south-east London, was chased and set upon while at a bus stop with two others in Croydon, south London, on March 31.

He was left with a fractured spine, fractured eye socket and bleed to the brain.

Reker Ahmed in hospital following the attack

Two defendants - George Walder, 20, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named due to his age - each denied an additional charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The other defendants - all from the local area - are: siblings Danyelle Davies, 24, and Daryl Davies, 20; Kyran Evans, 23; Ben Harman, 20; Ellie Leite, 19; James Neves, 22; Liam Neylen, 19; Barry Potts, 20; and Jack Walder, 24.

Police: Six people have been arrested / London Live

Two further defendants, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, cannot be identified for legal reasons.

George Walder was remanded in custody while the other 12 defendants were released on conditional bail.

Forensics comb the scene of the attack (PA) / London Live

The case was adjourned for a further administrative hearing later this month, before being listed for trial in October.

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay told judge Adam Hiddleston the case would likely be broken down into two separate trials.

Following the attack Mohammed Qardi, 22, said he had seen Mr Ahmed a number of times at the Middle East Shisha tea house in West Croydon.

He told the Standard: Hes a quiet person, hes not really talking to everybody. You can see people from their face - hes not a bad guy, hes not looking for trouble.

He was going to college, coming back, going home. Or sometimes he would come here, play some dominoes, drink something, and then go.
Arvind Kejriwal is planning a major shake up of Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi unit following his party's poor show in the just concluded MCD polls. Long-time volunteers may get some big responsibilities.

By Ankit Tyagi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal knows he has a lot to do after his party's poor show in the just concluded civic body polls in Delhi. The MCD results which triggered a blame game within the party has forced the Delhi chief minister to chalk out strategy to prevent further damage.

Kejriwal who recently tweeted and said it is time to go back to drawing board, has been meeting all AAP MLAs individually to access the reasons for party's disappointing performance in MCD polls, where it managed to win only 48 wards out 270.

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KEJRIWAL's SHAKE UP PLAN

Kejriwal is expected to finish his meetings with the MLAs today and then will start another round of introspection meetings will all district heads of AAP in Delhi. Sources informed India Today, Kejriwal wants a big reshuffle of the entire structure of the party in Delhi to infuse new energy. The process may see new faces, be given more responsibilities. Long-time volunteers of the party are likely to get some major role. Post MCD defeat, Dilip Pandey had resigned as the Delhi convenor and Minister Gopal Rai was given charge of Delhi instead. Now Kejriwal is looking for a new team right to the ground in his bid reconnect with volunteers. Many also see it as Delhi CM's way tightening the grip over the party which is at present ridden with factionalism amidst reports of voices wanting Kumar Vishwas to take over as National Convenor. On Monday, party MLA Amanatullah Khan resigned from the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) after Kumar Vishwas refused to attend the meeting. Khan while coming out of the PAC meeting said, "I stand by what I said about Vishwas. He is working at the behest of the BJP and RSS."

WATCH: Kumar Vishwas conspiring to break AAP at BJP's behest, says MLA Amanatullah Khan

ALSO READ:

Amanatullah Khan resigns from AAP's PAC, says Kumar Vishwas a BJP-RSS worker

Arvind Kejriwal in huddle with Manish Sisodia, others over AAP infighting

MCD election results 2017: The 5 mistakes of Arvind Kejriwal

--- ENDS ---
T his is the terrifying moment two dangerous robbers ambushed a woman on her driveway before dragging her onto a car bonnet by the throat and ripping out her earrings.

The two hooded men, who are brothers, were caught on camera sneaking up behind victim Tania Levenfiche, 48, before gripping her around the neck as her frightened 10-year-old son watched on.

The other robber is seen kicking the familys dog three times before the violent pair flee the home on Wildwood Road, Hampstead, in a stolen BMW.

But serial robbers Eugene and Devlin Williams were today jailed for a total of 14 years thanks to Ms Levenfiches son Didier, who memorised the robbers faces and later identified them from a police line-up.

One of the robbers grabs the victim by the neck and rips out her earrings. / Met Police

Police discovered the two men had committed a spate of other terrifying robberies across north-west London in a space of more than a year.

Eugene Williams, 36, from Station Road in Forest Gate, was caught by police while wearing a Rolex watch and diamond ring totalling nearly 30,000.

Police later seized a solid gold Rolex studded with a diamond worth 55,000 and other assets totalling 100,000 from his house.

Jailed: Brothers Devlin Williams, 33, of Hirst Crescent, Wembley, and Eugene Williams, 36, of Station Road, E7. / Met Police

He pleaded guilty to robbing four women and possessing criminal property at Southwark Crown Court. He was jailed for eight years on Tuesday.

His brother, Devlin Williams, 33, of Hirst Crescent in Wembley, pleaded guilty to three separate robberies and was jailed for six years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court.

Ms Levenfiche said following the attack, on Wildwood Road on June 13 last year, her son told her: Mummy I felt so bad I couldn't save you.

She added: He has since had continuous nightmares about the attack and is so scared to get in and out of the car in our driveway at any time of the day or night.

Imprisoned: Devlin Williams pleaded guilty and has been locked up. / Met Police

He has not slept a whole night since the incident and also is very disturbed by the fact that the attackers kicked our dog over and over as she tried to jump up at them to help me.

Please remember that he watched this whole incident and the face of the attacker staring at him.

DC Martin Thomas, who investigated the case, said the brothers are dangerous criminals who targeted innocent people across London.

The string of robberies, the first of which began in November 2015, were all carried out using similar tactics, where the robbers would attack the victims from behind before ripping off their jewellery.

Timeline November 19, 2015: Eugene and another suspect attack a woman, 55, on her doorstep in Tregunter Road, West Brompton and steal her 95,000 engagement ring, wedding ring and Cartier watch. He tells her: "Don't shout, don't scream or we will hurt you." November 2015: Eugene buys a Ducati Superbike motorcycle with 10,000 cash following robbery. December 16, 2015: Eugene and another man attack Vanessa Donkin, 42, on Lefroy Road in White City. He threatens to kill her if she makes a noise and her 40,000 diamond ring is stolen. May 31, 2016: Couple in their 60s attacked as they arrived home in Bigwood Road in Hampstead. Woman's diamond ring wrenched from finger. June 13, 2016: Tania Levenfiche is robbed by Eugene and Devlin Williams outside her home on Wildwood Road, Hampstead. August 4, 2016: Devlin Williams follows elderly woman, 74, from Tesco in Portobello Road before directing another person to attack her and steal her 20,000 Rolex. August 7, 2016: A man is robbed of his 7,000 watch in West Hill, Harrow. Devlin arranged the robbery with friend Hatim Nahal, who has pleaded guilty. August 18, 2016: Eugene Williams is arrested wearing 29,000 worth of jewellery.

A robbery on May 31 last year saw a couple in their 60s attacked on their doorstep in Bigwood Road with the men wrenching a diamond ring from the womans hand.

Eugene Williams also robbed a woman, 55, in Chelsea, taking her 94,000 diamond engagement ring, wedding ring and Cartier watch as he covered her mouth and said: Dont shout, dont scream or we will hurt you.

He also attacked another woman, Vanessa Donkin, 42, in White City at around 8.30am, giving her a bear hug and covering her mouth, telling her: If you make a noise Ill kill her.

Ms Donkin said the ring stolen in her robbery was a family heirloom which had been passed down through generations.

She said: I no longer wear any jewellery, am constantly on the lookout for danger and often have flashbacks to the day of the attack.

I have been left with a sense that you can be attacked anywhere at any time, that essentially you are powerless to completely protect yourself and that passers-by/members of the public are not necessarily going to be able to come to your aid.

As you can imagine these are not very comforting thoughts and I am trying hard to shake them off.

DC Martin Thomas said: Thanks to Didier's attention to detail, both men were arrested in August 2016 and successfully picked out at an ID parade.

Didier's brave actions directly led to them being brought to justice and we are very proud to have named him as our hero of the year."

He added: "The level of violence used against these victims was gratuitous and has left them traumatised.

Hatim Nahal, 31, of Kingshill Drive, Harrow, pleaded guilty to being an accomplice in a robbery for a plot organised with Devlin. / Met Police

Westminster Crime Squad have worked tirelessly to convict these robbers who used the proceeds of their crime to fund their lifestyle. London is much safer with these violent men bought to justice and behind bars.

Devlin Williams also committed two further robberies without his brother in August 2016. He waited for an elderly woman to leave a Tesco on Portobello Road before directing another man to attack her on her doorstep and steal her 20,000 Rolex.

Devlin was also linked to another attack on August 7 last year, when a 30-year-old man was attacked in a hire car in West Hill, Harrow. The man was stabbed in his leg and had his new Rolex watch, worth 7,000, stolen.

Also in the hire car was Hatim Nahal, a long-time friend of Devlin. Police uncovered a plot between the two men to set up the 30-year-old to be robbed.
A n Australian woman faces more than 20 years in prison after she was caught allegedly trying to smuggle 1,000,000 of cocaine from Colombia to London.

Cassandra Sainsbury, 22, was arrested last month at Bogotas international airport when an X-ray machine detected the cocaine hidden in 18 separate packages stashed in her luggage.

The young woman's family claims she was set up, and had been on a working holiday to South American to promote her personal training business.

They say she thought the cocaine packs - which contained almost 6kg of the drug - were pre-wrapped headphones which were going to be handed out as gifts at her upcoming wedding.

Cassandra Sainsbury was arrested last month at Bogota Aiport / EPA

Her sister Khala Sainsbury said in an online post: "Our hearts break, because we know she is innocent, but stands little chance of proving it in such a corrupt country.

Lt Col Jorge Triana, head of the anti-narcotics police at Bogota's international airport, said Sainsbury's claims that she was deceived are probably untrue.

She said: "Everyone who is caught says exactly the same thing.

Sainsbury's family say she has been set up / EPA

"But they know what they're doing."

She added that police have arrested 19 foreign drug mules this year alone.

Sainsbury, who was arrested on April 12, has been transferred to a women's penitentiary in Bogota.
F ormer WWE star X-Pac has been arrested after attempting to board a flight from LA to Gatwick Airport with a haul of drugs, police said.

The wrestling legend, whose real name is Sean Waltman, was met by officers as he attempted to board the flight at LAX airport in Los Angeles.

A spokesman for Los Angeles Airport Police said the 44-year-old had been charged with possession with intent to sell after the arrest on Saturday shortly before midnight.

He said: "A subsequent investigation revealed that he had methamphetamines, marijuana and had a warrant for his arrest for a DUI (driving under the influence)."

A search of Waltman's backpack unearthed three cannabis chocolate bars, 38 methamphetamine capsules and 56 capsules of the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, according to a record of his arrest.

He was charged with possession of a controlled substance in relation to the methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, but not the cannabis as it is not a controlled substance in the state, the spokesman added.

Officers argue he was planning on selling the drugs as he was possessing a quantity too vast to personally consume before he was due to fly back to LA on Monday.

Waltman, who earned his first pro wrestling title in 1990, was due to perform at the Extreme Measures event in Clapham, south-west London, on Sunday.

The wrestler, who has spoken about his drug abuse in the past, said after his arrest that he had experienced a "crazy weekend" which he plans to explain to fans.

He tweeted: "Still mentally strong & healthy. No relapse."

His spokesman added: "All I can comment on now is he is fine and that we refunded his deposit to the UK promoter for the show he missed."

Waltman was bailed for 35,000 US dollars (27,000) and is due to appear in court in Los Angeles on May 25.
T he devastated parents of sick baby boy Charlie Gard are to begin the latest step in their legal battle to keep him alive.

Nine-month-old Charlie was at the centre of a high-profile court row between doctors in charge of his care at Great Ormond Street Hospital and his parents.

Medics believe his life-support treatment should be withdrawn and replaced with palliative care but Charlie's west London parents want to take him to a hospital in the US for treatment.

Last month a judge at Londons High Court ruled in the hospitals favour, allowing doctors to withdraw life support treatment for Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage.

Parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard with Charlie / PA

But today Charlies parents, postman Chris Gard and Connie Yates, both from Bedfont, will appear at Londons Appeal Court in a bid to overturn the previous judges ruling.

Charlie Gard's parents on This Morning

Miss Yates told the MailOnline: We were devastated by the result of the last hearing.

But somehow Chris and I have pulled together and picked ourselves up as a family. We had to for Charlies sake.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates, the parents of Charlie Gard, arrive at court last month / PA

Charlie is still strong and stable. He is growing more beautiful by the day and we knew we couldnt just give up on him.

The couple have now hired a new firm of lawyers, Harris Da Silva Solicitors, to fight last month's ruling.

Mr Justice Francis made the court decision with the heaviest of hearts that life-support treatment should stop after hearing evidence in the Family Division of the High Court and visiting baby Charlie in hospital.

Charlie, who was born on August 4 last year, has a form of mitochondrial disease, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.

An online fundraising page set up by Miss Yates has now raised more than 1.3 million.
T he father of murdered schoolboy Damilola Taylor has called on new Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick to increase stop and search to combat the uncontrollable spate of knife crime in London.

Richard Taylor said the Met should expand the controversial tactic but urged police to adopt a more humane way of stopping and searching young people.

He spoke out after a week in which six men were killed in knife attacks in London and several others seriously injured in stabbings.

Mr Taylor, whose ten-year-old son was stabbed to death in Peckham in 2000, said: Its become so uncontrollable, beyond my imagination. I cannot imagine why young people have now taken it to that level, treating it as a game to kill each other.

I dont think those kids have heart, if you can take a knife to go and pierce it through another person. They know what they are doing, they really want to kill.

Damilola Taylor was stabbed to death in Peckham in 2000 aged 10

Eight teenagers have been murdered in London so far this year, five of them in knife attacks while the Met has recorded a 24 per cent rise in knife crime.

Mr Taylor, a former civil servant who leads the charity Damilola Taylor Trust, said: Stop and search has to be increased. They should review the method by which they carry it out at the moment and change the strategy.

You dont need to use that force, to pin someone down  you have to find a more humane way of doing it. You have to target the people carrying knives, you have to watch them, study their family background.

The Met has dramatically scaled back the number of stop and searches carried out in London in recent years following controversy over the use of the tactic.

In 2014 Theresa May, then Home Secretary, said stop and search should be more targeted saying it was undermining relations between police and ethnic minority communities. Research showed black people were seven times more likely to be stopped by police than white people.

A year later the then Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe appeared to defy Mrs May by ordering an increase in the tactic, though he made clear there was a more targeted, intelligence-led approach.

New Met chief Ms Dick, who has made tackling knife crime her priority, has said she would back her officers if they ordered a rise more intelligence-led stop and search tactics.

Police say there has been an increase in the number of young people carrying knives, many of them in a mistaken view it gives them protection.

In January, Mr Taylor told the Standard that the streets of London had become more dangerous for young people in the 17 years since his sons death.

Damilola bled to death in a stairwell on a Peckham estate after being stabbed in the leg with a broken bottle on his way home from the library in 2000.

Mr Taylor said the police and Government had been paying lip service to combating knife crime since his sons death, and that the new Met chief has a lot of work to do.

He was speaking as his charity launched a new scheme, sponsored by telephone fundraising agency Listen, to create opportunities for disadvantaged young people in the banking and financial sector.

For more information visit damilolataylortrust.co.uk.
T he Government today admitted defeat in its battle to withhold its clean air plan from the public until after the General Election.

Downing Street announced it will now rush out its long-awaited strategy within days after deciding not to appeal a High Court ruling forcing it to publish the plan.

Ministers were accused of trying to delay the report as it is expected that the drivers of the most polluting vehicles will be hit with a series of restrictions.

The Prime Ministers spokesman said: We have looked at the judgment from last week and we will not be appealing. The courts deadline was May 9 and we will be meeting that deadline.

This was the third court defeat for the Government over toxic air and a humiliation for Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom, who applied to the court for an extension so that her department could publish the report in September.

London Pollution - In pictures 1 /20 London Pollution - In pictures PA Sunrise: Pollution lingered over London on Tuesday morning Jeremy Selwyn A cyclist wearing a face mask rides between taxis taking part in a protest to highlight congestion and air pollution Getty Images A smog filled traffic rush hour in the East End of London Jeremy Selwyn Pollution detector App 'Blue Air' near the Houses of Parliament Blue air Thick smog hangs over London's Docklands PA Traffic pollution in North London Jeremy Selwyn Air pollution surrounds The Shard in London Jeremy Selwyn Getty Images Sunrise over a misty polluted London from Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn St. Paul's Cathedral is seen among the skyline through the smog AFP via Getty Images A thick layer of smog was visible above London William Smith/@williamsmithorg A cold layer of air can be seen trapping pollution close to the ground and across the London skyline Pete Buckney This image taken near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich shows a thick layer of fog hanging over London Anna Rolls The City of London covered in smog seen from Hampstead Heath Getty Images

Ministers have already twice been ordered by judges to improve their plans to cut nitrogen dioxide levels after being taken to court by environmental lawyers ClientEarth.

The plan will be published between the local election results on May 5 and the legal deadline, with the expectation it will be released this Friday.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg today warned that London risks losing its competitive edge in global business if it did not get to grips with the pollution crisis.

The billionaire businessman, who has a home in the capital, said poor air quality was a major health concern and could jeopardise its attractiveness to investors.

Writing exclusively in the Evening Standard, Mr Bloomberg said London must be a place where people want to live and that city leaders need to equip themselves with better data to manage the problem.

He added: Heavy pollution saddles taxpayers with several billion pounds a year in health care costs. And it reduces Londons attractiveness to foreign companies at a time when, as a result of Brexit, its competitiveness in global markets is being challenged by other financial capitals.

Mr Bloomberg, 75, said he wants London to learn lessons from his 12-year stint as mayor of New York, where he invested in more than 100 air monitors at street level.

After his changes air quality rose to its cleanest level in 50 years. To help cities around the world get to grips with air quality monitoring, his company Bloomberg Philanthropies will open a London office later this year.
F irefighters battld a blaze near Plough Lane, the future home of AFC Wimbledon.

Six fire engines were sent to the site at 12.32pm after reports of a blaze near the former dog-racing track.

Images from the scene showed a huge plume of grey smoke rising above the area.

The London Fire Brigade was said it was inundated with calls because the smoke could be seen for miles around.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said 35 firefighters had been sent to the blaze at a storage yard behind the disused greyhound stadium.

He said: "A pile of waste is alight.

"Smoke from the fire is highly visible across the local area and the Brigades 999 control officers have so far taken more than 10 calls to the incident."

Residents in the surrounding area are being advised to keep their doors and windows shut.

Back in September 2016, AFC Wimbledon were cleared by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to build a new 20,000 ground on the site  the clubs spiritual home.

The dog track was closed at the end of March so it could be pulled down to make way for the new stadium.

Plans for the site also include 600 homes and a leisure centre.

The fire was under control by 3pm, LFB said.
A n east London school nurse has admitted errors were made in the care plan for a boy with severe allergies and asthma, months before he died after falling ill during detention.

Goddard Edwards assessed Nasar Ahmed's allergy plan as mild to moderate rather than severe, despite the 14-year-old being allergic to a wide range of foods and needing access to an epipen.

He also failed to follow up on gaps in details about the boy's medication when it was discussed with his parents during a meeting at Bow School in Tower Hamlets.

Nasar was in an exclusion room with other pupils when he became unwell and collapsed on November 10 last year.

He was rushed to hospital and put on oxygen but a brain scan showed the youngster was unresponsive and he died on November 14.

An inquest into his death at Poplar Coroner's Court also heard there were no requirements for staff on duty to know of his medical requirements.

Teacher Arlette Matumona, responsible for pupils' medical needs, was unable to say whether staff supervising the detention had looked at the school's information system to check on Nasar's medical needs.

Nasar Ahmed, 14, died after falling ill in detention

The inquest heard the Year Nine pupil had asthma, severe eczema and a host of allergies, including to fish, nuts, wheat, apples and oranges.

He used inhalers, his mother carried two epipens and the school had two more epipens if he showed symptoms of an anaphylactic allergic reaction.

But at a meeting on May 3 2016 with Nasar and his mother, Mr Edwards used an incorrect form when assessing his allergies, downgrading his case from severe to mild to moderate.

He also failed to follow up on incomplete records of Nasar's medication that needed to be kept at the school, the inquest heard.

Use of an epipen was also not mentioned, and Mr Edwards conceded he made a mistake.

He said: "The epipen doesn't figure on this particular plan. I accept that this was an oversight on my part."

Mr Edwards also said the error with the care plan was a "complete oversight on my part", and admitted failing to follow up and review Nasar's medication needs after asking a receptionist to tell his mother she needed to bring up a new epipen and inhaler for him.

But when asked how he would characterise his care for Nasar, he said: "I fulfilled my duties. I am happy with the care I gave Nasar."

Coroner Mary Hassell told him she was "surprised to hear that" following the catalogue of errors, to which he answered: "There are some omissions with the care plan, so to go back to your question, no, there are some problems with this."

The inquest also heard Ms Matumona explain staff were told to check pupils' medical records at the start of the school year.

But she said support staff, who would not have come into daily contact with Nasar, had been on duty that day, and conceded they may have failed to check.

She said: "Perhaps they wouldn't necessarily think to check in the school system.

Ms Matumona added: "Some staff will and some staff won't check SIMS (the school's information system) as a matter of course."

Pressed by the family's lawyer, Sam Jacobs, on whether they should, she replied: "I am not sure. If you are a support member of staff who does not teach that child...

"Most of our staff would not have thought that Nasar would have to be discussed so publicly."

Asked if it was realistic for staff to remember a child's medical needs after checking at the start of the year, Ms Matumona said: "Perhaps we could have it so that it's displayed somewhere or have a list for those children in exclusion."

The inquest continues.

Additional reporting by Press Association
R elations between Downing Street and Brussels plunged further downhill today after the European Parliaments chief Brexit negotiator openly mocked the Prime Minister.

Guy Verhofstadt mimicked Theresa Mays election slogan of strong and stable leadership on Twitter and implied she did not understand the complexities of the Brexit negotiations.

Any Brexit deal requires a strong & stable understanding of the complex issues involved, he tweeted. The clock is ticking  its time to get real.

In another hostile intervention, European officials involved in Britains exit talks launched a whispering campaign against Brexit Secretary David Davis, chosen by Mrs May to lead the negotiations. They described him as so flimsy he should be replaced after next months general election.

The barrage from Brussels followed a series of high-level leaks of a private dinner between Mrs May and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, which portrayed the Prime Minister as having unrealistic expectations of a favourable exit deal.

Last weeks dinner reportedly ended with Mr Juncker saying he was 10 times more sceptical than before that a Brexit deal could be reached at all.

No 10 attempted to keep out of the row. When asked if Mrs May trusted Mr Juncker, the Prime Ministers spokesman replied: We approach these talks with all parties in a constructive manner and with a huge amount of goodwill.

Leaks: details of talks between Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker emerged over the weekend / REUTERS

Home Secretary Amber Rudd condemned the leaks, saying the anonymous culprits had made a mistake by going public. Its a mistake to allow those sort of details, if they are true, to come out from a dinner, she said. Im not surprised that there is briefing coming out from different sides of a negotiation. But what we will always do is make sure that we conduct our negotiations more discreetly, shall we say, so that really we can have a freer negotiating hand.

The attacks seemed to be calculated to undermine Mrs Mays negotiating strategy. The European news organisation Politico reported that Brussels officials were so despairing of Mr Davis that they had hatched a plot to replace the EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier with his deputy in an attempt to give No 10 a graceful way to replace Davis. Sources close to Mr Davis ignored this.

German ministers also fired their own warning shots against Mrs Mays hopes that she can obtain a free trade without free movement. Europe minister Michael Roth tweeted: The British government must finally say goodbye to the fairy tale that after Brexit everything will go better for all Britons.

Theresa May describes reports of disastrous Brexit meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker as 'Brussels gossip'

Finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said: Britain should not have advantages after the exit that other countries dont have. Mrs May and Mr Juncker described last weeks dinner at No 10 as constructive. The first sign of trouble came when German chancellor Angela Merkel used a speech to German MPs to warn Mrs May against illusions about what she could get in a deal.

It soon emerged that Mrs Merkel had been called by an aghast Mr Juncker after the dinner, who told her Mrs May was ignoring the EUs red lines.

Leaked accounts describe the two sides as being in a different galaxy. On the Brexit divorce bill, one EU diplomat said: Im not going to tell you their number, because you are going to laugh.

Ms Rudd told ITVs Good Morning Britain: We are not going to comment on leaks like this  they may or may not be true, elements of it  but the fact is there is going to be nearly two years of this type of negotiation going on and I think it would be a mistake for the Government to leap on any sort of tittle- tattle that comes out.

Today Nick Clegg said the leaks were happening because Mrs May had tried to bark instructions at European leaders. The former deputy prime minister said: This is a complex Rubiks cube negotiation which requires agility and charm to be successful. None of that appears to have been in evidence at that dinner.
T his is the full transcript of Diane Abbotts car crash live radio interview during which she appeared to flounder over how much a Labour campaign policy would cost.

The live LBC interview on Tuesday morning was called embarrassing and cringe-worthy by critics who hit out at the London MP for being ill-prepared.

She was quizzed by presenter Nick Ferrari on the Labour plan to introduce 10,000 police officers onto the streets of England and Wales if they are elected in next months General Election.

But the Shadow Home Secretarys grip of the policy appeared to unravel when she was asked how much the policy would cost.

Here is how the interview unfolded:

Nick Ferrari: Where will the money come from Diane Abbott? Good morning.

Diane Abbott: The money will come from reversing some of the tax cuts for the rich that the Tories have pushed through. And the tax cut we're specifically identifying to pay for the 10,000 policemen is the cut in capital gains tax.

Shadow cabinet minister Diane Abbott. (PA) / PA Archive/PA Images

NF: Policemen? So we can't have policewomen then?

DA: Policemen and women.

NF: That's alright, just checking. Strange it falls to me to correct you, Diane, but do carry on.

DA: Let's talk about the real issues of crime which people are worried about. What people are worried about is the rise in violent crime. We've seen in the Met, for instance, gun crime go up by 42 per cent and knife crime go up by 24 per cent and we believe that more community policemen and women are part of the answer to this.

NF: So how much would 10,000 police officers cost?

DA: Well, if we recruit the 10,000 policemen and women over a four-year period, we believe it will be about 300,000.

Grilling: LBC host Nick Ferrari

NF: 300,000 for 10,000 police officers? What are you paying them?

DA: No, I mean, sorry...

NF: How much will they cost?

DA They will cost, it will cost about, about 80 million.

NF: About 80 million? How do you get to that figure?

DA: We get to that figure because we anticipate recruiting 25,000 extra police officers a year at least over a period of four years. And we are looking at both what average police wages are generally but also specifically police wages in London.

NF: And this will be funded by reversing, in some instances, the cuts in capital gains tax. But I'm right in saying that since Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the party, that money has also been promised to reverse spending cuts in education, spending cuts in arts, spending cuts in sports. The Conservatives say you've spent this money already, Diane Abbott.

DA: Well the Conservatives would say that. We've not promised the money to any area, we've just pointed out that the cuts in capital gains tax will cost the taxpayer over 2 billion and there are better ways of spending that money. But as we roll out our manifesto process, we are specifically saying how we will fund specific proposals. And this morning I'm saying to you that we will fund the 10,000 extra police officers by using some - not all, but just some - of the 2 billion.

NF: And the 80 million is the figure we use?

DA: Yeah, yeah.

NF: But I don't understand. If you divide 80 million by 10,000, you get 8,000. Is that what you are going to pay these policemen and women?

DA: No, we are talking about a process over four years.

NF: I don't understand. What is he or she going to get? Eighty million divided by 10,000 equals 8,000. What are these police officers going to be paid?

DA: We will be paying them the average...

NF: Has this been thought through?

DA: Of course it's been thought through.

NF: Where are the figures?

DA: The figures are that the additional cost in year one, when we anticipate recruiting about 250,000 policemen, will be 64.3 million.

NF: 250,000 policemen?

DA: And women.

NF: So you are getting more than 10,000. You're recruiting 250,000?

DA: No, we are recruiting two thousand and - perhaps - two hundred and fifty."

NF: So where did 250,000 come from?

DA: I think you said that, not me.

NF: I can assure you you said that, because I wrote it down.

DA: What I am saying about the cost is that in year one, obviously, we are getting ready to recruit. But in year two, the cost will be 64.3 million. In year three, the cost will be 139.1 million. Year four the cost will be 217 million. And year five, the cost will be 298 million. And that can be amply covered by reversing the cuts in capital gains tax.
Aam Aadmi Party founder member Kumar Vishwas today accused its leaders of conspiring against him and said he won't compromise with his principles and soon take a call on his future action.

By India Today Web Desk: Aam Aadmi Party founder member Kumar Vishwas today accused its leaders of conspiring against him and said he won't compromise with his principles and soon take a call on his future action. Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia hit back, questioning why Vishwas is making public statements on TV.

"I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell the conspirators that I will not allow you to do so," an emotional Kumar Vishwas told reporters without taking any name.

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He denied that he wanted to be the Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party. "I have already told several times and even to Arvind (Kejriwal), Manish (Sisodia) and the party that I don't want to be the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister or the Convenor," he said.

Kumar Vishwas also said that he would not join any political party or the Swaraj Aandolan. But he said he will take a decision by tonight.

He broke down while talking to reporters, saying "I don't know why you are here but I had not joined the movement for this."

Stating that Arvind Kejriwal will remain the chief minister, he however said he will not apologise for the 13-minute video where he had launched an indirect attack on the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Among other issues, Vishwas had hinted at corruption in the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government.

SISODIA HITS BACK

In an instant reply, Sisodia questioned why Vishwas is speaking in the open and not in party forums. "Who is benefiting from such public statements? Definitely not the Aam Aadmi Party," he said.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan had on Sunday alleged that Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and had asked some legislators to join the BJP with an offer of Rs 30 crore each.

"The morale of our workers is getting hurt due to comments made on TV. They don't talk inside the party, they talk on TV," Sisodia said.

"You should come in proper forum. Come to PAC and talk," the deputy CM said.

Khan's remarks came after Vishwas in a TV interview on Friday said the party won't hesitate in taking a call on change in its leadership after its poor show in the Delhi municipal polls.

As Vishwas challenged the claim and denied any attempt to split the party, Khan on Monday night resigned from the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC).

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener, called a PAC meeting on Monday to discuss the issues that arose after the allegations levelled by the Okhla MLA.

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Vishwas did not turn up for the PAC meet.

Also read:

Arvind Kejriwal in introspection mode after MCD debacle, plans major shake up in AAP

Kumar Vishwas video talks of Kashmir, attacks Arvind Kejriwal, Narendra Modi

Watch:

Will not apologise for my video, says AAP's Kumar Vishwas ALSO WATCH: Kumar Vishwas video that may have upset Amantullah Khan and started AAP controversy

--- ENDS ---
L ondoners whose lives were shattered by IRA bombings in the Eighties and Nineties today called on Theresa May to end the moral injustice that British governments failed to obtain compensation for them.

They spoke out after a committee of MPs condemned two decades of failure in which British victims were left to cope without adequate help.

The cross-party report found that American, French and German governments negotiated substantial payouts from Libya, whose ex-dictator Muammar Gaddafi supplied the explosive semtex to the IRA.

But British governments failed to secure payments, even when Tony Blair formed a relationship with Gaddafi.

Susanne Dodd, whose father Inspector Stephen Dodd died in the 1983 Harrods bombing, said the report confirmed that the UK had let down the victims.

She said: Mrs May must act soon or these people will not live to see justice.
A hard Brexit will inflict economic harm on the country and hurt its poorest people, Nick Clegg will warn in his first election campaign speech.

The former deputy prime minister will accuse Theresa May of "hurting the very people who need most help" as she charts a course to leave the EU.

He will cite analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research showing the typical household will be 500 worse off this year than in 2016.

The Liberal Democrats have vowed to put Brexit at the heart of their election campaign and pledged to fight for a public vote on Britain's final deal with Europe.

It comes amid reports that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Prime Minister Theresa May was from a "different galaxy" on Brexit.

Tim Farron: I am a bit of a eurosceptic

Speaking at an event in Whitehall, Mr Clegg is expected to say: "My argument today is simple: Our country cannot thrive without a strong economy.

"We can't have a strong economy and a hard Brexit.

"Theresa May alone is responsible for pursuing this course.

"It is already hurting the very people who need most help in society.

"So the question in this election is this: Who will hold Theresa May accountable for the economic harm she will inflict on Britain?"

He will say: "Judging by the reports of last week's lunch between Jean-Claude Juncker and the Prime Minister, the Conservatives are once again proving to be as incompetent in doing the right thing for the country as they are ruthless in chasing votes.

"The economic damage is already being felt by the people who the Tories have always cared about least: the poor, the insecure and the vulnerable.

"If Theresa May really cared about the just about managing, the very last thing she should do is impose a hard Brexit on them."

But, in a furious broadside against the party, Mrs May accused the Lib Dems of preparing to "prop up" Jeremy Corbyn in government in the event of a hung parliament.

The Prime Minister said it was in the Lib Dems' interest to support a Labour-led "coalition of chaos" as it offered the best chance for them to derail the Brexit process.

General Election 2017: What you need to know

As she prepared to hit the campaign trail in the South West - where the Tories made significant gains at the Lib Dems' expense in 2015 - Mrs May said Mr Corbyn would be the real beneficiary of any vote for the Lib Dems.

Writing in the Western Morning News, she said that the election was a chance to bring the country together after the Brexit vote and that she was determined the campaign should not be a re-run of the referendum arguments.

"It is why I am determined not to allow parties like the Liberal Democrats to prosper, because it is in their interests to prop up a Corbyn coalition of chaos so that the Brexit process stalls and they can reopen the battles of the past," she wrote.

"Wherever it says Labour or Liberal Democrat on the ballot, it's a weak, nonsensical Jeremy Corbyn that gets the vote.

"At the last election, voters here in the South West were the difference between a strong, majority government and a weak, unstable coalition of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

"The opposition parties are lining up to prop up Jeremy Corbyn and disrupt our Brexit negotiations - a recipe for years of drift and division at this crucial time."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.
D iane Abbott has been slammed for an embarrassing car-crash interview after she appeared to stumble over the cost of Labour policies live on national radio.

The Shadow Home Secretary floundered when asked the details of a newly-launched Labour Party plan to introduce an extra 10,000 police officers onto the countrys streets.

Stumbling over the figures live on radio station LBC, Ms Abbott appeared flummoxed about how much the thousands of extra officers would cost.

At first she quotes the figure at just 300,000  which would work out at a wage of just 30 for each officer.

Car crash interview: Diane Abbott / Jack Taylor/Getty Images

When queried by presenter Nick Ferrari, the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP revised the cost to 80 million  which would still see the extra officers paid a yearly salary of just 8,000.

Ms Abbott first began to flail with the figures when asked how much the Labour policy would cost.

She told the morning radio show: Well if we recruit the 10,000 police men and women over a four year period, we believe it will be about 300,000.

Grilling: LBC host Nick Ferrari

When the figure was queried, Ms Abbott clarified: No, I mean, sorry. They will cost, they will, it will cost about, about 80 million.

We get to that figure because we anticipate recruiting 25,000 extra police officers a year at least over a period of four years.

We are looking at both what average police wages are generally but also specifically police wages in London.

On social media many listeners hit out at the politician, calling her interview a car-crash and a boost to the Tories election campaign.

Ex-LBC journalist and current BBC Newsnight producer Matthew Harris said: Lesson for politicians: If you get interviewed by Nick Ferrari make sure your sums add up. Total car crash for Diane Abbott here on LBC.

Gillaine Chipolina said on Twitter: Me thinks Diane Abbott wishes shed pulled a sickie and stayed in bed this morning.

Another Twitter user, Phil Beeson said: Jeremy Corbyn: Note to self: never let Diane Abbott on the radio again with any figures. That interview was embarrassing.

Under the plan, announced today by Labour, the money would come by reversing the cuts to Capital Gains Tax.

During today's LBC show, Nick Ferrari told Ms Abbott: I dont understand. If you divide 80 million by 10,000, you get 8,000. Is that what youre going to pay these policemen?

But Ms Abbott replied: No, we are talking about, um, er, a process over four years.

When Mr Ferrari repeated the question, Ms Abbott momentarily falls silent and the sound of rustling paper can be heard.

Ms Abbott eventually laid out Labours correct spending plans for the extra officers, running up to around 300 million a year.

Corbyn: The Labour leader defended Diane Abbott. / AFP/Getty Images

Appearing on Sky News, Mr Corbyn later defended her, saying: She corrected the figure and thats the figure and it will be paid for by not going ahead with the cuts in capital gains tax.

Asked if it was embarrassing that Ms Abbott got the figures wrong, he said: Not at all. We have corrected the figure and it will be absolutely clear now, today and in the manifesto.

Im not embarrassed in the slightest.

A prominent group of Jeremy Corbyn campaigners on Twitter, who run the account Jeremy Corbyn for PM, defended Ms Abbott and said she "was clear on our fully costed proposal. Well said Diane."
B ritain's plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations may be hit if the Government bungles Brexit, peers warned today.

Medical research projects could also be undermined and nuclear power stations even left unable to acquire fuel from abroad, said the Lords Science and Technology Committee.

Britain is a member of Euratom, which aims to develop nuclear energy and distribute it to EU member states. The Euratom Treaty provides the legal framework for civil nuclear power generation and radioactive waste management.

The Government has signalled that Britain will quit Euratom as it leaves the EU because it uses the same institutions, including the European Commission and the European Court of Justice.

However, the committee, chaired by Conservative peer the Earl of Selborne, warned: The UKs membership of Euratom must not be allowed to expire without a suitable replacement being in place. Such an eventuality would put the UK at risk of losing its lead in fusion research and, in effect, throw away decades of research.

It would put the UK at risk of losing access to the markets and skills it needs to construct new nuclear power plants and may leave existing power plants unable to acquire fuel.

He added that medical research would be the first area affected by not being able to trade in nuclear materials.
N early seven in 10 people do not believe Theresa May will meet her pledge to cut immigration below 100,000, an exclusive poll for the Evening Standard reveals today.

At the same time, most people think Britain should continue to welcome many European workers whose services are in high demand after Brexit, including care home staff, fruit pickers and software experts.

And 45 per cent believe that prices would go up where firms rely on migrant workers such as taxis, care home places and food if immigration were to be slashed greatly, researchers at Ipsos MORI found.

The findings came as senior business leaders pleaded with to Mrs May not to gold-plate her tens of thousands promise by repeating it in the Conservative election manifesto.

General Election 2017: What you need to know

One said her key election promises would be rendered meaningless without a flow of young European workers to build homes and drive up economic growth and living standards.

Mrs May made her immigration intervention two weeks ago after Culture Secretary Karen Bradley declared that the issue should not be about numbers, casting doubt on whether the Tories would retain David Camerons policy of trying to cut net levels to the tens of thousands.

The Prime Minister declared: We have been very clear, as I was as Home Secretary for six years, that it is important that we have net migration that is in sustainable numbers.

We believe sustainable numbers are the tens of thousands.

However, fewer than two in 10 think Mrs May will succeed in cutting numbers this low, found the survey of 1,061 Britons.

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The vast majority  some 68 per cent - think she will not deliver.

In the most recent official figures, net immigration  the gap between the number coming in the number leaving  stood at 273,000 in the year to September.

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Home Secretary Amber Rudd this morning refused to say if any figure would be written into the manifesto, saying: We will set out in the manifesto some of our strategy for immigration.

Business leaders in a range of sectors united to warn Mrs May that choking off the supply of overseas labour would be counter productive.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said cutting off the supply of European bricklayers would stop construction companies from solving the homes shortage.

If the next Government implements an inflexible immigration system that hinders the ability of talented foreign construction workers from making their way to the UK, any manifesto pledges relating to the delivery of housing and infrastructure will be rendered meaningless, he warned.

In London alone, some 157,000 construction workers - nearly half the total - are from outside the UK.

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Six in 10 small firms were already having trouble hiring bricklayers, even before Brexit, said Mr Berry, who urged a flexible policy.

Restaurateur Ian McColl said Londons hospitality industry would grind to a halt without young people from overseas. The queues would be longer, the service slower and people would have a hard time going out in the evening, he said.

Mr McColl who employs 18 staff from overseas out of a total of 20 at Mamuska, in Elephant & Castle, added: The problem is that young people in Britain do not see serving or cooking as a desirable career choice.

Over 771,000 EU nationals are employed in London, according to a study for London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

They make up a quarter of finance and insurance staff, nearly a fifth of hospitality and distribution and 18 per cent of the health and education workforce.

Cutting off Europeans would wipe out 7 billion of economic output and cost the Treasury 2 billion in tax payments, the study estimated.

Chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: What is crucial is that we are able to attract the skills that London so desperately needs to remain competitive post Brexit.

This means being attractive to foreigners, it means being seen to be open and it means investing in our city rather than focusing on some arbitrary cap.

We want to attract the most talented people and we also need to bring in people to fill skills shortages that already exit, rather than close our borders for the sake of numbers.

Dr Adam Marshall, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: The best possible Brexit deal wont be worth the paper its written on if firms cannot recruit and train the right people, get decent digital connectivity, or get their goods to their market.

Seamus Nevin, head of employment and skills policy at the Institute of Directors, warned: Sticking with a short-sighted and arbitrary immigration target, which will almost inevitably not be met, will only exacerbate public discontent.

It is time for politicians to be honest about the importance of foreign workers across many industries, from agriculture to IT.
T he price of avocados is set to soar due to rocketing demand and poor harvests, according to new research.

Prices for avocados, increasingly popular with health food fanatics, are set to soar due to increasing pressure on suppliers.

Data from the Mexican government cites a shortage in avocado production in South America and reduced harvests for the hefty price rises.

The research, cited by Bloomberg, states a 10kg box of avocados from Mexico's biggest producer now sells for about 21.80  more than double the price of one year ago.

It is the highest price for the product in 19 years.

The hefty prices are expected to remain throughout summer, with a growers' strike in Mexico having already forced some restaurants in America to take avocado off the menu.

Popularity is also rocketing across the globe, with exports from South America to China also growing.

Roland Fumasi, an analyst at Rabobank in Fresno, California, told Bloomberg: You have increased consumption in China and other areas of the world, like Europe.

Theyre pulling a lot more of the Mexican crop, so theres less available for the U.S.

In October last year, trade magazine The Grocer reported that shoppers spent an extra 49m on avocados than the year before  a 30 per cent increase.
A British jihadi who used a James Bond-style USB cufflinks to create a "one-stop shop for terrorists" from his bedroom has been jailed for eight years.

Cyber-terrorist Samata Ullah, 34, compiled a library of terror propaganda and provided guidance for ISIS terrorists to help them plan attacks and avoid detection from his bedroom in Cardiff.

He was found to have held information on missile systems and rocket design, the Linxus operating system, and a catalogue of the Islamic State magazine Dabiq onto James Bond-style USB cufflinks.

Ullah, an unemployed IT expert, intended to sell the intelligence to terrorists.

The James-Bond-styled cufflinks used by Ullah to store terrorist data / Met Police

He was jailed at the Old Bailey today having been branded a new and dangerous breed of terrorist.

Described as a loner, Ullah was handed an extended sentence of eight years with a further five years on extended licence.

Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met Polices counter-terrorism command SO15, said: "It is the first time we have seen anything on this scale.

"He had set up a self-help library for terrorists around the world and they were using his library. In my view he was a very dangerous individual although he was operating from his bedroom.

Ullah was caught after authorities in Kenya alerted British police, having linked him to an alleged terrorist there, who is awaiting trial

British counter-terrorism police had tracked him down after being passed intelligence by the FBI, who had been handed the information from authorities in Kenya, who had arrested another man.

ISIS propaganda: Samata Ullah has been jailed over terror offences / Met Police

Ullah, who has been diagnosed with autism, was in regular contact with the man via encrypted Telegram chats in which he vowed to use his special skills to help in the IS campaign.

Brian Altman QC told the court: "The prosecution says this defendant represents a new and dangerous breed of terrorist, a cyber terrorist."

The computer tower recovered from Ullah's bedroom / Met Police

From December 2015, Ullah had provided instructional videos on how to secure sensitive data and remain anonymous online.

He was jailed after being found guilty of five terror-related offences.
A lucky surfer who sparked a major search after being swept out to sea has been found clinging to his board after surviving for around 32 hours in the water.

Matthew Bryce, 22, from Glasgow went missing after heading off to surf at 11.30am on Sunday off the Argyll coast in Scotland.

A major search was sparked when he failed to contact his family later that day, with the coastguard and RNLI helping to comb a large area of shoreline and sea.

Mr Bryce, from Glasgow, was eventually picked up by the Belfast coastguard helicopter at around 7.30pm on Monday, around 13 miles off the coast.

Survivor: Mr Bryce was found 13 miles from the coast / rubberlegs2/Flickr

Dawn Petrie, from the coastguard, told the BBC, said: "He was extremely lucky.

She added: "He was kitted out with all the right clothing including a thick neoprene suit and this must have helped him to survive for so long at sea.

He is hypothermic but conscious and has been flown to hospital in Belfast."

"He did the right thing by staying with his surfboard and that certainly aided his survival, she said.

Chief Inspector Paul Robertson, from Dunoon Police Office, said: "The response to our appeal to find Matthew has been outstanding.

"It has been a real team effort and I would like to thank everyone who offered their assistance."
A n Australian man has been locked up in a US prison after overstaying his visa by just one hour, his family claim.

Baxter Reid, 26, was stopped at the Canadian border after travelling there from New York with American girlfriend Heather Kansco on April 23.

Mr Reid, who was in the country on a five-year visa, was arrested by border police and placed in handcuffs.

According to his family, Mr Reid arrived at the border at 10pm, with his visa set to expire at midnight, but was quizzed by officials for several hours.

His father, Tom Reid, told the Canberra Times: For some reason the Canadians kept them until 1.30am and then they refused them entry.

"They returned them to the United States and by then they were an hour and a half over the visa, and [he] got locked up."

Under the terms of his visa, Mr Reid has to leave the country every six months before getting it renewed.

Since he was detained Mr Reid has been warned he could face six months in jail before his case is heard by a judge.

A GoFundMe page to raise money for his legal costs received more than $6,000 in donations over just 48 hours.

Ms Kansco told the paper: I held it together until they put the handcuffs on him. I kind of haven't been able to stop crying.

"I don't know if there's really a word to describe what I'm feeling right now, I'm almost ashamed to say I'm American.

"It just makes no sense to me."

She wrote on the crowdfunding site: This is a man who has no prior incidents with the law, not in the US or his native Australia.

Now, because of bureaucracy and an unwillingness to listen to him he is being charged as felon under random immigration laws.

Imagine going out of your way to comply with the law, and having the people who are meant to uphold it sabotage you and turn you into the criminal.

Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed to the Canberra Times they were providing consular assistance to an Australian man detained in the US.
T errorist groups are setting up their own internet services in a new attempt to spread their extremist propaganda and raise money, European law enforcement chiefs warned today.

Europol, the EUs crime-fighting organisation, said that IS and al-Qaeda are also searching for new service providers to make sure their message reaches potential supporters as it announced that it had identified more than 2,000 items of illegal online content in just two days.

It said that each of the items - which included propaganda videos and publications glorifying terrorism and extremism on 52 different networks - had been referred to the relevant providers for removal and that most had been posted by extremist followers of IS or al-Qaeda.

But it also warned of increasing efforts by terror networks to circumvent the curbs imposed by mainstream internet companies through the use of new providers.

The efforts made by numerous online platforms to remove inappropriate content have driven supporters of terrorist groups to simultaneously use multiple platforms to promote terrorism and incite violence.

"They have also been searching for new service providers to make sure their messages reach potential supporters, Europol said in a statement issued today.

A growing interest for platforms that do not require identification can be witnessed. During this campaign, the participants identified a new platform that appears to be set up by terrorist networks themselves for not only spreading propaganda, but also financing their activities.

The revelation of the emerging trend for terrorists to use new or their own internet platforms follows heavy criticism by MPS of the actions taken by major companies such as Google and Facebook to remove extremist and other hate-filled content from their sites.

Europol warning will raise concerns that even if those efforts are beefed up, terrorists might still find ways of spreading their propaganda online.

In response, Europol, of which Britain remains a member, said that it would be intensifying its efforts to counter the trend and stepping up its cooperation with international partners.
After a photograph of three Tamil Nadu ministers with Sasikala's husband and brother surfaced, merger talks between the OPS and EPS camps of the AIADMK have hit another roadblock.

By Akshita Nandagopal: Merger talks between the OPS (former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam) and EPS factions (incumbent CM Edappadi K Palaniswami) of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have hit another roadblock. This time, a photo of three state ministers along with VK Sasikala's husband and her brother has stirred a hornet's nest.

Ministers OS Manian, Kamaraj and Doraikannu attended a prayer meet for Sasikala's deceased nephew TTV Mahadevan, and were spotted alongside Sasikala's husband Natarajan and brother Dhivakaran. Also seen in the picture were 4 MLAs, all of whom maintained that there was no political message to read from their present.

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But for the OPS camp, this has thrown up red signals. Panneerselvam has in the recent past stressed that Sasikala Natarajan and her family must be ousted from the party for merger talks to take place, and this picture that's gone viral on social media will strain the already thin binds of the two factions.

'NO PROGRESS TILL THEY SHOW THEY'RE COMMITTED TO OUR DEMAND'

"The picture is further proof that the EPS camp is yet to take action against VK Sasikala and her family, they are yet to meet our demands. So there will be no progress till they show us they are committed to fulfilling our demand to remove Sasikala,' said OPS loyalist Manoj Pandian.

In the last fortnight, the EPS faction has expressed its intent to oust the Mannargudi family, but they're yet to walk the talk. While they did remove Sasikala's posters from the party HQ, one glance at the AIADMK's mouthpiece Dr Namadhu MGR, and it's clear that the Sasikala wave is yet to be completely wiped out from the party. So are there still some within the EPS camp who want Sasikala's clan to call the shots?

For now, finance minister Jayakumar's assurance of showing Sasikala and TTV Dinakaran the door is yet to be fulfilled and until then, it looks like the pause button has been pressed firmly by team OPS on merger talks.

ALSO READ | Panneerselvam camp may suspend AIADMK merger talks if Sasikala, Dinakaran not sacked from party

ALSO READ | Tamil Nadu: With OPS adamant on his demands, AIADMK merger delayed again

ALSO WATCH | No end in sight to AIADMK infighting, OPS accuses EPS of being partner with Dinakaran

--- ENDS ---
A n FBI translator travelled to Syria and secretly married an Islamic State terrorist she had been assigned to investigate, it emerged today.

The agent, named as Daniela Greene, had a top security clearance at the time she went rogue.

She reportedly lied to her bosses about where she was going when she sneaked into Syria to marry Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned IS propagandist also known as Deso Dogg.

According to court records, she told him he was under investigation by US authorities. But within weeks of the wedding Greene, 38, appeared to have realised she made a mistake and fled back to the US.

The saga echoes spy series Homeland, starring Claire Danes as a CIA agent who falls in love with a US marine played by Damian Lewis whom she suspects to be a turned al-Qaeda terrorist.

The woman fled to Syria to marry Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned IS propagandist also known as Deso Dogg

When Greene returned she was arrested. She agreed to co-operate with the authorities in return for a two-year jail sentence for a guilty plea to making false statements involving international terrorism.

CNN reported that Greene, who was born in the Czech Republic, was released last summer and now works in a US hotel.

Today questions were being raised over her comparatively lenient sentence. John Kirby, a former State Department official, said: Its a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it. He said he suspected Greenes entry into Syria required the approval of IS chiefs.

For her to be able to get in as an American, as a woman, as an FBI employee, and to be able to take up residence with a known IS leader, that all had to be coordinated, he added.

Prosecutors branded her conduct egregious and deserving of severe punishment, according to papers from the US District Court in Washington DC.

Greenes location has not been identified for her own safety. If I talk to you my family will be in danger, she told CNN.

Her lawyer Shawn Moore was quoted saying: She was just a well-meaning person that got up in something way over her head.

Assigned to the FBIs Detroit office in 2014, Greene was put on the case of Cuspert, who gained notoriety in 2011 when he posted a fake video on Facebook supposedly showing US soldiers raping a Muslim woman.

He also appeared on IS propaganda making a throat-cutting gesture aimed at Barack Obama.

Court records reveal Greene told the FBI she was going on holiday to visit her family in Germany in June 2014. Instead she flew to Turkey and travelled to Gaziantep near the Syrian border.

There, she met up with Cuspert, who was known in Syria as Abu Talha al-Almani. However, by July she had emailed a friend saying she was having second thoughts.

In 2015 the US Department of Defense reported Cuspert had been killed in an airstrike near Raqqa. However, last year the Pentagon said the initial assessment was wrong and he survived.
F rance's far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen faced accusations of plagiarism today after delivering a speech that was remarkably similar to an earlier address by one of her defeated rivals.

Speaking at her final major campaign rally in Villepinte, just north east of Paris, the National Front (FN) veteran yesterday spoke of an alternative way forward for French nationalism.

She then launched into a description of the French way and how it remains a hope for the world in the 21st Century.

However it emerged today that parts sections of the speech were almost identical to one given by Francois Fillon, the leader of the conservative Republicans Party, in an address near Limoges two weeks ago.

At the time Mr Fillon was still hoping he could become the new president, despite becoming embroiled in a financial scandal, before being ejected in the first round last Sunday.

In his speech in Puy-en-Velay on April 15, Mr Fillon referenced the Alliance Francaise language and cultural organisation, saying: If there are waiting lists for the Alliance Francaise in Shanghai, Tokyo, or Mexico, for the French secondary school in Rabat or Romethat is because France is something else, much more than an industrial, agricultural or military power.

Yesterday Ms Le Pen said: If there are waiting lists for the Alliance Francaise in Shanghai, Tokyo, or Mexico, for the French secondary school in Rabat or Rome... that is because France is something else, much more than the industrial, agricultural or military power that it must and can once more become.

Talking about Frances borders, Mr Fillon said: Then, there is the frontier of the Rhine, the most open, the most dangerous, the most promising too - this Germanic world with which we have been so often in conflict and with which we will yet cooperate in so many ways.

In turn, Ms Le Pen said: Then, there is the frontier of the Rhine, the most open, the most promising too - this Germanic world with which we will yet cooperate in so many ways, as long as we regain the status of allies and not of subjects or serfs.

Ms Le Pen mentioned Frances three maritime borders with the English Channel, North Sea and the Atlantic. That same phrase of Frances three maritime borders with the English Channel, North Sea and the Atlantic was also used by Mr Fillon.

French media including Le Monde today accused Ms Le Pen of plagiarism, highlighting the similar florid language used by both candidates.

The similarities were also mocked by her opponents on social media.

However aides of Ms Le Pen attempted to brush off the criticism.

Florian Philippot, deputy leader of National Front, said the party completely owned up to the fact that the speech resembled one by Mr Fillon

Mr Philippot told Radio Classique that Ms Le Pens speech was a nod-and-a-wink to Mr Fillons earlier discourse in order to launch a real debate concerning French identity.

Ms Le Pens campaign manager David Rachline also played down plagiarism accusations, painting her speech as a form of tribute to Fillon.

The reference was appreciated, including by all of Mr Fillons supporters, Mr Rachline told France 2 television.

The claims could deal a blow to her hopes of winning Sundays election run-off against Emmanuel Macron, the independent candidate who according to opinion polls is about 20 per cent ahead of her rival.
P ortuguese villagers have prayed for Madeleine McCann every Sunday since she disappeared 10 years ago, it has emerged.

The three-year-old vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve village at about 9pm on May 3, 2007.

A special church service will be held at the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz, in holiday resort Praia de Luz, for all missing people, including Maddie, at 9pm on Wednesday.

It is understood Father Haynes Hubbard, of Canada, the priest at the time of Maddie's disappearance, will be present at the service.

"There has been some sort of a service every year and it is always at about the same time that she went missing," a member of the church said.

Madeleine McCann - In pictures 1 /33 Madeleine McCann - In pictures Madeleine McCann Maddie disappeared in 2007 PA Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal ten years ago, during an interview with the BBC's Fiona Bruce at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough PA Screen grabbed image taken from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page of a message from Madeleine McCann's parents, Gerry and Kate, who has described the tenth anniversary of her daughter's disappearance as a "horrible marker of time, stolen time" PA Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz The Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz where Madeleine McCann disappeared Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann with a computer image of how their missing daughter Madeleine might look Reuters Maddie disappeared in 2007 Madeleine McCann: Disappeared in 2007 aged three PA Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, who has revealed that British detectives working on the Madeleine McCann case are still pursuing "critical" leads as the 10th anniversary of her disappearance approaches PA Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann before a charity run in London AFP/Getty Images The Ocean Club which is next to Apartment 5A in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing PA Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal ten years ago, during an interview with the BBC's Fiona Bruce at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough PA Kate McCann Kate McCann speaks to press at a Lisbon court last year AFP/Getty Images Kate and Gerry McCann with their children Kate and Gerry return home from Portugal in 2007 AFP/Getty Images A general view of the coastline in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing PA Portugal police Police in Portugal comb the Algarve resort after Madeleine disappeared in 2007 AFP/Getty Images Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann pictured shortly after Maddie went missing AFP/Getty Images Kate McCann Kate McCann cries during a 2008 TV appearance Madeleine McCann Maddie in an Everton shirt Everton FC/PA A general view of Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, close to where Madeline McCann went missing PA Members of Scotland Yard dig at an area during the search for missing British girl Madeleine McCann in Praia da Luz, near Lagos on 07 June 2014 Reuters Kate and Gerry McCann Kate McCann and Gerry McCann speak to press after being cleared of being formal suspects Getty Images A poster is shown whilst Kate and Gerry McCann give a press conference in 2012 about their missing daughter Madeline McCann Daily Mail Kate and Gerry pictured five years after Maddie went missing Getty Images The Ocean Club which is next to Apartment 5A in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing PA Maddie's parents in an interview with Crimewatch A scene from a Crimewatch reconstruction BBC

"There are also prayers for Maddie every Sunday. They take place every Sunday during the intercession.

"People have always asked that that continue and all the priests have been happy to do so."

Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have vowed to do "whatever it takes for as long as it takes" to find her.

Last week, British detectives working on the case revealed they are now pursuing a "significant" line of inquiry.

McCann case, 10 years after

Local residents described how the disappearance of Maddie, from apartment 5A on Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, is now part of the village's history.

They recounted the minutes after the alarm was raised that the child was missing from the room where she was sleeping as her parents ate supper nearby.

Writer David S Jones, 72, said staff from the then-Mark Warner Ocean Club complex were at his restaurant, the Mirage, when news broke.

"Many of the workers for Mark Warner were gap-year students and were here," Mr Jones, the creator of Fireman Sam, said.

Kate and Gerry McCann whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal ten years ago / PA

"We closed the bar and everybody went out looking, it was about 10.30pm. We spent days looking for her."

A local businessman, who did not wish to be named, remembered seeing dozens of people comb the village for Maddie.

"It is something we will have to live with and we may never know what happened," he said.

"People here never forget - when you walk or drive around, you see reminders of what happened.

"I remember watching people searching the beach with torches from about 10.30pm. People were searching for days."
S hocking footage has emerged of two men brawling on a Japanese flight as an air stewardess helplessly tries to separate them.

Horrified passengers can be seen watching on as the two men, one dressed in a red Hawaiian shirt, begin hurling punches at each other from their seats.

The video, which has gone viral since it was posted on Twitter this morning, is believed to have been filmed on a Japanese ANA flight.

It shows the men begin brawling before one of the pair shouts someone help, this guys crazy after punching him in the back of the head.

An air stewardess helplessly tries to stand between the pair, before one of the men, with his shirt seemingly ripped from his back, makes his way towards the front of the plane.

But more carnage ensues when he returns and begins to square up to his fellow passenger and the two begin brawling once more.

A baby can also be heard crying in the background and horrified passengers can been watching on.

A flight attendant can be seen trying to separate the pair / @KEEM (Twitter)

The footage was posted by the creator of American based news Twitter account Drama Alert, though it is unclear whether he filmed the video.

It ends before the aftermath of the fight can be seen.

By the end, the man in his seat can be heard begging staff to remove the man he has fought from the plane.

Japan Today reported that a 44-year-old American passenger was charged with assaulting a male employee at Narita International Airport, in Tokyo.

The two men brawling in their seats / @KEEM (Twitter)

An ANA spokesman told Japan Today the incident happened just before the plane was due to depart for Los Angeles.

It comes amid a series of controversies for airlines recently, starting with a doctor being beaten by security staff on a United Airlines flight last month.

United Airlines reached a financial settlement with beaten doctor David Dao.

Soon after a shocking video emerged of an American Airlines flight attendant threatening to fight a passenger after the employee allegedly hit a mother with a stroller.

An ANA spokeswoman said: "All Nippon Airways apologizes to our passengers on Flight 6 to Los Angeles for the pre-flight incident. The individuals involved have been dealt with appropriately by local law enforcement.
D onald Trump and Vladimir Putin have spoken for the first time since the US bombed Syria over a chemical attack.

During a phone call on Tuesday they agreed to try to meet up for face-to-face talks in Germany as they discussed working together to end the violence in Syria.

Last month US air strikes in Syria strained relations between the two countries.

The conversation has been described by the White House as "very good", while the Kremlin called it "business-like" and "constructive."

The White House said the two leaders agreed that "all parties must do all they can to end the violence" in Syria and that Trump and Putin also discussed working together against Islamic militants throughout the Middle East.

A White House statement said: The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons.

Trump's decision to launch 59 cruise missiles against a Syrian airfield on April 4 in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack angered the Russians and led to some bitter exchanges between the two governments.

The White House statement said Washington will send a representative to Syrian cease-fire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday and Thursday.

"They also discussed at length working together to eradicate terrorism throughout the Middle East. Finally, they spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea," the statement said.

A separate statement from the Kremlin suggested a face-to-face meeting is on the cards.

The two agreed to try to meet around the time of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July and work together to try to strengthen a shaky ceasefire in Syria, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin said the two leaders had emphasised coordinating their actions to fight international terrorism.

On North Korea, the Kremlin said Putin called for restraint and that the two leaders had agreed to work together to make diplomatic progress there too.
H arvey Weinstein has said that its important for films to deliver messages of acceptance and inclusivity after pushing back against an R-rating for new film, 3 Generations.

The super producer has recently won his battle with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to award the film, about a transgender teen, a PG-13 rating.

After a plea from GLAAD , Weinstein hailed the importance of accessibility for a film that can bring understanding for a community that has seen more than its fair share of prejudice.

Especially these days, its important to use our power as filmmakers, directors, executives and studios to give a platform to those who have really lived the stories were trying to tell; it is the joy of doing what we do, Weinstein wrote in an essay for Deadline.

Insisting that he wasnt fighting the recommended R certificate for publicity, Weinstein said that the film would miss out on delivering its crucial message to its target audience.

We dont protest unless the recommended rating will impact the accessibility of a socially important film. Two of our upcoming movies, Tulip Fever and Wind River, were given R ratings, and we accepted it, he said.

However, when we do a movie that touches on themes of social justice and believe that movie should be seen by children, we want the MPAA to exercise the same imperative they do in allowing so many action movies to receive a PG-13 rating and family films with questionable amounts of violence to be rated PG.

He added: 3 Generations is an important story  not just as a vehicle of representation, but also as a genuine and heartfelt portrait of the contemporary family. What I love about the movie is its warmth.

The forthcoming film, starring Elle Fanning and Susan Sarandon, will now hold a PG-13 certificate, following some edits from the Weinstein Company.

The MPAA had previously stated that their reason for pushing for R rating was due to some sexual references.
P eter Kay left fans in shock after announcing that Car Share will not return for a third series.

Kay, 43, dropped the bombshell news during an interview on Radio Manchester, where he also revealed that he has no plans for a Christmas special.

Asked whether his character John Redmond would ever switch from Forever FM to Radio Manchester, Kay replied: There's not going to be a series three so it won't ever happen.

You've got to get out while the going's good. No Christmas special, no.

Series two of the BBC comedy concludes tonight, and fans who haven't already watched the episode on BBC iPlayer, will be waiting to find out if John finally gets together with his passenger Kayleigh Kitson (Sian Gibson).

Kay said he will miss working with Kitson, but said he doesn't want to continue and then ruin the show.

I am absolutely delighted and overwhelmed by everybody's support and the fact that everyone's loved it so much has been wonderful for everyone who's made it, but you're better quitting while you're ahead, he said.

Peter Kay's Car Share - In pictures 1 /9 Peter Kay's Car Share - In pictures Peter Kay as John and Sian Gibson as Kayleigh BBC/Goodnight Vienna Productions Peter Kay as John and Sian Gibson as Kayleigh BBC Peter Kay as John and Sian Gibson as Kayleigh Presenter Kunal Nayyar (right) poses with Peter Kay, Gill Isles, Sian Gibson and Paul Coleman, winners of the Best Scripted Comedy award for 'Peter Kay's Car Share', in the winners room at the House Of Fraser British Academy Television Awards 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall on 8 May 2016 in London Dave Benett Peter Kay and Sian Gibson on their way to the stage at the 21st National Television Awards at The O2 Arena on 20 January 2016 in London Alan Chapman/Getty Images Peter Kay as John and Sian Gibson as Kayleigh Peter Kay as John and Sian Gibson as Kayleigh BBC/Goodnight Vienna Productions

There's only so much you can do in a car and the last thing you want to do is ruin it because I think it's a lovely thing.

It's been wonderful working with Sian, who's one of my closest friends in the world. We have a good laugh but I think sometimes you've got to just leave things.

Fans of the show were left gutted, with some calling for a petition to be set up.

Car Share follows supermarket assistant Redmond and promotions rep Kitson as they particpiate in a car share scheme.

The show picked up Best Comedy at the 2016 National Television Awards, and the BAFTA TV Awards for Best Male Comedy Performance and Best Scripted Comedy at the 2016 BAFTA TV Awards.

But disappointed fans will be pleased to know that Kay is thinking of ways to revive Channel 4 comedy Phoenix Nights.

I love Phoenix Nights, and I would love to go back, he said. Ive got a lot of ideas about Phoenix Nights  in fact theres a whole series three thats been written for about 15 years!

Car Share is on BBC One, tonight at 9pm.
BJP MLA Sanjeev Raja (left) and Aligarh mayor Shakuntala Bharti (right) want school girls to be banned from using mobile phones.

By India Today Web Desk: In yet another case of moral-policing, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sanjeev Raja and Aligarh mayor Shakuntala Bharti have demanded a ban on mobile phones for school girls, saying phones were the reason behind "Aligarh girls going in the wrong direction".

"Why do young school-going girls need mobile phones? It is one of the reasons why girls of Aligarh are going in a wrong direction and meeting wrong people," Bharti said, according to a report in The Hindu.

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According to a DNA report, Raja voiced agreement with Bharti's comments saying, "Use of mobile phones is already prohibited and this time we will make sure it is strictly followed. I support this move. Mobile phones have pros and cons. Girls students do not need mobile phones in schools, therefore, we will try to implement this move in other institutions as well."

Raja also objected to women covering their faces "while riding motorbikes" saying, "it is like the idea of using mobile phones when all they have to do is go to school from home and come back home from school." Raja said it was the parents' responsibility "to prohibit girls from covering their faces."

ALIGARH MAYOR NOT NEW TO CONTROVERSIES

Aligarh mayor Bharti is not new to controversies. In February last year, Bharti had told the Indian Express in an interview that her two main focus areas were "to protect cows from being slaughtered" and "to protect Hindu girls from love jihad." She had even demanded the shutdown Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) following accusations that beef was being sold in the university canteen.

That same month, a panchayat in an Aligarh village had announced a blanket ban on the use of mobile phones by girls under the age of 18 years. The panchayat had threatened to punish families of "violaters" by making them sweep village roads.

Read: Vajpayee no more, but his memories remain: Aligarh mayor's speech during former PM's birthday celebrations shocks everyone

--- ENDS ---
The Election Commission has said that the ground situation is not conducive to hold free and fair elections.

By India Today Web Desk: The Election Commission has cancelled the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll, saying the ground situation is not conducive to hold free and fair elections.

The bypoll, earlier slated to be held on April 12, was postponed for May 25 due to poor law and order situation.

The Commission, which issued the order late last night, said non-availability of sufficient number of security personnel was another reason to cancel the poll process.

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Sources said the Election Commission had sought deployment of around 740 companies of paramilitary personnel for the bypoll.

The Home Ministry, however, said it could only provide around 300. A company usually has around 100 troopers.

The 10-page order said a fresh date would be announced later.

A high-level team of the Election Commission (EC) last week reviewed preparedness for the Anantnag parliamentary bypoll and assessed the security situation through video-conferencing.

RISE IN STONE-PELTING INCIDENTS

A spike in stone-pelting incidents by students have caused a law and order problem in the state.

On Monday, clashes again erupted between college students and police in Pulwama as the degree college was reopened after two-day holiday. Trouble started after some students put out posters of slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on the administrative block of the Pulwama degree college. Some of the students also pelted stones at police. The students also hoisted flags of Pakistan and terror outfit Islamic State in the college premises.

NO TALK WITH SEPARATISTS

Recently the Union government ruled out talks with those who challenge the state's accession to India.

The Supreme Court has also disposed off a petition filed by the Kashmir Bar Association that said the Centre was doing little to improve the ground situation in the Valley. The Court asked the association to do its bit by coming up with suggestions that would help improve the situation.

The opposition National Conference (NC) has slammed the decision against engaging the separatists in a dialogue. An NC statement said the announcement was the last nail in the agenda of the alliance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the allies that rule Jammu and Kashmir.

The agenda of alliance, signed by the PDP and the BJP, had stated that talks would be held with every stakeholder in Kashmir to bring permanent peace to the state.

NEW TERROR VIDEO

In another development, a new terror video appeared on social media on Monday showing armed terrorists marching at an unknown location. However, some reports say that the video was shot in a Shopian orchard.

The video is said to have been posted by Hizbul Mujahideen. The video has been uploaded on the social media despite a ban in the Valley.

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The terror group has supposedly managed to bypass the ban on social media through some discreet software. Armed militants can be seen patrolling in an orchard.

(With inputs from agencies)

Also Read:

Srinagar bypoll: Kulgam youth killed in clashes with security forces

Srinagar bypoll violence: ITBP denies jawan shooting boy at point-blank range

They forced us to chant Pakistan Zindabad: Odisha jawan attacked on election duty during Srinagar bypoll

WATCH VIDEO

Wake up before it's too late or lose Kashmir: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah

Srinagar bypoll violence: ISI funded stone-pelters in Kashmir, says military intelligence

Jammu and Kashmir: Security forces worried as stone-pelting incidents rise in rural areas

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The Delhi chief minister and his deputy had gone to Vishwas' residence in Ghaziabad late on Tuesday night to hold talks with him.

By Ankit Tyagi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia tried their best to placate co-founder member Kumar Vishwas, who had hinted at breaking up from the ruling party in Delhi. However, after an hour of closed door meeting with Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, Kumar Vishwas left CM's residence without speaking to the media.

The Delhi chief minister and his deputy had visited Vishwas at his residence in Ghaziabad late on Tuesday night to hold talks with him.

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"He is an inseparable part of our movement. He is upset with us. We are sure that we will be able to convince him," Kejriwal said.

LATEST UPDATES: After an hour of closed door meeting with Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, Kumar Vishwas left CM's residence without speaking to the media. Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia tried their best to placate co-founder member Kumar Vishwas and brought him to the CM residence after which, the leaders went into a huddle in a last ditch effort to sort the differences. Apart from Kejriwal and Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh were also present at the closed door meeting with Vishwas. Later, minister Kapil Mishra who is considered close to Vishwas also joined in. Interestingly, Vishwas's wife was also present at the CM residence. After an hour, both left without saying a word to the media. After a dramatic day which saw an emotional Vishwas saying he will decide on his future tonight and deputy CM Sisodia hitting out at Vishwas for speaking to the media instead of putting his grievances in front of party leadership, Kejriwal went out of his way visited Vishwas in order to pacify the beleaguered leader. Kumar Vishwas earlier on Tuesday accused AAP leaders of conspiring against him and said he won't compromise with his principles and soon take a call on his future action. "I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell the conspirators that I will not allow you to do so," an emotional Kumar Vishwas told reporters without taking any name. He denied that he wanted to be the Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party. "I have already told several times and even to Arvind (Kejriwal), Manish (Sisodia) and the party that I don't want to be the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister or the Convenor," he said. Kumar Vishwas also said that he would not join any political party or the Swaraj Aandolan. Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia hit back, questioning why Vishwas is making public statements on TV. "Who is benefiting from such public statements? Definitely not the Aam Aadmi Party," he said. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan had on Sunday alleged that Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and had asked some legislators to join the BJP with an offer of Rs 30 crore each. "The morale of our workers is getting hurt due to comments made on TV. They don't talk inside the party, they talk on TV," Sisodia said. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener, called a PAC meeting on Monday to discuss the issues that arose after the allegations levelled by the Okhla MLA. Vishwas did not turn up for the PAC meet.

Also read:

Arvind Kejriwal in introspection mode after MCD debacle, plans major shake up in AAP

Kumar Vishwas video talks of Kashmir, attacks Arvind Kejriwal, Narendra Modi

Watch:

Will not apologise for my video, says AAP's Kumar Vishwas

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Manoj Goswami, who is the sound designer for Baahubali 2, began his stellar journey as an office peon at a sound designer's office in Mumbai.

By Bijin Jose: Baahubali 2 continues to garner rave reviews and rake in billions, there are many unsung heroes who have come from various walks of life to realise the mega dream of filmmaker SS Rajamouli.

Among the many talented people who contributed to Baahubali 2's astounding success, one man's journey from a small village in Gujarat to the massive sets of the super-hit movie is an awe-inspiring story in itself.

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Manoj Goswami, who is the sound designer for Baahubali 2, began his stellar journey as an office peon at a sound designer's office in Mumbai.

Goswami told DivyaBhaskar.com that his journey from polishing diamonds to designing sound for India's biggest film is not less than a dream.

Goswami, who left school after standard 9 due to family responsibilities, began working as a diamond polisher in Surat.

Goswami told Divya Bhaskar that he hails from Khambha village of Gujarat's Amreli district and studied in schools in Surat and Junagadh. It was while working for the diamond industry that Goswami came in contact with documentary filmmaker Nisha Pahuja.

The filmmaker made a short film 'Diamond Road' on Goswami's work. P M Satish, who worked as the sound designer for the film, found Goswami to be talented.

Impressed with Goswami's work, the sound designer soon hired him as a peon at his office. Goswami told Divya Bhaskar.com that 'Diamond Road' was also screened Cannes Film Festival.

SELF LEARNING AND SACRIFICE

When asked about how he acquired the skills to be a sound designer, Goswami said that in 2006 while working as a peon he found time during night shifts to train himself.

Goswami said that he was never exposed to computers, nor did he know how to speak English. He said that most of his learning was done by observing all the people who were working on sound.

Over the time, his interest in sound designing grew by observing sound professionals at the office where he served tea and coffee to them. Goswami said that he used to wake up early to study about the sound equipment.

NEVER IN MY DREAMS

In his candid conversation, Goswami revealed that he had never dreamed of working on such large scale projects. During his struggling days, he lived with his aunt in Mumbai. Since he did not have a formal education, he decided to master sound designing, as he felt this was the best way to stay employed.

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He learned basic computing and picked up conversational English to hone his skills. "I learned sound designing out of necessity and never in my dream thought of this success," he said.

Recounting his earlier days, Goswami said that Saawariya was his first film in which he contributed as an intern. He said that he considers PM Satish his guru and that he is a visionary who worked on sound designing even before the advent of digital India.

Goswami has worked in films like Kaminey, Ishqiya, 7 Khoon Maaf, Ek thi Daayan, and Matru ki Bijli Ka Mandola.

STINT WITH BAAHUBALI

Goswami said that filmmaker Rajamouli once walked into his studio and saw his work. He instantly liked Goswami's work.

He was working on a Telugu film when Rajamouli visited him. Goswami said that the filmmaker soon asked his team to start working for Baahubali.

He said that Rajamouli was so impressed by his team's work that there was no second opinion or correction in the final output for Baahubali 2.

Goswami spent over nine months to create the sound effects for Baahubali 2.

Talking about his future projects, Goswami said that he will be soon working on a Mohanlal-Amitabh Bachchan starrer and another film starring Saif Ali Khan.

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ALSO READ: We know why Kattappa killed Baahubali, but Baahubali 2 doesn't answer THESE questions

ALSO READ: Prabhas-Rana's Baahubali 2 crosses Rs 500 crore in 5 days

WATCH | Baahubali: Everything you want to know about India's most expensive film

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Last fiscal year, the areas WING Drug Task Force received $100,000 in grant funding from the Nebraska Crime Commission. This year, that amount is zero.

The grant has been officially withdrawn by the crime commission, said Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman. Weve received these grants for the past 28 years. But last fall, the crime commission told us that drug task forces are no longer their priority.

The commission is starting to focus more on community policing, such as outreach and education initiatives.

Overman said the WING grant was tentatively approved for $70,000 because it showed promise, but the crime commission said the application would have to be reworked to be more in line with the state policy changes. That involved working with the university to make the changes.

After WING was unable to connect with university consultants, the commission denied the grant outright this spring.

What our drug task force does is investigate and prosecute drug and violent crime, Overman said. Weve won three major awards in the last four years and have about 10 full-time agents from seven different agencies that are working hard all the time.

Agencies involved in the WING Drug Task Force include the cities of Scottsbluff, Gering, Sidney, Alliance and Chadron, along with the Cheyenne and Scotts Bluff Counties Sheriffs offices. All of them are grant funded.

Overman said the task force doesnt deal with the average users who carry an ounce of marijuana in their pocket. Their focus is on the cartels that sell methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs.

Thats the kind of enforcement we need out here, Overman said. But if the state money goes away, we hope the counties and cities will continue to support us. We see the value and the decrease in crime.

For Scotts Bluff County, the loss is about $25,000, which would be used to fund an investigator and an administrative assistant. The impact for the City of Gering is about $18,000 in the upcoming fiscal year.

The funding for the WING task force is already in the Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Office budget. However, the budget is formulated on the assumption the grant funds would reimburse the county. In future fiscal years, that finding might have to change.

Commissioner Ken Meyer asked Overman whether theres been a change of personnel on the Nebraska Crime Commission.

Youve been submitting applications for 28 years and youve obviously done a good job because you always got the funding, he said. Youve done a really good job, so this makes no sense. It offends me the crime commission would want to go in a different direction.

Lt. Monica Shambaugh with the Nebraska State Patrol writes the grants for submission.

The crime commission basically told us to stop asking for the funding because it isnt the direction they want to go with the money, she told the county board. They think we do great work, but the commission wants to be more of a community policing organization. We dont think our task force should be doing that.

Shambaugh said all the task force agencies are covered financially for this year, but will be unable to make any kind of reimbursement to their cities and counties.

WING board member George Holthus, who also serves as Gering Police Chief, said what makes them successful is enforcing drug statutes and ordinances.

I dont know if we were shocked, because the crime commission has been moving away from enforcement for some time, Holthus said. We were hopeful our modified grant would be acceptable, but it wasnt.

Scotts Bluff County Board Chairman Mark Masterton said the loss will severely curtail the countys efforts unless an alternative source of funding is identified for the task force.
GERING  The first grant funds have been awarded to downtown business owners for facade improvements as part of the Gerings downtown revitalization project. Businesses to receive funding were selected May 1 by members of the Gering Downtown Revitalization Committee Grant Review Committee.

The appearance of the commercial buildings in downtown Gering is a critical component in assuring that the downtown business district remains vibrant and inviting to residents, visitors and investors, said Gering City Treasurer John Mejia, administrator for the grant funding, said in a press release.

The grant funds are made possible through a Community Development Block Grant awarded to the City of Gering by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development as Phase II Implementation Funds for downtown revitalization.

The committee awarded grant funds to two eligible businesses located in the Downtown revitalization district.

The Romp Inc., d.b.a. Rompus Room at 1135 10th St., was awarded a grant of $10,000 for planned facade improvements that include new paint, a new 8 x 8 window, awnings, lighting and building signage.

The Monument Inn and Suites at 1130 M St. was awarded $10,000 for altered sign facade improvements to add a digital message board to the existing sign. The sign will be used to promote the hotel and to advertise local events such as Oregon Trail Days, Old West Balloon Fest, Fathers Day Car Show, Sugar Valley Rally and other local events.

Applicants awarded funds in this round met all of the criteria for grant eligibility and presented exciting-professional conceptual designs for planned facade improvements that tapped into the spirit of downtown Gerings sense of pride and place for residents and visitors, said Karla Niedan-Streeks of the Gering Visitors Bureau and member of the Grant Committee.

Grant funds are available for property owners to make aesthetic improvements to their buildings such as signs, windows, awnings, painting, etc. through matching grants. Approved applicants are eligible to receive 50 percent of total project costs up to $10,000. The Downtown Revitalization Grant Review Committee will meet again in late May to review the next round of applications.

For questions on Gering Downtown Revitalization grant funding and/or for grant applications and guidelines, contact Rawnda Pierce at Twin Cities Development Association or Karla Niedan-Streeks at the Gering Visitors Bureau.
Last week Governor Pete Rickets signed into law a consolidation bill which included one of my own bills. The Health and Human Services Committee added my bill, LB 342, into Sen. Bloods priority bill, LB 88. I believe the resulting bill will be very good for Nebraska.

LB 88 will be good for our state because it ensures Nebraskas participation in the new Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (ENLC). The ENLC allows nurses to have a single multistate nursing license so they may practice in their home state as well as in another compact state. For instance, a nurse living in Kimball, who is licensed in Nebraska, would be able to work in both Kimball and in Pine Bluffs without having to obtain a separate nursing license for the state of Wyoming. In the event of a natural disaster, the ENLC also allows nurses from out of state to respond readily in order to help those in need of medical attention without unnecessary interference from state governments.

The main reason we need LB 88 is because it helps us address the current nursing shortage we have in our state. Many of our hospitals, medical clinics, and nursing homes already struggle to find the qualified help they need. The aging Baby Boom population is especially increasing our demand for nurses. The Nebraska Center for Nursing expects half of all of Nebraskas nurses to retire within the next ten years. Nebraskas shortfall is projected to be nearly 4,000 nurses by 2020. Membership in the ENLC will encourage nurses living in other states to move to Nebraska. It does this by removing the expensive barrier of repetitive and redundant licensing.

Another benefit of this law is that it amends the Nurse Practice Act to streamline licensure for military spouses. This legislation allows military spouses with nursing licenses, who often relocate every two years, to practice in Nebraska. Because licensing can be very expensive, I do not want the spouses of our military personnel to have to shoulder this burden every time they move to another state.

The Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact also does much to keep patients safe. All nurses practicing under the multistate license must meet a minimum set of licensure requirements, including a fingerprinted federal criminal background check. The requirements contained in the ENLC represent the highest regulatory standards for licensed health care professionals in the country, and nurses who fail to meet these standards will not be eligible for the multistate license nor the privileges which accompany it.
A woman's body was found lying near railway tracks in Sipara, Patna on March 11. It took the cops over a month to crack the murder case which prima facie appeared to be a suicide case. Shocking details emerged as police tried to connect the dots in the case.

By India Today Web Desk: The Patna Police was finding it difficult to connect the dots in what appeared to be an apparent suicide case since last one month. The police had recovered a woman's body from railtracks near Sipara on March 11. Prima facie it appeared that the woman, identified as Manorama of Dhanbad, committed suicide by jumping infront of the train.

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However, the one question the police failed to dig an answer to was why a woman would come all the way to Patna from Dhanbad to commit suicide, a report in Bhaskar.com said.

WHO KILLED MANORAMA

A woman's body was found from near railway tracks in Sipara, Patna on March 11. It appeared that the woman had committed suicide by jumping infront of a train. Rail Police SP Jitendra Mishra said that a man called the police to alert them about a woman's body lying near railtracks. When the police team reached the spot, if failed to find the person who had called the police. Investigations revealed that Manorama's sister was also informed over phone about the 'suicide' by a man who referred himself as Ravishankar. Shocking details started to tumble out of the closet when the police started to connect the dots between Manorama and Ravishankar. Manorama and Ravishankar were in a relationship since last three years. Ravishankar had been sexually exploiting Manorama on the pretext of providing a government job and when she insisted to getting married he hatched a sinister plan. Ravishankar had even coerced Manorama to sell off her house in Daudnagar, Aurangabad. He usurped Rs 10 lakh that Manorama received as the price of the house. Manorama's patience started to run out as Ravi neither married her nor helped her in finding a government which he had promised. Sensing that his wicked game won't run long, Ravishankar planned to remove Manorama from his way but not before getting a life insurance of Rs 2 lakh done in her name. Ravishankar named himself as the nominee of the insurance. It was the insurance claim which provided the police a vital clue in the case. On March 11, he took Manorama to Patna's famous Hanuman Mandir, near the railway station where he offered her some sweets spiked with sedatives. The two then decided to walk to the railway station to catch a train to Dhanbad. As soon as he got an opportunity, Ravishankar pushed Manorama on to the railway track. She was crushed under an approaching high speed train. He then ran away from the spot and informed the police, Manorama's sister about the incident.

ALSO READ:

Bihar woman set ablaze, dies: Maneka Gandhi takes action, victim's brother gets justice

Woman gangraped, murdered, body hung from tree in Bihar

'Where was the blood coming from': Bihar MLA asks girl whose friend was raped, murdered

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A bench along the greenway in Statesville has a small plaque on it in honor of the late Rick Davis. It says Placed in memory of Rick Davis an
By MARK EVANS STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD Scott Schmieder, county road and bridge foreman, reported to the county commission last Thursday that temperatures are getting too cold at night for much more asphalt work to be done. He said potholes had all been patched. His crews were working on Bodine Road and made call-ins to locate
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The justice legislation package should be ready for submission to the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) on May 2, so that the council may see it once again, and after okaying it, the package will be submitted to Government and Parliament for approval, Justice Ministry told an April 25 meeting of the Senate's Judiciary Committee.

Committee chairman Serban Nicolae asked Toader to present the latest developments in the proposals from the Justice Ministry amending Law 303/2004 concerning the statutes of judges and prosecutors ahead of the resumption of parliamentary debates on this topic one week later.

"Parliament is considering five bills, all concerning justice. I have kept count of all of them put up for discussion and adopted independently from what we are putting forth. One piece is emergency ordinance OUG 46/2008 [amending Article 33 on Law 303/2004 concerning the statutes of judges and prosecutors] that would have allowed joining the magistracy after 18 years of seniority by just an interview," said Toader.

He added that work was being done on a justice legislation package, mentioning that former Justice Minister Florin Iordache actually dusted off a two-year old bill.

"We are working on a justice legislation package; as I have publicly stated in other settings as well, the package comes from the previous years, as Mr Minister Iordache reactivated it for new debates this January and submitted it to CSM for an opinion because two years had passed since the bill was initiated for a different body, a CSM component. Mr Minister Iordache submitted the bill to CSM and Justice Ministry this January, and he received proposals and observations from CSM only yesterday, that is three months after the fact. We are working full speed now to upgrade by taking over the solutions and proposals we find viable,"said Toader.

He went on to say that the bill will most likely be ready on May 2 for submission to CSM for a final review, after which the package should be forwarded to the Government and Parliament.

"I have talked to my colleagues as well and we will probably come up with a final version by Friday, we do not have to submit it for decisional transparency and public debate because the bill passed through all this in its initial form. But we will submit the final version to CSM so that it may see what we have taken over and what we have left out, which will happen most likely next week. We will all be busy next week with the assessment under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), but we hope CSM will find the time to consider the final version of the bill, which does not need to wait for 30 more days because it already followed decision-making transparency procedures. That means on Tuesday we submit the bill immediately to CSM and the day we get an opinion from it, we will forward it to the Government and to you ," Toader told an April 25 meeting of Senate's Judiciary Committee.

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The land-to-land configuration of BRAHMOS missile was launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) for its full-range in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

By Manjeet Negi: Indian Army on Tuesday successfully test-fired an advanced version of BRAHMOS land-attack cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, showcasing the formidable weapon's precise striking capability.

The land-to-land configuration of BRAHMOS missile was launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) for its full-range, demonstrating the weapon's unmatched lethal ability of hitting the centre of a designated target with "bull's eye" precision.

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The test conducted on Tuesday was the fourth successive successful launch of the Block -III version of BRAHMOS LACM, which once again stamped the missile's impeccable precision striking capability.

Meeting all flight parameters in a copybook manner while conducting high-level and complex manoeuvers, the supersonic cruise missile successfully hit the land-based target with desired precision in a top-attack configuration.

Also read | Indian Navy test-fires land attack version of BrahMos missile: All you need to know

Also read | BrahMos now deadlier, Army and Navy to upgrade existing missiles

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The militants drove by and shot down police stationed at an intersection of the ring road, a busy Cairo expressway, in the city's eastern neighbourhood of Nasr City.

By Reuters: Militants killed three policemen and injured five others in a shooting in Cairo late on Monday, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Attacks on security forces are common in Egypt's northern Sinai, where the country is battling an Islamist insurgency, but targeted assaults in Cairo are rare and the shooting comes amid a campaign by militants to spread violence to the country's mainland.

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The militants drove by and shot down police stationed at an intersection of the ring road, a busy Cairo expressway, in the city's eastern neighbourhood of Nasr City, the statement said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes just weeks after two Islamic State suicide bombers killed at least 45 in deadly church bombings in Alexandria and Tanta, one of the bloodiest attacks the country has experienced in years.

ALSO READ | Egypt: Islamic State claims responsibility for Cairo cathedral bombing

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Updated at 4:45 p.m.

The Service Employees International Union, backer of a five-year campaign to improve pay and job conditions for fast-food workers, on Tuesday asked Illinois and California officials to investigate how McDonald's Corp. calculates restaurant rents, which generate about one-fourth of its revenue.

The union behind the "Fight for $15," campaign alleges that McDonald's does not accurately or specifically disclose the formula used to set rents and that it charges far more than landlords of other fast-food chains. That makes it difficult for the company's 2,500 U.S. franchisees to raise hourly wages for restaurant crews, it said.

"McDonald's sky-high rents leave franchisees financially squeezed, making it difficult to impossible for many of them to pay workers anything more than minimum wage," said Scott Courtney, executive vice president of the SEIU, in a statement announcing the requests to the Illinois attorney general's office and the California Department of Business Oversight.

"We are confident in the legality and appropriateness of our financial relations with our franchisees and our disclosures of those relationships," McDonald's said in a statement. "Our business model helps our franchisees secure prime real estate locations and reflects a significant level of company investment in the restaurant premises."

California's Department of Business Oversight said in an email that it "takes these allegations seriously and is reviewing the matter. Until that review is complete, the DBO must decline further comment."

A spokeswoman for the Illinois attorney general's office said it received the request and is reviewing it.

McDonald's, unlike many other restaurant chains, either owns or holds long-term leases on its restaurant sites. It then leases or sublets properties to franchisees.

The fast-food company last year collected over $6.1 billion in rent from its more than 31,000 franchised restaurants, according to regulatory filings.

"This issue is always bubbling," said John Gordon, founder of Pacific Management Consulting Group.

SEIU's move comes a week after McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook told investors that franchisees were overwhelmingly positive about the company's now two-year-old turnaround plan, which depends in part on convincing restaurant operators that growth is strong enough to justify pricey property renovations.

Easterbrook in March told analysts that McDonald's franchisees continue to generate cash flow growth at or near all-time highs in many of its markets worldwide.
This year has already been labeled the best year since 2007 for new college graduates looking to land a job.

Great! So what to do with that information?

Dig into a new Team ZipRecruiter report that indicates exactly which cities offer the best odds for new grads. These metro areas are most fertile grounds, according to the ranking:

Minneapolis-St. Paul; Kansas City; Portland, Ore.; Seattle-Tacoma; Indianapolis; Salt Lake City; Boston; San Francisco-Oakland; Nashville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Antonio; San Diego; Phoenix; Denver; Austin, Texas; Oklahoma City; Washington, D.C.; Dallas-Fort Worth; Orlando, Fla.; and San Jose, Calif.

You always can argue with methodologies and find exceptions, but this collected data provides a starting point for entry-level job hunters with fresh degrees. It looks at the ratio of openings appropriate for new college graduates compared to the number of applicants in each metro area.

Further slicing and dicing identifies technology as the most promising industry for new grads in a majority of the markets. Business, health care, and finance and insurance top a few metro lists.

Reports like these may be useless for graduates who pursued majors in fields that arent doing a lot of hiring. The comparative statistics also wont help a graduate who has no intention of moving to another city.

Fortunately, a different part of the Team ZipRecuirter report, in which the jobs postings website surveyed 2,000 job seekers on their site, found that fewer than 1 in 10 would refuse to move for a job. And more than one-third said they were willing to move anywhere.

Assuming that most new graduates arent ready to buy a house, the report also looked at median rents. There was quite a range, and the differences might help influence job-hunting and job-acceptance choices. Median rents in the top 20 cities were said to range from $850 to well over $4,000 a month. Clearly, salary offers need to be commensurate with housing costs in order to fairly evaluate positions.

A separate report by CareerBuilder notes that 74 percent of surveyed employers plan to hire new college grads this year, up from 67 percent last year. Not only are there likely to be more entry-level openings, the pay offers also might ratchet higher as employers compete with each other for top talent.

Nearly three-fourths of the employers said theyre willing to negotiate salary offers, many of which are starting at a fairly hefty level already. The CareerBuilder report said expected starting offers break down this way: under $30,000, 23 percent; $30,000 to $40,000, 21 percent; $40,000 to $50,000, 18 percent, and $50,000 and up, 39 percent.

College degrees continue to be the best predictor of employability and decent lifetime pay.
NEW YORK  Gannett, the publisher of USA Today and other newspapers, has warned about 18,000 current and former employees that hackers may have had access to their personal information after breaking into the emails of members of its human resources department.

The company says there is no indication sensitive information was taken, but it can't be sure.

Gannett says it learned in March that several people in its human resource department were victims of a phishing attack, in which hackers try to steal personal information through emails. It says hackers accessed email accounts and were able to send other phishing emails from there. There was also an unsuccessful attempt to wire transfer corporate money.

Gannett Co., based in McLean, Va., says it has notified authorities.
Canada's Indian-origin defence minister Harjit Singh had claimed to be the architect of Operation Medusa in Afghanistan.

By Agencies: Canada's defence minister Harjit Sajjan apologised in Parliament on Monday for claiming to have been the "architect" of the country's largest battle in Afghanistan--Operation Medusa.

Harjit Sajjan repeatedly said sorry for what he called a "mistake" while being grilled by opposition lawmakers about his remark last month during a speech in India.

The battle involving Canada's Operation Medusa was planned and executed in 2006 by then-Major General David Fraser, who was responsible for all NATO forces in southern Afghanistan. Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

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At the time of the operation, Sajjan was a major in Afghanistan, a much lower rank.

TRUDEAU BACKS MINISTER

Interim Conservative opposition leader Rona Ambrose criticised Harjit Sajjan's initial comment as "stolen valour" and asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to dismiss him.

Justin Trudeau rebuffed opposition's call for Harjit Sajjan's resignation. "The minister made a mistake," Trudeau said. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

ARCHITECT OF AN OPERATION

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Harjit Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation... where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

ALSO READ:

Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan offers prayers at Golden Temple

India-born Harjit Sajjan becomes Canada's new defence minister: Here are 5 things to know about him

Canada's Sikh defence minister heckled with 'racist' remarks

--- ENDS ---
Television and movie writers won't be going on strike after all. The Writers Guild of America, whose members authorized a strike last week, reached agreement with the studios early Tuesday, just hours before the strike would have begun.

"The Writers Guilds of America, West and East, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have concluded negotiations and have reached a tentative agreement on terms for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement," the union and studios said in a joint statement.

Among other issues, the writers, who are typically paid per episode, had complained that shorter seasons had resulted in diminished income with the same or greater work load.

In the deal, the writers also won increases in residual payments for pay TV and streaming video work and increased contributions to the guild's health plan.

In the winter of 2007-08, writers struck for 100 days, bringing television production to a halt. Especially hurt were late-night shows, which eventually returned to the air without writers. Movies, typically shot far in advance, were less affected.
GODFREY  A local man was sentenced to five years in federal prison Tuesday on a felony charge of receipt of child pornography, the U.S. attorney's office said.

After authorities in Switzerland seized a server that was hosting a child porn website, one of the 800 IP addresses traced to the U.S. matched Jeremy Foster, 32, prosecutors said.

Investigators with the St. Louis division of the Department of Homeland Security seized Foster's laptop and discovered that he had downloaded multiple videos containing child porn on Oct. 4, 2015, they said.

In addition to the prison time, U.S. District Court Judge Staci M. Yandle fined Foster $3,000.
Updated at 6:25 p.m. with police saying man has been found.

BELLEVILLE  A missing Belleville man was found hiding in a barn on Monday, the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff said in a release that the man asked to be taken to a hospital. "He was transported to an unknown hospital for treatment of unknown injuries," the release said.

The man had been reported missing to the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. His family said they feared he might want to harm himself.

The family called the sheriffs department after tracking the man's cellphone to the 7000 block of Town Hall Road and finding his 2006 Nissan parked near a creek.
ST. CHARLES  A missing 74-year-old man who has been diagnosed with dementia and other health complications was found safe, authorities said Tuesday.

The man had not been seen since about 6:30 p.m. Monday when he walked out of his home on Gallaher Avenue. Authorities issued an alert for him later that night.
CHARLESTON, S.C.  A former South Carolina police officer is pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of an unarmed black motorist he shot and killed as the man ran from a 2015 traffic stop, according to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press.

The 13-page document also notes that as part of the deal, state prosecutors are dropping a pending murder charge against Michael Slager, effectively bringing to a close both parallel cases against the former North Charleston police officer.

Slager, 35, had been scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday for motions ahead of his federal trial planned for later this month in the April 2015 death of Walter Scott.

A bystander captured Scott's shooting on cellphone video, which was viewed millions of times. The 50-year-old motorist was running from Slager following a traffic stop when the two men struggled over Slager's Taser before the officer shot at Scott eight times, hitting him with five bullets in the back.

Despite failing to secure a conviction against Slager last year when his murder trial ended in a hung jury, state prosecutors had been planning to retry him later this year. The deal, which also drops the two remaining federal charges against Slager, drops his pending murder charge.

Slager could face a possible life sentence when he's sentenced by a federal judge. That hearing will likely come after federal officials spend several weeks preparing a presentencing report.

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP . Read more of her work at https://apnews.com/search/meg%20kinnard .
WASHINGTON  The nations largest abortion rights political funding group has nominated Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway for its Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.

The designation by EMILYs List is named after the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in Tucson in 2011 while conducting congressional business. Giffords has become an advocate for gun control.

EMILYs List stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast, and the organization says that since its founding in 1985 the organization it has raised more than $500 million for Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

Galloway is one of six nominees for the Giffords award. Galloway had been scheduled to sit on a panel with the other five nominees on Wednesday, but she elected to stay in Missouri to assist with flood relief efforts.

In a press release EMILYs List described Galloway as the only statewide Democratic officeholder in deep-red Missouri, and noted that earlier this year she was the first Missouri officeholder to have a baby  her third  in office. The reference apparently is to state government officers, since Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., also serves statewide.

Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, said Galloways initiative to create an online record of the states daily spending and revenue has set a standard for state auditors across the country. Nicole is a dedicated public servant who prioritizes transparency for Missouris working families.

Other nominees for the rising star award are:

 Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Nevada Assembly majority leader.

 Coral Evans, mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona.

 Lorena Gonzalez, Seattle council member.

 Helen Gym, Philadelphia councilwoman.

 Jennifer McClellan, Virginia state senator.
The award by the US-India Business Council would be presented to Naidu during the USIBC West Coast Summit in the Silicon Valley on May 8, a statement said.

By Press Trust of India: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the Transformative Chief Minister Award in recognition for his role in advancing the US-India partnership at the state level.

The award by the US-India Business Council would be presented to Naidu during the USIBC West Coast Summit in the Silicon Valley on May 8, a statement said.

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The summit will convene 150 industry leaders from sectors such as information technology, banking, food processing, healthcare, clean energy, digital payments, manufacturing and Government of India officials to explore the impacts of manufacturing in India, digitisation, India's move towards a cashless society and the future of the US-India trade relations, USIBC said.

Participants will discuss key issues such as how Internet of Things (IoTs), smart city planning, and manufacturing issues are shaping the future of the US-India technology partnership, it said.

Led by USIBC chairman and Cisco Executive Chairman, John Chambers, the summit among others will feature Union Cabinet Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT Aruna Sundararajan.

ARUNA SUNDARARAJAN TO BE HONOURED

The summit will also honour Sundararajan with the Transformative Leadership Award for excellence in public service and for her commitment to advancing US-India cooperation and Digital India.

Last year's recipient for the award was Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog.

"India is changing rapidly due to digitisation and this in turn is changing how Indian consumers access information, public goods and services, and create opportunities for innovation," said USIBC president Mukesh Aghi.

"Moreover, India's digital economy has the potential for doubling to USD250 billion, contributing 7.5 per cent of the country's GDP in the next three years," he said.

"The summit will bring together top minds in the industry and the government of India to discuss these possibilities and the future of the US-India technology partnership," Aghi said.

The companies which will attend the summit include Amazon, Paypal, Deloitte, Facebook, Nuveen, Mastercard, Dell, TransAsia, Varian Medical, Visa among others.

ALSO READ | Chandrababu Naidu submits interim report on digitalisation to PM Modi

ALSO READ | It's time to make digital currency cheaper: Chandrababu Naidu, Head of CM panel on digital payment

--- ENDS ---
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump rattled the political establishment again Tuesday by tweeting that unless the Senate changes its rules on the number of votes necessary to pass bills, our country needs a good shutdown' in September to fix (the) mess.

Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a leading Republican appropriator, said he understands Trumps frustration, but says Trumps Republican Party has often been in the minority and realized a filibuster can help force compromise, and that the founders designed a government that makes change hard.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said called the Trump tweets head scratchers and irresponsible and said the president was denouncing a budget deal that other Republicans praised.

In back-to back tweets, Trump questioned a budget agreement to keep the government open until September that includes a lot of things, like funding of Planned Parenthood, and excludes some things, like money for a border wall, that run contrary to Trump campaign promises. But it also includes more spending for the military and border security, other Trump campaign promises.

It is expected to pass later this week, putting off bigger fights, like funding of the wall, until the fall.

The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! Trump tweeted. We either elect more Republican senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good shutdown in September to fix (the) mess!

Trump's office of management and budget director Mick Mulvaney said Trump "delivered on his promises" but accused Democrats of trying to force a shutdown through shifting demands in negotiations.

"It doesn't surprise me at all that his frustrations would be manifested in that way," Mulvaney said.

He wouldnt be the first person frustrated by the 51-vote idea in the Senate, Blunt said of Trump.

But Blunt also defended the Senates rules, and rejected Trump's call for dropping the 60-vote requirement to make big changes, especially on spending.

Senators are probably more committed as a group to the necessity of the Senate to have a significant amount of support of the Senate before you begin to change policies, he said.

Over the last century, we have been in the minority more than we have been in the majority. And I think youd want to be thoughtful about taking away the things that at least require the country to think really hard before you make big changes. But I certainly understand the presidents frustration with the process.

Blunt added: Our system was designed not to be efficient. It was designed to make things hard to do and on that front I would imagine (it has) met the founders expectations.

McCaskill called Trumps comments upsetting, because this was a compromise this is how it is supposed to work."

I supported the increases in funding of the military, but there were many in my party that didnt, she said. There were enough of us that we were able to reach a compromise on that. There were some people in the Republican Party who did not believe we should be spending more money on research. Thank goodness, some Republicans, like Roy Blunt, believed we should.

The notion that (Trump) would consider this a failure is really troubling that does not bode well for the next four years, McCaskill said.

On other issues:

 Blunt suggested that Republicans could address campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act piecemeal, starting with an offensive of administrative actions by Department Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Despite holding a decided majority, Republicans have been unable to pass a repeal and replace bill through the U.S. House, with conservatives refusing to sign off for a variety of reasons. But in offering amendments to attract those conservatives, other members of the House are defecting.

Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, was among those doing so on Monday, saying that he could not support a bill that would not guarantee health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. He called it one of the few good things about Obamacare that he would like to keep.

I think there are a number of things that can be done without the repeal and replace legislation, Blunt said, adding that there are 1,440 places in the Affordable Care Act where Price or other Trump administration officials could change the law. I am for the concept of lets get moving here as quickly as we can.

He said inaction should not be an option for either Republicans or Democrats, reiterating that in 97 Missouri counties many people have essentially been priced out of health care through high deductibles and just one choice in the individual marketplace.

McCaskill did not deny that was happening under Obamacare, but said that she and other Democrats have long been willing to work on ways to shore up the law, not repeal it.

In those rural counties with only a single private provider, she said, negotiators could consider making buying into the federal health care system an option. Perhaps a public option in the counties where there is only one choice.

 Blunt and McCaskill both said federal flood aid is likely coming to Missouri but that it is too early to assess how much will be requested, and for where.

Unfortunately we have done this so many times we know the drill, McCaskill said.

 McCaskill released a resport showing that the incident of sexual assault in the military is down 27 percent over the past year, and that there was an increase of incident reporting between 2015 and 2016. She was primary sponsor of legislation aimed at reducing the incidence of sexual assault in the military while protecting alleged victims.

This is real progress, she said.
UPDATED at 12:15 p.m. with I-55 expected to close

Interstate 55 will be closed sometime overnight as the Meramec River continues to rise, the Missouri Department of Transportation says.

The nearby Meramec River crossings at Lemay Ferry and Telegraph roads are also expected to close overnight, according to Greg Horn, St. Louis district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"So you all are going to have to decide what side of the river you want to be on before you go to bed tonight, because you're not going to be able to go back and forth," Horn said.

The closures of 55, Lemay Ferry and Telegraph would effectively cut off the southern part of the metro area. Starting from the west, Highway F south of Pacific is already closed at the Meramec; Highway 109 in Eureka is closed at the river; Interstate 44 closed Monday night; Highway 141 crosses the Meramec but is closed before Interstate 44; Highway 30 (Gravois Road) was closed; Highway 21 (Tesson Ferry Road) is expected to close Tuesday; and I-55, Lemay Ferry and Telegraph are expected to close overnight.

During similar flooding in December 2015, Horn said, the closure of I-55 caused the biggest traffic problems area-wide, exceeding even the shutdown then of Interstate 44.

"Alternate routes? There are really no good alternate routes," Horn said. "Cape Girardeau is probably the closest way, so that's a long way."

"This is a huge event, probably the biggest we've ever had," Horn added.

The closures will likely last the week and quite possibly into the weekend. Even after water recedes, Horn said, roads and bridges have to be checked for damage and repaired if need be. For example, I-44 flooded near Lebanon, Mo., on Sunday. The water has largely receded, but there was significant damage to the pavement and it may be the weekend before the interstate reopens.

Mark Fuchs, a National Weather Service hydrologist, said several more inches of rain are expected in the St. Louis area in the next 72 hours, with the heavier amounts south and west of the city. "It looks like Franklin County will get a pretty good shot of it," he said.

Fuchs also said "the big wild card is the height of the Mississippi River."

He said earlier forecasts of the crest in St. Louis did not take into consideration the latest predicted additional rainfall amounts. If new forecasts show a "significantly higher" crest along the Mississippi, he said, "it could affect Arnold in a bad way."

Fuchs repeated that the primary effect of the rainfall would be "a slowing of the recession" of the high water. "Basically it's rain on top of a lake," he said.

44 closure causes traffic headaches

Interstate 44 was closed from Interstate 270 in St. Louis County to Highway 100 in Gray Summit just before midnight Monday. MoDOT has designated Manchester Road, also known as Highway 100, as the alternate route for I-44 travelers between Gray Summit and Interstate 270.

Mark Diedrich, the St. Louis County emergency management agency director, said Tuesday morning's commute was not as bad as feared.

"I don't think it was great, but I think people expected it and prepared for it," Diedrich said.

Officials had warned that it will be extremely slow going on Manchester, which even under normal times has a high traffic flow and can get tied up.

MoDOT officials said the worst jams on Highway 100 occurred in a 2-lane segment of road between Gray Summit and Highway T in the St. Albans area. East of there where the road has more lanes, Horn said, "it wasn't good but wasn't horrible."

Route 100 will become the new I-44 when we all wake up (Tuesday) morning, Tom Blair, MoDOTs assistant district engineer, had said at a press conference Monday. Minutes along that route will become hours.

MoDOT officials urged motorists on Manchester to avoid making left turns as much as possible. In an effort to keep traffic moving, they said, the duration of left turn signals on Manchester and streets crossing have been reduced.

Authorities said it appeared drivers listened. Some area schools were closed, also helping keep some traffic of the road.

I-44 was closed to through traffic from Highway 100 to I-270. However, some segments of that stretch are open to local traffic going shorter distances.

Eastbound local traffic will be allowed to exit at Pacific and Highway 109 in Eureka. Both westbound and eastbound local traffic will be allowed between Bowles Avenue and I-270 so access is maintained to St. Clare Hospital and nearby points.

Highway 30 (Gravois Road) was closed just east of Highway 141 to Rahning Road. Highway 109 was closed in Eureka from Eureka High School to Highway W, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

Likely to close Tuesday or Tuesday night are Highway 21 (Tesson Ferry Road) and Highway 141 at Romaine Creek, near Highway 21, in Jefferson County. Another stretch of 141  at I-44  was shut down Sunday night.

Highways 47 and 50 in Union near Flat Creek have closed.

MoDOT officials said they do not expect Dardenne Creek to rise high enough to force a closure of Interstate 70 in St. Peters ''unless there's a tremendous change in the precipitation that's going to come" above predicted levels.

They were among scores of closed state road segments in the St. Louis region, MoDOT said. Many other county roads and city streets also were under water.

MoDOT officials again urged people traveling across the state to use Interstate 70 as an alternate to I-44. Horn said Joplin in the state's southwest corner is the hardest place in Missouri to get to because of the I-44 shutdowns.

In Ste. Genevieve County, Highway 61 from St. Mary to Ste. Genevieve was closed late Monday night due to flooding after levees in the area were breached.
ARNOLD  The old adage you cant get there from here may soon become the mantra of a large section of the St. Louis metro area, as flooding cuts off key routes between St. Louis and Jefferson counties.

The expected closure of Interstate 55 Wednesday, and the possible closure of Lemay Ferry and Telegraph roads at some point, would sever untold numbers of employees from their jobs and lead school districts such as Lindbergh and Mehlville to close school Wednesday due to a crisis of staffing.

Greg Horn, district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation, laid out the choice that faced residents on both sides of the Meramec River on Tuesday.

You all are going to have to decide what side of the river you want to be on before you go to bed tonight, because youre not going to be able to go back and forth, Horn said.

The flooding has already crippled key traffic arteries, chief among them I-44 at Highway 141, which is expected to be underwater for days. Other closures, starting from the west, include Highway F south of Pacific and Highway 109 in Eureka at the river.

But in those cases, alternative routes  albeit time-consuming ones  have remained available. Thats not the case as the arteries between Jefferson and St. Louis counties are closed, which also include Highway 30 (Gravois Road).

Alternate routes? There are really no good alternate routes, Horn said. Cape Girardeau is probably the closest way, so thats a long way.

This is a huge event, probably the biggest weve ever had, Horn added.

Residents in Arnold prepared for their pending isolation Tuesday afternoon, with grocery store parking lots bustling.

Betty Hill, an Imperial resident, said she was coming to the Arnold Walmart to stock up on items, preparing to be stuck at home for a few days. Hill is retired, but shes worried about her son having access to his machinist job across the river. He might have to miss work, she said.

In 2015 we were stuck on the highway for five hours, Hill recalls of the flooding 16 months ago that briefly closed I-55.

This time, Hill said, she and her family are not messing around.

Students at National Academy of Beauty Arts started leaving about noon Tuesday, instructor Kelly Jennemann said. The beauty school is closing on Wednesday and possibly Thursday. Jennemann said it wasnt worth the risk because most of the students come from the other side of the river.

A manager at the Arnold Hotshots location said the flooding actually helped their business. In 2015, area businesses put their employees up in hotels, such as the Drury Inn in the same parking lot, and those people needed somewhere to eat.

He said the bar and grill was putting its own waitresses up in hotels so they didnt have to worry about getting stuck among road closures.

Canceling classes

The two largest school systems in south St. Louis County  Lindbergh and Mehlville  said opening schools Wednesday would simply be impossible, because of a lack of teachers, bus drivers and food service workers who live in Jefferson County.

With the closure of 55 and there being no way around the Meramec, we dont have any other option, said Beth Johnston, spokeswoman for Lindbergh Schools.

Mehlville issued a similar statement: While most of our families are not impacted, many of our employees live in Jefferson County and will be unable to get to school tomorrow. More than 20 percent of our employees reside in Jefferson County. Specifically, 22 bus routes would not have drivers. Our ability to transport kids to school, have meaningful instruction, serve meals and safely supervise students would be significantly compromised.

Some districts, such as Northwest, have also decided to close because they worry that students or parents may be unable to reach school or return home from school because of road closures.

Northwest Superintendent Paul Ziegler also said having clean water for students was a concern. Northwest schools are currently relying on shipments of thousands of water bottles because flooding has complicated water utilities.

The Rockwood School District  which had previously closed only select schools  announced it was canceling all classes Wednesday, partly because of staffing struggles. Valley Park and Fox are among the school systems that have previously closed.

We cant really do much

Hospitals near flooded areas  St. Anthonys Medical Center, SSM St. Clare Hospital and Des Peres Hospital  are making accommodations for staff to stay overnight if they fear not being able to drive to or from their homes. For employees unable to make it to work, managers have made sure their shifts are covered, officials say. The hospitals are fully stocked with food, linens and medical supplies.

We know the drill, said communications coordinator Joe Poelker with St. Anthonys, speaking from experience with similar flooding in December 2015.

The Bowles Avenue exit from Interstate 44  the main route to St. Clare Hospital  remains open and is expected to remain open despite being in the closure area west of Interstate 270, hospital representative Stephanie Zoller said.

Charles Wilken, the director of marketing at Fabick Cat in Fenton, said the company had already moved equipment to higher ground in anticipation of the rising floodwater. The company, which sells and services Caterpillar equipment, sits just west of the Meramec River but was mostly unscathed by the 2015 floods.

Were going to stay open as long as we can, Wilken said.

Two miles west on Interstate 44, sales and marketing firm Maritz told its employees to work from home Tuesday and Wednesday unless they absolutely needed to come in for business.

Maritzs Fenton headquarters was still accessible, spokeswoman Jennifer Larsen said, but many if not most of the companys employees didnt work from the office Tuesday. Almost 1,800 people work at Maritzs Fenton headquarters.

At 84 Lumber in Arnold, managers are playing it by ear.

The Arnold location has taken in a truck and materials from the Valley Park location, which co-manager Jarrett Halley said was flooded.

But with the roads around them closed, making deliveries impossible, Halley said he was not really sure what the rest of the week would look like.

This absolutely affects our business, he said. If we cant do deliveries, we cant really do much.

He said enough employees lived close by that the shop would stay open.

Slow going

Officials say that for the most part drivers were adapting to the detours Tuesday. Many drivers used Manchester Road (Highway 100) as an alternative to Interstate 44.

Mark Diedrich, the St. Louis County emergency management agency director, said the mornings commute was not as bad as feared.

I dont think it was great, but I think people expected it and prepared for it, Diedrich said.

Officials had warned that it would be extremely slow going on Manchester, which even under normal times has a high traffic flow and can get tied up.

MoDOT officials said the worst jams on Highway 100 occurred in a two-lane segment between Gray Summit and Highway T in the St. Albans area. East of there where the road has more lanes, Horn said, it wasnt good but wasnt horrible.

MoDOT officials urged motorists on Manchester to avoid making left turns as much as possible. In an effort to keep traffic moving, they said, the duration of left turn signals on Manchester and streets crossing had been reduced.

Authorities said it appeared drivers listened. Some area schools were closed, also helping keep some traffic of the road.

The closures will probably last the week and quite possibly into the weekend. Even after water recedes, Horn said, roads and bridges have to be checked for damage and repaired if need be. For example, I-44 flooded near Lebanon, Mo., on Sunday. The water has largely receded, but there was significant damage to the pavement, and it may be the weekend before the interstate reopens.

Utility woes

The rising Meramec is disrupting operations for some water and sewer facilities, but other plants expect to have enough flood protection to avoid interruptions in service.

Missouri American Water is planning to shut down one of its south St. Louis County treatment facilities on Wednesday morning, prompting utility officials to ask customers to limit water usage.

Our capacity is going to go down by about 10 percent, so were going to need people to conserve water, said Missouri American spokesman Brian Russell.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District wastewater treatment facilities in Valley Park and Fenton are both threatened by floodwater, as well. But MSD representatives say protective barriers around each are expected to withstand the projected river crests.

Were as prepared as we can be right now, said MSD executive director and CEO Brian Hoelscher, adding that both Fenton and Grand Glaize in Valley Park were under control.

The two treatment plants were overwhelmed by floodwater in late 2015. The Fenton plant was out of service until April, releasing raw sewage into the Meramec River for months.

This time, Hoelscher said, forecasts gave the sewer district more time to build defenses around the treatment plants.

We learned from last time and we had a lot more warning, he said.

But the longer the crest lasts, the more risk there is that temporary sandbag and concrete barriers protecting them might fail, he cautioned.

MSD has made some changes, Hoelscher said. For instance, electrical controls in Fenton have been raised so they are less likely to be damaged by flooding. Manholes and pipes where rainwater was seeping into the sewer system and backing up into the plant  a major contributor to its flooding in 2015  have been repaired.

MSD has applied for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help raise the Fenton plants levee by a few feet. It was already designed for so-called 500-year flood protection.

The utility has also received about 600 calls of water backups and has responded to roughly half of them, according to spokesman Sean Hadley.

Amtrak service halted

The flooding prompted Amtrak to suspend rail service across Missouri.

Kristi Jamison, with MoDOT, said ticketed passengers for trips between St. Louis and Kansas City would be transported by bus. She said passengers should expect delays because buses would have to detour around flooded roads.

Jamison said it was possible the tracks would reopen by Saturday but that would depend on whether more rain fell this week.

Post-Dispatch reporters Bryce Gray, Ashley Jost, Kristen Taketa, Jacob Barker, Michele Munz and Mark Schlinkmann contributed to this report.
Activists say brands must help create child labour-free zones by mapping their supply chains and playing a role in increasing school enrollment. A coalition of charities has started a campaign that aims to make "potential child labourers work only in schools."

By Reuters: Brands sourcing garments, shoes, leather and natural stones from India must help create and sustain child labour-free zones by mapping their supply chains and working with communities to boost school enrollment, activists said on Tuesday.

The Stop Child Labour Coalition of charities recently launched a campaign with guidelines for companies to help ensure that children living in "labour hotspots" finish school.

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"Brands must take responsibility and share their profits to help keep children in school," said A. Aloysius, founder of Social Awareness and Voluntary Education, a charity in the south Indian textile hub of Tirupur that is part of the coalition.

From ensuring fair wages for adult labourers to working with village councils on enrollment drives and improving access to education, the campaign aims to make "potential child labourers work only in schools".

According to the International Labour Organization, more than half of India's estimated 5.7 million child workers between the ages of 5 and 17 toil on farms, and over a quarter are in manufacturing on tasks such as embroidering clothes, weaving carpets and making matchsticks.

Children also work in restaurants and hotels, and as domestic workers.

'CHILD LABOUR HAS OFTEN MOVED DOWN THE SUPPLY CHAIN'

A 2017 UNICEF report, based on Indian census data, says the proportion of child workers in the 5- to 9-year age group jumped to 25 percent in 2011 from 15 percent in 2001.

Many companies do not engage children in their own facilities but have no checks when they subcontract production to smaller factories or home workers, where the prevalence of child labour increases drastically, campaigners say.

"Child labour has often moved further down the supply chain, making monitoring more difficult," said Venkat Reddy of the M V Foundation, a charity in the coalition.

The coalition's guidelines urge the private sector, civil society and government to work together on interventions for child labour-free zones.

After applying these guidelines, two communities in Tirupur with some 20,000 households in December were declared child labour-free.

"It was the first time that small garment manufacturers in the area agreed to work with us on the issue," Aloysius said.

The guidelines draw from successful interventions in the cotton fields of Andhra Pradesh, stone quarries of Rajasthan and shoemaking workshops of Agra.

"Like a quality check section, we want brands to add a social responsibility unit in the factories," Reddy said.

"Supply chains run deep and brands know that. They don't have to build schools, just be part of programmes to keep children in school."

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ALSO READ | Uttar Pradesh: Ministry of Labour and Employment to train child labourers to make them employment ready

ALSO READ | Sex traffickers using social media to prey on victims

ALSO WATCH | India Today Woman Summit 2017: Are women, children of a lesser god?

--- ENDS ---
American presidents make history because their words and deeds can radically affect the course of humanity. The current president, Donald Trump, is putting his personal stamp on history by making a mockery of it.

In an interview Monday on Sirius XM radio, Trump stated that President Andrew Jackson had been really angry about the Civil War and questioned why the opposing sides couldnt work out their differences to avert disaster. Like many things Trump says, the facts have a way of making him look worse than silly.

Jackson left office in 1837. The Civil War didnt even start until 1861, 16 years after Jacksons death. And theres nothing in the historical record to suggest that Jackson undertook any initiative to address the fundamental cause of the war: the Souths refusal to abolish slavery. Historians say Jackson didnt oppose slavery and, in fact, owned slaves himself.

Tension between the North and South escalated dramatically after Jacksons death despite efforts by Congress in the 1850s to preserve unity. The war became inevitable when Southern states seceded from the union. Opportunities were exhausted, to use Trumps words, for things to be worked out.

The White House says Trumps remarks were misconstrued. When his historical knowledge was challenged, Trump responded with a tweet that Jackson saw the war coming and was angry. Would never have let it happen!

Trumps radio remarks were spoken as he does far too often  off the cuff without an authoritative base of knowledge. He appears to be bored with reading and doesnt immerse himself in books or other literature dealing with history or current affairs. His preferred information medium is television.

Whether to read is his prerogative. But being well-informed and deeply immersed in the facts should be an absolute requirement of the presidency. Trumps repeated misstatement of fact reflects the shallow base of knowledge that guides his important decisions, such as launching missiles against Syrian targets or dispatching warships toward North Korea as nuclear tension escalates.

The likelihood of making rash decisions and issuing policy declarations based on half-baked ideas only increases when the president chooses to be under-informed. Would a better-informed president launch a tax-reform plan that would plummet the nation into trillions of dollars of debt?

His decision to engage in what he called a very friendly dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte, of the Philippines, on Saturday was another good example of the dangers. Duterte, who has publicly aligned himself with Adolf Hitler, has unleashed police to execute thousands of drug suspects on the streets and openly mocks the notion of human rights.

The best the world can hope for is that Trumps advisers will do a more effective job at educating the president and restraining his more dangerous impulses. In the meantime, let the public beware: This commander-in-chief is not in command of the facts.
China has a 'vested interest' in acting as a mediator between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue due to its almost 50 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an article in the Global Times said.

By India Today Web Desk: Due to its almost USD 50 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), China has a "vested interest" in acting as a mediator between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, according to an article in a state-run daily.

The article published in the Global Times, a publication of the ruling Communist Party of China, suggested Beijing's latent interest in playing a bigger role in the region.

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Claiming that China had mediated between Myanmar and Bangladesh over the Rohingya refugees issue, the article said, "China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn't mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments."

"Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan", it said.

China's recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over the Rohingya issue shows the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability, the article said.

CHINA AT THE CENTRE OF REGIONAL POWER SHIFT

"China has been at the centre of a regional power shift, thus the country now needs to learn how to act as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in the region", it said.

There is so much to learn for China about how to play its role as a regional power at a time when the country is witnessing a boom in outbound direct investment, the article said.

"For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region," it said.

"In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests", the article said.

This is perhaps the first time that Chinese official media started floating Beijing's interest in playing a mediatory role to resolve the Kashmir issue.

WHAT IS CHINA'S OFFICIAL STAND?

China's official stand is that the Kashmir issue left over from history should be resolved between India and Pakistan, though Beijing has been stepping up its investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

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While China in the past has played down reports of the presence of its troops in PoK, saying that they were there to deliver humanitarian assistance, its USD 46 billion China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the disputed Gilgit and Baltistan region increased its involvement in the disputed areas.

The CPEC project will link the Pakistani city of Gwadar to China's Xinjiang via a vast network of highways and railways.

India has protested to China over the CPEC and is yet to name an official delegation to take part in a summit of the Belt and Road initiative, of which CPEC is a part. The summit is to be held from May 14-15.

Chinese official media also referred to last month's participation of Chinese troops for the first time in the Pakistan Day parade as a sign of the Chinese military playing a role in regional stability.

(WITH INPUTS FROM PTI)

Also read | Is China using its One Belt One Road initiative as an alibi to meddle in Kashmir dispute?

Also read | Pakistan using proxies in Jammu and Kashmir for its foreign policy goals: Top US experts

Also read | Turkish President Erdogan courts controversy, suggests multilateral dialogue to resolve Kashmir issue

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MAY ALSO WATCH VIDEO

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Jacques Torres is certainly building up good karma. After all, what can be more life-affirming than making humanity happy by feeding it chocolate every day? Torres, who is affectionately known as New York's Mr Chocolate, creates a massive 200 tonnes of artisan high-end chocolate in his 40,000 sq foot factory in Brooklyn. I met this modern-day Willy Wonka in his natural habitat- a huge chocolate shop in Soho to which is attached his latest sweet gift to New York City-an international chocolate museum which has just opened in Lower Manhattan. Ever the charming Frenchman, the celebrity chocolatier seated me at a table in his chocolate shop which was already buzzing with people and music at 11 a.m. in the morning, for a chocolate fix. He brought me a cup of his classic hot chocolate, dredged with ice-cold crystals.

Torres, 57, master pastry chef and chocolatier, likes to call himself the Chief Chocolate Officer of his company which has eight chocolate shops in New York besides his factory and museum. He's been the executive pastry chef of the Ritz Carlton and the legendary restaurant Le Cirque and has prepared dessert for kings, presidents and celebrities. He's also the Dean of Pastry Arts at the International Culinary Center; he's done a 52-episode public television series Dessert Circus with Jacques Torres, hosted the Food Network series Chocolate with Jacques Torres and is the author of three cookbooks. Little wonder that he's been inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. And of course he's cooked for former president Barack Obama at a 30,000 dollars per couple dinner.

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A look inside different cocoa pods at the Chocolate Museum. Photo: India Today Spice

How did this Chocolate Universe come into existence?

Imported from a long way off, Torres was born in Algiers but his family moved to the small fishing village of Bandol in Provence, France when he was very young. "Like all kids, I loved chocolate and over the years I figured I'm going to dedicate my life to it and make it my business."

Torres worked at Negresco Hotel in Nice for eight years as pastry chef. In 1986 he received the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) medal in pastry, which is the highest recognition for a craftsman. Two years later he ventured to America as an immigrant, he says simply, "I needed a new challenge!" He worked for a year with the Ritz Carlton as pastry chef and then was invited by the legendary Sirio Maccioni to join Le Cirque where he spent 12 years as executive pastry chef.

One of his signature desserts here was a mini chocolate stove to cook on-with a burner and pot and it had a small cake in the oven-all made of chocolate! His other chocolate desserts-part fantasy and part sculpture-include a Manhattan skyscraper, a chocolate Eiffel Tower, chocolate teacup and saucer and even chocolate cornflakes. One of Torre's most memorable experiences was cooking for the Pope at his home on 72nd street. He says, "After lunch, he came out and gave each of us a rosary."

When Torres turned 40, he decided to give up the hectic restaurant business and turn to chocolate making and opening his first chocolate store in Dumbo, Brooklyn. He was the first artisan chocolatier to start from cocoa beans to make his own chocolate in New York. It was a big hit and he opened seven other stores in Manhattan. As he says, "I wanted to position my company as the least expensive of the best makers of chocolate. So the product is affordable-definitely not cheap but not crazy expensive."

A box of assorted chocolates by the chocolatier. Photo: India Today Spice A box of assorted chocolates by the chocolatier. Photo: India Today Spice

As his gourmet chocolates caught on, he went big with a 40,000 sq. ft state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Brooklyn: "We buy 150 tonnes of chocolate a year and we sell 200 tonnes of product with all the nuts, butter and caramels added on." Torres' life has certainly been enriched by chocolate. Torres found love in 2007 and married the lovely Persian chocolatier Hasty Khoei who runs a chocolate shop in Beverly Hills under the moniker Madame Chocolat. Just last year the two became the parents of a baby boy Pierre, known as 'Little Bon Bon' as part of festive images on Instagram. Torres takes chocolate very seriously and opened "Choco-Story New York, Chocolate Museum and Experience with Jacques Torres" this year.

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As scores of school children squeal with delight and check out the museum, you realise that children and chocolate are an integral part of Jacques Torres' life. He supports several children's causes and also takes his magic bag of delights to children in hospitals. "Making chocolate is a way of life, not a profession," he likes to say. His philosophy is simple: "I like to go through life doing what I love to do. I do what I love to do and to me, that's the biggest reward."

Is there any parting sweet advice for readers? He laughs, "Life is short-eat dessert first."

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5 signature chocolates by Jacques Torres

NYC collection

Chocolate-coated line that celebrates iconic NY symbols such as the subway, the yellow cab and the Statue of Liberty

Chocolate covered cheerios

Adult twist on a childhood classic

Giant rooster

Hand-painted chocolate rooster that stands 22 inches high symbolising the rising sun

Chocolate chip cookies

The signature giant chocolate chip cookies uses his house blend: 60% dark chocolate baking discs.

Champagne truffles

Milk chocolate, fresh cream and Taittinger Brut La Francaise Champagne-real Champagne

- Lavina Melwani is a New York-based writer who blogs at www.lassiwithlavina.com

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Bedrock flies the last in the John Greasley Sportsfield Contractors Novices' Hurdle. Photo: David Pratt (dwprattracingphotography.co.uk)

WARWICKSHIRE trainer Dan Skelton posted a career-best total of 118 winners in the 2016-17 season that ended at Sandown Park on Saturday and he got the new campaign off to the best possible start when landing a double at Warwicks Kids Carnival Day on Monday, writes David Hucker.

Despite the showery weather, another big crowd turned out for the first of three meetings that make up the May Racing Carnival and Skelton struck in the very first race when Bedrock, who had run well when third in a better class contest at Aintree in April, took the John Greasley Sportsfield Contractors Novices Hurdle.

Bought for 70,000 gns after winning twice on the Flat, Bedrock drifted in the betting market in the face of sustained support for Imperial Eloquence, backed from 11-4 to 7-4, who was still travelling well when crashing out at the fourth-last flight.

This left the way clear for Bedrock and Harry Skelton to coast home ahead of Nicely Indeed, whose jockey Mikey Hamill had done well to stay in the saddle after a blunder at the first.

Trainer Fergal OBrien and jockey Paddy Brennan were looking for quick compensation after the fall of Imperial Eloquence with hurdling debutante Oscar Rose in the following Racing UK Now Live On Youview 231 Mares National Hunt Maiden Hurdle over the minimum trip of two miles.

Another who had run well in graded company at the Aintree Festival, Oscar Rose, looked a cut above her rivals and was duly sent off the 8-11 favourite.

But, there was a shock in store as 50-1 shot Rebel Yeats, who had been unplaced in both her starts in Ireland, led approaching the final flight and had too much in hand for the favourite, making a winning debut for the Ian Williams Racing Club.

Cobra De Mai was fancied to keep the Skelton bandwagon rolling in the Watch Racing UK On BT TV Novices Handicap Chase and, having jumped into the lead at the second fence, he made the rest of the running for an easy victory, although the handicapper is likely to give him a hefty weight rise for his 24-length success.

Despite carrying a 7lb penalty for his Stratford success, Honkytonktennesse was all the rage in the betting ahead of the Racing UK Profits Returned To Racing Handicap Hurdle to give the Skeltons another winner, but he never looked like landing a blow as Bridget Andrews sent bottom-weight Goodnight Charlie clear of the field going out on the final circuit to post a six-length success for Wymondham trainer Caroline Fryer.

Another Warwickshire-trained winner looked on the cards as Garrahalish from the Robin Dickin stable jumped boldly in the lead in the Racing UK Now On Talktalk TV Handicap Chase, but he was collared between the last two fences by top-weight Aerlite Supreme, who ran on well to get jockey Tom Scudamore off the mark for the new season.

Punters latched onto hat-trick seeking Ashoka in the Follow @racing_uk On Twitter Handicap Hurdle over two miles, but there was also support for Destinys Gold who was making his debut for trainer Dr Richard Newland.

With Destinys Gold departing at the penultimate flight when in with every chance and Ashoka finding his recent exertions and weight too much, it was Attest, the youngest horse in the race, who was produced at just the right time by Harry Bannister to score at 20-1.

Only two horses attracted the money in the concluding JRFB Ltd Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle with Brereton, ridden by last seasons champion conditional jockey Harry Cobden, the 5-2 favourite and Yeats Baby, who had been unplaced in all her five starts under Rules, halving in price from an opening 10-1.

Favourite backers knew the fate some way out, as Brereton was making no progress down the outside, but Yeats Baby was running well for Stan Shepherd, only to find one too good in 10-1 shot Market Road, who made it a double on the afternoon for trainer Evan Williams after the earlier success of Aerlite Supreme.
In an exclusive interview to India Today, the brave soldier said he is missing Kashmir badly where he should be present as the situation needs him.

By India Today Web Desk: CRPF commandant Chetan Kumar Cheeta, who successfully fought death after taking nine bullets during an encounter with terrorists in Kashmir, is once again yearning to return to the trouble-torn Valley to complete his unfinished work.

In an exclusive interview to India Today, the brave soldier said: "I miss Kashmir badly...I am needed there. I should be present there".

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He wants to be a part of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), a specialised unit of the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force).

"After getting hit by so many bullets, I am sitting here and talking to you it seems that there is something left to be done yet. And it is only because I am special," he said.

Photo gallery:

CRPF soldier Chetan Cheeta not a hero alone, his wife Uma is partner to his courage

The CRPF soldier is now recuperating after spending one month in coma at a hospital after he took nine bullets, including one in the head, during a gunbattle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir in February.

Besides head injuries, his jaw and eyes also suffered badly.

During the interview he was asked to comment on incidents where children also join the stone-pelting crowd against the security forces in Kashmir. So being a parent what will Cheeta do in such a situation?

"What will we do? We don't have to aim and fire bullets. We have to avoid," he said.

His wife Uma Singh, who is no less than a hero, cites examples of incidents where jawans call those children who start playing with them.

"And those children also forget that they are supposed to throw stones on them," she said.

Also read:

Condition of CRPF Commanding Officer Chetan Cheeta who gave a tough fight to militants in Bandipora improves

Watch the full interview:

Chetan Cheetah to India Today: Ready to serve in Kashmir again

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At least three terrorists were killed after Pakistan Army troops repulsed a cross-border attack in South Waziristan Agency late Monday, according to the Inter Services Public Relations.

Terrorists attacked two Pakistani outposts in South Waziristan Agency from across the border, the ISPR said in a statement.

South Waziristan is one of the seven tribal agencies in the country, part of which also borders Afghanistan.

The troops stationed at the border posts valiantly repulsed terrorist attack, killing three infiltrators. Scores of militants were also wounded in intense exchange of fire, it read.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a long porous border, which comprises difficult-to-access areas, high mountain passes and treacherous terrain, making it difficult to secure every inch of the frontier.

Terrorists from Afghan side of the border have for long attempted to infiltrate the Pakistani territory in pursuance of their nefarious motives, however, the Pakistani security forces foiled such attempts for most of the times.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says nearly three dozen people have lost their lives when members of the Daesh launched an attack against a camp for Iraqi refugees and displaced Syrians in the far northeastern corner of Syria on the border with neighboring Iraq.

The group reported that at least five assailants blew themselves up outside and inside the camp in the Rajm al-Salibeh area of the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah on Tuesday, claiming the lives of at least 32 people.

The monitoring group's chief Rami Abdel Rahman said fierce skirmishes then broke out between Daesh militants and members of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed coalition of fighters who have seized swathes of territory from the Daesh terrorist group in northern Syria, leaving combatants from both sides dead.

Abdel Rahman added that at least 30 people also sustained injuries during the heavy exchange of gunfire, noting that the death toll may rise because some of the wounded victims are in a critical condition.

The London-based group went on to say that at least 21 of the dead were displaced Syrians or Iraqi refugees.

Founded in October 2015, the SDF is comprised mostly of Syrian Kurds, numbering at least 25,000. It receives equipment, weapons and air support from the US.

Washington has been sponsoring anti-Damascus groups operating in Syria by labeling them as moderate militants.

Ten soldiers slain in Daesh assault in western Iraq

Meanwhile, Daesh extremists have killed at least 10 soldiers in the western Iraqi province of Anbar after they carried out a surprise attack against government forces in the area.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Daesh attacked a 1st Division base in the Saggar area, which lies east of Ar Rutba town and about 390 kilometers (240 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, using mortar rounds and rockets.

The source added that several militants armed with rifles then tried to storm it, prompting clashes that lasted two hours until 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).

Iraqi army soldiers and pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Shaabi, have made sweeping gains against the Daesh elements since launching the operation to retake Mosul.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

The United Nations says nearly half a million civilians have fled fighting since the offensive to retake Mosul started on October 17, 2016.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on April 17 that 493,000 people had been displaced from the city, located some 400 kilometers north of Baghdad.

As many as 500,000 civilians are still trapped in the Daesh-controlled neighborhoods of western Mosul.
Deepika Padukone's outfit will make you question, if 'good' ensembles are always the 'best' ensembles.

By Shivani Chhabra: While the world is abuzz with Priyanka's trench-coat-gown hybrid, and how she has once again proclaimed her position as the best dressed celebrity at an international red carpet--we've all sadly missed another Indian actress dazzling at the Met Gala 2017.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/deepikaddicts

Deepika Padukone attended the Met Gala 2017 too, and she was every bit of an angel in white. The gorgeous ivory-white satin gown Deepika donned was probably the most 'nice' ensemble at the event.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/deepikaddicts

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The shift, backless gown with intricate silver detailing on the straps extending to her back, was undoubtedly magnificent--but a little off for the event.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra's Met Gala outfit might just have made a world record

The theme for Met Gala 2017, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between, was in honour of Japanese designer, Kawakubo, for her contribution to the fashion industry. The eccentric event saw the most ravishing and the weirdest outfits at the red carpet, but Deepika's enthralling ensemble stood out for not being on the lines of the theme.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/deepikaddicts

Deepika had accessorised her front-slit attire with a floral-studded headband, and matching earrings. She tied a low bun, and it was gorgeously-out-of-the-place.

Also Read: Before Met Gala 2017: 11 bizarre outfits from last year that were real-life memes

It wouldn't be unfair to say that Deepika Padukone could easily be confused for an alluring bride gracing the event.

Deepika Padukone poses with designer Tommy Hilfiger at the Met Gala 2017.Picture courtesy: Twitter/deepikaddicts

We're not denying that Deepika was dressed like a dream, but we're not sure if the Met Gala 2017 was the best event to pull off her 'goody good' ensemble.

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Defence Minister Jaitley called for high levels of preparedness to counter any emerging threats, in an address to Naval Commanders in the national capital.

By Arindam De: Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley called for high levels of preparedness to counter any emerging threats, while inaugurating the Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

"Preparedness is the best deterrent," he said.

Jaitley started off his address to the Naval Commanders by complementing the Indian Navy for its professional attitude and its continuing commitment to protecting India's maritime interests and to meeting a large number of international obligations, in line with the India's defence diplomacy requirements.

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He spoke at length about the current and emerging security scenario and challenges in the sub-continent.

He also discussed the presence of extra-regional powers in the Indian Ocean region, and referred to the situation on India's Western border and its links to internal security dynamics.

'FOCUS CONTINUOUSLY ON BUILDING UP INDIGENOUS KNOW-HOW'

In his address, Jaitley acknowledged the various pending crucial requirements of the Navy.

He went on to assure the Commanders that the government is looking at all issues positively and will soon take steps to allocate resources to address various shortfalls.

Jaitley was effusive in his praise for the ongoing push for indigenisation by the Navy and urged the Commanders to continuously focus on building up indigenous know-how.

Before concluding his address the Defence Minister said that the government will provide the necessary impetus to overcome critical shortfalls in capabilities, like ship-borne Multi-Role Helicopters, anti-Mine Vessels and conventional Submarines, among others.

He said the government would soon come up with the necessary defence procurement policies, like the soon-to-be-finalized Strategic Partnership model, that would lay the ground rules for future procurement, as well as support the 'Make in India' initiative.

It may be noted that at least three critical defence projects are awaiting the finalisation of the SP model so that they can go into production under the 'Make in India' scheme - the Navy's Project 75I submarines, the Naval Utility Helicopters, and IAF's urgent requirement for another combat aircraft to add to the 36 Rafale fighters.

ALSO READ | Indian Navy test-fires land attack version of BrahMos missile: All you need to know

ALSO READ | Ahead of bilateral talks, 5 Indian Tamil fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy

ALSO WATCH | INS Viraat retires after serving Navy for 30 years

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In the attack in outer Delhi's Mianwali Nagar, three people, including Bhupinder (out on parole), his friend Arun and assistant sub-inspector Vijay Singh, were killed.

The assailants fired at least 20 rounds, giving no chance to the PSOs to react.

By Mail Today Bureau: It was around 11.30 on Sunday night when Bhupinder alias Monu Dariyapur (30), who is out on parole, was in his Maruti Ciaz with a friend and two Protective Services Officers (PSOs), when masked assailants came on two bikes and a car and opened fired on them.

The assailants fired at least 20 rounds, giving no chance to the PSOs to react. In the attack in outer Delhi's Mianwali Nagar, three people, including Bhupinder, his friend Arun and assistant sub-inspector Vijay Singh, were killed while constable Kuldeep was critically injured.

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Senior officers and specialised units such as special cell and crime branch visited the crime scene, but no breakthrough had been made till reports last came in. "On the statement of constable Kuldeep, an FIR has been registered under sections 302, 307, 34, 25 & 27 of the Arms Act," said Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma said.

ALSO READ | Delhi: 2 cops injured in encounter with criminals near Nehru Place metro station, 1 arrested

--- ENDS ---
Polly Mustard

newsie.co.nz



Dear Banksy,

Once again I board a flight on the airline that shall remain nameless, and I arrive at my destination only 10 minutes late after having decanted 2 passengers and their luggage before departure. Why? Trying to get in the papers no doubt like those naughty U.S based airlines? But there was no drama to film, no compensation to pursue.

So, Banksy, I have arrived at my destination to find you. Where could I be? Jerusalem, visiting your new hotel? No. Weston-Super-Mare, checking to see if there are any signs of you? But no, your bemusement park Dismaland is long gone. Am I in New York, looking for you amongst the stalls in Central Park, checking to see if anyone is pretending to be selling knock off Banksys only for them to be the real deal and worth a wee bit more than I can afford to pay?

You see, Banksy, I have been to all these places but unfortunately I always seem to turn up before you do. So this time I feel the stars have aligned and our fate is sealed. I have beaten you to New Zealand by quite a few years and you have turned up quite randomly in Tauranga of all places. Why Tauranga? Nothing wrong with Tauranga I hear you cry. Surely no better place to retire? Lashings of Vitamin D to be had. Art and culture capital of Aotearoa - umm, not quite. But yes, I have it on good authority that your work can be viewed at Tauranga Art Gallery.

The day arrives, a clear blue sky, balmy temperature, palm trees moving to a gentle breeze - not feeling like autumn to this wee Scot. I walk to the centre of town which is busy with tourists, parents and their little people (it is the school holidays). I am more than a bit fizzy as I approach the gallery.

To say that I am a Banksy fangirl is a bit of an understatement. Banksy is high on my fantasy dinner guest list which, I admit, is quite extensive. Of course he would have to eat his dinner behind a screen as I would want his identity to remain a secret, or the other guests might have to wear blindfolds (not quite decided on that one yet), but fear not as mostly everyone else on the list is dead, they are not going to let the proverbial cat out of the bag.

I have so many questions for you Banksy. Are you a Girl? (No, I think thats Bambi). Is there more than one of you? Are you the front man of a famous Trip hop group? Are you a Public school drop-out? Taunting us with your witty, satirical and graphic depictions of modern life?

Your work is extensive, youve been nominated for an Oscar for your 2010 film Exit Through the Gift Shop, you are credited with an episode of the Simpsons and as of 2014 you have been named a Cultural Icon - alongside Shakespeare, J.K.Rowling and Queen Elizabeth II, to name but a few.

I enter the contemporary building that is Tauranga Art Gallery. It is buzzing with people, for what should be a quiet Monday morning. We are all here for the same purpose, seeking Banksy (and maybe a few of the other artists on show too!).

I am like a sniffer dog at an airport. I know what I am looking for and I walk swiftly past everything which is clearly not my target. I turn into a room on my right and there before me is *Rage* The Flower Thrower - probably one of Banksys most well-known pieces. A child is standing in front of it recreating the pose whilst his mother takes a photo. How many artists would provoke such interest in a tween boy?

The viewers around me are animated and there is much chatter and quite an excited vibration in the room. As I move along the wall, greedily taking in every piece before hastily moving onto the next - I am not savouring this art, I am consuming it.

I want to come to a quick conclusion, is this The Emperors New Clothes I am viewing or the work of a genius? People around me are laughing and smiling as they take in the collection. Dads explaining stuff to kids, the art critic talking pretentiously of anarchy.

I stand in front of an Andy Warhol inspired piece of the supermodel Kate Moss. I know Banksy created an original for Kate Moss as a surprise for her whilst she was on honeymoon and had it installed in her bathroom. She has since divorced and the valuable artwork was stolen from her house in 2010.

I must confess to being a tiny bit of a crazy around certain people, and I once followed Kate Moss around Harvey Nichols in London - up the escalator and everything! It was in the heroin chic days. I am not proud of it but these days I have it mostly under control. So standing in front of that work gives me a thrill.

The collection is creative, imaginative, witty, ironic and to me - oh so clever. A columnist in the UK writing for The Guardian wrote of Banksy his work looks dazzlingly clever to idiots. All I can say is I must be an idiot because I love it with a passion. Banksy your work through the decades from the Cool Britannia era of the nineties right through to present day has been original and thought provoking, it appeals to the masses, from your average Joe to the art collector willing to chip away at concrete walls to preserve and own your work. I cant think of another artist in present times that has the same appeal. Not Tracey Emin, not Damien Hirst (although it has been hinted that you are Damien Hirst) I am not convinced.

You provoke people to comment, whether that is by defacing your work or by smirking and commenting that it is too obvious (anarchy-lite). Maybe you are a victim of your own success. Popularity often leads to contempt. But you get people talking and debating about art. Is your work just hipster vandalism?

Art through the centuries has been argued in exactly the same way whenever the new boys take over. Being original is extremely rare these days and it should be celebrated. And not just by the people who can afford it. Banksy celebrates us all.

In 2004, Banksy printed one million pounds worth of his Di Faced Tenner. The play on the word defaced being he replaced the Queens face for Princess Diana. The ten pound notes were dropped into crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival and The Reading Festival leading to people actually using his work as legal tender. The notes have cropped up again at his Dismaland installation in 2015.

Most Banksy work can be authenticated through Pest Control but because the fake notes are considered counterfeit they cannot be processed for authenticity. How blimmin clever is that? I want one and I would never know if it was real or not. Who cares, it is just the story and the touch of magic and mystery about it.

There just isnt enough of that wonderment around when you grow up and Banksy manages to keep it alive in this cynical, jaded grown-up woman.

Out of all the work on view I would choose the Morons piece to start my collection. The print features the words I Cant Believe You Morons Actually Buy This S***. I ponder for a second - will anyone stop me if I just remove this convincingly from the wall and walk purposely out the front door. Ummm, probably got CCTV. Is it worth the jail time? Probably wouldnt get to keep it anyway. So I just look longingly. One day Banksy, one day.

Until then, I do have quite an expansive blank wall on the side of my house if you have any free time and you are this side of the world. I would even offer you a cup of tea, chocolate digestive and a chat. I am led to believe that you are a thoroughly nice individual who after you did a piece on the door of a youth club (Mobile Phone Lovers) and the sneaky council claimed ownership of it. You sent a letter to the owner of the club condoning the use of it as a fundraiser.

I am ever so good at keeping secrets. And I promise not to be going at the wall with a mallet before the paint is dry. Tempting as it would be.

I am asked as I leave the gallery did I enjoy it? The answer is yes, I had quite the emotional response. I came for Banksy as I am sure 99% of the rest of the people did. I would have liked to have left with at least a Banksy postcard as a souvenir but was told that all memorabilia sells out as soon as they get it. I thoroughly recommend viewing the Oi You! Collection which is part of Paradox: Tauranga Street Art Festival. 28 March  15 June 2017.

It wasnt until after I had left the gallery and was reading the exhibition brochure that I discovered Banksy was not likely to be found in New Zealand. I was disappointed to find out that the collection was on loan from a UK couple who are now based in South Island. While this was very nice of them to loan out their collection, I was hoping to see an original Banksy pop up somewhere in New Zealand. Oh well, it saved me the time and trouble of scouring the streets and back alleys for a glimpse of the elusive Banksys infamous spray paint.

One day Banksy, one day

Yours sincerely

Polly
Yes, we need to keep it under control

No, we need to learn to live with it
Conservation groups in the Western Bay of Plenty are banding together in an effort to conserve their efforts and make them more effective, Tauranga City Councillors were told this week.

If we are protecting the dotterel or looking after the kiwi and then you go off and the rats and the possums come back and it all goes down the drain, we are actually wasting money now, says Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society chairman Julian Fitter.

We might as well pack up now and spend our money on going fishing or something. We must find a way of being sustainable and have longevity into the future.

Julian and Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust chairman Hans Prendergast were addressing the Tauranga City Council Environment Committee during the public forum this week, announcing the establishment of the Bay of Plenty Conservation Alliance.

The alliance currently comprises four conservation groups: Uretara Estuary Managers, the Aongatete Forest Project, Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust and Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society.

Were looking to bring together the various small conservation groups in the bay to try and drive the whole conservation issue forward, says Julian.

Theres lots of really good work going on but its all quite disconnected, just small groups working in their own little back yards you might say, some of them slightly bigger. Otanewainuku has a slightly bigger patch working with quite a lot of volunteers and supporters.

The conservation groups are unconnected, have no real voice and are dependent on a small number of often elderly volunteers.

And theres the well-known thing of volunteer burnout, they do about five years and then collapse and go off and do something else, says Julian. And I often think What is the point of doing what we are doing if it is not still being done in 50 or 100 years time?

Small groups have a huge number of issues about what they have to do to stay afloat, which means they are not achieving conservation goals when their energies are drained by administration and internal management.

The amount of time wasted at the Resource Management Act regional coastal planning hearing last year really shocked him, says Julian.

I had to give up after a while. We didnt have money for a lawyer and I didnt have time.

Its just staggering and that structure is no good for a small group. We simply cant collectively get involved in that and thats a shame because it is a lack of democracy.

There are also funding issues. Small conservation groups have to more or less constantly apply for funding.

If you are building a ship, would you design it with a hole in the bottom so that you always needed a pump to stay afloat, so why would you build an organization that always needs funding?

We want to build an organization that becomes sustainable in due course. Thats one of the key ingredients. We wont want to have to constantly come to councils or DOC or what have you to say we need some more money just to run the organization.

There are tonnes of different applications, and I dont mind making an application if know Im going to get the money. What I dont like doing is making an application and getting nothing. More time and effort when I could be out there killing the rats or getting rid of the pampas grass and that sort of thing.

We have got to find a better way forward. And thats where this has come from.

The biggest issue facing volunteer conservation groups is management capacity, says Julian.

What you can do depends on how much management you have. Its not the number of volunteers you have, its how much management.

If the new organization can successfully take on the management loads of the four groups, they can make a big difference to expanding the projects and move toward large scale conservation.

Because preserving a little tiny hill is actually not going to make much difference to anybody and us doing a little bit on maketu spit or

If we would include the whole of the two harbours, if we can include the whole of the Papamoa Hills, if we can include whole catchments alongside the harbour, then we are really making a difference. We will become Bay of Plenty Conservation.
UPDATED: Police have confirmed that they are investigating reports of an armed robbery in Tauranga this evening.



Police were called to a shop on Fraser Street, just past Fraser Cove, at 7.40pm.

"Police are at the scene now taking statements and speaking with witnesses," says a police spokesperson.

People with information about the robbery are asked to contact Tauranga Police Station on 07 577 4300.

Alternatively, information can be left anonymously via the Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 line.

EARLIER:

Police are responding to reports of an armed robbery in Tauranga this evening.

A caller to the 0800 SUNLIVE news hotline says police have gathered outside United Video on Fraser Street.

People are being asked to stay away from the scene as police search the area.

SunLive will bring you more information as soon as its available.

At the scene?

Call 0800 SUNLIVE or email photos to newsroom@thesun.co.nz
By Press Trust of India: Bengaluru, May 2 (PTI) BJP leader KS Eshwarappa, who is leading a battle against the partys Karnataka unit chief BS Yeddyuappas style of functioning, has decided to take part in the activities of the Rayanna Brigade, ignoring the central leaderships diktat.

The Rayanna Brigade is an "apolitical forum" of Dalits and backward classes, which was floated by Eshwarappa in an apparent show of strength in his battle against Yeddyurappa, a former chief minister.

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"Sangolli Rayanna Brigade and Sangolli Rayanna Yuva Brigade office-bearers meets will take place on May 8 in Raichur. As a preparatory step, some leaders are meeting at Raichur today.... Im attending the preparatory meeting," Eshwarappa said today.

He was speaking to reporters after paying obeisance at the Raghavendra Swami mutt, near the Karnataka-Andhra border.

The BJP had yesterday issued a statement, barring the party members from participating in the activities of the Rayanna Brigade. It had also instructed its functionaries not to organise any activity connected with any such organisation.

Later, Eshwarappa told reporters at Raichur that BJP chief Amit Shah had not opposed the activities of the Rayanna Brigade and that he was only following his instructions.

"...I will not cross a line against the (BJP) national presidents directions. I have been following his instructions. He had asked us to continue (with the brigade activities). The brigade is emerging as a forum of Dalits and backward classes," he said.

Claiming that the Congress would not have come to power in the state had Yeddyurappa not floated the Karnataka Janata Paksha, Eshwarappa said that a "united BJP" could once again form the government in Karnataka.

"The people have realised that the organisation is strong if it is united...by uniting the BJP, we will once again come to power, despite the Congress and the JD(S) joining hands," he said, citing the party winning 17 of the 30 parliamentary seats post the merger.

Resentment has been brewing within the Karnataka BJP over Yeddyurappas "unilateral" style of functioning after he appointed office-bearers, "ignoring" the loyal workers and the old guard of the party.

It had intensified as a factional feud on April 27 with Eshwarappa holding a convention to "save" the organisation, in defiance of the warnings from the Yeddyurappa camp.

Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa said he was exercising self- restraint against commenting on Eshwarappa or the Rayanna Brigade.

Speaking to reporters at Kalaburagi, he added that BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Muralidhar Rao, who had collected the opinions of several party leaders regarding the developments, had brought the matter to Shahs notice.

In this backdrop, Yeddyurappa has appointed Srinivas Prasad as the partys state vice president.

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Prasad, who had quit the Congress on being dropped from the cabinet by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, had unsuccessfully contested the recently-concluded by-poll to the Nanjanagudu constituency on a BJP ticket.

The appointment comes after a crackdown on the feuding factions by the BJPs central leadership, which relieved two office-bearers each from the Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa camps of their charges. Of them, two were party vice presidents.

Meanwhile, Union minister and senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu, who was in the city, refused to comment on the developments saying, "Both of them (Yeddyurappa and Ehswarappa) will fight the election together."

The BJP today also announced that its two-day state executive meeting will be held at Mysuru on May 6-7. PTI KSU RA BN RC

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The Commerce Commission has declined the merger between NZME and Fairfax.

The Commerce Commission released its decision today after delaying the announcement last month.

The extension is required in order for the commission to properly assess and account for the further information it has received following its draft determination and conference," says a commission spokesman in a statement released this week.

The commission proposed to reject the merger in a draft decision back in November 2016.

Chairman Dr Mark Berry says the merger wouldve resulted in one media outlet controlling nearly 90 per cent of New Zealands print media market.

The ruling follows a year of lobbying and speculation concerning some of the countrys largest media brands, including Stuff and the NZ Herald.

The commission held a briefing in Wellington this morning to announce its decision.

"Following our draft determination the applicants significantly altered their submission on what the state of the market would look like without the merger.

"The details of those submissions are confidential; however, we do not consider the scenarios presented to be likely outcomes. In our view, without the merger NZME and Fairfax will be increasingly focused on their online businesses as their print products diminish in number and comprehensiveness over time, says Mark.

We accept there is a real chance the merger could extend the lifespan of some newspapers and lead to significant cost savings anywhere between $40 million to around $200 million over five years. However, these benefits do not, in our view, outweigh the detriments we consider would occur if it was to proceed.

The merged entity would have direct control of the largest network of journalists in the country, employing more editorial staff than the next three largest mainstream media organisations combined.

Its news media business would include nearly 90 per cent of the daily newspaper circulation in New Zealand and a majority of traffic to online sources of New Zealand news.

Including its radio network, the merged entity would have a monthly reach of 3.7 million New Zealanders.

This merger would concentrate media ownership and influence to an unprecedented extent for a well-established modern liberal democracy.

"The news audience reach that the applicants have provide the merged entity with the scope to control a large share of the news consumed by a majority of New Zealanders. This level of influence over the news and political agenda by a single media organisation creates a risk of causing harm to New Zealands democracy and to the New Zealand public, says Mark.

Having reviewed all the evidence, our primary concerns remain that this merger would be likely to reduce both the quality of news produced and the diversity of voices (plurality) available for New Zealanders to consume.

"Competition between NZME and Fairfax leads them to produce higher quality content than would otherwise exist with the merger. This competition incentivises investment in editorial resources, motivates journalists and editors in their day-to-day work and acts as a safeguard to plurality.

In our view, the merged entitys competitors would not be able to constrain it in any real way from making cost-cutting decisions that reduce quality and plurality. The extent of internal plurality is also discretionary on the part of the media owner and we do not regard promises to maintain current levels as a sufficient safeguard on future editorial decisions.

While we cannot weigh in dollar terms the net benefits against the detrimental societal impacts we expect to see, in our assessment this is not a finely balanced decision. We decline to grant authorisation.

A copy of the Commissions final decision will be available on its website shortly.
A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders would likely discuss the civil war in Syria, where Moscow backs the government of Bashar al-Assad and the US supports rebels trying to overthrow him.

US President Donald Trump will speak by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

By Reuters: US President Donald Trump will speak by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday at 12:30 pm EDT (1630 GMT), the White House said on Monday night.

A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders would likely discuss the civil war in Syria, where Moscow backs the government of Bashar al-Assad and the United States supports rebels trying to overthrow him.

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Trump ordered an air strike on a Syrian air base last month in retaliation for a deadly poison gas attack on civilians he blamed on Assad's government.

Russia denied the Syrian government was responsible for the sarin attack, which killed 90 people.

Trump said after the cruise missile attack that the United States' relationship with Moscow "may be at an all-time low."

ALSO READ | Trump offers condolences to Putin after St. Petersburg blast that killed 11 people

--- ENDS ---
During the past year, Commonwealths Attorney Roy Evans and his team successfully prosecuted all eight of the sex crimes cases involving adult offenders that came through the Smyth County Court System.

Earlier this month, an Augusta County man was added to that list after he pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage family member.

What makes 70-year-old James Olin Pyle Jr.s conviction stand out from the others is the fact that the crimes he pleaded guilty to took place more than 30 years ago.

According to court documents, Pyle was indicted by a Smyth County grand jury in January on incest charges dating between July 1981 and December 1984, a time period when he lived in Smyth County.

While the crimes were three decades old, Evans said the lack of a statute of limitations on felony crimes in Virginia allowed police to pursue, a grand jury to indict and the Commonwealth Attorneys office to prosecute the case.

Its not always easy to come forward right away, Evans said. Its hard to put yourself in the place of a victim. Theyre often afraid to come forward for fear of retribution and victims of any age sometimes feel embarrassed.

Marion Police Lieutenant A.K. Moss, who first began handling the case 20 years ago, said Pyles victim initially disclosed the abuse to a her family and then to police in 1996, but a lack of evidence initially stymied the investigation.

Nearly two decades later, Moss said he got a call from Pyles victim, who now lives in Richmond. She told Moss she hadnt spoken to Pyle since the disclosure in 1996, but had heard from other family members that he had made partial admissions to having sexual relations with her when she was a teenager.

From there, Moss put Pyles victim in touch with a Virginia State Police agent, who helped coordinate a controlled call to her abuser.

That call was going to be a hard call to make, Moss said. It couldnt be rushed.

During that call, Moss said Pyle admitted to at least one instance of sexually abusing his victim.

But what he didnt say was just as important as what he did say, Moss said. He may not have admitted to everything, but he didnt deny some of the [other] allegations.

That partial admission was enough for a grand jury to indict Pyle and enough for Evans to move forward with the case.

This one was extraordinary because you had a recorded confession, Evans said, noting that cases this old are often very difficult to prosecute. Sometimes when cases age, witnesses disappear or pass away or investigators retire.

Both Moss and Evans agree that successfully investigating and prosecuting cases as old as Pyles is rare, but they also agree its not impossible.

If youre within the time frame to collect evidence, that obviously helps to bring resolution to the case, Moss said. Outside of that, it kind of comes down to getting statements from the victim and witnesses or an admission from the suspect.

Moss and Evans said detail is key.

To have a credible case, theres got to be some specificity to when and where, he said.

While it may seem enough evidence doesnt exist to bring charges in some cases, Evans said, It can be done. You just never know what youll find with a thorough interview. You might find something to corroborate [the accusation].

Evans recalled that another case from earlier years seemed just as daunting.

Many years ago, a person came in and said this happened to me 30 years ago. We thought it was impossible.

Through investigation and interviews authorities discovered that a child was born as a result of the abuse and DNA analysis allowed for a conviction.

But thats not always the outcome when working with aged cases, the two agreed.

It would be hard to bring a case without having some sort of evidence, Moss said. This one worked out, but theyre difficult cases to work, especially for the victims. You do what you can to try to help victims and try to bring closure to the case, but sometimes youve got to be straightforward and say you might not get anything, but were going to try.

Evans said prosecutors also have to take the likelihood of a conviction into account, especially when the case involves young children and no physical evidence.

Cases have had to be turned down when the case isnt strong enough, he said, explaining, Youve got to weigh what the childs going to go through at trial versus the chances of a conviction. Some people say it gives them closure to be able to say out loud what happened, but sometimes it could be re-victimizing to face their abuser.

The prosecutor and investigator had no problems showing their loathing for such scenarios.

You can feel sure that somebody did something, but being able to prove it in court is another thing, Moss said. Those are difficult. The only thing you can do there is just keep watch and hopefully it doesnt happen to anyone else.

Thats why Moss and Evans say its paramount for victims to come forward immediately, but too often victims feel too embarrassed or afraid to do so.

Often theyre embarrassed. Sometimes they may talk to someone who doesnt believe them, so it never makes it to law enforcement, Evans said.

Other times, Moss said, the victim feels at fault.

We dont want to see the victim blaming themselves for it and not reporting it and thinking, well, maybe it was my fault. No, its not your fault. Its never your fault. Even date rape is not your fault. Youre not going to be judged on that.

But Moss said law enforcement officers understand that these things cannot be rushed.

Its a difficult thing and it has to be based on what the victim is ready to confirm and you cant force that. Whatever they feel comfortable talking about, well talk about. Its got to be at their comfort level and you cant force it. You cant just say I need you to tell me what happened right here, right now. You cant do that. You have to be sensitive to whats happened. We want to get as much as we can to prove the case, but not at the expense of traumatizing the victim further.

When victims are not comfortable speaking with police right away, Moss advised they see a healthcare provider, where physical evidence will be collected.

While police will be notified, Moss said, its not as depicted on television. Police will not show up in the exam room and victims are given time to come forward at their own pace.

Moss also advised victims speak with someone close to them.

Youve got to get somebody that can help you with it. Dont try to deal with it on your own, he said. If that doesnt happen, you need to write it down and keep it somewhere so you dont forget important facts. Memories fade. Things that you might not think about or remember when you talk to police may be really important. You want to have all the details you can.

In Pyles case, Evans said detail was important.

I think the victim made a very good witness, Evans said. She was very descriptive and was able to pin down dates better than Ive seen in a lot of cases and thats very difficult when youre reaching that far back into childhood.

Pyle was given time served on a 10-year sentence with all but 10 days suspended. Evans said his office did not ask for additional jail time because the plea agreement allowed for a felony conviction with no previous record. This ensured that Pyle would be required to register as a sex offender. Pyles age and health were also taken into consideration.

Evans said Pyles victim gave a moving victim impact statement during the plea hearing.

She did relish the opportunity to have her say to Mr. Pyle in open court, Evans said. She took the stand and read a very well written and emotional victim impact statement. Her remarks were addressed directly to Mr. Pyle and left no doubt as to the extent to which his offenses affected her childhood and her relationships with others even up to present time. It was clear that the hurt never went away.

Both Evans and Moss noted the increase in resources and training in Smyth County to deal with sexual assaults and encourage victims to use those resources.

For further advice, victims can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or contact local law enforcement or their healthcare provider.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The main commercial anchor for the City Center development at the former Sibley's Department Store in downtown Syracuse has pulled out, dealing a major blow to the project.

Gary Thurston, chairman and CEO of Hayner Hoyt Corp., said Aspen Dental Management Inc. pulled out of its lease at City Center in December because of delays in the project. The dental office support company had planned to move its headquarters and 600 workers from DeWitt to City Center.

"Aspen signed a lease last year, but they pulled out in early December because things they expected to happen didn't happen," he said.

The loss of Aspen prompted the project's original developer, Robert Doucette, to sell his stake in the development in late February to Hayner Hoyt, which had previously signed on to be the project's general contractor.

"Hayner Hoyt had a desire to come in and we said OK," Doucette said. "We're rooting for them. We conceived of this project and brought everything together."

The loss of Aspen is a major blow to City Center and to downtown Syracuse in general. Local business and political leaders had been looking forward to the economic impact that the addition of 600 office workers would make to the heart of downtown.

However, Thurston said he is busy looking for another tenant for the project.

"The only thing I can say is, the balls are in the air," he said.

Though Aspen Dental is out for now, Thurston said he would be glad to talk to the company if it changed its mind and wanted back in.

On a more positive note, Thurston said construction is to start soon on the new home of the Redhouse Arts Center in the former department store, which is located at 400 S. Salina St.

Redhouse, a partner in the project from the start, plans to build a 400-seat flexible-space theater, a 100-seat traditional theater, a 60-seat lab theater, rehearsal rooms and classrooms. The Redhouse is currently located in nearby Armory Square.

Doucette, a major force behind the creation of Armory Square out of a collection of abandoned and underutilized warehouses, announced plans for City Center in May of 2016. He said at the time that construction would start in two months, but his prediction turned out to be overly optimistic as rumors flew that he was having difficulty nailing down a lease with Aspen and, in turn, obtaining financing for the $32.5 million development.

Aspen signed a lease last year to move its headquarters and 600 jobs from DeWitt to City Center. However, the lease contained contingencies that allowed Aspen to pull out of the deal, Doucette said. He declined to provide details, but said he had not been able to come to terms with Aspen on certain aspects of the project.

"It's complicated and there are a lot of pieces here," he said.

In response to an inquiry from Syracuse.com, Aspen issued the following statement Monday:

"We are very appreciative of the hard work many parties put into this effort -- and we are equally disappointed that ultimately, we were not able to put together a deal which would make sense for all involved.

"As a company, we take great pride in the fact we were founded in this community, and our rapid growth has made significant economic contributions to the Central New York economy. Moving forward, we will continue to look for an alternative space to meet the needs of our business and our employees."

Aspen provides non-clinical business support services to independently owned and operated dental practices in 35 states.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
1WestSenecaTnpkCrash04242017.JPG

The driver of this red Dodge car crashed at 11:51 p.m. Monday, April 24 on West Seneca Turnpike at Barnes Avenue in Syracuse. A neighbor pulled the unconscious man out of the smoking car. An ambulance then took the driver to a local hospital.

(Catie O'Toole | cotoole@syracuse.com)

Mike Erlenback, 22, of Nedrow, is recovering from multiple fractures in both feet and a broken shoulder blade at Upstate University Hospital's Community Campus in Onondaga. He was in a car crash April 24 on West Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- When Mike Erlenback woke up in a hospital bed after a crash last week on West Seneca Turnpike in the Valley, he had no idea where he was or how he got there.

Erlenback, 22, of Nedrow, was driving home from work shortly before midnight April 24 when he lost control of his car at a high rate of a speed and crashed into cones on the Turnpike, he said. As he slammed on his brakes, a neighbor watching television inside a nearby apartment heard the car crash and ran outside to help.

The neighbor, Sean Danboise, yelled to his mother to call 911 while he tried to get to the driver.

"He's laying there limp," Danboise said the night of the crash.



The car was smoking and the doors were locked. Inside, airbags surrounded Erlenback as he sat unconscious, with his head down and still buckled. Danboise said he didn't know the driver, but tried to do everything he could to help him.



"I smashed the back passenger window with a rock," Danboise said. He picked that window so glass didn't hit the man.

Neighbor Sean Danboise, 21, heard a crash Monday night while watching TV in his home on West Seneca Turnpike. He then ran outside and saw a small red Dodge car that had crashed across the street. Danboise helped pull the unconscious driver out of the smoking car. An ambulance then took the driver to a local hospital.

Once the window was broken, he reached in, unlocked the door and climbed in the back seat. Danboise then reached over and unbuckled Erlenback.

Danboise said he and another man, whom he did not know, helped pull the driver out of the smoking car. Once the driver was on the ground, Danboise was relieved to find a pulse.

Emergency crews arrived quickly. American Medical Response ambulance took Erlenback, still unconscious, to Upstate University Hospital.

"The next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital," Erlenback said.

He was told he had been in a bad crash and that he was in the hospital. Then, he saw the article describing how Danboise, 21, ran to help him. Erlenback reached out to The Post-Standard | syracuse.com because he wanted to thank the man, who he says saved his life.

"I want to let him know I appreciate his actions," Erlenback said. "I want to meet him and offer him dinner, and maybe even form a new friendship."

What Danboise did that night, Erlenback said, "isn't something you wipe off your shoulder. I had to let him know I've been thinking of him every day."

Erlenback was able to talk to Danboise on the phone briefly early Tuesday from his hospital bed at Upstate University Hospital's Community Campus in Onondaga. The two plan to eventually meet and shake hands, Erlenback said.

Looking back, Erlenback describes his actions a week ago as "stupid."

He remembers driving home from St. Camillus Health & Rehabilitation Center, where he works as a janitor. He was traveling the 30-mph speed limit in his 2013 red Dodge Avenger when he approached a hill on West Seneca Turnpike and decided to "hit the gas."

"I was going pretty fast," he said. "I had the car topped out at 95 mph at the bottom of the hill."

As he sped down the hill on the Turnpike in Syracuse's Valley section, his car struck construction cones.

"I hit the brakes so hard, the wheels locked up," he said.

Erlenback thinks his car slowed down to 65 to 70 mph as he hit the brakes, but the car slid.

"I remember hitting rubble and the floor board pushed up," he said.

The car slid along the Turnpike, past Hopper Road and into a pile of debris at the intersection of Barnes Avenue. Erlenback remembers those last moments as if they happened in slow motion.

Then everything went dark, as he lay unconscious in the car.

At the hospital, he remembers having X-rays taken before he was released at 4 a.m. April 25 -- just hours after the crash -- from Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

He couldn't believe he had escaped the crash with just a few scratches. But then the pain set in and Erlenback said he could barely move. Later Tuesday, the hospital called to say the X-ray showed he had a broken shoulder blade. He lay on his back, unable to turn in bed or walk.

On Wednesday, he called for an ambulance and went to Upstate University Hospital's Community campus. There, he learned he also had three fractured bones in his left foot and two fractured bones in his right foot, he said.

Erlenback remains at Upstate's Community campus, but hopes to soon be able to go to a rehabilitation center to begin physical therapy.

Syracuse police have not commented on the crash, nor provided the accident report. However, Erlenback says he was not ticketed and had insurance for his car, which was totaled in the crash.

He called his actions to speed as "stupid" and knows that although he is in pain, he is lucky. He also says he is thankful to those who came to his aid that night.

"I learned it's not worth going fast like that," Erlenback said from his hospital bed. "I won't be doing that again."
goatyoga1.jpg

Goat yoga is a thing now. Just accept it.

(Provided photo)

BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. -- This is nothing like your downtown studio class.

Purpose Farm in Baldwinsville will host Central New York's first ever goat yoga classes this summer. It's just like a regular yoga class, with stretching, postures and breathing, except with friendly goats wandering around the participants.

The first class will be held on Saturday, June 24 at 9 a.m. (UPDATE: The first class sold out after this story was posted. The farm added new dates on Saturday, July 8 and Saturday, July 15 at 9 a.m.)

The farm is located at 1454 West Genesee Rd., Baldwinsville.

The yogis can enjoy the natural atmosphere with views of the Seneca River. Meanwhile, Purpose Farm goats Cain, Abel and Rex can enjoy playing with the yoga group, nuzzling, prancing and sitting on people as they please.

Cain, Abel and Rex are Nigerian dwarf goats, about the sizes of small dogs. Sandra Seabrook, president and founder of Purpose Farm, said they joined their first yoga class last weekend -- a trial run to see how they would act.

"They come right up to you, wanting to sniff, kiss your face or lay down next to you," said Seabrook.

Could they do other, less adorable things, like relieve themselves on a yoga mat? Possibly.

"An animal is an animal, but these goats are used to being around people," Seabrook said. "They accompany group tours and run free with kids all the time. They could jump on you or nip at you, but that's a small risk you'll take."

Tickets are $25 for each class, which caps at 30 people. Seabrook is considering offering "pig yoga" this summer, too.

Kathy Spottek, former yoga instructor at O Yoga, Lotus Life and Easy Street Yoga, will lead the classes. No yoga experience is needed.

The classes will raise funds for Purpose Farm. After the class, yoga participants can also visit the farm's horses, donkeys, alpacas, pigs, peafowl, chickens and Tofu the turkey.

Purpose Farm is a free youth mentorship program and animal rescue. The farm pairs youth ages 6-18 who have emotional trauma from neglect, abuse or bullying. The farm also welcomes youth who have trouble adapting socially, with animals that have been rescued from similar circumstances.

Goat yoga is part of a growing trend of including friendly animals in human exercise routines. It started in Oregon and Arizona, spreading quickly to farms across the nation. The new film, "The Circle," even pokes fun at this trend, with a scene of millennials doing "Doga," or yoga with dogs. (This exists.)

It's not easy to have a little goat walk on your back while you're in a downward dog pose, but hey, the balancing act will strengthen your core.

Katrina Tulloch writes life and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook
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The Fabulous Thunderbirds return to the NYS Fair in 2017.

(Provided photo)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Legendary Texas blues band The Fabulous Thunderbirds return to the New York State Fair for the first time in 30 years this summer.

The blues rockers will perform a 2 p.m. show on Friday, Aug. 25 at Chevy Court.

Kim Wilson, who Muddy Waters once called his favorite harmonica player, founded the Thunderbirds in 1974.

His hard-edged vocals helped the band's best-known single, "Tuff Enuff," crack the top 10 of the Billboard charts and become part of the soundtrack of two films in 1986: "Gung Ho" and "The Naked Cage."

The Fabulous Thunderbirds performed at the fair on Aug. 31, 1987 and as an opener for Journey on Aug. 30, 2004.

Chevy Court 2017 acts, so far:

Robert Randolph

3 Doors Down

The Fabulous Thunderbirds, 2 p.m., Aug. 25

Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone

Marshall Tucker Band

Taylor Dayne

The 2017 fair runs from Aug. 23 to Sept. 4, 2017.
Crouseclock.jpg

Crouse Hospital

(Ellen Blalock)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse's last independent hospital is joining forces with one of the nation's biggest healthcare systems.

Crouse Hospital is affiliating with Long Island-based Northwell Health, which has 21 hospitals in the New York City area and is the state's largest healthcare provider. Northwell is the nation's 14th biggest healthcare system.

Crouse officials said the partnership is not a merger or acquisition, but a relationship that will help Crouse sustain its financial stability, improve quality and expand its operation. But Crouse officials said the partnership could lead to an acquisition or merger in the future.

Crouse will continue operating as a separately licensed community hospital with the same name, governed by its existing board of directors. There is no plan to eliminate jobs or make administrative changes at Crouse as part of the affiliation, officials said.

The deal gives Northwell, which wants to expand throughout the Northeast, a presence in Upstate New York. Northwell was founded in 1997 with the merger of the North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Northwell has 21 hospitals and more than 550 outpatient facilities.

About 87 percent of U.S. hospitals are part of larger networks or healthcare systems, according to Samuel H. Steinberg, a hospital consultant from Philadelphia.

"The stand-alone hospital is a thing of the past," Steinberg said at a recent Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Orlando, Florida.

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse was acquired in 2015 by Trinity Health, one of the nation's biggest health systems. Community General Hospital on Onondaga Hill was purchased by Upstate University Hospital in 2011.

Hospitals are merging and affiliating to save money, better manage patient care and position themselves to deal with health care reform. Hospitals are moving away from a fee-for-service payment system to a payment system based on patient outcomes. To survive in that new payment system, hospitals need expertise in data analytics and population health management.

"Why try to reinvent the wheel when there are systems out there that have this expertise?" said Dr. Seth Kronenberg, Crouse's chief medical officer.

Kronenberg said Crouse will also use Northwell's expertise to start new services like telemedicine.

Crouse and Northwell have been talking for the past year. "Northwell's culture is like Crouse," said Kimberly Boynton, Crouse's president and CEO. "We wanted to make sure the organization we formed our future with shared our mission and vision."

Boynton said Crouse has been growing its health system in recent years to be more than just a hospital. It has expanded its primary care physician practice and developed an affiliation with Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton. The hospital, which is 130 years old, employs 2,800 people and its entire health system employs 3,300.

Crouse has been operating in the black since emerging from bankruptcy in 2003. Northwell generated a $96 million operating profit in 2016.

In a prepared statement, Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell, said:

"For Northwell, this collaboration creates a key strategic alliance in a major Upstate hub with a high quality, financially stable, mission-focused provider that has relationships with numerous other providers in the region."

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) The Congress today slammed the BJP-led NDA government for not having any policy on national security and asked it "to take off its bangles" and act against Pakistan to avenge the killing of two Indian soldiers whose bodies were mutilated.

The Congress also urged the government to give the army a free hand to take appropriate action against Pakistan to avenge the killing of its soldiers.

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Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal took a swipe at the BJP-led government asking how many heads of Pakistanis would it bring to avenge the beheading of its two soldiers and recalled the words of current External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to bring "10 heads for one" when Lance Naik Hemraj was beheaded in 2013 during the Congress-led UPAs term.

He also recalled Swarajs swipe at then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of sending him bangles when such an incident happened during the UPA and asked "would that woman leader, who is today a minister, send bangles to her prime minister?"

"It is unfortunate that the prime minister and government do not have any policy on national security...They only think of elections so who will think of national security? We urge this government to take off its bangles and do something and frame a policy," he said.

Sibal also said, "When Hemraj was beheaded in UPA rule, Sushma Swaraj had stated we will get 10 heads for one. We want to ask the prime minister, how many for two?"

Sibal said the Congress condemns in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack by Pakistan which resulted in mutilation of the bodies of two soldiers ? armys Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and BSFs Head Constable Prem Sagar.

Hitting out at the government, the Congress leader said it is "shameful" that the government was celebrating Vijay Parv at a time when Pakistan killed two of "our soldiers in our territory".

"The BJP shamelessly celebrates Vijay Diwas after Pakistan forces killed our jawans. The Congress celebrated Vijay Diwas when we broke Pakistan into two," he said referring to Pakistans defeat in the 1971 Bangladesh War.

Sibal also alleged that Modi was only busy campaigning and had no time to deal with national security and neither discuss the issue with the opposition.

"Time goes by celebrating Vijay Parv and campaigning for elections, be it 2019, or 2024 or 2029, so who will think about national security?" he said.

The former Union minister attacked the government for having a "part-time" defence minister, and said, "We will have a full-time policy only when we have a full-time defence minister".

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He alleged an "absence" of policy or direction to tackle Pakistan or terrorism and asked the government to have a policy in place to deal with the menace.

The Congress leader said knowing Pakistans intentions clearly and that they harbour hatred towards India, the government should not expect anything from the neighbouring country and should neither embrace them, attend birthdays or court them.

"We want action," he said, asking "who is responsible for the killing of Indian soldiers?"

He claimed there had been an increase in casualties of both civilians and army personnel during the 35 months of NDA government so far in comparison to the same period during previous UPA government.

Former defence minister A K Antony said the army should be given a free hand to take appropriate action against Pakistan for the beheading of two Indian soldiers.

He also raised questions over the security along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, saying the incident has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army.

Asserting that he was not seeking to politicise the issue, Antony said while only one incident of mutilation happened during his eight-year stint as defence minister, the last three years have witnessed three such incidents.

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"I have no words to say about the cruelty of the Pakistan Army. So the government must give a free hand to the army to handle it in its own way," Antony told reporters.

"My only request to the government is give the army a free hand to take appropriate action as a reaction towards the inhuman, barbaric acts of Pakistan," he said. PTI SKC KUN

--- ENDS ---
In need of publicity for his AIDS research, on which he was working since past 28 years, an old scientist faked an ISIS threat letter in Arabic, using Google Translate.

By India Today Web Desk: In need of publicity, an Indian scientist forged a threatening letter form ISIS and even reported a false attack on him.

Dr Mukesh Shukla faked threats from ISIS to publicise his AIDS research.

Hailing from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Mukesh Shukla told police that the so-called Islamic State contacted him. According to Mukesh, ISIS demanded information on a "secret drug formula for treating malaria and HIV," in March, according to RT.

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Mukesh Shukla approached police in March stating that ISIS was sending him threatening letters written in Arabic and was even provided with police protection.

"He claimed that IS wanted his AIDS treatment formula and threatened to kill him if he did not give it to them," a police officer told the Hindustan Times.

Mukesh Shukla claimed that he was attacked by ISIS using a chemical spray while he was walking home. According to Mukesh, his money and a pen drive which had his AIDS research inside was also taken by the militants. However, this story turned out to be fabricated.

Mukesh Shukla claimed that he developed the drugs for treatment of AIDS, malaria and heart diseases using plant extracts which took him 28 years, according to the RT report.

EXPOSED

When police started investigation, an Arabic language expert told police that the ISIS threat letter was not in correct Arabic.

The police also found that the Surendranagar-based scientist, who is in his sixties, not only cooked up the attack story but also forged the threat letter using Google translator.

"We checked the computer system of Shukla and extracted all the data. We examined the data and found a letter written in English got translated exactly as the threat letter through the Google application," Assistant Commissioner of Police, DCB, Rajdeepsinh Jhala told the Indian Express.

After questioning, Mukesh Shukla admitted that he had faked the letter and fabricated the attack.

According to the DCB, Mukesh "has been researching drugs for treating HIV among other diseases for the last 28 years, however, society never took note of his efforts."

"This led him to depression. He has confessed that he himself wrote the letter and cooked up the story of attack."

"We have cracked the case with the help of Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch," said Surendranagar Superintendent of Police Deepak Meghani.

"But we have not arrested or detained Shukla as yet. We are mulling our next step considering that Shukla is a senior citizen and currently under medication."

--- ENDS ---

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Day 3



The night on the crater rim was very windy and cold. We opted to sleep through the night instead of waking up at 2 AM for the summit climb. We could hardly sleep due to the noise of the wind and it was pushing the tent on us.



We started our summit climb around 8 AM in the morning and took 7 Hours to get to the summit and back to the crater. As per the initial itinerary, we had to descend to the lake after the summit but we decided to stay back on the crater rim as it was quite late by the time we came back to the camp after the summit. Our guide and porters were very accommodating as this was a change from the planned itinerary.



The crater rim of Mt. Rinjani.





Camping above the clouds.









That's where we will be climbing to reach the summit.



Quote: From Wiki: Mount Rinjani or Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano in Indonesia on the island of Lombok. Administratively the mountain is in the Regency of North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Barat, NTB). It rises to 3,726 metres (12,224 ft), making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia.[2]







Our Dinner





Nature's art...















Quote: On the top of the volcano is a 6-by-8.5-kilometre (3.7 by 5.3 mi) caldera, which is filled partially by the crater lake known as Segara Anak or Anak Laut (Child of the Sea), due to the color of its water, as blue as the sea (laut). This lake is approximately 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level and estimated to be about 200 metres (660 ft) deep; the caldera also contains hot springs. Sasak tribe and Hindu people assume the lake and the mount are sacred and some religious activities are occasionally done in the two areas. On 27 September 2016 14:45 WITA Rinjani erupted.





Two steps forward and the mountain will take you back by 1 step. The most challenging climb to the summit as this stretch completely exhausts you.





This is where I sat down to rest and looked up the path. If not for the encouragement from my friend and the guide, I would definitely have turned back! The level of exhaustion this stretch causes cannot be described!





This is not Mordor... It's the path to the summit of Mt. Rinjani.





We were the last to summit the mountain as usually, almost everyone starts the climb to the summit at 2 or 3 AM. As we started at 8 AM, we were alone on the way to the summit. The cloud cover on the caldera lake made sure we could not capture good shots of the lake from the summit.



This is on the other side of the summit which does not have a lake.









On the summit.





Back to base camp on the crater.





Summary of Day 2 on Mt. Rinjani.

Day 2 on the mountain. (8th December 2016)The night on the crater rim was very windy and cold. We opted to sleep through the night instead of waking up at 2 AM for the summit climb. We could hardly sleep due to the noise of the wind and it was pushing the tent on us.We started our summit climb around 8 AM in the morning and took 7 Hours to get to the summit and back to the crater. As per the initial itinerary, we had to descend to the lake after the summit but we decided to stay back on the crater rim as it was quite late by the time we came back to the camp after the summit. Our guide and porters were very accommodating as this was a change from the planned itinerary.The crater rim of Mt. Rinjani.Camping above the clouds.That's where we will be climbing to reach the summit.Our DinnerNature's art...And this is the top view of the cone which erupted on 27th September 2016 and captured by me on 8th December 2016.Two steps forward and the mountain will take you back by 1 step. The most challenging climb to the summit as this stretch completely exhausts you.This is where I sat down to rest and looked up the path. If not for the encouragement from my friend and the guide, I would definitely have turned back! The level of exhaustion this stretch causes cannot be described!This is not Mordor... It's the path to the summit of Mt. Rinjani.We were the last to summit the mountain as usually, almost everyone starts the climb to the summit at 2 or 3 AM. As we started at 8 AM, we were alone on the way to the summit. The cloud cover on the caldera lake made sure we could not capture good shots of the lake from the summit.This is on the other side of the summit which does not have a lake.On the summit.Back to base camp on the crater.Summary of Day 2 on Mt. Rinjani. Last edited by Rudra Sen : 2nd May 2017 at 10:55 . Reason: typo corrected
The armed robbers reportedly fled with cash amounting to Rs 65,000.

By Ashraf Wani: Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday barged into the Ellaquai Dehati Bank branch in south Kashmir's Kulgam district and fled with cash.

They said that two gunmen entered the bank at Kader, Yaripora area of south Kashmir district and fled with about Rs 65,000.

Following the incident, the security forces rushed to the spot and launched a massive manhunt.

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More details are awaited.

Also read:

Hizbul militants kill 5 policemen, 2 J&K Bank employees in Kulgam while looting cash van

Srinagar bypoll: Kulgam youth killed in clashes with security forces

--- ENDS ---
Gender bias affects contributions to the open source community, according to a paper published Monday in the open access journal PeerJ Computer Science.

Female programmers suggestions for code changes in open source projects  called pull requests  were accepted more often than those of their male counterparts  78.7 percent for women versus 74.6 percent for men  when gender was unspecified. However, that changed when the gender of a pull requests author could be identified.

Authors who could be identified by name or a profile picture as women had lower pull request acceptance rates (58 percent) than those who could be identified as men (61 percent).

On the other hand, women with gender-neutral profiles had higher acceptance rates (70 percent) than any other group, including men with gender-neutral profiles (65 percent).

Our explanation for why all women were doing better than women who could be identified as women is gender bias, said Emerson Murphy-Hill, an associate professor of computer science at North Carolina State University.

Murphy-Hill authored the study with Josh Terrell, a former undergraduate at Cal Poly; Andrew Kofink, a former undergraduate at NC State; Justin Middleton, a Ph.D. student at NC State; Clarissa Rainear, an undergraduate at NC State; Chris Parnin, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State; and Jon Stallings, as assistant professor of statistics at NC State.

Higher Bar for Women

The studys findings, which were published in preliminary form last year, are based on analysis of 3 million pull requests from 330,000 GitHub users, including 21,000 women. GitHub is an online programming community that fosters collaboration on open source software projects.

Despite their being vastly outnumbered on GitHub, women overall performed better than men on pull requests.

Our intuition is that the women who are on GitHub  if theyve made it to that point in their careers  they may be more competent to the average man in that position, Murphy-Hill told LinuxInsider.

Prior research has shown that women in the workplace are held to higher performance standards, he pointed out.

By the time women reach the point in their careers where theyre contributing to open source projects, most of the less competent women have exited the career path, Murphy-Hill maintained.

Assessed with Different Lens

The findings by the NC State researchers arent applicable to women programmers alone, noted Barbara Annis, a founding partner in the Gender Intelligence Group.

When women are identified as women, their ideas tend to get dismissed more, not only in the tech industry but in other industries as well, she told LinuxInsider.

We see women in organizations being assessed with a different lens, she added.

For example, in an experiment the Gender Intelligence Group performed at a financial services company, one group of women had gender identifiers on their resume while another did not. Of the gender-identified women, only 18 percent received job interviews. However, 71 percent of the non-gender identified got interviews.

They still didnt get the job, because in the interview you could see the candidate was a woman, Annis said.

It can be worse in the programming field, she added, because the culture and mindset there is still very male.

Future Research

What might be the next step for the researchers? A look at the people judging pull requests could be enlightening, Murphy-Hill noted.

Prior work suggests that women tend to be especially hard on other women, he said.

When some people read this paper, they think men are the villains here, Murphy-Hill continued. I dont think thats the way to read the paper at all. I think everybody has implicit biases, whether theyre men or women, and biases can manifest no matter who you are.

Another possibility is that the original research may have focused on the wrong issue, suggested Jennifer Bryan, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia who teaches data analysis and statistics.

I thought the story should have been much more about how few contributions were coming from women, she told LinuxInsider, than the rather modest differences in acceptance rates.
President Trump on Monday signed an executive order to create a council designed to "transform and modernize" the federal government's information technology wherewithal.

The American Technology Council (ATC), as it'll be called, will be led by former Microsoft executive Chris Liddell, a White House official told Re/code. This is in spite of the fact that Trump is listed as the Chairman with other prominent politicians such as the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security cited as members.

The executive order notes that the council will not have any impact on national security systems. Instead, the efforts of the ATC appear to be focused on how the government uses and delivers digital services to citizens. Given the vagueness of the order, however, the true scope of the ATC is next to impossible to pin down at this hour.

As Re/code highlights, Trump isn't the first president to attempt to bring the government into the modern era. President Barack Obama essentially did much of the same through initiatives like the U.S. Digital Service.

The ATC is scheduled to hold its first meeting in June. Re/code reached out to several major tech companies including Amazon, Google, Facebook, IBM, SpaceX, Tesla and Microsoft to see if representatives from the companies would be present; none of them immediately responded to requests for comment.

Image courtesy Drew Angerer, Getty Images
Microsoft has launched a new, stripped down version of Windows that aims to take on Google and Apple in the education market. Dubbed Windows S, it's meant to be cheaper and less resource intensive than Windows 10 Home or Pro by having fewer programs running in the background, while being easier to manage and secure since you can only install apps from Microsoft's Windows Store.

The latter might come as a disappointment seeing as the lack of traditional desktop software is arguably one of the main reasons Windows RT --- a lightweight, mobile-friendly variant of Windows 8 --- failed. Then again the Windows Store has gotten better since, and Microsoft is specifically aiming this at managed environments like the education market, where Chrome OS is thriving with similar limitations.

Windows 10 S runs on the full range of Windows 10 hardware, including high-end models like the Surface Book, although it is primarily intended for use with inexpensive, low-end hardware.

Microsoft says Windows 10 S will take around 15 seconds to be ready for a student to login and use for the first time. Meanwhile, administrators will be able to setup machines using a USB drive with preconfigured options --- Windows 10 S will simply detect the key and customize all the settings accordingly.

Windows S will be available in a number of inexpensive laptops from major computer manufacturers including Dell, HP, and Acer starting at just $189. All machines will ship with a free subscription to Minecraft: Education Edition, and schools will also get free Office 365 education with Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Surface Laptop

To get things rolling Microsoft Microsoft its launching its own laptop preloaded with Windows S. The new Surface Laptop, however, is aimed the higher-ed crowd with a starting price of $999, and going all the way up to $2,199 if you factor in all the available hardware upgrades.

The Surface Laptop weighs only 2.76 pounds and is 1.47 cm thick. Available for pre-order today, the laptop will start shipping June 15. It will sport a 13.5-inch, 2256 x 1504 resolution multi touch display, a seventh-generation i5 or i7 Intel Kaby Lake processor, up to 512 GB of solid state storage, up to 16GB RAM, 14.5 hours of battery life, one USB 3.0 port (no USB-C, surprisingly), and a mini DisplayPort.

Luckily, if you feel all that hardware is being underused with Windows S, Microsoft also offers a $49 upgrade from Windows 10 S to the full Windows 10 Pro.
Apple is reportedly working on a Siri-powered smart speaker, and the latest rumor regarding the device claims that it may be unveiled as soon as the upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference.

Apple will hold WWDC 2017 from June 5 to June 9. The annual event has been held in San Francisco for the past 13 years, but for this year, it will be in San Jose, which is the original site of the WWDC.

Apple Siri Smart Speaker In The Works

According to Australian leaker Sonny Dickson, Apple is currently finalizing the design of its smart speaker, which will be powered by digital assistant Siri and will support AirPlay.

Dickson added that the device will integrate some form of technology from Beats, likely related to the Apple unit's audio hardware expertise. The smart speaker is also said to be running a variant of Apple's mobile operating system iOS, which may be similar to watchOS for the Apple Watch and tvOS for the Apple TV. A custom iOS for the Siri speaker would mean that third-party developers will be able to create apps for the device.

The Siri smart speaker, internally codenamed B238, will have a concave top that resembles that of the Mac Pro, along with built-in controls. An Apple employee allegedly told Dickson that the device is a "fat" one like the Google Home, and will have most of its exterior covered in speaker mesh.

Lastly, the Apple employee told Dickson that Apple is planning to unveil the smart speaker at this year's WWDC. However, there is still the possibility that the company will change the plan and unveil the device at a later date.

The rumors contradict a previous report that claims that Apple is not focusing on creating a smart speaker to challenge the Amazon Echo and Google Home, and will instead showcase Siri through the company's current range of products.

Will The Apple Speaker Be A Worthy Challenger To Amazon Echo, Google Home?

With Apple's continued development of Siri to rival Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, the development of its own speaker to challenge the Amazon Echo and Google Home is a logical next step for the company.

The question, however, is whether the Apple speaker will prove to be a worthy challenger to the Amazon Echo and Google Home once it is released.

With not much known yet regarding the device, it is difficult to say how well it will look alongside its future smart speaker rivals. However, if it will indeed feature a custom OS, the Apple speaker will be better positioned to take on the Amazon Echo and the Alexa skills that third-party developers create for the device.

In that case, the announcement of the Siri smart speaker at the WWDC will make sense, as it will be in front of developers who will build up the ecosystem of functions that will power the device. If Apple pushes through with its plan of unveiling the speaker at the event, users should expect to learn about the device's price, release date, and other important details.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung, which delayed the voice command component of its new digital assistant Bixby, has finally released the feature in South Korea.

Bixby, which was supposed to debut alongside Samsung's latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, was incomplete upon the launch of the devices.

Full Version Of Samsung Bixby Delayed

Upon the launch of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, users receive access to Bixby Vision, Bixby Home, and Bixby Reminder. Bixby Vision is an augmented reality camera, Bixby Home is a widget panel, and Bixby Reminder sets reminders.

Bixby Voice is the most important feature of the digital assistant, as it is said to be capable of learning the speaking habits of users along with other information to offer a more accurate service, through the utilization of deep learning technology.

Samsung, however, decided to delay the launch of Bixby Voice on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The delay was due to performance issues with the English version of the digital assistant. According to Samsung, the voice recognition capabilities of Bixby for the English language proved to be subpar compared to the Korean version during testing leading up to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus launch.

Samsung Rolls Out Bixby Voice In South Korea

Samsung has now rolled out Bixby Voice in South Korea, completing the digital assistant's features in its home country. The service was launched May 1 at 1:00 p.m. South Korea time, after a notification was sent to Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus owners in the morning of the same day.

Bixby Voice has so far only arrived in South Korea. No specific date has been set on when the feature will arrive to Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus users in the United States, though Samsung previously stated that it will be released within spring. This means that it should arrive sometime within May.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Mishaps

The incomplete Bixby is just one of the several mishaps that Samsung has already suffered for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.

Samsung has blocked the possibility of remapping the dedicated Bixby button for the smartphones, a move that upsets users who are not fans of the digital assistant. The pending launch of Bixby Voice may cause some users to rethink their disdain for the feature, but Samsung is already receiving criticism for removing the option of assigning another function to the button.

There were also reports that some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus units had screens with a prominent red tint, which Samsung initially said was not a defect and can be fixed through the settings of the smartphones. The company has since released an update that provides users with more options to correct the red tint.

Some users have also complained that their Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus units have been restarting randomly, and that even a factory reset does not fix the issue. Samsung has not yet rolled out a fix nor has issued an official acknowledgement for this problem.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An emerging discovery by researchers at the University of California, San Diego brings NASA closer to its dreams of colonizing the red planet by 2033.

The federal space agency has commissioned several studies to help make this mission a reality, with recent breakthroughs answering important questions including how humans will get there, what they will eat, and where they will live on Mars.

Space Construction In Mars

A permanent human settlement on Mars requires infrastructure to sustain habitats and life. However, the cost and logistics of shipping a steady supply of construction materials from Earth to a faraway planet are going to be an issue.

The latest findings of a study published in Scientific Reports offer a concrete solution to this. Using a simulant called Mars-1a, which has a chemical composition akin to Martian soil and which has long been used by scientists to make bricks, engineers at UC San Diego were able to produce solid bricks without the use of heat or any additional materials by applying a substantial amount of pressure.

Natural Bonding Agent

The bricks created solely out of Martian soil may be small, but according to the study's lead author Yu Qiao, they're remarkably stronger than steel-reinforced concrete.

Qiao and his team believe that iron oxide, which gives Martian soil its unique reddish color, serves as a natural bonding agent for the bricks. The iron oxide particles effortlessly adhere to one another under enough pressure.

"If this can indeed be scaled up for mass production on Mars, then I would say we are lucky," Qiao, a materials scientist and engineer, told the New York Times. Having previously worked with an analogue for lunar soil, he also revealed that the incredible feature they found in Martian soil is not shared by the soil from the moon.

'Real Martian Soil May Behave Differently'

Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist who delves into the study of Martian soil mechanics at the University of Central Florida, pointed out that although the simulated soil delivered promising results, real Martian soil may respond otherwise.

Developed by NASA, Mars-1a may prove to be the best of all Martian soil simulants, but Metzger said its composition is different from the real deal, adding that it has about three times more aluminum oxide and six times more titanium oxide compared to Martian regolith.

He also noted that because the simulant comes from Hawaii where it's always raining, its grain size and mineral content may not be credible enough to mimic real Martian soil from the dry and icy planet.

"This might not be good enough for NASA, since it limits the location of an outpost," Metzger stated, "but for Elon Musk's Mars colony it might be perfect."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Orca killings of gray whale calves in California's Monterey Bay have increased substantially in the last week of April.

According to marine biologists, the killing spree has been unprecedented and the frequency went up after April 20.

Since the said date, four gray whale calves haven killed in a span of 8 days, said marine biologist Nancy Black. The unprecedented Orca attack also surprised many scientists.

"This has never happened in my thirty years," said Black.

Shawn Johnson, director of veterinary science at California's Marine Mammal Center said it is not unusual for orcas to hunt for calves of gray whales.

A family of killer whales is mounting the attacks with 33 orcas involved in it, according to Black.

She also noted the unusual speed the orcas had been killing the calves this year. In the past, it took several hours. This year, in just 20 minutes, a pod of orcas was pulling down a calf from its mother's care and killing it.

Killer whales also train juniors in the pod on attack methods. Faced with the risk of counter attack by the mothers of gray whale calves, including harder slamming, training the younger ones is essential in enhancing their predatory skills.

Calves Migrating From Mexico

The calves and mothers migrate from Mexico and they travel to California and beyond. This year, their arrival in California was late by many days and hungry killer whales seemed to have been waiting for them, Black said.

According to another scientist, Alisa Schulman-Janiger, the late arrival of gray whales was evident from the ACS/LA annual census count which noted only 2-5 calves did pass Pt. Vicente until April 20. However, 14 calves were spotted a day after.

The migration gets a late start for mothers and calves because they would wait for the calves to grow up and gain weight before taking the long migration trip, Black added.

Killer Whales And Mysterious April 20

It appears that killer whales of California have a mysterious date of April 20. It is usually the date on which mammal-eating whales are consistently spotted in Monterey Bay.

This has been a regular fixture since 2009. According to Black, it looks like a "luck of the draw kind of day."

On April 20, 2016, some whale watchers also noted a family of killer whales training the younger ones with hunting tactics.

Monterey Bay Favorite Of Orcas

From the breeding grounds, the new calves accompanied by mothers swim toward the feeding grounds near Alaska. The gray whales also try to traverse through shallow waters to avoid the attack of killer whales.

However, the deep submarine canyon off Monterey Bay is a favorite hub for the orcas as it's easy for them to prey upon the calorie rich gray whales to feed their families.

According to a study by Robert L. Pitman with co-authors Black and Schulman-Janiger, unlike the fish-eating killer whales, mammal-eating killer whales are silent while hunting because their preys have strong hearing abilities.

Good Time For Whale Watchers

Certainly, the killings of gray whale calves by orcas have given whale watching enthusiasts a good time. Many bought front-row seats to witness it live. For them, it was a great opportunity to see the action seen only in movies.

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By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, May 1 (PTI) The Bombay High Court has sought the SBI stand on a senior citizens plea for reimbursement of Rs six lakh as the cost of importing a cancer medicine for his wife, who was an employee of the bank.

A bench of Justice Anoop Mohta issued the notice to the SBI on a plea by Pune resident Nagesh Marathe, who told the court that the bank refused to reimburse the cost of medicine imported from Belgium for his wife Ranjana, who worked for the the banks Pune branch from 1983 till she died in June 2015.

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On Marathes plea, the bench issued notice to the bank last week and posted the matter for further hearing on May 3.

The petitioner told the court that though the medicine was procured from Belgium at Rs 6.10 lakh, it was never administered to the patient as her health deteriorated and she died.

Marathe submitted to the court in his petition that he had applied to the SBI for reimbursement of the consultation fees and the costs of medicines and specialised investigation totalling Rs 6.33 lakh.

"The bank, however, said it would reimburse only Rs two lakh of the entire bill and denied reimbursement of the remaining amount stating that importing medicine was not allowed and not required as the same treatment was available even in India," the petition said.

The petitioner said that since 2013 when Ranjana was diagnosed with the cancer and the treatment was initiated, the bank paid all her bills on a regular basis.

"In May 2015, however, Ranjanas health deteriorated and her doctor explained the need to administer a life-saving drug Kadcyla TMD-I, which was not available in India then. The treating oncologist instructed the petitioners to import the said medicine as the last resort to save Ranjanas life," the petition said.

"The petitioners inquired and found a company, which helped them procure 18 vials of the medicine from a supplier in Belgium. The petitioners paid a sum of Rs 6.10 lakh for the medicine," it claimed.

Marathe has sought the high courts direction to the bank to reimburse the cost with interest.

It also sought necessary directions to hand over the medicines imported by the petitioners to the needy patients or hospitals. PTI SP NP RAX BAS

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The new Samsung Galaxy S8 lineup is off to a strong start, but it's not without issues. We've made a list of the most common problems and their workarounds.

After the fiery fiasco that was the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung put a lot of effort into the Galaxy S8 series and the smartphones are undoubtedly top-notch. A number of issues, however, are marring the experience for some users and reports keep piling up.

Shortly after the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ hit the market, users in South Korea started complaining of a red tint on the display. Not long after, other reports revealed additional problems such as random reboots, battery issues, Wi-Fi connectivity issues, and more.

Here are the most common Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ issues and how to fix them.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Red Tint

Galaxy S8 owners have complained of reddish tints on the display and while Samsung initially said it's not really an issue, it ultimately decided to push a software update to address the problem.

The best course of action for affected users would be to just wait for the update to roll out, but users can also tweak the color settings from the smartphone's menu. On the bright side, this is not a critical issue and can be easily fixed.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Wi-Fi Issues And How To Fix Them

Some Galaxy S8 owners have also reported Wi-Fi connectivity issues. More specifically, the Wi-Fi would randomly drop out of the blue and eventually reconnect for no reason.

To solve this matter, Samsung said it will release a software update to fix how the handset communicates with wireless networks. Alternately, users can try rebooting the device or head over to Settings > Backup > Reset Network Settings.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Wireless Charging Issues

Many Galaxy S8 users have also experienced issues with wireless charging, as it occasionally fails to work with certain charging pads. Users reported that wireless charging still fails sometimes even after rebooting the device. In some cases, users said they got a "charging paused" message for no apparent reason.

Users are getting increasingly frustrated with this issue, but Samsung has yet to announce a fix. It does seem, however, that the Galaxy S8 wireless charging issue generally occurs with older charging pads that should be compatible with the smartphone, but for some reason they fail to properly communicate with the handset's wireless charging receiver.

The workaround here involves another investment: ditching the old wireless charging pad and buying a newer model. Until Samsung officially addresses the issue with a software fix or some other workaround, this seems to be the only viable solution.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Apps Full Screen

Samsung went for a cool new 18.5:9 aspect ratio for its new Galaxy S8 series, but this causes some issues with certain apps. More specifically, many apps are designed for the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, so in some cases various apps fail to stretch across the entire Galaxy S8 display in landscape mode. Having an app open with black bars on the sides of the display doesn't look so great, but fortunately it's an easy issue to fix.

To solve this matter, swipe up from the Home screen to access Settings, tap on the Display option, and scroll until you find Full Screen Apps. Tap that option and scroll through your apps list to select which apps you want to have automatically stretched to cover the entire screen.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Speaker Problems

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is IP68-certified for water resistance, but some users report speaker issues after getting the smartphone wet. More specifically, the handset may play audio with distortions and occasionally with a crackling sound after taking a bath.

To fix this issue, towel dry the Galaxy S8 and don't use the speakers for an hour or so until all moisture dries up. Most users report that after an hour or two, once the smartphone is completely dry, the speakers play audio normally again.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Apps Freeze

In some cases, the Galaxy S8 freezes and the home button or other keys become unresponsive. The fastest and easiest way to fix this issue in most cases is a soft reset. To do so, just hold down the power button, tap Restart, and confirm. If this doesn't work, turning the device off and back on again could do the trick.

Have you experienced other issues with the new Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+? If so, drop by our comments section below and tell us about your experience.

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Nintendo, in a bid to meet to massive demand for the Nintendo Switch for its global launch, decided to use airplanes to ship units of the hybrid console.

Shipments made through air are much more expensive than shipments through sea, which is the traditional method used for products such as the Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Shipped Switch Units By Air

A Nintendo spokesperson revealed the company's decision to ship Nintendo Switch units by plane in March, with the goal of meeting the demand for the hybrid console during its March 3 global launch.

Hideki Yasuda, an analyst for Ace Research Institute, pointed out that Nintendo lost a considerable amount of its revenue with the decision. Shipment through airplanes would have translated to an additional cost of 5,000 per Nintendo Switch unit. This is equivalent to $45, which is 15 percent of the $300 price tag of the hybrid console.

In fact, when taking into account a previous report that claims the cost to make a Nintendo Switch unit is $257, Nintendo actually booked a loss of $2 for each unit shipped by airplanes.

Nintendo did not reveal the markets that the company sent Nintendo Switch units to by air, though analysts believe that the shipments went to the United States and Europe.

After the global launch of the Nintendo Switch in March, Nintendo reverted to using sea freight shipments for the hybrid console, which is much cheaper and the preferred option for transporting products around the world. Such a method, however, takes much longer compared to shipping by air.

Nintendo Switch Demand Still High

Nintendo's decision to accept a loss per Nintendo Switch sold for the units shipped through airplanes has paid off. In the company's recently released earnings report for fiscal year 2016, Nintendo revealed that it has sold 2.74 million units of the hybrid console.

However, it should be noted that Nintendo may have sold even more units of the Nintendo Switch if it was able to keep up with the massive demand for the device. While shipping units through airplanes helped in meeting customer demand, Nintendo is still lagging behind in ensuring the availability of the Nintendo Switch in retail partners.

When a store receives a shipment of Nintendo Switch units, the stock will likely sell out very quickly, frustrating gamers who have been trying to get their hands on the device. This is partly due to customers in waiting lists and partly due to scalpers who will then try to sell the hybrid console for a quick profit through online marketplaces.

The high demand for the Nintendo Switch has led to unscrupulous activities regarding the hybrid console, so customers should be wary of being taken advantage of. Some people are selling the Nintendo Switch on platforms such as eBay and Amazon with prices that are even lower than the normal price tag of $300, which is a red flag that the listing is a scam. The Federal Trade Commission has also issued a warning against customers who may be tricked into buying a Nintendo Switch emulator, which is a device that does not exist.

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In a path breaking motion on Monday, May 1, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. federal agency for protection of flora and fauna had requested the Supreme Court to designate a major chunk of Arctic ice shelf (120 million acres) as critical polar bear habitat.

The state of Alaska along with the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, other local governments, and native corporations filed a petition against the demands of the USFWS.

However, the Supreme Court did not accept the lawsuits filed by the abovementioned corporations and governments, and chose to support the USFWS. The decision comes shortly after President Trump's latest executive order, which attempts to repeal the ban on new offshore oil drilling taking place in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

Native Corporations And Local Governments Fight For Arctic Oil Fields

The case challenging the USFWS  which the Supreme Court shot down  will now give the polar bears access to 187,000 square miles of clean and undisturbed barrier islands, sea ice, and coastal areas of Alaska to settle and breed.

In 2010, the federal government designated the area a critical habitat. Initially, a district court turned down the polar bear habitat designation. However, the decision was later overturned thanks to an appeals court.

The native groups appealing against the USFWS' critical habitat designation of 2010 stated that the federal organization misused its authority and overextended it in the name of conservation. They also stated that the designation of the area as a critical habitat had nothing to do with conservation, and would affect the economy of the country and the region significantly.

Apart from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and the state itself, other groups who protested against this habitat designation included the North Slope Borough, Arctic Slope Regional Corp., NANA Regional Corp. Inc., Calista Corp., Bering Straits Native Corp., Tikigaq Corp., Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corp., Olgoonik Corp. Inc., Kuupik Corp., the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, and the Kaktovik Inupiat Corp.

The above-mentioned groups petitioned to the Supreme Court that the agency was making "sweeping designations (in this case an area the size of California) that overlap with existing human development (including, even, industrial areas)" all thanks to the decision of the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The groups also complained that in the state of Alaska, the habitat designations also got in the way of tribal sovereignty and the current ongoing oil drilling operations of the region.

Survival Of Polar Bears Ensured?

The polar bears of the Arctic were listed under the "threatened" category in the Endangered Species Act in 2008. In early 2017, federal officials released a report stating that climate change is the gravest threat the animals face.

The habitat designation for the polar bears in the Arctic are seen as a step to safeguard the animals' survival.

"This victory helps ensure that polar bears keep the habitat protections they need for a shot at surviving our rapidly warming world," Kristen Monsell, attorney at Center for Biological Diversity remarked in support of the Supreme Court's decision.

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Google has officially released the May 2017 Android security patch, which is the first one since the release of Android 7.1.2 Nougat.

The update, which is now available for supported Pixel and Nexus devices, includes fixes to minor bugs and several security issues.

May 2017 Android Security Patch Details

Google has provided both the over-the-air form and factory image form of the latest Android security patch. The update contains two security patch level strings, namely 2017-05-01, which is a partial update for current and known security issues, and 2017-05-05, which is the complete security patch for May.

Google discussed the various bugs and issues that the security patch fixed in the Android Security Bulletin that accompanied the update.

According to Google, the most severe security issue that the patch fixes is a critical vulnerability that allows hackers to execute remote code on a target Android device. The code can be initiated through various means, including web browsing, email, and MMS, when processing media files on vulnerable Android smartphones and tablets.

Google, however, was quick to note that there have been no reports on a user exploiting the vulnerability, or any of the other newly reported issues included in the security update.

There are 20 issues fixed for the 2017-05-01 string and 98 issues fixed for the 2017-05-05 string.

How To Install May 2017 Android Security Patch

Google encouraged all users of Pixel and Nexus devices to install the latest security patch to protect themselves from possible security breaches.

Users can simply wait for the update to arrive to their device for easy installation. Users who would like to receive the update right away can manually download and install the over-the-air or factory image versions of the security update. However, installing the security update through a factory image will wipe a device clean with the installation of a fresh version of the smartphone or tablet's system.

The supported devices for the update are the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 LTE, and Nexus 9 Wi-Fi. The first six devices are required to be on Android 7.1.2 Nougat, while the last three devices are required to be on the lower Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Future Android Updates

Users should take advantage and appreciate these security updates while they can, especially for owners of the older Nexus models.

It was previously reported that Nexus 9 and Nexus 6 owners will stop receiving security updates starting October 2017. The devices have already stopped receiving Android updates in October 2016.

Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X owners should only expect Android updates until September 2017 and security updates until September 2018. Owners of the Pixel and Pixel XL, the latest devices released by Google, will only receive Android updates until October 2018 and security updates until October 2019.

Last month, Google released the developer preview of Android 8.0 O, revealing several features that will be included in the upcoming major version. Among these features are adaptive icons for apps, autofill support, battery life improvements, more lock screen customization options, multi-display support, and many more.

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Bret Stephens's debut at The New York Times ignited a series of reactions in the media, as his first column, published April 28, tackled a skeptical approach on climate change.

The journalist prefaced his take on the subject with Hilary Clinton's outcome in the 2016 presidential elections and how it was affected by faulty polling data, arguing that science and algorithms are not always accurate.

"There's a lesson here. We live in a world in which data convey authority. But authority has a way of descending to certitude, and certitude begets hubris," writes Stephens in his column before proceeding to discuss the clash between environmental advocates and climate change scientists.

Who Is Bret Stephens?

The New York Times introduced the new columnist to the public on the same day his first article was featured, noting Stephens is the winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

"Particularly during this turbulent and searching time in America and around the world, we should have the humility to recognize we may not be right about everything and the courage to test our own assumptions and arguments," states James Bennet, editorial page editor of The New York Times, in the introduction article.

The journalist joined The New York Times team after authoring the Global View column for The Wall Street Journal and serving as that publication's deputy editorial page editor.

Stephens is also the former editor of The Jerusalem Post, where he became editor-in-chief in 2002 at the age of 28, after starting his career at WSJ.

The 42-year-old columnist is, according to Forward, "an assertive defender of Israel and its current government's policies" and "one of the loudest critics of President Trump on the right."

The publication cites an April 12 statement from The New York Times in anticipation of the new addition to its op-ed roster: "He's a beautiful writer who ranges across politics, international affairs, culture and business, and, for The Times, he will bring a new perspective to bear on the news."

Reactions To Stephens's First New York Times Column

Stephens's column on global warming, titled "Climate Of Complete Certainty," was received by the public as an example of climate change denial.

The journalist's attempt to question climate scientists' certainty that global warming is a dangerous reality stirred reactions amid environmental researchers, many of whom canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper in response to Stephens's article.

Meanwhile, progressive and leftist readers voiced their discontent, complaining about their lack of representation on The Times's editorial page.

Following the publication of Stephens's column, The New York Times journalists took to Twitter to distance themselves from Stephens's take on the climate change debate and promoted opposing views to that of their colleague.

Many readers have found this article helpful: Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change https://t.co/m3Pq4qKJmS pic.twitter.com/c2bzhGDLsf  NYT Climate (@nytclimate) April 28, 2017

In addition, shortly after the column was published, NYT Climate  The New York Times newsroom team covering climate and the environment  shared a link that directed its readers to the climate and environment webpage, which was retweeted by the newspaper's main Twitter handle.

Where to find NYT reporting on climate change: https://t.co/Q9izvisJSo pic.twitter.com/NsLw4S7heF  NYT Climate (@nytclimate) April 28, 2017

However, Jonah Goldberg, writing for The Los Angeles Times, shows Stephens's article doesn't actually deny global warming but in fact concedes to it, and was designed rather as a deliberate act of "trolling."

"Recall that Stephens left the Journal because he was swimming against the currents of the Trumpified right. What better way to inaugurate his new column than with a splash, earning back some populist street cred by making liberals set their hair on fire and cause an (alleged) wave of cancelled subscriptions? All the while, he invited hordes of conservatives to defend him and mock his critics," explains Goldberg, adding: "As a fellow columnist, I doff my cap to you, sir."

Apart from his recent stab at the generally accepted facts on global warming, Stephens has also drawn criticism in the past for his statements about the Arab world and for columns seeming to deny the impact of human activity on climate change.

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Samsung Launches New QLED TVs; Price Starts From Rs 3,14,900 | TechTree.com

Samsung India has recently announced the launch of five new QLED TVs with price tags starting from Rs 3,14,900 all the way up to a whopping Rs 24,99,900. The five models include Q7, Q7F, Q8, Q8C, and Q9.

It is being said that Samsung has also announced a pre-book offer where-in people who book a QLED TV between May 2 and May 21 would be getting a Samsung Galaxy S8+ Gold Color smartphone for free.

Technical speaking, the Samsung Q7, Q8, and Q8C, and Q9 will be coming with 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch display panels, while the Samsung Q7F will be featuring 55 inch and 65 inch display panels. Also, adding further, it is worth noting that the new QLED TVs featured Quantum Dot technology, which basically turns light into color, according to the company.

Along with this technology on the new display panels, Samsung also boasts of developing a new no-gap wall mounting solution that will make the QLED TVs sit absolutely flush with the wall. Also, on the other hand, users will be getting other mounting options as well, including a Gravity Stand and a Studio Stand.

Additionally, the new QLED TVs also feature new smart TV interface that includes voice control, support for the companys Smart View app on smartphones, Samsung TV Plus service, and Shazam music service as well.

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Delhi Police today detained a woman who accused Gujarat BJP MP KC Patel of rape. Patel had earlier filed a complaint of extortion and blackmailing by the woman.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after cross allegations between Gujarat BJP MP and a woman over a honey trap case, the Delhi Police today detained the woman. The unidentified woman is currently being questioned by the police.

The incident came to light after Valsad MP KC Patel filed a complaint of extortion with the Delhi police. While the woman on Monday said that she was sexually exploited, Patel refuted the allegations claiming that it was a case of honey trap.

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Patel on Monday told the police that he was misled by the woman who took him to a residence in Ghaziabad where he was offered a spiked drink by her. Patel alleged that the woman took objectionable pictures and made obscene videos when he was in a sedated state.

The BJP MP said that the woman operated a gang and that she threatened to make his pictures public if he did not pay Rs 5 crore.

Patel told the police that the woman operated a gang that targeted parliamentarians and later blackmailed them. Following the allegations the Delhi Police formed a team to nab the gang members.

However, hours after Patel's complaint the woman who identified herself as a lawyer, said that she was being sexually exploited by Patel. The woman said that she made the video to protect herself and not to blackmail him.

CLAIMS TO DEFLECT ATTENTION

She alleged that Patel was trying to deflect attention from his own offence by making such claims.

"We will not go into details, but have registered a case with the North Avenue police station of extortion. Previously the woman had filed a similar complaint but it was withdrawn. No case of rape has been filed. It appears to be an organised crime," said an official from Delhi Police.

When asked about the interaction between the woman and the MP, the police did not divulge details but said that they will submit a report in the court.

Sources said that the woman had filed an FIR of sexual assault against a Haryana politician. However, when her statement was recorded before the judicial magistrate she retracted. Investigations further revealed that she had alleged sexual assault by several politicians.

With inputs from Chirag Gothi

Also read:

BJP MP honey trap: Victim refutes allegations, says he sexually exploited her

WATCH | Gujarat BJP MP caught in honeytrap, gang demands Rs 5 crore

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Since 2011, the internal conflict has killed and injured many civilians, caused great destruction of property, and left much unexploded ordnance. | Read More
The Indian Army has vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act" of beheading and mutilating the bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry.

By India Today Web Desk: In a hotline conversation a day after Pakistani forces beheaded two Indian soldiers, the Indian Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) today told his Pakistani counterpart that the act was "dastardly and inhuman" and "beyond any norm of civility".

"Mutilating bodies of soldiers is dastardly and inhuman act beyond any norm of civility. The act invites unequivocal condemnation and response," the Indian commander said.

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The Indian Army has already vowed an "appropriate" response to the "despicable act" of beheading and mutilating the bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of BSF on Sunday.

The Pakistan army has denied that it was involved in the attack or the mutilation of the Indian soldiers.

India has accused Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) of giving cover to militants along the Line of Control (LoC). "There was full fire by Pakistan Army post located in the vicinity of the incident site," the DGMO said.

Under the cover of heavy rocket and mortar fire, the BAT had sneaked 250 meters across the Line of Control into the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir and beheaded the two soldiers on Monday morning.

SEVERAL BAT ATTACKS

There have been several BAT attacks in the past in which jawans have been beheaded or their bodies mutilated.

On October 28, 2016, militants attacked a post and killed an Indian army soldier and mutilated his body close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Machil sector. In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by BAT. It also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack.

In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.

During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Captain Saurabh Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors who later handed over his mutilated body to India.

In February, 2000, terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri had led a raid on the Indian army's 'Ashok Listening Post' in the Nowshera sector and killed seven Indian soldiers. Even then, Kashmiri had taken back to Pakistan the head of a 24-year-old Indian jawan Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry.

ALSO WATCH:

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Pakistan mutilates Indian soldiers: How will the Army respond?

ALSO READ:

India hits back after jawans mutilated on LoC; Army kills 7 Pakistani soldiers, destroys 2 enemy bunkers

Pakistan mutilates bodies of 2 Indian soldiers near LoC, Army pounds Pak posts in retaliation

--- ENDS ---
Absolute Post has welcomed back its co-founder Sally Heath who rejoins the company as Executive Director.

Absolute has also hired Antoinette De Lisser as Marketing Manager and has now unveiled its new basement suites in its Poland Street headquarters.

Heath has spent the past five years as Head of Production at UNIT and has worked as a producer at The Mill and at Glassworks as Head of Production. In 2004, she co-founded Absolute with Dave Smith and Phil Oldham.

Heath said: Absolute has always had a welcoming family feel and its lovely to come back home. The timing and circumstances just aligned perfectly. Working with the team again is really exciting  its been too long! Im looking forward to shouting very loudly and proudly that Im with these amazing creative people.

Sally is a force of nature, said Dave Smith. The depth of knowledge she has of the industry is tremendous  were talking over 20 years. She was so important to the genesis of Absolute, so its great having her back. Shes been building solid relationships her whole career: shes amazing with clients, is the best problem solver Ive ever met, and has a real talent for nurturing artists. Its a natural fit.

The facility has also appointed Antoinette De Lisser as Marketing Manager whose experience includes stints at Carlton Television, experiential agency Rocket and Beattie McGuinness Bungay as well as headhunters Red Sofa London and then her own independent headhunting firm, The Legend Company.

Absolute has also unveiled its new pair of basement suites in the Poland Street headquarters.

Absolute has built the suites in the space freed up by its recent moving of the companys data servers offsite. The move has enabled it to build a grading suite for senior colourist and partner Matt Turner as well as a multi-purpose suite that can be used for colour, VFX, finishing, editing, sound and motion design.

Unlike traditional setups, the 4K suite is laid out with the desk at the back of the room, as opposed to directly in front of the monitor.

Its always been a bugbear for me to have clients sitting at the back of the room looking at the back of three peoples heads, needing you to move out the way for them to see the screen, explains Turner. Weve turned the convention on its head so that Ill be based at the back of the room with the client in front of the screen, making it much more of a cinematic experience, removing the physical barrier between client and screen, allowing them to engage with and focus on the aesthetic without distraction.

Its changing the client experience so that theyre more involved, as theres sometimes a tendency to feel theyre a step away from the creative process, explains creative director and co-owner Phil Oldham. The extra space has allowed us to breathe and is very much driven by the artists. Its imperative that we have the right space for Matt, Adam Clarke and the rest of our colour team to do their thing; it will always be more about the talent than it will about the technology.

The basement space was freed up in February 2016 when Absolute moved the entirety of the companys servers offsite. Now, the Soho-based facility is connected to a brand-new data centre it calls Absolute CTRL. Situated outside of the capital, Absolute are connected to the datahub through dark fibre cabling, enabling them to operate from their Poland Street headquarters without physical machines on-site.

Absolute has been in the same building for the entirety of the 14 years weve existed, explains Oldham. Over the years, weve gone up and across, taking two floors in the adjacent building, but by leveraging technology weve managed to gain another floor, which is great at a time when post-houses in Soho are getting squeezed out by hedge-fund firms that dont mind paying the eye watering rents.

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Indian firm Punj Llyod and Israeli Weapons Industry have signed a joint venture to produce these rifles under a new joint venture facility at Malanpur in Madhya Pradesh.

The new manufacturing unit at Malanpur will have testing and firing range facility where the Galil-style weapons (seen above) could be tested. (Picture for representation)

By Ajit Kumar Dubey: When the Indian Army Special Forces went inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to carry out the famous surgical strikes last September, they used the deadly made-in-Israel Tavor-21 and Galil assault rifles to eliminate the terrorists and Pakistan Army troops supporting them.

However, next time if they carry out similar operations, they may be equipped with the same weapons which could be made in India as Indian firm Punj Llyod and Israeli Weapons Industry have signed a joint venture to produce these rifles under a new joint venture facility at Malanpur near here.

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"We are making the whole range of IWI weapon systems at the facility here including the Tavor-21 and Galil assault rifles along with the Negev Light Machine Guns, Galil sniper rifles and the X-95 close quarter carbine rifles here. We would be offering all the types of weapons required by the armed forces," Ashok Wadhawan, in-charge of Punj Llyod's defence manufacturing business told Mail Today.

The new joint venture has been named as PunjLlyod Raksha Systems (PRS). Showcasing the capabilities at the facility, he said, "all the guns to be supplied to Indian forces under existing orders. For the future tenders, they will be fully made in India." For the creation of the new facility, IWI has helped in setting up machines in the plant which is exactly the same as they have in their facility near Tel Aviv.

MANUFACTURING FACILITY TO HAVE FIRING RANGE

The manufacturing facility will also have testing and firing range in the next few weeks where the weapons could be tested before they are dispatched for supply.

Asked about the motivation behind coming up with an assault rifle manufacturing facility, Punj Llyod group Chairman Atul Punj told Mail Today, "We wanted to produce something that is already proven and can be of use to the armed forces straightaway. With the security situation around us, I think there is also a requirement for such world class weapons in the country."

He said his company was fully committed towards making products under Prime Minister's pet project Make in India under the defence sector and would be looking to enhance the firepower of the forces.

The facility is also coming up at a time when along with the Army, the IAF and the Navy are also looking to equip themselves with assault rifles for their special forces and the normal ground troops both.

IAF LOOKING TO PROCURE OVER 1.85 LAKH ASSAULT RIFLES?

However, the Army would be the biggest potential customer for the weapons produced by the facility as the force is looking to procure more than 1.85 lakh assault rifles to replace the existing inventory of indigenous INSAS rifles which have not proven to be effective in the past.

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The Army is also looking to acquire over 3,500 sniper rifles for the Ghatak platoons of its infantry battalions and special forces while it has also issued a new tender for acquiring 44,837 close quarter carbines for dealing with anti-terrorist operations.

Indian Air Force's Garud Special Forces and Marine Commandos of the Navy are already using the Tavor and Negev rifles and are too looking for more weapons.

Company officials say the new facility would also help the Israelis in cutting down their production cost and may also help in bringing down the cost of these weapons for Indian forces as well.

Punj Llyod officials said they are also in the race for supplying the upgraded version of the Soviet-era Zu-23 air defence guns and upgunning of the 130 mm Russian artillery guns to the latest 145 mm 45 calibre standard.

ALSO READ | As Pakistan mutilates 2 Indian soldiers, another round of Army's surgical strikes invoked as revenge

ALSO READ | Exclusive: Indian Air Force raising combat force to guard airbases

--- ENDS ---

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Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today visited the frontier areas in North Kashmir, and told troops that the entire nation stood behind its soldiers in their brave endeavours to safeguard the country's sovereignty and integrity.

By Gaurav C Sawant: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat today visited the frontier areas in North Kashmir, and interacted with commanders and troops deployed along the Line of Control (LoC).

Gen Rawat's visit comes a day after the bodies of two soldiers - Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of the 200th Battalion of the Border Security Force - were mutilated by a Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

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Accompanied by Northern Army and Chinar Corps Commanders, the Army Chief was today briefed by Formation Commanders on the security situation on the border, and on measures instituted to strengthen the security posture - besides overall operational and logistical preparedness.

Army Chief Gen Rawat impressed upon all to remain vigilant and thwart any misadventure from across the LoC - especially now, as the summer sets in.

During his interaction with troops, Gen Rawat reassured them that the entire nation stood behind its soldiers in their brave endeavours to safeguard the country's sovereignty and integrity, and maintain peace in the Valley.

ALSO READ | India, Pakistan DGMOs exchange fire over mutilation of soldiers, martyr's daughter seeks revenge: Top developments

ALSO READ | Jawans mutiliated: Former army officers demand strong retribution for Pakistan's cross-border attacks

WATCH VIDEO | Such attacks don't even take place during war: Jaitley slams Pakistan for mutilating jawans

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BSF head constable Prem Sagar's daughter said that she wants 50 heads in revenge for her father's sacrifice along the Line of Control. DGMO, Indian Army has raised concern about BAT training camps near LoC.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after two Indian soldiers were mutilated by Pakistan Army in the Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC), the families of martyrs have demanded a stern reply from the Indian government against the barbaric act.

BSF head constable Prem Sagar's daughter Saroj was quoted by ANI as saying that the family wants "50 heads for his sacrifice". Forty five-year-old Prem Sagar belonged to Takenpur in Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh.

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Mother of Lance Naik Hemraj, whose body was mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) along the LoC in 2013, called on the Centre to step up and retaliate such attacks.

The DGMOs of India and Pakistan today spoke over hotline where the former expressed grave concern over the Krishna Ghati incident and the mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers. DGMO, Indian Army said that "such dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response".

Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony said that government must give free hand to the Army to reply to the "barbaric attack".

HERE ARE THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STORY: The demand by families of martyrs comes in the backdrop of Defence Minister Arun Jaitley briefing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation along the Line of Control. This was preceded by a meeting between Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra with Jaitley on law and order and security conditions in the state. On Monday, Pakistan denied role in the mutilation of Indian soldiers along the Line of Control and maintained that it did not commit ceasefire violation. A day later, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit evaded the question on mutilation of soldiers. Pakistan has demanded proof of its army violating the Line of Control. Lance Naik Hemraj's mother was quoted by ANI as saying, "They beheaded my son and now we are witnessing numerous incidences every day. The government had promised that they will behead 10 people if they beheaded one of ours, till now nothing has been done". It was at the Krishna Ghati sector where the Pakistani BAT had beheaded Lance Naik Hemraj and also severed the head of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh of 13 Rajputana Rifles on January 8, 2013. Lance Naik Hemraj's mother said the government must now take stern action against Pakistan adding that the government has to understand the pain of a parent on losing her child. Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment was the other martyr in Monday's ceasefire violation by Pakistan. At his home town in Tarn Taran in Punjab, his brother said Paramjit Singh had plans to shift to his newly-built house. "Now, his body will enter the house," he said. Paramjit Singh's daughter Simrandeep said, "My father got martyred for the country. (I am) proud of him". As Paramjit Singh's remains reached Tarn Taran, his family demanded that they be shown his body. The mutilation of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan's Border Action Team has led to many experts asking if India has a strategy to deal with this brutal and barbaric arm of the Pakistan Army. BSF ADG Western Command K N Choubey said the BSF and the Army will brainstorm and come out with revised standard operating procedures (SoPs) to check similar incidents in future. Taking advantage of the firing from the Pakistan side side, the BAT (Border Action Team) mutilated bodies of two soldiers, BSF ADG, Western Command said. The DGMOs (director general of military operations) of India and Pakistan spoke over hotline regarding the situation along the Line of Control. DGMO Lt General AK Bhatt spoke to his Pakistan counterpart and expressed grave concern about the Krishna Ghati incident and the manner in which the patrol unit was targeted. He raised the issues of fire support provided by the Pakistani posts, and BAT training camps near the Line of Control. Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony said that the Army should be given a free hand to reply to the barbaric attack on Indian soldiers. "The morale of the Army is low, and thus everything should be done to retain the dignity of the force," he said.

Jaitley condemns Pakistan over mutilation of Indian soldiers: Such acts don't happen even during wars

Pakistan mutilates bodies of 2 Indian soldiers near LoC, Army pounds Pak posts in retaliation

India hits back after jawans mutilated on LoC; Army kills 7 Pakistani soldiers, destroys 2 enemy bunkers

ALSO WATCH

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UPDATE: Washington Post: Officers involved in Alton Sterling shooting will not be charged

As rumors of an impending announcement continue to build, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said on a local radio show Tuesday morning that she does not know the exact day or time that the U.S. Department of Justice will release its decision on the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling.

I think it would put us all in a better position if we did know, Broome said in an interview on WBRP-FM Talk107.3. I do not know the rationale behind their particular procedure, but unfortunately that is their protocol. We just have to be vigilant and try to get as much information as we can, when we can.

Broome said we just dont know when the decision will come, adding that its very important for citizens not to panic or spread rumors about the decision.

I dont want the citizens of the city or parish to operate from a framework of fear, Broome said.

Baton Rouge State Rep. Ted James, a Democrat, said he has had conversations with Broome and Gov. John Bel Edwards, among other leaders, and that no one has been told what day the decision will come, just that it will be soon.

James, who has sponsored a package of police reform bills in the Louisiana Legislature, said that he expects people in Baton Rouge to hold peaceful demonstrations following the announcement. He added that last summer, the more heated protests occurred when a large number of out-of-towners participated.

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, a New Orleans Democrat who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, also said Tuesday that he does not know exactly when the decision will come.

Can't see video below? Click here.

"It could be any time, I believe, within the next two weeks, but we don't have a definitive time period," Richmond said in a Twitter Town Hall.

In response to a question from a radio listener who asked about Broome's thoughts on the shooting of Sterling, Broome said that it would be a disservice for me to make a comment at this juncture when we are anticipating a decision" from the Justice Department, though she said that when the announcement is made, you will know how I feel about the decision."

Listen to all of the Talk 107.3 interviews here.
Royal Caribbean to sail Vision of the Seas cruise ship from New Orleans in winter 2018-19
Baton Rouge police announced Monday that local attorney Joel Porter "is not under investigation" in the 1985 unsolved stabbing death of his wife, a case that prompted him to file several lawsuits against the Baton Rouge Police Department and others.

The police statement, which also notes that Joel Porter isn't a DNA match for evidence recovered from the scene of Denise Porter's killing, comes as an attorney for East Baton Rouge Parish says all of Porter's lawsuits "are being dismissed"  an assertion disputed by Porter and his lawyer.

Porter filed lawsuits against city police, detective John Dauthier and People magazine after Dauthier wrote in a 2014 search warrant affidavit that Porter had always been a suspect in his wife's slaying.

Porter said he felt "finally exonerated" after Baton Rouge police released the statement Monday afternoon, adding he's always maintained his innocence and would be offering a $100,000 reward for anyone whose information leads to the capture of his wife's killer.

"This is kind of sweet, sad music to me," said Porter. "I've finally had this cloud lifted from over my head. But there's this individual who murdered my wife, who's been walking free this whole time and needs to be brought to justice."

Porter said Dauthier's publicly reported statement declaring him a suspect in his wife's death was "devastating."

"My character was ruined, my reputation was ruined, I was ruined personally and professionally," Porter said. "It's like I was victimized all over again."

Lea Anne Batson, the parish attorney, said only that "all civil suits are being dismissed with prejudice" when asked about the police statement.

"I ain't dismissing anything," said Steve Irving, Porter's attorney, in response. Irving said discussions over a possible statement from Dauthier or BRPD announcing that Porter was no longer under investigation had been "going on for a while now."

But Irving added that negotiations with the Parish Attorney's Office ended up amounting to "extortion." Porter signed documents agreeing to dismiss the cases over the weekend, Irving said, but "when I got wind of what the whole thing was, I didn't like it a damn bit."

Tedrick Knightshead, a lawyer with the Parish Attorney's Office involved in the case, declined to respond when reached Monday night, citing a policy not to comment on pending litigation.

The back and forth between sides in Porter's lawsuits came hours after Sgt. Don Coppola Jr., a police spokesman, sent out the statement on the decades-old case.

None of the evidence from the scene of the killing in the couple's Lobdell Boulevard apartment submitted by BRPD for DNA testing implicated Porter in the crime, the statement says. But the State Police Crime Lab did identify a DNA profile belonging to an unknown male on Denise Porter's clothing.

Porter has said he discovered his wife's body in their apartment the following morning after working an overnight shift at the U.S. Post Office on Florida Boulevard.

An April 2014 State Police Crime Lab report on completed tests on an array of evidence states that swabs from the ankle portion of Denise Porters sweatpants contained the DNA of an unknown person and ruled out Joel Porter as the contributor of that DNA.

According to investigative files in the case, Denise Porter was apparently dragged by her ankles after being stabbed.

Crime Lab officials previously said the very old evidence could contain DNA from any number of people working at the crime scene. But Irving said Monday evening that additional tests conducted later in 2014 went on to rule out crime scene investigators as a source of the unidentified DNA profile.

Private DNA tests commissioned by Porter, Irving said, found the DNA profile of a second unidentified person in sweat mixed with Denise Porter's blood.

The police statement, which says the case "remains open pending efforts to identify the unknown DNA contributor," should put to rest any suspicion that his client was involved in the killing, Irving said.

"When you find the DNA of another man on (Porter's) wife's pants that she was murdered in, well, I don't think you can get much better exoneration than that," Irving said.

He went on to accuse attorneys for the parish of unethical and potentially illegal conduct by using a public statement about the case as leverage in Porter's civil suits, adding that he plans to take the case to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the FBI.

In his lawsuit against Dauthier and BRPD, Porter alleges the detective defamed him by calling him a suspect in the killing.

Porter also has a pending federal lawsuit against Baton Rouge police, alleging he was falsely arrested outside a downtown courthouse and accused of violating a protective order after one of his attorneys contacted a former client who had previously accused Porter of stalking her. That arrest came several months after Porter's lawsuit against Dauthier.

He also sued People for defamation over a 2015 article in the magazine about his wife's death.

All of those lawsuits are pending in court.
Arnab Ganguly (43) was in for shock when he found out that the police officer he had complained against has been appointed to act on his complaint.

By Sneha Agrawal: In an interesting turn of events, an investigation officer (IO) against whom a complaint was filed for shoddy investigation and bribery, has been appointed as the vigil investigation officer on the same complaint.

Arnab Ganguly (43) was in for shock when he found out that the police officer he had complained against has been appointed to act on his complaint. Ganguly is an accused in a rape case which he claims to be false.

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In his complaint to the SHO, Ganguly had alleged that the IO in the case not only conducted a shoddy investigation, but also sought bribe from him. He claimed he was arrested without any preliminary investigation and the IO even tried to tamper with the evidence from his email account.

"I decided to report it to senior police authorities. To learn the status of my complaint, I had filed an RTI seeking details of the IO to act on my complaint along with contact details," he said.

RTI FILED ON APRIL 12

Ganguly filed an RTI with the office of DCP (Southwest) on April 12. He received the reply on his RTI on April 25.

Calling it a mockery of the grievance redressal platform, Ganguly told Mail Today, "I did not know how to react when I read the RTI response. Against my query seeking details of the IO to act on my complaint, they mentioned the name of the police official investigating my case where I am the accused. It is like a vigilance investigation is being done on my complaint and the accused herself is conducting the inquiry."

Although DCP (Southwest) Surender Kumar refused to comment saying he is not aware of the matter, but he said that if the complainant feels dissatisfied with the RTI response or feels there is an error, he can contact senior police officials and action would be taken accordingly.

Ganguly is facing a rape case filed by one of his former employees, who had alleged that he laced her drink with sedatives and raped her. He moved to Gurugram in late 2015 after being divorced for eight years. He set up a call centre, where he employed the complainant in the human resource department.

RAPE CASE FILED AGAINST COMPLAINANT

"She was working as an HR executive for my company. After sharing an employer-employee relationship for a couple of months, she started sharing her personal life with me. She used to talk about her painful marriage, and having undergone divorce myself, I used to tell her how she could set it right," Ganguly said.

The two reportedly fell in love. However, after shutting his business, Ganguly moved back to his native place of Kolkata where he was still in touch with the woman. He claimed that while he wanted to marry her, she refused and that led to a discord. On March 2 last year, the police arrested him from his Kolkata residence on rape charges.

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"Upon realising that she was trying to avoid marriage, I told her I would come to meet her and her family on March 6 last year and talk about marriage. But four days before my ticket to Delhi, the Delhi police arrived at my house in Kolkata and arrested me on rape charges," he said.

ALSO READ | 43-year-old writes to PMO against rape charge levelled by partner who didn't want to marry him

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A bill is advancing at the State Capitol that would establish a process to potentially overhaul sections of the state Constitution dealing with state and local finances and taxes.

House Bill 456, which made it out of a committee on an unrecorded voice vote Tuesday, would set up the potential for a constitutional convention in January 2019, if lawmakers don't work to otherwise solve structural deficiencies in the state budget.

"It gives the delegates the opportunity to decide what's best for Louisiana, no matter what that is," said Rep. Neil Abramson, a New Orleans Democrat and sponsor of the bill.

The proposal now heads to the full House for consideration, though its largely seen as a back-up plan if lawmakers don't substantially review the state's finances.

If the convention were to go forward, HB 456 calls for 132 delegates -- 105 members of the public elected from state House districts and 27 appointed by various stakeholder organizations and good government groups.

Several lawmakers voiced concern about the potential unintended consequences.

"We have all these people saying we need a new constitution with nobody saying what the new constitution should look like," said Rep. Jay Morris, R-Monroe. "It's like they say, 'Be careful what you wish for.' At least we know what we have right now."

"You will see a mad rush of special interests like the state has never seen," he added.

It's unclear when the bill may come up for consideration. Abramson said that he was interested in seeing how things play out but wanted to give it a chance in case it's needed.

Political Horizons: Edwards pushes urgency in tackling budget, but GOP leaders at odds with plan Gov. John Bel Edwards narrative last week was urgency, as in the Louisiana Legislature ne
Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan on Tuesday issued a non-bailable warrant against seven Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, who initiated contempt proceedings against him.

By Indrajit Kundu: Facing contempt of court proceedings, defiant Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan on Tuesday issued a non-bailable warrant against seven Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar.

Karnan, who has been barred from attending office at the high court, issued a "suo moto" judicial order from his Kolkata residence. Passing the order, he also stated that it was in the "interest of the nation to protect the general public from corruption and unrest".

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW "The Registrar General (of) High Court at Calcutta is directed to issue the non-bailable warrant to the above-named accused(seven Supreme Court judges) to be executed through the Director General of Police or Commissioner of Police of New Delhi", Justice Karnan stated in his order. Apart from Chief Justice Khehar, the order names Justices Dipak Misra, J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur, Pinaki Chandr Ghose and Kurian Joseph, all of whom are members of the bench that had earlier issued contempt notice against him. In an earlier order, Karnan had asked all the seven Supreme Court Judges to be present in person before his court. However on Tuesday, he called all the "accused" judges "absent" in his latest order. While issuing the order, Justice Karnan invoked Article 226 of the Constitution (and read that with Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)). This comes just a day after the seven-judge bench at the apex court ordered a medical examination for Justice Karnan to ascertain his mental health. The order has directed the West Bengal Director General of Police to ensure that the tests are conducted by an expert panel of doctors in Kolkata. Interestingly, the Supreme Court had earlier directed all the authorities in the country not to obey any order passed by Justice Karnan, given that contempt of court proceedings had been initiated against him. The seven-judge Supreme Court bench had initiated contempt of court proceedings against Justice Karnan, after he wrote to the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister's Office, the Union Law Ministry and others levelling corruption charges against several top judges. The apex court, in an unprecedented move, had issued a bailable warrant against the sitting Calcutta High Court judge in March to ensure his presence before the court after his repeated non-appearance.

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Also read | Curious case of Justice Karnan: A history of controversies and mystery

Also read | Revenge of the Karnan: Calcutta HC judge orders medical test of 7 SC judges who ordered same for him

Also read | Supreme Court orders medical evaluation of Calcutta HC judge CS Karnan in contempt case

WATCH VIDEO

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Lake Burley Griffin's West Basin, with the National Museum of Australia in the foreground. The National Capital Authority has released a plan to renew Acton Peninsula. Credit:National Capital Authority

Better fix yourself a coffee for good measure, and get into today's headlines.

Get out your extra doonas, heaters or turn up the aircon unit. It's about to get frosty again. Temperatures reach a maximum of 15 today and a low of 2. On Thursday the minimum drops to 0 with an early frost, and a high of 16.

After forcing the closure of the Westside container village, the National Capital Authority wants to reinvent Acton Peninsula and bring Canberrans to the shore of Lake Burley Griffin.

The home of the National Museum of Australia would become a "globally recognised precinct of culture, education and recreation" under a plan revealed on Tuesday.

While better paths and cycleways would be key to activating Acton Peninsula, National Capital Authority chief Malcolm Snow said he had an "open mind" about other ways to bring people into the precinct. Katie Burgess with this report.

Light rail plan support
University leaders have lashed out at the Turnbull government's proposed cuts to higher education funding and student fee increases while saying its higher education changes are a "big improvement" on those in the 2014 budget.

The government has also been warned its plan to link university funding to student completion rates and employment outcomes could have "perverse outcomes" and "unintended consequences" if not carefully implemented.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham on Monday announced the government planned to save $2.8 billion from higher education spending over the next four years by slashing the HECS repayment threshold to $42,000, raising student fees by 7.5 per cent and hitting universities cuts to be achieved via a 2.5 per cent efficiency dividend.

Senator Birmingham presented his plans to university leaders at a tense meeting in Canberra on Monday night where he was peppered with questions about why the government was targeting the sector for savings.
An auto rickshaw driver had created a group called 'The Balse Boys' where a picture of PM Modi with obscene content was posted by a member.

By Nolan Pinto: For publishing incriminating content against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka police has arrested a WhatsApp group admin, an auto rickshaw driver.

The incident has been reported from Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.

Krishna Sanna Thamma Naik had created a group called 'The Balse Boys' and was the admin of the group where a picture of Modi with obscene content was posted by a member called Ganesh Naik.

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Manujnath had filed a complaint with Murdeshwar police on this issue.

Under the IT Act, the police arrested Naik who is now under judicial custody. Another accused Balakrishna Naik is absconding.

This is for the first time that a WhatsApp group admin has been arrested for publishing content against the PM.

Also read:

WhatsApp, Facebook group admins can be jailed for sharing & ignoring offensive posts

WhatsApp Pin Chats feature to help you keep important chats in sight

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A private developer is set to build Australia's first "multi-family housing" apartment complex, a model where it keeps ownership of the entire building and leases out the units on a long-term basis, up to 10 years, to tenants.

Family-run property developer Salta Properties will begin construction early next year of a 27-level Fender Katsalidis-designed apartment with 260 units on the waterfront in Melbourne's Docklands.

Salta Properties managing director Sam Tarascio at the Docklands site which will become a hotel and apartment block. Credit:Pat Scala

It will also include a 170-room Intercontinental-run Hotel Indigo on the lower levels, the first bespoke Indigo brand hotel to open in Melbourne.

In a counter-intuitive move that runs against consensus views of a looming oversupply in the Melbourne's apartment sector, Salta sees an opportunity to "create a new asset class in Australia" and diversify its $1 billion property portfolio with complete ownership of a large residential tower, including the hotel.
It's been called everything from a basket case to a boil. Whatever Big W is, it's Woolworths' challenge for some time yet.

The discount department store chain is undertaking another strategic plan under another new CEO, this time David Walker.

On Tuesday it forecast an even deeper loss for this half, of between $115 and $135 million, from an earlier predicted loss of $88 million.

At $757 million in sales for the third quarter, Big W and its 186 stores are a small part of the Woolworths empire, which increased sales by 4.4 per cent to $13.8 billion.
Luggage and handbag chains Victoria Station and Kate Hill have called in administrators, putting hundreds of jobs in doubt.

Documents lodged with the corporate regulator on Tuesday show the Melbourne-headquartered Victoria Station has appointed an administrator because it was or was about to become insolvent.

The Victoria Station luggage and travel accessory chain has 43 stores across the country. Credit:Kirsty Umback

The Victoria Station luggage and travel accessory chain has 43 stores across the country, with 19 in Victoria and the rest across NSW, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia.

Victoria Station also owns Kate Hill, which sells handbags and wallets and has 21 stores.
The corporate and not-for-profit sectors are lagging behind the public sector in terms of whistleblower protection policies, new data shows.

But government policies are still far from perfect.

The data, contained in a report into different whistleblower policies by Griffith University professors A. J. Brown and Sandra Lawrence, shows the Commonwealth government, followed by the Queensland and New South Wales government, score the highest in terms of having policies in place that encourage and protect workers to speak out about bad behaviour.

The not-for-profit education and training sector and the private manufacturing and retail sectors score the lowest and have the weakest policies in place, it shows.
Participants at an intergovernmental meeting hosted by Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop in Perth have described "disgusting" and "extraordinary" scenes as the Chinese government delegation shouted over the welcome to country ceremony and forced the suspension of proceedings.

A Taiwanese delegation was later ejected from the Kimberley Process meeting at the behest of the Chinese delegates who objected to their attendance.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it had raised concerns over the incident with the Chinese ambassador.

Participants at the Kimberley Process intersessional meeting have described extraordinary scenes as the Chinese delegation noisily disrupted the official Indigenous welcome ceremony and forced the suspension of at least one other session on Monday.
On first glance, it doesn't seem logical: triple the price of something, and more people will sign up. But that's exactly what the Turnbull government believes will happen under its overhaul of university fees.

From January 1, most permanent residents and New Zealanders will no longer be eligible for subsidised places, meaning they will pay about three or four times more for their degrees, on average.

To compensate, the government will now allow those groups to access the Higher Education Loan Program, meaning they can defer their fees and pay back the loan once they start earning regular income.

Universities, researchers and even New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English reacted negatively to the plan, with Mr English bluntly warning Canberra on Tuesday: "We're pretty unhappy about it."
Unquestionably, this is a moment. Labor had visited a withering, four-year blitzkrieg on the Coalition, pounding its dumb refusal to adopt David Gonski's model for needs-based schools funding.

The values difference was crucial in last year's knife-edge election and it was shaping as a first-order issue again in 2018.

Yet at just after 2pm on Tuesday, with Education Minister Simon Birmingham still on his feet, flanked by Malcolm Turnbull and Gonski himself, Shorten tweeted: "Australians will never trust the Liberals when it comes to properly funding schools. When they think they can get away with it, they'll cut."

That, right there, was Labor's first-blush reaction to the Turnbull government's new Gonski 2.0 funding model, which claims to fully honour the spirit of the reform plan by elevating low socio-economic status schools, protecting others, and cutting unsustainable subsidies to the most privileged.
Industrialist Kannan Ramasamy has said in a recent Facebook post that the South Korea-based Kia Motors dropped its proposal to set up a plant in Tamil Nadu due to corruption.

Leading manufacturer Kia Motors has dropped its proposal to set up a plant in Tamil Nadu due to corruption, an industrialist's recent Facebook post claims.

Kannan Ramasamy, Managing Director of Infratech Infrastructures Services Private Limited, wrote that his client - the South Korea-based Kia motors - wanted to set up a plant in Tamil Nadu to make compact sedans and SUVs.

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But when they approached the Tamil Nadu government for acquiring land, politicians demanded 50 percent more than the official cost as a bribe, he claimed in his post.

Kia motors eventually moved to Andhra Pradesh, he said.

'I HANG MY HEAD IN SHAME'

"TN has not only lost the 1.1. Billion USD from Kia but also the allied ancillary investments of more than the Kia figure. More than that, huge employment opportunity is lost for the TN Youth and auto professionals. I hang my head in shame. Let God help TN to spring back." Ramasamy wrote in his post

When India Today contacted Kannan Ramasamy, he didn't want to say anything more than he already had in his Facebook post.

SR Vijayakumar, the Central Chennai MP of the AIADMK, said, "That's all false. Every minister is touring the entire state. They are doing all work for that particular department. Everything is being done by conducting meetings for that particular department. We are asking about the problems of people in each district and trying to solve it. We are giving schemes for the people. The government is functioning well. Opposition is trying to create a problem."

TAMIL NADU 3RD MOST CORRUPT STATE

The Centre for Media Studies (CMS), which recently released its survey on corruption, ranked Tamil Nadu as the third most corrupt state in the country.

The CMS India Corruption study 2017 has pointed out that 68 percent of respondents in Tamil Nadu felt that they had trouble accessing public services due to corruption.

During a global investors' meet, investors had said they weren't able to come to Tamil Nadu due to the high level of corruption, said Jayaraman, the coordinator of Arappor Iyakkam - an organisation that has been fighting graft.

"There is a lot of centralised corruption. It's there right at the top....recently, there was a raid at (Tamil Nadu minister) Vijayabhaskar's residence. With the recent RK Nagar money distribution, it's clear that all the money is coming from the ministers. Tamil Nadu is in a very pathetic state. The complaints are not being taken. The complaint we gave against Ram Mohan Rao has not been taken. No action has been taken," he said.

ALSO READ | Kia Motors formally starts operations in India

ALSO READ | Kia Motors in India: Everything you need to know

ALSO WATCH | RK Nagar by-polls: Income Tax raids release documents on Rs 89 crore money trail

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The Duke of Cambridge has demanded about $2 million compensation over photographs of his wife bathing topless after revealing how they had brought back distressing memories of the "harassment" suffered by his mother Diana by photographers.

In a statement read at the opening of a criminal case against France's Closer magazine, the Duke described the decision to publish the images as "particularly shocking".

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was photographed topless while enjoying a private holiday in France in 2012. Credit:Getty Images

A lawyer for the magazine countered by saying it was important for the public to know the royal couple were "getting on well".

The Cambridges are demanding a "very significant fine" for publishing the images, taken during a three-day break in a chateau in Provence, southern France, in September 2012.
Kim Kardashian arrival at the Met Gala confirmed that, boy, is she really committing to her new pared-back, minimalist aesthetic.

Wearing a long-sleeved, off-the-shoulder, bed-sheet-esque Vivienne Westwood sheath dress, Kardashian was the opposite of her flashy, slit-to-here, bedazzled former self.

Kim Kardashian attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala. Credit:AP

(Side note: she was also one of the many celebrities to not get the Met Gala theme, which was a tribute to Commes de Garcons, the fashion label of avant garde Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo).

The aesthetic is a deliberate move for Kardashian.
A man accused of sourcing and handing a gun to schoolboy killer Farhad Jabar later told an undercover officer that the killing of police accountant Curtis Cheng was justified because Mr Cheng was a "copper".

Talal Alameddine, 24, Mustafa Dirani, 23, and Milad Atai, 21, are facing a committal hearing accused of aiding Jabar's plot.

Raban Alou is accused of receiving a gun from Mr Alameddine and giving it to Farhad Jabar in a concealed section of Parramatta Mosque. Credit:Geoff Jones

Raban Alou, 19, is also accused over the plot but is not involved in the committal proceedings.

During the hearing in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, a transcript was read out of a secretly recorded conversation between Mr Alou and an undercover agent on October 15, 2015.
Cruise ship CCTV captured a woman fleeing her accused rapist after he forced himself on her in her cabin, police will allege.

The Queensland man allegedly raped the woman after accompanying her back to the room they shared with others after she was cut off from the bar.

The man was arrested when he disembarked the Pacific Aria on Monday.

The man, who can not be named for legal reasons, allegedly told police he had no recollection of the incident, saying "I deserve a bullet in my head" when informed of the allegations.

According to police, the woman, who also can not be named, had returned to her cabin on P&O Cruises' Pacific Aria on Saturday night.
A Toowoomba family is desperately searching for answers after teenager Kaitlin Barton unexpectedly died at the weekend.

The 16-year-old was camping in a friend's backyard when she reportedly woke in the early hours of Sunday morning, left her tent and collapsed.

Kaitlin Barton was reportedly camping at a friend's place when she died. Credit:Facebook

Her aunt Emma Sutton told The Chronicle it was believed the young girl had died between 4am and 6am, before her friends found her outside her tent about 8am.

Her family is waiting for an autopsy to reveal what happened to the Harristown State High School student.
A man accused of behaving like an "outlaw" across south-east Queensland has successfully appealed the length of his sentence and will be eligible for parole immediately.

Wade Stanley Knox, 23, along with co-offender Blake Andrew Lowe, was arrested and charged by police in November 2015 after a string of offences across Ipswich, Logan and Kingaroy.

Knox's appeal was successful and he was eligible for parole immediately. Credit:Louie Douvis

The crime spree kicked off on November 2 when Lowe robbed and bashed a man on an Ipswich train who had told the pair to show some respect to a woman who Knox had asked to "sit on my lap".

Six days later, the pair robbed a Subway store at Eagleby and fled with about $200.
A Gold Coast theme park is celebrating after the birth of two polar bear cubs.

Sea World marine scientist Trevor Long says the cubs' delivery last Wednesday to the park's 16-year-old female Liya is "critical" to the long-term survival of polar bears.

The twins are the third and fourth cubs to be born at the park's Polar Bear Shores exhibit since it opened in 2000.

Henry and another cub, which didn't survive, were born in 2013 to Liya, and Mr Long says the new arrivals continue to highlight the importance of the park's exhibit.
Take Dojo coworking in the surfing hotspot Canggu. In October 2015, ex-Perth businessman Michael Craig took over a fledgling space called Salty Volt, with a desire to turn it into a place where people could work, exchange ideas, collaborate and drive change. Then there were just 8 active members. Now, renovated, rebadged and rejuvenated, Dojo boasts 360  from entrepreneurs, web designers, email marketers, programmers, journalists, photographers, lawyers, artists and more  and he's considering capping numbers. Plans range from $75 a month for 25 hours of Wi-Fi up to $270 for unlimited access, with facilities including the pool, personal power points, fans, meeting rooms, two cafes and Skype booths. A day pass is $20. Craig says he has seen some incredible examples of collaboration unfold, such as a Danish skincare company forging a deal with an American coworker to sign up one of his Hollywood contacts as the beauty brand's new face.

The cross-section of workers in here is hard to comprehend - there can be someone working on the latest cryptocurrency or talking about creating conscious computer networks, it's crazy. Michael Craig One day the former head of ethics at Google popped by, and was mobbed by a group of about 40 curious coworkers, he recalls. He says creating community is a vital ingredient in coworking success, with events such as hackathons and speed networking staged every night. "The cross-section of workers in here is hard to comprehend  there can be someone working on the latest cryptocurrency or talking about creating conscious computer networks, it's crazy," says Craig, who founded Perth-based software company Mintox and digital agency Clue Design. "What will happen is these spaces will become like education centres  you pay your membership fee, sit down, and within 10 minutes can get consultancy advice from a coworker that's worth 10 times that."

But like many in the coworking game, he says it's no money spinner. "It's not a profitable business model, we have the cafe but there's not much turnover," he says. "I don't draw an income. People are creating verticals to try and make them more profitable. "But I set this up as I wanted to create change, and create community." MySmallBusiness conservatively estimates annual turnover is $324,000, based on the current membership.

Digital nomads The funky space is a melting pot of accents and ideas, with Australians second only to Americans, followed by workers from Britain, the Netherlands and Canada. Copywriter Justyana Fabijanczyk has been leapfrogging exciting destinations as a freelancer for three years, from Chiang Mai in Thailand to South America and now Bali, and writing a blog about the experience. The former journalist spends four hours a day at Dojo, with a client list ranging from multi-national companies such as IKEA to small start-ups. "It's the only office I haven't dreaded going to," she says.

"Travelling has always been a dream of mine and I wanted to see the world, but in the beginning I didn't know that digital nomadism existed. I've been surfing, trekking in high mountains ... but I'm now wanting to stay somewhere for longer as it's hard to make lasting relationships when you move all the time." BoxJelly, Hawaii On the sun-kissed shores of Hawaii, the BoxJelly coworking space set up six years ago just two blocks from the beach. It's now home to about 30 workers a week who enjoy free beer nights, karaoke, barbecues, a treadmill desk and an artist in residence program on top of the standard office inclusions. Co-founder Rechung Fujihira says the idea was partly inspired by people working from sterile airport lounges, and a drive to start a similar space with more life, soul and energy.

"BoxJelly only really started to catch on last year, no one really knew about coworking here so it's been an education process," he says. "But now there are more spaces opening, it's a sign of the times." He says 95 per cent are Hawaiian locals but the odd digital nomad passes through from far-flung destinations. Membership starts at $46 a month, up to $495 for a desk, and from $1260 for an office. Lifestyle business In Australia, Melbourne boasts the lion's share of the coworking market.

Jay Chubb, the owner of Thornbury's Nest Coworking, says his annual turnover is about $130,000 and agrees that running a coworking space rarely makes people rich. "They make sense as a lifestyle business," he says. "I only get a 5 per cent return on investment and am earning what I would have been happy with at 25. "There's money in them if you are a property developer for example. But for me this is a passion project, it's an incredible way to network and have unique exposure to so many different people and small businesses." Five of the world's most exotic coworking spaces

BoxJelly, Hawaii Say aloha to free beer and lunch breaks in the surf at Hawaii's first coworking space, two blocks from the beach in Honolulu. There are private sound-proof booths, conference rooms, offices and single desks for hire. CocoVivo, Isla de San Cristobal, Bocas del Toro, Panama One of the world's most remote and beautiful coworking retreats is on a jungle island accessible only by boat or kayak. Stage your outdoor work meeting over the Caribbean Sea and work from your desk on the deck at this eco escape. Dojo, Canggu, Bali

Plonk by the pool on a beanbag, recline in the loft on a couch or share a table and ideas with a digital nomad in Bali's hipster haven. The only rule is: no shoes allowed. Hubud, Ubud, Bali Inspiring views don't get much better than Bali's emerald green rice paddy fields. The word is out about this multi-level bamboo hub-in-Ubud, which has attracted more than 10,000 visitors from around the world and has now branched into coliving. The Ski Locker, Chamonix, France Loading
Microsoft set out to make a laptop with better-than-average battery life.

With its hardware and software teams working together, Microsoft created a new version of its operating system, called Windows 10 S, that's tailored to the laptop. Terry Myerson, who runs both groups, said inspiration for the "S" came from the auto industry, which often uses the letter to flag sporty, high-performance models. The new OS is designed to prevent the computer from slowing down over time and remaining predictable even if under assault from malware-a selling point long touted by Apple's iOS. (Other manufacturers will install Windows 10 S into their own machines, giving Microsoft a way to compete with cheap machines running Google's Chrome OS.)

Pushing the education market theme, Panay said the Surface Laptop will be "same on commencement day as it is on graduation day." (Users can still install Windows 10 Pro over Windows 10 S, but they won't be able to switch back.) The OS also runs only apps offered on Microsoft's app store. "Everything that runs on this device is going to be trusted and verified by Microsoft," Myerson said. Panay said the new OS unlocks performance and features not found on many Windows-based machines. The laptop wakes from sleep almost instantly when the lid is opened, and takes seconds to turn on from a fully powered-off state.

The slick computer, which will be available June 15, arrives at an auspicious moment for Microsoft. The company is riding the success of its Surface Studio and Surface tablets (though sales slipped in the the most recent quarter, dragging down total revenue). Meanwhile, Apple has come under fire from Mac owners for focusing on the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch-and letting the Mac line-up languish. The Air hasn't had a serious makeover since 2010, just a modest upgrade two years ago. Stung by the criticism from the disgruntled faithful, Apple has pledged to do better.

Panay said Microsoft has made its own luck, saying his team "created what we know our customers are asking for." Of course, luring Mac devotees will take some doing because Apple's OS syncs almost flawlessly with the iPhone, making it a snap to transfer photos, send and receive text messages and make online payments from a Mac. Users will lose that ability if they switch to the Surface Laptop. And despite the impressive hardware, people are used to the Mac interface, another sticking point. Finally, students may balk at paying almost $1,300 when they can get an adequate laptop for much less.
A fierce fire has burned up more than just the track at a disused indoor go- karting centre in Melbourne's west.

Dozens of firefighters raced to Fun City Go Karts in Sunshine North about 7.30pm on Tuesday after reports of flames.

Cherry pickers were used to douse the flames at the complex in Sunshine North on Tuesday. Credit:Twitter/@MFBChief

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade urged nearby residents to take shelter indoors and close their doors and windows as the fire billowed smoke.

About 80 firefighters with 30 fire trucks took more than two hours to control the dramatic blaze.
Petrol pump owners in Lucknow called off their strike on Tuesday soon after meeting CM Yogi Adityanath, who assured them that they would not be harassed. At the same time, Adityanath asked them to ensure that the quality of fuel given to customers was not compromised.

By Mausami Singh: Members of the Lucknow district petrol pump association called off their strike on Tuesday and opened their stations soon after meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Since the morning on Tuesday, 75 per cent of fuelling stations across Lucknow were shut allegedly as workers had gone on strike in protest against the undue harassment of the Special Task Force (STF) during raids to bust the massive chip racket.

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In the meeting, it has been learnt that Adityanath assured the petrol pump association members that there would be no harassment of pump workers. The chief minister asked the petrol pump workers to ensure that the consumers faced no inconvenience and the quality of fuel they got was not compromised.

Members of the petrol pump association even promised to normalise the supply of fuel as soon as possible.

POLICE RAIDED PETROL PUMPS ACROSS LUCKNOW

Last Friday, the elite task force of Uttar Pradesh police had carried out raids across Lucknow to crack down on the mechanical chips installed to tamper with fuel-dispensing machines at stations. The chip installed in the integrated system of the dispensing machine would cut down the quantity of fuel the customer got by about 10 per cent.

In less than a week, the STF has found that the petrol pump workers have removed such chips from fuel-dispensing machines at various stations so as to prevent similar raids from being carried out again.

Petrol pumps workers were on the one hand saving fuel, and on the other, fleecing customers at a staggering cost of Rs 14 lakh per day, hence making it racket dealing in several crores of rupees.

Also read | If petrol can be stolen using a chip, why can't EVMs be hacked, questions Akhilesh Yadav

Also read | Uttar Pradesh STF registers 7 FIRs, arrests 23 people in petrol pump cheating case

Also read | This is how they steal your petrol: UP special task force seals 7 petrol pumps in Lucknow

--- ENDS ---
The young boy who survived an alleged murder attempt by his mother in the Murray River at Moama remains in hospital in Melbourne, two months after the incident.

The nine-year-old was injured after a dog  which lived at a property on the riverbank near where the horrific incident took place  intervened. The boy's five-year-old brother was found dead in the river. Their 26-year-old mother, from Deniliquin, has been charged with murder and attempted murder.

The boy has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in hospital since the incident in March. Neither he, his brother nor their mother can be named for legal reasons.

The mother was remanded until July in a brief hearing at the Deniliquin Local Court on Tuesday. She did not appear on videolink from jail in Junee and her legal aid lawyer told the court she also faced a charge of possessing two grams of cannabis.
Two gunmen have ambushed six friends playing video games in a suburban garage, killing one man and injuring two others.

The 22-year-old man had said goodbye to his friends about 10pm and opened the garage door when he was shot in the chest, dying in the street as his killer fled.

Police and forensic officers at the scene of a shooting in Church rd Keysborough where one man was fatally shot and two more are in hospital with gunshot wounds. Credit:Justin McManus

Two of his friends were also hit by bullets when two gunmen fired at them in Keysborough on Tuesday night.

Inspector Mark Langhorn said police were aware of previous drug activity in the laneway at the rear of the Church Road property, but the three victims were not known to police.
You may have received one before; a so-called 'apology' from an authority after they've stuffed something up.

It could read something along the lines of; "I'm sorry for the way you feel" or "It is unfortunate that blah blah blah". Either way, it's infuriating when an apology feels like an arse-covering exercise.

Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass. Credit:Damian White

The truth is, sorrys like those above are just that: carefully worded so you can't sue the apologiser.

Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass is calling on the government to amend the state's apology laws (yes, we do have them) because for some, sorry seems to be the hardest word.
The Victorian government has again been urged by a coroner to implement better pool safety measures following the drowning death of a two-year-old boy, who left his sleeping mother and entered a backyard pool through a faulty gate.

The death of Elijah Meldrum on September 14, 2015 was preventable, according to coroner Audrey Jamieson, who found the rental property's tenants failed to inform their landlord and letting real estate agency that the pool's two gates were not working.

A coroner has called on the government to implement better pool safety measures. Credit:Robert Banks

Ms Jamieson's call on the state government to overhaul pool fencing regulations and consider a register similar to that in Queensland is the fourth time since 2012 that a Victorian coroner has recommended action to prevent child drownings.

Figures released by the Coroners Court show 26 children drowned in domestic pools in Victoria between 2000 and the start of 2015. In most cases fences or gates were either faulty or left open.
The days of plastic bags in supermarkets look to be numbered in WA, with a push to phase out single-use bags or make customers pay a levy for using them.

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson told 6PR's Mornings program he was concerned over the impact of waste plastic bags created.

"I'm told by my department that about 80 million plastic bags end up in the waste stream every year," he said.

"I've been lobbied over the past few years as an MP from people who want the government to look at banning plastic bags
Nagano: Japan has dispatched its biggest warship to protect a US military vessel in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in modern history after the enactment of a controversial new security law.

The Izumo, the largest navy vessel the Japanese have had since the Second World War left its home port of Yokosuka on Monday with the reported task of protecting a US supply ship within Japanese waters.

The mission is the first of its kind since security legislation, championed by the prime minister Shinzo Abe, was enacted last year to allow Japan to expand its overseas military role.

The law, which faced widespread opposition, allows the government to exercise its right to collective self-defence without breaking its pacifist post-war constitution.
GM Opens Historic Durant-Dort Factory One +VIDEO

Includes archive and research center and community meeting space

FLINT, MI - May 2, 2017: General Motors today opened the restored Durant-Dort Factory One, considered to be the companys birthplace and epicenter of the global auto industry.

Once home to the Flint Road Cart Co., established in 1886 by William Crapo Billy Durant and business partner Josiah Dallas Dort, it includes event space and a modern archive where future generations can learn about the innovators and risk takers who reinvented personal transportation.

Factory One sparked the global auto industry and was a catalyst in the formation of General Motors, said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, who championed the project. It preserves the stories of the early visionaries who built a brand-new industry in this city, within the very walls of where it happened.

The restoration preserves a significant aspect of the shared heritage of GM and Flint, while creating a community space to help spur economic development in the city.

Further, the facility demonstrates GMs commitment to honoring its history and relationship with Flint. Factory One is available to the public by appointment, with event space offered for rent for corporate, community, educational events and more. It can accommodate up to 300 people.

Factory Ones archive is free to use and contains about 100,000 historical documents, photos and other artifacts related to carriage-building and early automobile manufacturing in the Flint area, as well as GM history.

The new research library relocates extensive archives from nearby Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute). Dr. Gregory M. Miller, Ketterings director of special collections and archives, will oversee them from his new office at Factory One. The move makes the collection more accessible to the public, and it complements other historical assets at Kettering, the University of Michigan-Flint and Sloan Museum in the nearby College and Cultural Area.

Thousands of Durant documents and items donated by his widow include a 1908 letter from a New York law firm suggesting he name his new automotive company General Motors. The archive also includes papers from former GM leaders Harlow Curtice, F. James McDonald and Elliott Pete Estes, and innovator Charles Kettering, for whom Kettering University is named.

Rare, vintage carriages and automobiles with Flint roots also will be displayed at the grand opening of the facility, which includes provisions to host classic auto clubs and events such as the citys annual Back to the Bricks, which brings visitors from around the world to Flint each August.

Factory One is part of the very fabric of Flint, and its reopening is as much about the future as it is the past, said Kevin Kirbitz, Factory One operations manager. It is a tremendous community asset and academic resource that will educate and inspire generations to come.

The history of Durant-Dort Factory One

Located on the Flint River near downtown Flint  in the aptly named Carriage Town neighborhood  parts of the factory date to 1880, when it was built by the Flint Woolen Mills company as a short-lived venture into cotton textiles. In 1886, Durant and Dort leased the then-empty facility to build horse-drawn carriages.

The company would become known as the Durant-Dort Carriage Company and one of the worlds largest carriage makers. Eventually, Durant would take control of another company  Buick Motor Co.  and leverage his Durant-Dort resources to grow the young automaker into one of the most successful car companies in the country. Durant used Buicks success to build General Motors in 1908 and turned to his friends from Flints carriage industry to form Chevrolet in 1911.

Carriage sales eroded with the rise of the automobile and the Durant-Dort Carriage Factory ceased production in 1917. Dort then formed the Dort Motor Company, which closed in 1924.

In the more-than 130 years since Durant and Dort set up shop at Factory One, it housed countless other businesses and was renovated in the 1980s before falling into disrepair. Kirbitz, a GM engineer, automotive historian and Flint native, has been involved in the project since 2012, when GM  and Reuss  first became interested in the building.

GM purchased it in 2013 and stabilized it with new, period-accurate windows and doors, as well as a new roofing system, with the goal of preserving and showcasing the original architecture. Contractors replaced 17,000 bricks color-matched to the original, as well as 20 percent of the mortar on the building. The foundation, damaged by flooding and grade changes over time, was repaired and waterproofed.

The last phases of the restoration included all-new heating/cooling, electrical, plumbing, state-of-the-art fire-suppression equipment and additional interior renovations. And despite numerous interior renovations over the years, many of vintage architectural elements such as the wooden beams, brick work and more were preserved and restored.

GM also provides financial support to the Durant-Dort Carriage Company Foundation to operate and maintain the historic office building, a National Historic Landmark, across the street. GM is also working with the Genesee County Historical Society, which occupies the office, to conduct combined tours of the office and Factory One.

In addition, in 2015, GM donated $2 million to Kettering to create a powertrain laboratory and the GM Foundation donated $2 million for the Kettering University GM Mobility Research Center, which includes a 3.25-acre test pad and outdoor lab space to test and develop driverless car systems.
Thousands gathered at MacArthur Park near downtown Los Angeles for what organizers called a show of "resistance, unity and defiance," then set off on a boisterous but peaceful march.

Activists burn a pinata with a picture of Donald Trump during a demonstration on International Labour Day in Mexico. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters: Labour unions and civil rights groups staged May Day rallies across the United States on Monday, challenging President Donald Trump's immigration policies and his vow to step up deportations of those who entered the country illegally.

Activists said they were seeking to amass the largest crowds to have yet turned out for US immigrant rights demonstrations since Trump took office on January 20.

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Thousands gathered at MacArthur Park near downtown Los Angeles for what organizers called a show of "resistance, unity and defiance," then set off on a boisterous but peaceful march across town to City Hall.

A crowd of several thousand also assembled in Washington's Dupont Circle for a rally ahead of a planned procession to Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House.

Earlier in the day, 500 protesters marched through midtown Manhattan and rallied in front of offices of Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Twelve were arrested, according to a spokesman for Make the Road New York, an immigrant advocacy group that claims 20,000 members.

The two banks were targeted because of their dealings with private companies that have built or manage some immigrant detention centers for the government, according to Jose Lopez, Make the Road New York's co-director of organizing.

"The messaging for today was to stop financing immigrant detention facilities," Lopez said.

May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, has typically been a quieter affair in the United States than in Europe, where it is a public holiday in many countries.

MAY DAY UNREST FLARED IN FRANCE, TURKEY

May Day unrest flared on Monday in France and Turkey, where demonstrators clashed with police.

The US protests focused on Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration as he presses police agencies around the country to assist federal efforts at rounding up individuals sought for deportation and threatens to withhold federal dollars for cities that do not cooperate, which have been dubbed "sanctuary cities."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions also stirred an outcry by saying last month that so-called "dreamers" - illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children and were granted protection under the Obama administration - were subject to deportation.

Sessions later walked back his statement, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has said dreamers were not being targeted, though some have ended up detained in roundups of immigrants with criminal backgrounds.

Retired social worker Christina Reilly Vaccarino, 78, who emigrated from Ireland at age 15 with a green card allowing her to work as a nanny, said she was "disgusted" by Trump's policies on immigration, taxes and workers' rights.

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'NOT AMERICA ANYMORE'

"I came to America at a time when everyone in Ireland believed that America is so wonderful, so great. And now, after all these years, to experience this? It's not America anymore," she said at an afternoon rally in Lower Manhattan.

New York City's biggest rally was planned for the early evening, when organizers expected thousands to gather in downtown Manhattan's Foley Square for musical performances and speeches by union leaders and immigrants living in the country illegally.

Precautions were in place in Seattle, where officials were on the lookout for incendiary devices and gun-carrying protesters after a January shooting outside a political event and an incident during May Day 2016 in which a protester tossed an unlit Molotov cocktail at police.

Some Trump supporters said they would also turn out on May Day. Activist Joey Gibson said he and other conservatives would travel to Seattle to defend against what he described as communist and anti-fascist groups who have in the past faced off with police in the evening, after the conclusion of the usually peaceful daytime marches.

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ALSO READ | People take it to streets with their climate protests to mark Donald Trump's 100 days in office

ALSO READ | US judge blocks Trump's revised travel ban, president calls it 'unprecedented judicial overreach'

ALSO WATCH | Donald Trump skips White House Correspondents' Dinner, gets roasted by comedian Hasan Minhaj

--- ENDS ---
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Maliwal received written complaints of severe human rights violations from over 32 girls after which she summoned the women and child development director.

By Roshani Thokne: Taking action against the authorities of the Children Home for Girls after finding instances of abuse and human rights violations, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) asked the police to file an FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

DCW chief Swati Maliwal made a surprise visit to the Children Home for Girls after finding instances of abuse and human rights violations. It was followed by another inspection early on Monday morning.

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Maliwal received written complaints of severe human rights violations from over 32 girls after which she summoned the women and child development director. The DCW chairperson raised the issue with Hon'ble deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Sisodia ordered immediate transfer and disciplinary proceedings against 6 staff, however, no transfers have been made till date except of two outsourced contract employees. The DCW chairperson visited the Children Home for Girls in Nirmal Chhaya Complex after receiving complaints of girls residing in the Home through DSLSA. The surprise inspections lasted for over 10 hours wherein DCW chief interacted with the girls. At least 32 written complaints were received wherein the girls alleged serious human rights violations and lapses in the home. The girls complained of repeated beating and being injected forcibly which allegedly leads to growth and disturbs their menstruation cycles. They also alleged that the accused forcefully checked their panties to ascertain if they are bleeding during menstruation. Even girls as young as 5 complained of being beaten in the home. The Commission was horrified to note an extreme shortage of staff to the extent that there was only 1 cook catering to 140 girls. DCW witnessed minor girls cooking food, the quality of which was abysmal. The Commission undertook another surprise inspection and observed that children were beaten for speaking and revealing about the harassment to the Commission. DCW also met the Police Commissioner, recommending immediate registration of an FIR. After the intervention of the Police Commissioner, the FIR was registered by PS Hari Nagar under Sections 323/326/506/120B of the IPC and Section 75 JJ Act. "It is shocking that despite the FIR being registered against the erring staff and Hon'ble Deputy CM ordering immediate transfers, the concerned officers are present in the Home. DCW strongly urges WCD to immediately transfer and prohibit the erring officers from entering the Home," DCW chairperson Swati Jai Hind stated. "DCW also urges Delhi Police to conduct speedy investigation in the matter. These girls are victims of trafficking, abandonment and other horrific crimes. They are the most vulnerable and it is the duty of the state to protect them," she added.

ALSO READ | DCW raps Delhi school for barring rape survivor student from attending classes

--- ENDS ---
President Trumps very friendly conversation with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte included an invitation for a White House visit, though the latter says he may be too busy to accept. The invitation reportedly shocked Trumps own top officials, who werent consulted before it was extended, and was met with horror by human rights groups.

According to the White House readout, the two leaders discussed the fact that the Philippines is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs, and Duterte has previously said that Trump has commended him for how hes dealt with drug dealers.

But Dutertes drug war is not just a war with cartels, or SWATs teams kicking in doors, as might might be familiar to people in North America but extrajudicial death squads responding to the presidents declaration of open season. And its not just talk. Some 8,000 people have been killed alreadynot counting many more suicides by those in police custodyand Duterte was elected only last year.

Trump, believe it or not, used to know better. Were losing badly the war on drugs, he said in 1990. You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars.

We didnt, he said, because of politicians who dont have any guts to face that truth.

But even as drug policies in America have improved since the tough-on-crime 1990s, with even most Republicans nodding to federalism, Trump like a real-life Biff Tannenhas traveled back in time. Now hes warning of American carnage, that only he can save us from, and only by building walls, banning and locking people up.

America is by no means the Phillipines, but the talk now is an unsettling throw-back to when everybody thought we could fix our drug problem and the worlds if we were only vicious enough. More than a trillion dollars since 1971 suggests otherwise, along with the lives needlessly taken or wasted in prison.

Whatever Trump knew in 1990, hes given up on since. Now, the most powerful man in the world tells the Major Cities Chefs Police Association that were going to stop the drugs from pouring in. Were going to stop those drugs from poisoning our youth, from poisoning our people. Were going to be ruthless in that fight. We have no choice.

Some Trump supports have gone further. In 1995, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested executing convicted drug dealers who came from outside the United States. Gingrich didnt get his wish, and like many on the right in the last five years, he now pays lip service to the idea that the US needs criminal-justice reform. Duterte today, however, sounds like Gingrich in 1995. Not to mention, they both suggest its all for the children.

The more Filipinos who die under Dutertes drug war, the lower his approval rating dips. However, it remains at a staggering 78 percenta fact Trump used to justify his White House invitation (You know hes very popular in the Philippines). Take it as a reminder that the politics of murder are not, in fact, beyond the pale. There are high rates of meth use there, but not record breaking. Australias rates are higher. There is not the kind of instability in the Philippines that should have lead to a Duterte. Yet there he is, mocking his own daughters rape claim, and bragging he would kill his kids if they used drugs. And two thirds of the nation approves of him.

Americas war on drugs was a purposeful distraction, a way for the Nixon administration to tell Middle America that the misfits would be taken care of without explicitly targeting young people, radicals, and minorities directly. It worked beautifully. With Trump, were headed back down the road. His likely pick for the head of the Office of Drug Control Policy, Rep. Tom Marino, is ready to forcibly hospitalize peaceful drug users to help them whether they like it not. Again, that suggestion was made for the sake of the children.

Perhaps Duterte, whos taken this logic to its murderous extreme, has, to paraphrase an old anti-drug article in the U.S., learned it by watching you.
21st Century Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch famously despises having his hand forced.

But by compelling the resignation Monday of Fox News co-president Bill Shine after only eight months on the jobwhile elevating a second Roger Ailes loyalist, programming executive Suzanne Scott, to a bigger title at the cable channel and retaining other top executives who worked intimately for Fox Newss disgraced founder and CEOthe 86-year-old Murdoch could simply be prolonging the agony and delaying an inevitable housecleaning.

I dont understand what the Murdochs are doing, said a Fox News veteran who spoke on condition of anonymity. Theyre supposed to be great brand strategists and brilliant businessmen, but the idea that you can plug this with Suzanneand done? Its death by a thousand cuts.

The announcement comes amid a report from The Daily Beast that Shines close friend, Sean Hannity, is ready to follow him out the door. Last week, when rumors of Shines imminent exit were circulating in the press, Hannity posted a series of tweets that were widely interpreted as a threat to leave in protest.

If Shine were to be fired, Hannity tweeted thats the total end of the FNC as we know it. Done.

In a second tweet, directed at New York magazines Gabriel Sherman, Hannity claimed: Somebody HIGH UP AND INSIDE FNC is trying to get an innocent person fired. And Gabe I KNOW WHO it is.

Said a well-connected media exec: One of the things about the Murdochs is they do not take kindly to threats. If theyre paying a guy $10 million and he tweets out threats against the company, that isnt going to fly.

This person added that Mondays seemingly half-hearted executive changes reflect a tug of war going on between Rupert [who was initially resistant even to parting with Ailes] and the sons [Lachlan and James, who are pushing for a cultural makeover] It sends a very bad signal. Had they cleaned house pretty quickly, and cleaned out four five people at the top, they wouldnt have any of this today. This drip-drip thing is killing them. ,

Suzanne Scott, previously executive vice president of programming and development (a position in which she seemed to many at Fox News more focused on wardrobe, hair and female personalities bare legs than on creative and strategic matters), was promoted Monday to president of Fox News profit-driving opinion programming (both the prime-time shows and Fox & Friends). Its a role that Shine had filled before being named co-president last August.

Scott has toiled at Fox News since it launched in 1996, starting out as an assistant to the late television executive Chet Collier, Ailess longtime associate at various TV outlets as well as his former boss at the Westinghouse station in Cleveland.

Scott worked for Collier under Ailes at CNBC and the Americas Talking network, the precursor to MSNBC, and according to Fox News insiders, Ailes groomed her for a management position, giving Scott production experience on then Fox News-anchor Greta Van Susterens 10 p.m. show before installing her in Colliers old programming perch. One of Scotts responsibilities, according to a Fox News insider, was making sure that Megyn Kellylike Van Susteren a former litigatorwould not be her substitute anchor when Van Susteren left for vacation.

Also promoted Mondayto the position of president of newswas Jay Wallace, a longtime Fox News executive known for keeping his head down and not immersing himself in office politics.

Sadly, Bill Shine resigned today, Rupert Murdoch wrote in a company-wide memo announcing the shakeup. I know Bill was liked and respected by everyone at Fox News. We will all miss him.

In an assertion that recalled the famous question supposedly asked of Abraham Lincolns widowOther than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?Murdoch added: Fox News continues to break both viewing and revenue records, for which I thank you all. I am sure we can do even better.

According to multiple industry insiders, Shines swift exit will not be sufficient to stop Fox Newss continuing PR debacle, and the departure of several more Fox News execs, including general counsel Dianne Brandi, is likely to be required amid multiple lawsuits, a federal criminal investigation, and the pending recommendation of British regulators on whether 21st Century Fox is a fit and proper company that should be allowed to assume total control of the profitable European television and internet platform, Sky PLC.

Most of Rogers top people are tainted, and I think Ruperts big mistake was not cleaning house when he first got control of Fox News after Ailess forced resignation last July, said a well-connected media executive who spoke on condition of not being named. Now theyre continuing to deal with this bad narrative, and I dont think theyre out of the woods yet.

That view was echoed by New York attorney Douglas Wigdor, who is representing a dozen current and former Fox News employees in two racial discrimination lawsuits against the conservative-leaning cable outlet. Its litigation in which Scott merits multiple damaging mentions, while shes also named as defendant in two additional lawsuits claiming sexual harassment and retaliation.

You would think that with all of the resources at 21st Century Foxs disposal, including an army of lawyers and PR crisis management experts, Wigdor told The Daily Beast, they would do a wholesale change in management and resolve all of the pending litigation matters, rather than the reactive, drip-drop drip-drop approach that is only going to continue to fester over the coming weeks and months.

New Jersey litigator Nancy Erika Smith said in a statement: The departure of Bill Shine, although overdue, is a positive step. To begin to change the culture at Fox, there are others who have enabled and encouraged the sexism who should be next, starting with Dianne Brandi, Suzanne Scott and [corporate communications executive vice president] Irena Briganti.

Smith is currently presiding over two employee lawsuits against the network by on-air political commentator Julie Roginsky and Fox News web site personality Diana Falzone. Smiths original Fox News client, fired anchor Gretchen Carlson, sued Ailes for sexual harassment and won a $20 million settlementthe lawsuit that set off the seismic shakeups that led to the banishment of Bill OReilly, Fox Newss biggest prime-time star, and now Shine.

Smith told The Daily Beast: All of the people who are the problem are still there. This is a beginning but hardly a solution and it doesnt bode well that theyre being forced to do this in so incremental a fashion by the press. If youre really going to change the culture, this would have happened in July.

Fox News offered no comment.
Theres a bit of a vibe of the treasure hunt or game of eye-spy when you find yourself peering through artfully designed holes and around odd corners to view Japanese designer Rei Kawakubos astonishing designs for the Comme des Garcons label.

For those unfamiliar with her work, the Metropolitan Museums Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between exhibition honoring her career at the Mets Costume Institute is a challenging introduction.

For starters, the exhibition space is an architectural maze of mostly circular white walls displaying 150 of Kawakubos avant-garde designs for Comme des Garcons, from her mostly black (and then-unpopular) early 1980s collections to her Fall 2017 the future of silhouettecollection, which was made with industrial materials rather than textiles.

The exhibition makes beautiful sense when articulated by Bolton, who noted that Reis clothes have often been described as indecipherable becausein his viewthey exist in that in-between space that the exhibition sets out to explore: an unsettling zone of oscillating visual ambiguity and elusiveness.

All of these big words and high concepts aside, the designs on display are indeed fantastic: abstract shapes and three-dimensional structures in her Spring/Summer 2014 Not Making Clothing collection, for instance, or the bubblegum pink and blue gingham separates in her 1997 Body Meets DressDress Meets Body collection, dubbed her lumps and bumps collection by critics for its references to tumors and hunchbacks.

If the crowded space allows, you may spend some minutes staring in happy wonder and confusion at Kawakubos designs, which occupy a space between architecture and fashion, form, and function.

These are not dresses that you will commonly see in shops, high or low end. They are, quite literally, creations. A white wedding-like dress has a ruffled neck of apparent flowers. Another black dress flares out, and in its heart and an even darker black cut-out shape. Arms are cut short or little puffballs.

They can seem cartoonishly shaped, but the cut is serious. Some shoulders come with holsters on their front, a black hat looks ready to fly off the head. Two fitted dresses come with flared, puffy panels. Another dark blue dress is an explosion of ruffles, with a mass of black material leaking beautifully from its front, the entire get-up set off by a red fuzz of a wig (the hats and wigs are something else in this show).

There are no directions on the walls to guide visitors through this maze no wall texts to help them make sense of Kawakubos magnificent designs and navigate the trajectory of her career.

Absent traditional visual explanations on the walls, visitors must constantly refer to a physical pamphlet handed out at the beginning of the exhibition, as if trying to decode the key to a treasure hunt. Adding to the confusion are the 300 blinding fluorescent tubes that light the exhibition from overhead.

It is fitting that an exhibition devoted to Kawakubothe first living designer to be honored with a retrospective at the Met since 1983be spacially, visually, and intellectually challenging. (As museum director Thomas Campbell acknowledged Monday morning, the exhibition is unlike anything weve done here before.)

Since founding Comme des Garcons in 1969, the Japanese designer has consistently challenged and upended beauty and body ideals, gender norms, and other fashion paradigms, including the distinction between fashion and art. For anyone not schooled in Kawakubos art, her cerebral designs need explanationand the Mets new exhibition doesnt provide much beyond a dense pamphlet.

But Kawakubo would not have had it any other way. While other designers often cite the inspiration for their collections during fashion shows, Kawakubo has always insisted that her clothes speak for themselves. So when she began working with the Mets Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton a year ago, the two decided that the exhibitions walls would be devoid of text.

The hope was that this would facilitate intimate engagement between Kawakubos designs and the exhibitions visitors. As Bolton explained on Monday morning, the printed pamphlet outlies a suggested pathway through the exhibition, but visitors are encouraged to forge their own paths and experience the exhibition as a voyage of discovery.

It was hard enough for regular visitors to avoid literally bumping into each other during Mondays press preview, between reading our pamphlets and observing the designs. Imagine the chaos at tonights Met Gala, then, when Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and other celebrities descend on the cramped exhibition and inevitably step on or brush up against each others elaborate and intricate costumesbe they long dress trains or other protrusions riffing on Kawakubos signature oversized silhouettes. What could be a regular grey suit, for instance, comes kitted out with what looks like its own inner flotation device.

Elsewhere, a mass of black lace and whirls is funeral garb at its most dramatic and mysterious. Another all-white outfit looks like a pile of tied and cinched laundry bags or pillowcases, topped off with a unique fascinator.

Or observe another outfit that comprises a black veil, which is the peak of a circular formliterally an O-shapewithin which explodes a volcano of white lace and ruffles. This is fashion taken to its limitsbut wonderful, practically speaking, for all shapes and sizes. Who wouldnt love to be encased in one of Kawakubos huge, dramatic black hoods atop a regular-ish jacket?

There are no shortcuts around the show: the exhibition is dense and convoluted, even though it is architecturally organized in a way that feels more cramped than Costume Institute exhibitions in recent years.

The exhibition examines Kawakubos art of the in-between in nine recurring expressions of in-betweenness throughout her collections: Absence/Presence; Design/Not Design; Fashion/Antifashion; Model/Multiple; High/Low; Then/Now; Self/Other; Object/Subject; and Clothes/Not Clothes.

Through her fashions, Rei breaks down the false walls between these dualisms, exposing their artificiality and arbitrariness, Bolton explained during Mondays press preview. As her clothes demonstrate, in between spaces are sites not only of meaningful connection and coexistence but also of transformation, offering endless possibilities for creation, recreation, and hybridity.

Not all the clothes on display are bafflingand they have such ingenuity and heart behind them, so what if they look almost too eccentric to be wearablebut they are wearable, for the brave, and those not taking public transport. Of the more conventional looks on display, you may come across a whimsical teaming of plaids and tartan, and relativelyrelativelyconservative red belted shirt and tartan skirt.

If ever there was an exhibit that breaks down barriers between art and fashion, this is it. Indeed, Kawakubo never cared much about the function aspect of fashion. As the designer put it herself in 2012: When I hear where could you wear that? or its not very wearable, or who would wear that? to me its just a sign that someone missed the point.

Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue in New York City from May 4 to September 4, 2017.
Once again, President Donald Trumps fondness for a shoot-first-ask-questions-later strongman with a questionable record on human rights has landed him in hot water.

No, not Russian President Vladimir Putin. Or Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, or any of the other would-be autocrats for whom the president has expressed consistent warmth. This time, the object of Trumps admiration is a long-dead American president: Andrew Jackson.

In a meandering hodge-podge of half-remembered facts and supposition rarely seen outside high school history classrooms, Trump told Salena Zito on Sirius XM radio on Monday that the American Civil War could have been worked out had Jackson been in charge at the time.

He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, Theres no reason for this, Trump said, apparently in reference to Jacksons threat to invade South Carolina during the Nullification Crisis of 1832, three decades before the outbreak of the Civil War.

Trump continued: People dont realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? People dont ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?

The president doubled down on his remarks with a tweet on Monday evening, claiming Jackson saw the Civil War coming and was angry about it:

Trumps musings about Jacksons ability to prevent the War Between the States has raised questionswell, questions in addition to why was there a Civil War (one that, perhaps, a person should be able to answer before being elected president).

Specifically, will the presidents fondness for Jackson interfere with the Treasury Departments plans to remove the seventh presidents portrait from the $20 bill?

In April 2016, then-Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew announced that Jacksons scowling visage would be replaced on the $20 bill with a portrait of Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and in turn helped hundreds of enslaved people navigate the Underground Railroad to reach freedom. The decision came after Treasurys initial planto place Tubman on the $10 bill, replacing musical-inspiring smokeshow Alexander Hamilton, the nations first Treasury secretarywas met with the fervent opposition of Broadway fans.

Jackson, an admittedly complex figure in American history who inspired his own (underrated!) Broadway musical, is a logical candidate for replacement on U.S. currency. Although his navigation of the Nullification Crisis arguably helped delay the Civil War for three decades, giving the North time to industrialize, his opposition to the central banking system that now prints his face on money would seem to make him an ironic addition to greenbacks. (His signing the Indian Removal Act of 1830 certainly doesnt help, either.)

But Trump is apparently more of a fan of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson than Hamilton. (After the reception Vice President Mike Pence received at the Richard Rodgers Theater last November, though, that might be understandable.)

Trumpwho has described himself as a Jackson fanhas made efforts to bring Old Hickory back, partially due to the influence of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. As The Daily Beast reported in March, Bannon discussed Jacksons historical legacy with Trump frequently during the 2016 campaign, comparing the two men as outsiders who battled complacent political elites.

Trump would say he had heard this pundit or this person making the comparison, and [Steve] would encourage him and tell him how it was true, a Trump campaign adviser told The Daily Beast. It was a way to flatter him, too. Bannon and Trump talked about a lot, but this was the president they had casual [conversations] about the most.

Bannons reported comparisons were apparently to Trumps liking. Since his inauguration, the president has hung a portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office, honored the anniversary of Jacksons birth with a visit to the Hermitage, Jacksons cotton plantation in Nashville, Tennessee, and even tweeted a photo of himself saluting Jacksons grave:

It was during the revolution that Jackson first took on and defied the arrogant elite. Does that sound familiar to you? Trump said in his remarks at the Hermitage. I wonder why they keep talking about Trump and Jackson, Jackson and Trump. Oh, I know the feeling, Andrew!

Considering that Trump once posited that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and still win an election, its perhaps unnecessary to overexamine his fondness for the only U.S. president to have killed a man in a duel.

But the presidents fandom of the seventh president may affect more than just decorative decisions in the West Wing. Last April, Trump indicated that the placement of Tubman, only the second woman on paper currency in the Treasury Departments 225-year history, on the $20 was an act of pure political correctness run amok. He called the decision to remove Jackson rough.

Andrew Jackson had a history of tremendous success for the country, Trump told the Today show at the time. I think Harriet Tubman is fantastic. I would love to leave Andrew Jackson and see if we can come up with another denomination. Maybe we do the $2 bill or another bill. I dont like seeing it.

The Treasury Department and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing did not respond to requests for comment regarding the fate of the $20 bill redesign, although the Treasury Departments web page on the portrait swap is still active.

Nonetheless, the woman who spearheaded the campaign to put a woman on U.S. paper currency is not feeling confident about Tubmans chances.

We are keeping a very close eye as to any further signal and any delay or change in the progress towards having design and production ready for Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill by 2020, Women on 20s founder Barbara Ortiz told AFP, cautioning that Trump seems to be using every opportunity to extol the virtues of Jackson.
Bret Stephens sounds both shaken and stirredalthough hardly in need of smelling salts.

You know what surprised me? To see journalists at news organizations use appalling language, the brand new, 43-year-old New York Times columnist told The Daily Beast about the outraged response to his first op-ed column.

I guess Im getting to the age where obscenity bothers me a little more than it did ten years ago. Im at the stage of my life where its you know kids these days!There was a woman at Gizmodo who just unleashed at me, and Im like Wowis there not a filter in your mind when you represent a news organization?

Reacting to Stephenss columnin which the right-leaning, Never Trump ex-Wall Street Journal pundit called for more skepticism, or at least less arrogant certitude, regarding the severity of climate change, the role of human activity, and what should be done about ita tweeter named @CrochetJanet (whose avatar is a puppy snuggling with a kitten) demanded: When is the Times going to get rid of you?

That prompted Stephens to respond: After 20 months of being harangued by bullying Trump supporters, Im reminded that the nasty left is no different. Perhaps worse.

To which Gizmodo reporter Libby Watson, who covers tech policy for the gadget-oriented web site, tweeted: bret if you think that tweet was nasty i have some news for you: you're a shithead. a crybaby lil fuckin weenie. a massive twat too.

Yeah, I swore at him, Watson acknowledged in an interview. Im British, so I swear a lot.

Stephens, for his part, claims he is trying hard to break his addiction to Twitter and follow the advice of his wife, Times music critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, and the youngest of their three children, Katya, to go cold turkey.

My seven-year-old daughter is real opinionated and basically issued a diktat that Twitter was becoming a vortexand so I took that under advisement, Stephens confided.

Did Katya Stephens actually say vortex?

I forget her expression, Katyas dad answered, but it was some kind of preternaturally wise remark for a seven-year-old girl. Stop staring at the damn screen and taking umbrage at everything that is being said. Thats probably the first lesson Im learning in my new roleto pay much less attention to social media than I have before, because otherwise I dont know how much there will be left in the balance of my emotional checking account to deal with normal life.

Stephens, however, cant quite envision himself not tweeting taunts at Sean Hannity, who took the bait last Augustcalling the editorialist an asshole and a dumbass with his head up his asswhen Stephens dubbed him Fox News dumbest anchor for his Trump-friendly broadsides against members of the Republican establishment.

I might make an exception for Hannity, Stephens said. He has such a delightful way of replying.

Stephens, who as the Journals deputy editorial page editor won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, pretty much predicted the trouble that quickly ensued after his maiden Times column was posted online last Friday and published in Saturdays print editions.

By now I can almost hear the heads exploding, he wrote in the midst of an essay that likened the apostles of what he dismissed as overweening scientism to the hubris of Hillary Clinton and her campaign strategists who embraced polling data and algorithms, while discounting the real-world impact of Donald Trumps deplorables, in order to reassure themselves of the inevitability of victory.

Heads certainly did explode.

Several of his new colleagues at the Times publicly and privately expressed alarm at what outside detractors have characterized as Stephenss well-established penchant for climate change denial.

Typical critique: a sarcastic Facebook post by Politico writer Timothy Noah: Meet the new enemy: overweening scientism. This is climate denial with a masters from LSEa reference to the hyper-educated Stephenss graduate degree from the London School of Economics.

Meanwhile, dozens of livid readers canceled their subscriptions (about six percent of the cancelers specifically cited Stephens as their reason, according to a Times spokesperson).

When the new hire was announced in April, prominent German climatologist Stefan Rahmstorf wrote an open letter to Times executive editor Dean Baquet: The Times argued that millions agree with Stephens,It made me wonder whats nextwhen are you hiring a columnist claiming the sun and the stars revolve around the Earth, because millions agree with that?

On CNNs media-centric Sunday show, Reliable Sources, Baquetnoting that Stephens, as an opinion-monger, doesnt work for himdefended the columnist: Have we gotten to the point as a country where when someone has a well-written, cogent position that people disagree with, they want to ball up the paper and throw it away? I think thats a mistake. I think we should hear what Bret has to say.

Meanwhile, editorial page editor James Bennet, who has known Stephens since both were stationed in Israel more than a decade ago (Bennet as Jerusalem bureau chief for the Times, and Stephens as editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post), said he recruited his new columnist as part of his quest for ideological diversity. (Stephens joins regular Times pundits David Brooks and Ross Douthat as one of the papers branded conservatives.)

I dont think people are giving Bret the credit he deserves for the intellectual courage that he showed, Bennet told The Daily Beast, referring to how Stephens, during the 2016 campaign, relentlessly pressed the case against Donald Trump in the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers right-leaning opinion pages. Hes a principled person and a serious personI was looking for a strong conservative voice, and Bret was the best person out there.

Noting that the Timess readership, much like its editorial page, is demonstrably more liberal than the Journals, Stephens quipped: Ive gone from addressing readers who hated me for my Never Trump views to addressing readers who hate me for all my other views.

Stephens expects to file two columns a weekone for the Saturday print edition and one on Thursday for the Times web site.

I never like to write my columns until its close to the deadlines, he said. Otherwise the story gets ahead of you and you just kind of lose your relevance. Columns are like pancakes or fast food. Youve got to serve it hot and eat it quick, or else its badly made and indigestible.

Stephens said his global warming/Hillary Clinton argument was a sincere effort to persuade readers who might disagree with his conclusions that there is legitimate discussion to be had about the tradeoffs between acting on scientific data and modeling and enacting government policy; it was not, repeat not, an attempt to discredit the reality of climate change.

I acknowledge the reality of it, and the potential severity of its consequences, Stephens aid. I am also trying to help, not hurt, the cause of global warming advocates. Theyre not helping themselves by treating people who arent yet onboard as deplorables.

Dismissing and insulting ones adversaries, Stephen said, is giving them an opening through intellectual laziness.

He added: I think it was very destructive for anti-Trump Republicans in the last electionpeople like me perhapsnot to have made a clear case and reminded fellow Republicans why free trade is good, why the Republican party should be the pro-immigration party, why America First is a terrible idea, why religious freedom for Muslims is as essential as the freedom to worship for Christians and other denominations. Because we hadnt re-examined these fundamental concepts, we were ill-equipped to deal with a demagogue.

As for his irritable introduction to readers of the Times, Look, Id rather have gotten the overreaction I did than to have no reaction at all, Stephens said.

By way of explaining this attitude, Stephens is fond of a priest-minister-rabbi joke set in the wilds of Alaska, where, for reasons too baroque to elaborate, each clergymen has his heart set on preaching to a grizzly bear.

First, the priest walks off into the woods and returns hours later with a few scratches and bruises, reporting that he met a grizzly and sprinkled holy water on the beast, who miraculously was tamed and happy to spend an afternoon talking about the Lord. Then its the ministers turn; he comes back slightly the worse for wear, having baptized his grizzly in a nearby lake before engaging in their friendly theological discussion.

Finally, the rabbi sets off. He doesnt return. Days pass. In due course, a search party is mustered, and they find the rabbi prostrate, unconscious, horribly injured with flesh wounds and broken bones. He is airlifted to a hospital, and the priest and minister rush to his bedside. When the rabbi comes to, they ask him what happened.

Maybe, the rabbi muses, it wasnt the best idea to have started with circumcision.

Stephens remarked: I feel like I started with circumcision. On the other hand, its my inclination and my personality to move that way. Dont be surprised to find another column from me that will have people tearing their hair out.
Instead of raking up the triple talaq issue, the government should focus more on education and other basic facilities to India's under-privileged communities, including Muslims, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Secretary Atiya Siddiqua said.

By Ahmad Azeem: The triple talaq is a non-issue being blown out of proportion by those with a political agenda, women leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) said on Tuesday, only days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the Muslim community not to view the issue from the prism of politics.

The Jamaat women said, "Islamic laws are divine and so can't be changed by anyone. However, the Muslim community needs awareness and education about Muslim personal laws to check their misuse".

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Instead of raking up the triple talaq issue, the government should focus more on education and other basic facilities to India's "under-privileged" communities, including Muslims, JIH secretary Atiya Siddiqua said.

Siddiqua said a negative image of Muslims - showcasing men of the community as dominant and women as victims - was being portrayed.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement asking Muslim leaders not to politicise triple talaq, Siddiqua said that it was the government that was unnecessarily blowing triple talaq and polygamy issues out of proportion.

"These practices have been in Islam since the very beginning. Why was there no hue and cry (about it) so far? Why did this happen all of a sudden?" Siddiqua asked.

"The fact is that the practice of polygamy among Muslims is much more infrequent than other communities and the percentage of divorce is also least among the Muslims."

GOVT ASKED NOT TO INTERFERE IN MUSLIM RELIGIOUS MATTERS

She asked the government not to interfere in Muslim religious matters and termed polygamy as a "divine law and boon for society" because it can give social and financial security to widows and uplift their status.

She said the Jamaat had been conducting a pan-India awareness programme with Muslims over issues like marriage, divorce and inheritance. The 15-day awareness programme ends on May 7.

"During our visit to various slum areas (in Uttar Pradesh), Muslim women told us that the education of their children was their priority. It (triple talaq) is a non-issue. It is being politicised unnecessarily .

"The government should take up issues like education and basic facilities... for underprivileged," Siddiqua said.

She said Muslim clerics have also been advised to deliver Friday sermons related to Muslim personal laws and eliminate misconceptions about it.

Siddiqa was accompanied by Shaista Rafat, in-charge of women's department of JIH Delhi and Haryana and Nikhat Mulla, in-charge of GIO Delhi.

Shaista Rafat said Islamic laws were "divine and for the good of people. Those who say these practices should be abolished are unaware about the Shariah laws."

TRIPLE TALAQ TO BE BANNED

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The BJP-led central government has been pushing for a ban on the practice of triple talaq -- verbally divorcing wife by uttering the word "talaq" thrice.

The debate against the practice was fueled when a woman in Uttar Pradesh lodged a complaint against her husband who had allegedly threatened her with triple talaq after she delivered a girl child.

The practice is not followed in at least 22 Muslim countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

(WITH INPUTS FROM IANS)

ALSO READ | Don't wed your daughters in families who practise triple talaq', Jamaat-e-Islami Hind bats for women's rights

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi on triple talaq: Muslim community should come forward to protect its women

ALSO WATCH | PM Modi speaks out on triple talaq, says government will find a way to help Muslim women

--- ENDS ---
Carter Page wont give it up.

Despite being at the center of multiple investigations into possible ties between the Trump Tower and the Kremlin, the former Trump adviser continues to advocate for Russia-U.S. detente and criticize what he considers as the politically-motivated circumstances that have made him a target of these probes .

In a late-night, 1,000 word statement sent unprompted to The Daily Beast, Page castigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, while celebrating President Trumps first 100 days in office .

All rhetoric and posturing aside, the new Administrations first hundred days displayed enormous restraint and showed solid progress amidst world class political obstacles and the desperate, unabated lies of sore losers, Page said. As the truth continues to leak out, the second hundred days should now offer new prospects and real hope for America.

Page also sheds some light on his relationship with Donald Trump. Trump and his team has repeatedly downplayed that connectioneven though Trump named him early on as a campaign adviser. .

In a previous letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee , Page said he had spent many hours in campaign headquarters on the fifth floor [of Trump Tower] last year. But Page says despite his time in the campaigns headquarters, he's never 'briefed' the now-president .

In retrospect and with the 1984-inspired governance standards employed in 2016, I consider it fortunate that I never briefed Mr. Trump, Page said. Given our respective, perceived thought crimes in questioning last years ruling party, it is indubitable that Big Brother would not have approved and likely would have clamped down even harder.

Last month The Washington Post reported that the FBI obtained a FISA warrant to monitor Carter Page. He has painted Page has painted himself as a target of the American government, claiming to be a "dissident" who is the victim of civil rights abuses. He has even compared his U.S.-Russia advocacy and suffering to that of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Raging against the new Cold Wars secret police state  the title of his statement to The Daily Beast  Page continues this train of thought.

The Obama Administration has used the term JV team to describe actors in the national security sector, Page wrote, a reference to Obamas 2014 description of ISIS . In contrast to the oppressive steps taken last year, George Orwells Thought Police from his book 1984 are the JV team by comparison.

Page also refers to a recently-published book about the Clinton campaign, Shattered, by journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes as evidence that he is the victim of a Clinton-inspired attack  in essence, part of the excuse behind why the Clintons lost the election.

He quotes from the books final chapter, which reads:

[The] strategy had been set within twenty-four hours of her concession speech. Mook and Podesta assembled her communications team at the Brooklyn headquarters to engineer the case that the election wasnt entirely on the up-and-up. For a couple of hours, with Shake Shack containers littering the room, they went over the script they would pitch to the press and the public. Already, Russian hacking was the centerpiece of the argument.

This, the former Trump adviser writes, is just more evidence of the dishonesty and self-deception which played a key part of the November 2016 Clinton defeat in the first place and forms the basis for Pages predicament today  that he is the fall-guy for Clintons defeat.

More recently, the enduring self-preservation impulses of the New Cold Warriors, whose lifeblood is interventionist conflict, mixed with an increasingly prevalent, blame-the-bogeyman, virtual neo-McCarthyist culture, creates a lethal cocktail and a primary roadblock that treacherously hinders national unity and new approaches to national security today, Page concludes.

Despite the investigative heat that is currently turned upon him, Page has continued issuing statements and making television appearances. Oftentimes these interviews raise more questions than answers, and erode his credibility.

In one MSNBC interview , he admitted to contact with the Russian ambassador, which contradicted his previous claims to PBS that he had no meetings with the Russian government.

In a CNN interview , he said he had never conveyed to anyone in Russia that Trump might be willing to get rid of sanctions imposed after the invasion of Crimea. Then shortly after he told ABC that he didn't quite remember  "Something may have come up in a conversation. I have no recollection, he said.

Asked by The Daily Beast why he continues to speak to the press despite being investigated, Page responded,  because 90 percent of what you read out there on these topics (including your articles, frankly speaking) are misleading and inaccurate. Someone needs to explain reality.

Pages latest comments on his perceived persecution is filled with aggressive adjectives and dramatic language: the last Administration with its anointed and unsuccessful heirs belied their fraudulent words by taking atrocious preemptive actions, to the detriment of core American values, he writes at one point, about the collapse of the Russia reset under the Obama administration.

But he also predicts ultimate vindication, promising future disclosures to come that will facilitate better U.S.-Russia relations, a longtime goal of his.
A group of staffers loyal to ousted Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint stepped down from the organization in the wake of DeMints resignation on Tuesday, capping a vicious power struggle that has roiled the flagship conservative think tank.

On Tuesday shortly after 4:30 p.m., Heritage officially announced that DeMint was outto the dismay of tearful staffers and crestfallen allies of the now deposed Heritage president. At an all-hands meeting after the announcement, the groups interim leader, former president Ed Fuelner, announced the departure of a number of Heritages top staff members, according to two sources in the room.

The staffers who resigned included executive vice president Bret Bernhardt, vice president of communications Wesley Denton, vice president of policy promotion Ed Corrigan, and Cameron Seward, DeMints chief of staff.

Less than an hour later, all four were removed from the Heritage websites staff list. A source familiar with the situation said they tendered their resignations at the request of Heritage leadership.

Chairman Thomas Saunders announced on Tuesday afternoon that the board had unanimously voted to remove DeMint from the helm of the organization. He cited significant and worsening management issues under DeMints reign, and said it would conduct a thorough search for a new president.

While the organization has seen many successes, Jim DeMint and a handful of his closest advisers failed to resolve [significant] problems, Saunders continued. This was a difficult and necessary decision for the Board to take.

DeMint released a statement shortly thereafter disputing the boards characterization and calling Saunders statement puzzling.

The board of trustees has praised our work for four years and approved performance bonuses for the entire management team each year for a job well done, DeMint wrote. It also stands in stark contrast to the independent review by the University of Pennsylvania which publicly recognized advances in Heritages scholarship, management and integrity over the last 4 years, and improved Heritages rankings in virtually every category. In fact, Heritage was recognized as the 13th Best Managed Think Tank in the world in 2016.

Nevertheless, DeMints overthrow had been anticipated for days, with staff aligned with him considering various shows of solidarity.

His removal ends days of speculation at the think tank, but the uncertainty remains.

On Tuesday morning, three sources with knowledge of the situation said that the eventual number of DeMint allies resigning could climb as high as 30, though it was not clear when additional resignations would be tendered. One senior staffer, vice president of research James Wallner, had already been placed on administrative leave on Monday and led out of the building in what one Heritage staffer described as a perp walk.

Another source described the ongoing internal drama at Heritage as a bloodlettingand that the initial failure of Trumpcare was the last straw in bringing the civil conflict within Heritage into full public view.

Denton, a longtime DeMint aide and confidant who moved to Heritage with the former Senate Republican firebrand when DeMint took the reins at the think tank in 2013, was among the staffers who was told to resign under threat of firing, sources say. As he left organizations headquarters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning, Denton smiled and shook handsbut declined to discuss the situation at Heritage. He was seen back at the building later that morning.

Multiple current and former Heritage staffers described DeMints ouster, and the departure of his allies in senior roles in the organization, as the culmination of a leadership struggle with a faction led by Mike Needham, who helms 501(c)(4) advocacy arm Heritage Action for America.

The struggle has played out behind the scenes and in sporadic leaks to the press.

The result has been conflicting narratives that emerged in different news reports in recent days, and a state of confusion among longtime staff, several of whom told The Daily Beast that they had to learn about Heritages recent internal disruptions by reading the news. Some painted the current state of affairs as a brutal power grab by Needham and his allieswith Needham and his allies having for a full year backstabbed and trash-talked DeMint to fellow conservatives and board members across the country, two sources said. Others stressed another complicated picture that involved long-standing internal and donor frustrations with DeMints shambling management style, another said.

This whole sob story about Needham caring about the organization, he literally has been orchestrating this for a year, one staffer said. The guy is just a crazy dilettante with power hungry aims. Hell cut everybody who stands in front of him.

As internal tensions flare, two current employees said Heritage leadership had offered employees nearly no information, even as many staffers feared for their jobs, and downplayed or outright denied the impending purge of DeMint allies.

On Monday, Rob Bluey, the vice president of publishing at the Heritage Foundation and the editor in chief of media arm The Daily Signal, assured his staff that Denton had not been ousted and was simply taking a couple days off, two sources said.

Needham and DeMint did not respond to requests for comment.

One source described leaderships handling of the internal dispute as Kafkaesque. There was no staff wide communications except for everythings fine, dont talk to the press, the staffer added, referring to an all-staff email sent on Saturday by vice president of personnel Wes Dyck that urged staff not to share information outside the Heritage family.

But the organization didnt give its staff much else to go on, leaving them wondering about the fate of their own employer. No one knows whos in charge, not even the people who work here, one source said on Tuesday morning.

Heritages board convened at 9:30 on Tuesday morning, with a scheduled vote on its leadership change at 10:30. According to one Heritage source, that vote was abruptly delayed on Tuesday morning until the afternoon, leaving DeMint, who was seen sitting with his wife awaiting his fate, in temporary limbo. Sources described the atmosphere at the meeting as tense and accusatorial, with members unable to reach a consensus on the groups future.

Some members of the board had already met in DeMints absence at a dinner the night before, two sources said.

The two main Heritage factions, represented by DeMint and Needham, have effectively warred since Politico reported late last week that DeMint, a former Tea Party senator, would be stepping down after four years at the groups helm. Two of the staffers who spoke with The Daily Beast said they believed Needham leaked the news in an effort to undermine DeMint, who planned to keep his move under wraps until Heritage found a replacement, and to convince recalcitrant board members that his ouster was a foregone conclusion.

The initial speculation about a DeMint successor reached a fever pitch on Sunday, when Needham declined to definitively rule out the possibility that White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon would replace DeMint, telling Fox News host Chris Wallace only that he wouldnt add to the speculation and rumor.

Staffers say the resulting rumors were laughable.

Im making a list of every conservative thought leader or journalist who even vaguely entertained that Bannon might be the next Heritage president because they should be reminded of it and humiliated for it forever, one said.

The tension is a microcosm of long-standing concerns over the role of Needhams often aggressive lobbying shop. After DeMint signed on as president, he moved to house more of its government relations work in a new department under its 501(c)(3) umbrella. Dubbed Policy Services, the department aimed to put a more palatable face on Heritages relationship with congressional Republicans, which soured considerably as a result of Heritage Action advocacy.

Policy Services appears to have been a casualty of the ongoing leadership fight. A Twitter account associated with it, titled Heritage on the Hill, deleted all of its tweets over the weekend. They hated Policy Services, one source familiar with the departments work said of Heritage Action and its allies in the organization.

This dispute between Heritages advocacy arms came amid a stark disagreement over Trumpcare -related tactics that exacerbated existing tensions within the marquee conservative think tank, multiple sources confirmed to The Daily Beast.

On March 28, just four days after Republicans pulled the plug on the first incarnation of Trumpcare, Heritage held a conference call for its members to discuss the bill and the diminished Obamacare-repeal prospects. Heritage Action had actively campaigned against the original Trumpcare bill as at best a capitulation to the progressive premises of President Obamas signature legislative victory.

According to a Heritage member who was on the call and took notes, DeMint and Needham were both chairing the conference calland their stark differences were on full display. DeMint was busy trying to calm down the callers who were angered that Heritages advocacy arm helped sink Trumps first real Obamacare-repeal push. Needham, alternatively, was aggressively defensive of Heritage Actions campaign to kill the effort, and emphasized that it was the right course of action.

One caller, who described himself as Jim from Maryland, according to the source on the conference call, said he was worried about strategy because sometimes it seems the conservative side is so involved with our beliefs, we cant think beyond that point, and we lose [to the liberal side].

There was a strategy, and the result last week was the right result, Needham said, as he began raising his voice at Jim, the member recounted.

DeMint, meanwhile, had assured callers and members that Heritage was still good friends with President Trump and his administration.

As of Tuesday evening, DeMint and several of his high-profile loyalists at Heritage had fallen victim to a purge.

Youll likely bear witness to a massacre, one Republican source had concluded, bluntly, on Tuesday morning.

Disclosure: Lachlan Markay is a former employee of the Heritage Foundation. He left in January 2013, before DeMint officially became president.
Two cops find a moonshine still It sounds like the setup for a bad joke but thats the actual backstory of Marylands latest craft distillery, Blue Dyer.

While at first blush it might seem like an odd pairing, a background in law enforcement turns out to be extremely helpful in setting up a spirits company.

Our job beforehand was interpreting massive amount of laws and rules and standard operating procedures, and then applying them, says Walker Dunbar, an active cop and one of its two founders. Were used to reading overly complicated legal writing, and reducing it down. We joke about it regularlywere just trading one rule book for another.

Dunbars business partner anduntil recentlyfellow police officer, Ryan Vierheller, doesnt deny this. Theres such a large amount of information out there that the new talent is being able to look at it en masse, and do sort of metadata analysis. Then you get rid of what you dont need and keep what you do need and move forward.

Think of it as CSI: Distillery: Assess the scene. Look for clues. Figure out the M.O. Discard the bad leads. Double down on the good ones.

In late April, Vierheller, 36, left the police force in Bladensburg, Maryland, which is just outside Washington, D.C., to devote himself full-time to producing spirits. Im going all in at the distillery, he reports. We just reached a point where the orders were greater than we could fulfill with both of us working part time.

The transition from cop to distiller began nearly three years ago, when Vierheller and his then-girlfriend (now wife) Jasmine Graham took a tour of the Kings Country Distillery in Brooklyn. Graham said that Vierheller, who is nothing if not talkative, fell uncharacteristically silent during and immediately following their visit. On the drive back to their home he told Jasmine, Were going to go home and see if theres a distillery there.

There wasntcraft distilling was blossoming in and around Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, but not near Waldorf, in southern Charles County, about 45 minutes south of the capital. Vierheller started concocting a business plan. At work one day he mentioned it to Dunbar, who asked a few questions. Then three or four days later he called and said, Hey did you know theres a national barrel shortage? Vierheller remembers. Thats when I knew I had him.

Vierhellers research into opening a distillery also awakened a dormant curiosity from his childhood. His familys roots date back about a dozen generations in Pennsylvania and Virginia. One early ancestor had taken up distillation as part of the process of making blue dye from indigo. (He, naturally, earned the nickname of Blue Dyer.) Subsequent generations kept up the distillation but stopped making the indigo. Around Stafford County, Virginia, Vierheller says, Blue Dyer moonshine was a locally respected thing.

His grandfather ran a construction business, but Vierheller remembers distillation equipment scattered about some of the farm buildings. This included a 55-gallon pot still, dating back to Prohibition days, and which was rumored to still get extracurricular use. My grandfather taught us the difference between good liquor and bad, Vierheller says. (They briefly considered resurrecting the old still, but opted against it because were 99-percent certain the welds on it are lead.)

The familys farm operation led to other questions. Vierheller wondered why that old still had a huge, 2-inch pipe and valve at its base. He asked his grandmother, who just laughed. Thats the difference between them and you, she said. They were doing it in the woods and had it ready to empty and run off if the taxman started looking for them.

Unlike his ancestors (and like a member of law enforcement), Vierheller has gone by the book. He and Dunbar dont have a quick-flush valve to hide evidence. They do have a new 165-gallon hybrid reflux still with three bubble caps, on which theyre making rum and whiskey. The liquor is then aged in new 10-gallon charred barrels from Minnesota. It typically matures for a bit over a month, and then may be further tempered with cherry wood inserts they toast themselves. Thats a sort of a Virginia farm boy method, Vierheller says of the technique, which is also similar to a method employed by some of the big distillers.

Blue Dyer Rum won a silver medal at the 2017 American Distilling Institute competition, and is currently for sale in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., and theyre hoping to be in Virginia by next year.

They spend as much time hawking their products as making it, both in their distillery (the tasting room is made from wood reclaimed from an old barn on Vierhellers grandfathers property), as well as in shops and events around southern Maryland. Vierheller describes the area as being populated by your Carhartt-wearing, camouflage-wearing, gun-toting, four-wheel drive type guys. He said it doesnt hurt that the new casks give their rum a robust, whiskey-like flavor.

Vierheller and Dunbar are now looking into expanding into rye, but are, of course, carefully analyzing the scene before moving on to the next bit of business.

Brick by brick is the way were building this temple, Vierheller says. Hes optimistic, but like any well-trained cop, he has a fallback plan if the original scenario falls apart.

My police certification will last five years, he says. I can always go back to a police department job.
Lets get this out of the way first: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is no Vol. 1. That 2014 Marvel gem, released hot off the heels of the darker, conspiracy-fueled Captain America: The Winter Soldier, hit like a bolt of lightning. Dazzling, surprising, and best of all fun, it had a crowd-pleasing classic-rock soundtrack, a ragtag team of instantly lovable heroes, and a refreshing disregard for the MCUs larger world-building machinations. It reveled in its weirdness and was all the better for it.

Vol. 2 is no less idiosyncratic, but it doesnt feel as fresh. It clings to superficial markers of what made the first one fun (theres still a great rock and soul soundtrack, rapid-fire banter, and a deep, abiding love of 80s pop culture), but often to the point of exhaustion. The jokes come harder and faster, but more of them miss their marksome by a lot. No one needed this much intel on Draxs boners, really, or his famously huge poops.

The movie seems afraid to linger too long on its sadder, more human themesalong with the jokes, the feels get dialed up to eleven this timelest it lose our smartphone-addled attention. It really didnt need to fret. When Vol. 2 isnt busy exploding into visual and aural spectacle, the unexpected story it tells about our swashbuckling heroes hidden traumas, flaws and insecurities is gripping enough. These misfits, after all, are the heart of this franchise. All the rest is just window dressing.

Like Vol. 1, Vol. 2 revolves around family, both biological and surrogate. Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) finally meets his long-lost father, a literal living planet named Ego (Kurt Russell, introduced via the uncanny valley as his CGI de-aged self in a 70s-set flashback). Eager to overcompensate for the life he missed with Peter, Ego squeezes in life lessons and a game of catch before unveiling a sweeping proposal: that Peter leave his Guardians behind and live on his planet instead as a demigod.

Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Drax (Dave Bautista) meanwhile, weather their own emotional upheavals. Rocket grapples with insecurity over his abilities and role with the Guardians. Drax, still an uproarious source of deadpan literalism, reveals truly devastating details about his past, and finds a way to move forward. Gamora, meanwhile, is reunited with her sister Nebula (Karen Gillan, cool and menacing), who reluctantly tags along as the Guardians captive.

Of these, Gamora and Nebulas story is easily the most affecting. Raised as sisters by ultra-baddie Thanos (the guy in the chair), there are shades of real-world resonance in their history of being pitted against each other for his approval. Nebula resents Gamora for always winning the fights he forced them intonot only because it meant losing parts of her body and having them replaced with machinery, but because really, she just wanted a sister. Its one of precious few instances of two women characters sharing meaty, emotional scenes together in either Guardians filmor hell, the entire MCUand the difference it makes is palpable. (So, more of that please.)

Elsewhere, Yondu (Michael Rooker) stands out in rough-edged contrast to perfect god Ego, two competing father figures in Peter Quills life. Rooker reaches subtly tragic depths with the otherwise swaggering, wisecracking Yondu, which might surprise those unfamiliar with the Alabama natives previous work. But even in his best-known role apart from Guardiansas the cruel, cutthroat Merle Dixon on The Walking DeadRooker routinely spoke volumes with just a crook of his jaw or glint of weariness in his eyes. Watch Merles death scene, in which Rooker near-silently imbues his character with more regret and vulnerability than the shows writers bothered to over three seasons, and you get a glimpse of what makes him the perfect Yondu.

And then, my god, theres baby Groot. That budding little twig, as Rocket calls him, is as painfully adorable as promised; honestly, even his vomit is somehow the cutest thing. This little one might have ended up feeling superfluoushe is, after all, a baby and not capable of much this time aroundor worse, like a shoehorned-in advertisement for toys and merchandise. Instead, Vol. 2 makes him an indispensable source of sweetness and mischief. The other Guardians watch over him like protective parents, driving home the image of their surrogate family. This proves important because for about half the film, the Guardians stay split up.

Splitting the Guardians into two groups yields generally uneven results. For one thing, it invites too many villains to juggle and facilitates a few pacing issues. That crackling group chemistry that helped Vol. 1 feel oh-so-light also falls by the wayside temporarily. But its for a good cause: with fewer Guardians onscreen, things slow down long enough to dig deeper into each characters psyche. Where Vol. 1 had ragtag misfits coming together as a family, Vol. 2 is a deconstruction of them as individuals.

Theres a new, gold-hued race of super-perfect beings called the Sovereign (led by Elizabeth Debicki as the priestess Ayesha) who want Rocket and the Guardians dead in revenge for, um, stolen batteries. The Sovereign employ the Ravagers (Yondus group of space pirates, now split into two warring factionsanother tiring development) to hunt down the Guardians. While the Ravagers bicker, the Sovereign unleash their own remotely-piloted ships to do the job. (All this and I havent even mentioned the films real villain, a spoiler too big to drop here.)

Those ships control systems look and sound just like an arcade game, with distinctly Pac-Man-like sound effects. Its a funny little quirk, as amusing as the Sovereigns repeated childlike temper tantrums. The result, however, is that the Sovereign never actually feel threatening. Sure, the fate of the galaxy ends up at stake, a Dairy Queen is lost, and the requisite portal opens up in the sky spelling certain doom or whatever. But the stakes feel shallow. Nothing here approaches the thrill of watching Xandarian pilots link their ships together in a desperate last stand against Ronans fleet, for example.

That said, the movie looks incredible. Director James Gunn proves a master at humanizing stunning visuals with wacky, memorable details: the colorful bubbles floating above Egos planet; Rocket and Groots bulging, Looney Tunes-like eyes as they ping-pong through space; the sky-spanning Ravager salute that reminded me of the Lite-Brite I wanted as a kid. (I shed a tear.)

This sequel is a continuation, not a reinventionand thats fine. Fifteen films deep into the beloved but predictable MCU (see: portals of doom in the sky), a little weirdness still goes a long way. And Vol. 2 has quirk aplenty. While the Earth Avengers turn against each other and debate moral gray areas of superhero-ing, the Guardians are still marching to the beat of their own drum. Or dancing, actually. Its still impossible not to groove along.
Heres the parallel universe Washington has become these days: The new Republican health care bill is even worse than the old ones, because they had to placate the hard-right members. Naturally, this worse bill seems to have a much better chance of passing.

House Republicans may hold a vote Wednesday. One presumes that after that late March fiasco, they now have the sense to schedule a vote if and only if theyre certain they have the votes for passage. Theyll be counting noses right up to Wednesday afternoon.

Passage of this bill into law would be a disaster for the country. Up to 20 million people could lose their health care coverage. People with serious illnesses could be screwed out of coverage again or charged far more than others under a provision that would allow states to bypass Obamacare requirements about covering those with preexisting conditions. The whopping cuts to Medicaid in the bill, wrote Jonathan Cohn Monday, would probably constitute the biggest single cut to a public benefit in the countrys history, bringing widespread hardship to the millions of people who depend on it for everything from opioid treatment to cancer care.

Fortunately, whatever the House does, the Senate seems, to most people watching this, like a heavier lift. Passage is certainly possible thereremember, Republicans wouldnt need any Democratic votes to pass it under reconciliation, which also would mean the Democrats couldnt filibuster it. Then the question would be whether three GOP senators would be willing to vote against Mitch McConnelland of course their president. A second question would be whether McConnell really wants the GOP to be known as the party that threw 20 million people off their health insurance.

For the sake of those people, and all the others wholl suffer under the Scrooge-Marley health care act, I cant in decent conscience say that I hope the Republicans pass their bill. But right now, on my right shoulder, Im feeling a little tap-tap-tapits the little devil Tomasky, and hes whispering in my ear: Cmon, let em do it! They pass that bill and theyll be handing the Democrats a huge pile of ammo for 2018! Write it!

Hes right. If Trump and the Republicans actually do manage to repeal Obamacare, I think it would then be a near-certainty that theyd lose control of the House of Representatives. Why? Because a large number of the vulnerable House Republicans are in one of two circumstances, or sometimes both. One, theyre in states that took the Medicaid expansion, which means theyre representing many flesh-and-blood humans who will lose their coverage. Or two, theyre in districts that arent deep red, or are even a pale shade of blue, where approval for Obamacare is presumably pretty high.

For example, the Cook Political Report rates 13 seats held by Republican incumbents as being either toss-ups or leaning Republican, which means the incumbents are definitely vulnerable. Of the 13, eight are in states that took the Medicaid money. Of the remaining five, the Cook partisan voting index, which measures how Republican or Democratic a district is, either leans in the Democrats direction or is barely Republican in four. The only one of the 13 that on paper looks like it ought to be a fairly safe GOP seat is the Georgia seat that Democrat Jon Ossoff is seeking now (the election is June 20). But as we know, Ossoff appears to be the slight favorite.

Cook rates another 24 Republican-held seats as being possibly competitive. Of those 24 districts, 19 are in states that took the Medicaid dough. Most of those 19 would presumably vote against their own party on this one, but even so, they really dont want to have to defend what their party will have done here, and as their Democratic opponents will inevitably be pointing out, Congressman X may have voted against Ryancare, but he did vote to make Paul Ryan speaker, and Ryan made Ryancare happen.

If they pass this bill, they are dead men (and women).

I think McConnell knows it. I imagine Ryan knows it, too, but he has that Freedom Caucus to assuage, so he has to press on. Does Trump know it? On Face the Nation Sunday, he was all over the place on the question of preexisting conditions and other matters. Of course, he insisted that people with such conditions were covered beautifully. When host John Dickerson informed him that the Republicans had passed an amendment to the opposite effect last week, Trump just waved it away. Youd think at this point that hed actually care a little bit about substance, given that his success or failure now rides on the results he gets.

So heres what we have: a Republican president who has lied repeatedly to the American people for nearly two years now about how hed bring them health care coverage that was much cheaper and far better than Obamacare. And a Republican Congress that has lied repeatedly to the Americans for the last several years that they can pass a bill thats vastly superior to Obamacare cuz, yknow, freedom. Trumps lies were of ignorance; the GOPs of ideological belief.

But even though they were different, they revealed the same truth: You cant just magically make this better. Its hard and complicated, and Obamacare can be improved, certainly, but only by people working in good faith to do so. The American people, finally, seem to have figured all this out.

I hope the House votes tomorrow, so theyre all on record. Then well see where the fight goes from there.
A federal judge called Rudy Giulianis statements about his work in an Iran sanctions case disingenuous at a hearing Tuesday, criticizing the ex-New York City mayor for omitting any mention of Iran altogether.

Giuliani and former U.S. attorney general Michael Mukasey are working on behalf of a Turkish gold trader accused of helping Iran circumvent U.S. sanctions related to its nuclear program. In affidavits filed last month, Giuliani and Mukasey said they were working on extrajudicial resolutions for Reza Zarrabs legal troubles. Instead of appearing in court, Giuliani and Mukasey said they have met with high-ranking officials in Turkey and the U.S.including Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoganto work towards a diplomatic resolution.

The affidavits also downplayed the seriousness of the charges facing Zarrab. The criminal complaint against Zarrab accuses him of helping entities that work with the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps, and other organizations tied to its nuclear program, while the affidavits simply referred to Zarrabs alleged misdeeds as ones involving consumer goods.

Most respectfully, the Giuliani and Mukasey affidavits appear surprisingly disingenuous in failing to mention the central role of Iran in the indictment, said Judge Richard Berman, adding that the affidavits omit any mention of Iran altogether.

Such an omission discounts the fact that the charges against Zarrab are serious felonies, Berman said.

Zarrab was charged last year for allegedly using various companies to trade Iran gold for oil and gas, a workaround to evade sanctions related to the nuclear program. While on a trip to Disneyland with his wife and daughter, he was arrested.

Among the other revelations in court was that Giuliani has never even met Zarrab face-to-face. All communications between the men are through me, or Mr. Mukasey, or Mr. Giulianis partner, said Zarrabs defense attorney Ben Brafman. I do not believe there were any direct communications.

Tuesdays meeting also addressed potential conflicts of interest between Giuliani and Mukasey, and their legal firms, and the Zarrab case. The firms also represent some of the alleged victim banks in the case; Giulianis firm is also a registered agent of Turkey.

Giuliani was famously critical of the Iran nuclear deal and Irans political system more broadly before taking on this sanctions case mere months after he was considered for top-level jobs in the Trump administration, including Secretary of State.

Zarrab's case has widespread resonance in Turkey, where he was also eyed for a corruption scandal. But Erdogan, who has ties to the Zarrab family, intervened. Zarrabs case may also shed light on the corruption scandal that captivated Turkey. If the case goes to trial, Zarrabs ties to high-ranking Turkish government officials may be exposed. Erdogan even took aim at former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara after Zarrabs arrest, accusing him of being a sympathizer of the exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. (The Erdogan regimes blames Gulen, who lives in the Poconos, for being behind a failed coup attempt last year.)
CALABAR, NigeriaIn the middle of last month, the countrys spy agency, Department of State Services (DSS), reported that it had thwarted plans by five ISIS-linked Boko Haram members to attack the embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

You might have missed those headlines: Theyre the kind that show up for a few minutes on the crawl at the bottom of the screen on news networks, then just disappear. Thwarted plots and failed attacks dont grab the worlds attention. But they can tell us a lot about groups that have the strategy and skills to carry out major attacks, and just need a little more luck to deliver an atrocity.

The five men named in the DSS statementIsa Jibril, Jibril Jibril, Abu Omale Jibril, Halidu Sule, and Amhodu Salifuhad perfected plans to attack the embassies, according to the intelligence agency. The suspects were arrested during raids on March 25 and 26 in Abuja and central Benue state.

The area in which they operate and the information that led to their capture leaves no question about whom they work for: what might be called the new face of Boko Haram.

As the world was beginning to think last year that the infamous terror group might be defunct after losing much of the territory it once controlled and facing a leadership crisis, a man named Abu Musab al-Barnawi, a loyalist of the so-called Islamic State, announced that he had taken over the Nigerian organization.

Al-Barnawis emergence split the terror group into two factions, in fact. The other is controlled by long-time Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, best known for kidnapping the Chibok girls three years ago, and for using women and even children as suicide bombers. Shekau is no longer recognized by ISIS, and his militants do not normally operate beyond Nigerias northeast region and the Lake Chad Basin.

Importantly, al-Barnawis father Mohammed Yusuf founded Boko Haram back in 2002 with Shekau as his deputy. And now al-Barnawis group, with ISIS backing, is developing a reach far outside the arid northeast hinterland. It may want to carry out international operations. Certainly it wants to target foreigners, and the alleged plot against the U.S. and U.K. embassies fits into that picture.

Al-Barnawis first message as Boko Haram leader, delivered about eight months ago, was a clear warning to Western nations whose charities he accused of trying to win converts away from Islam in northeast Nigeria.

They strongly seek to Christianize the society, he said in an interview published last August on the Islamic State site al-Nabaa and translated by SITE Intelligence Group. They exploit the condition of those who are displaced under the raging war, providing them with food and shelter and then Christianizing their children.

Al-Barnawi also accused U.S. and French forces of targeting the groups members in neighboring Niger, and promised to fight any Western influence in the region.

Abu Musab al-Barnawi is the wali or governor of whats called the Islamic State West Africa Province or ISWAP, as his faction of Boko Haram wants to be known. (ISIS has recognized at least 10 provinces outside of Iraq and Syria: Libya has three, Egypt, Algeria, Russia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria have one, and one stretches across the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.)

In Nigeria, whoever works in the name of ISIS answers to al-Barnawi.

The five men officials picked up have their base in Nigerias north-central region where there are also active militants from Ansaru, another terror group, which broke away from Boko Haram in 2012 and is best known for targeting foreigners. It is suspected of being behind the kidnapping of an American missionary in 2015. And its founders are accused by the government of being behind the 2011 bombing of a UN building in Abuja where at least 24 people were killed.

Like al-Barnawi and his loyalists, when Ansaru broke away from Boko Haram it claimed that Shekau and his fighters were inhuman for killing innocent Muslims as well as for targeting defectors. In fact, the emergence of al-Barnawi as ISWAP leader has been described by some insiders and experts as a coup by Ansaru against Shekau.

As recent events in northeastern Nigeria show, al-Barnawi and Ansarus leader, Mamman Nur, have formed tactical and possibly a strategic bond. Both men, operating under ISWAP, have reached out to villagers in the mainly Muslim region assuring them that civilians will not be harmed as long as they do not cooperate with the Nigerian military, according to a report published by AFP.

This sounds like al-Barnawi trying to assure fanatics that hes a man that keeps his promises, following his inaugural statement last August not to target Muslims.

ISWAP has rather focused its attacks on Nigerian troops. In the last few months, nearly two dozen soldiers have been killed in the northeast including seven in February, four in March, and 11 last month. About 14 soldiers are reportedly missing, and their fate unknown. Like the promise he made not to attack Muslims, which he wants everyone to believe hes keeping, these attacks are a fulfilment of the threat the leader of the group made in the same August address that hell target government troops.

The Islamic State as a whole is a terror organization that is known to carry out most of its threats. Before recent attacks in France and the U.K., there were warnings of potential strikes.

ISIS affiliates, too, try not to make empty threats. The terror organizations troops in the Sinai Province, carried out their recent attacks on Coptic churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday after they released a video on Feb. 19 warning that they would bomb many churches.

ISWAP wants to be seen to be exactly the same as other affiliate groups, and an attack on the U.S. and U.K. embassies would be proof he keeps his word.

So, why did the alleged plot fail?

An official of the DSS tells The Daily Beast privately that it was uncovered after the agency arrested Nasiru Sani (popularly known among jihadists as Osama) on March 15 in Bauchi, 455 kilometers south of Maiduguri, the birth place of the jihadist group.

Sani, one of the first members of Boko Haram, escaped from Bauchi Central Prison in northeastern Nigeria in October 2010, months after he was arrested, and had been hiding in Maiduguri since then. He was picked up on his return to the city he fled from. The militant is believed to be among the jihadists who broke away from Shekau to join al-Barnawi, and information he gave played a part in the arrest of the five men.

He had been on our radar for years, the DSS official said. Hes told us a lot about the groups current operations.

Sanis capture, and the arrest of the five militants, may have halted a potential terrorist attack on foreigners, but the mode of operation of the group they work for makes it very difficult to completely stop their terror plots.

ISWAP is a completely different group under al-Barnawi than it was under Shekau. While Shekau focused his jihad on gaining territories, al-Barnawi and his Ansaru allies prefer to create cells across northern Nigeria that can be used to carry out attacks at any time.

The terror leaders flexibility has proven to be ISWAPs key strength. As African and Eurasian Affairs analyst Jacob Zenn notes in an article for The Jamestown Foundation, al-Barnawi sees that relying too much on territory, such as Shekaus bases in Sambisa, is a risk because the military can overrun and capture it.

As Zenn observed, al-Barnawis men look to have learned lessons from failed al-Qaeda affiliate attempts to hold territory in Yemen in 2010 and northern Mali in 2012, and the importance of adopting a gradual approach to winning hearts and minds before controlling territory.

Attacks on foreigners, whether near or far away, are part of that strategy.
President Donald Trumps pick for head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights will lead a division that is supposed to crack down on discriminationand has a lengthy anti-LGBT record.

Roger Severino, a former lawyer with the Becket Fund, a law firm that advocates for religious liberty, was one of the leading attorneys in the 2006 Conaway v. Deane case, banning same-sex couples from marriage in Maryland. In August 2006, Severino penned an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer saying that the concept live and let live doesnt apply to gay rights and religious beliefs.

That was about a month before Severino and Anthony R. Picarello, a former colleague and now vice president and general counsel of the Becket Fund, filed a brief with the Maryland Court of Appeals that used religion as a basis to reject health benefits to same-sex partners (PDF).

The case involved an effort by nine Maryland couples to win marriage rights in the state. According to the brief, Severino and his partner filed, If legalized same-sex marriage becomes more common, employees will likely ask their religious employers to extend spousal health and retirement benefits to those partners, just as they would to different sex spouses. Some religious employers may be willing to overlook or ignore an employees same-sex marriage, but may also refuse to subsidize it, or otherwise treat it as the equivalent of traditional marriage on religious grounds.

The brief continued: Legalized same-sex marriage will create an unprecedented level of legal confusion and consequent litigation in public accommodation and employment law, and over government funding with the only certainty being that they will challenge the workings of religious institutions like never before. And it asked: Will state governments force religious institutions to place orphan children under their care within same-sex families?

Severino has just assumed leadership of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, he will oversee and enforce patient privacy protections and defend the public against discrimination in health care, according to the Office for Civil Rights website.

During the Obama era, the Office for Civil Rights implemented section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which protected transgender individuals based on gender identity and prohibited religious exemption. Given Servinos anti-LGBT record, he might reverse these protections. He has written scathing critiques about the ACAs new gender mandates, while also safe-guarding doctors that use religion as a defense to neglect transgender patients.

Before his current post, Severino worked as the director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation, a research tank that analyzes the impact of religion on civic life and public policy in the United States.

Roger Severino has a distinguished record of fighting for the civil rights and freedoms of all Americans. We have no doubt that Roger in his role at HHS will protect the civil rights of all Americans, said Marguerite Bowling, a spokeswoman for Heritage.

Neither the Becket Fund nor HHS responded to direct requests for comment. A spokesperson for Becket said he couldnt find an attorney to comment before press time for The Daily Beasts emailed questions. However, in a statement sent to The Daily Beast, Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel at Becket, said Severino worked tirelessly to defend civil rights for all Americans in accordance with Beckets mission of defending religious liberty for people of all faiths. He will be an outstanding director of the Office of Civil Rights.

For nearly seven years, Severino worked as a trial attorney for the Department of Justices Civil Rights Division where he enforced the Fair Housing Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to his HHS bio.

Advocacy groups with knowledge of Servinos past have mixed views on his appointment.

More than 10 years ago, Lambda Legal, a legal group defending LGBT communities, was a plaintiff on the Conaway case. In 2006, Lambda defended nine same-sex couples, including one gay widower, who sued the state of Maryland after being denied marriage licenses. Lambda lost the case.

Sharon McGowan, the director of strategy at Lambda, said she isnt optimistic about Servinos new role at HHS. The arguments put forth by Severino and others at the Becket Fund during the marriage struggle were indicative of the scare tactics folks were trying to use to somehow pit equality for LGBT people against religion, McGowan said. The attempt of Roger Severino to suggest that religious liberty will come to an end if LGBT people are given equal rights under law certainly, gives insight on where he would strike a balance if he were given the opportunity, that he has now been given to make civil rights laws.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), a non-profit law firm advocating for LGBT constituents, said that Severinos designation to the HHS is deeply concerning to the LGBT community.

Its a continuation of President Trumps pattern of appointing people to lead important federal agencies who fundamentally disagree with the agencies mission, said NCLRs director of policy, Julianna Gonen. Severino was a very vocal critic of the most important rules that hes supposed to enforce which is prohibiting sex discrimination in health care under the affordable care act.

In a blog post Severino co-wrote for Heritage, he complained that the Affordable Care Acts gender identity mandate will interfere with the religious beliefs of doctors. These regulations propose to penalize medical professionals and healthcare organizations that, as a matter of faith, moral conviction, or professional medical judgment, believe that maleness and femaleness are biological realities to be respected and affirmed, not altered or treated as diseases, the post said.

Severino has even used the anti-LGBT vision of a local Boy Scouts chapter to object to gay rights, writing a 2006 op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer in support of a local branch that lost access to government-affiliated campsites and buildings after excluding LGBT students.

If the gay-rights movement is willing to trample on the moral beliefs of the Boy Scouts for the sake of `tolerance, will religious institutions that also provide social services and oppose gay rights on religious grounds fare any better? he wrote.

In January, the Boy Scouts of America reversed rules that banned transgender members.

Tatyana Bellamy-Walker covers LGBT politics. Her work has appeared in the New York Daily News, New York Amsterdam News and Womens eNews. She tweets at @bell_tati.
Despite President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown, thousands of asylum-seekers are still trying to reach the United States every month. Migrants in the most desperate circumstances havent given up on making the incredibly dangerous journey through Mexico to the southern border and still see the U.S. as a place of refuge, according to the latest data from United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Overall, the number of people trying to come to the U.S. illegally has plummeted since Trumps inauguration, cheering Republicans and border enforcement hawks.

Staff at one shelter for migrants in Northern Mexico told The Daily Beast last month they were astonished by how few people were trying to reach the United States.

The president and his surrogates have touted it as an example of his success, but the reality behind the numbers is complicated, and points to the limits on efforts to deter migrants.

There will be a core of migrants who are fleeing circumstances that are so terrible that they cant be deterred, that no amount of fear about border enforcement is going to prevent them from leaving the circumstances that theyre in and trying to find protection, said Faye Hipsman, a policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute who first pointed out the asylum numbers.

When undocumented immigrants come to the U.S. and get apprehended by Border Patrol agents, they can ask for whats called a credible fear interview. If a migrant makes that request, then he or she will see an asylum officer, who will ask questions to try to determine if the migrant would be in danger if he or she is returned home. If the asylum officer determines the migrant is truly afraid, then the migrant gets to make the case to an immigration judge, who decides whether he or she can stay in the United States.

Historically, the majority of undocumented immigrants dont claim asylum. But every month, thousands do, so much so that the United States is close to a tipping point, where most undocumented immigrants trying to enter the U.S. are claiming they are afraid to return home. In March of 2017, about half of the people apprehended at the border said they were seeking asylumcompared that to October 2016, when asylum-seekers made up less than one quarter of those apprehended.

The total number of asylum-seekers to reach the U.S. in March 2017the most recent available datawas 6,141. About the same number did in February, 6,148.

The most claims this year came in January, when 9,198 sought protection in the U.S.

In March of 2016, meanwhile, 7,313 people tried to claim asylum at the border, according to USCIS (PDF).

These numbers are important because they point to the limits of deterring undocumented immigrants. While the overall number of immigrants trying to reach the U.S. has taken a nosedive, thousands of people fleeing violence and brutality havent given up.

People are desperate to get into the country, so people who are fleeing join-or-die policies by gangs in Central Americatheyre going to continue to flee regardless of the situation here, said Jill Marie Gerschutz-Bell, who handles legislative affairs for Catholic Relief Services.

When youre suffering that kind of violence, you have to think, What are the odds? And you have to play the odds even if theyre not great, she added.

And Archi Pyati, chief of policy and programs at the Tahirih Justice Center, said the downtick of asylum-seekers from January to February and March of this year indicates Trumps policies may be having some impact.

If there are people who are being deterred who are in horrible situations and do need safety, then we are violating international law and our obligations by deterring them from coming, she said.

Really desperate people will continue to come through, she added.

Cartel-driven violence in Southern Mexico and Central America has forced at least a million people to flee their homes in recent years, according to a 2016 report from the Norwegian Refugee Councils Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

And some advocates say Trumps promise to increase deportations, especially of cartel and gang members, could result in more violence in these countries.

Mass deportation from the U.S. back to these countries risks a repeated upsurge in gang crime, researchers with the International Crisis Group concluded in a report published April 6, 2017.

And more crime would mean more displacement, which would likely mean more asylum-seekers looking for safety across the border.
DENVERJust before Valentines Day, 25-year-old Ashley Mead was gaining self-confidence through a budding friendship shed found online, while struggling to end a volcanic relationship at home.

Police believe that it was this tricky entanglement that led to her violent death.

On Feb. 12, the day she and her 13-month-old daughter went missing, Ashley texted her best friend that she was fed up and ready to leave the babys father, Adam Densmore.
One of the Indian soldiers, whose body was mutilated by Pakistan Army on Monday, was part of a battalion that had released a viral song challenging Pakistan in November last year.

By India Today Web Desk: Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh, the Indian soldier whose body was mutilated by Pakistan Army on Monday, was part of a battalion that had released a song challenging Pakistan in November last year.

The video showing five Jawans of of 22 Sikh Regiment at their post along the Line of Control had gone viral on social media platforms. The jawans were seen dressed for battle, while one of them sang the Punjabi song. The Jawan singing had mentioned the name of his battalion in several parts of the song. The video was recorded on a mobile phone, according to a report in the Indian Express.

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In the video, the Jawan can be heard singing all they need is permission from the government and they will "burn the enemy to ashes in two hours." "They have seen our love but not our anger yet," the soldier sings.

The soldier in the video says, "Modi isn't afraid of Pakistan and wants the best for you. Your Sikh brother is singing the truth." "We won't leave them as we have had enough, and we have told them several times too. Every hour they are teasing us, and are asking for their own deaths. You'll move because sikhs are standing in front of you, we'll burn enemy's country if given two hours," he sings.

The Pakistan Army on Monday opened unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts along the Line of Control and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir, violating ceasefire.

In retaliation, the Indian Army pounded Pakistan Army posts along the LoC, killing seven Pakistani soldiers and destroying two enemy bunkers.

ALSO READ:

Two days after Krishna Ghati mutilation, Pakistan again violates ceasefire in Poonch

Krishna Ghati beheadings: Indian Army prepared to give befitting reply to Pakistan

ALSO WATCH:

Farewell bravehearts: Paramjeet Singh's mortal remains reach his hometown Tarn Taran

--- ENDS ---
ISTANBULTwo weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to congratulate him on winning a referendum that critics say will lead to one man rule, the Turkish leader has launched a new domestic crackdown and signaled that he is ready to confront the United States over the two countries sharply divergent polices in Syria. And if that showdown worsens, U.S. troops there could be in harms way.

This comes at a time when Trump appears to be courting strongmen around the world in hopes the power of his personality as well as his position can win concessions and cooperation. Most recently, Trump has called North Koreas Kim Jong Un a smart cookie and said he would be honored to meet with him directly under the right circumstances.

The Turkish experience should be taken as a cautionary example. Erdogan essentially pocketed Trumps endorsement of the referendum, and apparent lack of concern about human rights violations, but continues to pursue national security policies that directly conflict with Washingtons agendaeven as he prepares to meet with Trump at the White House on May 16.

By any measure, Erdogans actions appear provocative for a NATO ally who has been hoping to inaugurate a new era of improved relations with the United States after bitter enmity in the last years of the Obama administration.

In their phone call after the referendum, according to the White House readout, Trump and Erdogan discussed the counter-ISIS campaign and the need to cooperate against all groups that use terrorism to achieve their ends.

But clearly theres been no meeting of the minds.

The Turkish armed forces last week launched unprecedented bombing raids against U.S.-allied Kurdish militias in Syria and Iraq, and when the U.S. protested over the lack of advance consultation, the Turks carried out still more air and artillery strikes. The Turkish military said it killed 89 terrorists.

But Erdogan wasnt the only one sending signals.

The U.S. military responded by sending out joint patrols along the Syrian-Turkish border with U.S. soldiers alongside members of the Peoples Protection Force (YPG) militia that Erdogan had bombed, and then it sent representatives to inspect the damage and to attend the funerals for some of those killed.

On Sunday, Erdogan threw down the gauntlet. This needs to end, he said. Otherwise we will have to take the matter in our own hands.

At issue is the plan the Trump administration is preparing to conquer Raqqa, the self-styled capital in northeast Syria of the Islamic State extremists.

The U.S. military strongly favors continuing to utilize the YPG militia as its ground force, ignoring its direct link with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Kurdish separatist movement which is at war with Turkey.

Erdogan has repeatedly stated that its NATO ally should not be fighting one terrorist group with another and has offered to send Turkish forces, along with trained Syrian rebel groups, in their stead.

Anadolu, the state-run news agency, posted a graphic Monday, charging that U.S. cooperation with the PKK and its Syrian affiliate violates the NATO treaty, which binds its parties to maintain and develop each others security.

Warning of a Turkish unilateral attack, Erdogan said Sunday: We may come overnight, all of a sudden without warning.

Erdogans tone and actions seemed abrasive in comparison with Trump, who usually is the one accused of flaunting an aggressive, undiplomatic communications style. In fact, Trump has dealt with Erdogan with kid gloves, making the much-publicized phone call and the invitation to come to Washington.

Both gestures stood in stark contrast to Obama, who waited for four days after the failed coup against Erdogan last year before calling with reassurance of U.S. backing.

Erdogan may be trying to show political muscle after the highly contentious constitutional referendum. The main opposition, the Republican Peoples Party, is refusing to recognize the result of the referendum, which international observers criticized as unfairly structured to boost the yes vote.

But the other factor in Erdogans posture is that successive U.S. administrations have underestimated the importance of the Kurdish issue. It is not only Turkeys topmost national security concern but it also is a big issue in domestic politics, where Erdogan enjoys widespread support across party lines for a tough stance against the Kurdish separatists.

As he challenges Trump to change his plans for fighting ISIS, Erdogan has also been carrying out a domestic crackdown. On May 16, the night he claimed victory in the referendum, Erdogan extended the state of emergency that he ordered after the abortive military coup last July, which allows him to rule by decree for three more months.

He suspended more than 9,000 police officers and detained more than 1,000 others, claiming they were secret imams or ringleaders. All are accused of having links with Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric living in the U.S. whom Erdogan charges had organized the failed coup attempt.

Over the weekend new decrees dismissed nearly 4,000 public officials from their posts. More than 100,000 public officials have been suspended from their posts since last July.

But the crackdown extended into social life and the internet as well. The governments communications oversight board blocked all access to Wikipedia, the internet encyclopedia for acting with groups conducting a smear campaign against Turkey, according to the Anadolu news agency.

A close reading of some of the key articles about Turkey revealed a critical slant, backed up by specific citation. Several of the articles cited contained allegations that Erdogans government had economic or other ties with ISIS. For the most part they lacked a response from the Turkish government, but thats also because Erdogan, whos reduced press freedom dramatically at home, has tightly restricted the availability of government officials to the news media.

Another emergency decree this past weekend banned all television dating programs. The independent newspaper Hurriyet reported officials of Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP) had said the shows receive thousands of complaints every year. But the move appeared to be a gesture to Erdogans key conservative Muslim constituency.

The orders were issued without an official statement or any further explanation. Hurriyet quoted an opposition party official as saying such sweeping laws remove the function of parliament. Was the coup attempt staged by marriage programs, Sezgin Tanrikulu was quoted as saying. Was the state of emergency issued to address marriage programs?
If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, President Donald Trump told Bloomberg News on Monday, referring to North Koreas Kim Jong Un.

Honored? That word was an egregious mistake. It not only helps legitimize perhaps the worlds worst tyrant, it also boosts an anti-American candidate in South Koreas crucial presidential election next week. No wonder the American president has attracted so much criticism from all parts of the political spectrum in the past few hours.

The use of honored does not appear to be a slip of the tongue. On Sunday, Trump appeared to go out of his way to compliment North Koreas young dictator. A lot of people, Im sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else, the president said on CBSs Face the Nation. And he was able to do it. So obviously, hes a pretty smart cookie.

The smart cookie remark followed similar ones Trump made last month about Kim. The Washington Post called Trumps comments empathetic.

Trumps focus on Kims character and life story is surprising. His policy on North Korea, as far as we can tell what it is at this point, is less impressive. There are two fundamental problems with the substance of what the president has been saying about what he will do.

First, now is not the time to be talking about talking to Kim. The international community for decades has tried to come to agreements with him and his two predecessors: his father and grandfather. None of those agreements, however, has worked.

There have been many reasons why agreements have failed. For one thing, due to internal instability, Pyongyang often has not been in a position to deal in good faith with outsiders. That appears to be the case now, as a series of incidents beginning in late January, indicate. The assassination of Kim Jong Uns elder half-brother, among other things, shows how insecure the current Kim ruler feels.

Moreover, talks failed, whatever their format or the conditions under which they were held, because the Kims were merely trying to buy themselves time in order to develop an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nukes. So I am sure that, in any future negotiations, the current Kim ruler will stall and deceive, because these two tactics have worked so well for his family in the past.

All this means that the only time to begin talking with Kim is when he realizes he has no choice but to disarm. Diplomacy is not only talking with an adversary. Sometimes it is the coercive use of national power to convince an adversary to talk in the future. So talks at this early stage of the Trump administration are bound to fail.

Second, Trumps comment on being honored to talk with Kim boosts the notion that the international community should talk and engage with the North Korean leader at this time. That perception is bound to help Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea, one of the candidates in South Koreas May 9 presidential election. Moon has taken a similar position in the campaign.

Moon, a progressive, is at his core anti-American. And he wants to begin a new round of the Sunshine Policy, named after the Aesop fable in which the Sun is able to persuade a man to take off his coat after the North Wind fails to do so.

That policy, pursued by former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, is essentially one of unconditional assistance to the North and has been appropriately compared to appeasement. Sunshine would be inconsistent with Americas general approach of trying to deny Kim Jong Un the means to develop his nuclear weapons and missiles.

In short, if Moon is elected next week, Seoul might effectively switch sides. So the last thing Trump should be doing is making acceptable a policy of starting negotiations with Kim Jong Un at this time.

Nothing good ever happens when there is daylight between Washingtons and Seouls policies on North Korea. In the last years of the Obama administration, the policies of the two capitals were one and the same. Now, it appears America and South Korea are set to take off in different directions.

And Trumps comments Monday about negotiations comes after he did two big favors to Moons campaign last Thursday. In his Reuters interview that day, Trump both angered and energized progressives with his suggestion that South Korea pay $1 billion for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. The financial and other conditions regarding THAAD, as the missile shield is known, have already been fixed. Trying to renegotiate the deal after it has been signed, sealed, and delivered will only make the pro-American conservatives even less popular than they are at this moment.

Trump in his Reuters interview also threatened to terminate the U.S.-South Korea free-trade agreement, and this is another instance of Washington looking unreliable to the South Korean electorate.

It seems Trump is determined, on the eve of the crucial election, to help the candidate who wants to undermine American interests. At the moment, there are many moving parts on the Korean Peninsula, and its not entirely clear Mr. Trump knows the effect of his words on an increasingly complex situation.
The younger Donald Trump and his father had considerable dealings with organized-crime figures who loomed large in New Yorks construction industry.

So we should not be greatly surprised that our new president so readily connects with such gangsters as Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Kim Jong Un of North Korea and even Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who has been called the Trump of the East.

But this bonding seems to run deeper than some Art of the HUGE Deal notion that befriending such figures is part of doing business, just as it was back when The Donald needed to keep deliveries coming to the Trump Tower site during a citywide concrete strike.

Trump appears to delight in authoritarian strongmen who operate on the principle that might makes right. The allure for a guy such as him may be partly explained by a group of German psychologists who published a study last year concluding that narcissists of a feather flock together. Psychology Today summarized their research, saying, The theory driving the study was that friends of narcissists are themselves narcissists. In other words, the only people who can stand being friends with narcissists are other narcissists. Narcissists are not only tolerant of narcissism in their friends, they also are not turned off by the selfishness, arrogance, and bossiness that would drive non-narcissists away.

The Psychology Today article quotes the study as finding, Similar narcissistic friends might help each other to achieve such a rapport by respecting the same life strategy, avoiding conflicts, sharing the same mating behavior and preferences for competition, and displaying the same non-caring attitudes.

In Duterte, whose father was a provincial governor, our president also has a fellow son of privilege. And both scions nonetheless have proven to possess a particular knack for rousing the disaffected and making struggling working people think they are just like them. They also share a contempt for the media, as Duterte demonstrated when a reporter inquired about the condition of his health.

What is the condition of your wifes vagina? Duterte asked.

Maybe all this helps further explain why Trump is not repulsed by his fellow narcissist Dutertes extreme non-caring.

At a rally during his 2016 campaign for president, Duterte recalled aloud a day in 1989 when, as mayor of Davao City, he had viewed the body of an Australian missionary named Jacqueline Hamill. He said she had been taken hostage by a group of convicts, then gang raped before being murdered.

She was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first, Duterte told the crowd.

He refused to apologize afterward for the remark, shrugging, Thats how I speak. But this own daughter, Sara, was so offended that she revealed to the public she had once been raped. Duterte outdid himself with his response.

Drama queen, he said.

As mayor, Duterte was also alleged to have assembled and directed death squads that targeted drug dealers and users. More than 1,400 people were killed, including a journalist named Jun Pala, who had been highly critical of Duterte.

During his presidential campaign, Duterte pledged to go national with his notion of a war on drugs. He made good on his promise, and by one recent tally, more than 7,000 had been killed since July. That included a 14-year-girl who had been old enough to be riding on the back of a suspected drug users motorbike but still young enough to be carrying a Barbie. A photo of the blood-spattered doll went viral.

Duterte again met outrage with a shrug.

One time Duterte did admit he had gone too far was after Pope Francis visited the Philippines in 2015. Duterte was ostensibly incensed by the accompanying traffic jams in Manila, and called the pontiff a son of a whore. Duterte used the same words to describe President Obama, but the insult of the pope became the bigger issue during the campaign. Duterte said through a spokesman that he intended to personally apologize.

The mayor repeatedly said he wants to visit the Vatican, win or lose, not only to pay homage to the pope but he really needs to explain to the pope and ask for forgiveness, the spokesman reported.

Duterte subsequently made it known that he had changed his mind and would not be going to the Vatican. He did send a letter of apology, kinda, sorta:

Your Holiness, With profound respect, I have the honor to extend my own and my peoples warmest greetings to Your Holiness.

Our countrymen remember Your Holiness apostolic visit in 2015 with deep appreciation, knowing that it was made with the most sincere regard for the welfare of the churchs flock.

The Philippines values its special relations with the Holy See and regards with gratitude Your Holiness gracious stewardship of the Catholic faith.

Please accept, Your Holiness, the assurances of my highest esteem and respect.

The Duterte adviser who delivered the letter subsequently told the press, When I had the opportunity of kissing the hand of the pope, I said, Bless the Philippines, Your Holiness, and his answer was, Yes, I will also bless your president.

But of course the killings continued. Duterte went into a renewed fury last month after local church officials yet again spoke out against what they termed extrajudicial killings. Duterte noted in a 30-minute speech that Christ was crucified on a wooden cross, not a gold one, such as some clergy wore.

Priests do nothing else but rant, Duterte said in his native Cebuano. They live in palaces. You should sell those and use the money to buy rice for the poor. And stop collecting money. If you dont, I will have you arrested for extortion.

He went on, Fathers, monsignors, bishops, this means to say: There will be more killings

He suggested that the drug dealers were to blame for the violence because they tried to fight back.

It wont end tomorrow for as long as there is a drug pusher and drug lord, he added. I will kill you if you destroy the youth of my land. They are our assets.

He spoke with a familiar outsized fury that at other times his own brother, Emmanuel Duterte, suggested to the press that it had much to do with his boyhood experiences with the church and at home. These were traumas that set Rodrigo apart from other sons of privilege such as Donald Trump.

As Dutertes brother tells it, their mother periodically lashed him with a horsewhip. The brother says Rodrigo was also beaten with a cane by Jesuit priests at the Catholic high school they attended, Ateneo de Davao. Rodrigo struck back at other teens in the street.

Violence in the house, violence in the school, and violence in the neighborhood, the brother told The New York Times. That is why he is always angry. Because if you have pain when you are young, you are angry all the time.

And then there was the sexual abuse Rodrigo Duterte says he suffered at the hands of one of the priests at the school, Father Mark Falvey.

It was a case of fondlingyou know whathe did during confession, thats how we lost our innocence early, Rodrigo Duterte told the press.

He added that he and the other victims at his school had remained silent.

Such is life, he said. How could we complain? We were scared.

He later said in one of his tirades against the church: If you cannot even give justice to the small boys that you have molested in the past, you do not have that moral ascendancy to lecture on what to do. Sanctity of life? Youre enjoying your worth... When we were making confessions to you, we were being molested.

Falvey had been ordained in 1928 and was one of a group of Jesuits who had been in China until they were forced to flee by Mao and the communist revolution. Falvey then apparently spent several years in the Philippines, but the Jesuits have not confirmed that he was assigned to Dutertes high school at the time of the alleged abuse. The Jesuits have also not publicly disputed Dutertes claim that he was abused by Falvey. The Jesuits did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.

In 1959, when Duterte was 14, Falvey was sent home to the United States and installed at Blessed Sacrament parish in Hollywood in Los Angeles. He remained there until he died in 1975. We can only hope that he had not been sent there in the first place after getting in trouble in the Philippines.

More than three decades later, in 2007, the Jesuits agreed to pay a total of $16 million to nine former parishionersfive males and four femaleswho were molested by Falvey during his years at Blessed Sacrament. One of the girls, then 8 years old, had attempted suicide afterward. Another priest is said to have happened upon Falvey assaulting a child and supposedly said only, Why dont you close the door?

Falveys brother, Arthur, was also a priest and is also now deceased. The Archdiocese of Sacramento paid $100,000 to a former parishioner who claimed to have been raped and molested by Arthur as a child.

In the meantime, Duterte had embarked on a political career as a son of privilege turned populist death-squad leader. He made a name for himself as the Trump of the East as he vented his anger and played on peoples fears and promised to make right with might. He surely was seeking to connect with the Trump of the West when he appointed the Filipino developer of Trump Tower in Manila as his special trade envoy to the United Sates.

But Duterte probably would have gotten an invitation to come to the White House even without making Trumps Manila business partner the guy who would be brokering business deals with the U.S. government.

Duterte would have won Trumps heart just by being an authoritarian strongman like Vladimir Putin of Russia or, for that matter, the late Carlo Gambino of the Gambino family, who kept those trucks rumbling up to Trump Tower when every other construction site in the city was shut down by a strike.

After all, narcissists of a feather flock together.
Bette Midler will be feeling good today; Allison Janney not so much. The 2017 Tony nominations were announced Tuesday morning, with the uproarious Tolstoy-themed pop-opera Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, set among a group of horny and lovelorn Russian arty types, leading the pack with 12 nominationsand making it the lead contender in the Best (new) Musical category.

The critically-adored Hello, Dolly!, starring Bette Midler, has 10 nominations; and also nominated in all the categories it would wish to is the much-hyped and buzzed-about Dear Evan Hansen, themed around teen suicide which scored nine nominations.

The 9/11-themed Come From Away  Dear Evan Hansen and Natasha, Pierre's great rivalalso scored high. In the musical revival category, Sunset Boulevard was surprisingly snubbed.

The competition in the dramatic categories will be equally as fierce, with four very different pieces going head-to-head in the original play category.

With eight nominations, Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2 leads the original play category, a beautifully written sequel to Ibsen's A Doll's House. It is up against J.T. Rogers' Oslo, a fantastically written and performed play about Middle East politics, Paula Vogel's repression-themed Indecent, and Lynn Nottage's Sweat, about industrial decline and its effects on an American town. (Both latter playwrights are Pulitzer winners.)

There were notable omissions, not least in Allison Janney not being up for lead actress in a play for her role in Six Degrees of Separation, as well as the lack of love for a number of star-packed but underwhelming productions including The Cherry Orchard and Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Danny DeVito receives a nomination for his role in Arthur Miller's The Price, but not Mark Ruffalo.

The competitive field is narrowed to a few productions fighting it out for nearly all the prizes, meaning some productions (like Anastasia and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory) getting almost totally overlooked. Here we break it down the nominated and the snubbed.

The Tony Awards will be held on June 11, and televised on CBS. Read Tim Teeman's reviews of all the nominated plays and musicals here.

Best performance by a leading actor (Play)

Daily Beast interviewee Denis Arndt (Heisenberg) will be doing battle with the excellent Chris Cooper (A Doll's House, Part 2), Corey Hawkins (Six Degrees of Separation), Kevin Kline (Present Laughter), and Jefferson Mays for Oslo. This is a tough category for the sheer variety of performances: a great span of ages, and significant recognition for Hawkins, a young black actor.

Both Arndt and Hawkins scored nominations where their female counterparts, Mary-Louise Parker and Janney, did not. Missing out in the category were the brilliant Richard Roxburgh (The Present), Henry Shields (The Play That Goes Wrong), and Simon McBurney (The Encounter).

Best performance by a leading actress (Play)

This will be an extremely hard-fought category, with brilliant and distinctive performances by all. Cate Blanchett (The Present) will be up against Jennifer Ehle (Oslo), Sally Field (The Glass Menagerie), Laura Linney (Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes), and Laurie Metcalf (A Doll's House, Part 2). Missing out are Six Degrees' Allison Janney and Eisenberg's Mary-Louise Parker.

Best performance by a leading actor (Musical)

The most hype and excitement surrounds Ben Platt for Dear Evan Hansen. But he's up against Christian Borle (Falsettos), Josh Groban (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Andy Karl (Groundhog Day The Musical), and David Hyde Pierce (Hello, Dolly!). Platt may well win, but the other performers give just as distinctive performances. Missing out are Jon Jon Briones (Miss Saigon) and Corey Cott (Bandstand).

Best performance by a leading actress (Musical)

This is an epic diva smackdown. Bette Midler (Hello, Dolly!) is surely the most favored. But she is up against Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole (both War Paintas warring cosmetic titans, so that should be fun backstage the next few weeks), Denee Benton (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) and Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon). Missing out are Christy Altomares (Anastasia), Phillipa Soo (from the critically badly received Amelie) and Laura Osnes (Bandstand).

Best Revival (Play)

All four are worthy, brilliantly performed adversaries: August Wilson's Jitney, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, Present Laughter, and Six Degrees of Separation. Butouchlook at what missed out. No nods for Sam Gold's critic-splitting production of The Glass Menagerie, and the star-packed productions of Arthur Miller's The Price, The Front Page, The Cherry Orchard, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Best Revival (Musical)

Wow, what did Sunset Boulevard do to piss off the Tony nominating committee? Falsettos, Hello, Dolly! (which will surely win), and Miss Saigon are nominated. But no Sunset Boulevard. And no Catswell, the latter was to be expected. But approach Glenn Close with care today.

Best Play

This is a lovely, variety-stuffed quartet: Lucas Hnath's Ibsen sequel, A Doll's House, Part 2 is up against Paula Vogel's Indecent, about sexuality, repression and oppression, J.T. Rogers's Oslo about Middle East power-play, and Lynn Nottage's Sweat about the decline of an American town and its residents. Only missing for a bit of light relief would have been a nod for Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields' The Play That Goes Wrong.

Best Musical

Will it be a feelgood 9/11-themed musical (Come From Away), teen suicide (Dear Evan Hansen), misanthropic meteorologist (Groundhog Day The Musical) or crazy Russians falling in love with who knows who (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)? Whatever it is, it won't be warring divas (War Paint) or Russian royal mystery (Anastasia), both of which were snubbed.

Best Original Score

This category follows on from the last: an exact mirror image of nominees and snubs, with an added snub for the plucky-but-unloved In Transit.

Best Choreography

Finally, some love for Bandstand here, and for Holiday Inn: The New Irving Berlin Musical, with Come From Away, and Natasha, Pierre also included. Snubs surprisingly for both Hello, Dolly! and Anastasia, both of which feature lovely choreography.

Best Orchestrations

Bandstand, Dear Evan Hansen, Hello, Dolly!, Natasha, Pierre all score nominationsbut no nods for Sunset Boulevard (someone send that musical a big case of wine, NOW), Anastasia, In Transit (which certainly featured the most inventive orchestration), and Falsettos.

Best design (Play)

Deserved nods for the evocative and cluttered cab office of August Witney's Jitney, the dramatic heights and angles of The Front Page, the cleverness of Oslo in the round, and the forcibly dilapidated The Play That Goes Wrong. But no nods for the distinctiveness of The Encounter, The Glass Menagerie, and The Present.

Best Design (Musical)

Something had to give in this hard-fought category. Groundhog Day, Hello, Dolly!, Natasha, Pierre and War Paint get nods. But the luxe Anastasia, the busy, tree-surrounded Come From Away, and tech-savvy Dear Evan Hansen score none.

Costume design (Play)

Note: all vintage, and all very beautiful. The seventies duds of August Wilson's Jitney contrast with 19th-century severity in A Doll's House, Part 2, and edging the early 20th- with Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, and Present Laughter. (Kevin Kline's dressing gowns are *everything*.) Missing out are the ink-stained wretches of The Front Page, and Six Degrees of Separation's sleek 80s power dressing.

Costume design (Musical)

Anastasia finally gets some love here, as do Hello, Dolly!, Natasha, Pierre and War Paint. But, oh dear, no love again for Glenn Close's duds in Sunset Boulevard (perhaps because they have been seen before).

Lighting design (Play)

August Wilson's Jitney, A Doll's House, Part 2, Indecent, and Oslo. All feature lighting and shadow used so beautifully and cleverly; Indecent takes particular risksand may win. Missing out were The Encounter and The Glass Menagerie, which both also served brilliantly inventive lighting design.

Lighting design (Musical)

No surprises here: Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Hello, Dolly! and Natasha, Pierre vie yet again. Missing out was Anastasia, which maybe proved just a little too conservative alongside the boxes of tricks of the others.

Best Director (Play)

A very strong field: the directors of August Wilson's Jitney, A Doll's House, Part 2, Indecent, The Little Foxes, and Oslo do battle here. Missing out: Sam Gold again for The Glass Menagerie, as well as Heisenberg and the The Play That Goes Wrong.

Best Director (Musical)

Again, this is a strongly contested category: Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Groundhog Day The Musical, Hello, Dolly! and Natasha, Pierre do battle, which means no Anastasia.

Featured actor (Play)

Michael Aronov's Oslo swagger goes up against the fantastic Danny DeVito (The Price), Nathan Lane's monstrous villain in The Front Page, Richard Thomas in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, and John Douglas Hamilton in August Wilson's Jitney. All worthy candidates, but it means that John Benjamin Hickey misses out for Six Degrees of Separation.

Featured actress, Play

Excellent series of performances represented here. Extremely pleased that both Johanna Day and Michelle Wilson are both nominated for their roles as embattled best friends in Sweat. Also: the marvelous Jayne Houdyshell and Condola Rashad in A Doll's House, Part 2 (meaning all four actors in the show received deserved nominations), and Cynthia Nixon (Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes). Missing out: sadly, the brilliant Kristine Nielsen for Present Laughter.

Featured actor (Musical)

All deserving, and a tough category to call: Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), Mike Faist (Dear Evan Hansen), Andrew Rannells (Falsettos), Lucas Steele (Natasha, Pierre), and Brandon Uranowitz (Falsettos). Missing out: both from Anastasia, John Bolton and Ramin Karimloo.

Featured actress (Musical)

All lovely performances: Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!), Stephanie J. Block (Falsettoswe hope she wins for managing to sing and smash a stage up at the same time), Jenn Colella (Come From Away), Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen), and Mary Beth Peil (Anastasia). That means no nominations for Jackie Hoffman for Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Kristolyn Lloyd (Dear Evan Hansen), and Caroline O'Connor (Anastasia).
1

Michael Slager to Plead Guilty to Feds

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO
Arun Jaitley had called the mutilation of Indian soldiers "barbaric" and said the armed forces will react to it appropriately.

By India Today Web Desk: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi today on the prevailing situation along the Line of Control a day after Pakistan's Border Action Team mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers, provoking an angry response from India.

Jaitley met PM Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi. On Monday evening, Jaitley had called the mutilation of Indian soldiers "barbaric" and said the armed forces will react to it appropriately.

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"The government of India strongly condemns this act and the whole country has full confidence and faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to this inhuman act. The sacrifice of these two soldiers will not go in vain. "This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks don't even take place during war, let alone during peace time," Jaitley said.

On Monday, the Pakistani Army killed an Indian soldier and a BSF trooper and mutilated their bodies near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army warned of an appropriate response to the "unsoldierly act". Pakistan has denied the charge.

The dead were identified as Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF's 200 Battalion. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries.

The Army's Northern Command said the Pakistan Army in the morning fired rockets and mortar shells on two forward posts on the LoC - the de facto border that divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries - in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district.

The two were killed in the unprovoked firing as they were patrolling the LoC, army sources said, adding Pakistan Army men then crossed over 250 meters into Indian territory and mutilated their bodies.

ALSO READ:India hits back after jawans mutilated on LoC; Army kills 7 Pakistani soldiers, destroys 2 enemy bunkers

Pakistan mutilates bodies of 2 Indian soldiers near LoC, Army pounds Pak posts in retaliation

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Such attacks don't even take place during war: Defence Minister Jaitley slams Pakistan for beheading India's jawans

--- ENDS ---
The NIA will soon send a Letter Rogatory to France seeking permission to question Pakistan-origin Lashkar bomb maker Mohammed Usman, who is currently jailed in Paris

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: The National Investigation Agency will soon send a Letter Rogatory (LR) to France seeking permission to question Pakistan-origin Lashkar bomb maker Mohammed Usman, who is currently an inamte in a Paris jail.

Two men from Usman's group, Ahmad al-Mohammad and Mohamad al-Mahmod, reached Paris and blew themselves up outside the National Stadium during the attacks that also targeted a theatre and a restaurant in November 2015, killing 130 people.

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Haddadi and Usman set out from the capital of the self-declared ISIS caliphate in Raqqa, Syria, six weeks before the Paris attacks. But they were arrested in Greece. They pretended to be Syrian refugees attempting to enter Austria, but were arrested by alert cops, and eventually handed over to France.

INDIAN LINK

The first Indian link emerged when Subhani Haja Moideen, who was arrested from Tamil Nadu recently, revealed to the NIA that he knew the Paris attackers.

Though he could not identify them using their names, he recognized them from photographs, and said the duo were in the same training camp.

He also told the agency that the two killed terrorists and two in custody had been seen in the Syria camp where he trained. He also said Usman and he shared pleasantries, and that the LET operative told him that he was training in an LET Camp in Afghanistan before arriving in Iraq.

The NIA now wants to interrogate Usman on the possible ISIS-LET link and Lashkar camps in Afghanistan, and - importantly - corroborate Subhani's statements.

INDIAN SLEUTHS HAND OVER QUESTIONS TO FRENCH INVESTIGATORS

Usman is currently in judicial custody, but Indian sleuths have handed over a list of questions to French investigators.

A three-member team comprising of two NIA officials and one official from the IB were in French capital Paris earlier this week, working closely.

Although sources reveal that French police are unlikely to question the Indian ISIS recruit in connection to the Paris attacks, they were keen to find out the terror trail. Moideen had said that though he knew the Paris attackers, he was unaware of the Paris terror attacks of 2015.

The NIA also disclosed what Moideen told the agency - that he saw the attackers in Mosul, Iraq, he was in a camp which was close to where the Paris attackers were staying. He said that they addressed the man who trained them as Al-Francisi.

Moideen, a resident of Tirunelveli, had joined ISIS in 2015. However, he claimed that he was shaken badly by the bloodshed in Iraq. He decided to leave Iraq. When he informed the ISIS handler about it, his informer was angry and Moideen was jailed. He later claimed that ISIS let him off, after which he returned to India and picked up a job as salesperson.

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However, a few months later, he was back to surfing ISIS sites and decided to setting up a module in South India.

ALSO READ | NIA digs out ISI's terror funding plot in Kashmir Valley, questions suspected traders

ALSO READ | Two men get seven years in jail for recruiting and fundraising for ISIS in India

--- ENDS ---
The April death of a 56-year-old Hearne resident in his home has been ruled a homicide by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office.

Lawrence D. Reyes was shot in the back and found inside his E. Evans Street home early April 2, according to the preliminary autopsy released Monday. A private service was held at All Families Mortuary five days after his death.

Hearne police could not be reached for comment Monday, but previously confirmed that they, along with the Texas Rangers, were investigating his death. Hearne police declined to give any details in April about the manner in which Reyes died.

The day after his death, his daughter told KBTX-TV that they believed he was murdered.
Working at a fast food drive-thru window on Christmas Eve 2009 was the push Sally Ryan needed to enroll in a college-readiness course at the Bryan Adult Learning Center.

"I thought, 'Not when I was a little girl did I ever dream of working a drive-thru on Christmas Eve with a bunch of other people,' " she said. "Not that that's a bad career -- it just wasn't my dream. My dream was always to be a teacher."

With the help of adult education resources in the area, Ryan went on to attend Blinn College and eventually graduate from Texas A&M with magna cum laude honors in 2016. She is now a third-grade teacher at Jones Elementary School in Bryan and an avid advocate for following one's passion.

"Just because you have a GED doesn't mean you can't do these things, or just because you don't have a high school diploma doesn't mean you can't do these things," she said. "You can still do these things -- and in many ways have more appreciation for having to work harder for it."

Her story is the kind of success story that the Bryan Adult Learning Center hopes to have more of in the community, and the kind that principal Becky Collet says no longer happens with a GED alone.

"It's not enough anymore," she said. "We want our students to have more. We don't want our students to just get their GED. That used to be the mentality."

Collet encourages anyone in the community who is interested in attending a university or getting a certificate in careers such as welding and truck driving to take the center's free Intensive College Readiness course, the same course Ryan took in 2010.

The next course session will start June 1 and run through July 13. To participate, eligible students -- those who have a high school diploma or GED, are at least 18 years old and speak English -- must call the center before the start of classes.

The course itself is designed to funnel students into Blinn College. For Ryan, the course not only got her up to speed on certain topics, but it gave her information on grants and scholarships for college.

"If you aren't a 10th-generation student going to college, you have no idea. I had no idea," she said. "I had no idea where to register, how to pay for college."

The benefits of the class come with the struggles. Collet said dropping out -- which she refers to as "stopping out" -- to work or take care or dependents and returning to the classes is "just part of the deal in adult education."

Collet said, "It's scary for a lot of GED students to enter a GED program, because they haven't been successful in the past in the public school arena for whatever reason.

"For a lot of these students, life gets in the way, and they have to drop out"

Ryan's own unconventional path started in a GED program in Chicago in 1979.

"I left home when I was 15, made bad choices and moved from Nebraska to Chicago by myself," Ryan said. "I couldn't really go to school -- I was just trying to survive."

She started a career in restaurant management, and by 1986, Ryan moved to College Station after her now-husband found construction work in the area.

When she learned about the program, her first thought was that it may be a good option for her daughter, but the more she thought about it, she said, the more she thought, "Why not me?"

"It was hard, and there were times I wanted to give up," she said, adding that she called the center and asked to be removed from the class once before it began.

"Every time I told [program organizers] I couldn't do it, that I was too old and it was too hard, they told me to march back in there and go back to class."

She said she went back and forth on taking the class several more times, but she made it through with the help of her husband and support from the teaching staff at the Bryan Adult Education Center. The moment she started teaching, however, she knew it was all worth it.

"I've always wanted to teach," she said. "I just remember being a kid and wanting to teach and to work with kids. I guess it's something innate for me. Even when I worked in the restaurants, I liked to train and teach."

In addition to teaching writing and science to third-graders, she said she wants to instill in her students the importance of education and her life philosophy that you can make mistakes, but you have to learn from the them.

"I let the kids try on my Aggie ring, because I think it's important for them to know that no matter what your background is, you can go to college," she said.
Marc Hamlin knows what it feels like to open the mailbox and see a jury summons.

"Jury service is an inconvenience no matter who you are," the longtime Brazos County district clerk said. Hamlin is well aware most everyone has a busy life, that some employers might not pay for time missed from work, and that listening to complex legal arguments is probably not the way people prefer to spend their time. It's because all of those factors that Hamlin said he appreciates it when potential jurors show up at the courthouse.

"The only reason we have credibility in our judicial system is because of the jury," Hamlin said.

Hamlin and David Poling, with the Brazos County Bar Association, expressed their gratitude to roughly 85 people who showed up for jury duty Monday morning at the Brazos County Courthouse. The group enjoyed complimentary doughnuts, coffee and pastries while Poling and Hamlin gave short remarks about the critical role jurors play.

The goodies aren't a typical part of the jury experience, however.

The celebration was part of a statewide effort to honor those who participate in the judicial system, according to a statement from Nicondra Chargois-Allen, chair of the jury services committee at the State Bar of Texas. State legislators designated the first week of May as Jury Appreciation Week.

"We very seldom get to tell you thank you," Poling said. "The right to a jury trial is one of our bedrock foundational rights in America."

The Brazos County Bar Association paid for and delivered the food for jury appreciation week. Poling said the organization was happy to do it to help compensate for the "sacrifice" of serving on a jury or participating in voir dire -- the process of selecting a jury -- because juries are "absolutely essential."

Hamlin said he wants "to encourage all of the people who get jury summons to respond in some manner." The 23-year veteran of the district clerk's office said those who receive a summons have one month to respond, and can go to BrazosCountyJury.com and use their summons ID number to claim exemptions, disqualification or select dates that conflict with their schedules. Depending on the judge, those who don't respond to their summons can face a fine between $100 and $1,000.

As the district clerk, Hamlin works from a list of roughly 107,000 juror-eligible residents in Brazos County. He said that technological advancements have allowed his office to keep better track of potential jurors, since it can now be tracked whether residents responded to their summons, when they last served on a jury and if they claimed exemptions. These advances made the selection process streamlined and allowed for better use of the court's time, he said, adding that the process of selecting jurors is "totally, randomly chosen."

He said that the randomness of selection is important because it helps ensure those potential jurors are neutral before they enter court and begin the process of questioning potential jurors.

The pastries and refreshments will continue Tuesday and Wednesday.
HEARNE -- In recent years, a few high school teachers were concerned that not enough students were participating in what's been described as the quintessential high school experience: Prom.

So they initially tried making the event free to attend and raised the issue with students in class, trying to get feedback.

"That's when we decided to dig a little deeper and see why these kids weren't coming," said Amanda Montgomery-Puryear, a world history and government teacher at Hearne High School.

Part of the answer, they found, was that students simply didn't have the money for dress attire, so just over one week prior to prom, Hearne teachers put out a call in the community for donations of dresses and suits for what they decided to call the Hope Chest.

Since last Tuesday, 53 dresses and five suits have poured into Hearne High School just in time for this weekend's big event, said Candace Frank-Barnett, the technology teacher spearheading the effort. Organizers aim for the closet to provide clothing for both male and female students who are going to events like homecoming, job interviews, award ceremonies and scholarship interviews, but for now, a closet next to Frank-Barnett's classroom has been converted into a prom showroom.

The Hope Chest comes to a district where more than 90 percent of students are classified by the state as economically disadvantaged. Frank said she initially knew of seven students who needed the closet, but the it has since helped at least 13 students as word -- or more accurately "whispers" -- got around.

Frank-Barnett said students generally are uncomfortable asking for help, referencing one energetic and social student who kept telling Frank-Barnett that she wasn't interested in attending prom. Suspecting that this wasn't the case, Frank-Barnett ask a few more times and the student shared the real reason.

"She said, 'I just don't even want to ask my parents. The money is just not there,'" said Frank-Barnett. "And that really sparked me. We need to help -- no one should be left out. It's a hard time right now for everybody, and no memory needs to be left."

Standing in the Hope Chest room Monday, two students said they would not be able to attend Saturday's prom without the closet.

Senior Deborah Tapia said she financially supports herself, so money is too tight to afford dresses like the bright pink formal she slipped into Monday. With the closet, however, she'll be able to go for the first time, and she likely will be able to pick out a different dress in a few weeks to walk across the graduation stage in.

Junior Emily McGee said she's going to prom in a long red dress from the closet, marking a first not only for her, but also her mother, who didn't attend her prom.

"My mom wanted me to have all the experiences in high school that she didn't have," she said, later adding, "I'm her only girl, so she wanted to have the experience of helping me get ready, because she never had that with her mom."

Frank-Barnett and Montgomery-Puryear said they're already seeing the closet's success stories. And while they said the goal is to ensure that students don't miss out on memories "because of affordability," the closet has the added benefit of teaching students a life-lesson.

"We're modeling the act of charity and we are teaching our students what it looks like," said Montgomery-Puryear. "I think that's something we still need -- and something we've kind of lost in modern times."

From the deacon at a local church who donated a three-piece suit to the stranger who left two dresses on the assistant principal's door to the daycare owner who donated dresses because "there needs to be more positivity" in town, Frank-Barnett said the closet has been the recipient of an of outpouring generosity both in and outside the community.

"We have dresses coming from the Austin area, we have dresses coming from the Waco area, we have dresses coming from as far as Oklahoma," She said. "Social media and Facebook are magical things. We put the need out there and it has been pouring in from our community here at home, and it has been pouring in from the community outside."

Montgomery-Puryear said organizers are keeping track of which dresses are from who, so that students have the chance to write thank you notes to those who donated the clothing that they are borrowing or keeping.

"It helps [those who donate] see that even though all they did was drop off a jacket, it's helped five guys," she said. "It shows how extensive charity is."

Anyone wishing to donate new or lightly worn dresses or men's wear can deliver items to Hearne High School, 1201 W. Brown St.
The Bryan Police Department on Monday was investigating a shooting that happened the night before.

Police said officers responded about 10:45 p.m. to the Valero convenience store at 901 N. Earl Rudder Freeway, where several people had gotten into an argument and a 20-year-old man had been shot.

The man, who was shot in the chest, was taken to CHI St. Joseph hospital, where he was in critical condition Monday.

Employees at the store were not involved and were not injured.

One person who was in the vehicle that took the man to the hospital was arrested on drug charges after an officer at the emergency room reported smelling marijuana in the vehicle.

No arrests have been made in connection to the shooting at this time.

Law enforcement officials said they believe the shooter and the victim knew each other prior to the incident.

The investigation is ongoing and the Bryan Police Department is asking anyone with information to call 361-3888 or Crime Stoppers at 775-TIPS.
Texas A&M University student organization BUILD is expected to be honored by the state's House of Representatives on Wednesday for its work through the 12 for 12 service project over the past few years.

Established in honor of the 12 Aggies who lost their lives in the Nov. 18, 1999 Bonfire collapse, the project involves students converting 12 shipping containers into medical clinics -- dubbed Texas Aggie Medical Clinics -- for use in countries in need. Recipients so far include Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Bolivia and Cambodia.

State Rep. John Raney, a Bryan businessman who oversees District 14, said he filed the resolution honoring BUILD as a way to "bring greater awareness of their charitable actions to my colleagues in the House."

"The BUILD student organization is doing amazing work around the world, and they are one of many reasons I am proud to call myself an Aggie," Raney said. "I encourage all Aggies everywhere to join me in congratulating them on their commendable endeavor."

Texas A&M junior electrical engineering major Amanda Wolken, who serves as CEO of BUILD, said she and her peers are appreciative of the recognition and hope it can be used to spread the organization's message, along with encouraging support for its mission.

BUILD members began the 12 for 12 service project in 2014 with a mission of providing aid to countries with limited access to medical care. Since then, the student organization constructed and delivered the medical clinics at a rate of four per year, finally wrapping the project in the fall of 2016.

The 40-foot-long by 8-foot-wide shipping containers turned medical clinics are equipped with plumbing, electricity, insulation and various medical supplies and equipment.

While the 12 for 12 effort may be complete, the students involved with the organization plan to continue down the same path. According to the BUILD website, the student organization has a fundraising goal of $150,000 for 2017, which will allow it to construct five more Texas Aggie Medical Clinics this year.

For more information on Texas A&M's BUILD student organization or to share a donation, go to buildtamu.com.
Nitish Kumar's JD-U has distanced itself from Lalu Yadav following allegations of corruption being levelled against the latter in acquiring benami properties worth crores of rupees.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: In a terse message to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav over allegations of his acquiring "benami" properties to the tune of hundreds of crores, Nitish Kumar's JD-U has distanced itself from the controversy, leaving the former Bihar chief minister to fend for himself.

JD-U, in the last four weeks since senior BJP leader Sushil Modi started making explosive claims on how Lalu and his family members acquired benami properties, has maintained a deafening silence on the allegations being levelled on Lalu despite RJD being a senior partner in the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar. Notably, neither Chief Minister Nitish Kumar nor any spokesperson from his party has spoken on this issue, leaving Lalu alone to defend himself.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Senior JD-U leader and Rajya Sabha MP RCP Singh has categorically asserted that the person against whom charges are being levelled needs to explain. "One should go and ask Sushil Modi what allegations he is levelling against Lalu? What do we have to say on this? It is the person against whom charges have been leveled who must explain and clear his stand, not us", said Singh, a close aide of Nitish Kumar. Nitish's stand to not support Lalu comes at a time when, according to sources, the Bihar chief minister may even go to the extent of sacrificing his government instead of backing the RJD chief, who is facing charges of corruption. In the last few months, Nitish has been vociferously raising the issue of benami property and has backed PM Modi on the issue of demonetisation. It's this stand of Nitish which makes him distance himself from defending Lalu, whose 80 MLAs are supporting in running a coalition govt in the state. Meanwhile, RJD has said that his party supremo needs no support from any quarter to defend himself. "We do not have support from anyone. RJD is capable of answering all questions", said RJD MLA Bhai Birender from Maner.

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Also read | Lalu vows to uproot Modi govt in 2019, claims he and Nitish are united

Also read | How Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi got this posh Delhi property?

Also read | BJP's Sushil Modi exposes Lalu Prasad's modus operandi in acquiring Rs 1000 crore benami properties

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Bringing animals from the wild into captivity introduces strong selective pressure for domestication. Essentially, those animals that are too wild don't breed and so don't pass on their genes, while the sedate (unwild) animals do.

This is exacerbated for species like rhinos where predation has shaped their evolution: they have grown big, dangerous horns to protect themselves. So captivity will likely be detrimental to the survival of any captive bred offspring should they be returned to the wild.

It is not known yet which rhino species will be the focus of the Australian project, but it will probably be the southern white rhino subspecies - which is the rhino species least likely to go extinct. The global population estimate for southern white rhinos (over 20,000) is stable, despite high poaching levels.

This number stands in stark contrast to the number of northern white (three), black (4,880 and increasing), great Indian (2,575), Sumatran (275) and Javan (up to 66) rhinos. These latter three species are clearly of much greater conservation concern than southern white rhinos.

There are also well over 800 southern white rhinos currently held in zoos around the world.

With appropriate management, the population size of the southern white is unlikely to lose genetic diversity, so adding 80 more individuals to zoos is utterly unnecessary. By contrast, across the world there are 39 other large mammalian herbivore species that are threatened with extinction that are far more in need of conservation funding than the five rhino species.

Conserving entire ecosystems, not just 'big-ticket' species

Rhinos inhabit places occupied by other less high profile threatened species - like African wild dogs and pangolins - which do not benefit from the same level of conservation funding.

Conserving wildlife in their natural habitat has many benefits for the creatures and plants they coexist with. Rhinos are keystone species, creating grazing lawns that provide habitats for other species and ultimately affect fire regimes (fire frequency and burn patterns). They are also habitats themselves for a range of species-specific parasites.

Abandoning efforts to conserve rhinos in their environment means these ecosystem services will no longer be provided.

Finally, taking biodiversity assets (rhinos) from Africa and transporting them to foreign countries extends the history of exploitation of Africa's resources. Although well-meaning, the safe-keeping of rhinos by Western countries is as disempowering and patronising as the historical appropriation of cultural artefacts by colonial powers.

Conservation projects are ultimately more successful when led locally. With its strong social foundation, community-based conservation has had a significant impact on rhino protection and population recovery in Africa.

In fact, local capacity and institutions are at the centre of one of the world's most successful conservation success stories - the southern white rhino was brought back from the brink, growing from a few hundred in South Africa at the turn of the last century to over 20,000 throughout southern Africa today.

A neocolonial distraction from the real issues

In our opinion, this project is neo-colonial conservation that diverts money and public attention away from the fundamental issues necessary to conserve rhinos.

There is no evidence of what will happen to the rhinos transported to Australia once the poaching crisis is averted. But there seems nothing as robust as China's 'panda diplomacy' where pandas provided to foreign zoos remain the property of China, alongside a substantial annual payment, as do any offspring produced, for the duration of the arrangement.

With increased support, community-based rhino conservation initiatives can continue to lead the way. It is money that is missing, not the will to conserve them nor the expertise necessary to do so.

Using the funding proposed for the Australian Rhino Project to support locally-led conservation or to educate people to reduce consumer demand for rhino horn in Asia seem far more acceptable options.

Matt Hayward is Senior Lecturer in Conservation, Bangor University.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the United States.

A US supply ship sails in the waters off the Boso Peninsula, east of Tokyo, as it is escorted by Japanese destroyer Izumo Monday, May 1, 2017. Japanese media said the US supply ship is expected to refuel other American warships, including the USS Carl Vin

By Reuters: North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic U.S. bombers flew over the area in a training drill with the South Korean air force.

The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's dogged pursuit of its nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions and pressure from the United States.

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The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the appropriate circumstances, even though Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear tests.

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North and to test readiness against another potential nuclear test.

The US air force said in a statement the bombers had flown from Guam to conduct training exercises with the South Korean and Japanese air forces.

North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Trump and "other US warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike" on the North.

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.

TENSIONS ON THE PENINSULA

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the United States and Pyongyang's sole major ally, China.

Despite that, Trump said he would be "honoured" to meet the North's young leader.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News in comments that drew criticism in Washington.

Trump did not say what conditions would need to be met for any such meeting to occur or when it could happen, but the White House said later North Korea would need to meet many conditions before a meeting could be contemplated.

"Clearly conditions are not there right now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

"I don't see this happening anytime soon."

DONALD TRUMP'S WARNING

Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.

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In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.

North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March. It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.

The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Also read:

Donald Trump says China pressuring North Korea on missile, nuclear weapons

North Korea test-fires ballistic missile in defiance of world pressure

--- ENDS ---
Ahead of Chief Minister E Palaniswami's cabinet meet, O Panneerselvam today accused him of being an ally of TTV Dinakaran who is currently in police custody.

By India Today Web Desk: It seems the blame game between the two warring AIADMK factions is here to stay. Ahead of Chief Minister E Palaniswami's cabinet meet, O Panneerselvam today accused him of being an ally of TTV Dinakaran who is currently in police custody.

Dinakaran, who was inducted in the Sasikala camp, after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, has been embroiled in the Election Commission bribery case.

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While talks of a merger between OPS and EPS factions were rife, the former had put forward two demands to the EPS team.

OPS camp's demands were the sacking of Sasikala from the General Secretary post and a CBI inquiry into the death of Jayalalithaa.

However, EPS team in response had said that they were not in a position to promise anything, but will be open to discussion.

MERGER TALKS IN JEOPARDY

Earlier on Monday, OPS camp issued an ultimatum to EPS team to fulfil their key demands by Tuesday evening.

Sources close to OPS faction said that if EPS team does not agree to the demands, OPS camp may suspend talks and dismantle the 7-member committee formed to deal with the merger.

Paneerselvam, who has made his stance clear, is also gearing up for a statewide tour from May 5 in order to prepare his supporters for the upcoming local body polls.

OPS camp also raised the issue of an affidavit submitted before the Election Commission to claim the two-leaf symbol. OPS team said that the affidavit had the names of Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran, hinting aT the clout of the Mannargudi family within the AIADMK.

Also read:

AIADMK merger: Tamil Nadu Minister Jayakumar invites Panneerselvam for talks

Tamil Nadu: With OPS adamant on his demands, AIADMK merger delayed again

What happens to Panneerselvam with Palaniswami swearing in as Tamil Nadu CM

WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Poonch attack

Jammu, May 1 (PTI) Condemning the beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani army along LoC today, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said Pakistan was a terrorist state and known for such cowardly acts.

Hitting out at the neighbouring country for "creating havoc in Kashmir by engineering terror attacks", he said his government was very serious about such attacks by Pakistan, wherein "militants are being sent to Kashmir to attack and kill people."

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"We condemn the killing and mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers in the Border Action Team (BAT) attack by Pakistani army on a patrol party along LOC in Poonch district. Pakistan is a terrorist nation and is known for such cowardly acts," he told reporters here.

"They [Pakistan] are doing everything in their power to create havoc in Kashmir by engineering terror attacks. They are trying to engineer BAT attacks and ceasefire violations along the border.

"The government is very serious over Pakistans attack and directly sending militants into Kashmir to attack and kill people. This is a very big conspiracy against India wherein terrorists and separatists are active,? he said.

Singh said the army will give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

All Party Migrant coordination Committee (APMCC) Chairman Vinood Pandita also condemned the attack and mutilation of the bodies of Indian jawans and demanded a befitting reply to the neighbouring nation.

Under the cover of heavy mortar fire, the Pakistani special forces team sneaked 250 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Poonch sector and beheaded two Indian security personnel today, officials said. PTI AB SRY

--- ENDS ---
Kim Reynolds wins reelection, promises to let Iowans 'keep more of your money'
Experts have told US lawmakers that Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals in places like Jammu and Kashmir.

By Press Trust of India: Afghanistan's relationship with India is unacceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like Haqqani network and the Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

"Afghanistan's strongest regional ally is India, that is unacceptable to Pakistan. India is an enemy while the Afghan government is an ally in the Indian government," Seth Jones, Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center, Rand Corporation said during a Congressional hearing last week.

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"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against the Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban, so it is a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

"The Pakistani government is continuing with its policy, their strategy of strategic depth, that it views everything through the lens of fighting India," Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation.

"That unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India to establish strategic depth in Afghanistan, its come back to bite them with groups like the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, and other groups which have attacked the Pakistani state," Roggio said.

"Unfortunately, Pakistan seems unwilling to recognise this that it still while it fights the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, it continues what other groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and a host of other groups because they are willing to serve as Pakistans strategic depth," he said.

"Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, until they come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist for decades," Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan said that in recent years the US has given over USD 33 billion in some form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that support a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Jones said it's a serious problem.

"I would support as the US did last year when it has a strike against the Taliban leader, as it did with Mullah Mansour to take that strike. I mean, I think its worth considering the cost and benefits, but I would applaud the administration for targeting the Taliban leader last year," he said.

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Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise that when a US drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in May 2016, he was in South-western Pakistan.

"The laundry list of evidence of Pakistan's support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al Qaida leader and Americas most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counterterrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not the Afghan Taliban," he said.

Speaking about ISIS, he said: "ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghan further complicates the country's tourist landscape."

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as "ISIS Khorasan Province".

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ALSO READ:

India hits back after jawans mutilated on LoC; Army kills 7 Pakistani soldiers, destroys 2 enemy bunkers

Hizbul militants kill 5 policemen, 2 J&K Bank employees in Kulgam while looting cash van

Is China using its One Belt One Road initiative as an alibi to meddle in Kashmir dispute?

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Autumn Driscoll / Autumn Driscoll Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Christine Armario / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3





More than 425 Connecticut residents could have student loans extinguished covering classes they took at Corinthian Colleges, according to state Attorney General George Jepsen, after the for-profit company shut down abruptly in 2015.

Any canceled loans would include refunds on any payments made.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Repeating after incorporating changes throughout)

From Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 2 (PTI) Afghanistans relationship with India is "unacceptable" to Pakistan, which is using proxies like the Haqqani network and Taliban against its neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

During a Congressional hearing, Seth Jones, Director of International Security and Defence Policy Centre at the Rand Corporation said that Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals.

advertisement

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against Indians and in Afghanistan and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and Taliban, so its a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

He also acknowledged that Afghanistan is Indias "strongest" regional ally which is "unacceptable" to Pakistan.

"India is an enemy while the Afghan government is an ally of the Indian government," Jones said last week.

The Pakistani government views everything through the lens of fighting India, Bill Roggio, editor of Long War journal said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation.

"Unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India have come back to bite Pakistan. Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist," Roggio said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan said that in recent years the US has given over USD 33 billion in form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that supports a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise when a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor in south-western Pakistan in May, 2016.

"The list of evidence of Pakistans support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when Al-Qaeda leader and Americas most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counter-terrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not Afghan Taliban," he said.

advertisement

Speaking about the Islamic State militant group, he said: "ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January, 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghanistan further complicates the countrys tourist landscape".

He said these fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as "ISIS Khorasan Province". PTI LKJ AJR UZM

--- ENDS ---
NORWALK  Growing up, there werent a lot of toys in Daniel Halls house.

There were instruments, he said. For me it would be a loud place to raise kids, but thats how my parents were. We had a lot of fun and they loved it. I grew up singing. Its always challenging to have your parents teach you anything as a kid, but my dad did give me roots in that.

Hall was born into a family of performers, a background that has since set him up for a career in film and television. Most recently, he was cast as Scotty Grainger on The Young and The Restless.

Im enjoying this a lot, Hall said. In a soap, youre shooting so much. Its almost real time as close as you can for a film or TV story line. You get to live in it in the day to day. The story lines are nice and fluid. Theres nothing thats forced. You feel like youve lived in the whole week, and I think the fan base gets to live in the character in that real time way and I think thats why theyre so devoted. They feel like theyre part of this, and I think thats unique to soaps. For me I, get to develop the character over time.

The Young and The Restless premiered in 1973 and has since become the highest-rated daytime drama on American television, netting nine Emmy awards in the process. Halls character was first introduced in 2005, played by actor Blair Redford for roughly six months.

More News Tony Awards 2017: Westport native gets nomination

The character was sent to boarding school and hasnt been seen since. Now hes returning as a journalist who recently endured traumatic events before his return home.

Hall said he had seen a few episodes of the show but was unfamiliar with Grainger's character. As a result he knew little of the characters personality, and decided to keep it that way in order to put his own spin on the character rather than try to recreate Redfords version.

Hes a character that was on show 10 years ago and hes changed a lot in that time, Hall said. I decided I wouldnt do a whole lot of research on how the previous actor did it. I didnt want to try and watch what he did. I just wanted to bring my own world experience to the character, so I did research on where hed been and what hed been up to. I wanted to bring a new and different approach, hes a more mature, worldly, traveled guy than the last time he was on the show.

Hall was born in Norwalk and grew up on County Street across from Norwalk High School. In that neighborhood he made his debut as a paper boy for The Hour, an anecdote he connects with his characters career as a journalist.

Its fun to play a journalist now after roots in journalism in a way, delivering the news, Hall said.

Hall attended Columbus Magnet School, where he first became involved in theater. Once his family moved to Westport, he attended and graduated from Staples High School where he was actively involved in the theater program.

Hall spent much of his childhood performing in concerts with his parents and older sister, Broadway actress Emily Rabon Hall. After attending Staples, Hall went on to earn his BFA in Theatre at the University of Michigan.

After graduating, Hall moved to New York City where he guest starred on Law and Order: SVU and booked a recurring role on the CBS daytime drama, Guiding Light. Since making the move to Hollywood, Hall has appeared in a string of television series including Mad Men, Graceland, Rizzoli and Isles, The Newsroom, Grandfathered, Mixology and most recently Quarry.

Hall makes the trip back to Westport at least once a year to visit his family, and still participates in community productions and helps with his parents music programs when he returns.

I still have major roots in Norwalk, Hall said. My parents still teach at Cranbury Chapel, and I go back home to do concerts with them once a year.

Columbus Magnet School is where I think I really got all my influence for who I am, he said. It taught me how to be a kind person and take people for who they are and not pre-judge them. Thats what a magnet school is, its all kinds of people from all over coming together. Norwalk to me is where I cut my teeth. Thats where Im from.

kkrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
Hoping it will ease your sorrow that so many are thinking about you and caring about you at this difficult time.

 Sympathy card

Even though we knew that my son Don was very ill with cancer and that he was ready to meet the Lord, I am having a difficult time letting him go. Donald Joseph was named for my favorite cousin Donald and my dads brother, Uncle Joe.

My son for 62 years often stopped for coffee and to visit. It was Don, the carpenter, who rebuilt the barn his dad Bill had considered knocking over before building another barn. Years later, an elderly former resident stopped to see her home and told me that she was a child when the barn was built in 1905. I am especially glad that we can still use it.

When Don was ill, he was a patient for treatment at St. Francis hospital in Grand Island and Methodist Hospital in Omaha. Eventually, he was allowed to return to his home near Cairo. A hospice nurse came daily to care for him and his wonderful daughters and their husbands and his son were there regularly to help their dad.

There is no doubt their father loved them and his grandchildren and appreciated their help. I will forever be grateful for their loving care. It is hard for me to accept that I couldnt help more.

When they could, Dons brothers and sisters came to visit from Texas, Arizona and even from Moscow. They also visited their sisters who live in Grand Island. Of course, my son Tim and I also appreciated their visits.

As I try to honestly remember that my son is in a better place, the cards we receive truly help.

The following came from a mother whose only daughter had died. Sometimes its hard to see through our tears. But even when we cant see, God has promised to be there  loving us, strengthening us, giving us what we need to face each day.

No matter what happens, God will hold you close and see you through because you are so precious to HIM.

As you know, we live near Prairie Creek with lots of trees so this poem is especially helpful.

Within the whispers of the leaves that rustle in the breeze,

And in the song of little birds that echoes from the trees,

Within the silver sunbeams glistening brightly on the seas 

In ways we cant begin to know, or hearts find hope in these.

Thanks again to friends and family for your thoughts and care.

Billy Wetterer of Wood River was the family living editor for The Independent before her retirement; she still writes a column twice a month for the newspaper. Email her at Billy.Wetterer@aol.com
There she was, my best friend in the great state of Nevada, the kindred soul that I call my oasis in the desert, beaming up at me from a photo she posted on Facebook with two women shes known even longer than shes known me.

Linda might not say she likes them better than she likes me. But I cant blame her if she does.

Theyre her sisters. Blood kin. Theyve known each other forever. They grew up together. Skinned their knees on the same rocks. Dried their backsides on the same towels. Buried their faces in the same pillows. And fought, laughed and loved each other in everything and nothing.

They know each others stories and played major roles in most of them. And three years ago, when they lost the mother they adored, they held each other close, dried each others tears and promised to get together again soon. Its hard to forge a stronger bond than that.

I know the feeling. I have a sister, too. Mine lives in South Carolina. Lindas live in Kansas.

Its a long way from Vegas to South Carolina or Kansas. We dont get to see our sisters as often as we wish we could.

Maybe thats why Linda and I have become so close. We live a few miles apart. When one of us calls the other to say, Wanna meet for lunch? the answer is usually, Im on my way!

Our husbands are friends, too, so when the four of us get together, they dont seem to mind that Linda and I talk nonstop and ignore them.

But our friendship is far more than just one of convenience. Spending time together helps to fill the void that comes from missing our blood sisters. It also allows us to tell our stories.

Ten years ago, when my husbands job took us from the coast of Northern California to the desert outside Las Vegas, we left behind, not only our grown children (my three and his two) but a wealth of friends wed known and loved for years.

Good friends can never be replaced. If you move far away from them, you stay in touch as best you can. And when you get together, you pick up where you left off. But at the same time, if youre lucky, you make new friends to share your new life.

More than lucky, I was blessed to be befriended by Linda. We met through our husbands who worked together. From the start, we felt a connection, as if we knew things about each other we had no way of knowing.

Turns out, we have lots in common. We grew up in small towns in families that struggled to make ends meet, but always had enough. Our values are remarkably similar. We care about the same things. And though we cant prove it, we like to brag that were the only two women in the Las Vegas Valley who ever used a real outhouse.

Mostly, we like to laugh. And we love to tell stories  stories about growing up, raising our children, becoming who we are.

In the past 10 years, weve spent hours every few weeks or so telling each other our stories. And we still have more to tell.

Sharing stories can turn strangers into friends. It can also turn friends into sisters.

Linda and I arent sisters by birth. Were sisters by choice. I have one birth sister and a whole family of chosen ones.

I hope you do, too. You can never have too many sisters.

The photo Linda posted is a keeper: Three women of a certain age with the same smiles, same eyes, same history and same joy at being together.

In their faces are the same little girls they once were, and will forever be, holding onto each other, come what may _ and having too much fun.

I wish you could see them.

And I really wish I couldve been in that photo with them.

Sharon Randall is a syndicated columnist. Contact her at P.O. Box 777394, Henderson, NV 89052 or at via her website at www.sharonrandall.com.
Grand Island Area Clean Community System will receive $160,700 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for its household hazardous waste collection facility.

The trust board announced funding for the facility earlier this month.

This is the second year for the award with a potential for a third year totaling $163,900.

This project is one of the 85 projects receiving $16.68 million in grants from the Nebraska Environmental Trust this year.

Clean Community System will use the grant for the continued operation of its household hazardous waste facility and recyclable projects.

Clean Community System is a regional facility serving approximately 114,607 residents of Hall, Adams, Howard, Hamilton and Merrick counties, as well as other residents living in outstate Nebraska.

The group is currently accepting large volumes of household hazardous waste, bulk liquids, paint, insecticides, fertilizer and household cleaning items. For more information, go to www.cleancommunity.org or call (308) 385-5095.
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 2 (PTI) Afghanistans close relationship with India is not acceptable to Pakistan, which is using proxies like the Haqqani network and the Taliban against its two neighbours, eminent experts have told US lawmakers.

"Afghanistans strongest regional ally is India, that is unacceptable to Pakistan. India is an enemy...while the Afghan government is an ally in the Indian government," Seth Jones, director, International Security and Defense Policy Center, Rand Corporation, said during a Congressional hearing last week.

advertisement

"Pakistan has resorted to proxy organisations to further its foreign policy goals both in places like Jammu and Kashmir against the Indians and in Afghanistan, and that means support to organisations like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban, so its a proxy war," Jones said in response to a question from Congressman Ted Poe.

Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War journal, agreed with Jones assertion.

The Pakistani government is continuing with its policy, the strategy of strategic depth, that it views everything through the lens of fighting India, Roggio said during the hearing organised by the House Foreign Affairs Sub-committee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation.

"That unfortunately some of these jihadist groups that have spawned from the Pakistani efforts to fight India to establish strategic depth in Afghanistan, its come back to bite them with groups like the movement in Taliban and Pakistan, and other groups which have attacked the Pakistani state," Roggio said.

"Until the Pakistani government and leaders and military intelligence, until they come to grips with this, this problem is going to exist for decades," he said.

Poe, who chaired the Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that in recent years the US has given over USD 33 billion in some form of aid to Pakistan.

"Pakistan directly or indirectly supports the Haqqani Network, in theory. That network as we mentioned earlier, has killed more Americans in the region than any other terrorist group. To me that is something that we should not accept. We should not accept sending money to a country that supports a terrorist group that kills Americans. I think there is a real problem with that," Poe said.

Jones said this was a serious problem.

"I would support as the US did last year when it has a strike against the Taliban leader, as it did with Mullah Mansour to take that strike. I mean, I think its worth considering the cost and benefits, but I would applaud the administration for targeting the Taliban leader last year," he said.

Poe alleged that Taliban was still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise that when a US drone strike killed the leader of the Taliban in May 2016, he was in southwestern Pakistan.

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"The laundry list of evidence of Pakistans support for terrorist goes on and on. We remember that when al-Qaeda leader and Americas most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed, he was found in Pakistan," he said.

"I believe Pakistan is playing us, they launch what they called counter-terrorism operations in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but quickly became clear they were only targeting the Pakistani Taliban and not the Afghan Taliban," he said.

Poe noted that ISIS announced the establishment of Afghan affiliate in January 2015 and is entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country.

"ISIS presence in Afghan further complicates the countrys tourist landscape. These fighters ended up becoming the leaders of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan known as, ISIS Khorasan Province," Poe said. PTI LKJ AJR ASK AKJ ASK

--- ENDS ---
Hadeel Haider has lost enough sleep in the past decade.

The Iraqi refugee had nightmares in her native country when it was ravaged by war. She heard explosions 24 hours a day. Her husband received death threats, and they walked their children to school so they wouldnt be kidnapped.

In her new Omaha home, she tossed and turned after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Now, in remission and settled into life in America, she stays awake imagining choreography to the upbeat Latin tunes playing in her head.

While recovering from chemotherapy treatments, Haider, 48, discovered Zumba. The dance fitness classes set to Latin music are more than exercise to her. Zumba has become a rewarding way to connect with others, and it helped her transition from a cancer patient to survivor. Now Haider is a certified instructor.

When I teach a class, I feel like Im on top of the world. American people following a refugee from Iraq teaching them dancing  it was something out of my wildest dream, Haider said.

Haider moved to Omaha in 2009. It took nearly three years for her to adapt to life in the U.S. She had to learn English and adjust to a new culture. She balanced working 12 hours a day at two jobs.

And the family would soon encounter health problems, first with her 18-year-old son. He developed a bump on his head that his parents worried was cancer. After several tests, doctors determined it was benign.

While dealing with that, Haider put herself second. For months, she pushed aside her own health problem: an itching and swelling in her groin.

At the urging of her husband, Haider met with doctors at the Nebraska Medical Center. In 2012 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Lymphomas are a type of blood cancer that occur when white blood cells behave abnormally. Hodgkin lymphoma is a more treatable form.

We were waiting, crying and praying, Haider said. It was mixed feelings because I was very ill and very sad. But at least it was Hodgkin.

Haider would require six months of chemotherapy treatments. After three months, doctors wanted to give her a stronger dosage.

I was devastated all over, just like the first day, Haider said. The doctor said, Its treated, but not cured. I want you to be cured. 

By the time Haider started the second round, her hair was long gone. Her skin was dark and dry. Her mouth was full of sores.

She also started feeling extreme pain in her muscles, joints and bones. She frequently felt weak and passed out, requiring blood transfusions.

Dealing with her diagnosis was challenging, especially after being uprooted from her home in Iraq.

We were still new. Im still learning, Haider said. It was tough, but at the same time, when we heard that this is the right place for treating lymphoma, we were also relieved.

By November, Haider was done with treatments and declared free of cancer. For nearly two months after treatment she attempted to regain her strength. But she still struggled to feel like herself.

Walking across the room felt taxing. Bending over to pick up something from the floor made her feel like she was 90.

Haider packed on about 35 extra pounds during her treatments. Some patients gain weight during treatments and others lose weight, said Dr. James Armitage, who treated Haider.

Exercise is particularly helpful to cancer patients and survivors, Armitage said. Studies show cancer patients who exercise have a better quality of life, in addition to its more well-known benefits, according to the American Cancer Society.

Maintaining a healthy weight, eating right and being physically active may help reduce the risk of a second cancer as well as chronic diseases, according to the organization.

The cancer society recommends that survivors take part in regular physical activity, return to daily activities as soon as possible after diagnosis, exercise 150 minutes a week and include strength training exercises twice a week.

A friend encouraged Haider to try the Livestrong at the YMCA program. The 12-week exercise program is designed to help cancer survivors reclaim their health by building muscle and strength, increasing flexibility and endurance, as well as improving confidence and self-esteem.

The program isnt designed as a support group, but participants often use it as one, said Amy Roux, project manager for the program.

Haider and her group members asked questions such as how to deal with muscle cramps, whether to call themselves survivors or how to receive a compliment on a wig.

It really helped me because we are sharing the same symptoms, the same side effects, the same feelings, Haider said.

The goal of the program is for participants to find a type of exercise they enjoy and will stick with. For Haider, it was Zumba.

Haider started taking classes about a month after the Live strong program ended. She attended classes three to four days a week. She worked her way from the back of class to the front about six weeks later. Eventually, she realized she could lead class.

By the time Zumba training rolled around, Haider had lost some of the weight she gained during chemo, and her hair was growing back. After she earned her certification, Haider landed a class as an instructor at the YMCA in Valley and two classes at the Maple Street YMCA, 7520 Maple St.

Helen Bartee has been attending Haiders Zumba classes at the Maple Street location for about two years. Haiders fun-loving attitude keeps Bartee and other attendees coming back.

Bartee was one of six participants in a class on a recent Thursday. They faced a mirror-lined wall and watched as Haider went through the fast-paced routines, tapping her toes, clapping her hands and waving her arms above her head.

She breaks it down and keeps throwing new things at us, Bartee said. Shes just so personable.

Organizers of YMCA programs and class members have been struck by Haiders energy and her passion to connect with others. Her resilience to overcome cancer and channel her enthusiasm into Zumba has been inspiring, they said.

People discover they really like yoga or Zumba or water aerobics. But for her to take it to that next level, thats very inspiring, Roux said. To really have a success story like hers, its heartwarming.
Our business in Grand Island manufactures machinery and employs eight full-time and one part-time workers. Last year we shipped products to 22 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Sixty percent of our sales were shipped out of state. Nearly 100 percent of our sales leads come from our website. Less than 2 percent of our sales were from Grand Island. However, we make a significant impact on the economy through our payroll, property taxes and purchases from local companies.

I share the state Legislatures concern about lost sales tax revenue from out-of-state retailers, but I am against LB44. I understand that the bill does not require collecting the tax, only reporting the sales transactions, but look where this is heading. How is the state going to have the resources to track down these transactions and demand they pay their use tax? They cant do it now. So how is this regulatory burden going to change that situation?

Soon they will also be requiring the collection of the tax. We manually maintain 239 Nebraska sales tax formulas so that we properly collect Nebraska sales taxes. My concern is if laws similar to LB44, or more demanding legislation, is implemented in the 21 other states we ship to, I may have to maintain 5,000 tax formulas and file a tremendous amount of paperwork.

Amazon is collecting sales tax on their Nebraska orders. They have the resources to do it. I have researched the software needed to automate our sales tax. It is complex and cost prohibitive. Amazon can afford to do it on their scale. We cant. The marketplace has changed and it is continuing to get more difficult for small businesses to survive. Expanding government regulations is part of the problem. LB44 is not even a step in the right direction.
Authorities have identified a body found in the Missouri River, but can't say for certain if it's the same man reported to have jumped into the river from a bridge more than a month ago.
Here's all that you need to know about Pakistan's Border Action Team, BAT who recently carried out barbaric acts on two Indian soldiers near LoC.

By India Today Web Desk: On May 1, 2017, Pakistan's barbaric BAT (Border Action Team) attacked two Indian soldiers -- Prem Sagar and Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh -- in the Krishna Ghati sector of LoC.

In retaliation, the Indian Army pounded Pakistan Army posts along the LoC but Pakistan dismissed the incident and claimed that they neither committed ceasefire violation nor mutilated Indian soldiers.

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This isn't the first time Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) has inflicted barbarism on Indian soldiers, there has been cases in the past that prove that BAT is not just a next-door action team.

Here's what all you need to know about this deadly enemy team:

What is BAT?

BAT is Pakistan's Border Action Team which carries out cross border operations and raids across Line of Control.

Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the core of BAT. The team is responsible for carrying out operations and raids in order to dominate the LoC.

How well trained is BAT?

BAT is trained for eight months by Pakistani Army and for four-week by Pakistan's Air Force.

BAT members include commandos of Pakistani Army and terrorists. They are experts in guerrilla tactics and work along with Pakistan's special service group.

Terrorists are included in BAT so that Pakistan can disown them when caught.

BAT's barbaric acts' timeline:

On May 1, 2017, BAT violated the ceasefire agreement made with India by carrying out rocket and mortar firing on LoC. In a ceasefire violation, Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) attacked an Indian joint patrol team and mutilated its two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Also read: Pakistan mutilates bodies of 2 Indian soldiers near LoC, Army pounds Pak posts in retaliatio

In 2016, BAT mutilated and killed an Indian soldier in the Machil sector near LoC.

In 2013, BAT killed, beheaded and mutilated Lance Naik Hemraj and injured constable Rajinder Singh (BSF).

In 2008, a soldier of 2/8 Gorkha rifles was captured by BAT and was beheaded after a few days.

In 2000, seven Indian soldiers of Ashok Listening Post were killed when Ilyas Kashmiri led a raid in Nowshara sector.

During Kargil, Captain Saurabh Kalia was mutilated and tortured by BAT. His body was handed over to India after some time.

Pakistan's defense:

In their defense, Pakistan's ISPR backed the Border Action Team and claimed that the force is 'highly professional'. "Pakistan Army is a highly professional force and shall never disrespect a soldier, even Indian.", said Pakistan's ISPR in a press release.

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Pakistan has also denied violation of ceasefire agreement on the May 1 massacre.

"Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on the Line of Control or a BAT action in the Buttal sector (India's Krishna Ghati sector) as alleged by India. Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers' bodies is also false,"

But, according to Indian Army officials, Pakistan's BAT took advantage of firing from Pak's side and carried out the heinous act.

Taking advantage of the firing from Pak side, BAT (Border Action Team) mutilated bodies of 2 soldiers: KN Choubey, ADG BSF, Western Command pic.twitter.com/2sim6ZdStK- ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

--- ENDS ---
Two former Army officers - and others - have called for retribution after the Pakistan Army mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers at the LoC yesterday.

The soldiers whose bodies were mutilated by Pakistan Army.

By Siraj Qureshi: Following Pakistan's cross-border attack on an Indian military post, and a Pakistan Border Action Team (BAT)'s mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers, the general emotion all over India is that of unbridled rage against its neighbour.

While former soldiers are ready to fight Pakistan again to avenge this act, furious citizens are demanding action. Several social organizations are taking to the streets in protest of Pakistan's actions and are asking the BJP government to act immediately.

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In Agra, too, a large group of prominent citizens organized a candle march from the MD Jain Inter College to Shaheed Smarak. The march culminated in prayer meeting for the martyred soldiers at the Shaheed Smarak, and candles were placed at the memorial.

Yogesh Puri, the Mahant of Mankameshwar Temple, said Pakistan has breached India's borders time and again, but the central and state governments - no matter what their party affiliation may be - only seek to condemn these attacks, with no concrete action.

Until Pakistan is taught a lesson in the strongest possible way, such activities will continue from across the border, and India will continue losing lives of its brave soldiers, he added.

'GIVE FREE HAND TO SOLDIERS TO AVENGE PAKISTAN'S ACTIONS ON ITS OWN LAND'

Major (Retd) Dr Y V S Chauhan said that the Pakistanis don't have the courage to face the Indian army directly, so they seek to hurt India through such cowardly actions - like mutilating the bodies of martyred India soldiers.

He said that if such incidents continue to happen, the morale of the Indian Army will be diminished.

The Indian government should give a free hand to soldiers to avenge such actions of Pakistan on its own land, he said.

As long as India continues to let Pakistan get away such acts, innocent soldiers will continue to die unnecessarily, he added.

Capt. (Retd) Nihal Singh said the Army needs a morale booster in light of such attacks by Pakistan - both direct and through proxy - and that it's time to give it a fitting answer it won't forget.

Meanwhile, social activist Vijay Upadhyay said only time will tell how PM Modi chooses to answer Pakistani aggression, and whether it will be through diplomacy or through direct action.

The people of India now seek direct action as the PM Narendra Modi's diplomacy model has not brought any desired returns, he said.

'MODI'S DIPLOMACY NOT FOR A BARBARIC NATION LIKE PAKISTAN'

Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad chairman Sami Aghai said it's time Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reminded of promises he made regarding Pakistan during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign.

The type of diplomacy PM Modi is using with Pakistan may be good for a civilized country, but not for such a barbaric nation like our neighbour, he said.

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Ex-Servicemen Society Secretary Veer Bahadur Singh said the time had come to teach Pakistan a lesson.

It won't suffice to give an answer to this barbaric act alone, but it's time to seek retribution for each and every such act, he said.

Indian soldiers can't continue laying down their lives for nothing, and this isn't what they are signing up for, he added.

The Ex-Servicemen Society will pass a resolution on this issue at a convention which will be held in Himachal Pradesh later this year, Veer Bahadur Singh said.

ALSO READ | DGMO's tough talk on BAT, Army must get free hand to reply to attack, says former defence minister: Top developments

ALSO READ | India's DGMO to Pakistan on mutilation of soldiers: Dastardly, inhuman act beyond norms of civility

WATCH VIDEO | Mutilation of Indian soldiers was 'dastardly and inhuman' act: India's DGMO to Pakistan counterpart

--- ENDS ---
Scott Evers will be offering a photography class at the Watershed Nature Center on May 17 and 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The class, called Nature and Photography, is geared toward beginning and intermediate photographers. The class costs $50 and participants can register on the Watershed website.

A lot of people buy nice cameras with manual controls and dont know how to use them, Evers said. You can put the camera on auto and get really good photos most of the time.

Evers said this class will help people get off the automatic setting and learn to use the other settings on the camera.

Well talk about understanding depth of field, what is in focus, whats not, he said. Ill have lots of tips and techniques to improve photos.

He said it was difficult to cover everything he wants to cover in six hours. Well go fast and cover a lot of ground. We cover all kinds of stuff, lighting, portraits, not just nature, vacation pictures, and landscapes.

Evers will talk about what setting, other than automatic, will work best in different situation. Its best if participants have a camera with manual controls, he said. Most cameras, even the point and shoot, have manual controls.

Evers will also discuss photo editing.

Anyone who has been to the Watershed Nature Center or visited the website has seen Evers work. He has taken several of the photos hanging at the Nature Center and on the website.

Evers retired four years ago from the Edwardsville Police Department where he was head of detectives.

He said he got interested in photography in high school. I had a dark room, but I didnt really like developing film, he said. When he became a police officer, he used cameras to photograph evidence.

When we got digital cameras, I learned how to edit photos and really got back into photography, he said. I traded in all of my film stuff and went digital around '95 or '96.

After he retired, he turned to photography even more. My first year off after retiring I had two knee replacements. I developed my photography business and traveled, he said.

He has taken Photoshop classes and photography classes. Im now in the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, he said.

He exhibited in the ArtEast event. I sold a ton of stuff, he said. I had to file a tax form. He also started doing commercial photography.

I do nature photography. I also do commercial photography. I work for several designers, doing food photography, interiors, and buildings for architects, he said. I enjoy doing that. Its a challenge.

Evers also likes to travel. Ive been able to photograph wild horses. We had to go out in a four wheel drive to find them, he said.

I went to Yellowstone, the Tetons, he said. I go to LeClaire, Iowa, for eagles in the winter, he said. Lock and dam 14 there is a great place to see eagles. He has also been to Maine to photograph lighthouses and seascapes.

Several of Evers photos of Edwardsville and the surrounding area are on display around the area. His pictures are in the new Comfort Inn and the Esic YMCA. He has a large mural at the Faust Carousel in West St. Louis County.

Evers said that he probably spends more than he makes on new gear. I have a buddy who is an expert at buying used gear, he said. He will talk about buying gear at the class. Photography attracts people who love technology, he said, so there is always used equipment out there.

Sarah Palermo, Executive Director of the Watershed, said that she was looking forward to the class and is planning on taking it. Recently, she said, four unusual ducks stopped at the Watershed. She said she was able to take photos of them, but she would like to get better shots.

Scott has done a lot of photos in the Watershed, Palermo said. We always have people asking about the photos. People come out here for many reasons. One is for pictures. If we can help them be better and have a better time, thats great.

She noted that Evers is donating his time and all proceeds from the class go back to the Watershed. Evers sat on the Nature Foundation Board for several years.

Well cap the class at 15 participants, she said.
St. Boniface School sixth-grader Ellie Antonini is the winner of a state-wide drawing competition.

The contest was sponsored by Illinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems and aimed for students to draw a picture that showed alcohol is a drug and relayed a clear message about the dangers of alcohol if used by youths.

Following the win, Antonini received an HP laptop last Friday, and her poster will be displayed in the Illinois State Capitol as well.

Sister Anna Flanigan, of St. Boniface, said she was notified a few weeks ago of Antoninis victory.

We mailed it in and I received a couple weeks ago a very special telephone call from Lynn Allen (ILCAAAP Youth Director) asking whether or not Ellie was one of our students. I very proudly said, Yes. Then they wanted to know, does Ellie do this all the time or did she make a copy of this from somewhere? I said, No, Ellie does this all the time for us, Flanigan said.

Antoninis picture featured a large glass of alcohol in the center of the piece, divided with half of the drawing depicting a bar and the other half of a doctors office/hospital setting.

Antonini said she came up with the idea after thinking about the message she wanted to portray.

I wanted it to seem that even though youre taking drugs, its like youre taking things that are for the doctor, but they can still hurt you. One side is at a bar and the other is at a doctor or hospital, she said.

Antonini has entered art contests in the past, but with this competition, she said she wanted to test her limits.

I wanted to see how far I could push myself to make a good picture and to see how I would place, she said.

Antonini also entered a Maryville art contest recently, while also doing other drawings and projects for St. Boniface School. Flanigan said aside from the ILCAAAP competition, she asked Antonini if she could lend her skills to help with a Stations of the Cross re-enactment.

There have been other art contests (Antoninis) entered  a couple of them that shes won. Theyve been much smaller, much more local. I think the Knights of Columbus was perhaps one that she has drawn. Actually, one of her pieces of artwork is  we did a reenactment for the Stations of the Cross about three weeks ago, and I needed the face of Jesus drawn on a towel so that it would represent when Veronica wiped the face. Ellie was the one that drew it for me, Flanigan said. It was absolutely beautiful. Someone had thought we had bought it. Shes quite talented.

A poster of Antoninis drawing will also be awarded to St. Boniface School for display. She is also known for drawing the annual Keep Christ in Christmas poster for St. Boniface each year.

Antonini said she started pursuing art when she was in fourth grade, and hopes to continue with future projects.

I started around fourth grade where I used a lot of books and stuff and then Ive just kind of grown from that, she said. I want to keep doing it. I enjoy some other things but I think art is really fun and interesting. I have sketchbooks and do a lot of drawing at home.

The ILCAAAP art contest is offered annually in April, during Alcohol Awareness Month. Students in grades 6 to 12 are eligible to participate. The second place winner received a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7 and the third place winner received an Apple iPod Nano, seventh generation.

Flanigan said its possible St. Boniface will participate in this competition again.

Im sure that if its entered, somebody will probably remember the laptop being won this year and will look forward to trying to be the recipient of it next year, Flanigan said.

If students wish to participate in upcoming competitions, Flanigan said its a great opportunity for them to use their talents for a good cause.

I think its important for them to compete when they have the ability. I think it gives them the ability to be recognized for the gifts that Gods given them and also gives them the opportunity to be awarded and rewarded for doing a good job, she said.

For more information about the ICAAAP, or to view Ellies drawing, which will be posted in the next week or so, visit www.ilcaap.org.
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Linkedin Hindun Mulaika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017

Over the course of February, volunteers and staff from Greenpeace Indonesia fanned out across Greater Jakarta, armed with small hand-held devices that monitor air quality in real time.

What they found was truly shocking. Nowhere in the city, a region of 28 million people, was the air safe to breathe.

The measurements taken of PM2.5  tiny particulate matter  showed levels far higher than the maximum daily guideline set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Linkedin Setiono Sugiharto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017

As we commemorate National Education Day, which falls on May 2, we should not lose sight of two important facts: every Indonesian citizen, irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity and social status is granted full rights to get access to quality education; and global forces continuously challenge nationalism and the identity politics of the nation-state.

It is fair, therefore, to say that only through better access to education will children and adults alike be able to seize opportunities in a highly competitive global economy and to refrain from being engrossed in assimilationist ideology, which strips them off their national civic identity.

We need to be mindful that the discourse on global market that highlights the importance of access to education to assure a nations survival brings with it a paradox.

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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017

The presence of Myanmars leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the 30th ASEAN Summit in Manila over the weekend was definitely the strongest landmark of the regional grouping in welcoming its 50th anniversary on Aug. 8 this year. With its unique way, ASEAN has helped Myanmar abandon its dictatorship, embrace democracy and end its self-isolation.

No doubt Indonesia played a key, if not leading, role in persuading the Myanmar junta to cede power to civilians and let democracy flourish. They listened to Indonesia because both nations have much in common, particularly in the relationships between civilians and the military, regional and central governments, and majority and minority groups.

The Manila summit shows that ASEAN needs strong leadership from Indonesia as the largest member of the association in dealing with not only internal challenges, like the Myanmar issue, but also external pressures.
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Linkedin Vishal Bhargava (The Jakarta Post) Mumbai  Tue, May 2, 2017

It is no secret that the rise of China is far from peaceful for the globe. After years of single-minded focus on economic growth, the dragon is showcasing its bulked muscle to nations near and far.

Small and weak nations like Mongolia are pummeled into submission for permitting the visit of spiritual leader Dalai Lama who Beijing considers as a separatist.

Small but dynamic economies like South Korea are punished by arbitrary inspections and closures of their companies in China for permitting a defense system on their land that is perceived to hurt Chinas interests. A United Nations judgment in favor of the Philippines against Beijing on the South China Sea was dismissed.

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Linkedin Duncan Graham (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 09:39 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdeba6fb7 4 People national-hero,history,female,laskar-putri,tien-soeharto,dar-mortir Free

Were they all subservient homebodies while the gallant guys were out defending the new nation? Did females have no role during the four-year fight from the 1945 Proclamation to the 1949 withdrawal of the Dutch after two failed police actions to recover their colony?

The truth is women played a major part, but most historians have overlooked their importance.

Journalists have not been interested in my story, said Moeljati, 85, a former member of the Laskar Putri (Womens Army) in Surakarta, also known as Solo. She is one of five surviving veterans in the Central Java city.

It seems that everyone has paid attention to the men and ignored us even though hundreds volunteered. We also served.

She said she was still in school when she heard broadcasts by Bung (brother) Tomo that fired her spirit so much that she was determined to help kick out the Dutch. I didnt hate them as individuals, but I did hate what they were doing to my country, said Moeljati.

My main job was to go around shops, farms and houses collecting rice, sugar and other food for the jungle kitchens that supplied the fighters. People gave willingly.

Bung Tomo (Sutomo) was a revolutionary firebrand known for his emotional oratory on Radio Pemberontakan (Radio Rebellion) though Moeljati recalls it as Radio Tunggal (Radio One and Only).

Veterans homes are often shrines to the turbulent years of fighting for independence. But there are no medals on the walls of Moeljatis house or awards on the cupboard and only a few faded documents and pictures in a file.

One is of her former colleague in the kitchens, Siti Hartinah. In 1947 she married a lieutenant-colonel called Soeharto who later become second president. Siti, known as Ibu Tien, died in 1996 aged 72. Many Laskar Putri wed soldiers after the war according to Moeljati though she claimed they had little interest in romance while serving.

I was among the smallest and youngest of the volunteers, she said. There was no conflict among us whatever our age, background or religion. I suppose we were also looking for adventure.

Here it is: A close up of Ibu Tien's name at the memorial in Surakarta, Central Java, which recognized 114 women who served though the number is believed to be much greater.(Erlinawati Graham/File)

The men treated us with respect. We worked together like members of one family with a clear goal  to defeat the Dutch. Nothing else mattered.

She said they did not get paid or have proper uniforms  just a red and white arm badge, which they sewed themselves along with shirts and trousers often made from sacking.

We had parades every day and I was shown how to use rifles and revolvers. I scored top marks for shooting. I never fired at any Dutch soldiers  most were in tanks [probably armored vehicles] and when they came we hid. Would I have tried to kill? Mmm. Maybe.

Even toward the end of her life as Soehartos wife, for the Laskar Putri, there are no bad words for Ibu Tien: She did not forget us and gave us houses and our children scholarships when she became First Lady, said Moeljati.

Her friend Suwarti, 87, joined up because she wanted to be in the front line. Instead she was made a reservist and first-aid nurse treating guerrillas returning to hideouts after sorties against Dutch troops.

We expected our camps to be attacked, but that never happened, she said. I also worked filling sandbags for defense. Some women ran messages tucked in their sarongs because the Dutch did not suspect them.

Recalling history: Suwarti (left) poses with Moeljati in Surakarta, Central Java.(Erlinawati Graham/File)

In 1989 a memorial was built in Solo recognizing 114 women who served, though the number is believed to be much greater. The monolith needs a makeover; names are dropping off and the surrounds are cracking.

A photo from around 1946 shows women apparently marching with mock weapons, though Moeljati says she remembers an abundance of abandoned Japanese arms available, which they called gun-gun.

The two women said they regretted the revolutionary fire had gone out and that the modern generation seemed not to know the sacrifices made to create the Republic. After the Dutch abandoned their lost cause, Moeljati became a maths teacher and Suwarti a doctors assistant.

Last year a local hotel invited the veterans to a talk show on Kartini Day. They get involved in arisan (womens social club) and take a lively interest in current affairs.

They were scathing about corruptors  betrayers of the nation and cowards, said Suwarti. Both women stressed that they were just humble individuals who had obeyed a call to service and proud they had done something to help build their country.

Dont call us heroes, said Suwarti, were not dead yet.

Neglect

While researching for his book Surabaya 1945: Sacred Territory Australian historian Frank Palmos found that British and Dutch commanders could not understand how the revolutionaries got food and water to keep fighting.

The heroine behind the scenes was a 42-yearold East Javanese woman known throughout Surabaya as Dar Mortir [real name Darijah Soerodikoesoemo], he said.

Dar Mortir(Frank Palmos/File)

With scores of female helpers she successfully created 51 combat kitchens to support the independence fighters, starting out in a small way by creating her first kitchen during the first major clash against the British-Indian forces between Oct. 27 and 30.

Bu Mortirs role in the revolution was forgotten for 30 years until a chance finding of a manuscript she dictated to her nephew in 1972 was discovered in the underground archives of the Tugu Heroes Museum in Surabaya [] but left unread, in the vaults until 2015.

Palmos has translated the 11,000-word text into English with local writer Johannes Nugroho handling Javanese phrases. Palmos plans to present a copy of Ibu Dar Mortir: Combat Queen to Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini in May.
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Linkedin News Desk (Kyodo News) Tokyo  Tue, May 2, 2017 18:30 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebc577f 2 Parents Japan,students,parents,#parents,parenting,#parenting,#students,overwork,suicide,#Japan,karoshi Free

The parents of young workers who died or killed themselves due to overwork have been traveling across Japan to speak about their children's tragic deaths to high school students.

The encounters are sponsored by the government, which is seeking to tackle the widespread phenomenon of excessive working hours in Japan.

"My son had a strong sense of responsibility and worked past midnight for half of each month. He once worked for 37 hours without a rest," Michiyo Nishigaki said of her son, a system engineer at a Kanagawa Prefecture IT company who died in January 2006 at the age of 27 after overdosing on an antidepressant.

"Why did he have to die so young?" asked Nishigaki from the western city of Kobe.

The issue of overwork came under a renewed spotlight after a 24-year-old employee of Japan's largest advertizing agency, Dentsu Inc., committed suicide due to overwork in December 2015.

In September last year, Tokyo's labor standards inspection office recognized Matsuri Takahashi's suicide as a case of death from overwork, after finding that she had worked 105 hours per month of overtime -- well over the 70-hour limit set in a labor-management agreement.

The suicide of Takahashi cast light on the nation's widespread corporate culture of forcing employees to demonstrate loyalty by working long hours even at the risk of their lives, critics say.

Read also: Japan wants its overworked citizens to start weekends early

Under a law put into effect in 2014, the state is responsible for crafting measures to prevent overwork-related deaths and suicides. As part of its steps, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare started last September inviting bereaved families and lawyers to share their experiences mainly with junior and senior high school students.

By March this year, the labor ministry had conducted a total of 87 such sessions at schools across Japan and plans to hold about 200 during the current fiscal year through March 2018.

"Telling young people what happened to my son is painful for me. But I'd like to tell them how meaningless it would be for workers to work at the expense of their lives," said Nishigaki, who has been speaking mainly at schools in the Kansai region centering on Osaka.

In fiscal 2015, the labor ministry recognized 472 people as suffering depression and other mental illnesses as a result of work-induced stress, qualifying them for government benefits.

Of the total, workers in their 20s and 30s accounted for 18 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

In the wake of a chronic manpower shortage, businesses tend to assign key tasks to young employees, even those fresh out of college, putting them in stressful work situations.

"Young workers should know before they enter the workforce how to protect themselves if they are forced to work under severe conditions," said lawyer Hiroshi Kawahito, who represents the family of Matsuri Takahashi.

Read also: How Japan's overwork culture leads to 'karoshi'

In early February, lawyer Toshimasa Yamashita visited Kaijo Junior High School in Tokyo to teach its students how to cope with work-related problems they may encounter in the future.

Yamashita asked about 30 students who attended his class how many hours a day employees are allowed to work under Japanese law.

Most students answered correctly, citing eight hours as mandatory daily working hours.

However, they could not answer when asked how many hours of overwork could affect a worker's health.

Yamashita explained that the government sees monthly overtime reaching 80 hours as possibly resulting in serious health problems.

The lawyer then said, "Do you know how many hours your parents work everyday?"

One male student in his senior year answered, "My father often comes home after 10 p.m. Although he doesn't look so exhausted, he may only try not to look so."
An exhibition opened to the press at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday featuring the works of renowned Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, head of the Comme des Garcons brand.

The exhibit, which opens to the public on Thursday and will run through Sept. 4, is the first monographic show at the New York museum's Costume Institute to focus on a living designer since its Yves Saint Laurent exhibit in 1983.

"Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between" includes about 150 Comme des Garcons women's clothing designs by Kawakubo, dating from the label's first Paris runway collection in 1981 to her most recent collection.

Read also: The fakers guide to talking about Comme des Garcons

"What I've only ever been interested in are clothes that one has never seen before, that are completely new, and how in what way they can be expressed," Kawakubo said in the notes to the exhibit. "Is that called fashion? I don't know the answer."

The preview was attended by Kawakubo and other people, including former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy who said the beauty of Kawakubo's works can win people's hearts regardless of age or gender. Kawakubo did not make any remarks.

The 74-year-old Kawakubo, an avant-garde designer who has contributed to blurring the line between art and fashion, founded Comme des Garcons in Tokyo in 1969. She also launched the upscale global retail chain Dover Street Market in 2004.
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Linkedin Lee Min Kok (The Straits Times/Asia News Network) Singapore  Tue, May 2, 2017 16:29 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebbdc28 2 Science & Tech Singapore,#singapore,Apple,#Apple,Apple-stores Free

After several false dawns, Apple's first retail store in South-east Asia could be set for a May opening.

The store at Knightsbridge mall in Orchard Road, which reportedly spans five storefronts and will occupy four storeys, has been cloaked in Apple's usual veil of secrecy.

According to an April 28 report in CNBC, however, there is finally hope for Apple fans.

The report, citing sources, said the project had been plagued by construction-related problems, including a conflict with a neighbouring hotel - the Grand Park Orchard - over "logistical and infrastructure issues".

A hotel spokesman told CNBC she could not comment on the matter.

There was also a stop work order issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to a contractor, interior fit-out specialist Legend Interiors, at the store's worksite (270 Orchard Road) on Oct 24 last year.

Read also: Singapore's first Apple Store looks set for November opening

The order was lifted on Nov 16, with MOM saying in a statement to CNBC that it was issued "for unsafe conditions relating to work at height, traffic management, scaffolding, electrical installation and lifting operations that were observed during an inspection at the worksite".

When approached for comment, Apple's head of corporate communications for South-east Asia and India Katrina Tan told CNBC that there were no delays or friction with the project, and that it was "proceeding as planned".

She also noted that Apple had never given a date for the store's opening.

CNBC visited the site last Thursday (April 27) and spoke to a worker there, who claimed that the store would open on May 22.

News of the store first broke in October 2015, after a former tenant of the mall, fitness club Pure Fitness, sent a letter to its members informing them of its closure to make room.

Construction work began in May the following year (2016), with an information board displayed outside first showing an expected completion date of Oct 31.

The date was subsequently changed to Jan 30 this year before it was removed completely.

Topics :

This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
The protesters, most of them youngsters, condemned the barbarism of Pakistan's Border Action Team and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.On Monday, the BAT had mutilated the bodies of 2 Indian Army soldiers.

By Manjeet Sehgal: A day after Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) commandos mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir, protests broke out at the Indo-Pak border in Jammu's RS Pura sector.

The protesters, most of them youngsters, condemned the barbarism of BAT and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.

Most of the protesters demanded that a befitting retaliatory action be launched against Pakistan, while maintaining that ties between the two countries had always been tense.

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"Pakistan is a habitual offender. We urge the Modi government to teach Pakistan a lesson by bringing ten heads to avenge the death of two. There has always been tension between the two countries. Avenging the killing of our soldiers is a must", said Sanket Sharma, an RS Pura resident.

COUNTER-ATTACK NEED OF THE HOUR

Another resident Rajesh Kumar said that a counter-attack was the need of the hour to make Pakistan feel the pain.

Ex-serviceman Bhura Singh said that Pakistan's unabated provocation needed to be avenged as that had crossed all limits.

This fresh provocation by Pakistan is likely to attract a befitting retaliation from the Indian forces, which may further escalate tensions along the border.

Also read | India, Pakistan DGMOs exchange fire over mutilation of soldiers, martyr's daughter seeks revenge: Top developments

Also read | Jawans mutiliated: Former army officers demand strong retribution for Pakistan's cross-border attacks

Also read | In North Kashmir, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat tells soldiers entire nation stands behind them

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Troy Patterson (Bloomberg)  Tue, May 2, 2017 10:29 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdeba8fca 2 Lifestyle Comme-des-Garcons,fashion,Met-Museum,#fashion,Rei-Kawakubo,design,#design Free

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its retrospective on Japanese label Comme des Garcons on Thursday, it will award one of the highest honors in style to designer Rei Kawakubo. The annual exhibition at the Costume Institute is a regular blockbuster: More than 600,00 people went to see the show of Alexander McQueen, making it one of the biggest in the history of the august institution. Recent subjects have ranged from the theme of punk to the math-minded dressmaker Charles James.

This years show, entitled Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between, is also an excuse for Vogue editor Anna Wintour to invite 600 of her closest friends for dinner. But what does the regular guy need to know about this cultural event?

First, the basics: Kawakubo was born in 1942, began her enterprise in 1969, and blew up in the 80s selling arty ladies an anti-yuppie option for dressing powerfully. You could name-check the dark and brooding Goth collection that earned her, with peer Yohji Yamamoto, a breakthrough spread in Vogue in 1983. More ambitiously, you could ad lib your way through an analysis of the lumps and bumps collection in the spring of 97, feigning expertise on what a shock it was to see dresses reconfigured into science-fiction costumes with tumor-like bulges of fabric.

Read also: Dolce & Gabbana fires back at sneaker critics

Comme des Garcons Shirt Forever classic poplin shirt ($330); Junya Watanabe Comme des Garcons Man leaf-print shirt ($473).(Vendors via Bloomberg/File)

Directional, experimental, deconstructed, severe, and surreal are all correct adjectives to use in describing Kawakubos work, which often features unfinished seams, asymmetrical intricacies, and none-more-black fabrications. Objects for the bodyshaped and sewn to interact with ideas of human physicalityis how she described it. Definitely do not say zany.

When it comes to menswear, CDG generally exists at a comfortable remove from pragmatism. The most famous of them are clothes for your young cousin with the master of fine arts and a trust fund: A deliberately wrinkled CDG Homme pinstripe suit made of a fancy polyester may be intended as a provocative commentary on shape, but people looking at you may assume that youve got a lawsuit pending against an inept dry cleaner.

Read also: Gwyneth Paltrow creating Goop magazine with Anna Wintour

Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garcons Man denim and faux-leather jacket ($1,055); Comme des Garcons Homme Plus striped boiled poly blazer ($1,200).(Vendors via Bloomberg/File)

What this means is that a man needs a certain independence, in both the spiritual and financial senses, to wear CDGs most celebrated designs without looking like a clown.

Nonetheless, the famously press-shy designer with her husband as chief financial officer now controls a sprawling empire of sub-brandsComme Des Garcons Homme, Homme Plus, Man, Shirtthat reportedly earn about $280 million a year. The most accessible points of entry to the CDG universe come from Play, a line of well-made, casual-wear basics that can range from T-shirts, polos, cardigans, and a $125 pair of Converse sneakers. The logo, if you can call it that, is a naively drawn, sharp-eyed heart that is assumed to be Kawakubos self-portrait.

Accessible, in this case, also means that stuff from the Play line is easy to get, which is no small feat. For instance, it is impossible to find an attractive Comme Des Garcons Homme Deux belt, available in select stores, online right now. This belt is just a normal, good-looking cowhide number, fairly priced at $195, with a subtly interesting curve to its buckle, and the people who sell it dont even have a photo of it.

Read also: Cosmetics makers seek to lure job-seeking male university students

Rei Kawakubo.(Toronto Star/Getty Images via Bloomberg/Bernard Weil)

Nor am I able to show you another of CDGs most wearable items, a rugged, rumpled khaki-colored jacket designed by Kawakubo protege Junya Watanabe and priced at $1,030. It exists nowhere on the internet.

This aura of exclusivity shrouds a hard core of actual exclusivity, which strikes me as an excellent business move, preventing overexposure. Such instances of obscurity allow the brand to undertake partnerships with the biggest brands in the industryH&M, Levis, Conversewhile retaining its underground cred.

NikeLab x Comme des Garcons Dunk Retro Leather and PVC sneakers ($320).(Barneys New York/File)

Comme des Garcons also operates Dover Street Market, one each in Tokyo, New York, London, Beijing, and Singapore. It sells its own wares, such as a $330 poplin dress shirt in a powerfully tranquil blue, as well as Gucci sneakers, Supreme skateboard decks, Raf Simons jackets, and more from edgy upstarts, all with the vibe of a gallery installation curated to delight the bohemian eye.

Most guys will have more luck fitting CDG into their lives by way of its accessories. The sturdy bags, the slick wallets, the sober socksall of them basics essential to business successare proudly made with humble craft. They exhibit a stellar understanding of first principles, amounting to firm proof that CDG knows better than anyone exactly which rules its high-design stuff is breaking.

This season, as part of an ongoing collaboration with NikeLab, CDG is selling see-through high-tops. The sneakers tie in with a larger project riffing on fashions favorite Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Emperors New Clothes. Now the modern man can buy a $200 T-shirt proclaiming that the king is naked. Even more enthusiastic CDG adopters can buy a $1,930 translucent polyurethane overcoat.

Though I cant say that the coat is going on my Fathers Day wish list, I admire both the craft of its fabrication and the art with which the theme of the collection preempts jeers from the balcony. It is more than merely cheeky to implicate yourself, the reigning avant-garde design house, as the beneficiary of a mass pretense. It is high-level trolling. Which is an art in itself.
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Linkedin Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 09:57 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdeba80b0 4 Environment marine-affairs,environmental-issues,sinking-boat Free

Indonesia, the largest archipelagic country in the world, has a vast water area, covering a total of 5.8 million square kilometers.

Indonesias territorial waters are more than twice the size of the countrys land area, which constitutes only 2.3 million square kilometers.

Indonesias marine habitat is also rich in resources, such as minerals, that are essential in preserving the ecosystem for the huge variety of fish species living in the surrounding waters.

According to 2016 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Indonesia is the worlds second biggest fish producer, capable of generating 14.3 million tons of seafood per year.

Only China topped Indonesia on the list, with a production capacity of 58.8 million tons per year.

Tetra Tech Party Sustainable Ecosystem Advance (SEA) deputy chief Tiene Gunawan, however, said that being a big fish producer was not enough if Indonesia wanted to sustainably fulfill local and international demand for seafood.

Tiene stressed that Indonesia also needed to be more serious about conserving its marine ecosystems.

Natures capacity is not unlimited; it has a finite capacity for supporting human activities. Therefore, economic development needs to be carried out line with ecological considerations, she said during a discussion themed Destructive Fishing vs. Conservation: Conflicting or Adjacent Issues? at the @america cultural center at the Pacific Place shopping center in Sudirman, Central Jakarta, recently.

Read also: Why these environmental documentaries are still relevant today

Despite Indonesias large seafood production figures, Tiene said destructive fishing practices that harmed the ecosystem were still prevalent.

For example, try typing destructive fishing practices into Google, and news headlines such as Blast fishing hurts Sawu Seas marine habitats, referring to a place in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), or Dynamite fishing, trawl-nets ravaging Tomini Bay, referring to a place in North Sulawesi, will show up in the search results.

The beautiful and exotic Raja Ampat area in Papua has also become an area which has been affected by such destructive fishing practices as well.

The economic consequences of the continuous destructive fishing practices are enormous, Tiene explained.

Catching fish using such explosives can bring in profits amounting to US$15,000 per square kilometer per year. The annual financial losses caused by such practices, on the other hand, amount to $500,000 for the tourism sector, $150,000 for coastal area protection, as well as $100,000 for income from fish catchment, Tiene said.

Preserving: A local marine conservationist volunteer inspects coral transplantation site in the waters of Kondang Merak on the coast of Malang, East Java.(AFP/File)

Destructive fishing practices also destroy coral reefs, which serve as important habitats for the marine ecosystem.

It takes approximately 50 years for coral reefs to be restored after they have been destroyed, Tiene said.

Accidents caused by explosives have also injured many fishermen and their children. Some injuries have been so severe that the fishermen or their children have needed to have their limbs amputated.

The explosive materials used by the fishermen have also polluted the water that they use for their personal consumption.

A research study by Cornell University ecologist David Pimentel estimates that 62 million deaths per year, equal 40 percent of total mortality, can be attributed to environmental factors, particularly organic and chemical pollutants that accumulate in the water.

In other words, pollutant accumulation is serious business.

The concentration of pollutants increases by 10 million times after it goes up from little plankton at the bottom of the food chain to human beings on top of the chain, Tiene said.

Read also: Green economy becomes more concrete in Sumatra

Meanwhile, a researcher from the Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia, Muhamad Arifudin, said during the discussion that the patterns of destructive fishing practices in Indonesia were different in each fishing area and region.

In the Western part of Indonesia, the Natuna Islands in Riau for instance, fishermen tend to use sedatives to catch fish to cater to particular market demand from China and Hong Kong.

Sink them down: Indonesian authorities destroy seven of 75 foreign illegal fishing vessels in the waters off Belawan in Medan, North Sumatra province, on April 1.(AFP/Gatha Ginting)

In central Indonesia, fishermen tend to use bombs and dy- namite and in the east, gunpowder-based explosives are more commonly used.

The majority of the fishermen using destructive fishing practices are small ones who do not have the skills for more environmentally friendly fish-catching methods. These destructive practices are being transferred from one generation of fishermen to the next, Muhamad said.

For Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Fish Catchment General Director Sjarief Widjaja, however, the lack of environmentally friendly fish catching skills from the fishermen is not the only factor that has hindered Indonesia from being able to preserve its marine habitats.

Sjarief also blamed the destructive practice of illegal fishing, which hurts supply, and the presence of devious middlemen, who force small-scale fishermen, who constitute 60 percent of the total 2.7 million fishermen, to catch a large quantity of fish in the cheapest way possible.

To put an end to these destructive practices, Sjarief said the government had been implementing a number of programs that aimed to combat illegal fishing and to provide environmentally friendlier fish catching equipment to small-scale fishermen.

To accomplish significant change has been difficult due to the heterogeneity of our society. In most cases, these fishermen sell their new equipment for money right after we provide them with training on how to use it, Sjarief said.

While Sjarief suggested that the government try to end the destructive fishing practices from the supply side, Tiene also provided input on how to put an end on such practices from the consumer side.

Tiene said that she wanted to encourage consumers to be smarter and to ban fishes that were caught in an environmentally destructive way.

You should buy fresh fish, despite the fact that they are a little more expensive, because by doing this, you help to decrease demand for fish caught in a destructive manner, thereby reducing the prevalence of such practices, she said.
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Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram  Tue, May 2, 2017 08:18 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdeba569a 1 Politics Susilo-Bambang-Yudhoyono,Democratic-party,Agus-Harimurti-Yudhoyono Free

Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has remained a strong political figure since his term ended three years ago, is set to launch a book about his Twitter account, which has become one of his main mouthpieces to not only to share his views, but also to banter and argue with other politicians.

The book, titled Twitter SBY, will be introduced at the national meeting of the Democratic Party, the political party that he co-founded and continues to lead, in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on May 7 to 9, an event that will be attended by more than 1,000 party members.

The national meeting will be held on May 8, and the book will be launched a day earlier by Pak SBY, said Farid Tolomundu, a congress committee member, referring to the party chairman by his initials.

He claimed the national meeting in Mataram would be the first national political party gathering outside Java and Bali. West Nusa Tenggara Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi is the chairman of the partys provincial chapter.

Known for his media savviness since leaving the presidency, Yudhoyono has used his twitter handler, @SBYudhoyono, to communicate with citizens, conveying his views on national issues, and attacking his political opponents.

(Read also: SBY rants on Twitter condemning efforts smearing son's candidacy)

Although never via direct statements, he has often criticized President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration. The 67-year-old politician made frequent media appearances and numerous twitter posts earlier this year when his son Agus Harimurti was running in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Speculation is rife that Agus will be nominated for the East Java gubernatorial election next year. (wit)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 12:59 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebb290d 1 Business amman,copper,miners,smelter,West-Nusa-Tenggara Free

The government claims that copper miner PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara -- previously named PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara -- will start construction of its smelter in early 2018 along the coastal areas of Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara.

The construction is planned for early 2018. Currently, the company is still in the process of procuring [the materials], said Bambang Susigit, the minerals business supervision director at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, as reported by tempo.co on Tuesday.

The smelter, which is required for a Special Mining License (IUPK), is expected to be completed in the next five years. It is designed to purify 1 million tons of copper concentrate per year. Its capacity will be gradually increased to 2 million tons per year. The project costs an estimated US$2.2 billion.

(Read also: Amman Mineral confirms obtaining export permit)

Bambangs statement was confirmed by Muhammad Lutfi, the main commissioner of PT Medco Energi Internasional.

Our commitment is to construct smelters after the process of acquisition [of the company] is finished. By our calculations, construction will start in early 2018, said Lutfi.

Medco holds a 50 percent share of Amman Mineral Investama, which controls 82.2 percent of Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara.

Bambang called on Amman to immediately submit an environment impact analysis (amdal) document to the Environment and Forestry Ministry for the smelter project as required by law. (bbn)
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Linkedin Michelle Suteja (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2 2017

The emergence of financial technology (fintech) services has become a natural catalyst for traditional financial service providers to innovate and transform the way they carry out business.

Consumer banking as well as transfer and payment services are sectors predicted to receive the biggest blow from the emergence of fintech. A 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers report, for example, discussed how this transition could affect margin spreads and lead to market share losses as well as information and privacy threats. Traditional service providers are also expected to see a decline in the number of consumers.

Such concerns lead to questions: Are conventional financial institutions becoming more fragile with the emergence of fintech providers? Conversely, are fintech companies ready to compete with established financial service providers?

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Tue, May 2 2017

The presence of Myanmars leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the 30th ASEAN Summit in Manila over the weekend was definitely the strongest landmark of the regional grouping in welcoming its 50th anniversary on Aug. 8 this year. With its unique way, ASEAN has helped Myanmar abandon its dictatorship, embrace democracy and end its self-isolation.

No doubt Indonesia played a key, if not leading, role in persuading the Myanmar junta to cede power to civilians and let democracy flourish. They listened to Indonesia because both nations have much in common, particularly in the relationships between civilians and the military, regional and central governments, and majority and minority groups.

The Manila summit shows that ASEAN needs strong leadership from Indonesia as the largest member of the association in dealing with not only internal challenges, like the Myanmar issue, but also external pressures.

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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2 2017

Economic integration between ASEAN member states will remain a priority despite a global atmosphere leaning toward protectionism, central bankers in the region have suggested.

Economic integration between Southeast Asian countries officially commenced in 2015 with the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which intends to create a single market across the region and recognizes the free movement of skilled labor, goods and services and investment within the bloc.

Currently, the member countries are working under the AEC Blueprint 2025, which is intended to boost the regions competitiveness on a global scale. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the seventh biggest economy in the world behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.

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Linkedin Setiono Sugiharto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2 2017

As we commemorate National Education Day, which falls on May 2, we should not lose sight of two important facts: every Indonesian citizen, irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity and social status is granted full rights to get access to quality education; and global forces continuously challenge nationalism and the identity politics of the nation-state.

It is fair, therefore, to say that only through better access to education will children and adults alike be able to seize opportunities in a highly competitive global economy and to refrain from being engrossed in assimilationist ideology, which strips them off their national civic identity.

We need to be mindful that the discourse on global market that highlights the importance of access to education to assure a nations survival brings with it a paradox.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 18:32 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebc659f 1 Business WindFarm,PowerPlants,energy-and-mineral-resources-ministry,ignasius-jonan Free

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is planning to develop wind power plants in 16 locations across the country.

The ministry's director general for new and renewable energy, Rida Mulyana, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the country had great wind energy potential that would be harnessed by the power plants.

The locations of the projects, which are to be developed in cooperation with Denmark, include Surakarta in Central Java and the South Sulawesi towns of Jeneponto and Sidrap, Antara news agency reported on Tuesday.

We expect that the Surakarta project will materialize in 2018, said Rida, adding that the signing of the agreement with Denmark had been witnessed by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan and Danish Development Cooperation Minister Ulla Trns on Tuesday.

Indonesia has about 800 inhabited islands that require energy, said Jonan, adding that wind power plants could be the best choice for such regions as supplying energy to the islands via cable networks would be less efficient.

Jonan stressed that remote areas should not rely on energy from other regions through cable, but should develop their own power plants powered by sources of energy such as wind. (bbn)
The gruesome act by Pakistan's Border Action Team has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters of the country.

By India Today Web Desk: After mutilation of two soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch on Monday, Pakistan continues to be on the offensive.

While Pakistan on Monday evening said that there was no violation of LoC and mutilation of soldiers, ironically Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit chose not to speak to media persons.

Basit simply evaded the media that was waiting outside his official residence to ask about the mutilation of soldiers by Pakistan Army.

#WATCH: Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit evades questions on mutilation of Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army pic.twitter.com/47q8byxmrt- ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2017

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The gruesome act by Pakistan's Border Action Team has drew sharp criticism from various quarters of the country.

Indian Army on Monday released a strongly-worded response saying that appropriate action will be taken.

On Monday evening, Indian Army destroyed two Pakistan bunkers and killing seven of their soldiers.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi today on the prevailing situation along the Line of Control a day after Pakistan's Border Action Team mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers, provoking an angry response from India.

Also read:

Pakistan mutilates bodies of 2 Indian soldiers near LoC, Army pounds Pak posts in retaliation

As Pakistan mutilates 2 Indian soldiers, another round of Army's surgical strikes invoked as revenge

WATCH | Such attacks don't even take place during war: Jaitley slams Pakistan for mutilating jawans

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 20:14 2016 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebc8f81 1 World ASEAN,anniversary,celebration Free

EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, is set to attend ASEAN's 50th anniversary celebrations in Manila, the Philippines, on Aug. 8, marking at the same time a series of landmark anniversaries shared between the two regional blocs, an envoy has said.

One of ASEAN's 10 dialogue partners, the EU this year is also celebrating its own milestone anniversary since its establishment 60 years ago, initiated by the Rome Treaty in 1957. The two blocs celebrate 40 years of relations this year.

"The European Union and ASEAN are very strong partners. We have a very strong cooperation throughout all the ASEAN pillars; in political, economic and sociocultural," EU Ambassador to ASEAN Francisco Fontan told a press briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday.

With the EU mission to ASEAN headquartered in Jakarta, he said, a series of events were also set to be held in the Indonesian capital. Fontan highlighted the EU-ASEAN Run on May 7, a 7-kilometer race from the EU mission offices at the Intiland Tower to the ASEAN Secretariat, as a celebration of the "strong people-to-people aspects" between the two blocs.

Robust economic ties were also apparent, he noted, as recent data from the EU places the European bloc as ASEAN's largest investor, with foreign direct investment of 131.6 billion (US$143.6 billion) or 22 percent of total investment in the region. The EU is also ASEAN's second-largest trade partner, after China, with bilateral trade reaching 201.5 billion in 2015.

Topics : ASEAN anniversary celebration
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 20:02 2016 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebc8f52 1 City jakarta,fallen-tree Free

Heavy rain and strong wind on Tuesday afternoon caused a tree on Jl. Lenteng Agung, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, to fall and hit a passing car, killing one and injuring two.

The incident occurred at 3:30 p.m., said Depok Police traffic unit head Comr. Sutomo.

"One passenger is confirmed dead, one has a broken leg and the other one survived," Sutomo said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

He said the Jagakarsa Police and the South Jakarta Police were handling the matter as it happened in South Jakarta.

The accident, which occurred on the border between South Jakarta and Depok, West Java, caused traffic congestion. The police blocked part of the road in order to remove the victims from the scene. (dea)
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Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post)  Tue, May 2 2017

As one of the most populous capitals in the world, Jakarta has its share of problems, from chronic traffic jams to a lack of housing.

But none is more pressing than the problem of land subsidence due to massive groundwater extraction and rising sea levels.

The result is one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world as 40 percent of Jakarta dips below sea-level.

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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 14:08 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebb8cca 1 Business government,electricity-supply,affordability,ignasius-jonan Free

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Tuesday the government would continue to push for affordable electricity, arguing that expensive electricity in remote areas suffering from a lack of infrastructure was unfair to the locals, who often could not afford the rates.

Can we imagine one day a 17-year-old boy whos never seen electricity in his village finds the government installs an electric cable in front of their house, but their parents cant afford to install the electricity. The boy may join IS [the Islamic State group] or some other terrorist group, Jonan argued at a seminar in Jakarta.

It is better to leave the villages without electricity forever than give them electricity that they cannot afford.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry recently issued Ministerial Decree No. 12/2017 that caps electricity rates at 85 percent of the electricity supply costs (BPP) of any region with a BPP higher than the national average.

This applies to all renewable energy power plants except for geothermal and waste-to-energy plants, where the price is allowed to be 100 percent of the local BPP if it is higher than the national average.

The ministry has also ordered state-owned electricity firm PLN to develop mine-mouth power plants in regions with massive coal reserves such as Kalimantan and Sumatra, alongside well-head power plants in gas-producing regions.

These moves are expected to cut down on transportation and distribution costs. (bbn)
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 12:28 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebb72c7 1 Business Indonesia,denmark,WindFarm,mapping-data Free

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and Denmarks Development Cooperation Ministry launched on Tuesday a map pinpointing the wind power potential for electrification in Indonesia.

Denmark Development Cooperation Minister Ulla Trns said this was part of a six-month cooperative engagement between the two governments, during which they exchanged their experiences in developing renewable energy sources for electrification.

Today, we are launching a new wind map that shows the vast potential for utilizing wind in Indonesia, Trns said in her opening speech at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

A number of visits to Denmark [by Indonesian officials] over the past six months has deepened the discussion and insight into waste-to-energy solutions, the use of biomass and how to accommodate fluctuating markets.

The map displays the hot spots for wind power potential in Indonesia. It is expected to help the government and investors decide the best locations to develop wind turbines.

The map was also launched alongside a book titled Integration of Wind Energy in Power Systems, which will serve as a guide for policymaking and the integration of electricity into state-owned electricity firm PLNs existing system. The book was written based on Denmarks experiences in wind power development. (bbn)
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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 15:02 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebbb11e 1 Politics elections,election-bill,house-of-representatives,presidential-election Free

Indonesia will likely see more contenders in the 2019 presidential election after members of the House of Representatives scrapped the presidential nomination threshold that bars small parties from fielding a presidential candidate.

Seven out of 10 political factions on the Houses special committee deliberating the election bill have agreed to eliminate a provision within the bill that requires a political party to garner at least 20 percent of the popular vote to take part in the presidential election, committee chairman Lukman Edy said on Tuesday.

In past elections, the provision forced smaller parties to form an alliance with bigger parties to pass the threshold, thus limiting the number of presidential contenders.

Lukman, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB), told The Jakarta Post that the decision was made after a three-day closed door meeting in Bandung, West Java, last week.

The PKB, along with other parties such as the Gerindra Party, the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Hanura Party have long called for the elimination of the legislative threshold.

The Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the two largest parties, have rejected the proposal.

The decision is final, Lukman said. We will present the decision during a plenary meeting. No more voting will take place in the plenary, he said. (ary)
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Ciputat, Banten  Tue, May 2, 2017 21:08 2016 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebc924c 1 National intolerance,scholars,discourse Free

Lecturers at state Islamic universities, known for their moderate and progressive interpretations of religious tenets, should be at the forefront in tackling the rise of intolerant groups that try to dominate public discourse by exploiting religious sentiment, a scholar has argued.

Unlike lecturers at state universities, academics at state Islamic universities have more authority to talk about religion, especially Islam, and to counter the rhetoric used by hard-line groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

I can debate [with them] in politics or economics, but when they start using religious verses [to counter my argument], I am done, Freedom Institute executive director Rizal Mallarangeng said at a book discussion at the Syarief Hidayatullah State Islamic Universities in Ciputat, Banten, on Tuesday.

Rizal said Islamic scholars countering the rhetoric of intolerant groups was nothing new. He mentioned respected figure Nurcholish Madjid, aka Cak Nur, as an Islamic scholar who spread the message of moderate Islam and therefore significantly contained violent religious ideas.

We need more people like Cak Nur or Gus Dur, Rizal said, referring to the late former president and pluralism hero Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid. Gus Dur was also a former chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the nations largest Islamic organization.

We need to reinforce the role of the UIN in countering radical ideas [] this is work for the UIN, said Iding Rosyidin, head of the political sciences department at the university.

Topics : intolerance scholars discourse
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Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2 2017

When tens of thousands of workers staged a rally in commemoration of International Labor Day, or May Day, on Monday, most expressed their demands on the revocation of wage regulations and outsourcing practices.

But a group of protesters decided to shift their animosity toward Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama by burning floral arrangements sent to Ahok and his deputy, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, at City Hall.

The burning started at around 1 a.m., after demonstrators were blocked from protesting in front of the State Palace.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 12:02 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebaf49d 4 City election-campaign,voter-list Free

Low voter turnout remains a problem in Bekasi, West Java, with only 49.46 percent of eligible voters having gone to the polling stations in the last regional election in 2012.

"The numbers were even lower during the [West Java] gubernatorial election, with voter turnout of only 48 percent," said Bekasi General Elections Commission (KPU Bekasi) chairman Ucu Asmaransandi as quoted by tempo.co on Monday.

Bekasi trails behind Riau Islands with the second-lowest voter turnout, he said.

(Read also: Indonesia's outermost region gears up for regional election)

"It's a challenge for us to increase voter turnout."

Ucu hopes voter turnout increases to 70 percent in the next election set to be held next year.

Meanwhile, the commission's human resources division officer, Nurul Sumarheni, said KPU Bekasi projected approximately 1.8 million voters in next year's election.

She said KPU Bekasi was using social media in its effort to increase voter turnout. "For the first time voters in Bekasi comprise 10 percent of the final voter list." (dea/dmr)
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, May 2, 2017 18:01 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebc116a 1 National Medan,prison,prison-break,shaman Free

Tanjung Gusta Penitentiary in Medan, North Sumatra, has enlisted the services of a dukun (shaman) to locate a drug convict who escaped from the prison two weeks ago.

Jidin, a drug convict, escaped on April 19 after sawing through steel bars covering a bathroom air vent in his cell. Jidin had served three years of his 14-year sentence.

Tanjung Gusta Penitentiary warden Asep Syarifuddin said the enlistment of a shaman was merely to help authorities track down the escapee.

Asep claimed it was the first time in the prison sought a shamans help.

According to the shaman, Asep said, Jidin was currently in Aceh. The authorities, he said, had deployed several officers to Aceh to recapture the convict.

There has been no result as yet, said Asep, adding that he also requested help from the police to track down Jidin.

Asep said it was impossible to monitor all the inmates. There are currently 3,709 convicts in Tanjung Gusta, while we only have 15 prison guards. This is very uneven, said Asep, adding that 70 percent of the convicts in Tanjung Gusta were drug offenders. (ary)
Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz alleged that the Indian government has broken its "own record of brutality" in Kashmir by "indiscriminately killing" unarmed Kashmiri protesters.

By India Today Web Desk: Pakistan today raised the issue of unrest in Kashmir by claiming that the Indian government has skipped all chances for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the issue.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz claimed the international community has rejected India's contention that the turmoil in Kashmir is primarily a cross-border terrorism issue.

PAKISTAN'S CLAIM: In a hard-hitting statement, Aziz said Islamabad has always welcomed the endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the Valley and the resolution of the Kashmir issue. "India's contention that the Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of cross-border terrorism, is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today," Aziz said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office. He also welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the issue. The recent offer of the Turkish President Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the issue must be welcomed, Aziz said. "In this context, the Indian counter proposal that it is ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan is no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions on Kashmir," Aziz said. He alleged that the Indian government has broken its "own record of brutality" in Kashmir by "indiscriminately killing" unarmed Kashmiri protesters. Aziz said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Declaration' adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul, in April last, "out-rightly rejected India's attempts of equating the Kashmiris freedom struggle with terrorism." "Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large scale uprising, which is going on in Kashmir, involving mostly young unarmed Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly showsthat Kashmir is a burning issue requiring urgent international attention," Aziz said.

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Also read:

Burhan Wani's posters, terror video and ISIS, Pakistan's flags appear in Kashmir

Pakistan needles India on Kashmir again, Army Chief Bajwa backs terrorism in Valley

2 soldiers killed in ceasefire violation in J-K's Poonch day after Pakistan army chief visited LoC

Also watch:

Operation Stone Pelters: Kashmir's scariest admissions caught on camera

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 15:38 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebbc7a5 1 City child-molestation,Tangerang Free

The Tangerang Police in Banten have arrested a 50-year-old man identified only by his initial K for allegedly having molested nine elementary school girls.

Tangerang Police criminal unit chief Comr. Alexander said the arrest was made after the parents of one of the victims reported K to the police.

"We have detained the molester of the nine kids," Alexander said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday.

"We are currently waiting for a psychiatrist to check on the suspect."

K is a resident of Pakulonan Barat in Kelapa Dua district, Tangerang.

Alexander said the police would delve further into the case, including by conducting psychological tests on the suspect, as a considerable number of victims had been discovered.

The man's alleged crimes were uncovered out after one of the victims told her parents about some health problems she was experiencing.

Alexander said the girl then told her parents about the molestation and her angered parents reported it to the police. (dea)
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Linkedin Setiono Sugharto (The Jakarta Post)  Tue, May 2 2017

The idea of educational outcomes (specifically learning outcomes) has been a central tenet in the educational landscape hitherto. From the perspective of contemporary pedagogy, it certainly goes to the very heart of learner-centered education, where learners are treated and valued as active participants and subjects in the learning process.

Learning outcomes comprise of a set of statements of intent that learners are expected to be able to perform and accomplish at the end of the instruction period or program of study. They are formulated in terms of both general and specific knowledge, skills, and values that students are obliged to attain by the end of their academic journeys.

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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Pangkal Pinang, Bangka  Tue, May 2 2017

The Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDP-KS) has pledged to start the long-awaited oil palm replanting program for small farmers in May with an allocated budget of around Rp 500 billion (US$37.52 million).

Since its establishment in mid-2015, the agency has faced mounting obstacles in implementing the replanting program as it finds it hard to verify the land statuses managed by small farmers, including ownership and permit status.

It has collaborated with the Agriculture Ministrys plantation directorate general to help verify, monitor and evaluate proposals from the farmers and expects to start the program in the near future.

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The Central Kalimantan administration said it was hopeful that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo would move the nation's capital to Palangkaraya, saying such a move would fulfill the "dream of Indonesia's founding fathers."

The province's capital was reportedly among cities being studied in regard to their readiness to become Indonesia's new capital.

(Read also: Indonesia studies new sites for capital city)

Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician, said he hoped Palangkaraya was named the country's new capital during Jokowi's presidency, claiming the province had the "potential to be on par with other more developed provinces" in Indonesia.

"We just pray the plan materializes [...] Central Kalimantan is in the center of Indonesia and less prone to earthquakes," Sugianto said at his official residence in Palangkaraya.

The government included Palangkaraya on the list because Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, had planned to move the capital city there.

National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told Antara earlier that the government had expected a final decision on an alternative capital city "within this year." (ary)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 17:50 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebbfc49 1 National press,Press-Council,press-freedom,Papua,AmnestyInternational Free

Human rights activists have invited journalists and participants of the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) conference in Jakarta to attend a side event highlighting the lack of press freedom in restive Papua, which is not discussed in the four-day conference.

The WPFD event, held at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan from May 1 to May 4, is sponsored by the Indonesian government, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Indonesian Press Council (PWI).

Human rights abuses in Papua are related to press restrictions [in Papua]. We are trying to raise awareness [about press freedom in Papua] by inviting journalists and participants of World Press Freedom Day to the side event, Veronica Koman, a human rights lawyer and organizer of the side event, told the Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The side event, which Veronica said was being held as a criticism against the conference, will be held on Tuesday night at Century Park Hotel, also in Senayan.

Senior Papuan journalist Victor Mambor, Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid and David Robie of New-Zealand based organization Pacific Media Watch are listed as speakers in the event held by human rights groups.

Press Council chairman Yosep "Stanley" Adi Prasetyo confirmed that the Papua issue was not included in the WPFD meeting, calling it "domestic affair." "This is an international forum. What we are discussing are the relations between Indonesian and international issues," he said. (mrc/ary)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Tue, May 2 2017

After having decided to withdraw from the European Union, the United Kingdom is seeking new business opportunities outside the 27-member bloc. The Jakarta Posts Linda Yulisman recently talked to UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox on the sidelines of his visit to Indonesia to explore a potential post-Brexit partnership. Here are excerpts of the interview.

Question: Brexit is said to bring wider opportunities for the UK because it now holds full control over its trade policy. Could you elaborate on the new direction of UK trade policy?

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Linkedin Arya Dipa, Apriadi Gunawan, Djemi Amnifu and Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Tue, May 2 2017

Thousands of blue collar workers staged rallies in major cities across the country on Monday to celebrate Labor Day and to voice their various demands.

In Bandung, West Java, some 2,000 workers from different organizations and institutions took to the streets and gathered in front of Gedung Sate.

Labor union Gaspermindo, for example, called for an end to low wages and the practice of outsourcing. They also demanded that the government provide housing for workers. The West Java chapter of the All-Indonesia Workers Unions (SPSI), meanwhile, wanted the government to be strict in enforcing the minimum wage.

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Linkedin Dylan Amirio (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 3 2017

It has been conventional wisdom among experts that in an increasingly globalized world, countries, especially developing ones, are pushed to be open business-wise, because when they become too protectionist, innovations are stifled.

Indonesia is often cited as an economy that has taken a number of nationalist as well as protectionist measures to help grow its domestic industry and reduce reliance on imports over the past few years.

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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Bangkok, Thailand  Wed, May 3 2017

A growing world population and climate change are among the biggest challenges to food supplies, but they also drive the food industry to achieve technological breakthroughs to meet rising demand in a more efficient manner.

Southeast Asias food industry is expected to be innovative, as the region has become one of the worlds engines of economic growth with abundant natural resources due to its tropical climate.

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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse)  Tue, May 2, 2017 16:03 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebbcbcb 2 News Amsterdam,Schiphol-airport,Airport,#airport,travel,#travel,safety Free

Amsterdams rapidly growing Schiphol airport is reaching its limits for the safe movement of planes on its busy airstrips, the Dutch safety watchdog warned recently, saying runway risks needed to be addressed before any further expansion.

The boundaries to safely conclude air traffic movements are approaching, the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) said in a report.

There are no indications that the airport is unsafe at this point, but stakeholders need to act to reduce the safety risks, the OVV said in the 215-page report.

The aviation hub is now one of the top five busiest in Europe. Last year, some 63.6 million passengers passed through Schiphol, up from 58 million in 2015, according to airport figures.

There were 479,000 aircraft movements around Schiphols five main runways in 2016, the airport said in a separate report last year.

The safety watchdog launched a probe after several incidents over the last few years, it said, including so-called runway incursions when a plane, person or other object is on a runway without authorisation, planes taking off from taxiways, or taking off or landing without permission from air traffic control.

Included in the investigation was the 2009 Turkish Airlines crash that killed nine people and injured 120 others.

Read also: Changi once again ranked world's best airport

The Boeing 737-800 from Istanbul to Amsterdam crashed on approach on Feb 23 that year, which the OVV later mainly blamed on a faulty altimeter, but also on pilot error.

The OVV warned no further expansion could take place at Schiphol unless safety issues are dealt with.

Before any decision can be taken about the expansion of Schiphol, the risks in and around the airport need to be addressed, it said.

Cheaper airfares

A fundamental discussion is needed about the future of Dutch aviation  for which the Dutch state needs to take responsibility, the OVV said.

The airport last year concluded that we will reach the agreed limits of growth at Schiphol sooner than expected, probably as early as 2017.

It said it had agreed to limit air transport movements to a maximum of 500,000 by 2020.

The unexpectedly strong growth in passenger numbers in 2016 may have something to do with the fact that Schiphol is now nearing that limit, the airport said, citing factors such as globalisation and cheaper airfares as some of the main reasons.
Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals' visa programme.

By Press Trust of India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull India's concerns about the impact of the recent decision to abolish a popular work visa used by a majority of Indians.

Modi conveyed these concerns during a phone call by Turnbull, a PMO statement said.

"Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals' visa programme", the statement said.

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The two Prime Ministers agreed that officials from both sides would remain in close touch on the issue, it added.

About three weeks ago, Turnbull had announced his decision to abolish the 457 visa, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs.

WE ARE AN IMMIGRATION NATION: TURNBULL

"We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains that Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa," he had said.

A majority of those using the visa programme are Indians.

During the telephonic conversation, Turnbull thanked Modi for the success of his recent visit to India.

"The two Prime Ministers also discussed the follow-up action taken after the visit of Mr. Turnbull to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen the bilateral relationship," the PMO statement said.

Also read | Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull lauds PM Modi's leadership, says will work closely to deepen bond

Also read | Australia abolishes visa programme used largely by Indians

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 12:59 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebb25c5 1 News National-Geographic,Borobudur-Temple,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,tourism,#tourism Free

American publication National Geographic has shined a light on 15 iconic sites around the world.

Taking third spot is Indonesias Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java. The complex is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 600 Buddha statues. It has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1991.

Read also: Borobudur to offer pilgrimage tour

This is such a huge honor for us. It encourages us to make tourism the countrys leading sector and economic core, said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.

National Geographic readers will be curious to know more about the Borobudur and eventually, the article will increase the number of travelers visiting the temple, he added. (kes)

Below is the complete list of National Geographics 15 Iconic Adventures Worth the Effort:

1. Machu Picchu, Peru

2. Petra, Jordan

3. Borobudur, Indonesia

4. Acropolis, Greece

5. Great Wall, China

6. Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

7. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

8. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

9. Provences Lavender Route, France

10. Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar

11. Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

12. Amber Fort, Jaipur, India

13. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia

14. Leaning Tower, Pisa, Italia

15. Reichstag, Berlin, Germany

__________

Editor's note: Paragraph two in this story has been corrected.
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Linkedin Matthew Burgess (Bloomberg)  Tue, May 2, 2017 10:20 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdeba87ee 2 News Sydney,#Sydney,Airport,#airport,Australia,#Australia,Transportation Free

Australias government said it will build a long-awaited second airport for Sydney after the operator of the citys existing hub ruled out developing the project because of the considerable risks to shareholders.

Details of the plan for Western Sydney Airport will be unveiled in the budget next week, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in an emailed statement Tuesday. The new airport will be a major catalyst for jobs and economic growth in the region and is a vitally important project, he said.

Sydney Airport Ltd., which operates Kingsford Smith Airport, was given first right of refusal to develop a second hub at Badgerys Creek after the government committed to the project in 2014. Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Mather said earlier today the terms offered by the government didnt meet the companys investment criteria and that the risks would endure for many decades without commensurate returns for our investors."

Successive governments have studied the need for a second airport in Sydney since the 1940s.

Read also: Soekarno-Hatta declared Worlds Most Improved Airport

Kingsford Smith, which accounts for about 40 percent of Australias international and domestic services, will run out of capacity by 2037, costing the economy A$59.5 billion ($45 billion) in lost growth by 2060, according to government agency Infrastructure Australia.

Construction of the A$5 billion first stage of the second airport, which includes a single 3,700-meter runway, parallel taxiway and terminal buildings, is due to begin next year. Total development costs could reach A$38 billion, Infrastructure Australia says.

Sydney Airport has three months to review the terms on which the government develops the new hub itself, and can change its mind. Its shares declined 1.2 percent at 11 a.m. in Sydney, compared with a 0.3 percent fall for the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index.

The new airport will inject more than A$1.9 billion into the economy during construction and 60,000 jobs in the region in the long-term, Turnbull said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2017 14:40 2017 a291276806121264c0bd211cdebba5f3 1 News Muarojambi,festival,Jambi,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,tourism,#tourism,#festival,waisak Free

The Muaro Jambi Temple complex, one of Jambis most popular tourist destinations, is set to host the 2017 Muaro Jambi Temple Festival from May 11 to 14.

The opening day of the four-day event will coincide with Waisak Day, which falls on May 11.

Around 1,000 Buddhists are expected to come to the complex to perform rituals for Waisak Day.

Apart from the celebration, the event will also host a small and medium enterprise bazaar, art and cultural performances, games and competitions, including a traditional dance performance, Seloko (traditional literary competition from the Malay ethnic group) and a fun walk around the temple complex.

Read also: A letter from culturally rich Jambi

Indra Gunawan, head of the Muaro Jambi Cultural and Tourism Office, said the festival aimed to promote the complex as an education and research center and a pilgrimage site.

This temple, built in the 11th century, is of strategic importance to the country's tourist sector. Through this event, were hoping to increase the number of visitors by up to 15 percent, said Indra.

Last years festival managed to attract 8,000 visitors. For this year, it hopes to attract 10,000 people. Entrance tickets are priced at Rp 3,000 per person.

Read also: Five lush accommodations across Indonesia for millennial travelers

The temple complex covers seven villages, namely Lake Lamo, Muarojambi, Kemingking Luar, Kemingking Dalam, Jambu Bay, Mudo and Baru. It is located in Muaro Jambi regency, 20 kilometers from Jambi, and is accessible via a bridge that crosses the Batanghari River.

Up to 82 temple ruins can be found there. To date, only seven temples have been restored, namely Gumpung, Tinggi I, Tinggi II, Kembar Batu, Astano, Gedong I and Gedong II and the Kedaton Temple. (kes)
The Fourth Annual Lower East Side History Month is kicking off this week, a neighborhood-wide celebration of the unique legacies of one of New Yorks most vibrant communities.

The event was created by Fourth Arts Block and Downtown Art, in partnership with dozens of LES groups. More than 80 organizations and businesses are now involved in the celebration. At a time when the cultural history and diversity of many NYC neighborhoods is threatened, the organizers note, it feels more important than ever to recognize the stories and people that gave shape to our present.

Coming up this weekend (May 5 and 6) is LES Stories, a chalking event on the sidewalks of the Lower East Side. More info is available here if youd like to participate. Also during the weekend, you can be part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the 26 La Lucha Continua murals created by the community mural collective, Artmakers Inc. The project is part of the historical memorial exhibit of La Lucha Continua, The Struggle Continues from The Loisaida Center. There will be an opening reception at First Street Green Art Park this Sunday. The painting will take place at the park, located at East Houston and Second Avenue, beginning Friday. Anyones welcome to join in.

Other big events during the month include: The 30th Annual Loisaida Festival (May 28), the Greek Jewish Festival (May 21), the Essex Street Market Block Party (May 20) and the LES Community Hero Awards (May 18).

There are too many events to mention all of them here, but well have more highlights during the month. For a complete schedule, click here.
Housing advocates are mounting a sustained campaign against Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. In making the case that Glen is too cozy with former real estate partners, they are invoking the names of developers with multiple holdings on the Lower East Side. [New York Times]

According to a lawsuit, a lobbyist tied to the de Blasio administrations Rivington House scandal helped a Soho developer win approval for a condo tower that will be 100 feet taller than zoning allows. [New York Post]

Landlord Steve Croman reaches a plea deal with prosecutors. [New York Post]

When Croman heads back to court this morning to face criminal charges, many of his tenants will be there, too. [EV Grieve]

An audit shows the MTA is not keeping up with maintenance of elevators and escalators. [Channel 2]

A man went on a rose-ripping rampage at First Park. He was apparently trying to create a building out of the rose bushes. [The New York Post]

One of 26 emerging Asian American Voices of 2017: Mei Lum of Chinatowns Wing on Wo. [NBC News]
Yes, not many children have that talent so let's thank Princess Charlotte for that.

By India Today Web Desk: The UK Royals did the world a great deal of favour by releasing an adorable picture of Princess Charlotte ahead of her second birthday. Born in 2015 to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte lives up to every bit of her title. From playing with Prince George to being friendly with animals, the princess has given us quite some reasons to overdose on her cuteness.

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As the little princess turns two today, on May 2nd, here's a look at the times she made you forget all those cranky children who usually drive you berserk. Also Read: The Royal Family releases adorable picture of Princess Charlotte as she turns 2

1. When Prince George kissed her on the forehead and she was her usual, radiant self.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Picture courtesy: Instagram/Kensington Royal

Happy birthday, Princess Charlotte!

--- ENDS ---
Most doctors at the protest site said a majority of seats are allotted to doctors in remote areas, and very few seats will be given to those working in other rural Primary Health Centres.

By Akshaya Nath: It was never an easy journey for 29-year-old Dr Ramesh, born to daily wage workers Ganesan and Dayakudi in a remote village in Nagapattinam. Nothing was given to him on a silver platter. But his parents never stopped him from dreaming big, and after years of struggle, they were successful in making their son a doctor.

An anaesthetist by profession now, Ramesh was looking eagerly ahead to pursue his higher studies until the Centre made the announcement about the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET).

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"The NEET puts us at a disadvantage. We have been doing services in government hospitals...the time schedule is very different from the doctors in private hospitals and it means we have lesser hours to study and hence our ranking will be very bad," said Ramesh.

Last year, Ramesh faced problems when the NEET exam for the PG course got postponed due to the demise of the then-Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The next date on which the exam was scheduled saw cyclone Vardah hitting the Tamil Nadu coast.

Dr Varaprasad, 32 said, "We are not opposed to NEET...let the exam go on for the private colleges and not for the Government colleges."

"Thankfully, my younger siblings did not choose this profession. We spend years doing service in government hospitals in remote locations where there is not even availability of proper food and water, and even sign a bond for two years, and all that we used to get in return was the extra mark for services in hill station," said Varaprasad, who's from a farming family.

The protests at the Madras Medical College - and later, near the collector's office - all reflected this common demand of the state's doctors. The Tamil Nadu state entrance exam ensures that 50% of the seats are reserved for doctors who served in government institutions. But with NEET, these reservations won't be available. Instead, candidates get 10 per cent insensitive marks for each year of service in remote or difficult areas.

"We have a federal system of governance and thus the Centre should not impose its rules on the state government. They want to conduct NEET...it is welcomed but we want the state entrance to go on and the seats reserved for Domicile to remain thus and that NEET should not be applicable in government colleges as we have a state entrance. Moreover, if the government in the Centre has not included JIPMER and AIMS, why is that? If they wanted a uniform system they should have included them as well. This is to discourage the doctors in the state who are doing an excellent job in government services," said Dr GR Ravindranath, General Secretary, Doctors' Association for Social Equality.

WHAT THE NEET BROCHURE SAYS

The NEET brochure says that out of a total of 100 marks, 90 will be proportionate to the score obtained by the candidate in the test, while the remaining 10 marks will be based on his or her service after finishing MBBS.

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It states that one mark will be given for each year of experience, and one mark per year for service in rural areas. If a candidate has worked in hilly and remote areas then he or she will get two marks. Another two marks will be awarded to candidates with service experience in government hospitals in Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram districts.

This decision by the central government will be a big blow for the common man. Why? Most doctors would opt out of these services as the incentives that they are entitled to are perceived as disproportionate to their efforts.

Most doctors at the protest site said a majority of seats are allotted to doctors in remote areas, and that very few seats will be given to those working in other rural Primary Health Centres.

That will be an injustice done to many of them, and all aspiring doctors will only aim to work in remote health centres, which means many rural areas will be affected because of a lack of proper health care, they said.

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While the Centre and the dissatisfied doctors continue their tug-of-war, the ones affected are the helpless patients who will soon lose their patience.

ALSO READ | No RERA for you: Chennai home buyers in limbo after Tamil Nadu fails to ratify act before deadline

ALSO WATCH | Tamil Nadu fails to rectify RERA Act before deadline, Chennai home buyers in lurch

--- ENDS ---
After surveying 2,600 workers in the fashion industry across 190 global brands, Business of Fashion have revealed the companies with the most satisfied employees.

Fashion students and graduates - take note.

It's reported that by 2020, the majority of the UK's working population will be millennials, who are more concious of job perks, training, development and culture than their elder counterparts - so companies need to step up to attract the next generation of fashion professionals to their job roles.

Interestingly, many of the industry's big-name brands didn't make the cut and the inside of these companies don't seem to be as luxurious as their public image. BOF based their results on three main indicators: rewards and benefits, leadership and development, and working culture and environment.

Adidas

Adidas come out high in the leadership and development category, with consistent high praise regarding their training programmes. With creativity at the heart of their brand, developing talent is fundamental to their global growth. Workers are given the opportunities to build experience across different departments and roles, as well as exchanges between local and global market talent. They also dish out the benefits, with health insurance, travel allowances, pensions and gym memberships.

Farfetch

With values and development at the heart of the company rather than money, and the opportunity for employees to hold shares, Farfetch cares a lot about the people to who work for them. Rooftop yoga, runnings clubs, kids days, free homemade soups, breakfasts and juices and family lunches are all available to their staff. Farfetch also send out regular feedback forms to gain insight from employees, discovering how well they're doing and what they can do to improve.

Berluti

Berluti may be a 130-year-old brand, but their attitude is modern. Employees are treated with a concierge, a cobbler, pressing service, weekly discounted yoga and gym classes and fresh juices. They put everything in place to motivate everyone to do well.

Cotton On Group

Offering on-site personal trainers and yoga instructors, employee happiness and mindfulness is key. Workers feel well looked after, and are offered attractive rewards and benefits packages alongside dedicated health teams and career progression tools.

Galeries Lafeyette

Linking individual output to business impact keeps Galeries Lafeyette's employees motivated, where they can see exactly how their work is helping the growth of the company and where their greatest skills lie.

GAP

Pay bonuses at Gap are given through measurable performance analysis - there's no room for favouritism or subjectiveness like in traditional reviews. Employees also have casual, chatty one-on-one meetings with management monthly to discuss success, failure, opportunities and more in a relaxed environment.

Loewe

Scoring high in culture and working environment, Loewe has 'crafted a working culture that instills pride and dedication in its team'. In addition employees are given the opportunity to work in cultural development, across poetry, dance, architecture, photography, design and craftmanship. They can also receive 'cultural' training in leather working heritage, visting factories and museums, and anything that gives a deeper understanding of the brand identity.

Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger are reported to have a happy and enjoyable working environment, with a strong multi-cultural workforce and friendly, supportive, accepting management with a lot of freedom and autonomy given to employees.

Warby Parker

Warby Parker employees praise them for the autonomy they are given, saying their opinions are valued and they are able to make their own decisions, take risks and work freely. Plus, for every pair of glasses sold, another pair is donated to someone in need - with two million pairs distributed so far through the company's Buy-a-Pair, Give-a-Pair programme.

Zara

One of the most fast-paced businesses, Zara compensate the hard work their employees carry out with attractive rewards including a 'proper salary and benefits package'. They constantly work to make the lives easier of their workers and have a 24-hour manned control room in Spain tracking real-time data on every single Zara store, troubleshooting any issues that flag up.
Are you one of those people who worries about the little things in life? Well, if scientists are to be believed, worrying might actually do you good.

According to new research from the University of California, Riverside, being anxious might help you recover from traumatic events and prompt you to take up activities that promote health and prevent illness.

Despite its negative reputation, not all worry is destructive or even futile, said Kate Sweeny, psychology professor at UCR.

It has motivational benefits, and it acts as an emotional buffer.

So how does that work?

According to Sweeny, there are two ways in which worrying plays a positive role  as a motivator and as a buffer. In both cases, she says, it leads people to avoid unpleasant events.

Sweeny offers three reasons for worry as a motivator.

The first is that being worried is an indicator that the situation is serious and requires preventive action  like, for instance, putting your seatbelt on before you start driving.

Worrying about something might prompt you to take action (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)

Secondly, worrying about something that is stressing you out keeps the stressor at the front of your mind  prompting action. For instance, being concerned about breast cancer might lead to women conducting breast self-examinations more regularly.

And lastly, the unpleasant feeling of worry motivates people to find ways to reduce the cause of their stress.

Even in circumstances when efforts to prevent undesirable outcomes are futile, worry can motivate proactive efforts to assemble a ready-made set of responses in the case of bad news, Sweeny said.

In this instance, worrying pays off because one is actively thinking of a plan B.

Being worried can also act as an emotional buffer. According to the researchers, this is because pleasure that comes from a good experience is heightened if preceded by a bad experience.

If peoples feelings of worry over a future outcome are sufficiently intense and unpleasant, their emotional response to the outcome they ultimately experience will seem more pleasurable in comparison to their previous, worried state, Sweeny said.

Her research suggests people who report greater worry may end up performing better in schools or at workplaces and engaging in more successful problem solving. But that doesnt mean you can take it to the extreme.

Researchers suggest those who worry more than others are likely to perform better at work (Thinkstock)

Extreme levels of worry are harmful to ones health, she said. I do not intend to advocate for excessive worrying.

Instead, I hope to provide reassurance to the helpless worrier  planning and preventive action is not a bad thing.

Worrying the right amount is far better than not worrying at all.

The study is published in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed the supposed "disastrous" meeting she had with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, as "Brussels gossip".

The UK government reported the meeting as "constructive", yet the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung newspaper outlined that the PM appeared poorly briefed for the meeting, having unrealistic expectations on the length and process of the Brexits negotiations.

on Monday May declared: "I have to say that from what I've seen of this account I think it's Brussels gossip."

She went on to say: "In order to get the best deal for Britain we need to ensure we've got strong and stable leadership going into these negotiations."

According to the newspaper, however, in the meeting May refused to concede the due payment of billions of euros to the EU, including the Brexit bill, claiming that this demand could not be found in any EU treaties. The President of the European Commission threatened that if UK was to refuse this, there will be no trade deal with the EU.

This arose after the European Union expanded its demand for the UKs Brexit financial settlement to include the UKs political commitment, such as the share of a 2.5 billion fund to help refugees in Turkey. Such demands have been favoured by Germany, reflecting the European Unions determination not to be left out financially as the UK withdraws from the EU.

According to the report, the PM also affirmed her wish for an agreement on the rights of UK citizens in Europe to be reached, or at least clarified, at the EU Council meeting this June. However, this was rejected by Juncker who claimed that the issue, including associated matters such as healthcare, was too complex to be resolved in June.

May also informed Juncker that she wanted Brexit talks in four-day blocks every month, and to keep the discussions confidential. Junker dismissed the idea, mentioning Croatias EU entry deal and Canadas free trade deal, and highlighting that those talks will be complex.

The morning following the meeting the President of the European Commission called German Chancellor Angela Merkel, supposedly stating that May was "deluding herself". This drove Merkel to address the EUs Brexit summit in her speech, declaring that the EU will choose how to handle the negotiation and will put its own interests first. She also urged the remaining member states to be united when talks starts in June on Brexit.

These reports show the great difficulties which lie ahead. While most hope for a deal which would benefit both parts, the political game currently being played risks costing the population a "hard Brexit", potentially pushing politicians' pride before the well-being of citizens.
A transgender student has been made his schools first ever prom king, despite facing discrimination along the way. Alan Belmont, 17, got made junior prom king at North Central High School in Indiana after coming out as transgender to the public on January 1 2016. Students voted for Belmont to receive the accolade, who said he stood for prom king to show that ignorance will fall, pride and love will rise. He made the comment on an Instagram post which showed a prom king campaign leaflet of his vandalised with the words Al Belmont for prom queen. He said: Ive gotten a lot of questions as to why I am running for prom king. But this is the real reason. Despite all the love and support Ive received, theres still so much ignorance in the world. I want my trans friends to know that this is nothing but stupidity and hate. This doesnt stop me from being me, and I will continue to fight to win this. On another post he wrote: Im gonna be 110% raw and real about why I would like to be nominated: For those who dont know me, my name is Alan Christopher Belmont, and I am a trans guy. Although I was called a girl at birth, I am a guy. I know how confusing this concept can be, but being prom king would mean so much to not only me, but to every trans boy, girl, and nb kid out there. I have been attacked online via twitter for being the way that I am, and I want to show people that no matter what others say, your identity is valid. However, such discrimination is an anomaly  Belmont said most of the people at school supported him. The kids are so kind to me and the administration is so helpful, he said. It was an incredible feeling to know that my fellow classmates supported me and the message I wanted people to hear! I felt wonderful.
So far American Gods is entertaining, albeit confusing in the places that practically ooze Neil Gaimans strange brand of wondrous storytelling.

In its premiere episode, American Gods very firmly sets itself as the love child of Gaimans worlds and Bryan Fullers artistic vision. Fuller knows how to display harsh beauty, working camera angles and playing with the audiences' blindspots beyond the camera's focus to bring to life the twisted world of monsters and magic that Neil Gaiman wrote about. The skills of the show team can very obviously be seen in the introduction of Bilquis (played by Yetide Badaki).

It begins with the brutality of history upon the story is built, a gory prelude of stranded Vikings pleading and praying with the silent All-Father for wind to take them away from this foreign and barren land.

They sacrifice more and more in a constant wager of blood until they are finally granted their wish. When they set sail back to their homeland, they have no idea that theyre leaving a corrupted version of their beloved god on the land they abandoned, a god who craves the worship and war that he has been denied for centuries.

The episode then follows our protagonist, Shadow Moon. He starts in a jail cell, days from the end of his sentence, and the hope that he will return home to his loving wife.

When hes given the news that hes going to be released early, his happiness is followed by something far more distressing  late the previous night his wife had died in a car crash.

The rest of the story follows his journey to his wifes funeral and along the way he meets the volatile Mr. Wednesday, who wins his services as a bodyguard with a toss of a coin.

Moon is a hard character to translate over from the books  he is a silent figure there and thats not something that can be shown on TV as extensively as in the book, especially without the ability to see into his mind.

Yet Ricky Whittle takes on this role brilliantly. He is a character who has been through a lot and suffers a lot during this episode, and Ricky plays a character who is building walls, shutting down and just trying to get by without breaking.

Unlike his book counterpart, the shows version of Moon is verbal in his pain, works through his anger with words and thus gives us as an audience the chance to really see what hes feeling.

His co-star, Ian Shane, is a delight to watch. He commands each scene hes in, drawing attention with his ability to slip between the main personalities that Mr. Wednesday puts forward to manipulate the world around him.

Hes thoroughly entertaining to watch and he plays off Whittles Moon incredibly. Hes coarse and blunt but in the moment where Moon needs compassion he does deliver in his own strange way.

The soundtrack of the episode is brilliant. It's jarring in places but in the most positive way, as it makes each scene far the more memorable.

This episode also begins a conversation between old gods and new. The old with their blood and violence. The new, all cold and calculating like code and computers. It demonstrates the shift that the world has gone through in terms of faith and what gods we need in our lives now.

However, even with this, the archaic image of gallows  a rope in a noose ready to take your life  is something that hasnt been replaced, begging the question of whether weve really grown as people, who are past the want for rivers to run red.

The incoherency at the beginning, however, makes this episode confusing to watch. Moon has gallow visions that continue the themes of death throughout this episode. They happen quickly and dramatically, in pure Gaiman-esque fashion. The jumping in and out of reality at a moments notice, especially at the beginning of the episode before any firm ground had been established, makes it very difficult to follow. This is something that the audience can grow used to as the series develops.

By the ending, these moments of not-quite-reality are easier to follow, which allows the end of this episode to pack a punch and raise far more questions about the power that Shadow Moon doesnt know he possesses.

New episodes of American Gods arrive on Amazon Prime Video every Monday.
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Refined oil has been purchased at Rs 253 a litre, tur dal, moong dal at RS 157 per kilogram which is several times higher than the existing market price.

By Divyesh Singh: The response to a recent RTI filed by an activist Ajay Bose has revealed that the Central Railways' (CR) catering department purchased certain food items at several times their actual market price.

The RTI reply revealed that food items like 100 gram packets of Amul curd have been purchased at Rs 14 crores for around 15336 units, which comes to Rs 972 per unit for 100 gram curd. Similarly, refined oil has been purchased at Rs 253 a litre, tur dal, moong dal at RS 157 per kilogram which is several times higher than the existing market price. Cold drinks and water bottles were also purchased at prices twenty to thirty times higher than their actual price.

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The Central railway base kitchen, other than supplying food to railway restaurants supplies food to long distance trains, canteens and restaurants at various stations across the central railway. The base kitchen also provides food to the Janahar gruh which is a low cost food outlet run by the railway authorities.

Talking to India Today, the RTI applicant, Bose said "Initially, the RTI query filed by me got no reply from CR authorities after which I filed an appeal and then they finally revealed the data. I received the information from commercial department on April 10 and the facts it revealed were shocking".

PRIVATE CONTRACTORS IN PROFIT; CR DEPARTMENT IN LOSS

"The food products were bought at rates that were almost ten times higher than actual market price. Almost every product was bought at a price higher than its actual market price. However, all these products were sold to the canteens, trains and restaurants at the usual market price. This has led to huge losses for railways but I don't understand how none of this ever came to light. The private catering contractors are making profits while the CR catering department is running in huge losses," Bose added.

"The catering department does not float any tenders, hence all the raw materials and other products are bought from a particular supplier only. If due process was followed by floating tenders then the contracts would have been issued to the lowest bidder. Nevertheless, the railway authorities have turned a blind eye so far towards the losses incurred at LTT and CST terminus and also at the Janahar gruh and base kitchen," said Bose.

Bose has also mentioned that the scam could run into crores and despite monthly audits conducted by the department, the misappropriations never came to light. He also hinted at the role of some senior railway officials in the scam who are allegedly working hand-in-gloves with the suppliers of food items.

On an average, the CR catering department provides food to more than a lakh people through pantries, catering agents, canteens and restaurants everyday.

WATCH: Rail Neer scam: CBI raids 13 places in Delhi, Noida

ALSO READ:

Western Central Railways ban sale of colas at 300 stations

Bhopal: Pay Rs 5,000 for failing to wake up passenger, Consumer forum to railways

--- ENDS ---
Rajasthan women police personnel for the first time patrolled the streets of Jaipur since 6 am on Wednesday. A total of 52 female police constables, in groups of two, are supposed to operate from 6 am to 10 pm to prevent incidents of eve-teasing and similar cases of sexual harassment.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: In a bid to prevent eve-teasing and similar incidents of sexual harassment, Rajasthan women police personnel for the first time patrolled the streets of Jaipur since 6 am on Wednesday.

Donning the khaki uniform, these women police personnel were deployed particularly near parks, cinema halls and colleges.

India Today reporters travelled with a couple of such patrolling units that were stationed at various places, including at Jaipur's Central Park and another outside a college.

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The units moved from one location to another, being on the look-out for anyone trying to indulge in any act of impropriety.

RAJASTHAN POLICE LAUNCHES 26 WOMEN PATROLLING UNITS

Rajasthan police has launched 26 women patrolling units, each comprising two female constables. These units are deployed in sensitive areas, where instances of eve-teasing and harassment have occurred in the past. A total of 52 female police constables, in groups of two, are supposed to operate from 6 am to 10 pm.

The team is headed by an additional DCP rank officer.

According to Jaipur police, these personnel will be commanded and supervised from Abhay, the command and control centre.

These personnel will be deployed at random according to the requirement at that moment and have been given wireless sets, which are connected with PCR vans, a senior Jaipur police officer said.

Also read | Maneka: Films encourage eve-teasing, responsible for rising crimes against women

--- ENDS ---
Bureaucrats and politicians around the country are scurrying to find a way around Modi government's red beacon ban.

Bureaucrats and politicians around the country are scurrying to find a way around Modi government's red beacon ban.

By India Today Web Desk: As the government's ban on red beacons kicked in on Monday, politicians around the country scurried around to find some jugaad to reinforce their importance on Indian roads.

In Maharashtra, politicians like Minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar urged the the state Director General of Police to "explore options" that don't flout rules. Kesarkar argued that there was a need to distinguish a VIP's car from other vehicles, "for security purposes."

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Meanwhile, in Karnataka, state food minister UT Khader refused to remove his read beacon saying, "I cant do anything until the department comes forward and removes the red beacon." Khader went on to say that he wouldn't get rid of the red beacon until the chief minister asked him to do so.

Interestingly, the love for lal battis has been most prominent in Karnataka, where even state chief minister Siddaramaiah had straight off refused to remove his red beacon when the ban was first announced. Later, Karnataka Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy also refused to remove his red beacon, saying, said will remove it only if the prime minister got rid of his security cover. When he was reminded that the country's prime minister faced a threat to his life, Rayareddy replied, "let him die."

Meanwhile in Bihar, bureaucrats and netas remained reluctant to part with their VIP status and several vehicles with beacons atop them were found parked all across the old and new secretariats in Patna.

But if any state has truly find a way to out-manoeuvre the red beacon, it had to be Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. According to a report in The Times of India, politicians in both states simply replaced their beacons with sirens and hooters and continued to practice their "VIP privilege". Thouth they may think they've found a way around the law, these ministers don't realise they're brazenly breaking the law.

According to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules', except for ambulances, fire brigades, construction equipment vehicles and police vehicles, no other vehicles are allowed to use sirens in their cars.

In Hyderabad, politicians were blaring sirens and hooters to get past traffic and road junctions.

Unfortunately for police in the city, confusion prevailed, since they neither received an intimation regarding the ban, nor were they given any instructions on penalising those were flouting rules.

Early last month, the Centre had announced a blanket ban on the use of red beacons by all politicians, MPs, VIPs and VVIPs and the hugely popular decision was to come to effect on Monday. But it looks like it will take a while for Indian politicians to get used to their newfound lack of privilege.

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Also read:

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By Press Trust of India: (EDs: Adding details)

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) South Korean consumer electronics major Samsung is aiming to corner around 60 per cent market share in the premium TV segment by the end of this year also relying on decent sales of Smart QLED TV launched here today.

The launch of Smart QLED TV is part of the companys strategy to strengthen its position in the premium segment and it is expecting that TV panels of 40 inches and above would drive majority of the sales.

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"We are aiming to take our share in the premium panel market to 60 per cent by the end of this year from the present 48 per cent. This would be helped by our new TV range as QLED series," said Samsung India VP, CE, Rajeev Bhutani.

He further added: "The company would also increase its share in the overall panel market to 35 per cent, from 31 per cent."

Presently, in value terms, the overall size of the indian TV market is around USD 2.4 billion (Rs 15,430 crore). The market is an intensely competitive one as new entrants have come into the low cost segments as well as in the premium 40 inch plus segment.

According to Bhutani, in panels of 32 inches and below, the industry has stagnated in the past two years.

"As far as Samsung is concerned, we would continue to operate in all screen sizes across all points. However, our endeavour would be to drive and showcase the consumer the latest innovative products, which in turn, is creating and driving the market in the 40 inch and above segment," he added.

Samsung, whose products are available at around 29,000 counters pan India, would continue to expand its reach both in rural and metro markets.

"We would keep adding as we are investing in creating logistics infrastructure and retail infrastructure," he said.

As part of its strategy, Samsung India is focusing on the customers who are replacing their CRT TVs in the rural areas, while in urban areas, it is targeting the customers who are upgrading their LCD/LED panels into smart TVs.

Presently, urban India is contributing 65 to 70 per cent of the market, he added.

"This 65 to 70 per cent market is driving the growth in 40 inches and above," Bhutani said.

Samsung, a leader in the panel segment, is now facing stiff competition from some domestic makers and Chinese players, who have gained market share in the entry level segment in non-metro regions.

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"We are not competing in price point but we would compete on value additions and continue to focus on that," said Bhutani.

The company has priced the QLED series between Rs 3.14 lakh and Rs 24.99 lakh for screen sizes of 55 inch to 88 inch.

Samsung has also come up with a pre-book offer for its QLED TV under which it is offering Samsung Galaxy S8 (Gold) free to customers who book up to May 21. PTI PRJ KRH JM

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DMK leader Stalin slammed Chief Minister Palaniswami for misgovernance, saying that he must focus on implementing public welfare schemes in the state, instead of boasting of how many documents he had signed without making it clear how many plans had been cleared.

By Pramod Madhav: DMK Working President MK Stalin has slammed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami for misgovernance in the state, asking him not to hide his failures through his rants and instead focus on implementing public welfare schemes.

Stalin alleged that the Tamil Nadu government was paralysed at all levels.

"The chief minister proudly claims that he has signed 1,570 documents in 73 days. Has he also signed the petition which said in the Supreme Court that farmers did not commit suicide, he questioned sarcastically hinting at the Tamil Nadu government's response to a plea, which claimed that farmers committed suicide due to personal reasons, a remark that shocked the state.

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"Signing documents is the duty of the chief minister. Boasting that you have signed so many documents is absurd. Yet can you tell me how many important plans have you cleared so far?", he questioned again.

STALIN HITS OUT AT EPS

Stalin sincerely asked whether the chief minister cleared the necessary documents to construct a museum for Tamil culture or if he cleared the documents for constructing 3,000 houses for police personnel. Or whether the documents signed were to provide a solatium of 3 lakh rupees to the 400 farmers who committed suicide unable to bear losses due to the drought.

Stalin asked Palaniswami to not hype up the importance of the daily documents that reach his desk for signature, as if they were the ones to initiate inter-river linking plan or a new transport plan or a mega cooperative drinking water plan.

"Creating a false impression by saying that you have signed so many documents is only an artificial claim that there is good governance in the state, which will help no one", he claimed.

Stalin again asked Palaniswami to concentrate on bigger, pressing issues, instead of petty number crunching on how many documents he had signed as a chief minister.

Also read | Centre is conducting selective raids against AIADMK leaders: Stalin

Also read | Tamil Nadu: Protesters burn CM Palaniswami's effigy over state petition on farmer suicides

--- ENDS ---
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In-Room VDO
By Press Trust of India: (EDs: Incorporating additional quotes)

Lucknow, May 2 (PTI) Stay humble and do not get complacent, BJP chief Amit Shah today told the party workers, while crediting them for its overwhelming victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The BJP workers need not feel relaxed or complacent and instead should make more efforts to improve partys prospects on the assembly seats and booths where it is weak, Shah said.

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He was addressing the state executive meeting of the BJP here on concluding day of its two-day meet, which was held for the first time after the saffron party stormed to power in the recent Assembly elections.

The BJP chief also urged the party workers to ensure that the works undertaken by them do not shrink but expand, while asking them to become accountable.

"Our responsibility is that we should uproot political parties who indulge in politics of casteism, dynastic politics and appeasement. There is no place for such parties," he said.

Terming the BJP as a "party of patriots", Shah said, "The party workers must not sit back and relax, but make efforts to reachout those booths, where it is weak and tell people about the various welfare schemes initiated by the Centre and state governments, thereby increasing the membership of the party."

Noting that there were 16,000 workers in the BJP, he said if one party worker decides to strengthen five booths, then the party would automatically reach to 80,000 booths.

"The party workers must go the booth level and work with the dalits, the poor and the labourers, and tell them about the various welfare measures of the Centre and state government," said Shah, the BJP national president.

The people should be told how the party came up with the Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra before the UP assembly elections while working on sabka saath, sabka vikaas, Shah said.

"The BJP has not been given mandate so that its workers become MLA, MP, chief minister or minister, but to bring about a change. We have got a mandate to bring about a change, and we will change the scenario of UP," Shah said.

He also accused the previous government of not implementing the policies of the Centre for the fear that those schemes may boost the popularity of the BJP.

"There is an atmosphere prevailing in the country under which people feel that the Yogi Adityanath government will work in the state like Modi government in the country," he said.

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Lauding the hard work of the party workers, he said, "It is due to their toil that BJP which started as a 10-member party is now having 11 crore members, and is the largest political party in the world."

"It is because of the hardwork of the party workers that the party has formed government on its own strength in 14 states, while it shares power with allies in three states," he said.

The party has 282 MPs in Lok Sabha and 1,387 MLAs throughout the country, he pointed out.

"But, the party workers should not feel relaxed or complacent and take steps to ensure that BJP makes inroads to each and every part of India," he said.

After the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, people of UP wanted to get rid of casteism, dynastic politics and appeasement, and they have given a green signal by voting for the BJP, heralding a new era in the state, he said, and added that UP had been suffering from policy paralysis all these years.

"It is for these reasons that the BJP did not name its election yatras as Vijay Yatra but called them Parivartan Yatra. Our main aim was to help UP get free from the 15 years of misrule of SP and BSP. The Yogi government will do sabka saath, sabka vikaas, and we are seeing glimpses of this in the first few months," he added. PTI NAV SMI KIS

--- ENDS ---

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Through this petition advocate Shiraz Quraishi and his team have requested the apex court that there are abundant people across religions who are working within the framework of the law for the protection of cows and progeny.

By Shivan Chanana: A band of Muslim 'gau rakshaks' have come forward and submitted a counter petition asking the Supreme Court not to ban 'gau rakshaks' in response to a petition filed by Tehseen Poonawalla in the Supreme Court asking for a complete ban on 'gau rakshaks' across the country.

The petitioners in the intervention petition are Faiz Khan from Raipur, Israr Ullah from Allahabad & Dr S N Pathan from Pune who have requested the Supreme Court that gau rakshaks should not be banned.

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Through this petition advocate Shiraz Quraishi and his team have requested the apex court that there are abundant people across religions who are working within the framework of the law for the protection of cows and progeny.

"We condemn violence but we also condemn misrepresentation of facts. Anti-social elements are trying to defame the genuine cow protectors so that the protection of cows & progeny done lawfully can be disrupted. I represent Muslim gau rakshaks and am taking the legal route to fight my case," said Shiraz Quraishi, Supreme Court Lawyer.

The petition also makes a mention of Joshine Anthony, Kavita Jain and Jagpreet Luthra and several other women who are law abiding citizens protecting animals.

India Today had earlier brought to light an exclusive report on Jagpreet Luthra (senior journalist), Kavita Jain (entrepreneur), Nitasha Jaini (painter) and Joshine Anthony who are educated professionals protecting animals from being smuggled across India's state and national borders. While Nitasha Jaini was attacked outside the Patna High Court where she was fighting a legal battle against the meat mafia, Joshine and Kavita were attacked by a mob of over 50 goons from the meat mafia in Bengaluru.

"Just two months back over 20,000 kg of beef kept for export was seized from a cold storage in New Delhi (all samples tested positive for beef) and over four thousand tonnes of meat was caught at Chennai port. These were efforts of genuine law abiding gau rakshaks. Our efforts gravely hurt the meat mafia's pockets," said Joshine Anthony of the Dhyan Foundation.

Celebrity and former Miss India Nikita Anand voiced her concerns on the matter saying "Ram, Krishna, Rana Pratap, Shivaji were all gau rakshaks. It is a pious term and this is a planned attack to defame this term of 'gaurakshaks' by the meat mafia so that there is no hindrance in their trade. It is an illegal trade worth several hundreds of crores and the meat mafia doesn't bat an eyelid even before firing at police in order to flee".

In an India Today exclusive interview, DSP Virender Singh from Mewat said how police officials are not safe at the hands of cattle smugglers. "These Mewati cattle smugglers open fire and pelt stones on the police when we try to intercept their illegal trade" said Singh. Amit Kumar and Gaurav Kumar of Haryana are among those who have been attacked and shot at point blank range at the hands of Mewati's during one of their pursuits to mobilise authorities to intercept cattle filled trucks".

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"The meat trade is a hazard to our national security. As per a report conducted by the National Investigation Agency, one of the biggest fund raisers for terrorist outfit Hizbul-mujahideen was a cattle smuggler from Bangladesh. Recently several thousand cartridges, carcasses of endangered and extinct animals and several hundred illegal firearms were recovered from an animal poacher's house in Meerut," Quraishi further elaborated.

This team of Muslim petitioners and advocates have come forward in support of Gaurakshaks and countered Tehseen Poonawalla's petition to ban gaurakshaks. The date of hearing is due tomorrow in the Supreme Court wherein both sides will battle for and against the term which has captivated the entire country - "Gauraksha".

--- ENDS ---
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today filed a defamation suit against two Rashtriya Janata Dal spokespersons for leveling baseless and false charges that he acquired "benami" properties.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday filed a defamation suit against two spokespersons of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Manoj Jha and Chittranjan Gagan, for leveling baseless and false charges that he acquired "benami" properties in Patna and other places in the country.

Sushil Modi filed the defamation suit in the Chief Judicial Court in Patna, under IPC sections 499 and 500. He posted images of the document on Twitter.

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He has asked that the court take stringent action against the two spokespersons, so that they don't tarnish the image of any politician who is holds a responsible post.

SUSHIL MODI SAYS ALLEGATIONS DENTED HIS REPUTATION

Sushil Modi said Manoj Jha and Chittranjan Gagan held press conferences in Patna and alleged that he had a palatial bungalow on Road No 13 in Patna's Rajendra Nagar area, that he illegally acquired 7.5 acres of land belonging to a church and built a mall on it, that he owned luxurious cars in Delhi, and that he invested his black money in several companies in Kolkata and Delhi.

He said the baseless allegations leveled on him by both RJD spokespersons were published prominently in national dailies, and that had dented his reputation.

It's worth noting that in the last few weeks, Sushil Modi has been making a sensational expose on RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family, and presenting documentary proof of their acquiring benami properties worth several hundred crores in the last few years.

In a bid to counter him, Lalu Prasad has directed his party spokespersons to level similar charges against him.

ALSO READ | BJP leader Sushil Modi targets Tejaswi, says he acquired property worth Rs 115 crore in Delhi

ALSO READ | Sushil Modi calls for ouster of Tej Pratap Yadav over soil purchase scam

ALSO WATCH | PM Modi praises Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for liquor ban initiative

--- ENDS ---
Player to watch on every South Dakota HS football state final team

A few of the players expected to play big roles in their teams' pursuit of a South Dakota high school football state title this weekend.
By Press Trust of India: Burdwan (WB), May 2 (PTI) BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya today demanded that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee immediately remove the ministers whose names have figured in the FIR filed by the CBI in the Narada sting operation case.

In any case, those involved in the Narada sting operation case and Saradha chit fund scam will have to go to jail "very soon", he said.

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"No one can save them from going to jail. In Saradha and Rose Valley scams a lot of people have lost their life-long savings. The culprits have to be booked," the BJP national general secretary said at a rally here.

State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said, "Three to four Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders will be picked up by the CBI before the panchayat polls."

Vijayvargiya said, "The people of Bengal want to know what action Mamata Banerjee has taken against the tainted ministers. If she does not remove those ministers from the Cabinet then the people of Bengal will remove them in the next election."

He accused the Trinamool government of going soft on anti-national elements and alleged that "pro-Pakistan and anti-India" slogans are being raised in West Bengal and the state government is playing the role of a mute spectator.

"Pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans are being raised on the soil of Bengal and the state government is a mute spectator. They do not take any action. The state government is only interested in appeasement of a community," Vijayvargiya claimed.

He also accused the West Bengal government of ruining the prospect of industrial growth in the state and alleged that it is only promoting the "bomb manufacturing industry and "syndicate business" in the state.

Vijayvargiyas comments drew sharp reaction from TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee, who said the statements proved that the CBI is being used to exact political revenge.

"Our leader Mamata Banerjee for long has been saying that the CBI is being used to pursue political vendetta. Now, the BJP leaders themselves have accepted it, or else how will they know who will be arrested and when? This means the CBI is being used as a political tool against the TMC," he said. PTI PNT SUN MD NSD

--- ENDS ---
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By Press Trust of India: Chennai, May 2 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government today objected to the arrest of five fishermen from the state by Sri Lanka, saying it can only be seen as an act to "derail" the diplomatic bids to resolve the issues pertaining to fishing.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister K Palaniswami raised the April 30 arrests of the five fishermen, hailing from Thangachimadam in Rameswaram, by Lankan navy.

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"Such incidents of apprehension of artisanal fishermen who were fishing in a small traditional boat in their customary fishing grounds in Palk Bay can only be seen as an act to derail attempts to sort out the issues relating to the fishing in traditional waters of the Palk Bay through diplomatic efforts of the respective governments," he said.

It is "unfortunate" that the Sri Lankan government continues to "intimidate" Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu "who eke out their livelihood through the traditional fishing methods," he added.

The arrests also send out a "demoralising message" to the Tamil Nadu fishermen, Palaniswamy said.

He said it is important that the Centre tells Sri Lanka in "firm, clear, unequivocal and unambiguous terms" that these trends have to be reversed and that the Indian government is firmly committed to protect the livelihood of the poor and innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

Palaniswami said 134 fishing boats are in Sri Lankan custody and they continue to be precariously perched on the seashore there.

Sri Lankas refusal to release the boats is causing frustration and despondency among the Tamil Nadu fishermen, he said.

He said though the Lankan government agreed to consider release the boats, no final decision has been taken in this regard and even during the recent meeting of the prime ministers of India and Sri Lanka, no announcement was made on this aspect.

He appealed to the Centre to take up the issue with the highest authorities of the island republic and ensure immediate release of the boats.

He also sought the Centres efforts to secure the release of the five fishermen arrested on Sunday. PTI SA BN RAX

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 2 (PTI) The Trump administration today pledged to work against recent surge in hate crimes, including those against the Hindu and Sikh communities, and said it has established a task force subcommittee to look into the issue and submit its recommendations.

"The Attorney General (Jeff Sessions) has made fighting violent crime one of his top priorities," Eric Treene, special counsel for religious discrimination civil rights division at the Department of Justice, told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on increase in religious hate crime.

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One category of violent crimes are those based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and similar factors? generally known by the shorthand hate crimes, Treene said, adding that addressing hate crimes must be part of our national effort to reduce violent crime.

In February, Sessions established a task force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. The task force has a Hate Crimes Subcommittee, which will develop a plan to address hate crimes to better protect the rights of all Americans.

On June 29, the Hate Crimes Subcommittee will hold an additional one day summit focusing solely on identifying, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes.

In his testimony, the Justice Department official referred to the several instances of hate crimes against Indians, Hindu and Sikhs communities.

"An arrest has been made in the Kansas City shooting the President referenced, in which two Indian-American men were shot, one fatally. That investigation is ongoing," he said.

Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said religious hate crimes are on the rise.

"Crimes against Jews are the most common religious hate crimes and they have increased. Religious hate crimes against Muslims are the fastest growing category. These crimes increased by 67 per cent between 2014 and 2015, the last year for which FBI figures are available," Grassley said.

Asserting that fear for practicing ones religion should never happen in this country, Grassley said that government action to enforce the First Amendment?s guarantee of free exercise of religion is necessary if these rights are to be protected against those who commit hate crimes.

Too many people in this country feel unwelcome, unsafe, said Indian-American Vanita Gupta, a former civil rights official at the Justice Department under Obama administration.

"Ultimately eliminating prejudice in the US will require that Americans develop respect for cultural differences and establish dialogue across racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious boundaries," she said, adding education, awareness, and acceptance of group differences are the cornerstones of a solution to prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry in the US.

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From the tragic shooting of two Indians in Kansas to mosque arsons and synagogue vandalism to the defacing of a Maryland church, an alarming number of gut-wrenching incidents of hate-motivated violence have shaken the public, Gupta said.

"It is incumbent upon all of us to reduce hate violence and bias-motivated incidents. Hate crimes have been referred to as this countrys original form of domestic terrorism," Gupta said in her testimony.

"There is no question that many South Asians, Sikhs, and people of other faiths are targeted because people believe they are Muslim. However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that many people are also targeted because of their actual identity," she said.

Sikhs, for example, may be mistaken as Muslims, but they also have a long history in this country and in others of facing persecution and discrimination, Gupta said.

Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh American who has experienced hate violence first hand, said while it is clear that Sikh Americans are not alone in experiencing a rise in hate crimes, the experience of the community is important to understand how dangerous this current era of inflammatory rhetoric promises to be if action is not taken.

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According to Sikh Coalition surveys published between 2008 and 2010, approximately 10 per cent of Sikh respondents in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area reported that they had experienced assaults or property damage because of their religion, he said.

"Ominously, the Sikh Coalition has consistently found that a majority of Sikh students in our nation?s public schools experience bias-based bullying and harassment," Singh said, adding that Sikh Americans are as vulnerable as ever to hate crimes.

In his testimony, Singh recommended that hate crime reporting should be mandatory, not voluntary.

"We cannot address what we do not know. As a physician, I can attest that mandatory data reporting is crucial when the scope of a challenge is unknown and solutions are urgently needed," he said.

"Words matter. Politicians must hold each other accountable for putting their constituents in danger. It seems fashionable these days for politicians to scapegoat immigrants and Muslims, but this endangers all of us.My personal experience with hate violence is a case in point. Please hold each other accountable and make it stop,? Singh said. PTI LKJ ZH

--- ENDS ---

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Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the advantages of economic reforms have started reaching villages and the whole debate on whether these reforms had a political cost had disappeared from the Indian context.

Speaking at the ICICI Rural Summit, Sashakt Gaon, Samriddh Bharat event which dedicated '100 Digital Villages' to the nation, Jaitley applauded the Aadhaar enabled payment system. "The Aadhaar enabled payment is unique to us, no other country has that technology and privilege where your thumb literally becomes your credit or debit card and is linked to your bank account."

ICICI Bank through its CSR division aims to transform another 500 digital villages and train 50,000 individuals by December 2017. So far, ICICI has provided loans worth Rs. 14 crore to these 100 villages but is hopeful the numbers will grow.

Chanda Kochhar, managing director and chief executive officer at ICICI Bank, said, "We intend to expand the number of villages by another 500 by December 2017. There are various challenges including internet reach and infrastructural issues, but we are in the process and are hopeful of clearing the hurdles."

Jaitley expressed the hope that other banks too would emulate ICICI Group's rural focused initiative's such as 'digital villages' and help transform the rural segments of the economy. He said that the larger step of demonetisation has proved every eminent economist wrong who predicted a decline of 2 per cent in GDP.

"One great advantage of the demonetisation exercise has been the movement towards digitisation, where new technologies have been created and new forms of electronic payments have been introduced," Jaitley said.

He said India has witnessed various modes of payments, not only debit cards, but also rupay cards and various other applications emerging. "We are going to charter into a territory which we haven't visualised," he added.

Earlier, Jaitley had said that Aadhaar may become the only identity card in future, while making it mandatory for filing of income tax returns is necessary to curb tax evasion and frauds.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the whole debate over the political cost of economic reforms has dissipated with the benefits reaching the deprived sections of society.

He also said the outcome of demonetisation has proved critics wrong as neither the GDP nor agricultural output suffered.

Appreciating the rural masses for being flexible in adapting to technologies, the Finance Minister said, "One great advantage of this whole exercise (demonetisation) was the movement towards digitisation. And movement towards digitisation itself has created newer technologies, newer form of electronic modes of payments."

Noting that there has been a debate going on for the last 26 years as to whether economic reforms have a political cost, he said it is being realised that reforms are benefiting rural population and have-nots.

"I think one of the learning experiences has been that the advantage of that reform will reach the rural people.

That's the fundamental change taking place today," he said while dedicating 100 ICICI 'digital villages' to the nation.

"The advantages of the additional resources available with the state and of the entire economic activity also is reaching the village itself and therefore when that segment of society feels that they have been included in the process, the whole debate that the reform has political cost itself is dissipating," he said.

On demonetisation, the Finance Minister said India proved critics wrong as there was no "2 per cent dip in GDP".

"There was no disappearance of demand. There was no agrarian crisis. In fact, the agriculture sowing went up. And suddenly you found the whole debate in this country taking a new turn. I am personally very glad that some obsolete ideas are clashing with some newer ones," he said.

Citing an example, he said, "If somebody would say that electronic (voting) machines are terrible and we must go back to paper, we will eventually (know) what the conclusion of this debate is going to be. Or that cash currency is superior to any form of digitisation or for that matter arbitrary selection of individual is better than unique identity."

It would not be hard to guess who eventually will be the winner in this argument, he added without elaborating.

On the ICICI Bank initiative, Jaitley expressed hope that many other banks will emulate this experience.

ICICI Bank has created 100 'digital villages' across the country.

The project, which also includes imparting skill training and providing credit linkages to people living there, was taken up by the bank after noticing that minimum inconvenience was caused to people living in a model 'digital village' in the western Indian state of Gujarat during the demonetisation period.
Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil behemoth, took 100 per cent control of the sprawling Port Arthur refinery in Texas on May 1, completing a deal that was first announced last year.

Port Arthur is considered the crown jewel of the US refinery system. The Gulf Coast facility can process 600,000 barrels of oil per day, making it the largest refinery in North America, CNNMoney reported.

Aramco previously owned 50 per cent of Port Arthur through a joint venture co-owned with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) called Motiva Enterprises.

But the two oil giants had a rocky relationship and reached a deal in March 2016 to separate their assets. Shell put out a statement on May 1 confirming the "completion" of that break-up.

In addition to Port Arthur, Aramco is acquiring full ownership of 24 distribution terminals. Aramco also gets the exclusive right to sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, the eastern half of Texas and the majority of Florida.

Saudi Arabia is already America's second-largest source of crude, behind only Canada. The US imported 1.3 million barrels of Saudi crude a day in February, up 32 per cent from last year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The Supreme Court today dismissed the appeals of Essar Steel and Essar Power and upheld the Gujarat High Court's order holding them liable to pay Rs 1038.27 crore towards electricity duty to the state government.

"We are dismissing the appeals," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said.

Essar has been seeking electricity duty exemption for its power plant at Hazira, but the Gujarat government had rejected its demand as it sold power to other entities.

The state government had earlier said that electricity duty exemption was only for captive power plants and Essar had not sought prior permission to set up the plant to meet the purpose of selling electricity.

Counsel for Essar group companies had said its plant was a captive power plant which supplied power to its stake holders.

He had said that Gujarat power board had 58 per cent stake in the power plant while 42 per cent belonged to other stake holders and it was very much within permissible limits to supply electricity to them.

Senior advocate C A Sundaram, appearing for the state government, had argued that the company had itself admitted in one of its letters that they were not a captive power plant but an electricity generating unit.

He had said 58 per cent stake in the plant was of the state government while 42 per cent stake was of Essar Steel and the electricity it generated was being supplied to other firms.

Sundaram had said the state government stood by the verdict of the High Court and the company was liable to pay electricity duty.

The state government had first refused Essar group's claims for duty exemption on electricity in 2003 and asked it to pay more than Rs 1,000 crore that was allegedly due.

Essar group had then approached the Gujarat high court which had last year asked the company to pay the electricity duty to the state government.
The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) on Tuesday threatened to revive its agitation if the Odisha government hands over the land acquired for the Posco project to JSW for its proposed mega steel plant instead of returning it to the farmers.

"We will revive the agitation against any move to hand over the land for industrial purpose. JSW may be interested in the land, but we will not allow it to set up the unit in the area," PPSS president Abhaya Sahu said.

The PPSS had spearheaded the agitation against setting up Posco steel plant on the land by displacing farmers.

"The people will not tolerate it and more people will come forward to save the land," Sahu said claiming that at least five persons (4 from anti-Posco group and one from pro-Posco camp) had laid down their lives during anti-displacement agitation.

Sahu also claimed at least 100 new betel vines have already come up on the land acquired by the state government for the Posco project.

He said the police have registered at least 32 cases against the villagers for re-occupying the land and setting up betel vines for which they have already received compensation from the government.

On claims of villagers on the land, Sahu said: "The villagers might not have legal title over the land, but they were in possession of the land for decades before they were evicted. We will not allow use of the land other than agriculture purpose."

"The villagers were making a living by raising paddy, betel leaf, drum sticks and fish ponds at the site before it was snatched away for the Posco project", Sahu pointed out.

The state government, on the other hand claimed that it has already acquired 2700 acres of land for Posco project.

While about 1800 acre of the land was handed over to the company, the remaining land was in government's land bank.

Meanwhile, the state government has cancelled the land allotment made to Posco for not utilising it for over three years.

On April 29, JSW chief Sajan Jindal met Odisha Chief Secretary A P Padhi and said that Posco's site could be a location for his company to set up a 10 mtpa greenfield steel mill.

"The land acquired for Posco project is now in the land bank of the state government. There has been no decision to return the land to the people as done in Singur of West Bengal. The Posco site is now in the land bank," Odisha's Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra told PTI.

Asked whether the land would be given to JSW which was interested to set up a steel plant near Paradip, Mishra said: "No such decision has been taken so far. However, there is a marked difference between Singur and Dhinkia."

During the encroachment free drive from Dhinkia area, the state government had demolished around 1,592 betel vines and paid compensation to the farmers.


BJP national President Amit Shah on Tuesday advised party workers here to be humble and accountable to the people and warned them against getting swayed by the landslide victory in the state assembly elections held earlier this year.

"There is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government now in the state, and therefore, your responsibility has increased manifold," he told party leaders and workers at the concluding session of the state executive held in the state capital.

The "advisory" assumes significance in the backdrop of several high-handed acts of BJP workers and leaders, such as a mob attack on the Saharanpur SSP's house and beating up of police at Kannauj.

Speaking in the presence of the party's state President and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior leaders, the BJP chief hailed the party workers.

"The party cadres have worked very hard for three years since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to achieve this stunning victory and hence the workers and leaders need not only to be fair in their conduct but also remain connected to the people."

He also attacked the previous governments in the state over the past 15 years and accused them of plundering the state for self-promotion and doing nothing for the people.

"But all that is a thing of the past now and we are working for all-round development of the state with the credo given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi  Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas," he said.

Shah also exhorted the workers and state leaders not to rest and instead be prepared for winning other elections and to ensure that the people standing on the last step of the social ladder were benefited by the schemes rolled out by the central and state governments.

He also praised the Yogi Adityanath government and said the state government had begun to work for the people.

Earlier, on his first visit to the state capital after the installation of the BJP government, Amit Shah was accorded a grand welcome by party workers at the airport.
Keeping in view the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday night cancelled the Anantnag Loksabha bypoll in Jammu and Kashmir and said the situation is not feasible to hold free and fair elections for now.

"In view of the prevailing ground situation and non-availability of sufficient security forces, the Commission is of the considered view that peaceful, free and fair poll is not feasible on May 25, as scheduled, though some political parties have asked for the same, the EC said in its 10-page order.

The bypoll, earlier scheduled to be held on 12 April, was postponed for 25 May due to poor law and order situation.

The byelection to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following the resignation of Lok Sabha MP Mehbooba Mufti last year to take over as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to reports, the EC had sought deployment of around 740 companies of paramilitary personnel for the bypoll but the Home Ministry, however, said it could only provide around 300.

The PDP, the ruling coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, had urged the EC to defer indefinitely the bypoll to the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in the wake of the volatile situation prevailing there.

Later in the day, Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday to discuss the situation of the Valley.

(With inputs from agencies)
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 2 (PTI) US President Donald Trump is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un "under the right circumstances", the White House has said asserting that Pyongyang needs to meet a lot of conditions for such a meeting between the two leaders to take place.

"Theres a lot of things that go along with that, and thats the key thing."Under the right circumstances" was, I believe, the phrase he used.I think that is something in keeping with our consistent with the policy expressed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as well," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

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"Weve got to see their provocative behaviour ratcheted down immediately.Theres a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behaviour and to show signs of good faith," Spicer said when asked about Trumps statement in an interview that he is willing to meet the North Korean leader.

"Clearly, conditions are not there right now, but I think the President has made it clear, as Secretary Tillerson had the other day, that if the conditions, if the circumstances present themselves well be prepared to, but theyre clearly not at this time," Spicer said.

Spicer stressed the right circumstances for a meeting between the two leaders does not exist right now.

"If North Korea continues down a degree of provocative behaviour, then those circumstances will never be there," he said.

"We want to hold out the possibility that if North Korea were ever serious about completely dismantling its nuclear capability and taking away the threat that they pose both to the region and to us that there is always going to be a possibility of that occurring.That possibility is not there at this time," Spicer said.

Trump, he said, understands the threat North Korea poses.

"Having someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country and potentially our country as some point in the future is something the President takes very seriously," he said.

"So the idea that he is doing everything diplomatically, economically, and militarily to consider every way to prevent that threat from taking on the US is something?" he added.

The White House spokesman also defended the decision of the US President to meet his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.

"I think theres an economic piece to this, as well. Thats part of the reason that I think the President wants to meet with him," he said.

"Im not going to get ahead of their discussions.I would suggest that there are multifaceted ways and areas in which not just the Philippines but other countries in the region can help play a role both economically, diplomatically, and otherwise to help deter the threat that they pose," Spicer said.

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The meeting with the Philippines President is also an opportunity to work with countries in that region that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea.

"And, frankly, the national interest of the United States, the safety of our people and the safety of people in the region are the number-one priorities of the President," he said.

Spicer refuted allegations that by meeting his counterpart from Philippines, Trump is ignoring human rights concerns.

"The number-one concern of this President is to make sure that we do everything we can to protect our people, and specifically, to economically and diplomatically isolate North Korea," he said.

"I think when you look at what he is doing in terms of building that coalition of countries in that region to do it, I think this is hopefully going to tell you every single thing thats in his brief, but hes well aware of -- when he speaks with a leader, he gets briefed on a lot about their -- what theyre doing, what theyve done," Spicer said. PTI LKJ AJR

--- ENDS ---

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Shiv Sena ministers on Tuesday called on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence here and demanded a special session of the Maharashtra legislature to discuss the issues plaguing the farmers.

"Farm loan waiver is the first issue that needs to be discussed. Unseasonal rains and hailstorms are also plaguing the farmers. Thus, we have urged the chief minister for a special Assembly (session) to discuss the farmers' issues. The chief minister was positive about ensuring justice for the farmers," Sena minister Eknath Shinde told reporters.

He said the delegation had demanded that the special three-day session of the state legislature, called to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill between May 20 and May 22, be extended by two days to discuss the farmers' issues.

"The chief minister has assured us of a positive response after speaking to his cabinet colleagues," Shinde added.

Another Sena minister, Ramdas Kadam, said during the meeting, they also urged the chief minister to commence tur procurement once again and provide relief to farmers who had a bumper production this year.

Meanwhile, state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the special session of the state legislature will be convened between May 20 and May 22 to ratify the GST bill.

"The Union Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) has convened a special GST Council meet in Srinagar on May 18-19, where a decision will be taken as regards which items will come under the new taxation policy. I will have to be present at that meet," he said.

Mungantiwar said the government will convene a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee to decide on the compensation amount to be provided to farmers affected by hailstorms.

"Farmers affected by natural calamities have always been provided relief. This time too the government is positive over the issue," the BJP minister said.

Asked to comment on the Sena's demand for a special session of the Maharashtra legislature to discuss farmers' issues, Mungantiwar said, "Why only three days? We are ready to convene a 30-day session to solve their problems. In July, we will be discussing the farmers' issues anyway." PTI MM NRB


The Tripura government on Tuesday increased to Rs 50,000 the financial assistance given to differently abled persons at the time of their marriage, a minister said.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers, presided over by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, decided to increase the assistance from the present Rs 6,000, Information and Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha told reporters here.

The assistance has been increased for the first time since 1986.

According to the 2011 Census, around 70,000 physically challenged people live in Tripura, compared with the earlier 57,000.

Tripura Pratibandhi Awdhikar Manch state Secretary Salil Debbarma thanked the state government and urged both the central and state governments to fulfil the other long-pending demands of the physically challenged people.


The Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday passed the State Good and Services Tax Bill in Dehradun. The GST bill faced little hindrance with even the Congress party supporting it. State Finance Minister Prakash Pant tabled the bill in the house which got passed comfortably by voice vote.

The Uttarakhand government will gain Rs.10,000 crore annually once the tax is fully implemented in the hill state. The BJP government managed to pass the bill after facing sharp attack on issues like excise policy and blackmailing of a rice mill owner by a BJP legislator. The liquor policy took the Trivendra Rawat by surprise and still many foreign wine shops fails to operate due to protest from locals.

After the Supreme Court orders, the wine shops were to be relocated 500/250 metres away from the national highway. The shifting process received a major hurdle with village women opposing the decision of opening liquor shop near residential area.

After protest from the public, 141 shops were shifted to new location while 187 others failed to operate till now. The situation has turned hostile for the Trivendra Rawat government in Uttarakhand as the protest by village women is spreading to different parts of the state.

Replying a query in the state assembly, State Finance Minister Prakash Pant said, There is no plan to impose complete liquor ban in Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat did not attend the state assembly session on Tuesday. The chief minister was in Kedarnath to conduct a survey of the preparation for the 3 May visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Photo: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat inspecting preparation work at Kedarnath. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Kedarnath on May 3.

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Oscar-winning actors Ben and Casey Affleck might star in Triple Frontier, which has been in a setback since actors Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy have left the film.

Apart from that, Paramount Pictures has also dropped the project.

Now, according to Deadline, Netflix could become the new home to the crime drama.

Should the deal be closed, the Affleck brothers will join Mahershala Ali in the film.

Ali is currently the only actor who is officially attached to star in the Triple Frontier.

The film is set in the notorious border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil where the Iguazu and Parana rivers converge making la triple frontera difficult to monitor and a haven for organised crime.
Actor Johnny Depp is suffering from "compulsive spending disorder" and may need to be medically examined, according to latest court claims from his former management company.

The legal documents, filed by Joel and Robert Mandel of the Mandel Co on Monday, claim that Depp's "ultra-extravagant lifestyle" cost $2 million a month, "which he simply could not afford", before he fired the Management Group in March 2016, reports variety.com.

The firm "did everything possible to protect Depp from his own irresponsible and profligate spending", according to the lawsuit.

Depp is said to have spent more than $75 million to acquire and improve on 14 residences  including a chain of islands in the Bahamas, multiple houses in Hollywood and a 45-acre chateau in the South of France.

"In retrospect, it appears that Depp may suffer from a compulsive spending disorder, which will be proven in this action through a mental examination," wrote attorney Michael Kump in the complaint.

In January, Depp had sued his former management company for fraud.


Actor Dwayne Johnson has disclosed the plot details of his upcoming action film Rampage, in which he plays the head of an anti-poaching unit.

Taking to Instagram, the 44-year-old actor revealed that he is currently shooting in Georgia for the film.

He also shared his picture where he could be seen sweating it out at the gym.

Goin' primal. Good to finally have boots on the ground here in Georgia for production of #RAMPAGE

My best friend is a rare albino gorilla named, George. Very bad people infect George, an alligator and a wolf with a serum. All three animals grow at an unprecedented rate. They go on a deadly rampage and want to destroy the world, wrote Johnson.

The action star praised the film for having the best VFX monster making team.

A film, which is based on the classic arcade game of the same name, also stars Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Rampage will release next year.
Popular TV host Jimmy Kimmel got emotional on his The Jimmy Kimmel Live! show while opening up about complications following the birth of his son Billy 10 days ago.

Kimmel broke down during his nearly 15-minute-long monologue on the show on Monday as he recounted the "terrifying" few hours after Billy was born April 21, reports variety.com.

He said he got frightened for about three hours after Billy was born, and a nurse at the hospital noticed and rushed him into emergency care.

Kimmel thanked the doctors and nurses of the facility where Billy was born, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles where Billy was rushed for an emergency heart surgery.

He also made a plea for politicians on both sides of the aisle to make sure Americans have access to health care especially for those with pre-existing conditions, as his son has after being born with a heart defect.

"If your baby is going to die, it shouldn't matter how much money you make," he said.

Kimmel said the surgeon "did some kind of magic I can't even begin to explain. It was the longest three hours of my life."

Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, also have a two-year-old daughter, Jane.
Absolutely Anything, the British comedy featuring Robin Williams' final screen performance, will hit the US theatres on May 12.

Atlas Distribution will release the comedy in the limited theatres across the country, reported Deadline.

Absolutely Anything also starred Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Michael Palin.

Monty Python veteran Terry Jones directed and co-wrote the movie from a script he wrote alongside Gavin Scott 20 years earlier.

Absolutely Anything follows a disillusioned school teacher (Pegg) who suddenly finds he has the ability to do anything he wishes, a challenge bestowed upon him by a group of power-crazed aliens (voiced by Cleese, Gilliam, Jones, Palin and Idle).

Williams passed away only three weeks after he completed the movie. He committed suicide at his home in Paradise Cay, California in August 2014. He was 63.
The government on Tuesday defended in the Supreme Court its decisionto make Aadhaar mandatory for issuing of PAN cards, saying it was done to curb the use of fake PAN cards across the country.

Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi told a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan that the programme of PAN had become suspect as it could be faked while Aadhaar is a "secure and robust" system by which the identity of an individual cannot be faked.

The AG said that due to Aadhaar, government has saved over Rs.50,000 crore on the schemes to benefit the poor as well as the pension schemes.

He said that around 10 lakh PAN cards have been cancelled, while out of the 113.7 crore Aadhaar cards issued, no case of duplication has been found by the government.

He also said that Aadhaar was an effective tool to check the menace of terror funding and circulation of black money.

"The idea behind Aadhaar is to make a secure and robust system by which the identity of a person cannot be faked," the Attorney General told the court, which would continue hearing the arguments tomorrow.

The apex court is hearing three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 139 AA of the Income Tax Act which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act 2017.

Section 139AA provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making an application for allotment of PAN number with effect from July 1 this year.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners, had earlier argued that section 139AA was unconstitutional and was in "direct collision" with the Aadhaar Act.

He had also contended that there was no question of forcing a person to give his consent for Aadhaar and this was an issue which "alters the relationship of Republic of India with its citizens".

The petitioner had also argued that a law-abiding tax payer cannot be forced to give his Aadhaar number while filing income tax returns and this was like an "electronic leash" as government would be able to keep a tab on its citizens.

"Nowhere in the world there is such a biometric system which can track a person 24X7. They (government) are doing it even before the age of consent," he had said during the arguments.

The apex court had earlier put a poser as to why there was no objection from the lawmakers on the government's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for making PAN cards.

Rohatgi had also clarified that nowhere in section 139AA of IT Act, was it mentioned that it would be effective with retrospective effect.

The government had earlier told the apex court that fake PAN cards were being used to "divert funds" to shell companies.
Wreath laying ceremonies were on Tuesday organised at Poonch and Jammu in honour of the brave martyrs Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF, who laid down their life guarding the Nations frontiers while serving at the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch. Their bodies were mutilated by Pakistani troops.

A military send-off was organised, wherein, Commander 10 Infantry Brigade and Brig MDS Mann, DIG, BSF Sector HQ, Rajouri, among other military dignitaries, laid wreaths on behalf of Army Commander Northern Command, GOC White Knight Corps and the Border Security Force.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, aged 42 years, belonged to Tarn Taran, Punjab. He is survived by his wife Paramjeet Kaur. Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF, aged 45 years, belonged to Takenpur, District Deoria, UP. He is survived by his wife, Shanti.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh loved his job to the core. The nation will remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty. He will continue to motivate the future generations, said a spokesman of the army.

The mortal remains of the two martyrs were flown to Jammu. While Naib Subedar was carried to Tarn Taran in helicopter, Prem Sagars body was flown to Delhi from where it will be carried to his native village in UP.
The Maharashtra government is likely to auction the so-far procured tur (pigeon pea) through a global tender as it does not have sufficient space to store the amount it has procured.

By Kiran Tare: Facing criticism for its inability to procure the bumper crop of tur (pigeon pea), the Maharashtra government is likely to auction the so-far procured tur (pigeon pea) through a global tender.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the state cabinet discussed the issue of tur and the situation that has resulted from the anger among the farmers.

The government is considering auctioning tur as it does not have enough space to store the procured amount. The state so far has obtained only 40 lakh quintal of tur out of a total production of 1.10 crore quintal.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar confirmed the government's plan to auction tur. "It is always better to sell it rather than to let it rot in the godowns", he said. According to Mungantiwar, at Rs 7,000 per quintal, Uttar Pradesh is paying the maximum price for the grain yield. "We will invite tenders for selling tur. If traders from Uttar Pradesh are interested, they will come forward with a tender", he said. He recalled the Supreme Court's guidelines issued in 2009. The apex court at that time had slammed the union government for not taking proper care of foodgrains after it came to light that foodgrains worth Rs 55,000 crore had rotten in godowns because of rain and other factors. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the state machinery to expedite the process of tur procurement. He has asked the marketing department to complete the procurement on a war footing, working overtime for five to six hours. Meanwhile, farmer organisation Baliraja Shetkari Sanghatana agitated outside the mantralaya (ministry) demanding better market prices for tur and onion. At least 20 workers of this organisation threw tur daal in front of the Mantralaya's (ministry's) gate and staged dharna for around 10 minutes before they were detained by the police. The opposition Congress-NCP as well as BJP's ruling partner Shiv Sena have demanded that the government call a special session of the state legislature to discuss the issues of farmers. A delegation of Opposition parties led by Congress' Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil called on Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao and conveyed their demand. At the same time, a Shiv Sena delegation led by Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam met Fadnavis raising the same issue.

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Also read | Madhya Pradesh aims to reduce shortfall of pulses in India by half, increases cultivated area

Also read | Modi to visit African countries to check rise in pulse prices

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Senior BSF officers laid floral wreaths on the coffins carrying the bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF, who were martyred on Monday.

The brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice while serving at the Line of Control (LoC) in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch. Their bodies were mutilated by Pakistani troops.

A military send off was organized, wherein, Commander 10 Infantry Brigade and Brig MDS Mann, DIG, BSF Sector HQ, Rajouri, among other military dignitaries, laid wreaths on behalf of Army Commander Northern Command, GOC White Knight Corps and the Border Security Force.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, aged 42 years, belonged to Tarn Taran, Punjab. He is survived by his wife Paramjeet Kaur.

Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF, aged 45 years, belonged to Takenpur, District Deoria, UP. He is survived by his wife, Shanti.

"Paramjit Singh was a dedicated, brave and sincere soldier and a thorough professional. He loved his job to the core. The nation will remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty. He will continue to motivate the future generations," said an army official.

Mortal remains of the two martyrs were flown to Jammu in the morning and thereafter the mutilated body of Naib Subedar was carried to Taran Taran in helicopter. Body of Prem Sagar was flown to Delhi from where it will be carried to his native village in UP.


A joint team of senior officials from Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday reached London to hold talks with British prosecutors for the extradition of Indian businessman Vijay Mallya.

The team is led by CBI additional director Rakesh Asthana.

According to sources, the talks are expected to be held both in India and London as Mallya might make a political plea to halt his extradition.

Both CBI and ED are of the view that Mallyas counsel might depict his case as a political vendetta to the UK courts as the liquor baron was an MP during the Congress-led regime. Mallya is also expected to argue his case as a civil offense and not a criminal one as is being alleged by the Indian investigative agencies.
China now has a "vested interest" in mediating between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue because of its nearly USD 50 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through PoK, an article in a state-run daily has said.

The article in the Global Times, a ruling Communist Party of China publication, indicated Beijing's latent interest in playing a bigger role in the region.

Claiming that China had mediated between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya refugees issue, the article said, "China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn't mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments."

"Given the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan," it said.

China's recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya issue shows the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability, the article said.

"China has been at the centre of a regional power shift, thus the country now needs to learn how to act as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in the region," it said.

There is so much to learn for China about how to play its role as a regional power at a time when the country is witnessing a boom in outbound direct investment, the article said.

"For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region," it said.

"In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests,"the article said.

This is perhaps the first time that Chinese official media started floating Beijing's interest in playing a mediatory role to resolve the Kashmir issue.

China's official stand is that the Kashmir issue left over from history should be resolved between India and Pakistan though Beijing has been stepping up its investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

While China in the past has played down reports of the presence of its troops in PoK, saying that they were there to deliver humanitarian assistance, its USD 46 billion China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the disputed Gilgit and Baltistan region increased its involvement in the disputed areas.

India has protested to China over the CPEC and is yet to name an official delegation to take part in a summit of the Belt and Road initiative, of which CPEC is a part. The summit is to be held from May 14-15.

Chinese official media also referred to last month's participation of Chinese troops for the first time in the Pakistan Day parade as a sign of Chinese military playing a role in regional stability.


Given the massive investment it has made in countries which are part of its One Belt, One Road initiative, China has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts, including the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan, a leading Chinese daily has said.

The Global Times, which invariably reflects the thinking of the Communist Party leadership, observed that with its rise, China has gained ability to mediate in conflicts outside the country. In this connection, it referred to China's recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over the Rohingya issue, saying it reflected the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability.

While China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, India included, in the region. In fact, mediating between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges facing China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests, the newspaper said.

China has invested $54 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that runs through Pakistan occupied Kashmir, including Gilgit. Beijing has already stationed its troops for the safety of its workers in Gilgit-Baltisan and other parts of PoK, ignoring Indian objections that it was undertaking projects in the territory which is legally part of India.

The daily claimed that China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn't mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments. By playing the role of a mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh, China can gather experience, which could perhaps serve as a prelude to future efforts by China to engage in regional affairs in South Asia and Southeast Asia, it said.

China has been at the centre of a regional power shift, thus the country now needs to learn how to act as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in the region, the daily added.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday asked Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra to take control of the law-and-order situation in the Valley at the earliest.

The Home minister asked Vohra to take strict action against those behind the attacks and violence.

Amid worsening law-and-order situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Governor NN Vohra reached Delhi early on Tuesday morning and met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi to discuss future course of action in the valley.

The meeting comes a day after bodies of two Indian soldiers were mutilated by Pakistani forces in the Poonch sector and also the killing of five cops and two bank officials by terrorists in the Kulgam district of the state.

Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed violence during the 9 April bypoll for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in which eight people lost their lives. There have been protests by students in the Valley for past many weeks against alleged police excesses.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission has cancelled the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll citing that the situation in the valley was not feasible to hold elections. The election was scheduled to be held on May 25.

(With inputs from agencies)
Instead of raking up the triple talaq issue, the government should focus more on education and other basic facilities to India's "under-privileged" communities, including Muslims, a woman leader of the Jamaat-e-Islamic Hind (JeIH) said on Tuesday.

JeIH Secretary Atiya Siddiqua said a negative image of Muslims was being portrayed to show Muslim men as dominant and women as victims.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement asking Muslim leaders not to politicise triple talaq, Siddiqua said it was the government which was unnecessarily blowing triple talaq and polygamy out of proportion.

"These practices have been in Islam since the beginning. Why was there no hue and cry (about it) so far? Why did this happen all of a sudden?" Siddiqua asked.

"The fact is that the practice of polygamy among Muslims is too low than other communities and the percentage of divorce is also least among Muslims."

She asked the government not to interfere in Muslim religious matters and termed polygamy as a "divine law and boon for society" because it can give social and financial security to widows and uplift their status.

She said the Jamaat had been conducting a pan-India awareness programme with Muslims over issues like marriage, divorce and inheritance. The 15-day awareness programme ends on May 7.

"During our visit to various slum areas (in Uttar Pradesh), Muslim women told us that the education of their children was their priority. It (triple talaq) is a non-issue. It is being politicised unnecessarily .

"The government should take up issues like education and basic facilities for underprivileged," Siddiqua said.

She said Muslim clerics have also been advised to deliver Friday sermons related to Muslim personal laws and eliminate misconceptions about it.

Shaista Rafat, in-charge of JeIH Delhi and Haryana women wing, said Islamic laws were "divine and they are for the good of people. Those who say these practices should be abolished are unaware about the Shariah laws."

The BJP-led central government has been pushing for a ban on the practice of triple talaq  verbally divorcing wife by uttering the word "talaq" thrice.

The debate against the practice was fueled when a woman in Uttar Pradesh lodged a complaint against her husband who had allegedly threatened her with triple talaq after she delivered a girl child.

The practice is not followed in at least 22 Muslim countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.


India on Tuesday again blamed Pakistan for the killing and mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Director General Military Operations, Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt, conveyed this to his Pakistani counterpart and expressed "grave concerns" over the mutilation on Monday.

The Indian Army said the DGMO told his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire support" was provided by a Pakistani military post to the killers.

"DGMO Indian Army conveyed that such dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norm of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the statement said.

The DGMO also expressed concern over the presence of training camps of the Border Action Team (BAT), made up of Pakistani military and the terrorists it trains, close to the vicinity of the LoC.

India said a soldier and a BSF trooper were killed and their bodies mutilated in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Pakistan has denied the charge.
Mutilating the bodies of two soldiers was "a dastardly and inhuman" act that merited unequivocal response, the Indian Army warned Pakistan on an emotive day of tears over the lives lost and a categorical denial from Pakistan.

As the families of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Singh bid them farewell, Pakistan denied India's allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation, ensuring that the troubled equation between the two neighbours was back in the national spotlight with cries of a "befitting reply" being heard once again.

India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen A K Bhatt spoke to his Pakistani counterpart this morning to express his "grave concern" about the killing and beheading of the two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

"The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the Indian Army said in a statement.

The DGMO conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire" support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located close to where the incident took place.

The army said the DGMO also conveyed India's concern about the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps in close vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan- Occupied Kashmir.

Discussing the issue during the hotline contact between the two DGMOs, the Pakistan Army asked India to produce "actionable evidence" on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team had sneaked across the LoC and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

"Pakistan rejected India's allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the army statement said.

"The Pakistan army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Kashmir valley," Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza claimed.

The denials had little impact at Vainpoin village in Punjab, where 42-year-old Paramjeet Singh was laid to rest with full military honours.

As buglers sounded the "last post" and his body, wrapped in the tricolour, was brought for cremation, his relatives insisted that they be shown the body. Finally, the ceremony went ahead after civil and army officials intervened.

His wife Paramjit Kaur demanded that the Centre give a "free hand" to the army so that Pakistan is taught a lesson.

"Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now? If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," she said.

While "shaheed Paramjeet amar rahe" cries echoed in the air so did slogans "Pakistan murdabad".

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the beheading issue is understood to have figured. However, there was no official word on it.

Former defence minister and senior Congress leader A K Antony echoed the anguish and told reporters that the army should be given a "free hand" to act against those behind the mutilation of the two soldiers.

Paying tribute to the two soldiers at the New Delhi airport, where the body of Prem Sagar was brought before being taken to his home in Uttar Pradesh, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said, "The nation is with the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in ceasefire violation by the Pakistan army."

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters, "We are very firm, we will do whatever is possible and the government is already at it."

The incident, marking yet another low in the fractured India-Pakistan relationship, comes about six months after an Indian Army soldier was killed and his body mutilated close to the LoC in the Machil sector on October 28 last year.

In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by the BAT. It had also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack.

In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by the BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.
Islamic laws are divine and so cant be changed by anyone. However, the Muslim community needs awareness and education about Muslim Personal Laws to check their misuse," said Jamaate-Islami Hind national secretary for women Atiya Siddiqa. She added that Triple Talaq is a nonissue that is being blown out of proportion by those with a political agenda.

The women's wing of JIH briefed the media about their ongoing nationwide, Muslim Personal Law Awareness Campaign, which includes setting up of counseling centers and Shariah Panchayats in different parts of the country to resolve family disputes. During the campaign, the women's wing of the organisation is also actively participating in reaching out to people and educating them on issues like marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc," said Shaista Rafat, a member of the wing.

Through the awareness campaign, JIH plans to hold 10,000 events including public speeches and press meets, free distribution of 2 million books and booklets on family issues like marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc. Besides, JIH is holding 700 symposiums on 'Gender Justice in Islam' throughout the country. Apart from metros, cities, and towns, JIH cadres are reaching out to 500 slum areas and 20,000 villages. Overall, JIH has set a target of individually reaching 1.5 million Muslims and 100 million countrymen through various forms of media. We have made a mobile android app called MPLAC and a dedicated website www.mplac.in. The national campaign will conclude on 7 May, Atiya Siddiqa told the media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently asked leaders from the Muslim community not to politicise the issue of Triple Talaq and had appealed to enlightened Muslims to come out and fight against it. Siddiqa said, We all know who is politicising triple talaq. They should stop that. We want zero divorces and that is why we are running this nationwide campaign. Muslims are being maligned and media is projecting them in a bad light. We want to improve our image.

On the issue of polygamy within the Muslim community, Siddiqa told The Statesman, There is wisdom behind provision for polygamy in Islam. It is a provision for rehabilitation of widows and divorcees, used in specific circumstances. Islam wants men to treat women with dignity.

Others present at the conference were Nikhat Mulla, from Girls Islamic Organisation and Shaista Rafat.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Tuesday termed the party's victory in the recently concluded Delhi civic polls 'a stepping stone' and said it marks the 'end of anarchy'.

"BJP's victory in Delhi civic polls a stepping stone and marks the end of anarchy," the BJP chief said while addressing a gathering of the newly elected 181 councillors in New Delhi on Monday.

"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may term it 'victory of EVMs', but Delhi's mandate is the nation's mandate and people are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he added.

Besides Shah, senior party leaders including Nirmala Sitharaman, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe were present at the meeting attended by over 1,200 party workers.

The party made a massive victory in the recently conduded elections for three municipal corporations, winning 181 out of a total of 270 wards.
By Press Trust of India: From Aditi Khanna

London, May 2 (PTI) Indian steel giant Tata Steel today said a "process of transformation" was ongoing to ensure a "viable future" for its units that remain under the companys ownership in the UK.

The company confirmed that discussions with British Steel Pension Scheme trustees and the UK Pensions Regulator will be concluded in the coming months.

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"Tata Steel UK recently completed a consultation with its employees on proposals to structurally reduce risks in its wider UK business. It is also in discussions with the British Steel Pension Scheme trustees and the Pension Regulator to develop a structural solution for its UK pension scheme in the coming months," a company statement said.

"Tata Steels UK business continues its process of transformation that is essential to create a viable future for its UK strip products business. Tata Steels strip products business will continue to employ almost 8,500 people in the UK, manufacturing products for sectors like the automotive and construction industries," it said.

The latest on Tata Steels UK business came as it announced the completion of the sale of its Speciality Steels business to UK-based Liberty House Group for a total consideration of 100 million pounds.

Indian-origin steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta led industrial group had earlier unveiled plans to add around 300 new jobs and multi-million-pound investments into the division it acquired from Tata Steel UK.

The acquisition covers several South Yorkshire based assets, including the electric arc steelworks and bar mill at Rotherham, the steel purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth, as well as service centres in Bolton and Wednesbury in the UK and at Suzhou and Xian in China.

"As a responsible owner, Tata Steel in the last couple of years has undertaken a transformation planat Speciality Steels, including investing in a state-of-the-art vacuum induction melting furnace, to ensure the business can have a sustainable future," said Bimlendra Jha, CEO of Tata Steel UK.

Tata Steel claims to have invested 1.5 billion pounds in its UK business since acquiring Corus in 2007.

The company said the investments to improve manufacturing capability will enable the production of premium steels in Shotton, Llanwern, Trostre and Orb in Newport, as well as environmental schemes for Port Talbots power plant in Wales.

"Investments in packaging steels, electrical steels, an automotive finishing line, laser welding and next-generation coated products support the companys focus on making differentiated and advanced steel products for key manufacturers in the UK and elsewhere," Tata Steel said.

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The Indian steel major has been working on finding a solution to its pension scheme liabilities as part of talks with ThyssenKrupp to merge its UK units with the German giants European steel operations. PTI AK MRJ AKJ MRJ

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Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday made a telephone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the Indian leader conveyed to him New Delhis concerns over the impact of Canberras recent decision to abolish a popular work visa used by a large number of Indians.

"Prime Minister Modi expressed concern about the possible impact of the recent changes in Australian regulations for the skilled professionals visa programme," an official statement said. The two leaders agreed that officials from both sides would remain in close touch on the issue.

Turnbull, who had visited India in April, recently announced his governments decision to abolish the 457 visa, which allows businesses to hire foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs. Indians have been the biggest beneficiaries of the visa programme. "We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa," he had said.

During the telephonic conversation, Turnbull thanked Modi for the success of his visit to India. "The two Prime Ministers also discussed the follow-up action taken after the visit of Turnbull to India last month, and the steps required to further strengthen the bilateral relationship," the statement said.
By sneaking 250 metres across the LoC in the the Poonch sector on Monday and beheading two Indian jawans, the Pakistan Army has not only escalated tension between India and Pakistan but also nipped in the bud any hope of the revival of the stalled dialogue any time soon.

The incident comes within days of steel magnate Sajjan Jindal meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Murree, a hill resort near Islamabad, last week, triggering speculation that the Indian businessmans mission to Pakistan might have been part of Track II diplomacy.

The Pakistani media went to town, saying Jindal had discussed the possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharif in Kazakhstan on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in June. The Indian side, however, preferred to remain quiet, neither denying nor confirming these reports. Jindal, who has a close personal relationship with Sharif, was said to be instrumental in arranging Modis brief visit to Lahore in December 2015.

Pakistan observers in India said it is quite clear that the Sharif-led civlian government is not in command in Islamabad and it is Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is calling the shots. Though Sharif got a breather in the Panama leaks corruption case from the countrys Supreme Court recently, his position has only weakened further and he finds himself unable to stand up to the Army leadership on any issue of critical importance, especially in the context of India.

Sharif had cut a sorry figure on Saturday when he removed Syed Tariq Fatemi, his key aide on foreign affairs, in the wake of an inquiry committee report on the leak in the Dawn newspaper about what transpired at a high-level security meet convened by the Pakistani premier in October last year following the surgical strikes by India on terrorist launch pads in Jammu and Kashmir.

Soon after Sharif took action against Fatemi, the Army spokesman rejected it, saying it was incomplete. Observers said this clearly reflected the breakdown of communication between the civilian and the army leaderships, the two most critical arms of the Pakistani establishment.

Can you ever expect the Army spokesman in India rejecting a decision of the Prime Minister and calling it incomplete? It can only happen in a State where the Army is more powerful than the civilian government, an official here noted.

on Kulbhushan Jadhav, many in Indian official circles believe the civilian leadership was hardly in the know of the whereabouts or health of the former Indian Navy officer, who has been awarded death sentence by a Pakistan military court on concocted charges.

Incidentally, the latest incident of beheading of the Indian jawans came just a day after the Pakistan Army chief visited the LoC and said Pakistan would continue to support the struggle of Kashmiris.
Pakistani and Indian military officials have spoken over a hotline to reduce tensions after New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of mutilating the bodies of two of its soldiers, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.

"A local commanders' level hotline contact was established at Rawlakot-Poonch sector on LoC (Line of Control) last night between the Pakistan and Indian Army authorities," Xinhua news agency quoted the Pakistan Army as saying.

"The Indian counterpart was told that there has been no CFV (ceasefire violation) from Pakistan side nor mutilation of Indian soldiers' bodies," a statement from the Army's Inter-Services Public Relations said.

The statement said the Indian authorities were told there was "unnecessary media hype" following the allegations against the Pakistani military.

"Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects same from other side and hopes prudence is exercised and no steps are taken that may lead to vitiating the environment and affect peace along the LoC," the statement said.

A routine Director General Military Operations level hotline was likely later on Tuesday, the Pakistan Army said.

Indian officials said on Monday that an Army soldier and a BSF trooper were killed and "mutilated" on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani forces at Krishna Ghati sector.
It is a renewed war of nerves on Kashmir with the NDA government at the Centre likely to further harden its stance in the wake of beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani army men and killing of five policemen by Hizbul terrorists on Monday.

After the Narendra Modi government stated before the Supreme Court last week that there is no question of talking to separatists, it came under a barrage of attack from almost all the Valley groups. Even mainline political parties like the ruling PDP and the National Conference criticised the Centres pronouncement.

Pakistan and its chosen Hizbul Mujahideen militants took no time to strike against India by their gruesome acts of beheading the slain soldiers bodies and attacking and killing five Kashmir police personnel. It was a double whammy for India as it was hosting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his two-day state visit when the attack took place.

Expectedly, India vowed a befitting response to Pakistan with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley stating that the sacrifice of the two soldiers will not go in vain. On the Valley front, the government can only be expected to be tougher in the prevailing atmosphere of violence and terror.

After the Kashmiri Hizbul commander Burhan Wanis killing by security forces late last year resulted in continued convulsions in the Valley, the Centre waited patiently for normalcy to return. Instead of abating, however, militancy increased with Pakistan meddling in Kashmir by instigating the youth to revolt. The separatists Hurriyat added fuel to the fire by deploying young children, both boys and girls, to throw stones at the armed forces and other security personnel. Violence during the recent by-elections which resulted in the death of seven security personnel worsened the situation. Video clips of security personnel tying a Kashmiri youth to their jeep as a human shield or Kashmiri youth heckling and slapping armed Indian CRPF men on official duty went viral, creating a deep divide and anger on both sides.

Under these circumstances, the PDP-BJP ruling alliance is under severe strain. Some believe it may reach breaking point if the situation is not salvaged soon. The question is who will blink first. The PDP leadership wants the Modi government to begin talks with all stakeholders, including the Hurriyat and Pakistan. The Centre, on the other hand, is firm that it will not talk to separatists, or to Pakistan unless it stops its state-sponsored terror activities against India.

The NDA government believes that it has done everything at its command to improve the situation ~ from giving political power to people from the Valley (read PDP) to a Rs 80,000 crore economic package. It also tried to keep Pakistan in good humour by reaching out to its leadership in a spirit of friendship and cordiality. In return, India got Uri and Pathankot. The latest incident of beheading of two Indian soldiers may prove to be a tipping point.

What is causing serious concern to the government is that there is no let-up in violence resulting in loss of life among security forces as also civilians. The villain of the piece remains Pakistan which has been increasing its anti-India operations by infiltration attempts and ceasefire violations in LoC. According to official statistics, in 2014 Pakistan made 49 infiltration attempts which went up to 121 in 2015 and a whopping 371 in 2016. There were 93 ceasefire violations reported in 2012 going up to 99 in 2013; 153 in 2014; 152 in 2015 and as many as 228 in 2016.

Pakistan has already made over 60 ceasefire violations till mid-April this year. It often resorts to unprovoked firing to give cover to infiltrating militants from its territory. Security forces believe that the infiltration will only increase in the coming months when snow melts in the higher reaches in summer.

India, it is clear, will have to fight on two fronts ~ with Pakistan to guard the Line of Control from infiltration attempts, and separatists in the Valley who will spare no chance to queer the pitch for security forces. How the PDP-BJP partnership plays out in the coming days in these trying circumstances will also have an important bearing on the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress on Tuesday slammed the Narendra Modi government over the killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, saying it has no policy on national security.

The party's spokesperson, Kapil Sibal, said it was "shameful" that the ruling BJP was organising "Vijay Parv" to celebrate its victory in the Delhi municipal polls at a time when Pakistan killed two of "our soldiers in our territory".

He also took a jibe at the government, saying it should "take off bangles and do something".

Sibal was referring External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's offer to send bangles to Manmohan Singh when Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistan during the UPA rule.

He claimed there has been an increase in civilian and security personnel causalities during the 35 months of the NDA rule so far as compared to the corresponding period during the UPA government.

He said the government can finalise a policy to deal with cross-border terrorism only if there is a full-time defence minister.
The shocked and traumatised daughter of BSF head constable Prem Sagar, who was killed and mutilated by the Pakistan army, demanded '50 heads in return for her father's life' on Tuesday.

"His sacrifice should not be forgotten, we want 50 heads in return for his life," Prem's daughter Saroj was quoted as saying by a news agency.

The bereaved family members of the late soldier blamed the government for inaction saying its lax attitude towards Pakistan was leading to such brutalities.

"The government is not acting properly on such issues. We should retaliate to this inhuman act of Pakistan; the Centre should not just sit idle and let Pakistan carry on its atrocities," the constable's relative said.

"I am proud of my brother that he sacrificed his life for the nation, but is it very heart-wrenching the way he has been beheaded by the Pakistan military," Dayashanker, Prem Sagar's brother, said.

Earlier on Monday, the Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) killed and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control. The two soldiers were Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the Border Security Force.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday paid tribute to the mortal remains of martyred soldier Prem Sagar and said the whole country stands united at this crucial time.

"The nation is with the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in ceasefire violation by Pakistan Army in KG Sector of Jammu and Kashmir," Rijiju said after taking part in the wreath laying ceremony of BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar whose body was mutilated by Pakistan Army on Monday.

The Army and the BSF on Tuesday bid farewell to Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar who were mutilated by Pakistani forces in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
There was a larger conspiracy behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and it remains hidden even 18 years after the government set up a Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency in the CBI. Based on the 1998 recommendation of the Justice MC Jain Commission of Inquiry, the designated TADA Court in Chennai which tried the case and sentenced all the 27 accused to death, in July 1999 acquiesced to the MDMA probing the conspiracy angle. Some powerful elements do not want the truth to come out. Like Rip Van Winkle, MDMA went into a long slumber. What was at stake was the life in prison of four of the 27 whose death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court. The Tamil Nadu governments repeated moves to free the four after completing 16 years in jail were thwarted by the Centre stating the State government had no power to set the prisoners free since the case was investigated by the CBI. The hidden hands of those who put the MDMA to sleep could be detected in keeping the four imprisoned till death. The Supreme Court order directing the CBI to submit a detailed status report within the timeframe by which its investigation into the conspiracy behind the assassination will be completed has given new hope of freedom to AG Perarivalan, one of the four death row prisoners, on whose petition the order was passed. The CBI submitted there were several difficulties as many of the suspects were absconders and living abroad.

The Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi ruled the investigation must be completed so that the petitioner was not denied any benefit accruing from it. The TADA court had conceded there was more to the case and wanted the CBI to bring out who the real conspirators of Rajivs assassination were. Perarivalan contended in his petition that neither the SIT nor the MDMA proceeded with the investigation in a proper perspective to bring the accused to book as several top people were involved. He was a teenager at the time of the assassination and his crime was to fetch a battery cell without any knowledge that it was going to be used to detonate the human bomb that killed Rajiv.

The battery was blown to smithereens in the explosion, leaving no trace. Yet the SIT concluded that particular battery was responsible. In the TADA court the onus of proving otherwise was on the accused and not on the prosecution. The actual assassin died along with Rajiv. The assassination squad led by Sivarasan was gunned down in their hideout on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Nalinis crime was one of association. She accompanied the hit squad from Chennai to Sriperumbudur on that fateful night. Murugun was an errand boy of Sivarasan. And Santhan, a Sri Lankan Tamil in search of a job, was arrested because of mistaken identity. The SIT was on the lookout for Gundu Santhan of the LTTE. If the MDMA does its job, all the four might well walk free.
The Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), Admiral Sunil Lanba, recently released the new military doctrine in the presence of the other two service chiefs. This doctrine proposes joint training, a unified command and control structure and a triservice approach for modernisation. It also mentions a framework for joint operations across all domains, land, air, sea, space and cyber space.

The doctrine would remain a piece of paper, unless the government implements major changes in management of defence, pending since the Kargil conflict. Implementing joint warfare in its true sense would imply total integration of the three services HQs and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This has been held up mainly due to regional and historical reasons.

Pakistan has had regular coups and the deep state maintains its stranglehold over the political leadership, proved again when the army spokesperson rejected the PMOs formal orders in a tweet on Dawn newspapers report. In Myanmar, the military junta continues to be in total control while the army plays a dominant role in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lankan politics. Hence doubts remain in the eyes of the Indian polity. These have been compounded by the bureaucracy and some illinformed strategic thinkers claiming that the Indian military cannot be trusted, as thoughts of coup always exist in minds of its apex leadership. Most politicians find military leadership daunting due to the uniform and continuing disdain in attitude and behaviour. The mere presence of five unarmed army personnel at a toll tax plaza, near the state secretariat in Kolkata, had the chief minister screaming about a coup in the state.

This distrust is also historical as pre-independence, the military was an instrument in British hands for supressing the freedom struggle. Hence immediately on attaining independence, the government scrapped the office of the Commander in Chief, an equivalent to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), and made the services independent. Distrust only built further on both sides with the military take-over in Pakistan. The political leadership which had participated in the freedom struggle considered the military a legacy of the British era and the military maintained a disdain for politicians. This mindset has resulted in immense delays in bringing about essential reforms in management of defence as also involving the military as part of any apex body tasked with national security strategy, planning and implementation. Post the recent Sukma ambush of the CRPF, all meetings of the Home Ministry should have had representatives from the army due to their experience in handling such adverse environments. Further, the military should have been part of any committee tasked to investigate causes for the lapse and suggesting remedial action. However, attendees were bureaucrats or Indian Police Service officers, with almost no experience of either the environment nor thoughts of remedial measures which could be adopted.

The fact that the army has been ignored at this crucial juncture, especially when an incident has occurred with a security force in an insurgencyaffected area indicates the gap which still exists in the minds of the polity and bureaucracy. There are reports that the CRPF would finally induct army officers, possibly those who have finished their terms of engagement to lead their battalions in counter-insurgency operations.

Despite numerous promises and statements made by the Prime Minister and former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the CDS has still to be appointed, the MoD and the service headquarters have yet to be amalgamated and hence the military has miles to go before it becomes a joint force in operations, planning and procurement, despite claims made in the new doctrine.

This is one government which does not need to seek political consensus as it has the requisite majority; yet it hesitates. The perception in the polity and top bureaucracy, that a divided military ensures safety to democracy and enables easier control has still to change. This lop-sided view harms national security and pushes the military back in enhancing joint capabilities. The polity fails to realize that all future wars would only succeed if they are jointly planned and conducted. This myopic view must change, if the full potential of the military has to be exploited.

With no incident since independence even remotely hinting at such thoughts, the latent fear refuses to die down. Most writings against the appointment of a CDS and integration of the services have been by retired bureaucrats or armchair strategists. The major reason for regular raising of the issue is possibly not solely the fear of a coup, but the aspect of control over the military, civil or political. Realistically, the national leadership irrespective of the party or coalition in power has been unable to garner either the courage or support from its allies in bringing about this essential change. The UPA government throughout its ten-year tenure continued to maintain that it was seeking a consensus on the issue.

By ensuring that the MoD remains divorced from the three-service headquarters, the government reduces the militarys involvement in decision making. Most governments have failed to realise that the military is the only service where everyone commences from the bottoms up with no lateral intake. Hence anyone not having served in it would only possess knowledge partaken from literature or discussions.

This does not imply that the nation adopts the model or avenue chosen by Donald Trump where most of his senior advisors are retired or serving military officers. While wrong in many ways, however, Trump easily won approval of the Senate and the nation in making these appointments. It also does not imply that serving and retired military personnel in India are the only experts in strategic security planning, but they would always make capable advisors. At the same time, changes in management of defence must be ushered in, as early as of yesterday, ensuring better integration of the full combat potential of the three services. We face increasing security challenges and seek more bangs for the buck in days of rising financial curtailments.

The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.
No words suffice to condemn the barbaric mutilation of bodies of soldiers killed in action. Since what happened in the Krishna Ghati sector of J&K is not the first such incident, the Indian Army would be required to respond appropriately ~ at a time and place of its choice. True that a robust response could prove escalatory, regretfully there is no alternative to making the Pakistan military pay for what defies explanation even in an alls fair in love and war environment. The all-powerful military-machine that calls the shots in Islamabad/Rawalpindi lacks credibility, so its bid to deny the incident cuts little ice. It is, however, critical that the decision on what will prove an effective, punitive and deterrent response is best left to the professional assessment of the Indian Army. While the political establishment, across the board, must fully endorse whatever action may be taken, political influences must be kept to a minimum when formulating the Armys plans. That action will have to be supported by diplomatic and political measures ~ and there is every need to be wary of differences over the management of internal security problems of J&K impacting a reasoned counter-offensive to the developments on the frontier.

The initial reaction from the defence minister has been firm, but measured. Arun Jaitley has shown a degree of maturity that had eluded his predecessor in South Block and the imagination runs riot conjuring up images of what Manohar Parrikar would have been saying ~ not that his moving to Panaji will help keep his lips buttoned. Whether other BJP leaders will exhibit the restraint of the defence minister remains to be seen ~ the short point being that the appropriate response will be articulated by the soldiers on the frontlines, and not the hyperbole and rhetoric of politicians. It is a pity that, typical of their inability to perceive a national problem, some Opposition leaders have added their ifs and buts to the conversation. Jaitley could actually facilitate the formulation of a national response by interacting with other political leaders, emphasising that the Army was authorised to do what it deemed most effective.

It is to be hoped that the Army leadership is alive to how its use of the professional term surgical strike was shamelessly exploited by the BJP leadership for political and electoral purposes ~ the fallout being the force being dragged into political quick-sands from which extricating itself has become complex. Hence the brass too would do well to shun jingoism and let the guns do the talking. There is no need to seek bold headlines listing the counter-measures initiated, or making a hit on the belligerent electronic media. The pain must be felt across the LOC.
The locally-built device, set into a briefcase connects up to 32 callers is used by bookies for IPL betting.

By Shashank Shekhar: Bookies can make a kill by thinking inside the box. The special task force of Uttar Pradesh, which busted a betting ring at an upscale residential society in Noida last Friday, discovered that it was an inventive, locally-built device that kept the gambling network going.

The said device, sewed up into a briefcase by an electrician from Najafgarh in south west Delhi, could interconnect up to 32 callers to place their bets simultaneously during a live match, investigators told Mail Today.

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"The suitcase connected all the phones in such a way that the bookie's voice would be audible on all phones at the same time. The phone lines of gamblers were connected to a speaker beneath the suitcase to record their stakes," said Raj Kumar Mishra, DSP Noida-STF. "The gang was using the briefcase for last one year. The set-up gave them high mobility and allowed early wrap-up in case of an emergency."

BRIEFCASE-LINKED DEVICE CAME IN 2 SIZES

The briefcase-linked device came in two sizes: One that connected 16 phones and was available for Rs 27,000 and the other with 32-handset connectivity costing Rs 50,000. "All the mobile phones used by them were basic Nokia bar-phone. For, these vantage handsets have better battery life and audio quality," investigators said.

Interestingly, although police have closed in on the local "Najafgarh talent" who had put in place the briefcase, they can't arrest him, for making a customised electronic equipment is not a crime. Investigators said they have been trying to extract details from the electrician.

Bookies would carry several phones around them and employed multiple staff to attend calls from punters and recording their bets. The "briefcase" simplified this complex system. Investigators said the portable device allowed the bookies easy mobility, as they could easily check into a room with a TV to operate with secrecy. The bookies arrested in Noida too had taken the flat on rent.

FROM WARDROBE TO BRIEFCASE

"Earlier, such a set up could be installed in wardrobe. Briefcase gave the bookies high mobility. One day it could be installed in a hotel room and another day at a rented apartment," a bookie told Mail Today, requesting anonymity. He also disclosed that to avoid coming on police radar, most of them now use encrypted chat platform where payments are made in bitcoins.

STF DSP Mishra said punters in contact with the gang were given one of the mobile numbers. "The gang continuously received updated rates on each ball of the match from an international website, www.betfair.com and these were promptly communicated to all bookies connected to him," he said. The bookies would collect the money the next day from the people who lost.

"Only close members were gambling with the gang. No random person could contact or place a bet with them. An entry was possible only if an existing member took the guarantee of new entrant," Mishra said, adding during each IPL match, the Noida-based gang made Rs 30-40 lakh. Police suspect their total earning from this season would be around Rs 20 crore.

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ACCUSED CREATED NETWORK IN GOA,DELHI

The mastermind of the gang has been identified as Rohit Gupta, a resident of Kailash Puri in Bulandshahr. Gupta had bought a flat for Rs 1.7 crore in ATS Village, Sector 93 A, in the name of his wife. He also bought a BMW car worth Rs 38 lakh and a Harley Davidson bike worth Rs 7 lakh.

The other six accused have been identified as Ankur Govil, Neeraj Gupta, Samuel Jacob, Rahul Chana, Akash Vij and Ashok Garg. The accused had created a network in Goa, Delhi and other NCR cities.

ALSO READ | IPL craze drops, bookies forced to contact old customers

Watch: Unable to pay betting debts, man to seek help from PM Modi

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On April 9, while polling was being held during byelections in Kashmir Valley, Major Beetul Gogoi, serving as a Company Commander with a battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles, received an SOS call from the local police to rescue the staff and police personnel of a polling booth in Budgam district from a rampaging mob of stone pelters. The officer led the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) himself.

The QRT succeeded in reaching the polling station and rescuing the polling staff comprising 10-12 employees of the Jammu and Kashmir government, 9-10 personnel of ITBP, a couple of J&K policemen and one driver. By then the mob had swelled ominously to over 400 angry young men (and some women) who were determined to disrupt the polling process. The blood-thirsty stone pelters were threatening to lynch the polling staff and their rescuers. They were moving quickly to block the exit routes. Some of them were perched on rooftops, armed with stones.

Hopelessly outnumbered, Major Gogoi found himself in a difficult predicament. There were no good options ~ only bad ones and one worse than the other. If he attempted to rush through the crowd, his convoy would be stoned and they would suffer casualties, the emotioncharged mob could try to pull some civilian government staff and perhaps even policemen out of the vehicles and lynch them and a few Kashmiris might have been crushed under the wheels of his vehicles.

If he followed the SOP and warned the mob to clear the way immediately ~ or else he would be forced to order his men to fire ~ the crowd would have intensified the stone-pelting and attacked them with greater fury. He would then be forced to open fire in selfdefence. In the resulting bloodbath, anything could happen. There would be large-scale casualties on both sides. Twenty to 30 people, perhaps more, would die and many others would be injured.

Gogoi was not only responsible for the safety of the civilian staff and policemen whom he had rescued but his own soldiers as well. He was also concerned over the fact that the agitating Kashmiris should not suffer casualties. As it is, by the time he had set out for the rescue mission, several people had lost their lives in almost 200 clashes with the police in electionrelated violence since the day began.

By any yardstick, anywhere in the world, it was an incredibly extraordinary situation. Major Gogoi could not afford to procrastinate as there was no time to lose. The crowd was closing in. At such a time, a young officer in the field has no one to fall back upon, no one whom he can consult. He has only his training and instincts to go by and his innate sense of doing the right thing. It was his call to make.

As all these thoughts raced through Major Gogois mind and he instinctively weighed the options, he maintained his calm. On the spur of the moment, he decided to use a Kashmiri voter as a shield to enable his convoy to get through. He had Farooq Dar, a young Kashmiri who had come to vote, secured on the bonnet of his jeep and began to move forward. The sight of a fellow Kashmiri on the bonnet forced the frenzied crowd to stop pelting stones so as not to hurt him.

As luck would have it, the idea worked. The angry mob was taken by surprise and stood aside as the convoy zipped through. There were no casualties among the staff and policemen whom he had come to rescue; since he did not need to open fire, the agitators were safe; and, the Kashmiri voter was unharmed and was handed over to the police.

Major Gogois innovative approach turned out to be a winwin idea. However, as has become common in this mega-media age, where the social media dominate the opinion making landscape, the incident was caught on camera by a bystander. The video image of a Kashmiri youth strapped on the bonnet of a jeep soon found its way to Twitter and Facebook and went viral. The mainstream media were not be left behind and showed the image repeatedly over two days.

Was what Gogoi did appropriate under the circumstances? Did he commit a culpable offence? Or, as the Attorney General said, should he be complimented for his decision? These are questions which will be debated endlessly for a long time to come.

It cannot be denied that Major Gogois unusual approach averted a certain bloodbath and saved many precious lives. However, the image of a Kashmiri youth being used to navigate through a crowd of stonepelters has had a negative impact on the people of Kashmir and is a setback to the sustained campaign to win hearts and minds. The army is being accused of using hostages as human shields.

The character of the conflict is gradually changing and subconventional conflict is coming to the fore. In this form of conflict, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations are the most complex of all military operations. This is primarily because the opponent is not an enemy state, but ones own estranged people, usually misguided youth. And, dealing with them requires much higher standards of education and training than those required for conventional conflict.

This is known as the era of the strategic corporal. The term strategic corporal refers to junior leaders who are required to operate independently and make major decisions at the tactical level. Occasionally, when one of these decisions goes wrong, the impact can be strategic.

The larger issue that is significant is that the Kashmir Valley is gradually, perceptibly and almost inexorably slipping out of control. Incidents of violence are growing by the day. In about a year since July 2016, over 4,000 security personnel ~ mainly from the CRPF ~ have been injured in stone-pelting by radicalised Kashmiri youth, many of whom are paid to throw stones by Pakistans ISI.

The security forces deployed in J&K for internal security duties have performed exceedingly well under extremely challenging and difficult circumstances. They have made numerous sacrifices in the service of the nation. They deserve our gratitude and encouragement, not our condemnation.

The army, in particular, has excelled in conducting complex counter-insurgency operations with minimum force and a humane touch for over half a century. One aberration must not be used to tarnish its image. Luckily, the government is backing the army on this vexatious issue.

The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi.
The BJPs best performance in the Delhi municipal election was in east Delhi where it won 48 of the 64 seats in the EDMC and scored a strike rate of 75 per cent. The saffron surge in this part of Delhi, according to analysts, was a direct result of Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovelys defection to the BJP just a week before the poll.

Lovely has deep roots in east Delhi. His father was late Congress leader H K L Bhagats right hand man. Bhagat was the man who created east Delhi and built it up as a Congress stronghold. It stayed a Congress stronghold for the longest but now seems to have swung towards the BJP, thanks to Lovely.

Interestingly, at the press conference welcoming Lovely into the BJP fold, party president Amit Shah said the former Congress leader was an important catch, as important as Assam strong man Himanta Biswa Sarma who crossed to the saffron side a few months before the state polls. Sarma is widely credited with scripting the BJP win in Assam which has opened up the North-east as a new catchment area for the party. Sarma is playing a major role in the BJPs Mission Northeast by identifying vulnerable links in the Congress and wooing them to the saffron side.

Judging from Shahs comments, Lovelys role in Delhi may be similar. The BJP lacks strong winning leaders in Delhi, as is evident from the fact that it has not won the assembly polls in the city since 1998. Lovely is in his late forties, has many years of politics left in him, is a popular face in the slums and unauthorized colonies of east Delhi and has strong connections among the citys influential Sikh community and the SGPC. He is indeed a prize catch for the BJP which wants to build a new leadership in the Capital. No wonder Shah looked so thrilled as he welcomed Lovely to the BJP.

Not to blame

Its hardly surprising that Rahul Gandhi rejected Delhi chief Ajay Makens offer of resignation after the partys debacle in the MCD polls. Maken was handpicked by Rahul to lead the party in Delhi. His failure is Rahuls failure as well and his exit would have only amplified murmurs for Rahuls resignation after the spate of Congress electoral defeats since 2014.

Significantly, the Congress has not accepted the resignations of two other state chiefs under whose leadership the party was routed in recent elections. One is Raj Babbar, UP chief. The other is Sanjay Nirupam who heads the Mumbai Congress unit. Both offered to quit after the Congress was routed in UP and Mumbais municipal polls recently.

There is one interesting difference between the three resignation offers. The Congress leadership has remained silent on the letters from Babbar and Nirupam. It neither accepted nor rejected them.

However, Rahul was quick to come out in defence of Maken. He said that Maken had done a great job in Delhi and there was no need for him to step down. It seems Maken enjoys special status with Rahul.

PMs wife

Narendra Modis estranged wife Jashodaben has been raising eyebrows recently with a series of tours to various states. She was in Telengana some time ago where she unveiled a statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar and offered prayers at the Naag temple there.

A few days later, she was in Mathura to offer prayers at the Rangeshwar Mahadev temple. She was next spotted in Bihar. She had two programmes in the state. One was to unveil a statue of Mewar general Bhama Shah in Begusarai on his birth anniversary.

The other programme was in Patna where she addressed a meeting of the Bihar Rajya Tailik-Sahu Sabha. This is an organization of the Teli caste to which she and Modi belong. She made a simple speech at the Sabha, concentrating on social issues like the importance of educating girls for progress and development.

Interestingly, she was accompanied by her brother Praveen Chandra Modi. While the visits have been generally lowkey and not aroused much media attention, her presence has generated interest locally with posters going up announcing her arrival.

Work pays off

The Congress councilor who won from the Andrews Ganj ward in south Delhi in the recent MCD polls, Abhishek Dutt, is living proof that kaam bolta hai. He won by a margin of 4,000 votes, which is probably the highest victory margin of the few Congress candidates who won. And he won only because for the past five years he has worked hard, developed and beautified his ward and made himself available 24 x 7 as a councilor should.

Dutts victory is significant because he was pitted against the might of top BJP stalwarts, union minister J P Nadda, South Delhi BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi and senior BJP leader Shahnawaaz Hussain. They werent the candidates but they were stationed in the ward right through the campaign period, canvassing for their party nominee like block leaders because this was a prestige battle for the party.

Andrews Ganj ward includes a traditional BJP area, Lajpat Nagar, which the Congress has not won in 65 years. Dutt won this area by a margin of 152 votes purely on the strength of his reputation as a dedicated councilor. Theres a message in Dutts victory for the Congress: those who remain connected to their voters will always be rewarded even when theres a wave for a rival party.
Nasa is running low on spacesuits and might not have a replacement for many years. The agency is quickly running low on the kit, which is absolutely necessary for any future space travel. And its plans to make a next generation space suit are going too slowly, according to a new report from the agencys Office of Inspector General.

A lack of a formal plan and destinations for travel have held back development, according to the report. Nasa has also had funding for such work slashed, leaving it without the resources to develop new suits.

Nasa is left with only 11 of the 18 original suits that include life-supporting backpacks. That might not be enough to carry it through until the stations retirement in 2024, let alone a possible extension until 2028, the report stated. And already, astronauts have been experiencing problems with suits. One of those was almost fatal, when an astronaut almost drowned after the cooling system in his backpack leaked into the helmet and flooded it with water.

That was one of 3,400 mostly minor incidents with the suits, some of which have also included astronauts feeling burning or stinging in their hands and eyes during spacewalks.

As the spacewalking suits age, Nasa must deal with a dwindling number of flight-ready spacesuits and with mitigating risks related to their design and maintenance, the report said.

Nasa needs a formal plan, especially if it hopes to test a new suit before the space station ends operation in 2024, the report concluded. It also needs to compare the cost of maintaining the current crop of suits with developing new ones.

Nasas next spacewalk is set for 12 May. Veteran spacewalker Peggy Whitson will venture outside with newcomer Jack Fischer.

Andrew Griffin/The Independent
Scientists have carried out a successful head transplant on rats ahead of plans to attempt a similar operation on a human later this year.

During the procedure, the head of a smaller rat was attached to the body of a larger rodent. Rather than simply replacing the head, the team attached the donor head to the body of the larger rat, creating an animal with two heads.

The operation involved three rats in total  the donor, the recipient and a third used to maintain the blood supply to the transplanted head.

A pump was used to transfer blood from the third rat to the donor head in order to ensure the brain was not starved of oxygen. After the procedure, the rat whose head had been transplanted was able to see and feel pain, showing the brain was functioning despite having been detached from its original body.

The experiment, reported in the journal CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, was designed to investigate issues relating to blood flow to the brain and the possibility of the immune system rejecting the new organ  problems that could arise during a human transplant.

The procedure was carried out by a team including Sergio Canavero, the controversial Italian neurosurgeon who has pledged to carry out a human head transplant by the end of 2017. Canavero had previously announced that his patient would be Valery Spridonov, a Russian man who suffers from the degenerative muscular condition Werdnig-Hoffmans disease, but the doctor has since said it is actually likely to be an, as yet unselected, Chinese person. The reasons for the change are unclear.

The neurosurgeon and his collaborator, Xiaoping Ren from the Harbin Medical University in China, have between them previously carried out a series of experiments involving head transplants. Their method involves using a very sharp knife to cut the spinal cord and then placing the body in a state of hypothermia to allow it to heal.

In one, they claimed to have severed 90 per cent of a dogs spinal cord before re-attaching it. In another, a head transplant was reportedly carried out on a monkey, and a third experiment saw the spinal cords of mice being cut and then reattached in such a way that the animals were able to recover their ability to move.

The pair also claims to have experimented with human head transplants using dead bodies. None of the experiments were peer reviewed and Canavero has a number of critics in the scientific community who accuse him of sensationalism.

His latest studies have been announced via press releases before they were published in the journals to which they had been submitted. The editor of one of the journals, Surgery, said that significant work was needed on the draft paper before it could be published.

Other experts say there is not sufficient evidence that a human head transplant would work. Hunt Batjer, the president elect of the American Association for Neurological Surgeons, has criticised Canaveros plans to transplant a human head.

I would not wish this on anyone, he said. I would not allow anyone to do it to me as there are a lot of things worse than death.

The Independent
Actor Avinesh Rekhi says even though there are several digital platforms in the country airing new shows, the medium is not a threat to the daily soap space.

I don't think digital medium is a threat to daily soaps. If that was the case, then so many shows wouldn't be on air. Despite so many mediums people are more attached to channels, Avinesh told.

The audience is aware of the online medium but TV is convenient for them. I think everyone wants something that is convenient.

The actor is currently seen as the male lead in Star Plus show Tu Sooraj, Main Saanjh Piyaji, which is the sequel to Diya Aur Baati Hum.

When asked if he is open to doing a web series, Avinesh says, I cannot think about that currently as I am focused on my show. But I am open to any medium  it can be films, or a web-series.

Talking about Tu Sooraj, Main Saanjh Piyaji, the actor says since it is a sequel to such a popular show, he was initially nervous to take on the role of Uma Shankar.

Yes, I was nervous because the previous show is a brand. Even the makers were nervous. The challenge is to win the audiences' heart and help them connect to the new characters.

Avinesh says there are many similarities between him and his character.

Like Uma Shankar, I am also very religious and disciplined.

The sequel sees Neelu Vaghela, Ashok Lokhande and Kanika Maheshwari reprise their roles as Bhabho, Babasa and Meenakshi, respectively. Avinesh says all of them have been extremely supportive.

The actor says he shares a good rapport with his co-star, Rhea Sharma, who plays Kanak Sooraj Rathi.

We are very comfortable with each other. We have now started shooting more scenes together, so the comfort level is building.
Jimmy Kimmel got emotional on his talk show as he opened up about the complications following the birth of his newborn son.

The 49-year-old comedian and his wife, co-head writer Molly McNearney, welcomed their second child together, William Billy Kimmel on April 21.

During his 15-minute long monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the TV personality broke down in tears as he recounted the terrifying moment of his life when his little bundle of joy had to undergo an open-heart surgery, reported Variety.

If your baby is going to die it shouldn't matter how much money you make. I hope you never have to go there (hospital) but if you do you'll see so many kids from so many financial backgrounds being cared for so well with so much compassion, Kimmel said.

Kimmel and McNearney also share one daughter together Jane Kimmel, two.
At least 13 persons were injured when a car crashed into a hospital lobby in Oita prefecture of Japan on Tuesday, police said.

The injured are being treated at the Oita Nakamura Hospital for light wounds, Xinhua news agency quoted the police as saying.

The driver of the mini car was a woman in her 70s, who also suffered injuries.

The police have been investigating the cause of the crash.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in her first visit to Russia since 2015, signalling renewed dialogue between Berlin and Moscow.

The Russian and German leaders have scaled back links as Moscow's ties with the EU have plunged to a post-Cold War low.

Merkel has strongly backed EU sanctions on Moscow for seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backing the pro- Russian separatist insurgency in the east of the country.

Moscow has responded with an embargo on agricultural products from the West.

In her first official visit to Russia last week, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini insisted that cooperation between the two sides was not frozen but said that progress was hampered by profound disagreements on subjects including Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel's visit to Russia comes after Putin called for the countries' relations to fully normalise, while meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in March.

Merkel last visited Russia in May 2015 when she met Putin in Moscow but, like most Western leaders, snubbed a Red Square parade for the 70th anniversary of World War II victory.

Berlin and Moscow said Tuesday's talks agenda includes preparations for July's G20 summit in Germany as well as Ukraine and Syria.

Merkel has been the main mediator with Putin over the crisis in Ukraine. She is a key proponent of keeping sanctions on Moscow in place until a stalled peace plan to end the conflict in Europe's backyard is fulfilled.

Merkel and Putin have taken part in a number of four-way meetings, most recently last October, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande aimed at implementing the plan the four countries hammered out in February 2015.

Last month, Merkel and Putin took part in a four-way phone conversation with Poroshenko and Hollande, agreeing to step up implementation of the peace deal.

There are two topics that weigh down relations the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and then the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists ahead of the visit.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of giving military support to the rebels in eastern Ukraine, a charge it denies.

Seibert called this a difficult context that one cannot ignore, but added that our intention is to try to integrate Russia into constructive agreements.

He said the leaders would also prepare for the upcoming G20 meeting in Hamburg in July, while a German government source told AFP the visit would be above all about the G20.
Tens of thousands across the country peacefully chanted, picketed and protested against President Donald Trump's immigration and labor policies on May Day, despite a small pocket of violent unrest in the Pacific Northwest.

Peaceful protesters flocked to the streets in Chicago. At the White House gates, they demanded "Donald Trump has got to go!"

But police shut down a protest in Portland, Oregon, that they said had become a riot, after marchers began throwing smoke bombs and other items at officers.

Police said they made more than two dozen arrests as a group of anarchists wearing black bandanas and ski masks grew unruly. Several businesses in the area had broken windows.

Three people in Seattle were arrested, one for hurling a rock as pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators faced off.

In the Washington state capital of Olympia, police ordered protesters to disperse, calling them "members of a mob" as some threw bottles, used pepper spray and fired rocks from slingshots at officers. Two officers were injured and 10 people were arrested.

In Oakland, California, at least four were arrested after creating a human chain to block a county building where demonstrators demanded that county law enforcement refuse to collaborate with federal immigration agents.

Despite the West Coast clashes, most nationwide protests were peaceful as immigrants, union members and their allies staged a series of strikes, boycotts and marches to highlight the contributions of immigrants in the US.

"It is sad to see that now being an immigrant is equivalent to almost being a criminal," said Mary Quezada, a 58-year-old North Carolina woman who joined those marching on Washington.

She offered a pointed message to Trump: "Stop bullying immigrants."

May 1 is International Workers' Day and protesters from the Philippines to Paris celebrated by demanding better working conditions. But the widespread protests in the United States were aimed directly at the new president.

Trump, in his first 100 days, has intensified immigration enforcement, including executive orders for a wall along the US-Mexico border and a ban on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries.

In Chicago, 28-year-old Brenda Burciaga was among thousands of people who marched through the streets to push back against the new administration.

"Everyone deserves dignity," said Burciaga, whose mother is set to be deported after living in the US for about 20 years. "I hope at least they listen. We are hardworking people.
In a rare disclosure, China's ruling Communist Party has said some of its officials were funding the Dalai Lama by donating money to him, undermining the fight against separatist forces.

A senior discipline inspection official has lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying such behaviour severely undermines the party's fight against separatism, state-run Global Times reported on Monday.

Some party officials have neglected important political issues and the country's anti-separatist struggle, Wang Yongjun, head of the discipline watchdog in Tibet, which is officially called the Tibet Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying.

The Global Times, a tabloid publication attached the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), also quoted a 2016 report issued by Tibet's discipline watchdog linking 15 party officials to alleged illegal overseas separatist organisations in 2014 who provided intelligence to the Dalai Lama clique and funded secessionist activities.

It, however, did not reveal the names or the designations of the officials.

This is the first time official media here has come out with a disclosure of Chinese officials' links with the Dalai Lama after he fled from China to India in 1959.

Wang, in an article published yesterday in a magazine run by the CPC, the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision, wrote that some have even donated to the 14th Dalai Lama clique, joined illegal underground organisations and provided intelligence to overseas organisations.

A few party officials are failing to uphold their political integrity and are completely ignoring political discipline, Wang said, adding that such behaviour has affected the CPC coherence and its ability to fight separatism.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

China has been carrying out a systematic crackdown in Tibet and associated prefectures with Tibetan population to eliminate the influence of the Dalai Lama, who is revered and regarded as a spiritual leader heading Tibetan Buddhism.

In recent years, over 120 Tibetans, mostly monks, have committed self-immolations in different parts, calling for the return of the 81-year-old leader.

His recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh which China calls 'South Tibet' soured the relations between India and China further as Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest and announced Chinese standardised named for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in retaliation.
Vaishali Express was travelling from Barauni to New Delhi when a bogie on the train caught fire and was just a station away from becoming the 'Burning Train'.

By India Today Web Desk: Vaishali Express was travelling near the north of Patna when one of its sleeper compartments caught fire ramshacking an entire bogie.

Just as the train was about to leave from the station, a spark was observed near the big wheel. The train soon caught fire and was brought back to Muzaffarpur railways station. Vaishali Express was going from Barauni to New Delhi and was delayed for two hours due to the incident.

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According to the passengers, the train caught fire even before reaching Samastipur railway station but was sent to Muzaffarpur station by the railway officials. The train was left without a security check from Muzaffarpur as well.

Train's S2 bogie caught fire after leaving station and wreaked havoc among the passengers who started running on the junction after getting off the train. The entire S2 bogie was ramshacked and had to be removed from the train.

None of the passengers were hurt during the incident.

--- ENDS ---
US President Donald Trump is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the right circumstances, the White House has said asserting that Pyongyang needs to meet a lot of conditions for such a meeting between the two leaders to take place.

There's a lot of things that go along with that, and that's the key thing.Under the right circumstances was, I believe, the phrase he used.I think that is something in keeping with our consistent with the policy expressed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as well, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

We've got to see their provocative behaviour ratcheted down immediately.There's a lot of conditions that I think would have to happen with respect to its behaviour and to show signs of good faith, Spicer said when asked about Trump's statement in an interview that he is willing to meet the North Korean leader.

Clearly, conditions are not there right now, but I think the President has made it clear, as Secretary Tillerson had the other day, that if the conditions, if the circumstances present themselves we'll be prepared to, but they're clearly not at this time, Spicer said.

Spicer stressed the right circumstances for a meeting between the two leaders does not exist right now.

If North Korea continues down a degree of provocative behaviour, then those circumstances will never be there, he said.

We want to hold out the possibility that if North Korea were ever serious about completely dismantling its nuclear capability and taking away the threat that they pose both to the region and to us that there is always going to be a possibility of that occurring.That possibility is not there at this time, Spicer said.

Trump, he said, understands the threat North Korea poses.

Having someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country and potentially our country as some point in the future is something the President takes very seriously, he said.

So the idea that he is doing everything diplomatically, economically, and militarily to consider every way to prevent that threat from taking on the US is something he added.

The White House spokesman also defended the decision of the US President to meet his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.

I think there's an economic piece to this, as well. That's part of the reason that I think the President wants to meet with him, he said.

I'm not going to get ahead of their discussions.I would suggest that there are multifaceted ways and areas in which not just the Philippines but other countries in the region can help play a role both economically, diplomatically, and otherwise to help deter the threat that they pose, Spicer said.

The meeting with the Philippines President is also an opportunity to work with countries in that region that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating North Korea.

And, frankly, the national interest of the United States, the safety of our people and the safety of people in the region are the number-one priorities of the President, he said.

Spicer refuted allegations that by meeting his counterpart from Philippines, Trump is ignoring human rights concerns.

The number-one concern of this President is to make sure that we do everything we can to protect our people, and specifically, to economically and diplomatically isolate North Korea, he said.

I think when you look at what he is doing in terms of building that coalition of countries in that region to do it, I think this is hopefully going to tell you every single thing that's in his brief, but he's well aware of  when he speaks with a leader, he gets briefed on a lot about their  what they're doing, what they've done, Spicer said.
With the Facebook-owned Instagram's popular 'Stories' feature going dark, the users almost broke into tears early on Tuesday, with some bombarding the micro-blogging website Twitter with outrageous posts.

"I thought World War 3 had finally come", "Almost a heart attack" and "Instagram Down will be the most frustrating part of my week" were some of the reactions that hapless Instagrammers tweeted after 'Stories' experienced a bug.

For the third time in 10 days, Instagram, which has 700 million users, experienced a problem that began late Monday night.

According to a report in CNET, the Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app tweeted that it was aware of the problem and was working to fix it.

There was no further official word from the company about whether the latest bug issue had finally been resolved.

This time, the bug prevented the 'Stories' users  over 200 million  from updating the feature that lets them post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

#instgramdown started trending and users came out with numorous jokes and memes.

"#Instagram crashed this morning resulting in your breakfast going cold! :P," a user tweeted, referring to people's habit of posting a story before they eat anything.

Another user said: "#instagramdown was the best thing to happen on twitter."

Although people were unable to update posts, they could still view their previously uploaded images and other people's stories which had some time remaining to be 'expired'.

The last time a bug sent the users into a tizzy was on April 27 when people complained of the app having crashed, among other issues.

On April 24, users complained about app's news feed not loading, apparently because of an issue with its servers.

'Stories' was introduced in Instagram in 2016 after it became famous on its rival photo and video sharing platform Snapchat.

After watching the efforts pay off, Facebook later rolled out the same feature in Whatsapp and Facebook mobile app as well.

Last week, Instagram announced that it now has more than 700 million users, with the last 100 million joining the platform in only four months.

"We're thrilled to announce that our community has grown to more than 700 million Instagrammers. And the last 100 million of you joined faster than ever," the company wrote in a blog.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rebuffed resignation calls for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan over his "architect comments for a 2006 offensive against the Taliban, media reports said.

Trudeau and his embattled minister endured a withering question-period offensive on Monday as opposition MPs accused Sajjan of "stolen valour" for overstating his role in planning Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, The Toronto Star.

Opposition parties trained their sights squarely on Sajjan, who apologised again in the House of Commons.

The Operation Medusa was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles of the Afghan war.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called it a "cardinal sin" in the military circles for stealing valours of others.

"How much more does the Prime Minister need to hear before he understands why our men and women in uniform have lost confidence in the Minister," Ambrose said.

Trudeau, however, would not be moved from his talking points.

"The Minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly. "He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," The Toronto Sun reported.

Trudeau went on to insist that Sajjan had served his country with distinction in a number of capacities, including as a police officer and as a soldier. As a Minister, he added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake," which Ambrose noted he'd made twice  once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

"It's not an error when you keep repeating the same lie," New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said after question period.

In speech in New Delhi on April 18, Sajjan told the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation that he had been the "architect" of Operation Medusa, which the Minister has since retracted.

"On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters," Sajjan said in his speech.

Sajjan was a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa, and received a special commendation.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed or captured over a two-week period. Twelve Canadians were also killed in the fighting.


The legal team of ousted President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday denied all charges against her during a preliminary hearing of a trial over her alleged role in the "South Korean Rasputin" corruption scandal.

Park, 65, was not present at the hearing.

Attorney Yoo Yeong-ha, who is heading Park's legal team, once again maintained the former leader's innocence and made a request to analyse the over 120,000-page summary of the investigation carried out by South Korean prosecutors into the case, Efe news reported.

The lawyer argued that a series of inconsistencies could exist in the report by the prosecutors, who assumed that Park continued fulfilling her presidential duties until March, whereas the country's Parliament approved her impeachment in December.

The first preliminary hearing was aimed at reviewing the charges against Park and setting dates for witness testimony.

The Seoul Central District Court, which will hear the case, is expected to hold two to three preparatory hearings before the first formal hearing around June.

Park, who has been in pre-trial detention since March 31, faces 18 charges, including bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leaking state secrets, for which she could be sentenced to between 10 years and life imprisonment.

Prosecutors believe that Park created a network with her friend, Choi Soon-sil, dubbed the "South Korean Rasputin" for her proximity to the former President, and used it to seek and obtain bribes of around $50 million from at least three large business groups.

Park is the first democratically elected South Korean head of state to be impeached, making next month's polls the first to be convened early in the country since the military junta, led by General Chun Doo-hwan, began democratic elections in December 1987.


Tariq Fatemi, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's former Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs who was sacked following an inquiry into a story published in the Dawn daily, has refuted allegations of involvement in leaking details of a crucial meeting on national security issues last October.

In a farewell letter, Fatemi said: "I reject recent allegations, insinuations and innuendos.

"Such suggestions are particularly hurtful to someone who has served Pakistan for nearly five decades with honour and dignity," he wrote, according to Dawn.

Fatemi's response comes as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday issued directives for his removal as special assistant following the recommendations of an enquiry panel to probe the story published in Dawn last year.

In the letter addressed to his colleagues at Pakistan's foreign missions, Fatemi said: "Over the years, I have had to deal with many sensitive matters, becoming privy to some of the most highly classified information, on issues of national security.

"I have also had the honour of working directly under distinguished diplomats, both professional as well as political appointees, all of whom reposed their highest trust in my abilities and, particularly so, in my lifelong commitment to discretion. You would appreciate that taking due care and caution become a second nature in our professional careers."

Fatemi thanked his fellow foreign service officers for their support, adding: "Be that as it may, my commitment to Pakistan, my passion for diplomacy and my association with the Foreign Service family will continue."

Fatemi has been blamed for his alleged role in leaking vital information from a high-level meeting on national security issues to the Dawn newspaper alleging a confrontation between the civil leadership and the military top brass.


North Korea's Foreign Ministry says the country will speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program at the maximum pace in response to the new US policy that calls for new sanctions and maximum pressure and engagement.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday that was circulated by North Korea's UN Mission says the government is ready to respond to any option taken by the United States.

It says that during recent US-South Korean military drills, US aggression hysteria reached its highest point and the situation on the Korean peninsula inched closer to the brink of nuclear war.

It says that unless Washington ends its hostile policy and nuclear threats, North Korea will continue to bolster its military capabilities for self-defence and pre-emptive nuclear attack despite manifold difficulties.
A Pakistani-origin Muslim flight attendant in the US has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that his co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and part of Hezbollah and the Taliban.

Farkhan Mahmood Shah, of Edison, New Jersey, also claims in the lawsuit, filed recently in the Superior Court in Middlesex County, that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents came to his house after he complained about the harassment to company officials.

Shah alleges that he was targeted for religious and ethnic harassment after the attacks of September 11, NJ.com reported.

American Airlines failed to stop the harassment after he reported it, Shah claims in the lawsuit.

Shah, who started working at the airline in 1999 as a flight attendant, says in the suit that he was called a terrorist, part of Hezbollah and the Taliban, and other offensive names.

On one flight, he claims another flight attendant tried to convert him from Islam to Christianity.

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the company is reviewing the complaints in Shah's lawsuit.

American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, Miller was quoted as saying.

Shah said he reported the alleged harassment in 2008 when he began to notice erroneous marks on his record for being late and missing work.

The complaint escalated to the airline's New York human resources office in 2013 following numerous complaints where he also brought up the record errors, the suit said.

In 2014, Shah and his co-workers were having a conversation about 9/11 and one of the workers said, it was the Muslims and that Muslims are evil, according to the suit.

Shah responded that some had said the terrorist attack was an inside job, and ISIS was created by the CIA, citing a Hillary Clinton clip he saw, the lawsuit said. Shah claims only his comments were reported to the supervisors.

Weeks later, Shah claims in his suit that he was placed on a watch list by American Airlines, and FBI agents showed up at his New Jersey home.

Shah claims the harassment continued over the next two years, as his case was moved around to a number of different human resources representatives without any resolution, according to the suit.

In 2016, he filed a complaint with US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the suit states. Less than two weeks later, Shah claims FBI agents showed up at his house again, asking him if he planned on hurting anyone.

Shah received his Right to Sue letter from the EEOC earlier this year and remains on airline's staff.

The suit, which names American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, seeks damages, attorney fees and other relief.
Pakistan has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having a multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, an offer India has virtually rejected.

Ahead of his India visit, Erdogan, during a TV interview, had said, We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all.

Pakistan welcomes the Turkish President's offer to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue, the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement last night.

Erdogan's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday came in the shadow of his comments on Kashmir that were not well received in India.

The remarks were contrary to the position of India, which maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

In a clear message to Erdogan, India yesterday asserted that the Kashmir issue is an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.

However, Pakistan welcomed Erdogan's remarks, saying, Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in Kashmir and the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

The situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of human rights violations and implications for the regional and global security, due to the unresolved dispute, have raised serious concerns across the globe, the Foreign Office said.

It said that recently, the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the international community, including the US, have urged the early resolution of the Kashmir issue given the perils for the regional peace and security.
Seven persons were killed and dozens injured when a severe storm lashed parts of Bangladesh, an official said on Tuesday.

Four persons were killed in Rajshahi district and three in Chapainawabganj when the storm lashed the country on Monday night, Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying.

The official said the storm left a tail of destruction, uprooting hundreds of trees, flattening many tin-roofed and mud-built houses and snapping road and rail communication within the affected areas.

It, however, was a blessing for millions of Dhaka dwellers who heaved a sigh of relief at a light drizzle after days of heat wave scorched the country.

Bangladesh is affected by severe tornadoes and storms from March to mid-May ahead of a four-month wet monsoon season.


US President Donald Trump will on Tuesday speak over phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a White House official said.

It will be the first call between the two leaders since Russia denounced a US military strike against a Syrian airbase in April and their third phone conversation since Trump took office on January 20, CNN quoted the official as saying.

They last spoke following a terror attack in St. Petersburg in Russia, and also chatted a week after the US President's inauguration.

The call comes after Putin characterised the Syria strike an act of "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law".

According to the US, the strike was in response to an alleged chemical attack by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a Putin ally, on his own people that left more than 80 civilians dead.


Noose appears to tighten on Vijay Mallya as a team led by CBI deputy director Rakesh Asthana has reached London to pursue his extradition case.

By Shivendra Srivastava, Atir Khan: Top Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, including deputy director Rakesh Asthana have reached London to pursue Vijay Mallya extradition case.

Asthana is leading a team of officials from the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) which would hold talks with the British prosecutors pursing the extradition of Vijay Mallya, who owes a consortium of 17 Indian banks over Rs 9,000 crore.

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Sources told India Today that while the investigating agencies are coordinating with their counterparts in the UK, the liquor baron's extradition will also be discussed during talks between home secretaries Rajiv Mehrishi and Amber Rudd, who is scheduled to visit India later this week.

AGENCIES PLANNING TWO-FOLD STRATEGY TO BRING BACK MALLYA

Sources said that agencies are working on a two-fold strategy to counter any possible move by Mallya seeking a political plea to halt his possible extradition both in London and in Delhi.

Mallya's counsel might tell the UK courts that his is a case of political vendetta as he was an MP during the Congress-led regime. Mallya might argue that his case was rather a civil offence and not a criminal one as impressed upon by Indian investigation agencies.

The CBI and ED coordinating with each other and with the prosecutors in London. Agencies are briefing authorities at the highest level to plug loopholes that can be used by Mallya to stop his extradition.

Mallya, the boss of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, was arrested on April 18 by Scotland Yard in London upon India's request to extradite the 'international businessman' from Britain. He was released on bail few hours after arrest.

Soon after getting bail the flamboyant businessman, who once called himself 'The King of Good Times', sent out a defiant tweet.

"Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected," he tweeted.

WATCH: Vijay Mallya granted bail by Westminster's Magistrates' Court in London ALSO READ:

Vijay Mallya arrested in London, gets bail; usual Indian media hype, he says

The flight and fall of Mallya

How Vijay Mallya flew to London via Delhi

Emails reveal that Mallya hobnobbed with UPA govt official for loans

--- ENDS ---
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "paying attention" to the India-Pakistan border tension, but UN observers have not received any reports from India about any recent ceasefire violations, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

Asked about India-Pakistan situation, Dujarric said: "We checked with our colleagues with UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan). We have not received any alleged ceasefire violations reports from the Indian authorities related to the latest incident that we saw yesterday."

On Monday, the Pakistani Army targeted a patrol on the Indian side of the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector and killed and mutilated the bodies of an soldier and a Border Security Force trooper, India has said.

Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and Head Constable Prem Sagar were killed in the attack carried out by the Border Action Team (BAT) made up of Pakistani military, Indian Army reported.

Pakistan has denied that its military was involved in the attack.

Dujarric denied a suggestion that UN observers were concerned only about the Pakistani side of the border because India restricted its operations.

"UNMOGIP is impartial," he said. "We are fully aware of operational environment in which UNMOGIP is forced to work."

India has said that UN observers, who first began operating on the India-Pakistan border in Kashmir in 1949, are no longer needed because under the 1971 Simla agreement, the disputes between the two countries are a bilateral matter.
After dropping a monster bomb on its fighters, then targeting its leader, the US military is looking to destroy the Islamic State group's Afghan branch before battle-hardened reinforcements arrive from Syria and Iraq.

While US and Kabul government forces have mainly been combatting Taliban fighters since 2001, IS's local offshoot  also known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K  has a stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.

First emerging in 2015, ISIS-K overran large parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, near the Pakistan border, but their part in the Afghan conflict had been largely overshadowed by the operations against the Taliban.

Many Americans first heard of ISIS-K last month when the US dropped the "Mother Of All Bombs" on its Nangarhar bastion  an aerial munition that the Pentagon said was the biggest non-nuclear weapon it had ever used in combat.

US and Afghan forces then raided a compound last week close to the site of the bombing, with the Pentagon saying it believed it had killed ISIS-K's leader Abdul Hasib during the operation.

Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan, said the local IS presence peaked at between 2,500 to 3,000 but that defections and recent battlefield losses had reduced their number to a maximum of 800.

"We have a very good chance of destroying them in 2017, making it very clear that when the ISIS fighters are destroyed elsewhere around the globe that this is not the place for you to come to plot your attacks," Salvin told AFP.

US-backed fighters also appear to have IS on the ropes in Syria and Iraq, where an operation to wrest back control of the major northern city of Mosul has been ongoing since October.

But both the military and analysts acknowledge there is a danger of IS fighters heading to Afghanistan if they are forced out of Iraq and Syria.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, said that while IS should ultimately be defeated in Afghanistan, the Pentagon's timeline may be overly optimistic.

A definitive victory could take "a long time due, partly (due) to the proximity of Pakistan as well as the possible flow of fighters" from the Middle East as the "group loses sanctuaries there," O'Hanlon told AFP.

The Taliban, which first emerged in the mid-1990s in southern Afghanistan, managed to conquer most of the country before its 2001 ouster with the help of a range of foreign jihadists, including Pakistanis, Saudis and Chechens.

Analysts say that as well as Afghans, ISIS-K includes disaffected Pakistani and Uzbek Islamists among its ranks who used to fight for the Taliban.

It first emerged as a significant player in Afghanistan in early 2015 when its fighters overran the Taliban in parts of the east and has subsequently claimed responsibility for a string of bomb attacks.

ISIS-K's defeat would be an important victory for the US, which has struggled to boast of clear wins after forcing the Taliban out of Kabul in 2001 in the initial aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, said ISIS-K had "withstood multiple US-backed offensives over the past two years."

But while their defeat would be a boost to the US, Roggio said the Taliban and their long-time Al-Qaeda allies were still a much bigger challenge.

"It's not that they don't pose a threat, but I would argue that the Taliban pose a far greater threat to the stability of Afghanistan," Roggio told AFP.

"It would be basically winning a battle, but we are still losing the war, which is basically the story of Afghanistan since we've been involved there."

America has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Most belong to a NATO mission to train and advise Afghan partner forces fighting the Taliban.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

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By India Today Web Desk: Actor Rahul Khanna posted a throwback photo remembering his late father, Vinod Khanna. The black-and-white photo features Vinod Khanna playing on the beach with sons Rahul and Akshaye Khanna. Rahul captioned it, "Feels like yesterday."

Feels like yesterday. A post shared by Rahul Khanna (@mrkhanna) on May 1, 2017 at 2:44am PDT

Vinod Khanna passed away due to bladder cancer on April 27. The 70-year-old actor, who delivered several hits like Muqaddar Ka Siqandar, Qurbani, Dayavaan and Amar, Akbar, Anthony, had been admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation and Research Centre in Girgaum for nearly a month, before he succumbed to cancer.

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Vinod Khanna's Amar Akbar Anthony co-star Rishi Kapoor lashed out at actors of "this generation" for not attending the actor's funeral. The angry actor slammed B-Towners who attended Priyanka Chopra's bash on Wednesday night, but failed to turn up at the funeral on Thursday evening. "Angry. Met so many chamcha people last night at Priyanka Chopra's do last night. Few at Vinod's. So fu*kn transparent. So angry with them (sic)," he wrote on Twitter.

PHOTOS: Vinod Khanna's funeral attended by Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor

ALSO WATCH: Vinod Khanna, veteran actor and politician, passes away at 70

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